Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Company (Aman), the pioneering UAE Takaful Insurance provider has been awarded Participating Insurer (PI) status by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) with effect from January 1, 2022. The selection of a Participating Insurer is following an intensive evaluation against the standards set by DHA, which are much higher than those required for the DHA Health Insurance Permit. The selection criteria assess the insurance company's ability to provide cost-effective insurance coverage and handle large volume of business while maintaining a proven track record of operational efficiency and customer service. Aman's qualification as a Participating Insurer makes it one of the few insurance companies in the UAE that can offer the Essential Benefits Plan (EBP) under the Dubai Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013.EBP was created to ensure quality insurance protection to all Dubai Residents, especially for the segment of workers with a monthly income of AED4,000 ($1,088) or less. Dr Saleh Al Hashemi, Chairman of Aman's Board of Directors, said: This is another example of how Aman is working to expand its customer segment and provide quality Takaful solutions to the underserved and low-income groups, with the aim of promoting inclusion and creating shared value for all our stakeholders and the community at large." Amans Chief Executive Officer, Jihad Faitrouni, said:"Qualifying as a DHA authorized Participating Insurer is indeed a great milestone for Aman and demonstrates the depth and breadth of our offering and our ability to provide affordable quality insurance solutions in a way that allows us to reach all members of the community particularly those on low income and the most vulnerable. This underscores our goal as a Takaful company to provide a wide range of Islamic insurance services that support the stability and security of our communities." The EBP package covers many services including in-patient treatment at authorized hospitals, maternity, emergency, medical tests, referrals, medication etc. TradeArabia News Service Heather Cimellaro holds her three-year-old son Charlie while his twin brother, Milo, jumps on a couch at their home, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in Auburn, Maine. Heather Cimellaro is one many parents concerned about the omicron surge and the dilemma it's posing for families of children too young to be vaccinated. Credit: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty Afternoons with Grammy. Birthday parties. Meeting other toddlers at the park. Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are facing difficult choices as an omicron variant-fueled surge in COVID-19 cases makes every encounter seem risky. For Maine business owner Erin Connolly, the most wrenching decision involves Madeleine, her 3-year-old daughter, and Connolly's mother, who cares for the girl on the one day a week she isn't in preschool. It's a treasured time of making cookies, going to the library, or just hanging out. But the spirited little girl resists wearing a mask, and with the highly contagious variant spreading at a furious pace, Connolly says she's wondering how long that can continue "and when does it feel too unsafe.'' Connolly, of West Bath, said she worries less about Madeleine and her 6-year-old vaccinated son getting the virus than about the impact illness and separation would have on the grandparents. But she's also concerned about her vaccinated parents contracting breakthrough cases. Although health experts say omicron appears to cause less severe disease and lead to fewer hospitalizations, its rapid spread indicates that it is much more contagious than other variants. Nearly 718,000 COVID cases were reported Tuesday, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Omicron is currently the culprit in more than 90% of U.S. cases, a dizzying rise from less than 10% two weeks ago. "The sheer volume of infections because of its profound transmissibility will mean that many more children will get infected,'' Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday at a White House briefing. COVID cases in U.S. children and teens nearly doubled in the last two weeks of December, totaling nearly 326,000 in the final week alone, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association. The omicron-fueled surge has also put children in the hospital in record numbers: During the week of Dec. 27, 2021, to Jan. 2, 2022, an average of 672 children 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirusmore than double the number from the previous week. Children still represent a small percentage of those being hospitalized, however. Fauci, the country's top infectious disease doctor, said surrounding children with vaccinated adults is one way to keep them from contracting the virus. Health officials also reiterate that face masks prevent transmissions, and putting them on children 2 and older in public and group settings can help keep them safe. Connolly, 39, and her mother had a difficult conversation Tuesday morning about the dilemma. "Will Madeleine be masked?" her mother asked. "I said, 'We're trying, but I don't know if she will,''' Connolly recalled. "I said, 'Does that mean that Thursdays with Grammy will go away?' She said, 'I'm not sure yet,''' Connolly said, choking back tears. Parents who had hoped the new year might bring a COVID vaccine for young children had a setback when Pfizer announced last month that two doses didn't offer as much protection as hoped in youngsters ages 2 to 4. Pfizer's study has been updated to give everyone under age 5 a third dose, and data is expected around the end of March or beginning of April, a company scientist told U.S. officials Wednesday. Researchers were disappointed by the setback, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, who is leading Stanford University's Pfizer vaccine studies in children under 12. Maldonado said she understands the frustration of parents with young children, but that she advises them to avoid unnecessary travel during this current surge, and to make sure their day care centers, preschools and other care providers are requiring masks and taking other recommended precautions. Watching omicron's spread, Honolulu resident Jacob Aki is contemplating forgoing a first birthday party for his 10-month-old son. Celebrating the milestone is important in his native Hawaiian culture. The tradition stems from a time before the measles vaccine was available, when it was a feat to reach one's first birthday. The family also canceled plans to experience snow in Canada. Meanwhile, every cough and sniffle is provoking anxiety. "Babies normally get sick at this age," Aki said. "But with everything with COVID ... anxiety is high." Heather Cimellaro, a technology teacher from Auburn, Maine, says she worries more than ever about keeping her 3-year-old identical twin boys healthy. One has had medical issues related to their premature birth and the family makes regular trips to Boston to see a specialist. "COVID can really throw a wrench in those plans,'' Cimellaro said. Cimellaro, 33, says omicron has her rethinking running errands with the twins, library storytime visits, even preschool, located in a health center for the elderly. She worries the boys could catch COVID and spread it to their "grand-buddies.'' "It's just a lot of worry: 'Am I doing the right thing?''' she said. "That's the thing. I'm not an epidemiologist. I don't know how dangerous it is for them. So it's kind of like that debate with myself.'' Erin Stanley of Berrien Springs, Michigan, said she and her husband have curtailed their social lives because of omicron to help protect their 3-year-old son, Ralph. They are both vaccinated and boosted, but they worry about Ralph getting sick and spreading illness to his younger cousin, preschool classmates, grandparents and a beloved great-grandmother. They didn't see the great-grandmother over Christmas and skipped a holiday get-together with other relatives too. "That was upsetting," Stanley said. "We all really wanted to. It just seemed risky.'' Stanley, 35, a cook at a popular organic farm, used to take Ralph grocery shopping, a trip he looked forward to and that represented one of his few social interactions outside preschool. But few shoppers wear masks, she said, and now that seems too risky as well. The shy little boy has had three recent scares and three negative COVID tests. "Getting the swab test was really traumatic for him," said Stanley, who added that "virus" and "swab" are now part of his vocabulary. "He keeps saying, 'I don't want to get a swab!'" she said. "If a vaccine comes for him, we'll definitely get it." 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The quality of home health care varies by location, with rural home health care agencies initiating care more quickly while urban agencies excel in preventing hospitalizations, according to a new study by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. The findings are published in the Journal of Rural Health. Home health carein which health care providers, primarily nurses, visit patients' homes to deliver careis one of the fastest growing health care sectors in the United States. In 2018, more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries received home health care; 9 percent of patients lived in rural areas. As the use of home health care increases across the country, researchers are working to better understand how quality varies and whether there are disparities in care based on location. To understand differences between quality in urban and rural home health care, the researchers analyzed national data on home health quality performance measures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over five years (2014 to 2018). Their data included 7,908 home health agencies, of which nearly 20 percent (1,537) were in rural areas. Quality performance measures included timely initiation of care (a measure of care process), and hospitalization and emergency department visits (two measures of care outcomes). The researchers measured numerous differences between urban and rural agencies, both at individual time points and over time, with rural agencies performing better on the care process measure and urban agencies performing better on the outcome measures. Rural agencies consistently initiated care in a timely fashion, meaning that they quickly started home care upon a doctor's orders or within two days of hospital discharge or referral to home care. "Providing early, intensive visits to patients during a home health episode has been shown to be effective in reducing hospitalization and improving functional status, so timely initiation of care is a critical component of quality home care for patients," said Chenjuan Ma, Ph.D., MSN, an assistant professor at NYU Meyers and the study's lead author. "Strong relationships between rural home health agencies and local hospitals, as evidenced in previous research, may be facilitating the timely initiation of home health care to rural patients." In contrast, urban agencies consistently performed better on preventing hospitalization and emergency room visits during home care over timealthough, notably, emergency department visits increased over the five years studied for both urban and rural home health agencies. These gaps between rural and urban agencies were steady over time except the gap in hospitalization, which narrowed slightly over time. "Our study highlights the persistence of disparities in quality of home health care. Limited improvements have been made in the quality of home health care over time, and the gaps in quality of care did not significantly shrink between rural and urban agencies," added Ma. The researchers stress the importance of reducing rural-urban disparities by taking into account the unique geographic, staffing, and health challenges facing agencies. For instance, in addition to staffing and resource challenges, providers from rural home health agencies often spend a significant amount of time traveling to and from patient homes, which could result in less efficient care delivery and could ultimately influence outcomes. In addition, reports on rural and urban recipients of home health care suggest that rural patients are in poorer overall health status than their urban counterparts. Additional study authors include Andrea Devoti of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and Melissa O'Connor of the Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. More information: Chenjuan Ma et al, Rural and urban disparities in quality of home health care: A longitudinal cohort study (20142018), The Journal of Rural Health (2022). Chenjuan Ma et al, Rural and urban disparities in quality of home health care: A longitudinal cohort study (20142018),(2022). DOI: 10.1111/jrh.12642 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain In a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica that examined the total population of women aged 4049 years between 20082018 in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, birth rates increased in Denmark and Sweden, and births resulting from assisted reproductive technology doubled in all three countries. Among the major findings: Use of hormonal contraception increased among women aged 4044 years in Denmark from 24% to 31%, in Sweden from 27% to 30%, and in Norway from 22% to 24%. Birth rates among women 4044 years increased from 9.5 to 12 per 1,000 women in Denmark and from 11.7 to 14.3 per 1,000 in Sweden, while they remained stable in Norway at approximately 11 per 1,000 women. In women aged 4049 years, there was a doubling of assisted conceptions in Denmark from 0.71 to 1.71 per 1,000 women, in Sweden from 0.43 to 0.81 per 1,000, and in Norway from 0.25 to 0.53 per 1,000 women. Sweden had the highest induced abortion rate (7.7 to 8.1 per 1,000 women) in women aged 4049 years during the study period. "This study confirms the trend of postponing childbirth observed for most of Europe and demonstrates the important role of assisted reproductive technology on birth rates in this age group," said lead author Ingela Lindh, MD, of Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden. "The study provides valuable information to improve women's knowledge about their fertility." Explore further Use of emergency contraceptive pills among Scandinavian women More information: Ingela Lindh et al, Reproductive changes among women in their 40s: A crosssectional study, Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (2022). Journal information: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica Ingela Lindh et al, Reproductive changes among women in their 40s: A crosssectional study,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/aogs.14302 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent a group of about 20 conditions that affect more than a billion people worldwide. They are diseases of poverty that impact people living in the poorest communities in terms of wealth, infrastructure, and access to sanitation. They take health away; and for children, their chances of staying in school and earning a living. One of the most impactful NTDs is schistosomiasis (the 'snail fever', Bilharzia). This disease is caused by infection with parasitic worms known as schistosomes that live in the blood of their host where they lay eggs that cause tissue damage. Schistosomiasis is treated using a drug called praziquantel, discovered in the 1980s. However, for over forty years, there has not been understanding of how this drug works. This has been a roadblock to designing new therapies for both schistosomiasis as well as other diseases caused by parasitic flatworms. In work recently published in Science Translational Medicine, independent teams from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and Texas Biomedical Research Institute have finally solved this mystery. Both groups of researchers converged on a protein within these worms that is activated by praziquantel to help eliminate worms from the body. "Praziquantel is one of the most important clinical drugs that people have not heard about," says Jonathan Marchant, Ph.D., professor, MCW, senior author of one of the studies. "This is because it is a drug used to treat a neglected tropical disease, which unfortunately attracts less research and investment despite its burden on people worldwide." Marchant's group demonstrated that praziquantel binds with high specificity to a type of ion channel, known as a transient receptor potential (TRP) channel. Activation of this worm TRP channel by praziquantel causes rapid paralysis and damage to the parasite triggering elimination of worms from the body. By collaborating with scientists from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, the company involved in the discovery of praziquantel, the team mapped the binding site of praziquantel and a detailed model of the molecular interactions necessary for activating the channel was validated in Marchant's laboratory. "Having a detailed understanding of how this drug engages this target at the molecular level provides new opportunities for drug development to help combat this debilitating disease of children" says Lukas Friedrich, co-first author of this research and scientist at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. This new understanding of praziquantel has already illuminated why some parasitic worms show natural insensitivity to praziquantel, while others are highly sensitive to this drug. "Tiny variation in this binding pocket stops praziquantel from working," says Sang-Kyu Park, staff scientist, MCW, first author of this research. "We demonstrate that such variation occurs naturally in a type of parasitic flatworm that causes disease of cattle and livestock, and this may occur for schistosomiasis too, causing concern that praziquantel may stop working in the clinic." This conclusion was reinforced by work co-published in the same issue of Science Translational Medicine from Tim Anderson's group from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. The Texas Biomed group studied a population of worms that showed resistance to praziquantel exposure, applying state-of-the-art genetic analyses to identify regions within the worm's genome that underpinned this insensitivity to drug treatment. Remarkably, their analyses identified the very same TRP channel, providing independent verification of the importance of this particular target. "We have two independent papers using completely different methods coming to the exact same conclusions," says Tim Anderson, Ph.D., professor, Texas Biomed, senior author of the Texas Biomed study. "Because the papers are being published back-to-back, I think they will be taken very seriously. Research on TRP channels of mammals won the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021. That these channels are also involved in mode of action of a critically important antiparasitic drug is extremely exciting." "This research will be highly impactful for treating schistosomiasis in the field", adds Thomas Spangenberg, Head of Global Health Open Innovation and Drug Discovery at the Global Health Institute of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "Finally understanding the mechanism of action of praziquantel will help catalyze new research that will support control and elimination programs for schistosomiasis worldwide. This is an important breakthrough." Explore further Newly discovered series of compounds could treat parasitic worm disease schistosomiasis More information: Sang-Kyu Park et al, Mechanism of praziquantel action at a parasitic flatworm ion channel, Science Translational Medicine (2021). Sang-Kyu Park et al, Mechanism of praziquantel action at a parasitic flatworm ion channel,(2021). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abj5832 Winka Le Clec'h et al, Genetic analysis of praziquantel response in schistosome parasites implicates a transient receptor potential channel, Science Translational Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abj9114 Journal information: Science Translational Medicine Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Although allergies are normally associated with the spring and fall, it may feel like allergy season never left this winter. From cold fronts to rainy days and back to warmer days, an allergy expert at Baylor College of Medicine explains that it is not uncommon for frequent weather changes to worsen people's allergy symptoms. "People who have allergies, sinusitis, asthma or any other airway inflammatory disease frequently complain that their symptoms get worse with changes in the weather, and it seems like it's when various fronts come through and there is a big temperature change," said Dr. David Corry, professor of medicine-immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor. Pollen Tree and grass pollen are one of the most common triggers for those who suffer from seasonal allergies. When the weather brings a mix of several cold and warm fronts, Corry explains that it can carry pollen in the air from other parts of the country, such as pollen from Juniper Ashe trees in West Texas. "When fronts come from the west to the east, they can bring a lot of pollen, particularly in the 'cedar fever' season, which is roughly during mid-January to February," Corry said. "Those fronts can bring in that cedar pollen, which is extremely abundant and irritating." Mold Another main cause of allergies is mold spores. When weather fronts bring in a series of thunderstorms, rain or other forms of precipitation, the wet environment can cause mold to bloom strongly and trigger allergy symptoms. "The main thing that might be bothering people's allergies is mold, which can be in the air at any time of year," Corry said. "It gets worse with major rain or precipitation, especially if a big storm like a hurricane comes through. Cases of severe allergy or asthma can skyrocket." Changes in humidity Although research is still being done on the topic, Corry said that some studies suggest that changes in humidity levels might also trigger allergies. When a cold front comes in, the humidity can plummet after the initial rain and the nose can dry out, which can cause irritation and lead to allergic rhinitis symptoms. Allergies vs. COVID-19 With the rise of the omicron variant that appears to cause milder symptoms in those who are fully vaccinated and boosted, it might be difficult to determine whether you are experiencing COVID symptoms or allergies. Allergies mainly cause itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, congestion and sneezing. Corry said the main differences between allergy and COVID symptoms are a fever, sore throat and itching, such as itchy eyes, nose and ears. "Viruses, including the omicron variant of COVID-19 and the common cold, can first appear like allergies, but there are certain symptoms that help distinguish the two," Corry said. "You almost never get prominent itching with a virus, and COVID often produces fever, which you never see in allergies. A prominent sore throat also indicates a virus." Allergies also are unlikely to cause profound tiredness, fatigue and muscle and joint aches. If you are still unsure if you are experiencing allergies or an illness, try taking over-the-counter antihistamines to see if it helps with symptoms. Treatment Corry recommends treating allergies by using over-the-counter nasal steroid sprays for up to two weeks and taking oral antihistamines like cetirizine, loratadine or fexofenadine. If symptoms are not relieved, Corry recommends reaching out to a primary care provider or an allergist for further treatment or allergy testing. Explore further Allergy treatment is crucial if your child has asthma Credit: CC0 Public Domain Countries where people have more trust in each other have been more successful in bringing down waves of coronavirus cases and deaths, a new study shows. Researchers found there is a "threshold effect" in nations where at least 40 percent of people agree "most people can be trusted". This supported effective reduction of cases and deaths during 2020. Previous studies show levels of trust in the UK are at the critical 40 percent compared to more than 60 percent in Scandinavian countries. China also has high levels of trust within society. Analyzing coronavirus data during 2020 the researchers found more trusting societies tended to achieve a faster decline in infections and deaths from peak levels. This is likely because behaviors vital to stopping the spread of COVID-19, such as mask wearing and social distancing depend on mutual trust to be effective. The study, by Professor Tim Lenton and Dr. Chris Boulton from the University of Exeter, and Professor Marten Scheffer from Wageningen University, is published in the journal Scientific Reports. Professor Lenton said: "Our results add to evidence that trust within society benefits resilience to epidemics. Building trust within communities should be a long-term project for all nations because this will help them cope with future pandemics and other challenges such as extreme events caused by climate change." The study shows the effect of stringent government interventions on coronavirus spread is not straightforward. Most governments applied similarly stringent restrictions but had hugely varying success in bringing down case numbers and deaths. This is partly because more stringent governments tend to be associated with less trusting societies. The researchers measured more than 150 countries' resilience to COVID-19 as the nationwide decay rate of daily cases or deaths from peak levels, using information from the Our World in Data COVID-19 dataset up to 1 December 2020before vaccines were available. Resilience to COVID-19 varied by a factor of 40 between countries for cases/capita and by a factor of 25 for deaths/capita. All countries where more than 40 percent of respondents agreed "most people can be trusted" achieved a near complete reduction of new cases and deaths. So did some less-trusting societiesindicating that trust in each other is only one of several factors at play. Looking across countries, the researchers found no significant correlation between trust in government and success at bringing down cases and deaths. Wealth and associated healthcare helps, but it is less important than trust in each other. Explore further COVID cases and deaths on the rise again in Europe More information: Resilience of countries to COVID19 correlated with trust, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports Resilience of countries to COVID19 correlated with trust,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03358-w Credit: CC0 Public Domain An experimental immunotherapy can temporarily reprogram patients' immune cells to attack a specific target via only a single injection of messenger RNA (mRNA), similar to the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers, whose work is published today in Science, demonstrated the new approach with an mRNA preparation that reprograms T cellsa powerful type of immune cellto attack heart fibroblast cells. Heart failure is often driven in part by these fibroblast cells, which respond to heart injury and inflammation by chronically overproducing fibrous material that stiffens the heart muscle, impairing heart functiona condition called fibrosis. In experiments in mice that model heart failure, the reduction in cardiac fibroblasts caused by the reprogrammed T cells led to a dramatic reversal of fibrosis. "Fibrosis underlies many serious disorders, including heart failure, liver disease, and kidney failure, and this technology could turn out to be a scalable and affordable way to address an enormous medical burden," said senior author Jonathan A. Epstein, MD, chief scientific officer for Penn Medicine and executive vice dean and the William Wikoff Smith Professor of Cardiovascular Research in the Perelman School of Medicine. "But the most notable advancement is the ability to engineer T cells for a specific clinical application without having to take them out of the patient's body." The new technique is based on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell technology, which, until now, has required the harvesting of a patient's T cells and their genetic reprogramming in the lab to recognize markers on specific cell types in the body. These specially targeted T cells can then be multiplied using cell culture techniques and re-infused into the patient to attack a specific cell type. The first CAR T cell therapy was developed by researchers from Penn and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for use against certain leukemiasand later approved for lymphomathat arise from immune cells called B cells. Although CAR T cell technology is currently used primarily for treating cancers, with dramatic results in many otherwise hopeless cases, its developers have long envisioned harnessing the approach for other diseases. Indeed, Epstein and colleagues showed in a 2019 study that the standard CAR T cell approach can be used to attack overactive cardiac fibroblasts and restore heart function in a mouse model of heart failure. However, this standard CAR T cell strategy would be problematic when directed against heart failure or other fibrotic diseases in humans. Fibroblasts have a normal and important function in the body, especially in wound-healing. CAR T cells that are reprogrammed genetically to attack fibroblasts could survive in the body for months or even years, suppressing the fibroblast population and impairing wound-healing for all that time. Therefore, in the new study, Epstein and colleagues devised a technique for a more temporary and controllable, and procedurally much simpler, type of CAR T cell therapy. They designed mRNA that encodes a T-cell receptor targeting activated fibroblasts and encapsulated the mRNA within tiny, bubble-like lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that are themselves covered in molecules that home in on T cells. That technology is also crucial to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines now in use across the globe. "Standard CAR T cell technology involves modifying patients' T cells outside the body, which is expensive and difficult to scale for common diseases or for use in less wealthy countries," said study co-author Drew Weissman, MD, Ph.D., the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at Penn. "Making functional CAR T cells inside the body greatly extends the promise of the mRNA/LNP platform." Injected into mice, the encapsulated mRNA molecules are taken up by T cells and act as templates for the production of the fibroblast-targeting receptor, effectively reprogramming the T cells to attack activated fibroblasts. This reprogramming is very temporary, however. The mRNAs are not integrated into T-cell DNA and survive within T cells for only a few daysafter which the T cells revert to normal and no longer target fibroblasts. The scientists found that, despite this brief duration of activity, injections of the mRNA in mice that model heart failure successfully reprogrammed a large population of mouse T cells, causing a major reduction of heart fibrosis in the animals and a restoration of mostly normal heart size and function with no evidence of continued anti-fibroblast T cell activity one week after treatment. The researchers are continuing to test this mRNA-based, transient CAR T cell technology, with the hope of eventually starting clinical trials. Along with Epstein and Weissman, the other co-corresponding authors are Haig Aghajanian, Ph.D., vice president of research at Capstan Therapeutics and adjunct assistant professor of cardiology at Penn; and Hamideh Parhiz, PharmD, Ph.D., a research assistant professor of medicine at Penn. Joel Rurik, the lead author, is a Ph.D. candidate in Epstein's laboratory. Explore further Researchers find subset of cardiac fibroblasts involved in cardiac inflammation under stress More information: Joel Rurik et al, CAR T cells produced in vivo to treat cardiac injury, Science (2022). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm0594 Joel Rurik et al, CAR T cells produced in vivo to treat cardiac injury,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abm0594 Torahito A. Gao et al, T cells to fix a broken heart, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abn0851 Journal information: Science View the art in person, then bid online before and during a virtual event. Thats the model for the 2022 Benefit Art Auction at the Missoula Art Museum. The exhibition boasts 82 pieces, with marquee Montana artists throughout Beth Lo, Monte Dolack, Hadley Ferguson, Stephanie Frostad and more, alongside emerging artists and new names. As in years past, its one of the most diverse shows they put together, said associate curator John Calsbeek. The mediums and genres span from landscape to portraits and abstraction in painting, drawing, textile, ceramics and things you might not have heard of before see Christine Joys sculpture of a stone wrapped snugly in woven grasses. Last year, the auction was virtual and they didnt display the work for logistical reasons, which theyve remedied this year. We really felt like we wanted to do a physical exhibition this year, partly because it's a chance to honor artists and work with artists in our community, said Brandon Reintjes, the MAMs senior curator. While the art is viewable online, the scale and detail often doesnt translate. The show opens in the Carnegie Galleries, its largest space, on Friday, Jan. 7, but the MAM wont be open late for the art walk. You can stop by during regular hours, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The auction itself is a virtual event on Saturday, Feb. 5. Its typically held in-person with hundreds in attendance in the University Center Ballroom, with a boisterous, mingling atmosphere along with food and drinks and artists and supporters from around the state. Going virtual again was a necessity, said Laura Millin, MAMs executive director. This year, theyre aiming to create a bigger, more dynamic live event based on last years experience. It will be an hour long, with an actual live auction of 10 items, and more highly produced segments. Last year, they raised $98,000 for programming, which includes year-round exhibitions of local, regional and national contemporary art. That includes the Frost Gallery, which is dedicated exclusively to Indigenous contemporary art. The museum also is admission-free, and introduces hundreds of local children to art through its Fifth-Grade Art Experience. The art The show always has a community feel, so Missoula residents will see long-standing creators. Members of the Pattee Canyon Ladies Salon contributed pieces youll see works by Stephanie Frostad, Kristi Hager, Nancy Erickson and Leslie Van Stavern Millar. In Hadley Fergusons painting, Late Evening Sky Over Calm Waters (acrylic on clay board), a rich sky looms over mountains and a river. Fergusons large-scale murals include the Montana Womens Mural at the state Capitol. One first-time exhibitor is Bonnie Tarses, a textile designer and weaver well-known around town for her scarves. She made an untitled mixed-media piece with dyed silk tightly bound around squares, like an abstract chessboard pattern. Dave Thomas, an Idaho abstract painter, has a piece dominated by three impasto swoops that rise off the paper like cake frosting an example of how the works read differently in person versus online. Todd Forsgren donated a photograph, Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra), a highly detailed photo of the blushed-orange bird in a net. (According to his website, its part of a series in which the birds are caught in mist nets by researchers temporarily to take their weight and measurements.) An art professor and gallery director at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, hes published his work in outlets like National Geographic, the Guardian and more. A rare paired lot brings together pieces by artists who helped bring modernism to Montana. It comprises a stoneware bowl by Frances Senska and a serigraph by her partner, Jessie Wilbur. Senska taught at Montana State University, and counted among her students Rudy Autio and Peter Voulkos. Reintjes said their importance to art history far outweighs the market for their work nationally or even knowledge of them locally. The landscape is present through many mediums. Gesine Jenzen, an MSU professor, donated a three-tint woodblock print of a forest scene at close range, with careful delineation of the trees as they recede into the distance. UM professor Steve Krutek rendered a dense woodland scene in charcoal that reminded Calsbeek of Lee Friedlanders large-format, black-and-white forest scenes. Sheila Miles, a longtime Montana artist now based in the Southwest, contributed The top of fall, a classic mountain lake scene thats informed by her long history working in abstraction. A number of pieces were donated by the Matrix Press at the University of Montanas School of Art and Media. The print lab and MAM have a partnership that brings visiting artists to Missoula to produce new work with the aid of UM instructors and students and then exhibit at the MAM. A monotype by Oregon artist Lillian Pitt (Wasco, Warm Springs, Yakama) boasts imagery that will be familiar to those who saw her popular exhibition at the MAM in 2019-20, in which a mask submerged in waters looks on at passing fish. Neal Ambrose-Smith, whose exhibition Where Are You Going? is still on view, collaborated on a print with Matrixs Jason Clark and James Bailey, in which each artist contributed their own distinctive imagery. Millin said she likes to remember that the first auction was held to start the museum. Really, artists for the first supporters, the first patrons, the first donors to the effort through that auction and they have been doing it ever since. Artists donate pieces at a percentage split, so money returns to artists, too. Virtual auction The auction is Saturday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. Its free to watch. Go to missoulaartmuseum.org, where you can view all the items now, see key dates and find more information on how to bid. This year, the auction features 10 items that will be up for bidding live during the virtual auction. The remaining pieces, for a total of 82, are divided into two silent auction sections that close at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 and 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6. The live event will be an hour long, with longtime auctioneer Johanna Wells on board live from the gallery. The 10 pieces will be bid off on a tight timeline so that encourages bidding wars. Theyre recording some videos in advance to make for more of a highly produced feel compared with last year. There are two sections of silent auction pieces. From Jan. 23-27, theres a buy it now option (with a premium), before the bidding opens on Jan. 28. On auction night, the first batch of the silent auction closes at 8 p.m. and the second batch closes the following day, Feb. 6, at 5 p.m. While the switch to virtual again wasnt ideal, the MAM has erred on the side of caution with all of its events during the pandemic. Were just really hoping to be able to restore that next year, Millin said. Not just the auction, but the MAM and all of its events and functions. Were all so terribly bereft and desperate for human contact. And thats what art needs. Art needs people viewing it, and viewing together and the joy of that is sorely missed. But what do we do? We proceed, we persevere. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Jahez International Company for Information Systems Technology a leading online food delivery platform in Saudi Arabia, has celebrated the listing of its shares and commencement of trading on the Saudi Exchanges Parallel Market (Nomu). The move follows the successful completion of its initial public offering (IPO). The Company is now trading under the ticker symbol: 9526. Prince Mishal bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Jahez International Company, commented: This achievement is one of the benefits of public-private sector collaboration and a testament of the strength and prosperity of our Saudi economy with the support and directives of our government under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. Being the first homegrown Saudi technology start-up to list on the Saudi Exchanges Parallel Market (Nomu) represents the next step and an incredible milestone in the growth journey of Jahez and the sector in general. In the offering process, Jahez has utilized the principles of Vision 2030 led by HRH the Crown Prince, and we look forward to contributing to the prosperity of the promising technology sector in the Kingdom and playing our part in strengthening the position of the Saudi Capital Market, he added. Ghassab Al Mandeel, Chief Executive Officer at Jahez International Company, commented: We are proud to announce that with this latest milestone in our journey, we are officially the first homegrown Saudi early stage company to list on the Saudi Exchange. We thank our investors for their strong interest and support, a testament to our financial and operational strength and future growth potential. With this achievement, we are poised to accelerate our strategy of focusing on four verticals, best practice corporate governance standards, and leverage supportive market dynamics in order to provide the best customer experience while delivering value for our esteemed shareholders. The Offering consisted of 1,888,523 Shares representing 18.0% of the Groups Share Capital post the offering, in addition to allocating 204,590 over-allotment shares to institutional qualified investors to implement the price stabilization mechanism. 85.6% of the Offering was allocated to institutional qualified investors and 14.4% allocated to individual qualified investors. The Offering generated high demand from institutional and individual investors alike, as the IPO was 38.8x and 5.9x oversubscribed, generating demand of SR59.8 billion and SR1.4 billion, respectively. The final offer price for the offering had been set at SR850 per share, implying a market capitalization of SR8.9 billion ($ 2.4 billion) at listing. With respect to the Offering, the Group appointed HSBC Saudi Arabia as the Financial Advisor, Lead Bookrunner, Lead Manager, and Stabilizing Manager. TradeArabia News Service THURSDAY, Jan. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A simple blood test may help spot pregnant women who are at risk for developing preeclampsia -- dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy -- before it becomes a threat to both mother and child. Marked by a sudden spike in blood pressure, protein in urine or other problems during pregnancy, preeclampsia occurs in about 1 in 25 pregnancies in the United States, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates appear to be on the rise. Preeclampsia can up the risk for serious health problems in moms and babies, including preterm birth, but many women have no clear risk factors for the condition, making it hard to get ahead of the complication. But when researchers used machine learning to analyze genetic material known as cell-free RNA (cfRNA) in the blood of mothers, babies and placentas, they identified 75% of women who would go on to develop preeclampsia and preterm birth about three months before any symptoms appeared. The test is under development by Mirvie, a biotechnology company in San Francisco that funded the new research. A company spokesperson said to expect an update on the availability of the new test later this year. Researchers first deciphered the pattern of gene expression in normal pregnancy. "Once we know the pattern of normal genes throughout pregnancy, it becomes possible to determine which patients deviate from normal," explained lead study author Dr. Thomas McElrath. He is an attending physician in maternal-fetal medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston and a professor of obstetrics at Harvard Medical School. "There are seven genes that when activated, indicate an increased risk of developing preeclampsia," McElrath said. The study included RNA in more than 2,500 blood samples from 1,840 women in the United States, Europe and Africa. Factors such as age, race and maternal body mass did not affect how well the test worked, McElrath said. "This suggests that we are getting down to the underlying biology of what is going on in preeclampsia," he noted. The greatest risk for developing preeclampsia is having a history of the complication in a previous pregnancy, but this doesn't help first-time moms, McElrath said. Knowing that you are at risk for preeclampsia before symptoms appear gives doctors a chance to intervene and potentially prevent or forestall its development, he said. This may include a regimen of low-dose daily aspirin, increased monitoring throughout pregnancy, and taking your blood pressure at home. "If the disease becomes more probable, then we can treat you with steroids so the baby is protected against prematurity," McElrath added. Preeclampsia is just the test case, he noted. This new technology could ultimately help identify other pregnancy-related complications earlier, such as gestational diabetes and preterm birth, McElrath said. The new findings were published Jan. 5 in the journal Nature. There is still so much doctors don't know about preeclampsia and why it occurs, said Dr. Yalda Afshar, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "We don't understand the disease, and it has very large clinical consequences for pregnancy health and lifetime health of the mom and the baby," said Afshar, who was not involved in the new research. "The new test profiles what a normal pregnancy does and may help tell us when someone is going to develop preeclampsia so we can triage their care, but we have a lot more work to do," she added. More information The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has more on the warning signs of preeclampsia. SOURCES: Thomas McElrath, MD, PhD, attending, maternal-fetal medicine, Brigham and Womens Hospital, professor, obstetrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Yalda Afshar, MD, PhD, assistant professor, obstetrics and gynecology, UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles; Nature, Jan. 5, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, Jan. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) Dogs don't speak a human language, but they do know when you switch from one tongue to another, an intriguing new study finds. We know that people, even preverbal human infants, notice the difference," said study co-author Laura Cuaya of Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary. But, she wondered after taking her dog Kun-Kun from Mexico to Hungary for her postdoctoral studies, do dogs? Do they even bother? After all, she said, folks don't draw their dog's attention to how a specific language sounds. Would Kun-Kun recognize that people in Budapest spoke Hungarian, not Spanish? She and her colleagues decided to use brain imaging to check it out. And the images that resulted were ground-breaking. They revealed that dogs' brains show different patterns of activity for an unfamiliar language than for a familiar one the first demonstration, researchers said, that a non-human brain can differentiate between two languages. It all took some creative animal training. First, researchers taught Kun-Kun and 17 other dogs to lay motionless in a brain scanner. Then they played excerpts of the book The Little Prince in both Spanish and Hungarian. Up to that point, all of the dogs had heard their owners speak only one of the two languages. This was a chance to see if their brains reacted differently to a language they were very familiar with and one that was unfamiliar. Researchers also played scrambled versions of the stories, to test whether the dogs could tell the difference between speech and non-speech. No matter what language the dogs heard, a brain area known as the primary auditory cortex showed distinct activity patterns. There was, however, no evidence that the dogs' brains had a preference for speech over jibberish. "Dog brains, like human brains, can distinguish between speech and non-speech," said study co-author Raul Hernandez-Perez, who is also a postdoctoral fellow at the university. "But the mechanism underlying this speech detection ability may be different from speech sensitivity in humans: whereas human brains are specially tuned to speech, dog brains may simply detect the naturalness of the sound." The dog brains did distinguish between Spanish and Hungarian, as shown by activity in a brain region called the secondary auditory cortex. Age also mattered, the scans showed. The older the dog, the better its brain distinguished between the familiar and the unfamiliar language. Each language is characterized by a variety of auditory regularities. Our findings suggest that during their lives with humans, dogs pick up on the auditory regularities of the language they are exposed to, Hernandez-Perez said in a university news release. Senior srtudy author Attila Andics, another research fellow at the university, said the study revealed that the capacity to learn about the regularities of a language is not uniquely human. Still, researchers don't know whether this ability applies only to dogs or includes other non-human species, he said. "Indeed, it is possible that the brain changes from the tens of [thousands of] years that dogs have been living with humans have made them better language listeners, but this is not necessarily the case," Andics said. "Future studies will have to find this out. The findings were published Jan. 6 in the journal NeuroImage. More information The American Kennel Club has more on dog language. SOURCE: Eotvos Lorand University, news release, Jan. 6, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, Jan. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Far fewer kids might develop asthma if there were less traffic pollution, suggests a new study that researched the issue worldwide. "Our study found that nitrogen dioxide puts children at risk of developing asthma and the problem is especially acute in urban areas," said study author Susan Anenberg, a professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "The findings suggest that clean air must be a critical part of strategies aimed at keeping children healthy," she said in a university news release. Two million new worldwide cases of childhood asthma a year may be caused by nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, according to the study. The researchers studied ground concentrations of NO2, a pollutant emitted by motor vehicles, power plants and industrial sites, in 13,000 cities. They also tracked new cases of childhood asthma between 2000 and 2019. Asthma is a chronic illness that causes inflammation of the lungs airways. The team attributed 1.85 million new pediatric cases of asthma worldwide to NO2 in 2019. About two-thirds were in urban areas. Tougher clean air regulations in higher-income countries like the United States may be helping, the research suggested. The percentage of pediatric asthma cases linked to urban NO2 fell from 20% in 2000 to 16% in 2019. While NO2 levels have improved in the United States and Europe, this pollution has increased in South Asia, sub-Saharan African and the Middle East. Pediatric asthma cases linked to NO2 pollution represent a large public health burden for South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study. The researchers said more needs to be done to limit harmful emissions from vehicles and other sources of NO2. "Reducing fossil fuel-powered transportation can help children and adults breathe easier and may pay big health dividends, such as fewer cases of pediatric asthma and excess deaths," Anenberg said. "At the same time, it would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a healthier climate." The findings were published Jan. 5 in The Lancet Planetary Health. More information The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more on nitrogen dioxide (NO2). SOURCE: The Lancet Planetary Health, news release, Jan. 5, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. The Montana Nurses Association is alleging the hospital failed to fully pay 257 of its nurses for multiple pay periods in December, with some missing up to $4,500 in wages. Seventy-two percent of CIOs and CTOs in the GCC region agree digital transformation investments are key to their success and 52% expect to see return-on-investment (ROI) in one to two years, underlining the urgency for change, a report said. However, a staggering 76% of respondents admit that up to 50% of their licensed enterprise software applications go unused, suggesting there is significant room to optimize existing business applications, according to The 2022 IT Buyer Sentiment Survey released by Rimini Street, a global provider of enterprise software products and services. The findings in the GCC are very similar to a global study we did in early 2020 with CFOs, who also say digital transformation investments are critical to their success, said Emmanuelle Hose, group vice president and theatre general manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Rimini Street. The major question facing GCC CIOs and CTOs is, What is the best route to achieve modernization?, because the study suggests there are doubts about the cloud and its ability to offer a smooth transition. Our report indicates there are opportunities to optimize existing applications and innovate at the edge, which we can help clients with by offering unified support so that they can focus on change. Impatience to Innovate Across the region 15% of respondents say digital transformation is their number one priority compared to other corporate priorities, but there is some variance across the region: Oman 23% Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) 22% Bahrain 18% UAE 13% Qatar 8% Kuwait 4% This raises questions over the value of highly complex, disruptive migrations of core enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications to their Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) equivalent; as such projects often take many years to complete. Particularly, for large corporations in the GCC with multiple ERP systems on different versions, such wholesale change may impact productivity and revenue generation at a crucial time when growth is essential to long-term business sustainability. Increasingly, Rimini Street is seeing clients worldwide address the need for change while minimizing disruption by innovating at the edge rather than attempting a rip and replace of existing in-house applications. CIOs and CTOs in the region want innovation with security and privacy protection as the number one priority for IT initiatives, followed by next-generation disruptive technology initiatives, risk management and compliance, and revenue-generating technology initiatives. The challenge is choosing a strategy that allows them to move with agility and at pace, targeting innovation where it will be most effective. For example, the survey highlighted managers concerns over losing their existing application customizations in any IT upgrade. Rimini Street is finding its clients can address this issue by adopting its third-party support, as having the reassurance of Primary Support Engineers (PSE) with an average of 20 years of specialized experience means they can be confident that existing applications will be fully supported while they focus on transformation. Rimini Street enjoys a customer satisfaction rating higher than 4.9 out of 5.0 for case surveys, and guarantees 24/7/365 support with a maximum of 10-minute response times for critical (Priority 1) issues and an average response time of less than two minutes. Rimini Streets globally leading expertise in customized support for modified code, with direct knowledge of unique environments and modifications, helps clients reallocate their enterprise application support resources from supporting customizations to innovate at the edge. We appreciate that most companies want and need to customize their ERP system for performance and differentiation, but often lack the right software vendor support, which does not typically include customization support in standard maintenance programs. This forces the need to hire expensive, external consultants or dedicate internal resources to support business-critical, customized code, said Taher Haj-Yousef, regional manager Middle East, Rimini Street. By switching to third party support, clients alleviate these challenges and avoid highly disruptive change. It also demonstrates that there is a clear alternative path to modernization by optimizing existing applications and innovating at the edge. The way forward The survey further suggests CIOs and CTOs are considering a variety of approaches to modernizing their enterprise application environments. 30% plan to migrate to the cloud with a hybrid cloud model, while 28% plan to lift and shift to a public cloud infrastructure-as-a-service such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or AWS. 26% are planning to migrate to a private cloud, but only 16% are considering a rip and replace migration, which would have them switch from their existing in-house applications to the SaaS equivalent of their current applications. More than half (54%) are considering a move to a hosted cloud environment for their internally run enterprise applications but intend to move away from their existing vendor. This shows there is a variety of ways to modernize enterprise IT environments, often without requiring the disruption of replacing stable existing business applications. Further, it underlines the point that customers do not feel obliged to stay on the migration path dictated by the software vendors and are looking for alternative approaches. By switching to third party support, clients further enhance their independence to make decisions about transformation against a timeline that suits their business needs. This enables clients to adopt a blended ERP architecture as part of a broader hybrid IT strategy where core systems of record/ERP platforms are not replaced, giving clients the flexibility to adopt best-in-class cloud-based systems of engagement to drive digital transformation. Vendor frustrations What is clear is that CIOs and CTOs across the GCC are not entirely satisfied with the support vendors offer. 27% say one of their top challenges with their enterprise application vendor is no support for customizations, and 26% complain of no access to an experienced engineer. The top three challenges with software vendor support are: Explaining the same issues multiple times (41%) High costs (39%) Lack of responsiveness and ownership (39%) TradeArabia News Service Missoula police arrested a man in the early morning hours of Thursday on suspicion of sexually assaulting, strangling and threatening to kill a woman. Shane Allen Hobbs, 50, is charged with four felonies: tampering with a witness, assault with a weapon, intimidation and aggravated assault. He is also charged with two misdemeanor counts, sexual assault and unlawful restraint. On Dec. 20, officers responded to a call from the survivor reporting sexual and physical assault. The woman said she had been called to Hobbs house for a cleaning job. After she finished, Hobbs started talking about having sex with her, charging documents filed into Missoula County on Monday said. She clearly said no to his advances and asked for payment for her work, which is when Hobbs became violent, documents said. He slammed her head into a wall and strangled her, causing her to temporarily lose consciousness. He also tried to undress her, and threw his body on top of hers on a couch. When she regained consciousness, the woman thought Hobbs was going to rape and/or kill her. She was able to briefly escape Hobbs and call 911, which is when he retrieved a small handgun. He pointed it in the womans general direction, telling her if she said anything he would kill her. The survivor still got hold of dispatch. Hobbs tucked the gun in his pants and left the house. Photos the woman took after the assault showed significant injuries and bruising, documents said. She reported she had cleaned Hobbs house on multiple occasions previously and had noticed the same handgun Hobbs used during the attack. Following an investigation, police obtained both arrest and search warrants for Hobbs earlier this week. They were served on Wednesday evening and into the early hours of Thursday morning. Threat assessment merited a response from the Missoula Police Department's tactical team, including a SWAT team, according to a news release. They responded to Hobbs' residence at 329 East Front Street. After establishing surveillance, law enforcement moved on Hobbs' house around 1:30 a.m. He was taken into custody without incident and no injuries or property damage were reported as a result of the arrest. Hobbs was booked into the Missoula County jail and is being held on a $150,000 bond. He has not made a court appearance yet. There are many resources available in Missoula for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. The Missoula YWCA provides 24-hour crisis counseling, emergency shelter, transitional housing, mental health counseling, legal support and support groups for victims of crime. Their phone number is 406-542-1944. The Missoula City-County Crime Victim Advocate Program provides legal advocacy for victims of crimes. Advocates can help you obtain a restraining order, report a crime to police or navigate options available to you through the justice system. They can be reached at 406-258-3830. UM's Student Advocacy Resource Center also provides support for survivors of violence and harassment. They offer free and confidential counseling, advocacy and a 24-hour support line at 406-243-6559. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 6 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Masking up could keep a COVID surge down as Missoula County health officials track an increase in omicron-variant virus cases in the region. When you go around town, you can see that the percentage of people choosing to wear masks is just too low to stop a surge from happening, City-County Health Officer DShane Barnett said on Thursday. We cant mandate masks. We need more people to choose do to the right thing. The omicron variant appears to be three times more contagious than the delta variant of coronavirus, according to recent Centers for Disease Control analyses. In Missoula, the daily rate of new cases went from 20 on Sunday to 148 on Thursday, according to the Missoula County COVID-19 dashboard. That puts the county on the tipping point for community spread of the disease, with an average of 69 new cases daily per 100,000 people over the past seven days. As of Thursday, 13 Missoula County residents and 11 non-county residents were hospitalized with COVID-19. The county has 763 active COVID cases. Ravalli County has reported 83 new cases and 127 active cases. Flathead County has reported 74 new cases and 535 active cases. Statewide, Montana officials reported 1,194 new cases as of Thursday, and 201,720 total cases. Three people have died of COVID in Gallatin County and one in Prairie County since December, bringing the state's total death toll to 2,916. The new guidance also advises that cloth masks provide the least amount of protection, compared with surgical masks, N95 or KN95 masks. While health care providers were struggling to get N95 masks at the start of the pandemic, that hasnt been the case for a long while, Barnett said. We want folks to make sure they are using high-quality masks or wearing multiple layers of masks if they cannot get N95s or KN95s. St. Patrick Hospital is reporting that a significant number of their caregivers are out right now due to COVID, Barnett said. "That just highlights the importance of doing anything we can to slow the spread of the virus," he said. "The last thing we want is for there not to be enough caregivers in the hospital to provide us with the care that we need. Protecting our community includes protecting those health care workers." National Guard members were deployed in town to support the health department and hospitals during the delta spike last year, but they have been called to other areas in recent weeks. Barnett said the health department and hospitals are in communication about capacity and need for aid and have the ability to put a request in for help from the National Guard as needed. "We understand that a lot of people, myself included, in this community, we feel like we are done with COVID. That does not mean that COVID is done with us," Barnett said. "The best thing we can do right now is practice all of those healthy and responsible behaviors that can contribute to slowing the spread of this virus." Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Montana Nurses Association is alleging Missoula's Community Medical Center failed to fully pay 257 of its nurses in December. The association sent a letter to Community Medical Center CEO Bob Gomes on Tuesday outlining where paychecks have fallen short, saying nurses have been severely underpaid. Dec. 3 was the last time nurses were properly paid, the letter says. Through a survey of its members, MNA learned some nurses have been underpaid by up to $4,500. The average underpayment is averaging $1,000 per nurse, but growing. The letter attributes the lapse in pay to a ransomware attack on CMCs timekeeping software vendor, the Kronos Enterprise System. Nurses have been required to keep track of their hours manually, which they have done diligently, but CMC still has not done payroll correctly. The situation is not only a breach of employees trust, it is also illegal, the letter says. Hourly employees are bearing the burden of the pay crisis; salaried employees have not been affected, Montana Nurses Association CEO Vicky Byrd explained. CMC has been duplicating the paychecks hourly staff received on Dec. 3, essentially not taking into account any overtime, holiday, differential or hazard pay accrued. Other hospitals in the country, including some in Montana, have also experienced ramifications of the attack, but CMC appears to be the only hospital in the state that has not developed a plan to combat the payroll issues, the letter says. Tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of employee underpayments are accruing as CMC sits idle wages that Montana nurses working for CMC earned, but are being unlawfully deprived of, the letter reads. Byrd has been working as a nurse for about 33 years. In that time, shes seen issues hospitals have experienced with Kronos, but they were hurdles able to be resolved manually, she said. Its absurd. (CMC) is a big, for-profit corporation, Byrd said. They need to get people on the ground and get this fixed. While the MNA represents individuals who work as nurses, Byrd said this breakdown is affecting other hourly CMC staff, like janitorial workers and surgical technicians. In a statement, CMC said its working as diligently as possible to address the challenges were experiencing because of this situation. The hospital confirmed manual data entry was implemented to ensure all Community Medical Center employees are paid for their regular hours worked as they serve our patients and community. Some employees have been overpaid and some underpaid as a result from delayed premiums and differentials, the statement said. Additionally, we know some employees have worked additional hours beyond their regular schedule, and were working with employees individually to manually address all these issues as quickly as possible. Ensuring our employees are paid accurately and timely remains our top priority. To catch employees up in the interim, we have dedicated additional resources internally to address the backlog of issues were experiencing because of this nationwide problem, the statement said. When Kronos files are made available, the hospital will perform a complete reconciliation dating back to the beginning of the cyberattack to make sure everyone is paid correctly, CMC Marketing and Community Relations Director Megan Condra said. A CMC nurse who works in the hospitals emergency room told the Missoulian she lost about $2,600 in December. She had amassed about 72 hours of critical, overtime and holiday pay she was shorted on. She was missing wages for the Dec. 17 and Dec. 31 pay periods. The nurse asked to remain anonymous out of fear of workplace retaliation. (CMC) has been so dismissive of it, like theyre doing us a favor for just paying us our wages, she said. The timing of the crisis, hitting around the holidays, severely impacted her and her family, she said. She loves what she does, and the doctors and nurses she works with, but her bank account is overdrawn and some bills unpaid. The nurses association letter demands CMC remedy the crisis by Friday or face possible legal action under Montana law, which prohibits employers failing to pay workers on time. On Tuesday, Byrd participated in a call with CMC personnel to address the situation CMC described the situation as a dumpster fire, according to the MNA letter. She was hoping for an action plan to be developed and implemented to get staff paid as quickly as possible, but nothing came to fruition. CMC did not provide a specific date for when they expect the crisis to be resolved. MNAs letter mentions CMC plans to wait for Kronos to come back online, which the software company estimates will be Jan. 28. Gomes was not present on the call. Condra attributes this to his lack of availability and short notice, but said one of CMC's executives was in attendance. The Montana Nurses Association is being represented by McConnell Law Offices, PLLC and Raph Graybill of Graybill Law Firm, PC. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 13 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A quick guide to some arts and cultural events happening in Missoula during the week ahead. Musical fundraiser at Monks (Friday, Jan. 7) Artists and musicians are coming together at Monks to raise money for music gear and instruction at a local school. Bry Froehlich of the group New Old Future started the effort in honor of her sister, who was killed in a car crash in September. The money raised goes to help start the Jasmine Venetia Stringed Instrument Library at Potomac School. Froehlichs goal is to purchase nine guitars and necessary gear and to volunteer to teach the students. Buy a $10 raffle ticket, you can have a chance to win a Peavey Predator Plus electric guitar, a Danelectro distortion pedal, a Blaque Owl Tattoo gift certificate and other arts and goodie bags. The early half from 5-8 p.m. is a free family friendly event with music by Erin Esse and Maria Zepeda. From 8 p.m.-1:30 p.m., it switches to a 21 and up event with an $8 cover. The musical lineup includes the Pettifoggers and New Old Future. In addition, there are artists and vendors including Celestial Tonez, Art by Nikci, Voodoo Mountain Glass, Bizzy Arts, Galactica Minerals, Enigmatic Factory, W. Monster Art, Candice Herndon, Aiden Potter, A Peculiar Clothing Company and Jesse Heirendt. Drink and Draw and Dance (Wednesday, Jan. 12) The Drink and Draw sessions at Western Cider get a live and kinetic variation when they team up with the University of Montana Dance Program. The Zootown Arts Community Center is providing the art materials, and the dancers will serve as models (still and in motion) for people to draw. All ages and skill levels are welcome. The joint effort is a fundraiser for the Dance Program. The proceeds go to help them attend the American College Dance Associations conference early this year. You can also buy raffle tickets to win a piece by the late Russell Chatham. It takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Its free. People on Fire' at the ZACC (Thursday, Jan. 13) As youd guess from the shows title, this lineup of three acts likely wont skimp on the emotional or musical intensity. It features Linus, which the Missoulian described as dream-pop meets brooding folk-rock. Youll also hear "No," led by ZACC music instructor and dancer Noelle Huser, and a group called "but Im a cheerleader," which according to the ZACC, comprises "three nice queers living in Missoula, MT and all of their repressed feelings. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30. Cover is $10. Masks are required when youre not sipping a beverage. Banff Mountain Film Festival (Thursday, Jan. 13) Get some inspiration for outdoors adventure when the annual mountain films tour brings a lineup of films from around the world to the Wilma. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7. Tickets are $23 in advance or $25 the day of the show. All ages. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen says that now isnt the time to make the states Public Service Commission districts right with the U.S. Constitution. Voters are suing Jacobsen, the states top election official, because the PSC districts are lopsided in population, which violates the one-person, one-vote provision of the 14th Amendment. They want the districts redrawn before the 2022 election when two of the most disproportionate districts will be on the ballot. If the state wont redraw the districts, the plaintiffs ask that a panel of three judges do the job. It wouldnt be the first time the federal courts have redrawn Montana districts after state lawmakers failed to do so. Its the Legislature thats tasked with balancing the populations of the districts following the Census. But after the 2010 Census, Montana lawmakers chose not to. The districts havent been redrawn since 2003 and now differ in population by as much as 50,000 people. Jacobsen responded to the lawsuit this week, telling U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy that state legislators should be given the chance to fix the districts in the next legislative session, which takes place in 2023. The Legislature only meets in odd numbered years. Plaintiffs claims rely on the assumption that the Montana Legislature, when given opportunity, will fail to reapportion based on the 2020 census, Jacobsen said in her response. The secretary of state argues theres no reason to assume the Legislature wont correct the districts, and, that the very first time they could use the 2020 Census data is next year. The Census data was released in August 2021 after the Legislature ended. The Public Service Commission sets the electricity rates for more than 400,000 utility customers in Montana. In cases where customers are captive, meaning they must rely on one business for services like electricity, garbage or water, the commission is supposed to balance customers' right to a reasonable price and reliable service with a utility's right to a rate of return. The secretary of the states arguments focus on Montanas right to draw its own districts, or at least be given the opportunity to before the court intervenes. The plaintiffs, former Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown, of Flathead County, and Hailey Sinoff and Donald Seifert of Gallatin County, focus their arguments on the rights of voters to be fairly represented. By not redrawing the PSC districts after 2010 when the Census showed the districts violated the 14th Amendment, legislators assured fairness wouldnt be the rule. A Friday hearing is scheduled to decide whether Molloy should prevent Jacobsen from going forward with the PSC elections in 2022 until the districts are corrected. The Montana Legislature appears poised to act after Molloy rules. The Montana Legislative Council plans to review the lawsuit Jan. 13 and potentially act. Molloy has already indicated the voters are likely to succeed. The judge issued a restraining order on Jacobsen at Decembers end, stopping the secretary of state from acting on the PSC election until the Jan. 7 hearing. In doing so, Molloy noted the voters likelihood at succeeding, but stopped short of saying they would prevail. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that political districts balance under the one-person, one-vote rule that allows a deviation of no more than 10% from the ideal population. If each of the states five PSC districts contained 216,845 people, they would balance. Only one of Montanas five PSC districts, District 2 anchored by Billings, comes close to the target population. Two of the districts up for election in 2022 happen to be extremely out of whack. District 5, which includes Kalispell and Helena, has 15,521 more voters than the ideal. District 1 has 30,229 fewer voters than the ideal. The latter district, anchored by Great Falls, runs from the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park to the North Dakota border. During the last three years, several scandals have played out at the PSC, including false claims to law enforcement, poor use of public funds and impersonating a state legislator. Those actions have attracted public attention to a commission that doesnt normally face public scrutiny. The job pays $112,000 a year and comes with no requirement of previous experience. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Plane lands on I-40 Ronnie Jefferies of Morganton made a successful emergency landing of his Cessna 150 airplane on Interstate 40 in the eastern part of Burke County Friday while attempting a 100-mile cross-country flight to qualify for his pilots license. I hit some severe clear air turbulence, Jefferies said. It was a light plane, and Im sort of a young pilot, so I felt the best thing to do was to get it on the ground. There were some cars in front of me and some behind, but there was a pretty good-sized empty spot in the middle, and thats what I shot for. After safely landing, he exited the plane and pulled it off the highway near the rest area just west of Hildebran. Tom McGlothlin, manager of the Morganton-Lenoir Airport, arrived on scene with help from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to fly the plane back to the airport. Jefferies said he will try his flight again this week, but Ill study the winds aloft forecast before I go back up. Church holds note-burning ceremony First Baptist Church of Morganton held a note-burning ceremony during worship Sunday to celebrate paying off debt incurred during the construction of the new church building on West Union Street. The Rev. Jack R. Bagwell, a representative of the Southern Baptist Convention from Nashville, Tennessee, served as guest speaker for the service. He said the debt payment symbolizes the accomplishment of a magnificent dream and goal and provides new opportunities of service. In October 1970, a couple in the church offered to pay the last $50,000 of the debt, which stood at $153,000, if the rest of the congregation donated enough money to pay off the rest of the balance. The challenge was accepted and met. Deacon Robert O. Huffman participated in the note-burning. It was noted that he was one of the church members who envisioned a new church building on West Union Street, and it was reported that he told the Rev. R. Knolan Benfield, the churchs pastor, I am so proud of the new church that I know I am sinning. The ashes from the note were preserved in a vial and placed in the church archives. The congregation was urged to move from a financial challenge to a challenge for growth in concerns for people. City council considers leash law The Morganton city council promised a vote on a new dog control ordinance at its meeting last night. Mrs. John I. Barron and others interested in the city having a stricter dog control ordinance attended the meeting to reiterate the dog problem in the city and urge action by the council as soon as possible. The group had previously submitted a petition with 808 signatures of people in favor of the legislation. I think our petition is quite conclusive that the dog problem is not a seasonal thing and not just in my neighborhood, Barron said. I think the city should have an ordinance to require owners to keep their dogs on their property. Barking dogs also should be considered. Council members studied a draft of the proposed ordinance, which would be a 24-hour leash law. It would include the appointment of a city dog warden and a provision for the impoundment of stray dogs and cats. The members noted that they had differences of opinion on certain aspects of the ordinance that would have to be resolved before they could put it to a vote. City manager Cyrus Brooks said he is negotiating the creation of a joint dog pound facility with the county. He recommended that local law enforcement officers be authorized to serve notice to dog owners who violate the ordinance without being compelled to physically remove the dogs for impoundment. Among us Morgantonians: J. Gordon Queen The Mimosa Restaurant has been open for a short while on East Meeting Street. It is in the former Dudes Drive In. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Betty Crump, restaurant manager, said that in addition to the three regular meals, sandwiches of all kinds are served. A real nice sign has been erected at the restaurant. We are glad to welcome this popular eating place. Come to think of it, that Spainhour Hill section is growing by leaps and bounds. Know where it is? It is a bit east off North Green Street, near the Catawba River. We have said it before and will say it again, that Morganton could use more industry. Any town or city that has plenty of industry is never at a standstill. It is always on the go, growing, that is. Something else we need is more residences. If Morganton grows whether we like it or not, We must have homes for newcomers. Lets get hep! This article is sponsored by the History Museum of Burke County, where the archives of The News Herald are stored. RALEIGH The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging eligible North Carolinians to see if they are eligible for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program or the Crisis Intervention Program if they need assistance with heating bills. Households can apply online through the ePASS portal at epass.nc.gov or by submitting a paper application through mail, fax or dropping it off at their local Department of Social Services, without having to go into the agency to apply. Individuals may also contact their local DSS by phone to apply. Burke County Department of Social Services can be contacted at 828-764-9600 and is at 700 E. Parker Road, Morganton. We know many of our neighbors are still dealing with economic hardships due to the impacts of COVID-19, but assistance for heating bills is available to help keep people and families safe and warm as the weather gets colder, Carla West, NCDHHS senior director for economic security, said. The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program is a seasonal program that provides for a one-time vendor payment to help eligible households pay their heating bills. LIEAP applications for this winter have been ongoing since Dec. 1 for certain, eligible populations. Applications for all other eligible households began Jan. 3 and will be accepted until March 31 or until funds are exhausted. To be eligible for the LIEAP program, a household must: Have at least one U.S. citizen or noncitizen who meets the eligibility criteria. Have income equal to or less than 130% of the federal poverty limit. Have resources, such as saving and checking accounts and cash on hand, at or below $2,250 (resources will not be counted for 2021-22 LIEAP season). Be responsible for their heating cost. The Crisis Intervention Program is a year-round program that assists individuals and families who are experiencing a heating or cooling related crisis. A household is considered in crisis if it is currently experiencing or is in danger of experiencing a life-threatening or health-related emergency and assistance is not available from another source. CIP applications will be accepted now until June 30 or until funds are exhausted. To be eligible for CIP, a household must: Have at least one U.S. citizen or noncitizen who meets the eligibility criteria. Have income equal to or less than 150% of the federal poverty limit. Have an energy related crisis. Have a utility statement that shows how much is owed to alleviate the crisis. For information on these energy programs and specific eligibility, visit the LIEAP and CIP websites at bit.ly/3HIc4z4 and bit.ly/3n4D6sO. The Department of Health and Human Services strongly encourages families to take advantage of the new ways to apply for energy programs to help maintain social distancing and help slow the spread of COVID-19. Saudi Arabias stc pay has launched the Qattah service, an integrated service which will allow customers to easily share and track expenses with multiple people, removing the stress from splitting bills. Through the application users will be able to equally divide the amount to be collected by specifying a percentage for each person, or by allocating the amount paid by each person separately. This new, convenient, digital way of sharing expenses is in line with the goals of Vision 2030which aims to increase digital financial transactions in the Kingdom to 70 percent by 2030. The new in-app feature can be found in the list of main services. It allows users to create groups with relatives or friends with the purpose of buying a joint gift or splitting a bill. The Qattah amounts will be automatically processed via the application, providing seamless and contactless transactions in line with the Kingdoms aim of creating a cashless society. stc pay seeks to build a distinguished mobile digital banking experience for its customers who number more than 7.4 million, by focusing on a customer-centric approach. It aims to transform all financial services into contactless digital services, enabling its customers to complete their financial operations in a convenient, seamless manner. Innovation in digital technologies is at the heart of stc pay, ensuring customers have the smartest and most efficient digital banking services at their fingertips. TradeArabia News Service Its been a long time coming, but Wednesday marked the first time in 15 years that another airline, specifically United Airlines, began servicing Buttes Bert Mooney Airport. Operated by SkyWest Airlines, the United Express direct flight from the Mile High City to the Mining City arrived at 2:28 p.m., a little later than its expected estimated time of 2:02 p.m. At 3:06 p.m., the plane, carrying new travelers, was back in the air, destination Denver. Most days, the plane will be arriving right around 2 p.m. each afternoon and leaving once again 30 minutes later. Bert Mooney Manager Pam Chamberlin has been patiently awaiting this day and is excited its finally here. The Butte airport is thrilled to announce service to Denver on United Express, said Chamberlin. Having another destination is an excellent opportunity for our passengers. The new daily United Express flight to Colorados capital will be in addition to the daily Delta flight from Butte to Salt Lake City, also operated by SkyWest. We are extremely appreciative of SkyWest providing this service to our community, Chamberlin said. SkyWest Airlines is proud to continue providing quality BTM service. Get used to seeing the mid-afternoon passenger plane, which holds 50 passengers, land in Butte. From now on, the direct two-hour flight will be a daily occurrence. A number of people have already booked passage on this particular flight and, according to Chamberlin, its been so far, so good. She expects that trend to continue and to grow during the spring and summer months. For more than 30 years, Delta already had daily non-stop flights from Butte to Salt Lake City through SkyWest branded the Delta Connection. As of Wednesday, rather than two flights a day, there will be just one headed to Utahs capital. The official go-ahead for Denver came via an announcement from the U.S. Department of Transportation on July 22, 2021. The United Airlines direct-to-Denver flight was named United Express. The direct flight from Butte to Denver has been long awaited, said Chamberlin. It will also be advantageous to those traveling further east. Love 8 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Butte man has been sentenced to 20 years in the Montana State Prison for stabbing a man five times, including once in the throat, outside the Dublin Bar on Thanksgiving Day in 2019. Prosecutors initially charged 51-year-old Louis Ted Caye with attempted deliberate homicide, which carries a possible life term, but amended it to aggravated assault in a plea deal. Caye pleaded guilty to that charge and on Dec. 16, District Judge Kurt Krueger sentenced him to 20 years in prison and another 10 years for using a deadly weapon during the attack, but suspended 10 of those years. In his sentencing order, Krueger said the 20-year term was justified given the severity of the crime, Cayes criminal history and his high risk to reoffend. The Court determined that such sentence was necessary to protect the victim and the public, he wrote, adding that it also strikes the balance between punishment and rehabilitation. The victim was 28 when the attack occurred, lived in Arizona and was in Butte visiting during the Thanksgiving holiday. According to the victim and other witnesses, Caye was walking south down Montana Street around 2:10 a.m. on Thanksgiving, shortly after the Dublin bar closed, and began yelling at a group of people standing outside. The victim said he was trying to defuse the commotion caused by Caye by saying, Come on, lets call it a night and head home, when Caye started swinging at him. Caye ran after the attack but another man followed him and police quickly located him in an alley on Silver Street. The victim told police he didnt know Caye and didnt realize he had been stabbed until he could hear air coming from his throat and couldnt breathe, prosecutors said in charging documents. He was stabbed once in the face, once in the throat and three times in the back. He was taken to St. James Healthcare and underwent surgery for his wounds, including the cut to his throat that doctors said was life-threatening. That required a tracheotomy but he recovered. While his case was pending, Caye asked the Montana Supreme Court to have his case dismissed, saying his attorneys were depriving him of his liberty and he wanted his arguments investigated more thoroughly. He also said a speedy trial waiver he agreed to was coerced. The justices rejected the request. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. There are moments from James Butch Larcombes childhood that planted the seed for a book that would blossom decades later. He remembers as a child traveling from Phillips County to visit his grandparents in the Flathead and riding through a portion of Montana where something dramatic had happened to the landscape. He asked his mother what had happened. She told him there had been a flood. And then there was the picture that hung in his dads office at the Phillips County News in Malta. It was of a man at a podium giving a speech. Larcombe asked his father, the newspaper publisher, about the photo, and was told it was Donald Nutter, a governor who had been killed in a plane crash in 1962. Years later, Larcombe used some of those childhood memories as he wrote his book Montana Disasters: True stories of the Treasure State tragedies and triumphs, which is out now, published by Farcountry Press and sells for $18.95 at bookstores throughout Montana, at the Montana Historical Society and online. The book is divided into sections, each with several chapters. Sections include train wrecks, wildfires, explosions and fires, mine disasters, dam failures, floods, avalanches, earthquakes, diseases and airplane crashes. Tragedies include the 1938 Custer Creek train wreck, the wild fires of 1910, the Mann Gulch fire of 1949 that killed 12 smokejumpers and one forest service recreation guide, the Eureka Hotel fire of 1950, train explosions in Belt in 1976 and near Carroll College in Helena in 1989 and the Granite Mountain mine disaster of 1917. It is by no means a book on the worst disasters, which the 65-year-old Larcombe said would be ghoulish. I looked for a strong human component, he said. The reason it motivated me, and this sounds gloomy, is that all of these events are worth remembering, he said, adding that some incidents showed redemptive human behavior where people used that behavior to move ahead with their lives. Larcombe noted some the disasters have common elements. The 1917 Butte disaster and Smith Mine disaster in Red Lodge in 1943 both occurred in wartime, and workers were encouraged to produce material as quickly as they could. And in that process safety concerns were overlooked. The 264-page book features more than two-dozen Montana tragedies in a blend of modern-day research, interviews and previous reporting. I liked it very much, said Ken Robison, a historian, author and board member with the Montana Historical Society. I thought his selection was very good. Its not encyclopedic but it is not intended to be. Robison said the research for the book was excellent and that Larcombe shows his skill from his years as a journalist. He said Larcombe embedded a special touch with each story, especially the ones with actual interviews and remembrances. He emphasized the personal story, and made it a leap above over the disasters themselves, Robison said. Robison witnessed one of the tragedies firsthand that Larcombe wrote about in his book. He, his mother and sister were among the 20,000 people in the grandstand at the Montana State Fair in 1946 when the Douglas A-26 Invaders collided during the air show. It was a sad, memorable day for all three of us, he said. Six people died, 25 were injured and 19 racehorses were killed when one of the crashing aircraft hit the horse barn. Robison said the tragedy was magnified by the fact the 1946 Hudson they were traveling in that day was smacked by a taxi on Central Avenue. The car did not have a back seat and Robison, who was 7 at the time, had a half-eaten hamburger he planned to finish later. Not only was the car damaged in the crash with the taxi, but Robison said his burger had gone AWOL. Larcombe said he believes the Nutter story is undertold, and little is written about it other than newspaper accounts. He said he had to get a copy of the 1962 crash report from the U.S. Air Force, which investigated it at the time. Larcombe said he believed the investigation was pretty cursory and did not say why the wing of plane broke off. He described it as skimpy compared to other reports and fueled his belief it was a misunderstood and underreported story. He said government bureaucracy slowed the pace of the book. He said the most frustrating experience of writing the book was working with the National Park Service on the 1969 incident on Mount Cleveland, where five hikers died. Larcombe said it took nine to 10 months for the government to release the information. He said the government redacted the names in its report of the people who died in the 1962 plane crash that also killed Gov. Nutter, even though the information was public knowledge. Its bureaucratic nonsense, in my opinion, Larcombe said, adding he filed five to six open records requests as he researched the book. Larcombe, who grew up in a newspaper family, has a long history of being a journalist in Montana. He grew up in Malta and attended University of Montana. He taught social studies in high school and junior high in the Bitterroot Valley and returned to the University of Montana to take journalism classes. He worked for the Missoulian in the Flathead Valley, spent 18 years at the Great Falls Tribune and moved to Helena when he took a job as editor with Montana magazine and eventually also became the managing editor of the Helena Independent Record. He also worked as a corporate communications specialist for NorthWestern Energy for six years before retiring. And he said in retirement he has been able to pursue writing projects such as this book. He said he worked on the book 18 months and tried to follow a work regime, in which he would spend about six hours a day, Monday through Friday, on the book. He said he does not have plans for a part II on disasters, but is mulling a book on mysterious episodes in Montana history. Larcombe will speak at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Montana Historical Society, 225 N. Roberts St., Helena. He will talk about Montana Disasters and a previous book, Golden Kilowatts, the history of Montanas hydraulic dams. He will be available to autograph books. If you go What: James Butch Larcombe will discuss his books, Montana Disasters and Golden Kilowatts" When: 4:30 p.m., Jan. 13 Where: Montana Historical Society, 225 N. Roberts St., Helena Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The reaction by local Republicans to last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol largely reflected divisions in the party nationally. While many members of the GOP continue to support former president Donald Trump, others resent his influence, especially related to the insurrection. Dave Millage was chairman of the Scott County Republican Party on Jan. 6, 2021, and instantly was appalled by the violence that erupted at the capitol. "I was working at Republican headquarters that day. I sat there dumbfounded," he said this week. "Another person in the office that day was also watching and said, 'This needed to happen.' "Republicans are supposed to be the party of law and order." By the following day, Millage had called for Trump's impeachment. "I got about 20 notes from people who were glad I stood up and asked, 'When are we going to take the party back?'" he said. "There were more people who were upset. "Those who were upset wanted me to apologize. That's why I resigned." Millage left the county chairmanship, which he already planned to do when his term was set to expire the following month. He doesn't regret it. "To have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump, that's what they're going to need," he said. "He's a cancer to the party. I'm still partisan. I'm still a Republican. "I was appalled by what occurred on 1-6, and I couldn't believe everyone else wasn't appalled." Millage's counterpart in Rock Island County, Republican Party Chairman Drue Mielke, referred to those who attacked the capitol as "terrorists." He said it was "infiltrators, possibly antifa," that were responsible. Short for anti-fascists, antifa is a group of far-left-leaning activists who endorse peaceful political protest as well as confrontation against racism. A year later, Mielke continues to deny the direct involvement of Trump supporters in the siege. While more than 700 people have been identified and charged with breaching the capitol and with other crimes, Mielke maintains he hasn't seen connections between those people and the former president. "I want to know who those 725 people are," he said. "Do we know they're not antifa? I don't know that." In the weeks following the riot, the FBI directly denied the conspiracy theory and said there was "no indication" that antifa was involved. Some of those who have been charged have specifically indicated in court that they took part in the attack at the behest of the former president. It appeared from Mielke's comments the day after the insurrection that he was aware that Trump supporters had likely led the charge. In response to Millage's call for impeachment, Mielke said, "If we want to divide the country and anger the Trump supporters more, then that's what we should do." In addition to denying the role of Trump or his supporters in the January 6 attack, Mielke also continues to bolster the belief some supporters had legitimate election-related grounds to lash out. He said, "there was a lot of voter fraud," especially in DuPage County, Illinois, and in Georgia. But he said he and other Rock Island County Republicans do not endorse the claims by others in the party that the election was stolen. "I'm not working on the 2020 election; we have a new election to win," he said this week. "My solution has always been to work toward reform." However, Mielke continued to assert there was widespread voter fraud in 2020. When asked for specific instances in which fraud has been proven, he said, "I can't go into detail now. "I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid. I'm just saying it's a concern." For Millage, the repeatedly disproved stolen-election theories that continue to circulate in his party are another reason to discredit the former president. "I think Trump has succeeded in brainwashing people into thinking the election was stolen," he said. "Four dead people voted in Georgia. That doesn't change the outcome." The two local Republicans agree on one aspect of the capitol riots: An investigation should have followed, but the January 6 commission as it stands is a partisan body with partisan intent. Two Republicans sit on the commission, including Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who represents Illinois' 16th Congressional district. "It's become a Democrat witch hunt," Millage said. However, Millage said he is relieved that an increasing number of other Republicans now are willing to acknowledge the riot at the capitol complex took place, which has been widely denied. "The problem is, people are still trying to sweep it under the rug," he said. "(The attack) has dimmed in the memory. We haven't learned anything, even though Trump's been a crook all his life." Mielke said some of the rioters may have been Trump supporters, but that doesn't make them Republicans. "Some are viewed as radicalized," he said. "Those people were acting out of anger. Our party doesn't act out of anger." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Pottawattamie County has taken over ownership of Mt. Crescent Ski Area north of Council Bluffs. The county said it was able to receive ownership with the help of the Iowa West Foundation and Mt. Crescent owners Korby and Samantha Fleischer. The deal was finalized on Dec. 30, 2021. The county purchased the business for about $3.5 million, paying for it with an Iowa West grant of around $1.4 million and American Rescue Plan Act funds, according to Pottawattamie County Supervisor Justin Schultz. We are beyond pleased to partner with the county and the Fleischers to support the transition of this regional destination Brenda Mainwaring, president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, said in a press release. The last two years have reminded us just how important outdoor recreational spaces are to our communities. By providing the additional support needed to make this transition a reality, we know that the County can continue to support conservation and recreation in our region for years to come. Mt. Crescent first opened in 1962, and has continuously been in operation for 60 years. The Fleischers have owned and operated the ski area since 2008. Schultz said the board examined the criteria of the American Rescue Plan and "determined we were able to leverage that money" for the purchase. "This is big news for Mt. Crescent and our county," he said. The ski area, which sits adjacent to the Hitchcock Nature Center, will continue to be managed by the Fleischers through the remainder of the current season. From there, the Fleischers will have the right of first refusal for operations contracts for two years, Schultz said. Korby Fleischer said they can see themselves continue managing it. I think we can all come together with the county and the vision that Pottawattamie has for a four seasons destination, he said. We would love to help and advise for that to happen. We have our ideas and we would love to see the feasibility study done to see how all our ideas can come together. We want to help out more than 100% to make this a little DisneyLand in the Midwest. A lot of changes and updates have been made since the Fleischers took over, but Korby said a lot of them are underground or not specific updates you can see. Changes have been made to the piping, electric, snow-making machines, chair lift upgrades and other general improvements. We have been lucky and blessed to have the opportunity to operate a popular ski area for the past 13 years and to be surrounded by dedicated staff, wonderful ski and snowboard enthusiasts and the best volunteer Ski Patrol around, the Fleischers said together in the release. We are confident and excited that Pottawattamie County will protect and expand upon what our family has worked so hard to create. Once the management of the property has been transitioned, the county may begin exploring the feasibility of further recreational development of the area, the release said. Schultz said the county is using $100,000 from the Iowa West grant on a study looking at additional options to make it "an even bigger revenue generator." "This will always be a ski hill," he said. Schultz said the purchase is part of a long-term plan to purchase the entire bluff in the Hitchcock Nature Center area, noting, "Getting Mt. Crescent is a big part of that." "This was several years in the making," he said, noting that negotiations broke down a few years ago before both parties came back to the table to finalize a deal. Mt. Crescent is located at 17026 Snowhill Lane in Honey Creek. For more information on hours and activities go to skicrescent.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Saudi Water Partnerships Company has announced the ground-breaking of Al Rayyis Independent Water Project on the Red Sea coast of the kingdom, in co-ordination with French energy major Engie and Saudi groups Nesma and Mowah. The 450,000-cu-m capacity desalination plant will be ready for commercial operations by Q4 2023. TradeArabia had earlier reported that the project was being built at an investment of SR3.1 billion ($826 million). According to SWPC, the project is the first water pipeline in Saudi Arabia developed under the public-private-partnership (PPP) structure and will achieve one of the most competitive specific power consumption levels in the kingdom. On completion, the RO plant will supply potable water to the cities of Makkah and Madinah. As per the deal, it will develop and finance the desalination plant, which will be operated and maintained by Engie in Saudi Arabia. The project will include solar energy units generating 20 MW of power to reduce grid electricity consumption throughout the desalination process, as well as water storage tanks designed to maintain a capacity of two operational days, stated the TradeArabia report. As per the deal, the Engie consortium will develop the project on a BOO (build, own and operate) model with a concession term of 25 years with commercial operation expected in the last quarter of 2023.-TradeArabia News Service The three-story row house in the city's Fairmount neighborhood is owned by the city's public housing authority. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Editor Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com South Africas passenger railway system is on the brink of total collapse, brought to its knees by thieves and vandals who have gutted many of its stations and railway tracks into a post-apocalyptic-like state. Rail journalist David Williams previously detailed the worrying condition of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africas (Prasas) network in a report for the Brenthurst Foundation. Williams found that around two-thirds of the above-ground electrical cable network of 3,000km had been stolen or damaged. In Gauteng, 89% of the Prasas network was out of order, while about 70% of KwaZulu-Natals railways were dysfunctional. The situation was slightly better in the Western Cape, with 30% of the network inoperational. According to engineers who consulted with Williams on the damage, it could cost around R500,000 to fix every kilometre of the damaged network. Williams holds that the disbanding of the dedicated railway police unit by the Apartheid government in the late 1980s was one of the first contributors to the decline. The incumbent governments decision to split passenger and freight rail in the early 2000s also created significant problems. Despite sharing rail infrastructure and equipment, the entities that oversee each division Prasa and Transnet dont communicate sufficiently, Williams stated. Both entities have been struggling to deal with thieves stealing cables and tracks. In November 2021, Transnet Freight Rail said that 1,000km of cables on its network had been stolen in 2021 alone. Criminals even go so far as to steal railway tracks to sell as scrap metal. eNCA reporter Nickolaus Bauer previously highlighted a 3km stretch of railway track on the GermistonSprings line that criminals plundered. #LootedRailways Think the pillaging of our rail infrastructure has stopped? This 3km stretch near Delmore station on the Germiston to Springs line has been ripped out the ground in the past 3 weeks alone pic.twitter.com/67MLk2QUTV Nickolaus Bauer (@NickolausBauer) June 24, 2021 The sheer destruction of railway infrastructure is clearly shown in the work of David Edwards, who travelled to numerous passenger train stations over the past three years to document their state. Edwards had previously been to many of the stations on the Springs to Randfontein line as a student in the 1970s. His images paint a visceral, grim picture of the reality on the ground, with stations stripped bare of their roofs and even tiling, gaps in concrete where cables used to run, and rubbish from vagrants piling up in hollowed-out buildings and subways. He believes most of the damage was sustained during the early days of the Covid-19 lockdown, when there was a lack of security at the stations. In the absence of passengers and the vexation of disputed security contracts, overhead cable theft was the first casualty, followed by corrugated roofing, doors, windows and ablution fittings, he explains. Later, cables were chiselled out of the walls and on less-used lines even the rails were removed. He also said many of the recently repainted buildings had already been looted again. It is surprising how fast the de-industrialisation of our infrastructure proceeded. The image below shows one of the buildings at Angelo Station in Ekurhuleni. Edwards will exhibit his collection of photos from the railway stations at the P72 Project Space in Parkview, Johannesburg, between 12 and 24 February 2022. To fund the exhibition, he has created a Backabuddy page with a target of raising R80,000. I believe it is important that people should reflect on our basic needs and see these images, lest we take refuge in notions of a fourth industrial revolution, while we are dismantling the first and the second, Edwards said. Below are some of the photos he shared with MyBroadband, showing the devastation of Prasas network. Boksburg Station Cleveland Station, Johannesburg Dunswart Station, Benoni George Goch Station, Johannesburg Hamberg Station, West Rand Horison Station, Johannesburg Jeppe Station, Johannesburg Krugersdorp Station Mayfair Station, Johannesburg Pollak Park Station, Springs Now read: Real reason SAA wants Mango to flop The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) is scheduled to add 144 municipal areas to South Africas new traffic fine system between 1 January and 30 June 2022. This is part of the third phase of the rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system, which is currently only live in Johannesburg and Tshwane. However, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says that the agency has not yet completed important parts of Phase 2 specifically bringing an appeals tribunal into full operation. Outa legal affairs head Stefanie Fick recently told eNCA that the appeals tribunal is important, as the Aarto Amendment Act does away with motorists ability to challenge fines in court. Considering that motorists will receive demerit points for traffic infringements, the proper functioning of the appeals tribunal is essential. Under Aarto, you are allowed to accumulate 15 demerit points on your driving licence before it is suspended. A licence may be suspended twice before it is cancelled. Outa has said that government should delay the implementation of Aarto and that it wont achieve governments stated goals. We are all for anything that will make sure that the carnage on our roads is minimised or eliminated. However, we dont believe the Aarto system is going to achieve this, Fick said. Instead, Fick said Outa believes government should first focus resources on increasing visible policing. We believe that theres some other practical ways of accomplishing the same same thing instead of trying to get this off the ground, which has taken an enormous amount of time, said Fick. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has said that it is working on a cohesive response to Aarto. According to a report, the DA could use its newfound position of power in three major Gauteng metropolitan municipalities to thwart Aarto. The rollout schedule the RTIA initially provided is summarised in the table below. Phase Dates Aarto functions to be implemented Phase 1 1 July 2021 30 September 2021 Establishment of 7 Aarto service outlets eNATIS will be enabled to collect Aarto payments Allowing Aarto elective options to be processed in Issuing Authorities and service outlets. Communications campaign to educate motorists on Aarto Phase 2 1 October 2021 31 December 2021 67 local and metropolitan authorities proclaimed for Aarto rollout 18 additional Aarto service outlets will be established Adjudication process brought online in all provinces Appeals Tribunal will enter full operation Phase 3 1 January 2022 30 June 2022 144 municipal areas will be added to the Aarto system Phase 4 1 July 2022 Launch of the Points Demerit System Introduction of rehabilitation programme for repeat offenders 20 self-service kiosks will be established Demerit points Under the new demerit system, motorists will be allowed to accumulate 15 demerit points on their licence before it is suspended. A licence may be suspended twice before it is cancelled. There are currently 2,659 offences listed on the Aarto website. The following table gives examples of various offences with differing amounts of demerit points attached. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) tore into Telkom on Wednesday after the network operator filed papers in the Pretoria High Court to once again block the auctioning of sought-after radio frequency spectrum. Spectrum is the raw network capacity cellular network operators use that allows mobile devices to communicate with their towers. South Africas mobile carriers maintain that if they get access to more spectrum, they can drastically cut data prices in South Africa while improving network coverage and quality. Telkoms concerns with Icasas proposed spectrum auction are manifold and include auctioning spectrum that E-tv refuses to give up by the deadline, not considering Vodacom and MTNs market dominance, and not licensing a national wireless open-access network at the same time. Telkom seeks to, yet again, derail the much anticipated and urgently needed licensing process for the International Mobile Telecommunications spectrum earmarked for auctioning in March this year, Icasa stated. The auction was scheduled to happen on 8 March 2022. Telkoms urgent application is supported by a 123-page affidavit, with a total of almost 700 pages of annexures, undoubtedly drafted over several days shortly after the publication of the Invitation To Apply (ITA) for the IMT licensing process on 10 December 2021, said Icasa. The industry regulator said it is not surprised by Telkoms relentless resort to litigation, as this conduct stretches back seven years or more. Telkom appears hellbent on stalling the Authoritys every effort to licence the high demand spectrum that the sector, country, and our economy so badly needs, Icasa said. It said the public interest demands that the licensing of the high-demand spectrum could not be delayed any longer. Narrow and selfish commercial interests should give way to the overriding public good of cheaper data, universal access to efficient and reliable connectivity, and high-speed broadband transmission. Icasa explained that it received a letter from Telkom on the afternoon of 31 December 2021. Vodacom also sent a confidential letter to the regulator on 1 January 2022. Both letters raised varying concerns regarding the ITA process and requested the Authority to consider them, stated Icasa. Telkom requested the Authority to respond by no later than Tuesday, 4 January 2022, failing which it would approach the court on an urgent basis for relief. Icasa said it responded on Monday, 3 January to both companies. It told them that it planned to respond comprehensively by Friday, 7 January 2022, and undertook to consider the various concerns raised. Despite this undertaking, Telkom elected to file papers. Telkom launched what can only be seen as a pre-emptive strike by filing an urgent application with the High Court to stall the ITA process and the auction intended for March 2022, said Icasa. Icasa said that in light of the voluminous court papers Telkom served on it late yesterday, 4 January, it can no longer respond to the respective parties correspondence by Friday. It is almost both necessary and reasonable for the Authority to study the court papers, consult with its lawyers, and take an informed and carefully considered decision before responding to Telkom and Vodacoms correspondence, Icasa stated. The Authority will, given the prevailing circumstances, respond to the correspondence in due course. In the meantime, Icasa emphasised the ITA published on 10 December 2021 with its timetable remain intact. The Authoritys lawyers will deal with the litigation instituted by Telkom and advise on the way forward. The Authority will henceforth refrain from debating in the interim the merits or demerits of the case in the media. Napa Police is seeking information about a vehicle burglary shortly before Christmas, in which a bag containing the victims prosthetic leg was stolen. The theft occurred sometime between 3:35 and 3:45 p.m. Dec. 23, in a parking lot in the 1000 block of Main Street, the department said in a Facebook post Tuesday. A bag that contained the owners prosthetic was taken from the vehicle during the incident, according to police. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: Subscribe for $5.99 per mo A car associated with the theft was a black Lexus GS200 sedan with stolen license plates, the last three digits reading 862, the department said. We know this is a longshot, but we would like to recover the stolen property as it is not something that is easily replaceable, Napa Police said in the statement. Police are seeking two male suspects in connection with the burglary. Anyone who may have surveillance video of the incident or witnessed the theft is asked to contact Officer Jesus Martinez at jmartinez@cityofnapa.org. Updated at 12:35 p.m. Thursday As public schools in Napa and American Canyon prepare to reopen after a three-week holiday break, school district staff will provide at-home coronavirus testing kits to students from Thursday to Saturday. The Napa Valley Unified School District will provide the test kits at drive-up stations outside Napa and American Canyon high schools, the district announced on its website. The state-supplied iHealth-branded kits, which allow a test to be conducted in about 15 minutes, are being provided amid a surge of COVID-19 cases that began picking up speed in December with the spread of the virus more contagious Omicron variant. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: Subscribe for $5.99 per mo One kit will be provided for each student, and kits will be available only for NVUSD students. While families are strongly encouraged to pick up test kits, testing is not required for students to return to schools, which have been closed since Dec. 20 and are slated to reopen Monday. Drive-up distribution will take place at Napa High, 2475 Jefferson St., and American Canyon High, 3000 Newell Drive, at the following times: Thursday: noon to 3 p.m. Friday: noon to 3 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to noon District staff members will bring the kits to visitors vehicles. Families are asked to print and fill out a placard, available online at nvusd.org/covidinfo, and place the placard on their dashboards while driving up to a distribution site. NVUSD, which teaches some 16,600 children and teenagers, currently provides weekly COVID-19 tests for students who sign up for the service at each school. Results of the weekly tests typically take several days to process. COVID-19 testing kits also were to be distributed this week to students in Calistoga and St. Helena, the Napa County Office of Education announced. Pickups took place Thursday morning at Calistoga Elementary, and will continue at Calistoga Junior/Senior High School from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Friday. In St. Helena, Vintage Hall will host test distributions Thursday from 2:30 to 5:15 p.m. Kits already have been provided to students at the smaller Howell Mountain and Pope Valley elementary schools, according to Seana Wagner, spokesperson for the Office of Education, which received more than 19,000 kits from the state to pass on to public school districts in the county. Another spike in Napa County's coronavirus case count; 239 positives confirmed Wednesday Napa County's latest update nearly matched the 259 new COVID-19 cases it reported for the New Year's holiday weekend. The Napa County distribution is a part of Californias effort to supply every K-12 public school student with an at-home test kit before the reopening of classrooms this month. However, parents in some parts of the state are still waiting on tests. On Monday, the state Department of Public Health confirmed that California had delivered 3 million tests to counties for distribution, and another million were en route. Those were in addition to 2 million at-home tests sent to 3,000 school districts earlier in December. Ali Bay, a spokesperson for the department, said millions of tests have already been delivered to California families, but many others were delayed by recent storms. The Sacramento County Office of Education, which oversees all school districts in the county, didn't receive its full shipment of tests until Monday, and Superintendent Dave Gordon said the office didn't have a timeline of when the test kits would make it to families. We have 10,000 schools in the state so its a daunting task, but weve got to find ways to make it happen in a more accelerated way," Tony Thurmond, the state schools superintendent, told reporters Wednesday, calling the delays disappointing. Too many California kids went back to school this week without knowing whether theyre spreading the highly contagious Omicron variant, the Los Angeles Times said in an editorial published Tuesday. Napa County public health officer speaks on Omicron surge Dr. Karen Relucio, Napa County public health officer, answered questions on the latest COVID-19 surge. While Napa and Sacramentos school systems are not mandating testing before students return to campuses, other districts are requiring proof of a negative test to return. Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in the state with 600,000 students and 1,000 schools, will require all students and employees to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to come onto campus when classes resume Tuesday. The district is providing tests to students this week. Los Angeles schools will also continue weekly testing for all students and employees throughout the month of January. The district requires masks at all times both indoors and outside, and a health screening is required for all campus visitors, according to district guidance. Superintendent Gordon said keeping teachers and staff healthy is another priority heading into the new year. After three semesters of pandemic learning, educators are already struggling with burnout and low staffing numbers that could worsen in the event of breakthrough infections. That's the real potential pain point, Gordon said. We've already been short of staff in the form of substitute teachers and support people. So we just have to do whatever we can do. If need be, encourage people to come back, maybe retired staff. NVUSDs information on COVID-19 positive tests in the final week before its holiday recess remained pending as of Wednesday, according to district spokesperson Cass Caulfield. The most recent district update of 19 positives for the week of Dec. 6 including 16 students and three employees predated Napa Countys end-of-year surge in confirmed positive tests, which reached 259 for the New Years weekend and 239 on Wednesday. For more information, visit the NVUSD website at nvusd.org/covidinfo. With reports from Register reporter Howard Yune, the Sacramento Bee, and The Associated Press. This story has been updated since the original posting to include information about test kit distribution to students in St. Helena and Calistoga. A year has passed since a star-spangled mob stormed the United States Capitol in a violent frenzy that left five dead and the nation traumatized. More than 700 rioters now face federal charges for their involvement in the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, which began when several thousand people entered the Capitol Complex in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep Donald Trump in office. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: Subscribe for $5.99 per mo In the crosshairs of the Department of Justice prosecutions is a group known as the Oath Keepers, whose members are accused of some of the most flagrant crimes during the Capitol breach. The intensifying scrutiny of the Oath Keepers in the past 12 months has revealed the inner workings and national scope of an organization that extremism experts label as anti-democratic radicals. That organization has tentacles that reach across the nation, even extending to Northern California. But while Oath Keepers in some parts of the country appear well-organized and violent, a leaked cache of membership data paints a different picture in the liberal stronghold of the North Bay. Since its inception in 2009, the group targeted former police officers and military veterans who sought to solemnify their oath to protect the Constitution. "While the group claims to defend the Constitution, the entire Oath Keepers organization is based on a set of baseless conspiracy theories about the federal government working to destroy Americans' liberties," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based advocacy group that specializes in civil rights. While trials continue, including against 17 Oath Keeper affiliates, focus has now turned toward 2024, with political scientists concerned extremist groups could react even more violently to the next presidential election. In September, an online whistleblower organization called Distributed Denial of Secrets published a trove of Oath Keepers information. The leak included membership sign-ups dating back a decade, as well as chat logs, email listservs and donation data. At least 100 people enrolled in the organization while living in the North Bay, the leak showed. Using that data, The Press Democrat conducted research and interviews into who these members were. Loosely affiliated, nearly defunct Rather than the well-coordinated militia described by the Oath Keepers' most visible supporters and its most vocal detractors, Press Democrat reporters discovered a network that is only loosely affiliated and nearly defunct. It primarily serves as a vent for right-leaning residents of a left-leaning region, some of whom are open to theories about internal threats to the United States that are not grounded in reality and often demonize racial justice movements. Sonoma County had the largest share of local membership with 41 members. Twenty-three members said they lived in Napa County, 14 in Mendocino, 12 in Lake and 10 in Marin. They skewed white, male and of retirement age. Around a dozen appeared to be women. Many owned businesses, like a private dentistry practice or firearms training school. Some own multiple properties, according to public records. None appear to have been arrested in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 or in its aftermath. Among the North Bay contingent are at least a dozen military veterans and more than 10 former or active law enforcement officers, the professed backbone of the organization. But there's also a firefighter, a dentist, a winery owner, a plumber, a blogger, a heavy metal drummer, a real estate appraiser, an educator who recently worked at a Waldorf school in Sonoma, and the head of the Napa County Republican Party. Political scientists say diffuse membership is a hallmark of the Oath Keepers and other extremist groups. "It is across the country and therefore we are not isolated from the networking effects of these groups, either before or after Jan. 6," Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan said. And while some local members remain committed to the stance of the Oath Keepers, others have come to vehemently reject it. The majority reported only minor involvement with the organization, attending few to no live gatherings and in some cases never communicating with other members at all. The Press Democrat interviewed 17 people whose names appear on the membership rolls by phone or via email. Almost no one denied their affiliation, though some described it as a passing phase. Seven spoke in detail about their experience with the Oath Keepers. Never rescinded the oath Since its inception in 2009, the Oath Keepers organization has relied on a conspiratorial mindset. There are 10 orders from the government that Oath Keepers must pledge to refuse, including "disarming" American citizens and imposing martial law. In the North Bay, the core principle of defending the Constitution was often the initial reason for joining especially in the organization's infancy, when its values were still nebulous. "I served in the 82nd Airborne (Division of the U.S. Army). I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution," said Phil Graf, who lives in Sebastopol and is mostly retired, though he teaches some gun training classes. "I've never rescinded that oath. I can't say the same for most of our politicians." When he heard founder Stewart Rhodes speak at a small Oath Keepers organizational meeting in San Francisco more than a decade ago, Graf signed up on the spot, making him one of the most veteran members in the North Bay. "We were concerned the politicians and bureaucrats had slipped the bounds on the Constitution," he said. Frank Pearson of Forestville told The Press Democrat it was his 30 years of experience in law enforcement that made him a candidate for a regional leadership role in the Northern California chapter. He was the police chief in Bethel, Alaska, before moving to Sonoma County and joining the Santa Rosa Police Department in the 1980s. He medically retired several years later, but his credentials led to an offer to take up a post as "commander." "I told them I'd get back to them on that. I wanted to hear what they had to say, I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting my tail stuck with a bunch of white racists," Pearson said. "And the opportunity never came up, I wasn't offered another command, and that was fine with me." Pearson added that "a lot of police officers were involved in it just for the purposes of keeping order. When law enforcement order breaks down, we have to do something, and that's when the Oath Keepers would step in." In effect, the same instinct that propelled his decision to join law enforcement and swear an oath to the Constitution drove his enrollment in a force that could one day oppose the very same governmental agencies he worked for. Others without a background in law enforcement or active combat joined as "associate members," viewing themselves more as financial and political supporters of the cause. As of 2021, members could pay $10 monthly, $50 annually or $1,200 for life. Napa County Republican Party Chairman Mark Gasster was an associate member before letting his membership lapse. Napa registered nurse Dale Weide was a founding associate member at the very beginning of the organization, according to a laminated card he still keeps despite leaving the organization years ago. Another North Bay resident named Bob Crowley touted his decades of experience in policing, writing upon enrolling in the organization, "I have many certifications which may be helpful. I am currently active law enforcement, working with the Marin County Sheriff's Office." The Press Democrat reached Crowley at the number he had provided the Oath Keepers. Crowley, however, said he has left the Sheriff's Office and denied "true interaction" with the Oath Keepers. Deal breaker for police employment Representatives from local law enforcement agencies said they did not know of any Oath Keepers serving in their agencies, and that hiring policies would likely prevent any member of the organization from being offered a job today. "Based on the ideologies of a group like the Oath Keepers, an individual who is part of the organization is not eligible for hiring. An organization talking about overthrowing the government because you don't think it's legitimate that doesn't make someone eligible for employment here," said Sgt. Chris Mahurin, spokesman for the Santa Rosa Police Department. Both Santa Rosa police and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office have an extensive background check process that would reveal an applicant's group affiliations. "They provide their pass codes to social media accounts during the hiring process. We go through all that stuff to make sure they're not following any of those groups," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Juan Valencia. However, neither of the officials could say whether their agency's policies explicitly bar Oath Keepers. Such affiliations would require individual consideration, Mahurin said. "Some of these new ones (organizations) that keep popping up, I can't say which would be a disqualifier," he said. "If any of our employees were part of an organization like this, it would trigger an internal investigation. I can't say it would lead to termination." Pearson was one of several sworn officers in the local Oath Keepers group while he was involved, he said. Rise of the movement Oath Keepers interviewed by The Press Democrat pointed to the last decade's protest movement for racial justice and against police brutality as a sign of the "breakdown," as Pearson put it, in law and order. Many new Oath Keepers were drawn to the organization during the demonstrations that followed the killing of teen Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. "Right around the time of Ferguson, I saw a few articles of (Oath Keepers) helping people out with securing of business from arson and theft," former member Joseph Silinonte of Petaluma said in an email. "It seemed like a good thing to help when it was needed." Oath Keepers appeared armed in Ferguson that summer, posted on rooftops and "guarding" local businesses. They claimed they were preserving order. Neighborhood activists saw it as a form of intimidation, even incitement. Other North Bay members said they thought of the Oath Keepers merely as a service organization. "When one of the hurricanes happened, people needed help," said Elaine Muller of Rohnert Park, who is retired after stints in the Army and U.S. Postal Service. "I looked at it more of a Red Cross kind of thing more than anything else." The Oath Keepers claim to have offered aid after five hurricanes. News accounts suggest their participation ranged from traditional disaster response like handing out water bottles to infuriating local law enforcement in Florida after 2018's Hurricane Michael, when a heavily armed group was arrested for driving around on "patrols" in violation of a curfew. But no one interviewed by The Press Democrat said they participated in Ferguson or any other "post-disaster response" organized by the Oath Keepers. And according to multiple members, the militant fervor that brought members to sites of unrest across the country never took hold in the North Bay. Compared to chapters in the rest of the country, Pearson said, North Bay Oath Keepers are minimally active. "I'm not sure you're going to find lots and lots of material in Sonoma County. We're pretty laid back," said Pearson. "It's a lot lower key; if there are small pockets of hardcores, I haven't run into any in a while." The Press Democrat identified few in-person events hosted by the Oath Keepers in the region. Founding member Weide shared an email about a 2014 "meet and greet" that appears to have drawn just five attendees. Pearson recalled tactical drills being held in Northern California but said he did not attend. Militancy is muted In the Bay Area, the organization has drawn attention a handful of times. At the now-canceled annual weapons expo Urban Shield in Alameda in 2017, community activists were outraged after photos from inside the counterterrorism event showed an Oath Keepers booth. Militiamen with the organization were also present in Berkeley at the Patriots Day Free Speech Rally the same year. Some experts guessed that militancy is muted in the North Bay because of the political landscape, which is predominantly Democrat and has relatively restrictive gun carrying laws. "The environment here is not tolerant of that extremism," Sonoma State professor McCuan said. "Their businesses could be boycotted, there's a variety of things that could be done that affect their economic well being." Staying out of the public spotlight is common for Oath Keeper pockets across the U.S., said Stephen Piggott, a white extremism researcher and organizer with the Western States Center. A decentralized organization, many Oath Keeper chapters are latent or operate largely online. A minority of members creates the most noise, he said. "There are some regions in the country where there are certainly more active Oath Keeper mobilizations. Certainly we saw with Jan. 6 large numbers of Oath Keepers there. But I would say more generally I'm not seeing large kinds of mobilizations of Oath Keepers in many places around the country," Piggott said. Many in the North Bay appear to have distanced themselves from the Oath Keepers. Some say they lost interest over years of low activity. Others split during the rightward movement of the organization throughout the Trump presidency, or were turned off by what they saw as infighting among Oath Keepers leadership. "I thought it was a different sort of organization," said Michael Carter, a U.S. Marine veteran and former Los Angeles Police Department officer who lives between Willits and Laytonville. "When I saw pictures of guys running around in camouflage, I said 'This is not for me.'" To Pearson, the former police chief in Forestville, an increasing alignment he sees with white nationalist groups has pushed him to take a step back from the Oath Keepers, although he still considers himself an active member. The possibility of "a race war" felt palpable in the last year, he said. "And yet, all that has kind of gone away. I haven't heard anything frightening in the last six months that would cause that kind of tension," Pearson said. "I haven't heard much activity going on in the last six months, eight months in Sonoma County. I couldn't reach in my phone book and pull up another active member's phone number." Several people interviewed for this story said they ultimately shied away because the Oath Keepers had become too controversial to openly align with, but were unwilling to blame the organization itself for the negative press. One of them was Arron Johnson, Sonoma-based founder and CEO of The Lodge Winery and & Olive Oil Company. Johnson said he didn't witness anything that turned him off from the group, but was disappointed that Rhodes and other leaders never took the trouble to defend the organization against mounting accusations. "If you can't stand up for the standards you've established, something's wrong," Johnson said. "There was no, 'Come see it. See what we're trying to be.'" If the Oath Keepers "ever get their act together," he added, he will return to the ranks. But for the skeptics who were already beginning to sour on the Oath Keepers, Jan. 6 was the event that finally drove them away. "As time went on I lost interest, and haven't revisited the subject," Silinonte of Petaluma said. "And after what I saw last January, I'm in total disagreement with their current mission." He does not know any current members, he said. Gasster, the Republican Party chair, expressed a similar opinion. "I am conservative and Republican," he wrote. "I support peaceful advancement and application of our founding principles as embodied in the Declaration of Independence and our U.S. Constitution. The violent events of January 6 were utterly abhorrent to me." The Press Democrat did not confirm that any North Bay Oath Keepers were present at the Capitol riot in Washington, D.C., last January. A Santa Rosa native, Evan Neumann, is among the indicted but has no apparent ties to the organization. Future unclear Since Jan. 6, 2021, the Oath Keepers have continued to spread conspiracy theories online, according to a December 2021 article by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Laid bare by the leak and with its leaders hounded by federal prosecutors, civil lawsuits and financial difficulties, the organization's future is unclear. Extremism scholars say other movements, like QAnon and the Proud Boys, are gaining steam in its stead. The Oath Keepers interviewed for this story uniformly denied ascribing to such movements. Still, some didn't hesitate to cite current conspiracy theories, including that Black Lives Matter or Antifa protesters were responsible for the violence at the Capitol, even as court case after court case and report after report not to mention countless videos shot by the trespassers themselves places the blame on right-wing organizers who spread election fraud lies. "If you ask me why would Oath Keepers be at the Capitol, it wouldn't be to take it over," Graf said. "It would be to protect people from agent-provocateur types." Piggott, the analyst and researcher, said it's no surprise that disparate, even contradictory perspectives exist among Oath Keepers past and present. That ambiguity, Piggott said, is by design. "The Oath Keepers is much more broad, it's a multi-issue organization. It was done that way on purpose," Piggott said. "Look at Jan. 6 even if you interviewed all of the folks there, you still would probably get five or six different reasons those folks attended. Leadership kept everything purposely ambiguous so as to attract a larger swath of people." The Oath Keepers' history demonstrates how an "oath" to the country can be interpreted many ways, and weaponized toward many ends. That ambiguity allowed some members to be called to hurricane response, some to armed rebellion and others to online chat groups. And although many in the North Bay did little more than submit an email address or a monetary donation to the Oath Keepers, in doing so they took a step down a road toward more extreme points of view. "Just because the organization itself is not actively promoting political violence doesn't mean that folks who are immersed in this ecosystem won't take the next step, and we've definitely seen this in the last few years," Piggott said. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. DMCC the Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise said that it will be hosting the fifth edition of its Dubai Diamond Conference (DDC) with the support of leading industry organisations. DDC 2022 will be held on 21 February 2022 at Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, with the overarching theme set to be The Future of Diamonds. DMCC has announced that DDC 2022 will be held with the support of three Platinum Sponsors - Stargems, a diamond trading, manufacturing, and auctioning company; Synova S.A., a pioneer in unique water jet guided laser technology; and Sociedade Mineira de Catoca Lda. (Catoca), an Angolan diamond mining company. Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC and Chairman, Dubai Diamond Exchange, said: The diamond industry has shown tremendous resilience over the last 12 months and customer demand is proving to be as strong as ever. However, we must now look further ahead and examine the various factors influencing the market from the arrival of laboratory grown diamonds and changing consumer preferences, through to diamond production and global supply chain disruptions. In its fifth edition, the Dubai Diamond Conference continues to bring leaders from across the industry to Dubai, one of the worlds most important diamond trading hubs, to discuss the future of diamonds and how to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry. Throughout the week of DDC, a series of high-level meetings and industry events will be taking place in Dubai as part of Dubai Diamond Week, beginning with a board meeting of the World Diamond Council on 20 February 2022. The DDC Gala dinner and Jewellery World Awards, hosted jointly with Informa Markets, will recognise significant contributions to the development of the global diamond and jewellery industry on 21 February 2022. The new Jewellery, Gem and Technology Dubai (JGT Dubai) show, supported by DMCC as the official partner, will become one of the jewellery worlds most powerful marketplaces for product discovery, meaningful connections and inspired thinking. Buyers and suppliers will gather in the Dubai World Trade Centre from the 22 to the 24 February 2022 to trade and explore new business opportunities in Dubai. Finally, the Presidents meetings of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) will take place on the 24 and 25 February at the iconic Almas Tower. In line with its mandate to attract, facilitate and steer new trade flows through Dubai, DMCC has been a driving force in establishing the emirate as a leading global hub for diamond trade. Since the start of 2021, the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), the worlds largest diamond tender facility, has hosted more than 60 diamond tenders. TradeArabia News Service Two out of three Californians experience some aspect of violence in their daily lives, according to research from the University of California, Davis, published Monday in the medical journal Injury Epidemiology. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: Subscribe for $5.99 per mo "Almost everybody is touched by this, and we're a state with relatively low rates of firearm violence. I would expect the situation would be worse in many other states," said Dr. Garen Wintemute, who directs the UC Davis Health Violence Prevention Research Program and is an emergency department physician. Although relatively few people actually have been attacked themselves or even have witnessed violence, Wintemute and his colleagues said, millions of state residents regularly hear gunshots, pass sidewalk memorials to victims or hear from people in their social network who were directly affected. The UC Davis researchers said they drew their conclusions from data gathered for the California Safety and Well-being Survey in July 2020. Roughly 2,870 people responded to this online survey, administered by the research firm Ipsos, and the survey results were weighted to ensure they were statistically representative of California's adult population. If you live with someone who owns a firearm, the study results showed you are more likely to have people in your social network who have experienced violence than firearm owners or non-owners do, leading researchers to say further study is needed on whether secondhand gun ownership may be a public health risk similar to secondhand smoke. Three-fourths of non-owners who lived with owners were women, the researchers noted. "If people who live in homes with guns, but don't own guns themselves, have these many experiences of people at risk of violence, they could be a whole new resource for intervention," Wintemute said. "Maybe we can work with them to help at-risk people and reduce suicides and possibly other firearm violence." Other findings: An estimated 5 million Californians personally know multiple people who have been intentionally shot. 6.3 million know someone who may be at risk of committing violence against themselves or others. Black and Latino respondents were much more likely than others to report experiencing violence related to the community environment gunshots and sidewalk memorials, for instance and interpersonal violence, while white respondents were more likely to report knowing individuals whose violence was self-directed. "We had people who responded that they passed sidewalk memorials 25 times or more a week," Wintemute said. "And I thought, at what point does living in your neighborhood resemble living in a cemetery? What does that do to your sense of a future for your community and yourself?" The UC Davis research team, which also includes Amanda J. Aubel, Rocco Pallin, Julia P. Schleimer and Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, are now working on a follow-up study to measure how these experiences may impact mental and physical health. "If we show they are associated with ill effects, we may be able to intervene," Wintemute said. "There are few people in California who can say this does not affect them, and since we're all involved, let's work together on solutions." Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Traditional homeless shelters have long been off limits to pets, leaving animal owners who want to get off the streets with a difficult choice. But as homelessness surges across the U.S., those working toward a solution are increasingly recognizing the importance pets have for vulnerable populations and are looking for ways to keep owners and pets together. Pending legislation in California would make a pilot program known the Pet Assistance and Support program permanent and expand it across the state. The pilot program in recent years has provided millions of dollars in funding to nonprofits and local jurisdictions that has been used in part for things like food, crates, toys and veterinary services for the pets of homeless people. Napa Valley has lured many young winemakers from across the globe. But in the case of Laura Diaz Munoz the trip to Napa was meant only to be a brief sidestep before moving on. The young Spanish-born winemaker arrived in Napa in 2007 at Cardinale to intern with Napas noted winemaker Chris Carpenter. I came from New Zealand to work one harvest here, said Diaz Munoz, who is now winemaker and general manager at Ehlers Estate. She was, in fact, on her way to Argentina after the Napa harvest. She never made it. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: Subscribe for $5.99 per mo Chris offered me a job, Diaz Munoz said, meeting at the cozy tasting room of Ehlers Estate in St. Helena. (Following the Spanish tradition, she goes by both her mother and fathers last names.) Even then her thought was to stay in Napa maybe a couple of years. I didnt think it would last this long, she confessed with amusement. It turns out this was the beginning of her decade-long association with the Jackson Family Wines, starting as an intern then moving on as associate winemaker on such prestigious names as Lokoya, La Jota, and Mt. Brave. Thus, Diaz Munoz honed her skills working with some of the most renowned mountain and valley floor vineyard sites. By 2011, she was ready to launch her own project with Jackson Family Wines. She created Galerie Wines, focused on a portfolio called portraits of place, featuring Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc wines from some of Napas prized appellations. But the winemaker was keen to expand her knowledge beyond just winemaking. Ehlers Estate offered that opportunity. In 2018, she joined the Bordeaux-focused estate in St. Helena. I wanted to learn about the business, she explained. Here I am managing operations, vineyards, sales; I can be a part of everything. Sometimes, Im the electrician. Ehlers Estate sits on a 50-acre property with 40 acres planted to Bordeaux varieties laid out in small vineyard blocks and farmed to organic practices. The stone barn, which is the winery now, was built by Bernard Ehlers in 1886. Over time, the winery saw several owners until entrepreneurs and philanthropists Jean and Sylviane Leducq acquired it in the mid-1990s and established the Leducq Foundation. The charitable trust funds international cardiovascular research programs, thus the logo of the heart, which is artistically embedded in the letter E of Ehlers logo. The winery is owned by this trust and all profits from wine sales and tasting fees benefit this trust. We tasted a lineup of four 2018 wines, Diaz Munozs first vintage at Ehlers Estate. A varietal 100 percent Cabernet Franc was evocative of violets and dried herbs. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with a splash of Cabernet Franc expressed a rush of cherries and dark chocolate. Portrait, a Bordeaux-style blend, was concentrated with cherries and cassis. Intense with ripe red fruit, the deep-hued Jean Leducq Cabernet Sauvignon was backed with velvety tannins. Every year I select a block that shows a strong personality, Diaz Munoz commented on this small-lot wine (a mere 369 cases produced) named after the late patriarch. I heard that Jean had a strong personality. The winemakers philosophy is focused on a sense of place, where the wines come from. I do a lot of work in farming to minimize work in the cellar, she stressed. Madrid-born, Diaz Munoz was drawn to science as a child and studied biology and food sciences at Madrids Autonoma University. An internship with winemaker Jose Pascual Gracia led to working harvest in the wine region of Manchuela. Impressed by her work, Gracia recommended her name to Madrids Polytechnic Universitys enology department, where she earned her post-graduate degree in enology and viticulture, even though a woman winemaker was a rarity at the time and not accepted by the community. Among several jobs, she worked in the laboratory at Finca Constancia winery in Toledo, Spain. I wanted to do more, she said. Her love for Sauvignon Blanc and the need to improve her English language skills led her to work harvest in New Zealand in February 2007. A colleague there suggested a trip to Napa and a phone conversation with Carpenter sealed her immediate future. When I arrived here in Napa, it was hard to communicate in English; it took a few years, she said in perfect English now. It was more than what I expected, she commented on the beauty of Napa. Here winemaker is a big thing, opportunities were opening to me and my work was appreciated. As a Spanish woman winemaker, Diaz Munoz is a rarity in Napa. Although shes not sure if shes the first, she admitted, I dont know anyone else. In Napa Diaz Munoz also met Jacob Cheney, a wine industry professional. The two married in 2014 and live in Windsor with their two sons. Diaz Munoz recently signed up for the Master of Wine course to further her wine education. We get comfortable with our palate, she noted, but the more you taste, the more your palate develops. Trends are changing and consumers are changing, I dont think Ill be making the same wine in 10 years. NEWS.am digest: Turkey says they have agreements with Armenia on border clarification PACE initiates resolution on threats to journalists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan Diplomat kidnapped in Haiti Hungarian president asks Orban to form new government Georgia PM hands over first part of questionnaire answers for accession to EU Resistance Movement participants march in central Yerevan Half of Japanese oppose change of peaceful constitution Resistance movement rally on France Square in Yerevan Blinken and Armenia FM sign memorandum on strategic cooperation in nuclear energy Another earthquake registered on Armenian-Georgian border FLYONE ARMENIA launches regular direct flights between Yerevan and Tbilisi Georgia abolishes requirement to wear masks in closed spaces One dollar drops below AMD 450, euro also falls in Armenia Georgia PM receives Justice Minister of Armenia Armenia MFA says there is no discussion, agreement on re-demarcating border with Turkey Why Justin Lin exits Fast and Furious 10 as director? Cavusoglu claims there is agreement to clarify Armenia-Turkey border Azerbaijan president receives Brice Roquefeuil How does climate change affect human health? Spain national team midfielder to join Barcelona Armenia ex-defense minister: These authorities are able to use force inside the country Police: 244 people apprehended in Yerevan as of 2pm Incident involving disobedience march participants occurs at Armenian State Pedagogical University Netflix cancels shooting of Meghan Markle's animated series The Pearl ATP No change in top 10 Yerevan Police apprehend opposition MP One in five people in England gets skin cancer All Kardashians invited to Met Gala for the first time Police: 199 people apprehended in Yerevan as of noon Armenia defense ministry refutes Azerbaijan MOD statement Simone Inzaghi Let's believe in victory until the end Resistance Movement coordinator says they will assemble at France Square in downtown Yerevan at 6pm Armenia parliament opposition faction leader: More than 200 people apprehended The Azeri Times: Azerbaijan closes airspace for Russia military aircraft to disrupt transportation to Armenia Bill Gates warns of more fertile' COVID-19 variant Police: 3 dozen intersections in Yerevan were closed off by citizens since morning Scientists identify mechanism of immune response formation leading to severe COVID-19 Armenia PM congratulates several Arab countries leaders on Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr 3 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Journalist falls ill during scuffle at civil disobedience action in Yerevan Armenia ex-ruling party official: I assess these actions of disobedience very positively Pete Davidson tattoos names of Kim Kardashian's children Armenia FM to head for US, will meet with Blinken Armenia Police: 189 people apprehended so far in Yerevan UN announces blocking of millions of tons of grain in Ukraine ports Xavi congratulates Real Madrid for winning the title Small plane crashes in Canada, 4 dead 125 people taken to Yerevan police stations Erdogan says will hold talks with Putin this week Over 48,000 people in Armenia already get booster shot against Covid Liverpool to sell Salah in summer Eurovision 2022: Armenias Rosa Linn holds first rehearsal in Italy (PHOTOS) Quake hits Armenia-Georgia border zone One person falls ill during oppositions peaceful disobedience action in downtown Yerevan Resistance Movement coordinator says 14 streets currently blocked by citizens in Yerevan Peaceful civil disobedience actions kick off in Yerevan early morning La Liga: Barca defeat Mallorca Serie A: Roma play goalless draw at home with Bologna Hungary says 10 European countries opened bank accounts in Russia to pay for natural gas in rubles Finland to build fences along Russia border Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan: For 10 years international community said Artsakh should self-determine Putin signs decree on measures to ensure Russia information security 3rd President Serzh Sargsyan is at Yerevans France Square Opposition continues to keep France Square in downtown Yerevan closed Europe asks Russia natural gas giant to increase supplies Clashes break out between police and anarchists in Paris The Jerusalem Post: Time for Israel to not fear Turkey and to recognize Armenian Genocide Armenia opposition lawmaker: People are constantly approaching ex-president Kocharyan (VIDEO) Putin bans foreign investors from organizing regular transfers on public-private, city-private partnership basis Ex-defense minister: Prior to 44-day war it was possible to negotiate in such way that Armenia will not be at war Police dispatching additional forces to Yerevans France Square Opposition to set up tents at France Square in downtown Yerevan (PHOTOS) Armenia opposition MP: How did US, France, Russia talk about Karabakh status after war? Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson attend White House Correspondents' Dinner together (PHOTOS) Resistance Movement coordinator: Armenian people told whole world that they are masters of their destiny, future Huge opposition rally kicks off in downtown Yerevan Armenia former ruling party official says ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will attend today's opposition rally I went to the premiere: Is it the end?' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' (NO SPOILERS) Russia to impose $101M fine on Google Resistance Movement marches reach French Square in Yerevan Turkey police beat, detain dozens in May Day demonstrations Michael Jackson ex-maid accuses the late King of Pop of animal cruelty Armenia international airports passenger traffic doubles in first quarter of 2022 Nancy Pelosi visits Kyiv, meets with Zelenskyy Real Madrid president says Benzema should receive Ballon d'Or this year Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan defense ministry disseminating disinformation Armenia ex-President Kocharyan joins opposition march to Yerevan US Embassy in Armenia: Large crowds are unpredictable Germany supports EU plans to give up Russian oil Russia MOD announces airstrike on Odessa military airport Kylie Jenner loses almost 20kgs 2 months after giving birth (PHOTOS) Real not against Ronaldo return Italy cancels Covid certificates Guardiola to sign new deal with Man City Resistance Movement marches reaching Yerevan Artsakh President receives Armenian Relief Society delegation 4 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia What are some illnesses that can develop due to long-term stress? Blinken, Kuleba discuss return of American diplomats to Ukraine Armenia PM: Thanks to joint efforts and work we were able to overcome these crisis situations Saudi Cable Company, a global provider of turnkey solutions for energy and telecom networks, said it has won regulatory approval to reduce its share capital by 37.5 per cent from SR361 million (96.1 million) to SR262.3 million ($70 million). After getting the nod from the kingdom's Capital Market Authority (CMA), it will now be presenting the capital reduction plan at the AGM for the shareholders' endorsement, said Saudi Cable Company in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul. In addition, the CMA has issued its resolution approving Saudi Cables request to increase its capital by way of rights issue valued at SR500 million, it stated. This approval is conditional on the companys extraordinary general assembly approval of the capital reduction and completion of the necessary procedures in relation to the applicable regulations. The increase will be limited to the shareholders who are registered in the shareholders registry at the Security Depository Center as of the closing of the second trading day after the extraordinary general assembly meeting, which will be determined by the companys board of directors at a later date, it said. The offering price and the number of shares offered for subscription will be determined by Saudi Cable after market closing of the same day in which the extraordinary general assembly meeting is to be held, it added. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum announced the appointment of Francesca Esmay as the Alfred Flechtheim Director of Engagement, Conservation and Collections Care, a newly endowed position within the museums Conservation Department. This position is funded by a challenge grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and by Dr. Michael R. Hulton and Mrs. Penny R. Hulton, heirs of art collector and dealer Alfred Flechtheim. Esmay will collaborate with colleagues across the museum to develop educational initiatives and public programming that explore the intersections of art, technology, and science and address issues related to the preservation of modern and contemporary art. She will also oversee the newly established Mentoring Emerging Professionals in Art Conservation initiative (Mepac), a ten-week, paid opportunity for students to work alongside leaders in the field of art conservation and collections care. This programme was conceived to address the persistent lack of diversity within art conservation and to provide opportunities to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) candidates. Under the Mepac initiative, three students per year, drawn from both the undergraduate and graduate levels, will work one-on-one with Esmay, Ty Woodfolk, Deputy Director Culture and Inclusion, and other staff within the Guggenheims Conservation Department and will receive mentoring and support for future pursuits in the conservation field. Lena Stringari, Deputy Director and Andrew W. Mellon Chief Conservator, said: The work of preserving cultural heritage enables a deeper understanding of histories, cultures, and the materials that contribute to those narratives, yet it is often invisible in museums. "The establishment of this position and Esmays appointment will raise the visibility of this vital work as well as provide opportunities for historically under-represented students to learn about conservation and contribute to efforts that both diversify the field and make it more relevant to a wider public.-TradeArabia News Service Were our lives in the second year of the pandemic any better than they were in the first? What can year two teach us about what to expect -- and how to thrive -- in year three? We begin trying to answer these questions by taking stock in some of the biggest global discoveries that Gallup made in 2021 while looking forward to what's in store for this year. U.S. Approval Ratings Rallied From Record Lows: Six months into Joe Biden's presidency, approval ratings of U.S. leadership around the world had largely rebounded from the record-low ratings observed during the Donald Trump administration. As of August 2021, median approval of U.S. leadership stood at 49%. New in 2022: Gallup will look at how approval ratings of U.S. leadership changed -- or didn't change -- after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and how they look in the second year of the Biden administration. We will also explore how Russia's and China's leadership have fared in their regions and across the world. Soft Power: Germany Gets Record-High Approval From World: The world's approval of Germany's leadership during Chancellor Angela Merkel's last full year in office in 2020 hit a new record high, not only for Germany but for any global leader in more than a decade. New in 2022: Gallup will look at how approval ratings of Germany's leadership change -- or don't change -- without Merkel at the helm. Environment Efforts: Which Countries Are Falling Short? Ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, majorities of people in a host of top carbon-emitting countries-- many of the same ones that issued new climate pledges -- were dissatisfied with efforts to safeguard the environment. New in 2022: Find out what people think about their country's action -- or inaction -- on the environment after the commitments made at COP26. Over 1 Billion Worldwide Unwilling to Take COVID-19 Vaccine: The majority of adults worldwide (68%) told Gallup that they would agree to be vaccinated if a coronavirus vaccine were available to them at no cost. However, like the global number, in most countries, the percentages fell short of the numbers needed for herd immunity. New in 2022: Gallup will show where the world stands in its willingness to take COVID vaccines and where access to the jab is still an aspiration. Serious Depression, Anxiety Affect Nearly 4 in 10 Worldwide: A new Wellcome Global Monitor study revealed that in 2020, close to one in five adults (19%) said they personally had felt so anxious or depressed that they could not continue their regular daily activities for two weeks or longer, and another 19% said this had happened to a family member or close friend. New Record for Negative Emotions: In 2020, the world was feeling the worst it had in 15 years. The year was officially the most stressful in recent record, and experiences of worry, sadness and anger also rose worldwide. New in 2022: Find out whether 2021 shattered the records set in 2020 or the world experienced an emotional reset. Law and Order Survives the Pandemic: The pandemic upended a lot of things in people's lives, but Gallup's latest update on its annual Law and Order Index shows that, so far, it didn't fundamentally alter how safe most of the world feels or shake people's faith in the rule of law. About seven in 10 people worldwide in 2020 said they feel safe walking alone at night where they live (72%). New in 2022: Find out whether people still feel safe and how much confidence they have in their police to keep them safe. Women Worldwide Not Getting Tests That Could Save Their Lives: The inaugural Hologic Global Women's Health Index showed that during the first year of the pandemic, more than six in 10 women worldwide -- over 1.5 billion -- did not get tested for cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes or sexually transmitted diseases. New in 2022: Learn what Hologic and Gallup discovered from their second global survey about women's health challenges in the light of the pandemic and beyond. Economy, Not Election, Troubled Myanmar Before Coup: While Myanmar's military claimed that massive voter fraud in the November elections forced it to stage a coup, most voters in Myanmar were highly confident in the honesty of their country's elections in 2020. People were far more worried about the economy: 80% said it was a bad time to find a job in their local area. New in 2022: Find out how the lives of people in Myanmar have been affected since the coup and what their top concerns are now. Afghans in Crisis Before U.S. Withdrawal: Gallup World Poll data in recent years have painted an increasingly difficult economic situation throughout the country as Afghans have struggled to afford the basics. Just before the February 2020 signing of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal, more than seven in 10 Afghans (72%) reported that there had been times in the past 12 months when their household lacked enough money for food. New in 2022: Learn what life is like in Afghanistan after the Taliban's return to power. To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter. Read more 2021 findings from Gallup's surveys in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works. For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details. Students, faculty, and staff at the University of Miami now have access to a range of digital tools from IBM thanks to a growing partnership between the global computer corporation and the Universitys Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC). Late in the fall, IBM donated cloud accounts to all University students and faculty and staff members for educational and research purposes. These accounts also offer access to IBMs Watson artificial intelligence tool, Internet of Things, blockchain, and cybersecurity software, along with storage and access to more of the companys software, which many other institutions must purchase. This gives the University the ability to use the best technology in the world from a leading computer corporation, and it will also give us access to resources that enable and empower our researchto make it more competitive both nationally and internationally, said Yelena Yesha, a Knight Foundation endowed chair of artificial intelligence and machine learning, professor of computer science, and IDSCs innovation officer and head of international relations. By training on this infrastructure, our students will become even more competitive in the workplace. The technology also comes with a commitment from IBM to offer workshops and training on the cloud software for anyone interested, which will likely happen during the spring semester, Yesha said. IBM is interested in collaborating more broadly with all faculty and students across the campus, supporting the use of cloud, and the services it delivers in their research and teaching, said Andy Rindos, IBMs head of cloud university relations, program director of cloud platform client success, and head of its Center for Advanced Studies based in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. We are interested in building long-term relationships that lead to deeper collaborations with both professors and students. Rindos also hopes that students and IBM researchers can collaborate on projects and research grants in the coming years. The University has maintained a relationship with IBMin 2019, the University purchased its custom-built supercomputer, Triton, from IBM, which drastically accelerated data processing speedshowever, the donation solidifies a bond between Yesha and IBM that spans more than two decades. As a former professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Yesha began working with IBM in 1997 as a fellow in its Center for Advanced Studies. She still serves as a fellow and regularly collaborates with the companys researchers on grants funded by the National Science Foundation, among others. Yesha said that she looks forward to cultivating an even stronger connection between the computing giant and the University in the future. We hope this is the beginning of a broad relationship with UM and IBM, Yesha noted. To learn about how to gain access to these IBM tools, contact IDSC at idsc@miami.edu or 305-243-4962. Australian universities and thought leaders join global experts in discussions about new frontiers in tourism and innovative approaches to technology during Travel and Connectivity Week at Expo 2020 Dubai, from January 9-15. They will share practical insights and studies on sustainable tourism and digital connectivity, as the sector balances the impact of the expansion of the digital world on our physical reality. The following topics will be discussed: - Circular tourism models which put local communities first; - Ecotourism as the new norm; - Future decarbonisation of transport; and - How Smart Cities can ensure sustainable travel and connectivity. Australia is committed to sustainability in tourism and uses data science, and the latest technology and analytics to preserve its landscapes, lifestyle, ancient cultures and diverse population as it promotes and attracts global tourism. The Australian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai highlights why Australia is a destination of choice to visit, experience and explore. On January 11, from 10.30 a.m.-12.30 p.m., Yusuf Omar, co-founder of Hashtag Our Stories, a video publisher reaching millions of people daily on social media platforms, will conduct a workshop, New Frontiers in Tourism'. A former CNN Senior Social Media Reporter, multi-award-winning journalist, TEDx, UN, and News Xchange speaker, Omar was Mobile Editor at the Hindustan Times in India and a correspondent in Syria and Congo. He explores the new frontiers of tourism as a change in systems rather than as a new destination and advocates embracing regenerative and circular models which put local communities first. On January 13, from 4 p.m.-6 p.m., Professor Anne Hardy, Associate Professor Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Tourism and Sociology, of the University of Tasmania, presents World Majlis: Off the Beaten Path, Travel in the 21st Century at the India Pavilion. She discusses mass-market tourism and ecotourism as the new norm and showcases Australias expertise in digital technology and its commitment to sustainable tourism. She says: We were interested in understanding exactly where tourists go and so we designed an app called Tourism Tracer which uses GPS and includes a survey. "It helps researchers understand exactly who the tourists are and where they go to in real time, so tourism authorities and the industry can actually understand exactly where tourists are travelling. Tourism Tracers success resulted in changes in the way that destinations such as Tasmania collect visitor information. Since its development, it has been used in many other national and international jurisdictions and has now been commercialised. On January 14, from 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Professor Pascal Perez, Director of the SMART infrastructure facilities at University of Wollongong, will co-host a panel The Future Decarbonisation of Transportation in Smart Cities, at the Terra Auditorium. Dr May El Barachi, Associate Dean of Research and Head of Industry Outreach and Executive Learning at University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD), will join Professor Perez as co-host of the Smart Cities panel. An Egyptian-Canadian computer scientist and smart technology expert with degrees in telecommunications engineering, computer engineering and computer science, Dr El Barachi possesses the breadth of knowledge to conduct large-scale multi-disciplinary projects in biotech, smart transportation, smart cities, inclusion and innovation. She will be joined by Dr Mohamad Nassereddine, Assistant Professor at UOWD, who has a keen interest and knowledge in renewable energy, smart power systems, high voltage transmission and advanced smart grid. Dr Haile-Selassie Rajamani, Associate Professor at UOWD, teaches Signals & Systems and Control Theory and has a special interest in Renewable Energy and Power Electronics. Other Australian speakers connecting in remotely to participate in the panel include: - Philip Davis, Partner at Deloitte-Infrastructure Australia and former CEO of Infrastructure Australia, current chair of Australian Logistics Council and the SMART infrastructure facility advisory council at UOW; - Neil Wang, CEO of Foton Mobility, new energy project leader and electric bus distributor and hydrogen bus solution provider; and Ty Christopher, Director of the Energy Futures Network, University of Wollongong.-TradeArabia News Service AsianNet Jesper PET preform Corporation specializes in PET preforms, PET preform mold, PET preform bottle mold, over 30 various types of preforms. We are your leading industry resource for manufacturers and product information on the PET preforms. 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All products design in Taiwan, develop in Taiwan, produce in Taiwan, Truly Made in Taiwan. Accumulate experience plus self manufacture molds and willingness of develop newest and leading preforms which lay the foundation of fine quality preforms, customized and capability of export worldwide. The company continuously innovated ideas, deeply support and trust by clients of all fields and customers around the world. Serve Honestly ; Customer Satisfaction ; Customer Driven are the spirit and goals of Jesper PET preform co. by them expand globally. Interested clients are very welcome to contact us directly! Website: http://www.jesper-preform.com/ Tel: 886-35387186 Email: jesperpreform@gmail.com The troops conducted intelligence-based operations in Dera Ismail Khan and South Waziristan districts on the reported presence of terrorists, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said in the statement. "During intense exchange of fire, two terrorists got killed, three terrorists were apprehended and one terrorist surrendered to security forces," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying. Two soldiers also lost their lives while fighting the terrorists. Weapons and a huge cache of ammunition including improvised explosive devices and rockets were also recovered from the terrorists, said the statement. --IANS ksk/ ( 123 Words) 2022-01-06-14:54:02 (IANS) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Investors Clinic (IC), the leading real estate consulting company did a month long campaign (Flat 983) on Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, to identify and reward a COVID Warrior, who contributed selflessly and tirelessly to serve the society in these unprecedented times. Investors Clinic gifted keys of a flat to COVID warrior couple, Himanshu and Twinkle Kalia from Delhi, for providing free Ambulance services to COVID patients. The month-long campaign was run to select the winner through public opinion amongst the six finalists. Investors Clinic has been running this campaign for last five years with Radio Mirchi. The company has acknowledged the work undertaken by various civil society organizations and individuals in the last five seasons. Last year the company had gifted the flat to a Martyred Army Officer's family. Speaking on the occasion, Honeyy Katiyal, Founder, Investors Clinic said, "Investors Clinic has always believed that giving back to the society is the most important duty for every individual and company. The times have been really harsh, but some people have risen above normal beings and helped people during the COVID pandemic. We have been running this campaign to acknowledge the contribution of few exceptional people and highlight their impact on the society. This year, we decided to acknowledge the contribution of COVID Warriors. We congratulate Vasundhara and Kunal Bose for winning a small token of appreciation from our end and hope that they will continue doing the good work." The theme for this year's campaign was around COVID Warriors. Investors Clinic received more than 100 entries and six entries were finalized by the Jury which included - Himanshu Kalia and Twinkle Kalia (fondly known as Ambulance couple) for providing Free Ambulance Service; Vasundhara and Kunal Bose, Kvaab Welfare Foundation for working for distress animals; Rakesh - COVID Sample Collector, Paramedical Staff who collected more than 10k samples; Padma Shri Awardee Dr Jitender Singh Shunty, President Shaheed Bhagat Singh Seva Dal; and Usha Gupta, Pickle Lady who helped more than 65k families. While people are running the race of life to earn a living and become successful, there are few who selflessly contribute towards the society. It is important to recognize such work, so that they turn out to be inspiration for more and more people and create for warriors for the society. Investors Clinic has a strong network of 34 offices across India, more than 1.65 lakh sq. ft. of office space and global foray with international presence in Dubai, Doha and Singapore. Investors Clinic's brand value is - reckoned at more than INR 2000 Cr. with a turnover of INR 300+ Cr. Investors Clinic is strengthening its reach and presence very rapidly. Investors Clinic has a proven track record of working with more than 200 leading developers. The company is committed to providing best-in-class customer service through world-class technology, processes and response mechanisms. Investor Clinic is involved into end-to-end property deals, from property value appreciation to new property launches. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Gurgaon (Haryana) [India], January 6 (ANI/SRV): New Gurgaon, one of the fastest-growing cities of the nation, is getting a first of its kind multi-speciality Hospital. The Silverstreak Multi-Specialty Hospital fulfils every common man's dream of getting best healthcare facilities at affordable rates. Located in Sector 87, the heart of Gurgaon, Silverstreak Multi-specialty Hospital adopts a Patient First Approach. The patients will be receiving continuous expert attention and treatment that matches the international standards. The Hospital shares an eminent piece of infrastructure, home to 250 indoor beds and A-Grade medical equipment. Moreover, the Hospital also houses different well-equipped laboratories and diagnostic centres that assist the medical staff in treatment. SilverStreak Multispeciality Hospital offers consultations, surgery, daycare services & 24 hours Emergency Response. Highly experienced doctors in specialities like Medicine, Surgery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics& Neonatology, Orthopaedics, Physiotherapy, Dermatology, Radiology, Pathology, Pulmonology, Dental Surgery & Neurology are part of the team. Silver Streak multi-speciality hospital in New Gurgaon is ready for combating Covid-19 with fully functional Radiology & Labs, dedicated Covid beds, ventilators, and equipped I.C.U.s. The hospital team is 100% fully vaccinated, and they follow recommended precautions within Hospital as well as outside; also, they are daily checked for any signs/symptoms of infection. The organization is soon planning to start a cerebral palsy centre for the benefit of patients in need. The organization is already running a Welfare Society for Neurological Patients and organizing free camps every month last Sunday since 1998. From starting out as a vision of one man's dream to the reality of revolutionizing the health care industry, Silverstreak Multi-specialty Hospital is proud to be one of the flag bearers of this paradigm shift to - clinical excellence, patient-centricity and ethical practices. The founder & dreamer of this project, Dr V.K. Gupta, established V.K. Neurocare& Trauma Research Hospital- the first Hospital in Haryana to have facilities for Endoscopic Brain & Spine surgery in Jan 1997. Dr V.K. Gupta is an expert neurosurgeon trained at P.G.I., Chandigarh. By starting off the V.K. Neurocare& Trauma Research Hospital, a gap of non-availability of a neurosurgeon in the town- Hisar was filled. Dr Gupta aims to commit the same dedication in providing a similar revolution in the Delhi N.C.R. region. Mamta Gupta, Managing Director of Silverstreak Multi-specialty Hospital said, "With us, you have a resolute team of highly qualified medical professionals serving beside you. Equipped with carefully chosen medical accessories and machinery, Silverstreak Multi-specialty Hospital guarantees unmatchable healthcare facilities and all the essential services associated with your treatment at a highly affordable cost. The hospital focuses on individual care to deliver the best results. With 360-degree care, patients experience the concept of Total Quality Management. The consultants and Nursing staff are not only just experts in their speciality, but they are also driven by the vision of quality and commitment in giving individual attention to their patients. Residents of the New Gurgaon area are elated with the opening of a multi-specialty hospital nearby with at par service standards of the main Gurgaon area. A few residents quoted that they feel safe for their family members as World-Class daily care & emergency care is available nearby. V. K. Neurocare&Silverstreak Multi-specialty Hospital has an association with many renowned organizations for the upliftment of society. Association with the "Welfare Society for the Neurological Patient" has so far provided free consultation, diagnosis and concessional medical aid to patients, since 1997, under the able guidance of Lion H.R. Narang & Lion Dr V. K. Gupta. The founder of the Hospital, Dr V.K. Gupta has also got the "Man of Achievement Award" in1999 and Rashtriya Saman Puraskar by Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon'ble Ex Union Minister for Power, on 13th July 2001. He is an expert Neurosurgeon from P.G.I., Chandigarh, has visited many places in and out India to participate in medical conference life Australia, U.K., Jaipur, Chandigarh, Allahabad, Bangalore, Madras, etc Currently, the Hospital is running various inaugural offers like (conditions applied): * Free Registration. * 30% OFF on O.P.D. Consultation. * 25% OFF on Cash Surgical Packages. * 20% OFF on investigations. * 10% OFF on Lab & Pharmacy. * Family physician consultation at Rs100 only. To Book an appointment call +91-9910520522, +91-124-432-4444 To know more visit: https://silverstreakhospital.com/ This story is provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Delhi-based research firm International Brand & Research Forum (IBRF) announced MRG School as amongst the best schools providing 'Blended Teaching Learning'. MRG School is the first senior secondary School in Delhi that promotes the value-based education of The Shriram Schools, Delhi & Gurugram in collaboration with Shri Educare Ltd. (SEL). The academic collaboration with Shri Educare Ltd., an education consultancy set-up by the Arun Bharat Ram Group, enables the implementation of value-based education of The Shri Ram Schools, Delhi and Gurugram. The collaboration also aims to establish higher benchmarks of academic excellence and to set a new standard for quality education. MRG School intends to attain academic achievement and ensure that all children are future ready by utilizing one-on-one computing, higher order thinking abilities, and 21st-century talents. The school has concentrated on realigning their teaching approaches and includes skill education embedded in the Blended TL curriculum in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's New Education Policy, which was revealed in July 2020. On school's reformed approach, and its relevance in the post-pandemic world, Anshu Mittal, Principal, MRG School, Rohini, said, "Critical thinking and a reflective attitude to learning will become the cornerstones of future success and survival as we prepare our students to deal with the post-pandemic world. It's critical for educators and mentors to stay updated to help pupils with clarity in their cognitive processes. Through their academic relationship with SEL, MRG School has addressed this need." MRG School, which is ranked among the top ten schools in Delhi, bases its pedagogy on the principle of the 'Three Way Handshake', which states that a child's continuous development and firm foundation can only be achieved through a tripartite arrangement between parents, teachers, and students. MRG school students are taught to value rational thinking, critical evaluation, decision-making, and, most importantly, faultless execution. Nearpod, Padlet, Mentimeter, Jamboard, Quizlet, Vooks, Turtle Diary, Kahoot, Phet, and other e-learning tools and interactive platforms are being introduced and used according to the necessity, accessibility, and interest of the subjects concerned, according to this CBSE School in Delhi. MRG School's teachers and staff meet at regular intervals throughout the year for a training and evaluation programme that helps them connect successfully with learners and foster a culture of conversational and research-based discourse, and learning. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): New hiring by Omaxe in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana made up for more than 56% of the total hiring in 2021; a significant rise in the past two years. "Tier 2/3 cities are doing pretty well and that's where the actual demand is. That's where the ambition and aspiration are," Mohit Goel, MD, Omaxe Ltd. had said this at a real estate conclave just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown in March 2020. Tier 2/3 cities continue to do well, especially after the pandemic when infrastructure development has taken center stage, businesses and corporates have shown keen interest and consuming class has become more expressive and indulgent. It shows how important these cities have emerged in writing the next chapter of India's growth story. The Delhi-headquartered company Omaxe forayed into State Capitals and tier 2/3 cities in 2005 under the leadership of its founder Rohtas Goel, Chairman, Omaxe Ltd. So far, the company has sold and delivered several townships, group housing, malls, offices, etc. in various cities of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, etc. And in doing so, the company has not just contributed to the development of these cities but also in the employment & empowerment of the people and spurring the local economies. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana - holding 20% of India's population and 10% of the total area - accounted for 56% of the total hiring in Omaxe in 2021 against the approx. 49% in 2020 and 30% in 2019. "We have been successful in building a brand and thereby vindicating our foray into these cities. Trusting our approach of development in these cities has yielded the desired results. The local human resources, possessing deep insights and a fundamental understanding of the micro-markets, have been our greatest strength. We have doubled down on the hiring in these cities to strengthen our presence, ensure more construction & delivery and enhance our brand equity. Digitalization has become a great enabler to help us penetrate deeper into these cities," said Jatin Goel, Director, Omaxe Ltd. The company is committed to the development and expansion of its real estate projects in cities like Lucknow, New Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Faridabad among others. The development of Expressways & Highways, Airports, Metro Rail, Outer Ring Roads, Industrial Parks, Corporate Offices, Malls, and Residential Colonies, etc. have made connectivity convenient and living and working easy in these cities. "These cities are a goldmine not just in real estate and other businesses but also in the return on investment they offer, aspirations for a good lifestyle, and consumer income and spending. We intend to tap the young manpower and harness their potential through on-the-job training programmes and skill up-gradation so that they deliver the goods for the company," Jatin Goel added. Omaxe has also played a key role in spurring the local allied industries. The company has delivered close to 127 million sq. ft. since the brand was founded in 1987 and is currently undertaking the construction of 23 projects and employs close to 1200 people. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): As COVID-19 surged in the second quarter, the lack of medical facilities especially in rural areas caused major problems for the residents of villages. Amidst this unprecedented situation, Major Pradeep Shoury Arya., I.R.S., Shaurya Chakra, Additional Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bengaluru organized and coordinated a corona relief support program throughout the country in association with the respective local/Civil Administration and state government authorities. The first initiative undertook during the second wave to upgrade Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) into a COVID care PHC in the Monyakshu village PHC of Nagaland with the help of Tavaseelan Karunidhy, I.A.S District Collector, Mon District, Nagaland, including Rupin Sharma, IPS. Also, the initiative took place in Charaideo for the Sonari PHC in Sapekhati village of Assam with the help of Mrs Binita Pegu, P.C.S, Charaideo District Collector, Assam, and Brigadier Sachin Mehta, VSM of 73 Brigade. As part of the support program, Beds, Concentrators, Bed Covers, Sanitizers, Gloves, Oxygen Cylinders with flow oxygen meters, N95 masks, Pulse Oximeter, Bed Sheets, PPE kits, and 4Kva inverter were contributed. The second phase of the initiative was then taken forward into the various districts of Karnataka for distribution of Ration Kits, Medical Kits and Pulse Oximeters, including installation of Oxygen Generation Plants in various Districts of Karnataka and organized relief measures, along with various NGOs, including The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) & other stakeholders. Followed by a relief measure in Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu along with various NGOs and stakeholders. The last phase witnessed an event in Pauri Garhwal District in Uttarakhand that was flagged off by the Pushkar Singh Dhami, the honorable Chief Minister of Uttarakhand in the presence of Major General Gulab Singh Rawat, AVSM, YSM, SM, (then Additional Director General of Territorial Army, New Delhi). Shri Dhan Singh Rawat, the honorable Health Minister of Uttarakhand, officially received the Primary Health Centre (PHC) up-gradation materials, including the Ration Kits, Medical Kits, and Pulse Oximeters. Explaining his stance, Major Pradeep Arya said, "The second wave of pandemic forced all of us to rethink our existence and support each other. In these unprecedented times, basic healthcare facilities for those affected with coronavirus are the need of the hour. Hence, catering to their needs and providing them with supplies was the most essential step which had to be taken. I would especially like to express my gratitude towards the support groups and local team across the districts for their support throughout the initiative." In the last year, Major Arya has been actively engaged in different causes to provide support and relief to marginalized and remote communities that have faced music during the pandemic. In the face of deep uncertainty, it is responsible human beings like Major Pradeep Arya, who go out of their way to show us that light at the end of the tunnel and support the government in the fight against this global crisis. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Hoshiarpur (Punjab) [India], January 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Punjab Forest Minister S. Sangat Singh Giljian inaugurated the Nature Awareness Project at Thana Village. It includes 3 Lake facing Eco Tents, boating and Jungle safari gypsies. This type of adventure based eco-tourism in the sub mountain ranges of district Hoshiarpur which borders Himachal Pradesh is one-of-its-kind. Punjab forest department has set up a camp namely Thana Nature retreat amid serene and secluded Thana and Dehrian forests overlooking Thana reservoir lake. "This forest has a pristine beauty and the Thana Lakefront offers a picturesque view for nature lovers," said Parveen Kumar IFS, PCCF (HOFF) Punjab. Forest minister S. Sangat Singh Giljian dedicated this project namely Thana Nature Retreat and Jungle Safari to the people of Punjab. Urging people to visit this scenic nature retreat, Punjab Forest Minister S. Sangat Singh Giljian said, "I take this opportunity to congratulate everyone involved in making this nature awareness project a grand success. This place is truly a best kept secret which has the potential to become one of the most visited tourist spots of Punjab. Besides promoting eco-tourism, it will help in creating employment opportunities for the local people of Kandi area. Spending time in such a landscape which has an abundance of flora and fauna is innately rewarding as it has a soothing effect on our mind." The camp offers 3 all-weather tents with dining and restaurant facility to the visitors. The camp also offers a boat ride in the lake area of Thana dam. A dedicated jungle safari with off-road gypsies that started today connects Thana to Dehrian to Kukanet. It is pertinent to mention here that 7 km track from Thana to Dehrian offers the best ride through sand dunes and further 5 km from Dehrian to Kukanet through a steady stream of water which keeps flowing throughout the year. This stream has natural bamboo canopy on its sides. On the track it is common to spot caves of wild animals. The nature trail near Dehrian also provides one of the best serene landscapes from the watchtower. "These facilities will boost the eco-tourism potential of this area and further enhance the economy of that area through employment opportunities," said Dr Sanjeev Tiwari IFS, Conservator of Forest Hoshiarpur. "Depending upon the demand of the visitors these facilities can further be enhanced and other wildlife rich areas like Takhni wildlife sanctuary can be made a corridor for the visitors," said Amneet Singh IFS, DFO Hoshiarpur. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI/TPT): The esteemed Chairperson of the Waqf Development Committee of Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, Dr Darakhshan Andrabi called on the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, at Raj Bhavan to discuss new initiatives and reforms in the education sector. They were accompanied by a delegation of well-learned educationists that included the CEO Dr Maqsood Ahmed, and the Executive Director Shahid Wani of Nizamia Education Group. The event took place on January 5, 2021, at the Raj Bhavan with all the important members of the panel present. The agenda of discussion was to bring to light the recent initiatives and futuristic reforms brought in Jammu and Kashmir's education sector by the Lt. Governor. The members of the delegation discussed with the Lt Governor their roadmap of educational initiatives in the Union Territory for promoting utilitarian and universal education for all the students. The Lt Governor while interacting with the members of the delegation assured them of all support by the administration of Union Territory for their endeavors in the education sector. He called for promoting education in consonance with NEP-2020, incorporating the latest technological interventions for the holistic development of students. Talking about the essence of education and the need for these reforms, educationist, and CEO of Nizamia Group of Education, Dr Maqsood Ahmed says, "Each and every student of not only this country but also abroad deserve to be well educated and learned. If through these small measures of ours we are able to help them even in the smalled of ways, I'll feel it be worth it all to be called an educationist. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir requires its youth to be educated in the best manner possible, and this discussion with the honorable Lt. Governor gave strength to the entire motive." The discussion was brought to fruition and are looking forward to implementing the discussed strategies for the welfare of the young minds of the Union Territory as soon as possible. This story is provided by TPT. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/TPT) The Delhi High Court on Thursday junked BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea against debt-laden Air India's disinvestment process, in which the Tatas emerged as the highest bidder. A bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said: "The policy decision to disinvest was taken after following transparent procedure through multi-layered decision making, involving Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) and the empowered Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) at the apex Ministerial level, with support for the entire process from reputed Transaction Adviser, Legal Adviser and Asset Valuer." Swamy, who appeared in person, urged the high court to pass a direction to the government to quash the present Air India disinvestment process. He termed the process as "arbitrary, unconstitutional, unfair" and added that the process was rigged in favour of the Tatas. However, the high court said the petitioner failed to establish any illegality or arbitrariness in the process. It said the apprehension of the petitioner is based upon a news report in one of the newspapers that government has sought Parliament's nod to infuse over Rs 62,000 crore to its company that holds Air India's debt, liabilities and some non-core assets. "Whereas in October, 2021, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management ("DIPAM") Secretary had stated that net liability on Government after Air India's privatization amounted to Rs 28,844 crore," noted the court. The high court noted that Centre has been working towards to close the disinvestment process, and further delay would cause loss to the public exchequer. "We also find merit in the stand of the Respondents No. 1 to 4 that each day, approximately Rs 20 crore are being invested to run the airline by the Government. The successful bidder needs to invest huge capital to infuse new life into the concerned airline," it said. During the hearing, Swamy clarified that he is not against disinvestment and free market, but his grievance was against the procedure adopted to favour Tata. After hearing detailed arguments in the matter, the high court reserved its order on January 4. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted the disinvestment was a policy decision, as the national carrier was running into losses. In October, the government accepted the highest bid made by Tata Sons for 100 per cent equity shares of Air India and Air India Express along with a 50 percent stake in its ground-handling company named AISATS. --IANS ss/vd ( 423 Words) 2022-01-06-21:18:02 (IANS) Royal Jordanian Airlines loyalty programme, Royal Club, has joined forces with Dezerved, the luxury invite-only platform. The second airline loyalty programme to partner with Dezerved, alongside Lufthansas Miles & More, Royal Club will offer its members access to the Dezerved platform, where they can find offers from high-end luxury brands. Launched in 2021 by Loylogic, the creator of points/miles experiences, Dezerved grants loyalty programme members access to discounts on luxury goods from brands like Gucci, Dior, and Bvlgari, and also offers a selection of elite experiences. Dezerved will be available to Royal Club programme's Platinum Hawk and Gold Sparrow members, a statement from the airline said. Royal Jordanian is building on an existing partnership with Loylogic, as they are already users of its Pointshub and Pointspay solutions. Dezerved CEO Dominic Hofer said: We are delighted that Royal Jordanian are now partnered with all three of Loylogics solutions. Dezerved will provide their Royal Club Gold Sparrow and Platinum Hawk members with a new way to engage with their miles. We hope that Royal Jordanians top-tier members will be excited by the offerings on our platform. The airline's Head of Frequent Flyer Department Yola Isaac said: We are excited to be launching this platform at the time Royal Jordanian marks its 58th Anniversary. Adding Dezerved to our offering, in addition to the Pointshub and Pointspay programmes, provides our members with the rewards experience - to suit all customers, at every level. "With Dezerved we are able to provide our most loyal customers with the finest offers from an impressive selection of luxury products and brands that we are sure they will enjoy.-TradeArabia News Service Actor Bhumi Pednekar, who recently wrapped up shooting for Anubhav Sinha's 'Bheed', revealed that she would now want to play a freedom fighter on the big screen, terming it as her "dream role". The actor, who is known for her diverse film choices and portraying strong female characters on screen, said, "Playing a freedom fighter on screen would be my dream role! I'm fascinated by such remarkable personalities and it would be an honour for me to play someone like that on screen. I actually want to do that and I hope that the universe is listening to this. I would also like to be a part of a fantasy project. There are so many different types of projects that I would love to explore and experience as an actor." The actor, who is gearing up for her next release, 'Badhaai Do' with Rajkummar Rao, has many other projects in her kitty including Ajay Bahl's 'Ladykiller', Shashank Khaitan's 'Govinda Aala Re' with Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani, Karan Johar's 'Takht' and Aanand L. Rai's 'Raksha Bandhan', which would mark her second film with Akshay Kumar. "I think one common thread in all my films or the work I have done is that I am trying to break stereotypes. I have done that right from 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' and I do see myself playing ambitious, vocal, beautiful, gutsy women on screen because I relate to them deeply. I'm thrilled that I'm an artiste today and that I'm living my dream every single day and creatively expressing myself freely," added the 'Sonchiriya' actor. Bhumi made her acting debut in 2015 with 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha', opposite Ayushmann Khurrana, where she played the role of overweight but feisty girl Sandhya, which earned her rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. She has acted in several critical and commercial hits like 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha', 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan', 'Bala', 'Saand ki Aankh' among others. She was last seen in the 2020 OTT release 'Durgamati'. (ANI) Taking to her Instagram handle, Shilpa shared a video of herself with Raj in which the duo could be seen praying in front of Sai Baba's idol. "Sabka Maalik Ek. Shraddha aur Saboori. Om Sai Ram," she captioned the post that accumulated more than 1 million views on Instagram. Shilpa could be seen clad in a dark red kurta while Raj was seen wearing grey attire. The duo recently celebrated this year's Christmas together with their kids and friends in Mussoorie. Shilpa shared a few pictures and videos from her holiday getaway. Earlier in November, Shilpa and Raj made their first public appearance for a temple visit in Himachal Pradesh, post the latter's bail in the pornography case. Raj was arrested on July 19 along with 11 other people on charges related to the alleged creation of pornographic films. (ANI) People magazine recently obtained quotes of Jung from her recent interview with Vogue about navigating her newfound fame with 'Squid Game'. "I didn't believe it. I didn't trust it," Jung told the outlet. Hoyeon Jung was met with overnight success after 'Squid Game' debuted on Netflix in September -- but navigating that newfound fame has proved to be an adjustment. The 27-year-old model-turned-actor said her "entire life changed in just one month" after the Korean survival thriller premiered. "The feeling, there's a limit to what words can express," said Jung, who plays Kang Sae-byeok in Squid Game. According to the publication, she also lost eight pounds. "I don't know why, but I couldn't eat. I was so confused, and it was so chaotic. I didn't believe it. I didn't trust it," she said. "My mom did joke that my acting was very realistic, like when I'm being mean to her. My younger sister never really took an interest in my career. She just thinks of me as her older sibling, so when she told me that my acting was 'not that bad' in Squid Game, I was quite surprised," the star added. Jung also recalled how she left her New York City residence at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to participate in a callback, during the audition process. "I didn't even have time to pack my things. I had to leave my Balmuda oven and a brand-new naembi," she recalled. 'Squid Game' was a massive hit for Netflix. After its premiere this past fall, it broke the streaming service's record for the biggest series debut. The series is now eyeing for a second season, confirmed creator Hwang Dong-hyuk a few months back. (ANI) The gesture was instantly applauded by Netizens, who expressed the hope that the gesture would motivate others also to donate their hair. Rishika's donation was a part of a programme organised in Mysuru by the Hair and Beauty Association in the memory of the late Kannada superstar, Puneeth Rajkumar. As many as 70 donors participated in the programme, which Rishika had inaugurated. The actress stated that she was very happy to donate her hair to cancer patients. "Like 'vidyadaan' (gift of education) and 'kanyadaan' (giving away one's daughter to the son-in-law), 'keshdaan' (hair donation) is also important," she said in her statement. The actress added: "I have seen many of my friends and relatives being affected by cancer. The patients lose their hair after undergoing chemotherapy. That is very painful to watch. God has blessed us with good health and good hair, so I am donating." After actress Rishika Raj inaugurated the programme and donated her hair, as many as 70 donors have come forward to donate their hair to cancer patients. --IANS mka/srb ( 209 Words) 2022-01-06-11:58:03 (IANS) Nagarjuna had spoken during event a pre-release event of his movie 'Bangarraju' on Wednesday. A journalist had questioned Nagarjuna on the minimal ticket pricing for the movies in Andhra Pradesh. Nagarjuna refused to react on the matter, stating that he doesn't want to address political issues during a movie event. "I refuse to comment on political issues, as this is a movie-related event. I can only talk about 'Bangarraju' movie and related things here," the 'Manmadhudu' actor said. Nagarjuna had earlier said, "I have no problem even if the prices are low. My movie is fine with these prices. Maybe it will collect a little lesser money at the box-office. But there is no problem." In the wake of a slash in movie ticket prices and theatre seizures, the Telugu film industry has been facing a lot of hurdles in Andhra Pradesh. A few celebrities like Nani, Ram Gopal Varma, Raghavendra Rao have opposed the state government's move. --IANS py/kr ( 190 Words) 2022-01-06-12:24:01 (IANS) Actor Sayani Gupta is currently working for Hindi anthology film, which also features Gajraj Rao. Opening up about her experience working with Gajraj Rao, Sayani shared, "I have been wanting to work with Gajraj Rao for a long time. We had never met but always expressed our admiration for each other's work on social media. When I met him this time on set, it didn't feel like we hadn't met ever. He is so warm and so cute. I absolutely love him. I wanted to do this film immediately after the producer Mehul told me it's two actors primarily, Gajraj and I. Once I read the script I loved it." She added, " It's a very unusual part. Have never played anything like this before. And a beautiful mix of comedy and drama. The director/writer duo Aditya and Gayatri have written this with great love. I'm glad we could collaborate together and hopefully will have a film we are all proud of." The yet-to-be-titled film is being helmed by Aditya Rathi and Gayatri Patil. (ANI) Andy Cohen is not apologetic for his 'drunken New Year's Eve hosting stint' on CNN's 'Live From Times Square' special alongside Anderson Cooper. As per Variety, Cohen went viral for dissing outgoing New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, saying, "The only thing that the Democrats and the Republicans can agree on is what a horrible mayor he has been, so sayonara, sucka! 2022! It's a new year." Cohen appeared on 'The Howard Stern Show' this week and stood defiant when asked about his tipsy hosting duties. "I will not be shamed for having fun on New Year's Eve. That's why I'm there. That's why they bring me there," Cohen told Howard Stern. Cohen reminded listeners that his drunken antics made up only a small portion of the four-hour-plus 'Live From Times Square' special, adding, "It's a four-and-a-half-hour show. The booze started kicking in around 11:30. So everyone is focusing on kind of the last 45 minutes or hour that we were on the air. I kicked into high gear with 45 minutes left. So we had done 15 interviews by that point. I won't be shamed by it. I had a blast. Anderson had a blast. We left, we were like, 'That was fun, what a fun New Year's Eve.' No apologies for my drinking on New Year's Eve. None." Earlier this week, Cohen said he had only one regret about his hosting and that was making fun of Ryan Seacrest on national television. During the 'Live From Times Square' special, Cohen spotted Seacrest's ABC broadcast station from afar and told viewers, "There's a bunch of smoke coming from Ryan Seacrest's group of losers that are performing behind us. If you've been watching ABC tonight, you've seen nothing, I'm sorry." "The only thing that I regret saying, the only thing, is that I slammed the ABC broadcast. I really like Ryan Seacrest, and he's a great guy. I really regret saying that, and I was just stupid and drunk and feeling it," Cohen said on his 'Radio Andy' show. CNN has already announced Cohen and Anderson will return for the network's 'Live From Times Square' special at the end of 2022 to ring in the new year. (ANI) Late legendary actor-comedian Betty White will have a private funeral because she "never wanted people to make a fuss over her," her publicist has confirmed. Jeff Witjas, the star's longtime rep and friend, told People magazine on Wednesday, "The arrangements are being handled privately and that was Betty's wish." It is not known when the ceremony will take place, and whether any of 'The Golden Girls' alum's celebrity pals will be in attendance. White died on December 31 at age 99 of natural causes at her home in Brentwood, California, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday on January 17. "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," Witjas said in a statement last week. She continued, "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband, Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again." Witjas also told People magazine that any fans who wish to honor the trailblazing TV star could do so by donating to some of her favorite organizations. "If someone has a desire to do something in her honor, you can support or donate to one or more of her favorite charities or even donate to a local animal charity of your choice," Witjas said. Although White was passionate about animals, her true love was always her late husband, Ludden. The Hollywood icon's friend and 'Mama's Family' co-star Vicki Lawrence had told Page Six this week that she was told the "very last word out of her mouth was 'Allen.'" (ANI) Hollywood actor Gal Gadot's 'Cleopatra' remake has been moving ahead with 'The Falcon and the Winter Solider' filmmaker Kari Skogland replacing Patty Jenkins as director. According to Variety, the project generated controversy when it was first announced in December 2020 due to Gadot's casting as the iconic Egyptian queen. The 'Wonder Woman' star is an Israeli actor playing a mixed-race historical figure. The outrage mirrored the whitewashing of casting Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's eponymous 1963 film. Despite the outrage, Gadot recently told a magazine that her 'Cleopatra' movie will be "the story the world needs to hear now." Gadot said, "I can't reveal a lot, but I can tell you that we're going to celebrate the Cleopatra story. We're going to show not just how sexy and appealing she was, but how strategic and smart, and how much impact she had and still has on the world we're living in today. I've watched all the 'Cleopatra' movies throughout history, but I feel like we're telling the story the world needs to hear now." Gadot had reacted to the outrage around her casting as Cleopatra in a December 2020 interview. The actor defended accepting the role at the time, saying, "First of all, if you want to be true to the facts then Cleopatra was Macedonian. We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn't there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra." "I have friends from across the globe, whether they're Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course," Gadot continued. She added, "People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honor this amazing historic icon that I admire so much...You know, anybody can make this movie and anybody can go ahead and do it. I'm very passionate that I'm going to do my own too." As per Variety, in addition to 'Cleopatra', Gadot also has 'Wonder Women 3' on her upcoming docket. (ANI) Joe Wright's musical drama 'Cyrano' has been pushed back by over a month in the UK, seemingly becoming the latest film casualty of the ongoing omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the feature, which Universal is handling internationally and stars Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett and Kelvin Harrison Jr., was due for release on January 14 but, with just a week to go, has been now been delayed until February 25, with previews set for February 14 (Valentine's Day). Given the late move, the publicity drive had already kicked off, with Dinklage appearing on a recent episode of The Graham Norton Show on the BBC to promote the film. The film joins Operation Mincemeat in the UK, which THR revealed in December was shifting from its January 14 slot to April 22. Both titles appear skewed towards an older demographic, which even before the emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in late November had been much more cautious about returning to public events. However, it should be noted that Universal, via Focus Features, is still going ahead with the U.K. release of Kenneth Branagh's 'Belfast', another film that would fit into this category, on January 21. 'Cyrano' had a limited one-week LA run in December, an event also impacted by omicron with United Artists Releasing canceling the red-carpet premiere at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum on December 15 "out of an abundance of caution given the changing COVID landscape." As per the Hollywood Reporter, the latest news comes as the UK recorded almost 195,000 daily cases of COVID-19, up more than 11,700 from the previous week, and 334 daily deaths. (ANI) The report quoting sources said the man identified as Neeraj Bishnoi was the mastermind who allegedly created the app on the GitHub platform. TCN News Support TwoCircles NEW DELHI A man believed to be the main accused in the Bulli Bai case in which Muslim women were put up for an online auction, has been arrested from Assam, NDTV reported quoting top sources in Delhi Police. The report quoting sources said the man identified as Neeraj Bishnoi was the mastermind who allegedly created the app on the GitHub platform. The report further said that Bishnoi was also the main Twitter account holder that put out vile tweets with photographs of the women, many of them doctored. Three persons including a young woman were earlier arrested in connection with the same casethat has caused outrage in the country. A student Mayank Rawal was caught in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said. Another accusedan engineering student from Bengaluru, Vishal Kumar Jha, was arrested earlier. Earlier, Police said that the mastermind behind the egregious app is a teenager Shweta Singh from Uttarakhand. Singh controlled Bulli Bai and three more apps, investigations by police have revealed. The app called Bulli Bai had put up images of Muslim women in Indiaamong them prominent journalists and activistsfor an online auction. Bulli Bia is a derogatory term used to describe Muslim women in India. A similar app and website called Sulli Deals had surfaced earlier this year and had sparked massive outrage. Strict lockdowns in the Chinese cities of Xian and Yuzhou are taking their toll on the population and healthcare systems, according to residents, with complaints of food shortages and dangerous delays in accessing medical care, The Guardian reported. Xi'an, a city of 13 million people, has been under strict lockdown for nearly two weeks now, while Yuzhou's 1.2 million residents have been ordered to stay inside since Monday evening, after three asymptomatic cases were discovered there. Public transport, the use of private motor vehicles, and operation of all shops and venues not supplying daily necessities have all been suspended, the report said. On China's strictly monitored and regulated social media platforms, a significant number of residents have posted about their concerns and anxieties, despite generally broad support for authorities' swift response to outbreaks, The Guardian reported. Local media has reported concerning delays in the cities' major hospitals, which require negative tests from patients before they can be admitted. A screenshot of one post which went viral before being deleted claimed a man and his sick father were turned away from a Xi'an hospital because they were from an area designated as higher risk. The post said the man's father was having a heart attack but died by the time he was admitted for treatment, the report said. In another account posted to social media, a woman in labour lost her baby after she was prevented from entering a Xi'an hospital. In a since-deleted post, a relative described calling emergency services on the night of 1 January for their aunt after she started feeling pain, but the phone rang out, the report added. --IANS san/arm ( 289 Words) 2022-01-05-22:20:05 (IANS) According the state Health and Family Welfare Department, negative RT-PCR certificates not older than 72 hours shall be compulsorily produced by the passengers travelling on flight, bus, train or personal transport and entering Karnataka. This is also applicable for passengers boarding connecting flights for Goa. The airlines concerned shall issue boarding passes only to the passengers carrying negative RT-PCR certificates. Similarly, railway authorities shall be responsible for ensuring that all passengers traveling by trains from Goa to Karnataka carry negative RT-PCR certificates. For all passengers traveling by bus originating from Goa, bus conductors shall be directed to ensure passengers possess negative RT-PCR certificates. Deputy Commissioners of the districts bordering Goa state, Belagavi and Uttara Kannada shall establish check posts and make arrangements to deploy necessary staff to ensure that all vehicles (passengers, drivers, helpers or cleaners) entering Karnataka are checked for the compliance of the above requirements. It is mandatory for students and the public who are regular travellers from Goa to Karnataka for various reasons, to undergo RT-PCR once in 15 days and possess such negative reports. Health care professionals, children below five years, in dire emergency situations such as death in family and medical treatment are permitted exemptions for negative RT-PCR certificates. Their swabs will be collected on arrival in Karnataka with necessary details like phone number, address. On receipt of receipt of RT-PCR report, necessary action will be initiated, the order said. --IANS mka/vd ( 280 Words) 2022-01-05-22:58:05 (IANS) Karnataka won't close the borders in all districts with neighboring states amid the third wave of Covid, state minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said on Wednesday. The movement between the neighboring states will remain normal but more vigilance will be kept. The new guidelines are implemented to prevent the situation from going out of hand, he said. He further stated that the government aims to develop industries in the Belagavi region leveraging on the ecosystem which is supportive to the growth of industries as well as entrepreneurship. In his remarks at the 'CEOs Conclave' organized by Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) as part of the 'Beyond Bengaluru' initiative, he said that the state has planned to achieve becoming a $400 billion digital economy in the next 5 years through the development of 'Beyond Bengaluru' clusters in the state which also includes Hubli region. "Being an entrepreneurial and educational region, Belagavi is also blessed with a good climate. This will boost the industrial growth in the region. The VTU of Belagavi will be developed as an anchor institute on par with IISc and IIT and an action plan to make it a reality has been prepared," he said. --IANS mka/vd ( 214 Words) 2022-01-05-23:08:03 (IANS) The Delhi government on Wednesday directed its nine hospitals to increase the beds reserved for Covid patients amid an alarming spike in Covid cases in the national capital. In a circular issued by the Delhi Health Department, nine Delhi-government run hospitals have been asked to increase the number of Covid beds to 4,350 from the existing 3,316 in view of the surge in cases. The Indira Gandhi Hospital has 1,181 beds reserved presently for Covid patients, which has been directed to further escalate to 1,500 beds. Similarly, the Lok Nayak Hospital, Gurunanak Eye Centre and Ram Leela Maidan Covid Care Centre collectively have 650 beds presently, which will be ramped up to 750 for Covid patients, as per the order. The Burari Hospital will also increase its bed capacity from 300 to 400. The Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital will increase its bed capacity to 300 from the present 150, while the Ambedkar Nagar Hospital is expected to increase the number of Covid beds to 200. The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital will escalate the number of beds to 150 beds for Covid patients, while the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital and Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital will increase bed capacity to 150 each amid a surge in a Covid cases in the national capital. The circular has asked the directors of all these hospitals to ensure that all preparations are taken for engaging the necessary manpower, equipment etc. Delhi on Wednesday reported 10,665 fresh Covid cases, highest since May 12, along with eight deaths. The positivity rate has shot up to 11.88 per cent. The national capital presently has an active Covid caseload of 23,307. ---IANS avr/arm ( 293 Words) 2022-01-05-23:20:04 (IANS) West Bengal on Wednesday saw daily Covid cases surge 55 per cent, to over 14,000, against 9,000 on the day before, forcing the state government to impose restrictions strictly. According to the data released by the state Health Department, the daily tally rose to 14,022 against 9,073 on Tuesday, taking active cases to a whopping 33,042 - the highest number since Durga Puja in October last year. There are 17 more deaths too. The infection rate has skyrocketed to 23.27 percent giving a real tough time to the state Health Department. Kolkata tops the chart with more than 6,000 infections on Wednesday, a 45 per cent rise over the previous day. There has also been a substantial rise of cases in districts in and around Kolkata. In North 24 Parganas, the total number of daily cases touched 2,540, in Howrah, it was 1,280 and in South 24 Parganas, the number of cases was 789. "This is a new trend because it shows that the districts encircling Kolkata are having a spill-over effect of the virus. Previously these three districts that have got a direct link with Kolkata had a moderate number of infected patients but now the number has started rising. We have asked all the government and private hospitals to get prepared for the Covid blast in the state. In the coming days it will have a steep rise and it might put an additional pressure on the hospitals," a senior Health Department official said. "Presently, there is no shortage of medicine or oxygen but the rate of increase is alarming and we don't know what will be the situation in the next seven days. We are getting prepared for every possible situation and we will meet the challenges. We have been successful in controlling the second wave and are hopeful that we will be successful in handling the third wave as well," the official said. --IANS sbg/vd ( 334 Words) 2022-01-06-00:34:04 (IANS) "A single Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for persons aged 12 to 17 years at least 5 months after primary series under the FDA's emergency use authorization," said the recommendation on Wednesday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to quickly sign off on the committee's endorsement to make it effective. The advisers made the recommendation after hearing research on rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in young people who have received Covid-19 vaccines and noting that many parents are concerned about long-term side effects of vaccines. They also considered that vaccine uptake among 12- to 17-year-olds has slowed recently and weighed the record numbers of Covid-19 cases in children amid a surge of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for Pfizer's Covid vaccine boosters to children aged 12 to 15. Pfizer boosters were previously authorised for people aged 16 and 17, and the CDC has already recommended people aged 16 and older get boosters. Hospitalisations of children infected with Covid-19 are rising in the United States as the highly contagious Omicron variant drives a wave of infection in the broader population. Multiple studies have shown that booster shots significantly increase protection against infection and severe illness. --IANS ksk/ ( 259 Words) 2022-01-06-14:26:03 (IANS) In a New Year jolt to Baba Ramdev, a Pune court has ordered the police to investigate a criminal complaint against the yoga guru and his business associate Acharya Balkrishna, who is Chairman of the consumer giant, Patanjali Ayurved, for their claims on their Covid-19 cure medicine 'Coronil'. Junnar Court's Judicial Magistrate First Class P. V. Sapakal's order came in a private criminal plea lodged by a student-activist Madan Kurhe way back in June 2020, after the company had announced the purported cure to the deadly virus raging across the globe. He directed the Junnar Police Station to conduct a probe under the CrPC's Section 202 and submit its report to the court by February 7, said Kurhe's lawyer Asim Sarode. In the complaint, Kurhe had questioned Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved's allegedly "illegal and false claims" in public about the purported medicine, 'Coronil' and trumpeting it as a cure for coronavirus. This was the first case filed during the height of the Covid pandemic lockdown period against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna and their company in Maharashtra, for their allegedly misleading and bizarre claims pertaining to Coronil, which was touted as a "100 percent cure" medicine. Kurhe said that on June 24, 2020, when the country reeled under the first wave of the pandemic, he saw advertisements, reports, interviews of Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna claiming how they had developed an Ayurvedic cure for Covid-19, and contended that the Covid-19 symptomatic patients reportedly become asymptomatic within 3-15 days after consuming the ayurvedic formulation, which had been tested in clinical trials in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. The medicines were available in a corona kit priced at Rs 545, to be launched and sold all over India soon, he said. Sarode pointed out that three months earlier, on April 21, 2020, the Centre's AYUSH Ministry had taken strong cognisance of all types of fly-by-night companies promising magical remedies for Covid-19 and banned them from publicising or selling their alleged cures to the gullible masses without proper clinical evaluations. Following the uproar over Baba Ramdev's claims, the ICMR and the AYUSH Ministry stepped in by countering Patanjali Ayurved's claims of having conducted clinical trials on its new Ayurvedic products, 'Coronil' and 'Swasari'. "When the country was tottering under a major health crisis and the Coronavirus pandemic, such false claims were made only with the intention to earn money from the fear-stricken people of India," argued Sarode. The magistrate said that although the media events of Baba Ramdev took place in Delhi which was out of the jurisdiction of the Junnar court, but considering the nature of the offences, the police would investigate the case before concluding if there is need to proceed further in the matter. "After the police report is received, the Hon' Junnar Court will decide whether to issue process in the matter against the accused. It's a classic case that ensures nobody is above the law and all must use the freedom of expression with restrictions and responsibilities," said Sarode. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) --IANS qn/vd ( 526 Words) 2022-01-06-16:28:02 (IANS) The BJP has denied Trinamool's accusation of having any role to play in the death of Majumdar. The Trinamool said in a statement that Mazumdar, 56, was brutally attacked by BJP workers and goons at Badarghat in western Tripura when he took part in Trinamool Chhatra Parishad's foundation day event on August 28 last year. Subsequently, Majumdar, the younger brother of a BJP state committee member, was shifted to the SSKM hospital in Kolkata where he was undergoing treatment. He passed away on Wednesday morning, the statement said. The Trinamool alleged that there is absolutely no law and order in Tripura and the state has slipped into its darkest days under BJP's misrule. "We demand justice for Mazumdar," the statement added. The slain Trinamool leader's family sources said that Majumdar suffered multiple fractures in his hands and legs during the August attack. Majumdar, a former President of the Tripura unit of NSUI, had joined the Trinamool last year along with several other Congress leaders. The death of Majumdar has triggered strong reaction from Trinamool, which demanded action against the attackers. Tripura Trinamool chief Subal Bhowmik demanded exemplary punishment to the accused who had assaulted Majumdar. However, the ruling BJP strongly denied Trinamool's accusations. BJP spokesman Nabendu Bhattacharjee said that his party workers were in no way involved in the attack on Majumdar, who, he claimed, was assaulted due to the internal feud in Trinamool. --IANS sc/arm ( 290 Words) 2022-01-05-21:16:03 (IANS) Arms and ammunition, including two M-4 Carbines and one AK rifle, were recovered from three JeM terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces at Chandgam area in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said on Wednesday. The police said that acting on specific inputs regarding the presence of terrorists in Chandgam village, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police, army, and CRPF. During the search operation, the hiding terrorists fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated effectively, leading to an encounter. In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of gunfight. "Among the killed terrorists, two have been identified as Mir Owais from Ashmander Pulwama and a Pakistani national, Talha Yasir, linked to the proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Regarding the third slain terrorist, although the recoveries made from the site of encounter indicate him to be a foreigner, his identification is yet to be ascertained," the police said. "As per police records, all the killed terrorists were part of a group involved in several terror crime cases, including attacks on security forces and civilian atrocities. Several cases were registered against both the killed terrorists who have been identified. Owais was involved in the killing of a civilian in Kangan Pulwama. The slain Pakistani terrorist was the mastermind in preparing vehicle-borne IEDs, besides being involved in attack on a civilian at Wanpora area of Pulwama," they added. Meanwhile, IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, has congratulated the security forces for conducting the successful operation without suffering any collateral damage. --IANS zi/arm ( 281 Words) 2022-01-05-21:20:01 (IANS) The World Book Fair 2022 that was scheduled to be held from January 8 to 16 at the new International Exhibition Centre at Pragati Maidan has been postponed due to the guidelines laid down to contain the surge in Covid 19 cases. "In view of the latest DDMA guidelines, and the requests made by various stakeholders, the New Delhi World Book Fair 2022 has been postponed. The fresh dates will be announced separately," the National Book Trust said in a statement on Wednesday. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had on Tuesday decided to impose a weekend curfew in the capital in the wake of the Covid-19 resurgence. In a virtual meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, the Authority suggested a weekend curfew during which no non-essential movement will be allowed. The meeting also discussed imposing more restrictions in the city in an effort to curb the unabated surge. According to the DDMA order, staff of all government offices, except those dealing with essential services, will work from home. A 50 per cent occupancy cap has been imposed on private offices. On Wednesday, city doctors advised residents not to panic but to strictly adhere to the Covid norms such as maintaining social distance, wearing masks, maintaining proper sanitisation, and getting vaccinated. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday morning announced the start of a third Covid wave in the national capital, and warned the cases can jump to close to 10,000 with the infection rate nearing 10 per cent by the evening. By evening, as predicted by Jain, Delhi reported 10,665 fresh Covid-19 cases - the highest since May 12 - and eight deaths, and the positivity rate also shot up to 11.88 per cent. The number of active cases in the capital now stands at 23,307. The rapid increase in cases could also be due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid that is reportedly driving the third wave in the national capital. Delhi on Wednesday reported 464 Omicron cases, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra (653). --IANS vm/arm ( 352 Words) 2022-01-05-22:06:02 (IANS) As per reports, the government degree college in Balagadi village in Karnataka had given in to the demand of the students with saffron scarves who had asked Muslim women not to attend classes wearing Hijab. TCN News Support TwoCircles KARNATAKA Students of a government-run college in Karnataka on Wednesday protested against the Muslim students attending classes wearing Hijab (a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women). As per reports, the government degree college in Balagadi village had given in to the demand of the students with saffron scarves who had asked Muslim women not to attend classes wearing Hijab. However, the college administration has decided to allow every student to wear what they had wished to till January 10. We are holding a parent-teacher meeting which will be attended by the public representatives also on January 10 to sort the issue. The decision would be binding on everyone, news agency PTI quoted Ananth Murthy, principal of the college, as saying. In 2018, in a similar meeting where the management had intervened to resolve the issue and it was decided that no Muslim students will come to the college wearing a Hijab but can wear a scarf over the head, he said. He added that everything was going smoothly but suddenly yesterday some of the students from the college had appeared wearing saffron scarves to protest against the Muslim women wearing Hijab. Three years ago, a similar controversy had erupted in the college and it was decided that no one should come to the college wearing Hijab but for the past few days some women are coming to the college wearing it. Hence, we had decided to come to the college wearing saffron scarves from yesterday, the student told the news agency. He claimed that on their request the college administration had asked the Muslim women several times not to wear Hijab at college but they still wore it. Meanwhile, the students had warned that if this issue will not be addressed they will intensify the agitation in the coming days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the phone with Germany's new Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday and discussed ongoing bilateral initiatives as well as the scope of broadening relations in sectors such as climate action and green energy. Congratulating Scholz on his appointment, Modi expressed his appreciation for the immense contribution of his predecessor Angela Merkel in strengthening the India-Germany Strategic Partnership and looked forward to continuing this positive momentum under his leadership. "Spoke to @OlafScholz today and congratulated him on assuming charge as German Chancellor. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, and to meeting him soon for the 6th Inter-Governmental Consultations," Modi said in a tweet. The two leaders agreed that there was significant synergy in the governance priorities announced by the new German government and India's own economic vision. They reviewed the potential of ongoing cooperation initiatives, including for promoting investment and trade links. They agreed on the potential for further diversifying cooperation and exchanges in new areas. In particular, they expressed the hope to commence new cooperation initiatives in the areas of climate action and green energy, to enable both countries to achieve their respective climate commitments, said the Prime Minister's Office. --IANS nimish/vd ( 216 Words) 2022-01-05-22:10:03 (IANS) The Election Commission of India on Wednesday released the final voter list for West Bengal, with the total electorate increasing to 7.43 crore, which is 10.6 lakh more than the draft list released by the poll panel in November last year. In the draft list, the total number of voters stood at 7.33 crore. According to the list, the number of male voters is 3.78 core and the number of female voters is 3.64 crore, a difference of only 13.1 lakh. The third gender accounts for 1,642 voters. Interestingly, the final list shows an increase in the gender ratio in the state to 966 females per 1,000 males. In the draft list, the gender ration was pegged at 962 females per 1,000 males. Not only in case of new registration, but there has been a substantial rise of more than 2.38 per cent which is the highest in recent years. A simple number crunching shows that in 2016, the gender ratio was 934 females per 1,000 male voters, which rose to 938 in 2017 and 942 in 2018. Interestingly, in 2019 it made a leap to 949 and in 2020 it was 956 and now it has been even more, touching 966 female voters against 1,000 males. There has also been a spike of more than 2.38 per cent in the registration of new voters. In the draft list, the percentage of new voters -- those aged between 18 and 19 years -- was only 1.12 per cent. "The registration of new voters is significant because the West Bengal government for the last few years has promoted the cause of the younger generations and women in general. In the last elections also, the ruling Trinamool Congress got overwhelming support from women voters, and the final list reflects that only," a senior sociologist said. The Commission said that there will be continuous updating of the list and the people can include their names in the it all through the year. People can also lodge their complaints in case their name is deleted from the list through the toll-free number provided by the Commission. --IANS sbg/arm ( 364 Words) 2022-01-05-23:08:04 (IANS) Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is the BJP in-charge for the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab, on Wednesday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach leading to the cancellation of the PMs visit to Ferozepur town as a criminal conspiracy'. "Leaking route details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy to agitators, and then allowing them to block the road is a criminal conspiracy," Shekhawat said in a tweet in Hindi. "This is a serious compromise in the security of the Prime Minister. Strict action should be taken against whoever is responsible, be it politician, minister or official," he added. After a major security breach, the Prime Minister on Wednesday cancelled his visit to Ferozepur town in Punjab, where he was scheduled to lay the foundation stones of Rs 42,750 crore projects, at the last minute. The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement, "Today morning, the PM landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. "When the weather didn't improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than 2 hours. Around 30 km from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The PM was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the PM." --IANS vg/arm ( 272 Words) 2022-01-05-23:14:03 (IANS) The Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday launched 'Student Startup and Innovation Policy' (SSIP 2.0), which will have provision of setting up active innovation and incubation centre in all universities. The policy was launched during the inauguration of a pre-vibrant event of two day conference on education. The Gujarat Chief Minister inaugurated the International Conference of Academic Institutions (ICAI) as a precursor to the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) to be held between January 10 and 12 in Gandhinagar. The VGGS will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The version 2.0 of the SSIP intends to aware 50 lakh students across 1,000 higher education institutes and 10,000 schools for innovation and entrepreneurship. The policy intends to give assistance to 10,000 proof of concepts/prototypes developed by students. The policy also proposes creation of strong pre-incubation support system in minimum 500 educational institutes and universities. Under the policy, Rs. 5 crore will be provided to the beneficiaries in the next five years for setting up incubation centre and encourage the innovation activities in universities of the state through the new policy. 186 institutions and universities are mentioned as SSIP grantees. The new policy will remain in force till March 2027. Meanwhile, at ICAI, around 120 panel speakers, including 40 from abroad, will be sharing their experiences across 21 different sessions during the 2-day conference. Australia, Canada, Norway, the UK and France have joined as partner countries for this conference, while the British Council, Australia India Business Exchange and Institute of International Education are among the key institutions which have joined as international participants. Over 2,000 MoUs will be signed between various government entities, universities and institutions during the event. --IANS amc/shs ( 294 Words) 2022-01-05-23:28:01 (IANS) Terming the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Punjab 'a shameful incident', Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday slammed Congress saying the party is least interested in the development and just want to play politics. Taking to Twitter, Sarma said, "It is a matter of shame that PM Narendra Modiji's cavalcade was stopped by protesters on his way to visit the martyr's memorial at Hussainiwala, Punjab. Compromising the security of PM is a matter of serious concern and must be enquired at the highest levels." Sarma also criticized his Punjab counterpart Charanjit Singh Channi over the incident and said, "While PM is going all out to ensure holistic development of Punjab, today's incident shows how Congress is least interested in the development and only wants to play politics. The fact that Punjab CM did not address the issue makes matters even worse in the crucial border state." Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. The Home Ministry said in a statement that PM Modi landed at Bathinda on Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. The statement said that when the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. The Prime Minister proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police. Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors.The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. "This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready," the statement said. "Also in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport," it added. It said only Punjab police knew the precise route of the PM and "never has such police behaviour been witnessed". The Home Ministry has taken cognizance of the "serious security lapse" and has sought a detailed report from the Punjab government. The state government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action. (ANI) Six products under 'One District One Product' (ODOP) brands under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme were launched on Wednesday. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signed an agreement with NAFED for developing 10 brands of selected ODOPs under the branding and marketing component of the PMFME scheme. Out of these, six brands namely Amrit Phal, Cori Gold, Kashmiri Mantra, Madhu Mantra, Somdana, and Whole Wheat Cookies of Dilli Bakes were launched on Wednesday by Union Minister for Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Pashupati Kumar Paras and Minister of State, Prahlad Singh Patel, in presence of senior officials of NAFED. The brand Amrit Phal for Amla juice has been exclusively developed under the ODOP concept for Gurugram, Haryana. The product contains pure Amla juice and is a natural elixir with added lemon for a "unique" taste and health benefits. A 500 ml bottle is competitively priced at Rs 120. Cori Gold brand has been developed for coriander powder, which is the identified ODOP for Kota, Rajasthan. A 100g pack is competitively priced at Rs 34. Similarly, Brand Kashmiri Mantra brings out the essence of spices from Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmiri Lal Mirch product has been developed under the ODOP component for spices for Jammu and Kashmir. The 100g pack is priced at Rs 75. Brand Madhu Mantra has been developed under the ODOP concept for honey from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The multiflora honey has been collected by free-range bees and a 500g glass bottle is priced at Rs 185. Meanwhile, the whole-wheat cookies are the second product developed under the brand Dilli Bakes. The brand and the product have been developed under the bakery ODOP concept for Delhi. According to NAFED, the whole wheat cookie is a unique product as it is made with whole wheat, jaggery instead of sugar, and contains butter instead of vanaspati. The 380 gms pack is competitively priced at Rs 175. Brand Somdana has been developed under the ODOP concept of millets from Thane, Maharashtra. The ragi flour is a unique product as it is gluten-free, rich in iron, fibre, and calcium. The 500 gms pack is priced at Rs 60. Through the initiative under the PMFME scheme, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries aims to encourage the micro food processing enterprises (MFPEs) across the country. All the products will be available at NAFED Bazaars, e-commerce platforms, and prominent retail stores across India, the release added. --IANS niv/shs ( 421 Words) 2022-01-06-00:12:02 (IANS) The Punjab government should be dismissed for failing to provide adequate security to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday. The CM was speaking to mediapersons after participating in a programme at the Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Mandya district. Replying to questions on the reported breach in PM's security in Punjab, Bommai said, "Punjab government has failed to provide security to the Prime Minister near the international border. Failure to make arrangements for the smooth movement of the Prime Minister has drawn wide condemnation from across the country. It is a highly condemnable incident. It is the duty of every government to respect the Prime Minister of the country. I strongly condemn the lapse. Those responsible for it should be punished stringently." After a major security breach, the Prime Minister on Wednesday cancelled his visit to Ferozepur town in Punjab, where he was scheduled to lay the foundation stones of Rs 42,750 crore projects, at the last minute. The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement, "Today morning, the PM landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. "When the weather didn't improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than 2 hours. Around 30 km from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The PM was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the PM." --IANS mka/arm ( 300 Words) 2022-01-06-00:14:04 (IANS) Indian Coast Guard Director General VS Pathania called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed operational preparedness of the maritime force and readiness to ensure safety and security in seas. Pathania also called on Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar. According to the Indian Navy, they discussed issues concerning coastal security and effective coordination between the Navy and the Coast Guard. (ANI) The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the state government in response to a PIL demanding investigation into the killing of a 14-year-old boy in Surendranagar in November in an alleged police encounter. The PIL has been filed by Sohana Malek, whose father Hanifkhan Jatlamalik aka Kalu Munno, and brother Madeen Khan (14) were killed in the police encounter on November 6 night under Bajana police station in Surendranagar district. The boy and his father, a notorious gangster who was facing as many as 86 criminal cases, were killed in an alleged encounter by the Gujarat police. The police, however, had claimed that his son was 18-year-old. According to the petitioner, "The police team led by police sub inspector VN Jadeja and others came to her house in a private vehicle, dragged her father and put him in the vehicle. Looking at the atrocity, the 14-year-old brother of the petitioner went to ask why his father was dragged and followed him. Seeing this, respondent - 5 (Jadeja) shot the brother of the petitioner point blank in the chest." The petition is filed by advocate Vicky Mehta and is being argued by senior advocate Yatin Oza. "On seeing his son being shot in cold blood, the father also got angry and as he came to see his child, he was also shot dead," says the petitioner in her PIL. "No doubt, there are many offences registered against the father of the petitioner herein i.e Hanifkhan. However, this will not give an automatic licence to the respondent number 5 to 11 to carry out a fake encounter," the PIL further reads. The police, however, has claimed that both the father and son, Hanifkhan, 44, and Madeen, 18, were shot while they were trying to escape from the police team. Police claimed in their FIR that they had to resort to firing after Hanif shot at the police team to resist his arrest and was being assisted by his son and others. Police had claimed that a seven-member police team led by Jadeja had gone to the village to nab Hanif based on a specific information. Jadeja reportedly fired in self defence after being shot at and hit by a sharp weapon by Hanif's son. One of the bullets hit Hanif in his chest while another one hit his son Madeen. The division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri on Wednesday issued notice to the state government and sought its response by January 18. The court also asked the government lawyers to take instruction and file an affidavit accordingly. Hanif was wanted in Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime (GUJCTOC) Act for his involvement in several criminal cases of loot and theft. He was part of the Gedia gang and was named in 86 FIRs and wanted in 59 cases, police stated in its report. --IANS amc/pgh ( 493 Words) 2022-01-06-01:30:04 (IANS) In view of rising cases of COVID-19, Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued a circular banning entry of litigant public and making the screening of others mandatory. "It is hereby informed to all the concerned that in view of the present pandemic situation, following directions have been issued by the Chief Justice on the recommendation of the StandardOperating Procedure Committee constituted to be effective from January 5, 2022, for the said purpose," reads the High Court circular. There shall be no entry for the litigant public to the High Court premises, said the order. The circular said that the party-in-person shall be allowed entry to the Court premises only on production of a certificate issued 48 hours prior to the date of hearing, certifying that such person has tested negative for COVID-19. The canteen of the Court premises has also been closed. "Screening of all persons entering the Court premises shall be mandatory and only such of those persons found to be asymptomatic will be permitted entry into the Court premises. Persons entering the Court premises shall strictly follow social distancing and cooperate with the medical screening team," added the circular. Meanwhile, Gujarat reported 3,350 new cases of COVID-19 during the last 24 hours, said the state government on Wednesday. With this, the active cases reached over 10,000 in the state. During the last 24 hours, 50 new Omicron cases were reported in the state, taking the active tally to 92. The total Omicron cases in the state have gone up to 204 with 112 recoveries. (ANI) After a 19-year-old youth from Srinagar was arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) under militancy charges, his family has been left distraught. They claim their son is innocent and demanded his release. Support TwoCircles Auqib Javeed | TwoCircles.net SRINAGAR My brothers arrest has robbed the peace of our family, said 17-year old Sehrish Feroz of Srinagar. Her only brother, Arsalan Feroz (19), was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after its sleuths conducted a raid at Arsalans residential house in Srinagar on December 30. Feroz was then taken to New Delhi, where he is under the custody of the NIA. We dont know where he has been taken and under what conditions he must be. We are begging for his release, Sehrish told TwoCircles.net. According to the family, Feroz is a 12th standard student. When the NIA raided our house, Arsalan was not present and his father called him and asked him to co-operate with the agency, Sehrish said. Sehrish said that Arsalans father is a heart patient and he cannot live without his son. My father suffered a heart attack after his son was arrested. He cant live without him, she said. The NIA in a statement said that they arrested a TRF operative during raids in Srinagar in connection with a case of radicalising, motivating and recruiting youth of J&K by Lashkar-e-Toiba, a banned militant outfit. Yesterday (30.12.2021), conducted a search in Srinagar and arrested one TRF operative, Arsalan Feroz @ Arsalan Soub son of Feroz Ahmad Ahanger resident of Zaldagar, M. R. Gunj, Srinagar in Case No. RC 32/2021/NIA/DLI, reads the statement. The case, according to the investigating agency, relates to a conspiracy hatched for radicalising, motivating and recruiting youngsters of Jammu and Kashmir to carry out violent activities in the Union Territory and other parts of the country by Sajjad Gul, Salim Rehmani alias Abu Saad and Saifullah Sajid Jutt, who are commanders of the TRF, a shadow organisation of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba terror outfit. However, the family contest the claims and maintain that Arsalan was only a student and has nothing to do with militancy. He was not even a stone pelter. You can check his police records. He has never been detained before. How can he recruit people for militancy, Sehrish questioned. A day after his arrest, the family arrived at Press Enclave, Srinagar and held a protest demonstrationdemanding his release. He was given clean chit by police, claims family As per his family, he was earlier arrested by Jammu Kashmir Police on October 21, 2021, when his board exams were going on. He was detained under the pretext of checking his mobile phone at that time, they said. The family said Arsalan spent 40 days at Cargothe headquarters of Jammu and Kashmirs elite Special Operations Groupand missed his board exams. He was given a clean chit and released. Why has he been detained again when he was given a clean chit first? the family asks. Days after his arrest, Arslans father Feroz Ahmad Ahanger, who works as an accountant for a private contractor, reportedly suffered a heart attack. The doctors have advised us not to put him under stress but what can we do? He wants to see his son, she said. The family is running from pillar to post to get their kin released. They said they havent even hired a lawyer yet and are yet to figure out what to do. On January 3, the family met the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti. Mufti wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah dated January 3, 2022, regarding the arrest of Feroz. In your last trip to Kashmir, you spoke emphatically about engaging with the youth here. Despite our political differences, I am sure we can agree that such incidents will only alienate our young generation further and leave them with permanent scars and a sense of despondency for a long time, Mehboobas letter read. Wrote to HM about Arsalan Feroz, a nineteen year old student arrested by NIA. Urge him to look into this case to ensure his release at the earliest. @HMOIndia pic.twitter.com/iCbFCsTyLr Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) January 3, 2022 Its an utter tragedy that a young boy has been arrested despite no previous adverse police records. Such actions can have catastrophic consequences for him and his family, Mehboobas letter read. For Arsalans distraught family, Arsalans release is what they want. We just hope that he might be released. We have faith in Allah, Sehrish added. Auqib Javeed is a journalist based in Kashmir. He tweets at @Auqib Javeed. "There is no facility for genome sequencing in Chhattisgarh. For this purpose, we have to send samples to Bhubaneswar (Odisha) to get reports. As a result, there becomes a delay in knowing the variants of coronavirus. I request you to give permission to start genome sequencing facility at AIIMS, Raipur," Deo wrote to Union Health Minister. He also urged Mandaviya to provide financial and technical assistance to start a genome sequencing facility at Raipur Medical College. Chattisgarh reported its first case of Omicron variant of coronavirus from Bilaspur district on Wednesday. As per the state government, the patient is 52-years-old and has a travel history to the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, a night curfew will be imposed in Raipur from 9 pm to 6 am, said the order from the district collector on Wednesday. (ANI) The suspected IED blast also left one jawan injured. Assuring that the terrorists won't be spared, Singh said, "One Assam Rifles jawan was martyred and one injured in a terrorist attack in Thoubal district. The government will give a befitting reply to the terrorists. We will not spare them." The blast took place when a team of 16 Assam Rifles was patrolling the area. (ANI) The state BJP chief was arrested by Karimnagar police on January 2 evening during a protest. He was then sent to 14-day judicial remand by the Karimnagar court on Monday. The arrest came after Kumar was taken into custody by police for allegedly violating COVID-19 rules during a protest in Karimnagar. Earlier on Wednesday, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar, party general secretary Tarun Chugh had said that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) rule has misused the law in the state and added, "BJP will keep fighting the brutal dictatorship against the government. Our agitation is going on and will not stop until the state is made into Bangaru Telangana." On Tuesday, BJP National President JP Nadda had led a protest against the arrest of Telangana BJP chief and had termed the arrest of Kumar as the "murder of democracy". (ANI) He was arrested on charges of siphoning off Rs 3 crore from Aavin during his tenure as state dairy minister. Balaji, who has been absconding for 20 days, was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police on Wednesday afternoon. Later, he was brought to the Virudhanagar District crime branch at midnight and produced before the court this morning. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Madurai Range) Kamini and Virudhanagar district Superintendent of Police (SP) Manohar interrogated him after bringing him to the district. He was later taken to a hospital for medical examination and produced before District Judge Paramveer. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear the bail plea of Balaji on Thursday. (ANI) A jawan of the Indian Army has been found dead under mysterious circumstances along the Line of Control (LoC) in Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Pooch, officials informed on Thursday. They also said that an investigation into the matter is underway. Further details are awaited. (ANI) TDP National President and former CM N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday dared Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy to explain to the people what he had achieved out of his latest visit to Delhi, said a press release. Naidu asked whether the CM had asked for Special Status, Polavaram funds, Visakhapatnam railway zone and protection of Vizag Steel Plant. He also asked Jagan Reddy if he had "any courage to tell the people about his achievements". Delivering a valedictory address at the party State level meeting here, the TDP chief demanded an unconditional apology from the CM to the people for his "all-round failures on the reorganisation promises". Naidu alleged that "Jagan Reddy, who spoke of bending the necks of the Centre before the elections, was now surrendering to Delhi for his own personal favours at the cost of the AP future." The TDP chief also alleged that the YSRCP had come to power "by bluffing and cheating the AP people" and added, "After coming to power, they started looting all resources of the State. They had betrayed farmers, rythu coolies, construction workers, students, DWCRA women, employees, traders and all sections." Chandrababu Naidu demanded an explanation why the Jagan regime was looking at liquor sales as a source of income after promising prohibition. The TDP chief added that in just three years, Rs. 4 lakh crore loans were brought and alleged that "most of these massive loans were going to the personal family treasury of Jaganmohan Reddy but not to the public exchequer. This Government has not even given accounts for thousands of crores to the CAG. If they carried out welfare, the CM should give details how much was given to which sections of poor beneficiaries." Naidu also expressed concern over the continuing reports about the ganja and drugs being supplied to other States from Andhra Pradesh. (ANI) Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar will be on a two-day visit to the poll-bound state of Goa starting Thursday where he will take part in various party programmes and interact with party workers ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. According to a press release by the Goa Congress, Kumar will attend 'Bahujan Samvad' programme where he will interact with the prominent leaders of OBC, SC, ST and other communities. The event is scheduled to be held at 5 pm on Thursday at Mapusa Taxi Stand. On January 7, the Congress leader will interact with young students of Goa in the 'Yuva Spandan' programme organized by the Congress party at 11 am at MCC Hall. "Kanhaiya Kumar will also lead the Morcha at Raj Bhavan organized by the Congress party on January 7 at 3.30 pm. Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Goa in charge of Congress Dinesh Gundu Rao, State President Girish Chodankar and Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat will accompany him with hundreds of activists," said the release. "After the morcha, a delegation of Congress Party will hand over a copy of the Chargesheet against the BJP government to the honourable governor. This Chargesheet is prepared by the Congress party against the Failed BJP Government, added the statement. Goa is slated to go to the Assembly polls this year. (ANI) Amid a sharp increase in cases of COVID's Omicron variant, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla will be holding a review meeting on the infection situation in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday evening, sources informed. The meeting will be focused on the increasing cases in Delhi and NCR region and the steps to curb the menace. The meeting will be held in virtual mode and Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana or their representatives will participate in the meeting along with senior police and health officials of these states. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, NITI Aayog member VK Paul and other concerned senior officials of Union Health and Union Home Ministry will also participate in the meeting. The meeting was called as India on Thursday reported a single-day spike of 90,928 fresh Covid-19 cases and 325 deaths. The daily positivity rate stood at 6.43 per cent. The active caseload in the country reached 2,85,401, while 19,206 recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Omicron tally in the country reached 2,630, with Maharashtra (797) topping the count, followed by Delhi (465), Rajasthan (236) and Kerala (234). On Wednesday, the Centre confirmed the first Omicron-related death in the country; a 74-year-old man with comorbidities, who succumbed to the virus last week in Rajasthan's Udaipur. India is witnessing an exponential rise in the number of Covid cases, which is believed to be driven by the Omicron variant, the Centre had said on Wednesday while highlighting that the country's R naught value that indicates the spread of the infection is 2.69, higher than the 1.69 recorded during the peak of the pandemic's second wave. Cities across the country are recording a significant rise in their cases. Mumbai recorded over 15,000 cases-- the highest single-day surge witnessed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Covid cases doubled in Delhi, with 10,665 new cases on Wednesday. Pune, too, recorded a six-fold jump in the last one week, from 477 on December 30 to 2,813 on Wednesday. (ANI) Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday alleged that security lapses that took place during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur in Punjab was not negligence but a criminal conspiracy by the Congress party. "The is a criminal act against world's most popular leader and Congress is showing arrogant sophistication on it, it is a matter of shame, the leadership of the Congress party has so far not expressed any embarrassment or shamefulness on the incident. Doing such a lousy thing in enmity is far beyond anyone's thinking," Naqvi told ANI. Attacking the Congress party further, Naqvi said, "This kind of an activity is expected from a party which is already dealing with the accusations of pauperization". "PM Modi has put up a a strong fight against terrorists, the strong fight for the peace of the whole world. Narendra Modi ji has taken action against terrorists from the beginning, today everyone knows this thing. Despite of this, in our own country, the way he was treated smells of a criminal conspiracy. It is a matter of concern, it is a matter of great concern in itself, it is also a matter of dangerous mentality," he further stated. Punjab government has constituted a high-level committee to probe the security lapses that occurred during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur. The committee will submit its report in three days. PM Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. Earlier on Wednesday, the Home Ministry said in a statement that PM Modi landed at Bathinda on Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. The statement said that when the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. The Prime Minister proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police. Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors.The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. (ANI) According to a study by the University of Zurich, the home-schooling phase had a positive effect on the health and well-being of many teenagers along with its negative effects. The research has been published in the 'JAMA Network Open Journal'. "The students got about 75 minutes more sleep per day during the lockdown. At the same time, their health-related quality of life improved significantly and their consumption of alcohol and caffeine went down," said the study's co-leader Oskar Jenni, UZH professor of developmental pediatrics. Because they no longer had to travel to school, they were able to get up later. The researchers conducted an online survey with 3,664 high school students in the Canton of Zurich during the lockdown, asking about their sleep patterns and quality of life. They then compared the answers with a survey from 2017 with 5,308 young participants. The results showed that during the three months in which the schools were closed, the adolescents got up around 90 minutes later on school days, but went to bed only 15 minutes later on average - meaning their total amount of sleep increased by about 75 minutes a day. On weekends, there was little difference in the sleep times of the two groups. The students in the lockdown group rated their health-related quality of life higher, and the amount of alcohol and caffeine they reported consuming was less than the pre-pandemic group. "Although the lockdown clearly led to worse health and well-being for many young people, our findings reveal an upside of the school closures which has received little attention until now," said Jenni. Sleep deficits in adolescents can lead to general tiredness, anxiety, and physical ailments. These in turn have a detrimental effect on cognitive functions such as concentration, memory, and attention, making it significantly harder to function in everyday life. The early start of the school day in Switzerland conflicted with the natural, biologically determined sleeping habits of teenagers. Because they had to get up early for school, many young people, therefore, suffered from chronic lack of sleep. The topic has recently made its way onto the political agenda in several cantons across the country. "Our findings clearly indicate the benefit of starting school later in the morning so that youngsters can get more sleep," said Jenni. He speculated that the positive effects on health and health-related quality of life would have been even greater had there not also been the negative effects of the pandemic on mental health. (ANI) According to party sources, Bharatiya Janata Party plans to hold prayers for the long life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People across India will also be performing Mahamrityunjay Jaap at different temples. In Delhi, General secretary Arun Singh, Dushyant Gautam, and Baijyant Panda will pray at the Hanuman Mandir, Connaught Place. In Varanasi, there will be a special prayer and aarti at Kaal Bhairav mandir for PM Modi. On Wednesday, the PM's convoy was stuck for 15-20 minutes due to a road blockade in Punjab. The Prime Minister, who was travelling by road, had to call off his event in Ferozepur. PM Modi, who had to return to Bathinda airport on Wednesday due to a security breach during his visit is learnt to have told state government officials at the airport, "Apne CM ko thanks kehna, ki mein Bhatinda airport tak zinda laut paaya". (ANI) The plea came before Justice Rajiv Singh. Meanwhile, Ashish Mishra has sought time to file a counter-affidavit. The court will hear the plea on January 11. A vehicle allegedly crushed down farmers who were protesting against the farm laws On October 3. Local farmers had blamed Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra 'Teni' and his son Ashish Mishra for the violence that left eight dead, including four farmers a local journalist, and others during a farmer' protest. They were mowed down allegedly by a vehicle that was part of the convoy of the Minister in Lakhimpur Kheri in north-central Uttar Pradesh. (ANI) The NationaI Investigation Agency (NIA) has declared cash reward on the capture of 10 cadres of People's Liberation Aarmy (PLA) and Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF) MNPF terror outfits in its ongoing probe in Manipur ambush case which claimed lives of an Assam Rifles Colonel, his wife and child as well as four of his colleagues. These ten terrorists of PLA and MNPF are wanted by the NIA in connection with attack on the convoy of 46 Assam Rifles on November 13 last year with arms and explosives, near Sialsih village on Indo-Myanmar road under Singngat Police Station of Churachandpur district of Manipur. The attack resulted in death of five Assam Rifles personnel including Commanding Officer Colonol Viplav Tripath, his family members and injuries to six other Assam Rifles personnel. The agency declared the bounty of Rs 8 lakh each on the head of Lt. Col. Chaoyai alias Pukhrambam Mani Meetei and Lt. Col. Sagolsem Inaocha alias Ranjit Naorem; Rs 6 lakh for Sanatomba as well as Rs 4 lakh each for Khaba, Khwairakpa, Nongyai alias Nongphai, Joseph, Rocky, Balin and Kanta alias Santa. All the cadres are residents of Manipur. The NIA in a statement mentioned "if any person is having any information of importance on the suspects leading to their arrest or apprehension, the information may be shared on numbers and email-address as NIA". The agency also mentioned that the name of the informant will be kept secret. The anti-terror agency registered the case on November 27 under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Sections 10 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 25(1C) of Arms Act and Section 5 of Explosive Substances Act. On November 13, the insurgents ambushed a convoy of Assam Rifles around 11 am leading to the mass killing of the five Assam Rifles personnel, including Colonol Viplav Tripathi and his family in Thinghat area of Manipur. Tripathi, Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles, lost his life alongwith his wife and their child in the attack. The incident took place near Sehken village in Thinghat as the heavily armed militants fired upon the convoy of the Assam Rifles Colonel killing him, his wife, their son and three Quick Reaction Team jawans on the spot. Militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel was going to supervise a civic action programme in the Churachandpur, bordering Myanmar. (ANI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the security lapse during his visit to Punjab yesterday. The Vice President expressed his deep concern at the security breach the during Prime Minister's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur and hoped that stringent steps will be taken to scrupulously adhere to established security protocol and ensure such a situation does not recur in the future. "Vice President of India, M.Venkaiah Naidu today spoke to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi about the security lapse during PM's visit to Punjab yesterday," tweeted Naidu. "He expressed his deep concern at the security breach and hoped that stringent steps will be taken to scrupulously adhere to established security protocol and ensure such a situation doesn't recur in future," he added. The Punjab government has constituted a high-level committee to probe the security lapses that occurred during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur. The committee will submit its report in three days. PM Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. Earlier on Wednesday, the Home Ministry said in a statement that PM Modi landed at Bathinda on Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. The statement said that when the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. The Prime Minister proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police. Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh will devise a strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections in five states in the ongoing three-day coordination meeting of the Sangh, according to the sources. A three-day coordination meeting, a comprehensive meeting held once a year of the Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay Baithak, of functionaries belonging to Sangh Parivar's organizations, began in Hyderabad on Wednesday. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and General Secretary Dattatreya Hosbale along with members were present. Bhartiya Janta Party national president JP Nadda is also taking part in the meet today. A source in the RSS told ANI that members will formulate a strategy to enhance the synergy between the organization and the BJP so that the party can perform well and win more seats in the upcoming Assembly polls. The main focus of the meeting is on education. Keeping this on agenda, people from different organizations in the education sector have gathered here. There will also be a discussion on the 100 years of RSS. Notably, RSS is about to complete its century in three years, and planning for the programmes will be on the agenda of the coordination meeting. "One-hundred-and-ninety office bearers of 36 different organizations are participating in the meeting. The attendees have taken both doses of the vaccine as per the COVID protocol," stated a press release from RSS. The meeting is meant only for sharing information and no decisions are taken in it, the release added. However, the coming together of functionaries is significant as in the last year's meeting held in Gujarat, organizations related to the economy and labour debated on plans to improve education in the country. "In the meeting, discussions will be held on the environment, Parivar Prabodhan (family awareness) and social harmony (social harmony)", said Sunil Ambekar, All India Publicity Head of the RSS. (ANI) In a press release, the government said, "Due to the spread of new variant of Coronavirus, Omicron, the Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, has decided to postpone to Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2021, which is scheduled from January 10 to 12." The press release said that the state is on full alert to tackle the spread of COVID-19. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 10,994 active COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, India reported 90,928 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.The daily positivity rate stands at 6.43 per cent while the weekly positivity rate stands at 3.47 per cent.As many as 325 patients lost their lives taking the death toll in the country to 482876.With this, the active caseload in the country stands at 2,85,401. (ANI) The Prime Minister is not just a person but an institution and in democracy, if such institution becomes weak then it is not good, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday. His remarks came a day after a"major lapse" in the security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Punjab on Wednesday. Rajnath Singh was in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand to address a public rally during the closing ceremony of 'Vijay Sankalp Yatra'. Speaking on security lapse in the PM's security in Punjab, the minister said that he has never made baseless allegations. "PM Narendra Modi was in Punjab where Congress is in power and his security was compromised. It is utter shameful that Congress people are saying bad words about him." Rajnath Singh asked the crowd in the rally not to forgive Congress for the act they have done with PM Modi and asked people for support to re-elect BJP in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. The Home Ministry said in a statement that around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes."This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready," the statement said. "Also in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport," it added. It said only Punjab police knew the precise route of the PM and "never has such police behaviour been witnessed".The Home Ministry has taken cognizance of the "serious security lapse" and has sought a detailed report from the Punjab government. The state government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action. The Home Ministry statement added that PM Modi landed at Bathinda on Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. The statement said that when the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. The Prime Minister proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police. (ANI) Towns in upper Shimla and Manali were cut off with heavy snow cover piled on roads, officials said. Traffic movement beyond Dhalli, 10 km from here, was suspended since a large stretch of Hindustan-Tibet Road was under a thick blanket of snow. The entire Kinnaur district and towns in Shimla district such as Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai, Kumarsain, Kharapathar, Rohru and Chopal are cut off due to heavy snow, a government official here told IANS. Connectivity on the Kullu-Manali national highway was temporarily snapped near Patlikuhl, some 20 km before Manali, the official said. "Over 150 routes in the interiors of Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Mandi, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts have been closed," an official with Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) told IANS. According to the weather office here, heavy snow and rain will continue till Friday. Tourist destinations near here such Kufri and Narkanda experienced snowfall while rain lashed Shimla. Manali and nearby Solang ski slopes and Dalhousie in Chamba district too were covered in snow. The town of Kalpa in Kinnaur, around 250 km from here, experienced a massive snow. Likewise, Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, saw snowfall. The government has advised the people to stay indoors in Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts and not to go through avalanche-prone areas. Rain lashed lower areas of the state such as Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, pulling down temperatures. --IANS vg/ksk/ ( 263 Words) 2022-01-06-10:08:07 (IANS) The toilet was constructed over a year ago but was never opened for use. The boy, Shailesh Kumar, was playing with his friends when the incident took place in Rafatpur village on Wednesday. The boy's father, Guddu Singh, has lodged a complaint with police against the village head and local contractor. An FIR is yet to be registered. The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy in the evening. The case was also forwarded to district panchayati raj officer (DPRO) and a probe has been ordered. SHO Islamnagar Amit Kumar said: "The FIR will be registered after an initial investigation. The DPRO is also probing the incident." According to the police, the boy's father, a daily wager, is in Delhi for work most of the time. He returned home on Tuesday night and the accident took place the following day. The father said: "The village head and the contractor had used materials of poor quality while building these toilets. I want strict action against them." --IANS amita/svn/ksk/ ( 214 Words) 2022-01-06-10:20:04 (IANS) Bhartiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) chief Surjit Singh Phool on Thursday said that when the Senior Superintendent of Police Ferozepur asked them to vacate the road saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on his way to a rally by road, they thought that the officer was "bluffing". Speaking to the reporters, Phool said, "SSP Ferozepur asked us to vacate the road saying that the prime minister was going to the rally venue by road. We thought he was bluffing." Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur was called off citing major security lapse. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to the road being blocked by some protesters, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement. The MHA has taken cognisance of this serious security lapse has sought a detailed report from the state government. The BJP has blamed the ruling Congress government for sabotaging PM's schedule program and for the major security lapse. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi denied the allegations of any security breach of the Prime Minister saying that he did it have any information about the change of route of the PM. "We had asked them (PMO) to discontinue the visit due to bad weather conditions and protests. We had no information of his (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) sudden route change. There was no security lapse during the PM visit," Channi said on Wednesday addressing a press conference. Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has sought resignation from Channi saying that the Punjab government cannot provide smooth passage to the Prime Minister of the country and that too just 10 kilometres from the Pakistan border. (ANI) Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate has acquired a majority stake in the Rotunda, a redeveloped mixed-use center in Hampden with stores, offices and apartments, in a $267 million deal to purchase three Maryland shopping centers. Besides acquiring 60% of the Rotunda on West 40th street, MCB purchased a majority interest in a shopping center in Damascus and full ownership of a Frederick shopping center, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the seller. Advertisement The properties were sold by First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey, a REIT owned by New Jersey-based real estate firm Hekemian & Co. Officials with MCB did not respond to requests for comment. The developer last year bought development rights for Clipper Mill, a development in Woodberry along the Jones Falls, and is redeveloping projects such as Northwood Commons shopping center near Morgan State University and Yard 56, a mixed-use development across from Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. Advertisement Hekemian, which acquired the Rotunda in 2005, invested about $100 million to redevelop 295,000 square feet of office and retail space and build the 379-unit Icon apartments behind the centers main structure. Current tenants include the grocery anchor, Moms Organic Market, which opened in April 2016, Brick Bodies gym, Walgreens and Starbucks. The center had long been anchored by a Giant Food, which closed in 2012. A CineBistro dinner and movie theater that opened in 2017 closed at the end of 2020. The sale was first reported by the Baltimore Business Journal. "More restrictions will be imposed if required. We have all the necessary health infrastructure (to deal with surging cases of COVID-19)," Dhami told ANI. Over the prevailing COVID-19 situation, he said that the state government does not want to take any risks and a check is being kept at airports, buses, educational institutions among other places. Dhami further informed that a detailed discussion was held on Wednesday about the surge in cases and have decided to take decisions in this regard in a day or two. "We have prepared all healthcare institutions for a possible surge in cases. From medicines to oxygen supply, everything has been ensured," he said. Taking action to curb the transmission of the infection in the state, the Uttarakhand government on Wednesday extended the night curfew by an hour. It will be applicable from 10 pm to 5 pm until further orders. As per the state's health bulletin, Uttarakhand on Wednesday reported 505 fresh cases and 119 recoveries. The active cases were at 1000. (ANI) The main conspirator and creator of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app has been brought to the national capital from Assam on Thursday and will be produced before Delhi court today. Neeraj Bishnoi, the creator of 'Bulli Bai' app has been brought by Delhi Police Special Cell. "Neeraj Bishnoi, the main Bulli Bai case conspirator, will be presented in Delhi Court tonight. He has confessed, but most importantly, we've acquired technical evidence required from his laptop & mobile. The whole network has been busted," said DCP(IFSO) KPS Malhotra. Earlier today, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO), Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested Bishnoi from Assam. Neeraj Bishnoi (20) is a resident of Digambar area of Assam's Jorhat. He is a BTech student of Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. The Bulli Bai case was transferred to the IFSO on Wednesday. Several complaints were received by police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year. An engineering student from Bengaluru, a young girl from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends have also been arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case, informed police on Wednesday. "Three people have been arrested in the 'Bulli Bai' app case, including Vishal Kumar Jha and Shweta Singh. The third accused is Shweta's friend," said Hemant Nagrale, Mumbai Police Commissioner. Vishal Kumar has been sent to police custody till January 10 by a Bandra court and Shweta Singh is on a transit remand. Mumbai Police on Monday filed a first information report (FIR) against unknown persons based on complaints that doctored photographs of women were uploaded for auction on the 'Bulli Bai' application hosted on the GitHub platform. On Sunday, West Mumbai Cyber Police station registered a case against the 'Bulli Bai' app developers and Twitter handles that promoted the app. The case was registered against the unknown culprits under sections 153(A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion etc), 153(B) (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295(A) (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 354D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology Act. After both the Delhi and Mumbai police lodged FIR in the matter under relevant sections, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a tweet on Sunday said, "Government of India is working with police organizations in Delhi and Mumbai on this matter." (ANI) Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday lashed out at the BJP for "playing politics over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security lapse". Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister said that it is unfortunate that politics is being played on this. "Congress wants to tell the prime minister that his security is everyone's responsibility. It is unfortunate that politics is being done on this. PM should not have made such a remark ('Made it back alive' remark by PM)," said Rajasthan CM. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur was called off citing major security lapse. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to the road being blocked by some protesters, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement. The MHA has taken cognisance of this serious security lapse and sought a detailed report from the state government. The BJP has blamed the ruling Congress government for sabotaging PM's scheduled program and for the major security lapse. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi denied the allegations of any security breach of the Prime Minister saying that he did not have any information about the change of route of the PM. "We had asked them (PMO) to discontinue the visit due to bad weather conditions and protests. We had no information of his (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) sudden route change. There was no security lapse during the PM visit," Channi said on Wednesday addressing a press conference. Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has sought resignation from Channi saying that the Punjab government cannot provide smooth passage to the Prime Minister of the country and that too just 10 kilometres from the Pakistan border. (ANI) An official spokesperson said the committee would comprise Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) Anurag Verma. The committee will submit its report within three days. Regretting that Modi had to cancel his scheduled visit to Ferozepur midway, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday said there was no security lapse that led to the cancellation of the Prime Minister's visit to the district bordering Pakistan. "We were told that the Prime Minister would fly by helicopter from Bathinda to Ferozepur. But all of a sudden, he decided to move by road. If there were any security lapses during PM Modi's visit, we are ready for probe the matter," Channi had told the media here. Modi at the last minute cancelled his visit while en route to Ferozepur, where he was scheduled to lay foundation stones for projects worth Rs 42,750 crore. The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. --IANS vg/ksk/ ( 225 Words) 2022-01-06-12:14:07 (IANS) "Many of our doctors, health workers have been affected with COVID-19 while serving patients, I pray for their good health," the Union Minister told media persons after the meeting. Mandaviya further appealed to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior as cases are increasing in the country. AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria also advised people not to panic but stay alert and follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior. "COVID-19 appropriate behavior, including proper masking, washing hands, avoiding crowds, and vaccination is crucial. Don't panic. It's a mild disease, but stay alert," Dr Guleria said. Reportedly, around 50 doctors of AIIMS, Delhi have gone into isolation after some tested positive while others showed symptoms of COVID-19. The hospital on Tuesday also canceled the remaining part of winter vacation from January 5 to January 10 and has asked the faculty members to join duty 'with immediate effect' in view of increasing COVID-19 cases. In a notice, AIIMS said: "In continuation of the office of memoranda...it is to inform that the Competent Authority has decided to cancel the remaining part of the winter vacation i.e. from 5th to 10th January 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19/Omicron Pandemic." "COVID-19: AIIMS, Delhi cancels remaining part of winter vacation from January 5 to January 10; asks faculty members to join duty 'with immediate effect'," the notice further read. Meanwhile, India reported 90,928 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. The daily positivity rate stands at 6.43 percent while the weekly positivity rate stands at 3.47 percent. India has also reported 2,630 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 so far. (ANI) Of the new Omicron cases, 45 cases were from low-risk countries and five cases were from high-risk countries. No cases were reported through contact tracing. Meanwhile, Kerala on Wednesday reported 4,801 new cases, 299 deaths and 1,813 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The active cases stood at 22,910 and the death toll is at 48,895. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has reported 2,630 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 so far. (ANI) The Railway Protection Force (RPF) saved the lives of 601 people and rescued 630 others from human traffickers during 2021, according to an official statement issued on Thursday. "During the year, RPF personnel saved 601 persons without any care for their own safety, going far beyond their call of duty. Gyan Chand, a Head Constable showed exemplary courage and laid down his life while saving the life of a lady attempting to commit suicide on March 2, 2021, at Bharwari Railway Station, NCR (UP)," the official release said. Moreover, the RPF escorted 522 Oxygen special trains from originating station to the destination. COVID help booths were made operational at the major stations who sourced verified information from several sources and provided information regarding the availability of COVID-19 resources in addition to providing immediate help to the needy, the official statement said. RPF has been saving lives in mission mode under "Mission Jeewan Raksha" and its personnel have saved 1,650 lives from the wheels of the running trains at railway stations in the last four years under this mission. They have been awarded nine Jeewan Raksha medals and one Gallantry Medals by the President of India in recognition of their efforts in saving lives in the last four years. "During the year 2021, RPF rescued 630 persons from the clutches of human traffickers. This includes 54 women, 94 minor girls, 81 men and 401 minor boys," the official statement said. Further, during the year 2021, RPF arrested more than 3,000 criminals involved in offences against passengers and handed them over to the concerned Government Railway Police/Police, the statement read. Having been empowered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act in 2019, RPF succeeded in the recovery of Narcotics being carried through railways to the value of more than Rs. 15.7 crore followed by the apprehension of 620 drug peddlers during the year 2021. (ANI) A writ petition has been moved by journalist Aarti Tikoo, founder and editor of 'The New Indian' in the Delhi High Court challenging Twitter Inc's decision to lock her account for allegedly making a tweet violating the social media platform's rules. The petitioner journalist sought the court's direction, quashing the impugned decision of Twitter Inc dated 15.12.2021 whereby the petitioner has been locked out of her Twitter account apart from the deletion of her Tweet. The plea stated that the decision taken by Twitter Inc to lock the petitioner out of her Twitter account on utterly spurious grounds was being violative of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India. She stated in the petition that her account was locked after she called out the actions of an alleged Kashmiri Islamist on the platform against her cousin. According to the petition, on December 14, Tikoo's cousin Sahil Tikoo participated in a Twitter space discussion conducted under aegis and supervision of the microblogging site wherein he was called an Indian agent, and a lot of other allegations were made against him. On December 15, Tikoo tweeted, "My brother @TikooSahil_ who lives in Srinagar, is being openly threatened by jihadi terrorists sitting in Kashmir-India, and their handlers in Pakistan, UK, and US. Is anyone watching? Are we sitting ducks waiting to be shot dead by Islamists or will you crackdown on them?", while tagging the Home Minister Office's handle on Twitter, said the plea. As a consequence, she was served a notice by the Twitter Admin saying that her aforesaid Tweet had violated the Twitter Rules against Hateful Conduct. The notice further stated, "You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease", the plea read. "The notice added that it has temporarily limited her account's feature including posting tweets and that she can use her account in full functionality only if she deletes the content that violates their rules," stated the petition. The petitioner submitted that Respondent No.2 (Twitter Inc) performs a specific public function. Not only does it qualify as 'State' within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India, it also qualifies as an 'authority' falling within the ambit of Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The plea further submitted that as per the new meaning of Article 14 enunciated in the celebrated Supreme Court case of E.P. Royappa Vs. State of Tamil Nadu, (1974) la] 172 SC, any arbitrariness being perpetrated by the State is subject to sanction under the said provision. "Hence, it is clear that the arbitrary action of Respondent No.2 in suspending the account of the Petitioner for merely calling out radical Islamism is something that deserves to be censured and quashed," said the petition. The plea further submitted, "The action has been taken without granting the petitioner the right to hearing - Audi alteram Partem, which is a defining component of Article 14 of the 34 Constitution of India as per the law declared by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India." The plea added that because the action of the Respondent No.2 has perhaps the intended effect of silencing the voice of the petitioner who is a Kashmiri Pandit at the behest of Islamists. This is in effect a violation of her right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which forces her to relive the trauma that she experienced as a refugee in her own country. The plea stated, "...the action of microblogging site also imposes an intolerable and illegal restriction on the right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to the petitioner under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India in a manner that is not sanctioned under Article 19 (2) of the same." The plea also submitted that the action could lead to the loss of its intermediary status under Rule 7 of the Information Technology Rules, 2000 read with sections 79 sub-clauses 1 and 2 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. (ANI) The Government of Goa decided to grant lifelong Cabinet status to the senior-most legislator, Pratapsingh Rane for his great service to the state, said Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, Goa CM announced this decision and said, "Our Government has decided to grant lifelong Cabinet status to the senior-most legislator, Pratapsingh Rane Ji, for his great service to the State of Goa. He has held the topmost positions in the state as the Chief Minister and Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly." "He will always be an inspiration to the people of Goa across strata. I look forward to his continued guidance as we work towards the welfare of the people and the development of the State. I congratulate him and wish him all the very best in all his future endeavors," the Chief Minister further tweeted. Reacting to the decision taken by the Goa government, State Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister for having conferred this recognition on his father. "This is a very special gesture, I thank Hon'ble CM @DrPramodPSawant for having conferred this recognition on my father. On behalf of the people of Sattari and Usgao, I express my gratitude to the Hon'ble Chief Minister and the entire cabinet," Vishwajit Rane said in a tweet. Further, he said, "I am grateful to the Hon'ble Chief Minister @DrPramodPSawantand the entire cabinet for according a lifetime cabinet status to my father Shri Pratapsingh Raoji Rane." He said that there is no greater way to honor his 50 years of public service as Chief Minister, Speaker, and MLA in Goa. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 29 development works worth Rs 2,450 crore in Manipur through video conferencing. While addressing the event, the Home Minister said that the state government under the leadership of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh appears to be committed to the development of every corner of the state for five years. "Be it mountains, valleys, forests, villages or cities, Biren Singh has achieved success in bringing development everywhere with great dedication under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Shah said. Chief Minister Biren Singh was also present on the occasion. The Home Minister said that whenever the history of Manipur is written, these five years will be written as a golden age. "In these five years there has never been any blockade, nor has there been any shutdown. Violence has also been controlled to a great extent. Unless there is stability and peace, development is impossible," he said. The biggest achievement of the Biren Singh government is that it has opened the avenues of stability, peace as well as development for Manipur, he stated. "Manipur has made a successful effort to come out from the tradition of blockade, violence, corruption, bandhs, drugs trade of previous governments," he added. Elaborating on the developmental works done by the BJP-led government, Shah said, "PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 21 projects worth more than Rs 3,000 crore yesterday and laid the foundation stone of five National Highway projects. Today 15 projects costing more than Rs 265 crore have been inaugurated and 14 projects worth Rs 2,194 crore have been inaugurated through this event in the state." "In just two days, works costing about Rs 5,500 crore have started for the people of Manipur," said Shah, asking "In the long rule of the previous governments, tell me two such days when works worth Rs 5,500 crore were inaugurated and the foundation stone was laid," he said. He said the farmers of Manipur have accepted organic farming and they can get the maximum price for the product. The Government of India and Manipur are committed for this and today there is a new beginning in this direction. (ANI) Maryland is launching 10 new COVID-19 testings sites at hospitals as a surge in the virus has led to hours-long lines at testing centers throughout the state, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday. Hogan spoke at the University of Marylands Laurel Medical Center, a former hospital that houses one of the new testing operations. The facility reopened more than 100 hospital beds in the early months of the pandemic in spring 2020 to treat coronavirus patients. Advertisement The sites will be fully operational by the end of next week and will operate seven days a week, offering testing without appointments for walk-up and drive-up patients. In addition to Laurel Medical Center, testing sites will include: UM Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata UM Capital Region Medical Center in Largo Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham Meritus Health in Hagerstown Frederick Health in Frederick Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore MedStar St. Marys in Leonardtown Northwest Hospital in Randallstown Hogan said an 11th site will be set up at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore in conjunction with the federal government and will be aided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Advertisement Hogan said he hopes this will help divert people just looking to get a COVID test away from emergency rooms, which will ease the burden on hospitals and healthcare workers who have been strained by the latest surge in cases. We are already getting great encouraging reports that emergency room traffic for testing has dropped dramatically as a result, Hogan said. People stand in line for over two hours to get a COVID test at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air this week. (Kenneth K. Lam) The governor offered University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health in Bel Air as an example, saying the hospital already experienced a 72% drop in emergency room visits since opening a testing site outside the medical center last week. As the omicron variant of the virus has spread rapidly through Maryland, residents have struggled to find tests to confirm whether or not theyre infected. As fast as local governments and testing sites have gotten rapid, at-home tests, theyve been handed out. Theyre flying off the shelves of drugstores, too. Public and private testing locations that offer more sensitive polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests have been inundated. Many PCR testing sites shut down or reduced their hours over the summer and fall, as the pandemic response shifted away from testing and toward vaccinations. Local governments have started ramping their testing operations back up, including Baltimore County, which plans to open a site in White Marsh next week, and Baltimore City, which opened a large-scale, drive-up site near Pimlico Race Course this week. Howard County officials have set up a dedicated testing site for government and school employees and announced a mobile testing site for the public at a fire station in Elkridge. Carroll County opened an appointment-only, drive-through testing site Thursday at the countys agriculture center in Westminster. Marylands testing positivity rate has shot up to nearly 30% in recent weeks, meaning that nearly three in 10 reported coronavirus test results are positive. Maryland hospitals are treating a record 3,172 patients for the coronavirus a patient load that could reach 5,000 in the coming weeks, according to state health officials. Advertisement Maryland reported 12,735 more COVID cases Thursday and that 54 more people died from the virus. Hogan said the more contagious omicron now accounts for 90% of all lab-confirmed cases as well as hospitalizations. Dr. Mohan Suntha, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System, said the additional testing sites will relieve the disproportionate burden on hospital workers, who are dealing with people seeking tests, patients with COVID-19 and patients with other illnesses and injuries. Those people who are coming in search of testing and in search of understanding whether theyve been exposed to COVID-19, these testing facilities will be an incredible resource right now in the fight against COVID-19, Suntha said. Suntha said the hospital system has gone from 200 patients hospitalized with COVID about a month ago to over 800 now. Suntha said that 75% of those admitted are unvaccinated and that fewer than 5% of hospitalized patients have been vaccinated and boosted. Advertisement Our hospitals in the state of Maryland are under incredible stress, he said. We are seeing a rapid rise in patients arriving at the hospital with COVID-19. The strain is evident at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, too. Everyone is under stress, Dr. John Chessare, the hospitals president and CEO, said in a video message on the hospitals website. Our people are working many hours to do the right thing and help people. But there are queues, there are lines, and there is waiting thats happening that may not be [typical]. Chessare said the governors executive orders and temporary state of emergency will help ease the burden on staff. Already, the number of people showing up in the emergency department for COVID-19 testing has dropped off some. GBMC was treating 88 patients for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, including 13 in the labor and delivery and post-partum units and another 12 patients in the intensive care unit. All of GBMCs coronavirus patients in intensive care are not vaccinated. And, while some of the other coronavirus patients are fully immunized, they are, by and large, frail elders or people with chronic disease, Chessare said. Advertisement Chessare expressed concern that some people would continue to avoid or delay vaccination, thinking that most healthy adults wont get very sick with the coronavirus. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts. > I would ask those people to think again, he said. Even if the probability that you getting sick with the virus is [not] high, think about the people who you could pass the virus to. Think about your loved ones. Both the governor and Suntha continued to encourage those who are unvaccinated or eligible for a booster to get the shots. The two also said it is imperative for people who are symptomatic like with a sore throat or cold-like symptoms to isolate and get tested. If you are found to be positive, things like quarantining and mask wearing can reduce the spread, Suntha said. Its about understanding who is positive so we can reduce the risk of spread. Hogan emphasized that the state has an unlimited amount of PCR COVID tests and that the state has secured and is working to distribute 1 million rapid tests. He also said that an additional half a million rapid tests have been secured and will be arriving with the next week. The governor said he continues to push federal officials to make rapid tests more accessible because it is a really good screening tool. Hogan, who is fully vaccinated and received a booster shot, contracted COVID-19 in December. He said he was glad to be fully back to work after having to isolate in the governors mansion in Annapolis. Advertisement My wife had me on lockdown, he said. I didnt come out of the room for 10 days, and luckily, she dropped some food outside the door. Baltimore Sun reporter Hallie Miller contributed to this article. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday declared various cash rewards on the heads of ten terrorists of Manipur-based People's Liberation Army, a banned outfit, in connection with attack on the convoy of 46 Assam Rifles in November 2021. Seven personnel of the Assam Rifles were killed by the terrorists in the ambush. The convoy of Assam Rifles was attacked with arms and explosives, near Sialsih village on Indo-Myanmar road which falls under the jurisdiction of Singngat Police Station of Churachandpur District in Manipur. "The attack resulted in death of five Assam Rifles personnel including Commanding Officer, his family members and injuries to six Assam Rifles personnel," said an NIA official. The official said that the ten terrorists agaist which the reward was declared were Chaoyai alias Pukhrambam Mani Meetei, Sagolsem Inaocha alias Ranjit Naorem, Sanatomba, Khaba, Khwairakpa, Nongyai alias Nongphai, CPL Joseph, Balin and Kanta alias Sants. "Cash Reward of Rs 8 lakh has been declared on the head of Chaoyai alias Pukhrambam Manieetei and Sagolsem. Reward of Rs 6 lakh has been declared on the head of Sanatomba while cash reward of Rs 4 lakh has been declared on Sanatomba, Khaba, Khwairakpa, Nongyai alias Nongphai, CPL Joseph, Balin and Kanta alias Sants," the official said. It was a big terrorist ambush on Assam Rifles that happened in November last year in Singhat sub-division of Manipur's Churachandpur district. Commanding officer of the Assam Rifles unit, his family members and three paramilitary force personnel lost their lives in the ambush. The Assam Rifle officials were on their way to attend a Civil Action Programme when they were ambushed and killed. Manipur-based People's Liberation Army was found to be involved in the matter. A case was lodged and the investigation was handed over to the NIA. Now, NIA has declared a reward on their heads. "If any person is having any information of importance on the above suspects leading to their arrest or apprehension, the information may be shared with NIA," said the NIA offcial. --IANS atk/skp/ ( 351 Words) 2022-01-06-13:58:04 (IANS) "I personally meet doctors, healthcare workers and asked about their medical conditions," the minister said. Emphasising that all the doctors and healthcare workers responsibly served the country during the first and the second wave of the pandemic and performed their duties undeterred, the minister said, "Now it is our responsibility to motivate and encourage them when they get infected during helping and treating COVID patients." "AIIMS and other hospital healthcare workers are serving COVID-19 patients. I pray to God for their good and better health. If they will be healthy then they will be able to serve better," the minister said. He further appealed to people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour. Meanwhile, India reported 90,928 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. The daily positivity rate stands at 6.43 percent while the weekly positivity rate stands at 3.47 per cent. India has also reported 2,630 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 so far. (ANI) With this, the cumulative caseload rises to 3,47,098 in the state. In Uttarakhand, the positivity rate stands at 3.74 per cent and a total of 18,380 were tested during the last 24 hours. As many as three people have succumbed to coronavirus infection during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 7,423. A total of 128 people have been recovered from COVID-19 which has led to increasing in overall number of recoveries in the state, that is, 3,31,756 recoveries so far. The recovery rate in Uttarakhand is 95.58 per cent. (ANI) The Congress and the BJP traded barbs over the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Punjab which led to cancellation of his proposed event in Firozepur. While the BJP held the Congress responsible for it, the grand-pold party retaliated saying the former was frustrated as the rally was cancelled. Tearing into the BJP, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said: "I can understand the frustration of the BJP with a cancelled rally. But why malign protesting farmers by calling them terrorists and presuming that they will attack the Prime Minister's convoy ? The mindset of calling farmers mawalis, deshdrohis and running over them continues." On the other hand, the BJP has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed the conspiracy of "Pakistan and Khalistanis and Congress." The Prime Minister has exposed Congress's game to push the country into the fire of riots, it added. On Wednesday night, the BJP shared a video captioned "Understand the chronology of the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi" on twitter. A little over two minutes long video starts by asking whose plan was it to attack Modi. "Was it the plan of Pakistan? Was it the plan of Khalistanis? Who is supporting the full plan? Was Congress supporting the full plan?," the video questioned. Congress Chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Thursday, reminded that the BJP is not fulfilling the promises made to the farmers. "Do u know why KMSC & Farmers are protesting against PM Modi? Their demands are : Sack MOS Home, Ajay Misra Teni. Withdraw criminal cases against farmers in Haryana, Delhi & UP. Compensation for kin of 700 farmers who died. Committee on MSP & a quick decision." Post farmer's agitation, the Modi government chose to totally ignore these promises, he said. "Finally, the reason for cancelling rally is that there were no crowds to listen to Modiji. Stop blame game & introspect on BJP's anti-farmer attitude. Hold rallies but listen to farmers first!" he added. --IANS miz/shb/ ( 336 Words) 2022-01-06-14:26:02 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday announced the convening of an all party meeting on Saturday to discuss the next course of action on the state getting exemption from the medical entrance exams, NEET. Stalin also said the refusal of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to meet a delegation of Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu on the issue is against democracy. Speaking in the state assembly Stalin requested the leaders of various parties to participate in the meeting and based on the decision taken the next course of protest against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will be carried out. He said the Bill passed by the state assembly seeking exemption from NEET has been pending with Governor R.N. Ravi for a long time. The Bill has not been forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent. According to Stalin, Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu had submitted a memorandum at the President's Secretariat on december 28 listing out the ill effects of NEET and the delay in getting the President's assent for the Bill. As the Memorandum was forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs for further action, Parliamentarians belonging to various parties had sought time to meet Home Minister Shah. "Till now Shah is avoiding meeting the MPs. The Home Minister refusing to meet the Parliamentarians in a democracy is an affront to the honour of democracy," Stalin said. --IANS vj/skp/ ( 250 Words) 2022-01-06-14:58:05 (IANS) The Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal, on Thursday suspended Neeraj Bishnoi, the main conspirator, and creator of 'Bulli Bai' application, from the university with immediate effect until further notice. "Mr. Niraj Bishnoi, 20BCG10103 studying BTech since September 2020 via Online has been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with his alleged involvement in Bulli Bai App. Accordingly, Mr. Niraj Bishnoi is suspended with immediate effect from the university until further notice, in view of bringing disrepute to the University and defaming the name of the Institute," said Vice-Chancellor in its order. Bishnoi had been arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO) team for the alleged involvement in the Bulli Bai case. Earlier today, he was brought to the national capital from Assam and will be produced before Delhi court today. Neeraj Bishnoi (20) is a resident of the Digambar area of Assam's Jorhat. He is a B.Tech student of the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. "During interrogation, Neeraj Bishnoi disclosed that the app was developed in Nov 2021 and updated in Dec'21. He said he created one more Twitter account to talk about the app. Using another account he has stated 'You've arrested the wrong person," said the Delhi Police Special Cell. Several complaints were received by police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year. An engineering student from Bengaluru, a young girl from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends have also been arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case, informed police on Wednesday. "Three people have been arrested in the 'Bulli Bai' app case, including Vishal Kumar Jha and Shweta Singh. The third accused is Shweta's friend," said Hemant Nagrale, Mumbai Police Commissioner. Vishal Kumar has been sent to police custody till January 10 by a Bandra court and Shweta Singh is on a transit remand. (ANI) Union Health Ministry in a letter to states on Thursday recommended that precaution dose for healthcare workers, frontline workers and senior citizens with co-morbidities will be the same as given previously. In a letter written by Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan read, "The administration of precaution dose for healthcare workers, frontline workers including personnel deployed for election duty and persons aged more than 60 years with co-morbidities will be starting from January 10, 2022, under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme." "In this regard, the following may be noted, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) has recommended the administration of the homologous vaccine for HCWS, FLWs and elders (more than 60 years of age) with co-morbidities i.e. the same vaccine that has been administered for the previous two doses would be given as the precaution dose to the eligible beneficiaries," it said. The letter also mentions that private hospitals can provide a precautionary dose of COVID-19 vaccines from January 10 for free to their staffers or can charge for it. "As communicated on January 4, 2022, the private hospitals that function as COVID-19 vaccination centres can vaccinate their staff (Doctors, Paramedics etc.) at their hospital itself. They may choose to bear the cost of the vaccine doses and provide the precaution dose to their staff who are eligible and due, free of cost or they may provide such vaccination and charge for it," the letter reads. The Health secretary also mentions that administration of precaution dose to all eligible HCWS and FLWS of Armed Forces, Special Forces under Ministry of Home Affairs and Cabinet Secretariat, may also be facilitated as it was done during their primary two-doses vaccination. Centre notes that Under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, more than 148 crore vaccine doses have been successfully administered. 91 per cent of the adult population has received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine while 66 per cent have been fully vaccinated. More than 17 per cent of the adolescents aged 15 to 18 years have also been vaccinated with the first dose within three days of initiation of vaccination for this age group. (ANI) After Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the PM's security breach incident was 'scripted', BJP senior leader Brijmohan Agarwal claimed that PM's schedule is always notified to the state prior to his visit so it's the Punjab government which is the reason behind security lapses. "See, the Prime Minister's visit is not sudden. It does not happen without any prior information or without a proper plan. The state government is notified at least 15 days prior to the visit to make necessary preparation. So even after that preparation, if the security lapse happens then the pride, security and honour of the country are at stake", said Brijmohan Agarwal. On Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's allegation that the PM's security breach issue was 'scripted', he said, "I feel that it is not proper for the Chief Minister of a state to says such bad things about the security of the country." Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday alleged that an attempt was being made to defame the Punjab government. "Why did he go by road suddenly after his initial plan was to fly", questioned Baghel. "The state government, central agencies and the state agencies sit together and decide on Prime Minister's visit. Then it will be wrong to say that the state government was not kept in the loop." "These people have put the country's security at risk", he added. On Baghel's press conference on the Punjab issue, he said that Congress has become active now as it has come under the spotlight after yesterday's incident and Bhupesh Baghel is in the process of making himself a national leader. So he is holding a press conference. "If he has guts, ask him to speak on Naxalite, COVID-19 and other major issues in Chhattisgarh", added Brijmohan Agarwal. (ANI) As many as 25 students have been selected across the country under the Centre's Veer Gatha Project who would be honored in Delhi on January 25, informed the Ministry of Defence on Thursday. As per the ministry, many special programs are being organized for Republic Day under Amrit Mahotsav and one of them is the Veer Gatha program. Under this project, 25 students also known as 'Super 25' are selected across the country. Out of these 25 students, 2 students are also from Haryana- Shivani Pimplepur of Gurugram and Pranjay Gandhi of Panipat. The endeavor has been to make it a celebration of people by encouraging their participation from all walks of life. Also, create/rekindle a spirit of nationalism and patriotism in them in the run-up to the Republic Day events, stated the ministry. Under Project Veer Gatha, different programs were organized for children of different ages to acquaint the students with the indomitable courage and spirit of the war heroes, brave hearts of their country in poems and essays were also included. The competition was organized in schools across the country in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and CBSE. In which 8,03,900 students from 4,788 schools across the country participated. Students from 28 states and 8 union territories of the country participated. After several rounds of rigorous testing, 'Super 25' was today. These 25 have been selected under the leadership of a national-level team of the country, as per Defence Ministry information. All these 'Super 25' students, who would be honored on the eve of Republic Day, will be the special guests of the Defense Ministry for this year's Republic Day parade. "This competition was organized with the aim of creating a sense of patriotism among the students and a tribute to our war heroes, added the ministry. (ANI) He was accused in the Chikodi fake Indian currency notes case. "Shahnoyaj Kasuri has been charged under sections 120B, 489 (B), and 489 (C) of IPC. An FIR against him was registered on 12 March 2018 after 41 Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) were recovered from him with a face value of Rs. 82,000," said the NIA. Meanwhile, the trial against the remaining accused persons is underway. (ANI) The state Senates sole physician pressed the head of the state health department Wednesday over a monthslong delay in notifying patients who may have received spoiled vaccines and said he is worried issues are prevalent among other vaccine providers. Democratic Sen. Clarence Lam asked Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader about the departments failure to quickly notify hundreds of Marylanders who may have received vaccines that were mishandled potentially rendering them ineffective by TrueCare24, a San Francisco-based company the state contracted with last year to hold vaccine clinics across Maryland. Advertisement Schrader said agency auditors are reviewing the issue during the exchange which came during an online meeting of the General Assemblys vaccine oversight work group. The health department estimates 476 people need to be revaccinated as a result of the mishandled vaccines. The department began notifying patients Dec. 30, Schrader said. Advertisement A whistleblower within the department, Jessicah Ray, reported to the departments inspector general that health officials were aware that potentially hundreds of vaccine doses were rendered ineffective by improper storage but were not alerting patients. The state took months to ask for guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on whether to contact those TrueCare had vaccinated more than a quarter of whom were incarcerated. Ray estimated that at least 1,000 doses are in question. TrueCare administered vaccines from the end of July through September at more than 100 sites across the state, including prisons, courthouses and grocery stores. Despite issues with TrueCare from its first day July 17 its sites lacked medical equipment and couldnt produce training certifications for staff members, Ray wrote in her complaint to the inspector general the state put it on a remediation plan and allowed the company to resume administering vaccines beginning July 30. It wasnt until Sept. 3 that a health department manager ordered TrueCare to halt vaccinations after another health department employee reported the vendor was storing vaccine in hotels and cars, emails show. Officials then began trying to gather information from TrueCare to prove vaccine viability; the company provided records for only a fraction of its clinics, Ray said. The Baltimore Sun first reported Rays complaint last week. TrueCare has not responded to multiple phone calls and emails requesting an interview. The department referred the matter to health departments audit department Sept. 24; auditors are still investigating, Schrader said. Schrader said the department reached out Nov. 10 to the CDC about TrueCare; the federal agency advised the department to seek to revaccinate people with one dose immediately, regardless of the total number of doses theyve received. More than a month later the department has begun calling patients and expects to reach them all by the end of this week, Schrader said. Advertisement To be sure I am not happy about how long its taken to obtain the clinical next steps, Schrader said. Ive directed the audit team to complete their review and have it on my desk no later than the end of this month. But Lam, who represents Howard and Baltimore counties, said he was concerned that TrueCare is not an outlier, and that hes heard other third-party vaccine vendors may also have quality control issues in handling the vaccine. My concern is that this is not just a problem with TrueCare; that there may be more systemic problems in place here with other vendors administering vaccine, Lam said. That TrueCare may only be the tip of the iceberg that the public has heard about and that the press has caught onto. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts. > Lam criticized the departments pay-per-shot contract model, where vendors were compensated for each shot administered, and which Lam said contributed to potential quality control issues. It seems like at the department theres just a blind drive toward just hitting numbers, to getting as many people vaccinated as possible regardless to the risk of safety. Schrader responded that the department recognized very quickly that [the pay-per-shot] model wasnt going to work when the state piloted it in the spring. TrueCares contract, which was pay-per-shot, was executed in June. Advertisement We found out we werent satisfied with that approach, Schrader said. The department brought on new vaccine vendors when it rebid the contracts for a flat fee that started around August, Schrader said. So it didnt matter how many shots they gave, we paid them a flat rate and there was no incentive to cut corners, he said. That has worked much, much better. Baltimore Sun reporters Hallie Miller and Meredith Cohn contributed to this article. Ahead of Assembly polls to five states, the meeting of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and top officials of the health ministry on Thursday to review the COVID-19 situation was attended by AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria and ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava, informed official sources. The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan was also present at the meeting. As per sources, a complete review of the prevailing COVID-19 situation was done during the meeting. The inputs of medical experts were taken on ensuring the safety measures during elections. It was also discussed that complete vaccination among voters and staff should be mandated, sources said. The law and order situation in poll-bound states ahead polls was also held with Union Home Secretary, they added. Earlier on December 27, 2021, the meeting was held between Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and poll officials where they held discussions over the steps needed to conduct polls in the safest manner amid the emergence of a new variant Omicron. The officials also sought suggestions and a detailed report from Union Health Secretary Bhushan on improving its COVID-19 protocol for poll campaigning, polling days, and the dates of counting. The Election Commission is prepared for the assembly polls and is expected to announce the dates soon of Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Manipur legislative assemblies are ending on different dates in March and Uttar Pradesh will end in May. (ANI) A Rafale naval combat aircraft landed in Goa on Thursday evening to demonstrate the capabilities of the combat jet to carry out operations from the Indian Navy aircraft carriers. A Rafale combat aircraft of the Dassault Aviation landed in Goa evening to give a demonstration to rate the Indian Navy on its abilities to carry out operations from the Indian aircraft carriers including the in-service INS Vikramaditya and the soon to be inducted INS Vikrant, Navy officials said here. The aircraft would be carrying out demonstrations with a full load including a dummy weapons package from the Shore-based Test Facility (SBTF) at the Hansa naval air station here, they said. The Rafale is one of the two contenders in the race for the 57 naval fighter aircraft tenders being planned by the Indian Navy. The demonstration by the Rafale is before the issue of tender for the project as the Indian Navy wants to see whether the Rafale or the F-18 would be able to operate with full capacity from Indian aircraft carriers or not. Once the demonstration is complete from both sides, the Navy would finalize the parameters and if required, can go in for a government-to-government tender for the acquisition of these planes, defense sources said. The Indian Navy is looking for the right type of fighter aircraft to operate from its carriers as it is also searching for the replacement of its fleet of Russian-origin MiG-29K fighter aircraft. The indigenous LCA Navy has also taken off and landed on the INS Vikramaditya and shown its capabilities. (ANI) According to sources, his wife T Kamala and his personal secretary VM Suneesh will accompany him and they will return back on January 29, 2022. "Chief Secretary VM Joy has issued order in connection with the chief minister's visit to the United States for medical check-up. All expenses in connection with the visit will be borne by state government," sources said. Earlier in September 2018, the Chief Minister had undergone treatment at Mayo clinic for three weeks. The details of his ailments are yet to disclose. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition seeking direction to postpone the schedule of Civil Services (Mains) Examination 2021 till the COVID-19 situation is normalized. The bench of Justice V Kameshwar Rao after hearing the length arguments decided to dismiss the petition moved by several candidates. Justice V Kameshwar Rao said, "I am not inclined to interfere with the decision. I am dismissing the petition." The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) through Advocate Naresh Kaushik strongly opposed the petition and stated that candidates can follow basic protocols like wearing double masks to prevent themselves from infection. Due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, UPSC is also taking all steps with the aid and assistance of district authorities to ensure the public interest is safeguarded. "Out of 9156 candidates around 9100 candidates have already downloaded the admits cards. From tomorrow the exam is starting. Our supervisors have already reached the centres," the advocate submitted. Advocate Kaushik also submitted before the court that the Supreme Court last year rejected a similar petition. Advocate Anushree Kapadia, appearing for petitioners (candidates), submitted that the candidates will have to take the risk of travelling; from hotel to centres to their home towns. Pressing that the COVID wave is contagious, Advocate Kapadia said, "Tomorrow there are two papers for 6 hours. Candidates will have to sit for 6 hours in one examination room. Petitioners have already made representations to UPSC on which no steps were taken which is why the petition was filed yesterday. A press release was issued yesterday which had no mentions of SOP." Advocate Kapadia further submits that the petitioners are not only here for the fundamental right to remain safe but also for the legal right that we have acquired by passing prelims. The petition was filed by nineteen candidates who have cleared their UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021 - Preliminary Examination and now have to appear in the Mains Examination of the said CSE 2021. The plea states that due to the imminent third wave of COVID 19 with its new variant Omicron the petitioners not only run into the imminent risk of getting infected and getting a threat to their life but also are at risk of losing out on their valuable attempt, which, for some candidates, is also a last attempt to give the examinations and all this without any fault on the part of the petitioners. "Recently, COVID-19 has spread severely in several states, cities including various educational centres. The position cannot be disputed by the respondent also as the Governments are themselves issuing strict advisories including a weekend curfew, night curfews, shutdowns etc. in view of the situation /infection likely to get out of control at any point of time," the petition copy stated. "Despite the same, the schedule of examination is being maintained by the respondents in complete disregard of the legal and fundamental rights of the Petitioners and which non-action is ex facie arbitrary," the petitioner alleged. The petitioners, who are 19 aspirants, further submitted that the UPSC Mains Examination consists of nine papers (two qualifying papers and seven papers for counting the merit) for which the candidates have to travel to their centres and stay near the area continuously for 10 days. The Mains Examination for CSE 2021 is presently scheduled from January 7, 2022, to January 16, 2022. That the centres allotted for Mains examination are mostly in metro cities or state capitals which are densely populated and gaining the numbers of COVID-19 infections in an unprecedented manner. Almost all the States and UTS in the country have started or are likely to immediately start issuing strict COVID-19 advisories restricting or prohibiting a range of activities including shutdowns, travel restrictions, night curfews, weekend curfews etc. "For example, in Delhi, the Government has imposed a night curfew, weekend curfew, 2992 Containment zones have been declared, Libraries and classes are closed, Government offices are switched to Work from home and private offices are allowed to work with only 50 per cent capacity," the plea read. (ANI) A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Punjab, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday performed the 'Maha Mrityunjaya' ritual at Ugratara temple in Guwahati for the long life of PM Modi and warned Congress that the repetition of any such incident in the future will not be tolerated. Addressing the reporters after the prayers, the Chief Minister said, "Today, BJP workers and Assam public have prayed, by performing Maha Mrityunjaya, for PM Modi's long life and for good sense to prevail over Congress. The way they tried to murder the PM has exposed the mentality of the party before the people of India." "We condemn the incident that happened yesterday and would like to warn that repetition of such an incident will not be tolerated by BJP workers and the people of India," Sarma added. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday constituted a three-member committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur a day ago, which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk. Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur was called off citing major security lapse. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to the road being blocked by some protesters, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement. The MHA has taken cognisance of this serious security lapse and sought a detailed report from the state government. The BJP has blamed the ruling Congress government for sabotaging PM's scheduled program and for the major security lapse. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi denied the allegations of any security breach of the Prime Minister saying that he did not have any information about the change of route of the PM. "We had asked them (PMO) to discontinue the visit due to bad weather conditions and protests. We had no information of his (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) sudden route change. There was no security lapse during the PM visit," Channi said on Wednesday addressing a press conference. Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has sought the resignation of Channi saying that the Punjab government cannot provide smooth passage to the Prime Minister of the country and that too just 10 kilometres from the Pakistan border. (ANI) On Navjot Singh Sidhu terming PM's security breach as 'drama', Chautala said Sidhu is trying to derive political mileage from it. "The way the Prime Minister was stopped is condemnable and if incidents like this continue we are taking the country towards anarchy. In the coming days, it will be disastrous for a democracy", the Haryana Deputy Chief Minister added. Dushyant Chautala had reached Ambala to inaugurate Tau Devi Lal Chowk and Bio Gas Plant.(ANI) Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday apprehended two terrorists of proscribed terrorist organization The Resistance Front (TRF), Mujahideen Gazwatul Hind (MGH), that are off-shoots of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) near Barzulla Bridge in Srinagar. The police, in its official release, said, "On December 22, terrorists targeted and killed a property dealer namely Rauf Ahmed in the Safakadal area. After the incident, Srinagar Police started an investigation into this killing. During the course of the investigation, the movement of some suspects was detected in Srinagar City." "Based on further analysis and credible human intelligence, Srinagar Police detected suspicious movement of terrorists in the Bhagat Barzulla area. On this Srinagar police along with CRPF laid special Nakas and apprehended two terrorists of proscribed terrorist organization TRF/MGH an off shoots of LET/JeM near Barzulla Bridge," it read. The two apprehended terrorists are Suhail Qadir Khanday and Suhail Mushtaq Waza. During the search, two pistols along with two pistol magazines and 30 pistol bullets were recovered on spot. On further questioning of terrorists, incriminating material, arms and ammunition including two pistols, six pistol Magazines among other items have been recovered in the case. They further identified two associates namely Basit Bilal Makaya and Naikoo Imad Nasar who were operating with them as Overground workers (OGWs). Both associates have been arrested as well. In this connection, a case under UAP Act has been registered. Further probe in the matter is underway. (ANI) The Summit was scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on January 10-12, and was supposed to be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the organisers. Deuba was scheduled to fly to India on Sunday to take part in the Summit. However, his visit, too, has been cancelled now, Nepali government officials said. As many as eight different agreements in various sectors were scheduled to be signed during Deuba's visit to India, including supplies of chemical fertilisers to Nepal and construction of 137 health posts, among others. A cabinet meeting on Wednesday gave a nod for the visit and Deuba was all set to participate in the Summit leading a 25-member delegation. The Congress in India had earlier urged the Indian government to call off the Summit in the wake of rising number of Covid cases. As many as 27 countries had agreed to participate in the three-day summit. No rescheduled dates have been announced yet. --IANS giri/arm ( 201 Words) 2022-01-06-17:30:06 (IANS) Prime Minister of India is an institution and it is the duty of every Government to provide foolproof security and safeguard the dignity of this institution, said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed event at Ferozepur in Punjab on Wednesday had to be canceled owing to a security lapse. "The Prime Minister of India is an institution. It is the duty of every Government to provide foolproof security and safeguard the dignity of this institution. Anything contrary should be unacceptable in our democracy," tweeted Patnaik. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today constituted a three-member committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur a day ago, which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk. Home Ministry's spokesperson in a tweet said, "Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur, Punjab on January 5, 2022, which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk." "The three-member committee will be led by Shri Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and comprising of Shri Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and Shri S. Suresh, IG, SPG. The committee is advised to submit the report at the earliest," the ministry said. The committee is advised to submit the report at the earliest, the spokesperson said. The moves come after the Home Ministry on Wednesday also sought a detailed report from the Punjab government over the security lapse. The Home Ministry in a statement had then informed that it asked the state government to "fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action". The action was taken after the Prime Minister's convoy, on his way to National Martyrs Memorial in Punjab via road reached a flyover where the road was blocked by some protestors. The Prime Minister was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Modi landed at Bathinda Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out, said the Home Ministry in its statement. "When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours," the statement said. The Prime Minister then proceeded to travel by road, after receiving the necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police, mentions the statement."Around 30 kilometers away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors," it said. "The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister," reads the statement. The Home Ministry said the Prime Minister's schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to the Punjab government.As per procedure, the Home Ministry said, they had to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. "Also, in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport," it added. (ANI) A Delhi Court on Thursday sent the main conspirator and creator of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app to seven days police custody. The accused Neeraj Bishnoi was produced by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO) unit at the deputy magistrate's house. The police had demanded seven days' custody and it was granted by the deputy magistrate. Niraj Bishnoi was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO) team from Assam for the alleged involvement in the Bulli Bai case. Earlier today, he was brought to the national capital from Assam and will be produced before Delhi court today. Neeraj Bishnoi (20) is a resident of the Digambar area of Assam's Jorhat. He is a B.Tech student of the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. "During interrogation, Neeraj Bishnoi disclosed that the app was developed in Nov 2021 and updated in Dec'21. He said he created one more Twitter account to talk about the app. Using another account he has stated 'You've arrested the wrong person," said the Delhi Police Special Cell. Several complaints were received by police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year. An engineering student from Bengaluru, a young girl from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends have also been arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case, informed police on Wednesday. "Three people have been arrested in the 'Bulli Bai' app case, including Vishal Kumar Jha and Shweta Singh. The third accused is Shweta's friend," said Hemant Nagrale, Mumbai Police Commissioner. Vishal Kumar has been sent to police custody till January 10 by a Bandra court and Shweta Singh is on a transit remand. (ANI) A Baltimore public works employee used a city truck to attempt to steal an ATM in Owings Mills during an early morning burglary last week, according to Baltimore County police and a Baltimore city spokesman. Kirk Parker Jr., 36, is charged with second-degree burglary, theft, malicious destruction of property and two counts of fourth-degree burglary, court records show. He is being held without bond. He does not have an attorney listed in online court records. Advertisement James Bentley, a spokesman with the citys Department of Public Works, confirmed Parker worked at the agency and that DPW is fully cooperating with the investigation. According to Maryland online court records, Parker was convicted of armed robbery in 2014 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, with credit for 15 months he already had served. Advertisement Baltimore County police were responding to a report of a burglary in Owings Mills around 3:30 a.m. Dec. 29 when they found a truck in front of an ATM with chains around it, the department said in a Wednesday news release. Parker ran when he saw police, according to the release, and he was taken into custody after a brief foot chase. The vehicle involved was a Ford truck registered to the City of Baltimore, police said. The city emblem and front license plate of the vehicle had been taped over. It had been reported stolen in Carroll County, and the Baltimore County police did not say in the release who reported it stolen and when. [ Baltimore Police hope arrest in failed ATM theft might curb trend ] Parker is listed in a city salary database as a licensed commercial driver for Public Works since 2019 with an annual salary of $38,805. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 28. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said residents should expect the best from city workers. Whoever is committing these types of crimes should be held responsible no matter where they work, Scott said. When folks are public servants that comes with a high level of responsibility. Were going to work with our partners and this gentleman will have his day in court. [ Crews of professional thieves using trucks as battering rams to steal ATMs from inside Baltimore businesses ] Speaking to ANI, MoS Karad said, "There have been a total of 12 to 13 meetings for the upcoming Union bugdet. Maharashtra CM and the state finance minister were called for two meetings of the Union Finance Ministry over it." "But neither the Chief Minister nor the state finance minister was present at the two meetings," he added. Further, the MoS said, "I understand that Maharashtra CM may have been busy but couldn't the state finance minister or Deputy CM take part in the meeting called by the Union Finance Ministry?" Kadar asserted that if Maharashtra was represented at the meeting it would have been beneficial for the state. The Union Budget for 2022-23, is scheduled to be presented in Parliament on February 1, 2022. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday informed that his government would introduce legislation to appoint Vice-chancellors for state universities. "Currently, the Tamil Nadu Governor is appointing the Vice Chancellors. Steps will be taken to appoint Vice-chancellors for universities by the State government. Amendment to the concerned legislation will be introduced during the next Budget session in March," Stalin said in the Assembly. PMK (Paatali Makkal Katchi) MLA Mani raised the issue of unfilled vacancies for the post of Vice-Chancellors in Tamil Nadu, on which the Higher education minister Pon Mudi said that steps are underway for the appointment of Vice-chancellors and legal options are being reviewed regarding it. (ANI) Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday said that the Biological Diversity Act will be implemented to lay greater emphasis on the local community interest and to encourage research in the area of biodiversity to make necessary changes in policy to ensure more Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). A two-day meeting of the South Asian Consultation Meeting on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework was held in New Delhi today. The meeting was attended by the representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan in addition to representatives from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal; the Global Environmental Facility, Washington; French Embassy in New Delhi; UNDP-India; IUCN Offices in Canada and Singapore; National Geographic, USA and Campaign for Nature; Montreal in this virtual cum real meeting. In his address, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said that South Asia with its over 1.97 billion human populations and high biological diversity faces formidable developmental challenges and impediments, which are amplified by the weak socio-economic status and the presence of high natural resource-dependent communities. "It is also necessary that tribal and other local communities which are cultivating or doing other activities for their livelihood should be exempted from the Biological Diversity Act to find a balance between the development of the local community and conservation of biodiversity," he added. He also said that Biological Diversity Act will be implemented to lay greater emphasis on the local community interest and to encourage research in the area of biodiversity to make necessary changes in policy to ensure more Access & Benefit Sharing (ABS). "We need to encourage investment for sustainable use with necessary regulation to increase ABS fund, which can be used for conservation of biodiversity and betterment of the local community", the Minister added. Yadav said that the country to subscribe to the theory and practice of green infrastructure development and "Development with Design" particularly in the linear infrastructure sector that we build to promote economic development, conservation, and connectivity. He said conservation is mainstreamed in all sectors of economic development under the philosophy of "Development without Destruction". The Minister said that India has joined over 75 countries that are part of the 30 by 30 High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People. In South Asia, already Pakistan and Maldives have joined. He urged other countries to join HAC and also requested GEF, Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and Campaign for Nature, and others to ensure that timely and adequate resources for developing countries. The Minister said that the two-day regional consultation will help in developing strategies that would feed into the global meetings of CBD planned in March 2022 in Geneva and for the 15th Conference of Parties of the CBD in China in April-May, 2022. (ANI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday held a meeting with representatives of the Bodo community and assured them of early resolution of their issues. The meeting was held in the presence of Assam Assembly speaker, Biswajit Daimary. "Held a fruitful discussion with representatives of Bodo Kachari Welfare Autonomous Council, United Bodo People Organisation, Ex-BLT Welfare Society, Karbi Anglong Bodo Frontal Organisation and Surrendered NDFB (Outside BTC) in presence of Speaker ALA @BiswajitDaimar5," tweeted the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister assured them to take all necessary steps for an early resolution of their matters. "We held a thorough discussion on various issues raised by them at the meeting. I assured them to take all necessary steps for the early resolution of these matters," he tweeted. In January 2020, Amit Shah had presided over the signing of a historic agreement between the Government of India, Government of Assam and Bodo representatives in New Delhi to end the over 50-year old Bodo crisis. Further, a permanent solution has been found out for the problem that has cost the region over 4,000 lives. With this Bodoland agreement, over 1,500 armed cadres gave up violence and joined the mainstream. A Special Development Package Rs 1500 crores over three years was given by the Union Government to undertake specific projects for the development of Bodo areas, the Home Ministry said in a press release. "The fruition of this vision can also be seen in the Bru-Reang agreement signed on January 16, 2020 to end the humanitarian crisis in Meghalaya and Tripura, recent surrender of 644 armed cadres in Assam and surrender of 88 armed NLFT cadres in Tripura to bring them to mainstream, in addition to this agreement," Shah had said last year. (ANI) He said the Congress government engineered a grave threat to the life of the PM and shattered constitutional norms to insult the office of the prime minister. Chugh said the Channi Government's nefarious designs were clear enough the moment Prime Minister landed at Bhatinda and there was no chief minister or any senior officer to receive him. Besides the Chief Minister, even both the Deputy Chief Ministers had no grace to receive the PM. It was reflected gravely in the absence of the chief secretary and the DGP as well on the occasion. The BJP leader said there was a serious plot to expose the Prime Minister to anti-national forces and put his life to threat. The Prime Minister was stuck atop a flyover for 15-20 minutes while on his way to Ferozepur, Punjab on Wednesday due to the road being blocked by some protesters. The Ministry of Home Affairs termed it as a "major lapse" in his security. (ANI) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) state president Jagadanand Singh has given an open offer to chief minister Nitish Kumar to take a clear stand on a caste based census in Bihar and the RJD will support him and his party in the Vidhan Sabha. "Nitish Kumar is the chief minister of Bihar. If BJP ministers are opposing him on the issue of caste based census, sack them from the cabinet. RJD will support you in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha to prove your majority," Singh said. Jagadanand Singh said that his leader Tejashwi Yadav has a clear stand on a caste based census. He was the one who first wrote a letter to the chief minister last year, followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss this issue. "On the issue of caste based census, Nitish Kumar should not feel that he is alone. Despite RJD having some differences, on this issue RJD will stand alongside the chief minister," Singh said. The RJD currently has 75 MLAs in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha while Nitish Kumar's party has 45 MLAs. The latter is ruling the state with the help of 74 MLAs of the BJP, 4 MLAs of HAM and three MLAs of VIP. After the Centre's refusal, Nitish Kumar had announced to conduct a caste based census with the Bihar government funding it. Kumar blamed the BJP for delaying the process on Monday. He said that the consensus at the all-party meeting has come from every political party of the state except the BJP. Upendra Kushwaha, the president of the JD-U parliamentary board said: "We are thankful to Jagada Babu (Jagadanand Singh) for offering support on this issue. We are in favour of caste based census in the state. The Nitish Kumar government will conduct a caste based census in the state. The BJP has not denied in the context of Bihar." Nikhil Anand, national general secretary of the BJP OBC wing and spokesperson, said: "The RJD is dreaming in the day of coming to power in Bihar. Its leader is giving lucrative offers to Nitish Kumar. It looks like the RJD leaders are facing a monetary crisis. Hence, they are showing desperation. The RJD is a party of one family which will be destroyed soon," Anand added. "Nitish Kumar was the one who kicked out the RJD from the alliance after the 2015 assembly election. RJD leaders are believing that Nitish Kumar has forgotten the issues on which he separated from the RJD," Anand said. --IANS ajk/bg ( 435 Words) 2022-01-06-19:30:01 (IANS) In the past two years, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed unprecedented development in every sector, including roads and highways. The Srinagar-Leh National Highway, which used to remain closed for vehicular traffic from November to April every year, is open even in January this year as the Border Roads Organization (BRO) has been equipped with state-of-the-art snow cutters and other machinery. The biggest challenge for the BRO is to keep the strategic Zojila Pass -- located at an altitude of 11,643 ft on Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road -- open. This time around, the BRO has created history by keeping it open even beyond December. In 2021, Zojila Tunnel, that would turn Srinagar-LehNational Highway into an all-weather road, witnessed good progress. According to the officials, about 25 per cent of the excavation work has been completed so far on the Zojila Tunnel. The people employed in construction of the tunnel have been braving all the odds and weather vagaries to ensure that the project is completed on time. The 18-km long Zojila Tunnel is expected to be completed by 2023. It will be Asia's longest bidirectional tunnel. On September 28, 2021, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had reviewed the progress of the Zojila Tunnel project and lauded Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, the construction company assigned with the job to build this tunnel. Gadkari had expressed satisfaction with the speed of the work and emphasised on the need to put in efforts to keep the strategic highway open for more months till the work on the tunnel gets completed. Keeping Srinagar-Leh National Highway open for traffic beyond December has not been an easy job for the BRO. The Zojila Pass poses unique challenges of freezing temperatures and lack of oxygen and frequent avalanches. At present, more than 20 heavy-duty snow cutters have been pressed into service and the BRO men are working 24x7 to make 'Mission Impossible' possible. Kashmir, Ladakh opening up After August 5, 2019 -- when the Centre abrogated J&K's special status and divided it into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir has seen progress in every sphere of life. Kashmir and Ladakh regions, which were considered as landlocked regions, are opening up and are all set to remain connected with the rest of the country throughout the year. Since 1947, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has remained in news due to it getting blocked in winter months. But this year it has remained open. The newly-constructed Nayug Tunnel that connects Banihal with Qazigund has made travel easier for the commuters. Besides reducing the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar, the tunnel has saved people from moving through avalanche prone zones. The Chenani-Nashri Tunnel too has brought Srinagar close to Jammu. The work between Ramban to Banihal stretch on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is going on at full swing and once it is completed, Kashmir getting disconnected from the rest of the country will become history. The Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put in sincere efforts during the past seven years. The former regimes at the Centre did come up with many proposals to integrate Kashmir with the Union of India completely, but fell short of executing the plans. The present dispensation in New Delhi has proven beyond doubt that it means business and it's taking all the steps to ensure that Kashmir and Ladakh regions get all the possible facilities. Scrapping of special status paved the way The scrapping of J&K's special status has paved the way for complete integration of the Himalayan region into the Union of India. J&K becoming like other parts of the country has proved to be a win-win situation for the common man of J&K. The denizens of J&K were kept deprived of the benefits they deserved. The rulers who ruled the erstwhile state promised moon and stars to the people but failed to deliver. From 1947 to 2019, they just kept people busy by making announcements about the project reports being ready. But all these developments remained confined to papers only. After 2019, the Centre has worked on these project reports and has ensured that promises made to the people of J&K are fulfilled. Many development projects that were in limbo or incomplete have become a reality and many more are likely to come up in the next few years. The train from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is all set to become a reality. The work on the last phase of railways between Katra and Banihaltoo is in its final stage. Connectivity holds the key and the present government is leaving no stones unturned to ensure that Kashmir and Ladakh regions get connected once for all. 'Kings of Kashmir' struggling to remain relevant The politicians who ruled Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for the past 70 years need to ask themselves why they couldn't do justice with these regions? What stopped them from putting the Himalayan region on the path of progress and development? It appears that they were not sincere and wanted uncertainty to prevail so that they could remain the undisputed rulers. The ones who used to consider themselves as 'Kings of Kashmir' are now struggling to remain relevant as many impossible errands have been made possible by the present government. Some Kashmir-based leaders have been claiming that nothing has changed during the past two years. It seems they have closed their eyes and are in no mood to see how J&K has changed. When they ruled Jammu and Kashmir, their politics revolved around militancy and resolution of the so-called Kashmir problem. They never bothered to look beyond the web they had woven around them. The present rulers in Jammu and Kashmir are not making any noise. They are not seeking any publicity for the work they are doing. They seem determined to ensure that the erstwhile princely state witnesses fast-paced development and a common man of J&K gets what he deserves. The agencies that have been assigned various development projects are being monitored and held accountable. The highways and roads are the lifelines of any place and both the newly-carved out Union Territories, i.e., J&K and Ladakh, are moving towards getting the best possible connectivity. The things are moving at a fast pace and no one is being allowed to become complacent. The results and change are visible, only those people are unable to see them who couldn't deliver despite getting multiple chances. --IANS arm/ ( 1085 Words) 2022-01-06-19:32:03 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine a plea raising the issue of alleged breach of security to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Punjab. Senior advocate Maninder Singh mentioned the plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana. The plea filed by Delhi-based Lawyer's Voice alleged the state government and the police were complicit in jeopardising the security of the holder of the high constitutional office in the country. "The security lapse, as per reliable reports in the print and the electronic media, and as per the Press Information Bureau report of Central government, was clearly intentional and raises a serious question as to national security and the role played by the present political dispensation in the State of Punjab", said the plea. The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, asked Singh to serve the copy of the writ petition to the Punjab government counsel and posted it for hearing on Friday. The plea sought a direction to the District Judge Bhatinda to collect, preserve and present all material pertaining to the movement and deployment of Punjab Police in connection with the visit of the Prime Minister, fix responsibility of the DGP and the Chief Secretary, Punjab. As the top court asked Singh as to what is he expecting from the court, Singh said it is to be ensured that this is not repeated again and a thorough probe is required. "The situation wherein a high constitutional functionary is stranded on a flyover is an extremely high security threat considering the vulnerability and the degree of planning and protection required for the office of the Prime Minister. It is in fact reported that the local administration took part in the blockage and the security lapse," the plea added. The Punjab government has formed a high-level committee to probe lapses during Modi's visit. The petition claimed it sought to highlight the said incident and raise an important question as if the Prime Minister of the country can face such a situation, then the fundamental rights of citizens which has been guaranteed to them under Article 19(1) (d), 19(1) (g), and 21 of the Constitution, are in serious jeopardy in Punjab and beyond. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said that the Prime Minister's security was breached during the Punjab visit on Wednesday. Taking cognisance of the security breach, it has sought a detailed report from the Punjab government and asked it to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action. In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry said, "Today morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. He proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police." Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. "The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister," the MHA said. --IANS ss/vd ( 589 Words) 2022-01-06-20:08:03 (IANS) As per the release issued by Chief Minister Office (CMO), the Chief Minister said he has noted all the concerns raised by the employees' unions and assured them that all the issues will be addressed. An announcement on PRC will be made within 2-3 days. Reddy said, "he is more compassionate, humanitarian and responsive when it comes to doing good to others and added that it is inevitable to consider certain facts in regard to PRC." He said the revenue of the state would generally increase by 15 per cent every year and added that it was not the case in the last two years. Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) revenues were decreased in December compared to November and urged the employees' unions to accept any decision of the state government, he said. The Chief Minister said State Own Revenues (SORs) were Rs 62,503 crore in 2018-19 and it was decreased to Rs 60,934 crores in 2019-20 and in 2020-21, it was Rs 60,688 crore. He said the expenditure for employees salaries and pensions was Rs 52,513 crore in 2018-19 while it has been increased to Rs 67,340 crore in 2020-21 and the increase in the expenditure is due to the decisions taken by the government for the benefit of the employees. The salaries of Anganwadi and Asha workers, contract and outsourcing employees were increased and the expenditure on their salaries has also been increased from Rs 1,198 crore to Rs 3,187 crore per annum, he said. The government has implemented minimum time scale and other benefits for contract employees and extended it to employees of government departments, Universities, Societies, KGBV, model schools and implemented Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia for accidental death and Rs 2 lakh for natural death to them burdening another Rs 360 crore per annum to the government. He said merging of APSRTC in state government has burdened Rs 5,380 crore from January 2020 to October 2021 and setting up of Village and Ward Secretariats has given an additional burden of Rs 2,300 crore per annum. The recruitment of doctors, nurses and Para Medical staff was done on large scale and it has led to another Rs 820 crore burden per annum. He said APCOS was set up to benefit outsourcing employees and it has laid a burden of Rs 2,040 crore per annum on the state government. (ANI) Engineering student and 'Bulli Bai' app creator Neeraj Bishnoi, who was arrested by the Delhi Police from Assam, has owned up to creating the platform for defaming women of a particular community, but has shown no regret for his actions. He is highly radicalised, police said. "He speaks fluent English and accepts his crime. He said he has no remorse," said a source. During interrogation, he disclosed that he is the person who created the Bullibai app on Github. He had also created the Twitter handle @bullibai_ and other handles. He further disclosed that the Github account and app were developed in November 2021 and finally updated the app in December 2021. According to police, Bishnoi had, in October, had created a list of women whom he wanted to defame online on his digital devices, a laptop, and cell phones. He was tracing women activists all over social media and downloading their photos. "The Twitter account was created on December 31. He further disclosed that he had also created one more Twitter account @Sage0x1 for tweeting about the app. He was continuously monitoring the news on social media. He had created yet another Twitter account with the name of @giyu44," said DCP KPS Malhotra. Bishnoi had also mocked the Mumbai Police, which had begun investigations and made a couple of arrests, to not "arrest innocent people", through these Twitter accounts He had tweeted that Mumbai Police has arrested innocent persons and that boasted he was the main culprit behind the whole matter and challenged the police to arrest him. He was also tweeting news about Bulli Bai on his Twitter account. Brought to Delhi from Assam on a flight, Bishnoi is currently being interrogated by a team led by the DCP. The official said that the case was very technical in nature. With the help of CERT-In, the raw data analysis along with the technical details was undertaken and the suspect was identified to be based in Assam's Jorhat. Shweta Singh, who was arrested by Mumbai Police from Uttarakhand, had told the police that she was in touch with Twitter user @giyu44 who is based in Nepal and was getting instructions from him. Bishnoi, who is pursuing B.Tech (Computer Science) from Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal, comes from a simple family. His father runs a grocery shop in their village in Rajasthan, and his mother is a homemaker. He has two sisters, one of whom is a lawyer. --IANS atk/vd ( 427 Words) 2022-01-06-22:16:04 (IANS) As Cam Laundry lay unconscious in the snowy woods near his battered pickup after a rollover crash, his dog Tinsley ran off into the icy Vermont night and returned with help. The authorities and local media are now hailing the 1-year-old Shiloh Shepherd as a real-life Lassie for her actions Monday night. Advertisement Rescuers said they would not have spotted Laundry and his seriously injured passenger if not for Tinsley. They credited her with preventing a terrible night from becoming a lot worse for Laundry and his passenger. The Vermont State Police said Laundry, 31, was intoxicated and cited him with driving under the influence. He said he is cooperating with the investigation. Advertisement He spoke with gratitude about Tinsley in a phone interview Wednesday. Shes my guardian, Laundry said as she played with her squeaky squirrel toy. The night was very cold. We were in hypothermic conditions when they reached us. After the crash around 10 p.m. Monday, Tinsley crossed into New Hampshire, a mile or so away, and led authorities back into Vermont to the wreck, which officials said they would not have noticed unless someone had seen the damaged guardrail that the truck had tumbled over. At first the officers were simply trying to catch Tinsley to get her out of traffic on Interstate 89 after a driver reported a dog running loose. But she kept running north, slowing occasionally to keep the officers close behind, Lt. Dan Baldassarre of the New Hampshire State Police said in a statement. She eventually led them to a bridge over the wreck. Its a real-life Lassie story, he said, referring to the fictional collie from long-running TV and radio programs who had a penchant for saving humans who got themselves in trouble. Shes the hero, Baldassarre said. Laundry had minor injuries, including a concussion, bruises and a cut on his hand that required stitches. His passenger in the Ford F-350 truck, Justin Connors, 40, sustained a serious neck injury and a broken leg but was in stable condition, Laundry said. An American bulldog belonging to Connors survived the wreck but was killed by oncoming traffic after the crash, Laundry said. The bulldogs name was Grizz, Laundry said, though he was not entirely sure of the spelling. Tinsleys actions were hailed by officials from several responding agencies, some who witnessed the dogs trek to the crash site, others who saw Tinsley as she stood calmly by her owner as rescuers rendered aid. In the interview, Laundry said he did not know how the crash happened and declined to say whether he had been drinking beforehand. He was driving home to North Hartland, Vermont, from a restaurant in New Hampshire, about a 15- or 20-mile trip, when he hit a guardrail, the air bags deployed, and the car tumbled several times into the woods, he said. Advertisement He regained consciousness, lying in the snow, with the help of flashing blue lights, having no idea at the time that it was Tinsley who had led authorities to the crash. Despite stories like Tinsleys, the science is not yet settled on whether dogs can intentionally seek out other humans to help their distressed owners. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts. > Well-supported evidence that dogs intentionally go seek help for their owners just doesnt exist yet, said Joshua Van Bourg, a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University who studies animal cognition behaviors. Thats not to say it doesnt happen, and maybe this dog is an example of it. Dogs may do things that result in humans being rescued, Van Bourg said, but the jury is out on how much of that is done intentionally for the purpose of rescuing people. Even so, this behavior can be remarkable, he said. Tinsley must have loved her owner very much to be a mile away, free as can be you know how some dogs get when theyre off leash and still want to come back. There is evidence to support the conclusion that the stress of the owner had something to do with the dog coming back, Van Bourg said. Advertisement Laundry has no doubts that his dog made a decision to get help. I wouldnt know what to do with myself if my friend didnt make it through, he said. And Tinsley saved both of us. c.2021 The New York Times Company Based on a specific input, security forces under Spear Corps launched a joint operation with State Police and apprehended an active cadre of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Reformation carrying out extortion from villagers. The forces recovered one pistol, six live rounds of ammunition with magazine and indiscriminating documents. The apprehended individual along with recovered weapon and ammunition have been handed over to Changlang Police Station. Further investigation is underway. (ANI) Punjab Police busted an interstate gang involved in cow slaughtering and arrested two persons from Ludhiana on Thursday. Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Police Commissioner, Ludhiana said that the gang was also involved in an incident that took place on November 24, last, wherein organs of stray cattle were found scattered in the focal point locality. Subsequently, a case was also registered under relevant sections of law including hurting religious sentiments besides launching a thorough investigation into the matter. He said police got vital leads in the case leading to the arrest of accused, both residents of Uttar Pradesh. Bhullar stated that the arrested accused revealed that they used to take stray cattle at deserted places and slaughter them so as to remove their skin to further sell it to Delhi. After the crime, the gang would throw the organs of the dead animals into the nearby garbage dump. Police Commissioner also said that four other accused have been identified. He said that the raids were on to arrest these accused as police have got vital inputs about their hideouts. A car used in the crime, five sharp-edged knives, one axe, four hammers, five salt bags, tarpaulin to cover the beef, cutter, and other sharp-edged weapons were also recovered from the accused, which they would use to catch and slaughter stray cattles, said the Police Commissioner. He also mentioned that the police were also investigating the links of the gang with other states. (ANI) After the Taliban took control of Kabul and Afghanistan, terror attacks in neighbouring Pakistan have surged, contradictory to Prime Minister Imran Khan's claims of having defeated terrorism. Terror attacks actually rose by 56 per cent in Pakistan, with the majority of them fuelled by the return to power of the Taliban. The spurt began in May last year when the Taliban had swept through large parts of Afghanistan, much of it with Pakistan's logistic support and the participation of some 6,000 fighters of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other Pakistan-based Sunni extremist groups who enjoy ideological affinity with the new Kabul rulers, International Forum For Right And Security (IFRAS) said in a report on Wednesday. The development has also resulted in the rise of Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) in the region. The IS-K is challenging the new rulers in Kabul. The affiliate of the IS focuses on South Asia, challenging the new government in Kabul, thus muddying waters for both the Taliban and for Pakistan that has been confidently awaiting the benefit of its Taliban's sponsorship by gaining what it bills as "strategic depth." Analysts call it "strategic landmine" that Pakistan has set foot on, the report added. IS-K has claimed several attacks in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal and the Taliban's return to power. The group has been also behind some attacks in recent months in Pakistan. These attacks by the IS-K have exploited the political opportunities to establish itself as the pre-eminent resistance to Afghanistan's Taliban and its allies in Pakistan. The figures gathered and analysed by Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) show that after a consistent decline in militant attacks for the past six years, Pakistan witnessed a 56 per cent increase in the number of terror attacks during 2021. In 2021, militants carried out 294 attacks, killing 388 people and wounding another 606, according to the report that details the rising frequency, lethality and geographic scope of terror attacks across Pakistan this year, said IFFRAS. Neither Islamabad nor Kabul has commented on the report yet. But heads in both countries have attempted to downplay the IS-K threat. Pakistan's Balochistan is the most turbulent province of the country accounting for the highest number of deaths (170) in 103 militant attacks. The highest number of injured were also reported in Balochistan, where over 50 per cent of all injuries from militant attacks in the country occurred (331), the PICSS Militancy Database shows, said IFFRAS. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tribal districts were the second most impacted region in the country. In the over 100 attacks, which occurred in the region, 117 people were killed while 103 were injured. According to IFFRAS, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (excluding the tribal districts) was the third most affected region. Fifty-nine militant attacks occurred there, resulting in 63 deaths and 59 injuries. In Sindh, PICSS reported 15 militant attacks in which 23 people were killed and 29 injured. (ANI) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday (local time) discussed a range of regional and global challenges, including the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday (local time). During a call with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Blinken reiterated the Administration's ironclad commitment to Israel's security. "The Secretary and Foreign Minister discussed a range of regional and global challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as the challenges posed by Iran. Secretary Blinken reiterated the Administration's ironclad commitment to Israel's security," Price said in the statement. In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - that stipulated Iran must scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom plus Germany, the European Union and Iran signed the nuclear agreement, according to Sputnik News Agency. Iran largely abandoned its own obligations under the accord after the US withdrawal. The seventh round of talks to revive the nuclear agreement began in late November 2020, it added. (ANI) The United States and Germany expressed concern over China's attempt to bully Lithuania, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that Beijing is pushing European and American companies to stop doing business with Vilnius as the country chose to expand their cooperation with Taiwan. "We have immediate concern about the Government of China's attempts to bully Lithuania, a country of fewer than three million people. China is pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania or risk losing access to the Chinese market, all because Lithuania chose to expand their cooperation with Taiwan," Blinken said in a joint statement on Wednesday (local time). US Secretary of State also said that both the countries have agreed on the importance of transatlantic coordination on China because it poses a significant challenge to our shared values. "Germany and the United States agree on the importance of transatlantic coordination on China because it poses a significant challenge to our shared values; to the laws, rules, and agreements that foster stability, prosperity, and freedom worldwide," Blinken said. "We also agreed that together, we will continue to build, across the board, an affirmative vision for the future because fundamentally, this is about what we're for together, not what we're against," he added. Furthermore, Blinken said that this is not just about Lithuania, but about how every country in the world should be able to determine its own foreign policy free from this kind of coercion. "The United States will work with our allies and partners, including Germany, to stand up against intimidation like this from China by strengthening our economic resilience, diversifying our supply chains, and countering all forms of economic blackmail," the US Secretary of State said. He also stated that the US and its allies "will continue to stand together against flagrant human rights abuses by the Government of China and advocating for universal human rights around the world." Lithuania is facing increased pressure from China following its decision to open reciprocal representative offices with Taiwan. The new office will take over, with immediate effect, the responsibility of promoting relations between Taiwan and the Baltic state, as well as serving and protecting Taiwanese citizens in the country, said Focus Taiwan citing the release. (ANI) The United States and Germany condemned Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday (local time) said in a joint statement with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. "We condemn Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders, as well as Moscow's increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke a conflict with Russia," Blinken said. US Secretary of State also said that one country cannot simply change by force the borders of another or dictate the choices another country makes in its foreign policy or with whom it chooses to associate or seeks to establish a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbours. "What's happening right with Russia's actions towards Ukraine isn't just about Ukraine, as important as that is. It's about some of the most basic principles of international relations that we both share and adhere to - for example, that one country cannot simply change by force the borders of another or dictate the choices another country makes in its foreign policy or with whom it chooses to associate - or seeks to establish a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbors," Blinken said. "These principles and upholding them are necessary to preserve peace and security, and we cannot and will not allow them to be violated with impunity. That's something that Germany and the United States believe strongly, and our countries are steadfast in our support for Ukraine's independence, its territorial integrity, its sovereignty," he added. Blinken also said that Germany and US will raise their concern over Russia's destabilizing actions and violations of international norms. "In the meeting today, the foreign minister and I emphasized our desire and preference to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation to deal with the situation that currently confronts us. We would far prefer a diplomatic path and diplomatic solution to the situation. We will test Russia's willingness to take that path starting next week through the US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, through the NATO-Russia Council, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe," US Secretary of State said. "In those three meetings, we expect that Russia will raise some concerns that it has, many of which have already been publicly aired. We will raise our concerns about Russia's destabilizing actions and violations of international norms," he added. The US and NATO have voiced concerns over Russia's alleged preparations for invading Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying that Russia has the right to relocate the troops within its territory at its own discretion, while NATO's military activity near Russian borders poses a threat to its security. (ANI) Amid nationwide agitation in Kazakhstan, protesters have pulled down the statue of the country's first President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Al Jazeera has reported. The massive protest took place in the western town of Zhanaozen against the doubling of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which most Kazakhs use as car fuel, according to the media outlet. It reported that the price rise came as the country ended a gradual transition to electronic trading for LPG to halt state subsidies for fuel and let the market dictate prices. Demonstrations have extended to other Kazakh towns and villages - sparking the most geographically widespread protest in the country's history - and have encompassed wider grievances. Even though the government announced on Tuesday that fuel prices will be reduced to a level even lower than before the increase, and on Wednesday President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sacked his cabinet, the protests continued. Meanwhile, President Tokayev has reached out to the leaders of member-states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) asking for assistance in tackling terrorist aggression in the republic. "Terrorist gangs are international, they have underwent extensive training abroad and their attack on Kazakhstan can and should be viewed as an act of aggression. ... In this regard and relying on the Collective Security Treaty, today I reached out to the heads of the CSTO member-states to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming this terrorist threat," Tokayev said as quoted by Sputnik. Eight police officers and national guard soldiers died during protests and over 300 law enforcement officers were injured, the news agency Tengrinews.kz reported citing the Interior Ministry. "Hundreds of people ensuring law, order and healthcare of population - law enforcement officers, doctors, ordinary residents - were injured by hands of the outrageous crowd, including 317 police officers and national guard servicemen being injured, eight being killed," the ministry said, as per Sputnik News Agency. The CSTO Secretariat said that the appeal received from Kazakhstan said that the situation in the country is regarded as an invasion of gangs trained from abroad. "The CSTO Secretariat confirms the receipt of an appeal from the Kazakh side for assistance. The appeal says that this situation is viewed as an invasion of gangs trained from abroad," Sputnik reported citing the organization's statement. Kazakhstan held consultations with members of the CSTO Collective Security Council, sent a request to the heads of the CSTO member states for military assistance. "The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to deploy the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited period in order to stabilize and normalize the situation in the country," the statement read. (ANI) New York [US], January 6 (ANI/Xinhua): The United Nations is following the unrest in Kazakhstan with concern, and calls for restraint, said a spokesman on Wednesday. "We are obviously following with concern and are monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan. I think it's very important for all involved in these current events to exercise restraint, refrain from violence, and promote dialogue in addressing all of the pertinent issues," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Dujarric said the United Nations has a country office and other representatives in Kazakhstan and there has been no security threat to UN staff. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Wednesday that he intended to "act as tough as possible" as the situation in the country becomes "extremely tense." Earlier on Wednesday, he signed a presidential decree to accept the resignation of the country's government. (ANI/Xinhua) "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa," Price said in a press release on Wednesday. "Secretary Blinken condemned the DPRK's (North Korea's) ballistic missile launch and stressed US commitment to the defense of Japan remains ironclad." Xinhua News Agency citing the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile. The missile, launched by the Academy of Defence Science on Wednesday, manoeuvred 120 km laterally before it precisely hit a target 700 km away, which proved the reliability of a new fuel system, the report said. (ANI) Six Katyusha rockets hit on Wednesday a military airbase, housing some US experts and agencies, in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the US military said. The attack took place in the evening, when the rockets landed in Ayn al-Asad Airbase without knowing the casualties, an Iraqi army source told Xinhua news agency on the condition of anonymity. The rockets were fired from a village located some 15 km east of the airbase, the source said, adding that no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier in the day, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called the attacks on Iraqi military bases "absurd," stressing the end of the combat mission of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq after their withdrawal from the country. "Unfortunately, there are some absurd actions within the first days of the new year, as several attacks targeted Iraqi bases, and this will certainly disturb the country's security and stability," said a statement by al-Kadhimi's media office. "We reiterate that the combat mission of the international coalition forces in Iraq has ended, and the Iraqi forces have received all the military bases," it said, adding that there are currently a number of foreign military advisers working alongside the security forces. The latest attack came as part of a series of drone and rocket attacks during the past three days that targeted Iraqi army bases, housing US advisers and agencies, in Ayn al-Asad Airbase and an army base known as Camp Victory near Baghdad International Airport. The attacks came on the second anniversary of a deadly attack by a US drone on a convoy near Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, former deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. On December 29, 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed the end of the US-led coalition forces' combat mission in Iraq after the withdrawal of the forces from his country. --IANS int/pgh ( 345 Words) 2022-01-06-01:14:02 (IANS) From long lines for testing kits last weekend to still-overwhelmed hospitals and sky-high positivity rates, the COVID-19 omicron variant has quickly set pandemic records. For any in Maryland who might have labored under the false assumption that the days of emergency declarations and stricter public health rules were over, welcome back to reality the pandemic isnt finished with us yet. The good news is that omicron is likely to prove less deadly than delta, even though it is a serious threat requiring steps to address the surge. The bad news is that, nearly two years into the pandemic, the government approach often remains as uncertain, stumbling and haphazard as ever. From insufficient testing supplies to the failure of state health officials to notify hundreds of patients they may have received spoiled vaccine, a lot of coronavirus lessons dont appear to have been learned. The most obvious example of recent days is surely Gov. Larry Hogans continued refusal to impose a statewide mask mandate. As helpful as his decision to declare a 30-day state of emergency this week may have been (and a bit overdue, considering the pleas heard from hospitals that needed the order to increase staffing), Governor Hogans decision to encourage mask use but not mandate it statewide is surely counterproductive. His explanation that some citizens may do the opposite (presumably as a form of protest, not for deliberate self-harm) or that the state lacked the means to enforce a mandate ring hollow. After all, he imposed exactly such an order before, and failing to do so again sends a decidedly mixed message despite his wear the damn mask catch phrase and his Thursday announcement of new hospital testing sites. More likely, Mr. Hogan simply did not want to take the criticism that comes with COVID-related mandates, even as local leaders reinstituted their own mask orders. Could it be that the Republican governor with aspirations for a presidential or U.S. Senate bid doesnt want to inconvenience or annoy mandate-hating GOP primary voters? Advertisement Still, the central theme of Governor Hogans response that the most challenging days of the pandemic are immediately ahead is right on point. Hopefully, Marylanders are getting that message loud and clear. This is the moment to return to the basics recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others: Wear masks, avoid crowds, wash hands and keep social distancing. Above all, people should be vaccinated and boosted. And boosters are now recommended by the CDC for children 12-to-17. Is everyone weary of hearing this sound medical advice over and over again? Us, too. But heres a reminder of its importance: U.S. COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 827,879 with 2,691 recorded on Tuesday alone, according to the CDC. More than 100,000 Americans are even now stuck in hospital beds, including at least 4,000 children, which is double what it was just two weeks ago. Some uncertainty in public policy is understandable. The risks versus the rewards of in-person school versus virtual learning have been an evolving calculation as variants and vaccination rates have progressed. This is difficult stuff. Even now, Mayor Brandon Scotts push for a regional vaccine passport a system to allow people to share proof of vaccination at the touch of a cellphone raises questions: Should participation be voluntary? Would it help businesses, such as restaurants, demonstrate to patrons that they are safer or further burden them? Is the timing right, given that omicron cases might recede in a matter of weeks? Would surrounding counties join in? Far less acceptable is the Maryland Department of Healths failure to inform the public on a timely basis about mishandled and potentially spoiled vaccines administered by a California contractor, TrueCare24, to hundreds in the state more than one-quarter of them imprisoned. Even now its not clear whether the TrueCare debacle was an isolated instance brought to light by a whistleblower or a product of lax oversight, which raises questions about whether other contractors also put ineffective shots in the arms of unsuspecting people. A pending audit may prove revealing. Advertisement Better days are surely ahead. Omicron is cause for concern but not alarm at least not for the vaccinated, as President Joe Biden has observed. Although highly contagious, it results in milder symptoms and could pass quickly as it did in South Africa where it was first observed. Want it to pass faster and with the least harm? Take the cautious approach now, and we all escape its clutches that much sooner. Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom. Authorities in Myanmar are being urged to conduct a full investigation into the killing of a journalist last month, reportedly during an army attack in the southeast, the UN's educational and cultural agency, UNESCO, said on Wednesday. Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General, denounced the killing of Sai Win Aung, also known as A Sai K, who died on 25 December in Lay Kay Kaw, a town located near the border with Thailand. The reporter was covering the plight of refugees in Kayin state for the Federal News Journal when he was fatally shot in an artillery attack carried out by Myanmar's armed forces, UNESCO said, citing reports. "I condemn the killing of Sai Win Aung. Media workers like Sai Win Aung risk their lives to keep the public informed. Their work deserves to be recognized and their safety protected in line with international humanitarian law, which forbids attacks on civilians," Azoulay said. Sai Win Aung was the second journalist killed in Myanmar during December 2021, according to UNESCO, which supports press freedom by advocating for the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for those who attack them. The UN continues to monitor developments in the Southeast Asian country in the wake of the military coup nearly a year ago, which has sparked protests and unrest. Armed resistance against the junta, known as the State Administration Council (SAC), has increased, according to media reports. In a recent update, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said the conflict has intensified over the past month, with increased reports of army raids across Myanmar, especially in the northwest and southeast regions. Since the Army takeover, Lay Kay Kaw "has become one of the hideouts for pro-democracy activists and civil servants from the State Administration Council (SAC)," the agency said. "As a result of the raids and ensuing conflict, hundreds of people were displaced." UNHCR reported that Thailand confirmed some 4,600 people from Myanmar have fled the recent escalation around the town since mid-December, some of whom voluntarily returned. (ANI) Fazl made the statement after a report of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) scrutiny committee revealed that PTI has hidden foreign funding worth millions of rupees, reported Geo News. Addressing a joint press conference along with Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal, Fazl lashed out at PM Imran khan for "corruption and hiding foreign funding worth millions from the ECP." He said that PTI is a "party of thieves" and it was the only party that introduced the culture of hurling abuses in politics. The PDM chief further said that speculations are circulating about legislation of local bodies elections, but the country not only needs to run according to the Constitution but decisions throughout the four provinces should also be made accordingly, reported Geo News. He said that the scrutiny committee report on foreign funding has revealed everything about the ruling PTI, therefore, "whatever I had already predicted about Imran Khan is turning out to be true." Fazl said that while PM Imran always talked about ideal situations, "his practical life was against his own ideal words," reported Geo News. (ANI) According to Hyundai Motor Group on the 5th, Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis sold a total of 1,489,118 units of vehicles in the U.S. market. This far exceeds sales in 2016 (1,415,655 units). Hyundai Motor sold 738,081 units in the US market last year, up 19 per cent from the previous year. Hyundai Motor's premium brand Genesis sold 49,621 units, up 203 per cent year-on-year. Kia's sales increased 19.7 per cent to 701,416 units, surpassing 700,000 units for the first time. Hyundai Motor's sales were led by Tucson. Hyundai Motor sold 1,500,949 units of Tucson, up 22 per cent from last year. Sales of Elantra increased 18 per cent to 124,422 units, and Santa Fe increased 11 per cent to 112,071 units. Sales of electric vehicle (EV) Ioniq 5 were 153 units, and fuel-cell EV Nexo increased 107 per cent to 430 units. Kia's sales were led by Forte (115,929 units), Sportage (94,601 units), Telluride (93,705 units), K5 Optima (92,342 units) and Sorento (81,785 units). In particular, sales of Kia's EVs and fuel-cell EVs increased 97 per cent year-on-year, showing significant growth. (ANI/Global Economic) Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan is under scanner after a report compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)'s on its funding. The foreign funding has once again put the spotlight on the murky fundraising of Pakistan parties. The report says the party received funding from foreign nationals and companies, under-reported funds, concealed numerous bank accounts, and refused to divulge details of large transactions, according to Dawn. The Election Commission of Pakistan's report stated that the PTI provided "false information" regarding the party's funding. It's said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) statement revealed that the party had received Rs 1.64 million in funding. The fact that the panel struggled to get details of foreign accounts and its funds abroad is troubling, though there is no explicit allegation of wrongdoing in the report, the party's resistance during the entire case raises questions, according to Dawn. Earlier, Imran Khan has campaigned on the pledge of 'clean' and 'transparent' governance in the lead-up to the 2018 elections. If, as the PM and PTI ministers say, the funds are genuine donations and the audit is welcome, then the party should provide details of the foreign accounts and funds in them, according to Dawn. Earlier, the scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) constituted in March 2019 to audit the foreign funds of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) submitted its report to the commission in November last year. Terming the foreign funding report a "damning indictment" of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country's two main opposition parties -- the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) -- have urged the Supreme Court (SC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to proceed against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). Further, PTI has demand that the PML-N and PPP's accounts be audited too by the Election Commission. The opposition parties are right to question the ruling party's resistance in this case, but it would be interesting to see how forthcoming they would be if it came to scrutinising their own campaign accounts, according to Dawn. (ANI) Uyghurs in Turkey filed a criminal case with a Turkish prosecutor against Chinese officials for committing genocide in Xinjiang province. Lawyer Gulden Sonmez said on Tuesday that it was necessary because international bodies had not acted against Chinese authorities, who have been accused of facilitating forced labour by detaining about a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in forced camps since 2016, according to Al Jazeera. About 50,000 Uyghurs with whom Turks share ethnic, religious and linguistic connections are believed to reside in Turkey, the largest Uyghur diaspora outside Central Asia. The complaint was filed on Tuesday with the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office and China's embassy in Turkey and the prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "The international criminal court should have already started this trial, but China is a member of the [United Nations] Security Council and it does not seem possible within this dynamic," Sonmez said outside the city's main court. Surrounding the lawyer were more than 50 people holding photos of missing family members and signs calling for the prosecution of Chinese officials, according to Al Jazeera. China initially denied the camps existed, but has since said they are vocational centres and are designed to combat extremism and it denies all accusations of abuse. Earlier, some Turkish Opposition leaders have accused the government of overlooking Uighur rights in favour of other interests with China. Further, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in July last year that it was important to Turkey that Uyghur Muslims lived in peace as "equal citizens of China", but said Turkey respected China's national sovereignty. United Nations experts and rights groups estimate more than a million people, mainly from the Uyghur and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in camps in Xinjiang, according to Al Jazeera. (ANI) Syria's declaration of its chemical weapons programme cannot be considered accurate due to gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council on Wednesday. Izumi Nakamitsu also urged the country to cooperate with international body, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), adding that "full cooperation" is "essential to closing these outstanding issues." The UN disarmament chief was presenting an update on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) regarding the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons programme. According to Nakamitsu, Syria has submitted 17 amendments and several supplements to its initial declaration. So far, 20 of the 24 outstanding issues remain unresolved. She told Council Members that these outstanding points are "of concern" and involve undeclared research, production, and the arming of unknown quantities of chemical weapons. There are also "significant quantities" of chemical warfare agents or precursors, and chemical munitions, whose fate has not yet been fully verified. Nakamitsu listed for ambassadors all the information OPCW has not yet received, such as a declaration on all undeclared types and quantities of nerve agents produced at a former production facility, details of damage caused during an attack on 8 June 2021, or the unauthorised movement and remains of two destroyed cylinders. Once the Syrian National Authority provides sufficient information and explanations, Nakamitsu assured, a team from OPCW will assist, if needed, in amending the initial declaration. The High Representative also informed that OPCW has not been able to schedule the 25th round of consultations in Damascus because of the "continued refusal" by the Syrian Arab Republic to issue an entry visa for one member of the team. Efforts to convene a limited meeting with Syrian experts at the OPCW's Headquarters, in The Hague, were also unsuccessful. The disarmament chief also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the OPCW's ability to deploy to the country, but it remains ready to do it. Nakamitsu concluded by reiterating her full support for the integrity, professionalism, impartiality, objectivity and independence of the work of the OPCW. (ANI) Xi'an located in northwest China's Shaanxi has been under strict lockdown since December. Earlier, the city had suspended domestic flights, according to the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, reported Xinhua. The airport is an important air transportation hub in western China, with international routes connecting 74 major destinations in 36 countries around the world. On December 9, the city reported a locally transmitted COVID-19 case, a staffer engaged in disinfection at a quarantined hotel for inbound flights from the airport. Many locally transmitted COVID-19 cases have emerged since then, reported Xinhua. People, living in China's northwestern city of Xi'an, are anxious and frustrated at the local government over the growing challenge facing Beijing's zero-Covid policy, which relies on mass testing, extensive quarantines and snaps lockdowns amid a resurgence of the virus. For almost two years, these stringent measures have shielded the majority of the country from the worst aspects of the pandemic but as local outbreaks continue to flare up, the outcry in Xi'an raises the question of just how long zero-Covid can be sustained before public support begins to taper off, with millions of residents trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of lockdowns, CNN reported. Over the past week, Chinese social media was inundated with cries for help and criticism over the perceived incompetence of the local Xi'an government, as per CNN. On Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, the hashtag "Grocery shopping in Xi'an is difficult" has been viewed 380 million times as of Monday. (ANI) Ahead of US-Japan Security Consultative Committee "2+2" Meeting, 2022 that will be held today, the newly appointed US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday (local time) said that Japan-US relations are at a critical juncture as China is "not a good neighbour, and it is not one that advances the interests of the region." Emanuel made the comment in an exclusive interview with NHK World in Washington. The new ambassador said the two countries are "at a critical point, at a critical juncture, to really advance this friendship, alliance, and the value system that brings the two people and two democracies together to advance us on a set of value systems," reported NHK World. He said President Joe Biden had asked him in December 2020 to take the position, before the president took office. Emanuel said he felt that he would have "very big shoes to fill" not only because of how important Japan is. Referring to China regarding Hong Kong and the South China Sea, he emphasized that Japan and the US should demonstrate that they can contribute to developing the region, reported NHK World. He also said he will be honest and forthright "about our strengths and about our challenges that we share together, and be open and receptive to how to solve them together." The US-Japan Security Consultative Committee "2+2" Meeting, 2022 will be held today to strengthen the alliance and to address global challenges amid Chinese assertiveness in the region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, joined by US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, will meet virtually with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo on January 6, for the 2022 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee ("2+2") Meeting, read a US Department of State statement. The 2+2 Meeting has long been a high-level forum for US-Japan foreign and defence policy cooperation. (ANI) US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the "perpetrators" involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot must be held accountable and federal authorities would "follow the facts wherever they lead". "The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last. The Justice Department remains committed to holding all January 6 perpetrators at any level, accountable under law, whether they were present that day, or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy," Garland said on Wednesday while addressing Justice Department staff. "We understand that there are questions about how long the investigation will take, and about what exactly we are doing. Our answer is and will continue to be the same answer we would give with respect to any ongoing investigation: as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done consistent with the facts and the law," he said. Garland's remarks came as Thursday marks a year since a mob of then President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results to Joe Biden. To date, the Justice Department has charged more than 725 individuals for storming the Capitol, and more than 150 rioters have pleaded guilty to charges, from assaulting police to felony obstruction, according to Bloomberg News. Democrats have denounced the Capitol riot as an attack on democracy, while most Republicans have downplayed its implications, especially Trump's alleged role of inciting it. The House select committee investigating the riot will continue to collect information, seek testimony from willing witnesses and examine the events leading up to the riot in the new year after six months of intense work. The committee plans to begin holding public hearings in the next few months, aiming to publish an interim report containing initial findings by the summer and deliver the final report in the fall. "We hope to be able to tell the story to the country so that they understand it isn't just about that one day, January 6, but all that led up to it. What happened on that day and the continuing danger going forward," House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, a Democratic member of the select committee, told CBS News on Sunday. However, Americans are still divided on the performance of the select committee. About 53 per cent of Americans said the congressional probe is "important for the future of democracy", while 42 per cent called it "a waste of time away from other important issues", according to a poll released on Tuesday by USA TODAY/Suffolk University. --IANS ksk/ ( 445 Words) 2022-01-06-08:36:02 (IANS) Tokayev sought military support from the six-member Collective Security Treaty Organization, reported NHK World. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who chairs the CSTO, revealed that the organization has decided to send peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan for a limited period. Protests over soaring fuel prices have been held across Kazakhstan since the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, a massive protest took place today in the western town of Zhanaozen against the doubling of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which most Kazakhs use as car fuel, according to the media outlet. It reported that the price rise came as the country ended a gradual transition to electronic trading for LPG to halt state subsidies for fuel and let the market dictate prices. Demonstrations have extended to other Kazakh towns and villages - sparking the most geographically widespread protest in the country's history - and have encompassed wider grievances. On Wednesday, some demonstrators in the largest city of Almaty stormed government buildings and the presidential residence, reported NHK World. The Kazakh government declared a state of emergency to try to bring the violence under control. The country's Internal Affairs Ministry says eight police and national guard troops have died and more than 300 have been injured, reported NHK World. President Tokayev said at a pre-dawn security meeting on Thursday that foreign-trained "terrorists" are taking over buildings and infrastructure. He said Almaty had been attacked, destroyed and vandalized, reported NHK World. Amid nationwide agitation in Kazakhstan, protesters have pulled down the statue of the country's first President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Al Jazeera has reported. (ANI) A federal jury in Baltimore has found prominent criminal defense attorney Ken Ravenell guilty of one count of laundering drug money. The jury acquitted him of other charges, along with his co-defendants, fellow defense attorney Josh Treem and investigator Sean Gordon, who had been charged with obstruction. Still, the single conviction has the private defense bar in an uproar (Feds criticized after acquittals in Ken Ravenell conspiracy trial; jury convicts on one count of money laundering, Dec. 28). The complaints go something like this: How dare Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek Hines and Leo Wise suggest that Mr Ravenells work defending Richard Byrd, a convicted drug trafficker, crossed the line into criminal conspiracy? They are welcome to put away crooked cops from the Gun Trace Task Force, but they are said to have gravely overreached by going after Messrs. Ravenell, Treem and Gordon for associating with the wrong crowd. Advertisement The sort of private counsel who defend drug dealers and hit men can be seen, in one way, as champions who assure that the government must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and thus protect us all against wrongful imprisonment. Theres another way to look at them. They are very well paid to poke holes in solid evidence and suggest that all doubts rise to the level of reasonable. The definition of reasonable doubt is whatever the jury buys. In American criminal courts, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is hard to come by. A standard that protects us all, saints and sinners, winds up walking a lot of sinners out of the courtroom. Advertisement Private counsel are freedom brokers they command top dollar for putting the dangerous accused back on the street. That they occasionally defend someone pro bono does not remove the fact that its often all about the money. Do these lawyers counsel their newly-acquitted clients to amend their lifestyles and avoid further attention from law enforcement? Not often. Ive known many a Baltimore private lawyer whose handsome living, including the education of their children, depended on the repeat offender who cant stay out of trouble. These noble officers of the court simply teach their clients how to beat the rap. The Byrd-Ravenell-Treem case only goes to show how easy that is. Harold Riedl, Baltimore Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter. Pakistan under Imran Khan's rule has slid into radicalization even as it struggles with a looming economic crisis and poor human rights record. Imran Khan has frittered away his goodwill by mollycoddling extremist groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), and the Afghan Taliban, according to international think tank based in Canada - International Forum for Rights and Security. The former head of Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, recently wrote in an incisive article in News International that mob brutality, like the lynching of a Sri Lankan national in Punjab December last year, showed the extent of radicalization influencing Pak society. Known for long as `Mr Taliban Khan', the Prime Minister supported the rise of the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan and hailed their military victory as an Islamic victory once they came to power. The victory cry was short-lived though, as he realized he had, like his predecessors, encouraged an extremist group, which would only further radicalization in his country and the region, according to International Forum for Rights and Security. Further, one of the pitfalls of his Afghan victory was the deal he had to strike with TTP, a terrorist group brought up by the Pakistan army some years ago to play a devious game with the Taliban and the US. However, the group turned staunchly against the army and the state and found shelter with the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to International Forum for Rights and Security. A second `notable` deal he had with extremism was the way he allowed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan TLP to run berserk on the streets of Pakistan. Further, TLP is on a surge after the release of its leader Saad Hussin Rizvi last November and revoking of its ban by the Imran Khan government. Further, extremist groups have always been an integral part of Pakistani society since Independence and their continued contribution to the thought process of the masses has greatly influenced the transformation of the nation, according to International Forum for Rights and Security. (ANI) A campaign caused a stir online after Beijing started replacing English names with romanized Chinese in its subway ahead of the Winter Olympics. Many Chinese social media users questioned the rationale behind such replacements since foreign visitors who don't speak any Chinese are unlikely to understand pinyin, reported CNN. The Chinese capital noticed a subtle shift taking place in the city's subway - on signs, the English word "station" has been replaced with "Zhan," the pinyin, or romanized version, of the Chinese character. And in some cases, English station names such as Olympic Park and Terminal 2 of the Beijing airport have become "Aolinpike Gongyuan" and "2 Hao Hangzhanlou", reported CNN. Beijing Subway said in a statement last week that the changes are part of "the city's ongoing efforts to unify translations of subway station names in accordance with relevant regulations." But that has failed to convince many on Chinese social media, reported CNN. "English translations are meant for foreigners to read. Why don't you just have only Chinese then? This kind of translation is redundant," a comment said on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter. Last week, the state-run Guangming Daily also weighed in, questioning the practicality of the move and how much such new translations would actually help the target audience. "For Chinese people, the vast majority do not need the help of pinyin to read Chinese, and in fact more people may know Chinese characters than pinyin," it said in a commentary, adding that some elderly and overseas Chinese might not understand pinyin, which was developed in the 1950s and taught in primary schools in mainland China, reported CNN. "For foreigners, the overwhelming majority probably don't recognize pinyin...Therefore, this kind of translation may fall into an awkward situation: Chinese people don't need it, foreigners don't understand it." The changes appear to be a work in progress that first started last month, and come just weeks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, reported CNN. The move is accentuating fears that China's ruling Communist Party is increasingly pushing back against English, amid its ongoing ideological war against Western influence. "They're starting to get rid of English. The English-learning craze at the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games seems like a lifetime ago," a user lamented on Douban, a popular site for reviewing movies, books and music, reported CNN. Widely regarded as China's "coming out party" on the world stage, the 2008 Olympics incentivized a generation of Beijing residents to learn English as they welcomed tens of thousands of foreign guests. In the lead-up to the event, the Beijing government launched a campaign to correct wrong English translations on road signs and names of public venues. But things took a different turn under Xi Jinping, who since coming to power in 2013 has eagerly promoted "cultural self-confidence" and traditional Chinese culture, reported CNN. And in 2020, the Education Ministry announced a ban on foreign textbooks in all primary and junior high schools -- a move widely regarded as an attempt to tighten ideological control of students across the country. (ANI) The mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the US will be hit by a second snowstorm of the week from Thursday night into Friday, according to weather-forecasting service agency AccuWeather. "Accumulating snow will be disruptive across a large swath of the Northeast, including major cities from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston," Xinhua news agency quoted AccuWeather's latest forecast on Wednesday as saying. Arctic air will surge across the Midwest into Wednesday night, and a storm will form along the leading edge of the cold air as a dip in the jet stream provides enough fuel for a new system to develop. "This will be a disruptive storm, and since cold air will be preceding the storm, snow will accumulate on roads as soon as it starts," said AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno. NBC's Storm Team 4 is eyeing the potential for another winter storm late Thursday into Friday that could drop up to 4 inches of snow on parts of the tri-state area. Snow is expected to start falling in spots late Thursday, but the bulk is expected early Friday. The weather is likely to cause some problems for Friday's morning commute. Spots south and east of NYC are expected to see the highest totals, as was the case with a storm earlier this week that dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of New Jersey. "As with any winter storm, there's wiggle room in the forecast for a shift in track," added NBC, cautioning people in the area, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Substantial snowstorm threatens to hit NYC from Thursday night into Friday morning, reported Secret NYC on Wednesday, citing multiple weather sources. The National Weather Service is eyeing snow overnight Thursday into Friday, with one to two inches possible on Thursday night and another one to two inches possible Friday morning. Of course, even a 70 per cent chance of precipitation isn't definite, and it all really depends on how much the storm amplifies and strengthens, said the report. However, NY Metro Weather has put the possibilities of the storm together quite succinctly, noting the potential for a winter storm from late Thursday into Friday. On Sunday, many were sceptical that accumulating snow would fall the next day in northeastern US, but by Monday afternoon, five to 10 inches or more of cement-like snow had plastered large parts of the region. More than a half-million customers in Virginia and Maryland lost power because the weight of the snow combined with strong winds brought down tree limbs and power lines, and traffic on Interstate 95 came to a standstill. The storm's severity can be attributed to its unusual strength and its course, taking an ideal track to wallop the zone from Central Virginia and Southern Maryland to the District with exceptionally heavy snow and strong winds. --IANS ksk/ ( 488 Words) 2022-01-06-09:22:02 (IANS) Almaty [Kazakhstan], January 6 (ANI/Sputnik) - Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) forces will be dispatched to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time and will guard state and military facilities and assist local law enforcement, the secretariat of the organization said on Thursday. "In accordance with the decision made by the CSTO Collective Security Council on January 6, 2022, Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization were sent to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time to stabilize and normalize the situation," the CSTO secretariat added. "The main tasks... will be guarding important state and military facilities and rendering assistance to the law enforcement of Kazakhstan in stabilizing the situation and returning it to the legal framework." (ANI/Sputnik) The South African Parliament aid firefighters will assess for a possible total withdrawal from its precinct as the blaze that gutted various parts of the parliament has been contained. The fire, which initially broke out early Sunday, extensively destroyed the interior of the building of the lower house National Assembly, with the lower house chamber completely burned down, and partly destroyed the roof, reports Xinhua news agency. It also caused extensive damage to the Old Assembly building built in 1880s, which houses the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house. The Parliament in a statement reconfirmed the containment of the fire, which flared up again Monday afternoon at the roof of the National Assembly building after the fire had been brought under control except for the smouldering fourth floor of the building, and said there has not been any further fire incident. The fire service will hand over the National Assembly building to the South African police after ensuring its safety, read the statement. There have been 300 firefighters working in shifts to contain the fire with over 60 fire engine vehicles since its outbreak, according to Parliament, adding that one fire engine remains at the scene currently, with five crew members working throughout all the floors, ensuring no flare-ups. A reduced number of firefighters were closely monitoring and combing through the scene in the last 24 hours, it said. The lower house's chamber was used to host plenary sittings of the National Assembly and the joint sitting of the two houses before the fire. The Mace, which signifies the authority and sitting of the National Assembly, was retrieved from its safe storage without any damage. Both the parliament museum, including artworks and heritage objects, and the 112 meter-long and 70 meter-high Keiskamma tapestry, a "powerful symbol of our people's Parliament", on the ground floor of the Old Assembly Building, have not been damaged in the fire. The tapestry made by women tells the South African story in beadwork, skins and embroidery from the perspective of ordinary people. Before the resurgence of the fire, the Chairperson of the NCOP Amos Masondo told a media briefing that other important sections like the NCOP Chamber and offices, the Parliament Library were also saved. According to Parliament, the State of the Nation Address scheduled on February 10, annual budget speech, and other programs will proceed as planned. Parliament leaders have reassured political parties and other stakeholders to get to the bottom of how the incident happened. It will conduct an internal investigation "on any lapse" that contributed to the incident. A 49-year-old man "allegedly linked to setting parliament building alight" appeared in court in Cape Town on Tuesday and was reportedly remanded for seven days. --IANS ksk/ ( 468 Words) 2022-01-06-09:52:12 (IANS) North Korea on Thursday announced that it has successfully conducted a test-firing of a hypersonic missile a day earlier, three months after it first showcased the new weapons system. On Wednesday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea from the northern province of Jagang, reports Yonhap News Agency. The missile made a "120 km lateral movement" from the initial launch azimuth and "precisely hit a set target 700 km away", Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday but did not disclose the speed of the projectile. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the firing. "The test launch clearly demonstrated the control and stability of the hypersonic gliding warhead which combined the multi-stage gliding jump flight and the strong lateral movement," the KCNA said. Hypersonic missiles usually fly at a speed of at least Mach 5, five times the speed of sound or 6,125 km per hour, giving little time for enemies to respond. The North conducted the first test-firing of the "hypersonic" missile Hwasong-8 in September last year, though it's known to have flown at a speed of around Mach 3 at that time. According to photos issued by the KCNA, the shape of the warhead of the missiles fired in September and this week were slightly different, a possible indication the North is developing two different types of hypersonic missiles or has improved the first one. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in September the new missile appears to be in the early stages of development and would require "considerable time for actual deployment". The latest firing confirmed the "reliability of fuel ampoule system under the winter weather conditions", the KCNA said, apparently referring to a container of liquid fuel to reduce the preparation time for a missile launch. Compared with conventional missiles that require hours of liquid fuel injection before firing, the ampoule would allow the fuel to be stored for months before immediate use, experts say. The hypersonic missile development is "the most important core task out of the five top priority tasks for the strategic arms sector" under the North's five-year plan, the KCNA said. On Wednesday, South Korea's National Security Council convened an emergency meeting over the missile launch and expressed concerns. The US condemned the latest missile test as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions that poses a "threat" to its neighbours and the international community. --IANS ksk/ ( 421 Words) 2022-01-06-10:28:02 (IANS) Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that, both sides also agreed to broaden the vistas of cooperation. "Just finished a New Year call with FM Dr. Narayan Khadka of Nepal. Was an opportunity to recognize progress on so many fronts. Our Development Partnership and Covid collaboration have been noteworthy. Agreed to broaden the vistas of our cooperation," Jaishankar tweeted. Last year, on September 22, Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had appointed Narayan Khadka as foreign minister. Meanwhile, Deuba will embark on a four-day visit to India starting on Sunday, a sitting minister confirmed to ANI. As per the minister in the Deuba cabinet, the proposal for his visit has been endorsed paving the way for him to start his second international visit after assuming the post of Prime Minister last year. "PM Deuba will be holding a meeting with his Indian counterpart apart from attending the Gujarat Global Summit. A cabinet meeting has also approved Deuba's visit. A formal announcement will be made by MoFA," the minister confirmed to ANI seeking anonymity. This would be the first visit to India by Deuba after being appointed as Prime Minister for the fifth time. (ANI) Wrapping up a year-end Workers' Party plenary session last week, the North outlined its policy priorities for the new year on developing the national economy and bolstering anti-virus efforts, reports Yonhap News Agency. "In order to thoroughly accomplish the decisions of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the Workers' Party's 8th Central Committee, a Pyongyang city rally was held at the Kim Il-sung Square on Wednesday," Pyongyang's officials Korean Central News Agency said in its report. Officials and workers of factories, companies and cooperative farms in Pyongyang as well as students took part in the event, it added Top officials, including Premier Kim Tok-hun, were also present, suggesting the gathering was aimed at encouraging progress in economic efforts. North Korea has placed a focus on developing its economy, especially the agriculture sector, in the midst of strict border controls against Covid-19 and international sanctions. --IANS ksk/ ( 198 Words) 2022-01-06-11:04:04 (IANS) As Taliban rulers are trying hard for international recognition of their reinstated Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Taliban's Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanekzai has said that they have completed all preconditions for recognition and now is the time for the international community to come forward and recognize the outfit, local media reported. Speaking at a convention in Paktia province, Stanekzai said that security, rule of law, and full control over Afghanistan's borders are the major preconditions for recognitions that have been met by the Taliban, Khaama press reported. It further reported that the Deputy FM who was also a key member of the Taliban's negotiating team during the US-Taliban talks said, they have been busy negotiating with the US and European countries for months and the talks are yet to be finished. The Taliban took over control of Kabul on August 15 and following this the country has been battered by deepening economic, humanitarian, and security crisis. A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged a country already suffering from high poverty levels into a full-blown economic crisis. Meanwhile, the international community, from governments to non-governmental organizations, has been providing various assistance to the Afghan people. (ANI) Jaishankar, in a statement, said that he is looking forward to an early Joint Commission Meeting in Nigeria's capital city, Abuja. "Nice speaking to FM Geoffrey Onyeama of Nigeria. Conveyed greetings for 2022 and reviewed the development of our special relationship. Look forward to an early Joint Commission Meeting at Abuja.", tweeted EAM Dr S Jaishankar. Notably, India and Nigeria enjoy warm, friendly and deep-rooted bilateral relations. Both the countries are large developing and democratic countries with multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies. Last Year India, a world pharmacy, was at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 and came out as an emerging player in becoming a key supplier of vaccines to many countries on a commercial and humanitarian basis. In March last year, Nigeria received 3.92 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' from the Serum Institute of India. Under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, India has been providing coronavirus vaccines to its neighbouring countries. (ANI) Kellee Thompson of Baltimore holds her nine-year old son, Kameron Brooks, as Doni Nachman, right, administers the nasal swab test at the PCR COVID testing site operated by Accu Reference in partnership with Baltimore City. The youngster needed to be tested to return to school. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun). (Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun) As a parent of a 4th grade student at Hampden Elementary/Middle School, I am very concerned about Baltimore City Public School Systems failure to adequately protect my child during this latest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. As cases climb, the only responsible course of action at this time is to revert to online-only virtual learning. I agree that this is a far inferior method of instruction to in-person learning, but it is clear from our experience during the fall semester that the testing program in place in the city is incapable of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our schools. During the BCPSS winter break, we saw case numbers of the omicron variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus skyrocket abroad and in our own country with the predictable effects of staffing shortages across industries and hospitalization rates threatening to overwhelm hospitals across the country. Prior to the beginning of the winter break, each week brought an ever-increasing number of positive testing results in Hampden EMSs community, culminating in two outbreaks during December and a number of staff and student positive results immediately prior to the start of break. It is obvious testing will not contain the spread of the omicron variant, and it appears to offer a false sense of security that the spread of COVID-19 within our schools is contained. The reality is that cases within my childs school increased with every week that went by, almost exclusively before the omicron variant had begun to spread (Maryland Gov. Hogan issues executive orders to fight COVID surge, stops short of mask, vaccine mandates, Jan. 4). Advertisement I urge Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises to seriously reconsider BCPSSs decision to continue in-person learning for the months of January and February. Please move BCPSS to virtual learning at least for the next two months in the hope that the omicron variant burns itself out and the number of new cases ceases to rise at such an alarming and never before seen rate. While some children seem to weather a COVID-19 infection without much immediately apparent damage, not all children have such an easy time of it. Many of Baltimores children (and teachers and staff) will be hospitalized, further burdening an already overloaded health care system. Some of our school children might die; these deaths will be completely avoidable. And for all children, staff, and teachers that are infected, we have little idea of their long-term prospects following infection, but our countrys experience with long COVID does not bode well for such a large number of infections. Please do the responsible, if difficult, thing and move BCPSS to online-only learning. Advertisement Michael Johnson, Baltimore Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter. The Turkish medical experts decided to "rearrange the quarantine periods, considering the current conditions", Xinhua news agency quoted Koca as saying in a written statement after a meeting of Turkey's coronavirus science council, reports Xinhua news agency. Accordingly, the quarantine period will end for people who show mild or no symptoms after the seventh day, the Minister said. The quarantine period will end if the person has a negative test result on the fifth day of the isolation, he added. The Covid-19 infected persons will not be quarantined if they have received the reminder dose vaccination or have had the disease in the last three months. Unvaccinated persons or infected persons who have passed three months after the reminder dose will be quarantined for seven days, the Minister noted. Previously, Covid-19 patients were subject to a 14-day quarantine in Turkey. The government was not considering new restrictions at the moment, Koca said, urging citizens to get vaccinated and take more personal measures. There is no worrying rise in hospitalization rates despite the increase in cases because of the Omicron variant, the Turkish Minister said. Although there is not enough data to prove patients infected by Omicron can be less sick than other Covid-19 variants, the available signs are not causing concern, he added. --IANS ksk/ ( 247 Words) 2022-01-06-12:50:06 (IANS) The high commission is engaged in talks with the Sri Lankan authorities for the early release of the remaining Indian fishermen who were detained last month in Lanka, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday. "The government has taken up with the government of Sri Lanka the detention of 68 fisherman and 10 boats that had been taken into custody by the Sri Lankan authorities between 18 and 20 December," said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a press briefing on Thursday. "These detained fishermen were provided with the necessary support by officials from our Consulate General in Jaffna including clothes and essential facilities, besides facilitating phone calls with relatives," he added. Further, Bagchi emphasised that detainees were been provided legal representation. "The high commission of India in Colombo has taken up the issue of the early release of Indian fishermen with the Sri Lankan authorities and as a result of these efforts 12 fishermen were released. The high commission is making arrangements for their early repatriation," Bagchi added. The spokesperson stressed that the Indian "high commission is also engaged with the Sri Lankan authorities for the early release of the remaining fishermen and their boats." "Both sides are in consultation regarding the early holding of the joint cooperation group on fisheries," he added. (ANI) "The Chinese side believes that what is going on now in Kazakhstan is an interior affair of the country. We are sure that the authorities will resolve the issue in a proper way," Xinhua quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin as saying on Thursday. The spokesperson also emphasised that China and Kazakhstan have friendly relations and are strategic partners. Wang reiterated that Beijing hopes for a speedy stabilisation of the situation in the country when asked to comment on a dispatch of the peacekeeping contingent of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to Kazakhstan. It came after Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Thursday sought help from a Russia-led security alliance of former Soviet states to quell the unrest in his country. Tokayev sought military support from the six-member Collective Security Treaty Organization, reported NHK World. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who chairs the CSTO, revealed that the organization has decided to send peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan for a limited period. Kazakhstan witnessed large-scale protests for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday as thousands of people flooded streets against soaring liquefied petroleum gas prices, forcing the Central Asian country's cabinet to resign. (ANI) "We are committed to supply life saving medicines along with 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. In this regard, we are in talks with Pakistani authorities on the modalities for shipment of wheat," Bagchi said during the weekly briefing. Earlier this month, India supplied another batch of humanitarian assistance consisting of 5,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin to Afghanistan. Taking to Twitter, Bharat Biotech said, "On January 3, India supplied the next batch of humanitarian assistance consisting of 5,00,000 doses of COVID vaccine (COVAXIN) to Afghanistan. The same was handed over to Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kabul."It also informed that another batch of additional 5,00,000 doses would be supplied in the coming weeks. India has committed to provide to Afghan people humanitarian assistance consisting of food grains, one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and essential life-saving drugs. Last year in December, India delivered 1.6 tons of medical assistance to Afghanistan through the World Health Organization (WHO). The Taliban took over control of Kabul on August 15 and following this the country has been battered by deepening economic, humanitarian and security crises. A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged a country already suffering from high poverty levels into a full-blown economic crisis. (ANI) Pakistani Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar on Wednesday confirmed that the fencing of the 2,600km-long border with Afghanistan will be completed despite the Taliban's statement that they will not allow fencing by Pakistan on the Durand Line. This is not the first time that this verbal clash has surfaced as the two neighbouring countries have been in a state of tension on the border fencing issue. Addressing a media conference at the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) office, Iftikhar said: "There is no problem, the fencing is continuing and will continue.", reported Dawn News. This statement and reaffirmation by the Pakistani spokesperson downplay the Taliban's recent statements where they made clear that they will not allow fencing by Pakistan on the Durand Line. Mawllawi Sanaullah Sangin, commander of the Taliban group said on Wednesday, according to Tolo News said, "We (Taliban) will not allow the fencing anytime, in any form. Whatever they (Pakistan) did before, they did, but we will not allow it anymore. There will be no fencing anymore," Pakistani spokesperson Iftikhar in the conference maintained, "As far as the issue about the fencing that you are referring to ... these are very localised problems. They have been addressed. The government is in touch with the Afghan interim government,". He emphasised the cordial nature of the relations with Afghanistan's de facto government. (ANI) Speaking to the press on Wednesday, government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said that the fight against the pandemic in France is "far from over", reports Xinhua news agency "In two weeks, the incidence rate has tripled and has exceeded 1,800 cases per 100,000 inhabitants," he said. Hospitals are overcrowded, and the majority of coronavirus-infected patients in intensive care are unvaccinated, he added. "The situation could get worse over the next few weeks," Attal warned, adding that nearly 20,000 people are hospitalised, and more than 2,000 new patients are being admitted on a daily basis. About 3,700 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, which is more than 70 per cent of the French health system's initial capacity. "The booster dose of the vaccine prevents 90 per cent of severe forms, including for the Omicron variant," Attal stressed. He also announced several decisions of the Council of Ministers, including the declaration of a health emergency in French overseas territories. For travellers between France and the UK, the list of compelling reasons to travel will be "enlarged, mostly for professionals". Eight million COVID-19 self-tests will be distributed next week in pharmacies, including Chinese-made self-tests. Discussions on the French health pass bill resumed on Wednesday, following the second suspension voted by a majority of members of Parliament. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean Castex also told the Parliament that the draft bill must be "debated quickly" as the government has announced that it will be passed on January 15. "There is an issue with our fellow citizens who refuse to get vaccinated", Castex added. As of Thursday, the country's infection tally and death toll stood at 11,027,112 and 125,797, respectively. --IANS ksk/ ( 311 Words) 2022-01-06-13:28:02 (IANS) India on Thursday conveyed its strong objection to the letter written by Chinese embassy to a group of Members of Parliament for attending a dinner reception hosted by Tibetan Parliament-in-exile and said the "substance, tone and tenor of the letter is inappropriate". India also said that the Chinese side should refrain from hyping normal activities by MPs and "complicate further" the situation in bilateral relations. External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at the weekly media briefing in.response to a query that Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and parliamentarians as representatives of people undertake activities as per thier views. "We have seen the reports about the Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy writing letters to Honorable Members of Parliament on their participation in an event. The substance, tone and tenor of the letter are inappropriate," he said. "Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and Hon'ble MPs, as representatives of the people, undertake activities as per their views and beliefs. We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping normal activities by Hon'ble MPs and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations," he added. The dinner reception in December was attended by MPs cutting across party lines including BJD's Sujeet Kumar, convenor of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP's Maneka Gandhi and Congress MPs Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari. Zhou Yongsheng, Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Delhi, had in his letter expressed "concern" over the MPs attending the event. "You are a senior politician who know the China-India relations well. It is hoped that you could understand the sensitivity of the issue and refrain from providing support to the "Tibetan independence" forces, and make contributions to China-India bilateral relations," he had said. Reacting to it Tenzin Lekshay, the spokesperson of the Tibetan government-in-exile, slammed China."India's constant solidarity for Tibet makes China uneasy. As for the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet, it was initiated by Shri MC Chagla in 1970 and now chaired by BJD MP Sujeet Kumar. Many great Indian leaders supported Tibet in the past, & many more support now," he said in a tweet. (ANI) "December's job market strengthened as the fallout from the Delta variant faded and Omicron's impact had yet to be seen," Xinhua news agency quoted Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, as saying. "Job gains were broad-based, as goods producers added the strongest reading of the year, while service providers dominated growth," Richardson added. Service sector saw a job gain of 669,000 in December, with 246,000 jobs added in leisure and hospitality, according to the report produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody's Analytics. Goods-producing sector, meanwhile, added 138,000 jobs in the month, with 74,000 jobs added in manufacturing, the report showed. Large firms hired 389,000 workers, medium-sized businesses hired about 214,000, while small companies added some 204,000 employees, the report revealed, indicating an unbalanced recovery across different company sizes. While job gains eclipsed 6 million in 2021, private sector payrolls are still nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-Covid levels, according to Richardson. --IANS ksk/ ( 195 Words) 2022-01-06-13:34:06 (IANS) "We are obviously following with concern and are monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan. I think it's very important for all involved in these current events to exercise restraint, refrain from violence, and promote dialogue in addressing all of the pertinent issues," Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying. Dujarric said the UN has a country office and other representatives in Kazakhstan and there has been no security threat to the staff. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Wednesday that he intended to "act as tough as possible" as the situation in the country becomes "extremely tense". Earlier in the day, he signed a presidential decree to accept the resignation of the country's government. The ongoing riots were first sparked by rising fuel prices, but have broadened to include other political grievances, the BBC reported. The President has also imposed a nationwide state of emergency that includes an overnight curfew and a ban on mass gatherings. --IANS ksk/ ( 188 Words) 2022-01-06-13:38:10 (IANS) Emphasising that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation's summit is not being held due to certain reasons, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that no material change in the situation has been made, therefore there is still no consensus that would permit holding of the summit. "We have seen media reports regarding the Pakistan Foreign Minister's remarks about the SAARC summit. You are aware of the background as to why the SAARC summit has not to be held since 2014," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a press briefing on Thursday. "There has been no material change in the situation since then. Therefore, there is still no consensus that would permit holding of the summit," he added. As per the SAARC charter, if any of the members refuses to attend the meeting, then the summit will not be held. On Monday, a Pakistani Minister said that India has been invited to the upcoming SAARC Summit. "Pakistan considers SAARC as an important forum. We are willing to host the 19th SAARC summit and if India has any issue in attending the summit in person then it can attend the meeting virtually," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during a news conference. Last year, India boycotted the SAARC summit which was scheduled for November 16, 2021, because of the tensions between the two countries. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) foreign ministers meet slated to be held in New York was cancelled because Pakistan wanted the Taliban to represent Afghanistan in the SAARC meet. The SAARC is the regional intergovernmental organization of eight countries of South Asia -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. (ANI) The controversial foreign funding debate had been going round in Pakistan with the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan under pressure. The report compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)'s on PTI's funding has found that the party is guilty of concealing 53 bank accounts regarding public funding, according to Daily Times. If the PTI is as confident about the order in its house it should honor its word and lend the helping hand to auditors. Information about over Rs 300 million missing from the bank statements should be accounted for. as per the demands of the Pakistan opposition, according to Daily Times. The Election Commission of Pakistan's report stated that the PTI provided "false information" regarding the party's funding. It's said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) statement revealed that the party had received Rs 1.64 million in funding. Meanwhile, Pakistan opposition parties have Pakistan opposition parties on Tuesday slammed the Prime Minister after a report of the Election Commission of Pakistan scrutiny committee probing Imran Khan's party funds revealed that it has hidden funds with millions of rupees and called him a thief. The goal should not be to fight tooth and nail against the proceedings but to set a new precedent in the country: public probity and until the books are put out in the open, charades to turn the masses away from the Khan's government would continue in full swing, according to Daily Times. (ANI) Starting from Thursday, in-bound travellers to Ireland will no longer need a Covid-19 test if they are fully vaccinated against or have recovered from the disease, the government announced. Those outside the new regulation requirements must provide a negative result of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before arrival in Ireland, Xinhua news agency reported citing the government as saying in a sattement. From Thursday, fully vaccinated or recovered travellers into Ireland are only required to present evidence of a valid Digital Covid Certificate or other acceptable proof showing vaccination or recovery status, said the statement. Prior to this, travellers coming to Ireland had to provide valid proof of a negative antigen test result taken within 48 hours or a PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant. The government has dropped the requirement for vaccinated or recovered people because Omicron has become a dominant variant in Ireland and the old measure has a limited impact on the spread of the virus, Prime Minister Micheal Martin told the local media. The Department of Health on Wednesday reported an additional 17,656 confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing to 884,855 the total number of such cases in the country, which means that nearly 18 per cent of Ireland's entire population has been infected with the disease. To date, there have been a total of 5,952 deaths. --IANS ksk/ ( 248 Words) 2022-01-06-14:23:01 (IANS) "Our embassy in Kazakhstan is closely monitoring ongoing developments there particularly from the perspective of the safety of Indian nationals there", Bagchi said during the weekly press briefing. Bagchi also stressed assisting Indian citizens in Kazakhstan and said, "We will, of course, assist any Indians in distress. For the moment we are not aware of any such incident or situation." Kazakhstan is witnessing a massive protest over soaring fuel prices across the country. The protest took place in the western town of Zhanaozen against the doubling of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which most Kazakhs use as car fuel, Al Jazeera reported. Amid nationwide agitation in Kazakhstan, protesters have pulled down the statue of the country's first President Nursultan Nazarbayev. A state of emergency has been declared in the country in the light of the eruption of this violent protest. Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) forces will be dispatched to Kazakhstan for a limited period and will guard state and military facilities and assist local law enforcement, the secretariat of the organization said on Thursday. (ANI) As Covid-19 cases, including those connected to US bases, were surging in Okinawa, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday requested the American bases in the country impose a curfew amid the rampant spread of the virus among military personnel. According to the Foreign Ministry, Hayashi's request was made by telephone to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with the Foreign Minister reportedly telling the latter that further measures needed to be taken by Washington to prevent the virus from spreading at American military facilities in Japan and further into the community, reports Xinhua news agency. The Japanese side has been irked by the US' lax approach to administering its military personnel with Covid-19 tests before and after arriving in Japan, leading to a spike in cases and cluster infections at multiple American military bases here. At the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, south of Hiroshima, 182 personnel were confirmed to be infected on Wednesday, official figures showed. The mayor of Iwakuni said the cluster outbreak at the base was "fuelling the rapid spread of (the) Omicron (variant of the virus) in his city". "We've heard that the genome of the coronavirus from the base workers and those who tested positive at restaurants in the city is the same. It's highly likely that the Omicron variant has spread from the base throughout the city," Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda was quoted as saying. In Okinawa, where the vast majority of US bases are located in Japan, meanwhile, 623 new cases were reported on Wednesday, more than doubling its daily tally compared to the previous day. This marked the first time the prefecture's daily Covid-19 tally surpassed 600 in more than four months, according to the official figures. Last month, what has been described as a "major cluster of infections" broke out at the US Marine Corps' Camp Hansen in Okinawa, as was widely reported at the time, sparking concerns about the virus' potential rapid spread from the base into mainstream Japanese society. If the prefectural government's request to the central government to declare a quasi-state of emergency is granted, local officials will be allowed to introduce more stringent antiviral measures. Other US bases in Japan are also seeing significant Covid-19 cluster outbreaks and have likely been affected by new American military personnel arriving in Japan not being required to undergo Covid-19 testing until five or more days after entering Japan, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK. "The US forces then revealed it did not require new personnel to be tested until at least five days after arriving in Japan," NHK said. Some 114 base-linked personnel have also tested positive for the virus recently, with Yokota Air Base in Tokyo seeing 57 personnel newly-infected, Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture reporting 41 new cases, while 16 new infections have been detected at Sasebo Navy base in Nagasaki Prefecture, according to the latest official figures. --IANS ksk/ ( 498 Words) 2022-01-06-14:46:03 (IANS) The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the signing of Agreement between India and Spain on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. According to a press statement from the Cabinet on Thursday, "the agreement will help in making available, reliable, quick and cost-effective information and intelligence for the prevention and investigation of Customs offences and apprehending of Customs offenders." The Agreement would provide a legal framework for sharing of information between the Customs authorities of the two countries and help in the proper administering of Customs laws and detection and investigation of Customs offences and the facilitation of legitimate trade. According to the statement the agreement has the provisions of the correct assessment of customs duties, especially information pertaining to the determination of the customs value, tariff classification and the origin of the goods traded between the two countries. The authenticity of any document produced in support of a declaration (such as certificate of origin, invoices etc.) made to the requesting authority, it added. Customs offence concerning illicit movement of the following: Arms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices; Works of art and antiques, which are of significant historical, cultural of archaeological value; Toxic materials and other substances dangerous to the environment and public health; Goods subject to substantial customs duties or taxes; New means and methods employed for committing Customs offences against Customs legislation, the statement added. (ANI) US President Joe Biden marked the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot by blaming former President Donald Trump. Speaking at Congress on Thursday morning (local time), President Biden held his predecessor responsible for the attack on the seat of American democracy. " For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol," Biden said in a speech from the US Capitol. "But they failed. They failed. And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again." Without naming Trump, Biden aggressively lay blame for what happened that day on Trump. Biden called out the former president for weaving what he called a "web of lies" around the 2020 election and attacking American democracy as no other leader has before. "We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie," Biden said. "And here's the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He's done so because he values power over principle -- because he sees his own interest is more important than his country's interest and America's interest -- because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution." In his most forceful remarks yet against Trump, Biden said "He can't accept he lost," "He can't accept he lost even though that's what 93 United States senators, his own attorney general, his own vice president, governors and state officials and every battleground state, all said, he lost." Biden also linked Trump and his attempt to overturn election loss to Russia and China. "Make no mistake about it - we're living at an inflection point in history both at home and abroad. ... between people's right to self-determination and self-seeking autocrats."During his speech at Statuary Hall inside the Capitol building, Biden also spoke about the work needed to do to strengthen American democracy and institutions. "And so at this moment we must decide what kind of nation we are going to be," Biden said. Speaking about that violent day, which included five fatalities, the President said,"Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation." A somber Vice President Kamala Harris, in remarks ahead of Biden, who was at the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6 last year, reflected on what happened inside the Capitol building. "Extremists who roamed these halls targeted" last year was not only an attack on the lives of elected leaders and the 2020 election. "What they sought to degrade and destroy was not only a building, hallowed as it is. What they were assaulting. were the institution's the values, the ideals that generations of Americans have marched, picketed, and shed blood to establish and defend," she said. Democratic lawmakers have planned a day-long series of events at the Capitol to mark the anniversary, ranging from a moment of silence on the House floor to a conversation with American historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham. "The purpose is to establish and preserve the narrative" of Jan. 6, according to a statement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The days events, Pelosi said, "are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness." There will also be a prayer vigil on the Capitol steps led by Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer later in the evening GOP leaders won't be in the Capitol on Thursday with the House out of session and a number of Republican senators heading to Georgia to attend a memorial service for the late Sen. Johnny Isakson. In Washington, DC, one year ago, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building as Congress was meeting to certify Biden's presidential election victory. Investigators have so far arrested 725 suspects in connection with the attack and the insurrection launched the largest investigation in FBI history. The events of January 6 led to Trump's second impeachment by the House of Representatives.And a House select committee continues to investigate the events leading up to the riots. Two Trump allies -- Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon -- have been held in criminal contempt for declining to cooperate with committee investigators after being subpoenaed. (ANI) "Greeted FM G.L. Peiris of Sri Lanka in the New Year. A reliable friend, India will support Sri Lanka in these difficult times. Agreed to remain in close touch," Jaishankar tweeted. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that he also spoke with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. "Pleasure as always to speak to UAE FM Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 2021 was a year of notable progress. Appreciate his deep commitment to taking our ties to a higher level," tweeted Jaishankar. Jaishankar also connected with the Foreign Minister of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan and talked about bilateral ideas. He shared his views on regional challenges with his counterpart. "Good to connect in the New Year with FM Vivian Balakrishnan of Singapore. Exchanged notes on the Covid situation. Discussed ideas on the bilateral front. And shared views on regional challenges." tweeted the Foreign Minister. Earlier, Jaishankar also spoke with his counterparts in Nepal and Bangladesh. (ANI) Serpentine lines stretched along the footpaths from the entrance of the District Election Office with to-be-registered voters filling up the application forms standing in the line or on the edge of the road. The arriving deadline of previously elected local level representatives along with members of the House of Representatives (HoR) has increased enthusiasm for election amongst people. "Encouraging participation of people is seen in ongoing voter registration campaign. People have been turning out to election offices all around the nation to register themselves up, we also are working to provide the service to people as we work from early morning till late evening so that everyone turning out here would get the chance to sign themselves up," Thakur Bhattarai, the District Election Officer at District Election Office, Kathmandu told ANI. Halted on for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and announcement of snap elections by the earlier government under Prime Ministership of KP Sharma Oli, voter registration campaign resumed lately from November last year. Targeting temporary residents of Kathmandu Valley, the latest election campaign scheduled to run till mid of this month enables citizens above 18 years to register themselves in the voter list. As per the official, the voter card later would be handed over to the voters a few days before the day of the election from their respective election centres in their hometown. On average 900 eligible voters who haven't signed up to exercise the franchise have been queuing outside the election office of Kathmandu."Voter registration continues throughout the year and is a continuous process, the COVID-19 pandemic also might have hampered the process. Also, people possibly waited and looked for the election dates and of course, they got busy with their own chores. Now with the special campaign to register voters is underway they might have got the speculation that elections are arriving near and as this campaign enables people to register from their temporary residence provided the reason of not being able to travel forth and back to their hometown due to various engagements, this has resulted in excitement and flood of people," the official remarked.As per Section 4 of the Act on Voters' Registration-2017, new voters can't be registered once the dates for elections are announced. The Election Commission in June of 2020 had resumed voters' registration when hardly any voter approached the district offices of the commission amid fears of contracting Covid-19. Then in December same year, the then government under KP Sharma Oli announced dates for fresh elections dissolving the parliament which was later reinstated. President Bidya Devi Bhandari on December 20, 2020, had announced mid-term parliamentary elections for April 30 and May 10 of 2021. But, Supreme Court on February 23, 2021, reinstated the House declaring that its dissolution was unconstitutional which paved the way for the resumption of voters' registration. The second attempt to dissolve the parliament also was dwarfed by the Apex Court ultimately removing Oli from the post replacing him with Sher Bahadur Deuba. As per the law, a Nepali citizen with naturalized citizenship can register as a voter after crossing 16 years of age, but one can vote only after 18. "I would vote for those who really would keep their words and really give life to statements they make bringing on the changes in society. We had enough with the leaders who promise to develop the nation but fail when it comes to practical implementation or bringing it to life, rather than voting for those I would choose the candidate who really seems to be convincing and bring on the real changes," Shyam Tamang, a voter in his 20's told ANI. After the new update with the announcement of earlier election 16.2 million people are on the electoral roll which is expected to go high by about another million as more than 800 thousand have already registered themselves in the ongoing campaign. During the last parliamentary elections, the number was 15.42 million. Even during the last federal and provincial elections held in 2017, a huge difference was found between the number of voters registered for local elections, held in early 2017, and for provincial and federal elections later that year. The commission had printed and distributed an additional 2.17 million voters' identity cards before the provincial and federal elections after distributing 14.05 million for local elections. (ANI) "A new milestone in #India-#SriLanka economic and energy partnership!!Congratulations to all parties on signing the Agreement to develop Trincomalee Oil Tank Farms. Sincerely appreciate the guidance from the leadership of India and Sri Lanka and support from all Ministers and officials concerned.", tweeted S Jaishankar. Jaishankar on Thursday spoke with his Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka G.L. Peiris. "Greeted FM G.L. Peiris of Sri Lanka in the New Year. A reliable friend, India will support Sri Lanka in these difficult times. Agreed to remain in close touch," Jaishankar tweeted. Trade and investment have grown between both countries and there is cooperation in the fields of development, education, culture, and defence. Both countries share a broad understanding of major issues of international interest, according to MEA. (ANI) The caseload has thus risen to 753,879 while the death toll from the virus went up by 18 to 9,231. Meanwhile, Assem Araji, head of the Health Committee in the Lebanese parliament, said 90 per cent of people in Lebanon are not compliant with proper precautionary measures, leading to the sudden remarkable increase in COVID-19 cases, the National News Agency reported. He warned that the surge in cases is worrisome as the COVID-19 departments in most Lebanese hospitals have closed amid the financial crisis. "We currently only have 916 beds for coronavirus out of 2,500," Araji said. The immigration of a large number of doctors abroad has further complicated the pandemic situation in Lebanon, Araji added. (ANI/Xinhua) Research News Omicron cases in WNY climb; increasing case rates still to come Biochemists Jennifer Surtees and Don Yergeau in the lab in UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences. Surtees leads the effort that is sequencing the COVID-19 virus in Western New York. Photo: Douglas Levere By ELLEN GOLDBAUM Do not equate omicron with the common cold. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences UB scientists who do the genomic sequencing of the SARS-CoV2 virus in Erie County are seeing omicron cases increase, an indication that the region is exhibiting a similar trajectory to national trends. And despite reports of a quick omicron spike in other countries, the UB scientists note there are reasons why that may not be the case here. Based on a batch of 344 samples taken through Dec. 21, the researchers report that the level of omicron in the region at that time was approximately 18%. Omicron was detected in deidentified samples provided by KSL Diagnostics, Catholic Health and Kaleida. This was nearly spot on with the national average of 22% omicron for that period, says Jennifer Surtees, associate professor of biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, who leads the sequencing effort. It is important to note that the sequencing data are not real-time data and that the actual levels of omicron are likely significantly higher. As of Dec. 25, omicron represented an estimated 58.5% of variants in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it continues to climb. Our scientists are continuing to track the incidence of COVID-19 in our community, providing crucial public health information to officials and providers alike, says Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School. We know the omicron COVID-19 variant is more transmissible than other variants, and it is highly likely that this variant is responsible for the recent substantial and stark increase in COVID-19 cases in Erie County, says Erie County health commissioner Gale Burstein, also a clinical associate professor of pediatrics in the Jacobs School. Higher hospitalizations likely Surtees notes that with such high numbers of omicron in Western New York, it is entirely likely that the sheer numbers will lead to higher hospitalizations, even though many people dont experience severe illness. With so many COVID-19 cases being diagnosed, hospitals are strained, partly as a result of capacity in terms of beds, but more importantly because staff are getting infected and getting sick, she explains. As we move further into this wave, hospitalizations will continue to increase because of the sheer number of people being infected. Surtees points out a key difference between the U.S. and South Africa, which has reported a quick peak and lower virulence. The population in South Africa is just younger than in the U.S. and we know that younger people are less likely to get seriously ill from SARS-CoV-2 infection, although some definitely do, she says. For these reasons, public health officials are once again urging people to do everything they can to limit the spread. We are asking people to continue to make choices that protect your health and those around you, Burstein says. Get vaccinated and boosted, wear masks with tight seal to the face, practice social distancing, and stay home and away from others when sick. And please, if there are people in your lives who are more vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age, immunocompromising conditions or vaccination status, make those good choices to protect them, too. Surtees stresses the importance of whats known as the Swiss cheese model of preventing infection, which combines all these approaches: Get vaccinated. Wear good masks cloth masks alone are no longer good enough. Avoid large gatherings, especially indoors when masks cannot be used at all times. Get tested regularly. And recognize that rapid antigen testing is not perfect and can lead to false negatives. A combined approach to preventing infection is best and will lower your risk significantly, she advises. Tom Russo, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School, agreed. Behavior is a critical factor that influences the likelihood of getting infected. Please avoid indoor situations when interacting with individuals outside of your household where masks cannot be used at all times. This usually occurs when eating/drinking is involved. Although the risk of infection is less outdoors, it can still occur when people are close together for a prolonged period of time. Please be careful and use good judgement. Concerns are growing about what looms ahead in the next few weeks based on the increased transmissibility of omicron and evidence that incidence of the variant is continuing to rise. Increased incidence Surtees explains that evidence of the increased incidence of omicron is based, in part, on the presence of whats known as the S gene dropout. Certain types of PCR tests amplify three different genes from the SARS-CoV-2 genome to test for the virus, she says. One of those genes is the S gene, which encodes the spike protein. She explains that when there are small deletions within the spike gene, as is the case with omicron, the short nucleic acids called primers, which are used to amplify the genes, are unable to recognize the S gene, so it isnt amplified. In other words, it will test positive for the other two genes in the test, but there wont be amplification of the S gene, Surtees says. The S gene dropout is therefore a useful proxy for omicron, she says, and it allows us to predict the level of omicron from certain PCR tests, which is closer to real time than sequencing, which currently takes about a week. Not all testing sites use tests that exhibit the S gene, but KSL Diagnostics, a UB testing partner, does. Since May 2020, KSL Diagnostics has been conducting between 15 and 20% of COVID-19 PCR testing in Western New York. In the first two weeks of December, we saw just a handful of S dropouts, accounting for less than 5% of the positive samples, notes Lakshmanan Suresh, founder and managing partner of KSL Diagnostics Inc. The S dropouts started increasing dramatically from the third week of December, and as of today, over 95% of the positive samples in our lab are this type, he continues. Based on what I am seeing out of our lab, I would say that the predominant variant circulating in our community is the omicron variant. Do not equate omicron with the common cold In the cabinet, a decision has been taken that no foreign diplomats will meet any minister without prior information to the foreign ministry. The foreign diplomats can meet ministers after clearance and in the meeting, a representative of the foreign ministry will also remain present, said Pakistan's vernacular media. It came as the controversial foreign funding debate had been going round in Pakistan with the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) headed by Imran Khan remaining under pressure. The report compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)'s on PTI's funding has found that the party is guilty of concealing 53 bank accounts regarding public funding, according to Daily Times. If the PTI is as confident about the order in its house it should honour its word and lend the helping hand to auditors. Information about over Rs 300 million missing from the bank statements should be accounted for. as per the demands of the Pakistan opposition, according to Daily Times. (ANI) The devastating earthquake of 2015 with its epicentre in the mountainous Gorkha district shook the Himalayan Nation of Nepal, claiming nearly 10,000 lives, injuring thousands and displacing over half a million people. Hundreds of families were forced to sleep under the open sky and in a temporary settlement that was full of dangers. As a large number of houses were to be built in a short span of time and the rainy season was approaching followed by winter, the reconstruction drive was going on slowly. Madhu is one of the local Gorkha women who is now a certified trained mason produced during reconstruction drive funded by the Government of India and undertaken by UNDP. Madhu Maya Sunar burst into tears when she remembered her bygone days and said, "I lost my father and mother at an early age. I reeled under days of scarcity and took shelter at my maternal house. I also got married and at that time I hadn't got any skills. After my parents were gone, I didn't have a single penny to buy a piece of cloth either." "But then I realized that I should do something, living in days of scarcity and deprivation should not continue, children also should go to schools, fulfil their demands as well as keep the kitchen fires burning. Then a sense of determination grew in my mind and then I decided to work along with male co-workers: I am no less in comparison to them. I was confident of doing anything and the (mason) training gave it a push." She was able to overcome prejudices that a woman should work only at home. She went around various locations and earned for her family which brought a string of changes in her status. "Those who used to sideline me for knowing nothing now go around mentioning that I have got the skills required at construction sites and am not less than male counterparts. Depending on the situation and timing, I sometimes go to work on the site, sometimes I don't," Madhu added with a smile on her face. The reconstruction drive, which went on from March 2018 to December 2021 in Gorkha, was able to produce over 6,842 masons out of which 424 were women who played a pivotal role in the reconstruction process locally. Being one of the trained female masons Madhu actively took part in the reconstruction of her neighbour's house, a few steps away from hers. "I am really happy and feel good that women also can really bring on the changes and work on these fields," Maya Devi Sunar, the beneficiary whose house was built in active participation of masons like Madhu told ANI. Maya added, "Females previously didn't use to get engaged in these sort of fields earlier but now they have started working on it also after they got the training." Madhu worked along with other male masons after attending training provided by UNDP Nepal which has undertaken the Nepal Housing Reconstruction Project funded by the Government of India in 2019. The available human resource for reconstruction also was semi-skilled and technically there were a lot of flaws in their work but the training provided under the Nepal Housing Reconstruction Project fortified them to correct their weaknesses. "Our support was to how to utilize the local materials and sources and how one person's capacity to carry entire one house building material that consists of all the essentials and then utilizing all local as well as salvage materials they have lost during the earthquake. So that was what we have been advocating and generating awareness amongst the community as well as the beneficiaries," Deepak Tripathi, one of the consultants who worked as a consultant from SEEDS Technical Services- Disaster Management Consultant told ANI. After the earthquake of 2015 and calming of the earth in later days reconstruction drive kick-started in the Himalayan Nation which already bore a loss amounting to NPR 706 Billion, equivalent to 7 Billion USD. Though there was a scarcity of manpower for reconstruction, the increment of women's participation in the bid came over the appalling situation. This also helped them in improving the economic status of their own and less dependent on others to fulfil their needs and desires. "The economic condition was really poor. I used to get a daily wage of about 200 to 50 Nepali rupees through the works done in the field. After getting this training, my wage got increased also got to travel around along with other brothers which boosted my confidence. It has brought a lot of changes in the day to day experience," Madhu Maya said. Equal to male companions, Madhu now gets a daily wage of Nrs. 800 whenever she signs up for construction of houses or goes around for work. The Government of India supported the construction of 50,000 houses in Gorkha (26912 beneficiaries) and Nuwakot (23088 beneficiaries) districts of Nepal. The GoI appointed UNDP and UNOPS as socio-technical facilitation consultants for Gorkha and Nuwakot district respectively in March 2018. The Indian Government had committed US$1 Billion for the reconstruction of Nepal in form of grants and a Line of Credit. US$ 150 million was allocated for reconstruction in the housing sector, US$ 100 million as a grant and US$ 50 million to be drawn from Line of Credit. (ANI) Minorities Alliance Pakistan on Wednesday slammed certain portions of the order of Sindh High Court in the Arzoo Raja case saying that the order amounts to restrictions on the right of freedom of movement of minor girls as provided in the Article 15 of the Constitution and announced that they will go to the Supreme Court. Notably, a 13-year-old Christian girl, Arzoo Raja, in October 2020 was forcibly abducted allegedly by Ali Azhar, a 44-year-old man in Karachi. She was converted and married to him. In the order, the Sindh High Court directed Arzoo's parents to report to the station house officer (SHO) in their area, producing Arzoo before the officer every three months until she turns 18. The court stated that this was needed to ensure that the girl was being treated well by her parents, in accordance with its order, reported The News International. In a press conference, Minorities Alliance Pakistan said "We are surprised that when Arzoo is comfortable to live with her parents, how the learned court presumed otherwise. It is observed that this restriction will keep her traumatised and will negatively affect the emotions and mental health of the minor Arzoo Raja. We are hopeful that the apex court will set a precedent regarding the issue of forced marriages, conversion of minor girls belonging to the religious minorities," The views were expressed by Chairman MAP Akmal Bhatti, President MAP Canada Chapter Nadeem Bhatti, Vice Chairman MAP Shamoun Gill, Abdul Hameed Rana, advocate Supreme Court, in a press conference at the National Press Club, reported The News International. "We strongly believe that the Supreme Court will provide justice to protect the life, honour and beliefs of minority girls," the speakers said and demanded that the president and prime minister of Pakistan should play their role in passing the Prohibition of Forced Conversion Bill. "After the return of Arzoo, our fears about the lives and honour of minor girls have been strengthened. It has become obvious to us that how police, family courts, shelter home and other justice-driven institutions, individually and collectively, discriminate against religion and influence justice through prejudice and hatred. It is extremely dangerous that the kidnappers resort to religion to escape punishment and our institutions and society become their tools," they added. The court also directed her parents to furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs25,000 with one surety in the like amount and give an undertaking that they would not pressurise Arzoo to change her religion as she had told the court that she had willingly converted to Islam, reported Dawn News. Earlier, a two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, had ordered that Arzoo be shifted to a shelter home on November 9, 2020, after a medical board confirmed that she was around 14 years of age and after when she refused to go with her parents, saying she had changed her religion and contracted a marriage of her own accord, reported Dawn News. However, on December 21, Arzoo moved an application with the SHC, seeking to return to her parents' house. The matter was taken up by a division bench of the high court and it allowed the girl to return to her parents and stated that she would not be allowed to meet Azhar. According to the first information report of the case registered on his complaint, Arzoo's father Raja stated that on October 13, he and his wife went to work while their son Shahbaz had gone to school. The complainant said his three daughters, including Arzoo, were present at their home in Railway Colony when he received a call from a relative, who told him that Arzoo was missing from the house, Dawn reported. Naveed Walter, president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) said the minority girls, particularly the Christians and Hindus, are forcefully converted to Islam and married to Muslim men. "The same day's abduction, conversion and marrying is a common practice in such cases and it has happened with Arzoo also in the same sequence," said Naveed. (ANI) He added that how sinful a Muslim maybe, but can never tolerate blasphemy. Abid criticized Pakistani authorities for sentencing Mumtaz Qadri for an act that is permissible and appreciated in Islam. In the 1400 years history of Islam, not a single example is available of such a punishment for a person who killed a blasphemer. Today the souls of Iqbal and Jinnah are asking us whether they had established Pakistan for such crookedness where a protector of the Sanctity of Prophet is termed terrorists and punished, said Pakistan vernacular media. The Imran Khan government removed TLP late last year from the list of organizations linked to terrorism after signing a deal with the outfit that resulted in outrage from the opposition parties. The removal came after weeks of violent protests by the TLP in Pakistan which led to the deaths of a number of police personnel and caused massive unrest in the country. (ANI) Almaty [Kazakhstan], January 7 (ANI/Sputnik): A driver of a camera crew of the Almaty broadcaster was killed in a shootout near the presidential residence in the Kazakh city of Almaty, media reported on Thursday. In the clashes between the rioters and the Kazakh security forces near the president's residence earlier in the day a driver working for the Almaty broadcaster was killed and one reporter was injured, according to MIR24. Meanwhile, the United Nations has seen reports that police officers and protesters have been killed in Kazakhstan, but it is hard for the organization to confirm this information, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. "We've seen the press reports. It's hard for us to confirm that but what is clear is that all demonstrations need to be peaceful," Dujarric said during a press briefing. "People have a right to express their grievances. It needs to be done peacefully. Security forces need to protect that right and show and act with restraint." The spokesman also said all UN personnel, including about 285 international and national staff and 25 employees working from Kazakhstan for the UN Mission in neighboring Afghanistan, are safe and accounted for. The UK government on Thursday voiced concern over violent clashes that had erupted in Kazakhstan and called for peaceful protests and a "proportionate" response from authorities. "We are concerned by the violent clashes in Kazakhstan in recent days and are following developments closely. We call for calm and we condemn acts of violence and the destruction of property and buildings," a spokesperson for the Foreign Office said in a statement. The official also called for a resumption of internet services and urged Kazakh authorities to respect their commitments to freedom of speech and expression. "The UK has a close relationship with Kazakhstan and it is important that Kazakhstan's sovereignty is respected. The UK encourages a peaceful resolution through engagement between the authorities and civil society," the spokesperson added. (ANI/Sputnik) "I look forward to welcoming Ambassador David Satterfield in the coming days as the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa once Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman ends his appointment," Blinken said in a statement via Twitter. Blinken noted that the Biden administration invited Feltman to this position in early 2021 but intended his appointment to last less than a year. "However, the ongoing instability in the Horn of Africa and the region's interlinked political, security and humanitarian challenges demand sustained focus by the United States," he said. Blinken also said he is confident Satterfield will help to promote a peaceful and prosperous Horn of Africa. Feltman will continue working at the State Department in an advisory capacity, Blinken added. (ANI/Sputnik) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shot down speculation that the UK will ease immigration rules for India as part of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Negotiations on an Indo-British FTA are scheduled to begin this month. Sir Edward Leigh, a right-wing Conservative party MP, concerned about reports that Britain was contemplating making such a concession, asked in the House of Commons: "Apparently, the government are thinking of relaxing visa controls for India in order to get a free trade deal. While a free trade deal is valuable in itself, we should not be held to ransom. "Does the Prime Minister agree that our new working-class voters who voted for Brexit did not vote to replace immigration from Europe with more immigration from the rest of the world, any more than that when they were told that we would take back control, we would lose control of the channel? Will he convince us that he is determined to connect to our supporters and control immigration?" To this, Johnson replied: "I do not recognise the account that my honourable Friend has given. We do not do free trade deals on that basis. Indeed, I can tell him that since we took back control, net immigration has gone down. That is all the Opposition wants -- their answer is, everywhere and always, uncontrolled immigration. That is their approach to the economy, and it is not the right way forward. That is why our Nationality and Borders Bill, currently in the House of Lords, is so important -- it will enable us to take back control of our borders properly and tackle illegal immigration." Earlier, The Guardian newspaper had run a story headlined UK ministers eager to ease immigration rules for Indian citizens'. In it, The Guardian reported: "The potential offer will be under discussion when the international trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevalyan, travels to Delhi this month," quoting the UK's Times. The daily further claimed: "Trevelyan is said to have the backing of the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, who is keen to curb China's growing influence in the region. However, they are likely to meet strong resistance from the home secretary, Priti Patel, who opposes the offer." Patel is an interesting case. Of Gujarati-origin, as a child she migrated with her parents from East Africa to Britain. Yet, she has been virulently against immigration in her political career. She was and remains a hard-core Brexiteer and represents a Right-wing anti-immigration constituency in the county of Essex, which adjoins London to the east. The Guardian insisted that visa relaxation options under consideration include a scheme similar to one agreed with Australia (in an FTA), which would allow young Indians the right to live and work in the UK for up to three years. Another would be to cut visa fees for students and allow them to stay in Britain for a period of time after they graduate. Visas for work and tourism -- which can cost up to 1,400 pounds (Rs 1.4 lakh) -- could also be reduced as a sweetener. But such gestures go down badly with Johnson's core Conservative voters. At the same time, it may conceivably be difficult to refuse India the terms given to Australia. The matter can be fudged by having an immigration pact independent of an FTA. --IANS ashis/arm ( 562 Words) 2022-01-06-19:06:05 (IANS) The United States imposed visa restrictions on eight officials from Cuba, for attempts to silence the voices of the people through repression, unjust detentions, and harsh prison sentences, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday (local time). "Due to harsh and unjust sentences handed down to peaceful protesters, the Department of State today took steps to impose visa restrictions on eight Cuban officials implicated in attempts to silence the voices of the Cuban people through repression, unjust detentions, and harsh prison sentences," Blinken said in a statement. He did not specify officials names but noted that all of them were connected to the detention, sentencing, and imprisonment of peaceful July 11 protesters. He also noted that approximately 600 protesters in Cuba remain jailed after the July 11 protests. "These visa restrictions reinforce the US commitment to supporting the Cuban people and promoting accountability for Cuban officials who enable the regime's affront to democracy and human rights," Blinken also said. He added that the United States continues to use all appropriate diplomatic and economic tools to push for the release of political prisoners and to support the Cuban people's call for greater freedom and accountability. (ANI) ACROSS ILLINOIS Over the past month, half of the children admitted to Advocate Aurora hospitals with COVID-19 were under the age of 5 years old and not eligible for a vaccine. Meanwhile, the surge in pediatric patients heading to emergency rooms across the state has jumped significantly in recent weeks, and 25 percent of pediatric COVID-19 patients at Advocate hospitals are requiring care in the intensive care unit, hospital officials said. Top doctors with Advocate Aurora Health spoke Thursday about the effect the fast spread of the omicron variant is having on the states youth. Since mid-December, there's been a three-fold increase in pediatric patients at Advocate Children's Hospitals in Illinois, with, on average, 25 to 34 new pediatric patients each day. Its the highest weve seen since the beginning of the pandemic, Frank Belmonte, chief medical officer of Advocate Childrens Hospitals, said during a press conference Thursday. Advocate Children's Hospitals has two campuses: one connected to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and the other attached to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. At the same time, Advocate doctors discussed ways parents can keep their kids connected to others amid a surge in serious mental health problems spurred, in part, by isolation that's occurred during the pandemic and due to most schools relying on remote learning last year. They also urged a return to mitigation efforts, including mask-wearing and hand-washing. Vaccination, for those who can, was also encouraged. While breakthrough cases have been more prevalent this time around, 94 percent of children hospitalized are unvaccinated, Belmonte said. And I would say almost 100 percent of our patients in the ICU are unvaccinated, he added. We know this specific variant is much more transmissible than the two other previous variants, which is why we are seeing massive spread We also know that it seems to affect children under the age of 5 in a little bit of a different way." Story continues Children are coming to Advocate emergency rooms with more upper airway issues, and symptoms similar to croup and bronchiolitis, Belmonte said. Lower respiratory illnesses similar to pneumonia are also cropping up, said Nekaiya Jacobs, a pediatric critical care physician with Advocate Childrens Hospital in Park Ridge. There are some patients who are severely ill and are requiring a ventilator to help support their heart and lungs and, in our most severe cases, heart and lung bypass, Jacobs said. Here is a closer look at recent statistics regarding pediatric cases in Illinois: Pediatric emergency room visits have historically accounted for less than 3 percent of total visits throughout the pandemic. That number began to climb in early December. Between Dec. 24 and 26, 15 percent of ER visits were children 17 years old and younger. On Dec. 30, 16 percent of ER visits were children 4 years old and younger. Theres been a significant jump in the number of children under the age of 5 years old testing positive for COVID-19 since early December, according to public health data. On Dec. 1, the seven-day rolling average of cases reported for children 4 years old and younger hit 193. As of Tuesday, that number has jumped by more than 1,000, with 1,229 reported cases of COVID-19 for that age group. ER visits do appear to have declined slightly since the New Year. On Wednesday, 10 percent of ER visits were children under the age of 18, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data. Other alarming trends include infants requiring hospitalization and issues hospitals are seeing with children and teens with comorbid psychiatric issues also testing positive for COVID-19 and not being able to receive the care they need in a group setting. A lot of those mental health problems, including some with suicidal idealization and severe anxiety and depression, have been spurred, in part, by isolation, said Laura Yahr Nelson, a pediatric psychiatrist for Aurora Childrens Health. My first message to parents is just to check in with your kids and ask questions, big and small. Really try to connect with and engage with your kids. Even if you ask and they dont give you the answer youd like, theyve heard you try, Yahr Nelson said. Really try to play games, ask to watch their favorite TikTok, go for a walk, it can be really simple. Ask what they are feeling and validate their emotions. Even if youre wrong, they can correct you. And while social distancing and isolation was pushed during the early stages of the pandemic, that is not being encouraged now. Even with the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Try to foster connectedness outside the home. Kids really need relationships. They need relationships with their peers and with supportive adults, Yahr Nelson said. Build those in safe ways in your community. And if youre not vaccinated, do so, so this can be done safely. Maintaining structure, as much as possible, is also important. We want educational intrusions to be as minimal as possible. Kids should maintain normal sleep, waking times, activities, schedules, even if they are not physically at school, Yahr Nelson. As of Wednesday, 66 percent of children under the age of 18 years old were fully vaccinated, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Doctors are hopeful a vaccine will be available for children under the age of 5 years old this spring. This article originally appeared on the Libertyville Patch Photo credit: Brian Silvestro A few months ago, I bought an E46-generation BMW M3 with an astounding 284,000 miles on the clock. My goal with the car: turn it into a comfortable, performance-oriented daily driver. Thankfully the M3s straight-six is healthy, so I spent the last few weeks fixing one minor issue or another. But after 4000 miles of reliability, my M3 finally stranded me. It started in late November. I planned to drive up to Connecticut from New York, and the M3 just wouldnt start. I turned the key and all the lights came on. The fuel pump whirred. But the starter didnt crank. I waited a few seconds, tried it again, and it fired up with no problem. I brushed it off as a fluke. Id forgotten all about this phenomenon when I got back into the car to head back home. What do you know? The car wouldnt start. So a couple friends helped me push start the car, and it fired right up. At this time I thought it was a battery or clutch-sensor issue. Photo credit: Brian Silvestro I got the car back to my shop in an attempt to diagnose it. I attached a jumper box to the terminals to see if the battery was dying. It wasnt. I bypassed the clutch sensor by jumping the wires, but still nothing. A friend of mine even plugged his diagnostic computer into the car to see if it was throwing any codes I didnt know about. But there was no sign anything was wrong. A bit of forum-digging led me to believe my no-start problem may have been a faulty key. When the key battery dies, it cant send a signal to the car, meaning it wont start, even if the key blade matches the ignition. And lucky me, you cant simply pop off the plastic cover and replace the battery with E46-style BMW keys. Its a sealed unit with no access to the battery or circuit board (amazing engineering, Bavaria!). Instead, you have to call up BMW and pay for a new key at a cost of $200. So thats exactly what I did. The best part? That wasnt even the problem. Photo credit: Brian Silvestro At this point I was so fed up, I decided to just take it to my local BMW dealer and have them figure out the problem. I didnt have the time or patience to solve this issue, and I figured that if I couldnt diagnose the problem, it would probably be too difficult for me to fix anyway. Of course, they were able to find the faulty part immediately, and it was something I hadnt even thought of: The starter. I didnt think something as simple as the starter would die without showing symptoms, though considering the cars mileage I probably shouldnt be surprised. The dealer quoted me $1200 to fix the issue. I begrudgingly paid. Story continues Im disappointed I wasnt able to find the problem myself, but also relieved it wasnt something worse. Having my M3 broken for this long derailed my plans a bit, but with high-mileage cars like this, its tough to expect them to stay running at all times. Once I get it back in my hands, Ill be replacing the shifter bushings, the suspension, and the tires. Stay tuned. You Might Also Like Campus News UB, Stony Brook earn flagship status By JAY REY A flagship university sets the standard to which other institutions aspire, so we all have reason to take great pride in todays announcement. UB and Stony Brook University have been designated the flagships of SUNY by Gov. Kathy Hochul, recognizing the two institutions for their status among the nations leading public research universities. The formal designation was announced today by the governor during the annual State of the State Address. The flagship status for UB and Stony Brook is part of a vision to make SUNY the best statewide public higher education system in the nation. The universities in Buffalo and Long Island have long been recognized by their peers nationwide as de facto flagships of the states 64-campus system because of their membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU), composed of Americas leading research universities. But the formal designation by the governor carries new weight statewide, nationally and internationally. A flagship university sets the standard to which other institutions aspire, so we all have reason to take great pride in todays announcement, said President Satish K. Tripathi. On behalf of our entire UB community I would like to thank Gov. Hochul for this significant recognition, which underscores UBs reputation as a premier public research university, recognizing both our vital leadership in public higher education and our steadfast commitment to bringing the benefits of our research, clinical care and education to the region, state, nation and world. Borrowing from a naval term for a fleets lead ship, higher education uses flagship to describe universities that take the lead on public higher education in their state and set an example for the rest of the states higher education system. Public flagships are typically research-intensive, doctoral-granting institutions and preeminent centers for research and graduate education. They also provide a comprehensive array of professional schools and degree programs, and are proven economic catalysts. UB and Stony Brook are New York States only public universities in the AAU, a prestigious group of 66 leading research universities in North America. UB was invited to join in 1989. Today, UB is home to more than 150 research centers and institutes, and its annual research expenditures total more than $422 million. Some of UBs large-center grants include the landmark Womens Health Initiative, for which UB has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1993; the $21.7 million Clinical and Translational Science Award, a renewal of the NIHs original $15 million award; and a $22.5 million Science and Technology Center Award the National Science Foundations most prestigious award which is a renewal of the original $25 million grant. UBs cutting-edge research aligns with many of New York States priorities, including climate science, infectious diseases, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. With annual revenues that exceed $1.3 billion from all sources, UB and its affiliated entities generate an estimated annual economic impact of $1.7 billion. UBs total workforce of more than 6,000 full-time equivalent employees makes it one of the regions largest employers. More than 2,500 scholars make up UBs full- and part-time faculty ranks. UBs faculty have received prestigious awards and recognition, including the Nobel Prize, the MacArthur genius award, the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the Pulitzer Prize, the Grammy Award and election to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Academies. As the largest and most comprehensive research university in SUNY, UB annually enrolls more than 32,000 students across 12 decanal units, offering more than 450 degree programs. For the past four years, UB has been ranked in the top 40 public universities by U.S. News & World Report, including being ranked 38th last year. In the category of best public and private universities, UB has risen 20 spots over the past dozen years. As we seek to situate UB among the nations top 25 public research universities, this flagship designation serves to further our contributions to the SUNY system and to the economic and cultural vibrancy of the region, state and nation by, in part, enhancing our ability to attract even more federal research funding and recruit the very best faculty and students, Tripathi said. Although UB has been tacitly acknowledged as a flagship of the SUNY system for many years, Gov. Hochuls formal distinction positions us for even greater success. Good Thursday morning Connecticut, Two Powerball tickets sold in California and Wisconsin, won the $632 million Powerball grand prize Wednesday night. The top consolation prize in Connecticut was a $50,000 winning ticket. The Connecticut Lottery reports that 41,476 "winning" tickets were sold in Connecticut. Besides the lone $50,000 winner, 32 people won $200, and 71 people won $100. The rest of us won between $4 and $14. The winning Powerball numbers for Wednesday, Jan. 5, are: 06, 14, 25, 33, 46 and the Powerball of 17. Number of children hospitalized due to COVID-19 rising It's no secret that the coronavirus infection rate has been soaring along with the increasing number of residents admitted to hospitals in Connecticut. And WTNH News 8 shares this report that the number of children being treated for COVID-19 at local hospitals has been rising too. At Yale, 46 children were admitted in December and in just five days in January, the hospital has treated 22 children, WTNH News 8 reports. At Connecticut Children's, they are seeing 16-17 children a day, and some are in ICU. Doctors note that most of the hospitalized children have underlying health conditions and that the outcomes have been positive. The doctors also told News 8 that a majority of the cases involve unvaccinated children. (Read more at WTNH News 8). YNH children's hospital exec. dir. Cynthia Sparer; We have children who come to the emergency room with symptoms and are so sick they end up in ICU." https://t.co/7SRUnJN8XU Dave Altimari (@davealtimari) January 6, 2022 Seven Connecticut residents were charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Here's what they're accused of doing and the status of their cases.>>>Read More. Gun Sales Surge In Connecticut Story continues Hearst Connecticut reports that there were 277,000 background checks in Connecticut in 2021, which is a five-year high for the state. The only year with more background checks in Connecticut was in 2016 as 317,000 occurred. (Read the full, in-depth Hearst CT story here). See also: Police said the elementary staff member is accused of falling asleep and possibly being intoxicated while teaching a student. Her attorney strongly disputed that claim in a statement to Patch.>>>Read More. Questions were raised about whether roads were pretreated, and state officials offer an explanation as to why this was the "perfect storm.">>>Read More. The CT Dept. of Public Health has advised schools to focus less on contract tracing, and more on managing students with active symptoms.>>>Read More. This article originally appeared on the Milford Patch Decentralized credit protocol Goldfinch has raised $25 million in a Series A extension round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which had led the protocols $11 million Series A round last June. Goldfinch serves as an open marketplace for loans without collateral using a decentralized loan underwriting process. The Goldfinch protocol extends credit lines to lending businesses, which can draw stablecoins from the Goldfinch pool and then deploy the capital to local borrowers. Goldfinch provides the access to global capital but leaves the loan origination and servicing to the lending businesses. Investors can deposit crypto into the Goldfinch pool to earn yield. When lending businesses make interest payments back to Goldfinch, the money is disbursed to all of the participating investors. Goldfinch has grown its outstanding loan volume from $250,000 a year ago to over $38 million. The protocol is serving over 200,000 borrowers in 18 countries. Goldfinch capital is being used for a wide range of uses, including motorcycle taxis in Kenya and small businesses in Brazil. By removing the need for crypto collateral and providing a means for passive yield, Goldfinch is dramatically expanding lending to more potential borrowers and capital providers, wrote a16z General Partner Arianna Simpson in an announcement post. Other investors in the round included noted hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, crypto investment firm BlockTower and investment management firm Kingsway Capital. Goldfinch also announced in a post on Medium that it was restructuring. The company has launched the Goldfinch Foundation to help move the protocol into its next phase of growth. On the eve of the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, an accused rioter pleaded for Donald Trumps aid in a call from a jailhouse phone in Washington, D.C. Edward Jacob Lang, a 25-year-old from upstate New York charged with assaulting a police officer with a bat, made his last-ditch, Trump-focused cry for help during a Wednesday evening interview with far-right personality Stew Peters. I am so disappointed in Trump for canceling his January 6th press conference, Lang said during the call-in interview, where he noted that he was on the brink of crying as he urged Trump to step up and fight for the defendants, like himself, who have been charged for their roles in the riot nearly one year ago. It just shows how far we have fallen, he continued, where is our rally tomorrow? He added that there should be a hundred thousand people in D.C. tomorrow at the very minimumI am so disappointed with Trump and the American people at large that just do not get behind the January 6 political prisoners. Capitol Rioters Keep Outing Themselves on Social Media President Trump, where are you? Lang asked aloud at one point. You better do a press conference, man, he concluded, addressing the ex-president. We are rotting in jail because we stood up for what you told us to stand up for! Subsequently, Peters, echoing an increasingly common sentiment in Trumpworld, voiced his own frustration with Trump for nixing the press conference hed planned for Thursday, reportedly due to informal advisors cautioning the ex-president that the media event could backfire. We had hoped that Trump would address all of the evidence that the chaos of January 6th was orchestrated by agent provocateurs, the right-wing radio shock jock fumed. Instead, Mar-a-Lago has signaled today a surrender of the narrative. Earlier Wednesday morning, former Trump advisors Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon made their own last-minute pleas to the ex-president to place his counter-programming event back on the books. Story continues Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro Fume Over Trump Canceling Jan. 6 Presser The person who should be holding a press conference tomorrow, above anybody, pounding on the frickin tableparticularly given [the] cesspool in Georgia, the cesspool of Arizonais Donald John Trump, Navarro said on Bannons War Room Pandemic podcast. Call the press conference! said Bannon. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. ALBANY Broad policy proposals, ethics reforms and promises from Gov. Hochul to revive New Yorks COVID-stalled economy drew praise Wednesday from advocates as well as criticism from political opponents. Good government groups largely applauded the governor for laying out environmentally-friendly plans, financial incentives and investments and proposing efforts to combat homelessness and gun violence as the state continues to feel the effects of the pandemic. Hochuls plan to accelerate middle-class tax cuts and state efforts to find Medicaid changes that improve access and care, and lower costs, received high marks from Citizens Budget Commission president Andrew Rein. Her plans span many areas and we commend her intention to ensure New Yorkers who left return and make New York the most business-friendly state in the nation, he said. However, Rein cautioned that the programs presented in Hochuls State of the State address must be affordable or they risk the States future capacity to serve New Yorkers, including those most in need. Reinvent Albany and other groups gave a thumbs up to Hochuls ethics overhauls, which include plans to limit statewide elected officials to two terms and a plan to create a new, independent state ethics commission. We believe this new independent ethics commission is by far the most important reform the Governor can champion to restore New Yorkers faith in their state government and curb abuses of power and conflicts of interest, the group said in a statement. New York Public Research Interest Groups Blair Horner was more cautious in his assessment. While an interesting idea, it is an untested one, and one in which the details will matter, he said. Hochul also received cheers from hospitality groups for expressing support for a law that would allow restaurants and bars to sell to-go cocktails. A permanent version of the popular pandemic policy failed to pass the Legislature last year. Story continues The drinks to go policy provides critically important revenue streams to struggling restaurants and bars and is extraordinarily popular with the public, unsurprisingly, said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. (W)e look forward to toasting her administration and the state legislature once this important policy is reinstated. Environmental groups largely praised Hochuls promises to help combat climate change through investments in clean energy infrastructure, ensuring all school buses are electric by 2035, and plans to enhance wetlands protections and increase funding for state parks. In totality, this is a bold, ambitious, and much-needed agenda to move us toward a green economy, said New York League of Conservation Voters president Julie Tighe. The Empire Centers Bill Hammond noted what he called a glaring omission among Hochuls priorities: planning for another pandemic. If New York is to be better prepared for future outbreaks, there can be no higher priority than investigating and fixing the public health breakdowns of last spring preferably through a commission of independent experts, he advised. Hochuls agenda will likely have broad support in the Democratic-controlled Legislature as she vowed to work with leaders on policies and budget proposals. Republicans, meanwhile, panned many of the governors policy proposals, painting New Yorks future as bleak under continued Democratic rule. You know in your bones that New York is broken, state GOP chairman Nick Langworthy said in a videotaped response. A dangerous combination of incompetence and extreme leftist ideology is destroying what used to be the greatest state in the country. To fix New York, we need a fresh start. We need to take a bottle of bleach to the halls of Albany and clean house, he said. Earlier in the day, state Senate Republicans unveiled their Take Back New York legislative agenda with aims to repeal bail reform, enact a permanent cap on state spending and reduce regulations on everything from childcare to development. Democrat One-Party Rule has been nothing short of a disaster for New York State. From escalating taxes to blatant pro-criminal policies and extreme government overreach, its become harder than ever to live in our communities something reflected in the growing exodus of our fellow New Yorkers., said Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Erie County). Several Canadian airlines are refusing to fly a group of passengers home after they filmed themselves partying maskless last week aboard a chartered Sunwing flight, which prompted the airline to cancel the group's flight home due to public backlash. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the group that was flying from Montreal to Mexico "idiots" in a news conference Wednesday and said their social media posting of a maskless party as COVID-19 surges amid the omicron variant was a "slap in the face." The group included several social media influencers, which led to the videos of the partying on the Dec. 30 flight to go viral. The videos show passengers not wearing masks in close proximity while singing and dancing in aisle seats and a large bottle of vodka being passed around. 2022: The world's safest airline revealed, and it's largely influenced by COVID safety Canceled flights: Stocks tick up after holiday but airlines take a dip Now, the group is stranded in Cancun. Both Air Transat and Air Canada have followed Sunwing's decision to not return any of the passengers home. Ce qui devait arriver arriva. Sunwing aurait decide dannuler le vol qui devait ramener une centaine de Quebecois demain soir a Montreal, au lendemain dimages-chocs publiees par le Journal ou des influenceurs faisaient le party. Autre video de la fete pic.twitter.com/A7ZnTaThtI Francis Pilon (@FrancisPilon_) January 4, 2022 On Twitter, Air Transat cited an obligation to passenger and crew safety in denying the "disruptive passengers" a flight home. Air Canada issued a public statement with a similar sentiment, noting that it will deny flights "to the extent that we can identify the passengers who were part of the group." Story continues Rebecca St. Pierre, a 19-year-old student from Quebec who was a passenger on the plane, told The Canadian Press she's now stranded in Mexico with no way home. She told the outlet she tested positive for COVID-19 and estimated around 30 others also tested positive. St. Pierre said she was on the flight for a free trip contest on Instagram by a social media influencer James William Awad. Awad reflected on Twitter Wednesday, calling the controversy a "simple party." "I will take a moment to sit down and rethink everything. Especially how I can do things better next time," he wrote. Transport Canada said in a public statement that it's been in contact with the airlines. "Should the department determine that non-compliance with Transport Canada regulations and requirements has occurred, fines of up to $5,000 per offence could be issued to passengers," the statement reads. "There will be a full investigation into exactly what went on in this situation," Trudeau said at the Wednesday news conference. "I think like all Canadians who have seen those videos, Im extremely frustrated. We know how hard people have worked to keep themselves safe, to limit their family gatherings at Christmas time, to wear masks, to get vaccinated, to do all the right things, and its slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Canada airlines wont fly partying group home, Trudeau blasts video What was supposed to be a meeting about a new tool to evaluate the Alachua County Public Schools superintendent became a meeting on whether board members were in violation of the state Sunshine Law. The discussion stemmed from a Tuesday email exchange between Superintendent Carlee Simon and School Board Members Robert Hyatt and Gunnar Paulson. Board Members Mildred Russell, Tina Certain and Leanetta McNealy were also copied on the email chain. The exchange between the superintendent and the two board members regarded meeting minutes from Dec. 7. Hyatt and Paulson wanted the minutes before Wednesday's special workshop, where Simon was supposed to introduce her rezoning of Idylwild and Metcalfe elementary schools, and board members would discuss Simon's evaluation. First day of spring semester: As schools begin new semester, omicron variant brings concerns for educators, parents Superintendent, Board Member: Alachua superintendent to school board member: 'I will no longer meet with you privately' Certain raised concern over whether there had been a Sunshine Law violation after a series of made her feel uncomfortable, she said. "I thought it would violate Sunshine because we have not adopted the minutes yet. And any agreement and discussion that we had, we didn't vote on that," Certain said to the board Wednesday. She also said that before the meeting was in session she overheard Gunnar and Paulson talking about the agenda minutes from Dec. 7 and the superintendent's evaluation, which she felt was also a violation of the state Sunshine Law, which requires matters before elected bodies be discussed only in public. Hyatt said at the board meeting he is very sensitive to the Sunshine Law and he has never been involved with breaking it. "I have found since I have become a board member ... as soon as you're (a board member) elected, the Sunshine Law applies," Hyatt said, to the board. According to the Florida statutes, school board members should not meet on actions of policy without being in a public setting or giving reasonable notice of such meeting. Story continues Attorney David Delaney said Certain did express her concerns before the meeting started, and he told Hyatt that any item that could come up for a vote should not be discussed until the gavel comes down. Delaney did not specifically say if there had been a violation. However, in the matter of the emails, he stated that any board member can individually email the superintendent to request an item be placed on the agenda. "It's generally a recommended best practice not copy other board members on emails because, at any time, a board member could respond and say something that seems innocuous, like, 'I think that's a good idea,' or, 'perhaps I would be in favor of that,'" Delaney said to the board. Timeline of emails An 8:30 a.m. email was sent out Tuesday by Paulson to Simon. He requested the minutes from the Dec. 7 meeting for Wednesday's special board meeting. The email was also sent to all board members through their general email account. Simon responded approximately 20 minutes later stating that the minutes aren't required until the week before the next official board meeting and said, "These minutes would not be approved by the board at tomorrow's workshop to use as reference." Simon also said that on Dec. 7, the YouTube feed cut out, and the staff wouldn't have the video to pull from. Hyatt responded at 1 p.m. requesting that "every reasonable" effort be made to have the Dec. 7 school board meeting notes available for Wednesday's special board meeting. Simon responded to Hyatt's email stating that she didn't ask the staff to work over holiday break, and that due to the approval of minutes not being an item on the special board meetings agenda, it wasn't required for the meeting. She also attached a policy on conducting special board meetings. Hyatt returned Simon's email stating that he also didn't expect employees to work holidays or weekends, and that if the minutes couldn't be given it was understandable. Paulson later said in an email that the minutes from the Dec. 7 meeting would have been helpful since the video was not available. He further went into how Simon asked for an extension of her evaluation back in August. The reason for the extended evaluation was so that board members could evaluate her based on a full year's performance rather than a six-month performance from the time she ascended to the role in December. School Board Attorney David Delaney stepped into the email exchange stating school board policy states the minutes would be required at an "actual" board meeting and not a workshop. "Moreover, issues for a school board vote should be listed on the agenda for those meetings. It is not a recommended best practice for boards to work from or make decisions based on unadopted unofficial meetings," Delaney said. The superintendent's evaluation At the special board meeting, Simon introduced document that the board members would use to evaluate her performance. The 13-page form has 43 questions with a grading scale of one through nine, from "needs improvement" to "excellent." The evaluation has to be submitted by board members by Feb. 1 with their own narratives of the superintendent's performance. This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County School Board discusses Sunshine Law violation Jan. 6A new lawsuit is challenging a decision by the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy that emptied Alaska's $410 million higher-education trust fund last year, eliminating a reliable source of funding for college scholarships and the state's equivalent of medical school. On Tuesday, four university students filed suit against Dunleavy and two state agencies in Anchorage Superior Court, seeking to reverse the decision. The plaintiffs asked for summary judgment, which could move the case speedily through the courts. Dunleavy's office issued a statement Wednesday morning saying that the governor has directed the Department of Law to seek fast resolution as well and that funding for the scholarship programs will continue while the lawsuit proceeds. Attorneys representing the students answered questions about the case in writing. "They believe that future Alaska students should have the same level of certainty and opportunity they were given, and therefore filed this suit to return the over $400 million back to the Fund where it belongs. They also recognize that the loss of a dependable funding source for these programs would be detrimental to Alaska's future," the statement said in part. The students are being represented by attorneys from Cashion, Gilmore and Lindemuth, a firm that has repeatedly challenged the Dunleavy administration and includes former officials from the administration of Gov. Bill Walker. Tuesday's suit is almost identical to one filed last year by the Alaska Federation of Natives that challenged the draining of the state fund that subsidizes rural electricity prices. In that case, an Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled against the state and ordered the preservation of the fund. The state declined to appeal that decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, which meant there was no opportunity for a broader ruling that could have prevented additional lawsuits like the one filed Tuesday. Story continues According to the attorneys representing the students, Tuesday's lawsuit is being funded by Providence Alaska the state's largest hospital system and private funds directed by University of Alaska interim president Pat Pitney. A spokesman for the hospital said it is supporting the lawsuit because it believes a steady supply of trained health care workers is critical. In a statement sent to University of Alaska supporters on Tuesday, Pitney said the university supports the lawsuit. "The University of Alaska and the more then 5,500 students who count on funding through the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS), Alaska Education Grant (AEG), and the Washington-Wyoming-Alaska-Montana-Idaho (WWAMI) medical school program need certainty for the future funding of the programs," she said. Before leading the university, Pitney was director of the state's Office of Management and Budget under Walker. In that role, Pitney as had prior budget officials considered the higher-education fund and rural-electricity fund as unaffected by a provision in the state constitution that automatically sweeps unspent money into the state's Constitutional Budget Reserve at the end of the fiscal year. Until 2019, that provision had been annually and uncontroversially stopped and reversed by the Alaska Legislature. But that year, Dunleavy's initial budget proposal called for the sweep to take place, and budget officials re-examined the list of funds subject to the sweep. Budget director Neil Steininger said in a sworn affidavit last year that he believes prior reviews were faulty. The new review, which he participated in, relabeled the higher-education fund and rural-electricity fund as sweepable. Jeff Turner, the governor's deputy communications director, disputes that the relabeling was "a major shift in interpretation." Had the Alaska Legislature continued to stop and reverse the sweep, the reclassification wouldn't have mattered. But in 2021, legislative Republicans' opposition caused the reverse sweep to fail and dozens of funds to be drained. While programs supported by those funds are still running, they will now compete with other priorities in the state's annual budget process and are more vulnerable to cuts. In his statement Wednesday, Dunleavy said he is not proposing cuts to the scholarship programs. "I have supported scholarship funding every year I have been in office and will continue to do so. Alaska's students can be assured their scholarships will continue to be funded regardless of this lawsuit," he said. Scholarships are funded through the spring semester, but those paid in the fall semester the 2022-23 school year are subject to the budget that will be considered in the upcoming legislative session. Thousands of undelivered packages were found in the home of an Amazon driver in Oklahoma (Facebook/Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office) Three people have been arrested in connection with theft in which investigators found a home filled to the brim with thousands of Amazon delivery packages. The Oklahoma county sheriffs office, in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, identified the suspects as Cesar Yasnier Cerqueira Rojas, Dinneris Matos Delgado, and Maikel Perez Laurencio. The three face 15 felony counts of possession of stolen property and embezzlement. Ms Delgado has also been charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Meth). The theft was discovered after officials responded to an illegal dumping complaint in the area on 30 December last year. When they arrived, deputies found about 600 empty Amazon packages dumped on the ground. Deputies also found a garbage bag containing an envelope with an address and a receipt from a local store, the statement said. Officers then visited the address after obtaining a warrant and found thousands of undelivered Amazon packages inside. Packages were stored throughout the home in almost every room and filled the storm shelter, the statement said. It would have been easy to write this off as an illegal dumping case; but our deputies recognised this was much more serious and contacted investigators, said sheriff Tommie Johnson III. Our investigators quickly identified a suspect and followed through to bring this case to a successful conclusion. Investigators said two of the three suspects were illegal immigrants, even as the authenticity of their identity proofs was still being determined. Investigators believe Cesar Yasnier Cerqueira Rojas, an illegal immigrant from Cuba, was working as a third party driver for Amazon; delivering packages using a truck owned by 37-year-old Dinneris Matos Delgado, a legal immigrant from Cuba, the sheriffs statement said. Investigators believe Rojas may have loaded extra pallets on to the truck and brought them to the South Birch address where they were opened, it added. Story continues Mr Laurencio, also termed an illegal immigrant by investigators, was another third-party driver involved in the theft. Its important to note, we are working to verify the identities of Rojas and Laurencio. They provided us with identification from Cuba, but we question whether the IDs are authentic (sic), the sheriffs office said. The packages have been returned to Amazon, the sheriffs office said. Every one of these packages was supposed to be delivered by Christmas Day, sheriffs spokesperson Aaron Brilbeck told KFOR-TV. So, 600 people didnt get their Christmas gifts as a result of this, he added. We are thankful for the quick investigative work of the Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office and are committed to taking care of any customers who may have been impacted by this criminal activity, said Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon. Customers missing packages are encouraged to report any delays to Amazon customer service so we can work quickly to make it right, she added. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is set to appear in court virtually on Friday as prosecutors move to dismiss a groping case against him. Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced earlier this week that he would not be pursuing criminal charges against Cuomo in the case despite "credible evidence" that supported the allegations against him. "My Office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York," Soares said. On Thursday, Judge Holly Trexler informed the prosecution and defense that they, as well as Cuomo, will be required to appear in court virtually this week, The Associated Press reported. A motion to dismiss the case from Cuomo's attorney, Rita Glavin, was also entered on Thursday, the AP noted. "Given the District Attorney's declination to prosecute this matter, the Court should dismiss the case to avoid intruding upon the role of the prosecutor," Glavin wrote. Last year Brittany Commisso, a former executive assistant for Cuomo, came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against the then-governor. Commisso alleged that Cuomo "reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast." She filed a criminal complaint with the Albany County Sheriff's office in August 2021. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Antonio Brown Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Days after he walked off the field during a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, Antonio Brown is accusing the team of an "ongoing cover-up." The wide receiver was seen removing his jersey and leaving the field during a Sunday game against the New York Jets, after which Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians said, "He is no longer a Buc." While it wasn't clear at the time what prompted his dramatic exit, Brown in a new statement alleged he was cut after being pressured to play with an ankle injury. Brown said he "relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured" and was injected with a "sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using" but took a seat on the sideline when he could no longer perform. "My coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?'" Brown alleged. "I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that. It was well-documented and we had discussed it." Despite this, Brown alleged the coach then told him "that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs," and he says he removed his jersey because "they threw me out like an animal and I refused to wear their brand on my body." He denied quitting the team and accused the Bucs of an "ongoing cover-up" about the situation. "They are acting like I wasn't cut and now demanding that I see a doctor of their choice to examine my ankle," Brown says, adding he had an MRI Monday showing "broken bone fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss." Arians has denied that Brown told him he was injured. But the wide receiver's attorney in a statement to ESPN accused the team of trying to "avoid responsibility for ignoring the risk of serious injury for the sake of winning a game." You may also like California deputy DA opposed to vaccine mandates dies of COVID-19 Amid unrest over fuel prices, Kazakhstan government resigns Paraguayan soldier dies after being gored by deer on grounds of presidential residence PHOENIX An Arizona police officer was officially fired on Wednesday after the department completed its internal investigation into the shooting that killed 61-year-old Richard Lee Richards in November, the Tucson Police Department announced in a news release. Surveillance video of the Nov. 29 shooting shows Richards, 61, entering a Lowe's in a wheelchair before an officer, later identified as Ryan Remington, fires his gun nine times at Richards' back and side. Richards was pronounced dead shortly afterward. Before Richards entered the Lowe's, a Walmart employee had reported Richards was suspected of shoplifting a toolbox, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said at a news conference. When asked to show a receipt, the Walmart employee told police that Richards pulled out a knife and said, "Here's your receipt." Remington was working off-duty as security at Walmart and has been with the department for four years. Magnus said that Remington would be fired. The following day, the police department began the process of firing Remington. He was officially fired on Wednesday, more than a month later and a day shy of his fifth anniversary with the department. According to the news release, Remington could appeal the department's decision within 10 days, though it's unclear if he would. Remington's attorney, Mike Storie, was not immediately available to comment. The Pima County Attorney's Office was reviewing the fatal shooting for possible criminal charges against the officer. 'WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE WHOLE SYSTEM': Experts sound off on how to end police code of silence What we know about the shooting A Walmart employee shortly after 6 p.m. on Nov. 29 reported Richards was suspected of shoplifting a toolbox, officials previously said. Remington, working off-duty as security at Walmart, responded. According to the employee, when asked to show a receipt, Richards pulled out a knife and said, "Here's your receipt." Richards, in his motorized wheelchair, then headed toward the Lowe's store across the parking lot in south Tucson, Arizona, officials said. Story continues Remington followed Richards around the parking lot and can be seen on video calling for backup because Richards "pulled a knife on me." Officer Stephanie Taylor responded, arriving at the scene as Remington was approaching Richards near the Lowe's entrance. Footage from her body-worn camera shows her running out of her vehicle toward Richards. "You need to stop," someone is heard saying, and then, "He's got his knife in his other hand." As Remington says, "Do not go to the store, sir," Taylor draws her gun, too. Video captured by Lowe's security cameras show Richards entering the store in a wheelchair followed by the two officers with their guns drawn a few feet behind him. "Stop now. You need to " Taylor begins saying but is interrupted by Remington firing his gun. Richards was facing away from the officers when Remington fired his gun nine times at Richards' back and side, body camera footage shows. Richards immediately fell out of the wheelchair as Remington rushed toward him and handcuffed the man, who remained crumpled on the ground. Who is ex-officer Remington? Remington had been with the Tucson Police Department for four years. In a statement, Storie that Remington had no nonlethal options." "He did have a Taser, but in his mind, he couldnt use it because he didnt feel he had the proper spread to deploy it, with the wheelchair between him and Richards, Storie said. "To be very clear, I am deeply disturbed and troubled by officer Remington's actions," Magnus said at a news conference after the shooting. "His use of deadly force in this incident is a clear violation of department policy and directly contradicts multiple aspects of our use of force and training." Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said Remingtons actions were unconscionable and indefensible and the county attorneys office has her support as it proceeds with its investigation. The shooting happened a day after Tucson police announced it was investigating another incident involving an off-duty officer who restrained two women on the ground outside a restaurant. Contributing: Julie Luchetta, Arizona Republic This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona police officer Ryan Remington fired after fatal shooting probe The New York Times Oleg Y. Tinkov was worth more than $9 billion in November, renowned as one of Russias few self-made business tycoons after building his fortune outside the energy and minerals industries that were the playgrounds of Russian kleptocracy. Then, last month, Tinkov, the founder of one of Russias biggest banks, criticized the war in Ukraine in a post on Instagram. The next day, he said, President Vladimir Putins administration contacted his executives and threatened to nationalize his bank if it d The Town & Gown Players building on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021 in Athens. Five organizations in Athens will have their rent either remain or decrease to $1 for spaces leased from the local government, following a unanimous vote from the Athens-Clarke County Commission on Tuesday. The commission was originally slated in December to decide the fate of lease costs for the organizations, during which time commissioners were presented with an option that would increase rent for two of these organizations, including Town & Gown Players community theater. Officials from the theater and community supporters opposed the potential rent increase, which currently is set at $1. The vote on rent was delayed and a month later, a new option was presented by commissioners. Background: Some local organizations rent from ACC for just $1. Upcoming vote may change that. More: Athens-Clarke County calls for applicants for Public Safety Civilian Oversight Board In the first commission meeting of 2022, a commission-defined option was outlined by commissioners Tim Denson, Ovita Thornton, and Melissa Link that would extend a $1 rent for select nonprofits for another year. These nonprofits that qualify are ones that submitted a document called a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), which outlines to government officials how their agency benefits the community and where they asked to continue rent reduction or continuation. Five organizations in Athens submitted CBAs, including Athens Tutorial, East Athens Development Corporation, Hancock Community Development Corporation, Historic Athens, and Town & Gown Players. Town & Gown was one group that would have seen a rent increase, which officials argued would harm the organization. In their CBA, Town & Gown officials asked to maintain a $1 rent. The vote on Tuesday would have set the annual leases for the next fiscal year to be $1 for all tenants that had an accepted CBA, which would lower the rent for three additional organizations. Historic Athens is another organization that also paid a $1 rent, while Athens Tutorial, Hancock Community Development Corporation and East Athens Development Corporation have their current rent set at varying amounts ranging from $3,500 to $12,000. Story continues One stipulation for maintaining the $1 rent is that qualifying tenants will have to have the leadership of their organization complete diversity, equity, and inclusion training. The vote by commissioners only set the $1 rent price for Fiscal Year 2023, and within the next six months, government officials will have to meet with the organizations to discuss creating an equitable rental agreement for Fiscal Year 2024. This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens- Clarke approves $1 rent for Town & Gown, others Leer en espanol aqui Though city of Austin officials know the majority of people who live here use a smartphone, they need help figuring out the types of challenges residents face when they try to use the internet and feedback from those already dealing with social inequity, including older adults and people of color, is a priority. The city is seeking participants for focus groups on digital inclusion. The goal is to understand what Austin residents' experiences are when trying to access the internet and to find solutions that will bridge technology and internet access gaps. To conduct the surveys and focus groups, which will begin this weekend, the city partnered with Measure, an Austin-based nonprofit research and public education organization seeking to help communities solve social problems through data measurement, consultative services, research and advocacy. More: Austin may be a tech hub, but its most vulnerable populations still lack internet access In Austin, the communities that face barriers to digital access are people of color, low-income families and single-person households, older adults, Austin residents with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities, city officials said. About 93% of Austin residents use the internet at home on devices including phones, laptops and other computers, according to the city's most recent residential survey of technology access. But that number does not show disparities among communities or levels of access. Although smartphone use is widespread, access gaps remain for laptops, desktop computers and tablets, particularly for accessing education, employment and health information. The gaps in access have disproportionally affected marginalized communities and have existed since internet use became widespread in the 1990s. In Austin, these gaps in internet and technology access were exposed more significantly through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters such as the 2021 February freeze. Story continues As a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, the sessions, which will be held for Spanish-speakers Jan. 8 and for English-speakers Jan. 10-11, will be virtual. However, residents who are interested in participating who do not have access to a smartphone or a computer can join by dialing into the session with their phone. Participants also will be given the option to use the Austin Public Library computer labs, said Paulette Blanc, Measure's chief of research. Anyone can register, but only eight people will be selected for each focus group session. Selected participants will receive $100, Blanc said. The research and focus groups began in September and were done in English, Spanish and Dari (one of Afghanistan's main languages). The findings will be released to community groups and to the city of Austin, Blanc said. "The facilitators, we'll guide the conversation but we just want to know what it's like for (residents) in this digital age," Blanc said. "What are their experiences accessing the internet? What are the challenges they are facing? What has been helpful? In that way, the city can invest on those resources that have been helpful." How to register for the digital inclusion focus groups The digital inclusion focus groups sessions will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. (Spanish session) Jan. 8 and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10 and 11. To sign up and receive instructions to participate, fill out the form at www.surveymonkey.com/r/digitalATX or text 512-487-7752. Austin American-Statesman reporter Natalia Contreras can be reached at 512-626-4036 or ncontreras@statesman.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook, @NataliaECG. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin seeks residents' input to help bridge internet access gaps Watch: Colston statue verdict is not green light for political vandalism One of the BLM protesters cleared of criminal damage over the toppling the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol has denied the verdict condoned political vandalism. The bronze memorial to the 17th century slave merchant was pulled down during the protest on 7 June 2020, before being rolled into the water. Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, were caught on CCTV passing the ropes around the statue that were used to pull it down. Jake Skuse, 33, was accused of orchestrating a plan to throw it in the harbour. On Wednesday, all four were cleared by a jury at Bristol Crown Court after almost three hours of deliberations following a two-week-and-two-day trial. Milo Ponsford, left, Sage Willoughby, second left, Jake Skuse , second right in mask, and Rhian Graham right, were cleared of criminal damage on Wednesday. (PA) Questioned on the verdict on Thursday morning, Graham denied it signalled a green light for political vandalism. She told Good Morning Britain: I completely understand peoples concerns and I really dont think this is a green light for everyone to just start pulling down statues. This moment is about this statue in this city in this time. I will leave the fate of monuments in other cities to the citizens of those cities. Rhian Graham denied the verdcit signalled a 'green light for political vandalism'. (PA) Protesters throw the statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest rally last year. (PA) But, speaking on the same show, political commentator Calvin Robinson said the verdict doesnt set a very good precedent. He explained: It's almost vigilante in mindset that you can just tear down a statue if you don't agree with it What they should have done is asked for a referendum how does Rhian know she speaks for the majority? If we want to remove a statue we should do so properly in a civilised manner this precedent will let people copy this across the country. Watch: Moment protesters tear down Edward Colston statue All four defendants in the trial admitted their involvement but denied their actions were criminal, claiming the statue itself had been a hate crime against the people of Bristol. Legal expert Adam Wagner said on Twitter said the verdict doesnt set a legal precedent as the decision was made by a jury and anyone damaging property in future would have no way of knowing if a jury would convict or acquit them. Story continues Nevertheless, transport secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday morning that the government will close a potential loophole allowing individuals to possibly get away with damaging statues. He told BBC Breakfast: We do have a clause in the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill which will perhaps close a potential loophole and mean you cant just go round and cause vandalism, destroy the public realm, and then essentially not be prosecuted. Shapps insisted destroying public property is unacceptable, adding to Times Radio: We live in a democratic country. If you want to see things changed you can get them changed, you do that through the ballot box, or petitioning your local council, etc. You dont do it by going out and causing criminal damage. (centre left to right) Sage Willoughby, Jake Skuse, Milo Ponsford and Rhian Graham celebrate the verdict outside Bristol Crown Court. (PA) Tory MP Robert Jenrick also hit out at the verdict, tweeting that we undermine the rule of law if we accept vandalism and criminal damage are acceptable forms of political protest. But historian David Olusoga, who provided expert evidence for the defence at the trial, welcomed the court verdicts. He told Good Morning Britain: That statue standing there for 125 years was validating the career of a mass murderer. And to people whose ancestors were enslaved by Colston and men like him, it is offensive, and you can talk to thousands of people in Bristol who found it offensive. So I think this idea that a statue is somehow benign or harmless, I think that depends on your experience, where youre coming from and what your family background is. Olusoga added: Most people dont understand the details of this history, of this statue, and the long campaign to have it removed peacefully. An estimated 3,750 of damage was done to the statue including removing its staff and a coat tail and 350 of damage was caused to the railings of Peros Bridge. The court heard Colston was involved in the enslavement and transportation of more than 80,000 people, of which almost 10,000 were children. An estimated 19,000 died on ships bound for the Caribbean and the Americas. Watch: Defendants cleared of Colston statue criminal damage The Bahamas' government is scrapping plans to enforce more stringent pre-arrival testing requirements among vaccinated travelers this week. While Prime Minister Philip Davis said in late December the Bahamas would no longer accept rapid antigen pre-departure tests from vaccinated travelers starting Jan. 7, officials said Tuesday it would be suspending that requirement. Fully vaccinated travelers and those under 12 may continue to show either a negative PCR test or rapid antigen test to enter, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. Unvaccinated travelers ages 12 and older must still present a negative PCR test and cannot use rapid tests. Travelers under the age of two continue to be exempt from testing requirements. The Bahamas updated its entry requirements this week, suspending plans to accept only PCR tests from fully vaccinated travelers. The Bahamas also updated its post-arrival testing requirement. As of Tuesday, travelers staying longer than 48 hours must take a rapid antigen test, regardless of vaccination status. Previously, only tourists staying longer than four nights and five days were required to take another test. The updated entry requirements come on the heels of Davis' announcement in late December that the country would no longer accept pre-departure coronavirus tests taken more than three days prior to arrival instead of five. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Bahamas has a high level of COVID-19 cases and advises travelers to be fully vaccinated before entering. The country reported nearly 2,500 new cases within the past week, its highest weekly case count to date, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Hours in line or a $110 test: How the COVID test shortage is 'frustrating' Puerto Rico visitors What are the Bahamas' testing requirements for entry? Under the new entry requirements, vaccinated travelers ages two and older entering from another country must: Take a negative coronavirus test (either a rapid antigen test or PCR test) no more than three days before arrival. If staying longer than 48 hours, take a rapid antigen test. Story continues Meanwhile, unvaccinated tourists traveling from another country are required to: Take a negative PCR coronavirus test no more than three days before arrival if 12 and older. Take a negative PCR or rapid antigen test no more than three days before arrival if between the ages of 2 and 11. If staying longer than 48 hours, take a rapid antigen test. Caribbean travel: CDC urges travelers to avoid Aruba due to a 'very high level of COVID-19' Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bahamas travel: Country updates testing requirements for entry A birthday celebration fit for a queen has pivoted to a memorial for the last of Americas treasured Golden Girls. On what wouldve been her 100th birthday, Betty Whites hometown is set to pay a fitting tribute to the late television icon. The star of landmark sitcoms such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland who died Dec. 31 just three weeks shy of her Jan. 17th centennial will have a day named after her in Oak Park, Illinois. Due to the nationally Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance on Jan. 17, event organizer Lourdes Nicholls told The Daily News on Thursday that official festivities will commence Jan. 15, with festivities kicking off at 10 a.m. The Saturday event will include a giant birthday cake made by Turano Baking Company, a Betty White mural contest, a pet adoption event (with The Animal Care League) and the lighting of the local Lake Theatres marquee. Local businesses will feature specials of Whites favorite foods which she said in 2012 were hot dogs and Red Vines and potato chips and French fries. A performance by Cindy Fee, the fellow Oak Parker who sang the iconic Golden Girls theme song, Thank You for Being a Friend is also scheduled. Oak Park is not quite St. Olaf but we are proud to be Betty Whites real hometown, Nicholls shared, referencing the Minnesota birthplace of Whites Golden Girls character Rose Nylund. We look forward to celebrating her on January 15th. Though raised in Los Angeles since early childhood, White was born at West Suburban Hospital in 1922 and lived with her parents in an apartment on Pleasant Street and a house on North Taylor Avenue. Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman is scheduled to give a proclamation for Betty White Day and a representative from the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest will give a speech on what Oak Park looked like 100 years ago. Betty White, as a true optimist, made the choice every day to be happy, Scanlan told The Daily News. Embracing the memory of her amazing life and taking the time to honor her feels like a symbol of hope. She has given us so much to smile and laugh to. We are proud to know and celebrate her connection to the Village of Oak Park. Story continues Whites 100th birthday is also being celebrated on social media with the Twitter hashtag #BettyWhiteChallenge, encouraging fans to donate $5 (or more) to local animal shelters or rescue organizations in her name, or if possible to adopt a shelter pet. The five-time Emmy Award winner and Television Hall of Famer famously championed care and love for all animals. Both my mother and father were tremendous animal lovers, she told Smithsonian Magazine in 2012. They imbued in me the fact that, to me, there isnt an animal on the planet that I dont find fascinating and want to learn more about. That year, she authored the book, Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo. Just last month, Ray Richmonds biographical celebration Betty White: 100 Remarkable Moments in an Extraordinary Life was published. Duluth, MN (55816) Today Rain showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High 47F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Overcast. Low near 35F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. President Biden wipes his eyes as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) For the better part of the last year, President Biden has sought to ignore his predecessor as he has tried to deliver on a campaign promise to return the country to some semblance of political normality. But in a passionate speech at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday marking the one-year anniversary of the bloody insurrection, Biden essentially acknowledged he could not reconstruct a world before Donald Trumps tenure, nor could he deliver on his promise of protecting democracy without calling out the former presidents role in lying about the 2020 election results and inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol. For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol, Biden said from Statuary Hall, a historic chamber in a Capitol building that Biden, a former senator, reveres. Biden avoided using Trumps name, following a practice he has tried to abide since taking office on Jan. 20. But it hardly mattered. Like a prosecutor delivering a closing argument, the president methodically detailed Trumps conduct as the slow-motion riot accelerated. He said that Trump lit the fuse and watched the mayhem unfold on television from the White House, doing nothing, for hours, to stop it. In concluding his case, Biden hit hard in suggesting Trumps motive: His bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution, Biden said. He cant accept he lost. This was not a commemoration filled with calls for unity or a return to normality as much as it was a plea for Americans to accept the truth of what happened a year ago. There was no attempt to say the nation had healed and has come together with common purpose or belief. On the contrary, Biden spent much of the address debunking Trumps claims of a rigged election, point by point, asking why many of the Republicans who have supported the former presidents fraud claims have not disputed their own victories, on the same ballots. Story continues Few thought such a speech would be necessary a year after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, inflicted injuries on more than 100 police officers, contributed to the deaths of five people and forced the evacuation of lawmakers from the complex. Biden certainly hadnt anticipated needing to make such an address. He pitched his candidacy on the idea that he was a seasoned hand who had worked across the aisle, one of the grown-ups in the room. The nation, he believed, could snap back from a twice-impeached president who smashed norms and challenged bedrock institutions. The thing that will fundamentally change things is with Donald Trump out of the White House, Biden said in his first 2019 campaign visit to New Hampshire, you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends. On the night he was declared winner of the election, Biden still believed healing would come. Its time to put away the harsh rhetoric, to lower the temperature, to see each other again, to listen to each other again. To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy, he said. But many elected Republicans and conservative media figures even those who once agreed Biden had won the election or who texted Trump begging him to stop the insurrection have since paid Trump homage at his Florida home. They have amplified his false rhetoric. The lies have taken hold on the rank and file in the party: 3 in 4 Republican voters in a recent National Public Radio poll agree with Trump that there were real cases of fraud that changed the results. The closest Biden came to reaching across the aisle on Thursday was an offer to work with Republicans who accepted the election and a concession that some courageous men and women in the Republican Party are standing against the lies. But even then he went only so far, quickly pivoting back to his harsher argument: Too many others are transforming that party into something else. Biden seemed to understand that his words were unlikely to win him Republican converts and the risk of further politicizing the event. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, acknowledged in a statement Thursday that he cannot believe that a mob was able to take over the United States Capitol during such a pivotal moment certifying a presidential election. He then blasted Bidens speech on Twitter, saying it was a brazen politicization of January 6. The presidents willingness to attack Trump, if not in name, will come as a relief to some Democrats who believe Bidens determination to seek bipartisanship and convey normality has slowed his agenda. In particular, they believe his strategy has prevented him from articulating the full case for a voting rights bill in the face of Republican-led efforts at the state level to change the rules. They point to senators like Graham, who once prided themselves as bipartisan deal makers, as evidence of a changed party. Biden has resisted giving up on his view that the parties can work together and will probably point as evidence to his $1-trillion infrastructure bill that he signed in November. But Republican leaders were absent from Thursdays commemoration and are likely to drive an even harder partisan wedge as this years midterm election approaches. Those who see this moment as an emergency for American democracy may have finally gotten the speech they wanted. As he was leaving the Capitol on Thursday morning, Biden was asked whether calling out Trump would lead to more division than healing. The way you have to heal, you have to recognize the extent of the wound, Biden told reporters. You cant pretend. This is serious stuff. Times staff writer Eli Stokols contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. When the torrential rains of Tropical Storm Ida caused widespread flooding across Norwich last summer, city officials watched with concern as the engorged Yantic River threw itself against the Sherman Street Bridge. While the river didnt go over the banks, the bridge was blocked off due to the force of the water hitting it. Its very telling of its condition, or lack of at this point, Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said. The Sherman Street Bridge is one of 23 bridges in New London County rated in poor condition, according to U.S. Department of Transportation National Bridge Inspection data. Forty-five, including many of the 23, are rated on a separate scale as being in need of repair or corrective action. See the data yourself: New London, Connecticut bridge inspections Brian Long, Norwich city engineer, looks at one of two bridges called the Sherman Street Bridge over the Yantic River in Norwich Tuesday that are out for bid to be replaced in a two-year project scheduled for this April. Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments Executive Director Jim Butler said most of the bridges in the area - there are 445 total bridges in the county - are in safe and decent shape, as bridges are inspected regularly based on state and national regulations. State-owned bridges, from Gold Star to Mohegan-Pequot In terms of state-owned bridges, locals in New London County rely on the Gold Star Bridge for travel. Butler said there has been recent work on the southbound span of the bridge, which was mostly funded by the Let's Go CT program during the Dannel Malloy administration, and that the twin span will be upgraded in the coming years. More: Federal agency ruling deals Killingly power plant a serious blow this week Pedestrian access on the Gold Star Bridge is a concern for Butler, as its important for people who might choose to walk, or people who dont have an automobile. Such access has been placed on the southbound bridge, and he wants the state to study if something on the northbound bridge would be needed. Its pretty scary if youre running or walking up there, and you hear someone yell bike! Butler said. Another one of the local state-owned bridges that people are concerned with is the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge, which straddles the Montville and Preston town lines. Story continues The Mohegan-Pequot Bridge, is a steel girder bridge, in Montville and Preston that spans the Thames River. While there are aspects of the bridge that have a low score, including deteriorated pier and abutment protection and approach guardrail ends, the bridge overall is considered to be in fair condition. Butler said the bridge needs new spans, as the existing ones cant be widened to accommodate four lanes of traffic. Montville Mayor Ron McDaniel said this expansion would help prevent car crashes that cause shutdowns of the only other major bridge across the Thames." It's a lengthy detour to cross the river by the Gold Star Bridge, or get to the other side by traveling further north. More: Norwich opts in to opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. The city asked for $80 million. The state Department of Transportation looked at the bridge for an environmental impact statement over 10 years ago, Butler said, when the nearby Preston Riverwalk plans were first proposed. Improvements to that bridge were part of a three-part plan to improve the flow of traffic to that area and the casinos. (The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments) has consistently reminded DOT of the need for the bridge, should the Mohegan-owned Preston Riverwalk site be developed, Butler said. More on the Riverwalk:Connecticut will soon see billions of federal dollars. How will that help Norwich? Butler also wants pedestrian access on the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge. Norwich bridges, including Sherman Street Municipally-owned bridges are also of concern. In Norwich, the Sherman Street Bridge was found to be in poor condition, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation data, and the city has been working on replacing it, with the project going out to bid on Dec. 22 and work expected to start in the spring. Katherine Rattan, Transportation Program Manager for the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, said the project is set to cost $14 million, with the cost burden, as The Bulletin reported in 2019, being 80% federal funds, 10% state funds, and 10% city funds. Right now, a section of the bridge is closed to limit traffic. More: Looking to get - and stay - fit? Experts recommend patience and consistency Long mentioned that there will also be work coming for the bridge over Trading Cove Brook, which is shared by Montville. That work is related to the surface of the bridge, but the structure is in good shape. The city is also thinking about culvert replacements, as some have been inspected, like bridges. The city has also worked on some bridges in the recent past, including the Sunnyside St. Bridge, which was reconstructed in the 2020 construction season. Before that, there was a replacement on the bridge on Pleasant St. by Otrobando Ave. The MoheganPequot Bridge, is a steel girder bridge, in Montville and Preston that spans the Thames River. As for state-owned bridges in Norwich, Long said there was work on the Scotland Road Bridge in 2019 and the state will work on Lawler Lane over I-395, set to cost 5 million. Between those two, Nystrom said the one on Scotland Road was in worse shape, which is why it was an around-the-clock project to get it done before the school year that year. More: Conn. is letting students spend COVID relief money. How's it work? How much do they get? All of these are important to the infrastructure, Nystrom said. You cant lose sight of them. Butler also said the Sherman St. Bridge has been a priority for the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments. That will be a big project, he said, with rerouting and traffic disruptions, though the city has worked with the state to accommodate important vehicles like ambulances and school buses. One of two bridges called the Sherman Street Bridge over the Yantic River in Norwich are out for bid to be replaced in a two-year project scheduled for this April. Beyond these bridges, there are others in the area that locals would like to see receive attention. More: Will home prices keep climbing in 2022 or stabilize? Conn. real estate agents weigh in. Back in February, State Senator Cathy Osten wrote a letter to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Congressman Joe Courtney that other local bridges were in need of funds, including the raising of the Groton Long Point Bridge over Palmers Cove, and the rehabilitation of Lantern Hill Bridge in Ledyard and the rebuilding of the Wiftford Brook and Mystic River bridge. Any of those local bridges that need to get done, need to get done, Osten said. When will these bridges see repairs? While the Sherman Street Bridge awaits a construction contract - after the December bidding process began - officials in the region put together plans for spans in poor condition. Kafi Rouse, the communications director for the Connecticut Department of Transportation stated the department is planning the rehabilitation projects for the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge, and a project scope would be released in the next several weeks. Brian Long, Norwich city engineer, looks at one of two bridges called the Sherman Street Bridge over the Yantic River in Norwich Tuesday that are out for bid to be replaced in a two-year project scheduled for this April. Rattan said the group recently went through the capital plan process with the state Department of Transportation. Along with the Gold Star, Rattan said the Council of Governments is focusing on bridges at I-84 in East Lyme, Old Lyme River Road, the Sherman St. Bridge, Beaver Brook Road in Franklin, and Beebe Cove in Groton, among others. Rattan said much of this is funded through various kinds of state and federal funds, including funds from the National Highway Performance Program, and the Surface Transportation Program from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. More: One defendant was found guilty of Griswold triple murder. What's next for his sister? For some of the other bridges in Montville, McDaniel said he wants to prioritize items on the towns bridge program in the event funding becomes available, but it's still a matter of seeing how the money will get moved, and the wait for a funding opportunity, like an EDA grant or something similar. More: The COVID-19 pandemic gave a boost to Norwich Golf Club revenues how long will it last? On Dec. 17, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthals office announced Connecticut is slated to receive $655 million for the first year of funding of five from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Included is funding for bridge repair. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Bridge inspection data reveals what needs repair in New London County By William James and Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) -Britain warned Moscow on Thursday that it was working with Western partners on high-impact sanctions targetting Russia's financial sector should it invade Ukraine. Russia has massed some 100,000 troops near Ukraine's border and though Moscow says it has no plans to invade its neighbour, President Vladimir Putin has demanded legally-binding guarantees that NATO will not expand further eastwards. "We will not accept the campaign Russia is waging to subvert its democratic neighbours," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told parliament. "They have falsely cast Ukraine as a threat to justify their aggressive stance." "Russia is the aggressor here," Truss said. "NATO has always been a defensive alliance." Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, drawing sanctions and condemnation from the West. Kyiv wants the territory back. Truss said that any further military incursion into Ukraine by Russia would bring "massive consequences, including coordinated sanctions to impose a severe cost on Russia's interests and economy." "The UK is working with our partners on these sanctions, including high impact measures targeting the Russian financial sector and individuals," Truss said. Putin says NATO's expansion eastwards since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union is a threat to Russia which, he says, has nowhere left to retreat to. He has warned the West against ignoring his concerns. Truss said she would visit Kyiv later this month and that the situation was reaching a crucial moment with only one way forward: for Putin to step back from the brink. "It's vital that NATO is united in pushing back against Russia threatening behaviour," Truss said. Britain, Truss said, was opposed to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea. "Europe must reduce its dependence on Russian gas," Truss said. "Britain remains opposed to Nord Stream 2 and I'm working with allies and partners to highlight the strategic risks of this project." (Reporting by William James and Andy Bruce; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Alistair Smout) MZ Capital Partners, owner of the British Woods Apartments and Townhome community in Oak Ridge, Tenn., 301 Briarcliff Ave. gives to Second Harvest. MZ Capital Partners, owner of the British Woods Apartments and Townhome community, 301 Briarcliff Ave.,Oak Ridge, announced a gift to Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee that will feed a local in need family of four for an entire year. MZ Capital Partners is committed to giving back to local communities in which it owns properties. In a statement, the company said, as the Greater Knoxville East Tennessee community suffers from increased numbers of food insecure families, we wanted to do our part to meet these extraordinary needs and celebrate our own success and ability to help others. We firmly believe in the obligation to give back, support the most vulnerable in our community, and do good while doing well. This article originally appeared on Oakridger: British Woods Apartments and Townhomes gives to Second Harvest Cal State Long Beach announced its decision to temporarily go remote at the start of the semester. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Cal State Long Beach on Thursday joined a growing number of California universities and community colleges delaying in-person classes and moving online amid a worsening Omicron surge. Long Beach plans to operate primarily online for its first three weeks starting Jan. 20. At least eight other California State University campuses in the 23-campus system have announced delays to in-person classes. Cal State Los Angeles announced its decision to go remote for the first three weeks of the semester earlier this week. San Diego State, Sacramento State, Cal State Channel Islands, Fresno State, Cal State East Bay, Cal State San Marcos and San Francisco State have also announced a remote start, while Cal State Fullerton is currently deliberating its plans. A number of community colleges, throughout the state, including Pasadena City College, will also move classes online for the first two weeks of its semester, while others retain a mostly hybrid schedule. Cal State officials previously hoped that a late-January semester start date would be enough time to escape the latest surge. No changes in guidance for the 23 campuses have come from Chancellor Joseph Castros office, but spokesperson Toni Molle said Castro has been meeting regularly with university presidents to discuss the situation. Castro previously told The Times that university presidents have the authority to make changes to reopening policies based on local conditions. At Long Beach, the campus will remain open and services such as the University Student Union, University Library, Student Health Services will continue to be available to students. The safety of our community has always been our chief concern throughout the pandemic. Delayed in-person instruction was not what we had intended for this spring, but the rise of the Omicron variant warrants this adjustment. Among the lessons of the pandemic is continued flexibility, and we will monitor prevailing conditions and public health recommendations over the coming weeks, university President Jane Close Conoley wrote to the community. Story continues California Faculty Assn. President Charles Toombs supported the remote starts. "Weve been hearing from so many different public health officials about how easily transmissible and spreadable Omicron is. Weve also been hearing about a shortage of COVID tests," he said. "Faculty want to be back in the classroom, but we need to do that without putting our students, faculty, staff, families and communities at risk." If the temporary delay to in-person classes is extended, Toombs said he believes faculty will be prepared after the experience of online classes last academic year. Cal State Student Assn. President Isaac Alferos said student leaders are supportive of the remote start, as many called on campus officials to consider a virtual start to the semester start to reduce risk of infection. Cal State system previously announced a COVID-19 booster mandate, which Alferos said is a priority. It is critical that campus leaders across the system work with their student leaders to ensure an equitable rollout that centers our students first and foremost, he said. Eight of the nine University of California campuses previously announced a remote start to classes, which for most began this week. UC Berkeley, which is one of two UC campuses on a semester schedule, has not indicated a change to its in-person plans for next week. Already, UC students have wondered if the temporary delay will expand as hospitalizations and cases continue to grow, with student leaders calling on university officials to communicate any updates to plans early. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The House select committee investigating January 6 (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Despite a snowstorm that drew one of the largest highways in the mid-Atlantic to a crawl for more than a day, lawmakers are already trickling back to Capitol Hill as Congress gets back to work. At the top of Legislative Branchs agenda is the work of the House select committee investigating January 6, which resumed its work this week by issuing a request for voluntary cooperation from Sean Hannity, one of several Fox News hosts revealed to have begged the White House chief of staff to spur Donald Trump to action during the riot. The committee made that formal request on Tuesday, signalling that while other work of Congress may be slow to make progress, the select committees work is showing no sign of slowing down or changing course. That spells bad news for supporters of former President Donald Trump, who are quickly running out of tricks in their efforts to stymie the committee from making more damaging revelations and uncovering more of the minute-by-minute details of the day in question. Those who want to see the committees work thwarted now generally have two avenues upon which to hope for salvation: The slim chance that the Supreme Court will side with Mr Trump and prevent Congress from obtaining the former presidents records, or the long-shot chance that the committees work will continue into 2023, allowing Republicans a chance to terminate the panel should they retake the chamber. Both of those scenarios are unlikely, according to Norman Eisen, who served as special counsel for the House during Mr Trumps first impeachment trial. The odds that the Supreme Court, even with three justices appointed by Mr Trump himself, will side with the former president are slim, Mr Eisen predicted. The chances that Republicans will be able to stall the committee through other means are even slimmer. There is no way the Supreme Court is going to rule that Trump has control over these documents, Mr Eisen told The Independent. Story continues [W]ith hearings beginning at the end of March or in April, and the interim report to come in the summer, the committee willbe at a natural point where Congress and the country begins to focus on the outcome of their work, which is legislative changes and perhaps criminal referrals to federal and state authorities, he said. The chances of the committees work being affected by the 2022 midterm elections are quite low, Mr Eisen contended. Thats good news for Democrats, considering the uncertainty around their partys midterm prospects as well as the impending retirement of Rep Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the panel. Rep Liz Cheney, the other Republican, faces a Trump-backed primary challenger but is favoured to win reelection thanks to her name recognition and history in the state. Republican members of Congress, who voluntarily withdrew from the panel last year, have complained that the committee should not have congressional authority due to its membership not including any submissions from House GOP leadership. One lawmaker famous for supporting Mr Trumps falsehoods about the 2020 election has even gone as far as to pretend to be the committees ranking member, despite not sitting on the panel and having never attended a meeting. Richard Barnett, a supporter of US President Donald Trump sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images) Given the history of investigations into Mr Trump in recent years, liberals skepticism that the panel could result in actions of real significance is understandable. The long-watched investigation headed by Robert Mueller, the Justice Departments special counsel, famously failed to result in any sort of real consequences for the former president other than minor convictions for a few of his allies on a slew of financial crimes and charges of lying to investigators. The urgency of the issue surrounding consequences that Mr Trump could face is also given special urgency from the fact that he remains the widespread favourite to win the 2024 GOP nomination, and has teased a second White House bid practically since the day he left office. While the committees findings may not have a direct effect on the 2022 midterms, Mr Eisen expressed confidence that Mr Trump himself or his closest allies could be held liable for the riot and the criminal obstruction of Congresss duty to certify the election results, as well as other state-level charges. Such developments could widely reshape the 2024 GOP primary field, should Mr Trumps vice grip over the GOP base be weakened by the panels revelations or criminal proceedings. Yeah, I think that there is a plausible set of possible criminal violationssuch as obstruction of a congressional proceeding, Mr Eisen said, adding: I think theres a substantial chance of getting a referral chance against him or others. He also threw cold water on the idea that members of Congress thought to be material witnesses to the riot, such as Rep Jim Jordan, could employ legal maneuvers to hide their own communications with Mr Trumps team from the committee, given Democratic control of the chamber. The House has internal disciplinary measures that it can use. And it has successfully compelled testimony from members before, Mr Eisen said. The investigation is unlikely to result in action that bars Mr Trump from seeking office again, though he could potentially face a prison sentence were he to be tried and convicted of obstructing Congress. The real question for lawmakers on the panel is whether any potential revelations about the former president would be sufficient to break his stranglehold on the GOP, or at least make his brand toxic enough among moderates to dissuade him from seeking office in 2024. The January 6 committees work and the upcoming ruling from the Supreme Court on abortion rights are likely to reshape the midterm season for 2022, presenting a unique and possibly advantageous battleground for Democrats as they head into the midterm season. A generic ballot tracking poll from Polling USA appeared to illustrate that reality this week as it showed Democrats regaining ground in polling of Americans desired choice for the party controlling both houses of Congress amid a major dip in support for the GOP. Similar polling from The Economist/YouGov indicates that Democrats have held an edge over GOP politicians on generic ballots for several months, even given Mr Bidens underwater approval ratings and disputes among Democrats in Congress that have delayed the passage of his signature legislation. Comment Policy Calaveras Enterprise does not actively monitor comments. However, staff does read through to assess reader interest. When abusive or foul language is used or directed toward other commenters, those comments will be deleted. If a commenter continues to use such language, that person will be blocked from commenting. We wish to foster a community of communication and a sharing of ideas, and we truly value readers' input. A year after Donald Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol to overturn his election defeat, New Jerseys new homeland security chief says her biggest concern about political violence isnt another physical attack but a widening campaign of online recruitment and cyberattacks by extremist groups. Ahead of congressional midterm elections that could include key contests in New Jersey this fall, Laurie Doran said theres no indication whatsoever of any credible threats of political violence. But extremist propaganda and recruitment efforts continue to rise online in an effort to stir anti-government sentiment, said Doran, who took over last June as acting director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. In an interview this week, Doran said her agency is focused on fighting cyber threats as well as helping elections systems down to the local level guard against online sabotage. More and more people are moving online, and bad actors use everything from misinformation and disinformation campaigns to malware and ransomware to disrupt regular business but also to try and disrupt elections, Doran said. Rioters scale a wall at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Capitol riot arrests: See who's been charged in New Jersey and across U.S. False reports about voter fraud and election integrity led some Americans to question not just Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the last presidential election, but also the trustworthiness of American democratic systems in general. On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands attended the Stop the Steal rally at the U.S. Capitol that had been organized and promoted on social media and messaging platforms. Online, participants had openly discussed storming the Capitol and attacking police officers and federal employees while demanding a recount. Rallygoers overwhelmed police officers as they stormed into the federal building where certification of the presidential election was underway. The public may have been surprised by the events that day, but in New Jersey, the Office of Homeland Security had warned about the potential for violence in a report two months earlier. Story continues Domestic extremists and foreign groups were busy spreading false reports of election fraud, hoping to incite fear and civil unrest, the agency warned at the time. In the past year, extremist activity and recruitment has expanded further into the virtual world, Doran said this week. Law enforcement agencies can't curb free speech, she said, but they follow up in specific cases of violent incidents or threats. Laurie Doran, acting director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness We recognize that while not all of us agree with some of the rhetoric going around, people have that First Amendment right to say what they want, Doran said. Its when they cross that line [into violence] is when we have to focus on it. Doran serves as Gov. Phil Murphy's homeland security adviser and is responsible for coordinating counterterrorism, cybersecurity and emergency preparedness efforts in the state. She worked for 32 years with the Central Intelligence Agency, serving overseas for the majority of her career, before joining the state office in 2018. This is insane.: Lawmakers relive Jan. 6 horror alongside fresh trauma of effort to rewrite history Mike Kelly: A Jersey guy became a domestic terrorist at the Capitol. Now he's paying for it 26 from New Jersey charged The Jan. 6 attack left 140 police officers injured and five people dead, including Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick, a New Brunswick native who had two strokes hours after a pair of rioters -- also from New Jersey -- targeted him with a chemical spray. Over the past year, 26 New Jersey residents have been arrested for their involvement on Jan. 6, including four former members of the U.S. military. More than 725 were arrested across the country. Those charged included Scott Fairlamb of Sussex County, who admitted to assaulting an officer during the attack on the Capitol. He was sentenced in November to 41 months, once of the harshest punishments yet given for the siege in Washington. Other cases are still pending. George Tanios and Julian Khater, who grew up in Middlesex County, face charges including assault on an officer with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to injure an officer and civil disorder. The pair allegedly targeted Sicknick and other Capitol cops with bear spray. Authorities are still seeking and arresting other suspects. Just last month, two people from South Jersey Michael Gianos and Marine reservist Marcos Panayiotou were arrested for their role in storming the building. In the wake of the attack, calls have grown for technology companies like Facebook and Twitter to do more to monitor and remove online disinformation and threats. While the platforms have removed some offending pages and suspended problematic social media accounts, content pushing false reports and encouraging extremist violence remains online. Authorities are also focusing on promoting fact-checking and counter-messages. Federal and state agencies, including the state Homeland Security office, have webpages dedicated to dispelling false information and rumors. Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League have also promoted the use of videos, webpages and ads to reach individuals who searched for violent extremist content online and training for parents to understand and act on early signs of radicalization. Doran also urged New Jerseyans to be more cautious about what they read or listen to online and to get information from reliable sources across the political spectrum. "We are just looking at open-source information," she said. "Regardless of what side of the aisle you consider yourself to be on, there is a lot of information out there on the internet that is crap. Its not true." Hannan Adely is a diversity reporter covering Arab and Muslim communities for NorthJersey.com, where she focuses on social issues, politics, bias and civil rights. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email: adely@northjersey.com Twitter: @adelyreporter This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Capitol riot: Year after Jan 6, NJ Homeland Security chief concerned SOUTH BEND -- When Jaheim Campbell, 19, stood trial last month in the shooting death of 7-year-old Chrisyah Stephens, prosecutors relied heavily on two pieces of evidence: A Facebook account and a videotaped interrogation. The Facebook account used Campbells photo and a version of his nickname. It sent incriminating messages that seemed to take credit for the drive-by shooting, which killed Chrisyah while she was at a birthday party in August 2020. During the interrogation, Campbell admitted he sent the Facebook messages, told police of a feud with a boy who was at the party and placed himself in a car that took part in the drive-by. But the evidence didnt stand up to a jurys scrutiny, leading to a not-guilty verdict at trial, after Campbells defense attorney exploited what he saw as holes and inconsistencies in the case. More: Not-guilty verdict in shooting death of 7-year-old South Bend girl at birthday party With no one else facing charges, Campbells acquittal leaves lingering questions about the investigation of Chrisyahs death and whether anyone responsible for the shooting will be brought to justice. Among the problems in the case: Police never linked the incriminating Facebook account to Campbell through internet or phone records. That opened the door to the possibility a phony page had been created in his name. No physical evidence linked Campbell to the crime scene or the likely murder weapon. Another suspect, Shamond Jenkins, was arrested with the gun a month after Chrisyahs death. Campbell denied any involvement in Chrisyahs death for much of his interrogation, never admitted to being the trigger man and maintained at trial that he made incriminating statements only because of coercive tactics by police. One key witness made several inconsistent statements to police and during the trial, and he implicated Campbell only after being arrested on unrelated charges of his own. Campbells attorney, Jeff Kimmell, said Chrisyahs real killer was not held accountable because police and prosecutors rushed to judgment and failed to resolve the inconsistencies in the case. Story continues The police decided very early on who they thought the shooter was based on that spoofed Facebook page, and they had tunnel vision in going after Jaheim Campbell, Kimmell said, and only examined evidence that seemed to support that theory. Officials with St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter's office and the County Metro Homicide Unit, which works under the prosecutor, declined an interview request. A spokeswoman for the office, Jessica McBrier, said the investigation into Chrisyahs shooting remains active and ongoing, citing the fact that multiple people are believed to have been involved in the drive-by. Family members of Chrisyah did not respond to requests for comment. Messages on a Facebook page On Aug. 29, 2020, Chrisyah had just asked an uncle to help unwrap an ice cream sandwich when someone fired shots into the birthday party at Donald and High streets. Witnesses said the shots came from the passenger side of a white or silver car. By the time the car was gone, Chrisyah was lying in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead that night. More: Bullet traps South Bend family and community in a web of grief It wasnt long before police heard Campbell, who went by the nickname Heimo, may have been involved. Some witnesses told police Campbell was feuding with Sebastian Hines, a 17-year-old cousin of Chrisyah. The exact reasons for the dispute between Campbell and Hines were vague. But messages from a Facebook account using the name Hemo Cam and Campbells photo seemed to support a theory that he was gunning for Hines. One of Chrisyahs cousins, Yalana Alexander, showed police messages between her and the Hemo Cam account. Chrisyah Stephens Less than two hours after the shooting, Alexander sent Hemo Cam a pair of messages: Why why whyyyyyy. Bro you just shot my lil niece bro like why u have to do it today bro. Hemo Cam replied, using a nickname for Hines: (Because) I want sbnasty thats y...I told everyone this is not a joke and Im not satisfied yet. When police got records of the Hemo Cam account through a search warrant, they found conversations with another teen, Jacob Brown, whom some witnesses described as a close friend of Campbell. In those messages, Hemo Cam talks of killing someone who hangs out at Donald and High streets, including apparent references to a drive-by shooting or home invasion. Police came to suspect gang-related motives. In the messages with Brown, Hemo Cam mentions his target being in da wrong hood and repeatedly invokes the name of the South East Side gang. But the Facebook page and messages didn't prove to be as decisive as prosecutors may have hoped. At his trial, Campbell claimed someone had created a fake account in his name. He also raised doubts about whether police took the investigative steps that could have proven whether the incriminating messages came from him. In this video image, Jaheim Campbell is interrogated in October 2020 by a Metro Homicide Unit detective about the shooting death of 7-year-old Chrisyah Stephens. He noted the page, which was created 10 days before Chrisyahs shooting, misspelled his nickname as Hemo, rather than Heimo. He pointed to the fact he knew almost no one on the pages list of friends. When Detective Tim Wiley, the lead investigator in the case, took the stand, Kimmell hammered on whether police tried to prove the origins of the Facebook account. Wiley admitted he never linked Campbell to the IP address for any device that was used to access the Facebook account. The device that was used to access the Hemo Cam account was not the same as the devices that were used to access any of Campbells three other Facebook accounts, Wiley said. Also, a phone number that was used to register the account was not traced to anyone with ties to Campbell. Wiley did not seek a search warrant for records of a phone number Campbell provided, saying he could not verify the number and thus lacked probable cause for a warrant. He gave you the number out of his own mouth, Kimmell said. Yeah, like I said, I couldnt confirm it to be a real number, Wiley responded. At his police interrogation, Campbell handed over a cell phone and signed a form authorizing detectives to search it. But police never examined the phones contents for evidence Campbell had used it to send the incriminating messages. On the witness stand, Wiley said he did not even remember the fact that police had taken Campbells phone. It seems like they did very little to track down the true origins of that account, Kimmell said in an interview, when he was telling them repeatedly that it was a spoof account. Denials at the interrogation Campbell admitted under police questioning that he had sent the Facebook messages. But even those statements came only after he spent much of the October 2020 interrogation insisting he had nothing to do with Chrisyahs murder. And although he eventually told police he was in the shooters car, he never admitted to pulling the trigger. The detectives, Wiley and Sean Killian, did not accept Campbells denials early in the interrogation and pushed him to admit he created the page to scare Sebastian Hines. The mother of 7-year-old Chrisyah Stephens is comforted as she approaches a vigil Aug. 31, 2020, outside the home where Chrisyah was shot and killed in South Bend. As long as Campbell denied sending the messages, he would remain a murder suspect, the detectives said. Admitting he created the page to intimidate Hines, the detectives suggested, could get him off the hook for the shooting. If you wrote these messages and then after the fact you took credit for it because you were mad at somebody and you wanted them scared of you, tell me that, Wiley said. Because if Im not looking at you for a murder case, thats the only way that works. Campbell eventually admitted he wanted to fight Sebastian, saying Hines had bad-mouthed Campbells cousin, a revered South East Side gang member who was murdered in Indianapolis. Campbell initially denied he knew Shamond Jenkins, who was arrested with the likely murder weapon a month after Chrisyahs shooting. When pressed by detectives, he said he and Shamond were buddies from different sides of town. When asked about Jenkins involvement in Chrisyahs death, Campbell said Jenkins shot the little girl. Campbell said Jenkins told him about the shooting after the fact. Later in the interrogation, however, Campbell told police he was in the car with Jenkins when the shooting happened. More: Father of 7-year-old girl fatally shot in South Bend: 'The gun violence just has to stop' When Campbell said he was riding in the front seat when shots were fired from the back seat of the car, Wiley confronted him with witness descriptions of the front passenger window being rolled down. I think that gun came from somebody, was handed to you, you used it, then gave it back, Wiley concluded. Im right, arent I? No, sir, Campbell said. By the end of the interrogation, a few moments later, Campbell was back to denying any involvement. I had no choice but to say that was me in those text messages, he said, because yall was gonna think it was me in the first place. He closed by asking about his phone. So if yall go through my phone and see that the records didnt come from my phone, am I gonna be free? Any other suspects? After Campbells acquittal, its unclear whether prosecutors will seek charges against anyone else who may have been involved in Chrisyahs shooting. At least two other people Shamond Jenkins and Jacob Brown have been named in connection with the shooting, but the details of their possible involvement remain murky. Jenkins was arrested on charges of illegal handgun possession and resisting police a month after Chrisyahs shooting. During the arrest, police found a handgun that, according to a firearm examiner, matched shell casings found at the scene of the drive-by. Police said the handgun also matched shell casings from the scene of another shots-fired incident that happened a few hours after Chrisyahs shooting. But when police tried to talk to Jenkins about Chrisyahs shooting, he refused to answer questions and asked for an attorney. Jaheim Campbell denied any involvement in Chrisyah Stephens death for much of his interrogation, and he maintained at trial that he made incriminating statements only because of pressure from police. Jenkins is now facing federal charges for three armed robberies he allegedly committed while out on bond. As for Brown, he told police Campbell tried to recruit him for an attack on Sebastian Hines during a meeting shortly before the drive-by. But Brown told contradictory stories to police and at trial. In his first interrogation, Brown denied knowing Campbell more than 30 times, even though police threatened to look into every impure thought or every bad deed youve ever done if he did not get on board with the investigation, Kimmell said at trial. A week later, after being arrested on unrelated charges, Brown told police about the alleged meeting with Campbell but said he refused to take part in an attack on Hines. By the time Brown testified at trial, he again denied the meeting ever happened. At trial, Campbells attorney theorized that the Facebook threats against Hines and the shooting that killed Chrisyah were unrelated and carried out by different people. Regardless of other suspects, Kimmell believes prosecutors made a mistake by charging Campbell while there were still unresolved questions. Rushing to judgment, feeling like you have to file charges right away before you have all the evidence, is a really bad thing for everybody, the victims of the crime included, Kimmell said. I think they deserved a better investigation. This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Why jurors found South Bend teen innocent in Chrisyah Stephens killing A Chicago alderman who was in the process of running for Illinois secretary of state has dropped her bid for the title, announcing on Wednesday that she has instead launched a congressional campaign to succeed the departing Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). After careful consideration and many conversations with family and supporters, today I announced my run for Congress in Illinois 1st District, said Ald. Pat Dowell, a Democrat who represents the 3rd Ward on the citys South Side. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported on Tuesday that Dowell was expected to announce this week whether she would switch political races. In a tweet, Dowell expressed gratitude for the support shed received during her campaign for Illinois secretary of state, but said that recent events, both here in Illinois and across the country, have led me to decide to make this run for Congress. I am grateful for the support people have given me in the Secretary of State race. Recent events, both here in Illinois and across the country, have led me to decide to make this run for Congress. Pat Dowell (@ILforDowell) January 5, 2022 Rush said Tuesday that he will not seek reelection to Congress. The lawmaker and former Black Panther, who was first elected in 1992, said he is not retiring from public service, and that he plans to continue his work as a minister activist. Please dont think I am cutting and running, the 75-year-old congressman said Tuesday at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, a church known for hosting the 1955 funeral for Emmett Till, a Black child from Chicago who was brutally beaten and murdered by white men in Mississippi. I will remain on the front line of the battlefield, organizing my community. Rushs announcement has opened the field for a slew of candidates to try and succeed him in the heavily Democratic 1st District, which, under the states new congressional map, covers part of Chicagos South Side and southern Cook County suburbs. Rush has not indicated who he plans to endorse for the Democratic primary in June, but said Tuesday that he expects to do so in the next few weeks. Story continues After nearly three decades in Congress, I have been reassigned. While I will not be running for a 16th term, let me make it clear that I am not retiring I am returning. Im returning home, returning to my church, and returning to my family and grandchildren. ( 1/2) pic.twitter.com/HnRWk22U89 Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) January 4, 2022 Six candidates had already entered the race before Rush announced he would not run again, including community activist Jahmal Cole and the Rev. Christopher Butler. According to the Sun-Times, attorney Karin Norington-Reaves will formally enter the race on Sunday, and Democratic state Sens. Elgie Sims, Jacqueline Collins and Robert Peters could jump in as well. While running for secretary of state, Dowell lagged behind her competitors in fundraising. But despite stricter fundraising rules at the federal level than at the state, the alderman will likely be able to convert much of her state funds into federal money. She can also use her state money for generic party building, such as voting efforts. With an existing paid operation, and extensive experience as a politician, Dowell is likely to become the front-runner in the race to succeed Rush. The candidate said that her platform includes making sure constituents receive enough federal resources, safeguarding voting rights and access, being a strong advocate for gun control, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and providing healthcare for all. In her announcement, Dowell also said that Rush has led the fight for racial justice and inspired many, and that she wants to recognize the numerous contributions in his lifetime of service to further civil rights and protect underserved communities, particularly those of color. Rush was widely known for decades as a co-founder of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. His fellow co-founder, Fred Hampton, was killed in his sleep at age 21 during a 1969 police raid. Rush also experienced the shooting death of his own son in 1999, something he would later describe while advocating for gun legislation. Since then, Rush has continued his activism by becoming an ordained minister, a Chicago alderman and a formidable congressman. In March 2012, the lawmaker intentionally violated House dress rules by wearing a hoodie on the floor in honor of Trayvon Martin, a Black teen who was similarly dressed when a neighborhood watch volunteer shot him to death in Florida. Rushs long tenure in Congress hasnt been without criticism. He received backlash from progressives for supporting the 1994 crime bill, federal legislation that helped lead to the mass incarceration of Black and brown people. In 2016, Rush said he felt ashamed of having voted for the bill. Rush is leaving Congress after about three decades of service, during which time he became the only person to defeat former President Barack Obama in an election, in the 2000 Democratic primary for the 1st District. He is the 24th House Democrat this year to announce they will not run for reelection. Eleven House Republicans have also said they wont seek reelection, during a year where the GOP is hoping to win control of the chamber after several years of being in the minority. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. CHICAGO When parishioners gathered for Christmas Eve Mass at St. Clement Catholic Church last month, the Rev. Peter Wojcik was elated that for the first time since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pews at the majestic Lincoln Park church were once again filled with families. But the robust attendance at St. Clement was fleeting, Wojcik said, and on Christmas Day and the Sunday after, the parish priest was disheartened to see the century-old, Byzantine-style church was once again echoing with half-empty pews. The new variant hit us like everyone else, which is absolutely heartbreaking, because all of us were hoping at this time, wed be in a better place, and a safer place, but this pandemic just seems to keep going, Wojcik said. Nearly two years after the Archdiocese of Chicagos 247 parishes in Cook and Lake counties were shuttered in the wake of the pandemic, the now fully reopened churches are struggling with steep declines in Mass attendance, which officials say has plummeted 40% during the pandemic. While many Catholics are still providing financial support to their parishes, officials are reporting weekly collections, which are needed to pay for everything from employee salaries to keeping the lights on, are down 15% on average, said Betsy Bohlen, chief operating officer for the Archdiocese of Chicago. There are significant challenges weve faced, and continue to face during the pandemic, but were also finding some silver linings, Bohlen said. Despite the dramatic decline in attendance at Mass accompanied by a decrease in weekly collections, Bohlen said student enrollment at the archdioceses 157 elementary and secondary schools is up for the first time in 40 years. The church has also raised $12 million for Catholic Charities during the pandemic, Bohlen said, and has made a concerted effort to keep their parish workers employed. The church has endured hard times across the centuries, and in hard times, were particularly devoted to serving others, and we will continue to do so, Bohlen said. Story continues Theres no perfect way of doing this, but as a pastor, my main concern is keeping our people safe At St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, the Rev. Manuel Dorantes recalled his enthusiasm last fall, when the church saw attendance increase from 700 parishioners in July to 1,100 in October. But like priests across Chicago, Dorantes said his joy was short-lived, with concerns about the alarming surge in COVID cases in December swiftly reversing the North Side parishs attendance gains. We did see a growth of about 26% in attendance in the fall, but now with omicron, were back down to about 800 people, Dorantes said. Last summer, the North Side parish merged with nearby Our Lady of Lourdes as part of the archdioceses Renew My Church initiative a reorganization and consolidation of parishes launched in 2015 in response to financial difficulties and mounting debt. Prior to the pandemic, the church attracted 1,100 worshippers every weekend, Dorantes said, offering seven Masses, three in Spanish, and four in English. But Dorantes said even though the parish reopened for in-person Mass in late May 2020, people still have all sorts of questions. Even after the stay-at-home order was lifted, weve had to prepare our leaders to welcome everyone back safely, Dorantes said. Among the COVID safeguards is the temporary conversion of the churchs former so-called crying room a glassed-in area that pre-pandemic was occupied by families with small children to a safe space that can be reserved by those most vulnerable to the virus, including the elderly and people with chronic illnesses. And while Dorantes said families gathered at the church in December for a traditional Las Posadas a beloved Latin American Christmas celebration his recent visit to a 4-year-old who is hospitalized with a COVID-related heart condition prompted him to cancel a Feast of the Three Kings festival planned for early January. Theres no perfect way of doing this, but as a pastor, my main concern is keeping our people safe, Dorantes said. Its very hard, because prior to omicron, this fall, the entire church was packed, and I remember one Mass, where the pews were full, and almost 30 people standing, he said.I had almost forgotten what it was like, and that is what church is meant to be, filled with families. Yet despite the steady stream of disappointments, Dorantes said he feels privileged to be one of the priests on a city team anointing COVID patients who are hospitalized. All of these nurses and doctors have done their best to save a person, and are putting their own lives at risk, so priests anointing the sick is not heroic stuff, its what God has called us to do, Dorantes said. The pandemic has also allowed Dorantes parish to extend its reach beyond Chicago, with the churchs livestreamed Masses on Facebook and YouTube reaching worshippers across the world. I heard from a man in Peru who had just lost his mother to COVID, and their church was closed, and he asked me, can you celebrate the funeral Mass for my mom online? And we had the tools, so I said, yes, and we were able to say the funeral Mass for his mother here at our church in Chicago, Dorantes said. Still, Dorantes said getting parishioners back into the routine of attending Mass in person remains a challenge. We will need a strategic plan, because some people have gotten comfortable sitting on the sofa in their PJs to watch Mass, Dorantes said.But the thing is, watching Mass online is kind of like watching MasterChef when you want to eat youre still hungry when the show is over. At a Catholic church, getting in that line with others for the Eucharist is essential to our spiritual health, he said. I pray people will come back to receive Jesus, because boy, does the world need him right now. The Holy Spirit never goes away The increasing secularization in the U.S. plays a role, too, in falling church attendance and was evident across the world even before the pandemic. A recent Pew Research Center survey of the religious composition nationwide finding the share of the public who identify as religiously unaffiliated is 6 percentage points higher than it was five years ago and 10 points higher than a decade ago. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults 29% currently are religious nones people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular when asked about their religious identity, according to the report. Although the pandemic appears to have exacerbated the languishing enthusiasm for organized religion, some experts say the Catholic church could potentially recapture those who have left, and even attract new followers. One thing the church needs to do is to tell a compelling narrative of what the church has to offer, said William Cavanaugh, a professor of Catholic studies and director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University. The pandemic calls out for the best in the Christian tradition ... were wearing masks not just out of fear of getting sick, but because its for the common good and the principle of solidarity, Cavanaugh said. Rising numbers of those suffering from mental health issues during the pandemic, and an overall growing sense of malaise and weariness in society also underscores the increasingly important role the church can play during the pandemic, Cavanaugh said. Were all spending so much time in front of screens, so it can be a real joy going back to church, not out of obligation, but for everything the church has to offer, Cavanaugh said.Its not just the socialization, but this deep sense of incarnation the church offers. The pandemic has also upended the rituals for seminarians at Mundelein Seminary/University of Saint Mary of the Lake, said the Rev. John Kartje, rector and president. For those who were newly ordained during the pandemic, their ordination Mass was attended by around 20 to 30 people, in a largely empty church, when usually, there are these great, joyous ordinations in the cathedral, Kartje said. While the church was facing dwindling numbers of those seeking vocations decades before the arrival of the pandemic, Kartje said he is hopeful that this difficult yet contemplative moment in time might be a turning point. The Holy Spirit never goes away, Kartje said. Everything at work is online, and theyve never really met one person Back at St. Clement in Lincoln Park, Wojcik, the pastor known as Father Pete, also remains hopeful that the dark days of the pandemic will be replaced with light and a return to Mass in the new year. Enrollment at the parish school continues to soar, and is nearly at capacity. And despite the hurdles inherent to the pandemic, Wojcik said the church has welcomed 500 new families. Wojcik said he is also looking forward to the warmer weather, when he hopes to resume popular programs such as Wind Down Wednesdays, which last summer attracted about 500 young adults each week to a social gathering in the church courtyard. Theres a real lack of community for many people working remotely in the city right now, especially those who are right out of college, Wojcik said. Ive talked to young people who have told me they moved to Chicago, and started their new jobs during the pandemic but everything at work is online, and theyve never really met one person. People are struggling, and theyre seeking, and thats where our opportunity is to create a meaningful church community that transforms lives. ARCADIA, CA People ages 5 and older can sign up for a free COVID-19 and/or flu vaccine clinic on upcoming Saturdays at select Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Specialty Care Centers in the community, including the Arcadia Specialty Care Center. "The best thing people can do to keep themselves and their loved ones safe is to get fully vaccinated," hospital officials said via news release. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommend that everyone over 6 months of age receive the flu vaccine every year. With COVID-19 cases on the rise and the threat of the more transmissible Omicron variant, its now more crucial than ever to be vigilant about your familys health. Data released by Pfizer and the Food and Drug Administration show that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children. The benefits of the vaccines protection against the health dangers from COVID-19 outweigh the potential side effects of the vaccine. Appointments for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are available at MyTurn.ca.gov. Flu shots are available on a walk-in basis for people 6 months of age and older. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is safe to get the COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same time. Here is the upcoming CHLA vaccine clinic schedule, with MyTurn appointment links included: Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arcadia Specialty Care Center, 468 E. Santa Clara St., Arcadia Return for the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 29 https://www.chla.org/event/free-covid-19-and-flu-vaccines Jan. 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Encino Specialty Care Center, 5363 Balboa Blvd., Encino Return for the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 5 https://www.chla.org/event/free-covid-19-and-flu-vaccines-0 Jan. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. South Bay Specialty Care Center, 3440 Torrance Blvd., Torrance Return for the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 12 Story continues https://www.chla.org/event/free-covid-19-and-flu-vaccines-1 SEE MORE: CA Indoor Mask Mandate Extended Amid Omicron Surge This article originally appeared on the Arcadia Patch BEIJING (AP) China lashed out at the United States on Thursday over its support for the European nation of Lithuania in its feud with Beijing over relations with Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Washington was using the Baltic state to use Taiwan to contain China. The U.S. side has defended Lithuanias erroneous act of creating one China, one Taiwan,' and attempted to put together a small clique condoning the Taiwan independence forces," Wang said at a daily briefing. His remarks came after the top U.S. and German diplomats on Wednesday said Chinese pressure against Lithuania was unwarranted. Lithuania broke with diplomatic custom last year by letting the Taiwanese office in Vilnius bear the name Taiwan, instead of Chinese Taipei, which most other countries use to avoid offending Beijing. China considers Taiwan part of its territory with no right to diplomatic recognition, and Lithuanias move infuriated Beijing, which withdrew its ambassador to Vilnius and expelled the Lithuanian ambassador to Beijing. Lithuania has since closed its embassy in Beijing. Constant Chinese pressure has reduced the number of Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies to just 14, although it has robust informal relations with the U.S., Germany and most other major nations. Lithuania, a country of 2.8 million people, is a member of the European Union and NATO and a close U.S. ally. Wang also blasted Taiwans move to create a $200 million investment fund for Lithuania to offset Chinas economic reprisals as dollar diplomacy, adding that soliciting foreign support to Taiwan independence will only lead to a dead end." Taiwan's office, a de facto embassy, opened in November, and Lithuania is planning to open its own trade office in Taiwan later this year. Taiwan said it is ready to help Lithuania in resupplying trade, with the island saying goods are stopped from entering China. There are more than 120 sea containers at least 1.5 million euro worth blocked by Beijing. Were ready to take all of those and help Lithuanian companies, Huang said. Story continues In his remarks after a meeting with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, We have immediate concern about the government of Chinas attempts to bully Lithuania." Blinken said China has been pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania or risk losing access to the Chinese market. Baerbock said we as Europeans stand in solidarity at Lithuanias side. China's Foreign Ministry has not directly confirmed its trade ban on Lithuania or other forms of retaliation, but said that Vilnius had crossed a red line." China's ruling Communist Party has vast powers to pressure Chinese companies that don't hew to the government's political and diplomatic agenda. China will complete its orbital space station by the end of 2022 and will launch up to 40 space flights this year in a sign of the nation's ongoing effort to lead exploration of the cosmos. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the anticipated completion of its space station and more crewed space missions and cargo flights this year, as well as the launch of the Space Launch System, a 332-foot rocket designed to reach the moon, according to The Associated Press, citing Chinese state-run news media. The Tiangong space station, first launched last April, is China's rival to the International Space Station (ISS), which the U.S. had locked its adversary out of. Its completion this year will mark a major milestone for China's military-run space programs. The Chinese space station will weigh about 66 tons after it's fully built out, significantly lighter than the ISS at 455 tons. China has said it looks forward to inviting international astronauts to its space station. In October, three Chinese astronauts with the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft docked at the station, becoming the second crew to move in. In 2003, China became the third country, after the U.S. and Russia, to put an astronaut into space. Since that historic marker, China has increased its presence in space, including sending a lander and rover to Mars last year. BEIJING (Reuters) - The northwestern Chinese city of Xian suspended all international passenger flights from Jan. 5 at its airport until further notice, the official news agency Xinhua said on Thursday. The Xian Xianyang International Airport has also halted all domestic passenger flights, Xinhua reported. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Chinese national pleaded guilty on Thursday in Missouri federal court to conspiring to steal trade secrets from agricultural company Monsanto to benefit the Chinese government, the U.S. Justice Department said. Xiang Haitao, who was employed by Monsanto and a subsidiary from 2008 to 2017, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, the Justice Department said in a statement. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Federal officials found Xiang in possession of copies of a proprietary predictive algorithm developed by Monsanto as he was waiting to board a flight to China in June 2017, according to the statement. He was allowed to fly to China, where he worked for the Chinese Academy of Science's Institute of Soil Science, it said. He was arrested when he returned to the United States, the statement said. Monsanto was acquired by Bayer AG in 2018. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Richard Pullin) Chuck Keros, second-generation owner of American Coney Island. Chuck Keros, second-generation owner of Detroit's iconic American Coney Island, has died. He was 88. Keros was the son of Gust Keros, a Greek immigrant, who created the famous chili dog and founded American Coney Island on Lafayette in 1917. Keros died from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He died at home on Dec. 28 surrounded by family, his daughter, Grace Keros, said. The family had a private funeral with a procession that took them past the iconic American Coney Island, Keros said, to his burial at Grand Lawn Cemetery Detroit. Keros was buried near his father. "He was sent off like a king. It was spectacular," she said. Keros described her father as a hard worker who loved travel, enjoyed life, and was generous. More: Popular gastropub HopCat will return to Royal Oak More: Popular downtown Birmingham eatery begins new year with new name, brings back crab menu "My father knew how to work hard and play hard," she said. "He loved his faith, family, and his business. The generosity he had to a fault. He helped so many people get to where they are today in this town. That was one of the things he instilled in us." Keros said he also enjoyed the finer things and was always in a suit and tie, Keros said. "It was a big deal. Every day. That was just him. Even if you saw him on a casual weekend. He was dressed to the nines every time," Keros said. Born in 1933, Chuck Keros attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School. Afterward, he attended the University of Michigan with plans on becoming a dentist. After a couple of years, he dropped out and returned to Detroit to help his father run the restaurant business. It was Keros who kept the restaurant open 24 hours, year-round, even during times of unrest, such as the 1967 riots. He also expanded the menu introducing coney fries and the loose burger. Along with American Coney Island on Lafayette in Detroit, he also operated Keros Coney Island restaurants at several area malls. Grace Keros noted, and she recalled that her father owned several toy stores at area malls called Olympia Toys. Story continues He retired in the early 1990s and his daughter, Grace, jumped into the business. After retiring, Keros traveled more but he would also pop in and out of the restaurants. "He loved talking with customers and all the people," Keros said. Grace Keros and Chris Sotiropoulos now own and operate American Coney Island. They've grown the business to include locations at the Detroit Zoo and at the D Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Keros is survived by his children Grace Keros, Angela Badra, Connie Keros and stepson Chris Sotiropoulos and five grandchildren. Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Chuck Keros, owner of American Coney Island in Detroit, dies at 88 Former Baltimore homicide prosecutor Adam Chaudry went to extremes to monitor one ex-girlfriend, making a spreadsheet with dozens of her friends, family members and coworkers along with their ages, addresses, phones numbers and Instagram pages, prosecutors allege new court documents. He tracked her phone calls, even to her obstetrician/gynecologist, according to the records. When she traveled, he emailed the hotel manager to ask the number of beds she requested in her room. Advertisement Newly filed documents in the criminal case against Chaudry detail the lengths prosecutors allege he went to while stalking and harassing the women he dated. State prosecutors accuse Chaudry of abusing his authority as an assistant states attorney in Baltimore to issue subpoenas for the womens phone and driving records and send emails from work to ask about their comings and goings. When the first woman broke off their relationship, Chaudry subpoenaed her phone records 33 times over two years under the guise of a special investigation, according to the indictment. He allegedly told the second woman that he had been issued a gun through work, and that police would teach him how to gain back door access to private Instagram pages. Advertisement Last month, the Maryland State Prosecutor announced 88 criminal charges against Chaudry, 42, including misconduct in office, obtaining phone records without legal authorization, stalking, harassment and extortion. He worked 13 years in the Baltimore States Attorneys Office and left in June. As the investigation developed into Chaudry, Baltimore States Attorney prosecutors reassigned his cases. They found no reason to question his work as a trial attorney, an office spokeswoman said. Hes free pending trial and a hearing has been scheduled for May 11 in Baltimore Circuit Court. There are a plethora of legal issues and factual disputes that will be litigated in due course, said Patrick Seidel, his defense attorney. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > A former homicide prosecutor himself, Seidel worked alongside Chaudry in the office. Seidel has taken issue with state prosecutors for withholding facts in the case and therefore handcuffing the defense, particularly by keeping secret the identities of the women. Prosecutors identified them as Victim 1 and Victim 2 in charging documents. Seidel wrote in a court filing asking for more details about the prosecutors case that its not enough for them to wait and disclose the information close to trial. The Defendant seeks a particularized outline of the specific elements of each charge and the particularized facts that the State will offer in support of the elements of those charges. The States response that the Defendant may refer to impending discovery or to paragraphs within the indictment that clearly apply to more than one count is simply insufficient, Seidel wrote in a filing last week. There are no allegations that Chaudry physically hurt the women or took their money, his defense attorneys note. They argue the case lacks merit and suffers legal and factual errors. They also accuse prosecutors of overreaching in filing 88 criminal counts against Chaudry 48 counts for misconduct in office, 29 counts for obtaining phone records without authorization. Advertisement In the newly filed documents, prosecutors write that the first ex-girlfriend received messages that someone was trying to access her social media accounts; she suspected Chaudry. She sent him an email, pleading with him to leave her alone. While living with the second woman in early 2019, he began issuing subpoenas to the telephone company for her calls, prosecutors wrote. When they broke up, he allegedly took 95 photos of her Instagram pages. Based on the phone records that he received, Chaudry accused her of speaking to an ex-boyfriend, prosecutors wrote. The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which discharged 17 million gallons of raw sewage into Santa Monica Bay in July. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) More than 100 people living in and around El Segundo have filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles accusing it of exposing them to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and other dangers during and after a sewage spill last year at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. In July, a backup caused by debris forced officials to use an emergency discharge procedure, sending a flood of raw sewage into Santa Monica Bay. The L.A. County Department of Public Health issued a health advisory and urged people to avoid swimming in areas around Dockweiler State Beach and El Segundo Beach. For more than two weeks after the initial 17-million-gallon discharge, the damaged L.A. Sanitation and Environment Department plant the city's oldest and largest sewage treatment facility continued to release millions of gallons of partially treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, a Times investigation found. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that "responsible monitoring would have identified both the volume and source of any debris before it reached Hyperion" and that officials have yet to identify either. Many residents who lived near the spill were sickened by noxious odors, court documents said. Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the L.A. city attorney's office, said Wednesday that officials were reviewing the complaint but had no further comment. L.A. Department of Public Works spokeswoman Elena Stern said she could not comment on pending litigation. On the first day of the spill, July 11, plant officials said a large amount of debris unexpectedly clogged their filtering screens, also known as bar screens. They scrambled to add additional screens and redirect flows to a storm drain system within the plant, but after several hours of recirculating the water, the system was still too overwhelmed. Workers activated the emergency measure. The measure discharged the sewage one mile out and 50 feet deep into the ocean, instead of the typical five miles out and 190 feet deep. Story continues According to the suit, it wasn't the first time the plant's bar screens had failed. A similar issue occurred in April something that should have indicated to managers that "catastrophe was inevitable," the lawsuit said. "This is a massive raw sewage spill from one of the world's largest water treatment facilities," Alexander Wheeler, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a news release. "The warning signs were glaring leading up to the spill, and now El Segundo residents are paying the price for LASAN's disregard for public safety." Hydrogen sulfide gas which results from the bacterial breakdown of organic matter is a known byproduct of wastewater treatment facilities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It is deadly at high levels. Lower, longer-term exposure can cause eye irritation, headaches and fatigue. Reached by phone Wednesday, Wheeler said about 150 people have joined the mass tort suit already, and the number is likely to increase. Many suffered from eye pain, headaches and stomach problems after the spill, he said. "What this case is all about is the negligence that leads to the injuries," he said, "and when you've got that much sewage flooding and accumulating in one place, it's well known that that gives off hydrogen sulfide." The gas is also known for its noxious, rotten-egg-like smell something Carson residents similarly experienced last fall after what is believed to have been a decaying vegetation buildup in the Dominguez Channel caused by a warehouse fire. The smell plagued the area for weeks, and more than 3,000 residents suffering from headaches and nausea were moved to hotel rooms. Some filed a class-action lawsuit against the owner of the warehouse. After the Hyperion spill, officials said they were conducting tests to monitor bacteria levels in the ocean water, but the suit alleges that they failed to test for hydrogen sulfide until at least two weeks later. When testing finally began July 26, the results were nearly 22 times higher than the amount set by the state for acute health effects over one hour, court documents say. In the days and weeks after the spill, state water quality regulators issued 47 citations against the Hyperion facility for illegal disposal into the Pacific Ocean, according to the suit, while the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued 38 notices of violation for the release of noxious odors. Times staff writer Leila Miller contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Brian Fallon's concert at the Newport Music Hall has been canceled. The increase in COVID cases has led to the recent cancellation or postponement of several events in Greater Columbus. Out of an abundance of caution during the current increase in positive COVID cases, a press release says, the Columbus Symphony has canceled its New Year's Family Celebration, which was scheduled for Jan. 9. Tickets will be automatically refunded to the original card used at the time of purchase, according to the release. The symphony's "Russian Winter Festival" is scheduled to take place this weekend as planned. The concert by The Sweet Remains, scheduled for Jan. 15, and produced by Six String Concerts, has been canceled because of COVID issues, according to a press release, and may be rescheduled for the fall. COVID: More Ohio children infected with COVID in December than any month since pandemic began Brian Fallon's appearance at the Newport Music Hall, scheduled for Jan. 21, was canceled along with the other shows in what were to be the first two weeks of his tour because of the increase in COVID cases. No future date has been announced. The Columbus Winter Beerfest 2022, scheduled for Jan. 21-22 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, has been postponed to April 15-16, due to rising safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 positive case numbers in Ohio, a release states. This story will be updated to reflect future cancellations or postponements. margaretquamme@hotmail.com This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Symphony Family Celebration among events canceled Diablo Canyon: The future of nuclear power in America, or its dismal past? No one would have believed this possible only a few years ago, but nuclear energy has been creeping up in public estimation, despite its long record of unfulfilled promise and cataclysmic missteps. The impetus has come from government and big business, among other sources. Billions of dollars in incentives to keep existing nuclear plants operating and to get new nuclear technologies off the drawing board were enacted as part of the $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill signed late last year by President Biden. You don't compromise safety to keep a nuclear plant open so you can meet a carbon targetyou need to have minimum, stringent safety standards. Edwin Lyman, Union of Concerned Scientists Byron Wein, vice chairman of the big institutional investor Blackstone, listed among his predictions for 2022 that "the nuclear alternative for power generation enters the arena ... and the viability of nuclear power is widely acknowledged." Some celebrity entrepreneurs have weighed in, without demonstrating that they have given the issue the thorough consideration it deserves. Elon Musk last month tweeted that "unless susceptible to extreme natural disasters, nuclear power plants should not be shut down." Musk didn't, however, define "extreme natural disasters" or mention the myriad other reasons that a plant might need to be shuttered, such as advanced age, upside-down economics or dangers in its own design or operation. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey followed with his own endorsement of nuclear power Tuesday, tweeting that "generating more energy, not less, increases quality of life for all." But that's only true if you set aside the question of how that electricity is generated precisely the issue at the heart of the global warming crisis. The explicit rationale for the repositioning of nuclear power as a "green technology" is concern about global warming. Nuclear proponents argue that as a non-carbon source of energy, nuclear fission is an indispensable alternative to the burning of oil, gas and coal and a transitional technology, on the path to fully renewable resources such as the sun and wind. Story continues That was the argument voiced in a Nov. 21 op-ed in The Times by former Energy Secretaries Steven Chu and Ernest Moniz: "Reconsidering the future of Diablo Canyon is now urgently needed in advancing the public good," they wrote, referring to the Pacific Gas & Electric nuclear plant scheduled to be shut down starting in 2024. Yet the enthusiasm overlooks some ugly truths about nuclear power. The history of nuclear power in America is one of rushed and slipshod engineering, unwarranted assurances of public safety, political influence and financial chicanery, inept and duplicitous regulators, and mismanagement on a grand scale. Many of the problems originated in the government's decision to place the technology in the hands of the utility industry, which was ill-equipped to handle anything so complicated. This record accounts for the technology's deplorable public reputation, which has made it almost impossible to build a new nuclear plant in the U.S. for decades. The debate over the nuclear power future is really two separate debates. Unless susceptible to extreme natural disasters, nuclear power plants should not be shut down Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 8, 2021 First, there are the optimistic expectations raised by alternatives to the design of the 93 reactors currently in operation in the U.S. reactors in which a radioactive core heats water, producing steam to drive electricity-generating turbines. Then there's the question of what to do with the existing reactors, many of which have lasted well beyond their design lives. Only 28 of these have remained "competitive" that is, economically viable according to energy expert Amory Lovins. That existing fleet includes Diablo Canyon, whose owner, PG&E, said the plant was facing an unprofitable future when it made the decision to abandon plans to seek a permit renewal from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Many alternative reactor designs are pitched as if they're novel. They're not. A good example is the Natrium reactor, which is cooled not by water but liquid sodium and is being promoted by TerraPower, a firm founded by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. Far from an advanced new technology, sodium-cooled reactors date from the very dawn of the nuclear power age. They were considered as an alternative to water-cooled reactors for submarine power plants, for example, by Adm. Hyman Rickover, the founder of America's nuclear navy. Rickover, whose rigorous standards for technology and crew training made the nuclear navy a success, ordered a prototype sodium reactor for the submarine Seawolf. Almost instantly, the technology demonstrated its flaws. While the Seawolf was still at the dock, the reactor sprung a leak. "It took us three months, working 24 hours a day, to locate and correct" the leak, Rickover told a congressional committee in 1957. Rickover abandoned any thought of using the reactors in his submarines. He determined them to be "expensive to build, complex to operate, susceptible to prolonged shut down as a result of even minor malfunctions, and difficult and time-consuming to repair," as he advised his Navy superiors and technical experts at the Atomic Energy Commission in late 1956 and early 1957. The drawbacks of sodium technology should resonate especially loudly for Californians. The 1959 explosion of a sodium-cooled test reactor at the government's secretive Santa Susana Field Laboratory outside Simi Valley remains the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, venting an immense amount of radioactivity into the air. The event created what former California EPA Director Jared Blumenfeld called one of the most toxic sites in the United States by any kind of definition." The three entities controlling portions of the site Boeing Co., the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA reached agreements with the state in 2007 and 2010 binding them to restore the site to background standards. Much of the work still hasn't begun. "There's been a kind of cult that's been trying to keep this technology alive for decades" despite persistent evidence of its inadequate reliability or sustainability, says Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists and the author of a report challenging safety and efficiency claims made for Natrium, among other alternative technologies. "Pretty effective lobbyists" push the idea that "this is somehow a breakthrough technology that's going to transform nuclear power," Lyman said of sodium-cooled reactors. "History tells us that it's not a very reliable source of power and has a number of safety and security disadvantages that make one wonder why there's such enthusiasm for it," he said. None of the other alternatives, he adds, solve the most pressing problem of nuclear power: what to do with the radioactive waste produced by every plant. TerraPower says it settled on liquid sodium technology because experimental testing had shown that it could be managed safely. "The U.S. has decades and decades of experience in operating sodium reactors," including the Experimental Breeder Reactor II, which was operated in Idaho by the Argonne National Laboratory from 1964 to 1994, says Jeff Navin, a former Energy Department official under Chu and Moniz who is now TerraPower's spokesman. "We're not starting from square one." But Navin acknowledges that the technology hasn't been used in any commercial power plants, and TerraPower's utility partner, PacifiCorp, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway (the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett), which is to take over the project once it's operational, has no experience running a nuclear plant. In any case, the Natrium reactor won't become operational until 2028 at the earliest. That's a deadline imposed by the government's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which is providing some of the funding. Lyman says the question of whether to keep existing plants in operation can be addressed only on a case-by-case basis. "In some cases, it could make sense" to keep a plant operating even if it's uneconomical, he told me, but only if any existing safety concerns are resolved. He cautions against "fetishizing nuclear power so it's part of every solution." His view is "you don't compromise safety to keep a nuclear plant open so you can meet a carbon target you need to have minimum, stringent safety standards." By that measure, there's hardly any doubt that Diablo Canyon should be shut down, and the sooner the better. The plant's history makes that case. Diablo Canyon, which is on the Pacific shoreline about 250 miles south of San Francisco and 190 miles north of Los Angeles, was the third location chosen by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for a nuclear generating plant starting in the early 1960s. The previous choices were abandoned because they were judged too close to active earthquake faults even though PG&E initially asserted in both cases that no faults were nearby. The company then turned to Diablo Canyon, again asserting that there were no active faults within about 20 miles of the site. As it eventually emerged, there are at least four major active faults within that range, prompting David Brower, the first executive director of the Sierra Club and the founder of Friends of the Earth, to jokingly describe nuclear reactors as "complex technological devices for locating earthquake faults." (It was the Sierra Club's endorsement of Diablo Canyon that prompted Brower to resign and form Friends of the Earth.) With every discovery of a new fault in Diablo Canyon's vicinity, PG&E minimized the threat and persuaded the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal regulator responsible for licensing nuclear plants, to go along. The NRC's decision in 1981 to allow construction to proceed after a fault discovery without reexamining the plant's seismic engineering provoked two commissioners, Peter A. Bradford and Victor Gilinsky, to issue a blistering dissent. They described the confidence of two NRC advisory boards in the utility's reassurances as "almost mystical," and charged that the boards' rationales for accepting PG&E's arguments as evidence that neither board "had any idea what it was talking about." Then there's PG&E's atrocious safety record, which should curdle the blood at the thought of leaving the plant under its control. The company's consistent failures include the 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight and leveled an entire residential neighborhood in San Bruno. PG&E's equipment sparked more than 1,500 fires from 2014 through 2017, according to state records. In 2020, it pleaded guilty to 84 counts of criminal manslaughter related to the 2018 wildfire that all but destroyed the town of Paradise and ranks as the deadliest blaze in California history. In September, the company was charged with 11 felonies and 20 misdemeanor counts related to what Shasta County Dist. Atty. Stephanie Bridgett called its "reckless and criminally negligent" operations, resulting in the deaths of four people. ("My co-workers are not criminals," PG&E Chief Executive Patti Poppe said after the charges were unveiled. "We welcome our day in court so people can learn just that.") As recently as Tuesday, California state investigators concluded that a PG&E power line sparked last years massive Dixie fire, which burned more than 960,000 acres in five Northern California counties. The investigators referred the case to local criminal prosecutors. "PG&E seems to be incapable of operating safely," says Daniel O. Hirsch, a former environmental faculty member at UC Santa Cruz and president of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, an anti-nuclear group. "You're mixing an incompetent utility with an unforgiving technology." It's possible that nuclear power will turn out to be as indispensable in fighting global warming as its promoters claim. It's inaccurate to say the jury is out it hasn't even been seated yet. The danger is that claims for the future of nuclear energy that it will be a cheap and efficient path to a carbon-free future will be as illusory as those of the past, when nuclear power was also promoted as safe and "too cheap to meter." Today's younger environmental activists may be more inclined to accept these promises today because their thinking wasn't forged in the anti-nuclear protests of the 1960s and 1970s, as was that of their older colleagues. The danger is that they, and society, may have to learn the harsh lessons of nuclear power's past all over again. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington. One year ago, Jan. 6, 2021, far-right supporters of President Donald Trump tried to overturn a fair election and overthrow the U.S. government. Exhorted by Trump and others, who spouted the big lie that widespread voter fraud cost Trump the 2020 election, the mob invaded the U. S. Capitol, doing millions of dollars in damage, injuring 140 police officers, and threatening the lives of members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence. The rioters sought to stop the formal counting of the already-certified state electoral votes so that Trump somehow could retain the presidency. As we are learning from a U. S. House committee investigating the attack, the effort was well-coordinated by radical and white supremacist groups working in lock-step with Trump advisers and possibly members of Congress. Trump legal advisors had dreamed up legally dubious scenarios to enable Trump to circumvent the Constitution and keep control of government. It got perilously close to succeeding. Law enforcement, military and other experts have warned that the simmering mob is still out there, fed by years of hate speech, conspiracy theories, disinformation, and bald-faced lies. Several polls in 2021 showed that most Republicans continue to believe the lie that Trump lost the election due to voter fraud. A survey this fall by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 30% of Republicans believe patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country. The number jumps to 40% for those who most trust far-right news outlets. While they falsely accuse Democrats of being socialists or communists, far-right extremists appear to be OK with turning the U.S. into an authoritarian state by attacking the free press, stifling peaceful protests, making it harder for people of color to vote, and manipulating political districts to make it nearly impossible for opponents to win elections. Also, the GOP can call itself the law and order party, but many members sure dont demonstrate it. Republicans sat silent, for example, while Trump trampled legal norms and the rule of law numerous times as president, including politicizing the Justice Department, deriding judges who ruled against him, and tying security funds for Ukraine to a political favor to help him win reelection. Meanwhile, Trump advisers who may have been involved in planning the Jan. 6 rally and protests have ignored House subpoenas and failed to testify and produce documents to investigators. Republican fake patriots still sit silent. Story continues The Jan. 6 video of a man traipsing through the Capitol with a Confederate battle flag should have been especially disturbing to any real patriot. One of my first thoughts was how upset my grandfather would have been if he were alive to see that. Grandpap was a history buff, especially the Civil War. He was a genuine patriot, not one of those fakers who quote the Constitution when it is convenient, while saying the Jan. 6 riot was no big deal, or worse, that it was justified. Grandpap was proud that his father served in the Union Army against the Confederates, who wanted to replace the United States of America with an authoritarian government controlled by wealthy land and slave owners. He was proud to have served in the military, and proud of his two sons who fought the Nazis in World War II, and two grandsons who served during Vietnam. One day in the 1950s when Grandpap was regaling us with Civil War stories, I asked if a civil war could happen again. If citizens allow evil people to gain power, it can happen anywhere, even in the United States, he answered. As usual, Grandpap was right. Another uncivil war could begin next month or the next election. It almost happened last Jan. 6. McCann is a contributing columnist for the Advertiser. He is a retired journalist and may be reached at Easywriter12345@yahoo.com. Bill McCann is a contributing columnist for the Advertiser. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Opinion: Right-wing extremists threaten uncivil war on U.S. democracy Major community improvement projects to build a new homeless veterans transitional facility, a multi-purpose trail to connect Hillsborough County to Sarasota, and install sewage infrastructure in underserved communities are heading to Manatee County. The three initiatives headline Manatee's plans for the county's $78.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. The County Commission allocated just under $43 million for public health and safety, government, and administrative costs associated with COVID-19, and plans on using the remaining $35.3 million for the community improvement projects. Also in Manatee: Rattlesnake Key on deck to become a new state park in Manatee County More: Median home prices in Sarasota and Manatee set new record in November as supply tightens And: Manatee County accepts donation of Bishop Animal Shelter "The intent of it is to invest dollars into infrastructure and sustainable projects -- parks, trails, sidewalks, things like that -- to help communities recover from the devastating impact of now going on two years of a pandemic," County Administrator Scott Hopes said. Transitional services for homeless veterans Manatee County officials are pushing forward with a plan to renovate the former Manatee County Jail in downtown Bradenton and turn it into transitional housing and services building to serve Homeless Veterans. One of the largest projects includes a $15 million allocation to convert the former Manatee County Jail in downtown Bradenton into a transitional housing and services center for homeless veterans. Hopes said the facility would go a long way toward addressing homelessness among the veteran community, and he envisions a comprehensive list of services that could be provided if agencies such as the Veterans Administration were to become involved with the project. "One of the services that I would like to see in this facility is that step-down care from hospitals to transitional care," Hopes said. "It is a massive amount of space and volume, that I believe we can utilize to create really the most comprehensive services for helping veterans who are homeless, leave homelessness behind them, but to actually help them at all these levels of transition as they go through life." Story continues Commissioner George Kruse said the funds are not to fully renovate the entire facility, but the board agreed allocate the funding and seek additional sources such as state or federal funds to pay for additional costs. "This is by far the largest project focusing on homeless veterans in the United States, and we believe that we will have numerous sources of funds from a number of entities," Hopes said. Greenway Trail extension A proposed Gateway Trail path, as illustrated in a 2017 Manatee County document. Commissioners are also moving forward with a proposal that has been on the table for decades to build a trail in east Manatee that connects to trails in Hillsborough and Sarasota counties. The board plans to allocate $1.5 million to building a portion of the Gateway Greenway Trail, and will seek additional funding to pay for the remainder of the project. If commissioners are able to secure extra funding, they could connect a link between the three counties, and add an important piece of the puzzle for Southwest Florida's growing trail network. "It's a regional project," Kruse said. "It connects Hillsborough to Sarasota -- which by extension goes all the way up to Pasco and all the way down to Collier, and once you get up to Hillsborough it goes straight across the state; there are two little segments near Orange that are being worked on." According to 2017 county documents, the trail is likely to be in east Manatee County, crossing through locations such as Lake Manatee State Park and the Lakewood Ranch community. Potentially, it would connect to Sarasota's Legacy Trail, which is currently being extended. "I think we can attract a tremendous amount of federal dollars and a tremendous amount of state dollars to facilitate this," Kruse said. "We have got the advantage of trying to move something as generational as this trail and as regionally important as this trail forward." Tellevast and Parrish get their sewer The county is also allocating a significant amount of ARPA funds to build new sewer infrastructure to underserved areas of the community, dedicating $5 million for sewer infrastructure in Tellevast, and $4 million for the Village of Parrish. District 4 Commissioner Misty Servia, who represents Tellevast, said parts of the community do not have sewer infrastructure, and that the limited amount of rights-of-way create public safety challenges that could be addressed with the ARPA funds. "There have been problems in the community, relative to COVID and other issues, because we just don't have the infrastructure there that we need, and it's been decades," Servia said. District 1 Commissioner James Satcher, who represents the Village of Parrish, said the new infrastructure would help attract restaurants to the area, which is experiencing a population boom. "If you lived in that village, you are not happy that there is so many new developments being built around, and everyone on your road," Satcher said. "There is definitely a legitimate concern that things around you have changed... The least we can do is set it up so they can have the sanitary sewer that we are talking about." This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee plans to use federal COVID money for trails, sewer improvements, veterans services The office of the South Dakota Attorney General announced Thursday that a simple assault charge has been filed against a former Sioux Falls police officer. Joseph Michael Larson, 32, of Sioux Falls, has been charged in a case stemming from an incident in which Larson was acting in his capacity as a Sioux Falls police officer on or about July 24, according to a release from the office of the South Dakota Attorney General. The incident occurred in late July when Larson used improper force when restraining a man who was under arrest at the time, according to court documents. Police body camera footage and in-car camera footage show Larson striking the man a number of times, including in the groin, while trying to secure a seatbelt around him in the back of a patrol car. More Argus911: Four people, including two children, injured in two-vehicle crash near Crooks. The man suffered pain to his left side, according to court documents. An investigator with the attorney general's office interviewed a defensive tactics instructor for SFPD who said that Larsons strikes arent consistent with techniques Sioux Falls police officers are trained in. The man allegedly assaulted by Larson had his charges dismissed on Sept. 16. Those charges included refusing to leave property after given notice, resisting arrest and obstructing an officer, according to court documents. Mayor's office: Officer fired after incident Upon learning of Officer Larsons actions, he did not work another shift for the Sioux Falls Police Department and is no longer a member of our police department," said Mayor Paul TenHaken in a statement to the Argus Leader. The City of Sioux Falls has referred the case to be reviewed for criminal charges by the State Division of Criminal Investigation as an independent agency, TenHaken said. No specifics were given by TenHaken or his office on when Larson's last day was or whether he was given administrative leave as he was being investigated. City salary records show he was employed as a police officer at least since 2015. Story continues The prosecution of the case will be handled by the Office of the Attorney General, the department said. Police spokesman Sam Clemens said any information about Larson's employment would have to come from the mayor's office. No other information on the charges was immediately available. Got a story idea from your community? Email reporter Alfonzo Galvan at agalvan@argusleader.com or follow him on Twitter @GalvanReports. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Ex-Sioux Falls police officer Joseph Larson charged with assault The rapid spread of the omicron variant has left many vaccinated people feeling confused about which activities are safe as the U.S. heads into the third year of the Covid-19 crisis. Omicron appears to be far more transmissible than prior versions of the virus and better able to evade immune protection from vaccines or prior infection, though it seems to cause less severe illness. The average number of new cases in the U.S. topped 590,000 on Wednesday, with an average of 1,349 deaths. More than 110,000 Covid patients are hospitalized. For many people, those stark statistics raise familiar questions about whether to curtail social gatherings, travel and other activities. NBC News asked four public health experts about their own personal behavior and risk calculus during this chapter of the pandemic. All of them advised vaccinated people to remain vigilant and conscientious and not to return fully to pre-pandemic life but there was no firm consensus around some activities like air travel. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, struck the most cautious note, saying he has avoided travel and restaurant dining since March 2020. But others said they have returned to some pre-pandemic rituals while taking strict precautions. What follows are their answers to five common questions that might be on your mind. What kind of mask do you wear right now? The most simple answer: N95, KN95, KF94 or a similar high-quality face covering. Dr. Kavita Patel, a primary care physician in Washington, D.C., and a scholar at the Brookings Institution, said people who can afford to upgrade their masks should trash the cloth ones that were ubiquitous during earlier Covid waves. Higher-quality masks like N95s are more effective at blocking viral particles. I have thrown out my cloth masks, Patel, who is also an NBC News medical contributor and columnist for MSNBC, said. Ive saved a couple of my childrens favorite cloth masks, though, but I have them going to school wearing KN95s. Story continues But if a cloth face covering is all you can access or afford, thats probably better than nothing. Is it OK to travel by plane? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that domestic travelers delay any trips until they are fully vaccinated and that everyone wear a mask at the airport and on planes. The experts who spoke to NBC News expressed differing levels of comfort with air travel at this stage of the pandemic. Osterholm said he has yet to resume flying and has been on a plane just once since March 2020, whereas normally Im a 150,000-mile-a-year flyer. Anything I can avoid, I will, Osterholm said. Its an easy one for me in the sense that I am able to accomplish what I need to accomplish without having to get on a plane. He similarly avoids trains and buses. Other experts were more open to air travel. Patel said she went to Puerto Rico last month on vacation with her husband and two children, who are all vaccinated. She wore an N95 on the flight and did not remove it once and researched the Covid situation in Puerto Rico before leaving, as the CDC recommends. (Patel said she planned the trip before cases rose dramatically on the island.) Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone Health in New York City, said she and her husband flew to Kansas City, Missouri, around Christmastime. They, too, wore N95 masks while traveling, and they did not eat or drink so as not to remove their face coverings. While in Kansas City, they did rapid tests every morning. It was a Covid-free Christmas, Gounder said. Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and former health commissioner for Baltimore, said she would feel quite confident on a plane (in a mask) if she only had to worry about herself and her husband. But they have two kids under 5, who are not eligible for vaccines, including a child under 2 who is unable to wear a face covering, so she is avoiding air travel. Do you eat at restaurants? Osterholm errs on the side of caution here, too: He has not visited a commercial eatery since March 2020. He has only gone into grocery stores a handful of times (masked, of course) and mostly orders food online. Gounder, meanwhile, has not dined indoors since Covid-19 reached the U.S., but she and her husband, who live in New York City, occasionally eat outside in the makeshift restaurant structures that now line many streets. She continues to avoid movie theaters, Broadway shows and gyms, however, and said it could be a while yet before she feels comfortable returning to those establishments. Is it safe to send your child to school? The debate over school closures is once again roiling the country. The public health consensus is that it is safe to send vaccinated children into classrooms as long as school administrators and teachers are conscientious about masks and other mitigation efforts. But for parents of kids under 5, the risk assessment can be trickier. Wen said her 4-year-old son is going into preschool. We need to accept that there is risk in everything we do, she said. Our goal at this point cannot be to avoid Covid altogether. That would be extraordinarily difficult, Wen added. The price to pay to avoid getting sick is extremely high. We are not willing to keep our child out of school in order to achieve zero Covid. She said her sons preschool has many precautions in place and tries to keep kids outside when possible, even in the cold. Patel said she would advise parents of young children to make sure their kids day care, preschool or kindergarten requires masks and regularly screens the little ones for symptoms. Gounder, though, said parents of young kids may want to consider keeping them at home for now, if you can afford it. But if both parents are working outside the home or that kind of care is too costly, that may not be an option for everybody, especially lower-income families, she added. How should we all handle Covid isolation? The most recent source of confusion about Covid protocols came last week, when the CDC shortened the recommended time people should isolate after testing positive from 10 days to five if their case is asymptomatic or symptoms are resolving. The agency did not ask people to test negative before re-emerging. The announcement led to an outcry from some health experts, who said the shorter window could allow more opportunities for the virus to spread. The CDC clarified its guidance Tuesday, saying people can use rapid antigen tests around the fifth day of their isolation if they want to and have access to them, and they should wear masks for another five days. Gounder said the guidance was probably the most confusing Ive seen come out so far. She added that itd be preferable for people to get tested before leaving isolation, since some can remain infectious for up to eight days after the initial five-day period, and we dont always know who thats going to be. If that person is religiously wearing a high-quality mask, the probability that they would infect somebody else is probably low, Gounder said. But I know many people do not wear masks or wear them incorrectly or take them off during the day. In the face of omicron, some people are also beginning to wonder whether getting sick is inevitable and, if so, whether it would be better for an infected person not to isolate themselves from other members of their household. Patel shot down that idea. Im old enough to remember when we took that approach with chicken pox, Patel said. But thats not a great idea with Covid. Ive been discouraging people from going, Hey, lets all get Covid at the same time, because were seeing variable clinical presentations, she added. Were seeing cases where kids get it and the adults dont, or vice versa. Theres no reason to assume everyone will get it. Plus, she said, omicron could hit some family members harder than others, and everyone should do their part to avoid putting more strain on overwhelmed physicians and hospitals. Its not worth taking that chance, if you can avoid it, she said. This story was republished on Jan. 5, 2022 to make it free for all readers Combating military sexual assault was on the agenda in Congress on Wednesday, but the military force serving lawmakers home states the National Guard was absent from the discussion. In its first meeting of the year, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel heard from sexual assault victims, advocates and military legal experts who testified to the ongoing failure of the militarys justice system in addressing sexual assault and the need to prosecute it with independent lawyers rather than military commanders. Gillibrand: 'Nothing has changed' We have given the military enough time and enough resources to fix this problem," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who chairs the subcommittee. "Congress has given the military more than a billion dollars $500 million in fiscal year 2019 alone enacted 249 legislative provisions and chartered special panels, commissions and advisory committees to address this problem. Not one of these steps has reduced sexual assault within the ranks. We are right where we started. Nothing has changed. A Cap Times/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation published last week revealed especially troubling problems in the National Guard, including burying sexual assault allegations, withholding documents from victims and retaliating against those who come forward. The National Guard had a record number of sexual assault reports last year, and the figures have increased steadily since 2011. The Cap Times sought comment from Gillibrands office about how reforms could help state-based members of the Guard, but her staffers did not respond to questions. As a military force primarily under state control but largely federally funded, the National Guard is distinct from full-time active-duty forces. It has a complex governing system that sets its sexual assault and retaliation problems apart, making its bureaucracy an easy tool of retaliation, victims say. Story continues The Guard has played a crucial role nationwide over the last year. Its members, who serve in militias in each state, territory and the District of Columbia, have tested and vaccinated people for COVID-19, patrolled the U.S. Capitol following the Jan. 6 siege and policed protests last summer. Biden pledges to end assaults President Joe Biden has pledged to end military sexual assault, and his new Defense Department chief in January ordered a review of how the armed forces, including the National Guard, handle allegations. But there is no guarantee that individual states would make changes. While each states National Guard receives guidance from the National Guard Bureau, the federal agency does not have authority over the state Guards. Congress has passed hundreds of incremental changes addressing sexual assault across the military over the last 17 years, but few have focused specifically on increasing accountability and oversight of the National Guard. Despite reports of sexual misconduct and financial malfeasance in several states over the last decade, the Guards problems have been largely left out of national political conversations on combating military sexual assault. The National Guard Bureau has repeatedly acknowledged in its annual reports to Congress that it has not even fully implemented the Department of Defenses multimillion-dollar sexual assault prevention and response program. The Guard Bureau cites funding and infrastructure challenges. Although 90% of the sexual assaults reported in the National Guard occur when its members are working for their home states, the Guard Bureau does not have data on the most basic information related to sexual assault reports, how they are investigated or if they are punished in state Guards units, according to its annual congressional report. Political responses at the state and federal level to those omissions have been largely nonexistent. Guard not a focus of hearing Stephany Juzwiak, whose alleged sexual assault while serving in the West Virginia Army National Guard was documented in the Cap Times/Journal Sentinel investigation, said she was asked to testify Wednesday by Gillibrands staff but declined because she was told the National Guard was not a focus of the hearing. The Guards problems should not be left out of the national discussion on stopping sexual assault and retaliation in the military, she said. I agree that there are many problems still in active duty, but there are way more and bigger issues in the Guard because they always get forgotten about, so they get away with everything, she said. Eugene Fidell, who studies military justice at Yale Law School, testified Wednesday for structural change to the militarys justice system. In an earlier interview with the Cap Times, he said that less is known about how military justice is administered by state National Guard commanders. Military justice in the National Guard is one of the most understudied areas of military justice in the country, he said. Don Christensen, a retired Air Force colonel and president of Protect Our Defenders, a nonprofit that helps military victims of sexual assault with their legal cases, said an overhaul of the military justice system is long overdue. Over the last 30 years, scandal after scandal has been met with promises of zero tolerance and assurances that commanders will eradicate sexual assault from the ranks, he said in written remarks provided to the Cap Times ahead of the hearing. The one constant in its ineffective response is the commander-controlled justice system. Other panelists included Natalie Khawame, the lawyer for the family of the late Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, who was murdered by an Army colleague at Fort Hood in Texas in 2020 after telling family members she was being sexually harassed. Brenda Farrell, of the U.S. General Accountability Office, and Lawrence Morris, counselor to the president at Catholic University of America, also testified. RELATED: National Guard members who reported sexual assault retaliated against Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: National Guard military sexual assault reports ignored by Congress Rep. Will Dismukes during the special session at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday November 4, 2021. PRATTVILLE Embattled state Rep. Will Dismukes, R-Prattville, is not seeking re-election to a second term. He said he will serve out his term. The Legislature begins their session Jan. 11. I want to thank the people of Autauga and Elmore county for supporting me through four years as their representative. He said. I have three small children and its time for me to give all my focus to my family and my business. More: State Rep. Will Dismukes pleads not guilty to theft charge The Lord will let me know when its time to once again get involved in public service in some capacity. I want to thank my family for the sacrifice they have given in my time as representative. To serve the people of District 88 has been the honor of a lifetime. Dismukes has seen controversy in his term. In June he was indicted by a Montgomery County Grand Jury on theft of property charges. He was employed by Weiss Flooring of Montgomery before being elected. He allegedly gained control of flooring materials valued at more than $2,500, the indictment reads. Alabama Legislature: COVID relief funds, teacher pay, gambling among key 2022 issues Dismukes has pleaded not guilty. He left Weiss before the campaign and opened his owning flooring company. Rep. Will Dismukes during the special session on redistricting at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday November 1, 2021. My attorney, family and I all feel confident in the way my case is moving and I will give more comment at a future time when I can. he said. More: Alabama Legislature considers safety measures amid surge in omicron cases In July of 2020, Dismukes gained national attention after posting a photo on Facebook of him attending a birthday celebration for Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early leader in the KKK. He declined to comment about the Forrest controversy. More: Prattville state rep celebrates KKK leader as Alabama, nation mourn passing of John Lewis My family and I have moved past the events involving Nathan Bedford Forrest over a year ago so I have no further comment, Dismukes said. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Controversial state Rep. Will Dismukes won't seek re-election Gov. Laura Kelly speaks at a press conference where she announced a disaster declaration for Kansas as hospitals struggle to keep up with COVID-19 cases. As hospitals warn of deteriorating conditions amid the latest spike in COVID-19, Gov. Laura Kelly issued Thursday a new disaster declaration in a bid to stem staffing crises at health care facilities statewide. The new order, which will last for 15 days, won't carry with it any new mandates but is instead a response to pleas from hospitals for help amid a rise in cases not seen since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020. "This is an emergency that is important and that is why we are issuing these directives," Kelly said in a Statehouse news conference, adding her administration has been discussing possible steps with hospitals in recent weeks. It was her first COVID-19 news conference at the Capitol since July. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported Wednesday a rise of 15,000 cases since Monday. Figures show Dec. 30, 2021, had the most cases reported of any day since the start of the pandemic. More than 7,000 Kansans have died from the disease. In addition, Kelly issued two executive orders designed to ease hospital woes. Health care workers are missing work by the hundreds with COVID-19 isolations and quarantines, meaning facilities have fewer staff members on hand to cope with a perilously high number of cases. More: Shawnee County's new COVID cases nearly double. Commission to hear from health officer. One executive order would relax licensing requirements for nurses and other staff members, as well as allowing National Guard and military personnel to volunteer in hospitals. The second is aimed at helping the 500 or so state-licensed adult care homes adequately staff up. Both orders were in place earlier in the pandemic. Kelly added it was unlikely active National Guard members would be mobilized to support hospitals, as there are few guard members trained in medical fields who were not actively employed in a health care setting. "That is why we're issuing these executive orders today, because we don't have these resources available through the guard," Kelly said. Story continues The governor again encouraged residents to get vaccinated and boosted if they had not already done so. About 57% of Kansans are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her news release made no mention of face masks. Douglas County moved Wednesday to reimplement a mask mandate, starting Friday, but no other counties have followed suit. Kansas had a COVID-19 emergency declaration in place for much of the pandemic until top Republican legislators allowed it to lapse in July over the objections of Kelly, a Democrat. The governor didn't make an effort to renew the order during subsequent case spikes, however, and the governor's office and KDHE have taken few concrete steps in recent weeks to guard against the virus' spread or support hospitals. Kelly told reporters in December that her administration is "doing everything that we possibly can to mitigate the damage that the virus is doing" but acknowledged more work was needed. More: Kansas hospital officials warn they're rationing care and say worst is yet to come Still, she played down the threat to hospitals at the time, even as facilities began delaying surgeries and other procedures. "Those are not life and death surgical procedures," Kelly said on Dec. 17. "Those are elective procedures." Kelly noted Thursday there was not a good understanding of the potential impacts the omicron variant of COVID-19 would have on hospital capacity. "Once we figured it out, we got it together and are doing it now," she said. Kansas hospitals struggle with COVID influx, delaying surgeries But over a dozen Kansas hospital leaders made a rare statewide appeal Wednesday in a news conference, warning that hip replacements and cancer surgeries were being delayed to free up capacity to care for COVID-19 patients, most of whom are unvaccinated. "We are in crisis and it is shocking to me that people want to declare victory when we are in this," said Steve Stites, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System. Transferring patients to larger hospitals within the state has become basically impossible, officials said, with a five-fold increase in the number of individuals dying in emergency rooms, waiting for a bed to free up. "I am sure most of you saw the press conference yesterday with a multitude of our health care professionals from all across the state," Kelly said. "This is an emergency." She said the timing of her emergency declaration coming after the doctors called for one was a "coincidence." "Actually, we've been having conversations with our hospitals ... we knew that it was very likely that we would have to do this," she said. In a statement, Cindy Samuelson, a spokesperson for the Kansas Hospital Association, said Thursday's announcement was "welcome news." Under legislation signed into law last year, top Republican legislators must sign off on any new COVID-19 disaster orders after 15 days. More: New COVID variant has Kansas doctors afraid, hospitals full: 'My crystal ball is ugly' Gov. Laura Kelly puts her mask back on after taking questions at a press conference Thursday at the Statehouse. Kelly said she had been in touch with legislative leaders about proposals to address hospital capacity issues. The intent was for the short-term order to last until the legislative session begins next week, at which point she would work with lawmakers to codify the policies into a law that would be in place through March. "We'll keep these orders in place for 15 days as a stopgap until the Legislature can convene and send me a bill," she said. In a text message, House Speaker Ron Ryckman appeared supportive of the new order but said lawmakers would be watchful for any additional mandates. "We have been advised of the staffing shortages and increased hospitalizations that our healthcare system is currently facing and believe this order may provide some temporary and necessary relief and flexibility," Ryckman said. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, was more skeptical, saying in a statement, "I question the necessity of a new statewide disaster emergency" given the imminent return of lawmakers to Topeka. "That said, the underlying executive orders to relax regulations that will assist our hospitals and long-term care facilities to address their staffing shortages are helpful," Masterson said. Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Kelly's likely opponent in the gubernatorial election this year, said lawmakers should "exercise strict oversight" over the governor's powers "to ensure her actions remain sensible, narrowly tailored and tightly limited." "It is good the legislature reconvenes on Monday and will be in session to maintain a watchful eye," Schmidt said. He did not indicate whether he supported the governor's actions. Kelly said the surging coronavirus caseloads have been caused by holiday gatherings and the omicron variant. "Numbers right now are bad, but there is reason for optimism," Kelly said, noting that while omicron is more contagious, the new variant tends to cause less severe disease. "As omicron becomes the dominant strain, it will mean more COVID-19 infections, but over time, a significant reduction in hospitalizations and deaths," she said. Stites, the KU doctor, warned last week that delta is still circulating and causing many hospitalizations. Additionally, "we have to be afraid" that omicron could ultimately lead to just as many hospitalizations due to the higher number of infected people. "Don't get so darn confident and cocky about this being omicron," he said. Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Gov. Laura Kelly COVID emergency declared for Kansas hospital staffing Judge Joseph H. H. Kaplan had a leading role in the resolution of Marylands savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. (PERRY THORSVIK) Judge Joseph H. H. Kaplan, the retired chief judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City who was remembered for his pragmatic ability to negotiate problematic issues, died Wednesday at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 85. During a long career he played a leading role in the resolution of Marylands savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. He once sent Jeffrey Levitt, a central figure in the banking scandal, to jail for contempt of court. Advertisement Joe had a wonderful way of pushing a settlement in cases that did not appear to be resolvable, said Associate Judge Stuart R. Berger of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. He was tough but fair, and all the parties knew that. He did an extraordinary job and he was also devoted to Baltimore City. He also brokered a deal that allowed the Camden Yards development to go forward. He determined the value of the former Baltimore and Ohio freight warehouse at a figure accepted by the structures former owners. Advertisement He was a champion of the approval of adoptions without regard for a parents sexual orientation. He also negotiated the resolution of ownership of the George A. Lucas Art Collection. Judge Kaplan was a judges judge, said attorney Paul Mark Sandler. He had the ability to see directly to the heart of a matter. He had a third eye and was always thinking of the public good. He was the judge all of us wanted to be before him. When a lawyer was off base, he did not hesitate to say so. He also said, Judge Kaplan would go out of his way to help young lawyers. Judge Joseph H. H. Kaplan was a champion of the approval of adoptions without regard for a parents sexual orientation. (COOK/Check with Baltimore Sun Photo) He served as administrative judge and then headed Baltimores Circuit Court, where he presided for more than 30 years. A devotee of architecture, he oversaw the restoration of his beloved, historic Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse as well as the construction of a new Juvenile Justice Center. Born Joseph Henry Herbst Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Dorothy Herbst Kaplan and Irving E. Kaplan. He came to Baltimore to earn a degree at Johns Hopkins University and was a graduate at the University of Chicago Law School, where he was editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. Advertisement He was a law clerk to Judge Frederick W. Brune who sat on the Maryland Court of Appeals. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1961 and went on to be a partner at Venable, Baetjer & Howard, where he served in the firms litigation department from 1969 to 1977. He was born to be a judge. He had an innate sense of fairness, said John Henry Lewin Jr., a friend and his former law partner. In the old days we all lunched at Horn & Horn, and our table frequently included members of City Council, people such as Bob Embry and Mayor Tommy DAlesandro III Mr. Lewin also said, People knew that when Joe took an interest, he would excel. He earned peoples respect. As a young lawyer, Judge Kaplan represented Lester Matz, a Baltimore County contractor who admitted to making illegal payments to Spiro T. Agnew, the Baltimore county executive who was later vice president. Agnew, who resigned, left public office in disgrace in 1973. In the Agnew prosecution, Joe definitely played a significant role, said Mr. Lewin. Advertisement He was named a judge in 1977. Joe went to Chicago and those winters hardened him. He never wore an overcoat. And if it got really ugly he might don a scarf, said Mr. Lewin. He had a penchant for antiques and collected clocks and was adept at rebuilding them. He kept a grandfather clock in his office. Mr. Lewin described the judge as a wonderful lawyer and he rolled up his sleeves and worked hard. He was a methodical, well prepared lawyer, said his former Venable partner, James D. Wright. He was calm, approachable and a warm person. No matter how complex the matter, the Judge was always prepared, having read the filings and having an intimate understanding of the law, said a family statement. He treated all who came before him with courtesy and respect from counsel to litigants to sit before Judge Kaplan was to be heard and treated fairly. Baltimore Circuit Court Chief Judge Joseph H.H. Kaplan retired in 2006 after decades on the bench. Here, he stands in his secretary's office. (BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR/Baltimore Sun) Judge Kaplan found himself in the middle of the collapse of the Maryland Savings and Loan industry in the middle 1980s. Advertisement Kaplan, [was] catapulted to folk-hero status for his adroit handling of the enormously complex legal issues in Marylands S&L crisis, said a 1986 Washington Post article. Judge Kaplan sentenced Jeffrey A. Levitt, the key figure in the Old Court Savings and Loan collapse, to contempt of court for overspending his $1,000-a-week allowance. Levitt, who later admitted his desire for money had become a compulsion, was later sentenced by another Baltimore judge to 30 years imprisonment. He also took the case of the George A. Lucas art collection, which was owned by the Maryland Institute College of Art but on long-term loan to the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art. He worked out a settlement with former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening wherein the two museums were able to acquire the collection after MICA threatened to put the assemblage of prints, paintings and bronze statues up for sale. Without Judge Kaplan, that resolution would have never happened, said Fred Lazarus, former MICA president. Advertisement I got to know Joe as an incredibly smart lawyer who was fair. Many believed he possessed the the wisdom of Solomon. He was both a scholar and pragmatist and applied the law with common sense, said Stanley Mazaroff, a a former Venable partner and the author A Paris Life, A Baltimore Treasure, the Remarkable Lives of of George A. Lucas and His Art Collection. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Among his many decisions was the handling of a bitter dispute among board members of the Joseph Richey House, a pioneering Baltimore City hospice where many AIDS patients died. Judge Kaplan led the negotiations that kept the hospice open. In 1995, he denied family members of John Wilkes Booth, who killed President Abraham Lincoln, a petition to exhume the assassins grave in Green Mount Cemetery. In the decision, Judge Kaplan said the law requires that graves remain undisturbed unless there are substantial, compelling or valid reasons to reopen them. He found the petitioners arguments lacking. He was a past president of the Library Company of the Baltimore Bar and chaired the Alcoholism Services Advisory Committee of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine 1979-85. He was a past president of the Roland Park Roads and Maintenance Corp. and led a 1970s effort to preserve the 1895 Roland Park Shopping Center from a threatened modernization. [ Harry P. Fischer, founder of Harvest Inn Family Restaurant in Eldersburg, dies ] He also served on the board of trustees for the Baltimore City Historical Society and the Baltimore Bar Foundation. He was also active in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Maryland and the Dismas House in West Baltimore. Advertisement Survivors include his wife of nearly 59 years, Joy Keller Kaplan; two daughters, Elizabeth M. Fitzgerald of Baltimore and Katharine Herbst Kaplan of Washington, D.C. and a son, Dr. Frederick Thomas D. Kaplan who lives outside Indianapolis, Indiana; and nine grandchildren. A funeral is planned for later this year. CLAREMONT, CA Residents will have to watch City Council meetings from the comfort of their homes as the city will hold all public meetings virtually again amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County. The city will hold its meetings virtually until further notice, officials said. The move applies to both the City Council and city commissions. Claremont officials initially began to hold their meetings virtually in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic but moved to a hybrid format in December 2021. The hybrid format allowed a limited number of people to attend the meetings in person, city officials said. However, COVID-19 cases began to surge across the country because of the highly infectious omicron variant. COVID-19 cases shot up in California after the holidays, with the average daily case count reaching 52,855 on Wednesday, according to The New York Times. The count signifies a 522 percent increase from the previous 14 days. In Los Angeles County, the area saw a 603 percent increase on Wednesday with a 21,037 daily average case count, the Times reported. This article originally appeared on the Claremont-La Verne Patch ALBANY, N.Y. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signature structural change to state government during his first term was an overhaul of political mapmaking in New York. A new Independent Redistricting Commission would permanently reform the redistricting process in New York to once and for all end self-interested partisan gerrymandering, he promised. That bipartisan commission flunked its biggest test on Monday, with its 10 members deadlocking 5-5 on a pair of competing proposals. This was an abject failure, said commissioner Ross Brady, who is allied with the Republican members. That leaves the redistricting process exactly as it was a decade ago. State lawmakers are now likely to reject both of the commissions plans and draw the maps themselves. And success is not a given the Legislature's Democratic majorities need near unanimity and will have to fend off any GOP court challenges. But the commissions stalemate eases the way for the most pro-Democratic gerrymandering in the history of New York, the countrys second most-populous Democratic stronghold. That could provide a major boost to the party as it seeks to maintain control of the House of Representatives. Theres now a smoother path for new lines that would help increase the size of New Yorks 19-member Democratic congressional delegation to 22 or potentially 23, even as the number of seats shrinks from 27 to 26. Such an outcome might have been predictable, in part because a state constitutional amendment that created the commission left a path for the Legislature to vote down its lines twice and then return to their old mapmaking habits. The independent commission was formed as a false positive step by Cuomo, because its recommendations dont have to be followed, said Democratic activist Bill Samuels, who helped lead the opposition to the amendment. At the time it was set up, most of us said it was meaningless. The commission came about when former New York City Mayor Ed Koch made a push for redistricting reform the last act in his colorful life. Cuomo had pledged to veto any gerrymandered lines while seeking his first term in 2010. Kochs activism on the subject made it impossible for Cuomo to back away from that promise without suffering significant blowback. But legislators were unwilling to surrender their traditional prerogative, and the amendment to make some changes starting in the 2020s represented the best possible path for minimizing the backlash from either lawmakers or Koch. Story continues While it didnt go as far as Cuomo had initially promised, the amendment did leave some safeguards against one-party gerrymandering in place. Much to the chagrin of other Democrats, Cuomos amendment effectively said that if the party ever won control of the state Senate, new lines would need two-thirds supermajorities in both that chamber and the Assembly, which Democrats have dominated since Watergate. At the time, the notion of Democrats winning 42 of the state Senate's 63 seats was considered highly unlikely. Then came Donald Trump and an ensuing blue wave election in 2018. Democrats now have 43 seats in the Senate. The amendment also allowed for the possibility that the commission could actually reach an agreement. In that scenario, with Democratic and Republican commissioners coming together around one set of lines, legislators might have faced intense pressure to go along with the maps. But Mondays vote calls into question whether a commission with five members allied with Democrats and five with Republicans, most of whom are appointed by legislative leaders, can ever work as advertised. It wasnt an independent commission The entire way it was set up was problematic from the beginning, said Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York. Lerner, the executive director of the civic activist group, won a 2014 lawsuit asking a court to block the appearance of the word independent on the ballot when the constitutional amendment went to voters as a referendum, arguing it was misleading to give the commission that label. Assuming commissioners dont find a way to strike a deal when they draw a second set of maps later this month, there are only a couple of roadblocks preventing a mapmaking process dominated by Democrats. For one, theyll need to remain unified. Democrats have the necessary two-thirds majorities in both chambers. But they dont have a lot of breathing room in either. If any blocs of members such as the handful of socialists in each house make demands that are unacceptable to their colleagues, then the majorities might need to start looking for some Republican votes, which would certainly complicate things. But what if they find the votes? The only thing saving Republicans from being redistricted into oblivion could well be anti-gerrymandering language in the amendment, such as a prohibition on drawing lines to discourage competition. Language like that is far from adequate, Lerner said. Several attorneys have argued over the years that the only hope for winning a court case on such a phrase would involve Democrats being foolish enough to leave a paper trail in which they explicitly say theyre gerrymandering a district. But its enough to guarantee that Republicans arent going to surrender anytime soon. This is unprecedented that we have the standards that are now in the constitution, and no court has ever interpreted the standards, said former U.S. Rep. John Faso, a Republican. So I think its a big gamble for them if they try to overreach and do an extreme partisan gerrymandering. Major Black art show Fifty-two years ago, the Delaware organization Aesthetic Dynamics Inc. delivered its first big project: an exhibit of 130-plus works of art by 66 Black artists. Mediums represented included prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures and photographs. Five decades later, Aesthetic Dynamics founder Percy Ricks and the Delaware Art Museum have partnered to revisit this large collection in the show Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks. The exhibit includes most of the artists represented in the original show including Humbert Howard, Simmie Knox, Edward Loper Sr. and Edward Loper Jr. plus those recognized nationally such as Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, Lois Mailou Jones, Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas and Hale Woodruff. A collection of art from the "Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks" exhibit is on display at the Delaware Museum of Art through Jan. 22. The art was pictured on Oct. 26, 2021. You can view The Vision of Percy Ricks at Delaware Art Museum (2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The exhibit ends Jan. 22. Admission is $14 for adults, $7 for students (with ID), $6 for youth (ages 7-18) and free for members and children age 6 or younger. Theres also free admission for guests on Sundays. Visit delart.org or (302) 571-9590. Country Dancing @ The Grand Upstate Delaware doesnt have as much of a yee-haw personality as Lower Slower, but they still know how to Git-R-Done. Folks can rock their favorite cowboy boots for an evening of line dancing and country jams. Dancing @ The Grand will feature a DJ and dance instructions by Ray Muller. Guests are required to wear masks and provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event. Groove all night long in Studio One at The Grand (818 N. Market St., Wilmington) at 7 p.m. Friday. Admission is $6. Visit thegrandwilmington.org or (800) 37-GRAND. Movie for I Love Lucy fans Iconic Hollywood couple Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) from the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy are back in the spotlight in the biographical drama Being the Ricardos. This Amazon original movie reveals a glimpse into the couples life during one production week of I Love Lucy, as the pair face a series of personal and professional crises that threaten their show, their careers and their marriage in this behind-the-scenes drama by writer-director Aaron Sorkin. Story continues Wilmington's Theatre N will screen "Being the Ricardos" this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Being the Ricardos screens in the Nemours Building at Theatre N (1007 N. Orange St., Wilmington) at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and at 5 p.m. Jan. 15. Tickets are $9 for members and adults, $7 for students with ID and seniors and $5 for children under age 12 (with an adult). Visit theatren.com or (302) 571-4075. Comedy Express rolls into Wilmington What better way to start the New Year off than by laughing as hard as you can? Four comedians are on a journey to split your sides with the event Comedy Express. The laugh fest features headliner Tait Winston, along with Jo Jo Collins, Bill Scully and host Janice Messitte. This silly foursome will take your mind off the cold and give you something to smile about at the House of Laffs (1206 N. Union St., Wilmington) at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25. Visit houseoflaffs.com or (302) 485-5233. ICYMI Capitol riot made Delaware artist cry. She fought back with art inspired by spilled beer Mare of Easttown would make Wawa lovers proud by bringing home Golden Globe Sci-fi movie shot in Delaware wins film festivals. Milford creators hope for wider release How this Elsmere-area bakery has cemented itself in family celebrations, Three Kings' Day Open Call: 'Mistakes' in art lead to vital creative transformation This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Percy Ricks, 'Being the Ricardos', country dancing and more to entertain Delaware CLARIFICATION: This report has been updated with more recent data. Also: A previous version contained an incorrect statement about the state's contact tracing program. Contact tracers are contacting positive cases, but not all of their contacts. While there are some options available and more being planned, Delawareans are struggling to get tested for COVID-19 as cases surge once again following the holiday season. The best advice is to plan ahead and broaden your search as appointments likely won't be available at your desired location on short notice. The state also offers at-home options, but those require several days for approval before they can be shipped. For most residents in northern Delaware, test appointments can't be made sooner than a week in advance. There are more appointment windows available in central and lower Delaware, but the opportunities remain slim relative to the growing demand. Tests are available to purchase in some stores (most two packs cost around $20), but supply there is limited too. Prices will likely soon increase after a deal in which the Biden administration offset costs to retailers expired last month. Signs point to separate COVID-19 testing and COVID-19 vaccination events Thursday, April 1, 2021, at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover. The state is processing more test results than ever before despite the Christmas holiday. Recently, it recorded more than double the number of tests conducted in the last week of November and a higher percentage of tests are returning positive than ever before, indicating widespread community transmission. Currently, about 1 in 4 COVID-19 tests in Delaware are positive. The state has averaged 2,549 positive cases each day over the past week, which is more than double the average two weeks ago. That number could be even higher: The state has reported processing delays because of the high volume of results and the mild symptoms of omicron might make some less likely to pursue a test. Where to buy a COVID-19 at-home test: Here's what to know and where to look As a result, some, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Gov. John Carney have leaned more on hospitalizations as their gauge for the veracity of COVID-19's spread. Story continues "Hospitalizations are where the rubber meets the road," said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. Hospitalizations are at record-setting levels too, having increased about 80% in the past two weeks to 698. What's the Center for COVID Control?: Questionable sites spotlight nation's thirst for quick testing AJ Schall, the director of Delaware Emergency Management Agency whom Carney has called the state's testing czar, said Delaware's testing capacity is "somewhere north of 60,000 weekly," without including the capabilities of partners such as Walgreens, Labcorp and Quest. Through its partnership with Curative, the state recently conducted 53,923 tests in one week. Its goal is 60,000 a week. The state has requested federal support to increase its testing capacity. It plans to introduce testing sites in each county in mid-January that together could conduct 10,000-15,000 tests per week. Schall said the state is still deciding on the locations of the sites. They would use a federal lab partner so as to not impact capacity at Delaware's existing locations, he said. A.J. Schall, director of the Emergency Management Agency speaks to the media during a briefing on the current status of the coronavirus pandemic in Delaware Tuesday, May 26, 2020, at the Carvel State Building in Wilmington. In response to the testing shortage, state officials have also asked residents to stop seeking tests in some scenarios to reserve them for people who are at higher risk for a severe case of COVID-19. Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay on Tuesday said Delawareans shouldn't be tested if they've been positive in the last three months or if they've been vaccinated and boosted and do not have symptoms. After testing positive, Rattay said residents should avoid taking additional tests to confirm their status. "That's a waste of a test that could be used for other people," she said. I know COVID testing remains frustrating, but we are making improvements. In the last two weeks we have stood up federal testing sites all over this country and we are adding more each day. Google COVID test near me to find the nearest site where you can get a test. President Biden (@POTUS) January 5, 2022 In public addresses, state officials have presented the situation as an unavoidable outcome due to unanticipated demand. At the federal level, officials have been making vows to improve the country's testing infrastructure for about a year. "Nobody anticipated the testing demand above any other time we've seen during the pandemic, also with a large number of Delawareans vaccinated too," Schall said. On top of the high demand and supply issues, they say testing providers have been dealing with staffing shortages with many of their employees testing positive for COVID-19. "When everyone in the state wants something at the same time, even the best plans and resource management is just not going to be able to keep pace," Division of Health and Social Services Secretary Molly Magarik recently said. Where can I get a free COVID test? There are locations throughout Delaware offering free COVID-19 testing services, including pharmacies, state service centers, urgent care facilities and pop-up sites. The state's website provides a tool that allows residents to scan a map of testing sites by day and test type. The website provides links to sign-up pages for most locations. Most testing sites require an appointment, especially as demand has increased. Walk-ins are accepted at some sites but may be turned away. Below are direct links to make appointments for a variety of testing sites. Most sites are showing extremely limited availability within a week. A separate state website, deregister.pl.labware.cloud, manages appointments for some Walgreens locations and some state service centers. More Walgreens locations can be found at walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing. Results are expected in 24-48 hours. Rite Aid testing sites can be found at riteaid.com/pharmacy/services/covid-19-testing. Results are expected in 2-5 days. Curative offers testing services at a number of state service centers and community sites such as churches, fire halls and the Christiana Mall. A variety of tests are offered, including two-hour rapid tests. Residents can search by their location at curative.com. Appointments at CareForceMD urgent care facilities can be made at careforcemd.com/locations?type=1. Results are expected in 2-3 days. MedExpress locations offer drive-thru and walk-up tests with results expected in 2-5 days. It does not have an online sign-up. More information can be found at medexpress.com. Doctors Pathology Services offers drive-thru testing in Wilmington, Dover, Lewes and Georgetown. The first available appointment is in Georgetown on Jan. 11. Appointments can be made at dpspa.com/covid19. Results are expected in 1-3 days. Atlantic Apothecary in Camden has no availability through Jan. 11. Future appointments can be made at doineedacovid19test.com/Camden_DE_975.html. Results are expected in 3-5 days. Camden Pharmacy offers PCR tests with results due in 3-4 days for free and 15-minute rapid tests for $60. Appointments for both can be scheduled at camdenrxde.com/CovidTesting. Appointments are available as soon as Thursday. Walk-ins are welcome at Ivira Pharmacy locations in Wilmington and Milford for PCR and rapid tests. The pharmacy's website, ivirahealth.com/#COVID, does not allow residents to make appointments, but asks they fill out a registration form prior to arriving as a walk-in. How can I get an at-home test? Delaware residents can request an at-home testing kit at coronavirus.delaware.gov/testing/home-test-kit/. The state encourages higher-risk individuals to use this testing method. The kit requires users to administer their own oral swab test with a Vault health care provider assisting via video call. After registering online, residents will receive an email in up to 3 business days if they are approved for a test. A testing kit will then be sent via overnight delivery. Results are expected 2-3 days after residents ship back the completed test. Residents can also request an at-home testing kit from Labcorp at ondemand.labcorp.com/state-de. The website notes Labcorp is fulfilling a limited number of orders. The Biden administration has said it is launching a website this month where Americans can request rapid tests be shipped to their homes for free. They have not shared information on how it will work. "We're also eager to hear more details on how this is going to proceed," said Rick Hong, medical director for the Division of Public Health. "We have not received a definitive plan on how this is going to roll out or when it's going to roll out. We're working closely with the federal level to determine how this is going to happen." What should I do if I can't get tested right now? State officials say residents regardless of vaccination status should get tested on the fifth day following their exposure to COVID-19. In practice, however, a test on that precise interval may be difficult to come by. "It is going to be challenging," Magarik said last week. "I don't want to sugarcoat it. Demand is absolutely outstripping supply." If you can't get tested and have a cold or other COVID-19 symptoms, you should treat yourself as a positive COVID-19 case, Rattay, the DPH director, said. Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health, speaks as administration officials conduct a press briefing on the state's coronavirus situation Tuesday at the Carvel State Office Building. According to the state's most recent guidance (detailed below), that would involve isolating for at least five days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says if you're unable to get a test in the five days after being a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and you have not had symptoms, you can leave your home. If you continue to have symptoms that are not improving, you should continue to isolate, according to the guidance. What should I do if I test positive? At the end of December, Delaware implemented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated guidance for isolation and quarantine, which included a reduced isolation period for some positive cases. If you test positive for COVID-19 you should isolate for five days regardless of vaccination status, according to the guidance. If you don't have symptoms or symptoms are improving, you can end isolation after five days. You should continue to wear a mask for another five days around others at home, at school and in other public settings. If you have a fever after five days, you should continue to isolate until you make 24 hours with no fever without using fever-reducing medications. The Division of Public Health is asking residents who test positive to notify people they came in contact with in the days prior to their positive test themselves. "We don't know and at this point are struggling with the volume of cases with processing, so we do not have the ability to contact trace and notify and do that extensive interview for every single positive case," Magarik said. It is not necessary to test out of isolation, but if you do take a test toward the end of the five-day isolation period and test positive you should isolate until day 10, according to the guidance. These are the same protocols schools should follow, officials said. The Division of Public Health is also no longer providing clearance letters to return to work or school. The agency said it has prioritized using its team of epidemiologists to process and post test results to have "the most accurate and fullest picture of what positive cases exist in the state as quickly as possible." Reporter Meredith Newman and The Associated Press contributed. Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: COVID testing: Curative, Walgreens and other options in Delaware A number of Democrats, alongside some constitutional scholars and pro-democracy advocates, have been exploring ways to bar Donald Trump from ever holding office again. Theyve been looking into whether a constitutional amendment from the post-Civil War era could be used to prevent Mr Trump from returning to the White House. While the interest in banning the former president from returning to public office, which peaked after the Capitol riot a year ago, has since waned, some have stayed focused on the issue and say that the discussion about putting Section 3 of the 14th Amendment into effect have carried on and are still active. Harvard Law School constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe told The Hill: If anything, the idea has waxed and waned. I hear it being raised with considerable frequency these days both by media commentators and by members of Congress and their staffs, some of whom have sought my advice on how to implement Section 3. Around a dozen Democratic lawmakers have discussed the issue, either in public or in private, over the course of the last year, according to The Hill. Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the House Select Committee investigating 6 January; New York Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; and Florida Representative and former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz have all recently spoken with Mr Tribe. I continue to explore all legal paths to ensure that the people who tried to subvert our democracy are not in charge of it, Ms Wasserman Schultz told The Hill. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that officeholders who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same are banned from holding office again. The 14th amendment was adopted on 9 July 1868, just over three years after the end of the Civil War. Mr Raskin is a former constitutional law professor and was the House manager for Mr Trumps second impeachment trial following the insurrection. Story continues He told reporters at the time that Mr Trump was right in the bullseye middle of the group of those to who the constitutional section could be applied. The point is that the constitutional purpose is clear, to keep people exactly like Donald Trump and other traitors to the union from holding public office, he told ABC News on 17 February 2021. But he added that the issue required more research. Most constitutional experts said lawmakers would have to take a separate step to make the 14th amendment operative in order to apply section three, The Hill reported. Some scholars think that a simple majority in both the House and the Senate could find that Mr Trump was engaged in the insurrection and thereby apply section three. A supermajority vote two thirds would then be needed to make Mr Trump eligible for office again. Other scholars, including Mr Tribe, think that Congress would have to establish a separate body or assign the matter to a court to determine if Mr Trump engaged in insurrection. Pro-democracy group Free Speech For People has launched a pressure campaign to get state election officials to take action and use the 14th Amendment if Mr Trump decides to join the campaign trail again, which would prevent him from being on the ballot in the states where officials choose to act. The group sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and Washington, DC, telling them that they have to prevent Mr Trump from appearing on their ballots, arguing that the 14th amendment is already operative and no additional action is needed. Just as states are permitted (if not required) to exclude from the presidential ballot a candidate who is not a natural-born citizen, who is underage, or who has previously been elected twice as president, so too states should exclude from the ballot a candidate, such as Mr Trump, who previously swore to support the Constitution, but then engaged in insurrection, the letter to the head election official in Georgia states. If the election officials dont take action, the group intends to litigate this question, according to Free Speech For People President John Bonifaz. So if a secretary of state does not follow the mandate of Section 3, the 14th Amendment, we will bring this matter in court, he told The Hill. Some legal scholars think such a court case could be difficult to win. Indiana University law professor Gerard Magliocca told the outlet: If a Secretary of State declines to find Trump ineligible, it is far from clear who could challenge that determination. Mr Tribe told The Hill that Mr Trump would likely be able to launch a successful lawsuit against a ban unless Congress sets up a neutral fact-finding body determining that he was engaged in the insurrection and that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies. The professor added that Mr Trumps ability to run for office again may hinge on what the House Select Committee investigating 6 January reveal about Mr Trumps actions in relation to the insurrection. A report on the matter could lead to more widespread support for, and legislative action on, a ban. Once that committee makes clear, as I trust it will, that what took place was indeed an insurrection that triggers Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and that supports criminal prosecution by DOJ of those responsible, it is difficult to imagine this not becoming a logical next step, Mr Tribe said. A married Idaho booking deputy has been accused of duping a former Olympic speed skater, after making herself the beneficiary of his will, only to then abandon him when he was dying with mad cow disease. Olympian Boris Leikin passed away from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, in July 2021. Prior to his death, however, the speed skater began a romance with 49-year-old Marina Billings, despite the fact that she was married at the time. As the Daily Mail first reported, Ms Billings, as well as her husband Robert, have both been charged with financial exploitation of Mr Leikin. Neither has been implicated in his death directly, although police do admit that the couples behaviour may have hastened Mr Leikins decline from the deadly disease. Ms Billings and her husband Robert both face charges of financial exploitation and aggravated abuse. Jeff Hall, chief deputy at the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office, has clarified that the couple is not being charged with murder for the time being. In a murder charge, we would accuse someone of directly causing the death of someone else and doing that unlawfully, he told Fox 13. In this instance, the allegation is that these people created circumstances that compromised a vulnerable adults health, not necessarily that they directly caused a death. Boris Leikins Idaho home (Google) Ms Billings has also been placed on administrative leave from her duties at the Bannock County Sheriffs Office while an internal investigation is ongoing. According to friends of Mr Leikin, he quickly became ill after he started to date Ms Billings. The pair originally met on an online chat forum for Russian ex-pats, as Ms Billings had previously moved from Siberia to the US in 2007. Shortly after their romance began, she moved into Mr Leikins Cottonwood Heights home in Idaho. As court documents obtained by ABC 4 show, it was at this point that the 1998 Olympian first became gravely sick. From there, the deputy told neighbours she was caring for the skater as well as managing his finances while he was hospitalised. Following his release, it is alleged that she continued to act as his caretaker, isolating him from others, before forcing him to sign an amended version of his will in spite of his rapidly deteriorating physical and mental state. Dick Cheney Tom Benitez - Pool/Getty Images Former Vice President Dick Cheney joined his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), in Congress on Thursday as lawmakers marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) led a moment of silence on the House floor, one year after the attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who sought to disrupt the certification of President Biden's election win. Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney were the only Republicans in attendance on the House floor for the moment of silence, according to CNN. The former vice president told ABC News the Jan. 6 anniversary is an "important historical event," and "you can't overestimate how important it is." Cheney added, "I'm deeply disappointed we don't have better leadership in the Republican Party to restore the Constitution." He also said the Republican Party's leadership is "not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for ten years," per Politico. ABC News' Ben Siegel reports that Democrats "one by one" came over to introduce themselves to Dick Cheney and shake his hand. The New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker wrote that there was "something surreal about watching Pelosi and other Democrats happily greeting Dick Cheney, once their bete noire," suggesting it "says something about how Trump has changed the nature of our politics." Liz Cheney, told NBC's Today the threat to democracy "continues," and she criticized those Republicans who are "looking the other way," adding, "That's how democracies die, and we simply cannot let that happen." As Dick Cheney left the Capitol, he told reporters he's "very proud of Liz." You may also like A Japanese automaker beat Ford and GM for car sales. Nobody panicked. California deputy DA opposed to vaccine mandates dies of COVID-19 The NFT craze has stopped being funny A 24-year-old Irish citizen admitted in Bucks County Court on Thursday that he was intoxicated last year when he attempted to illegally pass a car and smashed head-on into a vehicle with four teenage girls, seriously injuring them. Shane Brolly, who along with his passenger was also seriously injured, pleaded guilty to a long list of charges, including five first-degree felonies, before Judge Jeffrey Finley. The plea was open, which means he faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years on each of the five felonies alone. Sentencing was deferred until a pre-sentencing report is completed; no date was given. The victims were all 17 and students at Neshaminy High School when the accident occurred. Three of the four teens and their families attended the hearing, but did not speak in court. They will be able to offer victim impact statements at his sentencing. After the hearing, Julia Aquilone, who was driving the car Brolly struck and was the most seriously injured, said she felt "a little overwhelmed" at hearing the details of the accident repeated in court. Now a senior, she recently underwent another surgery for the injuries she suffered, and plans to speak at sentencing. Brolly, a Philadelphia resident, faced 16 felony charges plus misdemeanors and summary offenses resulting from the March 2021 accident. He remains in Bucks County jail in lieu of 10% of $975,000 bail, which was originally set at $10 million. Four Neshaminy High School students were seriously injured after their car (far right corner) was struck head-on by a pickup truck (center) on Bridgetown Pike in Northampton in March, 2021 Brolly was living in the United States a little less than two years at the time of the March accident, according to authorities. Authorities believe Brolly left Ireland in late 2019, after an arrest warrant was issued for him. He failed to appear at an October 2019 sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 16-mile, high-speed chase in which he was driving while intoxicated. Brolly was illegally living in the United States on an expired work visa when, while intoxicated and speeding, he attempted to illegally pass another northbound car on Bridgetown Pike in Northampton and struck a southbound 2019 Mazda CX5 carrying the teens. Three passengers in the car Brolly attempted to pass were not injured. Story continues Toxicology tests results found Brolly had a blood alcohol content of .21, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania. More on Shane Brolly: Suspected drunk driver in accident that injured Neshaminy 4 is a wanted man in Ireland More premium content: 'Extreme indifference': DA alleges hours of drinking, ignored pleas and a hit and run before 'Neshaminy 4' crash More on the "Neshaminy 4": 'Neshaminy 4' face a long road to recovery after Northampton crash Community support for teens: Here's how to help 4 Neshaminy students recovering from Northampton crash At his preliminary hearing last year, where all charges against him were held for trial, Brollys injured passenger testified that he and Brolly had been drinking alcoholic beverages for at least six hours and Brolly had struck a parked car while driving to the last bar where they were before the accident. The posted speed limit in that section of Bridgetown Pike is 45 mph, but an accident reconstruction expert testified that five seconds before impact Brollys borrowed pickup truck accelerated from 57 to 70 mph and there was no evidence he applied the brakes. The Mazda was traveling at 40 mph and the teen driver applied the brakes two seconds before the airbags deployed, the expert testified. Brolly still possessed his United Kingdom driving license, which was suspended in 2019, but it was not valid in the United States. Reunion of Neshaminy High School juniors who were injured from a DUI crash accident, March 2021, were Julia Aquilone, (second from the left), 17, Julianna Mazzoni, 17, Angelique Corsina, 17, and Taylor Donnelly, 17, Sunday, April 25, 2021. The four girls in the car Brolly hit collectively known in the community as the Neshaminy 4 underwent surgeries, and other extensive treatments and therapies for their injuries, which are ongoing. They returned to Neshaminy High School for their senior year. Following the accident, community members organized multiple fundraisers for the families including a GoFundMe campaign started by a Northampton couple who helped rescue the girls that raised more than $150,000 toward the families' medical expenses. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: DUI driver in last year's 'Neshaminy 4' accident enters guilty plea Registered nurse Melanie Morrison provided support to a patient during her delivery. (Courtesy Photo) Registered nurse Brittany Weatherly helped a patient better understand a family member's illness. (Courtesy Photo) Registered nurse Kerry Byrne, on video screen, gave a patient a personal "spa day." (Courtesy Photo) Hospital recognizes team members for patient care Carroll Hospital recognized several team members with awards during December. The recipients were honored for their compassionate and exceptional patient care. The honorees included registered nurse Melanie Morrison, team leader in The Family Birthplace, who was presented with Carroll Hospitals November DAISY Award. A nurse at the hospital for 25 years, Morrison was recognized for her patience, attentiveness and overall compassion toward a patient who was a first-time mom, as she was preparing to give birth. Since the patients mother could not be with her, Morrison stood in as a supportive figure for the patient during her delivery. Advertisement Registered nurse Brittany Weatherly, oncology, at the William E. Kahlert Regional Cancer Center, was presented with the Dragonfly Award. A nurse at the hospital since 2018, Weatherly was recognized for her exceptional care when she went out of her way to provide a patient with a resource to help him understand his family members illness and the best way to provide care. Registered nurse Kerry Byrne, intermediate care unit, has worked at the hospital for four years. She was also honored with the Dragonfly Award. She went over and above to help brighten the day of a patient, who had very few visitors, by giving her a personal spa day during her hospital stay. Advertisement Community members and hospital employees are encouraged to nominate a hospital team member who has demonstrated a dedication and devotion to their job in a variety of ways. For more information, call 410-871-6833 or visit www.lifebridgehealth.org/recognition. William Bill Ware was named Employee of the 4th Quarter at The Taney Corp. (Courtesy Photo) Ware awarded for work at Taney Corp. William Bill Ware was awarded Employee of the 4th Quarter at The Taney Corp., a wood stairway and rail manufacturer in Taneytown. Ware, who has been with the company 1.5 years, was selected for his diligence in making many pre-builts in the last few months. He and his co-worker have turned out thousands of linear feet of rail for numerous customers. He has also helped train others in this area. The award includes one day off with pay. Business briefs offer information about Carroll County-based companies, employees and their operations, news of awards, promotions, new business openings, new hires, etc. Send your release to the Carroll County Times, P.O. Box 169, Westminster, MD 21158, or cctnews@carrollcountytimes.com. Elmo of "Sesame Street" went viral on Twitter this week. (Victoria Will / Associated Press) So far, the buzziest Twitter feud of 2022 is between Elmo and a pet rock. Earlier this week, the furry red star of "Sesame Street" began trending on social media after an old clip of Elmo absolutely losing his mind over his friend Zoe's pet rock, Rocco, resurfaced. And Elmo, eternally 3 years old, has wasted no time capitalizing on his viral fame. Once the initial video gained traction, Twitter users started posting their favorite clips of "Unhinged Elmo" losing his patience mostly in reaction to Rocco's inanimate presence as Zoe and other "Sesame Street" cast members gaslight him. The recirculated footage has spurred a wave of public support for the (usually) friendly monster on behalf of anyone and everyone who has ever simply had enough. Here's a brief timeline to get you up to speed on the epic Elmo-versus-Rocco rivalry. Rocco makes his 'Sesame Street' debut "Sesame Street" introduced Rocco in 1999 as Zoe's pet rock, and Elmo was immediately skeptical. Upon meeting Rocco for the first time, Elmo laughed at Zoe for befriending a rock. But Elmo's amusement soon turned to frustration once Zoe began dictating Elmo's behavior according to Rocco's feelings and needs. Even worse for Elmo, none of the other "Sesame Street" characters seemed the least bit bothered by Rocco's presence, consistently taking Rocco's side and playing along with Zoe's nonsense as if part of some cruel conspiracy to drive Elmo to his wit's end. Rocco has been Elmo's archnemesis ever since. Elmo's Rocco rant resurfaces On Tuesday, a video of Elmo going off on Zoe and her pet rock began picking up steam on social media. As of Thursday morning, the clip had racked up more than 7 million views on Twitter. In the scene from a 2004 episode of "Sesame Street," Elmo and Zoe's friend Gabi bakes them a batch of cookies during a playdate. When Gabi is fresh out of Elmo's favorite cookie, oatmeal raisin, Elmo reaches for the oatmeal raisin cookie sitting in front of Rocco. Story continues Big mistake. Zoe informs Elmo that said oatmeal cookie is reserved for Rocco and Elmo can't have it. After five years of enduring Zoe and Rocco's shenanigans, Elmo is fed up. "Rocco?!" Elmo exclaims. "Rocco's a rock, Zoe! Rocco won't know the difference!" When Zoe insists Rocco wants to eat the oatmeal raisin cookie, Elmo stands his ground. "How?! How is Rocco gonna eat that cookie, Zoe?" he snaps. "Tell Elmo! Rocco doesn't even have a mouth! Rocco's just a rock! Rocco's not alive!" And lo, the Unhinged Elmo trend was born. "Right now we are all Elmo having an oatmeal raisin cookie denied him so that a rock can be placed next to it," tweeted author Seth Abramson. "Elmo losing his s is the best possible start to 2022," tweeted comedian Karen Chee. Elmo bans Jimmy Fallon from 'Sesame Street' Caught in the cross fire of the Elmo-Rocco feud was late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon, the subject of yet another resurfaced clip of Elmo unleashing his pent-up wrath. In the Fallon video, Elmo walks off the "Late Night" stage after the comedian accuses Elmo of skipping rehearsal for the show. When Fallon begs Elmo to come back, Elmo is defiant, banishing Fallon from "Sesame Street" as the audience roars with laughter. "You're not coming to Sesame Street anymore!" Elmo shouts at Fallon. "The Roots, you can come. But you're not coming anymore!" Elmo responds to his viral fame On Wednesday afternoon, Elmo acknowledged his viral popularity by setting the record straight about his relationship with Zoe and Rocco. "Don't worry everybody!" Elmo wrote in a tweet that has already amassed more than 300,000 likes. "Elmo and Zoe practiced sharing and are still best buds forever! Elmo loves you Zoe! Ha ha ha!" "Elmo doesn't want to talk about Rocco," he added. For good measure, Elmo then subtweeted Rocco by asking, "Has anybody ever seen a rock eat a cookie? Elmo is just curious." Your move, Rocco. Don't worry everybody! Elmo and Zoe practiced sharing and are still best buds forever! Elmo loves you Zoe! Ha ha ha! Elmo doesn't want to talk about Rocco. Elmo (@elmo) January 5, 2022 The Rock and Cookie Monster have entered the chat As of Thursday afternoon, Rocco had yet to respond to Elmo's latest Twitter shade (perhaps because, as Elmo astutely pointed out, "Rocco's just a rock"). But the Rock as in pro-wrestler-turned-movie star Dwayne Johnson has officially weighed in. "Yes, my friend. This Rock devours cookies. All kinds of cookies," Johnson assured Elmo on Twitter. "Ill introduce you to #CheatMeals and itll change your life. Tell Cookie Monster to move it over, cuz Im coming to Sesame Street to kick a and eat cookies. And Im almost all outta cookies. Cookie Monster who, up until this point, had been minding his own chocolate-chip-cookie-loving business then had no choice but to enter the fray: "Me say cookie challenge ACCEPTED!!!" Me say cookie challenge ACCEPTED!!! Cookie Monster (@MeCookieMonster) January 6, 2022 This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Zendaya has discussed the possibility of Tom Holland having a cameo in Euphoria. Zendaya, who is in a relationship with her Spider-Man co-star, appears in the HBO drama series as teenage drug addict Rue. In an interview last month, Holland said that he had been petitioning to join Euphoria in a walk-on role for its second season, adding: It has not happened yet and Im very disappointed. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Zendaya said that Holland who previously claimed to have visited the set of season two at least 30 times had supported her throughout filming. She then said that the pair had talked about the Marvel actor having a potential cameo, explaining: You know, we joke about sneaking him into the background and seeing if someone can spot him. Zendaya won an Emmy for her portrayal of Rue in the first series of Euphoria, which first aired in 2019. The series, which also stars Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney, received critical acclaim for its gritty portrayal of teenage life. Holland and Zendaya attend the premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home in December (Getty Images) Last month, Zendaya celebrated the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home with a sweet tribute to my Spider-Man, Holland. Euphoria season 2 comes to Sky and Now on Monday 10 September. CHICAGO With more Illinois residents searching for ways to avoid waiting in long lines to get tested for the coronavirus, the Federal Trade Commission is warning that there are plenty of home self-testing kits that wont provide trustworthy results. The federal agency issued a warning on Wednesday that fake and unauthorized home testing kits are being offered online as opportunistic scammers look to take advantage of the spike in new positive COVID-19 cases around the country. The FTC said that not only do the fake tests fail to deliver legitimate test results for those who worry that they may have contracted the virus, but said they increase the risk of users unknowingly spreading COVID-19 to others, the agency said in a news release. COVID-19 Tests In Short Supply: How To Find One In Illinois The FTC also offered the following tips to make sure that consumers are purchasing at-home testing kits that can be trusted: Make sure the test youre buying is authorized by the FDA. Check the FDAs lists of antigen diagnostic tests and molecular diagnostic tests before you buy to find the tests authorized for home use. (EUA is emergency use authorization.) Check out a seller before you buy, especially if youre buying from a site you dont know. Search online for the website, company, or sellers name plus words like scam, complaint, or review. Compare online reviews from a wide variety of websites. You can get a good idea about a company, product, or service from reading user reviews on various retail or shopping comparison sites. Think about the source of the review. Ask yourself: Where is this review coming from? Is it from an expert organization or individual customers? Pay by credit card. If youre charged for an order you never got, or for a product that's not as advertised, contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. Consumers who feel like they have purchased a test that doesnt meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards can report claims of fraud here. Story continues Other COVID Scams Earlier this week, health officials in Lake County issued a warning that illegitimate testing sites were starting to pop up as the demand for COVID-19 increased. Health officials warned that if testing sites were asking residents to pay for testing, it is likely a sign that a scam is being perpetrated on those looking for tests. Fake tests are among a growing list of scams surrounding the virus, which remains persistent in the United States and around the world, with COVID-19 infection rates remaining at record levels, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner, told ABC 7 it could be a "red flag" if the staff can't answer whether the tests are authorized by the Food and Drug Administration or which lab the results are being sent to. This article originally appeared on the Chicago Patch A 24-year-old man from Texas was shot in the parking lot of a Chuck E. Cheese in Humble city on Friday night while he was bringing in a birthday cake for their six-year-old daughter. Police said that Calogero Duenes was walking outside the restaurant when he got into an argument with another man who was driving a Ford vehicle. The Humble police department said that the unidentified young man was driving the wrong way down the parking lane. Police officers who arrived at the scene said that Duenes had suffered multiple bullet wounds on his body. Duenes was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died. Police said that the suspect pulled out a gun and shot Duenes, then fled from the scene in his vehicle. Duenes wife Amber Uresti told local media that he was shot while he was bringing in the cake for their daughter. Its a tragedy. I really cant wrap my head around it. Like, Im hurt. I cant understand how someone can do that to someone thats holding a cake, she was quoted as saying by KPRC. She added: We just went to go celebrate my daughters sixth birthday. I mean, thats all he was tasked with. All he had on him was a cake. The couple had been together since their teenage years, Ms Uresti said. They have two daughters: a six-year-old and a three-year-old. My husband passed without me, without anybody to hold his hand, to comfort him. I want justice. I want justice for my children, for Calogero, Ms Uresti said. Reports said that Duenes will be taken to his hometown of Corpus Christi in southern Texas to be buried. The funeral is scheduled for 10 January. Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining issues facing prisons and jails during the coronavirus pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (Erin Scott/Pool via AP) ORG XMIT: WX429 Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal announced his retirement amid a short but troubled tenure plagued by the agency's handling of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, persistent staffing problems and security lapses in the nation's largest prison system. Carvajal, who had been serving as an assistant director, was elevated to the top spot in early 2020 to succeed Kathleen Hawk Sawyer. She had been appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr to lead the agency after accused child-sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell. We are very appreciative of Director Carvajals service to the department over the last three decades," a Justice Department spokesperson said Wednesday. "His operational experience and intimate knowledge of the Bureau of Prisons the departments largest component helped steer it during critical times, including during this historic pandemic." Carvajal is expected to remain at the agency until a successor is named. Some lawmakers, including Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., had been calling for the change, citing the agency's failure to address chronic staffing shortages across the system while the deadly coronavirus continues to claim new victims. For years, the Bureau of Prisons has been plagued by corruption, chronic understaffing, and mismanagement," Durbin said late Wednesday. "In the nearly two years since Director Carvajal was handpicked by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, he has failed to address the mounting crises in our nations federal prison system . . . His resignation is an opportunity for new, reform-minded leadership at the Bureau of Prisons. The agency's staffing problems have marred the system for years, pre-dating Carvajal's tenure. In 2016 and 2018, USA TODAY reported that the agency was tapping nurses, kitchen workers, plumbers and teachers to fill vacant officer positions. The practice, known as augmentation, has been harshly criticized by Republican and Democratic lawmakers as a safety risk. But prison officials have defended the practice, saying that all staffers receive basic officer training. Story continues Last year, the Associated Press reported that more than 100 federal prison workers have been arrested, convicted or sentenced for crimes since the start of 2019, including a warden indicted for sexual abuse, an associate warden charged with murder, guards taking cash to smuggle drugs and weapons, and supervisors stealing property such as tires and tractors. More: Federal prison guards falsified records of cell checks, inmate counts More: Jeffrey Epstein suicide casts spotlight on federal prison system riven by staff shortages, violence, sexual harassment The Justice Department's inspector general also found last yearthat prison officials had not engaged in negotiations with union employees for 20 months, delaying policy changes previously recommended by the inspector general addressing "systemic correctional and safety issues." Carvajal began his career in 1992 as a corrections officer and had steadily risen through ranks, serving as a lieutenant, captain, associate warden and warden. He was promoted as director of the agency's Northeast Region in 2016. "Michaels nearly 30 years of experience with the bureau will serve him exceptionally well as he takes on these new responsibilities, and I am confident he will do an outstanding job as director," Barr said at the time of his appointment. Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial after his indictment on charges of sex trafficking and sex-trafficking conspiracy. Federal prosecutors alleged that he "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, and at other locations from 2002-2005. Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in New York on July 2, 2020. He was found unresponsive in his cell in August 2019nat the federal detention center in Manhattan and transported to nearby New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The suicide launched three federal investigations, one resulting in the indictment of two officers who were charged with falsifying records, stating they had checked on disgraced financier in the hours before he hanged himself. Republican and Democrat lawmakers said the suicide underscored deeper problems within the vast prison system which has struggled with persistent staffing shortages. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the suicide a "profound indictment of the system," while Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the Epstein death exposed a "crisis of public trust" within the agency. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Director of embattle federal prison system announces retirement A photo included in a motion from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia allegedly shows Christopher Worrell spraying pepper spray gel toward law enforcement officers outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2020. A violation of release allegation has been filed against an East Naples man accused of participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Christopher John Worrell, 50, was taken into federal custody after FBI agents executed a search and arrest warrant at his Collier County home on March 12. Worrell, a member of the Proud Boys, is accused of attacking police officers with a pepper spray gel. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Authorities released him from jail in November, citing medical conditions and the need for specialized treatment. His release came with conditions such as home detention, approval in advance for doctor appointments and no access to the internet, social media or email unless it is with his legal defense team or approved by the court. On Wednesday, a violation report from Pre-trial Services filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. alleges the "defendant and his custodian violated the condition of defendant's release that he not access a personal computer or the internet." The violation order does not explain where and when and how the allegation occurred. The U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System carries out probation and pretrial services functions in the federal courts. The filing asks that Worrell and his custodian, Trish Priller of Naples, respond by Jan. 14. Worrell is barred by court order from direct or indirect contact with the news media without prior court approval and from making public comments without prior court approval. Priller said Worrell's lawyers were working on the response. "The report is bogus," she said. In earlier court documents, Worrell claims medical issues have been untreated despite multiple court-documented promises. Worrell's medical conditions include non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, major dental issues and treatment for a hand he said was broken and not cared for properly while he was in federal detention in Washington, D.C. Story continues Related: Two D.C. corrections officials held in contempt in East Naples man's Capitol riot case Previous coverage: Modified release for Naples man charged in Jan. 6 insurrection called 'denial' of civil rights More: Third attorney takes over U.S. Capitol riot case of East Naples man with Proud Boys ties Court document show Worrell broke his hand while in the D.C. jail May 16 when he slipped and tried to break his fall with his right hand. Documents also said doctors who saw him recommended surgery in June but he was instead treated with a splint and medications such as Tylenol. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, overseeing the case, had summoned D.C. jail officials to court in October. Worrell had been recommended for surgery in June but still hadnt undergone the procedure as of mid-October, in part due to a delay by jail officials in turning over medical documents. Christopher Worrell, right, of East Naples, is shown during a video interview with the Turkish public broadcasting company, TRT world. The FBI revealed the information in a complaint signed March 10, 2021, by a federal magistrate. The court document also notes that Worrell was wearing a shirt with "the Fred Perry yellow and black laurel wreath insignia that is now commonly worn by members of the Proud Boys." The video was recorded at the Mercato in Naples and uploaded to YouTube on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after the Capitol riot, the complaint said. As of Jan. 3, Worrell still had not had the surgery. Worrell has also been diagnosed with a form of cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Court records also reflect a lack a treatment while in custody for that condition. "As of 1/3/22 Chris has still not had treatment for his cancer," according to Priller. "The restrictions they have Chris on do not allow for immediate doctor appointments as they have to be scheduled and approved by pretrial services. (In late December) Chris finally got to his first oncologist appointment after being home for two months because of the ... restrictions and approvals needed." Notice of Filing of Defendants Medical Records by Michael Braun on Scribd Priller said Worrell's issues also include teeth that were broken in a fall. Priller said the fall came after Worrell said he passed out by his cell, something she said he has done several times. "Chris also has a bad abscess in his jaw and hasn't been able to get to the oral surgeon after seeing the dentist two weeks ago for the same reasons above," Priller said. "Chris thinks he broke his lower left molar when he fell as the issue showed up a short time later. They did nothing more than give him Tylenol." Priller has organized a fundraising effort on a Christian-based crowdfunding website to help pay his legal, medical and living expenses. The goal is $100,000. So far, 91 donors have contributed just over $10,000. An earlier effort on the same fundraising site was hacked, Priller said. Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Christopher Worrell, custodian must reply to allegations by Jan. 14 Alicia and Justin Johnson welcomed their fourth child Eliza Skye Jericho Jan. 3 at St. Vincent Dunn Hospital. Eliza is the first baby born in Lawrence County in 2022. BEDFORD The St. Vincent Dunn Hospital OB floor was quiet when the clock struck midnight on the first day of 2022. A baby had been born on the morning of New Year's Eve, but no moms were in labor to claim the distinction of having the New Year's baby. The annual wait to see who would have the first baby of the new year in Lawrence County required a bit of patience three days to be exact. Lawrence County news: Commissioners get update on efforts to increase broadband connectivity. Eliza Skye Jericho Johnson was born at 10:38 a.m. Jan. 3 to parents Justin and Alicia Johnson at St. Vincent Dunn Hospital. She weighed 8 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. She was delivered by Dr. Matthew Main. The couple, who live in Judah, never expected their baby would be the first of 2022. But when they arrived for Alicia's scheduled Caesarean section, they learned no babies had been born yet. On Tuesday, a sleeping Eliza rested in her mother's arms. Justin said her birth went smoothly. "She kicked the doctor on the way out," he said. "Dr. Main said, 'Dang, that's a strong baby.'" "She's very opinionated," added Alicia of Eliza's vocal nature. "She's eating well and sleeping fine," said Justin. Mitchell news: Council considers eliminating fundraisers that target motorists in streets. Eliza will be welcomed home by big sisters Brooklyn, 12, and Charleigh, 6, and brother Ezra, 10. "They can't wait to see her and will be good helpers," Alicia said. As a father of four, Justin is a seasoned parent, but he said he was anxious for his daughter's birth. "As you get older, you realize how much your kids are going to mean to you and I felt myself getting more anxious to meet someone you will love the rest of your life," he said. The couple also said they had a great birth experience at the hospital. Others are reading: Where to find COVID testing in Bedford and Mitchell. Story continues "It was our first time to deliver here," Justin said. "It was really nice, it felt like being with family." Gifts, donations St. Vincent Dunn presented the family with several gifts donated by staff and the community, including: $100 gift card from St. Vincent Hospital administration Case of diapers, wipes and car seat from the Birthplace/Obstetrics unit Infant soothing swing from Dr. Becky Allmon Stretch baby carrier, board books from Community Health and Wellness $50 gift card from Breastfeeding Coalition, Sandra Brown, RN, lactation consultant Baby care items from St. Vincent Dunn Senior Renewal $50 Visa gift card from Mr. and Mrs. Jade Ritter $60 JayC gift card from Heber and Mary Ellen Sowders $100 from Dr. Matthew and Christa Main Thermometer, onesies and baby items from Tina Shaw, RN, childbirth educator Ascension backpack Contact Times-Mail Staff Writer Carol Johnson at cjohnson@tmnews.com or 812-277-7252. This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: St. Vincent Dunn Hospital of Lawrence County sees first baby of 2022 Trump supporters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Brent Stirton/Getty Images People close to Mike Pence have been actively sharing information with Congress' Jan. 6 committee, Axios reported. They include Pence's for chief of staff Marc Short and press secretary Alyssa Farah, Axios reported. Some of them have even testified without a subpoena, Axios reported. Aides to former Vice President Mike Pence aides have been actively sharing information with the House committee examining former President Donald Trump's role in the Capitol riot, Axios reported. Sources told Axios that people connected to Pence have been cooperating with the committee, and one source said that some of them were even testifying without a subpoena. Axios reported that people cooperating with the committee include: Marc Short, Pence's former chief of staff. Alyssa Farah, Pence's former press secretary who later became the White House director of strategic communications. Keith Kellogg, Pence's former national security advisor. Axios reported, citing a source, that Short would not have helped the committee without Pence's agreement. Farah told Axios that, from the two committee meetings she attended, she "could see how much information they already had." "Those who are refusing to cooperate likely are doing so out of complete fealty to Donald Trump and not wanting to piss him off," she said. "But, secondarily, because they're realizing the committee has quite a bit more information than they realized. And their involvement is known to a much greater degree than they realized." In the run-up to January 6, 2021, Trump and his allies had pressured Pence to reject the Electoral College vote and overturn President Joe Biden's election win. Some of the rioters who stormed the Capitol called for Pence's death, chanting "hang Mike Pence." But Pence has still downplayed the experience, recently describing the event to the Christian Broadcasting Network as "one tragic day in January" that was being used to undermine Trump voters. Read the original article on Business Insider Former President Jimmy Carter. John Amis/AP Photo Former President Jimmy Carter wrote an op-ed for The New York Times saying democracy is in danger. It was published on the eve of the first anniversary of the Capitol riot. "Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late," Carter wrote. In an op-ed published in The New York Times on the eve of the first anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, former President Jimmy Carter issued a warning that the spread of misinformation and the deepening political divide jeopardize US democracy. The 39th president, who is now 97 years old, said he'd hoped the riot in which a pro-Trump mob attempted to overturn the 2020 election would enlighten the nation and force it to act against "the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy." He listed five demands that Americans should make of political leaders to "uphold the ideals of freedom and adhere to high standards of conduct": Put aside political differences to uphold the constitution and fairness. Establish better election security and reform. Create ways to respectfully engage across the political divide. Eliminate violence from politics by creating or amending existing laws. Reform social media and encourage the spread of accurate information. The January 6, 2021, riot ended with five people dead and hundreds more injured including about 140 officers. More than 738 people have been charged so far in relation to the riot. The US House of Representatives has also convened a bipartisan committee that is investigating the Capitol insurrection including subpoenaing lawmakers, media personalities, and former President Donald Trump's confidants. Carter said in closing, "Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss." "Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy," he added. "Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late." Read the original article on Business Insider After threatening earlier this week to file a lawsuit against his fellow Carroll County commissioners because of their decision to enact a mask mandate inside county buildings, Commissioner Eric Bouchat, R-District 2, backed down Tuesday once officials agreed to require all county business to be conducted online only in January. My colleagues received excellent legal counsel from our attorneys office and changed the policy I was going to sue them over, Bouchat said after a commissioner meeting on Tuesday. [They] know what they were trying to pull off on me was unconstitutional. Advertisement On Dec. 30 commissioners voted 4-1, with Bouchat dissenting, to require unvaccinated Carroll County government employees to wear an appropriate mask (preferably N95 or KN95) in government facilities, and require all visitors to county facilities, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask inside county buildings. Bouchat said the mask requirement he believes the mask requirement discriminates against people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination. It forces un-vaxed county employees into N95 masks and not vaxed employees, Bouchat said, calling the move a violation of the 14th Amendment, an amendment that addresses the rights of citizens. Advertisement At their Tuesday meeting the Carroll commissioners decided to require all boards and commissions to conduct their business online only for the next 30 days. They also decided to push the State of the County presentation from January to Feb. 1. The board also updated the mask policy, voting 4-1 to request that employees and visitors wear a mask in county government buildings regardless of vaccination status and to provide two hours of paid leave for county employees to receive a vaccination or booster shot, which will be retroactive. Bouchat was the lone vote against the measures. When asked if Bouchats lawsuit threat influenced the boards decision to conduct county business virtually for the next month, Commissioner President Ed Rothstein, R-District 5, said absolutely not. We received no legal counsel or administrative advice, Rothstein said. We were made aware of [Bouchat] wanting to sue us individually ... but our decision ... was made because of the governors press conferences on Monday and Tuesday morning. Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning, effective for the next 30 days. Rothstein said Hogan is requesting all state facilities require mask coverings and has authorized two hours of paid leave for state employees to receive a vaccination or booster shot. The Republican governor also provided updated quarantine protocols for all state employees based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The governor said the best fix to this challenge is to get vaccinated and he is highly encouraging, as we all are, to get vaccinated, wear the mask, to avoid crowds, to wash our hands and use common sense, Rothstein said. We do not want to mandate our community into doing something Its not our place to overstep our bounds but what we can do is work within our county government and lead by example, Rothstein said. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated as that has been the proven way of minimizing the impact of COVID-19. Advertisement While 92% of Maryland adults and 33% of the states children are vaccinated or have begun vaccination, in Carroll County, about 65.9% of adults have received one dose of the vaccine and 71.4% have received two doses. According to officials representing Carroll Hospital, the facility had 191 patients in total on Tuesday, 73 of whom tested positive for COVID-19. Of the COVID-positive patients, 75% are unvaccinated and are an average age of 58 years old. The vaccinated COVID-19 positive patients are an average age of 78 years old. On Tuesday, there were 15 patients in the Critical Care Unit, all of whom are COVID-19 positive. In addition, according to Rothstein, the governor shared concerning COVID-19 related statistics today. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > As of this morning the governor shared there are 3,057 COVID positive hospitalizations That is an increase of 500% over the last seven weeks, Rothstein said. He has allocated now $100 million in state funds to hospitals and nursing homes. [Hogan] expects things to change over the next four to six weeks but this will be the most challenging time, Rothstein said. Commissioner Stephen Wantz, R-District 1, said he also believes the COVID-19 case surge will continue for the next four to six weeks. Advertisement We again need to be very mindful of what were doing, Wantz said. Weve all become quite complacent as numbers started to go down and now weve got to get back to protecting one another. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty In the year since an insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol, Fox News has publicly insisted it has done its part to condemn the havoc wrought by the MAGA mob that day. Sure, Tucker Carlson has spent the entire year pushing revisionism about Jan. 6, suggesting the Capitol siege was a false flag orchestrated by federal agents and prompting concerns from Fox colleagues along with the outraged departure of two long-time Fox contributors and potentially the exit of Chris Wallace. But by and large, the network, especially its straight news side, censured the Jan. 6 violence, including on-air denunciations of the riots that evening, as the network has repeatedly claimed. Even Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, the Fox News stars whose worried Jan. 6 texts to the Trump White House have become part of a House committees investigation, have been consistent in condemning the attack. (Of course, broadly condemning the violence has never translated into any effort to hold its main instigator accountable.) And yet, its easy to forget how Foxs coverage played out as the siege itself unfolded. In fact, at the same exact time rioters fought with police and stormed the Capitolsmashing windows, ransacking offices, and physically attacking law enforcementthe networks daytime news hosts downplayed or completely misread the violence and, at times, even seemed to cheer on the MAGA mob. Revealed: Sean Hannitys Other Desperate Texts About Jan. 6 In the early afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, following Trumps bombastic Stop the Steal speech, in which he urged his followers to fight for him and stop Congress from certifying Joe Bidens election victory, thousands of MAGA heads swarmed the Capitol. It didnt take long for the seditious mob, some of whom were yelling Hang Mike Pence, to overwhelm police officers and breach the building. Despite the chaotic scene unfolding before their eyes in real time, the networks much-touted hard news team kicked off its coverage of the events at the Capitol by suggesting there was nothing of concern, early on labeling it a peaceful protest. Story continues Over wide-angle footage of the mob violently clashing with police officers, clouds of tear gas visible in the foreground, Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich touted the energy of the MAGA mob and how it can be funneled to places where it can make a difference next time around. Daytime anchor Harris Faulkner gushed over her colleagues remarks: Yeah, I love the positivity of that, she said. Moments laterand perhaps unaware that just minutes earlier rioters broke through windows of the Capitol and entered the building, forcing the Senate to gavel into recess and Vice President Pence to be removed from the floorchief political anchor Bret Baier reported: Its not like its a siege. It seems like they are protesting. Baier further suggested the gathering doesnt appear to be violent, and fellow anchor Martha MacCallum echoed her colleagues remarks, claiming it remains peaceful even as the pair reported that an injured police officer had just been carried away. Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins, reporting from the streets outside the Capitol, further asserted that everything was fine and calm amid clearly growing chaos. It has been peaceful, everything we have seen so far has been nothing but peaceful, but they are definitely fired up, Jenkins exclaimed. The chants I heard the most today was, Fight for Trump. That is what many feel they are doing here, protesting. We will see where the day goes. Eventually, Baier acknowledged that while they labeled it peaceful on air, were having a couple reports of people being injured in this breach of the security. The veteran newsman also noted at that time that demonstrators had pushed their way inside the building and more cops had been called. Fox News correspondent Chad Pergam added that the mob has overtaken the process of trying to certify the Electoral Collegesecurity here at the United States Capitol has failed, delivering a bit more reality to the networks viewers. Even then, as the pandemonium became more apparent, the on-air news team shifted from emphasizing the rioters supposed peaceful behavior to valorizing and justifying the MAGA mob. There is tear gas being used in the rotunda, members are being told to get the gas masks under their seats, the other question, where is the vice president? MacCallum said. We were told he was rushed out of the chamber This answers the question: I was under the assumption they would be safe in the chamber, that was before we realized people had breached the building and were walking through the rotunda. The anchor added: This is a huge victory for these protesters. They have disrupted the system in an enormous way! Fox News: Peaceful MAGA Mob Storming Capitol Is Huge Victory MacCallum also offered up some rationalization for the rioters, noting how these people were told that today was going to overturn the election and when you hear the passion in their voices, you can understand why they are severely disappointed. The star anchor ultimately condemned the coup attempt after it became fully apparent, but other news personalities continued to uncritically serve up MAGA-friendly reports on the chaos. One of the points that the demonstrators are making is that this is different from what we've seen with the BLM-type demonstrations because aside from some of the things that were broken getting into the Capitol and, disregarding the reports now of the woman who was shot, but aside from the things that were broken getting into the Capitol in terms of doors, they say there is no vandalism taking place, Fox News reporter Mike Tobin relayed on air. This is people sending a message. He then noted: I'm just reflecting their viewpoints and what people have said to me out here. But in fact, as the networks coverage that day gradually shifted from the dayside news team to Foxs opinion programming, pundits and hosts began adopting the whataboutist comparison to Black Lives Matter protestsa source of constant Fox News outrage that summerin an apparent effort to downplay the severity or deflect blame away from Trump and his allies. A lot of the people who are, Im glad, condemning any violence or intrusion into federal installations and so forth were markedly silent when there was widespread violence and pushing back on police and National Guard troops and attempts to breach that fence right outside the White House perimeter, Ingraham huffed during a late afternoon call-in to a news broadcast. Pavlich parroted Ingraham moments later, insisting the Capitol attack was the same as BLM protests, and grumbling that the Biden campaign refused to condemn the violence and the burning of our cities all summer long until the polling showed it was affecting their campaign. By the time the networks massively popular Trump-boosting primetime hosts took to the air, however, the narrative had fully shifted to placing the blame squarely on anyone but Trump and his supporters. Fox News Stars Desperate Excuses for Bombshell Jan. 6 Texts Millions of Americans sincerely believe the last election was fake. You can dismiss them as crazy, call them conspiracy theorists, kick them off Twitter, that wont change their minds, Tucker Carlson blared that evening. Rather than try to change their minds to convince them and reassure them the system is real, democracy works, as he would do if you cared about the country, our new leaders will try to silence them. What happened today will be used by people taking power to justify stripping you with the rights you were born with as un-American. He concluded his fiery monologue with this missive: It is not your fault, it is their fault! Ingraham and Hannity, both of whom privately texted Trumps chief of staff earlier that day to beg him to get Trump to halt the riots, suggested on air that left-wing activists and antifa were actually to blame for the violence. We knew this would happen when you had a huge group of people descending on Capitol Hill, when you have members of the Trump support organizations and antifa threatening to show up at the same time, Ingraham claimed at one point that day. Well learn more to the extent that that happened. Im getting a sense that theres clearly a big split in the MAGA groups that have come to peacefully protest with whoever is behind this intrusion in the Capitol, which by any account is unacceptable. During her 10 p.m. program that evening, Ingraham doubled down, claiming shes never seen Trump rally attendees wearing helmets or knee pads, adding that shes been to a lot of these rallies. And having already told his afternoon radio shows listeners that he heard reports that antifa might even wear MAGA gear during the Jan. 6 demonstration, Hannity said that evening on Fox News that it was possibly bad actors on the radical left who had infiltrated a peaceful MAGA crowd. The antifa claims werent just limited to the networks provocative opinion hosts, of course. Senior political analyst Brit Hume, who spent decades with ABC and Fox as a news anchor, tweeted to his followers that night: Do not be surprised if we learn in the days ahead that the Trump rioters were infiltrated by leftist extremists. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday that making vaccination compulsory to rein in the new coronavirus would not be very helpful, as that move would bring more problems than solutions. "We already have some difficulties to control the health pass compliance. Those difficulties would be even bigger if we made vaccination compulsory," Castex told BFM TV and RMC Radio. On Wednesday, France registered a record of more than 332,252 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and a further 246 COVID deaths in hospitals. Italy on Wednesday made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people from the age of 50, one of very few European countries to take a similar steps, in an attempt to ease pressure on its health service and reduce fatalities. (Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Gadsden City High School announced on Wednesday afternoon that school for the remainder of the week will be taught virtually through Google Classroom. The decision, according to Gadsden City Schools Superintendent Tony Reddick, was made because of the rise in COVID-19 cases within the system causing a lack of teachers. Weve had a few cases there that have caused more teachers to be out than we have substitutes to cover, so were going virtual there for two days, said Reddick. As much as it is COVID-related, it has more to do with the supervision of students. The system also has reinstituted a mask mandate for all its schools through at least Jan. 18. Reddick said as of now, only Gadsden City High School will be virtual and all other schools within the system will continue in-person classis. However, the situation is going to be considered fluid and could change at any time. There arent any that have the same problems with supervision, Reddick said. Our infection rate is only at 1.7%, which is not at the point where we would all pull out and do virtual school. While virtual days for the high school are only confirmed for Thursday and Friday, Reddick added that the situation would be reassessed in the coming days to see if virtual learning needs to be extended further. However, he is confident that there will be enough teachers back in the building next week. With the new guidelines by the CDC indicating five days out and wearing a mask when you get back, all those teachers who are out should be back by then, Reddick said. This is barring that any other teachers should test positive in this time. Systemwide, Gadsden City Schools reported 65 students and 27 faculty and staff out with the virus. Of these, 13 staff members are located at GCHS. Reddick said students and faculty out from exposure were also up, totaling 92 people out in the system from either testing positive or being exposed to someone who had. The majority of our teachers have already been vaccinated, but obviously with this holiday weekend, there have been some infections, he said. Story continues Gadsden City Schools had pulled back on its mask mandate, making masks optional for students and faculty within the schools. Reddick said this decision was made because the infection rate at the time was 0.2% and as a way to appease parents and students who did not want to wear masks anymore. He said the present mandate will be reevaluated on Jan. 17 while students are out of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Because we realized that there would be a number of cases based on what has been shared with us on the Omicron variant, it was likely that there would be an increase in cases, he said. Reddick told The Times on Monday that schools would continue the cleaning regimen that they have had in place since the start of the pandemic. I was just talking to a principal and her cleaning staff yesterday, and she is still asking that desks and everything be wiped down daily, he said. Reddick asked people to remain conscious of the coronavirus, adding, Even though its not reported to be as dangerous as Delta or the original strain was, it (Omicron) can still make you sick. This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden City High School switch to virtual classes; mask mandate back By Krishna N. Das NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Gavi vaccine alliance is in talks with India's Bharat Biotech over potential procurement of the company's Covaxin COVID-19 shot for the COVAX global vaccine distribution programme, a Gavi spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday. "We are in discussion with (Bharat Biotech) as we consider the overall needs of the COVAX portfolio in 2022. However, we have no agreement for supply of Covaxin to COVAX at this time," the spokesperson said in an email. The World Health Organization in November gave Covaxin, India's first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, approval for emergency use. Three of the 10 vaccines the global agency has approved are mass-produced in India. About 180 million Covaxin doses have been administered in India and more than 3 million doses have been exported or donated. Gavi said it was also working with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the world's biggest vaccine maker to start supplying the Novavax vaccine to COVAX. Gavi has a firm order commitment for 300 million doses of the shot, with options for an additional 700 million doses. The SII has stockpiled tens of millions of doses of the Novavx shot, which it calls Covovax, and has shipped more than 9 million doses of the drug to Indonesia in bilateral deals. The SII is also a big supplier of the AstraZeneca vaccine to India and COVAX. India, which resumed vaccine exports in October after stopping shipments in April to inoculate its own citizens, has so far donated or sold more than 1 billion doses in total. The world's biggest vaccine-making country has capacity to produce about 5 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year. (This refile corrects typographical error in the headline) (Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman) QUINCY Local schools are struggling with staffing shortages and student absences as COVID cases continue to rise following the holiday break. Weymouth High School was forced to cancel Wednesday classes due to a lack of staff, and Quincy schools sent a letter to parents explaining that the "sharp increase" has made it impossible for nursing staff to individually call families whose students have been in close contact with someone testing positive for the virus. Teachers wait for students to arrive on the first day of classes at Point Webster Middle School in Quincy on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. When Quincy schools reopened Monday, there were 258 student cases and 41 staff cases reported. The district reported another 216 student cases and 35 staff cases combined on Tuesday and Wednesday. Superintendent Kevin Mulvey said the district was anticipating a spike in COVID cases, but wasn't sure how "extensive" it would be. "Monday coming back was certainly a challenge," he said, adding that 54 staff members were out Monday, 75 Tuesday and 49 Wednesday. "Across the state there is a sub shortage, I think a lot of people don't want to come in due to COVID. This year, in particular, our sub lines have been short." Jan 4: NH Supreme Court suspends attorney suing Hingham, Carver over school mask mandates See the latest sales in your town: 13,000 square foot Marshfield home sells for $2.5M - with a fireplaced tavern He said the district has increased pay for substitutes and they sometimes have to pull staff from the superintendent's office or math and literacy specialists to fill in for absent teachers. Several study hall classes had to be combined in the auditorium due to staffing and space concerns. "We see it leveling out even over the last few days," Mulvey said Thursday. In Weymouth on Thursday, nearly 25% of students were out sick. As of Wednesday in Duxbury, 220 active cases were reported between students and staff, which is 10 times higher than case numbers reported in December. Students and parents line up to tour the Alden School in Duxbury. "Although alarming, the numbers are in line with what we predicted based on what we knew about the highly contagious omicron variant and the fact that we are in the same post-holiday time period when we saw the most positive cases last year," Danielle Klingaman, interim Duxbury superintendent, said in an email to families. "We are extremely concerned about the high numbers." Story continues Jan. 3: Quincy students push for virtual learning amid COVID surge, local schools take precautions Jan. 4: Weymouth High School to close Wednesday due to staff shortages Klingaman, who would only respond to questions from The Patriot Ledger via email, wrote that they are handling the surge in cases "the same way we have been all along" and that contact tracing is extremely challenging and time consuming. If the schools have to shut down for lack of staff or too many cases, there are no plans for virtual classes and they will have to be made up at the end of the school year, she wrote in the email. Kindergarten students at the Chandler School in Duxbury on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. "Like all school districts, we are worried about our ability to keep the schools open due to staffing shortages, but we are hopeful that this will be a quick spike and then settle back into more manageable numbers," she said in the email. In Milton, Superintendent James Jette reported a total of 231 positive cases among students and 72 among staff as of Wednesday. The district canceled school Friday, citing inclement weather. He said 90% of faculty and staff are vaccinated and that more than 80% of students are vaccinated in grades 7 through 12. "Despite record absences of staff and students, winter weather and colder temperatures and anxiety felt by some, we have been able to maintain in person learning," Jette said in his weekly update to families. Earlier this week, Quincy students posted an online petition with more than 500 signatures asking for an option to attend classes remotely amid the surge. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has said districts cannot offer remote learning, even temporarily, without permission from the state. Mayor Thomas Koch, who chairs the Quincy School Committee, said Monday he would likely not support a switch to remote learning even if it was an option. "I think the kids should be in school," Koch said. "It's going to be a crazy month, there is no question about it. It has already been a crazy month with the holidays, but luckily we aren't seeing the severe illness we were seeing before." Austin O'Malley, along with the custodial team, sterilizes gymnasium seats as they make their way though South West Middle School in Quincy. Cleaning public spaces across the city has contributed to $6.5 million in city spending in response to the coronavirus. Several students spoke to The Patriot Ledger about their fears of catching COVID in school. "When COVID first started, there was one case and schools were closed for months. Now, 20 students are being called to the nurse's office between every class and we're still here. I just don't understand where they're coming from," Arlene Duza, a senior at Quincy High School, said. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer. Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Rising COVID cases burdening South Shore schools after winter break Number 2 pencils are displayed in the back-to-school section of a Target store in Rosemont, Ill., in this file photo. A group representing special education students has asked a federal court to block Michigan schools from closing or switching to virtual school. The Brain Injury Rights Group filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, after a handful of major districts around the state, including Detroit Public Schools Community District and Ann Arbor Public Schools, abruptly shifted to remote learning. The legal motion singles out Ann Arbor Public Schools, but also names the Michigan Department of Education. More: Oxford unveils plan for in-person school for high school students after shooting More: Michigan students of color disproportionately affected by COVID-19 school closures School leaders have said they have little choice in shutting down in-person learning, facing staff shortages and increasing coronavirus infection rates. But the group asking the court to block closures claims schools are violating the federal civil rights of students who require special education services. "It is inexcusable for school districts to continue to violate the rights of special education students by closing schools," Patrick Donohue, an attorney with the Brain Injury Rights Group, wrote in a news release on Wednesday. Donohue in the release also specifically blasts teachers unions and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the continued closures. The motion is a part of a larger lawsuit filed against Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Michigan Department of Education in June, which claims the district and state violated federal disability education laws by switching to virtual school amid the pandemic. Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com or follow her on Twitter @LilyAlta. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Group asks federal court to stop COVID school closures They're back! The Kentucky General Assembly kicked off its annual legislative session this week in Frankfort, where Republican legislators finally revealed their redistricting plans and are racing to pass them. Lawmakers and Louisvillians also mourned the loss of former state Rep. Darryl Owens, a civil rights leader who died Tuesday night at 84 years old. Here's the latest: Rush to redistrict GOP leadership revealed (at last!) their plans to redraw Kentucky's congressional and state Senate districts on Tuesday, as they convened the 2022 session. Republicans didn't carve up Jefferson County's 3rd Congressional District, represented by Rep. John Yarmuth, as some Democrats feared they would. The reshaped 1st Congressional District, which stretches from the far edge of Western Kentucky to Frankfort, did prompt comments about gerrymandering, though. Speaker of the House David Osborne-R, right, talks about the proposed House redistricting with fellow Republican lawmaker Jason Nemes after a press conference on Dec. 30, 2021. The House of Representatives' Republican leaders unveiled their chamber's proposed districts last week, and their plan has attracted criticism from Democrats and the League of Women Voters of Kentucky. Conservative legislators are pushing to pass their redistricting proposals by the end of this week, even though the public has had little time to review these plans. They also are fast-tracking a bill to delay the filing deadline for political candidates across the state to Jan. 25, which would give people more time to decide whether to run based on how the districts will be redrawn. Owens' loss is deeply felt Darryl Owens grew up in Louisville and went on to lead a historic life of public service, working over the years as a state representative, county commissioner, juvenile court judge and NAACP president. His accomplishments spanned decades. For example, he was the architect of landmark felony expungement legislation just a couple of years before he retired from the legislature in 2018. Gov. Andy Beshear, Mayor Greg Fischer and many other people have recounted Owens' legacy and the impact he had on so many Kentuckians. Story continues Louisville attorney Aubrey Williams, a former NAACP chapter president, said Owens was a "dedicated, resolute and fearless warrior in the movement and struggle for justice and equality of Black people. Furthermore, he was an accomplished lawyer and a wonderful mentor to the lawyers in my age group. He earned his stripes." What to expect in the legislature Redistricting is only the first in a long list of priorities for lawmakers in 2022. Reporter Joe Sonka put together a preview of this session that details what voters are likely to see over the next four months. In addition to developing a new state budget, legislators are poised to pursue plenty of fresh legislation, ranging from another round of restrictions on abortion to a newly introduced education bill that would give school superintendents more decision-making power. In case you missed it The Courier Journal asked Louisvillians what they want to see in their next member of Congress, since Rep. John Yarmuth is retiring. Reporter Bailey Loosemore detailed legislation Rep. Nima Kulkarni , D-Louisville, proposed that would make landlords temporarily hold onto evicted renters' belongings instead of tossing that stuff out. Reporter Ben Tobin did an exclusive interview with Fischer, who looked back on 2021 and ahead to 2022 and his priorities for his final year as Louisville's mayor. Reporter Andrew Wolfson contributed to this newsletter. Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Lawmakers kick off 2022 session with plenty to do WASHINGTON (AP) Rep. Cori Bush is no stranger to protests. She spent years marching the streets of St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri, rising to public office on the strength of her activism. But as the Missouri Democrat looked out the window of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 only her third day as a member of Congress she knew what was about to take place would be no peaceful protest. The Confederate flags in the crowd, and the makeshift noose and gallows erected on the Capitol grounds, spoke to a more sinister reality. Ive been to hundreds of protests and have organized so many protests, I cant count. I know what a protest is: This is not that, Bush, who is Black, said recently in an interview with The Associated Press. The insurrection by pro-Trump supporters and members of far-right groups shattered the sense of security that many had long felt at the Capitol as rioters forcibly delayed the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. But for people of color, including many in Congress, the attack was more than a violent challenge to a free and fair election it was an eerily familiar display of white supremacist violence, this time at the very seat of American democracy. First of all, as a Black woman, that is already just tough on a level thats different from what a white person would experience," Bush said of the imagery and rhetoric surrounding the attack, especially the Confederate flag that was carried by a rioter inside the Capitol. "But it's especially different for Black people because of our history. The history of this country has been that type of language and imagery is directed right at us in a very negative and oftentimes violent way. While Bush managed to escape the Capitol and barricade with her staff in her office in a nearby building, dozens of police officers faced down the violent mob in hours of frantic hand-to-hand combat. More than 100 officers were injured, some severely. Story continues A group of officers testified to Congress in July about the physical and verbal abuse they faced from supporters of former President Donald Trump. Harry Dunn, a Black officer, recalled an exchange he had with rioters who disputed that Biden defeated Trump. When Dunn said that he had voted for Biden and that his vote should be counted, a crowd began hurling a racial slur at him. One woman in a pink MAGA (Make America Great Again) shirt yelled, You hear that guys, this n- voted for Joe Biden! said Dunn, who has served more than a dozen years on the Capitol Police force. Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in, screaming, Boo! F-ing n-!" he testified. He said no one had ever called him the N-word while he was in uniform. Later that night, Dunn said, he sat in the Capitol Rotunda and wept. Meanwhile, as the attack unfolded at the Capitol, a handful of lawmakers remained trapped in the House and Senate galleries with no escape as rioters fought to break in. After a gunshot killing Ashli Babbitt, who was among the rioters and attempting to leap through a broken window, rang out in the House chamber, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado decided the best thing members could do was take off their congressional pins identifying them as lawmakers. But for lawmakers of color like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., removing the pin was not an option. I thought theres no way Im taking off my pin. Because it was either you get recognized by the insurrectionist or you dont get recognized by Capitol Police as a brown woman or Black woman, Jayapal told the AP in December. She added: And so many of the members of color that I know did not take off their pins. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the chairman of the panel investigating Jan. 6 and among those stuck in the gallery, said that day specifically brought back unpleasant experiences from his early days as a Black politician in Mississippi. I saw the kind of hatred in the eyes of the people who broke in the Capitol. It was that same kind of hatred I saw in people who wanted to stop people of color from casting a ballot for the candidate of their choice in Mississippi, Thompson said. In the aftermath of the attack, Crow and other white lawmakers reckoned with the experiences their colleagues of color faced that day. Crow told his Democratic colleague Rep. Val Demings, a Black former Orlando police chief who was also trapped in the gallery, that he didnt realize at the time how difficult it would be for members of color to disguise themselves from the mob. Jason shared after all of it with me that for him these are his words as a white male he could take off his pin, or he could keep his pin and run over to the other side with the Republicans and stand there and people may not know the difference, Demings said. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., also reflected on his ability to blend in more easily. I think to myself, well, if I need to, I can untuck my shirt, I can throw my jacket away. Im a white guy, Himes said. Theres actually a reasonable probability that I get through this crowd, right? In retrospect, I reflected on the fact that that was not true for Ilhan Omar, he said, referring to the Black Democrat from Minnesota. Crow himself called the interaction that day a learning moment. It wasnt until that day when I was on the receiving end of the violence of white supremacy in our nation that I understood, he said. The attack finally ended and the Capitol was secured. The rioters were allowed to peacefully leave the complex and lawmakers who stayed to finish the certification of the election went home. The images that surfaced online and on television showed the Capitols janitorial staff, the majority of them people of color, sweeping the broken glass and scrubbing the walls. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., joined them, getting on his hands and knees to pick up water bottles, clothing, Trump flags and U.S. flags. The son of Korean immigrants and, in 2018, the first Asian American to represent New Jersey in Congress, Kim reflected at the time how he, a person of color, was cleaning up after people who waved white supremacist symbols like the Confederate flag during the melee. While he hadnt considered race at the time, Kim told the AP shortly after the attack, Its so hard because we dont look at each other and see each other as Americans first." ___ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. People stand & listen Wednesday afternoon as a Walmart employee tells them the Aberdeen store is closed until Friday. (Matt Button) The Walmart store in Aberdeen closed at 2 p.m. Wednesday and will remain closed until 6 a.m. Friday for cleaning and restocking to address concerns about COVID-19. This will allow extra time for a third-party specialist to further sanitize the store, and will also give our associates additional time to restock shelves and prepare the store to once again serve the community, according to a statement released Wednesday afternoon. Advertisement Ashley Nolan, a global communications senior manager for Walmart Corporate Affairs, said that this was a proactive measure and that Walmart has been temporarily closing stores for similar reasons since the beginning of the pandemic. Advertisement Nolan did not detail the specific concern at the Aberdeen store that led to this decision. Citing privacy reasons, she would not say if the temporary shutdown was due to a COVID-19 outbreak among employees. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > The statement also said Walmart will follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and require all people, vaccinated or not, to wear masks in public indoor spaces in locations where transmission is substantial or high. Harford County is currently an area of high transmission, according to the CDC website. When the store reopens Friday, we will continue conducting associate health assessments, and all unvaccinated associates must still wear face coverings, the statement read. The county currently has a COVID positivity rate of 30.56 percent, about 1.6 percentage points higher than states current positivity rate of a record-breaking 28.56 percent. Terry and Marsha Perkins of North East were among the customers who arrived to the store Wednesday afternoon and were greeted in the parking lot by a store employee. The Perkins said they shop at this Walmart frequently and were there to exchange items they purchased at that store the day before. Ive never known it to be closed for any reason, except holidays, Terry Perkins said. Well, Im not upset about it, as long as they do one Walmart at a time, Marsha Perkins said with a laugh. I think its not a bad idea. On Sunday, March 22, 2020, Pastor Walter Lanier gives his morning sermon at Progressive Baptist Church, 8324 W. Keefe Ave., via a livestream using Zoom and Facebook. On the right is his wife, associate minister Nichole Lanier. With the highly contagious omicron variant causing cases of COVID-19 to skyrocket, the Wisconsin Council of Churches has announced it "strongly recommends" that churches do not gather in person for the next four to six weeks. The recommendation from the organization Wednesday comes as the state reports its highest new case count of the pandemic, breaking another all-time record set Tuesday. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state is on a near-vertical trajectory. The Council of Churches, a network of more than 2,000 congregations of various denominations in the state, does not have the power to require or force churches to close. Instead it "operates in an advisory capacity" and consults with medical experts, according to a news release. The Rev. Kerri Parker, executive director of the council, in a statement said the council understands the challenges of virtual church services. We recognize the exhaustion born out of two years of pandemic ministry, Parker said. "Still, we ask that churches put a hold on any plans for gathering in physical place for a limited time, until the Omicron wave has passed. This will protect vulnerable individuals, ease the burden on our healthcare systems, and avoid worsening the pandemic through our actions." The council recommends that church operations go entirely virtual or, when filming Sunday services, work with a small livestreaming crew, "until a smaller proportion of the population is sick and less-burdened hospitals allow for people to be treated in a timely manner." In March 2020, when most in-person events stopped abruptly because of the pandemic, places of worship were forced to adjust, moving to livestreamed or online services. Many continued to livestream even once they returned to in-person worship, seeing it as the way of the future and crucial to connecting with their congregations. According to survey data from the Council of Churches, about 80% of mainline Protestant churches in Wisconsin have been offering both in-person and virtual worship. Story continues Whether a church requires or recommends face masks varies widely across the state and depends on local ordinances, denominations and individual church leaders. More: Fearing medical and governmental overreach, white evangelical Protestants resist the COVID-19 vaccine most More: Many workers are turning to religious exemptions to avoid vaccine mandates. But it's not a simple solution for them or their employers. The council has offered advice and resources to churches throughout the pandemic on how to return to worship, organize vaccine clinics and communicate with their congregations about the virus. Parker, and other faith leaders in favor of strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19, have said they believe their mitigation and vaccination efforts align with the core value of loving one's neighbor. We express love of family, friends and neighbors by taking simple, direct action to reduce the spread of illness," Parker said in a statement Wednesday. "Churches have honed their remote ministry skills over the past year and a half, and now we need to lean into those skills again." More: More Milwaukee restaurants are requiring proof of vaccination before you take a seat Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SCarson_News. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Council of Churches recommends pause on in-person services By Devjyot Ghoshal and Sankalp Phartiyal NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police said on Thursday they had arrested a 20-year-old man they suspect created an online app that shared pictures of Muslim women for a virtual "auction", as an investigation into the case of communal harassment widened. An open source app on the Github platform called 'Bulli Bai' - a derogatory term to describe Muslim women - had shared pictures of dozens of women without their consent before it was taken down. K.P.S Malhotra, a police official in the capital New Delhi, said his team had arrested a 20-year-old engineering student from Jorhat in the eastern state of Assam after a probe that involved the state-run Computer Emergency Response Team. "He is the person who had created the Bullibai app on Github. He had also created the Twitter handle @bullibai_ and other handles," Malhotra said. Police in the western city of Mumbai, who are also investigating the app, have separately arrested three people this week, including two 21-year-old engineering students and an 18-year-old woman. Mumbai police said they were investigating whether the app, which did not involve any actual auctioning of people, was part of a "larger conspiracy". Several Indian Muslim journalists were targeted by the app, including Ismat Ara who filed and then shared on social media a police complaint on Sunday that said the app was "designed to insult Muslim women". "After today's arrest by @DelhiPolice, I hope the culprits behind this elaborate harassment of Muslim women, including journalists like myself, will ultimately be caught & punished," Ara said in a tweet on Thursday. Muslims account for around 14% of India's 1.3 billion population. Some sections of the community have been at odds with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration and Hindu right-wing supporters, including over a controversial 2019 citizenship law that triggered large-scale protests. Story continues The youngest of those arrested so far is from the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. The 18-year-old began spending time on social media and made contact with Hindu right-wing users after finishing her school-leaving exams last year,a local police official who spoke to her earlier this week told Reuters. The official, who declined to be named, said she had told him that her actions were based on Hindu right-wing ideology, which she had picked up on social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. "She came to social media to distract herself but she kept getting entangled in it," the official said. (Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal and Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Elaine Hardcastle) OLYMPIA, WA Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered flags lowered to half-staff to commemorate the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year. On Jan. 6, 2021, hundreds of rioters broke into the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential election in favor of former President Donald Trump. Over 100 people were injured, and five Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers died as a result of the attack. That same day, another protest breached the gates of the Governor's Mansion in Olympia. Some said they were protesting Inslee's COVID-19 restrictions, but others said they were protesting in favor of Trump and failed gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp, who also refused to cede the election. The governor says both events were "acts of violence and intimidation", and has ordered flags lowered to honor the U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Departments in Washington, D.C, and the Washington State Patrol troopers in Olympia who risked their lives to defend our government amidst the turmoil. "One year later, it is vital that we remember the heroism and sacrifice of those who defended the heart of our democracy and resisted this attempted insurrection last January," Inslee said in a written statement. "The institutions of our democracy depend upon our continued refusal to allow those who would violently attack our system of government and undermine the will of the people to succeed. U.S. and state flags in Washington state, which are already currently lowered to half-staff, shall also now commemorate and honor those officers who were wounded, and whose lives were cut short, as a result of last Januarys attack on the U.S. Capitol." The governor also asked that Washingtonians recognize the Washington Air National Guard and the Washington National Guard, who were deployed to defend both the U.S. Capitol in D.C. and the Capitol Campus in Olympia last year. In D.C., some marked the insurrection's anniversary with a moment of silence. President Joe Biden also gave a speech looking back at the year since the attack, accusing Trump and the rioters of holding a dagger at the throat of democracy in their attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Story continues For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Biden said. You cant love your country only when you win." Trump, meanwhile, has continued to repeat the lie that the insurrection was justified and that the election had been "stolen" from him. Of the 25.5 million ballots cast in the six battleground states disputed by Trump, only 475 cases of voter fraud have been confirmed, the AP reported. This article originally appeared on the Lakewood-JBLM Patch TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian who had opened fire on them during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus early Thursday, the Israeli military said. The military said it was carrying out an operation to arrest a suspect when armed men began firing on the troops. It said forces killed one of the gunmen. No soldiers were wounded and the suspect was arrested, the military said. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, identified the man as Bakir Muhammad Musa Hashash, 21, saying he was critically wounded in clashes with the military and later died. The clashes come amid a spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent weeks. Last month, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a car filled with Jewish seminary students next to a West Bank settlement outpost. Yehuda Dimentman, 25, was killed and two others were wounded near Homesh, which is considered illegal by the Israeli government. Also last month, a Palestinian attacker stabbed and seriously wounded an ultra-Orthodox Jew outside Jerusalems Old City. And just over a week before that, a Hamas militant opened fire in the Old City, killing an Israeli man. At the same time, settler violence against Palestinians has risen, particularly in the northern West Bank. Israel captured east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the territories are now home to over 700,000 Israel settlers. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements illegal and obstacles to peace. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem and the West Bank as parts of a future independent state, along with the Gaza Strip, which Israel withdrew from in 2005. Call them the Johnson & Johnson 16 million. Thats the number of Americans who got the one-shot vaccine as their first COVID-19 dose and now find themselves in a gray zone. While health officials encourage those whove gotten the double-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna series to get a third shot, J&J recipients are limited to their original one and a single booster. Of the 16.3 million people who got the J&J vaccine as their first dose, about 3.5 million have gotten boosted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But they cant go beyond that. I suspect there are thousands of J&J recipients in my situation who are questioning our protection," said Donna Alston, 61, of Philadelphia. I went to my pharmacy last week to see if I could sign up and they said no. Barring additional guidance from the CDC, Im prohibited from getting additional vaccine. STAY CONNECTED: Subscribe to Coronavirus Watch, your free daily update on all things COVID-19 in the USA The J&J vaccine was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 27. It wasnt until Oct. 20 the agency allowed a booster dose of the vaccine for adults age 18 and older at least two months after their initial dose. No third dose has been authorized. Thats in part because so few J&J doses have been given compared with the 190 million who've been fully vaccinated with a two-dose series of either Pfizer or Moderna. That's a big data gap, said Dr. Kelly Moore, chief executive officer of Immunize.org, which educates health care professionals about U.S. vaccine recommendations. In this April 8, 2021 file photo, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is seen at a pop-up vaccination site in the Staten Island borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) The mRNA vaccines went into widespread use at least three months earlier and established a far larger market share, Moore said, adding that U.S. regulators must make decisions based on evidence that takes time to gather and not assumptions. The FDA is collecting that data now, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Story continues In a call with reporters Monday, he said there was strong evidence an adenovirus vector vaccine, such as J&J's, followed by an mRNA vaccine produced a very good immune response. Now, the agency is looking at how well that response lasts. He expects information to be coming within weeks to months. As we get those data, we'll analyze them and then potentially make recommendations, Marks said. The wait isnt easy, especially when public health messaging is focused on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, said Jill Oliver, 57, of Boulder, Colorado. THE LATEST GUIDANCE: What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 or are exposed They keep saying, Three doses, three doses. Well, please finish that sentence and say, If youve had J&J and are boosted, youre set,' she said. Oliver got her J&J shot in July. She didnt choose; it was what was on offer. All the doctors were saying, The best vaccine is the one in your arm. So when it was my turn, I took it, she said. Oliver followed the public health advice again, getting her booster Moderna on Halloween, less than two weeks after they were authorized. I thought I was good, she said. Until, that is, data began to show the vaccine's protection could fade over time. Then came the ultra-infectious omicron variant, and suddenly two shots just didnt seem like enough. Now, shed like another boost. Coverage from the J&J vaccine does wane over time, acknowledged Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. But the protection it offers against severe illness and death remains high, he said. In this Wednesday, March 3, 2021 file photo, a pharmacist holds a vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y. Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a division of Johnson & Johnson. I can understand some of those people feeling a little forlorn and at a deficit because of all the discussion about three shots, he said. I would just comfort them and let them know that J&J followed by one of the mRNA s gets a huge antibody response. In Denver, Emily Moore, 50, got a dose of Pfizer vaccine as a booster to her original J&J. A diabetic, she'd really like a third now, but has been turned away from her pharmacy, which is waiting on further booster guidance. Ive been honest," she said. "I havent tried doing it sneakily, or lying and saying I lost my card." Even for those willing to skirt the truth, it appears harder to sneak extra doses than it once was. In Boulder, Oliver said she had several friends who got J&J as their first shot and then went in to get a second shot without mentioning their first. COVID VACCINE COCKTAILS: A guide to mixing and matching Pfizer, Moderna, J&J booster shots No more. Our county has put the kibosh on that," she said. "They started checking peoples cards and their system, so even though a lot of people did it early on, you cant now. For now, its a waiting game for J&J recipients hoping for another immune system boost. In Richmond, Virginia, Kevin Rosengren is on board with following the data. He got his first dose in late March and a booster in late October. He sympathizes with the regulators doing science in real-time. Were getting information fast and furious; its a tough call, he said. Even so, Rosengren would like to get a third dose of vaccine as omicron sends cases to record levels in the U.S. If you just wanted to strap a bag of vaccine to me so it was constantly dripping into my body, Id be fine with that, he said. Contact Elizabeth Weise at eweise@usatoday.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID J&J recipients want a third shot. The CDC has yet to approve one Good morning, neighbors! Colin Miner here with a fresh Gresham Daily. First, today's weather: Windy with rain; not as cool. High: 53 Low: 46. Here are the top stories today in Gresham: Gresham Police ID Portland Man As Suspect Killed After Bank Rob (Gresham Patch) Witness describes fatal police shooting of Gresham bank robbery suspect: 'It was almost like a movie' (OregonLive) Flood Watch In effect (Patch) January 6 Has Feds, Police on Alert (Patch) Oregon COVID-19 Cases Hit Record High For Third Time In Days (Patch) Local school districts ignore state guidance (Patch) Pamplin Media Group - Gresham: Sustainability in the time of COVID (Pamplin Media Group) Today's Gresham Daily is brought to you in part by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013) Today in Gresham: Resource Team - Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center (7:30 AM) From my notebook: City of Gresham - Government: "Don't forget! Tonight is our virtual community conversation around public safety in #Gresham. Please join us at 6 p.m. live via zoom, https://bit.ly/3JzGBku , no registration required. Envie un correo electronico a Sasha.Konell@GreshamOr..." (Facebook) Gresham-Barlow School District: "GBSD COVID-19 Update: Parents, today we emailed an update on how were addressing school staffing challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read the Update: https://bit.ly/3GaD61C" (Facebook) City of Gresham - Government: "Last night, City Manager Nina Vetter updated City Council about all the things going on in Gresham. Couldn't make the meeting? Listen here!" (Facebook) Loving the Gresham Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved: Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe Get your local business listed in front of readers Send me a news tip or suggestion at colin.miner@patch.com Story continues You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow for another update! Colin Miner About me: I've been at Patch for almost 6 years after a career that had stops at The New York Times, Oregonian, Washington Post, as well as KATU, KOIN, and KGW. For the past three years I've been Patch's Manager News and Content Partnerships as well as a National Writer. This article originally appeared on the Gresham Patch This is an op-ed by David Rothkopf, host of "Deep State Radio," and CEO of TRG Media and podcasting company specializing in public policy issues. As we approach the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, many questions remain. Among these, one of the most important is, What if? What if the coup attempt had succeeded? What if the election results had been overturned? What if Donald Trump were illegally installed for a second term as president of the United States? David Rothkopf It could have happened several different ways. Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman might have been out sick last Jan. 6 and not in place to divert the mob away from fleeing and hiding members of Congress. The Trumpist horde could have found their way to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Mike Pence or other members of Congress and killed or injured them. Had they done so, it might have resulted in postponing the certification of the election and in the ensuing time, despite whatever national outrage was triggered, the former president and his supporters might have engineered politically motivated challenges in key states throwing the elections results into question. Do you doubt that? Then your memory has faded much in the past year. Because a coup attempt occurred, five people died, more than 140 police officers were injured, for the first time in American history we did not have a peaceful transfer of power, and the backlash with the leadership and rank and file of the GOP was shockingly minimal. A stunning blow to democracy Just hours after the attack, 147 Republican members of Congress voted to object to the election results although there was zero evidence of wrongful outcomes in electoral counts. Even with massive evidence of Trumps central role in promoting the uprising, only 10 House Republicans voted to impeach him. Just seven voted to convict him in the Senate. What is more, within weeks of the assault, the leadership and rank and file of the GOP fell into line around the continued promotion of the Big Lie and the continued defense of Trump as their partys standard-bearer. Story continues A recent poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals that 71% of Republicans dont believe Biden was rightfully elected president. Only 6% of Republicans said Biden was definitely the winner. About 80% of Republicans called the Jan. 6 attack a protest. Another poll from the Washington Post-University of Maryland showed 34% of Americans believed violent action against the government was at times justified. This combination of gullibility or willingness to deny demonstrable facts to advance a political goal suggests that another what if scenario also came precariously close to succeeding. This is the plot we are learning was being pursued by Trump supporters to get the certification stalled by peaceful means while state challenges could be pursued and with the help of GOP legislatures, governors and judges won. In a new memoir, Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro calls the effort a perfect plan and has stated, We had over 100 congressmen committed to it. He called the plan the Green Bay Sweep. We do know that the effort came very close to success. For example, one key element was for Vice President Pence to refuse to certify the election results, sending them back to the states. Pence reportedly struggled with this issue, wanted to find a way to make it work, before being dissuaded by former Vice President Dan Quayle. What if Pence had ignored the advice? From left, former Vice Presidents Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence attend the funeral of former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas, at the Washington National Cathedral on Dec. 10, 2021. Had the election results been flipped, it would have been a stunning blow to democracy in the United States. But it is not hard to imagine that within weeks after stealing the election, Trump would have moved quickly to consolidate power and protect himself from challenges. How do we know? He had senior officials in the Justice Department like Jeffrey Clark working with him to flip the election, according to The New York Times, and who is said to have even schemed to remove an acting attorney general not deemed loyal enough to Trump. What we face today There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Trump, a man who has joked about being president for life and envying the power of dictators, would have shredded the Constitution and likely have had the support of much of the Republican Party as he did it. Scary as the answers to those what if questions are, perhaps even scarier is that today despite Biden having won the election with more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history, despite Trump having lost more than 60 court challenges to the election, despite failed recount efforts, despite public knowledge of unfounded and likely illegal attempts to pressure state officials to change their vote counts, despite the coup attempt and becoming the only American president ever impeached twice the attempt to undermine democracy is continuing unabated. Election laws are being changed that will make it harder for tens of millions of Americans often minority voters and others who tend to vote Democratic to vote. States are shifting decision-making power in contested elections to partisan officials. And while President Biden has said that he was willing to support filibuster reform to ensure voting rights are protected a crucial move given the threat it is far from a sure thing that will happen. What is more, a recent poll shows that Trump vs. Biden rematch in 2024 would be a dead heat. The attempted coup is not over. The threat to democracy not only remains, it has also proved to be shockingly resilient. Its advocates are as shameless as they are resourceful. And this means that the most instructive aspect of what if questions might be that they remind us of what could lie ahead for us all if we are not more vigilant and if we do not fight as so many of our ancestors have done to preserve and enhance democracy in America. Follow Rothkopf on Twitter @djrothkopf. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jan.6 Capitol insurrection: What if Trump illegally became president? The first production Laurel Mill Playhouse put on since closing its doors in March 2020 due to the pandemic was short and sweet and just what the theater company needed to get back into the swing of things. Running only about 70 minutes with a cast of 16, World War II Christmas Play is designed as a live radio show in the 1940s, according to director Maureen Rogers, allowing for minimal rehearsals and sparse set design. Advertisement Actors come up to the mic and read their scripts like in the old days, Rogers said. The playhouse is also planning another radio play this month. Lenny Dinerman, Jill Vanderweitand Sanjeev Dev in Laurel Mill Playhouse's "World War II Radio Christmas." - Original Credit: (Courtesy photo / HANDOUT) We didnt want to spend a lot of money, so with two radio plays, we can use the same set, Rogers said. Advertisement Unlike many theater companies, Laurel Mill Playhouse owns its own building and had to continue to pay the mortgage and utilities while its doors remained closed. People have been very kind to us, and we had a great deal of support from the city with grants, Rogers said. Our patrons all helped us out. Venus Theatre was also the recipient of grants from the City of Laurel, according to founder Deb Randall. The group returned the grant after making the difficult decision to close its C Street location in November. It was a perfect storm of awful things, said Randall, who said delays of the studios new HVAC system and an upcoming rent increase made her question her theaters future at the location. The arrival of two neighboring businesses that produce increased noise was also problematic. Now, she is taking Venus back to its roots, she said, doing pop-up shows when it makes sense and hosting retreats. We are without limits right now and are able to do anything, Randall said. Things are constantly changing and shifting. The current rise in positive COVID case numbers has Howard County Summer Theatres performance plans in limbo, according to board member Laural Clark. The [theaters] board is watching the pandemic numbers and discussing options for a summer show, Clark wrote in an email. At this time, with infections surging, we cannot make a definite decision. Advertisement In July, Silhouette Stages in Columbia decided to cancel its fall production of Something Rotten, a show that was maybe too big with the many unknowns about the pandemic still raging, according to board president Jeremy Goldman. Instead, the theater group decided to produce Little Shop of Horrors, a smaller show, in the fall. It held auditions only to decide to close the show in August. Silhouette Stages now plans to open Calendar Girls on March 18. Its been an interesting ride, Goldman said. Whats really cool is the pandemic hit one week before Calendar Girls was supposed to open. The set was built, the costumes. Now, we are opening with the same show. About 80% of the original cast is back, Goldman said, and online rehearsals have become the norm. The show features an older cast that could be a little more vulnerable, so the group is taking extra precaution to ensure everyones safety, with portable air purifiers, hand sanitizer stations, extra masks and digital thermometers. We feel like we are really well prepared, Goldman said. On stage, actors dont wear masks. As soon as they exit - masks on. Everyone seems good about it. The organization, he said, is rather unique in that it is run entirely by volunteers, and it doesnt have its own theater space, producing shows at Slayton House in Columbia. When were not doing a show, we dont have significant expenses, said Goldman, noting that Slayton House could close its stage to the group for any reason. Advertisement Its not up to us if our venue closes, Goldman said. It is certainly a risk. Rep Stage, a professional theater company in residence at Howard Community College, had to postpone its Dec. 2 production of Songs for a New World, again after canceling its original opening on Sept. 30. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Songs for a New World was canceled due to the inability to make changes to the Actors Equity safety rider, Joseph Ritsch, producing artistic director of Rep Stage, wrote in an email. The safety rider had language that did not align with the colleges liability and self-insurance laws, and there were questions about HVAC inspections and requirements that Actors Equity could not clarify. We will continue to monitor the situation as Actors Equity continues to release new safety riders that may better align with the college. Audiences are ready and excited for live [theater], Ritsch said. Rep Stage hosted a successful fundraising production that was sold out in the fall. We will have information about the spring 2022 productions by the end of January, Ritsch added. After thoroughly cleaning its interior and changing its format from a buffet-style to a served dinner, Tobys Dinner Theatre in Columbia opened in December 2020 with an original holiday production featuring a limited cast and audience. It continued to offer shows throughout 2021, with successful runs of Godspell, Elf and Shrek, the Musical. Advertisement We are providing a much-needed escape for our guests who are ready to attend - guests can attend and enjoy time with loved ones and enjoy a nice meal and beautiful production, associate producer Mark Minnick said in an email. The arts are essential, especially in this time. The company is back to its buffet-style meals, and is seating at 75% capacity with each party sitting at their own table, Minnick wrote. All guests are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, with no exceptions. We have had minimal pushback about that and our guests have complied, Minnick wrote. Our customers have expressed great appreciation for all we have done to be able to open our doors. Former President Jimmy Carter, fearing for the future of the American republic, held out hope that the Capitol riot would "shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy." That hasn't happened. Writing Thursday in The New York Times, the nations 39th president said too many people continue to promote the lie of a stolen election in 2020. They have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems, Carter wrote on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Carter wrote that politicians have leveraged the distrust they have created to enact laws that empower partisan legislatures to intervene in election processes. Congress relives Jan. 6: This is insane. Lawmakers relive Jan. 6 horror alongside fresh trauma of effort to rewrite history While not specifically citing ex-President Donald Trump or the Republican Party by name, Carter called out politicians in Texas, Florida and his home state of Georgia. He added: They seek to win by any means, and many Americans are being persuaded to think and act likewise, threatening to collapse the foundations of our security and democracy with breathtaking speed. The 97-year-old former president one of an exclusive group of five men called on all Americans to respect the rule of law and support reforms to promote accessible and transparent elections. More: The first test of Joe Biden's presidency came on Jan. 6. The next test is how to step out from its shadow. He also longed for less political polarization, including civil conversations with family, friends and co-workers and standing up collectively to the forces dividing us. Carter closed by saying that our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Carter warns partisanship, distrust threaten US democracy Jan. 5CHEYENNE A judge has asked the Wyoming Attorney General to review a Laramie County child sexual assault case, which the city of Cheyenne says the district attorney has declined to prosecute. On Monday, Sweetwater County District Judge Suzannah Robinson granted the city's motion for summary judgment, according to a Tuesday news release from the city. Robinson's judgment said that, because Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove had a conflict of interest resulting from pending formal charges filed by the Wyoming State Bar, she would be unable to prosecute the case. The alleged child sexual assault matter is included in the second of two formal charges pending against Manlove. Along with the order, Robinson also sent a letter to Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill asking her office to investigate the underlying case and, if appropriate, prosecute the matter, the city said. Neither the order nor the letter had been filed in Laramie County District Court as of late Tuesday afternoon. The city had not provided a copy of either document to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle by the time this story was published. Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Judith Studer, Manlove's attorney in the matter, also did not immediately respond. While the motion for summary judgment was placed in a confidential file, the response from Manlove and Studer regarding a possible conflict of interest was not. In a Dec. 27 filing, Manlove said there was no actual conflict of interest. But because there may be a public perception of one, she said she would recuse herself from any future prosecution of the case, should alternate counsel be appointed. She suggested the city attorney's office could be a logical choice to take on the investigation. In the same filing, Manlove said the city's claim that her office has declined or failed to prosecute the case was incorrect. The investigation is ongoing, as is the decision whether or not to prosecute the case, she said. Story continues On Aug. 10, former City Attorney Mike O'Donnell, on behalf of the Cheyenne Police Department, filed a petition asking the Attorney General's office to investigate and potentially prosecute the case. The petition starts by asking the AG's office to investigate Manlove's "refusal to act and prosecute a criminal matter." It explains that the department received a call about the sexual assault of a minor on Aug. 30, 2020. A probable cause affidavit was then submitted to Manlove's office on Oct. 29, and a 32-page investigative report was completed on Nov. 2 by Detective Allison Baca. It was not until June 7, 2021, that Baca had any communication with the District Attorney's office regarding the affidavit in the case, the filing says, and on June 9, the police department received a "declination of case" letter from the DA's office, "outlining numerous alleged deficiencies in the investigation of the case, and requested answers and additional information," according to the petition. Upon return from a vacation on or about June 21, Baca responded to Manlove's questions, the petition says. Lt. Rob Dafoe, a former detective commander with CPD, then sent a letter to Manlove on July 2 with additional clarifications, also pointing out that some of the evidence or information requested had been available to Manlove's office as early as January. In his letter, obtained and written about by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Aug. 8, Dafoe expresses frustration that it took Manlove seven-and-a-half months to request further information, at the same time as she declined to prosecute the case. The detective called the disclosure, facts and probable cause in the alleged sexual abuse of a minor case "one of the most substantial I've seen in 20 years of law enforcement." O'Donnell's successor, City Attorney Stefanie Boster, filed an amended petition providing additional information about a month after the original petition. The State Bar's charges against Manlove After the city filed its petition asking that the child sexual assault investigation be reassigned to the Attorney General's office, Laramie County District Judge Peter Froelicher turned over responsibility of the case to Judge Robinson, a district judge in Sweetwater County. Froelicher along with the county's other three district court judges and the county's three circuit court judges had sent a letter in December 2020 to the Wyoming State Bar, alleging Manlove was abusive toward her employees, causing an employment shortage, dismissed an excessive amount of cases and categorically refused to prosecute certain types of cases. On June 11, Wyoming State Bar special counsel filed a formal charge against Manlove with the Bar's Board of Professional Responsibility, alleging "incompetence and lack of professionalism." It outlined three investigations it had undertaken against Manlove, one of which it said had been initiated by the Laramie County judges' letter, which it called "unprecedented." Manlove filed her formal response to the charge July 20 through her attorney, Stephen Melchior. She largely denied the allegations against her, including that her alleged behavior violated any of the Rules of Professional Conduct described in the charge. In the response, Manlove defended her exercise of prosecutorial discretion, denying an allegation she'd dismissed an excessive number of cases. These cases had been signed off on by Laramie County judges, she said, and further, all were dismissed "without prejudice," meaning her office could recharge them in the future. The State Bar charge alleged that it was not state budget cuts that caused caseload constraints, but Manlove's conduct within her office that prompted many staff attorneys and other employees to resign. In her response, Manlove asserted her office's caseload had "increased significantly," while the number of state-funded attorneys available stayed the same, and staff positions decreased by two. In a second formal charge, filed Oct. 18, the Bar alleged false statements and excuses by Manlove about her office not being able to access crime lab results had impeded the administration of justice in Laramie County. Manlove pushed back in her Nov. 8 response, saying it was up to law enforcement and other such agencies to notify her office about available evidence from the Wyoming State Crime Lab. Because of program limitations, the crime lab directly notifies agencies that submit evidence not the DA's office, she said. A disciplinary hearing with the Bar's Board of Professional Responsibility is currently scheduled for Feb. 2-11 in the Wyoming Ballroom at Little America Hotel & Resort, 2800 W. Lincolnway. It will be held in front of a three-person panel chosen from the full board, according to BPR clerk Brandi Robinson. Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack. LANSING A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over big-dollar campaign donations to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying the Michigan Republican Party and its chairman lack legal standing to bring the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Janet Neff dismissed the suit brought by the party and Chairman Ron Weiser on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the party and Weiser gave notice they are appealing her ruling to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over big-dollar campaign contributions to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The suit was filed in September to try to block Whitmer from ignoring traditional limits on the size of campaign donations a move that has allowed her to raise extra millions in the campaign fund for her expected 2022 reelection campaign. Whitmer has cited recall attempts against her as the reason for blowing past normal campaign donor limits of $7,150 and taking six-figure contributions from several individual donors. Her campaign has pointed to a 1984 administrative ruling issued by former Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin, who said that when a candidate is facing a recall, the donation limits do not apply because recall committees can accept unlimited donations from individuals. More: Michigan GOP asks federal judge to block unlimited campaign donations to Whitmer More: Secretary of State Benson says Whitmer may have to return millions in campaign donations Weiser argued that by allowing the larger donations, Benson, who is responsible for state election laws, is violating the rights of all Republican donors, including him, who are barred from making similar donations to Whitmer's GOP challengers. To have legal standing, a plaintiff must show they have suffered an injury. "The court finds that plaintiffs have failed to allege a concrete and particularized injury," Neff said in a 12-page opinion. The lawsuit "is based not on a restriction individual campaign limitations but rather based on elevated or unlimited contribution limits applied across the board to detractors and supporters in recall campaigns," said Neff, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President George W. Bush. Story continues The suit also appears to voice a "generalized grievance" that contribution limits for recall campaigns should be closer to those for regular election campaigns, but a general grievance that does not impact the Republican Party or its chairman any more than it does any other citizen is not sufficient to provide legal standing, she said. "Plaintiffs concede that they could have contributed unlimited amounts to a recall committee opposing the governor but did not do so." Benson has said that any of the excess funds not spent fighting a recall will have to be returned to the donors or donated to another entity, which can include the Michigan Democratic Party. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge dismisses GOP suit over Whitmer's big-dollar campaign receipts Twelve police officers and dozens of protesters have been killed in violent protests in Kazakhstan as Russian troops were sent to the country in a bid to stop the fighting. Explosions and gunfire were heard in Almaty, the country's largest city, on Thursday in another day of unrest. Government buildings were stormed and set ablaze as protests against soaring energy prices escalated. One of the deceased officers was found beheaded in a deteriorating situation which poses a growing challenge to authoritarian rule in the Central Asian nation. After breaking into the presidential residence and the mayors office in the countrys largest city Wednesday, demonstrators continued to try to storm more buildings overnight. Several dozen people are believed to be dead and many more injured. Dozens of attackers were liquidated, police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek told state news channel Khabar-24, using a term common to describe the killing of people thought to be extremists. Key Points Explosions and gunfire heard in Almaty 12 police and dozens of protesters killed in unrest One officer found beheaded Why is there violent unrest in Kazakhstan? 13:30 , Matt Mathers Good afternoon and welcome to The Independents coverage of unrest in Kazakhstan. Well bring you updates throughout the day as the Central Asia country is gripped by another day of violence. 12 police officers and dozens of protesters killed 13:32 , Matt Mathers Dozens of protesters and 12 police officers died during extraordinarily violent demonstrations in Kazakhstan that saw government buildings stormed and set ablaze, authorities said Thursday. More below: Dozens killed in Kazakhstan unrest, police say Explainer: Whats behind the violent unrest? 13:38 , Matt Mathers Protests began on the weekend over anger at a spike in fuel prices but morphed into calls for reform, my colleagues Rory Sullivan and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar report. Read the full piece here: Why are violent protests rocking Kazakhstan? Story continues Explosions and gunfire heard in Almaty as military vehicles move in 13:47 , Matt Mathers People on the ground in Almaty have heard gunfire and explosions near Almatys main square. It is unclear at this stage if there have been any further casualties or deaths. Military vehicles have been seen moving in as authorities attempt to quell the violence. Troops are seen at the main square where hundreds of people were protesting against the government (REUTERS) Foreign minister denies suspending entry of foreigners 14:10 , Matt Mathers Kazakhstan's foreign ministry denied a media report on Thursday that the entry of foreigners into the country had been suspended, the Sputnik news agency quoted it as saying. Earlier, the RIA news agency had quoted the Kazakh embassy in Uzbekistan as saying that Kazakhstan had temporarily suspended entry for foreigners amid widespread protests. As Kazakhstan protests turn deadly, president ditches diplomacy for tough talk 14:20 , Matt Mathers Kazakhstans deadliest rebellion in 30 years of independence has forced a sharp change in rhetoric from the Central Asian countrys hand-picked president, a linguist who built his career on diplomacy rather than tough talking, Robin Paxton writes. Read Robins full piece here: Amid protests, Kazakh president ditches diplomacy for tough talk Russian troops arrive in Kazakhstan to quell unrest 14:45 , Matt Mathers Russian paratroopers have arrived in Kazakhstan after the countrys president asked for help in controlling violent protests that initially erupted over fuel prices but grew into calls for wider political reform. Moscows peacekeeping forces were sent to quell the unrest in the oil-rich country by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a partnership between Russia and former Soviet states, including Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. My colleagues Lamiat Sabin and Rory Sullivan have the story: Russian troops arrive in Kazakhstan to quell unrest as police say officer beheaded China wont get involved in Kazakhstan 15:04 , Matt Mathers Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin appeared to dismiss any possibility of China becoming involved in the current crisis, in line with Beijing strict official non-interventionist policy. "What is happening in Kazakhstan is the country's internal affair (and) we believe that the Kazakh authorities can solve the issue properly," he said. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Kazak president, has imposed a two-week state of emergency for the whole country, including an overnight curfew and a ban on religious services. That is a blow to Kazakhstans sizable Orthodox Christian population who observe Christmas on Friday. Shots fired at protesters in central Almaty 15:23 , Tom Batchelor Soldiers are firing at protesters and cars on the main square of Almaty, Kazakhstans largest city, Russias TASS news agency reports. Russias Sputnik news service also reported that shots were fired as police surrounded one group of about 200 protesters in the city. So far, 2,000 people have been arrested, the Interior Ministry said. UK foreign secretary comments on Kazakh violence 15:43 , Tom Batchelor The UK foreign secretary has said she condemns acts of violence in Kazakhstan. Asked about Russian troops in Kazakhstan, Liz Truss said the country has a sovereign choice on who it chooses as its allies. She added: Any forces deployed must have a clear mission and act proportionately in any use of force to defend the legitimate security interests in Kazakhstan. 18 security officers dead, says interior ministry 16:03 , Tom Batchelor Kazakhstans interior ministry said on Thursday 18 security officers had died so far in clashes with protesters. The death toll has increased from 13 previously. The ministry also said 2,298 protestors had been detained. An unknown number of protesters, believed to be dozens, have also died in violent clashes with police. Erdogan offers assistance to Kazakh president 16:23 , Tom Batchelor Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in a phone call on Thursday that Turkey stood in solidarity with Kazakhstan, Reuters reports. In a statement, the Turkish presidency said Mr Erdogan told Mr Tokayev that Turkey was closely monitoring developments and he hoped tensions would ease and a new government would be formed as soon as possible, while also offering all forms of technical information and experience if needed. Mr Erdogan also discussed the developments with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and said he believed the crisis would be resolved through dialogue, his office said. EU diplomat expresses great concern at Kazakh violence 16:43 , Tom Batchelor A senior European Union diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Thursday that Russias military intervention in Kazakhstan brought back memories of situations to be avoided. Mr Borrell expressed great concern about the situation and added: Rights and security of civilians must be guaranteed ... EU is ready to support in addressing this crisis. Kazakhstans oil production disrupted by protests 17:03 , Tom Batchelor Production at one of Kazakhstans top oil fields, Tengiz, was reduced on Thursday, its operator Chevron said, as some contractors disrupted train lines in support of protests taking place across the country. TCO production operations continue, however, there has been a temporary adjustment to output due to logistics, Chevron, the largest foreign oil producer in Kazakhstan with a 50% stake in the Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture, said in a statement. TCO produces around 700,000 barrels per day (bpd). It was not clear by how much output has been reduced. Kazakhstan is a major oil producer with output of about 1.6 million bpd in recent months. Russian troops arrive in Kazakhstan 17:23 , Tom Batchelor Russian state-affiliated media, Ruptly, has shared footage of Russian peacekeepers arriving in Kazakhstan. The deployment includes armoured vehicles. It is not immediately clear where the Russian troops will be stationed or how many will be sent to Kazakhstan. Russian peacekeepers landed in Kazakhstan amid recent escalations in violence erupting during large-scale protests in several cities across the country#KazakhstanProtests #Kazakhstan #Russia pic.twitter.com/7oTtclwabe Ruptly (@Ruptly) January 6, 2022 Americas top diplomat speaks with Kazakh counterpart 17:43 , Tom Batchelor US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi regarding the ongoing state of emergency in Kazakhstan, the US State Department said. The secretary reiterated the United States full support for KazakhstanAAs constitutional institutions and media freedom and advocated for a peaceful, rights-respecting resolution to the crisis, the State Department said. UK foreign office calls for 'calm 18:03 , Tom Batchelor The UK has issued a statement calling for calm and saying protests should be peaceful and the law enforcement response proportionate. We call for calm and we condemn acts of violence and the destruction of property and buildings, the foreign office said. We also call for a resumption of internet services and for the Kazakh authorities to respect their commitments to freedom of speech and expression. Unrest continues overnight on Thursday 18:24 , Tom Batchelor Thursday evening saw renewed battles in Almatys main square, occupied alternately by troops and hundreds of protesters throughout much of the day, reports Reuters. Earlier, military personnel regained control of the main airport. Reuters reporters heard explosions and gunfire as military vehicles and scores of soldiers advanced, although the shooting stopped again after nightfall. Crackdown will likely be far reaching' 18:44 , Tom Batchelor Economist Timothy Ash, who specialises in the region, writes in his blog: So it seems that order will be restored in Kazakhstan, but only with the help of Russian/CSTO troops. The subsequent crackdown will likely be far reaching. Events this week seemed to suggest that Kazakh security forces were reluctant to fire on their own people - no such problem for Putin who has proven more than willing to put down his own people so will have absolutely no qualms in doing the same to other peoples. I would expect the bulk of the manpower here will be Russian, but with Belarus security forces using some of the techniques they have recently deployed at home. Lesser parts are likely to be played by more reluctant partners such as the Armenians and Kyrgyz. All very sad but predictable I guess as it was always clear that Putin at least viewed Kazakhstan to be firmly in the Russian sphere of influence and Moscow would ultimately intervene if need be. Russian troops to stay in Kazakhstan 'for days or weeks 19:15 , Tom Batchelor Collective peacekeeping forces of the Russia-led CSTO are to stay in Kazakhstan for several days or weeks, Russia's RIA news agency is reporting. Looking for more of the best deals, latest celebrity news and hottest trends? Sign up for Yahoo Lifestyle Canadas newsletter! Kendall Jenner just stepped out in the must-shop workwear trend of the year (Photo via Getty) Yahoo Lifestyle Canada is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. What are cool girls wearing in 2022? A check blazer, of course. Stepping out in Los Angeles in an oversized check blazer from Sandro, Kendall Jenner makes a strong argument as to why the '80s-inspired workwear trend is one to watch in the new year. The 26-year-old model paired her oversized blazer with a white collared shirt, white T-shirt, light-wash bootcut jeans and a trendy pair of square-toed boots while out with friends. Kendall Jenner in Los Angeles, California wearing a $715 Sandro blazer (Photo by Bellocqimages/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) Kendall's brown two-toned blazer, complete with Patrick Bateman-style shoulder pads, rings in at a cool $715 from the French brand Sandro. Sandro Checked Contrast-Panel Woven Blazer (Photo via Selfridges) $715 at Selfridges If, by chance, $715 is a smidge out of your budget for a new blazer (shocking, we know), then fear not, fashion friends, we have found alternatives. Starting at just $40, scroll down to shop the seven best Kendall Jenner-inspired check blazers to kick off your 2022 workwear wardrobe in. Mango Wrap Check Suit Jacket (Photo via Mango) This classically cool check jacket was created using sustainable fibres or processes and is available in sizes up to XXL. $130 $180 at Mango Everlane The Oversized Blazer (Photo via Everlane) We have a blazer crush on this oversized fit from Everlane. Available in sizes 00 to 16, shoppers can choose between grey herringbone and plaid. $270 at Everlane Click here to sign up for Yahoo Canada's lifestyle newsletter. H&M Double-Breasted Blazer (Photo via H&M) Straight cut and double-breasted, this affordable grey plaid H&M blazer is available in sizes XS to XXL. $40 at H&M River Island Green Tartan Boucle Blazer (Photo via River Island) This oh-so-chic blazer is crafted from luxe boucle fabric and comes embellished with gold River Island-branded hardware. $175 at River Island Story continues Madewell Larsen Blazer (Photo via Madewell) This top-rated blazer has been called a "wardrobe must-have" by Madewell shoppers. The workwear style is crafted from weighty (and recycled) Italian fabric and is available in sizes XXS to XL. $175 at Madewell Heartloom Betsie Blazer (Photo via Revolve) This double-breasted blazer features a double-breasted front closure design and comes with '80s-inspired lightly padded shoulders. $229 at Revolve Urban Renewal Vintage Plaid Blazer (Photo via Urban Outfitters) This vintage-inspired plaid blazer is available in a range of eye-catching colour options, including red tartan, grey and blue, and green. $79 at Urban Outfitters Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter. Happy Thursday, neighbors! Here's everything you need to know about what's happening in town today. First, today's weather: Plenty of sunshine, but cool. High: 64 Low: 51. Here are the top stories in Laguna Beach today: Why is Laguna Beach's Chamber of Commerce CEO leaving? Sandy Morales announced she is resigning from the organization, following a Hospitality Night debacle from early December. Her predecessor, Paula Hornbuckle-Arnold will take the spot for the interim, they say. . (Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper). Take a look inside these amazing dream homes in Laguna Beach, but none more amazing than the historic property once owned by Bette Davis. Why has it been for sale this long? (Laguna Beach Patch). Laguna Beach Area Pets Up For Adoption: look at the sweet faces of Turbo, Benji, Blue & More, all now available for their forever homes. Tell us about your adopted pet! (Laguna Beach Patch). Laguna Beach is seeing home price gains hit the highest level in at least 8 years. Will the bubble burst? or is it just going to get bigger? (OCRegister). Today's Laguna Beach Daily is brought to you in part by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013). Today in Laguna Beach: Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee (8 AM). FREE: Laguna Beach Art Walk. - Arts and Culture Events in Orange County (6 PM). FREE: Outlaws of Folk Music in Seal Beach (6:30 PM). Sylvia and The Rhythm Boys at Meet In Paris (7 PM). From my notebook: Visit Laguna Beach: "2022 is underway, and for those of you that committed to being healthier this year, we are telling you not to give up! Check out our story to find healthy food options in Laguna Beach! II @lagunalately" (Instagram). City of Laguna Beach - Government: "This Week: The City of Laguna Beach releases its Key Accomplishments for 2021 and provides an update on COVID-19. Please click adobe.ly/3r7B50f for this weeks news from the City of Laguna Beach!" (Facebook). LOCA Arts Education - Laguna Beach CA: "Ceramics class, downtown Laguna Beach "Learn Sgraffitto" with Kate Cohen Jan. 12 and 26 (two-part class) 1-4 p.m. includes supplies and firing! Visitors $100/$50 LOCA members (join now and save!) " (Facebook). South Coast Water District: "Succulents are a beautiful way to save water without sacrificing beauty. #Resolutions2022" (Facebook). Story continues More from our sponsors thanks for supporting local news! Events: Parkinson's Seminar for Newly Diagnosed (January 8) Add your event For sale: Sears Kenmore Elite 30.6 cubic ft large capacity refrigerator (Details) Add your item Loving the Laguna Beach Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved: Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe Get your local business listed in front of readers Send me a news tip or suggestion at ashley.ludwig@patch.com Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Thursday. See you all tomorrow for another update! Ashley Ludwig About me: Ashley Ludwig has been a columnist and online news editor since 2007. Prior to joining Patch, she worked as a staff writer for Southwest Riverside's Valley News Newspaper--in print and online. She was a co-founder of the southern California news conglomerate, DailySoCal.com--and prior to that, a freelance journalist for such publications as the North County Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, and Southwest Riverside News Network (SWRNN.com), and still owns the local southern California Wine Country blog: TemeculaGrapevine.com.Ashley Ludwig has worked as a writer on the web since the late 1990s. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona, with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences. Wife, and mother of two daughters, she is the author of multiple romantic suspense novels. www.ashleyludwig.com This article originally appeared on the Laguna Beach Patch On the anniversary of the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, lawmakers present at the U.S. Capitol that day recalled their trauma, and the work still left to do to protect American democracy. In emotional testimony from the House floor on Thursday, U.S. representatives recalled ducking and crawling, putting on gas masks and fashioning makeshift weapons out of ordinary office tools as Capitol officers helped them to escape from incoming rioters. We saw the mob at the doors, recalled Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). As we were exiting, I saw the glass breaking, the officers staying behind, their guns drawn. The congressman, who had a 23-month-old son at home and a baby on the way, noted that had those officers not held that line, I would not have met my son. One year ago, anarmed mobof Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were gathered to certify the 2020 presidential election, which Joe Biden won over then-President Trump. Before the riot, Trump incited the crowd at a nearby rally by claiming the election had been stolen. Five people died in the ensuing mayhem and its immediate aftermath, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer. The parents of officer Brian Sicknick, who had two strokes following the riot and died the next day, were present as lawmakers gave testimony Thursday, and Allred said to them: Your sons sacrifice allowed me to meet mine. The day of the insurrection was only the fourth day in office for newly elected Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), who said she will never forget the sound of the doors closing and being locked fashioning weapons out of pens and my high heels climbing over chairs and under rails looking to my right and seeing the mob as we rushed to get out. Lawmakers urged the importance of securing the right to vote in order for democracy to prevail. Our democracy is very fragile and the cult of the big lie is still very much in action with the help of the vast majority of our colleagues on the other side, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), recalling how on Jan. 6 she planned to use her cane from a knee replacement surgery to fight back if attacked. Story continues I remember not knowing if I would make it out alive or if our democracy itself would survive, Jayapal said. Our work ahead must include signing into law voting rights legislation. Rep. Colin Allred gives emotional testimony on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection. (Photo: Congress) Several lawmakers speaking on the House floor Thursday noted that U.S. democracy is still under threat today. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) who displayed a shard of glass from a window broken by rioters at the Capitol, which he has carried in his pocket every day since warned that the Jan. 6 mob was whipped up by a former president who spread a dangerous lie, and that many Republicans continue to accommodate that big lie that was the predicate for the attack on our country. Another lawmaker, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) who was the first Black person and first woman elected to Congress from her state brought forth a scarf printed with a copy of her great-great-great-grandfathers 1867 voter registration slip from Georgia. I reflect on just how close we were to losing our democracy, Blunt Rochester said, noting she remembered ducking, crawling the sounds, the smells. She held up her ancestors voting slip, saying: It is my proof of what we have overcome, and my inspiration of what is yet to be done. Voter restrictions disproportionately keep low-income voters, young people and Black and Latinx voters from the ballot. Republicans in state legislatures across the country have been pushing hundreds of bills at the state level that would restrict voting. Such efforts have already become law in several states, including Georgia, Texas, Arkansas and Arizona. At the federal level, Republicans have repeatedly blocked voting rights legislation from passing in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said that the Senate would consider voting rights legislation shortly after the 117th Congress resumes in January. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who lay on the floor and called her husband as rioters approached last Jan. 6, had an urgent message calling for the passage of federal voting rights legislation: The right to vote is the ultimate defense against insurrection. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Dr. Erik Garcia draws doses of a COVID-19 vaccine during a clinic at the Hotel Grace homeless shelter in Worcester, Mass., on Dec. 8. (Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette) Lawrence County has administered more than 50,498 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as of Jan. 3, according to data from the Indiana Department of Health. That's up 1.4% from the previous week's tally of 49,801 COVID-19 doses administered. In Lawrence County, 47% of people living in Lawrence County are fully vaccinated as of Jan. 3. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers someone fully vaccinated two weeks after they've been given a single-dose shot (Johnson & Johnson) or a second shot (either Pfizer or Moderna). Indiana reported 1,246,854 total cases of coronavirus, an increase of 4% from the week before. The five counties with the highest percentage of their population fully vaccinated in Indiana as of Jan. 3 are Hamilton County (77%), Boone County (71%), Hendricks County (65%), Hancock County (62%) and Warrick County (61%). COVID-19 testing: Where to find COVID testing in Bedford and Mitchell COVID in law: 'Vaccine status discrimination' would be banned under proposed Indiana bill Here are the latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Lawrence County as of Jan. 3: How many people in Lawrence County have received a COVID-19 vaccine? 51% of people in Lawrence County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, for a total of 23,123 people 47% of people in Lawrence County are fully vaccinated, for a total of 21,476 people For a county-by-county look at the vaccination rollout, see our COVID-19 vaccine tracker, which is updated daily. How many people in Indiana have been vaccinated so far? 59% of people in Indiana have received at least one dose of the vaccine, for a total of 3,897,972 people 53% of people in Indiana are fully vaccinated, for a total of 3,500,787 people Internet and more: Lawrence County Commissioners get update on efforts to increase broadband connectivity COVID vaccinations for kids and boosters The percentages in this story reflect the total share of the population that has received vaccines. That now includes people as young as 5 years old, for whom vaccines have been authorized. Story continues These weekly stories will be updated as more data on vaccination rates in children, as well as booster vaccination rates, are released. We pull data on local vaccine distribution on a weekly basis. Check back for our next weekly update mid-week for the latest numbers. This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Lawrence County Indiana vaccine rate: How many people are vaccinated? Todd Huston, speaker of the Indiana house, adjourns the first day of legislative session Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. Correction: an earlier version of this newsletter incorrectly attributed the House Democrats' priorities to the House Republicans. We're done with the first week of the legislative session, and already bills are moving. Legislative leaders made their goals more clear this week with the release of their priorities. There's bound to be some disagreements, even within the Republican party. House Republicans unveiled a massive tax reform plan (more on that later), and want to help ease jail over crowding, restrict vaccine mandates, end Indiana's state of emergency and address health care worker shortages. On the other side of the third floor, the Senate Republicans had a very nuts and bolts list of priorities, which included making more Hoosiers eligible for the taxpayer refund, ending Indiana's public health emergency and ensuring schools receive full funding for children who were considered virtual students. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for marijuana legalization, investment in child care, and the expansion of affordable housing, among other priorities. House Democrats want to see paid leave, a child tax credit, the state "fully invest" in K-12 public education and improve public transportation, among other goals. Forwarded this newsletter from a friend? Sign up for Hoosier Politics here. Eli Lilly resumes contributions after Capitol riot Thursday signified an important milestone: a year since the U.S. Capitol insurrection shocked the country. Roughly a year ago, Eli Lilly and other corporations announced they were suspending contributions to those who voted against certifying the election results after the riot. But those contributions have since resumed. Federal Elections Commission records show that Eli Lilly contributed $5,000 to Rep. Jackie Walorski in July, $2,500 to Rep. Jim Baird in October and $2,500 to former Vice President Mike Pence's brother Rep. Greg Pence in November. Story continues Democrat enters secretary of state race Destiny Scott Wells, a former deputy attorney general and veteran, announced this week that she is running for secretary of state. Wells is the first candidate to seek the nomination from Democrats at their convention this summer. On the Republican side, Secretary of State Holli Sullivan, former Mike Pence aide Diego Morales and Newton County Commissioner Kyle Conrad have all announced they are running. Republicans are at odds over tax cuts House Republicans filed their plan to slash billions of dollars worth of taxes this week, including both the income tax for everyday Hoosiers and the tax businesses pay on equipment. By fiscal year 2025 even before all the taxes have been phased in the state is expected to lose out on more than $1 billion, according to a fiscal analysis of the bill due to the tax cuts. Gov. Eric Holcomb's 2022 priorities included a plan to reduce the taxes businesses have to pay on new equipment a tax cut that is included in the House's version. But he was a little more reluctant to agree to other tax cuts. Pence gets involved in Biden's vaccine mandate Former Vice President Mike Pence's political advocacy group Advancing American Freedom is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the federal government's workplace vaccine and mask mandates. America is about freedom and the ability to make the best decision for your family or business, and Joe Bidens vaccine mandate must be stopped in its tracks in order to preserve freedom, protect American livelihoods and businesses, and to safeguard our constitution, Pence said in a statement. Joe Bidens vaccine mandate is not the American way, and Advancing American Freedom will always stand up to unconstitutional overreach from the Executive Branch that infringes on the freedoms we so greatly cherish. Enjoy every story! IndyStar subscriptions start as low as $1 for 6 months for new subscribers. Republican challenger to southside district City-County Councilor Michael-Paul Hart is entering the ring for the Indiana House District 89 seat encompassing parts of Beech Grove and Marion County's southeastern side. Hart is still in his first term, part of the wave of newer, younger councilors that took the stage in 2020. He's one of just five Republicans on the 25-member council that now hosts a Democratic supermajority. The seat has the potential to be flipped it's one of two that Democrats narrowly won in 2020. In District 89, Democrat Mitch Gore defeated former Marion County GOP chair Cindy Kirchhofer. Things aren't looking great for the business community As expected House Bill 1001, the legislation severely restricting employer vaccine mandates, is moving forward, even amid record breaking COVID numbers. Lawmakers also amended the bill Thursday to ensure that anyone who is forced to resign because their request for an exemption is denied would be guaranteed unemployment benefits. The House could vote on the bill as early as Tuesday, the same day as Holcomb's State of the State speech. (Look out for our coverage on both). The bill isn't near as restrictive as one proposed by a lawmaker in the Senate. Former Marion County prosecutor dies Carl Brizzi, a former Marion County prosecutor who ran for Congress in 2020, has died. "With great sadness, our law firm confirms the passing of our friend and colleague Carl Brizzi, 53, who suffered a stroke this evening," reads a Facebook post from the law firm Lewis And Wilkins LLP. "Our thoughts are with his wife and children." -SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK- Hoosier Politics is compiled and written by the IndyStar politics and government team. Send us tips or let us know what you think of the newsletter by emailing Kaitlin.Lange@IndyStar.com. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Legislative priorities | A Democrat enters the SOS race The Howard County Council failed to override Howard County Executive Calvin Balls veto of a bill that was designed, according to Councilwoman Liz Walsh, to protect older trees from being cut down for new development. Walsh, who introduced the measure in October, said she is undeterred by the councils action and is not going away. This is a personal and moral issue, she added. Advertisement Not all older tree specimens have a 30-inch diameter trunk, which the state requires for them to be spared, according to Walsh, so the Howard County bill included a 24-inch diameter minimum. Walsh introduced the measure on Oct. 4 and on Dec. 7, the council approved it in a 4-1 vote. Councilman David Yungman was the lone no vote. Ball vetoed the bill on Dec. 14. In a letter explaining the veto, Ball wrote that he had significant concerns with provisions in the bill including that it changed the state threshold for retaining trees from 30 inches to 24 inches in diameter; it lacked consideration of nonnative and invasive species of trees; and it would require extra time for Department of Planning and Zoning staff to inspect, review and process forest conservation plans and requests. Advertisement At the meeting, Walsh said that two council members had informed her they would vote to uphold Balls veto, after originally voting for the forest conservation bill. We can address any concerns that still remain, Walsh said. What are the reasons you will not support this? I would love to hear them. Neither council Chair Opel Jones nor Councilwoman Christiana Rigby answered Walshs question directly, though both commented while casting their vote for the veto. If our goal is to protect more trees, then we should pass a bill that will do that, Rigby said. The administration has told us that they cannot implement this bill as written. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Yungman also supported the veto, stating that this bill is not about protecting vast forests. It is protecting individual trees. Councilwoman Deb Jung joined Walsh in voting to override Balls veto. Walsh said she would not stop fighting to improve forest conservation in Howard County. If we actually enforced state minimums that have been in place for decades, this is a marginal improvement, Walsh said. I would guess this would save some tulip poplars between the size of a 24-inch and a 29.9-inch diameter tree. Thats all it does. Its too much. You are unwilling to do it. Also at Tuesdays meeting, the council voted to remove from tabled legislation a bill that would establish a police accountability board, then voted 3-2 to table it again to give itself more time to review several proposed amendments, some filed just before the meeting. Advertisement The Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021 requires all county governments to establish a police accountability board made up of five civilians. The local bill, introduced at the Nov. 1 legislative session by then-council Chair Walsh on behalf of the county executive, outlined qualifications for board members, and the purpose of the legislation, which is to provide a process for receiving certain complaints alleging police misconduct. I would still really appreciate to have taken the opportunity of time to review this many amendments with my colleagues, said Jung, who voted with Walsh and Yungman to table the bill. Jones and Rigby voted against tabling the bill. Jones said he would have been more inclined to table the bill if it hadnt been administrative. Rigby, who introduced three amendments to the bill Tuesday, said the amendments were simple and that she felt prepared to vote. BALTIMORE The General Assemblys sole physician Wednesday pressed the head of the state health department over a monthslong delay in notifying patients who may have received spoiled vaccines and said he is worried issues are prevalent among other vaccine providers. Democratic Sen. Clarence Lam, during an online vaccine oversight work group meeting, asked Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dennis Schrader about the departments failure to quickly notify hundreds of Marylanders who may have received vaccines that were mishandled potentially rendering them ineffective by TrueCare24, a San Francisco-based company the state contracted with last year to hold vaccine clinics across Maryland. Schrader said agency auditors are reviewing the issue. The department estimates 476 people need to be revaccinated. The department began notifying patients Dec. 30, Schrader said. A whistleblower within the department, Jessicah Ray, reported to the departments Inspector General that health officials were aware that potentially hundreds of vaccine doses were rendered ineffective by improper storage, but were not alerting patients. The state took months to ask for guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on whether to contact those whom TrueCare had vaccinated more than a quarter of whom were incarcerated. Ray estimates at least 1,000 doses are in question. TrueCare administered vaccines from the end of July through September at more than 100 sites across the state, including prisons, courthouses and grocery stores. Despite issues with TrueCare from the first day July 17 they lacked on-site medical equipment and couldnt produce training certifications for staff members, Ray wrote in her complaint to the IG the state put them on a remediation plan and allowed the company to administer vaccines again beginning July 30. It wasnt until Sept. 3 that a health department manager ordered TrueCare to halt vaccinations after another health department employee reported the vendor was storing vaccine in hotels and cars, emails show, and officials began trying to gather information from TrueCare to prove vaccine viability; the company provided records for only a fraction of its clinics, Ray said. Story continues The Baltimore Sun first reported Rays complaint last week. The department referred the matter to health departments audit department on Sept. 24; auditors are still investigating, Schrader said. Schrader said the department on Nov. 10 reached out to the CDC about TrueCare; the agency advised the department to seek to revaccinate people with one dose immediately, regardless of the total number of doses theyve received. More than a month later the department has begun calling patients and expects to reach them all by the end of the week, Schrader said. To be sure I am not happy about how long its taken to obtain the clinical next steps, Schrader said. Ive directed the audit team to complete their review and have it on my desk no later than the end of this month. But Lam, who represents Howard and Baltimore counties, said he was concerned that TrueCare is not an outlier, and that hes heard other third-party vaccine vendors may also have quality control issues in handling the vaccine. My concern is that this is not just a problem with TrueCare; that there may be more systemic problems in place here with other vendors administering vaccine, Lam said. That TrueCare may only be the tip of the iceberg that the public has heard about and that the press has caught onto. Lam criticized the departments pay-per-shot contract model, where vendors were compensated for each shot administered, and which Lam said contributed to potential quality control issues. It seems like at the department theres just a blind drive toward just hitting numbers, to getting as many people vaccinated as possible regardless to the risk of safety. Schrader added that the department recognized very quickly that [the pay-per-shot] model wasnt gonna work when the state piloted it in the spring. TrueCares contract, which was pay-per-shot, was executed in June. We found out we werent satisfied with that approach, Schrader said. The department brought on new vaccine vendors when it rebid the contracts for a flat fee that started around August, Schrader said. So it didnt matter how many shots they gave, we paid them a flat rate and there was no incentive to cut corners, he said. That has worked much, much better. (Baltimore Sun reporters Hallie Miller and Meredith Cohn contributed to this article.) Louisville Metro Police have taken a man into custody who they believe is responsible for a string of thefts that have targeted the department's vehicles. Robert Christian Dumonte, 31, was arrested in the Camp Taylor neighborhood after being chased on foot and was found to be armed with two handguns, two LMPD tasers and was wearing LMPD body armor/tactical vest, according to an LMPD release. Detectives then executed several search warrants that led to the discovery of LMPD equipment, including uniforms, weapons and munitions, the release stated. Additionally, three stolen vehicles from other unrelated cases were recovered and evidence was found allegedly linking Dumonte to several thefts near Nashville, Tennessee, police said. LMPD: Stolen police cruiser found Wednesday, but weapons still missing He was booked into the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections just after 1 a.m. Thursday on charges of first-degree robbery, multiple counts of receiving stolen property, evading police and impersonating a police officer. He was being held on a $130,000 bond. An LMPD cruiser that was stolen in December was found a few days later, though the weapons that were inside the car were still missing, police reported at the time. It is unclear if Dumonte's charged are related to that car or not. Snow in Louisille: Mayor Fischer asks residents to stay home amid snow & freezing temps No other information was available. Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LMPD: Man arrested in thefts targeting police vehicles PROVIDENCE A Connecticut man is accusing police in North Smithfield and Woonsocket of illegally targeting and detaining him based on his race as a Black man during a 2019 search. Bryan Thomas sued the Town of North Smithfield; the City of Woonsocket; and individual police officers over what he charges were aggressive tactics that violated his civil rights as he stopped to buy lunch while looking for an apartment. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, accuses the officers of violating his Constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures as well as his right to equal protection under the state and federal Constitutions. Thomas also names as defendants in their official and individual capacities North Smithfield Police Officers Justin Switzer and Ian Bissonette and Woonsocket Detective Jason Berthelette, as well as unnamed officers. He is seeking unspecified damages and for Judge William E. Smith to declare the search unconstitutional. A broken taillight According to Thomas, Switzer stopped him around 2 p.m. Sept. 22, 2019, as he pulled into the Stop & Shop parking lot to grab lunch while looking for an apartment in anticipation of starting a new clerical job at Woonsocket High School. The stop was for a broken taillight, though the light itself still worked. Switzer questioned him about his whereabouts and whether he had illegal narcotics, including heroin and cocaine, in the car. Switzer demanded to search the vehicle after Thomas responded that he didnt use illegal substances. Thomas said he refused to consent to a search, prompting Switzer to remove him from the car and threaten to have it towed. Bisonette and other officers arrived at the scene, along with Berthelette and his police dog about an hour later. Thomas says he was held in the back of a sweltering cruiser as the group searched the car, rifling through his personal belongings and damaging the car itself. After close to two hours, the officers released Thomas and issued him a summons to appear in Municipal Court for the alleged broken taillight a case dismissed by the judge after Thomas confirmed that the light worked. Story continues The encounter left Thomas shaken, fearful of police, and unable to concentrate at work, leading to his firing from the job he held at the time of the stop, according to the suit. He now is a clerical worker at Woonsocket High School. Thomas said he filed a civilian complaint with the North Smithfield Police Department about the incident and a review determined that there were no departmental violations. Rather, acting training officer Capt. Russell Ridge said that the departments proactive patrol tactics played a role in Switzers decision-making during the stop, the suit says. Study shows racial disparities in RI traffic stops Underpinning Thomass claims were findings by the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at Central Connecticut University that reveal that people of color are being stopped at a disproportionately high rate in North Smithfield as compared to the makeup of its population. In the most recent report, released in February based on 2019 data, North Smithfield again ranked among the communities with the most significant disparities. Background:Study found racial disparities in R.I. traffic stops The lack of any substantive response by the Town to address its entrenched and well-documented pattern of racial profiling is integrally tied to its officers racially discriminatory conduct toward Bryan Thomas on Sunday, September 22, 2019, Thomass lawyer, Shannah Kurland, wrote in the complaint. North Smithfield Police Chief Tim Lafferty did not respond to a phone message left at headquarters. Ken Barone, associate director at the institute, emphasized in a phone interview with The Journal that although the statistics show that people of color are being pulled over in Rhode Island at a disproportionate rate, it does not equal racial profiling a practice in which police use race as the catalyst for making a traffic stop. Barone said the research showed that 65% of the North Smithfield stops were in the Park Square area, where shops are frequented by residents from more diverse surrounding communities, namely Woonsocket. The data also revealed that the town made the most traffic stops in the state based on equipment, such as a broken taillight, or administrative reasons, including lapsed registrations, Barone said. Research has found that enforcement focused on hazardous driving behaviors equates to far fewer racial disparities, as opposed to broken window policies that focus on equipment, as seen in North Smithfield, which have been shown not to drive down crime, Barone said. The 2015 Rhode Island law that enabled the institute's studies expired in 2020 due to a sunset provision, meaning that police departments are no longer required to collect or analyze traffic-stop data. Bills to remedy that gap failed to gain traction last year, but the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association plans to continue to collect data and push for further legislation backing for such studies, executive director Sid Wordell said. There have been some disparities in traffic stops ..., Wordell said. At the end of the day we want to get to the bottom of it. Barone lamented that due to the expiration of the law Rhode Island wont be eligible for $1.5 million in annual federal aid to study traffic data that was included in the massive infrastructure bill passed by Congress. Future laws should be enacted without a sunset date, he said. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: North Smithfield, Woonsocket PD sued in alleged racial profiling case The Singapore State Courts. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore) SINGAPORE A Singaporean who returned home from the US in the midst of the pandemic was placed on a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) but left his designated SHN facility at a hotel twice to shop, watch a movie and eat out. The second time Ang Chenrui breached his order at JW Marriott Singapore Hotel was after he had requested to visit the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for treatment. After permission was granted, Ang was conveyed to the IMH but left the premises without registering and went for a shopping trip. Ang, 27, who is currently unemployed, was jailed for five weeks on Thursday (6 January), after he pleaded guilty to two counts under the Infectious Diseases Act for breaching his SHN. Two other charges of a similar nature were considered for his sentencing. Ang, who was studying in the US, returned to Singapore in March last year to spend time with his mother. He served a 14-day SHN at Fairmont Hotel Singapore then. On 15 April, he left Singapore for the US but experienced abdominal pain while in transit in Japan. He sought medical treatment and took a flight to Singapore. He arrived in Changi Airport in the wee hours of 17 April and was instructed to serve his SHN at JW. On 20 April, Ang left his room at the sixth level and unlocked the door to the emergency staircase, intending to leave the hotel. He entered a lift at the 16th level meant for guests of the hotel who were not serving any SHN. He took the lift to the ground floor and left the hotel before taking an MRT from Esplanade MRT station to Serangoon MRT station. Ang bought a cake at a shop before heading to his mothers flat in the area, and did not tell her about his SHN. He lied that he had not left Singapore on 15 April but had been staying at a rented room. He then left to have dinner with a friend who was also a tenant at his mothers flat. The two later watched a movie at Nex. He also lied to the friend, saying that he was living with another friend and found a job in Singapore. He did not tell her about his SHN. Story continues After the movie, Ang returned to his hotel. As he could not gain access to the sixth level, he took the emergency stairs to the fifth level where he used a service phone to call a hotel employee. He claimed that he had been locked out of his room while he was throwing rubbish and that he went to the fifth level corridor as the service phone along the corridor on the sixth floor was not working. The employee escorted Ang to his room on the sixth level but later found that the phone was working fine. Suspicious, the employee asked his colleagues to check CCTV footage, which had captured Ang leaving the hotel. On 24 April, Ang called JWs front desk to say that he needed to seek medical attention at the IMH. He obtained permission and was conveyed to IMH in the morning. Instead of registering himself, Ang left and took a private hire vehicle to his mothers flat. Ang then left the flat with his friend who was living there and they visited Orchard to shop before taking a bus to a restaurant to eat. JW later checked Angs status with IMH, which replied that there was no record of Ang registering. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority were informed about Angs disappearance. Ang was found at his mothers flat on 25 April. He was then sent to IMH where he served the remaining days of his SHN. In total, Ang had been in public for 14 hours and 18 minutes. His movement was tracked using EZ-Link card records. He tested negative for COVID-19 for this period. Lawyer: Ang committed offences due to stress His lawyer Michael Han set out Angs offence against the background of his mental condition. Ang had been diagnosed with having an adjustment reaction and had thoughts of self harm at the time of the offences. Ang, who was a Hwa Chong Institution student, had not performed well in his A-levels around 2013 and also had to deal with his parents divorce in 2019. Later, when he served his first SHN upon returning from the US, he was placed in a hotel with design decor that reminded him of his father, who was an artist. The decor also made him think that he did not have a place to sleep in his fathers house. When he breached his second SHN to return to his mothers flat, it was akin to Ang seeking refuge" in a "place of comfort, said the lawyer. Replying to these allegations, Deputy Public Prosecutor Norman Yew said that Ang had known that what he was doing was wrong. It was not a situation in which Ang was so distraught mentally or emotionally that he could not think clearly or control himself, said the DPP. The prosecutor pointed out that Ang did not run home to hide in his room, but had gone shopping, watched a movie and dined out. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore Franklin Lee, who gave a false statement to police, apologized to Willie Stokes during a November 2021 hearing Thirty-seven years after being sentenced to prison for murder, a Philadelphia man was released after a federal court found that prosecutors in his case had suppressed evidence of false testimony by a key witness. According to The Washington Post, Willie Stokes conviction was vacated after it was revealed that the witness, Franklin Lee, had said that he gave a false statement to Philadelphia police in exchange for sex, drugs, and a deal, per PEOPLE. Lee was facing his own murder and rape charges in 1984 when he was offered a short sentence in exchange for his testimony. They said I wouldnt do no more than two to five, the most seven years, he said. The mans testimony was the only thing that linked Stokes to the 1984 murder of Leslie Campbell in North Philadelphia. During the trial, the man recanted his story in which he said that Stokes had admitted to killing Campbell. Prosecutors said that when he took back his statement, he was not credible. Stokes was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on August 21, 1984. Lee was later charged with perjury, though Stokes was not aware of this fact until 2015. Willie Stokes walks from a state prison in Chester, Pa., on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, after his 1984 murder conviction was overturned because of perjured witness testimony. Stokes was serving a life sentence and spent decades in prison before learning the witness who testified against him at a 1984 court hearing soon pleaded guilty to perjury over the testimony. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) During a November 2021 hearing, Lee testified for Stokes and told Michael Diamondstein, Stokes attorney, that Stokes never told him he killed anyone, according to the Post. The man also apologized to Stokes, saying, Id like to for the record, if I can, apologize to Mr. Stokes and the family for the problem I caused, sincerely. According to the report, Stokes did not reply in court, but he cried. Let the record reflect hes crying, Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells, the district court judge, pointed out. Im going to take his tears to indicate hes accepting the apology. Diamondstein said that when his client was released and took his first free breaths this afternoon after almost 40 years, he was very happy and humbled. He added that his client wanted to get a corned beef hoagie. Story continues Willie Stokes, center, and lawyer Michael Diamondstein walk in Chester, Pa., on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, after Stokes 1984 murder conviction was overturned because of perjured witness testimony. Stokes was serving a life sentence and spent decades in prison before learning the witness who testified against him at a 1984 court hearing soon pleaded guilty to perjury over the testimony. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) What happened here was an abomination, Diamondstein said. For too many years, law enforcement in Philadelphia have treated Black and Brown people like they are expendable and this case is a stark reminder it has to stop. The two detectives in the case have faced various allegations over the years for their use of coercive methods, according to court documents. Today is a tremendous day. Were all very thankful, Diamondstein told KMVT. However, its also a sad day, because it reminds us of how lawless, unfair, and unjust Philadelphia law enforcement was for so long. Have you subscribed to theGrio podcasts Dear Culture or Acting Up? Download our newest episodes now! TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today! The post Man released from prison after 37 years due to false testimony appeared first on TheGrio. The Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office has identified one of the two people found dead Sunday in a Fort Worth home as Darion Dakota Jackson Deen. Deen, 26, died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiners website. His death is listed as a homicide. Police that about 4:20 p.m. Sunday they found two people dead in a home in the 300 block of Cromwell Street, a man and a woman. The medical examiners office has not yet released the name of the woman, though a police report identifies her as Shelby Amerson, 22. While Deen was shot, a police spokesman said via email Monday the woman was stabbed to death. Another person in the residence was stabbed but did not die, according to police. Police believe the person who was taken to the hospital shot and killed Deen. Notes on the incident report include what the caller told dispatchers after calling 911. According to the notes, the caller told police his friend stabbed him several times and then he shot his friend. It was not immediately clear whether the person who fired the gun will face charges. When Huntah and Duke aren't busy playing catch, the two dogs are usually detecting the presence of COVID-19 in their community. In the past year, the 14-month-old Labrador retrievers have worked at 15 different schools in Massachusetts. "They love to work," Jonathan Darling, Bristol County Sheriff's public information officer, told CBS News Wednesday. "And then when they're not working, they just want to give you kisses and we love it. They're so cute." K9s Huntah and Duke visited Norton Middle School today for some Covid-detection work. Thanks to Supt. Baeta and everyone from @NortonSchools and @FIU_Forensics for the help. pic.twitter.com/5NdOgIQP2W Bristol County Sheriff's Office (@BristolSheriff) January 5, 2022 Darling said the police department reached out to the Forensic Center at Florida International University last year regarding an emerging study on dogs that can detect COVID-19 odors. Pulling from research dating back to 1993, researchers at the school trained dogs to identify different odor characteristics of things like fungi and viruses. The study found dogs to be more than 90% reliable in detecting COVID-19 odors, with a very low false positivity rate. So, FIU sent the trained dogs to work on the school's campus and at state emergency operations. They even screened at the Miami International Airport. Last year, Duke and Huntah were enrolled in the school's training program, where they practiced with face masks worn by people with COVID-19, Darling said. When the two graduated in July, they became the first law enforcement K9s in the country trained to detect the virus. BCSO K9s Huntah and Duke are the first law enforcement K9s in the country trained to detect COVID. We celebrated at a small graduation ceremony yesterday. Huntah is Capt. Douglas partner and Duke is paired with Officer Santos. @SheriffHodgson pic.twitter.com/fohQMK5mnW Bristol County Sheriff's Office (@BristolSheriff) July 15, 2021 Story continues Since graduating, the two sibling pups have worked in three different school districts, police stations, a local health department, town halls and office buildings. The dogs are trained to sit down in front of an area where a COVID-19 odor is detected. The dog will then alert their handler so that they can mark the area as one to focus on for cleaning. Darling said the dogs are not used in place of COVID-19 testing. Duke and Huntah also bring joy to the community, Darling said. "The kids in the hallway just love seeing the dogs and the teachers love to see them and we just bring smiles to people's faces," he said. "So in addition to helping keep everybody safe against COVID, if you can bring a smile to somebody's face, it's totally worth it." Bridging America's political divide with "One Small Step" | 60 Minutes preview Special Report: Biden addresses nation one year after January 6 attack on U.S. Capitol Preview: Indivisible - Healing Hate MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's government said on Thursday it had invited Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric to visit, as the two countries vowed to forge a "strategic alliance" once the new leader takes office. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard spoke in a video news conference from Chile after meeting with Boric, a leftist who last month was voted in as Chile's youngest-ever democratically elected president. Mexico's foreign ministry issued a statement saying Ebrard and Boric agreed that the two countries would establish the strategic alliance once Boric assumes power in March. The partnership will seek to work with other progressive countries in the region to promote "a common voice to face challenges in the international arena," the ministry said. When asked if the two had discussed lithium mining during talks in Chile, Ebrard said the topic did not come up, but was likely to do so in future as an area of common agreement. "The business of lithium is sure to be one of the priorities on the shared agenda between Chile and Mexico," he said. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist resource nationalist, is seeking to reserve lithium extraction for the government and bar private developers from future concessions. (Reporting by Raul Cortes; Writing by Daina Beth SolomonEditing by Dave Graham and Richard Chang) A curious trio of billboards went up across Rockford, Illinois, in November. They showed five men in Roman collars bracketed by angry red type: Not one more penny! Until you reinstate our priests. The appeal to withhold contributions from the collection plate was the latest in-your-face gesture from the Coalition for Canceled Priests, a group that formed in the Chicago suburbs last year to advocate for clerics it says have been unfairly removed from the Roman Catholic ministry by bishops. Its provocative tactics, which have also included a Lincoln Park rally and a viral endorsement from Mel Gibson, reflect its belief that public and financial pressure are more likely to get results than working through the church hierarchy. Im not saying that all bishops are bad, far from it, but theres a lot of corruption going on, said co-founder the Rev. John Lovell, who has been sidelined for nine years. " There are priests being victimized who have done nothing wrong, and who dont deserve the treatment theyre getting from church officials. Lovell said none of the 20 or so priests the coalition supports has been charged with a crime, and some have received no explanation for their exile. Others, though, have been aggressively defiant toward their superiors. The conservative tilt of those priests, along with the groups entry into battles over the Latin Mass and COVID-19 vaccines, has convinced some that the coalition exists primarily as an extension of Americas culture war. I am stunned by the level of audacity, said John Gehring, Catholic program director at the social justice advocacy group Faith in Public Life. Theres almost this parallel magisterium, sort of a shadow culture within the church where clergy and bishops declare what is orthodox, and have no obedience or deference to church authorities. Focus on Rockford Though the coalition has taken up the cause of priests around the country, its focus has been the Rockford Diocese, which includes some of Chicagos western suburbs. Lovell said he is one of a dozen priests there who have been removed from ministry despite no finding of wrongdoing. Story continues That equates to cancellation, he said, though diocese spokeswoman Penny Wiegert said priests can be unassigned for many reasons, including health issues. She declined to provide the number of unassigned priests in the diocese. Lovells problems began in 2010, three years after he was ordained. According to a case summary prepared by his attorney, Lovells suitability for the priesthood was questioned after he was the subject of several complaints, though none constituted criminal behavior. The attorney, canon law specialist the Rev. Pius Pietrzyk, told the Tribune that some incidents buying a cassock for a seminarian who couldnt afford one, or reserving a hotel conference room where alumni of a Catholic high school club could play cards were viewed as boundary violations. Lovell denied doing anything improper, and said he thinks the complaints were payback for reporting a fellow teacher for inappropriate contact with a student. He was ordered to get a psychological evaluation at a counseling center that serves Catholic clergy. In a letter following the evaluation, former Rockford Bishop Thomas Doran wrote: I regard the present case of Father Lovell as concluded and no further action on the allegations therein is warranted. But Pietrzyk said that when Bishop David Malloy was appointed to lead the diocese in 2012, he took a different view of the case, issuing decrees that restricted Lovells ability to perform his clerical duties. Lovell remains a priest but cant celebrate Mass or hear confession. He said his pay and benefits were reduced, and after he was banned from diocesan housing, he had to move into his fathers house in the south suburbs and take odd jobs. (Wiegert said pay and housing depends on a priests status.) Pietrzyk said appeals to Rome have been fruitless, and that Malloy has declined to outline his concerns or how Lovell can address them. I just simply do not understand why, legally speaking, John has been shunted out of ministry like this, he said. It boggles my mind. Wiegert declined to address Lovells allegations, saying the diocese doesnt comment on personnel matters. Kelly ODonnell, a California-based canon lawyer who is not involved in Lovells case, said the hierarchy can remove priests permanently a process known as laicizing or defrocking only if they have committed a crime or a serious offense against the church, such as preaching heresy. It can be a long and convoluted process, she said, and some bishops have found it easier to deal with troublesome priests by leaving them unassigned. They just think they can toss them, she said. Its really sad. State of limbo While Lovells case has lingered for nearly a decade, a more recent removal prompted the formation of the Coalition for Canceled Priests. In May, the Rockford Diocese announced that the Rev. James Parker, pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Batavia, would leave after a seven-year run but would not get a new assignment. The diocese said that was due to Parkers refusal to discuss various concerns that have arisen regarding his service as pastor. Wiegert would not specify those concerns and Parker declined to comment. But in an interview with LifeSiteNews, Parker said hed been warned about infringements such as celebrating Mass with his back to the congregation an old-school practice known as ad orientem as well as his failure to adhere to all of the dioceses COVID rules. Former parishioner Dan Wurtz, who moved to another church because of Parkers removal, said diocesan officials havent clarified the situation, angering the congregation. The bishop has never taken time to speak with parishioners who are so wounded by his decision, he said. Another parishioner, Craig Holuj, said Parkers removal was the last straw. He is a friend of Lovell, and together they founded the coalition to raise awareness and financial support for priests they deem canceled, he said. You have these priests living in a state of limbo, just kind of there, he said. And this is at a time when the Catholic Church is in dire need of priests. So it just makes no sense. The coalitions first order of business was to put on a fundraiser for Parker, which Holuj said brought in $20,500. Since then, the organization, which is seeking nonprofit status, has raised several hundred thousand dollars more, he said. Parkers fundraiser was followed by a September rally in Chicagos Lincoln Park that included a video message from Mel Gibson, the movie star known for following a stringent form of Catholicism. He suggested the priests removal had an ideological motive. (Bishops) passively sit by and tolerate any kind of nonsense, but if one of their priests utters something that resembles orthodoxy, well, then they spring into action, he said. They reprimand him and they bully him and do their best to cancel him. Clerical culture warriors Lovell said the views of the coalitions priests are rooted in tradition, not politics The church makes it quite clear in the catechism and canon law what her teachings are, he said but that line is sometimes hard to discern. One of the priests featured on the coalitions billboards, the Rev. James Altman of La Crosse, Wisconsin, was removed in July after making numerous inflammatory statements. In one video, he bashed Democrats and progressive organizations, called climate change a hoax and ridiculed fellow clergy as gutless cowards. Another priest, the Rev. Paul Kalchik, lost his post at Chicagos Resurrection Catholic Church in 2018 after he burned a rainbow banner that had hung in the parish, calling it sacrilegious. In November, speaking at a Baltimore rally organized by conservative media outlet Church Militant, he condemned tolerant views of homosexuality as one of the worst evils to befall the church and society. Neither priest could be reached for comment. Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, said while politics have always influenced the inner workings of the church, the situation has become especially volatile in recent years. He attributes that to the sexual abuse crisis that chipped away at the churchs moral standing and the rise of norm-shredding politicians like former President Donald Trump who serve as inspiration to dissatisfied priests and laypeople. They have received encouragement from what theyve seen happening, he said. Theres a whole climate in which authority is very easily confronted and challenged and attacked publicly. But the Rev. Mark White, a suspended Virginia priest who received $11,500 from the coalition to hire a canon lawyer, said he is not in ideological lockstep with other priests in the group. He ran afoul of Bishop Barry Knestout of the Richmond Diocese by writing a blog that discusses, sometimes angrily, the churchs abuse crisis (Knestout has accused him of fomenting disunity and making inflammatory and contemptuous comments). What the coalitions priests do agree on, White said, is that they should be able to speak their minds without punishment. Were human beings who have ideas, he said. It seems like we should be allowed to express them. Unlikely role model The coalition has dipped into matters beyond the reinstatement of priests. It has highlighted the views of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who has spread conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines. It has also resisted efforts by Pope Francis, Cardinal Blase Cupich and other leaders to curb the Latin Mass in the name of church unity, enlisting mobile billboards to circle Chicago churches with the message, Defend the traditional Latin Mass. Even so, Lovell said one of his role models is the very liberal Rev. Michael Pfleger, who has led St. Sabina on Chicagos South Side since 1981. Pfleger has tangled with the Chicago Archdiocese over his activism, and last year was investigated on decades-old allegations of child sex abuse. As they have before, his parishioners rallied around him, flooding a church sexual abuse hotline with so many calls that Cupich threatened to move the investigation to another diocese. In the end, a review board concluded there was insufficient reason to suspect Pflegers guilt and Cupich reinstated the priest. A lot of us dont have the popularity that Father Pfleger does so what the coalition is trying to do is try to be the voice for these priests that have no one, or very few people, to defend them, Lovell said. He acknowledged, though, that only one of the priests the coalition has supported has returned to the ministry. As for the groups billboards, Wiegert said they have had no effect on the Rockford Dioceses contributions. Charles Reid Jr., a canon lawyer and law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, said discontent within the ranks has been part of Catholicism for centuries. While the conflict might be particularly hot at the moment, he predicted that the coalition, like other fractious groups before it, will ultimately fade away. I just dont see that apocalyptic explosion, he said. I think this will peter out and people will be reconciled. More than 3 million LGBTQ adults over age 50 live in the U.S. and more than half of them feel lonely. Why, exactly? LGBTQ older adults are three or four times less likely than older Americans in general to be parents meaning in most cases they don't have children able to take care of them. They're twice as likely to live alone, according to LGBTQ elder advocacy organization SAGE. But these problems often regularly go unnoticed. "Invisibility is one of the biggest challenges that LGBTQ elders face," says Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE. "This is in the context of a country where adult children and spouses and partners are the primary sources of care and support for older people later in life," Adams adds. This population is set to reach about 7 million by 2030, meaning millions more could face the same feelings. While LGBTQ elders face unique complications when it comes to aging, programs around the country offer ways to help them attain emotional, physical and financial security. Never count out the community, however. "There are real gaps here. There are real challenges here. And we're also talking about a very resilient community of elders," Adams says. Aww: LGBTQ people in need of stand-in parents at weddings, holidays find 'family' in Facebook group More than 3 million LGBT adults over age 50 live in the U.S. and more than half of them feel lonely. How services are helping LGBTQ elders SAGE offers services and programs that are specifically designed for LGBTQ elders think traditional senior centers with hot meals and exercise classes but in a dedicated safe space. The pandemic has evidently migrated certain programs online. Dominique Lebreton, 60, found comfort in SAGE through its video chat services and made a friend she speaks with for about an hour a week. Her adoptive daughter a member of her "chosen family" introduced her to the organization and helped her enroll. The New York resident is grateful for the respite from isolation. "I didn't expect to get past 60, the whole thing just seemed like a hopeless endeavor," she says. Lebreton, who is transgender and bisexual, also has the mental health condition dissociative identity disorder due to childhood trauma. Story continues What does 'Two-Spirit' mean? What to know about Two-Spirit, indigenous LGBTQ identities She's all right with the virtual interactions for now. "When that day comes, if that day comes, in-person would be nice," she says. "I'm in no hurry for it to happen because it's dead of winter." The organization provides case management services, like helping somebody sign up for Medicare veterans benefits, or helping a person transition from a three-story walk up into an apartment that is on the ground floor because they can no longer get up and down the stairs. The group also helps train nursing homes on how to work respectfully and effectively with LGBTQ elders. 'We are OK the way we are': What the intersex community wishes you knew Several factors contribute to higher levels of poverty among LGBTQ older folks. Historically, employment benefits have not been made available in equal terms for LGBTQ people, like health insurance for partners, Adams said. As of 2018, 17% of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. came from people 50 years old and above. "The cumulative impact of discrimination in the workplace and denial of workplace benefits over the lifetime creates poverty and we see that in the statistics about retirement savings and assets that LGBTQ older people have as they enter retirement," Adams says. Being a part of SAGE's leadership was a no-brainer for Adams after watching his grandmother age. Even someone with loyal, loving people around still struggled with aging. What would it be like for someone without anyone around? "It just kept on hitting me how incredibly difficult it would be for members of my own community, members of the LGBT community, who get to that point in life, but don't have any of those supports, don't have any of that family structure," Adams says. Comfort and joy: Here's why some people celebrate the holidays with chosen families What you can do to help LGBTQ elders Learn about the history. Stonewall Community Development Corporation also offers programs to help aging community members. Executive director Paul Nagle told program director Sayief Leshaw something that inspired him to get involved with Stonewall in the first place: The generation of older adults that were in the streets i.e. in the wake of the Stonewall riots in 1969 are the ones that are now having to go back into the closet to safely access services. Pay attention to needs of community. "Whether it is serving as a volunteer in a community-based organization like SAGE, or just opening our eyes and noticing that the person who lives down the street from us or down the hall from us might be an elder living in isolation who needs support, who needs friendship and also recognizing that our elders are vibrant people in our community, but they've contributed so much to our community," Adams says. Don't throw this group a pity party. "We're talking about incredibly resilient people," Adams says. "We're talking about elders who've lived through decades of oppression, discrimination, invisibility, violence, and who have not only survived, but continued to thrive." Interesting: LGBTQ and straight, cisgender dating are vastly different. Or are they? This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LGBTQ elders are lonely, but SAGE and Stonewall are here to help Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, shown here at a news conference last August, says sexual assault allegations in the National Guard should be thoroughly reviewed. This story was republished on Jan. 5, 2022 to make it free for all readers No criminal charges will be filed for 33 sexual assault cases mishandled by the Wisconsin National Guard, but the state Department of Justice says changes are needed to prevent future problems. The department on Thursday issued the results of its 18-month review of National Guard sexual assault cases in which it examined botched investigations dating from 2009 to 2019. The agency, which does not file its own criminal charges in such instances, said it examined the Guard's case files and referred them to local district attorneys, who ultimately declined to prosecute. Regardless of whether there is ultimately a prosecution, its important for our system of justice that when there are allegations made there is a full and thorough review that takes place," Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in an interview Wednesday. "We wanted to ensure that kind of review happened. The agency review followed a 2019 investigation by the federal National Guard Bureau that found at least 33 sexual assault cases had been mishandled by the Wisconsin Guard. The Guard had been improperly investigating sex assault allegations for years, failing to track such cases and punish some perpetrators. The Guard Bureau investigation came after the Cap Times and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found the Guard was violating state and federal rules by discouraging victims from going to police and conducting internal investigations into allegations of sexual assault. Former Wisconsin Guard chief Maj. Gen. Donald Dunbar was fired in 2019 over the Guard Bureau findings, and Gov. Tony Evers directed the Wisconsin Guard to implement a series of reforms. The justice department review only included cases that occurred prior to 2019. It did not review how or whether Guard changes implemented since then have affected how sexual assaults are investigated. The Justice Department made several recommendations for the Guard and state lawmakers stemming from its review, including curbing excessive alcohol consumption among soldiers, clarifying rules related to romantic relationships between Guard members and putting victims at the center of investigations with clear, consistent communication and legal representation. Story continues We want to identify issues that arose as this review was being conducted that we saw and wanted to alert policymakers to, Kaul said. Its important that our legislators be engaged on these issues and that they are reviewing the policies in place and making sure they are appropriate. Despite the investigations that have highlighted the need for reform, legislators in Wisconsin have not updated the states military law, called the Wisconsin Code of Military Justice, to align it with national standards for addressing sexual assault, victims' rights and discrimination, and other crimes within the force. Meanwhile, federal lawmakers have pushed for changes and more funding for the Guard and pledged to hold Congressional hearings. Following the Cap Times/Journal Sentinel investigation in March, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin called on the Guard to expand military whistleblower protections for its members and boost funding for federal investigations of state Guard sexual assault cases. U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier of California said she would hold hearings this fall on the Guards distinct challenges with sexual assault. Alcohol was a factor in many of the cases the Department of Justice reviewed, the agency said. While drinking among members can often occur off-base during drill weekends and annual training exercises, the Guard also sponsors holiday gatherings and parties where alcohol is sometimes provided, according to Guard records reviewed by the Journal Sentinel. The dangers associated with excessive drinking should be taken into account and regularly emphasized, including through trainings and in the review and approval of holiday and special Guard events, according to the agency's findings. The agency also found failures in keeping victims updated about their cases, noting that Guard attorneys for victims could change repeatedly. The same attorneys should remain with the victims throughout their cases, and the victims should have the opportunity to ask questions and offer input, the agency said. Katelyn Ferral is an investigative reporter at the Journal Sentinel. Email her at kferral@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mishandled Wisconsin National Guard sexual assault won't result in charges Update: This bill successfully passed the Senate on Jan 18 and has been referred to the House Roads and Transportation committee. An Indiana senator is not looking to get rid of the use of turn signals. The brief description of a bill filed to the General Assembly last week stoked the very confusion that the actual bill aims to eliminate. A portion of it reads, "repeals the statute requiring a signal of intention to turn before turning or changing lanes." How many feet do you have to signal to turn in Indiana? Indiana Code has two such statutes. One requires the use of a turn signal before changing lanes or turning. Another requires this action at least 200 feet before changing lanes or turning, and on a highway, 300 feet. Senate Bill 124, which will be heard in the Corrections and Criminal Law committee on Jan. 11, aims to strike the 200/300-foot statute. "I dont need two statutes to tell you to use a turn signal," said Republican Sen. Aaron Freeman of Indianapolis, author of the bill, which also calls for drivers with suspended licenses to petition for specialized driving privileges in the court that suspended their license. Not only are the two statutes duplicative, Freeman argues, but the 200-foot statute is exceedingly difficult to comply with in an urban setting, where roundabout exits or some turns on city blocks into parking lots may take place within a 200-foot span. Appeal decision addresses Indiana turn signal laws "Anyone who has ever operated a motor vehicle observes multiple violations of this statute each and every day," Judge Paul Mathias wrote in an appellate court decision in 2020, State of Indiana v. Emmanuel Torres et al, which Freeman cited as his inspiration. "I respectfully request that our General Assembly review Section 9-21-8-25 and the traffic code in general to correct statutes where conforming conduct is often impossible. All Hoosiers will appreciate and benefit form a traffic code that reduces the opportunity for arbitrary enforcement." Story continues In that particular appeal, two defendants had been stopped by police in Frankfort for failing to use a turn signal, and subsequently charged with misdemeanors once police discovered each was driving without a license. The defendants filed a motion to suppress the evidence for the misdemeanors, arguing they didn't violate a turn signal statute because their actions did not impact any pedestrians. But the appellate court invoked the 200-foot statute, saying that even if it's difficult to comply with in certain areas, the letter of the law stands. Statute typically used for 'pre-textual' traffic stops This specific statute is not one that comes up often by itself in traffic court. As in the Frankfort case, it's usually tied to some other charge, like driving under the influence or driving with a suspended license, said Julie Chambers, a defense attorney who used to prosecute traffic court in Marion County. This is called a "pre-textual" stop: a traffic stop police conduct with the aim of investigating a more serious crime. Of the two turn signal statutes, she said she most often sees the 200-foot one show up. "It's an easy ticket to stop somebody for," she said. "Anybody does this every day." This is why attorney Ben Stevenson, a former Hamilton County prosecutor, is in favor of the bill. He said he exclusively saw the 200-foot statute used as a basis to pull people over for minor drug charges. What happens if you violate turn signal statutes? Violations of either of the statutes result in two points on a driver's license, plus fines and court fees usually amounting to $171 and not exceeding $500. In 2020, according to the bill's fiscal note, there were 2,500 citations in Indiana for improper signaling or failure to use a turn signal. This data from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles lumps together both statues. In the grand scheme of the legal system, turn signal tickets are not something that cross the desk of attorney Christopher Grider, who helps clients with traffic-related legal problems. "It raises the question, whats the big deal?" he said. "I dont have any idea why anybody would be motivated to change this law. It seems like a pretty insignificant law." The most common scenario he does come across that involves turn signal violations is in the case of a rear-end accident, which can happen when the car in front doesn't signal. Police are "typically involved in other far more pressing things," Grider said. The often forgotten, incredible safety feature that is standard on every car... #SafetyTip #TheMoreYouKnow pic.twitter.com/icpPmA24kS Sgt. John Perrine (@ISPIndianapolis) February 24, 2017 Indiana State Police spokesperson John Perrine said ISP does not comment on proposed legislation before it becomes law. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson William Young said he can't speculate whether officers write up tickets using one statute more than the other, but said officers would comply with whatever outcome lawmakers decide. State police generally write more tickets for the plain turn signal statute, or statute 8-24 3,758 over the last five years versus the 200 or 300-foot statute, or statute 8-25 2,855. There isnt a straightforward pattern among counties, according to data provided to IndyStar by ISP. There is a tendency for counties with urban areas to see more tickets for 8-24, with a few exceptions. In Marion County, for example, ISP wrote 836 tickets for 8-24 and 780 for 8-25, but in Hamilton County, ISP wrote 39 tickets for 8-24 and 78 for 8-25. Theres a tendency for rural counties to see more 8-25 tickets written, but again, with a few exceptions. How officers use the statutes, Grider said, boils down to training. It depends on the officer or department, he said. Chambers doesn't see a downside to the proposed repeal for either police or drivers. "Anytime we can limit the number of interactions with police for community members, Im in favor," Chambers said. "I dont think its a waste of time for a legislature to try to clarify or streamline our statutes." Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Turn signal law wouldn't be eliminated under Indiana bill North Central Michigan Colleges luncheon lecture series will resume in an in-person format on Friday, Jan. 21. PETOSKEY North Central Michigan College announced its luncheon lecture series will resume in an in-person format on Friday, Jan. 21. A variety of topics will be featured including circuit court, public health, Brave Hearts Estate, honeybees, a 1972 Air Force rescue operation, redistricting and unmanned aerial systems. All hour-long programs will take place at noon on Fridays in the Library Conference Center. Masks are required in all indoor settings regardless of individuals vaccination status. The attendance fee is $15 and includes a lunch buffet served at 11:30 a.m. Pre-registration is required at www.ncmclifelonglearning.com/events. The following is a look at each scheduled luncheon lecture series: Jan. 21 Circuit Court 57th Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Deegan was appointed to the bench in March by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and sworn in by retired Circuit Judge Charles Johnson in April. Prior to her appointment, Judge Deegan practiced family and criminal law and previously served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Emmet, Charlevoix, Sanilac and Wayne counties. Deegan will explain what circuit court does and talk about COVID-19s impact on the way the court operates and the cases that are coming before her. Feb. 4 Public Health The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is charged with protecting the health of the people who live and work in Emmet, Charlevoix, Antrim and Otsego counties in conformance with Michigans Public Health Code. While the health departments vital work was taken for granted and largely unnoticed by many for decades, that changed in late August 2021 when a mask mandate was issued for K-12 schools in the four counties to address the continued health threat of COVID-19. Health officer Lisa Peacock will explain the mandate and give an update on current steps to keep the community safe through a pandemic with a growing number of variants. Feb. 18 Brave Hearts Estate A 238-acre ranch near Pellston was donated to Operation Injured Soldiers by a patriot and generous supporter of injured veterans on Veterans Day 2014. Today, Brave Hearts Estate serves as a place for veterans and their families to relax and enjoy time away in a country setting at no cost. Paula Brown is caretaker, assisted by her military veteran husband, Mike. Paula and Mike will tell the extraordinary story of a mission close to home helping those who have served their country. Story continues March 4 Honeybees They have one of the sweetest sounding names of all insects. Why do people keep honeybees? Because by helping bees flourish at the local level, beekeepers help ensure a prosperous future for the environment. Pollinators including honeybees are responsible for facilitating the fertilization of more than 80% of the food supply. Beekeeper Anne Morningstar provides insights into the lifecycle of one of the worlds most valuable species. March 11 BAT 21 On April 2, 1972, a U.S. Air Force jet, call sign Bat 21, was shot down by a North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile behind enemy lines. The lone surviving crew member, the navigator, ejected at 31,000 feet and was the subject of the largest and one of the most difficult rescue operations in Air Force history. A 1988 movie starring Gene Hackman and Danny Glover told parts of the secret rescue mission. John van Etten of Horton Bay didnt need to see the movie. He was one of the rescue pilots portrayed in the film and has written his own book about the experience. He will provide his eyewitness account of the harrowing and costly rescue. March 25 Redistricting the New Way In November 2018, Michigan voters approved the Voters Not Politicians constitutional amendment, which created a commission of 13 randomly selected citizens to draw district lines for the Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representatives and U.S. Congress using the results of the decennial U.S. census. The Secretary of State serves as the commissions non-voting secretary and administrator of the redistricting process. Sarah Reinhardt of the Michigan Department of State, appearing live via Zoom from Lansing, will give an update on the commissions current work to redraw district maps and help residents understand what it will mean for Michigan voters. April 1 Unmanned Aerial Systems Launched in 2010, Northwestern Michigan Colleges UAS program is the leading training center for drones in the region with an impressive fleet of unmanned aircraft rivaling many universities. Graduates work in agriculture, the inspection industry, even package delivery. The training program also teaches drone piloting skills to law enforcement personnel, land surveyors, utility line crews and others. The program recently received a workforce development grant from the FAA to train 40 high school teachers in UAS fundamentals, as well as equip each with a multi-rotor unit to use with their own students. UAS Program Manager Tony Sauerbrey will explain it all. For more information, visit www.ncmich.edu. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: North Central Michigan College announces winter luncheon lecture lineup Djokovic is currently being detained in the Park Hotel Melbourne (Getty Images) World number one Novak Djokovic is currently being held in a hotel in Melbourne following visa issues upon entry to Australia. The 34-year-old Serbian was initially granted a medical exemption for the countrys Covid vaccination requirements so that he could play in the Australian Open later this month. But the 20-time Grand Slam champion was then left stranded at Melbournes Tullamarine airport overnight due to problems with his visa application. And he was later issued a letter by the Australian government saying his visa had been denied and that he was going to be deported. Since then he has been transported to The Park Hotel in Melbourne - a place also known as an Alternative to Detention (ATD) which has been used as such since December 2020. No one is allowed in or out of the hotel aside from staff. Windows must remain closed. Despite describing itself as luxurious and 4.5 stars on its website, the hotel has been the subject of heavy criticism with, according to the Daily Mail, reports of maggot-riddled food, Covid outbreaks and fires in recent months. Djokovics belongings are still at the airport, as reported by Sasa Ozmo. And he is said to have requested to be moved to a rented apartment after finding bugs in his room. A fitness area is present within the hotel but there is no tennis court fo Djokovic to continue his practice on - less than two weeks before the start of the Australian Open. His family have likened his treatment by authorities to that of a prisoner in captivity. His father, Srdjan, said: They are keeping him in captivity. They are stomping all over Novak to stomp all over Serbia and the Serbian people with mother, Dijana, adding: They are keeping him as a prisoner, thats not human and its not fair. Djokovic is currently being housed in the Park Hotel in Melbourne (Getty Images) Protestors have gathered outside the hotel (EPA) A number of refugees and asylum seekers are housed in the hotel (EPA) As well as the world number one, other residents of the hotel include 32 refugees and asylum seekers. Salah Mustafa, who was held at the hotel, told The Guardian: I sit in the room and I am afraid. We are all afraid. Story continues Today, I am negative, my son is negative. But tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, what then? Everywhere is infection. We are trapped here. We are stuck in our rooms, waiting [for] this virus to come. Protestors have frequently gathered outside in a bid to force authorities to release refugees and asylum seekers from the hotel. But over the past 24 hours anti-vaxxers and fans of Djokovic have descended upon the streets outside the hotel many draped in Serbian flags. Djokovic has launched legal action against the cancellation of his visa, and that has so far prevented his deportation. He will remain detained at the hotel ahead of a scheduled hearing on Monday. An infusion of funds from the city of Columbus will ensure that portable toilets will remain Downtown for another year, their numbers have been reduced from the nine in 2021 to six this year. Most are located near COTA bus stops along High Street from the court complex north to the Arena District. While the portable outdoor toilets in downtown Columbus are staying thanks to an infusion of city money, there are now fewer of them than in 2021. The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District has removed three of the nine toilets, leaving them at the following locations: Broad and High streets (east side of High between Broad and State streets near the Statehouse) 33 N. High St. (just south of the Central Ohio Transit Authority's headquarters and north of One Columbus) 98 N. High St. (just south of Atrium Lofts) 16 W. Long St. (by Southeast Healthcare) 61 E. Mound St. (by St. Johns Church) Topiary Park (near the Columbus Metropolitan Library system's Main Library) The special improvement district removed three portable toilets from the following locations: 125 E. Broad St. (Trinity Episcopal Church) 33 N. High St. (William J. Lhota Building, originally two outside there, now one.) 61 E. Mound St. (Originally two there, now one. The Open Shelter recently moved from this location, reducing the demand for restrooms.) Lisa Defendiefer, deputy director of operations and advocacy for the Capital Crossroads and Discovery special improvement districts, said the one at Trinity Episcopal Church was placed there when it was a warming center for homeless people in the winter of 2020-2021. But it's not a warming center this year, she said, and fewer had been using it. A woman who is homeless and often sits in front of the church used that restroom and has complained about that one being removed. Defendiefer acknowledged. "I will say there was a lot of thought as to what would be the most logical and highest-need locations," Defendiefer said. "We didnt feel that nine were necessary at this point. Six would provide the amenities for a good number of people," she said. No one asked the district to remove toilets, she said. The city is providing another $51,000 to maintain the toilets for another year. Story continues "We thought they all would be pulled," Defendiefer said. Keith McCormish, director of the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, said he hasn't heard any concerns from people on he street, and said he has no concerns himself with fewer toilets. He said people can go to the warming center at the Broad Street United Methodist Church, 501 E. Broad St., to use the bathroom, as well as shower and do laundry. He said the warming center saw 2,000 visits in December. mferench@dispatch.com @MarkFerenchik This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Number of outdoor toilets Downtown have been reduced from nine to six Good morning, everyone! Today is Epiphany, or more colloquially the 12th day of Christmas -- and to mark the occasion weve got you 12 drummers drumming. Twelve drummers drumming (not all pictured). Speaking of Jan. 6, this marks the one-year anniversary since the riot on Capitol Hill, where a mob of pro-Trump supporters marched on the Capitol building, broke in, and wreaked havoc in Senate chambers. Some people from New England were present at the riot, and we caught up with the state of their criminal cases. Meanwhile, Mayor Paul Coogan released a comprehensive plan on Wednesday to spend $20 million of the $69 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding promised to the city, with quality-of-life initiatives geared toward residents and small businesses. What will we be spending the ARPA money on? Read on to find out. The citys previous mayor, Jasiel Correia, due to begin a prison sentence for a conviction on fraud and extortion charges, has a couple more weeks of freedom at least. Judge Douglas Woodlock issued an order on Wednesday giving Correia a bit more time at home before he has to begin his six-year prison sentence find out why here. And the new year is a time for great new beginnings, including new lives. There was much reason to celebrate in Swansea this past weekend, as 2022 got off to a joyous start for two local families. Southcoast Health announced that not one but both of its new year's babies were born Saturday, Jan. 1, at New Bedford's St. Luke's Hospital and Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River to couples from Swansea. Get to know these people and see their adorable newborns. Weather Your three-day forecast. Join us Not one of our beloved digital subscribers yet? You can become one right now, and join the growing team of people dedicated to preserving great local news. Its so easy -- go to HeraldNews.com/subscribenow and check out the options. For just a few cents a day, you get all-you-can-read local news, and youll be keeping local journalism alive in our community! Check out all these stories and more at HeraldNews.com. This article originally appeared on The Herald News: One year after Capitol riots, catching up with those in the mob Brittany and Cynthia Daniel in 1997. Frank Trapper/Corbis Entertainment via Getty Images Brittany Daniel had a child via a surrogate after her twin sister Cynthia donated her eggs. The sisters starred together on the 1990s teen drama "Sweet Valley High." "We've always shared everything, so why not this?" Cynthia said of donating her eggs. Brittany Daniel told People that her twin sister, Cynthia, donated an egg to her so that she could have a child after undergoing treatment for lymphoma. The twins played Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield in the 1990s teen drama "Sweet Valley High," based on the book series. Brittany continued acting after the show's cancellation while Cynthia pivoted to photography, People reported in 2019. To this day, the pair maintain a joint Instagram account under the handle @brittanyandcynthiadaniel, and they're set to star in the Disney+ remake of "Cheaper by the Dozen," Deadline reported. Brittany was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011 and underwent six months of chemotherapy, People reported. The actor said that she "had a new lease on life" and was ready to have a child after recovery, but learned from a fertility specialist that she may not be able to due to a diminished egg reserve that was likely the result of chemotherapy. According to Brittany, her sister Cynthia, who has three children of her own with husband Cold Hauser, "didn't hesitate" to donate her eggs. "I saw it as such a simple gift I could give to her," Cynthia told People. "I know Brittany would do it in a split second for me. And we've always shared everything, so why not this?" Brittany and Cynthia Daniel at the 5th Biennial Stand Up To Cancer in 2016. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic After three unsuccessful in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts, baby Hope was born via a surrogate on October 24, 2021, with both Brittany and her husband, Adam Touni, in the room during delivery. Cynthia met her niece in December. "I just let out this primal cry," Brittany said of the moment when she first met her daughter. "The entire room was bawling because they just all knew what we had been through." Story continues Brittany told People that she's considering having more children down the line via Cynthia's donated eggs. "[Motherhood is] better than I ever thought it could be," Brittany said. "My sister made my dreams come true." Other celebrities, including Kristen Wiig, have spoken about going through the IVF process, which Wiig described as "the most difficult time" in her life to InStyle. Celebrities including Tan France, Anderson Cooper, and Sarah Jessica Parker have also spoken about having their kids via surrogates. Read the original article on Insider One of the most common observations made by early European explorers in Montana was the immense buffalo herds and the Native people who hunted and used the huge animals. A 2016 article in the Intermountain Journal of Sciences by James A. Bailey chronicles the observations. The Crows were reported to kill upwards of a thousand bison in a day in 1824; meanwhile, George Catlin recorded 500 Shoshone tribal members slaughtered more than 1,400 in one day in 1832. Yet as tribes and Montana begin to see more bison repopulate a state where they were once taken by the hundreds, two of the states top officials, along with heads of several key state agencies, want to put a stop to a private nonprofit organizations attempt at placing small bison herds on lands where the animals once roamed. American Prairie, formerly known as American Prairie Reserve, has purchased thousands of acres throughout Montana and has had grazing leases that have been tied to the lands for years. Thats why when it came to renewing those leases through the federal governments Bureau of Land Management, the organization wasnt expecting the furor that came from state leaders. When the BLMs own assessment determined that no significant harm would come from the grazing or leases, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, along with the leaders from the states department of agriculture and the Wildlife, Fish and Parks as well as Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, objected, urging the federal leaders to reconsider and hold more public meetings. When the BLM, which had used a standard public comment period and public meeting, rebuffed the state leaders requests, Knudsen held his own public comment meeting and rejected an offer from American Prairie to meet, leading to an ongoing cold war in which the same leaders criticizing the nonprofit also refused to engage in conversation, leaving little more than an exchange of inflammatory letters and accusations that bison conservation will lead to the death of cattle ranching in central and northern Montana. Gianforte and Knudsen were both contacted for the story, and neither office responded to requests for interviews. The case of science vs. politics When the BLM released its findings of no negative impacts for the grazing leases, that set into motion a concerted effort by state leaders to get the federal government to reconsider. At the heart of the argument is a disputed theory that federal grazing law did not allow for bison, rather only animals raised for commercial ranching, like cattle and sheep. Bison have also been raised in Montana for commercial production for decades. Meanwhile, outside the legal process, ranchers opposed to American Prairie worry about escaped bison or the spread of disease. Yet scientists who study bison say that question a recurring one in debates in Montana has been largely settled in favor of the two animal species successfully living together without harming each other. While the BLM and the federal government are standing by their public comment and input, as well as their findings regarding the grazing leases, the state may not be able to stop the federal permits, but it could make it more difficult to manage them. Federal public lands have a checkerboard pattern of state lands intermixed among them. As a matter of law, the two are separate, but in practice, state governments often defer to the federal Bureau of Land Management to help manage lands that it technically owns on behalf of the state, but is surrounded often like an island in a sea of federal public land. That makes sense because animals dont just graze according to land boundaries without fencing. Yet separate management is one of the options the state of Montana said it would consider if the BLM doesnt take more input. Technically, Montana could decide to wall off or separate its public grazing lands, but that would take thousands of dollars in fencing, something that, even with money from grazing leases, would likely not even pay for itself in the first 20-year lease. Moreover, the state would then have to decide how to manage its portion of the land, including access for any other leaseholders. This is the first time some of the leases have come up with American Prairie as the leaseholder tied to the land. Bovine vs. bison While the conversation about bison and American Prairie has largely boiled down to bison conservation versus cattle ranching, the science on that is no longer in doubt. Sam Fuhlendorf is the regents professor and Groendyke chair in wildlife conservation at Oklahoma State University. He works around the country with both conservation and ranching efforts, studying both animals. He admits its hard to compare them because theyre very similar. They both forage and utilize similar food. One of the biggest differences, though, is thermal stressors. Cattle become stressed in high heat and chilly temperatures. Bison show extreme thermal tolerance, Fuhlendorf said. That means the blasting summer sun of the Montana prairie isnt as big of a threat for bison, and neither is the prolonged cold of an intense winter. Both can co-exist. Both can exist on the same land. Theyre both big, bulk roughage eaters, Fuhlendorf said. As for managing bison versus managing cattle, Fuhlendorf, whose research is in range management, said its all a matter of managing. Bison range managers can be just as detrimental as cattle range operators. He said sometimes when a bison wallows in dust, people tend to view it as a spiritual experience, but when a bovine cow does it, its dirty. He said theres nothing inherently bad or good about either, just small differences that depend on the management. Really, when were talking management, were talking about the middle, Fuhlendorf said. We want to make sure nothing is too heavily grazed and nothing is too little. He said the one difference in management is that bison, because they havent been domesticated like cattle, can get a reputation of being harder to handle. Theres nothing magically good or evil about bison, though, Fuhlendorf said. The most important decision is how many animals will be out there. For bison if a bison can get out, it will. But the key is not making them want to get out of wherever they are. As for the politics of bison in Montana, thats something that not even studying the animals for decades has given him a clear handle on. A sign thats popped up throughout central and northern Montana that says, Save the Cowboy, Stop APR, is one indicator of the tensions. Most of it is a red herring, Fuhlendorf said. At Wichita Mountain (cattle and bison) are in the same pasture all the time and none of the ranchers are troubled by the connection. Ranchers in quite a few other states just dont have a problem. Ranchers, by nature, are conservative. But even if they wouldnt do something with their property, they understand the rights of others because of private property. Follow the law One thing that both sides agree on: the other side is not following the law. In Gianfortes letter to the federal agency, he said the BLM lacks the authority to issue a grazing permit for domestic indigenous animals. The governor also argues that using the grazing permits for non-production-oriented, wildlife management would rob other ranchers of economic opportunities. Finally, Gianforte criticizes the BLM in a September letter for holding a public hearing session via remote meeting in the middle of a summer afternoon when the vast majority of those affected were trying to wrest their livelihoods from a devastating drought. Pete Geddes, American Prairies vice president, told the Daily Montanan hes still surprised by the amount of public rebuke theyve gotten. That includes a public campaign complete with yard signs and banners that advocates ending APR. And Geddes says American Prairie used a conservative playbook by buying their own private property for grazing bison. And when it comes to Montana, he is still flummoxed by the opposition from Lewistown legislator Dan Bartels who was unsuccessful in an attempt to pass legislation that would have prohibited nonprofits from acquiring land an idea that riled even some conservative ranchers in the area. Were building a National Discovery Center in downtown Lewistown and creating jobs and tourism there. I would think hed be interested in employees and in private land, Geddes said. Gianfortes Department of Natural Resources and Conservation also objected during the federal open commenting period, noting that it has roughly 5,000 acres of the 155,000 acres of BLM and private land in question. Montanas Fish, Wildlife and Parks division added a three-page letter of concerns, including concerns about transmitting disease and whether cattle and bison can co-exist. Two additional letters were submitted by the state, including the Department of Livestock and the Department of Agriculture, which largely restate the same objections, but bring the total number of pages opposing American Prairie to more than 30. In a letter, AG Knudsen accuses the BLM of creating a new term not found in the Taylor Grazing Act. Now theyve conjured a new classification indigenous livestock and insist that bison fit inside, Knudsen said. The law requires more than clever linguistic re-jiggering. APR doubtlessly paid a lot for the legal brain that suggested, We only need to stop calling bison non-livestock and call them indigenous livestock. He also accused the BLM of not adequately calculating the cost of allowing American Prairie bison to graze on federal and state lands, saying its analysis failed to recognize the negative impacts to ranchers and farmers. APRs mission is to displace Northeastern Montanas livestock industry and replace it with a large outdoor zoo, Knudsen said. APRs my-way-or-the-highway approach is nothing more than a reflexive threat to subject other permits to burdensome administrative protests and is, to be polite, unneighborly. No wonder APR has generated intense local opposition to its efforts. But being neighborly, American Prairie contends, is a two-way street. They confirmed that theyve reached out to both Gianforte and Knudsen, inviting them to see their operations, to ask questions and to communicate. They said that neither has ever visited or accepted an invitation. The governor is very interested in public access and economic development and we are, too, Geddes said. In fact, wed like to believe were partners. Weve created high-paying jobs. Weve opened more area for engaging in Montanas outdoors. He has a standing invitation to visit. The Daily Montanan is a nonprofit news outlet based out of Helena covering statewide policy and politics. It is an affiliate of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addresses reporters during a press conference on Thursday, December 9, 2021 to discuss the passage of the Protecting Our Democracy Act. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) on Wednesday said the rioters who stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, "lost" their bid to stop the peaceful transfer of power. "Democracy won that night," Pelosi told The Associated Press on the eve of the anniversary of the deadly riot. "These people, because of the courageous work of the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police and others, they were deterred in their action to stop the peaceful transfer of power. They lost," she added. Thursday marks one year since supporters of former President Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to thwart Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. The demonstration delayed the certification process for hours until Congress reconvened in the early hours of Jan. 7 to finish the constitutionally mandated process. Five police officers who were present at the Capitol on Jan. 6 died in relation to the riot, according to The New York Times, including four by suicide in the weeks following the attack. The House is holding a series of events on Thursday to commemorate the attack. A moment of silence will be held on the House floor, a prayer vigil will be held on the Capitol Center steps and historians Jon Meacham and Doris Kearns Goodwin are scheduled to participate in a conversation "to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th." Additionally, President Biden and Vice President Harris are slated to deliver remarks from the Capitol. Trump was initially scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday before scrapping those plans days before. GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) announced they would be holding a "Republican response" to the anniversary. In a letter to Republican colleagues over the weekend, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accused Democrats of using Jan. 6 as a "partisan political weapon to further divide our country." Pelosi told the AP on Wednesday, though, that "our democracy was on the brink of catastrophe" and encouraged the country to turn to its "better angels" and study the day to ensure that no such incident occurs again. Story continues "This has to be a period of remembrance, of reconciliation," Pelosi said, pointing to former President Lincoln as a model for behavior. "Lincoln said, With malice toward none, with charity toward all" when the Civil War was coming to a close. "We have to extend the hand of friendship." The House Speaker also reflected on the role Trump played in the Jan. 6 attack. She said the day's events were an "enormous civics lesson learned as to what a president is capable of," adding "I think now people are alerted to the fact that there can be rogue presidents." Pelosi said the rioters who stormed the Capitol "may have thought that was right," but added, "They were lied to by the president of the United States." She recognized her and Congress's responsibility to keep the country united, again referencing Lincoln. "We cannot shirk our responsibility. We have the power and we have the responsibility and we will live up to that to keep our country together," Pelosi said. "Let's hope that we never elect a president who will incite an insurrection on the Congress of the United States," she added. Gabriel Boric, president-elect of Chile, speaks to his supporters after the presidential runoff election on Dec. 19 in Santiago, Chile. (Marcelo Hernandez / Getty Images) Across Latin America, the political left is making a comeback not seen since the 2000s. Izquierdista presidential candidates won recent elections in Peru and Honduras. Activists are mounting protests against the conservative presidents of Brazil and Colombia. The lefts biggest win so far is in Chile, where Gabriel Boric was elected president last month. He'll take office in a country that's about to rewrite its constitution, which was put into place by former dictator Augusto Pinochet. Today, we speak about this "pink tide" and what it could mean for a region coming to terms with soaring inequality, a legacy of colonialism and a bloody, authoritarian history. Host: Gustavo Arellano Guests: L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell and Universidad de Chile professor Claudia Heiss More reading: Leftist lawmaker Boric wins polarized election in Chile, to become nations youngest president Chiles new president (Taylors version): Gabriel Boric is a Swiftie Chileans approve rewriting of constitution in landslide vote This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Jan. 5Glynn County Police identified the man killed in the Dec. 26 shooting at Selden Park as 18-year-old Amondrick Tijuane Roberts. Police said Roberts was shot when gunfire broke out during a dispute among numerous people at around 8:15 p.m. at the county park, located off U.S. Highway 17 near the Brunswick city limits. County and city police responding to reports of gunfire at the park found Roberts with a gunshot wound. Roberts was transported to Southeast Georgia Health System's Brunswick hospital, where he died despite life-saving efforts, police said. A second man later arrived at the hospital via private vehicle with a gunshot wound from the Selden Park shootout, police said. No arrests have been announced in connection with the shooting, but police continue to investigate. Police had not released Roberts' name, citing the ongoing investigation. The name was released early Wednesday afternoon, several hours after The News submitted a public records request for the victim's identity. "Glynn County Police offer their condolences to the family and ask all to respect their privacy in this trying time," police said in Wednesday's statement. Through the course of the investigation, police said they learned witnesses to the shooting recorded it with cellphone video and photos. Police are requesting those with video or photos to submit them to them to investigators, which can be done anonymously by going to: https://glynncountypdga.evidence.com/axon/citizen/public/seldon_park_shooting. "After clicking on the link, the system will ask you to provide a cellular phone number," a police statement reads. "If you remove the blue check for 'provide information,' your personal information WILL NOT be recorded. The cellphone number is only needed to send you a text message with a secure direct link." Anyone with information on the ongoing case is asked to call Silent Witness at 912-264-1333 or the lead investigator at 912-554-7817. A man armed with a gun sexually assaulted a woman on New Years Day near Little Havana, authorities said. On Wednesday, the department released a sketch of a man who detectives say is wanted in the attack. The incident happened at about 3 a.m. Jan. 1 in the area of Southwest 13th Avenue and 10th Street on the sidewalk of the intersection. After the attack, the woman flagged down an officer who was in the area, police said. Our Miami Police Special Victims Unit have been actively working around the clock investigating this case, Kiara Delva, a Miami police spokeswoman, said via email. Significant details surrounding the sexual assault will not be disclosed at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call Miamis Special Victims Unit at 305-603-6300 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477). Jan. 6MANCHESTER Police said they are looking for four men who fired shots after a resident confronted them as they were attempting to steal a catalytic converter early today. At 3:34 a.m. this morning, police were called to a residence on Hamlin Street after a resident reported seeing a suspicious dark grey vehicle parked backwards in his driveway, police said. The resident told police they noticed three men standing near his neighbor's vehicle, with another man lying on the ground using a saw to cut the catalytic converter. After the resident went outside to confront them, one of the men drew a handgun and pointed it at the resident, police said. Another man also displayed a firearm. Police said the resident quickly retreated back inside and subsequently heard multiple gunshots. The dark grey vehicle then left at a high rate of speed. Responding officers reported no injuries, and discovered shell casings in the driveway of a home on Hamlin Street. Additional vehicles in the area of Pearl and Holl streets were found with smashed windows, and police said they believe the two incidents are related. Police detectives are investigating. Police confirmed that the catalytic converter was stolen and added that the driver's side window on the car was smashed. Anyone with information about the incident should call the Manchester Police Department at 860-645-5500 or the Investigative Services Unit at 860-645-5575. Police also encourage members of the community to call 911 to report crimes in progress rather than trying to confront individuals. Austin Mirmina covers Manchester and Bolton. Patrick Choiniere with MLS Enterprise works to restore downed communication lines on NW Stavis Bay Road in Seabeck on Wednesday. The Kitsap-based company contracts with Wave Broadband, Kitsap Public Utility District and other communications providers in Kitsap County. SEABECK Without power and any source of heat, Billy and Carol Englebright remain huddled under blankets all day to keep warm in their home off Seabeck Holly Road. They can't afford to wait much longer. Billy, who relies on an oxygen machine, hasn't been able to use it since the power went out Sunday morning. "We'll just hang on, surely we're going to get our power back soon," his wife said of his response. Yet each day, Carol said, Puget Sound Energy pushes back the estimated time of their electricity's return. They can't leave home. The layers of snow and ice have completely blocked the Englebright's driveway, all the way to Seabeck Holly Road. The couple's only help has been a neighbor who trekked through snow up to his knees to bring coffee and groceries. "Were it not for my neighbor, I don't know what we would've done," she said. About 360 customers in Seabeck were like the Englebrights on Wednesday, still waiting for power to return after losing it on Sunday evening when a snowstorm dumped 6 inches or more of heavy fresh snow, snapping trees and glazing roads with ice, making many treacherous and impassable. Many residents have been confined to their homes for days, trying to stay warm as power crews and road crews work to make the area habitable again. According to PSE, 2,987 customers lost power in Kitsap County between Sunday and Monday. Ashley Kejsar lives in Lake Symington, one of the Seabeck communities that have been without power since Sunday. Her family of four doesn't have a generator but has been keeping warm with their fireplace, cooking with a camp stove, and getting light through a borrowed lantern. The Montana native said she's used to harsh winters, but not power outages that are typical for Western Washington. She said she's grateful for her neighbors' generosity in the use of their generator power to charge battery packs and cell phones Story continues "We wouldn't be in such a good place if it wasn't for such amazing neighbors," she said. The family of four keeps busy the parents stoking the fire and the kids playing Legos and games. But on Wednesday, Kejsar said the family's patience was starting to wear. "Lack of communication or upfront communication from PSE has been frustrating," she said. "We used to get our hopes up and then watch that time go by." PSE said that by Wednesday, power was returned to 90% who lost it in Kitsap County. The company estimated that the majority of customers whose power was still out on Wednesday in Seabeck would have it restored by 11 p.m., said Jarrett Tomalin, Puget Sound Energy's Customer Communication Manager. Tomalin said that crews were delayed in making repairs in some areas because of harsh road conditions. "If we go into an area where there's a lot of dumped trees, access is a bit harder," Tomalin said. "It might take a little bit more time and we'll have a crew go out, do that quick fix, while we're trying to figure, okay, how can we work through an area that's a little bit more difficult to access." Customers said they have been watching estimated restoration times closely. "It's supposed to be on at noon today and I just don't believe it," Kejsar said on Wednesday morning. Snowy, impassable roads were a hurdle to both power crews and residents. But Kitsap County Public Works spokesman Doug Bear said Wednesday morning that in some places, road crews had to wait for power lines to be repaired before continuing with clearing. "When the tree falls and brings down power lines, we can't do anything until Puget Sound Energy comes out and secures the power lines," Bear said. "Certainly, we can't risk people's lives trying to cut into something where there might be electrical power into it." School closures For those in drier parts of Kitsap, the closure of schools may have been confounding. Schools in the Central Kitsap School District were closed on Monday because of the large amount of snow that accumulated in the Seabeck, Holly and Crosby areas overnight, according to David Beil, a spokesman for the CK School District. Tuesday's classes were canceled districtwide because of snowy and icy road conditions across the district. Wednesdays closure was a result of icy road conditions on the westside, Seabeck and Bangor areas of the district school district. "We are disappointed that weather and road conditions have prevented the start of school in the new year," Beil said. CKSD started by announcing a two-hour delay on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. As crews began driving roads in the morning hours, the district determined that weather and road conditions in parts of the district would not allow schools to open safely. Once this determination was made, school was then canceled, Beil said. During bad weather scenarios, district staff begins driving roads by 2 a.m. assessing roads for snow and ice, checking school parking lots, bus stops and bus routes, as well as noting any updates by Kitsap County road crews in plowing and de-icing efforts. During the 5 o'clock hour, the district makes a decision to open, delay or close school for the day. By 6 a.m. the district informs families of any schedule changes, Beil said. All 19 school campuses in Central Kitsap are plowed, shoveled and de-iced, and the district crew will be out at 2 a.m. again on Thursday morning assessing roads, Beil said, in the hopes that students and staff can come back. In addition to Central Kitsap, North Kitsap and North Mason have also closed schools this week. Schools in the South Kitsap and Bremerton school districts were delayed as a result of road conditions. Winter weather advisory Meantime, those weary from outages were casting a wary eye to the weather forecast. As of Wednesday morning, a winter weather advisory was issued for Kitsap County, with a possible accumulation of 1 to 4 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. The snow is expected to be followed by rainfall Thursday through Friday, said Maddie Kristell, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Seattle. Initially, that rain could fall as freezing rain. Areas of Seabeck and those close to Hood Canal could see 2 to 4 inches of snow; while 1 to 2 inches of snow is anticipated in the eastern part of the county, Kristell said. The temperature is forecast to be in the low to mid-30s on Wednesday, and warming up to the mid- to upper-40s on Thursday, Kristell said. Reach breaking news reporter Peiyu Lin at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com. Reach reporter Josh Farley at josh.farley@kitsapsun.com. Reach local news editor Kimberly Rubenstein @kimberly.rubenstein@kitsapsun.com. Support local journalism. Subscribe to kitsapsun.com today. This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Power outages, treacherous roads persist for Seabeck residents CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL Prairie State College officials announced Monday the school would conduct virtual learning for students during the first week back to classes. The Chicago Heights-based community college operated remotely from Jan. 3 - 7, according to a social media statement. Campus officials said the decision comes "out of an abundance of caution" due to a rise on COVID-19 cases throughout the south suburbs. While the campus does enforce a mask mandate and requires students be vaccinated against coronavirus or show a negative COVID-19 test before registering for classes, administration told Patch the college is equipped to host classes virtually. As of Jan. 6, campus officials said students would be back to in-person classes across all campuses come Monday, Jan. 10. This article originally appeared on the Chicago Heights Patch COVID-19 vaccines and testing boosted Walgreens store sales growth to levels not seen in more than two decades, pushing the drugstore chain well above Wall Street expectations for the first quarter. Walgreens doled out 15.6 million vaccines in the quarter that ended Nov. 30, up 16% from the previous quarter, as more Americans sought booster shots. Also, federal regulators expanded eligibility for Pfizers vaccine to children ages 5 to 12. Advertisement The company administered 6.5 million COVID-19 tests in the first quarter, which ended before the omicron variant of the virus sent case numbers soaring in the United States and stoked the need for testing even higher. Sales from Walgreens established U.S. stores shot up more than 10% compared to the previous years fiscal quarter, which ended before mass vaccine distribution began. That was the highest level of growth in more than 20 years, according to the company based just outside of Chicago in Deerfield, Illinois. Advertisement The Walgreens logo on the front of a store, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Cambridge, Mass. COVID-19 vaccines and testing boosted Walgreens store sales growth to its highest level in more than two decades, as the drugstore chain beat fiscal first-quarter expectations, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (Charles Krupa/AP) Walgreens notched strong sales growth in the face of a number of challenges during the quarter including a spike in the theft of profitable beauty products, which company leaders attributed to organized crime rings. A lot of the illegal activity is taking place in San Francisco, where Walgreens cited those crimes in the closure of five stores. The drugstore chain, like its competitors, also dealt with worker shortages that forced some stores to reduce pharmacy hours. Pharmacists in general have said that they are struggling to balance increased demands for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing with all their other responsibilities while also dealing with these staff shortages. Walgreens has raised starting wages and is adding more workers. Overall, Walgreens earned $3.58 billion in its fiscal first quarter. Adjusted earnings totaled $1.68 per share, and revenue grew nearly 8% to $33.9 billion. Analysts expected, on average, earnings of $1.36 per share on $32.88 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. Advertisement Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. runs more than 13,000 stores mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company also booked 16% growth in sales from its established Boots stores in the United Kingdom but said customer visits to those stores still remained below pre-pandemic levels. The pandemic initially crushed drugstore sales when it hit in early 2020, but it has since fed demand for vaccines and tests, driving more customers to the stores for help. Sales gains from that rush will eventually recede, Edward Jones analyst John Boylan said in a research note. When that happens, he said that the company will have to rely more on its push into health care for longer-term growth. Walgreens, like its main rival CVS Health, is providing more options for care as it tries to become a steady resource for customers who want to improve their health or keep chronic problems in check. The company has spent billions on a partnership with VillageMD to open primary care practices that work with its drugstores. Advertisement It also is investing about $970 million investment in Shields Health Solutions, a 9-year-old company that helps health systems set up and run specialty pharmacies. We are creating an entity here that does much more than just dispense pharmaceuticals, CEO Rosalind Brewer told analysts during a Thursday morning conference call. Company shares fell more than 2% to $52.63 in Thursday morning trading while the broader market slipped. Visits at the Adult Correctional Institutions are suspended for at least the coming month in response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers inside the prison and out. The state Department of Corrections announced Wednesday that in-person visits would immediately be suspended in all facilities, with a plan to revisit that status in four weeks. Visits by lawyers or clergy members will not be affected. Video visits may still take place, and the department is providing one free video visit each week. Were in for another tough stretch. We will make it through to the other side safely if we all work together. Do take good care of each other, the department wrote in a Facebook post. Visits to prisoners at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston have been suspended because of rising COVID rates. The number of infections at the prison has risen in the last two weeks. As of Wednesday, a total of 54 people who are incarcerated had tested positive, with the highest number 26 in the Intake Service Center. The medium-security facility recorded the second highest cases, at 17. Two people have died after contracting the fast-spreading virus while serving time at the ACI. A total of 83 corrections staffers were infected as of Wednesday, with 30 in intake and 13 at the womens facility. Twenty-four of the positive staff cases do not work in a facility or are categorized as cross-facility employees. Two corrections officers have died due to COVID. Corrections Director Patricia A. Coyne-Fague announced last week that Correctional Officer Richard Carchia, 55, died Dec. 29 as a result of complications from COVID. Corrections Officer Richard Carchia died Dec. 29 due to COVID complications. Carchia joined the department in 2000 and worked at the medium-security facility. His co-workers described Carchia as man with a quiet demeanor who would give a person in need the shirt off his back. Carchia lived in Smithfield but was originally from Warwick. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, and children Jillian, Raymond and Rayna. His funeral will be Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, at 8:45 a.m. at the Tucker-Quinn Funeral Chapel, 643 Putnam Ave. (Route 44) Greenville, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Michael Church, Smithfield. Burial will be in Highland Memorial Park Cemetery, Johnston. Story continues Visitation will be Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, from 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Michael Church, 80 Farnum Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917 or the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, 12 Sanderson Rd., Smithfield, RI 02917 will be appreciated. The Carchia family asks that face masks be worn at the visitation and Mass. A year earlier, Lt. Russell Freeman died after becoming infected. The Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility has also suspended visitation for the people being detained at the Central Falls prison, effective Friday. Meanwhile, people incarcerated at Wyatt and the ACI are receiving COVID booster shots, according to their administrators. A total of 844 of the 2,078 people, 41%, being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions have received a booster dose, J.R. Ventura, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said in a recent email. Another 513 people have received the first two doses, with 631 others unvaccinated. Vaccines and boosters for COVID-19 are offered upon intake, along with immunization certification through the state database, Ventura said. Patients are also free to request a COVID vaccine or booster during weekly PCR testing. Wyatt, the quasi-private prison that houses federal detainees, "has not experienced a problem receiving COVID-19 booster shots" for detainees and staff who requested it, according to Warden Daniel Martin. He did not provide further details about the number of detainees who have received a booster dose. As of Dec. 30, there were 13 active COVID cases among the 599 men incarcerated at Wyatt, according to a filing in U.S. District Court. A total of 19 of the prisons 219-person staff were also infected. A total of 456 Wyatt detainees had received their first vaccine, with 406 getting their second shot, records show. The prison reported that 173 of its staff members are fully vaccinated. Prisons have been particularly at risk of COVID-19 spread during the pandemic, due to the inability of people to socially distance and the prevalence of underlying health concerns among the incarcerated population. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Visits suspended at ACI, Wyatt prisons due to COVID surge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images Psaki dismissed DeSantis' criticisms of the Biden administration's COVID-19 testing plans. DeSantis said testing should be prioritized for vulnerable populations. DeSantis hasn't been "exactly advocating for people in his state to get vaccinated," Psaki said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday swiped at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his criticisms of the Biden administration's COVID-19 testing plans. "It's pretty rich coming from Gov. DeSantis, given he is somebody who's been not exactly advocating for people in his state to get vaccinated, which we know is the way that people can be protected, way that lives can be saved," Psaki told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. "If he wants to be a constructive part of this process, then perhaps he should encourage what scientists say is the best way to save lives, prevent and reduce, and that is getting vaccinated and getting boosted," she continued. DeSantis has opposed several of President Joe Biden's COVID-19 responses, including vaccine requirements. The latest tussle between DeSantis and the Biden administration over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic involves testing. As the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads across the country, Biden last month announced efforts to meet the rise in demand for COVID-19 tests. Among the new strategies include setting up additional federal testing sites in several states and buying 500 million at-home testing kits to mail to Americans who request them. DeSantis this week dismissed the federal government's plan, saying it was unwise to send tests to everyone and that vulnerable communities should be prioritized. "The point of matter is not every single person needs to be going out always getting tested. You have healthy people. That's not a good strategy," DeSantis told Fox News on Thursday. "But what is a good strategy is to have these at-home tests available for our vulnerable population." Story continues DeSantis announced on Thursday that his administration planned to send 1 million at-home tests to vulnerable communities, including nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and senior citizens. DeSantis this week also released new testing guidelines for Floridians, advising young and healthy people and people who are not showing COVID-19 symptoms to forgo testing so that more tests may be available for vulnerable populations. The guidance was met with criticism from public-health officials and experts who said testing was crucial to getting the pandemic under control. People without symptoms could contract COVID-19 and spread the virus to others unknowingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. About 64% of people in Florida were fully vaccinated, data compiled by The New York Times indicated. Read the original article on Business Insider WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Purdue Global, Purdue's online university, recently announced a partnership with Kearney Regional Medical Center in Nebraska that includes education opportunities with a reduced tuition cost. The Purdue Global School of Nursing offers varying degrees in its field such as an associate degree program, RN-BSN, six Master of Science in Nursing specialties and Doctor of Nursing programs, according to a release. Purdue President Daniels: There's a sense of enthusiasm 'to be back together' on Purdue campus Purdue University Global is committed to helping our health care partners like Kearney Regional Medical Center encourage educational and professional growth in their staff, Melissa Burdi, Purdue Global vice president and dean of the School of Nursing, said in the release. As an excellent regional center for central Nebraska, we know the importance of online college programs for staff and family members, and we are committed to offering excellent academic education to KRMC. Staff of Kearney Regional Medical Center and their immediate family members spouses, domestic partners, children, siblings and parents will have access to Purdue Global's undergraduate programs at a 20% reduction, to their graduate programs at a 14% reduction and its doctoral programs at a 10% reduction. KRMC, according to the release, is a, "full-service acute care hospital located in the growing community of Kearney, Nebraska." It is the region's first "physician-guided" medical center and is governed by a physician-led board of managers. The medical center's specialties include general and interventional cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurology, pulmonology, gastroenterology and more, according to Purdue's release. Kearney Regional Medical Center isn't the only medical group with which Purdue Global maintains such partnerships; similar affiliations exist with Continuum Pediatric Nursing Services; York (Nebraska) General; Columbus (Nebraska) Community Hospital, UnityPoint Health Cedar Rapids, the Wellness Council of Arizona and Quality Living, Inc. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue Global partners with Nebraska medical center What about freedom from religion? I was appalled by the column from an unvaccinated special education teacher, who whines about the need for treating each other with respect. She demands that her faith be respected, despite offering little rationalization for her supposedly religious exemption, other than a misplaced concern over the fact fetal cells and animal blood were used in the development of these (and other common) vaccines. She insists that it be solely an issue between her and some mysterious notion of what her God wants. I dont question her dedication as a teacher. I have no doubt she plays an important role in her students lives. But I choke on her insistence that her religion (which she never bothers to clearly define) relieves her of a responsibility to the greater community at large. She demands respect and freedom to potentially infect others and to allow continuing mutations to spread, while simultaneously refusing to respect others rights to remain healthy and save human lives. To cloak this appalling selfishness under the supposed guise of religion is something I can never respect or accept. What she considers faith versus fear is seen by most rational people as superstition versus science. Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion. Stephen Thewlis, Palm Desert Not religion, but politics One has to appreciate the service and dedication of a teacher like Alicia Royce, who wrote the opinion piece "I'm a valley teacher who's unvaccinated. I shouldn't fear for my job over my faith" (Jan. 2). She sounds like the person I would want teaching my children. But her actions outside the classroom leave a lot to be desired. I am a former teacher and assistant principal from a Catholic High School in Illinois. Ms. Royce states that her "faith" does not allow her to get the vaccination since she does not want to "choose between my religious beliefs and feeding my family." Story continues She states that she is concerned "about the way vaccines are ... made, including the use of fetal cells..." For the record, while fetal cells are used in making the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, they are not used to manufacture the Pfizer and Moderna ones. They were used in early stages of research for the latter two, as they have been for other vaccines. But Pope Francis, like almost all responsible medical authorities, has asked people to get vaccinated. By not being vaccinated, she could be responsible for the suffering or death for members of her family, her students and anyone with whom she comes in contact. It's not a religious issue. It's a political issue. Ted Bacino, Palm Springs This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Unvaccinated teacher's religion can't let her expose others to COVID An elephant. Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock Donald Trump has spent the past year trying to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol. He's forcing Republican politicians and their media allies to choose between the expedient option defending or ignoring Trump and the patriotic one denouncing him. Earlier this week, Trump canceled a promised news conference at his Mar-a-Lago home, which would have marked the one-year anniversary of the riots, after a small handful of GOP senators said it was time to move on. But the critics didn't fully rein him in: Trump used his cancellation announcement to say he instead would hold a rally in Arizona on Jan. 15 to "discuss many of those important topics," including ones the "Lame Stream Media" refuses to report. There, he'll likely repeat charges that the 2020 election was stolen, and claim that any actual "insurrection" took place on Election Day, when he was "fraudulently" denied a second term. How much longer will the majority of Republican politicians stoke Trump's ego by sitting quietly by as he spews lies and innuendo about fraud and theft and "witch hunts"? Trump's Big Lie that Joe Biden lost the election is easy to reject, if only prominent Republicans would do it. Such an admission could slow the calls among party radicals to continue trashing public trust in peaceful democratic processes. CBS News debunked several major conspiracies a week after the Capitol was sacked. Dominion Voting System machines didn't switch votes from Trump to Biden; Sharpie markers didn't invalidate votes in Arizona; ballots weren't "found" or "thrown out" by election workers in several states; poll watchers weren't denied access to witness vote counting; thousands of votes weren't cast by dead people and tallied; nor did thousands cast multiple ballots that were all counted. Even less-credible conspiracies pushed by Trump's legal team fake ballots were transported from North Korea to Maine! Chinese hackers broke into election office computer systems to change votes! continue to circulate. The former president may repeat them. Story continues What Trump says, though, is less important than how other Republicans respond to it. Republicans shouldn't be allowed to ignore or amplify the Big Lie merely to boost their credentials with unhinged activists. While most defeated presidents stay out of party primary contests, Trump has thrown his influence behind more than 40 candidates running in 2022, many of them vowing to keep the conspiracies alive. Some swear they'd use their power to reverse election results if Republicans lose. Democrats likely stand a better chance of taking control of a 50-50 Senate if Trump-friendly GOP neophytes defeat mainstream Republicans in primaries; even so, the former president is eager to test that thesis. For instance, Trump has endorsed a little-known primary challenger to popular incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Murkowski won re-election in 2010 as a write-in candidate and was one of seven senators to vote for conviction in Trump's 2021 impeachment. She's likely to win this fall, despite Trump's opposition. But the money GOP Trumpists shovel toward a futile Alaska race can't be spent defending competitive seats with mainstream candidates. In purple North Carolina, Trump endorsed back-bench Rep. Ted Budd (R) over former Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in the open U.S. Senate race. Budd voted to decertify the 2020 election results; McCrory said he would have certified them. And in Georgia, with Trump's blessing, former Sen. David Perdue (R) is challenging incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) re-election bid. Perdue said he wouldn't have certified the 2020 election results; Kemp defended the integrity of the Georgia outcome, where Biden prevailed. For this, Trump says Kemp has to go. Fortunately, some cracks in the GOP armor are showing. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for one, is changing his tune. McConnell voted to acquit Trump in both impeachment trials. He scotched the notion of a joint, bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riots. But just before Christmas, McConnell defended the Democrat-created House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. "I think the fact-finding is interesting; we're all going to be watching it," McConnell told The Washington Post. "It was a horrendous event, and I think what they are seeking to find out is something the public needs to know." Likewise, Rep. Tom Rice (R-Ga.) supported Trump's second impeachment but voted to decertify Biden's election. Rice recently told the U.K.'s Independent newspaper he regrets his certification vote. Learning Trump "did nothing" while the Capitol was under siege changed Rice's mind. This may not signal a groundswell of sanity among Washington Republicans. After all, 139 House members and eight senators voted to overturn President Biden's election. Few have recanted. But it's a start. Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax, meanwhile, aren't going to change their tunes unless they're legally compelled to do so. Their viewers apparently crave disinformation that confirms their worldviews. An October NPR/PBS/Marist poll of registered voters found that 68 percent of Republicans surveyed agreed with Trump's claims the election was stolen. Power and the lust to regain it once you've lost it is a potent drug. Non-Trumpist media outlets and public watchdogs can start dispelling the lies by demanding Republican elected officials and candidates directly answer one question: Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election? And dodgy answers like "he's in the White House" or "I have concerns about election fraud" shouldn't be accepted. Biden got 81 million votes in 2020. Trump received 7 million fewer. Biden won 27 states (and the District of Columbia) and 306 electoral votes. Trump got 232. Trump supporters and other Republicans may dispute those facts. Some may be incapable of accepting the truth. But Trump-supporting and Trump-agnostic Republicans alike should pledge they'll abide by the legitimate certification of future elections. Get them on the record. Push them to denounce far-flung plots, like the plan hatched by Trump insiders to have Vice President Pence delay the recording of electoral votes, hoping GOP-led state legislatures would submit bogus slates of electors to Congress. A political party willing to ignore, minimize, or gaslight Trump's actions surrounding Jan. 6 is unworthy of holding power, no matter where it stands on other issues. Voters deserve political leaders who aren't afraid of the truth, even when facts undermine their personal ambitions. The future of the republic may depend on it. You may also like California deputy DA opposed to vaccine mandates dies of COVID-19 Paraguayan soldier dies after being gored by deer on grounds of presidential residence Seth Meyers tests positive for COVID-19, cancels show for the rest of the week Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies: TO murder gets 50-year sentence A residence in the 2300 block of Fountain Crest Lane in Thousand Oaks was taped off on Jan. 11, 2021 as authorities investigated a homicide. THOUSAND OAKS A Thousand Oaks man was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years to life in prison for the murder of his wife nearly a year ago, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Tim Ray Gautier, 56, was sentenced by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Anthony Sabo. In September, a jury found Gautier guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Gina Gautier, 57. The jury also found true a special allegation that Tim Gautier had used a firearm to cause his wife's death. Tim Gautier The killing took place on Jan. 11, 2021, as Gautier and his wife argued at their home in the 2300 block of Fountain Crest Lane. Shortly before 7 a.m., Gautier fired two shots at his wife as she stood in the open doorway of the residence. She later died at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. A home surveillance system captured audio of Gautier retrieving a gun during the argument, prosecutors said, and returning with the firearm to continue the argument within minutes of the gunfire. Gautier formerly worked as a producer of religious films, including the 2016 movie "Eternal Salvation." He remained housed at Todd Road Jail as of Wednesday evening, jail records showed. Actor arrested in alleged DUI crash in Simi Valley David Koechner SIMI VALLEY Actor and comedian David Koechner, 59, was arrested in Simi Valley on New Year's Eve day after a misdemeanor hit-and-run crash while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. Simi Valley Police Department Officer Casey Nicholson said the agency was first contacted about the accident at 2:10 p.m. near Cottonwood Drive and Prairie Ridge Court. A bystander reported seeing a silver SUV hit the center median before driving off, leaving both the vehicle and the median damaged, he said. Shortly after, a patrol officer spotted the SUV near Tapo and Walnut streets. Nicholson said the driver was traveling on the wrong side of the road and the officer had to swerve around the SUV to avoid a collision. Story continues The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke to Koechner, who was the only person in the SUV, and who allegedly exhibited signs of alcohol intoxication. A breathalyzer test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.12, approximately 1.5 times the legal limit, authorities said. Koechner was arrested on suspicion of two misdemeanors: driving under the influence of alcohol and hit and run. He was cited and released from county jail with a court date set for March 30, according to jail records. No injuries were reported. Koechner is a comedic actor who appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and is best known for his roles as Todd Packer on "The Office" and Champ Kind in the "Anchorman" film series. Unlawful pesticide sales lead to $625k settlement SANTA PAULA An agricultural supply company in Santa Paula agreed to a $625,000 settlement over unlawful pesticide sales, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko's office said. Fruit Growers Supply, which has a retail location at 980 W. Telegraph Road, sold restricted pesticides to non-permitted users 317 times between January 2019 and November 2020, the DA's office said. The company has corporate offices in Valencia and other locations around the state, but unlawful pesticide sales were found only at the Santa Paula site, said Senior Deputy DA Karen Wold, who handled the case. The sales involved pesticides that are restricted by the state of California and can only be sold to permitted users. A copy of the buyer's permit is supposed to be collected before the sale. Permits for certified commercial and private applicators are issued by the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner. At the Santa Paula site, multiple employees bypassed an internal computer program that alerted personnel to the pending sale of restricted pesticides, according to the DA's office. The multi-agency investigation found restricted materials unlawfully sold included the fumigant Fumitoxin, anticoagulant rodenticide Contrac Blox, poisonous herbicide Gramaxone, strychnine-based rodenticide Martin's Gopher Bait 50 and restricted weed killers. The pesticides require users to notify the ag commissioner's office 24 hours before use so the agency can evaluate weather conditions and locations of schools, homes, hospitals and livestock. State wildlife officials have found the presence of Contrac Blox in a high percentage of wildlife deaths in recent years, including mountain lions, bobcats and raptors, prosecutors noted. The poison is acutely toxic, with a fatal dose possible from a single feeding. Fruit Growers Supply accepted responsibility for the breakdowns in its internal control systems, prosecutors said, and pledged to work with the ag commissioner's office to make sure unlawful pesticide sales don't happen again. The settlement includes a permanent injunction that requires the company to comply with relevant laws. Of the $625,000 settlement, $315,000 will go to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation for its pesticide regulation program. Another $310,000 will cover civil penalties for unlawful business practices. From the sum for civil penalties, $100,000 will go toward a supplemental environmental project for the National Park Service Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park service will use the funds for wildlife research, monitoring and protection efforts, including protecting declining mountain lion populations harmed by pesticide poisoning. The protection of wildlife is critical to the preservation of the environment," Nasarenko said in a statement. "Our office will continue to hold those accountable who dont follow the law and consequently put our unique Ventura County environmental communities at risk. Jail visit ban extended VENTURA COUNTY Ventura County Sheriff's authorities have extended a temporary ban on in-person visits at the county's two largest jail facilities as COVID-19 infection rates remain high. The extension affects both the main jail, next to sheriff's headquarters at 800 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura, and Todd Road Jail outside Santa Paula at 600 Todd Road. Over the past week, a spike in coronavirus cases has affected inmates at both facilities, officials said. As of Tuesday, 117 inmates had tested positive, said Cmdr. Mark Franke on Wednesday, referring to the most recent numbers available. Of those inmates, 21 were housed at the main jail and 96 at the Todd Road facility. No COVID-infected inmates required hospital treatment as of Wednesday, Franke said. He was not aware of any who have needed hospitalization during the most recent outbreak, which began to impact detention operations last month. The resurgent virus first led to a week-long quarantine of the Todd Road population in mid-December, when personal visits were suspended for seven days. The suspension has been repeatedly extended, with the main jail quarantine added in late December as infections spread among the inmate population there. The Todd Road site can house nearly 800 inmates. The main jail, which is located next to Ventura County Superior Court and is also called the pre-trial detention facility, can house about 890 people. As of Wednesday, the inmate population at both sites totaled about 1,100 people, according to Franke. Inmate infections have bumped up in line with a spike in cases affecting the population countywide, officials said. The move is intended to slow spread of the virus and protect inmates, staff and local residents. Attorneys can still make in-person professional visits. You can visit inmates on video through the sheriff's website at venturasheriff.org under the "inmate information" link. Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and public safety reporter covering the night shift for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached by calling 805-437-0208 or emailing jeremy.childs@vcstar.com. You can also find him on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Actor David Koechner arrested in Simi DUI, more news A team of scientists is sailing to the place in the world thats the hardest to get to so they can better figure out how much and how fast seas will rise because of global warming eating away at Antarcticas ice. Thirty-two scientists on Thursday are starting a more than two-month mission aboard an American research ship to investigate the crucial area where the massive but melting Thwaites glacier faces the Amundsen Sea and may eventually lose large amounts of ice because of warm water. The Florida-sized glacier has gotten the nickname the doomsday glacier because of how much ice it has and how much seas could rise if it all melts more than two feet (65 centimeters) over hundreds of years. Because of its importance, the United States and the United Kingdom are in the midst of a joint $50 million mission to study Thwaites, the widest glacier in the world by land and sea. Not near any of the continent's research stations, Thwaites is on Antarctica's western half, east of the jutting Antarctic Peninsula, which used to be the area scientists worried most about. Thwaites is the main reason I would say that we have so large an uncertainty in the projections of future sea level rise and that is because its a very remote area, difficult to reach, Anna Wahlin, an oceanographer from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said Wednesday in an interview from the Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer, which was scheduled to leave its port in Chile hours later. It is configured in a way so that its potentially unstable. And that is why we are worried about this. Thwaites is putting about 50 billion tons of ice into the water a year. The British Antarctic Survey says the glacier is responsible for 4% of global sea rise, and the conditions leading to it to lose more ice are accelerating, University of Colorado ice scientist Ted Scambos said from the McMurdo land station last month. Oregon State University ice scientist Erin Pettit said Thwaites appears to be collapsing in three ways: Story continues Melting from below by ocean water. The land part of the glacier is losing its grip to the place it attaches to the seabed, so a large chunk can come off into the ocean and later melt. The glaciers ice shelf is breaking into hundreds of fractures like a damaged car windshield. This is what Pettit said she fears will be the most troublesome with six-mile (10-kilometer) long cracks forming in just a year. No one has stepped foot on the key ice-water interface at Thwaites before. In 2019, Wahlin was on a team that explored the area from a ship using a robotic ship but never went ashore. Wahlins team will use two robot ships her own large one called Ran which she used in 2019 and the more agile Boaty McBoatface, the crowdsource named drone that could go further under the area of Thwaites that protrudes over the ocean to get under Thwaites. The ship-bound scientists will be measuring water temperature, the sea floor and ice thickness. They'll look at cracks in the ice, how the ice is structured and tag seals on islands off the glacier. Thwaites looks different from other ice shelves, Wahlin said. It almost looks like a jumble of icebergs that have been pressed together. So its increasingly clear that this is not a solid piece of ice like the other ice shelves are, nice smooth solid ice. This was much more jagged and scarred. ___ Read more of APs climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/Climate ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Snapchat creator Snap has sued the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for rejecting an application the company had filed to trademark the word spectacles in relation to its wearable of the same name. In a complaint spotted by The Verge , Snap claims its usage of the term evokes an incongruity between an 18th-century term for corrective eyewear and Snaps high-tech 21st-century smart glasses. The complaint stems from an ongoing disagreement between Snap and the USPTO over whether spectacles is a term that can be applied to any pair of smart glasses. In an opinion the agencys Trademark Trial and Appeal Board published in November, the USPTO said Snaps use of Spectacles had failed to acquire the distinctiveness necessary for a trademark. Spectacles is so commonly used to describe the nature of the product or competing products, rather than any particular source of the product(s), the USPTO said at the time. In suing the USPTO, Snap hopes to overturn the appeal boards decision. Snap first filed for a Spectacles trademark in 2016, the same year it released the first-generation model. Despite a clever marketing campaign involving Minion-like vending machines , the wearable was a bust for the company. At one point, Snap reportedly had thousands of unsold pairs collecting dust in Chinese warehouses. However, even after losing $40 million on the first version, it went on to release two new models and recently debuted a pair of augmented reality Spectacles . To that end, Snap claims, thanks to social media marketing, word of mouth and media coverage, consumers have come to associate the word spectacles with its brand, a claim the USPTO disputes. In the same November opinion, the agency wrote Spectacles social media accounts have an underwhelming number of followers, and the number of followers is surprisingly small. The number of children needing hospitalization for COVID-19 has roughly tripled over the last month at Advocate Childrens Hospital, doctors said Thursday, as Illinois continues to see record numbers of cases. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Chicago-area childrens hospitals are seeing dramatic spikes in the numbers of children needing hospitalization for COVID-19, with most of those kids unvaccinated and many younger than 5, doctors say. Children under the age of 5 are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. The increase in hospitalizations among children comes as Illinois sees record numbers of COVID-19 cases. Advertisement Lurie Childrens Hospital had about 10 times as many kids in the hospital with COVID-19 over the last two weeks as it did in late November, said Dr. Larry Kociolek, medical director of infection prevention and control at Lurie. Over the last two weeks, Luries hospital cared for 110 kids with COVID-19. Most of those children were hospitalized specifically for COVID-19, with 20% to 25% admitted for other reasons but also found to have COVID-19. At Advocate Childrens Hospital, which has campuses in Park Ridge and Oak Lawn, the number of kids hospitalized because of COVID-19 or COVID-19-related issues has roughly tripled over the last month, to about 25 to 38 kids in the hospital on a daily basis, said Dr. Frank Belmonte, the hospitals chief medical officer, during a news conference. About one-fourth of those children are in the intensive care unit, he said. Advertisement At University of Chicago Medicine Comer Childrens Hospital, the number has also roughly tripled since September, to about 20 kids in the hospital with COVID-19 on a daily basis, said Dr. Allison Bartlett, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Comer. More than half of the kids hospitalized with COVID-19 at Comer are there because of illness while the others are there for other reasons, but happened to also test positive for COVID-19, she said. There continues to be this misconception that COVID is always mild in children or teens, said Dr. Nekaiya Jacobs, a pediatric critical care physician at Advocate Childrens Hospital. Were starting to see more kids suffering from severe complications. Children younger than 5 make up about half of the hospitalized children at Advocate, more than half at Lurie, and about one-third at Comer. For parents of kids who are less than 5, I understand thats incredibly stressful right now, Bartlett said. Belmonte, with Advocate, said that this latest omicron variant seems to be affecting children younger than 5 in a slightly different way than past variants, sometimes causing upper respiratory issues with croup-like symptoms. Some of the hospitalized children had no risk factors before catching COVID-19, said doctors at each of the hospitals. Others had prior health problems, though those can include common issues among kids in Chicago, such as obesity and asthma, said Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, an attending physician at Lurie in the division of infectious diseases. While it remains true that most children who get COVID-19 dont get severely ill, parents should be aware that it can happen, doctors say. On an individual level, the chance that one child is likely to get severely ill is low, but, on the flip side, some will get severely ill, and for that to be your child, its terrifying, Heald-Sargent said. So do everything you can do to protect not just your child but all children, and that, first and foremost, needs to be getting yourself vaccinated and everyone around you vaccinated. Advertisement Heald-Sargent said the recent increase in hospitalizations among kids has made her profoundly sad. This is an entirely predictable situation, and as a society, weve failed our most vulnerable people, our children and our immunocompromised, because not all adults have gotten vaccinated and because vaccine trials for children werent started earlier, Heald-Sargent said. About 61% of Illinois residents are fully vaccinated, according to the state health department. The increase in hospitalized children follows a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases overall in Illinois. State health officials on Thursday reported 44,089 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, setting a record. Over the past week, the state has averaged 27,141 new cases per day. A record number of people are also now hospitalized with COVID-19 in Illinois with 7,098 in hospitals as of Wednesday night, and an average of 6,419 per day over the past week. The increase in hospitalizations is straining hospitals, which have, in many cases, suspended or slowed elective surgeries to try to keep beds available. Though the now-spreading omicron variant seems to be milder than the delta variant, it is far more contagious. Advertisement Advocate doctors said Thursday the best way for parents to keep their children safe is to get them vaccinated, and if theyre too young to be vaccinated, to make sure everyone else in the home is vaccinated. People who are vaccinated can still catch COVID-19 but are far less likely to get so sick that they need hospitalization. Doctors also, however, cautioned that its important to balance the need for safety with childrens mental health. Parents should control what they can within their own homes such as wake times, bed times and positive relationships to help kids through this latest surge, especially as some schools close or go remote, said Dr. Laura Yahr Nelson, a pediatric psychiatrist with Aurora Childrens Health. Children do best when they have routine and connectedness in the world, Nelson said. Theyve lost loved ones but theyve also lost out on experiences. Belmonte said its important for most children to go to school, as long as they can words that came as Chicago Public Schools had their second day of no classes and an increasing number of suburban schools are closing. We know what the deleterious side effects were last year from remote learning, Belmonte said. We should be doing everything in our power to keep kids in school and do it safely. For the majority of kids, we have not seen major outbreaks in schools or in day cares. Chicago Tribunes Dan Petrella contributed. Advertisement lschencker@chicagotribune.com Good morning, neighbors! Patch apologizes that the Sachem Daily has been absent from your inbox over the past few days. After a slight change, we are back in action! My name is Sean Peek, filling in as your temporary source for everything happening around town. Special thanks to Jackie for her great work on the Sachem Daily! First, today's weather: Some sun, then clouds. High: 39 Low: 29. Here are the top stories today in Sachem: Get ready for some cold weather. Long Island is expected to receive four to six inches of snow on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The late-week storm could impact schools and make for a treacherous commute. (Sachem Patch) On Tuesday, New York state health officials reported to the federal government that roughly 76 percent of inpatient beds and 72 percent of intensive care unit beds in hospitals across the state were occupied. They also reported around 25 percent of inpatient beds and 29 percent of ICU beds statewide were filled by COVID-19 patients. (Sachem Patch) The next meeting of Suffolk County Department of Health Services' Substance Use Disorders Subcommittee of the Community Mental Hygiene Advisory Board is scheduled for this afternoon at 2:00-3:30 p.m. via Zoom. The advisory board is made up of consumers, parents, advocates, professionals, and agency providers who consider alcohol and substance use issues and advise the Director of Community Mental Hygiene Services as necessary through the Advisory Board. (Press Release Desk) Today's Sachem Daily is brought to you in part by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013) Today in Sachem: Author Talk: Claire Bellerjeau: Espionage and Enslavement (Zoom) At Sachem Public Library (7:30 PM) From my notebook: Beginning this year, you'll see some new faces on coins , and the public will help choose who will be minted. (Facebook) The Nassau County Police Department reported the arrest of three males for an armed robbery at BP Gas Station in East Meadow. One Defendant was found to be responsible for a robbery that occurred at the same location less than three weeks prior. (Facebook) The Sachem Central School District Board of Education met last night at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was live-streamed on their YouTube channel. (Facebook) Story continues More from our sponsors thanks for supporting local news! Announcements: Behind The Scoreboard Horses Can Guide The Blind (Details) Add your announcement Gigs & services: Loving the Sachem Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved: Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe Get your local business listed in front of readers Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update. Sean Peek About me: Sean Peek is a writer and entrepreneur with a degree in English Literature from Weber State University. Over the years, he has worked as a copywriter, editor, SEO specialist, and marketing director for various digital media companies. He currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners. This article originally appeared on the Sachem Patch Two men have been identified by cops in Key West as the pair responsible for burning the iconic buoy that marks the southernmost point in the continental United States. David Perkins, Jr, 21, of Leesburg, Fla., and Skylar Rae Jacobson, 21, of Texas, were identified Thursday as the suspected fire starters who lit up a Christmas tree in front of the buoy in the wee hours of New Years Day. The flames then spread to the famous landmark, torching the colorful paintjob. Perkins and Jacobson have made arrangements to turn themselves in, the Key West Police Department said. Unfortunately for the alleged buoy burners, a camera is aimed at the giant tourist hotspot 24 hours a day. When the two set the Christmas tree alight sometime between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Jan. 1, images of them were captured on video. Those images sparked outrage on social media. One Twitter user said the [expletives] should be forced to lick the charred parts off with their tongues. Police described the damage as extensive. The blaze was put out by the Key West Fire Department. A fast winter storm walloped parts of Nashville Thursday with 6-8 inches of snow falling in some areas, prompting snow days, airport cancellations and treacherous roads across the region. In all, up to 9 inches accumulated across Middle Tennessee as of Thursday, the National Weather Service in Nashville reported, most falling in the region's northern areas. Lesser amounts fell farther south, especially near the Alabama border where sleet and freezing rain was more common, said Sam Herron, a NWS meteorologist. Snowfall tapered off through the late afternoon and early evening, but temperatures were expected to remain below freezing until Saturday. Travel is expected to remain difficult until then. FRIDAY WEATHER UPDATES: 'Frigid' temperatures Friday after up to 9 inches of snow fell Thursday FLIGHTS: Over 300 flights canceled or delayed Thursday out of Nashville's airport "Whelp for once, the forecast was accurate," joked Ally Andrews, 49, as she worked remotely from her North Nashville home. "Too bad a snow day no longer means a no work day." The first reports of snow and sleet came in about 7 a.m. in the western part of the region as the sun rose. Snow was first seen in Music City at 7:30 a.m. before overtaking the rest of the Midstate and moving east. Slick conditions sent cars sailing off interstates and left dozens of motorists stuck while waiting for authorities to handle crashes many with injuries. The weather also closed schools and canceled at least 250 flights at the Nashville International Airport. If you're heading to/from the airport, please exercise caution. Roads in the Midstate are hazardous! https://t.co/LKKmBLtLsa Fly Nashville (@Fly_Nashville) January 6, 2022 Early Thursday morning, Jessica Basile and her 7-year-old daughter Sophie went out to enjoy the snow in East Nashville. Sophie, among thousands of children statewide who took advantage of school closures, said she was disappointed at first when she woke up and saw there was no snow. But within an hour or two, their entire backyard was covered, much to Sophie's delight. Story continues Traffic: Snow causes widespread traffic problems in Middle Tennessee By 10:30 a.m., 4 inches of snow had fallen in Music City, NWS Meteorologist Scott Unger said. At that same time, the NWS reported freezing rain and heavy sleet in the southern part of the region, including Columbia. "I grew up in upstate New York, so I love snow," Basile said. "This is fun to let my daughter see it." About that same time, 12-year-old Jessica Wilson cut out a heart from the snow in front of her home in Wilson County. She had to keep walking the outline of the heart because of how fast the snow was coming down. I love the snow. It's so cheerful, she said while packing a snowball. A sweater, chili and a record snowfall While some Tennesseans attempted to get an early jump on digging themselves out in bone-chilling conditions Thursday, others built snowmen or played with pets in the snow. Some cozied up to work from home, crocheted a sweater and made chili to keep warm. In Elmington Park, the Martin family went sledding for the second year in a row, Rachel Martin, the family's matriarch, said. Her 5-year-old daughter McKay said she remembered sledding last year, too. Her sister, Olive, 12, built a snowman but hadnt named it yet. They walked with dad Edward and dog Josephine Pink Rose I, 3, an Aussie shepherd and lab mix, to the park from their nearby home on Thursday morning. McKays favorite part of a snow day? You get to sled a lot! Nearby, Breezy, a Nashville golden retriever, frolicked in the snow. The pup turns 1 next week. Even though she was born in Michigan, the dog full name Sea Breeze has spent most of her life in the South. Oh, its wonderful. Shes so happy, owner Molly Morphett said. Morphett moved back to Nashville when her kids were small after some world traveling and ended up in the Richland area approximately two years ago. The pair were on their way to meet a friend, another dog named Axel, for a play date around 12:30 p.m. There hasnt been a snow like this since I guess 2016, Morphett said. Im just so excited to have a new puppy that can enjoy it. The day's snowfall ranks as one of the largest in the city's recorded weather history, which dates back to the mid-1800s. The city's highest recorded snowfall was March 17, 1892, when 17.2 inches fell. The snowfall Morphett referred to took place on Jan. 22, 2016, when a whooping 8 inches fell. Clogged roads and traffic crashes In addition to snow prompting school closures across the region, crashes clogged dozens of roads during a slow morning commute, leading emergency workers across the state to urge drivers to use extra caution or avoid driving altogether over at least the next 48 hours. Five people were taken to area hospitals after a crash in Germantown involving a fire truck, a city bus and another vehicle, Nashville Fire Department spokeswoman Kendra Loney said. The three-vehicle wreck took place just after 8:40 a.m. on Jefferson Street near Third Avenue North. About 9 a.m., Nashville police and fire were responding to more than two dozen crashes involving property damage and about a half-dozen injury crashes across Davidson County. Police in Nashville received 95 crash calls between 7 a.m. and noon. Thursday. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department reported it and the Clarksville Police Department responded to 30 car wrecks between approximately 10 and 11 a.m. At least one person died during a morning crash on Interstate 24 in Montgomery County, the Tennessee Highway Patrol reported. Snow totals and dipping temps Nashville and Clarksville saw 6-8 inches of snow Thursday, while Lafayette reported a local total of 9 inches. Total decreased further south in the region, with Columbia totaling 3-6 inches and Tullahoma receiving less than an inch. Most of the region was under a winter storm warning through 8 p.m. A blast of frigid temperatures was expected to follow the snow overnight Thursday and into Friday morning, dipping to single digits in some areas. Temperatures aren't expected to go above freezing until Saturday. Dangerous road conditions on Thursday could linger into Friday. If you must travel, slow down and give yourself extra time, Nashville Mayor John Cooper tweeted. Cooper said Nashville Department of Transportation trucks "continue to work hard to treat and clear roads" but that many areas across the city are quite slick. "Such weather conditions are not ideal for travel. Please be safe and careful, and stay home if you can," Cooper tweeted. NWS recommends keeping an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Keep in mind that elevated surfaces, like bridges, may ice before roads. Call 511 to get the latest road conditions. The Nashville Office of Emergency Management spokesman Joseph Pleasant said its Emergency Support Unit would conduct cold patrols Thursday and Friday night to make sure people needing shelter can get out of the cold. During the cold patrols, members will provide blankets, gloves, hand warmers and other care items to people, Pleasant said. A cold weather shelter opened Wednesday and was slated to remain open through Saturday at 3230 Brick Church Pike. The overflow shelter is available for people and pets and is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. School and office closures The winter weather and expected poor road conditions across Middle Tennessee triggered multiple school closures including for Friday at Metro Nashville Public Schools. All state offices were also closed statewide. Nashville closed many of its facilities and buildings, and the city's drive-thru COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites for Thursday and Friday. The latest updates on COVID-19 and testing sites can be found at asafenashville.org. Government offices for Wilson County, Lebanon and Mt. Juliet were also closed. It was not immediately known if those facilities would also be closed Friday. Murfreesboro announced the closure of city hall and city facilities for Thursday and Friday. City court dates and meetings are canceled, Murfreesboro Transit will not be operating and solid waste collection will be limited. Mariah Timms, Andy Humbles and Rachel Wegner contributed to this report. Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville weather updates: Snow storm leaves poor road conditions The Fox News host Sean Hannity and President Donald Trump. Ethan Miller/Getty Images Stephanie Grisham said the Fox News host Sean Hannity was "like a shadow advisor" to Trump. "He definitely advised the president on many, many things to do," Grisham told CNN. Grisham served as the White House press secretary and later as Melania Trump's chief of staff. The former Trump administration official Stephanie Grisham on Thursday said the Fox News host Sean Hannity acted "like a shadow advisor" to President Donald Trump. "Sean Hannity, I've got to say he was like a shadow advisor," Grisham, who worked as Trump's press secretary and communications director, said in an interview with CNN's "New Day." "I spoke to him all the time. I sat with him prior to interviews he would do with the president. And he definitely advised the president on many, many things to do," she added. The comments came after communications from Hannity emerged as part of the House select committee's investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The congressional panel recently disclosed texts that Hannity sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows leading up to the riot, on the day of it, and the days following it. "It didn't surprise me that he was reaching out to Meadows or anybody else," Grisham told CNN, referring to Hannity. "That was something that was done quite often to try to get messages to the president." A spokesperson for Fox News did not return Insider's request for comment. In a series of texts that Meadows released to the committee, Hannity appeared to express concerns about Trump's actions before, during, and after the insurrection. As rioters stormed the Capitol, Hannity texted Meadows: "Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol." The January 6, 2021, committee on Tuesday sent a letter to Hannity requesting he voluntarily cooperate with the investigation. Story continues "We have no doubt that you love our country and respect our Constitution," Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel's chair, and Rep. Liz Cheney, its vice chair, wrote in the letter. "Now is the time to step forward and serve the interests of your country." "We are evaluating the letter from the committee," Hannity's lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement to several news outlets. "We remain very concerned about the constitutional implications especially as it relates to the First Amendment. We will respond as appropriate." Read the original article on Business Insider CBS Stephen Colbert could not wait to dig into the latest bombshell about one of his favorite targets, Sean Hannity, after the House committee investigating last years Capitol riot set its sights on the Fox News host. On the eve of the Jan. 6 anniversarythat horrible day when millions of Americans stared at the TV in shock and grief and said, Ah, crap, is that Uncle Dave?Colbert opened his Late Show monologue with a series of jokes about Fox News host, and proof that the Irish werent meant to live past 60, Sean Hannity. After finding an excuse to play footage of the time Hannity accidentally vaped on air, Colbert shared some of the newly revealed text messages that Hannity sent to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows ahead of the insurrection. Hannity clearly knew what was coming, the host said. I wouldnt be surprised if the former president planned this coup with the knowledge of the entire Fox News lineup, including the commercials, he added, in reference to the MyPillow guy. Apparently, Hannity saw some downsides to destroying our system of representative government, Colbert continued, in contrast to the message he was pushing to viewers in the days before and after the attack. On January 5th, he wrote to Meadows again, saying that he was very worried about the next 48 hours. So he either had advance knowledge of the plot or had just eaten three Taco Bell burrito supremes. Either way, he knew the next 48 hours was going to bring chaos. Jon Stewart Loses It at Media Over J.K. Rowling Anti-Semitism Dust-Up Later in the segment, Colbert turned his attention to former President Donald Trumps misguided decision to schedule and then abruptly cancel a planned press conference timed to the anniversary. Now, reading his statement straight would give it way more respect than it deserves, but I no longer do an impression of that crack wipe anymore, he explained. So, instead, were going to have his statement read by someone who has the same level of emotional maturity: a 7-year-old child. Story continues Apparently, the real reason he canceled the event is because some advisers urged the former president to reschedule for a day that would draw less attention to a low point of his presidency, Colbert added. So every day of his presidency? For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. DENVER (AP) When Lisa Young evacuated her home as a fast-moving Colorado wildfire burned, it looked like firefighters were going to be able to stop what appeared then to just be a grass fire in a field behind her home. She just took her purse, turned off her slow cooker and television and made sure her two cats had enough food and water to drink, thinking she would be back home soon. Later that night staying with relatives, she watched images of her home outside of Denver burning on television, her driveway recognizable because of her fathers old Corvette on fire. Her house was one of nearly 1,000 destroyed in the blaze, leading her to fear that her calico cats, Joy and Noelle, 5-year-old sisters, died in the fire. Most people safely evacuated from the wildfire that was propelled by 105 mph (169 kph) winds, but Young is among dozens of homeowners who either had pets who died, had to scramble to find them or still dont know the fate of their dogs or cats. If the windows in her home broke in the fire's heat, there's a chance the cats, who were feral as kittens and cannot be held unless they are willing, may have escaped, she said. Theres that one little hope, said Young, who has been comforted by daily visits to take care of her horse, who was safe from the flames in his boarding stable. There have been some happy endings. The neighbors of one police officer who was at work when the fire broke out were able to rescue his family's three dogs before his family's home was destroyed. Another man who was away at work when his home burned was reunited with his cat, who had a burned face, after someone heard it meowing outside a home that survived nearby. The Humane Society of Boulder Valley has reunited over 25 pets with their owners since the fire destroyed homes in the communities of Louisville and Superior, including a dog who had spent two days outside and had some burned paws, the groups CEO Jan McHugh-Smith said. The organization has also been taking care of about a dozen animals, including a tortoise and a cockatiel, in its shelter who cannot live with their owners in their temporary living situations, she said. Story continues Like Young, many pet owners have posted messages and photos of their pets on a Facebook page set up to help find missing animals. Others trying to help have also been posting photos of pets, mainly cats, sighted in their areas and offering to take in pets who cant live with their owners in temporary housing. The page's organizer, Katie Albright, a missing animal recovery specialist from the area who now lives in Oregon, is careful not to draw any conclusions about the likelihood of still finding a pet after the fire. While working to recover pets after the Holiday Farm fire in Oregon in 2020, some were skeptical any would be found but the last cat trapped there was not captured until a year later, she said. However, people are so eager to help though that they may end up harming other animals not affected by the fire, Albright said. While dogs have been known to wander far from disasters, cats tend to stay within about a mile of home. Despite that, there have been some reports of people finding cats in communities beyond the fire zone and taking them to their local shelters, thinking they are missing cats from the fire area. However, they are more likely outdoor cats that live in those areas and, unless they have a microchip to identify their owners, they likely will never get back to their homes, she said. Some owners also want to set up traps to capture missing cats but Albright instead recommends first setting out some food in an area with some kind of cover, like vegetation, and using a trail camera the kind hunters use to scout out areas for wildlife to check on what animals, if any, may be in the area before deciding to set up a trap to avoid capturing a cat who is not missing or a wild animal. Any traps must also be checked at least every hour to avoid having a panicked trapped animal hurt itself, she said. People returning to newly reopened neighborhoods can also just walk around and check places where cats tend to hide such as culverts, vehicles and garages, keeping an eye out especially for injured cats, she said. Code 3 Associates, an organization hired by authorities to rescue animals after natural disasters around the United States that is based in Longmont, Colorado, not far from the fire, set out traps in hopes of catching missing cats near neighborhoods that were burned but they did not catch any, said Janee Boswell, the group's director of education and partnerships. That combined with a community typically diligent in reporting stray animals to authorities makes her think there are not many missing animals out there and that the fire was a mass casualty event for pets who were in homes that burned. I am guessing they probably perished in those residences and those few who got out have been located and returned, she said. While people have time to pack up some belongings and their pets in slower moving disasters such as hurricanes or floods and even more typical wildfires in mountain areas, many people not at home when the Colorado fire started never had a chance to get back home to rescue their pets, she said. Young said she will not have closure until she is able to go back to her home and find any remains of her cats. For now, her visits to Foxy, a 20-year-old quarter horse, gives her a bit of normalcy and comfort in her upended life. The horse is so in tune with her, he is tense because he feels how stressed she is now, she said. On a visit Wednesday, she gave him an apple, supplements, hay, a brush-down, a vibrating back massage, a stall cleaning and a final pat on the back. I can still hug him. I can still kiss him and love on him. He's needy like I am, Young said, with a laugh. CAIRO (AP) Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition Thursday, killing at least three people as thousands once again took to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and other cities to protest the October military takeover of the country. The spasm of violence is the latest since the Oct. 25 coup that has scuttled hopes of a peaceful transition to democracy in Sudan. Thursdays fatalities bring to at least 60 the number of people killed since the coup, and hundreds have been wounded in clashes with security forces trying to thwart protests, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee, which tracks the casualty tolls. In Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, two protesters were killed Thursday, while in the Sudanese capitals district of Bahri one demonstrator was shot and killed, according to activist Nazim Sirag and the Sudan Doctors Committee. Sirag said one of the fatalities in Omdurman was a man who was shot in the head and died before reaching the hospital. Many were wounded, including by gunshots, the activist and the committee said. The United Nations again urged restraint from Sudanese security forces, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday. He said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been on the phone on this issue for the last few days and even before that, and U.N. special envoy Volker Perthes who is in Khartoum has been talking to partners and key parties over the last few days. Earlier Thursday, as protesters took to the streets, activists posted live videos on social media showing protesters waving the Sudanese flag in several cities and chanting: Power to the people! and The military belongs in the barracks! Social media also swarmed with images showing tear gas clouding rallies in Khartoum, and protesters hurling stones and throwing back empty gas canisters at security forces. The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded many rallies since the coup, called earlier on protesters to march to the presidential palace, the seat of the ruling military government in Khartoum. Story continues Thursday's protests come less than a week after Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok resigned from office citing failure to reach a compromise between the generals and the country's pro-democracy movement. Hamdok was ousted in the coup, only to be reinstated a month later following a deal with the military meant to calm tensions and anti-coup protests. The deal was rejected by most political groups and parties who insisted the generals should promptly hand power over to civilians. Meanwhile, the military said they would not relinquish power until a new government is elected in July, as laid out in a constitutional document governing the transitional period. The advocacy NetBlocs group said on Twitter that the mobile internet was disrupted ahead of the protests, a routine measure taken by authorities since the coup. Some activists also tweeted that many bridges and roads were closed. Sudan has been politically paralyzed since the coup. The military takeover came more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019. ___ Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the overall death toll from Sudan's anti-coup protests rose to 60 on Thursday, not 63. Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Idylwild elementary school is one of the most over crowded schools, and Metcalfe Elementary School is severely under enrolled. The superintendent of Alachua County Schools is revisiting school zones, starting with students at Metcalfe and Idylwild elementary schools, due to capacity issues driven by growth west of Gainesville. At a Wednesday 2 p.m. board meeting, Taylor Gilfillan, director of accountability, evaluation and data analytics, displayed a graph showing that Idylwild is one of the most over-zoned schools in the district while Metcalfe is severely under-zoned. The district is looking to shift approximately 160 students from Idylwild to Metcalfe elementary schools. Superintendent presents reorg: Alachua County schools chief plans to shake up administration Board members give partial approval: Alachua County School Board OKs part of superintendent's reorganization plan Superintendent and reorganization: Superintendent's reorganization fails to pass again Carlee Simon, superintendent of Alachua County of Public Schools, said later that there are approximately 1,128 who are zoned for Idylwild and 699 students attend the school while the capacity level is only 662. Idylwild, in southwest Gainesville, takes in students from families around the University of Florida and Archer Road near I-75 both rapidly growing areas. "Idyllwild has twice as many children living in the zone that the school can accommodate," Simon said. It was projected that there would be a larger student population by June 2022 which would require six portable classrooms at the facility. At Metcalfe the enrollment is 245 students as of Dec. 21, and able to hold 591 students. There are 208 kids zoned for that school, in northeast Gainesville where population growth has been stagnant or declining. However, students don't always attend the schools for which they are zoned. Magnet programs draw students from across the district. Story continues Simon said the capacity issue is a problem with many of the schools in the county. Specifically a lot of schools on the east side of Gainesville being under enrolled, while schools on the west side are over enrolled. This is mainly due to the growth that is happening west of Gainesville. Jenny Wise, chief of teaching and learning, said the implications that come with having a school with a low capacity is that there are a lack of support services given to those schools. She also said there is less funding given to those schools from entitlement grants that can be used to support additional employees or programming for those schools. School Board member Leanetta McNealy had a few concerns regarding the rezoning of the two schools. She said, there are some children at Idylwild who maybe economically and academically disadvantaged, and she would like the administration to be cognizant of who those children are before moving them to another school. Her second concern was that the district should be doing a district-wide rezoning while looking at increasing diversity, making sure the school are balanced and addressing the academic needs of children. The first reading of the rezoning of the two schools will happen on Jan. 18, a public hearing will be held on Feb. 15 and a second reading will be held on March 1. The plan is to have kids shifted from Idylwild to Metcalfe Elementary School by the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Past rezoning efforts In March, Simon introduced her plan for a comprehensive rezoning. A rezoning hasn't occurred in Alachua County Public Schools since the early 2000s. She knew that going in, it would be controversial due to students being sent to other schools and that parents wouldn't be happy. Despite the controversy that ensued, she said rezoning was an issue that needed to be addressed to make schools not just more diverse racially, but also to make them financially secure. The launch was supposed to happen in fall of 2022, but she put the effort on hold to focus on her reorganizing the school district and to focus on the influx of federal money the school district was getting. Her reorganization led to non-renewals of nine administrators and for a petition of no confidence in Simon's leadership skills. She said the reason behind her reorganization, when she came into her role as superintendent, was that she realized a lot of her staff were overworked and juggling responsibilities and tasks that weren't in their job descriptions. This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County superintendent plans rezoning 2 elementary schools In early November, President Biden issued two sweeping federal rules aimed at getting as many workers as possible vaccinated against COVID-19. Whether those controversial rules survive is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. The justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments Friday in a pair of cases revolving around the emergency regulations. Republican leaders and business groups sued to stop the rules from going into effect, leading to injunctions and differing opinions in the lower courts. After groups filed emergency requests with the Supreme Court, the justices decided to expedite both of the hot-button cases and hear them together this week. The special session is meant to determine whether the Biden administration can enforce the vaccine rules while that litigation plays out, but the underlying question is whether or not the White House has the legal authority to issue the rules in the first place. An estimated 86% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to The New York Times. But the administration says that rate needs to be higher, especially amid a surge in cases due to the omicron variant, and the vaccine rules are central to the White House effort to get remaining holdouts inoculated. How The Vaccine Rules Would Work Both of the administrations rules are employer mandates, but only one is a true vaccine mandate. That rule, issued through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, requires that workers in health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding get vaccinated. If workers dont get the jab, then their federally funded employers cant let them work. The White House estimates the rule would cover 17 million workers at 76,000 sites, including hospitals, long-term care facilities and dialysis centers, among others. In explaining the rule, the administration said it would bring peace of mind to patients wondering about their caregivers vaccination status, reduce staff sickness and quarantines and create a level playing field across health care facilities. Story continues The other vaccine regulation is less stringent but far more expansive. The rule administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would require employers with at least 100 workers to create programs in which workers either show proof of vaccination or undergo weekly testing for COVID-19. The employers would also have to offer workers paid time off to get their shots, and make sure that unvaccinated workers wear a mask in the workplace. The White House estimates the OSHA rule would cover 84 million workers. The OSHA rule is really a vax-or-test mandate; technically no one would be obligated to get a shot because of it. Still, the hassles of weekly testing might make vaccination more appealing, and thats almost certainly part of the idea. At-home COVID-19 tests would be accepted so long as theyre done at the worksite or proctored online, but such tests can be hard to find right now. Employers arent obligated to foot the bill for testing under the rule. The White House estimates the OSHA rule would cover 84 million workers, most of them in the private sector, but many in the public sector as well, including the U.S. Postal Service. Employers who failed to follow it would be subject to fines up to around $13,700 in most cases but the agency said it expects the vast majority of firms to comply with it willingly. Indeed, many large employers have already instituted mandates on their own. OSHA has estimated that the rule would save 6,500 lives and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations over a span of six months. Republicans in Congress are so opposed to the OSHA rule that they briefly considered using a government shutdown as leverage to kill it. Chief Justice John Roberts poses during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., April 23, 2021. (Photo: Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS) The Arguments Against The Mandates The Supreme Court, which currently holds a 6-3 conservative majority, has already declined to knock down state vaccine mandates for workers instituted during the pandemic. But the cases involving Bidens vaccine rules hinge on a different issue: whether the relevant federal agencies have the statutory power to implement them. A slew of business groups and states, the vast majority GOP-led, have sued to stop both rules on the grounds that they exceed the legal authority of OSHA and CMS. The OSHA rule was blocked temporarily by one appeals court, then later reinstated by another. The CMS rule was blocked in roughly half the states but allowed to move forward in the other half. One of the loudest opponents of the OSHA rule is the conservative Liberty Justice Center, which says it aims to protect workers rights and free speech and combat cancel culture and government overreach. The group and other critics of the rule argue in part that COVID-19 is far more than a workplace hazard, and a mandate to vaccinate or test would require an act of Congress. The group succeeded in getting a stay against the rule in November when a panel for the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there was cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate. Two of the three judges were appointed by former President Donald Trump. However, that stay was lifted by another panel at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 gave OSHA the authority to protect against infectious disease, regardless of whether its a hazard beyond the workplace. They wrote that OSHAs authority is hardly limited to hard hats and safety goggles. OSHA has wide discretion to form and implement the best possible solution to ensure the health and safety of all workers, and has historically exercised that discretion. The arguments against the CMS rule track along similar lines. Opponents claim that given the economic and political significance of the regulation, CMS would need express permission from Congress to issue it. A federal judge in Missouri also a Trump appointee agreed, saying the agency exceeded its authority and that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their argument that the rule is arbitrary and capricious. The litigation surrounding both rules hasnt left employers with much clarity on what to expect. The Biden administration says the CMS rule is meant to protect patients, and argues that the agency has clear authority to do so at facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid dollars. Xavier Becerra, head of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes CMS, estimated that the rule would save several hundred ... or perhaps several thousand lives each month. The litigation surrounding both rules hasnt left employers with much clarity on what to expect. OSHA said it will not issue citations for any part of the rule before Jan. 10, and wont enforce the weekly testing requirement until Feb. 9. And while CMS is already enforcing its rule in the states where it can, the agency is giving health care facilities a runway of several weeks to reach 100% vaccination rates before they can be fined or lose federal funding. The Supreme Court is expected to rule quickly on the cases, and their decisions could change those timelines further, or render them moot. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... As museums carry on showing pandemic holdovers too good to cancel, the embarrassment of riches continues. So many great shows, so little space to mention them all! Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott: Before there were Kerry James Marshall and Kehinde Wiley, there was Robert Colescott. The painter, who died in 2009 at the age of 83, inserted Black people into the canons of Western art history primarily through the provocative and fearless strategy of blackfacing the figures in canonical pictures by the likes of Picasso, Gericault and Van Gogh. This 50-year survey could not be more relevant. Dec. 4 to May 29, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 312-744-6630 and www.chicago.gov Advertisement The Life and Death of Charles Williams: When he was not working full-time as a janitor at the IBM plant in Lexington, Kentucky, Charles Williams filled his front yard with boisterously painted trees and giant cartoon cutouts, drew comic series of his own invention including one in which Captain Soul Superstar battled the intergalactic slave trade and sculpted hundreds of fantastical holders for pencils and pens filched from desk drawers. This posthumous show, the first major exhibition of his oeuvre, promises to burst with inspiration and can-do. Through April 24 at Intuit, 756 N. Milwaukee Ave., 312-624-9487 and www.art.org Cover of IT magazine, 1972. From the exhibit "Subscribe: Artists and Alternative Magazines, 1970-1995." (AIC photo / HANDOUT) Subscribe: Artists and Alternative Magazines, 1970-1995: As publishing moves inexorably toward the digital, the AIC takes a look back at an era when print was where it happened. On view are selections from a newly acquired collection of rare periodicals produced by writers and photographers dedicated to broadcasting outsider identities in magazines like Out/Look, i-D, The Face and Thing. Through May 2 at Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Ave., 312-443-3600 and www.artic.edu Advertisement Dream: The art world is a notoriously fickle place, but the Hyde Park Art Center is not. Ever generous and capacious, it not only shows some of the most exciting art in the city, it also teaches artists of all levels to develop their own. The apex is the Center Program, now in its ninth year, where local professionals like Jason Dunda, Mayumi Lake, Monika Plioplyte and Frances Lee can push their work forward, then mount it in this biennial exhibition. Through March 20 at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., 773-324-5520 and www.hydeparkart.org "Do you want us here or not?" (2021) by Shannon Finnegan, part of the exhibition in Crip* at Gallery 400 in Chicago. (Della Perrone photo / HANDOUT) Crip*: In this timely group exhibition, furniture asks questions about physical needs, sculptures struggle between erect posture and restraint, and musical instruments refuse classical notions of order. The emerging artists included here, among them Max Guy, Shannon Finnegan and Carly Mandel, address disability at a time when questions of access and identity have become both more commonplace and more complex than ever. Jan. 14 to March 12 at Gallery 400, 400 South Peoria St., 312-996-6114 and gallery400.uic.edu A Site of Struggle: American Art against Anti-Black Violence: Violence toward people of color has a history longer than, and grotesquely tied to, that of the United States. The Block surveys the past hundred years of it, as represented through artistic protest and memorialization. Lynching imagery is omnipresent depicted by an early Isamu Noguchi sculpture, implied in Lorna Simpsons 1989 photo-text about necklines, abstracted in welded steel reliefs that Melvin Edwards made in 1990, erased in images Ken Gonzales-Day recreated in 2006 and no exception in a show of art as hard to look at as it is important to do so. Jan. 26 to July 10 at Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, 847-491-4000 and www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu Bob Thompson's "Blue Madonna," 1961 (oil on canvas). (Detroit Institute of Arts / HANDOUT) Bob Thompson: This House Is Mine: Though he died in 1966 at the age of 28 and isnt well known outside certain artistic circles, Thompson created pictures of expressive, dreamlike freeness that resonate today. Part of an avant-garde downtown New York scene that included Happenings and jazz musicians, some of whom he portrayed, Thompson earned early critical acclaim for paintings that looked as much to the Old Masters as to the rainbow. Feb. 10 to May 15 at Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave., 773-702-0200 and smartmuseum.uchicago.edu Barbara Stauffacher Solomon: Exits Exist: The grande dame of supergraphics, now in her 90s, gives Madlener House a do-over in her signature bold abstractions. Expect hard-edge black and vermilion typography rendered at the scale of architecture, the better to dance with. Feb. 17 to May 28 at Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, 4 W. Burton Place, 312-787-4071 and grahamfoundation.org Beautiful Diaspora / You Are Not the Lesser Part: Curatorial choices can deeply impact how art is seen and understood, a fact acknowledged here by the intertwining of two exhibition concepts in one space. Fifteen global artists of color among them Farah Salem, Xyza Cruz Bacani and Johny Pitts testify to the beauty of Blackness or challenge the designation of minority status. Questions about whos in which show promise dialogue and solidarity. March 3 to June 26 at Museum of Contemporary Photography, 600 S. Michigan Ave., 312-663-5554 and www.mocp.org Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture & Reparations | Chicago to Guantanamo: How to mark the 20-year anniversary of Gitmo? With an exhibition committed to revealing the interconnected histories of war, torture and confinement, at home and abroad, through the work of activist artists and creative resistors alike: Trevor Paglen, Damon Locks, the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, Guantanamo detainee Khalid Qasim, curators Aaron Hughes and Amber Ginsburg, and many more. March 10 to Aug. 7 at DePaul Art Museum, 935 W. Fullerton Ave., 773-325-7506 and resources.depaul.edu Also worth mentioning: Smaller solo shows around town include Selina Trepp at Space & Time, Rachel Niffenegger at Western Exhibitions, Arnold Kemp at the Neubauer Collegium, Ayanah Moor at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, Meriem Bennani at the Renaissance Society, and Jin Lee at the Cultural Center. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican authorities have arrested two suspects after an SUV filled with 10 bodies was left outside the office of a Mexican state governor in a public square lit up with Christmas tree and holiday decorations, officials said on Thursday. David Monreal, governor of the central state of Zacatecas, said in a video filmed at the plaza that the car contained bodies of people with apparent signs of beating and bruising. "They came to leave them here in front of the palace," he said, referring to his offices in a centuries-old building at the Plaza de Armas of the state capital, also called Zacatecas. Video: Mother in Mexico pleas to cartel leaders to stop threats The Zacatecas public security agency said in a statement that government officials found the car, a Mazda SUV, after noting a suspicious vehicle driving in the area. The federal security ministry said there were 10 bodies inside. Monreal said security has been a major challenge in Zacatecas and that he would reduce the violence. "Bit by bit we will recover our peace. What we received was a cursed inheritance," he said. In a tweet later in the day, Monreal said two suspects "linked to the events" had been arrested. Zacatecas has become one of the most violent regions of the country due to turf wars among rival gangs. In 2021, the state registered 1,050 murders, about 260 more than in 2020, according to official data. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico CityEditing by Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis) Video courtesy of NBCUniversal. For more, check out NBC.com. A Texas man who walked out of hospital after authorities said he attacked a family at a Sonic drive-thru in Itasca was captured Thursday in Hill County. Casey Phillips was taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at about 11 a.m. in Hubbard. A massive search had been underway since Tuesday night, when Phillips walked out of a Waco hospital after being arrested in connection with multiple crimes including attacking a 17-year-old girl and her mother at a Sonic drive-thru in Itasca. Phillips was taken into custody Tuesday evening after he crashed a vehicle just east of Itasca. But he walked out of a Waco hospital a few hours later, authorities said. The 25-year-old man also is a suspect in a road rage shooting Tuesday in Burleson on Interstate 35W. During the search, Itasca police believed Phillips was in the Hubbard area, a town in southeast Hill County. Itasca is about 45 miles south of Fort Worth. Itasca police said Thursday that Phillips was considered armed and dangerous, and likely needs medical attention. In the road rage shooting, Phillips was accused of shooting out a window of another car on I-35W in Burleson. No injuries were reported. The suspect cut in front of a vehicle and [the victim] flashed her high beams, Burleson police said in a statement. He pointed a gun out and shot at her car, at the window. He was in his girlfriends vehicle at the time, said Itasca police Lt. William Fausnacht on Thursday. Phillips then drove to Itasca, where he abandoned his vehicle and walked to a parked 18-wheeler, broke out a window and sat in the truck for a few minutes, Itasca police said. A dash camera captured Phillips in the truck, and later showed where he fell from the truck as he got out of it, Itasca police said. Phillips then walked to a nearby Shell gas station that also had a Sonic. He approached a 17-year-old and her mother who were in the drive-thru, ordered them out of their vehicle and starting stabbing the teen, Itasca police said. Story continues He tried to stab her in the chest, but she got her arm up to defend herself, Fausnacht said. A man who was in a vehicle in line, got out and confronted the suspect. He managed to disarm the suspect. But Phillips managed to get inside of the teens vehicle, pushing her to the passenger side with her mother and trying to kidnap them, Itasca police said. Fausnacht said the mother got the passenger door open and fell out of the vehicle, while her daughter jumped out. They were injured during their escape. The suspect drove away, but later crashed the vehicle. Itasca police said a communications breakdown resulted in Phillips walking out of the Waco hospital. Itasca police believed Phillips was going to a Hill County hospital, but the suspect was taken to Waco, where authorities had not sent officers to guard him. Thomas Nelson Community College will switch most classes from in-person to online for the first two weeks of the spring semester to prevent and control transmitting COVID-19. From Jan. 10 to Jan. 21, students should expect updates from professors on CANVAS, the universitys online learning management platform. Some career and technical programs will still meet in-person including allied health and skilled trade courses, according to a news release from the college. As new variants of COVID-19 emerge and spread, we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and those in our surrounding communities, President Towuanna Porter Brannon said in a prepared statement Wednesday. The college, which will become Virginia Peninsula Community College, will hold a virtual new student orientation Jan. 7. Incoming students can register by visiting Thomas Nelsons website, and they will have to opportunity to learn more about services on-campus during a Virtual Bootcamp on Saturday. The Hampton and Williamsburg campuses will remain open to the public. Employees should work with their supervisors to determine whether they will work remotely or in-person. While the College remains committed to providing a quality educational experience for students, we also recognize that our learning and working environments, now more than ever, have an impact on our overall well-being, Porter Brannon said. We ask for continued patience as we adjust to meet the demands of our students and communities amid this ongoing pandemic. Thomas Nelson joins with other higher education institutions across Virginia that have adjusted plans for the upcoming semester to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Tidewater Community College students will also attend classes remotely at the start of the semester and many universities in Hampton Roads delayed classes before students return on-campus. Sierra Jenkins, 229-462-8896, sierra.jenkins@virginiamedia.com Buses line up at the end of the day Jan. 5 at Thomas Worthington High School. Jeff Eble, Worthington Schools' director of business services, said the district wants to add six bus drivers. Amidst a nationwide shortage of employees that also has affected central Ohio, Worthington Schools officials said the district has a minor need for bus drivers and custodians but is adequately staffed elsewhere. Jeff Eble, Worthington Schools' director of business services, said the district wants to add six unassigned bus drivers on top of what it already has but also would hire as many as it could. Unassigned drivers are full-time drivers who come in every day and are assigned a route, as needed, Eble said. To be really safe, wed like to have 14 or 15 subs or unassigned route drivers, he said. We have a hard time getting to that number and maintaining that number. Tiffany Greenlee welcomes students onto her bus Jan.5 at Thomas Worthington High School. Eble said the district employs 77 full-time bus drivers. The district has not had any issues with bus scheduling thus far due to a lack of drivers, he said. District bus drivers are required to have a commercial license, and the process to train them and acquire a CDL license if they dont already have one usually takes 4 to 6 weeks, Eble said. Regular drivers, including unassigned drivers, with no experience start at $22.77 an hour, he said, and they receive a training rate of $20.49. The district also covers CDL license fees, which in Ohio are $27. The districts on-call substitute drivers receive $18 an hour, Eble said. The district has six substitute drivers as of Jan. 6, though the number fluctuates sometimes, he said. Eble said the shortage of drivers is partly due to the pandemic but also is par for the course most years. Ive been in this business for 40 years, and weve been beating the bush for bus drivers for all that time, he said. Eble said the district also is seeking about six custodians. The district has 66 custodians on staff. Probably about half a dozen of each would make us feel more comfortable, he said. Bus drivers and custodians are always a struggle, trying to get folks and keep folks. On the other hand, teacher positions are adequately staffed districtwide, according to Jeff Maddox, director of certified personnel. Story continues Were actually in pretty good shape, Maddox said. All of the districts full-time teacher positions are filled, he said, and the district has successfully increased the size of its substitute-teacher pool in recent months. The districts substitute teachers are sourced through the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio in Columbus, Maddox said. The district started the year with 26 substitute teachers, Maddox said, and it currently has 45. Maddox said the districts ability to retain substitutes is due to a number of reasons. One of them is a phone call the district makes to first-time substitutes in Worthington thanking them for substituting. That personal touch of calling them and thanking them for subbing in Worthington has worked really well, Maddox said. Maddox said the district has also increased its full-time building substitute teacher pay from $130 to $140 a day. For more information, go to worthington.k12.oh.us. sborgna@thisweeknews.com @ThisWeekSteve This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Though generally unaffected by staffing shortages, Worthington Schools seeks to add bus drivers, custodians Three-quarters of voters agree that members of Congress should not be able to trade stocks while serving in office, according to a new poll released Thursday. The survey, commissioned by conservative advocacy group Convention of States Action, found that 76 percent of voters believe that lawmakers and their spouses have an "unfair advantage" in the stock market. Just 5 percent of respondents approved of members trading stocks, while 19 percent gave no opinion. "In an era of hyper-partisanship, voters in all parties agree that members of Congress should not be enriching themselves using 'insider information' while serving the people," Mark Meckler, the group's president, said in a statement. "This issue has received a lot of attention, and this data verifies the American people want this practice to end once and for all." Some prominent politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), called on Congress to ban lawmakers from trading stocks after Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and others came under fire for selling securities just before the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the market in 2020. The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating Burr's trades. However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose husband is a prolific trader, told reporters last month that Congress should not block lawmakers from trading stocks. "We're a free-market economy," Pelosi said. "They should be able to participate in that." She added that members of Congress must follow federal laws that bar them from taking advantage of nonpublic information and require them to disclose their stock trades. The issue received renewed attention after Business Insider reported last week that 52 members of Congress failed to properly disclose their financial transactions. Lawmakers currently face minuscule fines for violating stock trading rules. Other surveys have shown similar support for cracking down on congressional stock trading. A November poll from the Campaign Legal Center found that 67 percent of voters support banning lawmakers from owning stock in specific companies. The Convention of States Action poll found that 70 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of Republicans and nearly 80 percent of independents say members of Congress should not be allowed to trade stocks. The poll, conducted by the Trafalgar Group, surveyed 1,706 likely general election voters between Dec. 17-21. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Columbia firefighters work to respond to a traffic accident at Havens Circle caused by Thursday's winter storm. The department spent much of the morning responding to several accidents and stranded drivers. As heavy snow moved into Maury County early Thursday morning, the city's first responders were met with multiple traffic accidents and stranded drivers, with all departments urging citizens to stay home. The snowfall began just before 7 a.m., increasing heavily throughout the morning and creating hazardous conditions along the city's roadways. As the snow began to thicken, and eventually turn into icy sleet, conditions worsened. Officials warn drivers about treacherous roadways Columbia Fire Chief Ty Cobb spoke with The Daily Herald about the situation, explaining that his crews, along with Columbia Police and Columbia EMS staff, have been "working nonstop, and they are strained." "Temperatures are dropping, the roadways are slick, and we've got a lot of stranded motorists," Cobb told The Daily Herald on Thursday morning. "These include non-injury and injury accidents. Conditions continue to worsen, because we're seeing sleet rainfall on top of this snow, which will make road conditions even more tricky." Cobb added that he urges citizens to remain at home at all possible while conditions remain, and to take any and all precautions if getting out is unavoidable. "If you don't have to get out, don't get out, but if you do have to get out, make sure you have a fully-charged cell phone, a full tank of fuel. If you are home, and it is an emergency, call 911. If not, call the non-emergency number, which for the fire department is (931) 388-2525. Be fully prepared if conditions worsen, especially with freezing temperatures, or if the power goes out." A city truck spreads salt as snow falls in Columbia, Tenn., on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Cobb also commended Columbia Public Works and the Tennessee Department of Transportation for its work in preparing for the inclement weather, including salting major roadways. Although there have been several roadway accidents, it could have been worse, he said. He also reiterated "if you don't have to leave the house, stay at home." Story continues "They've done a great job, as well as TDOT in preparing for this and being proactive, which no doubt has reduced more accidents from happening. Unless you have a four-wheel drive or all-terrain vehicle, if you don't have to get out, don't get out." Road closures as of Thursday The Columbia Police Department also reported multiple road closures Thursday, including the southbound lanes of Nashville Highway between Baker Road near the Honey Farms development. The fire department also reported that Carter's Creek is a treacherous road, as of Thursday. Cobb also posed the question, "How can fire department vehicles drive in these conditions when others cannot?" Simply put, it's because they are built that way, and it's how they are able to do their jobs in rescuing stranded drivers when snowstorms happen. "Our vehicles are made for this, have tires that are especially made for this type of terrain," Cobb said. "We have snow chains on the fire trucks, and so we are prepared and put a lot of planning and preparation to have our vehicles ready for the roadway. That's why you see our vehicles out ... because they are built for these types of conditions, unlike regular vehicles that people use with normal tires, which makes a difference." Temps could hit single digits Friday More: Almost 4 inches of snow, stormy weather expected to hit Maury County this week Thursday's accumulation is expected to linger, though more snow is not predicted for Friday. The National Weather Service Nashville reported that the southwest region would likely experience bitterly cold temperatures with many spots dropping into the single digits on Friday. Temperatures are expected to rise into the 40s and 50s over the weekend, with a high of 60 by Sunday with a 90% chance of precipitation on Saturday and Sunday. This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Thursday winter storm causing 'many accidents' across Columbia This story was republished on Jan. 5, 2022 to make it free for all readers WASHINGTON - Facing increased scrutiny over the rise of sexual assault in its ranks, top National Guard officials say they will implement broad reforms to better protect thousands across the force. Better training, increased transparency, improved data collection, routine program reviews and more emphasis on prevention are among the planned changes. Our goal is to eliminate sexual assaults by refocusing our efforts to prevention, Major General Eric Little, personnel director at the National Guard Bureau, said in an interview. The changes follow a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Cap Times investigation in March that found Guard units have buried sexual assault allegations, withheld crucial documents from victims and retaliated against women who have come forward. Reporting in 2019 found Wisconsin Guard officials were illegally investigating assaults internally. In 2020, the National Guard Bureau formed a task force to study the sexual assault issue nationwide. Andrea Pfeifer, a Wisconsin Army Guard soldier who has called for reforms after being sexually assaulted by a supervisor, said she welcomed the changes. The tides are shifting in a good direction, and I hope it continues, said Pfeifer, 44, of Sullivan, Wisconsin. Well have to wait and see if this is an effective route to positive change or simply another layer of bureaucracy to navigate through. Major General Eric K Little The 440,000-member National Guard is the oldest military force, dating back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636. It is made up of 54 independent militias that are controlled by the governors in each state and U.S. territories. Unlike full-time members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, Guard members are primarily part-time, assigned to their home states. The Guard Bureau is a federal administrative agency that oversees local units but does not directly regulate them. Reports of sexual assault in the Guard have increased every year over the last nine years, more than tripling from 173 in 2009 to 634 in 2020. Story continues For years, Guard officials say, the Defense Department and Congress have largely relied on a one-size-fits-all approach to combating sexual assault in the military, tailoring reforms to full-time active forces. Its become clear that approach has not worked for the Guard, with its distinct and complex structure. The National Guard gets added into what the active duty is doing, when we really need to be playing a different game, said Brigadier General Charles Walker, chief of the Guards Office of Complex Investigations, who also works as a federal bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Tennessee. In interviews last month at Andrews Air Force Base and the Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia, Guard leaders spelled out several reforms. The Guard Bureau says it will work with local units to hire staff to assess their sexual assault response programs, which are responsible for handling assault allegations. These assessments will take place at least once every three years. The bureau said it would also create an office with experts in sexual assault, harassment, domestic violence and suicide to address those issues. The bureau said it hopes to create similar offices in all 54 states and territories. Sexual assault response coordinators, who manage cases as they move through the system, will get Guard-specific training. The bureau says it also plans to do a better job collecting state data and analyzing trends. Data on the outcome of cases is especially lacking, said Eugene Fidell, an expert on military law at New York Universitys law school. Its a really thorny set of problems in 54 jurisdictions, he said. Guard leaders say some of their plans are contingent on getting sufficient funding and that their authority to carry out such plans only goes so far. The agency can guide local units, not unilaterally regulate them. Although the units are primarily federally funded, the militias are wholly controlled by their governors. But bureau leaders say local units are generally supportive of federal guidance. In interviews, Guard Bureau leaders emphasized they aim to stay in their lane and not overstep into a state Guards affairs. The bureau will provide additional guidance and resources to help states combat sexual assault but will not be responsible for implementing changes, Major General Little said. The bureau, he said, is working on ways to better support local units so we can address this sexual assault issue and find ways to better train and hold leaders and people accountable. Last year, the bureau reorganized its Office of Complex Investigations, which does administrative inquiries when requested by a state, into an independent entity reporting to senior Guard leadership rather than the bureaus general counsel. We have our own voice for the first time, said Brigadier General Walker, who leads the office. General Daniel Hokanson, the head of the National Guard Bureau, said in a statement that he put Walker, a fellow general, at the helm of the investigations office to give it more influence within the military when asking for funding and resources. It clearly highlights how important and seriously we take investigating sexual assault allegations and our goal of reducing sexual assaults within the National Guard, Hokanson said. Don Christensen, a retired Air Force colonel and former chief Air Force prosecutor and president of Protect Our Defenders, a national advocacy group providing legal help to victims of military sexual assault, agrees. Putting a general officer in there is a signal that (sexual assault) is being taken more seriously. It gives it more authority, he said. Brigadier General Charles M Walker is chief of the National Guard Bureau's Office of Complex Investigation. Over the last year, Walker said he and his team eliminated a backlog of cases though he has struggled to recruit and retain investigators. He said that's because the Guard's pool of candidates is limited, and the work requires a special skill-set. Walker said the Office of Complex Investigations should only investigate a small percentage of cases because allegations should first go through local police. The office only investigates if law enforcement declines. Last fiscal year, the office investigated about 30% of sexual assaults reported across 54 militias. We want local law enforcement to do their job, Walker said. We don't control that process, nor should we, nor do we want to. It is local law enforcement's responsibility." Katelyn Ferral is an investigative reporter for the Journal Sentinel. Email her at kferral@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: National Guard Bureau announces sexual assault reforms FARGO United States Attorney Nick Chase announced that Tammy Longie, a/k/a Tammy Onebear of Tokio, ND, appeared before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte, U.S. District Court, Fargo, ND, and plead guilty to Second-Degree Murder within Indian Country; three counts of Child Abuse in Indian Country; and Child Neglect in Indian Country. On May 6, 2020, agents with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to the home of Erich and Tammy Longie on the Spirit Lake Reservation. Law enforcement observed a deceased 5-year-old child in the basement of the home and observed bruising throughout the body. An autopsy concluded the death a homicide and identified the cause of death as bilateral subdural hematomas incurred from assault. The pathologist observed abrasions and contusions consistent with multiple episodes of inflicted trauma. The childs sibling was examined at a local hospital and determined to need a higher level of care and was hospitalized for more than a month. An attending physician explained the child had bruising over the childs body consistent with abuse. The primary medical concern, however, was heart failure due to malnutrition. Spirit Lake Tribal Social Services (SLTSS) had placed the two children in foster care in the Longie home in July of 2019. The investigation revealed that two biological children were also abused including with objects and hands. Sentencing for Tammy Longie before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte is scheduled for April 14 & 15, 2022. Co-defendant Erich Longie previously plead guilty to First-Degree Felony Murder; three counts of Child Abuse in Indian Country, and Child Neglect in Indian Country and is scheduled for sentencing. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and is being prosecuted by the United States Attorneys office, with Assistant United States Attorney Loir H. Conroy assigned to the case. This article originally appeared on Devils Lake Journal: Tokio woman pleads guilty to second-degree murder From left, Casey Murphy, Brian L. Boyd and Aleah Vassell star in the world premiere of Ruby at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. Editors note: Because of a positive COVID-19 test result among the production team, the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe announced after our deadline two-week delay for "Ruby," which will now begin Jan. 26. World premiere by Westcoast Troupe In the 1950s in Live Oak, Florida, a prominent and relatively well-off Black woman named Ruby McCollum killed a white doctor who had just been elected to the state senate. The trial attracted national attention and coverage by the celebrated writer Zora Neal Hurston, who wrote about it for a newspaper in Pittsburgh. The story has now been turned into a world premiere musical called Ruby by Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe founder Nate Jacobs and his brother Michael. Michael says he focused on the book while Nate is directing and created the music with Michael and Brennan Stylez, the musical director, who also created arrangements with Antonio Wimberly. The play, which begins Wednesday and continues through Feb. 27, features a large cast, led by Aleah Vassell as Ruby and Casey Murphy as Dr. Clifford Leroy Adams. For information: 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org This season: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe moving toward normal for new season Surviving COVID: Sarasota actress Syreeta Banks calls on faith and talent to get through pandemic Harumi Hanafusa, right, performs two recitals for Artist Series Concerts, including one with her sister, Mami. Artist Series presents piano recitals Pianist Harumi Hanafusa is starting the new year off with two long-delayed programs for Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, she will perform a solo recital that features Beethovens Moonlight Sonata and Ravels Gaspard de la nuit, as well as works by Chopin, Liszt and Debussy. And at 3 p.m. Sunday, she will join her sister, Mami as the Hanafusa Sisters Piano Duo, for a different program that includes Debussys Prelude a lapres-midi dun faune and Ravels Bolero, as well as other works to be revealed later. Both concerts will be presented in the Historic Asolo Theater at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. Harumi Hanafusa has been a leader in Japans classical music scene since her professional debut in the 1970s. Tickets for the two concerts are $40-$45. For more information; 941-306-1202; artistseriesconcerts.org Story continues A year of survival: Top 10 arts stories for Sarasota-Manatee in 2021 A new writing prize: Playwright and filmmaker Radha Blank wins first $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award Peter Raimondo and Zoya Martin play a young American couple living in Paris in Amy Herzogs Belleville at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. A storm brewing in Belleville Four students in the FSU/Asolo Conservatory are taking audiences through a thriller-like journey into a crumbling marriage in Amy Herzogs Belleville. Set in a hip neighborhood in Paris, the plays is about a young American couple who are struggling to connect and just beginning to face the problems in their marriage. They are balanced by a young Sengalese couple who are their landlords. Guest director Jesse Jou stages the production after previously working with the students on How I Learned to Drive and Drunken City. The production stars second-year students Zoya Martin, Peter Raimondo, Jerald Wheat and Dreaa Kay Baudy. Performances are Tuesday through Jan. 23 in the Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for the performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-351-8000; asolorep.org Greg Leaming: FSU/Asolo Conservatory director retiring after 17 years Pianist Garrick Ohlsson performs with the Sarasota Orchestra playing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. A piece of the Rach Pianist Garrick Ohlsson first played Rachmaninoffs challenge Piano Concerto No. 3 when he was just 15. His piano teacher told him that if he learned it then, youll never be afraid of it. Years later, it has become a standard part of his concert repertoire, a piece he has performed dozens of times. He will be playing it again this weekend with the Sarsasota Orchestra in the concert dubbed Ohlsson Plays Rachmananoff. He joins guest conductor Jeffrey Kahane, who will lead the orchestra in a program that also includes Brahms Symphony No. 2. Kahaneis the music director of the Sarasota Music Festival, which is expected to return next summer, and he served as an artistic director advisor to the Sarasota Orchestra before it named Bramwell Tovey as music director designate. Concerts are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hlal, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $35-$98. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org Sarasota Opera season: Local favorites returning for full-scale productions A new venue: Sarasota Orchestra may have a site for new music center by spring A Coward classic at Island Players A Noel Coward comedy classic helps the Island Players launch the new year. The company will present Blithe Spirit, which first opened in 1941 and became a long-running hit. Mark Shoemaker stars as Charles Condomine, who invites the medium Madame Arcati to his home for a seance, not expecting that she would conjure up the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, who wreaks havoc as she torments his second wife, Ruth. Seva Anthony plays Madame Arcati, with Abby Deenik as Elvira and Jan Wallace as Ruth. Jeffrey Steiger directs the play, which opens today and continues through Jan. 23 at the Island Playhouse, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Tickets are $25. Face masks are required. 941-778-5755; theislandplayers.org Christopher Confessore leads the Sarasota Orchestra Great Escapes concert Comedy Tonight. A touch of classical humor You can expect a few laughs with the latest Sarasota Orchestra Great Escapes concert Comedy Tonight. Guest conductor Christopher Confessore leads a concert that is designed to lift spirits with pieces from a wide range of works. Theres the Stephen Sondheim classic Comedy Tonight; a suite from the HBO hit Curb Your Enthusiasm; Galop from Suite from the Comedians, and a John Williams march from the comedy film 1941. Theres also Prokofievs Sneaky Pete and the Wolf (with narration by Peter Schickele, and a Shostakovich twist on Tea for Two. Concerts are Wednesday through Jan. 16. The Jan. 12 and 14 concerts will be presented without intermission. All performances are in Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $42-$65. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj is the new producing artistic director of American Stage in St. Petersburg. New plays for the 21st century Fans of new plays will want to spend some time at American Stage in St. Petersburg which launches its sixth annual 21st Century Voices: New Play Festival. It will feature four new plays selected from more than 400 submissions around the world. Unlike last year, the 2022 festival will be presented live and in -person in the Raymond James Theatre. The plays selected are Saudades by Fernando Segall, about an American woman searching for her long-lost Brazilian mother; Zus Earth by Sidney Rushing about the after effects of the African Diaspora in 1970s Mississippi, Go Down Moses by Dana Leslie Goldstein about free speech oni a college campus; and Brown Girl in The Ring, by the companys new Producing Artistic Director, Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj. He describes it as a play about a mother and son in Jamaica in the early days of the AIDS epidemic in Jamaica. The presentations are Friday through Sunday. A weekend pass is $75, and individual readings are $20.22. Patrons must show negative COVID tests results or proof of vaccine and wear masks 163 3rd St., North, St. Petersburg. 727-823-7529; americanstage.org Jackson Janowicz plays the Hare in the Florida Studio Theatre Children's Theatre production of "Hare & Tortoise." Two approaches for Hare & Tortoise Florida Studio Theatres Childrens Theatre series launches its latest production, Hare & Tortoise with many performances already sold out. The play is a retelling of one of Aesops best known fables about two friends who have different approaches to just about everything. Jackson Janowicz plays the Hare opposite Gracie Gilbert as Tortoise in the play written by Brendan Murray. It will be presented Saturdays and select Sundays through Feb. 26 in the Bownes Lab, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Patrons 12 and older must show a recent negative COVID test result or proof of vaccine and masks are required for all audience members ages 6 and up. For more information: 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org From left, Nicholas Caycedo, Sheffield Chastain and Linden Tailor in a scene from America in One Room by Jason Odell Williams at Florida Studio Theatre. Musicals and drama fill FST stages Florida Studio Theatre is a busy place these days with five shows running in its different spaces. The company is giving audiences plenty of options for celebrating the new year. On New Years Eve, Friday, there are performances of the doo-wop cabaret hit The Wanderers and the country crossover musical Friends in Low Places at 6 p.m. FST Improv rings in the new year a little early at 7:30 p.m. with the special holiday production of Resolution Rewind (also presented on Saturday). And at 8 p.m. you can get into the party spirit with the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, which features a long list of early rock hits. A full slate of performances will be presented New Years Day, including the world premiere play America in One Room by Jason Odell Williams. Its a comedic drama inspired by a national conference that brought together hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds and ideologies to talk about important issues. For details and ticket information: 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org "America in One Room": Florida Studio Theatre challenges political perceptions in world premiere A new season: Florida Studio Theatre touches varied issues in new Stage III season From left, Charis Gullage, Brittny Smith and Amahri Edwards-Jones star in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical national tour. A musical salute to a disco diva Theres going to be some Hot Stuff on stage when the national tour of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical arrives Tuesday at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Its a biographical musical about the young girl from Boston who grew up to become the queen of disco with such hits as Love to Love You Baby, Bad Girls, MacArthur Park, No More Tears, On the Radio and Last Dance. The show features three women playing different aspects of Summers life and career, and the company includes Porter Lee Anderson II as Andrew Gaines. Anderson grew up performing in shows at Sarasota area theaters, including the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. Performances are Tuesday through Jan. 16 at the Straz Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. 800-955-1045; strazcenter.org Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 10 arts events for Sarasota-Manatee: Jan. 6-12 Owner Charna Halpern in the bar area at iO Theater in 2014, when the comedy theater's new location was under construction. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) A petition posted on change.org has charged the Chicago comedy venue iO Theater with racism. By Thursday afternoon, close to 2,000 people had signed the petition, titled I will not perform at iO until the following demands are met. Advertisement The document is aimed at the long-lived Chicago comedy theater once known as ImprovOlympic, as well as its co-founder and owner Charna Halpern, and was created by five performers with connections to the theater and comedy training center located on the North Side at 1501 N. Kingsbury St.: Olivia Jackson, Daniela Aguilar, Cherish Hicks, Tommy Nouansacksy and Jackie Bustamante. The petition makes specific demands of the companys founder, and of the theater as a whole. Advertisement Halpern, the petitioners say, must publicly acknowledge and apologize for the institutional racism perpetuated at iO as well as her individual history of racism. She must acknowledge the harm this has caused to individuals, communities, and the comedy world as a whole. The petition, widely shared on Facebook, also demands that Halpern, who owns iO, a privately held, for-profit company, no longer be the sole determiner of opportunity within iO. iO, it reads, "must commit to the decentralization of decision making within the theater. iO must create a governing body of paid employees that allows for the distribution of power and equitable decision making. In doing so, iO commits to repair harm caused to Black performers, students and teachers. The petition also says that the company must hire an outside BIPOC Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator. In a collective online interview, several of the creators of the petition said that the effort had come from longtime frustration with bungled or inadequate past efforts at diversity, an unwelcoming attitude to performers and students of color, and problematic behavior by staffers. Hicks said that after being invited to audition for a diversity scholarship and showing up at the theater, her presence was ignored and she was treated as if no such invitation had been extended. No one knew what I was even talking about, she said, describing in detail her experience at the audition. The petition was not just meant to echo our own experiences, Bustamante added, but the experiences of all the BIPOC people who have come through the doors of the theater. Folks, especially people of color, have been trying to make changes at iO for a very long time. Reached by the Tribune, Halpern, 68, referred to a response letter that has made public. Advertisement My heart breaks again to see and hear the experiences of BIPOC performers that have been uncomfortable, discriminated against, pained, and felt unheard at iO, Halpern wrote. As the owner of iO I must take responsibility for the failings in every department, and for my own failings. I am sorry. Anyone who wants to perform at iO, she continued, should be able to do so without the guilt that they are supporting an institution whose morals and ethics dont align with their own. For all of the reasons here I happily commit to working towards the demands laid out in the Change.org petition. Those who organized the petition described Halperns response as a good, first step" but said they would not expect any of the signers to be performing there without surety that the core demands had been addressed. They also said they needed what Bustamante described as a specific timeline for further changes, including a decolonized curriculum and a thorough investigation and removal of teachers, staff and administrators guilty of any racial violence, cultural appropriation, and abuse towards Black students and performers. These teachers, the petition asserts, must be replaced by teachers of the BIPOC community. Halpern said to the Tribune that the theater, forced to close by the COVID-19 crisis, was now in a fiscally fragile state, referencing an upcoming, six-figure property tax bill that would need to be paid even though the theater had no substantial revenue following the closure of its bar and theaters. Like Second City, where accusations of institutionalized racism led this week to the resignation of the founder and co-owner Andrew Alexander, followed Thursday by a letter promising a willingness to tear it all down and begin again, iO now simultaneously faces the need to live up its promises of wholesale change and also restart its public-facing business. This despite not yet being permitted to open by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago. Advertisement Every day that we cannot open, the financial situation gets worse, Halpern wrote, and there is only so much time we have before the business will not be able to return. Jackson said that the organizers of the petition wanted the theater, which jumpstarted the careers of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and many others, to both reform and succeed. We just want to be respected," she said, and we want to have a safe place to perform. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - The second-largest investor in Japan's Toshiba Corp on Thursday called for an extraordinary general meeting, seeking to force the company to win two-thirds support for a three-way breakup plan that has angered some major overseas shareholders. The proposal by Singapore-based hedge fund 3D Investment Partners marks the latest in a long and acrimonious battle between the once-mighty tech conglomerate and a number of its foreign shareholders, many of them activist funds. Toshiba is now about 30%-owned by foreign hedge funds, many of which doubt whether management's plan to split the company into three businesses - one each for energy/infrastructure, electronic devices and flash memory chips - can maximise shareholder value. The break-up plan was announced last November after a five-month strategic review following years of accounting scandals and governance issues that undermined investor confidence and saw Toshiba's market value more than halved, to around $18 billion, from an early 2000s peak. If 3D's proposal for the meeting were to be accepted, it would trigger a vote that could ultimately scupper the break-up plan, a strategy that carries echoes of a similar move announced last year by General Electric Co. 3D owns more than 7% of Toshiba, a stake worth well over a billion dollars. In a statement, it highlighted concerns about the cost of going ahead with the split before getting a mandate from shareholders, and called for Toshiba to resume its strategic review. "There is no rationale for pursuing at great expense the separation plan without knowing whether a sufficient number of Toshiba shareholders will ultimately provide consent," the fund said. Toshiba has previously said the plan will cost 10 billion yen ($86 million) to implement. 'EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES' In a twist, 3D said that if an extraordinary general meeting were to be approved, it would actually vote against its own proposal that Toshiba's statutes of incorporation should be changed to mandate the implementation of the break-up plan. Story continues Instead, 3D said, the company should not pursue the plan "without first further exploring other alternatives thoroughly". With its proposals, 3D is effectively trying to force the conglomerate to bring forward by more than a year a vote requiring backing from two-thirds of shareholders that is required under Japanese law. Officially, the vote is not slated to be held until the annual general shareholder meeting in 2023. Toshiba said on Thursday it is carefully considering its response as 3D's proposal "contains unusual content," with the fund making a demand while expressing its intent to vote against it. Shares in Toshiba closed down 0.9% on Thursday, compared with a 2.9% decline in the overall Tokyo market. Weakened by a 2015 accounting scandal and the bankruptcy of its U.S. nuclear business, Toshiba has proposed the break-up to sharpen its focus on individual businesses. But 3D and other shareholders have pushed for a more thorough review that would take into account potential private-equity bids. Toshiba's strategic review so far "failed to consider a full range of alternatives," 3D said. The company itself is preparing to hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting in March to gauge shareholder support for the break-up plan, set to be completed by March 2024. But details of the meeting are unclear, including the level of shareholder support it will require to continue with the plan. One alternative to seeking a direct vote on support for the breakup plan that has been floated among Toshiba's board is asking shareholders at the extraordinary meeting to instead vote on the reappointment of its board directors, people familiar with the matter have said. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by David Dolan, Kenneth Maxwell and Mark Porter) People take part in rally outside New York's Stonewall Inn in 2017. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images Cristina Nichole Iglesias may become the first person to receive gender-affirming surgery while in federal custody. Iglesias, who has been in custody for 27 years, unsuccessfully petitioned the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to approve her gender-affirming surgery in 2016. A federal judge ordered the bureau to reevaluate her case and urged them to schedule the surgery. Cristina Nichole Iglesias, a prisoner at Federal Medical Center Carswell, may be the first inmate to receive gender-affirming surgery in federal prison. Iglesias, who is serving a 20-year sentence at the North Texas facility for sending death threats to the British government when she was 19, unsuccessfully petitioned the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to approve her gender-affirming surgery in 2016. The Dallas Morning News reported federal judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel reopened Iglesias' case on December 27, ordering the BOP to revisit the matter again before January 24. "Iglesias's mental health has severely deteriorated because of the trauma she has experienced from being denied necessary treatment for her gender dysphoria and harassment at male facilities," Rosenstengel wrote in her order. In her order, Rosenstengel said that the BOP should approve and schedule Iglesias' surgery as soon as possible in order for it to be performed before her release date in December 2022. The ACLU stated Iglesias was diagnosed with "gender-identity disorder" now known as gender dysphoria in 1994. While the BOP is aware of Iglesias' diagnosis, the ACLU stated Iglesias has not been able to receive medical treatment to help manage her dysphoria during the 27 years she's been in federal custody. According to the BOP, gender-affirming care is offered in federal facilities based on "comprehensive and individualized assessments." "These accommodations can include gender-affirming surgical referral when deemed appropriate," BOP Public Information Officer Scott Taylor said in a statement. Story continues The BOP did not consider "gender confirmation surgery (GCS)" medically necessary for trans inmates until October 2021, according to the order filed December 27, 2021. According to the ACLU, there are currently 1,200 transgender prisoners in federal custody, none of whom have received gender-affirming surgeries during their sentences. If approved for the procedure, Iglesias will become the first federal prisoner to receive gender-affirming surgery. "Cristina has fought for years to get the treatment the Constitution requires," John Knight, Iglesias' attorney and representative of the ACLU of Illinois, said in a statement. "The Court's order removes the unnecessary hurdles and delays BOP has repeatedly constructed to prevent her from getting the care that she urgently needs." Read the original article on Insider WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday barred eight Cuban officials from entering the country over their role in the detention and sentencing of protesters in July demonstrations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The State Department did not name the officials. Blinken said they are implicated in attempts to silence Cuban people through repression, unjust detentions and harsh prison sentences. "The United States took steps to enforce visa restrictions in response to Cuban government attempts to deny Cubans their freedom and rights through continued intimidation tactics, unjust imprisonment, and severe sentences," Blinken said. The largest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution erupted in Cuba in July amid an economic crisis and surge in COVID-19 infections. Thousands took to the streets, angry over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic. Hundreds of protesters were arrested. Blinken said 600 protesters remain jailed after the protests, some with no access to proper food or medicine and with worsening health conditions. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Eric Beech; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons has chosen to retire, the agency said on Wednesday, amid criticism over his performance, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He will remain in his role until a new director is appointed. Michael Carvajal has served for three decades in the agency known as the BOP, which houses more than 135,000 federal inmates. He was appointed director in February 2020 under Republican former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Carvajal faced pressure from members of both parties on the Senate Judiciary Committee over pandemic protocols at the agency, including a lack of adequate testing. Nearly 42,000 inmates and just under 9,000 staff have recovered from COVID-19, while 275 federal inmates and seven BOP staff have died with the disease. In November Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on Carvajal to be dismissed, including for "failing to protect BOP staff and inmates from the COVID-19 pandemic." "His resignation is an opportunity for new, reform-minded leadership at the Bureau of Prisons," Durbin said on Wednesday. The BOP declined to comment. Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement that Carvajal's operational experience and knowledge of the BOP "helped steer it during critical times, including during this historic pandemic." (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Mary Milliken and Richard Chang) Jan. 5Diana Kostrzewski, UND's interim dean of nursing, has announced her resignation in order to pursue a new opportunity in nursing education. Kostrzewski will leave the university in late February, according to a Jan. 4 news release. She has accepted the position of associate dean at Bemidji State University. Kostrzewski has served as interim dean at the UND College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines since Jan. 1, 2019. At the end of December, UND announced its search for the next dean of the college. "Serving UND has been a wonderful opportunity for which I am grateful," Kostrzewski said. "I feel honored to have worked with the supportive university administration and staff, college deans, and CNPD leadership, faculty and staff. Having been born and raised in the Red River Valley, it was a joy to come back to my roots to serve." Kostrzewski is from Warren, Minnesota and is a UND nursing graduate. Prior to serving as interim dean, she was serving as a clinical associate professor of nursing and graduate program chair. She succeeded the deanship from Gayle Roux, who stepped down from the position in December 2018, citing personal and family reasons. Meloney Linder, vice president of marketing and communications said Kostrzewski took the position in Bemidji State University to be closer to family members. The new position will also allow Kostrzewski to focus exclusively on nursing. "That's her background and where her passion is," Linder told the Herald. UND Provost Eric Link has commenced the process of naming a new interim dean for the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines. An appointment to the position is expected at the beginning of March. Link commended Kostrzewski for her service at UND. "I would like to thank Dean Kostrzewski for her leadership in the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines and for her years of service to UND," he said. "Dean Kostrzewski has positioned the college for future growth and innovation in the fields of nursing, social work and dietetics, which will serve UND well as we pursue a national search for the next permanent dean of the college. I wish Dean Kostrzewski the very best in her next post as a leader in nursing education." Story continues A search for a permanent dean of the college has been underway since Dec. 20. UND anticipates the next permanent dean will be in place by July 1, 2022. Under Kostrzewski's tenure, the CNPD completed four self-studies and hosted four successful programmatic continuing accreditation and approval site visits. The nursing college hired new faculty to support increased enrollment, led graduate nursing curriculum improvements for online delivery, and supported faculty and staff in moving traditional face-to-face programs to online delivery during the pandemic. Kostrzewski received her bachelor's degree in nursing from Minnesota State University- Moorhead, then called Moorhead State University, and her master's degree from UND in 1997. She earned her doctorate in postsecondary and adult education from Capella University. She first joined UND as a nursing academician in April 2018, following a stint as assistant vice president of nursing and national dean of nursing for Minneapolis-based Zenith Education Group. Before that, she was the dean of nursing at the Denver School of Nursing, overseeing the education of 700 nursing students at any given time. Other stops in Kostrzewski's career include director of licensing and accreditation and chair of the nursing program at Rasmussen College in Bloomington, Minnesota; national dean of nursing and allied health programs at Colorado Technical University in Colorado Springs; director of nursing programs at Lake Superior College in Duluth; assistant professor of nursing at The College of St. Scholastica, also in Duluth; and director of nursing for the practical nursing program at Northland Community & Technical College, which she also attended when it was called East Grand Forks Technical College. On the one-year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection today, a Volusia County leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys continues his legal fight to be released while his case works its way through the federal court system. Joseph R. Biggs will turn 38 on Saturday in the Seminole County Jail where he has been held without bond since he turned himself in on April 22. Before he was jailed, Biggs lived in unincorporated Volusia County near Ormond Beach. No one answered the door at Biggs house on Wednesday. Joe Biggs, a Proud Boy who lives in Ormond Beach, is seen entering the U.S. Capitol as part of the riot there on Jan. 6. This screengrab is from a Parler video published by ProPublica. Biggs attorney, John Daniel Hull, filed a notice on Dec. 27 that he was appealing U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kellys order on Dec. 14 denying Biggs request for bond. Hull declined comment when reached by The News-Journal. Previous coverage: Judge orders Volusia Proud Boy Joe Biggs jailed as case proceeds in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Related story: Lawyers for Volusia Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs claim there's no evidence to detain him Read more: Volusia County Proud Boys leader threatened at Seminole County Jail, attorney says The Proud Boys are a nationalist organization that describes itself as a pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists, according to a federal criminal complaint. The group also strongly supported former President Donald Trump. In recent years, the group has increasingly confronted protesters on the left, including antifa, in places like Portland, Oregon, sometimes leading to street fights. Proud Boys were among groups investigated after Jan. 6 riot The Proud Boys, along with the Oath Keepers, were among groups being investigated by the federal government following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. A status conference for Biggs is set for Jan. 11 before Judge Kelly. Capitol riot arrests: See who's been charged across the U.S. Biggs and three other Proud Boys members, Ethan "Rufio Panman" Nordean of Auburn, Washington, Charles Donohoe of Kenersville, North Carolina, and Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia, have been indicted on six counts: conspiracy; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting; destruction of government property and aiding and abetting; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; and disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Story continues While other Proud Boys have been indicted in the Jan. 6 riot, the cases of Biggs, Nordean, Donohoe and Rehl are moving along together in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. The judge ordered on Dec. 14 that Biggs and the other three remain jailed. During a hearing in April when Judge Kelly initially ordered that Biggs and Nordean be detained, the judge cited the seriousness of the charges against them related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. In this Aug. 17, 2019, file photo, members of the Proud Boys and other right-wing demonstrators march across the Hawthorne Bridge during a rally in Portland. The group includes organizer Joe Biggs, in green hat, and Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio, holding megaphone. In other words, the defendants stand charged with seeking to steal one of the crown jewels of our country, in a sense, by interfering with the peaceful transfer of power, Kelly said. I wont belabor the point but its no exaggeration to say that the rule of law, the durability of our constitutional order and, in the end, the very existence of our republic is threatened by such conduct. Prosecutors have argued that Biggs and Nordean were leaders and organizers who had many followers and thus posed a particular danger to the community. Biggs appealed the judge's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the appeals court upheld the judges decision. Now that the judge has again denied Biggs request to be released pending the outcome of his case, his attorney is again appealing. Legal arguments are due in the appeal by Feb. 10. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs continues fight for release OLYMPIA, WA As the omicron variant of COVID-19 sweeps across Washington, residents are flocking to mass testing sites in droves but many testing sites and other health care providers are struggling to keep up with the surge in demand. Testing supply has been a growing problem across Puget Sound this holiday season. In King County, Executive Dow Constantine has announced plans to buy 700,000 additional COVID-19 tests to meet the rush. To the south, Pierce County has had such a spike in demand it had to open an additional mass testing site at the state fairgrounds, and shutter another site over crowding concerns. To make sure there are enough tests to go around and hopefully tamp down on this new wave of infections that threatens to overwhelm local hospitals Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Wednesday that Washington had set aside $50 million to buy an additional 5.5 million rapid COVID-19 antigen tests. As of Wednesday, the governor said the state had just 800,000 tests on hand. Of the 5.5 million incoming tests, 2 million are expected by the end of the week. 2 million more will arrive the week after. 1 million of the tests will go to local schools, a move Inslee said is necessary to keep children in the classroom. "It is our firm and stalwart expectation that we will keep our schools open," Inslee said. "In-school education is more effective, and we've had too much learning opportunity loss already." 3.5 million more of the COVID-19 tests will go to a new Amazon-powered web portal, which will allow all Washingtonians to order free rapid tests delivered straight to their door. The governor did not have specifics on when the portal would go online, but promised it would launch sometime mid-month. When it does, all Washingtonians will be eligible to receive tests through the program. Schools and community clinics across Washington will also be receiving 10 million masks over the coming few weeks. In the wake of omicron, the governor said, effective mask use is more important than ever before. The governor and state health leaders are also recommending that all Washingtonians upgrade from cloth facial coverings to more-protective KN96s, surgical masks, or double-masking. Story continues "Wearing a mask is good, wearing a better mask is better," Inslee said. The surge in COVID-19 testing comes as the more-transmissible omicron variant has torn through Washington state, now making up an estimated 75 percent of new COVID-19 cases. Though early studies indicate that most omicron cases are less severe than those caused by delta or other coronavirus strains, the sheer number of new infections have caused a 46 percent increase in hospital admissions across Washington. "That's concerning, because our hospitals are already very taxed," Inslee said. "We are seeing more COVID cases now than at any point during the entire pandemic, and our hospitalizations are nearing the peak we experienced during the delta portion of this pandemic." If the current case count and hospitalization trends continue, the governor warned, Washington could see some services interrupted or halted. "We are likely to see some, we hope, temporary disruptions in some of our systems and services in the state," Inslee said. "I hope that is not the case, but it certainly something we've got to be prepared for." While the state waits for the COVID-19 tests and masks to arrive, the governor and other health leaders are reminding everyone to continue following pandemic safety protocol by wearing a mask, avoiding public gatherings, practicing safe social distancing, and getting vaccinated or booster shots if they are eligible for either. "Now is the time to redouble our efforts against this virus," Inslee said. "The tools we have used thus far are still effective, thankfully. Wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, getting boosted, avoiding unnecessary large gatherings where we can, these are things that still work." This article originally appeared on the Lakewood-JBLM Patch The brutal 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till while visiting family in Mississippi, the subsequent trial of his killers, who were acquitted, and specifically the experiences and decision-making by his mother Mamie Till-Mobley are the focus of a new multipart series airing on ABC over the next three weeks called Women of the Movement, premiering Thursday. Additionally, each week the broadcast of the show (scripted and performed by a cast) will be followed by a companion docuseries produced by ABC News called Let the World See, offering deeper historical context. For most Chicagoans, the story of Tills murder is well-known. Or it should be, notwithstanding an ignorant moment in 2019 when the Chicago White Sox beamed his photo on the scoreboard alongside that of Pat Sajak and Orson Welles under a banner of famous people from Chicagoland, as if he were merely a Chicago celebrity rather than the Black victim of a malevolent and racist crime. His violent, disfiguring death would become a galvanizing touchstone in the civil rights movement, largely because of the determined efforts of his mother to ensure Americans saw and understood the reality of what happened to her son. Advertisement Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, in ABC's limited series "Women of the Movement." (Courtesy of ABC) Its less clear if Till and his mothers story is common knowledge to non-Black people outside of Chicago, but I found the request accompanying press screeners from ABC that critics not reveal any spoilers and major plot points to be ridiculous and offensive. Tills murder and the subsequent trial is not a spoiler. It is not a plot point. Despite the sincere ambitions of the series itself, I have serious reservations about this kind of framing on the back end. Not to mention that Tills case was in the news again just recently. In her trial testimony, white shopkeeper Carolyn Bryant alleged that Till made sexual advances toward her. But in the 2017 book The Blood of Emmett Till, she told author and researcher Timothy Tyson, that parts not true, and a subsequent investigation ensued. Last month the Justice Department told members of the Till family that it was closing the investigation and would not be filing charges. Advertisement Women of the Movement doesnt succeed in shedding new light on the story, though it is thoughtfully made and devastating, enraging and necessarily difficult viewing. It also has an unmistakable Hollywood smoothness to it that sometimes feels at odds with the tenor of the story itself. Created by Columbia College alum Marissa Jo Cerar and based on two books Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson and Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson the show is written, filmed and scored in a traditional style of miniseries that hearkens back the 70s and 80s. I would have been curious to see a stylistically more cinematic or rawer approach to the material, but its possible that would have been deemed too much of a risk for broadcast television. Jay-Z and Will Smith are among the shows producers and the performances are first rate, with Cedric Joe as the charming, gregarious Emmett Till, Adrienne Warren (who won a Tony Award last year for playing Tina Turner in the Broadway musical Tina) as Mamie Till-Mobley (Warren in particular resembles her real-world counterpart) and Chicago native Tonya Pinkins as Till-Mobleys mother Alma Carthan, who has real concerns about the dangers of speaking out and is wary of seeing her daughters grief exploited. Some of the strongest portions of the series portray the organizing power of civil rights activists and particularly the efforts of Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a Mississippi surgeon and activist who opened his home as a safe harbor to Till-Mobley, Black journalists covering the story and members of the NAACP, including the wonderfully no-nonsense and clever Ruby Hurley (a role woefully underwritten, especially for a series with the title Women of the Movement) played here by Leslie Silva. The six-episode series Women of the Movement will air in three parts beginning Thursday and is based on the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley (played by Adrienne Warren in the gray dress) who risked her life to seek justice for her son. (James Van Evers/ABC) The focus is primarily on Till-Mobley, but only as her life relates to this moment. In 1955, her last name was Bradley. This was the surname of her second husband, from whom she was divorced (she would later marry Gene Mobley in 1957). The day before she was scheduled to take the stand, a mostly sympathetic prosecutor (Gil Bellows) wants to discuss the performative subservience demanded by white supremacy: Weve received a few letters from concerned citizens, he says, who havent taken kindly to the fact that Ive referred to you in the press as Mrs. Bradley. Pause. Is she aware of the Southern custom, his associate asks euphemistically? I am, she says, expressionless. The prosecutor continues: We believe it would not serve us well to risk offending the jury before theyve even had a chance to hear you speak. If youll permit me, I suggest I stick to the custom during questioning. Youre welcome to call me Mamie, she says. Warren is so good throughout and especially in this moment, swallowing down a hundred different emotions while betraying none of them outwardly. But too often the script struggles to capture a sense of her own interiority as it shifts from that of a protective mother to a woman with the wherewithal in her grief to strategize ways to fight every effort to erase her sons initial disappearance and eventual murder. She does these things but we see little of that internal emotional reckoning, from private person to public figure. The companion docuseries Let the World See (the title is a reference Till-Mobleys insistence on an open casket to expose the viciousness inflicted upon her son) includes interviews with Tills cousins, including Rev. Wheeler Parker, who was there the night of the abduction. And it contains information that might be new to some viewers, including the circumstances surrounding the death of Louis Till (Emmetts father) that unnervingly mirrors his sons fate. Rev. Wheeler Parker, seen in the ABC News docuseries "Let the World See," was a cousin of Emmett Till who was with him on his fatal trip to Mississippi. (ABC News) The familys Chicago roots they were part of the Great Migration are also explored: As I was growing up, Till-Mobley writes in her book, it really seemed like almost everybody from Mississippi was coming through our house, the Ellis Island of Chicago. Actually, it was more like a terminal on the Underground Railroad, escaping the Jim Crow South. Till-Mobley remained in Chicago until her death in 2003, the same year her memoir was published. She was a sought-after speaker and became a teacher, with 23 years in the Chicago Public School system, and earning her masters degree in educational administration from Loyola University. She was part of the community and she loved to cook and bake. Advertisement There is a park on S. Ellis Avenue near 64th Street named for her. There are also efforts underway to create an Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Historic Park, which (if it comes to fruition) would be managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Creating a National Park will preserve Emmetts and Mamies memory, Wheeler wrote in a letter of support earlier this year. It will tell the story of countless others who have stood up to injustice and it will inspire visitors to continue the struggle for racial justice today. The proposed sites are in Mississippi, as well as a single location in Chicago: The Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ on State Street where Tills open casket funeral services were held. Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Mobley. (Matthew Sayles/ABC) Nina Metz is a Tribune critic nmetz@chicagotribune.com What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. Sign up for our Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. BARCELONA, Spain Just hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Dec. 27 that it was slashing the isolation time for people who test positive for COVID-19, European governments scrambled to follow the U.S. health agencys lead. Mirroring the new edict, Greece cut the requisite days of self-confinement from 10 to five days, a move followed by the Czech Republic. Portugal and Ireland likewise fell in line, like Spain lessening isolation periods for those with COVID-19 to a week. The stakes surrounding the CDCs decision are high in Europe, which last week reported over 5 million cases of the disease caused by exposure to the coronavirus. With the Omicron variant continuing its breathtaking spread, this week Europe accounted for 57 percent of the worlds confirmed new COVID cases, shattering all previous case records, resulting in labor shortages, disruptions to public transport and overburdened hospitals. That helps to explain why many European government officials quickly jumped on the CDC bandwagon, not only shortening isolation periods but many also controversially scrapping the need for a negative test before someone can return to public life. Children at the annual Epiphany parade in Madrid on Wednesday. Experts say holiday merrymaking helped spread the virus. (Susana Vera/Reuters) But the new guidelines, modeled after the CDCs, are triggering alarm among European public health agencies and epidemiologists, who question whether they are justified or wise. Dr. Daniel Lopez-Acuna, former director of crisis management at the World Health Organization, told Yahoo News that it is perilous to ignore the highly contagious nature of Omicron. We are gambling, we are playing with fire and making quick fixes, said Lopez-Acuna. We need to stick to isolations and quarantine that will impede circulation of this contagion. He recommends that countries maintain their previous 10-day isolation policies. Cellular biologist Salvador Macip, who advises Spains regional government in Catalonia, also views the scramble to change isolation times with concern. "Seven days, five days that's risky," he told Yahoo News. We don't have enough data about Omicron yet. With the Delta variant there is sound science that the first five days are when you see most of the infections. But we have no idea if Omicron behaves the same way, he added, noting that Omicron acts quite differently once in a host. Omicron may be less intense as a disease but may be contagious for longer than Delta. Story continues Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, was likewise surprised by the CDC's change in isolation guidelines as well as by those European countries that quickly adopted the U.S. protocol. It is far from clear what the evidence is for this decision, he told Yahoo News, adding that there is considerable evidence that many people remain infectious at five days. A technician prepares PCR tests for the coronavirus at the Lower Saxony State Health Office in Hannover, Germany, on Wednesday. (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images) Acknowledging that countries must make their own policies, the WHO isnt changing its recommendations about the coronavirus. While some governments are shortening isolation periods [due to] the massive surge of COVID-19 cases and the disruption that is causing, WHO guidance remains the same, Dr. Catherine Smallwood, COVID-19 incident manager at WHO Europe, told Yahoo News. That guidance, she added, is 10 days of isolation after a positive test for asymptomatic cases. For those exhibiting symptoms, she said, the WHO recommends 13 days of isolation at minimum. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control is also wary of the ongoing reductions in isolation times, all the more since studies on Omicron are lacking. The agency, currently reviewing its guidelines, is particularly concerned about those who havent gotten COVID shots. For unvaccinated individuals with COVID-19, no evidence exists to allow decreasing the isolation period, an agency spokesperson noted in an email to Yahoo News. While recognizing that the latest surge has crippled workforces, including essential workers, the ECDC is urging European countries to take into account the local epidemiological situation, testing capacity and the socio-economic effects of the pandemic in the specific setting. As a rule, the shorter the isolation period, the higher the residual risk. Therefore, shortening the isolation period requires a balance of probabilities and a decision on how much residual risk of transmission one is willing to accept. Health workers attend to a COVID-19 patient at Timone hospital in Marseille, France, on Wednesday. (Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images) Some countries in Europe, such as the U.K. (which reported 194,747 new cases on Wednesday) and France (which reported a whopping 332,252 cases), are lowering isolation times to a week, but still require negative tests before isolation can be ended. However, the tossing out of test requirements by other countries including Spain, which reported 137,180 new cases on Wednesday while shortening self-isolation periods is raising eyebrows among COVID experts. For one thing, Europe isnt currently experiencing the widespread shortages of at-home antigen tests seen in the U.S. If countries are going to shorten the isolation times, [they should] require tests, Macip said. Theyre still taking a risk, but its less of a risk. The CDC, whose advice includes wearing well-fitting masks for five days once one reenters public life from isolation, opted this week not to formally add a testing requirement to its isolation guidelines, as had been widely anticipated. It did, however, add mention of it on a list of recommendations posted on its website. If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test around the fifth day, read the updated CDC guidelines. Those testing positive should isolate for another five days, according to the agency. But experts say the agencys no-test-necessary policy only increases the chance that European countries wont add testing requirements to their altered isolation policies either. CDC has a lot of clout internationally, said Lopez-Acuna, noting that Spain, for one, is listening to the CDC over European health agencies and its own governments medical board of advisers, which did not endorse the changes to isolation protocol before they went into effect. Lopez-Acuna critical of the new American guidelines, which he said ignore epidemiological logic regards the public health agencys recent changes as a rushed action, a mistake by CDC that was then followed by a number of countries that will have effects around the world. A person with free COVID-19 test kits at a Madrid pharmacy on Dec. 28, after regional authorities restocked supplies. (Javier Barbancho/Reuters) Macip thinks some European governments are adopting CDC guidelines in a belief that they will escape blame if the moves backfire. They were waiting for somebody to cast the first stone, he said. Now they can say, Look, the CDC is doing it! That can be their excuse. He is also chagrined that the results of home tests often arent reported to health authorities, thus skewing the true extent of the Omicron wave. In Europe, which collectively reported 1.29 million new cases on Wednesday, according to Our World in Data, the official numbers are crazy high, Macip said. But it looks like there are many more cases than that. A public relations specialist in Brussels, who requested anonymity, underscores that point. When she and her family tested positive at Christmas while visiting a small town in France, she didnt report their status to French health authorities, nor did she report it to the Belgian health agency when they returned home, a situation mirrored by other people she knows. Theres a hidden community of people who have COVID and dont declare it, she said. And since they havent blipped on government radar, they are free to ignore the official guidelines for isolation, which in Belgium is 10 days. After a week and two negative COVID home tests, she returned to socializing. People on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain, on Dec. 23. (Emilio Morenatti/AP) Lopez-Acuna laments that the CDC guidance is having such an effect on Europe, especially during the holidays, which in some European countries dont officially end until Jan. 7, and he wishes European health agencies would step up and issue cautionary advisories. We are reducing isolation times at the worst possible moment, he said, when steady increases are producing a tsunami of Omicron cases, during a season of unprotected social interactions. He predicts that January in Europe is going to be a very difficult month, all the more with decreased isolation times and discarded testing requirements increasing the odds that Omicron which so far appears to cause less severe illness than Delta, though it is already overwhelming hospitals and shaking economies will spread even faster. _____ How are vaccination rates affecting the latest COVID surge? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out. Renae Wensmann, JoAnn Kokales and Jennifer Weishaar hold their Golden Apple Awards. Three people who have made significant contributions to the district were honored with Golden Apple Awards from the Aberdeen Public Schools Foundation. The awards recognize individuals who are "dedicated, inspiring and making a difference in the Aberdeen School District," according to a news release. The honorees are Renae Wensmann, an administrative assistant at Lincoln Elementary; JoAnn Kokales, a retired C.C. Lee Elementary librarian; and Jennifer Weishaar, a first-grade teacher at Mike Miller Elementary. Honorees each received $500 and an engraved golden apple. Wensmann has been working at the school for more than 10 years, according to the release. She goes above and beyond in her job, often decorating and organizing staff luncheons, as well as putting in extra hours to ensure that things run smoothly at the school. According to the release, Wensmann also works with students, volunteering to help them read or with their schoolwork. Kokales, according to the release, spent her career creating the library at C.C. Lee Elementary, creating engaging programs that highlighted Caldecott illustrations, Newbery award winning authors, and the South Dakota childrens book awards. She encouraged children to read, with the Hundred Reading Club honoring their achievements with certificates and awards along the way. Kokales is noted for her direction of National Library Work. It always had a theme that included a play, costumes, school-wide activities and a bookmark for every students, said the release. Weishaar, according to the release, always goes above and beyond for her students, ensuring she gets to know each of them and their individual needs. It is not uncommon to see her at work on Saturdays, planning ahead her activities for the week. Weishaar has been a mentor to many teachers, sharing her professional knowledge by working with first-year teachers, Northern State University students as well as her colleagues. This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Golden Apple Award recipients Ja'lia Williams, 9, the youngest daughter of James Williams, fights back tears during Wednesday night's candlelight vigil in Canton. James Williams, 46, was shot and killed by Canton police minutes into the new year. CANTON James Williams, a father of six and a man beloved by friends and neighbors, was remembered Wednesday night during a candlelight vigil. Williams, 46, was shot and killed minutes after midnight on New Year's Day by a Canton police officer. "He didn't deserve to die like this, at all," his daughter, Ja'Lia Williams, said. Widow speaks: "They didn't say, 'Police.' They didn't say, 'Freeze.' ... They just shot him." Body cam footage: Officer shoots before yelling, "Police! Get down now!" The man friends called Roe was standing behind a 6-foot wooden fence on the side of his home repeatedly firing an AR-15 skyward in celebration of the occasion, his wife Marquetta Williams has said. Community activist Jolanda Jackson speaks Wednesday night during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of 46-year-old James Williams, who was shot and killed by Canton police on Jan. 1. Police have said an officer responded to reports of gunfire in the area and was outside the family's home in the 2300 block of 10th Street SW. As Williams continued to fire the weapon, a police officer heard the shots. Video from the unnamed officer's body camera shows the officer drawing his gun and firing at least four times through the fence. Williams was struck and later died in Aultman Hospital. Nearly 60 people shared grief and their outrage outside the family's home during the vigil. Dozens of blue, silver and white balloons were released into the nighttime sky. They chanted: "Justice for Roe!" A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday night in remembrance of 46-year-old James Williams, who was shot and killed by Canton police on Jan. 1. What they said about the James Williams' shooting on Jan. 1 Many who spoke demanded police accountability and some called for the officer's arrest. Police Chief Jack Angelo has asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to investigate. The chief issued a news release Saturday saying that Williams was armed when police responded at 12:06 a.m. to the reported gunfire. The release said "... the officer, who was outside of his vehicle, confronted a subject that began shooting a firearm. The officer, in fear for his safety, fired his duty weapon at the subject and struck him." Story continues The officer's name has not been released publicly and Angelo and the department have declined additional comment, citing the ongoing investigation. "We're mourning another Black man," said community activist Sierra Mason. Mason said the officer shot "senselessly at a Black family for doing the same thing his white friends were doing," saying the Black community faces double standards. "Any of these rich townships, they wouldn't give no care who was shooting up in the air. They would've been hooping and hollering and drinking beers right with them," Mason told the crowd. She added: "Why do they care about our communities when they are doing the same things ... celebrating? His babies didn't deserve to see that coming into the new year." Police body camera footage released Wednesday Police released body camera footage Wednesday morning. Many of those attending the vigil believe the footage justifies their outrage over Williams' death. "It makes me angry because it's exactly how I said it happened," his wife, Marquetta Williams, said following the vigil. "It makes me hurt. (The officer) got to go home to his family. My husband didn't." Marquetta Williams, widow of James Williams, speaks to the media during a candlelight vigil Wednesday at their home on 10th Street SW in Canton. Marquetta Williams said her husband was a "gentle giant" and family man who always made others laugh. "He'd give you the shoes off his feet and the shirt off his back. He looked out for everybody." She has established a GoFundMe account for funeral expenses. Marquetta Williams said she is trying to stay strong for her children, shedding her tears in private. "But the last 48 hours have been hell." Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com Follow on Twitter @bduerREP This article originally appeared on The Repository: Family, friends mourn the death of James Williams of Canton BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD As of Tuesday, Baltimore County saw a 982 percent case increase in a 14-day period, according to data from The New York Times, with a total positive COVID-19 case count of 103,000. The county has been unable to update case data to its site during most of December because of technical issues. The state has 776,230 confirmed cases and 11,755 deaths total as of Tuesday, reports the Maryland Department of Health. Get tested Baltimore County will open a large-scale testing site at the former Sears location at White Marsh Mall Monday, County Executive Johnny Olszewski said during a news conference Wednesday. In the meantime, you can get tested for COVID-19 on a first come, first served basis at the following locations: Liberty Family Resource Center, 3525 Resource Dr., Randallstown, Maryland 21133, 410-887-0607, Monday and Friday 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Drumcastle Government Center, 6401 York Rd., Baltimore, Maryland 21121, 410-887-2705, Tuesday and Thursday 4 to 6:30 p.m. with testing offered in a trailer located behind the Mobile Gas Station Dundalk Health Center, 7700 Dunmanway, Dundalk, Maryland 21222, 410-887-7182, Wednesday 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Get vaccinated As of Tuesday, 67 percent of Baltimore County residents of all ages have been fully vaccinated, reports The New York Times. You can register for vaccines at this site and a variety of sites by using the state vaccine locator at https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine#locator. Residents who are medically homebound and unable to travel to a vaccine clinic can email the Baltimore County Department of Health at COVIDVax@baltimorecountymd.gov or call the county's COVID-19 hotline at 410-887-3816 to schedule a vaccine. COVID-19 tests also are available at no cost at select pharmacies and stores such as Walgreen's, Walmart, CVS, etc. across Baltimore County. The Baltimore County Department of Health posts a weekly vaccine schedule at www.baltimorecountymd.gov/vaccine with a number of appointment slots. Appointments are preferred at all county locations but are not required: Story continues Jan. 5 White Marsh Mall 8200 Perry Hall Blvd, Baltimore MD, 21236 (2nd Floor - former Sears location) 3 to 7:00 p.m. Pfizer Pediatric COVID Clinic for 5 to 11 year olds Schedule appointments by clicking here AND White Marsh Mall 8200 Perry Hall Blvd, Baltimore MD, 21236 (2nd Floor - former Sears location) 3 to 7:00 p.m. COVID Clinic - 12 Years and Older Vaccine Offered: Pfizer, Moderna Schedule appointments by clicking here Jan. 6 Sollers Point Multipurpose Center, 323 Sollers Point Rd, Dundalk, MD, 21222 3 to 7:00 p.m. Pfizer Pediatric COVID Clinic - 5 - 11 Years Old Schedule appointments by clicking here AND Landsdowne Elementary School, 2301 Alma Rd, Baltimore, MD, 21227 (clinic is located in the gymnasium) 5 to 7:45 p.m. Pfizer Pediatric COVID Clinic - 5 - 11 Years Old Schedule appointments by clicking here AND Landsdowne Elementary School, 2301 Alma Rd, Baltimore, MD, 21227 (clinic is located in the gymnasium) 5 to 7:45 p.m. COVID Clinic - 12 years and older Vaccine Offered: Pfizer, Moderna Schedule appointments by clicking here Jan. 8 White Marsh Mall 8200 Perry Hall Blvd, Baltimore MD, 21236 (2nd Floor - former Sears location) 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pfizer Pediatric COVID Clinic 5 to 11 years old Schedule appointments by clicking here AND White Marsh Mall 8200 Perry Hall Blvd, Baltimore MD, 21236 (2nd Floor - former Sears location) 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vaccine Offered: Pfizer, Moderna Schedule appointments by clicking here This article originally appeared on the Catonsville Patch COVID-19 tests are in greater demand than ever, and new data about the Omicron variant can make picking and using different types of tests confusing. Molecular tests for COVID-19, like the "RT-PCR" technology used by many laboratories known as PCR tests are widely considered the "gold standard" for spotting the most infections caused by SARS-CoV-2. By comparison, "antigen" or "lateral flow" tests, which can be done at home and return faster results, are less sensitive than PCR tests, but could be useful for identifying cases when people are likely to be contagious. One review last year estimated rapid antigen tests might only detect on average 75% of cases that PCR tests can spot, with antigen tests performing best in symptomatic people within the first week of their disease. Some public health officials have advocated for wider adoption of antigen testing by Americans if they can manage to find one of the rapid at-home tests as an added layer of protection that might spot more cases before they spread. But many factors can affect how likely a COVID-19 test is to accurately spot an infection. Here's the latest on how these two types of tests work and why they might sometimes offer different results: A refresher: How PCR and antigen tests work Most laboratories generate their COVID-19 test results through a molecular testing process called reverse polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, that has been used for years to diagnose a variety of diseases. A patient gets tested with a nasal or throat swab, or in some cases provides a saliva sample. Then, using chemicals and specialized equipment, scientists mix the sample collected from the patient with the ingredients needed to create copies of the genetic material that makes up the virus. By repeating many cycles of this process, special sets of primer and probe chemicals can be targeted by test manufacturers to look for distinctive signs of SARS-CoV-2 the virus that causes COVID-19. Story continues "The PCR test, it's looking for that genetic material inside the virus and you don't have to have a huge viral load to pick up for it to be sensitive and specific, meaning it functions extremely well under a variety of circumstances to include the asymptomatic as well as the symptomatic," said Dr. Emily Volk, president of the College of American Pathologists. "PCR tests are still by far the best test and those are the tests that most hospitals are using to identify COVID-19 patients," she said. A health worker inserts a swab into a patient's nose at a COVID-19 testing center. / Credit: Camilo Freedman/APHOTOGRAFIA/Getty Images In addition to PCR tests offered at medical offices, pharmacies and drive-thru and pop-up testing sites, some test kits allow people to collect their own sample at home and then send it off to a lab for PCR testing. These are different than the rapid at-home antigen tests that return results on the spot. The FDA has also authorized some test options from Detect, Lucira, and Cue Health that allow families, business owners or private facilities to collect samples and run a type of molecular testing similar to PCR themselves, but the equipment can be costly. Antigen tests are a popular at-home alternative to those molecular tests, though they remain in short supply at many stores and online retailers. More than a dozen companies have been granted authorization to sell antigen tests over-the-counter, which can yield results at home in as little as 15 minutes. These tests work by mixing samples from patient swabs with a buffer, a liquid that helps the virus travel across a strip coated with antibodies that bind to specific proteins known as antigens common to many variants of the virus. Similar to a positive over-the-counter pregnancy test, the strip appears as a colored line if it detects the antigen. Ariel Kahana, 10, shows her COVID-19 antigen test result ahead of the first day of school in Moshav Talmey Yafe, Israel, Aug. 31, 2021. / Credit: Tsafrir Abayov / AP Different types of free or low-cost COVID tests are available at sites around the country. Find a location near you. Starting this month, the White House says it also plans to offer a website to distribute free at-home tests online, and will require health insurers to reimburse for the purchase of at-home tests. Are tests as good at detecting Omicron? Only a small handful of the molecular testing kits used by laboratories have been found to fail to detect COVID-19 cases caused by Omicron, according to the Food and Drug Administration, because of mutations that evade the targets picked out by the developers of those tests. On the other hand, a partial target failure seen with some PCR test brands, known as "S-Gene Drop Out," has actually been helpful for laboratories because it helps them quickly identify potential Omicron cases for genetic sequencing. Since antigen tests generally target a part of the virus called the nucleocapsid, which saw fewer mutations in Omicron, test manufacturers and health authorities abroad say antigen tests should still work to detect many cases caused by the variant. On December 28, the FDA said early studies by the National Institutes of Health turned up signs that antigen tests were able to detect Omicron but might have "reduced sensitivity" to spot cases of that variant compared to other strains. The NIH's early research found that in test-tube studies, some over-the-counter antigen tests could only detect Omicron at higher concentrations than were needed to detect Delta. But they noted that this would not necessarily result in a significant drop in real-world performance which is now being tracked by researchers. "A change in sensitivity in the laboratory is not a guarantee that there's a change in sensitivity from a clinical point of view. I would not recommend that people suddenly abandon their antigen tests," said Bruce Tromberg, head of the NIH RADx effort that had run the studies. Why different tests may yield different results While PCR tests can be highly sensitive at detecting cases of the virus, health authorities caution that people can continue to trigger positive PCR test results for weeks or even months after they may feel they have recovered "long beyond the period of expected infectiousness." One CDC cohort study published in October found people were shedding fragments of the virus that could be spotted by PCR tests for an average of 30 days. However, scientists in several studies have generally been unable to culture live virus a resource-intensive way that scientists can try to assess if someone is actually capable of spreading COVID-19 to others from samples collected later than 9 days after symptoms begin. This is part of why the CDC exempts people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days from its international pre-flight testing requirement they might still get a positive PCR test result even though they're no longer sick. By contrast, while antigen tests may not be as sensitive as PCR tests in spotting every COVID-19 case, research with previous variants found using antigen tests two days in a row could reliably spot many cases of the virus when people were very infectious. One study co-authored by CDC scientists, published in August, found repeated antigen testing in nursing home residents spotted all the positive cases that were verified by other lab tests. "The appropriate tool in this pandemic to answer the question, 'Do I need to isolate? Am I infectious and a risk to my neighbors?' is using a rapid antigen test because it only stays positive as long as you are infectious," epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, the chief science officer at eMed, told "CBS Mornings." The CDC also recently laid out guidance for using antigen tests to help decide whether to end isolation after you've tested positive for the virus but have no symptoms. A negative test is not required to end isolation, but the CDC called it the "best approach." What you should do with results from an at-home test After you first get sick, because of antigen testing's lower sensitivity as well as the small possibility for false positive results, health authorities have repeatedly urged Americans to seek out PCR tests to confirm whether they are infected with the virus. Some local health departments are also urging residents to voluntarily report at-home test results to them. A spokesperson for Washington state's health department says they've received more than 1,310 positive test results since August through a hotline they set up, in addition to results reported in the state's smartphone app. Unlike PCR tests, which are generally performed by laboratories that report summaries of their results to government agencies, public health experts and watchdogs have warned for months that growing use of at-home tests could hinder accurate tracking of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Meanwhile, test positivity rates have soared beyond recommended thresholds in every state, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University a sign that the reported test results are not capturing a significant share of the virus currently circulating in the community. Testing for virus in the throat? Anecdotal reports have emerged suggesting that swabbing the throat in addition to the nose as some antigen tests in the United Kingdom require might improve the odds of spotting an Omicron case. Some early studies also suggest that samples collected from saliva might be able to spot Omicron cases earlier. The idea has picked up traction amid preliminary research suggesting Omicron might spread faster first in the upper respiratory tract instead of the lungs. For Americans, trained health care providers can already collect and run tests on these types of "oropharyngeal" samples. But at least for now, over-the-counter COVID-19 tests have only been greenlighted by the FDA for use with nasal swabs. "We generally do not believe that throat swabs are appropriate for self-collection. If performed incorrectly they can cause harm," the FDA's Toby Lowe told test developers in October. Another way to improve the odds of successfully detecting the virus is to simply take another at-home home test 24 hours later. Volk said the possibility that antigen tests might perform better in the throat deserved more investigation, but warned that not carefully following the directions on antigen tests can lead to mistakes that hinder a test's accuracy. "Today I would say, still follow the instructions of the rapid test that you're using and collect it the way they tell you to collect it," said Volk. Biden and Congress mark one year since deadly January 6 attack on U.S. Capitol Representative Adam Schiff reflects on the Capitol insurrection U.S. hospitals facing worst staff shortages due to COVID-19 By Hilary Russ NEW YORK (Reuters) - Baristas at a Starbucks Corp location in Buffalo, New York, walked off the job for a second day on Thursday in protest of what they say are unsafe working conditions amid a new surge in COVID-19 cases. Workers left their positions on Wednesday at the Elmwood Avenue location - the only unionized corporate-owned Starbucks store in the United States - and say they will not return until they feel safe. A third of employees there are out because of COVID-19, said barista Casey Moore, one of the union organizers in Buffalo. "The store is drastically understaffed, leaving the remaining partners exhausted and overworked," she said. Employees who can work have not been given N95 masks and "Starbucks also made it clear that partners are still required to serve unmasked customers, despite state-wide mask mandates," she said. Company spokesman Reggie Borges said that as of Monday, all 20 Buffalo-area stores had closed seating areas and switched to take-out only, and some had reduced hours of operation, to address a local spike in COVID-19 cases and staff shortages. "Throughout the pandemic we have met and exceeded all CDC and expert guidelines for safety, and we've supported partners with vaccine pay, sick days and isolation-pay," Borges said. Employees at the store voted on Dec. 9 to join the Workers United union. The National Labor Relations Board certified the election results a week later. Now, Starbucks employees at individual stores in six more cities are seeking elections to vote on whether to unionize. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Aurora Ellis) This story was republished on Jan. 5, 2022 to make it free for all readers For years, the Defense Department has failed to hold the National Guard accountable for its longstanding sexual assault problem. But now, the agency is considering adopting broad reforms in how the Guard handles such cases. Routine audits, prevention policies and more data are among the changes the agency is considering and that were outlined in a Defense Department task force report in June. The task forces report reflects the findings of a Journal Sentinel/Cap Times investigation earlier this year that found Guard units have buried sexual assault allegations and do not have basic data on such claims. The investigation also showed how the Guards bureaucracy and complex state-federal structure is so impenetrable that it is difficult for victims to navigate and easy for commanders to weaponize. The task force largely agreed, calling for distinct reforms for the Guard, which is different than full-time, active duty forces and the U.S. Reserves because the Guard is made up of militias in 54 U.S. states and territories and answers to the governor of each state rather than the federal government. Recent independent investigations of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the Guard and Reserve have surfaced troubling findings, the task force report said. These components face special jurisdictional challenges by their very nature that simply do not resonate with the Active Duty component. Dwight Stirling, an expert on the National Guard, called the task force recommendations the most critical report and analysis that Ive seen of how the National Guard deals with sexual assault. Stirling, an attorney in the California Guard and a law professor at the University of Southern California, said the recommendations should be immediately implemented as of yesterday. They are woefully overdue. But because most cases of National Guard sexual assault occur when members are under the control of state commanders, and each state has its own military justice law, Stirling is skeptical change will come. He said part of the problem is that the National Guard Bureau, a federal administrative agency that polices the Guard but does not regulate it, needs more oversight authority. Story continues From the history and the track record of the National Guard Bureau and the various state Guards, one should have no confidence that these proposals will be put into action, Stirling said. The task force was comprised of 13 people outside the Department of Defense who were former military members and experts in criminal justice, victim advocacy, sexual violence prevention and public health. It convened after President Joe Biden in January ordered a Defense Department review of the issue and in March pledged to end sexual assault in the military. The National Guard Bureau said it was reviewing the task force findings and could not comment. But Guard spokesman Maj. Matt Murphy said in a statement to the Journal Sentinel that the force is committed to eliminating sexual assault by instituting a comprehensive policy that focuses on increasing awareness through prevention and education, victim-centered support, intimidation-free reporting, thorough investigation, and accountability for those who commit sexual crimes. Nothing will deter our efforts to encourage greater reporting and to stop sexual assault before it occurs, he said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a July 2 memo to senior Pentagon leadership that he had a strong bias towards accepting the (task forces) recommendations wherever possible. He said the agency would create a plan within 60 days to find ways to implement and fund any changes. The Journal Sentinel/Cap Times investigation also prompted one congressional leader to promise to hold hearings on Capitol Hill later this year and led another to question in hearings how the Guard is being held accountable. The task force also encouraged Congress to include the Guard in its military justice reforms. The most recent congressional reform bill, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., would require independent prosecutors, as opposed to commanders, to handle sexual assault cases in the military. But the bill does not address most Guard members. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: National Guard sexual assault reforms part of Defense Department Dont Look Up, Adam McKays dark comedy released on Netflix just before Christmas, has gotten an enormous amount of attention, despite the fact most film critics tend to agree it doesnt hold together too well artistically, even as some welcome it for its propagandistic value. As youd expect from the creator of Step Brothers and Talladega Nights, nothing about the film is subtle. A giant comet is barreling toward Earth, and both the media and Washington are incapable of taking the threat seriously. McKay and the story co-creator, David Sirota, have been very clear about what theyre up to. Clearly, McKay tells GQ, the movie is an analogy or an allegory for the climate crisis. After the Netflix release, McKay took to Twitter: Loving all the heated debate about our movie. But if you dont have at least a small ember of anxiety about the climate collapsing (or the US teetering) Im not sure Dont Look Up makes any sense. Its like a robot viewing a love story. WHy ArE thEir FacEs so cLoSe ToGether? That tweet is probably funnier than any line in the movie. But its also ironic, given that the reason the film fails as political satire is that McKay is more like that robot than he realizes. There are three flaws to this allegory. He gets the media, politics and the effect of climate change wrong. McKay told NPR that he joined with Sirota to write the movie because, Were both incredibly frustrated with the lack of coverage of the climate crisis. You know, its usually the fourth or fifth story. Its never the right tone, which should be much more urgent. Really? Where do these guys get their news? Many news outlets have full-time reporters dedicated to climate change. Just last year ABC News and CNN created full-time climate change news teams. The Washington Post and the New York Times were already there. In April, Time magazine ran another of many cover stories on climate change showing a burning map of the world under the headline, Climate Is Everything. In 1989, Time skipped Person of the Year and made Endangered Earth the Planet of the Year. In McKays movie, what is supposed to be the New York Times drops its coverage of the planet-killing comet story when it fails to get good web traffic. Do I really need to be the one to defend the New York Times from this idiotic insinuation? Like a robot watching the news, McKay watches the near-daily coverage of climate change and says, wHeRE IS tHE cLImATE HySTeria!?! Then theres politics. Meryl Streeps entertaining take on a female President Trump scores some points, but Trump isnt president. Joe Biden is, and he calls climate change an existential threat all the time. And hes not alone. Sirota wrote speeches for Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2020, and his old boss routinely said that kind of thing, too as did virtually all the Democratic presidential nominees. And its not just rhetoric; were spending vast sums of money and reorganizing the missions of many government agencies to deal with the existential threat of climate change. But heres the funny thing: Climate change is not an existential threat like a planet-killing comet, which lets just admit would make for great TV. Not even according to the United Nations IPCC, whose worst-case scenarios for climate change, as terrible as some are, manifest themselves over a century and would not end all life here. McKay & Co. are free to disagree about the aptness of their analogy. In the movie, the only way to stop the comet is to push it off course by aiming nuclear weapons at it. Some argue that in real life, the only way to reduce carbon emissions is to use nuclear power. Sanders and many of his Democratic colleagues oppose that which is odd if you actually believe we have no time to waste to save the planet. Finally, its worth asking: Is McKay helping? Unlike an incoming comet, climate change requires sustained and sustainable intergenerational consensus. Chastising people who agree with him because they fall short of his peak hysteria and demonizing everyone else seem like exactly the kind of self-indulgence thats made for satire. Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch. Goldbergs column is provided by Tribune Content Agency. Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they push barricades to storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C on Jan. 6, 2021. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) They came from the city, the suburbs and from deep Downstate. Some allegedly conducted themselves like brawlers, others wandered around like tourists. All have come under the federal hammer. Nineteen people from Illinois have been charged so far for allegedly taking part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Six have pleaded guilty. One has received a short jail sentence. Advertisement The rest are still going through the system, facing charges that, if they result in conviction, could yield anything from probation to serious time behind bars. The courts slow march could soon quicken three more sentencing hearings of Illinois defendants are scheduled to take place by early March but people continue to enter the system: The FBI website lists more than 1,000 images of those still wanted in connection with the riot. Advertisement Chicago attorney Michael Petro represents defendant Lawrence Ligas, charged last month with disorderly conduct, entering a restricted building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He said while many face similar misdemeanors, no one should expect an easy ride. Obviously, this is one of those defining moments, he said. Its just a very, very bright line event. The government is taking it very seriously. The Tribune attempted to contact all 19 defendants for comment. Some could not be reached, others did not return messages and a few declined to be interviewed on advice of their attorneys. Two directed a reporter to an online film about Jan. 6 that claims everything that we are being told is a lie. Robert Pape, a University of Chicago political scientist who just published an analysis of the more than 700 people charged in the incursion, said the variety of the Illinois defendants matches the national profile. His research found that those arrested are much closer to the average voter than they are to violent, right-wing extremists. Such ordinariness, he said, is worrying. It shows us that this is not part of the fringe this is part of mainstream America, he said. That means we have to be very concerned about the 2022 election season as a tinderbox. ... Theres a big change thats happened, and that is that political violence is now coming from the mainstream. Here are Illinois accused and convicted, listed by date of arrest: Bradley Rukstales, 53, Inverness Advertisement Arrested Jan. 11. Pleaded guilty in August to willfully and knowingly parading, demonstrating or picketing inside the Capitol. Received a 30-day jail sentence and was ordered to pay $500 restitution. Rukstales was ordered this week to report on Feb. 1 to a federal penitentiary in Milan, Michigan, to serve out his sentence. The former tech CEO was detained by police at the Capitol after he threw a chair in the direction of officers, though he denied trying to strike anyone. I have come to realize the weight of my actions, and immensely regret following others into the Capitol, he said after his sentencing. As a patriotic citizen, I hope and pray that the people of our nation will move forward united by the many commonalities we share. Bradley Rukstales, 53, pleaded guilty in August to willfully and knowingly parading, demonstrating and picketing inside the Capitol, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. (U.S. District Court) Kevin James Lyons, 40, Chicago Arrested Jan. 13. Charged with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct in the Capitol. Advertisement Next court date: Feb. 11 The resident of the Gladstone Park neighborhood was identified through an Instagram photo showing the sign outside the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He allegedly told FBI agents that he entered the building through its rear doors, and provided links to videos he took inside. Hello Nice FBI Lady, Lyons emailed a special agent on Jan. 9, according to court documents. Here are the links to the videos. Looks like Podium Guy is in one of them, less the podium. Let me know if you need anything else. Mathew Capsel, Marseilles Arrested Jan. 26. Charged with entering restricted grounds, resisting a government officer and attempting to obstruct a law enforcement officer. Next court date: Jan. 25 Advertisement The Downstate man was identified by a former neighbor who tipped federal agents to Capsels Facebook account, which carried the name of Mateo Q Capsel. That led investigators to a TikTok account that allegedly showed Capsel fighting National Guardsmen outside the Capitol, according to court documents. In this video, Capsel, identifiable by the tattoos on his face and neck, and wearing (a distinctive) hat, shirt, and necklace, is fighting against National Guardsmen until he is pepper sprayed, as shown in the last screenshot, court documents say. A screenshot from TikTok allegedly shows Mathew Capsel, of Marseilles, outside the Capitol during the insurrection. He's accused of assaulting National Guard troops trying to turn back the mob. (Federal court records) This photo was allegedly posted on social media accounts of Jason Gerding and Christina Gerding, of Quincy, who are accused of illegally entering the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. (Federal court records) Jason Gerding, 50, and Christina Gerding, 46, Quincy Arrested Jan. 28. Charged with entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Next court date: Feb. 9 The couple, who investigators say appear to be adherents of the QAnon conspiracy movement, were identified after a tipster led agents to Jason Gerdings Twitter account. A photo on the site showed them wearing Trump 2020 shirts and triumphantly clasping hands in the Capitol rotunda, according to court documents. Advertisement Well since they let us inside, opened the door for us I think well be just fine, Christina Gerding allegedly responded to a Facebook critic calling for her arrest. Thomas Adams Jr., of Springfield, holds a Trump flag inside the Senate chamber during the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol. According to the court document, Adams confirmed he is shown in this photograph holding the flag. (U.S. District Court) Thomas Adams Jr., 39, Springfield Arrested April 13. Charged with obstructing an official proceeding, entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct in the Capitol. Next court date: Feb. 10 Adams, who has worked in lawn care, was identified via an interview he gave to the Insider media outlet. He allegedly told an FBI agent that he entered the building through an open door and didnt realize it was a violent takeover until he walked over broken glass. I think everything was great until it went from peaceful to everyone acting like a bunch of 12-year-olds destroying things, he told Insider. Advertisement Prosecutors say this image shows Douglas Wangler, 53, of Danville, standing near a bust of Abraham Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. (U.S. District Court records) Bruce Harrison, 58, and Douglas Wangler, 53, Danville Arrested May 28. Pleaded guilty in September to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Received two years of probation and were ordered to pay $500 restitution. The friends traveled to Washington to attend the rally for Trump and entered the Capitol through a breached door. According to court records, they did not participate in violence Wangler said he told a man pounding on a window to knock that (expletive) off and even asked a police officer for directions to the bathroom. A tipster identified them through a video sent over Facebook Messenger. I wish I had just taken a picture and headed back to the hotel, Harrison told the judge at his sentencing. It was not worth it. Christian Kulas, 24, Kenilworth, and Mark Kulas Jr., 27, Lake Forest Christian Kulas arrested June 8; Mark Kulas charged Nov. 19. The brothers pleaded guilty in December to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and await sentencing. Advertisement Next court date: March 7 Court documents say tipsters contacted the FBI days after the incursion to say Christian Kulas was at the Capitol, and that he was seen on social media posts and surveillance images wearing a Burberry coat and a hat adorned with Trumps campaign slogan, Keep America Great. Kulas older brother Mark accompanied him, and though Christian Kulas cheered rioters trying to breach a police line to open a door, there was no evidence the brothers assisted, court documents said. (A confidential witness) viewed the videos posted by the Instagram account, and was highly confident that the individual depicted in the videos wearing the Burberry coat was (Christian) Kulas, an affidavit reads. (The witness) was also familiar with the sound of Kulass voice, and (the witness) identified Kulas as the speaker of the words storming the Capitol in the video posted by the Instagram account. Karol Chwiesiuk, 29, Chicago Arrested June 11. Charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building and violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Advertisement Next court date: Jan. 25 Investigators said they focused on the Chicago police officer after discovering that a device with a Google account associated with Chwiesiuk was in or near the Capitol on Jan. 6. They went on to find a selfie he allegedly took in the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley; he wore a hoodie with the Chicago Police Department logo on it, court documents said. We inside the capital lmfao, Chwiesiuk allegedly texted a friend. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the officers alleged actions were a total disgrace to the badge. Chwiesiuk has been on an unpaid leave of absence since August, a CPD spokesman said. A photo allegedly sent by Chicago police Officer Karol Chwiesiuk shows him inside the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley after breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. (U.S. District Court records) Shane Jason Woods, 43, Auburn Arrested June 24. Charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds. Advertisement Next court date: Feb. 17 Prosecutors allege Woods, who apparently runs a heating and air conditioning company, joined a large and belligerent crowd that had congregated on the lower west terrace of the Capitol. When someone in the crowd sprayed police with bear mace and an officer tried to pursue that person, a bystanders video showed that Woods ran forward and tripped her, according to the criminal complaint. Woods was captured on another video tackling a cameraman from behind, the complaint said. In YouTube Video #3, a publicly available video I reviewed during the course of this investigation, an individual who appears to be Woods can also be observed walking closely around a cameraman dressed in bluejeans and a blue jacket, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit. Soon after, Woods is observed running into and tackling this same cameraman as the cameraman is facing away from Woods. Federal prosecutors say this still image shows Shane Jason Woods, 43 of Auburn, Illinois, tripping a U.S. Capitol Police officer after she was sprayed with bear mace during the Jan. 6 riot. (U.S. District Court) John Schubert, 71, and Amy Schubert, 61, Crest Hill Arrested July 26. Pleaded guilty in December to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and are awaiting sentencing. Advertisement Next court date: Feb. 17 An anonymous tip guided FBI agents to a YouTube video showing a woman inside the Capitol who wore a jacket with Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 422 Joliet IL on its back. Agents searched for Google accounts associated with Joliets 815 area code and found one associated with Amy Schubert, according to court documents. That led to the discovery of photos and videos allegedly shot by Schubert, showing her husband inside the Capitol. Federal prosecutors say Amy Schubert, 61, of Crest Hill, is shown in these images from video taken inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors alleged Schubert was identified in part by the Joliet plumbers and pipefitters union jacket she was wearing. (U.S. District Court) Federal prosecutors say John Schubert, 71, of Crest Hill, is shown in a photo allegedly taken by his wife, Amy, after breaching the U.S. Capitol during the Jan 6, 2021, insurrection. (U.S. District Court records) Marcos Gleffe, 38, Elk Grove Village Arrested Sept. 2. Charged with entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Next court date: Feb. 11 A tipster allegedly provided FBI agents with Facebook images showing Gleffe outside the Capitol. Investigators used cellphone data to learn he had been inside for about 14 minutes, and confirmed that with footage captured by surveillance cameras, according to court documents. Advertisement Gleffe allegedly told agents that police did not stop him from entering the building, and that he did not enter any of the buildings inner rooms. At the conclusion of the interview, Gleffe stated he made the biggest mistake going through the door and would not do it again if I could go back, the criminal complaint said. David Wiersma, Posen, and Dawn Frankowski, Naperville Arrested Sept. 21. Charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Next court date: Feb. 18 An ex-co-worker who said he had worked with Wiersma at PCI Energy Center in Lake Bluff allegedly tipped off FBI agents that Wiersma posted on Facebook that he had entered the Capitol. Investigators found other videos and photos that allegedly showed him and Frankowski, with whom he had traveled to Washington, inside the building, according to court documents. Advertisement Frankowski told FBI agents she drove to the Washington, D.C., area with Wiersma and a third man, according to the complaint. The three of them went to the Save America Rally, but when the crowd marched to the Capitol building, the third person in their group stayed behind, the complaint said. Spent about 30 minutes inside and got out before the swat team went in, a Facebook post allegedly tied to Wiersma reads. Lawrence Ligas, 62, Chicago Arrested Dec. 1. Charged with entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Next court date: Jan. 7 Ligas, a well-known political operative on Chicagos Northwest Side, came on the federal radar after investigators learned he was quoted by name in an NPR article about the incursion. Agents found that a device associated with his Gmail account was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, and he also allegedly appeared in video footage shot there, court documents say. Advertisement Were not moving on, Ligas told NPR. " ... We are not Republicans. We are the MAGA party. We are patriots. Lawrence Ligas, 62, of Chicago, was arrested on Dec. 1, 2021, after he was accused of being part of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., according to a federal complaint. Federal investigators believed he was captured on footage from inside the Capitol. (U.S. District Court) James Robert Elliott, 24, Aurora Arrested Dec. 20. Charged with civil disorder, assault of a federal officer, entering restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon and carrying out an act of violence on Capitol grounds. Next court date: Jan. 6 Elliott, whom prosecutors describe as a member of the far-right Proud Boys, was captured in online videos and body-worn camera footage among a large group of rioters trying to break through a police line outside the Capitol, prosecutors said in court. Elliott was allegedly seen in the footage carrying an American flag on a pole that he swung at police, landing at least one glancing blow on an officers head. Advertisement Patriots, what is your occupation? Elliott allegedly shouted at others in the crowd, rewording a catchphrase from the movie 300. jkeilman@chicagotribune.com Twitter @JohnKeilman Tokyo has had its first snowfall of the season, with 10 centimeters accumulating in central parts of the capital. The Meteorological Agency says a low-pressure system off Japan's Pacific coast has brought snow to a wide area in the Kanto region including Tokyo, and Shizuoka Prefecture west of Kanto. Parts of southern Kanto have seen heavy snow. As of 6 p.m. on Thursday, 10 centimeters of snow had fallen in central Tokyo, 8 centimeters in Tsukuba City, and 7 centimeters in the cities of Chiba and Yokohama. It's the first time this season that snow has fallen in the cities, and the first time in two years for central Tokyo. The agency has issued a heavy snow warning for Tokyo's 23 wards for the first time in four years. Weather officials say snow or rain will continue to fall overnight in Kanto through predawn hours of Friday. During the 24-hour period until Friday evening, up to 5 centimeters of snow is expected in the plains of southern Kanto, and 3 centimeters in mountainous areas of southern Kanto as well as Ibaraki and Shizuoka prefectures. Weather officials said the low-pressure system was small but developed more and brought more snow than expected. Temperatures have fallen below zero in the Kanto-Koshin region and Shizuoka Prefecture, and will remain low through Friday morning. Weather officials advise people in the areas to be alert for icy roads, traffic disruptions and blackouts caused by snow piling up on electric cables. Drivers are advised to use winter tires or snow chains. The leaders of Australia and Japan have signed a historic defence treaty that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said would contribute to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific as China expands its military and economic clout in the region. The treaty was signed during a virtual summit between Morrison and his Australian counterpart, Fumio Kishida on Thursday. Called the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), the treaty is only Japans second such agreement. Its only other military pact is with the United States, a status of force agreement that dates back to 1960. Morrison called the signing of the RAA a pivotal moment for Australia and Japan that will form an important part of the two countries response to the uncertainty we now face. The treaty will also underpin greater and more complex engagement in operability between the Australia Defence Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces, he said. The RAAs signing follows more than a year of talks, and Japans Kyodo news agency said the pact will facilitate joint exercises, the faster deployment of Japanese and Australian military personnel as well as ease restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations. Kishida hailed the agreement as a landmark instrument which will elevate security cooperation between the nations to new heights. Kyodo said Japan will also seek to sign such a pact with the United Kingdom as well as France as the two European countries have been increasing defence cooperation with Tokyo in response to an increasingly assertive China. Adam Miller is singing his was through the rest of his senior year. Miller, 18, was born and raised in Council Bluffs. Hes been a student in the Lewis Central Community School District for all of his education, and hes currently a senior at Lewis Central High School. His sister, Abby, graduated from LC two years ago. Miller said he had a merry holiday season and relaxing winter break, and now its hard to imagine that his last year as a Titan is almost over. Its a little stressful, because college is a whole new experience, he said. Especially moving out, since Ive always been around here. Its gonna be a big change, but Ill be close to home, which will be nice. Miller said that looking back at his life at LC, he wouldnt have it any other way. Ive loved it, he said. Weve had a lot of kids transfer here over the years and they always say this is the best school Ive been to, so Im very thankful that Ive always been going to LC. I feel like its been a great opportunity. Outside the classroom, Miller enjoys performing and making music. He is a member of the LC band and choir programs. He plays the French horn, and he served as drum major this past fall in the Titan marching band. Hes also the vocal captain in the chamber choir and Syncopation small ensemble. Miller recently auditioned for and made it into the Southwest Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Band Festival, which takes place in Atlantic later this month. Miller plans to attend Southeast Community College in Milford, Nebraska, where he will study agricultural engineering. He said hes always enjoyed building and working on things, and improving them. He said it all started while playing with LEGOs as a kid. He then started tinkering with his bikes and, later, his car. He said its a nice mix of critical thinking and hard work. Unfortunately, he said his college doesnt offer a band or choir program, but hes hoping to find a club or group to continue performing with after high school. Miller is looking forward to his future, but hes going to savor his remaining time as a Titan. He hopes that his fellow seniors leave a positive mark on the younger classes, inspiring them to step up as leaders when theyre in his shoes. Joe Shearer The Iowa Legislature will begin its 2022 session on Jan. 10. Lewis Central and Council Bluffs Community School Districts, at the urging of the Iowa Association of School Boards, have long since ironed out their legislative priorities or adopted those recommended by the IASB. Below are the priorities approved by their respective Boards of Education and notes about a couple actions taken by the Iowa Legislature that are at least indirectly related to the stated issue. Council Bluffs Legislative Priorities 2022, as approved on Sept. 14, 2021 While all of these priorities are important, we recognize that the legislators work with limited funding, Council Bluffs Superintendent Vickie Murillo said. 1. Timely, Equitable and Adequate School Funding: Establish a timely and adequate Supplemental State Aid. Ensure that all schools receive the same base SSA support. Develop methods to provide additional support for children from poverty. Setting SSA to adequately fund the increasing costs of providing education is always a top priority, Murillo said. 2. Mental Health Services Funding: As a proactive step to promote school safety and student success, provide increased access to mental health services for students, and clarify funding sources and responsibilities, which must necessarily include critical partners and provision of wraparound services. Fund mental health student supports through the school foundation formula (student weighting, shared obligation across districts or AEAs provisions) and/or early childhood, human services and juvenile justice appropriations. Allow Medicaid and private insurance to cover telehealth counseling provided virtually to students while at school. Related 2021 action Childrens Mental Health School-Based Training and Support: Appropriates $3,183,936 for the continuance of school-based childrens mental health support, including mental health awareness training for educators. This includes an increase of $1,083,936 compared to FY 2021 to be used by Area Education Agencies to provide mental health awareness training for educators and support mental health needs of students. Of the amount distributed to AEAs, $83,936 is to be used to implement a childrens grief and loss rural pilot program to serve up to 375 Iowa children in up to seven rural school districts or accredited nonpublic schools. This pilot program is to be administered by, and the funds distributed to, an existing statewide not-for-profit healthcare organization that currently provides grief and loss services to children. The bill requires the Department, in collaboration with the statewide not-for-profit health-care organization receiving monies for the childrens grief and loss rural pilot program, to prepare a report detailing the expenditure of monies used for purposes of the program and its outcomes to the General Assembly by Sept. 30, 2022. 3. Student Opportunity Equity: Resources necessary to close achievement gaps. This is especially important as we recover from the unfinished learning during the pandemic, Murillo said. ESSER (COVID relief) funding does help but is only available for a few years. A change in the funding formula could provide for students in need for many years to come. Related 2021 Action: Best Buddies Iowa Appropriates $25,000 to create opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The bill requires the Department to establish criteria for the distribution of the General Fund appropriation for Best Buddies Iowa and requires the organizations receiving a distribution to report annually to the Department student identifying data for students participating in the program. 4. Full funding Universal Statewide Voluntary Preschool: Increase the weighted funding from .5 to 1.0 to provide more preschool opportunities and cover the actual costs of providing full-day preschool services. As we expand to provide universal early childhood opportunities for our students, full funding to meet the diverse needs of our youngest learners will be extremely helpful, Murillo said. 5. District Authority and Control: One size does not fit all. Strengthen Local Board of Educations local decision-making authority/home rule authority regarding methods to accomplish desired educational outcomes. Remove overly restrictive or inefficient limitations which inhibit innovation, efficiency and the ability of school boards to meet local needs. Lewis Central Legislative Priorities 2022, as adopted on June 21, 2021 The Lewis Central Community School District Board of Education voted to adopt the Iowa Association of School Boards legislative priorities for 2022. The IASBS priorities focus on preschool, mental health, school funding and supplemental state aid. These are four that are very important to our community, our students and the ability to grow and operate as a functioning school district, board member Bob Hendrix said. According to an IASB document, the organizations legislative priorities include the following: 1. Preschool: IASB supports an increase in funding from the current weighting of 0.5 to 1.0 full-time equivalent to increase the ability of districts to provide services such as full-day programming and transportation to ensure that all 4- and 5-year-olds have the ability to attend the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. Districts should be given maximum flexibility to assign costs to the program. 2. Mental Health: Supports efforts to establish comprehensive community mental health systems to offer preventative and treatment services and comprehensive school mental health programs that include: Increased access for in-school and telehealth services; Increased access to mental health professionals via in-person or telehealth visits; Creation of a categorical funding stream designed for mental health professionals serving students and ongoing teacher, administrator and support staff mental health training; Equitable reimbursement by Medicaid and private insurers for in-school services; Ongoing teacher, administrator and support staff training to improve the awareness and understanding of child emotional and mental health needs; Integration of suicide prevention and coping skills into existing curriculum; Expanding state-funded loan forgiveness programs to include mental health professionals who agree to provide services to schools; An ongoing mental health resources clearinghouse for schools and community providers; and Trainings that include a referral plan for continuing action provided by mental health professionals outside of the school district. 3. School Funding: Supports a school foundation formula that: Provides sufficient and timely funding to meet education goals; Equalizes per-pupil funding; Provides a funding mechanism for transportation costs that reduces the pressure on the general fund and addresses inequities between school districts; Includes factors based on changes in demographics, including socio-economic status, remedial programming and enrollment challenges; Reflects actual costs for special education services; Incorporates categorical funding in the formula within three years; and Includes a mix of state aid and property taxes. 4. Supplemental State Aid: Supports setting supplemental state aid: At a rate that sufficiently supports local districts efforts to plain, create and sustain world-class schools; For FY 2022, by Jan. 29, 2022; and For FY 2023 and future budget years, at least 14 months prior to the certification of the school districts budgets. Setting supplemental state aid within the statutory requirements allows districts to make sound financial decisions on programs and staffing levels in order to provide the best possible education to all students. IASB supports a formula-driven method for establishing the supplemental state aid growth rate, if it is not set within the statutory requirements. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The global impact of the Jan. 6 insurrection is still growing one year after the attack. Most Americans dont realize the shock felt by our foreign friends, and the glee of our adversaries, at watching mobs of MAGA vandals storm the Capitol of the worlds greatest democracy. Even when European and Asian allies disagreed with American policies, they still looked to the United States as the leader of the community of democratic nations. Especially given the growing strength of China and the muscle-flexing of Russia. The coup attempt on Jan. 6, along with its continuing reverberations, has shaken our allies faith in Americas future. Despite the Biden administrations success in strengthening alliances Trump rebuffed and building new ones in Asia foreign officials now worry about the stability of the United States. They watch with astonishment as the former president continues to promote his Big Lie about election fraud in 2020 and as most GOP leaders support his falsehoods. They wonder whether Trump will try again to steal the election in 2024, and whether more of his supporters will use violence. No NATO ally could have conceived of such a scenario before Trump incited the coup attempt at the Capitol on Jan. 6. This is a year in which the crisis of American democracy has become incredibly visible to all, the noted British columnist Martin Wolf told a Financial Times podcast in late December. And that is a singularly disturbing fact for those of us who live in what we used to think of as the free world. Wolfs colleague Gillian Tett, the Financial Times editorial board chief, added: When it comes to the question of American democracy right now, theres a huge amount of uncertainty. Yes, the potential insurrection on Jan. 6 was suppressed. Yes, we have a new figure sitting in the White House as a result of an election. But one of the signs of just how dazed and confused everyone is, is that when everyone talks about what could happen in 2022, with the important midterms coming up, theres a lot of discussion about whether or not people will actually believe the results. And whats even more remarkable is that the person who is seen as being behind this insurrection ... is being deemed a significant contender for the 2024 presidential race. European and Asian leaders wonder whether the partisan madness eating away at Americas democratic institutions will undercut any effective U.S. foreign policy. This is a time when our country needs to be united against Chinas advances and Russias aggression. Moreover, NATO allies know they cant handle these threats alone, and are looking for solid U.S. leadership in pushing back against Moscow and Beijing. Instead, foreigners watch with amazement (or glee in Beijing) as Trump, his congressional acolytes and pro-Trump media shatter the most sacred principle of democracy: the commitment to free and fair elections in which the candidate who gets the most votes wins and the loser steps aside. Never mind that audit after audit, court decision after court decision, debunks GOP claims that votes were altered, voting machines fixed, or absentee ballots misused. Never mind that a monthslong study by The Associated Press of every potential case of voter fraud in six key battleground states found fewer than 475 individual cases of potential fraud out of 25.5 million votes cast. Despite the clear facts, nearly two-thirds of self-declared Republicans say the 2020 election was stolen. And state GOP leaders are trying to pass laws that will enable state legislatures to override the popular vote and choose their own slates of electors. This is only one of many openly discussed schemes to ensure no Democrat can win the 2024 presidential ballot, no matter the number of votes cast in their favor. In foreign capitals, they are already imagining the domestic U.S. political chaos if the GOP refuses to accept the results in the 2024 presidential ballot. They also worry about bitter U.S. domestic conflicts in the long run-up to 2024 elections, especially if the GOP wins a House majority in 2022 and makes clear its plans to upend 2024 results it dislikes. No wonder Americas friends wonder whether our country is on its way to destroying itself. No wonder our adversaries believe this to be the case. Trump has handed authoritarians such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping a huge gift: a United States divided, internally preoccupied, and contradicting its own democratic ideals, writes the noted Stanford political scientist Francis Fukuyama in Foreign Affairs. Indeed, Chinese state media, and political leaders, point to the chaos of Jan. 6 at the Capitol as proof their system of governance is superior to Americas. The divisiveness that paralyzes American politics increases their self-confidence in their authoritarian order, and their conviction that the United States is in decline. Trumps Big Lie, which keeps the legacy of Jan. 6 boiling, is the gift that keeps giving to Americas adversaries. So long as Republican leaders refuse to rebuff that lie in public, they are handing China and Russia a compelling advantage by helping rip up American democracy at its roots. I was a sheriffs deputy in Stanton County when Mike Unger came to work for the sheriffs office as a deputy. It was apparent from the get go that Mike knew what he was doing and was someone that got the job done and did it well. Sheriff Lehman gave him a lot of responsibility because he kne We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Morocco and Mauritania are willing to build on the current momentum to further bolster their economic ties, Foreign Ministers of the two countries said. Morocco is determined to work together with Mauritania to foster economic ties to reflect the excellence of bilateral cooperation, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said following talks with his Mauritanian peer Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed Tuesday in Rabat. The two countries maintain regular political consultations on issues of common concern, Bourita said. The Mauritanian minister recalled the phone call between the Moroccan King and Mauritanian president in November 2020. During the call the two heads of state discussed official visits. We will endeavor to organize these visits, said Ould Cheikh Ahmed, highlighting the longstanding ties between the two countries. He said 10,000 Mauritanians live in Morocco, including 2000 students. Ould Cheikh Ahmed also laid the foundation stone for a new Mauritanian diplomatic compound stretching over 5000 square meters in Rabat. The visit is held against the backdrop of tense relations with Algeria which unilaterally cut ties with Morocco and banned Moroccan aircrafts from crossing its airspace, in a hostile move that shows an intent to export a worsening crisis at home. Morocco is also poised to develop ties with Mauritania after securing once and for all the Guerguarat border crossing where the Algerian-armed Polisario separatists used to practice banditry by blocking the road to commercial traffic. Mauritania depends on Morocco for fresh produce supply and other vital goods. The escalation by the Algerian military junta against Morocco will not help it solve its deepening internal crisis or escape accountability, writes Lebanese journalist Khairallah Khairallah in an Op-Ed published Wednesday by Al-Nahar Al-Arabi. The failed Algerian regime should seek another way out and cease using the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel as a pretext for exacerbating tensions with its neighbor, underlines the author, noting that the Moroccan-Israeli relations are not directed against Algeria. Morocco is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinians themselves acknowledge the importance of the Moroccan support, adds the columnist, recalling the participation of Moroccan soldiers in the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973. Instead of resorting to escalation against Morocco for baseless allegations and stirring hatred against a neighboring country and its people, the Algerian regime should reconcile with its own people, listen to their grievances and meet their expectations, says the Lebanese writer and journalist. The reconciliation of the Algerian rulers with their people will help them refrain from engaging in risky adventures such as rapprochement with Iran, which has its own agenda, says Mr. Khairallah, affirming that the Algerian people rejects setting an alliance with Teheran. Such reconciliation will also help them admit that the Sahara is Moroccan and the regional conflict over the Sahara has been instigated by the Algerian regime in 1975 in a bid to undermine Moroccos territorial integrity, stresses the Lebanese journalist. In a new move to mend ties with Morocco, Germanys president has sent to King Mohammed VI an invitation for an official visit to Berlin in order to establish a new partnership. In a message on occasion of the new year, German President Frank-Walter Stein welcomed the largescale reforms spurred by King Mohammed VI and underscored the autonomy initiative as a basis for a political solution to the Sahara conflict. The message reiterates Germanys position in support of the autonomy initiative and Moroccos role in promoting regional peace and stability including in Libya. I hold in high esteem your innovative approaches in the fight against climate change and in terms of energy transition, said the German President, stressing that thanks to the dynamic development of your country, Morocco has become an important investment location for German companies in Africa. The German president highlighted Moroccos commitment to the fight against international terrorism, which is essential for my country (Germany) and its security. We also consider the Moroccan model in terms of imams training as a promising element that can curb extremism, underlined the German President. My country and I are very grateful to you for your active commitment to the peace process in Libya, said the German President in his message to King Mohammed VI. Last month, Morocco welcomed the new positions expressed by the German foreign ministry. Rabat said such statements augur well for the resumption of normalcy in bilateral ties. The Moroccan government welcomed this Thursday at the cabinets weekly meeting with great satisfaction the positive content of the German Presidents message to King Mohammed VI. Morocco recalled its ambassador to Berlin in May last year and suspended all cooperation ties and contacts with the German embassy in Rabat and German organizations over what Rabat had described as German antagonism against Moroccos territorial integrity. Chicago Public Schools decision to cancel classes for at least three days so far after the powerful teachers union voted to work remotely because of concerns over spiking COVID-19 cases marks the latest disruption to public education in the city under Mayor Lori Lightfoot. How long the dispute will last remains to be seen, as Lightfoot and the union dig in on their respective positions. But the latest standoff highlights a defining feature of Lightfoots time as mayor: contentious conflict with the Chicago Teachers Union, including the 2019 strike that put students out for more than two weeks of classes and a bitter, monthslong standoff over the reopening of schools after the pandemics arrival. Advertisement Lightfoot has repeatedly blamed her disputes with the teachers union on electoral politics, noting CTU leaders backed her opponent in the 2019 election and have been recurring critics of her administration. She complained in a national interview that the union wants to take over running the city government, for instance, and told an alderman that the union will bad-mouth her until I beat them again in the next election. On MSNBC Thursday, Lightfoot made it clear she believes the union is operating in bad faith. Advertisement This is about politics, Lightfoot said. Its not about the pandemic. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Jan. 4, 2022, discusses the possibility of a Chicago Teachers Union vote for teachers to work remotely during the current COVID-19 surge, which was later approved by the union. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) The public remark mirrors her private rhetoric. Last February, as Lightfoot negotiated with CTU over elementary school reopening, she vented in texts messages to Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter, complaining union leaders have not been good actors and she cant rely on their word. CTUs actions and demands are causing labor strife as I am hearing (this) from more and more folks who say They treat you like s---, we support you, but you are giving more to these people who work every day to destroy you than you are doing for your allies, Lightfoot texted Reiter. That is very compelling to me. A deal at gunpoint that requires us to ignore all science, all data and shred our integrity and values is not much of a deal. Lightfoot and the union reached a last-minute agreement to reopen schools that time, though the relationship has remained contentious. Union leaders, for their part, have blamed Lightfoot for the conflict, saying her administration refuses to negotiate unless forced by threatened labor revolts and noting her personal antipathy for the union as well as her combative rhetoric. Political leaders, including Lightfoot, have cautioned that the ongoing conflict between CPS and the union could scare parents out of the district after theyve had to endure multiple rounds of uncertainty over their kids schooling during the strike and then the pandemic. But the situation also poses risks to Lightfoots political future as she gears up to run for reelection in 2023. Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey, left, in the reception area of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office with CTU attorney Robert Bloch at City Hall on Oct. 31, 2019, the day the teachers strike was settled. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) University of Illinois at Chicago political science professor Chris Mooney said the political challenge for Lightfoot is compounded by the COVID-19 situation, which is changing on a daily basis. The conflict, Mooney said, is fraught with danger for Lightfoot. Advertisement If you stick with tactics in the face of changing conditions, talk to Gen. (William) Westmoreland about that in Vietnam. If things are changing, you have to change your tactics sometimes, Mooney said. This is the same for CTU and the mayor, but I think the mayor has more flexibility being an individual and she could probably have more opportunity to maneuver than the CTU does. The first major labor impasse between Lightfoot and the union happened in 2019, just a few months into her term, after Chicago teachers walked out for 15 days. That caused the cancellation of 11 school days and disrupted the lives of 300,000 students. Lightfoots initial offer included a 14% pay raise. She then upped it to 16%, leading to criticism that her strong opening salary proposal may have boxed her in. The mayor sought to avoid a strike and to cut through the back-and-forth posturing that often bogs down labor negotiations, but gave herself less room to offer the CTU more money after teachers walked out anyway. Then Lightfoot maintained a hard public position against makeup days for the strike, only to bend at the eleventh hour, agreeing to five such days for teachers to partially recoup money they lost during the walkout. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters march from the Willis Tower to the Thompson Center for a rally on the fifth day of a strike in Chicago in 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) It was only a few months after the strike ended that COVID-19 prompted the abrupt shutdown of schools in March 2020. Advertisement As CPS prepared for the new school year the following fall, Lightfoot signaled she wanted a hybrid model with remote and in-person classes, but the union objected and threatened a strike vote if the new term didnt start remotely. Lightfoot relented, giving the union a win while administration officials claimed they werent reacting to the threatened strike. Then, as Lightfoot officials planned to reopen schools to start 2021, Lightfoot and CPS officials initially insisted they did not have to negotiate a reopening plan. But the union threatened further work actions and declined to return without a deal, forcing Lightfoot back to the table. The negotiations over reopening schools were marked by tense exchanges, often at news conferences. During one of the low points for talks, Lightfoot made a TV appearance where she said CTU left them holding a big bag of nothing. The union, meanwhile, responded that Lightfoot had blown up the bargaining table with her incendiary remarks. As is happening now, some union members refused to show up for in-person classes, which led to administrators cutting off computer access and pay to some union members. It also led to a series of delays in schools reopening, part time, for families who chose to send their children back. Advertisement CTU President Jesse Sharkey afterward characterized Lightfoots negotiation style as one where she makes extreme public statements, draws a line in the sand and insists theres no compromise possible, then compromises. Thats a hard style, honestly, Sharkey told the Tribune. Its one that breeds a lot of resentment. A group of Chicago Public Schools parents gather in front of City Hall before marching to CPS headquarters to submit their demands for improving remote and in-person learning in Chicago in February 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) As last years CTU-CPS standoff went on, Lightfoot texted Reiter, of the Chicago Federation of Labor, to say the union added new elements today and have effectively told us take it or leave it. I just dont see the path at this point. Reiter pushed back and said it would be on her if they didnt reach a deal. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Advertisement Well unfortunately I dont see it the same way. When you are working out the details, maybe it appears that (some) elements are new, but thats not accurate. The flexibility is on your side, Reiter said. If theres a lockout and then a strike, it wont be because of the union in these final moments. You have the ability to set this right. In response, Lightfoot said, I am not surprised you see it that way. These folks have not been good actors and I was willing to swallow a lot but the constant moving targets, and never being able to rely on their work is an impossible place to be. I know where you have to be and youll do what you do. Reiter, who was a key intermediary between the sides, said hed been witness to everything all week and accused Lightfoot of letting this deal go. If its bc of CPS leadership, so be it, Reiter said. Jesse has been an honest broker to get this deal done. The mayor responded, I was giving you a courtesy heads up and told him a deal at gunpoint that requires us to ignore all science, all data and shred our integrity and values is not much of a deal. Reiter ended the conversation by saying he was supporting Sharkey not because hes a CFL board member but because I believe he did the work to get this deal done. Advertisement Text messages between Lightfoot and Sharkey show their strained relationship throughout the various labor disputes. In March 2020, Lightfoot asked Sharkey to call her and texted him an article where union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates was quoted questioning whether the first school that saw a COVID outbreak was being cleaned regularly. Here is the article with the quotes from SDG, she said. After that exchange, Lightfoot apparently did not text Sharkey again until January 2021, when the district and union were in tense negotiations over reopening. Very disappointed by the mischaracterization of our conversation. Even with witnesses on both sides, Lightfoot said. Remarkable. Sharkey did not respond, according to texts released by the mayors office. Advertisement As the reopening dispute was nearing its conclusion, Sharkey and Lightfoot texted to set up phone calls. After one, on Feb. 5, Lightfoot texted, Really productive call. Thx mayor. I think so too, Sharkey replied. They did not text on Feb. 6, when the deal appeared to be falling through, but the next morning Lightfoot messaged Sharkey to request a copy of their signed agreement after the union and CPS reached a deal. Jesse, we need the signed TA asap, Lightfoot texted. Please dont slow roll us. We are seeing that you are going out in the press at noon. Not slow rolling, just trying to get (the union executive board) in the right place, Sharkey responded. Didnt want to send before we met. Lightfoot sent Sharkey condolences after longtime former CTU leader Karen Lewis died last February and they arranged to talk in April about other labor issues, which were less contentious. Advertisement They did not text again until September 2021, when Lightfoot sent him a news story where the union criticized the reopening. Jesse, as you know, I saw and talked to you yesterday, mid day, and I am surprised that seemingly after that time your union put out this inflammatory tweet, Lightfoot said. What is the point of talking if you are not going to be forthcoming about any legitimate issues? This is very disappointing. Sharkey responded: Lets talk and not in front of 200 people. And I hope things go well and schools stay open. And there are legitimate issues which are flaring. Crowding is the hardest. Testing can be fixed but the rollout has sucked (I believe it was only up in 2 schools yesterday), and theres a few others. It would be useful to talk on the (phone) if youre available. Lightfoot said shes happy to talk but didnt want to be blindsided. Weeks later, Sharkey texted Lightfoot to follow up in a comment that presaged the current impasse. Its been a couple of weeks since this exchange and I think the way events have played out in the schools has confirmed that there are a lot of shortcomings in CPS plan, Sharkey said. We really should speak bc if youve communicated your displeasure to CPS it hasnt shown up at the table. We want an agreement. Advertisement The two spoke later that evening but did not text about the substance further. gpratt@chicagotribune.com OMAHA -- In the past few weeks, some people have scrambled to find rapid at-home tests to screen for COVID-19. The tests can be hard to come by. Several popular brands are listed as out of stock on Amazon and pharmacy websites. To help meet demand for the tests, President Joe Bidens administration announced late last month that it would give away a half-million test kits to households that request them beginning sometime this month. But one concern with the at-home tests is that most of the results positive or negative are not reported to or recorded by local and state health departments. Teresa Anderson, director of the Grand Island-based Central District Health Department, said she and her staff have no way of knowing the results of most at-home tests because there is no mechanism to report them to Nebraskas disease-tracking system. One exception, she said, is the results of the Abbott BinaxNOW tests used by long-term care facilities. The facilities results are reported to the state through the Nebraska Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program. But if residents of the district, which includes Hall, Hamilton and Merrick Counties, call to report results from their tests as some occasionally do Andersons staff cant add them to state systems. We really just dont know whats going on in the home-testing world, she said. Dr. Anne OKeefe, the Douglas County Health Departments senior epidemiologist, said no mechanism exists to add the results to health departments systems. The department likely would have to track at-home tests separately so that they dont skew the positivity rates used to help determine testing needs and case trends. (While people may call with positive results, theyre not likely to do so with negative ones.) OKeefe said in most cases, the tests should not be used as a substitute for a lab test. The best use may be in situations where its difficult to quickly find a lab-run test. But she and Anderson said the at-home tests do offer people an opportunity to find out whether theyre COVID positive so they can take the appropriate steps to avoid infecting others. At least the people doing them know and can act on the information, OKeefe said. Previously, some experts have raised concerns that at-home tests dont allow for contact tracing because of the lack of reporting. But OKeefe said the health department currently doesnt have the capacity to do all of the contact tracing it conducted last year, even with a contract in place for contact tracing services. Case counts, she said, are too high. Instead, she said, the health department has focused on providing more information about what people should do if they have a positive test. That includes how to quarantine and isolate, how to determine when people may have exposed others, and what to tell close contacts. Those who test positive on a home test dont need to have the results confirmed with another test, she said. But those who get negative results, either after an exposure or before or after a gathering, should repeat the test within 24 to 48 hours, OKeefe said. Many of the tests come in two-packs and instruct users to repeat the initial test at a prescribed interval. A person planning a visit to a relative in a nursing home, for instance, could test a couple of days beforehand and then repeat the test right before the visit. Dr. James Lawler, a co-executive director of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers Global Center for Health Security, said the U.S. has had issues throughout the pandemic with accurately assessing case numbers, with cases undercounted throughout. Now, in addition to most home test results not being reported, he said, many of the at-home tests available in the United States are less sensitive in picking up the omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration noted Dec. 28 that early data, based on lab tests on patient samples conducted by National Institutes of Health researchers, indicate that the tests detect omicron but may have reduced sensitivity. More research is underway. Most of the rapid at-home tests available in the U.S. are antigen tests, which detect viral proteins. Using them typically involves swirling a nasal swab inside the nasal cavities. The swabs are shorter and dont go as far back as those typically used to collect samples for PCR tests, which amplify and detect the viruss genetic material. Nationally, some experts have suggested swabbing the nose and the throat as a way to increase the sensitivity of the at-home tests. Lawler said the suggestion makes sense intuitively, because it appears the omicron virus may be concentrated more in saliva. But tests are optimized for the samples they are designed to test. He advised caution in using the tests in ways other than their approved use until data are available to back that up. You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person. Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else. Photo: Jon Cherry/Getty Images Real life is not a Hollywood movie, so there will be no ominous music or blinding special effects to signal that the final battle is at hand. But that moment unmistakably arrived when a violent mob invaded the Capitol a year ago, with the explicit goal of hunting and killing lawmakers to overturn the results of the presidential election and keep Donald Trump in power. A year later, each of us must now decide the role we will play personally and individually to make sure the attack is remembered as the final chapter of a squashed insurrection, rather than a dress rehearsal for something much worse. No larger-than-life hero is going to appear and round up the bad guys. Not even the president of the United States. Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited, and those who called on them to do so, held a dagger at the throat of America and American democracy, a visibly angry President Biden said from inside the Capitol. Look folks, now its up to all of us We, the People to stand for the rule of law, to preserve the flame of democracy, to keep the promise of America alive. The promise is at risk, targeted by the forces that value brute strength over the sanctity of democracy, fear over hope, personal gain over public good. All true. And lest anyone think the motley mob was made up of yahoos from some other region of the country, the ongoing investigation the largest in FBI history includes at least 47 people from New York who have been arrested and charged. The list includes Philip Grillo, a Republican district leader and former cop from Queens who later claimed he was too drunk to realize that violently invading the Capitol was against the law. Dominick Dennis Madden, a Sanitation worker from Brooklyn, was nabbed after surveillance footage caught him, clad in a QAnon sweatshirt, shouting slogans and breaking into the Capitol with the rest of the mob. Thomas Webster, an ex-Marine and former NYPD cop who once served on Mayor Mike Bloombergs personal security detail, traveled to the insurrection with body armor and a pistol, and spent months in jail, charged for attacking officers defending the Capitol. And 34-year-old Matthew Greene of Syracuse, a member of the violent Proud Boys extremist group, recently pleaded guilty to felony charges including conspiracy, and is set to be sentenced in March. So far, 725 people have been charged, and Attorney General Merrick Garland says he isnt stopping there. The Justice Department remains committed to holding all January 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy, he said in a speech this week. Garland, like Biden, is summoning all of us to join the fight against violent extremism. The Justice Department cannot do it alone, he said. The responsibility to bring an end to violence and threats of violence against those who serve the public is one that all Americans share. In the book On Tyranny, a brooding mediation about how democracies fall apart, Yale historian Timothy Snyder notes that protecting our system requires more than merely showing up to vote every so often. The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote, making it more or less likely that free and fair elections will be held in the future, Snyder writes. In the politics of the everyday, our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much. I got a taste of how real that warning is in a recent interview with Representative Nicole Malliotakis, a pro-Trump Republican member of Congress, who dismissed the January 6 riot as no big deal. Nobody in my district ever talks to me about the election, she said when I asked her about the insurrection, contending that her constituents are more concerned with gas prices and the state of the economy. A group within her district organized a protest rally in response, underscoring the importance of letting those in power know that these days, democracy and its defense are always on the agenda. Those of us with children should explain to them as Vice-President Kamala Harris pointed out that attacks on our way of life from inside the nation represent as much of a threat as the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 or the terrorist attack of 9/11. Our city of immigrants is full of people with personal and ancestral memories of what it was like to live through coups, dictatorship, and political violence in countries including Haiti, Spain, Nigeria, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Colombia, the Philippines, and Russia. We should share those stories with friends, neighbors, and co-workers who think it cant happen here and let them know that autocracy, whether it arrives suddenly or gradually, inevitably becomes a bloody horror show of death, injustice, cruelty, and shattered dreams. And religious leaders of all faiths should be conducting a values-based discussion about the presence of radical evil in the world and the need to battle it. A Boston-based minister, Reverend Eugene Rivers, took it upon himself to organize a prayer vigil in Washington, D.C., that began shortly after Bidens speech, uniting Black and white Evangelical denominations around the biblical verse 2 Chronicles 7:14, which reads: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. We could use a little divine healing these days. Reverend Rivers thinks the January 6 riot is the tip of a more menacing iceberg. There need to be declassified intelligence briefings for significant political and religious leaders to understand the nature and the depth of what were dealing with, he told me. The Trump people want a civil war politically that plays to their base. What the leadership has been unwilling to do on the Democratic side is confront the fact that Trump Republicans are seeking total racial polarization of the country. Theres an explicit commitment to the subversion of democratic rules. Democracy is the target. The curtain now goes up on the next act in the most serious battle for our way of life since 9/11. Will you join the fight? The joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, reconvenes after insurrectionists interrupted it. Photo: Erin Schaff/UPI/Shutterstock On the chaotic day of January 6, 2021, it was not really clear what Donald Trump and his allies were trying to accomplish in challenging the confirmation of Joe Bidens election in Congress, even as Trump incited a mob of his followers to assault the Capitol in the middle of those proceedings. It was well known at the time (mostly because the vice-president released a statement about it that very day) that Mike Pence had rejected big-time pressure from Trump to use his position as the presiding officer of the joint session of Congress to deny Biden his victory and/or declare Trump the winner. But its only become clearer that disrupting Bidens confirmation via Pence wasnt just an outlandish idea quickly laid to rest it was Plan A. Trump hadnt given up on the gambit even as the fateful hour arrived. If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election, the president told his supporters just before they headed to the Capitol. Weve learned a lot in the intervening year about the days just prior to January 6 and what the various players in the drama were thinking. Not all claims about Trumps strategy are terribly credible. (See former Trump staffer Peter Navarros recent assertions about the Green Bay sweep, a scheme he cooked up with Steve Bannon to delay certification of Bidens win, which makes zero sense because of the Democratic control of Congress.) But we now know that behind the scenes the White House kept lobbying Pence to derail Bidens confirmation up to the last minute, and Pence continued waffling, asking various advisers if there might be a way to succor the Boss without arrogating unconstitutional or illegal powers to himself. The breadth and persistence of Trumps reliance on Pence for salvation was made most evident by the famous Eastman memo, which first surfaced publicly in a book by Washington Post reporters in September 2021. The final version of this memo, clearly addressed to Pence, was dated January 3. It is indisputable that Trump approved of Eastmans strategy, whose language and (such as it was) logic was echoed by the president on January 6. Though Eastman laid out multiple scenarios for a Pence coup on January 6, all of them were based on an eccentric constitutional theory holding that the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which sets out procedures for the finalization of states electoral-vote counts, was an unconstitutional abrogation of the vice-presidents all-but-sovereign power under the 12th Amendment to decide which electors to recognize and count. The memo devotes a lot of space to giving Pence specious reasons to reject Biden electors from six states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin). Most crucially, Eastman offered Pence the choice of recognizing self-designated Trump electors from those states (definitely a reach) or just refusing to recognize any electors. The latter scenario could have produced a Trump victory on grounds that he won a majority of the recognized electors or thrown the election to the House on grounds that the Electoral College had failed to reach a decision. Eastman also presented a cop-out option, to adjourn the joint session and throw the matter back to the states, which might have become more tempting to Pence as the events of January 6 unfolded: VP Pence determines that the ongoing election challenges must conclude before ballots can be counted, and adjourns the joint session of Congress, determining that the time restrictions in the Electoral County [sic] Act are contrary to his authority under the 12th Amendment and therefore void. Taking the cue, state legislatures convene, order a comprehensive audit/investigation of the election returns in their states, and then determine whether the slate of electors initially certified is valid, or whether the alternative slate of electors should be certified by the legislature. This scenario is clearly what Trump had in mind when he said this to the mob on January 6: States want to revote. The states got defrauded. They were given false information. They voted on it. Now they want to recertify. They want it back. All Vice-President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people. And I actually, I just spoke to Mike. I said: Mike, that doesnt take courage. What takes courage is to do nothing. That takes courage. So we have it straight from the horses mouth that on January 6 he was still urging Pence to do nothing and send it back to the states before Bidens victory could be confirmed, sweeping aside the timetable set out in the Electoral Count Act. As Eastman cynically noted, had Pence just gaveled the session adjourned, it might have left no immediate recourse for Congress: The main thing here is that VP Pence should exercise his 12th Amendment authority without asking for permission either from a vote of the joint session or from the Court. Let the other side challenge his actions in court. It seems Pence may have still been wavering immediately before the joint session because his team consulted revered conservative legal authority Michael Luttig (for whom Eastman had once clerked) on the morning of January 6. Fortunately, Luttig rejected Eastmans take on the 12th Amendment powers of the veep, and his views were incorporated into Pences statement just before the session began. Patriotic legal thinkers and policy-makers who want to keep this nightmare scenario from recurring might want to spend some time burying Eastmans veep as God construction of the 12th Amendment lest it rise again in 2024 or beyond. Legal scholar Matthew Seligman poured multiple shovels of dirt on it in an October 21, 2021, academic treatise debunking the whole outrageously dangerous notion. As he told me in an email: The absurd theory that the Vice President has this monarchical power to decide the election has to be so widely and decisively rejected that no one within earshot of the Oval Office would dare utter it in the future. The final moment of truth should not come down to the conscience of a person who was told he had the power to install himself in office. But in the heat of the moment on January 6, after Team Trumps many legal and political efforts to forestall his defeat had failed, swaying the famously sycophantic Mike Pence remained the only real play. They had run out of time to do anything else. And while this is speculative, it strikes me as likely that one of Trumps chief motives in sending the mob toward the Capitol on January 6 was to put a final burst of pressure on Pence to do the right thing, perhaps by creating so much chaos in the electoral-vote-count process that an adjournment might seem reasonable. In the end, Pence would not go along, leaving to the judgment of history whether he should be regarded as a great hero for rejecting pressure to execute an election coup or more of an ambiguous figure thanks to his previous loyalty to a scofflaw president. There was certainly every reason for Trump to hope against hope that Pence could at least be counted on to throw some sand in the gears of the process leading to Joe Bidens inauguration on January 20. And that might be enough to constitute a strategy for a seat-of-the-pants presidency built on Donald Trumps narcissism and the willingness of subordinates to tell him what he wanted to hear at any cost. Staff Writer Brad Hundt came to the Observer-Reporter in 1998 after stints at newspapers in Georgia and Michigan. He serves as editorial page editor, and has covered the arts and entertainment and worked as a municipal beat reporter. Multimedia Reporter Staff writer Harry Funk, a professional journalist for three-plus decades, has been on the staff of The Almanac since 2015. He has a bachelors degree in journalism and master of business administration, both from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in a video Wednesday that he will forego a bid for U.S. Senate or Illinois governor to focus on the fight against former President Donald Trumps influence over the GOP. This time last year I hoped victory would come in a matter of months. Now I see it will take years, the six-term lawmaker from Channahon said on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Advertisement Thats why Im transitioning from serving just one corner of Illinois into fighting this new nationwide mission full time, he said. Kinzinger has been one of the few Republicans on Capitol Hill to oppose Trumps leadership of the GOP and decry baseless allegations that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. He formed the Country First political action committee and movement last year to back Republicans opposed to the former president. Advertisement U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger speaks with media following a gun violence hearing, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019, at Kennedy King College. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) In October, after a redistricting map drawn by Democrats put Kinzinger in the same congressional district as Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria in a region filled with hard right GOP voters, Kinzinger announced he would not run for Congress. But he had left the door open for a possible challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth or Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Kinzinger ruled those efforts out Wednesday as he also delivered a broadside to the Republican leadership with whom he has often clashed. Kinzinger was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for Trumps impeachment for his role in the Jan. 6 uprising and is one of two Republicans on Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosis panel investigating the causes of the insurrection. Some say its time to move on from Jan. 6th. But we cant move on without addressing what happened or by pretending it never happened, Kinzinger said. The 2020 election was not stolen. Joe Biden won. Donald Trump lost. We have to admit it. But the leadership of the Republican Party wont. They lied to the American people and they still are, he said. As a result, Kinzinger said the people must rise to the occasion and restore principled GOP leadership. That means choosing truth over lies, hope over fear and progress over anger, he said. It means stepping up to vote for principled leadersespecially in the primaries. It means taking stock in who we listen to and what we ask of ourselves, thinking about what we want the future to look like. Kinzingers prospects in a statewide election bid would have been slim in a GOP primary and even more problematic in a general election in a state that has turned strongly Democratic. As a result, his decision not to run was not unexpected. rap30@aol.com Washington, PA (15301) Today Generally cloudy. High 66F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 47F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Good luck with bookin that stage u speak of Rihanna (@rihanna) February 26, 2011 Reply Thread Link oh they care about racism huh Reply Thread Link They care so much about racism that they're boycotting four movies with POC leads. Progress! Reply Parent Thread Link What has Snyder done to garner this level of devotion? I don't get it! Reply Thread Link i always assumed it was for dc stans to be all ~edgy and cool~ to stick it to the mcu but i guess it runs deeper than that?!?!?! Reply Parent Thread Link Holdovers from Watchmen, probably. Like from all accounts he seems like a nice dude, but IDGI. Reply Parent Thread Link Have a penis? IDK. Reply Parent Thread Link lowkey a cult leader Reply Parent Thread Link I dont get it either. The Snyder movies are usually fine at best and borderline unwatchable at their worst, but these people have deluded themselves that into thinking that its just a matter of nobody else getting it. Reply Parent Thread Link Ive heard actors really like working with him but I am just as baffled as you as to why average joe schmos are caping this hard for him Reply Parent Thread Link lol they acting like something not being canon anymore means it's erased from real life. it's not that serious. Reply Thread Link They should've done this when they fired Ray seeing as Snyder repeatedly talked about how important Cyborg was to Justice League and the future of his CU but yeah I'm sure they genuinely care about his vision and not about 2 yt guys not showing back up Reply Thread Link Considering they're the only ones that show up for DC films, WB should consider their demands. Also I see they're giving The Batman a pass. Reply Thread Link These are grown men Reply Thread Link Are they though lol Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao and here I thought they were boycotting for a reason that matters like raising wages or improving working conditions or something Reply Thread Link hahaha Reply Thread Link Thank God the MCU will never be this messy Reply Thread Link sadly that's because disney has a much tighter grip on the entire process Reply Parent Thread Link I think it has more to do with George being the driving force behind it all and that's not a bad thing. Reply Parent Thread Link So they're butthurt about losing Batfleck (aka the worst Batman, so far) and Superbland Cavill? Reply Thread Link Weren't they blaming women somehow. I know Midnight's Edge had some stupid shit to say (I bet, I didn't bother watching). Reply Thread Link I know they were blaming amber herd for a while there... Reply Parent Thread Link lmao good luck they're right tho Reply Thread Link Yeah. Fuck them. Reply Thread Link as they say... fuck around and find out! suffer, losers. airline employees and other passengers deserve better than to be exposed to covid by these fools Reply Parent Thread Link Pendejos Reply Thread Link Airlines need to start banning people for life. Like, flying is not a human right. You want to your damn mask under your nose and fight with the flight attendants? Banned. Get the fuck off the plane and stay your ass at home. Reply Thread Link I think Delta (or one of the airlines) is trying to get a shared no fly list so that if Southwest puts someone on their no fly list, the other airlines can too. I want to see that come to pass. Reply Parent Thread Link For sure Southwests list should be the standard. I feel like youd have to fuck up REAL bad to end up banned from Southwest Reply Parent Thread Expand Link We love to see it! Reply Parent Thread Link I think the more fights that continue to happen, this master list will happen. I hope soon. Reply Parent Thread Link honestly it would make for such a better flying experience for passengers knowing that assholes will be slowly weaned out. Reply Parent Thread Link The problem is that there isnt a group no fly list. So it doesnt matter if you get banned by Delta cause you could just go get on a different airline. And I doubt it will ever happen beyond extreme circumstances unfortunately even if airlines want it. Edited at 2022-01-06 02:09 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I completely agree. This isn't a human rights issue. It's a clear violation of safety procedures. Reply Parent Thread Link I was at Lush yesterday and the sales person kept walking back and forth stocking products and kept telling a group of girls to put their damn masks on correctly. One had even taken hers off to smell something. Then they put it on with their noses hanging out or just barely not and got told again to put them on. They were so annoyed I loved it. Kudos to the Lush worker for not giving up. I was grinning under my N95 mask. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Reply Thread Link get le fucked qui qui! What a bunch of spoiled inconsiderate brats!! LOL IRL at THREE airlines refusing them!! Good! Reply Thread Link Hilarious. IDIOTS. Coincidentally I am trying to check in to my KLM / AirFrance flight for tomorrow, back from Mexico City and it wont let us! Reply Thread Link yeah i haven't been able to do online checkin for international flights at all since the pandemic, it's always gotta be at the desk. thankfully i've never had problems there and the lines were minimal. you should be ok at the airport Reply Parent Thread Link It worries me because why show the check in button then, only to give a technical error message that makes no sense. Just say online check in not available? Argh its ruinining my last 24 hours Edited at 2022-01-06 01:57 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link how did you enjoy CDMX? Its my fav place in the world. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link now seeing the other comment, I had to check in at Medellin in November and it was a shit show. It took 90 minutes to be done and the plane was an A319, about 130 passenger capacity. Id go early Reply Parent Thread Link idk where you're going but online checking hasn't worked for all flights because they need to check your vaccination/test status first depending on your destination? maybe? anyway i hope you got it sorted out and have a safe trip! :))) Reply Parent Thread Link Ugh enjoy that KLM/Airfrance food. Sooooo gooood. I miss their warm bread and weird desserts Reply Parent Thread Link they deserve to be on the no fly list Reply Thread Link Lord influencers of the flies Reply Parent Thread Link LMAOOO let them live stream it on somewhere. i would play good money to see them losers suffer. Reply Parent Thread Link How long is the drive from Cancun to Quebec? Reply Thread Link Google tells me 63 hr (6,062.1 km) Reply Parent Thread Link Best they get started now. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Quadruple it to account for all the insta photo shoots of them sitting on their car at sunset Reply Parent Thread Link That's a lot less than I thought. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link That *IF* they get thru north tamaulipas without a cartel picking them up. Reply Parent Thread Link i don't think i've heard a more pathetic thing than quebec influencers, all 150 of them. sorry to quebec! Reply Thread Link All kinds of people fucking around and finding out lately Reply Thread Link they need to suffer tbh!!! Reply Thread Link "Influencers" were also a terror at the hotel. Keep them in Mexico! #Sunwing #AirTransat pic.twitter.com/U1Y9sa7CbU JeSuisCHBleuBlancRouge (@HabsHappy) January 5, 2022 not leave them in mexico so they can fucking terrorize locals what the fuck. just toss them in a goddamn jail, that'll scare some of them straight. fuck these assholes not leave them in mexico so they can fucking terrorize locals what the fuck. just toss them in a goddamn jail, that'll scare some of them straight. fuck these assholes Reply Thread Link Kick them out of Mexico, but make them drive back to Quebec. Reply Parent Thread Link But no good cars. They have to get those big vans fundie families use because they don't fit in a minivan anymore. It would be the most miserable for them. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Make them WALK Reply Parent Thread Link lol no! Mexico doesn't deserve this spoiled trash.....dump someone in the middle of nowhere where no one has to suffer them! Reply Parent Thread Link jfc throw them away completely. Reply Parent Thread Link "Canada nice" must end at the border. Like the sealtbelt light goes off and the blow comes out. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Drop them in the red part of Texas, perhaps Reply Parent Thread Link wow that's a real list of asshole behaviour Reply Parent Thread Link Put 'em in jail. Reply Parent Thread Link Give them the shittiest cars in all of Mexico, make them pay at least 10x what those cars are worth, and then tell them to drive all the way back to Quebec. Reply Parent Thread Link Seriously- keeping them there is more of a punishment for the people of Cancun. Let them canoe back to Canada. Reply Parent Thread Link Can we get WB back? Reply Thread Link Lol right. I was in college when they merged and for some reason they thought the combination would like double the viewers and create a 5th network comparable to fox, CBS, nbc, and abc. But the cw ratings for the most part never reached the heights of either wb or UPN separately Reply Parent Thread Link This but UPN Reply Parent Thread Link lol my entire dorm would pile either into my room or someone else's to watch Felicity on the WB. Those were the days! Reply Parent Thread Link even a WB Retro or something because lbr 2022 WB would be shit Reply Parent Thread Expand Link The thing is... THERE IS A BLUIEPRINT. The WB served us ENSEMBLE STAR-STUDDED CASTS AND GENRES for a decade. WHY was The CW never able to tap into this? WHERE was the quality?? HOW did. they never leverage their near-breakthroughs (starting off w/ Smallville & Veronica, early Arrow, early Vampire diaries) to network-wide success? It's just sad. End of an era. Goodbye, CW. You FAILED. Reply Parent Thread Link https://youtu.be/KK2C2r1zN5U All I think about All I think about Reply Thread Link Yikes, most of the CW shows suck but I'm thankful for them filming in Vancouver. Reply Thread Link Yeah, I feel like they're a mini economy in Vancouver. Reply Parent Thread Link I enjoy spotting Vancouver sites in the background of some scenes Reply Parent Thread Link Question is, will they get more than $5 for it? Reply Thread Link I will never in my life forget the sounds this guy makes lmao this bit still fucking destroys me every time. One of my fave little moments of the entire series. Edited at 2022-01-06 10:33 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link lol I have an auctioneer in my family so it totally cracks me up Reply Parent Thread Link they should have never crossed michigan jabari frog Reply Thread Link how about we all pool our money together and with the collective $207.68 rename it to ONTV and make the content we want and love. Reply Thread Link ONTV; a little too raw, a little too dark and a little too much dick. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm thinking about all the thirst comments on here. Yeah, ONTV is going to have an after-hours/dark segment airing at like 2 or 3 a.m. Reply Parent Thread Link we'll reboot undressed, steal it from viacom Reply Parent Thread Link i feel an ONTD Original coming... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Shot, written and acted by ONTD . There'd also be a special where we reinact great moments in gossip history. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Putting our money where our mouth is???? Inconceivable. Reply Parent Thread Link yes we need to prove those 1,763 Hungarian adults wrong!! Reply Parent Thread Link You really think we have that much collectively with all our student loans????? Reply Parent Thread Link Yessssssssssss! I'm gonna run a 12-hour long block of Oscar Issac content. And commercials will be my favorite memes / video clips (Fergie singing the national anthem, Michelle Obama "Hey Flop", Hilary Duff's "With Love" dance, etc.) Reply Parent Thread Link Love this idea however Reply Parent Thread Link midnight-5am slot = endless reruns of Hottie's Chicken's picks Reply Parent Thread Link streaming rights can move to HBO Max / Paramount+ To paraphrase Kendall Roy: shitty UI, great content meet shitty UI, shitty content. Reply Thread Link Time for the urn Reply Thread Link Maybe if they brought back the ads with all the characters/actors partying together Reply Thread Link But they did... Reply Parent Thread Link I think they mean this year, not 2007 lol Reply Parent Thread Link Dont you ever fucking smize at me, Tyra Reply Parent Thread Link Poor Jared, betrayed again! Reply Thread Link I came here looking for this comment, and this comment alone. Reply Parent Thread Link Et tu, brute? Reply Parent Thread Link It's what she deserves! Reply Parent Thread Link Jared about to @ The CW Twitter account about how 'a phone call would've been nice :/' Reply Parent Thread Link I'll join the circle of old bitches who remember how much good shit the UPN/WB merger killed off, and just say: what goes around comes around, ha ha Reply Thread Link speaking of selling shit, I wonder why Netflix never thought of expanding their catalog by doing this. Like did they ever think of buying out their competitors during their heyday? Reply Thread Link Maybe the quality of tv shows can be improved from 'worst shows that ever existed' to 'average' Reply Thread Link I used to love CW shows like Melrose place, 90210, Life Unexpected, Emily Owens M.D, Nikita, Ringer when I was a teen. I guess they changed their "brand", because all their shows are now "fantasy/sci-fi themed shows?" Reply Thread Link They always had fantasy and sci-fi. Xena, Hercules, jack of all trades, mutant X, cleopatra2525, Andromeda, Charmed, Buffy, Supernatural, Smallville, and lots more. Reply Parent Thread Link and half of those were even enjoyable! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think they meant more that like 90% of their shows are fantasy/sci-fi now (mostly superhero stuff I think), where as they used to have a good mix of shows. Reply Parent Thread Link Nikita was amazing especially considering their budget. Ringer was a mess and would've benefited if they leaned into the camp instead of being so serious. Crazy Ex Girlfriend was high-risk great television too; even though I hated how they wrapped everything up, it's nowhere near as unrewatchable as GoT or HIMYM. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link how much potential tournament money is he losing out on because he's an idiot? Reply Thread Link Says winning could be 2.75 million. Then all his endorsements, its probably a lot more. Reply Parent Thread Link tbh I don't really think for him it's about the money. It's more that if he wins AO he'll break the men's slam record - so it's more about his ego. Reply Parent Thread Link Even better Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It's just whether his professional ego, or his personal 'no-one tells me what to do!' ego is bigger... Reply Parent Thread Link Not only that but he was the last champion and had a lot of points to defend. Reply Parent Thread Link The best thing about Novax Djoker is that when he leaves Australia later, hell be banned from returning to Australia for 3 years #novaxdjokovic pic.twitter.com/JTcM3uMy5E Blushing Panda (@BlushingPanda) January 5, 2022 which, on a related note Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I still think he'll play. This bitch wiggles out of so much and they haven't kicked him out of the country yet. I think he'll be let in. I think they've just wanted to pass the buck on who lets him in. Edited at 2022-01-06 09:11 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Kangaroo kicked out of the antipodes, we love to see it. Reply Thread Link I've hated him for years and everything he has chosen to do during the pandemic has proven me right :) I need Andy to get asked about this already lol Reply Thread Link This is exactly how I feel about this asshole. Reply Parent Thread Link He's proven to be a real asshole these last two years. I'm glad he finally suffered some consequences for his actions. And I agree about Andy, I'd like to hear what he thinks too. Reply Parent Thread Link Jamie's comment was great already. Reply Parent Thread Link I wanted to add "no entry to Oz" but I'm not allowed to change titles Reply Thread Link Edited at 2022-01-06 04:13 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link thank you lol. this was my first thought! Reply Parent Thread Link every time i see this i hear it as that one direction song but instead the lyrics it's just ha ha ha ha ha ha... and instead one direction it's channing singing it in my head. it's all very beautiful. <3 Reply Parent Thread Link How long til his dad compares this to a war crime and threatens to march to the Hague Reply Thread Link 'He's not in detention, he's in prison'. Novak Djokovic's father, Srdjan, says the Australian government have 'humiliated' his son and kept him imprisoned, with 'all his stuff being taken, including his wallet'.https://t.co/ETQIo3XBNB Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 pic.twitter.com/nLrLQ7ZzlR Sky News (@SkyNews) January 6, 2022 Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Fuck around and find out. Is not the attitude Id want to take when dealing with international customs agencies. Yikes. Imagine being so full of yourself you think international law doesnt apply to you. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Not his wallet! Reply Parent Thread Link Maybe he should reserve some of his outrage for the asylum seekers that have been locked up in hotel prisons for ~9 years (if i remember my friend's fb post correctly . . . and I think those asylum seekers are at the same hotel Djokovic is at). Reply Parent Thread Link The apple definitely didn't fall far from the tree here. Reply Parent Thread Link You're kinda late lol. He went down the "he is being humiliated like the Serbian people have for centuries" route. Reply Parent Thread Link lol too late. and his father compared him to jesus already as well, because he's being "crucified". no surprise that novak is the way he is with that father. that whole family is embarassing. Edited at 2022-01-06 04:25 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link In one of yesterday's posts, there was a twitter post in the comments where his dad said NoVaxx was "in a dungeon" aka the airport and compared him to Spartacus. Reply Parent Thread Link This is more entertaining than the actual tournament lmaooo Reply Thread Link Now the party dont stop until Novak takes the vax Reply Parent Thread Link Buckle up, livers! You're in for a loooooong ride! Reply Parent Thread Link Again, his life could be made so much easier if he just got vaxxed Reply Thread Link I'm sure, like a lot of young white men, he's kicked up such a fuss that now he doesn't want to be seen as "giving in" Reply Parent Thread Link There she is! Reply Parent Thread Link lolllllllllllllllllllll this idiot Reply Thread Link Oil prices could reach $95 if Iran doesnt return to the market this year, while commodities overall are set for a supercycle that could potentially last a decade, according to Goldman Sachs, which is extremely bullish on the whole commodity complex. Currently, we are seeing record dislocations in energy markets, metals markets, and agriculture markets, Jeff Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, told Bloomberg Television in an interview on Thursday. There is still a lot of money in the system, while investment positions in commodities are very low, which is setting the stage for further upsides in oil prices and the prices of other commodities, Currie said. The best place to be right now, particularly given the Fed pivot, are commodities, Goldman Sachss global head of commodities told Bloomberg. We think youre going to see another year of out-performance of commodities and real assets more broadly, Currie added. Goldman Sachs basically reiterates its core thesis from October 2020: this is the beginning of a supercycle in commodities that could last up to a decade, he said. Specifically referring to oil, Goldmans head of commodities is also very bullish due to low investment in the sector and the fact that only two oil producers in the worldSaudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)currently have the capacity and the means to pump more oil than they did in January 2020, just before COVID. Everyone else is struggling, Currie said. This market has the potential to get very tight going over the course of next 3-6 months, he added. Goldmans call for Brent Crude prices for the first quarter of 2022 is $85 per barrel, assuming that Iran could legitimately return to the market later this year. But an Iranian return now looks increasingly unlikely, and without Iranian exports, we could be looking at $95 oil, according to Currie. Last month, Goldman Sachs forecast crude oil prices could hit $100 in 2023 as demand growth outpaces supply growth. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Saudi Arabia cut the prices of all the crude grades it will be selling to Asia in February to the lowest premium to regional benchmarks in three months, amid the rapid spread of Omicron and higher OPEC+ supply to the markets. The Kingdom, the worlds largest crude oil exporter, reduced the price of its flagship Arab Light crude grade for the Asian market by $1.10 a barrel to $2.20 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai benchmark, off which Middle Eastern exports to Asia are being priced. The premium over Oman/Dubai is the lowest for the Saudi Arab Light grade in three months, Reuters notes. All Saudi grades sold in Asia in February will see their official selling prices (OSPs) reduced by between $1.00 and $1.30 per barrel. Industry officials had widely expected a cut in Saudi prices for Asia for February, after last months large increase in OSPs for January. In December, Saudi Arabia raised its official selling prices for its Arab Light oil to Asia in January by $0.60 per barrel to a premium of $3.30 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai benchmarkthe highest spread since before the pandemic. The price hike in December for January loadings suggested expectations of strong demand, which in turn implied that Saudi Arabia was not all that worried about the Omicron variant that caused a more than $10 plunge in oil prices in late November, with Brent at one point dipping below $70 per barrel. Todays cut for February suggests that the worlds top oil exporter expects somewhat weaker demand in Asia with the Omicron surge and Chinas zero-COVID policy, analysts say. For customers outside Asia, Saudi Arabia left unchanged the prices of all its grades to the United States, slightly cut the prices for northwest Europe, and left OSPs for the Mediterranean region mostly unchanged, with the exception of a $0.20 per barrel cut in the price of Arab Light versus the ICE Brent benchmark. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The recent talks between Omans Assistant to the Chief of Staff for Operations and Planning, Brigadier Abdulaziz Abdullah al-Manthri, and the Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces, Major-General Mohammad Bagheri, may mark a new phase in the already deep and broad relationship between Oman and Iran, and in the Sultanates drift into the Iran-China axis. The two countries [Iran and Oman] have conducted several joint naval drills in recent years, within the scope of securing the waterway from the Persian Gulf through to the Gulf of Oman from smuggling and other threats, including terrorism, but these [recent] talks were concerned with expanding that cooperation both in terms of the armed services involved beyond just the navy and the scope of their joint activities beyond anti-smuggling and dealing with terrorist threats, an Iranian source who works closely the Petroleum Ministry told OilPrice.com last week. The basic catch-22 for Oman that has expedited its move towards the Iran-China power axis is that it lacks the scale of natural resources to generate the financing required to keep its economy ticking over without any further industry but the industry that it is looking to diversify its economy with petrochemicals requires a lot of upfront financing before it pays off. Consequently, with only around five billion barrels of estimated proved oil reserves (barely the 22nd largest in the world) and minimal natural gas reserves Oman explored many options to bridge this financing gap but its budget problems were dramatically worsened by the Saudi Arabia-instigated Oil Price Wars of 2014-2016 and 2020. Even before the 2020 attempt by Saudi to severely disable the U.S.s shale oil sector by using exactly the same strategy that had failed in 2014-2016 and had destroyed the budgets of its OPEC brothers as well, as analyzed in-depth in my new book on the global oil markets, Oman had been facing a budget deficit for that year alone of at least 18 percent of GDP and budget deficits averaging at least 15 percent per year over the next five years. In order to give it time to develop its answer to many of its financial problems the rollout of the perennially-delayed but potentially game-changing Duqm Refinery Project and its corollary projects of a product export terminal in Duqm Port and Duqm refinery-dedicated crude storage tanks in Ras Markaz Oman tried several options to raise money. So determined was Oman to keep its fiscal deficit within manageable proportions that not only did it implement measures (including lower expenditure on wages and benefits, subsidies, defense, and capital investment by civil ministries) that reduced expenditure (in 2016 by around 8 percent of GDP) but also moved to rein-in hydrocarbons-related spending as well. In this context, the Sultanates Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council formed a specialized working group to study public spending and the means by which to reduce it. At the same time, it was made clear that the Omani government would apply zero-based budgeting in the ninth five-year plan of approving allocations for development projects only after all feasibility studies and real cost analysis of each of them had been completed. The Council also underlined that it aimed to avoid having any additional requests for funding from developers after any project had been started. However, Omans problems relating to the Duqm Refinery Project became worse in 2016 when the UAEs International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) said that the Duqm project no longer fitted its overall investment strategy, in light of the impending merger at the time of IPIC with the Mubadala Development Company, and withdrew from the project. Although this was followed in November by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Oman Oil Company (OOC) and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) for co-operation on the construction of the refinery, OilPrice.com understands that this was not even half of the then-estimated cost of US$6 billion. Given the negative international credit ratings outlook, and ratings downgrades in previous years, Omans options to raise money through conventional bond offerings remained constrained, and so did the appetite of international investors to buy into any part-privatization of any of Omans state-owned companies, even the once much-fancied Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Companys (ORPIC). Related: Sentiment Shifts In Oil Markets As Demand Fears Fade It was at this point that China saw its chance to expand its foothold in Oman, which is a key land and maritime hub in Beijings multi-generational power-grab project, One Belt, One Road (OBOR). Specifically, at around the same time as IPIC withdrew from the project, the refinery operator the Duqm Refinery & Petrochemical Industries Company (DRPIC) in tandem with the OOC, appointed a number of global banks, led by regional heavyweight Credit Agricole, to advise on the optimal methods to obtain the funding for the project. These overtures found particular favor with China, which as part of a broad-based investment into Oman pledged the required funding to cover the completion of the Duqm Refinery. However, it came with the usual Chinese caveats of it being allowed to build massive far-reaching infrastructure projects. Already accounting for around 90 percent of Omans oil exports and the vast majority of its petrochemicals exports, China was quick to leverage this by further pledging US$10 billion immediately for investment into the Duqm Refinery Projects adjunct oil refinery - just after the implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran at the beginning of 2016. At that point, Oman announced that the budget for the Duqm Refinery Project was being increased from the longstanding figure of US$6 billion to a combined US$18 billion for all elements of the Project. This, Omans government announced, would enable downstream production to increase from its current 15 million tonnes to 24 million tonnes by 2030, while the commodity sales volumes would nearly double from 21 million tonnes to 40 million tonnes by the same date. Although further investment from China was geared towards completing the Duqm Refinery including the export terminal in Duqm Port and the crude storage tanks of the Ras Markaz Oil Storage Park - Chinese money was also funneled towards the construction and building out of an 11.72 square kilometer industrial park in Duqm in three areas - heavy industrial, light industrial, and mixed-use. This has enabled China to secure deeply strategic areas of land in the geopolitically vital Sultanate vitally important Oman, which has long coastlines along the Gulf of Oman and along the Arabian Sea, away from the extremely politically sensitive Strait of Hormuz. It also offers largely unfettered access to the markets of South Asia, West Asia, and Africa, as well as to those of its neighbors in the Middle East. Following the usual Chinese template of investment, it has also given China the opportunity to populate these areas its own people, from project managers to security personnel. In line with these developments, the addition of Oman to its Middle East territorial acquisitions means that Beijing can fast-track the transport routes between Iran and Oman. A long-mooted adjunct to Chinas direct plans in this context has been the utilization by Iran of Omans unused liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity. This plan, long talked about between Tehran and Muscat, is part of Irans plans to become an LNG superpower based on its massive South Pars and North Pars non-associated gas fields. Oman for its part would allow Iran to use 25 percent of the Sultanates total 1.5 million tons per year LNG production capacity at the Qalhat plant. This could be done as part of a broader plan to build a 192-kilometer section of 36-inch pipeline running along the bed of the Oman Sea at depths of up to 1,340 meters from Mobarak Mount in Irans southern Hormuzgan province to Sohar Port in Oman for gas exports. This, in turn, would re-open the possibilities for further pipeline routes running from Iran to Oman and then into Pakistan and then into China, and the other way around, all under the security protection of China, irrespective of any plans that the U.S. might have in the southern part of the Shia crescent of power in the region, as also analyzed in-depth in my new book. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: SPRINGFIELD For the second consecutive year, low-income Illinois taxpayers who have outstanding fines from the city of Chicago and other municipalities across the state wont have money taken from their state income tax returns, officials said. Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced the extension of the deferral program on Thursday as an acknowledgment that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated financial hardships for the working poor. Advertisement People who qualify for the program will still have to pay those fines and fees when the program ends. State Comptroller Susana Mendoza talks with colleagues before the governors budget address to a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield Feb. 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) People still have a legal obligation to pay traffic and parking tickets and other fines. Cities can hire private collectors to collect these unpaid obligations, Mendozas office said in a statement. At this point, the Comptrollers Office does not expect to extend the suspension beyond this year. Advertisement Before the pandemic, the office would automatically take fines or fees out of residents tax refunds or other state-provided funding. The deferral program includes a moratorium on parking and traffic fines and court dues. The moratorium affected about 50,000 taxpayers last year, and about $18 million in overdue fees and fines that would have otherwise been collected was not taken out of tax refunds, Mendozas office said. A year ago, we had hoped the world would be further along in the fight against COVID-19. Unfortunately, we all know that is not the case, Mendoza said in a statement. Again this year, families on the financial edge are counting on their state income tax refunds to pay bills they have been putting off as COVID causes hardships. She also said the program has been championed by public interest groups who advocate for families considered low or moderate income by the federal earned income tax credit program. This year, a family of four earning $57,414 a year or less would qualify for the credit, the comptrollers office said. Also qualifying would be a single person earning $21,430 a year or less, the office said. The state legislature more than a decade ago gave Illinois municipalities the right to contract with the comptrollers office to withhold unpaid traffic and parking ticket fines, as well as court judgments, from state income tax returns. The comptrollers office then sends those collections to municipalities, a function that the office already had performed for various state agencies. Two years ago, Mendoza announced her office would no longer withhold unpaid red-light camera ticket fines from taxpayers income tax refunds. That decision was made due to corruption that was uncovered in the right-light camera industry resulting in indictments and other nefarious disclosures. Advertisement jgorner@chicagotribune.com The two major crude oil benchmarks, Brent and WTI, have already fully recovered from the end-November sell-off. Hedge funds bought oil futures and options contracts at the fastest pace in four months in the final week of 2021. In the final week of 2021, hedge funds bought petroleum futures and options contracts at the fastest pace in four months after market sentiment shifted over the past month from panic over Omicrons potential impact on oil demand to moderate optimism that this COVID wave would not dent fuel consumption too much. Speculators and portfolio managers now appear more bullish on oil prices after the initial Omicron scare at the end of November that led to panic-selling and to the largest one-day slump in oil since April 2020. Despite the record high COVID cases in many countries in recent days, the market is encouraged by early data suggesting that the Omicron COVID variant is less severe. The OPEC+ groups continued management of oil supply, restraint from U.S. shale producers, and the belief that Omicron might slow but not upend global oil demand recovery this year makes hedge funds more optimistic about oils prospects in 2022 than they were a month ago. The two major crude oil benchmarks, Brent and WTI, have already fully recovered from the end-November sell-off and were trading early on Wednesday close to the levels before the emergence of the Omicron variant spooked the markets. Portfolio managers bought the equivalent of 54 million barrels in the six most actively traded petroleum futures and options contracts in the latest reporting week to December 28, with Brent and WTI leading the rise in longs, according to data from exchanges compiled by Reuters market analyst John Kemp. The rise in longs in petroleum contracts in the last week of 2021 was the largest since August, suggesting that fund managers are now more optimistic in adding bullish bets on oil, especially compared to the end-November-early-December bearish anxiety about Omicrons impact on global oil demand. Speculators not only opened new longs, but they also closed shorts from the previous weeks. Having seen crude oil fully recover from the November omicron scare, speculators returned to the buy side during the final week of 2022, Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, said, commenting on the latest commitment of traders (COT) report for the week to December 28. Related: White House Praises OPEC For Production Decision The combined net long in Brent and WTI contractsthat is the difference between bullish and bearish betsjumped by 50,000 lots, or by 10 percent, to a five-week high of 454,000 lots, Hansen said. The oil market has fully recovered from the November omicron scare, with rising prompt spreads (backwardation) in both WTI and Brent signaling a tightening market, Hansen said on Tuesday. It looks like hedge fund managers have realized that the initial knee-jerk reaction to Omicron with mass sell-offs has been excessive, and they have now recalibrated their expectations about the impact of the variant on oil demand. Jet fuel consumption is sufferingagaindue to flight cancellations, but fuel demand elsewhere seems to be holding resilient through the Omicron wave. The major driver of oil markets in recent years, the OPEC+ group, reiterated this week its view that Omicron will have a mild and short-lived impact on oil demand and prices. The assessment was made a day before the alliance decided on Tuesday to add another 400,000 barrels per day to its total oil production in February in a widely expected move to continue easing the cuts each month. The move from OPEC+ provides some comfort to the market as it signals that they are confident with the demand outlook in the coming months, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said on Wednesday. Brent prices have rallied by more than 10 percent since mid-December, taking the market back within a striking distance of the $80 a barrel level, they said on Tuesday, attributing the rise to the growing belief that Omicron would be milder than previous COVID variants and the recent supply disruptions in Libya. Sure, the COVID scares are not over, but oil market participants seem to believe now that flare-ups in the number of cases will not materially dent global oil demand. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As one of the most important elements in the green energy transition, lithium demand is expected to continue growing exponentially. The rise in demand and COVID-19 related supply chain issues sent lithium prices into the stratosphere in 2021. Soaring energy prices this year have impacted people around the globe. I cited this as the Top Energy Story of 2021 in a previous column because of the impact on so many people. But it isnt just oil and gasoline prices that have soared. Other commodity prices have soared as well. Some of the commodity price increases are because they are energy-intensive industries, and energy prices have skyrocketed. Other commodity prices have soared because of lingering supply chain disruptions that began as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, few commodities have surged this year quite like lithium. Lithium is one of the most important elements for our transition to a lower-carbon future. Lithium batteries are replacing the fuel in combustion engines in a variety of applications. As the penetration of electric vehicles rapidly grows, demand for lithium has grown exponentially. This is where lithium differs from oil. Demand for oil is not growing exponentially. The surge in oil prices was simply due to a return to normal demand, with a return to normal supplies lagging behind. Lithium, on the other hand, has seen a Covid-19 disruption plus explosive demand. That combination has led to a lithium price surge that makes oils rise seem tame in comparison. According to S&P Global Platts: Seaborne lithium carbonate prices have gained 413% since the start of 2021 to $32,600/mt CIF North Asia on Dec. 14, while lithium hydroxide prices have climbed 254% over the same period to $31,900/mt CIF North Asia, according to S&P Global Platts data. In comparison, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is currently 61% higher than it began the year, although it was up 78% in October before pulling back. But thats relatively mild in comparison to the triple-digit gains of lithium prices. Related: OPEC+ Sticks To Plan To Add 400,000 Bpd Oil Production In February Conventional wisdom in recent years had been that lithium prices would continue to fall as the lithium battery industry continued to scale. But Reuters recently reported that soaring costs are starting to feed through into prices of these batteries in China. I was curious about how the rising cost of lithium is impacting the lithium battery industry in the U.S., so I asked Alex Pisarev, the CEO of California-based lithium-ion battery supplier OneCharge. The recent lithium price spike indeed has had an impact on our business, Pisarev told me. Our costs are growing faster than the prices, and in parallel the component quality is deteriorating. Consequently we have to absorb even more service-related costs. Some components become unavailable, and we have to increase investments in engineering instead of outsourcing. I also asked about the root cause of the supply chain issues impacting the lithium industry. Pisarev explained The key underlying issue of the current supply chain bottleneck are COVID-related multiple imbalances in manufacturing in Asia and other major markets, aggravated by crude state interference in these regions. The market is still struggling to find a new balance. But relief isnt expected just yet. The issues impacting the lithium battery industry are expected to last well into 2022. In the next article, I will discuss these issues in light of the U.S.-China rivalry in the lithium battery space. I want to take a moment to thank you for reading, whether you are a regular reader, or if this is the first time you have encountered one of my articles. I wish you a safe, happy, and prosperous 2022. By Rober Rapier More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The energy crisis in Europe showed that oil and gas would continue to play a crucial role in meeting the growing global energy demand. The Biden Administration is struggling to walk the line between its ambitious green energy plans and the reality that the world still runs on oil and gas. U.S. President Joe Biden started his term in office at the beginning of 2021 by canceling the presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, clearly stating his goal to promote clean energy solutions at the expense of oil and gas. By the autumn of 2021, the Biden Administration was already calling on the OPEC+ group to produce more oil than planned to help American households see some relief at the pump, where gasoline prices shot up to a seven-year high. The apparent clash of energy policies highlighted once again the fact that the last pre-pandemic year 2019 was not the year of peak oil demand as some had suggested in early 2020, considering that global petroleum consumption came roaring back in 2021 as economies rebounded, lockdowns were lifted, and the U.S. saw record-high demand. Total implied petroleum consumption in the United States rose to a record 23.191 million bpd for the week ending December 10. The previous record was set during the week ending August 27 of last year, which had reached fresh highs of 22.820 million bpd. Oil Demand Roars Back While it was pushing to promote green energy and placing a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling on federal land, the Biden Administration has been contending with high gasoline pricesa pain for any presidents approval ratingsas a result of the rebound in American and global oil demand and international crude oil prices. The U.S. Administrations struggle has been one of the best examples of the dilemma that most world leaders faced in 2021 and will continue to face for years, and possibly decades, ahead: the need to ensure affordable energy, including from fossil fuels, while advances in the energy transition and technologies allow green energy to replace a material part of oil and gas demand. The energy crisis in Europe, which has contributed to the higher prices of energy commodities in recent months, showed that oil and gas would continue to play a crucial role in meeting the growing global energy demand. It also served to show that renewables cannot replace fossil fuels overnight, and the transition and all net-zero aspirations will not happen for decades. Administrations pushing for green energy sources in the long term is an admirable endeavor, but households/voters tend to appreciate short-term fixes to high gasoline prices and surging energy and heating bills. U.S. Shale Disappointed With Biden The U.S. Administration has been looking to do what it can to lower the highest gasoline prices in America. It hasnt had spectacular success since the summer of 2021. Thats mostly because international oil prices are typically the major driver of U.S. gasoline prices, and oil enjoyed quite a run last year, with Brent Crude prices reaching an annual high of $86 per barrel at the end of October, before retreating to around $80 in recent days. That duality the quest for more oil to keep the economy moving while simultaneously pushing for low-carbon alternatives was a running theme for 2021, Houston Chronicles Correspondent Dan Graeber notes. The theme continues into 2022, especially after the U.S. Administration pleaded with OPEC+ at the end of 2021 for help to curb high gasoline prices, instead of turning first to the industry at home, which sits on vast oil and gas reserves. The U.S. shale sector, however, seems reluctant to reinvest too much in drilling new wells, seeking to reward shareholders after years of poor investor returns. The American oil industry is also frustrated with the Biden Administrations neglect and proposed policies burdening the sector and making domestic oil production more expensive while increasing reliance on foreign oil, including producers with lower environmental standards. U.S. shale has not been happy with the Administrations continued engagement with OPEC+ on oil supply, while there is suchand it is abundantin America. I think first you, you stay home, you ask your friends, and you ask your neighbors to do it. And then if we cant do it, you call some other countries, Occidentals CEO Vicki Hollub told CNBC in November. Related: White House Praises OPEC For Production Decision Since then, the Administration has announced plans to release 50 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in a bid to lower gasoline prices and has continued to call onand praiseOPEC+ for adding more supply to the market each month. We welcome OPEC Plus decision to continue increases in production, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this week after the group decided to add another 400,000 barrels per day to its oil production in February in a widely expected move to continue easing the cuts each month. Our objective is to ensure that the supply out there meets the demand, Psaki said at a press briefing. This objective of having affordable and reliable energy supply now while working for more renewable sources in the energy mix in the longer term should give the Administration food for thought about how it has been treating its own oil and gas industry over the past year and from where the worlds single largest petroleum consumer, America, sources the oil to meet demand. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: If youve unlocked some recent International Energy Agency (IEA) data for a few thousand dollars, it could be the last time you are required to do so. The IEA is suggesting that it could make all its data and analyses free and available to all, Quantum Commodity Intelligence reported on Thursday. The move will support data transparency, particularly concerning the climate, at a time when the world is increasingly shifting toward green goals. The move comes as the IEA received criticism last year from academics that hiding data behind steep paywalls could impede the free exchange of climate-related data. Free IEA data could further benefit scientific research. The IEA is currently funded by member countries, including the United States, Japan, and some European countries, but subscriptions support a quarter of its $8.1 million budget. To make up for the revenue lost from subscriptions, IEA members would need to increase their contribution to the IEA. Private contributors could also pitch in to make up for the shortfall. The move, proposed by the IEAs executive director Fatih Birol, still must receive the approval of member countries at the next ministerial meeting, which will be held during the first week of February. "I am hopeful that we may be able to find a creative solution with the support of several members and large philanthropists that could permit us to make it a public good, in the interests of boosting market transparency and promoting good energy/climate decision making," Birol said at the end of December. Critics of the IEA paywall policy argue that since the IEA is funded through public money by member countries, the data should also be made free to the public. The IEA does provide some datasets for free to the public, but much of its dataincluding climate-related datais hidden behind costly paywalls. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: India is trying to save some export bucks in the new year where specialty steel is concerned. In 2022, India plans to focus on increasing per capita steel consumption enhancing steel raw material security. India seeks investors under PLI scheme for specialty steel In line with its announcement in mid-2021, the Government of India (GoI) recently invited applications from investors looking to invest under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel. The deadline for all submissions is March 29, 2022, as per the Ministry of Steel announcement. The incentive payout could well be over U.S. $840 million over five years for those companies participating in the scheme. Specifically, specialty steel is a variety of the alloy that is enhanced by coating, plating, heat treatment, etc., to transform it into high-value steel for numerous strategic sectors, such as defense, space, power and automobiles, among others. With the PLI scheme, India aims to become less dependent on special steel imports into India. The PLI scheme aims to promote the manufacture of specialty steel grades in India. Furthermore, it seems to help the steel industry rise to the top of the value chain through technology development. The broad five target categories for the scheme are: coated/plated products, high-strength/wear-resistant steel, specialty rails, alloy steel products and steel wires, and electrical steel. Already, both, state-owned and private steel companies have come forward and expressed their interest in the proposed scheme. State-owned SAIL, for example, has said it would consider availing the benefits when it draws up its next round of capex plans. Private player JSPL and Tata Steel also indicated they were contemplating registering for the PLI scheme. The scheme proposes to encourage eligible manufacturers by paying between 4-12% incentive on incremental production. Steel growth Indias steel market flourished & grew in 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has already reiterated that even as the sector grows, the focus will also be on finding new markets. That is significant also because of Chinas slowing down of steel production over environmental concerns. As per the National Steel Policy 2017, the government has set a target to ramp up the countrys crude steel production output to 300 million tons (MT) by 2030. The policy also seeks to increase domestic per capita steel consumption to 160 kg by 2030. At present, Indias per capita steel consumption is about 72.3 kg, while the capacity is at 143.9 MTPA. In order to participate in the scheme, any Indian company manufacturing the identified specialty steel grades will have to register in India. To guarantee end-to-end manufacturing, companies will have to ensure that the steel used to make specialty steel is melted and poured in the country. By AG Metal Miner More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Mexicos decision to halve oil exports this year and suspend them all together in 2023 will affect its oil hedgethe biggest in the worldsubstantially, pushing oil prices higher. Bloomberg reports that thanks to its hedge, Mexico is one of the biggest sellers of oil contracts for any given year ahead. However, the hedge is based on its oil exports, and when, or if, these stop, the hedge will shrink, adding volatility and upside potential to longer-dated oil contracts. The report quotes analysts and traders who explain that Mexicos exit as a major oil option seller would mean the removal of a natural cap for prices: because the country locks in future exports, it effectively guarantees these exports would be available. Without the hedge, this certainty is gone along with the millions of barrels of Mexican oil that would have otherwise been sold abroad. The chief executive of Mexicos state-owned oil major Pemex, Octavio Romero, announced the decision to end exports late last year, saying that in 2022 exports would be slashed by 50 percent to 435,000 bpd. Currently, Mexico is the third-largest oil exporter in the Americas, after the United States and Canada, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The main destinations for its crude are its northern neighbors in North America and China, India, and South Korea, as well as European countries. A cut in exports could make some of these importers look for alternative suppliers. Meanwhile, the oil hedge is a major contributor to government revenues. It is also a potential safeguard against price drops and in 2020 saved Mexicos coffers when international oil prices tanked amid the first wave of Covid-19. Last year, the country made $3.5 billion from the oil hedge. For this year, according to reports, Mexico is hedging its oil output at a price of $60 to $65 per barrel of crude. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: $100 oil isnt necessarily a good thing for the U.S. shale oil industry, several U.S. oil industry executives said this week, according to Bloomberg. $100 oil could hurt the United States shale industry. Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield sees oil prices hanging around between $75 and below $100 per barrel. Any more than thatat $110 or $120Sheffield said, and it would be no help to the industry. Ed Morse, global head of commodities at Citigroup, said if oil reached more than $100, it wouldnt stay there for long. Thats because those high prices are a trigger for U.S. shale companies to invest in ore oil and gas explorationand more oil and gas exploration means more production, and more production means tipping the market to one of more supply and building inventories. As it stands now, oil inventories in the United States drew down nearly 75 million barrels of crude oil last year, pushing prices upward as demand came roaring back after severe pandemic losses. Despite this tightening market and rising prices, shareholders are still not eager to have oil companies return to heavy production growth. And for now, U.S. oil and gas companies have obliged, focusing on buybacks, debt consolidations, and dividend payouts. But if prices go much beyond $100 per barrel, it could prove to be too tempting for U.S. oil companiesincluding those in the Permianto ignore. Travis Stice, CEO for Diamondback Energy, agrees that $100 oil could signal U.S. oil companies to grow production, contrary to the desire of shareholders. Eighteen months ago, we were in a global apocalypse for the energy sector, and now youre talking about outsized returns. We should all pause and recognize the Tectonic shifts that is in capital allocation, Stice told Bloomberg. WTI was trading at $77.24 on Wednesday afternoon. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Emerging economies in South and Southeast Asia are returning to the spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) market these days, despite the high prices of cargoes, creating additional gas demand globally amid a supply crunch that has seen European gas prices hit record highs in recent weeks. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India are back to buying spot LNG cargoes, despite their sensitivity to high prices, traders told Bloomberg on Thursday. Those countries, and others in south Asia, are forced to buy expensive LNG to avoid blackouts and to keep industries operational. Pakistan, for example, is going through a shortage of natural gas and its vital textile exports slumped by 20 percent, or by $250 million in December, because mills were forced to shut down for two weeks amid a shortage of gas. This winter, however, China looks well supplied with gas and LNG and could limit gains in spot LNG prices in Asia, traders tell Bloomberg. Europe, on the other hand, is in a league of its ownLNG prices there shot up above the Asian LNG prices last month, prompting a fleet of dozens of tankers from the U.S. to head to Europe and LNG carriers to divert route from Asia to Europe. Just before Christmas, European gas prices jumped to an all-time high after natural gas on a key pipeline from Russia to Germany reversed flow eastward and freezing temperatures took hold in many parts of Europe. Following a decline in Europes benchmark gas prices after Christmas due to the high number of LNG cargoes headed its way, the new year began with prices soaring again as gas deliveries from Russia via Ukraine and Poland continue to be low while another cold snap is headed to Europe. On Wednesday, natural gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark for European gas, rose by 6 percent by mid-day, following a 30-percent jump on Tuesday. Early on Thursday, European and UK gas prices continued to rise on cold weather and low Russian supply. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: President Joe Biden will mark the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021, insurrection by delivering remarks on Thursday morning focused on the "singular responsibility" former President Donald Trump had in the assault on the Capitol, the White House says. In Washington, DC, one year ago, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building following the then-President's rally on the Ellipse outside the White House, where he cast doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election. The events of the day led to Trump's second impeachment by the House of Representatives. The insurrection launched the largest investigation in FBI history, with 700 people arrested and hundreds more offenders still at large. And a House select committee continues to investigate the events leading up to the riots. Two Trump allies -- Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon -- have been held in criminal contempt for declining to cooperate with committee investigators after being subpoenaed. On Capitol Hill, a series of events organized by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take place following Biden's speech to mark the January 6 anniversary, including a moment of silence on the House floor and testimonials from lawmakers about the harrowing attack. During his speech at Statuary Hall inside the Capitol building, Biden is expected to "lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during Wednesday's press briefing. In a preview of the President's remarks, Psaki said Biden will also "push back on the lie spread by the former President and attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters as well as distract from his role and what happened." The events of the insurrection took place just two weeks before Biden's inauguration, casting a shadow on the new President's administration. And despite the slew of tossed out court cases, failed state election audits and countless debunked conspiracy claims, many Trump supporters have continued to doubt the legitimacy of Biden's presidency. Speaking about that violent day, which included five fatalities, the President is expected to discuss "the importance of history, of the peaceful transfer of power," as well as what the United States needs "to do protect our own democracy and be forward looking." Biden will address "silence and complacency" among Republican lawmakers since January 6, as well as voting rights, Psaki said, noting that Trump "abused his office, undermined the Constitution and ignored his oath to the American people in an effort to amass more power for himself and his allies." Vice President Kamala Harris is also expected to deliver remarks on Thursday regarding the anniversary of the insurrection. Harris expected to say "that the insurrection was not just an assault on our Capitol, but an assault on our freedom and values," according to a White House official. "The vice president will outline that the American experiment is being tested, and that we must work to secure voting rights, ensure free and fair elections, and safeguard our democracy for generations to come. She will also honor the brave men and women in law enforcement, who fought to uphold our democracy, protected the Capitol and saved the lives of the people who were there," the official said in a statement. While Trump was expected to hold a news conference scheduled for the anniversary of the insurrection, it was abruptly canceled. Allies had warned it would cause unnecessary problems for Republicans and himself. Instead of his news conference on Thursday, Trump is expected to air his grievances at a campaign-style rally in Arizona next week. Lawmakers and historians to commemorate anniversary At the end of December, Pelosi announced a slate of events at the Capitol to mark the passage of a year since the deadly attack. In a letter to Democrats, Pelosi wrote that the events "are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness." At noon, there will be a prayer and a moment of silence on the House floor. Then a moderated conversation will take place featuring historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham. Pelosi's letter said that the discussion will serve "to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6." Afterward, lawmakers will have time to provide testimonials to "share their reflections of the day." Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow will preside over the testimonials. Crow was one of the lawmakers trapped inside the House chamber during the attack and was famously pictured crouched down in aid to a colleague who appeared to be in distress. "Trauma, any trauma, impacts everybody," Crow, a former Army Ranger, told CNN not long after the attack. "Nobody is immune to it and everybody responds to it differently." Later, a prayer vigil will be held on the center steps of the Capitol where House and Senate lawmakers can participate. While congressional Democrats have put together a full day of events to bring attention to what happened during the insurrection, congressional Republicans, in contrast, have seemed reluctant to talk much about it and especially reluctant to address Trump's role. In a letter to House Republicans at the start of the new year, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy briefly mentioned the January 6 anniversary, but did not include any mention of the former President. "The actions of that day were lawless and as wrong as wrong can be. Our Capitol should never be compromised and those who broke the law deserve to face legal repercussions and full accountability," he wrote. McCarthy then pivoted to criticizing Democrats. "Unfortunately, one year later, the majority party seems no closer to answering the central question of how the Capitol was left so unprepared and what must be done to ensure it never happens again. Instead, they are using it as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country," he said. GOP leaders won't be in the Capitol on Thursday with the House out of session and a number of Republican senators heading to Georgia to attend a memorial service for the late Sen. Johnny Isakson. The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. CNN's Phil Mattingly, Melanie Zanona and Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report. SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Appellate Court ruled last week that a Cook County judge erred when he overturned the firing of a Chicago police officer who was dismissed over allegations that he wrongfully detained a man and dropped him off at a park far from his home after deciding not to make an arrest. Appellate Court Judge Leroy Martin wrote in the ruling that Officer Eugene Posey ignored his duties to uphold the law and protect the public when he, without justification, detained (Corey) Stewart and drove him to McKinley Park, a place neither he nor Stewart were familiar with, and abandoned him. Advertisement The efficacy and discipline of a police force is impaired when a police officer fails to abide by the laws he has sworn to enforce, Martin wrote in a 30-page decision. In an earlier ruling, Cook County Judge Peter Flynn had agreed with the Chicago Police Board that the officer unlawfully detained Stewart during an encounter outside a CTA Red Line train station in 2014, but determined the boards decision to fire the officer was too harsh. Flynn ordered the board to come up with a more lenient penalty. Advertisement The board then gave Posey a five-year suspension, but the city nonetheless appealed the ruling to the appellate court. The police board declined to comment on the latest ruling. Since 2016, Cook County and state Appellate Court judges have heard appeals of police board firings and upheld the boards decisions in about 22 cases, including Poseys, according to figures provided by the board. In the last decade, Poseys is one of only a handful of board decisions that were reversed by the Cook County court before being upheld by the state appellate court, the board said. Neither Posey nor Stewart could be reached for comment. It was not known if the officer will appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court. The case involving Stewart wasnt the first time Posey had been brought before the police board on misconduct allegations, nor was it the first time he had been involved in the court appeals process. In August 2014, three months after his encounter with Stewart, Posey was accused of pointing a gun at a woman in Aurora without justification while off-duty, and lying about details of the incident with investigators. The board found Posey not guilty of committing any disciplinary infractions in that case, but the Chicago Police Department appealed that decision to a Cook County judge, who reversed the boards ruling. That led the board to penalize Posey with a 60-day suspension. The case was then taken to the state appellate court, which sided with Posey, and the original not guilty ruling from the board was reinstated. Advertisement After the board fired Posey in 2017 for his confrontation with Stewart, Judge Flynn affirmed the boards findings of fact and conclusions of law, but reversed its decision to fire the officer, finding that, in fairness to (Poseys) 17-year history as a police officer, the discipline should be something less than outright discharge, according to court records. The police board in 2018 suspended Posey for five years while maintaining he still should have been fired. The allegations against Posey stem from his May 12, 2014, encounter with Stewart, who worked at the time as a loss prevention officer for a security company, at the Garfield Boulevard Red Line station. Posey was in a police vehicle with his partner when he saw Stewart with a dirty look on his face, and saw him spit in front of the vehicle, according to Poseys police board testimony at his June 2017 disciplinary hearing. Posey testified he got out of the vehicle to talk to Stewart because he looked suspicious before handcuffing him and putting him in the back of the vehicle. Posey testified that he decided to write Stewart a ticket for disorderly conduct and didnt intend to arrest him, but intended to go to a police station to get a citation book, Advertisement But it was noted during cross-examination that Posey didnt mention any of that to the now-defunct Independent Police Review Authority, which initially investigated the case. Posey testified before the board that as he and his partner drove Stewart to the police station, his demeanor changed and Posey decided to let him go. Posey claimed he took Stewart out of the vehicle and removed his handcuffs, not realizing they were in McKinley Park on the Southwest Side, some five miles from where Stewart was picked up. Stewart, however, testified to the board that he spit on the ground because he had a cold. After he was dropped off in McKinley Park, he called his mother on his cellphone and told her, Ma, if anything happen to me, the police did it, according to Martins opinion. A gas station employee also testified that Stewart told him that night what happened with Posey and that Stewart was angry that something wrong happened to him, and he wanted to report it to a police sergeant, court records said. Martins opinion noted that GPS records from Poseys vehicle corroborated Stewarts account of the events. An emergency dispatch supervisor also testified at the board there was no communication between Posey, his partner and the dispatch center for a one hour and 24-minute period during which time they had Stewart in their custody, Martins opinion noted. The board pointed out that neither Posey nor his partner, who was not disciplined in the case, notified an emergency dispatcher about detaining Stewart, a violation of Police Department rules. Based on witness testimony that the board called competent and uncontradicted, it also ruled that Posey violated Stewarts civil rights and had no reason to detain, handcuff or transport him. Advertisement jgorner@chicagotribune.com Marisa Hattab, who is in her first week as Douglas Countys first-ever officer of diversity, equity and inclusion, brings half a lifetime of experience in trying to improve workplaces and civic spaces. Hattab first was drawn into the work as one of very few minority high school students in her hometown of Troy, Ohio. She expanded on that experience while studying education at Wright State University. And she has learned and worked more in the field in her professional career. After coming to Omaha when the Air Force sent her husband to Bellevue, she has worked as an educator with the Omaha Street School and most recently as associate director of partnership, development and training for MENTOR Nebraska, a nonprofit mentoring organization. She created DEI trainings for the group. And she helped craft a racial equity plan and policies, procedures and messaging that MENTOR National shared with its other affiliates around the country. A lot of the work I was doing there was around DEI and so I felt like it was in my wheelhouse as far as what Im just naturally passionate about, Hattab said. Douglas County created the position last year as part of the outgrowth from an employee survey and other work of a diversity, equity and inclusion committee composed of county department heads and other leaders. The annual salary is $92,000. The position reports directly to Douglas County Chief Administrative Officer Patrick Bloomingdale. Her primary function is championing, overseeing and advising on the development and implementation of the Douglas County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and objectives, according to the countys job description. The DEI officer works to eliminate systemic organizational marginalization and promotes inclusion evidenced through county structures, customs and leaderships. Hattab started Monday. Im super excited but also humbled to be in this role, because this is a big deal, she said. She intends to invest a lot of her early work in learning about the people in county government. One of her guiding principles is not to make decisions about people without uplifting their lived experiences and their voices. Its important for me, especially in the first 90 days, just to be a learner and observer and kind of learning about Douglas Countys operations and just listening and hearing what peoples experiences have been before I can really start kind of mapping out this plan, Hattab said. Its important to include their voices. ... My approach will be learning and then being a collaborator and bringing folks together for us to collectively start coming up with these plans. Douglas County followed suit with many corporations and local governments, including the City of Omaha, in creating similar positions after the 2020 summer of tumult that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That year brought new light to chronic inequalities and racism in American life, and many proclamations of intentions to address them. The countys DEI committee and subcommittee work and the employee survey raised questions to address, County Board Chair Mary Ann Borgeson said. Do we have to look at hiring practices, retaining practices, promotional practices? Those are things that I think, again, internally we need to look at, she said. Borgeson hopes having a DEI officer will lead to in-depth analysis of those issues and changes if there are things that need to be changed when it deals with hiring, retaining and promotions. Hattab said she believes Douglas County leaders are serious about the issue. I think the fact that it has been a year and theyre rolling out this position shows how intentional that theyve tried to be before bringing me on, Hattab said. People could say that diversity, equity and inclusion has kind of come to be like this tokenizing or bandwagon statement, she said. But she doesnt believe that to be the case here. She cited the DEI committee work, and the fact that her position reports directly to the countys top administrator. I think that showcases the seriousness that Douglas County also sees in this work because sometimes DEI officers can be tucked off somewhere where theyre not really visible, where they dont have any significant influence, to be honest, Hattab said. So I think that the way that Douglas County went about hiring its first DEI officer was super intentional. I know that theyre committed, or I wouldnt even be sitting here. Omaha World-Herald: Afternoon Update The latest headlines sent at 4:45 p.m. daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Combat veteran Don Bacon cant easily shake the image of an angry mob of supporters of President Donald Trump storming his workplace, the U.S. Capitol, last Jan. 6. Some rioters battered police officers with fire extinguishers and bludgeoned them with American flags while shouting hang Mike Pence. Five deaths have been connected to the melee. At least 140 police officers were wounded. The riots caused about $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol. They didnt have a right to break in and do what they did, said Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general who has represented Nebraskas 2nd Congressional District since 2017, shortly after the attack. Lets rein this back in. A year later, the reining-in is far from complete. More than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots. Charges include assault, resisting arrest and entering a restricted area, in some cases with weapons. So far, though, no top officials in the Trump administration, or his congressional allies, have been charged with criminal culpability, pending continuing investigations by the Justice Department and congressional committees. Some Republican leaders such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California initially criticized Trumps handling of the insurrection but have since walked it back, acknowledging Trumps continuing influence in the GOP. Bacon said it worries him that some Republicans appear to be downplaying or excusing the riots. There are people on our side of the aisle who are minimizing what happened. I want Republicans to stand for the rule of law, he said. Its never right to assault a police officer. Bacon was the only one of Nebraskas five-member Congressional delegation (all Republicans) who agreed to an interview regarding the anniversary of the insurrection. Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry didnt respond, while Sen. Ben Sasse and Rep. Adrian Smith offered brief written statements. Smith, whose sprawling 3rd District covers most of the state, described the Capitol riot as a tragic and unacceptable event. While our criminal justice system is prosecuting those who violently forced their way into the building, it is important we work together to prevent a similar event from happening again, said Smith, who was the only Nebraskan in Congress to vote against certifying election results in contested states after the Capitol riot. Sasse described the riot as a failure, noting that it didnt stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Americans solve political disagreements with the ballot box, not with violence, Sasse said in his statement. Thats exactly why the attack on the Capitol failed, why the assaults on police officers were gross, and why Congress certified the election results the same night. A week after the riots, the House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach Trump. Nebraskas three representatives in the House all voted against the single article of impeachment, while issuing statements deploring the violence on Jan. 6. At the subsequent trial in the Senate, Sasse was one of seven Republicans who joined all 50 Democrats in voting to convict Trump short of the 67 votes required for conviction. Fischer voted no. The riot and Trumps subsequent impeachment sharpened divisions between the parties in Congress that have been widening for years. Members now look at each other with anger and distrust. Bacon said the atmosphere has grown so corrosive since the Jan. 6 riots that its undermining Congress ability to deal with challenges especially foreign ones that require unity. We have gridlock in this country, Bacon said. Meanwhile, China is surpassing us. The environment in Washington is totally toxic. He said both parties must stop challenging the legitimacy of election victories by the other party, citing claims by some Democrats that Trump owed his narrow 2016 victory to collusion between his campaign and the Russian government. Bacon also said the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is too tainted by partisanship to produce a report that will win Republican support. Speaker Nancy Pelosi established the committee after Senate Republicans blocked a plan to create an independent, bipartisan commission. He acknowledged that some things have been learned because of the select committees work. But to ask Republicans to get behind a select committee when shes kicked off people she doesnt like thats not going to happen, Bacon said. Bacon believes the way forward for Congress is for members to work across the aisle on broadly popular legislation as he has done with the Houses Problem Solvers Caucus, whose 58 members are evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Optimism starts with example, Bacon said. We live in the greatest country in the world, and weve got to work together to preserve it. This story has been updated to reflect that five deaths have been connected to the Capitol riot. According to the Associated Press, a Capitol Police officer collapsed and died after engaging with rioters who descended on the building. A medical examiner later determined he died of natural causes. A woman was shot to death by Capitol Police and three other people died after medical emergencies during the chaos. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon has officially filed for reelection to continue representing Omahas 2nd District. The Republican tweeted photos of himself signing the necessary paperwork next to Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen on Wednesday. Today we made it official that I am seeking to continue serving the constituents of the 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska, Bacon said in a statement. We have a strong team and group of volunteers who are already connecting with people across all three counties in our district. Bacon will be seeking his fourth term in Congress. Bacon defeated one-term Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford in 2016 and has been reelected twice by narrow margins. Two Democrats, State Sen. Tony Vargas and Alisha Shelton, have both jumped into the race. Vargas represents southeast and downtown Omaha in the Nebraska Legislature and previously served on the Omaha Public Schools board. He issued a statement after Bacon filed for reelection saying the congressman has proved hes out of touch with hardworking Nebraskans. Nebraskans deserve a leader who will always put them first, who will work to get rising costs under control, and continue to grow our economy, the statement said. Shelton, a mental health practitioner, previously sought the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Sen. Ben Sasse in 2020. Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump issued a statement asking: Anyone want to run for Congress against Don Bacon in Nebraska? The former president was following up on earlier criticism of Bacon for voting for the Biden administrations infrastructure bill. Taylor Gage, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party, said he is unaware of any other Republican planning to run in the 2nd District. In a statement, Nebraska GOP Chairman Dan Welch praised Bacon. Don Bacon is a rock solid conservative, who has proven to be a strong voice for Nebraska, Welch said. Hes the right person for the job, and I believe Nebraska will send him back to Washington in 2022 to keep fighting for us. Bacon said in the statement that he will continue to work with his colleagues across the aisle on many issues but will stand firm against any attempts from the far left who seek to transform our country into something unrecognizable. The 2nd District leans Republican but has elected Democrats in the past and has supported Democratic presidential candidates in 2008 and 2020. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On the first day of the 2022 legislative session, Nebraska lawmakers wasted no time diving into one of the most contentious political mires of the moment: abortion. State Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling introduced a bill that would ban abortions after a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected. Meanwhile, Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, who has pledged to fight any bans, introduced two bills to expand abortion access. Slamas bill, Legislative Bill 781, would require physicians, before they perform an abortion, do an ultrasound and see whether they can detect a fetal heartbeat. A fetal heartbeat is defined in the bill as cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac. Physicians can usually detect cardiac activity at about six weeks, before many women know theyre pregnant. The bill would make it illegal to perform an abortion if its been determined the fetus has a detectable fetal heartbeat. In addition to Slama, 20 senators have signed onto the bill as cosponsors. Nebraska is a pro-life state, Slama said in a press release. Passing LB 781 is an absolute necessity to protect innocent life. Since 2000, we have lost over 50,000 lives to abortion in Nebraska. LB 781 simply makes it illegal to stop a babys beating heart. While abortion opponents, including the Nebraska Family Alliance, cheered the bills introduction Wednesday, abortion rights advocates reacted swiftly and strongly. The ACLU of Nebraska issued a statement calling on senators to reject the bill, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska also came out in opposition, calling it a six-week ban. Scout Richters, legal and policy counsel at the ACLU of Nebraska, called LB 781 one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the entire nation, a red alarm and just one step removed from a law that passed last year in Texas. It clearly violates Roe v. Wade and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, she said. Slamas bill does not appear to include a particularly controversial provision in the Texas law that allows private citizens to sue an abortion provider or anyone else who may have helped a person get the abortion. LB 781 also does not appear to include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Slama did not respond to The World-Herald, and her office referred a reporter to the press release. Sen. Hunt said shell do whatever it takes to make sure the bill doesnt pass. Im sure they think that theyre doing the right thing, Hunt said. But we just cant legislate from a place of Christian morality, especially when, by doing that, were superseding the expertise of medical experts and science and researchers, and thats what this bill would do. She doesnt believe fellow lawmakers will want to wade into a debate on abortion which Hunt said isnt a top priority for Nebraskans during a short, 60-day session. She cited data from the Pew Research Center, which found in a 2020 analysis of public opinion data that 50% of adults in Nebraska think abortion should be legal in all or most cases while 46% think it should be illegal in all or most cases. Hunt introduced two bills that would ease access to abortion. We cant always just be saying no to things, she said. We have to be saying: This is our vision to make Nebraska more welcoming, and these are the policies that were going to put in place to do that. One, LB 715, would eliminate a current prohibition that keeps health insurance providers from providing abortion coverage. Insurers can currently only cover abortion when the life of the woman is endangered unless a person purchases a rider, she said. The other, LB 716, would expand the types of practitioners that can provide abortions to include osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants. In many other states, Hunt said, these practitioners already can provide abortion care, and theres no data that says theres a danger to expanding it. She also has another abortion-related bill pending in the Judiciary Committee that she introduced last year, LB 276. That one would allow medical abortions to be conducted by telemedicine. Taken all together, the bills tee up a potential battle in the Legislature this year but they dont come as a surprise. Abortion legislation was widely anticipated by advocates on either side of the issue, because of recent activity in other state legislatures and courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Nate Grasz of the Nebraska Family Alliance said the organization sees huge momentum behind heartbeat bills. That bill will be a top priority, he said, but both he and Marion Miner of the Nebraska Catholic Conference said it wont be the only major anti-abortion bill this session. This is the single most important issue senators will address this session and we want all options on the table, Grasz wrote in a text message. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sen. Tom Briese of Albion will introduce a bill on Thursdays first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol designating voter fraud as a felony in Nebraska subject to a prison term. But Briese said Wednesday that his purpose in proposing the legislation is to enhance public confidence in the election system, not to suggest he agrees with critics who believe the 2020 presidential election results were corrupted by fraud. I choose to believe in the integrity of our election system, Briese said. Briese, an Albion farmer, is a Republican member of the nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature who is serving his second term after being reelected in 2020 without opposition. During an interview in his Capitol office on Wednesday, he said he has been approached by some constituents who question the results of the 2020 presidential election. Some folks believe there was fraud last year; I dont believe it occurred, absent compelling evidence, Briese said. Enhancing the penalty for voter fraud to a Class II felony from its current criminalization in Nebraska as misdemeanors or lesser Class IV felonies should help deter any such conduct, Briese said. SPRINGFIELD The Illinois General Assemblys 2022 session, the third to be held under the cloud of the pandemic, got off to a slow start Wednesday. House and Senate chambers were far from filled as things got underway and when the House took roll to start the day, only 62 of 73 Democrats and no Republicans answered the call, just barely meeting the minimum 60 members needed to convene. GOP lawmakers came to the floor later Wednesday when the House reconvened after a recess. Advertisement The attendance situation was initially worse in the Senate, which didnt field enough members for most of the chambers business to begin until late Wednesday afternoon. The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Jan. 13, 2021. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) It wasnt entirely clear why legislators trickled in so slowly, although the weeks calendar was shortened to a single day because of the latest surge of COVID-19 in the state. Advertisement Nonetheless, the day was not without partisan politics as Senate Republicans sparred with Democrats who hold supermajorities in both parties over a Democratic-drawn plan for judicial sub circuits. After much debate, the bill passed in the Senate along party lines late Wednesday by a 41-16 vote. The House then late Wednesday approved the new judicial sub-circuits on a 66-34 vote, with Republicans unified in opposition. State Rep. Tim Butler, a Springfield Republican, accused the majority Democrats of using new judicial maps to extend their control to local across the state. Its not about diversity, Butler said. Its about electing Democratic judges. Thats what its all about. Theres no doubt about it. Leading up to the vote, Senate Republicans accused the Democrats of rushing the several hundred-page bill through the chamber without enough time for legislators in the minority party vet it. We have no statutory or constitutional requirement saying we must redraw these sub circuits today, said Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, of Hawthorn Woods. But Democratic Senate President Don Harmon said the legislature does have a statutory obligation to redistrict and that its behind schedule. He also said the legislature has been deliberating the redistricting process for about a year. My only wish is that there was more public interest for redistricting than we have seen, said Harmon, of Oak Park. We have pushed and pulled and prodded and tried to get more people to participate. Advertisement In a committee hearing earlier, Harmon said the remapping of judicial circuits was needed to reflect the diversity of the population they represent. The proposal, he said, was modeled after a law passed previously that requires judicial redistricting in Cook County. If you have judges in an urban county all elected from rural counties outside of that urban center, there could be a real lack of faith in the judiciary, Harmon said. Republican state Sen. Jil Tracy, of Quincy, questioned whether the redistricting was necessary outside of Cook County. Was any one group or individual pushing this? she asked Harmon. I represent areas near some of these counties that are going to be affected. I have never had anyone say that they felt this was necessary or needed. McConchie released a statement before the vote saying Democrats have been power hungry throughout this process at the expense of democracy. As was stated today in committee, partisanship was a factor in drawing the sub circuit maps. Our caucus will not assist in any effort to corrupt our judicial system through partisan gerrymandering, McConchie said. If the Democrats want a power grab of our courts, they can do it on their own. The judicial branch, above all, should be held to a higher standard than this sort of politicization. Advertisement The debate was similar to ones that took place last year as Democratic-drawn maps for the state legislature and Congress were pushed through the General Assembly over Republican objections and later signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Earlier Wednesday, the House voted to extend rules allowing legislators to participate in session days remotely through June 1. Remote voting was first allowed in 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic and has been extended as the coronavirus has lingered. Pritzkers office disclosed that was working remotely through at least Sunday after having close contact with an employee in the governors office who tested positive for COVID-19. With the Omicron variant spreading across the state, the governor is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, according to a statement from his office on Wednesday. The governor tested negative for COVID-19 as recently as this morning and is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. Session days scheduled for next week could be held remotely, though neither chamber has formally announced its plans. Dan Petrella reported from Chicago. Advertisement jgorner@chicagotribune.com dpetrella@chicagotribune.com LINCOLN Nebraska lawmakers launched into the 2022 session Wednesday with a flurry of bills covering everything from renters tax breaks to early voting to carrying concealed weapons without a permit. Senators introduced 108 bills and two proposed constitutional amendments during an opening day that was light on ceremony and long on catching up on the three months that have passed since the special session on redistricting. Among the days developments: Concealed carry. Legislative Bill 773, introduced by State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, would eliminate the need for people to get permits, criminal background checks and training to legally carry concealed weapons. Only people barred from owning guns would be barred from carrying them concealed under the so-called constitutional carry legislation. Those include felons, people convicted of domestic violence and people in violation of protection orders. Brewer has said he plans to name the bill his priority for the year. He expects it to get stuck in committee and is prepared to introduce a motion to pull it out for debate. Renters tax break. LB 740, introduced by Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington, would provide an income tax deduction to renters. The deduction would be equal to the annual amount of rent paid for a home or apartment or $3,000, whichever is less. The proposal would give tax relief to Nebraskans who are missing out on the income tax credits provided to property taxpayers. The state will provide $548 million worth of the credits instituted under LB 1107 this year. Deductions reduce the amount of income that is taxed. Credits reduce the amount of income taxes owed. Early voting limit. LB 785, introduced by Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, would cut the amount of time allowed for voters to cast mail-in or early ballots by about one-third. The bill would require that early ballots be mailed not sooner than 22 days before a statewide primary or general election, down from the at least 35 days in current law. It also would give voters 22 days before an election to cast early ballots in an election office, down from 30 days currently. Hundreds of bills restricting early voting or setting other limits on voting have been introduced around the nation. Federal money. Nine bills seeking more than $300 million worth of federal pandemic relief money were introduced by various senators. Among them was one to build a beef slaughter and packing plant, another to provide school districts with money for employee retention, one to support pancreatic cancer research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a fourth to improve technology infrastructure in the state. Nebraska is getting $1.04 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act. Deciding how to spend the money is expected to be a major focus of the session. New normal. Heading into the third year of the pandemic, the session appeared closer to normal. The plastic dividers were gone from the legislative chamber, and few senators wore masks. Lobbyists once again filled the Capitol Rotunda and sent in notes to lawmakers. Members of the public were allowed to watch from the balconies once more. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ho-Chunk CEO Lance Morgan (World-Herald, Dec. 16, 2021) expresses concern about new horse track casinos in Nebraska cannibalizing and weakening existing facilities. By facilities, he means several planned Ho-Chunk casinos at existing Nebraska horse tracks. Morgans cannibalization concern is exactly right but far too narrow. The secret truth Nebraskans failed to hear during the campaign on the 2020 casino ballot initiative is that nearly all casinos in America cannibalize their local economies. They bring little money from outside. Rather, they pull most of it from spending at existing businesses. Morgan is understandably worried about his own profits, but disappointingly silent about everyone elses. The economic impact and jobs casinos claim are not in addition to existing local economic activity but in place of it. Gambling dollars do not drop from the sky. They come from local gamblers whose spending patterns change when slot machines move in, at the expense of local business receipts. Even for Omaha, Keep the money in Nebraska was always a lie. A 2004 Omaha Chamber of Commerce study found that building a casino in Omaha would actually increase, not decrease, Nebraska gambling losses in Council Bluffs casinos because it would result in more Nebraskans gambling. Its not a secret that more casinos mean more gambling. It shouldnt be a secret that more gambling means less money spent on other things. Lincoln? Grand Island? Columbus? Forget about economic development. Your casinos are going to cannibalize your businesses, as will the potential Bellevue and York casinos Morgan worries about. More casinos mean more cannibalization. Thats you, too, Norfolk. Its the casino business model. And now Oklahomas Global Gaming Solutions (GGS) is pushing for casinos in Gering and North Platte, with flowery economic impact projections that, as usual, simply ignore their casinos cannibalization effects. GGS knows that most casino revenue comes from within 35 miles of a casino, with a smaller secondary market within 80 miles. Nonetheless, GGS claims gamblers will come from 125 to 150 miles away to gambling in western Nebraska. Get real. The last thing Nebraskas rural business community needs is another revenue drain. If you own or manage a business in Nebraska, Morgans concern that his business will lose money to other casinos in Nebraska should be your concern, too. Only pawn shops and payday lending operations consistently get more business when casinos move in. Once the dust settles at casino construction sites, other businesses see their receipts suffer. Morgan has proven adept at protecting his own profits. Ho-Chunk and affiliates together make up one of Nebraskas biggest beneficiaries of the congressional Paycheck Protection Program. And it got taxpayers to foot some of the bill for its Omaha casino through tax increment financing an ironic step for an initiative that promised tax relief. Also ironic is Morgans claim that additional Nebraska casinos will cannibalize Ho-Chunk profits accompanied by his silence about the same effect that Ho-Chunk casinos will have on Nebraskas broader business community. Odder yet is that the one man perhaps most responsible for Nebraskas existing casino law is now complaining about others taking advantage of it. If Morgan didnt want casinos outside of existing tracks, why didnt he write that into the petition effort to begin with? Or is the horse racing community pulling a fast one on Ho-Chunk? Pat Loontjer is executive director of Gambling with the Good Life, Nebraskas voice against gambling expansion since 1995. Tony winner Adrienne Warren (Tina) embodies civil-rights figure Mamie Till-Mobley in a powerful limited series for ABC. On new hit sitcom Ghosts, Sams ability to see spirits gets personal. Fox revives the Joe Millionaire dating franchise, with a twist. A familiar face returns to Law & Order: SVU. Series Premiere 8/7c Having won a Tony for playing Tina Turner on Broadway, Adrienne Warren brings fire to her portrayal of another significant woman warrior: Mamie Till-Mobley, whose advocacy on behalf of her teenage son Emmitt, murdered by racists in Mississippi in 1955, helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement. The first chapter of the limited series (continuing Jan. 13 and 20) depicts the strong bond between mother and son, his senseless murder and Mamies determination to bring his body back to Chicago so all can see what the evils of racism have wrought. Followed by the first installment of Let the World See (10/9c), an ABC News docuseries that digs deeper into Mamies story. Nia Long reads excerpts from her memoir, and former First Lady Michelle Obama also appears to provide context to this civil-rights pioneers legacy. (See the full review). 9/8c The falls brightest new network comedy returns with Sam (Rose McIver) and husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) on a road trip to Ohio, a personal mission for Sam to see if her gift for seeing spirits extends to her own deceased mom (Rachael Harris) in hopes of an astral reconciliation. Back at the estate, Sasappis (Roman Zaragoza) exposes a secret about Pete (Richie Moriarty) that puts the former scout leader in the rare position of lying. As a rowdy denizen of the basement cholera pit, Betsy Sodaro just about steals the episode. Series Premiere 8/7c Because TVs dating-show pool isnt deep enough, Fox revives this franchise after 19 years with a significant twist. The new Joe Millionaire introduces two hot bachelorsKurt, from the construction world, and farmer Stevenonly one of whom is a millionaire. Theyre hiding the truth from 20 women who are seeking a love connection, and these patsies will have to decide whether to follow their hearts, or their pocketbooks. Doesnt that just warm the heart? 9/8c Donal Logue, who recurred on the long-running crime drama in 2014 and 2015, returns as the NYPDs Declan Murphy, now a captain in the Hate Crimes Division. He enlists the SVU unit to help his (including guest star Jason Biggs as Det. Andy Parlato-Goldstein) investigate a wave of hate crimes sweeping through NYC on Christmas Eve. This also gives Declan an opportunity to reconnect with Amanda Rollins (Kelly Giddish), whose first child he fathered. Inside Thursday TV: Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BLOOMINGTON Bloomington District 87 is closing its schools tomorrow in response to rising COVID-19 cases. Classes started in person on Tuesday after winter break. Superintendent Barry Reilley said that the change was in response to rising cases and quarantines, as cases surge across Bloomington-Normal, Illinois and the country. This week has already seen two new records of new cases of the illness in McLean County. The day will be treated like an emergency day, which will push back the end of the school year. The last day for students will now be May 26. Unit 5 students will also not be in classrooms, due to expected cold weather, the district announced on Facebook. Students will be using remote learning. This story is breaking and will be updated. Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, one of former President Donald Trump's most prominent Republican critics, said he will not run for statewide office in 2022. In a video posted Wednesday, Kinzinger, shunned by many conservatives for his criticisms of the former president, said he will fight political extremism through his "Country First" political action committee. Im transitioning from serving just one corner of Illinois into fighting this new nationwide mission full-time, he said. A spokesperson later confirmed Kinzinger will not be running for statewide office. At the time, Kinzinger left open the option of running for governor or the U.S. Senate in 2022. But Trumps continued popularity among Republicans presented a significant obstacle to winning a GOP primary. In his video, Kinzinger took aim at the extremists who took part in the insurrection and at leaders within his own party. Some say its time to move on from January 6th, but we cant move on without addressing what happened or by pretending it never happened, Kinzinger said. We cant move on without taking action to make sure it never happens again. That starts by admitting the facts. The 2020 election was not stolen. Joe Biden won, and Donald Trump lost,: he continued. "We have to admit it, but the leadership of the Republican party wont. They lied to the American people, and they still are. Kinzinger said that the Republican Party has lost its way and that the its leaders are failing. Kinzinger was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in January. Hes also along with Liz Cheney, R-Wy. one of just two Republicans on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Trump in October celebrated Kinzingers decision not to run for reelection, suggesting it was a direct result of his failure to support Trump. 2 down, 8 to go! Trump said in a statement. Kinzinger encouraged viewers to be critical of who they listen to and to seek facts instead of fiction. The political class and cable news dont represent the America that I love, he said. Our leaders prey on tribalism and extremism by stoking it. We want common ground and common sense; they profit by making our problems worse. Kinzinger has been in Congress since 2011. His current district wraps from Indiana to Wisconsin and includes swaths Chicago's exurbs and the Illinois Valley. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR The suspect in the stabbing death of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigator was arrested Tuesday night by Decatur police. Benjamin H. Reed, 32, was intercepted by officers after he had gone to HSHS St. Marys Hospital, apparently seeking treatment for a cut to his hand. He was reported as having fled the scene of the stabbing earlier Tuesday from Thayer, south of Springfield. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon named the investigator who died as Deidre Silas, 36, of Springfield. He said she died from multiple sharp force injuries. Decatur police Detective Sgt. Chris Copeland confirmed to the Herald & Review that Reed had been arrested at the hospital. Decatur Police Department patrol officers and detectives located him at St. Marys where he was taken into custody, said Copeland. He was transported to Decatur Police Department headquarters where he was held for Sangamon County (Sheriffs Office). Reed, who authorities say lived in the home, faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Authorities arrived at the scene just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and found what appeared to be blood near the door. They forced their way into the house and found the victim dead inside. Police obtained a search warrant and collected evidence that helped them find Reed at the Decatur hospital around 6:30 p.m., authorities said. Reed was treated for a minor injury and taken to the Sangamon County Jail, where bond for his release was set at $5 million on Wednesday morning. Published reports quote Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell as confirming six children, aged from 1 to 7, had been present in the Thayer home when Silas was attacked. Silas had just joined the department in August after working in the behavioral health field for seven years at the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to a statement by Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents DCFS employees. This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress," AFSCME Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a statement describing Silas as a hero taken from us in the line of duty. He added: Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve. I can think of no more profound legacy. Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Vodafone Ghana Foundation, the charity arm of Vodafone Ghana, through its Rural Ultrasound Scan project has carried out free medical screening for residents of Akramaman in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra region. A total of 73 expectant mothers benefited from the exercise. Pregnant women underwent obstetric ultrasounds to assess the health of their uterus, ovaries, and the blood flow through the umbilical cord to the placenta. Additionally, some underwent pelvic scans which also assess the uterus, ovaries, and parts of the pelvis. Addressing the gathering, Head of Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Reverend Amaris Nana Adjei Perbi reiterated Vodafones contribution to identify, address and prevent complications that arise during pregnancy, labour, and postpartum periods. He also hinted at two major interventions; Instant Schools and Kindred community projects undertaken by the Foundation to improve the quality of education and health across the country. According to him, the e-school has increased students ability to use technologies inside and outside the classroom. Instant Schools is an e-learning platform that aims to provide millions of young people in Africa with free access to online learning materials developed in conjunction with Learning Equality a leading not-for-profit provider of open-source educational technology solutions. Furthermore, Reverend Perbi explained that the foundation through its Kindred community program has helped to support rural areas with basic amenities crucial to the wellbeing of individuals. The Assemblyman for the Akramaman electoral area, Daniel Kwabena Ampong, who spoke on behalf of the residents, thanked the team from Vodafone Ghana Foundation for the kind gesture. The Rural Ultrasound Scan project is a partnership programme between Vodafone Ghana Foundation and the Divine Mother and Child (DMAC) Foundation to reduce maternal and child mortality using ultrasonography. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video "Umuofia" has trended on Ghana's social media landscape since last Friday, December 31, 2021, when it was used extensively in prophetic ministration by Nigel Gaisie of the Prophetic Hill Chapel. Originally known to be a town in Nigeria, one popularized by Chinua Achebe in his acclaimed classical novel 'Things Fall Apart,' Gaisie's use of the town in prophesying has made the town largely the butt of jokes. From people posting purported flags and passport covers of the said town, which Gaisie described as a country, to others promising to vacation in Umuofia while for others, the country is synonymous to Ghana. It is largely believed that the prophet opted for 'coded' prophesying because of a December 27, 2021, Police statement that cautioned against prophecies that could create 'fear and panic.' When the regional Public Relations boss of the Ghana Police Service appeared on Adom FM's Dwaso Nsem programme on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, he was asked about Umuofia. Supt. Alexander Obeng replied: "Please what is it? Here in Ghana, I kmow towns like Kunkumbonge, Bandare, Tsaatse, Bole, we have others like Sogakope, Bawakuraa. These are towns that I happen to know. But (Umuofia) in Ghana here, I don't know about that," he stressed. When asked about Nigel Gaisie's prophecy, the top cop instead explained the work done by himself and Inspector-General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare by way of extensive patrols from New Year's Eve into the year 2022. After listing several locations, he said: "The town you mentioned is not among the areas we covered is not in Ghana, or is that not so, so if someone does something outside Ghana, I can't tell. "I dont know but what is important is that all the prophets complied with the law. I am also happy that among faith-based organizations, groups advised one another, it was most important, Supt. Obeng stated. The Ghana Police Service on December 27 issued a statement, prompting prophets on the need not to make prophecies that cause fear and panic. We want to caution that under Ghanaian law, it is a crime for a person to publish or reproduce a statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace, where that person has no evidence to prove that the statement, rumour or report is true." It is also a crime for a person, by means of electronic communications service, to knowingly send a communication that is false or misleading and likely to prejudice the efficiency of life-saving service or to endanger the safety of any person, the statement added. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Security forces in Kazakhstan say they have killed dozens of anti-government rioters in an operation to restore order in the main city, Almaty. They moved in after protesters tried to take control of police stations in the city, a police spokeswoman said. Eight members of the security forces were killed earlier in the unrest, which was sparked by a doubling in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Russia is sending in troops at the request of the Kazakh president. They will be deployed to help "stabilise" the country, which is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) along with Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Protests began on Sunday when the government lifted its price cap on LPG, which many people use to fuel their cars, but the unrest has since spread to include political grievances. Read Full Story .... HERE >>> : Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An Indonesian man took Covid vaccine 17 times in place of anti-vaxxers who didn't want to take the vaccine but wanted Covid vaccine passes. Indonesian Police are currently investigating the case of self-proclaimed vaccine jockey Abdul Rahim who claims he was paid 40 for each shot he took on behalf of others. In Indonesia, you need a vaccine certificate to enter bars, cafes and shopping centres. The MailOnline reports that Rahim from Pinrang, on the island of Sulawesi, boasted of his efforts in a video clip and even claimed he had received three shots in one day. Police have reportedly found the people suspected of paying Rahim and are considering charges against him too under their Infectious Diseases Law. If convicted, he could face a year in prison for hindering the implementation of pandemic control.' Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video South Side Ald. Pat Dowell said Wednesday she will seek the congressional seat being vacated by veteran U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush and drop her bid for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. Dowell, 63, whose 3rd Ward includes the South Loop and Bronzeville neighborhoods, becomes the first candidate to formally announce for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District to succeed Rush, who on Tuesday announced that hes retiring when his term ends next January after 30 years in Congress. Advertisement But the field is expected to grow substantially as South Side and south suburban elected officials and activists consider the rare opportunity to run for an open congressional seat in a safe Democratic district that virtually ensures incumbency for many years. Ald. Pat Dowell during the Cook County Democratic Committee slating meeting Dec. 14, 2021, at IBEW Local 134. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Dowell, an alderman since 2007, has name recognition in the citys portion of the newly redrawn congressional district, something she lacked in a statewide bid. As with her bid for secretary of state, Dowell also doesnt jeopardize her council seat, which is up in 2023, by running in the June primary. Advertisement Ive done a lot of work in my ward related to small business development, education, health care and I thought that the congressional seat offers me an opportunity to best serve my community, Dowell said in an interview. I decided that I would seek the seat because its in my wheelhouse of concerns that I care about. In some ways, its a better fit than secretary of state, she said. Dowell announced her bid for secretary of state to replacing retiring veteran Jesse White, in April, and was one of four Democrats seeking the statewide nomination. There are now three: former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, City Clerk Anna Valencia and Ald. David Moore, 17th. Dowell, who also is the 3rd Wards committeeperson, was not slated for the post by the Cook County Democratic organization on Dec. 14. Giannoulias, who has become the top money raiser for the post amid major labor endorsements, narrowly cleared the bar to win county slating over a vote of no endorsement. Dowell had been critical of Giannoulias and urged slatemakers to support someone loyal to the organization who is a dedicated public servant rather than an opportunist looking to further their stalled political career. Giannoulias lost a 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate to Republican Mark Kirk. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Noting White was a successful Black statewide elected official, Dowell told slatemakers that to succeed we must have a Democrat, a nominee, who appeals to the people who vote Democratic mainly women, and precisely, African Americans. She continued that pitch in taking about her congressional bid. Advertisement Women are key Democratic voters. This district that is very Democratic with lots of African American women, Dowell said Wednesday. My goal would be to have a message that resonates with those voters. I mean, women care about gun violence. They care about education, access to health care. Lots of women are entrepreneurs and theyre looking for support for opening businesses. These are resources and programs that a congressman can bring to their doorstep, she said. Dowell is chair of the City Councils budget committee and cited her work in shepherding through a $12.8 billion city spending plan as an example of her leadership and ability to work effectively with diverse communities and people with different perspectives. I like to think of myself as a consensus builder, as someone that can bring people together. Ive done that within the City Council, she said. Im someone that can work out or negotiate a win-win for everyone involved and I want to take those talents to Washington. rap30@aol.com COMFORT TAWIAH, a 30-year-old woman with two children, has been left blind and battling for her life after her jealous lover bathed her with acid after a phone argument at Awutu Bawjiase in the Awutu Senya West District of the Central Region. The suspect, Ishmael Atsitso Agboko, popularly known as King Duga, according to information available to this paper, travelled all the way from Kasoa to Awutu Bawjiase to ostensibly visit Comfort but had plans to destroy the victims life. The reports indicate that the victim and his lover were having issues over who should take care of their son because their relationship was no more stable. Comfort said when King Duga came to her house, he started accusing her of cheating because she received numerous calls on her phone. The victim said, after a heated argument with her lover, she decided to sleep but after five minutes the suspect poured a liquid believed to be acid on her face, breasts and other parts of her body. The Bawjiase District Police Command is hunting for Ishmael Atsitso Agboko, who is on the run, to assist in investigations into the incident. In an interview with journalists, the Awutu Bawjiase District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Felicia Ayensu, revealed that the suspect first tried to stab the victim with a knife but that could not work so he later poured the acid on her. Meanwhile, the mother of the victim, Helena Mensah, who could not control her tears, in an interview with the media, has appealed to Ghanaians to support her financially to pay for medical fees of the victim. She appealed for support through her Momo contact 0246013503 to take care of her daughter. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The country has assumed its membership of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. In line with that, a flag raising ceremony was held at the UN to signify the official admission of Ghana and four other countries that were elected last June to start their tenure. They will serve on the security council from January 1, 2022 to December 2023. This will be the third time Ghana is holding a non-permanent seat on the council that leads the world organisations agenda on peace, the threat to it and security of member countries. Ghana first served on the council in the 1960s with the most recent being the period between January 2006 to December 2007. At a ceremony at the media stake-out area of the council, the flag of Ghana, as well as Gabon, Brazil, United Arab Emirates and Albania were hoisted. With the admission of Ghana and Gabon, Africa now has three countries on the 15-member UN body, with Kenya having been on it since January 2021. And in November 2022, Ghana is expected to preside over the council. Ghanas priority Ghana was represented at the event by its Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr Harold A Agyeman, who said the country was looking forward to promoting international peace and security to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said the country would also seek stronger and deeper collaboration and cooperation with the UN and regional bodies in a manner that enhanced complementality and also ensured effective coordination. Ghana formally takes her seat on the council, 15 years after we last served on this important UN organ. We are expectedly excited by the opportunity to make a bigger contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security. We are honoured by the confidence member states have reposed in us. In this regard, I convey on behalf of my Head of State, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as well as my Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, our deepest appreciation once again to all member states, Mr Agyeman added. He, however, said, we are under no illusion of the challenges we face in resolving the prevailing conflicts or the enduring nature of the emerging threats to international peace and security such as the violent extremism, the proliferation of terrorism, insurgencies, enhanced activities of transnational criminal organisations and the impact of climate change to security in some parts of our world. Security Council The 15-member security council is made up of 10 seats for temporary members and five permanent members made up of Russia, China, the USA, Britain and France which hold the power of veto. The council holds regular meetings to address threats to international peace and security and makes the ultimate decisions on resolutions to impose sanctions, authorise the use of military force and the launch of peacekeeping missions. Some of the councils priorities include hotspots such as Ethiopia and Afghanistan, as well as the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Irans nuclear programme. Source: Graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile into the sea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The Japanese coast guard, which first reported the missile launch, said it could potentially be a ballistic missile, but they haven't yet confirmed it. Japan's defence minister, Nobuo Kishi said the suspected ballistic missile had flown about 500 km (310 miles), according to a Reuters report. Under UN sanctions, North Korea is prohibited from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests. With the new year just 5 days gone, this would be the first missile launch carried by Pyongyang this year. "South Korean and US intelligence are closely analysing for further detail," the JCS said in a statement. In 2017, North Korea tested the Hwasong-15, a missile that peaked at an estimated altitude of 4,500km, putting US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam well within striking distance. The launch comes days after Kim said during a key end-of-year meeting of North Korea's ruling party that Pyongyang would continue to strengthen its defence capabilities due to an increasingly unstable military environment on the Korean peninsula. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the latest launch "very regrettable," pointing to North Korea's repeated testing of missiles since 2021. In 2021, North Korea continued the advancement of its weapons programme, testing a new hypersonic missile, as well as a train-based ballistic missile and a new long-range cruise missile. The tests come as Pyongyang struggles with food shortages due to a coronavirus blockade that has affected its economy. At the end-of-year meeting, Kim said the country was facing a "great life-and-death struggle", adding that increasing development and improving people's living standards were among this year's goals. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Here is Actress, Haillie Sumney slaying all through the year 2021. Beautiful, eloquent and sassy is just a few words to describe her whenever she takes on our screens looking all fly. The high fashion sense of Ghanaian Actress cannot be questioned. She is a true epitome of a classy African woman as she manages to look stylish on every single post on her social Media Pages. Haillie Sumney, A Way Back Home Netflix movie Actress making headlines on social media. When it comes to combining luxury items with Ghanaian brands, Actress Haillie Sumney is an expert. Difficult to pull off modest fashion for others but not for the Nexflix SuperStar. Scroll through for our all-time favourite look from the fashionista. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video " " The engraving by Gustave Dore (1832-1883) shows an angel coming to deliver Israel. DEA/BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA/Getty Images Every spring, as Jewish families gather to celebrate Passover (Pesach), they retell the story of the Israelites' hasty exodus from Egypt. The ancient holiday takes its English name from God's promise to "pass over" the homes of faithful Israelites while delivering the 10th and most painful plague upon the Egyptians, the death of their firstborn. As it's written in Exodus 12:23: For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. In the popular retelling of the Passover story, the "destroyer" is often called the "angel of death," but the words "angel of death" don't actually appear anywhere in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian New Testament or the Islamic Quran. Does that mean that the angel of death doesn't exist in the monotheistic traditions? Not at all. It only means that our popular conception of the angel of death doesn't come from the standard biblical canon, but from curious texts like the "Testament of Abraham" from the first century C.E., and from tales of the angel of death circulated in the Hadith, sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. "Stories about angels move around Jews, Christians and Muslims like nobody's business," says Stephen Burge, a research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London and author of "Angels in Islam. "There was a lot of overlap and sharing across these traditions in the late antiquity and medieval period." Advertisement God and the Angels Very few angels are named in the Hebrew Bible (known as the Old Testament in Christianity) or the New Testament. The angels Michael and Gabriel make appearances in the book of Daniel, and God sends the angel Gabriel to inform Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. But the authors of the Bible took great pains to emphasize that God was the only one calling the shots, not angels. Indeed, in the Bible, there is no mention of an angel who ushers people from death to the afterlife. The ancient world was full of polytheistic traditions that portrayed death as its own god with its own agency, explains Annette Yoshiko Reed, a religion professor at New York University and the author of "Demons, Angels and Writing in Ancient Judaism." Mot, for example, was the death god of ancient Canaanites and Phoenicians, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead presents a vast pantheon of gods and fearsome creatures encountered in the afterlife. "In the Bible, though, the divine world is focused on a singular assertion of divine power, nothing akin to a polytheistic division of labor," says Reed. "The same God who created the world masters both life and death." That's why the angel in the Exodus Passover story isn't given a name, but rather a role the destroyer. And it is God himself who passes over the houses of the enslaved Israelites and decides who lives and who dies, not the angel. Reed says that in the third and second century B.C.E., there was a shift in ancient Jewish literature that gave angels distinct names and personalities, as well as roles. The book of "Jubilees," written in the second century B.C.E., is one of those texts. " " This 17th-century Italian painting, "The Sacrifice of Abraham," shows Abraham about to sacrifice his son Isaac to God but he is stopped at the last minute by an angel (not the angel of death). Mauro Magliani/Electa/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images "Jubilees" starts out with Noah pleading to God to get rid of the demons that were roaming the Earth after the great flood and tormenting his family. A figure named Mastema, the "chief of the spirits," stepped forward with a proposition that some of the demons remain with him to do his bidding. God agrees that a tenth of the spirits should do this while the rest descend into "the place of condemnation." In "Jubilees," Mastema is an angel he's called Prince Mastema but God employs Mastema and his evil army to tempt and torture humankind, "to do all manner of wrong and sin, and all manner of transgression, to corrupt and destroy, and to shed blood upon the earth." Mastema is the one that comes up with the idea of testing Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac. And it's Mastema, we learn in Jubilees, who was the "destroyer" of the Passover story. Still, Reed emphasizes, Mastema is not working against God to counter his divine will, but to be the "bad guy" who carries it out. "Like Satan in the book of Job, Mastema has a divine role," says Reed. "He's part of the divine justice system." Advertisement Nice Try, Abraham. You Can't Fool the Angel of the Death As time went on, Jewish and early Christian authors played freely with the portrayal of an angel of death. The "Testament of Abraham" was written in Egypt in the first century C.E. and not only personifies Death, but pokes some fun at it. In this highly entertaining text, the great prophet and patriarch Abraham has lived a full life (995 years) and God sends the angel Michael to inform Abraham of his impending death. Abraham isn't ready to die yet, so he tries to stall death by asking Michael a million questions, some clearly meant to amuse the reader. For example, when Abraham is shown the wide gate that leads a departed soul to destruction and the narrow gate that leads to eternal life, he cries out: "Woe is me, what shall I do? For I am a man broad of body, and how shall I be able to enter by the narrow gate, by which a boy of fifteen years cannot enter?" Eventually, God sends Death himself to collect Abraham's soul, but Abraham keeps up his old tricks. He asks Death endless questions about the different types of death (there are 72) and all of the mysterious and gruesome forms that the angel of death takes when collecting the unrighteous (a most gloomy face of a viper, a face of a most terrible precipice, a face of a fierce stormy sea, a terrible three-headed dragon, etc.) Finally, Death has enough: "Behold, I have told you all that you have asked. Now I tell you, most righteous Abraham, to dismiss all counsel and to cease from asking anything once and for all. Come! Depart with me, as the God and Judge of all has commanded me." Abraham says to Death, "Depart from me just a little while, so that I may rest on my couch. I am very faint at heart." In the end, it's Death that plays the final trick, imploring Abraham to "take my right hand, and may cheerfulness and life and strength come to you." The great patriarch takes Death's hand and dies at once. "In the 'Testament of Abraham,' Death is a personality; that's his job," says Reed. "The figure of Death is at the service of God and only kills Abraham because he tricks him. Between the two of them, the image of the righteous Jew is superior to the figure of Death itself." Advertisement Malak al-Mawt, the Angel of Death in Islam Like the Bible, the Quran only mentions two angels by name, Michael and Gabriel, but the role of angels in Islam is greatly expanded in the Hadith, a collection of teachings and sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his followers. " " This 1881 painting by Evelyn De Morgan shows the angel of death taking a soul to heaven. Wikimedia Through the Hadith, we learn that there are four archangels in Islam: Michael, Gabriel, Israfil (who blows the trumpet to ring in the Final Judgment) and the angel of death. Although some sources claim the angel of death's name is Azrael, there's no textual proof for that, says Burge. The correct name is Malak al-Mawt, Arabic for "angel of death." Similar to the angel of death in ancient Jewish and early Christian texts, Malak al-Mawt doesn't choose who lives and who dies, but strictly carries out God's orders. Every soul is assigned an ajal, a fixed date of death that is immovable and unchangeable. Once a year, in the month before Ramadan, God hands Malak al-Mawt a list of all those who will die in the coming year, and it's Malak al-Mawt's responsibility to harvest their souls. Like the Testament of Abraham, the Hadith contains accounts of other great prophets who tried to elude or cheat death. When Malak al-Mawt comes for Moses, for example, he slaps the angel so hard that one of his eyes pops out. After God fixes the angel's eye, Malak al-Mawt goes back and strikes a deal with Moses that if he goes peacefully, he'll be buried within a "stone's throw" of the Holy Land. In contrast to Abraham and Moses, when Death comes for the Prophet Muhammad, he submits to his fate. Burge notes that in the Hadith, the angel of death knocks and asks Muhammad's permission before he enters, a sign of ultimate respect for the Prophet. In one Hadith, Death places Muhammad's fate in the Prophet's own hands: "God has sent me to you, and has commanded me to obey you; if you command me to take your soul, then I will take it; but if you do not want [me to], then I will leave it." [Muhammad] said: "Do [it], angel of death." He said: "Yes, as you command." HowStuffWorks earns a small affiliate commission when you purchase through links on our site. Now That's Cool The Grim Reaper is a more recent version of the angel of death, born in the Middle Ages as a personification of the Black Death. He's also appeared in 104 New Yorker cartoons. Hydrophone deployed in a tropical reef region within the National Park of American Samoa. Credit: Tim Clark/National Park Service. An Oregon State University research team and collaborators have developed an automated method that can accurately identify calls from a family of fishes. The method takes advantage of data collected by underwater microphones known as hydrophones and provides an efficient and inexpensive way to understand changes in the marine environment due to climate change and other human-caused influences, said researchers from Oregon State's Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resource Studies. The findings were published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. Hydrophones are increasingly being deployed in the world's oceans. They offer advantages over other types of monitoring because they work at night, in low-visibility conditions and over long periods of time. But techniques to efficiently analyze data from hydrophones are not well developed. This new research led by Jill Munger when she was an undergraduate student, begins to change that. Munger came to Oregon State having worked more than 20 years in the corporate world. An avid scuba diver, she wanted to study the ocean. She received a fellowship from CIMERS to research underwater acoustics with Joe Haxel, who at the time was at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Lab's acoustic program. Haxel handed her a hard drive with 18,000 hours of acoustic data collected over 39 months in a tropical reef region within the National Park of American Samoa. American Samoa is a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean. The data was collected via a 12-station hydrophone area maintained by NOAA and the National Park Service that is distributed throughout the world in water controlled by the United States. The hydrophones were designed and built by NOAA and CIMERS researchers at Hatfield Marine Science Center. Munger decided to focus on calls from damselfish, in part, because they are distinctive. They grind their teeth to create pops, clicks and chirps associated with aggressive behavior and nest defense. She compared the sound to purring kittens. Quickly, it became apparent to her that manually listening to the recordings was not going to work. Damselfish in a tropical reef region within the National Park of American Samoa. Credit: National Park System "This is such a slow and tedious process," she remembered thinking. "I have all this data, and I am just looking at a tiny, tiny portion of it. What's happening in all the other parts that I haven't had a chance to listen to?" A conversation with her brother, Daniel Herrera, a machine learning engineer, sparked an idea. Could they use machine learning to automate the analysis of the data? Machine learning algorithms build a model based on sample data, known as training data, to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning techniques have been used to automate processing of large amounts of data from passive acoustic monitoring devices that collected sound data from birds, bats and marine mammals. The techniques have been used for fish calls, but it is an underdeveloped area of science, Munger said. In this case, the machine learning sample or training data was 400 to 500 damselfish calls Munger identified by manually listening to the hydrophone recordings. With that start, Herrera, a co-author of the paper, built a machine learning model that accurately identified 94% of damselfish calls. "We built a machine learning model on a relatively small set of training data and then applied it to an enormous set of data," Munger said. "The implications for monitoring the environment are huge." Munger, who now works in the lab of Scott Heppell, an associate professor in Oregon State's Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences, believes machine learning will increasingly be used by scientists to monitor many species of fish in the ocean because it requires relatively little effort. "The benefit to observing fish calls over a long period of time is that we can start to understand how it's related to changing ocean conditions, which influence our nation's living marine resources," Munger said. "For example, damselfish call abundance can be an indicator of coral reef health." Explore further Underwater robotic gliders provide key tool to measure ocean sound levels More information: JE Munger et al, Machine learning analysis reveals relationship between pomacentrid calls and environmental cues, Marine Ecology Progress Series (2021). Journal information: Marine Ecology Progress Series JE Munger et al, Machine learning analysis reveals relationship between pomacentrid calls and environmental cues,(2021). DOI: 10.3354/meps13912 Credit: Ontario Picture Bureau/Wikimedia Commons In 1922, Australia was even more remote from the rest of the world than it is today. But when it came to astronomy, that year it was the center of everyone's attention. On September 21, the shadow of a total solar eclipse would cross the entire continent, from Eighty Mile Beach in Western Australia, right through the outback, and out over the Pacific Ocean just south of the Queensland-New South Wales border. Astronomers came from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, India and Britainjourneying to places so remote that many Australians had never heard of them before their names started appearing in the press. The scientists were there not just for the spectacle, but also in the hope their observations of the eclipse would validate Albert Einstein's then-controversial theory of general relativity, postulated just seven years earlier. Einstein's theory, broadly speaking, suggested gravity can bend the very fabric of space-time itself. One possible way to test this was to photograph the background of stars both before and during an eclipse. The Sun's gravity should bend the light from the distant stars as it passes in front of them, causing them to appear in a slightly different positionand the eclipse would allow astronomers to make this observation by helpfully blotting out the Sun's glare. Map published in the Argus newspaper, showing the eclipse track. Credit: Argus, Author provided War and weather The first world war prevented astronomers from investigating Einstein's 1915 prediction. But a total solar eclipse on May 29, 1919, offered the first decent chance to prove him right. Britain mounted two separate expeditions in the hope at least one of them could make the necessary observations. In Sobral, Brazil, the team led by Astronomer Royal Frank Dyson suffered equipment failure. But on the island of Principe off Africa's west coast, Arthur Eddington, despite inclement weather, successfully photographed the event. Dyson, after viewing Eddington's photographic plates, pronounced "there can be no doubt that they confirm Einstein's prediction." But many skeptics remained unconvinced. The next suitable eclipse was in Australia on September 21, 1922. The famous Lick Observatory in California had used its fine 12-meter camera to photograph several previous eclipses, and director William Wallace Campbell was determined his observatory would solve "the Einstein problem" in Australia. Campbell's chosen locationWallal, on the WA coast 320km south of Broome, was remote and almost inaccessible. But it had virtually no chance of cloud, and the eclipse there would last longest, offering a full five minutes of totality. Location of the eclipse observation site, viewed seaward. Left of the vehicle are remains of Wallal Telegraph Station, including a well. Credit: Brian Finlayson, Author provided Shallow seas meant the expedition's ships could not get close to shore, and instead had to ferry the equipment ashore at high tide with the help of local Indigenous people. The Royal Australian Navy also played an essential role in transporting the heavy and delicate equipment to Wallal, where Campbell's group, which also included Canadian and New Zealand astronomers, had set up camp near the telegraph station. Also at Wallal were astronomers from the Perth Observatory, the Kodiakanal Solar Observatory in India, and a smaller private British expedition. The various teams made several practice runs, knowing they would get just one chance at the eclipse itself. Afterwards, having spent months studying the huge photographic plates created during the eclipse, Campbell telegraphed Einstein to tell him the observations were indisputable. A remote corner of Australia had played a pivotal role in proving one of the fundamental truths of the Universe. Meanwhile, other astronomers and amateur enthusiasts right across Australia were turning their eyes heavenwards as the eclipse passed overhead. South Australia sent an expedition to Cordillo Downs in the state's northeast, led by Government Astronomer George Dodwell. His remote journey, laden with bulky equipment, was an undertaking of heroic proportions. Yet now, Cordillo Downs is chiefly known for its historic woolshed. Star displacements observed during the 1922 eclipse, consistent with the movements predicted by Einsteins theory. Credit: Campbell & Trumper/Lick Observatory Bulletin 1923, Author provided In the eastern states travel was somewhat easier, and many of the public gathered in Goondiwindi on the Queensland-NSW border to watch the eclipse. Scientist, businessman and philanthropist Sir Wilfrid Russell Grimwade organized a trip there from Melbourne; Sydney Observatory sent its astronomers; Sydney University mounted an expedition led by physicist Oscar Vonwiller that also included Father Edward Pigot, president of the NSW branch of the British Astronomical Association. Queensland's Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan, motored out for the event, and locals came from miles around. Twenty of Pigot's fellow members of the British Astronomical Association opted to travel to nearby Stanthorpe, while special trains carried Brisbane residents to Sandgate for the viewing. The indefatigable scientist Reverend Skertchly traveled from Brisbane to Mount Tamborine, where he made many different observations and later described viewing the corona as an epiphany. Time for recognition Australians from all walks of life engaged with the eclipse. Wonderful photographic records exist of the event, as well as special brochures and copious newspaper coverage. Scientific enthusiasm was mingled with fun, bringing together not just astronomers but also schoolchildren, Indigenous peoples, outback camel drivers, and the wider community. Yet, a century later, this extraordinary coming together of global and local people isn't very well documented in the places it happened. In September 1972, Goondiwindi's citizens marked the golden jubilee of the eclipse, but we are not aware of any formal plans to mark its centenary this year. At Wallal, which is close to a large and popular caravan park on Eighty Mile Beach, there is no mention of the momentous observations that helped prove Einstein's genius. Perhaps a commemorative plaque or installation there would be a fitting place to start. Explore further Total solar eclipse plunges Antarctica into darkness This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The town of Altenahr in Altenburg, Germany was almost entirely submerged due to flooding caused by the July 2021 storm. Credit: Martin Seifert When it comes to extreme weather, climate change usually gets all the attention. But according to a study from The University of Texas at Austin and two universities in China, the unique effects of citieswhich can intensify storms and influence where rain fallsneed to be accounted for as well. "In addition to cutting emissions we need to recognize that understanding the effects of urbanization is part of the solution," said Dev Niyogi, a professor in the UT Jackson School of Geosciences and Cockrell School of Engineering. Niyogi is a co-author on a study published in Geophysical Research Letters that used computer models to investigate how cities and climate change influenced the rainstorm that struck the Rotterdam-Brussels-Cologne metropolitan region on July 14, 2021. The model found that the interplay of large-scale climate and local-scale urbanization intensified the storm, causing more rainfall than either climate or urbanization on its own. The severe weather system was part of a storm complex that dropped heavy rain across Western Europe in the summer of 2021, causing destructive and deadly flooding that killed at least 242 people, making it one of the deadliest floods in European history. The research team also included scientists from Nanjing University and Tsinghua University. Urbanization is known to impact local climate and invigorate storms. City buildings are taller and closer together, which can stall storm systems while directing them away from the city center. And cities' warmer relative temperatures and higher levels of pollution can often increase moisture in clouds. In the new study, researchers found that interplay between a warmer climate and city environment focused the rainstorm on suburban areas and boosted rainfall by 50% when compared to the influence of the city alone. That means that of the near 6 inches of rainfall that fell on the metropolitan region on July 14, about three inches of it can be attributed to these interactions. To conduct the study, the scientists created a storm computer model that included the effects of the environment, city and climate. The model of the storm proved to be representative of the actual event. The storm centered over the same regions in eastern Belgium and western Germany and unfolded over the same timeline with the simulation running from July 13 17 with the most rain falling on July 14. The model slightly overestimated the total amount of rain that fell, simulating 7.2 inches instead of the near 6 inches measured by rain gauges. In addition to simulating the actual storm environment, the researchers also created simulation models that replaced cities with undeveloped land and lowered the temperatures to pre-industrial levels. Doing this helped the researchers determine how cities and climate each influenced the storm, as well as their combined impact. Although the influence of the climate and the city together had the greatest impact, lead author Long Yang, an associate professor at Nanjing University, said that, when viewed individually, the influence of the city equals or outweighs that of climate change. "We are the first group to reveal that the regional impacts through land-atmosphere interactions on extreme rainfall is comparable or more critical than that induced by climate-scale processes," Yang said. The models apply to one extreme storm. Nevertheless, Niyogi said that the results conform with different urban rainfall studies and show the importance of incorporating the influence of urbanization and regional landscapes into climate models in general. He also added that adapting to climate change provides an opportunity to plan more resilient communities that can help shape desired climate outcomes, such as cities that can send storms away from flood-prone regions. "At more local scales, there are immediate ways to develop climate resiliency where you don't have to wait for 100-plus nations signing on to declarations," Niyogi said. "It's something you can do at the city scale, the regional scale." The study's additional co-authors are Professor Guangheng Ni and Fuqiang Tian from Tsinghua University in China. Explore further Studies show urbanization impacts storms, rainfall despite surroundings More information: Long Yang et al, Urbanization Exacerbated Rainfall Over European Suburbs Under a Warming Climate, Geophysical Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters Long Yang et al, Urbanization Exacerbated Rainfall Over European Suburbs Under a Warming Climate,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2021GL095987 Credit: Shannon C. Haley. Over the past few decades, many condensed matter physicists have conducted research focusing on quantum phase transitions that are not clearly associated with a broken symmetry. One reason that these transitions are interesting is that they might underpin the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, have recently gathered evidence of a quantum phase transition without symmetry breaking occurring in cerium-cobalt-indium 5 (CeCoIn 5 ), an unconventional superconductor. Their paper, published in Science, also introduces a model that could be used to describe the anomalous behavior they observed in CeCoIn 5 . "We initially started studying this material with a completely different focus, mainly on critical scaling phenomena in resistivity measurements," Nikola Maksimovic, the lead author of the paper, told Phys.org. "Over the course of about three years, we noticed that our data seemed to point to rapid changes in the material's properties induced by small amounts of chemical substitution. Such a transition was hinted at in previous measurements." Inspired by previous theoretical work, Maksimovic and his colleagues hypothesized that the widely observed rapid changes in the properties of CeCoIn 5 could be explained by a delocalization transition of the cerium f-orbital electron in the material. Therefore, they decided to shift the focus of their research from the measurement of low-temperature resistivity to the characterization of f-electrons in the material. "We hoped that our work would answer a very fundamental question, whether the f-electron of the cerium atom is localized to the cerium site, or itinerant (i.e., free to move about in the metal)," Maksimovic said. "Our work was also inspired by previous experimental studies on other materials, such as Yb-based metals and copper-oxide ceramics." To examine the f-electrons in CeCoIn 5 , the researchers used a well-established experimental technique known as the Hall effect measurement. This technique entails the application of a transverse voltage generated by a magnetic field to a sample. This voltage can then be converted into a measurement of the density of the mobile electrons in a material. In their experiments, Maksimovic and his colleagues used the Hall effect as a probe to determine whether the f-electrons in a CeCoIn 5 sample were mobile or attached to their host atoms. "These measurements were performed in extreme environments, at about half a kelvin above absolute zero and in magnetic fields up to 73 Tesla," Maksimovic said. "To this end, tiny electrical devices needed to be patterned out of pieces of CeCoIn 5 in order to achieve a measurable signal." The findings gathered by the researchers highlighted a rapid change in the material's low temperature carrier density, which was driven by the chemical substitution of CeCoIn 5 . Interestingly, the magnitude of the Hall coefficient increase they detected was found to be consistent with an f-electron localized-to-delocalized transition. These results confirmed their initial hypothesis. Subsequently, Maksimovic and his colleagues set out to characterize the electronic energy spectrum in CeCoIn 5 samples with different compositions. To do this, they used a series of state-of-the-art spectroscopy tools, including quantum oscillation and angle-resolved photoemission techniques. "Based on existing theory of f-electron metals, we presented a model that argues for the fractionalization of electrons in the metal into separate charge and spin carrying excitations near the critical point where the f-electrons are close to delocalizing," Maksimovic said. "Such a 'breaking up' of electrons is a very exotic phase of matter, which is only possible due to the collective quantum properties of certain metals where electrons are strongly correlated." The new model proposed by this team of researchers and their calculations could explain certain properties of the electrical conductivity of the material. In addition, their findings offer new valuable insight that could enhance the current understanding of CeCoIn 5 and other unconventional superconductors. In the future, this recent work could inspire the development of similar models that relate to high-temperature superconductors, as past studies have found evidence of a qualitatively similar delocalization transition in these materials, which is also induced by chemical substitution. Meanwhile, Maksimovic and his colleagues plan to search for more direct evidence of distinct spin and charge carrying excitation in CeCoIn 5 . To do this, they will collect thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity measurements at very low temperatures, as a significant discrepancy between them could indicate that the carriers of heat are different from the carriers of charge. "During the course of our research, we also noticed that in certain samples exhibited evidence of a transition induced by very high magnetic fields," Maksimovic added. "At present, it is unclear how this is related to the zero-field transition observed in our recent work. We thus now plan on studying the high-field transition further utilizing the resources at the pulsed field facility at Los Alamos National Lab." Explore further Novel semiconductor gives new perspective on anomalous Hall effect 2022 Science X Network Credit: CC0 Public Domain A simple, low-cost method of directly converting natural gas into useful chemicals and fuels, using the precious metal gold as a key ingredient, has been proposed by researchers at Cardiff University in collaboration with researchers in Lehigh University, U.S. and the National Centre for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, China. Whilst natural gas is one of the greenest fossil fuels, it still emits dangerous greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere when burned. This has, in turn, led researchers to devise novel ways of converting methane, which accounts for 70-90% of natural gas, into more useful products, such as a fuels and chemicals, in a simple, cost-effective and low-carbon manner. In a study published today in Nature Catalysis, the team led by researchers from the Cardiff Catalysis Institute has demonstrated, for the first time, the direct conversion of methane into methanol and acetic acid using a gold catalyst. Up until now, this has only been achieved through indirect routes which include multiple steps that are highly energy consuming and very costly. To achieve the creation of methanol and acetic acid the team reacted methane with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst made from gold and the zeolite ZSM-5. By examining the catalyst using high-powered electron microscopy, it was revealed that the active catalyst did not contain gold atoms or clusters, but rather gold nanoparticlesextremely small particles between 3 to 15 nanometres in size that can exhibit significantly different physical and chemical properties to their larger material counterparts. The production of methanol using this catalyst was expected; however, the novelty of the new method came in the production of acetic acid. Acetic acid is a common industrial chemical with large quantities used to make products such as ink for textile printing, dyes, photographic chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, rubber and plastics. Methanol, meanwhile, is commonly used as a precursor to many other commodity chemicals, as well as a biofuel. Despite the well-known inertness of the precious metal gold, pioneering research by scientists at the Cardiff Catalysis Institute has demonstrated that it is, in fact, an extremely efficient and reliable catalyst that can be used effectively in many important industrial processes. Co-author of the study Professor Graham Hutchings, Regius Professor of Chemistry from the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, says that "the oxidation of methane, the main component of natural gas, to selectively form oxygenated chemical intermediates using molecular oxygen has been a long-standing grand challenge in catalysis. "We have successfully demonstrated this for the very first time in this study, providing an important first step towards the creation of important fuels and chemicals in a simple and cost-effective way." Explore further Gold catalysts made simple with new technique More information: Jun Xu et al, Au-ZSM-5 catalyses the selective oxidation of CH 4 to CH 3 OH and CH 3 COOH using O 2 , Nature Catalysis (2022). Journal information: Nature Catalysis Jun Xu et al, Au-ZSM-5 catalyses the selective oxidation of CHto CHOH and CHCOOH using O(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-021-00725-8 A vintage, six-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot Astor Street mansion on the Gold Coast sold for $6.5 million on Jan. 5, 2022 more than $1.3 million below its $7.87 million asking price. - Original Credit: Cook County Assessor (Cook County Assessor / HANDOUT) A vintage, six-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot mansion on Astor Street on the Gold Coast sold for $6.5 million on Jan. 5 more than $1.3 million below its $7.87 million asking price. Built about 1899 at a cost of $15,000, the four-story limestone mansion, which is just down the block from Gov. J.B. Pritzkers mansion, was completely renovated down to the studs in work that began with a prior owner, developer Fred Latsko, who bought the mansion in 2006 for $3.5 million. Advertisement Latsko sold the mansion in 2010 for $4.9 million to Teresa Andresen and her husband, Headlands Technologies CEO and co-founder Matthew Andresen. The Andresens placed the mansion on the market in August 2020 for $7.87 million. The mansion, which is a rare sale above $5 million on the Gold Coast, has six full bathrooms, four partial bathrooms, five fireplaces, custom millwork, crown moldings, an elevator, a custom game room with a bar, an office, two basement rec rooms and a kitchen by de Giulio. Outside on the property are a private courtyard, a grilling area and a 2.5-car garage. Advertisement Designed by architect Edmund R. Krause (1859-1935), the mansion was built for Mildred Peacock and Charles D. Peacock Jr., whose father, Charles D. Peacock Sr., was the head of the C.D. Peacock jewelry firm. The mansions facade is clad in New Bedford carved stone, according to a November 1898 Tribune article about the mansions upcoming construction. The Peacocks sold the mansion in 1905. The Astor Street mansion had a $100,963 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year. Several doors to the south is Pritzkers mansion, which he purchased for $14.5 million in 2006 through a Delaware limited liability company in a transaction that, more than 15 years later, remains the highest single amount anyone has ever paid for a house within Chicagos city limits. About a half-dozen condominium sales in Chicago over the years have had higher amounts. Public records do not yet identify the buyers of the Astor Street mansion. Listing agent Josh Wiedow was not immediately able to provide a comment. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance writer. Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news. While in the above picture immune cells (bright green) are able to invade the tissue of the fruit fly embryo on the central top side, they are less successful when their protective shell is weakened (picture below). Credit: Stephanie Wachner / IST Austria To fight infections and heal injuries, immune cells need to enter tissue. They also need to invade tumors to fight them from within. Scientists from the Siekhaus group at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria now discovered how immune cells protect their sensitive insides as they squeeze between tissue cells. With their study published in the journal PLOS Biology the team lays the foundation for identifying new targets in cancer treatment. Knowing when exactly immune cells will try to invade a tumor is difficult. In order to be able to study this cell invasion process in detail, scientists like Professor Daria Siekhaus and her team need something more reliable. That's why they turn to fruit fly embryos. During the development of these embryos, macrophages, the dominant form of immune cells in the fruit fly, travel from the spot where they are born to the place where they are needed by invading tissue. They do so at a certain time point, enabling scientists to study the process within these tiny transparent animals. With the help of IST Austria's state-of-the-art Bioimaging Facility, they watch as the macrophagesmarked with a green fluorescent proteinpush their way into the tissue. Creating an armor Which cellular changes are needed for this and which genes trigger such alterations is still largely unknown. With their new study by first authors Vera Belyaeva, Stephanie Wachner, and Attila Gyoergy, the Siekhaus group sheds light on this process, essential in health and disease. "Previously, we found that a specific gene, called Dfos, is enriched in the immune cells and we wondered what it did," says Siekhaus. "Now we can prove that it triggers the assembly of actin filaments." These protein threads are concentrated at the inside of the cell membrane, also known as cell cortex, giving the cell surface stability. The scientists show that through a complex cascade involving different proteins, the actin filaments are made denser and more connected to each other, forming a stable shell. "We hypothesize that this works like a tank, deforming surrounding cells while protecting the immune cell's nucleus from mechanical pressure as it invades the tissue," Siekhaus explains. Furthermore, the team was able to show in vivo that missing this actin shell makes it harder for immune cells to infiltrate unless the surrounding tissue is made softer. With state-of-the-art technology, scientists at IST Austria can study the process of cell invasion in living fruit fly embryos. (Macrophages in green; surrounding tissue cells in purple). Credit: Vera Belyaeva / IST Austria Strengthening immune cells to fight cancer Although a fruit fly and vertebrates such as mice and humans do not have much in common at first glance, there are many similarities in the way their genes function. Working together with Professor Maria Sibilia from the Medical University of Vienna, the researchers at IST Austria found evidence that the vertebrate gene Fos, the equivalent to the fruit fly gene Dfos, activates the same genetic pathways. "We think that the same mechanism we found in the fruit fly also plays a role in vertebrates," says biologist Daria Siekhaus. This raises the hope that the group's findings could help identify new targets for the treatment of cancer. In the field of immuno-oncology, researchers are looking for ways to activate the body's immune system to attack a tumor. One of the challenges they face, is to enable the immune cells to infiltrate the tumor. "If one could strengthen their protective shell, it could make it easier for them to invade the tumor tissue," Siekhaus concludes. Explore further Cells change tension to make tissue barriers easier to get through More information: Belyaeva V, Wachner S, Gyoergy A, Emtenani S, Gridchyn I, Akhmanova M, et al, Fos regulates macrophage infiltration against surrounding tissue resistance by a cortical actin-based mechanism in Drosophila. PLoS Biology (2022). Belyaeva V, Wachner S, Gyoergy A, Emtenani S, Gridchyn I, Akhmanova M, et al, Fos regulates macrophage infiltration against surrounding tissue resistance by a cortical actin-based mechanism in Drosophila.(2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001494 Credit: Shutterstock Mental health is no longer a topic referred to in hushed tones. Awareness has been growing for a number of years, but 2020 pushed the conversation into the limelight. Globally, the construction industry has one of the poorest records for employee mental health and suicides. In the UK, for example, about 400 workers in the construction and engineering sectors take their own lives each year. The UK's Office for National Statistics reported that the suicide rate in construction is over three times more than the national average and six times more than the rate of falling from height. At-risk group In the Middle East and North Africa, the construction workforce is drawn from different geographies. Migrant workers in the UAE, for instance, are mostly from South Asian nations. Being away from home and familiar surroundings is often daunting, and can lead to loneliness and isolation from family. Workers can feel they do not have support, putting them at risk of mental health issues. Maleswho make up the vast majority of the construction workforceare also acknowledged to be at particular risk of suicide. Although attitudes are slowly changing, the typical approach is to try to deal with issues alone and not ask for help. Research has shown all levels of seniority face mental health issues, but low-income workers may lack adequate resources to access necessary support. Small margins, meanwhile, put an intense focus on the bottom line. This, in turn, promotes the use of business methods and construction practices that demand compliance with ever more stringent productivity and safety standards. Even when these pressures are managed in an enlightened way, issues of health and wellbeing can be difficult to address at the sub-contractor level and other lower tiers of the supply chain. The productivity drivers that ensure the lowest cost can help to create the conditions for poor mental health, with limited resources to deal with it. Mental health issues create a wide range of challenges not only for individual employees, but also for employers. Problems include increased absenteeism, lost productivity, substance abuse, and workplace injuries and accidents. So, what steps can be taken to promote better mental health on-site? Here are some insights: A safe sharing space: Creating a safe, familiar space by reaching out to employees on a human level is essential. Workers are not statistics or just revenue generators, and the industry must band together to provide those lacking support with a place to come to when they need it. Reaching out to workers regularly to understand what is affecting them physically and mentally can benefit them in the long run. Although workforce size and time constraints can be barriers, the industry should introduce standards to ensure mental health issues are addressed directly with workers. A change in work perception: Although working hours across industries are usually 36 to 40 hours weekly, construction workers sometimes work even longer, giving rise to undue pressure and little time for rejuvenation and recreational activities. One possible solution is for governments to pass laws restricting working hours for on-site personnel with mandatory time-off between shifts. Organizations can also introduce on-site makeshift recreational rooms where workers can indulge in activities such as gaming or painting to take their minds off work. The productivity gains have been shown to repay the investment many times over. Diversify the workforce: The male-dominated industry must change how it is perceived by becoming more women-friendly. For example, young girls are not always encouraged to enter the construction world. As a result, the industry may not seem an attractive career option for women. The sector needs to move away from being typecast as having men at the helm and reinvent itself as a segment that actively encourages women to be part of it. This will in turn create a more balanced and cohesive work environment, providing a chance for deserving individuals to shine. Focus on human capital: Poor mental health is an immense waste of human potential. Human involvement is the key to world-class construction as people are best able to cope with complexity, be agile and creative, and bring skills to the table that deliver high-quality outcomes.Therefore, creating the environment for this human potential to emerge is increasingly being recognized as key. Explore further Home health care workers face challenges with their own health Fig. 1 (a) Sketch, topography and near-field imaging of a NBRA dimer. (b) SEIRA spectra of monolayer molecule adsorbed on the NBRA dimer with or without the reflector. Credit: Compuscript Ltd In a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances, the research groups of Professor Zhong-Qun Tian from Xiamen University, Xiamen, China and Professor Huigao Duan from Hunan University Changsha, China discuss nanobridged rhombic antennas supporting both dipolar and high-order plasmonic modes with spatially superimposed hotspots in the mid-infrared. Mid-infrared antennas (MIRAs), often constructed from metals (e.g., Au, Al or Ag), highly doped III-V semiconductors, electron-doped graphene or phonon-polariton-based nanostructures, support optical resonance in the mid-infrared spectral range (400 to 4000 cm1). MIRAs can act as receiving antennas thereby concentrating mid-infrared beams from free space to nanoscale regions (termed as hotspots) in the vicinity of the surface of MIRAs. MIRAs can also act as a transmitting antennas to directionally amplifying thermal radiation produced by local heating of sources coupled to MIRAs. These impressive features of MIRAs have inspired a wide range of investigation of their potential applications for surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy leading to ultrahigh sensitivities (up to hundreds of oscillators), for biological and chemical sensors in the mid-infrared region, for beam-shape engineering of quantum cascade lasers, and for highly-responsive photodetectors with enhanced absorption and photocarrier collection efficiency in the mid-infrared. The core elements for the high-performance applications are the MIRA micro- and nanostructures, but the development of MIRA structures lags far behind that of optical antenna nanostructures in the visible spectral range. Single-arm dipolar-antenna structures are among the most classical MIRAs, often consisting of gold rods with tunable resonant wavelengths by tuning the length of the rods. Furthermore, dual-arm dipolar-antennas with nanometer-sized gaps (nanogaps), such as gold rod dimers, have also been developed on account of the strength of the local field enhancement factors in their nanogaps. Nevertheless, both single-arm and dual-arm dipolar-antennas usually support only the dipolar resonance mode which is a fundamental and narrow-band mode with a typical bandwidth around 200500 cm1. Usually, high-order modes in single-arm or dual-arm are typically too weak in the optical spectra. This feature limits the application demanding multiple resonances in MIR region. To obtain multiband MIRAs, several micro- and nanostructures beyond single-arm or dual-arm antennas have been designed, among them, gold nano-crosses, nanoaperture structures, fractal microstructures, log-periodic trapezoidal structures, and dipolar antennas with multiple lengths. These structures could be categorized into the micro- and nanostructures supporting several dipolar modes. Fundamentally, it is a long-term challenge to develop single-arm or dual-arm antennas supporting simultaneously pronounced fundamental and high-order plasmonic modes such as a quadrupolar mode. The research group of Professor Zhong-Qun Tian from Xiamen University and Professor Huigao Duan from Hunan University designed and fabricated a multiscale nanobridged rhombic antenna (NBRA, Fig. 1a) that supported two dominant resonances in the MIR (Fig. 1b), including a charge-transfer plasmon (CTP) band and a bridged dipolar plasmon (BDP) band which looks like a quadruple resonance. These assignments are evidenced by scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) imaging and electromagnetic simulations. Comparing with other nanobridged structures, such as nanobridged-disks or rectangles, the NBRA shows distinct multiband resonances in the mid-infrared region in the simulated extinction spectra. Further, the hotspots of the NBRA are located at the extremities of the structure, while the hotspots of nanobridged-disks or rectangles at the CTP resonance are distributed dispersively. The high-order band only occurs with nanometer-sized bridge (nanobridge) linked to the one end of the rhombic arm which mainly acts as the inductance and the resistance by the RLC circuit analysis. Moreover, the main hotspots associated with the two resonant bands are spatially superimposed, enabling boosting up the local field for both bands by multiscale coupling. With large field enhancements, multiband detection with high sensitivity to a monolayer of molecules is achieved when using SEIRA spectroscopy. This work provides a new strategy to activate high-order modes for designing multiband MIRAs with both nanobridges and nanogaps for such MIR applications as multiband SEIRAs, IR detectors, and beam-shaping of quantum cascade lasers in the future. More information: En-Ming You et al, Nanobridged rhombic antennas supporting both dipolar and high-order plasmonic modes with spatially superimposed hotspots in the mid-infrared, Opto-Electronic Advances (2021). En-Ming You et al, Nanobridged rhombic antennas supporting both dipolar and high-order plasmonic modes with spatially superimposed hotspots in the mid-infrared,(2021). DOI: 10.29026/oea.2021.210076 Provided by Compuscript Ltd Females caught during dry season research had brood patches - bare patches on the belly indicating that the females were actively breeding out of season. Credit: Wayne Lawler/AWC What gets birds in the mood to knock feathers? It's the unexpected question ecologists and researchers in central Kimberley have been faced with after witnessing an increase in purple-crowned fairy wrens breeding outside of their traditional season. Researchers who have studied and monitored purple-crowned fairy wrens for 16 years at Australian Wildlife Conservancy's (AWC) Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary on Bunuba and Kija Country, caught the wrens romancing throughout the dry season (May to November) for a second consecutive year. They described the activity as 'highly unusual' given that breeding commonly takes place during the wet season (December to April). Dr. Niki Teunissen, a research associate running the on-the-ground research for a long-term purple-crowned fairy wren project led by Professor Anne Peters of Monash University, said most of the adult females caught during a survey in November last year, had brood patchesbare patches on the bellywhich indicate that the females were actively breeding out of season. "Successful breeding amongst an endangered species such as the purple-crowned fairy wren is always welcome, however, we are surprised by the extent of dry season engagement," said Dr. Niki Teunissen, research fellow at Monash University. "We suspect that dry season breeding is a result of the above average rainfall we had last wet season which means water levels remained relatively high along Anie Creek and the Adcock River on AWC's Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary. This may have provided good conditions for breeding. However, it does not explain why there was so much dry season breeding last year too." Researchers and ecologists suspect recent wet weather may have contributed to increased breeding during dry season but they say it still doesnt explain the extent of breeding. Credit: Annie Leitch/AWC "To be honest, it goes against what we thought we knew about the birds' breeding behavior and we don't quite understand the recent breeding activity by the wrens. It raises more exciting research questions for us to answer." While dry season breeding has heightened curiosity amongst the conservation and research team, it has also contributed to a much-needed increase in Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary's purple-crowned fairy wren population. In 2004, when AWC first acquired Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, the species was in a dire state due to significant habitat damage caused by large feral herbivores and wildfires. Extensive destocking and effective fire management by AWC however saw a significant recovery in the wren population. Between 2018 and early 2020 however the population once again declined due to a severe, prolonged drought and fire. While still unexplainable, ecologists at Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary have welcomed increased breeding among the threatened species which experienced a significant population decreased during 2018 and 2020 fires. Credit: Wayne Lawler/AWC As of November 2021, and thanks to extended periods of breeding, Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary's wren population climbed back up to 204 individualsan increase from 172 in July 2021 and 143 in November 2020. During the recent survey, Dr. Teunissen, with help from AWC's operations and field scientists captured 56 new birds, most of which were fledglings (birds that hatched since the previous survey in July 2021), and a few were adult immigrants that had newly joined the population. "It's all really good news for the purple-crowned fairy wrens at Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary," Dr. Niki Teunissen added. "We are really excited about this big boost in numbers and look forward to learning what our new findings may mean for the population moving forward." As of November 2019, Mornington Wildlife Sanctuarys wren population is estimated to be around 204 individuals an increase from 172 in July 2021 and 143 in November 2020. Credit: Wayne Lawler/AWC The purple-crowned fairy wren is a small social bird found in dense riparian vegetation in northern Australia. Both male and female wrens have brown backs, wings and a paler buff belly. During the mating season, males distinguish themselves by sporting a vibrant purple crown, while the females have gray heads and chestnut-colored cheek patches. The purple-crowned fairy wren is considered at risk due to ongoing threats to riparian vegetation, on which they heavily depend. AWC protects the vegetation at Mornington-Marion Downs and Pungalina-Seven Emu Wildlife Sanctuaries by removing major threats such as large feral herbivores and implementing effective, large-scale fire management programs. Explore further Purple crowned fairy wren holds the key to immune function Provided by Australian Wildlife Conservancy Fig.1. Experimental results of the modulus of the DOC in the focal plane in the turbulent atmosphere with different strengths of turbulence. T=0C stands for the free space case. Credit: Compuscript Ltd In a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances, the research groups of Yangjian Cai from Shandong Normal University, Jinan City, Shandong, China, Fei Wang from Soochow University, Suzhou, China, and Olga Korotkova from Miami University, Miami, FL, U.S. discuss robust far-field imaging by spatial coherence engineering. Coherence, as a fundamental resource in all areas of optical physics, plays a vital role in understanding interference, propagation, scattering, imaging, light-matter interactions, and other fundamental characteristics from classical to quantum optical wave fields. In the space-frequency domain, spatial coherence properties are characterized by the two-point spectral degree of coherence (DOC) function, being a normalized version of the cross-spectral density (CSD) function. As a fundamental attribute that describes statical properties of random light fields, the second-order spatial DOC is an essential degree of freedom of partially coherent beams (PCBs). Compared with the first-order statistical parameters such as amplitude, phase and polarization state of the random light field, the PCBs have attracted substantial academic attention owing to their capability to resist turbulence-induced negative effects and to reduce the speckle noise; therefore, they have found important applications, for examples in free-space optical communications, laser materials processing, inertial confinement fusion, optical imaging, and encryption. On the other hand, due to the multi-degree of freedom of optical field, optical information transmission and recovery by optical field manipulation has been a hot research topic in optics. The existing research shows that the first-order parameters of the optical field, such as wavelength, amplitude, phase, polarization state and orbital angular momentum, can be used as the carrier of information transmission. However, when the light field interacts with matter, especially in a complex environment, such as atmospheric turbulence and obstacle blocked, the above parameters are easily destroyed by the negative effects of the environment, which cannot guarantee the reliability of the information transmission. Due to the beam's second-order statistical parameters (i.e., degree of coherence) showing strong stability in a complex environment, it is possible to use the DOC of the random optical field as the carrier of information transmission. However, owing to the optical diffraction, the DOC is not propagation-invariant which hinders its use in technologies requiring optical information transfer and recovery. The general problem of modeling of the PCBs, whose DOC remains propagation-invariant, has not yet been tackled. Fig.2. Far-field imaging by spatial coherence engineering in atmospheric turbulence. (a)-(c) Simulation results; (d)-(f) Experimental results. Credit: Compuscript Ltd The research group of Professor Yangjian Cai from Shandong Normal University, Jinan City, Shandong, China, Professor Fei Wang from Soochow University, Suzhou, China, and Professor Olga Korotkova from Miami University, Miami, FL, U.S. propose a robust far-field imaging by spatial coherent engineering. In this work, based on the generalized Van-Cittert Zernike theorem, the optical image information is encoded into the second-order spatial DOC of the random light field is first introduced. The authors proposed that when PCBs imposed by a cross-phase (CP) propagates in free space, in a paraxial optical system or a turbulent medium, its DOC acquires the same distribution as it has in the source plane. It guarantees the coherent structure (or DOC) propagation-invariant through such phase. This unique propagation feature is employed in a novel protocol for far-field imaging via the DOC, applicable to transmission in both free-space and turbulence. Based on the intensity correlation theorem, they can attain the modulus of the far-field DOC. Then, the authors adopted the Fienup's phase retrieval (FPR) algorithm to restore the encoded image from the DOC. The experimental results show that the spatial DOC of the random light field can still maintain its stable spatial structure distribution after passing through the thermal turbulence (Fig. 1), which provides the possibility to recover optical information with high quality via DOC in the complex turbulent environment. Hereto, both the experimental and the numerical simulation results show that they can realize the far-field imaging via the DOC distribution in the complex environment as well (Fig. 2). The results prove the robustness of the proposed method well. Further, the DOC properties cannot be directly detected by any optical device, which demonstrates such a method has confidentiality. The research results are expected to be applied to long-distance optical information encryption, transmission, and communication in a turbulent atmosphere. Explore further Artificial material protects light states on smallest length scales More information: Yonglei Liu et al, Robust far-field imaging by spatial coherence engineering, Opto-Electronic Advances (2021). Yonglei Liu et al, Robust far-field imaging by spatial coherence engineering,(2021). DOI: 10.29026/oea.2021.210027 Provided by Compuscript Ltd The active, fiery Cumbre Vieja volcano has been erupting since Sept. 19. Credit: Cornell University Far above the populated towns on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of western Africa, Esteban Gazel and Kyle Dayton carried equipment from their car and hiked toward the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano's active vents. Gazel, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Engineering, and Dayton, a doctoral student, had joined a small, elite team of international researchersfew of whom were from the United Statesin late October to study components of the air near an active volcano. "No one is allowed to go within a kilometer of the vent because it is very dangerous," said Dayton, who is studying volcanism in the Canary Islands for her dissertation. This trip was her first time seeing a volcano. "We could see the side profile of the volcano and there were four active vents. "When you think of volcanoes, they're usually dead," she said. "Just seeing how this one changed from day to day was probably the biggest shocker. Lava flows were completely visible on the surface one day and had channelized underground and were no longer visible the next. "We got to see giant blocks falling into the volcano and watched as the volcano changed shape," she said. "It was incredibly dynamic." The new vents in the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma began erupting Sept. 19, after about five decades of dormancy. Gazel, a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Cornell's Carl Sagan Institute, was invited by research organizers Francisco Jose Perez Torrado and Juan Carlos Carracedo, professors at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and by Valentin Troll, chair of petrology, Uppsala University, Sweden, to join their team. At La Palma, Dayton and Gazel collected on-site micro and nano samples of the air as part of a NASA-funded project to investigate the global effects of volcanic ash on the Earth systems in collaboration with department faculty members Natalie Mahowald, the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering; and Matthew Pritchard, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences. Seeing is believing, but to study nanoparticles from a volcano, you must follow your nose. "Volcanic gases contain sulfur, so if you catch a whiff of sulfur, that's the time to collect a sample from the volcanic plume," Dayton said. "We drove around La Palma over several days with the car windows open, asking "Do you smell anything?'" Gazel explained that the scientists wore gas masks and other mask types to protect against volcanic particulates close to the vent, but they hunted for particles transported far enough away so that the volcanic gases were no longer a hazard. The watched the fiery fountainsalways from a safe distancepurge magma from the Earth both day and night. Their sampling equipment sniffed the air and scooped tephra, loose volcanic material. In a preliminary show and tell, after returning from the trip, Gazel showed the microscopic samplesmineral "skeletal" in shape, which cooled faster than the time needed to build a complete structurecollected from the surrounding air. This preliminary evidence suggests that the melt-transport system from the mantle to the vent is quite fast. They are pointy, glass volcanic dust with nano crystals reminiscent of snowflakes. "You can see how pointed things are," he said, noting the need for particulate masks. "Without masks, you can breathe this in and because of their size, they could go deep into your lungs." On one day, Gazel and Dayton collected samples from San Nicolas on the southern part of La Palma, where the town plaza was full of tephra. The residents had not cleaned the benches of the volcanic soot. "We were so lucky that they did not clean the benches of the plaza," Gazel said, because that left several layers of the different eruptions to sample up to that day, the record of the eruption. Aside from sight and smell, another sense the scientists used was feeling: Dayton has a smart phone app that indicates volcanic earthquakes anywhere in the world and her distance from the epicenter. "While we were there, we felt a bunch of earthquakes," she said. "One night, I woke up four or five times from feeling earthquakes. You can almost feel that supply of magma affecting the surface. "Then you realize from the phone app," Dayton said, "that these earthquakes are 35 to 40 kilometers below us." The Hirohide Saito laboratory reports ON and OFF logic gates made of RNA that enhance cell purities. Credit: Kyoto University Because iPS cells can be made into just about any cell type in the body, they have great promise for cell therapies. One major problem, however, is that not all reprogramming cells successfully become iPS cells, resulting in an unwanted cell mixture. Further, when differentiating iPS cells, some cells are only partially differentiated, again leaving an unwanted cell mixture. To extract the desired cell types, CiRA researchers report in Science Advances new synthetic RNA technology consisting of ON and OFF switches. These switches control specific genes to kill contaminating cells while leaving desired cells unscathed at rates superior to standard techniques. "The standard method for cell purification is to use fluorescence-activated cell sorting or magnetic-activated cell sorting," said CiRA Assistant Professor Yoshihiko Fujita, one of the authors of the study. "But antibodies are needed, which makes these approaches costly, and the process damages many cells." The Hirohide Saito lab, in which Fujita is a member, has therefore been developing synthetic RNA they call "RNA switches" as an alternative. Unlike antibodies, which react with proteins on the surface of the cell, the RNA switch binds with miRNA naturally expressed inside the cell. The primary function of miRNA is to prevent the translation of RNA into proteins. Thus, the RNA switch, when transfected into a cell, will translate proteins so long as it is unbound to miRNA. There are several thousand types of miRNA in a cell, but the RNA switch includes a complementary sequence to specific miRNA. Therefore, by designing the RNA switch to translate a protein that causes cell death, only cells that highly express the miRNA that binds to the complementary sequence will survive. In this system, all RNA switches operate as OFF switches, in that the presence of high miRNA turns the switch OFF. These switches can be used to purify cells, but run into problems if done at large scale, Saito explained. "There are two problems. First, the amount of RNA switch transfected will influence the purity. Second, there is leakiness, which means some unwanted cells will survive or some wanted cells will perish," he said. As a solution, his research team prepared RNA switches that turn ON when bound by miRNA. To do so required some experimentation on the synthetic RNA structure that constitutes the RNA switch. In human cells, translated RNA include a poly(A) tail modification. The miRNA ON switch differs from the OFF switch by placing the complementary sequence after this tail rather than before it. "We added the complementary sequence and an extra sequence after the poly(A) tail. The extra sequence prevents the RNA from being translated. When the miRNA binds to the sequence, it is expected to cleave the sequence after the poly(A) tail, allowing the protein to be translated," explained Fujita. Transfecting cells with both miRNA ON and OFF switches reduced concerns about leakiness and amount. "Generally, the transfection efficiency depends on the cell type, number of cells and so on. By pairing ON and OFF switches, we do not have to worry as much about strictly controlling the amount of RNA for the transfection," said Saito. Saito and his colleagues tested this strategy by designing the RNA ON switch to translate Barnase, a ribonuclease that degrades RNA and also kills cells, and the RNA OFF switch to translate Barstar, an inhibitor of Barnase, to eliminate any leaky Barnase expression. In addition, the RNA switches were designed to bind to miR-302a-5p, a miRNA highly expressed in iPS cells, or miR-208a-3p or miR-1-3p, two miRNAs highly expressed in cardiomyocytes. Upon transfecting the cells with these switches, the researchers could purify iPS cells at more than 99 percent and cardiomyocyte at 95 percent, numbers that surpass purities levels achieved with standard methods. Moreover, because RNA molecules are relatively safe and in principle RNA switches can be designed to interact with any type of miRNA, Saito is optimistic about the promise of this technology for clinical research. "Our method is applicable to a wide range of cell types that can then be used to study disease, drugs, and cell therapies," he said. Explore further New biotechnology for high efficiency purification of live human cells More information: Yoshihiko Fujita et al, A versatile and robust cell purification system with an RNA-only circuit composed of microRNA-responsive ON and OFF switches, Science Advances (2022). Journal information: Science Advances Yoshihiko Fujita et al, A versatile and robust cell purification system with an RNA-only circuit composed of microRNA-responsive ON and OFF switches,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj1793 Credit: University of California - Santa Barbara No longer solely in the realm of science fiction, the possibility of interstellar travel has appeared, tantalizingly, on the horizon. Although we may not see it in our lifetimesat least not some real version of the fictional warp-speeding, hyperdriving, space-folding sortwe are having early conversations of how life could escape the tether of our solar system, using technology that is within reach. For UC Santa Barbara professors Philip Lubin and Joel Rothman, it's a great time to be alive. Born of a generation that saw breathtaking advances in space exploration, they carry the unbridled optimism and creative spark of the early Space Age, when humans first found they could leave the Earth. "The Apollo moon voyages were among the most momentous events in my life and contemplating them still blows my mind," said Rothman, a distinguished professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and a self-admitted "space geek." A mere 50 years have passed since that pivotal era, but humanity's knowledge of space and the technology to explore it have improved immensely, enough for Rothman to join experimental cosmologist Lubin in considering what it would take for living beings to embark on a journey across the vast distance separating us from our nearest neighbor in the galaxy. The result of their collaboration was published in the journal Acta Astronautica. "I think it's our destiny to keep exploring," Rothman said. "Look at the history of the human species. We explore at smaller and smaller levels down to subatomic levels and we also explore at increasingly larger scales. Such drive toward ceaseless exploration lies at the core of who we are as a species." Thinking big, starting small The biggest challenge to human-scale interstellar travel is the enormous distance between Earth and the nearest stars. The Voyager missions have proven that we can send objects across the 12 billion miles it takes to exit the bubble surrounding our solar system, the heliosphere. But the car-sized probes, traveling at speeds of more than 35,000 miles per hour, took 40 years to reach there and their distance from Earth is only a tiny fraction of that to the next star. If they were headed to the closest star, it would take them over 80,000 years to reach it. That challenge is a major focus of Lubin's work, in which he reimagines the technology it would take to reach the next solar system in human terms. Traditional onboard chemical propulsion (a.k.a. rocket fuel) is out; it can't provide enough energy to move the craft fast enough, and the weight of it and current systems needed to propel it are not viable for the relativistic speeds the craft needs to achieve. New propulsion technologies are requiredand this is where the UCSB directed energy research program of using light as the "propellant" comes in. "This has never been done before, to push macroscopic objects at speeds approaching the speed of light," said Lubin, a professor in the Department of Physics. Mass is such a huge barrier, in fact, that it rules out any human missions for the foreseeable future. As a result, his team turned to robots and photonics. Small probes with onboard instrumentation that sense, collect and transmit data back to Earth will be propelled up to 20-30% of the speed of light by light itself using a laser array stationed on Earth, or possibly the moon. "We don't leave home with it," as Lubin explained, meaning the primary propulsion system stays "at home" while spacecraft are "shot out" at relativistic speeds. The main propulsion laser is turned on for a short period of time and then the next probe is readied to be launched. "It would probably look like a semiconductor wafer with an edge to protect it from the radiation and dust bombardment as it goes through the interstellar medium," Lubin said. "It would probably be the size of your hand to start with." As the program evolves the spacecraft become larger with enhanced capability. The core technology can also be used in a modified mode to propel much larger spacecraft within our solar system at slower speeds, potentially enabling human missions to Mars in as little as one month, stopping included. This is another way of spreading life, but in our solar system. At these relativistic speedsroughly 100 million miles per hourthe wafercraft would reach the next solar system, Proxima Centauri, in roughly 20 years. Getting to that level of technology will require continuous innovation and improvement of both the space wafer, as well the photonics, where Lubin sees "exponential growth" in the field. The basic project to develop a roadmap to achieve relativistic flight via directed energy propulsion is supported by NASA and private foundations such as the Starlight program and by the Breakthrough Initiatives as the Starshot program. "When I learned that the mass of these craft could reach gram levels or larger, it became clear that they could accomodate living animals," said Rothman, who realized that the creatures he'd been studying for decades, called C. elegans, could be the first Earthlings to travel between the stars. These intensively studied roundworms may be small and plain, but they are experimentally accomplished creatures, Rothman said. "Research on this little animal has led to Nobel prizes to six researchers thus far," he noted. C. elegans are already veterans of space travel, as the subject of experiments conducted on the International Space Station and aboard the space shuttle, even surviving the tragic disintegration of the Columbia shuttle. Among their special powers, which they share with other potential interstellar travelers that Rothman studies, tardigrades (or, more affectionately, water bears) can be placed in suspended animation in which virtually all metabolic function is arrested. Thousands of these tiny creatures could be placed on a wafer, put in suspended animation, and flown in that state until reaching the desired destination. They could then be wakened in their tiny StarChip and precisely monitored for any detectable effects of interstellar travel on their biology, with the observations relayed to Earth by photonic communication. "We can ask how well they remember trained behavior when they're flying away from their eathly origin at near the speed of light, and examine their metabolism, physiology, neurological function, reproduction and aging," Rothman added. "Most experiments that can be conducted on these animals in a lab can be performed onboard the StarChips as they whiz through the cosmos." The effects of such long odysseys on animal biology could allow the scientists to extrapolate to potential effects on humans. "We could start thinking about the design of interstellar transporters, whatever they may be, in a way that could ameliorate the issues that are detected in these diminutive animals," Rothman said. Of course, being able to send humans to interstellar space is great for movies, but in reality is still a far away dream. By the time we get to that point we may have created more suitable life forms or hybrid human-machines that are more resilient. "This is a generational program," Lubin said. Scientists of coming generations ideally will contribute to our knowledge of interstellar space and its challenges, and enhance the design of the craft as technology improves. With the primary propulsion system being light, the underlying technology is on an exponential growth curve, much like electronics with a "Moore's Law" like expanding capability. Planetary protection and extraterrestrial propagation We're bound to our solar system for the forseeable future; humans are fragile and delicate away from our home planet. But that hasn't stopped Lubin, Rothman, their research teams and their diverse collaborators, which include a radiation specialist and a science-trained theologian, to contemplate both the physiological and ethical aspects of sending life to spaceand perhaps even propagating life in space. "There are the ethics," Lubin explained, "of planetary protection," in which serious thought is given to the possibility of contamination, either from our planet to others or vice versa. "I think if you started talking about directed propagation of life, which is sometimes called panspermiathis idea that life came from elsewhere and ended up on the earth by comets and other debris, or even intentionally from another civilizationthe idea that we would purposefully send out life does bring up big questions." So far, the authors contend, there is no risk of forward contamination, as the probes nearing any other planet would burn up in their atmosphere or be obliterated in the collision with the surface. Because the wafercraft are on a one-way trip, there's no risk that any extraterrestrial microbes will return to Earth. While still somewhat on the fringe, the theory of panspermia seems to be getting some serious, if limited, attention, given how easy it is to propagate life when conditions are right and the discovery of several exoplanets and other celestial bodies that may have been, or could be, supportive of life as we know it. "Some people have mused and published on ideas such as 'is the universe a lab experiment from some advanced civilization,'" Lubin said. "So people are certainly willing to think about advanced civilizations. Questions are good but answers are better. Right now we simply ponder these questions without the answers yet." Another issue currently being contemplated in the wider space exploration community: What are the ethics of sending humans to Mars and other distant places knowing they may never come home? What about sending out small micro-organisms or human DNA? These existential inquiries are as old as the first human migrations and seafaring voyages, the answers to which will likely come the moment we're ready to take these journeys. "I think we shouldn't, and won't, suppress the exploratory yearning that is intrinsic to our nature," Rothman said. Explore further Team to investigate possibility of using directed energy propulsion for interstellar travel More information: Stephen Lantin et al, Interstellar space biology via Project Starlight, Acta Astronautica (2021). Journal information: Acta Astronautica Stephen Lantin et al, Interstellar space biology via Project Starlight,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.10.009 How a self-spreading vaccine could work in a bat population. Bats directly injected with a self-spreading vaccine passively spread the lab-modified viral vaccine to other bats they encounter over time (T1->T2->T3) gradually building up population-wide immunity. In this example bats are used, but any mammal species that lives in groups could theoretically be targeted to rapidly vaccinate whole populations. Credit: Derek Caetano-Anolles Since the first lab-modified virus capable of replication was generated in 1974, an evidence-based consensus has emerged that many changes introduced into viral genomes are likely to prove unstable if released into the environment. On this basis, many virologists would question the release of genetically modified viruses that retain the capacity to spread between individual vertebrate hosts. Researchers from Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States now point out in a policy piece that despite these concerns, self-spreading vaccines for animals are being researched in Europe and the US. They are intended to limit the spread of animal diseases or disease spillover to humans. Non-spreading lab-modified viral vaccines are already in use today, for example as vaccines for wild animals against rabies or for humans against polio. However, in all modified virus applications to date, rigorous efforts have been made to eliminate (or if this is not possible, minimize) the capacity of viruses to spread in the environment between host individuals. The molecular tools necessary to generate viral vaccines that retain their capacity to be self-spreading have existed for some time. In 2000, researchers demonstrated the transmission of a self-spreading rabbit vaccine in a field trial on a Spanish island. However, the European Medicines Agency declined to grant marketing approval for the vaccine. "No new technologies are needed to produce self-spreading vaccines; they can be developed using methods that already exist today," says Filippa Lentzos of King's College London. Viral vaccine against swine fever In Spain, scientists are currently vaccinating pigs with self-spreading viruses (that have not been modified in a laboratory) against African swine fever as part of contained experiments. In the U.S., a four-year research project that sought to mathematically identify strategies for deploying self-spreading vaccines has just ended. The U.S. Department of Defense's research agency, DARPA, is also funding experimentation to determine if lab-modified self-spreading animal vaccines can prevent the spillover of pathogens to U.S. military personnel in areas where they operate. "If, as is argued, self-spreading vaccines are potentially transformational in a wide array of agricultural, medical and conservation uses, then developers and funders should commit to address needs within their own borders, rather than continue to propose equatorial nations for field testing," says Guy Reeves of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plon, Germany. "This will maximize the chances of a robust debate among fellow citizens and nations about the wisdom of self-spreading viral approaches in the environment. In this respect the EU funded project to address a serious pig disease within its own territories could be viewed as a step in this direction." More information: Filippa Lentzos et al, Eroding norms over release of self-spreading viruses, Science (2022). Journal information: Science Filippa Lentzos et al, Eroding norms over release of self-spreading viruses,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abj5593 This photograph shows dingos at Hamerton Zoo in the UK eye air sampling equipment with curiosity. Credit: Elizabeth Clare The air in a zoo is full of smells, from the fish used for feed to the manure from the grazing herbivores, but now we know it is also full of DNA from the animals living there. In the journal Current Biology on January 6th, two research groups have each published an independent proof-of-concept study showing that by sampling air from a local zoo, they can collect enough DNA to identify the animals nearby. This may prove to be a valuable, non-invasive tool to track biodiversity. "Capturing airborne environmental DNA from vertebrates makes it possible for us to detect even animals that we cannot see are there," says researcher Kristine Bohmann and head of the team at the University of Copenhagen. Terrestrial animals can be monitored in many ways: directly by camera and in-person observation, or indirectly by what they leave behind, like footprints or feces. The drawback to these methods is that they can involve intensive fieldwork and require the animal to be physically present. For example, monitoring animals by camera requires knowledge of where to put the cameras on the animal's path, sifting through thousands of pictures, and usually a bit of luck. "Earlier in my career, I went to Madagascar hoping to see lots of lemurs. But in reality, I rarely saw them. Instead, I mostly just heard them jumping away through the canopy." says Bohmann. "So, for many species it can be a lot of work to detect them by direct observation, especially if they are elusive and live in very closed or inaccessible habitats." "Compared to what people find in rivers and lakes, monitoring airborne DNA is really, really hard, because the DNA seems super diluted in the air," says Elizabeth Clare, lead researcher of the Queen Mary University of London team (Clare is now at York University in Toronto). "But our zoo studies have yet to fail for different samplers, genes, locations, and experimental approaches. All of it worked and surprisingly well." This photograph shows Christina Lynggaard and Kristine Bohmann collect air samples at the Copenhagen Zoo. Credit: Christian Bendix Bohmann and Clare draw heavily from their past research monitoring wildlife by collecting other sample types containing DNA shed by animals. This is referred to as "environmental DNA," or eDNA, and is a well-established technique used most frequently to monitor aquatic organisms by sequencing eDNA from water samples. "Air surrounds everything, and we wanted to avoid contamination in our samples while optimizing true detection of animal DNA," says Bohmann. "Our newest work with airborne eDNA involves what we usually do when processing eDNA samples, just tuned up a little bit." Each research group conducted their study at a local zoo by collecting samples at various places in the zoo, including inside walled-in enclosures like the tropical house and indoor stables, as well as outdoor enclosures in the open air. "To collect airborne eDNA, we used a fan, like one you would use to cool down a computer, and attached a filter to it. We then let it run for some time," says Christina Lynggaard, first author and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen. The fan draws in air from the zoo and its surroundings, which could contain genetic material from any number of sources, like breath, saliva, fur, or feces, though the researchers have not determined the exact source. "It could be anything that can become airborne and is small enough to continue floating in the air," says Lynggaard. "After air filtration, we extracted the DNA from the filter and used PCR amplification to make a lot of copies of the animal DNA. After DNA sequencing, we processed the millions of sequences and ultimately compared them to a DNA reference database to identify the animal species." "There's a leap of faith component to some of this because when you deal with regular tissue or even aquatic DNA samples, you can measure how much DNA you have, but with these samples we're dealing with forensically tiny amounts of DNA," says Clare. "In many cases, when we only sample for a few minutes we can't measure the DNA, and so we have to jump to the next stage of PCR where we find out whether there's any in it or not. When we sample for hours we get more but there is a tradeoff." Elizabeth Clare sampling air to collect airborne DNA. Credit: Elizabeth Clare In each study, the researchers detected animals inside the zoo and wildlife from the nearby. Clare's team from Queen Mary University of London detected DNA from 25 species of mammals and birds, and even DNA belonging to the Eurasian hedgehog, which is endangered in the UK. Bohmann's team at the University of Copenhagen team detected 49 non-human vertebrate species, including mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, and fish species. These included zoo animals like the okapi and armadillo and even the guppy in a pond in the tropical house, locally occurring animals like squirrels, and pest animals like the brown rat and house mouse. Further, they detected fish species used for feed for other animals in the zoo. Both teams took extensive measures to check that their samples were not contaminated, including by DNA already in their labs. Two new studies published in the journal Current Biology from York University in Canada, Queen Mary University in the UK, and the University of Copenhagen, show that environmental DNA collected from air can be used to detect a wide range of animal species. York University Assistant Professor Elizabeth Clare talks about her research. Credit: York University By choosing a zoo for the location of their studies, the researchers knew the position of a large collection of non-native species, so they could tell the difference between a real signal and a contaminant. "We had originally thought of going to a farm, but if you pick up cow DNA you must ask 'Is that cow here or is it some cow a hundred miles away or in someone's lunch?'" says Clare. "But by using the zoo as a model there's no other way I would detect DNA from a tiger, except for the zoo's tiger. It lets us really test the detection rates." "One thing both our labs do is develop and apply new tools, so perhaps it's not so surprising that we both ended up with the same idea at the same time," says Clare. Two research groups set out to test whether a novel eDNA approach could be used to study animal species outside of a laboratory setting from York University in Canada, Queen Mary University in the UK, and the University of Copenhagen. York University Assistant Professor Elizabeth Clare explains the research. Credit: York University However, the fact that both research groups are publishing at the same time in the journal Current Biology is far from coincidental. After seeing each other's articles on a preprint server, the two groups decided to submit their manuscripts to the journal together jointly. "We decided we would rather take a bit of a gamble and say we're not willing to compete on this," says Clare. "In fact, it's such a crazy idea, we're better off having independent confirmations that this works. Both teams are very eager to see this technique develop." Explore further Study provides first evidence of DNA collection from air Violinist Xie Nan will perform with her students in a concert featuring Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by Piazzolla and The Four Seasons, a set of four violin concertos composed by Vivaldi. The concert will also include music programs such as Spring in Xinjiang by Chinese composers Ma Yaoxian and Li Zhonghan, Csardas by Italian composer Vittorio Monti and Dance of the Goblins by Italian composer Antonio Bazzini. Conductor Liu Ju, pianist Lu Jingyi and violinist Du Xuan will perform in the concert. Born in to a musical family, Xie learned to play violin at the age of 4 and made her stage debut at 9 years old. She studied with music educator, violinist Lin Yao Ji and graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music. In the concert, she will invite three of her violin friends, Gao Can, Zhang Jingye and Xie Haoming, all of Lin's students, to perform during the encore session. SARATOGA SPRINGS Police are investigating a stabbing that occurred early New Years Day on Caroline Street. At about 2:38 a.m., Saratoga Springs police officers responded to a report of a 28-year-old man who had stab wounds to his chest. The man had walked out of Gaffneys on Caroline Street and told officers that he had been stabbed while inside the bar, according to a news release. The Saratoga Springs Fire Department responded to treat the man and transported him to Saratoga Hospital. Staff at Gaffneys was not aware of the incident even having taken place, police said, as there had been no observed or reported altercations from inside. The business was cooperative and assisted police to the best of their ability. The man's injuries were not life threatening. The investigation into what happened is ongoing and at this time the act does not appear to be a random attack. Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to call the Saratoga Springs Police Department at (518) 584-1800 or (518) 584-TIPS to remain anonymous. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The latest congressional redistricting plan, in which Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, retains a solid enrollment advantage without competition from another incumbent, creates more of an uphill climb for a Democratic challenger, said Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher. I think the landscape is just overpowering, she said, adding that Democrats are certainly up for the task. Stefanik was not available to comment directly for this report on Tuesday. Congresswoman Stefanik is running in the North Country seat which she currently represents and has deep ties to. She will work to earn reelection with another record victory come November, said Alex DeGrasse, a Stefanik senior adviser. Boecher said she sees no other outlook without drawing Stefanik and Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, into the same congressional district, as was the case in an earlier proposed redistricting plan that was released in October. Boecher said the geographic size of the proposed congressional district, about the size of Montana, makes it daunting for a Democratic challenger with little name recognition. Four candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Stefanik in November: Matt Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official from Wilton; Bridie Farrell, a political activist and former competitive skater from North River; Matthew Putorti, a lawyer from Whitehall; and Ezra Watson, a technician from Wilton. The state Independent Redistricting Commission on Monday sent two plans for redrawing congressional, state Senate and state Assembly district boundaries to the state Legislature for consideration. One plan was drafted by Democrats on the commission, and the other plan by Republicans on the commission. The Legislature is expected to vote next week on whether to approve either of the plans, said Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake. Woerner said she needs to study the maps in detail this weekend before deciding how she will vote, but she is disappointed that Democrats and Republicans on the commission could not agree on a single plan. Thats not a good sign, she said. Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, too, said he has not yet made a decision how he will vote. Im still researching it, he said. It is likely, Democrats, which control both houses of the Legislature, will approve the Democratic plan, but the plan probably will subsequently be challenged in court, said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political strategist in New York City. Yet there is pressure from the progressive faction of the Democratic party to reject both plans and insist on maps that target Republican incumbents. Our leadership in Albany must throw away any notion of incumbent protection, the political action committee No Surrender NY said in a news release Monday, urging the Legislature to reject both of the commission plans. Sheinkopf said it was politically savvy for Democrats on the commission not to attempt to target Stefanik, and others, by drawing them into congressional districts with other incumbents, a tactic that could backfire and cause additional controversy in the upcoming mid-term elections, which already are shaping up to be tough for Democrats in general. Thats smart, and the Democrats are smart about it, he said. The Democratic map extends the current 21st Congressional District, which Stefanik represents, south to Gloversville, but leaves out Amsterdam, the hometown of Tonko. The Republican map does not extend the 21st District as far south, and does not draw Stefanik and Tonko into the same district. In the state Senate, the Democratic plan would keep Warren County whole in a common district, but split Warren County off from Washington County. Warren County would have been spilt into two districts, with Glens Falls and Queensbury in one district, and northern Warren County in a separate district, under the previous Democratic plan. Under the new Democratic plan, the proposed new Senate district, in which Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, would be the incumbent, would stretch from Hague south through Warren County and Wilton, in Saratoga County, and into Fulton and Montgomery counties, including the cities of Gloversville and Amsterdam. The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce had submitted testimony to the commission recommending that Warren and Washington counties be in the same congressional district, Senate district and Assembly district and linked with counties to the north, said Michael Bittel, the chambers president and chief executive officer. Bittel said Warren and Washington counties share an interest in agriculture, tourism and small business with the northern counties that are not shared with the Capital District. We hope that the Legislature will take this into account as they consider this, he said. Boecher, the Warren County Democratic chairwoman, said the configuration makes no sense, and she hopes the Legislature will reject it. She said she would prefer to have Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls, two thriving upstate small cities, in a common district. Several area county Republican chairmen did not return voicemail and email messages left seeking comment for this report. Stec and Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, also did not return messages left seeking comment for this report. In the Assembly, the Democratic plan would redraw the district that Simpson represents to extend further south into Saratoga County. Simpson said it has been an honor to serve in the Assembly, and he will work just as hard however the new configuration of the district turns out. The Democratic plan would redraw the district that Woerner represents to include northern Washington County and a small portion of Essex County. If the Legislature accepts either plan, candidates would run in the new districts in the June primary election and November general election. If the Legislature rejects both plans, the proposed redistricting maps would be sent back to the commission for revision. Congressional and state legislative boundaries are redrawn every 10 years, based on the latest census. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 GREENWICH The village of Greenwich and towns of Dresden and Kingsbury will receive a total of $803,360 in state funds for community projects in 2022, under awards announced in December by the Capital Region Regional Economic Development Council. The money is part of more than $81 million disbursed statewide last month to 97 shovel-ready projects to help stimulate the states post-pandemic recovery, according to a news release from Gov. Kathy Hochuls office. The village of Greenwich is set to receive $428,500 for downtown revitalization and $304,000 to improve the quality of water discharged from its wastewater treatment plant. Were really very excited, said village Mayor Pamela Fuller. Ten Main Street property owners qualified for 75% matching grants for mixed-use building renovations, Fuller said. Nine of the properties are between Argyle Brewery and the traffic light, and the 10th is farther north. Fuller said she wasnt ready to release the addresses of the properties involved. The grants, from the state Office of Community Renewals New York Main Street program, will pay mostly for facade renovations and some interior work. All the property owners submitted plans and cost estimates when they applied, Fuller said. Theyre getting varying amounts depending on the project, Fuller said. The grants are reimbursable, meaning that the owners will pay the full cost and submit paperwork to receive 75% from the state. Well start working right away when we get the contract from the state, Fuller said. Construction is expected to begin in late spring and continue through fall. The village worked with an independent consultant to obtain the grants, Fuller said. The consultant will administer the grants with the assistance of village staff. The village benefited from a similar grant in 2016 to renovate the former Wallies Restaurant, at that time long closed and badly deteriorated, and a brick building across Main Street, Fuller said. Wallies reopened last summer and the brick building, vacant for years, will house a local nonprofit. A separate grant from the Department of Environmental Conservations Water Quality Improvement Project program will pay for installation of ultraviolet effluent disinfection equipment at the villages wastewater treatment plant. The plant releases treated water into the Batten Kill. Kingsbury The town of Kingsbury was awarded $40,860 from the state Department of States Smart Growth Funds to support revision of the towns 1973 comprehensive plan. The grant will be used to pay for the administration and development costs of the townwide comprehensive plan update, town Supervisor Dana Hogan said in an email. This grant should address any remaining costs of this project. The town is working with Nicole Allen of the Laberge Group. She has been a great resource on this project, and its my understanding, instrumental in securing this grant, Hogan said. Kingsbury has historically been a farming and agricultural community, but recent projects including apartments and commercial solar arrays, and concerns raised by the towns planning and zoning boards, have increased our awareness that a long-term approach is in order, Hogan said. Were hopeful that this (updated plan) will be a good first step. Were also hopeful this may make us more competitive for future grant opportunities. The town has asked for participation from community residents and businesses, in an effort to ensure we are taking a pragmatic and community-based approach to future growth in our community, Hogan said. The comprehensive plan committee includes a Hudson Falls Village Board member. The update, Imagine Kingsbury, should be completed in the third quarter of this year, Hogan said. DresdenThe town of Dresden will receive $30,000 from the DECs Environmental Facilities Corp. Engineering Planning Grant program to address wastewater concerns at Huletts Landing, a summer colony on the east shore of Lake George. The grant targets Sewer District 1, which, according to DEC records, serves 60 residences on county Route 6B. The system discharges treated wastewater to leach fields. The money will pay for an engineering report to assess the condition of the districts wastewater collection system, evaluate alternatives, and recommend improvements, according to the Regional Economic Development Councils website. Town Supervisor Paul Ferguson did not respond to requests for comment. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 GANSEVOORT There are currently no emergency veterinarians available at night or on weekends in the Glens Falls area. The Northway Veterinary Hospital in Gansevoort used to offer 24-hour emergency pet care seven days a week. But staffing shortages led to a change in available hours at the beginning of September. We just dont have enough veterinarians to cover 24/7 coverage at this point, said Ciera Earl, the practice manager. Some of her staff have moved out of the area and some retired early. The office is now open at 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and closes anytime from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., depending on the day. The hospitals hours are listed on its website at nvh.vet. The animal hospital is no longer open on Saturdays or Sundays. Were actively recruiting for new veterinarians, Earl said. As we can hire new vets, then we certainly hope to expand our hours once we can do that. The closest emergency facilities are Capital District Veterinary Referral Hospital and Upstate Veterinary Specialties, both in Latham. NVH also refers pet owners to Burlington Emergency & Veterinary Specialists in Vermont. Those emergency hospitals require a pet owner to travel a lot farther than the office near Exit 17. The demand is still absolutely in the area, Earl said. We, unfortunately, just cant service that demand at this point. Gretta Hochsprung writes features and hometown news. She can be reached at 518-742-3206 or ghochsprung@poststar.com. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 2 Sad 25 Angry 5 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Washington County reported the death of a 54-year-old resident from COVID late Wednesday night. The person was not vaccinated and had recently been hospitalized, according to the report from Washington County Public Health, which was issued just before 11 p.m. County health officials reported that a total of 204 COVID cases and 145 recoveries were processed on Tuesday and Wednesday. A large volume of cases are still being processed, according to a news release. Washington County is monitoring 396 active cases. Many of the cases stem from workplaces, household and family spread and at indoor events in close quarters. As you can see reflected in our report over the last week, we are again experiencing an extreme surge in receipt of new cases. Please be vigilant and do your part protect yourselves and your family members. While our Public Health case report statistics reflect 396 active cases in todays report, there are many more that are pending review and investigation, the county said on Wednesday. The county does not currently have a figure on how many are breakthrough cases due to the high number of cases that are being processed. Eleven people are in the hospital, an increase of one from Mondays report. Washington County also announced that on Tuesday it had received 2,700 COVID-19 at-home rapid testing kits and have allocated a portion to each town for distribution. They were available during business hours at most town halls on Thursday. Supplies are limited. Proof of residency is required and there is a limit of one kit per person. There are also booster clinics scheduled every Tuesday and Thursday in January from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Washington County Municipal Center campus in Fort Edward. Registration is required at washingtoncountyny.gov/coronavirus or by calling Washington County Public Health at 518-746-2400. Warren County Warren County Health Services on Thursday said the county would adopt New York states newly announced guidelines for isolation and quarantine. The new guidelines are as follows: If a person with COVID-19 is asymptomatic at the end of five days or if their symptoms are resolving, isolation ends and the individual should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for an additional 5 days. There are exceptions in certain situations. If a person who had contact with someone with COVID-19 is not fully vaccinated, or is fully vaccinated and eligible for a booster but not yet boosted, requirements include quarantine for five days and wearing of a well-fitting mask while around others for an additional five days. If a person who has contact with someone with COVID-19 is fully vaccinated and boosted (with the booster at least two weeks before the first date of exposure) or not yet eligible for a booster, no quarantine is required but these individuals should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for 10 days after the last date of exposure. Health Services reported 168 new COVID cases and 59 recoveries on Thursday. Of the new cases reported, 51 involved vaccinated individuals. The county is now monitoring 1,193 active cases, with 1,168 experiencing mild illness. Warren County officials stated that three more individuals have been hospitalized, bringing that number to 15, with two patients in the ICU. Seven of the 15 patients are unvaccinated. Glens Falls Hospital spokesman Ray Agnew said the hospital had 28 COVID patients, with four individuals in the ICU, on Thursday. The news release stated that 2,690 out of the 46,946 fully vaccinated residents have tested positive. Recent potential COVID exposure advisories in Warren County include: Bingo at VFW Post 6196, Luzerne Road, Queensbury, Jan. 4. Texas Roadhouse, Route 9, Queensbury, Dec. 31, 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., no mask worn. Until further notice, these advisories are not being updated as frequently. Presume that you are being exposed to COVID-19 when going into public and take precautions such as use of a mask or face covering, Warren County officials advised. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Absecon St. Elizabeths weekly raffle: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish continues one of its staple fundraisers, the Cyrenean Club, a weekly raffle for $500. Purchase one ticket for $51 and get 52 chances to win. If you win once, you go back in for a chance to win again. Drawings occur every Tuesday in the Parish Office. All proceeds benefit the church. For more information, call 609-641-1480, ext. 0. Barnegat Township Winter arts display at library: The works of 11 brush-and-canvas artists from Pine Shores Art Association are exhibited through January and February at the Ocean County Library Barnegat Branch, at 112 Burr St. The exhibit, themed Winter Wonderland, represents the artists perspectives of winter and nature. The works will include paintings and clay crafts by Mary Walker-Baptiste and Linda Saladino; paintings by Nancy Glines, Lonny Hall, Paul Hartelius, Margaret Hartwell, Suzi Hoffman, Kimberly Measure, Shelly C Ristow, Barbara Whelan and Nadine Yura; clay creations by Alexandra Smith and Mary Kate Fogel; and verse by Louis Baptiste. Participating artists will discuss the exhibit, and their creative processes, in a video to be featured on OCLs YouTube channel, Spotify, and at theoceancountylibrary.org. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For information, call 609-698-3331. Egg Harbor Township Democratic Club meeting: The EHT Democratic Club meets 6:30 p.m. third Tuesdays via Zoom, and at the Atlantic County Library branch at 1 Swift Drive once COVID-19 gathering restrictions are lifted. To join the mailing list, email ehtdems@gmail.com or visit the facebook page.Margate Beth El Synagogue Movie Day: The public is invited to view the film News of the World 2 p.m. Jan. 10 at Beth El Synagogue, 500 N. Jerome Ave. Admission is $5 and includes snacks. Proof of vaccination is required to attend. For more information or to register, call 609-823-2725. Mays Landing Green Team meetings: Residents interested in joining the Township of Hamilton Green Team are invited to attend the groups monthly meetings, held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. first Thursdays at the Municipal Building, 6101 13th St. For more information, email lmccardell@townshipofhamilton.com. Millville Book club: The Millville Womans Club will host its monthly book discussion 1:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at the clubhouse, 300 E St. This months book is Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences by James R. Mellow. If interested in attending, call Eloise Sulzman at 856-691-7434. Northfield Church bingo: St. Gianna Parish (Church of St. Bernadette), 1421 New Road, holds bingo games every Wednesday and Saturday at 10 a.m. Doors open 8 a.m. Refreshments are available for sale, with proceeds to benefit church programs. All are welcome. Ocean City Coffee With Cops: The Police Department will host a Coffee with Cops from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 15 at New York Cafe and Grill, 928 Haven Ave. The public is invited to discuss any thoughts or questions on local policing and other topics with the departments Community Policing Unit. The program is designed to help officers and community members connect in an informal setting. New York Cafe and Grill will provide free coffee to all who attend. For more information, contact Patrolman John Davis at 609-525-9142 or JDavisIV@ocnj.us. Sea Isle City Christmas tree disposal: The Department of Public Works will collect fresh-cut Christmas trees each Friday in January. Residents are reminded to remove all decorations, including tinsel, before placing their trees on the curb for collection. For ,ore information, call 609-263-6000. Garden Club: The Garden Club has resumed its regular meeting schedule of 7 p.m. first Thursday of the month through December at the Community Lodge, 300 JFK Blvd. New members are welcome. For more information, call 609-263-6736. Somers Point Grace Place Food Pantry: Grace Lutheran Church at 11 E. Dawes Ave. hosts an ecumenical food pantry for residents of Northfield, Linwood and Somers Point. Hours are 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. The pantry is closed the first full week of each month. For more information, call 609-927-9982. Woodbine City Council reorganization ceremony: Mayor William Pikolycky announced the borough will hold its 2022 swearing-in ceremony during the scheduled Council meeting 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Municipal Building, 501 Washington Ave. Councilman Michael Benson will be sworn in for his fifth term. Councilman Joseph E. Johnson III will be sworn in for his third term. The mayor will give his annual State of the Borough address following the swearing-in ceremonies. PLEASANTVILLE People from across the city came together Tuesday night to put students on the path to success and find solutions to what many consider long-standing problems born of systemic inequality, violence and, of late, the COVID-19 pandemic. About 100 people attended a virtual town hall to discuss the issues facing the local school district. The event was organized in collaboration with Mount Zion Baptist Church and held via Zoom. Tamar LaSure-Owens, a first-grade teacher at Leeds Avenue Elementary School, moderated the event. She said it was important to gather city stakeholders in one setting where they could openly discuss how to improve Pleasantville schools and advance the interests of their students. The Rev. Willie Francois III, the senior pastor at Mount Zion Baptist, emphasized the need for speakers to find ways to provide students with community support. It has been part of my mantra as a leader here, as a part of this community, that all children belong to all of us, and that is really whats at the heart of why we are here, Francois said. Parents and residents asked school officials about educational outcomes, academic resources and outbreaks of violence that injure and traumatize students during the past few school board meetings. Speakers at the town hall, which lasted about two hours, were asked how they would work to improve opportunities and school safety for the citys youth. Pleasantville teacher wins award for promotion of equity in education A Pleasantville teacher is leading the way on state efforts to make New Jersey education mor Mayor Judy Ward, answering a question about how to boost student engagement, said two students from Pleasantville High School would be attending City Council meetings. The students, to be appointed by Pleasantville High School Principal Lapell Chapman, will act as liaisons for the district and help ensure student voices are represented in the public policy process. I think thats really important, because we need to know what the youth are thinking, Ward said. A lot of the times we make decisions because we think we know what they want, but in their minds, its something completely different. Christine Ruth, founder of the Atlantic County Collaborative for Educational Equity, said local and state governments would need to intervene to expand opportunity for Pleasantville students. There was a particularly important need, she said, for students to access honors courses that give them the confidence to apply for college. Dawn Rice-Bivens, a co-founder of the Future Leaders Organization, talked about the need to ensure students are connected to affordable opportunities to attend college as well as vocational schools where they can learn a trade. These calls for more expansive opportunities were echoed by religious leaders at the town hall. We must give them as many opportunities and choice, so that they will be able to have those areas that will be available to them, so they can be successful in whatever field or endeavor that they feel like they want to pursue, said the Rev. John Martin, a pastor at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. Snowstorm forcing several schools to close Tuesday as well The snow storm Monday is continuing to impact school schedules across South Jersey. In addition to expanding educational opportunities, speakers addressed strategies for keeping students safe from violence. Acting police Chief James Williams said he was authorized to place Class III officers within schools and on school grounds. The officers are intended as a deterrent to violent behavior and as a network keeping police informed about potential school conflicts that could escalate into violence. Capt. Matthew Hartman said stationing police within the school helps the force keep the finger on the pulse of the school environment. He said the force stations officers around school grounds during drop-off and dismissal, going on patrol as students make their way to and from school. Pleasantville parents were recently alarmed by a Dec. 2 sexual assault on a girl on her way to school. Horece McZeke, 44, of Galloway Township, was charged in that case later that month. School board President Julio Sanchez, while not opposed to the idea of stationing police in school, said final approval for stationing officers in school would have to be given by the board. Hartman said he did not believe the police could provide the best response in all scenarios. There was a crucial role for community leaders and others in preventing violence. I think it will go a lot further than just a bunch of police cars and officers showing up every day at dismissal, Hartman said. Galloway council set for shift to GOP in Tuesday reorganization meeting GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP In an area where the partisan makeup of local governing bodies can stay Francois said both violence and poor education outcomes are driven by poverty and inequality, which in turn are driven by structural racism. He said popular pressure needed to be applied to change a statewide education system that has deprived schools with predominantly Black and Hispanic student bodies of resources. We have to also start having these conversations around the structural inequalities and the structural problems that are actually dashing opportunities, Francois said. He insisted that sufficient mental-health treatment be made available, both in light of outbreaks of violence and the ongoing pandemic. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a December report warning about the effects the pandemic and attendant school shutdowns have had on the mental health of American youth. Francois encouraged those who wanted to effect change to embrace radical, nonviolent protest to place pressure on elected officials. Other panelists encouraged people to make sure they vote in state elections as well as local school board contests. LaSure-Owens, who recently won an NJEA Urban Education Activist award, said plans to improve the lives of students in Pleasantville could be discussed in more depth at future meetings. This is not the last town hall, but this is just the first of those to come, because this is something that the community has asked for, LaSure-Owens said. Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Stockton University on Thursday said it has formalized an agreement to enroll students from Southern Regional High School at the university through a new partnership. Qualified students can complete high school in three years and enter Stockton as sophomores through the program. Southern students will have the opportunity to take courses to earn 32 college credits during their three years. The decision is being made to expand student access to higher education at four-year colleges, Stockton said. This agreement recognizes that Southern Regionals rigorous curriculum more than adequately prepares students to make the transition to college, Stockton President Harvey Kesselman said in a statement. Stocktons administration said it is planning to work with Southern officials to increase the number of dual-credit courses offered at the high school. The high school currently offers 13 dual-credit courses through Stockton, including Latin, French, Spanish, German, precalculus, calculus and Medical Terminology for Health. Stockton has similar agreements with Ocean City High School and the three high schools of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional district. With growing college costs for American students, Stockton Chief Enrollment Officer Robert Heinrich said the plan will help ease the financial burden, while saving students and their families time. If students can earn a semester or more of credits in high school, they will not only save thousands of dollars in tuition, but also reduce the time it takes them to graduate from Stockton, Heinrich said. This program also reduces the stress of applying to college and waiting for a decision by guaranteeing admission to qualified students. Residents, businesses weigh in on Atlantic Avenue plan ATLANTIC CITY As he waited for his bus at the intersection of South Carolina and Atlantic Students who earn a high school diploma from Southern with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or better are guaranteed enrollment at Stockton, the university said, adding it agrees to waive the undergraduate admission application fee for eligible students. Stockton will reward academic and merit scholarships to eligible students renewable for up to four years of undergraduate coursework to those who maintain a 3.0 or better GPA, the university said. There are still enrollment opportunities for those who do not meet admission requirements. Students can be conditionally accepted to Stockton and are encouraged to initially enroll at Ocean County College through the universitys Transfer Pathways partnership. The Southern Regional School District is both proud and excited to be expanding post-graduate opportunities for Southern students through this partnership with Stockton University, Southern Superintendent Craig Henry said. Combining the two well-known brands of Stockton University and the Southern Regional School District will undoubtedly serve not only our students very well, but, equally important, the community at large. Nearly 20% of Stocktons student body is made up of Ocean County students, Heinrich said, adding the school anticipates that figure to increase through the partnership. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In the weeks following the storming of the Capitol in Washington last year, several local participants facing charges spoke with reporters about their motivations and their experiences. As lawmakers readied to certify the electoral vote from 2020, usually a ceremonial and uneventful day, thousands gathered in Washington for a rally that included comments from Republican President Donald Trump, who called on Vice President Mike Pence to reject Democrat Joe Bidens election win. Later that day, part of the crowd near the White House marched to the Capitol, and some pushed through police barricades and smashed their way into the building. The nation and the world saw scenes of representatives spirited from the Rotunda and battles between Capitol Police and Trump supporters. A year later, the local participants who face charges connected to the events seem to have gone quiet. An attorney representing Robert Lee Petrosh, of Mays Landing, told The Press of Atlantic City he was working on a plea deal with federal authorities. There was no response to a call this week requesting an interview with Petrosh. Petrosh was charged with entering a restricted building, impeding government business, engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct with the intent to impede a session of Congress and demonstrating within the Capitol building. In December, federal authorities added charges accusing him of taking two microphones from a lectern belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A Camden County UPS worker said the Capitol riot was 'the best day of his life.' His coworkers turned him in. An employee at a Camden County UPS hub bragged about breaching House Speaker Nancy Pelosis Attempts this week to reach James Douglass Rahm Jr., identified as an Atlantic City resident in federal documents, were unsuccessful. He and his son, James Douglas Rahm III, were charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and demonstrating at the Capitol. In March, the elder Rahm told The Press he was caught up in the passion of the moment when he entered the Capitol. I dont know what made me do it, he said at the time. It happened, and Im very sorry it happened. Thats our Capitol. No matter what you believe, that shouldnt happen. Rahms case received additional attention because he reportedly posted on Facebook that he urinated in Pelosis office. In an interview last year, he denied that he did so, saying he was trying to impress someone with the post. Rahm said he no longer lives at the Atlantic City address, that he moved back to his hometown of Philadelphia. He said his business was badly hurt by the charges and he planned to move to Florida to make a fresh start. His Facebook account, which figures prominently in the complaint filed by the U.S. Attorneys Office, appears to have been deleted. Several phone numbers in Philadelphia and Atlantic City listed under his name are disconnected, including a business line. A Cape May County man charged by Capitol Police with unlawful entry did not respond to a request for interview this week, either. In an interview last year, Leonard Guthrie Jr., of Middle Township, said he did not enter the Capitol but did cross into a restricted area. His charges are less serious than those filed against Rahm and Petrosh. Last year, Guthrie decried the destruction that took place inside the Capitol. This wasnt about going in and destroying the building, Guthrie said. It had nothing to do with that. I have nothing to say about that other than they shouldnt have done that. That was wrong. That was stupid. Guthrie said last year he was heartbroken when he learned of the death of Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter shot by a Capitol Police officer as she entered the building. His father, also a Middle Township resident, took a message for Guthrie on Wednesday, saying it would be up to his son to decide whether to speak with a reporter. Leonard Guthrie Sr. said his son had a difficult time over the past year, describing him as a good and honest man. He was charged with something he never should have been charged with, he said. Mays Landing man arrested in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol riot A conversation between family friends led to the arrest this week of a Mays Landing man for A listing of those charged in the incursion into the Capitol includes hundreds of names, including 22 who either live in New Jersey or were arrested in the state. The list includes names from around the country, facing charges ranging from entering a building without lawful authority to violence. The FBI continues to search for others, including some who allegedly attacked law enforcement officers or targeted members of the media for attack. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Amid a targeted national campaign, Chinese police in 2021 investigated and handled 62,000 cybercrime cases including personal information infringement and hacking, according to the Ministry of Public Security. A total of 103,000 individuals suspected of involvement in these cases were captured, with over 27,000 internet enterprises and institutions receiving administrative penalties, said the ministry. Police busted over 6,000 gangs that helped online gambling, fraud and other criminal activities in terms of funds settlement, technical support and attracting online traffic, it said. The ministry added that Chinese police also intensified their crackdown on the infringement of intellectual property rights, as well as on the sale and manufacture of counterfeit goods. In 2021, 18,000 criminal cases of this kind were dealt with, up by 12 percent than the previous year. PLEASANTVILLE Newly appointed school board President Jerome Page vowed to reinstate proper parliamentary procedure and a sense of order after he was inaugurated at Wednesdays board reorganization meeting. And then, order at the meeting gradually deteriorated. Eventually, Page and other members of the board staged a walkout before the general public comment period began, drawing the ire of union representatives and residents, and leading the acting superintendent to issue a public apology. I know its upsetting, its upsetting for everyone, acting Superintendent Karin Farkas said. Apologies, sincere apologies, this is not what I envisioned to happen for tonight, or probably anyone, for what we had hoped. Page was put into office by a 5-3 vote, with one abstention. Julio and Elysa Sanchez, siblings who had been board president and vice president, respectively, heading into the reorganization meeting, voted against Page, as did board member Cassandra Clements. New board member Augustus Harmon abstained. It is my promise and my duty that I will represent all of you, Page said after his appointment. We have a lot of work to do for the district. Pleasantville meeting features conversations about expanding opportunity, stopping violence PLEASANTVILLE People from across the city came together Tuesday night to put students on t A series of heated arguments about the positions of board solicitor, labor attorney and superintendent erupted as the hours wore on Wednesday night. By the time the board voted to enter executive session, several residents and parents were shouting in the hallway, and some board members were visibly distraught. After executive session, there was a motion made to reinstate Superintendent Natakie Chestnut-Lee, who was put on leave in October, that Page did not acknowledge. Page then motioned to adjourn the meeting before holding the scheduled section for public comment on general matters. Several board members, including Page, then left the meeting. Other board members had already left the meeting before Pages motion to adjourn. Not having enough members remaining for quorum, the meeting ended without the public comment period something for which several residents and parents in attendance had been waiting almost 2 hours. Farkas then issued her apology, and Julio Sanchez, who did not leave early, implored residents to call the state School Ethics Commission. Tensions first began to rise when the board voted to appoint the Carroll Law Firm to fill the role of board solicitor. Several members of the board and some residents have criticized the firms namesake and owner, James Carroll, for not prioritizing the wellbeing of the district and for overburdening the district financially when he had previously been solicitor. The vote for solicitor was preceded by a motion to reappoint the firm of Parker McCay, which had been providing legal services to the board heading into Wednesday. That motion failed. The board also selected Carroll to fill the role of labor attorney for the district. A motion to fill the role of board attorney with the law firm of Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Cappelli, Tipton, Taylor, LLC a firm that had filled the role of board solicitor until October was defeated. Pleasantville teacher wins award for promotion of equity in education A Pleasantville teacher is leading the way on state efforts to make New Jersey education mor The board has been in disarray since an Oct. 12 meeting that saw the body fire its solicitor and put Chestnut-Lee on leave over an allegation that she had not been candid about why she left a previous job an allegation Chestnut-Lee disputes. The board also voted Oct. 12 to oust Julio Sanchez from the presidency, although that action was later deemed invalid. An investigation over the situation with Chestnut-Lee is planned but has yet to begin, according to public comments from members of the board Wednesday. Julio Sanchez said at the meeting that the delay is due to ongoing negotiations over pay with the special counsel the board has retained for the investigation. The board did entertain a motion to reinstate Chestnut-Lee at Wednesdays meeting before executive session that ultimately failed. In the months since its Oct. 12 meeting, the board has generally been divided into two voting blocs one with members who supported the actions taken Oct. 12 and those who opposed them. The former bloc includes Page and Sharnell Morgan, while the latter includes the Sanchezes. Upon realizing there would be no general public comment Wednesday, Pleasantville Education Association President Joe Manetta told The Press of Atlantic City he was irate that he did not receive the opportunity to publicly discuss important matters namely how COVID-19 outbreaks and corresponding quarantine requirements were rapidly depleting teachers sick days. Manetta said Farkas was thwarting efforts to address the unions sick day concerns and that Chestnut-Lee had previously been more open to finding a solution. Farkas declined to comment on Manettas complaints. Snowstorm forcing several schools to close Tuesday as well The snow storm Monday is continuing to impact school schedules across South Jersey. Manetta said certain members of the board prioritized furthering their feud with Chestnut-Lee over what they could do for the district and its teachers. We stayed here all night to speak here on general matters, and now theyre trying to adjourn the board meeting so that nobody speaks, because the bottom line is they (the board) care about themselves, Manetta said. Thats chaos out there. We waited all night and cant even speak. Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One of the defendants in a million-dollar banking scheme to defraud the federal government has been fined $500 for her role.U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose on Tuesday sentenced Susan McLaughlin of the now-shuttered Valley Bank in Moline to time served on a felony conviction of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and imposed a $500 fine and $100 special assessment.McLaughlin was one of several individuals indicted for a scheme through which Valley Bank attempted to defraud the Small Business Administration of millions of dollars.Larry Charles Henson of Davenport, the former president and chairman of the bank, allegedly led the effort to shift millions in potential losses from the bank to the SBA, according to court records. Prosecutors alleged that Henson and others including Michael Barry Slater of Des Moines, who was the founder and president of Vital Financial Services in Clive engineered those loans so that it appeared the borrowers qualified for SBA guarantees.To do this, according to court records, they completed loan-guarantee applications that included false statements about both the borrowers eligibility to receive the loans and the eventual disbursement of the loan proceeds.As part of the scheme, Henson and Valley Bank Vice President Andrew Erpelding instructed McLaughlin, also a bank vice president, to alter the banks loan-payment reports. McLaughlin complied, according to court records, changing one borrowers payment history to eliminate any evidence of past-due payments.In March, Henson was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay $4.5 million in restitution after being charged with wire fraud. Slater and Erpelding have yet to be sentenced for their role in the matter.Before McLaughlins sentencing, prosecutors argued for a one-year term of supervised release, saying that her criminal actions caused substantial damage. Such a sentence, they argued, would deter future criminal acts and would also emphasize the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, and provide well-deserved and just punishment.Defense attorney: McLaughlin was a whistleblowerMcLaughlins public defender, Melanie S. Keiper, argued for the sentence that was imposed, telling the court that McLaughlin, now 68, carried out Hensons orders under the threat of being fired.She wishes she would have been strong enough to stand up to Larry Henson and risk losing her job, Keiper told the court. She ultimately lost it anyway, along with the value of her employee stock ownership plan, due to Hensons repeated actions that caused the banks failure.Keiper characterized McLaughlin as a whistleblower who had provided documents to investigators and showed auditors where to look.Her reward for such behavior is a felony indictment and conviction, Keiper said, adding that her client, although a bank vice president, was literally the lowest cog in the machinery that was constructed to defraud the SBA. Keiper described McLaughlins role as nothing more than data entry.A pre-sentence investigation report on McLaughlin, cited by Keiper, stated that McLaughlin did not appear to participate in the planning or organizing of the scheme and did not exercise any decision-making authority.Henson was the undisputed leader, mastermind and dictator, Keiper told the court. Even though no bodily injury was verbalized, she still felt threatened."Attorney: Banks lawyer had conflict of interestsIn arguing for the lesser sentence, Keiper told the court that her client and other bank employees were provided legal advice by attorney Jeff Lang of the Davenport law firm Lane & Waterman, which was a customer and a vendor of Valley Bank.It was either the bank, or the banks holding company, that paid for those legal services, Keiper told the court, adding that Lang had assured McLaughlin the authorities were interested only in pursuing a case against Henson.In 2014, Keiper said, McLaughlin told the investigators everything she knew and provided them with the evidence that would later be used against her.Lang had a conflict of interest with every one of those employees that he certainly should have been aware of as a former United States Attorney, Keiper told the court. He represented Valley Bank and also advised Ms. McLaughlin and numerous others on the same criminal matter in which they were adversarial parties and in which he was being paid by the bank.Keiper alleged that the faulty legal advice given to Ms. McLaughlin by Lang resulted in her providing statements and the documentation to incriminate herself, and (which) subsequently led to this prosecution."While I cannot comment on confidential details, it is clear this case should never have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department," Lang said in a statement. "And the allegations concerning an improper conflict of interest are simply not accurate."According to Lane & Waterman, in addition to spending more than 15 years as the assistant or interim U.S. Attorney for the Central District for Illinois, Lang was once an FBI agent and now leads the law firms white-collar criminal defense practice.For more information,visit iowacapitaldispatch.com. Pamela Briggs spent most of New Year's Eve getting stuff done. A Davenport resident, Briggs got her tires changed. She went grocery shopping. Then she went home. A simple year-end itinerary. But like a lot of people across the Quad-Cities, Briggs woke up to the New Year with troubling symptoms of COVID-19. It started with a sore throat. In a few short hours, she was coughing, had a runny nose, experienced at-times severe headaches, and had a moderately high temperature. "I wasn't concerned when I went to the tire place," Briggs, 58, said. "It was really open and there was no one within six feet of me. The grocery store was a different story. It was packed and so many people weren't wearing masks. I'm triple vaxxed. I have both doses and the booster. And I have the flu shot. So I was hoping I had enough protection. "I don't know how or when I got sick, but I knew I would need a COVID-19 test." Like getting the tires changed and grocery shopping, Briggs didn't think a COVID-19 test would be a big deal. In late October of last year she got a doctor's recommendation and drove right up to Genesis West's drive-through testing site just off Lombard Street. And three weeks ago she waited behind three cars before getting swabbed. Those tests were before the holidays and the emergence of the omicron variant. Briggs' journey to a COVID-19 test started Monday morning. "I had no idea how much things have changed," Briggs said. "I called my doctor and I was on hold for 53 minutes before I spoke with anyone. They took my info and three hours later they called back and told me to get a COVID test and a flu test." Briggs said she wasn't upset by the wait time. She said it was clear the local health care system is under extreme pressure. "So I figured I'd have a wait at the Genesis West testing site," Briggs said. "Oh man. I had no idea. I was in line close to three hours and all I could think about was how cold those nurses and hospital staff must have been. The line seemed endless." Briggs was right. Monday was just a dramatic start to long lines at the Genesis West testing site. And according to a statement issued Tuesday by Genesis Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kurt Andersen, the strain of the demand for COVID-19 tests is starting to show. "Our Lombard Street COVID-19 testing site in Davenport on Monday cared for more than 400 patients, who experienced exceedingly long lines and wait times reaching up to three hours," Andersen said in Tuesday's news release. "This was a similar experience for those patients seeking care from our Genesis Emergency Departments and Convenient Cares. Our current volumes are exceeding any we have experienced throughout this pandemic. Our seven-day symptomatic positivity rate at Genesis also has reached a historic level at nearly 40%." As of Wednesday, Briggs is still waiting to find out if she has COVID-19. "Things are backed up, so it's totally understandable," she said. "I'm a little scared but I'm hopeful the symptoms will pass and I won't have to miss too much time from work in quarantine. "But it does make me nervous." COVID-19 in the Q-C, by the numbers Briggs has every reason to be nervous. The latest COVID-19 updates from Rock Island County and the Iowa Department of Public health are nothing short of staggering. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Scott County saw an increase of 1,803 new COVID-19 cases in the seven-day period ending Wednesday. That's an average of 257.6 cases per day since Dec. 27. Scott County's total number of cases since the start of the pandemic jumped to 34,626 and the count of COVID-19 deaths increased by 12 to 322. The Iowa Department of Public Health released one more troubling COVID-19 statistic Scott County's positivity rate stood at 27% Wednesday. That number was bested by Rock Island County's reported positivity rate of 27.23%. The rest of the news from the Quad-Cities wasn't any better, as the Rock Island County Health Department reported two COVID-19 deaths in Wednesday's update a man in his 90s and a man in his 80s, both of whom were hospitalized. The total number of deaths in the county since the start of the pandemic is 425. Like Scott County, Rock Island County saw a dramatic increase in cases 601 since Monday's update. The total number of cases in the county since the start of pandemic is 24,672. "This is by far our largest two-day total," said Nita Ludwig, administrator of the Rock Island County Health Department. "The test positivity rate in Rock Island County is 27.23%, which is another all-time high. Weve got to get this under control. "More than 60% of people reported sick today are younger than 40. We urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible, but we especially plead to those younger adults and parents of children 5 and older. All of us need your help to get yourselves and your eligible-age children vaccinated so we can end the pandemic." At-home tests available locally A quick tour around Davenport and Rock Island showed at-home tests are available but CVS and Walgreens have established a purchase limit of four per customer. There have been other changes in some stores. Tests at the CVS on 18th Avenue in Rock Island are $9.99 per box. A sales associate explained the box contains just a single test, not two. There is still a limit of four per customer at that store. Those looking to buy at-home tests may see an increase in prices. Walmart and Amazon are among the retailers who increased prices after a three-month discount deal with the Biden administration ended in the middle of December. The discount dropped the price of the test kits by as much as 35%. In a national story about the price increases, Walmart said it held the price of the Abbott BinaxNOW kits at $14 through the holidays. The price jumped to $19.88 on Tuesday for the two-test kits. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One year after the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, is keeping the story alive by giving firsthand accounts of that horrific day in American history. Bustos met with Rock Island High School students in Andrew Hains' U.S. government class Wednesday morning, telling them what it was like to be trapped inside House chambers in the Capitol as pro-Trump supporters stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of electoral votes by Congress. Bustos told the students that she and other members of Congress had no idea about the riot happening outside or that the Capitol had been breached until a police officer made an announcement and instructed them to pull out gas masks tucked underneath their seats. "The noise was getting louder and louder and louder outside," Bustos said, describing the fear felt by her and her colleagues as rioters came closer to the House chamber. A Capitol police officer instructed everyone to be prepared to get on the floor. She said a male representative, an Iraq war veteran, stood up and explained how to use the gas mask and that tear gas would not kill them. "We were there, not really knowing what was next," she said. "Finally, we had armed police officers who came in and said, 'We're going to get everybody to a safe place.' We started being escorted by the police and it was total confusion." After waiting for hours in a safe room with other members of Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came in and announced they would be going back into session to continue certifying the election and Joe Biden's presidential victory. "That was the only happy moment of that day," Bustos told the students. "We had this armed mob that was crazed who had a desire to kill us take us captive, kill Mike Pence, the vice president of the United States, and stop the certification of a free and fair election. That was their goal that day. They wanted to disrupt Democracy. "It was a horrible moment in American history," she said. "I think it will go down among those times we will look back at in disgust and horror. I think the way to make it right is to make sure we are doing everything we can to assure it won't happen again. That's what this January 6 Special Commission is about. My goal out of that is to get to the truth of what happened before, during and after January 6 and deal with the truth." Bustos handed out letters explaining the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and encouraged them to play their part in protecting democracy, writing, "We need you, as our nation's future leaders, to help make sure we have a strong democracy." "Just stay involved. And please, when you turn 18, will you register to vote?" she told the students. "Will you please vote in the June (primary) and in November? I hope you'll elect people who wouldn't even think of doing the kind of things that happened on January 6 of last year. This is something that really changed America. "It was another 9/11 (like) moment because America was changed on 9/11 and America was changed January 6." When asked about Republicans who insist the rioters were merely tourists, Black Lives Matter protesters or antifa (anti-fascist left-wing) infiltrators, Bustos said, "Do you follow the truth or do you follow conspiracy theories? The truth is all out there. I would say, take a look at the transcript of what was said that day before the mob stormed the Capitol. Follow the truth." The FBI has said there is no evidence antifa or BLM protesters were involved in the riots. Bustos responded to a recent poll conducted by the Washington Post and University of Maryland in which 34% of respondents answered "yes" if violent action could ever be justified against the government. "Violence is never OK; it's never OK. In a boxing ring, it's OK, but when you're talking about violence against your government, one way or another, whether it's against members of Congress, whether it's directed toward the vice president of the United States, violence is not OK. "I hope to God that's not the new normal for anybody to think it's OK to do what that angry crowd did on January 6 of 2021." Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD Sangamon County authorities are holding a Thayer man suspected in the stabbing death of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services worker. Police arrived at the home in Thayer a small town 20 miles south of Springfield in response to a 911 call at 4:11 p.m. on Tuesday reporting a possible stabbing. After arriving at the scene, law enforcement spotted a blood-like substance near the door of the home. Officers forced their way into the house and found Deidre Silas, 36, who died from her injuries. Silas had gone to the home to check the welfare of children. Detectives arrived and obtained a search warrant for the home. Through the investigation, they developed a suspect, Benjamin Howard Reed. Reed, 32, was located at a hospital in Decatur where he sought treatment for a minor wound about two hours after the initial 911 call. He was questioned by detectives at the hospital and then taken to the Sangamon County Jail. Silas worked as an investigator for DCFS for about six months. She previously also worked for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. She graduated from Illinois State University in 2008 with a degree in criminal justice. She received her masters degree in public administration in 2019. Deidre responded to this call and dedicated herself to the children, families and communities she served, and we will be forever grateful for her work. She was an incredible person, and her brightness and positivity will be missed not only by her family and friends, but also her second family at DCFS, DCFS Director Marc D. Smith said. This is the second DCFS worker killed on the job in recent years. Pam Knight, 59, of Dixon, went to a Milledgeville home on Sept. 29, 2017 to remove a 2-year-old boy from the custody of his father, Andrew Sucher. As Knight got out of her car, prosecutors said Sucher pushed Knight, causing her to strike her head on the concrete driveway then stomped on her head, causing a skull fracture and brain injury. She succumbed to her injuries four and a half months later. Sucher later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 years in the Department of Corrections. In the wake of the news of Silas death, Gov. JB Pritzker released a statement. There is no higher calling than the work to keep children and families safe and Deidre lived that value every single day, Pritzker stated. Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve. I can think of no more profound legacy. In 2019, two northwest Illinois legislators sponsored legislation to extend protections to DCFS and Adult Protective Services workers. Those lawmakers, House Deputy Minority Leader Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, and State Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, issued a statement Wednesday following Silas death. Deidre Silas, and Pam Knight before her, are not the only DCFS workers to be viciously attacked in recent years, the lawmakers said in the statement. We became involved in this issue because of Pam Knight. Its tragically unfortunate that the need now exists to speak out on behalf of the next victim. The legislation we pushed so hard for would have removed the ambiguity when it comes to charges to make it clear that if you attack a DCFS or Adult Protective Services worker, you would face the same penalty as if you attacked a teacher or a fire fighter. Roberta Lynch, the executive director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, Council 31, said in a statement that they would review the facts and press for any necessary changes to DCFS operations. Deidre dedicated her career to helping young people. Prior to joining DCFS in August 2021 she worked in behavioral health and for more than seven years with the Department of Juvenile Justice where she was a union steward, Lynch said. This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Two workers will return to work at Walcott-based Needham Excavating almost two years after being illegally fired for supporting a union, according to a news release from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. An administrative judge from the National Labor Relations Board ordered Needham Excavating on Dec. 20 to reinstate the two employees. They will return to work on Jan. 11, and they will be escorted by a representative from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, the release states. Needham fired Brett Gripp on June 10, 2019, and Adam VanOpDorp on July 8, 2019. The union filed federal labor charges against Needham on behalf of both employees in 2019. Judge Sharon Levinson found that Needham violated the National Labor Relations Act by firing the two employees, and also by creating an impression of surveillance of employees' union activities, interrogating employees about union activities and other forms of union-based discrimination. The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 is a labor union representing 23,000 working men and women in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. Local 150 represents workers in construction and related industries, including material production, concrete pumping, steel mill service, slag production, public works and others. "Needham ignored these workers rights and stripped their livelihoods away from them. This happens around the country every day, and workers need to know that they have protection," Local 150 President James M. Sweeney said in the release. "We were proud to represent these two men, and we will be proud to walk them back into work on January 11th." Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 6 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CHICAGO Classes are canceled in Chicago Public Schools on Thursday after district officials and the teachers union again failed to come to terms on COVID-19 safety measures. It will be the second day of what Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday angrily called an unlawful, unilateral strike by the Chicago Teachers Union a reference to the unions vote earlier this week to refuse in-person learning until its demands for enhanced coronavirus mitigations are implemented. If you care about our students, if you care about our families, as we do, we will not relent. Enough is enough. We are standing firm and we are going to fight to get our kids back to in-person learning. Period. Full stop, Lightfoot said Wednesday, again insisting schools are safe despite spiking case numbers in the city. We owe that to our children who suffered learning loss. As for the prospect of in-person classes Friday, the district said thats going to be determined on a school-by-school basis. Some schools have enough staff reporting to work to return to in-person instruction as soon as Friday, CPS said in a letter released late Wednesday. Other schools have more limited capacity, and may provide learning packets and other materials for students to use during this illegal work stoppage. Individual principals will communicate those plans with families, the letter said. Officials noted absenteeism is already high because of students and staff members who have COVID-19 or are quarantining because of a close contact, and that some schools may need to make a full return to remote learning depending on their numbers. District officials had canceled Wednesday classes after the union endorsed the work action Tuesday to refuse to work in person during a city spike in infections. The union, using the hashtag #LoriLockout, tweeted Wednesday that its been inundated with calls and emails this morning from educators who say theyve been unable to log into their CPS accounts to teach remotely, as was the CTUs stated intention. CPS have not confirmed whether staff members have been locked out or how many, though Lightfoot had warned late Tuesday that teachers who did not show up will be docked pay. Until Wednesday evening, it remained unclear if classes in person or otherwise would take place Thursday. In an impassioned speech late Wednesday, Lightfoot said she opposes any plan that closes Chicago schools systemwide and that she wants to focus on handling outbreaks classroom by classroom. She also ripped the teachers union for the dispute, which she said is hurting families, and vowed to get students back to in-person learning. Lightfoot also said the union isnt bargaining with enough urgency, a recurring criticism shes made of the union and vice versa during the districts labor disputes. Lightfoot has also accused the union, which supported her opponent in the 2019 election, of politically motivated opposition. I will not allow them to take our children hostage. ... Why are we here again when we know that the safest place for our children is in school? Why are we here again when we know that our schools are safe? Lightfoot said, citing the school districts spending on COVID mitigation strategies. The stalemate made national news Wednesday, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying the nation is more than equipped to ensure schools are open ... including in Chicago. Former President Donald Trump said that what is happening in Chicago with all the school closures is devastating. Educate our children in person or give every dollar spent on education directly to the students so they can get out of these failing government schools! Trump said in a statement. At a virtual news conference Wednesday morning, CTU President Jesse Sharkey said negotiators were headed back to the bargaining table. We are going to talk to them as much as we need to, around the clock when necessary, he said. The CTU measure, which won 73% of the vote, is to work remotely from Wednesday to Jan. 18 unless a safety agreement with CPS is reached or the omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge subsides. Sharkey said nearly 20,000 of the unions 25,000 rank-and-file members submitted an electronic ballot Tuesday. CPS and CTU did not negotiate a safety agreement for this school year after having one in place last year. The sides have yet to come to terms on a metric that would move an individual school to remote learning; expanded testing in schools; and the distribution of N95 masks. CTUs proposal submitted last week called for a negative test result to return to buildings and an expansion of the in-school weekly testing program thats mandatory for unvaccinated staff members and voluntary for students. About 33,000 tests were administered the last week of school before winter break, with district officials promising for months that capacity would reach 40,000 weekly tests. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez expressed frustration again Wednesday that the testing program has not grown faster. Lightfoot said Wednesday that the CTU wants the program mandatory for all, unless parents opt out, a plan she opposes because its morally repugnant to take the decision out of parents hands. COVID testing, she said, is a quasi-medical procedure. As of late last month, 41,690 students and 24,933 staff members were registered for the testing program, according to the district. CPS officials said some students may have registered before getting vaccinated in the fall and decided later not to show up for weekly testing. The union also asked for N95 or equivalent masks to be provided to students and staff members and an increase in vaccination opportunities at schools. Short of that, the CTU demanded the district transition to remote learning for two weeks. CPS submitted a proposal to the union Tuesday promising to provide 200,000 KN95 masks to staff members, and Martinez said Wednesday students will receive similar masks as well. Under the CPS proposal, the district would offer at least 30,000 screening tests in schools per week; and transition a school to virtual instruction if 40% or more of a schools classroom teachers are absent for two consecutive days because they tested positive for COVID, among other scenarios. What Im trying to understand is, how many adults need to be in the school building in order for education and supervision to be adequate? All this week we have been getting reports of classes being doubled up, tripled up in large spaces, cafeterias, auditoriums with a warm body. We dont have staffing, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said at Wednesdays news conference. Their proposal still falls short, to be perfectly honest with you, because it says that you could be missing 40% of grown-ups in the school building and you can still be in session. How does that work? Thats almost half. CPS students and staff members returned to school buildings Monday after a two-week winter break. District representatives said 82% of teachers reported to work Monday and 84% of teachers on Tuesday. Martinez said 200,000 children attended schools on Monday, with that number rising quite a bit on Tuesday. Martinez said about 10% of teachers came to buildings Wednesday. A survey of 225 schools by the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association determined more than half the kids were absent Monday at 24 of these schools. The district runs around 515 schools. The principals group recommends the district go remote for one or two weeks this month to ensure a safe return to in-person learning. More than 20% of staff was absent at 61 of the surveyed schools, with one school reporting 85% of its staff absent. Martinez on Wednesday drew attention to Park Manor Elementary School, a South Side school that struggled with COVID-19 cases just before winter break. Some teachers vowed not to work in person early this week as part of a CTU press event. Martinez said 20 out of 21 teachers did not show up to work, and nearly all of the schools 250 students were absent. Five kids in kindergarten was the largest Park Manor class at one point, he said. Imagine if that kind of power was used to help our children get vaccinated, Martinez said about the unions strength at Park Manor. As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 CPS students and a record 2,300 staff members were in isolation because they tested positive for COVID-19 or quarantine because they came in close contact with someone who had. Fully vaccinated, asymptomatic staff members and students are not required to quarantine. About 11% of the 11,000 people who participated in the in-school testing program this week have tested positive, according to district data, a much higher percentage than usual. CPS says about 91% of its staff is fully vaccinated. Just over half of CPS students aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the district, with about a quarter of the students 5 to 11 years old having received at least one dose. More than 330,000 students are enrolled in CPS, the nations third-largest school district. The Illinois State Board of Education says school districts may not pause in-person learning without first consulting with their local health department. Remote learning days must be offered for the duration. City public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Wednesday that CPS has taken a conservative approach to COVID-19. The risk of in-school transmission remains low and few Chicago kids are hospitalized with COVID-19, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The number of COVID-19 patients detected in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, significantly dropped on Tuesday, an indication that the strict prevention and control measures previously introduced have achieved results, a senior official said on Wednesday. Xu Mingfei, vice-mayor of Xi'an, said the three rounds of mass nucleic acid testing and screening conducted recently showed the number of detected patients is trending downward after great efforts were made and effective measures taken. Xi'an reported 35 confirmed cases on Tuesday, compared with 95 on Monday, 90 on Sunday and 122 on Saturday. As of the end of Tuesday, Xi'an has reported a total of 1,793 confirmed cases, with 37 having been cured and discharged from hospitals, Xu said. The newly reported patients on Tuesday were all detected among people who have been put under quarantine and in the areas that have been sealed off for strict management, he said. Despite the drop in cases, Xu urged relevant departments not to relax their vigilance in the weeks to come as the city is still in a critical period in its fight against the epidemic. "The novel coronavirus usually has an incubation period of two weeks, and about 42,000 residents are still being placed under quarantine in Xi'an," Xu said. Lyu Yongpeng, deputy director of the Xi'an health commission, said all the new patients detected on Tuesday developed only mild symptoms. To block the spread of the novel coronavirus in local communities, the city started a new round of testing at 9 am Tuesday. By 9 am on Wednesday, samples had been collected from 12.7 million residents, Lyu said. Xu said medical institutions in the city are required to set up hotlines and green channels for pregnant women, critically ill patients, and those going through dialysis, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. "No medical institutions are allowed to refuse these patients in the name of curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus," he said. The remark came after a much-discussed social media post where a woman in the city alleged that she had a miscarriage after failing to be admitted to a hospital in time due to expired nucleic acid test results. The local women's federation said relevant departments have begun to investigate the case. Liu Jun, former director of the Xi'an Bureau of Big Data Resources, was suspended due to his failure to perform his duties in the fight against the outbreak, local authorities said on Wednesday morning. The move came after the city's health code system crashed twice recently. A senior epidemiologist has called on people nationwide to support Xi'an. "The COVID-19 outbreak in Xi'an is the most serious one in China since the one in Wuhan in Hubei province at the beginning of 2020, and people all over the country should strongly support the city in its efforts to fight it," said Zeng Guang, former chief scientist of epidemiology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Tuesday. He told media that the outbreak was caused by the Delta variant, which spreads faster than the strain that hit Wuhan. "The task is arduous, as the transmission chain has multiple links and moves in secret," said Zeng, who is also a member of the National Health Commission's senior-level expert panel. Zeng said he hoped Xi'an authorities will learn more about containing the spread of the coronavirus and share their experience with other regions. The Illinois Appellate Court ruled last week that a Cook County judge erred when he overturned the firing of a Chicago police officer who was dismissed over allegations that he wrongfully detained a man and dropped him off at a park far from his home after deciding not to make an arrest. Appellate Court Judge Leroy Martin wrote in the ruling that Officer Eugene Posey ignored his duties to uphold the law and protect the public when he, without justification, detained (Corey) Stewart and drove him to McKinley Park, a place neither he nor Stewart were familiar with, and abandoned him. The efficacy and discipline of a police force is impaired when a police officer fails to abide by the laws he has sworn to enforce, Martin wrote in a 30-page decision. In an earlier ruling, Cook County Judge Peter Flynn had agreed with the Chicago Police Board that the officer unlawfully detained Stewart during an encounter outside a CTA Red Line train station in 2014, but determined the boards decision to fire the officer was too harsh. Flynn ordered the board to come up with a more lenient penalty. The board then gave Posey a five-year suspension, but the city nonetheless appealed the ruling to the appellate court. The police board declined to comment on the latest ruling. Since 2016, Cook County and state Appellate Court judges have heard appeals of police board firings and upheld the boards decisions in about 22 cases, including Poseys, according to figures provided by the board. In the last decade, Poseys is one of only a handful of board decisions that were reversed by the Cook County court before being upheld by the state appellate court, the board said. Neither Posey nor Stewart could be reached for comment. It was not known if the officer will appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court. The case involving Stewart wasnt the first time Posey had been brought before the police board on misconduct allegations, nor was it the first time he had been involved in the court appeals process. In August 2014, three months after his encounter with Stewart, Posey was accused of pointing a gun at a woman in Aurora without justification while off-duty, and lying about details of the incident with investigators. The board found Posey not guilty of committing any disciplinary infractions in that case, but the Chicago Police Department appealed that decision to a Cook County judge, who reversed the boards ruling. That led the board to penalize Posey with a 60-day suspension. The case was then taken to the state appellate court, which sided with Posey, and the original not guilty ruling from the board was reinstated. After the board fired Posey in 2017 for his confrontation with Stewart, Judge Flynn affirmed the boards findings of fact and conclusions of law, but reversed its decision to fire the officer, finding that, in fairness to (Poseys) 17-year history as a police officer, the discipline should be something less than outright discharge, according to court records. The police board in 2018 suspended Posey for five years while maintaining he still should have been fired. The allegations against Posey stem from his May 12, 2014, encounter with Stewart, who worked at the time as a loss prevention officer for a security company, at the Garfield Boulevard Red Line station. Posey was in a police vehicle with his partner when he saw Stewart with a dirty look on his face, and saw him spit in front of the vehicle, according to Poseys police board testimony at his June 2017 disciplinary hearing. Posey testified he got out of the vehicle to talk to Stewart because he looked suspicious before handcuffing him and putting him in the back of the vehicle. Posey testified that he decided to write Stewart a ticket for disorderly conduct and didnt intend to arrest him, but intended to go to a police station to get a citation book, But it was noted during cross-examination that Posey didnt mention any of that to the now-defunct Independent Police Review Authority, which initially investigated the case. Posey testified before the board that as he and his partner drove Stewart to the police station, his demeanor changed and Posey decided to let him go. Posey claimed he took Stewart out of the vehicle and removed his handcuffs, not realizing they were in McKinley Park on the Southwest Side, some five miles from where Stewart was picked up. Stewart, however, testified to the board that he spit on the ground because he had a cold. After he was dropped off in McKinley Park, he called his mother on his cellphone and told her, Ma, if anything happen to me, the police did it, according to Martins opinion. A gas station employee also testified that Stewart told him that night what happened with Posey and that Stewart was angry that something wrong happened to him, and he wanted to report it to a police sergeant, court records said. Martins opinion noted that GPS records from Poseys vehicle corroborated Stewarts account of the events. An emergency dispatch supervisor also testified at the board there was no communication between Posey, his partner and the dispatch center for a one hour and 24-minute period during which time they had Stewart in their custody, Martins opinion noted. The board pointed out that neither Posey nor his partner, who was not disciplined in the case, notified an emergency dispatcher about detaining Stewart, a violation of Police Department rules. Based on witness testimony that the board called competent and uncontradicted, it also ruled that Posey violated Stewarts civil rights and had no reason to detain, handcuff or transport him. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Nearing one year since Democratic state lawmakers pushed through controversial criminal justice reform legislation, Illinois House Republicans are renewing their call for the law to be repealed. State Reps. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis; Tony McCombie, R-Savanna; and Jackie Haas, R-Kankakee, at a press conference Wednesday morning criticized House Bill 3653, also known as the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act), while accusing Democrats of enabling crime. We are here to recognize the one year impact of the majority passing this policy to punish police and actually reward criminals, McCombie said The SAFE-T Act was passed in the waning hours of the previous legislative session in January 2021 and signed into law by Gov. Pritzker in February. Windhorst said he and his Republican colleagues warned Democrats that passing the act would lead to increased crime rates and mass resignations from law enforcement officials. As policies passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor have taken effect, we have seen the job of law enforcement officers become more dangerous and harder to do. Criminals are acting more emboldened than ever before, he said. Despite Republicans linking the law to increased crime rates, most of its provisions have not yet gone into effect. One of the acts most controversial provisions, which eliminates cash bail, does not take effect until 2023. The massive reform legislation addressed many aspects of policing and the criminal justice system. Among other changes, it will require all police officers to wear body cameras by 2025, limit the use of pretrial detention, and allow suspects in police custody three phone calls instead of one. Motivated in part by the nationwide reckoning on race and police brutality after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the act also requires officers to render aid and life-saving assistance if someone is injured. It also requires officers to intervene if another officer uses excessive force. Some provisions have already gone into effect. As of January 1, statewide use of force standards for law enforcement officers were officially established. But Republicans are pointing to rising crime rates, particularly in Chicago, as evidence that Democrats need to enact stricter punishments for violent criminals and to increase funding for law enforcement instead of restricting officers abilities. According to data from the Chicago Police Department, there were 797 homicides in the city in 2021, which is the most recorded since 1996. McCombie said its these increased crime rates, along with the new restrictions introduced in the SAFE-T Act thats convincing some law enforcement officials to retire early. In 2021 we saw 17% of Illinois sheriffs retire early In 2022, we will see a record number of elected sheriffs retiring or moving on to other careers or other states, she said. On Wednesday, the first day of 2022 legislative session, Windhorst filed a resolution to repeal the SAFE-T Act. With Democratic supermajorities in both the House and the Senate, though, Republican lawmakers dont have enough votes to pass Windhorsts resolution. Illinois Senate Republicans have similarly pushed the crime issue, introducing last year the "Fund the Police Act," which would appropriate $100 million in grant funds that can be accessed by police departments to hire more officers and purchase equipment. It would also stiffen sentencing guidelines for gun crimes and allow counties to opt out of certain provisions of the criminal justice reform law. That effort, however, is has also been met with a dud in Democratic-controlled Springfield. Still, many Republicans will likely make crime and policing a focus of their campaigns throughout the 2022 election cycle. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Firefighters, emergency responders, friends and family began gathering Thursday morning ahead of the funeral for fallen Chicago firefighter Mashawn Plummer. Plummer, 30, died Dec. 21, days after he was injured battling a house fire in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. The blaze, which broke out after 2 a.m. in the basement, also killed a resident of the building, Eladio Gomez, 37, and injured two other people. Services were scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in a 10,000-seat venue at House of Hope Church on Chicagos Far South Side. After the funeral, a processional will continue to Oak Woods Cemetery. Dozens of firefighters lined up before Plummers casket, set at the front of the church before the funeral. They paid their respects one by one, saluting at the coffin. A video screen displayed his photo in the church, which began to start filling up late morning. A visitation for Plummer was held Wednesday. Plummer called for help before he was pulled from the building, officials have said. He survived in the hospital for five days with family members by his side, following the Dec. 16 fire that was aggravated by high winds. His cause and manner of death is still pending. Before his death, Plummer marked his one-year anniversary after joining the Fire Department on Dec. 1, 2020. He was assigned to Engine 94 firehouse, at 5758 W. Grace St. in the Portage Park neighborhood. His mother, Felicia Townsend, told the Tribune that working for the Chicago Fire Department was Plummers dream job. Even though hes gone, he would not change his life one bit. Thats the peace that we take away from this, that he died doing his hearts desire, she said. Plummer attended Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago, Eisenhower High School in Blue Island and Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School, a Chicago Public School, according to his obituary distributed at the service. A die hard Bears fan, he played football at Quincy University, a Catholic liberal arts college in western Illinois, the obituary said. Plummer was religious and spent countless hours in church in his adolescence, according to the obituary. He had the words Make Them All Proud tattooed on his arm, the obituary said, and would tell his family those words every chance he got. A lover of action figures and Marvel comic books, Plummer was described by his family in the obituary as a hero himself. The world is a safer place because the CFD allowed a Superhero to do what he loved, it read. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BELVIDERE A man has been charged in the slayings of a man and his two young sons found shot to death last month in a northern Illinois home. Alize Q. Smith, 24, of Huntley, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the Dec. 19 killings of Andrew Hintt, 31, and his two sons, Benjamin, 7, and Sebastian, 5, Belvidere police said Wednesday. Police said Smith spent part of the day of the killings with Hintt and his sons at Hintts Belvidere home, about 70 miles northwest of Chicago. It wasn't immediately clear how the men knew each other and police haven't announced a possible motive for the killings amid the ongoing investigation. Smith was being held without bond at the Boone County Jail and his first court appearance was expected Thursday afternoon. Court records didn't list an attorney who could speak on Smith's behalf. He was arrested last month for a parole violation and identified by Belvidere police as a person of interest in the killings. A tragedy like this affects us all, and our heart goes out to the families who are left to pick up the pieces," Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody said Wednesday. Boone County States Attorney Tricia Smith said that if he's convicted, Smith would face life in prison for each count of first-degree murder, without the option for parole. Andrew Hintt's aunt, Theresa Hintt Thompson, told WREX-TV the family is happy that charges have been filed. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President Lyndon Johnson was fond of quoting the King James Version of Proverbs 29:18, which states, "Where there is no vision, the people perish . . ." While there is room for debate as to whether this is an accurate translation of the ancient texts on which this verse is based, it is the sentiment expressed in this translation that is of paramount significance. In a previous column, I suggested that hope is often found where we least expect to find it in each of us. Hope in its most basic form is resilience. It is bravery and courage. It is the quiet confidence that we can handle things, come what may. Hope is the solid ground between the abyss of despair and the misty haze of wishful thinking. A key ingredient of this resilience and courage is a vision of what might be. Sometimes the vision is expressed in eloquent words that resonate through the halls of history, as when Martin Luther King, Jr., stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the sweltering heat of a summer day on Aug. 28, 1963, and proclaimed, "So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Sometimes the vision of what might be is far more mundane a berry patch for a grandchild, a remodeled kitchen, or myriad other things, both large and small. Sometimes visions of what might be are a combination of an eloquent vision of what our nation might be, such as the one articulated by Martin Luther King, Jr., and visions that are far more mundane in nature. All are important and are key elements in embracing the future. Members of older generations who no longer have things they would like to accomplish seldom live to advanced age. Sitting in a rocking chair is not a prescription for longevity. Students and other members of younger generations who lack a vision of what they would like to be, and what they would like to accomplish, often fall into the dark abyss of despair. Sadly, drug abuse and suicide are leading causes of death among those who are younger. For some in the middle years of life, alcohol abuse is a form of escapism that contributes to their demise. What is true of individuals is also true of great civilizations. When citizens of the Roman Empire lost a sense of the values which defined the empire, it was just a matter of time until the empire collapsed. What was true of the Roman Empire is also true of our country. If we lose sight of the ideals on which this country was founded ideals to which Martin Luther King, Jr., gave eloquent expression in his 1963 speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial it will just be a matter of time until America as we know it no longer exists. Today, the future of our country is at risk, with Jan. 6 marking the one-year anniversary of an insurrection intended to thwart the democratic values essential for a peaceful transfer of power. Values undercut by an incumbent president who refused to accept the fact that he lost the 2020 election and repeatedly claims that the election was stolen from him as a result of massive voter fraud, notwithstanding the fact that courts up to and including the Supreme Court have ruled that these allegations have not been substantiated. On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, in an address given in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where the most decisive battle of the Civil War was bitterly fought, spoke of a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He expressed the hope that there would be "a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Today, at a time when our democratic values are being threatened from within, it is essential that this vision so eloquently expressed by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., be reaffirmed, for as the King James Version of Proverbs 29:18, reminds us, "Where there is no vision, the people perish . . . ." Dan Lee, a regular columnist, is the Marion Taft Cannon Professor in the Humanities at Augustana College; danlee@augustana.edu. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Recently a relative of mine returned home to a hospital bed and special oxygen equipment after being hospitalized for 37 days with Covid-19. He was not vaccinated. At 44 years of age, he needs to see a pulmonologist because of his now-diminished lung capacity. In last Thursdays issue of this newspaper, it was reported that new cases of COVID-19 have soared to their highest level in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic: 265,000 per day on average. In another article, it was reported that Iowa was averaging 1,566 new Covid cases per day, and the state was averaging 17 deaths per day the ninth highest 7-day death rate in the nation. To date there have been more than 820,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States, more than the staggering flu pandemic of 1918-19. The vast majority of COVID-19 cases involve those who are unvaccinated. Why is it that intelligent people refuse to heed the recommendations of epidemiologists and other doctors? Why is it that they turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to science? Why is it that they give credence to strangers of unknown backgrounds on social media, politicians who dismiss wearing face masks and getting vaccinations on purely political grounds, and those who propound bizarre conspiracy theories? I dont understand it. And I despair for the future of this country. Ron Koehn Fulton, Ill. Love 5 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 Ben Rogers has been named president and director of local sales for the Rapid City Journal and for the newly established Dakota regional division, the Journal's parent company Lee Enterprises announced Wednesday. Rogers will be based in Rapid City and will oversee the Rapid City Media Group, the Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune, the Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, and the Scottsbluff (Neb.) Star-Herald. He succeeds Bill Masterson, the former publisher/president of the Rapid City Media Group, who was named vice president of operations for Lee Enterprises in November. "I am so excited for Ben, the Rapid City team and the city of Rapid City," Masterson said Wednesday. "To have the regional president overseeing the Dakotas, Wyoming and Scottsbluff based in Rapid City signals the importance of Rapid City to Lee Enterprises." Rogers has served as president of The Post-Star in Glens Falls, New York since October 2019. Prior to joining Lee Enterprises, Rogers was publisher of magazines and niche publications for Swift Communications Sierra Nevada Media Group in Reno, Nevada. His career also includes being publisher of the Sierra Sun & North Lake Tahoe Bonanza in Truckee, California and general manager of the Grand Junction Free Press in Grand Junction, Colorado. As a Colorado native, Rogers said the opportunity to bring his family back west to Rapid City was one he couldn't pass up. "I jumped at it. This is a great opportunity and Rapid City is an amazing community," Rogers said. "I am looking forward to getting everything moving and working with the team to continue growing the market and the region. Making Rapid City the regional hub for the Dakotas is a great statement for Lee." Rogers holds a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and a Bachelor of Arts in European history from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. "Being back in the west is wonderful for my family," Rogers said. "I am looking forward to being in the big, open blue skies of the western United States, the beautiful Black Hills and having better access to get closer to family. That was one of the biggest pushes to get us here. Rapid City is a great fit for us." Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@rapidcityjournal.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In one sense, Clay Colombe's path to the position of CEO of the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation began about five years ago. But in some ways he'd been winding his way toward this kind of service for a much longer time. When Wizipan Little Elk approached Clay Colombe to come to REDCO to serve as chief financial officer in 2017, Colombe had already gathered a great deal of financial experience including as the senior vice president and chief lending officer for Native American Bank. At that time, Little Elk was serving as the chief executive officer of REDCO based in Mission, South Dakota and Colombe was working in Dallas, Texas. I saw what he was doing, Colombe said on a recent morning in his office in Rapid City. And I was really impressed with what he was doing. Colombe said his own work, particularly with Native American Bank, led him into contact with tribes that had found strong paths to economic success. I found myself saying, Why cant our tribe do that? he said. After a while of saying that, I asked myself, What are you doing to help? That sort of reflection, combined with Colombes observations of the work REDCO was doing, spurred him to come and begin work at REDCO. This month, Colombe's work with REDCO entered a new chapter as he began his post as CEO. The promotion arose after Little Elk, the previous CEO, was appointed to be the principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Colombe is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, or Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and he also has Nez Perce ancestry. He was born and grew up in Mission and he also earned a bachelor's degree in business management and a masters in business administration from the University of South Dakota. Hes served in a number of financial leadership positions. Having worked with Clay for several years, I am very grateful that he will be the next leader and CEO of REDCO, said OJ Semans, Sr., a member of the REDCO Board of Directors, in a statement. With his deep roots as a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, I know his commitment to the vision of REDCO will continue, and I am excited for the future of the organization. REDCO, Colombe explained, was created to be the economic development corporation for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in 1999. When Little Elk began as CEO about 10 years ago, Colombe said, the organization was still tiny. There were two employees then, he said, a number thats now up to about 60. Colombe mentioned multiple subsidiaries in areas such as construction, propane delivery, financial services, office products, government contracting and others. REDCOs website highlights the 7Gen Movement, noting the important role it plays in the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and also REDCO. The basic idea is that we have an obligation to consider Seven Generations into the future when making decisions, according to the website. REDCO now harbors offices in Mission and Rapid City. Colombe said the Rapid City office helps to spark business opportunities in the city, as well as on the Rosebud Reservation. Colombe mentioned a project that REDCO is undertaking now in a development called Keya Wakpala, just west of Mission, that he deemed to be particularly important. REDCO leases property for a grocery store there right now, and plans are in the works to build homes. Well also start building retail development, Colombe said. If we get it done as planned, its going to be a whole new community. Colombe said REDCO is working on the Keya Wakpala project in combination with Sicangu CDC, described on REDCOs website as a community development 501(c)3 nonprofit that has programming in the areas of food sovereignty, health, education, and housing. A news release from the organization describes REDCO as the leader of an ecosystem of organizations working in tandem to create systemic change grounded in Lakota values. REDCO's focus, the release continues, is on enterprise and policy, while its sister organizations Sicangu CDC and Tatanka Funds focus on grassroots community development and asset building, respectively. Colombe noted that the Rosebud Sioux Tribes rural location presents challenges that tribes located near large cities with more readily available economic opportunities may not experience. He said seeking out government contracts is key, and he added: The other one is just going out and hiring the best people we can. He mentioned that everyday needs such as propane delivery and office supplies can be served by local businesses rather than larger, outside corporations. Colombe also explained a disadvantage that tribal members living on reservations face when trying to secure loans to start businesses. Basically, Id say 99 percent of the land owned by the tribe is technically owned by the United States government and held in trust for the tribe, he said. The big advantage to that is that theres no property tax on it. The huge disadvantage is trying to use that as collateral for a loan. Something called a leasehold mortgage has to be established, Colombe said, in which the mortgage is backed not by physical property but by a lease. He said it can be difficult to find lenders comfortable with that arrangement. Colombes desire for service has also led him to community involvement outside of REDCO, including a seat on the Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education as the Area 5 Representative. He said his new position as CEO of REDCO would not affect his participation on the board. I wanted to become more involved, he said of his decision to run in 2020, noting that he considered running for either city council or school board. Colombe has children in Central High School and Wilson Elementary School, and he was impressed with the school districts his family experienced in Colorado and Texas. I just wanted to do my part to ensure that Rapid City has the best education that we can provide to our students and to our community, he said. Thats a very important part of growing a city. Colombe also reflected, as he spoke in his office, on the overall importance of an organization such as REDCO. First and foremost, for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and our members, its something we own, he said. Its something that we control. This is us. People seeking more information can visit https://www.sicangucorp.com/. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Don Barnett said he would write a book detailing the events of the 1972 flood 48 hours after the roaring waters began. About 50 years later, the former Rapid City mayor published Thorns and Roses, which chronicles Barnetts time as mayor in 1971-1973 in an auto-biographical, conversational read. The book details the establishment of the Civic Center, the flood, and the American Indian Movement through Barnetts perspective. I felt it was historically the right moment, Barnett said in an interview. As people focus on the 50th anniversary, I think about 80% of the city now were not even alive or living in the city when we had the disaster. It is time to tell them how that magnificent recovery worked and why we have such a beautiful park and avenue of recreation from Canyon Lake to the fairgrounds. The 1972 flood left 238 dead and 3,057 injured. About 15 inches of rain fell in about six hours near Nemo. Water and debris caused the Canyon Lake dam to fail and the tide swept down Rapid Creek through Rapid City. The majority of the book focuses on the night and aftermath of the flood, although the first couple chapters introduce Barnett and his approach to public office. Barnett said he wrote the book to praise the City Council, civil servants and survivors who helped lead to the recovery after the flood. The book itself is dedicated to Leonard Swanson, Don Wessel and Jerry Shoener. He said hes had the notes and concepts since the flood happened and wanted to get some of the information off of his chest. He said he also wanted to expand on the history of the flood as well. Much of Barnetts information comes from notes he made during the time in seven-subject spiral notebooks, Rapid City Journal news clippings, scrapbooks and his memory. Barnett addresses concerns about direct quotations and conversations in the introduction of Thorns and Roses, stating he has a strong memory. As I wrote this book, I remembered situations and agonizing moments clearly even though they had not crossed my mind for many, many years, he wrote. He said reading through clippings and notes prompted his memories, and many quotes used in the book come from articles. In his notes, which Barnett kept in binders, Barnett wrote down quotes, lists of issues, and other information. Barnett said he tried to keep memories of the flood and his time as mayor out of mind for the first 20 years after his second term. He said he was more focused on private enterprise, making a living, and saving money to send his daughters to college. He said any time he visited Rapid City and met with former city leaders, he was told he was the only one that understood the magnitude of the flood and should write a book detailing the entire story, from the failures to the victories. Barnett attributes much of the success to the 10-member city council and civil servants he worked with. Barnett said he compiled research and information for about five or six years, then started writing. He said Paul Higbee, a contributing editor for South Dakota Magazine, helped greatly. Barnett said he didnt feel self-censored and believes the book to truly be the comprehensive story of the flood. I didnt hold back on anything, including my many mistakes, he said. The people didnt expect their mayor to be perfect, and I knew I could not be perfect. Barnett also included personal moments, including the moment he saw his now late wife JoAnn for the first time. Another key moment Barnett included was a conversation between him and a lawyer, a good friend, who was concerned the savings and loan and other lenders would go out of business without a local, state or federal bailout. Barnett responded at the time relaying the list of concerns he was working on, including the 1,000 people who were missing at the time, finding bodies of missing firemen, over 115 people dead at funeral homes, and the need for safe drinking water. He said he included the conversation because he felt like the world was on his shoulders and that was a selfish moment. My father used to tell me, Donny boy, you were talking when you should have been listening, and thats what my friend should have been doing, Barnett said. He said they made up later. Barnett said he learned that his ears were the most productive part of his body during his time as mayor, particularly while navigating the challenges and thorns brought forth from the flood. He said using his ears allowed the relationship he had with the city council and department heads, which led to success during his terms. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. You are here: China The average life expectancy in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region in 2021 rose to 72.19 years, an increase of 1.09 years over 2020. The figure was released Wednesday at the fifth session of the 11th People's Congress of Tibet Autonomous Region. The region's average life expectancy was only 35.5 years in 1951. Tibet has been taking measures to improve its medical services. It now has a full medical service system covering regular medical services, maternity and child care, disease prevention and control, and Tibetan medicine and therapies. The maternal and infant mortality rates have dropped to 48 per 100,000 and 7.6 per 1,000, respectively. As the omicron variant of COVID-19 takes hold in South Dakota and beyond, some facets of the illness it spawns are becoming more visible. Dr. Shankar Kurra, vice president of medical affairs at Monument Health, described some of those differences Thursday morning in his office. He emphasized, though, that the best defense against illness remains the vaccination and particularly, in the case of the omicron variant, the booster. Kurra pointed to data at the Nowcast section of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions website for an indication of the estimated prevalence of the omicron variant in HHS Region 8. That region includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. According to Kurra, the latest CDC estimate on the prevalence of the omicron variant in the region is approximately 85% of all new cases. Kurra said that the estimates are based on analysis of data that goes beyond raw numbers reported at the state level. We have seen the fastest spread of any virus known to man in omicron, Kurra added. It has exponential growth. Kurra described some features of the variant. The one thing thats very clear is that it spreads more rapidly (than other variants), he said. He also reflected on the severity, based on various cases throughout the world. The best evidence so far is that its not as severe, he said. Based on estimates, it could be anywhere from 20% to 50% less severe. He described, too, the manifestations of the illness. Based on animal modeling and human cells in the lab, the best evidence is that it affects the upper respiratory passage, he said. It is more likely to cause symptoms above the pharynx and very few symptoms in the lung itself. Its ability to infect lung cells is very diminished compared to the delta variant. Kurra said the omicron variant affects all age groups, but he added: When it impacts just the upper airways, its more likely to cause severe manifestations in younger folks. Kurra described the way the omicron variant appears to affect people who have received vaccinations, and he stressed the importance of boosters. What we do know is that unless you are boosted, you are not well-protected, he said. Thats an area, he said, in which the omicron variant differs from the delta variant. In the case of delta, just two doses are plenty, Kurra said. Not so, he said, with the omicron variant, but he noted that boosting will restore robust protection. If you get the booster, youre at 80% protection, very similar to what we would expect with two doses for the delta, he said. With regard to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which required only one dose, Kurra advised people to receive a different booster from either Moderna or Pfizer categorized as messenger RNA vaccines to be well protected. Kurra noted that the CDC now recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Despite the differences in the omicron variant, Kurra said the strategies for safety in many ways remain consistent. The transmission dynamics have not changed in the sense of what you need to do to protect yourself from the disease, he said. Masking, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces and crowds, and more importantly, getting the vaccine. He acknowledged the exhaustion people may feel after about two years of trying to slip out of the clutches of the virus. I know theres a lot of fatigue, he said. But we need to stay the course to protect the vulnerable mainly those from 0 to 5 years old, and those over 65. Kurra said the people who do get sick and recover from COVID-19 including from illness caused by the omicron variant will acquire some immunity. But the best thing you can do is to get the vaccine, even if youve had the illness in the past, he said. The protection generated by the vaccine, he said, is likely to be more thorough than what the illness itself generates. When you get vaccinated and when you get the booster, youre getting truly neutralizing antibodies, he said. Natural immunity works, but the response is variable. Kurra said on Thursday that there are 266 patients in the Monument Health Rapid City Hospital. We are at full capacity, and were managing, he said, stressing that provisional plans are in place in the event of a spurt of activity from the omicron variant. Our biggest constricting point will be our staffing, he added, noting that the needs covered many positions. The staff members are the reasons youre able to take care of these folks Im proud of these heroes who every day come and show up. Records from Monument Health reveal that on Dec. 29, 2021, 25 people were hospitalized with a COVID-19 illness, 18 of whom were unvaccinated. Nine of those patients were in the Intensive Care Unit, eight of whom were unvaccinated. Seven were on ventilators, six of whom were unvaccinated. Also surfacing right now are cases of the flu and theyre flourishing more abundantly than last year, in this area and throughout the country. Kurra said that from Dec. 29 to Jan. 5, 21% of the tests for respiratory viruses performed by Monument Health have turned up positive results for COVID-19, and 26% have turned up positive results for the flu. Were not quite doing the same kinds of precautions against COVID like we did last year, and that plays a role, Kurra said, noting one reason for the flus proliferation. He said protections for one disease can also help guard against the other. Respiratory viruses transmit in a similar manner, he said. So precautions taken for COVID work for the flu, and vice versa. That means masking and avoiding poorly ventilated spaces can help to guard against both. And so can vaccines, Kurra stressed, and he urged people to receive vaccinations and boosters, in the case of COVID-19 to protect against both illnesses. The vaccines for COVID-19 and the flu, he said, can be received in the same visit. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A dusty border town, once notorious for its beer sales, might someday become home to a health center dedicated to alcohol rehabilitation. A nonprofit based on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation recently purchased 48 acres of land in Whiteclay, Nebraska, the former home of four liquor stores that sold nearly 4 million cans of beer a year. Whiteclay, prior to the closing of the beer stores in 2017, was known for its street people, who openly drank and urinated along its small business district. The beer sales were blamed for multiple problems on the adjacent Pine Ridge reservation just a couple of miles north across the South Dakota-Nebraska border, including rampant alcoholism and fetal alcohol syndrome. John Maisch, an Oklahoma law professor whose video documentary helped illuminate the problems in Whiteclay, facilitated the land sale with Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. He said he hopes that a restorative health care campus could be established on the land, that could include short- and long-term substance-abuse services, as well as transitional housing and trauma care. While Thunder Valley will ultimately decide what to do with the site, Maisch said Thursday that he is hoping leaders and donors in Nebraska will embrace the idea of establishing a health center there. My intent was to find a tribally led entity that could help transform Whiteclay from a place of death and destruction into a place of hope and healing, Maisch said. Its the best insurance policy we have to keep the beer stores from returning to Whiteclay. Establishing a center for rehabilitation work would be a good thing for Whiteclay, an unincorporated village that sits just south of the state line, said Lou Abold, who operates Abes New and Used Store in the village. Whiteclay now includes a Family Dollar store, as well as a nursing home, grocery store and takeout restaurant. Lack of substance-abuse treatment centers, and lack of staff for them, has been cited as a problem for the reservation. It would be the first venture into health care for Thunder Valley, a tribal-led nonprofit based in Pine Ridge. According to its website, its current projects focus on housing, workforce development, child development and teaching the Lakota language. Tatewin Means, the executive director of Thunder Valley, did not immediately return email and phone messages seeking comment. She is the former attorney general for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the daughter of the late Russell Means, a Lakota activist and prominent member of the American Indian Movement. Maisch purchased the former Lakota Hope Center in Whiteclay, which is leased as office space for the Oglala Lakota Nations substance-abuse treatment program, Anpetu Luta Otipi. Maisch owned 16 acres of the land sold to the Lakota group. He had an option on the remaining acres. The site sits along Nebraska 87, just east of the tribal-owned Oglala Sioux Lakota Nursing Home. The purchase price for the 48 acres was $152,000, according to the Sheridan County Clerks Office. Dennis Carlson, a Lincoln attorney who was active in closing the Whiteclay beer stores, said that Native activist Frank LaMere once described Whiteclay as a place where there is life but no willingness to live. That can change now, Carlson said. LaMere, who first called for closure of the Whiteclay stores three decades ago, died June 16, 2019, two years after Whiteclays beer stores were ordered closed by the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. The commission cited an appalling lack of law enforcement in the unincorporated town. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 County projects from 2021 will continue into 2022, including infrastructure, ordinance work and preparing for growth. Pennington County Commission Chair Gary Drewes said Wednesday that many of the countys goals for 2021 are long-term projects that take time. He also said a few of them took a backseat due to COVID-19s unexpected continuance. Overall I think our goals were pretty well met, Drewes said. However, one of the goals for 2021 that the county had to back up and reassess was a new wage study for county employees. Drewes said the timing just didnt work out with the number of changes that took place. He said the county want to offer wages and benefits that are enticing to new employees and existing employees for retention. He said the county has worked hard on developing a worthwhile benefit package for employees and will continue to address that. With the limited amount of dollars that are available, weve got to figure out the best avenue of how to do that, Drewes said. He said the growth in Box Elder is taking off with the anticipated arrival of B-21 Raider personnel and families. What the county didnt expect was all the other growth in New Underwood, Quinn, Keystone and Hill City. Drewes said the county was able to invest in Wall with its Industrial Park development and future housing development, and provide dollars for fire stations in Quinn and Wasta. He said Volunteer Fire Departments do what they can to raise money from the community, but theres only so many dollars in small communities. One of the goals for 2021, which Drewes said is more of a decade-long goal, is getting Missouri River water to Western South Dakota. He said the county isnt an end-user for the water, but does have a role to play in bringing the water to the area. Were maybe a cheerleader on the sideline encouraging this, and we will do whatever we can in providing assistance to make it happen, Drewes said. Western Dakota Regional Water System is working with communities throughout West River to build a 171-mile system to bring water to the area. The project has an estimated cost of $1.87 billion. The potential need by 2075 is 96.6 million gallons of water a day. Drewes said the county was also able to adjust ordinances through Planning and Zoning like public nuisance, bed and breakfast and streamlining processes for residents trying to get building permits. He also said the commission looked at the 2040 master plan, which was developed over 2020 and 2021. He said circumstances from the pandemic changed the master plan, and the plan is always subject to change. Drewes said the Black Hills could be seeing a little more change than the rest of the state because of countys location. Theres a number of people that would like to see very limited growth, if any, and Im not so sure Im not part of that because its easier to manage growth at a slower pace, he said. We dont have complete control on that. The growth is happening with us or without us, so we need to try to manage that the best we can. That growth requires changes to the master plan, he said. The county campus infrastructure is also on the radar. Drewes said the jail is continuing to age and will need renovations that could be between $28 million and $30 million. Its going to be a big cost, but at the same time, itll carry on the use of that facility because everything else is really in pretty good shape, he said. The majority of the attention is needed on utilities at the jail. Drewes said Building and Grounds is currently in the old jail and has grown past capacity. The county also purchased the old Lamplighter Inn grounds, which will turn into a county parking lot, but could be necessary for future expansion. Drewes said there are no immediate plans for the area. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. COVID-19 continues to ravage South Dakota as new infections, active cases, hospitalizations and deaths all continue to increase rapidly. Thirteen more deaths were reported Thursday, bringing January's total to 34 in less than a week. There have been 2,520 COVID-19 deaths in South Dakota since the pandemic began. The deaths included six women and seven men including one their 30s, two in their 40s, one in their 50s, four in their 60s and five over 80. Four deaths were reported in Minnehaha County and three in Hughes County. Lincoln County reported two deaths Thursday and there was one each in Lawrence, Davison, Douglas and Lake counties. Hospitalizations climbed over 300 Thursday. There are 305 COVID-19 patients in South Dakota hospitals an increase of 18 from Wednesday and 67 since the beginning of the year. Seventy-eight patients are in intensive care units and 53 are using ventilators to assist their breathing. In the Black Hills region, there are 45 patients with 15 in ICU and 14 on ventilators. The state reported 2,183 new infections Thursday, driving active cases up by 1,777 to a total of 14,355 an increase of more than 6,000 in a week. Of those 2,183 positive tests, 373 were in children under 19. Rapid City Area Schools are seeing the spread as well. After exiting the winter break with only 23 students actively infected, cases counts have climbed to include 80 students and 29 teachers with 127 more students and four staff members in quarantine. There were 595 new cases among people in their 20s, and 97 people over 70 tested positive for Thursday's report. Minnehaha County reported 716 new infections and active cases there rose by 623 to 4,465. Pennington County recorded 287 positive tests and active cases here climbed by 257 to 1,619 an increase of more than 700 since the beginning of 2022. Lawrence County reported 46 new infections and there were 44 in Meade County. Oglala-Lakota County recorded 30 new infections and there were 12 in Butte County. There were 11 new infections in Fall River County and eight in Custer County. Lincoln County reported 186 new infections with 1,227 active cases. Brookings County reported 98 new cases and there were 66 in Yankton County. There were 52 new infections in Davison County, 39 in Union County, 38 in Brown County, 37 in Clay County, and 34 in Beadle County. Codington and Grant counties each reported 28 new infections and there were 26 each in Charles Mix and Hughes counties. There were 22 new cases each in Bon Homme and Roberts counties and 21 positive tests in Brule County. Dewey County reported 19 new infections and there were 15 each in Hutchinson and Tripp counties. Buffalo, Day and Gregory counties each reported 12 new infections Thursday and there were 11 in Moody County. Ten new cases each were discovered in Bennett and Kingsbury counties. SIOUX FALLS | The South Dakota attorney general on Thursday charged a former Sioux Falls police officer with assaulting a man he was arresting last year. Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg said in a statement that his office will handle the prosecution of former Officer Joseph Larson, who faces a charge of simple assault. The charge is a misdemeanor if a person is convicted of it for the first time. Prosecutors requested a warrant for Larson's arrest on Thursday, according to court documents. Larson was arresting a man early on July 24 when he allegedly used improper force, repeatedly striking the man in his groin, while trying to buckle him into the back of a patrol car, according to court documents. The man went to the emergency room later that day and reported pain on the left side of his neck, shoulder and ribs. An investigator with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation reported in court documents that a Sioux Falls Police Department trainer who reviewed video of the arrest said Larson's blows were outside of officers' training. It was not clear whether Larson had legal representation, and attempts by The Associated Press to reach him were unsuccessful Thursday. Larson wrote in the arrest report that he had pushed on the man's hip and pelvis area in an attempt to get him to sit down in the patrol car, according to court documents. Sioux Falls police referred questions to the mayor's office. Mayor Paul TenHaken said in a statement that Larson didn't work another shift after the department learned of his actions, and the case was immediately referred to the Division of Criminal Investigation. He said no other details would be provided to protect the integrity of the ongoing criminal proceedings. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Episode 29: Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about the Lets Go Brandon chant and what it says about us as a nation. Next they discuss UFOs and so why many people are obsessed with the question about whether were alone in the universe. And in our third segment, they look at a recent study that shows vaccine mandates might not be working as intended. Links to stories discussed during the podcast: "Three cheers for 'Let's Go Brandon," by Marc Thiessen, The Washington Post "What we believe about UFOs," by Harry Reid, The New York Times "See where 12 million U.S. employees are affected by government vaccine mandates," The New York Times Subscribe to this podcast at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 One year after pro-Trump rioters attempted to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election, there remains a gaping wound in Americas body politic. A significant number of Americans still believe the falsehood that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. Two Montana lawmakers who were there that day say the nation is far from recovering, but they couldnt be farther from agreeing the course correction needed to restore confidence in U.S. elections. The assault on Congress is something they will never forget. Both senators agreed to Wednesday interviews with Lee Montana Newspapers. I do think that what happened on Jan. 6 was a game changer. And the fact that it hadnt happened since early 1800s at the U.S. Capitol is huge, said Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat who sees the riot as not only shaking American politics domestically, but also empowering the nation's communist adversaries. It empowered them, the Chinas and the Russias of the world, Tester said. Some of the same people that broke in the Capitol are the same people that are screaming loudest about China. The truth is that insurrection that day, helped China, major league, as far as them being able to point to that, saying, Look, communism is good, communism works. Look what goes on in democratic countries. Tester was in his office when the riot began. He hadnt made it over to the Senate yet to certify the results of the electoral college. From his office, he could see the mock gallows and the mob demanding that Vice President Mike Pence be hanged if he didnt reject the electoral college results in order to keep Donald Trump in office. Trump had suggested, falsely, that Pence had that power. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican newly reelected in 2020, was just arriving in the Senate before the attack. He was prepared to reject the electoral votes from Arizona, something Trump had encouraged Republicans in Congress to do. He would say the next day that his plan, before the riot, was to reject the results in order to compel an audit of the Arizona results. After rioters breached the Capitol and Congress was rushed into a series of underground chambers for protection, Daines abandoned his plan, voting instead to certify the election. The violence was too much. It was a sad day for our country. The violence that occurred that day, I condemn it, Daines said. I strongly believe that anybody who took part in assaulting members of law enforcement and breaking the law are criminals. I support the ongoing criminal investigation. I walked in this morning into my office on Capitol Hill and I recognized and thanked the members of law enforcement who defend this Capitol every day and did their very best defend on that dark day of Jan. 6. Many Republicans still very much believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The former president and his allies continue to say it was. Daines isnt one of them, though a campaign fundraising text sent to supporters on his behalf after the 2020 election stated that Dems are trying to steal the election. Trump needs our support. Hes been telling constituents that there isnt evidence to support the election theft conspiracy. Daines is one who asserts there is fraud in every election, but there wasnt enough to change the outcome in 2020. But the falsehood about the 2020 election is alive and well. Even in Montana where Republicans won every statewide office, there are calls by Republicans for county-level hand counts of ballots. I'm a numbers guy, a data guy at heart. And you have to show the compelling and irrefutable evidence, not internet rumors, not hearsay, not gossip. We've got to be talking about what are the facts and that needs to drive the discussion and the action, Daines said. And so if somebody has the facts and specifics, by all means they should be brought forward. But at this point, I think I commend our secretary of state in Montana, she has taken a look at the facts and the evidence and her conclusion is that she has not seen evidence that any results should be overturned, or there was widespread systemic fraud. Both senators say the influence of the Jan. 6 assault wouldnt have been as lasting had the Capitol Police been able to turn back rioters. The Senate looked at fortifying the police response after Jan. 6 and making sure that the National Guard could quickly be deployed, which didnt happen the day of the riot. Daines in particular discusses the Jan. 6 riot as something the Capitol Police werent prepared for. The question that remains, Tester said, is why the National Guard didnt respond more quickly. The House Jan. 6 Commission is looking at what lead to the attack, how the Capitol was so easily overtaken and what role Trump and his allies might have played. Tester said its important those answers are produced. Daines regards the House commission as a political ploy by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The next step in the Senate will be voting rights legislation, which Democrats are advancing in response to state-level changes to election laws. Daines characterizes the federal voting rights proposals by Democrats as an assault on what states have done. He supports the changes made by the Montana Legislature in 2021. Republican state Legislatures made several election law changes, including no longer allowing university student picture identification to count as voter ID, while allowing concealed weapon permits to qualify. Those state-level changes warrant a federal response, Tester said. The state-level changes were harmful to the future of democracy, he added. The senator speaks of their damage in the same breath in which he discusses the insurrections empowerment of Americas communist adversaries. I think that, also what state legislatures have done, and what Montana did, of undermining our free and fair election system also speaks to that, Tester said And, that some, certainly not all back here, but some, continue the continuation of the Big Lie, shows me that we've got, we've still got a long ways to go for sure. For sure. What's to me about Jan. 6, which is tomorrow, that this happened a year ago, it seems like it happened last week. I mean, it doesn't seem like it's been a year since that happened at all. And the fact that we're here and there are still huge divisions in the country, for a number of reasons. Lee asked to speak directly with Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale, but his staff said he was unavailable for an interview. The representative also declined an interview the day after the riot in 2021. He was among the House lawmakers who voted to not the certify the electoral college votes of several states. Before the insurrection, Rosendale said the evidence of widespread voter fraud was credible, none of which was true. Weve got numerous extensive, credible allegations of fraud that have taken place in many states and for those states to certify those elections without addressing those allegations properly, I do not feel comfortable in certifying the electors coming from those states," Rosendale said Jan. 4 on "Montana Talks" a conservative radio program And Rosendale didnt. He voted against certifying the electoral votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania. Rosendale, backed the removal of Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from House GOP leadership because she supported impeachment proceedings. He later objected to the House investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection, referring the proceedings as a witch hunt as recently as November. Rosendale also voted against awarding medals to the Capitol Police who defended the Capitol during the insurrection. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 248-unit apartment complex in the Boulders office park in Chesterfield County sold for $71.575 million at the end of last month. Dominion Realty Partners sold Boulders Lakeside Apartments to Tampa-based American Landmark, the countys online property records show. American Landmark is a fast-growing, multifamily owner-operator of apartments with communities in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Boulders Lakeside is the companys first property in Virginia since 2016. The $71.575 million was one of the largest amounts paid in 2021 for an apartment complex in Chesterfield and in the Richmond region. The top sale in Chesterfield last year was of the 716-unit Crystal Lakes Apartments off Meadowdale Boulevard near Hopkins Road and Chippenham Parkway that sold for $106 million in December. Construction on Boulders Lakeside Apartments started in May 2019 and was completed in late 2020. The complex, off Boulders Lake Drive in the heart of the Boulders office park, was 98% leased in early July, said Michael Campbell, president of Dominion Realty Partners. The 24-acre complex was assessed for $32.8 million, according to the online property records. Dominion Realty Partners also is building the 212-unit Boulders Lakeview Apartments at the end of Boulder Springs Drive on 26 acres east of the Powhite Parkway. Construction started in July on the new apartment complex, which is located southwest of the Boulders Lakeside Apartments. In July, the company paid $1.5 million for the 26 acres off 1001 Boulders Spring Drive for the Boulders Lakeview development. Both apartment complex sites rest within an opportunity zone, which was created by a 2017 federal law that rewards investors with tax breaks for putting money earned from other investments back into businesses or real estate projects in opportunity zones located in more than 8,700 census tracts around the nation. Dominion Realty Partners has developed other multifamily projects in the Richmond area, including the Residences at the John Marshall, Riverside on the James and Vistas on the James Developers are putting apartment complexes within office parks in the Richmond region on existing parking lots next to office buildings or on undeveloped tracts of land in the office parks to make them live-work-play communities. Dominion Realty Partners is developing an apartment complex in the Innsbrook Corporate Center in western Henrico County. The Apartments @ Innsbrook Square will have 305 units and will include the future development of 58 town houses for sale. The town homes would be the first of that type of residential development to be built in Innsbrook. Construction started in November at the 12.5-acre site north of Dominion Energys Innsbrook Technical Center off Dominion Boulevard. The first units are anticipated to be ready in fall 2023. We are thrilled to be starting another green certified development in the Richmond area, said Campbell, noting that the project marks the 34th green certified development for the company. We are excited for the future of Innsbrook as a thriving mixed-use community and believe this project will be a great addition to helping achieve that goal, Campbell said. Innsbrook Square is owned by Dominion Realty Partners and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives. The Hanover County Board of Supervisors is likely to present a plan next week that outlines next steps for appointing an interim Beaverdam District representative following the Dec. 31 death of longtime Beaverdam Supervisor Aubrey Bucky Stanley Jr. By law, the board has 45 days from the vacancy date to appoint someone as an interim board member. In this case, that would be mid-February. The individual must be a qualified voter of the election district, per Virginia law, and would hold the office until a special election is held to fill the seat. At the latest, a special election would be held in November. Hanovers board has 15 days from the vacancy date to petition Hanovers Circuit Court for the special election. County Attorney Dennis Walter explained that Hanovers next general election is in 2023 when Stanleys four-year term would have ended. That means whoever is elected in the special election would finish that term. That individual could, however, run again in next years general election if they wish to remain in that seat and begin a new four-year term. Board Chairman Sean Davis said board members hearts are saddened by the loss of their longtime colleague, but that filling the Beaverdam seat is a priority matter and not something that should go unattended. He said board members are committed to fulfilling their responsibilities, though the process wont be one that in any way would encourage any type of political posturing or campaigning. Davis said its his hope that whoever serves as the immediate interim supervisor would be just that an interim, and not someone who would participate in the special election later this year. While the board makes the call on the interim appointment, Davis said, anybody desiring to hold that seat needs to take their candidacy to the people of the Beaverdam District. In keeping within the 45-day timeframe, the board could make the interim appointment at either of this months meetings Jan. 12 or 26 or at its Feb. 9 meeting. Next weeks meeting is at 2 p.m. in the public meeting room, 7516 County Complex Road. *** The county announced services for Stanley, who served on the board for 38 years, including six stints as chairman. Stanleys family will receive friends on Friday from 2 to 4 and 5 to 8 p.m. at Nelsen Funeral Home, 412 S. Washington Highway in Ashland. Funeral services and interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Beaverdam Heritage Days Foundation, P.O. Box 132, Beaverdam, VA 23015, or to the Association for the Preservation of Beaverdam Depot, P.O. Box 86, Beaverdam, VA 23015. After allowing some unvaccinated students to remain on campus last semester, Virginia Commonwealth University is starting the spring semester with a tougher policy: Students must be vaccinated against COVID-19, including booster shots, unless they have an exemption. Last fall, VCU allowed unvaccinated, unexempt students to take in-person classes and live in dormitories if they completed weekly testing. But that option wont be available this semester when classes start Jan. 18. Students who arent fully vaccinated and dont have a religious or medical exemption are barred from registering for classes. Though most colleges across the states are planning to start the spring semester on time and in person, the omicron variant is challenging their ability to do so. Some classes may begin remotely if students or professors cant attend in person, and schedules are subject to change. When VCU announced a vaccine mandate for students and employees last summer, it came with a caveat: Students who didnt comply with the policy wouldnt be withdrawn from the school. Instead, a hold would be placed on their account, restricting them from adding or dropping classes. Student who had their schedule set could continue with fall classes unvaccinated. This move generated some pushback from faculty, some of whom said they were hesitant to enter a classroom with unvaccinated students. In response, VCU adjusted its policy, allowing noncompliant students to stay on campus if they completed weekly COVID testing. In early September, there were 450 students who either lived on campus or attended in-person classes who also did not have a vaccine or approved medical or religious exemption, which is less than 2% of the school population. Still, not every student agreed to be tested, and VCU withdrew 70 students from the university for not completing testing, university spokesperson Michael Porter said this week. Those students are eligible to return if they agree to the universitys vaccine and testing policies. About 200 students stayed in compliance throughout the fall semester by undergoing mandatory testing, Porter said. When the fall semester ended, 95% of students were fully vaccinated, and 4% had received exemptions. The university announced last week that students and staff eligible for booster shots must receive one and report it to VCU by Feb. 1. Evidence suggests that patients who receive booster shots experience a more mild illness than those without boosters. This semester, masks will still be required indoors, and unvaccinated, exempt students will have to undergo weekly tests. Adding a booster requirement was a popular move made by Virginia colleges. The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, the College of William & Mary and Virginia State University added the requirement in the past two weeks. Virginia Union has not announced a booster requirement. As we shift from a pandemic to an endemic state, we will need to retool in a way that allows us to live with the reality of the virus, said Amy Sebring, chief operating officer of William & Mary. Academic schedules arent set in stone. Randolph-Macon College, which originally planned to begin in-person classes for its January term Wednesday, pushed back its schedule by a week. To make matters worse, the snow impeded the university from receiving all its COVID test results on time. The aggressive, highly contagious omicron variant is proving to be as formidable as we feared, already causing our best-laid plans to go somewhat awry, Macon president Bob Lindgren wrote to the community. Macon said recently it is still considering a booster requirement. While John Tyler Community College, which is changing its name to Brightpoint, wont begin its semester until Jan. 18, it plans to operate largely in a remote fashion until then, the college announced Wednesday. The University of Richmond is not requiring boosters for all students, but it is asking students who have gotten one to report it to the university. While UR says it requires students and employees to be vaccinated, it allows an exemption based on personal convictions strongly and sincerely held by the person seeking the exemption. UR will require students to test negative before moving on campus. It will accept a PCR test taken within three days of arriving to campus or a rapid antigen test taken within two days of arrival. URs spring semester begins Monday, and the university acknowledged that obtaining a COVID test can be difficult now. Rapid take-home tests are hard to find in Richmond-area stores, PCR tests at pharmacies often must be scheduled a week in advance, and mass testing events sometimes requiring waiting in an hours-long line. We do not want access to a test to prevent students from returning to campus on time, three administrators wrote to students this week. Students unable to find a test, despite their best efforts can contact the school for help. And because the positivity rate is so high right now currently above 30% its possible students wont be able to immediately attend in-person classes. Classes might have so many students absent that remote teaching may be the better option for a particular class session, the administrators wrote. UR also asked students to limit their social gatherings and not attend off-campus events for at least three weeks into the semester. The first half of 2021 couldnt have gone much better for Nicci Carr, the actor and former Richmonder who found sudden acclaim as one of the stars of the funny Scoop, There It Is Geico commercial. As far as exposure, that has been the biggest, Carr said of the commercial, which recently was named by industry trade publication Adweek as the No. 1 ad of 2021. Last April, I wrote about Carr and the success of the commercial that left her, as she says, on cloud nine. And then? All of a sudden, she said, this happens. This arrived in July when she felt a lump in her breast. In years past, she had been diagnosed with benign cysts, but, This, she thought, feels different. In early September, Carr, 50, was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease, and, as you might expect, the news hit hard. I was like, for real, God? This is how its going to go down? she recalled. It felt so overwhelming and so unfair and, well, like a death sentence, she said, acknowledging now she was in a dark and scary place back then. At first, she didnt even want to proceed with treatments. I was so deeply depressed, she said. Her outlook has shifted entirely from that initial panic, as she describes it, when she was afraid of what people might think about her for being sick. Which doesnt make sense, I know, she says. Now? She is in a much different place. She is deep into weekly chemotherapy treatments, which will continue until surgery likely in the spring to remove whats left of the shrinking tumor. Now, Im just a woman whos conquering it, she said, part of a legion of women and men who are doing the same. Im stronger and more courageous than I thought I was. As I wrote in April, Carr moved to Richmond from New York when she was about 8. She attended city schools, played piano at Mosby Memorial Baptist Church and participated in SPARC the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community where she played harp, sang and danced. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and earned a degree in political science at Saint Pauls College in Lawrenceville. She taught school in Washington and moved to Los Angeles, where she scrambled to find acting jobs (which included roles as an extra in Beauty Shop and The West Wing, among other films and shows), completed a masters degree in student development in higher education, worked at UCLA and the University of Southern California, burned out on acting as a career, moved to Atlanta and settled into a job at Georgia State University. In Atlanta, she relaunched her acting career, landing gigs on shows such as Atlanta, Good Girls and P-Valley, which led to the Geico commercial. It was shot in November 2020 and debuted on Christmas Day. The commercial opens with Carr as the apron-wearing Tasha in a kitchen, cutting vegetables, but by the end she has joined in the dancing with the hip-hop duo Tag Team as they joyfully scoop ice cream in a comical version of their 1990s hit Whoomp! (There It Is). The upbeat commercial, which couldnt help but make you smile, was produced by Richmond-based The Martin Agency, whose senior vice president and creative director, Sean Riley, said Carr brought so much energy and humor to the spot. Just a perfect performance. Riley said in a follow-up email last week that all of us at Martin are thinking about Nicci and wishing her the best. The success of the commercial left Carr at the top of my game, making her feel she was turning the page on a new chapter in her life. At Georgia State, Carr was undergraduate coordinator in the biology department, but she was also a student, seeking a bachelors degree in film. She was planning to graduate in August after completing her final project: production of a documentary about James Solomon Russell, founder of her alma mater, Saint Pauls College, and a major figure in the history of Southside Virginia. The college closed in 2013. Carr is producing the film for the James Solomon Russell-Saint Pauls College Museum and Archives in Lawrenceville, which hopes to use it as an introductory orientation video for visitors, said Bobby Conner, a founder and vice chairman of the museums board who has become a friend of Carrs in the short time he has known her. When she came [to Lawrenceville] to work on the documentary, everywhere we went people recognized her from the commercial, Conner said. People may not know her personally, but they connected with her, and they just love that commercial. However, her diagnosis put the documentary on hold and everything else in her life, which was already in a state of flux as she had quit her job, sold her house in Atlanta and relocated a 90-minute drive east to Athens, where she enrolled in a graduate theater program. The dark days after the diagnosis eventually gave way to a more clear-eyed view. And hope. I shouldnt have doubted myself, she said. Shouldnt have doubted the process. A turning point proved to be in a meeting with one of her professors when she and a classmate were performing a scene from August Wilsons The Piano Lesson. As she immersed herself in a poignant part of the scene, she began to think of the hard stuff she has endured throughout her life her difficult younger days, her divorce, fighting for her health in a new city and the emotions poured from her. I felt so alone, she said, and I left it in that scene. In that moment, I thought, I want to win an Oscar, Carr said with a laugh. How crazy is that? But in order for that to happen, I have to live. It was the hope I needed in such a dark place. As she started treatment, she also remembered what her sister, Adrain Walls, herself a survivor of breast cancer, told her soon after the diagnosis: Do you think for one minute that what youve gone through is just for you? Its for you to help somebody else. At the time, Carr was having none of it. She had no interest in telling anyone, as she put it, the Geico lady got cancer. But everything is different now, and shes pleased to use whatever platform a funny commercial has afforded her to provide encouragement and comfort or simply a little assurance to others. She knew chemo was going to take her hair, so she cut it all off on Oct. 31 after the first clump of hair fell out while she was on a Zoom call and in late November she went public with her battle on her Facebook page. She has been gratified by the support she has received and by those who say she has inspired them when it comes to their own health. She even enlivens chemo treatments by making fashion statements, wearing bold and bright clothes from Philthy Ragz, a company operated by a California friend and designer, and posts pictures on her Facebook page. She is out of work at the moment and some days the chemotherapy leaves her feeling awful, but she is embracing the challenge and is able to look back on the roller coaster that was 2021 and say, My year was pretty good. As she enters 2022, she begins a new, even more intense round of chemo. I dont know what to expect, she said. I just know Im ready to live. The Richmond teachers union said Thursday that its deeply concerned about our ability to conduct in-person classes after a return to school in which 160 teachers and multiple bus drivers were expected to be absent because of COVID-19. We cannot avoid the reality that we are approaching a staffing situation that makes in-person learning untenable, said Richmond Education Association president Katina Harris in a statement. We also have to consider the long-term effects of trying to force schools to continue to operate while drastically understaffed. Richmond Superintendent Jason Kamras has repeatedly vowed to do everything possible to keep schools open, citing detrimental social and emotional consequences when school buildings are closed for in-person learning. The REA also said its unclear under which circumstances schools would close, and asked for clarity on the matter. Schools in Virginia are limited in how and when they can close because of COVID-19 because of a state law passed last year requiring five days of in-person instruction to the maximum extent possible. The law allows school divisions to temporarily close or switch to online learning in response to outbreaks. As the omicron variant of COVID-19 has led to record-breaking case numbers in Virginia, RPS has had one of the most cautious reopening scenarios compared to its neighbors, handing out thousands of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests on Sunday and beginning a test-to-stay program for students next week. The district had planned to reopen after the Christmas break on Monday, but closed with many other school systems in central Virginia because of snow. Thursday was the first day back. Richmond Public Schools expects 160 teacher vacancies across the school district and plans to tap staff in its academic office to fill vacancies as school resumes on Thursday. RPS, along with other neighboring districts, has been closed due to hazardous weather conditions caused by snowfall this week. The district had been preparing for a cautious return to school after the Christmas break because of a surge of COVID-19 cases. However, hazardous road conditions and the threat of freezing rain postponed those plans for most of the Richmond area. Now, after passing out thousands of COVID rapid tests on Sunday, RPS is expecting teachers to be out sick, as well as a shortage of bus drivers. Delays are possible in transporting kids to and from school. RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras acknowledged that with a surge of COVID cases, mostly caused by the highly contagious omicron variant, families have asked RPS to go virtual for the next few weeks. Kamras has made clear that he supports schools remaining open as much as possible. While I understand this inclination, I want to note that I intend to do everything possible to keep our doors open, Kamras said. Even with omicron, we are in a very different place than last year. Vaccines are widely available for all staff and nearly all students and have been for quite some time. RPS is suspending all after-school or extended day activities on Thursday, since many community partners also face staffing shortages. And although the district is slated to be open on Friday, a threat of hazardous weather looms. Given the possibility of closure because of the weather forecast, Chromebooks will be distributed to everyone on Thursday, to transition to virtual learning. As mandated by state law, Virginias schools cant close unless working conditions are so severe that schools cant safely operate. School systems in other states across the country have closed because of the rapid spread of the omicron variant. In Virginia, SoVaNow reported that Mecklenburg County Public Schools closed for the remainder of the week because of a rise in COVID cases. Henrico County schools spokesperson Eileen Cox couldnt provide a number of vacancies offhand, but said the district is prepared to deploy central office staff to cover teacher vacancies. Chesterfield County also did not provide a number of vacancies. But spokesperson Shawn M. Smith said throughout the pandemic Chesterfield schools had experienced periods of higher absenteeism, during which the school system relied heavily on substitute teachers. After thousands of people were stranded along a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 earlier this week when snow and ice made the untreated highway unpassable, state emergency officials are preparing for the second round of snow Thursday night. This is a different storm that was experienced Sunday night Monday into Tuesday and that is from the fact that this storm will start as the snow event which means we will be able to pretreat our roadways, Stephen Brich, Commissioner of Highways for the Virginia Department of Transportation said in a Thursday morning media call. Pretreatment of roads began on Wednesday and continues today, Brich said. The interstate was not pretreated ahead of Mondays snowfall because the storm started as rain. As far as snowfall, roughly 3 to 4 inches are expected along the I-95 corridor and in Louisa and Spotsylvania, where power outages remain from Mondays storm. Richmond is expected to see between 1 and 2 inches of snow before it drops down to a dusting near Petersburg, Jeff Orrock meteorologist-in-charge of the Wakefield National Weather Service Office said on a Thursday media call. Were still getting into similar areas that we had last time, its just a lesser storm that has shaken down, Orrock said. The Virginia National Guard, at the request of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, will deploy 50 soldiers and airmen split between the Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia area and Southwest Virginia to assist localities in removing storm debris. On Wednesday night, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency ahead of Thursday nights impending snowfall. Having two bouts of snow and icy weather back to back makes it more likely communities will need additional help as they continue to recover from the first round of tree-snapping wet snow and ice that we saw Monday, Northam said in a statement Wednesday night. On Monday morning snow began to fall onto the untreated states main traffic artery, bringing traffic on I-95 to a crawl then a full stop overnight into Tuesday. Government officials and road crews were unable to clear the highway until Tuesday. Around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, all abandoned vehicles had been cleared from I-95, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who was among the thousands of people stuck in vehicles, reached Washington Tuesday evening after 27 hours on the interstate. Brich urged travelers to postpone trips for as long as possible to allow for road crews to treat the roadways. Through Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the VDOT crews will prioritize clearing highways, primary roadways and major secondary roads. Four more Democratic state senators said Thursday that they have concerns about or will oppose GOP Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkins nominee for secretary of natural resources, signaling that the Senate might try to stop former EPA director Andrew Wheeler from becoming a Virginia Cabinet secretary. Sens. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City; Lynwood Lewis, D-Accomack; John Edwards, D-Roanoke; and Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, all expressed concerns about Wheelers nomination, which is subject to General Assembly approval. The four are among the more independent-minded Democratic senators and have differed with their party at times. Their collective concern could indicate the most challenging path to legislative approval for a Virginia Cabinet appointee in more than a decade. Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, tried to roll back environmental safeguards as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2019 to 2021; three former EPA directors who had served under Republican presidents expressed concerns about Wheeler in 2019. Youngkins announcement sparked outrage from Democrats and environmental groups on Wednesday. Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, suggested Republicans should join Democrats in stopping Wheeler from taking the post. Lewis echoed that in an interview on Thursday, saying Youngkins selection sent the wrong message to people concerned about environmental issues, sea level rise and coastal resiliency. Im a traditionalist. I firmly believe that you win an election, you get to put your team together, Lewis said. But, you know, there are limits to that, and were certainly there I think. Petersen, in a newsletter to constituents on Thursday, said he had major concerns about Youngkins choice of Wheeler. Petersen is chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee and wrote that this is a critical selection and any Secretary must have a pro-conservation record and philosophy, regardless of party. Edwards said he had received a number of complaints locally about the Wheeler announcement, including from Roanoke environmental advocate Rupert Cutler. He said, This appointment must be overturned, Edwards said. I believe in a strong environment and protecting the environment, Edwards said. Ill look carefully at what the guys record is, but from what Ive heard, we should probably not be electing him. Youngkin will be sworn in on Jan. 15 after eight years of Democratic control of the Executive Mansion. Democrats control the state Senate 21-19, and Youngkins party will have a 52-48 edge in the House of Delegates. Its rare that the legislature rejects a Virginia governors Cabinet appointee. In 2006, House Republicans rejected Gov. Tim Kaines choice of Daniel LeBlanc, former head of the state AFL-CIO, as secretary of the commonwealth. LeBlanc opposed the states right-to-work law. In 2010, Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, facing Democratic opposition, withdrew the nomination of Richmond businessman Robert C. Sledd to be secretary of commerce and trade and appointed him as an unpaid senior economic adviser. Sledd wanted to retain three corporate boardships while serving as the commerce secretary, which Democratic senators saw as a potential conflict of interest, even after he offered to retain only one boardship. Morrissey said theres growing opposition to Wheeler from Democrats. I think this choice could be in trouble. Morrissey said he thinks there will be plenty of areas for both parties to work together because the chambers are so evenly divided, and he plans to work with Republicans. He said he wants Youngkin to succeed because that means Virginia succeeds. But the Wheeler choice was surprising, Morrissey said, and he doesnt like Wheelers record at the EPA of trying to roll back environmental safeguards. Perhaps he may reconsider that choice, Morrissey said of Youngkin. Asked for any reaction, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter referred to the governor-elects Wednesday statement saying Wheeler shares Youngkins vision for energy and natural resources. Derrick Anderson, a former Green Beret with six tours of duty in overseas conflicts for the U.S. Army, is making clear hes still in the race to represent the newly configured 7th Congressional District, which includes his native Spotsylvania County. Anderson, 37, released a video and statement on Thursday to reaffirm his candidacy for the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, in the new district the Virginia Supreme Court approved late last month after a long, messy effort to take some of the politics out of political redistricting. (Spanberger could be one of several candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the new district.) Anderson previously had filed his candidacy to run against Spanberger in the old 7th District, anchored in the Richmond suburbs and extending over 10 counties, including Spotsylvania. The new district, anchored in eastern Prince William and the Fredericksburg area, covers all or part of 10 counties and the city of Fredericksburg, but no longer includes parts of the Richmond area. This district is my home, Anderson said in a statement on Thursday. My entire family still lives in Spotsylvania County, the place I was raised, the place that shaped me into the person I am today. He said he is running to guarantee an end to the extreme agenda of Democrats in Washington, and declared, Abigail Spanberger can no longer represent the people who raised me. The dramatic geographical realignment of the 7th District has shaken up a GOP field that once included 10 challengers. State Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, formally dropped out of the race after her home was included in the 1st District, represented by Republican Rep. Rob Wittman. Taylor Keeney, a former aide to Gov. Bob McDonnell, dropped out after her home county, Goochland, was moved to the 5th District, represented by Republican Rep. Bob Good. Two other prominent potential candidates, Del. John McGuire, R-Goochland, and Chesterfield businesswoman Tina Ramirez have not dropped out of the 7th District race, but theyre still considering their options after the new map shifted to move McGuire into the 5th and Ramirez into the 1st. At least five candidates say they remain in contention for the Republican nomination to challenge Spanberger, who will run for re-election in the new district: Anderson; Prince William Supervisor Yesli Vega; John Castorani of Orange County; state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania; and Gary Adkins of Stafford County. Vega, a former Manassas Park police officer and Prince William sheriffs deputy, lives just outside the new district, but she confirmed last week that shes running in the 7th. From Prince William to Culpeper, Virginians are being pummeled by the current policies and decisions coming out of DC, she said on Twitter on Dec. 28. Vega was elected in 2019 to represent the Coles District in central Prince William, a portion of which is within the new 7th District. She lives just outside the boundaries, but congressional representatives are not required by law to live in the districts they represent. Axiom Strategies, the political consulting firm that guided Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkins successful campaign last year, is representing Vega. Four of the candidates, including Anderson, have backgrounds of military service. Castorani, 30, who grew up in Louisa County and later attended Fork Union Military Academy, moved from Alabama, where he briefly ran for Congress, to Orange with his young family last year. Im from here, he said in an interview last year. He is a U.S. Army veteran, serving as an intelligence analyst in support of special forces units in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other parts of Africa, and a member of the National Guard in Alabama. He previously worked in a civilian intelligence role for a national security agency, but currently is a stay-at-home dad running for Congress. Castorani and Reeves were both prepared to switch their campaign to the 10th District, represented by Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, D-10th, under a proposed redistricting map that the Supreme Court considered. The court amended the final congressional map to restore Orange and Spotsylvania to the 7th District. Reeves Senate district includes three counties in the new 7th Spotsylvania, Orange and Culpeper, which also were part of the old congressional district that Spanberger was elected twice to represent. Reeves is a former U.S. Army infantry captain, both Ranger and Airborne qualified. He announced Thursday that he has been endorsed by SEAL Pac, a political action committee that works to elect conservative military veterans to Congress. The committees chairman is Ryan Zinke, a former U.S. Navy SEAL team commander who served as secretary of the interior under President Donald Trump. A former Prince William narcotics detective who now owns an insurance business, Reeves already has collected a string of endorsements by law enforcement officials and prominent Republican leaders, including former House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, and Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, who challenged Spanberger unsuccessfully in 2020. Adkins served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and describes himself as a liberty-minded conservative. He grew up in Southwest Virginia and moved to Stafford in 1990. He said last week that he still has close family ties in Southwest Virginia, and also lived in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, which gives me a balanced perspective on issues important to the new 7th District as well as different regions of the commonwealth. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left his home on Richmonds North Side early on Monday afternoon with a sense of urgency because of a meeting planned that evening at the U.S. Capitol on an issue that he cares deeply about voting rights. The trip became what Kaine jokingly called my 27-hour commute between Richmond and D.C., but he hasnt lost his sense of urgency to pass legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate that would protect the right and opportunity to vote in federal elections. Its an issue that isnt new to the veteran civil rights attorney, but he said the need for comprehensive voting rights protections became painfully clear to him a year ago, when a rally to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election turned into a physical assault on the U.S. Capitol and the lawmakers who had gathered to certify Joe Bidens election as president. Not until the attack on January 6th did I realize that this was not only a priority and passion but an absolute existential necessity for our country at this point in time, Kaine said in a news conference on Wednesday. He arrived at the Capitol late Tuesday afternoon in time for a meeting on voting rights legislation. He then took his oldest son, Nat, out for a birthday dinner before turning in to sleep for a very long time. On Thursday, Kaine will participate in a prayer vigil on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to commemorate the first anniversary of the violent insurrection that followed a Stop the Steal rally featuring then-President Donald Trump, who urged those attending to oppose the pending certification of the Electoral College votes for the presidential election. After the rally, a mob marched on the Capitol, assaulted law enforcement officers trying to protect members of Congress and broke into the building, sacking offices and occupying the Senate chamber. A Capitol Police officer fatally shot one protester who was breaching a door into the lobby outside the House Chamber. Three other protesters died of other causes. One Capitol Police officer who had been pepper-sprayed suffered two strokes the next day and died, and four other law enforcement officers who had defended the Capitol later died by suicide, including one three days after the melee and another less than two weeks afterward. It was a day I never could have imagined, Kaine said. He said the assault on the Capitol made him extremely angry because it was the first time, as a white male born in 1958, anyone had attempted to prevent his vote from being counted. For four hours, I had a glimpse, personally, of what it felt like to be disenfranchised, Kaine said Wednesday. That anger persists today, he said, and I really do feel like the only productive way to deal with that is to pass comprehensive legislation to make sure that we protect every single persons ability to vote [and] safeguard the system from the kinds of attacks that we saw. Since then, a number of Republican-governed states have passed laws that limit opportunities to vote and change how votes are counted, ostensibly to prevent the kind of election fraud that Trump continues to falsely claim prevented his re-election. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, who spoke at the pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6 but left before the mob violence, says she will introduce measures to put guardrails on Virginias elections. She wants to restore Virginias photo ID requirement for voting, curtail voting by mail and has called for a forensic audit of Virginias 2020 elections. Republicans in the House of Delegates already have introduced measures to bar drop boxes for absentee ballots, to require voters by mail to provide an excuse for why they cant vote in person on Election Day, and to cut Virginias early voting period from 45 days to 14 days. Kaine said he helped to draft the Freedom to Vote Act in response to the need for a broader set of minimum guarantees for peoples right to participate in federal elections so that states couldnt impose arbitrary and discriminatory obstacles, burdens, hurdles in the way of people participating. Separately, the House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named after the late Georgia congressman and civil rights activist, to restore provisions of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2013. Both pieces of legislation are bottled up in the Senate by the chambers rules, which require 60 votes to overcome a minority party filibuster instead of a simple majority of 50 in the 100-member body. Republicans have refused to allow the Freedom to Vote Act to come up for debate, and only one GOP member voted to allow debate on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Kaine invoked the 1969 election of his future father-in-law, Linwood Holton, as the first Republican governor in Virginia since Reconstruction. Turnout rose by 65% that election, compared to the previous governors race in 1965, an increase he attributed to passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Courts striking down poll taxes that disenfranchised poor people. Similarly, he said Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected governor in November with a 25% increase in voter turnout (compared with the previous election for governor) the year after the Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed a package of laws to expand opportunities to vote. Funny thing, if you make it easier for people to participate, they do participate, he said. Kaine said he expects Democrats to mount another effort to pass both bills this month, which is why he spent more than a day on the road to get back to the Capitol for a meeting on voting rights. I couldnt feel more passionately about this, he said. Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin has tapped Bryan Slater, a former Cabinet official under Gov. Jim Gilmore 20 years ago, as the new secretary of labor to fix problems at the Virginia Employment Commission and help recruit and train workers for important industries. Slater is the incoming governors choice to replace Megan Healy, who has served in the job since it was created on July 1. Previously, Healy had served as chief workforce adviser to Gov. Ralph Northam. Slater served as secretary of administration under Gilmore, a Republican who left office in 2001, and most recently, in assistant secretary roles for labor and transportation under President Donald Trump. He also served as a White House liaison at the Department of Labor under President George W. Bush. Workforce development will play a crucial part of jumpstarting our economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bryans experience and leadership will be critical to the development of talent, training of workers, and protection of Virginias right-to-work laws that will attract investment in Virginia, Youngkin said in remarks that repeated political themes from his gubernatorial campaign. The governor-elect made clear that Slaters first job will be fixing the Virginia Employment Commission and delivering results for the commonwealth. The VEC has been under siege since the beginning of the pandemic, when more than 400,000 Virginians suddenly lost their jobs and the agency was deluged with nearly 2 million requests for unemployment assistance. A state legislative audit found the agency, which relies on employer payroll taxes instead of general taxes to pay for benefits and operations, unprepared for the pandemic and inadequately staffed to help unemployed Virginians get timely aid, or even answer their telephone calls. Five unemployed women, represented by three legal aid organizations and two private law firms, sued in U.S. District Court in April to require the agency to provide timely assistance, including resolving disputes over eligibility and promptly paying benefits. Richmond-based U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, who had actively monitored implementation of a court settlement reached last May, formally dismissed the lawsuit on Wednesday after finding that the disputed issues have been substantially resolved. The order, submitted jointly by the advocates and the VEC on Tuesday, says the court has been encouraged and satisfied with the changes made and actions taken during the long dispute it mediated. It also commended the agency for significant progress in improving service as well as advocates for building public awareness of the problems still faced by many Virginians. The VEC is pleased that the case has been dismissed, spokeswoman Joyce Fogg said. We have made an enormous amount of progress over the past two years addressing the unprecedented economic impact from the pandemic. We remain committed to serving our customers and very much appreciate the herculean efforts of our employees during this period. *** On Wednesday afternoon, Youngkin named Margaret Lyn McDermid, former chief information officer and head of information technology for the Federal Reserve, as his secretary of administration. Before her work at the Fed from 2013 to 2020, McDermid worked for Dominion for more than 30 years, becoming a senior vice president and chief information officer. Lyn will play a pivotal role in making Virginias government work for the people, Youngkin said. Her vast experience will allow us to hit the ground running on Day One as we seek to revamp our cybersecurity system to keep pace with growing security risks; root out waste, fraud, and abuse; and fix the Department of Motor Vehicles and Virginia Employment Commission. Rick Holcomb, who has served for 19 years in two stints as DMV commissioner under five governors, is stepping down Jan. 14, the day before Youngkin takes office. Holcomb has come under fire from Republicans and some Democrats for presiding over the long closure of DMV offices to walk-in service during the pandemic. DMV closed its 75 offices across Virginia when the pandemic struck in March 2020, and reopened them two months later by appointment only. Pushed by the General Assembly, Holcomb reopened the offices to walk-in service in early October, but only for three days a week, while reserving three other days for appointments that he said were more popular with customers than the old cattle-call system of service. McDermid has served as chair of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, chair of the board of trustees of Mary Baldwin College and chair of the board of the Greater Richmond Technology Council. She is currently chair of the ChildFund International Board. McDermid received a B.A. from Mary Baldwin College and an MBA from the University of Richmond. mmartz@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6964 Staff writer Andrew Cain contributed to this report. The weather pattern for the next couple of weeks is more typical of Virginia for the middle of January, with a brief shot of cold air for a couple of days, a modest warm up, some rain, and another shot of cold air. The pattern repeats about three times over the next 10 days, but it does not look like enough cold air will be in place for ice or snow during that time. Richmond will get a few colder nights in that stretch, with lows falling into the teens for a couple of nights next week, but no prolonged stretch of especially cold weather is ahead in the next week and a half. The rain and melting snow put a solid dent in the drought. Although most of the state is still abnormally dry, the area under a moderate drought dropped from 59 percent to 13 percent in the last week. The few cycles of rain in the next week and a half should keep us from falling back into a deeper drought, but an overly wet pattern is not expected. Friday is windy and cold in the wake of the small early morning system. Most of the day is sunny, and you may notice the air turns much drier Friday and Saturday, so crank up the humidifier in the house for a couple of days if you have one. But for early January, this weekend will be pretty good to be outside. Saturday will be cold, but with lots of bright sunshine and very little breeze compared to Friday. The morning starts in the teens and climbs into the 30s for the afternoon. Sunday is not quite as cold, starting in the 20s with a clear sky. But clouds will increase as rain approaches from the west late in the afternoon. Its still a little far out to precisely determine when rain arrives, but for the moment, it appears it will wait until after dusk, allowing highs to reach well into the 40s for the afternoon. Once the rain moves through Sunday evening or Monday morning, the pattern repeats, with another shot of Arctic air for a couple of days to start next week, meaning highs in the 30s to lower 40s with lows in the upper teens to 20s. Richmond Climate Check If you dont think it gets bitterly cold as often as a few decades ago, youre right. The coldest temperature recorded each calendar year in Richmond has been trending upward over the last 50 years as the planet has warmed. 10:30 a.m. Thursday update: Sun and scattered clouds through most of Thursday in Richmond, which gets afternoon temperatures in the upper 40s, and an area of rain and snow remains on track for Virginia on Thursday night. But the sweet spot of 2-4 inches will hold northwest of Richmond toward Charlottesville and Culpeper in addition to Fredericksburg and the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington. For metro Richmond, a few hours of rain develop Thursday evening, around 10-11 p.m., then a brief transition to snow takes shape for an hour or two before ending around 4-5 a.m. on Friday morning. The end result is a coating to an inch of snow for most of the metro area, but rain will change to snow a little bit earlier toward Ashland, Goochland, and Short Pump, where an inch or two is more likely. Southern parts of the metro area, toward Matoaca, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell will get very little snow at all before the precipitation ends. The sky clears quickly just before sunrise, making for a sunny Friday, but temperatures most of Friday will hold in the 30s with a gusty cold wind. Wednesday evening update: Seasonably cold, but quiet weather continues with lots of cloudy periods Wednesday night and Thursday. Some areas of fog develop early Thursday morning, especially north and west of Richmond where there is more snow on the ground. But a few breaks of sunshine on Thursday get temperatures into the 40s for most of the afternoon. The data show noteworthy trends for the storm that will impact Virginia on Thursday night, but none of them favor an increase in the snow forecast for Richmond. The storm is weaker, containing less precipitation, with much lower precipitation rates. The storm is faster, with precipitation starting earlier in the evening when the temperatures are still above freezing, and it only lasts about 6 hours. The rain/snow line will pivot across Richmond during the storm, but it probably comes during the second half of the storm. With that in mind, we will edge back a bit on the snowfall forecast for Richmond, calling it about an inch. The storm starts as rain a couple of hours after dusk, then changes over to snow before it all ends a few hours before daybreak. However, north and west of Richmond, temperatures will be lower throughout the storm, so 2-4 inches will be common toward Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, and Roanoke (Winter Weather Advisories have been posted in those locations). Precipitation will also start a few hours earlier toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. Statewide, this storm will not be anything close to the ferocity of the Monday storm, but travel is not recommended north and west of Richmond on Thursday night if it can be avoided. More specifically for Richmond In the wake of this system, Friday will turn mostly sunny, but windy and cold, with temperatures no better than the upper 30s in the afternoon. This leads to a clear and cold Friday night. Even as the winds back off during the evening, temperatures drop through the 20s after sunset and into the teens by daybreak Saturday. For the weekend, Saturday brings bright winter sunshine and very little wind, so it will be a nice winter day to be outside as highs edge into the lower 40s. Clouds roll back in later Sunday morning, and rain will be approaching late in the afternoon. Despite the clouds, highs will reach the lower 50s on Sunday. Once the rain clears Sunday night into early Monday morning, a fresh shot of cold air returns, keeping Monday through Wednesday dry, but with temperatures averaging a little bit below normal. Normal highs this time of year are in the upper 40s. Normal lows are in the upper 20s. ** Climate Check In about a week, Richmond enters its climatologically coldest time of the year. The normal high each day from January 12-18 is 47.4 degrees. The normal low each day from January 20-27 is 28.4 degrees. Most locations in Virginia had one of their five warmest Decembers on record. Most of the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Southern Plains had their warmest December on record. On Monday, NOAA will release its 2021 U.S. climate summary. Through November, Virginia was having its 16th warmest year on record since consistent records began in 1895. The nationwide ranking through that time was 7th warmest. Retired Lt. Col. Carroll Edwin Swain, who sternly advocated for improved public safety and fiscal common sense as a Roanoke city councilman in the 1990s, has died. Swain died at home in Salem on Dec. 31, according to his obituary, which gave his age as 94. Swain, elected as a Democrat in 1996, served for four years on the council in his late 60s and early 70s, and was by then a retired Roanoke school official and retired U.S. Army officer, as well as a husband and father. While serving as a military policeman at a resort in Italy after World War II, he was assigned to protect the tourist trade from the antics of rowdy GIs. The Army figured that by putting police where the problems were, they could be more successful. Swain thought the same thing could work in Roanoke and pushed for satellite police offices in neighborhoods to deter crime. A few were established, though not fast enough. The Colonel, as he was known, grew intense during a 1998 council meeting over a media report about three robberies, two involving the shooting of store clerks, that occurred the prior weekend in Northwest Roanoke. We need a crime reduction now, he told then City Manager Bob Herbert. Im not waiting on the chief. Im holding you responsible. In his last year in office, Swain also examined retirement paychecks for a select group of former city executives including Herbert who had received sweetened benefits through the citys infamous 2-for-1 pension scandal several decades ago. Swain argued that they should not receive cost-of living increases along with other rank-and-file city pensioners. Fellow council members agreed. Swain remained outspoken in the first few years after he left council, at one point defending then City Manager Darlene Burcham as she was criticized by candidates and groups involved in the 2004 council race. Darlene Burcham has ripped up the good ol boy network, he said. She makes people work and shes made some changes that have saved the taxpayers money. Thats what she should be doing. But not everyone adored Swains style. Mayor Sherman Lea, who sat on the school board while Swain was on council and said they talked frequently, described Swain as having a rough edge. Lea caveated his remark by saying he thought that Swain always acted from a place of caring about people and trying to get things done. Former Councilwoman Linda Wyatt, who served with Swain, said her former colleague brought the best of what he was as a military man to council in the way he approached issues and dealt with problems. That manner was direct and forceful, she said, contrasting herself as someone who favored exploring a range of options and thinking outside the box. They could combine efforts to greater effect, she suggested. I dont think a council that had all Carroll Swains on it or all Linda Wyatts would either one be effective. It takes that combination, she said. Swains obituary said he championed a variety of causes beyond good government, including economic development, education, the cleanliness of the city and the contributions of African Americans to the development of the railroad industry and Norfolk and Western. You never know the full weight of the influence you might have on others, so you should always be at your best, a quote attributed to Swain reads. A Roanoke native, Carroll Edwin Swain graduated from Lucy Addison High School in 1945. His stint in the military police followed, but was short-lived. He returned to Roanoke and worked for Norfolk and Western, but decided to further his education at Hampton University. He earned a bachelors degree in biology and physical education and masters degree in education, In 1953, with college complete, he pivoted to a regular appointment as a second lieutenant in the army as an artillery officer, his obituary said. During the next 18 years, he became a commissioned officer and received a variety of command and staff assignments. These included serving as an assistant professor of military science, a counterintelligence corps agent and a figure in an army security agency, his obituary said. In another assignment, he helped develop guidance, discipline and courses to improve race relations in the Army, his obituary said. By the end of his service, he was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote that while he was a ranking military officer in Vietnam in 1968, Powell encountered Swain, then inspector general of the Armys American Division. Swain had come to inspect Powells unit and gave it high marks, according to Powells book, My American Journey. Powell called Swain a scrupulous but fair officer, according to the book. Back in Roanoke in 1971, Swain worked in city schools as a guidance counselor, assistant principal and director of school plants, retiring in 1992, according to his obituary. He remained active through his adult life in Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which he had joined at Hampton University, and held all the various officer positions in the Roanoke chapter at one time or another. He was a leader, a commanding leader, said Sherman Lea Jr., current chapter president, who added, even to his death. I spoke to him two weeks ago. Swain advised Lea that a good leader reaches out to all constituents and obtains input so that everyone feels a part of the process, Lea said. Swain was married for 67 years. Hamlar-Curtis Funeral Home in Roanoke is in charge of arrangements. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Team Henry Enterprises, the Newport News-based contractor that recently finished dismantling the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, will soon take down the A.P. Hill statue and up to nine other monument pedestals in the city. After issuing a request for bids last month, the city on Wednesday published a notice saying it will award the contract to Team Henry, which bid $1.5 million on the project. Procurement records say the project will involve the removal of the A.P. Hill monument, his buried remains underneath it, and up to nine other monument pedestals. The documents specifically mention the monuments of Confederate Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, the Soldiers and Sailors monument in Libby Hill Park and the statue of Williams Carter Wickham that protesters toppled in Monroe Park in 2020. Another company, Washington-based contractor Stratified Inc., said it could do the job for $1 million. The city was preparing to award the company the contract, but later found that it did not have a Class A contractors license with the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. A city official familiar with the procurement process said Team Henry protested the citys plans to award the contract to the lower bidder, citing the state license. Stratified CEO Clive Diaz said Wednesday that he had intended to acquire the state contractor license immediately, but that lawyers he consulted told him that the city had the right to reject his bid without it. The city in 2020 awarded a $1.8 million contract to a shell company associated with Team Henry to take down the citys Confederate statues, shortly after Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Gov. Ralph Northam ordered their removal following weeks of protests over the police killing of George Floyd. The move led to a state police investigation after former Councilwoman Kim Gray raised concerns about how the contract was awarded to the company, whose owner, Devon Henry, had previously donated $4,000 to Stoneys election campaign and political action committee. A special prosecutor assigned to the case ended the investigation last summer after finding no evidence of public corruption. Lincoln Saunders, the citys chief administrative officer, said Wednesday that state officials in the summer of 2020 had suggested Henry as a potential contractor for the project, as they had already engaged him to remove the Lee monument. Saunders said the recommendation came as the city was struggling to find a contractor willing to accept the controversial job. Thats how they first came to our attention as a contractor for this work, he said. Team Henry wasnt someone our team had thought to call prior to the state identifying them. Henry has said that he formed a shell company for the city contract as a safety matter, as contractors involved in the removal of Confederate monuments elsewhere had been threatened or subject to violence. Saunders said the mayor and administration officials last year were reluctant to explain how the state had recommended Henry, fearing that it would paint a brighter target on him. State and city officials last week announced that Richmond will take ownership of the Lee monument before transferring it and the other Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. Spokespeople for Northam and the Department of General Services did not respond to questions Wednesday about how much the state paid Team Henry for the removal of the Lee monument. Television stations WRIC and WWBT in October reported that state officials projected it would cost $2 million. The Black History Museum, according to officials, will work with the Valentine museum and other local cultural institutions to engage the public and decide the final disposition of the monuments. The city in 2020 received about two dozen offers for the monuments from a variety of museums and institutions. Council staff working with the mayors administration, however, had been slow to act, as other localities weathered public criticism over where they sent their Confederate monuments. The Charlottesville City Council, for example, is facing legal action after voting last month to give its own statue of Robert E. Lee to a local museum that plans to melt it down for a new public art project. In neighboring Albemarle County, area residents criticized the county government when it gave its own Confederate tribute to a battlefield association in the Shenandoah Valley, alleging that it would be used to present a narrative that neglects the Confederacys intention to maintain the enslavement of Black people. In a special Richmond City Council meeting Wednesday evening, where legislation to accept the Lee monument from the state was introduced, 8th Councilwoman Reva Trammell questioned why officials had suddenly announced the transfer plans right as Northams term as governor nears its end. Why dont we just wait for the new governor to come in and decide what to do with these statues? Trammell said. Why dont we let him decide rather than us doing it? Why not let the mayor decide? Sources close to the governor and mayor have said that both officials feel it is important to finalize the transfer of the Lee monument prior to Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkins inauguration. In an interview last month, Stoney did not deny that officials are hurrying out of fear that Youngkin would pursue an objectionable plan for the Lee monument. The city council is set to formally accept the Lee monument in a meeting next Wednesday, three days before Youngkin is slated to be sworn into office. Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday named Andrew Wheeler, who rolled back environmental safeguards as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump, as secretary of natural resources. The choice drew outrage from Democrats and environmental groups. Youngkin, who takes office Jan. 15, also announced that he wants Michael Rolband, founder of the company Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., as his choice to head the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which is under the natural resources secretary. One Democratic senator, Scott Surovell of Fairfax County, suggested that Republicans should join Democrats in the Senate in killing the nomination, the first Cabinet pick of the incoming Republican governor to draw controversy. Youngkins pick for Secretary of Natural Resources is simply unacceptable," said Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. "As head of EPA under former President Trump, Wheeler did nothing more than cater to corporate polluter interests time and time again, putting their welfare ahead of our environment and Americans health. This is hands down the most extreme nomination for an environmental post in Virginias history and the absolute worst pick that the Governor-elect could make." Surovell tweeted: "I know he's new to Virginia government and all but @GlennYoungkin does understand cabinet secretaries require General Assembly approval - right?" In an interview, Surovell noted that three former EPA administrators who served under Republican presidents expressed concerns in 1019 about the agency's close ties to industry, including Wheeler's status as a former coal lobbyist in charge of the agency. I would hope in Virginia there would be bipartisan opposition to choosing him," Surovell said. Democrats hold a 21-19 edge in the state Senate. Republicans will take control of the House Jan. 12, with a 52-48 edge. It is rare, but not unprecedented, for the legislature to reject a governor's appointee. In 2006 House Republicans rejected Gov. Tim Kaine's choice of Daniel LeBlanc, former head of the state AFL-CIO, as secretary of the commonwealth. LeBlanc opposed the state's right-to-work law. In February 2014 Republicans in the legislature rejected Gov. Terry McAuliffe's nomination of Boyd Marcus for a spot on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Marcus, a longtime GOP strategist, worked for Democrat McAuliffe's campaign in 2013. Virginia needs a diverse energy portfolio in place to fuel our economic growth, continued preservation of our natural resources, and a comprehensive plan to tackle rising sea levels," Youngkin said in a statement. "Andrew and Michael share my vision in finding new ways to innovate and use our natural resources to provide Virginia with a stable, dependable, and growing power supply that will meet Virginias power demands without passing the costs on to the consumer." Matthew Strickler was the natural resources secretary during most of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's term. Rolband will replace David Paylor as DEQ director. Environmentalists frequently complained that the DEQ under Paylor was a rubber stamp for permit requests, including from the now-defunct Atlantic Coast Pipeline natural gas project and the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. Paylor was first appointed to the job in 2006 by Kaine and served under four governors. Youngkin, in his statement, commended Paylor as an "invaluable public servant" and wished him well. Rep. Don Beyer, D-8th, was among Democrats upset by the Wheeler announcement. Andrew Wheeler is one of the worst people the Governor-elect could have chosen for this job," Beyer said in a statement. Wheeler "led the implementation of an EPA dirty air initiative his own agency estimated would lead to 1,400 premature deaths and breathing problems in thousands of people, many of them children. He led the Trump Administrations efforts to dismantle environmental protections, selling out the American people and the EPAs very mission to benefit corporate polluters. He violated the Trump Administrations ethics pledge." A year ago today, a Confederate flag flew inside the U.S. Capitol, something that never occurred during all four years of the American Civil War. The man holding the flag in widely circulated photos, Kevin Seefried who hails from Delaware, a Union state remains free on bond, awaiting trial on numerous federal charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. He told authorities that the flag he brought to Washington, D.C., was one he usually displayed in his front yard. He faces a set of charges largely similar to those faced by Southwest Virginias own best known participants in the Jan. 6 riot, former Rocky Mount police officers Thomas T.J. Robertson and Jacob Fracker, who have maintained in interviews that they did nothing more than walk into the Capitol peacefully and walk back out. Yet the image of this symbol of rebellion flapping through the corridors of federal power, coupled with the clumsy, disorganized, yet at times unquestionably violent efforts by many of the rioters to prevent the lawful certification of President Joe Bidens election victory, resonates with disturbing context. The term insurrection refers to an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government, according to Merriam-Webster, and reducing that definition to an instance of revolting against civil authority produces an apt description of the events of Jan. 6. However fitting that word may be in terms of language use, its worth noting that to date no one being prosecuted for participating in the riots has been charged with the federal crimes of rebellion or insurrection or seditious conspiracy. It is possible to overstate the significance of the riots. Bidens assertion before a joint session of Congress that the insurrection was the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War amounts to political hyperbole, conveniently skipping over the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and numerous other catastrophic events from American history. Nonetheless, the frightening actions of the insurrectionists were an embarrassment to the nation, providing the world with views of the seat of our government under siege, members of Congress huddled in hiding on the floor as rioters massed outside the House and Senate, congressional offices vandalized and looted, a police officer screaming as the push from the invading mob crushed him against a door. News outlets commonly report that five people died in the riots, though the true details of those deaths have only gradually become public. Though excitement and exertion perhaps contributed, according to FactCheck.org, two of the Stop the Steal protesters died of heart attacks and one more died of an accidental amphetamine overdose, not from any kind of violence. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was reportedly a supporter of Donald Trump, died of a stroke hours after being sprayed with a chemical irritant while he honored his duty and defended the building. Only one of the five deaths resulted directly from violence during the event, when a police lieutenant shot San Diego Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt as she tried to climb through a shattered door toward the House chambers. In a heartbreaking coda, four officers who helped secure the Capitol on Jan. 6 have committed suicide. Regardless of the causes, all the injuries suffered by police that day, and all of these tragic deaths, were absolutely needless, the result of delusional claims of a stolen election, a falsehood cynically repeated and amplified for political and financial gain. Those angry about the killing of Babbitt, who was unarmed, might consider directing some of that wrath toward QAnon, the bizarre online conspiracy theory that engulfed her and numerous others who participated in the Capitol riot, or toward outgoing President Donald Trump, who told his supporters just before the attack, If you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore. Absent those factors, Babbitt would not have been where she was that day. In December, the Associated Press released results of an extensive review into every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states where Trump challenged the results Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The AP found only 475 verifiable fraud cases across all six states, a number that would have no effect on the presidential election outcome. In addition, some of those 475 were trying to help Trump. The persistence of belief in election fraud, despite overwhelming evidence that no such fraud occurred, raises a troubling and perhaps unanswerable question: how to de-escalate a destructive notion thats a matter of faith and heartfelt belief rather than a conclusion reached through reason. This conundrum is hardly new. In fact, its unfair to speak as if this problem lies only within the hearts and minds of QAnon followers and Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Claims that Russian operatives and Donald Trump actively conspired together to defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election have collapsed under federal investigation, and the infamous Steele dossier that supposedly corroborated those connections has been discredited, yet those who raise this point on social media swiftly get pilloried by Trump haters. Even Trump has run into this irrational barrier, as his recent efforts to promote booster shots against COVID-19 have been met with boos and derision by some of his own followers. A new Washington Post story found leaders in disinformation campaigns such as QAnon and the Stop the Steal movement battling over dwindling shares of audience and funding, resorting to lobbing the same extreme insults and accusations at each other that they aimed at Democrats in the lead-up to the insurrection. The Storm Is Upon Us author Mike Rothschild, a journalist specializing in conspiracy theories, told Post technology reporter Drew Harwell that QAnon is the easiest money that you could possibly make if you dont have a conscience, but theres only a certain number of people you can fleece. Perhaps we would live in a more unified country if we all made it a practice to aim the spotlight of intense, meticulous examination not only at those with opposing views but also, even especially, at those who are telling us exactly what we want to hear. " " God speaks to Moses through a burning bush in this 15th-century German manuscript. According to the controversial theory of psychologist Julian Jaynes, every human tradition that entails prayer or divine voices is an echo of a time in which our bicameral brains simply worked that way. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images What is consciousness and how did it emerge in human beings? Great thinkers have pondered these questions for ages and the subject continues to intrigue us. We know that our mental state sets us apart from other animals. We also know we're a product of evolution. Gradual changes occurred over time to make us what we are today. One of those changes is the emergence of consciousness. But when exactly did this change take place? When did humans, or perhaps our pre-human ancestors, shift from a life of instinctual existence to a life of reason, reflection and inner complexity? Furthermore, what were we like before the change? How do we imagine humans without a modern consciousness? Various hypotheses have tackled these mind-blowing questions, entailing everything from the limitations of human attention to quantum theory. The true answer remains elusive. Today, we are going to consider a single, somewhat controversial hypothesis: the bicameral mind. Advertisement Bicameralism: What and Who The bicameralism hypothesis was proposed by American psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920-1997) in his 1976 book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind." The book struck a chord with readers at the time and continues to resonate, even if many of its core ideas are ultimately unproveable. What are those ideas? Well, much of it can be gleaned from the title itself. Jaynes proposed that modern consciousness, as we know it, emerges from the breakdown of a prior form of mentality that he dubbed the bicameral mind or, quite literally, the mind of two houses. Jaynes' conclusion was that, until roughly 3,000 years ago, humans were not conscious in the modern sense. He argued that modern consciousness emerged as a cultural invention in Mesopotamia, Greece. To put this in computer terms, modern consciousness was more software than hardware. This new way of thinking spread around the world, eroding and replacing the previous mental order. And here's where the hypothesis gets even more exciting: That previous mental order, which Jaynes dubbed the bicameral mind, was a world of hallucinated voices. These voices told our ancestors what to do when we encountered novel circumstances or events. These voices, he argued, were the voices that we came to think of as the voices of the gods. In this, every human tradition that entails prayer or divine voices is an echo of a time in which our brains simply worked this way. Advertisement Bicameralism: The Unconscious Mind So, to refresh, Jaynes argued that humans were not conscious beings before roughly 3,000 years ago. But what did he think they were? To understand this, we have to stop and consider exactly what Jaynes meant by conscious and non-conscious existence. Here's what he wrote in his 1976 book: Consciousness is a much smaller part of our mental life than we are conscious of, because we cannot be conscious of what we are not conscious of. How simple that is to say; how difficult to appreciate! It is like asking a flashlight in a dark room to search around for something that does not have any light shining upon it. The flashlight, since there is light in what-ever direction it turns, would have to conclude that there is light everywhere. And so consciousness can seem to pervade all mentality when actually it does not. In other words, we act non-consciously all the time and conscious consideration of our thoughts and actions is a mere interruption to this norm. You likely behave like a kind of robot while unloading the dishwasher. You've done it thousands of times, so you're kind of on autopilot. The autopilot only "turns off" when something unexpected happens. Perhaps you break a glass, drop a fork, or catch yourself putting something in the wrong drawer. For a bicameral human, life would be a state of autopilot with the hallucinated voice only manifesting when something novel happened: the dropped fork, the broken glass, etc. A voice that one might interpret as a god or the spirit of an ancestor would tell us how to respond. How would ancient civilizations have functioned like this? According to Marcel Kuijsten, Founder and Executive Director of the Julian Jaynes Society, we have to remember that people still communicated with each other and that these societies were highly hierarchical. "The major societal decisions and direction would have come from the great gods, which were heard by the king or the highest-ranking priests," Kuijsten says in an email interview. "These commands would then be communicated down the hierarchy verbally, just as they would be today. The voices that most individuals heard would have pertained to their own day-to-day lives. If they did hear voices regarding larger issues, it's unlikely that anyone above them in the hierarchy would have listened to them." Advertisement Bicameralism: The Split Brain Now, as interesting as this concept is, you might well wonder how all of this ties together into a hypothesis about the origins of consciousness. What is this bicameral voice anyway and why would it be experienced as an auditory hallucination? Jaynes argued that the brains of bicameral humans used language to convey experience from the right to the left hemisphere. As explored in the work of neuroscientists Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga in the 1960s and 70s, the two hemispheres of the brain are quite divided and can act independently, almost as if they are two separate individuals. They explored this via the separation of animal brain hemispheres and by studying humans who had undergone a corpus callosotomy to treat severe epilepsy. Via this surgical procedure, the part of the brain known as the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres and allows communication between them, is severed. While the patients seemingly felt mentally whole afterward, laboratory experiments revealed the subtle ways in which the hemispheres worked independently. This led Gazzaniga to formulate his left-brain interpreter theory, in which the language-centered left hemisphere generates a kind of story explaining why the non-dominate right hemisphere did something. He argued that our sense of self emerges out of this "interpretation." Gazzaniga's theory concerned the modern human condition, while Jaynes thought that the brain used language to convey experience from one hemisphere to another in ancient humans what we would today call an auditory hallucination. " " Gazzaniga's left-brain interpreter theory, in which the language-centered left hemisphere generates a kind of story explaining why the non-dominate right hemisphere did something, posited that our sense of self emerges out of this "interpretation." Tumisu/Pixabay Kuijsten points to studies of modern voice-hearers that show that they often experience what are called "command hallucinations" that direct their behavior, very much like what Jaynes documents in the ancient world. Additionally, while Jaynes died in 1997, subsequent neuroscientific findings strike Kuijsten as supportive. "By 1999, brain imaging technology had progressed to the point that a study was done that imaged the brain of someone at the exact moment that they were hallucinating," Kuijsten says. "It showed the right/left temporal lobe interaction during auditory verbal hallucinations that Jaynes's neurological model predicted. Since then, this finding has been confirmed by dozens of other studies." So what, according to Jaynes, changed beginning roughly 3,000 years ago? Advertisement Bicameralism: Metaphorical Breakdown Jaynes argued that the breakdown of the bicameral mind would have stemmed from the use of metaphors. Modern consciousness, he wrote, is a metaphor-based model of reality, based on the way we use language to create metaphors. As this way of speaking and thinking spread again, like software rather than evolved hardware it would have disrupted the way humans thought. Jaynes spends a great deal of time in his work drawing evidence for his hypothesis via ancient writings, art, music and architecture such as divine statues that were, in various traditions, said to on occasion speak to mortals. This would have been the fading bicameral voice coaxed from the recesses of the mind and interpreted as the words of a god. As for Kuijsten, he is particularly intrigued by the idea of bicameral dreams. "Most people assume that dreams were basically the same in the ancient world as they are today, but surprisingly this is not the case," Kuijsten says. "Dreams in the ancient world were generally what's called 'visitation dreams' or what we might call 'bicameral dreams.' In these types of dreams, the person experiences themselves asleep in their bed, and they are then visited by a god or dead ancestor that gives them advice or a command. So in the ancient world, the dream experience very much parallels the waking bicameral experience." As consciousness developed, the nature of the dream itself changed. Advertisement Bicameralism: Is it True? The work of Julian Jaynes continues to fascinate readers, but it remains controversial when it comes to scholarly consideration of human consciousness. While he has his fervent supporters, there is much to the hypothesis that cannot be studied in a scientifically verifiable way. As such, it would seem a hypothesis destined to never advance to the theory stage. Jaynes' interpretations of ancient cultures remain just that: interpretations. Jaynes himself admitted that he focused his work on the cultures and languages that were best known to him. For instance, while he found evidence for bicameralism in Greek culture, he left Chinese culture largely unexplored. Other scholars, such as Sinologist Michael Carr and Tibetologist Todd Gibson, have continued to explore and advance the hypothesis, and have documented evidence for bicameralism in places like China and Tibet. "While it certainly remains controversial and outside of mainstream psychology, over the years I have seen a gradual increase in interest and acceptance," Kuijsten says. "There is a certain risk for people in academia to be seen as embracing new or controversial ideas, but the more new material we've published on Jaynes's theory and the more we've cleared up misconceptions the more we've made it easier for others to openly support it." Advertisement More Work to be Done Some commentators have suggested that there may be some truth in Jaynes' work, but that the reality might be more complicated. The transition to modern consciousness, according to philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett, may have been less drastic and entailed multiple features. Kuijsten, however, stresses that Jaynes never claimed to have all the answers, and that he ultimately laid a foundation for others to build upon much like Darwin'stheory of evolution. "I think generally speaking Jaynes's hypothesis is correct in my view, the overall pattern of evidence is just too compelling," Kuijsten says. "And there are too many things that would otherwise remain inexplicable." Still, Kuijsten stresses that more work needs to be done. "We could learn a great deal by reexamining ancient civilizations and retranslating ancient texts through the lens of Jaynes's theory," he says. "For example, I think the transition from bicamerality to consciousness could be much better understood. Exactly when did it occur in various cultures? How long was the transition? Did the different features of consciousness emerge gradually, and did different features emerge differently in different cultures?" The study and contemplation of consciousness continues, and perhaps one day we'll have a theory that meets the criteria of consensus science. Until then, humans will continue to gaze back on the past and wonder what came before modern consciousness. HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Jaynes' "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" has been reprinted several times. It was nominated for the National Book Award in 1978. A new edition by Penguin Books, with an afterword that addressed some criticisms, was published in the U.S. in 1990 and re-issued in 2000. Many people have cited the book as an influence, including Philip K. Dick, Terrence McKenna and David Bowie. A Family-Centered Approach to Criminal Justice Reform. | Main | Making the case, because "upper-class offenders ... might be even more reprehensible," for a severe sentence for Elizabeth Holmes Walter Pavlo has this extended new Forbes piece detailing some of the nettlesome issues that surround implementation of various parts of the FIRST STEP Act. The piece is headlined "Implementation Of The Criminal Justice Reform Law, First Step Act, Will Likely End Up In Court," and here are excerpts: President Donald Trump signed one of the most sweeping criminal justice reform laws, The First Step Act (FSA), into law on December 21, 2018. Since then, its interpretation has been debated and argued, mostly behind closed doors in Washington, on how to fully implement it. One lesser defined part of FSA is whether or not those in custody within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), could earn credits for participation in classes and meaningful activities in order to get time reduced off of their sentence. COVIDs wrath on the BOP slowed FSA implementation but we are on the cusp of discovering the extent of the laws effects on those currently incarcerated.... By January 24, 2022, the BOP is under a mandate to have the FSA fully implemented. Under the FSA, prisoners who successfully complete recidivism reduction programming and productive activities are eligible to earn up to 10 days of FSA Time Credits for every 30 days of program participation. Minimum and low-risk classified prisoners who successfully complete recidivism reduction programming and productive activities and whose assessed risk of recidivism has not increased over two consecutive assessments are eligible to earn up to an additional 5 days of FSA Time Credits for every 30 days of successful participation. However, prisoners serving a sentence for a conviction of any one of multiple enumerated offenses are ineligible to earn additional FSA Time Credits regardless of risk level. It is complicated. Many of the BOPs facilities are understaffed and pressures of COVID combined with prisoner lockdowns has led many institutions to suspend or delay many of the programs that could have counted toward FSA credits. Now an internal memorandum posted at some prison camps across the country is causing a stir because of how sweeping the FSA may be for prisoners. The memo stated [with caveats and exclusions]: "Under the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA), eligible inmates may earn Federal Time Credit (FTC) for successful participation in Evidence-Based Recidivism Programs and Productive Activities.... Inmates are now eligible to earn FTC retroactively back to December 21, 2018; this award will be based on criteria established by BOP."... Far from clarifying things, the implementation of FSA, based on this limited amount of information, will be almost impossible over the near term. This affects multiple levels of the criminal justice system; prisons, halfway houses, home confinement and supervised release. It is an intricate web of agencies that manage the incarceration and supervision of hundreds of thousands of people in the federal criminal justice system. Those in prison want to be out of the institution. With many programs suspended in institutions, prisoners have been looking to Productive Activities, like a job in the prison, as a means to gain FSA credits. However, interpretation of that term has been the subject of discussion ever since FSA was passed. The list of program classes eligible for credit is limited and the hours associated with each one must be based on a need assessment of the prisoner. It is unknown how a BOP case manager can look back until 2018 for classes (programs) that did not even exist because there was no FSA until December 2018. In order for Productive Activities during the time frame of 2018-2021, it must mean that the BOP is interpreting a broad definition of the term ... I know the prisoners interpretation.... Indeed, there will be many prisoners on January 15, 2022 who are being detained unlawfully if the law comes into effect on that day and they are still incarcerated ... that is going to happen. Thousands will file lawsuits whether they are in prison, halfway houses, home confinement or supervised release, fighting for their right to a broadly defined, and subject to BOP discretion, FSA credit. Rather than Trumps FSA being a law, it is going to be subject to interpretation by judges across the country. While this information is welcome news to those incarcerated, it is also a monumental task for BOP case managers. Case managers are primarily responsible for moving inmates from prison to halfway houses and home confinement. It requires a tremendous amount of paperwork and coordination, often taking months. There is also the additional issue of capacity at halfway houses and monitoring. This is going to be more complicated than anyone ever imagined. Highlighting the challenging issues of implementing the FIRST STEP Act's earned time credits | Main | Head of federal Bureau of Prisons has resigned (though will stay on pending a successor) January 5, 2022 Making the case, because "upper-class offenders ... might be even more reprehensible," for a severe sentence for Elizabeth Holmes Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade has this notable MSNBC opinion piece that makes a full-throated argument for throwing the book ay former Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. I recommend the piece in full, and here are excerpts: Some people steal money with guns. Other people steal money with lies. In a court of law, theyre all crooks. But not all crooks are treated the same by the justice system, a fact Elizabeth Holmes may be counting on when it comes to her sentencing.... White-collar criminals like Holmes may not get their hands dirty in the traditional sense, but their conduct is no less criminal than a stickup in an alley. In fact, upper-class offenders like Holmes might be even more reprehensible; while street crime is often motivated by need, white-collar crime is usually motivated by greed.... The government quantified Holmes investor fraud, arguing it amounted to more than $140 million, a figure that will largely influence her eventual sentence. Federal sentencing guidelines consider a number of factors, including the amount of money involved in the scheme. Based on that number, as well as enhancements and the sophistication of her scheme, Holmes is likely looking at a sentence between 14 and 17 years. Sentencing is a key inflection point for disparities in the criminal justice system. But will a judge actually give Holmes a 15-year sentence? Holmes defense attorneys, like the attorneys of many criminals before her, will certainly try to argue that the sentencing guidelines in white-collar cases are simply too high. This argument has worked with judges in the past, and high-priced attorneys know that judges can reduce the sentence considerably in a fraud case, as long as they articulate a good reason. (Unlike in criminal cases involving drugs or guns, for example, Holmes does not face a mandatory minimum sentence.)... Perhaps because judges see offenders who look like them or who share similar backgrounds, they often bite on the argument that sentences for white-collar crimes should be something less than the guidelines range. I have heard defense attorneys argue that their clients have already been punished enough through societal shame. You can imagine one of these white-collar defendants lamenting to his lawyer that he cant even walk through the country club dining room without getting a nasty look from a fellow member. The other advantage white-collar defendants enjoy at sentencing is their ability to showcase a life of good deeds and letters of support. An upper-income defendant can often point to service on boards or donations to charitable causes as mitigating factors. Here again we find problematic disparities baked into the justice system: A low-income defendant lacks the resources to amass anything resembling that kind of track record. Similarly, while a defendant like Holmes can likely find prominent people to write her letters of support, a defendant lacking her resources usually also lacks the connections needed to mount a similar campaign. Another argument often made by defense attorneys in white-collar cases is that incarcerating their clients would be a waste of resources because they pose no threat to public safety. This may be true, but the federal sentencing statute provides that the purpose of sentencing also includes deterrence and just punishment. Deterrence is especially important in white-collar cases because these are crimes that are carefully planned. No one commits investor fraud in the heat of passion. If defendants who perpetrate massive fraud can get away with a slap on the wrist, then others will calculate that it is worth the gamble to do the same. A strong sentence in white-collar cases can provide an important data point in that calculation. And fraud is not an inherently victimless crime. As we think about ways to address racial and economic disparities in the criminal justice system, we should consider not only the disproportionately long sentences that are imposed on street criminals. We should also consider the paltry ones that are meted out to the wealthy. We will find out soon enough how Elizabeth Holmes sentence does or does not contribute to this pattern. Because I do not think all that many federal defendants (even "wealthy" ones) actually do get "paltry" sentences unless and until they cut a special deal with a federal prosecutor, see, e.g., Jeffrey Epstein's first pass I think we generally need to worry a whole lot more about disproportionately long federal sentences than about problematically short ones. Still, this commentary does usefully highlights how advantaged defendants are often better able to present mitigating sentencing factors than disadvantages ones. For me, that provides a reason for the system to work harder to help the disadvantaged, not a reason to slam the advantaged. As I expressed in an article nearly 15 years ago, it always worries me when an emphasis on sentencing consistency fuels "a leveling up dynamic" that pushes sentences to be more consistently harsh. Prior related post: January 5, 2022 at 06:34 PM | Permalink Comments On the one hand, I'm not unsympathetic to the argument that if a sentence is a priori too high, an underprivileged defendant who received a stiff sentence isn't particularly helped simply by ensuring an affluent defendant gets a long sentence too. On the other hand, all else being equal, a sentence shouldn't depend on one's wealth. So if rich defendants are getting lower sentences on average for the same crimes than poor ones, that very much is an injustice. And something should be done about it. Relatedly, I also hear your concern about "leveling up" sentences to be consistent. Nonetheless, I think to some extent you're arguing apples and oranges. The article, as I read it, is specifically distinguishing white-collar crimes, like Holmes did, with, as McQuade puts it, "street crime." Those are totally different categories of crimes to begin with. Moreover, a great deal of "street crime" gets handled at the state level, does it not? Whereas white-collar often tends to be federal, again, as in Holmes' case. Given the above, I'm not really seeing how anyone on the "street crime" side of the fence has much to fear if sentences over on the white-collar side (a white-collar picket fence?) are amplifiedas well they should be, for the reasons McQuade gave. Again, the two sides of the fence are pretty separate and different. So it's far from obvious how things happening on one side necessarily influence things on the other. You can address the injustices in white collarwhich are myriadand it doesn't follow that anything has to change (at least not for the worse) for street crime. Of course, one thing McQuade totally fails to address is the issue of who gets charged in white-collar cases in the first place. As much as Holmes isor at least wasa media darling, the actual harm to society from her crimes was fairly minimal. The conduct she was convicted of only involved ripping off some quite careless (despite supposedly being "sophisticated") and greedy high-net-worth individual investors and hedge funds. I'm not trying to say that Holmes' conduct was laudable; far from it, but let's face it, (1) at the end of the day, those HNW investors and funds will be fineit's not like some poor schmo on the street lost his/her life savings and (2) connected to (1), the investors and funds have ample means to pursue civil remedies without the U.S. Attorney's Office also carrying water for them and tying up scarce gov't time and resources in the process. Madoff's case was very similara lot of juicy headlines, but actual broader impact on society? Not so much. Again, the people who took a bath on Madoff were the well-off and well-connected. It's not like he was accepting investments from any old person; you had to be in the right clique. Finally, Madoff is a good segue to the financial crisis. Again, nobody at the top of the food chain was even mildly inconveniencedlet alone actually charged or convicted with something. The sole conviction was a low-level peon at Credit Suisse. Oh, and a similar no-name errand boy at Goldman got dinged by the SEC in a civil casethe horrors! Naturally, both of them were foreigners, which fact I'm sure played absolutely no role in the decisions to pursue them. It's certainly a problem for McQuade if she notes that a lot of the most culpable and reprehensiblein the sense of causing the greatest harm to societypeople don't even get charged in white-collar matters. The reason being that it would reflect poorly on her former profession and former colleaguesfederal prosecutors. It doesn't make for a fun op-ed that MSNBC wants to publish either. So easier just to ignore it and criticize judges and defense lawyers instead. I'm not saying some criticism isn't warranted there, but it's a little too convenient for McQuade to go easy on herself and her fellow travelers. Posted by: kotodama | Jan 5, 2022 10:42:34 PM Oh and credit is definitely due to Prof. B. for mentioning folks who "cut a special deal with a federal prosecutor." That's another third rail I'm sure McQuade wanted to get nowhere near. Sometimes it can certainly be appropriate. But aside from the Epstein case as noted, I'm also thinking of Rick Singer in Varsity Blues. I personally find it absurd that the mastermind of the whole scheme is being dealt with so leniently, while the gov't is out for blood when it comes to his customers, seemingly just because they're celebrities or high profile businesspeople. Again, it'd be pretty uncomfortable for McQuade to delve into that though. Posted by: kotodama | Jan 5, 2022 10:56:26 PM Typical hackery from a prosecutor. All they want is long sentences. Posted by: whatever | Jan 6, 2022 9:52:01 AM There are a ton of problems with McQuad's argument. It appears she doesn't even consider that maybe the problem is that we are over-sentencing in other cases, not that we are too lenient on white collar criminals. And I don't think we go THAT easy on them. Bernie Ebbers got 25 years and served 13. Jeff Skilling got 14 and served 12. Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty, got 150 years. While such a sentence is obviously impossible to serve out, it sets a benchmark that will no doubt be used to put others in cages for decades at a time. Incapacitation matters. When you release a gun robber, he can find another gun and go back to robbing people. Elizabeth Holmes at this point couldn't raise money to start up a lemonade stand. Also, Holmes was already sanctioned in a parallel civil case, which doesn't have its equivalent for violent crimes. I think that 2-3 years, rather than the 15 that McQuade is salivating for, is a pretty significant deterrent. For anyone else similarly situated, the possibility of several years in prison is a pretty horrifying thought, and that is on top of the collateral consequences she is facing and has already faced. And besides that, are there very many examples like Holmes that even need to be deterred? Her case was pretty unusual, arguably a one-off. Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Jan 6, 2022 9:59:41 AM Let's face it, US sentencing "policy" is driven by not much more than retribution. Bill Otis' "just desserts[sic]." McQuaid's argument is retributive in nature. And, I fundamentally agree that white collar sentencing should be harsher relative to what it has been and to other sentencing. From those to whom much is given, much should be expected. But I also agree that using other sentencing as a yardstick falls into the retributive trap. Also, while the empirical evidence I believe shows that sentences and sentencing policy has little deterrent effect on common crimes, there might just be some deterrent effect among "upper class" criminals. That is, letting them know that their privileged schemes are in fact unlawful and will be punished. Much like newly criminalizing behavior, which I believe is known to have deterrent effect. Posted by: Fat Bastard | Jan 6, 2022 11:30:53 AM @Fat: I think the long white collar sentences are almost entirely retributive. For someone who might be tempted to commit such a crime, what deterrent effect does a 25-year sentence have, that a 20-year sentence does not? Probably zero. To someone who has never seen the inside of a cage, 20 years inside is "an almost unimaginably long time." Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Jan 6, 2022 3:19:54 PM Good point, Marc. I think you are actually correct. It's, as usual, the fact of apprehension and prosecution and the fact of conviction, rather than the actual sentence, that provides any deterren effect. I'm not a criminal lawyer, but when CJ policy comes up in conversation, which it does pretty frequently, you find laypeople citing deterrence all the time, reflecting the belief that it is a legitimate function of sentencing in something other than theory. I'm pretty strident in pointing out that deterrence is mostly illusory. On the bright side, it seems most people accept that the rehabilitative justification for sentencing is, practically, nonexistent. Posted by: Fat Bastard | Jan 7, 2022 10:21:23 AM Idk how that piece came up with a guidelines range of only 14-17 years. To my non-lawyer eyes, in the 2018 manual, I see the following: base offense + 140M loss + 10 or more victims + risk of death or bodily injury + security violation + leading role 7 + 24 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 43. As I've said before, nonviolent offenders are generally over-punished. Because of the risk of death from fake blood test results, idk if she is nonviolent or not. I'd still like to see 25 years here. I agree with Bill Otis that it probably won't happen. Posted by: William C Jockusch | Jan 7, 2022 11:25:44 PM Post a comment Forrest Li is worth US$11 billion, with his wealth plunging by more than US$2 billion in the past two days alone. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) By Yoojung Lee (Bloomberg) The man who once was Singapores richest person has had one of the worlds biggest wealth plunges. Forrest Li, the chairman and chief executive officer of Sea Ltd., has lost almost US$11 billion of his fortune since the American depositary receipts of the company peaked on Oct. 19, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. After growing competition and a wider profit loss, the latest blow came on Tuesday, when Tencent Holdings Ltd. cut its stake in the gaming and e-commerce giant, driving the stock to its worst slump in almost two years. Li became Singapores richest person last year as the company benefited from a surge in demand for gaming and online shopping amid the Covid-19 pandemic. But things soon started turning sour as Sea faced profitability concerns amid fierce competition and rivals public debuts. Even before Tencents move, its ADRs had dropped 39% from the high in October. They fell another 6.6% on Wednesday to close at US$184.72 in New York. Tencent said Tuesday it is cutting its Sea stake to 18.7% from 21.3%, with its voting rights decreasing to under 10%. The move followed an earlier statement from Sea saying it is seeking to increase the voting power of its Class B shares and that Tencent would convert all such stock into Class A shares, resulting in Li becoming the beneficial owner of all outstanding Class B securities. The change, which is subject to a shareholders vote next month, would effectively increase Lis voting power to about 57% from 54%. Sea, based in Singapore and traded in the U.S., became Southeast Asias most valuable company thanks to the success of its e-commerce platform Shopee and mobile game Free Fire, which has surpassed 1 billion downloads on Google Play. Gang Ye and David Chen, who started the company with Li in 2009, have fortunes valued at about US$6 billion and US$2 billion, respectively. Now Li is worth US$11 billion, with his wealth plunging by more than US$2 billion in the past two days alone. Hes Singapores third-richest person, following Li Xiting of medical-equipment maker Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co. and Nippon Paint Holdings Co.s Goh Cheng Liang. Since Seas peak on Oct. 19, only Colin Huang of e-commerce platform Pinduoduo Inc. and Amancio Ortega, the founder of the Zara clothing brand, have lost more wealth than Li, according to the Bloomberg index. Story continues A Sea representative declined to comment. Seas valuation may keep getting affected until its profitability starts improving, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nathan Naidu. In November, the company raised its outlook for annual e-commerce sales to as much as US$5.2 billion from up to US$4.9 billion. Upfront investments for new geographical expansion and the heavy sales and marketing expenses to acquire new users in these new markets will keep weighing on earnings, he said, adding that the company has plenty of growth opportunities and its prospects remain intact. This, along with rising competition from rivals particularly from the recently listed Grab and soon-to-be-public GoTo Group in its home markets in Southeast Asia, and potential execution risks in unfamiliar markets LatAm, Europe and India may fuel investor concerns and drag Seas valuation. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. OMAHA -- The controversy over health-education standards for schools is spilling into the Legislature. A Nebraska lawmaker introduced a bill (LB768) Wednesday that would prohibit members of the Nebraska State Board of Education from adopting health-education standards for schools. "I just hear the call of the people," Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston said in an interview on Tuesday. The bill would restrict the board's authority for developing new standards to the core academic areas of reading, writing, math, science and social studies already authorized under state law. The state currently has no statewide health-education standards. They are developed by local districts. In addition, the bill would scrub the word comprehensive from a couple of passages of Nebraska law dealing with health education in schools. Under the bill, local authorities would still be directed to provide for instructing public school students in a health education program, but the law would no longer define it as comprehensive. Albrecht said the term comprehensive was too broadly interpreted. "I think they feel that with the word comprehensive in there that they can develop whatever they want to, but that was not the intent," she said. Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt said Tuesday he would not comment on the bill until it is submitted and reviewed by a committee of the state board. Board president Maureen Nickels was not available for comment Tuesday night. Albrecht said the bill would provide a long overdue check to the Nebraska Department of Education. She said the state board shouldn't be adopting health-education standards without express authority of the Legislature. The board should focus on improving the standards in the five core subjects they are authorized to develop, she said. "Everything else should be local control," she said. The state board touched off a firestorm of controversy last year when it proposed new health-education standards. There was no legislative mandate to create them. The proposed standards were aimed at being more inclusive and would have taught schoolkids about gender identity and sexual orientation. The standards were assailed by critics, and board members in September indefinitely postponed development. The vote was 5-1, with one abstention, but board members indicated the standards could be reconsidered in the future. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- The number of new COVID-19 cases in Woodbury County more than doubled over the last two weeks of 2021. The county reported 544 cases of the novel coronavirus last week, up from 224 the week beginning Dec. 20, according to the latest report from Siouxland District Health Department. Previously, new cases had declined for three straight weeks, down from 360 during the week beginning Nov. 29. The number of people in Sioux City's two hospitals with COVID-19 also increased last week to 36 from 25 the week beginning Dec. 20. Twenty-two of the patients hospitalized with COVID in the latest report are hospitalized due to the virus, according to the report. Eleven COVID-19-related deaths have been recorded in the county over the past 30 days. Woodbury County's 14-day positivity rate also rose significantly during the most recent weekly reporting period, from 8.3% to 15.2%. Health officials have said anything above 5% is a concern. "Cases are up across the country and clearly we're no exception," District Health said in a Wednesday post to its Twitter account. "Weve navigated this before and we can do it again. Getting vaccine and early treatments are the best tools we have to prevent serious illness. It's not too late to get your vaccine!" The upswing comes as K-12 students return to the classroom this week following their holiday break. The percentage of county residents who had completed single- or two-dose vaccinations barely budged from the week beginning Dec. 20 to last week, increasing from 49.4 percent to 49.6%. District Health also announced Wednesday that it is changing its death reporting to reflect COVID-19-related deaths in the past 30 days. "We feel current activity is more relevant than reporting numbers over a nearly two-year timeframe," District Health stated in the social media post. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ledesma-Ledezma laundered money on April 9, 2020, when she bought a home for $65,000 with money she made by smuggling counterfeit goods into the United States and trafficking them. The goods had an approximate value of more than $370,000, and Ledesma-Ledezma make a profit of at least $65,000. DAKOTA CITY -- Some Dakota County residents understand county board members' reluctance to take on the financial risk of building and operating a jail addition. But many of those same residents voiced their opinion Wednesday night that it's worth the risk to move forward with construction of the 112-bed expansion that would be paid for by the U.S. Marshals Service in exchange for the county guaranteeing 85 beds daily for federal prisoners for 10 years. "There's no such thing as a guaranteed, iron-clad agreement. But if you keep kicking this around and kicking this around, the county is going to lose out on a good opportunity," said Sally Reinert, of Dakota City, who sat on the jail advisory board when the county's current jail was built in 2006. Reinert was one of approximately 75 people crowded into the Dakota County Courtroom to share their opinions and ask questions about the project during a public hearing conducted by the Dakota County Board of Commissioners. Of the 20 or so who spoke, all but three were definitely for it, and many of those who didn't speak could be seen nodding in agreement with speakers who backed the plan. Many were concerned that if the county chooses not to build the expansion, the Marshals Service will give the deal to another county and eventually pull most of the 20-25 prisoners it currently houses daily out of the jail in Dakota City, costing the county up to $600,000 in revenues annually. Russ Rasmussen, who lives in rural Dakota County near Ponca, said that's a risk board members should be more concerned about. "Part of that risk is losing that income from federal prisoners that we have at this time," Rasmussen said. "I can't see why we would lose revenue that we are depending on right now." The board took no action Wednesday night. Commissioners in August approved a contract in which the Marshals Service is paying the county $80 per day for each inmate currently housed at the jail, an increase from $65 per day under a previous agreement. Once the jail addition is open, the county guarantees the Marshals Service 85 beds per day for 10 years, and it could house more than 85, increasing its revenues. In exchange, the Marshals Service will pay $150 a day per inmate for 30 months to give the county the necessary revenue to pay off the estimated construction debt. After 30 months, the rate returns to $80. Marshals representatives have said they would be willing to extend the 30-month period if construction costs exceed estimates and the county needs more time to pay off the expansion. Three of the five board members said rising construction costs worry them. An initial estimate placed the cost at $10.5 million-$11.25 million. Costs rose to $12.4 million-$13.5 million in a later estimate. "I'd be happy if we got a check for $15 million, and if it didn't cost that much we'd give the rest back. I guess I'm still scared it won't work out," said Larry Albenesius, who along with chairwoman Janet Gill and Troy Launsby has voted against hiring a construction manager, a move that has essentially brought the project to a standstill. Gill said calculations she's done show that, because of operation expenses and the debt and interest payoffs, the county wouldn't see positive cash flow off the expansion for 10 years. Dakota County Sheriff Chris Kleinberg said the board's vote against hiring a construction manager is responsible for some of the uncertainty. He said a construction manager would work with the architect to finalize plans and reach a firm construction cost. If the cost is higher than currently estimated, the county can renegotiate the contract with the Marshals Service to cover the higher price, he said. Statistics compiled by the sheriff's office show that if the county were to continue to house up to 116 federal prisoners daily after the expansion, the county would receive more than $15.8 million from the Marshals Service during the 30-month construction payoff period. If the county were to house only 85 federal prisoners during that time, revenue would top $11.6 million. Dakota County Clerk Joan Spencer presented an estimate on expected revenues, operation costs and debt payments. If the county were to house at least 110 inmates daily for the life of the contract, the deal could work. "We could easily do the cash flow. It's doable," Spencer said. "The figures are there, but will take a while if we apply the revenue to just principal and interest." The prisoners would come from the U.S. Marshals Service in Sioux City, which has approximately 130 people in custody, said Christopher Barther, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for Northern District of Iowa. Those prisoners, who are awaiting trial in federal court in Sioux City, are housed in 11-12 facilities in four states. Barther said the Marshals Service is willing to pay for the Dakota County Jail expansion in order to consolidate most of its prisoners at one site and reduce costs to transport them to Sioux City from faraway jails. Marshals Service offices in Nebraska and South Dakota also would be interested in filling any open beds in Dakota County, he said. If Dakota County decides against the expansion, the deal will be offered to another county and federal prisoners removed from Dakota County once construction is completed. "If Dakota County doesn't want to move forward, I've got sheriffs calling me today ready to do the deal," Barther said. The Marshals Service does not own or operate detention facilities and must contract with state and local governments to house its prisoners who are awaiting trial. Once sentenced, offenders are transferred to a federal prison. The proposed addition would be added to the west side of the current jail and would raise the capacity to 248 beds, requiring the addition of 16-20 jailers whose salaries would be offset by the federal payments. The county has spent more than $225,000 thus far on architect and design fees and soil borings at the proposed site. Those costs are being funded by the increased daily rate the Marshals Service began paying after the contract was signed in August. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Flash The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has confirmed that it conducted a hypersonic missile test launch into the sea on Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The missile successfully traveled 435 miles (700 km) to hit its target, making a 75 mile (120 km) lateral maneuver along the way, the KCNA reported Thursday morning. "In the test launch, the academy reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile in the active-flight stage and assessed the performance of the new lateral movement technique applied to the detached hypersonic gliding warhead," the report said. The agency did not provide further details about the location of the test. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the Republic of Korea (ROK) said in a statement on Wednesday morning that the DPRK had fired an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea from the DPRK's inland area at about 8:10 a.m. local time. China on Wednesday urged all relevant parties to cherish the "hard-won" peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. A 19-year-old Fairbury man has been sentenced to 70 to 80 years in prison for the beating death of a 2-year-old boy and for shooting a man nearly a year earlier. "This was a heartless act," Jefferson County District Judge Vicky Johnson told Jake Gonzalez at his sentencing Thursday. In October, a jury found him guilty of child abuse resulting in Hollen Siedschlag's death and making terroristic threats to the boy's mother, Bailey Siedschlag. After the verdict, Gonzalez pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree assault of Lance Powers, who was shot May 18, 2020. On Thursday, Johnson said she'd seriously considered life in prison, the maximum for child abuse resulting in death. She said the only mitigating factor was Gonzalez's age. She said both of the crimes had involved extreme violence, and he'd shown no remorse. Nothing could remedy all the harm he'd caused, she said. Gonzalez declined to say anything at his sentencing. But his attorney, Kelly Breen of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, had asked for a sentence that would give him a chance to parole one day, if he took programming to learn job skills, handle anger and get mental health counseling. "Even a person who has committed serious crimes can rehabilitate themselves, can reform themselves, and return to society as productive citizens," Breen said. He said Gonzalez had a harrowing childhood, moving from town to town and school to school in Texas and Nebraska, at times homeless and living out of a car with his family. He was 17 when he was charged in the first case, 18 in the second. On the other side, Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Bill Tangeman asked for an "exceedingly long" sentence to ensure the safety of the people of Nebraska. "In his 19 short years on this Earth he's left a path of death and destruction," he said. On Feb. 26, 2021, Hollen Siedschlag's mom returned from the store to find him barely breathing in a closet at the apartment she shared with Gonzalez. At trial, she said Gonzalez threatened to do the same to her daughter if she called for help. Her son died the next day, his liver damaged beyond repair by the time she could get help by using a code word to let safety workers know there was trouble. Gonzalez ran when Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies arrived, but he was caught in less than an hour. At the time, Gonzalez had been out of jail on bond. accused of shooting Powers four times in the street, though the victim couldn't say if he or a second man had fired the shots, according to defense attorney Ben Murray. As for the child abuse charge, Tangeman said it wasn't a momentary lapse of frustration. "This was a sustained beating" he said, and it's had a tremendous, devastating impact on Hollen's family and friends and will continue to for the rest of their lives. Tangeman attributed both crimes to Gonzalez's violent nature, coupled with a complete disregard for human life. "He approaches every problem with the same solution and that is violence," the prosecutor said. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Flash At least 13 people died and two were injured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wednesday morning after fire broke out in a three-story rowhouse that has been converted into an apartment building, local authorities said. The Philadelphia Fire Department said on Twitter that its firefighters arrived at the building located on the 800 block of North 23rd Street at 6:40 a.m. local time and found heavy fire coming from the second floor of the building. It took 50 minutes to put the fire under control, but the scene is still active, it said. Philadelphia Fire Deputy Commissioner Craig Murphy told a news conference that seven of the 13 people killed were children, calling the incident "probably one of the worst fires I've ever been to." He said there were four fire detectors in the building but none of them were operating. Murphy said there were 26 people in the building when the fire broke out, and that the number of deaths could increase as the home was searched. Firefighters said two people were injured and in critical condition. "It's not necessarily considered suspicious, but we have all hands on deck because of the magnitude," Murphy said. "This is without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our city's history -- loss of so many people in such a tragic way," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said at the start of a news conference. Investigators are still trying to find out the origin and cause of the fire. Murphy refused to elaborate on the details of the ongoing probe led by the Philadelphia Fire Marshal's office. The CNN quoted the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections as saying that the structure was legally subdivided into two apartments since the 1950s. The building is estimated to have been built in 1920, CNN reported, citing property records. The business of the 2022 session will begin shortly after the 10 a.m. opening with the introduction of bills to be considered during the election-year session that is scheduled to adjourn on April 20. DES MOINES -- Expressing frustration and overwhelming disappointment with the process, Ras Smith on Wednesday announced he was ending his campaign for governor of Iowa. Smith, a Democratic state legislator from Waterloo, in June 2021 became the first person to announce his bid to become the partys nominee to face Republican incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds in this falls general election. In his official campaign statement announcing the suspension of his campaign, Smith cited a drastic disconnect between the current political system and the people. I think frustration (with the process) may be like a symptom of the overwhelming disappointment, Smith said in an interview later Wednesday. Smith expressed frustration with the need to raise, at bare minimum, tens of thousands of dollars to run a statewide campaign, and how that requires a candidate to have access to donors who can contribute large sums of money to a campaign. That creates a system in which a small number of donors have play an outsized role in determining which statewide candidates are given an opportunity to be competitive in a campaign, he said. Folks do not want the donor class making all the decisions as to whos viable, whos not, what race is worth investing in, Smith said. For me, what weve seen are things you can only see from the ground in a campaign. Smith said the process especially frustrated him as a Democrat because, he said, the party proclaims to have policies that support the working class and desires to produce working-class candidates for office. The people have to have a say, and it cant be pay-to-play, otherwise well find ourselves in circumstances where were not connecting with people, he said. It excludes so many people from not only the table, but from the story. We cant just have a few decision-makers at the table deciding whos winnable and whos not. It leaves no space at the table for new people or new ideas. Smiths exit leaves Deidre DeJear, a Des Moines businessperson and former candidate for Iowa secretary of state, as the lone Democratic candidate with statewide name recognition. While working with (Smith) over the past few years, I have seen his incredible commitment to public service and creating a better Iowa for all. Following in the footsteps of his parents, Ras has dedicated his life to public service and through his campaign he invited Iowans in and lifted up the voices of so many in our state, DeJear said Wednesday in a series of social media posts. Chris Hall, a Democratic state legislator from Sioux City, has been rumored to be considering a run for governor. When reached Wednesday, Hall praised Smith but declined to comment on his own political plans. Other announced gubernatorial candidates include Kim West, a lawyer and Democrat from Des Moines, and Robert Bond, an independent from Des Moines. As Ras heads back to the legislature next week, I am looking forward to the great work I know he will continue to do to move our state forward. Reynolds, the states first female governor, was promoted to the post in 2017 and won a full term in 2018 by just less than 3 percentage points. National political forecasters consider the race to start in her favor. Smith said he will turn his immediate focus to the 2022 session of the Iowa Legislature, which will begin Monday. He said he will decide his political future at a later date. Through redistricting, Smith was drawn into the same statehouse district as fellow Democratic Iowa Rep. Timi Brown-Powers. The next thing is cooking dinner for my family tonight. Ive got quite a bit of husband, dad and dad-dog duty to catch up on, Smith said. Ill spend some time with my family, have those conversations and figure out whats next. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 0 FRANKLIN COUNTY A woman tied to the U.S. Capitol riots a year ago was drunk and driving the wrong way on Interstate 44 on Wednesday night when she killed a woman and seriously injured the man driving another car in Franklin County, authorities said. The Missouri Highway Patrol said the wrong-way driver, 22-year-old Emily E. Hernandez, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment. Hernandez lives in Sullivan, Missouri. The crash happened just after 7 p.m. Wednesday on eastbound I-44 in Franklin County. The woman who died in the crash was identified as 32-year-old Victoria N. Wilson of St. Clair, Missouri. She was a passenger in a car that was hit by Hernandez, police said. Wilson's husband was seriously hurt. Hernandez was issued a citation Wednesday night at the hospital for two felonies: driving while intoxicated resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated resulting in injury. Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri Highway Patrol said Hernandez was cited for those offenses and a patrol trooper will be seeking charges from the Franklin County prosecutor's office. Thompson said no mugshot was available of Hernandez because she was hospitalized after the wreck, and no court date has been set. The fatal crash happened on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Capitol riots last Jan. 6. Hernandez was pictured during the riots holding a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office. Ethan Corlija, one of Hernandezs lawyers, said he was with Hernandez on Wednesday night in the hospital. She needed surgery to close a head wound, he said, but was expected to be released from the hospital sometime Thursday. He said the crash was a tragic event and not intentional, adding, My heart goes out to the other motorist who lost their life and their family. Corlija said the plan was to go forward with a court hearing Monday at which Hernandez will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge connected to the Capitol riot. The misdemeanor should carry a recommended sentence of six months or less in prison. Hernandez is facing five misdemeanors in U.S. District Court in Washington, including knowingly entering a restricted building without authority, demonstrating in the Capitol, stealing, and knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct in a restricted building with intent to impede the government. Pictures and videos from inside and outside the Capitol show a smiling Hernandez holding up a piece of a sign from Pelosis office. Charging documents say tipsters told the FBI that it was Hernandez, and also said shed posted pictures of herself in the Capitol via Snapchat. Hernandez was one of three people who traveled together to Washington for the "Stop the Steal" rally. All three entered the Capitol and were charged. William D. "Bill" Merry, Hernandez's uncle, and Paul Scott Westover, his friend, have both pleaded guilty. In the fatal crash, the patrol said Hernandez had been driving west in the eastbound lanes in a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. Wilson was a passenger in an eastbound 2019 Buick Enclave driven by Ryan E. Wilson, 36, of St. Clair. He suffered serious injuries and was being treated at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan. The patrol said both cars swerved right before the crash. After the vehicles collided, Ryan Wilson's car ended up hitting cable barriers in the highway median. Hernandez was the only person listed in the patrol's crash report who was wearing a seat belt. Thompson, the patrol spokesman, said neither he nor the trooper who worked the crash investigation knew about Hernandez's connection to the riots. Thompson said he didn't have additional details, such as where Hernandez got on the highway before the crash. 'Heart of gold' Victoria Wilson, the woman killed in the crash, was the innocent victim of the wrong-way driver, police said. Wilson was the mother of two boys, ages 15 and 10. Her husband, Ryan, is a stay-at-home father and the boys were being homeschooled since the COVID-19 outbreak. Victoria Wilson was a home healthcare aide who worked primarily with disabled people, including children. She and her mother began doing that work together many years ago. "She had a heart of gold," said Victoria's mother, Tonie Donaldson. "Not everyone can work with mentally challenged children, and she's done it since she was 13." "She never went without a smile on her face," her mother said. While Ryan Wilson was hospitalized Thursday, Donaldson and her husband, Eddie, were taking care of their grandsons. Donaldson said Ryan Wilson suffered broken bones in a foot and had a dislocated ankle and several lacerations. Ryan and Victoria Wilson were traveling on I-44 to come home Wednesday night after eating dinner at Applebee's to celebrate an upcoming wedding anniversary. Their anniversary isn't until Sunday but they celebrated early because Victoria works weekends, Donaldson said. The couple had been together 15 years. Donaldson said she was upset that Hernandez wasn't already in jail or prison for her role in the Capitol riots. "Why is she still out?" Donaldson told the Post-Dispatch. "With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street?" Donaldson said of Hernandez, "To me, she's a piece of (expletive deleted). At 7 o'clock, you're drunk and she got on the highway drunk?" Donaldson said the family has set up a fundraising account to help cover funeral expenses. Kim Bell 314-340-8115 @kbellpd on Twitter kbell@post-dispatch.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 If Iowans wish for men convicted of sex offenses to stay in prison longer than almost any other category of inmate, they are free to lobby the Legislature to specify such penalties in state law. The Legislature has not done that, yet state data shows that such men frequently spend years more incarcerated than those sentenced for non-sex crimes with the same classification of seriousness. People who molested children or attacked and raped women or otherwise terrorized and invaded the privacy of victims are not particularly sympathetic. That has likely made this discrepancy easier to countenance for officials who might be able to change it. Most recently, the Iowa Supreme Court said in November that the judicial system should not intervene. But, for the sake of fairness even to those who committed repugnant acts, not to mention making a dent in prison population numbers, policymakers should act. Why do people spend longer in prison for sex offenses? One reason is that they usually do not begin a several-month treatment program intended to reduce recidivism until not long before their sentence ends. The Iowa Board of Parole almost never grants early release to inmates who need the sex offender treatment but havent received it; other inmates routinely get parole after demonstrating they can successfully return to society. The Iowa Department of Corrections administers the sex offender treatment program at the Newton Correctional Facility. Until recently, a bit more than 100 people at a time could receive treatment. About 1,600 more throughout the state were required to take the training. New inmates are added regularly to the backlog. The prison could barely keep up with treatment for those whose terms were about to expire, so those inmates are the ones who get into the program. To their credit, corrections officials hired new treatment facilitators and are using classroom space from dawn until evening to expand the number of inmates who can receive treatment at once. They told a district judge that they cant be any more aggressive unless Newton gets more classroom space. The existing steps are expected to start to reduce the backlog. The Supreme Court decision resolves challenges by seven people on the waiting list for sex offender treatment. They argued that because they had not yet received treatment, it was a near-certainty that no evidence of their changed lives good behavior, college courses, and so on would be enough to secure parole. Several said they were told, in error, before they were sentenced that their prison terms would be brief. Iowa City attorney Philip Mears, who has for years taken up the cause of equitable treatment for inmates, agreed to represent them, knowing that under state law he was unlikely to be compensated. Mears called the effect of the waiting list a silent mandatory minimum sentence unique to sex offenses. Besides Mears and the inmates, nobody seems terribly bothered. The Board of Parole has not publicly demonstrated any concern about the waiting lists. The Department of Corrections increased capacity at Newton but has declined to take other steps, such as seeking to beef up its community-based corrections operations so they could accommodate paroled inmates and immediately provide sex offender treatment to them. State courts did rule that inmates in Iowa have a right to due process in connection with early release decisions, but they said that right was not being violated. It is true that parole is discretionary no individual is entitled to leave prison earlier than the law says. And its true that courts can create mischief when they start interfering with spending decisions by the other branches of government, such as by ordering new resources for sex offender treatment. At a 2019 hearing, Mears asked Sean Crawford, then the administrator of Newtons treatment program, about a proposal for the state to appropriate another million dollars for construction of additional treatment space. Crawford answered, It is part of the proposal, and it would be wonderful. So, as with many problems, this one ends up back in the lap of the Legislature. It becomes a question that lawmakers will need to confront over and over in 2022: What is the moral use of the states $1.2 billion budget surplus? The governor and Republicans who control both the Senate and House appear determined to spend a slice of the surplus on tax cuts. But will the state also make sure its residents are adequately served? And can a few comparative pennies be spared to be fair to even the unsympathetic, and to help ensure that men who meet criteria to return to society are released from prison? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Ready to head off for the beach? Wait, are we still in January? Don't tell that to the party planners at LaunchPad's Children's Museum, 623 Pearl St. They will hold A Day at the Beach programs for students on Wednesday as well as on Jan. 14. Sioux City School kids will be able to bring a beach towel, make a sand castle and conduct water-related experiments from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, which is a no-school day. Similarly, Bishop Heelan Catholic School and Sergeant Bluff-Luton School students will be encouraged to wear beachy attire from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, which is their no-school day. To register or for additional information, go to launchpadmuseum.com or call 712-224-2542. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The scheme began on Aug. 26, when, court documents say, Perez-Joaquin convinced the woman she and her children were the subject of an Iowa Department of Human Services investigation and tricked the mother into granting temporary custody of the kids to her. Perez-Joaquin then used a fake lawyer profile to dupe the mother into paying her $400 a month in child support to care for the children. The mother also gave Perez-Joaquin a child tax credit check she received and a monthly death benefit the children received from the loss of a parent. During the four-month period, Perez-Joaquin accepted at least 16 cash payments and bank transfers totaling approximately $11,874 from the mother. The violent events of Jan. 6, 2021, were followed immediately by speculation about the effect they would have on electoral politics. That speculation was, a few weeks later, followed by a flurry of articles declaring that Republicans were fleeing the GOP. The New York Times reported in early February that nearly 140,000 had left the party in the 25 states examined. (Whether that number was significant or paltry was a source of many debates on social media.) But a year later, it seems that Jan. 6 changed remarkably little. There was no mass exodus from the GOP. An analysis by the Washington Post summarized the phenomenon as at best, no more than a modest stream. A South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis, digging into regional numbers, concluded that the wave of departures was short-lived and raised an important point: The data did not fully reflect the many reasons voters left the party. Some, as pundits expected, were driven away by extremism in their party. But others left not because of the rioters actions or the presidents words, but because they felt Republican politicians had, in the riots aftermath, failed to make a full-throated defense of Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. To get a sense of the different reasons Republican voters left the party after Jan. 6 and whether the drama of the insurrection permanently changed their political identities, Slate spoke with three conservatives to learn how they think about their decision to leave. These interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity. I Was All for Trump Melissa Ensell, 40, is from Olean, New York. Had you identified as a Republican your whole life? Yeah, for the most part. In college, I was registered Republican, but I worked as a volunteer for a Democratic campaign for someone who was running for state Senate. Im still involved in local politics. I go to local town hall meetings and involve myself in civic issues. When the 2016 election was going on, I was all for Trump. But as far as local politics, I was supporting the Libertarian candidates. In 2020, I voted for the Libertarian candidate for president, Jo Jorgensen. Advertisement Advertisement Was there a time when you started to feel more uneasy with the Republican Party? With the response to the COVID-19 issue. I just thought that what Donald Trump was doing was really irresponsible. There was a slow response. Thats what really made me say, well, the Republican Party, because theyre against mandates, theyre against trying to protect people. Unfortunately, I lost a few family members to COVID. My grandfather had Parkinsons, and I hadnt been able to see him because he was in a long-term care facility and they stopped any visits. My only communication with him was through phone calls. The first time Id seen him in over a year was at his funeral. Advertisement Advertisement So what caused you to actually change party affiliation? I was watching the vote for the verification for Bidens election results. I didnt think that there was any [election fraud]. And then I saw that people were going to the Capitol. It never occurred to me that they would actually assault Capitol Police, or break into the building, that someone would get killed. I was just so completely disgusted. Advertisement Advertisement A lot of that feeling happened in the aftermath of it all. At first, when you just saw people going into the building, smashing windows, taking pictures of everything, stealing stuff from officesat that point, I just assumed it was just, like, pranks. Like they would end up getting a fine or something. And then it came out that Capitol police officers who had been assaulted have committed suicide after. And so little Republican response condemning itthats what made me really rethink my position. Advertisement Advertisement Did you receive any pushback when you decided to leave the party? My mom criticized me about it. My mother is a very sweet woman. She would give you the shirt off her back. But when it comes to politics, she has a tendency to be very staunchly Republican in pretty much every view. Advertisement Advertisement How do you feel about the decision to leave now, a year later? How would you categorize yourself politically now? I dont doubt it at all, seeing how things have played out. I havent seen a lot of the people who perpetrated incidents within the Capitol getting harsh sentences. And I dont hear a lot of Republicans speaking out against what was done. I see people who are louder on the soapbox, like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are becoming the spokespeople for the party. And that really worries me, because my concern is that more people will get behind them. Advertisement I guess, technically, I have no affiliation. Im fiscally conservative but more of a social moderate. Id like to see our government be more responsible with how funds are managed and handled. Ive become more pro-choice over time. Im concerned about whats going on with the Texas laws. I dont want to see these abortion bans go into effect, because I think the law in Texas is draconian. Advertisement Can you envision a world in which you would register again as a Republican? I think what that would take is definitely stronger leadership. When I voted for Trump in 2016, it was because I wanted a change. So thats why I went with someone who was a businessman, who wasnt enmeshed in the political machine. I tried that, and it didnt work. And it left a bad taste in my mouth. The Health Care Worker Angry That Republicans Didnt Stand Up for Trump Nicole, 48, is a health care worker in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. Advertisement Advertisement When did you first become politically engaged? In college. Ive always leaned to the right. For a long time I was independent, and then I joined the Republican Party because of Donald Trump. I liked him. I felt like he was lifting the veil. Exposing the establishment. Why did you decide to leave the Republican Party? I was disgusted after Jan. 6. I dont agree with how some people handled it that day. And I dont think Donald Trump wanted that to happen. I dont think that he encouraged people to go into the Capitol at all. I did go to the one Stop the Steal rally in November, and it was completely peaceful. But I did not go to the one on Jan. 6. Because about three days before, I could see what was happening: It looked like a setup. Advertisement Right after the election, I felt like, I dont trust these Republicans anymore. On the day of inauguration, when he was stepping down, I went online and withdrew from the Republican Party. I changed my registration that day. I mean, who really stood up for him during this? I felt sorry for him. Advertisement Advertisement How do you feel about Donald Trump now? I feel like hes part of the establishment. I do think that the election was phony. Its way above our governmentmore of a global government, at least thats what I think theyre attempting. And this is why I feel like theres no right or left. Its just its all to control us through divisiveness. I dont believe any of it anymore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why do you think that Donald Trump is part of the establishment, if you also think that he was cheated by the establishment? He hasnt done anything. I dont understand why. I know he got kicked off of Twitter. He got censored, and that was it. He could have easily had other platforms to go on. And I just feel like he is all in, as far as these vaccines go. I am not anti-vaccine. Im anti-mandate. I know that hes not for the mandates, but he certainly is for these vaccines, and hes certainly pushing them. I dont know, something changed with Donald Trump. And I never thought I would think this way about him. Im not saying Im not going to ever change my mind or Im not going to vote for him. But I just feel like hes let people down. Advertisement Do most of your friends and family feel the same way you do? No, Im actually almost all alone. I have lost a lot of friendships. No blowouts or anything, just loss of contacts. Im not even that vocal. I mean, a little bit on Facebook. With all the scandals, the impeachment and all that, everybody became political. But I feel that once people knew I was a Trump supporter, they didnt want to associate with me anymore. I had no idea that half these people I knew were such Donald Trump haters. Advertisement Advertisement What happened when you told the Republicans in your life about your decision to leave the party? My parents are Republican. But I think that the GOP has probably always been the deep state, the Democrats are the controlled opposition, and I think that maybe like my father is just falling for it. The Elected Official Who Had Enough Ethan Demme, 39, runs an education publishing company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A former leader of the Lancaster County Republican Committee, Demme was one of several Republicans in the county to publicly break with the GOP after the insurrection. He is now the Pennsylvania state chair of the Serve America Movement, a moderately conservative, big-tent political party with an emphasis on government and elections reforms. Advertisement What has your political journey been? The first campaign I volunteered on, I was 14. It was in 1996, and that was for Joe Pitts when he ran for Congress. Ive been involved in politics ever since. I got involved with the College Republicans. I got involved in the McCain campaign. I got involved in the local Republican Party as a committee person. I became the youngest Republican Party chair in Lancaster County. Im currently an elected member of the East Lampeter Township Board of Supervisors, in my second six-year term. Advertisement Advertisement I ran for state Senate in 2016 in the Republican primary. I was not a fan of Donald Trump, and I even held a Never Trump rally a couple of weeks before the Republican primary in Pennsylvania, as a last-ditch hope. Needless to say, I didnt win that primary. Since he was elected, I was still involved locally, with the hope that Donald Trump would lose reelection and the Republican Party could get back to what it used to be. Advertisement Advertisement What did you think after Trump lost the 2020 election? He started saying that the election was stolen, and then I watched as all of my local elected officials went along with it. That was the most disturbing thing to me: The people that I knew and helped elect went along with something that they all knew and would privately say was untrue. And then Jan. 6 happened, and that was the last and final straw. I had a friend over, and the news came on, and we watched the news unfold in real time. It was just shocking, because it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. And I remember, I told my wife, Im done. I cant stick around anymore. I left the party on Jan. 7. Advertisement How did your friends and family respond to your decision to leave the party? I dont think Ive ever voted straight party ticket, so people understood it, because I wasnt saying anything significantly different. But there were folks who tried to convince me to become a Democrat and folks who tried to convince me to stay a Republican and fight to reform the Republican Party. I understand both of those perspectives. But nows the time for some systemic change. To do that, we need competition at the ballot box. Locally, there were several folks who were involved in the Republican Party apparatus who resigned from the committee. There were folks who switched from Republican to Democrat, and there were folks who switched to unaffiliated or independent in our Board of Supervisors. No Democrat has ever been elected locallywere a pretty red area. Three out of five of our members all left the party within a couple of days after Jan. 6. Its not a huge number, but it is pretty significant when you start to see elected officials leave a party. Advertisement Advertisement Was any part of the Jan. 6 response surprising to you at all? In the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6, quite a few Republican members of Congress spoke out pretty strongly against the violence. I was actually surprised at how quickly they backtracked once they realized that the base of the Republican Party wasnt significantly concerned by Jan. 6. It was pretty shocking to me how people started just trying to whitewash and gloss over what actually took place on Jan. 6. A year later, how do you feel about the decision to leave the party? If anything, the actions and activities of a lot of Republicans that I know made me double down. A lot of folks now see a path forward that says we can ignore what happened, that we dont have to actually address or change anything about the way the Republican Party operates. I would say I probably have reprioritized which [issues] I value more. Jan. 6, to me, showed that our institutions and systems were under direct attack. I became much more aware of how close we were to actually having those institutions fail. It could have been a very dark day. So Ive started to look for candidates who are prioritizing sort of the basic tenets of democracy. It has been one year since thousands of people gathered on the steps of the Capitol building with the shared mission of interrupting the peaceful transfer of power. The anniversary of Jan. 6 has brought with it a flood of stories exploring what could have possibly driven so many people to turn against the very democracy they swear they were trying to protect. One of the deepest of these investigations came in late December from New York magazine, in the form of a reported feature by Kerry Howley, chronicling the journey of three strangers whose fates collided at the Capitol. Its a story that attempts to explain how we got thereand it also reveals why were not much closer to resolving the problems the insurrection unleashed. Advertisement The rioters stories are framed as a portrait of loss. Gina Bisignano would lose her salon, Guy Reffitt would lose his freedom, and Rosanne Boyland would lose her life, Howley writes. The majority of the piece is written as a plot-based narrative that primarily explores how any of this could have happened. Bisignano, Reffitt, and Boyland are not portrayed as terrorists, traitors, or treasonists carrying out an organized coup, they are simply three AmericansGina, Guy and Rosannebound by their susceptibility to believe in and then act upon conspiracy theories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the piece, which traces the conditions that brought the three subjects to the Capitol last year; the actual day itself, during which one subject died; and the aftermath, in which the other two go to jail, Howley raises the question: What do we do about these insurrectionists naivete and inability to parse fact from fiction? Advertisement Advertisement This question is important, even if its simply a fancier phrasing of how should society deal with the scourge of misinformation?a quandary that has plagued us for years already. At the very end of the piece, Howley seems to offer readers an answer, when she abruptly switches from an empathetic storytelling mode into an analytical one. A country that protects the right to spin fantasy necessarily risks the well-being of those who easily lose themselves to it, Howley writes. Freedom isnt free is a true thing the right used to say, and the costs of freedom of speech are real costs, borne, in part, by those unskilled at sifting fact from fantasy: the people who join MLMs, who become Scientologists, who lie awake in bed at night worrying over small children drained of adrenochrome. Advertisement But to blame freedom of speech for the insurrection is at best, a dodge. At worst, it is trafficking in the same kind of misdirection that pushed Howleys protagonists over the edge. Even though Howley fails to offer a satisfactory answer to her own question, her piece succeeds in other critical ways: Her telling of Bisignanos, Reffitts, and Boylands stories offers an unvarnished look at the absolute banality of evil. Advertisement Hannah Arendt coined the termbanality of evilafter watching the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi SS officer who had shuttled millions of Jews to their deaths during World War II (no, Im not implying the crimes are the same, just that the concept is instructive in both cases). In Arendts telling, Eichmann was not a monster or mastermind so much as he was an ordinary, if unthinking, man. The insurrectionists are depicted in a similar light. By Howleys account, before the insurrectionists made their way to Washington, they were just ordinary, good people. Before the coup, Bisignano was just an extrovert desperate to socialize in a pandemic that confined us (all) to our homes. She was also a rattled crime victim after someone stole her purse and beloved Pomeranian (she got the dog back after several weeks). Reffitt was an out-of-work oil driller, who fell in with the wrong crowd after financial challenges kept him separated from his family for several months. And Boyland was recovering from a heroin addiction and was the kind of friend who would sleep on your floor for three months if she thought you might hurt yourself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What had become banal, as Judith Butler wrote in a 2011 essay in the Guardian unpacking Arendts analysis, was the attack on thinking. To have intentions, Butler wrote, was to think reflectively about ones own action as a political being, whose own life and thinking is bound up with the life and thinking of others. The fact that Bisignano, Reffitt, and Boyland have had the luxury to concern themselves not at all with reflecting on the lives and thinking of others is, in fact, deeply political. That their own supposed victimhood makes their actual victims invisible to them is precisely how COVID and coups can spread. Advertisement Advertisement Howleys protagonists reflect a political sensibility that has swept through the nation. Whether we call it populism or nationalism or nativism doesnt really matter. A subset of Americans, mostly white, vehemently believes the country is being stolen from them by liberal elites and people of color. And their convictions make them uniquely susceptible to manipulation and misdirection. The subscribers to this fabulist notion gather by the millions in chat rooms and on message boards. They share violent memes in Facebook groups. As Howley points out, they meet in living rooms and at barbecues to discuss their woes. Many, as the insurrection shows, refuse to sit idly by as their birthright is pillaged and plundered. Advertisement It is their whiteness, not their ordinariness and naivete, thats most predictive of their eventual assault on the Capitol. Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, devoted much of the past year to compiling a profile of all 700 rioters arrested by law enforcement. His research has shown that the single most unifying factor among the insurrectionists is living in a county in which the population of white people dramatically declined between 2010 and 2020. This decline has hastened the mainstreaming of a once-fringe notion that white people are at risk of being stripped of their rights. Its been around a long time, but whats special now is that that theory is embraced in full-throated fashion by major political leaders and also by major media figures, Pape told Slates Aymann Ismail. If you live in an area thats losing white population, you can start yourself to connect the dots to the spinning thats going around with these narratives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The very fact that Howley could pen and publish a sympathetic view of three people who, as part of a mob, tried to overthrow the government only underscores their whitenessand the way that whiteness informs these characters stories and political power. Bisignano, Reffitt, and Boyland are treated like individuals who made unique choices that led them each to join the insurrection. Left out of their narrative is the broader political context that helps to explain why the unthinking and self-centered masses pose an incredible threat to our democracy. Yet historians have documented, repeatedly, what happens when white people grow discontent with living in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic society. Their collective backlash toppled Reconstruction, created the Tea Party, and fomented an insurrection. Advertisement An inability to deal directly with white supremacy allows Howley to ironically equate conspiracy theories with systemic racism. We like to think of conspiracy theories as outside the realm of intelligent consideration, she wrote. But the idea of children trafficked via a discount-furniture retailer is not more strange than a network of cages, built to maintain a centuries-old racial hierarchy and kept so cold that Saran Wrap socks register as an act of resistance, in which white rioters who deny the existence of systemic racism now find themselves. These two things may be equally outlandish, but they are certainly not equal. One has its roots in American historyhistorians have also repeatedly traced a line from slavery to Jim Crow to chain gangs and mass incarcerationand one is a baseless conspiracy theory. But whether or not people believe this reality is simply framed as a matter of perspective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blaming free speech and conspiracy theories dodges the actual issues at hand and downplays just how much white entitlement was central to the insurrection. Consider the details Howley gives about her characters brushes with incarceration: Bisignano rarely saw sunlight. She spent most of her time in prison cold and shivering on a rancid mattress. She never received her antidepressants, which sent her into a withdrawal so bad she scratched herself until she bled. When it was over, she was tossed, unceremoniously, onto the streets without any money or any way to get home. Reffitts time in jail sent him to the ICU after a forced detox from the cholesterol and anxiety medications hed taken for 15 years caused him to seize. Their treatment is appalling. It is also the norm for people behind bars. (Howley notes that their grievances are unusual only in that they have been heard.) But this cruelty might not be so surprising if you take seriously the penal systems role in maintaining white supremacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Treating Bisignano, Reffitt, and Boyland like hapless individuals who made unfortunate choices takes the blame off the conservative politicians and political pundits who have learned to weaponize Americansmostly white Americansfears, grievances, and confusion for political gain. The riot was an attack on our institutions, and of course, inflammatory conservative rhetoric and social media bear some of the blame, Osita Nwanevu wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times. But our institutions also helped produce that violent outburst by building a sense of entitlement to power within Americas conservative minority. The right traffics in conspiracy theories. Conservative politicians have no incentive to police the internet, to provide social support, to foster bipartisanship, or to eliminate racism, because these conditions support their agenda. Advertisement Advertisement What demands our intelligent consideration, as Howley puts it, is how to keep that violent outburst from happening again. Blaming free speech and conspiracy theories dodges the actual issues at hand and downplays just how much white entitlement was central to the insurrection. The problem is that the same people who receive sympathetic tellings of what led them to violence are also the main beneficiaries of the conservative project. And the media, for our part, have struggled to connect these dots and to take seriously the rights drift into authoritarianism. The way the press traditionally covers politics is assuming the existence of two political parties that resemble each other, but have different ideologies, professor and media critic Jay Rosen told Brian Stelter on CNNs Reliable Sources in December. What happens when you have two parties that increasingly dont resemble each other, and one of them is going off in anti-democratic direction? Advertisement What do we do about the people, like Howleys protagonists, who have been so whipped up by the right and its conspiracy theories, and the millions of others who have yet to act? The fallout from the insurrection is still working its way through our democracy. The right is actively working to install their chosen leaders into election posts in 2022 with the grand plan of undermining the election in 2024. Congress seems powerless to stop them. And the Supreme Court has been intentionally stacked to let them get away with it. If we are reluctant to blame the individuals who stormed the Capitol, we can and should blame the right-wing talk show hosts and elected officials who have pushed baseless conspiracy theories and stoked white fears of displacement over the past several years. Bisignanos, Reffitts, and Boylands actions are not the result of mere poor judgment, limited intelligence, or free speech. They are the culmination of a very calculated and well-crafted power play by the right. We must not lose sight of this fact, banal as it has become. Flash Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh on Wednesday issued a joint statement on consolidating bilateral strategic partnership. The joint statement by the two countries' foreign ministers followed Wang's visit to the Red Sea nation, where he held talks with his Eritrean counterpart and the country's President Isaias Afwerki on various bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest. During the discussions, both sides agreed to actively conduct practical cooperation under the framework of the Strategic Partnership and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in various sectors of mutual interest, according to the four-point joint statement. Encouraged by the confirmation of further consolidation and development of the Strategic Partnership by the two countries' heads of state, the two sides also agreed that the Strategic Partnership of the two countries rooted on the tradition of mutual support, based on similarities in the historical trajectories of the two countries and their shared values, predicated on respect of the rule of law, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and cooperation, aimed at promoting global and regional peace, stability and prosperity. According to the joint statement, the two sides agreed to uphold the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind. They oppose hegemonic interferences in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights. During the discussions, the Eritrean side reaffirmed adherence to the one-China principle. The Chinese side also stressed it stands against any unilateral sanctions on Eritrea. Republican politicians have spent the year since Jan. 6, 2021, working to undermine democracy and the rule of law. Theyve condoned or ignored Donald Trumps lies about the 2020 election, purged colleagues who spoke the truth, and tried to cripple the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol. But beneath this corruption lies a deeper problem: a toxic GOP electorate. Republican politicians are entertaining the lies, ousting the truth-tellers, and sabotaging the investigation because thats what their voters want. Its the surest way to survive a Republican primary. Advertisement In the past two weeks, media organizations have released a slew of polls that show how far Republican voters have drifted from reality. For starters, theyve fully latched on to the lie that Democrats stole the 2020 election. More than a year after counts, recounts, and court fights resolved the outcome, 70 percent to 80 percent of Republicans still insist that President Joe Biden didnt legitimately win. Seventy-four percent say the election was rigged and stolen from Trump, and 60 percent say it should be overturned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Its true that a lot of Democrats saw Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump as illegitimate. But many of those Democrats were responding emotionally to unusual circumstances: Both men had won despite losing the popular vote, and they had gotten controversial outside helpin Bushs case from the Supreme Court, and in Trumps case from WikiLeaks and Russia. Advertisement Advertisement The 2020 election, by contrast, wasnt particularly close. Yet Republicans have swallowed baseless conspiracy theories about it. In a national survey taken three weeks ago by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 61 percent of Republicans said Bidens victory was illegitimate because fraudulent ballots supporting Joe Biden were counted by election officials. Forty-six percent said it was illegitimate because ballots supporting Donald Trump were destroyed by election officials (respondents were allowed to give multiple reasons), and 41 percent said it was illegitimate because voting machines were re-programmed by election officials to count extra ballots for Biden. Only 21 percent said Biden had legitimately won. In theory, a Republican candidate could point to fact checks or official findings that debunk Trumps lies. But that response isnt likely to work, because in any dispute between Trump and the media, or between Trump and election officials, Republican voters are more willing to believe Trump. In September, a Morning Consult survey found that 77 percent of Republicans trusted Trump to be honest about the security and validity of our elections. Only half as many, 39 percent, trusted my states Secretary of State on that subject, and only 17 percent trusted CNN. Even Fox News, with a 55 percent trust level, badly trailed the former president. When Republicans specified which sources they trusted a lot, Trumps dominance over all competing sources of information was even more lopsided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This faith in Trumps lies is a big reason so many Republicans sympathize with the people who stormed the Capitol. In a USA Today/Suffolk poll conducted last week, 56 percent of Republicans said the purpose of the events at the Capitol last January 6th was preventing a fraudulent election. Only 20 percent said the purpose was to overturn a legitimate election. Other polls have found a majority of Republicans believe the people who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol were defending freedom or protecting democracy, not threatening it. And surveys consistently show that Republicans want to go easy on people who have been or could be prosecuted for obvious crimes at the Capitol. Most Republicans also support broader efforts to overturn the election. In an NPR/Ipsos survey taken two weeks ago, 57 percent of Republicans said that Trump and his allies were exercising their correct legal right to contest the election or, more boldly, that they did not go far enough in contesting the election. Only 29 percent chose one of the alternative answers: that the former president and his allies went too far or broke the law trying to overturn the election. In the UMass Amherst survey, 62 percent of Republicans said Vice President Mike Pence should have used his role in counting the Electoral College votes to challenge Joe Bidens victory. When a CBS News/YouGov poll asked what Trump should do now, 56 percent of Republicans said he should run again in 2024, but an additional 20 percent said he should fight to be put back into the presidency right now, before the next presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given these views, its not surprising that rank-and-file Republicans want to shut down the Jan. 6 investigation. In the CBS News poll, only 37 percent said Congress should be investigating elected representatives and other public officials to see if they had a role in the January 6th events. Sixty-three percent said that, instead, Congress should drop the matter and not investigate that. In an Associated Press/NORC survey, 58 percent said Congress should end its investigation into what happened at the U.S. Capitol. Advertisement These toxic beliefs have made integrity a liability for many candidates in Republican primaries. Seventy-three percent of Republicans say that in this years congressional elections, theyd vote for a candidate who believes the results of the 2020 presidential election should be investigated; only 14 percent say they definitely or probably wouldnt. In the UMass Amherst poll, 55 percent of Republicans said theyd be more likely to vote for a Republican congressional candidate who questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential result; only 10 percent said theyd be less likely. Fifty-two percent said theyd be less likely to support a candidate who voted to create a commission to investigate the events of January 6; only 17 percent said theyd be more likely. The poll also indicated that Republican candidates would lose support in primaries if they had voted to certify the 2020 election, but they would gain support if they refused to denounce the events of January 6th. Advertisement Advertisement The Republican electorates pathologies dont excuse the cowardice or opportunism of GOP officeholders. Many of these politicians stood by or collaborated as Trump spread the lies; others are too spineless to speak up now that the lies have taken hold. Instead, what the pathologies show is that the partys leaders have become its followers. They allowed their base to become convinced that the election was stolen, and now theyre catering to this madness to keep their jobs. The only way out is to reverse the incentives so that in future campaigns for office, lying about the 2020 election and covering up Jan. 6 is more costly than defending the rule of law. Its unlikely that we can make such corruption a liability in Republican primaries. Lets hope we can make it fatal in the general election. On Friday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a set of cases challenging President Joe Bidens COVID vaccine mandates. Bidens policies prompted a flurry of litigation across the country, with lower court judges reaching wildly divergent conclusions about their legality. Now the justices will determineon an accelerated timelinewhether the administration can lawfully impose these new rules in the midst of the omicron wave. These cases also have sweeping implications for many other areas of federal regulatory law from housing to pollution, giving the Republican-appointed justices an opportunity to hobble Bidens entire agenda. Below, weve answered some frequent questions (and corrected some common misperceptions) about the imminent showdown between the president and the Supreme Court. Advertisement What cases will the Supreme Court hear on Friday? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court will hear two cases that challenge two different vaccine mandates: National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor and Ohio v. Department of Labor. Wait, two different mandates? The first case (lets call it NFIB) involves Bidens employer vaccine mandate, which requires large companies to give their workers an ultimatum: either get vaccinated against COVID or wear a mask and get tested weekly. The second case (lets call it Ohio) requires health care providers that receive money from Medicare or Medicaid to mandate vaccinations for their staff. Most hospitals and care facilities participate in Medicare or Medicaid, so the rule covers most health care workers in the country. Republican attorneys general have led the legal battle against both rules. Advertisement Advertisement Doesnt Bidens mandate force every American worker to get a COVID shot? Nope. The employer mandate only applies to companies with 100 or more employees. And, again, it doesnt even require vaccinesobjectors can choose to mask and test instead. The health care mandate isnt universal, either; it allows for medical and religious exemptions. I heard the Supreme Court upheld state vaccine mandates without religious exemptions. Does that mean its likely to uphold Bidens mandates, too? Advertisement There are two basic buckets of legal challenges to vaccine laws. The first are religion-based challenges, which argue that vaccine mandates without religious exemptions violate the First Amendment. And the Supreme Court has indeed swatted these away by a 63 vote. The second bucket of cases question the federal governments authority to mandate vaccinations, even if they include religious exemptions. Both NFIB and Ohio fall into that bucket. The Republican-appointed justices will probably be even more skeptical of these federal mandates. Advertisement Congress hasnt passed a vaccine mandate, has it? Advertisement Advertisement No. Congressional Republicans adamantly oppose such laws. But in each case, the Biden administration has interpreted existing statutes to authorize both the employer and health care vaccine mandates. Start with NFIB. Federal law allows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue such an emergency temporary standard when it determines that its necessary to protect employees from a grave danger resulting from physically harmful agents or new hazards. Thats the basis for OSHAs employer mandate. Now turn to Ohio. Federal law compels the health and human services secretary to impose new requirements on eligible facilities when they are necessary to protect patients health and safety. Thats the basis for HHSs health care mandate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How have these rules fared so far? The lower courts have divided mostly along partisan lines, with Democratic-appointed judges upholding the rules and Republican-appointed judges opposing them. (Several Trump judges infused their opinions with anti-vax lies and skepticism toward the pandemics severity.) The Supreme Court took up both cases in part to resolve this circuit split. What are the legal arguments against the mandates? The coalition challenging both mandates argues that they exceed the text of the statutes that the Biden administration relied upon. But those statutes are extremely broad. So the plaintiffs have also offered two legal doctrines supposedly derived from the Constitution. First, they cite the major question doctrine. Under this principle, federal agencies cannot issue a regulation that raises a major question of economic or political significance without a clear statement from Congress. So, for instance, it wouldnt be enough for Congress to instruct the health and human services secretary to protect health care workers health and safety; instead, Congress would have to pass a law requiring COVID shots for health care staff. Advertisement Second, the challengers cite the nondelegation doctrine, which bars Congress from delegating too much authority to federal agencies. The idea is that only Congress can legislate, and when it gives too much discretion to the executive branch, it unconstitutionally transfers its legislative power. Here, the plaintiffs argue that if federal laws can be read to permit Bidens mandates, then those laws are unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. Advertisement Advertisement Do those doctrines appear in the text of the Constitution? No. There is no major questions clause, no nondelegation clause, no provision explicitly granting federal courts the power to police boundaries between Congress and the president. Instead, these doctrines are allegedly gleaned from the Constitutions structure, which is a fancy way of saying theyre made up. Moreover, the doctrines are so vague and open-ended, as Voxs Ian Millhiser put it, that they transfer massive amounts of power from the elected branches to the judiciary. Unelected judges can wield these tools to strike down any policy they personally dislike. Advertisement Im not convinced that unelected bureaucrats are much better. The difference is that federal agencies are staffed with subject matter experts with a deep understanding of the problem. Ohio, the health care mandate case, provides a vivid example. HHSs rule has drawn support from the American Public Health Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, 22 deans of public health programs, 126 leading public health scholars, eight former high-ranking federal health officials from both parties, and 53 organizations that represent virtually the entire health care profession in the U.S.. On the other side are armchair epidemiologists like Trump Judge Terry Doughty, who declared that requiring COVID-19 vaccinations to healthcare workers covered by the mandate would hurt the patients and issued a nationwide injunction against the mandate, citing the major question and nondelegation doctrines. Doughty also falsely claimed COVID vaccines do not prevent transmission, credulously citing a fringe anti-vaxxer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Who would you rather have deciding the nations public health policy? OK, Im sold. But will any of this matter to the Supreme Court? Unlikely. All six Republican-appointed justices have evinced profound hostility toward the administrative state. In August, when these justices struck down the CDCs eviction moratorium, they used language that invoked the major questions doctrine. Moreover, five justices are on the record endorsing the nondelegation doctrine. So it seems possibleeven probablethat a majority will deploy these arguments to invalidate Bidens mandates. Advertisement Advertisement Its worth noting that the Supreme Court has already taken up a case challenging the EPAs authority to restrict carbon emissions. Like NFIB and Ohio, that case seems designed to blow up federal agencies power to address the crises of our time. So if the justices dont deploy these conservative doctrines to kill vaccine mandates, they will have an opportunity later this term. Advertisement What happens if SCOTUS uses these doctrines to block the mandates? The most immediate consequence will be a repeal of the mandates. The government estimates that these rules would save hundreds or thousands of lives every month. So the court will exacerbate the omicron wave while ensuring that thousands more people needlessly die from COVID. Despite these high stakes, the longer-term consequences are arguably worse. Congress routinely grants the executive branch broad powers to implement federal policies; NFIB and Ohio mark the conservative legal movements latest effort to kneecap these powers, killing the administrative state. Regulations of pollution, labor, housing, the economypretty much everything, reallyrests on congressional delegations from Congress to the executive branch. Congress entrusts experts at OSHA, HHS, the EPA, and every other agency to accomplish its goals. And if these delegations are struck down, basic government functions would grind to a halt. As Justice Elena Kagan once wrote, if the conservative justices are correct about the nondelegation doctrine, then most of government is unconstitutionaldependent as Congress is on the need to give discretion to executive officials to implement its programs. Advertisement That sounds alarming. It is! The fight over vaccine mandates is also a fight over who decides how the U.S. may react to the pandemicas well as every other urgent problem facing the nation. Does this responsibility fall to experts in the executive branch whom Congress has tasked with policymaking? Or does it fall to federal judges? Executive officials may not be elected, but they do report to the president, who answers to the people. Federal judges, by contrast, are accountable to no one; they face no elections and have no constituency. This is what NFIB and Ohio are really about: Whether the sitting presidentacting through his expertsor the dead hand of the Trump administrationacting through the courtsgets to guide public health during the deadliest pandemic in American history. My first pregnancy was a dream. I couldnt wait to meet the baby girl growing inside of me. I fantasized each day about holding her in my arms for the first time. The delivery, though, was traumatic. She had to be suctioned out of me to save her life. I wasnt able to hold her until five hours after she was born. Then, last November, when she was 6 months old, I got pregnant again. I was 34, happily marriedand adjusting to life as a mother. I was still healing from giving birth. Advertisement The more I contemplated having this surprise baby, the more I feared it. I wasnt ready to share my love with another child. The long wait to hug my daughter to my skin made me want to pour every ounce of love I had in me onto her alone. I wanted another child eventually, but this was not how I wanted them to enter into this world. My husband and I considered our options. We saw a psychologist to help us cope with the guilt and sadness we felt over considering not having this child. We both wanted to devote our full attention to our newborn daughter, and to bring her a brother or sister when the time was right for our family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we decided to end the pregnancy, I told only my mother and a few of my closest friends. I still feel a lump in my throat when I think about it, and as I write this piece. I was pro-choice long before I ever needed to make that choice myself. I attended my first abortion rights march in Washington with my mother when I was 13, holding my NOW poster high and proud. I never imagined then that one day I would be seriously considering the possibility of abortion becoming illegal in America, or that I would need one myself. I was living in Israel when I chose to end my pregnancy. This might sound shocking, but in Israel, abortion is a nonissue. It has been legal since 1977. The subject does not figure in election campaigns or in political ads. Striking down the legality or government funding of abortions is not a cause of any political party, not even the most right wing. Why? Because life and the protection of it are sacred in Judaism, and when the physical or mental health of a woman is threatened by an unwanted pregnancy, it is the right thing to do to allow her to end that pregnancy. For all its flaws, Israela nation literally founded by the Bibleat least recognizes the need to protect this right. Not despite but because it is a nation guided by religion, Israel has a far more humane abortion policy than the United States, even now, with Roe v. Wade still intact. Anti-choice Americans often hold religion as their guide in opposing a womans right to choose. Yet if they have any model in their pursuit of a legal code that is dictated by religion, they should look no further than Israel, where there is no separation of church and stateor synagogue and state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not only was my abortion permitted, at seven weeks, but it was paid for by the governmentin other words, by Israeli taxpayers, the majority of whom are traditional and right wing. Still, there are barriers. In order to receive an abortion from Israels public health system, a woman must go before a committee, composed of a social worker and two doctors, to request permission and must explain why she wants to end her pregnancy. (There is a separate committee that handles cases over 24 weeks, though I know women in Israel who have received a government-funded abortion during their second trimester because their unborn baby was diagnosed with a severe mental or physical ailment.) Though 98 percent of people who seek abortions in the first trimester are granted an abortion by these committees, it is telling that half the abortions in Israel are performed in private clinics. The social stigma around ending a pregnancy is powerful; women want to avoid the added trauma that can come with having to explain to a group of strangers why you are making the most difficult decision of your life, and to avoid the rare case that her request will not be granted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Going before a committee brings up the possibility of judgment and rejection. Israels abortion law stipulates four criteria by which an abortion is guaranteed to be approved: if the pregnancy occurs out of wedlock or is the result of rape or incest; if the woman is under 18 or over 40; if the fetus is in danger; and if the mothers mental or physical health is at risk. I went to my gynecologist to receive the ultrasound I needed to present to the committee, telling him my plan. Your fetus is healthy, you are healthy, and you are married, he replied No committee will approve your abortion. I felt as if Id been punched in the stomach. His hand was on my lubricated belly, the monitor displaying the fetus and its heartbeat in front of us. He told me he could write a note to the committee saying that my husband is not the father of this baby and that is why I need to end the pregnancy. I left his office in tears. Advertisement Advertisement My family doctor, who has a friend on one of the committees in Tel Aviv, told me that my gynecologist was wrong. She offered to write a letter to the committee describing my fragile mental health as a new mother and suggested that I get a letter from a psychologist as well. I also showed the committee that I take anti-anxiety medicine. In the end, my request was granted and paid for. I received a medical abortion with a series of pills that caused heavy bleeding. The abortion itself proved to be the easiest part of my experience. I suffered more from the guilt than anything else. Women in America are made to feel incredibly guilty over abortion, where its treated as an issue of morality. When opponents of abortion invoke Jesus or the Bible, I cant help but wonder what Jesuswho was a Jew living in the Land of Israelwould say. According to Jewish law, which is derived from the Old Testament, a fetus is considered part of its mother until birth. Existing life takes precedence over potential life (hear that, gun-toting pro-lifers?). Therefore, abortion is not only condoned by Jewish law but even encouraged in cases where the mothers life is endangered. Opponents of a womans right to choose often paint abortion as a weapon wielded by irresponsible women, who use abortion as an afterthought to their carelessness. I know they are wrong. And yet, I had internalized their beliefs. Making it harder for women to get abortions in America isnt just a matter of medical practicality. It seeps into how we measure our own worth, how we see ourselves. We should not need to feel ashamed. Over the summer, the antivirus company Norton announced it was adding a new feature to its LifeLock security software: the ability to mine cryptocurrencies using its Norton Crypto tool. True to Nortons roots as a security company, Norton Crypto was billed as a way to help customers improve their cybersecurity by allowing them to mine cryptocurrency without having to rely on unvetted code on their machines that could be skimming from their earnings or even planting ransomware. To be sure, there are real security risks associated with downloading and running untrusted mining programs. But, as a general rule, when a company refashions itself as a cryptocurrency business, its usually because its in trouble and looking to pivot away from a failing business model to something new and cool (and potentially lucrative). In 2018, for instance, when I lived in Rochester, New York, the local business giant Eastman Kodak announced it was launching a photo-centric cryptocurrency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So when a prominent antivirus firm takes a turn toward cryptocurrency, its certainly possible to interpret that move as a sneaky money grab. That was the general gist of Cory Doctorows tweet about Norton Crypto this week, in which he pointed out that Norton takes a cut of the cryptocurrencies its users mine (15 percent of the crypto allocated to each miner, according to its website). But perhaps the more interesting question is what it says about the market for antivirus software that one of the most prominent manufacturers of those products is now going the way of Kodak. Once upon a timesay, 10 years agoantivirus software was one of the standard cybersecurity recommendations for everyone. Companies purchased licenses for all their corporate computers from one of the big vendors and it became a matter of course that all Windows computers, or at least all work computers, would be running a program from McAfee or Norton or Kaspersky or Avast, or one of the other usual suspects, in the background at all times to scan for viruses. Most of these companies now offer a range of other security services in addition to standard antivirus and anti-malware programs. McAfee and Norton provide identity protection and VPN services, Kaspersky sells a password manager and a system for parental controls, and Avast has both a secure browser and a browser extension, to name just a few. In other words, the cybersecurity ecosystem has expanded well beyond just antivirus software. In fact, there is now some debate over whether antivirus programs are even a particularly useful or effective line of defense for most devices, especially operating systems increasingly include built-in security features. For instance, a few years ago Microsoft launched the built-in antivirus program Microsoft Defender Antivirus with Windows 10. Apple devices, which have generally been less targeted by malware than Windows ones, also include a malware scanning tool called XProtect as well as a Malware Removal Tool. And while it may seem like more antivirus protection is always better, this is not necessarily the casein fact, antivirus programs have been known to try to uninstall each other if they think other antivirus programs are malware because they contain known malware signatures (which they use to identify viruses). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For many of us, including me, the so-called security software packages pre-installed on our work computers have come to feel a little like malware: clunky programs that require lots of computing resources and cannot be shut down and are constantly popping up on the screen with irritating little messages. And most importantly, many of the cybersecurity incidents we worry about most these days would probably be pretty unlikely to be caught or solved by antivirus programs anyway. Perhaps, then, its more accurate to say that antivirus software feels a little like a historical vestige of past cybersecurity best practices. Why do we cling to them? Because they were hammered into us for so many years, or we already have the institutional contracts in place to provide these programs, or simply because it seems like a little extra security couldnt hurt at a moment when cybersecurity breaches are so much in the news. When someone asks me Should I get a subscription to Norton Antivirus? these days, I always tell them no. There are security tools I believe in and think are sometimes worth paying for (password managers, VPNs, for instance), but antivirus software and identity protection services havent made that list for many years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its difficult to dislodge entrenched cybersecurity guidance, especially when the recommendations we now offer for how organizations should protect themselves (segmenting networks, multifactor authentication, penetration testing) can feel so much more cumbersome or work-intensive than just installing some code on everyones computer. So Im not especially optimistic that any of us will be receiving work computers any time soon that arent burdened with bloated security packages. But the Norton Crypto announcement does suggest that even the big antivirus firms know their products are no longer at the vanguard of cybersecurity protections if theyre thinking about branching out into providing crypto mining services. Advertisement It remains to be seen whether Norton will be able to do this well (its user support board is littered with complaints), and whether other security firms will follow its lead. More businesses getting interested in cryptocurrencies is hardly news at this point, but the convergence of crypto mining and antivirus software is noteworthy if only as a harbinger of where these security firms see the market for antivirus software heading and how theyre hoping to stay current. But if Kodaks unsuccessful attempt to revive the film and camera business with a Bitcoin miner is any indication, hitching antivirus software to cryptocurrency mining may not be the stroke of inspiration that Norton hoped it would be. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. ARCHIVED - Calls for Spanish Minister to resign after questioning industrial meat farms There was cross-party outrage over Alberto Garzons suggestion that Spaniards eat less meat from farms that pollute and mistreat animals Spains Minister for Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzon, has been roundly criticised by both the conservative opposition party and the socialist party currently in government for comments he made in an interview with the UK paper The Guardian about the contamination and poor quality of intensive animal farms in Spain Pedalling back on comments that these so-called mega-farms arent at all sustainable, and that they pollute the soil, they pollute the water and then they export this poor quality meat from these ill-treated animals, Mr Garzon, the leader of the Izquierda Unida (United Left) political alliance, rectified that he was speaking purely in a personal capacity and was not speaking on behalf of the government. There have been calls from his colleagues in parliament and from Spanish farmers for him to hand in his resignation over such comments that dare to criticise or question the quality of Spains meat and its industrial agriculture practices. Minister for Territorial Policy, Isabel Rodriguez, said For us, the livestock sector is a priority. It is one of the main products that we export and it is of the highest quality. She pointed to the fact that both agriculture and livestock farming in Spain guarantee rural development and that the government supports both sectors with the Food Chain Law. Her comments belie findings by Greenpeace documenting the mistreatment of animals in industrial farming factories in Spain and the assertion that such farms contribute to a loss of biodiversity, excessive contamination of water, and high levels of methane and ammonia emissions. Mr Garzon, for his turn, has responded by assuring that in the interview he was stressing that the extensive livestock farming practised in areas such as Asturias, Castilla y Leon, Andalusia and Extremadura is environmentally sustainable and that the headline was out of context. He even published the transcribed interview in full on his Twitter account, stating that for reasons of space, the journalist had to exclude some elements that today, in the heat of the hoax and lies promoted by certain actors, have been highlighted. Aprovecho para publicar la transcripcion completa de lo que dije en la entrevista, pues por motivos de espacio el periodista tuvo que excluir algunos elementos que hoy, al calor del bulo y la mentira que ciertos actores promueven, salen realzados. pic.twitter.com/ljR2x3n5Bu Alberto Garzon (@agarzon) January 4, 2022 Garzon tried to clarify that a distinction must be made between industrial and extensive livestock farming. While one is ecologically sustainable and has a lot of weight in certain regions of Spain, the other pollutes soil, water and is then exported. It is a poorer quality meat, it is also a mistreatment of animals and it has a huge and disproportionate ecological impact, he said. The minister explained that extensive livestock farmers, those whose production is sustainable, should agree with his position, since we have never said that meat should not be eaten, but that its consumption should be reduced and that the meat consumed should be sustainable. He also put the spotlight on the big companies in the meat sector, claiming in a tweet that the witch hunt against him was driven by the lobby of certain big companies that promote polluting macro-farms... and you know the rest. It is not the first time that Mr Garzons words on this subject have landed him in hot water. Last July, when he proposed reducing meat consumption, even President Pedro Sanchez said: For me, wherever they give me a chuleton al punto (well-done steak)... thats cant be beaten. Industrial animal farming is big business in Spain, with the country slaughtering 910 million animals for meat exports each year but with the fewest free-range animals of any other country in the European Union Image 1: La Moncloa Image 2: Archive It is a tradition to consecrate houses during this day. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Christians celebrate Epiphany on January 6. This feast day celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. It has been celebrated since the 3rd century. The Church remembers the three miracles: the visit of the magi to the Christ Child, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and the Miracle at Cana, according to the Slovak Bishops Conference (KBS). Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The celebration of this day later spread to the west, where the visit of the magi, or three wise men, named Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, is recognised, the TASR newswire reported. Their arrival means that pagans can discover Jesus and bow to him as the Gods Son and the Saviour of the World only if they turn to Jews and accept from them the messianic promise as stated in the Old Testament, KBS said, as quoted by TASR. Consecrating homes As part of the feast day, houses are usually consecrated. Priests use chalk to write the current year with three letters C, M and B (an abbreviation for Christus Mansionem Benedicat), meaning may Christ bless this house, in the upper part of the door. At the same time, water is blessed in churches and believers take it to their homes, TASR wrote. In addition, since Epiphany is a national holiday in Slovakia, shops are closed during this day. After Epiphany, the Roman Catholic Church will celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. https://sputniknews.com/20220105/jewish-groups-defend-jk-rowling-over-anti-semitic-goblin-accusations-1092050181.html Jewish Groups Defend J.K. Rowling Over Anti-Semitic Goblin Accusations Jewish Groups Defend J.K. Rowling Over Anti-Semitic Goblin Accusations Controversy over J.K. Rowlings fictional goblins in the Harry Potter franchise has been reignited recently after comic Jon Stewarts comments during one of his recent episodes of The Problem, Stewarts Apple TV series. 2022-01-05T23:25+0000 2022-01-05T23:25+0000 2022-01-06T00:29+0000 jews harry potter controversy jk rowling anti-semitism viral /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/05/1092037221_0:32:3073:1760_1920x0_80_0_0_f53e187b9bf5c0ad9a1653fa7c94b2d2.jpg Stewart voiced criticism of scenes in the film, first released in 2001, which feature hook-nosed creatures called goblins who run Gringotts, the underground bank of the wizarding world. It was one of those things where I saw it on the screen and I was expecting the crowd to be like, holy shit, [Rowling] did not, in a wizarding world, just throw Jews in there to run the f*cking underground bank. And everybody was just like, Wizards. It was so weird.Dave Rich, who is the director of policy for the UK-based Jewish nonprofit Community Security Trust, tweeted sometimes a goblin is just a goblin. He also told Hollywood Reporter, There is nothing in [Rowlings] record to suggest that she holds anti-Semitic views: quite the opposite, in fact, she has spoken out consistently and repeatedly in support of the Jewish community and against anti-Semitism.The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism shared a similar thought in a tweet on Wednesday, calling the goblins a product of centuries of association with Jews with grotesque and malevolent creatures in folklore, as well as money and finance. The mythological associations have become so ingrained in the Western mind that their provenance no longer registers with creators or consumers. [It] is a testament more to centuries of Christendoms anti-Semitism than it is to malice by contemporary artists.On Wednesday, Stewart turned to Twitter to explain that he was joking and that the comment came out of a light-hearted conversation amongst colleagues and chums. He went on to say, Some tropes are so embedded in society that theyre basically invisible. He then said, I do not think J.K. Rowling is anti-Semitic" and indicated that he was a Harry Potter fan.But Stewart isnt the first to allege that the Harry Potter goblins reflect anti-Semitic tropes. Childrens author Marianne Levy wrote for the Jewish Chronicle, It is not often that I am stopped in my tracks. But the press photography from the new Gringotts wing of Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio tour positively shrieked with anti-Semitic tropes; the long-nosed goblin, his natty suit, clawed fingers caressing a pile of gold coins. When I positioned a Gringotts shot alongside a series of cartoons from Nazi Germanys Der Sturmer, it did not seem out of place.Rowling, who has also been accused of making derogatory comments about the transgender community, had no comment. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 jews, harry potter, controversy, jk rowling, anti-semitism, viral https://sputniknews.com/20220106/buckle-up-people-first-case-of-flurona-reported-in-los-angeles-as-omicron-runs-riot-1092068289.html Buckle Up People: First Case of 'Flurona' Reported in Los Angeles As Omicron Runs Riot Buckle Up People: First Case of 'Flurona' Reported in Los Angeles As Omicron Runs Riot Doctors have long been concerned about the possibility of the so-called twindemic of COVID-19 and influenza. 2022-01-06T15:59+0000 2022-01-06T15:59+0000 2022-01-06T15:59+0000 us omicron strain los angeles influenza covid-19 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/12/1082662119_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_10909e857e82f05a5980aa6d1752ff0f.jpg Los Angeles County has announced that an individual has been infected with both the novel coronavirus and seasonal influenza (commonly known as flu) in what has been named as flurona. According to local media, the patient is an unvaccinated teenager, who returned from a vacation in Mexico. The boy doesnt have serious symptoms and is now recovering at home.Doctors have long been concerned about the possibility of the so-called "twindemic" of COVID-19 and influenza. It is believed that lockdowns and stay-at-home orders limited the spread of influenza at the beginning of the pandemic and after countries began to open up and winter season arrived, the cases of influenza were expected to rise and lead to co-infection.As to how dangerous the combined diseases are, experts say there is not enough information to give a clear answer, but so far the data suggests that the combination is no more dangerous than having either on its own. However, flurona can become problematic for people with pre-existing medical conditions or anyone who is "immuno-compromised". Experts say it is likely there will be more cases of flurona in the coming months because of the surge of the omicron strain of COVID-19, which is said to be more infectious than previous variants and capable of evading vaccines. In Los Angeles alone infection rates have increased 515 percent over the past two weeks, according to The New York Times. The United States has recently recorded more than 1 million coronavirus cases.Doctors say that the best way to protect oneself from flurona is to get vaccinated against both COVID-19 and influenza. los angeles Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev us, omicron strain, los angeles, influenza, covid-19 https://sputniknews.com/20220106/capitol-riot-investigation-panel-subpoenas-phone-records-of-mypillow-boss-mike-lindell-1092069442.html Capitol Riot Investigation Panel Subpoenas Phone Records of MyPillow Boss Mike Lindell Capitol Riot Investigation Panel Subpoenas Phone Records of MyPillow Boss Mike Lindell The CEO of MyPillow company, Mike Lindell, is one of Donald Trump's vocal allies. He is among those who support Trump's claims of "election fraud" that has allegedly led to Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. 2022-01-06T17:07+0000 2022-01-06T17:07+0000 2022-01-06T17:07+0000 donald trump us mike lindell mypillow /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/06/1092069555_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_fdb9a7a67414d3e1e9d5f8d26a16cf8d.jpg MyPillow head Mike Lindell filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to challenge the subpoena by the 6 January Capitol riot panel requesting his phone records.Last month, CNBC reported that Lindell appeared to spend $25 million since Election Day in 2020 to support Donald Trump's claims about the alleged "election fraud".In a lawsuit filed by Lindell's legal team against the members of the 6 January panel, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Verizon communication company, it argued that the MyPillow chief executive had no involvement whatsoever in the events of 6 January 2021, when Capitol Hill was overrun by a violent protest.According to the document, Lindell's support for the election fraud theory stems from his "strongly held religious beliefs".The panel had sought Lindell's records from 1 November 2020, right through to 31 January 2021.Lindell, who is loud in his support of Trump, is among those who sided with the former president on the claims about the "election fraud" that allegedly snatched victory in the 2020 White House race from Trump.The MyPillow boss made headlines earlier in January 2021, when he had been spotted outside Trump's White House with a handful of notes that reportedly suggested imposing "martial law if necessary" more than a week after the Capitol riot. In late January that year, Lindell was permanently suspended on Twitter for "repeated violations of our civic integrity policy".As the House Select Committee's investigation into the Capitol riot continues, Lindell is not the only one whose records the panel wishes to obtain. The White House records of Donald Trump are also of interest to the committee, but the former president vehemently objects to requests he submit his records from the time of the Capitol riot, claiming that it is "unconstitutional" and politicised. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Daria Bedenko Daria Bedenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Daria Bedenko donald trump, us, mike lindell, mypillow https://sputniknews.com/20220106/democrats-pressuring-senators-manchin-sinema-to-back-changes-to-filibuster-1092062669.html Democrats Pressuring Senators Manchin, Sinema to Back Changes to Filibuster Democrats Pressuring Senators Manchin, Sinema to Back Changes to Filibuster Scores of Democrats are scrambling to get fellow Senator Joe Manchin on board with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's plan to pass changes to the filibuster process by 17 January. 2022-01-06T12:18+0000 2022-01-06T12:18+0000 2022-01-06T12:18+0000 us voting rights filibuster /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/06/1092063319_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_c5496dc1d2ea52a33dd0ef47b0e8de60.jpg Scores of Democrats are scrambling to get fellow Senator Joe Manchin on board with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's plan to pass changes to the filibuster process by 17 January. Schumer announced the ambitious plan, devised to help the Democrats pass voting rights bills, earlier this month even though not all party members are ready to back it.Manchin has so far only double downed on his criticism of plans for any changes to the filibuster a process that most of the time prevents any single party from unilaterally passing legislation in the US Senate with a small number of exceptions, like adopting a budget. Yet, the conservative Democrat has stressed that talks with the rest of the party are still ongoing.He indicated his reluctance to change major Senate rules without support from the GOP, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that the latter is in short supply at the moment.Schumer said that there were "serious discussions" with Manchin regarding the filibuster changes when he met with a group of Democrats spearheading the ambitious effort on 4 January. And while the party's efforts are largely focused on Manchin, he is not the only Democratic senator on the fence about changes to the filibuster.Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) also remains opposed to the idea of changing the long-time practice. According to Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), there are party members who are trying to convince her otherwise. He added that despite the lack of support from the two senators in the 50-50 divided upper chamber, Schumer is still holding onto the 17 January deadline to push the changes for the filibuster.The Democrats are eyeing to use the "nuclear option" a way of overturning the filibuster requirement of 60 votes in order to change the procedure, but, in this case, they still need at least 50 Senators to back the idea.What Changes are the Democrats Proposing, and How are They Linked to Voting Rights?At the same time, the Democrats are still to lay out what specific changes they're willing to make to the filibuster these have not yet been set in stone as the party wants to preserve some room for manoeuvre in talks with Manchin.The proposed ideas range widely. The toughest option suggests that the opposing party can delay the voting for as long as it can hold the floor debating a bill, but will eventually have to vote on it with only a simple majority required to pass it. That is the way the filibuster used to work in the past. The least complicated option suggests removing the 60 vote requirement to stop the debate, but keeping the 60 vote mandate for ending it this variant is currently preferred by Manchin.Among other proposals is one suggesting to exempt voting rights bills from being filibustered an option backed by President Joe Biden. The idea stems from the Democrats' failure to pass their extensive voting rights reform due to opposition from the GOP, who fear it might undermine the integrity of elections.The Republicans blocked the Democrats' voting rights bills last year and since then the Dems have been working on changing the filibuster. The notion divided the party as many of its senators either opposed the idea or were uncertain if it was worth backing. However, over the past half year they've managed to reduce the number of Democratic senators on the fence with Manchin and Sinema being the last holdouts.What's in the Democratic Party's Voting Rights Reform?The voting rights reform consisted of several bills that sought to make sweeping changes to the voting process, such as prohibiting voter-roll purges, making voter registration simpler, and available at the polls. The bills also expanded mail-in voting, mandated two-week-long early voting, and required all states to use paper ballots.The reform also included a bill named after voting rights activist and US lawmaker John Lewis, which sought to reinstate portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. The removed sections of the 1965 law included the requirement for state authorities to get a green light from the federal government before making changes to local voting regulations. The John Lewis Act also sought to reinstate the ban on implementing restrictive legislation in terms of the right to vote by state governments, such as introducing strict voter ID requirements. https://sputniknews.com/20211223/biden-voices-support-for-exception-to-filibuster--to-pass-voting-rights-legislation-1091758437.html https://sputniknews.com/20211022/republicans-block-voting-rights-legislation-reigniting-debate-over-ending-filibuster-1090117079.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg us, voting rights, filibuster https://sputniknews.com/20220106/former-aide-of-atlanta-city-mayor-arrested-on-terroristic-threats-warrant-at-atlanta-airport-1092050937.html Former Aide of Atlanta City Mayor Arrested on 'Terroristic Threats' Warrant at Atlanta Airport Former Aide of Atlanta City Mayor Arrested on 'Terroristic Threats' Warrant at Atlanta Airport Former Aide of Atlanta City Mayor Arrested on 'Terroristic Threats' Warrant in Atlanta Airport 2022-01-06T00:45+0000 2022-01-06T00:45+0000 2022-01-06T00:45+0000 us atlanta arrest terrorist threat police mayor aide /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091927841_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_a3ed83beb4cf164786c9c1df4b0c5469.jpg A former staff member of Atlanta Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens has been arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport on terroristic threats and acts charges, Fox News reported Wednesday, citing a police report.42-year-old Ali Carter was apprehended last Wednesday on a warrant from the Douglas County Sheriff's Department in Georgia. The police responded to gate D23, American Airlines, flight #709 and arrested Carter on the aircraft.The former aide was informed of the warrant and was transported to the police precinct for paperwork to be completed and to receive confirmation of the warrant. He "was reportedly transferred to Douglas County Jail and later released on bail.On Nov. 30, Andre Dickens won a runoff election for Atlanta's mayor. In an Instagram video, Carter can be seen at Dickens inaugural ceremony on Monday.During the arrest, Carter claimed that he was chief of staff to Andre Dickens," according to Atlanta Police Departments bodycam footage.According to social media posts, Carter was Dickens "chief of staff" and "director of constituent services" in 2015. In earlier posts from 2014, Dickens praised Carter, writing: You guys exceeded my expectations. Keep serving Atlanta! The dream team of Ali Carter, Emil Runge, and yours truly." In other posts, the mayor called Carter my friend, my brother and city council staff member." atlanta Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Alexandra Kashirina Alexandra Kashirina News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Alexandra Kashirina us, atlanta, arrest, terrorist threat, police, mayor, aide https://sputniknews.com/20220106/iran-says-dialogue-with-saudi-arabia-constructive-tehran-ready-to-restore-diplomatic-ties-1092072647.html Iran Says Dialogue With Saudi Arabia 'Constructive, Tehran Ready to Restore Diplomatic Ties Iran Says Dialogue With Saudi Arabia 'Constructive, Tehran Ready to Restore Diplomatic Ties Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has stated in an interview with Al Jazeera TV that Tehran is ready to restore diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia at any moment. 2022-01-06T19:24+0000 2022-01-06T19:24+0000 2022-01-06T19:24+0000 saudi arabia middle east iran /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/106605/13/1066051307_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_7f0d1593852f43224c62428f28d5d3c6.jpg Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has stated in an interview with Al Jazeera TV that Tehran is ready to restore diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia at any moment. He noted that the two countries have an ongoing dialogue that is "positive and constructive."The diplomat further stressed the importance of a broad dialogue between regional powers, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, to resolve the region's problems. Amirabdollahian added that Iran will be returning to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in the nearest future.Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties to Iran in January 2016 after a group of angry protesters attacked and eventually ransacked its embassy in Tehran. The assault on the embassy happened in the wake of the kingdom's decision to execute prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr earlier the same month for his purported meddling in Saudi affairs.Riyadh accused Tehran of failing to properly protect its diplomatic property and withdrew its diplomatic mission. Iran has been trying to repair ties in the last few years and the two states reportedly held negotiations on the matter. One of Tehran's attempts at mending relations was however thwarted by the US in 2020 its drones killed prominent Iranian general Qassem Soleimani after he arrived in Iraq with a mission to pass Iran's proposal to Saudi Arabia via the government in Baghdad. https://sputniknews.com/20210706/iran-hails-good-progress-in-second-talks-with-rival-saudi-arabia-but-complexities-remain-1083321587.html saudi arabia iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg saudi arabia, middle east, iran https://sputniknews.com/20220106/kazakhstan-faces-instability-over-energy-prices-russia-calls-for-sanctioning-ukrainian-nazis-1092051310.html Kazakhstan Faces Instability Over Energy Prices; Russia Calls for Sanctioning Ukrainian Nazis Kazakhstan Faces Instability Over Energy Prices; Russia Calls for Sanctioning Ukrainian Nazis A top Russian legislator has called for a unified European response to the glorification of Nazis by pro-Hitler elements in the Ukrainian government. 06.01.2022, Sputnik International 2022-01-06T08:54+0000 2022-01-06T08:54+0000 2022-01-06T10:49+0000 stepan bandera julian assange ukraine china kazakhstan nazis the critical hour radio protests in kazakhstan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/06/1092051273_56:0:1300:700_1920x0_80_0_0_41a33631aad9a6bf1f959a3507c7fbfc.png Kazakhstan Faces Instability Over Energy Prices; Russia Calls for Sanctioning Ukrainian Nazis A top Russian legislator has called for a unified European response to the glorification of Nazis by pro-Hitler elements in the Ukrainian government. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss Kazakhstan. Instability and chaos erupted in the former Soviet republic in response to increased energy costs amid winter. Meanwhile, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev accepted the resignation of the countrys government, which will continue performing its duties until a new cabinet of ministers is formed.Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss gun violence. The spate of gun violence in the US continues unabated as the nation records 400 deaths in the first 4 days of 2022. This includes nine mass shootings in which at least four people were injured, but does not include 300 additional persons wounded.Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestinian activist, joins us to discuss the War on Terror. The War on Terror has dramatically increased the amount of terrorist organizations worldwide as many security observers had accurately predicted. This appears to be the intent of those who profit from war and use terrorism as a justification for funneling money to their respective corporations and think tanks.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss Ukraine. A top Russian legislator has called for a unified European response to the glorification of Nazis by pro-Hitler elements in the Ukrainian government. Also, the Jewish press is roundly condemning the Nazi celebrations in Kiev and demanding that action is taken.Branko Marcetic, Jacobin staff writer and author of "Yesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden," joins us to discuss the military-industrial complex. A recent survey showed that a strong plurality of Americans oppose going to war with Russia over Ukraine despite an avalanche of propaganda trying to convince them otherwise.Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. NBC News has published an article written by a former FBI agent who spent his time during the Obama administration hounding the publisher. The media organization failed to disclose the former agent's ties to the case.Maru Mora-Villapando, community organizer, political activist, consultant and trainer, joins us to discuss immigration. The Biden administration is facing many lawsuits from families whose children were taken from them at the border. The outcome of the trials could be critical as the president's party is on shaky ground with Latino voters moving towards the midterm elections.KJ Noh, activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. As the US slides into political and economic instability, China has celebrated a number of major technological advancements.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com ukraine china kazakhstan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Garland Nixon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125302_0:0:239:239_100x100_80_0_0_d5d43c970b0740f228597fbcdb4ffd66.jpg Garland Nixon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125302_0:0:239:239_100x100_80_0_0_d5d43c970b0740f228597fbcdb4ffd66.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Garland Nixon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125302_0:0:239:239_100x100_80_0_0_d5d43c970b0740f228597fbcdb4ffd66.jpg stepan bandera, julian assange, ukraine, china, kazakhstan, nazis, the critical hour, , radio https://sputniknews.com/20220106/one-of-italys-most-wanted-criminals-arrested-thanks-to-google-street-view-1092056740.html One of Italy's Most-Wanted Criminals Arrested Thanks to Google Street View One of Italy's Most-Wanted Criminals Arrested Thanks to Google Street View Gammino was twice investigated by Italian police in the 1980s and later in the 1990s and was sentenced to life in prison for murder. 2022-01-06T08:38+0000 2022-01-06T08:38+0000 2022-01-06T08:38+0000 society mafia police criminals law enforcement google earth google street view /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/105791/25/1057912535_0:128:2461:1512_1920x0_80_0_0_becbd1c8a2d59929e97dbba9309ed1a1.jpg Action movies have taught us that to catch a mafia boss law enforcement needs to come up with a complex operation involving hundreds of officers from several countries and the one you like the most will likely die in the end (darn it, why?). Apparently, in reality things are much easier.Sicilian police didn't lift a finger to arrest one of Italy's 100 most-wanted criminals. Alright, they did, but only to click on Google Street View, which helped them to establish the whereabouts of Gioacchino Gammino.Law enforcement suspected the mobster was in Spain, but were unable to find him. Thanks to the computer programme, which allows users to look at interactive panoramas of streets around the world, officers found a photograph of him chatting outside a fruit shop. Investigators recognised him by a scar on the left side of his chin. When police officers came to arrest him the gangster was stunned. Gammino was twice investigated by Italian police in the 1980s and later in the 1990s and was sentenced to life in prison for murder. He managed to escape in 2002 during the making of a movie in the prison. He is now in custody in Spain and is expected to be extradited to Italy next month. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev society, mafia, police, criminals, law enforcement, google earth, google street view https://sputniknews.com/20220106/one-year-later-trump-dem-feud-over-us-capitol-attack-rages-on-1092055281.html One Year Later, Trump-Dem Feud Over US Capitol Attack Rages On One Year Later, Trump-Dem Feud Over US Capitol Attack Rages On The Biden administration and a number of American lawmakers plan to hold events and deliver speeches on Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol. 2022-01-06T06:52+0000 2022-01-06T06:52+0000 2022-01-06T07:32+0000 donald trump us plot to attack u.s. capitol capitol hill capitol us capitol /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0a/1a/1090214575_0:283:3072:2011_1920x0_80_0_0_b5b73ab695db428ff56de60975e565d2.jpg This comes just as a congressional panel is escalating pressure on ex-President Donald Trump over his purported role in the matter, while Republicans blast Democrats for politicising the issue.On 6 January 2021, a large group of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, after Trump claimed the results were invalid due to voter fraud. At least five people died in connection with the riots.The 6 January siege was the biggest attack on the US Capitol since the British Army burned the building and other landmarks down in the War of 1812.The incident led to Trump's second impeachment by the Democratic-led House, which accused the then-president of inciting an insurrection. The riots also spawned a congressional probe and hundreds of prosecutions of those allegedly involved.However, many Republicans have accused the Democrats of inflating and exploiting the situation. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy earlier this week said the rival party is using the one year anniversary of the attack as a "partisan political weapon".On the other hand, many believe the incident - and Trump's handling of it - has fuelled extremism even within the US armed forces. Last month, three retired generals in a Washington Post op-ed called on the Pentagon to prepare for a coup by 2024.University of Houston History Professor Gerald Horne warned that the Defence Department programme to root out extremists may be "too late".White House Set to Target TrumpUS President Joe Biden plans to deliver a commemoration speech on Thursday during which the White House expects he will address the significance of what happened.White House spokesperson Jen Psaki on Wednesday said Biden is likely to lay out "the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw, and he will forcibly push back on the lies spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters".The House of Representatives will also commemorate the anniversary of the 6 January events on Thursday, starting at noon with a prayer and moment of silence on the floor followed by remarks from lawmakers who will share their experiences of the day of the attack.This will be followed by a "Historic Perspective" conversation between historians "to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th", according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Other members of the House and Senate will also gather on the steps of the Capitol for a prayer vigil.Trump originally planned to hold a news conference on Thursday to discuss what he called the "rigged" 2020 presidential election. However, on Tuesday, Trump said he had cancelled the presser in light of the "bias and dishonesty" of the congressional panel probing the incident and "the Fake News Media".In terms of security for Thursday, a US Homeland Security spokesperson told Sputnik they have detected no credible threats. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said they have no grave security concerns or intelligence that indicates there would be any problems while the Pentagon said no National Guard units are expected to be on the grounds.With respect to the long-term, while Homeland Security said it has enhanced its ability to detect, analyse, and respond to threats since the riots, the Capitol Police are facing a manpower deficit. On Wednesday, Manger said the Capitol Police force is currently experiencing a shortage of 457 officers. They are planning to hire 280 officers this year and 280 more over the next three years to provide sufficient security for members of Congress.Probe, Law Enforcement Efforts Heat UpIn the run-up to the attempt to block certification, the Trump campaign had lost more than 50 lawsuits alleging voter fraud in a failed bid to reverse the outcome of the election. Moreover, several US election security agencies and the Department of Justice disputed Trump's allegations of voter fraud.The House Committee investigating the 6 January riot has made a massive effort to seek testimony from former Trump administration officials with knowledge of any behind-the-scenes activity that occurred the day of the Capitol attack. The committee is seeking a phone call Trump made a few hours before his supporters tried to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results, chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told The Guardian.On Tuesday, the committee said it is seeking records from Fox News anchor Sean Hannity regarding communication he had with Trump and other then-White House officials.The committee is also waging a legal battle to gain access to records against the objections of Trump's lawyers, who claim they must remain confidential due to executive privilege. The National Archives has identified approximately 1,600 pages of documents as relevant to the probe while Trump is seeking to prevent the investigators from accessing some 750 of them.The House panel has also subpoenaed numerous former Trump White House officials and individuals who organised pro-Trump rallies in Washington the day of the attack. The House has held former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress while former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is already being prosecuted for failing to cooperate with the probe.Meanwhile, US prosecutors have charged over 700 people for crimes related to the 6 January riot while at least ten Capitol Police officers have filed lawsuits against Trump for allegedly instigating the attack.However, Reuters reported in August, citing officials, that the FBI found scant evidence the attack was the result of an organised plot and found insufficient evidence that Trump was involved in organising the violence.Censorship ConcernsThe events of that day led to social media giants Facebook and Twitter banning Trump from their platforms. They insisted that the bans on Trump do not constitute censorship but were set up for public safety in response to the 6 January unrest at the US Capitol.Trump had 88 million followers on Twitter before he was banned.After failing to get the situation overturned via the courts, Trump instead decided to announce his own social media company. In October, the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) said it will become a publicly listed company as an alternative to liberal media and will launch a social network named "TRUTH" Social.Trump, the company chairman, in a statement said he created TRUTH Social and TMTG "to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech". capitol hill Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 donald trump, us, plot to attack u.s. capitol, capitol hill, capitol, us capitol https://sputniknews.com/20220106/qanon-shaman-says-41-month-sentence-not-fair-us-court-made-example-of-him-1092072019.html QAnon Shaman Says 41-Month Sentence Not Fair, US Court Made Example of Him QAnon Shaman Says 41-Month Sentence Not Fair, US Court Made Example of Him Jake Angeli, often referred to as "QAnon Shaman," said on Thursday that the 41-month prison sentence he received for obstruction of an official proceeding is not fair and the US court was trying to make an example of him by giving him a long term of incarceration. 2022-01-06T18:21+0000 2022-01-06T18:21+0000 2022-01-06T18:21+0000 us qanon /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/05/1081992902_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_0132cf21a7dfe838700a630642ee7ee3.jpg "I dont think its fair, if thats what you mean," Angeli said in an interview with Channel 5. "I think that they thought an example had to be made, and I dont think they anticipated that example being a double-edged sword where they try to make an example out of me, but in the process they made clear to the American people that the justice system is not fair or balanced."Angeli was among the crowd that breached the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, that disrupted the 2020 presidential election certification proceedings by lawmakers.Angeli denied accusations of being a racist or white supremacist and claimed that he never hurt or threatened anybody that day.In spite of this, Angeli said his sentence is longer than some of those who did threaten or assault officials and officers on January 6. He cited the lesser 28-month sentence of Cleveland Merideth, a man who arrived in Washington later on January 6 with an assault rifle and 2,500 rounds of ammunition and threatened US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Angeli initially faced up to 20 years in prison and a period of supervised release, but last September he pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding. Federal prosecutors asked the court during the hearing to sentence Angeli to 51 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $2,000 fine. https://sputniknews.com/20220106/capitol-breach-anniversary-how-insurrection-probe-lost-steam--failed-to-reach-its-objectives-1092069729.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 us, qanon https://sputniknews.com/20220106/quit-name-calling-white-house-press-sec-psaki-hits-out-at-ted-cruz-for-threats-to-impeach-joe-biden-1092066322.html Quit Name-Calling: White House Press Sec Psaki Hits Out at Ted Cruz For Threats to Impeach Joe Biden Quit Name-Calling: White House Press Sec Psaki Hits Out at Ted Cruz For Threats to Impeach Joe Biden The Texas senator is one of the staunchest critics of the Democrat, in particular the administrations decision to introduce COVID-19 restrictions like mask and vaccine mandates as well as Bidens immigration and foreign policy. 2022-01-06T15:01+0000 2022-01-06T15:01+0000 2022-01-06T15:01+0000 us joe biden donald trump jen psaki ted cruz impeachment /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/1a/1082195919_0:0:3070:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_3fe43e0d8b8e218b1db7e567e9d08d1c.jpg White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has hit out at Ted Cruz for making threats to impeach US president Joe Biden for the migrant crisis at the US southern border with Mexico. When asked whether the White House has any reaction to the lawmakers remark Psaki said the following:Ted Cruz made his remark while speaking on his podcast 'Verdict'. The Texan senator said Republicans will call for serious investigations into the Biden administration if they win a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2022 mid-term elections, something the lawmaker described as "overwhelmingly likely".Cruz then went on to say that Republicans may start impeachment proceedings against president Joe Biden for his administrations immigration policy, which he described as utter lawlessness, although he admitted there may be other grounds for an impeachment. Cruz suggested that the motion will be retaliation for the two impeachment proceedings launched against former US president Donald Trump.Donald Trump was first impeached in 2019 under obstruction of Congress and abuse of power charges relating to his alleged attempts to pressure Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky into digging up dirt on Joe Biden to influence the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Senate held by Republicans acquitted the 45th president. In 2021, he was impeached for an unprecedented second time on charges of incitement to insurrection relating to the storming of the Capitol. He was acquitted again. Trump described both trials as a political witch-hunt.The Migrant CrisisThe Biden administration has been criticised by Republicans for the surge in how many migrants are crossing into the US on the country's border with Mexico. Opponents of the president say his decision to reverse immigration laws adopted under his predecessor Donald Trump has contributed to the surge.After his inauguration Joe Biden terminated asylum agreements with several Central American countries and suspended the policy requiring migrants to wait for asylum hearings outside the United States, although he later reinstated the "remain in Mexico" policy, and the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to use Trump-era border wall funds to close gaps in the barrier on the border with Mexico.Another move, which critics argue contributed to the illegal border crossings, is Joe Bidens proposal to offer legal status to 11 million undocumented individuals inside the United States.This triggered a wave of migrants attempting to cross into the country with hundreds of thousands of people being apprehended by border officials. According to the New York Times, almost 2 million people trying to get into the United States in 2021.The White House has insisted that illegal border crossings are driven by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic with vice-president Kamala Harris insisting that instead of dealing with the crisis on the border one has to focus on the root causes of migration corruption and lack of economic opportunities in Central America.Republicans insisted that the reversal of Trumps era policies as well as Bidens stance on the issue of migration has "encouraged" asylum seekers to travel to the US. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev us, joe biden, donald trump, jen psaki, ted cruz, impeachment https://sputniknews.com/20220106/uk-mps-slam-verdict-in-colston-statue-case-as-woke-argue-it-legitimises-vandalism--1092055635.html UK MPs Slam Verdict in Colston Statue Case as 'Woke', Argue it Legitimises Vandalism UK MPs Slam Verdict in Colston Statue Case as 'Woke', Argue it Legitimises Vandalism UK MPs have slammed the verdict in the Colston statue case, which saw four people accused of illegally removing the monument to Edward Colston being cleared of criminal damage. Commenting on the jury's decision, Tory legislator Peter Bone described it as "dangerous" and one that "could license to people elsewhere in the country to go around pulling statues down". 2022-01-06T07:21+0000 2022-01-06T07:21+0000 2022-01-06T07:21+0000 racial discrimination statue racism uk george floyd /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107960/27/1079602721_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_3e2599eb7c3f504c6ac326577941b1a7.jpg UK MPs have slammed the verdict in the Colston statue case, which saw four people accused of illegally removing the monument to Edward Colston being cleared of criminal damage. Commenting on the jury's decision, Tory legislator Peter Bone described it as "dangerous" and one that "could license to people elsewhere in the country to go around pulling statues down".His statement was echoed by that of Lee Anderson, who noted that the decision to clear individuals of criminal damage charges should be not be based on who is represented by a statue.Another Tory MP, Robert Jenrick, said the verdict states that vandalism and criminal damage are acceptable forms of political protest, something that undermines the rule of law, the lynchpin of Britain's democracy.George Floyd Protests, Toppling of the Statue, and TrialIn 2020, the United States was rocked by massive protests against racism and police brutality that were triggered by the death of African American George Floyd. The 46-year-old was arrested in Minneapolis after a shop clerk called the police claiming a customer had used a forged banknote. Officers who arrived at the scene handcuffed Floyd and tried to put him in a police car.A struggle ensued, during which they pinned Floyd to the ground, with policeman Derek Chauvin placing his knee on the man's neck. Floyd told police officers more than 20 times that he was unable to breathe. Despite his pleas, the officer continued to kneel on his neck for almost ten minutes, even after Floyd fell unconscious.His death reignited the debate on racial injustice in the United States and sparked the biggest protests in the country since the assassination of famous civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Protests against racism then spread to other parts of the world and were held in Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe, including Germany, Spain, France, and Britain.During one such demonstration in the United Kingdom protesters in Bristol, England, toppled and dumped in a harbour the statue of Edward Colston, an English merchant who was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. According to UK media outlets, over the course of his lifetime he enslaved 84,000 people, including children. Colston was also involved in philanthropy and donated to schools, organisations supporting the poor, and hospitals.In 1895, a statue of him was installed in the centre of Bristol to commemorate his philanthropic works. Several decades later his slave-trading activities were detailed in a biography of his life and by the end of the 20th century there were calls to add a second plaque to the statue to state that Colston was also a slave trader.In 2018, the Bristol City Council made a planning application to add the second plaque, but due to disagreements on the wording it was never installed.The removal of the statue by the protesters divided the public and prompted a debate on whether statues commemorating individuals involved in the slave trade or deemed racist now should remain standing. During the trial the prosecution insisted that Colston's slave trade past was "wholly irrelevant". QC William Hughes said the case was about "the rule of law" and the "cold hard facts". Sage Willoughby, 22, one of the four defendants, said they didn't try to edit history, noting that others were "whitewashing" it by calling Colston a "virtuous man".The four defendants were greeted by a crowd of supporters standing outside the court. The statue of Edward Colston is currently in storage and awaits the results of a survey on what should be done with it. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev racial discrimination, statue, racism, uk, george floyd https://sputniknews.com/20220106/ukrainian-court-seizes-all-property-of-former-president-poroshenko-1092070305.html Ukrainian Court Seizes All Property of Former President Poroshenko Ukrainian Court Seizes All Property of Former President Poroshenko Pecherskyi District Court in the Ukrainian city of Kiev has seized all property of the Ukrainian ex-president, Petro Poroshenko, accused of state treason, Poroshenko's lawyer Igor Golovan said on Thursday. 2022-01-06T16:28+0000 2022-01-06T16:28+0000 2022-01-06T17:29+0000 treason ukraine petro poroshenko /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107878/72/1078787215_0:0:3157:1776_1920x0_80_0_0_d0efa5f7c1e1ad34e055e3ccc9d9bf68.jpg "Now they have seized all the property of Petro Alekseevich," Golovan told reporters after a court hearing.Golovan added that Poroshenko's lawyers will file an appeal against the court's ruling.The Ukrainian digital news outlet Strana.ua reported citing its sources that among Poroshenko's seized property were two apartments in Ukrainian cities of Vinnytsia and Kiev, a residence in the urban-type settlement Kozyn in the Kiev region, and two land parcels covering the area of 7.41 acres. Moreover, the court seized Poroshenko's shares in different enterprises and media, dozens of paintings of prominent artists and froze his assets in the International Investment Bank, the outlet added.On December 24, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office asked the court to arrest Poroshenko for alleged treason with the possibility of bail of about $37 million. The Ukrainian party European Solidarity called it political repressions. According to many Ukrainian outlets, the court allowed to detain Poroshenko to bring him to the court to impose pre-trial detention.Poroshenko, who is currently in Poland, first became a suspect of treason and aiding terrorism in the case of coal supplies from Donbas. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 treason, ukraine, petro poroshenko https://sputniknews.com/20220106/unsc-likely-to-discuss-sudan-as-military-coup-gov-struggles-to-replace-resigned-pm-hamdok-1092051541.html UNSC Likely to Discuss Sudan as Military Coup Gov Struggles to Replace Resigned PM Hamdok UNSC Likely to Discuss Sudan as Military Coup Gov Struggles to Replace Resigned PM Hamdok When Abdallah Hamdok resigned as Sudans prime minister on Sunday, it left the military government in a bind, as he had been the civilian figurehead legitimizing the coup. However, appointing another might not be so simple. 2022-01-06T01:04+0000 2022-01-06T01:04+0000 2022-01-06T01:04+0000 sudan africa military coup prime minister political crisis resignation /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/02/1091984601_0:0:3069:1726_1920x0_80_0_0_1faac1f80124cc340c64dbf5d3e15a52.jpg My acceptance of the assignment to the position of prime minister was on the basis of a political consensus between the civilian and military components, which I had preached as a unique Sudanese model, Hamdok said on Sunday as he announced his resignation on state television. But it did not survive with the same degree of commitment and harmony with which it began.Hamdok had been appointed in 2019 to head the joint civilian-military Sovereign Council established after a popular uprising overthrew longtime military leader Omar al-Bashir. The council reflected the still-strong power of the military, which was led by men who had been close to Bashir and were reluctant to see the system change significantly, and the powerful pro-democracy groups that organized millions during months of protests that Bashirs government had brutally repressed.However, a senior member of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), one of the most powerful pro-democracy groups, told Axios on Wednesday that the real reason was that Hamdok knew his new cabinet would not be accepted by the protest movement, which already viewed his return to office as a fig leaf disguising military rule.Burhan cant simply appoint a new puppet to Hamdoks office, though: a group of Western powers and the European Union said on Tuesday they will not support a Prime Minister or government appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders.Nor can the military continue along its path since October of brutally repressing the mass protests without significant penalties, either: hanging over the heads of any government in Khartoum is the billions foreign aid sent to Sudan since Bashirs ouster, including the $700 million terminated by the US on October 25.However, some suggested it might still try, using the militant response its likely to provoke from the protesters as an excuse to crack down even harder.At least 57 protesters have been killed by security forces since the October 25 coup, and protesters have mounted 11 March of Millions demonstrations against the coup in that time.Also on Wednesday, Mona Julla, Norway's Ambassador to the United Nations and chair of the UN Security Council, said the council was likely to discuss the situation in Sudan next week - its earliest opportunity to do so. sudan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg sudan, africa, military coup, prime minister, political crisis, resignation https://sputniknews.com/20220106/us-will-not-agree-to-all-russian-security-proposals-compromise-possible-political-experts-suggest-1092068462.html US Will Not Agree to All Russian Security Proposals, Compromise Possible, Political Experts Suggest US Will Not Agree to All Russian Security Proposals, Compromise Possible, Political Experts Suggest While the United States will not concede to all of Russia's security proposals, especially when it comes to the issue of NATO expansion, it is possible for the two sides to reach a compromise, experts have told Sputnik. 2022-01-06T17:43+0000 2022-01-06T17:43+0000 2022-01-06T17:43+0000 us russia security nato expansion nato opinion /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/05/01/1082782318_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_7c1795863696924e78344fb2505404a6.jpg On December 17, Moscow presented draft agreements between Russia, the United States and NATO on security guarantees, which, if agreed to, would prevent NATO from expanding eastwards and prohibit the US and Russia from stationing intermediate and shorter-range ballistic missiles within striking distance of each other's territory, among other things. Moscow and Washington are expected to hold negotiations on the security guarantees on January 10. It will be followed by a Russia-NATO Council meeting on the Russian security proposals on January 12 and a summit of Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on January 13.According to Thomas Shea, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, this series of interconnected meetings sets the stage for a diplomatic conference that could result in Ukraine becoming a neutral country and creation of a framework treaty that would decrease the risks of armed conflict.Nikolai Sokov, a senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, thinks that the US took Russia's suggestions seriously as a sign that the situation around Ukraine may escalate to dangerous levels."Of course, there are limits to what Washington may contemplate but at least a serious dialogue can begin," Sokov opined.The expert stated that the issue of NATO's non-expansion is a non-starter for the US, but everything else can be discussed. However, if Moscow insists on the alliance not admitting new members the deal is dead on arrival."There can only be a de facto, tacit agreement not to admit Ukraine and Georgia in the foreseeable future; there can also be a tacit agreement on limits to extending NATO military infrastructure to these countries, but nothing formal," Sokov said, adding that "a compromise is possible, of course, but there are limits to what would be acceptable to both Washington and Moscow."He also explained that the Russia-US strategic stability dialogue on arms control has its own dynamic, with the main question being whether or not Washington would agree to discuss "areas other than strategic nuclear weapons long-range conventional and missile defense first of all.""So far, it does not seem an agreement on that central disagreement is within reach, though. Consultations on European security and NATO so far appear a separate track," Sokov explained.Meanwhile, M. V. Ramana, the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, noted that the talks between the US and Russia involve other parties as well.Nevertheless, despite the multiple differences between the sides, there is hope that Moscow and Washington will come through with new security arrangements."Set aside a bottle of the best champagne you can afford on the chance however precarious that something great might happen," Shea concluded. https://sputniknews.com/20211226/putin-says-russia-has-different-options-in-response-to-nato-eastward-expansion-1091810475.html https://sputniknews.com/20211230/russia-will-seek-firm-security-guarantees-from-us-during-geneva-talks-on-10-january-1091909030.html https://sputniknews.com/20211221/beijing-russian-proposals-on-security-guarantees-reduce-risk-of-conflicts-1091686355.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 us, russia, security, nato expansion, nato, opinion https://sputniknews.com/20220106/watch-csto-peacekeepers-from-russia-heading-to-kazakhstan-after-violent-riots-in-almaty-1092057892.html Watch CSTO Peacekeepers From Russia Heading to Kazakhstan After Violent Riots in Almaty Watch CSTO Peacekeepers From Russia Heading to Kazakhstan After Violent Riots in Almaty Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev previously reached out to his fellow heads of the CSTO member states, requesting their help in overcoming the "terrorist threat". 2022-01-06T09:54+0000 2022-01-06T09:54+0000 2022-01-06T10:48+0000 russia kazakhstan csto protests in kazakhstan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/06/1092058073_36:0:1840:1015_1920x0_80_0_0_f4aa616c1035eb1840856a82e8b425d6.png A video showing Russian peacekeepers from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) boarding an aircraft has been published. They are being deployed to Kazakhstan, where they will be assisting the authorities to curb violent riots there. According to the CSTO, the peacekeepers will be primarily tasked with guarding important state and military facilities.The joint forces will include peacekeepers from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and they will be assisting Kazakh authorities since Kazakhstan is also a member of the bloc.The request from the Kazakh authorities came after a wave of protests turned violent earlier this week. Mass riots engulfed Almaty, as crowds attacked police officers, stormed the mayor's office, the old presidential residence, and set buildings on fire.At the moment, a counter-terrorist operation is underway in Almaty, while several hundred rioters are gathered in the city centre, preparing for new clashes. kazakhstan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Russian Portion of Peacekeeping Contingent Being Transferred to Kazakhstan Russian Portion of Peacekeeping Contingent Being Transferred to Kazakhstan 2022-01-06T09:54+0000 true PT0M42S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg russia, kazakhstan, csto, https://sputniknews.com/20220106/weak-foreign-policy-internal-divisions-reportedly-caused-eu-to-be-left-out-of-us-nato-russia-talks-1092069149.html Weak Foreign Policy, Internal Divisions Reportedly Caused EU to Be Left Out of US-NATO-Russia Talks Weak Foreign Policy, Internal Divisions Reportedly Caused EU to Be Left Out of US-NATO-Russia Talks A lack of foreign policy clout on the EU's part is one of the reasons why the bloc was sidelined in upcoming security talks between the US, NATO, and Russia, the Financial Times has reported citing unnamed officials. 2022-01-06T16:35+0000 2022-01-06T16:35+0000 2022-01-07T04:33+0000 world europe us russia security /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/07/1081383724_0:114:3237:1934_1920x0_80_0_0_89392f462662caf248979f6f29052366.jpg A lack of foreign policy clout on the EU's part is one of the reasons the bloc was sidelined in forthcoming security talks held by the US, NATO, and Russia, the Financial Times has reported citing unnamed officials. They added that lack of unity within the bloc on crucial matters was another reason.The EU namely failed to find common ground on how to handle the alleged threat of Russia invading Ukraine (which Moscow had strongly ruled out) and prepare a statement of the EU's cooperation with NATO months in the making, according to the officials.The EU was "frustrated" by being excluded from the security talks, the Financial Times reported. The bloc demanded it be allowed to take part in the negotiations that will touch upon the issues around the Ukraine crisis and broader security issues in Europe, FT added. Washington, however, made no attempt to include the EU in the dialogue.The report comes as Brussels' foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, stated that the EU "cannot be a neutral spectator in the negotiations", which will affect the future of the security of the European continent.Some EU members chose to go a different path, seeking direct bilateral contacts with Russia instead, FT pointed out. The German chancellor's adviser on foreign policy, Jens Plotner, and French president's diplomat adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, will arrive in Moscow this week for meetings with Russian officials. Although the goal of their visit is unclear, they will travel to Ukraine afterwards.The security talks will kick off on 10 January, when American and Russian representatives will meet to discuss security guarantees. On 12 January, the Kremlin will be discussing security in Europe with NATO representatives in Brussels.Moscow has already forwarded its proposals to Washington, including the need to prevent further NATO eastward expansion, the inclusion of Ukraine into the alliance, and mutual non-deployment of missiles previously banned by the INF Treaty near each other's borders. https://sputniknews.com/20220105/eu-angry-about-not-participating-in-russias-security-guarantee-talks-with-us-nato-report-says-1092041314.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg world, europe, us, russia, security https://sputniknews.com/20220106/west-might-not-like-house-demolitions-but-israel-doesnt-have-any-other-options-1092054849.html West Might Not Like House Demolitions, But Israel Doesn't Have Any Other Options West Might Not Like House Demolitions, But Israel Doesn't Have Any Other Options It is difficult to estimate how many homes have been partially or fully destroyed by the IDF since 1967, when Israel took control over the West Bank. But according to estimates, 2021 was one of the most difficult years for the Palestinians, with 199 devastated residential structures. 2022-01-06T06:42+0000 2022-01-06T06:42+0000 2022-01-06T06:42+0000 west bank middle east israel demolition palestinians home demolition /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/05/0f/1082900687_0:75:2251:1341_1920x0_80_0_0_cc01bf53bd11f01cbc71250de5b752b8.jpg A month and a half after Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem's Shuafat refugee camp, opened fire in the disputed city, killing one and injuring four others, the IDF has issued a demolition order for his home.Nothing NewThe move has already prompted waves of criticism from various human rights groups, citing collective punishment. But Oded Mudrik, a retired judge, who has dealt with many cases of house demolitions, says this practice is "nothing new".That policy goes back to the British Mandate. Those governing what was then known as Palestine used that measure against Jewish extremists and against Palestinians to quell their uprising against western forces.In 1948, when Israel was created, the laws of the British Mandate remained intact, and in 1967, when the Jewish state captured the West Bank from Jordan, it started to apply that policy against the Palestinians in the area.Over the years, Israel has destroyed hundreds of Palestinian homes. According to B'Tselem, an NGO that documents Israeli actions in the territories, 2019 saw the demolition of 104 homes. In 2020 that number was 151 and a year later it jumped to 199 residential structures.Moral Issue?Some of these homes were destroyed because of their illegal construction. Others - due to one of their dweller's involvement in terrorist activity.Yet, those claims have been previously put to the test. Israel's liberal circles and human rights groups believe it is immoral to practice collective punishment against those who have not been involved in a crime.Several judges and military experts have echoed those concerns and said the measure does more harm than good, primarily because it evokes hatred towards Israel and encourages more acts of terror.Others have claimed the policy violates the prohibition of the destruction of private property, whereas there are also those who point to the discriminatory nature of the measure that is always directed at the Palestinians, never at Jewish extremists.Alternative SolutionsThis is why the policy was suspended in 2005, but three years down the line it was resumed partially due to public pressure and partially because of a wave of terrorist activity emanating from East Jerusalem. In 2014, it was fully reinstated but Israel's High Court of Justice reiterated that the measure could only be used in extreme circumstances and proportionately.International law experts argue that Israel does. The Geneva Convention strictly forbids the destruction of property except in instances where "such destruction rendered absolutely necessary by military operations".The law encourages the incarceration of the culprit rather than a collective punishment that hurts ordinary civilians. But for many Israelis, the imprisonment of Palestinians accused of terrorism is simply not enough.The main reason for this is the reports about their rather convenient conditions or about their bloated salaries that at times can reach $4,000 a month.Many are also frustrated that some of those culprits could potentially be released in a swap deal like in 2011 when Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was exchanged for more than a thousand Palestinian inmates, many of whom have murdered Israelis. west bank Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Elizabeth Blade Elizabeth Blade News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Elizabeth Blade west bank, middle east, israel, demolition, palestinians, home demolition https://sputniknews.com/20220106/what-is-the-csto-and-why-are-its-peacekeeping-forces-being-sent-to-kazakhstan-1092059445.html What is the CSTO and Why Are Its Peacekeeping Forces Being Sent to Kazakhstan? What is the CSTO and Why Are Its Peacekeeping Forces Being Sent to Kazakhstan? The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) decided on Thursday to send its peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan amid raging protests in the Central Asian nation. 2022-01-06T11:44+0000 2022-01-06T11:44+0000 2022-01-06T11:44+0000 world russia armenia kazakhstan csto protests in kazakhstan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/06/1092060690_0:131:3175:1917_1920x0_80_0_0_e5143bd6d616972017e89b5be11679ca.jpg Several CSTO units are said to already be operating in Kazakhstan to help maintain order and stabilise the situation in the protest-hit country after a request for help from the government, according to a statement from the bloc's secretariat.Here is a quick look at what the CSTO is and what it is expected to do in Kazakhstan.CSTO History Formed between 1992 and 2002, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation includes the following post-Soviet countries: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. All participating states agreed to abstain from the use or threat of force, and aggression against one of the states is viewed as aggression against all CSTO members.The alliance employs a so-called "rotating" presidency, with the country leading the group alternating every year. The decision to send CSTO peacekeeping forces was announced by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is currently the head of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO.Peacekeeping Forces and Their TasksAs the alliance puts on its website, the CSTO peacekeeping force is a set of contingents designed to participate in the organisation's peacekeeping operations. Among these contingents are specially trained military, police, and civilian personnel, along with the forces and means provided by the member states.The total number of CSTO peacekeeping personnel is some 3,600 people.Among the tasks that may be performed under peacekeeping operations are monitoring cease-fires and cease-fire agreements, separation of conflicting parties, creating conditions for negotiations, combating mass unrest, promoting human rights, protection and defence of vital facilities, and assuring access for humanitarian aid.Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev underlined that the CSTO will first and foremost concentrate on guaranteeing security and guarding military and civilian infrastructure, while it will remain to Kazakh law enforcement to ensure order in the country.CSTO Member States on Peacekeeping OperationAside from the Russian portion of the peacekeeping forces transferred to Kazakhstan are those from other member states. The Russian Defence Ministry early Thursday shared a video of its contingents setting off for the Central Asian country.The peacekeeping forces sent to Kazakhstan also consist of some 70 troops from Armenia, a Sputnik correspondent reported. They are set to guard important military infrastructure facilities amid the ongoing unrest.The Belarusian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that it had sent units to Kazakhstan, saying the situation in the Central Asian nations resembles an attempted coup. Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon confirmed his country's intention to comply with its commitments under the CSTO agreement in connection with the situation in Kazakhstan. A source in Tajik law enforcement told Sputnik that the country is sending about 200 troops under the peacekeeping mission.Kyrgyzstan's Defence Minister Baktybek Bekbolotov said that Bishkek may send rapid deployment unitsThe deployment of the CSTO peacekeeping forces is only possible when an agreement is reached between all member states. The request from Kazakhstan for the alliance to help was sent earlier on Wednesday, with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev voicing concerns that the protests that have engulfed his nation could be fuelled by "financially motivated" plotters from abroad.Situation in KazakhstanAccording to Thursday reports from the local broadcaster Khabar 24, at least 12 law enforcement officers were killed during the violent protests in Almaty, with 353 others sustaining injuries. The country's Health Ministry later said that the total number of those injured during the nationwide unrest has eclipsed a thousand.A state of emergency was declared across all of Kazakhstan in the wake of the unrest, with President Tokayev vowing to treat offenders in the protests as decisively as possible. According to him, the situation in Kazakhstan may have been influenced by foreign parties, as he pointed to "gangs" operating in the country and alleged they have been trained abroad.The protests have engulfed Kazakhstan since the very first days of 2022, starting on 2 January in the country's southwestern regions due to a surge in gas prices that followed the government's announcement of a new pricing policy. As the prices skyrocketed, people took to the streets of the regions of Aktau and Zhanaozen, with demonstrations later spreading across the entire nation.Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, has been hit the hardest during the unrest, with multiple clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers and government and civilian buildings set on fire.International airlines are delaying or cancelling Kazakhstan-bound flights amid the ongoing unrest, with multiple countries and blocs calling for de-escalation and dialogue. https://sputniknews.com/20220106/watch-csto-peacekeepers-from-russia-heading-to-kazakhstan-after-violent-riots-in-almaty-1092057892.html https://sputniknews.com/20220105/whats-going-on-in-kazakhstan-and-what-are-protesters-demanding-amid-surging-gas-prices-1092033565.html russia armenia kazakhstan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Daria Bedenko Daria Bedenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Daria Bedenko world, russia, armenia, kazakhstan, csto https://sputniknews.com/20220106/white-house-press-sec-psaki-says-joe-biden-has-no-free-time-to-think-data-suggests-otherwise--1092059666.html White House Press Sec. Psaki Says Joe Biden Has No Free Time to Think, Data Suggests Otherwise White House Press Sec. Psaki Says Joe Biden Has No Free Time to Think, Data Suggests Otherwise US President Joe Biden doesn't have free time to think, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Speaking at the latest press briefing, the official was asked how the Democrat was spending his day in terms of preparing for a speech commemorating the anniversary of the storming of the Capitol 2022-01-06T11:29+0000 2022-01-06T11:29+0000 2022-01-06T11:29+0000 joe biden jen psaki us delaware /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/08/1082574853_0:0:3173:1785_1920x0_80_0_0_06f6ecdaa2fd8df2bd647d1809031612.jpg US President Joe Biden doesn't have free time to think, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Speaking at the latest press briefing, the official was asked how the Democrat was spending his day in terms of preparing for a speech commemorating the anniversary of the storming of the Capitol. Mrs Psaki said the following:The press secretary's remark has since been questioned as data provided by journalist Mark Knoller, who has been gathering statistics on the president's daily activities, suggests that Joe Biden spent more than a quarter of his days in office in Delaware. Knoller said that the Democrat spent 95 days in his home state.Some of these days featured visits from family, friends, and other individuals. The Biden administration has refused to release details about these visits. The latter prompted criticism from the Democrat's detractors. Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, said the public has an interest in knowing who visits the president of the United States. "It's an easy way to bypass the alleged transparency they're promising. The presidency doesn't stop when he's visiting Delaware", he said.Commenting on the Democrat's frequent trips to his home state, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Joe Biden is "always working, no matter where" he is.The news comes amid accusations by critics that POTUS is avoiding interviews with major US outlets and ignoring questions from reporters during briefings. Biden's relationship with the media has been somewhat cold. He's so far given 18 interviews, compared to 89 for his predecessor Donald Trump and 141 for his ally Barack Obama. The White House has dismissed the accusations, saying that the president has had a "packed schedule" and pointed to the impromptu sessions with the press Biden's held on a regular basis. delaware Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev joe biden, jen psaki, us, delaware https://sputniknews.com/20220106/white-house-us-seeks-kind-of-coexistence-with-china-not-indo-pacific-domination-1092070422.html White House: US Seeks Kind of Coexistence With China, Not Indo-Pacific Domination White House: US Seeks Kind of Coexistence With China, Not Indo-Pacific Domination The United States seeks coexistence with China in the Indo-Pacific and not domination and primacy in the region, White House National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell said on Thursday. 2022-01-06T17:34+0000 2022-01-06T17:34+0000 2022-01-06T17:35+0000 us china bilateral relations indo-pacific /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/14/1091664787_0:321:3071:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_1efbfdc664f5fca367af0195e259507c.jpg "What I hear a lot of is sustaining a system of partners and friends, working in concert with other countries. I do not believe this is about American domination. In fact, I believe ultimately what the United States seeks is a kind of co-existence with China, with an understanding of China's critical and important role," Campbell said during a conversation on US-China relations with the Carnegie Endowment.The United States needs to compete across a number of arenas with China while maintaining positive and productive discussions with them at the same time, Campbell added.The United States, China and the other permanent members of the UN Security Council put out a joint statement earlier this week on avoiding nuclear war and an arms race in what UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid called "the right message to the entire planet."However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also recently rejected the validity of US claims that Beijing is building up its nuclear arsenal. Washington is trying to bring Beijing to the negotiation table for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which currently limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 nuclear offensive warheads per nation. Russia says that it has no intention of forcing China to participate in the talks. https://sputniknews.com/20211214/majority-in-us-expect-increased-tensions-with-china-want-military-conflict-avoided---poll-1091520474.html china indo-pacific Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 us, china, bilateral relations, indo-pacific Buttermilk Hanover ($6.60) took the short way home to victory to kick off her nine-year-old season, making every call a winning one in Wednesday's (Jan. 5) $10,000 Preferred 3 for distaff pacers at The Raceway at the Western Fair District. Marc St. Louis Jr. put the daughter of Badlands Hanover in play immediately from the pole, and the pair used their inside advantage to seat Millies Million who left more strongly, but had the disadvantage of a wider barrier draw from post 5 in the pocket. After speeding through a :28.1 first quarter to establish control, Buttermilk Hanover enjoyed a :30.4 second-quarter breather only to have to pick up the pace again in the second circuit as Manhattan Night began a first-over ascent out of midfield. Manhattan Night encroached steadily up the backstretch and offered mild pressure to Buttermilk Hanover past three-quarters in 1:27.1, but faded off the home corner thus enabling Millies Million to take a second shot out of the pocket. Buttermilk Hanover held her ground, though, driven out to win by a length in 1:56.4. Millies Million (Travis Cullen) was a strong second; Mywishlistforyou (Garrett Rooney) finished a ground-saving third. Melissa Lamoureux trains 35-time winner Buttermilk Hanover for 8113564 Canada Ltd. and Jeffrey Boyd. To view Wednesday's complete results, click the following link: Wednesday Results The Raceway at the Western Fair District. Another year facing waves of COVID-19 restrictions didn't stop a small-town Canadian harness track from hitting big numbers. In 2021, Leamington Raceway enjoyed wagering gains that topped recent pre-pandemic levels, according to a Windsor Star article. Youve got a really dedicated group of individuals there who are totally committed to horse racing and that cascades down," John Hayes, chair of Ontario Racing, was quoted as saying. "Their wagering was really up. Wagering is very important to the future of horse racing in Ontario. Figures reported by the Windsor Star indicated there was more than $40,000 wagered on 11 of Leamington's 13 race cards in 2021, including a single-day track record of $46,700. All-sources handle for the 13-day meet was $537,182, exceeding the previous year's $324,000 and the pre-pandemic season total of $463,000 in 2019. "It was one of our best seasons ever, said horseman and Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain. I think we picked up a better calibre of horses and we changed our focus a bit, we really concentrated on making it a family day. The outdoor family-friendly atmosphere attracted crowds as big as 1,000, which translated to on-track wagering reported by the Windsor Star to have tripled from the previous year, soaring to more than $300,000. We are run by horse racing people, commented Mark Williams, horseman and president of Lakeshore Horse Racing Association, which operates the track. So we never lose sight of the fact that we dont have [an] industry if we dont have [any] fans. We created a family atmosphere and that goes hand in hand with our own horse people." Leamington's 13-race day season for 2022 will feature Sunday afternoon racing programs, once again, running from August through October. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe A California man who previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm by a convicted felon in federal court last September has been sentenced to a little more than four years in prison. According to court documents, 29-year-old Christian Joseph Laxson McCool was stopped by police in December 2020 while speeding through Marion in a vehicle that had been stolen out of Kentucky. McCool, who was the vehicle's only occupant, told police that he did not have a drivers license and admitted that he had a gun in his possession. Following officers' commands, according to a release from the U.S Attorney's Office, McCool exited the vehicle, but fled, leading police on a short foot pursuit before he was taken into custody. The vehicle McCool was driving had been reported stolen the day before. Officers located a loaded 9mm pistol under the front seat and also found a loaded 9mm magazine, two syringes and a small baggie containing what appeared to be methamphetamine. We must be diligent in our efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of those who have lost the right to possess a weapon, said U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh. Safe, responsible gun ownership is paramount to reducing gun crime in our neighborhoods. This is a positive result of a job well done by ATF and our partners who work tirelessly to combat violent gun crime within our communities, said Charlie J. Patterson, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division. We will continue to use all our resources to disrupt the illegal possession of firearms, distribution of narcotics and other acts of violence within our community. McCool was initially charged in Smyth County with two counts possession of stolen property, and one count each grand larceny, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm while in possession of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm while under a protective order and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was indicted on those charges in September of last year, the same month he pleaded guilty in federal court to the firearm possession charge, however, the state charges were later dropped. The Marion Police Department, the Williamson, West Virginia Police Department and the ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena L. Busscher prosecuted the case. Editors note: Information is provided by the Cowlitz County Corrections Department and local law enforcement agencies. Each individual named in this report is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Stolen vehicle Cowlitz County Sheriffs officers Wednesday arrested Hunter Woodley, 22, of Ariel, on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and making a false statement to the police. Fraud A Longview woman reported Wednesday she received a call about people opening credit cards in her name. Burglaries 100 block of South Street, Longview. Wednesday. Man seen acting suspicious outside home while owner is away, possible voices heard inside the home. 100 block of Valley View Drive, Kelso. Wednesday. Residential burglary, truck stolen and found crashed on Grade Street. 100 block of River Ridge Lane, Kalama. Wednesday. Multiple storage units broken into. 300 block of Ninth Avenue, Kelso. Wednesday. Home burglary. 400 block of Oregon Way, Longview. Wednesday. Commercial burglary. 800 block of Third Avenue, Longview. Wednesday. Commercial burglary. Thefts 400 block of Moilanen Road, Longview. Wednesday. Mail theft. 900 block of Cedar Street, Kelso. Wednesday. Mail theft. 200 block of Virginia Street, Kelso. Wednesday. Tools stolen from vehicle. 100 block of Studebaker Place, Castle Rock. Wednesday. Jewelry missing, suspect allegedly threatened to kill victim. 2600 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Wednesday. Purse stolen from car, credit cards used soon after. Vandalism/malicious mischief Solomon Road, Kelso. Wednesday. Back window of vehicle smashed in. 900 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Wednesday. Vehicle windows broken. Vehicle prowl 100 block of Solomon Road, Kelso. Wednesday. Car windows broken, possible bullet holes seen. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After attempts to reinstate former Kelso Mayor Nancy Malone and remove members Mike Karnofski and Kim Lefebvre were blocked Tuesday, the Kelso City Council also had to recess twice over disruptions from a member of the public. Tuesday nights meeting started with the appointment of Karnofski as mayor and Lefebvre as deputy mayor in 4-2 votes, with Karnofski, Lefebvre, Brian Wood and Jim Hill voting in favor of both and Kennan Harvey and Lisa Alexander not voting for the two nominations. Karnofski thanked the council for having the faith in me to elect me as mayor. Motion to remove Karnofski and Lefebvre Harvey said he was formally requesting City Manager Andy Hamilton announce Lefebvres and Karnofskis seats are vacant and you forfeited office on July 20. He said when Karnofski ran that July meeting in Deputy Mayor Lefebvres presence, it violated the city charter. Karnofski said Wednesday that Lefebvre was recovering from a surgery that day and asked him to run the meeting. In my mind pretty straightforward, Karnofski said. I was asked to run the meeting. City Attorney Janean Parker said as there were specific circumstances at the meeting that prevented the deputy mayor from ruling, it is my option that it does not constitute a violation. No action was taken Tuesday based on Harveys request. Motion to re-appoint Malone Malone was removed from the council at its last meeting for missing six meetings in a year, which is the limit set in the city charter. However, Harvey and Alexander argued she had not missed six, as two of those meetings were not valid meetings: the Sept. 7 meeting that was canceled after a quorum of council members walked out over the mask mandate, and the July 20 meeting that Harvey claimed was not run in accordance with the city charter. Alexander said Malone asked to be Zoomed into a meeting and was denied, which was improper. Nancy missed all but two of those meetings taking care of a dying sister-in-law and brother who have had cancer. Her sister-in-law did pass, but her brother is still fighting. Anyone who doesnt vote to reinstate her due to these circumstance has no heart, Alexander said. City Attorney Parker said she reviewed all information, including the questions brought by Harvey and Alexander, and I believe she has missed the requisite number of meetings and our charter mandates the action that was taken. Three audience members spoke in favor of reappointing Malone, one of whom said he lives in Castle Rock. Kelso resident Kirsten Markstrom said she was really disappointed in the removal of our mayor at the last meeting. Nancy Malone did an excellent job as a mayor and I think it was really slimy the way you guys went about removing her, she told the council. It feels like you did it to eliminate your competition and I dont feel that was very representative of the citizens of Kelso, so Im very disappointed in all of you. Wood, who was sworn in alongside Karnofski and Lefebvre earlier in the meeting, said the night was a heck of a way to get introduced to the council procedures. I do not know Ms. Malone but I respect anyone who is willing to step up and do the work of the city for the benefit of the citizens of the city, Wood said. That said, Im opposed to immediately reappointing her. Wood said he would rather use the city procedures to get applications as we owe ourselves the opportunity to look at everyone who is willing and able to put in the time necessary. Harvey and Alexander were the only two who voted in favor of the motion to reappoint Malone, with the other four council members voting against it. The council then voted 4-2, in a reversal of the prior vote, to direct the city to start seeking applicants for the position. She was elected to that position and appointing someone else to it is wrong, Harvey said of Malone. After the vote, a woman in the audience protested the result, eventually causing the meeting to recess for 10 minutes. The same woman prompted a short recess earlier in the meeting when she refused to wear a mask. The council earlier tabled last meetings minutes after Harvey brought up a question of if the meeting had ever been officially called to order. In a 4-2 vote with Harvey and Alexander voting against, the council tabled the minutes until such time the clerk could review the tapes of the meeting and determine if the meeting had been called to order. The council also passed an $85,000 engineering design contract for a water pipe upgrade meant to help Kelso transfer water from Longview more easily and heard a first reading on an ordinance to return a remnant piece of property to the previous owner, 4Leaf, for a payment of $2,700 and a permanent construction easement for the city after the South Kelso railroad crossing project. Love 4 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The U.S. Forest Services plan to build a road through Spirit Lakes Pumice Plain is set to move forward this summer after a judge ruled in favor of the agency and the project received a water permit late last month. The road is part of a plan to replace an old intake gate at the lake that helps protect the downstream communities from catastrophic floods. In March, a coalition of researchers and conservation organizations challenged the plan to build the temporary access road through the pumice plain, saying the service has not done the proper environmental assessments. The lawsuit also alleges the Forest Service is not properly weighting the importance of the research happening at the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument or the damage the road will cause. On Dec. 22, District Court Judge Robert Bryan ruled in favor of the Forest Service, finding the agency did not act arbitrarily, capriciously, or contrary to law. Western Environmental Law Center attorney Susan Jane Brown said the decision was a sizeable disappointment and she and her clients are discussing appealing. Brown represents the coalition of plaintiffs, including the Cascade Forest Conservancy; the Great Old Broads for Wilderness; the Washington Native Plant Society; the Sierra Club; researcher James Gawel; Susan Saul, a former Cowlitz County resident who was instrumental in getting Congress to create the monument; and biologist John Bishop. Most important for my clients is the Forest Service continues to not appreciate the unique value of Mount St. Helens and really has turned a blind eye to the initial purposes of the monument when it was designated in 1982 to preserve the area in its natural state and focus on unparalleled research opportunities that the monument and the Spirit Lake Pumice Plain present to the research community, Brown said. When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, debris blocked the historic outflow of Spirit Lake, raising the water level 200 feet. Engineers built a tunnel in 1985 to drain the lake and to prevent a catastrophic flood, but the 35-year-old tunnel needs repairs and upgrades. The four- or five-year construction project will have four phases. The work will include briefly closing portions of the Truman Trail and building a 3.4-mile access road from Windy Ridge to the old pump station near the lake. Throughout the planning process, researchers said not only will the road and drilling disturb research plots, ruining long-running projects, but it also could introduce invasive species to the natural laboratory. The lawsuit alleges the Forest Service has violated the National Forest Management Act by not following the aquatic conservation strategy and by not preparing a proper land and resource management plan and that the Forest Service failed to consider all direct, indirect and cumulative effects of the project and did not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. In his December order, Bryan wrote the Forest Service complied with requirements when crafting its plan, including properly considering probable consequences of the work. The Forest Service may not have considered the Pumice Plain and Spirit Lakes nature in the terms Plaintiffs would have preferred, but it thoroughly considered Plaintiffs concern, which is that the Pumice Plain and Spirit Lake are unique and important for a variety of reasons, and the Project will negatively affect them, Bryan wrote. The Forest Service took a hard look at the effects of the project, and the Court must defer to its judgment. Brown said it seems the judge was not really familiar with our arguments or our claims, and she and her clients feel he misunderstood the case law around the claims. Its disappointing that the court did not talk about the unique ecological conditions of the area, she said. Its still a developing area and the research occurring there really cannot occur and doesnt occur anywhere else on the planet, Brown said. The court and the Forest Service never really recognized that. We hope appellate court will take a closer look at and really appreciate the unique nature of the landscape. Brown said they likely will file an appeal in the next month or so, and may also ask for an injunction to stop the work as the case moves through the court. As part of phase one construction, the Forest Service awarded a construction contract to improve the Forest Service Road 99 Extension the 2-mile section from Windy Ridge Viewpoint to the researcher parking area and work is set for summer and fall 2022, said Chris Strebig, Spirit Lake Project Manager with the Forest Service. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will manage the contract for the Forest Service and estimates the project cost will be $10 million to $20 million. After the Corps awards bids for the remaining work, construction of the temporary access road and other steps will begin in 2023, Strebig said. Construction only can be done from June through October due to weather conditions. On Dec. 23, the Washington State Department of Ecology issued a water quality permit for the project. An Ecology spokesperson said the agency didnt know about the lawsuit and the timing was coincidental. Cowlitz County Commissioner Dennis Weber said the permit is a huge step forward in local and federal efforts to secure and manage the volcanic sediment that flows down the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The U.S. utilities sector could suffer annual losses of up to $4.1 billion as climate hazards threaten to batter the industry's infrastructure, according to a new report. Roughly one in five global power lines are heavily exposed to rising sea levels, hurricanes, wildfires and storms, according to BloombergNEF data published Wednesday. In the U.S. alone, 700,000 kilometers (435,000 miles) of power grids are vulnerable to physical climate hazardsjust shy of the distance to the moon and back. Rating agencies have downgraded at least nine energy companies due to physical climate risks over the past three years. One firm, PG&E Corp., was forced into bankruptcy because of escalating wildfire risks. California investigators said this week that a power line owned by the company started the second-largest wildfire in the state's history. Climate hazards have been responsible for more than $2 trillion in global economic losses over the past two decades, with the energy sector bearing the brunt, according to BNEF. The largest storms have caused more than $20 billion in damage to the U.S. grid over the past five years and adaptation could cost a few million dollars per mile. Hurricane Ida, which pummeled much of the eastern U.S. with lashing rain and floods in August, killed at least 95 people and cost the economy $65 billion. It also took down 207 transmission lines in Louisiana, totaling $2 billion of damage. "Hurricanes have caused billions of dollars in damage to the U.S. power grid in the past decade," said Kathy Gao, a technology analyst at BNEF who wrote the report. "Building a more decentralized grid, such as micro-grids and behind-the-meter resources, could increase resiliency." Explore further Microgrids and solar reduce risk of power outages 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The tmsuk Pedia-Roid ER training robot for healthcare worker training on pediatric patients is demonstrated during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A lifelike, child-size doll writhed and cried before slightly shocked onlookers snapping smartphone pictures Wednesday at the CES tech showwhere the line between cool and slightly disturbing robots can be thin. "Oh! The eyes are very scary," said Marcelo Humerez, an exhibitor from Peru who happened upon the Pedia-Roid, which is designed for medical training, as its eyes went white. But just a few stands away, a humanoid named Ameca got a decidedly different reception, as it chatted with a curious crowd that marveled at its ability to make a range of stunningly person-like gestures. "Whoa, robot! I didn't expect that when I turned the corner," said Ricky Rivera, an exhibitor with Canada-based tech company Geotab. "But it looks amazing and it tracked me right away." Both reactions were, in some ways, exactly what the makers had been aiming for. Morgan Roe from Britain-based Engineered Arts said the firm created software and technology to make Ameca person-likethough there are limits to how realistic it can be. "We've designed Ameca to be as human-like as possible in movement," he told AFP while standing next to the robot, whose gray face moved and blinked as he spoke. "Humans are so complex, so making a robot exactly like a human is almost impossible," he added. "But if we did that, then you wouldn't be scared of it because you would just assume it was a human." Attendees take pictures and interact with the Engineered Arts Ameca humanoid robot with artificial intelligence as it is demonstrated during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 'A little bit creepy' Just before perfection, though, is a creation that is off in ways that reveal it isn't a living beingit's a concept called "the uncanny valley." "It doesn't quite move like a human, it doesn't quite express itself or emote or talk like a human. That's the uncanny valley, that's the scary bit," said Roe. Yet the slightly frightening aspect of the Pedia-Roid robot was done on purpose, said Yusuke Ishii from Japanese firm tmsuk, which was displaying the doll. "We want to create a realistic scenario, so that's the reason we added some of the scary noises, so it will behave like a child," he said through a translator. Attendees take pictures of the Engineered Arts Ameca humanoid robot with artificial intelligence is demonstrated during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The firm's brochure notes the robot can "realistically simulate the jittery movements of a child who is reluctant to receive treatment." At times, the roughly 43-inch (110-centimeter) tall robot moaned and talked, and its legs jerkedthough it can also simulate convulsions or the vomiting reflex. The tmsuk Pedia-Roid ER training robot for healthcare worker training on pediatric patients is demonstrated during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ana Kloar, an exhibitor from Slovenia, watched the Pedia-Roid for a bit and found it pretty cool. "A lot of children are afraid of dentists or doctors in general, and in this way you can practice how to treat them, how to comfort them," she said. And what about those eyesrolling back into the doll's head or turning white? "They are a little bit creepy, but the doll, it's quite cool," she said. Explore further Ameca robot shows off new level of human-like facial expressions 2022 AFP Credit: CC0 Public Domain Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford dropout at 19 with a baritone timbre and piercing stare, became Silicon Valley's sweetheart when she convinced wealthy investors she could revolutionize blood testing and promised Americans that their medical lives would be changed forever. After over $900 million of investments from wealthy donors, falsified blood tests, felony charges in 2018, and a guilty verdict four years later, the promises from the former Theranos CEO fell flat on their face in the public eye. But in Silicon Valley, where most startups fail and the mantra of "fake it till you make it" is gospel, it remains to be seen whether tech investors and entrepreneurs will change their risky habits following Holmes' conviction. Holmes, 37, was convicted of four of 11 charges of fraud and conspiring to commit fraud against investors on Monday. Fraud usually isn't prosecuted in California, particularly in Silicon Valley, and especially involving such high-profile figures, said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. But in this case, those combined factors crafted the perfect recipe for the federal government to convict Holmes and send a warning message to Silicon Valley, he said. "Federal prosecutors lack the resources to prosecute every type of crime," Rahmani said. "They can choose to go after fraud by corporations and start-ups or they can focus on violent crimes and narcotics. This victory gives a lift to prosecutors who want to more aggressively go after white-collar crime." "This was a big win for the government, and to the extent that startup culture has always been the Wild West, they're really going to have to look at the mirror and clean things up," he added. Before her downfall, Holmes seemed to be the perfect bite for Silicon Valley investors looking for their next meal. She traced the footsteps of her ultra-successful predecessors like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs in dropping out of college at 19 years old to pursue her business, even to the point of adopting Jobs' signature black turtleneck into her own style. She spoke with confidence and mingled with tech titans and politicians. Her idea that a pinprick of blood could be used to run dozens of tests, helping people detect life-threatening conditions earlier, was revolutionary and fit the bill of Silicon Valley's love affair with high-risk, high-reward investments. "Let's face it: Silicon Valley is based on dreams," said Richard Greenfield, a lawyer who represents investors in startups. "And you need people to keep stoking the fire to help keep those dreams alive." Over $900 million in investments from wealthy donors such as Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle; Rupert Murdoch, billionaire media mogul; and the Walton family, who founded Walmart, fueled Holmes' ambitions and ideas. Theranos grew to over 800 employees, reached a $9 billion valuation, and had a laboratory space in a suburb of Silicon Valley. Holmes mastered Silicon Valley's "fake it till you make it" approacha little too well. Theranos' flame began sputtering when it was revealed that the company lied about purported deals the company had reached with big drug companies such as Pfizer and the U.S. military and that its blood-testing technology kept producing misleading results. Holmes was indicted in 2018 and both she and her ex-business partner and former boyfriend Sunny Balwani were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. "Silicon Valley's darling, the fastest self-made female billionaire at the time, is going to do many, many years in prison," Rahmani said. "So it's going to change how people operate." While the trial likely clears the way for prosecuting more fraud in California, it's unclear if Valley investors will back down from gambling on risky investments. "I think it will generate some more caution among entrepreneurs, but for the most part, human nature being what it is, there is still going to be a tendency to exaggerate, especially when you know you might not get funded if you don't," Greenfield said. "And I don't think it will change many investors' attitudes," he added. "People are still going to want to reach for the moon." Aron Solomon, Esquire Digital's chief legal analyst, said the guilty charges might even be an incentive for investors to put more money in risky startups. Holmes was found not guilty on charges of fraud and conspiring to commit fraud against paying customers. But her guilty charges for defrauding investors, coupled with possible wider clearance to prosecute fraud, could mean a legal safety net for investors. "This is a win for those kinds of investors," Solomon said. "Because now, they have additional leverage over startup founders. This is just going to intensify that culture of risk." Holmes' sentencing, which could be months from now, and Balwani's trial, which has yet to begin, will further determine the trial's impact on startup culture. Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison for each of her convictions, but legal experts anticipate she will serve far less time. Explore further Jurors mull whether Theranos founder guilty of fraud (c)2022 U.S. Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain One of Portugal's leading media conglomerates said Thursday that a group calling itself "Lapsus$" hacked the company's online services, taking down some of its most popular websites and contacting subscribers. Grupo Impresa said the attack was aimed at disrupting the company's services and sending fake news messages to subscribers, including one that said, "Breaking: President removed and accused of murder: Lapsus$ is Portugal's new president." The company said in a statement that the hackers didn't demand any payment. The hackers gained access to the company's Amazon Web Services account and sent emails and text messages to subscribers, the statement said. The hackers accessed some subscriber information, but Impresa said it had no evidence they got hold of subscribers' passwords or credit card details. The attack occurred early on Jan. 2, the statement said. The company regained control of its cloud services later that day, though on Thursday two of its main websitesbelonging to top weekly newspaper Expresso and TV channels run by its broadcaster S.I.C.were still using temporary sites. The incident is being investigated by Portuguese police and the country's National Cybersecurity Center. 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Researchers led by the University of Tsukuba present an improved way to model interactions between matter and light at the atomic scale. Credit: University of Tsukuba Light-matter interactions form the basis of many important technologies, including lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and atomic clocks. However, usual computational approaches for modeling such interactions have limited usefulness and capability. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a technique that overcomes these limitations. In a study published this month in The International Journal of High Performance Computing Applications, a research team led by the University of Tsukuba describes a highly efficient method for simulating light-matter interactions at the atomic scale. What makes these interactions so difficult to simulate? One reason is that phenomena associated with the interactions encompass many areas of physics, involving both the propagation of light waves and the dynamics of electrons and ions in matter. Another reason is that such phenomena can cover a wide range of length and time scales. Given the multiphysics and multiscale nature of the problem, light-matter interactions are typically modeled using two separate computational methods. The first is electromagnetic analysis, whereby the electromagnetic fields of the light are studied; the second is a quantum-mechanical calculation of the optical properties of the matter. But these methods assume that the electromagnetic fields are weak and that there is a difference in the length scale. "Our approach provides a unified and improved way to simulate light-matter interactions," says senior author of the study Professor Kazuhiro Yabana. "We achieve this feat by simultaneously solving three key physics equations: the Maxwell equation for the electromagnetic fields, the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equation for the electrons, and the Newton equation for the ions." The researchers implemented the method in their in-house software SALMON (Scalable Ab initio Light-Matter simulator for Optics and Nanoscience), and they thoroughly optimized the simulation computer code to maximize its performance. They then tested the code by modeling light-matter interactions in a thin film of amorphous silicon dioxide, composed of more than 10,000 atoms. This simulation was carried out using almost 28,000 nodes of the fastest supercomputer in the world, Fugaku, at the RIKEN Center for Computational Science in Kobe, Japan. "We found that our code is extremely efficient, achieving the goal of one second per time step of the calculation that is needed for practical applications," says Professor Yabana. "The performance is close to its maximum possible value, set by the bandwidth of the computer memory, and the code has the desirable property of excellent weak scalability." Although the team simulated light-matter interactions in a thin film in this work, their approach could be used to explore many phenomena in nanoscale optics and photonics. Explore further Researchers achieve first quantum simulation of baryons More information: Yuta Hirokawa et al, Large-scale ab initio simulation of lightmatter interaction at the atomic scale in Fugaku, The International Journal of High Performance Computing Applications (2022). Yuta Hirokawa et al, Large-scale ab initio simulation of lightmatter interaction at the atomic scale in Fugaku,(2022). DOI: 10.1177/10943420211065723 Luminar's lidar-based Proactive Safety pre-collision braking crash avoidance sensors are mounted on a test vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. As it pursues the goal of fully autonomous driving, Tesla has bet entirely on cameras and artificial intelligence, shunning other commonly used tools such as laser detection. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has touted a system built around eight "surround" cameras that feed data into the auto's "deep neural network," according to Tesla's website. But as with so many other things involving Tesla, there is controversy. At the giant Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Luminar Technologies has set up a demonstration of two autos moving at about 30 miles per-hour towards the silhouette of a child. A car utilizing Luminar's lidar, a laser-based system, stops in advance of trouble, while its rival, a Tesla, careens into the mannequin. Lumar's experiment, which was not verified by an outside expert, was intended as a "side-by-side comparison" to let people "really evaluate the difference," Luminar's Aaron Jefferson told AFP. "In perfect driving conditions, the right sunny day, cameras can do a lot," Jefferson said. "The problem comes in with those corner cases," where visibility can be impeded by fog, sunset lighting or objects like a stray plastic bag. Many companies working in the autonomous transportation space agree with Luminar and are focusing on technologies that combine cameras with other systems such as lidars, radars based on radio waves, or sometimes both. But Teslawhose cars currently offer driver-assistance systems well short of full autonomyhas adopted a different approach under the iconoclastic Musk. Musk's method is to take real-time readings from a camera that is fed into an artificial intelligence system built around data collected over the years by Tesla sensors. "The bet that Tesla made, essentially, is that by collecting a lot of data, they can then train the algorithm," said Kilian Weinberger, a Cornell University computer scientist. Musk's view is that his system can be "as good as an algorithm that actually uses all these expensive sensors that have a lot less data," said Weinberger, who called Tesla's approach "a pretty reasonable strategy." A vehicle with Luminar's lidar-based Proactive Safety pre-collision braking crash avoidance sensors stops to avoid a child-sized test dummy at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Has technology 'plateaued?' While automakers have added systems to assist with braking, parking and other functions, achieving full autonomy has proven difficult. Autonomous driving systems are built around four functions, according to Sam Abuelsamid of Guidehouse Insights, a market intelligence firm: perceive the environment in real-time, predict what will happen next, plan the car's next move and then execute it. "It turns out the prediction is much, much harder than anybody anticipated, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists," Abuelsamid said, adding that the progress of software built only around cameras "has somewhat plateaued." "Elon Musk sold the story of full self-driving based on the hardware that they had," he said. "They painted themselves into a corner... because they've already sold the system to hundreds of thousands of customers." Other skeptics of Tesla's approach include Jacques Aschenbroich, chief executive of French automotive supplier Valeo, which presented its latest lidar technology at CES. "Even with plenty of data, cameras are not enough," said Aschenbroich, who views sensors as especially important in urban areas or other spots where car traffic and pedestrians can be unpredictable. "We firmly believe lidars are essential" for reaching further levels of autonomy, he said. "All the sensors have strengths and weaknesses," said Marko Bertogna, a professor at the University of Modena who is part of a team participating in an autonomous car race at CES. Bertogna believes regulators are more likely to accept autonomous systems built around redundancy. "The current state of the art is that there are still too many problems for a system relying on camera only to be safely validated," he said. 2022 AFP remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Betty White died of natural causes and did not receive a COVID booster shot a few days before her death, contrary to online rumors, her friend and agent Jeff Witjas said Monday. "That's just not true 100% not true," Witjas told the New York Daily News in a phone call. White, who died either Thursday night or Friday at age 99, had been staying close to home during the pandemic, Witjas said. He debunked claims circulating on social media regarding a quote attributed to "The Golden Girls" star in which she said, "Eat healthy and get all your vaccines. I just got boosted today," supposedly uttered by White on Dec. 28. The memes about White being affected by the COVID-19 booster shot have proliferated online, with posts such as a tweet sharing the fabricated quote and captioned, "Died 3 days later! Coincidence," according to The Associated Press. The posts come with a link to an article in a Minnesota news outlet, Crow River Media, carrying the title, "Betty White: I'm lucky to still be in good health." The article itself says nothing about a booster shot, AP said. The rumors are all not true, said Witjas, a longtime friend of White. He added that he had no idea of White's vaccination status overall. "But I do know for a fact that a booster was not involved at all in Betty's passing," Witjas told the Daily News. "That seems to be the story out there, and it's just not true. Betty passed due to natural causes." He said she had been "well taken care of" by people who were supremely careful about their shots. "People can do what they want to do. But they shouldn't hang it on Betty for any reason. It's just not right. It's not her legacy," Witjas said. "She was never a political person when she lived. I would certainly hate to see her become politicized in passing." "Betty always spoke the truth," Witjas said. "I as her agent always spoke the truth with her. It's not going to stop now." He also expressed worry that people might be deterred by the false reports. "If people truly believe that Betty passed away because of a COVID shot, a booster, they're not going to go out and get it," Witjas said. "Today you can attribute anything to anybody, and make it true. But I don't want that to be done to Betty," he said. "Unless it's true. But in this case it's not true." White's death came just 18 days before what would have been her 100th birthday. Her death was mourned widely by celebrities and animal rights groups, and everyone in between. Texas A&Ms spring semester begins Jan. 18, and the university announced on Thursday that in-person classes will begin as scheduled despite a rise in COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the omicron variant. Texas A&M employees will return to work in-person on Monday. The university is having employees work remotely this week as cases of COVID-19 and flu rise locally and across the state. Texas A&M officials are encouraging students and employees to wear masks, get vaccinated and test routinely. A&M officials said they recently acquired a large number of at-home test kits from the Texas Division of Emergency Management, adding details will be released soon about how the free tests will be distributed to students, faculty and staff in the coming weeks. On Thursday, the Brazos County Health District reported 222 new cases of COVID-19 among county residents; the number of active cases of the virus in Brazos County rose to 1,453. A university website said the number of active, self-reported cases of the virus among students, faculty members and staff was 346 as of Monday. The number is up from 79 cases reported Dec. 21. The University of Texas in Austin and Texas State University in San Marcos announced this week that classes for the start of the spring semester would be moved online through Jan. 30. Classes at those university also begin Jan. 18. University of Texas officials have requested students get tested within three days of returning to campus. Blinn College classes are also scheduled to begin Jan. 18, with faculty members returning to campuses on Monday. Brazos County health officials reported 222 new cases of COVID-19 among county residents Thursday as the number of active cases rose to 1,453. Health officials said 2,580 cases of the virus reported by health care systems and testing centers were awaiting confirmation Thursday. Brazos County officials have confirmed 35,443 cases of COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020. A Texas A&M University website said the number of active, self-reported cases of the virus among students, faculty members and staff was 346 as of Monday, the last date for which figures were posted. Officials with the Brazos County Health District said 33,622 cases were considered recovered as of Thursday; health officials classify all cases older than two weeks as recovered. Thirty-five Brazos County residents were hospitalized Thursday for treatment of symptoms related to the virus, officials said. The percentage of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the states Trauma Service Area N Brazos County and six surrounding counties was 15.96% on Wednesday, the last date for which figures were reported. Other counties in the Brazos Valley region are Burleson, Robertson, Grimes, Madison, Washington and Leon. There were 87 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the seven-county Brazos Valley region Thursday, with 20 new patients admitted in the past 24 hours, according to the Department of State Health Services. Four COVID-19 patients were on ventilators in the region, and there were no intensive care unit beds available in the region. Of the 545 staffed hospital beds in the region, 52 were available Thursday, according to state figures. Across the state, 8,740 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients were hospitalized Thursday. Brazos Countys positivity rate the percent of positive cases to tests was 7.91% on Thursday. Health officials said 448,252 tests for COVID-19 had been administered by Brazos County health care providers since the pandemic began. There were 11 new probable COVID-19 cases reported in Brazos County on Thursday. To date, health officials have reported 5,854 total probable cases. To date, 368 Brazos County residents have died after testing positive for COVID-19, according to health department figures. Statewide On Thursday, 35,453 new cases of COVID-19 and 126 virus-related deaths were reported in Texas. The total number of COVID-19 cases reported in the state was more than 4 million, according to state figures. State officials said 75,014 Texans have died of COVID-19 as of Thursday. The Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerces annual Economic Outlook Conference is set for Jan. 26 at the Hilton in College Station. The program begins at 8 a.m., with presentations through 2 p.m.; lunch is provided. The event is designed to give local business leaders an overview of the upcoming year, with information on regional projects, transportation and infrastructure. This years conference will focus on responding to growth. Registration for Chamber members is $100 and $125 for non-members. For more information, email jordan@bcschamber.org. THURSDAY EVENTS CSISD career fair, 4 to 6 p.m. at the CSISD Central Administration Building, 1812 Welsh Ave. in College Station. Department directors will be taking applications and completing interviews for positions in child nutrition and custodial services. Applicants should bring contact information for two references. Centering prayer and childrens spirituality program, 6:30 p.m. at Middleway Urban Monastery, 309 N. Tabor Ave. in Bryan. A centering prayer gathering led by the Rev. Rich Nelson for adults; children will be led in spiritual activities during the same time. SFF Book Club, 5:15 p.m. online event. The book club, which focuses on science fiction, fantasy and paranormal books, will be discussing A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Email amaliga@bryantx.gov for the Zoom link. Readers 16 and older are welcome. A Fresh Start to a Healthier You, 10 a.m. at the Larry J. Ringer Library, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Station. A research-based program designed to improve the health of participants. The four-session series emphasizes the importance of fruits and vegetables, physical activity, food safety and food resource management through hands-on activities, discussion and demonstrations. For more information, email areed@bryantx.gov. COVID-19 TESTING St. Teresa Catholic Church, 201 Hall St. in Bryan, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted. curative.com. New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1505 Dansby St. in Bryan, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted.curative.com. Kohls parking lot kiosk, 1509 Texas Ave. in College Station, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rapid PCR testing. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted.curative.com. Blinn College, 651 Blinn Blvd. in Brenham, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted.curative.com. Rudder Plaza kiosk, 275 Joe Routt Blvd. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nasal swab tests for Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required. Mays Plaza kiosk, 1100 Hensel Drive on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nasal swab tests for Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required. SUPPORT GROUPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), 5:30 p.m. A peer-led weight loss support group. Call 846-0617 for the location. NAMI Brazos Valley Mental Health online support group, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Free support group for people with mental health issues. Open to residents in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson and Washington counties. Call 774-4713 for more information. EXHIBITS Oceans of Plastic at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station. A collection of art made from plastic pollution acquired from beaches along the Texas coast. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults, and tickets must be purchased at bush41.org/visit/admission. How the Other Half Lives, through Friday at The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. The exhibit features the photographs, correspondence and journals of Jacob Riis, a reporter who devoted his life to social reform and led efforts to increase awareness about homelessness, immigration, education, crime, public health and labor. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adult admission is $5. For more information, visit brazosvalleymuseum.org. Collage by Lance Letscher, through Friday in the Wright Gallery in the Langford A Building in the College of Architecture on the Texas A&M University campus. Weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Celebrating 60 Years, through January at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. A celebration of 60 years of service to the Brazos Valley through vintage photographs, artifacts and specimens. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults. How will our grandchildren view the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the first physical assault on the nations capital since the 1814 British invasion of Washington? The historical perspective of a similar attack on Germany democracy a century ago offers some unnerving similarities and some ideas to preserve American democracy today. When looking at key events in the German descent from democracy to dictatorship from 1918 to 1933, most commonly cited are the 1923 Munich Beer Hall Putsch and the 1933 burning of the Reichstag, the German parliament. In the former, rabble-rouser Adolf Hitler failed to overthrow the government. In the latter, newly appointed Chancellor Adolf Hitler used the destruction as an excuse to impose martial law and end democracy. More alarming today than Hitlers failed 1923 attempted coup are the parallels to the rise of the German stab in the back myth. Former president Donald Trump and his supporters continue to attack the legitimacy of the Nov. 3, 2020, elections and rewrite what actually happened on Jan. 6. The Dolchstoss was a similar and tragically successful falsification of history that promoted German ultra-nationalism and, ultimately, Nazism. In spring 1918, the German army unleashed a major offensive, hoping to end World War I before large number of American troops arrived. The attacks failed. By early fall, facing an imminent invasion by Allied armies, the German military Supreme Command told the imperial cabinet it had to become a parliamentary cabinet, an Allied demand, and seek a ceasefire. The Social Democrats were invited to lead the new government and then promptly told they had to surrender. Defeats need explanation how could our side lose? Historically, blaming outside agitators or internal traitors has proved a good way for leaders and governments to deflect blame from their failures. German army commanders such as Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff quickly claimed the army was stabbed in the back by Home Front pessimism, strikes, and, more malevolently, unpatriotic German Jews and left-wing Social Democrats. Betrayal, not bad leaders, explained the German surrender. This Dolchstoss myth proved very politically attractive to many Germans. In 1919, the Reichstag began investigating alleged German war guilt to prevent similar Allied trials. A subcommittee held 104 formal hearings and published eight volumes on the countrys military and internal collapse, but it took eight years. The subcommittee moved so slowly that an emerging anti-democratic coalition of monarchists, Annexationists, anti-semites, and anti-Weimar far-right conservatives hijacked it and set the political and public perceptions. Thus weakened, German democracy proved unable to handle the shocks of the Great Depression and succumbed to a Nazi dictatorship in 1933. The primary lessons for democracys defenders today are to act quickly, openly, and thoroughly to document and publish the truth of what happened Jan. 6. The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has been diligently seeking information and soon will hold public hearings. Those hearings will form the framework how contemporary and future Americans will view the attack. Consequently, expect efforts to delegitimize the committee from white supremacists, anti-semites, and other right-wing extremists. We should call Jan. 6 what it was: It was not a riot; it was an attempted dissident coup according to the Coup Detat Project at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The project based its disturbing conclusion on its worldwide study of 943 coups (426 successful, 336 attempted, and 181 conspiracies) since World War II. Lets also dismiss whataboutism claims equating the protests, marches, and riots sparked by George Floyds killing with Jan. 6. Black Lives Matter protests mostly were spontaneous and local, not centralized and not led by the president, and 93% of them were peaceful. Even with those that became violent, rioters in Portland and Kenosha did not bring nooses and threaten to kill Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other elected officials. They did not storm into the Congress, urinate on its walls, damage statues, and try to disrupt the constitutionally mandated ceremonial counting of election ballots. They are irrelevant to what happened on Jan. 6. Not just the bipartisan Congressional committee, but all of democracys defenders need actively to challenge lies and disinformation. As historians George S. Vascik and Mark R. Sadler wrote, the effectiveness of the Dolchstoss myth grew from unchallenged narrative written by the radical right because the quality newspapers abrogated their duty to provide their better-educated readers with information that they could use to put partisan distortions into context. Finally, Americans must realize that fighting pernicious myths is a long-term struggle, not a single battle. The real impact of the stab-in-the-back lie occurred not in 1918 but in 1933, when the Nazis, a group that did exist 15 years earlier, finally extinguished democracy in Germany. Jonathan Coopersmith teaches history at Texas A&M University. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Partly cloudy. Gusty winds during the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 74F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Rick Holcomb will retire as commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, 28 years after he first took the job under then-Gov. George Allen. Holcomb, who announced his retirement in an email to employees on Monday morning, has served for 19 years in two stints as commissioner under five governors, three Republicans and two Democrats. Between stints, he headed a national association for the trucking industry. His last day will be Jan. 14, the day before Republican Glenn Youngkin is inaugurated as Virginias 74th governor. Holcomb has come under fire from Republicans and some Democrats for presiding over the long closure of DMV offices to walk-in service during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he made his mark at the agency by focusing on customer service, using the internet and other methods to reduce lines at public offices. During my tenure as DMV commissioner, I have worked my hardest to promote DMV as an agency that is, first and foremost, oriented toward our customers, he said in the email. I have also cared deeply for the DMV employees, and always had your interest foremost in my mind. DMV closed its 75 offices across Virginia when the pandemic struck in March 2020, and reopened them two months later by appointment only. Pushed by the General Assembly, Holcomb reopened the offices to walk-in service in early October, but only for three days a week, while reserving three other days for appointments that he said were more popular with customers than the old cattle-call system of service. We hope this is the best of all worlds, he said in previewing the hybrid system in September. The compromise didnt satisfy critics, such as Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, and the agency added a fourth day for walk-in service last month. Holcomb brought technological innovation to DMV when Allen, a Republican, first appointed him in 1994. Reappointed by Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore four years later, he made Virginia the first state to allow online transactions during his first seven-year tenure, while increasing operating hours and adding offices. In fact, we eliminated lines by allowing customers to sit comfortably in seats waiting to be electronically called to the service window, he said in the email. Again, first in the nation to do so! The DMV also consolidated regulated authority over the trucking industry, expanding options for weighing heavy vehicles, and shifted regulation of auto dealers to a new Board of Motor Vehicle Dealers. After a nine-year absence during the terms of two Democratic governors, Holcomb returned as commissioner at the DMV in 2010 under Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican. He subsequently was reappointed by two Democratic governors, Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam. Richard has given decades of his life to public service, serving Virginia drivers through both Democratic and Republican administrations, Northam said Monday. Im grateful for his work to make Virginia roads safer, and particularly proud of his efforts to implement voter registration at DMV offices across Virginia and oversee the end of drivers license suspensions for unpaid court fines, the governor said. I wish him a peaceful and happy retirement. In his second, 12-year tenure, Holcomb pushed to expand the number of different transactions customers could conduct online to 50 and then added 10 more during the pandemic, while opening new offices and creating a mobile DMV Connect program for underserved areas. The DMV also became a one-stop shop for other state government services hunting and fishing licenses; E-ZPass transponders for toll collection; copies of birth certificates, death certificates, marriage and divorce records; allowing students at many schools to take their knowledge driving tests remotely; and voter registration, which became fully electronic in 2016. During the pandemic, Holcomb said the DMV conducted 10% more transactions a week than before and brought in $3.3 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year, about $500 million more than the previous year. I feel fulfilled by all we have accomplished together, he told employees. (804) 649-6964 Appalachian Power Co. plans to use more of the sun and wind to generate its electricity, but it could cost the average residential customer an extra $2.37 on their monthly bill. The utility detailed how it will comply with Virginias renewable energy mandates in a recent report to the State Corporation Commission. Passed by the General Assembly last year, the Clean Economy Act requires Appalachian to provide its 530,000-some customers in Western Virginia with all carbon-free electricity by 2050. Over the next three years, Appalachian will add nearly 500 megawatts of solar and wind power to its energy portfolio, almost half of that from a wind farm in Illinois that will be operational by December 2024. The purchase of several solar facilities, including a 150-megawatt operation in Pittsylvania County and a smaller one in Amherst County, are also in the works. This is our companys most extensive filing yet, Appalachian president and chief operating officer Chris Beam said in a news release Tuesday. The update filed with state regulators reflects the in-depth analysis necessary to ensure sufficient resources are in place to provide affordable and reliable power for our customers, while continuing to build our renewables portfolio and meet our VCEA requirements. The filing also includes plans for an energy storage project in Southwest Virginia and the purchase of renewable energy certificates, which are market-based instruments that can be sold after the owner has fed the energy into the grid. To cover the costs of its investment in green energy, the company will seek approval of a rate increase from the SCC. An exact amount is dependent on a number of factors such as customer class, usage and regulatory outcomes, according to the news release. But if approved as requested, the proposal would mean that residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month will see an increase of $2.37. That would be on top of about a half-dozen rate increases that Appalachian has sought over the past two years. Taken together, residential bills would go up by about $27 a month if all of the requests are approved. The SCC approved three rate major increases last year one to recover transmission costs, a second to pay for environmental upgrades to two coal-burning power plants and the third to cover the higher cost of coal and natural gas that will amount to about $16 a month for the average residential customer. Those increases followed a denial by the regulatory agency in November 2020 of a base rate hike that would have boosted the bill by about $10. Appalachian has appealed that ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court, where it remains pending. The investor-owned company says its rates remained flat for a decade before the increases, and that its customers still pay less than the national average. However, more increases are expected as the Clean Economy Act pushes Appalachian to shed its long-held reliance on fossil fuels. As of Sept. 30, 2021, 64.5% of the power generated or purchased by Appalachian came from coal, and natural gas provided another 19.1%, according to spokeswoman Teresa Hall. Wind and hydro-electric power accounted for the remaining 16.4%. Those numbers were calculated before the companys first solar project, in Henry County, went online late last year, Hall said. Smaller solar panels installed on the rooftops and property of homeowners and businesses do not generate enough electricity to factor into the equation. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A 19-year-old Fairbury man has been sentenced to 70 to 80 years in prison for the beating death of a 2-year-old boy and for shooting a man nearly a year earlier. "This was a heartless act," Jefferson County District Judge Vicky Johnson told Jake Gonzalez at his sentencing Thursday. In October, a jury found him guilty of child abuse resulting in Hollen Siedschlag's death and making terroristic threats to the boy's mother, Bailey Siedschlag. After the verdict, Gonzalez pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree assault of Lance Powers, who was shot May 18, 2020. On Thursday, Johnson said she'd seriously considered life in prison, the maximum for child abuse resulting in death. She said the only mitigating factor was Gonzalez's age. She said both of the crimes had involved extreme violence, and he'd shown no remorse. Nothing could remedy all the harm he'd caused, she said. Gonzalez declined to say anything at his sentencing. But his attorney, Kelly Breen of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, had asked for a sentence that would give him a chance to parole one day, if he took programming to learn job skills, handle anger and get mental health counseling. "Even a person who has committed serious crimes can rehabilitate themselves, can reform themselves, and return to society as productive citizens," Breen said. He said Gonzalez had a harrowing childhood, moving from town to town and school to school in Texas and Nebraska, at times homeless and living out of a car with his family. He was 17 when he was charged in the first case, 18 in the second. On the other side, Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Bill Tangeman asked for an "exceedingly long" sentence to ensure the safety of the people of Nebraska. "In his 19 short years on this Earth he's left a path of death and destruction," he said. On Feb. 26, 2021, Hollen Siedschlag's mom returned from the store to find him barely breathing in a closet at the apartment she shared with Gonzalez. At trial, she said Gonzalez threatened to do the same to her daughter if she called for help. Her son died the next day, his liver damaged beyond repair by the time she could get help by using a code word to let safety workers know there was trouble. Gonzalez ran when Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies arrived, but he was caught in less than an hour. At the time, Gonzalez had been out of jail on bond. accused of shooting Powers four times in the street, though the victim couldn't say if he or a second man had fired the shots, according to defense attorney Ben Murray. As for the child abuse charge, Tangeman said it wasn't a momentary lapse of frustration. "This was a sustained beating" he said, and it's had a tremendous, devastating impact on Hollen's family and friends and will continue to for the rest of their lives. Tangeman attributed both crimes to Gonzalez's violent nature, coupled with a complete disregard for human life. "He approaches every problem with the same solution and that is violence," the prosecutor said. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger KEARNEY Kearney Regional Airport set an annual enplanement record in 2021 with 25,251 passenger boardings. Kearney City Manager Michael Morgan said the new record represents 19% growth since 2019, when the last record was set. In 2019, enplanements reached 21,287. The new passenger numbers are important because they justify the federal governments plans to expand and renovate Kearneys terminal. Plans for that facility are 95% complete, Morgan said, and soon will go to federal authorities for their approval. After that, the Kearney City Council can vote to approve the plans and put them out for bids. The terminal project is just one example of Kearneys efforts to remain one step ahead of passenger growth. The airport has received taxiway improvements, a new main runway was built several years ago, during 2021 more parking was added around the terminal, bringing the total to 288 free slots. In addition, talks have begun about flying larger jetliners from Kearney. Morgan said the city is working with Sky West, the commuter airline that serves Kearney, to provide connections so business travelers have timely flights to both the East and West coasts. Service to Denver has been expanded to two daily flights several days per week, complemented by daily flights to Chicago. Flying from Kearney Regional Airport, passengers in central Nebraska can enjoy daily, nonstop jet service with United Express to Chicago and Denver, Morgan said. The success of the airport is very important to Kearney and surrounding communities. He said business travel appears to be more prevalent than recreational travel. Theres a lot of business travel. Recreational travel hasnt come back entirely from COVID. Kearney has escaped most of the recent flight cancellations caused by sick crews and weather delays, Morgan said. One reason is that the first daily flight from Kearney is aboard a jetliner that arrives in Kearney the night before. Our first flight out of here is in the morning to Denver. Were not waiting for aircraft to fly into Kearney, so flight crews normally are available. The critical part is that the aircraft remains in Kearney overnight, he said. The road to a new enplanement record was a bit bumpy because of COVID, but Morgan anticipates annual boarding numbers will flirt with 28,000 in the years ahead. We should be in that 28,000 range moving forward. He said talks have begun about the possibility of moving from 50-passenger jetliners to 70 passengers. About 70% of the seats on Chicago flights are filled, while Denver flights have a load factor around 55%. Travelers can visit united.com for fare information and to book flights. The supply chain issues plaguing the country have highlighted the problems inherent in the trucking industry. But hiring out farmers during the off-season may not be the answer. There are practical reasons why grain haulers arent typically used for other loads. That includes regulations as well as the physical makeup of farm trucks. Theyre not like box trailers or reefers that haul to grocery stores and other places, said Donna Stearns, owner of Hoploads, a company that matches drivers with loads. Also, farmers who have trucks with hopper bodies are usually only insured for a 50- or 100-mile radius. Stearns said it is not practical for truckers to lease out their rigs or themselves as drivers. Its a huge hassle to change everything over, she said. Farmers get a break on insurance, but can legally only go 50 to 100 miles from the farm. A lot of farmers arent going to lease their trucks out because they dont have rigs with sleepers; theyre for short runs. You might find a few of them trying to do that, but then they have to get licenses for every state. Thats not going to happen. Theres too much to do. Many short-haul trucking companies change loads and trailers according to seasonal needs. Thats the case with Eagle Valley Trucking in Illinois. This is our propane season, said Steve Johnson. The ag trucking that we do is anhydrous ammonia in the spring and fall. In the winter we convert those trailers over to haul propane. It seems that more farmers today have their own trucks than in the past, though they seldom lease them out to other trucking companies. We used to do a lot of grain hauling, said Den DeMeyer of Grayslake Feed Sales in northern Illinois. Now we pretty much haul commodities such as feed ingredients. We dont do much for farmers anymore. One reason is price. We dont haul for farmers because we cant charge them enough, DeMeyer said. Many of them own their own trucks and can do it cheaper. Stearns said rather than a major trucking shortage, he places the blame for the supply chain problem at the feet of federal regulations and even more restrictive ones in California. Theres not the big shortage that everybody thinks. Its because of the regulations on drivers, she said. There isnt really a driver shortage. Its because of California, with container shortages. And truckers get to the store and cant get unloaded. They sit and wait. The way the regulations are, they cant use that as (rest) time. Federal regulations limit truckers to 14 hours driving time less if they have driven the previous day. While not every company is experiencing trucker shortages, most agree that they do everything they can to keep the ones they have. Right now I dont any shortages, said Don Kutinello of A.G. Transportation Systems, based in Lombard, Ill. I have somebody in all my trucks. But they are getting harder and harder to find. DeMeyer has the same thoughts. Were doing all right, he said. But its definitely hard to replace drivers if you lose them. That is an issue. I dont think its a matter of pay. I think grass is greener elsewhere. People dont want to drive a truck anymore. Johnson of Eagle Valley does have a slight issue with staffing. We have two or three open trucks that we could fill, he said. We had a bit of a shortage this summer one guy who resigned and we hired someone in his place. Were keeping up right now, but when spring rolls around well probably be looking for more drivers. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Editors note: This continues a series of reports on what happened in Southern Illinois 158 years ago during the Civil War. Reports will appear on days of significance to Southern Illinois known at the time as Egypt. Mary Logan wrote that on the homefront the approach of Christmas 1864 was hailed with delight and that homes shrouded in gloom for four long years once again prepared to celebrate the happy season. In Carbondale, this meant that two community Christmas trees would be placed in the Methodist Church, the largest church in Carbondale. It also meant presents, especially for the citys children. Many of Carbondales citizens worked in the weeks before Christmas making all kinds of gifts for the children, even those who only went to Sunday-school during the holidays. Mary reported that Carbondales Christmas was filled with sermons, carols, and a visit from Santa Claus in a long fur coat his long white beard reaching nearly to his waist to delighted children. At its close, Carbondales families returned home with "hearts full of happiness feeling that this Christmas would bring glad tidings of peace on earth and good will toward men. While the nations citizens felt the war would soon be over, it was, for all practical purposes, over for Capt. Edmund Newsome, Co. B 81st Illinois Infantry. Christmas marked his 212 day as a POW. Captured after the disastrous Union defeat at Guntown, Mississippi, he had, for the last seven months, been moved from one prison camp to the next across Georgia and South Carolina as the Union army advanced. December 1864 found him in Camp Asylum on the grounds of South Carolinas State Lunatic Asylum in Columbia. Newsome was fortunate to be housed in one of the cabins built for the POWs. Other not so lucky prisoners survived in tents or were forced to dig holes for shelter. Despite this, he awoke on Dec. 25 to a scanty breakfast and the prospect of fasting on Christmas. This was not helped when a group of his fellow prisoners not in his assigned mess set a long table with plates piled high with food. Newsome wondered at how his fellow officers created their fairy-land feast. This was not his mess and he walked away as they sat to eat. Newsomes day was, however, soon to be saved by the spirit of Christmas. After about a half-hour, one of his feasting friends called him over to share their Christmas meal. That day he enjoyed what was probably the best meal he would ever eat. Newsome closed his diary writing that this Christmas dinner would not soon be forgotten. Mary Logans long-awaited Christmas and Edmund Newsomes truly unexpected one would provide pleasant memories throughout their lives. This would not be true for Pvt. Edwin Loosely, Co. A 81st Illinois Infantry. The war was still very real to Loosely. That Christmas came nine days after the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, and it must still have been fresh in his mind. On Dec. 25, he confided to his diary, Nothing to do about nothing to eat no blankets to lay under. On Christmas day 1864, Loosely sat in his shack and, stared vacantly into the fire and meditated on the different style of keeping Christmas. He concluded it was the most quiet Christmas possible as we were not in a position to do anything. It would be a year before Loosely could again celebrate Christmas joyously. -- Compiled by P. Michael Jones, director of the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro. To learn more about Logan and Southern Illinois Civil War history visit the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro. To learn more history, see the museums website, Facebook page and YouTube videos. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As public elementary and high school districts across the country cancel classes and temporarily move instruction online in response to rising COVID-19 cases, area schools say they view remote learning as a last resort. This week, members of the Chicago Teachers Union overwhelmingly voted to only teach remotely through Jan. 18 unless instances of COVID-19 decrease or the union reaches a school safety agreement with district. On Tuesday, more than 8,000 of the districts 41,000-plus students were in isolation or quarantine because of exposure to COVID-19, many with the omicron variant of the virus. According to the School Opening Tracker from Burbio, a company that gleans school data for posting online, more than 2,000 schools nationally have closed for at least one school day or more this week. Burbio reports no districts in Southern Illinois delaying the start of school or using remote instruction. In Illinois, the company reports Edwardsville Community Unit School District and Danville Community Consolidated School District both have transitioned to remote instruction through Jan. 7, while the Peoria Public Schools District extended its holiday break for an additional week due to COVID. Carbondale Community High School Superintendent Daniel Booth said his preference is to refrain from a remote approach. We dont see remote learning as a top-of-the-list option, Booth said. Its kind of the very last option for us here at the high school. Booth added that approximately 50 students are currently absent from school following positive COVID-19 tests. Carbondale Community High School has just under 1,000 students. He said during the fall semester, a total of 50 students missed school due to the virus. It certainly is bigger now than it has been, he said. The omicron variant hasnt been as bad from a health standpoint, but it has been more contagious. He explained a bigger concern is with faculty members who may have to enter isolation or quarantine. Our determination of remote vs. in-person learning will depend our ability to staff our building, and right now, fortunately, we only have one teacher out to start the semester, he said. Booth said he would rather use emergency days to close the school for several days (which would be made up in the spring) rather than using remote learning. He added that a move to remote comes with planning and technological requirements and is not as effective as in-person instruction. Probably the only way we would go remote is if the state mandated it, he said. In the Harrisburg Unit 3 School District, Superintendent Eric Witges said there is also an uptick in cases, but, like in Carbondale, he said symptoms are more cold-like. With any of our students and staff that are showing any type of symptom whatsoever, we are encouraging them to get tested, he said. Also, like the school 37 miles to the west, Witges said he wants Harrisburg students to remain in the classroom. Remote is always a possibility, but at this time, it is not something were looking at, he said. We feel that as long as we can do what we can safely and health-wise with our students and staff, we want our kids in school. Schools across the region are finding other ways to keep students in classrooms. Frankfort Community School District No. 168 is one of several Southern Illinois schools offering a "test to stay" option for students and others who have potentially been exposed to COVID-19. In a social media post, Matt Donkin of the West Frankfort district said negative test results on days one, three, five and seven after the exposure will allow individuals to continue to attend school as long as they are asymptomatic and following social distancing and face covering protocols. "We continue to see the benefits of learning in-person to give our students the best chance to be successful," Donkin wrote. Booth said from a social and mental health aspect, he believes students need to be in school. We are dealing with a lot of social and emotional issues that students have from the last 18 months. Weve seen a lot of problems bubble up for students coming back, he said. Booth said he has seen about a threefold increase in the number of students seeking counseling this fall as compared to pre-pandemic semesters. Carbondale Community High School is offering an on-campus vaccination clinic next week and Booth said in-school testing has been very effective. We are doing symptomatic testing, which has been a big help in catching things early for kids that are sick or teachers that are feeling unwell and want to confirm that they dont have COVID, he said. Were doing the obvious things: vaccinating, distancing and disinfecting. The Southern was unsuccessful in efforts to speak Wednesday with superintendents from Dongola, Herrin, Johnston City, Marion, Pinckneyville and Trico for this article. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 CHICAGO Classes are canceled in Chicago Public Schools on Thursday after district officials and the teachers union again failed to come to terms on COVID-19 safety measures. It will be the second day of what Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday angrily called an unlawful, unilateral strike by the Chicago Teachers Union a reference to the unions vote earlier this week to refuse in-person learning until its demands for enhanced coronavirus mitigations are implemented. If you care about our students, if you care about our families, as we do, we will not relent. Enough is enough. We are standing firm and we are going to fight to get our kids back to in-person learning. Period. Full stop, Lightfoot said Wednesday, again insisting schools are safe despite spiking case numbers in the city. We owe that to our children who suffered learning loss. As for the prospect of in-person classes Friday, the district said thats going to be determined on a school-by-school basis. Some schools have enough staff reporting to work to return to in-person instruction as soon as Friday, CPS said in a letter released late Wednesday. Other schools have more limited capacity, and may provide learning packets and other materials for students to use during this illegal work stoppage. Individual principals will communicate those plans with families, the letter said. Officials noted absenteeism is already high because of students and staff members who have COVID-19 or are quarantining because of a close contact, and that some schools may need to make a full return to remote learning depending on their numbers. District officials had canceled Wednesday classes after the union endorsed the work action Tuesday to refuse to work in person during a city spike in infections. The union, using the hashtag #LoriLockout, tweeted Wednesday that its been inundated with calls and emails this morning from educators who say theyve been unable to log into their CPS accounts to teach remotely, as was the CTUs stated intention. CPS have not confirmed whether staff members have been locked out or how many, though Lightfoot had warned late Tuesday that teachers who did not show up will be docked pay. Until Wednesday evening, it remained unclear if classes in person or otherwise would take place Thursday. In an impassioned speech late Wednesday, Lightfoot said she opposes any plan that closes Chicago schools systemwide and that she wants to focus on handling outbreaks classroom by classroom. She also ripped the teachers union for the dispute, which she said is hurting families, and vowed to get students back to in-person learning. Lightfoot also said the union isnt bargaining with enough urgency, a recurring criticism shes made of the union and vice versa during the districts labor disputes. Lightfoot has also accused the union, which supported her opponent in the 2019 election, of politically motivated opposition. I will not allow them to take our children hostage. ... Why are we here again when we know that the safest place for our children is in school? Why are we here again when we know that our schools are safe? Lightfoot said, citing the school districts spending on COVID mitigation strategies. The stalemate made national news Wednesday, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying the nation is more than equipped to ensure schools are open ... including in Chicago. Former President Donald Trump said that what is happening in Chicago with all the school closures is devastating. Educate our children in person or give every dollar spent on education directly to the students so they can get out of these failing government schools! Trump said in a statement. At a virtual news conference Wednesday morning, CTU President Jesse Sharkey said negotiators were headed back to the bargaining table. We are going to talk to them as much as we need to, around the clock when necessary, he said. The CTU measure, which won 73% of the vote, is to work remotely from Wednesday to Jan. 18 unless a safety agreement with CPS is reached or the omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge subsides. Sharkey said nearly 20,000 of the unions 25,000 rank-and-file members submitted an electronic ballot Tuesday. CPS and CTU did not negotiate a safety agreement for this school year after having one in place last year. The sides have yet to come to terms on a metric that would move an individual school to remote learning; expanded testing in schools; and the distribution of N95 masks. CTUs proposal submitted last week called for a negative test result to return to buildings and an expansion of the in-school weekly testing program thats mandatory for unvaccinated staff members and voluntary for students. About 33,000 tests were administered the last week of school before winter break, with district officials promising for months that capacity would reach 40,000 weekly tests. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez expressed frustration again Wednesday that the testing program has not grown faster. Lightfoot said Wednesday that the CTU wants the program mandatory for all, unless parents opt out, a plan she opposes because its morally repugnant to take the decision out of parents hands. COVID testing, she said, is a quasi-medical procedure. As of late last month, 41,690 students and 24,933 staff members were registered for the testing program, according to the district. CPS officials said some students may have registered before getting vaccinated in the fall and decided later not to show up for weekly testing. The union also asked for N95 or equivalent masks to be provided to students and staff members and an increase in vaccination opportunities at schools. Short of that, the CTU demanded the district transition to remote learning for two weeks. CPS submitted a proposal to the union Tuesday promising to provide 200,000 KN95 masks to staff members, and Martinez said Wednesday students will receive similar masks as well. Under the CPS proposal, the district would offer at least 30,000 screening tests in schools per week; and transition a school to virtual instruction if 40% or more of a schools classroom teachers are absent for two consecutive days because they tested positive for COVID, among other scenarios. What Im trying to understand is, how many adults need to be in the school building in order for education and supervision to be adequate? All this week we have been getting reports of classes being doubled up, tripled up in large spaces, cafeterias, auditoriums with a warm body. We dont have staffing, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said at Wednesdays news conference. Their proposal still falls short, to be perfectly honest with you, because it says that you could be missing 40% of grown-ups in the school building and you can still be in session. How does that work? Thats almost half. CPS students and staff members returned to school buildings Monday after a two-week winter break. District representatives said 82% of teachers reported to work Monday and 84% of teachers on Tuesday. Martinez said 200,000 children attended schools on Monday, with that number rising quite a bit on Tuesday. Martinez said about 10% of teachers came to buildings Wednesday. A survey of 225 schools by the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association determined more than half the kids were absent Monday at 24 of these schools. The district runs around 515 schools. The principals group recommends the district go remote for one or two weeks this month to ensure a safe return to in-person learning. More than 20% of staff was absent at 61 of the surveyed schools, with one school reporting 85% of its staff absent. Martinez on Wednesday drew attention to Park Manor Elementary School, a South Side school that struggled with COVID-19 cases just before winter break. Some teachers vowed not to work in person early this week as part of a CTU press event. Martinez said 20 out of 21 teachers did not show up to work, and nearly all of the schools 250 students were absent. Five kids in kindergarten was the largest Park Manor class at one point, he said. Imagine if that kind of power was used to help our children get vaccinated, Martinez said about the unions strength at Park Manor. As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 CPS students and a record 2,300 staff members were in isolation because they tested positive for COVID-19 or quarantine because they came in close contact with someone who had. Fully vaccinated, asymptomatic staff members and students are not required to quarantine. About 11% of the 11,000 people who participated in the in-school testing program this week have tested positive, according to district data, a much higher percentage than usual. CPS says about 91% of its staff is fully vaccinated. Just over half of CPS students aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the district, with about a quarter of the students 5 to 11 years old having received at least one dose. More than 330,000 students are enrolled in CPS, the nations third-largest school district. The Illinois State Board of Education says school districts may not pause in-person learning without first consulting with their local health department. Remote learning days must be offered for the duration. City public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Wednesday that CPS has taken a conservative approach to COVID-19. The risk of in-school transmission remains low and few Chicago kids are hospitalized with COVID-19, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 CHICAGO Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will be working remotely through the weekend after he had close contact with a state employee who tested positive for COVID-19, the governor's office said Wednesday. Pritzker, who had close contact with the infected employee on Tuesday, will work remotely through Sunday out of out of an abundance of caution," his office said. Pritzker, 56, tested negative for COVID-19 as recently as Wednesday morning and he is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and has received a booster shot, the governor's office said. Experts recommend limiting contact after exposure if possible. With the Omicron variant spreading across the state, the governor is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus," Pritzker's office said in a statement. State officials continue to urge Illinois residents stay home when they are sick or after they have had close contact with someone with COVID-19, the governor's office said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLUMBIA South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Wednesday there is no need to shut down schools or businesses amid a record number of COVID-19 cases. The state reported more than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 on back-to-back days this past weekend a level never seen even in the sharp peaks of the winter and summer of 2021. But the governor and health officials pointed out the steep increase in cases has not led to a sharp increase in people in hospitals as vaccines against the virus appear to at least prevent more serious outcomes when someone is infected with the new omicron variant. We're not in a situation now where anyone needs to panic. This is nothing like it was a year ago. We've seen this before, McMaster said at a news conference after introducing three Chef Ambassadors who will help South Carolina tourism officials promote the state's unique cuisine. At about the same time, the state's health board was holding its monthly meeting virtually a hastily put together precaution for the Department of Health and Environmental Control because of the high COVID-19 numbers. The message from DHEC's director was similar to the governor. Dr. Edward Simmer said getting vaccinated is key. Currently, 62% of eligible people in the state have gotten at least one shot, while 52% are fully protected. Simmer also said people need to continue to wear masks and isolate if they are sick or have been closely exposed to someone who is sick until they can be tested. COVID is here to stay. We're not going to get rid of it. But working together we can control it. We can limit the impact it has on our lives, Simmer told the DHEC board Wednesday. Simmer said his staff is watching hospitals closely. While there are still a number of beds available, the number of COVID-19 patients in state hospitals are about 67% higher than a week ago and the number of patients on ventilators rose more than 50%. The omicron variant is throwing one curveball at the health care industry. The hardest hit age group is from 21-40 years old, which has caused staffing shortages in emergency rooms and urgent care clinics, Simmer said. One other place health officials have concerns is with severe cases in children. Thirty-seven children were hospitalized this week with COVID-19, one less than the peak last year. But Simmer said there is absolutely no need to close schools, agreeing with the governor. Simmer said schools should take steps like providing teachers and workers with the best quality masks. McMaster also suggested using billions of dollars of federal COVID-19 education relief money coming to the state to upgrade air filtering systems, have rapid testing on site for students and other safety measures. There is a better outcome for our students from the educational and socialization standpoint when they are in school, Simmer said. Simmer warned of a few more dark weeks as the omicron variant continues its rapid spread, even through people who have received three different shots. But he said other countries where the spread of the variant started earlier already appear to be past its peak. That positive outlook was shared a few miles away where the governor promised reporters there will be room in hospitals for anyone who is sick and urged anyone who has not been vaccinated to talk to their doctor or someone else they trust with medical decisions. "South Carolina is on a positive path. There's no need to panic. Be calm. Be happy," McMaster said "We just had a great Christmas season. Business is booming. Our path to prosperity is brighter and brighter." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Read Part 2 Exclusive Tek Fog: An App With BJP Footprints for Cyber Troops to Automate Hate, Manipulate Trends The Wire investigates claims behind the use of Tek Fog, a highly sophisticated app used by online operatives to hijack major social media and encrypted messaging platforms and amplify right-wing propaganda to a domestic audience. Ayushman Kaul and Devesh Kumar / New Delhi: Over a series of tweets in April 2020, an anonymous Twitter account @Aarthisharma08 claiming to be a disgruntled employee of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Information Technology Cell (IT Cell) alleged the existence of a highly sophisticated and secret app called 'Tek Fog'. They claimed this app is used by political operatives affiliated with the ruling party to artificially inflate the popularity of the party, harass its critics and manipulate public perceptions at scale across major social media platforms. Dear BJP i was working for your IT cell since 2014, now i Quit. And understood, you made us Scapegoats only! Perhaps, You are giving us 2/tweet . But you promised us in 2k18 if BJP comes to power again you shall get government job. Now you are denying? Liers! Where is Job? Aarthi Sharma (@AarthiSharma8) April 24, 2020 There are many #BJPitCell softwares, i was suggested to use 'The tek fog', this is secret app only for #ItCellWorkers. It bypasses reCaptcha codes, is used for auto-upload texts and hashtag Trends. However, pro-players of #ItCellWorkers are using Tasker app too. Aarthi Sharma (@AarthiSharma8) April 28, 2020 The Twitter handle's mention of Tek Fog a 'secret app' that they said was able to 'bypass reCaptcha codes' allowing fellow employees to 'auto-upload texts and hashtag Trends' caught the attention of the authors of this piece, who reached out to the individual behind the account in order to investigate the existence of this hitherto unknown app. Over subsequent conversations, the source claimed their daily job involved hijacking Twitter's 'trending' section with targeted hashtags, creating and managing multiple WhatsApp groups affiliated to the BJP and directing the online harassment of journalists critical of the BJP, all via the Tek Fog app. The source went on to allege that they had decided to come forward after their supposed handler Devang Dave, ex national social media and IT head, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (the youth-wing of the BJP) and current election manager for the party in Maharashtra failed to deliver on a lucrative job offer promised in 2018 if the BJP was able to retain power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Over the next two years, a process of correspondence followed where the team at The Wire set out to test what could and could not be verified in the allegations made by the whistleblower, in addition to investigating the broader implications of the existence of such an app on the public discourse and the sanctity of the country's democratic processes. Each of the allegations made by the whistleblower were subjected to a process of independent verification through which the team sought to learn more about the different functionalities of the app, the identity of the app creators, its users and the organisations enabling its use. Via encrypted emails and online chat rooms, the individual behind the Twitter account sent several screencasts and screenshots demonstrating the app's features. The source also shared payslip and bank statements to establish their identity (on this condition that this not be made public) and that of their employers. The source did not provide The Wire direct access to the Tek Fog app. They claimed that this was due to the presence of various security restrictions including the requirement of three one-time passwords (OTPs) to login to the app dashboard and the use of a local firewall that prevents access outside of the facility. They were, however, able to connect us via email to a BJYM official who provided code scripts that helped the team identify the various external tools and services connecting to the secure server hosting the Tek Fog app. The same script also led The Wire's team to one of the servers hosting the app, allowing us to independently verify that the app was functional at the time of publication and was not just a prototype. In addition to the primary evidence provided by the source, the team at The Wire also employed a wealth of open-source investigative techniques to conduct an extensive forensic analysis of the various social media assets provided by the source, and to corroborate the network infrastructure underpinning the use of the app. The team also interviewed other independent experts and current employees at the organisations implicated in the broader operation in a bid to glean more insight into the network. Through this process, The Wire was able to build upon these first shreds of evidence and uncover a vast operation pointing towards the existence of a group of public and private actors working together to subvert public discourse in the world's largest democracy by driving inauthentic trends and hijacking conversations across almost all major social media platforms. Pandora's app of social media manipulation: Four alarming features The screencasts and screenshots of Tek Fog provided by the source highlighted the various features of the app and helped the team gain further insight into the operational structure of the network of cyber troops using it on a daily basis to manipulate public discourse, harass and intimidate independent voices, and perpetuate a partisan information environment in India. 1 / Engineering the public narrative One of the primary functions of the app is to hijack the 'trending' section of Twitter and 'trend' on Facebook. This process uses the app's in-built automation features to 'auto-retweet' or 'auto-share' the tweets and posts of individuals or groups and spam existing hashtags by accounts controlled by the app operatives. 12 1 2 This feature is also used to amplify right-wing propaganda, exposing this content to a more diverse audience on the platform, making extremist narratives and political campaigns appear more popular than they actually are. The Wire verified this claim by monitoring the inauthentic and suspicious on-platform activity of two trending hashtags provided by the source ahead of time. Each of the provided hashtags reached the platforms' trending section after being inauthentically amplified by a range of suspicious accounts. One of the hashtags #CongressAgainstLabourers was shared 3by the source at 8:25 pm IST on May 4, 2020, as part of a screenshot revealing their 'daily task' list for that day. According to the same screen, the source was tasked with making the hashtag appear in at least 55,000 tweets and reach the 'trending' section of the platform. An analysis of the on-platform activity of the hashtag via Meltwater Explore, a social media analysis tool, revealed that the hashtag had first appeared two hours prior on Twitter, eventually peaking at around 9 pm, half an hour after the source had shared the screen. The trend went on to accumulate 57,000 mentions, surpassing their assigned goal by 2,000 tweets. Moreover, the screen also showed how the source had posted the hashtag using 1,700 accounts in the first two hours after 'activating' the task, a fact that was corroborated by this independent analysis with exactly 1,700 accounts posting the hashtag at around 6:30 pm IST. 3 The screenshots also show that these accounts are created using the in-app features that allow individual operatives to generate 'temporary' email addresses, activate phone numbers and by-pass programming limitations, and email and OTP verification set by WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram. 45 4 5 The team, however, could not verify whether these were 'temporary' accounts created by the app or the existing accounts belonging to real BJP workers and app operatives that were integrated into the app to allow for scheduled posting. 2 / Phishing 'inactive' WhatsApp accounts Another alarming feature offered by the app is its ability to allow individual operatives to hijack 'inactive' WhatsApp accounts of private citizens and use their phone number to message their 'frequently contacted' or 'all contacts', using a technique resembling 'token theft'. 67App operators also use this feature to phish the personal information of targeted users to add to a cloud-based political database. The addition of private citizens into this database makes them available as potential targets in future harassment and trolling campaigns. 6 7 The Wire verified this feature by asking the source to perform a real-time demonstration of the WhatsApp exploit. Within minutes of being provided with a custom text message by the authors, the source used the Tek Fog app to hijack an 'inactive' WhatsApp account belonging to one of the authors and used the compromised account to send the custom text message to the researchers' 'frequently contacted' users on the platform. All the top five users (including one that belonged to the other author) received the custom text message confirming that this particular feature of the app was functional at the time of analysis. 3 / Using database of private citizens for targeted harassment The screenshots and screencasts of the app show an extensive and dynamic cloud database of private citizens categorised according to their occupation, religion, language, age, gender, political inclination and even physical attributes. The screenshots also indicate that this database allows app operatives to 'auto-reply' to individuals or groups by connecting a Google Sheet or by auto generating keywords and phrases, a vast majority of which are abusive or derogatory. 891011 8 9 10 11 The Wire verified this feature by monitoring the replies sent to 'female journalists', one of the targeted groups shown in the app. Between January 1, 2021, to May 31, 2021, the team parsed 4.6 million replies received by 280 of the most retweeted women journalists on Twitter, discovering that 18% (over 800,000 replies) were made from accounts managed via the Tek Fog app. Many of these replies included one or more profane keywords shown in the app screenshots, suggesting that the delineation of targets into different categories allows operatives to target victims with extreme granularity. The Wire was unable to access any of the connected Google Sheets as the app operatives do not possess a direct link allowing them to edit or view the documents but rather can only select available 'inputs' from an auto-suggested menu in the app. However, AltNews, has previously reported on the BJP's use of Google Sheets to disseminate narratives. 4 / No trace left behind Another important functionality present in the app screens was the ability for app operatives to delete or remap all existing accounts at a moment's notice. This feature theoretically allows them to destroy all incriminating evidence of their past activity. 1213 12 13 However, the very nature of the feature itself precluded The Wire from independently verifying whether it was active at the time of publication. The corporate-technical nexus behind Tek Fog After reviewing the features of the Tek Fog app the team asked the whistleblower to provide information regarding their employers. A bank statement and payslip sent by them surprisingly listed the involvement of two private companies, Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. as their 'employer' and 'assigned client', respectively. Persistent Systems is an Indian-American publicly traded technology services company founded in 1990. Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. is the company behind Sharechat, a popular Indian regional language social media platform funded by Twitter. The source explained that Persistent Systems employ them as a 'social media incharge' based out of the company's corporate office in Nagpur, India. However, their current project to operate the Tek Fog app required close collaboration with Sharechat and the person they identified as their immediate supervisor, Devang Dave, the former National Social Media and IT Head of BJYM and the current election manager for the BJP in Maharashtra. The Wire could not independently confirm Dave's direct supervisory role though our technical analysis confirms a broad connection. Persistent Systems link to Tek Fog Persistent Systems is a technology services company that has heavily invested in acquiring government contracts since 2015. In an interview with The Hindu Businessline in January 2018, Mritunjay Singh, the then-executive director and president-services of the company claimed that the company was 'bullish on government spending on Information Technology to give a boost to its revenues'. A few months later, in July of the same year, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare chose Persistent Systems to build a digital data hub that would record, store and process health information across ten Indian states. The Wire investigated Persistent Systems' role in the Tek Fog operation by reaching out to an independent source currently employed at the company. This source provided screenshots of the company's Microsoft Sharepoint (an internal collaboration tool), indicating the app's active development through around 17,000 assets identified by the search term 'Tek Fog'. These assets include technical documents that suggest the development of different layers of the app, including Twitter and WhatsApp integration, data input tools through Google forms, payment infrastructure via Paytm and automation tools using Tasker an Android application that triggers specific actions like sending a message, based on inputted 'contexts' like user location, time, date, event and gesture. 1415 14 15 The Wire contacted Persistent Systems for their response but they refused to comment on the piece prior to publication.Update on January 8, 2022: Persistent Systems, which has not yet responded to the questions sent to them earlier by The Wire, has issued a statement today denying involvement with Tek Fog, Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd and Sharechat. Using Sharechat to seed hate speech The source claimed that the app operatives used Sharechat, the flagship product of Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. to test and curate fake news, political propaganda and hate speech before automating it to other popular social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Marketed as India's #1 social media app, Sharechat has thousands of targeted regional communities that allow millions of users to share posts, news, photos, memes, and videos in their local language. The app acts as both a social network where users can follow accounts, message existing users and an open broadcasting platform, where people share content with strangers. Sharechat supports 14 different local languages and focuses on hyperlocal content catering to India's burgeoning class of non-English speaking social media users predominantly hailing from the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. With a claimed base of 160 million users in India, the company raised $502 million in April 2021 from Tiger Global, Snap and some existing investors such as Twitter, and $145 million in a fresh funding round last July, valuing the company at nearly $3 billion. In 2018, Hindustan Times reported that the company was plagued by fake news and hate speech issues, with many of its communities rife with misinformation and political propaganda. In the same year, The Ken questioned the firm's privacy policy that allowed advertisers and business partners to access its users' contact list, location data and device details, including the other apps installed on a user's phone. A year later, the Economic Times reported that the company had deleted more than half a million accounts amounting to over 4,87,000 unique posts, for violating the platform's community guidelines governing the promotion of harmful and abusive content to incite violence and manufactured hashtag campaigns. During the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2017, Ankur Shrivastava, the product lead at Sharechat, published a Medium post highlighting the company's steps to woo political parties to the social media platform. This included creating special communities and tags for regional parties and deriving a popularity index for them in the UP elections. A year later, MoneyControl published an article highlighting how multiple regional and national parties had created profiles on the vernacular platform, hoping to leverage the platform's access to its predominantly regional audience. To verify their claim and provide further insight into the platform's connection to the broader operation, the whistleblower provided a list of 14 accounts controlled by them via the Tek Fog app, each of which had a linked account on Sharechat. 1617 16 17 The Wire monitored the public posts made by these accounts on Sharechat as well as on Twitter/Facebook over a period of 30 days from April 1 to April 30, 2020. A script that compared the posts made by the accounts on Sharechat to those made by the same account on Facebook/Twitter was utilised revealing that 90% of the posts were common across the various platforms. Further review of the timestamps of these posts highlighted that these common posts were first uploaded on Sharechat before being migrated over to Twitter or Facebook. To determine whether this pattern represented the broader behaviour of the Tek Fog network of accounts, we parsed 3.8 million publicly available posts uploaded in the popular 'Hindi' and 'Marathi' trending communities on Sharechat. This dataset was mapped onto a network graph via Graphistry, a visualisation software to highlight the relationships between different communities within Sharechat and other publicly available mainstream social media platforms, including Twitter 'lists' and Facebook 'groups'. The graph showed that almost 87% of content uploaded into popular Marathi communities and 79% of posts in Hindi communities on Sharechat were subsequently shared onto mainstream social media platforms by accounts participating in these 'trending' regional language based political communities. 18 All of their posts were then fed into the IBM Watson tone analyser, a natural language processing (NLP) tool capable of detecting emotional and language tones. Using various deep learning AI models, we classified these posts under different emotional and tonal labels. This analysis helped illuminate if the shared content has an emotion of hatred and, if so, where the hatred was redirected to: gender, religion, disability, ethnicity, caste and sexual orientation. This technique was used to categorise all the posts under four brackets: Racist, Sexist, Casteist or None those falling under the first three brackets with a confidence level of 90% and above were labeled as hate speech. Out of the total 3.8 million posts reviewed via this method, almost 58% (2.2 million) of them could be labeled as 'hate speech'. This result was cross verified using Comprehend, another NLP tool provided by Amazon Web Services. The Wire reached out to the grievance officer of Sharechat for their response on the story but they denied an immediate comment, seeking more time for an internal investigation. After the publication of the story, Sharechat sent a response denying any link with TekFog and its promoters. (It's response is appended below the story). The A records: Tying it all together To better understand the connection between the Tek Fog operation and the BJYM, the source connected the authors via email to another current BJYM office-holder. This individual sent us a piece of code via their official email id, that helped the team identify the various external websites and tools connecting to the secure server hosting the Tek Fog app. This bit of code, called a Network Profiler, was written in the Python language and displayed the Tek Fog server's real-time network activity showing data sent and received and a list of all the websites and services accessing the app. The BJYM office holder executed the code, timestamped on February 1, 2020, at 6:46 PM GMT. It 'unlocked' the Tek Fog application programming interface or API, a connection between two systems executed through code hosted on a content delivery network managed by Persistent. The code bypassed the inbuilt security system to spit out a list of websites and services accessing the Tek Fog app on that particular day. 19 The Wire was able to corroborate the authenticity of the script by having it reviewed by an independent expert, currently employed as a lead software architect at Microsoft. The independent expert was able to restore the missing libraries present in the original script , and ran the script on their local computer. They went on to confirm that the script acts as an 'inbound network profiler' that produces a list of all the websites and services accessing their local servers. The team also used a threat intelligence platform to reveal the digital identity of these services, by their links (for example, The Wire is identifiable by its link thewire.in). 2021 20 21 One of the first identified links was metabase.sharechat.com suggesting Sharechat's direct involvement in the Tek Fog operation. Apart from Sharechat, there were popular business tools used for productivity (Google Docs and Sheets, Zoho), automation (Zapier, Tasker) and analytics (Grafana, Google Analytics). Others, however, linked to pro-establishment Hindi-and-English websites and news platforms, including Republic World, OpIndia, ABP News and Dainik Jagran, raising questions regarding the complicity of certain digital media outlets in helping the BJP perpetuate a partisan informational ecosystem in the country. The remaining links corroborate integral parts of the broader Tek Fog investigation, including the involvement of BJYM through Devang Dave. Two of the listed links 172.104.48.129 and 103.53.43.161 accessed the Tek Fog app: the first established a link with the BJYM website and the second with isupportnamo.org, which is managed by Dave. Dave denied these claims via email saying that his technical team couldn't find any association of BJYM or isupportnamo servers with such an app ever. He also claimed that "none of his team members or anyone has been ever also in touch with such an app or people associated with such an app". Dave's response contradicts common technical understanding. Tek Fog is a private app and has no open APIs meaning it's not possible for you or me to establish a connection with it and exchange data. Doing that would require, at the very least, the deliberate involvement of some employees working at these organisations. Adding to the intrigue, an hour before Devang's response to the questions posed by The Wire, the Twitter account belonging to the original whistleblower was compromised, and the associated user name was changed from @AarthiSharma08 to @AarthiSharma8. The change in user name can be independently verified by visiting the URL of an old tweet from the account that now redirects to the new username. When the authors reached out to the source to inquire into the reason behind this change, they confirmed that their account had been hacked, and their emails and passwords associated with the account were changed. The source provided the authors with a screenshot of the security email they had received from Twitter that alerted them to the hack. 22 Locating the Tek Fog server The final piece of the puzzle was to locate and archive a copy of the Tek Fog app. To achieve this, the team sought to verify the BJYM source's claim that the servers using the IP addresses 172.67.154.90 and 104.21.80.213 two of the links in the script output were geo-replicated servers hosting the app itself. Geo-replication is a form of system design in which the same app data is stored on multiple servers located at distant physical locations. Commonly, this is a way to ensure those accessing the contents of the server don't have to wait for it to transmit data from another part of the planet; closer servers respond faster. But such data distribution also means that if one server is compromised, another can take over its responsibilities, thus evading hacking attempts or surveillance. The Wire created a server to monitor and archive the two IP addresses on February 5, 2021, to verify the authenticity of this claim. After four months, on June 1, 2021, at 00:00 hrs, the server at 172.67.154.90 displayed the 'login screen' 23of the Tek Fog app, and remained 'live' for 24 hours, before switching to a page that said 'access denied' 24on June 2, 2021, at 00:00 hrs. The design of the login screen matched the screenshots initially handed to the team by the original whistleblower working as an app operator out of the facility in Nagpur, providing us with further confidence in the authenticity of the operation and further technical evidence that Tek Fog was a live app that had progressed beyond a merely theoretical phase. 23 24 The long road ahead Given the operation's ideological nature, the true motive behind Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. involvement in the BJP's organised social media manipulation campaign remains opaque. What is clear, however, is that the potential scale, sophistication and pervasive nature of the Tek Fog operation provide unprecedented evidence of private actors engaging in the application of dubious digital practices typically seen in totalitarian and closed societies such as China and North Korea in the world's largest democracy. In subsequent stories forming part of the Tek Fog investigation, The Wire will explore the technology behind the secretive app and how the ruling party's political operatives used the app's organised social media manipulation campaigns around significant national events such as the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, the Delhi communal violence and the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Note: If you are working with Persistent Systems, Sharechat or the BJYM and are using/ have used or know more about the Tek Fog app and the broader operation underpinning its use, please contact us at tekfog@protonmail.com. We will ensure your anonymity and privacy at all costs. Ayushman Kaul is an independent security and intelligence analyst covering South Asia. Devesh Kumar is an independent data analyst and Senior Data Visualizer with The Wire. Featured illustration: Shreya Bhatia (@oddbench) (TBTCO) - Thi truong chung khoan Viet Nam co ban van giu nhip on inh trong quy au nam nay, tuy nhien, thi truong chiu ap luc ieu chinh kha manh ke tu cuoi thang 3 en nay do tac ong tu cac yeu to ngoai bien va cac vu viec sai pham mang tinh on le cua mot so ca nhan, to chuc. Theo cac chuyen gia, nhung tac ong en tam ly ngan han cua nha au tu la kho tranh khoi, nhung ay la co hoi e huong dong tien i ung huong, giup thi truong gan uc, khoi trong e phat trien ben vung. In response to an increased national demand for veterinarians, veterinary specialists and skilled technicians, Rowan University is establishing the first school of veterinary medicine in New Jersey. Currently, there are only 33 veterinary schools in the United States. The Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine will offer New Jerseys first Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, as well as additional degrees and training programs designed to shape the future of veterinary medicine and animal health care in the state. In November, the New Jersey Legislature approved $75 million in funding to construct the schools primary academic and clinical facility in Sewell. The school plans to welcome its inaugural class of 60 students in fall 2025, pending approval from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (COE). Plans for the school were announced during an outdoor event on the campus of Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester in Sewell. State and University officials joined with some furry and feathered friends--birds, goats, dogs, a bunny and a skunk--to make the announcement at the future site of the school. See video about the planned school here. Launching New Jerseys first school of veterinary medicine at Rowan University is just the latest in a series of strides we have made in expanding and improving the quality of medical education and research over the past decade, said Senate President Steve Sweeney. With this investment, we will be able to keep our best and brightest veterinary students in New Jersey, and we will attract aspiring veterinarians from other states to study here as well. Of the 33 accredited veterinary schools in the United States, only five are on the East Coast. In 2006, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges predicted a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians in the nation within 20 years. Applications for veterinary medical colleges have increased 6-7% in recent years and grew 19% in 2020-21, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). With the addition of the new school, Rowan will become one of two universities in the nation to offer Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees. The University offers its MD program through Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and its DO program through Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine. Rowan will establish undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and internship/residency programs at the veterinary school. Additionally, an A.S. in veterinary technology to B.S. in veterinary technology pathway program will be offered in collaboration with Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester. An innovative approach Following the Universitys approaches to science, engineering and medical education, the new school will bring innovation in curriculum delivery, operational cost efficiency, tuition affordability and job readiness, according to Rowan University President Ali A. Houshmand. We are creating a destination of choice for students who share a passion for animal health and who want to pursue careers in veterinary-related studies at all higher education levels, Houshmand said. Our curriculum will emphasize developing career-ready professionals to address shortages of animal health care providers in New Jersey and throughout the United States. Rowans Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Matthew Edson as founding dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine on June 1. Were excited to create a veterinary school where hands-on experience, virtual reality, simulations and outcomes-based, student-centered education and assessment are integral to the teaching and learning experience, Edson said. Continuing Rowans innovations in experiential learning, students will have early exposure to our on-site veterinary teaching hospital, as well as external clinical sites where they will work side-by-side with faculty and practicing veterinarians. This will allow them to gain ample real-world experience to promote day-one career readiness. Degree programs In addition to the DVM degree, the following programs are under development: Graduate programs, including an M.S./Ph.D. in veterinary biomedical science in collaboration with Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan Universities and the College of Science & Mathematics; An accelerated DVM/MBA in collaboration with Rowan Universitys Rohrer College of Business designed to improve training of students in veterinary practice management, business and economics beyond what will be offered as core content within the DVM curriculum; Undergraduate programs, including bachelors degrees in veterinary studies and veterinary technology, as well as certificates and training pathways for veterinary technicians and assistants; Internship and residency programs, which will provide postgraduate educational opportunities for those who already have completed their DVM degree. The programs could lead to specialization, including specialist board certifications. Education and health care facilities The School of Veterinary Medicines primary academic and clinical facility will be located on the campus of Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell, near the new Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) facility. There, SOM will soon welcome 70-plus medical school students to its newest academic expansion, partnered with the clinical practices already serving hundreds of patients. Designs for a 100,000-square-foot veterinary medical complex are underway and will include academic classrooms, diagnostic and teaching laboratories, a teaching hospital, and administrative and faculty offices. The teaching hospital will provide core experiential learning to students. It also will offer animal health care services to the public, as well as specialty referral and diagnostic services to veterinary practices in the region. Accreditation The school is seeking accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. The COE is the U.S. Department of Education-approved accrediting agency for colleges and schools of veterinary medicine in the United States. Each new school must follow a series of approval steps before receiving full accreditation. Schools must adhere to 11 accreditation standards demonstrating that they offer high-quality educational experiences as outlined by the AVMA. Founding dean A licensed veterinarian in practice for more than a decade, Dr. Matthew C. Edson is founder and owner of Rancocas Veterinary Associates, a multi-doctor, mixed-animal practice located in South Jersey. He has special professional interests in miniature pig and small ruminant medicine and surgery and has lectured nationally on those subjects. A native of Eastampton Township, he is an executive board member and the immediate past president of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, a site visitor for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education, former chair of the AVMA Committee on Disaster and Emergency Issues, and former vice chair of the AVMA Practice Advisory Pilot Panel. He also has served as a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. Licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, Edson earned his veterinary medical degree from Kansas State University. He earned his bachelors degree in animal science and biology from Rutgers University and also completed training as a mobile intensive care paramedic through Virtua Health. Named a top veterinarian by South Jersey Magazine in 2017, Edson was voted Best Veterinarian in Burlington County by Burlington County Times readers for four consecutive years, from 2018-2021. Gasoline prices in the mountain states ended 2021 more than a dollar higher than they started. At the beginning of 2021, gasoline cost just over $2 in the Rocky Mountains, the East Coast and the Midwest, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Tuesday. But the mountain states prices climbed fastest, surpassing $3.50 during their summer peak and closing out the year with a total increase of $1.20 per gallon. The especially high gasoline prices this summer were driven in part by record tourism at the regions national parks, which strained the gasoline supply, the agency said. The closure of the HollyFrontier refinery in Cheyenne also reduced regional refinery capacity by 7%. Gasoline limitations and elevated costs started earlier in the supply chain, however. Crude oil production, which plummeted during COVID-19 lockdowns, still hasnt fully recovered. The price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose from $46 at the beginning of January to a high of $86 in October, then dipped to just under $80 in late December, the EIA said. Were still seeing about the same number of rigs as we did a couple months ago, said Ryan McConnaughey, communications director for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, which is really about half of the number we were seeing pre-pandemic. I think thats still pretty indicative of producers caution in the current economic climate and scenario. Wyomings rig count has remained at 15 since the first week of November. The current COVID-19 wave is worrying the states oil producers, McConnaughey said: If the omicron variant inhibits travel, demand could fall once more. Production cant just start on the flip of a switch, he said. Once producers decide to start producing again, it does take some time to get those resources up and going. Thats why its kind of a long-term decision for these companies on whether they start producing again. But according to McConnaughey, its not just COVID thats stalling production. On top of uncertainty about the international oil market, many are concerned about whether, and how, the federal government will change the oil and gas leasing program. Wyoming is the second-largest oil producer on federal lands; because the federal government owns nearly half of the land in Wyoming, any new policies would have a disproportionate impact on Wyomings industry. It seems like were just in a wait-and-see mode at this point, McConnaughey said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Casper attorney will be suspended for three years after the state bar found he neglected a divorce case for months, did not follow his clients directions and violated a court order. Donald Tolin, who began practicing law in Wyoming in 1978, was also ordered to refund $1,500 to his client and pay $800 in fees and costs to the bar. His suspension went into effect Wednesday. Tolin said Wednesday that he closed his law offices on Dec. 31 and has retired after 43 years as an attorney. According to a release from the Wyoming State Bar, Tolin was hired by a wife going through divorce proceedings in 2019. After charging an initial $5,000 retainer, he reportedly did not send any other invoices for services while on the case, even when they were requested. In June 2020, Tolin also failed to schedule a session with a mediator requested by the husband, after the mediator sent 28 potential dates. The bar said he did not communicate with the wife about the mediation until mid-August, and then found that she had a conflict with the mediator. The client terminated Tolin from the case on Aug. 18, 2020, the bar said, after he failed to acquire documentation of her husbands financial assets and initial disclosures. She had reportedly feared the husband was misusing or hiding assets, and had repeatedly requested the documents to begin discovery. According to the bar, Tolins client sent three requests for invoices after he was taken off the case, and had not received any notice that his fees had exceeded the initial retainer amount. An investigation by the Office of Bar Counsel was begun in October 2020, and Tolin reportedly did not provide the requested time and invoice records by their deadlines or request an extension. In January 2021, Tolin was suspended for about three weeks for not cooperating with the investigation. He was reinstated in early February after providing the documents. The invoices provided reportedly found Tolin was charging $20 for acts like listening to voicemails and sending individual text messages containing little information or unrelated to legal issues, including a text about his grandchild. According to the bar, Tolin admitted to nine professional conduct rule violations related to the case. Those include failures to communicate effectively with the client, making excessive charges and failing to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 3 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis have joined 45 other senators and 136 representatives in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt one of the Biden administrations vaccine mandates. The mandate, put in place via the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), seeks to require vaccinations for workers at companies with 100 or more employees. Workers that refuse would have to submit to mandatory testing and masking. The mandate is estimated to cover about 84 million workers. In an amicus brief filed last month by 183 lawmakers all Republicans argues that Congress did not give OSHA the authority to impose a vaccine mandate. An amicus brief is a legal document filed by an outside party who has some interest in the outcome of the matter. Congressional members have an interest in the powers they delegate to agencies not being abused the legislative authority vested in the federal government belongs to Congress, not the Executive branch, the Republican congressional members wrote. In this case, the promulgation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) of a sweeping, nationwide vaccine mandate on businesses intrudes into an area of legislative concern far beyond the authority of the agency. Rep. Liz Cheney broke with the rest of the Wyoming congressional delegation and did not sign the brief. Rep. Cheney believes it is crucial for people to get vaccinated. She has also been clear that there are serious constitutional issues with President Bidens vaccine mandate, said Jeremy Adler, a Cheney spokesperson. She opposes this mandate. She is an original co-sponsor of a resolution in the House blocking President Bidens vaccine mandate and has supported Governor Gordons challenge to it as well. As of Wednesday, Wyomings vaccination rate stood at 48% the second-lowest in the country, ahead of only Idaho, according to data from the New York Times. The worker vaccine mandate was originally set to go into effect Tuesday, but the Department of Labor stated it will begin enforcing the mandate on Jan. 10 and give employers acting in good faith until Feb. 9 before workers will start experiencing repercussions. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the matter Friday. In November, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals put a halt on the worker vaccine mandate while the courts considered the issue. The following month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals removed the stay, clearing the way for the mandate to go into effect next month. The Sixth Circuit concluded the rule is an important step in curtailing the transmission of a deadly virus that has killed over 800,000 people in the United States, brought our healthcare system to its knees, forced businesses to shut down for months on end, and cost hundreds of thousands of workers their jobs. Critics of the directive say OSHA is not authorized to make the emergency rule, partly because the coronavirus is a general health risk and not exclusive to the workplace, the sector that OSHA is tasked with overseeing. After the Sixth Circuit removed the stay, a group of 27 governors, including Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, also asked the Supreme Court to block the mandate. Wyomings participation comes as no surprise. Fighting back against the mandate was the basis for holding a special legislative session earlier this year, and Gordon has been outspoken in his opposition to the rule. Wyoming and a long list of other states are also fighting mandates pertaining to federal contractors, certain National Guardsmen and health workers in facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid funding. Some of these challenges have been successful so far, leading to pauses in certain parts of the nation. Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NIDCO (the National Infrastructure Development Company) says it has not initiated any tender or award of contract process with regard to the Toco Port. In a news release, the company said the issuance of any letters of award or contracts relating to the Toco Port project is fraudulent and not authorised by Nidco. A pregnant mother and her family affected by the Quarry Street New Years Day fire say they felt pressured to accept an Oropune Gardens apartment as a permanent home after their years long efforts to find secure housing. The family, who had previously spent months surrounded by debris and without electricity, told the Express they felt as though they were being pushed to mortgage the apartment as a quick fix to their problem. The fact that 106 police killings dating from January 2019 to now are under investigation by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is staggering. Whether the number reflects an actual increase in fatal police shootings, or is the result of greater public willingness to file complaints, growing public confidence in the PCA or the PCAs own willingness to initiate investigations, would require more than bald figures. However, it underscores the PCAs importance as an independent authority with the power to hold the police to account. Several Tucson businesses have temporarily closed and two marquee headliners have postponed their concerts as the omicron variant continues its hold on Pima County. HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival Executive Director Khris Dodge said he is working on new dates for 11-time Grammy nominee Jon Batiste and jazz great Herb Alpert, both of whom pulled out of the event early this week. Batiste, who was to play Centennial Hall on Jan. 21, postponed his appearance due to unforeseen circumstances while the 86-year-old Alpert, who was scheduled to perform with his wife, Lani Hall, on Jan. 22, cited health concerns, Dodge said. Since New Years Eve, several businesses including Monsoon Chocolate on East 22nd Street at South Fourth Avenue, Ches Lounge on North Fourth Avenue and Batch downtown temporarily closed due to COVID exposures and concerns as Arizonas and Pima Countys infection rates jumped. On Wednesday, the county reported 1,121 new COVID cases and four new deaths. Statewide, 7,749 additional confirmed cases were reported on Wednesday, according to state health officials. Its unreal that weve come this far and now, here we are, Batch owner Ronnie Spece said Wednesday, a day after he temporarily closed his popular bourbon and doughnut bar at 118 E. Congress St. after two of his employees tested positive for COVID. The outbreak was the first for Batch since the pandemic started in March 2020. Spece noted that his staff is fully vaccinated. We kind of feel lucky and like we were overdue, said Spece, who hopes to reopen his 6-year-old bar on Tuesday, Jan. 11. This is a huge bummer we want nothing more than to be open for you, officials at Monsoon Chocolate, 234 E. 22nd St., wrote on Facebook Sunday, Jan. 2, citing a potential COVID exposure. Well keep you posted on when well be opening up again ... hopefully by next weekend. Two other popular Tucson bars Ches Lounge on North Fourth Avenue and Saint Charles Tavern on South Fourth Avenue also temporarily closed, with both citing health concerns. Saint Charles reopened on Tuesday, after five days. It was the first time since Saint Charles opened fully in January 2021 that it had to pause operations, said owner Elizabeth Menke, who said she shut the bar down after an employee tested positive. It feels like what weve learned over the last two years is that COVID is going to come in these long waves. I think we are learning how to handle those waves, she said. The Jazz Festivals Dodge described the omicron variant is a fluid situation that could further impact the festival, which runs Jan. 14-23. We are trying to make the best of the situation, said Dodge, who said he was still super excited that the festival returned to in-person this year. One of the greatest things that make us human beings in a community is our ability to gather and express ourselves with music, he said. I know what we bring to the community and what we present in live music is important. What we do does make a difference in a small slice of the pie that is our community. The Tucson Desert Song Festival, which runs Jan. 19-March 19, has had one event postponed a recital Jan. 9 with soprano Ailyn Perez. Song Festival Director George Hanson said Perez, who is performing in Europe, pulled out of the festival out of concerns that she could face travel disruptions attempting to return to Europe right after her Tucson recital. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on air travel with flight staff shortages leading to thousands of cancellations. Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PHOENIX The Arizona Supreme Court issued a broad ruling Thursday that will permanently change how state budgets are adopted. The justices said the way lawmakers have been piling unrelated issues into last-minute budget reconciliation bills is unconstitutional. They voided provisions of four budget-related bills because their legally required titles did not reflect what was in the measures. And they separately found that one of the bills, with 52 sections and 30 distinct subjects, also violated a separate constitutional ban on legislation dealing with more than one topic. In doing so, the court reasserted its authority as the ultimate arbiter of what the other branches of government can and cannot do. The justices said that they and not the Legislature determine whether an act is constitutional. And in an often strongly-worded decision, they slapped down various arguments that lawmakers are entitled to wide latitude in deciding how to craft statutes and the budget. But the real effect of the ruling is that it will bring to an end how legislative leaders corral the votes for certain controversial items. That, in turn, could empower whichever party is in the minority. What has happened until now is that individual lawmakers in the majority party threaten to withhold their votes for the entire budget unless they get some particular provision inserted. Often, these involve bills that could not get approved on their own. Last years budget package is filled with items that either failed on their own or never even got a hearing but became must-have items for some lawmakers. Among the examples is a ban on the teaching of so-called critical race theory in public schools, a bill that never was voted on separately by either the House or Senate. But it wound up in legislation labeled K-12 education; budget reconciliation. That meant any legislator who supported the bills other contents, which included changes in state aid to public schools, had to go along. The justices said the situation was even more pronounced in Senate Bill 1819, labeled as Appropriating monies; relating to state budget procedures. SB 1819 contains 52 sections and spans approximately 30 distinct subjects, including matters ranging from dog racing, the lottery, voter registration, election integrity, the governors emergency powers, the Board of Trustees (of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System) duties and powers, the definition of newspaper, political contributions, management of the state capitol museum and COVID-19, wrote Justice John Lopez for the unanimous court. Lawmakers were forced into an all-or-nothing situation. The need to buy votes for the budget by including policy issues in a package was intensified by the current situation, where Republicans have just a one-vote majority in both the House and Senate, meaning a single lawmaker can thwart something desired by his or her GOP colleagues. There were a lot of things put into those budget reconciliation bills because we had so many members that said, Im not on the budget unless I get X, said Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott. They had leverage. After 171 days and no budget passed, and were getting close to July 1 and the new fiscal year where departments need to be funded and everything else, yeah, we did put stuff in there, she said. House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, said the ruling now gives him and Fann some backing to refuse to do that. It kind of helps us hopefully make the point that there are certain things you cant do, he said. So, if thats what that decision says, its good for me. The flip side, however, is it removes a bargaining chip that leadership has had until now to get the needed majority among Republicans for the budget. Its just going to cost me more, Bowers said. Im just going to have to go deal with somebody else. That could mean getting the necessary votes from Democrats, who have repeatedly said they have not been consulted on budget items because, until now, the Republicans have not needed their votes. House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, D-Laveen, said he welcomes the idea of greater Democratic influence on the annual spending package. My hope is this really is an opportunity to get back to what Arizona is trying to do, he said, pointing out that the partisan split in both the House and Senate is nearly 50-50. Weve always taken a position as a caucus that were 100% in favor of a bipartisan budget, a budget that includes both Democratic and Republican priorities, Bolding said. We just have not seen that the governor, the speaker or the president really operate that way. Fann, however, said it will still require some flexibility on the part of Democrats. She said GOP lawmakers made it clear last year that the budget had to include some tax cuts for them to support the spending plan. But Fann said not a single Democrat was willing to consider the issue. So that shut down those conversations, she said, leaving GOP leadership little choice but to agree to some of the demands to put nonbudget items into the package. Had I had a few Democrats that would have come onboard with the budget, or even some of the budget items, then we wouldnt have had to play Whac-a-Mole, if you will, with the other members, of putting things in there that really didnt belong in the budget, Fann said. Bolding said the ruling also could curb some radical ideas from becoming law or at least bring them to light. Right now, he said, individual lawmakers are shielded from being held accountable for voting for a specific measure because it is buried in a more comprehensive budget bill. Republican members who dont support bad policy will now be forced to vote on the board for those bad policies, Bolding said. And well see if they have the courage to vote against them or not. Thursdays decision is also consequential for the courts broad rejection of claims by lawmakers that they and not the justices get to decide whether what they do is constitutional. We reject this untenable proposition, wrote Lopez. This case implicates our courts core constitutional authority and duty to ensure that the Arizona Constitution is given full force and effect, he said. The responsibility of determining whether the legislature has followed constitutional mandates that expressly govern its activities is given to the courts not the legislature. Lopez said it would be one thing if a dispute is over a political issue that is beyond the ability of the court to resolve. In 2007, for example, the justices spurned a request by former state Rep. John Kromko, D-Tucson, to rule that a 39.1% hike in tuition at the states three universities violated a constitutional requirement that instruction be as nearly free as possible. Justice Andrew Hurwitz, who wrote that decision, said judges are in no position to decide that question. At best we would be substituting our subjective judgment of what is reasonable under all circumstances for that of the Board (of Regents) and the Legislature, the very branches of government to which our constitution entrusts this decision, he wrote. Lopez, however, said this is different. Our review of the contested budget reconciliation bills constitutionality does not equate to this court superintending the budget process, as the state claims, he said. Whether the legislature has complied with constitutional requirements depends on whether the final BRBs (budget reconciliation bills) language reflects a proper connection to the budget as understood by an outside reader, Lopez continued. This matter falls within the purview of the courts because the issue here is not what the legislature decided but how it decided what it did. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Cloth masks are no longer adequate to protect the University of Arizona from the COVID-19 virus. According to the UAs website, which was updated Wednesday, the university is requiring anyone who sets foot on campus, including all faculty, staff, students, designated campus colleagues and visitors, to wear surgical or higher-grade (KN95, KF94 and N99) masks. People may also combine a cloth mask, to be worn on the top layer, and a surgical mask, to be worn on the bottom layer, to improve fit and increase protection. The new mask requirement is also in place for fans attending sporting events at McKale Center. This new rule comes in light of the omicron variants surge and new guidance from public health experts that cloth masks which can vary widely in thickness, efficacy and cleanliness may not be adequate to protect against omicron. As of Thursday morning, the Arizona Department of Health Services had reported 10,679 new COVID-19 cases across the state and 1,327 new cases of COVID-19 in Pima County alone. While scientists believe the omicron variant, which made its first appearance in the UA community late last month, is more contagious than previous variants, it is also believed to carry less severe symptoms. The UA is presumably moving forward with opening the campus at full capacity next week and offering the majority of classes in an in-person format, despite demands from United Campus Workers Arizona a union that represents UA faculty and staff to start remotely until the omicron wave is under control. The union has also asked the university to provide all students faculty and staff with high-quality masks. And thats what the UA is planning to do. We will be offering surgical masks to all employees, students, and visitors. They will be placed at all building entrances and classrooms around campus, UA spokeswoman Holly Jensen said in an email. These masks will be available free of charge. Last fall, the UA, along with Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, implemented both a vaccine mandate for all employees and a mask mandate for everyone in indoor spaces where social distancing is not possible. Under the universitys new rules, the high-grade masks must be worn in the following settings: In all indoor spaces where it is not possible to adequately and continuously maintain social distance. Any building/facility that is operated by or affiliated with the University where patients or human research subjects participating in clinical research are seen in person. In locations where personal protective equipment (including masks) has always been required to maintain safety protocols for situations with high hazards, such as areas where regulated chemicals are used or stored and other laboratory settings. Inside a Cat Tran shuttle or any other public transportation provided by the university. According to the university website, these face coverings should cover the nose, mouth, and chin of the wearer and are not a substitute for physical distancing, which should remain the primary means of preventing transmission. Kathryn Palmer covers higher education for the Arizona Daily Star. Contact her via e-mail at kpalmer@tucson.com or her new phone number, 520-496-9010. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GUADALUPE A mix of stigma, misinformation and bad accounting let COVID-19 run rampant through this small town in 2020. But the community stepped back from that brink by building partnerships and fostering trust to track cases and increase vaccinations. In spring 2020, every town in the country was trying to figure out how to best deal with the rise of what would become an indefinite global pandemic. By early summer, Guadalupe had become a hot spot with an infection rate 4.6 times higher than that of surrounding Maricopa County, or 1,659 vs. 358 per 100,000 persons, according to a town report. Guadalupe, wedged between Tempe and Interstate 10, is home to 6,500 mostly Hispanic residents along with members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. For how small our community is, it was really bad. We were having funerals left and right, Vice Mayor Ricardo Vital told Cronkite News. When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the only data Guadalupe could use to gauge COVID-19 cases came from the Arizona Department of Health Services. But because the town shares a ZIP code with Tempe, Vital said, a lot of those cases were misassigned to the city. Leaders soon realized that the number of cases and deaths reflected in the state data didnt match what residents were talking about anecdotally. Through wastewater testing, conducted by Arizona State University researchers, leaders confirmed that COVID-19 was crushing their town. Maricopa County officials determined that Guadalupe needed help. The Town Council partnered with Pascua Yaqui tribal leaders, Maricopa County, Native Health and a COVID-19 response team composed of ASU faculty, staff and students to curb the numbers with at-home testing, contact tracing and, eventually, vaccination events. By early December 2021, case rates in the town were 196.05 per 100,000 people versus 300 per every 100,000 people countywide, but the new, fast-spreading omicron variant left officials worried. We havent seen any large spikes, but there is that concern now with this new variant and again the spikes that occur due to holiday and social gatherings, Town Manager Jeff Kulaga said at a Dec. 9 Town Council meeting. So the message is: Stay the same. Weve been in this going on over 18 months plus now. Masks are still important. Social distancing, still important. And most important is the vaccinations and the booster shots. In the early stages of the pandemic, Vital said, people were afraid to have anything to do with testing because they didnt want to be seen as someone exposed to COVID-19. Within our own community, it was viewed as something shameful and something dirty to catch, he said. Nobody wanted to be the first family in Guadalupe to be like, We have COVID. Promotoras community health workers who go home-to-home helped ease that anxiety. They delivered food and personal protection equipment and spoke one-on-one to residents about the virus. Among those promotoras are Veronica Perez, who has lived in Guadalupe all her life, and Graciela Holgiun, who lives in Chandler but has friends and relatives in Guadalupe. Ive worked in the medical field for many years, Holguin said, so I thought itd be something positive to help out people that needed it at the moment. They both saw what was happening on the streets during the worst of it. By July (2020), it started hitting a little bit home, Perez said. We would have at least one or two deaths per week. I think thats when people started to realize that maybe something is really happening here. They spent a year and a half hand-delivering all sorts of goods to homes where families were stuck in quarantine. But the initial stigma of the virus limited the number of people they could help. A lot of people were hesitant to call and to let us know if someone fell ill, Holgiun said. So it was unfortunate, because there are a lot of community members we werent able to help and assist because of that. The two began attending community events to talk to people to help normalize asking for help. We would attend any public function that we could, and we would just educate the people, Perez said. We passed out flyers, we gave out information on how to clean your groceries when you brought them home. Attacking those misunderstandings and doubts meant ensuring that leaders of the town and the tribe had a unified message. The council worked with Jose-Enrique Saldana, co-chair of the tribes Youth and Young Adult COVID-19 Task Force, and social media became a big part of efforts to provide updates on the disease and information about community testing and vaccination events. Weve really tried to debunk the myths that are out there concerning the vaccine, trying to really share information thats factual, thats science-based, Saldana said. As of December, 44% of Guadalupe residents had at least one dose of vaccine, and 38% were fully vaccinated, according to county data. That compares with about 60% of all Maricopa County residents with at least one shot, and about 53% who are fully vaccinated. Vital has a goal: I want to hit at least 80%. Angelina Matos of Phoenix, who has family in Guadalupe, got vaccinated recently at one of the towns events after contracting COVID-19 at a birthday party. I think it was 18 of us that got infected at the same time, Matos said. It was just a simple dinner, you know. Come over to eat pizza, and well sing Happy Birthday, she said. It (the disease) was crazy, it was difficult, but thankfully no major illnesses. Although Matos sees more people taking COVID-19 seriously than they did a year ago, there are still people who dont want the vaccine. I have a granddaughter who is sick, whose immune system attacks her healthy organs, Matos said. But her father doesnt believe in the vaccine and has said, No were not getting it. Vital said those people who are opposed to the vaccinations must reconsider, for their own health and that of their family and community. Granted, everybody has their own personal beliefs, he said. But its not just about me. Its not just about you. Its not just about the kids. Its about everybody. We need to do our parts in order to make sure that were a town that sustains itself. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Locals and visitors soon will be able to view a new gateway to the historic community of Greenwood. Scheduled to be installed this month is a This Is Greenwood public art display, which will be placed on the south end of the 21 N. Greenwood mixed-used development. We had the architects and the sign people come up with a few different phrases, said Kajeer Yar, who headed the development of 21 N. Greenwood. But the thing we kept coming back to was this notion of this declaration of This is Greenwood. Youre in the heart of it. Archer and Greenwood has always been sort of the epicenter of the commercial activities in the district and the neighborhood going back over 100 years. We really wanted to come up with something that would be that place-making element that emphatically and demonstrably indicates to visitors and to people who may be passing through that hey, youre in Greenwood. Yar and his wife, Maggie, have been instrumental partners in the rejuvenation of the Greenwood community. Boosted by financial support from the The Hille Foundation Maggie is executive director and its founders are her parents, Jo Bob and Mary Ann Hille the Yars in 2013 completed GreenArch LLC, a mixed-use development on the southwest corner of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street. Set to open in a matter of weeks is 21 N. Greenwood, which follows the 2021 opening of the adjacent Greenwood Rising history center, for which the Hille Foundation donated land. Referring to the new public art, as well as recent developments, Kajeer Yar said, the (Tulsa Race Massacre) centennial was good for people having more of an understanding of what this districts past was. We really wanted to have something that says this place has a future, as well. Lektron Branding Solutions, a local sign and lighting manufacturer, is building the sign, whose architect is Nathan Buck of GH2 Architects in Tulsa. The display features fabricated aluminum channel letters and translucent acrylic faces internally lit with green, red, blue and white LED. It also has matte black painted retainers, returns and letter backs. The letters of Greenwood are about 8 feet tall, roughly twice the size of those in the other two words. The sentence, itself, is 83 and a half feet long. I pushed hard for the actual color changes, said Roland Williams, a business development executive at Lektron. I wanted it to be a place where people could visit at different times of the year. Lets say around Valentines Day, the color is pink. During St. Patricks Day, we change the color to green. For Halloween, we could change to orange. I also wanted it to change colors to give people more than one photo opportunity. Buck, associate principal at GH2, said the landmark also serves as a welcome marker. Really, its a beacon and a entrance logo, he said. Once you get across the tracks, it says This is Greenwood. We really wanted everyone to know where they are what the area stands for. What better way than a 100-foot-long sign. The sign on Greenwood Rising in the background also is lit from behind. It really starts to create this layer of the district before you get into the heart of what used to be. Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Last year at this time, I wrote this same feature, predicting which food trends would become popular in the year to come. Amid a worldwide pandemic, we were still optimistic that travel, dining in restaurants and entertaining at home would replace sourdough mania, big-batch cooking and cocktails for one. Fortunately, some of the forecast ideas predicted by the various trend monitors were accurate and much welcomed: wanting well-being and the many outlets for achieving it, cooking from the (now well-stocked) pantry and ghost kitchens offering unique cuisine in a pop-up environment. Grazing boards continued to explode into every category (cheese and charcuterie, breakfast and dessert), and trends we could never have predicted took hold: birria tacos, anyone? But how is it looking for 2022? Though much has changed yippee for vaccines, boo for variants the food and beverage industry is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic in the form of supply-chain issues, staffing shortages and general burnout. But there have also been substantial innovations pivot should be the word of 2021 in how restaurants operate and tend to diners. According to the New York Times, 2022 will be another pragmatic, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of year, shaped by the needs of people working from home and by the culinarily-astute-but-fickle Gen Z, whose members want food with sustainable ingredients and a strong cultural back story, prepared without exploitation and delivered in a carbon-neutral way within 30 minutes. A tall order, perhaps? Keeping that in mind, I turned to several Tulsa food industry sources to gauge interest in upcoming trends with a local perspective. Grazing boards In 2022, first and foremost, I see the cheese/charcuterie/grazing fun continuing and taking new and different directions, said Joel Bein, co-owner of the recently opened The Meat and Cheese Show and the chef/owner of Rub food truck. Bein is also hopeful that dinner parties will happen again. A few years ago, people were getting into chefs table dinners, and I see the private home dinner party scene picking up, he said. The trend borrows from fancy chefs table dinners but is hosted in your own home. Its a much more intimate experience for the diners, adds Bein. People are into the experience these days. Plant-based food 2021 was the year plant-based cuisine took root (no pun intended), and the trend doesnt show any evidence of petering out. The plant-based food sector is certainly growing, online food platform ShelfNow noted. Between 2020 and 2021, sales of vegetarian food products increased by 156% and vegan product sales jumped 150% and products like dairy and meat alternatives are a growing market. As consumers, we have never been more aware of animal wellness and environmental concerns, so it is essential to know where our food comes from and how it was grown or raised. A new term to look for this year: reducetarianism. Selected as one of Whole Foods Markets top 10 food trends of 2022, reducetarianism describes people who arent entirely vegetarian or vegan but are aiming to eat less meat, dairy and eggs, mainly for environmental reasons. Many people are trying plant-based foods for the first time and are seeing how fantastic they taste while also making you feel better and lighter, said Cynthia Beavers, chef/owner of Pure Food & Juice. Contrary to popular belief (and past examples of health food), plant-based foods can be as satisfying as their meat-based counterparts. I have customers come in every day to Pure who have never tried our food, Beavers said. They cant believe that our nachos, lasagna, enchiladas, desserts and even smoothies taste like the unhealthy versions but are created with the best ingredients! Mushrooms While on the topic of plant-based foods, the ingredient of the year, according to several top food trend predictors, looks to be the mushroom. Mushrooms tick the boxes of three significant trends: plant-based eating, foods that boost immune health and sustainability, all categories that have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Look for mushrooms in all forms. The New York Times predicts that small urban mushroom farms will explode, and we will see mushroom fibers used in compostable containers. Alcohol I was happy to see relaxed liquor regulations come out of the pandemic. Liquor stores are open every day and offer curbside delivery, something unheard of a few years ago. Restaurants can provide to-go cocktails and wine. There is also a wide assortment of premium pre-batched bottled cocktails flooding the market today. They are convenient, cost-effective and for the most part, enjoyable. Whether sold in ready-to-drink cans or in larger bottles that consumers use to mix drinks at home, pre-mixed cocktails have shed their less-than-sparkling reputation. Specialty drink-industry brands offer a wide array of choices, from canned Negronis to pre-made old-fashioneds that require nothing but a craft ice cube. One local favorite, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails in Oklahoma City, has bottled their famous old-fashioned cocktail (including the whiskey) to be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. The pandemic has increased staff turnover, and that has a much bigger effect on bars requiring extensive training, said Hunter Gambill, founder of Oklahoma Distilling Company, Gambills Coffee and Chocolate and Gambills Pastaria & Grocery. Well-thought-out cocktails arent going anywhere, but youre going to continue to see changes or closings of high-end cocktail bars because the staff just doesnt exist like it used to. That being said, Gambill plans to open a second location of ODC in Oklahoma City this year and notes that local bartenders and knowledgeable staff in retail outlets are his biggest advocates. Closings The past two years have not been kind to our local restaurant scene. We have lost several restaurants to the pandemic. Celebrity Club and Lassalles New Orleans Deli are two that I am woeful about, but there are many other losses. Thankfully, according to the International Food Information Council, restaurant visits are rising (and getting more vibrant), but evolving delivery and pickup options will continue as a food trend in 2022. During this most recent year of the pandemic, restaurants became more creative with their offerings and adopted new technologies to make ordering more seamless for their customers. In addition, higher-end restaurants that were previously dine-in only began offering takeout or delivery meals and special packages. This coming year, according to Sage Restaurant Concepts, which oversees more than 50 restaurant, bar and coffee shop locations in 12 states, dining out in 2022 will be about so much more than whats on your plate. Watch for themed menus, creative settings, beverage brand partners, branded decor, cooking classes, prix-fixe menus and uber-Instagrammable moments right here in Tulsa. Chef Trevor Tack is at the helm of the much-anticipated opening of The Hemingway, a new steakhouse from Brett Rehorn, who dazzled us with his themed restaurants Kilkennys and Nola. The steakhouse design looks to be as over-the-top as the author for which it is named, and Tack has teased us with photographs of the food to come. But we may have to wait a bit longer. Just like everyone else, were experiencing delays and shortages of all types, Tack said. Everything from alligator to wood pulp. Finding the walk-in walls has been very frustrating as well. Theyre just not out there! But were all in the same boat. You just have to be creative and, more than anything, patient. My biggest takeaway from reading all of the lists and reports boils down to three words: food with purpose. Lets hope that 2022 helps our local food industry (restaurants, caterers, farmers, ranchers and producers) be able to do the thing its best at feeding us good food. Featured video: A 14-year-old has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder and a gang-related offense in the Dec. 27 shooting death of a 13-year-old boy near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue, according to court records. Skyler James Neill is charged in Tulsa County District Court with fatally shooting Lamar Norman III at the front entrance of the Savanna Landing apartments at 6000 S. Newport Ave. Residents at the apartment complex told police officers they heard multiple gunshots. Officers found Lamar on the ground near the entrance; he later died at a hospital. Lamar, the citys 61st homicide victim of 2021, was not the youngest; another 13-year-old boy was shot multiple times just five days earlier, on Dec. 22 in west Tulsa. Christian Harrison, 19, has been charged in federal court with first degree-murder in the Dec. 22 shooting. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said the rise in teen violence, particularly when there is a teen victim and a teen defendant, is distressing for all those involved. Not only do I have a family grieving over the loss of their loved one, Kunzweiler said, but Im certainly having to deal with or recognize that you have parents who have a person under the age of 18 charged with significantly violent crimes (for which) that person can go to prison a long time. Kunzweiler also pointed to gang culture as part of the issue with rising teen violence in Tulsa County. Gang culture can influence younger people to carry guns and commit violent crimes, leading to incidents like this one, Kunzweiler said. A problem that all of us in Tulsa County, and really the entire country, need to address is how do you get young people from being attracted to criminal activity or gang activity, he said. Lamar was the fifth and final teenage homicide victim in Tulsa in 2021. In 2019, the city of Tulsa recorded three homicides of people 18 years old or younger involving firearms; the number grew to nine in 2020. Another factor in Lamars shooting was the location: 61st Street and Peoria Avenue. On the crime in that area, Kunzweiler said every community has areas where criminals congregate and that those criminals will capitalize off of disadvantaged communities. They are attracted to places where there are people who can be easily victimized, he said. Theyre attracted to an area where their gang or drug activity can seemingly flourish. He said its the job of local law enforcement to reduce crime in communities such as 61st and Peoria. Just this week, city and community leaders met with law enforcement about crime in the 61st and Peoria area. The meeting brought together property managers from a half-dozen apartment complexes, city councilors, police officers and other stakeholders. Its unfortunate for the people who live there who are just trying to live their lives and be free of being victimized, Kunzweiler said. But there are vultures out there that like to prey upon those people and take advantage of them. Featured video: Tulsa Police Department crackdown on gun and gang violence Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Oklahomas all-Republican congressional delegation has been pretty quiet about the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. All were present that afternoon. U.S. Sen. James Lankford had to break off a speech to flee the Senate chamber. Second District Congressman Markwayne Mullin was famously photographed crouching behind some seats, trying to talk rioters out of breaking into the U.S. House of Representatives. This week, when each of Oklahomas seven members of Congress was asked for his or her reflections on the assault, none responded. Their reticence may be explained by polling such as that conducted by Bright Line Watch, a political science research group studying what many believe is the erosion of American democracy. In November, Bright Line Watch found that just 27% of Republicans nationwide were at least somewhat confident that Democrat Joe Biden was the rightful winner of the 2020 election. Only 10% were completely confident. That compared with 97% of Democrats and 64% of independents, with all three virtually unchanged from just after the election. Confidence in the 2022 elections is already more polarized than confidence in the 2020 election was in October of that year, the researchers concluded. Six of Oklahomas seven members of Congress are up for reelection in 2022 the exception being U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, who was reelected in 2020 and says he wont seek another term when this one expires in 2026. Of those who will be on the ballot, U.S. Sen. James Lankford has drawn the most strident opposition not because he went along for several weeks with an unprecedented effort to delay certification of a presidential election but because he dropped it after supposed allies invaded the Capitol, attacked law officers and threatened to kill members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence. All five of the states U.S. House members voted to reject or in some manner delay Bidens certification as the next president. Some, including Mullin, insisted there were reasons to believe fraud or error may have played a role in Bidens defeat of incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. All five appear destined for easy reelection. When the rioters broke into the Capitol, Lankford was speaking on the Senate floor in favor of a proposal by Texas Ted Cruz to create a 10-day commission to look further into some of those claims. Recent revelations by former members of the Trump administration and documents obtained by the House investigation into the attack suggest that Cruzs undertaking may have been, in fact, part of a larger plan to overturn the election altogether. A year later, more than 60 challenges to the 2020 presidential election have failed at just about every level. Almost all have been disproved. A few members of Oklahomas congressional delegation, including Inhofe, have quietly suggested its time to move on. Many of their constituents the ones who vote in Republican primaries disagree. Last spring, the state GOP was taken over by Trump loyalists who tried unsuccessfully to expel Lankford and Inhofe from the party because they did not back the attempt which Inhofe characterized as unconstitutional to delay and ultimately overturn the election. Lankfords two most vocal opponents praise the Capitol attackers and denigrate Lankford for ultimately reversing course. Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairwoman Alicia Andrews says she understands the members dilemma but that it doesnt absolve them from addressing the lingering belief that the election was rigged. Some of their constituents had questions, she said. What do you do when someone has questions you dont know the answer to? You go away, you find the answers, and you come back with the truth. And the truth is the 2020 elections were, by far, the most fair, most transparent elections that we have ever held as a nation. The members of Oklahomas congressional delegation, Andrews said, owe the people of Oklahoma a fact-based (explanation). This is not just Andrews partisan opinion. It was also the conclusion of Trumps own Department of Homeland Security. Many doubt that the true believers will ever be swayed, though. Rightly or wrongly, their faith in elections a cornerstone of American democracy has been damaged, and perhaps dangerously so. This is illustrated by Bright Line Watch polling that shows a that substantial portion of Americans still say violence and other law-breaking are sometimes justified, especially if the opposing party is in power. Part of this, said Oklahoma State University political science professor Matthew Motta, is because people aligned with the two major parties do not accurately perceive each other. Both Democrats and Republicans tend to underestimate the other sides commitment to Democratic values, said Motta, citing Bright Line Watch data. Whether thats (upholding) freedom of the press or abstaining from violence after an election result we dont like, Republicans and Democrats think the other side is more likely not to do those things. The bad news is that there is still plenty of support of illiberal action on both the left and the right, he said. Outright insurrection, such as last years attack on the Capitol, has more support on the ideological right, Motta said, but he thinks suppression of speech and press is something both Republicans and Democrats can get behind. Many argue that this either signals or feeds or both a dangerous erosion of American democratic traditions. Its one thing to shout insults or even to clash in the streets. Its another to attack the seat of government and deny the validity of the ballot box. We see the other side winning as an existential threat to not just our politics but our way of life, Motta said. If you view people that way that theyre out to get you then youre going to use force and more and more extreme things. Democracy has lots of written rules, he said. But it also has lots of unwritten rules. Those unwritten rules are really, really important. When those erode, laws are not enough. You have to have some cohesion on what the unwritten rules are and who is willing to play by them in order for a democracy to work. I think were increasingly getting away from that, Motta concluded. And thats pretty scary. Featured January 2021 video: Sen. Lankford interrupted while speaking before Senate as rioters enter Capitol Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The state of Oklahoma, with more than 40 petitions filed seeking to overturn or limit the McGirt ruling, is getting its shot after the U.S. Supreme Court last week picked a date to consider appeals related to its landmark decision. When the nine justices gather Jan. 7, a Tulsa mans case will be in the spotlight: The state appealed after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals vacated a 2017 conviction and 35-year prison sentence for Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, 36, based on the McGirt ruling. A state appellate court agreed with Castro-Huertas claim that the state did not have jurisdiction to prosecute him because the victim was a member of a federally recognized tribe, and the crime occurred within the never disestablished Cherokee Nation reservation. The state ruling was the first of a series that expanded the Supreme Courts July 2020 McGirt ruling beyond the Muscogee Nation reservation to acknowledge that the reservations of five other tribes, including the Cherokee and the Chickasaw nations, had never been disestablished by Congress. At issue in the Castro-Huerta appeal and others is whether the Supreme Court should overturn its McGirt ruling or at least find that the state of Oklahoma should have concurrent jurisdiction in cases involving non-Indians committing crimes against Native Americans in Indian Country. A ruling on whether to grant the petitions a hearing could come as early as Jan. 10. Records indicate that the odds of the Supreme Courts taking up the case are against the state. The court receives 7,000 to 8,000 petitions to take cases each term, granting and hearing oral argument in about 80 of them, according to the courts own website. Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General John OConnor have both argued against the July 2020 McGirt ruling and subsequent state court rulings that voided the state of Oklahomas criminal jurisdiction in much of the eastern half of the state when the case involves a tribal member. The McGirt ruling and subsequent state court rulings found that the reservation boundaries of six state tribes Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Quapaw were still intact because Congress, the only entity that can diminish or dissolve a reservation, never altered the reservation boundaries since 1860s. Most pressing issue Oklahomas opening statement in its appeal to the Supreme Court describes a state in upheaval since the McGirt ruling: No recent decision of this court has had a more immediate and destabilizing effect on life in an American State than McGirt v Oklahoma. The state called the fallout from the decision both calamitous and worsening by the day. Stitt has called the McGirt ruling the most pressing issue for the future of Oklahoma. He and OConnor are joined in opposition to McGirt by the cities of Tulsa and Owasso, district attorneys throughout the state and even the state of Texas. The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation, the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma and others also have filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief expressing concerns regarding the potential civil impact of the McGirt ruling. On the other side, four of the six tribes that have since been recognized as still having reservations have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in favor of keeping the McGirt ruling. Meanwhile, an expert in federal Indian law said she doesnt expect the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its own ruling from just over a year ago. I would be surprised if it were overturned I would be, said Carole Goldberg, distinguished research professor at UCLA Law School. Goldberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 to serve on the Indian Law and Order Commission, said that belief is backed in part on legal precedent finding in favor of the tribes when there is ambiguity in the law. So there is an interpretive requirement that these ambiguities be resolved in the tribes favor, Goldberg said. Backers of the states cause point to the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the court since the McGirt ruling as one possible avenue to reversal. Ginsberg was among the narrow 5-4 majority in the McGirt ruling. Limits after overturned convictions The state, in its petition to the Supreme Court, argues that McGirt was wrongly decided. By discounting historical evidence of the original public meaning of the statutes Congress enacted, the Court not only defied precedent; it also blinded itself to the actual import of Congress legislation, the state wrote. The state claims that problems caused by the seismic shift in jurisdiction have rippled through every aspect of life in Oklahoma. Chief among the claims by opponents to McGirt is that it could cause violent criminals to be released from state prison with federal and tribal courts unable to prosecute them for various reasons. As an example, the state points to the case of Richard Ray Roth, who was convicted in state court of manslaughter and sentenced to serve 19 years in prison for the 2013 Wagoner County traffic death of 12-year-old Billy Jack Chuculate Lord. Roths blood alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit when the vehicle he was driving struck the boy, who was riding a bike. In September, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals threw out Roths conviction and sentence on McGirt grounds due to the childs being a member of the Cherokee Nation and the crime occurring within the reacknowledged Muscogee Nation reservation. Federal prosecutors were not able to pick up the charge because the statute of limitations typically five years had expired for the federal offense. Tribal prosecutors, meanwhile, were not able to pick up the case because Roth is not a member of a federally recognized tribe. If any individuals are ultimately released and then reoffend, the cost to society will be great and the trauma to the victims incalculable, the state said in its filing to the Supreme Court. The state is appealing the Roth decision. Cases of evidence The state hasnt appealed the case of Shaynna Sims, but that hasnt stopped the governors office from highlighting her in support of its McGirt challenges. Sims was freed from prison in November after she challenged on McGirt grounds her convictions and a prison term totaling 16 years that were related to the mutilation of a corpse. Stitts office issued a press release Monday that was actually a copy of a Dec. 3-dated Wall Street Journal editorial that outlines the McGirt ruling and ends with the question: Is this justice, Justice Gorsuch? Tribes, meanwhile, contend that all is going as smoothly as could be expected. They point to the November 2020 retrial of Jimcy McGirt and the prosecution of others in federal and tribal courts as evidence that the justice system is still working post-McGirt. A federal jury convicted McGirt of three counts of child sex abuse for which he is serving three life prison sentences. And while Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill has conceded that some cases overturned due to McGirt may not be reprosecuted in federal or tribal court, she said the number is few. Cherokee Nation officials have cited the state of Oklahomas own track record in prosecuting cases. In 2019, Oklahoma only cleared about 36% of reported murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults meaning that state officers identified, charged and apprehended an alleged offender, the nation claims in its friend of the court brief, citing Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation statistics. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation discounts the states claims of doom and gloom caused by McGirt. McGirt has not rendered eastern Oklahoma a criminal dystopia, the Muscogee Nation said in its friend of the court brief in the Castro-Huerta case. New cases within the Creek Reservation are also being vigorously prosecuted with necessary resources increasing apace, the nation wrote. Growing beyond McGirt More federal court expansion may be coming. The federal judiciary policy-making arm has also requested that Congress authorize the creation of three new judgeships in the Eastern District and two new judgeships in the Tulsa-based Northern District of Oklahoma. The Eastern District currently has one authorized judgeship; the Northern District has three; and the two districts share a judgeship. Criminal filings in the Eastern District have risen over 400% and in the Northern District by nearly 200% between 2020 and 2021, the Muscogee Nation said in its court filing. The tribe said it continues to enter into cross-deputization agreements with other law enforcement agencies to give nontribal officers federal and tribal authority within the reservation. It has also adopted a new traffic code that deliberately mirrors the states, making it easier for cross-deputized officers to enforce its provisions. The state of Oklahoma, meanwhile, argues that the Supreme Court is the only body that can solve the problems caused by the McGirt rulings. Then-Attorney General Mike Hunter announced one week after the McGirt ruling that an agreement in principle had been reached with the tribes regarding the state retaining jurisdiction, but that supposed agreement fell apart as soon as it was announced, as some tribal leaders disputed that they had agreed to the measure. Legislation introduced by Oklahomas 4th District congressman, Tom Cole, that is designed to allow two of the tribes to compact with the state on McGirt-related matters has stalled, according to state officials. As a practical matter, therefore, only this Court has the power to bring an end to the chaos in Oklahoma by overruling McGirt, the state wrote in its petition to the Supreme Court. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The scenes of men in tactical gear scaling the walls of Congress were tough to watch. Images of the attacks on police, the shattering of glass, the ransacking of offices and the ushering of elected representatives into hiding were all captured in real time. Violence against my government by my fellow citizens is something I never thought to witness. Even worse were the reactions from those I called friends, acquaintances and even family all posting reactions on social media. (Ironically, the online braggadocio is how many of the rioters were eventually apprehended.) I wish I were there with them, posted a person Ive known since childhood. Good for them, said a family member. I hope they burn it down, said a person I knew from a school group. These arent outwardly radical folks. A couple served in the military; they attend church; they support law enforcement and are active with their kids. Before 2016, they probably had more emotional opinions about the Bedlam game than the federal budget. Yet they now cheer an act of treason, this attempted overthrow of the government. Thats the point we reached that day. Thats the point where many remain. The insurrection was a flashpoint in a growing cultural war pitting us against them: conservatives against liberals, Democrats against Republicans, urban dwellers versus rural residents, elites against the working class. Its been egged on by deliberately placed misinformation, opportunistic broadcast personalities and leaders more concerned about reelection and power than truth-telling. Its not gone. Partisan divisions around the 2020 presidential election remain significant. A Bright Line Watch survey found that 94% of Democrats say President Joe Biden is the rightful winner, compared with just 26% of Republicans. That split has been consistent through the year. Thats a depressing sign that no matter the lack of evidence supporting widespread voter fraud claims, much of the public hasnt become any more accepting of Bidens victory. The same lack of trust could affect future elections for anyone who loses a race. It has profound implications of how we view each other. Scholars have noted that partisans Democrats and Republicans alike tend to overestimate the extremism of their political adversaries and that such overestimation is associated with willingness to take, or support, extreme action oneself. For example, recent studies show that partisans who underestimate their opponents support for democratic principles are more likely to support anti-democratic practices and violations of democratic norms, the Bright Line report noted. In regular speak, people tend to believe the worst of those who have a different political opinion and generalize to the entire group. That has led to policies and laws that are unconstitutional. Even reporting on the Capitol insurrection shows a gulf. In a March Pew Research Center survey, 54% of Republicans said the Capitol attack and its aftermath received too much attention, compared to only 8% of Democrats. By contrast, 40% of Democrats complained that the riot didnt get enough attention, while only 11% of Republicans agreed. About half of Democrats (52%) and a third of Republicans say the riots have gotten about the right amount of attention. Of the more than 700 rioters charged, about 150 have pleaded guilty, and most have not received prison time, according to Politico. Prison sentences have been for those engaging directly in violence or violent threats, with a range so far of 14 days to 63 months. So where do we go from here? There isnt one answer. A start is to stop criticizing the person and focus on the issues. Stop making assumptions and generalizations. Look at evidence in totality, not just what someone tells you to believe. Maybe just take a break from the things raising blood pressure. Definitely walk away from thinking violence against the government sounds like a reasonable solution. Politics isnt worth death or a prison sentence. Also, consider not having political signs on your house year-round. Think of it like Christmas lights: There is a season for that kind of thing. A year ago, Oklahomas Congressman Markwayne Mullin was among a handful who didnt get out of the chamber in time, so he hunkered down behind law enforcement. He tried to calm the mob and defends the Capitol Police officer who shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt as she tried to break in. In a July C-SPAN interview, Mullin said he wished he hadnt been there on that dark day in American history. He said all of us are to blame because we have to learn a different way to debate. In that, Mullin is right. We have to find new ways to communicate. We dont have to agree, but we have to coexist. Thats not just a matter of politics; its a matter of a living in nation free of violent insurrections. Featured video: Sen. Lankfords criticisms of Pentagons anti-extremism efforts is political theater Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In University of Tulsa President Brad Carson's article ("Tulsa's challenge is keeping college graduates," Jan. 2), he notes that after students graduate, they leave and go to other states for employment. I believe, as well as others, the reason for the flight is that Oklahoma salaries don't match their degrees. Oklahoma has the lowest salaries in the country. The minimum wage here is still $7.25 an hour. My wife and I moved to Tulsa in 2016. When we looked in the ads for employment, we were shocked beyond belief at what companies were offering for full-time employment. We saw one ad where they required a college degree. It was a managerial position. The pay was $9.75 per hour. I was making $17 an hour 10 years ago without a degree. When I did become a manager, my pay was $21 an hour. My wife was making $28 and hour as a mortgage underwriter and when she applied here for the same position, they offered $16.75 to start and after 90 days, $18. So tell me, who in their right mind, after obtaining a degree, would stay here? Once people realize that other states pay far better salaries than Oklahoma, we're going to see more flight. Teachers are already leaving. Professional positions are taking flight. Technical jobs, computer operators, etc. are considering other states. The only way Oklahoma is going to keep its graduates is to raise salaries. Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to tulsaworld.com/opinion/submitletter. Featured video: Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In a recent article that appeared in the Tulsa World ("Churches vary in vaccine support," Dec. 27), it reports that the pastor at Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond suggests his members "decide if they need it." But "he has raised unfounded and disproven conspiracy theories." At Tulsa's Guts Church, the pastor describes his stance as "we don't talk about it," leaving it up to members to obtain their own data. At Tulsa's Victory Church, the pastor "made light of the virus in recent months." The pastor at Tulsa's Living Rivers Millennial Church asked his flock, "how many things can we get people to be afraid of?" and asserted that it's just one vaccine after another. On the other hand, the First Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City "has hosted numerous vaccination drives, and leaders have put the importance of being vaccinated at the forefront of their message." The executive pastor stated "we believe that God heals through science this is how we love our neighbors, too, during a pandemic." The Roman Catholic Archbishop in Oklahoma City wrote that he still encourages vaccination and that the church is not "anti-science." As an ordained minister since 1959, now retired, I'm encouraged by our church leaders who embrace medical science, and alarmed at those who propagate conspiracy theories and inaccurate information. Jesus told his disciples in John 8:31-32, "If you continue in my word, you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to tulsaworld.com/opinion/submitletter. Featured video: Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. "As you may recall in his (former President Donald Trump's) inaugural address, he said American carnage would end here and now. And yet, he incited carnage in the very halls of our blood- bought democracy on Jan. 6," says Kellyville resident Matt Secrist. A ceremony was organized in Hanoi on Wednesday to hand over US$100,000 from the Vietnamese government and people to the U.S. Embassy as support for the families whose members died in the tornadoes that hit Kentucky State in December. Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung expressed his belief that the U.S. government and people would overcome the consequences of the disasters soon under the leadership of President Joe Biden. Dung also highlighted the friendship, cooperation, and mutual support between the two governments and peoples to overcome difficulties, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has raged around the world for more than two years. On behalf of the U.S. government and people, Charge dAffaires at the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam Marie Damour sincerely thanked the Vietnamese government and people for the active and timely support for the tornado victims in Kentucky. She also wished that the good bilateral relations between the two countries would continue to develop, including the effective cooperation between their Red Cross Societies. Among the ceremony attendees were representatives from the Vietnam Red Cross Society, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the American Red Cross Society in Vietnam. The U.S. Embassy said on its verified Facebook account on Wednesday that the U.S. was deeply grateful to the government of Vietnam and the Vietnam Red Cross for its donation to the American Red Cross, in support of those affected by deadly tornadoes in Kentucky. This is reflective of the deep connection between the people of the United States and the people of Vietnam which is the foundation of our partnership, the embassy said. At least six states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee, were hit by tornadoes from the midnight of December 10 to early December 11, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. The tornadoes left trail of devastation across the six states and killed at least 92 people, with Kentucky being the hardest hit. Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on December 12 sent their condolences to President Joe Biden and the families of the victims affected by the natural disasters. On the occasion, President Phuc and PM Chinh thanked the U.S. government for having donated to Vietnam more than 24 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, which has made the U.S. the biggest vaccine donor to the Southeast Asian country so far. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today: Politics -- Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh will lead a high-ranking delegation of the Lao government to pay an official visit to Vietnam from January 8 to 10 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday. Society -- Vietnams government and people on Wednesday donated US$100,000 to support people affected by deadly tornadoes in the U.S. state of Kentucky in December at a ceremony at the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Hanoi. -- Vietnam has become one of the six countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the world, the Vietnam News Agency quoted Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh as telling a teleconference between the government and localities on Wednesday. -- A Vietnam Airlines flight from Japan to Hanoi with nearly 50 passengers on board had to change its route on Wednesday and landed at Fukuoka Airport 40 minutes after departure from Narita International Airport due to a threat that it would be shot down over Tokyo Bay. Lifestyle -- The Vietnam Association of Film Promotion and Development, in collaboration with Netflix, on Wednesday launched a green campaign encouraging filmmakers to adhere to environmental protection criteria during the production and distribution process, along with a short film competition to showcase current issues of sustainable development and environmental protection. -- Hanbin, a Vietnamese from the northern province of Yen Bai, has recently been announced among seven members of TEMPEST, a boy band about to debut in South Korea. -- A 20ha apricot forest located around 7km from Moc Chau Town in the northern province of Son Las Moc Chau District has attracted visitors with its endless white during the blooming season. World news -- Thailand is considering measures such as limiting large gatherings and banning alcohol sales in restaurants to discourage customers to avert a wave of coronavirus infections, a health official said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! COVID-19 test kits that are said to be able to detect the Omicron variant have recently been advertised on many Facebook groups in Vietnam. Sales of these test kits have become viral following a false rumor about a man who was found carrying the Omicron variant at a hospital via a real-time RT-PCR test. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters joined a Facebook group with 25,000 members and pretended to be a buyer of such kits. Dozens of accounts have contacted the correspondents, advertising that their test kits were made in South Korea, India, or Germany. A user named T.H., who said his kits originated in South Korea, also presented a certificate seemingly issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). H. sold his products at VND57,000 (US$2.5) per kit. The man arranged a meeting at a warehouse in Tan Binh District where he delivered the test kits, whose brand was Genedia. If the result shows two lines, it means the sample carries the Omicron variant, H. claimed. If it is the Delta variant, which is dominant in Vietnam now, the kit will also show a similar result, the man said, but reassured that his kit is more sensitive to the Omicron mutant. Another account named P.D. also sold the Genedia test kits, but at VND62,000 ($2.7) apiece. Similar to H., D. was unable to explain how the kit would react differently to the Omicron variant from other variants of the coronavirus. There is no such kit Health workers have stressed that genome sequencing must be done to identify a variant of the coronavirus. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, in coordination with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, is in charge of conducting genome sequencing on all imported COVID-19 cases in the metropolis. This process is very complicated and can only be done at major healthcare facilities in the country, according to Dr. Pham Hung Van from the Vietnamese Association of Clinical Biochemists. The patient also needs to have a high viral load in order for the sequencing to be accurate, Van added. There are no commercial test kits that are able to detect the Omicron variant, Do Van Dung, dean of the public health department at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City. It is also pointless and unnecessary for patients to determine which coronavirus strain they are carrying, Dung continued, adding that this is the job of epidemiologists and researchers. If a patient is infected with the Omicron mutant, the treatment and quarantine process will remain the same, he underscored. First reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa on September 24, the Omicron mutant, a.k.a. the B.1.1.529 variant, has now been reported by over 110 countries and territories. Vietnam detected its first Omicron infection on December 28. By Wednesday, the country had documented 25 of such cases, all of which were imported from other nations. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Ho Chi Minh City authorities on Wednesday suspended the local COVID-19 response office after about six months of operation, thanks to the citys success in keeping the pandemic at bay. Pursuant to a decision signed by city chairman Phan Van Mai on Wednesday, staffers from the local High Command, the Department of Health, police, and other agencies who had been stationed at the headquarters will return to their departments. The health department will continue to coordinate with other agencies in the fight against COVID-19 and regularly update, monitor, and forecast epidemic developments inside and outside the city, the decision said. Local police are required to strengthen their management of residents and tighten control over entries and exits in order to detect and handle illegal entrants or people returning from coronavirus-hit areas without making health declarations. Should the epidemic situation once again become complicated, the High Command must promptly advise the citys administration to re-activate the command office. Established in early July 2021 at the height of the fourth virus wave, the 16-member office was headed by then-city chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong, who was replaced by Mai on August 24, 2021. The command office had been tasked with giving consultancy on policies, plans, and measures necessary to fight the epidemic. It had also made proposals to purchase equipment for COVID-19 prevention and control, using money from both sponsors and the state budget. Particularly, the headquarters were assigned to ask for direction from the municipal government if a state of emergency or curfew was needed to slow viral transmissions. Ho Chi Minh City had imposed various levels of social distancing since May 31, 2021 before loosening restrictions in early October, when the city and Vietnam in general reached far larger vaccination coverage and began living safely with the coronavirus. The nine-million-strong population of the city had received over 8.09 million first vaccine doses and some 7.25 million second jabs as of Wednesday, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal. Recently, the city has seen its daily infections and fatalities sharply fall, to 448 and 25 on Wednesday, compared to 1,491 and 67 a month earlier, according to the Ministry of Healths data. However, Ho Chi Minh City remains the locality suffering the most from COVID-19 in Vietnam, with 507,316 infections and 19,657 deaths documented since the pandemic erupted in the Southeast Asian country in early 2020. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Customs officers in Ho Chi Minh City have discovered over 40 kilograms of narcotics stashed inside non-commercial consignments sent from other countries, the Vietnam News Agency reported. The municipal Department of Customs confirmed on Wednesday it had examined 20 non-commercial shipments from abroad and five parcels that were about to be exported. Nearly 25 kilograms of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, as well as 18 kilograms of marijuana were found. The narcotics were hidden inside such goods as household items, scented wax, phonographs, and cans of cereal and milk. Officers in Ho Chi Minh City have detected about 88 similar cases since the beginning of 2021 and confiscated nearly 200 kilograms of drugs. They believed that the illegal activities were part of a transnational drug ring that had smuggled a large amount of narcotics from Germany, France, and the U.S. to Vietnam. The drugs were then exported illicitly to Australia. The municipal customs department said it has coordinated with anti-drug officers under the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security to investigate the case. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A seven-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister were forced by two robbers to hand over an iPad while the two were taking an online lesson at their rented house earlier this week. Doan Van Doan, chairman of Long Binh Tan Ward in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, confirmed the incident on Wednesday afternoon. Doan said the suffered family shared home security camera footage of the incident on social media but did not report the case. Vo Thi Tuyen, from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, and her husband went to work on Monday while their two children stayed home to attend their online classes. At around 2:15 pm that afternoon, two men drove up to the backdoor of the home on a motorbike and began banging on the door. The two children started to cry and call their parents, who were not home. Eventually, the boy opened the window and handed over his iPad to the men, who then fled the scene while the two children continued crying. A seven-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister deal with two thugs in a house robbery in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, January 3, 2022 in this supplied security footage. The seven-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister have been staying home alone with the door to their house closed, while their parents are at work, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools and kindergartens in Dong Nai were closed, according to Tuyen. The couple has installed a security camera in the house in order to monitor their children while they are away. Unfortunately, when the boy called his mother during the incident, she was busy working and missed the phone call. When I got home, the two children were very scared and crying a lot, Tuyen recounted. "I had to spend a while comforting them." After the incident happened, Tuyen sent the children to a nearby babysitter to ensure their safety. She added that local police already contacted her to clarify the case and hunt for the robbers. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam have broken up an illegal ring accused of dealing in counterfeit consumer goods. The provincial Department of Public Security confirmed on Wednesday it had broken up the illegal racket after raiding 16 locations in Dong Nai Province and Ho Chi Minh City. Officers had previously launched an investigation into the ring after discovering counterfeit washing powder, cooking oil, beverages, monosodium glutamate (MSG), fish sauce, and toilet paper in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai. At around 9:30 am on Wednesday, police inspected a facility owned by 45-year-old Vu Thi Hoa in Dinh Quan District, Dong Nai and found more than two metric tons of products that appeared to be counterfeits of famous brands. They also discovered two heat press machines and materials used to make fake packaging. Hoa, who was unable to present proof of origin for the products, but claimed to have bought them in Ho Chi Minh City before repackaging them to masquerade as well-known brands. On the same morning, other teams of officers swooped on an additional 15 storage facilities and confiscated over 10 metric tons of counterfeit goods, fake packaging, and tools. Further investigation is ongoing. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A flight operated by national carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) was diverted in Japan on Wednesday after an anonymous caller threatened to shoot it down. Flight VN5311, a Boeing 787 aircraft, departed from Narita Airport in Japan for Hanoi at 10:30 am on Wednesday with 15 crew members and 47 passengers, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV). At about 11:10 am, a VNA office in Japan received a phone call from a man who spoke Japanese and claimed to be an American. The anonymous caller threatened that flight VN5311 would be shot down over Tokyo Bay unless it returned to Narita. "I am preparing to shoot VN5311 when it flies above Tokyo Bay. It had better turn around, the man stated. The flight had already been in the air for 40 minutes and was nearing Tokyo Bay when the call was received. VNA promptly reported the incident to Japanese authorities, the CAAV, and Vietnams Ministry of Public Security. The airline also convened an urgent meeting with its emergency committee and steering sub-committee for counter-terrorism. After receiving approval from Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, who also chairs the National Civil Aviation Security Committee, and Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The, the CAAV directed VNA to seek permission from Japanese authorities to divert the flight to Japans Fukuoka airport. The plane landed at Fukuoka airport at 1:02 pm the same day. Local authorities and police officers checked the aircraft and interviewed the crew members and passengers, as well as evaluated the airplanes safety measures. As no unusual signs were found, the flight was permitted to leave Fukuoka at 3:48 pm and landed in Hanoi at 6:18 pm. The CAAV has reported the incident to relevant agencies and coordinated with Japanese authorities in order to clarify the case. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Ministry of Health reported 25,842 COVID-19 cases across Vietnam on Thursday, together with 28,369 recoveries and 170 fatalities. The latest infections, including 55 imported and 25,787 domestic transmissions, were recorded in all 63 provinces and cities, the ministry said. Vinh Long Province confirmed 9,889 of the newest local cases, Hanoi 2,716, Hai Phong City 923, Tay Ninh Province 853, Khanh Hoa Province 800, Binh Dinh Province 575, Ho Chi Minh City 442, Bac Ninh Province 347, Quang Ninh Province 327, Bac Lieu Province 301, Da Nang 299, Ha Giang Province 264, Thua Thien-Hue Province 247, Lam Dong Province 230, Quang Nam Province 179, Can Tho City 163, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province 152, Dong Nai Province 132, Binh Thuan Province 124, Binh Duong Province 91, and Quang Binh Province 59. Vietnam had logged 16,997 domestically-acquired infections on Wednesday. The country has documented 1,837,650 community transmissions in all its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave erupted on April 27, 2021. A combined 1,461,598 of them have recovered from COVID-19. Ho Chi Minh City stays atop the tally with 506,413 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 291,218, Dong Nai Province with 98,418, Tay Ninh Province with 80,552, Hanoi with 59,653, Dong Thap Province with 45,253, Can Tho City with 42,217, Long An Province with 40,651, Khanh Hoa Province with 37,735, Tien Giang Province with 34,395, An Giang Province with 33,784, Binh Thuan Province with 26,831, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with 26,844, and Da Nang with 12,535. Vietnam registered merely 1,570 locally-transmitted infections in total in the previous three waves. The health ministry announced 28,369 recovered patients on Thursday, lifting the total to 1,464,415. The toll has jumped to 33,644 fatalities after the ministry reported 170 deaths on the same day, including 21 in Ho Chi Minh City, 19 in An Giang, 13 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, 13 in Tien Giang Province, 12 in Ben Tre Province, 12 in Dong Thap Province, and the remaining in 18 other provinces and cities. Vietnam has detected 1,843,563 patients, including 30 imported Omicron infections, since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the country in early 2020. Health workers have administered over 156.9 million vaccine doses, including 1,692,955 shots on Wednesday, since vaccination was rolled out nationwide on March 8, 2021. Above 78.1 million of the countrys 98 million people have received at least one dose while more than 70.2 million have been injected twice. The number of third doses including additional primary shots for immunocompromised people, boosters, and third jabs of Cubas Abdala vaccine has gone up to 8,512,032. Many provinces and cities are immunizing children aged 12-17 against COVID-19, using Pfizer-BioNTech shots. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Ha Dong District, Hanoi announced on Wednesday the arrest of a 32-year-old local man for brokering a kidney deal for a patient in need. Following his arrest, Tran Van Truong has been investigated for trading human organs, an offense that can be punishable with life imprisonment as per the Vietnamese Penal Code. In July 2021, Truong liaised between P.T.V., a 27-year-old woman from north-central Thanh Hoa Province who wanted to sell her kidney, and M.T.P., a 47-year-old resident of Ha Dong District who needed kidney transplantation, according to preliminary investigation results. The three sides reached a deal at VND560 million (US$24,600), including a bonus of about VND300 million ($13,183) for V. P. had a successful kidney transplant surgery at the hospital on July 14, 2021, after which her family paid Truong VND180 million ($7,190). Some people reported Truongs brokerage service to police afterward, prompting his arrest. At the police station, Truong confessed to the illegal business. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Tyler, TX (75702) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and British Defense of State for Defense Ben Wallace confirmed in a phone conversation that they support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Pentagon said. According to a statement, the ministers "spoke regarding Russia's concerning military buildup on Ukraine's borders," while they "mutually reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity." The U.S. Defense Department said that Austin "thanked Secretary of State Wallace for U.K.'s contribution to transatlantic security." The leaders "committed to continuing their close coordination." At the request of the prosecutor, the Pechersky District Court has seized the property of the suspected fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has said. "The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv has considered the petition of the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office to arrest the property of the suspect in criminal proceedings, the fifth President of Ukraine, whose powers were terminated. The court decided to arrest the property of the suspect, which belongs to him by right of ownership in accordance with information from the State Register rights to immovable property and the Register of property rights to immovable property, the State Register of Mortgages, the Unified Register of Prohibitions on the Alienation of Real Estate Objects. In particular, these are real estate objects, corporate rights, etc.," the message says. It is emphasized that the submission and consideration of the petition was carried out in compliance with all procedural norms. Also, the PGO recalled that the Ukrainian deputy, the fifth President of Ukraine is suspected of assisting the activities of the terrorist organizations "LPR" and "DPR" by prior conspiracy by a group of persons by organizing and purchasing coal from enterprises under their control for state funds Ukraine, making Ukraine's energy sector dependent on the Russian Federation and terrorist organizations. "Thus, the economic security of the state was undermined in 2014-2015 and was deprived of its opportunities for diversifying sources of supply of energy resources. Also, by his actions, he provided the Russian Federation with wider opportunities for further interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine and conducting subversive activities against it," the message says. The sanctions for criminal offenses provided for in Part 1 of Article 111 and Part 1 of Article 2583 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provide for additional punishment in the form of confiscation of property or without it. The pretrial investigation continues and is carried out by investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). After the 90 Days Sneak Peek: Pregnant Loren and Parents Disagree About Alexei Leaving Her for 8 Days Loren Brovarnik is facing alone time amid her pregnancy. In PEOPLE's exclusive sneak peek from the premiere of Loren and Alexei: After the 90 Days, the 90 Day Fiance star questions her capability to stay home for eight days with her 14-month-old child Shai while husband Alexei (Alex) Brovarnik travels home to Israel. There's a reason for Alex's trip: a wedding he must attend. According to Loren, he added on some extra days for weekend fun. However, she and her parents question the timing of Alex's vacation. "He's leaving a pregnant woman and a 14-month-old," her father states. "And I was okay with it until he said, 'I really want to take advantage of the weekend, so I'm gonna go three days earlier without even being like 'Are you comfortable with... how does it make you feel?' " Loren says. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance Announces 2 New Spinoffs Featuring Fan-Favorite Couples Get a Sneak Peek! Loren and ALexei TLC It's not just about Alex leaving, Loren says. In a confessional, she explains the difficulties of her second pregnancy. "With this pregnancy I'm I don't want to say depressed, but I'm more isolated," she says. "And on top of everything, I have Tourette's syndrome, and anxiety triggers it. Stress triggers it. Talking about it triggers it." She also explains that during her pregnancy with Shai, her Tourette's was triggered, like with her second pregnancy. On top of it all, the stress of having a young child and balancing her own health has made the second pregnancy less comfortable. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance Stars Loren and Alexei Brovarnik Reveal the Sex of Their Second Child Though she's facing struggles, Loren is understanding of the reason Alex had to travel. "If he didn't go now, he wasn't gonna go for a really long time again," she tells her parents. Loren even looks at it from Alex's perspective. "When Alex came to America, I definitely felt guilty because he left everything for me," she says in a confessional. "And I've always said, like, it's important for him to stay connected to where he came from cause if it was the other way around, I would want the same thing." Story continues Though Loren sees Alex's reasoning, her father isn't as easy to convince. "I think it was a very selfish move on Alex's part to leave his wife and child," he says. "I understand he had to go to the wedding, I got it. But to extend it out just to have vacation it wasn't work. It wasn't deployment. It was a choice." Loren & Alexei: After the 90 Days premieres Jan. 10 at 9:30 p.m. ET on TLC. FILE - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a joint press conference Paraguay's president at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 24, 2021. Bolsonaro was taken to a Sao Paulo hospital early Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, with a suspected intestinal obstruction, the countrys media reported. (AP Photo/Raul Spinasse, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) SAO PAULO (AP) Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from a hospital on Wednesday morning in Sao Paulo, and addressed the press. He had been hospitalized for two days after an intestinal obstruction, which forced him to cut short his vacation. On Tuesday, the medical team accompanying him had ruled out the need for surgery. Bolsonaro, 66, has undergone four surgeries stemming from the abdominal stabbing he suffered during a 2018 campaign event. At the time, he was operated on by Dr. Antonio Luiz Macedo, the same doctor who has been attending to him since then. We instruct patients to chew well, avoid some foods, and we hope to keep the president like that for the next 20, 30 years, Macedo told reporters in the hospital's lobby before Bolsonaro's departure to the airport. He also recommended the president avoid intensive physical activity this week. Bolsonaro joked about the difficulty of the restrictions. I'll try to follow them, but life goes on, he said. My whole life I was an athlete, in the armed forces, a paratrooper, diver. Its hard to stay still. Troops are seen at the main square where hundreds of people were protesting against the government, after authorities' decision to lift price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, in Almaty, Kazakhstan January 6, 2022 (REUTERS) Like all good conjurors Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin know that the success of their act depends on audience distraction. For weeks now the headlines have been full of speculation about an attack by Russia on Ukraine and the Peoples Liberation Army of China on Taiwan. US intelligence has leaked copious reports, backed by satellite pictures, of possibly up to 100,000 Russian military personnel, plus reservists, along the borders of Ukraine. The Chinese air forces have run hundreds of flights through Taiwan military air space, and President Xi has repeatedly said that the island should be reunited to the China motherland within five years. Putin has claimed that in Ukraines history and geography lies the soul of the Russian peoples story. But what else are the master-conjurors up to? What do they want us to see, and what would they like to remain hidden? We also have to look at the tensions at home, which both leaders appear to find unsettling. Putins latest move has been to send Russian troops into Kazakhstan to help its embattled president. Meanwhile, he is pushing a tight timetable. Russia is to join talks planned for January 12 under the framework of the Nato-Russia Council. Putin wants all offensive Nato weaponry removed from Poland and the Baltics, as well as Ukraine and Georgia. Furthermore, Ukraine and Georgia must pledge never to try to join Nato. Such an undertaking is a legal and diplomatic nonsense; he knows it. Both leaders know they have a psychological advantage with the divisions of the West after the Afghanistan debacle. Since January 1, however, there has been a change, with Washington engaging allies and the government in Kiev. Secretary of state Antony Blinken has said he wants Nato to act with one voice. But America appears divided within. EU Europe is also divided, with the new German coalition and President Macron desperate to show they are on the same page. They arent. Macron favours a much softer line on China and an approach to Russia divergent from that of America and the UK. Story continues Russia is busy across Europe. Moscow is using international maritime regulation to close the Azov sea to shipping as it notifies military exercises. Bosnian Serb politician Milorad Dodik is threatening to wreck the 1995 truce laid out in Dayton by pulling the Serbs out of the Bosnian federation, and is relying on Russian backing. China is also busy across its Pacific neighbourhood. Last week Beijing offered riot control training and militia to the Solomon Islands to counter Australian troops and police sent in to help restore order in November. But signs of domestic grief are growing. Chinese property conglomerate Evergrande has suspended its shares. The city of Xian is under total curfew from a resurgence of Covid. This is not helped by growing suspicion in the scientific community that the pandemic began with a leak in the Wuhan Virology Institutes laboratories. Russia, too, is being hit hard by repeated waves of Covid. Moreover, there are signs that Putin is under pressure from his own hardliners to act decisively. As Xi and Putin sense danger to themselves, they become more dangerous to the rest of us. For both, the timeframe for military options may be narrowing. Winter mud and snow are terrible for Russias forces on Ukraines borders. And Taiwan is more agile in preparing a long guerrilla defence than is often credited. Its decision time for the UK, too. The time for the gestures destroyers in the Black Sea, carriers in the Pacific is over. Britain must offer what its allies say they need, of what it is genuinely capable, and what is in its own interest individually as a nation, and collectively as an ally. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stranded in the open after farmers blocked a motorway as the countrys most guarded politician drove into the heart of a protest against farm laws. His aides blamed the breach on a political conspiracy. Demonstrators trapped Modis motorcade in Punjab state where bad weather forced the Hindu nationalist leader to abandon a helicopter ride and travel instead by road to a proposed election rally site in Ferozepur town. Bands of men squatting on a flyover held up his car armada for 20 minutes forcing Modi to turn back without addressing the event organised to shore up his BJP partys popularity in farm-dependent Punjab. Disturbing TV footage showed up to 500 protesters, some seen with sticks, enforcing the security gridlock in Wednesdays drizzle. Lurking dangers Modis government labelled the hold-up a major lapse in the security of the prime minister in Punjab, where Indias main opposition Congress party is in office. This is indeed a very dangerous security lapse. The prime minister is visiting a border state and we know what the threat perception from across the border, from Pakistan, added C. Pal Singh, a former Punjab state police chief. In 1984, Indias then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh police guards and seven years later a female Tamil suicide bomber killed her son and former premier Rajiv Gandhi. Shesh Paul Vaid, a former police chief from insurgency-wracked Kashmir, agreed amid calls for a hard look at the Indian security playbook for leaders facing death threats. You cant have the prime minister on a route which is not sanitized and if protesters were there then why were they not removed, Vaid told the media. The Punjab administration on Thursday ordered an investigation into the breach, officials told RFI. Story continues Congress faces attacks Amit Shah, Indias powerful home minister and one of Modis trusted colleagues, in a Twitter post warned action against those guilty as he attacked the Congress party. Cabinet minister Meeankshi Lekhi, also said those responsible will pay the price for the breach, one of the first faced by Modi since he became prime minister in 2014. We also travel across and we also know how these things are managed and manipulated. People responsible for this will have to pay the price for doing this, she told television. On cue, Modis ruling BJP also trained its guns on the Congress, which is seeking a second term after upcoming polls to Punjabs 117-member legislature. Without the Punjab governments connivance and state chief minister Charanjit Singh Channis involvement, no one can dare to come near the prime ministers motorcade, added state BJP chief Ashwani Sharma. But Navjot Singh Sidhu, president of the Congress partys Punjab chapter, alleged the breach was a drama to sidetrack public attention from the rally which he claimed did have enough guests to fill 70,000 chairs. Indias Supreme Court has accepted a petition seeking a probe into the incident in Punjab, where a Sikh separatist drive claimed thousands of lives in the 1980s. Restless farmers Punjab was the hub of a 14-month-long protest by farmers against three laws they said would help rich corporations usurp the agriculture sector which accounts for 14 percent of Indias economy and 42 percent of employment. In November, Modi withdrew the thorny reforms but the gesture did little to fully mollify farmers who have come up with demands linked to their livelihood. Several farmers unions had opposed Modis visit to Punjab, often described as Indias food basket because of the high yield of wheat and rice crops. Campaigners have been lobbying for the removal of this statue from as far back as the 1920s (PA) I cheered when I heard that the anti-racism campaigners arrested after the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol the Colston Four had been cleared of criminal damage. How could I not? My ancestors were the Eboe or Igbo people of Nigeria, many of whom ran away from their captors after they were stolen from the continent and brought to Jamaica. When I reflect on their journeys and the brutality they endured, it fuels my resounding desire to see racial justice achieved. Edward Colston was both racist and murderous the fact that he was long-gifted with immortalisation through this statue is a stain on our society. Campaigners had been lobbying for the removal of this statue since as far back as the 1920s. Over the years, various petitions were launched; there was even a relatively short-lived consultation regarding the erection of a plaque explaining the slavers true legacy of subjugation and bloodshed. The plaque, perhaps needless to say, never came to fruition. Too uncomfortable of an undertaking, I expect. As such, Colstons presence elevated to lofty heights on its cosy plinth while his victims were cast into the shadows felt akin to a hate crime. I simply dont see how there arent grounds for Bristol City Council to be investigated for its failure to safeguard the residents of its city. Bristol Crown Court did arrive at the correct conclusion in the Colston case, but it is a shame that prosecution was brought in the first place at the expense of the taxpayer that money could have gone towards slavery reparations, as far as Im concerned. (PA) Despite the fact that many people from within marginalised communities do not trust the criminal justice system, the outcome of the Colston Four trial has been widely lauded as a victory. Sure, people have speculated whether the same outcome would have transpired were the defendants Black, given how much were overrepresented in prisons; its a valid point to consider. Story continues However, even if this is white privilege in action reflecting the reality that white people are not criminalised at the rates which Black people are on this occasion, such a benefit has arguably been used to right a wrong and so should be grounds for celebration all round. I noted that during the trial, the defence largely relied upon four points: that the intention was not to damage the statue, but merely to remove it; that the statue is owned by the citizens of Bristol, so theres a claim to it (and its fate) by those who live in the city; that the damage inflicted upon the memorial was proportionate in relation to the prevention of crime such as indecency in that the statue is an indecent display of a colonialist which causes offence to many of the population of Bristol; and that removing the statue was tantamount to the prevention of the crime of misconduct of public offence, where calls to remove the statue were ignored by the council. According to co-defendant Rhian Graham, an art valuer found that the Colston statue has actually increased in worth, post-toppling. Before it was pulled down, the monument was valued at 6,000, while it would now go for up to 300,000. Im deeply uncomfortable with this sense of profiteering to me, this would suggest that the city of Bristol stands to benefit from the statue in a way thats not dissimilar to how enslaved Black people were torn from their families and bought and sold at auction. Who really loses out in this situation? Its not the city, which gained 70,000 from Colstons estate; or the plethora of commentators who are foaming at the mouth, disappointed that the Colston Four werent convicted. Colston statue at the M Shed museum (PA) No, it is the legions of Black people who are still forced to grapple with the legacy of colonialism on a daily basis; who are living in a society entrenched with racism, alongside many more commemorations to the British empire. Its these same people, having been hurt by the statues existence, who are being gaslighted by commentators who ask glib questions such as, Oh, where will it end? Ill tell you how this story ends: the Colston statue is in storage, having rested on display in the M Shed museum (reclining, if you please), while Black people still dont have the luxury of relaxing. We are too busy in the continuous fight for our lives and liberty. Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning, the right-wing commentator Calvin Robinson dismissed the brutal legacy of Colston, like so many across this country do: Edward Colston had a very wicked past; he made his money in evil ways but he did also put his money to good use in setting up old houses, charities and schools, so theres a balance to be addressed. .@calvinrobinson says the verdict 'doesn't set a good precedent' as he tells @susannareid100 and Ben that Rhian and others should have asked for a referendum. Watch GMB on ITV and on ITV Hub https://t.co/6iQ6ebeOEQ pic.twitter.com/Gvjp95Q1Hm Good Morning Britain (@GMB) January 6, 2022 If Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell opened shelters for sexual abuse victims, would that absolve them of their crimes? If Hitler financed counselling for Holocaust survivors, would that justify a bronze memorial of the dictator being pushed down their throats each day? And if its history that Colstons defenders want to talk about, then lets talk about history: having been born into a wealthy merchants family, Colston rose to become a chief executive in the Royal African Company, which held a monopoly over the slave trade for a large part of the 17th century. He was directly involved in the trafficking and enslavement of tens of thousands of African people, including children, between 1680 and 1692. Many Black people resided in the city of Bristol. Young people were snatched from villages in Africa for enslavement, while those deemed of little worth such as babies and the elderly would be butchered in front of them as part of the seasoning process of psychologically and spiritually destroying captives. Many would be branded with a hot iron before being packed in and chained to the decks of the ships bound for the Caribbean. At one point, Bristol was Britains largest slaving city, accounting for 20 per cent of the trade, and was involved in the transportation of more than half a million people more than its current population. Owners had the right to torture and kill slaves who tried to rebel, and the bodies of those killed were often nailed to posts around plantations as a warning to others. Slave-owning in British colonies was not abolished until 1834. The British government raised a huge sum, 2m, through bonds to compensate slave owners for their loss the inconvenience of not owning Black people to make them rich. This held the record for the largest ever government bailout of an industry until the bailout of the banks during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009; through the payment of taxes, many of us including descendants of those enslaved unwittingly financially contributed to the payment of that debt which was paid off in 2015. Let that sink in. The very least that Black people are owed is the right to not be confronted by slaver statues and colonial relics, which serve as reminders of what our families endured and continue to as a result of broken families, interrupted histories and intergenerational socioeconomic deprivation. (PA) Black people today still live with the legacy of the actions of people like Colston. Yet despite being instrumental in atrocities against so many Black families, Colston was able to successfully rebrand during his lifetime, donating huge amounts of money to charitable causes in Bristol. Following his death, a cult of Colston sprouted in the city which saw statues erected, and societies, schools and streets named after him (some of which were renamed after the death of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement). To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here Renaming or no renaming, some of us will never forget the truth least of all people who, like me, are descendants of enslaved African people. I cant forget the grim statistics: such as the fact that at least 19,000 Black people died on ships bound for the Caribbean and the Americas. Many of their bodies were tossed overboard while some opted to jump of their own accord, resolving to embrace a watery grave over a life of enslavement. Thats the reality - and it isnt beyond the realms of possibility that the death toll far exceed the aforementioned statistic. Lets also not forget that slavery, despite its atrocities, was considered legal at the time of its operation and would still exist today were it not for actions then deemed illegal and rebellious. So, Ive got to tell you: witnessing the Colston statue being tossed into the water like countless enslaved African people were disposed of, as though they were chattel, having been stolen from their homes satisfied me no end. How could I not celebrate the acquittal of the Colston Four? In pre-Covid times, parties wouldve been thrown and Id have been in the middle of the dance-floor, jubilant that some small part of a deeply tragic history was being set right; firm in the knowledge that the anti-racism struggle, above and beyond the toppling of this statue, will continue tomorrow. Queen of the Universe has crowned its first winner, and shes using her platform to speak out against anti-LGBT+ violence in Brazil. Brazilian performer Grag Queen was named the champion of the debut season of Queen of the Universe, the international drag queen singing competition from the creators of RuPauls Drag Race. The audience named Grag the winner after hearing from Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, drag icon Trixie Mattel, Leona Lewis and Vanessa Williams. Grag beat out Ada Vox and Aria B Cassadine, both from the US, in the final vote to take home the lush $250,000 prize and the coveted title of Queen of the Universe. The Brazilian queen revealed to Variety that she already had plans for the prize money, and she planned to use her title to champion LGBT+ rights in her home country. After being crowned, she said, her first thought was about the queer community because weve been through a lot. She hoped to be like a door to bring some joy to my people because she felt like no one cares about us. She also noted violence against the LGBT+ is sadly all too common in Brazil. We live in a country that kills LGBTQ people more than any other, and our transgender peoples [life expectancy] is only 35 years old and its not fair, Grag explained. The Queen of the Universe winner continued: We are still trying to find some place of peace. We see all the time on the internet people being dragged and being killed and punched every day, but we dont see that on the news on TV. I really want to use this platform to make people know that this situation is crazy, and its real. Brazil is one of the deadliest countries in the world for the trans community. Between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021, at least 375 trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people were murdered worldwide seven per cent than the year before. The most deaths in a single country occurred in Brazil, totalling 33 per cent (125) of global deaths. It was followed by Mexico with 65 and the United States with 53 registered deaths of trans folk. Story continues Homophobic and other anti-LGBT+ violence is also common. In June, a young gay man was found gang-raped and tortured in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. The victim said he was attacked by three armed men who forced him to carve homophobic slurs onto his legs. Lirous Avila, president of the Association in Defence of Human Rights, told the Guardian that such frightening crime is very common in Brazil. She explained that violence against LGBT+ people, women, Black people and immigrants is worsening in the country. Margareth Hernandes, a lawyer and president of the gender law commission, agreed that anti-LGBT+ violence in Brazil has grown a lot recently. Brazil is the world champion of LGBT murders, Hernandes said. We are a very conservative country where there is still a lot of prejudice. Hate speech ends up propagating violence. Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro, a self-described proud homophobe, has a long history of making anti-LGBT+ comments. He told Playboy in 2011 that he would rather his son die in an accident than be gay, saying he is incapable of loving a gay son. Bolsonaro also reportedly used homophobic language to mock the use of face masks amid the ongoing pandemic and refused to wear a face covering because he thought they were too gay. He later tested positive for COVID-19. View this post on Instagram A post shared by GRAG QUEEN (@gragqueen) Elsewhere in her Variety interview, Grag Queen said the first thing she is going to buy with her Queen of the Universe prize money is a good wig. Like a caramel wig that touches my a**. It has highlights. Very Brazilian, she said. Grag said she was excited to be able to go to the medic without working about prices as well as give her parents a very good living. I just want us to be protected and healthy, Grag said. I dont really feel like a millionaire [in Brazilian currency] right now, but I get used to the good things very, very fast. Wearing a red Make America Great Again cap with a yellow Dont Tread on Me flag tied around his neck, Christopher Ray Grider was in the U.S. Capitol a year ago during an insurrection waged by thousands intent on stopping Congress from sealing Donald Trumps defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Walking through the historic halls with other irate Trump supporters, Grider and others made their way to the Speakers Lobby immediately outside the House Chamber. There, Grider can be seen on video handing a helmet to another man, who used it to break glass in the doorway after the other man had been punching the glass with his bare fist. On the other side of the doorway, members of Congress and their staffs were evacuating the House Chamber. Moments after the glass was broken, a woman trying to climb through the doorway was shot and killed by a Capitol Police lieutenant on the other side. Grider, 40, gave an interview later that day to television station KWTX in which he described his horror in witnessing the shooting death of 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt and his experiences during the mob-fueled melee in which protesters in multiple locations fought Capitol police to gain entry into the Capitol. The Chilton resident and co-owner of Kissing Tree Vineyards in Bruceville-Eddy surrendered to FBI agents Jan. 21 in Austin. He remained in custody until Feb. 22, when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., reversed detention orders by a federal magistrate judge in Austin and allowed Grider to bond out with an ankle monitor. Grider faces a maximum of 33 years in federal prison if convicted on the two felony and five misdemeanor counts for which he is indicted. His attorney, Brent Mayr, of Houston, has filed a motion seeking dismissal of the most serious charge against him. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the District of Columbia has scheduled a status hearing in Griders case for Jan. 13, but Mayr said he expects that hearing to be postponed. Mayrs motion claims Count 4 of the indictment against Grider, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence, fails to state an offense, fails to provide adequate notice of what Grider is charged with and does not ensure that the grand jury has found sufficient evidence of the necessary elements of the offense. Count 4 alleges Grider attempted to, and did corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, that is, a proceeding before Congress, by entering and remaining in the United States Capitol without authority and engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct and destroying federal property. Grider and others are charged with disrupting proceedings as members of Congress met to count the Electoral College vote, formalizing Joe Bidens victory. The motion alleges the indictment fails to state what official proceeding, and, even more specifically, what proceeding before Congress Mr. Grider allegedly obstructed. Mayr, who has declined Tribune-Herald requests for interviews with Grider, acknowledged this week that attorneys for others charged in the riot have had similar motions to dismiss rejected by other judges. The motion has been presented by other defendants and other judges have denied it, Mayr said. It is just a matter of preserving the complaint for review on appeal, if there is an appeal down the road. But Im of the opinion that this judge will look at it differently and dismiss the obstruction charge. Griders case was assigned to Kollar-Kotelly after the previous judge, Ketanji Brown-Jackson, was appointed to replace U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Since his release from custody, Grider has been trying to maintain his business ventures and take care of his family, Mayr said. So far, about 165 people of the more than 725 arrested for their alleged roles in the riot have pleaded guilty to various charges, and about 71 of those have been sentenced to varying terms ranging from home confinement to jail terms of weeks or months. Those sentenced for more serious offenses, including assaulting police officers, have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from about three years to about five years. I think the judges are trying to be cautious and being considerate of the individual defendants and their individual circumstances and their individual decisions, Mayr said. But I think they are also trying to avoid sentencing disparity. Mayr said he could neither confirm nor deny if federal prosecutors have offered Grider a plea deal. There are still just volumes and mountains of evidence that we have to comb through to see what there is to help our case, he said. Most of the evidence that we have discussed is, we believe, favorable. We still maintain that he is innocent of any intent to do any damage to the Capitol property. Him handing that helmet over, he had no idea what the other individual was going to do. He has always regretted his decision to go in there. He never went in there with the intent to do any harm to anyone or any property. He certainly didnt intend to disrupt any congressional proceedings. He went there to protest, like thousands of other people did. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Baylor University Law Schools Veterans Clinic honored Waco attorneys Gavin Lane and Darren Obenoskey with its Advocate of the Year Awards in November. The annual awards are given to volunteer attorneys who go above and beyond in pro bono legal service to Central Texas veterans and their spouses. Lane (Juris Doctor in 2016), of the Zimmerman Law Firm, has been a pro bono volunteer with the legal advice clinics at the Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop for over six years, beginning when he was a law student at Baylor. Gavin is a regular volunteer at the monthly clinics and has a heart for those who served, clinic director Josh Borderud said. As a civil litigator, he provides good counsel and passionate service to those veterans who need guidance navigating lawsuits. Obenoskey (Juris Doctor in 1990), a solo practitioner who specializes in criminal defense and family law in Waco, has overseen several pro bono family law cases for veterans in recent years through the Baylor Law Veterans Clinic. He has shepherded three of those clients to a final divorce decree. Of all of our volunteer lawyers, Darren is one of the best at swiftly and effectively resolving disputes for our clients, Borderud said. His proven record of serving those who served in the family law arena is inspirational. It is always an honor to work with the veterans who come to the legal clinic, Lane said. We all have gifts and skills that we can use to help each other. Our veterans have invested their lives into our country and society, so it is my pleasure to invest my time, effort and skills into them. Obenoskey echoed Lanes sentiments. Having a family member who served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan made the decision to use his legal training to assist veterans an easy one, he said. My wife Laura and I have a son-in-law who recently retired after serving 20 years in the Army, he said. We are familiar with the sacrifice our military members and their families have made. When Josh called and asked if I would be interested in helping with the program, it was an easy yes as a way to show Steve (Butler, Obenoskeys son-in-law) and our other veterans I appreciate what they have given for the rest of us. Since its founding in 2012 by law professor Bridget Fuselier, the Veterans Clinic has served, for free, thousands of veterans and their spouses. New cases and active cases of COVID-19 in McLennan County soared to record levels Wednesday as local hospitalizations with the virus hit almost triple what they were two weeks ago. The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District reported 629 new cases Wednesday, topping the previous daily high of 563 from Friday. The county also set a record Wednesday for active cases with 2,270, surpassing the previous high of 2,151 from Sept. 4. One newly announced death brought the local toll to 750 McLennan County residents. Local hospitals were treating 91 patients with COVID-19, almost three times the 31 they were treating on Christmas Eve. Nine COVID-19 patients were on ventilators as of Wednesday. Almost 52% of eligible McLennan County residents are fully vaccinated against the virus, according to state data. Health district figures show 65% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 locally are unvaccinated. The countys seven-day average test positivity rate stood at 31%, and 684 tests were conducted Tuesday. At-home test results are not reported to the county or state. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department also reported Wednesday that 10 youth at the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart and 18 at the Gainesville State School had tested positive for COVID-19. The rising flood of new cases comes as hundreds of country residents seek testing before returning to work and school after holiday gatherings and travels. The demand was causing long lines at testing locations and pharmacy shelves emptied of rapid test kits. The convergence of rising COVID-19 cases and people seeking tests at area hospitals led the Ascension Providence and Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest to issue a joint statement steering people looking for COVID-19 testing away from hospital emergency rooms. This latest COVID-19 spike is putting extraordinary pressure on our hospitals, our emergency departments and our healthcare professionals, according to the statement. Please help us reserve our emergency departments for those who are seriously ill or injured so that our hospitals are ready for those who need care most during this time. The hospital systems urge anyone who wants to be tested, but who has mild symptoms or no symptoms, to call 211 or 877-541-7905, or go to 211texas.org to find a testing site. Pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens that had reported high demand for testing and over-the-counter rapid tests before Christmas were finding no respite this week. Walgreens advertised on its store websites that because of unprecedented demand for testing nationwide appointments for testing would be limited. CVS advised customers that there might be temporary shortages of test kits ordered online and continues to limit in-store purchases of test kits to six per customer. Dr. Ben Wilson, assistant chief medical officer for Waco Family Medicine, said COVID-19 testing is available for most Waco Family Medicine patients, but that Waco Family Medicine was struggling some to meet the demand. He recommended that anyone who cannot get tested and suspects they may have COVID-19, either because of close contact with a person with the illness or having symptoms such as coughing, fever and body aches, should follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and stay home. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Im never going to move on from the events of January 6, 2021. Throughout the remainder of my life, that will always be a day of national shame, embarrassment and anger in my mind. My children will carry those emotions with them after Im gone, Im sure. The rioters who assaulted U.S. Capitol Police officers and forced their way into our Capitol, then proceeded to trash it, enraged most decent people in this country last January. Every day since then, even as apologists and supporters of the former president try to pry our emotions away from those events, it becomes even more of an embarrassment a bigger stain on our countrys history. The losers who broke through police lines, assaulted law enforcement officers and forced their way into our closed Capitol did damage to my house. Yours, too. They disgraced themselves by breaking multiple laws in service to a lie. In just a few hours, our seat of government, where George Washington himself laid the cornerstone in 1793, was transformed from a deliberative body into a scene from the The Purge. I get angry every time I see that idiot in face paint and headdress standing at the dais in the Senate chamber. Thats where my senators sit, you moron! Beat it! Ive been to the Capitol twice in my life. It is, or was, a majestic place home to historic, generational events for more than 200 years. President Franklin D. Roosevelt told my father the news of Pearl Harbor from that building. President George W. Bush calmed a shattered nation after 9/11 with an address to Congress. Giants like Sam Rayburn, Robert S. Kerr and Carl Albert (all 5-foot-4 of him) called that building their office. The Capitol is the home of democracy. Regardless of your political bent, it is the seat of government for us all. To quote an inscription by Alexander Hamilton in the building: Here, sir, the people govern. Like an unhinged pack of escaped convicts, for three long hours the people of January 6 broke its windows, defecated in its halls and chanted Hang Mike Pence while we across America sat helplessly watching it all unfold on television. I cant forgive what they did. I wont ever forget. During my last trip there a family vacation in the late 1990s we visited the office of our congressman at the time. Wes Watkins represented Oklahomas 3rd Congressional District, the southeastern third of the state where I grew up. He was a longtime Democrat who joined the Republican Party after Bill Clinton was elected president. His wife, Lou, taught political science and government at East Central University in Ada, my alma mater. He was a friend of the family for many years. Wes met us in the lobby of his office in one of the adjacent office buildings, said hello and shuffled out the door to go vote on something. Without asking, he also scooped up my youngest daughter, grabbed the hand of my oldest daughter, and took them with him. Surprised and a little alarmed, we followed as far as we could. A terse but polite Capitol Police officer told us we were not allowed in House chambers and gave us directions to the gallery. When we got up there, we saw Wes shaking hands with members of both parties and introducing our daughters to them on the House floor. He finally made his way to his desk, told my oldest what to do and let her cast his vote. To this day neither of my children can remember much about that trip one that included visits to the Gateway Arch, Biltmore and Beale Street but they both remember going onto the House floor. They know how special the Capitol is to this country, and they view its symbolism with reverence. Most of my family parents, siblings, cousins have stopped to rub Will Rogers foot in the National Statuary Hall during visits to the Capitol. Its not just good luck, its mandatory if youre from Oklahoma. Its said the famed humorist asked to be placed facing the House chambers so he could keep an eye on Congress from the hereafter. Rogers used wit, humor and wry observation to exact a critical toll on members of Congress during his day. I wonder what he would say about the January 6 insurrection? As much as I revere the Capitol and those who occupy it, I also realize we live in an age of gridlock, and that political parties for the most part keep our government from functioning as the Founders intended. We have our share of knuckleheads in both the House and Senate. I dont agree with either U.S. senator from Texas on most issues, but I respect their office enough to yell/scream/cuss when some red-hat redneck with $500 sunglasses and zip ties breaks into their place of work uninvited. What happened outside police barricades on January 6 is fair game. Those protesters made their misguided feelings known without breaking any major laws. Im a big proponent of the right to protest, and those who didnt cross the barricades and ignore police commands did it right. The 700 or so who didnt should be jailed and made to register as lacking common sense. Its a simple line, dont you think? Police barricades, police commands. Those who crossed them in Portland, and in Minneapolis, and in Ferguson, should be locked up right alongside the insurrectionists in Washington. My children are grown up now, and Wes long ago retired from Congress. The Capitol itself is somehow different these days. If American democracy falls, and its a 50-50 proposition at this point, how embarrassing to think the turning point came at the hands of mindless wannabes following the sour-grapes wishes of a celebrity president. Im sure Will Rogers would have the words. Or at least put his shiny foot to work. Steve Boggs is a native of Leflore, Okla., and has been editor of the Tribune-Herald since 2014. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Quake insurance? SpaceX in McGregor was at it again last week and the sound of the rocket engine they were testing felt longer and stronger at my house in Hewitt. I went inside and sat on my recliner and recorded my windows rattling. Im concerned for the homes. I dont believe any of our homes are built to a shaking or rattling specification. Im in the construction business and have been for many years and I recently called my home insurance representative and asked him if I had earthquake-like coverage. The answer was no, but I cant convince myself that all this vibration felt from the engines being tested at SpaceX is good for my home or anyone else. Rick Gutierrez, Hewitt Go big on Mars I applaud the letter by Maria Malachi [Dec. 30] about improving the roads. I see that they are starting work on Mars Drive beginning Jan. 10. Just hope they do more than fill in the pot holes. It needs to be widened, adding signals, sidewalks and turning lanes. I think the public would be be tolerant of any inconvenience knowing that construction is going to bring better streets. Go big or dont even start. Ronald G. Smith, Hewitt Utopian idea Wouldnt it be great if a meeting could be held at the White House? A meeting called by our president, Joe Biden. It would be a very nice dinner. The invitees would be McConnell, Judge Roberts, Pelosi, Schumer, all ex-presidents and a random citizen of the United States. They could start off by agreeing they are old and have made their money over the years and dont need any more, except maybe for that citizen. The purpose of the meeting simply would be, lets all work together for the citizens and get the problems of this country solved in a bipartisan way. Show kindness and respect with faith in God being displayed. Bring back government of the people, by the people and for the people. Philip Ballmann, Waco Stay simple In response to Code broken [Letters Jan. 2], I was slightly discombobulated when I read this persons opinion. Its not really code when everyone knows it, according to the letter. For example, most people know a lot of codes. However I did not know what Lets go Brandon meant. Now that I do, it is immature and very disrespectful. No matter who people voted for, you have to respect that no matter if you agree or are dissatisfied with Americas choices. Making a secret code is equivalent to children playing games with each other. They then soon forget its a game between themt and move on to the next game that catches their short-term interest. Adults calling people names is equivalent to childs play. This world is complicated if you make it that way. Stay simple. Carol Case Rougely, Waco Its a loaner God did not give us this Earth. He loaned it to us to care for it. Edward Lindsay, Fort Worth (CNN) Pope Francis has criticized couples who choose to have pets instead of children as selfish, arguing that their decision to forgo parenthood leads to a loss of "humanity" and is a detriment to civilization. The pope made the comments Wednesday while speaking to a general audience about Saint Joseph, Jesus' earthly father. Francis was lauding Joseph's decision to bring up Jesus as "among the highest forms of love" when he veered into the topic of adoption and orphaned children today. He then turned his focus to couples who opt for animals instead of children. "We see that people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. And many, many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one, but they have two dogs, two cats ... Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children," the pope said. "Yes, it's funny, I understand, but it is the reality. And this denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity. And in this way civilization becomes aged and without humanity, because it loses the richness of fatherhood and motherhood. And our homeland suffers, as it does not have children." The pope's remarks, though surprising coming from a progressive pontiff, echo the Catholic Church's teachings about the importance of couples either bearing or raising children and the potential demographic consequences of not doing so. Francis said that couples who cannot biologically have children should consider adoption. "How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them," Francis said. "Having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption. But it is riskier not to have them. It is riskier to deny fatherhood, or to deny motherhood, be it real or spiritual." Francis has had several animal-related dust-ups during his papacy. He made similar remarks about couples prioritizing pets in 2014. Comments he made in 2016 were interpreted as a pronouncement that animals go to heaven, but that analysis was later called into question. The pope has, however, been photographed with many animals over the years. He's been seen petting dogs, a koala and a tiger, holding birds and carrying a lamb on his shoulders. As we reported in November, Britains Imperial War Museum was soon due to unveil a special exhibit at their Duxford location dedicated to the superlative Supermarine Spitfire. On December 27th, our very own George Land attended the opening, which featured twelve Spitfires of various marques to illustrate how the iconic design evolved over its decade-long production run. We thought our readers would enjoy seeing photographs George took that day, along with details adapted from his text Spitfire: Evolution of an Icon by George Land Organized by Imperial War Museum (IWM) Duxford and staged in the museums AirSpace Hangar, Spitfire: Evolution of an Icon was initially supposed to take place during 2020, but of course the pandemic intervened, and forced a delay until the end of 2021. The exhibit will now run from December 27th, 2021 through February 20th, 2022. Arranged in the front hall within the AirSpace hangar, the twelve Spitfires on show ranged from the IWMs own airworthy Spitfire F.Mk.Ia (N3200) through to The Fighter Collections Spitfire F.Mk.22 (PK624). Interestingly, the latter airframe, presently unrestored, is normally tucked away out of public view in Duxfords Hangar 2, so it was a nice opportunity to see this reclusive and rare variant up close for a change. Museum staff were on hand in the hall to provide further information about the aircraft in the exhibit while small activity displays demonstrated different aspects of the Spitfire. Furthermore, a retail area nearby offered various Spitfire-related products. As already intimated, the Spitfires participating in the exhibit revealed the different stages in the types development. The design evolution was immediately evident across the range of marques on display, from the dainty-looking Mk.I with its 1,000 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin, three-bladed propeller and .303 calibre machine guns, through successive variants with more powerful Merlins and beefier armament up to the far more muscular, almost brutish visage of the Griffon-powered examples towards the end of the types development. The display also revealed how much the Spitfires famous elliptical wing changed as the type-design progressed. The earliest variants were armed with eight .303 calibre machine guns, but further development adapted the wings both aerodynamically and structurally to accommodate different functional requirements, from the addition of more powerful armament and even for no armament at all as was the case for dedicated photo-reconnaissance Spitfires. Indeed those latter examples had wet-wing leading edges for additional fuel storage in place of the armament, extending the Spitfires range considerably! These differences in wing style were often identified with a specific suffix attached to the variant designation; for instance a Spitfire Mk.Vb would have a b-type wing, designed specifically to house a single 20mm cannon and two .303 machine guns within each side. Some of the changes in wing profile also arrived due to the specific environment in which a particular Spitfire was intended to excel; for some, this meant clipping the wings to allow better maneuverability at low levels, while others had extended wingtips for higher altitude performance. Each Spitfire model usually included a number of sub-variants, and these were typically identified with a designation prefix. For example, a pure fighters designation would begin with an F, whereas LF indicated a low altitude fighter, HF a high altitude fighter, PR meant photo reconnaissance, FR Fighter Reconnaissance and, of course, Tr referred to the two-seat trainer sub-variants. The aircraft on display in the exhibit included the following examples: Model s/n Owner Representative Livery F Mk.Ia N3200 Imperial War Museum No.19 SQN, RAF Duxford QV Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson F Mk.Ia AR213 Commanche Warbirds No.71 (Eagle) SQN, RAF Church Fenton P7308 XR-D F Mk.Vb BM597 Historic Aircraft Collection No.303 (Polish) SQN Mk.llb RF-M Sumatra F/O Wiktor Strzembosz LF Mk.Vb EP120 The Fighter Collection No.402 (City of Winnipeg) SQN RCAF AE-A F Mk.Vc JG891 Commanche Warbirds No 249 SQN, Malta T-B FS John Jack G. Hughes RCAF HF Mk.VIIIc MV154 Max Alpha Aviation No.145 SQN, Italy MT928 ZX-M Sqn Ldr G.R.S.McKay LF Mk.IX MH434 Old Flying Machine Company No.222 (Natal) SQN ZD-B Mylcraine Flt Lt Henry Lardner-Burke DFC Tr.9 PV202* Aircraft Restoration Company No.33 SQN 5H-R PR Mk.XI PL983 Aircraft Restoration Company No.4 SQN L, with THANK U NHS under wing F Mk.XIVe RN201 Aerial Speed Icons No.41 SQN 1947 Blackpool Air Races FR Mk.XIVe MV293 Anglia Aircraft Restorations No.443 SQN RCAF MV268 JE-J AVM Johnnie Johnson F Mk.22 PK624 The Fighter Collection Future restoration into original No.614 (County of Glamorgan) SQN colors *(Note: Tr.9 PT462 will substitute for PV202 at some stage in the show) While The Fighter Collections F Mk.22 PK624 was not represented in its complete form, an example of the nearly identical F Mk.24 (VN485) was on view just beyond the exhibit doors for those interested in seeing how strikingly different these ultimate variants of the Spitfire appeared relative to their forebears. While it was a pity that VN485 could not have joined the collection in the formal exhibit, extricating the airframe from its position in the main AirSpace hangar would have presented a significant challenge, as a number of large aircraft were in the way. Regardless, Spitfire: Evolution of an Icon was a triumph, and a hearty congratulations must go to the Imperial War Museum, along with its partners, for conceiving and executing such a fascinating exhibit. Indeed, the show is proving to be a great success with more than 1,000 visitors passing through on the first day alone and great signs that its popularity will continue proving how beloved the Spitfire is with the British public, and not just amongst aviation enthusiasts, but rather the greater community at large. Lets hope that this will encourage the Imperial War Museum to stage similar exhibitions over the Christmas/New Year period in 2022/23 with a possible subject featuring Hawker aircraft, since so many examples, from the 1930s-era biplanes through to the jump-jets of the 1990s are on hand at Duxford! Many thanks indeed to George Land for his article and images! WATERLOO A Waterloo man has been arrested for allegedly attacking a young woman and trying to keep her from leaving his home in November. Waterloo police arrested Tyrone Davis Smith Sr., 51, of 615 E. Donald St., on Wednesday for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. According to court records, the woman was at Smiths home Nov. 16 when he began making sexual comments, kissing her neck and groping her thighs and buttocks. She told him to stop and said she wanted to leave, but he allegedly began pulling at her pants. She eventually made her way to the door, which was locked, and he was on his knees begging her to stay and biting her buttocks, according to court records. The woman texted please help to a friend and was able to leave through the door, but he followed and asked her to pinkie promise not to tell anyone what happened and hugged her, records state. The womans friend arrived at the house, and the woman fled, records state. Police obtained an arrest warrant Dec. 3, and bond was set at $7,500. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WATERLOO The City Council wants more information before voting on a proposal to release the mortgage on land for a downtown grocery store project. Councilor Dave Boesen asked to postpone a resolution that would have amended a development agreement between the city and Central Property Holdings LLC, which is developing the All-In Grocers store and related complex on Franklin Street. The agreement, according to the amendment, would have removed the obligation of (Central Property Holdings) to provide a mortgage as security. The motion to postpone was approved 5-2. Councilors Jerome Amos and Nia Wilder, whose wards include or are next to the proposed project, voted against the postponement. The mortgage that would be released is on the portion of the initial plot of land the city helped purchase from next-door CVS, said Noel Anderson, the citys community planning and development director. The city provided around half of the money for the land at the time, Anderson said, which Boesen noted amounted to $400,000 of the $750,000 total purchase price. Boesen asked if All-Ins financing was contingent on us releasing this mortgage, which Anderson noted was accurate. So why would that not have been brought before this council during the financing portion of this? Boesen asked. Because it kind of puts us at an eleventh-hour (situation). ... We have to pass this for his financing to become available. Boesen also asked if the city had in hand the developers $2 million performance bond specified in the agreement. Neither Anderson nor Chief Financial Officer Michelle Weidner knew offhand. Im not comfortable voting on this if I dont know that we have these items in place, that were going to be protected in case of default, Boesen said. Anderson said language in the development agreement addressed that: If the project didnt go forward, the city would gain title back to the land and the developer would not get promised rebates. He also noted it was in the citys best interest to help, not harm, the development. The city is not just another financial agent out there, Anderson said. Were there to make sure the project and the site are a success in the end. Rodney Anderson, the developer behind the project, said after the meeting he was not at all concerned about the postponement. But he disagreed with Boesens contention about needing a performance bond, saying that was only necessary in the case of lifting the mortgage, not to subordinate the mortgage, which he said was the more accurate language for what was happening. Basically, we dont need a performance bond, Rodney Anderson said. There is no performance bond required if you have subordination. A call to Noel Anderson regarding that contention was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon. Residents Forrest Dillavou and David Dreyer also weighed in, saying both had supported the grocery store in the beginning but now had doubts as to its success. I want to see this building built, but I do not think we should continue to extend and continue to change and amend, Dreyer said. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Hi, Svetlana and Kyle! This is how Bulgarians celebrate Christmas and New Year: Although Bulgaria has Orthodox Church, the people celebrate Christmas on 25 of December as it was in Russia before the Great October Revolution. The Bulgarians celebrated this holiday on 7th of January in the period from 1945 to 1989 as it is in Russia now, but after 1989 it was decided to change the date to the end of December. In fact, Christmas in Bulgaria is called Koleda. Koleduvane is a tradition which still remains in villages and not in big cities. Koledari (young men dressed in national costumes) spread Christmas cheer around village and sing folk songs. A special dinner consisting of at least twelve dishes is prepared and all of them are without meat. This is a family holiday and all members of a family gather together round the table and celebrate it. A traditional Banitsa with fortune slips is put on the table. Its very delicious meal. Its made from puff paste with some white cheese rolled in it and baked in an oven. Santa Claus in Bulgaria is called Dyado Koleda (Grandfather Koleda) and he brings the children gifts as Santa Claus and Ded Moroz do. New Year Eve is joyful holiday when people gather together, eat a lot and go to the center of town or city at 12 oclock or earlier. Five minutes before the New Year comes Bulgarian President gives a speech, which is transmitted on all state and private TV channels and in the midnight people cheers with Na zdrave with wishes for good health. My regards, Ludmila Clearly, not just Russians but anyone with half a brain and minimal knowledge of the US regime change playbook (borrowing from Jen Psakis own book of vocabulary of expertise) would suspect their involvement. But it is interesting and truth telling- that the US on their own accord referred to crazy Russian claims. Never prompted by any official Russian statements. So more importantly.was the US immediate response an implicit admission of guilt? As more violent protests broke out in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted the United States has nothing to do with the unrest in the former Soviet republic, calling rumors to the contrary crazy Russian claims. Source: Jen Psaki dismisses Russian claims that US is behind Kazakhstan unrest Thank you Jen and thank you NYPost for verifying what is happening in Kazakhstan Spotting their agents shouldnt be too difficult for those in the know. They will be spreading money and propaganda stuff to liberals and young people (they tend to recycle materials and websites for this), spreading ISIS-style propaganda to Muslim groups, and most of their rhetoric will take an anti-Russian slant. The current president will be declared a puppet of Moscow, and everything will be blamed on that Russian minority population living in the north Oh I see, already in the works Never believe any rumor until its been officially denied. Thanks for confirming the US is involved Jen Yet Russia does not accuse and has not accused, but in a good step in the correct direction the CSTO is going to go in as Peacekeepers YEREVAN, January 6. /TASS/. The Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) made the decision to send peacekeeping forces of the Organization to Kazakhstan, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who chairs the Council in 2022, said on Thursday. Source: CSTO Council decides to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan World TASS WtR Sochivo is a traditional dish of the Orthodox Christmas Eve. Sochivo is a special vegetable dish made from scalded wheat grains, and sometimes rice or lentils, mixed with seeds (poppy seed, almond or hazelnut), juice, and honey, which is approved by the Charter of the Orthodox church to be eaten during Christmas Eve. In fact from what I understand Orthodox Christians are required to eat sochivo. Christmas Eve in Russia is the 6th of January According to Orthodox Church Charter, eating sochivo partakes in the evening on Christmas eve after complete abstinence (fasting) from food during the day Of course like all Russian dishes there is a zillion ways to make this recipe and everyone has a better way than the next one So, Lets make a very special dish for that Russian Christmas Eve Ingredients: 16 oz wheat (1 pound) 4 oz honey 6 oz poppy seeds 7 oz walnuts salt (to taste) Method: Filter the whole wheat (other words pull out the chunks of dirt and rocks), wash and put in boiling water. Bring to a boil, drain and wash under cold water, bring to boil, cover tightly and put in the oven until soft. (Or boil for 5 hours in pot.) Then take out and cool down.Put in large mixing bowl (Idea is that whole wheat is hard to cook and it takes time) Wash poppy seeds, scald in boiling water then wash under cold water and grind up until homogeneous and white, many people do not do this and leave the poppy seeds whole. Mix into the wheat in the large mixing bowl Then add the honey and a bit of salt. Most like to heat the honey so that it is thin and will mix better Combine all ingredients with the wheat wheat thoroughly. If sochivo is too thick, then just add some water. At the end of mixing add chopped walnuts all over the top There you go and now you have made a dish that is approved by the Orthodox church to eat on Christmas Eve Posted by Kyle Keeton Windows to Russia The copy scores 71.5 in the Flesch Reading Ease test, which is considered fairly easy to read Weather Alert ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...West winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Locally stronger gusts in wind prone locations. Sierra ridge wind gusts near 100 mph. Waves 2 to 4 feet on Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. * WHERE...Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Greater Reno-Carson City- Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM this morning to 8 PM PDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Choppy conditions for Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake with waves 2 to 4 feet expected. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans and NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. && BAGHDAD, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A rocket hit on Wednesday an Iraqi military base near Baghdad International Airport without causing casualties, the Iraqi military said. The attack occurred before dawn when the rocket was fired from the al-Jihad neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad and landed on an army base known as Camp Victory, which houses some U.S. experts and agencies, the Iraqi Joint Operation Command said in a statement. Security personnel also spotted a rocket launcher with an unfired rocket in the al-Jihad neighborhood and defused it, the statement said. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the security forces have launched an investigation into the incident, according to the statement. The attack came a day after two drones were shot down outside the perimeter of Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Iraq's western province of Anbar, and two days after two drones were reportedly shot down at the military base of Camp Victory. The attacks came on the second anniversary of a deadly attack by a U.S. drone on a convoy near Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. On Jan. 5, 2020, just two days after the U.S. attack, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country. On Dec. 29, 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed the end of the U.S.-led coalition forces' combat mission in Iraq after the withdrawal of the forces from his country. Courtesy Sound World Solutions The $349 Sound World Solutions CS50+ was rated the top PSAP by The New York Times product-review site Wirecutter in 2020. Its an over-the-ear hearable: The earbud is connected by a small tube to a battery compartment that fits around the ear. People with mild to moderate hearing loss found no differences among PSAPs, basic hearing aids and premium hearing aids for speech perception, sound quality, listening effort and user preference, according to a 2019 study published in the online medical journal JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. Theres such a range of quality that its impossible to make a blanket statement about the [PSAP] category, says Tom Hannaher, chief executive of Zvox Audio in Swampscott, Massachusetts, which manufacturers VoiceBud hearing aids ($599 for a pair, but on sale now for $399) and TV sound bars that enhance dialogue. There can be limits to some PSAPs effectiveness. Because they amplify sound all around, they may not help if you are, for example, trying to better discern a single voice in a noisy place. Consumer Reports warns that the cheapest PSAPs (some as low as $20 or $30) showed little benefit and could cause additional hearing damage by overamplifying sharp noises, such as the wail of a fire engine. Hearing help meets AirPods Nuhearas rechargeable IQbuds2 Max ($399 for a pair), named one of Time magazines 100 best inventions of 2020, addresses some of these issues. They come with a mobile app that lets users calibrate the buds to their own hearing profile, and with situational settings that can help mute background noise and enhance audio focus on a particular speaker. IQbuds2 even let you stream music or take calls via Bluetooth, as does the Olive Pro. That might signal a trend: A recent survey by Qualcomm found that over 40 percent of consumers are interested in earbuds that can provide automatic hearing assistance as needed. The chipmaker is working with Jacoti, a Belgian medical device company, to build personalized hearing assistance into upcoming wireless earbuds and Bluetooth speakers. Another fringe benefit of hearables: They can mitigate the supposed stigma that makes some people reluctant to wear hearing aids outside the house, for fear of being perceived as old. The growing ubiquity of AirPods and similar devices has made it acceptable for everyone to wear weird things in your ears, Nuhearas Cannington says. Nuheara, Olive Union and Sound World Solutions all offer money-back guarantees, typically lasting 30 to 45 days, so you can try their hearables out for comfort and audio improvement. Maryland and the District of Columbia are the latest to see all-time high hospitalization levels from Covid-19 at a time when about 10 states are experiencing some of the highest hospitalization numbers of the pandemic. GRANBURY, Texas A handgun went off in the hands of a toddler in a Texas Walmart parking lot Wednesday, wounding the childs mother in the arm and side and young sibling in the leg, police said. The shooting happened in Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth. Police said the gun discharged once when the 2-year-old took it from between a seat and the center console while in the car with a 1-year-old sibling and with their 23-year-old mother standing outside near the drivers side door. The childrens 26-year-old father was standing near the vehicles rear, police said. The mother and 1-year-old were taken to Fort Worth hospitals, but neither was wounded severely, said police Lt. Russell Grizzard. Police are still investigating and havent yet determined if any charges will be filed, Grizzard said. ___ This story has corrected the ages of the children. Police say the child who was shot was 1, not 3 months old, and the child who discharged the handgun was 2, not 1. MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Aerospace Forces are delivering a contingent to Kazakhstan as part of a peacekeeping mission organized by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the military bloc said Thursday. The Collective Peacekeeping Forces include troops from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the Moscow-led CSTO said in a statement on its website. The mission's main tasks are to protect important state and military facilities, and to provide assistance to the Kazakh law enforcement agencies to stabilize the situation, it added, without disclosing the scale of the forces. Violent protests in Kazakhstan, particularly in the country's largest city of Almaty, have caused multiple deaths over the past days, according to various reports. In order to put an end to the riots, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev accepted the government's resignation on Wednesday, and then seek help from the CSTO. You have questions. I have some answers. Q: Was the new series Mayor of Kingstown canceled? It followed Yellowstone on Sunday evenings on Paramount. A: Lets start with a reminder that there is Paramount Network, a cable-and-satellite service, and there is Paramount+, a streaming operation. New episodes of Yellowstone air on Paramount Network. Because it is a huge hit, two other series Mayor of Kingstown and 1883 have had some special presentations following telecasts of Yellowstone to get viewers interested in those series. But aside from those showings, new episodes of Kingstown and 1883 are on Paramount+. Q: I was wondering if Charlie Sheen was actually drinking on Two and a Half Men. It seemed he always had a beer or a drink in his hand. Why was he replaced by Ashton Kutcher? The show sucked with him in it. A: I cant say that Sheen was drinking on the show; he did once tell Dan Patrick that he was never drunk or high on the air, but he would at times arrive not having slept much. He was fired from the show during the eighth season in 2011 for dangerously self-destructive conduct, a firing letter said at the time. In addition to off-set excesses, he was reportedly late for rehearsals, had trouble remembering his lines and had publicly berated producer Chuck Lorre. Sheen later conceded to Deadline.com that he was at fault, that I was getting loaded and my brain wasnt working right. Kutcher was brought in and, whatever you thought of his performance, enough people still watched for the show to last four more seasons with him. Q: I regularly watched Becker, The King of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond and from time to time enjoy the reruns. Ive noticed that in the episode descriptions in my onscreen guide there have been episodes where it says characters meet up at Dr. Beckers office. Recently one noted that Ray from Raymond, Doug from King of Queens and Bill Cosby meet at Dr. Beckers office. But Ive watched the episodes, and nobody ever meets up at Dr. Beckers office and Ted Danson (the Dr. Becker actor) does not appear in the episode. What gives? Is it an inside joke? A: You (and the listings) have been mixed up by a crossover, the practice of different series mingling characters to draw an audience. In 1999, CBS did a crossover among its four Monday comedies Becker, King, Raymond and Cosby (not The Cosby Show but a later series). The Becker crossover element was apparently a brief scene with characters from the other three shows in his waiting room. When shows go from network telecasts to syndication, they are often trimmed or sped up to make room for more commercials. In that Becker episode, the crossover scene was cut; it was not key to the episodes overall plot and would not make sense apart from the other crossover shows anyway. It does not even appear in the Becker DVD for that season, which admits some episodes may be edited from their original network versions. Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfels@gmail.com. Letters may be edited. Individual replies are not guaranteed. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The director of the Office of the Medical Investigator said Wednesday, unequivocally, that the office does not charge storage fees for bodies. No, we dont charge storage fees, Dr. Heather Jarrell said. Im not sure where the miscommunication has come from, but there is nothing the family has to pay OMI to ever pick up a body. The issue was raised in a Dec. 30 story in the Journal in which the sisters of a woman who drowned during a flash flood in an arroyo in July were upset that they had not been notified of her death until mid-November. The story included a line referencing the familys Go Fund Me page, which stated OMI is charging storage fees daily on the body and it will cost over $3,500 just to claim her body and then funeral costs. The Journal subsequently published an editorial taking OMI to task for the delay in notifying the family and for charging fees. But Jarrell said Wednesday the fee part is not true. OMI does not charge storage fees, Im not sure where that came from, she said. We have a fee schedule. It was never designed with the intent to charge families for storage so there has never been a time to my knowledge where we charge for storage. The fee schedule does reference a body storage fee of $61 per 24-hour period. But Alex Sanchez, the spokeswoman for the University of New Mexicos Health Sciences Center, said that only applies to funeral homes. It was intended to be if you had a funeral home who was for some reason grievously late in picking up a decedent, they could use this as a way to get them to pick up the decedent, Sanchez said. Melissa Marcus, the sister of Paula Martin-Welsh, said the money the family is raising through Go Fund Me would go toward holding a funeral. She said if they dont raise the money, they wouldnt be able to hold a funeral for Martin-Welsh and she would instead have an indigent cremation through the county. Martin-Welshs body is still at OMI. Jarrell said the facility does not charge anyone to pick up the body, but Sanchez clarified that state law mandates that there is a plan and permitting in place, either through a funeral home or another avenue before a body can be picked up. Its unclear exactly how the family came to believe they would have to pay a $3,500 storage fee. Asked about it, Marcus referred the Journal to her grandfather, who said hed heard it from another sister who, in turn, said shed heard about it from an out-of-state uncle, who said he heard it from an aunt who lives in Oklahoma. The aunt said she was the first person contacted by OMI and that conversation did not include a discussion of fees. The dual opinion pieces in the Nov. 23 Journal, one by Steve Pearce, head of the New Mexico Republican Party, and the other by Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation, are the latest salvo in a campaign to discredit the energy transition. They argue that Europe is experiencing an energy crisis. The United States and New Mexico will face that same crisis unless they bow down to the oil and gas industry, which Pearce describes as a golden goose that cannot be slain. Europes energy crisis has many causes, only one of which is too-rapid shuttering of fossil fuel power plants. Around the world, the pandemic led to lower oil and gas production, and slower deployment of renewable energy facilities. The rapid economic rebound once vaccines were deployed caught the global economy by surprise, and every sector has been trying to catch up. Russia has slowed gas supplies to the European Union and Norways gas supply has maintenance issues. Limited supplies in a global market are driving up prices everywhere. The governor and the president are hardly to blame. The president called for a pause on leases on federal land not on permits, as Gessing states. But the industry has 23 million acres of unused public lands leases and thousands of unused permits. The administration has issued permits at a faster pace than the Trump administration, and the State Land Office has also been issuing permits at a rapid clip. The problem lies largely with industry. Oil companies are using the high prices to pay shareholders and investors, not to increase production. One reason: according to a Deloitte study, fracking operations had a net negative free cash flow of $300 billion, impaired investment capital of $450 billion and nearly 200 bankruptcies since 2010. On the gas side, the industry has shifted significant natural gas production to exports. While industry profits now exceed pre-pandemic levels, their actions are a direct cause of domestic supply crunches and higher prices. However, blaming the governor and the president has clear political value heading into the 2022 elections. Industry disregard for U.S. consumers and business has forced the government to step in. The presidents call for domestic and foreign producers to increase production is a necessary measure. However, we are in a global energy market; it was Russian and Saudi Arabian squabbling that led to the astonishing negative spot price in spring 2020. Combined with the pandemic, this led to the rapid collapse of New Mexico revenues and an industry-wide write-down of over $150 billion, 10% of combined market capitalization. This was hardly the fault of the Biden administration, which took office a year later. The president is not alone. China, India, Japan, the U.K. and others are all tapping into their strategic reserves to dampen the market, and are providing emergency subsidies and other support to consumers and businesses. The impacts of industry instability and profit-seeking fall to governments of wildly varying ideologies to resolve. Every sector is under increasing pressure from shareholders, insurers and the public to account for climate risk, but the oil and gas sector feels this pressure the most. A recent OilPrice.com article described the massive, multitrillion-dollar problem the oil and gas industry has with stranded assets from the rapid transition to clean energy sources as one that will increase catastrophically if the industry does not plan adequately. We are at the start of a transition the world has never seen before: the intentional, rapid shift from one energy source to another as the economic driver. It will be immensely difficult and it will not be smooth. But it is happening. The global energy transition needs everyone to get together to make it work for everyone. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal One year ago, Couy Griffin climbed a temporary staircase to an outdoor terrace of the U.S. Capitol and used a bullhorn to lead raucous protesters in prayer. An Otero County commissioner and founder of Cowboys for Trump, Griffin recorded videos of the event that made him one of the most visible faces of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Griffin got up on the wall to face the crowd, and was able to borrow a bullhorn to lead the group in prayer, according to a statement written by a Washington, D.C., Metropolitan police detective. Its a great day for America, Griffin said in a video recorded on the Capitol terrace. Behind him were hundreds of noisy flag-waving protesters. The people are showing that theyve had enough, said Griffin, wearing a black Stetson and a western-style shirt with C4T embroidered over the pocket. People are ready for fair and legal elections, or this is what you are going to get. You are going to get more of it. Griffin is one of at least four New Mexicans swept up in a sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, described by the Justice Department as the largest in its history. They are among more than 700 people arrested of the estimated 2,500 people who took part in the Jan. 6 attack. The four New Mexicans all were charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, a federal misdemeanor. All were charged with at least one other federal misdemeanor. New Mexicans arrested other than Griffin are Matthew Martin of Santa Fe and Shawn Witzemann of Farmington. The three have pleaded not guilty and remain free on their own recognizance. Leonard Gruppo of Clovis pleaded guilty last year to a single misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 24 months probation. Both Griffin and Martin are scheduled in March for bench trials, meaning they will be tried by a federal judge and not a jury. Both trials will be heard by Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Griffin is scheduled for trial on March 21. In addition to the illegal entry charge, Griffin faces one misdemeanor charge of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building. He was arrested after his return to Washington to protest President Joe Bidens Jan. 20 inauguration. Griffin said nothing he has seen in the past year has convinced him that Biden was the true winner of the 2020 election. But he would like all the key actors to be more forthcoming about how events unfolded leading to Jan. 6. Its time for everybody to show their cards, he said in a phone interview Wednesday. It almost seems like theyre trying to hide something. I just wish they would show everything. Griffin predicted he will beat the federal charges against him. His attorneys argue that he is the target of selective prosecution because of his political and religious speech. The government targets the political beliefs and perceived ideologies of political and cultural groups, the attorneys wrote in a motion filed Tuesday. Griffins attorneys, David Smith of Alexandra, Virginia, and Nicholas Smith of New York City, declined the Journals request for an interview. In their recent motion, they argue that of the estimated 700 arrests made in the Jan. 6 attack, Griffin was the only person charged who did not enter the Capitol or commit alleged felonies outside the building. Griffin was singled out because of his outspoken political and religious statements, they said. Federal prosecutors in August offered Griffin a confidential plea agreement. The charges against Griffin carry a maximum prison sentence of one year and implications for Griffins future in public office. In September, Griffin prevailed against efforts to recall him from office as Otero County commissioner. Matthew Martin Matthew Martin of Santa Fe is scheduled for a bench trial March 29 on charges alleging he illegally entered the U.S. Capitol Building during the insurrection. Martin was charged with four misdemeanors based on videos he recorded inside the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent. In addition to the illegal entry charge, Martin also is charged with disruptive conduct in the Capitol, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol. Martins attorney, Dan Cron of Santa Fe, said Martin did not witness or participate in any acts of violence or vandalism. Capitol Police officers were holding open the back doors to the Rotunda when Martin arrived, Cron said. The battles between police and protesters all took place in front of the building out of Martins view, he said. He never ventured outside of the Rotunda, Cron said. He was in and out in way less than 15 minutes. Federal prosecutors are slow in presenting evidence in the cases, Cron said. Martin may consider a plea deal once the evidence is fully available, he said. Leonard Gruppo Leonard Gruppo, a Clovis physician assistant and decorated U.S. Army veteran, pleaded guilty Aug. 18 to a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in the U.S. Capitol. A federal judge sentenced Gruppo in October to 24 months probation, with 90 days of home detention, a $3,000 fine and $500 restitution. Federal prosecutors said Gruppo and a friend entered the Capitol and walked around the building and entered the Senate Wing, according to a Justice Department statement of facts. A short time later, he exited the south side of the Capitol through the Hall of Columns, it said. Shawn Witzemann Shawn Witzemann of Farmington surrendered to FBI agents in April based on videos he and others recorded inside the Capitol. He is charged with illegal entry of a restricted building, violent entry on Capitol grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct, according to a criminal complaint. Witzemanns former attorney, Todd Bullion, said at the time that his client had done nothing wrong and looked forward to clearing his name in court. Bullion said in an email he no longer represents Witzemann and declined comment. His current attorney, Guy Womack of Houston, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal A year after a pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol building to disrupt the certification of the presidential election, the country remains divided along party lines, investigations into and criminal cases related to the events continue, and lawmakers have tried to change voting practices in response. Many Democrats, including members of New Mexicos congressional delegation, are marking the one-year anniversary by calling for voter-protection bills. They say the bills aim to curtail efforts by some Republican-led states that passed restrictive voting laws in the wake of 2020s record voter turnout. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., at a news conference Wednesday called for passage of the Freedom to Vote, John Lewis Voting Rights and Protecting our Democracy acts. He said the bills are connected directly to what happened at the Capitol. It was all surrounding the big lie. And what has happened as a result of Jan. 6 the presidents big lie state after state across America has enacted laws to make it harder for people to vote, he said. They are absolutely connected, and they are absolutely related. Its just another one of those symptoms that shows us again how fragile our democracy is. The Freedom to Vote Act would expand voter registration, requires states conduct post-election audits and outlines criteria for congressional redistricting, among other provisions. The John Lewis bill would establish criteria for how states and political subdivisions can change voting practices. The Protecting Our Democracy Act relates to presidential pardons and conduct, foreign influence on political campaigns and the enforcement of congressional subpoenas. The Brennan Center for Justice reported that, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 27, 2021, at least 19 states enacted 33 laws that made it harder for Americans to vote. And, while many states passed laws expanding voter access during the same period, the result has been that access to voting increasingly varies state to state. Even after the attack on January 6, the insurrection didnt really end. It just shifted to an effort in state after state to make it harder for people to cast their ballots, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said in a statement. It shifted from an overt and violent insurrection to overturn the past election to a very concerted effort in Republican-led state legislatures all across the country to disenfranchise legitimate voters. Lujan and other Democrats have said Senate filibuster rules should be changed so the voting rights bills can pass without Republican support. My Republican colleagues have proven time and time again that they are not interested in action on this issue, he said. First-hand experiences Despite being 1,800 miles from the nations capital, New Mexicans were directly involved in the Capitol attacks. Four men from the state were among the hundreds who have been charged with various crimes in connection with the riot. Three of those cases are still pending, while one local defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation. The unruly mob damaged property and disrupted what is usually a routine congressional action. Four people died the day of the riot and one Capitol police officer died the day after. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., on Wednesday recalled Jan. 6, when she was ushered to a small room with no windows as protesters breached the building. She said that, thinking back on the day a year later, she remembers walking through the Capitol building with her son after it had been reclaimed by police and the military. We were going back in to certify the election, she said. Thats a very important part as we reflect back on the one-year anniversary. Our resolve. Use (Jan. 6) to strengthen our democracy. She said she remains hopeful for a more united country in the future. Im hopeful we can come together as Americans and recognize that were not Jan. 6. We are people who engage in debate about how big our government should be, and if and how much, we should invest in roads and bridges, Leger Fernandez said. Thats the version of democracy Im working for. Rep. Yvette Herrell, the states lone Republican member of Congress, voted against certifying President Joe Bidens victory over Donald Trump last year, joining a handful of senators and about 140 representatives. Herrell denounced the Capitol attacks. Her office did not respond to requests for comment this week. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE As the omicron variant begins to dominate New Mexicos coronavirus cases, acting Health Secretary David Scrase is encouraging residents to add an alert system to their smartphones and seek out testing if theyve been exposed. Health officials also suggested upgrading to a KN95 or an N95 mask or layering two masks for extra protection in crowded or high-risk settings. Scrase, a physician who leads the state agencies for health and human services, delivered the recommendations Wednesday in a public briefing. New Mexicans can visit nmnotify.org to learn about the states COVID-19 exposure system or go into settings in their iPhone, for example, and click on exposure notifications. Im hoping it really becomes one of the main ways we learn to live with COVID, Scrase said. The highly contagious omicron variant is expected to make up 100% of the COVID-19 cases in the state within a week or so, he said. Its already half to 60% of the infections, according to state estimates. New Mexico reported 2,514 new cases Wednesday a sharp increase over the recent average though hospitalizations remained almost flat. Omicron has fueled record-breaking case counts across the globe, but Scrase said theres some evidence the variant isnt as likely to result in hospitalization or death. An optimistic view, he said, would be for New Mexicos omicron wave to last four to six week. But hospitals remain under tremendous pressure, Scrase said, amid staffing shortages and a heavy patient load both from COVID-19 and other conditions. Omicron is here, and its serious, he said. The variants presence, Scrase said, make it all the more important for New Mexicans to be on guard for symptoms of or exposure to the disease. About 37% to 40% of New Mexicans are participating in the New Mexico Notify program, he said, which will notify the user if theyve been exposed to COVID-19. It uses the phones Bluetooth technology to determine close contacts with the phone of someone else whos tested positive. I think its a very elegant and simple solution that basically reminds us when to get tested, Scrase said. It also allows users to report to the state when they test positive on an at-home test. If you test positive on a home test, state health officials said, you dont need to take a PCR test at a state site. Masking, testing Deputy Health Secretary Laura Parajon encouraged New Mexicans to consider upgrading their masks in crowded or high-risk settings, especially given the arrival of omicron. Layering two masks is one option, she said, or wearing an N95 or KN95 mask. Choose something that really works for you, she said. Parajon and Scrase also encouraged New Mexicans to be patient with the availability of tests amid a national shortage. They said someone who tests positive on an at-home rapid test doesnt need to have the result confirmed by getting a PCR test. But if you test negative, dont necessarily assume youre in the clear. They suggested taking rapid tests two days apart, especially if you have symptoms. With consecutive tests, Scrase said, youre more likely to find it. Omicron may be particularly hard to detect. Parajon said people could try swabbing their throat not just their nose to get a good sample. Omicron outlook Scrase said hospitals are still struggling, even with COVID-19 hospitalizations down substantially from a December peak that reached over 700 patients. The state reported 497 hospitalizations for COVID-19 on Wednesday, just four more than the day before. But Scrase said an influx of patients seeking treatment for other conditions and chronic understaffing are putting health care workers under tremendous strain. I havent talked to any of our hospitals that arent experiencing severe staffing challenges, Scrase said. Some monoclonal antibody treatments arent as effective against omicron, he added, so hospitals may have fewer options, until more supplies arrive. But he also suggested some reason for optimism. The omicron wave in New York appears to have lasted about five weeks, Scrase said, not as long as feared. Hospitalizations and deaths didnt climb as quickly as cases overall. One of the things were hoping well see is a much lower death rate from omicron, he said. A good scenario, Scrase said, would be that future COVID-19 variants are even milder than omicron, resulting in a disease more similar to the flu and less disruptive. But theres also the possibility of a variant that evades the current vaccines. New Mexico, regardless, is still seeing a high COVID-19 death rate. The Department of Health reported 36 more fatalities Wednesday, 24 of which happened in the last 30 days. The remainder occurred earlier, but the death certificates were processed only recently. The statewide death toll is now 5,933 residents. NEW YORK Beneath a pale winter light and the glare of television cameras, Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, bent on upending the election of Joe Biden. It was democracy under siege, livestreamed in real time. Yet, a year after that Jan. 6 attack, when it comes to a where-were-you moment in U.S. history, there is far from national consensus. A Quinnipiac poll found that 93% of Democrats considered it an attack on the government, but only 29% of Republicans agreed. Such a disparity in memory may be inevitable in our hyper-polarized politics, but its striking given the stark clarity of Jan. 6 at the time and in its immediate aftermath. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said then that the president bears responsibility for the attacks. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., then the majority leader, said: They tried to disrupt our democracy. They failed. President Joe Biden will mark the riots first anniversary Thursday with a warning that inaction risks emboldening extremist followers of former President Donald Trump before the crucial midterm elections. I would expect President Biden will lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol, and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. And he will forcibly push back on the lies spread by the former president, and (the) attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters, as well as distract from his role in what happened. Trump late on Tuesday canceled a news conference planned on Jan. 6 at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, saying he would instead discuss his unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud and other grievances at a rally later in the month. He blamed the retreat on the media and lawmakers investigating the insurrection. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday vowed to hold accountable anyone who was responsible for the insurrection, whether they were physically there or not. In a speech to Justice Department employees, Garland said prosecutors remained committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law. The investigation into the attack on the Capitol is the largest in the Justice Departments history. So far, more than 700 people have been arrested and 350 others are still being sought by the FBI, 250 of whom are accused of assaulting police officers. We will follow the facts wherever they lead, Garland said in his speech. But since Jan. 6, 2021, separate versions one factual, one fanciful have taken hold. The Capitol riot the violent culmination of a bid to delegitimize the 2020 election and block its certification has morphed into a partisan Rashomon, the classic Japanese film about a slaying told from varying and conflicting points of view. Indeed, the act of remembering can be a highly mercurial thing particularly when deep-seated political views are involved. Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (Julio Cortez/Associated Press) Members of Congress shelter in the House gallery as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press) U.S. Capitol Police with guns drawn stand near a barricaded door as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press) Prev 1 of 3 Next We keep using terms like post-factual, but it almost feels like theres this national psychosis or amnesia about what happened a year ago, says Charles Sykes, the former conservative Wisconsin radio host and founder of the website The Bulwark. Its not just that were two nations. Its as if we live on two different reality planets when it comes to the memory of Jan. 6. Nations remember the way people do: imperfectly. Neuroscientist Lisa Genova, author of Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, describes how even the most searing memories are edited each time theyre revisited. An original memory is replaced with a 2.0 version, a 3.0 version and beyond. Outside influences can sneak in every time we revisit and recall a memory for what happened. So, for these collective memories, we have a lot of chances to revisit them, says Genova. Depending on your political point of view, the news channels you watch, what this meant to you, this memory is going to have a different slant based on the story that you tell yourself. And a lot of people have been working hard to chip away at the memory of Jan. 6. Rep. Andrew S. Clyde, R-Ga., has described the siege as like a normal tourist visit. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has claimed the rioters were leftist militants masquerading as Trump supporters. Trump has continued to insist that the election Biden won by a wide margin, with scant evidence of fraud was the real insurrection. Alexander Keyssar, a professor of history and social policy at Harvard, and author of Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?, believes a full-fledged investigative commission, such as the one that followed the Sept. 11 attacks, might have fostered more national consensus on Jan. 6. In May, Senate Republicans used their filibuster power to block the creation of such a commission. (A House committee will soon make public some of the findings of its six-month investigation.) Instead, many Trump supporters have adopted the former presidents denial over the 2020 election. In the past year, Republicans have passed dozens of laws in 19 states to restrict voting. More election battles loom in the 2022 midterms and beyond. Instead of receding into the past as an anomalous threat to the heart of American democracy, the history of the Capitol riot is yet to be fully written. Some projects are ongoing. To tell the story of Jan. 6, the Capitol Historical Society is creating an oral history. Some of the stories such as those of staffers who have since quit and returned home are particularly haunting for the societys president, Jane L. Campbell. The Capitol remains closed to the public. I spent time inside the prison cell of a convicted killer 15 years ago, admiring his creative use of limited space. Michael Brown, then 29, had covered the walls with his inked artwork and photos of family, bands and women. He had fashioned hangers for his pressed prison scrubs out of tightly rolled paper. Brown had already served about a dozen years in small spaces when I visited him in 2006 at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility near Grants. He had been moved from prison to prison across the state and Texas since 1994, when he was 16 and one of three teens convicted of butchering his grandparents with kitchen knives in their Rio Rancho home, though he had not inflicted a single stab wound himself. Which is to say he was a kid when he was sentenced in 1995 to life plus 41 years for the murders of Marie and Ed Brown, both 80. He would be, I estimated then, nearly their age before he was eligible for parole, if he lived that long. But Brown didnt measure time in increments longer than a day, he told me. He didnt like to think that freedom would never come. If you give up on the outside world, you lose hope, he told me. Standing in that cell, it was hard to imagine the outside world, hard to believe eternal warehousing in small spaces was the best way to deal with juvenile offenders. Then, and now, thats an unpopular point of view. Then, and now, I believe science, humanity and constitutional rights demand it. Brown became one of the first teens in New Mexico to be punished as an adult at a time when the public was clamoring for incarcerating youthful offenders and throwing away the key which is essentially what was done to Brown and co-defendants Bernadette Setser, then 16, and Jeremy Rose, then 17. I had reached out to Brown for a project I was researching on juvenile justice in New Mexico. I stayed in touch with him and his younger sister, Shannon Fleeson, through his habeas petition in 2009, which at the time appeared to be his last chance at freedom. His petition was denied. But things were already changing. Last week, I spotted Browns familiar mug shot in the Journal. He was finally getting a second chance. As my colleague Olivier Uyttebrouck reported Dec. 28, Browns sentence was amended in November, making him eligible for parole in February 2024. The amended sentence issued by 13th Judicial District Court Judge Christopher Perez, a University of New Mexico law student the year Brown went to prison came as a result of a revised petition that sought to comport Browns sentencing with newer U.S. Supreme Court rulings on juvenile justice. Now, Browns two life sentences run concurrently rather than consecutively, making him eligible for parole after 30 years. Among attorneys who fought for Brown is Denali Wilson, who became interested in his case when she was a law student. She has since dedicated herself to helping others like Brown who are serving lengthy sentences for crimes committed as children. Like me, Wilson questions whether leaving juvenile offenders to rot in prison for decades is good policy because it fails to consider a juveniles ability to be rehabilitated and ignores science of the adolescent brain as an unfinished product that renders its owner immature, impulsive, foolish. Right now, 75 inmates, including Brown, are serving long adult prison sentences for crimes they committed as children, Wilson estimates. She and others are hoping to convince Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to include in her call for the upcoming 2022 regular legislative session the Second Chance bill, which would make juveniles sentenced as adults eligible for parole after serving 15 years. Juvenile offenders would not be automatically released under the bill, and the wishes of victims families would be considered. In Browns case, his sister and father support the bill and Browns release. He has grown up a lot, Fleeson told me over lunch in 2008. He has matured. It gave me the feeling he deserves a second chance. Fleeson was 5 when her grandparents were murdered her grandfather stabbed 58 times, her grandmother six times. She was the one who found their bloody bodies the next day. The night before Feb. 3, 1994 Brown, Rose and Setser had been drinking. Brown consumed nine to 10 beers and three-fourths of a fifth of gin, when his grandmother ordered Rose and Setser to leave. Prosecutors say Brown later let his friends sneak back into the house, showed them where the kitchen knives were kept and instructed them to kill his grandparents. But Brown said he never meant for his grandparents to be harmed, never expected his friends to take his bitter words seriously. I panicked, he told me. I was 16, and I was drunk out of my mind. Brown said he was often drunk out of his mind back then, his alcohol problem beginning when he was 13 and a sensitive, stubborn boy flitting between the houses of his divorced parents and his grandparents. In prison, he grew up. He obtained his GED, took college classes, learned to play music, weld, fix a car, create art. He is a peer educator through UNM Project ECHO, an inmate observer who watches over suicidal inmates, a prison barber, a husband. He is ready to leave his small space. Ive said before that rethinking how we mete out juvenile justice is not a matter of being soft on crime or falling for excuses but knowing the difference between consequence and condemnation, between the juvenile who commits a horrendous act with the folly of an unmade mind and the rarer juvenile whose mind and heart and soul have already been irreparably damaged. I havent lost hope that weve learned the difference for Brown. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. PESHAWAR, Pakistan Each year on Jan. 17, Shahana bakes a cake and invites friends to her home in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. They sing happy birthday for her son, even light a candle. But its a birthday without the birthday boy. Her son, Asfand Khan, was 15 in December 2014 when gunmen rampaged through his military-run public school in Peshawar killing 150 people, most of them students, some as young as 5. Asfand was shot three times in the head at close range. The attackers were Pakistani Taliban, who seven years later have once again ramped up their attacks, seemingly emboldened by the return of Afghanistans Taliban to power in Kabul. In the last week of December, they killed eight Pakistani army personnel in a half dozen attacks and counter attacks, all in the countrys northwest. Another two Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack on Taliban outposts late Wednesday night. The Pakistani Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, are regrouping and reorganizing, with their leadership headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan, according to a U.N. report from July. That is raising fears among Pakistanis like Shahana of a return of the horrific violence the group once inflicted. Yet the Afghan Taliban have shown no signs of expelling TTP leaders or preventing them from carrying out attacks in Pakistan, even as Pakistan leads an effort to get a reluctant world to engage with Afghanistans new rulers and salvage the country from economic collapse. It is a dilemma faced by all of Afghanistans neighbors and major powers like China, Russia and the United States as they ponder how to deal with Kabul. Multiple militant groups found safe haven in Afghanistan during more than four decades of war, and some of them, like the TTP, are former battlefield allies of the Afghan Taliban. So far, the Taliban have appeared unwilling or unable to root them out. The sole exception is the Islamic State affiliate, which is the Talibans enemy and has waged a campaign of violence against them and for years against Afghanistans minority Shiite Muslims, killing hundreds in dozens of horrific attacks targeting, schools, mosques, even a maternity hospital Washington has identified the Islamic State branch, known by the acronym IS-K, as its major militant worry emanating from Afghanistan. The Talibans longtime ally al-Qaida is not seen as a strong threat. Though U.S. military leaders say there are signs it may be growing slightly, it is struggling near rudderless, with its current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, alive but unwell, according to the July U.N. report. Still, there are plenty of other militants based in Afghanistan, and they are raising concerns among Afghanistans neighbors. China fears insurgents from its Uighur ethnic minority who want an independent Xinjiang region. Russia and Central Asian nations worry about the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which in recent years went on a recruitment drive among Afghanistans ethnic Uzbeks. For Pakistan, it is the TTP, which stands for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group perpetrated some of the worst terrorist assaults on Pakistan, including the 2014 assault on the military public school. The TTP numbers anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 fighters, according to the U.N. report. It has also succeeded in expanding its recruitment inside Pakistan beyond the former tribal regions along the border where it traditionally found fighters, says Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, an independent think tank in the capital Islamabad. Analysts say the Afghan Talibans reluctance to clamp down on the TTP does not bode well for their readiness to crack down on the many other groups. The plain truth is that most of the terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, aside from IS-K, are Taliban allies, says Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center. And the Taliban arent about to turn their guns on their friends, even with mounting pressure from regional players and the West. The militants presence complicates Pakistans efforts to encourage international dealings with the Afghan Taliban in hopes of bringing some stability to an Afghanistan sliding into economic ruin. Analysts say Pakistans military has made a calculation that the losses inflicted by the TTP are preferable to undermining Afghanistans Taliban rulers by pressing them on the issue. A collapse would bring a flood of refugees; Pakistan might be their first stop, but Islamabad warns that Europe and North America will be their preferred destination. Islamabad attempted to negotiate with the TTP recently, but the effort fell apart. Rana of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies said Pakistans policy of simultaneously negotiating with and attacking the TTP is confusing and risks emboldening like-minded insurgents in both countries. It also worries its allies, he said. China, which is spending billions in Pakistan, was not happy with Islamabads attempts at talks with the TTP because of its close affiliation with Uighur separatists, said Rana. The TTP took responsibility for a July bombing in northwest Pakistan that killed Chinese engineers as well as an April bombing at a hotel where the Chinese ambassador was staying. Pressure is mounting on Pakistan to demand the Afghan Taliban hand over the TTP leadership. But Islamabads relationship with the Taliban is complicated. Pakistans powerful military, which shepherds the countrys Afghan policy, has ties to the Taliban leadership going back more than 40 years to an earlier invasion. Then, together with the U.S., they fought and defeated the invading former Soviet Union. After the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan was accused by Washington and its Afghan allies of aiding the Taliban. Pakistan denied the accusations, even as Taliban leaders and their families lived in Pakistan while waging their insurgency against Kabul. But the Taliban also have interests divergent from Pakistans, particularly the issue of the two countries 2,500-kilometer (1,600-mile) border. Afghanistan has never recognized the border, known as the Durand Line, which was drawn by British colonial administrators in the 19th Century. Last week, Afghan Taliban anger over Pakistans construction of a border fence threatened to turn violent. Videos shared on social media showed Taliban destroying rolls of barbed wire meant for the fence and threatening to open fire on Pakistani troops. The Talibans Defense Ministry issued a statement saying Pakistan had no right to erect a border fence. On Wednesday Pakistans military spokesman Gen. Babar Iftikar said the fence was 94% done and would be completed. The fence on the Pak-Afghan border is needed to regulate security, border crossing and trade, he said. The purpose of this is not to divide the people, but to protect them. Even if Pakistan were to ask the Taliban to hand over TTP leaders, it shouldnt expect any results, says Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal which tracks global militancy. The Afghan Taliban will not expel the TTP for the same reasons it wont expel al-Qaida, he said. Both groups played a key role in the Afghan Talibans victory. They fought alongside the Afghan Taliban and sacrificed greatly over the past 20 years. WASHINGTON As a raging band of his supporters scaled walls, smashed windows, used flagpoles to beat police and breached the U.S. Capitol in a bid to overturn a free and fair election, Donald Trumps excommunication from the Republican Party seemed a near certainty, his name tarnished beyond repair. Some of his closest allies, including Fox News Channel hosts like Laura Ingraham, warned that day that Trump was destroying his legacy. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough, said his friend and confidant Sen. Lindsey Graham. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader who worked closely with Trump to dramatically reshape the judiciary, later denounced him as morally responsible for the attack. But one year later, Trump is hardly a leader in exile. Instead, he is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and a leading contender for the 2024 presidential nomination. Trump is positioning himself as a powerful force in the primary campaigns that will determine who gets the partys backing heading into the fall midterms, when control of Congress, governors offices and state election posts are at stake. At least for now, theres little stopping Trump as he makes unbending fealty to his vision of the GOP a litmus test for success in primary races, giving ambitious Republicans little incentive to cross him. Lets just say Im horrendously disappointed, said former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a longtime Republican who now serves on the advisory committee of the Renew America Movement, a group trying to wrest the party away from Trumps control. His ego was never going to let him accept defeat and go quietly into the night, she added. But what I am surprised by is how deferential so many of the Republican elected officials have been. Rather than expressing any contrition for the events of Jan. 6, Trump often seems emboldened and has continued to lie about his 2020 election loss. He frequently and falsely says the real insurrection was on Nov. 3, the date of the 2020 election when Democrat Joe Biden won in a 306-232 Electoral College victory and by a 7 million popular vote margin. Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. Undaunted, Trump is preparing for another run for the White House in 2024, and polls suggest that, at the moment, he would easily walk away with the GOP nomination. For Trump, the extraordinary outcome is the product of sheer will and a misinformation campaign that began long before the election, when he insisted the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged and wouldnt commit to accepting defeat. His refusal to accept reality has flourished with the acquiescence of most Republican leaders, who tend to overlook the gravity of the insurrection for fear of fracturing a party whose base remains tightly aligned with Trump and his effort to minimize the severity of what happened on Jan. 6. Here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election, Biden said in a speech Thursday at the Capitol that did not mention Trump by name. Hes done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interest as more important than his countrys interest and Americas interest. And because his bruised ego means more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He cant accept he lost. Trump responded, accusing Biden of using his name to try to further divide America. This political theater is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed, he said in a statement. At least nine people who were at the Capitol died during or after the rioting, including a woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break into the House chamber. But less than half of Republicans recall the attack as violent or extremely violent, according to a poll released this week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. About 3 in 10 Republicans said the attack was not violent. The situation has stunned and depressed critics in both political parties who were convinced the insurrection would force Republicans to abandon the Trump era once and for all. He became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. The second impeachment centered on his role in sparking the insurrection, but Trump was acquitted in a Senate trial, a clear indication that he would face few consequences for his actions. There was this hope when we were in the safe room that we would go back and the Republicans would see how crazy this was, how fragile our democracy was, what President Trump had done, and that they would renounce that and we would all come together, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., describing the events that day. Instead, she said, there were people defending the insurrectionists and defending Trump and continuing with the challenge and the Big Lie. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican who, with Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, has emerged as one of the few GOP anti-Trump critics in Congress, had predicted Trumps hold on the party would be gone by the summer. But Kinzinger, who recently announced his decision not to run for reelection, blamed House Republican leader and Trump ally Kevin McCarthy for proving him wrong. What I underestimated was the impact that one person would have on that, and that is Kevin McCarthy and his visit to Mar-a-Lago, Kinzinger said, referring to a trip McCarthy took to Florida in late January 2021 as the party was on the verge of disarray. With their eyes on retaking the House in 2022, Trump and McCarthy agreed to work together and released a photograph showing them smiling side by side. Kevin McCarthy is legitimately, singlehandedly the reason that Donald Trump is still a force in the party, Kinzinger said. That full-hearted embrace, I saw firsthand in members, made them not just scared to take on Trump but in some cases also full-heartedly embrace him. Aides to McCarthy didnt respond to a request for comment on Kinzingers characterization. Others, however, point to fractures that suggest Trumps power is waning. Banned from Twitter and denied his other social media megaphones, Trump no longer controls the news cycle like he did in office. He canceled a news conference that was scheduled for Thursday following pressure from some Republican allies, who warned that such an event was ill-advised. During last years most prominent elections, Republicans like Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin strategically kept Trump at arms length. Youngkins victory created a possible model for candidates running in battleground states where suburban voters uncomfortable with the former president are a key bloc. While Trumps endorsement remains coveted in many midterm primary races, it has also failed to clear the field in some key races. Trump has similarly struggled to prevent other Republicans from eyeing the 2024 presidential nomination. His former vice president, secretary of state and a handful of Senate allies have made frequent trips to early voting states, preparing for potential campaigns and refusing to rule out running against Trump. When somebody walks out of the most powerful office in the world, the Oval Office, to sit by the swimming pool at Mar-a-Lago, his influence declines, said John Bolton, Trumps former national security adviser. Bolton has funded extensive national and state-level polling on the subject over the last year that has found Trumps sway and the power of his endorsement waning considerably since he left office. I really think that the evidence is clear that the people are done with Trump, Bolton said. He still has support, but it is declining. Honestly, its not declining as fast as I would like to see and its not down to zero. But among real people, it is declining. Trump is also facing a flurry of investigations, including in New York, where prosecutors are investigating whether his real estate company misled banks and tax officials about the value of his assets, inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings. New York Attorney General Letitia James office confirmed this week that it has subpoenaed Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., as part of an investigation into the familys business practices. Both children have been prominent political surrogates for Trump. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the Jan. 6 committee continues to investigate the Trump White Houses involvement in the deadly insurrection. Trump still has his eyes on 2024, even as he continues to obsess over the 2020 election. After spending 2021 raising money and announcing his endorsements of candidates who have parroted his election lies up and down the ballot, Trumps team is preparing to pivot to helping those candidates win with a stepped-up rally schedule and financial support, including transfers to candidate accounts and targeted advertising. Trump, according to allies, sees the midterms as a foundation for his next campaign, and intends to use the cycle to position himself for his partys nomination. Voting rights advocates, meanwhile, are increasingly worried as states with Republican legislatures push legislation that would allow them to influence or overrule the vote in future elections. They fear what might happen if Trump-endorsed candidates for secretary of state and attorney general who say the election was stolen find themselves in positions that could sway the outcome in 2024. Its a concerted effort to undermine our publics confidence in the electoral system, so in 2022 and 2024, if they dont like the elections and this is Republicans they can overturn it, said Whitman, who also serves as co-chair of States United Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to protect the integrity of future elections. We are in a very, very fragile place. ___ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show Trumps post-election meeting with McCarthy was in 2021, not 2020. BISHKEK, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyzstan-China friendly relations have been upgraded and become a role model of interstate relations, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov said here Wednesday. Zhaparov made the remarks at a commemorative party marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kyrgyzstan and China. Zhaparov in his speech spoke highly of the economic and social development of China and the traditional friendship between the peoples of the two countries. "Over the past 30 years, significant progress has been achieved in strengthening bilateral cooperation and developing multifaceted interaction," he said. Zhaparov also thanked China for its support and assistance to Kyrgyzstan in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and developing the country's economy. He said that Kyrgyzstan attaches great importance to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation with China and considers the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as a new starting point for further strengthening cooperation with China in various fields, as well as in international organizations and regional affairs. Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen in her speech stressed that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Kyrgyzstan relations have developed by leaps and bounds, reached a new level of comprehensive strategic partnership. Du praised the fruitful results achieved by China and Kyrgyzstan over the past 30 years in political, economic and trade, security, people-to-people areas, BRI cooperation and in the fight against the pandemic. The Northern harrier sometimes referred to as marsh hawk is one of my favorite raptors. This hawk is widespread throughout North America. It is a medium-sized raptor with long, broad wings, long tail and a very noticeable white rump patch. The sexes and juveniles look quite different from each other. The adult males are grayish on the back with a pale breast and dark wing tips. The adult females are brownish overall with brown streaking on the breast. Juveniles have a rusty-colored breast with a dark head. This is the only raptor with an owl-like facial structure. The noticeable white rump patch is always present. This raptor prefers open grasslands, pastures, farmlands and marshes. It is often seen flying low to the ground in search of food. Mid-to-Northern New Mexico is in the harriers winter to year-round range. One place that I consistently see Northern harriers year-round is at the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex south of Albuquerque. The open farm fields and marsh areas are the perfect habitat for this species. Harriers can also be seen in open pastures along the Rio Grande Valley and the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro. During fall migration, I have even seen Northern harriers flying low over my neighborhood in Albuquerque. Northern harriers forage on the wing, flying low over the ground searching for food by sight and sound. Their owl-like, disk-shaped face has stiff facial feathers that help direct sounds to their ears which assist in detecting small prey. Their foods include small mammals, reptiles and birds. They will sometimes take on larger prey like rabbits and ducks. During the summer nesting season the male harrier establishes a territory and courts a female by performing an elaborate aerial display. The male flies in a roller coaster-like pattern up to 1,000 feet off the ground covering more than half a mile. A male will sometimes have up to five mates in one nesting season which surely keeps him very busy. The female tends to the nest and young while the male hunts for the food. Juvenile harriers play and practice hunting skills by pouncing on inanimate objects such as corncobs. Northern harriers are fairly common but in decline. Habitat loss including reforestation of the open agricultural lands needed for hunting, pesticide use and over grazing can negatively affect the harriers food supply. Fortunately, Northern harriers are still welcomed by most due to their ability to keep mouse populations under control. Mary Schmauss is the owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Albuquerque. A life-long birder and author of For the Birds: A Month-by-Month Guide to Attracting Birds to your Backyard. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed off Thursday on a plan to redraw the political boundary lines of New Mexicos 42 state Senate districts, putting an end at least for now to a bitter redistricting process. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, faced a Thursday deadline to act on the new Senate map, which generated fierce debate in the chamber during last months special session. It won approval on a 25-13 vote with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans in opposition. Specifically, GOP senators accused majority Democrats of backing out of a bipartisan deal and diluting the strength of Hispanic voters. The new map creates 15 districts where Hispanic residents make up a majority of the adult population. Thats one fewer than the existing map, using 2020 census data. Hispanic residents make up about 44% of the adult population in New Mexico. The map also pairs two Hispanic Republicans Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca of Belen and Sen. Joshua Sanchez of Bosque into one district, forcing them to either move or run against each other in 2024 to keep a legislative seat. During last months testy Senate floor debate on the new map, Baca called the plan racist and said Hispanic residents were being cheated of your seats. Two incumbent Democrats Gerald Ortiz y Pino and Bill ONeill, both of Albuquerque are also paired in the same district, but Ortiz y Pino has said he does not plan to seek reelection in 2024. Democrats currently outnumber Republicans in the Senate by a 26-15 margin. There is also one senator, Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque, who is not affiliated after leaving the Democratic Party. The map signed Thursday would establish 27 Democratic-leaning seats and 15 Republican-leaning seats, based on voting trends over the last 10 years, according to analysis by redistricting contractor Research & Polling Inc. The most competitive seat in the map is District 29, a seat that will cover parts of Belen and Socorro. Its also where Baca and Sanchez live. Republicans have had a 4 percentage point edge in the precincts now covered by the district the only seat within a 5 point margin. Six other seats are within 10 percentage points for one party or another. The map appears to be less competitive than the House plan. In the House map, 12 of 70 seats are within 5 percentage points, putting 17% of the chamber in extremely competitive districts. In the Senate plan, just one seat out of 42 is that close, or 2% of the chambers districts. The new Senate map reflects a consensus reached by Native American leaders around the state, who pushed back against attempts to make changes to the agreed-upon boundary lines for political reasons. I am grateful to the community leaders from across the state that held their ground for a representative map respectful of New Mexico communities large and small alike, ensuring that New Mexicans are fairly represented in the state Senate, Lujan Grisham said in a written statement. The governor has already signed new maps for New Mexicos three congressional districts, the state House and the Public Education Commission, though the state Republican Party has said it is studying possible court challenges to at least some of those plans. PHOENIX A judge has found that a man charged with sexually attacking and fatally stabbing two young women in separate killings nearly 30 years ago near a canal system in metro Phoenix is mentally fit to stand trial. In a ruling Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Suzanne Cohen agreed with two court-appointed mental health experts that Bryan Patrick Miller is psychologically competent to be tried on charges in the deaths of 22-year-old Angela Brosso in November 1992 and 17-year-old Melanie Bernas in September 1993. Another expert who was working with Millers defense team couldnt rule out the possibility that he was faking a mental disorder, the judge wrote. Even though Cohen resolved the question of whether Miller is now competent for trial, she hasnt yet ruled on a request by prosecutors to prohibit Miller from claiming at trial that he was insane at the time the crimes were committed. A prosecutor has characterized Millers insanity defense bid as a delay tactic, saying Millers lawyers didnt bring up such a defense until six years after the case was filed. In a court filing in September, Millers attorneys denied trying to delay their clients trial and said another expert working with the defense team will offer an opinion that Miller has dissociative amnesia, a mental disorder in which a person cant remember traumatic events. In ruling on Millers current mental fitness, Cohen wrote, other than the claimed inability to remember the charged offenses, defendant presently has a rational understanding of the charges against him and the nature of the proceedings. In an evaluation conducted by a defense expert, Miller denied having amnesia and appeared annoyed by the suggestion that he may have dissociative amnesia. The expert conceded Miller might be been faking amnesia, the judge wrote. R.J. Parker, one of Millers attorneys, didnt return phone messages seeking comment on the mental fitness ruling. Authorities said DNA evidence links Miller to the deaths Brosso and Bernas. Police said Miller denied any involvement in the killings but acknowledged living in the vicinity at the time and said he rode his bike on bike paths in the area. Miller has maintained he is innocent and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and attempted sexual assault. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Brosso and Bernas disappeared in north Phoenix near the Arizona Canal. Brosso was found nude and decapitated in a field near a bike path thats adjacent to the canal. Ten months later, Bernas body was discovered floating in the canal. Authorities said semen evidence collected in the aftermath of both crimes showed the attacks were linked to the same suspect. The killings faded from public attention after police were unable to link the DNA profile collected from the scenes to a specific suspect. The Phoenix Police Departments cold-case unit was on the cases again in 2011, according to court records. In 2014, a genealogist who uses ancestry databases in her research was given access to the DNA gathered in the investigations and eventually came up with the last name Miller. Bryan Miller had been on the police departments list of investigative leads in the case, according to court records. Authorities have said Miller was charged with but ultimately acquitted in the 2002 stabbing of a woman in Everett, Washington, after saying the woman tried to rob him. The Washington state case didnt require him to submit a DNA sample because he was acquitted. He later moved back to Arizona. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal A former state Taxation and Revenue Department employee pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to dozens of counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. George Martinez, 45, who served as unit supervisor and bureau chief of the Questionable Refund Unit, pleaded to 42 counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and six counts of money laundering. He faces a minimum of two years and maximum of 32 years in prison. Martinez, of Albuquerque, was indicted in March on the charges stemming from a scheme that took in more than $500,000 over several years. In his plea deal, Martinez acknowledged that, between 2011 and 2018, he used his position to alter taxpayer information and direct tax refunds totaling $689,797 into bank accounts he controlled. He copied already processed returns or created new ones in taxpayer accounts, and changed the withholding amounts to increase the refunds being funneled into his accounts, according to court documents. Martinez had worked for the department since 2002 and was investigated internally in 2018 before the case was referred to the FBI. Martinez was placed on leave after the internal investigation began, and left the department later that year. The case was investigated by the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Departments Tax Fraud Investigations Division assisted federal authorities. https://www.goldenglobes.com/ TV The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) states that the winners will be announced throughout a 90-minute gathering at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, January 9. Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - This 2022 Golden Globe Awards will be so much different than the previous ones. It was unveiled that the 79th annual event is set to take place without a red carpet, press and celebrities in attendance. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) made the announcement on Tuesday, January 4. In addition to the absence of celebrities and media, there won't be a live audience. It said that the winners will be announced throughout a 90-minute gathering at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday. "In addition to recognizing 2021's best in film and television, the Golden Globe Awards will shine a light on the long-established philanthropy work of the HFPA, showcasing a range of grantees during the program," the release also read. The decision was taken amid rising COVID-19 cases and the Omicron variant concerns as well as continued controversy surrounding the HFPA. Last year, the Los Angeles Times divulged that HFPA's 87-member group of international journalists had no Black members. The controversy led NBC, its longtime broadcasting partner for the Globes, to refuse to air this year's ceremony. "We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform," NBCUniversal said in a statement at the time. "However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right," the message further read. "As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes." The HFPA itself has issued its own statement. "Regardless of the next air date of the Golden Globes, implementing transformational changes as quickly - and as thoughtfully - as possible remains the top priority for our organisation," it read. "We invite our partners in the industry to the table to work with us on the systemic reform that is long overdue, both in our organisation as well as within the industry at large," the statement concluded. https://www.grammy.com/ Music In a joint statement by the Recording Academy and CBS, they say, 'We look forward to celebrating Music's Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.' Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - The Recording Academy has scrapped plans to celebrate the 2022 Grammy Awards later this month. In a joint statement, the organizer and CBS announced that the 64th annual ceremony is officially put on hold due to rising COVID-19 cases and the Omicron variant concerns. "After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show," the statement read. "The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority." "Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks," the message added. "We look forward to celebrating Music's Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon." The announcement came just a few days after sources told Billboard that the Recording Academy officials were "likely" to delay this year's ceremony because of the same reason. The event itself was slated to be held at the Crypto.com Arena, formerly the Staples Center, in Los Angeles with Trevor Noah serving as a host once again. The Recording Academy also hasn't revealed the new dates for other events. They included the MusiCares gala, set for January 29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Clive Davis and the Recording Academy's Pre-Grammy Gala, set for January 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Last year's Grammy Awards were also postponed. The officials moved the 63rd annual event from January to March 14, 2021 due to "the deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles" at that time. The show ultimately took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center with a smaller in-person audience. Instagram Celebrity The U.S. Marshalls, Memphis Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announce that one of the suspects is a 23-year-old man named Justin Johnson and release his photo. Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - An investigation into Young Dolph's death has finally shown a major progress. On Wednesday, January 5, authorities revealed the identity of one of the alleged gunmen who opened fire at a cookie shop where the late rapper picked up some cookies for his mother. The U.S. Marshalls, Memphis Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have announced that one of the suspects is a 23-year-old man named Justin Johnson. He is wanted by police in connection with a number alleged charges, including first-degree murder, criminal attempted first-degree murder and property theft. Authorities released his photo on social media in hopes of locating the suspect. His description says he is 5-foot-8 tall, weighs 190 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Law enforcement says Justin is on the TBI Most Wanted list, has ties to organized crime and should be considered armed and dangerous. He has the name "Jaiya" tattooed on his right arm. According to his social media page, Justin appears to be a local rapper who goes by the name StraightDrop. The law enforcement agencies offered a combined award of $15,000 for information leading to his arrest. Authorities released a photo of Young Dolph's murder suspect identified as Justin Johnson. The news, however, doesn't serve as any consolation whatsoever for Young Dolph's family. The slain rapper's aunt Rita Myers told Rolling Stone after the suspect was identified, "There's not any closure for us with this news, because [Johnson] is not in custody, and we still don't have all the facts." "We still feel the same. This news just made me feel worse," she added, before explaining, "I thought it would make me feel better, but it didn't. All I know is, anyone who could walk up and take the life of another person for no reason is someone with hate in their heart, a person who has no regard for life, a person who cares about nothing." "Our family has suffered a tremendous loss, because he was the glue that held our family together," Rita said of her nephew. "I'm still crying, day and night. We were very close. And it's not just me, it's the whole family. I couldn't even say 'Merry Christmas,' or celebrate my birthday, or say 'Happy New Year' to anyone, because I don't feel that. It's like we lost a part of ourselves, and I can't see an end to the suffering and hurt." Dolph, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was shot and killed while he was visiting Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies in Memphis on November 17, 2021. He was laid to rest on Tuesday, November 30 at the cemetery across from Hamilton High School, Dolph's alma mater. MTV TV Ronnie, who was arrested for domestic violence, Announced His Exit From The Show Back In May 2021 Shortly After Filming Started Up Again For The New Batch Of Episodes. Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - Ahead of new season of "Jersey Shore Family Vacation", cast members discussed Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's exit back in May 2021. In a new interview, all of them showed nothing but support for their former co-star. "I think that was a really good decision, I support that," DJ Pauly D told TooFab. He added, "I feel like mental health is the, ultimately, the most important thing you can do for yourself." The MTV personality went on to say, "You gotta get yourself right before you get anything else in your whole life right. I support him stepping away, checking in with himself and getting himself right mentally first." Fellow "Jersey Shore" star Angelina Pivarnick echoed the sentiment. "We just wish him the best, you know?" She continued, "Me, I was the closest one to Ron, I just wish him -- we all wish him -- nothing but the best. That's all we can say. Wish you the best." Ronnie announced his exit from the show back in May 2021, shortly after filming started up again for the new batch of episodes. He revealed that he made the decision o focus on his mental health, following a domestic violence arrest in April. "After talking to the team at MTV, we have mutually agreed that I will step away from the show while I seek medical treatment for mental health issues that I've ignored for too long," Ronnie shared at the time. "My number one goal now is facing my struggles head on. This process will be difficult but my #1 priority is to get healthy and be the best man and the best father I can for my daughter." At the time, the L.A. City Attorney's office announced they will not be seeking charges against the 35-year-old star in his domestic violence case involving an anonymous woman. Instead, authorities decided to file a probation violation stemming from his April 22 arrest on suspicion of intimate partner violence with injury. Ronnie was on probation at the time of the incident. "We are very happy that after further investigation both the L.A. County District Attorney's office and the L.A. City Attorney's office determined that criminal charges were not warranted against Ronnie related to the incident that occurred in April," Ronnie's lawyers, Scott Lemon and Leonard Levine, said in a statement regarding the D.A.'s decision. They went on to add that they would review the alleged probation violation claim "and deal with it accordingly." That aside, season 5 of "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" will premiere on Thursday, January 6 on MTV. WENN/NBC/Avalon Movie The 'Problem with Jon Stewart' host slams a news outlet which ran a story about him allegedly calling out J. K. Rowling for 'anti-Semitic' Goblins, claiming that his comments were made lightheartedly. Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - Jon Stewart has been a fan of "Harry Potter" and he still is. The comedian has set things straight after reports claimed that he accused J. K. Rowling and her famous series of anti-Semitism with its portrayal of goblins. On Wednesday, January 5, the former "The Daily Show" host addressed the matter in a video posted on his Instagram page. He denied accusing the British author of anti-Semitism, stressing that his comments were made lightheartedly. "I do not think J.K. Rowling is anti-Semitic," Stewart said in the clip. "I did not accuse her of being anti-Semitic. I do not think the 'Harry Potter' movies are anti-Semitic. I really love the 'Harry Potter' movies, probably too much for a gentleman of my considerable age." "I cannot stress this enough," he continued. "I am not accusing J.K. Rowling of being anti-Semitic. She need not answer to any of it. I don't want the 'Harry Potter' movies censored in any way. It was a lighthearted conversation. Get a f**king grip." Stewart went on slamming a news outlet which ran the story about his previous comments on the "Harry Potter" series. "So let me say this instead to Newsweek. Your business model is f**king arson. And not the good kind," he angrily said. "And now all the s**t heads pile into this ridiculously out of context nonsense that you put out there," he added. "The internet economy is f**ked. You have no idea how this thing is taken off. It makes you not want to say anything." Previously, in a recent podcast tied to his AppleTV+ podcast "The Problem with Jon Stewart", the 59-year-old drew parallels between the goblin creatures in the "Harry Potter" series to characters in the 1903 book The Protocols of "The Elders of Zion", which is known as anti-Semitic text. "Here's how you know Jews are still where they are," he explained to his guests. "Talking to people, here's what I say: 'Have you ever seen a 'Harry Potter' movie? Have you ever seen the scenes in Gringotts Bank? Do you know what those folks who run the bank are? Jews!' And they're like, 'Oh, [that illustration is] from 'Harry Potter! ' " He continued sharing, "And you're like, 'No, that's a caricature of a Jew from an anti-Semitic piece of literature.' J.K. Rowling was like, 'Can we get these guys to run our bank?' It's a wizarding worldwe can ride dragons, you can have a pet owl but who should run the bank? Jews. But what if the teeth were sharper?" "It was one of those things where I saw it on the screen and I was expecting the crowd to be like, 'Holy ****, [Rowling] did not, in a wizarding world, just throw Jews in there to run the f**king underground bank. And everybody was just like, 'Wizards.' It was so weird," Stewart, who is Jew, said. However, on Wednesday, the Campaign Against Antisemitism defended Rowling and her works, noting in a statement that "the portrayal of the goblins in the 'Harry Potter' series is of a piece with their portrayal in Western literature as a whole." The organization claimed, "It is the product of centuries of association with Jews with grotesque and malevolent creatures in folklore, as well as money and finance." "The mythological associations have become so ingrained in the Western mind that their provenance no longer registers with creators or consumers," the U.K.-based organization argued, noting that any similarity between Rowling's goblins and anti-Semitic illustrations "is a testament more to centuries of Christendom's antisemitism than it is to malice by contemporary artists." In the "Harry Potter" series, goblins are depicted as magical creatures who are intelligent and good with money. According to the "Harry Potter" wiki, "Due to their skills with money and finances, they control the wizarding economy to a large extent and run Gringotts Wizarding Bank." WENN/FayesVision Celebrity That isn't the only thing that the 'Emily in Paris' star has done to the royals that can get her in trouble as she one threw an object at Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles. Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - p> Lily Collins has an unforgettable memory with Princess Diana. During her appearance on "The Late Late Show With James Corden", the "Emily in Paris" actress recalled her experience meeting the late British royal when she was young. "Here you are with your dad Phil Collins, this is you here being handed some flowers from Princess Diana," host James Corden said while showing a picture of Lily and both her parents and the princess. "Do you have any recollection of this moment in time?" To that question, the 32-year-old actress said, "I've been told this is what happened. That's my mom and my dad and I and it's at a Prince's Trust event." She revealed that she was tasked to give "Diana flowers, but the second that she went to take them, I then tried to pull them back." "So as you can imagine, all the air was sucked out of the room," Lily shared. Unfortunately for Lily, who was only 2 years old at the time, she was too cute to be punished. "I was wearing a cute dress, so who's going to really punish me there," she quipped. That wasn't the only thing that Lily did to the royals that could get her in trouble. The British star shared that when she was younger she threw an object at Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles. "I was playing with some toys with Prince Charles and I proceeded to kind of like throw something at him, like throw a toy telephone at his head, which, again, all the air was sucked out of the room," Lily recalled. The "To the Bone" actress also claimed that it happened when she was 2. As to why Lily was around the royals quite often, she explained that it was because her musician father was involved in their charitable endeavors. "My dad did a lot of stuff with the Prince's Trust so and I grew up in England, I'm British," she said, "I just went along for the ride and I guess I had a tendency to do naughty things as a 2-year-old." People line up for COVID-19 testing in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 5, 2022. The United States shattered a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron variant and government decisions to ease prevention and control measures in the country. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Soaked in massive COVID-19 waves magnified by the Omicron variant, many European countries are suffering a tough start of the new year and the United States is no exception, only that the recent blizzards have made the situation there even worse. U.S.: OMICRON COUPLED WITH SNOWSTORM Shattering a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron, the United States remains the country worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's largest caseload and highest death toll. "The rapid spread of COVID-19's Omicron variant is weighing on U.S. businesses, keeping more workers home sick or quarantined and leading some companies to cut services and reduce hours," reported The Wall Street Journal. The rise of infections to record levels in recent days has resulted in thousands of canceled flights, prompted retailers to train available employees on new jobs or close some stores altogether, companies were quoted as saying. The massive cancellation of flights, apparently, was caused not only by COVID-19, but also by the heavy snowstorms on the country's East Coast, which caused severe power outage in several states and forcing the federal government in Washington, D.C. to close on Monday. In Maryland, two women and a man died after their vehicle collided with a snow plow on Monday, and another man was hospitalized in critical condition, reported The New York Times. The mid-Atlantic and New England regions will face the second snowstorm of the week from Thursday night into Friday, according to weather-forecasting service agency AccuWeather. "Accumulating snow will be disruptive across a large swath of the Northeast, including major cities from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston," it said on Wednesday. EUROPE: SURGING INFECTIONS Across the Atlantic, the Omicron variant has sent Britain's daily COVID-19 infections surging over Christmas and the New Year, with 157,758 cases reported in England and Scotland on Monday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the National Health Service will be under "considerable" pressure in the coming weeks amid the wave of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. France, Greece and Croatia have reported record daily COVID-19 cases while the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 percent and 79 percent respectively. Cases have soared in Greece despite strict measures during the holiday season. The National Public Health Organization on Tuesday registered an all-time high of 50,126 infections within 24 hours. In Hungary, official data on Wednesday showed 5,270 new infections in a 24-hour span, more than doubling the figures recorded in the previous few weeks. Official data showed that the surge of new COVID-19 infections was largely fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and the situation was worsened by gatherings during the holiday season. In order to counter the spread of the Omicron variant, officials and experts have once again made appeals for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Enditem People line up for COVID-19 testing in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 5, 2022. The United States shattered a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron variant and government decisions to ease prevention and control measures in the country. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) A man takes a self-administered COVID-19 test in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 5, 2022. The United States shattered a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron variant and government decisions to ease prevention and control measures in the country. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) A man takes a self-administered COVID-19 test in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 5, 2022. The United States shattered a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron variant and government decisions to ease prevention and control measures in the country. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) A man waits for COVID-19 testing in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 5, 2022. The United States shattered a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron variant and government decisions to ease prevention and control measures in the country. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) WENN/Instagram/Avalon Celebrity The 'Hurricane' rapper reportedly hires his own photographer who follows him around to document his life as 'he's decided to take matters into his own hands.' Jan 6, 2022 AceShowbiz - Kanye West is seemingly ready to give the world a look into his personal life. The rapper, who opted to not be featured on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" during his marriage to Kim Kardashian, is reportedly letting a photographer tail him on his dates with Julia Fox. Sources tell Page Six that the Yeezy designer brought along his very own photographer while he and the actress saw the "Slave Play" together on Tuesday, January 4 in New York. "Kanye definitely had a photog with him," a source claims. During the Broadway date, the rumored couple hung out with playwright Jeremy O. Harris and the cast "afterward in the cool August Wilson Lounge" at the theater, says another eyewitness. "They peeled off from the theater after an hour with playwright Harris." Multiple source claim that Ye also had a photographer with him when he recently had a romantic candlelight dinner with Julia at Carbone in Miami. That explains how pictures of the pair's cozy night out surfaced online although they reportedly dined in a private room. According to a source familiar with the situation, the shutterbug could be part of a potentially larger project on Kanye's life. The "Donda" artist is reportedly hiring the photographer to document his life as he is keen on controlling the narrative about him. "He's decided to take matters into his own hands," the source says of the father of three. "He has an incredible life, he meets the craziest people on the planet. He realized maybe he should have an album of his life." After their dinner date at Carbone and Julia's sighting at Kanye's hotel balcony in Miami, a source confirmed to Page Six, "Julia and Ye are dating." Noting that they are both single, the source added, "They both just got out of their former relationships." "They've helped each other recover immensely," the source said of what Kanye and Julia has meant to each other. As to why they seem to click, the source claimed, "They're kind of kindred spirits, and it's cool to watch." New Delhi-based marcom agency Flags Communications has bagged the PR mandate for Esprit, a 50-year-old American watch brand. The agency will be responsible for managing the end-to-end PR solutions in India. Esprits India partner AP Group is all geared to reconstruct the brand in the market with a big bang. More than 50 years of catching the zeitgeist, positivity, and sustainability, Esprit is an affordable premium lifestyle brand for high-quality and consciously sourced apparel, accessories, bodywear, and homewear, with worldwide distribution. Arzoo Jaiminy, Marketing Head, AP Group, said: "Esprit watches relaunch in India Market is a great responsibility of AP group and we wanted to associate with the partners who are totally dependable. We worked with Flags PR team during the Covid times and the commitment level of the team is unparalleled. We are very impressed with their PR strategies and the focused approach towards every aspect of PR. We see this partnership going a long way creating a great impact in the market and getting the desired output for the brand." Shruti Mishra, Senior Vice President, Flags Communications Pvt. Ltd., said: We are thankful to the AP Group for placing their trust in Flags PR and we are sure that together we will be able to create great results for Esprit in the Indian Market. Esprits new collection has given great confidence to us that the brand will be well accepted and endorsed in the market. Flags Communications has established itself as a leading multi-practice and full-service Marcom agency over the period of 15+ years and our relentless working approach in every project has always yielded great results for our clients. We are hoping for a great collaboration ahead. Esprit was founded in San Francisco in 1968 as a brand for people who want to create positive change. The original name "esprit de corp," which embodies just that: the spirit shared by members of a group - pride, fellowship, and common loyalty. Further cementing its position as the preferred News platform among the young viewers, India Ahead has launched one of the biggest youth-focussed programme Voice of Youth presented by Avita. Keeping in mind the sizeable first-time voters and huge young demography, Voice of Youth in phase-1 is traveling to 5 prominent universities in Uttar Pradesh for insightful discussions with young thought leaders. Voice of Youth will be aired every Sunday at 6 PM only on India Ahead and popular bite-sized short videos will be used to increase engagement across social media platforms. Amitabh Bhatnagar, Group COO India Ahead News, at the launch of the activity said, GenZ and Millennials are armed with self-belief and confidence. Voice of Youth on India Ahead is a platform where the youth can express their opinion freely on a wide range of topics. Editor-in-Chief, Bhupendra Chaubey added, India Ahead has been consistently highlighting issues of Young Indians with our mega-coverage of NEET controversy and subsequent reports on state board and other competitive entrance exams. Voice of Youth on India Ahead is the next step towards increasing our engagement with our young viewers. While everyone claims to be talking on behalf of youth, we want to focus on knowing the real issues, aspirations, fears and challenges of the youth beyond what is projected in popular media. Seema Bhatnagar, Regional Business Director South Asia and MEA, Nexstgo Company Limited, also talked about their association with the activity, This thoughtful initiative by India Ahead will help Avita to connect with the country's youth-centric population at a more personal level. At AVITA, we believe in the power of young minds and through this campaign, we aim to help the leaders of tomorrow to hold insightful discussions in the society. Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. today announced its entry into six new markets in India, marking its largest store expansion in a year. The entry into Siliguri, Nashik, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa and Bhubaneshwar, demonstr ates Tata Starbucks` commitment to accelerating the Starbucks Experience for customers across India. With a growing base of coffee enthusiasts across the country, the brand makes its first appearance in the states of Assam, Goa and Odisha. ALSO READ: This festive season add the Starbucks magic to your corporate gifting Tata Starbucks is grounded in growing with its partners and customers together and thus expanding our footprint in India is a matter of great pride for us, said Sushant Dash, ceo, Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. "As we bring the authentic Starbucks experience to six more communities across the country, I would like to thank our more than 2,000 partners in India for their passion and commitment and for being our constant pillars of support. Each new store in the six cities is a celebration of the people who represent the diverse culture of the region. The stores are a fusion of the signature Starbucks warm and welcoming design and the citys local culture and craftsmanship, serving as an extension of the neighbourhoods we serve: In Goa, the store design in inspired by the local architecture of the Fountainhas streets or the Latin Quarter of the market, reflected throughout the wall panels and mouldings of the store. In Thiruvananthapuram, the natural landscapes of soft curvy timber shapes are carved on the wall to reflect the beauty of this area. The interior design of Starbucks store in Guwahati, Assam, celebrates locally-sourced architectural materials. Guwahati also marks Starbucks 250th store in the country. Taking inspiration from the unique, terraced landscape of the tea farms, the first Starbucks store in Siliguri creates a moment of connection between the customers and their natural surroundings. The store in Bhubaneshwar is heavily inspired by the uniqueness of the heritage temple and its architecture. And, the companys first store in Nashik brings forward the emotional connection between the agricultural tradition of the city and the brands tradition of growing coffee around the world. Starbucks will also bring My Starbucks RewardsTM loyalty program to each of the cities, which provides members with a host of rewards and personalized benefits as they make Starbucks a part of their daily lives. Starbucks brand merchandise and free Wi-Fi will be available across all stores. With 252 stores in 26 cities, Starbucks stores across the country have re-opened for dine-in and takeaway in-line with the guidelines issued for the respective cities. With safety being of utmost priority, Tata Starbucks continues to observe round-the-clock cleaning, sanitizing and additional precautions such as floor markers for social distancing in waiting areas, temperature checks for all partners and customers and facial coverings and gloves for delivery executives and partners. Tata Starbucks has also introduced contactless order and payment methods, such as Mobile Order and Pay through the Starbucks India mobile application. So, customers can enjoy a safe, familiar, and convenient Starbucks Experience. *In store offerings and menus change as per the season Reenav Modi has joined The Coca-Cola Company as Head of Media for South Africa. At Coca-Cola, he will be part of the IMX team and will be responsible for managing relationship with the media agency and ensuring media is one of the key levers to drive business growth. Before joining The Coca-Cola Company, Modi was associated with Mediacom South Africa for more than 3 years and was responsible for managing the P&L and ensuring the business is contributing to the overall profitability of the company. His previous stints include Mindshare and Omnicom Media Group. Ventes and Picsart rolled out a 5-day Tanishq Challenge where creators were challenged to use various backgrounds and a Tanishq necklace to make creative edits. Recently, Tanishq wanted to garner engagement for the launch of its new Utsaah Collection, a collection capturing the joy of togetherness, friendship, courage, and determination. Ventes Avenues, a mobile ad tech company specializing in Mobile Performance, Branding, Technology, and Audience Solution, planned a campaign, engaging the Picsart community. Picsart is a digital creation platform helping brands engage with their users in organic and unique ways, while also garnering massive reach and brand awareness. ALSO READ: Tanishq launches 'The Rivaah Brides of Bombay' Picsart created two Replays, a simple series of edits a user can apply to an image in just a few clicks, showcasing the Tanishq Utsaah Collection with various Jewellery as objects that the user can avail in their creatives and adjust however they deem fit. The Replays were pinned on top of the Picsart homepage to garner maximum engagement. As a result, Replays garnered 25.84 Mn views in seven days, marking the whole campaign a huge success! Tanasha Amlani, Dep. Brand Manager at Tanishq said, We wanted to encourage our loved community to adorn the Utsaah collection in real-time and be the authentic face of celebration and cheer. This collaboration lead to people adding their own charm to the intricately crafted pieces and elevated the Utsaah this festive season Ravish Jain, Country Head, India at Picsart said Our community loves interacting with brands in this unique way, and Tanishqs new collection fits beautifully into the images they created. This is a great way for a brand to get their product in front of our large audience in the format they are used to: creativity! Ventes and Picsart also rolled out a 5-day Tanishq Challenge where creators were challenged to use various backgrounds and a Tanishq necklace to make creative edits. The winner of the challenge received a chance to be featured in the Picsart Winners Gallery - another opportunity for recognition! In-app promotions and push notifications further helped ramp up the campaign, paving the way for higher user engagement and interaction with brand integration. Fauzan Rahim, Co-Founder, Ventes Avenues commented It has been a delight to collaborate with Tanishq for their Utsaah campaign. When we were first briefed on the Tanishq Utsaah festive Campaign, we fathomed Picsart A Digital Creation platform that was tailor-made for the Utsaah Campaign. Given, festivities were around the corner and people were very active on Social Media apps to share their pictures and stories, Picsart is where they first ended up adding creativity and enhancing their pictures making it the aptest platform to generate user engagement for Tanishq Utsaah Campaign. We would like to thank Tanishq for taking this leap of faith and trusting us and our recommendation to successfully run their campaign. Exactly a year back, Tata Pravesh opened Gajraj Raos eyes to the virtues of steel doors & windows over wood in the first ever thematic film for the brand. It drove home the message that Tata Pravesh wall opening solutions are Akela Hi Kaafi because they have unmatched strength, are termite and fire-resistant, weatherproof and maintenance-free. The campaign with the film as its centrepiece led to an exponential increase in google searches, sales call volume, organic website traffic and intent to purchase. While the campaign had a significant impact on awareness of the category and brand and consideration for Tata Pravesh, it did not have as much of an effect on actual purchase in terms of average monthly customers. The spike in customers could have been much more if only they had called Tata Pravesh before installing the door frame. How would that have helped? The prevalent practice in our country is to install the door frame at the time of brickwork. So when walls are being constructed, frames for doors and windows are embedded in the masonry. Customers who had decided to purchase Tata Pravesh after being exposed to the campaign found that they could not because they had already installed ordinary frames in their walls. Tata Pravesh products fit only the frames they come with. Breaking down the wall to remove the ordinary frames was not an option. Hence, even with the best of intentions, such customers had to settle for wooden doors & windows. How would calling Tata Pravesh before installing the frame help? Customer care personnel would advise the Individual Home Builders [IHBs] on the exact size of opening to be kept in the walls for Tata Pravesh doors & windows. Moreover, the IHB would be advised not to install an ordinary frame at the time of brickwork since Tata Pravesh products come with their own frames which can be easily screwed into a finished wall. It was imperative to get IHBs to call Tata Pravesh customer care before they installed an ordinary frame. How to get the message across so we bring the horse - the IHB - to the water and make him drink? The team at Wunderman Thompson needed the face of the brand - Gajraj Rao - who was riding the crest of a career wave - to deliver the message through a sequel to the first film. The message was 2-fold - Tata Pravesh comes with its own frame. So remember to call the customer care number before installing an ordinary frame. The Wunderman Thompson team needed twice the firepower of the first film to deliver this two-pronged message and turned to another actor who had hit a purple patch in the OTT space - Priyamani. This is the first time ever that Gajraj Rao and Priyamani share screen space, ensuring eyeballs for the TVC - The Surprise Visit. Gajraj plays a family man in the film which makes casting Priyamani all the more appropriate. The story begins with Priyamani calling on Gajraj to enquire about the stunning Tata Pravesh door at the entrance to his home. Gajraj is completely mesmerized by this ethereal beauty at his doorstep and a romance begins to brew in his imagination on overdrive. Watch The Surprise Visit to know what happens next. A 360-degree campaign anchored by TV has been conceptualised to drive home the dual message. Produced by Small Fry Productions, the film - propelled by the combined celebrity of Gajraj and Priyamani - is supported by print, OOH, POS and digital. Animesh Roy, National Business Head - Tata Pravesh, Tata Steel Ltd. said: The previous campaign 'Akela Hi Kaafi Hai' helped Tata Pravesh enter the consideration set of customers and we're proud to be part of 50,000+ Indian homes. The latest film will hopefully bring many more households into the Tata Pravesh family. The popularity of Gajraj Rao & Priyamani will not only further enhance awareness of the brand but also effectively deliver the message that Tata Pravesh comes with its own frame and Individual Home Builders (IHBs) need to call us before installing an ordinary frame. Arjun Mukherjee, VP & Senior ECD, Wunderman Thompson, Kolkata said: In this film, we take up where we left off in the first one. Gajraj Rao is no longer the naive, unsuspecting customer of the first film. And Priyamani makes a heart-stopper of an appearance in this one. The effort was to tell the story in an entertaining and engaging way with penny drop moments that are sure to bring a smile. Who says you cant have fun while introducing a toll-free number? Vijay Jacob Parakkal, Senior VP & Managing Partner, Wunderman Thompson, Kolkata said: Getting Gajraj Rao and Priyamani together was a casting coup of sorts by the Wunderman Thompson team. They really helped bring this script to life and made it a very entertaining and memorable film. We are really looking forward to seeing the response to this new Tata Pravesh campaign. Credits Client: Tata Pravesh - a brand of Tata Steel. Agency: Wunderman Thompson Project Head: Vijay Jacob Parakkal, Sr. VP & Managing Partner Creative Team: Arjun Mukherjee, VP & Sr. ECD Anurag Acharya, Creative Director Partha Chowdhury, Sr. Creative Director Tandra Chakravarty, Sr. Creative Director Kaushik Roy, Creative Supervisor Account Management: Nilanjan Sarkar, Client Services Director Production house: Small Fry Productions Executive Producer: Ryan Suares Producer: Mahendra Solanki & Rohit Rathor Director: Alok Kulkarni DOP: Yash Khanna Music: Gaurav Chatterji COLOMBO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's tea industry performed well in 2021 earning 1.3 billion U.S. dollars despite lower yields and higher costs of production, state media reported on Thursday. Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board Jayampathy Molligoda was quoted by the state-owned Daily News as saying that Sri Lanka earned approximately 1.3 billion U.S. dollars from the export of 288 million kilos of tea in 2021. Molligoda said the cost of production of Sri Lankan tea is among the highest in the global market and tea production peaked in 2013 and has declined since then. He said auction prices in Kenya and India are cheaper than in Colombo. The chairman said Sri Lanka needs to "focus more on the front end of the value chain" by marketing the clean, sustainable and wellness aspects of Ceylon Tea. Tea is Sri Lanka's top agricultural export and accounted for 10.9 percent of total merchandise export revenue in 2021. Enditem Alton, IL (62002) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 68F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thundershowers overnight following a period of rain early. Low around 60F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Dry weather and resistance made for good conditions for soybean cyst nematodes in 2021, and Greg Tylka said the time is now for producers to take action. In this years Iowa State University SCN yield tests, seeds with Peking resistance once again performed well compared to the more commonly found PI-88788 resistance. SCN has shown resistance to the PI-88788 gene in recent years, said Tylka, a plant pathologist at Iowa State. Weve used nothing but (PI-88788) for almost 25 years, and the pest has become resistant to it, Tylka said. In those days, 25 years ago, Peking had lower yields than the 88788, so thats why companies bred with it. Peking has been a fractional part of the market share. Despite the higher performance in the Peking varieties these days, he said it makes up less than 5% of the options available to many Midwest farmers. Meanwhile, SCN populations continued to rise and drag on yield, making it time for a shift, Tylka said. We are going to continue to lose ground in the battle against SCN, Tylka said. Its frustrating to see this play out in slow motion, but its inevitable. Tylka encouraged farmers to talk to their seed dealers about seeing more Peking products in their seed options in order to limit the resistances already showing. Other management practices, such as seed treatments, are available, but are often less consistent at battling the pest. Let your voices be heard, Tylka said. Our data is consistent over the years that Peking performance just gets better every year compared to PI-88788. The dry weather seen in parts of the Midwest throughout the growing season played a large part in this years SCN boom, Tylka said. It made for ideal conditions for SCN, dragging on yield in their test plots. Its one of two things you can rely on with SCN, Tylka said. They thrive in dry soil. We dont know why that is yet, but the other part of it is they prefer higher pH soils. They are both universally true. With the potential of a soil moisture deficit going into the 2022 growing season, that could be a recipe for additional SCN activity in soybean fields. If possible, Tylka said this may be cause to reexamine the crop plan for the upcoming season. Beans on beans is a bad thing to consider if you had medium or high SCN last year, Tylka said. Some people may not have sampled in many years, so getting that done in early spring will allow them to get a handle on any SCN problems. CropWatch Weekly Update Get the Iowa and Illinois CropWatchers report delivered to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A new year means renewed activity in the markets, but the current news cycle is showing this may not be the best time to commit to either buying or selling. Don Roose, president and market analyst for U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa, said with crop expectations in South America in flux and export demand a major unknown, the best approach is a cautious one. I think you have to be careful with the market, Roose said. We are knocking on the door of South American harvest, and export pace is starting to slow because South America will pick it up. Weather markets are very dangerous because they come and go very fast. Corn markets rallied in December on major concerns about South American weather, but those sentiments have leveled out. Roose said weather rallies are a good time to buy, but they can get wiped out at a moments notice. He looks at wheat as an example. We just saw that in wheat, where it rallied on wet weather in Australia, Roose said. When we stopped, we found out the crop was bigger and Argentinas crop was bigger, now we are $1.20 off the top. When you have high input costs, theres nothing worse than having prices coming under pressure. The state of the market is also different as 2022 begins, Roose said. Corn and wheat are significantly higher than January 2021 when the increases began. Producers and traders werent sure prices would continue going up. With this year beginning at a higher level, and China having a normal crop, those increases may not repeat. Exports are a major point traders hope to learn more about in the Jan. 12 Supply and Demand report from the USDA. The figures of available crop and expected export business will be revealed, allowing traders an updated glimpse at what the future may hold for U.S. crops and how weather has affected the South American season. Yields so far have been bigger than people thought, Roose said. The exports on soybeans and our ending stocks on beans grow, but does the government increase ethanol demand? Thats the big question. What does the government say on the demand side of the market? CropWatch Weekly Update Get the Iowa and Illinois CropWatchers report delivered to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Choteau, MT (59422) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 64F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. Low 41F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Proposals for reparations to the descendants of slaves have been impractical and unfair. The payers are not the guilty parties, the payees are not the victims, and there seems to be no sensible basis for calculating the debt. Here's a suggested plan that has a rational basis and that pulls reparations from existing resources with only modest damage to the national fisc. Those with an appetite for reparations are salivating at the prospect of serious attention in Congress. Earlier this year, Bill H.R. 40, which would create a commission to study and recommend legislative action on reparations, was passed out of the House Judiciary committee on a party-line vote. Despite this renewed enthusiasm for reparations, there are reasons for skepticism about any proposal. First, reparations that the nation can afford will never satisfy the more zealous advocates. Second, there is no assurance that wealth alone, without the capacity to generate wealth, to start a business, to effectively take risks, to save and accumulate within their families will have an enduring impact on the cycle of Black urban poverty. (Glenn Loury, quoted here) For those still seeking a repast of reparations, the following proposal, albeit eccentric, is sweet and savory in small portions. Reparations for What? The major purpose of reparations is to compensate injured victims. The hypothetical impact of slavery in subsequent generations, an unknown and incalculable injury of a sort unrecognized at common law, is not compensable under any accepted legal theory. There are no circumstances in which a victims great-great-great-granddaughter, who was not alive at the time of the injury, can claim damages for indirect, remote effects of her ancestors experience. Rather, appropriate reparations for slavery should look to what slaves might reasonably have claimed as the spoils of war in the conflict that freed them. This quantity, in contemporary dollars, would be the amount owed todays descendants. By 2024 there will be about 50 million Americans identifying as Black (based upon PEW data, assuming the most inclusive definition of the group). The Civil War freed about four million slaves, though not all survived the immediate aftermath. For each ancestor, there are about twelve descendants entitled to receive a piece of the pie. How Much? Contemporary Models for Financial Restitution Thomas Craemer, a professor at the University of Connecticut, calculated the wages owed all slaves from the inception of the republic to the emancipation. He assumed that reparations should reimburse ex-slaves for their full time in custody as if these were hours of labor, 24 hours/day, and 365 days/year. He calculated a total debt of fourteen trillion dollars. William Darity offers another proposal that reaches a total of 10-12 trillion dollars. If we assume that, absent slavery and discrimination, African Americans as a group would have achieved wealth parity with Whites, then the objective of reparations should be to create such parity by a transfer of wealth, on the order of $800,000 to African American families. The median wealth of African Americans would slightly exceed that of White Americans, though the mean wealth would remain lower. Yet another approach to the debt, also the work of Craemer and others, using a wage-based method tend[s] to be higher [up to] $6.2 quadrillion as of 2018. This would result in disbursements of $124,000,000 to each African American (though assuming a population of 40,900,000, as reported in the linked article, each Black citizen would receive $151,630,000). Add in the value of lost freedom and 6% interest, and the total is a trifling $16 quadrillion. Two Historical Ideas for Reparation Had reparations been paid at the close of the Civil War, what might the ex-slaves have reasonably hoped to receive? Two examples help to answer that question. A freedman, Jourdon Anderson, having been asked to return to work on the plantation of his old master, dictated a letter that included an accounting of unpaid wages: I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy [his wife] twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty [1865] dollars. That amounts to $390,000 for the couple in todays money. Andersons thoughtful and unemotional estimate rings of moderation. Two million such payments to freed couples, distributed among fifty million descendants, would come to $15,600/descendant. At the Civil Wars end, Union General William T. Sherman ordered the redistribution of plantation lands, the spoils of war, to freed slaves, in parcels of up to forty acres, plus a mule. Sherman thus punished those most culpable for the institution of slavery while compensating the living victims, all in one fell swoop. The Union implicitly assumed responsibility for assigning the spoils fairly. But it failed to do so, as President Johnson soon reversed Shermans decree and restored property to the erstwhile slaveholders. Another Idea The Union incurred a huge moral and economic debt by reversing the plan to redistribute plantation land, even after 40,000 former slaves had occupied 400,000 acres. Johnsons dismissal of the claims of ex-slaves creates a compelling case for national responsibility, even if, prior to this, the South alone was at fault. A debt of land can be paid in-kind, as cash, or both. If every pair of slaves, like Mandy and Jourdan Anderson, had been entitled to a parcel, then the United States would owe two million parcels of forty acres each. (For simplicity I assume all are adults and thus bypass problems such as enumerating families and ascertaining whether larger families would have received larger awards.) Such debt could be retired in toto with land equivalent in value to 80 million acres of Georgia farmland, today worth about $3500/acre. The award divided among individual adult descendants would be worth about $8400. The total value of the land distributed would be 280 billion dollars. Where does land come from to pay this debt in kind? The United States has vast holdings, exceeding 600 million acres, distributed across the United States, much of it idle. Different parcels are suitable for a variety of purposes: residential development; drilling and mining; natural resources; recreation; and investment and speculation. An industry would develop spontaneously in the buying, selling, and consolidation of land parcels distributed through such a program of reparations. And the mule? You need a mule to get from Detroit to the high desert of Nevada. A real mule can be purchased for $1,000 - $8,000, but for a few dollars more the government could commission custom-designed, no-frills cars, trucks, or jeeps valued competitively with very good mules. The price of transportation by mule or car would bring the value of the distribution for each descendant close to $20,000, in line with amounts paid Japanese interned during WWII. Significant land transfers would have a negligible impact on the federal budget, though vehicles (or mules or a cash payment) would cost up to 0.5 trillion dollars. Such reparations are not painless, but they are possible. They are based upon an actual wrong that is chargeable as much to the Union as to the Confederacy. The total invoice for reparations is unaffected by the number of descendants receiving a share, so eligibility, if it is other than every self-identified Black American, depends mainly upon compromise among those who might wish to stake a claim. If this plan does not satisfy Black America, at least it will soothe the conscience of White America. For those hungry for reparations, this proposal is among the more palatable. Image: Fibonacci Blue, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 The debate is over. After a year spent investigating claims of election fraud, the media has determined that any fraud in the 2020 election was too insignificant to have changed the outcome and Joe Biden legitimately won. Now we can get back to our normal lives, or whatever passes for normal nowexcept thats fiction. In 44 BC, Roman Senators murdered Caesar, claiming they acted to protect the Republic. In fact, they simply sought power. Their coup detat put the final nail in the coffin of a republic that had been dead in deed, if not name, for decades. Coup detats differ from revolutions in that theyre generally orchestrated by or include people within government who seize poweroften by narrowly using or just threatening violenceresulting in a rapid transition of power. Revolutions are often longer affairs that include much of a countrys population and exponentially more bloodshed. Most coups try to keep much of the society and government apparatus intact, merely changing whos in charge. This illusion of continuity is intended to gain the populations acquiescence by avoiding the appearance of a bloody civil war. And thats exactly what we got. While Donald Trump does not lie in a bloody toga on the floor of the Senate, America witnessed a coup detat equally as vicious. Many will deny one took place because their guy won but, make no mistake, virtually every American knows one did, even if only 56% admit it. The moment the coup began to reveal itself Americans knew something was amiss. Many went to bed on November 3rd believing that Trump was leading in enough states to secure an electoral victory, including in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Wisconsin. Strangely, however, while America slept, densely populated Democrat counties like Fulton (Atlanta) in Georgia and Allegheny (Pittsburgh) in Pennsylvania stopped counting votes only to restart later when Biden suddenly got enough votes to swing the state blue. Similarly, Philadelphia stopped reporting at 1 AM and later announced Biden had won the state. The morning of the 4th, as cries of fraud came from red areas across the country, the side that cried election fraud for four years suddenly fell silent. Apparently, 2020 had become the most legitimate election in American history. Joseph Stalin said, Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything. Thats exactly how we went from being a constitutional republic to a banana republic, but rather than the United Fruit Company or the CIA running the coup, it was Mark Zuckerberg, Democrats, the FBI, and the media. Image: The Death of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini. Public domain. Immediately after Biden was sworn into office Molly Ball of TIME Magazine wrote a glowing paean to the coup: Their work touched every aspect of the election. They got states to change voting systems and laws and helped secure hundreds of millions in public and private funding. They fended off voter-suppression lawsuits, recruited armies of poll workers, and got millions of people to vote by mail for the first time. They successfully pressured social media companies to take a harder line against disinformation and used data-driven strategies to fight viral smears. They executed national public-awareness campaigns that helped Americans understand how the vote count would unfold over days or weeks, preventing Trumps conspiracy theories and false claims of victory from getting more traction. And as with any good coup, Democrats threatened violence: The nation was braced for chaos. Liberal groups had vowed to take to the streets, planning hundreds of protests across the country. In this context, protests is a metaphor for Democrat-approved BLM and Antifa violence unleashed across America. Ball points out that, following Bidens victory, Democrats called off the threatened violence: There was a conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes, one that both curtailed the protests and coordinated the resistance from CEOs. While Balls homage may be insightful, the definitive account of the coup comes from Mollie Hemingway in Rigged. Unlike Ball, who couches everything about the coup in the fiction of patriots seeking to protect America from the fascist Donald Trump, Hemingway exposes how the leftist cabal set the table for the coup and, upon its execution, unleashed a propaganda machine to pretend the coup never happened. Hemingway showcases incompetent GOP functionaries like Georgias Brad Raffensperger empowering Democrats, led by the treacherous Marc Elias and Stacy Abrams, to make unconstitutional voting rule changes. From corrupt jurists ignoring legislation and others explicitly ignoring the Constitution and allowing arbitrary election rulemaking that favored Democrats to the FBI and the media spending years attacking Trump, Hemingway exposes the coup step by step. She demonstrates exactly how Mark Zuckerberg wrote a $400 million check and financed the coup detat that undermined our Republic. In perhaps the single most telling line in Rigged, Hemingway quotes a reporter for the Wisconsin Spotlight: The City of Green Bay literally gave the keys to the election to a Democrat Party operative from New York. (p. 222.) Similar dynamics played out across the country. The model was simple. Red counties in half a dozen states gave their counts while blue counties stopped counting or reporting. Once the red totals were in Democrats knew exactly how many votes they needed to produce and those numbers magically started coming in. Georgias Fulton County gave Biden a 250,000 margin of victory, enough to win the state by 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast. Pennsylvanias Allegheny gave Biden a 150,000 vote margin, enough to take Pennsylvania by 80,000 votes out of 6.8 million. When the dust settled, Biden was declared the 46th President with 81 million votes to Trumps 74 million. But Presidential elections come down to the Electoral College. Joe Biden won there because of three states and 103,000 votes: Pennsylvania, 20 Electors, by 80,000 votes; Georgia, 16 by 12,000; and Arizona, 11 by 11,000 votes. After two months of being caricatured and called conspiracy nuts or white nationalists, almost a million frustrated Trump voters went to Washington on January 6th to demand Congress investigate the election. After a rally where President Trump explicitly said to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard a riot with a few hundred people broke out at the Capital and, suddenly, an Insurrection worse than anything since the Civil War occurred. Anyone questioning the election was a guilty participant. That riot, which the FBI may have planned or empowered, suddenly changed the national conversation from investigating Novembers coup to impeaching Trump for incitement of insurrection. And that was it. End of debate. Biden won and Trump tried to incite a coup. Any contrary ideas were verboten.... But of course, Americans know a lie when they see it and the debate isnt really over. When the propagandists say there was no way fraud could have affected an election with 150 million voters, thats a red herring. The cabal behind the coup didnt have to affect 150 million votes. All they had to do was affect (or create) 100,000 well-placed votes, which is exactly what they did. Zuckerberg-funded Democrats in a few states merely had to wait until the red areas reported their totals and then magically produce more votes from their stopped or paused machines. And thats how its done, a real-life enactment of Stalins adage, and its just another day at the office for Democrats. Mark Anthony could only eulogize Caesar after the Ides of March, but Donald Trump is still very much with us. We still have an opportunity to reverse this treachery and avert the disaster that naturally follows when the Rule of Man subverts the Rule of Law. But will we seize it before its too late? A recent paper published by Cambridge University Press titled Political Legitimacy, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change is raising serious and worrisome questions about the role of academia in our national political debate on climate change. The paper was written by Ross Mittiga, who self-describes as an assistant professor of political theory at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, specializing in climate ethics. He also labels himself an environmentalist, vegan, and occasional gadfly. Mittigas paper explicitly argues society must prioritize climate action over democratic principles and adopt an authoritarian government if society fails to politically act on climate change. Or, in the words of the political left: my way or the highway. This is disturbing because it completely ignores the will of the people to self-govern, favoring a totalitarian approach in order to tackle what Mittiag deems a climate crisis. Key points of the paper in the abstract: Is authoritarian power ever legitimate? The contemporary political theory literature -- which largely conceptualizes legitimacy in terms of democracy or basic rights -- would seem to suggest not. I argue, however, that there exists another, overlooked aspect of legitimacy concerning a governments ability to ensure safety and security. While, under normal conditions, maintaining democracy and rights is typically compatible with guaranteeing safety, in emergency situations, conflicts between these two aspects of legitimacy can and often do arise. A salient example of this is the COVID-19 pandemic, during which severe limitations on free movement and association have become legitimate techniques of government. Climate change poses an even graver threat to public safety. Consequently, I argue, legitimacy may require a similarly authoritarian approach. While unsettling, this suggests the political importance of climate action. For if we wish to avoid legitimating authoritarian power, we must act to prevent crises from arising that can only be resolved by such means. The problem with Mittigas paper is that he doesnt offer up a single reference or shred of evidence that a climate crisis actually exists. It appears he simply assumes it to be fact-based on the frequency of political discussions that have embraced the term for several years. If a climate crisis actually existed, there would be human impact data to support the claim. Yet, Mittiga cites no such evidence. However, this lack of evidence did not stop him from making this bold claim: "A salient example of this is the COVID-19 pandemic, during which severe limitations on free movement and association have become legitimate techniques of government. Climate change poses an even graver threat to public safety." We should be able to test the graver threat to public safety that the climate crisis supposedly creates. If the global climate crisis was causing public safety to suffer, wed surely see an increase in global deaths related to supposed climate-driven events. To determine if this is true, we turn to data collected by the most trusted global database on events that create mortality, the International Disaster Database. This database covers all types of natural disasters, including meteorological, hydrological, geologic, and volcanic. Dr. Bjorn Lomborg has been tracking climate-related disasters from the database since 1920. This includes floods, droughts, storms, wildfires, and extreme temperatures. His conclusion from the data is clear and simple: fewer and fewer people are dying today from supposedly climate-related natural disasters. As seen in the figure in this peer-reviewed article, the trend is clear. Lomborg writes: Over the past hundred years, annual climate-related deaths have declined by more than 96%. In the 1920s, the death count from climate-related disasters was 485,000 on average every year. In the last full decade, 2010-2019, the average was 18,362 dead per year, or 96.2% lower. This is even true of 2021 -- despite breathless climate reporting, almost 99% fewer people died that year than a hundred years ago. Why is this consistently not reported? In the first year of the new decade, 2020, the number of dead was even lower at 14,885 -- 97% lower than the 1920s average. For 2021, which is now complete, we see an even lower total of 6,134 dead or a reduction since the 1920s of 98.7%. The media reported on many deadly weather- and climate-related catastrophes in 2021 -- the deadly U.S./Canadian heat dome and heatwave, huge wildfires in the Western United States, the December 2021 tornado outbreak in the United States, large-scale flooding in Europe, and the Valentines Day winter storm. All of these events and related deaths are included in the disaster database and the graph. And there are other disasters. Many people in the West never saw media reports of the disastrous floods in India during the monsoon, which killed more than a thousand people, or the flash floods in Afghanistan, which killed dozens, or the typhoons that hit China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India, killing a total of 776 people. The database also has more than 200 other catastrophes in 2021. There is a known bias in the database where there is much more reporting on heat deaths, but recent science from the prestigious medical journal The Lancet reports that globally, cold deaths outweigh heat deaths 9:1, suggesting that global warming isnt as big a problem for human mortality as weve been told. The number of reported weather disaster events is increasing, but that is mainly due to better reporting, and better accessibility, i.e., the 24/7/365 CNN effect. Just because such events are reported more today doesnt translate directly to more events resulting in more deaths. In fact, the opposite is observed in the data. Illustrated by the mortality data portrayed in the figure, it is simply incontrovertible that disaster-related deaths have declined, and have done so dramatically. This is because our wealthier, technologically advanced, and more resilient societies are much better able to warn for such events, protect their citizens, and mitigate damage and deaths. In fact, recent peer-reviewed science demonstrates a decreasing trend in both human and economic vulnerability is evident. So, I ask, where is the so-called climate crisis that is portrayed as a certainty by Mittiga in the Cambridge University Press? According to the disaster database, there isnt any climate crisis at all. In fact, during the 40-plus years of modest warming during which we have been told that global warming aka climate change will worsen the human condition, mortality has improved dramatically. Sadly, and frighteningly, as illustrated by Mittiga in the Cambridge University Press, the green socialist left is increasingly embracing tyranny in the form of authoritarian power to act on their viewpoint on climate change. But clearly, real-world data dont support their viewpoint let alone their call to action. Anthony Watts is a senior fellow for environment and climate at The Heartland Institute. Image: Pixabay The Washington Examiner has broken what is, so far, the best story of the year: it turns out that Jill Biden has her own "walk-up" music. That is, whenever she makes an official appearance, this music is played for her, just as "Hail to the Chief" is played when the president appears. Someone within the Marine Corps band wrote it, although there is some dispute as to whether the White House requested such music or the Marine Corps band members spontaneously felt that Jill needed that special song. Becket Adams broke the story: The Marine Corps band was instructed last fall to come up with an entrance theme for the first lady, a source told the Washington Examiner. The band now has in its repertoire an original composition titled "Fanfare for the First Lady." The song, the source said, is essentially Jill Biden's personal "Hail to the Chief," in that it is to be performed and repeated at official White House functions, from her first appearance until she is ready to speak. "Fanfare for the First Lady" has created both amusement and confusion within the band, with some remarking that in the many years they've played in the group, this is the first time the group has had to provide the first lady with an exclusive entrance theme. After the story went to press, it was updated with the White House perspective. According to the White House, no one ever asked for Dr. Jill to have her own music. It was something the Marine Corps band came up with spontaneously: Michael LaRosa, Jill Biden's press secretary, says the entire story is bunkum. "The first lady does not have a song anybody has written for her specifically. She has no 'Hail to the Chief' song. She has no song," he told the Washington Examiner. "She never asked anyone to create a song." "The White House asked nobody, not one person, to compose an exclusive entry song, or any song, for the first lady," LaRosa added. "None of that is accurate." In fact, he said, "Fanfare for the First Lady" was the band's idea. He said the band approached the White House with a proposal for new music. "Fanfare for the First Lady" wasn't even initially written for Jill Biden, he continued, adding it's simply a finalized version of a piece of music that was already nearly completed when the band first broached the topic with the White House. Image: Jill Biden (edited in befunky). YouTube screen grab (cropped). You, dear reader, are free to decide whether the White House or the Marine Corp band is more truthful in its telling of events. It has been played twice for her so far. There are a few things, though, that one cannot contest. First, as Adams explains, no first lady has ever had a "walk-up" song. Second, no first lady has ever been as prominent in a presidency. Jill is constantly at Joe's side, escorting him onto the stage and then, when he appears lost, escorting him off again. She even sits at the president's desk on Air Force One and does the prep work for the G7 meetings: Prepping for the G7. pic.twitter.com/drPmb2vBwI Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) June 9, 2021 Edith Wilson kept to the background, but Jill is out in front and proud of it. When Bill Clinton ran for office, he promised that, thanks to having Hillary at his side, the American public would get two for the price of one. Biden made no such promise, but we seem to have gotten that anyway. And three, the fanfare is legitimately awful. Either someone in the Marine Corps band is a really bad composer or the band was making a political statement: Hearing it, one is irresistibly tempted to see if Benny Hill is running around somewhere because, honestly, this must be a joke: (Although remembering Benny Hill's portrayals of senile, sex-obsessed old men chasing young women, perhaps the Yakity Sax music would be just right for another member of the Biden family.) Ultimately, it's not surprising that both the White House and the Marine Corps band are disavowing ownership of the "Fanfare for the First Lady." It's an inappropriate idea and a horribly bad piece of...er, music. We now call Tesla a Texas company, or at least they have a big facility here. So I guess that entitles us to offer the management a few opinions. I saw this on The Dallas Morning News: On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla has opened a showroom in the capital of Xinjiang, with the company issuing a cheery announcement on China's state-controlled Weibo social media platform that "Tesla (heart) Xinjiang." Hey, Elon Musk: We love that you brought that plant to Texas and that you attacked some of the demagoguery on the other side. However, opening a showroom in China may be a step too far for a Texas company. Over in China, human rights violations are the order of the day. They are everywhere, not just in Hong Kong, where a third independent newspaper just got shut down, but the locals still have access to social media and tell the world about it. The worst is happening in the areas that no iPhone can travel to. This is a recent summary from Amnesty International: The year was marked by harsh crackdowns on human rights defenders and people perceived to be dissidents, as well as the systematic repression of ethnic minorities. The beginning of the year saw the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, which killed more than 4,600 people in China. People demanded freedom of expression and transparency after authorities reprimanded health professionals for warning about the virus. At the UN, China was strongly criticized and urged to allow immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang. Stringent restrictions on freedom of expression continued unabated. Foreign journalists faced detention and expulsion, as well as systematic delays to and refusals of visa renewals. Chinese and other tech firms operating outside China blocked what the government deemed politically sensitive content, extending its censorship standards internationally. China enacted its first Civil Code, which received thousands of submissions by the public calling for legalization of same-sex marriage. Hong Kong's National Security Law led to a clampdown on freedom of expression. I want Mr. Musk to make a lot of money and sell a lot of electric cars. I don't own one, but maybe I will someday if the price drops or they can build more recharging stations. In other words, it's tough to drive from Dallas to Houston (approximately 300 miles) if my battery only goes 200 miles. Nevertheless, I have nothing against electric cars, and Mr. Musk is indeed welcome in Texas. Please, Mr. Musk, make a statement about China. You got plenty of money, but the people of China got zero freedom. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). Image: Department of Geography, U.C. Berkeley, via Picryl, Public Domain. Congressional Democrats and their allies have been blowing a lot of hot air about the Jan. 6 "insurrection," a pathetic crowd-control failure brought on by Capitol Police incompetence, crossed wires among those charged with security, and quite likely some FBI pot-stirring through agents provocateurs. It's bee ess. The whole show is about discrediting President Trump to keep him from running for office in 2024, because, well, they know he won the 2020 election, and a lot of voters would like to get their votes' worth in 2024. But that's precisely why they keep blowing the incident up into an "insurrection." According to leftist Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who's been tipped to lead the Democrats once House speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves the scene, via PBS: It's a day like Pearl Harbor and like Bloody Sunday down in Selma, Alabama, and like September 11 that should live in infamy here in America and throughout the world. And here's Trump-hating Rep. Liz Cheney, who channeled Hitler with this ultimatum: "The Republican Party has to make a choice. We can either be loyal to our Constitution or loyal to Donald Trump, but we cannot be both," Cheney said. There's also this one from the Associated Press: The ABC News tease says "solemnly." The bloviations are billowing, with sobbing testimony planned from inconvenienced Congress members, likely some amazing fictions from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Congress planning to erect a "memorial" to the event on Capitol grounds. Just one problem with this phony insurrection narrative sh-show: Kazakhstan. The land of Borat is now in the midst of a real revolt and insurrection. Vladimir Putin is dispatching Russian troops to that state now that violence is inundating the country. The government has toppled, and the spectacle is getting on television screens. Somehow, the Jan. 6 "insurrection" being touted by Democrats as the ne plus ultra looks kind of...puny in comparison. Without getting into the truly momentous strategic implications of the whole thing, this is what a real insurrection looks like: Omg the videos coming out now that internet has been restored in Kazakhstan are horrifying. Piles of dead bodies at morgues in Almaty allegedly killed by security forces. I hope human rights groups are monitoring this Olga Lautman (@OlgaNYC1211) January 5, 2022 So much money stolen from the Kazakh people hidden in the West. Can we crack down on that now? Solidarity with the victims of kleptocracy Paul Massaro (@apmassaro3) January 5, 2022 #UPDATE Kazakhstan police killed "dozens" of protesters overnight as they tried to storm government buildings in Almaty, police tell the media. "Extremist forces tried to assault administrative buildings, the Almaty city police department... Dozens of assailants were eliminated" pic.twitter.com/woLg0j30l5 AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 6, 2022 #KazakhstanProtests: new clashes in #Almaty. Government security forces + Kazakh army are "cleansing" the city. It is a bloodshed. There is no way back for Tokayev now. Nazarbayev is still silent. Apparantly, it is: a Tokayev vs Nazarbayev palace coup and a people's revolution. Viktoriya Topalova (@viktopalova) January 6, 2022 Massive anti-government riots taking place right now across Kazakhstan. Amid 2 days of street resistance against price rises & fuel poverty. Demonstrators are now clashing with cops & burning out police vehicles. Solidarity with the ppl of Kazakhstan. pic.twitter.com/YI0LM21MzX GhostofDurruti (@RobTheRich0001) January 4, 2022 #Kazakhstan Armed security forces are in Almaty. There are also armoured personnel carriers, armoured vehicles, and military trucks. Local police reported that dozens of protesters had been killed. pic.twitter.com/h1vzkKdmjV Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) January 6, 2022 The people, who took to the streets due to the high price hikes in fuel and natural gas in Kazakhstan, started to clash with the police in the capital Astana at minus 20 degrees Celsius, against obstruction and detention. #Kazakistanpic.twitter.com/uMx2NRUQOZ PARTIZAN Yunanistan (@partizanGreece) January 4, 2022 Minus-20 Celsius is -4 degrees Fahrenheit. WARNING blood Video from telegram channels shows scenes at front line of protests. Armed protesters engage security forces with many only having stolen police shields to protect themselves. #Kazakhstan #Almaty pic.twitter.com/iddLrmi6pv Outback Piano (@OutbackPiano) January 6, 2022 Here's the New York Times' thumbnail: Saltanat Azirbek, a police spokeswoman in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, said that dozens of people had been killed by the authorities when they tried to storm government buildings, police headquarters and district police offices, the first widespread fatalities since the protests started. That announcement came after earlier reports in the local news media that the police had opened fire on demonstrators in the oil city of Atyrau, killing at least one person. The police warned people living near main government buildings to stay at home. The announcement of the military deployment came after a night of violent protests swept Kazakhstan's cities, including Almaty, where some protesters came with firearms and started looting shops and malls, according to video footage posted from the scene. They set government buildings on fire, including the city hall and the old office of the country's president. They also captured the airport. The authorities reported that in addition to those who had been killed, about a thousand people had been injured and up to 400 had been hospitalized. At least eight members of the security forces have been killed in the clashes, the police reported on Wednesday. Here's a headline and more from Fox News: Kazakhstan president's home ablaze as protests escalate: report Protesters in Kazakhstan's largest city stormed the presidential residence and the mayor's office on Wednesday and set both buildings on fire, according to new reports, as demonstrations sparked by a rise in fuel prices in the Central Asian nation escalated sharply. Police fired on some protesters at the presidential palace before fleeing. They have clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in recent days, deploying water cannons in the freezing weather, tear gas and concussion grenades. The government resigned in response to the unrest and the president vowed to take harsh measures to quell it. In possibly the first of those efforts, Kazakh news sites became inaccessible late in the day, and the global watchdog organization Netblocks said the country was experiencing a pervasive internet blackout. This being a Muslim country, what's an insurrection without a beheading? JUST IN Police in Kazakhstan's largest city say 12 officers killed in clashes with protesters, one found beheaded. - AP Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) January 6, 2022 Some interesting strategic implications to look at later: mostly secular or moderately Muslim, massive violence will certainly attract Islamists and undermine the neighboring Central Asian regimes. Combined with the situation in Afghanistan after Americas withdrawal it could turn Central Asia into a hot spot comparable to the ME. Andrzej Kozlowski (@akoz33) January 5, 2022 In Kazakhstan Putin again has shot himself in the foot. The crisis on this huge country, in fact more important for Russias security than Ukraine (because of China), was caused directly by Russias attempt to use energy to blackmail the EU. Although Kazakhstans population is Andrzej Kozlowski (@akoz33) January 5, 2022 According to my sources, they are well "net-organized." Their leadership is not in Kazakhstan but in Paris and Kyiv. I guess their calculation is that the authorities cannot behead the protest at this point. Viktoriya Topalova (@viktopalova) January 5, 2022 One other thing nobody mentioned: Kazakhstan's proximity and cultural affinities with Xinjiang on its huge southeast border. Have the Chicoms said anything? One suspects the old gray men of Beijing have got their eyeballs glued to the intelligence reports right about now. The bottom line here is that Kazakhstan has kind of burst into the best laid plans of Liz Cheney's Jan. 6 congressional clown show to sell us on the idea of a monster "insurrection." The biggest, the worst, the most dangerous, the most threatening... Over in Kazakhstan, we got a toppled government. We got a presidential palace on fire. We got a burning parliament. Bodies stacked in the morgues. Cop cars on fire. Blood in the street, dead people, beheadings, concussion grenades, a mayor's office on fire, armed protesters who shoot back, dead cops, armored personnel carriers, tanks, military trucks, a dictator's remaining minions fighting like cornered rats, and thousands of Russian troops being airlifted in. Sound anything like what happened on Jan. 6? The land of Borat has just thrown a spanner into the works for that best laid Democrat plan. Now we have a scene like this (thanks, Thomas Lifson): Image: Twitter screen shot. Former president Donald Trump has hurt his chances for a second go of the presidency if he plans to run. By recently saying, "The vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind," he dismayed a large swath of supporters who consider the COVID shots one of mankind's greatest failures. Why does he champion the shots? It could stem from pride. If there is one trait Mr. Trump is not known for, it's humility the opposite of pride. While he has admitted to minor mistakes such as intemperate tweets and such, it's hard to see him admitting to being mistaken on what he no doubt considers to be one of the crown jewels of his presidency: the rapid development of these so-called "vaccines." (An actual vaccine is supposed to confer decades-long immunity.) One of the hardest things in the world to do is admit to being wrong. Pride is widely considered to be the worst of the seven deadly sins. There's also plenty of pride going around within the CDC, FDA, and NIH these days, with devastating consequences as the COVID shots maim and kill more and more people and as life-saving drugs such as ivermectin are suppressed. By ruefully acknowledging the COVID shot blunder, Mr. Trump would actually gain his supporters' respect. Or perhaps he genuinely thinks the COVID shots are a success. If so, he nevertheless surely must realize by now that, unlike real vaccines, they don't prevent infection and transmission. The best they can do is perhaps reduce COVID symptoms for a few months. And they appear to even confer negative immunity making it more likely that the jab recipient will get COVID, at least with omicron. Buried in a German government report (p. 14) were data indicating 4,020 cases of fully jabbed people versus only 186 who were not jabbed. That's 96 percent to 4 percent, in a country where 71 percent of citizens are fully jabbed. This is consistent with studies indicating that the jab may alter the immune system for the worse. Is Trump not aware, moreover, of the more than 20,000 COVID shotrelated deaths and countless more serious injuries listed in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database, which is estimated to represent only a small fraction of the actual numbers? Tech entrepreneur and Vaccine Safety Research Foundation executive director Steve Kirsch estimates the actual death count to be at least 150,000 and is willing to give anyone $1 million to prove him and his analysts wrong. (That must be petty cash for Mr. Trump, so we likely won't be seeing him step up.) And athletes and airline pilots, suspiciously, are dropping and dying by the hundreds. Sadly and sinisterly, most of this is ignored in the mainstream media and even the mainstream conservative media. But has not Mr. Trump come across the many alternative news outlets that report on such matters? Perhaps not, since Google and other search engines including DuckDuckGo seem to suppress them. It's no surprise that the COVID shots are such huge failures, considering that they were hurriedly developed under a program the Trump administration dubbed "Operation Warp Speed." With a name like that, consider the intense pressure pharmaceutical companies were under to rush through a COVID vaccine. They did so in less than a year, whereas vaccine development normally takes many years. The mRNA technology had been around for decades but had never been approved for a disease. Johnson & Johnson's and AstraZeneca's adenovirus technology had been approved only once before, for Ebola. It's highly suspicious that these biotechnologies just happened to be deployed at the height of COVID. Did they fix the flaws just in time? Or did the intense societal pressures prompt them to deploy despite the longstanding flaws and hope for the best? A year later, considering the jab's ineffectiveness and serious side effects, it's looking like a "yes" to the second question. In addition to that, the COVID shots were unethically developed, using material from the bodies of victims of genocide. What if they were tested with or contained bodily material of Holocaust victims? Or what if some primitive society somewhere still practiced human sacrifice of small children, and it was found that pharmaceutical companies used those victims to develop vaccines? There would be international outrage. Well, genocide victims are being used in COVID shot development: pre-born babies. Trump's presidency, to his credit, was strongly anti-abortion. But he seemed to put those sentiments aside when it came to the COVID shots. One reason Trump won the presidency in 2016 is that he was willing to run with an issue that establishment politicians were too afraid to touch: illegal immigration. The COVID shot debacle is another hot-button issue shunned by establishment politicians but ripe for some daring maverick to grab hold of. If Trump won't do it, someone else will. Patrick Chisholm is author of Holy Health: How Church Makes You Healthier and Happier and blogs at Seventimes70.com. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Unless you have spent the last year in the jungles of Borneo, you are undoubtedly aware of the Democrats' constant attacks on states that have attempted to tighten their rules on voter identification and mail-in ballots. Famously, in probably the most ridiculous fevered hyperbole, insulting to actual victims of Jim Crow laws, President Biden denounced Georgia's modest efforts to enhance voting security as "Jim Crow 2.0." But are demands for voter photo IDs and restrictions on mail-in ballots anti-democratic efforts at voter suppression? Who is really anti-democratic on these issues? Economist John R. Lott helpfully provides the data. Take a look at Europe, which has forty-seven countries, all of which hold elections. As of this date, according to Lott, forty-six of the forty-seven require photo IDs in order to vote, and the forty-seventh is about to do so, too. Lott adds that Canada, which is surely a democracy, also requires photo IDs, and that Mexico, in an effort to combat voter fraud, now requires a biometric ID to vote, one with a photo and a thumbprint. (He notes that voter turnout in Mexico substantially increased after this reform, suggesting that strengthening election integrity makes voters more confident that their votes will count.) So relative to both Europe and North America, the United States that Democrats want to see will be the odd country out, with less election integrity with respect to voter identification than every other country. Moreover, close to eighty percent of Americans also favor tight voter identification rules. So the states that are heading in that direction, not the Democrats opposing them, are the ones in step with other democracies and with the American public. What about H.R. 1's requirement of universal mail-in balloting? How does that compare with the practices in other democracies? Again, according to Lott, not well. Thirty-five of the forty-seven European countries do not even allow absentee voting for citizens who are not out of the country. Ten other countries allow absentee voting but require voters to pick up their ballots in person and with a photo ID. And France has banned absentee voting altogether, as has Mexico. It goes without saying that countries this strict about absentee voting would never support universal mail-in balloting. Lott recounts that in 2005, a blue-ribbon bipartisan commission headed by former president Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, and former secretary of state James Baker, a Republican, proposed requiring a photo ID to vote in U.S. elections. It also condemned as susceptible to voter fraud widespread absentee balloting. And it surely would have doubly condemned mailing ballots to people who had not requested them, a prominent feature of H.R.1. But Democrats now believe that loosening voting requirements will benefit them, so they want to make such loosening universal and permanent. But in doing that they will be undermining election integrity and will be making the U.S. an outlier in that regard, with less election integrity than every European and North American democracy. As the U.S. expanded the franchise, first to the propertyless, then in the Fifteenth Amendment to blacks, in the Nineteenth Amendment to women, and in the Twenty-Sixth to those eighteen years of age, it became more and more democratic. At the same time, it gradually made voting less subject to fraud and manipulation, moving to secret ballots in the late nineteenth century and adopting rules to ensure that only eligible voters voted, and voted only once. H.R. 1 seeks to eliminate these methods for protecting election integrity, methods that prevail in Europe and the rest of North America. Despite how the Democrats advertise it, H.R. 1 is a profoundly regressive and anti-democratic bill. Image: Thomas Nast. It's absurd that a man (with or without surgery) thinks he can wear lipstick, slip into a dress with matching high heels, and assume he is a woman. No matter what is removed, added, or ignored, men remain men. Ironically, Republican elected officials and political organizations often celebrate women by highlighting the suffragist movement. Yet these same officials and organizations demean women, especially in sports, by accepting transgenders. With the 2022 midterm elections focusing on "suburban women," Republicans might be in for a rude surprise on Election Day. The suffragist movement The United States suffragist movement started in earnest in the late 1800s. By the turn of the 20th century, with technological advancements improving life for many Americans, women across America demanded the right to vote. However, Democrat president Woodrow Wilson opposed a federal amendment, preferring that it remain a state issue. Yet by 1916, only nine of thirty states had passed legislation giving women voting rights. Suffragist leaders agreed that something needed to be done at the federal level to speed the process for amending the U.S. Constitution. Days before Wilson's second inauguration in 1917, suffragists from the National Woman's Party started daily peaceful protests outside the White House. The marchers became known as "Silent Sentinels." At first, everyone politely tolerated each other suffragists, police, and the White House. More than once, President Wilson invited the ladies inside for coffee but they politely declined. The daily protests continued without incident until April, when the United States entered World War I. Once Congress declared war against Germany, some suffragists felt there should be a pause in their movement. Others asked how the United States could be fighting for democracy in Europe without democracy for women at home. Image: Suffragists at the White House in 2017. Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions. By June, politeness among peaceful protestors, law enforcement (which was all male), and the White House started to erode. Where before suffragists were allowed to march peacefully on Pennsylvania Avenue, now police arrested some for obstructing traffic. It was a bogus charge because the women calmly marched two by two on the public sidewalk along the White House gates. Suffragists tolerated the arrests because they were quickly released without penalty. But the slaps on the wrist for traffic obstruction vanished by August. Annoyed with the daily protests, D.C. courts began handing out prison sentences. Then came the "Night of Terror" on November 14, 1917. Per the Arlington, Virginia Public Library: Ten months into the ongoing picketing efforts, on November 13, 1917, 33 women were arrested around the White House. By the next day, they arrived at the Occoquan Workhouse, where, demanding to be recognized as political prisoners, they refused to put on prison uniforms or participate in the mandated work shifts. With Occoquan superintendent W.H. Whittaker's unequivocal approval, the goal was for the police to use brutal treatment to teach the women a lesson. As recounted in the Arlington Public Library and many other sites: One suffragist, Dora Lewis, was violently thrown down, hitting her head on an iron bed. Alice Cosu, who witnessed this, suffered a heart attack and did not receive medical treatment until the next day. Organizer Lucy Burns was chained with her hands over her head to the bars in her cell and forced to stand for the entirety of the night. Fellow protester Julia Emory assumed the same position for the night in solidarity. And what were they guilty of? Suffragists' only "crime" was calmly standing by or walking along the White House fence urging President Wilson, Congress, and fellow citizens to recognize that women deserved the right to vote. (Many Americans see parallels in the suffragette's "Night of Terror" and what today's January 6 patriot prisoners are going through.) The aftermath A November 23 ruling declared that, because suffragists were arrested in Washington, D.C., incarcerating them in Virginia was illegal. By November 28, all "Silent Sentinels" were out on bail. In March 1918, their arrests were declared unconstitutional. By then, President Wilson finally supported a federal amendment, which initially passed in the House but failed in the Senate. Finally, in 1920, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, making it unlawful to deny the right to vote to citizens of the United States based on sex. Today, conservatives wonder if the heroic suffragists who risked lawsuits and threats and suffered imprisonment and torture did so just for men to make a mockery of what it means to be a woman. Conservatives also ponder why Republican elected officials and organizations especially women's organizations don't push back at groupthink insanity that claims that men can identify as women. A sampling of absurd examples: In sports, a man falsely broke women's records at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) swimming competition, resulting in a USA Swimming official resigning. In the government, a man is wrongly referred to as the first female four-star admiral. In women's organizations, such as in the California Federation of Republican Women, a man was elected club president. In politics, some House Republicans ridiculously stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol waving the transgender flag. In entertainment, a man was mistakenly hailed as the highest-earning woman in Jeopardy's history. In Republican organizations, the Republican National Committee announced a pride coalition. In education, progressives push the trans agenda onto young children. Unless Republican politicians and organizations stop kowtowing to the progressive farce that men can be women, the next "Night of Terror" might be on November 8, 2022, when conservatives sit home. Sydnee Pearl Michaels is a pseudonym. By the late 19th century, the miracle device called the telephone had been invented but the simple concept of undergrounding telephone cables had eluded engineers. Clumps of telephone wires strung from monstrous towers hung above the heads of pedestrians in all major cities with a sizable number of subscribers. Telephone service was expensive at that time, and only the wealthy could afford it. In Sweden, the first public telephone exchange was opened in the capital city Stockholm, in 1880, by the Bell Telephone Company. It originally had only 121 subscribers. The telephone company charged subscribers between 160 and 280 Swedish Krona, depending on the subscribers location and distance to the exchange. This was equivalent to paying a subscription fee of 9,000 to 16,000 Krona (USD 1,100 to USD 1,966) in todays value, which was a very high rate. The Telephone tower in 1890. The Bell Telephone Company with their high rates soon got a competitor in Stockholm General Telephone Company (SAT), which was founded in 1883 by the engineer and businessman Henrik Tore Cedergren. His mission was to put a telephone in every household. Cedergrens charged very low fees for a connection and monthly subscription, and the number of subscribers increased rapidly. By 1886, Stockholm had more telephones than any of the major cities in the world, with 4,832 subscribers, including about 1,600 at Bell Telephone Company. In 1887, SAT became the worlds largest telephone company, large enough to buy out Bell Companys business in Stockholm in 1888. In this early days of telephony, there were no substations and every subscriber was physically connected to the central exchange with an overhead wire. The Stockholm telephone exchange had thousands of wires converging in from every direction. A massive tower held these wires together. This iconic Phone Tower, or Telefontornet, was opened in 1887, and had over 5,500 telephone lines whose collective length came to around 5,000 kilometers. As you can see from these pictures, it was quite a mess, and the network was extremely vulnerable to the elements. The locals thought the tower looked hideous and even complained that it darkened out the sun. With the public and the press lambasting the tower at every opportunity, the telephone company decided that the tower needed a makeover. A decoration competition was announced, and in 1890 the tower got the four corner turrets. At all major events in Stockholm, the citys flags were hoisted there. However, by the turn of the 19th century, the tower was already on its path to obsolescence. The telephone company realized that laying cables underground was a far more elegant solution than stringing them from towers. By 1913, the entire network had gone underground and the Telefontornet lost its function. The remaining shell stood as a landmark for the several decades. At one point, the telephone company hung advertisement banners from the tower. In 1952, the tower caught fire which weakened the structure, and was demolished the following year on safety grounds. The Phone Tower in 1952. Sources: Wikipedia / Wikipedia Nagarjuna's Comments Trigger Criticism In Tollywood:- Telugu cinema has been struggling due to the low ticket pricing in Andhra Pradesh. Pawan Kalyan and Nani are the only actors who raised their voice against the issue and they wanted the AP government to reconsider their decision. Veteran director Ram Gopal Varma has been taking social media platforms to take a dig on AP government and the rest of the industry is tight-lipped and calm though the entire Tollywood has been struggling. Nagarjuna's recent comments during the press conference of Bangarraju did not go well after he made straight comments that he has no issue with the low ticket pricing. Nagarjuna is a clever businessman and he has a great bonding with AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy. But he never kept any efforts to meet YS Jagan and explain him about the situation. Now the entire industry is criticizing Nagarjuna for his comments that the ticket prices are enough for his film. Most of the actors in Telugu cinema lack unity and they are not bothered about the industry and they are just concerned about their films. If everyone thinks like Pawan Kalyan and Nani, the ticket pricing issue would have been resolved long ago. Bangarraju directed by Kalyan Krishna is hitting the screens on January 14th and the film has Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishna. Naga Chaitanya and Krithi Shetty in the lead roles. (Video Source: TV5 News) North Andover, MA (01845) Today Cloudy with periods of light rain. High 63F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Periods of rain. Low near 45F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Googles Fast Pair system is one of Androids best Bluetooth features. It makes connecting to supported Bluetooth devices such as TWS earbuds a cakewalk. The feature automatically detects nearby a device and lets you connect to it with a simple tap. Google has improved this system over the years and has also added support for more devices. But all this while, it has been limited to Android devices. The company is finally about to change that. Fast Pair is finally coming to Chrome OS, Android TV, and Google TV devices, as well as smart home gadgets. Now, this isnt the first time we are hearing about Fast Pair support for Chrome OS devices. Back in November 2018, the Android Developers Blog announced that the feature is in development for Chromebooks and will roll out in 2019. Merged code on the Chromium Gerrit last May suggested its still in the very early stages of development. But Googles now saying that the feature will go live in the coming weeks. Hopefully, for real this time. Additionally, Google will bring Fast Pair to TVs as well. Both the legacy Android TV as well as the new Google TV will gain the feature in the coming months. So if you have a compatible Bluetooth speaker or headphones, youll be able to quickly connect your TV to it with Fast Pair. Advertisement Google is also extending Fast Pair support to smart home devices The Fast Pair system has been around for a few years now. Announced in 2017, the feature uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to detect supported devices in your proximity. A pop-up on your phones screen will then let you quickly connect to those devices with just one tap. While Android has been the only supported platform so far, on the device front, the feature was largely limited to audio products. Google is now looking to not just support more platforms but a new category of devices as well. The company is promising to include smart home gadgets under the Fast pair umbrella. This means you will be able to set up your smart home with the same ease as connecting a pair of TWS earbuds. Now, thats exciting. The only thing to keep in mind is that the devices must be Matter compliant. For the uninitiated, Matter is a new open-source protocol that aims to simplify the diverse smart home ecosystem. The first batch of devices with the new system is expected to arrive later this year. As reports indicated before launch, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Exynos 2100 variant is a thing. Weve only seen the Snapdragon 888 model until now, but the Exynos 2100 will be on offer in certain markets. The Exynos 2100 Galaxy S21 FE is coming to certain markets, like Australia Samsung finally announced this phone recently, though it didnt mention anything about the Exynos 2100 during launch. Well, Harvey Normans product listing in Australia confirmed that the Exynos 2100 is present there. That being said, Samsung itself didnt confirm anything officially. The company is usually rather unspecific when it comes to defining SoCs in official listings. That is the case this time around, especially considering it uses two different SoCs, as expected. Advertisement It would be nice if Samsung provided more information about this. As in listed in which markets the Snapdragon 888 is used, and in which the Exynos 2100. That almost certainly wont happen, though, so well have to find out manually. The Galaxy S21 FE was supposed to launch in August last year, but that didnt happen. The chip shortage is to blame, and weve seen several delays since then. The phone finally launched a couple of days ago. The Galaxy S21 FE is exactly what we expected. Its another variant of the Galaxy S21, somewhat similar to the vanilla Galaxy S21 and S21+. It resembles both of those devices, it looks nice overall. Advertisement The phone includes a 120Hz display, Android 12 & more The device includes a fullHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and that panel is flat. It comes with a rather powerful SoC, and 6GB or 8GB of RAM, depending on which variant you choose. Android 12 comes out of the box with One UI 4.0. Its battery is large enough, while fast charging is included. The phone also supports wireless charging, and has four cameras overall. It also comes in several different color options. You can read more about its specs by clicking here. PLEASE NOTE: ALL ONLINE PURCHASES ARE AUTOMATIC RENEWALS UNLESS YOU EMAIL JPAYNE@ANNISTONSTAR.COM OR CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE @ 256-235-9253.... Purchase an online subscription to our website for $7.99 a month with automatic renewal. Each online subscription gives you full access to all of our newspaper websites and mobile applications. To cancel you may contact Customer Service @ 256-235-9253 or email JPAYNE@ANNISTONSTAR.COM *NEW SUBSCRIBERS ONLY join with a NEW ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION is just $59.99 for the first year. Existing customers do not qualify for the specials! AMEX is not accepted through this site. After the first year, well automatically renew your subscription to continue your access at the regular price of $69.99 per year. Please note *Your Subscription will Automatically Renew unless you contact Customer Service To Cancel* 'Capitol Punishment' - The Movie that Reveals What Really Happened at the Capitol Building One Year Ago on January 6 NEWS PROVIDED BYJan. 6, 2022LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6, 2022 / Christian Newswire / -- The documentary film, Capitol Punishment, is told through the eyes of the people who were there on the ground, in our Nation's Capital, and shares with the world the true story of January 6, 2021. Everything that we are being told by the media is a lie and Americans are being persecuted to support that lie. January 6th was years in the making and the threat to the survival of America as we know it has never been greater.Award winning actor Nick Searcy has teamed up with award-winning and inspiring filmmaker Chris Burgard to reveal the actual events on January 6, 2021 via a riveting documentary. Alarmingly, Nick and Chris also saw and filmed agent provocateurs pretending to be MAGA supporters.To view the trailer and purchase the film visit: capitolpunishmentthemovie.com Award winning and veteran actor Nick Searcy is known for his role in Best Picture winner The Shape of Water, the multiple Oscar-winning film Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, Oscar-nominated Moneyball, Cast Away, Fried Green Tomatoes, Runaway Jury, Nell, The Fugitive, and his co-starring role on the hit television FX series Justified. Searcy has also had a variety of exciting roles in various networks such as UPN's 7 Days, CBS's American Gothic, HBO's From The Earth To The Moon, ABC's Rodney, and CW's Easy Money. An accomplished director, Searcy's film, GOSNELL, was released in theatres nationwide.Chris Burgard is an award-winning filmmaker, with projects such as The Ruining, Border, Honduras On The Brink, and popular videos that received 1/3 of a billion views. Burgard hails as one of the most dangerous media guys on the planet. In 2020, Burgard was honored to team up with Hollywood Legend, Nick Searcy, to direct the seminole film, America! America! God Shed His Grace On Thee.Searcy and Burgard's new film, Capitol Punishment, stands as testament to a day of infamy in American history, Jan. 6, 2021. Told through the eyes of the people who were there on the ground, Capitol Punishment shows the world the true story of January 6, 2021.Capitol Punishment has been featured on shows such as America First with Dr. Sebastian Gorka , Dinesh D'Souza Podcast, The Dana Show , The Wilkow Majority, American Media Periscope Network , and many others. The film is receiving rave reviews: Wade Major and CDN Film Website and trailer: capitolpunishmentthemovie.com Clips from the film: Kinnison family Simone Gold , and Martinez family Follow Nick on: Twitter: @yesnicksearcyFacebook: www.facebook.com/nick.searcy.9 For interviews with Nick Searcy and/or Chris Burgard, or for other media inquiries, contact Laura Orrico, President of Laura Orrico Public Relations, LLC at lauraorrico@gmail.com 872-216-3781.SOURCE Laura Orrico Public Relations, LLCCONTACT: Laura Orrico, 872-216-3781, lauraorrico@gmail.com Frank Buck is the author of the books Get Organized! and Get Organized Digitally! "Global Gurus Top 30" named him No. 1 in the Time Management category for 2019, 2020 and 2021. Dr. Buck speaks throughout the United States and internationally about organization and time management. You can reach him through his website: FrankBuck.org. Follow him on Twitter @DrFrankBuck. A jurys decision to clear four people of criminal damage after pulling down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston is a milestone in Britain coming to terms with its history, TV historian Professor David Olusoga has said. The bronze memorial to the 17th century figure was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol on June 7 2020, before being rolled into the water in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in the US. Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, Jake Skuse, 33, were acquitted of criminal damage on Wednesday following an 11-day trial at Bristol Crown Court. The statue was pulled down on June 7 2020 (Ben Birchall/PA) Professor Olusoga, who supported the defendants and gave expert evidence on the history of slavery, told the Guardian: This verdict is a milestone in the journey that Bristol and Britain are on to come to terms with the totality of our history. He added: For 300 years Edward Colston was remembered as a philanthropist, his role in the slave trade and his many thousands of victims were airbrushed out of the story. The toppling of the statue and the passionate defence made in court by the Colston Four makes that deliberate policy of historical myopia now an impossibility. However, others have slammed the verdict for setting a precedent for future attempts to pull other statues down. Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher and director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, told the Telegraph: It sets an extremely dangerous precedent. The result of this ruling will be that mobs will seek to tear down statues across the country it gives a green light for mobs. This is unacceptable in a free society. Legal expert Adam Wagner said on Twitter: This is an unusual result but also a prosecution which always gave rise to the risk of a jury not convicting. This is what juries sometimes do, a kind of societal pressure release valve. This doesn't set a legal precedent as it is jury decision and on its own special facts anyone damaging property in future would have no way of knowing if a jury would convict or acquit them. The law is as it was. Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 5, 2022 This doesnt set a legal precedent as it is jury decision and on its own special facts anyone damaging property in future would have no way of knowing if a jury would convict or acquit them. The law is as it was. None of the defendants denied their involvement in the incident, but claimed the presence of the statue was a hate crime, and that it was therefore not an offence to remove it. In summing up, Judge Peter Blair QC told the jury to disregard such rhetoric about the weight and consequences of their decision, and try the case purely on the evidence in front of them. The prosecution said during the trial it was irrelevant who Colston was, and the case was one of straightforward criminal damage. Professor Olusoga said the verdict is a milestone (Nutopia/BBC) Ms Graham and Mr Ponsford brought ropes to the scene, while Willoughby climbed the statue to pass the ropes around its neck. Mr Skuse was accused of goading the crowd into rolling it 500m to the harbour and throwing it in. But the jury cleared the four accused after just under three hours of deliberations. Speaking outside of court alongside protestors carrying banners reading we toppled Colston and Glad Colstons Gone, Mr Willoughby denied they were trying to edit history. He said: We didnt change history, they were whitewashing history by calling (Colston) a f****** virtuous man sorry to swear. We didnt change history, we rectified it. Mr Willoughby continued: This is a victory for Bristol, this is a victory for racial equality and its a victory for anybody who wants to be on the right side of history. Speaking outside of court, Ms Graham said she was overwhelmed in the wake of the jurys verdicts. Former justice secretary Robert Buckland has defended the jury system, despite describing the verdict in the Edward Colston statue case as perverse. He is one of a number of ministers and lawyers who have weighed in on the outcome, following the acquittal of four people for criminal damage for helping topple the memorial to the slave trader. Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Sage Willoughby and Jake Skuse elected to be tried by jury. Former justice secretary Robert Buckland was speaking on BBC Radio 4s World At One programme (Jonathan Brady/PA) None of them denied involvement in the incident on June 7 2020, but claimed the presence of the statue was a hate crime and it was therefore not an offence to remove it. The Tory MP told BBC Radio 4s World At One programme the decision was perverse, adding: I think anybody watching those scenes cannot fail to be disturbed at the very least and appalled by what happened. But he continued: I dont think we want to see our crown courts becoming political playgrounds theyre not places for politics, theyre places for the law to be applied and for the evidence to be assessed. Sometimes we will get jury verdicts that perhaps fly in the face of the law and sometimes the evidence, that is the price we pay for the admirable system, the system of jury trials that I and many others strongly believe in. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was fine to try and remove a statue through a democratic process (Peter Cziborra/Reuters/PA) Elsewhere, the Prime Minister declined to comment directly on the outcome, but compared tearing down memorials to controversial figures to some person trying to edit their Wikipedia entry. Speaking at a vaccination centre in Moulton Park, Northampton, Boris Johnson said: What you cant do is go around seeking retrospectively to change our history or to bowdlerise it or edit it in retrospect. Mr Johnson said it was fine to try and remove a statue through a democratic process, but added: I think that, in general, we should preserve our cultural, artistic, historical legacy thats my view. A petition to retry the defendants launched by campaign group Save Our Statues has attracted over 3,500 signatures. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg denied the Colston case set a precedent (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The group said the verdict created a dangerous precedent and claimed undue pressure was placed on the jury by defence barristers claiming the world was watching their decision. But Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg described the jury system as one of the UKs greatest monuments. He told MPs: The decision does not set a precedent. It was a case decided by a jury on the facts before them. Mr Rees-Mogg added: I think he is right that we should protect monuments, right that they should be removed by due process, but one of our greatest monuments is the jury system which is the greatest protector of our liberties. Sage Willoughby, left to right, Jake Skuse, Milo Ponsford and Rhian Graham were cleared of criminal damage for toppling the Edward Colston statue (Ben Birchall/PA) He was responding to Conservative MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone, who called for a statement from the Commons Speaker setting out that statues must be removed by lawful means. Mr Hollobone added: If the Government doesnt make this clear, those monuments that some people dont like, as a result of the recent court case in Bristol, are now at greater risk of defacement, destruction or removal. Former Government minister Robert Jenrick, the Conservative MP for Newark, said on Twitter: We undermine the rule of law, which underpins our democracy, if we accept vandalism and criminal damage are acceptable forms of political protest. They arent. Regardless of the intentions. But legal commentator David Allen Green responded: Jury verdicts do not undermine the rule of law. Jury verdicts are part of the rule of law. An acquittal is as much an aspect of due process as a conviction. Hopes for a last-minute Christmas boost for UK retail destinations were dampened by the rise of Omicron, working from home and consumer nervousness about missing out on festivities, footfall figures confirm. Footfall across all UK retail destinations in December was 18.6% below the 2019 level, the worst result since August and a significant drop off from November which fell 14.5% below 2019, Springboard data shows. Footfall was clearly affected by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and the introduction of Plan B guidance by the Government from the third week of the month, Springboard said. This meant that the usual increase in shoppers in the run-up to Christmas did not materialise, due to a blend of consumer nervousness around the rapid rise in infections and the risk of missing out on Christmas, households isolating due to infection and the re-introduction of working from home. The greatest fall was on the high street, where the gap in footfall from the 2019 level widened to a drop of 22.2% from 15.8% in November. In shopping centres, visitor numbers were 24.1% lower than 2019 but the deterioration from November, when it was 22% lower, was more modest. The bright spot of the month was in the fourth week, beginning December 19, when the fall from 2019 narrowed to 13.8% lower across all UK retail destinations from 19.1% down in the week before. However, the result was partially distorted by Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday in 2019, leaving only three full trading days versus five trading days in 2021. Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: Footfall was impacted by an increase in consumer nervousness around the rapid rise in infections and the risk of missing out on Christmas, households isolating due to infection and the re-introduction of working from home The biggest challenge for the retail sector in the weeks to come will be the ongoing working from home guidance that suppresses footfall, combined with increasing staff shortages due to isolation and the great return of goods purchased over the Christmas period. The former wife of Michael Gove has said rumours that he had an affair were not true, as their divorce was finalised in the courts. Journalist Sarah Vine said the Levelling-Up Secretarys only mistress was politics as she admitted she had worked to prevent him becoming prime minister during their 20-year marriage. In an interview with Tatler magazine, the Daily Mail columnist said: The mistress wins in the end. Its all about making sure she is happy. In my case, despite all the rumours, his only mistress was politics. Thats what he is in love with. He is genuinely in love with politics. The comments come after a family court judge drew the marriage of the Conservative politician and the prominent media figure to a close on Thursday. Neither Miss Vine nor Mr Gove, who is a senior figure in Boris Johnsons Government, were at the hearing, which was staged in public. At a hearing in the Central Family Court in London on Thursday, Judge Lynn Roberts granted Miss Vine a divorce decree on the grounds that the marriage had irretrievably broken down. The couple announced they were splitting in July, with a friend of the couple telling PA news agency they had drifted apart and the decision had been entirely amicable. Miss Vine admitted in her remarks to Tatler that the 2016 Brexit result, which Mr Gove had played a leading role in bringing about through his campaigning with Vote Leave, had brought pressure on their relationship. The pair were good friends with former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, with Miss Vine a godmother to one of their daughters, but Mr Goves decision to fight for Brexit caused friction between the two couples. My whole life fell away. I didnt speak to many close friends. And that was another huge strain on the marriage, Miss Vine said. Sarah Vine and Michael Gove (Yui Mok/PA) Marriage can take strain, but it cannot take that much. Mr Gove ran to replace Mr Cameron as Conservative Party leader after he resigned from No 10 following the European referendum verdict, but his former wife said she did not support his ambitions to lead Britain. My ulterior motive throughout my entire life was to stop my husband being prime minister because I cant think of anything worse, she said. During the court divorce proceeding on Thursday, Judge Roberts also approved the release of some documentation. Documents list the couple as Sarah Rosemary Vine and Michael Andrew Gove. They show Miss Vine had petitioned for divorce and named Mr Gove as the respondent. A certificate of entitlement to a decree said Miss Vine had sufficiently proved she was entitled to a divorce on the grounds that the marriage had irretrievably broken down and the facts found proved being the respondents unreasonable behaviour. Miss Vine had signed a statement in support of divorce and printed her name as Miss Sarah Rosemary Vine on November 30. The judge made a decree nisi pronouncement in less than 10 seconds. A marriage does not formally end until a decree absolute is pronounced. No members of the public, apart from one journalist, were at the hearing. The Congregational Scorecard: What Evangelicals Want in a Church New Study Reveals Evangelicals are Largely Satisfied with Their Church (But Would Still Like to See Some Changes) NEWS PROVIDED BY Infinity Concepts Jan. 6, 2022 EXPORT, Penn., Jan. 6, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelical Protestant Christians are largely satisfied with the church they attend most often. However, eight out of ten still would like to see at least one change to their church. The findings are detailed in The Congregational Scorecard: What Evangelicals Want in a Church. The study of over 1,000 American evangelical Protestants was released today by Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts. Eighty-nine percent of evangelicals attend or view church at least occasionally. The remaining 11% who do not attend church were not included in this survey that assessed 14 different areas relating to the church and church attendance. For those 14 areas, collectively an average of 74% are fine with their church as it is. However, 80% desire at least one change out of those 14 areas. Evangelicals are most likely to be satisfied with: How often donations are requested (88%) Sermon length (85%) Overall service length (85%) They are least likely to be satisfied with: Amount of in-depth teaching (69%) Overall style of the music (68%) Amount of political involvement/messages (68%) Size of the congregation (67%) Amount of outreach to the community (62%) Mark Dreistadt, founder and president of Infinity Concepts, notes that one of the challenges for church leaders is that when people want change, they don't always agree on what change they want. "A third of evangelicals would like to change the style of music in their church, for example," Dreistadt explains. "But they're almost evenly split between those who want more traditional music and those who would like more contemporary music." However, the report notes there are seven areas in which a specific change appeals to at least one out of five evangelical Protestant churchgoers: 38% want more community outreach (versus 1% who want less) 30% want more in-depth teaching (<1% want less) 27% want more focus on evangelism (3% want less) 26% would like a larger congregation (7% would prefer a smaller one) 23% would like more racial/ethnic diversity (3% want less) 22% want less politics from their church messages or involvement (11% want more) 20% want more music (5% want less) Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research, suggests that church leaders need to understand what their people want, but just following those desires is not always the best leadership decision. "Nearly nine out of ten evangelicals are fine with how often they are asked for financial support. Could that mean they are not being pushed to become truly generous givers? Nearly four out of ten want the church to do more community outreach. Are they doing all they can through volunteering and financial support to make that possible? Being a leader should mean knowing what people want, but also never forgetting what they need." In the big picture, Dreistadt emphasizes that a majority of evangelicals are satisfied with their church in each one of the 14 tested areas. "Most people attend churches that meet their needs by providing spiritual and personal support. This survey illustrates that evangelicals have largely been successful at finding a church that meets these needs and churches have largely been successful at providing what people are seeking. However, being a pastor is a huge challenge that requires casting clear vision and making important decisions. We hope the findings in this study provide some confidence and support to pastors while also giving them some things to consider." For the full report, contact: Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts VP: darrell@infinityconcepts.com, 724-930-2801, or Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research President: ron@greymatterresearch.com, 602-684-6294 Definition of "Evangelical Protestant" This study uses the definition of "evangelical" favored by the National Association of Evangelicals, based on four key spiritual beliefs. The Authors: Grey Matter Research is a marketing research and consumer insights company with extensive experiencing serving the charitable and religious sectors. Infinity Concepts is a brand communication agency inspiring people of faith to action through consulting, branding, fundraising, public relations, creative, traditional media, and digital media. SOURCE Infinity Concepts CONTACT: Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts VP, 724-930-2801, darrell@infinityconcepts.com; Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research President, 602-684-6294, ron@greymatterresearch.com By Tom Wilson LONDON (Reuters) - The global computing power of the bitcoin network has dropped sharply as the shutdown this week of Kazakhstan's internet during a deadly uprising hit the country's fast-growing cryptocurrency mining industry. Kazakhstan became last year the world's second-largest centre for bitcoin mining after the United States, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, after major hub China clamped down on crypto mining activity. Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to help put down the countrywide uprising after violence spread across the tightly controlled former Soviet state. Police said they had killed dozens of rioters in the main city Almaty, while state television said 13 members of the security forces had died. The internet was on Wednesday shut down across the country in what monitoring site Netblocks called "a nation-scale internet blackout". The move would have likely prevented Kazakhstan-based miners from accessing the bitcoin network. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrenices are created or "mined" by high-powered computers, usually at data centres in different parts of the world, which compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles in a highly energy-intensive process. In August last year, the most recent data available, Kazakhstan accounted for 18% of the global "hashrate" - crypto lingo for the amount of computing power being used by computers hooked up to the bitcoin network. In April, before China's latest clampdown on bitcoin mining, the figure was just 8%. The hashrate at major crypto mining pools - groups of miners in different locations that team up to produce bitcoin - including AntPool and F2Pool was on Thursday at 1215 GMT down around 14% from its level late on Tuesday, according to data from mining firm BTC.com. Neither pool immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment, CRACKDOWN ON CRYPTO MINING Yet a drop in hashrate isn't necessarily supportive for the price of bitcoin. Bitcoin fell below $43,000 on Thursday, testing multi-month lows after investor appetite for riskier assets fell as the U.S. Federal Reserve leant toward more aggressive policy action. The more miners on the network, the greater the amount of computer power is needed to mine new bitcoin. The hashrate falls if miners drop off the network, in theory making it easier for the remaining miners to produce new coin. Kazakhstan's crypto mining farms are mostly powered by ageing coal plants which themselves - along with coal mines and whole towns built around them - are a headache for authorities as they seek to decarbonise the economy. The Kazakh government said last year it planned to crack down first on unregistered "grey" miners who it estimates might be consuming twice as much power as the "white" or officially registered ones. Its energy ministry said last year "grey" mining may be consuming up to 1.2 GWt of power, which together with "white" miners' 600 MWt comes up to about 8% of Kazakhstan's total generation capacity. The country's uprising began with protests in the west of the country against a New Year's Day fuel price hike. (Reporting by Tom Wilson; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley (D, OR) blasted Teslas (TSLA) decision to open a showroom in Chinas controversial Xinjiang region, adding to growing criticism of the Austin-based companys actions. Speaking to Yahoo Finance Live, Merkley said Teslas action gives cover to the Chinese government and its campaign against Muslim Uyghur minorities. When a company decides to place its enterprise in the middle of this setting of genocide and slavery it is really doing something very unethical. It is basically saying these things don't matter, Merkley said. I think companies should steer very clear of having enterprises [in Xinjiang] even if they are not producing stuff. As chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, Merkley has long been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He co-sponsored the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the Senate, banning U.S. imports from the region, unless companies can prove forced labor was not used to make them. Tesla opened its showroom in Xinjiang, just days after President Biden signed the bill into law. 'Slavery of some million individuals' Human Rights Watch has estimated that China has detained more than 1 million Uyghurs in a forced assimilation campaign aimed at cultural and ethnic cleansing. The Trump and Biden administrations have both strongly condemned Beijings actions, saying it amounts to "genocide and crimes against humanity." It is not just an accusation by this administration. It is the result of a thorough effort by the State Department under the Trump administration, followed by a thorough review by this administration, Merkley said. We're talking about cultural genocide, but we're also talking about strategies to prevent the reproduction that is to prevent them from having children, separation of children from families for sterilizations. And we're talking about slavery, slavery of some million individuals. Ethnic Uyghur men take part in a protest against China, in front of the Caglayan Courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya China has denied those accusations, dismissing them as lies "concocted by anti-China forces." That has placed multinational companies operating in the region, in the political crosshairs. Last month, Intel (INTC) issued an apology on Chinese social networks after it sent local suppliers a letter saying it would no longer use labor and parts from Xinjiang to comply with the new import ban. Last week, Walmart (WMT) faced backlash after users on Weibo accused the company of removing Xinjiang products from the online shopping app for Sams Club. A company representative later denied those allegations, saying customers simply couldnt find the products "because of a misunderstanding" of the apps search function. Marriott International (MAR), which counts China as its second largest market and operates a hotel in Urumqi under its brand Ramada International Hotels and Resorts, faced uproar when the firm's Marriott location in Prague refused to host a Uyghur conference in November, citing the need for "political neutrality." Marriott International President Stephanie Linnartz told Yahoo Finance, the hotel chain needed to toe a delicate line between operating under individual country rules, while "staying true to our values." "I wish there was one simple answer to your question, but in my view, and in our company's view, we need to navigate both simultaneously," Linnartz said. China 'doesn't get a free pass' Chinas human rights record is expected to be in focus, ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympic games next month, where the U.S., Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and Japan have all announced a diplomatic boycott. The International Olympic Committee chose to keep the Olympics in China in Beijing, even as China engaged in one, accelerating the intensity of their devastation of the Uighur population, and stripped outright the political rights of the citizens of Hong Kong, violating the agreement that China had made with Hong Kong, Merkley said. It puts the athletes in the position of essentially helping put the glitz and glamour of the Olympics to cover up what China is doing... I applaud the Biden administration [for boycotting], I applaud the United Kingdom, I applaud Australia. But where's the rest of the free world? They need to join in dramatizing this so China knows it doesn't get a free pass. Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AkikoFujita Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Thursday delivered what he declared was the God's truth marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, the violent attack by Donald Trump's supporters that has fundamentally changed Congress and raised global concerns about the future of American democracy. Biden's criticism was particularly blistering of then-President Trump and his violent supporters. For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Biden said. But they failed. I will stand in this breach, he declared, his voice rising. Democracy was attacked, Biden said at the Capitol. We the people endure. We the people prevailed. The president and congressional Democrats started the day in Statuary Hall, one of several spots where rioters swarmed a year ago and interrupted the electoral count. Biden drew a contrast between the truth of what happened and the false narratives that have sprung up about the Capitol assault, including the continued refusal by many Republicans to affirm that Biden won the 2020 election. You and I and the whole world saw with our own eyes, Biden said. He asked those listening to close their eyes and recall what they saw that day, as he described the harrowing, violent scene, the mob attacking police, threatening the House speaker, erecting gallows threatening to hang the vice president all while then-President Trump sat at the White House watching it on TV. Here is the Gods truth about Jan. 6, 2021, Biden said. They were looking to subvert the Constitution." We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie. Here's the truth, he said. "The former president of the United States of America has spread a web of lies about the 2020 election." A series of remembrance events during the day will be widely attended by Democrats, in person and virtually, but almost every Republican on Capitol Hill will be absent. The division is a stark reminder of the rupture between the two parties, worsening since hundreds of Trumps supporters violently pushed past police, used their fists and flagpoles to break through the windows of the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Bidens victory. While congressional Republicans almost universally condemned the attack in the days afterward, most have stayed loyal to the former president. Rep. Liz Cheney, chair of the House committee investigating the attack and one of the few GOP lawmakers attending the Capitol ceremonies, warned that the threat continues. Trump, she said, "continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6. Unfortunately, too many in my own party are embracing the former president, are looking the other way or minimizing the danger, she told NBC's Today. Thats how democracies die. We simply cannot let that happen. Others, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, were absent, with a contingent of colleagues attending the funeral for former Sen. Johnny Isakson in Georgia. In a bid to inform the public, Democrats investigating the insurrection plan to spend the coming months telling the American people exactly what happened last Jan. 6. But leaders will spend the anniversary appealing to broader patriotic instincts. During the 2020 campaign, Biden said his impetus for running for the White House was to fight for the soul of the nation after watching Trumps comments that some good people were among the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. He warned that American democracy was at stake, and his view is that the Jan. 6 attack was a vivid demonstration of his fears. Biden has come under criticism from some in his party for not forcibly explaining to Americans the ways democracy is at risk, or pushing Congress hard enough to pass election and voting rights legislation that is stalled by a filibuster in the Senate. The president has suggested democracy can be bolstered by showing Americans government can work. But critics say that is not enough. On Thursday, aides said, Biden will harken back to his call during his inaugural address, just two weeks after the insurrection, for leaders to speak the truth about the attack and what motivated it even as some GOP lawmakers and the the public deny the events of that day. There is truth and there are lies, Biden said at the time. Lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation to defend the truth and to defeat the lies. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, too, is marking the anniversary with a high-minded appeal, telling The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that democracy won that night, when Congress returned to the Capitol after the riot and affirmed Bidens victory. To honor the anniversary, Pelosi has scheduled a moment of silence in the House, where many members were evacuated and some were trapped as the rioters tried to break in. She will also deliver private remarks to Hill staff who, as she told AP, stayed to protect our democracy. Later the Democratic leaders will hold a moderated discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham; and a session featuring testimonials from members who were there that day. While many lawmakers will be absent due to concerns about COVID-19, several of the events will be livestreamed so they can participate. Bidens sharp message and the Republicans distance from it come as lawmakers are adjusting to the new normal on Capitol Hill the growing tensions that many worry will result in more violence or, someday, a legitimate election being overturned. Democrats and a handful of Republicans feel a desperate urgency to connect to a public in which some have come to believe Trumps lies that the election was stolen from him and that the attack wasnt violent at all. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 3 in 10 Republicans say the attack was not violent, and about another 3 in 10 say it was somewhat violent. Around two-thirds of Americans described the day as very or extremely violent, including about 9 in 10 Democrats. As Biden is prepared to direct blame toward the former president, the percentage of Americans who blame Trump for the Jan. 6 riot has grown slightly over the past year, with 57% saying he bears significant responsibility for what took place. In an AP-NORC poll taken in the days after the attack, 50% said that. Trump's claims of widespread election fraud were rejected by the courts and refuted by his own Justice Department. An investigation by the AP found fewer than 475 cases of voter fraud among 25.5 million ballots cast in the six battleground states disputed by Trump, a minuscule number in percentage terms. ___ Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report. A California man alleges he lost full use of his right arm after a police K-9 violently latched onto it during a 2020 arrest stemming from an erroneous report of a stolen rental car, according to a federal lawsuit. Ali Badr, 42, of Oakland, filed the civil lawsuit last month against the city of San Ramon, its police chief, Craig Stevens, and seven officers, following the Dec. 20, 2020, stop of a 2017 Toyota Camry that Badr was renting. The car was reported stolen by its owner, the lawsuit said. But an attorney for Badr, Matthew Haley, told NBC News his client had only fallen behind on a payment. The lawsuit accuses police of using excessive force and violating Badrs civil rights, when Officer John Cattolico, the dogs handler, released the animal. Badr was complying with police orders and not posing a threat to them during the 6:20 p.m. traffic stop, the lawsuit said. Badrs subsequent apprehension was partly captured on police video released this week by Badrs attorney to the San Francisco Chronicle. Ali Badrs subsequent apprehension was partly captured on police video. (San Ramon Police Department / via Matthew Haley) The complaint, seen by NBC News, says the K-9 violently bit Badrs arm for about a minute. With the K-9 still latched onto BADR, ripping and tearing at his arm and hand while BADR screamed in pain, CATTOLICO walked toward Plaintiff while removing his service weapon and pointing it directly at BADRs face, the lawsuit said. According to the lawsuit, Cattolico then grabbed Badrs left arm, while the dogs teeth were still sunken into Badrs other arm, and threw Badr to the ground. The officer then knelt on Badrs back, and grabbed his neck and forced him face-down on the pavement while two other officers also knelt on Badrs back as he was handcuffed, the suit said. The police K-9 was allowed to continue biting the Plaintiff for over 50 seconds, the lawsuit said. During the traffic stop, all officers named as defendants pointed their guns at Badr. No officers intervened during the dog attack, the lawsuit said. The city attorney for San Ramon, Martin Lysons, told NBC News in a letter on Wednesday that an internal investigation is being conducted, "including a review of current policies and whether or not the actions of the officers involved were consistent with those policies." "The injuries sustained by Ali Badr are a matter of great concern to the City of San Ramon and its Police Department, and we wish Mr. Badr a speedy return to his normal life," Lysons said. "The City has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens and their property and takes this responsibility very seriously." Citing the ongoing litigation, Lysons said there would be no other updates from the city. NBC News has not seen Badrs arrest report and Lysons said a request for copy was being reviewed. Police Chief Stevens and Mayor David Hudson did not respond to requests for comment. It was unclear if any of the officers who responded to the traffic stop were disciplined. Cattolico could also not be immediately reached. Badr declined to comment on Tuesday. The immigrant from Egypt worked as an Uber driver, Haley said. Badr used the rental car in his job with Uber Eats, Haley said Wednesday. Its had a significant effect on him, both physically and mentally. Hes still in shock from the whole thing. Hes been unable to come to grips with it, Haley said. The video speaks for itself. It was just completely uncalled for. There was no reason to release that dog and then allow the dog to remain with him on the ground. Video of the traffic stop posted by the San Francisco Chronicle shows an officer restraining a dog while yelling orders, telling the alleged suspect to get his hands out of the window and then put his hands in the air. It is unclear what happened prior to the video being recorded. Once the man is out of the vehicle, the dog is released and the man is heard screaming. After the dog is released, the man asks police repeatedly, What I did? What I did? After he is handcuffed, he asks police again, What I did? I just want to know, according to the video. Badr has not regained full use of his right arm, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit also names as defendants the rental cars owner, John Blomeke, CEO an co-founder of CarMommy Rentals LLC. The company is based out of San Jose, Calif. Another company was involved in the car rental, Hyrecar Inc., based in Los Angeles, the lawsuit said. The companies and Blomeke were negligent and also responsible for Badrs injuries, according to the lawsuit. A representative of Hyrecar declined comment Tuesday. Blomeke could not be reached. Blomeke incorrectly reported the car stolen, according to the lawsuit. The defendants had a duty to ensure Badr would not be a subject to a false stolen vehicle report, the lawsuit said. Badr entered into a contract for the rental car from Aug. 28, 2020, until Dec. 23, 2020, the lawsuit said. Following his detainment, Badr was hospitalized and received dozens of stitches on his arm, according to Haley. The case was never pursued for prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorneys Office, Haley said. No one with the office responded to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon on if police recommended charges. Dog custody: Spain to consider pets' welfare in divorce battles As of January 5, 2022 pets are legally members of the family in Spain By Corina Pons MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will consider a pet's welfare when couples divorce or break-up from Wednesday in a legal shift that strengthens the case for couples obtaining shared custody of their animals. The decision follows similar moves in France and Portugal and obliges judges to consider pets as sentient beings rather than objects owned by one or the other partner, a trend that was already underway before the law was passed. "Animals are part of the family and when a family decides to separate, the fate of the animal must be regulated with the same importance as the fate of other family members," said lawyer Lola Garcia, 42. In October, a Madrid judge gave joint custody of a dog to an unmarried couple who sought a court ruling on whom the pet should stay with after they separated. The dog spends a month with each of them and both are legally responsible. Garcia, whose Rights&Animals firm handled the case, considers the reform a major first step in a series of forthcoming legal changes governing people's relationship with animals. Pet ownership is high in Spain among European countries and the left-wing coalition government plans further legislation to strengthen animal rights, including a ban on wild animals in circuses and stopping the sale of pets in shops. However, the nation remains polarised around the tradition of bullfighting, a hotly contested animal rights issue that is unlikely to be resolved in the near future. Previously, a lawyer seeking joint custody of a pet had to prove both members of a couple owned the animal as an object, giving whoever had registered the pet an advantage. Now a judge has to determine where the animal will fare better and that determination is based on the animal's wellbeing Garcia explained. A partner that can demonstrate financial solvency or who has been granted custody of their children has a better chance of securing custody of any pets too, as there is a special affective link between children and animals, she added. Rodrigo Costavilas, 31, a psychologist out walking his dog in the Madrid Rio park praised the new law. "This will help in the reduction of animals being abandoned or badly treated." (Reporting by Corina Pons and Michael Gore; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) French Republican Guards stand wearing protective masks after the first weekly cabinet meeting of the year at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. An unprecedented number of coronavirus infections is once again exposing the underfunding and shortcomings of public health care systems, even in developed parts of Europe. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) PARIS (AP) France is allowing vaccinated travelers from South Africa to enter its territory without having to observe a coronavirus quarantine. The French government published a decree Thursday that removed South Africa from the list of places subject to highly restricted travel rules. Unvaccinated people coming from South Africa still must quarantine in France for 10 days under supervision from local authorities. France almost completely banned travel to and from South Africa after the first COVID-19 cases involving the omicron variant were detected in South Africa in November. The highly contagious variant has since spread around the world, causing record daily cases in the United States and parts of Europe. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that omicron is now estimated to represent 70% to 80% of all infections in France. France, which has one of Europe's most-vaccinated populations, reported more than 332,000 new virus cases on Wednesday. The number set a European record for the highest single-day national count of confirmed cases. ___ Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic WASHINGTON (AP) A deeply divided Congress is showing the world a very unsettled view from the U.S. Capitol: Rather than a national crisis that pulls the country together, the deadly riot on Jan. 6, 2021, only seems to have pushed lawmakers further apart. Some members are planning to mark the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection with a moment of silence. Others will spend the day educating Americans on the workings of democracy. And still others dont think the deadliest domestic attack on Congress in the nation's history needs to be remembered at all. Where they stand on remembrance can be largely attributed to their political party, a jarring discord that shows the country's lawmakers remain strikingly at odds over how to unify a torn nation. The president who had been fairly and legitimately defeated, Donald Trump, told his followers to fight like hell to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election and said he would march with them to the Capitol, though he did not. The result was violence and mayhem that left five people dead in the immediate aftermath, hundreds facing charges and millions of dollars in property damage. But the lack of bipartisan resolve to assign responsibility for the siege or acknowledge the threat it posed has eroded trust among lawmakers, turned ordinary legislative disputes into potential crises and left the door open for more violence after the next disputed election. It all sets Congress adrift toward a gravely uncertain future: Did Jan. 6 bring the end of one era or the start of a new one? One thing that people should consider when thinking about Jan. 6 is ... people should think about the fragility of democracy, said Joanne Freeman, a professor of history and American studies at Yale, whose book Field of Blood chronicles violence and bloodshed in Congress in the years before the Civil War. Seeing few historical parallels, Freeman warned, Were at a moment where things that people have taken for granted about the working of a democratic politics cant be taken for granted anymore." In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as President in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The aftermath of Jan. 6 hangs heavy over snow-covered Capitol Hill, in the relationships that deepened between lawmakers who feared for their lives that day and those that have frayed beyond repair. The Capitol, before the riot a symbol of the openness of American democracy, remains closed to most visitors in part because of the coronavirus pandemic public health concerns, but also because of the escalated number of violent threats against lawmakers. Representatives are required to pass through metal detectors because Democrats say they cannot trust their Republican colleagues not to bring firearms to the House during floor proceedings. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., said every time he leaves his office he scans the hallways for potential threats a feeling he said that, as a Black American, is familiar, but one that he never expected as a member of Congress. The lack of freedom of movement without fear is not there at the Capitol. And Im a member of Congress," Bowman said. Bowman has asked Biden to declare Jan. 6 a National Day of Healing. But Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of Republican leadership, has no plans to memorialize the day, and he doesnt think others should, either. This thing has already become way too politicized, and that would just further exacerbate it, he said. Trumps false claims of voter fraud have continued to foment division, met mostly with silence from Republicans in Congress unwilling to contradict his version of events. Some two-thirds of House Republicans and more than a handful of GOP senators voted against certifying the election results that night, after police had battled the rioters for hours, sometimes in hand-to-hand combat. That the Republicans would carry on with their objections, after all that, stunned Democratic colleagues. Views hardened. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who went forward with efforts to block the certification after the riot, brushed off questions about it, saying hes talked about it enough. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said he had no second thoughts about his vote to block certification. I am proud of leading the effort to defend voter integrity, Cruz said. He decried the siege as unacceptable, a terrorist attack. But he also said the insistence by Democrats and the media of no mass voter fraud "only inflamed the divisions we have. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., walks into the House chamber before a joint session of the House and Senate convenes to count the electoral votes cast in the 2020 election, at the Capitol, on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) An investigation by The Associated Press found fewer than 475 cases of voter fraud among 25.5 million ballots cast in the six battleground states disputed by Trump, a minuscule number in percentage terms. Unlike past national traumas including the 2001 terror attacks the country has emerged from Jan. 6 without an agreed upon road map for what comes next. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot whose New Jersey-area district recently marked the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, said people have repeatedly recalled in these sort of bewildered tones" how united the country was that day compared to now. It feels like a huge break from our history," Sherrill said. The result is not just a breakdown in trust among colleagues, but also a loss of common national commitment to the rules and norms of democracy. Routine disputes over ordinary issues in Congress can quickly devolve into menacing threats as happened when several Republican lawmakers started receiving violent messages, including a death threat, after voting for an otherwise bipartisan infrastructure bill that Trump opposed. The two Republicans on the House panel investigating the attack, Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, face calls to be banished from their party. Despite dozens of court cases and published reports showing no widespread voter fraud, Trumps baseless claims have become the party standard and led to what some call a slow-motion insurrection as his supporters work the machinery of local elections in ways that are alarming voting rights advocates. Democrats are redoubling efforts to approve stalled election legislation that seeks to bolster ballot access and protect election officials from harassment. But to pass the bill in the evenly split Senate, they are considering dramatic rules changes to overcome a Republican filibuster. Many of Trump's supporters have argued they are the ones fighting to save democracy. Two-thirds of Americans described the siege as very or extremely violent, according to an AP-NORC poll, but only 4 in 10 Republicans recall the attack that way. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the false story that the election was rigged or stolen has just continued to be spun and spun and spun. She said, The danger is when people act on it. Yet unlike the hundreds of Americans being prosecuted for their roles in Jan. 6, many members of Congress face no reprimand and could be rewarded for their actions. Hawley and Cruz are both considered potential 2024 presidential candidates. GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who rushed to Mar-a-Lago to patch things up with Trump after initially being critical of the insurrection, remains on track to become the next House speaker if Republicans with Trump's help win control in the November election. And GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has seen her profile and fundraising skyrocket as she shares Trumps baseless theories and decries the treatment of defendants jailed for their role in the attack. Were in this no mans land, where basically anything goes, and thats a very unsettling place to be in a legislative body, said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt. And its really a very unsettling place for the country to be. This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a test launch of a hypersonic missile in North Korea Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea claimed Thursday to have conducted the second successful test flight of a hypersonic missile, days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his military forces despite pandemic-related difficulties. Wednesdays launch, the Norths first known weapons test in about two months, indicates the country will press ahead with plans to modernize its nuclear and missile arsenals rather than return to disarmament talks anytime soon. The official Korean Central News Agency said the Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party expressed great satisfaction at the results of the missile test, which was observed by leading weapons officials. Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. Its unclear whether and how soon North Korea could manufacture such a high-tech missile, but it was among a wish-list of sophisticated military assets that Kim disclosed early last year, along with a multi-warhead missile, spy satellites, solid-fueled long-range missiles and underwater-launched nuclear missiles. Wednesdays test was the second of its kind since North Korea first launched a hypersonic missile last September. The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state, a KCNA dispatch said. The word strategic implies the missile is being developed to deliver nuclear weapons. KCNA said the missile made a 120-kilometer-long (75 mile) lateral movement before hitting a target 700 kilometers (435 miles) away. It said the test reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile and verified its fuel capsule under the winter weather conditions. While North Korea appears to have made progress in the development of a hypersonic missile, it still needs more test flights to determine whether it meets its tactical objectives or how advanced a hypersonic weapon it could develop, said Lee Choon Geun, an expert and honorary research fellow at South Koreas Science and Technology Policy Institute. A photo of the launch shows that the upper parts of the missiles launched in September and this week have different shapes. Lee said this suggests that North Korea is testing two versions of warheads for a missile still under development or it is actually developing two different types of hypersonic missiles. He said the missiles reported lateral movement would provide the weapon with a greater maneuverability to evade enemy missile defense systems. Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely go ahead with its arms build-up plans without being affected by external factors like the Beijing Olympics in February, the South Korean presidential election in March and a possible change in the Biden administrations North Korea policy. Given the U.S. has decided on a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, North Korea doesnt have to worry about what China would think when it conducts weapons tests, Kim said. China is North Koreas last major ally and aid benefactor. Some experts earlier predicted that North Korea would not launch any provocations until the Beijing Olympics ended. Tae Yongho, a former North Korean diplomat who now serves as a lawmaker in South Korea, wrote on Facebook that Pyongyang is keeping its borders shut due to fears about the pandemic. But he said Pyongyang is still working to perfect its missile technology to boost its position in any future negotiations. The Norths latest launch was first detected by its neighbors. The U.S. military called it a ballistic missile launch that highlights the destabilizing impact of (North Koreas) illicit weapons program, while South Korea and Japan expressed concerns or regrets over the launch. China, for its part, called for dialogue and said that all parties concerned should keep in mind the big picture (and) be cautious with their words and actions. U.S.-led diplomacy on North Koreas nuclear program remains stalled since 2019 due to disputes over international sanctions on the North. The Biden administration has repeatedly called for resuming the nuclear diplomacy anywhere and at any time without preconditions, but North Korea has argued the U.S. must first withdraw its hostility against it before any talks can restart. During last weeks plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party, Kim Jong Un repeated his vow to expand his countrys military capabilities without publicly presenting any new positions on Washington and Seoul. The Norths advancing nuclear arsenal is the core of Kims rule, and hes called it a powerful treasured sword that thwarts potential U.S. aggressions. During his 10-year rule, hes conducted an unusually large number of weapons tests to acquire an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the American mainland. But his countrys economy has faltered severely in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sanctions and his governments own mismanagement. BARCELONA, Spain Just hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Dec. 27 that it was slashing the isolation time for people who test positive for COVID-19, European governments scrambled to follow the U.S. health agencys lead. Mirroring the new edict, Greece cut the requisite days of self-confinement from 10 to five days, a move followed by the Czech Republic. Portugal and Ireland likewise fell in line, like Spain lessening isolation periods for those with COVID-19 to a week. The stakes surrounding the CDCs decision are high in Europe, which last week reported over 5 million cases of the disease caused by exposure to the coronavirus. With the Omicron variant continuing its breathtaking spread, this week Europe accounted for 57 percent of the worlds confirmed new COVID cases, shattering all previous case records, resulting in labor shortages, disruptions to public transport and overburdened hospitals. That helps to explain why many European government officials quickly jumped on the CDC bandwagon, not only shortening isolation periods but many also controversially scrapping the need for a negative test before someone can return to public life. Children at the annual Epiphany parade in Madrid on Wednesday. Experts say holiday merrymaking helped spread the virus. (Susana Vera/Reuters) But the new guidelines, modeled after the CDCs, are triggering alarm among European public health agencies and epidemiologists, who question whether they are justified or wise. Dr. Daniel Lopez-Acuna, former director of crisis management at the World Health Organization, told Yahoo News that it is perilous to ignore the highly contagious nature of Omicron. We are gambling, we are playing with fire and making quick fixes, said Lopez-Acuna. We need to stick to isolations and quarantine that will impede circulation of this contagion. He recommends that countries maintain their previous 10-day isolation policies. Cellular biologist Salvador Macip, who advises Spains regional government in Catalonia, also views the scramble to change isolation times with concern. "Seven days, five days that's risky," he told Yahoo News. We don't have enough data about Omicron yet. With the Delta variant there is sound science that the first five days are when you see most of the infections. But we have no idea if Omicron behaves the same way, he added, noting that Omicron acts quite differently once in a host. Omicron may be less intense as a disease but may be contagious for longer than Delta. Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, was likewise surprised by the CDC's change in isolation guidelines as well as by those European countries that quickly adopted the U.S. protocol. It is far from clear what the evidence is for this decision, he told Yahoo News, adding that there is considerable evidence that many people remain infectious at five days. A technician prepares PCR tests for the coronavirus at the Lower Saxony State Health Office in Hannover, Germany, on Wednesday. (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images) Acknowledging that countries must make their own policies, the WHO isnt changing its recommendations about the coronavirus. While some governments are shortening isolation periods [due to] the massive surge of COVID-19 cases and the disruption that is causing, WHO guidance remains the same, Dr. Catherine Smallwood, COVID-19 incident manager at WHO Europe, told Yahoo News. That guidance, she added, is 10 days of isolation after a positive test for asymptomatic cases. For those exhibiting symptoms, she said, the WHO recommends 13 days of isolation at minimum. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control is also wary of the ongoing reductions in isolation times, all the more since studies on Omicron are lacking. The agency, currently reviewing its guidelines, is particularly concerned about those who havent gotten COVID shots. For unvaccinated individuals with COVID-19, no evidence exists to allow decreasing the isolation period, an agency spokesperson noted in an email to Yahoo News. While recognizing that the latest surge has crippled workforces, including essential workers, the ECDC is urging European countries to take into account the local epidemiological situation, testing capacity and the socio-economic effects of the pandemic in the specific setting. As a rule, the shorter the isolation period, the higher the residual risk. Therefore, shortening the isolation period requires a balance of probabilities and a decision on how much residual risk of transmission one is willing to accept. Health workers attend to a COVID-19 patient at Timone hospital in Marseille, France, on Wednesday. (Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images) Some countries in Europe, such as the U.K. (which reported 194,747 new cases on Wednesday) and France (which reported a whopping 332,252 cases), are lowering isolation times to a week, but still require negative tests before isolation can be ended. However, the tossing out of test requirements by other countries including Spain, which reported 137,180 new cases on Wednesday while shortening self-isolation periods is raising eyebrows among COVID experts. For one thing, Europe isnt currently experiencing the widespread shortages of at-home antigen tests seen in the U.S. If countries are going to shorten the isolation times, [they should] require tests, Macip said. Theyre still taking a risk, but its less of a risk. The CDC, whose advice includes wearing well-fitting masks for five days once one reenters public life from isolation, opted this week not to formally add a testing requirement to its isolation guidelines, as had been widely anticipated. It did, however, add mention of it on a list of recommendations posted on its website. If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test around the fifth day, read the updated CDC guidelines. Those testing positive should isolate for another five days, according to the agency. But experts say the agencys no-test-necessary policy only increases the chance that European countries wont add testing requirements to their altered isolation policies either. CDC has a lot of clout internationally, said Lopez-Acuna, noting that Spain, for one, is listening to the CDC over European health agencies and its own governments medical board of advisers, which did not endorse the changes to isolation protocol before they went into effect. Lopez-Acuna critical of the new American guidelines, which he said ignore epidemiological logic regards the public health agencys recent changes as a rushed action, a mistake by CDC that was then followed by a number of countries that will have effects around the world. A person with free COVID-19 test kits at a Madrid pharmacy on Dec. 28, after regional authorities restocked supplies. (Javier Barbancho/Reuters) Macip thinks some European governments are adopting CDC guidelines in a belief that they will escape blame if the moves backfire. They were waiting for somebody to cast the first stone, he said. Now they can say, Look, the CDC is doing it! That can be their excuse. He is also chagrined that the results of home tests often arent reported to health authorities, thus skewing the true extent of the Omicron wave. In Europe, which collectively reported 1.29 million new cases on Wednesday, according to Our World in Data, the official numbers are crazy high, Macip said. But it looks like there are many more cases than that. A public relations specialist in Brussels, who requested anonymity, underscores that point. When she and her family tested positive at Christmas while visiting a small town in France, she didnt report their status to French health authorities, nor did she report it to the Belgian health agency when they returned home, a situation mirrored by other people she knows. Theres a hidden community of people who have COVID and dont declare it, she said. And since they havent blipped on government radar, they are free to ignore the official guidelines for isolation, which in Belgium is 10 days. After a week and two negative COVID home tests, she returned to socializing. People on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain, on Dec. 23. (Emilio Morenatti/AP) Lopez-Acuna laments that the CDC guidance is having such an effect on Europe, especially during the holidays, which in some European countries dont officially end until Jan. 7, and he wishes European health agencies would step up and issue cautionary advisories. We are reducing isolation times at the worst possible moment, he said, when steady increases are producing a tsunami of Omicron cases, during a season of unprotected social interactions. He predicts that January in Europe is going to be a very difficult month, all the more with decreased isolation times and discarded testing requirements increasing the odds that Omicron which so far appears to cause less severe illness than Delta, though it is already overwhelming hospitals and shaking economies will spread even faster. _____ How are vaccination rates affecting the latest COVID surge? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out. State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday that the education department will pursue an initiative to add 10,000 mental health clinicians to schools. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Confronted with a shortage of school mental health counselors, the state Department of Education is seeking to bring 10,000 more professionals to campuses at a time when federal public health officials are calling for action to address the nation's growing youth mental health crisis. The counselor effort, which requires legislative approval, would aim to entice clinicians into schools through loan forgiveness and deferrals, scholarships to offset education costs and potentially reduce the time it takes for mental health clinicians to get licensed, Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday during a visit to Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles. Thurmond said he is in talks with legislators and hopes a measure, projected to cost $250 million, can be introduced in coming weeks. I can't think of anything more important right now in terms of dealing with the trauma that students and families have experienced, Thurmond said. But the reality is that there is a shortage, there just aren't enough counselors at many schools and many communities, urban, suburban, rural. For years, educators have warned of a shortage of mental health professionals. A 2018 report by researchers at the Healthforce Center at UCSF found that if current trends continued, by 2028, the state will have 41% fewer psychiatrists than needed and 11% fewer psychologists, licensed professional clinical counselors and licensed clinical social workers than needed to meet the state's healthcare needs. In December, U.S. General Surgeon Vivek H. Murthy issued a rare public advisory that outlined concerns of a sharp rise in anxiety and depression among young people. The report offered recommendations on what communities including schools, parents and technology companies can do to address it. Murthys advisory includes a recommendation to support expanding the workforce for mental health professionals. In the school setting, governments should invest in building a pipeline of school counselors, nurses, social workers, and school psychologists, the advisory states. Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger, a pediatrician and chief executive of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in Los Angeles County, joined Thurmond to speak about the pandemic's effects on children and how it has led to increased misbehavior in schools. We're seeing the effects of trauma getting literally underneath kids skin and manifesting in behaviors in our classrooms, in our homes, in our communities, in our clinics, that weve really never seen before, Goldfinger said. We have had in the United States a national emerging emergency or pandemic of mental illness in our youth because we have not invested previously in our workforce. We have really treated mental health differently than physical health and acted like it wasn't as important, when underneath it all, mental health is foundational to physical health." Loretta Whitson, executive director of the California Assn. of School Counselors, said the proposal is a good first step," but cautioned against sending "less qualified people" in the rush to address the crises. Aspiring mental health clinicians typically go through more than six years of education and extensive clinical work before working full time, Whitson said. She said a preliminary certification to allow students to assist in school settings could help ease the demand facing schools. There could be a system in place where theyre supporting those counselors, Whitson said. As long as theyre not supplanting those fully trained. Efforts to increase access to a career in mental health by easing financial burdens are welcome, Whitson said, because the problem in expanding the workforce will persist as long as schools see a need. There is a mental health crisis in which we have to put all of our energy into our schools to help kids, Whitson said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. I recently heard a story of a man who was on a plane returning home from a business trip in another country. It was a long flight, so he decided to lean back, close his eyes, and get some rest. About an hour into the flight, he awoke with a jolt just as the pilot came on the PA system to inform passengers that they were experiencing turbulence and that all should remain calm and seated with their seatbelts fastened. The plane however kept shaking violently, causing the oxygen masks to fall and luggage in the storage compartment to dislodge. As the man looked around anxiously, he realized that many people were crying and others were praying, but what surprised him was this little girl sitting by herself across the aisle from him who was seated calmly with her hands in her lap, seemingly undisturbed by the chaos around her. Eventually the turbulence ended, and the plane landed safely. As they were preparing to disembark, the man turned to the girl and asked her why she was never afraid when everyone else was terrified around her during turbulence. The girl simply replied, My father is the pilot! My thoughts on the story 1. God does not change. As I reflect on this story, the first thing that stood out for me was how quickly things can change. One moment, we can be good and enjoying our lives and in the next moment chaos and turmoil can reign around us, as fear and worry rule within. Many of us experienced change in one way or another, after Covid-19 emerged in China and quickly spread across the world like wildfire, leaving in its wake confusion, loss and death. It changed the way we travel, socialize, work and even the way we dress daily. Worldwide, mental health suffered a blow as people grappled with fear, anxiety and depression, due to issues relating to the pandemic such as loss of jobs, inability to purchase food and pay bills, inability to be around friends and loved ones, as well as the fear of catching the virus itself. Covid-19 reminded us how unpredictable life can be and how suddenly things can change. It is however comforting to know that although situations can change for the worse, our God never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8) This should give us confidence because although our circumstances and people may change, and our relationships, careers and health may fail, our God will remain the same. He is dependable! let us cling to Him and hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23) 2. Know the man. The little girl was confident that although around her was disorder and confusion, all will be well in the end. Her conviction came from knowing exactly who the pilot was and that he was trustworthy. This knowledge must have come from her relationship and experiences with him. Likewise, we build our confidence in God as we grow in knowledge of who He is through His Word and our experiences with Him, as we depend on Him to pilot us safely through lifes many turbulences. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father should be an active and ongoing process as He transforms us into the image of His Son. The route He will take to get us there will not always be pleasant, but those experiences will teach us more about the nature of God and build our trust in Him. When we know God for ourselves, we can be content in all circumstances, because despite what we are going through, we know that our lives are safe in His hands and He will use it for His glory and for our good. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians chapter 1 verse 6) 3. Never alone. The man thought that the little girl was alone, and one can only imagine how traumatic such an experience could be for a child, but all along her father was there. In life, we all go through periods of pain, stress, confusion and anxiety and in those moments, we can believe that God is not with us. Thankfully, I have learned over the years that how I feel is not always the reality. Be sure of this, God is with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew chapter 28 verse 20). Hard times will have us questioning Gods presence in our lives, but even in those times, He is there. When the Israelites left Egypt, Gods presence was with them and guided them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. We may not have those signs today, but we do have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, guiding us, and interceding for us before our Loving Father. We are never alone. Whatever lies ahead on our paths, we have a Pilot who can weather any storm and bring us safely to our destination. Trust Him, He has experience, and He is dependable! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 8 NLT) PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) As a raging band of his supporters scaled walls, smashed windows, used flagpoles to beat police and breached the U.S. Capitol in a bid to overturn a free and fair election, Donald Trump's excommunication from the Republican Party seemed a near certainty, his name tarnished beyond repair. Some of his closest allies, including Fox News hosts like Laura Ingraham, warned that day that Trump was destroying his legacy. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough, said his friend and confidant Sen. Lindsey Graham. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader who worked closely with Trump to dramatically reshape the judiciary, later denounced him as morally responsible for the attack. But one year later, Trump is hardly a leader in exile. Instead, he is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and a leading contender for the 2024 presidential nomination. Trump is positioning himself as a powerful force in the primary campaigns that will determine who gets the party's backing heading into the fall midterms, when control of Congress, governor's offices and state election posts are at stake. At least for now, there's little stopping Trump as he makes unbending fealty to his vision of the GOP a litmus test for success in primary races, giving ambitious Republicans little incentive to cross him. Lets just say Im horrendously disappointed, said former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a longtime Republican who now serves on the advisory committee of the Renew America Movement, a group trying to wrest the party away from Trump's control. His ego was never going to let him accept defeat and go quietly into the night, she added. "But what I am surprised by is how deferential so many of the Republican elected officials" have been. Rather than expressing any contrition for the events of Jan. 6, Trump often seems emboldened and has continued to lie about his 2020 election loss. He frequently and falsely says the real insurrection was on Nov. 3, the date of the 2020 election when Democrat Joe Biden won in a 306-232 Electoral College victory and by a 7 million popular vote margin. Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. Undaunted, Trump is preparing for another run for the White House in 2024, and polls suggest that, at the moment, he would easily walk away with the GOP nomination. For Trump, the extraordinary outcome is the product of sheer will and a misinformation campaign that began long before the election, when he insisted the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged" and wouldn't commit to accepting defeat. His refusal to accept reality has flourished with the acquiescence of most Republican leaders, who tend to overlook the gravity of the insurrection for fear of fracturing a party whose base remains tightly aligned with Trump and his effort to minimize the severity of what happened on Jan. 6. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Perry, Ga., on Sept. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Ben Gray) While five people died during the rioting or its immediate aftermath, less than half of Republicans recall the attack as violent or extremely violent, according to a poll released this week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. About 3 in 10 Republicans said the attack was not violent. The situation has stunned and depressed critics in both political parties who were convinced the insurrection would force Republicans to abandon the Trump era once and for all. He became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. The second impeachment centered on his role in sparking the insurrection, but Trump was acquitted in a Senate trial, a clear indication that he would face few consequences for his actions. There was this hope when we were in the safe room that we would go back and the Republicans would see how crazy this was, how fragile our democracy was, what President Trump had done, and that they would renounce that and we would all come together," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., describing the events that day. Instead, she said, there were people defending the insurrectionists and defending Trump and continuing with the challenge and the Big Lie. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican who, with Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, has emerged as one of the few GOP anti-Trump critics in Congress, had predicted Trump's hold on the party would be gone" by the summer. But Kinzinger, who recently announced his decision not to run for reelection, blamed House Republican leader and Trump ally Kevin McCarthy for proving him wrong. "What I underestimated was the impact that one person would have on that, and that is Kevin McCarthy and his visit to Mar-a-Lago," Kinzinger said, referring to a trip McCarthy took to Florida in late January 2020 as the party was on the verge of disarray. With their eyes on retaking the House in 2022, Trump and McCarthy agreed to work together and released a photograph showing them smiling side by side. Kevin McCarthy is legitimately, singlehandedly the reason that Donald Trump is still a force in the party," Kinzinger said. That full-hearted embrace, I saw firsthand in members, made them not just scared to take on Trump but in some cases also full-heartedly embrace him." Aides to McCarthy didn't respond to a request for comment on Kinzinger's characterization. Others, however, point to fractures that suggest Trump's power is waning. Banned from Twitter and denied his other social media megaphones, Trump no longer controls the news cycle like he did in office. He canceled a news conference that was scheduled for Thursday following pressure from some Republican allies, who warned that such an event was ill-advised. People gather ahead of an appearance by former President Donald Trump at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa., on Oct. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Thomas Beaumont) During last year's most prominent elections, Republicans like Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin strategically kept Trump at arm's length. Youngkin's victory created a possible model for candidates running in battleground states where suburban voters uncomfortable with the former president are a key bloc. While Trump's endorsement remains coveted in many midterm primary races, it has also failed to clear the field in some key races. Trump has similarly struggled to prevent other Republicans from eyeing the 2024 presidential nomination. His former vice president, secretary of state and a handful of Senate allies have made frequent trips to early voting states, preparing for potential campaigns and refusing to rule out running against Trump. When somebody walks out of the most powerful office in the world, the Oval Office, to sit by the swimming pool at Mar-a-Lago, his influence declines, said John Bolton, Trumps former national security adviser. Bolton has funded extensive national and state-level polling on the subject over the last year that has found Trump's sway and the power of his endorsement waning considerably since he left office. I really think that the evidence is clear that the people are done with Trump, Bolton said. He still has support, but it is declining. Honestly, its not declining as fast as I would like to see and its not down to zero. But among real people, it is declining. Trump is also facing a flurry of investigations, including in New York, where prosecutors are investigating whether his real estate company misled banks and tax officials about the value of his assets, inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office confirmed this week that it has subpoenaed Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., as part of an investigation into the family's business practices. Both children have been prominent political surrogates for Trump. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the Jan. 6 committee continues to investigate the Trump White House's involvement in the deadly insurrection. Trump still has his eyes on 2024, even as he continues to obsess over the 2020 election. After spending 2021 raising money and announcing his endorsements of candidates who have parroted his election lies up and down the ballot, Trumps team is preparing to pivot to helping those candidates win with a stepped-up rally schedule and financial support, including transfers to candidate accounts and targeted advertising. Trump, according to allies, sees the midterms as a foundation for his next campaign, and intends to use the cycle to position himself for his party's nomination. Voting rights advocates, meanwhile, are increasingly worried as states with Republican legislatures push legislation that would allow them to influence or overrule the vote in future elections. They fear what might happen if Trump-endorsed candidates for secretary of state and attorney general who say the election was stolen find themselves in positions that could sway the outcome in 2024. Its a concerted effort to undermine our publics confidence in the electoral system, so in 2022 and 2024, if they don't like the elections and this is Republicans they can overturn it," said Whitman, who also serves as co-chair of States United Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to protect the integrity of future elections. We are in a very, very fragile place." UNITED STATES - JULY 29: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., prepares for a news conference outside the Capitol with members of the House Freedom Caucus to discuss the "expulsion of members from the House Republican Conference, on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Reps. Barry Moore, R-Ala., left, Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Andy Harris, R-Md., appear in the background. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams via Getty Images) DENVER (AP) A moderate Colorado state senator on Wednesday announced he is taking on Rep. Lauren Boebert in this year's GOP primary, the first challenge to the firebrand congresswoman by an elected Republican. Boebert has only been in office one year but become a divisive national figure for her flirtations with conspiratorial conservative thinking, her provocative social media style and for picking fights with Democratic colleagues like Rep. Ilhan Omar. The owner of a firearm-themed restaurant in the town of Rifle, Boebert has already drawn one primary challenger, Marina Zimmerman, a crane operator in the southwestern Colorado town of Arboles who's never run for office before. On Wednesday, State Sen. Don Coram, who is far better known and has a decade-long track record of winning races in western Colorado, announced he'd also challenge Boebert. I've had people reach out to me that think, as I do, that the extreme left and the extreme right are getting notoriety and their voice isn't being heard, Coram said in an interview. I don't need notoriety, I'm just there to do the job. Boebert's reelection campaign released a statement previewing how she's likely to run against Coram. Anyone who has looked at Don Corams voting record knows he is a self-serving, super-woke social liberal who would have a far better chance of winning the Democrat nomination, Boebert said in the statement. Boebert won a surprise victory in the 2020 Republican primary against Rep. Scott Tipton. Even though then-President Donald Trump endorsed Tipton, Boebert argued she was the stronger Trump supporter. Her win broke with tradition in a district that has historically valued can-do, bipartisan representatives over ideologues and firebrands. But the district got several points more Republican due to boundary changes in Colorado's redistricting process last year. While unaffiliated voters are allowed to cast ballots in the primary, it is likely to be an uphill battle challenging a politician as well-known and well-funded as Boebert, who's raked in millions in donations since arriving in Washington. Express your opinion! Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. Submit Take the quiz and be entered to win a Big Green Egg! Affected by traditional culture when growing up, I was taught to make big achievements. If you ask a child in my generation about his future dream, eight out of ten will tell you their ambitious plans: to make great contribution to the world, or embark on influential careers that impact others lives. Therefore, common replies will always be scientist, doctor or lawyer. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be an impactful person. Its the mentality behind those thoughts that provokes my thinking. Are we all that selfless and keen on improving other peoples lives? Or do we just want to stand in the spotlight and make a name for ourselves? Heroism When I failed to accomplish my big dreams after working for several years, I thought that I could do something for Jesus. Becoming a martyr held no fear for me. I thought of Stephen, who was stoned for preaching Jesus is the Lord in the New Testament. I felt passionate about this idea in the early stage of my Christian life. I imagined myself as the first one standing out when persecution comes, declaring my belief boldly and willing to die for it. Does it sound familiar? Its the typical Hollywood film! A poor boy became rich and successful after several years hard work; a strong man saved the city from a terrorist attack; an anonymous girl overcame social prejudice and became a role model in her generation. We are excited about those stories and subconsciously assume that we can be one of those heroes. Our glamorous dreams more or less reflect such heroism. We want to be admired by many. The war is won However, this is not the Biblical teaching. No matter whether it is in the Old Testament or during Jesus time, the scripture shows us clearly that the war is won by God rather than by any man. When Moses tried to gain justice by killing the Egyptian, God cooled him down in the wilderness for 40 years. When the opportune time arrived, God performed mighty works to deliver Israel from Egypt. When Joshua took Jericho, he sent no troops, but instead marched around the city for seven days, which is the way that God determined to have the city destroyed. When the disciples regarded Jesus as a king who establishes his kingdom on earth, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the messiah by dying on the cross and was resurrected on the third day. Gods ways are always higher than ours. He never expects us to be heroes but only to trust in Him daily. As Christians, we dont need to fight since the war belongs to God and it is already won. What He instructs us to do is to stand firm by wearing the armor He gives. It is a passive status and proactive assault is not encouraged. It is hard to accept such a fact, because it is human nature for us to struggle to prove our value by good works. Do it to the least On the contrary, what God values most are not splendid acts, but small and unimpressive things. For example, caring for the poor, helping the needy and visiting the orphans and widows. Seldom do people consider those things as their lifelong career. You are able to improve others lives, but in a quiet and modest way. All it takes is a humble and obedient heart. Although the people you helped cant pay you back, the rewards in the kingdom of God are great. Does it ever cross your mind that what you did to the poor and the needy are done to Jesus? Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. (Matthew chapter 25, verse 40) Its a relief to us as well! The majority of us are just ordinary people. The chance to be a martyr is low. The war is won, but thankfully God invites us to be His co-workers. We dont need to bear the pressure of becoming somebody, but still have the opportunity to share Gods glory by doing small things for the needy. How blessed are we! Online Access for Print Subscribers. Do you have a print subscription with the Argus-Press? If yes, then click here to enjoy complimentary access to our Online Content! YEREVAN, JANUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) deployed its peacekeeping forces to its member-state Kazakhstan to stabilize and settle the situation as the country is facing threats to its national security and sovereignty. The decision on deploying the peacekeepers was made on January 6 by the CSTO Collective Security Council. Military units from CSTO-members Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are involved in the mission. The main mission of the peacekeepers in Kazakhstan will be the protection of significant state and military facilities and supporting the Kazakhstani law enforcement agencies in stabilizing the situation and bringing it to a framework of law, the CSTO said in a statement. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is now the Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council, announced earlier that the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev invoked Article 4 of the treaty amid threats to Kazakhstans national security and sovereignty which appeared including as a result of foreign interference. According to a video published on the Twitter account of OpexNews on January 6, 2022, the Danish army is conducted field tests with the French UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) ULTRO, also known as "MULE" concept designed and manufactured by the French company Nexter. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link Danish army tests the ULTRO, a 4x4 UGV Unmanned Ground Vehicle designed and developed by the French company Nexter. (Picture source Print Screen video footage Danish MoD) Danish army is in the process to experiment with the use of that type of combat equipment and learn experiences about the capabilities and technologies of autonomous vehicles in tactical situations. Between 2018 and 2023, Denmark aims to strengthen its military operational capabilities with, amongst others, drone capacity. Danish military and civilian policy-makers have been interested in increasing their understanding of the capabilities of UAVs for a long time. Denmark has invested in these systems since the 1990s when they were used to support Danish forces in the field. The ULTRO has been designed by Nexter to provide soldiers a robotic mule capability, able to carry heavy payload and offering to soldiers the capabilities to conduct unconstrained movement without excessive physical burden. The ULTRO is a cargo carrier UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) which is based on a 4x4 wheeled chassis and electrically powered thanks to the use of Bren-Tronics 6T Li-Ion battery pack stored in a sliding compartment. The ULTRO is very small in size to be deployable in the difficult conditions of the modern battlefield with a length of 1.97 m, a width of 1.3 m, and a height of 1.18 m. The UGV has a weight of 800 kg with a payload capacity of 600 kg. The Nexter ULTRO 4x4 UGV can reach a top speed of 18 km/h with an endurance estimated at 8 to 12 hours. The wheels arrangements of the ULTRO consist of Michelin Non-Pneumatic Tires (NPTs) offering a high level of mobility in all-terrain conditions. It can negotiate a gradient of 40% and a slide slope of 35%, climb a vertical obstacle of 400 mm and ford up to 600 mm. The Nexter ULTRO can be operated by one soldier using a remote control or can work in autonomous mode. To control the mobility of the ULTRO, thermal and daylight cameras are mounted all around the vehicle. The ULTRO UGV was developed to be used mainly as a cargo carrier but it can be fitted with other mission modules as reconnaissance equipment, telescopic mast, or different types of sensors. It can be also used to transport wounded personnel in order to evacuate them from the combat zones. Nexter ULTRO 4x4 UGV Unmanned Ground Vehicle. (Picture source Army Recognition) Defense News January 2022 The JD(S) patriarch also reminded about the need to learn from the past Bengaluru: Terming the controversy over the security of the Prime Minister as "unfortunate", former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said that at no point there should be any complacency when it comes to protecting the highest executive office of India. The JD(S) patriarch also reminded about the need to learn from the past. "It is very unfortunate that there is a controversy over the security of the Prime Minister. At no point should we be complacent when it comes to protecting the highest executive office of India. We should learn from the past," Gowda said in a tweet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was travelling by road in Punjab on Wednesday, was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to blockade by some protesters, an incident the Union home ministry described as a "major lapse" in his security. However, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi expressed regret after Modi had to cut short his visit to the state, but asserted that there was no security lapse. Molnupiravir is for treatment of adult patients hospitalised with COVID-19, under certain conditions Molnupiravir was earlier approved under Emergency Use Authorisation from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. (Photo: AP/File) Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma Limited has launched COVID-19 treatment drug Molnupiravir under brand name "Molnaflu" in India. Molnupiravir is for treatment of adult patients hospitalised with COVID-19, under certain conditions, a press release from the city-based drug maker said. Molnupiravir was earlier approved under Emergency Use Authorisation from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. Earlier last year, Aurobindo had signed a bi-lateral non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Merck Sharpe Dohme, Singapore (MSD), a subsidiary of Merck & Co. (US) to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir to over 100 low and middle-income countries (LMIC), including India. K Nithyananda Reddy, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Aurobindo said, "We are delighted with the timely permission from DCGI for the licensed version of Molnupiravir (Molnaflu) as it opens up access to an affordable treatment option for COVID-19 patients and enable us to help battle the pandemic with effective and high-quality pharmaceutical products. For the licensed version of Molnupiravir, Aurobindo enjoys backward integration with in-house API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) manufacturing which equips it with stronger control on the Quality systems and Supply chain. The product will be made at the Company's manufacturing facilities in India that are approved by global regulatory agencies including USFDA and UK MHRA. The company has adequate capacities to meet the global demand across the over 100 LMI Countries for the product, Aurobindo said. The BJP questioned why the security details on the PMs movement, including the route of his cavalcade, had been leaked New Delhi: The BJP has blamed the political patronage given by the Congress to the farmers protest and their road blockade in Punjab on Wednesday, which forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut short his visit to the state, where he was due to address a party rally in Ferozpur and lay the foundation stones of development works of around Rs 42,750 crores. The BJP questioned why the security details on the PMs movement, including the route of his cavalcade, had been leaked, leading to a major security breach. While the BKU Krantikari, a farmers union, reportedly claimed responsibility for the protest on the PMs route, the Union home ministry asked the state government for a detailed report on the matter. The state government, meanwhile, asserted that there was no danger to the PM, whose office had been asked by the Punjab government to cancel the visit due to bad weather and protests. Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that if there was any security lapse, the state government was ready to probe the matter. The Punjab Congress also claimed that the PMs programme was called off as the rally was a flop show. The CM also claimed that the state government had no information of the PMs sudden route change, contradicting the Union home ministry, which said the PM proceeded to travel by road to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala, and not by helicopter as earlier planned, after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police. The BJP also accused the CM of not responding to the SOS calls by the PMs security team when he was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. While the Congress denied allegations levelled by the BJP, the other Opposition parties in the state, including the Akali Dal, AAP and PLC, also blamed the state government for the security breach, reiterating that law and order and security were sensitive issues for a border state like Punjab, which was going to the polls. Senior Punjab Congress leader and campaign committee chairman Sunil Jhakar also targeted the state government for the security lapse, saying that a secure passage for the Prime Minister of India to address the BJP political rally in Ferozpur should have been ensured. Thats how democracy works. Even AAP leader Bhagwant Mann said that providing security to everyone in Punjab was the state governments responsibility, and a breach in the PMs security was very worrying. Questions were also raised on why neither the CM nor the chief secretary or even the DGP had received the PM at the airport, as per protocol. Todays Congress-made happenings in Punjab is a trailer of how this party thinks and functions The topmost echelons of the Congress owe and apology to the people of India for what they have done Such dereliction of security procedures [regarding the] Prime Ministers visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed, tweeted Union home minister Amit Shah. We know the Congress hates Modi but today they tried to harm the PM of India Never before in the history of our country, a state government knowingly constructed a scenario where the PM will be brought to harm, said Union minister Smiriti Irani, who also noted the tweet by the Indian Youth Congress chief on the incident, saying: Why did the Congress erupt with joy after the PMs security breach? Niraj Bishnoi, 21, was arrested on Thursday morning for his alleged involvement in the app Guwahati: The Assam Police located the fourth accused in the "Bulli Bai" case, arrested from Jorhat, on Wednesday evening within hours of information being shared by the Delhi Police, a senior officer said. Niraj Bishnoi, 21, is the "main conspirator" in the case and was arrested on Thursday morning for his alleged involvement in the app that has listed hundreds of Muslim women for "auction", police said. "Delhi Police have been coordinating with us over the matter. Their team reached here on Wednesday morning and by evening, we had located the accused," the officer of Assam Police told PTI. "The operation was over in about 12 hours here," he added. The Mumbai Police, which is also probing the case, did not contact the police in Jorhat regarding the accused, the officer said. Bishnoi, a resident of Jorhat who studies in Bhopal, is also the creator of the "Bulli Bai" app on GitHub as well as the main Twitter account holder of "Bulli Bai", police said. He was arrested by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police. He was taken to Delhi from Jorhat in the afternoon for further investigation. The cyber cell of Mumbai Police has made three arrests -- a 19-year-old woman, alleged to be the main culprit, from Uttarakhand, a 21-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru and another 21-year-old, also from Uttarakhand. Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on the "Bulli Bai" mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. The app appeared to be a clone of "Sulli Deals" which triggered a similar row last year. On Saturday, Delhi Police registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly uploading a doctored picture of a woman journalist on a website. The journalist had lodged a complaint and shared a copy on Twitter. This year, rather surprisingly, President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea pardoned his predecessor, former President South Korea has a long tradition of annual presidential pardons for convicted and sentenced personalities. This year, rather surprisingly, President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea pardoned his predecessor, former President Park Geun-hye, who was serving a 22-year prison term after a rather bizarre corruption scandal. Former President Park Geun-hye is the unmarried daughter of a former South Korean strongman, President Park Chung-hee. The pardoned Park Geun-hye belongs to the conservative right wing, which is now part of the countrys Opposition. Ms Park had been elected President in 2013 but was later impeached in 2017 and convicted on charges of bribery and corruption. The courts ruled that she had colluded with her close personal friend Choi Soon-sil to force South Korean chaebols (which are basically large family-run corporations) like Samsung to voluntarily contribute millions of dollars to foundations run by Choi. Hard-working middle-class South Koreans were enraged by this nexus between politicians and corporates honchos, more so by the allegation that Chois daughter Chung Yoo-ra was undeservedly admitted to the prestigious EWHA Womens University in Seoul. After the scandal broke, the university cancelled Chungs admission and the president of the university resigned. Any favouritism in university admissions is anathema to the people of the country. In the recent past, several South Korean political and industry leaders have fallen foul of the law and had to face prison terms. South Koreas first woman Prime Minister, Han Myong, served a two-year jail sentence from 2015 to 2017 for bribery. She was Prime Minister in 2006 under the liberal government of then President Roh Moo-hyun. This conviction was controversial due to the allegation of false testimony against the prosecutor. Han had always claimed innocence and was also exonerated by President Moon Jae-in in this years list of pardon beneficiaries. Former Prime Minister Hans boss, President Roh Moo-hyun (2003-08) got embroiled in a damaging corruption scandal after his retirement. Roh was a former human rights activist and was known for his upright character. Roh was blamed for the payment of $6 million by a businessman to his wife and son. Unable to live with this stigma, Roh committed suicide in May 2009. It is noteworthy that every former South Korean President since the 1980s has faced corruption accusations or been imprisoned. President Lee Myung-bak also had the final year of his 2008-13 presidency hit by corruption scandals. In 2018, Lee was arrested on charges of bribery and tax evasion and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. South Koreas Chaebols are known to cut corners and indulge in intricate financial skullduggery. But despite their immense wealth and political clout, they could not escape the long hands of the nations legal system. In January 2021, the $220 billion Samsung Groups heir Lee Jae Young was sentenced to 30 months in prison for bribery. In August 2021, Lee was released on parole. His father Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Group in 1987-2008 and again in 2010-20, was also convicted twice in 1996 and 2008, for corruption and tax evasion charges, but was granted a presidential pardon in both instances. This reflects both the nexus between financial contributions to political parties by the South Korean Chaebols and also the vital role the Samsung Group has played in the industrial transformation of South Korea to a giant manufacturing hub. The trial, conviction and sentencing of high-profile individuals shows the power and independence of its prosecutors and the judiciary. The judicial system is based on a European-style inquisitorial system under which South Korean prosecutors conduct criminal investigations. The combination of investigative and prosecutorial powers has been questioned in recent years, with public outrage over multiple scandals linked to prosecutors and their relationship with politicians and big business houses. The prosecutor-general is nominated by the President and approved by the National Assembly. He can be removed only after impeachment by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. President Moon Jae-in has been working to promote prosecution reform by giving back some control of criminal investigations to police officers. A special task force to investigate high-level corruption has also been proposed. The prosecutors office reportedly brazenly opposed these changes by opening an investigation against the family members of the justice minister, who eventually resigned. The balance between the independence of prosecutors, investigating agencies and the judiciary, as well as their integrity, is a challenge for all Constitution-based democracies. A system of effective checks and balances is vital to prevent rogue behaviour or foot-dragging by any independent agency. In the United States, Presidents have been wary of the power once exercised by the legendary J. Edgar Hoover, the dictatorial head the FBI for 37 years until his death in 1972. At the other extreme, Indias main investigative agency is so much under the control of the government of the day that the Supreme Court was once forced to call it a caged parrot of the countrys political masters. For an effective criminal justice system, the essential components are independence of action, the capacity and willingness to act against suspects irrespective of their political or financial clout, as well as the speed of judicial process. By these yardsticks, South Koreas system has a fairly good record. In South Korea, cases do not linger for years and the initial trial followed by appeals in the higher courts normally does not take more than a year. This is in stark contrast with the decades it takes in the Indian judicial system for a case to come to its final conclusion. by Vladimir Rozanskij Calls for the intervention of the Moscow-led CSTO. Protests have broken out over high fuel prices. Symbols of the dictatorship linked to the "eternal" ex-president Nazarbayev targeted. The government declares a state of emergency and blocks the internet. Demonstrators want to put an end to the corruption and nepotism of the ruling elite. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), led by Russia, will come to the aid of the Kazakh government grappling with widespread street riots. Protests across Kazakhstan, which began on 2 January in the oil city of Zhanaozen over high fuel prices, have spread throughout the country, with demonstrations and clashes with the police leading to the resignation of the entire government and the proclamation of a state of emergency. In Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, thousands of people attempted to invade the "akimat" area, the local residence of President Kasym-Zomart Tokaev, and the regional administration complex. They then occupied the entire Nazarbaeva prospekt, the main street named after the "eternal" former president Nursultan Nazarbaev. The demonstrators then occupied the airport of Almaty and evacuated all local workers. In the central square of Taldykorgan they tore down a monument to Nazarbaev (see photos 1 and 2), a native of the area. The police in Almaty reacted with tear gas and loud signal bombs, and many gunshots were also heard. The area was reached by some special army corps to protect the historic akimat, built in 1980 as a "republican monument", a symbolic place of Soviet power and the subsequent Nazarbayev regime. The protesters, outnumbering the police, managed to enter the building, smashing doors and windows and arming themselves with sticks and bars, driving away the officers and taking control of the building. Some policemen joined the protests. The demonstrations were motivated by the sudden increase in the price of liquid gas and mainly affected the cities of Zhanaozen, Aktau, Almaty, Astana, Atyrau and Symkent. In several cities, besides Almaty, demonstrators targeted public administration buildings, and more than 200 protesters were arrested by the police. More than 200 protesters were arrested by the police. More than 300 demonstrators and police officers were injured. The authorities speak of eight officers dead. On 4 January, President Tokaev decided to dismiss the government, introducing a state regulation of gas prices and declaring a state of emergency in three regions, but the protests did not stop. In order to calm the protests, yesterday the president took over leadership of the Security Council from Nazarbayev and suspended internet access. The issue of fuel for vehicles appears contradictory; the government has gone down the market route without listening to the claims advanced by the protesters, while at the same time promising to lower taxes. The reality is that Kazakhstan produces more than twice the amount of gas that is needed domestically, but in fact the administration is acting in the interests of fuel exporters. When a Zanaozen official responded to the protests that 'the market decides the price of gas', people reacted furiously. The country's main fuel producer, Tengizchevroil, is 50 per cent owned by Chevron, 25 per cent by ExxonMobil, 5 per cent by Russia's Lukoil and 20 per cent by Kazakhstan's Kazmunaygaz. The gas for the domestic market, supplied by smaller producers, will be insufficient in 2021 due to declining supplies, the problem that is undermining all world markets. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy has said that the problem will be solved gradually by switching to e-commerce, which will also allow the price of gas to be balanced according to changes in supply and demand. This should help attract new investors and reach new production levels, ministry officials say. In Aktau, the akim (president) of the region, Nurlan Nogaev, decided to meet the thousands of people who took to the streets, but failed to persuade them to break up the procession. The protesters demanded that liquid gas be set at 50 tenge per litre (about 0.1 euro), while Nogaev promised a price of 85-90 tenge. The protesters want to put an end to the widespread corruption and nepotism typical of the Kazakh (and Central Asian) elites, and to appoint a government that works for the people and not only for the ruling caste, building new factories and fighting unemployment. Many placards in the squares summarise the many reasons for popular anger in the slogan "Starik, ukhodi!" (Old man, go away!) addressed to the supreme leader Nazarbaev, who despite having relinquished official roles in 2019 continued to be the undisputed master of Kazakhstan. The slogan seems to be a symbol of the rebellion of many former Soviet countries against the great "leaders of the nation" of the last thirty years. From Moscow, the Kremlin has made it known that it is "closely following events in the neighbouring brother country", and that "it is important that there is no outside interference". Mr. Phillip Nathaniel Ware aged 62, passed away on Wednesday April 6, 2022 in Dallas, Texas . He was born to Mr. Frederick Brink Ware and Ms. Irene Duffner on Sunday, November 15, 1959 in Kansas City, Kansas. Phillip N. Ware will leave his loved ones with unforgettable memories and loving st Island Concepts held its inaugural education class in the companys new training facility in October 2021, Estimating ConsistencyDocumenting Damage. Share This: Collision repair facilities in Hawaii now have the opportunity to take part in a variety of industry educational classes, thanks to Island Concepts new training facility. Our goal is to offer training throughout the year for management teams and shop employees, said Scot Takemoto, partner and general manager at Island Concepts. Takemoto and his team moved into the new Honolulu facility in July 2021 and held their inaugural training class in October, Estimating ConsistencyDocumenting Damage. The all-day course was taught by Tim Ronak, senior services consultant at AkzoNobel, and is part of AkzoNobels Acoat Selected program. The class aims to help auto body shops safely repair vehicles by identifying all the procedures needed to ensure safety systems perform as intended. The main focus of the seminar included information about the damage documentation process and how to get reimbursed for these procedures, to help shops improve profitability. In addition to being the exclusive paint distributor for AkzoNobel in Hawaii, Island Concepts offers products for body shops across the state. The company previously used a smaller storage facility located in downtown Honolulu, which lacked space for training. The new building includes a training room as well as a storage area to house the products they provide to collision repair facilities. In addition, there is a separate area where Takemoto plans to set up a spray booth or prep station for hands-on training. In the past, much of the instruction on the island was conducted by Honolulu Community College as part of its auto body repair and painting program. However, the program closed in the summer of 2021 due to a lack of enrollment because of the pandemic and Hawaii travel restrictions. As a result, Island Concepts took the initiative to... And right now, there are plenty of aftermarket receivers out there, many of which support both Android Auto and CarPlay, either with a cable or wirelessly.Alpine used the CES 2022 show to introduce a new pair of multimedia receivers, and this time, their specifications are quite impressive.Called Halo Floating Touchscreen Receivers, the two new models come with 9- and 11-inch displays and support both wired and wireless Android Auto and CarPlay. Integrating lossless audio support, the two units use a 1-DIN chassis, so they should fit the majority of cars out there.Needless to say, they also include several other new-gen capabilities, such as Bluetooth, HDMI input and output, parking camera inputs, a built-in amplifier, AUX, and dual-USB input.But without a doubt, the star of the show is the floating screen. Part of Alpines Halo lineup, the displays boast a 1280x720 pixels resolution, allowing for several adjustments to better align with the design of every cabin. The screens can therefore be adjusted for the right height, depth, and angle using a dedicated mounting bracket thats available in the box.On the other hand, what could be a major shortcoming for those who wanted to buy an aftermarket media receiver is certainly the price.The new Alpine head units dont come cheap, and the 9-inch version, for example, can be had in the United States for $999.95. At the same time, its 11-inch sibling will be sold for $1,199.In other words, the new models are two of the most expensive aftermarket media receivers currently available out there, so it remains to be seen how many customers end up buying them for an upgraded infotainment experience behind the wheels.Alpine says both models are projected to hit the shelves at some point in February in the United States. The Steve Udvar-Hazy Center annex of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia, has one of if not the single largest collections of Second World War experiential German aircraft in North America. Many of them reside in their own section of the vast facility. Icons like the Dornier Do-335 twin-engined interceptor and the Arado Ar-234 jet bomber.But sitting all by itself, just outside the entrance to the museum's spacecraft exhibits, lies a rocket-powered Messerschmitt Komet that's, at the very least, solidly in barn-find condition. It's fitting that this rocket fighter is in such close proximity to Space Shuttle Discovery in the museum's hangar. We may never have had one without the other.This particular example is the Me 163 B-1a variant, serial number 191301. It was one of five Komets sent to the United States as war trophies and experimental testbeds in the immediate aftermath of Allied victory in Europe. The first examples arrived at Freeman Field, Indiana, in the summer of 1945.Komet 191301 was given a foreign equipment designation of FR-500 while in Indiana. It was then flown aboard aca U.S. Military cago aircraft to Muroc dry lake in California. A place we would recognize today as Edwards Air Force Base. The father of the 163 project, Dr. Alexander Lippish, was on hand for the Komet's first glide test on U.S. Soil.The Komet was towed to 30,000 feet (9,000 meters) behind a Boeing B-29 Superfortres s bomber. Much in the same fashion as early German tests where Komets were towed behind Heinkel He-111 bombers instead. Komet 191301 glided safely back down to Earth as if it was back in native Germany. Powered flights were planned, but questions about the structural rigidity in the wings scrapped those plans. Instead, the Bell X-1 became the first U.S. rocket plane just one year later.Meanwhile, Komet 191301 was left to sit derelict in storage at Norton Air Force Base in California and then in the Smithsonian institution's Paul E. Garber Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland. It stayed there, completely unrestored until 1996. By the time it left the storage facility once more, it'd all but achieved full barn-find status.Like most good barn-finds, Komet 191301's rusted metal and faded paint tell a story more vibrant than any fully restored example could. A story of the life of an airplane doomed to fly for an evil regime and never achieve its full potential. Museum staff says that the Komet's interior and cockpit very much reflect the beaten-up look of the outside. Dials and switches have been removed, save for a few survivors. A fine layer of oxidation permeates nearly every nook and cranny of the once state-of-the-art machine. Have a look at the Smithsonian Institution's website for official photos.Most strikingly, the small propeller in the nose designed to provide electrical power while in flight stands eerily still, perhaps seized solid inside the mounting point in the front of the plane. Finally, inside the cockpit lies what appears to be a scribble of writing claiming "Abzug uber B-Knopf," Translated from German, this means ( Trigger over B-Button) as if it were some kind of Xbox controller.At least in 2021, the wargaming videogame community has revitalized interest in these experimental German aircraft. Now, you can go marvel at this Komet and so many other German experimental planes, all for the price of a bus pass or for parking. Check back for more from our trip to the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center right here on autoevolution. Johnson Matthey is not an aviation specialist, but a company that focuses on sustainable technology across multiple industry sectors. Its latest launch is a technology meant to capture carbon dioxide and convert into drop-in fuel for aircraft, with the help of green hydrogen. Under the simple name of Hycogen lies a complex process, based on Reverse Water Gas Shift technology.Basically, green hydrogen and CO2 are converted it into carbon monoxide (CO), through a catalyzed process. The carbon monoxide is then mixed with more hydrogen, becoming synthesis gas (syngas), a basic component for fuel production. Together with an additional technology (developed in partnership with bp), Hycogen can transform up to 95% of CO2 into synthetic crude oil, which can then be further processed into SAF or other types of sustainable fuel.By combining these two technologies, Johnson Matthey claims to have developed a scalable, cost-effective solution for SAF production. It can be deployed as a small-scale project, using hydrogen from a single electrolyser, or a large-scale version using multiple, bigger electrolysis modules.In 2021, Hycogens developer was part of one of the pioneering projects , led by Boeing and United Airlines. Back in December, a commercial aircraft with more than 100 passengers onboard conducted a pioneering flight using SAF. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew from Chicago to Washington D.C., with 500 gallons (1,892 liters) of 100% SAF in one of its engines, and an equal quantity of conventional fuel in the other engine. Thats because current regulations only allow a maximum of 50% SAF for regular flights.In fact, ramping up SAF production, and making it readily available, is one of the most important factors in achieving 100% SAF-powered flights in the near future. Hycogen promises to make that happen faster. EV The idea behind this concept is to lower travel emissions, and with electric vehicles continuing to become more efficient, UK-based agency CDR (Car Design Research) figures that you could eventually make 50 short-haul journeys with anfor the same environmental burden as one aircraft journey.In other words, the Budget Airline Car would produce only 2% of the emissions per passenger compared to a short-haul flight.The vehicle was designed with enough space for six adults, plus their cabin baggage, and would feature an electric powertrain developed for long-distance cruising (city to city), as opposed to high performance. The core concept was developed by CDR together with associates Yichen Shu in China and Aditya Jangid in India, both of which designed subtly different exterior visual themes.Size-wise, the concept is about as large as a Tesla Model X or a Volvo XC90 , but with a considerably lower drag coefficient. At first, it wouldnt be fully autonomous, with passengers having to share driving responsibilities, aided by a suite of advanced driver assistance systems. Down the road, the vehicle could do all the drive by itself, but not before the actual technology exists and is implemented.The question now is, would you purchase a seat on such a vehicle as opposed to hopping on a flight? Realistically speaking, it depends on where you live, because in some countries where the traffic infrastructure isnt as advanced, it can take you up to 4-5 hours (if not more) in order to cover the same distance you would in less than one hour with an airplane.However, if, for example, youre just trying to get from New York to Philadelphia, then an autonomous or even semi-autonomous shuttle could start to make sense. kW Only it wasnt to show you all of its quirks and features, as someone else does that , but to highlight its straight-line performance, with focus on the 0 to 60 mph (0-97 kph) acceleration time.Now, Bugatti claims that the Chiron Super Sport can complete the sprint in just 2.4 seconds. However, after putting his left foot on the brake, pressing the launch control button, pinning the throttle to the floor, and setting off, the journo found out that they lied about it.Still, its a lie that no one is going to be mad about, as the hypercar proved to be even quicker, with the third-party device revealing 2.3 seconds required to hit the 60 mph mark from a standstill. Should he have kept going, then the speedometer wouldve eventually read 273 mph (440 kph), yet there arent many places in the world where one can safely and legall y push the Chiron to its limits, regardless of the version.Deliveries of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport will kick off early this year (if they havent already), and each one costs an eye-watering 3.2 million (equal to ~$3.6 million) in Europe, before tax and options. Powering the longtail model, which features bodywork that was extended by around 10 inches (25 cm), is the same quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine, rated at 1,577 hp (1,600 ps / 1,176) in this instance.We dont know how many Chirons are still up for grabs, but last fall, the Molsheim company said that fewer than 40 were still available, and customers will have to settle for the Super Sport and Pur Sport models only. His name is Alex Gradea and hes from Romania, but the TerraVelo has been developed with help from the far east. In a few words, the goal was to create an e-bike with a more solid configuration than most options on the market today, as many of them are either poorly built or leave room for improvement, especially in terms of battery.The bike tries to check all the important boxes manufacturers should consider when building an electric bicycle. TerraVelo is foldable, equipped with fat tires that make it stable and suitable for pretty much any terrain, includes a 7-speed gear, full front and back suspension, and hydraulic brakes. It also includes a rear rack. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.But when it comes to the battery powering this two-wheeler, the TerraVelo boasts a 756 Wh (14,000 mAh) battery with original LG cells, which, according to the manufacturer, have an improved lifespan, lasting twice as much as regular batteries. The bike claims to offer a range of up to 150 km (93 miles) on a charge with pedal assist and up to 95 km (approximately 60 miles) with throttle only.Moving on to the motor of the TerraVelo, the e-bike packs a 500W (a 250W option is also available) rear wheel motor and offers a limited maximum speed of 25 kph (15.5 mph). Without a limit, the wheeler can go as fast as 45 kph (28 mph).In testing for six months, the TerraVelo is now production-ready and is seeking funding on Indiegogo . You can get one at a starting price of approximately $1,040 (920), with the deliveries being scheduled to begin in March. According to Ford, it will share its production goals for the model year 2022 closer to launch. The company intends to produce 80,000 units of the 2023 F-150 Lightning. Just to have an idea of what that represents, this is the production number the carmaker expected to reach in 2024. Ford added that it wants to achieve a run-rate of 150,000 electric pickup trucks by mid-2023.The American automaker also told us why it closed the reservation system for the F-150 Lightning. According to the company, it did that on December 8, in preparation for order banks opening when the electric pickup truck pre-order numbers were close to 200,000. The reservation system is still closed.Anyone willing to buy an F-150 Lightning will either have to wait for used ones or enter the electric pickup truck website and ask to Get Updates there. When (and if) Ford allows new reservations for the Lightning, the company will tell the interested people about that through this method. Expect reservations to be only for later model years.Considering that Ford now has close to 200,000 reservations and the 2022 and 2023 model years will probably not exceed 100,000 units, that means only 2024 model year pickups will be available.It is highly unlikely that the people that have reservations will not convert their pre-orders into actual purchases in such a competitive scenario. Ford will present the second-generation F-150 Lightning in 2024 when its production will start at the new Blue Oval City , the Tennessee factory the company is building.Unlike what most people think, high demand for a product a company cannot deliver is a problematic situation. First of all, because a car you dont sell is money you dont make. Worse than that, it means dealers may mark up those vehicles and sell them for much higher prices, tarnishing Fords reputation. Lets see how the company will deal with that. But what happens when one of those two gets shot down in the middle of the ocean, and there are no friendly ships anywhere near you for miles? That's when you called in Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats , the actual most important Navy plane of the war. When the hotshot fighter pilots got too big for their britches, Catalinas, or OA-10s as the Army called them, ensured they'd live to fly again.The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a twin-engined flying boat that apart from recovering countless downed aviators, also excelled at convoy bombing, reconnaissance, and submarine hunting. It was a sea fairing aircraft so versatile it could even shoot down enemy fighters with its defensive machine guns.Come the late 1930s. It was believed by U.S military command that armed conflict in Europe and Asia was all but inevitable. What was needed was a long-range amphibious aircraft that could bridge the gap between the American-controlled Pacific islands and Japanese Naval strongholds. It needed to have a longer range than contemporary American flying boats like Consolidated's previous P2M and Martin P3M Mariner. Both of which were great cargo transports but ill-suited for combat.It also needed to be able to fly across the hostile territory of potential European or Pacific theaters of battle without fighter escort. In short, it needed a powerful machine gun defensive armament. These two issues were solved as follows. Firstly, by fitting twin Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines rated at 850 horsepower each.These engines were upgraded to 900 horsepower variants in later models. The other half was solved with four 30 caliber machine guns in the nose and rear of their airplane. In later models, 50 caliber Browning machine guns were mounted in the twin glass blisters on either rear fuselage.The massive 104 foot (32 m) wings could carry up to 2,000 pounds (1814.36kg) of ordinance ranging from bombs, torpedos, submarine mines, and miscellaneous cargo. Soon after the Pearl Harbor attacks, Catalina flying boats were off conducting the first offensive engagements of the American Navy in World War Two .The all-metal fuselage was a sound sea-fairing vessel first and an aircraft body second. Downed navy men often clung to the wings and the fuselage to avoid shark attacks as Catalinas carried them as a boat to friendly waters.The result of the design was an ugly and ungainly-looking thing. More often than not, such qualities lend themselves nicely to functional and capable machines. The Catalina was nicknamed the "Pig Boat" by its American aviators. That name would become a term of endearment before very long.It was also a fine submarine warfare aircraft. As many as 40 German and Japanese submarines were disabled or destroyed by Catalinas using assortments of torpedos, depth charges, and unguided bombs to neutralize underwater targets. Accounting for nearly two-thirds of total enemy submarines dispatched by American forces during the war.Most Catalina production took place at the Consolidated production facility in San Diego, California. Those that served elsewhere were built at the Canadian Vickers facility in Montreal and the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia. A handful was even assembled at the Gidrosamolet Transportnii factory at Taganrog, Russia. The Cataline served in every theater of the Second World War.Today, Catalinas reside in museums across the globe, with some even remaining in service as firefighter tankers in remote parts of the world. A perfectly preserved example resides in the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, called Snafu Snatchers. It served in the Brazilian Air Force under Lend-Lease until 1983. It was flown to the museum in 1984 and repainted in the scheme of the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron in the Pacific Theater during World War Two. ABS Sometimes, a tiny little mistake can cost a company a lot of money to fix and weve seen countless examples in the past. But people make mistakes, its human nature, always did and always will. In the automotive industry, tiny mistakes can lead to accidents and loss of life, and thats why we have regulatory bodies to oversee the car industry. A lot is at stake, and so car recalls have become part of our lives, no matter the make or model.Chevrolet has had its fair share of blunders in the past and even today the plant in Michigan is idling to remind us what a monumental flop the Chevrolet Bolt has been. In some cases, mistakes are hard to spot, though. Remember GM had to recall the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra last year for an incorrect spare tire size? I assume the mistake was only discovered when one of the owners had to go through the ordeal of a flat tire and found out the spare tire had a tiny problem. And its so rare today to have a flat tire.It appears the incorrect spare tire problem is more common than initially thought. While in August 2021 some vehicles from the 2500 heavy-duty series were recalled , now it seems the problem also happens on the light-duty 1500 series. A new recall has been issued, at least in Canada, and it involves precisely 14 trucks from the 1500 series, both Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra. The problem is the same: wrong spare tire size.According to the recall notice filed with Transport Canada, affected vehicles were all ordered with 18-inch, 20-inch, or 22-inch optional accessory wheels. Despite the presence of the larger accessory wheels, the trucks are equipped with a smaller 17-inch spare tire. This seems like a trivial problem but it could turn into a nasty safety issue because the size difference can render the anti-lock braking system () inoperable. This affects the braking performance and may even cause locking up the wheel under heavy braking.To solve the problem, GM dealers will be instructed to provide the owner with the appropriate spare tire and will apply a new spare tire information label. The dealers should notify the owners of the affected vehicles and advise them to make an appointment to have the problem taken care of. The repairs will be free of charge for the vehicle owners.The recall notice specifies that only 14 trucks are affected, but weve seen lots of comments on social media suggesting the problem is far more common. If you believe your car has an incorrect spare tire, dont hesitate to get in touch with the car manufacturer. But in an announcement shared earlier today, the Mountain View-based search giant revealed that YouTube would become available in the car with an Android Automotive version of the app.The company hasnt provided too many specifics on this new app, so we dont even have a specific release date, but this is big news, nonetheless. YouTube is making its way to the car, so users will finally be allowed to watch videos on the larger screens inside the cabin.Based on Googles announcement, YouTube will only be available when the car is not in motion. The company says the purpose of this app launch is to make waiting for something less boring, so in theory, YouTube will almost certainly be blocked when the vehicle is in motion.And this makes perfect sense. Theres basically no reason not to allow YouTube to run when the car is parked, especially when a large screen running Android is already available.Google claims the YouTube app for Android Automotive is projected to launch at some point this year, but as said, no other specifics have been shared. Most likely, the company will share additional information on this highly anticipated app launch at its developer conference in the summer.In the meantime, the big question is whether Google plans to bring YouTube to Android Auto as well. At first glance, theres no reason not to do it in the first place, as YouTube can very well run on Android Auto when the car is not in motion.At this point, users can still get YouTube to launch on Android Auto, even without rooting their phones, so unlocking the app for everybody is something that just makes sense for both Google and its users. Kids, although everyone just imagines they are mesmerized by these apparitions , might easily get unsettled by them. It happened to mine when they were little and theyre still wary of going out to such shows even today. Not to mention the myriad of pets and pet owners who probably loathe that moment of the year more than anything else.For automotive aficionados, there is an elegant, albeit highly expensive (and already sold-out) 1,817-horsepower solution. It is called Hennessey Venom F5 and can easily rival fireworks when strapped to the Sealy, Texas-based companys chassis dyno rig. With lots of pop and bangs, but above all with shooting flames.Hennesseys Special Vehicles division is currently working on a new project, the Deep Space hyper GT. A bonkers vehicle, just like we are used to from the tuner/automaker: six wheels, six electric motors, an overwhelming price tag. But that does not mean they have sidelined the current Venom F5 hypercar.Rather, we can probably imagine this stripped-down chassis dyno testing excerpt was not done just for the social media thrills of showing the twin-turbocharged V8 engine shooting flames. Instead, its probably part of a much larger testing program to ensure no quirks or issues remain unresolved as deliveries for the sold-out model commence.Aftermarket tuning house fans might consider more than three decades of experience a hefty age. But automaker standards, in turn, have Hennessey as a youngling. Nevertheless, this Texas company has continued to amaze as it continues to dip its toes in all kinds of segments. And even if Venom F5 shooting flames is not your cup of tea, one can still discover their current flagship model in different ways.For example, one could check out the various (read unique) specifications ordered by affluent customers. Or even have the designer of the 1,817 horsepower hypercar walk us through all its design quirks and features. There is just one unwelcome news: all examples have already been sold out! A few days ago, Britney Spears fiance, Sam Asghari, shared a short video of the pop star casually sitting on a SUPER73-RX bike , and his followers simply loved it.As a fan of Spears, Kourtney Kardashian jumped at the opportunity to be just as trendy and revealed on Instagram Stories (see main photo of the gallery) shes also the proud owner of a bike from the same brand. However, she does have to make the rest of her famous family proud with an exclusive model. And does it get more spectacular than a collaboration between SUPER73 and fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent? No, it doesnt.The beloved electric bike manufacturer announced the collaboration late last year, and the result combines modern performance with classic aesthetics. It comes with an all-black matte frame and custom black leather seats and handle. The French fashion brand put its details all over the bike, including the tires, seat, and battery cover. Of course, the e-bike is compatible with iOS and Android devices, and it will be a limited edition, only available at Saint Laurents Rive Droite stores in Paris and in Los Angeles.Based on the SUPER73-S2, which comes with a price just shy of $4,000, the YVS version is, of course, more expensive, rated at $6,500, and its only available in black.The SUPER72-S2 features a 250-watt motor and its also street legal, with several riding modes. It comes with the companies largest battery, a state-of-the-art 960 watt-hour long-range battery, which provides an estimated 74.5 miles (120 km) of range when ECO pedal assist mode is on.So, there you have it. Kourtney manages to stay on trend, and she does that by adding a bit more flair with a limited-edition e-bike. AMG Back in May 2020, MBAG received insolated reports from the manufacturers internal corrosion endurance testing. These reports indicate reduced corrosion protection for certain parts of the integral carrier. From July 2020 through May 2021, the Stuttgart-based automaker and the integral carrier supplier, Spain-based Gestamp, retrieved parts from the field for more testing and to define the production date range of affected vehicles.Now heres the kicker: Although no defects were identified during the testing and no field complaints worldwide have been reported, MBAG determined to initiate a recall out of an abundance of caution. To be frank, automakers rarely call back vehicles in these circumstances without a very good reason for it, more so when youre dealing with an expensive subassembly such as the integral carrier that costs 640 ($725) in Europe.As if the recalls explanation wasnt shady enough, Mercedes-Benz also highlights that a change in the production procedure of our supplier ensures that this issue can no longer occur. Reading between the lines, MBAG cheaped out on these parts even though it promises The Best or Nothing.A grand total of 38,312 vehicles delivered to U.S. customers are called back, namely the A 220, GLB 250, and the-ified GLB 35. Known customers will be notified of the callback next month via first-class mail.Merc is also recalling one (yes, one!) CLA 250 produced for the 2020 model year over melted adhesive contamination of the electric power steerings power supply connection. The automakers initiated an investigation into this matter at the end of June 2020 after several internal vehicles experienced a loss of electric power steering assist without prior warning.And finally, a single unit of the 2017 Sprinter needs to be fixed as soon as possible. The Firefly Integrations Multiplex G9 unit used for controlling motorhome accessories and equipment is apparently prone to excessive voltage that may damage various circuit board components. Ever since the retirement of the iconic Concorde, the only humans allowed to go faster than sound are military pilots. Yet even for them, going over the sound barrier while flying above populated areas is an activity frowned upon by the FAA and others, and thats why its kind of illegal to do so.With the QueSST , NASA hopes to change that and not only bring back supersonic flight, but greatly expand its reach as well. It will do so by coming up with a never-before-seen design, meant to separate the shocks and expansions associated with supersonic flight and reduce the sonic boom to as much as 60 dB, from the 90 dB Concorde reached.At the moment of writing, the X-59 is on location at the Lockheed Martin facilities in Texas, when soon will undergo ground testing. That means a series of procedures meant to ensure the aircraft can withstand the loads and stresses that typically occur during flight. Engineers will also look to calibrate test the fuel systems.After this is done, the plane will be moved back to the Lockheed Martins Skunk Works facility in California, where more testing will be performed in light of the planned flight test. If all goes well, starting 2024 NASA will fly the airplane to overpopulated areas to collect data that could open the future to commercial supersonic flights over land. Although women started to serve in the Navy as early as the 20th century, they were all nurses, and it was only in 1994 when women started to be assigned to a combat ship, namely the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. So, its easy to see why taking the lead of a nuclear carrier, after decades, is a glorious endeavor. Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt is the one who achieved this, honoring all the women who have served in the Navy for centuries.A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she was previously the executive officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln for three years. Prior to that, she had served as a commanding officer of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 70 and the amphibious transport dock San Diego, Navy Times reports.According to the Navy, Bauernschmidt has accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours with military aircraft . Of course, the culmination of her professional success came in August 2021, when she was officially named Captain of the nuclear carrier, marking a first in Americas naval history.This week, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) departed on its first mission led by a woman. It deployed from San Diego, as part of the Carrier Strike Group, together with the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay, Carrier Air Wing 9, and the three ships that are part of the Destroyer Squadron 21. Another premiere for this deployment was the integration of the Marine Corps first F-35C Lightning II stealth fighter jet squadron.Commissioned in 1989, USS Abraham Lincoln is the Navy s fifth warship in the Nimitz class. The ten nuclear-powered vessels in this class are equipped with two A4W pressurized water reactors instead of conventional propulsion systems. By using nuclear power, these carriers can operate for decades without refueling, and theyre designed to have an extended life.The USS Abraham Lincoln, under this historical command, plus the first Marine Corps F-35C squadron on board, will be operating in the Indo-Pacific region. Von Gemmingen shared the picture that confirms the new milestone: he was traveling at 93 kph (57.8 mph) when it happened. Hopefully, somebody else took the photo while he was driving the Tesla with the most mileage in the world, a story that was not trouble-free.Until November 2019, the German Tesla owner was using the fourth electric motor in his car. The last one already had run 680,000 km (422,532 mi). The battery pack also was not the original one. Von Gemmingen himself told it was the third one his car had received until that point in a video with the T&T Emobility, Ove Kroger YouTube channel.According to Von Gemmingen, the first replacement happened when his car had 290,000 km (180,197.7 mi) and was still under warranty. Tesla installed a temporary battery pack in Gemmingens car until it could get a definite one. Von Gemmingen used it for 150,000 km (93,205.7 mi): it took Tesla half a year to replace the temporary battery pack from the Model S . Thats more than most cars ever get the chance to drive.We have no idea if Von Gemmingen already had to replace the battery pack after that or if the car still has a valid battery pack warranty thats very likely the case. We sent him some questions and will update this article or write a new one with the news. Wed talk to Tesla as well, but it refuses to answer questions from the press. Not that many people know that the first French watch flown to space is a Yema Spationaute 1, worn by Jean-Loup Chretien, in 1982. As Fratello Watches reports, that marked the first time when the Morteau-based brand collaborated with the French Space Agency (CNES). It would go on to design watches for fighter jet pilots and helicopter rescue divers, starting 1970. For 2022, Yema has released a new collection of military tool watches, designed together with French Air Force specialists.The new Yema Flygraph French Air & Space Force GMT Steel comes in two versions, a monochrome black one, and a silver one with a deep blue dial, each of them limited to 500 pieces, with an engraved number. Approved by military professionals, these watches are not just beautiful, they are designed for durability and tactical functionality.In addition to the GMT function that allows the simultaneous reading of two time zones, these military timepieces also offer a 300-meter (990 feet) water resistance. Plus, they benefit from Yemas in-house caliber, with an average accuracy of 10 seconds per day, and a 42-hour power reserve.The dial with a striated finish is directly derived from aircraft fuselage design, with a contrasting French Air & Space Force official logo. The hands are inspired by the navigation instruments onboard fighter jets, and provide increased legibility even in low-visibility conditions. Both the 316L stainless steel case and sapphire crystal ensure optimal durability and resistance.The steel bracelet comes with a diver extension, so that it can be fitted easily over a fighter jet pilot suit. As a special bonus, the flygraphs also come with an extra nylon strap, which is the official French Air & Space Force strap.For $1,049, you can add a Yema Flygraph French Air & Space Force GMT Steel to your collection, and feel like a real fighter jet pilot. Google Maps, for example, has been offering charging station information in some specific regions, including the U.S., for quite a while. And not a long time ago, Waze was updated with EV charging data as well, therefore preparing for the invasion of electric vehicles on public roads out there.But a partnership between HERE and DCS is supposed to make the whole thing even more convenient.Digital Charging Solutions, or DCS, currently operates one of the largest charging networks in the world, with estimates pointing to over 280,000 connectors in Europe and Japan. If you believe youve heard of DCS before, its because this is the company that provides charging services for big names like Mercedes, BMW, and Hyundai.The partnership with HERE will allow the two companies to offer the charging station information pre-loaded on new cars. This company is the provider of navigation solutions for many large carmakers out there, so thanks to this collaboration, the location of charging points operated by DCS will make its way to HEREs maps.Once the maps are updated with such information, they can become available on any new car whose navigation is powered by HERE.Needless to say, the experience will be more advanced and polished in a way that makes sense for every driver, regardless of their electric vehicle. For example, drivers will be allowed to search for charging stations that are compatible with their cars, with filters for distance and pricing.So, in theory, finding the right charging station will be much easier in a car running on HERE navigation once the DCS update goes live. At this point, however, theres no ETA as to when the first EVs could be provided with these new capabilities. Well, one might leave with some truly mixed feelings after checking out the highlights for this second-generation 1970 Ford Torino. And better snap out of the Vermillion-induced amazement trance because there are more than a few issues with this 429ci Super Cobra Jet.It resides proudly in the inventory of a Sherman, Texas-based dealership dubbed PC Classic Cars. From there, it presents itself with a mesmerizingly orange-and-black paintjob (original code 1 Vermillion shade). But the first hint of trouble comes from the notice that its been repainted during prior ownership.The 15-inch Magnum 500 wheels, Marti report, Drag Pack Torino mentions bring a shade of hope . But its very quickly drenched in modification sorrow. For example, the odometer reads no less than 81,986 miles/131,944 km, and actual mileage cannot be verified. That is another form of saying we are dealing with another nasty case of the TMU (Total Mileage Unknown) variety.Continuing, the shaker hood with the legendary 429 inscriptions will make Blue Oval fans' hearts flutter. Alas, we have more unwelcome news. This was not the original engine block, the shaker hood is a later add-on, while the C6 three-speed automatic transmission was swapped in place of the original four-speed manual... And the third pedal is still in the car for some error-inducing reason!Anyway, there is a fairly lengthy enhancements list as well. It includes stuff like the Flowmaster mufflers to make you feel good about the 429ci V8 soundtrack if the deal goes through. As for the damage to the bank account, all we can say is that used classic car prices have gone a little overboard. Thus, this Torinos asking price is dangerously close to a $50k milestone, standing in at $48,500. Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Sunny with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 83F. WSW winds at 10 to 15 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter. Flooding A Possibility to Likelihood Along Parts of Oregon Coast Published 01/05/22 at 4:32 AM PST By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Oregon Coast) The snowfall is gone, the roads to and from the beaches are no longer icing up, and even the king tides have disappeared. Yet flooding will likely be a problem still on the Oregon coast, perhaps messing with your road trip along Highway 101. (Above: flooding in Seaside last year, courtesy Angi D. Wildt Gallery) The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a flood watch for all of the northern half of the Oregon coast and the south Washington coast, while there is a flood warning for an area just east of Bandon on the south Oregon coast. For the upper half of Oregons coast and lower third of Washingtons coastline, the flood watch is in effect through Friday, with the NWS saying heavy rains and other factors will quite possibly cause flooding along the highway and beach towns, especially at rivers. The Willamette Valley and I-5 corridor towns such as Portland, Salem, Eugene and McMinnville are also under such threats. Along the coastlines of Washington and Oregon, rainfall of an inch to two inches per day are expected periodically through the week, meaning downright drenching conditions. This, coupled with melting snow from the Cascades and coastal hills, could combine to make for problematic roadways. See Oregon Coast Weather - Washington Coast Weather See Oregon Coast Road, Traffic Conditions, Updates Rain, locally heavy at times, is expected later Wednesday through Thursday, the NWS said. At the same time, snow levels will be rising. Together, expect rising river levels, with potential of some flooding. Main concern will be those rivers that drain the Coast Range and Willapa Hills, but flooding is possible for those rivers that drain the Oregon Cascades. The NWS said to keep an eye on local weather conditions and roadway conditions. Residents of all affected regions should be ready to take action if water levels rise. The flood watch is in effect through Friday. Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks, the NWS said. A more severe flood warning has been issued for the Coquille River in Coos County, especially in the town of Coquille, just east of Bandon. At 21.0 feet, The Coquille River is at flood stage, the NWS said late Tuesday night. Expect flooding of farmland and low-lying areas throughout the flood plain along the Coquille River. A variety of gale warnings offshore spell trouble for mariners off the Oregon coast and Washington coast in the coming days, but wave height wont be especially remarkable, clocking in at combined seas of 11 feet to maybe 18 feet at times. This will bring rather dramatic large waves to rocky areas, especially Shore Acres near Coos Bay, and quite likely to other spots like Yachats. These conditions wont create great dangers on the beaches this week, but given the rainfall amounts youll want to find spots to watch the waves from your car. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Flooding near Lincoln City, courtesy Coho Inn Shore Acres near Coos Bay Bandon, courtesy Gleneda Borton More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Its been a full year since the January 6 insurrection, where disgruntled Americans stormed the capitol to voice their disapproval of the presidential election results. The fallout from that event has impressed upon the nation - and the world - the potentially-imperiled future of American democracy. In Southeast Texas, those that we elect to represent us are processing the strain such divisions have put on the nation as well. Related: Images of chaos: AP Photographers capture US Capitol riot It's a critical time in our democracy, said District 22 State Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont. I certainly believe it's a time that we are going to work our way through and get back to some semblance of normalcy, but, you know, the pendulum kind of swings one direction and to the other direction. And right now, it is dangerously close to anarchy. According to a study the Pew Research Center published in December, 42% of Americans believe the American political system needs to be completely reformed, while 435 believe it needs major changes. The remaining 14% believes it needs minor changes or none at all. Even outside of the U.S., most respondents from other countries indicated that the U.S. used to be a good model of democracy but no longer is. Local leaders representing Southeast Texans have their misgivings, too. Deshotel is particularly concerned about what he sees as the Republican Partys failure to do the real work of legislating - dealing with issues Americans face daily such as housing, healthcare and the military. He also is dismayed by peoples continued belief, even a year later, that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Similarly, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie called the insurrection an atrocity to American democracy. A year ago, certain folks lost their lives. Families lost loved ones, Bartie said. Its just bad that we got to remember persons who were injured in this craziness that was incited by the then-sitting President. Its just not American. He said he was speaking from his heart and was not afraid to call Donald Trump unAmerican. Nevertheless, Bartie is optimistic about the future of America, even as he admits there is work to be done. Of course we still have issues, but we have got to say that the country is in better hands, the country is in better shape than it was a year ago, he said. I know several probably do. They may not want to admit it because of their political and partisan ideologies, but they know that we are in a better position. Looking forward, he is hoping for a country where individuals and elected representatives believe in and live by the U.S. Constitution, judicial principles and election laws and rules, not making what he called arbitrary rules to restrict civic participation - like making it illegal to give water to a person standing in line to vote. He encourages people to have conversations with those you disagree with rather than resorting to violence. We have got to be able to disagree and not be disagreeable, Bartie said. Its a democracy. Youre going to have differences in opinions. Youre going to have different approaches. You dont have to be unlawful to get your opinion across. District 19 State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, on the other hand, was not rattled by the events at the U.S. Capitol. He said he dislikes rioting in all its forms, but it does not cause him to question American democracy. Though he comes to different conclusions from Bartie and Deshotel about the significance of Jan. 6 for American democracy, White also wishes that the country would return to faith in and adherence to the Constitution. He has concerns about the extent to which elected officials are doing that. This ruling by executive order (on the) state and national level - this is something that's been going on for several years now. That's concerning about a constitutional republic, he said, calling out chief executive officers specifically. We should be making laws in our deliberative body of the state legislature or the US Congress. He also takes issue with people focusing on what he called this movement to racialize everything. It disturbs him to see people focus on racial differences as opposed to similarities. Though the consensus seems to be that local politicians believe America will right itself eventually, some elected officials are leaning on a higher authority when ordinary Americans fail them. We should pray for our leaders, Bartie said. My deity - he doesnt slumber nor sleep. Hes never going to leave us nor forsake us. You really want to know what I think? White said. I think it would behoove all of us - all of us, Republican, Democrat, left, right, center - to raise our hand and say, Hey, look, in varying degrees, we've all been involved in actions and behaviors that are not consistent with our constitutional republic, with Judeo-Christian ethics, with the foundational principles of our country - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We should choose a Sunday real soon, go to our nearest church, repent and then after we do that, we should go to whatever governing hall that we work in. rachel.kersey@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/ontheREKord Two people have been arrested for allegedly being in possession of narcotics near a school in Orange. A 32-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were arrested Wednesday when the Orange Regional Tactical Response Team executed a narcotic search warrant from a residence in the 1100 block of Ninth Street, a news release from Orange PD said. This great country has seen some dark days, and what happened in the U.S. Capitol one year ago today was one of the worst. A mob of supporters of former president Trump did two things that must never be forgotten or excused. First, they engaged in a violent assault on this citadel of our democracy and the law enforcement officers who were trying to defend it. They severely injured countless officers one lost an eye and left many with post-traumatic feelings they are still grappling with. Secondly, they tried to undo a presidential election, one of the most grievous things that could happen in our democracy. They were trying to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won not by a narrow margin but by 7 million votes. No one can change what happened that day, but there are some things that all citizens can do going forward. First, they should support the congressional investigation into how this chaos happened and who is responsible for it. Similar investigatory panels followed the attack on Pearl Harbor the 9-11 tragedy, and this one deserves the same scrutiny. No innocent person should fear this inquiry. Secondly, voters should give no support to any politician or candidate who thwarts this effort or tried to promote the lie that Trump actually won the election. There is zero evidence of massive voter fraud, and only scattered cases of actual fraud. Every one of them should be vigorously prosecuted, but fortunately this is a rare problem in our country. The aftermath of Jan. 6 actually has little to do with partisan politics. Conservative Republicans should demand a full accounting as much as any liberal Democrat. If an antifa mob had attacked the Capitol to help Democrats, it would have been just as wrong and demanded just as strong a response. As a nation, we can and will disagree on many political issues. But neither party has a monopoly on the right answers, and we should respect the other side in a debate. Basic civility should be the rule, not the exception. The rioters who invaded our Capitol one year ago deserve appropriate punishment, and for many that will mean sentences of years behind bars. The organizers and cheerleaders must be held accountable too. Nothing like this riot must ever happen again. It should cause all citizens to understand that we as a nation are better than that and will never resort to such contempt for our traditions and democracy no matter who wins or loses an election. The facility wont open until 2023, but the groundbreaking ceremony to be held later this month for the new Gisela Houseman Medical Campus is one of the best things to happen in that city in a while. Its not a full replacement for the Baptist Hospital that closed in 2015, but its pretty close. So much of health care in Southeast Texas and the rest of the state is about takeaways fewer facilities and less care, even though the need for medical access keeps growing each year, and isnt being met completely now. Finally, Orange County residents have a welcome reversal to that trend an addition, not a subtraction, and one that holds great promise. The new facility by NexCore Group and Christus Southeast Texas Health System will provide Orange County with a 24/7 emergency hospital and key outpatient diagnostic services. The county does have several private emergency clinics, and their service is welcome. But ambulances cannot deliver patients to them, and they cannot accept Medicare or Medicaid patients. Finally, this gap in care will be closed next year. Orange County is believed to be the largest county in Texas without hospital-based emergency healthcare services. Thats a dubious distinction that needs to end. Residents in and near Vidor are close to Beaumont hospitals, so their need for a facility like this isnt so great. But the eastern part of Orange County, including the county seat of Orange, lacked that access. And this is not a small project. The first phase will be construction of a 55,000-square-foot building on a 5.5-acre piece of the 20-acre parcel. It will have an entryway and exit from Interstate 10 East and Texas 62 for good access from both directions. The land was donated by Gisela Houseman, an outstanding act of civic generosity. The various services will include an emergency department/emergency hospital, imaging and diagnostic services, lab, primary care and specialty care clinics, collaboration/community education areas and facilities support. A center like this meets a basic need in Orange County. Existing residents and businesses are more inclined to stay with access to a facility like this, and new ones are more inclined to move it. Its a fundamental building block for continued improvement in Orange County, like Lamar State College-Orange. On a related note, the recent Unity Fest in Orange was also encouraging. Orange and many other communities can use an uplift like this for the new year. Were contending for our region, said organizer Johnny Asevedo, pastor of the newly formed Destiny Church, The church talks about breaking down walls and stuff but they do nothing about it. Our heart has always been to actively go after it. That means partnering, that means reaching out, that means connecting and being active. Hes right, and thats a message that the entire region can build on in 2022. Southeast Texas has many resources and many needs. The goal in the new year must be to match those up for the benefit of everyone who calls this special place home. In the Port Arthur ISD, the second half of the school year will continue as the first one ended with a requirement for snug-fitting masks for all employees and students. The Beaumont ISD, which also began the new school year with a mask mandate, has suspended that rule, though it reserves the right to reinstate it. The Dallas ISD, one of the largest in the state, is also requiring masks at least through the spring break. The San Antonio ISD, also one of the states largest, has added a week to its holiday break and will resume classes on Jan. 11 And so it goes, in K-12 school districts and colleges across Texas. Each one is trying to figure out how it should fight the omicron variant of the coronavirus, and that is how it should be. They should have the flexibility to do what works for their employees and students. This is, after all, the concept of local control that used to be revered by Texas Republican lawmakers. Lately, however, mask or vaccine mandates have been redefined by many of them as an infringement on personal freedom. Gov. Greg Abbott, eying hard-right challengers in this years GOP primary, has gone so far as to forbid schools from issuing mask mandates. Port Arthur and many other ISDs are issuing them anyway, and state officials arent trying too hard to stop them. Most doctors expect the omicron variant to cause a surge in cases for January and part of February. After that, it may start to recede. Initial reports suggest that the variant spreads more easily than the delta variant it is supplanting though it is fortunately less severe. But however this variant plays out or the next one school officials should not be prevented by state government from requiring the level of protection they feel is necessary. Each campus should also procure a good number of Covid tests to identify any employees or students who are infected to prevent them from making others sick. As always, the best way to stop this pandemic is with vaccinations. They are available to everyone over 5, and the FDA has just authorized booster shots for the 12-to-15 age group if at least five months have passed since their second vaccination. This is the way for schools and all public entities to cope with this pandemic with vaccines, social distancing and at least encouraging masks if not requiring them. These steps work, and if enough people take them, eventually the virus will not be able to find enough vulnerable people to infect. Thats a goal all of us should work toward. Public Domain / Wikimedia.org The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a religion that makes many people feel curious while also leaving them with questions. It comes off as strange and unorthodox to many people, which piques their interest even more. People watch television shows like Sister Wives, based on a non-Mormon polygamist family in Utah, and imagine Latter-day Saints only care about polygamy or having tons of children. However, theres much more to Latter-day Saints than prominent families and polygamy. Indeed, polygamy isnt even practiced by contemporary Latter-day Saints. Like other religions, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints want to celebrate and worship Godeven if the various Christian Churches do this in slightly different ways. Those differences often cause misunderstandings, and few know that better than Latter-day Saints. So, here are a few myths about Mormonism that have been debunked.. "Mormons practice polygamy." Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not practice polygamy today, but it remains part of history. Joseph Smith, the founder of the religion, preached that polygamy was divinely sanctioned. In 1890, more than four decades after Smiths death, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yielded to governmental threats and discontinued the practice. Today, members who marry more than one spouse are excommunicated, but some splinter groups continue the tradition. "Most Mormons are white." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown into a global religion from its American beginnings, with 17 million members worldwide. Fewer than half live in the United States. More LDS Church members live in South America than Utah. There are significant LDS populations in the Philippines, Tonga, Samoa, and other Pacific Islands, and is growing in Africa. In the United States, most converts in recent years have been Latinos. Worldwide, 5.5 million LDS Church members speak Spanish. "Mormons arent Christian." On Sundays, millions of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world pray in the name of Jesus Christ, receive a bread-and-water sacrament (memorializing the body and blood of Christ), and discuss Christs teachings in Sunday school. Latter-day Saints view themselves as Christians. However, many Christian pastors and scholars point to theological technicalities that some argue disqualify them from the mainline tradition. Some evangelicals do not see Latter-day Saints as Christians for reasons rooted in antiquated anti-LDS prejudice. Yet, Latter-day Saints distinguish themselves from other Christians by claiming that their faith offers a restoration of doctrines lost to mainstream Christianity during the Great Apostasy. In the end, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints argue that being a Christian means that one trusts their salvation to Jesusand Latter-day Saints emphatically believe the Book of Mormon declaration that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved (2 Nephi 10:24). Thus, they emphatically see themselves as Christians, even if some reject them as such. "Mormon women are second-class citizens." Outsiders view LDS women as voiceless, mindless members of the faith, while LDS Church spokespeople portray them as uniformly happy with their situation. Neither perspective is necessarily accurate. It is true that LDS doesnt accord women equal leadership status with menat least not in the sense that men and women can serve in all of the same callings. In the Church, some callings are reserved for men (e.g., the bishopric or young mens presidency) and some are reserved for women along (e.g., the presidencies of the Relief Society, Young Womens, and Primary organizations). Women do hold positions of general leadership, presiding over various worldwide organizations of the Church. In addition, women are part of the general leadership boards of the Church, having a position on the Priesthood Executive Council, the Family Executive Council, the Missionary Executive Council, and the Temple and Family History Executive Council. Thus, while the worldwide LDS Church chain of command may appear entirely male organized through ordained priesthood hierarchy, women in the Church do hold positions of authority over parts of their local congregations and over the worldwide general Church. That being said, women cannot be ordained to the priesthood shared by men aged 12 and older. The Churchs The Family A Proclamation to the World declares that men preside over their families in love and righteousness, it also states that fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Symbolic language formerly used in the temple, giving a rise to a perception of unequal gender roles, was changed in 2019, when President Russell M. Nelson announced "more inclusive language" as part of the temple ceremonies. Thus, the equal but different roles of men and women in the Church have sometimes been seen as unequal and different by some within the Church and some without the Church. "Mormons arent supposed to drink caffeinated beverages." The LDS churchs health code, known as the Word of Wisdom, was issued in 1833 by founder, Joseph Smith. It discourages the use of alcohol, tobacco, and hot drinks, which Church leaders have subsequently described only as coffee and tea. Many members have presumed its because they contain caffeine and thus eschewed any beverages, especially carbonated sodas, with caffeine. The LDS church recently reiterated that the only prohibited drinks were alcohol, coffee, and tea. "All Mormons live in Utah." The Beehive State is densely populated with Latter-day Saints, as are some neighboring states. Still, Latter-day Saints are spread across the U.S. in small pockets of believers and congregations. Members also live in more than 100 countries, and their numbers are increasing rapidly in Latin America and Africa. There are more Latter-day Saints outside the U.S. than in the U.S. "Mormons baptize corpses." The LDS church does not use dead bodies, but it has live volunteers do proxy baptisms for their deceased ancestors. This ritual, known as baptism for the dead, is performed in much the same way for the living, except proxy ordinances are done only in Mormon temples. Standing in a font of water about waist-high, a white-clothed candidate represents the dead person. They are then immersed after the adult male baptizer (also wearing white) says these words: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you for and in behalf of (name of the deceased) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. These are the exact words said for a living baptism, without the words for and in behalf of. A proxy baptism doesnt mean that a person is automatically a Mormon in heaven. Latter-day Saints believe those who have passed on can choose to accept or reject the rite done in their names. When it comes to what others believe, misunderstandings and myths abound. This is especially true of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a faith tradition that may be one of the most misunderstood religions in American history. Lifes all about making relationships with each other and learning to be tolerant we all can choose what we want to believe. Shutterstock.com The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a religious group that embraces concepts of Christianity and revelations made by their founder, Joseph Smith. Most who identify as Latter-day Saints belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS Church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, a denomination with more than 16 million members worldwide. However, many small splinter sects consider themselves Latter-day Saintswho have broken off of the larger Utah-based Church, mainly after the death of the Churchs founding prophet. History of Mormon Temples In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a temple is a dedicated house of God reserved for sacred ordinances unique to that tradition. A temple differs from a church meetinghouse used for weekly worship services. Temples have been a significant part of the Latter-day Saint movement since early in its inception. The Latter-day Saint movement was conceived as a restoration of practices believed to have been lost in a Great Apostasy from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Temple worship played a prominent role in the Bibles Old Testament and the Book of On December 27, 1832, two years after the organization of the Church of Christ, the Churchs founder, Joseph Smith, reported receiving a revelation that called Church members to restore the practice of temple worship. Latter-day Saints see temples as fulfilling a prophecy found in Malachi 3:1. As builders drew up plans to construct a temple in Kirtland, Ohio, the decision was made to start work on a second temple simultaneously at the Churchs colony in Jackson County, Missouri. Conflict in Missouri led to the expulsion of the Mormons from Jackson County, preventing the possibility of building a temple there. Still, work on the temple in Kirtland continued, with construction wrapping up in early 1836. On March 27, they held a lengthy dedication ceremony. Conflict relating to the failure of the Churchs Kirtland Safety Society bank caused the church presidency to leave Kirtland and move the Churchs headquarters to the Mormon settlement of Far West, Missouri. In 1838, the Church started constructing a new, more prominent temple in the town center. The events of the 1838 Mormon war and the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri left these attempts at temple-building no further progressed than excavating foundations. In 1839, the Mormons regrouped at a new headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois. Again, God commanded them to build a house of the Lord. New conflicts arose that led to Smiths death and his brother Hyrum in 1844. The Nauvoo Temple stood partially finished, but eventually, members finished the temple and dedicated it. Why Mormons Build Temples Temples are different than the thousands of Church meetinghouses located around the world. Meetinghouses are where Sunday worship services, youth gatherings, service projects, and other community events occur. All are welcome to join in these activities. Temples have a more specific purpose. They are places specially set apart for sacred service and ceremonies. They are designated by the Lord and dedicated to His purposes. Temples are the only places where some priesthood ordinances are authorized to be performed. These sacred ceremonies lift and inspire participants as they make commitments to follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Receiving temple ordinances and keeping covenants unites families together for eternity. Our relationships with those we love can last forever when we honor our commitments to God. In temples, these ordinances are also performed by members of the Church on behalf of those who have died without the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such service extends the saving grace of Jesus Christ to all people. After a temple is dedicated, entrance is reserved for members of the Church who are prepared to participate in these ordinances. Temples are also a place of learning. Their principal purpose is to provide ordinances necessary for the children of God to enable them to return to dwell with Him. Temple ordinances lead to the greatest blessings available through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Everything in the Church, the meetings and activities, the missionary efforts, the lessons taught, and the hymns all lead to the work done in holy temples. One ordinance received in the temple is called the endowment. The word endowment means gift, and the temple endowment truly is a gift from God. The ordinance consists of a series of instructions and includes covenants to live righteously and follow the requirements of the gospel. The endowment focuses on the Savior, His role in Heavenly Fathers plan, and the personal commitment of each member to follow Him. Another temple ordinance is celestial marriage. In this ordinance, husband and wife are sealed to one another for eternity. A sealing performed in the temple continues forever if the husband and wife are faithful to the covenants they make. Children born to parents who have been sealed in the temple are born in the covenant. These children automatically become part of an eternal family. Children who are not born in the covenant can also become part of an eternal family once their natural or adoptive parents have been sealed to one another. The ordinance of sealing children to parents is performed in the temple. People who have died without these essential gospel ordinances may receive those ordinances through the work done in temples. Acting on behalf of ancestors and others who have passed, Church members are baptized and confirmed, receive the endowment, and participate in the sealings of husband to wife and children to parents. Those who enter the temple must be worthy, which means that they keep the commandments and are prepared to make and keep sacred temple covenants. In two interviewsone with a bishopric or a branch president and another with a member of a stake presidency or a mission president, Church members certify their worthiness to enter the temple. In these interviews, the priesthood leader asks about the individuals conduct and worthiness. Those worthy receive a temple recommend, allowing them to enter the temple. Temples arent like the standard church meetinghouses. In a typical church meetinghouse, some faiths hold Bible study, choir rehearsal, and other types of activities. However, thats not the case with temples and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Temples are sacred places that only those deemed worthy are allowed to enter. Its a place where Latter-day Saints participate in numerous ordinances. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. To those who are unfamiliar, the temples may seem strange. However, they hold a special place in the hearts of all Latter-day Saints. Shutterstock.com From the outset, Joseph Smith believed that his revelation was a message for the whole world. He sent out missionaries to win converts to the faith and make the Church a vital force throughout the world. By the 1840s, missionaries were in North America, Europe, and many Pacific Islands. During the first 25 years of the church, 71,000 converts were made in Great Britain alone. Approximately 17,000 emigrated to the early The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settlements in Kirtland, Ohio, Nauvoo, Illinois, and Utah. At the beginning of the 20th century, WWI and WWII restricted missionary work due to the fact that many signed up or were drafted into the wars. Under Latter-Day Saints President David O. Mckay, missionaries totaled 24,280 during 1950 1960. In 1974, President Spencer Kimbell called for all able, worthy young men to go on a mission and, within a few years, the numbers doubled. By 1978, the church built the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. The Missionary Training Center is one of the 10 training centers today. Who goes on missions? All Latter-day Saints aged 18 to 26 are eligible to receive a mission call and concentrate two years of their life on what Latter-day Saints President Gordon Hinckley called the sacred service. Women 19 or older may also be called to serve on missions, but they only serve 18 months. Seventy-six percent of the missionary force are young men. In addition to women, a few missionaries are married couples or older serving Latter-day Saints on a second mission. Missionaries are expected to cover all expenses of their mission. Many Latter-day Saints children start saving for their missions when they first get an allowance, at 6 or 7-years-old. Many young Latter-day Saints also work after-school jobs to save for their missions. However, if the cost is too high for a missionary and their family to bear, a missionarys local ward may help to pay the expenses. Once accepted, missionaries go through training at a Missionary Training Center. The rigorous training can last up to two months of 16-hour days. The trainees learn various lesson plans designed to take the potential convert to the goal of baptism. Training Center teachers teach missionaries how to listen, find common ground with a stranger, and answer challenging questions. Young missionaries do not choose where they serve, but are assigned by the Church to a particular location. What happens on the mission? The mission itself involves long workdays. A typical day involves two hours of scriptural study and eight to nine hours of going door to door teaching and contacting potential converts. One day a week is set aside for personal activities like laundry, letter writing, or sightseeing in the host country. At the end of their mission, they return to their communities. Many veterans describe their experience as transformative. Missionaries and Potential Converts When first meeting with a potential convert, missionaries try to engage them with an open dialogue about faith. Missionaries then teach the doctrines and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, including the nature of God and Gods plan for humankind. Missionaries stress their fundamental belief in Joseph Smith as a modern prophet and the Book of Mormon as another testament of Jesus Christ. LDS missionaries will also teach a potential convert about the Latter-day Saints lifestyle. When ready, missionaries ask potential converts to join them for Church services with the local congregation. If the potential convert is prepared to repent of their sins and declare faith in Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel, then theyll be baptized by immersion. Their emphasis when approaching non-believers is on the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed to Joseph Smith. In their eyes, Christianity has suffered from a Great Apostasy starting in the years after the death of Jesus and the martyrdom of His twelve apostles, necessitating the restoration of the prophetic office, modern revelation, and, therefore, the need to spread the message of the Restored Gospel throughout the existing Christian world. Joseph Smith envisioned his followers fulfilling what Christians call Christs great commission (Matthew 26:16-20), spreading the gospel worldwide. He wanted to make the Church a vital force throughout the world. In the first 25 years of the Churchs existence, there were thousands of converts in Great Britain, and many of them emigrated to early Mormon settlements in Illinois, Ohio, and Utah. Latter-day Saints go on missions because they want to spread the message of Jesus Christ, and the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Members of Indonesias National Narcotics Agency (BNN) clear and destroy marijuana plants at a forest line in Lamteuba, Aceh province, Oct. 19, 2021. Indonesias leader announced Thursday that his administration was revoking more than 2,000 mining and forest-use permits to correct inequality and protect the environment, two months after he signed global pacts to reduce deforestation and coal-fueled power plants. President Joko Jokowi Widodo voided these permits amid a dispute with Indonesian coal producers, whose exports the government banned for January because mining companies did not meet their domestic supply obligations. We will revoke permits that are not executed, which are not productive, which are transferred to other parties and which are not in accordance with the designation and regulations, Jokowi said in a live broadcast via YouTube. We will continue to evaluate permits for mining, forestry, and state land use thoroughly. Jokowi said the government revoked 2,078 mineral and coal mining permits owned by firms that had failed to provide work plans, had misused the permits, or transferred them to other parties. The government did not release the list of revoked mining or plantation permits. Permits have been granted for years but they were still inactive. This has turned natural resources that should be used to improve peoples welfare hostage, the president said. His administration also revoked 192 forestry permits covering more than 3 million hectares, or 7.4 million acres, for similar reasons. Siti Nurbaya Bakar, the minister of environment and forestry, said the decision was in line with Indonesias commitment to overcoming the climate crisis engulfing the world. This is a very important step in responding to work priorities in the context of forestry management and efforts to improve the environment and reduce natural damage, Siti said. If we talk about Indonesias commitment related to climate change, this step will support the FOLU net [carbon] sink 2030 agenda; meaning that by 2030, the forestry sector, greenhouse gas emissions must be zero in total, she added. So, the revoked forestry permits mean a lot. Forest and other land use (FOLU) net carbon sink is zero when emissions from land- and forest-use activities are equal to their absorption. Meanwhile, zero deforestation is defined as no new clearing of forest and land. Indonesia was among 133 nations that signed the pledge at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26 summit, in Glasgow to end and reverse forest loss by 2030. But Indonesia had a different commitment to zero deforestation, saying this was unfair for its development because the country still had a lot of work to do in building evenly distributed infrastructure, especially in rural areas. According to the environment ministry, Indonesia has already made strides in stemming deforestation. The ministry said Indonesia lost 115,459 hectares (285,300 acres) of forest cover in 2020, a 75-percent drop from 2019. Land for farmers, Islamic boarding schools Jokowi said the government would use the revoked state-owned land to provide opportunities for equitable use of assets for community groups as well as religious schools. These include farmers, Islamic boarding schools, and so on that can partner with credible and experienced companies, Jokowi said. The country, he said, was also open to credible investors who have a good record and reputation, and are committed to contributing to the public welfare and preserving nature to manage the land. An environmental activist praised the move but expressed hope that government would be more careful in the future about granting new permits. Finally, there are concrete steps from the government to evaluate and revoke mining permits, Zenzi Suhadi, director of Walhi, an Indonesian conservation group, told BenarNews. But the government must consult with the communities living around the areas where permits have been revoked, especially the indigenous people who have been marginalized, before transferring land to other parties, he said. Zenzi also urged the government to be transparent about which companies had their licenses revoked. Dont let the revocation be just a process to give permission to other companies [instead], he said. We have to learn from the mistakes of the past and improve what we have today. Coal export ban Meanwhile, Febry Calvin Tetelepta, deputy chief of the presidential staff, said the decision to temporarily ban coal exports was to protect the national interest and be secure amid a global energy crisis. Last week, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stopped coal companies exports for January, saying they had failed in their obligation to supply at least a quarter of their output for domestic needs. The ministry added that the shortfall could affect nearly 20 power plants, which generate electricity for 10 million consumers. Febry said the ban was justified because the country must provide electricity for the people. Coal-fired power plants supply 65 percent of Indonesias electricity needs. Also on Thursday, the government dismissed an energy director at PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (the State Electricity Company) which operates coal-fired power plants, saying the move was part of efforts to improve the performance of the company. The energy ministry said it would re-evaluate its ban by Jan. 5. However, as of Thursday, there was no announcement. Indonesia, one of the worlds largest thermal coal suppliers, exported 29 million tons of coal in January 2021, slightly down from 32 million tons in January 2020. Almost 32 percent of Indonesias total coal production of 405 million tons went to China in 2020. Other top buyers included India, the Philippines, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. Indonesian police escort a terror suspect at the Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar during his transfer to custody in Jakarta, Feb. 4, 2021. Terrorist threats in Southeast and South Asian countries declined in 2021, a Singapore think-tank said in its annual threat assessment published this week, noting that COVID-19 movement restrictions had flattened the curve of terrorism. There were fewer terror-related incidents in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Bangladesh as governments battled the pandemic, according to the Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis report published by researchers at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. In Thailand in 2021, meanwhile, violent incidents connected to an insurgency in the far south were similar to those in the previous year, the researchers found. Ultimately, the 2021 survey underscored the continuing imperative for states to address the longer-term underlying grievances that fuel violent extremism, the analysis said. In Indonesia, Southeast Asias largest country, the number of attacks and plots by violent extremist Islamic militant groups dipped during the past two years compared with before the outbreak of COVID-19, according to the report. Jamaah Ansharut Daulahs (JAD) relatively stagnant activities in 2020-2021 and the decline of Eastern Indonesia Mujahideens (MIT) terror activities in 2021, it said, can be partly attributed to movement restrictions and higher costs associated with domestic travels due to the pandemic. In 2021, JAD was involved in at least nine incidents, including five using explosive materials. Those included two suicide bomb attacks and a suicide bomb plot, compared with 11 incidents the previous year. Police were the most common targets of terrorist incidents in Indonesia, the analysis found. Others targeted by Indonesian extremists last year were civilians, including Christians, as well as both Indonesian and mainland Chinese, the report said. On Tuesday, Indonesian security forces announced they had killed Ahmad Gazali, a suspected MIT member, in the mountains of Central Sulawesi province, cutting MITs membership down to only three. Both MIT and JAD are pro-Islamic State (IS) extremist groups. Malaysia, Philippines The analysis specifically linked the COVID-19 pandemic to the drop in terror activities in Malaysia last year. The pandemic-driven movement restrictions that hampered inter-state and international movements also flattened the curve of terrorism in Malaysia, it said. Authorities made no terror-related arrests in Peninsular Malaysia last year but made about 15 in Sabah between May and September. There were seven arrests in 2020; 72 in 2019; 85 in 2018; 106 in 2017 and 119 in 2016, the analysis found. Still, the analysis expressed concern that terror threats had moved online. The government-imposed lockdowns have forced people to spend more time online, raising the likelihood of vulnerable individuals being exposed to radical ideologies in the cyber domain. Around the region, groups such as IS have increased their recruitment and radicalization efforts through social media during the pandemic, it said. Elsewhere, the Armed Forces of the Philippines drew praise for retaking terror bases in the southern region of Mindanao. Nationwide, the number of successful terrorist incidents dropped from 134 in 2019, to 59 incidents in 2020 and 17 in 2021, the analysts said, defining a successful incident as an attack that injured or killed others. The analysis noted that government-imposed COVID-19 lockdowns affected terror operations. Given they significantly limited the movements of the general population, as well as those of terrorists, this has rendered terrorist logistics vulnerable to being detected more readily, it said. Bangladesh In Bangladesh in 2021, there were two failed attacks compared to four successful ones in 2020, the report said, adding that authorities had arrested about 130 terrorist suspects nationwide. Neo-JMB, a pro-Islamic State breakaway faction of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, appeared to target law enforcement agencies, churches, noted Hindu and Buddhist personalities and workers of non-governmental organizations, the analysis said. It also said that Neo-JMB sought to train all its members in the production of IEDs, as well as chloroform bombs to target buses, classrooms and public places in its bid to kill silently. Thailand In Thailands insurgency-hit southern border region, 423 violent incidents were recorded, leaving 104 dead and 169 injured through November 2021, according to the report. The scale was similar to 2020 when 335 violent incidents occurred, leaving 116 dead and 161 injured. In the Muslim-majority Deep South, as the region is known, more than 7,000 people have been killed since separatist groups resumed an insurgency against the Buddhist-majority 18 years ago. The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the Deep Souths largest separatist group, scaled down its militant operations on humanitarian grounds in April 2020 because of the pandemic. The analysis said this led to a significant decline in violence. In 2021, the BRN maintained low-level operations, so as not to aggravate the already perilous situation for southern residents, it said. After avoiding peace talks with government officials, in early 2020, BRN rejoined the efforts brokered by Malaysia. A source from the government team said the two sides met virtually in 2021 and the BRN submitted a ceasefire proposal in May, according to the analysis. BRN proposed the establishment of an autonomous Patani Darussalam, in which the Patani people had the right to design their own education and economic systems. In addition, their Malay language and identity were to be officially recognized and preserved, it said. Communist New Peoples Army fighters stand in formation in Lagonglong, a town in Misamis Oriental province, southern Philippines, May 2, 2016. Government troops killed a senior commander of the communist New Peoples Army during a gunfight in the southern Philippines, a military chief in the Mindanao region said Thursday. The suspect slain on Wednesday night was identified as Menandro Villanueva (also known as Bok), a member of the NPAs high command and longtime veteran of the Philippine communist insurgency, one of Asias longest-running armed conflicts. Officials said he headed the guerrillas national operations command and controlled rebel units operating in the northeastern parts of Mindanao, the main island in the south. It will take the communist terrorist group some time to replace a seasoned leader as Villanueva. As a result of this, we expect more communist terrorists to either yield to the troops or continue to suffer defeats under an inexperienced leader in the coming days, said Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol, head of the Eastern Mindanao Command. Villanueva was the second member of the NPAs high command to be killed in recent months. In October, government troops killed Jorge Madlos, 72, the guerrilla forces spokesman and its most wanted commander. Villanueva, 69, also was a member of the politburo of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines. The New Peoples Army is the CPPs military wing. Mindanaos most wanted terrorist is now finally neutralized by your Agila troopers, said Ernesto Torres, commander of the 10th Division, referring to troops from his division. They [NPA rebels] have nowhere to hide because the masses are already fed up with the abuses and extortion they perpetrated for more than five decades. The death of Menandro Villanueva signals that the end of the communist insurgency in Mindanao is already at hand. The gunfight that ended Villanuevas life began as soldiers were patrolling a remote village in Mabini, a town in Davao de Oro province, after receiving information that Villanuevas group was in the area, according to Capt. Mark Anthony Tito, spokesman for the Armys 10th Infantry Division. Bok was hit in several parts of his body resulting in his demise. Troops are still conducting pursuit operations on the fleeing CNTs [CPP-NPA-Terrorists], Tito told reporters. Military officials did not say if any other NPA members or troops involved in the gunfight were injured. Founding member Villanueva was a founding member of the NPA in Mindanao in the 1970s with Edgar Jopson, who died after a military raid in Davao City in 1982, officials said. As a young man, Villanueva was an activist with the reformist youth organization Kabataang Makabaya who opposed the brutal rule of then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In 1972, while a student at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, Villanueva went underground after the Philippine president declared martial law, according to the military. The communist insurgency in the Philippines dates back to 1969. From a peak of at least 20,000 guerrillas in the 1980s, the number of NPA fighters has fallen to about 5,000 in mostly remote areas of the Philippines. CPP and NPA leaders could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. The first snowstorm of 2022 will arrive in Connecticut late Thursday, dropping up to 7 inches, an upgrade from a previous forecast. What time will it arrive? Snow is expected to fall starting at 11 p.m. Thursday, said Gary Lessor, chief meteorologist with the Connecticut Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University. The snow will be heavy at times, with accumulations around an inch per hour for a time. Advertisement Snow ends between 8 a.m. and noon on Friday, and the sky will become partly sunny in the afternoon. It will be breezy with northwest winds of 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 30 mph. High temperatures will be in the low to mid-30s. [ Short-staffed as winters first significant snow storm approaches, Connecticut DOT asks public for patience ] How much snow will fall? The storm is predicted to drop 3 to 7 inches statewide, Lessor said early Thursday. Western Connecticut will see less accumulation as the fast-moving storm blows east. Advertisement What kind of snow will it be? The snow will be light and fluffy, the kind thats easier to shovel, he said. Any other weather events on the horizon? Another storm will arrive on Sunday with snow and sleet possible in the morning, but otherwise periods of rain as temperatures climb through the 30s. Little if any snow accumulation. A shot of arctic air will settle into Connecticut next week with high temperatures near 20 degrees on Tuesday and near 30 degrees Wednesday. Overnight low temperatures will be near 10 degrees and wind chill values at night will be near zero or below. Winter has gotten off to a slow start in Connecticut with just 4.2 inches of snow recorded at Bradley International Airport through January 5. Normal is 14.3 inches. At Bridgeport, just .2 inches has fallen; the normal is 7.6 inches. Temperatures during December averaged 5.4 degrees above normal at Bradley and 3.4 degrees above normal at Bridgeport. Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com. Investigations editor Larry Parnass joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, CommonWealth Magazine and with the Reuters news service. Taconic High School, above, and Reid Middle School will be closed Thursday and Friday, according to Superintendent Joseph Curtis. We may never know how close our democracy came last January to suffering the same fate as Germanys did after Hitler seized control of that country. Both actions were based on a lie. HINSDALE When members of the Hinsdale Zoning Board of Appeals take their seats next week on the stage at a regional middle school, ready to consider a controversial application, a blanket will cover them. Quote Im actually glad they brought it to the towns attention." Bob Graves, the Hinsdale town administrator, on a ZBA member's question about personal legal liability Invisible, but comforting. Fearing future court action by an unhappy applicant, a member of the ZBA asked the town a not-so-hypothetical question: Is he covered, legally? If not, he and others were apparently ready to stop consideration of the RV park proposed by Northgate Resort Ventures LLC. Northgate seeks to transform Camp Emerson, at 212 Longview Ave., into one of the national companys destinations, with more than 300 sites. Bob Graves, the town administrator, asked the town's lawyer to check whether Hinsdale provided indemnification coverage for members of its boards. That action protects someone serving on a town board from individual liability. ZBA next meets Tuesday The Hinsdale Zoning Board of Appeals will next consider the Northgate Resort Ventures LLC application in a session that starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of the Nessacus Regional Middle School in Dalton. The town has a special web page that includes materials on the Northgate application, including links to Zoom session recordings Nov. 30 and Dec. 14 and extensive public comments for and against the project. Im actually glad they brought it to the towns attention, Graves said of the ZBA member, whom he declined to name. Graves and Joel Bard, the town counsel, found that unlike many other Berkshires communities, Hinsdale had never adopted a state statute that provides such protection to citizens who volunteer their time on boards. As The Eagle has reported, Northgate has used the courts to challenge local zoning decisions, including in the case of a New Hampshire community that turned down the companys expansion request in 2018, citing concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety. The company appealed the case twice, eventually losing before the New Hampshire Supreme Court. With the Hinsdale ZBAs second meeting on the Northgate application just days away, the Select Board hurried on Dec. 8 to patch things up, voting unanimously to indemnify members of the ZBA. According to the meeting minutes, officials had been informed that all members of the ZBA were prepared to recuse themselves from further involvement in the hearing if they were not indemnified. Because the issue came up so quickly, without time to get it on the boards Dec. 8 agenda, the town revisited the question of indemnification on Dec. 22, when, at Bards advice, it also allowed public comment. No one objected and the board affirmed its earlier decision. Graves said residents will be asked, at a future annual town meeting, to adopt the state law providing indemnification. To cover anyone who is serving on a board, which the town should have done a long time ago, Graves said. One of the ZBAs members, Dan Thornton, has recused himself from voting on the Northgate application because he displayed a yard sign opposing the RV park project before the application reached the ZBA on Oct. 18. Thornton's recusal was announced by Jeff Viner, the boards chairman, at the start of the panels Dec. 14 meeting. When the project was first proposed last summer, it went before the Select Board. Officials later decided the ZBA was the appropriate board to handle the application. In the New Hampshire case, the states Supreme Court sided with a superior court judge who had affirmed the town of Miltons Zoning Board of Adjustment, which rejected Northgates proposal to expand a newly acquired campground on Northeast Pond from 223 sites to 396 sites. The states high court upheld the lower courts decision, in which a judge had written that the Milton board could have reasonably concluded on the evidence before it that there would be an undue nuisance or serious hazard to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. In its lawsuit against Milton, N.H., Northgate named only the town as a defendant, not individual members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Northgate's purchase of the 155-acre Camp Emerson site is contingent on securing town approvals. The property is owned by Camp Tanglelake Inc., whose principals are members of the Lein family. Donald Morrison is an Eagle columnist and co-chairman of the advisory board. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle. The U.S. is urging that everyone 12 and older get a COVID-19 booster as soon as theyre eligible, to help fight back the hugely contagious omicron mutant thats ripping through the country. Boosters already were encouraged for all Americans 16 and older, but Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed an extra Pfizer shot for younger teens those 12 to 15 and strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds get it, too. Advertisement It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDCs director, said in a statement Wednesday night. This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDCs COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, she said. Advertisement Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19, including omicron what experts say is their most important benefit. But the newest mutant can slip past a layer of the vaccines protection to cause milder infections. Studies show a booster dose at least temporarily revs up virus-fighting antibodies to levels that offer the best chance at avoiding symptomatic infection, even from omicron. Earlier Wednesday, the CDCs independent scientific advisers wrestled with whether a booster should be an option for younger teens, who tend not to get as sick from COVID-19 as adults, or more strongly recommended. Giving teens a booster for a temporary jump in protection against infections is like playing whack-a-mole, cautioned CDC adviser Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University. But she said the extra shot was worth it to help push back the omicron mutant and shield kids from the missed school and other problems that come with even a very mild case of COVID-19. More important, if a child with a mild infection spreads it to a more vulnerable parent or grandparent who then dies, the impact is absolutely crushing, said panelist Dr. Camille Kotton of Massachusetts General Hospital. Lets whack this one down, agreed Dr. Jamie Loehr of Cayuga Family Medicine in Ithaca, New York. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only option for American children of any age. The CDC says about 13.5 million children ages 12 to 17 slightly more than half of that age group have received two Pfizer shots. Boosters were opened to the 16- and 17-year-olds last month. Wednesdays decision means about 5 million of the younger teens who had their last shot in the spring are eligible for a booster right away. New U.S. guidelines say anyone who received two Pfizer vaccinations and is eligible for a booster can get it five months after their last shot, rather than the six months previously recommended. Breaking News As it happens Get the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut > But one committee member, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, worried that such a strong recommendation for teen boosters would distract from getting shots into the arms of kids who have not been vaccinated at all. Advertisement The advisers saw U.S. data making clear that symptomatic COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are between seven and 11 times higher in unvaccinated adolescents than vaccinated ones. While children do tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults, child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave -- the vast majority of them unvaccinated. During the public comment part of Wednesdays meeting, Dr. Julie Boom of Texas Childrens Hospital said a booster recommendation for younger teens cannot come soon enough. The chief safety question for adolescents is a rare side effect called myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys who get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The vast majority of cases are mild far milder than the heart inflammation COVID-19 can cause and they seem to peak in older teens, those 16 and 17. The FDA decided a booster dose was as safe for the younger teens as the older ones based largely on data from 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds in Israel who got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose. Israeli officials said Wednesday that theyve seen two cases of mild myocarditis in this age group after giving more boosters, 40,000. Earlier this week, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the side effect occurs in about 1 in 10,000 men and boys ages 16 to 30 after their second shot. But he said a third dose appears less risky, by about a third, probably because more time has passed before the booster than between the first two shots. Spearfish, SD (57783) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. High 54F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 37F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. At Take Tea, 19 East Main St. in Avon, tea is served Thursday to Sunday in two two-hour sessions, when guests are served a bottomless pot of tea and a three-tiered tea stand of treats. (Susan Dunne) At Take Tea, a British-style tea room in Avon, tea enthusiasts can get a proper cuppa, as well as scones, shortbread, crustless sandwiches and other teatime goodies. The tea room was founded by Nann Thomson, and opening Take Tea earlier this month is Thomsons third career. Years ago, she was an attorney specializing in family law, representing kids. For years after that, she taught kids, most recently at New Britain High School. She retired from education in the early days of the pandemic. Advertisement In 2020 I was teaching on my living-room couch. I was very concerned about the health consequences of going back to the classroom in September. So I tendered my resignation, Thomson, 69, says. But she had long had a dream of opening a tea room. Advertisement In the 1970s I lived in Ireland. I had lots of cream tea, Thomson says. I also lived in England, studying law at University of Exeter for a term. They have afternoon tea. It has a more theater element to it [than Irish teas] and more formal courses. Its meant to be enjoyed for a long session at the table. I wanted mine to be a hybrid of the two, not hoity-toity. I want to bring the feeling of what people experienced when they had afternoon tea, to be evocative of that, she says. Two-hour sessions at Take Tea include bottomless pots of tea and three-tiered trays of tea snacks. Guests can bring their own champagne. (Susan Dunne) Thomson spent a year buying vintage china, decor and furnishings from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. She took courses and worked with a mentor on her business model. She found a vacancy in an 1880 building at 19 East Main St. in the Old Avon Village complex. She hung a Union Jack by one entrance and an Irish flag by another. She recruited a former star student, Sara McHugh, to run the shop with her. It turns out McHugh has tea in her blood. My great-grandmother owned a tea cart 100 years ago., McHugh says. She worked outside the air base in Cranwell [in Lincolnshire, England] in 1922. The women, aided by Thomsons son Jonathan, opened Jan. 1. This is not a restaurant. Its an opportunity to have an experience that transports you into a different place, Thomson says. Tea is served Thursday to Sunday in two two-hour sessions, at noon and 2:30 p.m. Guests who pre-register online at taketeainct.com $30 apiece, 12 and older only are served a bottomless pot of tea and a three-tiered tea stand of treats. Advertisement Sara McHugh, left, and Nann Thomson, right, are the team behind Take Tea in Avon. (Susan Dunne) On the bottom tier are canapes or sandwiches: curry chicken, egg salad, cucumber, jam pennies, shrimp mousse. On the middle tier are scones or tea bread with jam and cream. On the top tier are desserts such as shortbread, a mini cuppa-cake of Guinness and chocolate, and posset, a creamy pudding. The menu changes periodically. Thomson makes mock clotted cream, because British clotted cream doesnt travel well and is very expensive, she says. She got the recipe from her favorite Connecticut tea room, the now-closed Mrs. Bridges Tea Room in Woodstock. Im proud to serve it. The taste and texture is authentic, she says. Nann Thomson scoured tag sales, jumble sales, online auctions and antique stores for vintage tea tableware from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, for her shop. (Susan Dunne) Food & Drink Weekly Keep up with news from the Connecticut food scene, delicious recipes, and restaurant and bar reviews > All the tea is loose-leaf Harney & Sons. Flavors include English breakfast, organic Assam, organic Earl Grey, hot cinnamon spice, Tower of London blend, heirloom Bartlett pear, Irish breakfast, chocolate, gingers oolong and decaf tea, which is organic rooibos. Take Tea also offers Lyons tea from Ireland, PG Tips from England in tea bags, as well as coffee. Thomson has applied for a liquor license. When she gets it she will offer champagne with the other treats. Until then, guests can BYOB. The nearby Uncork & Unwind package store, also in Old Avon Village, sells small chilled bottles of champagne. Thomson is as cautious with her tea room as she is with her health. She requires guests to be vaccinated and boosted, although she relies on the honor system, and she is allowing only 13 guests per seating, half of her capacity, until the pandemic is over. Everyone must wear a mask when arriving and when not eating and drinking. Advertisement But she has plans for when the pandemic wanes. I want to have tea classes and childrens tea times, maybe on Saturday mornings. I want to have themed teas, like Downton Abbey, Alice in Wonderland and Bridgerton. Thats all in the future. Right now were perfecting our hospitality. Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com. Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Place an Obituary You have probably asked yourself many times, Lord what do I do in this situation? Questions like these have been asked for centuries, and in ancient times one of the ways people sought to find answers was by casting lots. What seems today like a random, even unspiritual way to seek answers was a lot more common than you might think in Bible times. In fact, as you will soon see, the Bible does not condemn casting lots and this practice was a part of the everyday culture. What Does Casting Lots Mean? Casting lots was a practice that was used in the ancient world to attempt to decipher what was the divine will in a particular matter. Because the outcome produced by casting lots was random, the result was seen as the divine answer to whatever question or situation they were considering. This practice was used within the nation of Israel, but also in other nations as well, and was a common part of the society. Even though the Bible mentions casting lots, we dont know specifically how it was done because it does not give a specific description of how to cast lots. Here is a description of how casting lots was most likely done. Ancients commonly used small stones labeled to reflect the possible outcomes of the decision (Lindblom, Lot-casting, 168). The Bible contains no description of the specific procedure for casting lots, undoubtedly due to the commonplace nature of the practice. Based on etymology, Kitz suggests the Israelites likely placed marked stones into a container, which was then shaken in such a way as to cast out a deciding stone (Kitz, Terminology, 20714). Is Casting Lots the Same as Modern Gambling? It might be easy to conclude that casting lots is similar to modern day gambling, but it is not. The only similarity to modern day gambling is the random nature of the activity. The major difference, as you can see, is that the ancient practice of casting lots was used to attempt to seek divine direction in a particular matter. This is not the motivation of gambling, which is to win money. The only divine direction sought in gambling is the prayer to pick the right numbers or get the right roll of the dice (and yes, I am being a little facetious here). What Does the Bible Say about Casting Lots? You might wonder if the Bible condemns casting lots. Surprisingly the Bible does not actually condemn casting lots if anything, in the Old Testament we could at best say the Bible is okay with it. Now before you go marking your stones and casting them, I think it is important to note that this practice was an ancient practice, and after the day of Pentecost there is no mention of casting lots in the Bible as a way of trying to find divine direction. I will address why we dont need to do this anymore a little bit later. Where Do We See People Cast Lots in Scripture? There are multiple places we see casting lots mentioned in Scripture. In the Old Testament the main Hebrew word for lots is goral which means small stones cast to produce a decision. Here are some examples of how casting lots was used in the Bible. Old Testament 1. Casting lots for inheritance As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord. So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions (Joshua 18:8-10). 2. Casting lots to reveal sin Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish. Then the sailors said to each other, Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah (Jonah 1:4-7). 3. Casting lots for strategy in war All the men rose up together as one, saying, None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. But now this is what well do to Gibeah: Well go up against it in the order decided by casting lots (Judges 20:8-9). New Testament 1. Casting lots for priestly duty Once when Zechariahs division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense (Luke 1:8-9). 2. Casting lots for Jesus garments Lets not tear it, they said to one another. Lets decide by lot who will get it. This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, They divided my clothes among them, and cast lots for my garment. So this is what the soldiers did (John 19:24). 3. Casting lots to choose Judas replacement So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, Lord, you know everyones heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs. Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles (Acts 1:23-26). As you can see from these examples, the Bible does not condemn casting lots, but it was a common practice and used to help decipher what God would want them to do. As we have seen by the Jonah verses, this practice was not just limited to the people of Israel. This was very common and the outcomes that resulted by casting lots were seen as divine outcomes. Why Did the Disciples Cast Lots to Choose Judas' Replacement? When you come to this instance of casting lots in the New Testament, I believe you are witnessing a transition from the Old Testament way of making decisions and deciphering Gods will to the way we make decisions today. There is a clear distinction between the decision making before Pentecost and after Pentecost. The difference is after Pentecost believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, which meant they no longer had to rely upon an outward witness to decipher what Gods will was in a particular situation. They now had an inward witness, mainly God the Holy Spirit who would now lead and direct them. This is what Jesus promised in John 16:13, that the Holy Spirit would guide us in all truth. At the time they were choosing Matthias, the Holy Spirit had not been given to them yet, so the disciples relied on the ancient custom of casting lots because this is what they were used to. Casting lots was the attempt to figure out Gods direction, which is why the Bible does not condemn casting lots. What we must remember today is we dont have to cast lots anymore, it is simply not necessary. We dont have to wonder what direction God wants us to take because he will guide us by his Holy Spirit. Our job now is to make sure we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, because when we are we will know what God wants us to do, and most importantly we will have the ability to do it. Source The Lexham Bible Dictionary Photo credit: Getty Images/diego_cervo When talking about the splits and divisions in church history, you really have to specify which one. There was the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the Papal Schism in the 14th century, and the East-West Schism in the 11th century, also known as the Great Schism of 1054. The schism in 1054 was truly great because it divided the Christian church, which at the time extended from the upper corners of Ireland down into Egypt. The once-unified church was split into: The Eastern Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Empire in the east and The Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Roman Empire in the west. The Great Schism of 1054 was a single event in time, but it was also a long time coming, revealing years of tension between Christians in the west and Christians in the east. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was supposed to deeply unify believers from any nation, people, or language (Revelation 7:9-10). So how could Jesus church sever ties like they did during the Great Schism of 1054? Today, nearly 1,000 years later, historians have enough hindsight to look back and notice some of the early signals and the lasting consequences of what happened without the confusion of being right in the middle of such a storm with a strong undercurrent of emotion. What happened leading up to 1054, and what can the church learn to avoid another split like that? What Was the Great Schism of 1054? By 330, the Roman Empire had already split in two: the Byzantine Empire and the Western Roman Empire. Latin was largely spoken in the west, and Greek in the east. But the church was still unified for the most part. What started as geographic, political, and language differences between the eastern church and the western church began to also include theological and eschatological differences throughout the years, culminating with each side calling the other heretics who were not to be trusted or tolerated. In 1054, Leo IX, the Bishop of Rome in the west, excommunicated Michael Cerularius, the Bishop of Constantinople in the east. In return, Michael Cerularius also issued an excommunication. The Great Schism of 1054 resulted from a power struggle between these bishops and the differences in the ways they led Christians to practice church and view God. After they severed ties, the church became the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Pinpointing the causes and results of the Great Schism of 1054 is like trying to make sense of church infighting today. Youd have to go back decades for context and have a grain of salt on hand while researching different perspectives about what and why things happened. Three Causes of the Great Schism of 1054 1. A power struggle between bishops. The Roman Empire was enormous. At its peak in the early second century, it spanned over 5 million square miles. To kindle your imagination, the entire United States is 3.8 million square miles. The emperors in Rome struggled to maintain power over such a large area, so in 330, Emperor Constantine split the empire in two: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire. He also made Constantinople the new capital. After the invasion of barbarian tribes in the west and the fall of Rome in 395, the Bishop of Rome enjoyed increasing power. But from 537 to 752, the bishops, even the Bishop of Rome, werent official without the Byzantine emperor's approval. That check in power was removed in the 8th century as the Byzantine empire began to struggle itself, especially when a new religion, Islam, spread into the area. At that time, the Western Roman Empire was gaining strength again. The Bishop of Rome crowned Charlemagne as the new emperor. Since then, the Bishop of Rome gave the final seal of approval on the Roman emperors, not the other way around. The Bishop of Rome steadily gained power and sought to extend it over the other four main Bishops of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. By the time Leo IX was Bishop of Rome, Michael Cerularius, the Bishop of Constantinople, resisted Leos reach. In the Byzantine Empire, the eastern church had a more localized power structure, relying on a congregations priest and the areas bishop. Church power and authority in the Western Roman Empire was more centralized, relying on the Bishop of Rome. Beyond power structures, in the actual churches, the western way of doing church was different from the eastern way of doing church. 2. Differences and disunity in the church. Geography and Culture: When the church lost political unity after Emperor Constantine split the empire in 330 into Western and Eastern Roman Empires and Rome fell to barbarian tribes, the western church was left to look to the Bishop of Rome for stability and security. Christians in the west and east were then politically separated and had different leaders and languages. People in the east spoke Greek, and people in the west spoke Latin. Fewer and fewer people spoke both Latin and Greek, so they didnt talk with each other or learn from each other. Theology and Eschatology: The issue of venerating religious icons had been a sore subject in the church for a long time. Leaders in the east went through a few periods of banning icons and replacing them with crosses and then allowing them in churches again. In the west, the church was always in favor of them. The eastern and western churches differed on a few other points in the way they practiced church and viewed God. In the east, priests could marry, but in the west, priests had to commit to celibacy. Communion bread in the east must only be leavened bread with yeast in it. In the west, however, priests could serve communion with unleavened bread. Churchgoers in the east sometimes dipped their leavened bread into the communion wine, which the churchgoers in the west never did. These differences in practice were enough to inspire some side-eye from both groups. But the breaking point for the church in the east was when the Bishop of Rome edited the Nicean Creed without collaborating with the eastern bishops. Disrespecting the other bishops wasnt the only problem. The edit that Bishop Leo IX made indicated a significant theological difference. The Nicean Creed before: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. After Leos edit (as it remains today): I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. The eastern bishops saw this as diminishing to God the Father, from whom they said God the Son and God the Holy Spirit proceeded. Whereas, the Bishop of Rome edited the statement of belief to say that the Spirit proceeded from both the Father and the Son. These differences in the way the two groups viewed God and practiced church resulted in deep disunity. 3. Jurisdiction of bishops. Amid these differences, Bishop Leo IX and Bishop Michael Cerularius kept an eye on their territories, especially in the middle of their maps, where church customs and ideas were more likely to blend. Eastern churches in Italy who spoke Greek were told to do things the western, Latin way. And some churches in Constantinople preferred to practice church the western way, which the Bishop Michael Cerularius of Constantinople did not approve of. Those churches were told to adapt or shut down. Bishop Leo IX sent letters defending them. Bishop Michael Cerularius sent letters in return to Leo, who then sent a delegation of people with another letter, which was ignored by the eastern bishop once he was offended to see that the letter had been opened and shared. The tension grew with this back and forth. Then finally, the Bishop of Romes delegation burst into a church service at the Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople and placed their final letter on the altar. This letter excommunicated Bishop Michael Cerularius. He retaliated with his own decree of excommunication. Four Results of the Great Schism of 1054 1. A severed church. After the leaders of the church in the west and the east excommunicated each other in 1054, they split into two separate churches: the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Cries for reunion were never answered until 1962 during the Second Vatican Council when the Pope, also known as the Bishop of Rome, recognized the sacraments of the Eastern Orthodox Church. And then in 1965, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch of Constantinople revoked the excommunications after 911 years of broken relationship. 2. Empowered papacy. The Bishop of Rome was already powerful in the west, but after the Great Schism in 1054, he was the single legitimate bishop in the eyes of western Christians. The pope continually grew in power until the next schism in the 14 century the Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism. The eastern bishops in Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria struggled with theological fights and the rise of Islam, both of which weakened their power 3. Weakened Byzantine Empire. The Great Schism of 1054 was dramatic and consequential, but most of the fighting was between higher-ups bishops and their delegations. On the day the church split in 1054, many everyday Christians may not have noticed. It might be like if church leaders nowadays had an irreconcilable theological disagreement at a convention or conference. The fight would be significant, but it might take a while to trickle down into the lives of most churchgoers. However, enough differences and points of disunity existed for the two sides to see each other as the other. Western Christians may have lifted their noses up at those odd Christians in the east who dip their communion bread and had priests who were married. The eastern Christians might have had their own criticisms. But in 1204, the other became the enemy. During the fourth crusade, Christian soldiers from the west were on their way to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim rule. On the way, they brutally captured Constantinople from the rule of Eastern Orthodox Christians. According to Britainnica, Thousands of Orthodox Christians were murdered, churches and icons were desecrated, and undying hostility developed between East and West. Surely, news of that attack spread faster and hit harder than the news about bishop excommunications. After this devastation, the Byzantine empire recaptured Constantinople in 1261, but they werent nearly as strong as they once were. Not 200 years later (1451), Constantinople fell to Muslim rule via the Ottoman Empire. The Christian church once thrived in Turkey, the country where Constantinople was. The Apostle Paul was from there. The church of Ephesus, among other churches mentioned in the Holy Bible were there. But now, a remnant of about 171,000 Christians remain, their light burning faithfully in the shadow of Islam. 4. A diminished witness to the world. Sometimes, church schisms happen over disagreements that are crucial to the gospel. As in the case of the Reformation, when the Protestant church resulted from splitting from the Roman Catholic Church, it was good that Martin Luther confronted corrupt church leaders to face their wrong, harmful doctrines, such as selling vouchers to the wealthy who tried in vain to pay for their own sins. But when Christians disagree about whether to dip or not to dip ones communion bread, its good to remember that unity in diversity has always been Gods heart for his people. Throughout Gods Word, he urges the importance of unity. How good and pleasant it is when Gods people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1 NIV) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35 CSB) I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are oneas you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. (John 17:21 NLT) The churchs unity, centered on Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is so important to God because its a powerful witness to a lost world. It shows the world how true, powerful, and beautiful God is because how else could a group of people from every nation, tribe, and language come together on anything? Although there were divisions among Gods people before and since the Great Schism 1054, the future of Gods church is as certain as his Word. When the Lord returns to bring his bride home, Revelation 7:9-10 promises that a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language will worship him together. This kind of unity will come to fruition in heaven, but its also possible right now because There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28 ESV). Like all of Jesus seemingly impossible instructions on living a holy life, its possible not by the strength of Christians but by Gods grace. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9). Photo credit: Getty Images Emily Hall edits for a living and writes for the thrill of it. She writes a new, monthly newsletter, Hindsight History, documenting the making of her upcoming novel, a historical biographical fiction novel about Lottie Moon, a Baptist missionary to China. Subscribe to Hindsight History here. When shes not typing away, she enjoys taking long walks with her baby then rewarding herself with a nice scoop of cookie dough! Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Last week, about 680 undocumented aliens were arrested by ICE officials. Many of them have already been deported. The coordinated raids targeted aliens who had committed crimes in the USA, mostly felonies. Seventy-five percent of those taken into custody had convictions, including homicide and child rape. One man, arrested in Chicago, is an Iraqi citizen with a conviction for sexual abuse of a victim unable to consent. Many of the arrested non-felons were associated with the criminals. But those facts have largely gone unreported by the American press -- and by the radical left, which is actively misleading you. STATE SEN KEVIN DE LEON (D-CA): What took place yesterday with raids in personal homes is part of the cog of the Trump deportation machine. ((EDIT)) RAUL REYES, ATTORNEY: How inhumane this is! To be breaking down people's doors and separating parents from their children. ((EDIT)) REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D- AZ): This is Donald Trump really executing his campaign plan. He's trying to be a tough guy so he's going to go after the maids, the moms, the people that are working in the shops instead of going after the hardcore criminals. Maids, moms and shopkeepers, according to that dishonest politician. Now the false news reporting actually reached the level of hysteria. Newspaper headlines screamed things like "The Trump Deportation Regime has Begun," "Immigrant Community on High Alert, Fearing Trump's 'Deportation Force,'" "On Devon Avenue in Chicago, News of Immigration Raids Intensifies Fears." We could find no headlines in major newspapers - none - that bannered the fact the raids were targeted at illegal aliens who had committed serious crimes. That's not press bias, that's blatant dishonesty. And here's another example. In the year 2013, the Obama administration removed more than 434,000 illegal aliens - the highest number in history, which goes back to 1892. Did you see any anti-Obama demonstrations? Did you see any screaming headlines in the national media? No, you did not. Even after President Obama said this: July 1, 2015. Nashville, TN OBAMA: What we should be doing is setting up a smart, legal immigration system that doesnt separate families, but does focus on making sure that people who are dangerous, people who are gang-bangers or criminals - that were deporting them as quickly as possible. At this point, that's almost exactly what President Trump is doing. But the illegal immigration issue has been set up by the media to demonize Mr. Trump as a racist and a brutalizer of the poor. That's what's really going on here. It is flat out disgraceful. If the federal government cannot remove aliens who commit serious crimes, then we do not have an effective federal government. Yet the far left and the press, knowing full well that the ICE raids were directed at dangerous people, chose not to report that - instead smeared President Trump. We have now reached a low point in American journalism. As for the far left, they are people who do not want any immigration enforcement. They want open borders. They want alien criminals protected. They want anarchy. Why? Because they do not like America as it stands right now. It is important for all honest citizens to know you are not getting accurate information, and that there is a radical element in this country that wants to destroy it. If this continues, there will be a breaking point. And that's the memo. The Mini Science Centres are a powerful and innovative tool to revolutionise science education Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant inaugurated a Mini Science Centre (MSC) installed at a Govt School Navelim Bicholim. Developed in partnership with STEM Learning, the Mini Science Centres now house innovative models, experiments and instruments to enhance the aptitude and skills of students in learning science and mathematics in effective and interesting ways. STEM Learning has 80 interactive Math and Science working models and has so far reached out to 10,00,000 students. With a mission To make the world a brighter place, STEM Learning aspires to provide innovative solutions, which change the lives of people for the better. Science education in India is facing several challenges today. The basic problem that has persisted since independence is our inability to provide schools with labs and equipment to be used while teaching science. The Mini Science Centres are a powerful and innovative tool to revolutionise science education and make it increasingly accessible. In continuation with its efforts to promote science education in India, the Mini Science Centres established by STEM Learning aim to enhance awareness among teachers and students about the value of learning, with a special focus on science and mathematics. The initiative also encompasses a unique teachers training programme and facility maintenance for two years. Available pan-India across all major metros and towns through its distribution partner Aurobindo Pharma has made its brand of molnupiravir- Molnaflu available widely in India. Molnupiravir (Molnaflu) is for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19, with Sp02 >93 per cent and who have a high risk of progression of the disease including hospitalisation or death. Aurobindos brand Molnaflu is now available pan-India across all major metros and towns through its distribution partner. Molnupiravir was earlier approved under Emergency Use Authorisation from CDSCO, India. This is the first oral antiviral approved by India, the UK agency and also by US Foods & Drugs Administration. Earlier last year, Aurobindo had signed a bi-lateral non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Merck Sharpe Dohme, Singapore (MSD), a subsidiary of Merck & Co. (US) to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir to over 100 low and middle-income countries (LMIC), including India. The product will be manufactured at the companys manufacturing facilities in India that are approved by global regulatory agencies including US FDA and UKMHRA. The company has adequate capacities to meet the global demand across the 100 + LMI Countries for the product. SPRINGFIELD An investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was stabbed to death while checking on a report of a child in danger Tuesday at a home in central Illinois. Deidre Silas, 36, had joined DCFS in August and had dedicated her career to helping young people, according to a statement from her employee union. Advertisement A suspect was later arrested and could face first-degree murder and aggravated battery charges, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said in a prepared statement. Sangamon County emergency dispatch received a 911 call about 4:10 p.m. Tuesday about the stabbing at a home in Thayer, Ill., a small town about 25 miles southwest of Springfield. Police from at least four law enforcement agencies went to the scene, where Silas was found dead inside the home, Campbell said. Advertisement The suspect, meanwhile, was found by police at a hospital in Decatur. He was treated for a minor wound and transported to the Sangamon County Jail. Before becoming a DCFS investigator, Silas worked in the behavioral health field, according to her union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress, AFSCMEs executive director, Roberta Lynch, said in a statement. AFSCME will carefully study the facts of this incident as they emerge and press for any necessary changes to DCFS operations. One death in the line of service is too many. The hearts and thoughts of every AFSCME member are with Deidres loved ones, especially her children, in the wake of their profound and senseless loss, Lynch also said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also praised Silas as a hero, taken from us in the line of duty. There is no higher calling than the work to keep children and families safe and Deidre lived that value every single day, the governor said in a statement. Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve. On Thursday, Pritzker announced he has backed proposed legislation that would enhance penalties for someone who attacks and badly injures a DCFS worker. Advertisement News @3 Daily Catch up on the days top headlines sent directly to your inbox weekdays at 3 p.m > This Tuesday Feb. 16, 2021 file photo, shows Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont receiving his first dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at The First Cathedral church in Bloomfield. Some municipal leaders are calling on Lamont to issue a statewide mandate on masks. (Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant via AP, File) (Brad Horrigan/AP) Officials in several Connecticut communities are calling on the governor to issue a statewide mask mandate as COVID-19 cases spike, but some have stopped short of establishing local mandates. Leaders of East Hartford, Manchester, Windsor Locks and South Windsor met to discuss a regional directive on masks, according to a news release sent Wednesday. They encouraged Gov. Ned Lamont to mandate masks across the state as we enter a period of escalating transmission, hospitalization and death, the release said. Advertisement Connecticut reported a 24% COVID-19 test positivity rate Tuesday, surpassing a record set Monday, while also setting a new high mark for cases recorded in a single day. But the release continues, While the increasing rate of transmission locally warrants such a mandate, our communities are stopping short of mandating masking and instead will continue our policy of masking within town-owned buildings while concurrently, in the strongest terms possible, encourage all residents and every local business to adopt masking in their home or place of business. Advertisement We are asking for a statewide policy, East Hartford Mayor Mike Walsh said, because locally, a patchwork of decisions have been made which lends itself to confusion on a topic where consistency better serves the public. Lamont has resisted calls to issue a statewide rule. I dont want to put a lot of counter-pressures on and rebellion and people fighting back against it, Lamont said Monday. I prefer that everybody wear the mask when youre indoors. Were getting N95 masks available to anybody, no questions asked. I think were on the right track right now. West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor also called for a statewide mask mandate Wednesday, as the town reinstated its own local mandate. COVID-19 does not stop at municipal borders, and our hospitals and health care delivery systems are all regional assets that serve multiple communities. There should be one common statewide and regional standard, said Cantor in a release. Bloomfield also issued a townwide mask mandate, effective Thursday, that requires any person, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask when within six feet of other people in any indoor public place. Bloomfield joins Hartford and New Haven. Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. > In calling on the state to mandate masks while holding off on local mandates, South Windsor Town Manager Michael Maniscalco said he and other town leaders want the weight of the state behind enforcement. By not making statewide masking the rule, the governor has created a scenario that is unenforceable, Maniscalco said. Advertisement Just last week, he said, police had to escort a person from town hall because he refused to wear a mask. The man was pressing his right to go mask-less and has now been marked as a trespasser and will not be allowed to re-enter the building, Maniscalco said. The incident, he said, illustrates the difficulty in enforcing townwide mask rules. People have called police to report someone not wearing a mask in aisle 10 in Target, Maniscalco said, but waited until they returned home to make the complaint. What are police supposed to do? he said. Its very, very challenging. Maniscalco stressed, however, that the town supports businesses that establish their own mandates on masking and social distancing. Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of then President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Jose Luis Magana/AP) For Republican Larry Lazor, a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District, the brutal attack by an angry mob of Donald Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol was a blow to our democracy. Lazors view, however, is at odds with his own party here and around the nation. Republicans continue to grapple with the repercussions of the violence that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021. Hundreds of people were injured and five died. Advertisement Were on the wrong side if we think the 2020 election wasnt fair,' said Lazor, a West Hartford physician. Over the last year, state Republican leaders expressed their horror at the attack and denounced Trumps efforts to undermine democracy. But they have also sought to shift the focus away from the former president and any role he played in fomenting the mob of aggrieved supporters who vandalized the building and violently clashed with police. Advertisement FILE -- Capitol Hill police confront a mob incited by Donald Trump in an attempt to stop the certification of the Joe Biden's presidential election, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. A wave of misleading revisionism has become epidemic in both autocracies and democracies. It has been notably effective -- and contagious. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times) Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, called Jan. 6 a dark day in our history.' Proto rejects the lie that Bidens victory is illegitimate and the election was stolen from Trump: Joe Biden was elected President of the United States, he declared. But Proto, who led Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign in Connecticut, said blame for the attack ultimately falls on both parties, even though it was the soon-to-be former president who encouraged his supporters to fight like hell at a rally just before they stormed the Capitol. Connecticut Republicans who were not part of the mob bear no responsibility for the tragedy, Proto said. To say that a Republican in Connecticut is somehow part of what happened in Jan. 6 is like saying a Democrat in Connecticut is part of what happened in [Portland, Ore.] when [protesters] closed off and took over an entire area,' he said. Dozens, if not hundreds of Connecticut residents attended Trumps Stop the Steal Rally before the Capitol assault. Among them was Mary Ann Turner, a longtime Republican activist from Enfield and the vice-chairwoman of the state Republican Party. She declined a request to be interviewed on Wednesday. The U.S. Capitol is framed by security barricades in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The barricades have been in place for well over a year. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP) Jan. 6, Proto said, was the culmination of a lot of things. People feeling like theyre not being heard, theyre not being listened to and their needs are being put behind those of the power brokers the more fuses you light, eventually a bomb goes off. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said Republicans have to reconcile their support of Trump with the strike against democracy that unfolded on Jan. 6. The Trump infection inside the Republican Party is less acute in Connecticut than in other states, but its still serious,' Murphy said. Im glad that there are still a lot of Republicans in Connecticut that acknowledged Joe Biden won the election and agree that what happened on Jan. 6 of last year was an abomination, but my fear is eventually even in Connecticut, the Trump Republicans will fully take over the partys infrastructure, as has happened in most other states.' Advertisement Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., comforts Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., while taking cover as protesters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) Trump retains a hold on the Republican Party, even in a blue state such as Connecticut, said Jonathan Wharton, a political scientist at Southern Connecticut State University and the former GOP chairman in New Haven. Certainly its no secret that the majority of the people involved in the state and local races and campaigns and the party are Trump supporters, Wharton said. Theres no surprise about that. For some of them, theyre supportive of Jan 6 because in their minds they see this as a turning point, a moment where some changes had to take place, even if they were symbolic, even if it was disruptive. Wharton said hes received post-Jan. 6 pushback from friends and family members to leave the party. Hes staying, although he said he has pulled back from national politics to focus primarily on state and local races. Im not expecting the national party to address the issue or make amends or reform itself,' Wharton said. The divisions of the Trump era continue to define politics, a year after Trump left the White House. (Booted off social media platforms, the former president sent out an email blast Wednesday accusing Democrats of using the Jan. 6 attack to stoke dissent.) WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building after mass demonstrations in the nation's capital during a joint session Congress to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Themis Klarides, the former Republican leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives and a potential candidate for governor, also denounced what she called a horrific incident. But Klarides said she does not view the attack through a political lens. Advertisement If youre a Republican, you denounce what happened. If youre a Democrat, you denounce what happened,' Klarides said. Going forward, we are in very serious turmoil with regard to where we are in Connecticut this isnt a state people can afford to live in and thats the focus going forward. Bob Stefanowski, a Republican from Madison who was the partys 2018 gubernatorial nominee and is considering another run, said he is putting his faith in the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, which are investigating the assault. A year later I feel the same way as I did when it happened, Stefanowski said. Acts of violence like this are absolutely unacceptable. Law enforcement has been working diligently to determine who caused the violence and hold them accountable. Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticuts 4th District, was one of the last members of Congress to leave the House chamber after police cleared out the insurrectionists. He said he fears Republicans seeking to subvert democracy will be more successful next time. Our democracy was never going to collapse because Viking horn guy sits in the president of the Senates seat, Himes said. I dont have PTSD about Jan. 6, but I have huge trepidation for our democratic republic because of the lock, stock and barrel commitment of the Republican Party to make sure the next time the coup works. Daniela Altimari may be reached at dnaltimari@courant.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lahore Gate, Kabul. Photographer: Bengal Sappers and Miners Medium: Photographic print Date: 1879 Full size printable image Shelfmark: Photo 197/(35) Item number: 35 Genre: Photograph Photograph of the Lahore Gate, with an Afghan group seated at the roadside in the foreground, taken by the Bengal Sappers and Miners, an engineering arm of the Indian Army in c. 1879 during the course of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80). The gateway is an entry point to the Bala Hissar fortress at Kabul, Afghanistan. This is an ancient citadel, dating back to the time of the White Huns in the 5th century and home to some of Afghanistans most important kings. It is located to the south of Kabul in a prominent position overlooking the city. The fortress was originally divided into two parts, the lower fortress contained three royal palaces, stables and barracks and the upper fortress housed the armoury and dungeon of Kabul. In the 19th century the British were engaged in conflicts with Afghanistan due to British fear of Russian encroachment on their Indian colony and internal divisions within Afghanistan. The Bala Hissar was occupied intermittently by the British and was partially destroyed by General Roberts in retaliation for the killing of the British resident, Cavagnari and his mission in 1879. They were perplexing thefts, lacking a clear motive or payoff, and they happened in the genteel, not particularly lucrative world of publishing: Someone was stealing unpublished book manuscripts. The thefts and attempted thefts occurred primarily over email, by a fraudster impersonating publishing professionals and targeting authors, editors, agents and literary scouts who might have drafts of novels and other books. Advertisement The mystery may now be solved. On Wednesday, the FBI arrested Filippo Bernardini, a 29-year-old, London-based rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK, saying that he impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals over five or more years, obtaining hundreds of unpublished manuscripts in the process. Bernardini, who was arrested after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, was charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In a statement, the U.S. District Attorneys Office said he would appear Thursday before a magistrate judge in Manhattan. Advertisement A Simon & Schuster spokesman, in a statement, said that the publisher was shocked and horrified by the allegations Bernardini faces and that he has been suspended until there is further information on the case. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > The safekeeping of our authors intellectual property is of primary importance to Simon & Schuster, and for all in the publishing industry, and we are grateful to the FBI for investigating these incidents and bringing charges against the alleged perpetrator, he added. Simon & Schuster was not accused of wrongdoing in the indictment. According to the indictment, to get his hands on the manuscripts, Bernardini would send out emails impersonating real people working in the publishing industry by using fake email addresses. He created these accounts by registering more than 160 internet domains that were crafted to be confusingly similar to the real entities that they were impersonating, including only minor typographical errors that would be difficult for the average recipient to spot during a cursory review, the statement said. Among those who sent him manuscripts: a Pulitzer Prize winning author. He also targeted a New York City-based literary scouting company, the indictment said: He set up impostor login pages that prompted people to enter their usernames and passwords, which gave him broad access to the scouting companys database. For years, the scheme has baffled people in the book world. When manuscripts were successfully stolen, none of them seemed to show up on the black market or the dark web. Ransom demands never materialized. Early knowledge in a rights department could be an advantage for an employee trying to prove his worth. Publishers compete and bid to publish work abroad, for example, and knowing whats coming, who is buying what and how much theyre paying could give companies an edge. The History of Jamaica -Page 103 Author: Long, Edward Medium: Letterpress Date: 1774 Full size printable image Shelfmark: G4255-7 Item number: Page 103 Length: 25.8 Width: 19.4 Scale: Centimetres Genre: Printed Text Related images 1 2 Extract from Edward Long's 'The History of Jamaica.' Long went to Jamaica in 1757 when he became private secretary to his brother-in-law, Henry Moore, who was Lieutenant Governor of the Island. Long, one of the most prominent of the pro-slavery campaigners, became a leading member of the Jamaican government. Ill health necessitated his return to England in 1769, and his 3 volume work was published in 1774. In this extract he describes the principal towns of Kingston and Port Royal, including information about the landscape, their prosperity, the architecture of the buildings, foods sold at the markets, and the effects of the hot climate on the inhabitants. Russian paratroopers have arrived in Kazakhstan as part of a peacekeeping mission by a Moscow-led military alliance to help the president regain control of the country, according to Russian news agencies. Kazakhstans president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, asked for the intervention from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) an alliance made up of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan late on Wednesday and it was swiftly approved. It comes as violent clashes continue between protesters and the police and army in Kazakhstan. There is little reliable information on the number of casualties, but local news agencies quoted a spokesperson for police in Almaty, the countrys largest city, saying dozens of people were killed during attacks on government buildings. Almaty city authorities said on Thursday that 353 police and security forces personnel had been injured, and 12 killed. On Thursday morning, shots were fired as troops entered Almatys main square. Several armoured personnel carriers and dozens of troops moving on foot arrived on Thursday morning, with shots heard as they approached the crowd, Reuters witnesses said. State television reported on Thursday that the National Bank of Kazakhstan had suspended all financial institutions. The internet in the country is mostly down as well as mobile phone reception. On Wednesday, there had been reports of violent clashes and shooting in Almaty and other cities, as well as unverified videos suggesting casualties among protesters. Since the report came out the first four of the six 'geopolitical measures listed in chapter 4 of the report have been implemented. RAND lists economical, geopolitical, ideological and informational as well as military measures the U.S. should take to weaken Russia. The 200 pages long report recommended certain steps to be taken by the U.S. to contain Russia. As its summary says: In early 2019 the Pentagon financed think tank RAND published an extensive plan for soft attacks on Russia. Kazakhstan, Russias southern neighbor, was part of the Soviet Union. It is a mineral rich, landlocked country three times the size of Texas but with less than 20 million inhabitants. A significant part of its people are Russians and the Russian language is in common use. The country is an important link in the strategic Belt and Road Initiative between China and Europe. The U.S. delivered lethal weapons to Ukraine, it increased its support for 'rebels' in Syria. It attempted a regime change in Belarus and instigated a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The U.S. is now implementing measure 5 which aims to 'reduce Russias influence in Central Asia. Since the demise of the Soviet Union the country has been ruled by oligarchic family clans - foremost the Nazarbayevs. As the CIA Worldfactbook notes: Executive branch chief of state: President Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (since 20 March 2019); note - Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, who was president since 24 April 1990 (and in power since 22 June 1989 under the Soviet period), resigned on 20 March 2019; NAZARBAYEV retained the title and powers of "First President"; TOKAYEV completed NAZARBAYEVs term, which was shortened due to the early election of 9 June 2019, and then continued as president following his election victory Over the last decade there have been several uprisings (2011, 2016 and 2019) in Kazakhstan. These were mostly caused by uneven distribution of income from its minerals including oil and gas. The oligarchs in the capital of Astana / Nur-Sultan live well while the provinces which produce the minerals, like Mangistauskaya in the south-west, have seen few developments. Recently the price for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used by many cars in Kazakhstan, went up after the government had liberalized the market. This caused another round of country wide protests: The string of rallies that has torn through Kazakhstan since January 2 began in the western oil town of Zhanaozen, ostensibly triggered by anger over a sudden spike in the price of car fuel. Similar impromptu gatherings then quickly spread to nearby villages in the Mangystau region and then in multiple other locations in the west, in cities like Aktau, Atyrau and Aktobe. By January 4, people had come out onto the streets in numbers in locations many hundreds of kilometers away, in the southern towns of Taraz, Shymkent and Kyzyl-Orda, in the north, in the cities of Uralsk and Kostanai, as well as in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, the capital, among other places. Few saw scenes as fiery as those in Almaty, though. Clashes in Almaty continued throughout the night into January 5. After being dispersed by police from Republic Square, part of the crowd headed around two kilometers downhill, to another historic location in the city, Astana Square, where the seat of government used to be located in Soviet times. While there is little reliable way to gauge the scale of the demonstrations, a combination of on-the-ground reporting and video footage appears to indicate that these protests may be even larger than those that brought the country to a near-standstill in 2016. While the grievances that sparked the first rallies in Zhanaozen were to do with fuel prices, the sometimes rowdy demonstrations that have followed appear to be of a more general nature. Chants of shal ket! (old man go!), usually understood as a reference to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who continues to wield significant sway from behind the scenes, have been heard at many of the demos. The protests escalated soon with gangs of armed protesters taking control of government buildings and setting them on fire. There were also attempts to take control of radio and TV stations as well as airports. Police, which generally did little to intervene, were gunned down. The actions in Almaty, the countrys largest city and former capital, are certainly not spontaneous reactions by a crowd of poor laborers but controlled actions by well trained groups of armed 'rebels'. Peter Leonard @Peter__Leonard - 9:18 UTC 6 Jan 2022 Kazakhstan: Very important and intriguing detail with strong shades of Kyrgyzstan 2020. Peaceful people initiate rallies, but shady and violent individuals turn up to sow trouble, and it is never remotely clear who they are or where they came from /1 https://t.co/qYSlUUrMVx From one account I heard, a similar dynamic played out in Almaty on Wednesday morning. A relatively small and mild gathering formed on Republic Square, opposite city hall. All of a sudden hundreds of extremely aggressive men turned up, threatening all and sundry #Kazakhstan /2 They threatened and attacked journalists standing nearby, ordering anybody who took photographs to delete the images. It was clearly this cohort that was responsible for much of the destruction. And it is a mystery (to me) who they were /3 We have seen similar formations during the U.S. instigated uprisings in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Belarus. NEXTA, the U.S. financed regime change media network in Poland which last year directed the failed color revolution attempt in Belarus, announced the U.S. demands: NEXTA @nexta_tv - 13:52 UTC Jan 5, 2022 Demands of the Protesters in #Kazakhstan 1. Immediate release of all political prisoners 2. Full resignation of president and government 3. Political reforms: Creation of a Provisional Government of reputable and public citizens. Withdrawal from all alliances with #Russia A more reliable source confirms these: Maxim A. Suchkov @m_suchkov - 14:43 UST Jan 5, 2022 The list of demands of protestors in #Kazakhstan thats been circulating is interesting, to put it mildly. While most demands focus on bolstering social & economic support & countering corruption points #1, 7, 10, 13, 16 expose the roots of protest & whos driving them #1 demands that #Kazakhstan should leave Eurasian Economic union. #7 demands legalization of polygamy "for certain groups of the population" & prohibition on marriage with foreigners #10 demands independence for Mangystau region &^that revenues of oil companies remain in Mangystau Caveat: this list been circulating a lot on telegram - could be fake or not representative of what protestors want, thou it appears protestors are a diverse group that includes genuinely disgruntled people, political manipulators, "prof revolutionaries" (that were in UKR & BEL), etc The government of Kazakhstan has since lowered the LPG prices. On January 5 president Tokayev relived the 'First President Nazarbayev of his position as chairman of the Security Council and promised to act tough on armed protesters. Kazakhstan is part of the Russian led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the morning of January 5 Tokayev had a phone call with the presidents of Russia and Belarus. He has mobilized airborne units of the armed forces of Kazakhstan. On the evening of January 5 he requested support from the CSTO against the 'foreign directed terrorists which are fighting the security forces. Russia, Belarus and other CSTO members have dedicated quick reaction forces reserved for such interventions. These will now be mobilized to regain government control in Kazakhstan. Russian CSTO forces are currently on their way to Kazakhstan. Belorussian and Armenian troops will follow soon. They are in for some tough time: C Os @CalibreObscura - 19:50 UTC Jan 5, 2022 #Kazakhstan: Captured arms from the National Security Committee (equivalent to Russian FSB) building by protestors in #Almaty: At least 2 PG-7V projectiles, possible boxed Glock pistol & (possibly) more in numerous scattered crates, various kit. Anti-Armour capability in 48hrs... Image During the last decades the U.S. and its allies had been relatively quiet about the dictatorial leadership in Kazakhstan. Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled - 14:18 UTC Jan 5, 2022 NATOs cheerleading corner of FSU "experts" already working hard to spin Kazakhstan uprisings as somehow Putins fault or indictment of Putinbut note how quiet our media-NGO complex has been the past 20 years re: the regimes human rights abuses, corruption & "authoritarianism" Chevron is the largest oil producer in Kazakhstan and the former British prime minister Tony Blair has previously been giving advice to then president Nursultan Nazarbayev on how to avoid an uproar over dead protesters: In a letter to Nursultan Nazarbayev, obtained by The Telegraph, Mr Blair told the Kazakh president that the deaths of 14 protesters tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress his country had made. Mr Blair, who is paid millions of pounds a year to give advice to Mr Nazarbayev, goes on to suggest key passages to insert into a speech the president was giving at the University of Cambridge, to defend the action. Times however are different now as Kazakhstan has continued to strengthen its relations with Russia and China. The CIA offshoot National Endowment for Democracy has financed some 20 'civil society regime change programs in Kazakhstan with about $50,000 per annum each. The involved organizations currently seem to be mostly quiet but are a sure sign that the U.S. plays a role behind the scenes. On December 16 details of upcoming demonstrations were already announced by the U.S. embassy in Kazakhstan. Russian troops are en route to help restore order after an urgent decision by the Russian-led regional security bloc Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). "The CSTO confirmed Russian paratroopers were being dispatched as peacekeepers, with advance units already deployed," BBC reports Thursday. This photo from Kazakhstan resembles the second day of the "Syrian Revolution" when the "peaceful protesters" burned down the palace of justice in Daraa. pic.twitter.com/qcLDWzYnrJ Kevork Almassian (@KevorkAlmassian) January 6, 2022 Scenes from Almaty and other city streets in Kazakhstan are beginning to resemble a war zone, with state military forces seen in central squares, including armored personnel carriers, the day following embattled President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev vowed the state would not fall, and that he would stay at his post no matter what. Widely circulating but unverified social media videos show running street battles with security forces, as police appear to be unleashing live fire, and as some unconfirmed footage seems to show rioters breaching police armories to access weapons. Machine guns at work in Almaty, Kazakhstan where several footages of looting are also making rounds pic.twitter.com/DXweaIY9bO Ragp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 5, 2022 Unverified footage: state sources are alleging rioters have breached and ransacked police stations... URGENT: Rioters or foreign sponsored terrorists as announced by the president of Kazakhstan have made their way into the arsenal of the National Security Committee and acquired heavy weaponry such as mortars. pic.twitter.com/uMFLA5sgJO ASB News / MILITARY (@ASBMilitary) January 5, 2022 Also as banks are being attacked and looted... Banks being robbed. These are not just protests but generalized anarchy. One has to wonder how things reached this point pic.twitter.com/85Ukq2n5Nl Bruno Macaes (@MacaesBruno) January 6, 2022 According to BBC citing state sources, "Twelve members of the security forces have been killed and 353 injured in the unrest, sparked by a doubling in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)." Meanwhile Russia is getting increasingly vocal. According to the newswires: Russian Foreign Ministry says they see events in Kazakhstan as a foreign-inspired attempt to undermine state security using force. And more mayhem is unfolding as Kazakh troops deploy to city streets amid the martial law 'state of emergency' in effect over the whole country: SOLDIERS FIRING AT PROTESTERS AND CARS ON MAIN SQUARE OF KAZAKHSTAN'S ALMATY - TASS QUOTES WITNESSES In addition to Russia the other members of the CSTO expected to send "peacekeeping" forces include Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Without doubt the move is hugely controversial in the West, with a number of pundits already charging Putin with helping to expand 'authoritarian' rule in the Central Asian former Soviet Republic. Mission is now being deemed 'counterterrorism'... Footage from Almaty, Kazakhstan that shows the ongoing military operation within the city. pic.twitter.com/8iSCOKFSRp Global: MilitaryInfo (@Global_Mil_Info) January 6, 2022 Things are likely to escalate before they get calmer, given that with state security services dubbing their mission to halt the unrest as part of "counter-terror" operations, it in effect greenlights the use of major force. Already in Russian media there are "Reports of firefights in central Almaty as law enforcement authorities are conducting mop up operations to quell the protests." Below: unverified video purporting to show weapons being passed out to protesters... Unmarked vehicles delivering weapons to rioters in Kazakhstan pic.twitter.com/GQsDtrTT5Q ASB News / MILITARY (@ASBMilitary) January 5, 2022 Further one regional analyst observed: "It is not surprising that this is happening in Almaty because that's where some protesters ransacked at least one gun store." As of early Thursday, Russian peacekeeping forces have begun departing, however, there's nothing so far to suggest that the Kremlin is deploying a very large force - also as it likely has its eyes still focused on the Ukraine crisis 2.0 and NATO eastward expansion... pic.twitter.com/RUJYRkDeI1 zvezdanews (@zvezdanews) January 6, 2022 Map source: VOA developing... Echoing statements this week from embattled strongman Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who has labeled the raging and increasingly violent fuel price hike protests and riots as "terroristic" in nature and inspired by "outside" forces, Russia has described a "foreign-inspired attempt to use armed and trained groups of people" to overthrow the legitimate government. Kazakh security forces battle rioters in the streets, via TASS. "We consider the recent events in a friendly country to be a foreign-inspired attempt to use armed and trained groups of people forcibly to undermine the security and integrity of the state", Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. "She stressed that Russia is interested in reinstating the status quo in Kazakhstan, and will assist Kazakh authorities in stopping the violence," Russian media further cited her as saying. Earlier in the day relatively small deployments of Russian paratroopers were filmed boarding military transport aircraft. This after the regional Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) alliance authorized a peace-keeping force on the ground. As we noted previously, there's nothing so far to suggest that the Kremlin is deploying a very large force - also as it likely has its eyes still focused on the Ukraine crisis 2.0 and NATO eastward expansion. Kazakhstan is more than four times the size of Ukraine. Math problem of the day: if it takes more than 100 000 soldiers to invade Ukraine, how many will it take to occupy Kazakhstan? #BurdenOfEmpire https://t.co/vujpqg2mQ1 Francois Heisbourg (@FHeisbourg) January 6, 2022 A number of Western observers have noted the unlikelihood of Russia getting too bogged down the Kazakhstan situation. Given the expanse of the protests and unrest, any significant deployment and crackdown against the rioting would require a huge military and logistical effort. Meanwhile, dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries - and also thousands of arrests - are being reported in the latest: "The interior ministry said 2,000 people were arrested on Thursday, while the police spokesperson Saltanat Azirbek told state news channel Khabar-24 that "dozens of attackers were liquidated". There were also reports of about 400 people in hospital. City officials in Almaty said 353 police officers had been injured and 12 killed, one of whom they claimed had been found beheaded." In particular the country's largest city of Almaty is now scene of running gun battles in the streets between security forces and apparently armed groups. Wow, wow. The statue to Kazakhstans first president and until a few hours ago head of the Security Council Nazarbayev is seemingly down in Almaty region. pic.twitter.com/aetzwdNQqf Bakhti Nishanov (@b_nishanov) January 5, 2022 It's the rapidity of the unknown rioters being able to in some instances overrun police stations that's causing some to question whether this is a more deeply organized effort than previously thought, since protests started last Saturday. According to The Daily Mail, citing state sources, "Officials have said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the unrest, with nearly 400 hospitalised and 62 in intensive care." 4/The protests seemed coordinated,well-organized. To me,as a non expert on KZ,this looks like a combination of factors intra-elite showdown + some foreign invlvment.If you believe its purely local,take a look where the protests coordinated from,who opposition leaders are,etc Maxim A. Suchkov (@m_suchkov) January 6, 2022 In some instances, media pundits and independent geopolitical observers have increasingly openly alleged a foreign intelligence hidden-hand behind the unrest. Running gun battles in Almaty, Kazakhstan with "peaceful protesters" ie violent insurrectionists who quickly hijacked legit social protests as cover for a well-organized coup attempt, likely with some degree of foreign direction, organization and funding. https://t.co/BSVt8mmBgN Mark Sleboda (@MarkSleboda1) January 6, 2022 #Kazakhstan: Captured armsfrom the National Security Committee (equivalent to Russian FSB) building by protestors in #Almaty:At least 2 PG-7V projectiles, possible boxed Glock pistol & (possibly) more in numerous scattered crates, various kit. Anti-Armour capability in 48hrs... pic.twitter.com/6JhnIP4eT8 C Os (@CalibreObscura) January 5, 2022 And another theory that's emerged, though it remains to be seen or proven with evidence the degree to which there could be foreign elements involved in ratcheting the intensity of what started as fuel protests... Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. The U.S. District Court building in Newport News, as seen in 2019. Newport News A Hampton man pleaded guilty last week to bilking several victims most in Hampton Roads out of more than $630,000 in cash over six years. Federal prosecutors say Clarence M. Rice Jr., 54, falsely told the victims he stood to get a multi-million dollar insurance settlement from his fathers death in an industrial accident years earlier. But to get that payout, Rice told them, he first needed to be clear of all his debts. Advertisement He told the victims including a bricklayer and a blind man that theyd get a nice return if they helped with the debts. He tricked victims into giving him large sums of money using the false representations, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a recent news release. These victims were of limited financial means and suffered substantial hardship from his fraud. Advertisement The scheme ran between 2013-19, according to a statement-of-facts that federal prosecutors, Rice and his public defender agreed to as part of a Dec. 28 plea deal. In 2013, the statement said, Rice told a bricklayer friend, now 75, about the fake settlement and the purported condition of his inheritance that he repay all of his existing debts. Over the next six years, that man gave Rice about $370,000. Rice also relied on the bricklayer to introduce him to numerous other victims who also forked over hundreds of thousands of dollars. In June 2014, Rice said he needed more money, so the bricklayer introduced him to a friend who is blind. That man, now 74, paid Rice $143,000 over six years, the statement said. The bricklayer also encouraged another man for whom he served as a father figure to invest with Rice, because it seemed like a good opportunity with a guaranteed return, the statement said. As part of the scheme, Rice, his attorney and the man met at the lawyers office to execute promissory notes to purportedly document the legitimate transactions. That victim gave Rice about $95,000 in 2015, the statement said. The bricklayer also encouraged a Georgia couple his daughter and son-in-law to invest with Rice. They likewise agreed, paying Rice $24,000. To entice the couple to invest, the statement said, Rice got the son-in-law on a three-way conference call with a man who purported to be working for a company that was managing Rices inheritance. Advertisement But the bricklayer got suspicious as the years passed without a payout, and he went to the Norfolk Police in early 2017. During an interview with a Norfolk detective that year, Rice asserted the cash from the victims was for legitimate loans and investments. He denied telling the victims he needed the money for a death settlement, instead saying it was for a wrongful death lawsuit. The Norfolk Police referred the matter for a federal investigation. Over the next several years, the statement said, IRS special agents unraveled the case. The agents found that Rice cashed most of the hundreds of checks he got from the victims rather than depositing them in traditional bank accounts. They also found that he hid much of the bilked money on pre-paid stored value cards with deposits to the cards typically made the same day the victims gave him money. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > The defendant maintained a cash lifestyle, the statement said. This made it difficult for investigators to trace his taxable income and fraudulent transactions. Despite all the money coming in, the statement added, Rice didnt file tax returns between 2015-17, when his tax bill would have totaled $52,000 over the three years. Advertisement When IRS agents interviewed Rice in October 2019, he first told them he hadnt filed his taxes since 2011 because he thought he had three years to file. But when agents told him it had been nearly a decade, Rice said he didnt earn enough to file even though he had earlier told agents he made up to $90,000 a year as a tow truck driver, race car driver and in real estate. Rice was arrested Sept. 16 and charged in Newport News with 10 felonies two counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering and three counts of tax evasion. He pleaded guilty Dec. 28 to one count apiece of wire fraud and tax evasion. The other charges will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement. U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen will sentence Rice on May 25, when he faces up to 25 years in prison. Rices lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Kirsten Kmet, could not be immediately reached. Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, pdujardin@dailypress.com Trump supporters try to force their way through a police barricade in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, hoping to stop Congress from finalizing Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, TCN - OUTS ** (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times) In the year since a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of then-President Donald Trump supporters forced their way into the Capitol building and halted the certification of electoral college votes in the 2020 presidential election, more than 700 people have been charged with taking part in the attack. Of them, a dozen are from Hampton Roads and neighboring cities and counties including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Matthews County, Gloucester, and Williamsburg. Advertisement The local group ranges in age from 27 to 59 and includes a father and daughter, two brothers and a man and a woman in their late 50s whove been friends since high school. Their charges range from assaulting a police officer to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Marking the first anniversary of the assault, Attorney General Merrick Garland called the investigation into the attack one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history. Advertisement The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last, said Garland, speaking Wednesday at the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. President Joe Biden took sharp aim at the former president Thursday, accusing Trump of inciting the attack by creating and spreading a web of lies about the 2020 election because he could not accept his legitimate defeat. Amid the chaos of the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, a U.S. Capitol Police officer shot and killed one woman as she climbed through a broken window while storming the building. That officer was cleared of wrongdoing. A Capitol Police officer who was injured in the attack died the following day of natural causes. Four other law enforcement officers who responded that day have since committed suicide. The cost of the damage to the Capitol is estimated at $1.5 million. Of the roughly 725 people across the country charged so far, about 165 pleaded guilty, according to a Justice Department report released last week. About 70 of those were sentenced 31 got time behind bars, 18 were sentenced to home detention and the rest received probation. The longest sentence issued so far was to Robert Palmer, a 54-year-old Florida man seen on video throwing a fire extinguisher, plank and pole at Capitol police. Palmer pleaded guilty in October to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced last month to five years and three months in federal prison. Three of the defendants from the Hampton Roads area pleaded guilty and were sentenced while the rest are still waiting for their cases to be resolved. All were initially charged in U.S. District Court in Norfolk and Newport News and later had their cases transferred to federal court in Washington, where all Capitol riot defendants are being prosecuted. Like many of the other defendants from across the country, most were identified through tips provided to the FBI by family members and friends who saw their posts, pictures and videos on social media about their involvement. The following is a look at their cases and where they stand: Jacob Jake Hiles, Virginia Beach Jacob Jake Hiles, 42, is a charter boat captain. On the day of the riot, Hiles posted multiple photos of himself on social media, including one of him siting in a vehicle and wearing a cap, sunglasses, and gaiter with the caption: Feelin cute might start a revolution later, IDK in Capitol Hill. Another showed him wearing goggles and a gaiter inside the Capitol. Advertisement Jake Hiles, of Virginia Beach, is facing three federal charges in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Court documents contain several photo and video Facebook posts from the day that investigators attribute to Hiles. (Courtesy/Complaint filed by FBI Special agent Brandon C. Merriman) Charging documents said a person whod known Hiles for more than five years helped FBI agents identify him. Hiles was charged about a week after the riot with four misdemeanors, and surrendered to the FBI office in Chesapeake. He was allowed to remain free on bond while he awaited trial. He pleaded guilty in September to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to drop the other counts. He was sentenced last month to two years of supervised probation, and was ordered to serve 60 hours of community service and pay $500 in restitution. Politico reported in November that the prosecutor recommended Hiles get probation after he testified before a grand jury about a Capitol police officer who allegedly sent him messages shortly after the attack urging him to delete his posts about his involvement in the riot. The prosecutor also noted that Hiles helped identify another rioter, expressed contrition and was cooperative from the start. The U.S. Capitol Police officer, Michael Riley, was later charged with two counts of obstruction of justice before resigning. According to the Politico story, Riley didnt know Hiles, but shared an interest in fishing and decided to contact him through Facebook messages after seeing his posts. Douglas Sweet and Cindy Fitchett, Mathews County Douglas Sweet, 58. and longtime friend Cindy Fitchett, 59, were among the first arrested. Both were inside the Capitol when officers detained them, according to court documents. The two, who attended Mathews High School together, drove to Washington with about three others to attend a rally in support of Trump. Afterward, they marched with the crowd to the Capitol and entered after the mob forced its way in. Advertisement Photos of Cindy Fitchett and Douglas Sweet at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 were included in a sentencing document filed in their case. The two pleaded guilty to taking part in the incident and were sentenced to probation and were ordered to serve 60 hours of community service and pay $500 in restitution. (Documents obtained by FBI/Documents obtained by FBI) Fitchett recorded a video of them approaching the entrance in which she yelled, We are storming the Capitol. We have broken in. Patriots arise, according to court documents. Surveillance cameras inside the building captured the pair walking through a corridor toward a group of police officers whod formed a defensive line. They were arrested shortly after, issued a summons and released. Sweet spoke with a local TV station after his arrest, saying he went to Washington that day to talk to members of the House and Senate, the documents said. He also said he realized he might have to pretty much force (his) way in. Fitchett told FBI agents she got caught up in the moment but grew fearful after seeing the ruckus some in the crowd were creating, according to the documents. She also admitted to making wrong decisions and took responsibility for her actions. She wrote in a letter to the court that the impact her actions that day have had on her have been humiliating. Sweet and Fitchett pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Both were later sentenced to three years of supervised probation. They also were ordered to perform 60 hours of community service and pay $500 in restitution. Robert Keith Packer, Newport News Robert Keith Packer, 57, is best known for what he was seen wearing the day of the riots: a black hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the words: Camp Auschwitz. This photo provided by Western Tidewater Regional Jail shows Robert Keith Packer of Newport News, Va. Packer was arrested Wednesday Jan. 13, 2021 on federal charges related to the riot at the U.S. Capitol. (Western Tidewater Regional Jail via AP) (Western Tidewater Regional Jail via AP) Packer was arrested a week later and charged with three misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Advertisement He was allowed to remain free on bond while he awaited trial. According to his court file, hes scheduled to enter a plea on Jan. 26. Willard Thomas Tom Bostic and Meghan Rutledge, Virginia Beach Willard Thomas Bostic, 56, and daughter Meghan Rutledge, 27, werent arrested until October, when both were charged with four misdemeanor counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Surveillance video at the Capitol shows the two going in through a door next to a broken window, according to a charging document. Once inside, they can be seen taking pictures and recording videos with their cellphones. Screen shot taken from US District Court documents that investigators say show Meghan Rutledge and her father, Willard Thomas Bostic Jr., who were charged on Oct. 13, 2021 with taking part in the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Both are residents of Virginia Beach. (Handout ) Bostics cellphone data also placed him there, and investigators obtained screenshots from Rutledges Facebook account that show the two inside the building, the documents said. After miles and miles of walking and climbing and climbing some more we made it inside the capitol building, a post on Rutledges Facebook page reportedly said. What an experience for the books. When agents went to Bostics home, he appeared to be wearing the same blue flannel shirt he was seen wearing in photos and videos from inside the Capitol, the document said. Advertisement The two were arraigned Dec. 21 in U.S. District Court in Washington and entered pleas of not guilty. Their next court date is March 1. Kene Brian Lazo, Norfolk Kene Brian Lazo was arrested in May at his home and charged with four misdemeanors: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds or in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Lazo was seen inside the Capitol wearing a helmet, goggles, a face mask, and an American flag worn like a cape, according to charging documents. On the helmet was the word rodbustars. A rioter inside the U.S. Capitol. FBI agents allege it's Norfolk resident Kene Brian Lazo. Agents believe the sticker refers to the company Rodbustars, LLC, which is registered to Jen Lazo and has an office address thats the same as Lazos home address, according to the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Using cell tower data, the agents determined a phone number connected to the business was in or near the Capitol at the time of attack. Lazo also posted on Facebook about going to Washington and being inside the Capitol, according to the FBI. He reportedly wrote he will be the only 1 with a boi boi representing asians, an apparent reference to a Walis Tambo broom, which is commonly used in the Philippines. The day after the attack, he wrote, ...i took a boi boi to the Capitol and swept the floor literally, the charging documents said. Lazos next court date is scheduled for Feb. 1, according to his court file. Advertisement Jonathan Gennaro Mellis, Williamsburg Jonathan Gennaro Mellis, 34, is the only local defendant charged with felony counts, and was ordered jailed without bond. The most serious of his 10 charges include assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Mellis, also known as Jon Gennaro, was arrested Feb. 16 at his familys home in Williamsburg. He was captured on an officers body camera video swinging and stabbing a stick at law enforcement officers trying to protect the buildings west entrance, according to the FBI. Jonathan Gennaro Mellis is seen taking a stick from a man outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. Mellis is accused of using the stick to strike and stab at law enforcement officers protecting one of the building's entrances. (FBI document) Several photos included with the court document show a man wearing a straw cowboy hat and black quilted jacket just outside the entrance. In one, hes seen taking a long stick from another man. Another appears to show him standing on a raised area near the entrance, stabbing the stick in a downward motion at the officers below him, the charging document said. In one photo, he appears to be swinging the stick at an officers neck, between the mans helmet and body armor, where he was not protected. The officers in the pictures are wearing helmets with their plastic face shields pulled down. Mellis can be heard in the body camera footage saying, Knock their masks off, the complaint said. After the riot, Mellis posted on his Facebook page about storming the castle, the court document said. We want a forensic audit of the vote. Simple, the post said. We will not go away. We will not surrender. Mellis also posted about his anger that Antifa and Black Lives Matter were being accused of conducting the attack, the complaint said. Dont you dare try to tell me that people are blaming this on antifa and BLM, the post said. We proudly take responsibility for storming the Castle. Advertisement Mellis attorney wrote in a court filing that his client was yelling at the crowd not to hurt the officers, and was using the stick to try to defend others from what he saw as an imminent threat. Since being jailed, Mellis has been a model prisoner, the attorney wrote in a court document. In May, the defense lawyer asked to have Mellis released from jail for a week to attend his fathers funeral, but the request was denied. Melody Steele-Smith, Gloucester Melody Steele-Smith, 58, was arrested Jan. 20 at her home and charged with several misdemeanor offenses: obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, entering and remaining in certain rooms in the Capitol building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. FBI agents found photos on Melody Steele-Smith's Facebook page that they say show her outside and inside the U.S. Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6 riots, including some taken inside Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office. (Documents obtained by /Documents obtained by FBI) The FBI reportedly got a tip from one of Steele-Smiths relatives that she participated in the riot and posted about it on Facebook. Although the photos were later deleted, investigators said they found pictures showing Steele-Smith in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They also said they found surveillance footage showing her entering the building. Steele-Smiths next court date is March 3. Eric and Paul Von Bernewitz, Virginia Beach Brothers Eric and Paul Von Bernewitz were arrested March 24 and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Advertisement According to a statement of facts filed in the case, Eric Von Bernewitz wanted to attend a rally for Trump that day and his brother agreed to go with him. Paul Von Bernewitz said he went along to take care of his brother because Erics right arm is paralyzed, the document said. The two marched to the U.S. Capitol after the rally. Eric Von Bernewitz told the agent they got caught up in the excitement of the crowd and went into the building. He said they stayed inside for about 10 minutes and left. Both are due in court Jan. 20. Ryan Seth Suleski, Williamsburg Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Ryan Seth Suleski was arrested March 10 after he turned himself in to the FBIs Norfolk Field Office. A tipster told agents that hed heard Suleski had gone into the Capitol during the riots and had taken mail. The tipster also sent a screen shot that he said showed Suleski inside. Ryan Seth Suleski from Williamsburg is among the Hampton Roads area defendants charged with taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol. The FBI said social media photos show Suleski outside the building and video surveillance from inside shows him picking up papers outside a congressman's office. (Documents obtained by FBI/Documents obtained by FBI) When agents went to talk to him at his home, Suleski admitted to going inside the Capitol building that day, but said he left in less than two minutes after an officer told him to leave, according to a statement of facts posted in his case. He denied taking any papers while in the building. But video surveillance shows him picking up some papers from the floor outside a congressmans office and later stuffing them into his backpack, the statement said. Advertisement Suleski, a federal firearms licensed dealer, told agents he talked to a BBC reporter after he walked out. In the interview, he told the reporter, This is how we do things in this country. He later said, This nation wasnt founded on civility. This nation was founded on revolutionary activity. Suleski is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of justice/Congress, and theft of government property. His next court date is Jan. 18. Update: An earlier version of this story has been updated to include information about defendant Ryan Seth Suleski of Williamsburg. Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Anishinaabe composer and musician Melody McKiver ended 2021 by dropping their latest album, which serves as the original motion picture soundtrack for a new documentary from filmmaker Sean Stiller. Advertisement Advertise With Us Anishinaabe composer and musician Melody McKiver ended 2021 by dropping their latest album, which serves as the original motion picture soundtrack for a new documentary from filmmaker Sean Stiller. The "Returning Home" documentary parallels the story of residential school survivors and wild Pacific salmon, and how the two groups continue to struggle in modern-day Canada. SUBMITTED Melody McKiver Talking to the Sun earlier this week, McKiver revealed that signing onto this project was an easy decision, since they previously collaborated with Stiller on the APTN series "Amplify" and was familiar with his cinematic eye. "I really admire both Seans visual language as well as how he was trying to broaden the scope of the story that he was telling," McKiver said Monday, referencing the dual narrative structure of "Returning Home." "I thought that was a really engaging way to work with the heavy emotional material and the themes brought up in the film." To complement the serious subject matter of this film, McKiver decided to compose an ambient score that leans heavily on strings and electronic elements, similar to their debut EP from 2017 called "Reckoning." All of the music for this soundtrack was written and recorded between December 2020 and March 2021. McKiver collaborated remotely with Stiller from their home studio in Sioux Lookout, Ont. SUBMITTED The cover of Melody McKiver's latest album, which was released to the public on Dec. 15, 2021. "We would finalize one cue at a time and just move on to the next project," they said. "So it was very much a pandemic workflow." McKiver admitted that composing this movie soundtrack marks a radical departure from their first EP, since all of the music had to be confined to what Stiller was putting up on screen. Despite these new challenges, McKiver said they are really happy with the end result, especially if it helps amplify the stories of residential school survivors like Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose own experience inspired the Orange Shirt Day movement. "I think the messaging of the film is really important. Its something that the general Canadian public is only just starting to grapple with," they said. "So its just not about wearing an orange shirt, but its understanding the multi-generational impact that residential schools had on Phyllis family, who we see in the film." The mid-December album release wasnt McKivers only major accomplishment in 2021, since they were also recruited to teach at Brandon Universitys School of Music as an assistant professor. In BUs August press notice announcing this new hire, school officials highlighted McKivers various achievements in the realm of music, which includes winning the Canada Council of the Arts 2020 Robert Fleming Prize. As a collaborative violist, McKiver has also performed alongside a variety of high-profile musicians like Polaris Prize winners Lido Pimienta, Tanya Tagaq and Jeremy Dutcher. Even though this past fall marked the musicians first time teaching in a post-secondary environment, McKiver said the new role has been pleasant so far, even if the process has been complicated by the rise and fall of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba. "Its certainly been a different experience learning how to navigate the pandemic protocols as well. "But Im really enjoying getting to know the faculty and students and building up new relationships in Brandon." McKiver doesnt plan on slowing down in 2022 and is already laying the groundwork for some new collaborations with several different Canadian musical ensembles. Plus, McKiver is hoping to release another solo album later this year while fulfilling all their BU responsibilities. "Its a heavy workload, but Im really enjoying all of my different projects," they said. "Theyll keep me busy." Anyone looking to purchase a copy of the original motion picture soundtrack for "Returning Home" can do so through iTunes, Spotify or McKivers official Bandcamp page. The film itself is still being shown on the festival circuit and is not yet available for widespread public viewing. kdarbyson@brandonsun.com Twitter:@KyleDarbyson The testing process for COVID-19 is changing in order to deal with the backlog that has made it difficult to accurately track new cases, the province announced Wednesday. Advertisement Advertise With Us JAMES SNELL/POOL Acting deputy chief public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal The testing process for COVID-19 is changing in order to deal with the backlog that has made it difficult to accurately track new cases, the province announced Wednesday. Most people who display symptoms and go for a test will receive a rapid test and not a PCR test, said Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief provincial public health officer. "People who test positive on a rapid antigen test should consider themselves as having COVID and take all the necessary precautions that we have set out, like notifying your close contacts and following self-isolation rules," Atwal said. The province is handing out 500,000 rapid test kits this week at provincial COVID testing sites. Atwal said the government is working on how it can expand access. This change comes after the federal government announced 140 million more rapid antigen tests will be distributed on a per capita basis to the provinces and territories this month. Atwal said they were only told about the federal announcement that morning, so they dont have an allocation number, yet. The new testing strategy is based on the current supply. Most people who test positive with a rapid test will not have to get a PCR test to confirm if they have COVID. This change is to help preserve laboratory testing capacity. There are 6,800 COVID tests that need to be processed as of Wednesday. In some cases, though, there will be a need to have a PCR test after a positive rapid antigen test, so certain groups are being prioritized: health-care workers or people who provide direct care at a long-term care facility. Provincial testing sites are going to continue using PCR tests for those people who may be at higher risk of more severe sickness, or where greater certainty of a PCR test is needed, such as children who cannot do the rapid test at home, the immunocompromised, anyone who was outside of Canada in the past 14 days, connected to an outbreak in a high-risk setting, or about to have surgery. A full list of those who qualify for PCR testing is on the provinces website, but testing sites will determine if someone will be eligible for further testing. The huge backlog at testing centres means the province is under-reporting cases. Atwal couldnt say for sure, but with omicrons rapid spread, they could be missing eight to 10 cases for every one case they identify. With the delta variant, he said it was estimated four cases were missed for every one confirmed. How this will affect hospitalizations is still unknown, but they are bracing for an upswing no matter what. Atwal could not say when Manitobas hospitals would be considered overwhelmed. To help stop the spread, he reiterated people need to cut back on their contacts. When asked if mandates like working from home could come in the near future, he said everything is on the table and health officials are always looking at modelling to determine any changes to public health orders. Current public health orders that limit public gatherings to 250 people or 50 per cent capacity and permit the sale of alcohol at licensed venues until 10 p.m. are set to expire Tuesday. Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitobas vaccine implementation task force, said there is some encouraging data coming from studies in other jurisdictions, such as England, Scotland, South Africa and Ontario. Preliminary data shows hospitalizations from omicron were 40 to 80 per cent lower, even after accounting for vaccination status and people with omicron tended to have shorter stays in hospital. However, they are still trying to translate how that could play out in Manitoba. While encouraging, Atwal said there are still a lot of variables they must consider when analyzing data from other provinces and countries. "Its tough to make an apples-to-apples comparison," he said. "South Africa has a median age 14 years younger than Canada, 27 years compared to 41 years. The U.K. used a different vaccine. New York and Ontario have seen increases in ICU admissions. We have to tease the details out before drawing conclusions." Even with 78 per cent of eligible Manitobans receiving at least one dose, there are still about 22 per cent who havent. "This is still historically the most successful immunization campaign in Manitobas history," Reimer said. How long a third dose booster will protect us is still unknown. However, Reimer reiterated it does flood the immune system with antibodies that will reduce the severity of illness. While news of more rapid tests is encouraging, Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he wants to know what the plan is. "A lot of people in western Manitoba probably know it is easier to get a test in Saskatchewan than it is in Manitoba." If people can get rapid tests more easily, it will give them the confidence to manage their COVID case themselves, he said. kmckinley@brandonsun.com Twitter: @karenleighmcki1 The millionaires used to showing off their wealth by ordering buckets worth of champagne and sparklers in exclusive nightclubs have had much of their partying interrupted by the pandemic. This New Years Eve, with Omicron cases rising rapidly, many were forced to ring in 2022 from inside their homes with no onlookers in sight. Status-seeking must wait another year. The global elite who would have headed to the small Swiss town of Davos next month have to accept a similar fate. The annual VIP gathering hosted by the World Economic Forum has been delayed again due to concerns over COVID-19. The important people who pay big money to go to the highest town in Europe to meet other important people are forced to wait again. Like the revellers unable to splash their cash in expensive nightspots due to restrictions in some parts of the world, the status-seeking among the Davos crowd has been crossed off the calendar this winter. There are no onlookers in sight. If Davos does go ahead at some point this year, the world will be watching closely. Credit:Bloomberg Perhaps it should stay that way. Davos is starting to look as out of date as a 30-litre bottle of champagne with a sparkler in it. From the hierarchical colour-coded badge system showing how important each guest is to the extortionate costs involved, it is difficult to see what the point of the annual jamboree is, beyond networking. Since its inception in 1971 the aim has been to bring powerful people together so that they can collectively do good for the world. But too often the summit seems to be little more than a talking shop for those who already have a platform. An experience detailing the plight of refugees has, in recent years, attempted to address this disconnect by using role play to create more empathy among guests, typically the worlds top 1 per cent of earners. Those who attended Davos in January 2020 included 119 billionaires and 53 heads of state. Although more people from different walks of life are being invited to the conversation, it still seems that those with the loudest voice at Davos have the loudest voice outside of Davos. Regardless of whether they head to the Swiss Alps and spend 32 ($60) on a hot dog, their opinions will always be heard. Some have already thrown in the towel. Abrdns former boss Keith Skeoch said last April that the investment giant would pull out of the meetings, which cost the firm around 3m a year. While activists and politicians get in free, company representatives are forced to pay a reported Sfr60,000 ($90,800) to be a low-tier WEF member and a further Sfr27,000 to attend the four-day event. Annual membership fees for higher tiers are said to cost as much as Sfr600,000. At a time of crisis the very idea of a global elite meeting in a Swiss ski resort is divisive, Skeoch told the Daily Mail last year. The money saved on sending executives to Davos would instead go to dementia helplines, food banks and deep-cleans for care homes instead. So its holiday season, when (almost) everyone takes a break, chills out and tries not to think about workaday worries. So lets have some fun. Lets do a few economic puzzles. Theres an old joke in economics that says, it may work in practice, but does it work in theory? If you take that to mean economists care more about getting their theory right than about its usefulness then, yes, too many of them do. Holiday puzzles: Behavioural economics is shining a light on why people dont often make rational decisions. Credit:James Alcock But an empirical revolution is happening in economics, where economists test their standard theory to see how well it explains the real world. A big part of this is the rise of behavioural economics which, rather than simply making the conventional assumption that everyone acts rationally with carefully considered self-interest in the economic decisions they make, studies the many reasons people often make decisions that arent rational. So, first puzzle. When, in 2012, prime minister Julia Gillard introduced what she called a price on carbon and opposition leader Tony Abbott correctly labelled a carbon tax, which increased the price of electricity, she took care to cut income tax and increase pensions in a way designed to leave households on average incomes no worse off. Kiss rocker Gene Simmons, Oscar-winning producer Emile Sherman and singer Deborah Conway have signed an open letter that calls the boycott that has disrupted Sydney Festival an affront to both Palestinians and Israelis. Gene Simmons from Kiss. As the number of festival shows affected by the boycott grew to 29, the letter from US-based entertainment industry organisation Creative Community for Peace has also drawn support from The Adventures of Priscilla director Stephan Elliott, American singer-songwriter Diane Warren and former Paramount Pictures head Sherry Lansing. Western Sydney community groups called for the boycott over the festival accepting $20,000 from the Israeli embassy to stage choreographer Ohad Naharins work Decadance. They say the partnership with Israel has made the event unsafe for people with an Arab background. The letter says the boycott turns the festival from an opportunity for unity into a weapon of division and that art should never become subservient to politics. Drivers wait for the traffic to be cleared as cars and trucks are stranded on sections of Interstate 95 on Tuesday Jan. 4, 2022, in Carmel Church. Close to 48 miles of the interstate were closed due to ice and snow. (Steve Helber/AP) RICHMOND With more bad weather looming, Virginia officials sought to reassure the public Thursday as they reacted to harsh criticism of their response to a snowstorm earlier this week that left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95 in frigid temperatures. In contrast to his response to Mondays storm, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in advance of the wintry weather that is expected to move into the state late Thursday, and he asked the Virginia National Guard for assistance. The measures are necessary this time, his office said, because of the lingering effects of the first storm. Advertisement Northam also pushed back against the criticism, questioning why drivers were out in force on the highways when they had been warned to stay home, while some experts and officials from other states said they saw little Virginia could have done to prevent the logjam that occurred amid snowy conditions on I-95, the East Coasts longest north-south artery. Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran told The Associated Press on Thursday that no one brought the escalating problems to the attention of the governors Cabinet promptly on Monday. A county official eventually called him in the middle of the night. Advertisement Virginia officials have promised to review the states response, though how exactly how they will do that is unclear. During an unusually detailed news briefing Thursday to discuss upcoming weather preparations, a Cabinet secretary suggested a joint investigation is possible; others have said each state agency would conduct its own inquiry. Similar investigations in other states have resulted in revamped alert systems, additional snow-clearing equipment and more aggressive road treatments. In Virginia, state lawmakers, local officials, at least two members of Congress and the AAA auto club called for action. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Crystal Vanuch, a Republican and lifelong county native, said Thursday that the gridlock was probably the biggest disaster weve ever seen. According to Vanuch, the countys emergency operations command received roughly 1,800 calls for service over a 24-hour period more than five times the normal amount and local emergency workers told her they werent getting the help they needed from state officials. She said she called Moran at 1 a.m. Tuesday and that by daybreak, state officials had begun deploying resources, including helicopters to survey roads and see where the worst chokepoints existed. Northam, a Democrat who leaves office later this month, said in an uncharacteristically combative interview Wednesday that he was getting sick and tired of people talking about what went wrong. He told radio station WRVA that no one was injured and that people should be thanking first responders and emergency workers. In a conciliatory follow-up statement Thursday, Northam said he was trying to express his appreciation for police troopers and other workers who had put in 30 to 40 hours straight under difficult circumstances. Advertisement In the statement, he also said he had compassion for drivers who were stuck in a scary situation and reiterated his commitment to doing everything possible to keep this from happening again. Many motorists reported being offered little in the way of assistance while they were stuck in the traffic on I-95, which according to officials began Monday morning after a commercial vehicle jackknifed. As heavy, wet snow poured down, more cars and trucks became disabled, further tying up traffic and preventing plowing. Traffic eventually ground to a total halt, leaving some travelers stranded for over 24 hours. Officials had said that pretreating the roads was not an option because the storm started as rain, which would have washed any brine-chemical solution away. Transportation experts and officials elsewhere acknowledged the difficulty. If we have an event thats going to start as rain and transitions to snow, we do not pretreat, because it would be a waste of time and money, Ohio transportation department spokesperson Matt Bruning said Wednesday. Andy Alden, a transportation researcher at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, said from his perspective, the state did everything just about right. Advertisement Recent high-profile traffic pileups in other states led to revamped systems that appeared to help stave off future catastrophes. After a 2014 winter snowstorm crippled the Atlanta area with fewer than 3 inches of snow, stranding drivers in cars overnight and forcing children to sleep at their schools, the state devised a plan to alert residents more quickly of incoming winter storms, more than doubled its fleet of snow-clearing equipment and started keeping salt and gravel on hand in larger quantities. In New Jersey, which regularly confronts winter weather on its highways, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy faced numerous complaints after a 2018 snowstorm left drivers stuck on major highways. His predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, complained that it took him five hours to travel about 30 miles (48 kilometers). Murphy has been known since to overprepare for storms, sending trucks to brine roadways ahead of storms that never materialize. I think it costs 17 cents a mile to brine the road, so if we become the brining state of America, I will not be upset about that, he said in 2019. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > The COVID-19 pandemic has also made it harder in some states to assemble the workforce needed to plow roads. In Virginia, officials said they had enough employees, but at least one locality cited staffing shortages. Motorists also faced long delays on secondary roads while trying to avoid I-95. Advertisement Virginia State Police officials, who have long noted staffing challenges, said they increased the number of troopers assigned solely to the interstate to 30 on Tuesday, after starting Monday with about 18 in the entire area. Ron Maxey, VSPs deputy director of field operations, said many troopers set out on foot to check on stranded motorists, and shared some of their own food. Natalie Simpson, a professor and expert on emergency services at the University at Buffalo School of Management, said she didnt see any immediate evidence that Virginia officials missed a step that could have mitigated the traffic jam earlier this week. But Simpson said governments everywhere need to do a better job planning to provide aid to stranded drivers. Once traffic stops on an interstate, an interstate becomes a prison, she said. _____ Associated Press contributors to this report included: Sara Cline in Portland, Oregon; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio; Michael Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Matthew Barakat in Falls Church. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size I only want to work with the greats, says Denzel Washington. I literally just called Steve McQueen. I called Paul Thomas Anderson. These are the kinds of filmmakers I want to work with. I want to learn and grow with the best. And, needless to say, Joel Coen is the best. It took a couple of years after he first started talking to Coen before he got the call, either late 2018 or early 2019, but it did come. From Joel Coen or Frances [McDormand], I cant remember who called first. And whoa! Youre doing what? Macbeth. Oh! OK! The Tragedy of Macbeth was exactly what he wanted. McDormand, Coens wife, would play Lady Macbeth. The actors would work together as a company on sets built on a sound stage, chewing over the text and reading each others parts. It would be like the best theatre. Shakespeare. He would go back to where he began. Denzel Washington is 67. Not old these days, obviously, but sufficiently advanced in years to concentrate the mind. Im in the autumn or, as Macbeth says, the yellow leaf of my career, he says in that sonorous preachers voice. I really want to keep it simple. He has several irons in the fire: an ongoing project directing all August Wilsons plays, his shortlist of directors and a plan to do King Lear on Broadway. Inspired by this Macbeth, he thinks he would also like to do an older Othello as well. Two or four more years as long as my knees hold up I want to get back on the stage and play those roles. I believe in light and dark forces, says Denzel Washington. Credit:Mark Seliger / AUGUST / Raven & Snow As he says later, Washington is all about the work. He is no good at doing nothing. People who have worked with him say he is always on set before anyone else, even if that means arriving at 3am. His commitment along with talent, obviously has earned him two Oscars (for Glory, 1989, and Training Day, 2001), universal respect for such leading performances as the title role in Spike Lees Malcolm X (1992), Rubin Carter in The Hurricane (1999), and as a 50s father in August Wilsons Fences (2016), which he also directed. Fences was nominated as best picture, among other categories. A nomination for The Tragedy of Macbeth would be his 10th. Of course, he has also done a lot of action movies; his other tally of 10 is the number of films where he starred as a policeman. Denzel Washington grew up in Mount Vernon, a predominantly black suburb north of the Bronx. His parents had moved up from the South. Denzel Sr was a Pentecostal preacher who was also holding down two jobs one in a department store and one with the local water company so his three children saw him only intermittently. Mother Lennis, who died recently at 97, was a beautician. They separated when Washington was 14. There was a lot of scope for running off the rails, but his strict, remarkably determined mother scraped together enough money to send Denzel and his older sister to boarding schools upstate. It worked. From there he went to Fordham University in New York to study journalism. Advertisement It wasnt all straightforward. After dropping out for a year and washing dishes, he went back, switching to drama. I tripped and fell into it, you know, he said once. I took one class and then I took another. But he had found his metier. He also started with the heavyweights, making his mark as a student with two classics: Eugene ONeills The Emperor Jones in a role played on stage and screen by Paul Robeson, one of the black forebears he often name-checks and what turned out to be a landmark college production of Othello. I fell in love with theatre with Eugene ONeill, he says now. And I fell in love with Shakespeare with Othello. I went to school right at the Lincoln Centre in New York so I would go to the Lincoln Centre Library and listen to the Olivier recordings, trying to understand what he was talking about and where the emotions fell. Washington remembers playing him as like a young Mike Tyson, who could fight well but didnt understand the ways of the world I was so green, but it was so much fun. Im just a kid from uptown, from New York City and suddenly Im trying to interpret William Shakespeare. Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Credit:Alison Rosa/A24/Apple TV Plus It won him a scholarship to San Franciscos American Conservatory Theatre to do his masters degree. Talent, as one mentor told him, can only get you so far. Robeson had been classically trained. Washington wanted that too: the best of the best. After that, of course, it got harder. He would get a small film role, then find himself back in line for social security. Acting, as we all know, is a tough nut to crack for anyone. Tom Hanks, quoted recently in The New York Times, recalled shooting the breeze with Washington on the set of Philadelphia and saying how they had been broke actors in New York City at the same time, trying to get work and learn their craft. Washington retorted that at least Hanks could flag down a taxi. And the numbers were against him. Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks in Philadelphia. Advertisement When I started, a thousand young black men like myself would be reading for one part, he says. You know, or a hundred. I remember reading for Ragtime. Milos Formans film was a panorama of 1920s New York. Everyone and their uncle was there. A young actor called Howard E. Rollins got the part. There was one part. And that is not the case any more. Now theres a hundred parts. They may not all be good, but with streaming and all these new avenues and opportunities, it is a tremendous change from 1981 to 2021. He has lived that change. Even in 1996, the fact that People magazine voted him the sexiest man alive a slightly uncomfortable thing, surely, for a devout Christian who has been married to his wife, actress Pauletta Pearson, for 39 years was seen as a breakthrough, showing white audiences might embrace black performers after all. Now, he says the doors are wide open to young black men and women. His son, John David Washington, is one of them; he will be part of the cast of his fathers next August Wilson play on stage. Ill hold that door open, he adds. Thats my job now. Denzel Washington with his wife Pauletta at the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award honouring Washington in 2019. Credit:Getty Images Many fell by the wayside. Howard E. Rollins was nominated for an Oscar, but fell prey to substance abuse and died at 46. Clearly, Denzel Washington was made of sterner stuff, including a resilient ambition. Was that a way into Macbeth? A silence follows, which worries me Washington has done some prickly interviews in the past but its probably just the long lag on our internet call. I had no ambition for evil, he says at last. If it is anything, Macbeth is a cautionary tale about that. You will lose your head. I dont have that. But I like exploring these sides. Ive heard a lot of people talk about his madness, but I think its really not so much about his mind as his soul. He gave up his soul, he sold his soul to the devil and that led to madness, because it became a bottomless pit. Where does the killing stop? There was going to be no end to it. I find that fascinating. I believe in light and dark forces. I believe in good and evil, God and the devil, whatever you want to call it. Does Washington, raised in the Pentecost, believe in evil? Theres evil in man, he says. Theres evil in us. Its in us. The enemy is the inner me. Now, without some kind of an anchor, be it religious or not, spiritual or whatever, you will go wherever the wind blows. You will be vulnerable. I believe in light and dark forces. I believe in good and evil, God and the devil, whatever you want to call it. [Macbeths three] witches, definitely: who do they work for? Why did they show up? They cook up their witches brew of spells to whisk up the worst, but they already know they have their man. He was also ready. These guys are old. They couldnt have an heir. Theyve got to get in there and start lopping off heads. Advertisement At first sight, Shakespearean tragedy seems unlikely material for one of the Coen brothers, the ironic japesters behind films such as Fargo and Raising Arizona. But it isnt so very distant from a film like Blood Simple, the brothers first feature: it too was about betrayal, murder and an unholy alliance of lovers. Washington also spotted some hallmark Coen moments between the lines. When Joel described how he was going to lop my head off, it was so simple it was almost comical. It was yeah, you reach down for the crown and the guy swings and chops your head off. And then the crown bounces. I was like oh man, that has the Coens all over it! Denzel Washington with co-star Frances McDormand and director Joel Coen in Los Angeles last month. Credit:Getty Images English actor Alex Hassell, who plays Ross in the film, recalled in The New York Times how Washington was visibly excited as a director himself to watch Coen work, often asking what he was doing and why. He is just a genius, Washington says now. The way his mind works, his visual approach, his intensity, his focus. I walked in on him one day in his office; I was literally two feet away from him working on his computer and he didnt notice. I was just standing there going man, thats what I want. That kind of focus. And as it relates to Macbeth, thats a director Ill follow into any battle. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in The Tragedy of Macbeth. These guys are old. They couldnt have an heir. Theyve got to get in there and start lopping off heads, says Washington. Credit:Alison Rosa/A24/Apple TV Plus Loading It feels like more of a stretch to imagine Denzel Washington in a Paul Thomas Anderson film, at least after seeing the winsome Licorice Pizza. What do they imagine doing together? Washington doesnt know. I actually went to his house. We spent a lovely day together; hes a wonderful man, a beautiful home, lovely wife, funny. He just walked me round his laboratory, his man-cave where he does the work and I said to him, I want to do something with you. And he said OK. I dont know, now its whatever his process is. But I feel like thats what is left for me. I just want to collaborate with the great directors. And to direct his own films, so that he can lift up others. To do the right thing. Advertisement In Britain, the public has been urged to lose weight to ease back pain and joint pain as part of a new government public health drive. The campaign will highlight six serious health conditions that can be improved by losing weight, with back pain being one of them. Pain Australia states that obesity is a risk factor for musculoskeletal system disorders such as low back pain, osteoarthritis and neck pain. This is thought to be because of the mechanical load of excessive body weight and the resulting degeneration and inflammation of the system. So if your weight has crept in recent years, your back pain could be telling you that its time to lose a few kilograms. If your pain is worse working from home... The shift to home working has been bad news for backs. Without the daily commute, were moving less and our home office set up can be far from back-friendly. Osteopath Boniface Verney Carron, co-founder of the preventive health platform Oona Series, says that back pain is often down to postural issues and that most of us need to adjust our screen height, especially if we are working from a laptop. If you are constantly looking down at a screen, that C-shape in your spine puts pressure on the discs, says Verney Carron. Make sure youre putting enough books under your computer so that the centre of the screen is at the level of your eyes. Its probably more than you think. He also suggests creating a backrest with a rolled-up towel tucked between the chair and lower back to support the lower spine. If your pain is triggered by bending and lifting... You might have ruptured a disc. This is when a fragment of the jelly-like centre of the vertebra pushes out through the rubbery exterior. So how can we deal with a disc issue? Its best to avoid sitting, bending and lifting. Typically when this first happens, the disc is very good at telling you what to avoid, says physiotherapist Adam Brown, co-founder of Cornerstone Physiotherapy. But then as the inflammation and pain resolve its important to restore full mobility in the spine in all directions. Then you will be more resilient. In a textbook case of a herniated disc you might find a person doesnt fully stand up straight due to pinching in the back. Most people dont fully restore movement and the next time theyre lifting or shovelling snow, they just re-herniate. Brown recommends gently restoring range of motion with repetitive stretches, but dont push so hard that you re-stimulate the inflammatory response. It takes a little bit of time; you need a measured approach, he says. Each person is different and its not a bad idea to involve a physio, but if you were to Google the cat/cow exercise, thats one way to do it. If you have a generally achy lower back that is relieved by sitting... If you have an achy lower back thats triggered by long periods of standing or walking and relieved by sitting, you might need to work on your core strength. It could be that your muscular system isnt supporting your spine as well as it could and you are putting pressure on your joints, says Brown. You often see it when people are hypermobile. They are standing at the end of the range of the extension, which can lead to lower back ache. Tight hip flexors the muscles which attach the pelvis to the thigh bone can add to the problem by increasing the curvature of the lower spine and upper back, leading to lower back and hip pain. These people require a strength training approach, says Brown. You need to work on core strength and hip mobility. If youre over 55 and your back pain is triggered by walking... This could be neurogenic claudication, says Brown. It takes eight to 10 minutes of walking you could almost set a clock by it then theyll start to get some symptoms. It might be pain and might be tingling and numbness that spreads out from the buttocks, or weakness in the legs. Then sitting will relieve those symptoms. This particular problem does respond to surgery, but most of us wont need it as the problem progresses very slowly. Physiotherapy can help. If youre standing, moving, walking and youre not in that arch back position, youre going to do better. And if you have better hip mobility, youre going to do better. If you have shooting pain that radiates down one or both legs... Pain that starts in your back that radiates down your leg is known as sciatica. Typically you feel it in the foot and this is coming from irritation of the nerve roots when they come out of the back, explains Prof Underwood. Its not always clear what causes it. But there is a proportion that is caused by a bit of weakness in the disc, where it bulges or protrudes, it can press on the nerve root. Keep moving within the limits of the pain and take painkillers. Anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation around the nerves, are probably your best choice. The vast majority of us will get better within a few weeks, but if the pain continues surgery may help. If an MRI scan shows a disc pressing on the nerve on the same nerve root, you may need surgery to remove where the disc is pressing, he says. If you have frozen shoulder or shoulder pain... With a frozen shoulder, we call it adhesive capsulitis, says Underwood. We dont know what causes it. One theory suggests that there may be an autoimmune component to the process, where the body attacks healthy tissue spiralling into a growing inflammatory response. It is characterised by pain and stiffness in the shoulder, but its difficult to tell it apart from problems with the rotator cuff or with the ligaments that move the shoulder. Either way, the treatment is the same and it usually gets better whatever you do. Advice for a frozen shoulder? Its back to ibuprofen and keep moving, says Underwood. Some doctors recommend a steroid injection into the joint. But they probably only have a short-term effect. Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed tennis star Novak Djokovics visa has been cancelled and he is now being held in immigration detention while he challenges the visa cancellation decision in the courts. But it should never have come to this farcical situation. What has transpired is unfair to both Australians who have gone out of their way to get vaccinated and to Djokovic who could argue he did everything required of him by Australian authorities yet now finds himself in immigration detention. World No.1 Novak Djokovic is in limbo thanks to bungling by Australian authorities. Credit:AP While Tennis Australia and the Victorian government gave Djokovic an exemption to play at the Australian Open, apparently on the basis of a decision by two independent panels of medical experts who applied the exemption rules developed by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, that does not determine the right to enter Australia. NSW Police have scrapped their controversial strategy of setting targets for carrying out personal searches and move-on powers, but not before increasing quotas during the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of numerical goals to monitor performance across police regions and commands has been criticised by legal bodies and civil libertarians as enabling the targeting of vulnerable groups, with the states former top prosecutor Nicholas Cowdery labelling the strategy as a distortion of law enforcement. NSW Police have stopped using performance targets for personal searches. Credit:Isabella Porras Mr Cowdery, an adjunct professor of law at Sydney University and a previous director of Public Prosecutions in NSW, welcomed the ditching of search and move-on targets rebadged community safety indicators (CSI) by police last year saying they could have serious consequences for innocent citizens. Police would be encouraged to put the worst construction on conduct that they observe to give them justification to conduct searches, he said, adding a miscarriage of appropriate discretion could be severe for young and vulnerable people, particularly Indigenous Australians. A self-described cannibal who has spent more than 15 years behind bars for murdering his former housemate in 2006, in a scene likened to that of an abattoir killing floor, is bidding for freedom. Robert Ian Logan, now 34, was found guilty in April 2011 of slashing 22-year-old Ben Huntingfords throat on June 21, 2006. He was jailed for life after a Brisbane Supreme Court trial. Robert Logan took his bid for freedom after more than 15 years behind bars to the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday. Credit:Toby Crockford Bloody footprints led police to Logan, who had been evicted from the sharehouse weeks earlier. Logan admitted to killing Mr Huntingford and stabbing a dog, but then pleaded not guilty at trial. Logan initially told police he had cut Mr Huntingfords throat from ear to ear, and watched him drag himself to the bedroom, where he died. Logan said he then drank some of the victims blood. Premier Daniel Andrews hinted at the possibility of administering jabs in schools last month when he said it makes sense for schools to play a role. Theres every reason to think that if the federal government wants us to be involved in this, directly to be involved, particularly at a school level, I think thats great and it is likely that we get the job done faster, he said. The gap between doses is eight weeks for children aged five to 11, meaning none will be fully vaccinated by the time the school term starts. Victorias system for positive cases to upload their rapid antigen test results to an online directory also opened today. Ms Allan said Victoria was the first mainland Australia to operate a system, which would relieve the pressure on PCR testing. Its also important so we can make sure that Victorians have the case support and information they need to help them through this period of time, the acting Premier said. For many people, theyll be able to manage their illness themselves at home but also if you do need some extra help and support or if the symptoms do turn more serious, well be able to make sure you get that support you need. The government also plans to ramp up rapid antigen testing at its PCR test sites to alleviate lines and the pressure on pathology labs. COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said the state had begun to receive several hundred thousand rapid antigen tests from the stockpile of 34 million it has ordered for the coming weeks and months. He said more orders were expected in fairly small, modest numbers in the coming days. That has allowed us to start to roll out rapid antigen testing at some of our testing sites, he said at todays press conference. Mr Weimar said about 5500 rapid tests were handed out to those lining up at multiple sites in metropolitan areas yesterday. They were offered to asymptomatic, suspected cases, allowing them to go home and complete their rapid test there. Once the states free rapid antigen testing system is operating, Victorians who are symptomatic or close contacts of cases will be able to access them at collection points. Ms Allan said Victoria had already introduced tougher measures on Thursday, with density limits introduced to hospitality venues, who were also encouraged to cancel indoor dance floors. Well continue to very carefully monitor the situation here in Victoria but I know the Health Minister is in regular dialogue with his colleague in NSW, she said. Well closely monitor their settings and the impact they may be having on helping manage the spread of the virus in the community and well continue to do that in the context of reviewing whats appropriate for Victoria. The acting Premier acknowledged widespread staff shortages across the hospitality industry with daily case numbers in the 20,000s but ruled out a support package. Were not in a position at this stage to provide that support, she said. The number of people in hospital with the virus in Victoria rose to 644, and there were 106 people in the intensive care unit. Of those, 58 still have an active infection, and 24 were on a ventilator. Following on from the announcement Victorians would be allowed to use rapid antigen tests to prove they have COVID-19, a state system for reporting those results was slated to go live on Friday afternoon. People who test positive for the virus using a rapid antigen test are required to report their result to the Health Department using the system, either online or via a hotline, and isolate for seven days. Victorians who return a positive PCR test do not have to manually report their result. The change follows a national cabinet decision that the states would no longer require a positive result on a rapid test to be confirmed via a PCR test. Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded there would still be lines at PCR testing centres for the next couple of weeks until supply problems with at-home tests were sorted out. By about 8.20am on Friday, at least 16 PCR testing sites across Victoria were at full capacity and forced to temporarily close. The closed sites included Victoria Universitys St Albans campus site, the Bourke Street walk-in clinic in Melbournes CBD, the Northern Hospital drive-through and walk-through sites, and Springers Leisure Centre at Keysborough. Listed wait times at other sites varied from 30 minutes at facilities including the Aughtie Walk drive-through at Albert Park, to 180 minutes at St Vincents Hospital. Anxiety has been described as the defining mental health issue of our decade, even before the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns. But it grew ever larger during the past two years, with record numbers of Australians reporting moderate to severe mental distress during COVID-19 restrictions. In its most basic form, anxiety is a very normal human emotion and one which we all feel from time to time. But how do we tell when it tips over the edge into full-blown anxiety disorder? Today on Please Explain, senior writer Wendy Tuohy joins Bianca Hall to discuss the issue. Australian and Japanese defence forces will be able to deploy together in conflict and peacetime under a new agreement that cements Japan as Australias second most important partner behind the United States. The agreement, sealed on Thursday, less than 80 years since Japan bombed Darwin during World War II, follows a rapidly shifting geopolitical climate and enhanced Australian cooperation with South Korea, India and the US to contain threats posed by an increasingly assertive China. Australian forces will be able to deploy and train together with Japanese forces. Credit:ADF Chinas Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night warned against the agreement targeting or undermining the interests of any third party. We hope that the Pacific will be an ocean of peace, not a place to make waves, said spokesman Wang Wenbin. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the future of the two defence forces were now inextricably linked through the Reciprocal Access Agreement and that it was remarkable that the two countries had signed the deal only a few generations after being at war with each other. Vilnius, Lithuania: After a Taiwanese state company promised to buy all the Lithuanian rum China rejected, the islands government has announced an investment fund and other measures to help Lithuania face major economic pressure from China. The $US200 million [$278 million] fund will be used for investments into the Lithuanian economy and help its business, primarily into semiconductors, laser technology, biotech and other key industries, Eric Huang, representative of the Taiwanese mission to Lithuania, said. The Lithuanian embassy in Beijing has been closed since mid-December following a dispute over Taiwan. Credit:AP Lithuania broke with diplomatic custom by agreeing that the Taiwanese representative office in the Baltic nations capital, Vilnius, would bear the name Taiwan instead of Chinese Taipei, a term used by other countries to avoid offending Beijing. China considers Taiwan part of its territory with no right to diplomatic recognition. The de facto embassy opened in November and Lithuania is planning to open its own trade office in Taiwan later this year. It has infuriated China, which withdrew its ambassador to Vilnius and expelled the Lithuanian ambassador to Beijing. Lithuania, a member of the EU and NATO, has closed its embassy in Beijing over the dispute. A year ago, Trump supporters roamed the hall after breaking through doors and windows to get inside the Capitol building. Credit:AP Standing at a podium shortly after 9am, Biden recounted in detail the events of January 6, 2021: from American flags being used as weapons and fire extinguishers being thrown at police officers to rioters roaming the halls menacing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Without naming Trump directly, he then unleashed a scathing attack on his predecessor, rejecting his claim of a fraudulent election and describing him not just the former president hes the defeated former president. We must decide what kind of nation we are going to be. US President Joe Biden For the first time in our history, a President had not just lost an election he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol, Biden said. But they failed and on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again. Loading Insane policies Trump who is considering running for the White House again in 2024 had planned to mark the anniversary with a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, but cancelled the event earlier this week amid concerns by some Republicans. He nonetheless put out a statement moments after Bidens speech, saying the President was using his name to further divide America, and accused the Democratic leader of destroying our nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures. This political theatre is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed, Trump said. Bidens speech was followed by a moment of silence on the House floor and testimonials from Congressional Democrats about the attack. Republicans were mostly absent, many instead travelling to Georgia to attend the funeral of former senator Johnny Isakson. A fathers support However, in an unexpected visit, former vice-president to George Bush, Dick Cheney, now 80, appeared in the building with his daughter Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans who has spoken out about Trump and now sits on the House committee investigating the riot. Outside, visitors also remained polarised about Trumps role on January 6. One woman, who did not wish to be named, said the former president should not be held responsible for the actions of others, while Colorado resident Stephen Parlato said: Im scared to death about what is happening to my country. Stephen Parlato, outside Congress, travelled from Colorado to mark the anniversary on January 6, 2022. Credit:Farrah Tomazin Holding up a banner that read No matter how much shape-shifting the GOP attempts to sway, it was Insurrection seen by all in the light of day, Parlato said he had travelled to Washington specifically for the January 6 anniversary and was horrified by the continuation of the big lie [a Democrat reference to Trumps claim that the election was rigged] and the continuation of it by Republicans. Earlier, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who resigned on January 6 last year, revealed on CNN that about 15 former Trump officials would meet next week to discuss how they might stop the former president from continuing to manipulate his party over claims of election fraud. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grishams recent memoir depicted a chaotic Trump administration. Credit:AP Democracy is fragile Trump continues to be the most powerful figure in the GOP according to published opinion polls. In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released a few days ago, 54 per cent of Republicans viewed him to be the best candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a distant second with 14 per cent of the backing. Loading The Capitol attack took place after Trump supporters attended a rally where he urged them to fight like hell to stop Bidens victory from being certified by Congress. Five people died during the attack, including a QAnon supporter who was shot dead by an officer. About 150 police officers were injured in the event, which also led to Trumps second unsuccessful impeachment by the House of Representatives. So far, 725 people have been charged for their roles in the attack, including members of far-right groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, but hundreds of others are yet to be charged or even found. January 6 also renewed the debate over voting rights, with Democrats and Republicans once again at odds over new laws to safeguard the electoral system. Vice President Kamala Harris compared the Capitol riot to the terrorist attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Credit:Pool The Hill Vice-President Kamala Harris, who introduced Biden, warned that democracy in America was so fragile that unless it was preserved it could falter and fail. We must pass voting rights bills that are now before the Senate and the American people must also do something more. We cannot sit on the sidelines, she said. As part of the study, 330 healthy volunteers who have not been vaccinated and had no history of Covid infection were selected and screened for SARCS-CoV-2 antibodies. (Representational Image/ PTI) Hyderabad: Mix and match of different vaccines is safe and brings out robust antibody responses, said a study conducted by AIG Hospitals. This is the first pilot study from India to determine the safety of mixing Covishield and Covaxin along with checking the antibody response. The most important finding of the study was that the spike-protein neutralising antibodies found in the mixed vaccine groups were higher than the same-vaccine groups. Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals who was among the researchers, said, Spike-protein neutralising antibodies are the ones which kills the virus and reduces the overall infectivity. We found that when the first and second doses are of different vaccines, the spike-protein antibody response is four times higher compared to two-dose of the same vaccine. They will enhance the vaccines effectiveness even against the Omicron variant. As part of the study, 330 healthy volunteers who have not been vaccinated and had no history of Covid infection were selected and screened for SARCS-CoV-2 antibodies. Of them, 44 were found to be sero-negative which means they did not have Covid-related antibodies. Around 87 per cent of participants who did not get vaccinated and never tested positive for Covid had the Covid-related antibodies. This means our population might have developed significant antibodies against Covid because of the huge Delta wave that we endured, said Dr Reddy. The 44 participants were divided into two four groups. While group 1 and 2 took two doses of Covishield and Covaxin, group 3 and 4 took 2 doses of mixed vaccination. They were followed for 60 days to check for any adverse effects. The study conclusively showed that mixing of vaccines is absolutely safe as none of the participants developed any adverse effects. Bharti Airtels African arm has completed the first part of its $176 million telecom tower sale deal in Tanzania. The sale is part of its overall deleveraging strategy, which netted over $800 million through fund raise and asset sales in 2021. Airtel Africas tower assets in Tanzania have been acquired by a joint venture company owned by SBA Communications Corporation and Paradigm Infrastructure Ltd. Under the terms of the transaction, Airtels business unit in Tanzania will continue to develop, maintain and operate its equipment on the towers under separate lease agreements. With the first closing approximately $159 million of the proceeds of the transaction has now been paid with the balance installments upon the completion of transfer of remaining towers to the purchaser, the company said in a press release. Around $60 million from the proceeds will be used to invest in network and sales infrastructure in Tanzania and for distribution to the Tanzanian government according to a settlement agreement. The balance amount will be used to reduce debt at the group level. Airtel operates in 14 African countries and provides mobile service and mobile money services in the continent. The African business contributes to around 30 per cent of the companys consolidated revenue. As of March 2021, it had 118 million customers in Africa. Dunzo, the Google-backed quick commerce player, has raised $240 million in its latest round of . The investment was led by Ventures Limited, with participation from existing investors Lightbox, Lightrock, 3L Capital and Alteria Capital. With an investment of $200 million, will own 25.8 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis. According to the sources, Dunzos valuation has crossed $800 million in this round. The company was valued at $300 million in March 2021, according to an Entrackr report. Reliance said this round is a reinstatement of confidence of existing and new investors in Dunzos potential and success in creating an exceptional user experience. The capital will be used to further Dunzos vision to be the largest quick commerce business in the country, enabling instant delivery of essentials from a network of micro warehouses while also expanding its B2B (business-to-business vertical to enable logistics for local merchants in the Indian cities. The funding would also help compete with players such as Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, Tata-backed Bigbasket and quick grocery delivery platform Zepto. Since our inception, we have been razor-focused on providing an unmatched customer experience and this funding round is a resounding validation of our approach. I am proud of the team for tirelessly building this category over the past three years and grateful to our investors for their continued support, said Kabeer Biswas, CEO and co-founder, . With this investment from Reliance Retail, we will have a long-term partner with whom we can accelerate growth and redefine how Indians shop for their daily and weekly essentials. Were excited by the traction and velocity that Daily has achieved and over the next 3 years, we aim to establish ourselves as one of the most reliable quick commerce providers in the country. Dunzo has established itself as the market leader in the quick commerce category in India, which has an addressable market opportunity of over $50 billion. Currently Dunzo is available across 7 metro cities in India and the additional capital will be used to expand the quick commerce business to 15 cities. Dunzo launched its instant delivery model Dunzo Daily in Bengaluru earlier last year, which is seeing over 20 per cent week on week growth. The Dunzo Daily model delivers daily and weekly essentials within 15-20 minutes, with a focus on providing high-quality fruits and vegetables. We are seeing a shift in consumption patterns to online and have been highly impressed with how Dunzo has disrupted the space. Dunzo is the pioneer of Quick Commerce in India and we want to support them in furthering their ambitions of becoming a prominent local commerce enabler in the country, said Isha Ambani, Director, Ventures Limited. Through our partnership with Dunzo, we will be able to provide increased convenience to Reliance Retails consumers and differentiated customer experience through rapid delivery of products from Reliance Retail stores. Our merchants will get access to the hyperlocal delivery network of Dunzo to support their growth as they move their business online through Jio Mart. In addition to the funding, Dunzo and Reliance Retail will also enter into certain business partnerships. Dunzo will enable hyperlocal logistics for the retail stores operated by Reliance Retail, further adding onto Reliance Retails omni-channel capabilities. Dunzo will also facilitate last mile deliveries for JioMarts merchant network. Morgan Stanley acted as exclusive financial advisor and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as legal counsel to Dunzo, PwC India provided financial due diligence services and Khaitan & Co provided legal diligence services. AZB & Partners acted as legal counsel to RRVL and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells LLP provided financial due diligence services. Kabeer Biswas, who has an engineering degree from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, co-founded Dunzo with Ankur Aggarwal, Dalvir Suri, and Mukund Jha in 2015. The company, which started over a small WhatsApp group to fulfil random tasks like laundry pick-ups and drops for a small fee, has evolved into a full-fledged local-commerce firm where it sees tapping the offline businesses as a massive opportunity. According to the sources, Dunzo also has ambitions to go global and tap dense locations such as Singapore, Dhaka and New York and enable 15-minute delivery. Dunzo was also leading a Med-Air consortium along with industry experts to conduct experimental BVLOS (Below Visual Line of Sight) drone delivery flights for the 'Medicine from the Sky Project'. The aim is to help improve access to healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to an industry report by Redseer, the addressable market for quick commerce is projected to be over $75 billion by 2025, creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity for Dunzo. Last year in August, Dunzo said it has scaled revenue of about 1.6x in FY21 while serving as an essential service during an ongoing pandemic. Dunzo had seen its revenue from operations grow 35X to Rs 27.5 crore during FY20. Dunzo had also reduced cash burn by 43 per cent and used its distinct first-mover advantage to establish its dominance as a Q-commerce platform in the Indian market. Dunzo had scaled its GMV (gross merchandise value) by about 65 per cent in FY21, on the back of organic demand, with more than 90 per cent of users signing up to the platform organically over the last year. Dunzos gross merchandise value (GMV), the total value of transactions through the platform including delivery fees, stood at Rs 590 crore in FY21 compared to Rs 360 crore in FY20. The firms net loss was Rs 338.3 crore in FY20. Continuing its growth story in FY22, Dunzo in August last year had said it expected growth to be fuelled by its Quick Commerce segment --in the last quarter alone (Q1FY22), Dunzo witnessed nearly 2x quarter-on-quarter growth. The GMV for the first quarter of FY22 was reported as Rs 267 crore compared to Rs 142 crore in the first quarter of FY21. Days after reports appeared that there was alleged foreign intervention in the protests at Sriperumbudur, on Thursday said there were possible 'external forces' active at Thoothukudi, prior to the firing that killed 13 and left 102 injured in May 2018. "There were external forces at work, and not from Thoothukudi itself. The matter is under investigation by the government," said Sumathi Angusamy, chief operating officer, Sterlite Copper, adding, "We are seeing repeat stories in Tamil Nadu. The latest could be ." Earlier this week, there were media reports, quoting an intelligence note that suspected a possible Chinese hand in the protests that happened at the unit on December 17, 2021, after 159 people were hospitalised due to food poisoning at one of its hostels. claimed that the production halt at its Thoothukudi unit had led to a loss of over $1.2 billion. "We were exporting copper at that time. Now India is importing copper to the tune of around $1.2 billion. Moreover, there was a larger impact on the dependent micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)," said Angusamy. Around 120,000 people were affected due to the closure. Around 400 were affected as they were dependent upon products like copper, sulphuric acid, and fluorosilicic acid. In 2016-17, India exported copper worth $1.8 billion, while it now incurs a net foreign exchange outflow of $1.2 billion due to copper imports. She added that at an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation level, the company is also suffering a loss of around Rs 5 crore due to the closure of the unit. The area is suffering a loss of around Rs 700 crore per annum in various associated businesses. "The genesis of the whole problem in 2018 is when we went into expansion mode. We wanted to double capacity from 400,000 tonnes to 800,000 tonnes. The entire protest was on the plant's expansion. After 2013, there were no complaints regarding gas emissions and water-related issues," she added. Oddly enough, the Tamil Nadu government had informed the Madras High Court in 2019 that there were 84 incidents of gas leaks from the plant in 2013 alone. The case is set to come up for hearing on January 20. In September this year, the National Human Rights Commission, too, had cited the incident as a 'scar on democracy'. The company said that a 2019 source apportionment study by Anna University indicated that the major reasons for PM10 exceeding the limit in the city was due to road dust and vehicular emissions. Interestingly, media reports suggested that the air quality data from the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme for Tuticorin had different numbers, with the city recording more days with healthy air quality indices and fewer days with poor air quality between April 2018 and March 2019. "The plant operations did not cause any environmental issues to the place," argued Angusamy. distributors on Thursday said it has suspended their boycott of certain products of oral care maker after talks with the company representatives over the issue of the price disparity between the traditional distributors and organised business-to-business channel. A day after a virtual meeting with Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd (CPIL) representatives, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) called off its stir to boycott certain products of the company starting from January 1, 2022. "From today, the movement against is postponed till further notice," the AICPDF said in a statement. Meanwhile, the federation also said that for the next three months, the distributors of will keep a close watch on the market regarding this issue and if the situation does not improve, the organisation will again adopt the path of agitation. On Wednesday, CPIL had confirmed about meeting with distributors over the issue. "We have met with the AICPDF and shared with them the process of engagement with our distributors and our commitment to address their issues. The Federation was supportive of our efforts," CPIL had said in a statement on Wednesday. It further said it remains committed to forging productive partnerships with its distribution network to serve consumers. The distributors had earlier decided to stop selling products of major Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) Colgate's Max Fresh brand in the market from January 1 in Maharashtra. Later, they had a meeting with HUL representatives earlier this week and called off their stir against the major on Tuesday. However, the AICPDF had decided to continue to stop selling Colgate products as it was not coming forward for talks. Now, as the talks have happened, the AICPDF, which represents over four lakh distributors and the stockist across India, has called off its boycott against CPIL. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors are seeking a level-playing field from manufacturers regarding price disparities between the traditional trade and B2B retailers such as Jiomart, Walmart, Metro Cash & Carry, Booker, ElasticRun and Udaan. The association has meetings with leading FMCG makers including HUL, ITC, Nestle, Reckitt over the issue, which have assured them to look into the issue. "Distributors had complained to the Consumer Products Distributors Federation about the problems being faced by the distributor fraternity due to e-B2B and B2B," said AICPDF. The Federation, it added, also e-mailed to almost all FMCG about this issue, almost all have also taken positive initiatives on this subject discussing with the Federation, and agreed to give a solution on this. Earlier, the AICPDF had written an open letter to saying that B2B players are offering FMCG products to retailers and local shops at lower prices. The AICPDF had also asked its members "not launch any new product of the company" unless they get an undertaking from the FMCG makers that the particular product is not available with B2B retailers. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Thursday said it has completed the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in German IT consulting company Gesellschaft fr Banksysteme GmbH (GBS). In December, had announced that it will acquire 51 per cent stake in GBS. Deutsche Apotheker- und rztebank eG (apoBank), the largest cooperative primary bank in Germany, will own the remaining 49 per cent stake. The total purchase price of the transaction is 99,000 euros (about Rs 84.4 lakh). "The aforesaid acquisition has been completed effective January 5, 2022," said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Indias tier-III cities and towns have witnessed a significant rise in the number of in 2021, according to the India Mobile Gaming Report 2021 (IMGR) by Mobile Premier League (MPL), an esports and skill gaming platform. The top 30 of them reported up to 170 per cent more gamers compared to 2020. Some of the small towns have more than 100 per cent to up to 200 per cent growth in . Siwan (Bihar), Baimanagoi (Chattisgarh) and Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan) witnessed 123 per cent, 179 per cent and 52 per cent growth in number of gamers. Small cities such as Alwar (Rajasthan), Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Palanpur ( Gujarat) saw an impressive rise in the number of new gamers. Interestingly, while these states do not have any major cities that are known to be a gaming hub, the growing popularity of mobile gaming in these locations has been a very impressive trend. Carrom, Fruit Dart, Fruit Chop, Runner No. 1 and Block Puzzle were some of the top games that were played across different Indian cities as per IMGR 2021. Mobile esports like Chess and Pool also witnessed a sharp rise in the number of gamers in the country as the MPL platform alone registered 1.3 million esports players in 2021. While nearly half a million games were played on the platform, it recorded 17 million live viewership. Numerous research reports suggest that the increased availability of affordable smartphones coupled with high-speed internet has prompted many people to take up gaming across small cities and towns. In fact, mobile-based platforms for gaming have made it easier for many to access skill-based games and tournaments. Consultancy firm EY mentioned in a recent report that the Indian domestic market for online gaming is estimated to grow from $906 million in 2019 to more than $2 billion in 2023 representing a CAGR of nearly 22 per cent. This means the Indian market is expected to scale faster and become a meaningful contributor globally. The EY report further elaborated that in India are estimated to grow from 360 million in 2020 to 510 million in 2022. Of these, an estimated 85 per cent are mobile gamers. Last year in September, Mobile Premier League (MPL), said it had raised its Series E round of financing led by Legatum Capital at a pre-money valuation of $2.3 billion. This made it India's second gaming unicorn or start-up valued at over $1 billion. Bengaluru-based MPL had also begun operations in the US and completed two years of operations in Indonesia, making it the only mobile gaming platform from India with a growing international presence The second-largest investor in Japan's Corp on Thursday called for an extraordinary general meeting, seeking to force the company to win two-thirds support for a three-way breakup plan that has angered some major overseas shareholders. The proposal by Singapore-based hedge fund 3D Investment Partners marks the latest in a long and acrimonious battle between the once-mighty tech conglomerate and a number of its foreign shareholders, many of them activist funds. is now about 30%-owned by foreign hedge funds, many of which doubt whether management's plan to split the company into three businesses - one each for energy/infrastructure, electronic devices and flash memory chips - can maximise shareholder value. The break-up plan was announced last November after a five-month strategic review following years of accounting scandals and governance issues that undermined investor confidence and saw Toshiba's market value more than halved, to around $18 billion, from an early 2000s peak. If 3D's proposal for the meeting were to be accepted, it would trigger a vote that could ultimately scupper the break-up plan, a strategy that carries echoes of a similar move announced last year by General Electric Co. 3D owns more than 7% of Toshiba, a stake worth well over a billion dollars. In a statement, it highlighted concerns about the cost of going ahead with the split before getting a mandate from shareholders, and called for to resume its strategic review. "There is no rationale for pursuing at great expense the separation plan without knowing whether a sufficient number of Toshiba shareholders will ultimately provide consent," the fund said. Toshiba has previously said the plan will cost 10 billion yen ($86 million) to implement. Toshiba said on Thursday it has received the proposal from 3D and is currently examining it. Shares in Toshiba were almost flat on Thursday morning, compared with a 2.1% decline in the Tokyo market. 'EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES' In a twist, 3D said that if an extraordinary general meeting were to be approved, it would actually vote against its own proposal that Toshiba's statutes of incorporation should be changed to mandate the two-thirds voting support is needed for the "strategic reorganisation plan". Instead, 3D said, the company should not approve any reorganisation "without first further exploring other alternatives thoroughly". With its proposals, 3D is effectively trying to force the conglomerate to bring forward by more than a year a vote requiring backing from two-thirds of shareholders that is required under Japanese law. Officially, the vote is not slated to be held until the annual general shareholder meeting in 2023. Weakened by a 2015 accounting scandal and the bankruptcy of its U.S. nuclear business, Toshiba has proposed the break-up to sharpen its focus on individual businesses. But 3D and other shareholders have pushed for a more thorough review that would take into account potential private-equity bids. Toshiba's strategic review so far "failed to consider a full range of alternatives," 3D said. The company itself has proposed an extraordinary shareholder meeting in the January-March quarter to gauge shareholder support for the break-up plan, set to be completed by March 2024. But details of the meeting are unclear, including the level of shareholder support it will require to continue with the plan. One alternative to seeking a direct vote on support for the breakup plan that has been floated among Toshiba's board is asking shareholders at the extraordinary meeting to instead vote on the reappointment of its board directors, people familiar with the matter have said. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by David Dolan and Kenneth Maxwell) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI): Union Home Minister has written to MPs, seeking their suggestions regarding amendments in the (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act at the earliest. Shah, in a letter to MPs, said that the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with its mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwan, Sabka Prayas,' is committed to ensure speedy justice to all the citizens of India, especially those belonging to the weaker and backward sections, in conformity with these constitutional and democratic aspirations. The Government of India has resolved to make comprehensive changes in the framework of criminal laws, he said. "The experience of seven decades of Indian democracy calls for comprehensive review of our criminal laws, especially the (IPC) 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act 1872 and adapt them in accordance with the contemporary needs and aspirations of our people," Shah's letter to the MPs read. Further, the Home Minister said that the Centre intends to create a "people-centric legal structure". Requesting suggestions from Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of High Courts, Chief Minister of States, Administrator of Union Territories, Bar Councils and Law Universities to send their suggestions, Shah said, "The endeavour of bringing about a paradigm shift in the criminal justice system by the Government of India will actually be an enormous exercise of public participation, which can only be successful with the participation of all stakeholders." "The Ministry of Home Affairs intends to make comprehensive amendments in criminal laws after receiving suggestions from various stakeholders," he added. Pressing the importance of Parliament as one of the three pillars of democracy, Shah said that a Member of Parliament has a significant role in law making process. "The suggestions from Members of Parliament will be invaluable in this exercise of comprehensive amendments in criminal laws," Shah said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To serve the public interest by holding government and public officials accountable. To always report news timely, accurately and without bias. To edit and publish with integrity. To take an active leadership role in the community. Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. I feel that heavy politics, and law enforcement is a strange marriage of dutiful aspirations. 561 total vote(s) What's your Opinion? poll#143 Should Beaufort County elected officials demand that every alleged incident of Child Rape be investigated in Beaufort County? Yes, without fail, irrespective of the parties involved; this heinous crime must be investigated, and the truth be known, and responsible parties prosecuted. No, some Beaufort County citizens are more elite than others, and these types of investigations can be most damaging to the alleged party in question. 675 total vote(s) What's your Opinion? I took no pleasure, in my previous articles, in exposing Ernie's lies to a federal Judge because it brings shame to the Sheriff's Office, the people of Beaufort County and all Sheriffs in the State of North Carolina. I did get some measure of satisfaction in exposing his use of tax payer dollars to enrich his personal and political friends because the people deserve to know what kind of man the current Sheriff is instead of what he professes to be. Writingon his cars and trying to buy loyalty and silence with arbitrary raises and position reclassifications will only keep maligned staff quiet for a short while. Ernie's veneer of a religious, God-fearing benevolent leader is starting to peel and crack. Current and former members of his staff have decided his abuse of power will only get worse as he becomes more tyrannical with each passing day.One of the most traumatizing forms of sexual harassment is unwanted physical touching. This behavior can make the victim feel demoralized and intimidated which leads to more control over the victim, especially when this conduct is done in a public setting and no one steps up to support the victim. This hostile work environment is created by hugging, touching, rubbing, massaging or grooming the victim. It does not have to be strictly sexual in nature but does make the victim and others uncomfortable and is obviously inappropriate workplace behavior. The workplace should be free of harassing behavior, but some powerful people abuse their position to get what they want.Predators like this wield a lot of power and control in their world. People like this do not stand out from others as you would imagine. They cement their power and dominance over others because most people do not like controversy or facing possible repercussions from the man that holds the victim's career and financial wellbeing in his hands. People like Ernie thrive in a world of controlled silence, and the only way to help the females he preys on is to uncover and expose his behavior to help those that are not able to speak for themselves.Do I expect Ernie to ever change his behavior? I do not. As you can see from his actions with the commissioners, he thinks a lot of himself since he believes he is the smartest man in the room. He likes to tell other Sheriffs how to successfully run their Offices, yet Coleman always plays the victim: He is being defunded . He is being sued numerous times unjustly. Any poor decision he makes he tries to cover up by claiming political or religious persecution. He is never at fault. I am sure he will claim the ladies in his Office never told him his actions were offensive. His defense will be ignorance, which is fitting for him but not believable.A number of years ago, a father of a 14 year old girl came to the Sheriff's Office because he was concerned a Washington Police Officer was sexually abusing her and several of her friends. This was not an unusual case for me so, even though I was in charge of Investigations at the time, I decided to take the case myself. I could certainly see the difficulty in bringing this case to a successful conclusion because it did involve young girls and a respected police officer and the wife of another police officer. I was able to complete the investigation within a week with hard work and one simple mistake the Officer made. What could that one mistake be that made the case easy to solve and prosecute? The Officer had to have an audience to complete the thrill and demonstrate his dominance over those girls.The same is true of Ernie Coleman. With each passing day this lecherous tyrant continues to harass, objectify and inappropriately touch his female staff members. For the last seven years he has developed a culture of harassment and deception. The man is in his 60's and should know better, but he has convinced himself, and many of the local elected politicians, that as a constitutional officer he has a position of authority that can not be challenged. I am here to tell him today that is not true. The uninformed, gullible people of this county put him in office, but an informed public can rid the county of this power-hungry, toxic little man.What in the world has Ernie done now that deserves this strong language? First, he likes to comment on the body parts of his communicators as they walk by him and his Deputies. He focuses on their butts. He may comment on a nice butt, a flat butt, or a wide load butt. Again, he does this in front of other staff members to show them he has complete dominance over everyone. For these ladies, there was no sexual contact but there was objectification and a desire to diminish them in the eyes of the young Deputies. He showed the Deputies what a big, powerful man he is. This is his key ... power. I didn't say Ernie had sex with these ladies because it is all about power for him. He lets his staff know through observation there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. He has trained them to submit to his authority.Now we can move to at least one young member of his front office staff. Ernie has targeted at least one young female staff member to groom. I don't mean groom as in to prepare a staff member to take a more challenging role in the Office. I mean groom as in to make neat and attractive. He brushes her hair with his hands and moves it away from her face and hooks it behind her ears. He also massages her shoulders and back as he talks to the Deputies. Remember my earlier story about the Washington Police Officer? Ernie does this in front of others to demonstrate his dominance and authority over every member of his Office. What does Chief Deputy Charlie Rose have to say about this? He tells the Deputies that feel uncomfortable to keep their mouths shut. There are many Deputies, both current and former, that have witnessed Ernie's behavior. There are other staff members, both current and former, that have witnessed Ernie's behavior.Let's speak briefly to the men reading this article. Would it be hard to repress your inner caveman feelings in the scenario above? Think about this. How many of you would allow another man to tenderly touch your wife's face? How many of you would allow another man to brush your wife's hair from her face with his hand? How many of you would stand there as another man massaged your wife's shoulders and back in front of other men? I doubt there are many. How hard would it be to not go to the Sheriff's Office and EXPLAIN how you feel about it?Actually, it is harder than you think. What is a female staff member to do? She has seen Deputies that tell the truth fired. She has seen Deputies that assault others receive no punishment. She has seen the Sheriff belittle and insult other elected officials without consequence. She has seen the Sheriff fire staff that do not share his political affiliation and views. She has seen the Sheriff fire Deputies because a family member was on the School Board and did not vote the way the Sheriff wanted. She knows the Sheriff has lied to a federal Judge, all without consequences. No public official has spoken out against his actions. How little and inconsequential she must feel under the weight of all of this. If her husband takes action, he faces jail time under this lying Sheriff. There is, however, a day of reckoning coming.She even knows the media supports Ernie's actions. The Washington Daily News and WITN were quick to give Ernie space to vilify Sheppard and Franks when they filed lawsuits. Now that the truth has come out, with both Deputies winning their lawsuits, neither news source will acknowledge it. WITN is a corporate entity that has no ties or feelings for this community and hides behind corporate anonymity. So WITN has the same value and respect as most main stream media.The Washington Daily News, however, bills itself as the Voice of the Pamlico. President and Publisher Ashley Vansant prints the mission statement in the paper every week. I hear that if you tell a lie often enough, people will accept it as the truth. Here are a couple of lies masquerading as a mission statement from Ashley Vansant and his paper:Ashley told me they. It took me ten minutes to read the court case online and Ashley is still hiding the story. Wasn't the lawsuit against the Sheriff a Top Ten story in 2019? Ashley does not like the way the lawsuit ended so he remains silent. He has hidden Part II of my article also. When you see Ashley, ask why he is hiding the truth about the Sheriff from the public. Does Ashley really want the public to make an uninformed decision in the next election? What has Ernie promised him or threatened him with? At best, Ashley is a hypocrite. The least he could do is remove his mission statement if he is going to ignore it. Ashley should at least be energetic enough to ask Ernie to respond to my articles to give him an opportunity to deflect, attack and lie. Ashley helped Ernie with Sheppard and Franks. Why not help Ernie now by giving him space in the paper to respond? The County Compass printed my articles. Why does Ashley refuse to do the same?If it wasn't for Beaufort County Now , the local media would be successful in hiding the true character of the man occupying the Office of Sheriff and seeking another term so he can continue to exploit the weak. I am writing as a concerned citizen wanting nothing but the truth about our elected officials made public and the best for this county.I leave the reader and Sheriff Coleman with this: Two villages opposed the state government proposal to merge their villages into Amaravati Capital City Municipal Corporation, during the Grama Sabha held in these villages on Wednesday. (DC file photo) VIJAYAWADA: Two villages opposed the state government proposal to merge their villages into Amaravati Capital City Municipal Corporation, during the Grama Sabha held in these villages on Wednesday. Officials led by Mangalagiri MPDO Kota Ramprasanna conducted Grama Sabhas to collect the opinions of the villagers for ACCMC in the duo villages. MPDO Ramprasanna explained that there will be no negative impact on APCRDA with the formation of ACCMC and listed the benefits of forming the biggest municipal corporation to develop Amaravati. He said APCRDA would continue as usual and urged villagers to express their opinions freely and without fear. Heated arguments followed between Amaravati supporters and Corporation admirers but officials intervened and restored order. The villagers said they are against the merger of Kuragallu into ACCMC and raised their hands collectively against ACCMC. In Neerukonda, the villagers opposed the formation of ACCMC with 19 villages and the merger of Neerukonda into Amaravati Corporation. They said Amaravati should be developed as it is by forming the biggest corporation with all the Amaravati villages. The officials said they will submit the opinions of the villagers to the higher authorities and the government. They said another Grama Sabha would be held in Krishnayapalem on Thursday to take the peoples views on ACCMC. West Bengal's COVID-19 tally on Wednesday climbed to 16,78,323 with 14,022 fresh cases, 4,949 more than the previous day, the department said. The positivity rate rose to 23.17 per cent from Tuesday's 18.96 per cent, it said. The metropolis accounted for 6,170 new infections, followed by North 24 Parganas at 2,540 and Howrah at 1,280. With 17 fresh fatalities, the death toll mounted to 19,827, a bulletin issued by the department said. The city and neighbouring North 24 Parganas district accounted for five new deaths each, it said. now has 33,042 active cases, while 6,438 patients were discharged since Tuesday, taking the total number of recoveries to 16,25,454, it said. The discharge rate was at 96.85 per cent. BCCI president and former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly's daughter Sana, actor Parambrata Chatterjee, TMC MP Deepak Adhikari (Dev) and his actor partner Rukmini, another party MP Mimi Chakraborty, actor-turned BJP leader Rudranil Ghosh tested positive for the infection. Nearly 300 doctors, healthcare officials and support staffers at different hospitals, including Services Director Dr Ajay Chakraborty, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases Director Santa Dutta and 12 others there, were found infected with the disease in the last 24 hours, an official said. They have been sent for institutional quarantine, he said. Several policemen of the city and the state police have also contracted the disease, an officer said. The state has so far conducted over 2.16 crore sample tests for COVID-19, including 60,511 in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 4,87,115 doses of COVID vaccines were administered to eligible beneficiaries on Wednesday, the official said, adding that 1,70,112 jabs were given to children in the age group of 15-18 years. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) reported its highest single day spike in six months on Wednesday when 1,659 people tested positive for causing the active caseload to shoot up to the 3,697 mark, an official said The number of fresh cases is nearly twice as much as a day ago. Patna district is bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic now sweeping the state, accounting for 1,015 of the fresh cases and 2,283 of the active ones. A 65 years old COVID19 patient also died on Wednesday. According to Mukul Kumar Singh, COVID nodal officer at the NMCH hospital here, the resident of Bskhtiyarpur breathed his last a day after being admitted on Tuesday. The number of patients recovering, in the last 24 hours, across the state is 184 though a high positivity rate has caused the recovery rate to fall below 98 percent. Pratyay Amrit, the Additional Chief Secretary for departments of health and disaster management, told reporters that only 63 COVID patients were hospitalized while the remaining were in home isolation. "A low rate of hospitalization, so far, is no reason for complacency. The elderly continue to be more vulnerable. An 85-year-old lady admitted to AIIMS, Patna has been put on ventilator", he said. Amrit said the low hospitalization rate could be because of a large number of people having taken vaccines "which may not protect fully against the contagion but serve as a bulwark against severity of infection". The Additional Chief Secretary also urged the people to get their wards vaccinated and disclosed that since Monday 4.5 lakh minors have got the jabs in the state. Amrit was also asked about the number of Omicron cases in the state, which has so far reported only one confirmed case of the new rapidly spreading variant. "Our first genome sequencing facility became operational two days ago. It takes nearly a week for the reports to come. The general behavior of the contagion as of now suggests that the current spike is largely due to Omicron though there may also be some cases of Delta and Delta plus variants", he said. Meanwhile, the state government undertook yet another drastic revision of the death toll, confirming 13,786 fatalities. The figure was shared by Special Secretary Upendra Nath Pandey after a meeting of the state cabinet. He attributed the rise in death toll to "1699 fresh applications" received from those who have lost a family member to the corona virus and were eligible for compensation from the state government. The state government had last year decided to give ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of the kin of each deceased while another Rs 50,000 will be paid to every beneficiary "in accordance with a direction from the Union Home Ministry", said Pandey. To this end, release of Rs 125 crore from the Contingency Fund was approved by the state cabinet. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Thursday arrested a second year engineering student from Jorhat in Assam in the "Bulli Bai" case, the fourth person nabbed for their alleged involvement in the app that has listed hundreds of Muslim women for "auction", an official said. Niraj Bishnoi, 21, is the "main conspirator" in the case and will be reaching Delhi around 3.30 pm, he said. Bishnoi, a resident of Jorhat who studies in Bhopal, is also the creator of the "Bulli Bai" app on the platform GitHub as well as the main Twitter account holder of "Bulli Bai", police said. He was arrested by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the . He was arrested early Thursday morning from Jorhat using technical analysis and IPDR (Internet Protocol Detail Records) and gateways, Deputy Commissioner of Police, IFSO, K P S Malhotra said. Bishnoi is a second year B.Tech student from the Vellore Institute of Technology in the Madhya Pradesh capital, the DCP said. This is the fourth in the case. The cyber cell of Mumbai Police, which is also probing the case, has made three arrests -- a 19-year-old woman, alleged to be the main culprit, from Uttarakhand, a 21-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru and another 21-year-old, also from Uttarakhand. Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on the "Bulli Bai" mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. The app appeared to be a clone of "Sulli Deals" which triggered a similar row last year. On Saturday, registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly uploading a doctored picture of a woman journalist on a website. The journalist had lodged a complaint and shared a copy on Twitter. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An engineering student believed to be the "mastermind" and creator of the Bulli Bai app was arrested on Thursday from Jorhat in Assam and brought to the capital where he confessed his role, Police said. With the arrest of Niraj Bishnoi, 21, Police said in a statement it has solved completely the case related to hundreds of Muslim women being listed for "auction" on the "Bulli Bai" app on the Github platform. Bishnoi, a resident of Jorhat who studies computer science engineering in Bhopal, is the fourth person to be arrested for their alleged involvement in the app. The other three, nabbed by Mumbai Police, include a 19-year-old woman from Uttarakhand, also alleged to be a prime accused in the case. You have arrested the wrong person, slumbai police, Bishnoi had tweeted a day before his arrest. Lmao only one guy was ever involved and that's me. You pajeets arrested a follower of that acc with sikh dp, who had nothing to do with the app and didn't tweet anything wrong. Do you have even the slightest bit of shame slumbai pulis? he said. A team from Mumbai was also on its way to arrest Bishnoi but got delayed because of flight schedules and its counterparts got there an hour earlier, a Mumbai Police official said. The cyber cell will seek Bishnoi's custody later, the official said. Giving details, said the Bulli Bai app was developed in November last year and updated in December. Bishnoi was also keenly monitoring social media. The motive behind the creation of the website is yet to be ascertained, police said. Bishnoi disclosed during his interrogation that he created the Bulli Bai app on Github as well as the @bullibai_Twitter handle and others too, police said. The Twitter account was created on December 31. Bishnoi, who was arrested by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of the Delhi Police, also disclosed that he had created another account @Sage0x1 for tweeting about the app, said Deputy Commissioner of Police, IFSO, K P S Malhotra. He is the mastermind and the person who had created this application on Github. He has confessed about the creation of the application forensic remnants of the creation have been found in his laptop. He has been brought to Delhi and will be produced in court today (Thursday) for police custody and further investigation, Malhotra said. He was arrested early Thursday morning from Jorhat, the DCP said, adding that IFSO worked out the case using technical analysis, IPDR (Internet Protocol Detail Records) and other gateways. According to officials, Bishnoi said the three others arrested by Mumbai Police were forwarding and spreading the information regarding the Bulli Bai app and had nothing to do with the creation of the app and its Twitter accounts. Bishnoi is a second year B Tech student at the Vellore Institute of Technology in the Madhya Pradesh capital, the DCP said. An Assam Police official said the operation to arrest him lasted about 12 hours. The arrest took place within hours of information being shared by Delhi Police, a senior officer said. "Delhi Police have been coordinating with us over the matter. Their team reached on Wednesday morning and by evening, we had located the accused," he told PTI. Mumbai Police, which is also probing the case, did not contact the police in Jorhat regarding the accused, he added. According to Mumbai Police sources, Bishnoi, who was operating the Twitter handle @giyu94, gave interviews to local media outlets following which his whereabouts came to light. Mumbai Police on Thursday also questioned Krunal Patel, a dentist, after his name cropped up during the investigation. Of the four people arrested in the case, three are 21 years old, two are studying engineering and one is aspiring to, and two are from Uttarakhand. The three arrests made by the cyber cell of Mumbai Police are Uttarakhand teen Shweta Singh, who has passed her Class 12 exam and is planning to study engineering, 21-year-old Mayank Rawal, also from Uttarakhand, and Bengaluru-based Vishal Kumar Jha, a second-year engineering student like Bishnoi and aged 21 too. According to a senior Mumbai Police officer, Singh is a prime accused who had created the Twitter handle of the app. Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale told reporters on Wednesday that some more people are likely to be involved in the matter. Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on the Bulli Bai with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. The app appeared to be a clone of Sulli Deals which triggered a similar row last year. On Saturday, Delhi Police registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly uploading a doctored picture of a woman journalist on a website. The journalist had lodged a complaint and shared a copy on Twitter. On her complaint, a case under sections 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 354 A (sexual harassment and punishment for harassment) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Cyber Police Station in Delhi Police's southeast district. The Twitter accounts were suspended by the microblogging site and the app was also removed from Github platform. Technical assistance was provided to southeast district. The raw data analysis along with the technical details was undertaken and the suspect was identified to be based in Jorhat, police said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has registered a case against city-based Electrotherm (India) Ltd for allegedly cheating the Bank of India of around Rs 632 crore, officials said on Thursday. The agency also carried out searches at six locations here. The firm and its directors are accused of diverting the funds obtained through the credit facilities given by the public sector bank. Following a complaint filed by the bank, the case was registered against Electrotherm (India) Ltd, its director Mukesh Bhanwarlal Bhandari, managing directors Shailesh Bhandari and Avinash Bhandari, and whole-time director Narendra Dalal besides unknown persons, a release said. The company and people associated with it are accused of causing a loss of Rs 631.97 crore to the bank after availing of various credit facilities between 2012 to 2016, the release added. "The forensic audit of the company, conducted by the bank, revealed that the company was allegedly involved in diversion and siphoning off of funds through its subsidiary as well as associate companies which were having common directors," the said. The company was also allegedly involved in transactions with suspicious dealers accused of issuing false bills without actual delivery of goods, it added. When the company failed to repay the dues, they were classified as Non Performing Assets. CBI conducted searches at six locations in Ahmedabad on the properties of the accused persons and recovered some incriminating documents, said the release. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has booked Ahmedabad-based Electrotherm (India) Ltd and its four directors for allegedly cheating Bank of India to the tune Rs 631.97 crore in connection with credit facilities taken during 2012-16, officials said on Thursday. Besides the company, the agency also named its managing directors/guarantors Shailesh Bhanwarlal Bhandari and Avinash Prakashchandra Bhandari, director/guarantor Mukesh Bhanwarlal Bhandari and whole time director Narendra Babubhai Dalal Dalal in the FIR as accused, they said. "It was further alleged that during the period 2012 to 2016, the directors of the borrower company were enjoying fund-based and non-fund based credit facilities from Bank of India. The forensic audit of the company (conducted by the bank) revealed that the company was allegedly involved in diversion and siphoning off funds through its subsidiary and associate companies which were having common directors," a spokesperson R C Joshi said. Following the registration of the FIR, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently conducted searches at six locations in at the premises of the accused, he said. "The company was also allegedly involved in transactions with suspicious dealers involved in issuing false bills without actual delivery of goods. It was also alleged that the company started facing liquidity problems and failed to pay the dues to the bank. Subsequently, the account was classified as non performing asset (NPA) with outstanding amount of Rs 631.97 crore (approximately), thereby, causing loss to the Bank of India," Joshi said. In a separate case, the also booked Prakasam-based B.K.Threshers Private Ltd, its chairman and five directors for allegedly cheating Union Bank of India to the tune of Rs 228.02 crore by diversion of loan funds. It was alleged that the said private company and its directors in conspiracy with others fraudulently availed credit facilities by submitting false/manipulated financial statements, diverted loan proceeds and thereby, caused loss of Rs 228.02 crore (approimately) to the bank, the spokesman said. In the FIR, the CBI has named the company, its chairman Bellam Kotaiah, and directors Bellam Jayanth Babu, Makkena Hari Babu, Bellam Aruna, Makkena Swaroop Chowdhry and Bellam Ravi Chandra, officials said. Two other companies -- B. K. Exports and Mahi Agro Private Limited -- are also listed as accused in the FIR, they said. "Searches were conducted at eight places, including in Prakasam district (Andhra Pradesh) which led to recovery of incriminating documents," Joshi said. The CBI has also registered two more separate cases of bank fraud against Hyderabad-based Vijaya Aero Blocks Pvt. Ltd for allegedly cheating Bank of Baroda to the tune of Rs 44 crore by diversion of loans availed between 2014 and 2017; and Raisen, Madhya Pradesh-based Vindhya Cereals Pvt Ltd for allegedly cheating Punjab Bank to the tune of Rs 35 crore. The probe agency also carried out searches in both these cases at the premises of their accused directors, they said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre is unlikely to give its approval for the SilverLine Project in Kerala as there were lot of faults in it, Metroman said on Thursday, even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asserted that his government would not back down from developmental activities by yielding to protests from some people. "I don't think the Centre will give its approval for this project because there are a lot of technical errors in it," Sreedharan told reporters at Malappuram. Noting that the railways is a central subject and not a state subject, the Metroman said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi citing the problems involved in the project. "I wrote to the Prime Minister because the state government started acquiring land before getting the sanction for the project," said Sreedharan, who is also a special invitee to the executive of the BJP. The Metroman, who is credited with changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, said a lot of changes may be required in the project and acquiring land before getting sanction for the project may cause wastage of money. The state government's plan is to connect the 540 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram in the South to Kasaragod in the north by semi-high-speed rail, under its ambitious SilverLine project. The project to be developed by K-Rail a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state is expected to reduce the travel time between these two ends of the state to around four hours. Sreedharan said the SilverLine will divide Kerala as high concrete or masonry walls have to be provided on either side to prevent trespass of people and animals. He said providing solid walls on either side is a sure environmental disaster as it will block natural drainage and will be an eyesore as well. The fate of Kuttanad, which gets flooded easily, will get repeated over the entire length of 393 km, where the SilverLine is at ground level, Sreedharan said. He also questioned the government for not releasing its Detailed Project Report (DPR), saying the actual cost of the project will be revealed only through the DPR. Meanwhile, addressing civic dignitaries and people's representatives in Kochi today, Chief Minister Vijayan said it is not right to abandon the project because some people are protesting against it. Stating that the SilverLine project is being done for the better future of the state, the Chief Minister said his government would not give into opposition pressure. "It is the duty of the government to lead the state to progress," Vijayan said. The Chief Minister claimed that the government had initially discussed the project with the MLAs. When it was discussed with the MLAs and UDF leaders, they had raised some questions. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan rejected the claim, alleging that the Chief Minister was not even ready for a two-hour debate in the Assembly on the SilverLine. "The Chief Minister, who finds time for discussions with civic dignitaries, should explain why the discussion was not allowed when the notice for adjournment motion was moved in the Assembly," he said in a statement. Satheesan also urged the government to convene a special assembly session to discuss issues related to the SilverLine. Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod. The Youth Congress on Thursday took the protest against the SilverLine to the streets by waving black flags at the Chief Minister when he reached the TDM Hall in Kochi for talking to civic dignitaries about the project. The police removed the three protesting Youth Congress workers from the spot. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Thursday said the bridge being built by China across Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh is in an area that has been under illegal occupation of that country for around 60 years and it has never accepted such action. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also slammed China for renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh and said instead of engaging in such antics, Beijing should work constructively with India to resolve the outstanding friction points in eastern Ladakh. He described it as a "ridiculous exercise" to support "untenable territorial" claims. On the bridge being built in the Pangong lake area, Bagchi said the government has been monitoring this activity closely. "As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely," he said. "This bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupation by China for around 60 years now. As you are well aware India has never accepted such illegal occupation," he said. Bagchi said India has been taking all necessary steps to ensure that its security interests are fully protected. "As part of these efforts, the government has also, in the last seven years, increased significantly the budget for the development of border infrastructure and completed more roads and bridges than ever before," he said. "These have provided much-needed connectivity to the local population as well as logistical support to armed forces. The government remains committed to this objective," he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following a break over the holiday season, European countries are witnessing skyrocketing new Covid-19 infections as the variant continues its onslaught across the continent. France, Greece and Croatia have broken new Covid-19 case records while the two neighbouring countries of the Netherlands and Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 per cent and 79 per cent respectively, Xinhua news agency reported. In Greece, despite a tightening of measures during the holiday season, cases have skyrocketed. The National Public Health Organization (EODY) confirmed on Tuesday 50,126 infections within 24 hours, an all-time high. Greek experts expect the number to continue rising this month, with daily cases possibly reaching 80,000 in the coming days. In Hungary, official data on Wednesday showed 5,270 new infections in a 24-hour span, more than doubling the figures recorded in the previous few weeks. Reportedly in a "community spreading" phase, Finland reported 38,700 new Covid-19 cases in the past seven days, compared to 19,600 new cases in the previous week. Despite vaccination campaigns and anti-pandemic measures including closures and lockdowns, the peak of new infections has yet to come in some European countries, experts say. "The peak of the pandemic has not been seen in Finland as of yet," said Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki, senior expert at the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Dutch experts think that the peak will arrive at the end of January. "But it is not clear how high that peak will be," said Dutch epidemiologist Susan van den Hof. Official data showed that the surge of new Covid-19 infections was largely fuelled by the highly transmissible variant, and the situation was worsened by gatherings during the holiday season. EODY President Theoklis Zaoutis told reporters that more than 70 per cent of new cases in Greece's five big regions are infections with the highly contagious variant. The Spanish Ministry of Health said the Omicron variant is now responsible for 43 per cent of all Covid-19 cases in Spain. In Hungary, the Omicron virus variant is also spreading fast. The Hungarian government said on its official website on Wednesday that the variant is responsible for more than 11 percent of new infections. Croatian Minister of Health Vili Beros said Omicron is the reason for the increased number of infections while other factors include the gatherings for New Year's Eve, as well as non-compliance with measures. Polish Minister of Health Adam described the increase in the country as a temporary situation caused by the holiday season and the increasing number of tests performed. Hungarian healthcare expert Zsombor Kunetz told Xinhua that the government should do more to counter the Omicron variant. "As I have been saying before, what the government should do to stop the pandemic are the following: mandatory vaccination, mandatory use of FFP2 mask in crowded places indoors, and 2G rules except for workplaces, public transportation, and grocery stores. Only vaccinated individuals should be allowed to any other locations," said Kunetz. --IANS int/pgh (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HYDERABAD: Despite initial resistance from employees and teachers besides a political outcry, the government claimed to have successfully convinced them and completed the transfer process smoothly in all the districts. Officials claimed that the decision to give an opportunity to employees to appeal against transfers made them accept the exercise and report to work. A majority of the employees reported to duty by Thursday, according to the government. The government received over 13,000 appeals, mostly 'spouse cases', which were being sorted out, they claimed. The government is in the process of allotting employees in all departments besides teachers to local cadres and new districts based on new zonal system since the second week of December. The employees and teachers were allotted taking into consideration the increase in districts from 10 to 33 and creation of six zones and two multi-zones. The government issued GO 317 for this purpose on December 6. Initially there was stiff opposition from employees and teachers unions on transfers who demanded that nativity should be given priority over seniority. However, after holding talks with unions, the government is said to have convinced them to agree for priority to seniority over nativity in the case of employees and said priority will be given to nativity in the case of fresh recruitments. All major unions including TNGOs and TGOs extended complete support to the government making its job easier to undertake transfers, the officials claimed. There are nearly four lakh government employees and teachers. The government claimed to have ensured that 3.6 lakh employees continue to work in their local districts after transfer. Only 40,000 employees, mostly teachers, were transferred to other districts, taking into consideration the vacancies in schools in remote areas. The transfers created a political furore with Opposition BJP and the Congress strongly opposing it. BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay was arrested and jailed after he staged a protest against transfers. However, the TRS government heaved a sigh of relief after no major employees union reportedly had come on to the streets to stage protests against transfers. TRS leaders claim that the successful completion of transfers proved yet again that employees are with the TRS and that TRS the government is 'employee-friendly'. In a massive surge, Thursday recorded 15,097 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths while the positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent, even as Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the situation does not warrant a lockdown yet. Jain also asserted is in a comfortable position in terms of hospital bed occupancy. The number of new cases recorded on Thursday is 41 per cent more than the figure the day before. The city government has significantly ramped up the testing capacity. And, according to the latest health bulletin nearly 98,500 tests were conducted a day ago. On Wednesday and Tuesday, 10,665 and 5,481 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 11.88 per cent and 8.37 per cent respectively, according to official figures. The daily cases count on Thursday was 15,097 at a positivity rate of 15.34 per cent, the latest health bulletin showed. This rise is the highest since May 8, 2021 when 17,364 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 23.34 per cent. As many as 332 deaths were also recorded on that day. Earlier in the day, Jain told reporters that so far, no death due to the Omicron variant of has been confirmed in the national capital. While cases are surging day by day, the situation in the city does not warrant a lockdown yet, he said. The huge spike in fresh cases over the past several days here is being recorded amid a significant jump in cases of the new Omicron variant of the virus. India on Thursday saw the biggest single-day jump of 495 Omicron cases, taking the total number of infections of the new variant of to 2,630, according to Union health ministry data. Of the total cases, Maharashtra has the maximum at 797, followed by at 465, Rajasthan 236, Kerala 234, Karnataka 226, Gujarat 204 and Tamil Nadu 121. As per the Thursday health bulletin, the death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi has now risen to 25,127. Twenty fatalities due to coronavirus infection have been reported in the first six days of January, eight of those being registered on January 5, according to official figures. The number of cumulative cases on Thursday stood at 14,89,463. Over 14.32 lakh patients have recovered from the infection. During the height of the second wave of the pandemic, 28,395 cases, the highest-ever single-day tally here, and 277 deaths were recorded in Delhi on April 20 last year, according to official figures. A total of 98,434 tests -- 80,051 RT-PCR tests and 18,383 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said. According to the Thursday bulletin, of the 12,850 dedicated Covid beds in Delhi, 1,091 were occupied, including by suspected cases, while 11,489 beds were lying vacant. On Wednesday, 782 of the total 10,474 beds were occupied. Jain said the number of cases in Delhi is high as a large number of people are being tested for COVID-19 in the city. We are conducting the maximum number of tests in the country. Later in a statement, he was quoted as saying that there is no need to be concerned about the Omicron variant, and experts have also stated that this strain of coronavirus is "mild and less lethal". There are enough beds in Delhi's hospitals, so there is no need to panic. If the symptoms are minor, there is no need to go to a hospital. Only go to a hospital if your symptoms are severe," he said. The positivity rate recorded on Thursday was also the highest since the figure reported on May 12. Active cases in Delhi on Thursday rose significantly to 31,498 from 23,307 the day before. Also, in total 211 coronavirus patients were on oxygen support while 24 severe Covid patient were on ventilator, as on Thursday. The number of people under home isolation stood at 14,937 on Thursday while it was 11,551 the day before, and the number of containment zones in the city stood at 5,168, a significant jump from 3,908 on Wednesday, the bulletin said. Meanwhile, tourism and hospitality sector in the national capital has been hit hard as well, with field experts and owners of travel agencies and hotels in the city reporting a 60-70 per cent dip in their businesses. The Delhi government's tourism department also reported a reduction in footfall at their tourist destinations ever since the Covid and its Omicron variant cases started rising. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dr P S Chandra, Professor, Neurosurgery, in Delhi said that the COVID-19 cases which are rising exponentially now in the country will start declining in a few weeks, but caution is important and we should prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. "There are reasons to believe that this will be over within weeks, As it has happened in Africa and South Africa hardly has any cases as of now numbers are reducing. So these are the silver lining but again, we have to be cautious for a couple of reasons. First, it is very, very infectious. So obviously you know we should not let our guard down. So continue masking, continue social distancing, then continue working from home. Avoid any kind of unnecessary travel, avoid any kind of unnecessary gathering, public gathering is to be completely discouraged. So all these things have to be continued," said Dr Chandra while speaking to ANI. He further said the variant is highly infectious and it is going to increase the herd immunity. "There are certain several silver lining to it, and we should go forward with a sense of caution. And our strategy should be that we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. A large number of people are asymptomatic, which is good in a way because it's likely to increase the herd immunity, so more people, you know, get infected and they're completely asymptomatic. Obviously, it's going to form that immunological barrier to prevent the further stretch and again, lastly, but not the least, because it's highly infectious," he said. Dr Chandra showed concern over hospitalization and emphasised on taking precautions. "The second concern we have is that because we have a huge population. So even if one per cent of the population would require hospitalization that would be a huge number. We don't want our hospital infrastructure to collapse. And from that perspective, it becomes the responsibility of each and every citizen. They should not let their guard down saying that it's only a mild infection. So they have to be careful not just for themselves, but also for the entire community. You do not want to increase the burden on the community. So that all our hospital beds are clogged," he added. He further said that most resident doctors in his team are sick and if healthcare workers get sick in a large numbers then that can lead to trouble for the whole system. "We have to protect our healthcare workers. They have to take full precautions because they are the soldiers on the frontline. So if they are going to fall down who's going to take care of all the patients. So for instance, in my unit you know, almost 50 per cent of the residents are sick. They're all having mild symptoms, they're doing well. But the fact is, they have not been able to report for work. So that's very, very crucial that the healthcare workers must be protected, not just for their own sake, but also for the sake of taking care of people who aresick with COVID-19," said Dr Chandra. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States identifies three waves of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The first was in the spring of 1918, followed by an increase in infections in the fall and then a rise again in winter of 1919. In 2009, some countries like the UK witnessed two waves of H1N1 influenza, whereas others like Thailand saw three. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) had three waves in Saudi Arabia until May 2015. While India is battling the third wave of Covid-19, with incidence of infections rising, many countries worldwide are ... The French parliament approved on Thursday the government's latest measures to tackle the COVID-19 virus, including a COVID vaccine pass, offering some respite to President Emmanuel Macron after criticism of Macron's attack on the unvaccinated. The legislation for the COVID vaccine pass was approved by 214 members of parliament, versus 93 who voted against it, while there were 27 abstentions. The measures will then go up to the Senate, which will examine it before any further approval. The ruling La Republique En Marche party had earlier this week defended Macron's use of coarse language as Macron stepped up his campaign against those who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID, after his words drew condemnation from the opposition and mixed reactions from voters. Macron said he wanted to "piss off" unvaccinated people by making their lives so complicated they would end up getting the COVID vaccine. He was speaking in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper, in which he also called unvaccinated people irresponsible and unworthy of being considered citizens. On Wednesday, registered a record of more than 332,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and a further 246 COVID deaths in hospitals, as the country battles against a fifth wave of the virus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union government is considering using the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act against Police officers in the alleged security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy in on Wednesday, Indian Express reported on Thursday. In a major security lapse, the prime minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters near Ferozepur on Wednesday, following which he had to return from poll-bound without attending any event, including a rally in Ferozepur. The Union Cabinet is learnt to have discussed on Thursday the issue, with several ministers expressing concern over the development and seeking exemplary action in the matter, sources said. They said all the ministers expressed anguish over the "major security breach" during Modi's visit to the Congress-ruled state on Wednesday, with some demanding strong action. Union Minister Anurag Thakur said big and tough decisions will be taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after gathering information on the issue. A number of ministers also felt that there should be exemplary action in the matter, so that such events are never repeated again. They also said that never before has a PMs security been compromised in this manner, one of the ministers said on the condition of anonymity. The sources said the issue is being discussed at the highest level and the Union home minister may take some exemplary action to avoid the recurrence of such an event. Thakur said the MHA is gathering information about the incident and will take big and tough decisions. PM briefs President Modi earlier met Ram Nath Kovind and briefed him on the security breach during his visit to Punjab, drawing his concern over the serious lapse. Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The expressed his concerns about the serious lapse, the Presidents secretariat tweeted. Earlier, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu spoke to the prime minister and expressed his deep concern over the incident. MHA forms 3-member panel The Centre on Thursday formed a three-member committee to enquire into "serious lapses" in security arrangements. The state government has also constituted a two-member high level committee to conduct a thorough probe into the Ferozepur lapses, an official spokesperson said. The committee, which will submit its report within three days. SC to hear matter today The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a plea seeking a thorough investigation into the matter. A Bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of senior advocate Maninder Singh's submission regarding the PM's security breach. "Serve the copy (of the petition) to the state government. We will take it tomorrow (Friday) as the first item," the Bench said. We took it as a bluff Surjeet Singh Phul, the chief of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) that had blocked the route of PMs convoy, on Thursday said his group was told by the district police chief that the PM would be travelling by this road, but we thought it was a bluff to get the road vacated. The SSP said the prime minister was coming, said Phul. We told him if the PM had to come, will it be known just an hour before his arrival? It was not possible. Political slugfest Facing flak from the BJP, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday alleged that PMs life threat gimmick was aimed at "toppling a democratically elected government" in the state. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera accused the PM and the BJP of defaming and insulting Punjab and Punjabiat. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that the party cannot be forgiven for this. Former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded President's Rule in the state after the "grave security lapse". India on Thursday said it was in touch with Pakistani authorities to finalise the modalities for transportation of 50,000 tonnes of wheat to through Pakistan. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that India is committed to sending humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. "We are committed to supplying 50,000 tonnes of wheat to . We are in talks with Pakistani authorities on finalising the modalities for the transportation of the shipment," he said. India had sent a proposal to Pakistan on October 7 seeking the transit facility to send 50,000 tonnes of wheat and life-saving medicines to the people of via Pakistani soil and it received a response from Pakistan on November 24. On January 1, India supplied 500,000 doses of the Covaxin vaccine to the war-torn country and announced that an equal quantity of jabs will be sent in the coming weeks. In December, India sent 1.6 metric tonnes of life-saving medicines to that country. Asked about whether India has invited presidents of the five central Asian countries as the Republic Day chief guests, Bagchi did not give a direct reply. "You are aware that announcements of this nature are made at a suitable time. We will share with you details once they are finalised," he said. The Gujarat government on Thursday decided to postpone the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases. A number of foreign delegations were scheduled to attend it. Asked about the ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan, Bagchi said the Indian Embassy in that country is closely monitoring the ongoing developments, particularly from the perspective of the safety and welfare of Indian nationals there. He said assistance will be provided to any Indians in distress. "For the moment we are not aware of any such incidents or situation," he said. Dozens of people have been reportedly killed in widespread violence in that country. Asked about an anti-India campaign being carried out by vested interests in the Maldives, Bagchi said ties between the two countries remained strong and close. He said India is committed to further strengthening relations with the island nation. On the next edition of the two-plus-two defence and foreign ministerial dialogue with the US, he said India is looking forward to it. "The details are still being worked out," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When the variant spread through India late in December, Prime Minister urged the nation to be vigilant and follow medical guidelines. Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of the capital region of Delhi, swiftly introduced night curfews, shut down movie theaters, and slashed restaurants and public transport to half capacity. Then, both men hit the campaign trail, often appearing without masks in packed rallies of thousands. When it is our bread and butter at stake, they force restrictions and lockdowns, said Ajay Tiwari, a 41-year-old taxi driver in New Delhi. There are much bigger crowds at political rallies, but they dont impose any lockdown in those areas. It really pains us deep in the heart. As fuels a rapid spread of new infections through Indias major urban hubs, the countrys pandemic fatigue has been intensified by a sense of deja vu and the frustration of mixed signals. It has been just a few months since the deadly Delta variant ravaged the country, when government leaders vastly underestimated its threat and publicly flouted their own advice. The memories of overwhelmed hospitals and funeral pyres working around the clock are still all too fresh here. Photo: Bloomberg The metropolis of Mumbai on Wednesday reported more than 15,000 new infections in 24 hours the highest daily caseload since the pandemic began, beating the citys previous record of about 11,000 cases during the second wave in the spring. In New Delhi, the number of daily infections increased by nearly 100 percent overnight. The sheer size of Indias population, at 1.4 billion, has always kept experts wary about the prospects of a new variant. In few places around world was the toll of Delta as stark as in India. The countrys official figures show about half a million pandemic deaths a number that experts say vastly undercounts the real toll. A worker prepares beds at a temporary care centre for Covid-19 patients in Coimbatore on January 4, 2022. (PTI Photo) Omicrons high transmissibility is such that cases are multiplying at a dangerously rapid pace, and it appears to be ignoring Indias main line of defense: a drive that has covered about half of the population. Initial studies show that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, a locally manufactured version of which has been used for about 90 percent of Indias vaccinations, does not protect against infections, though it appears to help reduce the severity of the illness. Sitabhra Sinha, a professor of physics and computational biology at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, said his research into the reproduction rate of the virus an indicator of how fast it is spreading that is called the R value in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai shows insanely high numbers for cities that had built decent immunity. Both had a large number of infections in the spring, and a majority of their adult populations have been vaccinated. Given this high R value, one is looking at incredibly large numbers unless something is done to stop the spread, he said. Crowds at the PMs programme to inaugurate projects in Haldwani (Photo: PTI) But officials appear to be latching onto the optimism of the early indications from places like South Africa, where a fast spread of the variant did not cause devastating damage, rather than drawing lessons from the botched response to the Delta wave in the spring that ravaged India. Dr. Anand Krishnan, a professor of epidemiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said Indias messaging of the new variant as a mild illness has led to complacency. The health system has stopped being complacent. But the population is complacent. People are not wearing masks or changing their behavior, Dr. Krishnan said. They think it is a mild illness, and whatever restrictions are being imposed are seen more as a nuisance than necessary. Scientists say any optimism about Omicron is premature simply because of how many people the variant could infect. Even if it is a microscopic percentage who require hospitalization, Dr. Sinha said, the fact is that the total population were talking about is huge. A health worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine dose to a teenager at a government school in Gurugram on January 5, 2022. (PTI Photo) Although the percentage of newly infected people turning to hospitals has been increasing in recent days, data from Indias worst-hit cities Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata showed that only a small number of Covid-designated beds were occupied so far. Data compiled by the Observer Research Foundation showed that about three percent of the known active cases in Delhi and about 12 percent in Mumbai have required hospitalization. Dr. J. A. Jayalal, until recently the president of The Indian Medical Association, said what worried him was not hospital beds or oxygen running out capacity that Indian officials have been trying to expand after the deadly shortfalls during the Delta wave but that the health system might face an acute shortfall of health workers. About 1,800 Indian doctors are known to have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, Dr. Jayalal said. Health workers are struggling with pandemic fatigue. Tens of thousands of doctors only recently called off a strike protesting being overworked and a delay in recruiting new doctors. Reports in local media suggest hundreds of doctors and medical workers have tested positive in recent days. In our medical fraternity, a lot of positive cases have been reported. That means they will not be available for work, Dr. Jayalal said. The problem with mild infections is that they may not come to a major hospital for admission, but they will still go to their family doctor or a general practitioner, putting those doctors at risk of infection, he added. As with the Delta wave, Omicron is spreading in India at a time of high public activity busy holiday travel, and large election rallies across several states that are going to the polls in the coming months. Prime Minister Modi and his lieutenants have been holding large rallies in Uttar Pradesh, the state of 200 million people run by a Modi protege who is up for re-election. Mr. Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and a prominent opposition leader, has also been a ubiquitous figure at rallies. He has been trying to expand his small party in the several states that are up for elections this year. Even as he put Delhi under restrictions, he continued campaigning in those states. Kejriwal leads Aam Aadmi Party's 'victory' march in Chandigarh A day after a large rally in the state of Uttarakhand where Mr. Kejriwal appeared on stage without a mask, he had some bad news to share on Twitter. I have tested positive for Covid, he said. Those who came in touch with me in last few days, kindly isolate. Hours later, his partys Facebook page put out new instructions to residents of Delhi with a poster bearing Mr. Kejriwals picture. The war against corona continues, it said. WEEKEND CURFEW announced in Delhi. Hari Kumar contributed reporting. The government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai-based to set up a food processing and logistics hub in Srinagar, officials said. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha termed it as a "historic agreement" and said the trade between Jammu & Kashmir and Dubai has remained steady reflects the resilience of our deep economic linkages. The J&K government signed an MoU with the to set up a food processing and logistics hub in Srinagar, in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chairman Yusuff Ali M A on Wednesday, an official spokesman said on Thursday. This historic agreement was signed by J&K Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce) Ranjan Prakash Thakur and LuLu Group Executive Director Ashraf Ali M A at Dubai, where Sinha also inaugurated J&K promotion week at the LuLu hypermarket. The lieutenant governor said the MoU with the LuLu group will further expand Jammu & Kashmir-Dubai collaboration and Jammu Kashmir-LuLu Group partnership. "Relations between India and the UAE are long-standing and deep-rooted. People-to-people contact and trade have seen momentum in the recent years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the lieutenant governor said. The world-famous GI-tagged saffron has been launched at LuLu Hypermarket, which is a major step towards boosting the Jammu & Kashmir-Dubai partnership, he said. Sinha added that the LuLu group is already importing apples from Jammu & Kashmir and with saffron, "we are adding Kashmir's finest spice to the basket". "I am certain this new beginning will take our trade to unprecedented levels," he said. Sinha added that the trade between Jammu & Kashmir and Dubai has remained steady, despite COVID-19 challenges and it reflects the resilience of its deep economic linkages. "The MoU will further expand Jammu Kashmir-Dubai collaboration and Jammu Kashmir-Lulu Group partnership." Jammu & Kashmir is number one in the production of Saffron, Apple, Walnut and Almond in India. The MoU with the LuLu group will help the UT reach out to shoppers at 190 LuLu Hypermarkets across the GCC and Egypt. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and (DU) have issued guidelines for their staffers in view of the surge in cases. According to the guidelines issued by on January 5, biometric attendance will continue to remain suspended until further orders. It directed department heads of respective branches to ensure physical marking of attendance. "All officers of the level of section officer/equivalent grade and above are required to attend office on regular basis. However, officials below the rank of section officer of various schools/centres/departments of the university are required to attend their office as per the roster. For regulating the attendance of staff, all the department heads prepare rosters so as to ensure that required numbers of staff attend office every day," it said. People with disabilities and pregnant woman employees shall be exempted from attending office but are required to work from home, stated the guidelines issued by both DU and . Both the universities said that officials shall follow staggered timings to avoid over-crowding in offices: 9 am to 5:30 pm and 10 am to 6.30 pm. "The employees who are residing in containment zones notified by competent authority should take permission from registrar of the university to work from home until the containment zone is de-notified. They should produce the containment zone order copy from the competent authority. Further it shall be responsibility of concerned official to report back to the office, immediately after containment zone is de-notified," said JNU's guidelines. It also said that meetings, as far as possible, shall be conducted on video-conferencing, and personal meetings with visitors, unless absolutely necessary in public interest, are to be avoided. DU said that teaching and non-teaching staff shall not leave the city without prior permission of competent authority. The national capital has seen an uptick in cases in the last few days with Delhi recording over 15,000 cases on Thursday. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Students' Union on Wednesday held a gathering to commemorate two years of the violence that erupted on campus. The students' body accused the of being involved in the violence. On January 5, 2020, a mob of masked men stormed the campus and targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings. At least 28 people, including JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours. While clamour grew for the removal of JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar after the incident, the Delhi Police came under attack for not acting when the mob was running riot on the campus, and especially for naming student union leaders, including Ghosh, in the two FIRs related to vandalism on the campus. "Today marks the second year of the horrific attack on JNU students and faculty with no action whatsoever having been taken against the miscreants by either the university administration or the Delhi Police," the said. It said the world can never forget videos of the attack on student hostels, teachers and their houses and footage of people brandishing rods being escorted out of the JNU main gate by the Delhi Police. "What will also not be forgotten so easily is the entire facade of enquiry that allowed the Vice-Chancellor to obfuscate his share of institutional complicity in the violence that wrecked the campus on January 5, 2020," the said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) reported 26,538 fresh COVID-19 cases and eight deaths in the last 24 hours, informed the state health bulletin on Wednesday. Of the new cases, Mumbai reported the highest number of infections at 15,166. As per the health bulletin, 67,576,032 cases have been reported in so far including 87,505 active cases. With 5,331 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours, the recovery tally in the state mounted to 65,24,247. However, with the addition of new fatalities, the death toll in the state reached 141,581. The case fatality rate is 2.09 per cent. According to the bulletin, 144 cases of variant of COVID-19 were reported in in the last 24 hours. Of these, Mumbai tops the chart with 100 cases, followed by Nagpur with 14 cases, Thane and Pune with seven cases each, Pimpri-Chinchwad with six cases and Kolhapur with five cases. Amravati, Ulhasnagar and Bhivandi Nizampur reported two cases each while Panvel and Osmanabad reported one case each. As per the bulletin, 797 Omicron cases have been reported in the state so far including 330 recoveries. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday met doctors and health workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. "Many of our doctors, health workers have been affected with COVID-19 while serving patients, I pray for their good health," the Union Minister told media persons after the meeting. Mandaviya further appealed to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior as cases are increasing in the country. Director Dr Randeep Guleria also advised people not to panic but stay alert and follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior. "COVID-19 appropriate behavior, including proper masking, washing hands, avoiding crowds, and vaccination is crucial. Don't panic. It's a mild disease, but stay alert," Dr Guleria said. Reportedly, around 50 doctors of AIIMS, Delhi have gone into isolation after some tested positive while others showed symptoms of COVID-19. The hospital on Tuesday also canceled the remaining part of winter vacation from January 5 to January 10 and has asked the faculty members to join duty 'with immediate effect' in view of increasing COVID-19 cases. In a notice, said: "In continuation of the office of memoranda...it is to inform that the Competent Authority has decided to cancel the remaining part of the winter vacation i.e. from 5th to 10th January 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19/Omicron Pandemic." "COVID-19: AIIMS, Delhi cancels remaining part of winter vacation from January 5 to January 10; asks faculty members to join duty 'with immediate effect'," the notice further read. Meanwhile, India reported 90,928 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. The daily positivity rate stands at 6.43 percent while the weekly positivity rate stands at 3.47 percent. India has also reported 2,630 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 so far. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister on Thursday said there was not a single blockade or shutdown in in the last five years and Chief Minister N Biren Singh has achieved great success. Launching and laying the foundation stones of 29 development projects worth Rs 2,450 crore in the northeastern state through a video-conference, Shah said violence has been controlled to a great extent in in the last five years and unless there is stability and peace, development is impossible. "In these five years, there has never been any blockade, nor has there been any shutdown, and violence has also been controlled to a great extent. Unless there is stability and peace, development is impossible," he said. The home minister said Singh has achieved great success in bringing development everywhere in under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The biggest achievement of the Biren Singh government is that it has opened the avenues of stability, peace as well as development for Manipur," he added. Shah said Manipur has made a successful effort to come out of the tradition of blockade, violence, corruption, bandh and the drugs trade witnessed under the previous governments. Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 21 projects worth more than Rs 3,000 crore on Tuesday and also laid the foundation stones of five highway projects (??). On Thursday, 15 projects worth over Rs 265 crore were inaugurated and 14 projects worth Rs 2,194 crore launched. In just two days, projects worth about Rs 5,500 crore were started for the people of Manipur, Shah said, while asking whether this was ever done in two days during the long rule of the previous governments. The home minister said the Modi government has opened many avenues for the development of the entire northeast and the prime minister has described the eight states in the region as the "Ashtalakshmi" of the country. There were numerous visits by Union ministers to the northeast in the last seven-and-a-half years and the prime minister himself has visited the region multiple times, he added. Shah said many problems such as the land boundary disputes with Bangladesh were resolved through agreements while several peace accords, including the Bru-Reang pact and the Bodo pact, were signed. He said about 3,000 militants in the northeast have laid down their weapons and joined the mainstream of the society, and these youngsters are now engaged in the process of the country's development. "The previous governments had three 'I's -- 'Instability', 'Insurgency' and 'Inequality'. We changed the three 'I's, to 'Innovation', 'Infrastructure' and 'Integration'," the BJP leader said, adding that only by integration can the country become one and the northeast can become one. He said to promote Manipuri culture, a museum will be constructed on the Queen Mother (of Manipur) and all tribal leaders. The home minister said 31 tribal museums will be built across the country by the Centre, including one in Manipur. He said Modi has a vision for the development of the northeast. This vision should become the basis for the development of entire eastern India and when this region is developed, the entire country would be developed, Shah added. Maharaja Kulchandra of Manipur and his companions fought against the British in Andaman and by naming the place where the battle took place as Mount Manipur, the Modi government has paid tributes to those freedom fighters, he said. Shah pointed out that Manipur was made the gateway of freedom by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the state also got the first opportunity to hoist the flag of the Indian Army (INA). (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 220 at government hospitals in have tested positive for in the last three days, a senior office-bearer of their association said on Wednesday. Ganesh Solunke, president of the J J Hospital chapter of the Maharashtra Association of (MARD), said 73 at this state-run hospital in central have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 72 hours. Besides, 60 resident doctors at the King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, 80 at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and another seven at R N Cooper Hospital have also contracted the viral infection, he added. These three hospitals are run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Further, in the neighbouring Thane city, eight resident doctors at the civic-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital have tested positive for the virus. Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 26,538 new cases including 15,166 in Mumbai, the highest-ever daily count in the metropolis, and eight fatalities. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) leader on Thursday demanded a proper investigation to prevent incidents like the toxic gas leak from a chemical tanker in which killed six people. He also sent his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. "Condolences to those whose loved ones lost their lives due to the gas leak accident in . I wish the other victims a speedy recovery. "Proper investigation should be done to prevent such accidents in future," he said in a tweet in Hindi, tagging a news report about the incident. Six factory workers died and 22 others were hospitalised after they inhaled toxic fumes leaking from the chemical tanker parked near a factory in Gujarat's district in the early hours of Thursday, officials said. The workers were in the dyeing factory, located in Sachin industrial area, when the incident took place, Surat Municipal Corporation's (SMC) in-charge chief fire officer Basant Pareek said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modis security breach during his Punjab visit on Wednesday, Union Home Minister said that repeated rejection by people have driven the to the path of insanity. Shah also said that such dereliction of security procedures in the Prime Minister's visit is totally unacceptable, for which accountability will be fixed. In a series of tweets, Shah said, "Today's Congress-made happening in Punjab is a trailer of how this party thinks and functions. Repeated rejections by the people have taken them to the path of insanity. The topmost echelons of the owe an apology to the people of India for what they have done." "The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a detailed report on today's security breach in Punjab. Such dereliction of security procedure in the Prime Minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed," Shah added. Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that Modi's security was breached during his visit to Punjab today. Taking cognisance of the security breach, the MHA has sought a detailed report from the state government. The MHA also asked the Punjab government to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action in the matter. Prime Minister Modi was visiting Ferozepur in Punjab to lay the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. The Prime Minister cancelled his scheduled visit to Ferozepur at the last minute due to a security breach. --IANS ssb/arm (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Thursday set aside a Calcutta verdict quashing an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal to transfer an application by former chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay from Kolkata to New Delhi. Holding that the HC verdict passed on October 29 last year was without jurisdiction, the apex court also expunged some "scathing and disparaging remarks" made against the principal bench of the tribunal in the order saying they were "unwarranted" and avoidable, "being sharp reaction on unfounded assumptions". A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar, while allowing the Centre's appeal against the verdict, granted liberty to Bandyopadhyay to assail the tribunal's order before the jurisdictional . In the instant case, the High Court at Calcutta has usurped jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition challenging the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, New Delhi., even after taking note of the fact that the Principal Bench of the tribunal does not lie within its territorial jurisdiction, the bench said. In the circumstances, based on our conclusion, the impugned judgment and final order.passed by the High Court at Calcutta is to be held as one passed without jurisdiction and hence, it is ab initio void. Accordingly, it is set aside, the bench said in its 37-page judgement. The apex court delivered the verdict on the Centre's plea challenging the high court order which was passed on a plea filed by Bandyopadhyay. Bandyopadhyay had moved the Kolkata bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) challenging the disciplinary proceedings initiated against him in a matter related to attending a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the effects of cyclone Yaas' at the Kalaikunda Air Force station on May 28 last year. The proceedings were initiated by the Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievance and Pensions. The Centre had thereafter moved a plea before the tribunal's principal bench at New Delhi seeking transfer of the matter from Kolkata Bench to the principal bench. The Centre's plea was allowed by the chairman of the tribunal, sitting at the principal bench, and this order was challenged by Bandyopadhyay before the Calcutta High Court. In its verdict, the apex court noted that the Centre had also raised grievance that the high court made some harsh or disparaging remarks in the judgment against the tribunal's chairman. The bench observed that the high court had found undue haste in the matter of disposal of the plea and that persuaded it to make such scathing observations and remarks in fact, against the principal bench of the tribunal. It said a perusal of the materials on record would reveal that plea filed before the high court was also passed with almost equal speed. On our careful scanning of the circumstances and situations obtained in this case, we are persuaded to think that no exceptional ground(s) exists in the case on hand to make scathing and disparaging remarks and observations against the principal bench of the tribunal, the top court said. It said the order was passed by the tribunal's chairman on a formal application moved by the Centre and after hearing both the parties. The bench said as a matter of law, the chairman could pass an order of transfer under section 25 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, suo motu. To observe sobriety, we say that the remarks made by the high court were unwarranted, uncalled for and avoidable being sharp reaction on unfounded assumptions, it said. Ergo, we have no hesitation to hold that they were wholly unnecessary for the purpose of deciding the correctness or otherwise of the order of transfer. Hence, they are liable to be expunged. We do so, it said. The top court, while referring to section 25 of the Act, noted that an independent application for transfer of an original application filed and pending before any bench of the tribunal could be filed and the power to transfer lies with the chairman. It said this section mandates that if such an application is made, notice of it has to be given to the opposite party. Referring to an earlier judgement delivered by the apex court, the bench noted it is crystal clear that the principal bench of the tribunal at New Delhi falls within the territorial jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court. Needless to say that the power of judicial review of an order transferring an original application pending before a bench of the tribunal to another bench under section 25 of the Act can be judicially reviewed only by a division bench of the high court within whose territorial jurisdiction the bench passing the same, falls, it said. The bench made clear that it has not made any finding or observation regarding the correctness of the October 22 last year order passed by principal bench of the tribunal. In its verdict, the high court had also directed the Kolkata bench of the tribunal to expedite the hearing of Bandyopadhyay's application and dispose of it at the earliest. Bandyopadhyay, who was not released by the state government, chose to retire on May 31, 2021, his original date of superannuation before having been given an extension of three months from that date. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The state government on Thursday called off the tent Global Summit scheduled from January 10 to 12 in Gandhinagar, citing rising Covid-19 cases. The government said that summit was cancelled in the interest of citizens and in a bid to contain an outbreak of Covid-19. According to the government, the summit had received overwhelming response from participants, partner countries as well as foreign and domestic delegates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to inaugurate the summit on January 10 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. The summit had invited heads of state and heads of governments from at least five nations for the inaugural including Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Russia; Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of Mozambique; Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius; Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of Nepal, and Janez Jansa, Prime Minister of Slovenia. Number of partner countries, which continues to rise from edition to edition, stood at 26 countries for the 10th edition of VGGS. Among these, leading partner countries include Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, the UK, UAE, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, Netherlands, Denmark and Finland among others. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday reviewed the Covid-19 situation in Gujarat as the new Omicron variant spreads across India. The state has already seen 3350 new cases until January 5, up from 1,059 on January 1. As a result, total active cases in Gujarat have crossed the 10,000-mark, up from nearly 4000 on January 1. The state government said there was a 97.48 per cent recovery rate among Covid patients in Gujarat. to invest $200 mn in delivery firm for 25.8% stake has bought a 25.8 per cent stake in Dunzo, India's leading quick commerce player, for USD 200 million (around Rs 1,488 crore) as it looks to expand its presence in online grocery delivery business. raised $240 million in its latest funding round that was led by Ventures Ltd - the retail arm of Reliance Industries. Read more State govt calls off Summit amid rising Covid cases The state government on Thursday called off the tent Global Summit scheduled from January 10 to 12 in Gandhinagar, citing rising Covid-19 cases. The government said that summit was cancelled in the interest of citizens and in a bid to contain an outbreak of Covid-19. According to the government, the summit had received overwhelming response from participants, partner countries as well as foreign and domestic delegates. Read more 125 flyers on charter flight from Italy test positive for Covid in Amritsar A total of 125 passengers on a Milan-Amritsar charter flight were found to be Covid-positive when tested on arrival, government officials said on Thursday. Officials said there were a total of 179 passengers on the charter flight YU-661 that landed at the Amritsar airport at around 1.30 PM on Wednesday. Read more Spike in Covid cases may impact banking system's restructured book: Icra The asset quality of the banking system, especially the restructured book, may face headwinds in the coming days as Covid-19 cases have started rising rapidly once again, rating agency Icra said. As of September 2021, Indias banking system restructured loans worth Rs 2.8 trillion or 2.9 per cent of the standard advances, of which about Rs 1 trillion was restructured under Covid 1.0 and Rs 1.2 trillion was restructured under Covid 2.0, and the rest comprised of restructuring done for micro, small & medium enterprise (MSME). Read more The government is working towards further review and simplification of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to facilitate the proposed initial public offering of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Anurag Jain said on Thursday. The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet. The industry department is working together with the finance ministrys department of financial services (DFS) and department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) towards a successful listing of the life insurer on the domestic bourses, which is expected to be the largest in India. Both departments have pointed out that the policy in its current form may not be conducive for proposed investors. ALSO READ: LIC IPO: DRHP, issue date and size, valuation--everything you need to know We are working on further simplification of the policy, which is needed urgently as we need to do LIC disinvestmentWe have had 2 rounds of discussions and we are now on the same page. We are in the process of drafting those changes in the policy. Will go to the Cabinet after that, Jain told reporters. Currently, FDI of as much as 74 per cent is permitted in most Indian insurers. However, the rules dont apply to LIC because it is a special entity created by an act of parliament. The Reserve Bank of India defines FDI as purchase of a stake in a listed company thats 10% or larger by an individual or entity based abroad, or any foreign investment in an unlisted firm. The clearance for FDI in LIC will not just allow global funds to participate in the IPO but will also open doors for a significant stake purchase after the listing. E-commerce policy Jain further said that has almost finalised the much awaited e-commerce policy and has been circulated to other departments for consultation. Apart from that the government will not come up with any further clarifications on the FDI policy on e-commerce. Our stand on ecommerce is clear. FDI is allowed in the marketplace model and not in the inventory model. There will be no change in that, he said, addin that the department is also working towards finalizing a national retail trade policy. Startups Going ahead, the government is focused on creating 20,000 new jobs in the startups space by registering 50,000 new startups in the system over the next four financial years. As many as 60,000 government-registered startups have created 6.5 lakh jobs in the country. The figure comes to 11 jobs per startup, Jain said. The startup movement is taking deep roots. What is interesting is that 45 percent of all registered startups are from tier II and tier III towns, he added. WPI base year will also launch a new wholesale price index, with a base year of 2017-18. The current base year is 2011-12. "WPI reflects a particular basket of consumption that has changed over a period of time. We need to tweak it in consultation with relevant stakeholders so that it reflects the reality, Jain said. Omicron threat and Oxygen As far a resurgence in Covid-19 cases is concerned, Jain said that it may not have a major impact on the economy, barring a small blip in growth, with people being more prepared to deal with the pandemic, as well as a large chunk of population getting vaccinated. The government has also been able to ramp up the oxygen production capacity, amid a rise in the number of cases. If required, we can have 19,000 MT oxygen per daywe will be in a position to meet the demand (if the need arises), he said. The asset quality of the banking system, especially the restructured book, may face headwinds in the coming days as Covid-19 cases have started rising rapidly once again, rating agency Icra said. As of September 2021, Indias restructured worth Rs 2.8 trillion or 2.9 per cent of the standard advances, of which about Rs 1 trillion was restructured under Covid 1.0 and Rs 1.2 trillion was restructured under Covid 2.0, and the rest comprised of restructuring done for micro, small & medium enterprise (MSME). Anil Gupta, Vice PresidentFinancial Sector Ratings, Icra Ratings, said, as banks restructured most of these with a moratorium of up to 12 months, this book is likely to start exiting the moratorium from Q4FY22 and Q1FY23. Therefore, a third wave poses high risk to the performance of the borrowers that were impacted by the previous waves and hence poses a risk to the improving trend of asset quality, profitability, and solvency. He added that due to the third wave, the demand for loan recast may go up again, including for those that have already been restructured. In such a case, visibility on the performance of the restructured loan book, which was earlier expected in FY23, may now be expected in FY24 as the moratorium on the existing restructured could be extended, Gupta said. In its bi-annual financial stability report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also cautioned that asset quality of Indias banks may drop but reassured that lenders have enough capital to withstand a shock. It had expressed a similar sentiment in the trend and progress report as well. RBIs macro-stress tests revealed that the gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of the may increase from 6.9 per cent in September 2021 to 8.1 per cent by September 2022 under the baseline scenario and to 9.5 per cent under a severe stress scenario. As per ICRAs estimate, about 60 per cent of the total restructuring of Rs 1 trillion under Covid 1.0 was accounted for by corporates and the balance by the retail and segments. Hence, the restructuring under Covid 2.0, which was available for retail and borrowers, stood at 3x of the restructuring under Covid 1.0 because during the second wave the RBI did not announce any moratorium on repayments. Public sector banks were relatively more accommodative with the restructuring requests of borrowers as their restructured books stood at 3.2 per cent of the standard advances vis-a-vis 2.2 per cent for private sector banks. The Kanpur police have invoked Gangster Act against five former workers and their three aides, accused of plotting a ruckus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally on December 28. The action has been taken on the orders of the commissioner of police, Asim Kumar Arun, in view of the investigation done so far and criminal record of the accused. During the police investigation on the basis of the viral video it came to fore that the vehicle, which was vandalised on the day the Prime Minister visited the city, belonged to SP leader Ankur Patel. The conspiracy was hatched by another SP leader Sachin Kesarwani, a resident of Awas Vikas Colony in Naubasta. Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Kanpur on December 28, a video went viral on social media in the evening on the same day. In the video, SP workers could be seen indulging in vandalisation and burning effigies of BJP leaders, including Prime Minister and the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in front of a four-wheeler. So far, the police have arrested eight persons, including Ankur Patel (SP leader), Sachin Kesarwani (SP leader), Sukant Sharma (SP worker), Abhishek Rawat (SP worker), Nikesh Kumar Yadav (SP worker) and Ansh, Jitendra and Arun in this connection. They have been sent to jail. The has also expelled the five accused in the case. --IANS amita/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat on Thursday urged the BJP-led coalition government in Goa to impose restrictions on large events, including politics rallies, even as the state's Covid positivity rate has scaled nearly 27 per cent. "I feel it is time to take this seriously. Deaths have also started occurring over the last two days. The cases have multiplied and the (positivity) rate has reached 27 per cent from 2-3 per cent. There is a need for restrictions on big events. There should be restrictions on the large election meetings," Kamat, a former Chief Minister, told reporters here. On Wednesday, Goa logged 1,002 new cases, the first time that Covid cases crept above the four-figure mark in months. Kamat also raised questions about the government's seriousness in regulating entry of persons into the state, adding that checking of vaccination certificates or monitoring travellers into Goa was only being carried out at airports for now. "Covid cases have crossed 1000. I feel there is a need to put restrictions on gatherings. There is no checking on entry points. It is only being carried out at airports. I do not know if the government is taking this seriously," he said. When asked if he would prefer postponement of the upcoming state Assembly polls, which are scheduled to be held in February, Kamat said that the decision was up to the Election Commission of India. "That is with the Election Commission (of India). I cannot comment on it, because elections are not just held in Goa but in five states. So any decision taken will be taken for five states. Only ECI can take such a decision." --IANS maya/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The held a virtual meeting with political parties and poll officials from on Wednesday and said that for the first time, the option of postal ballot would be provided during the upcoming Assembly to 80+ citizens, persons with disabilities and Covid suspects or affected persons. "The postal ballot facility is an optional facility and ensures total secrecy of voting. Representatives of candidates will be present during the process and the total procedure will be videographed. In the state, 14,565 persons with disabilities and over 41,867 80+ citizens have been mapped," the poll panel said. The term of the 60-member Assembly is due to expire on March 19, 2022. The main issues raised by the political parties at the meeting included concerns about use of money power, illicit liquor, narcotics and intimidation to influence voters. The political parties requested for strict vigil on election expenses by the candidates to ensure free and fair polling. While expressing concerns about pre-poll violence, the political parties demanded deployment of adequate security forces during the poll process along with other relevant measures. The parties also raised concerns about the implementation of strict Covid protocols for everyone's safety. The Commission assured the representatives that it has taken cognizance of the suggestions, and it is committed to conduct free, fair, participative, inclusive, inducement-free and Covid safe in the state. During the review meeting, the Commission also emphasised on conducting the with 100 per cent vaccinated polling staff, proper sanitisation and social distancing at the polling stations. --IANS miz/arm (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facing flak from the BJP over the "security lapse" during the prime minister's Punjab visit, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday alleged that Narendra Modi's "gimmick" of "threat to his life" was aimed at "toppling a democratically elected government" in the state. Channi further said the prime minister is a respected leader of the nation but it does not behove a leader of his stature to indulge in "such cheap theatrics". He was addressing a gathering here after laying the foundation stone for development works worth Rs 18 crore at the New Grain Market, an official statement said. The chief minister claimed there was no threat to Modi's life but he cancelled his programme on Wednesday because of less number of people in the BJP's rally at Ferozepur. He said because of the empty chairs at the rally venue, the prime minister went back to the national capital citing the "frivolous reason of security threat". Channi alleged that the "false pretext" on which the PM cancelled his visit was part of a "larger conspiracy to defame Punjab and murder democracy in the state on lines of what was done earlier in Jammu and Kashmir". The chief minister asked how could the prime minister's life be threatened if the protestors were more than a kilometre away from him. He said that the place where Modi's cavalcade stopped not even a slogan was raised, then how could his life have been threatened. Channi reminded Modi that Punjabis have sacrificed their lives for unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country and added that they could never pose any danger to the life and security of the prime minister. "The thin presence of public in the rally has exposed the poor position of the BJP in the state which is not going down well with its entire leadership," he claimed. Citing a comparison, Channi said the weather was poor on Wednesday and on Thursday as well but there were very few takers for BJP's rally on Wednesday, whereas the Congress's rally was swelling with people across the state. "Yesterday's gimmick by the prime minister and his coterie is aimed at imposing the President rule in the state," he claimed. Channi reminded the prime minister that Punjab can be won only with love and not by pressure. He said Punjabis will vehemently oppose any move to destabilise democracy in the state. The chief minister urged Modi to "stop defaming the state and its people for vested political interests". Channi reminded him that Punjabis have played a key role in socio-economic development of the country, besides safeguarding its borders. "The slanderous campaign launched by the BJP is an insult to all the Punjabis and it is unwarranted and undesirable," he said. At a separate event at Machhiwara in Ludhiana, Channi asked what were the intelligence officials around the prime minister doing if they had sensed a threat to his safety. Channi said the fact of the matter was that barely 700 people turned up at the BJP's rally but the blame was pinned on the Punjab government citing security threat to the prime minister. "The truth is that five days before the PM's scheduled rally, the Special Protection Group (SPG) took over the landing spot, rally site and (went over) each security detail but later the prime minister's cavalcade suddenly took land route," Channi said, adding that the route was cleared by the SPG. The chief minister reiterated that had there been any danger to the prime minister, every Punjabi was nationalist enough to face bullets as they had done before in the service of the nation. Punjabis have never shied away from making sacrifices for the nation and are as patriotic a race as any other in the country, he said. At Tanda in Hoshiarpur, Channi termed former chief minister Amarinder Singh a "political deadwood", saying it was evident from a rally on Wednesday where the royal scion of Patiala addressed empty chairs. He said that everyone knew Amarinder Singh had "backstabbed" Punjab due to which no one wanted to listen to him. "The day is not far when all the candidates of the Maharaja will lose their deposits in the polls," Channi claimed. Assailing AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Channi described him as a "chronic liar", alleging that he was trying to "mislead the people of the state with his fake promises". In a "major security lapse", Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a scheduled rally. The prime minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 42,750 crore, including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway and a PGIMER satellite centre on Wednesday, besides addressing a rally. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Thursday constituted a two-member high level committee to conduct a "thorough probe" into lapses during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur, an official spokesperson said. The committee, which will submit its report within three days, comprises Justice (Retd.) Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, Anurag Verma. In order to carry out a thorough probe into the lapses that occurred during the Prime Minister's visit to Ferozepur yesterday, the Government has constituted a high level committee, the spokesperson said. In a major security lapse, the prime minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday. He returned from poll-bound without attending any event, including a rally. The Union Home Ministry has directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment. Home Minister Amit Shah said such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has denied any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government is ready for an inquiry. The incident triggered a major political row with the alleging that the ruling in Punjab "tried to physically harm" the prime minister, while other parties too attacked the state government over the law and order issue. Modi who had landed in Bathinda had to take the road route to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur because of inclement weather. When the convoy reached near village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road, around 30 km away from Hussainiwala, some protestors blocked the road following which the PM's cavalcade was halted for almost 15-20 minutes on a flyover. Modi, who was visiting Punjab after two years, was scheduled to lay the foundation stones of development projects worth over Rs 42,750 crore, including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway and a PGIMER satellite centre. He was also to address a rally in Ferozepur. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the whether it is possible to hold election rallies virtually and online in the upcoming state assembly polls. A division bench of the High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Misra and Justice N S Dhanik posed the question to the EC while hearing a PIL on Wednesday seeking postponement of the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttarakhand in view of the rising cases of COVID-19 and its latest variant Omicron. Besides asking the EC to explore whether it is possible to hold poll rallies virtually, the High Court also asked it whether it would also be possible to provide for online method of . It was claimed in the PIL that election rallies are being held in Uttarakhand even though an application is pending before the court relating to finding an alternative to these rallies or to ban them, if need be. While the PIL has been filed seeking postponement of the elections, the High Court has asked the EC to think about alternative methods such as virtual rallies. Advocate for the petitioner Shiv Bhatt drew the court's attention towards the fact that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got infected with corona a day after holding a rally in Dehradun recently. He said rallies can be dangerous for people not only due to the fact that they lead to large gatherings but also because the latest Omicron variant of corona can spread much faster than its predecessors. The court directed the EC to file a reply before January 12 when the PIL is to be heard next. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The State Bank of India has put off the sale of its loan of KSK Mahanadi Power scheduled on December 31 after the income tax department started an investigation against few asset reconstruction companies (ARCs). has an exposure of Rs 4,100 crore in KSK Mahanadi Power and the bank had set a reserve price of Rs 1,423 crore for selling the loan to any ARC, bank, NBFC or a financial institution. The income tax department has initiated an investigation against several ARCs after it was found that several promoters are funding the ARCs via informal channels. After the IT department raided four ARCs last month, it found cash transactions worth Rs 850 crore with an asset reconstruction company. The IT department is now investigating transactions worth Rs 75,000 crore conducted by these four ARCs. As several other ARCs were expected to participate in the auction, the tax department has asked the bank to wait till the investigations are over. BSE listed, KSK Energy Venture was the holding company for all the power SPVs of the KSK group including KSK Mahanadi Power and has defaulted on bank loans. In fiscal 2019, the majority of operational assets of the company started facing operational issues due to low plant load factor level and absence of power purchase agreements. KEVL has lost control of a few SPVs due to orders admitted by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the holding company itself is now facing bankruptcy proceedings in the NCLT, Hyderabad. KSK Mahanadi ceased to be a subsidiary of KSK Energy Ventures in May 2018 after the invoked the pledged shares after the promoter entities defaulted on their loans. The fate of KSK Mahanadi Power will also decide how the go ahead with the sale of their other NPA loans to the ARCs. In a statement on December 16th, the Central Board of Direct Taxes had indicated that the defaulting promoters are themselves buying back the companies from the ARCs. The IT department said it found "more often than not, the underlying assets had been re-acquired by the same borrower group, albeit at a fraction of their real values from the ARCs." "The ARCs are found to have concealed the profits on disposal of the underlying assets by diverting the actual profit to their related concerns, under the garb of consultancy receipts or unsecured loans/investments," it said. The ARCs, through this method, have not only "evaded" the payment of due taxes but also deprived the lender bank(s) of their share of actual profits, the statement claimed. "One of the ARCs was found to be maintaining a parallel set of accounts on Tally accounting software, in a pen drive, recovered from the custody of the trusted employees of the promoter. "This parallel set of accounts contained cash transactions aggregating to more than Rs 850 crore," it had said. Get 25% off of the regular $65 annual All Access rate. With this subscription you will get: Digital access to ElPasoInc.com and archives (value $45) Print subscription home or business delivered (value $65) Book of Lists (annual rate only, value $50) El Paso Inc. Magazine (value $20) El Paso Kids Inc. Special sections - OR - Get 15% off of the regular $45 annual Digital-only rate. With this subscription you will get: Complete digital access to ElPasoInc.com. We need to find a new term for neo . That will be ironical, because neo means new. But it will also be apt, because a neo bank is not just a new bank, it is a new way. And not every neo bank wants to become a bank. The has suggested a template for digital to cater to the large unbanked and underbanked population. It stipulates a two-stage process: first a digital business bank licence and then, after incorporating the learning from the first stage, a digital universal bank licence. The roadmap to full-stack digital banking may appear to be an obvious path to take for neo banks, which use an overlay of digital technologies to expand the scope of financial services. Indeed, many neo might be enthused by this and brace themselves to become digital banks. We have seen that happen in other countries. In India, we have at least one instance of a neo bank seeking the licence to become a small bank. Thats not surprising; banking has an established business model that does not need to prove itself. Neo banks have yet to demonstrate a sustainable revenue model. But this model is very much there, and it is different from the banking model. Different strokes A successful bank has access to a large pool of capital at a low cost, thanks to its ability to raise deposits, which it can lend at a higher rate and make profit. That requires customers to have an unwavering trust in the bank so that they do not mind getting returns lower than what some other investments can fetch. Neo banks, on the other hand, use technologies and apps without any baggage of the past to plug gaps, increase the bouquet of offerings, and speed up processes. They bring banking to mobile phone apps and empower the consumer. Various studies put the global market for neo banks between $333 billion and $394 billion by 2026, rising at a CAGR of more than 45 percent from 2019 onwards. That will happen as customers show an increasing willingness to pay a premium for a better experience and products. Take for example the large number of micro, small, and medium enterprises thirsting for more financial channels. Neo banks can bring in products and services tailored to their needs and help them realize their immense potential for growth and job creation. There are other reasons why a neo bank might be keen to stay neo, instead of becoming a full-stack digital bank. Becoming a bank means pivoting into an entirely different business with its incumbent regulations, disclosures, ratios, and other parameters. It is not a simple and easy extension of neo banking. It is doable, but it also a different business. Besides, it is not easy for a new bank, digital or physical, to become an overnight success. New banks take years to establish themselves. In the early phase, they end up attracting customers by offering high returns. Digital banks, without the reassuring presence of physical branches, might find themselves having to try harder. We can see how some Small Banks are paying well over 8 percent interest on deposits, making their cost of funds nearly twice what established banks have to bear. A higher cost of capital for a bank can make it less competitive in its core revenue-earning business of lending. In fact, new banks can benefit from partnering with a neo bank. Partners in growth Neo banks in India do not work independently. They are backed by regulated banks as partners. This partnership can prosper in an atmosphere of trust and understanding where each partner has a well-defined role. It is like how restaurants are good at producing great food, menus, and ambience. But they do not want or need the hassle of receiving orders remotely and organizing deliveries. That is where Zomato steps in, to smoothen the process and enrich the experience for the customer. Similarly, neo banks can focus on service delivery and charge fees based on their success in getting new customers, engaging with them, and keeping them active. In the process, they will take some financial and logistical burden off their partner banks. With time, neo banks will build other revenue streams so that banking becomes just one of the many things they offer. They have the potential to become the central card for everything, from banking to insurance to employee reimbursements and payroll processing powered by automation and data. All by staying neo. (The writer is the founder and CEO of OneBanc, a neo bank that is happy being just that.) The leaders of and signed a landmark defense agreement Thursday that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in a virtual summit to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first such defense pact signed by with any country other than the United States. The agreement follows more than a year of talks between and aimed at breaking down legal barriers to allow the troops of one country to enter the other for training and other purposes. Japan is our closest partner in Asia as demonstrated by our special strategic partnership Australia's only such partnership, Morrison said. An equal partnership, shared trust between two great democracies committed to the rule of law, human rights, free trade and a free and open Indo-Pacific. Kishida hailed the agreement as a landmark instrument which will elevate security cooperation between the nations to new heights. While wasn't mentioned, its significance at the signing was implicit. Japan's ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, said that in light of the deteriorating security environment, what Japan and can do together is first of all to increase deterrence. Morrison said the agreement will form an important part of Australia and Japan's response to the uncertainty we now face and will underpin greater and more complex engagement in operability between the Australia Defense Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces. He called the pact a "pivotal moment for Australia and Japan and (for) the security of our two nations and our people. Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the agreement recognized the importance of establishing firm defense partnerships to deter an increasingly aggressive . Japan is breaking away from its post-war constitutional constraints on the use of military force because Tokyo recognizes the challenges it is facing from China, he told Sky News. There is a territorial dispute between and Japan ... and more significantly there is a growing concern China will make a move over Taiwan in the next few years. The pact builds on the strategic dialogue known as the Quad, which includes Japan, Australia, the United States and India. Australia last year also signed the Aukus agreement with the United States and Britain, both of which have pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President will speak about the responsibility that he believes former President Trump had in the January 6 attacks on Thursday (local time), marking the first anniversary of the deadly event, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. During a media briefing, Psaki was asked if the US President would address Trump's role in the riot. She responded, "yes." "I would expect that President Biden will lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw," Psaki as quoted by The Hill said. "And he will forcibly push back on the lie spread by the former President in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters, as well as distract from his role and what happened," she added. Biden and Vice President Harris will speak on Thursday morning at the Capitol, one year after Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to halt the certification of Biden's 2020 victory. On January 6, a group of Trump's loyalists stormed the US Capitol building, clashing with police, damaging property, seizing the inauguration stage and occupying the rotunda. The unrest took place after Trump urged his supporters to protest what he claims is a stolen presidential election. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State on Wednesday (local time) discussed a range of regional and global challenges, including the ongoing tensions between and Ukraine, said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday (local time). During a call with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Blinken reiterated the Administration's ironclad commitment to Israel's security. "The Secretary and Foreign Minister discussed a range of regional and global challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against as well as the challenges posed by Iran. Secretary Blinken reiterated the Administration's ironclad commitment to Israel's security," Price said in the statement. In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - that stipulated Iran must scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States, China, France, and the United Kingdom plus Germany, the European Union and Iran signed the nuclear agreement, according to Sputnik News Agency. Iran largely abandoned its own obligations under the accord after the US withdrawal. The seventh round of talks to revive the nuclear agreement began in late November 2020, it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The hunt for is spreading to Asias developing economies, with India and adding to the global demand pressure. Indian Oil Corp. and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. have recently bought spot cargoes of after being absent from the market for months, according to traders. -- a major exporter -- has asked its gas producers to prioritize local customers, while Thailand and Bangladesh are also seeking prompt LNG shipments via tenders released in the last few days. The rising interest from South and Southeast Asia adds to elevated demand from Europe, which pushed prices to record highs last month. Consumption of the electricity feedstock and heating fuel, which typically sees a bump in the run-up to the northern winter, has risen as major economies recover from the depths of the pandemic. Supply, meanwhile, remains constrained due to under-investment in new projects over the last few years. South and Southeast Asian buyers have been unusually active in the spot market for cargoes for January to March delivery, despite surging prices, according to traders with knowledge of the matter. While these countries are among the most price sensitive LNG buyers, theyre being forced to make purchases to avoid having to cut supplies to households and industrial users. This dynamic is playing out most starkly in Pakistan, where a gas shortage is curbing its crucial textiles exports, according to an industry trade organization, and posing economic and political risks for Prime Minister Imran Khan. One factor keeping prices from surging even higher is ample stockpiles in China, which overtook Japan as the worlds biggest LNG importer in 2021. Asias largest has spent the last year restocking its inventories. Its entering the chilliest months well supplied and has little need for more unless the weather turns significantly colder, according to traders. That means theres still some spare supply in the Pacific region. and are facing a combined $235 million fine for cookie tracking in France, the media reported. According to a report in Politico citing a document, the French watchdog Commission Nationale de I'informatique et Des Libertes (CNIL) is planning to fine 150 million euros and 60 million euros for violating French data privacy rules. The action is being taken "for failing to allow French users to easily reject cookie tracking technology", the report said late on Wednesday. Both tech giants will be fined another 100,000 euros per day if they do not resolve the issues within three months of the CNIL decision being issued. "We are reviewing the authority's decision and remain committed to working with relevant authorities," a Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report. "Our cookie consent controls provide people with greater control over their data, including a new settings menu on and Instagram where people can revisit and manage their decisions at any time, and we continue to develop and improve these controls," the spokesperson added. did not comment on the report. It is not the first time that the French privacy regulator has fined Big Tech. In December 2020, the CNIL fined Amazon and Google 35 million euros and 100 million euros, respectively, for cookie violations under the e-Privacy rules. The watchdog had also fined Google 50 million euros under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). WhatsApp was hit with a 225 million euros fine in September last year "for not being transparent about how it shared data with its parent company", reports ZDNet. Facebook is also facing millions in fines for violating GDPR privacy rules about deceptive data collection policies. --IANS na/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Maryam Nawaz, has asked Pakistan Prime Minister to resign from his office immediately following the "damning" report of the scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and also asked the concerned institutions to take action as per the law, Express Tribune reported. " should resign forthwith for his deliberate lies, concealing of facts and illegal foreign funding," Maryam said while addressing a presser in Lahore on Thursday. "He [Premier Imran Khan] is responsible for concealment, misdeclaration and misstatement, and so, action should be taken against him and his party. The ball is now in the court of the institutions tasked with ensuring rule of law and people are hoping for them to take action, just as they did in the case of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. "The PTI declared only 4 of its 18 active accounts out of a total of 26 accounts. This isn't just about lying, but they also made their fullest efforts to sabotage the ECP probe," she said, as per the report said. Maryam added: "At first, they tried to pressurise the ECP then they resorted to hurling threats to prevent it from making the report public. When this wasn't enough, they challenged its jurisdiction and used delaying tactics for the next seven years." The PML-N stalwart further said that the ruling PTI took funding in the name of the party's employees from the US, Middle East, Australia, Canada and England, while some of the companies were based in Australia and Canada, the report said. "The PTI submitted false and fabricated certificates to the ECP," she said, adding that was the principal signatory of the foreign funding and it was all authorised by him as well as by then PTI leader Arif Alvi. According to her, "The PTI simply failed to justify where it got the foreign funding from and where it spent it." --IANS san/arm (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) carriers flydubai and Air Arabia cancelled services to Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, on Thursday as the Central Asian country faces its worst unrest in over a decade. Websites for the airlines showed return Dubai-Almaty services operated by flydubai and return Sharjah-Almaty flights operated by Air Arabia as cancelled. A flydubai return flight from to the capital Nursultan was due to operate on Thursday, according to its website. There was no immediate comment from the Emirati airlines. Almaty airport was reportedly overrun by anti-government protesters on Wednesday, forcing flights to be cancelled, before it was later retaken by government security forces. Kuwaiti budget carrier Jazeera Airways on Wednesday suspended services to Almaty. Kazakhstan's government has declared a nationwide state of emergency in response to the violent anti-government protests. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday. The missile, launched by the Academy of Defence Science on Wednesday, manoeuvred 120 km laterally before it precisely hit a target 700 km away, which proved the reliability of a new fuel system, the report said. This is the second test fire of hypersonic missile confirmed by the DPRK after the country launched Hwasong-8 in September. The "successive successes in the test launches" in the hypersonic missile sector "have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state," it added. The reliability of the fuel system under the winter weather conditions was also verified, the report said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) fired a "hypersonic missile" this week that successfully hit a target, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday, its second such test as the country pursues new military capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks. The launch on Wednesday was the first by since October and was detected by several militaries in the region, drawing criticism from governments in the United States, South Korea, and Japan. first tested a hypersonic missile in September, joining a race headed by major military powers to deploy the advanced weapons system. Hypersonic weapons usually fly towards targets at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph). Despite their name, analysts say the main feature of hypersonic weapons is not speed - which can sometimes be matched or exceeded by traditional ballistic missile warheads - but their manoeuvrability. In Wednesday's test, the "hypersonic gliding warhead" detached from its rocket booster and manoeuvred 120 km (75 miles) laterally before it "precisely hit" a target 700 km (430 miles) away, KCNA reported. The missile demonstrated its ability to combine "multi-step glide jump flight and strong lateral manoeuvring," KCNA said. The test also confirmed components such as flight control and its ability to operate in the winter, KCNA added. "The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state," the KCNA report said. While it has not tested nuclear bombs or long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) since 2017, in recent years North Korea has developed and launched a range of more manoeuvrable missiles and warheads likely aimed at being able to overcome missile defences like those wielded by South Korea and the United States, analysts have said. "My impression is that the North Koreans have identified hypersonic gliders as a potentially useful qualitative means to cope with missile defence," said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for Peace. NEW MISSILE Hypersonic weapons are considered the next generation of arms that aim to rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms. Last month the United States completed construction of a massive, $1.5 billion long-range radar for a homeland missile defence system in Alaska that it says can track ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic weapons from countries such as North Korea. Photos of the missile used in Wednesday's test show what analysts said is a liquid-fueled ballistic missile with a conical-shaped Manoeuvrable Reentry Vehicle (MaRV) blasting off from a wheeled launch vehicle in a cloud of flame and smoke. It is a different version than the weapon tested last year, and was first unveiled at a defence exhibition in Pyongyang in October, Panda said. "They likely set up at least two separate development programmes," he added. "One of these was the Hwasong-8, which was tested in September. This missile, which shares a few features in common with the Hwasong-8, is another." In a call with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the North Korea missile launch and discussed cooperation to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenal have been stalled since a series of summits between leader Kim Jong Un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump broke down with no agreement. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has said it is open to talking to North Korea, but Pyongyang has said American overtures are empty rhetoric without more substantive changes to "hostile policies" such as military drills and sanctions. The latest test came just hours before South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a rail line he hopes will eventually connect the divided Korean peninsula, casting doubts over his hopes for an eleventh-hour diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea before his five-year term ends in May. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler, Alistair Bell and Richard Pullin) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Emporia, KS (66801) Today Rain. Thunderstorms possible...mainly in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 61F. Winds ESE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 44F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible. said Thursday it has successfully launched a hypersonic missile as part of efforts to modernise its strategic weapons systems, days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his military forces despite pandemic-related difficulties. Wednesday's test, the North's first known weapons tests in about two months, indicates that the country will press ahead with plans to build powerful, sophisticated missiles rather than returning to disarmament talks anytime soon. The official Korean Central News Agency said the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party expressed great satisfaction at the results of the observed by leading weapons officials. It's the second known test-flight of a hypersonic missile since first tested such a weapon last September. It wasn't immediately known if both are the exactly same type of hypersonic missile. The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state, a KCNA dispatch said. The word strategic implies the missile is being developed to deliver nuclear weapons. Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defence systems because of their speed and maneuverability. It's unclear whether and how soon could manufacture such a high-tech missile, but it was among a wish-list of sophisticated military assets that Kim disclosed early last year, along with a multi-warhead missile, spy satellites, solid-fuelled long-range missiles and underwater-launched nuclear missiles. The North's latest launch was first detected by its neighbours. The US military called it a ballistic missile launch that highlights the destabilising impact of (North Korea's) illicit weapons programme. South Korea and Japan expressed concerns or regrets over the launch. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated that North Korea should resume talks with other countries. A US-led diplomacy on North Korea's nuclear programme remains stalled since 2019 due to disputes over sanctions on the North. The Biden administration has repeatedly called for resuming the nuclear diplomacy anywhere and at any time without preconditions, but North Korea has argued the US must first withdraw its hostility against it before any talks can restart. During last week's plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim repeated his vow to expand his country's military capabilities without publicly presenting any new positions on Washington and Seoul. The North's advancing nuclear arsenal is the core of Kim's rule, and he's called it a powerful treasured sword that thwarts potential US aggressions. During his 10-year rule, he's conducted an unusually large number of weapons tests to acquire an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the American mainland. But his country's economy has been faltering severely in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sanctions and his government's own mismanagement. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Saudi-led coalition fighting in received a distress signal from an oil tanker after it was subjected to "armed harassment" off Yemen's Hodeidah port, Saudi state media has reported, citing the coalition. The report, on Wednesday, gave no further details but said there were "high-risk indicators" in waters off Hodeidah port on the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest maritime lanes. Earlier on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), part of Britain's Royal Navy, issued an advisory that a vessel near Salif port, north of Hodeidah, reported a suspicious approach by an unknown craft. UKMTO said the vessel and crew were safe and had continued their passage. It was not immediately clear if it was referring to the same incident. Hodeidah and Salif are controlled by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which on Sunday hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel that the group said was engaged in "hostile acts", but which the military alliance led by Riyadh said was carrying hospital equipment. Air and sea access to Houthi-held areas is controlled by the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in in early 2015 after the movement ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital Sanaa. The Houthis said on Wednesday that the coalition had diverted to a Saudi port a fifth fuel vessel heading for Hodeidah, part of a tussle over imports into . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The plans to hold a meeting next week to discuss the political tensions in Sudan, the council's president, Norway's Ambassador to the Mona Juul, said on Wednesday. "I am quite convinced that there will be a meeting on because of the very worrying development there. We don't think it will be possible this week, but I'm pretty sure that there will be a meeting next week," Juul told reporters. On Sunday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned due to the actions of the military, who violated the agreements within a political deal. Hamdok was reinstated on November 21 after signing a pact with Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, who on October 25 took control of the government and arrested the former prime minister. Hamdok previously said that one of the main demands of the November 21 deal was that he must be independent in choosing political appointees, as he wanted to overcome chaos after the October 25 coup. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it expanded the eligibility of Inc and BioNTech SE's booster doses to those 12 to 15 years old. The move came after a panel of outside experts advising the CDC voted earlier to recommend booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine be made available for ages 12 to 15. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13 to 1 to recommend that the U.S. health agency support booster shots for those aged 12 to 15 at least five months after their second dose. The panel also said the CDC should strengthen its recommendation for boosters for ages 16 and 17. The agency had previously made the shots available to those teenagers, but had stopped short of suggesting that all of them should receive the additional jab. The CDC said in a statement it now recommended that adolescents age 12 to 17 years old should receive a booster shot 5 months after their initial Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination series. COVID-19 cases in the have hit record levels in recent days due to the fast spreading Omicron variant of the virus. Infection rates are surging as many workers and school children return from holiday vacations, raising the prospect of overwhelmed health systems as well as closed businesses and schools. "COVID is overwhelming our hospitals and our children's hospitals," said panel member Dr. Katherine Poehling, a professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine. "This is a tool we need to use, and help our children through this pandemic." Data from Israel's Health Ministry presented at the meeting suggested that vaccinated children aged 12 to 15 who were five to six months past their second dose were being infected at the same rate as unvaccinated kids by the Omicron variant of the virus. After receiving a booster shot, the infection rate dropped sharply, according to the data. Dr. Peter Marks, a top regulator at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said that it is reasonable to extend the boosters down to 12- to 15-year-olds given the current surge in cases. The FDA had authorized the additional doses U.S. FDA authorizes Pfizer's COVID-19 booster for 12- to 15-year-olds for the age group on Monday, but the CDC sign-off was needed before the shots can be administered. "This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in the statement. Some scientists have expressed concerns about the booster shots due to rare cases of heart inflammation called myocarditis that have been linked to both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, particularly in young men. While there is limited data on myocarditis after booster doses for ages 12 to 15, the FDA has said evidence from both the and Israel indicates that the risk of myocarditis in men aged 18-40 is significantly lower after booster shots than after the second vaccine dose. Only two cases of myocarditis were reported in Israel among 44,000 adolescents aged 12 to 15 who received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the Israeli Health Ministry said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Michael Erman, Additional reporting by Manonjna Maddipatla and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Richard Pullin) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The key benchmark indices are likely to start trade on a negative note following the rout in the US markets, after FOMC minutes indicated of a sooner than expected rate hike. As of 08:00 AM, the SGX Nifty January futures were quoted at 17,804 as against the spot Nifty close of 17,925 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, here are the for trade today. Recently Listed: Stocks of a dozen firms that debuted recently may come under pressure as the mandatory one-month lock-in period for anchor investment expires. Five of these 12 companies -- RateGain, Shriram Properties, Data Patterns, Supriya Lifesciences and CMS Info Systems had allocated more than 10 per cent of outstanding shares to anchor investors. READ MORE Earnings Watch: Anand Rathi Wealth is scheduled to announce its December quarter results today. Jet Airways: The airline company is seeing a churn in its senior management ahead of its planned take-off this year. Sudhir Gaur, accountable manager and acting chief executive officer, is the latest to quit the company. Finance head M Shivakumar and head of management information system (MIS) Farazad Patrawalla had moved out a few weeks earlier. READ MORE The state-owned company said it has incurred a capex of Rs 10,717 crore in the April-December period of the ongoing fiscal, registering a 37.4 per cent YoY growth. The capex spend during the referred period marks 86.3 per cent of the progressive target achievement. Spandana Sphoorty Financial: The troubled micro-finance company reported a net loss of Rs 58.87 crore in September quarter (Q2FY22) on sharp rise in impairments and other provisions. It had posted a net profit of Rs 62.95 crore in Q2FY21. In Q1FY22, it had booked a profit of Rs 47.52 crore. READ MORE Adani Enterprises: The company won a contract to supply overseas coal to NTPC. Adani, will deliver 1 million tons to state-run NTPC, which in October issued its first tender for coal imports in more than two years. READ MORE Bharti Airtel: The telecom major has formed a joint venture with Hughes Communications India, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems LLC, an innovator in satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks to provide satellite broadband services in India. READ MORE Sugar stocks: Sugar mills had got a 2-year stay for loans taken from SDF. The Centre has issued guidelines for restructuring of loans taken by mills from the Sugar Development Fund (SDF), providing a moratorium for two years and then repayment in five years to eligible defaulting factories. READ MORE RBL Bank: The private lender has informed BSE, that as per the provisional data, gross advances in the December 2021 quarter rose by 3.5 per cent YoY to Rs 59,941 crore from Rs 57,092 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Dilip Buildcon: The company has informed the stock exchanges that it received completion certificate for the project Four laning of Wardha-Butihori Section of NH-361 in Maharashtra. The said project was worth Rs 1,065.51 crore. Shish Industries: The companys board approved proposal to increase the authorised share capital from Rs 10.25 crore to Rs 12 crore. And, also approved issue of 4.31 lakh equity shares to the promoters on a preferential basis. Gautam Gems: The companys board meet is scheduled on January 13, 2021, to consider a proposal for rights issue of equity shares. Palm Jewels: The companys board to meet on January 13, 2021, to consider a proposal for rights issue of equity shares. Stocks in F&O ban: There is not a single stock in the F&O ban period today. Shares of textile companies bucked the weak market trend and managed to rally on Thursday as improving exports of cotton and made-up apparel, along with attractive valuation and earnings growth visibility, made analysts bullish on the sector. Shares of Super Fine Knitters, Super Spinning, and Filatex India rallied up to 10 per cent on Thursday. Those of JCT, Surat Textile, Swasti Vinayaka, KPR Mill, Sumeet Industries, Bhandari Hosiery, Minaxi Textiles, and Bombay Rayon, gained between 4 per cent and 5 per cent, and Gokaldas Exports and Vardhman Textiles also ended in the green. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex fell over 1 per cent, or 621 points, and closed the session below the 60,000-mark. The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the global textile and apparel (T&A) supply chain with several brands preferring more than one sourcing destination. Further, the US-China trade war and imposition of additional duties on Chinese T&A imports have forced US-based importers to scout other destinations such as India. In December, the US signed into law legislation that bans imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labour. As Xinjiang constitutes nearly 20 per cent of the global cotton market, the supply re-adjustment on account of this ban has led to more demand for Indian cotton and cotton yarn, analysts at Spark Capital said while initiating coverage of the sector. They highlighted that cotton and cotton yarn exports from India have surged at a 34 per cent CAGR (between April and October) from FY19-21. The US market accounts for 15 per cent of global T&A imports. Countries such as China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia have become reliant on India for their cotton requirements after the ban, and Indian cotton exports have skyrocketed in the past eight months as a result. Separately, India has witnessed increased exports in the made-ups segment. The demand in the segment has significantly increased due to lockdown-led home confinements and the pandemic-induced new standard operating procedures (SoPs) which has led to the underlying volume demand improving. India being the second largest supplier of made-ups naturally benefitted on account of Chinese suppliers losing market share, Spark Capital pointed out. Moreover, the governments stance on free trade agreements (FTAs) is a welcome policy change for the T&A players. The stocks in the sector are also ripe for a re-rating as robust export opportunities give strong and sustainable earnings visibility, say analysts at ICICI Securities. Revival in the hospitality sector, along with duty reimbursement by the government of India, and market share gain on China+1 theme will drive earnings trajectory. Spread between yarn and cotton prices continues to remain high and should enable yarn producers to report strong earnings for Q3FY22, said a note by JM Financial. From investment view point, analysts suggest playing the theme by going long on Vardhman Textiles, Trident, Sutlej Textiles, Alok Industries, KPR Mill, Nitin Spinners, Welspun India, Indo Count, Himatsingka Seide, Gokaldas Exports. Bharat Forge Ltd is quoting at Rs 738.65, up 2.45% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 23.34% in last one year as compared to a 25.18% gain in NIFTY and a 19.58% gain in the Nifty Auto. Bharat Forge Ltd rose for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 738.65, up 2.45% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 1.28% on the day, quoting at 17696.65. The Sensex is at 59441.29, down 1.3%. Bharat Forge Ltd has added around 6.04% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Bharat Forge Ltd is a constituent, has added around 4.81% in last one month and is currently quoting at 11256.85, up 0.17% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 13.83 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 10.82 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark January futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 740.4, up 2.48% on the day. Bharat Forge Ltd is up 23.34% in last one year as compared to a 25.18% gain in NIFTY and a 19.58% gain in the Nifty Auto index. The PE of the stock is 40.61 based on TTM earnings ending September 21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Larsen & Toubro on Thursday announced that the company's Water & Effluent Treatment business has secured a slew of orders from various clients. According L&T's classification, the value of 'large' contracts lies between Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Punjab awarded two EPC orders for the bulk supply of treated water to 10 lakh people across 412 villages and 15 dhanies in the Fazilka and Ferozepur districts of Punjab on a DBOT (Design Build Operate Transfer) basis. The aggregate scope of work comprises design & construction of raw water intake systems, storage & sedimentation tanks, water treatment plants of a total capacity of 114 MLD, clear water reservoirs with pumphouse, supply Et laying of transmission pipelines, and associated Electromechanical Et Instrumentation works. The project also involves automation works that include measurement of inflow an outflow water quantity and quality through suitable SCADA & other instrumentation works. Meanwhile, L&T also announced that the Odisha Government has given a repeat EPC order for executing underground pipeline irrigation system for the Rengali Right Irrigation Project (Phase-I). Under the project, water for irrigation to 24,063 Ha. of Culturable Command Area (CCA) and 26,334 Ha. of Command Area Development (CAD) is envisaged for the Dhenkanal and Cuttack districts of Odisha by way of gravity flow taken from the Rengali Right Bank Canal and its distributaries. The scope includes survey, design, procurement, construction and installing various diameter pipelines and all allied works. In addition to these, the business also secured add-on orders from the Uttar Pradesh State Water & Sanitation mission to implement various rural water supply projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission to provide Functional House Tap Connection (FHTC) in the state. The business is already executing water supply schemes in the districts of Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakhoot, Gonda, Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Balrampur and Shravasti for the same client. The company's consolidated net profit fell 67% to Rs 1,819.45 crore on 12% increase in net sales to Rs 34,772.90 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21. Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were trading 1.13% lower at Rs 1,926.20 on BSE. L&T is an Indian multinational engaged in EPC projects, hi-tech manufacturing and services. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The South India-based gold NBFC said its board may consider raising funds through debt securities in January 2022. Manappuram Finance said it is considering various options for raising funds through borrowings including by the way of issuing various debt securities in onshore/offshore securities market by public issue, on private placement basis or through issuing commercial papers. Based on the prevailing market conditions, the company's board may consider and approve issuances of debt securities during the month of January 2022. The proposal is subject to such terms and conditions including the issue price of debt securities, as the board/respective committee may deem fit. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit skid fell 8.8% to Rs 369.88 crore on 1.5% decline in total income to Rs 1,554.42 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020. Manappuram Finance is one of India's leading gold loan NBFCs. It has 4637 branches (includes branches of subsidiary companies) across 28 states/UTs with assets under management (AUM) of Rs. 272.24 billion. Shares of Manappuram Finance were down 0.72% at Rs 165.60. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Monte Carlo Fashions slipped 0.96% to Rs 667.55, amid some bit of profit booking. The stock had advanced 12% in four sessions to end at Rs 674.05 yesterday, from its recent closing low of Rs 601.85 recorded on 30 December 2021. In the past one year, the stock has zoomed 167.84% while the benchmark Sensex has added 23.15% during the same period. Earlier this week, Monte Carlo Fashions said that it had recorded its highest ever (year-to-date) YTD sales on the back of bone-chilling winters, revenge shopping and an encouraging festive & wedding season. The company said that the rising trend in sales that was quite visible since the Q2 FY22 continued to gain further momentum in Q3 FY22. The company said that it has surpassed its earlier guidance of 25% growth in sales. There is an increase in YTD sales by approximately 35% and 15% as compared to YTD FY20 and FY19, respectively. The growth in sales is contributed by both volume growth and calibrated price increase. Monte Carlo is a branded apparel company with a comprehensive range of woollens, cotton, cotton blended, knitted and woven apparel for men, women and kids under the umbrella brand Monte Carlo. The company's net profit surged to Rs 33.91 crore in the quarter ended September 2021 as against Rs 4.43 crore during the previous quarter ended September 2020. Sales rose to Rs 238.29 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 98.25 crore in Q2 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NHPC rose 2.22% to Rs 32.20 after the company said that it has signed a promoters agreement with Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha (GEDCO) for the formation of a joint venture company. The joint venture company will be formed under the name of Odisha Solar Power Development Company. NHPC will hold 74% stake in JV and the rest will be held by GEDCO. The JV will undertake development of 500 MW floating solar power projects in various water reservoirs in Odisha. NHPC is the largest organization for hydropower development in India. It has also diversified in the field of solar & wind power. As of 30 September 2021, the Government of India held 70.95% stake in the company. The company's consolidated net profit grew 6.6% to Rs 1,386.81 crore on a 1.4% increase in net sales to Rs 2,940.63 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Page Industries surged 1.28% to Rs 41,730, extending its winning run to fifth consecutive trading session. Shares of the apparel maker have surged nearly 6% in five trading sessions from its previous closing low of Rs 39,397.65 posted on 30 December 2021. The counter hit a record high of Rs 42,113.90 intraday today. The stock has moved 54.2% higher from its 52-week low of Rs 27053.05 recorded on 29 January 2021. In last one month, the stock moved nearly 9% higher as compared to a nearly 4.6% rise in Nifty 50 index. On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 66.416. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Traditionally the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30. The stock is trading above its 50 and 100 days simple moving average placed at 39502.06 and 36502.94 respectively. These levels will act as crucial support zones in near term. Page Industries is an Indian manufacturer and retailer of innerwear, loungewear and socks. It is the exclusive licensee of JOCKEY International Inc. (USA) for manufacture, distribution and marketing of the JOCKEY brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the UAE. Page Industries is also the exclusive licensee of Speedo International for the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the Speedo brand in India. The company reported 45% growth in net profit to Rs 160.5 crore on a 46% increase in revenue to Rs 1,084 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21. EBITDA improved by 41% to Rs 233.4 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 165.4 crore in Q2 FY21. profit before tax in Q2 FY22 stood at Rs 214.8 crore, up by 47% from Rs 145.9 crore in Q2 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tata Motors said that its board will meet on Monday, 31 January 2022, to consider, and approve the financial results for the quarter ended 31 December 2021. The announcement was made during market hours today. Tata Motors, part of the Tata group, is a global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses. On a consolidated basis, Tata Motors' net loss stood at Rs 4,476.61 crore in Q2 FY22 as against net loss of Rs 343.28 crore in Q2 FY21. Net sales grew 14.4% to Rs 60,435.92 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21. The scrip fell 1% to currently trade at Rs 484.65 on the BSE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The surge in new infections has increased risks for the ongoing economic recovery. A rapid rise in cases has forced state governments to bring back restrictions on public mobility. A surge in cases and lower public mobility are bound to affect economic activity. In this context, our lead editorial here argues that the government should push spending to sustain economic recovery. In other views: Indias renewable push over the next few years will require strong local manufacturing to de-risk supply chains, notes Sumant Sinha of ReNew Power. Read here Our second editorial highlights the risks of unabated destruction and degradation of the range of mountains. Read here Four former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, including and Ghulam Nabi Azad, are likely to lose their Special Security Group (SSG) protection as the union territory's administration has decided to wind up the elite unit established in 2000, officials said on Thursday. The move comes a little over 19 months after the Centre had issued a gazette notification -- Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020 -- on March 31, 2020, amending the Special Security Group Act of the erstwhile government by omitting a clause that provided former chief ministers and their families with SSG security. Officials said the decision was taken by the Security Review Coordination Committee, a group that oversees the threat perception of important leaders in . The officials said the SSG will be "right-sized" by reducing the number of the elite force to the "bare minimum". It will be headed by an officer below the rank of Superintendent of Police as against Director, who is of the rank of Inspector General of Police and above. However, the officials feel there was a re-think over the downsizing of the SSG as some experts within the police force feel that this may hamper the preparedness of the elite unit. The SSG will now be entrusted with the security of serving chief ministers and their immediate family members. The decision will entail the withdrawal of the security cover of Farooq Abdullah, and two other former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti at a time when a number of terror incidents have taken place in Srinagar. All these former chief ministers except Azad reside in Srinagar. However, and Azad will continue to be provided the security cover of the Security Guard, also known as Black cat commandoes, as both of them are Z-plus protectees. Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba will continue to have Z-plus security cover while in Jammu and Kashmir, but are likely to have reduced security outside the union territory. The leaders will be provided security by the district police as well as the security wing based on the threat assessment, the officials said. Some of the SSG personnel would be posted with the security wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police for "close protection team", they said. The officials said the remaining SSG personnel are likely to be posted to other wings so that the police force can make the best use of their training and knowledge. Vehicles and other gadgets will be transferred to the security wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed BJP MP Subramanian Swamy's petition seeking the quashing of the disinvestment process and investigation into the role and functioning of the respondent authorities. The bench of Justices DN Patel and Jyoti Singh on Thursday dismissed the petition and said the order will be uploaded in this regard. Swamy tweeted, "The Delhi HC dismisses my WP on . But reasoned Order is being uploaded. After reading that we shall decide on going to SC." The petitioner, Subramaniam Swamy, had appeared himself and argued that the bid process was arbitrary, corrupt, malafide, unconstitutional and against the public interest, rigged in favour of Tata Sons. There is a clear statement that the insolvency process is ongoing in Madras High Court which passed orders against Spicejet and therefore it was not entitled to bid. As a result, this means that there was only one bidder and the bid cannot take place, said . Swamy further said that he is not against the disinvestment process. "I am in favour of disinvestment. I have always believed in the idea of an open market," he added. "The Tatas are very much a part of Air Asia. This matter has been pending before Your Lordships and you have asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to make investigations including in the Tatas' role," he said. Meanwhile, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta appeared for Central Government and while opposing the petition stated that there are many misconceptions in the present petition, and no cases are pending against the winning bidder. Air Asia facing some cases in 2013 not relevant to case, it wasn't even Air India's bidder, he added Disinvestment is a policy decision, and cannot be contested in courts. was losing thousands of crores every day, couldn't have continued more, he said. Senior Advocate Harish Salve had appeared for Tata Group. While opposing the Swamy plea he submitted that the successful bidder is a 100 per cent Indian company owned 100 per cent by an Indian. The share purchase agreement has been signed and everything is in the public domain. also sought direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the role and functioning of the respondent authorities and submit a detailed report in the present Air India disinvestment process exclusively to this Court. "All efforts" to hand over all operations of Air India to Tata Sons by the end of December, Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation Rajiv Bansal had said recently. Tata Sons had won the bid for acquiring carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore, on October 8, 2021, ending Centre's attempts to privatise the debt-laden airline. Tata Sons, which originally launched Air India with a namesake branding (Tata Air Services) in 1932, bid for the carrier under its wholly-owned subsidiary Talace Pvt Ltd for Rs 18,000 crore. Tata Sons were up against Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh-led consortium who had bid Rs 15,100 crore. The total debt of Air India as of August 31 stands at Rs 61,562 crore. According to Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the debt of the airline would be taken over by the successful bidder (Tata Sons) is Rs 15,300 crore while the remaining debt of Rs 46,262 crore will go to Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL). Under the divestment conditions, Tata sons will retain Rs 15,300 crore of Air India's debt and pay Rs 2,700 crore to the government, of the total Rs 18,000 crore price. The government earlier informed that the winning bidder--Tata Sons--will retain all employees for one year and the group will need to offer a voluntary retirement scheme if it decides on retrenchment after the period. The government has said that the interest of the employees and retired employees would be taken care of in the disinvestment process. The government will divest its 100 per cent stake in Air India, Air India Express and 50 per cent stake in ground handling company AISATS. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after a security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Punjab visit, Union Minister on Wednesday said that he believes that the judicial system of the country gives justice to all. "There was a big lapse in the security of the Prime Minister yesterday in Punjab. On this matter, some people have gone to the Supreme Court. The Home Ministry has also sought a report. The judicial system of the country gives justice to all," the Union Minister said when asked about the Punjab government allegedly denying charges of lapse in security. Notably, the Punjab government on Thursday constituted a high-level committee to investigate lapses during PM Modi's visit to Ferozepur. The Committee would comprise Justice (Retd.) Mehtab Singh Gill, Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) and Justice Anurag Verma and would submit its report within three days, the state government led by Congress has said. According to sources, all ministers during the cabinet meeting expressed anguish and concern over the security lapse. The Prime Minister was stuck atop a flyover for 15- 20 minutes while on his way to Ferozepur, Punjab on Wednesday due to the road being blocked by some protesters. The Union Health Ministry termed it as a "major lapse" in his security. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday said Prime Minister was troubled with only 15 minutes of wait whereas farmers protested against the farm laws for a year. In a "major security lapse", Modi's convoy was left stranded on a flyover in Ferozepur on Wednesday after some protesting farmers blocked the road forcing the PM to return from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event or rally. I want to ask Pradhan Mantri Sahab, our farmer brothers camped at the Delhi borders for over one year ... tell me, they stayed there for one and half-year. Your media did not say anything. And yesterday you had to wait for 15 minutes, Sidhu said addressing a rally at Barnala. Why these double standards, he asked. #WATCH Farmers sat on protest at Delhi borders for over a year,but yesterday when PM had to wait for around 15 mins he was troubled by it. Why these double standards? Modi Ji, you had said that you'll double farmers' income but you even took away what they had: Navjot Sidhu, Cong pic.twitter.com/qtflt4WmOI ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 He alleged instead of doubling farmers' income as promised, Modi took whatever little the farmers had. He said only 500 people turned up at the BJP rally which was to be addressed by Modi at Ferozepur. Sidhu also called former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh shameless for addressing empty chairs at the rally. Later, Sidhu in a tweet alleged that the whole event was to divert attention from the low turnout at the rally. PM couldn't have addressed empty chairs like shameless Ex CM Captain (Amarinder Singh). Only way out was to divert media attention to the alleged security threat & save humiliation of addressing 500 people on 70000 chairs. "This is a colossal failure of BJP in Punjab. They were like a burst balloon!! he wrote. Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma dismissed as baseless claims that not many turned up for the BJP's Ferozepur rally and alleged that the state police was instructed not to allow party workers from reaching the rally site. He alleged the government was deliberately preventing the Prime Minister to inaugurate developmental projects worth thousands of crores, as it feared the BJP will gain public support. "Congress leaders say that chairs were empty at the Ferozepur rally, but despite obstacles our workers faced, thousands reached the rally venue. You should question the government why were our buses were stopped at several places?" asked Sharma. Activists of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) on Wednesday had blocked the road near village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road as part of their protest. The PM's convoy got stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes when it reached near village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road. Faced with the blockade, the PM's convoy drove back to Bathinda airport. Modi after landing in Bathinda on Wednesday had to take the road route to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur because of the inclement weather. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facing flak from the BJP over the "security lapse" during the prime minister's Punjab visit, Chief Minister on Thursday alleged that Narendra Modi's "life threat gimmick" was aimed at "toppling a democratically elected government" in the state. Channi further said the prime minister is a respected leader of the nation but it does not behove a leader of his stature to indulge in "such cheap theatricals". He was addressing a gathering here after laying the foundation stone for development works worth Rs 18 crore at the New Grain Market, an official statement said. The chief minister claimed there was no threat to Modi's life ut he cancelled his programme on Wednesday because of less number of people in the BJP's rally at Ferozepur. He said because of the empty chairs at the rally venue, the prime minister went back to the capital citing the "frivolous reason of security threat". Channi alleged that the "false pretext" on which the PM cancelled his visit was part of a "larger conspiracy to defame Punjab and murder democracy in the state on lines of what was done earlier in Jammu and Kashmir". The chief minister asked how could the prime minister's life be threatened if the protestors were more than a kilometre away from him. He said that the place where Modi's cavalcade stopped not even a slogan was raised, then how could his life have been threatened. Channi reminded Modi that Punjabis have sacrificed their lives for unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country and added that they could never pose any danger to the life and security of the prime minister. "The thin presence of public in the rally has exposed the poor position of the BJP in the state which is not going down well with its entire leadership," he claimed. Citing a comparison, Channi said the weather was poor on Wednesday and on Thursday as well but there were very few takers for BJP's rally on Wednesday, whereas the Congress's rally was swelling with people across the state. "Yesterday's gimmick by the prime minister and his coterie is aimed at imposing the President rule in the state," he claimed. Channi reminded the prime minister that Punjab can be won only with love and not by pressure. He said Punjabis will vehemently oppose any move to destabilise democracy in the state. The chief minister urged Modi to "stop defaming the state and its people for vested political interests". Channi reminded him that Punjabis have played a key role in socio-economic development of the country, besides safeguarding its borders. "The slanderous campaign launched by the BJP is an insult to all the Punjabis and it is unwarranted and undesirable," he said. At a separate event at Machhiwara in Ludhiana, Channi asked what were the intelligence officials around the prime minister doing if they had sensed a threat to his safety. Channi said the fact of the matter was that barely 700 people turned up at the BJP's rally but the blame was pinned on the Punjab government citing security threat to the prime minister. "The truth is that five days before the PM's scheduled rally, the Special Protection Group (SPG) took over the landing spot, rally site and (went over) each security detail but later the prime minister's cavalcade suddenly took land route," Channi said, adding that the route was cleared by the SPG. The chief minister reiterated that had there been any danger to the prime minister, every Punjabi was nationalist enough to face bullets as they had done before in the service of the nation. Punjabis have never shied away from making sacrifices for the nation and are as patriotic a race as any other in the country, he said. At Tanda in Hoshiarpur, Channi termed former chief minister Amarinder Singh a "political deadwood", saying it was evident from a rally on Wednesday where the royal scion of Patiala addressed empty chairs. He said that everyone knew Amarinder Singh had "backstabbed" Punjab due to which no one wanted to listen to him. "The day is not far when all the candidates of the Maharaja will lose their deposits in the polls," Channi claimed. Assailing AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Channi described him as a "chronic liar", alleging that he was trying to "mislead the people of the state with his fake promises". In a "major security lapse", Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a scheduled rally. The prime minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 42,750 crore, including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway and a PGIMER satellite centre on Wednesday, besides addressing a rally. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Inspired by Apple, has announced to launch at least 13 new software features this year, ranging from AirPods-like fast switching to unlocking your Chromebook via smartwatch. 'Fast Pair' feature has already helped people connect their Android phones with Bluetooth accessories over 100 million times. "We're continuing our work with partners to further extend Fast Pair's functionality beyond audio connectivity with wearables, headphones, speakers and cars and extending it to TVs and smart home devices, so you can instantly start using all the devices in your life, said Erik Kay, VP of Multi-Device Experiences at Google, during the CES 2022. had pulled out from CES 2022 in-person owing to the Covid-19 and Omicron threat. Starting in a few weeks, when you turn on your Fast Pair-enabled headphones, your Chromebook will automatically detect it and pair with it in a single click, letting you stay focused when studying or working wherever you are. In the coming months, you'll be able to set up your headphones for when you need to watch quietly with your TV or Android TV OS device at home. "With built-in support for Matter on Android, you'll be able to use Fast Pair to quickly connect new Matter-enabled smart home devices to your network, Google Home and other accompanying apps all in just a few taps," Kay informed. Google said that in the coming months, you will be able to unlock and access your Chromebook, Android phone or tablet from your paired Wear OS smartwatch. "With a digital car key, you can now use your compatible Samsung or Pixel phone to lock, unlock and start your supported BMW vehicles from your phone. Starting later this year, on phones with Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, you won't even have to take your phone out to use it as a car key," Google announced. The company is also building a for Bluetooth-enabled headphones that will enable them to automatically switch the audio to whatever device you're listening to. These features will be available in the next few months on supported headphones. "To help you cast music and podcasts you're listening to from your Android phone to more of your speakers, we're bringing Chromecast built-in to more brands, starting with all Bose smart speakers and soundbars in the next few months," said Google. Later this year, if you're working on your Chromebook and your Android phone is out of reach (such as charging in a different room), you'll be able to stay in touch by accessing chat apps from your phone directly to your Chromebook, the company added. --IANS na/svn/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kochi (Kerala) [India], January 6 (ANI/ATK): India's leading NBFC Muthoottu Mini Financiers Limited's powerful portrayal of a woman protagonist in its latest commercial has taken the internet by storm and has got the netizens talking about it. With over 2 million views in youtube itself (Malayalam and Hindi) and counting, the newly launched commercial film's storyline centering around a confident young woman rocking the social status-quo is driving conversations on social media. Helmed by award-winning director Martin Prakkat and magnificently captured by celebrated cinematographer Jomon T. John, this masterpiece was shot at some of the most picturesque locales in Ladakh. The duo, true to their reputation has brilliantly articulated and captured the controlled emotions of the protagonist, her sly suitor's expectations and the bonding she shares with her open-minded progressive father, sans cliched theatrics or verbatim. The strategically thought ad brings the essence of women to focus, not conforming to expectations, or letting barriers to their dreams, get in the way - as mirrored by a soul-stirring drive through the limitless expanse of the Ladakh The film goes on to establish a strong message that no dreams are beyond a woman's reach if she is focused, has strong convictions backed by a like-minded and progressive-thinking partner. This story telling perfectly aligns with the brand Muthoottu Mini's slogan - Standing by you, always. Speaking at the sidelines of the launch of the new commercial, Mathew Muthoottu, Managing Director, Muthoottu Mini Financiers Limited said, "we are thrilled and ecstatic at the overwhelming response to our new commercial which encourages women to dream and calls for shattering cultural stereotyping of women. The film makes a bold attempt to dispel outdated societal myths still in vogue and the need to bring-in a paradigm shift in our attitude towards women. Being a socially responsible company, with strong values, we are extremely proud in rooting for a socially relevant cause. Time has come to address challenges faced by women and stress on the importance of increased participation of women in the mainstream activities, be it socio-cultural-politico-economical. We urge women of today to dream, stay financially independent and go places. Rest assured, we, the Muthoottu Mini, will stand by you always" Muthoottu's New Ad (Hindi):(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBCJozP8w_w & t=1s) Muthoottu's New Ad (Malayalam):(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaheZJIdjFY) This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While the world went gung ho about the rise of cryptocurrencies last year, a yellow metal which has not lost its shine as an investment option for thousands of years now, yet again proved its mettle. As the pandemic waned and lockdown lifted, the wedding halls came alive to the sound of DJs and to the shine of gold jewelleries donned by the bride and women guests. India imported 1,050 tonnes of gold worth about $55.7 billion in 2021, more than double the amount of 2020. Last years gold import bill surpassed the previous high recorded in 2011. It was indeed the wedding rush which pushed Indias gold import bill to another high last year. But the spread of a new Covid-19 variant is threatening to spoil the wedding industrys party again, at a time when it looked all set to recover its previous losses. Restrictions are back again. Delhi has capped the number of guests in any ceremony to just 20. Several other states have taken similar measures. Find out more about how Omicron may deal another blow to the wedding industry. Unlike the wedding industry, the equity markets looked unperturbed by Omicron and resultant restrictions. Frontline indices rallied for a fourth straight day on Wednesday amid a solid rally in financial stocks. The Sensex and the Nifty reclaimed their crucial levels of 60,000 and 17,900, respectively, overlooking Covid-19-related restrictions placed by state governments. Is this a cause of concern for investors? Are markets ignoring the threat from the third wave? Most emerging markets -- including that of India-- are performing so well because they carried out radical economic reforms like and in early 1990. The then government, led by PV Narasimha Rao, charted a new industrial policy in 1991 to offload stakes in public sector undertakings. and became the new norms then. And they still are. Loss making national carrier Air India was privatized last year. And the government is going ahead with LIC this year. But is there any difference between these two terms, this podcast finds out. After Delhi, Karnataka became the second to impose a weekend curfew in the state, starting this week, amid rising Covid-19 cases. With positivity rate approaching the 10%-mark in Delhi and around nearly 3% in Karnataka, the states are eyeing a total curfew over the weekend, including a shutdown of non-essential shops, malls and more restrictions on public transport, weddings and funerals. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana and Punjab, too, have imposed similar restrictions. Yet, the sporadic curbs and rise in cases, have failed to deter market bulls from their march. In the first three days of 2022, the BSE Sensex has already surged nearly 2,000 points, while the Nifty50 has climbed about 600 points. So, are the bulls ignoring a potential threat from a third wave and localised lockdown? Vaibhav Sanghavi, Co-CEO of Avendus Capital decodes this market behaviour. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, too, believes that since the severity of the variant remains low, the expect restrictions to be removed soon. That said, mild consolidation cant be ruled out over the next few weeks as investor focus will shift to key events. In nutshell, expectation of healthy Q3 earnings from India Inc and resumption of FPI buying are outweighing concerns surrounding new virus variants. Thus, any lockdown, analysts believe, may not be met with serious correction as market participants will eye economic growth and the governments reform agenda. As regards Thursday, weekly F&O expiry and stock-specific action will remain key market triggers. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Winners of MARS Best African Women Researchers Awards Regina Wachuka Mbugua, KENYA Temitope Adeyemo, NIGERIA Ebele Onuigbo, NIGERIA Beatrice Mukami Muriuki, KENYA Njua Clarisse, CAMEROON Winners of MARS Best Young African Researchers Awards Touwendpoulimde Isabelle Kiendrebeogo, BURKINA FASO Jude Ogechukwu Okoye, NIGERIA Jean-Paul Ngbolua Koto-Te-Nyiwa, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Winners of MARS Best Young African Researchers Special Awards Jean Claude Djontu, CAMEROON Jason Kilembe Thambwe, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Okedi Francis Xaviour, UGANDA Marceline Djuidje Ngounoue, CAMEROON Oppah Kuguyo, ZIMBABWE All Abstracts will be peer reviewed, and 15 winners will be eligible for a sponsorship to attend MARS Summit Best three Abstracts will be eligible for Research Awards Research Awards will be also dedicated for Best African Women Researchers Click on the link below to Download Merck Foundation App https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.merck.foundation&hl=en Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard Facebook: Merck Foundation Twitter: @Merckfoundation YouTube: MerckFoundation Instagram: Merck Foundation Flickr: Merck Foundation Website: www.merck-foundation.com - STG completes acquisition of Kantars Reputation Intelligence business alongside investments in PRgloo and Onclusive - The three businesses merge forming a new standalone company which adopts the name Onclusive reflecting inclusive and globally scalable strengths of the newly combined offer - New company provides clients with expanded geographical footprint in Europe and the US and portfolio of industry-leading media monitoring, measurement and workflow management solutions Today, leading technology investor Symphony Technology Group STG completes its acquisition of Kantars Reputation Intelligence business, and with it announces the additional purchases of PRgloo and Onclusive. Together the three businesses merge to create a new global media monitoring, measurement, and workflow management partner for PR and communications. The new standalone company will operate under the name Onclusive reflecting the inclusive and scalable nature of its newly combined offer and its commitment to accelerating investment in tech-powered platforms and solutions. The company builds on the consultative strengths and scale of Europes largest media monitoring and analysis provider, Kantar Reputation Intelligence; UK-based PRgloos industry-leading media relations and workflow management platform and US-based Onclusives AI technology and data science. Commenting on the new company, Chief Commercial Officer of the newly-formed Onclusive, Petra Masinova explained: Weve always admired each others strengths and weve increasingly teamed up on programmes to help solve clients needs. Today we accelerate our natural evolution to become one company, amplifying our strengths and supporting our clients with leading insights, technology and expertise together under one roof. Dan Beltramo, Chief Innovation Officer of the new Onclusive, also praised the union: Onclusive is a technology and innovation pioneer in media monitoring and analytics while Kantar Reputation Intelligence is a leader in customer service with top-tier European coverage and market-leading insights capabilities. It brings us scale and ambition for global leadership. Samantha Deeks, VP Customer Experience at new Onclusive added: Building on PRgloos customer-centric design approach, were delighted to work with like-minded industry leaders to build a scalable and agile business; one which actively listens and responds to the needs of its clients as they navigate an increasingly complex communications environment. Managing Director at STG, J.T. Treadwell, said: Last year STG made clear its intention to create a market leading insights and software company through the proposed acquisition of Kantar Reputation Intelligence. Completing that acquisition is a major first step and the additional capabilities brought by Onclusive and PRgloo widen the scope of our commitment to providing best-in-class solutions for PR and Communications teams, both now and in the future. Onclusive will serve more than 9,000 clients, including many of the worlds biggest brands, across 130 markets. The company has over 1,100 employees based in the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Australia. Onclusive North America Managing Director, Sean ONeal, continued: Our clients were our matchmakers they told us they wanted one trusted partner to help them access and integrate our combined best-in-class services. We listened and from today Onclusive will help every client from small enterprises to multi-national public and private organisations shape, manage and evaluate their communications strategies. From today, clients can access the new Onclusives full range of services, supporting them at every stage of the communications cycle. Existing services continue uninterrupted. About Onclusive Onclusive is a global partner for PR and Communications success. We bring together Kantar Reputation Intelligence, the largest media monitoring and measurement service in Europe, with the best-in-class tools of PRgloo, and Onclusives own powerful AI and data science. Our technology, insights and expertise make sense of the fractured, fast-moving media world, helping you manage, monitor and measure your communications activity. Elevate your performance and prove and improve your value with Onclusive on your side. About STG Partners STG is a private equity partner to market leading companies in software, data analytics and software-enabled technology services sectors. The firm brings expertise, flexibility, and resources to build strategic value and unlock the potential of innovative companies. Partnering to build customer-centric, market leading portfolio companies, STG seeks to create sustainable foundations for growth that bring value to its companies. The firm is dedicated to transforming and building outstanding technology companies in partnership with leading management teams. STG and its predecessor, Symphony Technology Group (Symphony), have managed approximately $6 billion in total capital. For more information, please visit stgpartners.com Kantar Reputation Intelligence The leader in earned media tracking and measurement in Europe. Reputation Intelligence provides trusted insights on corporate, PR and brand coverage in 130+ markets to brands can understand and manage how audiences and influencers see them, globally and locally. Onclusive Empowers the worlds leading brands and agencies to modernize communications, increase performance and demonstrate value. The inventors of PR Attribution and Power of Voice, Onclusive measures the true impact of earned, owned and social content on a companys bottom line. PRgloo The complete media relations platform. PRgloo combines easy to use tools with exceptional analysis to make PR professionals lives easier by giving them the tools they need to do their jobs well. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220104005044/en/ The Covid-19 outbreak in Xian is the most serious to hit China since the Wuhan outbreak, a top Chinese epidemiologist said, noting that the more transmissible delta variant is making it extremely arduous to control the disease in the city. Zeng Guang, former chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), said in a state media interview that the capital of Northwest Chinas Shaanxi province is battling a variant that spreads much faster than the Covid strain detected in Wuhan, Central Chinas Hubei province, at the start of the pandemic. The outbreak has spread along multiple chains of transmission that have been harder for authorities to trace than in previous outbreaks in China, Zeng said. Fort Hood, TX (76544) Today Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 72F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Airlines complain about Covid-19 quick test requirements The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has just proposed to the Ministry of Transport to remove quick Covid-19 test requirements for passengers flying in from Omicron-hit countries following complaints from airlines. Passengers arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on a Vietnam Airlines flight that landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport on January 1, 2022 In a proposal sent to the ministry on January 4, CAAV deputy director Dinh Viet Son said that they have received lots of complaints from Vietnamese and international airlines on challenges they are facing from the Covid-19 quick testing requirements before and after boarding the plane. According to CAAV, some airlines said the requirement to make passengers from Omicron-hit countries be quick-tested as they get on and get off planes is too troublesome. "Together with having the RT-PCR test result within 72 hours, passengers arriving in Vietnam are now having to take two more Covid-19 tests within a very short time", CAAV said. "Singapore Airlines has asked us to remove the quick testing requirement while reducing the RT-PCR validity from 72 hours to 48 hours before arrival." VietJet Air also said it would also be costly for passengers, especially for those whose PCR test results are still valid. Besides, not all airports provide such services. Cathay Pacific said that Tan Son Nhat Airport should follow Noi Bai Airport to collect the fees from passengers itself because it would be very difficult for airlines to do this work. Sharing the same idea with Cathay Pacific, Turkish Airlines added that Tan Son Nhat Airport should waive the requirements for the crew members. Therefore, CAAV proposed that airline passengers needn't take these quick tests as long as they have a negative RT-PCR test. "If the quick tests continue to be done, airports should collect the costs from passengers instead of airlines," CAAV proposed. Vietnam has so far resumed eight international flight routes to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Cambodia, the US, South Korea, Laos and Thailand. Between January 1-4, there were around 17 flights from foreign countries entering Vietnam, carrying over 1,700 passengers. VietJet, Bamboo Airways and China Airlines paid the quick testing fees for passengers on their planes. The UNC Institute of Marine Sciences building stands at 3431 Arendell St. in Morehead City. IMS is seeking artist proposals to design a mural to adorn the three-story, brick structure. (Contributed photo) Galt, CA (95632) Today Partly cloudy. High near 75F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 49F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. First responders report to the scene of a head-on collision Tuesday night at the intersection of Highway 70 and East Chatham Street in Newport, which resulted in two people being airlifted to Vidant Health in Greenville. (Contributed photo) Carroll, IA (51401) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High 47F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Rain. Low 39F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and consider subscribing for only $7 per month to get access to more articles and news as it happens. Education doesnt stop at the classroom door for students at the School of Visual Arts. This Fall semester at SVA, students in BFA Animation, BFA Computer Art, and MFA Computer Arts have found opportunities outside the classroom to foster creativity and community, and enrich their artistic journeys. Most recently, SVA renewed its Women in Animation (WIA) Student Club and has hosted Blender workshops. To learn more about these recent activities, read on. SVA first established the official WIA SVA Student Club in 2017. Since then, the college has continued to sponsor student memberships to all matriculated students who are studying in Animation, in person and remotely. SVA aligns with the goal of the organization Women in Animation to provide support and resources to all underrepresented gender identities as well as allies. This student-run WIA club provides a platform for students to find support in each other, via the WIA network as well as all other Student Clubs in other schools. The club aims to inform and inspire students through guest lectures, portfolio reviews, and workshops. We asked our student club leaders to reflect on some WIA SVA events they helped organize over the past year that contributed to their education outside the classroom. Industry Portfolio Review Vianey Contreras (MFA Computer Arts, WIA SVA Student Club Equipment Manager/Student Leader): After joining WIA SVA during the pandemic and attending a full remote year at SVA, it has been amazing to see how supportive WIA SVA is with events for its members. One that has stuck with me was our Portfolio Review. The club opened submissions to students for a chance to have their work seen by industry professionals from Blizzard, Pixar, Nickelodeon, and Titmouse. They were matched with those that fit their style. These events arent just for networking or improving skills: theyre opportunities to practice putting yourself out there and find inspiration. Jenni Lo Pan (BFA Animation senior, WIA SVA Student Club President): At the Portfolio Review hosted by WIA SVA, I got to see the drive and passion of students, and how everyone was eager to show their work and learn from the industry artists. After this event, I was inspired to reflect on my own animation and career goals. It is gratifying to connect with other artists wanting to help each other. Especially as students, we want to head towards the right career goals, and joining a club like WIA SVA can help. We really focus on strengthening students artistic skills and grow alongside amazing friends and animation families. In the end, WIA SVA continues to provide a great sense of community and leadership. Internship Panel Min Lee (BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation & Visual Effects, WIA SVA Student Club Secretary): Ive always heard that the most important thing for an animator is to stay connected with many other artists. Through many WIA SVA events, I have met a lot of people in animation to learn from. The internship panel was one of the events WIA SVA hosted, where we heard what it is like to be an intern at studios such as Pixar, Nickelodeon, Blue Sky Studios, and 100 Chickens. It was very informative and fun to communicate with our guests Daniela Dwek (BFA Computer Art 2020), Annie Chen (MFA Computer Arts 2020), CK Lu (MFA Computer Arts 2020), Ziyi Wang (BFA Animation 2021) and get to ask about our interests and concerns around interning as students. Brooke Burnett (BFA Animation, WIA SVA Student Club Vice President): Working collaboratively with other WIA SVA officers and academic advisors, WIA SVA has hosted a variety of events that provide engaging resources for learning about the ins and outs of the animation industry. This past May, we hosted a panel about developing and pitching an original pilot with the creators of Long Gone Gulch, Tara Billinger and Zach Bellissimo. As a co-host of the program, it was humbling to have the opportunity to speak with Zach and Tara, and feel all of the participants were incredibly grateful for the knowledge and direct feedback they gained during the panel. Blender Workshops SVA Animation also holds shared workshops to broaden students technical skills. The most recent, hosted in the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters, were held in conjunction with Blender artists in the industry. The first workshop took place in August and was taught by Satish Goda, a Technical Director currently at Netflix. In the first session, participants were able to familiarize themselves with the user interface, set up a scene, add physics to objects, and render the scene within two hours. Over the course of four sessions Goda ledd current students as well as recent graduates through a crash course in Blender, demystifying this very complicated program and empowering them to dive in. The second series of workshops, aptly named The Superpowers of Mixing Pencil Drawings and CG in Blender, took place over October. They were taught by Alexandre Heboyan, an acclaimed filmmaker based in Paris. Alex showed attendees how to integrate 2d drawings in Blender with 3d elements using the Grease Pencil toolset, enabling artists to block out cinematic shots in a relatively short time. Thanks to Alex demonstrating his revolutionary workflow, attendees were able to storyboard scenes and edit their videos directly within Blender during the course of the workshop. These are two examples of a few creative collaborations between the BFA Animation, BFA Computer Art, and MFA Computer Arts departments at School of Visual Arts. Coming together to learn outside the classroom has fostered collaboration and new initiatives in education. Pictured at top: Alumni Daniela Dwek (BFA Computer Art 2020), Annie Chien (MFA Computer Arts 2020), CK Lu (MFA Computer Arts 2020), and Ziyi Wang (BFA Animation 2021) presenting at the WIA SVA Internship Panel. Photo: The Canadian Press Orange shirts, shoes, flowers and messages left on the steps of the B.C. Legislature last summer in honour of residential school children whose unmarked graves were detected near a former residential school in Kamloops. Chad Hipolito, The Canadian Press If the major goal of the Truth and Reconciliation movement is to bring healing and encourage reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, it will not be achieved by impressive-sounding call to action speeches. It will be about learning. Nor will truth and reconciliation be accomplished by lofty political promises or by public acknowledgements that such and thus is occurring on unceded territories (which covers most of B.C.), or by tearing down statues of those now out of favour or by rejigging museums and renaming streets to de-colonialize mistakes made and wrongs done in another time. Maybe its a start, but its not nearly enough. The fact is that the Constitution could not be clearer that Indigenous land rights do exist, according to Benjamin Ralston, a lecturer and researcher at the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. But the flaw, says Ralston, is in the interminable fights over exactly what those rights are, which can take decades to resolve in non-Indigenous courtrooms or in government-organized treaty negotiations all of which serves only to reveal cognitive dissonance in the system when it comes to achieving meaningful truth and reconciliation. The real problem is, what do we do now while these slow processes are proceeding? asks Ralston. Thats easy we start with learning. We start this learning in our schools by teaching why, in light of what we now know, the dreams of the future are better than the history of the past. And yes, thats a quote from Jefferson, a seriously flawed individual by current standards, but whose vision and words still resonate in a country that struggles to live down its past. Canadian history, our kids must learn, is similarly a long list of mistakes that will not be erased by adorning new or existing schools with Indigenous symbols. Instead, schools should be structured to accept that some of the cultural expectations and assumptions underlying both the organization and curricula of public education are in conflict with many of the enduring cultural values, beliefs and practices of Indigenous tribal life. If truth and reconciliation is to become more that a catchphrase, beliefs and cultural obligations that define Indigenous family life must be taken into account through the configuration of our schools in 2021. Currently, and I do not believe that this is overstating the case, attempts to force-fit Indigenous kids into what is still essentially a colonial model of public education are only a few generations away from the assumptions that led to the development of the residential schools first established in the 1880s the stated purpose of which was to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian society. What is needed, if truth and reconciliation is to become part of every childs understanding, is a curriculum that is well-resourced and culturally sensitive; a curriculum that is aligned with the learning needs, languages, priorities and aspirations of K-12 Indigenous kids, and that is delivered through culturally appropriate teaching strategies, and in culturally appropriate settings. In her book Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools, author Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse, an Ojibwe/Odawa woman from the community of Sagamok Anishnawbek in Northern Ontario, provides personal insights, authentic resources, interactive strategies and lesson plans that support Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners in the classroom. Toulouse has published more than 50 education resources, ranging from books to curriculum documents. Her book should be a must-read for school district trustees, administrators and teachers in the public system. Toulouse presents a culturally relevant and holistic approach that facilitates relationship building and promotes ways to engage in everyday reconciliation activities and perspectives that include residential school history, treaty education, Indigenous contributions, First Nation/Metis/Inuit perspectives and sacred circle teachings that can be integrated into public school curricula. If our national and global call to truth and reconciliation action is ever to be realized, Toulouses essential resource to teaching and learning about Indigenous history could be part of that. Her text moves beyond acknowledgements and apologies to knowledge, culture and contributions to a restorative education about, and with, Indigenous peoples. In well-organized, clear language, Toulouse first maps out and then explains important First Nations concepts and methods for meaningful teaching and learning. But there is more to it than that. Much more. It is and will continue to be, especially for the coming generation, about learning. As American poet Amanda Gorman explains so clearly: Every day we are learning How to live with essence, not ease. How to move with haste, never hate. How to leave this pain that is beyond us behind us. Just like a skill or any art, We cannot possess hope without practising it It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves. Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Photo: DriveBC DriveBC has issued travel advisories for the Okanagan Connector and the Coquihalla Highway as more winter weather arrives. The advisory is in place for Highway 97C between West Kelowna and Merritt and also Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt. That stretch of the Coquihalla is restricted to essential and commercial vehicles only, no passengers vehicle are permitted but drivers are still being warned to take precautions as heavy blowing snow is forecast for Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. "If travel is necessary please be prepared for delays. Watch for crews and equipment working and consider alternate plans," DriveBC said Wednesday. Environment Canada has also issued a winter storm warning for the Thompson-Okanagan and Coquihalla, Okanagan Connector and Hope-Princeton highways. Hazardous winter conditions are expected, and significant snowfall is anticipated starting tonight right through until Thursday. Environment Canada is calling for snowfall accumulations of 20 to 30 centimetres on mountain passes. Photo: The Canadian Press A woman lights a candle in front of a memorial before a ceremony for Ottawa area victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, at Ottawa City Hall, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Iran has snubbed yet another deadline set by Canada and its allies to negotiate a settlement for the families of those killed when its military shot down a passenger jet two years ago. And that comes as no surprise to the spokesman for families and loved ones of the people killed on Jan. 8, 2020, when Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. All 176 people on board died, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, along with nationals of Britain, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sweden. The coalition of countries, which calls itself the International Co-ordination and Response Group, had last month given Iran a deadline of Wednesday to come to the bargaining table and negotiate compensation for the victims' loved ones. But there was no response from Iran, part of a pattern that has seen the coalition of countries and international aviation authorities repeatedly stonewalled on investigating the shootdown and holding the perpetrators to account. Hamed Esmaeilion, whose wife and nine-year-old daughter died in the tragedy, called on Canada and its allies to refer the matter to the International Civil Aviation Organization for more aggressive action toward Iran. "This case should have gone to ICAO a long time ago. We had said to all these governments since the beginning that Iran won't comply. They decided to learn it the hard way," Esmaeilion said Wednesday. Esmaeilion, the spokesman for the Association of Victims' Families of Flight PS752, has in the past criticized the ICAO for failing to hold Iran accountable and enforce international aviation rules. "This case will be referred to ICAO immediately. Today. Now. Today diplomacy ends and justice begins." He also called on the RCMP to open "a criminal case immediately based on the terrorist nature of this crime." A spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada said that the government remains committed to "seeking answers and pursuing justice for this tragedy for the victims and their families." Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has also met with families and counterparts in other countries in the coalition, said spokeswoman Lama Khodr in an emailed response to questions. Canada and its coalition countries had initially asked Iran to discuss compensation during the week of Jan. 17, but because Iran showed "apparent reluctance," that deadline was moved up to Wednesday, said Khodr, referring to a December statement from the group of countries. In its Dec. 16 statement, the response group said that if it had no response from Iran by Jan. 5, "we will have to assume that further attempts to negotiate reparations with Iran are futile. The Co-ordination Group will have to seriously consider other actions to resolve this matter within the framework of international law." The Jan. 8, 2020, tragedy unfolded against a backdrop of escalating violence in the region. Days earlier, a U.S. drone strike killed Iran's top military commander in Iraq. Iran then retaliated by launching missile attacks on bases in Iraq where American troops were stationed. Canadian troops were also stationed on the base as part of an international mission. No military personnel were harmed. Then came the shootdown of PS752. Iran initially denied responsibility but admitted three days later that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard mistakenly hit the Ukrainian jetliner with two surface-to-air missiles. Iran has blamed human error, but Canada and its allies have dismissed the explanation and demanded a full accounting from the country demands that have essentially fallen on deaf ears in Tehran. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted the upcoming second anniversary of the tragedy in remarks at a news conference on Wednesday. "This is also a difficult time of year as we remember the victims of flight PS752 and other air disasters. Families who continue to grieve who celebrated yet another holiday season with empty spaces around the table," he said. "Know that we stand with you. Know that we continue to fight for you. Know that we will continue to be there to support you as you grieve, as you face the long slow process of healing and as we continue to demand accountability and justice." Photo: The Canadian Press The Sony Vision-S 02 electric SUV is debuted during the Sony news conference at the CES tech show, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz) Thousands of people have gathered in Las Vegas for a tech conference thats been scaled back because of COVID-19 pandemic precautions. The floors of the CES gadget show opened Wednesday with conference attendees required to wear masks and show proof of vaccination. We know that this CES is going to be different, said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Technology Association, the events organizer. He spoke during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch the show. The trade group hasnt disclosed attendance numbers but said it expects tens of thousands of people for the multi-day event, though not nearly as many as the 170,000 who showed up for the last physical CES two years ago. This year's expo features 2,300 exhibitors from 19 countries, the CTA said. A number of big tech companies pulled out ahead of the show amid concerns about the rapid spread of the omicron coronavirus variant. Some of those companies are still participating digitally. General Motors CEO Mary Barra spoke virtually from Detroit for a keynote talk Wednesday, but celebrity Paris Hilton was scheduled to give an in-person talk later in the day about the digital assets known as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. Photo: The Canadian Press Brian Masse stands with other members of the NDP caucus to applaud NDP leader Jagmeet Singh at the start of a two day caucus meeting in Ottawa, Wednesday January 22, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Grocery stores are being urged to reinstate hazard pay for workers facing extra health and safety risks from the highly contagious Omicron variant. The federal NDP critic for economic development has written to the heads of Canada's biggest supermarkets asking them to restore "pandemic pay," which was brought in after COVID-19 first struck but was then cancelled. Brian Masse, MP for Windsor West, says grocery store workers, including those at the checkout, are doing risky work during the Omicron surge and again deserve "hazard pay" for helping to keep stores open and shelves stocked. He said supermarket workers are "unrecognized heroes" going into work to ensure Canadians don't face shortages. More often women and ethnic minorities, and with low incomes, these workers should be made to feel their work during the Omicron surge is valued, Masse said. "It is eye-popping that two years after the pandemic started we should be still be discussing rights and rewards for essential workers," he told The Canadian Press. "There's no doubt they are essential. It's not just groceries, but pharmacies and other stores we rely on." The MP says he wants to hold Sobeys CEO Michael Medline to his promise before a Commons committee in July 2020 that he would reintroduce a wage premium if provinces reinstated public health restrictions. Masse sits on the House of Commons standing committee on industry and technology, which in summer 2020 held hearings into supermarkets decisions to cancel pay boosts for their employees during the pandemic. At the committee Medline, president and CEO of Empire, which owns Sobeys, was the only supermarket chief to commit to reinstate pay boosts if new COVID-19 lockdowns were introduced. "Should this terrible virus rear its ugly head to the degree that provincial authorities in certain regions of a province go back to lockdown like we experienced in March and April, we will put hero pay back into our company stores in those regions or cities. That would be the right thing to do," he said. Sobeys and a few other grocery store chains provided workers with a temporary wage bump during the third wave of COVID-19 in spring 2021. On Wednesday Masse wrote to Medline along with Eric La Fleche, president and CEO of Metro, which also owns Super C and Food Basics, and Galen G. Weston, chairman and president of Loblaw, asking if they planned to bring in pandemic pay boosts now that some provinces have reintroduced restrictions to tackle the Omicron variant. Ontario has returned schools to online learning while Quebec has begun Sunday closures of stores, with the exception of pharmacies, convenience stores and gas stations.British Columbia and Manitoba have also tightened controls. Loblaw did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Metro declined to comment. Sobeys said it had distributed over $110 million in "hero pay" and bonuses to its front-line team members. In his reply to Masse, Medline said it had offered a lockdown bonus program in Nova Scotia and Ontario this past summer, as they were each in lockdowns that closed all non-essential retail. Jacquelin Weatherbee, vice-president of communications at Sobeys, said the company is closely watching the constantly changing government restrictions. "As our president and CEO promised in July 2020 at the (committee) hearing, should we find ourselves in government-mandated lockdowns that close all non-essential retail, we will reinstate our lockdown bonus as we have done every single time, since that promise was made." Photo: The Canadian Press NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his wife Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu arrive on stage during the Canadian federal election in Vancouver, Monday, September 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has become a father for the first time, to a baby daughter. Singh announced Thursday that he and his wife Gurkiran Kaur welcomed a baby girl into the world on Monday. "Our powerful little baby girl is basically my birthday present for life," Singh wrote on Twitter. "Momma bear and baby are healthy and our hearts are filled with gratitude." Singh celebrated his 43rd birthday the day before his daughter's birth. The NDP leader has previously expressed his excitement about becoming a father. He and his wife, a fashion designer, were married in February 2018 in a traditional Sikh wedding. They honeymooned in Mexico. The NDP leader, who has campaigned in the past for better paternity and maternity benefits for new parents, is planning to take some paternity leave. Parliament has not yet returned after the winter holiday break. "He's planning to take some time off to spend time with his wife and new baby," said an NDP spokesperson. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole offered his congratulations on Twitter, adding: "Wishing you all the very best as you both enter parenthood!" Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet also tweeted congratulations, adding good wishes from his MPs and party members. "There are few happier events or magnificent results than a birth," Blanchet wrote. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is raising awareness of the risks of rabies from bats in the U.S. after three people, including one child, died from rabies between late September and early November 2021. The three cases, described in the January 6, 2022, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, bring the total number of cases in 2021 to five, compared to no reported rabies cases in people during 2019 and 2020. Over a five-week period between September 28, and November 3, 2021, three people one each in Idaho, Illinois, and Texas were confirmed to have rabies after direct contact with bats in or around their homes and died. Two of the bat-associated cases were considered avoidable exposures: one was attributed to a bat roost in the patients home, the other to the patient picking up the bat with bare hands. Two patients released the bat, rather than capturing it for testing. None of the three individuals received post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), shots that can prevent rabies from developing if received before symptoms start. We have come a long way in the United States towards reducing the number of people who become infected each year with rabies, but this recent spate of cases is a sobering reminder that contact with bats poses a real health risk, said Ryan Wallace, DVM, MPH, a veterinarian and rabies expert in CDCs Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology. Exposure to rabid bats is the leading cause of rabies in humans in the U.S., accounting for 70% of people who become infected. The number of rabid bats reported to the National Rabies Surveillance System has been stable since 2007, which suggests that this uptick in cases of rabies in people may be due to a lack of awareness about of the risks of rabies and that getting PEP is a life-or-death matter. Bat bites do not always cause a visible mark yet can still spread rabies virus through infected saliva so any direct contact with a bat should be assessed by a clinical or public health provider. It typically takes anywhere between three weeks to three months, though sometimes more or less time, for people to develop symptoms if infected. PEP is effective in preventing rabies until symptoms develop. Once symptoms begin, rabies is nearly always fatal. CDC is urging people to take the following measures to prevent or lessen the risk of infection with rabies: Avoid direct contact with bats. If you do come into contact with a bat OR if someone possibly had contact with a bat, do the following: Call your state or local health department or animal control to help trap the bat for testing or safely trap the bat yourself. Testing a bat to determine if it is rabid can help to determine whether you need PEP. Contact your doctor or a local public health official to assess whether PEP is needed. These steps are important even if contact with a bat takes place through clothing and bite or scratch marks are not visible. Sometimes it is not clear whether someone may have had contact with a bat, such as when a bat is found in a room with someone who is sleeping or where a child has been left unattended. If potentially exposed to a rabid animal, receiving PEP soon after exposure and before symptoms begin is critical. While rabies deaths in people in the United States are not common, CDC estimates that approximately 60,000 people receive PEP each year to prevent becoming ill with rabies. PEP is nearly 100% effective at preventing rabies if received before symptoms start. For more information about rabies, visit Rabies | CDC. Buena Vista, CO (81211) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High 61F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight A clear sky. Low 33F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Elon Musk's plan to send the first human settlers to colonize Mars might not be easily done, according to experts on the matter. First human Martians could get old faster due to the long trip in space is unknown for now. Food is a big concern if the people can sustain farming in an unfamiliar place, fearing that a food shortage could result in cannibalism to survive in the Red Planet. Fears of living on the red planet Most scientists think conquering and occupying Mars is a huge logistical problem from the onset. They infer those multiple problems need to be addressed for first time-space flight, reported the Sun UK. Unlike earth, which is a stable environment compared to the next human settlement on the red planet., we need to consider diseases, how food will be grown, and how much would be available for the initial pioneers are what should be thought over to live there, cited the Metro UK. Another is that supplies need to be replenished regularly from the home planet, or a food shortage will end the first attempt to live in another world, just like the sci-fi of today. Professor of astrobiology from the University of Edinburg, Charles Cockell, said that the most advanced technology could not stop far-flung communes from turning to lawlessness. He added that if Callisto were a settlement, they would devour each other when things go wrong and the plant growth module breaks. To survive due to the lack of food, we might become cannibals. It's one of Jupiter's moons and another place-to-place human pioneer in the solar system, other than Mars and Earth. It is farther than to colonize Mar, and Elon Musk is on the first step since reaching the Moon. Read Also: China To Beat the US in Space Race 2.0, Could Reach Mars in 20 Years As NASA Doomed by Problems Causing Delays Portland State University anthropologist Cameron Smith stated that farming and food production is crucial to space colonization. Moving out not having this technology would be suicide for the first planetary settlers sent to space, noted Mail Online. First wave of Mars settlers could be in 2026 Scholars agree it's too early to go farther than the Moon or Mars, considering how fast supplies can get there is a significant factor. More needs to be finished to allow space colonization. Preparation of 30 to 40 years will be needed to see if the techniques and technology can hack it. But for Callisto, only after a century or more is enough. Mayo Clinic scientists say that cell senescence will boost aging on a trip to Mars. Mr. Musk is planning to send the first wave of many in 2026. The study in sped up cell aging will begin in February 2022. Cellular aging expert James Kirkland states that cell senescence will be affected by not going beyond the Van Allen Belt, which exudes radiation. He added more data is needed for more educated guesses. Elon's drive to push a Mars colony may have disastrous results because of deformities. Despite that danger, he thinks living there is the next big step for humans. Traveling 140 million miles is not wise; adding up the conditions of their destination will be unimaginable. Impact on the children born there and differences in gravity, radiation on the planet will be a factor, said Rice University biologist Scott Solomon. Elon Musk and his desire to colonize Mars are great hurdles experts debate, significantly how it will impact the species as Dr. Solomon. Related article: US Apollo 11 Beats Russian Luna 15 To Land on the Moon in a Secret Lunar Race in 1969 @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Millions of people saw local school teacher get MAJOR honor; Owners exploring possible solar facility; Danville Area Humane Society hopes reward money will solve animal cruelty case; And Martinsville is NOT throwing in the towel on reversion. In light of the rising number of active COVID cases in the area, Hamilton County Schools will cancel two annual district events out of an abundance of caution for our students and families. The Future Ready Institute and School Choice Fair, both scheduled for Jan. 12, will no longer be held in an effort to mitigate spread of the virus and encourage social distancing. HCS will provide support for families in completing the School Choice application through the HCS Family Resource Center (FRC). The event will take place Wednesday, Jan. 12, from 4-6 p.m. in the Hamilton County Schools Board Room. The FRC will also offer in-person and virtual office hours during the times below. Jan. 19 - W. 40th Street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 28 - Hillcrest from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments are encouraged to maintain safety. Information on sign up and registration will be shared in the coming days. For questions, please contact the FRC at HCSFRC@hcde.org. During the Christmas weekend, the Bradley County Sheriffs Office responded to multiple auto burglaries in Northern Bradley County. Upon investigation, Austin Plemons was identified as a suspect in the burglaries and taken into custody at a motel on James Asbury Drive. A search warrant was obtained and executed on his motel room. During the search, some of the property from the auto burglaries was recovered, along with items reported stolen in two burglaries reported by the Cleveland Police Department. Two handguns were also located in the room, one which had previously been reported stolen. Plemons was charged by Bradley County Sheriffs Office detectives with five counts of auto burglary, five counts of theft under $1,000, and felon in possession of a firearm. Cleveland Police Department detectives also charged Plemons with two counts of auto burglary and fraudulent use of a credit card. He was then transported to the Bradley County Jail, where he is in custody. The twinge I felt when I learned Mayo Clinic has just fired 700 employees was real because I have a strong affection for the place. I know and appreciate many of the 76,000 who work for what I consider to be the finest medical center in the world, but because one percent of the staff resisted the COVID vaccine, as of Tuesday they are no longer part of the family. My Achilles heel is infections and, all told, I guess I underwent about 70 surgeries in Rochester, Mn. over a 10-year period. I have a bone-blood borne disease called osteomyelitis. It lies dormant until a surgical procedure is performed and, if it involves bone, it is an-almost guarantee Ill get really sick. Then I have to take IVs of the strongest antibiotics and undergo repeated surgeries to wash out the infectious matter. It was during these trials I befriended lots of doctors and nurses and I pray none of my favorites were culled this week. I mean, I knew so many nurses on the ortho floor we were on a first-name basis and, because Id rather laugh-and-kid than moan-and-groan, they were constantly tending to me. One year I had 29 surgeries over 12 months and some even prayed for methats the type of place it is. Mayo Clinic is actually a cluster of buildings that spread over five or six city blocks. Because the winters are so harsh in Rochester there is a walking subway maze beneath the buildings that people with common sense adore and many times Id visit with doctors and nurses making their rounds, but mostly it was a determined and dedicated medical complex. Typical conversation, this at 7:05 a.m. NURSE: Are you feeling bad today, buddy ROY: No, Karen, I just woke up and probably didnt sleep as well as I should. NURSE: Your temp is 103 ROY: Got any Tylenol? NURSE: Im giving you a couple of meds and one is gonna make you a little woozy before you go back to sleep. OH, and you are NPO surgery will be late afternoon. (Infected people are always the last case before the OR gets a thorough cleansing.) ROY: Karen, has it ever dawned on your bubbly self you might attract a husband if you were not the bearer of such bad news? I mean, its 7 in the morning, I hurt all over and you make a trip to the OR sound like going to the Bahamas. NURSE: You are a nut, Roy-Boy (Picks up syringe and squirts it in IV) ... Sweet dreams, my man. That the way it really is. The only time the supervisor got cross was on a boring Sunday afternoon when I decided it would be fun to be a corpse. Get the picture, on Sundays families come to visit and, so help me, theyll look into every room that the doors open. Its like a phenomenon or something. So, I stripped the blanket off the bed, slipped to the linen closet and got a crisp sheet. I shut the blinds, turned off lights and buried myself up that sheet, making sure only my feet were left showing at the foot of the bed. The trick to the caper is you cant move or laugh but the comments from the hall were priceless Dont look Do Not Look! and Wonder what it was that got him? and Dont let the children see in here I was busted in about 15 minutes, but it was funny. It got some laughs and the supervisor requested better patient conduct. yes, maam. The story spread like crazy and in pre-op they kidded me about it for a while. Im on record that I hate any mandates. Personal freedom is everything to me and, if a Mayo employee shirks the vaccine for whatever reason, I can promise that person still knows to mask, distance and wash hands. With 99 percent of Mayo employees vaccinated, it seems to me that herd immunity is a viable argument but who am I to say? Give Mayo the benefit: Each employee who was terminated has been invited to please re-apply for their jobs once they accept the vaccine, but still it is so sad. It has been said the Christian army is the only one that shoots its wounded but the Biden-led mandates are a close second. I pray none of my Mayo buddies are involved. royexum@aol.com For much of my life Ive tended to regard time as an adversary. It either moves too fast or too slowly. When I was young, time seemed to move at snails pace. Now that Im older, it advances like its racing on the German autobahn. Tempus fugit were told in Latin time flies. But if were eagerly anticipating something, it still cant pass quickly enough. But time can be an ally. Ive written before about resuming an old pastime, taking drum lessons. I decided instead of tapping my steering wheel while listening to music on the radio, Id get real drums again to entertain myself. However, I realized I needed some lessons to remove the rust and sharpen my latent skills. Watching videos of professional drummers and marveling at their skills, I wondered how they could play so fast. The answer, Ive discovered, is threefold. Most of them have innate talent and ability beyond anything I possess. Then theres technique, learning how to do various rudiments properly. The adage, Practice makes perfect, is only partly true. Its better stated, Perfect practice makes perfect. You cant learn how to do things right if you always practice doing them wrong. But theres a third element to skill and expertise, whether its playing drums or any other worthy pursuit in life: TIME. Without exception, the greatest drummers through the years merged talent and technique with time to excel at their craft. Those still performing, as well as icons remembered from the past, all invested countless hours over many years to develop into celebrated percussionists. In case youre not into drums and about to lose interest, my point is that to excel at anything being a teacher, surgeon, athlete, salesperson, zookeeper, law enforcement officer, architect, author, artist, entrepreneur, or chef takes a combination of talent, techniqueand time. Since its still early in the year, some of us might yet be thinking about trying to grow spiritually. How can I grow closer to the Lord? How can I enhance my understanding and mastery of the Scriptures? What does it take to truly become a man or woman of God? In this case, it doesnt require talent. Intellect and education may be helpful, but they arent prerequisites for a flourishing, fruitful faith. God loves childlike faith. And there are many techniques available to promote spiritual growth. Christian publishers have generated countless millions in revenue through books offering myriad perspectives on that topic. Basically, whatever works for you. But the one non-negotiable for spiritual growth is time. Way back in 1981, my family and I moved to Chattanooga, Tenn. where I would become publications director for CBMC, a ministry to people in the marketplace. I was a relatively new believer then, so whenever I attended a Bible study or conference, I was like a sponge, soaking up everything I heard and learned. I interacted with mature believers who seemed to know the Bible backwards and forward. For virtually any topic, they could quickly turn to applicable Scripture passages. They did this without being prideful or showy; they simply knew the Word of God. Will I ever have a command of the Scriptures like that? I dont think so. And yet, more than 40 years later, here I am writing a blog about what the Bible has to say about everyday issues. I edited a Christian magazine for 17 years, and have been blessed to write and edit a number of books related to the practical value of biblical truth for everyday life. I wouldnt dare compare myself with the many folks who became my spiritual heroes, but over time I began to grow consistently in my faith and my grasp of the Scriptures. Thats been the key: time. Time in the Word, reading and studying it every day whenever possible. Time meditating on Bible passages and seeking to commit them to memory hiding them in my heart, as the psalmist writes in Psalm 119:11. Time reading quality books by trusted Christian authors. Time sitting under the teaching and preaching of gifted church leaders. Time meeting with other committed believers, serving as iron sharpening iron, as Proverbs 27:17 teaches. Three brief passages from the apostle Pauls second letter to his protege Timothy speak to this. Paul explains the proper motivation: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). In another passage he underscores the importance of striving to understand and apply what the Bible teaches: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And the third concerns engaging with others about Gods Word and helping them to pass its truth on to others: And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). So, is spiritual growth one of your hearts desires for the new year? Take your time! * * * Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston was honored at the annual Tennessee Statewide Night of Remembrance and Awards Ceremony. During that ceremony, the Tennessee chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) awarded General Pinkston with the 2021 East Tennessee Excellence Award. General Pinkston said he was humbled and honored to receive the award, which he said would have never been possible without the Chattanooga Police Departments Traffic Unit, the entire Chattanooga Police Department and other participating agencies. Drunk driving investigation and prosecution, including the efforts involved in the Janet Hinds trial, was a total team effort between law enforcement and our local prosecutors, said General Pinkston. Thats why Ive decided to dedicate this award to the Chattanooga Police Department and its traffic unit, in memory of Chattanooga Police Officer Nicholas Galinger. On Sept. 25, 2021, a jury found Janet Hinds guilty on several counts, including vehicular homicide by intoxication, in the February 2019 death of Officer Nicholas Galinger. General Pinkston presented his award Wednesday to Interim Police Chief Eric Tucker. I am handing over this award to your department for safe-keeping, General Pinkston said to Chief Tucker. Its in honor of Officer Galinger and it rightfully belongs at 3410 Amnicola Highway. The US House of Representatives January 6 committee seeks the cooperation of Fox News host Sean Hannity for his knowledge on the deadly attack on the US Capitol that happened a year ago. As the nine-person committee widens its scope, it asks Hannity, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, to testify and answer queries related to the communication between him Trump, and several White House officials before, during, and after the insurrection, according to CNN. Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the panel, and vice-chair Liz Cheney sent a letter to Hannity saying that the Select Committee was able to obtain information about the Fox News host's "advance knowledge" about the planning of Trump and his legal team for the January 6 uprising, which is considered as the worst attack on the Capitol in two centuries. Based on the text messages, which were made public, the committee had the impression that Hannity was "expressing concerns and providing advice" to Trump about the incident. This makes him a fact witness in the ongoing investigation. Meanwhile, Hannity's lawyer Jay Sekulow, told the media that their camp would "respond as appropriate" after reviewing the committee's letter, as per CNBC Read Also: US Police Share Harrowing Details of Jan 6 Riot Amid Criticism of Republicans for Downplaying Incident Hannity's crucial text messages The publicly released letter of the House panel shows Hannity's text messages. According to Al Jazeera, among them is a text message of Hannity to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that reads, "Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol?" Another text message from Hannity to Meadows in December 2020 highlighted in the letter reads: "I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told. After the 6 th. (sic) He should announce will lead the nationwide effort to reform voting integrity. Go to Fl and watch Joe mess up daily. Stay engaged. When he speaks people will listen." Hannity is widely known for his provocative style and hard-hitting political commentary in his program. He has been a supporter and an adviser of Trump for years and an influential conservative voice in America. House Panel pursues probe as Jan 6 attack commemoration approaches Representative Thompson remarked that the committee has "immense respect" for the freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the freedom of the press, and the rights of Americans to "express their political opinions freely." However, he also underscored that the panel has a responsibility to conduct an investigation on the dozens of text messages they have obtained, dating from December 31, 2020, to January 20, 2021, between Hannity, Trump, and Meadows in relation to Trump's failed efforts to contest the results of the 2020 Presidential Elections. Since the January 6 committee's establishment last summer, it has already collected around 35,000 pages of records, including texts, emails, and phone records from people within Trump's circle. The committee acquired these comprehensive documents on the incident via interviews with almost 300 individuals and issuance of subpoenas to more than 40. These comprehensive documents hold crucial information about the attack on the Capitol that left five people dead. Related Article: Capitol Hill Attack Investigation Deepens, Looks Into Security Failures and Trump's Potential Involvement @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Department of Revenue reminds Tennessee drivers that they will receive newly designed license plates in 2022. The new license plates will be available online, by mail and in-person as residents complete their annual motor vehicle registration renewals. Under Tennessee law, the plate may be redesigned every eight years if funds are approved in the General Assemblys annual budget. This new license plate design will replace the current plate design launched in 2006, with modifications in 2011, 2016 and 2017. Points to note: License plates are issued through Tennessees local county clerk offices. Motorists can visit www.tncountyclerk.com to renew online. New plates can be renewed in person, online, by mail or by kiosk. If you choose not to renew in person, the renewal fee will include $5 for mailing. Motorists are not able to renew early to receive the new license plate. You must wait until your designated renewal month. For more information and answers to commonly asked questions, visit www.tn.gov/revenue/newplate. On the Jan 2nd episode of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, Alina and Caleb spend their first night together after knowing each other for 13 years. Then, Alina and Caleb finally have their first kiss. However, many 90 Day Fiance fans are convinced that this relationship wont work out due to the red flags that presented themselves in their first 24 hours together. Caleb and Alina | TLC Caleb being annoyed about learning how to care for Alina One of the biggest red flags that 90 Day Fiance fans noticed is that Caleb seemed annoyed by learning how to care for Alina. Caleb knew that he would have to help Alina with her wheelchair during their trip. However, it seemed like he was agitated with the idea of helping her. Even with Alinas friend, Elijah, there to teach him the ropes. One fan wrote via Reddit, He was making annoyed oof noises as he was helping her with the wheelchair and all. Making sure to let her know he is annoyed with her because of her condition. So freaking rude and cruel. If this is the first day and hes already acting so annoyed, its concerning how hell treat her years down the line. Alina being pushy about being intimate is a red flag The first night after arriving in Turkey, Caleb was exhausted and too tired to be intimate with Alina. The next morning, Alina felt like Caleb was rejecting her. She told him, So actually, I was very upset yesterday. She explained that it upset her that they didnt cuddle. He said, Well, youre getting cuddles now. She says, Well, I wanted them yesterday. She tells the cameras, My feelings were kind of hurt because I want some kind of affection from him. After 13 years of tension, she felt like it was strange that he wasnt interested in her sexually on the first night. Caleb said that he was in his head the first night, worrying about the physical difference between him and Alina. Many 90 Day Fiance fans found that this pushy behavior by Alina wouldnt translate well if she were a man. Pushing someone into sex is definitely a red flag. Caleb is calling Alina his friend but packs condoms On the Dec 19 episode of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, Caleb is preparing for his trip to meet Alina in Turkey. Caleb then packs a large box of condoms. He says, Im bringing condoms too, just to be safe. Im not trying to force things. I really want to see what feels organic, but, you know, Im seeing her for two weeks. Anything can happen. He says, Despite my religious upbringing, Im a pretty sexually open person, so Im excited, but a little bit anxious because, with Alina, a lot of the things you take for granted in regular size sex are off the table. Like, you cant make out and have sex. Theyre either on you, or theyre up here. So I really dont know what to expect. Many fans believe that this relationship wont last beyond the few weeks together in Turkey. 90 Day Fiance fans will have to watch to find out what happens between Alina and Caleb. Before the 90 Days Season 5 airs Sundays on TLC and discovery+. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Insider at Cameo Reveals How Much Money Each Star Made on the Platform Chris Noth became well-known for his role as Mr. Big in the wildly popular TV series, Sex and the City. The shows stars found themselves back in the media spotlight due to the reboot of the series on HBO Max. And Just Like That premiered on December 9, 2021. But the attention that Noth attracted isnt positive. In fact, the personal nature of his recent headlines appears to have negatively affected his marriage to actor Tara Lynn Wilson. Chris Noth and his wifes dramatic age difference Chris Noth and his wife, Tara Lynn Wilson, married over a decade ago. However, the couple began dating long before that. They met back in 2001 when Wilson worked as a bartender in a club owned by Noth. Although there is quite an age gap between the two (over 20 years), they instantly connected. According to US Weekly, Noth and Wilson began dating soon after meeting. They built a strong relationship over the years. In 2008, they welcomed their first child, Orion Christopher. The following year, they worked together on the drama Frame of Mind. After working together on the screen, they decided to explore another partnership. The couple opened Once Upon a Teacup, a tearoom located in Windsor, Ontario. In 2012, the two finally tied the knot in a private ceremony in Hawaii. Their four-year-old son played an essential part in his parents ceremony as their adorable ring bearer. Who is Tara Lynn Wilson? (L-R): Chris Noth and Tara Lynn Wilson attend HBO Maxs And Just Like That New York Premiere on December 08, 2021, in New York City. | Jamie McCarthy/WireImage Tara Lynn Wilson was born in Canada. She came to the U.S. to study acting. She then attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. In 2004, Wilson appeared in a small role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Interestingly, Noth joined the cast a year later, reprising his role as Mike Logan from the original Law & Order series. Wilson continued to work as an actor and later began tending bar at The Cutting Room, where she eventually met Noth. The two kept their relationship very private for a while because of the amount of media attention Noth was getting during the height of Sex and the City. In 2019, Wilson wrote a play that ran for about two weeks at a small theater in L.A. The play, B.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching, explored the challenges of marriage and interracial relationships. The following year, Wilson and Noth celebrated the birth of their second son, Keats. Recent allegations of sexual assault strained their marriage Chris Noth and wife Tara Wilson's marriage is 'hanging by a thread' https://t.co/GDxLFgRyi7 pic.twitter.com/7vAMPzbdU4 Page Six (@PageSix) December 21, 2021 Noth and Wilson made headlines in late 2021 due to sexual assault allegations against Noth. On December 16, Noth told US Weekly the accusations were false. He said that any sexual contact with the women in question was consensual. The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories couldve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago no always means no that is a line I did not cross. The first woman claims that Noth raped her in his apartment in 2004. She says she reported the assault immediately but did not reveal the name of her attacker. The second assault allegedly took place in 2015. The woman says that she was a server in a club when she met Noth. He invited her back to his apartment, where she alleges the assault occurred. The second woman said she brought up the fact that Noth was married, to which he allegedly responded, Marriage is a sham. Monogamy is not real. Although Noth denies the allegations, fans believe the situation is putting a strain on his marriage. Even if they were consensual, the timing still took place during his marriage to Wilson. She was recently spotted without her wedding ring, leading many to assume that the couple is having problems. RELATED: Chris Noth Reveals Why He Was Initially Reluctant to Join And Just Like That How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Jason Derulo became famous through his debut song Whatcha Say. During an interview, Derulo explained the song was inspired by a time his brother cheated. Derulo also revealed why he and his producer chose to sample Imogen Heaps music into Whatcha Say. Listeners in the United States and the United Kingdom had a similar reaction to the song. Jason Derulo | Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Global Citizen How a trip to the record store inspired Jason Derulos breakthrough hit Whatcha Say Whatcha Say prominently samples Imogen Heaps song Hide and Seek. The chorus of Whatcha Say is a distorted sample of the bridge from Hide and Seek. During a 2009 interview with Digital Spy, Derulo explained why he decided to sample Hide and Seek. My producer J.R. Rotem is a music lover, and Im a music lover too, so Ill often go into a record store and grab a CD Ive never heard before, Derulo revealed. One day I picked up Imogen Heap, brought it into J.R. and we both loved it, so we started to experiment. It just so happened that my brother had just been telling me his story. RELATED: Who is the Little Girl in Jason Derulos Latest TikTok Videos Stealing the Show? Jason Derulos brother regretted cheating Subsequently, Derulo explained how his brothers life inspired Whatcha Say. Basically my brother called me one day and said, I cheated on my girl, but I love her so much and I hope shell give me one more shot,' Derulo said. I found his story really compelling, so I just went into the studio and tried it out. Derulo believed the lyrics of Whatcha Say gave the song mass appeal. You know, people go through that kind of thing every day, which is why the song is so relatable, he opined. She did take my brother back though and theyre actually engaged now, so it all worked out good in the end. RELATED: Jason Derulos Salmon Smoothies Are Gross But Hell Try Anything to Stay Fit: My Diet Aint About Taste The way the world reacted to Whatcha Say Whatcha Say became a massive hit. The track spent 32 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed atop the chart for one week. It would be Derulos only No. 1 hit in the United States until he released Savage Love (Laxed Siren Beat) with BTS. Whatcha Say appeared on Derulos self-titled debut album. Jason Derulo reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 34 weeks. Whatcha Say was a hit in the United Kingdom as well. According to The Official Charts Company, the track reached No. 3 in the U.K. and lasted on the chart for 19 weeks. Meanwhile, Jason Derulo peaked at No. 8 and remained on the chart for 37 weeks. The song subsequently appeared in the crime drama The Town. Whatcha Say was born from a regrettable decision, but that didnt stop the song from becoming an international hit. RELATED: Jason Derulo Says His Net Worth is Not Even in the Ballpark online How Do I Get It Fixed? Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton are two of the most-photographed women in the world with two of the most recognizable engagement rings. Prince William proposed to Kate with his late mothers ring in 2010 and the only time the Duchess of Cambridge was pictured without is when her fingers swelled a bit during her pregnancy with Prince Louis. Meghan is rarely ever seen without her engagement ring either except for a few instances like Kate when the Duchess of Sussex was pregnant. Now one of their rings has been named the most popular royal engagement ring and that is Meghans. Heres more on that, plus where other famous royals engagement rings rank. (L): Meghan Markles engagement ring can be seen as she touches her forehead | Chris Jackson/Getty Images, (R): Kate Middletons engagement ring can be seen as she tucks her hair behind her ear | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Meghans engagement ring is the most popular because it gets more searches than any other royals Data compiled by Design Bundles shows that the ring Prince Harry gave Meghan when he asked her to marry him took the top spot as the most popular among all other royal engagement rings based on monthly Google searches. The former Suits stars ring is searched a whopping 20,000 times a month; easily beating out how many times the engagement rings of other royal ladies are Googled. The Duke of Sussex designed Meghans ring himself. The piece is a six-carat, cushion-cut diamond ring that features three stones. The center gem is from Botswana, which is a country close to the couples hearts, and its two smaller diamonds on the side are from Princess Dianas personal collection. Meghan Markles engagement ring | Karwai Tang/WireImage RELATED: Meghan Markle Is the Most-Googled Royal Despite Controversial Year Where Kates engagement ring ranks The Duke of Cambridges wifes ring takes the No. 2 spot of most popular royal engagement rings garnering 8,200 Google searches per month. The Duchess of Cambridges ring was originally Princess Dianas. When asked about the ring during their joint engagement interview, William said: Its very special, as Kate is very special. Its my way of making sure my mother didnt miss out on today and the excitement. The ring is a 12-carat oval sapphire set in 18-carat white gold with 14 solitaire diamonds. In 1981, the piece cost $35,000. Today, its estimated to be worth more than $370,000. Closeup of Kate Middletons engagement ring | Arthur Edwards WPA Pool/Getty Images RELATED: Kate Middleton Made a Change to Her Famous Engagement Ring That Belonged to Princess Diana Search volume of other royal engagement rings Getting the most Google searches after the Duchess of Cambridge is Grace Kellys engagement ring. The late Princess of Monacos ring receives 3,900 searches a month. Princess Margarets takes the fourth spot with 3,400 monthly searches, followed by Queen Elizabeth IIs with 2,600. The monarch granddaughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrices rings are Googled 1,600 and 1,500 times while the Queen Mothers garners 900 searches. Camilla Parker Bowles and Princess Anne round out the top 10 with 800 searches for Prince Charles wifes ring and 500 for his sisters. Tamra Judge from The Real Housewives of Orange County said that Vicki Gunvalsons ex-fiance Steve Lodge moved into her Coto home to run for governor and then moved directly into his new fiance, Janis Carlsons apartment. Judge believes Lodge was dating Carlson while he lived with Gunvalson, who knew about Lodges engagement before he shared it with the press. Gunvalson also supported Lodge during his run for governor in more ways than one. Vicki Gunvalson learned of Steve Lodges engagement through friends in Mexico Judge said Gunvalson contacted her when she learned of Lodges engagement. So she knew, probably right after he got engaged because she has friends in Puerto Vallarta, and thats where he did it, Judge shared on her Two Ts In A Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge podcast. Steve Lodge, Vicki Gunvalson, and Shannon Storms Beador from RHOC chat at a party | Casey Durkin/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank So she was contacted and she called me immediately, she continued. And she was like Oh my God, Steves engaged. And Im like, How do you know? Shes like, Somebody on the beach told me. Im like, Well, you dont know for sure. And then he posted, like rose petals and all this stuff. Then he talks to the press about it. Judge pointed out how Lodge bemoaned not wanting to be in the public eye when he dated Gunvalson because of RHOC. But then ran to the press with his engagement announcement. Which if you dont want any part of this life that Vicki had, but yet you proposed to this girl, thats half your age. And then you save it for the press, she remarked. Steve Lodge blocked Vicki Gunvalson while he lived in Mexico Judge then shared a timeline of how Gunvalson and Lodges relationship unraveled. So because I talked to Vicki every single day, I kind of know what has been going on, Judge said. NO MORE LIES! Heres my official statement on THE ENGAGEMENT https://t.co/V7Hs89ltl3 pic.twitter.com/0zB3TNee55 Vicki Gunvalson (@vgunvalson) January 4, 2022 And he had been distant for, like the past year, she added. She bought that house in Mexico. Remember that, in the Puerto Vallarta. February 2020, she bought the condo. And then by October, he was there like full time and like getting sideways and she has a job. She owns a business, so she couldnt be there all the time. So it started getting this distance. And then they started fighting, and then he blocked her on Instagram. All this went down while Lodge was still living in Gunvalsons house. So she said about October, after moving to Mexico, he went to he went a little sideways, Judge continued. And I said he probably met somebody. I kept telling her that. Then he came back after he had blocked her, wasnt talking to her, and moved into her new Coto house so he can run for governor. He moved into her Coto home then moved into Janis Carlsons apartment At this point, Gunvalson and Lodge were back on speaking terms. She hasnt been very strong and smart about this relationship, Judge asserted about her former RHOC co-star. So that being said, Im like, Vicki, dont have him back in your house. And shes like, No, its fine. Were having fun. He asked me to go on the campaign trail, whatever its called. She started traveling with him, taking pictures. He told her to wear her ring. This is the ONE and ONLY time I am going to address Steve. Heres my official statement: https://t.co/DBT3HMgJRt pic.twitter.com/CuL3ecadgK Vicki Gunvalson (@vgunvalson) October 22, 2021 And then they get back home, she said. He doesnt win, and what happens? Hes out. But the thing that bothers me is that he moved, Vicki told me this. He moved from Vickis house right into Janiss apartment. So he had to have been dating her while he was living with Vicki. Gunvalson referred to Lodge as a manipulator. Only a narcissist would move out of my home in September and be engaged in December, she told E! News. At this point I can only thank God for tearing me away from the lies, the mind games, manipulations, being used, and I am finally set free to heal. RELATED: RHOC: Vanderpump Rules Peter Madrigal Tells Vicki Gunvalson to Visit Him at SUR When She Says There Are No Single Men Netflixs Singles Inferno revolves around a group of contestants trying to find love and survive on a deserted island. Fans of the show are left wondering where the isolated island is located in South Korea. Seeing as the Singles Inferno cast deals with the sweltering heat on the island, its filming timeline also raises questions. Singles Inferno official cast poster | via Netflix The contestants and crew of Singles Inferno do visit a real deserted island Part of the charm of Netflixs Singles Inferno is the inability to escape the island. When the contestants first arrived, they inhabited only a small portion of the island, where they had living quarters, a kitchen, and small rest areas along a picturesque beach. According to The Cinemaholic, the contestants and crew are on Saseungbong-do Island in South Korea. The island is deserted, and it is likely that the production crew set up the shows filming location and brought in supplies from neighboring inhabited areas. The contestants have no refrigerator in the show and can only cook with food provided and a wood-burning cauldron. When it comes to the couples leaving for Paradise, they get the five-star treatment. To experience delicious food, a luxurious bed, and amenities, the contestants take a trip to Paradise Hotel and Resort in Paradise City, Jung-Gu, Incheon, South Korea. Fans saw the couples taking a helicopter to their resort in the show. It is less than a mile from Seoul Incheon International Airport. Fans figured out the shows filming timeline based on Song Ji-as nails RELATED: Singles Inferno: What Is Song Ji-as YouTube Channel and Instagram? Looking at the contestants Instagrams, there are no clues of their time filming Netflixs Singles Inferno. The reality show did a good job keeping the contestants identities a secret until its premiere. Fans have no indicators of who left the island as a couple. Many fans assume the show was filmed a few months ago to avoid spoilers. A fan on Reddit was able to figure out the shows filming timeline based on an Instagram post by Song. Ive done a bit of digging on my own, and it looks like it was filmed during June/July, said the Reddit user. According to the fan, Songs nails in her first interview match a post she made in June. The fan also noticed that An Yea-wons turquoise nails in Singles Inferno match a photoshoot she posted on Instagram in July to verify the timelines further. The timelines could be accurate as the contestants often made remarks about the hot climate on the island. The contestants of Netflixs Singles Inferno were only on the island for a week RELATED: Singles Inferno Fans Think Moon Se-Hoon Messed up His Paradise Pick Finding love on a deserted island would take time. But the contestants of Singles Inferno must find a possible partner within nine days. Netflixs Singles Inferno has a relatively short time frame compared to other popular dating shows like Love Island and The Bachelor. The show does not reveal if the contestants could use their phones. It is safe to assume they had limited access to avoid spoilers before the show aired. Looking at the contestants Instagrams, many of them posted regularly during June and July. A storyline theme of Korean dramas that is not often explored is a romance between South and North Korean characters. Most non-fans can guess the reasoning due to the political history between both countries. But it has not stopped K-dramas from developing some well-known North-South love stories like one famous Netflix original. The premiere of the 2021 K-drama Snowdrop had caused some controversy as it warped the facts of South Korean history during the Democratic movement. The K-drama initially included a love story between a female college student and a spy. Snowdrop characters Soo-ho and Young-ro in North-South Korea romance K-drama | via JTBC Doctor Stranger K-drama tells the story of a North Korean medic traveling to South Korea Doctor Stranger is one of the most recognized medical K-dramas involving a North-South Korea storyline. In 2014, Lee Jong-suk starred as the leading character Park Hoon. The K-drama begins with Hoon as a child with his father being tricked into moving to North Korea. Hoon must adapt to a new country. He becomes a genius cardiothoracic surgeon. In North Korea, he falls in love with Song Jae-hee (Jin Se-yeon). After Hoons father passes away, they plan to escape to South Korea. But only Hoon was able to leave. He loses touch with Jae-hee. In South Korea, he works as a hospital doctor. At the hospital, he meets a young woman who is an exact copy of Jae-hee. The problem? The young woman claims to have no idea who Hoon is. Doctor Stranger is available to stream on Viki. Crash Landing on You became Netflixs first success in K-dramas RELATED: 3 of Park Hyung-siks Most Recognized K-Dramas Besides Happiness Netflix started to gain notoriety for its K-dramas thanks to Crash Landing on You from 2019. The tvN K-drama became the highest-rated drama in cable television history and is considered a fan favorite. CLOY gained popularity for its dynamic romance between a South Korean chaebol heiress and an army captain from North Korea. Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) is a successful businesswoman and heiress. While paragliding, she goes off course and lands in a forest in North Korea. She landed in a military zone and found by Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun Bin) of the North Korean army. Instead of killing her, he realizes she is not a threat. But Se-ri escapes from him and his patrol officers. They remeet at the local village, and Jeong-hyeok risks everything to keep her hidden. Together they look for ways to get her back home but fall in love along the way. Back home, her family presumes her dead. Crash Landing on You is available to stream on Netflix. Snowdrop K-drama received controversy over its North-South Korean romance distorting historical facts RELATED: 5 Must-Watch 2021 Viki Romance K-Dramas Along With The Red Sleeve Snowdrop is categorized as a North-South romance K-drama, but netizens have fought against the drama to have it canceled. Netizens were outraged after reading a leaked version of the synopsis. Theyglorifying a spy during the turbulent political events of the Democratic Movement of 1987. Snowdrops storyline includes a romance between a female college student and the spy. Set in November and December 1987, Lim Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in) is a graduate student mistaken by Eun Young-ro (Jisoo) to be a protestor. She and her friends help heal his wounds and keep him hidden from the government. It is love at first sight for Young-ro and Soo-ho. But the K-dramas storyline takes a turn when Soo-hos true identity is revealed. He is a North Korean spy who was sent to the South. Snowdrop is available to stream on Disney+ in select regions. The Swiss Triplan Ingenieur AG, a subsidiary of TTP Group, has realigned its top management. As of January 1, 2022, Redjai Mamuti is the new Managing Director of Triplan Ingenieur AG, Switzerland. He takes over from Martin Scherrer, who has presided over the company as Interim Managing Director since February 2021. Dr. Andreas Bonhoff, CEO of TTP Group, welcomed Redjai Mamuti: "We are proud that we were able to fill this leadership position of Triplan Ingenieur AG from TTP Group rows. A sign of excellent functioning corporate culture with structured internal development and training opportunities." Redjai Mamuti has a degree in process engineering and initially took over the position as Deputy Managing Director. He joins from TTP Group's Swiss subsidiary Pharmaplan AG, where he had been employed as a senior engineer and team leader since 2019. There, he was responsible for leading and managing process teams in various investment projects. He can now apply his many years of experience at Triplan Ingenieur AG and use his strengths profitably in his new position: The leadership and motivation of employees as well as excellent communication and the development of sustainable customer relationships. Stefan Berg, Country Head of TTP Group in Switzerland, is counting on the synergies created by this change of position: "With Redjai we can count on an excellent leader who represents the values of TTP Group in the best possible way. I am therefore convinced that Redjai Mamuti will optimally develop Triplan Ingenieur AG in the chemical industry and the life science market in Switzerland and strengthen customer relationships." For Triplan, Redjai Mamuti sees growth potential above all in chemical APIs, fine and specialty chemicals. According to Mamuti, Triplan Ingenieur AG's expertise lies in the execution of small and medium-sized projects, which are handled in regional proximity to the customer and with a high level of local knowledge of the plants. With the brand celebrating its 50th-anniversary last year, Redjai Mamuti can build on the brand's recognition: "Triplan has a name in the market. We have long-standing relationships and strategic partnerships with many customers. We know their corporate structures, locations and production facilities, and internal standards well." To be able to act quickly and agilely in new projects, he believes this knowledge serves as a basis. This means that his customers can always count on both the usual high level of quality and the rapid availability of the necessary resources. Redjai Mamuti has clearly defined goals: "I will go on a growth course with Triplan and massively strengthen the areas of chemical process technology, mechanical design, and CAD technology." In doing so, he wants to set the course to make Triplan the leading engineering partner for the chemical industry and the life science market in Switzerland. At CHEO, we want to make it easier for all teachers, education workers and childcare workers to get their COVID-19 booster before heading back to the classroom. We know the importance of this added layer of protection and want to help. CHEO is providing priority COVID-19 boosters (as well as first and second doses) to teachers, education workers and childcare workers at upcoming priority vaccination clinics. Eligibility Teachers, education workers and childcare workers (this includes, but is not limited to principals, teachers, assistants, cleaners, office staff, early childhood educators, daycare providers, in-home and school direct service providers, bus drivers, etc.) working or resident in the Ottawa, Renfrew, Eastern Ontario or Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Health Units. You must pre-register to book your appointment. Pre- Pre-register today! As clinics become available within the next couple of days you will then be emailed an Eventbrite link to book your vaccination timeslot ticket. After pre-registering at the link above, you will be sent an Eventbrite link to book your appointment. You may receive multiple emails as clinics become available. Please only book one ticket. You will receive a confirmation email once your appointment is booked. You do not need to print your ticket. When First clinic is on Friday, January 7, 2022 from 37 pm. Please pre-register today! More clinics and timeslots are being added soon. Where CHEO main campus 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa. Please enter through the Max Keeping Wing entrance, which is to the left of the main entrance and away from clinical spaces. Please do not use the patient/family main entrance the vaccine clinic will be held in an administrative section of the building with lots of space for physical distancing. Looking for more vaccination clinics for prioritized Ottawa populations and occupations? Visit Ottawa Public Health's website for more details and to pre-register for an upcoming drop-in appointment. About CHEO Dedicated to the best life for every child and youth, CHEO is a global leader in pediatric health care and research. Based in Ottawa, CHEO includes a hospital, childrens treatment centre, school and research institute, with satellite services located throughout Eastern Ontario. CHEO provides excellence in complex pediatric care, research and education. We are committed to partnering with families and the community to provide exceptional care where, when and how its needed. CHEO is a partner of the Kids Come First Health Team, a network of partners in Eastern Ontario working to create a high quality, standardized and coordinated system for pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario. The US Capitol has been perceived for many years as one of the safest places in America for having its own police force and advanced security features. But one day, those would fail against a mob of Trump supporters that wanted to reverse the electoral college triumph of Joe Biden. It was an insurrection that happened on January 6, 2021, dubbed as the worst attack on America's democracy since the Civil War. Some lawmakers who experienced it one year ago are still traumatized by the memory of the incident when they were trapped inside the House complex while rioters were trying to break down the doors. These leaders feared for their lives. Some prepared themselves to fight. Some thought that it might be the end of their life. Trapped In Fear In an interview with the Associated Press, Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado's Sixth Congressional District recalled how deeply shaken he was by the chaos, where doors wear banged thunderously by the rioters. "When I looked up, I had this realization that we were trapped. They had evacuated the House floor first. And they forgot about us, " shared Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then there was a gunshot that dispersed a number of the aggressive mob. Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, who was among trapped individuals in the gallery, thought the worse was yet to happen. "I think all of us, myself included, had images of a mass-shooting event. It was terrifying at the moment," said Welch, who posted updates and images of the horrific incident on social media as it happens. Read Also: Capitol Hill Riot 'Shaman' To Plead Guilty to Federal Charges Excitement Becomes Terror For Republican congressman Troy Nehls, it was supposedly an exciting day for him as he was just 10 feet away from Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the ceremony in the House chamber where lawmakers assembled for the hearing of the certified election results from all 50 US states and territories as per CNBC. However, hours later, the former sheriff would find himself helping set up barricades at the chamber doors against rioters who wanted to break inside the venue. Then he felt the doors tremble. Then the glass windows got shattered. Moments later, he was within a shouting distance from the storming rioters. Being a man of faith, Nehls believes that there was a purpose why he was at the Capitol that time: to help hold off the mob. Something he attributes to "divine intervention," according to NBC News. "One of the rioters said: 'You're from Texas. You should be with us.' ... And at that point I said: 'No, sir, I cannot support what you're doing. This is criminal," he recalled. Since then, the Texas representative has committed to understanding better what caused the attack at The Capitol. He realized that day was not a day of "tourist activity," as some fellow Republicans have mentioned before. "But I don't believe that many of the people that went inside that Capitol were there to harm law enforcement," Nehls said. "Some did, I don't dispute that, but I believe it was a small percentage." Related Article: Justice for J6: Hundreds of Capitol Rioters Show Up on Saturday Despite Warnings from Right-Wing Figures @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Cherokee Nation citizen Dakohtah Jordan won the 2021 Cherokee Phoenix Student Art Contest with her interpretation of the newspapers famed logo. Entries are for the 2022 contest are currently being accepted by the Cherokee Phoenix. Cherokee Nation citizen Christian Kaiser, formerly an emergency medical technician, is taking part in the Tulsa Fire Departments latest training academy. This is the continuing series of columns from State Representative Liz Linehan (D-103) addressing the issue of mental health among children and teens. This is the fourth installment in my series on Childrens Mental Health, in partnership with The Herald. In the previous weeks, we looked at the warning signs of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents, provided information on calling 2-1-1 in a crisis, and listed local resources for ongoing care. Last week, we discussed intentional non-suicidal self-harm, colloquially known as cutting. These are all heavy, concerning subjects for any family, so this week we will examine outside supports, not only for your child, but for you and the rest of your family as well. Parenting, even on the best of days, can be difficult. Parenting a child with a mental health or behavioral issue can be overwhelming. On top of that, youre expected to manage your job, your spouse, and the rest of your family. Perhaps youre a single parent and youre expected to do all that without the benefit of help inside the home on a daily basis. All these things can make parenting a child with mental health concerns, especially those that can be life-threatening, seem downright impossible. I assure you, it is not impossible, but it does take a village. If youre new to this, I highly suggest taking some time to learn about how to support your child, your family, and yourself through a virtual meeting series developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) called NAMI Basics. This is a free six-week program that allows families to connect with one another while learning about mental illness, its impact on children and adolescents, strategies to deal with schools and providers, and tools to empower parents and caregivers to overcome new challenges. If a six-week commitment seems overwhelming in and of itself, each video is now available on demand 24/7 for you to watch on your own schedule. The Connecticut chapter of NAMI is also offering Family-to-Family sessions, a zoom meet up for adult parents and caregivers, taught by NAMI-trained family members who have gone through exactly what youre going through now. Parents walk away not only learning strategies, but also knowing theyre not alone. Pre-registration is required, and the next group begins on Jan. 13, with a second group beginning on Jan. 25, and each lasting into March. To register for these free sessions, visit namict.org and navigate to Education in the Find Help drop-down menu, and click on Family to Family. While you have hopefully found a therapist for your child with the help of our previous articles, the challenges of one child and how we react to them as parents most often affects the entire family. Therefore, a Family and Marriage Therapist may be ideal. I spoke to Amanda Kedzior, LMFT and principal therapist at Connecticut Counseling Center in Cheshire, to discuss the benefits of family counseling. She explained that teaching a child to utilize the skills learned in treatment without the rest of their family doing their own mental and emotional homework puts too much pressure on the child and can ultimately set them up for failure. By watching the familys patterns of interactions and working with as many family members as possible, a therapist can bring about more long-lasting change than individual counseling. Parents can learn how to support their children in family therapy, Kedzior says. They learn how they participate in keeping a pattern which no longer serves the family, and theyll learn how to move forward to create a healing environment for themselves and their children. Think of it this way: if your child is struggling in school, and then comes home to do their homework and you dont have the tools to reinforce what theyre learning in school, your child continues to fall further behind. The same idea applies here and the results can be a more harmonious home where everyone feels heard, understood, and supported. It takes work, yes, but ultimately its worth it. Sometimes, however, the need for more intensive therapy becomes apparent. If your child is returning from short- or long-term hospitalization, or is at risk for requiring hospitalization due to psychiatric, emotional, or behavioral difficulties, the state offers home-based family treatment programs, including Functional Family Therapy, and Intensive Therapy known as IICAPS. If your child has a co-occuring substance abuse problem, Multidimensional Family Therapy may be recommended. Wheeler Clinic in Plainville, Wellmore in Waterbury, and the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven are some of the providers who may refer you to these programs. Please know that participation in state programs is not a referral to the child welfare side of the Department of Children and Families, and you are not giving up any parental rights by participating in these programs. These are masters-level clinicians coming to your home to provide ongoing intensive treatment for you, your child, and all the members of your family when you need it most. We must also note the importance of self-care as a parent to a child with a mental illness. I implore you to practice kindness toward yourself. Helping your family through a mental health crisis takes time, patience, and understanding, but you must also practice those principles internally, and apply them to who you are as a parent. There will be times you make a decision which didnt turn out the way you hoped. There may be times when you tried to stay calm, but you didnt make it. There will be times when everything hits all at once, and youre overwhelmed and at your wits end. Its OK to not have it together all the time. Youre not going to be perfect, and just as you are trying to teach your child the power of getting up and trying again, you can model that behavior by granting yourself some grace. Ill say it again: parenting is difficult. Parenting a child with mental illness can be overwhelming. By giving yourself a break once in a while, and by demonstrating that lack of perfection doesnt equal failure, youre not only allowing yourself some room to regroup, youre modeling the very essence of resilience, which is a necessary skill for all our children. Something I read today seems appropriate to share with you in this moment: You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved. I promise, it can be done. Just as the church has not been immune in recent years to scandalous accusationsfrom the Roman Catholic Church to the Southern Baptist Conventionhumanitarian organizations doing important work are not exempt. Several former employees have accused humanitarian organization Preemptive Love Coalition of staff abuse by its founders. The end result: The board has decided its founders, Jeremy and Jessica Courtney, should step aside from all involvement with the organization. Sojourners magazine reports the full timeline of events. Preemptive Love Coalition quickly gained trust within the evangelical community after its founding in 2008, and while the organization presently describes itself as a faith-oriented community, it claims no religious affiliation. On Twitter, former employee Ben Irwin announced that the couple had abused, gaslit, threatened, and mistreated dozens of staff over the years. Irwin has also shared an August 2021 letter that 31 former Preemptive Love staff signed and submitted to the board about the abuse and misconduct they witnessed and experienced at Preemptive Love Coalition. The allegations related to race, gender, and power dynamics within the organization. The board of the Preemptive Love Coalition has taken several steps to address the allegations of misconduct. The boards timeline corroborates Ben Irwins original report and underscored their commitment to acting immediately on the information. The board also acknowledged the letter it received from the group of former staff and says that it has hired Guidepost Solutions to conduct an investigationthe same organization hired to investigate sex abuse allegations within the Southern Baptist denomination. Other former staff came forward to express their concerns. In an individual open letter to the organization, and namely the Courtneys, former Preemptive Love staffer Courtney Christenson cites particular instances of the couples offenses. Asking the Courtneys to step downor be removed by the boardChristenson appeals to the core values of both the couple and the organization, peace and justice, to guide whatever happens next. Its not too late to choose peace, wholeness, and healing, Christenson exhorts. In addition to the internal accusations, those inside and outside the organization have expressed concern in the past for the way in which Preemptive Love Coalition has solicited and used donations. In an online article posted December 3, 2019, and updated January 2, 2021, Mindy Belz reports in World magazine that members of a local committee of nongovernmental organizations coordinating aid on the ground in Syria had not seen evidence of a Preemptive Love team on the ground distributing food or other items. When the organization posted a swift online response to the story, calling it false, the outlet contacted local officials. Khalid Ibrahim, the director of the Office of Humanitarian Affairs in Hasakah, confirmed that Preemptive Love Coalitions claims about rations distributed were inflated. Relevant reports on more of Irwins claims, including that Courtney wanted people to think Preemptive Love was personally on the ground, even when we werent. Irwin even accuses Courtney of editing video to make it seem as though he were in more danger, in the moment, than he was. In our opinion, theres a communal lesson here to be learned by the aid community: We need more humble leadersnot heroes. We need to cultivate trauma-informed organizational cultures, listen to and follow up on whistleblowers, and follow up with meaningful investigations. Of course, once theyre out in the open, its easy to trust that errors in judgment are being addressed by people we respect. [Jeremy Courtney was a guest on the Better Samaritan podcast this spring, after the World magazine revelations but before public accusations by former staff.] This has reinforced for us personally that if we do not push for transparency when theres smoke, we end up becoming complicit. For us, this means go deeper with our guests in the future. And even if you arent a leader or have a podcast, we all need to do better at seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly. We cant keep relying on charismatic leaders to be enough to guide organizations. Weve seen this play out time and time again in the local church from scandals like Mark Driscoll to Bill Hybels. And with last nights announcement about the Courtneys, we are now seeing it play out with NGO leaders whose stated mission was to bring peace to some of the most vulnerable places in the world being torn apart by war. If we, as Christians, dont learn from what weve seen unfold, we risk not just allowing such organizational misconduct from happening againbut endangering the populations they serve. Jamie Aten and Kent Annan direct the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, the first faith-based, academic disaster research center in the country. Much of the global body of Christ knows January 6 as Epiphany, the church calendars final day of Christmas and an opportunity to remember the Magis early recognition of Jesus as God. In the Spanish-speaking world, this time is known as el Dia de los Reyes, or Three Kings Day, and often includes presents, culinary traditions, and even visits from the wise men themselves. For a variety of reasons, the day and its festivities have been inconsistently carried on in American Latino communities. We asked seven Latino Christians to share what el Dia de los Reyes means to them, how they celebrate it today, and to what extent last years insurrection has affected how theyll observe the day. Noemi Vega Quinones, associate director of spiritual formation and theology for InterVarsitys Latino Fellowship, Dallas, Texas Each January 5, children around Mexico (and Latin America and Spain) place their shoes near the nativity scene and anxiously await the gifts the reyes magos (the wise men) will bring the next morning! I grew up with my mothers stories of her childhood in el rancho (a small pueblo) and how the reyes would bring lupita dolls and cardboard cars, filling their shoes with Mexican candies and cacahuates (peanuts). She taught us that Dia de los Reyes was more than just receiving presents. It was a day that recalled the miraculous incarnation of God become man in the birth of Jesus and the miraculous escape from Herods genocidal decrees. Because the attacks on the Capitol fell on January 6, the juxtaposition of el Dia de los Reyes and the anniversary of the insurrection give us much to consider. El Dia de los Reyes embodies the truth that God became man to redeem humanity and that this redemption was threatened by a king that desired to have complete dominion over his people. Salvation, the king demanded, would come from him alone, not from a baby boy. The wise men knew that Jesus would be the true king of Israel. Upon seeing the guiding star stop where Jesus was, they were filled with joy and worshiped the child. In contrast, Herod ordered every boy two years and under to be murdered for fear of losing power over the Jewish people. The violence on the US Capitol is certainly not comparable to Herods genocide, but perhaps there is something yet we can perceive for our times. Jesus confounds the powers and principalities of this world and declares that God has the last word on humanitys well-being. Dia de los Reyes is a time to pause and remember the miraculous gift that we have in the birth and life of Jesus. It is a reminder for Christians to check our hearts for harboring thoughts or violence against others and a call to worship Jesus alone. Jules Martinez, the Milton B. Engebretson Chair in Evangelism and Justice, North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois I celebrated el Dia de los Reyes growing up in Puerto Rico. Our Christmas music, festivals, and gifting started right after Thanksgiving and continued until January 6. My family will celebrate exchanging gifts this year, concluding the Christmas season. Now, as a member of the diaspora, I treasure how Three Kings Day is commemorated with parade celebrations in Puerto Rico (also in Mexico, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic). The kings, traditionally known as Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar, appear journeying in towns with gifts for the newborn Jesus. Frequently riding on horseback, they have colorful handmade costumes and crowns and carry gifts for children, often ending in a Catholic cathedral for the celebration. On the eve of the celebration, children are encouraged to find small boxes, fill them with grass (to feed the kings camels), and place them under their beds. The idea is that just as the kings brought gifts to the newborn Jesus, they also bring gifts to children. Then when the children wake up, they can look under their beds to find their gifts. Article continues below I celebrate this day as part of my culture, and most significantly, as integral to the sacred memory of Epiphany. As Gentile Christians, we also respond to the calling of God to come to see the divine Son. We also respond to the divinely appointed epiphanies that led us to the gospel. Yet the gospel has always been announced in dangerous times. The insurrection of January 6 is in my memory with its violence and blasphemous use of Christian symbols. Yet this nefarious event only increases my longing for Epiphanys celebration: The king is here and will transform our world. Elizabeth Rios, founder, Passion2Plant.com, Miramar, Florida I learned about Three Kings Day from my Puerto Rican family. Growing up in New York City, we never did much of the presents or the grass under the bed thingwe were from the concrete jungle. However, we celebrated with the traditional food and songs, trying to keep our practice alive despite the commercialization of Christmas. In my house, this day will hit a bit different after it was tainted by last years insurrection, brought on by people who thought they were following Jesus. Traditionally a day to reflect on the baby Jesus being worshiped by three wise men, this year I will choose to reflect on why baby Jesus came into a dark world and how we should guard our hearts against tying our faith to political power. Sarah M. Guerrero, writer, Austin, Texas I didn't grow up celebrating el Dia de los Reyes, and Im sorry for that. Like so much of my cultural history on my mothers side, I dont know if this holiday was never part of my ancestors' lives, lost somewhere along the line to assimilation, or dropped due to personal preference. While my father can trace his ancestry back to Scotland, my mothers family has lived on land thats been claimed by Spain, Mexico, and Texas (and was the home first of people like the Tonkawa). We are Hispanic without being Mexican, which is unusual for the part of Texas I call home. Despite being a person of mixed ethnicity, I grew up with an unintegrated faith and cultural tradition, primarily informed by European Christianity. This tradition taught me to be suspect of anything that wasnt white. But as an adult, Ive learned from theologians like Kat Armas, Karen Gonzalez, and Liz Marquez that an integrated faith can and should embrace all parts of my ethnicity, especially the parts that are brown. As Ive learned about holidays close to my heritage (Im googling things just like everyone else!), Im stunned by the upside-down wisdom of the wise men. Brown, pagan, and students of astrology, they were the first on record to recognize the kingship of Jesus. They bring me face to face with the people and ideas Ive discounted because they werent Christian enough. I feel grief this holiday because it reminds me of the cultural heritage Ive lost and the places Ive platformed whiteness in my own theology. But theres also a glimmer of tender hope that as I embrace my own unique ethnic heritage, I will find Jesus. Aaron Reyes, lead pastor, Hope Community Church, Austin, Texas Three Kings Day wasnt celebrated much in my Mexican American household. Like most other evangelicos or cristianos, we interpreted this day as a Catholic tradition that should be ignored. So, I didnt get to enjoy a Rosca de Reyes until later in life. But it was a fun day for my Catholic friends, who got to open a lot of gifts. Article continues below Now, as a parent and pastor, I acknowledge and celebrate this day. Its meaningful for me this year, on the anniversary of last years insurrection, to remember that the King of the Jews came to us as a vulnerable babe in the obscure town of Bethlehem in an obscure part of the Roman Empire. This day reminds me that greatness and power arent achieved by force. Jesus didnt arrive in Rome with an army to grapple for power. The model of Jesus is that true greatness is found in humility and service. Though worshiped and gifted on Epiphany, Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So, today, Im going to delight in a Rosca de Reyes with my children. Using the oval-shaped cake, we will recall how, similar to the hidden doll inside the cake, God protected the Christ child from Herod. Moreover, drawing attention to the wreath-like appearance of the cake thats adorned with candied fruits (rosca means wreath), I will explain to my kids that God sent foreign magi to acknowledge that Jesus is King, not only of the Jews, but of all peoples. And, as such, Jesus is deserving of our worship and lives. Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III., assistant professor of the New Testament at Vanguard University, Costa Mesa, California My family taught me about Three Kings Day when they explained how they celebrated the holidays in their home country of Costa Rica. They received their gifts on January 6 and celebrated December 24 with dinner. When I would ask, Why don't we do this here in the US? they asked me, How can we compete with Santa? Unfortunately, as a third-generation Latino, this holiday is one of those traditions that has been lost through our cultural assimilation in the US. Our family wanted us to culturally fit in with society and others, so we did not carry this tradition in our family practices. Today I want to recover these important and lost traditions that mark and define our cultural and religious identity. Whats more, these traditions make Christmas celebrations more biblical and meaningful by connecting the stories of the Bible with real celebrations in the home and church life. We make Christmas real through performances and by focusing on the entire Christmas story in the Bible. For this reason, nativity scenes in Latino households are importantthey visually remind us of Jesus birth. Fernie Cosgrove, Well-Watered Women staff writer, Connecticut I have many cherished memories around Three Kings Day from growing up in Mexico. Every year, on January 6, we would gather with our family to eat a rosca de reyes, a delicious bread that holds plastic toys in the shape of a baby. If you get the toy, you host the next gathering where you serve guest tamales. As an adult, this is a great reminder of the way the Three Kings were able to gather to praise King Jesus in a manger, and through their gifts proclaim that he was indeed the King of kings they had long been waiting for. This celebration has shaped my thinking to remember that the birth of Jesus doesnt only impact us on Christmas, but throughout the year and leads me to think about the way I esteem Jesus as the King of my life! [ This article is also available in espanol. ] Tech investors have discovered religionor at least religion apps. In 2021, venture capitalists poured more than $175 million into a handful of software companies developing spirituality tools for smartphones, betting big that tech startups can find a way to make a profit off of prayer, daily devotion, Scripture meditation, and Bible reading. Prayer and spirituality apps arent new. Theyve existed almost as long as smartphones. But they didnt attract this much capital until recently. Ten years ago, the amount of venture funding invested in religion apps was negligible, coming in at less than $100,000. By 2016, that number had climbed to $6 million, and by 2019, tech investors put about $1.30 out of every $10,000 they invested in startups into religious apps. Last year, as tech startup funding grew to a record $600 billion, investors put nearly $3 out of every $10,000 toward religious apps. The two big winners are Hallow and Glorify. Hallow, a Catholic app that has partnered with 250 parishes across the country but especially targets people whove stopped going to church, received more than $50 million. Glorify, an app that promises to help users develop a daily worship habit, raised $40 million in investments. Its just a ridiculously exciting time, Ed Beccle, one of the cofounders of the London-based Glorify, told Religion News Service. I feel like I am constantly pinching myself. Part of the rush of funding may be due to COVID-19. The pandemic drew attention to how much regular religious practice could be moved online. But investors clearly believe religion apps will continue to be popular long after the pandemic passes into memory. The apps seem to be considered a good investment because people connect to spiritual practices in a deeply personal way. As the investors see it, our phones are ourselves. One thing that Ive always thought deeply about is, how do I find investments that are tied to what people deem to be a core part of their identity, Connie Chang, an investor at a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, told TheWall Street Journal. When you look at these communities that people strongly identify with, thats where they spend most of their time. Thats where you get longer-term retention. Religious uses of new communications technology have a long history. Evangelicals and other Christians have always found ways to make new tech work for themadapting and innovating with YouTube, television, radio, book publishing, and even the telegraph. Only a few years after inventor Samuel Morse sent the first morse code message from the chambers of the US Supreme Court in 1844, typing out the words What hath God wrought, missionaries hailed it widely as the key to global evangelism. In 1847, Congregationalist missionary Cyrus Hamlin even presented the technology to Abdulmecid I, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, as a reason to convert to Christianity. Smartphone apps havent been any different. The day that Apple first opened its app storea year and a half after it released the iPhone in 2007Life.Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, launched a free Bible app called YouVersion. The software was downloaded 83,000 times in three days. Last year, the app surpassed more than 500 million downloads. The Bible software, however, remains a ministry of the church. The ongoing innovation and development is supported by donations. Theres no return on investment for venture capitalists. The first for-profit companies to develop religious apps didnt have a model for making money either. Instapray, developed in 2014 by a Polish man who emigrated to the US to get an MBA at Stanford University, didnt even have a business model. It was never envisioned as a monetization platform, founder Fryderyk Ovcaric said. I started Instapray to create a safe, supportive online community, a place free of the overwhelming negativity present across much of the web. When billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel put money into Instapray, it was seen as a sign of his eccentricity. Or maybe an indication that Thiel, who once praised Jesus as the first political atheist, was more religious than people thought. But the most recent crop of religion apps are not ministries and are not lacking in plans for monetization. Ive come at it from a lot of different angles and one is very much on an emotional level and my own beliefs around faith, Glorify CEO Beccle told TechCrunch. Then the other is: Its the most incredible commercial opportunity. The app is free to download, and the basic version is free to use. But a lot of the features require a subscription of $7 per month. Theres no public data on how many of the millions who have downloaded Glorify in 2021 subscribed, but if even 2 percent pay for 12 months, the company would gross $4.2 million. Hallow has a monthly subscription for $9, which allows users to create prayer groups with family or friends, keep a journal, and download homilies. More than 1 million have downloaded it. The recent religious apps are also looking to expand into social media platforms, which will give committed users more ways to connect with other people and more reasons to stay on the app. The prospect is attractive to investors. I felt I understood it immediately, said James Corden, the British host of The Late Late Show on CBS who received a pitch to invest in Glorify at a dinner party of celebrities in Los Angeles. I grew up in a family of faith, and I saw that what Ed was doing was building not merely an app, but a community. If thats something people want, then according to the rules of the market, its something theyll pay for. And while prayer, Bible reading, and Scripture meditation will always be free, the smartphone apps that help people do those things in 2022 offer the promise of great potential profit. Car buyers need to be more patient in finding one they can afford-- whether it is brand new or pre-owned- as car prices continue to soar high as dealers struggle to maintain inventory. According to Fox News, the price of used cars and trucks saw an increase of 31.4% over the past year. New vehicles jumped 11.1 in the latest Consumer Price Index. Dealers also predict that the high price trend will continue for two years due to a shortage of semiconductor chips made in China used in manufacturing cars. According to car information site Edmunds.com, in November, the average price of used vehicles in the US jumped to $28,011, a 39% increase within a year. A value that half of America's households can hardly afford now. Meaning, even somebody who has a steady income can hardly afford to buy a late-model car. Jeff Schrier, who has been selling autos for 35 years in Omaha, Nebraska, has never seen such a spike in car prices ever since, and he feels the sentiments of car buyers at this moment. "It's quite frustrating for so many people right now," he said. Read Also: 7 Things to Know About Electric Vehicles Before You Make the Switch Car industry and Covid-19 The Covid-19 pandemic is partly to blame on the soaring car prices in the market as automobile manufacturers had suspended production from managing the spread of the deadly virus. This led to the low sales of new vehicles and fewer people trading in used cars and trucks. Coincidingly, the demand for laptops and monitors had increased due to strict travel restrictions, forcing people to stay at home, thus increasing the demand for communication gadgets. This resulted in semiconductor manufacturers shifting production from cars to consumer electronics. Since there are is a limited supply of new cars, "the price of old cars increases," Diamond Cut Autos sales consultant Alexis Alvarez explained. Another reason for the increase in average car prices sighted by dealers is that many consumers prefer more expensive SUVs and trucks than less expensive sedans. Car buyers now look for expensive features like automatic brake systems and lane departure warnings. This contributes to the climbing car prices. However, most experts say the inflated vehicle prices aren't likely to ease in the near future due to the uncertainty brought by the pandemic, according to a CNN report. For now, car sellers like Schrier try to convince lower-income buyers to be more patient about the few used vehicles that fit their budget. The Solution To Soaring Car Prices According to Dan Hersch, managing director in the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners, for car prices to normalize, supply chain issues must be addressed, and production must return to normal to balance supply and demand in the market. However, it is easier said than done as aside from shortages in semiconductors, there are also shortages of labor, shipping issues, and lots of other disruptions, as per Fortune. To help alleviate the backlogs, President Joe Biden entered a deal to open the Port of Los Angeles on a 24/7 schedule. However, experts believe that this will not be enough in the long run. Still, the ultimate solution is to increase the production of automobiles domestically as well as to boost chip and semiconductor production in Asia. But it will take time to see the results. Related Article: How the Market is Changing and Used Cars Are Getting More Affordable @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Community turns to prayer as 8 children, 2 mothers among 12 killed in Philadelphia house fire A Philadelphia neighborhood sought comfort in prayer and follow-up vigils Wednesday after 12 people from one family, including two adult sisters and eight of their children, died in a rowhouse fire as helpless neighbors were awakened by blood-curdling screams for help early in the morning. My sisters and my nieces and my nephews are gone. They are deceased. They are never coming back, Keta Purifoy told reporters about the tragedy that struck her two sisters identified on social media as Rosalee McDonald, 33, and Virginia Thomas, 30. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney urged people to please keep all these folks, and especially these children, in your prayers during a news conference outside the charred home in Fairmount. Philadelphia officials said fire crews responded at 6:40 a.m. to the blaze at the three-story row house on N. 23rd Street, which is owned, operated and inspected by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. They found heavy fire coming from the second floor of the building, which took 50 minutes to bring under control. Authorities said the building was originally a single-family home divided in an odd configuration to make two apartments, making it difficult for fire crews to navigate. At least 26 people were living at the property at the time of the fire, Fox29 reported. Eighteen people lived in the upstairs apartment on the second and third floors, while another eight lived in the downstairs apartment, which included the first floor and part of the second floor. While the home was equipped with four smoke detectors, none of them were working at the time of the fire, officials said. The fire is currently under investigation. NBC Philadelphia reports that a child who escaped the blaze told investigators a Christmas tree caught fire, and the blaze spread to the rest of the building. Qaadira Purifoy, another sister of the two mothers, told NBC Philadelphia that she believes the fire could have been avoided. I feel like this couldve been avoided, she was quoted as saying. I feel like it should be mandatory that the city goes around making sure that the fire alarms are working and that theres fire extinguishers in every house. Philadelphia Housing Authority President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah said in a statement that the home was last inspected in May 2021 and the fire detectors were functioning properly at that time. The ages of all the victims ranged from 2 to 33 years old. Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy called the fire one of the worst he has responded to in decades. It was terrible. ... Ive been around for 30, 35 years now, and this is probably one of the worst fires Ive ever been to, he said at a press conference. As the bodies of the children were being removed from the building, relatives gathered in a circle and prayed, according to The New York Times. Mickie Goodson, 55, who grew up in the area but now lives in West Oak Lane, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that praying with the family helped her. I prayed with some of the family members, she said. They, of course, were devastated. Praying with the family helped me a little bit. I cant imagine how they felt. I cant fathom their pain, what theyre going through. Redemption City Church on Poplar Street held a virtual prayer vigil for the community, which attracted more than 300 community members, lawmakers, faith leaders and other officials, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Were a community. When one of us hurts, we all hurt, Redemption City Church Lead Pastor Stephen Weeks told mourners during the vigil. He was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Christian Post on Thursday. Atheist group demands Pelosi drop prayer from Jan. 6 vigil A prominent atheist group has demanded that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drop a planned prayer vigil at a congressional event remembering the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter of complaint to Pelosi on Monday, urging the Democratic House leader to drop the prayer part of the event, calling it an improper marriage of state and church. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits government actors from using their position to endorse a religious message. Use of your office to promote the prayerfulness of what should be a uniting and secular event sends a message that your office prefers religion over nonreligion, wrote FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker. As Speaker of the House, your letter announcing the official prayer vigil encourages your colleagues to likewise mix their personal religion with their governmental duties. The atheist group leadership went on to claim that the event unnecessarily appears to tie patriotism with piety and argued that the Jan. 6 riot was fueled by Christian nationalism. One of the goals of the insurrection was to unite church and state, and the insurrectionists clearly also believed God was on their side, they continued. Government-sponsored religious events are inherently divisive and have no place in our secular democracy. This prayer vigil should be canceled. On Dec. 30, Pelosi released a Dear Democratic Colleague letter, in which she laid out a list of activities being held to commemorate the anniversary of the Capitol riot. These included an event that would feature testimonials, a moderated conversation about the event, a moment of silence on the House floor, and a prayer vigil on the Capitol steps. These events are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness. All events will be live-streamed, so that members can watch and participate from their districts, read the letter, in part. The patriotism and courage of our members as we prepare for this difficult day is an inspiration, for which I sincerely thank you. In addition to the events endorsed by Pelosi, large numbers of churches and other groups plan to hold their own vigils and gatherings in remembrance of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. While some people were allowed to enter the building and meandered around, others stormed the building. Many of these events, such as the vigil planned by the First Congregational Church of Williamstown, Massachusetts, will be done to denounce Christian nationalism. In a letter urging other churches to join them, the First Congregation Churchs leadership argued that the Jan. 6 riot showed the extent to which religious faith was being exploited to fuel anti-democratic violence. "[W]e will hold a one-hour public protest to denounce this linkage of faith with the anti-democratic forces that continue to foster division, white supremacy, and authoritarianism in our country right now, stated the church. Even before Jan. 6, 2021, our church had grown concerned with the misuse of religious language and symbolism to advocate for political extremism. Employing the cross or figures of Christ to justify threats or to condone coercion contradicts our conviction that Christ is the Prince of Peace and our guide toward reconciliation with each other. Other groups, such as the Pro-Trump organization, Look Ahead America, will be hosting vigils on Thursday in support of those who entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6 of last year. The group will also remember Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed Air Force veteran who was shot dead when she tried to enter the House chamber where members of Congress were sheltering during the protests. The officer who shot her was later cleared of any wrongdoing. January 6th is the one-year anniversary of the beginning of our governments immoral and unconstitutional political persecution of hundreds of our brothers and sisters who exercised their First Amendment rights to seek redress of grievances on January 6th, stated LAA Executive Director Matt Braynard last month. Around the country and even around the world, we invite our supporters to host these vigils to raise awareness of our governments betrayal of these citizens and our fundamental values to perpetuate the phony insurrection narrative. Christian nurse punished for wearing cross necklace to work wins religious discrimination case A British tribunal has ruled that a Christian nurse who was forced to resign from a hospital over her refusal to stop wearing a cross was wrongfully discriminated against. The Employment Tribunal ruled Wednesday that Mary Onuoha had been mistreated by the Croydon Health Services NHS Trust when they demanded that he stop wearing a cross to work. The tribunal rejected the hospital's claim that the cross necklace presented a high infection risk, noting that other items like rings and hijabs were permitted at the facility. There is no evidence to show that the infection risk they posed was lower than the Cross-Necklace, stated the tribunal. There is no cogent explanation as to why these items are permitted but a fine necklace with a small pendant of religious devotional significance is not. The tribunal went on to note that Onuoha was not just wearing a necklace. It was a Cross-Necklace that was a manifestation of religious belief and not a mere fashion accessory. Subjectively, from the Claimants point of view, that created an offensive and threatening environment, they added. The conduct was clearly unwanted. The Claimant simply wanted to get on with her job whilst wearing her Cross-Necklace. Christian Concern, a London-based group whose partner organization, the Christian Legal Centre, helped represent Onuoha, released a statement on Wednesday celebrating the ruling. We are delighted that the Tribunal have ruled in Marys favor and delivered justice in this case, said Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, as quoted in the statement. From the beginning this case has been about the high-handed attack from the NHS bureaucracy on the right of a devoted and industrious nurse to wear a cross the worldwide, recognized and cherished symbol of the Christian faith. It is very uplifting to see the Tribunal acknowledge this truth. A native of Nigeria, Onuoha immigrated to the United Kingdom in 1988 and began working at the hospital in 2001, wearing a cross necklace while working her shifts. In 2015, Onuoha began to have superiors who requested that she remove the cross, and in 2018, her superiors claimed that the religious jewelry violated the facilitys dress code. She was then forced to take on administrative roles rather than her intended occupation and was facing possible disciplinary action before she resigned in August 2020. After her resignation, Onuoha filed legal action against the hospital, accusing her supervisors of religious discrimination, with the tribunal hearing oral arguments last October. "This has always been an attack on my faith," said Onuoha in a statement released last year. "My cross is part of me and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm. Hindus wear red bracelets on their wrists and female Muslims wear hijabs [at the hospital]. Yet my small cross around my neck was deemed so dangerous that I was no longer allowed to do my job." David Platt urges young Christians to avoid 'comfortable' Christianity: 'You will waste your life' Pastor David Platt challenged young Christians to avoid "casual, comfortable, cultural Christianity" that turns a blind eye to the unreached, warning that getting caught up in the American dream will result in a wasted life. "Be finished and done with a form of Christianity that says, Pray a prayer, go to church, live it up in the world, go to some conferences and coast your way to Heaven. Thats not Christianity because its not following Christ, Platt, pastor of McLean Bible Church in Virginia and head of the evangelistic outreach ministry Radical, told thousands of young adults gathered at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta for Passion 2022 on Jan. 2. To follow Jesus is to "let His worldwide plan of ransom rescue dictate everything you think, desire and do, dictate your plans, dreams, how youre going to live, what degree youre going to get and how youre going to make and spend money for the spread of Gods great love in Jesus among the nations," the pastor stressed. You will waste your life if you get caught up in this American dream. Dont do it. Lift your eyes above the distractions, he urged. Look at the destiny of this world. The train of history is headed towards people of every nation, tribe and tongue, enjoying and praising Jesus. Jump on that train. Platt spoke on the first day of the Passion Conference, an annual event that seeks to equip the next generation of Christians to live boldly for the Gospel. Other speakers at this year's two-day event included Sadie Robertson Huff, Levi Lusko, Tim Tebow and founder Louie Giglio. Platt's message was focused on the urgency of sharing the Gospel, as there are approximately 3.2 billion people around the world who have yet to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. God desires for people from all nations to hear and receive the Good News of His great love in Jesus, the Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream author stressed. Thats the truth. ... This is Gods passion for people. Platt, who previously served as president of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board, shared a series of Scripture verses to emphasize the importance of spreading the Gospel. This includes the Great Commission, outlined in Matthew 28:19. In that verse, Jesus commands His disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." Platt explained that Jesus died to save all of humanity, not leaving out any nation, language or people group. Jesus was slain and He shed His blood to ransom, to rescue people for God, from where? Every tribe, every language, every people, every nation. God desires for people from all the nations to hear and receive the Good News of His great love. His great rescue in Jesus," the pastor declared. Are you convinced that God desires and decrees for people from all nations to hear and receive, not just receive, but rejoice in the Good News of His great love in Jesus? Platt asked, adding: Thats the picture in Gods Word. The United States, the speaker contended, is "quite possibly" the place in the world with the most access to Gospel. Yet, many around the world "dont have access to someone who can tell them about Jesus, they dont have followers of Jesus or churches proclaiming the Good News of Gods great love, Platt explained. He exhibited a Radical Stratus map displaying the color-coded places on the world globe that have and havent been reached with the Gospel. This is why we dont say, Well, I dont know why we talk about unreached people around the world when there are unreached people on my campus, there are unreached people in my neighborhood, Platt explained. You say, How do you know? Because they're on your campus. Theyre in your neighborhood. They have access to the Gospel. Youre it." Were talking about people who dont have anyone near them to tell them about Jesus, he continued. There are many people living in unreached areas on the map that will live and die without hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Platt. The Bible is clear. If you never hear this Good News, then you cant believe it, and if you dont believe it, you cant experience Gods love and salvation from sin, he emphasized. In other words, unreached people who are born and live and die without ever hearing the Gospel experience eternal suffering in Hell when they die. Though it can be difficult to grasp the concept of a good God allowing the unreached to go to Hell, Platt pointed out that the Bible is "crystal clear that people cannot be saved from their sins by Jesus if they dont believe in Jesus, and they cant believe in Jesus if they never hear about Jesus." Platt asked his audience since they have heard the Gospel and know the Rescuer who has laid down His life for people from every tribe and nation do they want to spread the Gospel? And what price will they pay to do so? How are you going to spend your life?" he asked. "Based on this picture of Gods Word and this picture in the world, I want to plead with you tonight to refuse to settle for a casual, comfortable, cultural Christianity. I want to plead with you to refuse to do what millions of Christians and leaders of churches are doing in our country, to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to 3.2 billion people and thousands of people groups who have never heard the Gospel. Platt urged the crowd to avoid a Christianity that does not include evangelizing to the unreached. The purpose of your life in this world is to make the good news of Gods great love in Jesus known throughout this world. And you are not living if youre not living for this, he said. As his sermon came to a close, Platt reminded the audience that they are not the rescuers, but they are the rescued because every follower is saved by Jesus. He also addressed those who might think they are too broken to offer anything to the world. I want to encourage you, as you walk through what seems like a never-ending process of healing in Jesus hands you have so much to offer to those who have no idea who Jesus is, Platt preached. You have the greatest news in the world for those who are hurting that this healing process is not neverending, that your healing will one day be whole. As a result of His ultimate rescue, Gods glory shines in this broken world not only through strengths but also through scars, he concluded. Live for this. If necessary, die for this for people from all nations to hear and receive the Good News of Gods great love in Jesus. Leah Klett contributed to this report. European court rules in favor of Christian bakery that refused to make cake supporting gay marriage The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a complaint against a Christian bakery in Northern Ireland that refused to make a cake supporting gay marriage on religious grounds. The Strasbourg-based court charged with interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights rejected the complaint of Gareth Lee. The member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace sued Ashers Bakery in Belfast in 2014 over the refusal to bake a cake expressing support for same-sex marriage. The European Court of Human Rights deemed Lees complaint inadmissible on Thursday. By relying solely on domestic law, the applicant had deprived the domestic courts of the opportunity to address any Convention issues raised, instead asking the court to usurp the role of the domestic courts, the ECHR concluded in its decision. Because he had failed to exhaust domestic remedies, the application was inadmissible. The Christian Institute, the group representing the bakery owners, Amy and Daniel McArthur, celebrated the dismissal by the top European court. The UK Supreme Court engaged at length with the human rights arguments in this case and upheld the McArthurs rights to freedom of expression and religion. It was disappointing to see another attempt to undermine those rights, so it is a relief that the attempt has failed, Christian Institute spokesman Simon Calvert said in a statement. Im surprised anyone would want to overturn a ruling that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they dont share, just as much as it protects Christian business owners. Lee said in a statement that he is disappointed that his complaint did not get fairly analyzed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality. None of us should be expected to have to figure out the beliefs of a companys owners before going into their shop or paying for their services, said Lee, as quoted by BBC. Everyone has freedom of expression and it must equally apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. Lee sued the McArthur family in 2014 after they refused to make a cake that would feature Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie with the slogan Support Gay Marriage at the top. The Belfast County Court ruled against the bakery and fined the couple the equivalent of $600. A three-judge appeals court upheld the decision in October 2016. In the present case the appellants might elect not to provide a service that involves any religious or political message, ruled the appeals court. What they may not do is provide a service that only reflects their own political or religious message in relation to sexual orientation. The bakery appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which ruled in 2018 that the objection was to the message on the cake, not any personal characteristics of the messenger, or anyone with whom he was associated. The message was not indissociable from the sexual orientation of the customer, as support for gay marriage was not a proxy for any particular sexual orientation, the high court concluded. The benefit of the message accrues not only to gay or bisexual people, but to their families and friends and to the wider community who recognize the social benefits which such commitment can bring. Thus, there was no discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in this case. Over 400 million Christians live in lands of persecution: human rights activist More than 400 million Christians live in countries that persecute churches and that persecution is only worsening, according to the leader of a Roman Catholic human rights organization based in Italy. Alessandro Monteduro, director of ACS-Italia, the Italian chapter of Aid to the Church in Need, told Vatican News in an interview published last week that there were around 416 million Christians who live in lands of persecution. I want to clarify that living in lands of persecution' does not mean persecuted, but living in a land of persecution, however, exposes you daily to risks that may arise due to the behavior of the persecutors, explained Monteduro, as rendered by Google translate. Unfortunately, all the reports of the charity agencies, but also those reports that involve the states most willing to do so, such as the United States and Great Britain, tell of a tightening of their conditions. Monteduro also told Vatican News that in certain areas of the planet, such as the continent of Africa, the suffering of Christian communities is worsening due to religious intolerance. Across Africa, from sub-Saharan Africa to East Africa, there are at least a couple of dozen terrorist organizations that have the ambition, from their point of view, to install caliphates in their territories, he continued. He also spoke of violent persecution in India due to local fears that Christian groups are trying to convert Hindus to Christianity, adding that there was too much indifference to these tragedies. Monteduros concerns over the rising intolerance of Christianity in Africa were echoed by the ecumenical Christian group Release International and its Persecution Trends 2022 report. Release International cited multiple African countries, as well as the nations of India and North Korea, as regions that were of growing concern for local Christian communities. In 2021 in Burkina Faso, for example, local Islamic terrorists engaged in a host of attacks on churches, including bombings, school burnings, assaulting places of worship and murders. Release International also expressed concern about Afghanistan, which was recently taken over by the Taliban shortly after the U.S. pulled its troops out but left its military equipment. In 2022, there is a very real threat of higher levels of violent persecution in Afghanistan, stated Release International CEO Paul Robinson, as part of the report. Our partners tell us that Christians who are unable to follow the outward forms of Islam, such as praying at the mosque and saying the shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, will stand out more clearly. Sadie Robertson Huff encourages young adults to find God-centered identity at Passion 2022 Speaker and author Sadie Robertson Huff encouraged young believers to find their identity in Christ and not in what the world or personality tests tell them in order to live God-glorifying lives and discover their purpose. I want to remind you of who you are tonight. I want to talk about identity, which should be a great conversation, right?" the 24-year-old "Duck Dynasty" star told thousands of young adults gathered for Passion 2022 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 2. "As a culture, we love to talk about identity. Were obsessed with our identity," she continued. "We love to talk about who we are. But also, its kind of strange because although we are obsessed with talking about who we are, nobody likes to actually be hit with the question, 'Who are you? For many, there is "anxiety and insecurity" around the question, "Who am I?" Huff contended. Because truthfully, youre sitting here right now and I know there are thousands of you in this room thinking the same thing: I have no clue who I am.' ... That is a hard place to be, friends, but you're not alone, she added. Other times, people tend to be confused about who they are because they identify with many different things instead of finding fulfillment in their God-given identity. A few weeks ago, Huff said, she wrote a post on Instagram which asked her followers the question: "What do you identify yourself with?" The first group of respondents identified external factors such as "my looks" and "my sexuality." The second group of people, however, responded with confidence," "I am who [God] says I am." Although Huff said she finds the second group of people's answers to be awesome, she said, she imagines that some of the people at the Passion conference sent answers from both groups. Thats awesome that you know the answer to that question, she said. Has that actually changed who you are? Has who He says that you are actually changed the nature of who you are? Because we can say it all day long and we can even say it with confidence, but that doesnt mean were a confident person. Huff shared how, in the past, she was "insecure," afraid" and "living in shame" despite understanding what God said about her. "What He said about me didnt actually change me, she said. Friends, you can know everything He says about you, but what ultimately matters is who He is to you. If Hes not on the throne of your life, then what He says about you isnt actually going to change who you are." The Live Original author read from Matthew 16:13, where Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" In response, the Apostle Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Then, Jesus responds by saying: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "Notice, when Peter recognized who Jesus was, Jesus in return told Peter who he was, Huff explained. Peters identity was not found in who Peter found himself to be," she continued. "Peters identity was not found in who other people told Peter that he was or what they thought of him. Peters identity was found in who Jesus said he was, after first establishing that Jesus is God. Thats the most important question you can answer tonight, friends: Who is God to you? Whoever is on the throne of someones life dictates who they are, she stressed. Therefore, it's important for Christians to know their identity, because who a Christian believes they are will directly impact their actions. After Peter was given his identity, he then was given his mission to build a church. So we have to understand who God is, to understand who we are, to understand what we are called to do," she declared. Many times, Huff said, Christians in society look to the world or personality tests more than they look to Jesus in order to find their identity. "Were trying to take all these personality tests to lead us and guide us through our lives instead of leaning on the Holy Spirit," she lamented. Were scrolling through social media trying to figure out answers to these massive questions about who we are, looking at TikTok, looking at Snapchat articles, trying to figure out, 'Who am I? instead of really leaning into the voice of God, Huff said. She added that though she appreciates personality tests like the Enneagram and MyersBriggs, she understands that none of those things can tell her more about who she is than the One who knit her together in her mother's womb. Because what happens is, when I say that those things are what I identify with, it excuses me to not have to be what Im called to be," she said. "I'll say I have a very fearful personality. Im just going to be afraid because thats who I am. Thats how I was created. This is my identity.' But the Word of God said: Youve not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. Some biblical principles "don't feel natural," Huff said, such as the concept of "turning the other cheek" or resisting sexual temptation. "But Im going to tell you something that culture will never tell you: Although it may be legitimate to have those feelings, more legitimate than that, is the truth of what God says that you are," she said. At a time when the word "truth" has lost its meaning, Huff encouraged audiences to remember that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. "We want to be our own version of truth," she continued. "We want to be loved. We want to be power. We want to get control over our life. And we're trying to take on all these attributes of God. What we're not considering is trying to carry the weight of who God is. You also have to consider that you've got to carry the weight of your sin." Every person is created "original," Huff said, but "we can't go find out more about our originality and our identity by who the world says we are." "We have to find that in who God is, who He created us to be, based off the nature of who He is," she declared. When believers "get a good look at who God is" and know who they are in Christ, the "enemy will no longer try to intimidate you because he's intimidated by who God is within you," she declared. Huff quoted what the Bible says about the character and nature of God, reminding attendees that He is "our Savior, our guide, our peace, our Lord." "When you fall, He will lift you up. When you fail, He will forgive you. When you're weak, He is strong. When you're afraid, He is your courage," she emphasized. "If you believe that that is who your God is, you will not be confused by who you are, because He's not confused by who He is, and He is not confused on the purpose of your life." Launched by Louie Giglio in 1997, the Passion movement "has a singular mission calling students and leaders from campuses across the nation and cities around the world to live for what matters most," reads the event website. Other speakers at this years two-day event included Tim Tebow, David Platt, Jackie Hill-Perry, Christine Caine and others. Anti-vaccine religious broadcasters are wrong on some basic moral principles In a separate article, we looked at factual errors reported by various Christian celebrities about vaccines. Let's move on from basic facts to basic principles. It is simply not a Biblical principle that it is immoral to benefit downstream from evil deeds. There is probably no more evil deed in history than the crucifixion of Jesus. He was the most perfectly innocent person in history and the least deserving of death by torture. And yet, we all benefit from that "hour of darkness." On a less profound note: the White House was built by slave labor. Should we refuse to use it because it is tainted by slavery? How many rails, canals, and tunnels were built on the backs of slaves or the vicious exploitation of Chinese workers? How much technology is a spin-off of wars of conquest in the past? The American space program benefited greatly from Nazi research in developing rockets to rain death down on innocent civilians. A great deal of anatomical knowledge is descended from grave-robbers or comes from cruel executions or unjust wars. The Biblical principle is not that we may not receive any benefits from the deeds of evil men; it is that we should personally refrain from evil and receive good things with gratitude, knowing that what others intend for evil, God can use for good. If a 90-year-old diabetic smoker refuses a vaccination and dies because their favorite religious broadcaster told them it was a dead baby vaccine, they do not bring back the child who was killed in 1973. They simply sacrifice another precious life. How is this pro-life? Another highly problematic moral principle is that we should refuse to do something merely because the government orders us to do it. The Bible never teaches this. Quite to the contrary, the Biblical position is that we should obey government except when it commands us to disobey God. The Biblical world-view is not that of the rebel. Jesus says to carry the pack two miles when compelled to carry it one mile. This is a reference to the Roman law that required occupied peoples to carry packs for a mile for Roman soldiers. Jesus is commanding over-obedience, even to an unjust dictatorial occupying power such as Rome. David, God's true anointed king, refused to rebel against a murderous, demon-possessed Saul and even repented for the mild act of rebellion of cutting off the corner of his robe. It is simply astonishing to me to see Christian thought leaders and celebrities promoting moral reasoning that is so at variance with basic Biblical principles. Of course, there are meaty topics to debate over: how best to resist tyranny; how to balance risks from COVID versus risks from vaccines; how to know when medical research involving aborted children creates actual complicity (for example, purchasing abortion "harvested" tissue creating incentives to evil); what pharma companies stem cell use policies should be (a conversation that I have been actively and aggressively pressing upon Pharmaceutical companies (Christians invest in companies using stem cells in development)); how to balance freedom and responsibility; alternate treatments, etc. Reasonable people of good faith must wrestle with these matters, but that won't even start until we leave behind the broken thought processes of too much of the Christian broadcast celebrity industry with its hype and fear and reactive rebelliousness. It is clear by now that early pronouncements by public health authorities were both very confident and very wrong about many, many things: about the danger of COVID, about its origins, about the advisability of masks (which has undergone several reversals), about the length of the shutdowns and their effects, and about a great deal else. Starting with possible U.S. funding of research in Wuhan, then with the Chinese government's denials, on into the Chinese-manipulated WHO, and including Western public health administrative agencies and a compliant media, and hypocritical ruling class do-as-I-say-not-as-I-doers, all of these institutions have undergone a well-deserved catastrophic loss of credibility. This means the world needs guides it can trust. It needs critical thinking and a willingness to follow the evidence where it leads, and it needs moral clarity. The Christian celebrity industry has offered none of that. It's time for the church to rise to the occasion, to at least try to grow into maturity and put aside childish things. A sober Christian witness to the health care sector, including the pharmaceutical industry, is needed now more than ever. Lets not give them any easy excuses to write us off. Potters House of Denver shutters megachurch, goes fully remote as donations decline in pandemic Ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and declining donations, the Potters House of Denver has decided to sell its $12.2 million, 137,000-square-foot megachurch in Arapahoe County, Colorado and go completely virtual, Pastor Toure Roberts has revealed. Roberts, who leads the multicultural church along with his wife, Sarah Jakes-Roberts, made the announcement in an interview with The Denver Post published on Monday. COVID-19 forced every church in America to rethink how to best serve their parishioners and the broader community, Roberts told the publication. Due to the inability to gather and the economic instability of the pandemic, our church, like many other churches in the nation, experienced declining donations. Instead of trying to do upkeep on an old building that needed significant repairs, which they have occupied for more than a decade, Pastor Roberts explained that selling the property and going fully virtual with their services made the most sense. We decided that the best way forward would be to sell the property, continue our online offering that had proven a successful alternative and maintain our hands-on community outreach operations, which includes our food bank that feeds thousands of families per year, he said. Church officials werent immediately available for further comment when contacted by The Christian Post on Monday. However, The Denver Post also reported that real estate developer, DHI Communities plan to convert the 32-acre site on which the church currently sits into a collection of more than 500 paired homes and apartments, as well as a 5-acre park. The shuttering of The Potters House of Denver comes as many churches nationwide are being forced to make the difficult choice of abandoning their buildings due to dwindling attendance sometimes without the prospect of a virtual alternative. On Christmas Eve, for example, members of the 221-year-old, 15,000-square-foot First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte in Pennsylvania held their final service and shuttered their church after the pandemic reduced their in-person attendance to 12. Prior to the pandemic membership had already dropped to 40 from its heyday when hundreds used to gather in the building for worship. A Lifeway Research survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors conducted Sept. 1-29 shows that even though 98% of all Protestant churches are now open for in-person worship services, nearly matching pre-pandemic levels, congregants have been slow to return to the pews. Compared to figures from January 2020, the survey showed that as of August, 13% of churches were attracting less than 50% of their pre-COVID-19 attendance. Some 35% of pastors reported attendance levels between 50% and 70% for the period, while another 30% reported attendance levels between 70% and 90%. Researchers are also still grappling with what the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have on church communities. Data shows that black churchgoers have adapted so well to online church amid the pandemic that some 41% of them now favor a hybrid model of in-person and online services, even after COVID-19 is no longer deemed a threat. Just 7% say they would rather their church services remain digital going forward. David Kinnaman, president of the California-based evangelical Christian polling firm the Barna Group, and Barna Director of Insights Mark Matlock suggested in 2020 that the pandemic could result in a loss of faith for the next generation. Citing earlier research, they showed that a majority of young people who grew up in the church would likely either walk away from their faith or from the church when they become young adults. They made their comments during a discussion about the impact of the pandemic on Christians aged 18-29. I think it will. I actually think were going to see an increasing number of people whove lost connectedness with their faith community, with their usual rhythms and practices. Were going to actually see an increasing number in the years to come and the long-term impact is even more fallout from that, Kinnaman said. We know that 22% of young people today are what we call prodigals. They lost their faith entirely. That number grew by double from 11% 10 years ago. So what it will look like in 10 years is hard to know, but we think its going to actually accelerate that problem." When asked about what he was seeing and hearing from churches that are trying to respond to the problem, Matlock highlighted research showing that among adults ages 18-29 who were raised Christian, only 10% of them are considered ideal or "resilient" disciples. Some 22% are no longer Christian, and 30% are classified as nomads because they still believe in God but arent connected to a church. Another 38% are considered habitual churchgoers but have loose ties to God. Its important to realize about that 22% is that they just arent coming to church anymore, Matlock said. Theyve said I no longer identify as a Christian, which is pretty serious. 'One of the toughest assignments God could ask': SafeHouse Outreach director on helping the homeless Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer homelessness, enduring a hard life on cold and dangerous streets. Witnessing this daily hardship is what inspires many Christians to take action by being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ by caring for the least of these (Matthew 25:40). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in its 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress that 580,466 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2020. Other organizations have estimated that the displaced population is much higher than HUDs figures. The National Homelessness Law Center, based in Washington, D.C., estimates that up to 3.5 million Americans are likely to experience homelessness each year. Among the Christian organizations that serve those who are displaced is SafeHouse Outreach, located in Atlanta, Georgia. In a Christian Post exclusive, the organization gave a rare behind-the-scenes look into what the life of displacement looks like for the men and women who find themselves on the streets in one of the countrys largest cities. Joe McCutchen, whos known as the organizations problem-solving director, is among those whose daily job is to serve the long line of men and women seeking assistance. Philip Bray founded this organization in 1982, and he was a preachers kid of a megachurch, McCutchen told CP. I always say he took a left turn out of the parsonage and became a drug dealer and a drug user. When he got free, he just started coming to the streets to help people. Phillip passed away a little over a year ago. Now his son, Josh, is the CEO. My role at the organization is, if you have a problem, come on in, lets see if we can solve it. For McCutchen, solving problems is something he feels called to do and counts it a joy to help those who SafeHouse was created to serve. Three of those whove benefited from SafeHouse include Jennifer Mohan, Allan Moban and Randhall Thompson. They look at McCuthen as someone who has blessed their lives. From the moment this reporter entered the center, it became apparent that everyone has a story to share. For many, an additional challenge theyve had to grapple with has been COVID-19. Walking through the pandemic was unexpected and has brought great suffering and trials to the displaced community. Thompson has seen the effects of COVID-19 firsthand in the lives of his friends who live on the streets. I have all of the vaccinations, and Ive been tested and know of people who have passed away from the virus, he said. Its one of the hard realities and among the many challenges faced by people who live on the streets. Along with Thompson, Moban shared details of the abuse and violence on the streets, as both have been victims of it themselves. People often attempt to steal possessions, such as blankets, and threaten to cause bodily harm, Moban explained. Sleeping on the streets was something they never thought theyd have to endure. Having lived on the streets for less than a year, both men have also experienced the loss of familial connections. Moban, whos from Rome, Georgia, which is northwest of Atlanta, shared more about his plight and inability to contact his family: I lost my phone and dont have a way to get in contact with them. Not being able to re-connect with family members and repair strained relationships is a daily concern for many people who seek assistance at SafeHouse. For some, McCutchen becomes a surrogate relative. A place like SafeHouse shares love with people and theyre like a family, said Mohan, who went from being homeless and a victim of prostitution to now having her own apartment. She also advised those who know of someone whos struggling on the streets to find an organization like SafeHouse that helps bring people out of homelessness and addiction. McCutchen agreed with Mohans assessment, adding that if people want to get involved in the homeless community and help, they should come alongside organizations that already have effective programs and not try to do it on their own. As Christians, one of the worst things that Christians do is we keep people in their addictions and we do that by rescuing people, by not letting them ever feel the weight of the problems theyre going through, he said. Its one of the toughest assignments that God could ask someone to do, but you keep showing up every day. In the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors are requesting an inquiry into a juror's claims that he was a victim of sex abuse as the suspect's defense seeks another trial for their client. In a letter, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan that the juror's claims that were published in several interviews by media outlets "merit attention by the Court." The media outlets did not identify the juror in question, and none of the jurors in the case were identified during Maxwell's trial. Juror's Sex Abuse Claims Prosecutors suggested in their letter to have Nathan schedule a hearing after about a month and also schedule lawyers to file briefs regarding the applicable law and the scope of the hearing. In their letter, they said that the government respectfully submits that any juror investigation should be conducted exclusively under the supervision of the Court. If Judge Nathan decides to act on the issue and conduct a hearing, her staff should "promptly contact the juror to notify him" and inquire whether or not he would like a lawyer to be appointed in connection with it. The juror in question allegedly said that he quickly finished the prospective juror questionnaire and was not asked if he had been a victim of sex abuse, Politico reported. Read Also: Biden Urges Americans To Get COVID-19 Jabs, Says Omicron Should 'Alarm' The Unvaccinated Maxwell's defense attorneys wrote a letter to Judge Nathan saying that the Court can and should order a new trial on Wednesday afternoon. The juror in question, identified only by his first and middle names, Scotty David, said that he shared his experience with sexual abuse while the panel was deliberating, helping the other jurors to decide to convict the suspect. The defense team's request is an immediate counter to the prosecutors seeking an inquiry into the juror's claims, saying the judge should order an entirely new trial if one of the jurors did not answer truthfully on their questionnaire. In an interview, Scott David said he knew what was happening when he was sexually abused. Ghislaine Maxwell's Trial In a separate interview, the juror said the other jurors could come around after he shared his own experience with sexual abuse. The situation comes after Maxwell was convicted on five of six counts after a month-long trial in Manhattan federal court where she faces up to 65 years in prison, the New York Post reported. A second juror who spoke under the condition of anonymity said that they also shared experiences of sexual abuse that helped shape the panel's verdict. The disclosures by the two jurors could become especially problematic if they did not note their experience during jury selection. A confidential questionnaire was given out to each of the juror candidates and asked whether they or any of their relatives or friends were the victims of sexual abuse or harassment. Judge Nathan on Wednesday set a schedule for motions on Maxwell's bid for a new trial, which gives the defense until Jan. 19 to file a motion and setting Feb. 2 as the deadline for the government's response, the New York Times reported. Related Article: US Arrests, Charges Ex-Colombian Soldier Suspect in Assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise Related Article: US Arrests, Charges Ex-Colombian Soldier Suspect in Assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ashers Bakery: Evangelical Couple Wins Major UK Supreme Court 'Gay Cake' Discrimination Case An evangelical couple have won their court ordeal after the U.K.'s Supreme Court decided that they did not discriminate against a gay man by refusing to make him a same-sex wedding cake. The couple, Daniel McArthur and his wife, Amy, of Ashers Bakery in Belfast, had previously lost the lower court case and a subsequent appeal that found them guilty of discrimination in 2014. They had been accused of refusing to make gay rights activist Gareth Lee a cake in support of same-sex marriage, which they said goes against their religious beliefs. On Wednesday, the five justices unanimously overturned the guilty verdict in London. "The district judge found that the appellants did not refuse to fulfill Mr. Lee's order because of his actual or perceived sexual orientation. The objection was to the message on the cake, not any personal characteristics of the messenger, or anyone with whom he was associated," reads the official judgment. "The message was not indissociable from the sexual orientation of the customer, as support for gay marriage was not a proxy for any particular sexual orientation. The benefit of the message accrues not only to gay or bisexual people, but to their families and friends and to the wider community who recognize the social benefits which such commitment can bring. Thus, there was no discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in this case," it adds. The case has been on the forefront of religious freedom vs. anti-discrimination debates in the U.K. for years. The Christian Institute, the group representing the McArthurs, hailed what they called a landmark victory in a press release. Daniel McArthur, Ashers' general manager, spoke about his delight at the ruling, and gave thanks to God. "We're delighted and relieved at today's ruling. We always knew we hadn't done anything wrong in turning down this order. After more than four years, the Supreme Court has now recognized that and we're very grateful. Grateful to the judges and especially grateful to God," he declared. "We're particularly pleased the Supreme Court emphatically accepted what we've said all along we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself." The controversy all began in May 2014, when Ashers turned down an order for a cake with a message reading "Support Gay Marriage" featuring "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie. While they were sued for discrimination, the McArthurs repeatedly insisted that their evangelical faith prevents them from supporting such messages. In response to the verdict, Lee argued that the case has made him feel like a second-class citizen, BBC News reported. The activist added that he is now concerned about "the implications for all of the gay community." "To me, this was never about conscience or a statement. All I wanted to do was to order a cake in a shop," Lee added. The Christian Institute Deputy Director (Public Affairs) Simon Calvert called the ruling "a total vindication of Ashers Baking Company and the McArthur family." "The court strongly agreed with Ashers' lawyers that this case has always been about the message on the cake and not the customer; the message, not the messenger," Calvert said. "Equality law was never intended to be used in the way the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland tried to use it in this case." Christian Couple Who Lost Gay Marriage Cake Case Sees Profits Soar to Millions Despite Controversy Ashers, the Northern Irish bakery run by a conservative Christian couple, saw a rise in profits and hit almost $2 million in 2016 despite losing a discrimination case over its refusal to make pro-gay marriage wedding cakes. Belfast Telegraph reported on Monday that Ashers posted accumulated profits of 1.5 million for 2016 (about $1.94 million). The profits were up from 1.3 million ($1.68 million) the previous year. Daniel and Amy McArthur, the Christian couple that runs the bakery, were found guilty of discriminating against a gay couple last year after they refused to make a wedding cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan. The McArthurs lost their legal battle despite explaining that being forced to create the slogan would go against their religious beliefs. They believe marriage is a union between one man and one woman. "I think whenever we've been called those names, the people calling them maybe don't fully grasp the arguments and what's at stake," Daniel McArthur said about about the bakers being branded as "homophobic." "Or that as Christians, how our beliefs affect every part of our lives, including running our business, and the decisions that we make in our business." Ashers recently found itself back in the news after Grainne McCann, a friend of one of the gay customers that successfully sued the Christian couple, revealed that she had a new order for a gay engagement cake turned down. "The wording we requested was 'Gay marriage rocks! Happy engagement, Andy and Joe! Lots of love xxx.' We were thrilled when Ashers accepted our online order, and full payment of 23.40 plus 20 P&P, but the next day they sent the cancellation note and a refund," McCann claimed last week. "My gut instinct told me the cake was refused because it celebrated gay marriage." As the Belfast Telegraph noted, the controversy surrounding Ashers, which became one of the leading religious freedom vs. discrimination law cases in the U.K., has not had an adverse effect on its business. Beside the profits, Ashers is also able to maintain seven outlets across Northern Ireland, making deliveries across the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. Ashers points out on its website that its name has a biblical origin. "Contrary to popular opinion we are not called Mr & Mrs Asher. Our name comes from the Bible. Asher was a tribe of Israel who had many skilled bakers and created bread fit for a king," the bakers explain. "We help you cheer people up, say sorry or maybe even I love you, we make comfort food for rainy days and luxury items for that very special occasion. But day to day, we just do what we love doing. We bake." Ashers does not make mention of same-sex marriage under its terms and conditions, but says that people may not send content or images for cakes which contain any "threatening, defamatory, blasphemous or pornographic material." Conservative leaders oppose Biden judicial nominee over affiliation with Southern Poverty Law Center Conservative groups are slamming one of President Joe Bidens judicial nominees for her work on behalf of a company that has likened organizations that oppose abortion and same-sex marriage to hate groups. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council and more than two dozen leaders of conservative organizations expressed opposition to the presidents nomination of Nancy Abudu to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Specifically, they raised concerns about her employment with a disreputable organization that has no business being a feeder for positions to any judicial office not even of a traffic court let alone the second-highest court system in the United States. Ms. Abudu currently serves as the strategic litigation director for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a corrupt organization infamous for its decades-long managerial corruption and notorious for unscrupulously designating its political opponents as hate groups or extremists, they wrote. For example, the SPLC has labeled the Family Research Council, which opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, an anti-LGBTQ extremist group. These destructive accusations have done real harm to many people. In the first conviction under the post-9/11 District of Columbia terrorism statute, the convicted terrorist was shown to have been motivated by the SPLCs hate group designation and related identifying information, they added. The pro-life activists recalled the incident in question, where the perpetrator used the SPLCs hate map to target the Family Research Council (FRC) and two other nearby groups in August 2012 for having beliefs supporting traditional marriage. While no one was killed in the plan to commit mass murder, the gunman who sought to carry out an attack on the socially conservative think tank did shoot and critically wound FRCs unarmed building manager who subdued him while wounded. The shooter-domestic terrorist told the FBI that the source of his information was the SPLC. Worse yet, over the past decade, the SPLC has targeted an increasing number of policy groups with whom it has policy disagreements. Any group that disagrees with the SPLC about positions it advocates is deemed to be evil and worthy of destruction. A footnote in the letter includes a 2007 quote from an SPLC official who stated that our aim in life is to destroy these groups, completely destroy them. After noting that the SPLC labeled human rights activist and outspoken critic of female genital mutilation Ayaan Hirsi Ali as an anti-Muslim extremist and included future Republican presidential candidate and African American Dr. Ben Carson on its 2014 extremist watch list, the letter detailed Abudus relationship with the organization and called her judgment into question. The letter also detailed the 2019 firing of SPLC founder Morris Dees and the resignation of other company leaders following allegations of racial discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Explaining how Abudu joined SPLC in February 2019, when published articles attesting to the sleazy corporate culture at the SPLC were readily available, the pro-life leaders suggested that her acceptance of a position there demonstrated that she clearly did not look, or if she did learn about the toxic racial and sexual climate at the SPLC she did not care about it. Abudus acceptance of a senior litigation management role inside Americas largest political defamation factory disqualifies her from any position in which she would be expected to serve as an impartial arbiter of facts and law, they concluded. Furthermore, Abudu had no problem accepting a senior position at the SPLC when it was still being run by Morris Dees and Richard Cohen. She clearly lacks the temperament to be a federal judge with a lifetime appointment. The White House first announced Bidens intention to nominate Abudu to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which is based in the southeastern U.S., on Dec. 23, 2021. In a statement, the Biden administration touted the historic nature of Abudus nomination, primarily emphasizing her potential to become the first African American woman judge ever to sit on the Eleventh Circuit, the second woman of color ever to sit on that court, and only the third African American judge ever to sit on that court. While the Biden administration praised Abudu as extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution, the letter spearheaded by Boykin proves that her nomination faces significant conservative opposition. In a Senate evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, at least one Democrat would have to join all Republicans to block Abudus nomination. Nearly a year into his presidency, Biden has confirmed 40 federal judges to the bench. As White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain pointed out in a tweet, the president has appointed more than double the number of judges in his first year in office than former President Donald Trump, who made judicial appointments a centerpiece of his 2020 presidential campaign. Now we are at 40 judges confirmed in 2021! https://t.co/4qLGT2rJXF Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) December 18, 2021 Biden still has a long way to go to match the number of judicial appointments made by his predecessor, who appointed 245 federal judges to the bench, including three Supreme Court justices, during his four years in office. Episcopal Church, Anglican diocese spar over which congregation gets $2M bequest A small Episcopal church in Texas is at the center of an ongoing legal battle over who rightly owns a bequest from a deceased parishioner currently valued at around $2 million. Dr. Hendley McDonald, a former member of St. Marys Episcopal Church of Hillsboro who passed away in 2017, had left $1.3 million to the congregation in his will. The amount was placed in an interest-bearing bank account and, as a result, has grown to $2 million. However, two congregations, both of which worshipped at the church property and have fewer than 30 regular attendees, have staked claim to the McDonald bequest. One congregation belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, controlled by the theologically conservative Anglican Church in North America. The diocese recently won a years-long legal battle to keep the churchs property after breaking away from the Episcopal Church in 2008. The other congregation belongs to The Episcopal Church in North Texas and began holding worship services at a former bank drive-thru building last June. The two parties will present oral arguments at a hearing before a probate court in Waco on Jan. 14. Katie Sherrod, communication director with The Episcopal Church in North Texas, directed The Christian Post to an Episcopal News Service story. Senior warden David Skelton argued that the Episcopal congregation was meant to have the money. [McDonald] very clearly did not want this money to go to some breakaway non-Episcopalians calling themselves Anglicans, Skelton told ENS. Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth Director of Communications Suzanne Gill told CP that the bequest was left to the church and not to the continuing Episcopal congregation. There has been no change to the legal name of the church in Hillsboro under Fr. Michael Heidt. As the courts at every level have found, it is St. Marys Episcopal Church in that city, said Gill. Gill told CP that on two different occasions in the last seven months, the legal representative for the breakaway diocese offered to split the bequest evenly, avoiding ongoing legal costs which deplete everyones resources, but that no response was ever made to this offer. In November 2008, most of the Fort Worth Diocese voted to exit the Episcopal Church due to the increasing theologically liberal direction of the mainline Protestant denomination. A central point of objection was the ordination of the Rev. Gene Robinson, the churchs first openly gay bishop, which led other churches and dioceses to leave the denomination. In response, a lengthy legal battle ensued over whether the breakaway diocese or the national church rightly owned the property assets of the Diocese of Fort Worth. In May 2020, the Texas Supreme Court partially reversed an earlier ruling against the breakaway leadership, concluding that the diocese owned the property, not the national denomination. According to the Episcopal News Service, St. Mary's members split nearly in half after the schism and about a dozen members who wished to remain with the Episcopal Church continued worshiping in the church under an agreement with ACNA leaders. It was our decision that it was time to move on, to a place where we had bathrooms and a coffee pot and could stay and chat over coffee after church, Skelton told ENS. Wed already notified them that we were no longer paying the utilities. Andrew Cuomo won't face charges over COVID-19 nursing home deaths: attorney Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not face prosecution over his temporary policy of placing COVID-19 patients in nursing homes, according to a statement from an attorney. Elkan Abramowitz, an attorney who formerly represented the office of the governor while Cuomo was in power, released a statement saying that no charges were going to be filed. I was contacted today by the head of the Elder Care Unit from the Manhattan District Attorneys Office who informed me they have closed its investigation involving the Executive Chamber and nursing homes, stated Abramowitz, as reported by the New York Post. I was told that after a thorough investigation as we have said all along there was no evidence to suggest that any laws were broken. Janice Dean, a Fox News meteorologist whose in-laws were among the thousands who died due to Cuomo's directive to move COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, took to Twitter to denounce Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. We wont forget how you conveniently dropped charges against Andrew Cuomo just hours after being sworn into office. There are thousands of families still fighting for answers despite your negligence, she told Bragg. In March 2020, as the pandemic was beginning to hit New York, Cuomo had around 9,000 recovering COVID-19 patients transported to hundreds of nursing homes in the state. Cuomo was widely criticized for the move, as many argued that the directive resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly residents who were especially vulnerable to the virus. In February of last year, The Associated Press reported that as many as 15,000 nursing home residents died from COVID-19 during the time that Cuomo's directive was in effect. Cuomo gained further negative attention for his past actions when reports surfaced that his administration was covering up the number of documented COVID-19 related deaths in nursing homes. When the New York Post reported that Cuomos top aide Melissa DeRosa had admitted that the administration was covering up the actual death toll due to the directive, many called for Cuomo to be prosecuted. Governor Cuomo, the secretary to the governor, and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately both by the attorney general of New York state and the U.S. Department of Justice, said Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., last year, in a statement quoted by the NY Post. This bombshell admission of a coverup and the remarks by the secretary to the governor indicating intent to obstruct any federal investigation is a stunning and criminal abuse of power. Fauci says its 'safe enough' to reopen schools as teachers unions demand remote learning amid omicron The White Houses Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci says its safe enough for kids to return to school after the holiday break although the omicron variant of the coronavirus is infecting Americans at an unprecedented rate, If you look at the safety of children with regard to infection, we have most of the teachers, [an] overwhelming majority of them are vaccinated. We now can vaccinate children from 5 years of age and older, Fauci told This Week With George Stephanopoulos on ABC News Sunday. State, local and federal government data compiled by The New York Times shows that while the daily average of COVID-19 infections peaked at about 251,000 last January, the omicron variant has led to an average of about 400,000 cases per day at the beginning of 2022. We are definitely in the middle of a very severe surge an uptick in cases, Fauci, who leads the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. Even if you have a less of a percentage of severity, when you have multi-multi-multi-fold more people getting infected, the net amount is youre still going to get a lot of people that are going to be needing hospitalization. And thats the reason why were concerned about stressing and straining the hospital system. But that doesnt mean schools shouldnt reopen, Fauci stated. Wearing masks in the school setting, doing test-to-stay approaches when children get infected, I think all those things put together, its safe enough to get those kids back to school, balanced against the deleterious effects of keeping them out, he said. Faucis comments come as teachers unions in several states have lobbied for a temporary return to remote learning following the holiday break due to the rising number of omicron infections. A teachers union in Chicago has threatened a strike if their demands for a two-week return to remote learning or a requirement that students and staff test negative to return to school arent met. An average of 378 children under the age of 17 were admitted per day to a hospital between Dec. 22 and Dec. 28 a 66% rise compared to the previous week, The Associated Press reported, citing CDC data. Last week, Fauci told MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin that the data on number of children hospitalized with COVID can be a bit misleading because many were admitted with unrelated ailments before testing positive. First of all, quantitatively, youre having so many more people, including children, who are getting infected. And even though hospitalization among children is much, much lower on a percentage basis than hospitalizations for adults, particularly elderly individuals, when you have such a large volume of infections among children, even with a low level of rate of infection, youre going to still see a lot more children who get hospitalized, he said. But the other important thing is that if you look at the children who are hospitalized, many of them are hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID. Fauci said that if a child goes to the hospital, they automatically get tested for COVID and will be counted as a COVID-hospitalized patient when in fact, they may go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So its overcounting the number of children who are hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID, he said. Lysa TerKeurst announces divorce after battling to save marriage, standing 'firm' in faith despite pain Bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst has announced she and her husband, Art, will be ending their marriage of nearly 30 years after he engaged in chosen patterns of behavior that dishonor God and the biblical covenant of marriage. TerKeurst, the founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, including Its Not Supposed to Be This Way and Forgiving What You Cant Forget, shared the news on social media on Saturday. The 52-year-old said that though she and her husband renewed their marriage vows three years ago after a painful separation, he has since broken those vows. It has crushed my heart to know he has broken those vows, she wrote. Over the past several years, I have fought really hard to not just save my marriage, but to survive the devastation of what consistent deception of one spouse does to the other. Its brutal and heart crushing to constantly fear the hurtful choices of someone you love. Ive had to learn the hard way theres a big difference between mistakes (which we all make) and chosen patterns of behavior that dishonor God and the biblical covenant of marriage. TerKeust, who has five children, said she believes the wisest (and hardest) choice I can make is to stop fighting to save my marriage of 29 years and, instead, accept reality. While there is clear biblical justification for my decision to end this marriage, I am choosing to hold most of the details private out of respect for our children and grandchildren, and to give space and privacy for my family and me to continue to heal, she wrote. In 2017, TerKeurst revealed she would be pursuing a divorce from her husband due to his infidelity and struggles with addiction. In an interview with The Christian Post, she described the experience as an excruciatingly painful time in her life. However, the couple renewed their vows just over a year later after working to restore their marriage. At the time, TerKeurst told CP that while the process of fighting for their marriage was "so, so hard, it was one we want to do. "And we want to give it the necessary time so that trust can be rebuilt, and trust takes an incredible amount of time, she said. Over the years, TerKeurst has openly discussed the emotional turmoil she experienced due to her husbands actions and Gods continued presence in her life. She previously told CP that she strives to share the perspectives and life wisdom that shes gained to highlight the evidence of God's faithfulness that shes witnessed even in the midst of really deep heartbreak. I would just encourage anybody who's walking through stuff there's someone else who needs to hear your story," she said in a 2021 interview. "I think everyone has life wisdom, evidence of God's faithfulness and experiences. ... And I think when we share our stories, if we focus on those things rather than the details of how we were hurt, that's where it becomes really helpful for other people. However, over the years, she kept details of her situation private. And in her latest post, the speaker and author explained that while there is clear biblical justification for my decision to end this marriage, she is again choosing to hold most of the details private out of respect for the couples children and grandchildren and to give space and privacy for my family and me to continue to heal. Its hard to face a future that looks nothing like what I desperately and constantly prayed it would look like, she wrote. I dont like this reality, but the truth is, relationship restoration doesnt always work. Ive cried and grieved over this and waited years hoping this wouldnt be our story. But even when restoration doesnt work, forgiveness always does. The ministry leader said that despite her circumstances, she has never been more grateful for the healing redemption God has done in my heart through the power of forgiveness. "Bitterness and resentment could be eating me alive. But, miraculously, thats not where Im at. With time, prayer, and lots of counseling, my heart is healing, she wrote. Sometimes the culmination of all our efforts and the answer to our prayers is that God restores us in relationships, TerKeurst concluded her post. And sometimes He rescues us out of relationships. I dont understand why circumstances sometimes go the way my story is now going. But Im standing firm in my faith and trusting God with every step. My family and I treasure your prayers and your compassion. A tragic day in American history, but not an insurrection Now that one year has passed, what can we say about the jarring events of January 6, 2021? If you watched the FBI Most Wanted TV series last September 28, you would have seen an episode called Patriots, containing the worst insurrectionist stereotypes and narratives. These misguided patriots were cold-blooded murderers, and just waiting for the moment to release their wrath, still taking their orders from former President Trump. After all, wasnt he the one who told them to, Stand back and stand by? (Yes, the line was actually quoted in the show.) I discovered the episode earlier in the week during my COVID recovery, looking for a way to pass the time, and having no clue what the particular show (or even the series) was about. Talk about eye-opening content. Talk about getting a glimpse of the way many on the left view those on the right. Talk about caricatures and stereotypes. According to the script, January 6, 2021, was most certainly an insurrection. And even though this particular group of fanatics represented a small minority of Americans, they were depicted as the very image of the insurrection itself. Now they were shooting people in cold blood. The illegitimate government of President Biden was about to be overthrown! But there is another side to this story, and it is one that we who identify as conservatives cannot deny. The Capitol was stormed one year ago. Terribly dangerous lines were crossed. The nation was traumatized. And, in just a few hours time, more was done to undermine the achievements of Donald Trump than four years of constant media battering had been able to accomplish. Worse still, the reputation of conservatives and evangelicals was badly tarnished, giving occasion to our ideological enemies to mock and degrade us. You see! Theyre just a bunch of angry white supremacists, and they look a whole lot more like a militia than they look like followers of Jesus. And theyll do anything Trump tells them to do, just as weve been warning you. Theyve all been brainwashed, and today, you see how dangerous they can be. Did it matter that, only a very small percentage of the massive crowds at the rally engaged in violent acts? Did it matter that an even smaller percentage came prepared to carry out such acts? Not at all. Everyone got tarnished that day and by everyone, I mean those who were in DC to pray for a righteous outcome to the elections and, more broadly, Trump supporters in general. At last, the leftwing media had their proof, while Big Tech finally had its justification for massive censorship, beginning with banning President Trump himself. (One year later, this is no less shocking.) To quote one of many articles that were posted in the days that followed, Sarah Posner began her January 31, 2021, Rolling Stoneop-ed with these words: The January 6th Save America March, where then-President Donald Trump incited a crowd to attack the U.S. Capitol, opened with a prayer. Trumps longtime spiritual adviser and White House adviser, the Florida televangelist Paula White, called on God to give us a holy boldness in this hour. Standing at the same podium where, an hour later, Trump would exhort the crowd to fight like hell ... . Posner continued, Within hours, insurrectionists had surrounded the Capitol, beaten police, battered down barricades and doors, smashed windows and rampaged through the halls of the Capitol, breaching the Senate chamber. In video captured by The New Yorker, men ransacked the room, rifling through senators binders and papers, searching for evidence of what they claimed was treason. Then, standing on the rostrum where the president of the Senate presides, the group paused to pray in Christs holy name. Men raised their arms in the air as millions of evangelical and charismatic parishioners do every Sunday and thanked God for allowing them to send a message to all the tyrants, the communists and the globalists, that this is our nation, not theirs. They thanked God for allowing the United States of America to be reborn. One year later, these images still hang over our heads, even if some of the accusations are exaggerated and even if some of the journalists painted with far too broad a brush. As for Trumps behavior in the weeks leading up and including January 6th, he himself is to blame for inciting the crowds with his irresponsible rhetoric, even if he never wanted to see the Capitol stormed. But what do you expect when, as the most powerful man on the planet, you send out tweets like this? The U.S. Supreme Court has been totally incompetent and weak on the massive Election Fraud that took place in the 2020 Presidential Election. We have absolute PROOF, but they don't want to see it No standing, they say. If we have corrupt elections, we have no country! Or this? If a Democrat Presidential Candidate had an Election Rigged & Stolen, with proof of such acts at a level never seen before, the Democrat Senators would consider it an act of war, and fight to the death, Trump tweeted. Mitch & the Republicans do NOTHING, just want to let it pass. NO FIGHT! When you damn the Supreme Court (including three justices you appointed yourself), and use phrases like an act of war and fight to the death, what kind of behavior do you expect? Again, I do not believe there was a concerted, planned attempt to overthrow the government, let a terrorist insurrection. As noted by Tucker Carlson on September 23, 2021, after reviewing some of the video footage of the January 6 event: So it turns out, the vast majority of people inside the Capitol on January 6 were peaceful. They were not insurrectionists. They shouldnt have been there, they werent trying to overthrow the government, thats a total crock. And there has been no evidence that, in the weeks leading up to January 6, let alone in the months that followed, insurrectionists were working together in significant numbers to overthrow the government. But that doesnt minimize the infamy of that day, nor does it minimize the degree of damage that was done to the evangelical and conservative reputation. So, what took place one year ago was not an insurrection. But it was a day of shame and infamy. Lets learn our lessons well. How to be delivered from danger When Daniel was cast into a den of lions, the mouth of the den was sealed. His fate was also sealed because that meant that there was no way of escape. But there didnt need to be a way of escape, because divine intervention instead sealed the lions mouths. This happened because Daniel trusted in God with childlike simplicity. Thousands of years later, this courageous man still shines as a testament to unwavering faith in God. When the Apostle Paul spoke of waiting in Ephesus, he said that a great and effective door had opened to him. Then he added the sobering words and there are many adversaries (see 1 Corinthians 16:8-9). Whenever God opens a door, we too can expect to face many adversaries many ferocious lions that can terrify usif we let them. These battles with fear help us to identify with Pauls observation, Outside were conflicts, inside were fears (2 Corinthians 7:5). These are dark days in which the Christian faces daunting lions; never-ending conflicts with the issues of abortion, pornography, homosexuality, adultery, fornication, blasphemy, and an epidemic of suicide. Iniquity certainly abounds as we look into a frightening, uncertain future in a very turbulent world. Sometimes the future seems like a blur. The sun had just risen on a clear day in Southern California. I was driving directly into it, and it was blinding. I couldnt see anything through my windshield. I slowed to a snails pace, rolled down the window, and leaned out of the car. It was still too bright to see. So I pulled over to the side of the road and wiped the windshield clear of any dirt. That didnt help. The only way I could safely go forward was to move into the shade of trees on the side of the road. That gave me some relief, but it was still limited. The sun was not only annoying, but it was also dangerous. Driving into its light was not a pleasant experience. About an hour later, I had to drive back to the ministry. This time the sun was directly behind me. Everything I looked at was clear and sharp. This was because the light was no longer against me. It was now making my way clear and making driving a very pleasant experience. So it is with God. When we look at life through the stain of sin, the very thought of Him is unpleasant. This is because we love the darkness and hate the light (see John 3:19). However, the moment we turn around through repentance and faith in Jesus, God is no longer against us. He is for us and because of His light, we see all things clearly. If, like Daniel, we have fully turned to the Lord and laid our souls on the altar of sacrifice, we will always know the direction God wants us to take. It is to follow the light of the world Jesus and seek and save that which is lost. Those who present themselves as living sacrifices can look into the teeth of adversity and say, Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word (Acts 4:29). One cant help but think of Daniel when the Apostle Paul spoke of being delivered out of the mouth of a lion: But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. (2 Timothy 4:17) It has been said that (as a Roman citizen) it wasnt lawful for Paul to be executed by being thrown to lions. Therefore, he must not have been speaking literally. Elliotts commentary says of the passage: And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Expositors have, in all ages, dwelt much on the question, Who was to be understood under the figure of the lion? The fathers mostly believe the Emperor Nero was here alluded to. Others have suggested that St. Paul was referring to the lions of the amphitheatre, from whom, at all events for the time, he had been delivered. It is, however, best to understand the expression as a figurative expression for extreme danger.1 Whatever the case, through faith in Jesus, we have been delivered from him who walks about as a roaring lion, and from the ultimate devouring lion, death itself. Thats our glorious victory. Meanwhile, until the trumpet sounds, we must continue to fight the good fight of faith a fight in which we desperately need more warriors. Hebrews 11 is an open chapter. By the grace of God, may our names be added to it. 1. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Shame on the Ontario government I am not going to mince words. Shame on Premier Doug Ford. Shame on Minister of Health Christine Elliot. Shame on Minister of Education Stephen Lecce. Shame on all of them. Shame on these supposed conservatives. Shame on the fraudulent Conservative Party of Ontario. But worse of all shame on us. When conservative Ontarians voted for Doug Ford and the Conservative Party to lead our province four years ago, we never imagined we were electing what has become probably the most incompetent and disastrous provincial government in Ontarios history. Sure, no one predicted a virus would disrupt Doug Fords agenda two years into his term. However, considering his campaign promises no one could have predicted the cure would become worse than the disease. A couple of days ago, Doug Ford announced he will be enforcing a fourth lockdown in Ontario starting today. All indoor events and activities are banned: including indoor dining, concerts, movie theatres, and gyms. All public and private schools are also closed for at least two weeks. Social gatherings that exceed 5 people indoors and 10 people outdoors are also banned. And church services, weddings, and funerals that exceed 50% capacity remain banned. Premier Doug Ford claims the latest severe restrictions are necessary in order to protect hospitals from becoming impossibly overburdened by Omicron hospitalizations. He suggested in a worst-case scenario, Ontario could have Omicron cases that could lead to up to 1,000 more hospitalizations. Ford suggests Ontario doesnt have enough ICU beds to maintain 1,000 more Omicron hospitalizations. That is, supposedly, the basis for the latest lockdown. There are 15 million people in Ontario. If 1,000 hospitalizations from Omicron would cripple Ontario hospitals, our government should be held responsible for that not us. Ontarians shouldnt be burdened with the consequences of Doug Fords poor leadership. We Canadians tend to boast about our socialist healthcare system, but we remain silent over its inevitable problems. No one seemingly wants to admit this: but one of the reasons why Americans have only suffered one lockdown instead of four is because Americas privatized healthcare system is significantly better prepared to maintain COVID than a completely government-controlled or socialist healthcare system. When the government removes competition and alternative healthcare options through a socialist healthcare system, why are we surprised when were forced to live under the tyranny of public health officials? If the government controls your healthcare, they control your life. Nevertheless during his election campaign, knowing Ontario has the fewest hospital beds per capita in Canada Doug Ford promised he would end Ontarios hospital overcrowding. But as its become the norm, he didnt keep his promise. Therefore, COVID didnt introduce new problems to our healthcare system. It simply exacerbated lingering problems. For that reason, most Ontarians arent necessarily suffering from Omicron or COVID. Were suffering from the consequences of our governments incompetent leadership. Omicron isnt a threat to most of us, but the government has become a threat to us all. Ontarians and Canadians have some of the highest vaccination rates in the world. Yet, we also have some of the most severe restrictions in the world. Social distancing restrictions and mask mandates have been enforced throughout the province without cessation since the beginning of COVID. Then just a few months ago after he promised otherwise Premier Doug Ford implemented a vaccine mandate for Ontario residents from 12 years or older. The mandates banned all unvaccinated people from restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, post-secondary schools, and in some cases: churches. Doug Ford promised compliance to vaccine mandates would eventually put an end to COVID and more lockdowns. Predictably, however, after he announced the latest lockdown on Monday Ford said it is impossible to stop Omicron. Still, despite two years of failure he maintains the latest lockdown will slow the spread. He suggested that would protect frontline workers from becoming overwhelmed. That was probably the most frustrating thing about the press conference. If the lockdowns are really about protecting frontline workers from becoming overwhelmed, why didnt they care about overwhelming them with vaccine mandates just a few months ago? Why didnt they care about overwhelming them with threats of job loss and unemployment for refusing the vaccine just a few months ago? And especially, why is it wrong to overwhelm frontline workers but its okay to overwhelm everybody else? Why isnt it wrong to overwhelm the rest of Ontarians with a lockdown? Why doesnt the government care about people becoming overwhelmed with anxiety over their COVID policies? Why doesnt the government care about their COVID policies creating an increase in suicides and opioid deaths? Why doesnt the government care about people becoming overwhelmed by job loss or unemployment because of lockdowns and vaccine mandates? Why doesnt the government care about overwhelming children with school closures? Why doesnt the government care about overwhelming parents especially single mothers with school closures? Because of school closures, many single mothers are forced between providing for their children or protecting their children. Are these single mothers and children less important than frontline workers? Ontarios COVID policies are filled with partiality and discrimination. Theyre evil and shameful. Shame on the Ontario government. However, most of all, shame on us. Last month, a poll revealed that 55% of Canadians supported new restrictions and new lockdowns because of Omicron. In some ways, we are just as responsible for the authoritarian and oppressive COVID policies. If we didnt support or remain largely silent on these policies, our government would be too afraid of their political future to enforce them. So shame on the government, and shame on us for continuing to allow them to do this. Originally published in Slow to Write. One year after a deadly attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who remains the party's undisputed leader, Republicans are attempting a delicate balancing act. As the tragic Jan. 6 anniversary approaches on Thursday, Republicans are attempting to make it clear that they do not condone violence. Hundreds of protesters demolished security barriers and stormed the Capitol, but they are largely avoiding any direct confrontation with Trump's repeated false claims about the 2020 election. One year after Jan. 6 Capitol riot Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), in a letter to House Republicans exemplifying the GOP straddle, reiterated that "the actions of that day were lawless and as wrong as wrong can be," The Hill reported. He went on to accuse Democrats of using the Jan. 6 events "as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country," arguing that they should instead focus on improving Capitol security. Unspoken was the reason for one of the worst security breaches in Capitol history, which resulted in the deaths of five people and the injuries of dozens of police officers. Trump gave Republicans a rare favor on Thursday by canceling a planned press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he was due to go into detail about his baseless accusations of election fraud. The former president canceled the event on Tuesday, citing "the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media," and said he would instead "discuss many of those important topics" at an Arizona rally on January 15. Republicans will no longer have to contend with a split-screen of solemn commemoration events at the Capitol and the most powerful figure in their party renewing the falsehoods that led his supporters to break into the seat of American democracy, thanks to Trump's decision to cancel his sure-to-be-incendiary press conference. It was difficult not to notice the Jan. 6 Capitol riot for what it was, despite the pale winter light and the glare of television cameras. The violent takeover of the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters intent on overturning Joe Biden's election was obvious as day: democracy under attack, live-streamed, as per Global News. Yet, a year later, when it comes to a where-were-you-when-it-mattered moment in American history, there is still no national consensus. According to a Quinnipiac survey, 93 percent of Democrats thought it was an attack on the government, while only 29 percent of Republicans agreed. According to a study conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, roughly 4 out of 10 Republicans remember the attack as violent, while 9 out of 10 Democrats do. Read Also: Joe Biden Urges Concern But Not Alarm as Omicron Variant Cases Rise; President Doubles Order for Pfizer's Paxlovid Pill Father, son plead guilty about roles on Jan. 6 Capitol riot Meanwhile, after claiming on social media that they were "one of the first ones inside" the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a father and his son pleaded guilty to a civil disturbance on Tuesday. Per Newsweek, Daryl Johnson, 51, of Iowa, and his 29-year-old son Daniel Johnson, of Minnesota, pleaded guilty in a video hearing before Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C. The two acknowledged to breaking into the Capitol through shattered glass, pushing cops back, and assisting in the entry of additional rioters. According to court filings, the two agreed to each pay $2,000 in reparation for the damage to the Capitol. They also pledged to cooperate with police inquiries into the disturbance. Other accusations against them, such as disorderly behavior, accessing a restricted facility, and protesting in a Capitol building, will be dropped in return. Related Article: Oath Keepers Sue Nancy Pelosi Over Subpoena For Cell Phone Records; House Speaker Accused of Concealing Role in Security Breakdown on Jan.6 @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The transformation of William Wilberforce William Wilberforce was easily one of the most productive people of all time. He was elected to the British Parliament at the insanely young age of 21. At a single point in time, he held official roles with 69 different social reform groups in Great Britain. And he was chiefly responsible for abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire. In the words of one of Wilberforces many biographers, ...its difficult to escape the verdict that William Wilberforce was simply the greatest social reformer in the history of the world. But Wilberforce wasnt always productive to such noble ends. For his first 5 years in Parliament, his ambition was largely for the acquisition of more power and wealth. But at the age of 26, he surrendered himself to the lordship of King Jesus, ushering in what Wilberforce called the Great Change of his life. That great change in his soul almost led to a dramatic change in Wilberforces work. After his conversion, Wilberforce sought out career advice from his friend John Newton, the minister famous for writing the hymn "Amazing Grace." Wilberforce fully expected Newton to advise him to drop out of Parliament so that he could live now for God. But "Newton didnt tell him what he had expected that to follow God he would have to leave politics. On the contrary, Newton encouraged Wilberforce to stay where he was, saying that God could use him there. Most others in Newtons place would likely have insisted that Wilberforce pull away from the very place where his salt and light were most needed. How good that Newton did not. Indeed. If Wilberforces Great Change had led to a great change in his work, where would the world be today? Certainly much further from Gods kingdom being on earth as it is in heaven.(Matthew 6:10, NIV) But while Wilberforces Great Change didnt lead to a change in what he did vocationally, his salvation did lead to two dramatic changes in how he worked in Parliament. First, the object of his work changed from the raw pursuit of wealth and power to what Wilberforce called his Great Object the abolition of the slave trade. Second, and most relevant to the topic of this book, post-conversion Wilberforce dramatically changed how he managed his time. In the days and weeks following his conversion experience, Wilberforce grieved over how he had spent his first 26 years on Earth. One of his journal entries from this time reads, I condemned myself for having wasted my precious time, and opportunities, and talents. As Wilberforces biographer explains, Before the Great Change, Wilberforce had reckoned his money and time his own, to do with as he pleased, and had lived accordingly. But suddenly he knew that this could no longer be the case. The Scriptures were plain and could not be gainsaid on this most basic point: all that was his his wealth, his talents, his time was not really his. It all belonged to God and had been given to him to use for Gods purposes and according to Gods will. Wilberforce was determined to redeem his time, working on behalf of Gods agenda rather than his own. There was just one problem: Wilberforce was an undisciplined mess and constitutionally weak...with regard to self-discipline (an encouraging note if youre starting this book believing that self-discipline and good time-management habits cant be learned). Wilberforce knew he had to overcome these challenges in order to partner most fully with God in his mission in the world. In his journal, Wilberforce resolved To endeavour from this moment to amend my plan for time. I hope to live more than heretofore to Gods glory and my fellow-creatures good. And amend his plan for time he did. Wilberforces newfound faith manifested itself in incredibly practical ways. He journaled instructions to himself such as Go to bed at eleven and wake at six, to ensure he was getting adequate sleep. He began carrying ink, quill, and paper in his pockets so he never lost track of an idea while walking through London. And he ruthlessly sought out solitude as his celebrity status began to rise, knowing how critical it was to make space to pray and think about what precisely he should be spending his time on. These practical time management tactics contributed to Wilberforces transformation from an undisciplined mess to one of the most productive people who has ever lived. And he wasnt just productive in Parliament. Wilberforce was also a prolific writer. In 1797, in the middle of his fight against slavery, Wilberforce published the first of three significant books, a work of theology titled A Practical View of Christianity. Ironically, the book really wasnt practical at all, at least not in the way we typically think of that word. There were no five step processes. There were no checklists or discussion questions at the end of each chapter. Just Wilberforce expounding upon the core tenants of the Gospel that led to such dramatic changes in his life, work, and his habits for managing time. The subject of Wilberforces first book is surprising, to say the least. At the time, Wilberforces celebrity was not insignificant. While he had yet to achieve his Great Object of abolishing the slave trade, he had become widely known for his underdog fight against slaverys powerful proponents. Undoubtedly, the British people were interested in anything Wilberforce would have to say in his first published work. So why not focus the book on the evils of slavery or a manifesto on how Christians can engage practically to shape culture? I think its because Wilberforce knew this: Theology always shapes our practices. As the life of William Wilberforce, my book Redeeming Your Time is extremely practical. But it will start out as one of the most theological. Why? Because as Wilberforce understood, our perennial problems with time management are rooted in something much deeper than the wrong to-do list systems or daily planners. Our problems are rooted in misconceptions of what we believe about work, time, and the role we have to play in Gods mission in the world. Excerpted from Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive Copyright 2021 by Jordan Raynor. Published by WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. China threatens Walmart, Sam's Club against banning products in response to Uyghur labor camps, genocide Chinas anti-corruption watchdog has threatened Walmart Inc. with a consumer boycott, accusing the U.S. retail giant of stupidity and shorted-sightedness over its removal of Xinjiang-sourced products from its Sam's Club online app in response to the forced labor of religious minorities and the genocide of Uyghur Muslims. The Chinese Communist Partys Central Commission for Discipline Inspection accused Walmart and its Sams Club chain of boycotting products from the northwestern region of Xinjiang and trying to muddle through the controversy by not responding to complaints or releasing a statement, Reuters reported. To take down all products from a region without a valid reason hides an ulterior motive, reveals stupidity and short-sightedness, and will surely have its own bad consequences, the Chinese Communist Partys Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website in response to Walmart Inc.'s actions. The Chinese government has been accused of imprisoning over 1 million Uyghur and other ethnic Muslim minorities in so-called re-education camps, otherwise known as concentration camps, where reports have revealed that they are severely tortured and forced to memorize Communist Party propaganda. Neither Walmart nor Sams Club has responded to the backlash in China. However, Walmart Inc.s move came after President Joe Biden on Dec. 23 signed into law a measure banning imports from Xinjiang over concerns about forced labor. Chinas warning comes after comments emerged on social media in that country that products typically sourced from Xinjiang on Walmart and Sams Club online stores were not available. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart generated revenue of $11.43 billion in China during its fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, according to the newswire. As the 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Beijing in February, human rights organizations had urged the Biden administration to send a statement to the Chinese government over its egregious human rights abuses by boycotting the Olympic Games. The U.S. government labeled Chinas treatment of the Uyghurs as a genocide during the final days of the Trump administration, a designation that has been upheld by the Biden administration. For the past several years, China has been continuously arresting Uyghur people and placing them in re-education camps, the U.S.-based China Aid said in a statement released in June 2020. Chinese authorities claimed these camps provide vocational training for Uyghur people. However, camp survivors reported being starved, tortured, forced to study pro-government propaganda, and made to do extensive labor with little to no pay. The Chinese government has continually denied that it has unjustly imprisoned Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region. However, documents called The China Cables that were leaked in 2019 to news outlets revealed the ideological motivations and structure behind such detention centers. The documents were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a consortium that worked with 17 media partners, including the BBC and The Guardian. Included in the leak was a nine-page memo reportedly sent out to officials operating the camps by then deputy-secretary of Xinjiangs Communist Party, Zhu Hailun, in 2017. The BBC reported at the time that the memo said detention centers in Xinjiang should be run as high-security prisons with strict punishments and no escapes. The memo also ordered detention center officials to increase discipline and punishment of behavioral violations, make remedial Mandarin studies a top priority and promote repentance and confession. According to The Guardian, the memo also revealed that inmates at the camps were made to serve at least one year but could be detained indefinitely. China has also been criticized for cracking down on unregistered house church movements as well as persecuting religious minorities like the Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhists and others. Release International lists hotspots where Christian persecution is expected to get worse in 2022: report Islamic extremists are gaining ground in Africas Sahel region and Afghanistan, which are set to become hotspots for Christian persecution in 2022, religious freedom charity Release International warns in a report, which says India and North Korea are also countries of growing concern. Its not just Nigeria, but the larger Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa where Islamic extremism is growing, as the persecution of Christians is also rapidly increasing in India and North Korea, says the charitys report Persecution Trends 2022. The Sahel region includes Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. The situation facing Christians in Burkina Faso is now similar to Nigeria, a partner of the charity adds in the report. In 2021, jihadists targeted Christians in the north of Burkina Faso, forcing churches to close and meet in secret, the report points out, explaining that attacks ranged from bombings, killings, kidnappings and school burnings to assaults on religious leaders and places of worship. Pressure in the region is likely to continue in 2022, particularly following the drawdown of French troops in the area. The al-Qaeda and Islamic State terror groups have been launching attacks in West Africa since last January. In May, suspected jihadists ambushed a baptism ceremony where they killed 15 Christians in northern Burkina Fasos Oudalan province near the Mali border. Similar pressure is building in neighboring Nigeria, where attacks by Boko Haram terrorists, [Islamic State] fighters and Fulani militia continued throughout 2021, says the report, quoting a partner of the charity as saying, Fulani militants destroyed more than 50 villages and displaced nearly 5,000 Christians. The attacks by the Fulani now include kidnappings for ransom. Churches, church leaders and Christian communities remain the primary targets. The charity warns that attacks could escalate in 2022, as political campaigning gets underway ahead of the 2023 general election, just as attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani extremists have increased over election periods in the past. The report adds that tensions are also likely to exacerbate Afghanistan and North Korea, which are already major persecutors of Christians. In 2022, there is a very real threat of higher levels of violent persecution in Afghanistan, says the CEO of Release International, Paul Robinson, referring to the Talibans takeover of the South Asian country. Our partners tell us that Christians who are unable to follow the outward forms of Islam, such as praying at the mosque and saying the shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, will stand out more clearly, he adds. This increases their vulnerability to persecution and the pressure on them to conform. The report also draws attention to India, where attacks against Christians are rising and more states are imposing anti-conversion laws. Hindu nationalism is on the rise in India. Militant Hindus have called for religious conversion from Hinduism to be made illegal across the country, the report notes. While Christians make up only 2.3% of Indias population and Hindus comprise about 80%, the countrys radical Hindu nationalists have been carrying out attacks on Christians under the pretext of punishing the minority for allegedly using monetary rewards to convert Hindus to Christianity. The anti-conversion laws presume that Christians force or give financial benefits to Hindus to lure them into converting to Christianity. While some of these laws have been in place for decades, no Christian has been convicted of forcibly converting anyone to Christianity. Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List warns that since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took power in 2014, persecution against Christians and other religious minorities has increased. The number of violent attacks on Christians in India rose nearly 75% to 486 in 2021, up from 279 in 2020, according to a new report by the United Christian Forum, which says 2021 was the most violent year for the Christian minority since the countrys Independence in 1947. Volt Information Sciences (VOLT) is expected to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended October 2021. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on January 12, 2022, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise. Zacks Consensus Estimate This staffing services provider is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -36.4%. Revenues are expected to be $223.5 million, up 5.9% from the year-ago quarter. Estimate Revisions Trend The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Earnings Whisper Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Volt Information? For Volt Information, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Volt Information will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue? While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Volt Information would post earnings of $0.04 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.05, delivering a surprise of +25%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times. Bottom Line An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Volt Information doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. Its bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made. The only question is Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest? Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today its free. Discover 5 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Volt Information Sciences, Inc. (VOLT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA recently announced that it has acquired MD Now Urgent Care from a LA-based private equity investment firm, Brentwood Associates. The transaction was closed at 2021-end. The financial details of the deal are yet to be disclosed. The acquisition of MD Now has added 59 Florida urgent care centers to HCA Healthcares portfolio. The acquirer currently operates more than 170 clinics in 19 markets. The move boosts HCAs ability to provide patients with multiple outpatient care options in Florida. Also, the patients of MD Now will be able to access HCA Healthcares massive network of acute care and specialty services. The acquisition will help HCA address the growing demand for healthcare services in Florida. It currently serves 6.4 million patients per annum in the state. The acquisition will further boost the number of patients served through HCAs network. In 2021, MD Now treated more than 900,000 patients. HCA Healthcare has been emphasizing on acquisitions for expedited growth. Its inorganic growth strategies have led to an increase in patient volumes, enabled network expansion across several markets and added hospitals to its portfolio. The companys acquisitions are expected to add scale to its business. HCA Healthcare announced last November that it has plans to build three more hospitals in the state of Florida. In the past three years, the company spent around $3 billion through a capital investment initiative in the state. Other companies that are focusing on inorganic growth to capitalize on the growing demand for healthcare services include Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS, Tenet Healthcare Corporation THC and Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ACHC. Acquisitions play a key role in building Universal Healths growth trajectory. In the last three years, UHS spent more than $170 million on the acquisition of businesses and properties. In 2021, the company acquired 88 beds through the acquisition of the Las Vegas specialty hospital and a LEED Medical Center micro hospital. Universal Health will likely continue making acquisitions supported by balance sheet strength that will help it expand its domestic and international presence. Tenet Healthcare boasts a strong inorganic growth story. The company has made numerous acquisitions, partnerships, and strategic alliances, aimed primarily at boosting the scale of business, operating capacity and geographical presence. THC closed the buyout of a portfolio of 45 ambulatory surgical centers from SurgCenter Development for a value of $1.1 billion. Tenet Healthcare also entered into an agreement with Compass Surgical Partners to acquire the latters interest and management responsibilities in nine ambulatory surgery centers. Buyouts have added facilities, beds, and hospitals to Acadia Healthcares network and contributed to its top line. ACHC remains actively engaged with its acquisition pipeline and expects buyout and joint venture activity to be heavily skewed toward acute facilities in the United States. In the third quarter of 2021, Acadia Healthcare added 104 beds to its existing operations. The company is also making opportunistic acquisitions to expand in the behavioral healthcare industry. Price Performance and Zacks Rank HCA Healthcares shares have surged 52.6% in a years time, outperforming the industrys rally of 33.9%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. Its bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made. The only question is Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest? Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today its free. Discover 5 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS): Free Stock Analysis Report Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC): Free Stock Analysis Report HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA): Free Stock Analysis Report Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Schlumberger (SLB) closed at $33.26 in the latest trading session, marking no change from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.94% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.39%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest oilfield services company had gained 8.13% over the past month. This has outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 5.65% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.72% in that time. Schlumberger will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 21, 2022. In that report, analysts expect Schlumberger to post earnings of $0.39 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 77.27%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.09 billion, up 10.02% from the prior-year quarter. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Schlumberger should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Schlumberger is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should also note Schlumberger's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 17.52. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.73. The Oil and Gas - Field Services industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, which puts it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. Its bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made. The only question is Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest? Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today its free. Discover 7 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Schlumberger Limited (SLB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Southwest Airlines (LUV) closed the most recent trading day at $43.99, moving -1.5% from the previous trading session. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.94% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.07%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.39%. Coming into today, shares of the airline had lost 1.22% in the past month. In that same time, the Transportation sector gained 5.57%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.72%. Southwest Airlines will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.03, up 97.67% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.99 billion, up 147.95% from the year-ago period. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southwest Airlines. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.22% lower. Southwest Airlines is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In terms of valuation, Southwest Airlines is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.22. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.37, which means Southwest Airlines is trading at a premium to the group. Meanwhile, LUV's PEG ratio is currently 3.87. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LUV's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.33 as of yesterday's close. The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 239, putting it in the bottom 7% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. Its bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made. The only question is Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest? Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today its free. Discover 5 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved In December 1978, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced economic reforms that dramatically altered Chinas economy by strengthening trade and cultural ties with the West. Beginning in the 1990s, these reforms set China on a trajectory to become what it is today: a nation with a dynamic and substantially market-driven economy that is also the worlds second-largest. U.S. residents have enjoyed lower-priced goods exported from China since then, but many communities that produced goods that competed with Chinese manufacturing exports suffered job losses and economic downturns. This negative effect on U.S. manufacturing jobs from Chinese exports is often called the China Shock. A recent study has found that even though this shock leveled off around 2010, its harmful aftereffects continued for many years beyond, particularly in certain industries such as furniture, games and toys, and childrens toy bicycles or cars. I am an economics professor who has conducted research on China, and understanding when these trade effects ended allows me and other researchers to examine what long-term demographic aftershocks are occurring in U.S. communities and how best to deal with them. These policy prescriptions can be applied to other industries that are experiencing a rapid shift in employment because of macreconomic trends. How China gained so much so quickly As a part of its increased openness to the world, China joined the World Trade Organization the international body that sets global trade rules in 2001. Believing that increasing economic liberalization would lead to political liberalization in China, the U.S. began to engage in robust trade with the country. International trade theory teaches that free trade between nations makes them better off than not trading at all. And recent research underscores that the economic gains to the U.S. from trade in general have been positive but small, adding about 2% to 8% of gross domestic product. Yet trade with China has given rise to a significant economic shock involving job losses and declines in human welfare in several U.S. regions, especially in the Deep South and in some Midwestern states. The source of this shock is Chinas comparative advantage in manufacturing, specifically in goods that are labor-intensive. Comparative advantage is a nations ability to produce a good or service at a lower cost than its trading partners. China has an abundant supply of labor relative to capital and natural resources. As China began to liberalize its foreign trade, there was a dramatic surge in manufacturing exports and an accompanying economic shock to the U.S. economy. Thats because U.S.-produced goods could not compete with the inexpensive Chinese goods that were flooding the market. The U.S. economy lost 1.5 million manufacturing jobs between 1980 and 2000, and 5 million more between 2000 and 2017. This fall in manufacturing employment was not accompanied with the same number of job gains in other sectors of the U.S. economy. Workers produce desks for export to the U.S. at a factory in Nantong in Chinas eastern Jiangsu province on Sept. 4, 2019. STR/AFP via Getty Images The impact endures Today, even with the China manufacturing surge ending, its effects in the U.S. have endured. A decade after the conclusion of the China trade shock in 2010, the U.S. still has a large number of local economies in which studies show social structures, including the institution of marriage, are fraying because workers have lost their jobs and dont have stable salaries they can live on. This lack of wages has subsequently resulted in declines in the demand for local goods and services and in housing values and property tax revenues. There has also been an increase in the number of people on government assistance such as Medicaid. How to help communities still suffering Economists generally support people-based over place-based policies. People-based policies focus on distressed people, with a frequent focus on retraining, while place-based policies concentrate on investing in communities where workers live, such as revitalizing downtowns. Investment in the communities hit hard by Chinese imports have tended to focus on people-based policies because economists generally believe that investing in workers can help them move from distressed places with little job opportunity to new places with better job markets, schools and other amenities. The best-known people-based U.S. government program that assists workers displaced by trade competition is the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers. It helps workers with job training, relocation assistance, subsidized health insurance and extended unemployment benefits. Yet, relative to the magnitude of the job losses, the program is small, providing too little relief to most workers who lost their jobs because of import competition in the 1990s and 2000s. The Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have pointed out that the TAA program needs to be expanded significantly. Although the House of Representatives is taking steps to reauthorize and expand the TAA program, it is still too early to tell what the final legislation will look like. Revisiting place-based policies Even though economists favor people-based policies, the evidence shows that those laid off as a result of import competition from China frequently dont move because of unaffordable housing, child care costs and the uncertainties associated with finding a new job. And left-behind places never completely die. Instead, in such places fewer people marry and have children. More children live in poverty, alcohol and drug abuse go up and young men JL: just men? are less likely to graduate from college. Therefore, a rethinking of economic policy is likely now needed in the U.S. to focus on two key points: the need to provide adequate assistance to workers in mass layoff events and to recognize that this assistance, quite frequently, will need to be place-based. Two lessons for the future Like the China trade shock, the decline of the coal industry in the U.S. beginning in 1980 and the Great Recession, from 2007 to 2009, were also mass layoff events. Although local economies exposed to the Great Recession recovered their pre-recession employment rates quickly, the decline of coal and the China trade shock both gave rise to long-lasting job losses, reduced incomes, and slow population declines. Policymakers could apply the lessons learned from this trade shock to respond effectively to the next likely mass layoff event. As economies transition out of fossil fuels, we will continue to see job losses in the coal mining and oil industries. Although the increased use of renewable energy is likely to generate new jobs, there is no guarantee that they will be anywhere near where the localized job losses are occurring. Hence, the prospect of large-scale, localized job losses remains. And new policies are needed to enhance employment growth in regions hurt by prolonged joblessness. The evidence in the U.S. and Europe shows that political support for populist nationalists tends to be greater in regions that have suffered large, trade-led job losses. If policies that promote job growth in distressed regions are not implemented, we may see more populist nationalists in power in the U.S. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology. Read more: Amitrajeet A. Batabyal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved When people were stuck at home during the height of the pandemic, their new home-renovation activities famously drove demand for a wide range of at-home services. But it also meant peoples energy bills went up and as they began looking for ways to cut costs while staying cozy, the Melbourne, Florida-based Koala Insulation saw opportunity. Despite starting its franchise-development efforts a month and a half before national shutdowns, Koala Insulation surpassed its goal of expanding to 200 territories in a year and is well on its way to 300. That helped it go from unranked last year to No. 242 on this years list. Here, we spoke with Koalas founder and CEO Scott Marr about how the company plans to sustain its growth. Related: How Convenience Is Marking a New Wave in the Service Industry Why do you think insulation services have spiked so much? Insulation can provide a significant return on investment. Its also a service thats within reach for a lot of people. Solar, for example, is great but very expensive, so a lot of people have to finance solar. Whereas at Koala, insulation has an average ticket of $2,800. What did Koala do to meet increased demand? We worked with our suppliers and distributors to ensure that our franchise partners could get the materials they needed. And we sourced additional material suppliers for our franchise partners to be able to get the best prices possible. Some materials became scarce with the supply-chain problem, so we had to go to great lengths to source various components some within the States, some from Canada, and we spoke with vendors in Sri Lanka. Related: 8 Mandates For Growth What do you look for in franchise partners? We look for folks who are going to be reasonable and amicable in adverse situations. Were looking for folks who can follow a process, and who are gritty and competitive. Weve found that supercompetitive people will go to great lengths to win. And thats a big deal for a business owner because during trying times, you have to go to great lengths to remain viable. How does Koala plan to sustain its growth long-term? A lot of emerging franchise systems dont start with a robust foundation. But what weve done is very different. When we started our franchise-development efforts, we had 12 team members supporting three franchisees, so it was very much a specialist-led organization. By the end of our first year, we had a staff of 25 at headquarters. And when the pandemic set in, we said, Lets grab some really fantastic talent who are out of a job. We also created a proprietary software system that has added a lot of efficiency through automation. Today we have around 85 franchise partners. Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved A new study showed that babies who were born during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic had slightly lower scores on a screening of their developmental skills, including motor and social skills, compared to children born before the health crisis. The review suggested that the lag in developmental skills was apparent whether or not the mothers of the babies were infected with the coronavirus during pregnancy. The study that was released on Tuesday by JAMA Pediatrics, included 255 babies who were born in March to December 2020 in New York City, which is considered the epicenter of the virus in the early stages of the health crisis. Babies' Developmental Lag Researchers screened infants for communication, motor, and social skills at six months of age with the use of a standard questionnaire. They monitored the children's ability to roll from their back to their stomach, how often they babble, and other various milestones. In a majority of the areas covered by the study, babies who were born during the coronavirus pandemic had lower scores compared to those born prior to the health crisis. The same situation was observed whether the children were born to mothers who were infected with the coronavirus infection during their pregnancies and those who were not, NBC News reported. Assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and lead investigator of the recent study, Dani Dumitriu, said that researchers were expecting a difference between neurodevelopmental growth of children born from mothers who were infected with the coronavirus and those who were healthy. Read Also: Biden Urges Americans To Get COVID-19 Jabs, Says Omicron Should 'Alarm' The Unvaccinated He said that he and his team were surprised to find no significant evidence that suggested exposure to the infection while the mother is pregnant with a child affected the infant's neurodevelopmental growth. However, they said that those born during the pandemic scored lower in the conducted tests. Effects of the Pandemic on Children Dumitriu suggested that the results of the study showed the amount of stress that mothers experienced during the coronavirus pandemic played a role in the growth of their children. "These were not large differences, meaning we did not see a higher rate of actual developmental delays in our sample of a few hundred babies, just small shifts in average scores between the groups," he said, Scitech Daily reported. The situation comes as more and more babies are being admitted into hospitals for the coronavirus which has resulted in four major hospitals issuing a joint plea for pregnant people to get vaccinated against the infection. The Hospital for Sick Children, CHEO (formerly the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, in Ottawa, McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, and Kingston Health Sciences Centre, released a joint statement on Wednesday urging mothers who are pregnant to be vaccinated against the coronavirus infection. A pediatric infectious disease specialist at CHEO, Dr. Anne Pham-Huy, said that they were now seeing the highest numbers of children being admitted into hospitals for the coronavirus since the beginning of the health crisis. With the high number of community transmission, many kids will end up in the hospital, the medical professional said, The Star reported Related Article: WHO Comments on Contradiction Regarding Sinovac's Efficacy Against Omicron Variant @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Bloomberg) -- Major shale-oil drillers are dreading the prospect of $100-a-barrel crude on fears it will tempt less-disciplined rivals to expand output and create a new supply glut. With an expectation that global crude demand may outpace production as soon as this year, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield is bracing for oil to range from $75 to $100. U.S. crude has been above $75 for the past week and a half and briefly rose to almost $85 in late October. I hope it stays there, Sheffield said during a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. energy-conference webcast on Wednesday. Prices approaching $110 or $120 is not going to help our industry. Oil executives expressing anxiety over triple-digit oil prices may seem counterintuitive but its emblematic of a new mantra that favors stable cash flows and greater shareholder returns. While drilling and fracking in American oilfields showed no sign of slowing down at the end of 2021, publicly traded explorers in the worlds biggest shale patch are sticking to pledges to restrain production growth and return more cash for investors. Diamondback Energy Inc. and Devon Energy Corp. would need to see a firm nod from shareholders before theyd increase output again, executives from the companies said during the webcast. The oil industry has yet to fully recover from back-to-back oil busts and the pandemics devastating impact on energy demand. Goldman Sachs warned last month that oil could top the $100 mark in 2023 thanks to record demand. Meanwhile, Citigroup Inc. Global Head of Commodities Research Ed Morse told Bloomberg Television that any dramatic rally in crude prices will be fleeting. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, rose 86 cents to $77.85 at 2:52 p.m. in New York. Post-Apocalypse Travis Stice, chief executive officer for Diamondback, agreed that oil higher than $100 wouldnt be good for the industry as it could be seen as a signal for production growth again. But right now, he said shareholders are still saying they dont want to see oil explorers boost output. Eighteen months ago, we were in a global apocalypse for the energy sector, and now youre talking about outsized returns, Stice said. We should all pause and recognize the tectonic shift that is in capital allocation. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Update: Due to severe weather and ongoing disruptions caused by the pandemic, San Antonio residents may experience delayed COVID-19 test results. That's the newest information released by the City of San Antonio Sunday night. Results may take up to two to three days in some cases. The temporary delays are impacting sites the city has contracted through Curative and Community Labs. The city says they are addressing the current demands and will keep the community updated. San Antonio is adding three new COVID-19 testing sites to combat the rampant spread of the omicron variant in the city. Metro Health announced late Wednesday the sites will be located at the Alamo Colleges District Support Operations Building, Palo Alto College and St. Philips College. Testing will be available at no cost and is open to anyone looking to get tested. The new test sites were contracted by the City of San Antonio to help cut down wait times, fraudulent operations, and add more resources in the region. Because of the increased demand for people seeking to get a COVID-19 test, we know we need to do more and we are, says Mayor Ron Nirenberg in a press release. We are pleased to announce that we contracted with the non-profit organization, Community Labs, to offer additional three new testing sites that will be in operation immediately. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says the omicron variant is driving up hospitalizations. He, along with the mayor, are urging the community to do what they can to help ease the stress on hospitals. The test sites will be offered at the following locations and hours. No appointment is necessary. This is walk-up only. Results are provided within 24 hours. Alamo Colleges District Support Operations Building, 2222 N Alamo Street Opens Thursday, January 6 Hours of operation Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Palo Alto College Building 23*, 1400 W Villaret Boulevard Opens Friday, January 7 at 8 a.m. Building 20 Performing Arts Center Hours of operation Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. St. Philips College, 1801 Martin Luther King Drive Opens Monday, January 10 at 8 a.m. Hours of operation Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Three more additional sites will be announced as locations are confirmed. The city will issue a news release with the information as it becomes available. The city also operates 17 test sites through Curative, a complete list can be found here. You must register in advance to be tested at a Curative site. *The story has been updated to reflect the correct building number for testing. The original release shared an incorrect building number. EDWARDSVILLE Felony charges were filed this week in two separate casesby the Madison County States Attorneys Office. Wendy D. Hunt, 52, of Galveston, Texas, was charged Jan. 4 with two counts of forgery, both Class 3 felonies. The case was presented by the Highland Police Department. According to court documents, on July 12 and July 13 Hunt allegedly attempted to pass bad checks for $2,972.55 and $2,665.40, respectively, at the Highland and Edwardsville branches of the Bank of Hillsboro. Bail was set at $55,000. In an unrelated case, Ashanti N. Stewart, 19, of Alton, was charged with forgery, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on Nov. 26 Stewart allegedly tried to pass a bad check for $635.18. Bail was set at $25,000. Other felony charges filed this week include: William L. Davis, 44, of East St. Louis, was charged Jan. 4 with theft over $500, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On Aug. 15 Davis allegedly took more than $500 in property from Walmart while employed by Spark, a delivery service used by the company for online pick-up orders by taking property for delivery, canceling the orders and keeping the property. Bail was set at $30,000. Sheila M. Phillips, 39, of Centralia, was charged Jan. 3 with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Jan. 1 Phillips allegedly took a Samsung television valued in excess of $300 from the Collinsville Walmart. Bail was set at $20,000. Shanaya D. Edwards, 37, of Boonville, Missouri, was charged Jan. 5 with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Glen Carbon Police Department. On July 2 Edwards and another person allegedly took clothing, condoms and other merchandise valued in excess of $300 from the Glen Carbon Walgreens. Bail was set at $25,000. Natica A. Wyatt, 29, of St. Louis, was charged Jan. 4 with retail theft under $300 (second subsequent offense) and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On Sept. 4 Wyatt allegedly took a diaper bag, diapers, grocery items and bed sheets valued at less than $300 from the Granite City Walmart and, while driving a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, attempted to flee from a Granite City police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit. Bail was set at $15,000. Tiffany L. Counts, 33, of Fieldon, was charged Jan. 5 with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony; and driving while license revoked, a Class A misdemeanor. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Jan. 3 Counts allegedly was driving a 1991 Dodge Dynasty on U.S. 67 when she attempted to flee from an Alton police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit. Her license was revoked because of a 2011 conviction for DUI out of Madison County. Bail was set at $25,000. Aaron L. Trask, 31, listed as homeless out of Alton, was charged Jan. 3 with criminal trespass to a residence, a Class 4 felony, and criminal damage to property, a Class A misdemeanor. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Dec. 31 Trask entered a residence in the 1200 block of Main Street while the resident was present, breaking side door and window pane. Bail was set at $25,000. Its a new year and theres new entertainment on tap for downtown Conroe venues and theaters and beyond in Montgomery County. After 2020 and 2021 brought great difficulty to live entertainment venues because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crighton Theatre is welcoming two entertainers in January outside of the normal theater schedule. At the Owen Theatre, the Players Theatre Company is rolling along with their season that started in September and have shows set to open in January and March. And theres plenty more to come in 2022 as two major music festivals are planned and several new live music venues are scheduled to open. Sharity Productions Gene and Betty Wolfs Sharity Productions returns to action in 2022 by presenting Brian Black at 9 p.m. Saturday at Pacific Yard House in downtown Conroe. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at http://www.outhousetickets.com/Venue/Pacific_Yard_House/. Black is the brother of musicians Clint and Kevin Black. After a 15-year hiatus to run two businesses in Bandera, Texas, Black is back to making music. Hell have his friend Doni Simmons from Marshall, Texas join in to offer some of Elvis music on The Kings birthday. Visit https://www.brianblack.org/ for more. The Sinatra Experience First up at the Crighton Theatre in January is The Sinatra Experience With Dave Halston. This show is set for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15. The Crighton promises an evening of music, fun and a zesty lineup of Frank Sinatras most popular songs in an authentic tribute. Halston will perform with the original music arrangements, bringing the Sinatra sound and swagger to the stage with a swanky Vegas vibe. Tickets are $49 and can be purchased at crightontheatre.org. The Rainmaker at the Owen Theatre The Players Theatre Company opens its first show of 2022, The Rainmaker Jan. 21 at the Owen Theatre. Artistic Director and Players veteran Joe Viser directs. At the time of a paralyzing drought in the West audiences will discover a girl whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her becoming an old maid as they are about their dying cattle. The brothers try every possible scheme to marry her off, but without success. Nor is there any sign of relief from the dry heat. When suddenly from out of nowhere appears a picaresque character with a mellifluous tongue and the most grandiose notions a man could imagine. He claims to be a rainmaker. And he promises to bring rain, for $100. Its a silly idea, but the rainmaker is so refreshing and ingratiating that the family finally consent, according to the Players synopsis. Forthwith they begin banging on big brass drums to rattle the sky; while the rainmaker turns his magic on the girl, and persuades her that she has a very real beauty of her own. And she believes it, just as her father believes the fellow can actually bring rain. And rain does come, and so does love. The cast includes John Kaiser as Sheriff, Sarah Berry as Lizzie, Tanner Moore as Jim, John Thompson as HC, Jeff Featherston as Noah, Allen Dorris as File and Brian Heaton as Starbuck. The show runs through Feb. 5. Visit owentheatre.com for tickets. Friends of Conroe Music Series A 20-year year tradition in Conroe makes its return later this month. The Sounds of Texas Music Series has rebranded to become the Friends of Conroe Music Series. The series has been under the umbrella of the Friends of Conroe nonprofit for several years. The Friends of Conroe put on the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival each fall and Friends Feeding Friends each Thanksgiving. The last Sounds of Texas Music Series concert was in August 2019 featuring Yellow House Revisited with Jason Boland, Cody Canada and Mike McClure.. During the pandemic and renovations at the Crighton Theatre, the series took a pause. Kristi Leggett, Friends of Conroe member and chairman of the Friends of Conroe Music Series, said the members have used the pandemic time to regroup and decide where they want to take the series in the future. The Sounds of Texas Music Series had an amazing 20-year run and while we hate to part from the tradition that is the Texas Music Series, it had changed along with the times, she said. The Friends of Conroe name reflects a streamlined local feel to the series, she said. The first Friends of Conroe Music Series performance featuring country artist Lorrie Morgan is set for 8 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Crighton Theatre. Tickets are $64. We had Lorrie Morgan in our 2018 series and she had such a fantastic time and loved the venue so much that if extended the offer shed love to come back, Leggett said. To relaunch the series we thought it would be great to bring back one our traditional favorites. She did sell out last time she was here. Shell be singing classics like Something in Red, Watch Me, I Didnt Know My Own Strength and Out of Your Shoes as well as music from her new album, which includes a remake of the Earl Thomas Conley favorite, What Id Say. Following the Jan. 29 concert, FOC planners will assess the Jan. 29 concert and move forward to plan the rest of the series. Tickets can be purchased at friendsofconroe.com or crightontheatre.org. Lone Star Luau The Trop Rock music festival moves to Margaritaville Lake Resort in its fifth year. Its set for Feb. 3-6 at Margaritaville and hosted by Margaritaville favorites Thom Shepherd and Coley McCabe. Other featured musicians include Gary P Nunn, Aaron Scherz, Eric Erdman, Erica Sunshine Lee, Donny Brewer, Trent Willmon, The Wheeland Brothers, Jerry Diaz, Paul Overstreet, Wynn Varable and Aubrey Wollett. Operation Song and the Fisher House are the two charity partners for the event. Visit https://lonestarluau.com/ for tickets and more. New venues and more Beyond January and February, theres plenty to be excited about in the downtown Conroe area in 2022 as well. The MoCo Food Hall and The Table at Madeley food truck venue are nearing completion and both expect to open this spring. MoCo Food Hall will be located at 109 Metcalf Street adjacent to and running along the back side of Pacific Yard House. They are in the process of remodeling the building into a food hall a food-court type area. MoCo Food Hall will feature a coffee bar, five food vendors and two bars one being a speakeasy with secret entrances. There will also be live music featured. MoCo Food Hall is expected to be open in mid-April. See https://www.facebook.com/mocofoodhall for more. They plan to start announcing the featured food vendors by the end of January. In June, Frank and Bel Jackson broke ground on their new place, The Table at Madeley food truck park. The space is at 316 Madeley Street in downtown Conroe near the intersection of Texas 105 and Frazier Street. An indoor space can accomodate up to 50 people and four resident food trucks will be located there along with rotating featured trucks. Live music can be featured on an outdoor stage or an indoor set up. The venue will also be open to rent out for events. Jackson plans to open sometime in the spring and before the Crossroads Music Festival in downtown Conroe. See https://www.facebook.com/Conroetable for more. Also 202 Main will be making use of its courtyard that runs along the back of 202 Main in 2022. A major event of 2022, The Conroe Crossroads Music Festival will fill downtown Conroe with tunes April 7-10. The inaugural festival will feature artists of numerous genres performing at venues across the city. Wristbands will give festival attendees access to around 40 shows. Conroe Crossroads will also feature some free and open to the public shows. The festival is a partnership with Open Sky Media, which produces regional magazines Austin Monthly and San Antonio Magazine, as well as Texas Music, which has celebrated the music and artists of the Lone Star State for more than 20 years. Follow Conroe Crossroads on social media at facebook.com/conroecrossroads, Instagram @conroecrossroads, and Twitter: @conroexroads. shernandez@hcnonline.com Vietnam donates US$100,000 to US to overcome tornado consequences Vietnam on January 5 handed over US$100,000 from the Vietnamese Government and people to support bereaved families of tornadoes that struck the US State of Kentucky last December. Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung presents a token of the gift to Charge dAffaires at the US Embassy in Vietnam Marie Damour. (Photo: MOFA) Addressing the handover ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung shared deep sympathy over the great loss American people suffered and believed that the US government and people would soon overcome the consequences of the disaster in Kentucky. He emphasized the spirit of friendship, cooperation and mutual support to surmount difficulties between the Governments and people of the two countries, especially in the context of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. For her part, Charge dAffaires at the US Embassy in Vietnam Marie Damour thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their timely support, and voiced her hope that good bilateral relations between the two countries, including between their Red Cross organisations, would continue to develop in the future. Philadelphia authorities reported that 12 people have died, eight of whom were children, in a massive blaze in a Philadelphia Housing Authority row home in the state's Fairmount neighborhood on Wednesday morning. Firefighters were deployed to respond to the three-story row home fire located at 869 North 23rd Street at around 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. When personnel arrived at the scene, they discovered a heavy blaze coming from the second floor of the building. Massive Philadelphia Fire In a statement, fire officials said that companies quickly began working to put out the fire; they eventually found bodies of several people inside. Later that night, authorities confirmed that the massive fire resulted in the death of 12 people, eight of whom were children. The official confirmation of fatalities was one less than what officials provided during a press conference that was held on the morning of the fire. Authorities have not yet released information regarding the ages of the victims of the fire, Fox29 reported. One fire official said that the number of fatalities caused by the massive blaze was "dynamic," indicating that the number of people killed in the incident could change as recovery efforts continue. During a news conference, Mayor Jim Kenney said that the latest fire was one of the most tragic days in the history of the city. Read Also: Jan.6 Anniversary: Republicans, Democrats Disagree For a Year While Americans Remain Divided Over How Capitol Riot Unfolded Kenney said that the loss of so many children was simply "devastating," urging everyone to pray for the lives that were taken too soon. It was previously reported by fire officials that there were 18 people who were living in the upstairs apartment known as Unit B. It comprised the 2nd and 3rd floors of the duplex. It was believed that eight other people lived on the first floor known as Unit A. On the other hand, the Philadelphia Housing Authority said that they were aware of only 14 people living in Unit B when they last conducted occupancy recertification in October. Authorities did not immediately provide possible causes of the fire, but various sources said that investigators were determining whether or not the blaze was started when a child lit a Christmas tree fire, 6ABC reported. Tragic Incident A sister of three of the victims, Jacuita Purifoy, told reporters during an interview that she was in and out of consciousness all day after hearing about the news of her siblings. The only family relative that she knew survived the blaze was a five-year-old boy. The young child was brought to a hospital and was in stable condition. The massive blaze is considered to be one of the deadliest residential fires in the country's recent history. One of the most recent fires that can be compared to this happened in 2019 when a fire killed five children at a daycare center in Erie, Pa. Another blaze that occurred in 2018 engulfed an apartment building in Chicago that left 10 children dead. Property records showed that the century-old, three-story brick row house was bought in 1967 by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The deputy fire commissioner of the area, Craig Murphy, said that there were around 26 people in the building at the time of the fire but said that about eight people were able to flee by themselves, the New York Times reported. Related Article: Babies Born During Pandemic Score Lower on Motor, Social Skills Test, Study Shows @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. On this one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol, some Midland County residents are mourning an attack on a system that allows Americans to hold a vote in the political process, while others look back through a different lens. This division isn't too unfamiliar because the country remains polarized between the Republican and Democratic parties. "There is no average American anymore," said David Jesuit, a political science professor with Central Michigan University. "We're so polarized that it's divided into two camps." In terms of how Americans might be reflecting on the anniversary of January 6, the day when an insurrection interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Bidens presidential victory, Jesuit said it really depends on each person's loyalties to political party affiliations. In a recent poll from the Associated Press, about two-thirds of Americans, including most Democrats, describe the attack of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as extremely violent or very violent. Only about 4 in 10 Republicans agreed with that assessment. In Midland, the Women of Michigan Action Network is hosting a candlelight vigil on Thursday in honor of democracy since the Jan. 6 attack. The local event is one of more than 175 events that will take place across the country, including at the U.S. Capitol. The vigil will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Midland County Courthouse, which is located at 301 W. Main Street. One year later, the group says the same faction of people responsible for the Capitol riot is working to restrict the freedom to vote, attacking fair voting districts, and quietly preparing future attempts to sabotage free and fair elections. "January 6 was a violent and deadly attack against all Americans against our country, our democracy, and our freedom as voters to choose the leaders that represent us so that we have a government of, by, and for the people," said a recent Women of Michigan Action Network press release. Lawmakers remember events unfolding on Jan. 6, 2021 Long after most other lawmakers had been rushed to safety, they were on the hard marble floor, ducking for cover. Trapped in the gallery of the House, occupying balcony seats off-limits to the public because of COVID-19, roughly three dozen House Democrats were the last ones to leave the chamber, bearing witness as the certification of a presidential election gave way to a violent insurrection. As danger neared, and as the rioters were trying to break down the doors, the legislators called their families. They scrambled for makeshift weapons and mentally prepared themselves to fight. Many thought they might die. Bound together by circumstance, sharing a trauma uniquely their own, the lawmakers were both the witnesses and the victims of an unprecedented assault on American democracy. Along with a small number of staffers and members of the media, they remained in the chamber as Capitol Police strained to hold back the surging, shouting mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The lawmakers were finally taken to safety roughly an hour after the siege began. The violence at the Capitol last year was a sad moment for our country, and those who broke the law should be prosecuted," said Congressman John Moolenaar, R-Midland, in a Wednesday statement to the Daily News. "As Americans, we are blessed to live in a free nation and our democracy is stronger when we have the rule of law, election integrity, and voter ID. Those are vital concerns I have been working on, as well as the economic issues that are directly affecting Michigan families and their pocketbooks. A potential representative for the city of Midland by early next year, Rep. Dan Kildee, currently representing the MI 5th District, said he was in the U.S. House chambers when the attack occurred. Security had to inform the representatives that the capitol was breached, and he could hear the noise of the ever increasingly violent crowd outside the chamber doors. I could not believe that American citizens were attacking the Capitol of the United States in a very violent way to try to stop the certification of the election, to stop the peaceful transfer from one administration to the next, said Kildee in a Wednesday interview with the Daily News. It was hard to wrap my head around. He said it is appropriate for Congress to do everything it can to make sure that the record of what happened is accurate and complete. He also added that the 2020 election was fair by all analyses. As a country, Kildee said the U.S. has a long way to go with its handling of the attacks and with healing political division. For his part, Jesuit estimates it will be about a decade before the country reaches healing of political divisions at the national level. Political division caused the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol and the divisions on COVID-19, Kildee said. We have to arrive at the truth and then move from there to try not to eliminate the differences that we face in the country, but actually celebrate the fact that we have a country where differences are okay, where different points of view are encouraged, Kildee said. I think too many people have lost sight of that." Fifth-term Democratic Rep. Kildee, of Flint, will run in the competitive 8th District, while fourth-term Republican Rep. Moolenaar, of Midland, will seek election in the Republican-heavy 2nd District to the west. Looking back The riot was preceded by the Stop the Steal rally near the White House featuring Trump. Before Trumps remarks, a flag was seen flying in the crowd with the message, When Tyranny Becomes Law Rebellion Becomes DUTY! And we fight, Trump told the crowd. We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore. Crowds marched to the Capitol and fought through undermanned lines of police who lacked guidance from their superiors or help from the National Guard. The rioters broke into the building and began searching for lawmakers, forcing evacuations of the House and Senate. Voicing lies about election fraud that were refuted by his own Justice Department, Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the electors a move that would have bucked the Constitution and thrown the House, and potentially the country, into chaos. Pence refused to do so, but Trump held a rally in Washington before the vote-counting began, telling hundreds of supporters at the Ellipse to fight like hell. More than half of the House Republican Caucus in the 116th Congress signed an amicus brief, which was filed on Dec. 10, 2020, asking the Supreme Court to allow a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin swing states where Biden defeated Trump. Four Michigan lawmakers, including Moolenaar, signed the brief. Jesuit said political behaviors, such as signing and filing the brief, were factors that contributed to the events that led up to the violent January day. Following Jan. 6, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Jan. 13 to impeach Trump, though it was opposed by Moolenaar among others. One Midland resident who experienced volatile political distaste following the Jan. 6 insurrection was Jennifer Austin, chair of the Midland County Democratic Party. She recalled volunteering at the county fair last year at the Democrats booth there, and said she was subjected to intimidation, threats, anger and vile behavior. While she was not personally intimidated by this, she was saddened by the fact that people who did not know her, or her colleagues, would act in this manner. When she asked her colleagues if this is how the fair usually is, they said it was far worse than what usually happens. I would love to get back to the point where we disagree on policy, can have a discussion about that and it is not identity politics or hatred, Austin said. Austins yard signs and sidewalk were also the targets of vandalism several times, with one instance containing a racial slur. She said election misinformation, political division, and a political frenzy created by Trump relate to these kinds of incidents. However, Austin made sure to spring into action as well. She was horrified watching the events unfold in Washington D.C. and held a demonstration on Jan. 6. The protests both vocalize how heinous the actions at the capitol were and protest the response from Moolenaar to these attacks, she said. She said the Midland community, and the country as a whole, should be reminded by the insurrection how fragile democracy is. It can be very difficult to be a citizen, and a participant in democracy, Austin said. But if we do not (participate), we are at risk of losing it. Jesuit agreed that democracy is fragile. "It reminds me that democracies tend to be pretty fragile and that we've taken it for granted because we've had a stable democracy," he said. One way Jesuit said the country can heal is to rebuild trust at the local government level. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Related Content Photos: Group protests Moolenaar's support of Trump after mob breaches Capitol Several Republican party members plan their own events and vigil to commemorate the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. However, one group from Cobb County was forced to cancel their vigil following a backlash. Reports revealed that the group's vigil was supposed to honor the attackers who flocked to the Capitol riot and not those who died during the siege. Reports also revealed that the Republican party group believes that the attackers should be hailed as patriots and political prisoners because they did their part to prevent Joe Biden from being named president of the United States. Republican party in Cobb County releases statement The candlelight vigil that was already canceled was supposed to feature the founder of Women for America First, an avid supporter of Donald Trump. "Due to the mischaracterization of the event scheduled for Jan. 6 and the ensuing concerns for the safety of those in attendance, the prayer vigil is canceled," the group said via the Huffington Post. Some Republicans couldn't believe that fellow Trump supporters have gone to extreme lengths to support the ex-POTUS. TJ Dearman, chairman of the GOP in Jackson County, Georgia, said that he was so surprised to hear about the vigil that would commemorate the attackers that he had to fact-check it. Read Also: Conservative Attorney Warns Americans Against Donald Trump Staging a Coup in 2024, Says Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Was Just a Rehearsal But even though one Republican party-led vigil was already canceled, several others are still scheduled to take place on Thursday. One of the events is being promoted by Proud Boys. Carla Hill, associate director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, said that the problem with these types of vigil is that it deflects the blame from those responsible for the Capitol riot. She also slammed the notion that the attackers are victims and not perpetrators. Other Republican party events will push through on Jan. 6 According to Fox 47 News, the Hillside County Republican Party is planning a fundraising event on Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the Capitol riot. But secretary Jon Smith said that the spotlight dinner that will take place on Thursday is something they always do every first Thursday of the month. It just so happened that the first Thursday of January fell on the anniversary of the Capitol riot. Smith also confirmed that some guests would share their experiences from last year's riot. Those that wish to attend and hear stories from guests are required to pay $10. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris Capitol riot speech Democrats are also expected to commemorate the fallen individuals killed during or after last year's insurrection. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will address the entire nation with their speech. The House won't also be in session on Thursday, but the Senate will continue with their work. There will be a prayer vigil on Jan. 6, as well as a moment of silence for all Americans. Initially, Trump was supposed to give a speech on Thursday, but he decided to cancel his video call appearance at the last minute. The ex-POTUS said that he would just talk about the Capitol riot during a rally on Jan. 15, according to CNBC. Related Article: Donald Trump Backs Out of Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Anniversary Speech, Says He'll Talk About the Siege on Jan. 15 @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Laredo police announced on Wednesday that they arrested four people in relation to a drunk driving sting. Additionally, police conducted 114 traffic stops, issued 136 citations and made three other unrelated arrests. Authorities said the statistics were the result of the hard work and effort put in by officers to keep the roadways of Laredo safer. Taiwan authorities are considering the set up of a $200 million fund that they would invest in Lithuania as it tries to fight against China's continued aggressive claim of the island as part of its territory and as Taipei continuously loses allies against Beijing. Taipei officials said that they plan to make their first investment in the Baltic state later this year and that the money is guaranteed by its national development fund and central bank. The situation comes after Lithuania authorities allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy within its territory which suggests a growing relationship between the two nations. $200 Million Lithuania Investment Fund Days after the announcement, China downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania as Taiwan's deputy minister of foreign affairs Harry Ho-Jen Tseng told Lithuania that it was time for Taipei to help with Lithuania's difficulties. It also comes as Taiwan is now sharing recommendations with the public on how to drink and cook with rum after it purchased 20,000 bottles of Lithuanian rum that was headed for China, BBC reported. The fund will be used by Taiwan to invest in the areas of semiconductors, lasers, biotechnologies, and research in Lithuania. The details of the funding were announced by the head of the Taiwanese Representative Office in the capital Vilnius, Eric Huang, during a Wednesday press conference. Huang added that Taiwan will also be sending out a team to assess Lithuania's aspirations to develop a semiconductor industry. The Baltic state is also seeking to build closer economic ties with Taipei as it expects to gain a foothold in the latter's semiconductor sector since last year. Despite the announcement of the investment, Taiwan's National Development Council and Lithuania's Economy Ministry have not yet discussed the details of the fund. Additionally, Huang said that Taiwan's central bank was working on an even larger fund for investments, Aljazeera reported. Read Also: Jan.6 Anniversary: Republicans, Democrats Disagree For a Year While Americans Remain Divided Over How Capitol Riot Unfolded Taiwan Versus China The situation comes as, last month, Nicaragua has broken diplomatic relations with Taiwan and showed support for China. The announcement further reduced the number of countries that recognized Taipei, a self-governing island, as a sovereign nation. Nicaragua's foreign minister was the one that announced the decision that dealt a severe blow to the progress that Taiwan had recently made to win broader international support, if not official recognition by other nations. After the announcement, United States President Joe Biden invited two Taiwanese officials to join the virtual "summit for democracy." On top of Lithuania, other nations in Eastern Europe, which were previously under the control of the Soviet Union, have deepened their economic and cultural ties with Taipei, including the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. The situation has caused Taiwan to become a potential flashpoint in China's relationship with other nations worldwide. Nicaragua's foreign minister Denis Moncada Colindres did not detail the reasons that authorities chose to break their relationship with Taiwan. However, China has continually pressured Taipei's allies to sever their ties with the island as Beijing continues its aggressive claim of the region as part of its territory under what it calls the "one China" policy, the New York Times reported. Related Article: US Arrests, Charges Ex-Colombian Soldier Suspect in Assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Gov. Greg Abbott is getting aid he requested last week from the federal government all while continuing to push back against efforts to mitigate the spread and severity of COVID-19. FEMA announced on January 4 that it will open six testing sites in Texas next week as we wait for more antibody treatments and the omicron variant continues to pummel the Lone Star State. The request for FEMA's aid came from Abbott on December 31. Once it was announced this week that FEMA was heading to Texas, the governor promptly issued a press release announcing he is suing President Joe Biden's administration over the Department of Defense's vaccine mandate to protect the National Guard. "As your commander-in-chief, I will fight on your behalf," Abbott's release says. "That is why I am suing the Biden Administration over its latest unconstitutional vaccine mandate." The lawsuit is the latest attempt by Abbott to block COVID-19 mitigation measures. More recently, Abbott created a hotline for Texas employees to report vaccine mandates. Private companies in Texas have remained holdouts in response to Biden's vaccine mandate for large employers, a mandate that is now held up in the higher courts. (Justices are expected to hear the case on January 7.) Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have also made concerted efforts to block mask and vaccine mandates throughout the pandemic. In May 2021, Abbott issued the first executive order prohibiting public entities enforcing mask mandates,kicking off a legal tug-of-war as school districts fought to keep mask mandates locally. (Paxton went on to sue San Antonio ISD, among many other school districts, over its mask mandates.) In June, Abbott took his attack on COVID-19 mitigation measures further by issuing yet another executive order banning public and private entities from requiring proof of vaccination colloquially branded as "vaccine passports." Abbott then went on to push another executive order in October barring large employers from creating vaccine requirements for its employees. All of these ongoing mandates have only kept the courts in limbo, and public and private entities stuck in a pattern of uncertainty over what they can or can't do. The argument over requiring vaccines and masks is no longer about public health and more about political grandstanding touted as a fight for personal freedom and against government overreach. This week, Texas has put on a surprised Pikachu face while calling for help from the federal government over skyrocketing numbers, the residual effect of which San Antonio schools have already begun to feel. Texas is now left shrugging at a growing mess that certainly wasn't helped by Abbott's attempts to block every effort to slow the pandemic. We're lucky FEMA agreed to send help our way. Allen West, a conservative firebrand running for governor, called for an investigation into Operation Lone Star and the resignation of the leader of the Texas Army National Guard following reports of problems with pay and working conditions during Gov. Greg Abbott's highly touted mission to curb border crossings. In a news conference in Richardson, the retired Army lieutenant colonel said guard members who have been activated for Operation Lone Star are experiencing habitual pay delays and poor working conditions during the border mission. West said the guardsmen are being exposed to COVID-19 and are missing ammunition and other equipment when they are deployed. West said he learned of the issues from guardsmen who had reached out to him. Pay delays for members of the guard have been detailed in recent weeks by media outlets. West also cited a December report by the Army Times that detailed four suicides by soldiers tied to the mission since November. "This falls squarely on the shoulders of the person that ordered the commencement of Operation Lone Star and that's you, Gov. Abbott," West said. A spokesperson for the Texas Military Department told the Army Times that the deaths were part of an open investigation, pending final cause of death. On Tuesday afternoon, the Army Times reported two more incidents where soldiers tied to the mission harmed themselves. In the first incident, which happened the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, a soldier in McAllen attempted suicide but survived and is recovering. In the second incident, an off-duty soldier from the same unit accidentally shot himself in the head with his personal weapon early Saturday at a friend's home. That soldier's death is being investigated as an alcohol-related incident, according to the Army Times. West called for the resignation of Maj. Gen. Tracy R. Norris, the adjutant general of the Texas National Guard, who was appointed by Abbott. If Norris does not resign, West said, Abbott should relieve her of command. In a statement, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze did not address the call for Norris' resignation and referred questions about West's claims to the Texas Military Department. Instead, she blamed the Biden administration for a "61-year record-high number" of border apprehensions in the state and touted statistics tied to the mission. "Since Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March, National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers have apprehended over 85,000 migrants, arrested over 9,600 who committed a border-related crime, including smugglers and human traffickers, seized over 208 million lethal doses of fentanyl, and erected strategic barriers to stem the flow of illegal immigration," Eze said in the statement. "Texas is beyond grateful for the brave men and women of the National Guard and DPS who are diligently and selflessly securing the border in the federal governments absence. We continue working with service leaders to ensure all who are deployed in Texas and overseas have the support they need to keep forging ahead and serve our great state and our nation." Earlier in the day, Abbott issued his own news release related to "protecting the Texas National Guard from President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate." In the release, Abbott announced his intent to sue the Biden administration over its directive to vaccinate all members of the military. Brandon Jones, a spokesman for the Texas Military Department, said that as of Tuesday all service members are receiving paychecks and detailed pay stubs. He also said that service members have access to a payroll hotline if they encounter issues, and "any discrepancies or anomalies are few." The Texas Military Department told KHOU last week that there were "approximately 150 service members experiencing pay issues" at that time. "There is no doubt, missions of this magnitude have administrative challenges, and onboarding thousands of Guardsmen into a state payroll system is always a hurdle for any National Guard state active duty mission," he said. "However, we are always looking at continuous process improvements." Jones also said the department had been made aware of unsanitary conditions at some locations that did not have portable restrooms for soldiers but that the "scope of this challenge is not large." "As with any military operation, the first wave of personnel in have to operate in austere conditions with limited resources. Over time, the infrastructure follows," Jones said. "We are working to address this issue. As missions evolve, we continually add additional infrastructure to better resource operations." West said the issues merited an investigation by the National Guard Bureau, which is responsible for the National Guard's administration. West retired from the military after he was investigated in 2003 for using improper methods to force information out of an Iraqi detainee. Abbott's border mission has received criticism from Democrats and activists who say militarizing the border will not make it more secure and ignores the humanitarian pleas of migrants who seek refuge in the United States. But West's criticism, which is focused on the lack of care for soldiers on the mission, is the most vocal condemnation of the mission from a member of Abbott's own party and one who is running against him in a GOP primary. Beto O'Rourke, the leading Democratic candidate for governor, also criticized the conditions for soldiers under Operation Lone Star. "Gov. Abbott is the commander-in-chief of the Texas National Guard. If he chooses to deploy those under his command, it is his duty to pay them, deliver the benefits he promised them, and ensure they receive proper mental health support in order to prevent the kind of tragedy we've seen in recent months," O'Rourke said in a statement. "And if he can't justify their deployment, he owes it to them and their families to send them home." West said Operation Lone Star lacked a clear directive. In a shot at Abbott who recently held a press event to unveil the first 900 feet of the border wall and frequently tweets Operation Lone Star updates West said the intent of the mission seemed to be "someone coming out and giving a political press conference, or maybe even putting out a tweet." "We rushed into a failure. We decided that it was all about a political optic," said West, a former Republican Party of Texas chair who previously served as a Florida congressman. "It was about a political opportunity. It was not really about understanding what the mission and the task of purpose should have been." That rush to deploy soldiers to the border, West said, has resulted in an "undue burden" on soldiers and their families who were unprepared for the mission. West was joined at the press conference by retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Featherston, who was the Texas Army National Guard's senior enlisted leader from May 2020 until his retirement in November and who has spoken out about the working conditions for guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star. "Morale is very low with soldiers on the border," Featherston said. "And when morale is low, soldiers do not extend and stay in the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard or the state guard." Operation Lone Star began in March when Abbott said he was trying to stem an increase in migrants at Texas' southern border, which he said was spurred by the Biden administration's soft enforcement of immigration law. As of November, Abbott's office had deployed 10,000 guard members to the mission. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. One year ago, hours after a swarm of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and briefly stopped Congress from ratifying the 2020 election results, 17 Texas Republicans voted against certifying Joe Biden as president. This week, The Texas Tribune reached out to all those members asking if they accept the 2020 election results as legitimate a year later. None responded. The mob that day attacked police officers and caused millions of dollars of damage to the historic structure. The lawmakers and staff inside hid in fear for their lives as protesters breached the building carrying zip ties and wearing tactical gear. Texas own Sen. Ted Cruz was objecting to certifying Arizonas election results when the Capitol was overrun. His speech that day and his misleading comments in the weeks before that cast doubts on the election led to calls for his resignation. But this week he was taking heat from the political right for a speech acknowledging the solemn anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol where we saw the men and women of law enforcement risk their lives to defend the men and women who serve in this Capitol. Many conservatives have spent the past several months downplaying the seriousness of the attack, which led to thousands of injuries and five deaths. What the hell is going on here? Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his show. Youre making us think that maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was. A year ago, on the floor of the Senate, Cruz said he was not arguing for setting aside the results of the election, but he was objecting because of concerns about how many Americans believed fraud had occurred. Even if you do not share that conviction, it is the responsibility, I believe, of this office to acknowledge that it is a profound threat to this country and to the legitimacy of any administrations that will come in the future, he said shortly before he and his colleagues were evacuated from the Senate chamber because rioters had breached the police line. When the Tribune asked whether Cruz believed the 2020 election was legitimate, his office did not respond. In total, 147 Republican lawmakers voted against certifying the election results that day, a move that has since taken the form of a multiyear campaign led by former President Donald Trump to convince the American public that the election was stolen. It wasnt. His own attorney general, Bill Barr, has said repeatedly that the election was secure. Multiple election reviews in states have confirmed the results, including Texas recent review of votes in four of the largest counties. Here are the Texans who voted to object to certifying the election results on Jan. 6, 2020. With the exception of Van Duyne, those lawmakers voted to object to the results in both Arizona and Pennsylvania. Van Duyne split her vote, supporting the certification of Arizonas results but not Pennsylvanias. Republican Reps. Van Taylor, Dan Crenshaw, Michael McCaul, Chip Roy and Tony Gonzales voted against objecting to the results. Taylor is now the focus of a primary challenge from Republicans seeking to oust him from office over his vote. Republican Reps. Kay Granger of Fort Worth and Kevin Brady of The Woodlands had been diagnosed recently with COVID-19 and did not vote. All the Texas Democrats voted against objecting. Democrats on Thursday acknowledged the anniversary and the ensuing efforts to undermine the election results. It was a day that should have been a symbolic, peaceful transfer of power. However, it sadly resulted in chaos and division by right-wing extremists, said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, in a statement. Unfortunately, a vengeful Donald Trump and many Republicans have perpetuated a Big Lie about election fraud stirring up anger, fear, and resentment in a lot of Americans. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, pointed the finger at Republicans in a tweet Thursday. January 6 was a tragic and shocking day for America. It was nothing less than an attempt to overthrow the government. And now we know that it was much more than a day: It was at least two months of Trump and his gang plotting a coup, he said. On Wednesday, Politico reported that days before the insurrection, Capitol Police intelligence analysts were worried that Gohmerts public comments could encourage violence in response to the 2020 election results. The Capitol Police intelligence report notes that on Jan. 1, 2021, Gohmert told Newsmax, a conservative media company, that letting the will of the voters stand would mean the end of our republic, the end of the experiment in self-government, Politico reported. The ruling would be that you got to go to the streets and be as violent as Antifa and [Black Lives Matter], Gohmert said on Newsmax. Representative Gohmert then seemed to encourage violence as a means to this end, the assessment says, according to Politico. Gohmert, who is running for Texas attorney general, tweeted the day of the insurrection, Please people; no violence. That only hurts our cause. Disclosure: Politico has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. During Texas first strong cold front of the winter this past weekend, natural gas production in the states top energy-producing region dropped by about 25%, according to a report from S&P Global. And while the lights largely stayed on across the state, the gas systems performance during a brief cold snap raised more questions about the grids ability to handle extreme winter weather. A separate Bloomberg report said gas production in the Permian Basin region of West Texas plunged to its lowest levels since last Februarys deadly winter storm. A number of natural gas companies reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that they had to unexpectedly flare off gas last weekend because their equipment froze. Meanwhile, the Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, said it didnt know anything about the sudden drop in gas production. An agency spokesperson said the commission is currently evaluating available data on natural gas production during the weekend of Jan. 1 and 2. Natural gas fuels a majority of power generation in Texas, and some power generators reported disruptions to their gas supply but they said it was not enough to impact generators ability to produce electricity. Gov. Greg Abbott said the states main power grid operator was prepared with extra power supply online. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator, said there were no significant power outages around the state. But the disruptions to the natural gas supply during a typical Texas cold front calls into question whether the states gas companies are ready for extreme winter weather, a concern energy experts and power company executives have expressed in recent months after lawmakers didnt require gas companies to immediately prepare their equipment for extreme cold. I think it means the gas systems not ready for another cold snap, said Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas at Austin. It wasnt even really cold. It was cold, but nothing close to Winter Storm Uri [in February]. Temperatures dropped into the upper teens during the weekend in Midland and remained below freezing there for about 12 hours. Power plants are regulated by ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees ERCOT, and operate by different rules that the PUC implemented last fall requiring power plants to fix acute issues from last Februarys disaster. The rules were based on recommendations that were made but never acted upon a decade ago by experts and federal regulators after a 2011 storm caused widespread rolling power outages. The gas industry has argued that their facilities will operate as long as their power is not cut off which is what happened during last Februarys storm when widespread freezing temperatures and skyrocketing demand increased strain on the grid. Utilities were ordered by ERCOT to preemptively cut power to homes and businesses to avoid a total collapse. But that, in some cases, shut off the fuel supply for power plants due to paperwork errors. The Railroad Commission recently finalized a new rule that will ensure gas producers likely wont get their electricity cut off during a future energy emergency such as a winter storm. But the agency has not yet crafted weatherization rules for the industry. Keeping the power on is the best winterization tool we have, Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said in December. Staples and oil and gas producers said they did not make significant upgrades to the way they prepare their infrastructure for the cold a process called weatherization after last Februarys storm. They said they have been preparing their sites for cold weather for years. But this weekend, at least seven gas companies said their equipment froze even though their power remained on, and as a result they had to vent or flare gas. They are required to notify regulators when they emit more carbon emissions than their permitted amount. Venting of inlet gas is occurring at Saxon Booster Station due to frozen lines causing the shut down of the compressor, WTG South Permian Midstream LLC reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. During a freezing event, the drain line from the VRUs froze and caused gas to be vented, read another filing to the TCEQ by Pioneer Natural Resources, a top energy company working in the Permian Basin, referring to vapor recovery units. The Bloomberg report said 1 billion cubic feet of gas was burned or wasted due to weather-related shutdowns over the weekend. Staples said this week that when the weather fluctuates there can be some changes in production. As we have consistently stated, some variation in production occurs with sudden temperature changes these are field operations, not controlled factory settings, Staples said in a written statement. Typical fluctuations are expected and all reports we have seen seem to be within expected operating ranges when looking at the largest gas producing state in the nation. But power generators were quick to criticize the natural gas industry for the drop in production. @TXOGA claim that they produce as long as power is on isnt all true, the Texas Competitive Power Association said on Twitter in response to the S&P report. Gas needs commensurate winterization requirements to those required of generators. Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Editors note: This story contains explicit language. On Jan. 6, 2021, Frisco real estate agent Jennifer Leigh Ryan joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol, broadcasting her experience live on Facebook. But exactly one year later, shes sitting in prison because of her role in the chaos. Ryan was among hundreds who repeated baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump as they stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted Congress certification of the results. We are going to f---ing go in here. Life or death, it doesnt matter, she said during the Facebook Live, according to court documents. Ryan turned the camera on her own face before saying, Yall know who to hire for your Realtor. Jenna Ryan for your Realtor. Ryan, who recently began her 60-day prison sentence for parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building, is one of at least 63 Texans who were charged with various crimes for their actions that day. That includes Mark Middleton charged with assaulting an officer and multiple counts of obstruction who is currently running for a Texas House seat. The number of Texans facing charges continues to grow as the FBI proceeds with its investigations and makes arrests. Charges against participants and the punishments they face range from misdemeanors with minor penalties to felonies that could result in years of prison time. Trump had called on his supporters to rally in Washington, D.C. And at a protest earlier in the day, he acknowledged that rallygoers were going to march toward the Capitol to encourage lawmakers not to certify the vote. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to, peacefully and patriotically, make your voices heard today, he said. Texas Republicans often took the lead on baseless lawsuits that sought to dismiss the results of the 2020 election and tried to rally Trump supporters to protest his loss. Texas has the third-highest number of residents charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot, just under Florida and Pennsylvania, according to USA Today's database. Texans make up about 9% of those in the country charged with crimes. U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, said in an interview that fear and disbelief overwhelmed him as he hid from the mob rushing through the Capitol that day. I don't think there was anyone in the chamber who didn't think they might not make it home that night, he said. It seemed like both sides of the aisle were initially united in outrage over what happened, Gonzalez said. However, he said the tides quickly shifted once the dust settled. Soon, each party took a polarized stance on the event, with a few exceptions on the Republican side, he said. Every criminal case against those charged is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia. But each defendant must appear before a district court where they are arrested. That means dozens of different courtrooms across the state are overseeing these cases. Around 40 people involved in the Capitol riot remained at the District of Columbia jail awaiting trial as of early November, according to The New York Times. It is unclear how many of those were Texans. Out of the more than five dozen Texas defendants, only five people have been sentenced so far and four of those are serving prison time. Each of those five cases were resolved after plea agreements lowered the involved charges to relatively low-level offenses. Five Texans have dates scheduled for their sentencing. Cases against the dozens of other Texans facing charges including 20 people accused of causing violence are still working through the courts. Five Texans have already been sentenced Troy Anthony Smocks of Dallas was given the heaviest sentence of any Texan so far and was the first Texan charged with a felony to be sentenced. On Oct. 21, he was given 14 months of incarceration and three years of supervised release for making threats in interstate communications and for posting threatening social media messages. According to court documents, Smocks took to the social media website Parler detailing his participation and outlining threats. So over the next 24 hours, I would say, let's get our personal affairs in order. Prepare Our Weapons, and then go hunting. Lets hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are, Smocks wrote, according to court documents. It wasn't the building that We wanted...it was them! Smocks, who is Black, argued he was treated more severely by prosecutors because of his race, according to The Washington Post. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of Washington, D.C., who is also Black, dismissed Smocks claim. I have not seen a scintilla of evidence that prosecutors decisions have been racially motivated, Chutkan said. The FBI said Smocks made a flight reservation to depart the U.S. for a foreign country on the morning of Jan. 15. He was arrested the day before. His sentence was harsher than what federal prosecutors recommended, according to The Washington Post. The judge in charge of the case said it was necessary to deter any similar future actions from others. Because the country is watching, Chutkan said, according to The Post, to see what the consequences are for something that has not ever happened in this country before, for actions and crimes that undermine the rule of law and our democracy. Matthew Carl Mazzocco was a mortgage loan officer in San Antonio before he was fired following his arrest, according to KSAT-TV. He was sentenced in October to 45 days of incarceration and 60 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The FBI received an anonymous tip identifying Mazzocco based on social media posts, including one post from outside the Capitol that he captioned: The capital is ours! Tam Dinh Pham was an 18-year veteran of the Houston police force before he resigned after investigators began probing him over his actions during the Capitol riot. Pham was sentenced to 45 days in prison, given a $1,000 fine and ordered to pay $500 for damages to the Capitol. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 20 to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building after initially denying that he was there. Investigators found photos that he took of the scene that proved he was inside. Ryan, the Frisco real estate agent, took a private jet to Washington, D.C., saying on Twitter afterward, We just stormed the Capital. It was one of the best days of my life, according to court records. She was sentenced on Nov. 4 to 60 days in prison, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $500 for damages to the Capitol. After initially pleading not guilty, she eventually pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Ryan made headlines for her unapologetic social media presence that she adopted soon after the Capitol riot. In March, she tweeted: Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and Im not going to jail. When handing down her sentence, the judge overseeing her case cited a lack of remorse on Ryans part. Ryans attorney, Guy Womack, said in an interview the ruling was unfair because it was based on her actions after Jan. 6 and that Ryan later demonstrated remorse. Eliel Rosa of Midland pleaded guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced Oct. 12 to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service. Rosa also was ordered to pay $500 for damages to the Capitol. Rosa was arrested along with Jenny Cudd, a former Midland mayoral candidate. Cudd was seen on video saying, "We did break down the Nancy Pelosis office door Fuck yes, I am proud of my actions, I fucking charged the Capitol today with patriots today." Cudd is set to be sentenced on March 18. One Texas defendant is seeking a seat in the Texas House Mark Middleton launched a campaign for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives following his indictment. He faces charges of assaulting an officer and multiple counts of obstruction. He is among three Republicans challenging state Rep. David Spiller in the March 1 GOP primary for the North Texas seat. He and his wife, Jalise Middleton, are accused of pushing against police barricades, grappling with officers and cursing at them. His wife is accused of repeatedly grabbing an officer and striking them with her hand. The couple struggled with two officers until they were hit with pepper spray, according to the complaint. According to court documents, Jalise Middleton commented on Facebook after the riot, "We fought the cops to get in the Capital and got pepper sprayed and beat but by gosh the patriots got in!" The couple says they never entered the Capitol itself. Mark Middleton said they both rejected plea bargains because they deny that they attacked police. He alleges that the officers began beating them while their backs were turned and they were only reacting to the blows. Mark Middleton whose platform includes calling for Texas to consider seceding from the U.S. said in an interview with The Texas Tribune that hes toyed with the idea of running for political office before, but his experience on Jan. 6 inspired him to run. Other than his cursing at officers and subsequent Facebook posts he made, Middleton said he doesnt regret his actions that day. Im not ashamed of it, not afraid of it, he said. He claims that most of the people hes spoken to following the events, have considered his involvement a positive thing. Actually, it's great publicity, he said. Middleton said his pilots license was revoked following the incident, and he feels that many of the people present on Jan. 6 are being mistreated especially the ones who never stepped foot in the Capitol. He thinks that their involvement is being overblown. They're not telling the story of middle-aged people like me and my wife that were model citizens in the community and well respected and highly involved with no criminal records whatsoever being arrested like a common violent criminal, he said. Investigations continue The FBI is continuing to solicit tips from the general public to help identify people in over 1,500 photos and videos. As more arrests are made, the defendants are added to the bureaus database. The arrests made so far have been a result of a mass collaboration between local and federal law enforcement and tipsters. And there are no signs of it slowing down quickly. The government estimates as many as 2,500 people who took part in the events of Jan. 6 could be charged with federal crimes, according to The New York Times. That includes more than 1,000 incidents that prosecutors believe could be assaults. A year later, the vast majority of cases have yet to reach the sentencing phase. As time goes on, the cases will continue to progress in courts throughout the country. Disclosure: Facebook and The New York Times have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. A year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, one Texas Republican congressman is facing a spirited primary fueled by anger from his right over his vote to investigate the insurrection. U.S. Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, has attracted a group of March primary challengers who are running on his support for a bipartisan independent commission to probe that deadly day, when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in protest of his reelection loss. Taylor was one of two Texas Republicans who voted for the commission, though the other, Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio, has not drawn as crowded of a primary. The proposed commission never made it through the Senate, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., later formed a select committee to investigate the Capitol attack. Taylor voted against that committee and says it was exactly the scenario he was trying to prevent by supporting the independent commission handing the probe over to Pelosi but his opponents are unswayed. They argue the commission still would have enabled Democrats to hound Republicans for months and politically damage them in the midterms. Taylors vote for the commission is a huge issue, said one of the challengers, former Collin County Judge Keith Self. It is the red line for many people in their vote against Van Taylor. The contested primary is something of a political whiplash for Taylor, a former state lawmaker with a staunchly conservative record who got to Congress in 2018 and became a target of national Democrats in 2020. He won comfortably, airing TV ads that touted himself as Mr. Bipartisan, and now finds himself in a district that was redrawn this fall to be redder and more fertile territory for primary opposition. Zach Barrett, president of the Collin County Conservative Republicans, said it remains to be seen whether the commission vote alone is enough to sink Taylor. The local GOP group plans to endorse in the primary but has not made a decision yet. For us in the little bubble of grassroots, [the commission vote] is a big thing, but I dont know in the grand scheme of things, when it comes to the average even Republican voter how much it matters, said Barrett. Hes voting right when it comes to the policies for the most part but he does piss people off with the Jan. 6 commission. The insurrection on Jan. 6 came as lawmakers in the Capitol were meeting to certify the 2020 presidential election results. It followed weeks of Trump and other high-profile Republicans using false or misleading information to cast doubt on whether Joe Biden was the legitimate winner, even though there is no evidence of fraud on the level that would have affected the result. Trump supporters stormed the Capitol doors, damaging property and forcing lawmakers from both parties to take cover. Five people were killed in the melee. Hundreds have been criminally charged. Since then, many conservative politicians have sought to downplay it. Just 35 House Republicans voted in favor of the commission. Two of them, U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, now serve on a select committee looking into the events and have faced severe backlash from members of their own party and the former president himself. Taylors opponents have also largely sought to downplay the Jan. 6 attack, arguing it was not as dangerous as Democrats and the media have portrayed it to be. If that was an insurrection, we dont know how to throw insurrections anymore, Self said in a tongue-in-cheek comment. Taylor was among only five Texas Republicans who voted that day to accept the 2020 election results, saying it would have set a dangerous precedent. He said the events of the day will haunt our nation for years to come and that the attack was destructive to the democracy I fought to defend as a Marine. Still, he later joined most House Republicans in opposing Trumps impeachment over his role in inciting the riot. In addition to Self, Taylors primary foes include Suzanne Harp, a Dallas businesswoman whose son is chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C. Two lesser-known Republicans, Rickey Williams and Jeremy Ivanovskis, are also running against Taylor. Selfs campaign website says Taylor went Washington by supporting the commission. Harp launched her campaign saying Taylor abandoned Trump with the vote. And Williams lists the vote as a top issue to can Van. Self was endorsed last month by a daughter of Taylors predecessor in the seat, the late Sam Johnson, who said her dads seat has been compromised. Taylor is still the favorite in the primary for the 3rd Congressional District, which covers fast-growing Collin County in suburban Dallas. He ended 2021 with over $1.2 million cash on hand, according to his campaign his opponents have not had to disclose their fundraising yet and he has assembled a list of conservative endorsements topped by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. While Trump has sought revenge against some Republicans who have criticized him over Jan. 6, he has stayed out of Taylors primary so far. Among Taylors endorsements is one of Trumps staunchest allies in the House, Rep. Ronny Jackson of Amarillo, the presidents former doctor. Regardless, no other race in Texas this year seems to more reflect the debate within the GOP over the fallout from Jan. 6. Harp said a bigger issue is the treatment of those who have been arrested in connection with the riot, which includes a number of North Texans. What hits us all at the end of the day is that we really care about due process, she said. Its not really a Democratic or Republican thing. Neither appears particularly concerned with investigating the attack. Asked how Congress should have responded to Jan. 6 if not with the commission that Taylor supported, Harp countered that Congress should have been more responsive to the summer of love, a derisive reference to the racial justice protests in 2020 that turned violent in some cases. The commission that Taylor voted for would have been equally split between five Democrats and five Republicans. He cited that in explaining his vote at the time, saying he wanted to make sure Republicans would have a seat at the table and that they would not cede the probe to Democrats. Taylor memorably defended the vote in an interview with Mark Davis, a prominent conservative radio host in Dallas, who expressed skepticism of Taylors reasoning throughout. Everybody that voted for you is pissed off at you today, Van, Davis said, telling Taylor that he loves him but that it was a bad, bad vote. While the commission was never created, Pelosis select committee has been up and running since July and making plenty of headlines as it scrutinizes how much of a role Trump and his allies played in the Capitol attack. Taylor opposed the creation of the committee, which he emphasized in a statement for this story. The continued partisan attacks and unprecedented power grabs from Speaker Pelosi underscore why I voted against her January 6 select committee every time it came up for a vote, Taylor said. In fact, I supported the independent commission, which died in the Senate and was never formed, because it would have been structured with equal Republicans and Democrats so Republicans could block Nancy Pelosi from politicizing the commission in the same way she is doing now. Self said the distinction between the commission that Taylor supported and the committee that is currently working does not occur to voters. In any case, he said, Taylor was naive because once Nancy Pelosi got a hold of that commission, she was going to and they are going to harass Republicans until November this year. Whether the commission vote alone is enough to sink Taylor remains to be seen. His primary challengers are also attacking him on other fronts, including being one of five Texas Republicans to vote to remove all Confederate statues from public display at the U.S. Capitol. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. COVID-19 has been in existence for the past three years, and it seems the virus won't be beaten anytime soon. Ahead of the holidays, a new variant called Omicron was detected in South Africa, and it has since dominated most cases across the globe. Here's a look at how different countries deal with Omicron in January 2022. Austria and The Netherlands are on lockdown Austria was one of the first countries to announce another hard lockdown since they detected their first case of Omicron in November. After three weeks, only the unvaccinated individuals are banned from leaving their homes except for essential activities and doctors' visits. The Netherlands announced another lockdown in December, and it is expected to end on Jan. 14. Schools will be open starting Jan. 9. But even though there's still a lockdown in the country, some protest groups flocked to the streets of Amsterdam to march against the restrictions. Stricter restrictions introduced in Germany, some States Germany and several states in the US announced stricter restrictions after detecting Omicron. In Germany, private gatherings and large events are now prohibited. But the government is currently in discussion regarding the quarantine period in the country. Germany can follow France and Spain's footsteps, which reduced their isolation period from 10 to seven days. Several states imposed mask mandates in the US, especially in public schools. Some institutions also reverted to virtual classes following a surge in Omicron cases. Read Also: Netherlands Could Be First Country To Detect Latest COVID-19 Variant Omicron, Not South Africa Japan, Thailand introduce tighter entry requirements for foreigners Foreigners are not yet allowed to enter Japan, and the country has not opened its doors to non-residents since the pandemic started in 2019. Thailand is still open to foreigners, but they now need to quarantine upon arrival. Prior to Omicron, Thailand had already removed its quarantine requirements for foreigners, according to DW. Israel, the United Kingdom's booster programs Israel, the United Kingdom, and several other countries are also upping their ante when it comes to boosters. Local health officials are encouraging residents to get their booster shots as soon as possible. Israel was one of the first countries to give residents a fourth booster shot to those that are immunocompromised. But starting Sunday, residents aged 60 and above and medical staff will already be eligible for their fourth jab. Dr. Anthony Fauci encourages everyone to get boosted Last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci also urged Americans to get their booster shots. "Our booster vaccine regimens work against Omicron. At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster," he said via CNBC. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also announced shorter waiting periods for 12 to 15-year-olds that wish to get their booster shots. According to the Huffington Post, children from this age group can get their Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine after just five months instead of six months after their second jab. However, the FDA's authorization has not yet been approved by the CDC, and it will only take into effect after the latter issues its approval. Related Article: FDA Announces Shorter Waiting Period for 12 to 15-Year-Olds Getting Booster Shots @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Donald Trump is facing backlash for using the word "rise up" while slamming Joe Biden's alleged vaccine mandates. According to reports, Trump released a statement via his spokesperson this week urging his supporters to oppose Biden's vaccine mandates. "Now, there's a talk by the Biden Administration again about closing schools and even vaccine mandates for school children. This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach," he said via the Huffington Post. Donald Trump criticized for inciting violence again Trump's critics immediately noticed his use of the word "rise up" and compared it to how the ex-POTUS encouraged Republicans to flock to the Capitol last year. Coincidentally, the first anniversary of the Capitol riot will take place this week. Last year, the ex-president specifically used the words "fight like hell" during his speech right before the riot. Weeks prior, he fired up his supporters by insisting that there was election fraud. Some of his critics are urging Trump's staff to remove his access to any form of social media and PowerPoint. Donald Trump could stage a coup in 2024 Others also pointed out that there's no stopping Trump because all his supporters stayed loyal to him even after the insurrection. Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said that Trump just proved that he is not deterred. And if he has the opportunity, he would most likely incite another violence and ask his supporters to target the US Capitol. Read Also: Mary Trump Shares Why She Thinks Donald Trump Refused To Stop the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Despite Ivanka Trump's Demands Earlier this week, conservative attorney Philip Rotner wrote an essay warning Americans against voting for Trump in the 2024 election. He said last year's insurrection was just a dress rehearsal for the ex-POTUS. If Trump is elected president in 2024, there's a massive possibility for him to push through with another coup. And this time around, he won't fail because he will be working closely with people that can deliver. Joe Biden banned from imposing vaccine mandates in 24 states Meanwhile, Biden and his administration have not imposed a statewide vaccine mandate. So, it's unclear where Trump's claims are coming from. All 50 states have legislation requiring certain vaccines for students as press writing. However, California is the only state that requires children to get vaccinated before returning to school this year. Trump has been claiming that his administration brought it the most number of vaccines amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and he didn't have to issue mandates. He said that Americans should have the freedom to choose what they want to do for their own health. He also urged the federal government to give the decision back to every individual by not imposing vaccine mandates, according to Newsweek. Last week, a Louisiana federal judge ruled that Biden cannot require teachers in the Head Start early education program to get vaccinated. Prior to the ruling, 24 states sued the federal government following their proposed mandate. According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration was found guilty of bypassing Congress when ordering employees in the program to be vaccinated by Jan. 31. Related Article: Conservative Attorney Warns Americans Against Donald Trump Staging a Coup in 2024, Says Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Was Just a Rehearsal @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The backlog has grown by 21,000 applications over two months. Canadas immigration backlog over 1.8 million applications in December The backlog has grown by 21,000 applications over two months. Canadas immigration backlog over 1.8 million applications in December The backlog has grown by 21,000 applications over two months. Canadas immigration backlog over 1.8 million applications in December The backlog has grown by 21,000 applications over two months. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A IRCC has more than 1.8 million applications in the queue, according to data from December. CIC News obtained the data via an information request to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The backlog includes future citizens, permanent residents, international students, temporary workers, and visitors. Adding up these categories brings the total to a backlog of 1,813,144 applications in December. In October, IRCC reported a backlog of 1,791,936. The difference means the backlog has grown by more than 21,000 immigration applications in a span of 49 days, a growth of 1%. For most of these categories, except citizens, the new data reflect IRCCs inventory as of December 15, 2021: Permanent residence backlog grand total Immigration category Persons as of December 15 Economic Class 234,770 Family Class 105,298 Humanitarian and Compassionate/Public Policy 27,520 Permit Holders Class 24 Protected Persons 157,658 Grand total 525,270 Temporary residence backlog grand total TR Category Persons as of December 15 Study Permit 122,476 Study Permit extension 24,461 Temporary Resident Permit 6,726 Temporary Resident Visa 403,752 Visitor Record extension 60,499 Work Permit 78,080 Work Permit extension 123,880 Grand Total 819,874 As of October 31, 2021, there are around 468,000 citizenship applications in the inventory, which is the same figure IRCC provided to CIC News for October 27 data. The immigration department did not provide more recent citizenship figures. Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment Express Entry and Family Class backlogs reduced, refugee backlogs increase As of December, the Express Entry backlog was at more than 119,000, compared to October when it was nearly 138,000. The difference was largely seen in Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applications, which was down to nearly 25,000 applications in December compared to more than 48,000 in October. The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) backlog also went down, 805 in the December queue compared to 931 in October. The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) backlog increased to about 55,000 in December, whereas it was at nearly 51,000 in October. There was also an increase in the enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) backlog, 39,000 in December compared to 38,000 in October. Overall family class applications were down to about 105,000 this past December, compared to more than 111,000 in October. This includes programs like spousal sponsorship, which was down slightly but remains around the 55,000 application mark, and the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), which was down to about 38,000 compared to more than 43,000. In December, the backlog of protected persons (refugees and in-Canada asylum claimants) was almost 158,000. In October, it was about 153,000 applications. The following tables provide detail on the backlogs by immigration program: Economic Class backlog Immigration category Persons as of December 15 Agri-Food Pilot Program 747 Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs 2,998 Canadian Experience Class (EE) 24,675 Canadian Experience Class (No EE) 55 Caring For Children Program 12,539 Federal Self Employed 4,999 Federal Skilled Workers (C-50) 223 Federal Skilled Workers (EE) 54,529 Federal Skilled Workers (Pre C-50) 24 High Medical Needs Program 29 Live-in Caregiver Program 1,780 Provincial/Territorial Nominees (EE) 39,325 Provincial/Territorial Nominees (No EE) 27,421 Quebec Entrepreneur 462 Quebec Investor 14,610 Quebec Self Employed 85 Quebec Skilled Workers 27,048 Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot 992 Skilled Trades (EE) 805 Skilled Trades (No EE) 9 Start-up Business 1,264 TR to PR 20,151 Total Economic Class 234,770 Family Class backlog PR Category Persons as of December 15 Children & Other Family Class 8,848 FCH-Family relations - H&C 3,465 Parents and Grandparents 38,122 Spouses & Partners 54,863 Total Family Class 105,298 Humanitarian and Compassionate/Public Policy backlog PR Category Persons as of December 15 HC & PH class-ADM Dependant Person Overseas 70 Humanitarian & Compassionate Straight 17,532 Humanitarian & Compassionate with Risk or Discrimination 8,701 Public Policy Without RAP 1,217 Total Humanitarian & Compassionate / Public Policy 27,520 Permit Holders Class backlog PR Category Persons as of December 15 Permit Holders Class 24 Total Permit Holders Class 24 Protected Persons backlog PR Category Persons as of December 15 Blended Visa Office-Referred 42 Dependants Abroad of Protected Persons 23,708 Federal Government-assisted Refugees 40,603 Privately Sponsored Refugees 72,436 Protected Persons Landed In Canada 19,718 Quebec Government-assisted Refugees 1,151 Total Protected Persons 157,658 Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. From lifting of temporary COVID-19 measures to new streams launches, here are PNP highlights for 2021. Canadas Provincial Nominee Programs: A look back at top stories from 2021 From lifting of temporary COVID-19 measures to new streams launches, here are PNP highlights for 2021. Canadas Provincial Nominee Programs: A look back at top stories from 2021 From lifting of temporary COVID-19 measures to new streams launches, here are PNP highlights for 2021. Canadas Provincial Nominee Programs: A look back at top stories from 2021 From lifting of temporary COVID-19 measures to new streams launches, here are PNP highlights for 2021. Alexandra Miekus Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Throughout 2021, Canadas Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) have worked to address the changing labour needs resulting from the pandemic by introducing new immigration streams and targeting candidates in specific economic sectors. The PNP is an immigration program jointly administered by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. It offers Canadian provinces and territories the opportunity to create their own immigration streams to better meet their labour market needs and economic development objectives. Canada introduced the PNP in 1998 to address the disproportionate number of immigrants heading to the countrys largest provinces, such as British Columbia, Ontario, or Quebec. One of the main objectives of the PNP is to encourage immigrants to settle in less populated areas of the country. Today, the PNP accounts for a very significant share of economic immigration to most provinces and territories in Canada. In fact, many smaller Canadian provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan depend on this program to meet their demographic and labour force needs. Given the importance of the PNP for the provinces and territories, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ensured that Express Entry invitations for PNP nominees continue on an almost biweekly basis since the start of the pandemic, while other federal immigration programs, such as Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Worker Program, have experienced interruptions or irregularities. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration 2021 PNP Top Stories Alberta The year 2021 saw the resumption of PNP draws in early January. Alberta had capped its immigrant intake the previous year and temporarily suspended invitation rounds through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program. Alberta held regular invitations throughout 2021 and reported that it had issued all 6,250 certificates for 2021. In 2020, the Government of Alberta announced that would be launching a new immigration stream for international graduates: The Foreign Graduate Start-up Visa Stream (FGSVS). The new stream has been open to applicants since January 27, 2021. British Columbia Through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program, the province invites the top-scoring provincial candidates on a weekly basis. Express Entry British Columbia, Skills Immigration, as well as the Tech stream, are some of the most active in the country. This past year, the province invited more than 11,500 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. On 14 November, the province also announced that 20 new communities had signed up for the second phase of the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Pilot. Each of these communities has identified the types of businesses that are priorities for them. They are looking for entrepreneurs with experience in running these types of businesses. Each community manages its pilot project and asks interested parties to contact them directly to see if their proposal and work experience matches their priorities. Manitoba Manitoba has also been issuing invitations regularly through the following three streams: Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas and International Education Stream. The province held nearly 30 draws through each stream and invited 11,179 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination in 2021. New Brunswick On August 18, 2021, New Brunswick announced that it would pilot a new immigration stream to help respond to the provinces growing labour needs. Starting April 1, 2022, international students who graduate from one of New Brunswicks four established private career colleges, and who have studied in one of 19 identified occupations, will be eligible to apply to the Provincial Nominee Program, enabling them to work and live in the province while waiting for permanent residence. Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador started accepting applications under a new Priority Skills Newfoundland and Labrador stream on January 2, 2021. The new immigration stream targets highly educated, highly skilled newcomers with specialized experience in areas where demand has outpaced local training and recruitment, such as technology and ocean sciences occupations. The program was created to help address local labour market shortages. It is open to newcomers who have at least one year of work experience in highly-skilled, high-demand occupations, as well as post-graduates who completed a Masters or Doctorate degree at Memorial University in the last three years. According to information released by the province in November of 2021, the province invited a total of 663 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination through the new stream. Nova Scotia In November 2021, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program announced that it will be accepting applications from food service workers through its Occupations in Demand Stream. To address shortages in the food service sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, Nova Scotia added three new eligible occupations under the stream. These occupations are: NOC 6513 (Food and beverage servers), NOC 6711 (Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, and related support occupations) and NOC 6731 (Light duty cleaners). Ontario Ontarios Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) held invitations rounds across most of its streams in 2021 and launched an expression of interest system for intake to the following streams: Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker and International Student streams, Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills, Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams. Ontario has issued a total of 7,432 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination through these five streams in 2021. Ontarios three Express Entry-linked nomination streams Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker and Skilled Trades have issued 8,234 Notifications of Interest to Express Entry candidates in 2021. Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) draws are prescheduled and held once a month. In 2021, the province invited 1,804 candidates. A total of 1,697 were from the Labour Impact and Express Entry streams and 157 from the Business Impact stream. Saskatchewan The province held over 15 draws through two sub-categories of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP,) Express Entry and Occupations In-Demand, this year and issued 6,799 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination. In addition to holding these regular draws, the province announced the launch of a new immigration pilot in late 2021. Called the Hard-To-Fill Skills Pilot, this stream will allow Saskatchewan employers to recruit international talent in the provinces highest-demand labour sectors, such as health, manufacturing, agriculture, agri-technology, construction, hospitality, and retail. In December 2021, the province also launched a new International Healthcare Worker Expression of Interest (EOI) Pool which allows candidates to submit an online form indicating they are interested in working in a selected health care occupation in Saskatchewan. How do PNPs Work? If an immigration candidate meets the PNP selection criteria of a particular province or territory, they are awarded a provincial nomination that allows them to apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (RCC) for permanent residence. PNP streams are designed to attract immigrants of all skill levels and are administered by the provinces and territories. Most participating provinces and territories have at least one PNP stream that is aligned with the federal Express Entry system, which is Canadas principal source of economic immigration. Express Entry-linked PNP streams, also referred to as enhanced PNPs, allow a province to select Express Entry candidates and invite them to apply for a provincial nomination. Express Entry candidates who are nominated by a province or territory are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System score. PNP streams that operate outside of Express Entry referred to as base PNPs, can also nominate candidates, who then pursue permanent residence outside of the Express Entry system. Provinces and territories may nominate candidates under either the basic or enhanced streams of the PNP. IRCC determines the allocation of nominations on an annual basis based on its annual immigration levels planning and consultations with the provinces. Between now and 2023, PNPs alone are expected to result in more than 80,000 immigrants per year being admitted as permanent residents. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As Flurona tops the headlines, several people are curious to know more about the possibility of having both COVID-19 and influenza at the same time. The World Health Organization clarified that it is possible. For this reason, the organization has released some precautionary measures for people to take in order to prevent acquiring Flurona. Flurona Tracker: New Cases and Symptoms The Washington Post reported that the COVID-19 and influenza are both respiratory illnesses that can cause fever, coughing, tiredness, runny nose, sore throat, diarrhea and muscular and body pains. Both illnesses have the potential to be deadly, even though the seriousness of each diagnosis is primarily dependent on the immune system of the individual. Each virus is more dangerous to health workers, the elderly and those who have underlying health problems. In terms of how they spread, the World Health Organization explained that the viruses are scattered in similar ways, which is through particles and aerosols that may be spread by coughing, sneezing, speaking, singing or breathing. With that being stated, it is important to keep in mind that people must wear a mask to protect others. While the term Flurona is still relatively new and gaining popularity, the cases of influenza and COVID-19 co-infections are not. Furthermore, Flurona is not a distinct illness. Despite the fact that many states keep track of coronavirus and flu infections, it appears that there is little information on how many individuals are infected at the same time. On the other hand, Israel's Ministry of Health confirmed to CNN on Tuesday that their first documented instance of a person infected with COVID-19 and the flu was discovered. Read Also: Russian Rocket Out of Control, Now Falling Back to Earth: When Will It Make Impact, Is It Dangerous? The said patient, which is an unvaccinated pregnant woman in her 30s, was released on Thursday "in good general condition," the director of the Beilinson Women's Department Arnon Wiznitzer stated in a statement via CNN. Wiznitzer furthered that they are seeing more morbidity of influenza among the maternity population, along with cases of corona that mainly occur in women not vaccinated against corona and influenza. "This is definitely a challenging time that in addition to the corona diseases we are increasingly dealing with flu," Wiznitzer expounded through CNN. Additionally, it has raised concerns about how the two viruses could interact if they are contracted at the same time. How to Prevent Flurona Since Flurona has reported cases in other countries, several people are curious to know if a person can have both COVID-19 and influenza at the same time. The World Health Organization clarified that both illnesses may be acquired simultaneously. In addition to this, they advised that the most effective method to protect oneself against both influenza and severe COVID-19 is by getting both flu shots and COVID vaccinations. They also clarified that COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective against influenza, similarly, the flu vaccine is ineffective against COVID-19. Aside from getting vaccinated, it is worth noting that people must keep at least a one-meter distance from others, and everyone must wear a mask. Moreover, people must also avoid crowded and poorly ventilated places and settings, and windows and doors must be widely open to keep rooms well ventilated. Lastly, washing hands frequently is also one of the most effective ways to prevent infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. Related Article: Moderna COVID-19 Booster Shot: Efficacy Rate vs. Omicron Variant, Side Effects, Who Is Eligible to Get It? Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Oklahoma City, OK (73106) Today Cloudy this morning, then windy with scattered strong thunderstorms this afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 84F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms, some strong early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 44F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. A year ago today, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy were fleeing for their lives as a violent mob swarmed the halls of the US Capitol. With their personal safety at risk, the two most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill at last stood up to Donald Trump. In a heated phone call, McCarthy, the House minority leader, fruitlessly implored the president to call off the mob. Senate majority leader McConnell later called the rioters terrorists and said Trump was morally responsible for the violence. But McConnell and McCarthy soon slunk back to enabling Trumps assaults on democracy. They were quiet while Trump insisted the 2020 election was stolen and that anyone who disagreed must be purged from public office. They stayed mute as Trump supporters threatened violence against election officials and Republican-dominated state legislatures rewrote laws and procedures to prevent fair voting. McConnell and McCarthy have shamelessly put party ahead of country and ambition ahead of duty, setting up alarming ramifications for the future. Scientists have said for years that humanity faces a climate emergency and only rapid, far-reaching action can preserve a livable planet. On the first anniversary of the 6 January attack, its clear the United States also faces a democracy emergency as well. Only rapid, far-reaching action can preserve a government that is of, by, and for the people. The democracy emergency is closely linked to the climate crisis. Each is grounded in a big lie that climate science is a hoax, that Trump won in 2020 pushed by the same rightwing politicians and propaganda news outlets and embraced with cult-like devotion by Trumps followers. Left untreated, each threatens disaster. If Trumps forces do change enough electoral rules and personnel to guarantee victory in 2022 and beyond, there is zero chance the US government will take the strong climate action needed to avert global catastrophe. Defusing the global climate emergency therefore depends on protecting democracy. To be sure, the US is not the only country where anti-democratic trends hamper climate progress. Most of the worst laggards at Novembers Cop26 climate summit were countries where authoritarianism is either entrenched or on the rise: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, the US. But the collapse of US democracy would carry especially damaging climate consequences. Slashing global emissions in half by 2030, as science says is imperative, would be impossible if the worlds biggest economy and leading historical carbon emitter refuses to help. How to defuse the democracy emergency is too big a question to answer briefly. President Biden and the Democrats surely must do more; the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has promised a vote by 17 January on reforming the filibuster to pass fair voting laws. A mobilized civil society is also vital. With Trumps followers trying to install partisans on voting boards across the land, the Atlantics Barton Gellman notes that democracy activists can likewise work at the local and state levels to block such skulduggery and ensure fair elections. Sign up for CJR 's daily email A free press is foundational to democracy, and journalism must also rise to the occasion with outspoken coverage. Monika Bauerlein, chief executive of Mother Jones, urges the media to treat the war on democracy as the big story of 2022. The Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin says political reporters should stop concealing that only one party is launching a campaign to suppress votes and demand that Republican [officials] defend their participation in the big lie of a stolen election and if Republicans try to dodge, keep asking the question. Aside from Trump himself, no one deserves such journalistic grilling more than McConnell and McCarthy. As the senior Republicans in Congress, they have the stature to oppose Trumps campaign for one-party rule. Twin profiles in cowardice, they have instead betrayed their oath to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. McConnell and McCarthy want the world to forget that a year ago today Trumps mob was hunting them down, leading each man to stand up, briefly, for democracy. But the world must not forget. The press in particular must not allow McConnell, McCarthy, and most other Republicans to obscure that they are enabling the gravest threat to American democracy since the civil war and, by so doing, encouraging a hellish climate future. This story originally appeared in the Guardian and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mark Hertsgaard is the executive director of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of news outlets strengthening coverage of the climate story. Davies Buys Actuarial Firm in Ga., UK Claims Manager Davies, an international claims administration provider based in London, has purchased an actuarial consulting firm in Georgia and a claims administration provider in the United Kingdom. Davies said in a press release that it has signed an agreement to acquire Merlinos & Associates Inc. in Peachtree Corners, Ga. The company offers actuarial expertise for compliance and risk management functions to the property and casualty and life and health insurance markets in the United States. Merlinos Chief Executive Officer Steven Crabb and other managers will continue to lead the day-to-day operations of the company and all 50 employees will remain on, Davies said in a press release. Crabb will report to Davies Insurance Services US CEO Robert Dewen. The expansion of our operations across North America with additional and new high value services capability continues to be an important strategy for Davies, stated Davies Group CEO Dan Saulter. The addition of Merlinos significantly enhances our existing actuarial services capability and will accelerate growth in this high value service space. Davies is also continuing an international expansion. The company acquired Building Validation Solutions Group in Bolton, United Kingdom. The company specializes in end-to-end claim management and property and subsidence claims validation, Davies said. The firm is known for its web-based claims administration system, MetrixTM, which closes more than one third of its claims volumes through an automated process, Davies said. Charles Taylor Acquires Ky.-Based TPA Charles Taylor has acquired Underwriters Safety & Claims, a third-party administrator based in Louisville, Kentucky. The acquisition of US&C expands Charles Taylors claims management footprint and enhances the managed care solutions offered to clients, the Wilton, Conn.-based company said in a press release. The acquisition of US&C, which has built a reputation for exceptional service over 80 years, brings onboard a highly experienced team of claims and managed care professionals along with long-term clients with multiple risk exposures, stated Charles Taylor Global Chief Executive Officer Robert Brown. Together, we strengthen our comprehensive service offerings across all lines of business, including property and casualty. US&C administers claims for municipalities, utilities, school districts and private employers. The firm specializes in workers compensation and liability, providing services including bill review, utilization review, access to preferred provider organizations, utilization review and 24-hour nurse triage, Charles Taylor said in a press release. Charles Taylor said US&Cs strong presence in the Southeast and Midwest broadens its geographic reach, which is concentrated in the coastal regions of the US. The geographic expansion started last year with acquisition of Aegis, a third-party claims administrator for the municipal market, the company said. This acquisition supports Charles Taylors strategy to become one of the leading providers of comprehensive claims solutions for all property and casualty claims in the US, offering national coverage supported by global resources, stated Christopher Schaffer, CEO of Charles Taylor TPA. VRC Buys 2 Investigations Firms VRC Investigations has acquired two insurance defense investigation firms: Woodall and Broome and Prime Source Investigations. VRC, based in Denton, Texas, said it intends to become the leading insurance investigations and anti-fraud firm in the United States. Our clients can further benefit from having more local investigators, especially in rural areas, stated Chief Executive Officer Greg James. They need instant access to investigation results, and they need experts to train their teams to spot fraud. Woodall & Broome, based in Acworth, Georgia, specializes in workers compensation, general liability, cargo, and corporate theft investigation, VRC said in a press release. The company was founded in 1994 by Scott Woodall, a former police officer, and now operates in 17 states. All of the companys employees are licensed private detectives. Prime Source Investigations, based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, specializes in surveillance. The company has developed a strong reputation in the mid-Atlantic states for obtaining useful video evidence on a regular basis, VRC said. Prime Source also offers social media analysis and medical canvassing, the company said. The acquisitions of Woodall & Broome and Prime Source Investigations follow VRCs acquisition of California-based Probe Information Services in 2019. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) A Brightline higher-speed train fatally struck a pedestrian who walked into its path Tuesday, the fifth death involving the railroad since it recently resumed operations after being shutdown because of the pandemic. Boynton Beach police said the pedestrian was struck about 7:50 a.m. Spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said no further details were immediately available. The recent deaths have all occurred in the last month, continuing a trend that shows Brightline to have the worst fatality rate among the countrys approximately 800 railroads since it began test runs in mid-2017, according to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Railroad Administration data. None of the 52 earlier deaths involving Brightline have been blamed on its equipment or crews. Investigations showed most victims were either suicidal, intoxicated, mentally ill or had gone around barriers at an intersection in an attempt to beat the trains, which travel up to 79 mph (128 kph) through densely populated areas between Miami and West Palm Beach. Brightline officials did not immediately return a call and email Tuesday seeking comment. After a recent accident, the privately owned railroad issued a statement saying, safety is a topic that we will not stop talking about and we are asking the community, law enforcement, elected officials and members of the media to use their platforms and help amplify a consistent safety message: stay off the tracks and obey all warning signs. Brightline has installed infrared detectors that will warn engineers if anyone is lurking near the tracks so they can slow down or stop. The company has added more fencing and landscaping to make track access more difficult and is also installing red-light cameras at crossings that will allow police to ticket drivers who go around guardrails. It is testing drones to monitor the tracks. The first of the latest spate happened Dec. 7, when a pedestrian was struck in North Miami Beach. Four days later, a pedestrian was struck in Hollywood. On Dec. 30, a 68-year-old driver and his 58-year-old sister died when he drove around warning gates into the path of a Brightline train. Brightline shut down its service from March 2020 until November, but one of its trains fatally struck a pedestrian in July during an engineer training exercise. An ongoing AP analysis of federal data that began in 2019 shows Brightline trains strike someone about every 33,000 miles (53,100 kilometers) traveled. Excluding five small railroads that average less than 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers) traveled a year, where one or two fatal accidents skew their numbers, the railroad with the next worst rate to Brightline is central Floridas SunRail, which since mid-2017 has had at least 18 deaths or about one every 100,000 miles, according to federal records. TriRail, a commuter service that operates in the same area as Brightline, averages about one death every 115,000 miles (185,075 kilometers). Brightline plans to begin service connecting West Palm Beach and Orlando in about a year. On that new segment, trains will reach speeds of 125 mph (200 kph) when they travel through less densely populated farmland. It also is developing a line that will connect Southern California and Las Vegas. About the photo: An Aventura Police Department traffic homicide investigator looks over an SUV which was struck by a Brightline train on Dixie Highway, at the Broward / Miami Dade county line Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Claremore, OK (74018) Today Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 72F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms, some strong early, then mainly cloudy after midnight. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 47F. SW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. In a Facebook post, NASA confirmed that a meteor caused the shocking explosion in Pittsburgh last January 1. The said NASA meteor had an estimated energy similar to 30 tons of TNT. NASA Meteor Blast in Pittsburgh As the residents of suburban Pittsburgh welcomed 2022, Cnet reported that they were gently rocked by a loud boom that rattled and shook their homes in the early hours of New Year's day. Since several people were alerted by this, NASA released a statement confirming that the unexplained explosion was a bolide splitting up in the atmosphere above. To give further details, the space agency wrote on its Meteor Watch Facebook page on Sunday night that a nearby infrasound station "registered the blast wave from the meteor as it broke apart; the data enabled an estimate of the energy at 30 tons of TNT. If we make a reasonable assumption as to the meteor's speed (45,000 miles per hour), we can ballpark the object's size at about a yard in diameter, with a mass close to half a ton." Moreover, due to the cloudy skies, the bursting meteor was not easily observed. However, if the skies were clear, the rock would have illuminated 100 times brighter than a full moon. Furthermore, several people in Pittsburgh were surprised by the explosion, given that there was no record of seismic activity, thunder or lightning at the time. In relation to this, Twitter user @lildobe shared that his security cameras "caught the "boom" sound too. It was LOUD." My security cameras caught the "boom" sound too. It was LOUD pic.twitter.com/NEhynXQIbP Dobie Tanpaw (@lildobe) January 1, 2022 On the other hand, Weather Service meteorologist Jenna Lake told The New York Times that because there were no storms in the vicinity, meteorologists believe that the vibration was caused by "a meteor moving toward Earth pretty low in the atmosphere, relatively close." In addition, since there were no reported strange activities at that time, Weather Service meteorologist located near Pittsburgh Chris Leonardi added that the NASA meteor either "exploded or vaporized." One of their colleagues used a Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which can "detect the momentary changes in an optical scene, indicating the presence of lightning." Read Also: Samsung Freestyle Lets You Stream on Any Wall! Price, How to Order Ultraportable TV Projector Despite this, the Pittsburgh meteor is relatively small as compared to the meteor that exploded above Russia in 2013, shattering thousands of windows below, per Cnet. This meteor exploded with a force of 440,000 tons of TNT. Because the bolide over Pennsylvania was small, it is doubtful that any minor meteorites made it to the ground. This only means that it burnt up in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the American Meteor Society reported that the sonic booms caused by exploding meteors are quite rare, while the bright, dazzling fireballs emitted by meteors are not. Every day, tens of thousands of meteors streak through our skies, but they're rarely seen because they fall over oceans or have their brightness overpowered by sunlight. Fireballs and Bolides For those curious to know what fireballs and bolides are, NASA defined these as astronomical terminology for meteors that are extraordinarily brilliant and spectacular enough to be seen over a large region. A world map presents a visual depiction of the data table, which gives a chronological data summary of fireball and bolide incidents published by the U.S Government Sensors. Ground-based viewers may see these phenomena as magnificent atmospheric light displays at night or, much more rarely, during the day. Related Article: NASA Parker Solar Probe Images Show Sun's Corona in Amazing View! [PHOTOS HERE] When it comes to leaving their parents for extended periods of time, being homesick is inevitable for some kids. Summer camp staff members may encounter this from time to time and it is good for them to be prepared to comfort children when those types of situations present themselves. Wharton, TX (77488) Today A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. A stray thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. BEDFORDSHIRE [mdash]Michael A. Litchfield, Age 73, passed away April 23 in Bedfordshire, England. He is survived by his wife Vivian, 2 daughters Donna and Michelle , 4 grandchildren, 2 brothers Alan and Philip, 3 sisters Janet and Karen of Bedfordshire and Patricia Cramer of Clinton. He was Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 5) The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said it will not be able to accommodate unvaccinated individuals who have appointments in its offices located in malls under Alert Level 3. This covers consular offices and temporary off-site passport services, the DFA said in a statement. It added that this was in accordance with the entry restriction on unvaccinated persons imposed by malls and local government units, a policy it said it was "unable to override." All Metro Manila mayors signed a resolution this week banning those not yet inoculated from entering malls, dining in public places, and riding public transport for leisure while the region is under Alert Level 3. The Department advises unvaccinated applicants, including minors, to first check the regulations of the relevant malls before proceeding to their appointments or have their appointments rescheduled after having been fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, the DFA said. Besides Metro Manila, the national government has also placed nearby Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal under Alert Level 3 until Jan. 15 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 5) All government officials, including their immediate family members, will have to waive their right under the bank secrecy law if Senator Manny Pacquiao gets elected as president. In his statement Wednesday, Pacquiao said he will also push for the publication of their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), "except the details that may be deemed as breach of their privacy and personal data." "Hindi lang ako [ang] pipirma ng waiver sa bank secrecy. Maging mga kasamahan ko sa gobyerno [I will not be the only one to sign a bank secrecy waiver. Even my colleagues in government], they will be asked to sign the waiver before they can be appointed," he said. "Pati SALN, hindi ito itatago sa publiko [SALNs will also be published]. As public servants, we should be transparent and accountable," Pacquiao added. Republic Act 1405, or the Bank Secrecy Law, protects all deposits of "whatever nature" in banks in the country. It prohibits any person, subject to exceptions, from disclosing any information relative to one's deposits. Further, to ensure zero corruption in his administration, the presidential aspirant said his Cabinet members will go through regular performance audits. He will likewise mandate the creation of a "Mega Prison" (MP), which shall serve as the main detention facility for corrupt officials. The statement said it would have its own hospital for those who would secure court approval for hospital arrest, as well as a "small hut" for prisoners who would be placed under house arrest. It added that the facility will be equipped with mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras, while prison officers will closely be monitored to ensure they are "not giving anyone special treatment." "We have seen how they (government officials) were able to manipulate the justice system, so that they can still live comfortably and easily," Pacquiao said without mentioning any names. "May props pang mga wheelchair. 'Yung iba, may sakit daw, pero noong nakalaya na sila, biglang naging healthy sila. Mawawala na lahat 'yan sa ating MP dahil kumpleto na ito." [Translation: Some even use wheelchairs as props. Others say they are sick, but once they get out of jail, they suddenly become healthy. Those will no longer work once we establish MP as its facilities are already complete.] "We will have an all-out war against corruption. Titiyakin natin na magsasama-sama ang mga kawatan sa kulungan. Walang makakaligtas [We will see to it that all erring officials would rot together in jail. No one will be spared]," he noted. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The Commission on Elections on Thursday further trimmed the tentative list of aspirants for the upcoming national elections. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr is the only aspirant with that surname left on the list after a certain Ma. Aurora Marcos was declared a nuisance candidate. The poll body also earlier removed Tiburcio Marcos from its roll. The move was lauded by Marcos camp. We give it to the members of this august body for seeing through the schemes and machinations of certain political camps to make a mockery of the electoral process, said Marcos spokesperson Atty. Vic Rodriguez. Hilario Andes, Danilo Lihaylihay, and Edgar Niez were also removed, leaving only 11 names on the list of presidential bets. Former Palace spokesperson Ernesto Abella, labor leader Leody de Guzman, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, Senators Ping Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, Jose Montemayor, and Vice President Leni Robredo are the only names included in the list of presidential aspirants. Race for VP, Senate Nine aspirants remain in the vice presidential race, while 64 names are in the running for the senatorial race. Comelec is targeting to release the final list of candidates this Friday. There are no fines nor sanctions for those declared as nuisance candidates other than disqualification from the immediate polls. Comelec, however, supported stiffer penalties on anyone found to be a nuisance candidate, as proposed in a House of Representatives bill. The same issue is now being tackled in the Senate. CNN Philippines correspondent Melissa Lopez contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Thirty-two schools taking part in the pilot run of limited in-person classes were affected by the reimposition of the stricter Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila. DepEd Director IV of Planning Service Roger Masapol said 28 public schools and four private schools in the capital were forced to suspend their physical classes amid worsening COVID numbers. READ: DepEd, NCR mayors agree to suspend face-to-face classes Metro Manila is under Alert Level 3 from Jan. 3 to 15 due to spiking cases and Omicron variant fears. "Sana tuloy-tuloy kung hindi lang nagkaroon ng ganitong surge," he told CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon. [Translation: We were hoping for it to be continuous if only there hadnt been such a surge.] On Thursday, the Department of Health reported 17,220 new COVID-19 cases in the country, nearly 60% higher than the previous day's count. The DepEd official, however, noted in-person classes will continue in areas under Alert Level 1 and 2. "We were also gearing for expansion," he said. Masapol said the DepEd remains hopeful about the expansion of face-to-face classes despite several regions shifting to tougher COVID rules. "Sana makapag-open ulit tayo ng additional schools. May mga naisip na kami na strategy for expansion pero na-hold muna because of this surge in infections," the official said. "Kahit naka-suspend ang klase sa pilot schools, patuloy pa rin ang DepEd sa pag-de-design ng strategy natin," he said. [Translation: Hopefully we can open additional schools again. We have already thought of strategies for expansion but they have been put on hold because of this surge in infections. Even though classes are suspended in pilot schools, the DepEd continues to design our strategy.] Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The local government of Makati has shut down the Berjaya Hotel over an alleged COVID-19 protocol breach involving a returning Filipino who was supposed to be quarantined in the facility. The LGU issued the closure order on Thursday. The move comes after the Department of Tourism (DOT) suspended the hotels accreditation for its failure to prevent Gwyneth Anne Chua from leaving its premises and skipping mandatory isolation. No legal basis? The Berjaya hotel, however, slammed the LGUs move, saying it has no legal basis. It argued that the DOTs order was not yet in effect since the management was given time to appeal. The DOT order is not yet final as the hotel will appeal it within the 15-day period it is given, the hotel said in a statement. We must be accorded due process and be allowed to explain before any penalty is imposed. The management also lamented the sudden suspension of operations, which it said would affect dozens of guests undergoing quarantine. If we close down the hotel immediately, where do we send our present quarantine guests? We have 18 guests who have tested positive and who have yet to be pulled out by the Bureau of Quarantine, and 80 who are in the middle of their quarantine, the hotel noted. We also have around 20 quarantine guests per week coming in and have paid in advance. The inconvenience to the public is incalculable, unnecessary and preventable, it added. But the Makati LGU stressed that prior to closure, the hotel was already advised to coordinate with the Bureau of Quarantine to help transfer its guests to other facilities. City spokesperson Atty. Don Camina said local officials also offered their assistance on the matter. Chua dubbed the Poblacion girl on social media made headlines after she was seen attending gatherings at the Makati area known for its bars despite the isolation rule. She turned out to be positive for COVID-19, with several of her contacts also catching the virus. The Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has filed a complaint against Chua, her parents, and some hotel personnel over the violation. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) welcomes the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers. "Simple lang ang layunin ng Department of Migrant Workers: magkaroon ng iisang ahensiya para tutok at malinaw at mas mapaigting pa ang paglilingkod sa mga OFWs," OWWA chief Hans Leo Cacdac said Thursday. [Translation: The objective of the Department of Migrant Workers is simple: to have one agency that will focus on and give better services to OFWs.] President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law creating the new department on Dec. 30. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will serve as its backbone while OWWA stands as an attached agency. The signing of the law drew flak from Migrante International an alliance of OFWs. "It only strengthens the institutionalization of Labor Export Program and enhanced the collections of mandatory fees," the group said in a statement. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The country has detected 29 more cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, raising the total confirmed infections to 43, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday. Of the additional cases, 19 are local all with indicated addresses in Metro Manila while 10 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), it said in a statement. The DOH further noted that 14 of the local cases are still active, three have been tagged as recovered, while two cases are still for verification. The new variant cases were detected from the 48 samples sequenced on Jan. 2 composed of tests from returning Filipinos as well as local cases with reported clusters. New Delta variant cases In their latest genome sequencing run, officials have also detected 18 new Delta variant cases. Of this count, eight are returning Filipinos, while 10 are local cases who all have addresses in the capital region. This brings the total number of Delta variant infections to 8,497. In line with these developments, the DOH once again encouraged the public to get vaccines and boosters when they can. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Power supply remains a big problem in Bohol after Typhoon Odette hit the province on December last year, affecting the provinces water supply and telecommunication services. The situation now is we still dont have power. There has been a partial restoration...That has been able to power the towns just for a few hours. So 5 megawatts out of a total provincial requirement of 90 megawatts is far way off. So technically, we are still in the dark, Bohol Governor Arthur Yap said Thursday in an interview with CNN Philippines The Source. When you dont have power, you also dont have water. Because the water refilling stations are not working [] You also need power to help the telcos. They need that power to bring back the connectivity, he added. Typhoon Odette made nine destructive landfalls in the country, affecting the Visayas and portions of Mindanao. Bohol was one of the heavily hit provinces with more than 200,000 families affected, according to Yap. Yap said the provincial government is seeking donations of at least 50 generator sets to address the power supply woes. Based on the numbers that the provincial government has come up with, we are still looking at about 50 generator sets that should at least be 8 kVA upwards. Kung makakuha kami ng 50 ngayon (If we can get 50 now), we can probably bring our water refilling capacity already up to 60%, he said. Yap said that they have already received some generator sets from the national government and the private sector. However, the power of these generators is not high enough. Kung tatanungin natin yung NGCP [National Grid Corporation of the Philippines] (If you would ask the NGCP), to fix their two towers in Ubay, thats still going to take up to April, he said. Meanwhile, Office of Civil Defense Administrator Usec. Ricardo Jalad told CNN Philippines that restoration activities by the Department of Energy and telecommunication service providers are underway. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Coleman, TX (76834) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray thunderstorm is possible. High 93F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low around 60F. S winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Centre LGBTQA Support Network and the borough of State College announced Thursday they will hold the second annual Pride in State College on June 11. The day will feature a Pride Ride caravan, a march downtown and an afterparty in the Sidney Friedman Parklet, according to a CLSN release. Additional Pride events including a Pride Kickoff "Gayla" on June 10 will be announced at a later date, the release said. Pride is a time for our community to come together and celebrate our beautiful diversity," Tamar London, a founding member of CLSN, said in the release. We want everyone to know that we see them, we respect them, and we treasure what makes each of us unique and special. In 2021, State College hosted the first official Pride Ride," which brought local residents and businesses together for celebration. For Pride 2022, CLSN is now accepting sponsors. Those interested in sponsorship opportunities can visit this website. Proceeds from Pride 2022 will help CLSN support the Centre County LGBTQA+ community by funding "support groups, a community clothing closet and a schedule full of workshops, trainings and other resources," according to the release. As a long time LGBTQ resident and employee of the borough of State College, I am so grateful for the efforts of CLSN, Kevin Kassab, manager of community engagement for the borough, said in the release. Im excited for Pride in 2022 and so proud to live in the State College community. MORE LIFESTYLE CONTENT Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form KOICA donates 6,3 million single-use syringes to Vietnam for COVID-19 prevention On the morning of January 6 2022, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) donated 6,3 million single-use syringes to National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. It was a part of 42,5 million syringes worth 2,5 million USD that will be donated by the Republic of Korea (RoK) Government through KOICA to the Ministry of Health of Vietnam for its COVID-19 vaccination programme. Mr. Cho Hans-Deog, Country Director of KOICA Vietnam Office, said: The RoK has committed to solidarity and cooperation to end COVID-19. In this context, the syringes are to help Vietnam fight back the pandemic, where vaccination is robustly in progress. We wish the support of KOICA contributes to ramping up the vaccination against COVID-19 in Vietnam. The COVID-19 antigen test kits will be used for Covid-19 response programme in Vietnam. This year, the RoK Government provided 1,39 million doses of vaccines to Vietnam. In addition, KOICA has handed over 300.000 COVID-19 antigen test kits for the country through the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, which was delivered by air on December 31, 2021. In the meantime, KOICA, the aid agency of the RoK Government, supported 40 thermal imaging scanners to Vietnam that were installed at 10 international airports across the country in May 2021 to assist the epidemic prevention and control. KOICA is also actively supporting the Vietnamese authorities and vulnerable people by providing quarantine materials, food, and medical supplies. Evelyn Juanita Mainord went to Jesus on Monday, April 11, 2022. She was born in Starkville, Mississippi to Rena Evalena (Buckles) Cook and William Louis Cook. Juanita had two older brothers; Louis Greer Cook and William Eckford Cook; and two younger brothers, Martin Douglas Cook and David Le What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-283-2144 or email circ@oelweindailyregister.com. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-352-3334 or email legals@waverlynewspapers.com. 88db.cn scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 13 Aug 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the 88db homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the 88db homepage on Twitter + the total number of 88db followers (if 88db has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the 88db homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the 88db homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the 88db homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if 88db has a Facebook fan page). Basic Information PAGE TITLE |-88DB DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS 88db, 88db, 88db , 88db, 88db , 88db , 88db The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE Chinese (Simplified, China) UTF-8Chinese (Simplified, China) DETECTED LANGUAGE SERVER Microsoft-IIS/6.0,88DB/4 (ASP.NET) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. The language of 88db.cn as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for 88db.cn by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Kowierivermile.co.za scored 54 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 20 Jan 2015, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the kowierivermile homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the kowierivermile homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the kowierivermile homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if kowierivermile has a Facebook fan page). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the kowierivermile homepage on Twitter + the total number of kowierivermile followers (if kowierivermile has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the kowierivermile homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Kowie River Mile DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS kowie, kowie river, river, kowie river mile, river mile, alfred, port alfred CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English (United States) UTF-8English (United States) DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache (PHP/5.4.36-0+deb7u3) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux The language of kowierivermile.co.za as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for kowierivermile.co.za by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK FOUND FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/events/1511734745761340/?ref=br_tf DESCRIPTION LIKES PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT PAGE TYPE TIMELINE PAGE NO TIMELINE Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Actor Hidetoshi Nishijima in a scene from the film "Drive My Car" / Courtesy of Triple Pictures, ZOA Films By Kwak Yeon-soo Hidetoshi Nishijima, one of the biggest Japanese stars, received a staggering amount of attention for his performance in the three-hour drama "Drive My Car." On being named one of "The Best Actors of 2021," he thanked director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the cast and crew for their support throughout. The actor said there were lots of table readings and rehearsals, just like in the movie, and all the actors enjoyed the process of diving into the meaning of each line. "It was an honor. Accepting the director's style of directing was a new experience for me. We rehearsed many times, and that helped me discover various qualities within the character," Nishijima said in a recent interview with The Korea Times via Zoom. "Drive My Car," based on the 2014 Haruki Murakami's short story collection "Men Without Women," tells the story of Kafuku (Nishijima), the widowed stage director who slowly lets go of his buried past and moves on by preparing a theatrical adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" in Hiroshima. As he interacts with the actors in the play and his driver Misaki (Toko Miura), Kafuku takes in the sudden passing of his screenwriter wife Oto (Reika Kirishima) and the affairs Oto had engaged in discreetly before her death. Kafuku employs multilingual style in his play, featuring a diverse Asian cast speaking Japanese, English, Mandarin, Korean and Korean sign language. The 50-year-old actor said the multilingual production helped the cast bring out a certain richness they wouldn't have achieved if they used the same language. "Because the actors spoke different languages, it took us awhile to adapt and react to each other's lines. We had to go over the lines over and over until we memorized each other's lines," he said. The Japanese actor added that they practiced reading the lines in flat mode, repressing emotions. He also shared his fondness for Haruki. "I'm a big fan of his and I started reading him from an early age. So it was easier for me to understand my character Kafuku. It was challenging, but I'm glad I had the chance to express the grief and loss of the character from Haruki's story," Hidetoshi said. Picking Song Kang-ho as his favorite Korean actor, Hidetoshi expressed his wish to act in a Korean movie. "It's hard to pick one because there are many great actors in Korea, but I've watched all of the movies featuring Song. I would love to act in a Korean movie one day, even as a violent Japanese guy," he said with a laugh. "Drive My Car," now playing in theaters, has garnered over 25,000 moviegoers. Add CoolSocial badge. Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Wiseguys.co.nz scored 46 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 9 Dec 2012, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Add a widget like this on your site: click here The total number of people who shared the wiseguys homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the wiseguys homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the wiseguys homepage on Twitter + the total number of wiseguys followers (if wiseguys has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the wiseguys homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the wiseguys homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if wiseguys has a Facebook fan page). Basic Information PAGE TITLE Shop Online for Computer Parts, Computers, Cameras, Electronics + More - Wiseguys.co.nz DESCRIPTION Buy the latest computer parts, computers, laptops, TVs, cameras and electronics online at Wiseguys.co.nz KEYWORDS computers, computer parts OTHER KEYWORDS The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Strict CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English UTF-8English DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache (PHP/5.3.8-1~dotdeb.2) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. The language of wiseguys.co.nz as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for wiseguys.co.nz by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Corsicana, TX (75110) Today Cloudy this morning then windy with a few isolated thunderstorms this afternoon. High near 85F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 72F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Corsicana, TX (75110) Today Cloudy and becoming windy. A stray thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Close (Photo : Healthcare Workers: In need of Mental Health Support) There are over 140 research studies taking place, around the world, regarding the effects of COVID-19 on people's mental health. One of them showed that half of the healthcare workers in Spain, suffered from symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder back in the Spring of 2020, when the coronavirus arrived for the first time. When you are part of the first line of defense, how can you protect yourself? Here are some solutions. A Global Issue Mental health has been one of the victims of COVID-19. To understand how deep the anguish was, when the pandemic arrived, you have to look at stats and facts. One that says a lot about the world's state of mind, is that back in March 2020, 3.4 million people went on Google and searched: "Am I having a panic attack?" Normally, this anxiety should have disappeared by now, but it has remained much more stable than anyone could have predicted; or so the studies show. Those facing directly this pandemic have suffered the most, right from the start. Today, symptoms of exhaustions and profound distress, are common with healthcare workers. When you work as much as they do, continuously, the energy leaves you and it is difficult to get it back. With the lack of time, it is important for these men and women to count on food supplements, that will help them to boost naturally the energy created by the body itself. Elevant supplement capsules have the capacity to do so. This super nutrient comes in to activate the NAD+ inside the body, providing inner energy, that lasts throughout the day. Not over yet Psychologists, around the world, warn that the vaccine will not solve health problems, that these workers are suffering from. They look back at the 2008 financial crash, when the psychological effects of the crisis were fully felt, only one year later, as the suicide rate rose by more than 4 % (in Europe only). Therefore, healthcare institutions have got to raise their level of awareness, about their employee's mental health status. More has got to be done internally, to make sure that they have the necessary means to externalize their feelings and get the help they require. Plans have got to be put in place, to provide space and time, for these workers to move away from the tension and stress of the situation, so that they can recuperate. This will enable them to continue providing their services to the population, who still needs them, more than ever. Only by offering them a chance to breathe, will we save these workers from exhaustion and other mental health problems. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close You would like to think that if someone is in the medical field in any capacity, they would be very careful in watching out for the general public. They should do so simply because it's the right thing to do, but also because, if they make a mistake, there can be serious legal consequences. However, doctors commit errors, and so do nurses and orderlies. Pharmacists can make mistakes too, and when they do, they can severely harm the individual they are attempting to help. We'll talk some more about pharmacy errors right now. What Precisely is a Pharmacy Error? Before we get into potential pharmacy error legal issues, you should know what we mean when we use that term. A pharmacy error occurs when a pharmacist or pharmacy tech makes a mistake, such as if they give someone the wrong pills or the correct pills but in the wrong dosage. Negligence is the proper term to use here, and you'll likely hear that word in court if you get yourself a lawyer and try to sue the responsible pharmacist or pharmacy technician. You can sue them for either of the errors we described, but you also might bring a lawsuit if someone in the pharmacy gave you the wrong instructions regarding your prescription. If there was some warning they should have given you, and they neglected to do that, you might sue for that reason too. State Pharmacy Error Laws If you're thinking about whether you should sue or not if a pharmacist harms you, you should know that different states have laws that should protect you, but they are not identical. You can bring a lawsuit against a pharmacist or technician in any state, but you'll need a lawyer that knows all the law's details. Some caveats or addendums that you might find in one state may not be present in a different one. In all states, though, the law says, in one way or another, that pharmacists or technicians must be extra careful when handing out prescriptions and describing to the recipient what they should do with them. A pharmacy that does not do its duty is negligent, and that's when you can take someone who you deem responsible to court. In Missouri, for instance, the pharmacist must inspect and review a prescription's accuracy before handing it over to them. They can also counsel the recipient's caregiver if that's appropriate. The pharmacist should talk to the patient about the drug's safe use. They must then exercise their professional judgment, verifying they've done all they can to assist each individual before moving on to the next person in line. What Can Cause Pharmacist Errors You might wonder how a pharmacist or technician can make a dangerous error, such as giving a patient the wrong meds or giving them the wrong dosage amount. It seems like, if you pay attention, such an error would not normally happen. There are always ways a pharmacist or tech might screw up the meds they're giving a pharmacy visitor, though. Maybe that pharmacist did not get much sleep the night before because they were awake fighting with their significant other. Perhaps a pet died recently, and they're still broken up about it, so they're not thinking about their work very much. The reality remains that there are lots of situations that can cause a pharmacist or technician's mind to wander while they're supposed to remain work-focused. Pharmacists are only human, though the law holds them to a high standard due to their work's importance. Pharmacists must remain safety-focused, even if there is something going on in their personal lives that might distract them. It's reasonable that even if a pharmacist's personal life isn't going very well, they must continue concentrating while at work. It would be the same for a commercial airline pilot who has hundreds of lives in their hands. What To Do if a Pharmacy Error Injures You Even though many pharmacists go through their entire careers and never make any notable mistakes, some do. They allow a concentration lapse to occur, and they might give an individual the wrong meds or fail to warn them about possible side effects. If something like that happens to you, you should not wait to reach out to a competent lawyer who specializes in these cases. Some attorneys have very lucrative law practices, and they focus on medical malpractice and pharmaceutical errors. You will have to figure out whether you can pay that attorney on a contingency basis or whether they demand some money upfront. You can then relate to them everything that happened, including the harm that the pharmacy error caused. If you have medical records and other evidence that can back up your assertion, you definitely have a superior chance of winning your case. The Trial Once you notify the pharmacist or whoever else made the mistake that you intend to sue them, they will have a chance to hire their own lawyer and prepare their defense. Their attorney might advise them to settle if there is overwhelming evidence. If that happens, then the case will never go to trial, assuming you agree to the deal. If you don't feel like the pharmacist or tech can come up with enough money to cover your pain and suffering, you can proceed to trial. If you have tons of evidence, you should feel strongly that you can win. Having the right attorney on your side will certainly help you as well. Your lawyer needs to convince the jury that the pharmacist or technician did indeed harm you. Once the verdict comes back in your favor, you can collect your money. Hopefully, what you collect can be sufficient recompense. Remember, you'll need to give your lawyer some of that cash too, though. Trials stemming from pharmacy errors are never pleasant, but it's something you might have to go through. It all depends on whether a pharmacist's mistake clearly injured you. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close While nursing is a personally rewarding career, a pay raise would make it even more rewarding, wouldn't it? According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a significant difference in annual salaries between that which a nurse holding a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and what the holder of an MSN (Master of Science in Nursing) or DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) grosses. While you may be seeking an advanced nursing degree for earning potential, you may also be wondering what you can do with that advanced degree once you've achieved it. If you haven't already decided where you want that graduate degree to take you, here are some career options you might want to consider. Greater Autonomy When asked, most nurses will tell you that the one driving force behind getting an advanced nursing degree is having that greater level of autonomy they wouldn't have with an undergrad degree. Even a nurse holding a Master of Science in Nursing has greater autonomy than an RN with a BSN, but the ultimate level of autonomy for a nurse is that much-coveted DNP degree. Whether or not you choose to become a nurse practitioner, there are many positions you could hold that wouldn't necessarily be limited to working under, or in association with, a physician. If it's autonomy you seek and want to pursue a career as a Nurse Practitioner, it would be in your best interest to understand the regulations in your state. That information can be found by contacting your State Board of Nursing but you might find it easier to talk to an admissions counselor at the university you plan on attending. Also, that counselor can tell you if their graduate programs meet the educational requirements in your state. Leading schools such as Wilkes University that offer online studies can also advise you on how a Wilkes DNP graduate program can prepare you for that autonomy you desire within your state's regulations. Bear in mind that levels of autonomy vary from state to state. Why the Focus on a DNP? If autonomy and earning potential are the motivating factors in seeking an advanced degree in nursing, holding a DNP best meets both requirements. Yes, an MSN can help you meet the educational requirements to work as a nurse practitioner, you will find greater autonomy with a Doctor of Nursing Practice. Any graduate degree can offer more lucrative salaries but they might not give you that driving ambition to reach total autonomy. However, those are only two of the main reasons why you might want to focus on graduating with a Doctor of Nursing Practice. At this point in time, it is highly recommended that you investigate the benefits of having autonomy as a Nurse Practitioner. There is an extreme shortage of physicians across the board in literally every field of healthcare. From general practice to any number of specialties, there simply aren't enough doctors to meet the current needs. That need has escalated within the past couple of years due to the pandemic which has placed a huge burden on an already overburdened profession. A Closer Look at a Growing List of Needs Perhaps the best way to look at what you can do with an advanced nursing degree is to consider all those needs resulting from a critical shortage in healthcare professionals. There is a growing list of needs, not least of which is in the area of providers such as physicians and nurse practitioners. Yes, there is also a severe shortage of nurses but, without a sufficient number of doctors to be working under, they would need to be autonomous. So then, one of the primary needs in healthcare to be addressed is the need for providers for a growing list of patients requiring medical care. Another of the most pressing needs in the medical arena today is the need for well-informed providers who are up on the latest technology and advances in the field of medicine. This particular focus has always been on the forefront of healthcare but, due to the deadly nature of SARS-CoV-19, the need for advanced technology and methodology has become increasingly evident. A Look to the Future of Medicine Of course, the current SARS-CoV-19 epidemic can't always be a grave area of concern in healthcare, but it has raised the question of how to fill the gaps the pandemic has left in its wake. As mentioned, there was already a severe shortage of healthcare workers prior to COVID, but that shortage has turned critical. The future of medicine hinges upon filling the void which is growing by the day. Other career options opened with an advanced degree in nursing would be: Nursing Instructor Nursing in a Specialty Field Hospital Administration Public Health Administration Health Policy Most of these career options are self-explanatory but the inclusion of a health policy nurse may leave you wondering just where this career path would take you. Actually, health policy nurses work within non-profits, healthcare institutions and government on all levels. This would include local, county, state and federal levels governments and in a much-needed advisory position. If You Think You Can - You Can! So then, what can you do with an advanced nursing degree? It depends on what you think you might want to do with your career going forward. Do you want to teach nursing students what you have gained experientially while introducing the latest in healthcare practice and technology? Perhaps you want to pursue an advanced degree in an area of specialization you are particularly interested in. The point is, don't be reluctant to shoot for the stars when pursuing advanced nursing degrees. Yes, a lot has changed but recognizing those changes is the first step in giving you a solid foundation in advancing your career in whatever direction you intend to travel. With the availability of online graduate programs and a need for nurses, you can be assured of job security while you study for a graduate degree. Remember, it may take a lot of hard work but, if you think you can, you can! See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare In 1950, the East German government warned the population that they were going to war. The enemy had already dropped into the country by plane, and it was up to the civilians to fight back. The enemy was the Colorado potato beetle. Yes, in yet another bizarre event that could have only happened during the Cold War, East Germany experienced a dangerous influx of potato beetles, and the East German government used it as propaganda to say that Americans were dropping beetles. Beetlemania began in East Germany on May 23, 1950, when farmers spotted American cargo planes over their fields. After the planes made their appearance, the farmers found a horrible surprise: potato beetles were invading their fields. And the East German government knew exactly who to blame. A propaganda campaign was launched regarding the beetles. The government and state outlets confidently asserted that the American cargo planes were responsible for dropping the bugs as an attempt to undermine the East German state. Potato beetles were even given the name Amikafer, or Yankee beetle, to really drive the point home. They were also called six-legged ambassadors of the American invasion, which might be the funniest way to refer to a beetle. Osstem Implant's logo on display at the company's headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap Korea Exchange currently deliberating company's fate By Anna J. Park Although police on Wednesday arrested Lee, the employee of Osstem Implant suspected of embezzling some 188 billion won ($157.7 million) of company money on Wednesday, it's still uncertain whether the country's largest dental implant maker could avoid the unfortunate path of delisting from the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. Since the news of the embezzlement became public with Osstem's regulatory filing on Monday, the company's stock has been suspended indefinitely from trading on the Kosdaq. Retail investors are more than anxious over the suspension, while the jittery situation is probably the same for the dental device company's many overseas investors who hold about 45 percent of the firm's shares. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on Thursday, the question of its possible delisting cannot be clearly answered until late February due to the bourse operator's procedural process. "The KRX is currently examining and reviewing whether the issue should be submitted to related committees a company screening committee and Kosdaq's market committee. The decision should be made within two weeks from now. If the issue is sent to the committees, it will take about a month to make a decision on the matter of delisting, after thorough deliberation," an official from the KRX told The Korea Times, adding that the decision will be made by late February at the earliest. KRX's regulations state that embezzlement does not constitute an unconditional prerequisite for delisting. Rather, it's a matter that needs to be deliberated thoroughly by the bourse operator. Even if the KRX decides to delist the company, it won't hold an immediate effect; the suspension period could last up to two years, considering other processes remaining, such as reevaluation of the company. The country's top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, also said it would monitor the situation. "The FSC will look into the situation closely, particularly in issues of manipulative stock trading, investor protection and minority shareholders' rights," FSC chief Koh Seung-beom said Thursday to reporters, adding that he'd take necessary measures if needed. An employee surnamed Lee is taken into Gangseo Police Station in Seoul on Thursday after his arrest the day before. Lee is charged with misappropriating 188 billion won ($157.7 million) of company money. Yonhap Sue B. Donnelly, 87, of Crossville, passed away at her home on April 26, 2022. She was born on May 18, 1934, in Crossville, Tennessee, daughter of the late James T. Brandon and Clara (Hamby) Brandon. Sue was the owner of Boats and Harbors and of the Baptist Faith. She is survived by her chil There are a plethora of hymns and worship songs that talk about the blood of Jesus. Some of my favorites include: What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. There is power, power, wonder working power In the blood of the Lamb; O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood What is the power of the blood of Jesus and why do we sing about it so much? If you think about the meaning of the blood of Jesus in Christianity - it is everything. In Hebrews 9:22 we are reminded that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. If Jesus did not die on the cross and shed his blood for our sins then we have no hope of forgiveness. That means that this blood that Jesus shed has power first and foremost to wash away sins and that should mean everything to a Christian. The Blood of Jesus Is Life-Giving Leviticus 17:11 teaches us, For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. Whenever someone donates blood they are literally giving a part of their life so that another might live. The sacrifice a person makes of temporary pain and loss provides a greater gain of another. If a person has no blood running through their veins, the person has no life. Jesus Himself knew that His blood would be given in a greater way than a blood drive. Rather than giving life to one or a few other people, His blood gives life to all who accept Him. We see from the beginning that the consequence of sin is death. Since life is in the blood, from the beginning we see God Himself teach humanity to sacrifice animals to cover their sins. (Genesis 3:21) The lives of sacrificed animals were the temporary offerings over the sins of the people performed by the high priests. Hebrews 5:1 says, For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. We see that Abrahams faith made him well. It wasnt so much the sacrifice of sins but the obedience out of a heart of faith that the Messiah was coming. BibleStudyTools shares Bible verses that tell us that Jesus blood gives us new life and redemption. Ephesians 1:17 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God s grace. s grace. Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. The Blood of Jesus Was Necessary Pure, perfect blood was a requirement to reconcile us back to God. We often do not like to think about our sins and the devastation of separation that they have caused us from the Creator, but in reality, we are under the punishment of sin which is death. As we read of blood sacrifices paid on behalf of the sins of the people of God, we are even more aware of what would have been required of us had Jesus not come. We are significantly blessed to be on this side of the cross. Jesus blood covered all sins in one divine moment of death, He brought us eternal life. Colossians 1:20, And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Hebrews 9:22, In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Matthew 26:28, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I even ponder the time when the angel of death was going to take the first born sons in Egypt during the time of Moses. This was the final plague on Egypt because Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. (Exodus 12:23) Blood from a pure animal was the necessary action to protect the first borns from death. This was a foreshadowing of the blood that Christ would one day shed on the cross to protect us all who accept Him from eternal death. The Blood of Jesus Gives Freedom Revelations 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. We all have had a death sentence. We have been trapped by the deception and luring of our sinful ways. Jesus blood sets us free from the punishment of sin. We no longer have to live under the bondage and condemnation of sin. Because Jesus has the victory, those who follow Him share in His victory. (1 Corinthians 15:57) We do not need to be fearful of the punishment of eternal death and separation from God. We have been justified by Jesus blood and saved from the wrath of God. According to Websters Dictionary, justified means, Having or shown to have a just, right, or reasonable basis. This means that we have been made right by the blood of Jesus. What sins made wrong that caused us to be guilty, Jesus blood took care of on our behalf. Imagine being sentenced to prison and then death. The gut-wrenching moment of realizing that you were guilty and you could not pay your way, smooth talk your way, or argue your way out of it. Then, steps in a Man with a perfect track record who never did anything wrong. He says that he would like to take your place. So the guards bind him in chains that were meant to be yours, mock him, beat him, and ultimately kill him instead of you. This is what Jesus did for us through His bloody death. We no longer have to hold the weight of punishment from sins, but it is by His great love that we have been set free. Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from Gods wrath through him! The Blood of Jesus Was Perfect In order for Jesus blood to make a difference, He needed to be perfect. Jesus perfection was a result of Him being fully God and fully man. Whenever a sacrifice was made prior to Jesus, they were always a male without defect. The Hebrew word tamiym meaning, to be complete is from the root word tamam which means to be finished. Sinful people needed a sinless Savior. Jesus purified us whiter than snow with His perfect blood. 1 Peter 1:18-19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Maybe you are not feeling valuable or seen today? Perhaps you feel that you are too dirty for Jesus. I encourage you to take heart and believe His words that His sacrifice took care of every sin. John 1:29 says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! His blood gives life, it was necessary, it gives us freedom, and it was perfect. Because of His great love to lay down His life, we can believe in Him and now have eternal hope that we have been covered by the Lamb of the world. Prayer of Thankfulness for the Blood of Jesus Jesus, thank You for leaving heaven and coming to earth to die on the cross for me. Thank You for shedding Your blood so I could begin each day in the joy of being cleansed and forgiven. Thank You for being the Lamb of God, my perfect Savior from sin! Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/RomoloTavani Emma Danzeys mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, inspiring young women to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and they have been married for over a year. Drew and Emma serve with Upstate CRU college ministry in South Carolina. Emma is an avid writer for Salem Web Network and provides articles on the Bible, life questions, and on the Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 viewed article on Crosswalk for the year 2021. All the glory to the Lord! She has the joy of being the host of Her Many Hats podcast where she explores the many roles that women play while serving One God. Emma enjoys singing/songwriting, fitness classes, trying new recipes, home makeover shows, and drinking tea! During her ministry career, Emma recorded two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, ran the Refined Magazine, and served in music education for early childhood. Currently, she is in the editing stages of her first published book on singleness. Emma also had the privilege of being a national spokesperson for Mukti Mission based out of India. Mukti has been working to restore shattered lives in India for over 120 years. You can view her articles through her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com and check out Her Many Hats podcast on Instagram @her_many_hats. This article is part of our larger Holy Week and Easter resource library centered around the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hope these articles help you understand the meaning and story behind important Christian holidays and dates and encourage you as you take time to reflect on all that God has done for us through his son Jesus Christ! What Lent and Why is it Celebrated? What is the Holy Week? What Is Palm Sunday? What is Maundy Thursday? What Is Good Friday? What Is Easter? Easter Prayers At Easter, the Son of God took on the worlds sin and defeated the devil, death, and the grave. How is it, then, that historys most glorious moment is surrounded by fearful fishermen, despised tax collectors, marginalized women, feeble politicians, and traitorous friends? In The Characters of Easter, youll become acquainted with the unlikely collection of ordinary people who witnessed the miracle of Christs death and resurrection. This FREE podcast provides a fresh approach to the Lenten season and can be used as a devotional or study for both individuals and groups. As global economies look to exit the pandemic chaos, there is a cloud of uncertainty around navigating the new normal. While enterprises tout their efforts to accelerate digital transformation efforts, for security leaders in business there is a dark side to the rapid deployment of new technology. Remote work, virtual meetings, hybrid cloud networks, and SaaS adoption have all brought about complex IT infrastructures that are opening up new threat avenues. Meanwhile, CSOs also must help ensure their organizations are in compliance with new regulations. The recent onslaught of attacks, network vulnerabilities, and new compliance regimes means CSOs have their work cut out for them as they enter 2022. CSO has collected insights from analyst firms and industry experts to arrive at a list of top cybersecurity predictions for the year. 1. Companies to prioritize supply chain resiliency, responsible sourcing Threat actors are progressively targeting smaller vendors and suppliers, making supply chain, or third-party, breaches almost inevitable. There have been a growing number of reports of third-party incidents plaguing firms. 60% of organizations will use cybersecurity risk as a primary determinant in conducting third-party transactions and business engagements, according to a Gartner prediction report. Before onboarding new suppliers or renewing contracts, companies will demand agreement on policies stipulating that their vendors will assume the risk of third-party attacks, paying for costs of remediation, the report suggests. 2. Privacy legislation will accelerate globally As data residency continues to be one of the most important components of security, modern privacy laws could be expected to cover the personal information of 75% of the worldwide population, according to the Gartner prediction report. The sheer scope of laws like GDPR, LGPD [Brazil's general data protection law), and CCPA [the California Consumer Privacy Act] suggests that compliance officers will be managing multiple data protection legislation in various jurisdictions, and customers will want to know what kind of data is being collected and how its being used, said the Gartner prediction report. According to Ben Smith, field CTO at network security company Netwitness, the flexibility of an organization's IT architecture will become even more important as new privacy regulations are passed and enforced. Regardless of your corporate size, if you are charged with securing your global organization, be thinking about your own architecture and where the data is collected, where it lives, and where it is handled, Smith says. 3. Hiring of resident compliance officers will pick up As organizations face new regulations, there will be a demand for resident compliance officers to help navigate through the complex and evolving dictates. Compliance officers will certainly rise on the recruiters' agenda as regulatory bodies mandate there be a 'single throat to choke,'" says Liz Miller, an analyst from Constellation Research. Although, thats exactly the opposite of what we need. What we do need are skilled tacticians and strategies, which can be trusted voices and leaders within (and across) an organization, capable of translating the complexity of new (and constantly shifting) global regulations into real business value for everyone from the CEO to the mailroom. 4. Bossware will affect employee engagement and insider threats With a major chunk of the global workforce forced to work from home by the pandemic, there is an upsurge in the usage of software that allows supervisors to monitor employees at all times. This has upset the remote working ecosystem to some extent, escalating employee distress. Tattleware (also bossware) will degrade employee experience by 5% and increase insider threats in 2022, according to a security prediction report by Forrester. Employee backlash will grow as firms overreach, leading to an appreciable drop in technology satisfaction and employee engagement. This, according to the report, may also lead to CISOs overcorrecting by reducing the scope of insider threat programs, thereby increasing risks. 5. Security products, supplier management will be consolidated With major business processes moving to complex cloud environments, there will be a push on the part of enterprises to streamline management of security product suppliers. According to the Gartner prediction report, enterprises will look to adopt cloud delivered secure web gateways (SWGs), cloud access security brokers (CASBs), zero trust network access (ZTNA), and firewall as a service (FaaS) capabilities from the same vendor. Vendors themselves will consolidate features formerly found in separate applications. The growing complexity of cloud, cloud-native and devops environments will also lead to consolidation of functionality, with vendors tackling use cases from IT observability for security to cloud security posture management (CSPM), cloud workload protection, cloud asset attack surface management, and more, says Scott Crawford, research director for information security at 451 Research. 6. Spending on threat detection and response to grow As significant malware campaigns including ransomware, spearphishing, and sideloading attacks proliferated in 2021, CISOs started focusing on getting ahead of cyberattackers in order to protect their businesses. In 2022, we expect the many high-profile and far-reaching attacks in 2021 to drive further spending in threat detection and response the area most frequently reported by respondents to our 451 Research Voice of the Enterprise: Information Security surveys, where they either have deployments in pilot/POC or plan to deploy in the next 6-24 months, says 451's Crawford. 7. Cyberinsurance premiums will increase Cyberinsurance will be more expensive, with premiums shooting up, in the wake of recent high-profile cyberattacks. Cyberinsurances are much more expensive these days as costs surge, and are most likely to continue soaring, says Constellation's Miller. Insurances are like double-edged swords: While they do provide security coverage and have become a 'must-have' for organizations, they have also alerted the attackers to asking for even more ransom in the attacks, knowing its all covered. Insurers, hurting from the losses assumed from old policies, are increasing prices by 25%-27% on average, she noted. 8. Use of CDT (customer data tokens) and BAT (basic attention tokens) to rise Several experts have been predicting the launch of blockchain-enabled tokens as compensation to security-conscious customers for gathering and using their data. In the coming few years, 25% of the Fortune Global 500 will employ blockchain-enabled CDT and BAT to compensate their customers, according to a report by IDC. The idea of compensating visitors/customers with tokens for their time, data, or mere attention has long been an attractive concept to marketers who keep watching the impact and outcomes of their media investments, adds Constellation's Miller, citing Brave, an open-source web browser. One such model recently announced by Brave could be a testing ground to see if even the most privacy-aware and sensitive users like Brave users are willing to watch ads or engage with ad-sponsored content in exchange for a BAT that could be used to support publishers and content producers. Brave encourages users to turn on optional ads in exchange for BATs as a reward for their attention to the generated content. Users may pass their tokens to publishers as a way to support selected sites or retain them to, for example, exchange them for premium content. Rep. Jim Himes has thought about the siege on the U.S. Capitol exactly one year ago more than most of us, and not just because he was in the thick of it, with images that wont disappear. Himes, the Connecticut Democrat from the 4th District, was among a small handful of House members huddled in the upstairs gallery on Jan. 6, 2021, the last to evacuate to safety. The insurgents had gotten to the doors and so we were with a bunch of police officers who were pretty panicky because they didnt know which door to open, Himes recalled in a conversation we had Wednesday. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, was also in that group. They heard the gunshot by a Capitol police officer who killed an insurgent, Ashli Babbitt, later ruled legitimate self defense. When they finally exited through a side door, police in riot gear held down insurgents on the marble floor. Jarret Liotta / Jarret Liotta Harrowing as that day was, indelible fear aside, thats not the danger Himes describes a year later. The echoes that I feel are not actually about what happened that day, Himes said. No, hes thinking about what has happened since, with a strong majority of Republicans still believing the brazen, baseless lies by former President Donald Trump and Fox News that Trump won the election and had it stolen. Its very painful to me to see that America didnt learn, Himes said. Im more worried for our democratic republic today than I was on Jan. 6. More worried because hes thinking about whats happening in state houses across the country as changes afoot point to an ominous possible scenario in the presidential election of 2024. Jan. 6, Himes said, is not going to happen again. The big danger to our democracy is that in 2024, weve got a close election and around the country in swing states, legislatures override the will of the people to send Trump electors to Washington. That is a very plausible scenario. That was the goal in 2020 election challenges, the goal of the insurrection that Trump sparked at the Capitol. And Himes said, Theyve changed the legal structures in enough states that they may be able to perpetrate a fraud. It may sound far-fetched, or maybe not, because were already seeing the results of a two-party system so broken that basic legislation cant happen anymore. Issues that not long ago had broad, bipartisan support, such as cap-and-trade energy rules to slow climate change, now have zero Republican votes. An instinct to authoritarianism doesnt come out of nowhere, Himes said Wednesday. As for himself, he serves in a Congress that has fully 147 members, most in the House, who voted to reject that 2020 Electoral College result on the very night of the mob attack. Thats been difficult. I wont be in the same room with some of the fascists, Himes said, naming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and a couple of others. But you know, I have to work with an awful lot of people who are Republicans if Im going to make any progress. It was hard and it remains hard but thats the decision I took. Theres no question that legislatures have broken down, starting with Congress. But an existential threat to democracy? Overblown, said Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party. It was a dark day in our history, Proto said of Jan. 6, 2021, condemning the attacks and agreeing that President Joe Biden did indeed win the election legitimately. But he added, We have survived darker daysand our republican form of government has survived and will again. Julia Bergman / Julia Bergman / Hearst Connecticut Media Proto named other elections in which members of Congress opposed results, notably on Jan. 6, 2005, when an Ohio congresswoman and a California Senator moved to strike the victory in Ohio of then-President George W. Bush over challenger John Kerry a reversal that would have handed Kerry the White House. The world was going to come to an end in December of 2000 when the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore declared a winner. It didnt, Proto said. Look, we survived a civil war which completely tore apart our country. Fair points. I hope Proto is right and obviously Himes does, too. Still, what Himes is talking about is more than a one-election crisis. It is the gradual erosion of the core of a free society, which is respect for the institutions that uphold a peaceful transfer of power through the will of the people what Himes calls the architecture of democracy. That was the subject of the 2018 book, How Democracies Die, and its not a trivial fear. Yes, its amplified by policy disputes over immigration, taxes, universal child care and the right to vote. But the threat of Trumpism and thats what were talking about here, the cult of an authoritarian who thinks rules dont apply to him goes way beyond policy. If you like Donald Trump because he cut your taxes, because you believe in less regulation, because youre angry about immigration, I may disagree but God bless you. If you cant say that Donald Trump lost the last election, Himes added, you are a danger to our democracy. He repeated: You are a danger to our democracy. Certainly in Connecticut, were seeing some effects of Trumpism but as Proto points out, both parties are deeply divided and both have an extreme faction. Thats why its needlessly showy that Democrats will gather in a 1-year anniversary press conference Thursday to commemorate the attack on the Capitol, and also to call for Republicans to rid their party of people who believe the Trump lie. They declared Wednesday that they will call on Bob Stefanowski, the 2018 GOP nominee for governor and 2022 hopeful, to denounce Trumps claims of victory. Thats over the top. Were a blue state and its the job of us in the media to demand answers from all candidates, and its the job of the voters to make a decision. But just because were likely to survive doesnt mean the threat is false. Thats the message from Jim Himes a year after he witnessed a form of terror he never thought could happen in the United States of America. A bunch of insurrectionists stealing items from Nancy Pelosis office were never going to end our democracy, he said. But what has happened since January 6 is a deliberate attempt to end our democracy that may succeed. dhaar@hearstmediact.com By Kim Bo-eun An Il-whan / Korea Times file 99 cent introductory offer Includes everything we offer online for 24-7 news. This option allows you to read unlimited stories at ctnewsonline.com, and access our e-Edition (digital replicate of the daily newspaper). $7.99 per month after the introductory offer. This service comes with a complimentary CT Select Card allowing for local discounts. Rates are subject to change. BRIDGEPORT - A Waterbury man, accused of firing into a crowd outside a Bridgeport club, killing one man, was charged Wednesday with violating a prior probation. Court records show that Jaquan Jiggy Bryant, was awaiting trial in Derby on gun charges when he is accused of killing 24-year-old Raheem Lynch outside Club Mystique on Nov. 6. He was charged with murder and criminal possession of a firearm in Lynchs death. Court records also show that at the time Bryant was on probation after pleading guilty in July to possession of narcotics with intent to sell. He received a suspended sentence with three years of probation in that case. On Wednesday, police charged him with violating that probation. Superior Court Judge Peter McShane ordered Bryant held on an additional $5,000 bond to the $2.5 million Bryant is being held on in the murder case. Thanks, Bryant commented as he was led away by judicial marshals. Police said Lynch was an innocent bystander caught in a drive-by shooting outside the Main Street club in November. His family told Hearst Connecticut Media that Lynch had been at the club celebrating getting a new job. Police said witnesses told detectives that Lynch and several other people had been in the club that evening and had left at closing time. As they and other patrons were leaving the club a white sedan drove by and Bryant fired out of the car and into the crowd. Bryant was arrested by Ansonia police on July 9, 2019 on charges of criminal possession of a pistol, stealing a firearm and possession of narcotics with intent to sell, according to court records. The case is awaiting trial. Sister Elizabeth Doyle could sense the confidence building. After a pair of vaccination clinics at St. Raphaels Academy, where she is principal, had limited turnout, Thursday felt different. During morning drop-off parents were asking me if they could get their vaccine at todays clinic, too, she said before Thursdays free clinic at the school. The clinic, which Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim attended as part of an effort to encourage parents to vaccinate their children, featured side-by-side rows of stations where children and their parents could receive their shots. Bysiewicz said the clinic location was a natural choice since a benefit of being vaccinated is greater resistance to COVID-19 and a shorter, milder illness in the event of a breakthrough case. All of this means children stay in school instead of being home either sick or quarantining, she said. Now, when were seeing this huge spike in cases, the governor and I are really focusing on how we can best protect our children, Bysiewicz said. We know in-person learning is the most effective. We are here to highlight that in Bridgeport, as of Dec. 29, only 50 percent of children 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated. Its even less among children 5 to 11, so thats why were here. St. Raphael offers instruction for children in grades K-3, so its students are statistically the least likely segment of the population to be vaccinated. State Deputy Health Commissioner Heather Aaron said the vaccines had proven effective in keeping COVID at bay. The people in (intensive care units) are unvaccinated, she said. The vaccines did a superb job. Without the vaccine, we would really be bursting our health care system. Ganim, a St. Raphael alum, said he was encouraged that there was a line of parents and children outside the clinic 30 minutes before it opened. We know it makes a difference, he said. Angela Pohlen, executive director of the citys Catholic Academy, which includes St. Raphael, agreed. With children starting to require hospitalization, she said vaccinating the youngest members of the population was the highest priority. Vaccines allow students not to miss school, she said. It (vaccination) also has an impact on families. They dont have to take days off work. Catholic Academy will be hosting numerous clinics in the coming weeks, and Pohlen invited anyone in the community to attend. We welcome everyone, she said. Todd Liu, vice president of Griffin Hospital, which ran the vaccinations at the clinic, said the hospital had conducted 216 clinics in Bridgeport alone last year. So far this year Griffins mobile vaccination vans have been busy visiting schools and businesses around the area, he said. We keep hoping an end is in sight, he said. Well continue to do everything we can. We will go anywhere were asked to go. deng@trumbulltimes.com BRIDGEPORT A Fairfield man was in custody Thursday after police said he raped a Sacred Heart University student in her dorm. Jack Shukri, 24, of Wilson Street, was charged with first-degree sexual assault. Police said Shukri works as a security guard for a local company not associated with the university. During Shukris arraignment Thursday afternoon Assistant States Attorney Justina Moore urged Superior Court Judge Alex Hernandez to set a high bond for Shukri citing the serious nature of the allegations. Contributed photo / The judge agreed and ordered Shukri held in lieu of $100,000 bond. He continued the case to Jan. 18. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, on Oct. 9, a 19-year-old female student reported to Sacred Heart University security officials that she had been sexually assaulted in her dorm. During a subsequent interview with police, the affidavit states that the victim told detectives that she had contacted Shukri a week before on the Tinder App, a dating website, and they had agreed to meet on campus on Oct. 9. The affidavit states that Shukri followed the victim back to her dormitory and when they got to a deserted common room he suddenly pushed her down on a couch and got on top of her. The victim repeatedly screamed for Shukri to get off her but he responded, its fine, and pulled off her clothes and sexually assaulted her, the affidavit states. The affidavit states that the victims roommates heard her yelling for help and came to her aid, pulling Shukri off the victim. Shukri then left. Each of the roommates corroborated the victims account, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states that detectives later questioned Shukri and while he admitted being in the common room with the victim, he claimed he was having consensual relations with the victim when the roommates pulled him off her. The safety of our students, faculty and staff is always our top priority, and we regularly communicate with our students about personal safety, said SHU Spokeswoman Deborah Noack. This is an ongoing investigation and we are working closely with the police. Our Title IX coordinator provides support and services to our students who come forward after a sexual assault. Support is immediate and ongoing. Counseling and academic support are also provided to ensure their future success. By Anna J. Park Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom paid a visit to the headquarters of Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Thursday morning, holding a one-on-one meeting with FSS Governor Jeong Eun-bo. The chiefs of the country's two main financial authorities vowed to cooperate closely on financial policies, aiming to better respond to potential financial risks and facilitate stability. "The FSC chairman and FSS governor confirm their common understanding about the uncertainties and ongoing changes that the Korean economy is facing, such as the further spread of COVID-19, the possibility of early tapering in major countries and growing financial imbalances," the two leaders said after the meeting. The visit was a returned courtesy for a previous visit by FSS chief Jeong to the FSC last September. It was the first time in three years since 2019 that the FSC chairman paid a visit to the FSS to hold a meeting with the FSS governor. "In the past, the FSC and FSS sometimes were in conflict and held opposing opinions. Yet the relationship has completely changed now into a mutually cooperative relationship," Koh told reporters after the meeting. During the 40-minute meeting, the two leaders particularly discussed three main concerns facing the economy household debt, small business owners' debt and risk management in non-banking sectors. The banking environment today is far from normal. And it likely will never be normal again. Being able to adapt is a critical marketing skill as institutions ride the Covid roller coaster, says Josh Streufert, Creative Director, Principal, Strum Agency. As marketers, we must make real-time decisions on branding, messaging, spend, and manage the funnel all while getting a handle on how customers are reacting. Says Streufert, Good branding has always been about fulfilling not only practical needs but emotional needs as well. You want to create fanatics when you build your brand. Heres how two institutions took major risks, including changing their name in one case and going out on a limb with humorous ads, to build their brand. The cases described below are based on video presentations in the Forum+ video channel. Cullman, AL (35055) Today Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 84F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. The Strategy and Finance Committee is in session at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. You wouldnt think The Smiths would mesh well with My Chemical Romance, but local band Growing Pains is here to prove you wrong. The four-piece band from Portland, Oregon, has been a part of the Portland music scene since their high school days, meeting at a franchise and performanced based music school called School of Rock (yes, its a bit like the movie). But fans shouldnt just thank the School of Rock in Portland for the bands formation in a way, fans should thank emo-rock band Joyce Manor too. When we first met we all bonded over our love of this band Joyce Manor, guitarist Carl Taylor said. In fact, it was Taylors Joyce Manor T-shirt that first led guitarist and vocalist Jack Havrilla to strike up a conversation with Taylor while at School of Rock Portland. The pair started making music together, later picking up fellow School of Rock student Kyle Kraft as their drummer then the final piece of the puzzle: bassist and vocalist Kalia Storer. The moment that I think of when we first formed, I was in a practice room at School of Rock, Storer, also a student at School of Rock, said. I turned around, and they were in the doorway. Turns out the trio was so impressed with Storers talent they asked her to be in their band on the spot. The four got their first gig from their music instructor Sonia Weber, member of Portland band Alien Boy, who got Growing Pains on the bill with her own band along with some touring bands. After that gig, the group dropped out from School of Rock to focus on Growing Pains. We realized that its a lot more fun to play your own songs live, Taylor said, noting the School of Rock program consists of three month cycles that didnt give them enough creative freedom. The four gravitated to the musical potential having complete creative freedom could give them. Fast forward to today, Growing Pains currently performs at both house shows and professional venues in Eugene and Portland. Its debut album Heaven Spots was recorded by Edwin Paroissien at Echo Hill Studios and released in 2020 but not without pandemic-related challenges. It was pretty weird recording in lockdown, Taylor said. Its like all of these people that youre super close with, but then youre wearing masks and distanced. Taylor also added that, while the album was being recorded, it was the time when raging fires covered the West Coast. The skies were literally red when we were recording, Taylor said. It was like we were recording during the apocalypse. Storer also described facing challenges with mental health during the recording session, even being brought to tears while recording the song Houseboat. Fortunately, Storer is able to look back and consider it simply a funny story about the song. Since this adventurous week in the studio, the group has worked on some new material with no definitive release dates. When asked about Growing Pains songwriting process, Taylor was unsure about calling their songwriting a process, as it would imply that they follow certain steps to write a song which is not the case. For songs I write, I will write an entire song out, and I will have a specific vision, Taylor said. Everyone else will have their vision, and it will end up being a mix of four different visions. Taylor elaborated on this when discussing the bands musical style, describing the blend of genres and musical tastes that makes the band original. For the song Houseboat, I wrote it to be jangle pop, like the Smiths, Taylor said. And [the band] really wanted it to be like a pop punk song, and thats why it ended up sounding the way it sounds. The song has the dreamy guitar lines you would expect in the Smiths, but the powerful drums and tempo of a My Chemical Romance song. None of our visions lined up, Taylor said. I think thats why it sounds unique. Although indie rock is likely the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Growing Pains, the band doesnt consider itself to be an indie band. Taylor notes that its obvious Growing Pains is an indie rock band, but it feels weird to describe yourself as an indie band. Going on to discuss what the definition of indie is, Taylor said the word isnt just about the music. I feel like [indie] refers more to the culture around a scene rather than the genre itself, Taylor said. Storer agreed, adding the band isnt a part of an indie culture. The idea of indie culture generally refers to the mindset of actively opposing the mainstream with expression through art, clothes and more. This is why indie rock bands tend to be more experimental with sounds and music than mainstream pop. We dont wear tiny little beanies, Storer said, referring to the mainstream style of indie culture. Overall, Growing Pains is a must-hear for any fan of indie music and the Eugene scene especially those that also love pop punk. While the band doesnt have any upcoming shows or new releases, you can stay up to date by following its Instagram account: @growingpainspdx. Debut album Heaven Spots can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and SoundCloud. The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation has requested that the University of Oregon take more stringent measures against the spread of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant in a letter sent to UOs executive vice provost. GTFF is asking for UO to temporarily move classes online for two weeks, or until cases decrease to a reasonable level. They are also asking for K95/KN95 masks to be required and administered to UO students, staff and faculty. The letter includes statistics from UOs COVID Case Tracker which shows 154 new cases in the past week, stating, UOs rapidly increasing cases are a public health concern. The letter compares the efficiency of K95/KN95 masks to cloth and surgical masks in terms of protecting against COVID-19 transmission. These masks have also shown to be less effective at preventing the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in particular, it states in regards to cloth and surgical masks. This poses a serious health risk for not only GTFF members, but also the entire campus. On December 20, UO announced that it will require all campus community members including students, staff and faculty to receive a COVID-19 booster shot by January 31. GTTF said that while the UOs booster shot requirement was heartening, the January 31 deadline will create unsafe conditions for the first four weeks of Winter term. We believe temporarily pivoting to online instruction and providing masks would help keep our university safe. GTFF said it would be willing to meet with UO to discuss the proposals further. George Santayana is credited as being the first to state, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The truth of his words has been illustrated numerous times throughout history. Today, the use of proxy wars in Syria is a continuation of a similar conflict in Vietnam or even its application for individuals in a relationship who dont learn from their fights and inevitably break up. Therefore, its no surprise that, when we do nothing to address the root causes of political violence, it rears its ugly head over and over again. Within the United States, the Ku Klux Klan has had several periods of violent activity beginning in the 1870s reoccurring in the early 1910s and 1960s, with groups still active today. However, while these events seem to have occurred at very different times in human history with varying events influencing them, 2021 is an outlier to these circumstances. This is because in 2021 the U.S. failed to learn from history and repeated itself in nearly immeasurable amounts. Overwhelmingly from the right, from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 3, 2021, The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reported there were 13,423 reports of protests, with 12,797 of them involving rioting and/or acts of violence against civilians. These acts are triggered by a variety of social events that touch on a number of interrelated identities or purposefully ignited for partisan political purposes, according to the Journal for Democracy. Of the many noteworthy events of 2021, the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots was by far the worst. On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021 then-President Donald Trump gave a speech to thousands of his supporters in Washington D.C., spewing claims about saving America and stop the steal. From there, his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in such a violent manner that injured over 100 and killed five from reports of Trumps impeachment trial. In August, Portland faced a night of violence between far-right groups of two separate religious events and counter protesters. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, While the two groups exchanged volleys of mace, paintballs and fireworks throughout downtown Sunday night, Portland police took no steps to intervene. Later that month, the Guardian published that gunfire was exchanged between protesters and counter protesters at a Proud Boys rally. Last November, Republican House member, Representative Paul Gosar was censured after he posted an animated video online which depicted him wielding a sword and killing fellow House member Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as attacking President Joe Biden. This removed him from his seats on the Natural Resources Committee and the Oversight panel. While the original Tweet has since been deleted, some people have called for Gosars Instagram and Twitter accounts to be removed. While Gosar was called out for his actions, the consequences he faced after posting a video of him killing one of his congressional colleagues were relatively minimal. Yes, he was removed from his committee positions within the House, but his social media accounts remain active, and no barriers were put in place which would prevent him or someone else from doing something similar in the future. Simply condemning an action is not the same as actively working to solve the larger problem of how actions like Gosars are permitted to occur in the first place. Even though 2021 saw one of the largest increases in political violence, it is difficult to say that, similar to a New Years resolution, the bad habit will be left in 2021. But the problem is less that the acts occur at all, seeing as theyve occurred for decades. The problem is that so many of these acts have occurred in recent years that they have become routine. Political violence is an expected norm in the U.S. political climate. Between 2017 and 2020, professors Nathan P. Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason found from 2017 to 2019 nearly 16% of Democrats and Republicans believed that violence was justified. This number then grew during the 2020 election period when Republicans supported violence at nearly 18%. Acts of political violence will most likely not go away. However, Americans attitudes about them can be changed. Additionally, those with legislative power can put laws and regulations into place which reduce the amount of violent acts and increase the repercussions for those who take part in them. Let us learn from our mistakes in 2021 and not let them repeat in 2022. In the attempt to provide students with international engagement opportunities, the Global Scholars Halls dining venue has created an unintentionally whitewashed experience of global foods. The Fresh Marketcafe at GSH seeks to offer variety in its products. It includes international cuisines such as Peruvian and Korean food. However, it has drastically misrepresented these countries cuisines and the cultures tied to them. This is commonly known as whitewashing: altering something to benefit or cater to White people. When I first arrived at the University of Oregon, I was very excited to read Peruvian Vegan Antojas in the Global Bowls section of the dining hall menu. As a Peruvian living in the U.S., Peruvian food is very important to me. It is the closest connection I have to my home country, and it intertwines deeply with my culture and identity. It affects me personally and emotionally. At first, I was taken aback by the name of the bowl; Peruvian Antojas is not a dish we have in Peruvian cuisine. Antojas is a misconjugated version of the word antojar, meaning cravings in Spanish. However, I was more than willing to give it a try. Sadly, I was very disappointed when I realized this dish had no Peruvian relevance. According to the Fresh Marketcafe menu, Peruvian Vegan Antojas contains roasted Beyond meat, sweet potato, onions, garlic and scallions. It is no surprise the preparation method of these ingredients and the mixture of flavors are not found in standard Peruvian cuisine. For any marginalized group, there is immense pressure for an individual to represent the entire community. A similar thing happens with ethnic cuisine. The Peruvian Vegan Antojas is the only representation many will have of Peruvian food, so they are unable to notice they are being sold a whitewashed version of it. This creates an inaccurate representation of our culture, influencing people's perspectives of our nation. My personal experience led me to question the other Global Bowls served at GSH. As my South Korean friend explained, there is also a controversy with the Kalbi Chicken. Kalbi, literally meaning rib, refers to a variety of grilled rib dishes in South Korea. However, the Fresh Marketcafe replaced the ribs with chicken and used Kalbi to refer not to the type of dish but instead the marinade, distorting the original Korean essence. Engaging with diverse cultures, languages and countries is an integral part of developing an open mindset and understanding ways of life across the world. However, it is important to recognize when the intention of including a global experience becomes whitewashing. If someone is going to prepare food from a culture or country that is not their own, it is also their responsibility to prepare it in a way that respects the people who belong to that culture. American fusion is always a valid option, but it must be advertised as such.. Although the Korean and Peruvian students at UO face drastically different issues as minority groups, one experience we all share is our cultures being modified to appeal to Whiteness. The fact remains: Ita inconsiderate to serve dishes that misrepresent culture and cuisine. Using foreign countries names as a marketing strategy to seem diverse is insensitive and negatively impacts underrepresented communities who lack a collective voice. Tim Peters, founder of Helping Hands Korea, poses in the alleyway near Samgakji Station in Seoul, Jan. 4. The activist belongs to a massive network of activists and missionaries that aims to help North Korean refugees in China escape to freedom. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Teaming up with operatives in China, Tim Peters has saved over 1,000 North Korean lives By Park Han-sol Tucked away in a narrow alleyway near Samgakji Station in Seoul, DL Gallery is a curious storefront. Upon entering it, visitors are greeted with delicate art pieces adorning the walls, from traditional Korean embroidery to pointillist paintings. In one corner of the room are stacked heaps of plastic bags, each of which is full of vegetable seeds of cabbage, spinach, radish, turnip, pumpkin and carrot. As they strive to grasp the connection between the art and seeds, visitors turn around, only to face the intricate maps of China and North Korea hung side by side. They wonder what is going on there. For more than a decade, DL Gallery, with its humble and modest look, has been the unofficial headquarters for Helping Hands Korea (HHK) a Christian NGO founded by American humanitarian worker Tim Peters in 1996 to help North Koreans who fled their country for food and freedom. The group helped well over 1,000 North Koreans safely reach third countries after they risked their lives crossing the China-North Korea border. Peters calls it a "war room" a covert, symbolic place where complex strategies are conceived for escapees' rescue operations from the Sino-North Korean border to neighboring Southeast Asian nations. The American activist is part of a massive network of clandestine operatives consisting of missionaries, aid workers, ethnic Korean-Chinese and brokers that guide the refugees throughout the treacherous journey to life in another country. Based in Seoul, he remains behind the scenes during these secret missions. As a remote coordinator, he first shortlists the small number of refugees who will be joining the upcoming rescue operations. Based on their degree of vulnerability, the majority of them are women with children, people with disabilities and those, for the most part, don't have connections or relatives in South Korea. Once the mission begins and field operatives are on the move, Peters maintains close real-time communications with them to track their progress and provide any urgent logistical and financial support that is needed throughout the journey. "We're moving and moving, this is like a military operation," Peters recently told The Korea Times at the gallery, in between sips of hot tea. Peters points to a map of China to explain the general escape routes of HHK's rescue operations at the DL Gallery in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul From the Chinese-North Korean border region, the escapees, led by seasoned field operatives, travel clandestinely across mainland China to southern Yunnan province. Then, hours of hiking difficult mountainous terrain to cross the border between China and Laos awaits. It is generally considered safe for the refugees after they manage to cross the Mekong River into Thailand. After getting processed, they can finally be flown to Korea, this time, on its southern side. While each operation typically takes less than a month to complete, its carefully strategized routes require constant updates and revisions, as unforeseeable situations regarding border security can arise at any time. When he was younger, the now 71-year-old activist at times went out to the field himself to meet the North Koreans and help them operate safe houses in China. He took part in missions within Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "But helping them travel, I mean, somebody who looks like I do a Westerner, a Caucasian is usually not a help," he said. There were some close calls, such as the time he was questioned by the Chinese police, but he managed to avoid detention. "I'm very fortunate in that way, compared to a lot of my colleagues," he recalled. The less fortunate missionaries and aid workers are sometimes detained and arrested by the police, banned from entry into China, and even allegedly killed by suspected North Korean agents. In the case of Kim Chang-hwan, who was killed by poison in 2011, and Han Choong-ryul, who was found with fatal stab wounds in 2016, both were pastors who assisted defectors in China. Emphasizing that in most operations, there are "several layers of the onion" between himself and the North Korean escapees, he attributed their successes to the hard work of field agents, who are often risking their lives. "So much credit goes to the individuals that we work with. I'm really grateful for them, their courage, their bravery and their skill. And some of the tactics involved, it's quite amazing," he said, stopping short of sharing too many details due to the sensitive nature of the work. He refers to this complex network of passages and safe houses as an East Asian version of the "Underground Railroad" clandestine routes established in the United States during the Civil War era, where Black slaves in the South were assisted to safety in the free northern states and Canada. He sees a fitting comparison between that historical endeavor and HHK's own operation, in terms of the covert systematic organization and spirit in search for human freedom. Peters, far right, visits a North Korean refugee family hiding in Yanbian Prefecture of Jilin province in late December 2006. Courtesy of Tim Peters Tim and Sun-mi Peters, back, meet with children, most of whom lost their North Korean mothers due to forced repatriation from China. In 2012, Helping Hands Korea launched an informal foster home for dozens of such children near the provincial border between Jilin and Liaoning provinces. Courtesy of Tim Peters New chapter Peters is a veteran humanitarian worker. It was 1975 when a young Peters first set foot on South Korean soil. At the age of 25, he had already traveled far outside of his hometown in Michigan to Argentina and Venezuela as a novice evangelical Christian missionary. But little did he know then that a new chapter of his life would begin in Korea. "There's absolutely no question that my original interest in coming to Korea was related to my faith and wanting to share it," he said. Although his initial stay in the country lasted only months, it was long enough for him to fall in love with Sun-mi, a devout Christian. Before long, the newlyweds began dedicating their lives as traveling missionaries. The two lived and volunteered across a few island territories, including American Samoa, where they spent over three years helping Korean tuna fishermen who were seen as intruders by the locals and were the target of harsh treatment and stigma. They returned to Seoul 13 years later in 1988, then again in 1996. But by then, a drastic transformation had begun to take place in the focus and the modus operandi of the couple's religious mission. They were now bracing themselves to tackle a very different animal from before North Korea. "Much up until this point, my time in Korea was more related to traditional mission work and emphasizing Bible studies and things like that," the activist said. But the news reports that started coming out into the open in the mid-'90s about the North's unprecedented food shortages were what turned his eyes across the border. Also bitterly referred to as the "Arduous March," the great famine of North Korea was the complex result of the visible decline in agricultural production, economic mismanagement under the new rule of Kim Jong-il and the demise of the regime's patron state, the Soviet Union. From 1994 to 1998, as many as 3 million people are believed to have perished. Mass starvation would have been "the absolute opposite of the growing prosperity of South Korea," where Peters was based. If he were going to continue his Christian aid work, it was time to turn toward the most vulnerable. "I thought maybe a new door was opening for us." In 1996, Tim and Sun-mi Peters co-founded HHK to explore the uncharted paths of helping North Koreans in crisis, even if that meant traversing legal gray areas and running the risk of detention or arrest. What they called the "Ton-a-Month Club" was the very start of its operation. They organized regular fundraisers to purchase dire necessities, such as flour and corn for the famine victims, and set up their own delivery system to insert aid directly into North Korea. Over the years, HHK explored new iterations of the food aid project by widening the range of items delivered to include medicine, multivitamins, makeshift "nurungji" (scorched rice) that can easily be turned into rice porridge when boiled with minimum heating, and most recently, hundreds of repackaged bags of vegetable seeds as one can see in DL Gallery today. Bags of Korean cabbage seeds are repackaged and stored in one corner of the Seoul gallery. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul In fact, every Tuesday evening, the gallery turns into a meeting place of volunteers from all walks of life who gather to package seeds for their discreet transport into the North for the malnourished. But regardless of the types of items, the goal was to bypass North Korean authorities and deliver the seeds directly to the North's most impoverished. "I knew that food distribution in North Korea would be along the lines of loyalty" to the state, Peters said, referring to the "songbun" caste system, according to which North Korea's society is structured. Among the three main classifications, the "hostile class" that received the least amount of state support tended to reside in the northern outskirts: North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Jagang provinces. "North Hamgyong, for example, is called the 'Siberia of North Korea,' not only because it's so bitterly cold, but because, like the former Soviet Union, that's where political miscreants, people who voice their criticism of the government and Christians would be banished." The uneven food distribution meant that Peters had to search actively for "unofficial, alternative" delivery routes to smuggle goods in. He and Sun-mi had to travel to the Sino-North Korean border region. During their trips to Yanbian prefecture in Jilin and Liaoning province, they began to forge partnerships with members of the ethnic Korean-Chinese community, many of whom have relatives in North Korea and subsequently would be able to establish contacts with them, to serve as smugglers across the porous border. But as their trips continued, it soon became evident that smuggling food alone wasn't enough to fully address the needs of the famine victims. A map of North Korea at the gallery indicates some of the key locations for HHK, including general delivery destinations of necessities for North Korean residents. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul North Koreans typically cross the narrow Tumen River to escape from their home country. Seen is an image of the river taken near the bridge between the Chinese town of Tumen and the North Korean town of Namyang.?Courtesy of Tim Peters "In the process of finding new and innovative ways to send the food in, we began to realize there's a whole other layer to this and that's people coming out," he said. The late 1990s was when the aid workers and missionaries began witnessing more and more people crossing the Tumen and Yalu rivers along the border out of desperation. One group was "kkotjebi," or vagrant street children, often orphans. The nickname, which translates to "flower swallows," was given to these stunted children who would go from garbage can to garbage can to scavenge for food behind restaurants, the way swallows travel between flowers. Another tragic case involved women, the majority of whom fell victim to human or sex trafficking. As undocumented foreigners without recourse, they were unable to report their situations to the police. This made them an easy target for traffickers to sell off as prostitutes or mail-order brides to older Chinese (or ethnic Korean-Chinese) peasants, typically in the border regions that suffer from severe gender imbalance and inequality. Their lives were often far from being happily-ever-after tales. Cases of physical abuse were frequent. Their husbands can "just be completely unreliable or a gambler, that's a common thing," he said. "Some would have maybe promised that they would give the woman money to send back to her family, but then often, that wouldn't happen." Against this backdrop of the destruction of family units and human rights violations, HHK's participation in "Underground Railroad" operations began to take shape. Through these missions, the NGO continues to help hundreds of refugees journey to freedom to this day. Pandemic-led discovery in NGO's operations With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hitting the two-year mark, HHK has certainly been no exception in terms of the need to adapt its operations to the new reality perhaps even more so than other human rights agencies, as its underground network of safe houses and agents naturally hinges on even the slightest changes in border security in North Korea and China. Smuggling vegetable seeds into the North is one project that has been inevitably hit hard by the spread of the virus. The reclusive regime was one of the first countries to seal its borders at the start of the pandemic, and it remains on high alert over the recent wave of the Omicron variant. "We are getting some through when we can, but because North Korea has kept its border closed for virtually two years, it's been a real challenge," he said. Seen is a portrait of one North Korean child with disabilities, who was able to escape China with his mother through the help of HHK. Peters called the painting, made by his colleague Sean Kang, co-founder of North Korea Human Rights Watch, "Free at last!" Courtesy of Sean Kang and Tim Peters But at the same time, much to Peters' surprise, the pandemic was precisely what brought certain key discoveries to light which the organization had not come across before. One was the rising number of people with disabilities who previously managed to escape their home country on their own where medical and social protection mechanisms are still lacking and strong stigma remains in place, according to Catalina Devandas Aguilar, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and amidst the COVID-19 crisis, were now crying out for help in China's border region. When Chinese public health officials began to randomly check restaurants, factories and farms nationwide, the activist stated, they began to expose the illegal status of these disabled North Koreans who had gone into hiding in such places to survive. Even if the officials were making visits to simply check their temperatures, refugees, many of whose Chinese language proficiency is limited, "were dreading any questions... terrified that they would be reported and detained." In addition to these random governmental field inspections, North Korean escapees were further left vulnerable as a number of aid workers and humanitarian organizations in the region providing protection or resources began to withdraw en masse for safety reasons. "That meant that distress calls started coming faster, at least to us," Peters said. "It was really desperate. And so long as our partners in China were willing to keep going, we decided to respond to this accelerated number of calls." As a result, HHK became aware of a series of previously undetected profiles of North Korean escapees in the border regions: polio victims, people who became physically disabled after industrial or mining accidents, children with autism or Down's syndrome and grandparents accompanied by their young grandchildren. The case of grandmother Lee, whose full name cannot be disclosed, and her grandson, was one of them. Following her daughter-in-law's death in 2014 and her son's subsequent disappearance after his defection to China, the task of raising the young boy suddenly fell on Lee's shoulders a financial burden that inevitably proved to be too much for an impoverished senior citizen in North Korea like her. The two decided to cross the border to China in 2019, and Lee soon found a job at a charcoal factory. However, when the pandemic struck China, the factory management required all employees to bring proof of a negative test result. "I couldn't get the test as a North Korean defector for the simple reason that I have no official identification papers and I would be revealed as an illegal foreigner," she wrote in her plea for help, which reached the hands of the operatives through the help of a Korean missionary there. "My grandson and I are hiding. I want to take my grandson to Korea." Fortunately, just weeks after their call for help, the two became one of the latest escapees whom Peters' organization was able to safely assist out of China. "I'll say that what happened [in 2020] was nothing short of miraculous. We had more evacuations of refugees [that] year than any other single year," Peters said. Posts describing the reality of the stateless, orphaned children whose North Koreans mothers have been forcibly repatriated from China are hung at the gallery next to the traditional embroidery gifted by one North Korean refugee who escaped to safety through the help of HHK. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Carolyn Caudill Tipton, age 83, of Corbin, KY, passed away on Saturday April 30, 2022, in Corbin She was born in Ashland, KY, a daughter of the late Rexford & Mollie DeBord Caudill. Carolyn was a retired nursing home LPN. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her child Omicron has swept through the UK with infections at record levels for the past three weeks and hospital admissions are now on the rise. One in ten NHS staff are also off work, with many isolating, placing additional strain on the health service though it is no worse than at this time last year. But Boris Johnson is confident the country can ride out the current wave without further restrictions. So is there reason for optimism? Bed numbers Hospitals in England have had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid, latest figures show. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26, 2019. Data from NHS England show there were an average of 95,917 beds open and 86,078 occupied that week, giving an occupancy rate of 89.7 per cent. This is higher than the 87.4 per cent in the most recent data, suggesting there is room for further admissions. The number of beds unavailable because of Norovirus outbreaks has almost halved, which makes it easier to move patients around, allowing for further admissions. Tory MPs criticised the BBC over its Covid coverage last night after it gave airtime to a Left-wing critic of the PM. It came as the Today programme aired a string of warnings from other NHS figures over the 'really challenging' circumstances facing hospitals Boris Johnson is confident the country can ride out the current wave without further restrictions Hospitals in England have had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid, latest figures show. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied (pictured, a Covid patient on a ventilator at UCL) Where's the flu? Despite bleak warnings of a 'double peak' of flu and Covid crippling the NHS, seasonal influenza has yet to take off reducing normal winter pressures on hospitals. Flu cases are currently 95 per cent below levels of 2019-20, the last winter before the pandemic. During the last bad flu season, in 2017-2018 there were 22,000 flu deaths in England and Wales but latest ONS data shows that over the past month there have been just 1,640 deaths due to flu. Spare intensive care capacity The NHS has more spare capacity in intensive care now than it did pre-pandemic and could open even more beds if it needed to. The number of Covid patients in critical care in England is half the level of previous peaks. There were an average of 4,079 adult critical care beds open each day in the week to December 26, but only 75 per cent of them 3,058 were occupied. Compare that to an occupancy rate of 79.6 per cent in the week to December 26, 2019, when there was an average of 3,647 adult critical care beds open and 2,903 occupied. On January 24 last year there were 3,736 Covid patients in intensive care in England the highest of the pandemic with 6,270 critical beds open for any illness. Covid infections in England have soared to record levels, but the number of patients in intensive care has remained flat since Omicron emerged in the UK. Just five per cent of patients in hospital with Covid are on mechanical ventilators, compared with 11 per cent at the peak of the pandemic last January. The number of Covid patients in England's hospitals has doubled in the past fortnight and there are currently 15,659 patients receiving treatment. But only 769 are on ventilators fewer than two months ago when cases were significantly lower. At the peak last January, there were 34,336 Covid patients in England's hospitals, including 3,736 in intensive care. And the proportion of patients with Covid in hospital who then end up in intensive care has plummeted compared with the numbers in April. Fewer A&E admissions Fewer people are attending A&E and being admitted to hospital as an emergency with any illness than before the pandemic. There were 2,040,323 A&E attendances in England in November, down from 2,143,505 in the same month in 2019. The number being admitted to hospital as an emergency has also fallen, from 559,556 to 506,238. However, patients are being made to wait longer in A&E, with just 74 per cent admitted, transferred and discharged within four hours in November 2021. The fall in attendances and admissions comes despite doctors now having to treat patients with coronavirus, indicating reduced demand from other conditions. But the number of patients made to wait more than 12 hours for a hospital bed after doctors decided to admit them has rocketed from 1,111 to 10,646. Omicron is good news Multiple studies now show Omicron is less dangerous than previous variants, raising hopes it may be possible finally to learn to live with the virus. South Africa was able to lift its night-time curfew for the first time in 21 months in December after the Omicron wave peaked without overwhelming hospitals. A study on hospital admissions in the country, where cases first accelerated, revealed it may be ten-times less deadly than previous variants. The UK Health Security Agency said data shows people are half as likely to have to attend A&E or be admitted to hospital with Omicron as they are with Delta. And they say the risk of hospital admission alone for Omicron which now accounts for nine in ten infections is around a third of that for Delta. Booster drive is key The UK has given a booster to a higher proportion of its population than any EU country. Those boosted are eight times less likely to end up in hospital than those who are unvaccinated, UK Health Security Agency data shows. Around 34.5million people in the UK have received a third dose of the vaccine, which helps protect them and reduces the chances of the NHS becoming overwhelmed with Covid patients. People no longer have any protection against symptomatic infection from the variant 20 weeks after a second dose of AstraZeneca. And vaccine effectiveness also wanes over the same period of time in Pfizer and Moderna jabs, down to just 10 per cent. But the vaccine is 88 per cent effective at protecting against hospital admission two weeks after a booster shot, highlighting its importance. Up to 90 per cent of patients in intensive care with Covid have not had their booster and over 60 per cent have not had any vaccine at all. Never has the word 'honour' meant less. If he possessed a shred of it or indeed a smidgeon of self-respect Tony Blair would know that the knighthood announced in the New Year's Honours List has already been rendered meaningless by the furious response of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Britons. By last night, more than 740,000 people had signed a petition calling for the Queen to rescind his appointment to a knighthood as a member of the Royal Order of the Garter, England's oldest and most senior order of chivalry. The petition further demands that Blair be 'held accountable for war crimes'. It is a mark of his narcissism that he will ignore the petition and I regard it as symbolic of his total disgrace. Deceitful No words are sufficient to express my disgust at the treatment of servicemen who did their duty in Northern Ireland, only to be accused of committing crimes by serving their country while, at the Blair government's instigation, republican terrorists were exonerated. Many young soldiers died or sustained terrible injuries as a result of Blair's disastrous, deceitful Iraq War venture. The waste of such lives is shattering for their comrades and commanding officers, but most of all for their families. I felt an intense sadness and frustration that has stayed with me ever since, and will haunt me to the end of my days. The only thing those families wanted was the one thing that no one could give them to have their youngster back with them. Never has the word 'honour' meant less. If he possessed a shred of it, Tony Blair would know that the knighthood announced in the New Year's Honours List has already been rendered meaningless by the furious response of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Britons, writes Colonel Tim Collins Tony Blair must shoulder a great deal of the responsibility for their grief, but it is a responsibility he has always shirked. Military invasion should always be a last resort. It is viable only when those involved in its planning and execution know precisely what they want to achieve. In that way, the troops on the ground can achieve their objectives with a minimum of bloodshed. That was not the case in Iraq in March 2003. British forces were sent in with no clear idea of the ultimate goal. It was a massive blunder, leading to an enormous loss of life among Iraqis and the death of 179 British troops. That is unforgivable. The precursor for the invasion was the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. But the real roots of British complicity in the Iraq misadventure are buried deep in Blair's psychology. When he became prime minister in 1997, he took over the negotiations for a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, begun by John Major's government. Blair fiddled around the edges, desirous of putting his own celebrity spin on the accord. Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, very quickly realised that this new PM was addicted to fame and was a man who believed every word generated by his own publicity machine. The republican bomb-masters were able to manipulate him to their own advantage. The peace deal was much poorer as a result, but Blair was oblivious to this. Military invasion should always be a last resort. It is viable only when those involved in its planning and execution know precisely what they want to achieve. That was not the case in Iraq in March 2003. British forces were sent in with no clear idea of the ultimate goal. Pictured: Lt Colonel Tim Collins speaks to troops in Iraq in 2004 By then he regarded himself as part pop star, part messiah an international statesman greater even than Nelson Mandela. He started to worship at his own shrine. I believe that Blair and his wife Cherie began to see themselves as a new royal family. It was obvious to anyone who saw their preening at the Millennium Dome on New Year's Eve 1999, when they treated the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as guests at a New Labour celebration. But at the same time, there was a part of Blair that knew he was a D-list celebrity at best. He sought out reflected glory, hanging on the coat tails of U.S. presidents. Thus, when Republican George W. Bush came to power in 2000, he was surprised to find that a British Labour PM was not merely willing but eager to do anything the Americans asked. It was this greed for stardom that led to the catastrophic blunders in Iraq. Blair behaved as if it were his destiny to 'save' the Middle East. He seemed to think his blessing was a guarantee of success. The bitter irony is that Iraq did need our help. If Britain had followed a wiser course, we could have brought great benefits to the region, and probably prevented the rise of fundamentalist terrorism in the shape of the Islamic State. Our security services knew that the Iraqi military, a well-organised force that was effective and respected, could be encouraged to remove Saddam Hussein. Invasion The Iraqi army might have maintained the peace, with British and U.S. backing, until democratic elections were held. That low-key policy would have ousted a dictator, maintained stability and saved hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives. Instead, citing that infamous dodgy dossier and playing on fears of non-existent weapons of mass destruction, Britain joined a hopeless invasion. The Roman philosopher Cicero warned 2,000 years ago: 'Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home.' When Republican George W. Bush came to power in 2000, he was surprised to find that a British Labour PM was not merely willing but eager to do anything the Americans asked. Pictured: Tony Blair arrives at President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch on April 5, 2002 Tony Blair and George Bush had no such vision or direction. They wanted to invade Iraq, would not be dissuaded and their advisers were ordered to make the facts appear to fit. On the eve of battle in 2003, I gave an impromptu speech to my troops, urging them to remember they came as liberators, not as conquerors. I concluded with the words: 'Let's bring everyone home and leave Iraq a better place for us having been there.' We were not able to do either of those things. Destructive Iraqi people were treated as refugees in their own country. Worse still, their army was disbanded, with the inevitable result that a disciplined and civilised fighting force became a disparate bunch of guerrilla units. It is impossible to criticise that decision too strongly. I liken it to throwing a lighted box of matches into a petrol dump incredibly stupid and destructive, a criminal act of murderous recklessness. Many people this week have called for Tony Blair to be prosecuted. I regret to say that is mission impossible. He was part of a larger coalition, following without question the dictates of the White House. Many people this week have called for Tony Blair to be prosecuted. I regret to say that is mission impossible. He was part of a larger coalition, following without question the dictates of the White House. Pictured: Tony Blair addressing soldiers in Basra in 2004 Ultimately, the UK was a minor player in the supporting cast, and the fault lay with the Bush administration. To prosecute Blair without laying charges against his master, the U.S. president, would be meaningless. We can only wish his incompetence could be treated as a crime. If it were, Blair would be on trial, condemned by the evidence of his own arrogance and addiction to celebrity. A decent man would realise this and even now turn down that tainted knighthood ironically the personal gift of a monarch whose country he took to war on the premise of a lie. Colonel Tim Collins OBE was Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment during the Iraq War. Dictatorship was once famously compared to riding a tiger since there is such high risk of being devoured when dismounting from the saddle of power. It was Sir Winston Churchills colourful analogy to explain why despots cling on. History shows they tend to leave office either in a coffin or overthrown in a violent coup. In 2019, Nursultan Nazarbayev the last surviving Soviet-era leader in power thought he had found a third way when he stood down after 30 years running the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, a nation the size of western Europe and rich in valuable natural resources. He handpicked his pal Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as successor and then insisted on chairing the security council, retaining his title as leader of the nation, placing his daughter in a key political post and taking lifetime immunity from any prosecution. But even this careful self-preservation strategy has not proved enough. For the vain 81-year-old strongman who demanded adulation from 19million people and saw the capital city renamed in his honour is reported to have fled in panic after simmering anger over his long misrule and control over state assets bubbled over this week. In 2019, Nursultan Nazarbayev the last surviving Soviet-era leader in power thought he had found a third way when he stood down after 30 years running the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan (pictured: Nazarbayev speaks during a televised address, March 19, 2019) 5 Jan 2022 in the Almaty region, Taldykorgan - the monument to ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev is pulled down by protesters Former British prime minister Tony Blair, who pocketed millions by giving public relations advice after Kazakh security forces shot dead 14 people in a 2011 anti-government uprising Protests have flared up across the nation with crowds chanting Old man, go away and toppling his statue an event of awesome symbolic power for Kazakhs, many of whom have known no other leader in their lifetime. Yet the significance goes far beyond the crashing down of Nazarbayevs personality cult. Or indeed, some fresh embarrassment for former British prime minister Tony Blair, who pocketed millions by giving public relations advice after Kazakh security forces shot dead 14 people in a 2011 anti-government uprising. Blair also appeared in a video praising his Kazakh paymasters leadership to the fury of human rights groups. For as blood flows once more on the streets with claims that dozens of protesters have been killed and Russian forces fly in, the impact of events in this largely-Muslim nation, sandwiched between China and Russia, could spread far beyond its borders. Kazakhstan threatens to become another source of tension between the Kremlin and the West as Vladimir Putin tries to control disruptive events or the flickering of democracy in neighbouring nations. Just look at what happened in Belarus and Ukraine two other former Soviet states where protesters demanding reform were met with brutal responses orchestrated by Moscow. And if the situation deteriorates, it could further drive up energy prices which are already soaring with damaging global consequences. Kazakhstan is the worlds largest producer of uranium as well as a major oil, gas and coal exporter. It is also strategically significant for Beijing not least since it supplies more than 5 per cent of Chinas gas. Russian President Vladimir Putin poses for a photo with Nursultan Nazarbayev on December 28 last year Armed forces in Kazakhstan gunned down more demonstrators today as the streets of Almaty were turned into a 'war zone', with protesters being accused of beheading three police officers by Russian news agencies. Pictured: A man stands in front of the mayor's office building which was torched during protests triggered by fuel price increase in Almaty, January 6, 2022 Pictured: A car (top-right) ploughs into Kazakh security forces in Aktobe, Kazakhstan The unrest, which began at the weekend, was triggered by the lifting of price caps on liquefied petroleum gas which is widely used to power cars. It led prices to more than double in a country where gross domestic product per capita is less than 7,000. The demonstrations, reportedly starting with a few dozen people in a struggling town called Zhanaozen, spread rapidly as they snowballed into wider protests by a population fed up with corruption, inequality, low wages, surging prices and unemployment. Behind them lies intense frustration, inflamed by the pandemic, over promises of change in a regime detached from ordinary people and devoid of opposition in a nation where a parasitical elite has feasted on the mineral wealth. Last year, British police lost a High Court bid to force Nazarbayevs daughter and grandson to detail how they found the cash to buy three properties worth 80million in London (his son-in-law also paid a strangely high price of 15million for Sunninghill Park, Prince Andrews former marital home, in 2007 which was 3million over the asking price despite five years languishing on the market). When Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took over, he spoke of democratic reform but failed to deliver. And this week he tried to head off the protests on Kazakhstans freezing streets with a fuel price cut and dismissal of his cabinet. Protesters take part in a rally over a hike in energy prices in Almaty on January 5, 2022 Pictured: A statue of Nursultan Nazarbayev - the self-styled 'Father of the Nation' - is pulled down. Nazarbayev, 81, yesterday gave up his final role in overall charge of security in the country. Rumours suggest he may have fled to China or Russia But the spark had been lit and unrest exploded across the country. Videos show police officers joining the ranks of protesters, pitched street battles and public buildings being attacked. So Tokayev responded by cutting off the internet, declaring a state of emergency, unleashing his security goons, labelling protesters terrorists and resorting to the usual trope of blaming foreign agitators. Then he summoned the help of peacekeepers led by Russian paratroopers from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Moscow-led alliance of six former Soviet states. Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch base for Russian-manned space missions and also has a significant ethnic Russian minority something Putin has used elsewhere to stir tensions and subvert democracy.Few believe the Kremlins claims that its troops are there to stabilise the nation. While the geopolitical implications of unrest in Kazakhstan are alarming and wide-ranging, we should not forget that at heart they are a howl of anguish by people trapped in the teeth of a hideous, thieving regime. Products featured in this Mail Best article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, MailOnline may earn an affiliate commission. Charlotte Tilbury's new Beautiful Skin Foundation is perfect for a fresh, glowing complexion. Launching today January 6, Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation from legendary makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury will delight the beauty obsessive who's been in search of the perfect natural-looking foundation. It's glow-granting, creating a second skin that looks like your skin but better. And it's set to become a true beauty icon. Launching today January 6, Charlotte Tilbury's new Beautiful Skin Foundation (34) is perfect for a fresh, glowing complexion Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor (pictured) was unveiled as Charlotte Tilbury's first-ever official celebrity brand ambassador in October Adding to Charlotte Tilbury's already famous line of makeup bases, Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation, which costs 34 and offers buildable coverage, has been specially formulated with hyaluronic acid for a hydrated complexion with an unrivalled glow. Remarkably lightweight and available in 30 shades that 'stretch' to suit your complexion, it also contains a blend of plumping, brightening and evening ingredients for a brighter, smoother, more even canvas, such as coconut extract and damask rose water. All three campaign stars have been using the foundation in secret for months, with Dunn (left) revealing that she recently wore it on the red carpet at the British Fashion Awards Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation also contains pioneering Hyalurosmooth, which targets uneven texture and dehydrated skin, helping trap moisture like a magnet. 'As makeup artist to the stars, I have been using this incredible, innovative skin-improving foundation formula in secret all year from film premieres to The Fashion Awards on some of the world's most famous supermodels and actresses who have fallen in love with its natural, glowing finish!' says makeup artist and founder of the luxury beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury. 'With 30 shades that blend and stretch effortlessly, it immediately syncs with your skin and perfects the complexion! Beautiful Skin Foundation gives everyone their best, most beautiful looking skin every day!' Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation offers buildable coverage and has been specially formulated with hyaluronic acid for a hydrated complexion with an unrivalled glow According to research from the brand, during a clinical trial over 90 per cent of people surveyed said that Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation 'improves the appearance of skin with each wear', minimising the appearance of pores, pigmentation and dark spots - so I tried it for myself and noted the results. I've tried just about every foundation to give my complexion a radiance boost, and since testing Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation, I've found myself reaching for it daily. Notably, it offers a light to medium coverage that evens out skin pigmentation and neutralises any redness. Those with blemishes may find they need to use an opaque concealer for additional coverage. But after blending seamlessly into my skin, the result is near-flawless, leaving my complexion less tired, less red, less sallow and healthier-looking, all without the product feeling or looking heavy on the skin. Remarkably lightweight and available in 30 shades that 'stretch' to suit your complexion, the foundation also contains a blend of plumping, brightening and evening ingredients for a brighter, smoother, more even canvas It's ultra-smoothing, blurring, light-reflective, and my skin continued to look great and radiant throughout the day (no highlighter required) with zero emphasis of dry texture - I put this down to its flexible hydrating formulation. It's sure to be a hit among those with dry and mature skin, although oilier skin types might want to apply a dusting of Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder to set the foundation in place. If you are looking for a dewy base that's excellent at camouflaging skin redness, Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation is the perfect candidate - shop online at Charlotte Tilbury, Cult Beauty and SpaceNK. A young woman has revealed how she used $10,000 she had saved for a holiday to start her own business in lockdown - and now she's making $2,000 per day. Hey Mama founder Lisa Lin, 29, developed 'lactation shakes' which she says help breastfeeding mums with their milk supply and gives them a 'good portion' of their daily vitamins. Lisa isn't a mum herself, but came up with the idea 18 months ago after visiting her sister-in-law Joyce who was struggling to feed her newborn son Hugo. A young woman has revealed how she used $10,000 she had saved for a holiday to start her own business in lockdown - and now she's making $2,000 per day The idea which started as a hobby and a way to pass the time is now a thriving business - Lisa sells $2000 worth of stock each day Lisa's sister-in-law, Joyce, pictured struggled to make enough milk for her son Hugo, also pictured, when he was a new born The young entrepreneur told FEMAIL she watched as the new mum munched on a lactation cookie, which was high in sugar and calories, as she tried to increase milk supply. 'I thought there had to be something better out there for mums, but I looked and there wasn't so I decided to make something myself,' she said. 'Some of the cookies on the market do work - but they are full of sugar and extra calories. 'I wanted to make something that would help nourish the mother as well as help her milk supply.' So her willing sister-in-law became her guinea pig. Lisa did research into lactation and nutrients needed when breast feeding and developed a formula. The tricky part was making something that worked well and tasted good. Her daily post office runs are becoming bigger and bigger - as she still works from home 'If it doesn't taste good then mums aren't going to want to have it,' she said. 'Our first flavour was double chocolate - it tastes like a chocolate milkshake.' Then, to test the demand, Lisa decided to give a thousand samples out over Facebook. This exercise cost her about $3,000 but was crucial as it helped her understand the market demand. 'All of a sudden I had all of these mums who had tried the sample wanting to place an order,' she said. 'I was very overwhelmed because at this point it wasn't a product that was ready for sale. But they were all happy to pre-pay and wait, so I made an order and got them out six weeks later.' The doting aunt is pictured here packing her stock to be sent out Lisa said she was lucky to do most of the leg work during lockdown, and her suppliers in Brisbane were also able to help her out. 'I am surprised by how quickly it has taken off, I had no idea it would be so popular,' she said. She has quit her job as an accountant and now works full time for herself. She is only selling the shakes on her website right now but plans to expand into pharmacies and health food shops this year. Lisa previously worked as an accountant - she says everything she needed to learn about running her own business she found on Youtube and by listening to podcasts She would also like to start selling overseas, using Amazon, after being inundated with request from mums all over the world. Lisa said she learned most of the skills she has needed to get her business to this point by using YouTube and listening to podcasts. Despite launching in the middle of the pandemic Lisa has found huge success and was even a finalist in the 2021 Sydney Young Entrepreneur Awards, something she describes as a 'pinch-me' moment. Her business, which she started with some help from her brother Michael, has also been selected as part of the 2022 launchpad program by Amazon. Tim Tam has proven once and for all how addictive its chocolate treats are in a new study of the human brain, just in time for the company to release four new 'deluxe' flavours. This week the biscuit aisles will be treated to four indulgent flavours in Decadent Triple Choc, Salted Caramel Brownie, Dark Choc Raspberry Tart and Dark Choc Mint. To prove they're as delicious as they sound the team at Arnott's worked with Australia's best QEEG and Brain Mapping experts to measure the brainwave activity before and after Aussies bite into a Tim Tam Deluxe. 'When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities it generates beta waves,' Neurologist at the Neurofeedback Centre Tim Lucas said. This week the biscuit aisles will be treated to four indulgent flavours in Decadent Triple Choc, Salted Caramel Brownie, Dark Choc Raspberry Tart and Dark Choc Mint Almost half of the Australian population (47%) said they'd choose to devour a pack of Tim Tam biscuits over a glass of wine at the end of the day 'These waves tend to sit on a relatively low amplitude but move the fastest and at a higher frequency. So, when our minds are vastly engaged or highly aroused, a spike in beta waves will be a sign of that. 'When Arnott's told us about their yet-to-be-launched and most indulgent Tim Tam range ever, we were curious to understand what indulging in one might do to Aussie brains. 'We entered the experiment quite doubtful we'd see drastic results that might indicate pleasure. So, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that smelling a Tim Tam Deluxe - let alone biting into one - quite literally lit up the brains and activated the high beta waves in ways we'd never seen before, in every one of the clients we tested.' Almost half of the Australian population (47%) said they'd choose to devour a pack of Tim Tam biscuits over a glass of wine at the end of the day. To prove they're as delicious as they sound the team at Arnott's worked with Australia's best QEEG and Brain Mapping experts to measure the brainwave activity before and after Aussies bite into a Tim Tam Deluxe Interestingly Gen Z and Millennials are up to 114 per cent and 93 per cent respectively more likely to opt for the chocolate bickies and turn away an alcoholic beverage, compared to older generations. It was also found that more than a third (37%) of Aussies would opt for a Tim Tam pack over cuddling their pet. And perhaps even more astoundingly over a quarter (30%) would rather slam a Tim Tam than cuddle their child or loved ones. The new Decadent Triple Choc comes with the traditional milk chocolate coating, with extra chocolate covering two crunchy biscuits. Sandwiched between is a luscious, velvety choc cream and an extra gooey choc centre. Interestingly Gen Z and Millennials are up to 114 per cent and 93 per cent respectively more likely to opt for the chocolate bickies and turn away an alcoholic beverage, compared to older generations Salted Caramel Brownie has a milk chocolate coating with extra choc covering two crunchy biscuits. Sandwiched between is a luscious, velvety chocolate brownie flavoured cream and an extra gooey salted caramel centre. Dark Choc Raspberry Tart has a decadent dark chocolate coating, with extra chocolate covering two crunchy biscuits. Sandwiched between is a chocolate raspberry flavoured cream and an extra gooey raspberry centre. Finally, Dark Chocolate Mint has a tempting dark chocolate coating with extra chocolate covering two crunchy biscuits. Sandwiched between is mint cream and an extra gooey chocolate centre. This photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Jan. 6, shows what the North claims to be a new hypersonic missile launched the previous day. Yonhap North Korea said Thursday that it successfully conducted a test-firing of what it called a "hypersonic" missile a day earlier, three months after it first showcased the new weapon. On Wednesday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea from the northern province of Jagang. The missile made a "120 km lateral movement" from the initial launch azimuth and "precisely hit a set target 700 km away," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. It did not disclose the speed of the projectile. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the missile test. "The test launch clearly demonstrated the control and stability of the hypersonic gliding warhead which combined the multi-stage gliding jump flight and the strong lateral movement," the KCNA said. The Queen will rely on the Duchess of Cambridge 'more than ever' as she braces for a 'difficult' year with Prince Andrew's legal woes and Prince Harry's upcoming memoir, a royal expert has claimed. The Queen, 95, already 'hugely values' Kate's work for the Royal Family, which has become increasingly high profile in recent years. The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, has 'stepped up' and taken on more responsibility in the wake of Megxit and will play an even more important role in 2022, it is claimed. Speaking to Closer, royal author Katie Nicholl said: 'In recent years, we've seen her leadership in the wake of Megxit, throughout which she's kept calm and carried on. The Queen will rely on the Duchess of Cambridge 'more than ever' as she braces for a 'difficult' year with Prince Andrew's legal woes and Prince Harry's upcoming memoir, a royal expert has claimed. Pictured, the Duchess of Cambridge on a royal tour of Scotland in May The Queen, 95, already 'hugely values' Kate's work for the Royal Family, which has become increasingly high profile in recent years. Above, the Queen and Kate Middleton in 2014 'I think this year she'll come into her own even more, especially as it'll be a tough year for the royals. 'Harry and Meghan's interviews this year have caused chaos for the royals, and Harry's new memoir due out next year will likely reveal even more intimate details about the royal family, and cause further issues. 'And Andrew's court case will too. Kate will step up and I know the Queen hugely values her support, and will rely on her more than ever.' It comes as it emerged Prince Andrew could settle out of court with his US sex-case accuser if a judge rules that the case should go to trial. Insiders say the option 'remains on the table' if, as expected, Judge Lewis Kaplan rejects his legal team's motion this week to have Virginia Roberts' lawsuit dismissed at an early stage. Andrew's team are understood to acknowledge the 'attritional impact' the case is having on the Royal Family, particularly as the Queen, 95, is due to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this June with the threat of a scandalous sex trial involving her son hanging over her. This year will see Prince Harry bring out a memoir, which could deepen current rifts, in the same year his grandmother celebrates her landmark Platinum Jubilee 'Obviously, this is a US case involving US lawyers and involving a US civil lawsuit,' one source said. 'In reality, 99 per cent of US civil litigations are settled out of court. A settlement would always be an option on the table, as that's where the vast majority end up. There is also the wider pressure and attritional impact to consider.' Sources with knowledge of the case stressed last night to the Daily Mail that no discussions have taken place yet about whether the Queen's son could or should agree a settlement without liability being admitted. But neither had it been ruled out as an option, they said. Buckingham Palace has refused to comment, describing it as an 'ongoing legal matter'. Prince Harry's memoir is reportedly an additional source of stress for the family. Royal sources told the Mail that inside Buckingham Palace and the other royal households, there was an increasing sense of anger and frustration not just because he had chosen to write such a book, but also over the 'clearly deliberate' timing of its publication this autumn. It could be 'the last straw' for Harry and his family, with relations already at breaking point, insiders said. Having already been writing for a year, the prince is set to turn in a manuscript, which he promised will be a 'first-hand account of my life that's accurate and wholly truthful', by the end of this year. It is set to hit the shelves in 2022. Q My 12-year-old daughter goes back to school this week, where she must wear a mask daily and be tested twice a week. I noticed that in the lead-up to the start of term, she became withdrawn and quite spiky with us. I havent managed to get her to open up to me fully, but she has said she hates school and doesnt want to go back. Shes in Year 7, has many friends and is doing well in her subjects. I suspect it is partly down to her fears about Covid. An anonymous woman, who lives in the UK, says her 12-year-old daughter is anxious about going back to school (file image) She is anxious about spiralling cases; her granny was in hospital with the virus last year, which may be why she takes it more seriously than many of her peers. How can I help her with her anxiety? A Teenagers, like most of us, get irritable when they are anxious and its nerve-racking for most students returning to school at the best of times. But with soaring rates of a new Covid variant, its not surprising this has made your daughters anxiety skyrocket. As well as being a GP, Ive been teaching struggling parents how to cope with challenging children for more than a decade. During that time, Ive seen parents whose children suffer from separation anxiety. This isnt confined to young babies older children can also worry that bad things will happen to them or their family when they are apart. Often, the best thing to do is show your children that you recognise what they are going through. Say Im so proud of you going into school despite feeling uncertain about it, and add: Things may feel a bit strange at first, but Im sure youll settle in. Clare Bailey (pictured) advised the reader to reassure her daughter that she will be OK and to listen to her top two or three worries Showing your child that you are calm and positive about them going back is reassuring, even if you are worried, too. You might also ask what she is concerned about (without asking leading questions such as Are you worried about your teacher being away/ill?). Suggest she tells you her top two or three worries; your job is to listen carefully to these and acknowledge how she feels. Discuss with her what she might do to make things easier and feel better prepared. I love sourdough bread plus it has nutritional benefits from the fermentation process and the slow rising, which reduces the carbohydrate load. As it is essentially just flour, water and salt, I thought making my own would be easy. How wrong I was! Foolishly, I chose a gluten-free loaf (the hardest option), as we have family with coeliac disease. I spent all day fiddling with dough and spreading flour on every surface and up my arms. Version One came out inedible, like a brick. Michael is planning a Version Two . . . while my plan is to cycle down the hill and buy a nice loaf from the bakery. Also, set a positive tone by asking her what she is looking forward to at school and which friends she is keen to see again. Reassure her that Omicron, being milder, is likely to get us back towards normality quicker and with less severe illness. Also, prepare her for any changes to social distancing and safety measures. For example, how to greet friends: teenagers like to huddle together with plenty of physical contact, but what are they doing now bumping elbows, toe-tapping? Not being able to read other peoples expressions when they are masked can be difficult, too, adding to the sense of disconnection. Help your daughter to practise simple relaxation and breathing techniques, so she can use them if needed. Overall, reassure her that it might be a challenge but you are confident she will be OK. Even 7,000 steps will boost mood I take a daily walk of a mile or so through the woods, with my husband Michael and the dog. This is good for both my heart and my mood, and I hope to go on doing it for many years. So I was encouraged by a recent study of 300 elderly patients, which found those who managed at least 7,000 steps a day (the equivalent of walking 3.5 miles) were far less likely to be depressed. Make it a resolution to get those trackers out and start counting. You can write to Clare at drclarebailey@dailymail.co.uk or Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT. A chimney sweep came to my house recently to clean the flues, but he didnt just do the job and leave. Instead, he spent half an hour enlightening me as to why I should replace my open fire with a wood burner, talking me through which stoves he thought were best. Perhaps youre expecting to hear that I was irritated to have a man in my house proffering unsolicited advice, but I was thrilled. In that one chat, I learned more about heating systems and stoves than hours of Googling could have yielded. That is not the view taken by actress Claire Foy, who complained in a recent interview about friendly workmen daring to offer her some assistance. The star of the recent BBC drama A Very British Scandal bemoaned the fact that two technicians hired to install her TV had the audacity to suggest where her new box might best be located. The cheek! Katie Glass (pictured) believes what is often dismissed as mansplaining is simply helpful advice, rejected by women who are oversensitive about potentially being patronised They decided to give me a speech about how I was putting my TV that I had paid for in the wrong place, the 37-year-old actress wailed. She added: I would never have presumed to tell a man, or anybody else, that they were wrong about where they were going to put their TV. Well, no. But then I dont suppose they teach you much about aerial installation at drama college. Foy had invited these experts into her home, so why was she angry when they tried to help? Because, we are told, this is another example of that blight of modern life: mansplaining. It is a word I cant stand. Like manspreading (men taking up extra room by sitting with their legs wide) or man-slamming (mens alleged habit of barging past women on the street), it seems little more than a sexist, mean-spirited way to attack men. To me, what is often dismissed as mansplaining is simply helpful advice, rejected by women who are oversensitive about potentially being patronised. Far too many of us these days, I fear, shoot ourselves in the foot by refusing all male help, so keen are we to be seen as empowered equals. If such a gendered and dismissive word were used to undermine womens help, wed be furious. Actually, there is such a word to nag and if a man dared use it about me, Id be apoplectic. So I would never use the word mansplain. But I must admit I rather like men giving me help. Katie said she doesn't need advice that is unhelpful or obvious, but when men offer guidance on subjects they know more about she is extremely grateful (file image) To be clear, I dont like being talked down to. I take umbrage with random non-experts interfering, like if someone tries to tell me how to park. But while I dont need advice that is boorish, unhelpful or obvious foisted on me from an unskilled busybody, when men offer guidance on subjects they know more about, Im extremely grateful. I recently moved into my dream home, a house beset by endless problems, with damp, woodworm, dodgy electrics and other minor and major issues. While some women, capable in practical matters and knowledgeable about DIY, might have rolled up their sleeves and got on with tackling this work themselves, instead I preferred to put the kettle on and ask every workman who came by for his help (although Id have been as happy to hire women to do the work if any had been about). I give builders a cuppa and biscuits and sit taking notes Did I mind that each workman who came to the house offered me advice? Some without even being asked? On the contrary, I gave them a cuppa, a plate of biscuits and sat taking notes. When one builder came over to deal with the damp, he volunteered to spend the best part of half a day helping me understand the mechanics of the house: showing me how my boiler works, where the waste pipes run and where to find the stopcock. I could have lived here for 20 years and not worked any of that out! When another came over to put up some shelves for me, he explained that the spot on the wall I had chosen was unsafe because there were cables running behind it. I hadnt even thought about this. In fact, when Id mentioned to a female friend that the wall was making weird sounds, she suggested it might be ghosts! And when another of my female friends stayed over, we spent the night shivering because we couldnt work out how the thermostat might stop the heating coming on. Katie said you cant ask men for help, then get angry with them for offering more of it (file image) By way of comparison, when the flush on my loo stopped working, a male friend who was staying automatically showed me how to fix it. On a recent trip into town, I was wondering aloud how to get my smart TV working and, hey presto, a bloke standing next to me in the shop broke in to tell me all about HDMI cables, where to get one and what to do with it. Was I insulted by this? Dont be ridiculous I was deliriously glad he could help. Since I moved into my house in rural Somerset, men I know have offered advice about how to plumb in the dishwasher (saving me hiring a plumber), how to tell if the oil tanks empty (I was just waiting for the radiators to go off) and what I should do about a wobbly looking tree that I feared might crash into my bedroom in a high wind (I had never even heard of having a tree topped). Are these examples of mansplaining? If so, then I live in the house that mansplaining built and Im grateful for every second of male advice and explanation that has gone into it. For some men, offering advice is a way to show they care When I ask my female friends about mansplaining, most admit that, while they are sometimes frustrated by unsolicited advice, there are plenty of times when they are grateful for assistance. I once sent my dad a photo of the fuse box and said: Tell me what to do, one admitted. Another told me she regularly sends her dad lists of odd-jobs. If I need to paint something, Ill ask my dad hes just better at it. Thats great. But you cant ask men for help, then get angry with them for offering more of it. Katie said she will happily take a bit of mansplaining over a woke world in which men simply stop offering women help, for fear of offending us (file image) Perhaps some would write off as mansplaining father-of-two Rob Kenneys YouTube channel called Dad, How Do I?, but I was touched to see his videos of himself showing how to do practical jobs, such as checking a cars oil levels and unclogging a drain. The channels success (he has more than three million subscribers) suggests how many of us sometimes need a dad to turn to for advice. I sometimes wish I could call on my own father, if he were still alive. I even think there is a certain sweetness to what some write off as mansplaining. For some men, offering advice is a way to show they care. While female friends celebrated my new house by sending me cards and cakes, male friends reassured me that the roof looked in a good state. Of course, I know plenty of women are capable of doing practical things I have friends who fix their own roof tiles and can install a log burner without breaking a sweat. I dont believe mens penchant for DIY is a matter of gender difference or something they are born with often they are simply lucky enough to be taught these things as they grow up. But given that, it would surely be churlish to stop them trying to help. Ultimately, Ill happily take a bit of mansplaining over a woke world in which men simply stop offering women help, for fear of offending us. After all, in that world, I would be sitting in a freezing house with no working TV and a toilet that wont flush. Would you have a bracelet welded around your wrist so you couldnt take it off? It might seem like a drastic solution to forgetting to put on your bling in the morning, but a bizarre trend for permanent jewellery has really taken off. Social media videos of people having the bracelets attached have been watched millions of times and even high-end department store Liberty now offers the service. Welded bracelets are typically nine to 18-carat gold chains, which are unlikely to dull or tarnish over time, fused by a laser. The continuous, seamless bracelet (no clasp necessary) cannot fall off, nor be removed should you fancy a different style that day though it can be cut off in an emergency. So, whats the appeal? Hayley Bond, 41, (pictured) from Worthing, West Sussex, encouraged both of her daughters to join her in getting 'simple, timeless and discreet' welded bracelets Hayley Bond, 41, who first saw the trend on Instagram, says it was the years weve just had that made her want a welded bracelet. She encouraged her daughters, Charlotte, 22, and Honey, 16, to join her. I thought it would be a nice bonding experience and a fun thing to do together, says Hayley. The permanency appealed as her eldest was about to go travelling (going clasp-less would make her less likely to take it off and lose it). But, more symbolically, it spoke to the strength and constancy of their relationships, and would be a reminder of this while she was away. Hayley chose a nine-carat rose-gold bracelet with a diamond charm (170), Charlotte a yellow-gold one (170) and Honey a white-gold chain with an engraved disc (140). The design is simple, timeless and discreet, so goes with everything, says Hayley, from Worthing, West Sussex. It was put on using a TIG welder, a handheld device that uses electricity and a tungsten electrode to fuse the metal. Siobhan Jones, jeweller and owner of Shiny Bomb Jewellery where the process was carried out, explains: It welds using a hot spark that joins the two ends. It is welding on a very small scale. Hayley says: The process was quick: a little flash and a little click and its done. It didnt hurt and the bracelet is so light, I dont feel it at all. The concept of permanent jewellery can be traced back to Cartiers Love bracelet, an 18-carat bangle that can only be removed using a special screwdriver. Worn by celebrities including Prince Harry and wife Meghan, and actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston, prices start at 3,750 and some wear them for decades. The newest incarnations might be significantly cheaper, but they are arguably more of a commitment, having done away with the screwdriver. The chains are fine enough, however, that they can be cut off with pliers or strong scissors in an emergency. Welding expert Ian Angell, said the majority of applications will use a pulse arc welder which takes a fraction of a second using an instant spark making it quick and safe. Pictured: Hayley's bracelet Most jewellers will remove or alter the bracelet for a small fee, but otherwise its yours for life. New York jewellery shop Catbird was one of the first to offer welded jewellery in 2016. In Britain, welded jewellery specialist Atelier VM has just launched at Liberty, while respected brands including Astrid & Miyu, The Alkemistry and Monarc have jumped on the bandwagon. But is it safe to have a bracelet welded on? The application isnt risky, according to welding expert Ian Angell, managing director at Angell Welding. The majority will use a pulse arc welder which takes a fraction of a second using an instant spark [so no high temperature and no chemicals] making it quick and safe. Technology has advanced enough that gold can be joined safely with pinpoint precision and without heat. Mr Angell suggests jewellery shops take safety precautions, such as the client and jeweller wearing protective welding glasses and rolling up sleeves during the process to mitigate even the tiniest fire risk. Siobhan Jones, whos been welding bracelets for a year, says: People really love them. They add an element of fun like an extension of friendship bracelets or those halved heart necklace charms we used to buy. The key is they need to fit properly. If theyre too baggy they catch on things and snag. But you would want it to break rather than damage your wrist. She recommends choosing somewhere that offers a good warranty and, ideally, jewellers qualified to degree level who understand the metal theyre working with. Silver, for example, is softer than some gold and less durable, so may not last. However, permanent jewellery comes with its own serious risks. Patricia Jolie, a 35-year-old interior designer from London, was left with a swollen, bruised wrist after she was mugged in 2014. Patricia was given the Cartier Love bracelet by her grandparents for her 18th birthday and had worn it for ten years, largely without issue. For many, permanent jewellery represents something intensely personal and can amount to a sign of commitment. Pictured: Hayley's bracelet In November 2014, she was driving to visit a friend when a van drove up beside her. It stopped and the driver stared at her. She continued, parked and was walking along the street to her friends house when someone grabbed her from behind and forced her to the ground. With a jacket over her head, she felt them pull off her engagement ring and then start tugging at her bracelet. She believes they saw it while she was driving. They couldnt get it off, she says. I was absolutely terrified. I was shouting to explain but they said: Dont worry, we will get it off. I honestly thought they were going to cut off my hand so I was trying anything to get it off licking at my wrist and almost breaking my hand trying to crunch and squeeze it through the bangle. Luckily someone came down the street and my attackers ran off. I had swelling, bruising and cuts for a month from where I had attempted to get it off. It was incredibly traumatic. I think it is irresponsible to have something expensive on your arm permanently. And yet using lighter, thinner chains partly to avoid this sort of risk of being unable to remove jewellery in an emergency brings problems of its own. Heather Heaton, a supply manager from Moreton in Merseyside, had two delicate nine-carat yellow-gold chains welded on to her right wrist last September to celebrate turning 40. I was finally coming of age and getting my life back again, as my three sons are teenagers now. It felt like a nice moment to mark. Not two months later, Heather was in London travelling by Tube to a hotel. When she arrived and looked down at her wrist one of the bracelets had gone. She believes the thin chain simply came apart. I was gutted, she says. It was nearly 100 down the toilet; my partner still thinks it only cost 40. Far from ideal when, for many, permanent jewellery represents something intensely personal and can amount to a sign of commitment, like a wedding ring. Lisa Witherspoon, a 43-year-old refurbishment business owner from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, had one attached that included a small gold 8mm chamber containing ashes from her beloved bulldog, Winston. A company called Ashes with Art which has welded memorial bracelets onto clients containing everything from a husbands ashes to those of horses and guinea pigs made Lisas 195 bracelet last summer. She says: It is a slim design and not a huge metal contraption. It brought some joy from a really upsetting time. This way, I always have him with me. Hidden behind what looks like an ordinary tool shed in a South Australian winery lies a magical limestone cave where you can have a unique subterranean dining experience. Maxwell Winery, just a 40 minute drive south of Adelaide, uses the 100 year old lime cave to grow mushrooms and as an enchanting dining space. Diners are treated to a tasting menu of delicious wine and food crafted by the winery's chefs all in an intimate candlelit setting. Hidden behind the doors of an ordinary tool shed at South Australia's Maxwell Winery is a magical cave where you can have a unique subterranean dining experience Maxwell Winery, just a 40 minute drive south of Adelaide, uses the 100 year old lime cave to grow mushrooms and as an enchanting dining space Diners are treated to a tasting menu of delicious wine and food crafted by the winery's chefs all in an intimate candlelit setting The 50 metre caved was carved into a limestone hill back in 1916 to grow mushrooms in its ideal humidity levels and 17 degree temperature, a practice Maxwell Winery continues today. Owner, Mark Maxwell told FEMAIL an experiment to mature wine in the cave's cool temperatures went awry when the barrels started to go mouldy from the humidity but the environment is perfect for growing king trumpet, oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Maxwell Winery offers tours of the century-old lime cave where visitors can learn about its history and have a tasting of their 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon grown from the 50-year-old vines above. Above ground, there is a chic restaurant overlooking the vineyard that offers a multi-course tasting menu. Maxwell Winery offers tours of the century-old lime cave where visitors can learn about its history and have a tasting of their 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon grown from the 50-year-old vines above Above ground, there is a chic restaurant overlooking the vineyard that offers a multi-course tasting menu and a maze for visitors to get lost in or picnic by There is also a maze for visitors to get lost in or picnic by with cheese hampers available to buy from the winery. It is available for hire and can host a range of events including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and private dinners. Prices start from $300 per person with a minimum spend from $4800. For more information, head to the Maxwell Winery website. An entrepreneur who was diagnosed with skin cancer twice and now turns to a self-tan bottle to get her golden glow has invented a powder that stops your tan from staining bed sheets and clothes. Amanda Kunkenrenken, 41, developed CocoDRY after experiencing two bouts of melanoma, one freckle on her breast and the other on her upper chest, in 10 years. 'Being incredibly white I still wanted that beautiful glow of a tan but the process of fake tanning was time consuming... having to starfish on a lounge being trapped on a towel until you could shower,' the Sunshine Coast mum told Daily Mail Australia. She began applying talcum powder to areas that would commonly streak or wipe away on surfaces after she tanned - her elbow creases and decolletage, back of the knees and neck - but it looked 'ridiculous' applying a white powder and she certainly couldn't wear it outside. Amanda Kunkenrenken (pictured), 41, developed CocoDRY after experiencing two bouts of melanoma, one freckle on her breast and the other on her upper chest, in 10 years Since that time Amanda has been making between $10,000 and $11,000 a month selling her signature product, the Fake Tan Drying Powder and Kabuki Brush ($58), refills of the powder and more recently, a spray formulation 'So I set about creating an all-natural, toxic-free powder that was purpose built to alleviate common tanning mishaps that happen during the marinating stage before you shower like streaks, smears and to reduce the uncomfortable stickiness and tan transfer so that you are not stuck on a towel for hours,' she said. She played around with ingredients, asked a chemist for their advice, before launching the CocoDRY website in December 2020. Since that time Amanda has been making between $10,000 and $11,000 a month selling her signature product, the Fake Tan Drying Powder and Kabuki Brush ($58), refills of the powder and more recently, a spray formulation. 'It's exactly what I wanted it to be. No more walking around naked or in ugly clothes waiting for my tan to dry,' one happy customer wrote on the website. 'It's exactly what I wanted it to be. No more walking around naked or in ugly clothes waiting for my tan to dry,' one happy customer wrote on the website 'I love using the CocoDRY on my spray tan clients, it just makes that spray tan appointment a little more luxurious. Clients love the way it takes away the stickiness of the tan, the subtle natural scent always gets complimented and they walk away feeling comfortable and confident,' said another. The projected revenue for the brand this time next year is $474,966, making Amanda a very comfortable six-figure salary. 'I will say that Covid played a big part in my decision to start e-commerce as well,' she said. 'Like a lot of people I had no idea if I would still have my executive job or be able to continue spray tanning so it pushed me to finally give it a go. 'It was certainly a learning curve as e-commerce is a beast so it took a few months to get the hang of it but since then I've connected with many other women entrepreneurs to share my learnings. It really is a sisterhood of sorts.' The projected revenue for the brand this time next year is $474,966, making Amanda a very comfortable six-figure salary Having worked in typically male-dominated industries before going out on her own - including sales in new home construction and as an operations manager for a software development company - Amanda was more than comfortable being a leader but also wanted some flexibility after giving birth to her son. 'I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit though as on top of my career I have also owned tanning salons in Calgary, Canada and here on the Sunshine Coast,' she said. Her revolutionary product dries and sets any brand of self-tan or spray tan to eliminate common tanning mistakes like streaks and smears while reducing the sticky feeling and tan transfer on clothing and bedding. 'A lot of my customers also use daily as a body dusting powder to absorb sweat in areas that rub like inner thighs, elbow creases, under breasts or even as a natural dry shampoo,' she said. Her revolutionary product dries and sets any brand of self-tan or spray tan to eliminate common tanning mistakes like streaks and smears while reducing the sticky feeling and tan transfer on clothing and bedding While there are a few other self-tan drying powders on the market most of them include mica, which produces a shimmer. Amanda made a conscious choice not to include mica in her formulation because of the issues around sourcing it ethically. 'Clean beauty and being transparent about ingredients is very important to me as I know from my tanning businesses how many people have sensitive skin so it is the only tan drying powder that is Australian Certified Toxic-Free by Safe Cosmetics Australia,' she said. Later this year the Australian-owned company will set its sights on the overseas market and hire extra staff in order to boost traffic abroad. An osteopath has revealed the common signs your lymphatic system is backed up and some simple movements to improve flow. Brendon Talbot, a Canadian health practitioner who specialises in bone and muscle tissue, shared the signs your lymphatic system, which helps your body get rid of toxins, may be restricted including headaches, brain fog and fatigue in a video posted to TikTok. In the clip, he also demonstrated three movements he says helps improve lymph flow and reduce inflammation. Scroll down for video Canadian osteopath, Brendon Talbot, has revealed the sign of a backed up lymphatic system and three simple movements to improve flow and reduce inflammation The first movement, the osteopath recommends is to sit up straight on a bench or chair, stretch your arms out to the side and make small circular movements Mr Talbot lists the signs of a restricted lymphatic system as constipation, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, morning stiffness, acne, random food sensitivities, inflammation, auto immune disease and constant infections. The first movement, the osteopath recommends is to sit up straight on a bench or chair, stretch your arms out to the side and make small circular movements. Secondly, he stays sitting up straight folds his arms in front of him and twists his torso side to side. Secondly, he stays sitting up straight folds his arms in front of him and twists his torso side to side His final exercise it to get on your hands and knees, lifts his knee up to his chest then extends his leg out behind him and repeats the movement. In the clip's comments, Mr Talbot said daily walking is another great was to improve lymphatic flow. The video has been viewed more than 3.1million times on TikTok and racked up hundreds of comments from his fans. His final exercise it to get on your hands and knees, lifts his knee up to his chest then extends his leg out behind him and repeats the movement 'Im actually in shock.. I did these movements everyday as an exercise before and I had felt the best I ever had felt,' one person wrote. 'I got some of my co-workers doing these exercises. I have been doing them for years. They are life saving when you're on your feet all day,' sad a second. Mr Talbot has built up a following for more than 1.6million people on TikTok for his informative videos with tips and tricks on how to improve bodily function. Mr Talbot (pictured) has built up a following for more than 1.6million people on TikTok for his informative videos with tips and tricks on how to improve bodily function. In a previous video, he revealed his simple trick he claims can help loosen tight traps and shoulders to reduce neck pain. Mr Talbot said sitting on your hand with the palm facing down and tilting your head to your opposite shoulder for a few seconds will 'lengthen' the muscle. To increase the stretch he recommended gently pulling your head away with your free hand and taking 'a few deep breaths' before changing sides. Scroll down for video In a viral TikTok video, Mr Talbot says sitting on your hand with the palm facing down and tilting your head to your opposite shoulder for a few seconds will 'lengthen' the muscle The trapezius is the large triangular shaped muscle spanning from the back of the neck and shoulders and over the shoulder blade. 'Tightness in the upper trapezius can affect shoulder and neck mobility,' he wrote in the short video. 'It is common for people to tense the muscles of the shoulder and neck when they feel stressed. 'This tension can lead to muscle soreness over time.' In the comments Mr Talbot added how the exercise is to assist the 'general public' and for any further pain or discomfort it's important to see your healthcare professional. To increase the stretch he recommended gently pulling your head away with the free hand and taking 'a few deep breaths' before changing sides Mr Talbot's video, which went viral, racking up more than 600,00 views, was flooded by thousands of positive comments. 'I have needed this for YEARS! Thank you!' one person wrote. 'I've learnt more in one post than the number of visits to the chiropractor!' another added. A third said: 'I live for this stretch after working shoulders [at the gym].' If it hurts to begin with, Mr Talbot said to 'start with a slight bend [in the neck] each way' as it's likely 'one side will be easier' to loosen than the other. McDonald's Australia has announced its newest summer offering - but at $55-a-piece it's a lot more expensive than anything else on the menu. The fast-food chain has teamed up with Budgie Smuggler to create swimmers celebrating the restaurant and some of their most popular menu items. They will be launched on January 8 from the Budgie Smuggler website with the fast food chain hoping they become the 'summer uniform' of Australian beach lovers. There are three exclusive prints available in the range which includes men's Budgies, women's bikinis and women's one pieces as well as iconic bucket hats. McDonald's Australia have announced their newest summer offering - but starting at $55-a-piece it's a lot more expensive than their recent campaigns The McDonalds swimmers come in three different limited-edition patterns One print includes pictures of the restaurant's iconic Big Mac, fries and a drink. While another has a brightly-coloured stencil of the Sydney Harbour Bridge alongside the golden arches and names of some of the chain's best-selling burgers. These include the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder and hamburger. The third design is slightly more subtle, it features a red and white checkered pattern with menu items making break out appearances. The men's Budgie Smugglers are $55, while the women's are $55 each for the top and bottom of the bikini and $90 for the one piece. And news of the cleverly branded swimmers have certainly grabbed attention with one happy Maccas lover saying they would proudly wear them at the beach. There are men's Budgie Smugglers, as pictured, in the range as well as bikinis and women's one-pieces McDonalds hopes the swimewear will become a summer uniform for beach lovers They have also released matching bucket hats but have been secretive about the designs before the launch on Saturday Maccas said they decided on the partnership this year to help Australians embrace summer after two difficult years. 'Whether it's lounging on one of Australia's iconic beaches or dipping in and out of the pool, this summer is all about doing things we love with people we love,' McDonald's Australia senior brand manager Liz Whitbread said, declaring the swimwear an unofficial national uniform. McDonalds have been very secretive about the launch of the summer beach collection and are yet to release pictures of the limited-edition hats. In July the popular fast food brand launched a pyjama collection with Peter Alexander. A transgender man has revealed how he fell pregnant while transitioning after having a one-night stand with a man. Ash Patrick Schade, 28, from Huntington, West Virginia, had been two years into transitioning and was taking testosterone and estrogen blockers when he discovered he was pregnant in February 2020, following a 'Grindr hook-up'. 'It had never occurred to me that I could get pregnant whilst on testosterone and estrogen blockers, as it's such a rare occurrence,' Ash explained. After finding out he was pregnant, Ash, a mental health worker and PhD student, stopped hormone treatment to allow him to carry a child. A month after finding out he was pregnant, he met his now husband Jordan, 28. Daughter Ronan was born in October 2020. The couple are raising one-year-old Ronan together and Ash, who underwent top surgery to remove his breasts after the birth, says he is holding off on having full gender reassignment surgery so they can have more children together. Ash Patrick Schade, 28, from Huntington, West Virginia, had been two years into transitioning and was taking testosterone and estrogen blockers when he discovered he was pregnant in February 2020, following a 'Grindr hook-up'. Pictured, Ash before transitioning (left) and after having his 'top surgery' which took place following the birth of his daughter Ronan in October After finding out he was pregnant, Ash, a mental health worker, stopped hormone treatment and gave birth to daughter Ronan in October 2020. Pictured while pregnant Ash met husband Jordan one month after learning he was pregnant and the couple (pictured in hospital) are now raising daughter Ronan together Ash, pictured with Ronan, is holding off on full gender reassignment surgery in order to have more children with husband Jordan Ash, who was previously married to another man, explained: 'I was going through a rough time from 2019 and 2020 and struggled with my mental health due to going through a divorce. 'I ended up going on Grindr hook-ups and accidentally fell pregnant 'It was a huge shock, but I fell in love with my bump and pushed through the pregnancy, despite struggling with the dysphoria and medical risks.' Ash said he 'felt like he was in the wrong body' for 'as long as he could remember' and was sent to conversion therapy by his parents as a child, in the hope it would 'fix' him. 'I hid my boobs and identified as a boy at school and went by Ash, and wore gothic dark clothes as a way to hide how I looked,' he recalled. 'Until one day, my mother, who does not wish to be named, sent me to school in a pink two piece for picture day and my teacher loudly declared that I was actually a girl called Ashley. Ash, pictured with Ronan following the birth, decided to go ahead with the pregnancy after overcoming the initial shock Once Ronan was born, Ash underwent top surgery, pictured, to remove his breasts Ash, pictured following his top surgery, admits strangers are often confused when he explains his daughter's parentage Ash, pictured with daughter Ronan, said he has always struggled with feeling like he is in the wrong body 'I went from popular to a nobody overnight, with my then girlfriend's mum calling my mum to "keep that gay slur of a child away from my daughter". 'I had a really horrible childhood and am a suicide attempt survivor from the gender dysphoria and trauma I went through.' Ash began transitioning in 2018. He feared his mental health may take a turn for the worse when he discovered the pregnancy but had the support of his husband, Jordan, who he married in February 2021, four months after Ronan's birth. Ash continued: 'Nobody wanted to take my case when I first found out I was pregnant. I was such a high-risk case, with a lot of potential for the pregnancy to go awry. Ash, center, with husband Jordan and daughter Ronan at home together in West Virginia 'I struggled with the pregnancy, especially with the pandemic. But once I was assigned a doctor, he worked with me to understand how I was feeling and what I was going through. 'When I went into labor, the team of medical staff had already been briefed on my situation and were amazing, until they were swapped out with different staff members later on... 'It may sound counter-intuitive, but giving birth felt like one of the most masculine things I have done. 'To me, growing up and looking at male role models, being a man was never about having the biggest penis, it was about what you did to help others, what you could accomplish and achieve. Ash, pictured with one-year-old Ronan, said in a way giving birth was the most masculine thing he had ever accomplished because it showed his strength One-year-old Ronan is being raised by Ash and his husband Jordan, who met in March 2020 Ash said he wants to be 'honest and open' with Ronan about his journey to parenthood 'Bringing life into the world as a "seahorse parent" was incredible.' Ash also credited the support of his friends, the online gay and trans community and the Satanic Temple, of which he is a member. He said he is looking forward to telling Ronan how she was born as she grows up. 'I want to be honest and open with Ronan the whole way, and explain to her that sometimes trans men can have babies,' he continued 'I can explain to her how I am both her mom and her dad. A lot of the time people will stop us whilst we are out and say that her mother must look beautiful, or if I'm out with Jordan they'll ask where we adopted her. 'So it's usually quite an interesting conversation to begin when I explain it all to them.' It's back to work for everyone this week, including Queen Letizia of Spain, who donned a splendid navy dress for her first event of the year. The mother-of-two, 49, turned heads in the number at the traditional Pascua Militar ceremony in Madrid this morning. Wrapped in a short black coat, the Spanish royal, who enjoyed the Christmas break with her family away from the spotlight, looked well rested at today's event, which was combined with a reception at the Palacio Real, to mark Epiphany - a national holiday in Spain. Considered almost as important as Christmas Day itself, Epiphany marks the moment when baby Jesus, at just a few days old, was seen for the first time by the Magi or Three Kings. Back to school! King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain returned to royal duties this morning to mark the traditional Pascua Militar The 49-year-old royal looked sumptuous in the royal blue dress, adorned with the Queen Ena brooch, made of pearls and diamonds Tradition has it that the Queen always has to wear a floor-length number for this first engagement of the year, and Letizia picked a magnificent navy blue gown for the occasion. The dress was buttoned up on the bust and tied at the waist with a bow, which accentuated Letizia's petite silhouette. The skirt of her dress moved gently as she walked, revealing a pair of leather black stilettos. With a crisp winter wind sweeping over Madrid today, the mother-of-two wrapped up in a fur bomber jacket in black as she stood next to her husband during the ceremony. Her hair was tied in a neat bun, which revealed a pair of silver hoop earrings. The royal, who is known for her love of minimalist fashion, kept the look sober by wearing little accessories, apart from her favourite Karen Hallam ring. She was proudly sported the Queen Ena's brooch, which is made of two pearls and diamonds. She sported her everyday make-up with a dash of bronzer and a sculpted brow. The royal couple, who are resuming royal duties after a two-week-long break, looked well rested and relaxed today King Felipe was in full regalia for the event and Letizia respected the tradition and donned a floor-length gown Meanwhile her husband Felipe, 53, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, donned his full military regalia for the event. Known in Spain as El Dia de los Reyes (Day of the Kings), it is celebrated with presents and colourful parades, the oldest of which takes place in Valencia. The biggest and most important, however, is Madrid's - thanks in no small part to the presence of a real king at the procession. It was sunny in Madrid this morning, but a cold wind swept the Spanish city, forcing Letizia to wrap up in a fur coat Smile and wave! Felipe and Letizia made their way to the ceremony at Zarzuela Palace this morning Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who wore a face mask adorned with the Spanish colours, looked pensive during the event It also mark's the sovereigns' return to public duties after a two-week-long Christmas break with their daughter Princess Leonor, 16 and Princess Sofia, 14. Letizia's last engagement of 2021 was on December 20, wheb she attended the annual meeting of Cervantes Institutes directors in San Sebastian. The Institutes all have a common aim to promote the Spanish language across the world, and Letizia The mother-of-two sported a stylish look for her last engagement of the year with the trapeze Massimo Dutti skirt. The cut of the hem counter-balanced its woolen fabric and added levity to the Winter number. Letizia wore the blue dress with a fur coat, and donned a neat bun to brave the cold gust of winds this morning The United States condemned North Korea's recent missile launch as a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and a threat to the international community, Wednesday (local time). "The United States condemns the DPRK's ballistic missile launch. This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," a state department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into the East Sea, Wednesday, (KST), according to the U.S. Defense Department and the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command earlier said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. or its allies. "We are aware of the ballistic missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners," it said in a statement. "While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, the ballistic missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK's illicit weapons program," it added. A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. remains committed to dialogue with the North. "We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on them to engage in dialogue. Our commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad," the spokesperson said. Wednesday's missile launch marked the first of its kind by North Korea since October. Pyongyang has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range ballistic missile testing since November 2017. North Korea, however, has also boycotted denuclearization negotiations since 2019. (Yonhap) An opera conductor returned to the podium just three days after giving birth having continued to work up until five days before she went into labor after numerous people told her she wouldn't be able to balance motherhood and her job. Lidiya Yankovskaya, 35, from Chicago, Illinois, did not let her pregnancy slow her down. After being told that 'no one wanted to see a pregnant conductor,' she decided to prove her haters wrong. She conducted the opening of the Mark Alamo opera Becoming Santa Claus on December 11, despite being nine months pregnant and gave birth to her second child just five days later. Three days after that, she was back at the podium conducting the closing of Becoming Santa Claus impressing many people with her determination and strength. An opera conductor is earning praise after returning to the podium just 72 hours after giving birth having continued to work up until five days before labor (pictured while pregnant) After being told that 'no one wanted to see a pregnant conductor,' Lidiya Yankovskaya, from Chicago, Illinois, decided to prove her haters wrong. She pictured right after giving birth Lidiya (pictured with her family) conducted the opening of Mark Alamo's opera Becoming Santa Claus on December 11, while nine months pregnant - and gave birth five days later In a recent Instagram post, the mom-of-two opened up about the difficulties she's faced over being a woman conductor. According to Lidiya, who is originally from Russia, many people told her that women shouldn't be doing her job because of its 'physical demands.' She also said she was often told she would not be able to perform and take care of her kids at the same time. 'When I started conducting, people told me that women shouldnt be doing this job because of its physical demands,' she wrote. 'They never could explain to me what exactly those extreme demands might be they certainly arent much compared to childbirth. 'When I had my first kid, people told me that no one wanted to see a pregnant conductor, that I couldnt possibly conduct while taking care of a newborn, and that being a mother and being a conductor are incompatible. Three days after that, she was back at the podium conducting the closing of Becoming Santa Claus - amazing many people with her determination. She is pictured in November 2021 Sharing her story: According to Lidiya, who is originally from Russia, many people told her that women shouldn't be doing her job because of its 'physical demands' Proving them wrong: She also said she was often told she would not be able to perform and take care of her kids at the same time. She is pictured in October 2021 'I forged ahead with virtually no U.S.-based role models in this endeavor. I hope we are beginning to let go of this ridiculous, sexist stigma.' In the powerful post, she said 'pregnancy and childbirth' do not 'impair a woman's ability to judge for herself whether she is in a position to perform.' She continued: 'We must give mothers and all parents (more) support. However, we should never ASSUME that pregnancy or parenthood would prevent a person from doing anything they did before kids.' Elsewhere in the post, she joked that her winter break consisted of 'conducting an opera, birthing a human, and conducting an opera in that order.' She also thanked her 'exceptionally supportive colleagues,' who trust her to 'know her body and do her job,' as well as her 'incredible' husband, Dan Schwartz. She concluded: 'I must acknowledge here that all this is possible due to [my husband], who truly sees having kids as an equal partnership and supports me every step of the way in all my endeavors. 'I also note that, as with anything else in life, not all women have the same level of health, privilege, and support. I feel extremely lucky.' Stronger than ever: In a powerful Instagram post, she said 'pregnancy and childbirth' do not 'impair a woman's ability to judge for herself whether she is in a position to perform' Lidiya's quick return to the podium astounded many of her followers, with some branding her a 'superhero' and others calling her a 'role model Lidiya's quick return to the podium amazed many of her followers, with some branding her a 'superhero' and others calling her a 'role model.' 'You're incredible,' one person wrote. 'Congratulations to you guys.' Another added: 'You're a force and I value your example more than I can say. Thank you for making the path wider for all of us.' 'You are a rockstar,' someone else gushed. A fourth user said, 'Congratulations Lidiya. You are a superhero.' 'Well put! You're a role model for women not only in the music industry,' a different comment read. Throughout her impressive career, Lidiya has conducted more than 40 world premieres in total, including 16 operas. She works as Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater and founded the Refugee Orchestra Project, which helps promote the relevance of refugees through music. According to The Culture Trip, a 2014 survey found that in a list of the 150 top conductors in the world, only five were women. Russian male conductor Vasily Petrenko claimed during a 2013 interview with The Guardian that orchestras react better when they have a man in front of them and a cute girl on a podium means that musicians think about other things. Despite Vasily receiving some backlash for his statements, female conductor Marin Alsop agreed with his sentiment, telling The Independent in 2016, 'If a woman makes a gesture, it is interpreted in a totally different way from a man making the same gesture.' Wedding bells are in the near future for Josh Duggar's younger brother Jeremiah. Jeremiah, 23, announced today that he is engaged to Hannah Wissman, 26, following a brief three-month courtship just weeks after his older sibling Josh, 33, was jailed over child porn charges. He shared the exciting news via Instagram, calling his future wife 'the best thing that has ever happened to him.' Jeremiah, or 'Jer,' who starred in the TLC show Counting On alongside the rest of his family until it was canceled last summer, popped the question on a stone platform in a big field with rose petals laid out all over the ground. I do: Wedding bells are in the near future for Josh Duggar's younger brother Jeremiah Jeremiah, 23, announced today that he is engaged to Hannah Wissman, 26, following a three-month courtship - just weeks after Josh was jailed over child porn charges Here comes the bride: He shared the exciting news via Instagram, calling his future wife 'the best thing that has ever happened to him Jeremiah, or 'Jer,' popped the question on a stone platform in a big field with rose petals laid out all over the ground. They then spent the evening in a plastic igloo with views of the stars Another photo showed off the stunning diamond ring that the Arkansas native gave Hannah 'She said YES!!!!' he began in the post, which included a few snaps the showed the Arkansas native down on his knee while Hannah covered her mouth in surprise. Another picture showed Hannah grinning from ear to ear as she wrapped her arms around Jer. 'Hannah, getting to know you for the past year has been so incredible! I cant even find the words to describe it,' he continued in the post. 'You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I cannot wait to marry you. I love you.' A third photo showed off the stunning diamond ring that Jer gave Hannah. He wore a black suit and tie for the romantic proposal, while Hannah, who hails from Nebraska, opted for a long, flowing, pink dress. They then spent the evening in a plastic igloo with stunning views of the stars. According to the former reality star, he had help from his fiancee's family, as well his twin brother Jedidiah and his wife, Katey Nakatsu, to make moment extra special. Hannah took to her own account to gush over her Jer, calling the moment he popped the question 'perfect' and a 'dream come true Will you marry me? Jer wore a black suit and tie for the romantic proposal, while Hannah, who hails from Nebraska, opted for a long, flowing, pink dress Although it's unclear when they first got together, the couple publicly announced that they were dating in October 2021 So in love: At the time, Jer said he had 'never been so happy' before and had 'never felt so blessed' 'Thank you to everyone who helped make the day possible,' he added. 'The Wissmann family and Jed and Katey went above and beyond to make it special.' Hannah took to her own account to gush over her Jer, calling the moment he asked her to marry him 'perfect' and a 'dream come true.' 'YES!!!! A thousand times, yes!!!' she said. 'Making memories with you is my favorite and I cannot wait to spend a lifetime making more. 'You are an answer to prayer, a dream come true, the love of my life and my very best friend. I love you, Jeremiah! 'A huge thank you to each person who made it the most special evening ever!! My fiance, my family, and Jed and Katey totally surprised me with all of my favorite things. It was perfect!' Although it's unclear when they first got together, the couple announced that they were dating in October 2021. At the time, Jer said he had 'never been so happy' before and had 'never felt so blessed.' Looking ahead: 'Getting to know each other has been one of the greatest joys of our lives,' he wrote at the time. 'We are excited to see what God has in store for our future' Like Jeremiah, Hannah was raised in a conservative Christian family, the ninth of 13 children The Wissmann family also has their own musical group, and on the family website, Hannah is described as an 'energetic, social butterfly' 'Getting to know each other has been one of the greatest joys of our lives,' he wrote on Instagram at the time. 'We are excited to start sharing our story with all of you and to see what God has in store for our future.' However, after going public, fans of the Duggars speculated that the couple had secretly been dating for months before that. In the past, other Duggars have kept their courtships under wrap for some time, only revealing them to the public shortly before getting engaged. The Duggars follow very strict rules governing male-female interactions. In addition to saving their first kiss for their wedding day, Duggars generally refrain from physical contact any more intimate than a short side-hug before marriage. However, some engaged couples agree to hold hands. Like Jeremiah, Hannah was raised in a conservative Christian family, the ninth of 13 children. The Wissmann family also has their own musical group, and on the family website, Hannah is described as an 'energetic, social butterfly.' Jeremiah's announcement comes weeks after his older brother Josh, 33, was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography He was taken into custody in December and is currently at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas awaiting sentencing. He is pictured entering court with his wife, Anna 'Hannah is a skilled and creative young woman. She loves spending time in the kitchen trying new recipes and creating culinary masterpieces,' reads her bio. 'Our home also greatly benefits from her interest in interior design and seasonal decor. She is one of our lead vocalists and skillfully adds her fiddle to our musical selections.' Jeremiah's announcement comes weeks after his older brother Josh, 33, was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography. He was taken into custody on December 9 and is currently at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas awaiting sentencing. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each count. A teenager who turned in his gun-toting father for taking part in the Capitol riots on January 6 last year has branded his dad a 'psycho' while voicing his fears that he is becoming even more 'radicalized' while awaiting his trial date in jail. Guy Reffitt, 48, from Wylie, Texas, stormed the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to obstruct the process of certifying President Joe Bidens victory. Afterwards, he threatened his own wife and kids, telling them he would shoot them if they turned him to the authorities. However, he was later arrested after his son, Jackson, 19, contacted the FBI. Now, his son has spoken out about the decision to turn over his father in an interview with Vice News, admitting that the incident has completely torn apart his family, and forced him to cut off all contact with his relatives. A teen who turned in his gun-toting father for taking part in the Capitol riots last year has branded his dad a 'psycho' and voiced his fears he is being even more 'radicalized' in jail Guy Reffitt, 48, from Wylie, Texas, stormed the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to obstruct the process of certifying President Joe Bidens victory Afterwards, he threatened his own wife and kids, telling them he would shoot them if they turned him to the authorities. Guy is pictured with his family before the insurrection He was later arrested after his son, Jackson, 19, contacted the FBI. Guy is pictured before the insurrection After attending former President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally in front of the White House last January, Guy marched to the Capitol building alongside other pro-Trump supporters armed with a pistol. Vice News reported that he allegedly charged at police officers with such force that they had to fire projectiles and use pepper spray to hold him back. According to court documents, he told his family afterwards, 'If you turn me in, youre a traitor, and you know what happens to traitors Traitors get shot.' However, Jackson had already spoken to the FBI. Guy was arrested 10 days later on January 16 and was charged with attacking a Capitol Police officer, bringing a weapon onto Capitol grounds, and obstructing the process of certifying the Presidents victory, as well as threatening his own children. After turning his dad in, Jackson was forced to leave his family home and is no longer on speaking terms with his mom, Nicole, and his two sisters, Peyton, 18, and Sarah, 24. Jackson doesn't regret what he did, however, after Guy wrote a letter from jail in May, he became worried that his dad was becoming even more radicalized behind bars. In the letter, which was published by Propublica, he said he had bonded with fellow rioters while in jail, and made it clear that he still stood by the events that transpired on January 6. Now, his son (pictured in January 2021) admitted that his decision to turn in his father has completely torn apart his family, and forced him to cut off all contact with his relatives Last January, Guy marched to the Capitol building alongside other pro-Trump supporters - armed with a pistol - where he allegedly charged at police officers. He is pictured at the riot Jackson was then forced to leave his home and is no longer speaking to his mom, Nicole, and his sisters, Peyton, 18, and Sarah, 24. The family is pictured before the insurrection Jackson doesn't regret what he did, however, after Guy (pictured before the insurrection) wrote a letter from jail, he became worried that he was becoming more radicalized behind bars 'It was pretty disgusting to read that,' Jackson told the outlet, referring to the letter. 'I mean like its psycho stuff. 'Honestly, it made me feel worse about my decision, only because I feel like I pushed him in a more extreme direction. I made him more enthusiastic about what hes done.' According to Jackson, he made the decision to leave home after the insurrection because he 'knew at some point he would be either kicked out or pushed out in some sort of way.' He originally stayed with his girlfriend but began getting threats and went into hiding at a hotel. He was eventually able to get his own apartment, after speaking out about his situation through various news outlets, like CNN, and raising money through a GoFundMe account. He raised more than $150,000 in total, and used some of it to cover rent and the rest to fund his education; he is now studying political science in a local community college. As for the rest of his family Guy's wife, Nicole, said she fully supports her husband's decision to storm the Capitol and believes he is now a 'political prisoner.' She also said she loves her son and doesnt blame him for what he did, telling Vice News, 'We're all a little bit broken right now.' Sarah and Peyton, on the other hand, don't agree with their dad's actions on January 6, but they don't think he deserves to be in jail any longer. Guy's wife, Nicole, said she fully supports her husband's decision to storm the Capitol and believes he is now a 'political prisoner.' They are pictured before the insurrection Sarah and Peyton don't agree with their dad's actions, but they don't think he deserves to be in jail. Sarah (middle) and Peyton (left) are pictured with Jackson before the insurrection Peyton (pictured left with her sister and mom after the insurrection) said the whole ordeal made her feel like she has been 'stabbed over and over again' Guy is set to become the first Capitol rioter to stand trial, which will tentatively begin on February 28. He is pictured storming the Capitol on January 6 Peyton, who had to change schools due to the immense amount of hate her family has received, said the whole ordeal made her feel like she has been 'stabbed over and over again.' 'I feel like I've been bleeding out on the floor for a whole year. Every day I just feel like I get stabbed over and over again,' she said. 'It becomes like a chronic pain because now when I close my eyes, I think of our family dynamic so differently than it was and our struggles have just become so strong.' Sarah added: 'We had a lot of death threats through the mail, and getting threats through the mail is different: You react differently if someone's actually writing it. 'Someone even colored a photo of an American flag and then drew all over it and then wrote [my dad] needs to hang until hes dead, dead, dead.' Jackson is going to testify, and isn't looking forward to it. He hopes that after the trial, he can reconnect with his family. He is pictured with his family before the insurrection Supporters loyal to President Donald Trump are pictured clashing with authorities before successfully breaching the Capitol building during a riot on the grounds on January 6 She said her brother hasn't 'tried to protect them in any way, even emotionally.' However, Jackson insisted that he's 'offered them plenty of help,' which was rejected by his mom. Sarah also claimed they asked Jackson for support financially, but he refused. She explained: 'He basically just said it's a GoFundMe not a GoFundUs, and that it has to be used for him and the things he said he was going to use it for.' Nicole, Sarah, and Peyton set up their own fundraiser on the website GiveSendGo, where they raised just under $55,000. Guy is set to become the first Capitol rioter to stand trial, which will tentatively begin on February 28. Jackson is going to be called to the stand to testify, and he's not looking forward to it. 'It will suck. He's probably gonna be there in the courtroom, which is gonna suck so much,' he admitted. 'And just looking at him is gonna suck. I mean, I still feel guilty, but this is the best-case scenario.' He hopes that after the trial, however, he and his family can reconnect and heal. He concluded: 'If we keep our distance right now and then whenever the trial wraps up then we can kind of get back together. 'It'll just be building bridges from there. It'll just take time. My family's kind of bada** in that way, and were pretty resilient.' For plus-size women, the world can often seem like it's full of roadblocks and denials that seem almost unique to just them For example, talking about sex may be taboo to most, but it's considered even more so when it comes to a plus-size woman. It's an attitude that plus blogger Cheyenne is trying to counter, by sharing a powerful - and graphic - post all about what it's really like for bigger ladies in the bedroom. Sending a message: San Antonio, Texas, plus-size blogger Cheyenne is inspiring fellow women to embrace their bodies in the bedroom Showing off: The curvy redhead recently shared a post all about sex as a plus-sized woman The San Antonio, Texas-based blogger regularly shares nude or nearly-nude selfies showing off her ample curves in an effort to encourage other plus-size women to be body positive. In one of her recent posts, which has since gone viral, Cheyenne, who goes by @Goofy_Ginger on Instagram, explained how plus-size women have to deal with being 'denied sexuality altogether' or being fetishized for their size. 'People assume you have sex with a shirt on and the lights off, which is true for some of us,' she wrote. 'I was so afraid of what I would look like to someone performing cunnilingus, I wouldnt engage in it. We contort our bodies, hide under covers, or refuse positions because God forbid our partner see we have a belly.' Loving her curves: Cheyenne lamented how plus-size women are often 'denied sexuality altogether' or are fetishized for their size Getting nervous: She also talked about how many women feel the need to hide their bodies - even while having sex Looking another way: However, she explained in the post, these women's partners know how they look and still want to have sex with them However, she explained, sexual partners of these women know exactly how they look and still want to go to bed with them. 'Not in spite of our looks, but because our appearance is attractive!' she said, adding that embracing being naked helped her come to this realization. 'By taking selfies, lounging, and sleeping completely nude, I grew comfortable enough to share my nakedness with others,' she said. 'Your soft belly, jiggly hips, dimpled thighs are beautiful and sexy.' And Cheyenne certainly isn't all talk, sharing dozens of scantily clad, or even entirely naked photos on her Instagram page. Slight issue: Cheyenne regularly posts about her struggles with her size and about overcoming negative body image Spreading the word: Cheyenne's post about sexuality has been liked more than 6,000 times Along with nearly every photo, Cheyenne pens a post meant to inspire other plus-size women to embrace their bodies and their sexuality. 'That muffin top you once hid? It should be unleashed in all its glory during sex! Anyone who is disrespectful of that doesnt deserve sex with you,' she added. 'Dont waste yourself on someone who doesnt honor your body the way it deserves.' Cheyenne also offered some advice to women like her looking to get more adventurous and uninhibited in the bedroom. 'Not all positions work, and thats okay! There are always alternatives. Just do a quick Google search, and try out some new stuff,' she wrote in the post, which has been liked more than 6,000 times. 'Our bodies have amazing capabilities to give and receive pleasure, and no matter what your fat content is, you deserve to enjoy that pleasure. 'So, whether youre a svelte tigress or a voluptuous vixen, you are allowed to have all the unapologetic, unbridled sex you want!' More and more men are jumping on the Botox train - and are finding all sorts of reasons to give the toxin a try. An impressive 453,281 male patients got botulinum toxin injections last year, increasing the number of total procedures by 9.9 per cent for both men and women, according to a recent study by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Plastic surgeons have become used to seeing men in their practices. Several of them told the Huffington Post what motivates their male clients to try the procedure, from wanting to remain competitive in the workplace to finding inspiration on social media. On the rise: Last year, 453,281 male patients got botulinum toxin injections, increasing the number of total procedures by 9.9 per cent for both men and women, a recent study says Men too feel pressured to look young and feel that a more youthful appearance might help them to retain their jobs longer, according to the physicians, who said patients from 35 to 65 years old were interested in Botox. 'They're simply having more procedures done because they want to maintain the competitiveness in an increasingly ageist workplace,' Dr Daniel Mills, president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, told the website. Doctors Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow, who both star on E!'s Botched, agreed with Mills. 'The younger and better you look, the better chance you have to stay in the market and compete. It's as simple as that,' Dubrow said. Most frequently, men want the toxin injected around their eyebrows and eyes, according to the doctors. Significant others and spouses can also play a part in convincing a man to step inside the plastic surgeon's office. Some of them become more comfortable with the procedure after seeing a loved one having it, while others simply claim their other half demanded they get the injections. Motives: Doctors Terry Dubrow (left) and Paul Nassif (right), who both star on E!'s Botched, both said that men wanted to look younger to feel more competitive in the workplace 'Men blame their spouses with the 'I don't care but my wife/girlfriend wants me to do it,' excuse,' Dubrow added. The trend is also self-perpetuating. After seeing more and more men coming into their practices, doctors have started paying more attention to them. In the past, a man visiting a plastic surgery website would have seen mostly procedures aimed at women, Dr Daniel Maman told the Huffington Post. 'Now we have a dedicated tab on our website for men and it has galleries showing pictures of men,' he added. Social media - and the desire to look great on an online dating profile - have also inspired more and more male to give the toxin a try. 'I think with social media and men wanting to look goodsince honestly a lot of the older men are going out with younger womenthey do want to use Botox,' Nassif said. Most men likely to get Botox tend to have higher incomes, and many of them work in the art, fashion, law or business industries, the physicians said. But they insisted that male patients of all backgrounds had resorted to the toxin. 'I have Asian men, I have African-American men, I have white men, I have everyone,' Dr Seth Matarasso said. 'I have a huge Republican CEO getting Botox. He's a Trumpite and he's a toxin junkie.' While Omicron drives record COVID-19 case increases in the U.S., deaths have stayed relatively low so far - with about 1,300 Americans dying each day in the last week, compared to 2,600 deaths per day at this point in 2021. The variant's inherently milder qualities, combined with high levels of immunity from vaccination and prior infections, may mean that a low percentage of people infected in the Omicron surge will face severe symptoms. Experts say the U.S. is showing signs of 'decoupling,' in which increases in hospitalizations and deaths no longer directly follow increases in cases. The U.S. could follow the U.K., where the current Covid mortality rate is 21 times lower than it was during the country's second wave and experts are saying Omicron 'should be welcomed.' Following a large wave of cases in the U.S., some experts say that the variant could lead to even higher levels of population immunity - meaning that future surges will be even less severe. On Tuesday, University of California immunologist Monica Gandhi said the US was in a 'totally different phase' of the pandemic. 'Ther virus is always going to be with us but my hope is that this variant causes so muhc immunity that it will quell the pandemic.' While Omicron drives record Covid cases in the U.S., deaths have remained relatively low so far. Pictured: Hospital staff treat a Covid patient in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, January 2022 In the U.S., about 1,300 Americans are dying of Covid every day - compared to 2,600 deaths a day, double that number, in early January 2021 In the U.K., the share of cases leading to death (orange) has remained low even as cases rise to record heights (red), leading to optimism among some experts The highly contagious Omicron variant is driving record cases across the U.S., with an average of 587,000 new cases reported on a seven-day rolling average, according to data from Johns Hopkins. On Monday, more than 1 million new cases were reported in a single day - including some cases from holiday backlogs. The current national case rate is more than twice as high as the rate reported in January 2021, during the U.S.'s last record-breaking surge. Yet so far, hospitalization and death numbers have remained lower than last winter - both nationally and in many states and cities. About 85,000 Covid patients are currently hospitalized in America's hospitals, compared to a peak of 124,000 during last winter's surge, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each day in the past week, about 1,300 Americans died of Covid. While this is still a high number, it's about half of the death rate at this time last year - over 2,600 Covid deaths per day. Experts call this phenomenon 'decoupling': hospitalizations and deaths used to increase at the same rate as cases during surges, but now they increase at lower rates. In the U.S., decoupling may be attributed to both Omicron's inherent biology and high levels of immunity in the population. A growing number of studies are showing that Omicron is less likely to cause severe symptoms than past coronavirus strains. Unlike other variants, Omicron can rapidly replicate in the upper airways - but has limited capacity to wreak havoc in the lungs, where the worst respiratory symptoms take place. At the same time, the U.S. has high levels of immunity from vaccinations and past infections. More than 70 percent of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose, while about one-third have been infected at some point, computational biologist Trevor Bedford recently told STAT News. 'Factored together, that's 80-odd percent [of people with some immunity,' Bedford said. While the vaccines are less effective at protecting against Omicron infections than they were at preventing infection from past strains, vaccine protection against severe disease remains strong. U.K. data show that Covid death rates have barely changed over the last month, even as cases have surged to new records in the country Similarly, the number of patients in U.K. hospitals is a fraction of the levels seen last winter Experts are observing a similar decoupling pattern in the U.K., which is a couple of weeks ahead of the U.S. in its Omicron wave. Dr David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline the strain's emergence could be the best thing to have happened for the pandemic, echoing comments made by health experts in Denmark earlier this week. He said: 'With the spread of Omicron over the past three weeks, recorded cases have gone from around 50,000 per day to around 200,000.' 'This has not fed through into an increased death rate - and a rise would have been expected by now, if it was going to happen. MailOnline analysis found that just 0.15 percent of cases in the U.K. led to a death towards the end of December, compared to three percent during the country's large second wave last winter. 'The divergence between case and death rates agrees perfectly with Omicron being highly transmissible but less lethal than earlier variants - exactly as asserted by doctors in South Africa who discovered it,' Livermore said. 'It tallies also with studies from Hong Kong and Cambridge showing that Omicron is less able to infect lung cells and more likely to stay in the upper airways, where it does less serious harm,' he went on.' 'In all these respects, Omicron is far preferable to the more dangerous variants that proceeded it and its take over should be welcomed.' The U.K.'s falling Covid fatality rate could be partially attributed to delayed reports of deaths over the holiday season, Dr Paul Hunter, also at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline. The 'fatality rate for Omicron does seem to be lower than we have seen with previous variants,' he said, but current figures may be skewed by the delays. Covid deaths are typically reported with a longer lag time than cases, as it can take days or weeks for a death certificate to be filled out and submitted to health officials. In the U.S., data experts have noted that death data typically take more time to recover from holiday reporting lags than other types of Covid data. Still, the numbers so far have given some scientists reason to be optimistic. Livermore told MailOnline the Omicron variant could be beneficial because its increased transmissibility has helped wipe out more lethal variants, including Delta, and could help prevent future ones from emerging. 'It'll then act as a natural vaccine or booster,' he said. 'And that, I believe - rather than through human efforts - is how the pandemic will end. It's how respiratory pandemics ended in the past.' Dr Bob Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, shared a similar hypothesis on Twitter last week. 'We'll have to see how well a case of Omicron protects vs. recurrence, but I'm quite hopeful that it will offer major protection,' he wrote. 'By early February,' Wachter said, 'we could be in a place where Covid is, in fact, 'like the flu' with the vast majority of the U.S. protected through vaccines or recent infections, folks at higher risk having ready access to an oral treatment that markedly lowers their risk, and a healthcare system no longer stressed to the point of perilousness - for both Covid patients & others needing our services.' In other words, Omicron will further boost coronavirus immunity in the U.S. - where more than four in five Americans already have some degree of protection from the virus. As a result, future Covid waves could potentially be evenless severe than the current Omicron wave. BIOGRAPHY HOW TO BE A REFUGEE by Simon May (Picador 9.99, 320 pp) Ilse, Ursel and Marianne Liedtke were three beautiful sisters, known to their many admirers in 1930s Berlin as The Three Graces. Brought up in a household steeped in German culture, they were very talented: Ilse as a photographer, Ursel an actress and Marianne a musician. They were also Jewish but, unlike hundreds of thousands of other German Jews, they escaped deportation to concentration camps. This gripping family memoir, written by Mariannes son, tells how they erased their Jewish identity and survived against the odds. A memoir reveals how Ilse, Ursel and Marianne Liedtke erased their Jewish identity and survived against the odds. Pictured: Marianne, Ursel and Ilse Their father, Ernst, was a successful lawyer who loved his country fiercely. He had converted to Protestantism in 1910; being Jewish, he believed, made him less German. When Hitler began his rise to power, Ernst airily reassured his wife: The Germans will wake up soon. One morning in 1933 his young clerk, previously so deferential to him, shoved Ernst out of the office, shouting abuse. He never went back and, within a few months, he died of a heart attack. The year after Ernsts death, the three sisters all converted to Catholicism. They were genuine in their faith they remained ardent Catholics all their lives but it was also a pragmatic move: the powerful Catholic Church had a duty, at least in theory, to protect its flock. And who can blame them, May asks, for grasping at any strategy to help them survive? Ilse, the oldest, continued living in Berlin where she hid in plain sight: her fiance was a prominent Nazi Party member and she was often to be found dancing in night clubs, surrounded by high-ranking Nazis. Perhaps it was her very confidence that meant no one ever checked up on her. At the same time, she was part of a clandestine network that helped hide Jews. She was brilliantly courageous, May writes. Of the few Germans who were resisting at all, even fewer were doing anything for the Jews. Ursel, the middle sister, was forced to give up her job when she was unable to prove her pure Aryan antecedents. HOW TO BE A REFUGEE by Simon May (Picador 9.99, 320 pp) In desperation, she persuaded her widowed mother to sign documents stating that Ursels father wasnt Ernst but a conveniently dead Greek man. But in 1943, when the Gestapo got wind of her Jewish grandparents, she chopped off her hair, flattened her chest with a corset and, disguised as a boy, fled 200 miles across the border to Holland. She remained in hiding for the rest of the war. The youngest of the trio, Marianne, left Germany for England in 1934 when she was just 20 to pursue her career as a musician. She married another German Jewish emigre and became a professor at the Royal College of Music. Whereas the chapters set in Berlin are filled with tension, the section on Mays childhood in London is a delight. Although bemused by many British customs, his parents were fervent British patriots, refusing ever to hear a word of criticism of their adopted country. When Marianne turned 60 and got her first state pension payment, she exclaimed in amazement: You mean that they saved my life and now they want to pay me as well? Their home life was less 1970s London than a recreation of 1920s Berlin. Television was banned and almost everyone they socialised with came from our world of emigres. Sundays were spent eating huge, cholesterol-laden teas, followed by a music recital. It is hard to convey how happy I was in this world filled with strict but deeply warm-hearted people, he writes. Yet paradoxically his mother did not want Simon to consider himself either British, or German, or Jewish. He was, he concluded, a hereditary refugee. Gradually, he found his place by immersing himself in science and then philosophy (he is now visiting professor of Philosophy at Kings College London). Germany, he realised, was the place to which he felt most attuned, where almost everything feels recognisable, even if I have never encountered it before. ROAR! A COLLECTION OF MIGHTY WOMEN by Ashley Longshore (Rizzoli 32.50, 224 pp) ROAR! A COLLECTION OF MIGHTY WOMEN by Ashley Longshore (Rizzoli 32.50, 224 pp) Roar indeed! Self-taught pop artist Ashley Longshores vibrant collection of portraits pays tribute to well-loved and powerful women. From Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo to Beyonce and Queen Elizabeth II, this effervescent collection celebrates notable women from all over the world in the most colourful fashion. Bold brushstrokes set against vivid backgrounds bring them to life in a way that exudes empowerment. Accompanied by to-the-point snippets of what makes these meaningful ladies so iconic and significant, Roar! is a fun and exuberant book that is guaranteed to inspire the woman in your life, whatever age she is. British luxury motoring legend Bentley has announced record sales up nearly a third - as it charges ahead with ambitious plans to electrify its entire range of cars. It highlighted unprecedented demand for its petrol-electric hybrid models - spearheaded by the Bentayga SUV, priced from 158,000, and the new Flying Spur limousine, which costs from 164,000, as it announced record deliveries of 14,659 cars to its customers worldwide in 2021. Overall sales increased 31 per cent on its previous record year in 2020 and saw Bentley, which is part of the VW Group, buck the motor industry's decline in sales triggered by a computer chip shortage. Bentley's biggest seller is the Bentayga (pictured), followed by Continental GT grand tourer Bentley's biggest seller is the Bentayga, with 40 per cent of sales, which puts the 170,000-plus Continental GT luxury grand tourer in second place, with 33 per cent of sales. While a heavy luxury SUV could hardly be described as green, well-heeled customers are increasingly flocking to buy Bentley's hybrid version 4x4. Some 1 in 5 Bentayga sales were of new hybrid models, it revealed, as it reinforced its commitment to being 'the first fully electrified and zero carbon luxury car company in the world.' Based in Crewe, Bentley celebrated double digit growth in all markets with record sales figures in the US, China and Asia Pacific regions. The major export drive saw the Americas principally the USA remain the number one market with its highest ever sales figure. The Americas and China together contributed 56 per cent of Bentley's total global sales. In 2020, despite the pandemic, Bentley sold a then record 11,206 luxury vehicles. 'We overcame significant headwinds': Bentley chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark Bentley bosses said its results were a testament to the workforce and the measures taken to continue production despite Covid, logistical issues and the global shortage of semiconductor computer chips needed in modern cars. The imminent launch of the new Flying Spur Hybrid variant is set to boost the model's 27 per cent of total sales even further in 2022, it said. Announcing the record results Bentley said: 'This significant achievement was driven by new model introductions, a fresh product portfolio and increasing demand for Bentley's new hybridised models, introduced under Bentley's Beyond100 strategic path to full electrification by 2030. Bentley Motors chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said of 2021: 'It was yet another year of unpredictability though I am delighted to be able to confirm that we overcame significant headwinds, and deliver a breakthrough in our sales performance. 'This is our second record sales year in the successive years and is a positive sign of our brand strength, operational excellence, strong global demand and affirmation of our strategic priorities.' In demand: The new Flying Spur limousine, which costs from 164,000 Highlighting the British luxury brand's acceleration towards electrification, Mr Hallmark said: 'The reaction to the market introduction of the Bentayga Hybrid and anticipation for Flying Spur Hybrid demonstrate the path the luxury sector is heading, and we are positioned firmly at the forefront. 'These numbers are validation that we not only lead the sector in sales and market share, but also investment in electric technologies and commitment to being the first fully electrified and zero carbon luxury car company in the world.' As part of a recent Volkswagen Group internal re-organisation ahead of greater electrification, Bentley now falls under the umbrella of group brand Audi, which already has a growing performance electric-car line up. British luxury rival Rolls-Royce, based at Goodwood, in Sussex, and part of the BMW Group is expected next week to announce similarly encouraging sales figures. People in their 40s are in danger of seeing retirement plans upended because they don't know the minimum age to tap private pensions will rise to 57 in six years' time. Four in five fortysomethings have no idea the Government plans to increase the minimum pension age for accessing workplace and personal retirement savings from 55 in 2028, new research reveals. 'Many of those seeking to draw benefits as soon as possible may be shocked to learn that they will have to wait,' warns the Pensions Management Institute. Retirement planning: The Government will increase the minimum age at which people can access their private pensions from 55 to 57 in 2028. The PMI, a body for pensions industry professionals, found that 18 per cent in a survey of 2,000 workers aged 40-49 knew the minimum pension age for accessing private pensions is set to increase in a few years' time. However, just 4 per cent could correctly identify the current minimum age of 55, indicating a wider lack of awareness about retirement rules in this age group. PMI president Lesley Alexander says: 'The results of this research are particularly worrying, as they suggest strongly that the Government has failed to make the general public aware of a significant change in pensions policy. 'This news comes just six months after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman judged that Department for Work and Pensions was guilty of maladministration over its failure to provide adequate notice of the change to state pension age for women born in the 1950s. What about the state pension age? The Government plans to increase the state pension for men and women from 66 to 67 in stages between 2026 and 202, and is currently reviewing when to hike the state pension age to 68. Changes to the state pension age for women proved controverial and led to individual hardship, and years of protests and legal action. The Parliamentary Ombudsman recently accused the Government of 'maladministration' over delays to informing women about a a six-year jump in their state pension age. 'There is very real potential for another embarrassment.' >>>How do you bridge the savings gap if you decide to retire at 55 anyway? Find out below How will the Government plans work? The Treasury first announced in 2014 that the Government would increase the minimum age at which people can access their private pension from 55 to 57 in 2028. It confirmed its intention and launched a consultation in February 2020. Last November, it closed a loophole to avoid confusion and the risk of fraudsters exploiting savers. Under the initial plans, people affected by the change who transferred to a scheme with a 'protected' pension age' by April 2023 could gain access to their money at the old lower age. A barrage of industry criticism about the risk of fraudsters encouraging people to make transfers on the back of this prompted a rethink. The Treasury announced that unless you were currently in the middle of doing a pension transfer, the option of doing that to still benefit from an age 55 threshold was removed with immediate effect. However, industry critics warn there are still potential pitfalls for savers affected by the change to when they can first make withdrawals from private pension pots. The PMI says the increase to the pension age to 57 is complicated because it will not apply to everyone. Those earning benefits in a public service pension scheme, and those who are members of some private sector arrangements, will continue to have a pension age of 55, it explains. Alexander says: 'It is vital that the general public understands clearly what their retirement choices are. 'With the pensions dashboard due to arrive in 2023 giving people the chance to review all their pension savings in a single place it will only cause confusion when people learn that they will become eligible to draw benefits at different ages. 'The need for a new communication programme to explain this to the public has become urgent.' Tom Selby, head of retirement policy at AJ Bell, branded the Government plans 'bonkers' in an article for This is Money He points out that people who are currently in a scheme with a protected pension age and then later transfer might end up in a scheme with two different minimum pension ages. Industry body the Association of British Insurers says: 'Most savers have more than one pension pot and millions will now have a mix, with some pots they can access at age 55, and others where they need to wait to 57 making it harder to plan for retirement. 'It is vital that Government and the pension sector work together closely to ensure that customers are clear about their private pension position and when they can access their money.' I have a 1m-plus pension and will turn 55 in 2028 This is Money's pensions columnist, Steve Webb, explains the rule change and how it will affect access to private pots here. Steve Webb, a former Pensions Minister and now a partner at LCP, wrote a column for This is Money explaining the age change - see the box on the right. He says: 'It would be easier if the Government simply left things as they are and allowed people to access their pension at 55 if they wished.' What does the Government say? 'We announced the change in the normal minimum pension age to 57 in 2014, 14 years in advance of the change to give people time to make financial plans,' says a Government spokesperson. 'We are revolutionising how consumers keep track of their pension information by introducing pensions dashboards a single online place for people to access via their digital device at any time, putting the saver more in control and transforming how they think and plan for their retirement.' Pension dashboards, originally expected in 2019, are due to be introduced in 2023. These are intended to allow people to see their retirement savings at a glance online. Workplace savings have been boosted by an additional 28.4billion a year since the launch of auto-enrolment in 2012. Since then, more than 10million more people have signed up for pensions, which employers have to provide for staff unless they actively opt out. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 5. AP-Yonhap U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned North Korea's latest missile test in a telephone conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Wednesday. The two also discussed ways to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department. "Secretary Blinken condemned the DPRK's ballistic missile launch and stressed the U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan remains ironclad," department spokesman Ned Price said of the call in a statement, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "They also discussed cooperation to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," the statement added. North Korea announced Thursday (KST) that it had successfully test-fired a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile. The launch marked the North's first missile test since October. The State Department earlier condemned the missile test as a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, and a threat to the international community. The Blinken-Hayashi call came one day before the two are set to hold the annual U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting virtually, which will also involve U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. (Yonhap) William Tyrrell detectives are conducting a fresh round of interviews in the case of the missing toddler as inquest findings are delayed with 'no set date' yet to resume. The inquest was meant to wind up in March, but was postponed by the sudden 'high intensity' dig for William's remains near the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall which wound up before Christmas. A mystery bone fragment is still being examined by the State Forensic and Analytical Science Service laboratory (FASS) at Lidcombe in Sydney, along with strips of degraded cloth unearthed in bushland. Forensic scientists are still analysing evidence from the Mazda hatchback seized last November that had been driven by William's foster mother on the morning he vanished. A court has heard that the foster mother will make an application in February to have her case heard under the NSW Mental Health Act, and the foster father was waiting on a report to decide if he will do the same. Magistrate Robyn Denes slapped an unprecedented round of suppression orders on the case which forbid identifying the foster parents, their relatives, foster children and any evidence about the alleged assault until the forthcoming court case or the inquest have been 'fully determined'. Both the foster mother and the foster father have entered pleas of not guilty to the charge. Detectives are conducting a fresh round of interviews in the case of missing toddler William Tyrrell, while the inquest into his disappearance is on hold with no set date to resume Detective Sean Ogilvy (above, at Hornsby Local Court last year) has been involved in investigating William's foster parents, as well as working on the bushland dig for the toddler's body Forensic scientists are still analysing evidence from the Mazda hatchback (above) seized last November that had been driven by William's foster mother on the morning he vanished Prosecutor Senior Sergeant Amin Assaad told Hornsby Local Court in December that the alleged child victim who police claim was assaulted by Williams foster parents would be re-interviewed before the police brief was served on February 1. The renewed search for the toddlers remains around the Kendall home where William was last photographed playing on his foster grandmother's verandah on September 12, 2014 took place over four weeks. The inquest was suddenly halted last November when Strike Force Rosann announced it would search the home and one square kilometre of bushland around 700m from the premises. Police hierarchy announced it was now focusing on the foster mother as a person of interest in the case. It is not suggested that the foster mother was actually involved in William's disappearance, only that she has been identified as a person of interest. The car under forensic analysis, was owned by William's foster grandmother and driven by the foster mother along Batar Creek, Road Kendall, around which police excavations centred in November and December. The $1 million reward for information that leads to the recovery of William Tyrrell, and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, remains in place. William's foster mother (above) has pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault of a child, who prosecutors were re-interviewing ahead of the matter returning to court next month The foster father (above) has also pleaded not guilty and will indicate if he, like the foster mother, intends to apply to have his case heard under the NSW Mental Health Act The 'body finder' forensic expert who unearthed remains of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe lingered at William Tyrrell dig site until its very last day of operation, December 17. Two days earlier a mystery bone fragment was found in situ and sent off for analysis, without police confirming if the bone was animal or human. Professor Jon Olley remained at the site with Detective Sean Ogilvy, who has been investigating William Tyrrell's foster parents. William Tyrrell child advocate Allanna Smith told Daily Mail Australia she was 'disappointed' the search had to be halted and she slammed 'seven years of secrets and lies' marring the discovery of what really happened to the missing toddler. Body finder expert Professor John Olley (above) lingered at the Tyrrell dig on its penultimate day last December (above, a day after a mystery bone fragment was found Detective Sean Ogilvy (second left) at the search site with police and Prof Olley (right) last December 16, the day before the dig was wound up Prof. Olley (right) with police as an excavator continued to work on the dig along Batar Creek Road at Kendall on December 16, a day after a mystery bone fragment was found 'I'm disappointed the search for William at Kendall stopped,' Ms Smith said. 'The fact he was a foster child played a massive part in why it was never investigated as it should have been. 'If William is dead ... why is there suppressions on reporting what actually happened?' In 2016 Ms Smith fought a legal battle against the then Family and Community Services (FACS) Department backed by Mr Jubelin and the foster parents . NSW Supreme Court Justice Paul Brereton ruled William's disappearance 'while he was in the parental responsibility of the minister, and in the care of departmentally approved carers' was a matter of legitimate public interest. Child advocate Allanna Smith slammed the lack of resolution in the case, blaming 'seven years of secrets and lies' which she said had interfered with the search for William More than 30 items unearthed and tonnes of soil are being inspected at the FASS laboratory at Lidcombe. Prof Olley told Daily Mail Australia onsite the task of finding William's remains was 'more complex' than his successful discovery of Daniel Morcombe's remains because it was over 'a bigger area'. He said that the Spider-Man costume could be the only clue remaining, given the make-up of the material. 'The one thing we have going in our favour is the fact that (investigators) believe he was in a polyester suit. That doesn't break down and it's very resistant to actually fading as well,' he said. Kendall locals and residents of Benaroon Drive (above) from where William vanished want police to return and the answers to the toddler's disappearance sorted once and for all 'There possibly would be bones, but given the level of bioactivity here, and the amount of humic acids that are in the soils, that would actually help break them down over time.' William's 56-year-old foster mother is due to apply for a hearing under the Mental Health Act in either Hornsby or Parramatta local courts on February 22. High in the September sky over the world's UFO capital, a flashing brilliant white light hovered for two hours before silently gliding off. At several points the light from an apparently cigar-shaped object disappeared completely before reemerging above Santiago, Chile. Now DailyMailTV has obtained exclusive video of the event, which is being analyzed by experts trying to determine what could possibly be behind the phenomenon. And Lue Elizondo, the former head of the US government's UFO monitoring unit, says the extraordinary video 'warrants further investigation.' Scroll down for video DailyMail.com has obtained videos Hugo Franzani took on his phone of a mysterious object hovering over Santiago, Chile Three of the four videos turned out blank, but the fourth showed the bright light in the sky veer off to the left after staying still for several minutes. The white light was as bright as a camera flash, and the cigar-shaped object also sporadically shot blue, green and red light from its sides Dustin Hoffman lookalike Hugo Franzani, 81, shot four videos of the object over Santiago with his cell phone, but only one of them came out. He said he had never had that problem with his phone before The video was shot on September 9 by Hugo Franzani, a retired Chilean realtor and amateur photographer, from his family's backyard in the Santiago suburb of Las Condes. The 81-year-old who bears a striking resemblance to actor Dustin Hoffman, said the pulsating white light emitted by the object was as bright as a camera flash, and that it also sporadically shot blue, green and red light from its sides. Franzani said when he saw the UFO in the sky to the west he grabbed his phone and started filming but that in three of the four videos he took, although the audio was working, the video came out completely black. The video obtained by DailyMailTV is the only one in which the view was not blacked out. Franzani, an experienced amateur photographer, said he had never had that problem with his phone before or since. Bizarrely, the object in the two-minute video at one point seems to disappear for a moment then reappear, flashing with an intense burst of light. Franzani said that when the light on the object flashed off, he could make out its shape 'like a cigar', with what looked like 'tiny headlights' on the side. 'The bright light was like nothing he'd ever seen,' Franzani's son Andy told DailyMailTV. 'My dad's best friend has helicopters and planes, and my dad's brother is a pilot so he's been out on planes. But he said there's nothing he'd ever seen in the sky that would make that big of a light. 'He didn't want to go on record as the wacky guy who sees UFOs, and as a Christian he was reluctant to go on record as having seen a UFO, with aliens and the whole story behind it. Hugo Franzani (pictured with his son Andy and wife Alicia) said he had never seen any object that would emit such a bright light. He does not believe it could have been a drone, helicopter or plane Lue Elizondo told DailyMailTV that Hugo Franzni's video 'warrants further investigation' 'But I spoke with him immediately after he sent me the video. He was just shocked. He'd never seen anything like that. He was ecstatic that he saw it and caught it on at least one of the videos.' The Franzanis are still struggling to explain what Hugo saw. They do not believe it could have been a drone, helicopter or plane. 'The light was way too bright, a drone can't give off a light that spectacular. It must have been incredibly big because it was far enough away. My dad said you couldn't hear a thing. 'It would do a drop of 3-4 inches, then it would go back up, go to one side, stop, move sideways, stop. Then it started to scoot sideways. That's when he went to get the binoculars and that's all we got.' DailyMailTV sent the video to Elizondo, the former head of the US government's UFO-monitoring unit. He said the incident appears to 'warrant further investigation' and though more mundane explanations like a weather balloon are possible, he believes they are 'unlikely.' In an exclusive interview Elizondo also said he believes the US military is currently sitting on 'physical material' recovered from a UAP an 'unidentified aerial phenomenon' but said he could not elaborate on classified information he had been party to. Franzani's video is not the first UFO incident over Santiago. In January 2017 the Chilean government's Committee for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena in the Atmosphere (CEFAA) released a 10-minute video of another cigar or tic-tac-shaped object flying near the city, which has become the UFO capital of the world. The object was filmed by thermal cameras from a navy helicopter patrolling the coast near the Chilean capital on November 11, 2014. After two years studying the footage of the object, the Chilean government was left stumped. 'We do not know what it was, but we do not know what it was not,' CEFAA director General Ricardo Bermudez told investigative reporter Leslie Kean. However aviation experts including renowned UFO debunker Mick West have since presented convincing evidence identifying the object as a nearby A340 passenger plane. The CEFAA also investigated an unidentified object captured on seven different cameras at an air show at El Bosque Air Force Base, south of Santiago, in 2010 The El Bosque object flies so fast that, unless there is a camera defect, it is traveling an estimated 6,000mph The CEFAA also investigated an unidentified object captured on seven different cameras at an air show at El Bosque Air Force Base, south of Santiago, in 2010. Experts said the object seemed to shoot through the sky at over 4,000 mph but inexplicably caused no sonic boom and went unnoticed until the video owners spotted it in the footage. Scientists analyzing the videos have disagreed on whether the object is a distant craft, or a nearby bug flying across the shot. In another intriguing video shot by a Santiago resident in February 2013 and posted on YouTube, a cluster of lights can be seen flying over the city at night. And last November, a Chilean passenger on a commercial flight got striking footage of a large 'cigar' shaped object hanging in the sky over the Andes mountains as he approached Santiago. The video was submitted to the Mutual UFO Network (Mufon), a nonprofit group of enthusiasts that collect videos and information on unexplained incidents. Elizondo told DailyMailTV flashing lights were a common characteristic of UAP incidents, but that seeming UFOs like the object in Franzani's video can often have mundane explanations. 'There are high altitude balloons that have strobe lights,' he said. 'But what I find interesting about this particular video is, although it starts off unremarkable, towards the very end, the last few seconds of the video, it appears to move.' Elizondo said the object appears to be a great distance away, making the move both fast and far, and therefore unlikely for a balloon blown by the wind. However, he added that the flashing effect could be caused by a light elsewhere confusing the camera, and that both distance and speed are difficult to discern without multiple camera angles. 'I would never state for the record one way or the other, because we simply don't have enough information,' he said. The unidentified objet appeared in the sky over Las Condes, an affluent city east of the Chilean capital Santiago Tom DeLonge (left on stage with Blink-182 and right on the History Channel's Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation) founded To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences 'But I think there's enough interesting aspects to it that would warrant further preliminary investigation. 'It's interesting enough that if I was in a position still like I was in the US government... I would definitely ask for additional sources.' Elizondo joined the US Defense Intelligence Agency's UFO task force, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), in 2008 after a career in the military and intelligence services, and was promoted to lead the program in 2010 until he quit in 2017. Since he left the government Elizondo has been at the forefront of efforts to persuade his former employer to disclose the information it holds on UFOs. Once retired he joined To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Las Vegas company co-founded by Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge which in 2017 released two sensational UFO videos from fighter pilot cameras shot near aircraft carriers sailing off the East and West coast. Two years later the Pentagon confirmed the videos' authenticity, sending shockwaves around the world. Elizondo said one of his AATIP subordinates investigated and wrote a report on one of the two incidents, which occurred in 2004 near the USS Nimitz sailing off the Southern California coast. Like Franzani's sighting, it involved a cigar-shaped object hovering without any apparent means of propulsion. Elizondo told DailyMailTV the Nimitz case was one of several that involved not just accounts from highly trained military officers, but recordings from multiple radar and video. Navy pilot Chad Underwood was flying in an F/A-18F Super Hornet as part of the USS Nimitz (above) carrier group when he encountered an 'unidentified aerial phenomena' in 2004 A passenger on board a flight from Puerto Montt, Chile to Santiago took this picture of a unidentified object in November, 2020, adding to the number of unexplained events around the Chilean capital 'What makes this even more compelling is their eyewitness testimony that is also corroborated by electro-optical data such as gun camera footage, FLIR [infrared] footage, forward looking infrared, but also radar data,' he said. The chilling incident, confirmed by the Pentagon, was one of several that has led lawmakers to begin demanding greater scrutiny of credible UFO reports. A June 2021 unclassified report by the Director of National Intelligence, the first published under a new law requiring the military to report its UFO cases to Congress, lists 144 incidents reported by government entities and only one was explained. The incidents date back to November 2004, but the 'majority' were in the last two years. Some 80 of the reports involved observation with multiple sensors, and in 18 incidents observers reported 'unusual UAP [unidentified aerial phenomena] movement patterns or flight characteristics' which Elizondo said is the government's way of describing objects that moved in ways that 'defy our current understanding of physics'. Elizondo also hinted that the government may even hold physical material recovered from a UFO, but declined to elaborate claiming he was still bound by laws preventing disclosure of classified information. Screenwriter Tracy Torme is seeing a cultural shift towards taking UFOs seriously and credited Elizondo as a key force in that change 'Physical material is certainly the holy grail isn't it? Because it's undeniable. It's unimpeachable,' he said. 'Material can tell you a lot, based on its isotopic ratios, whether it's found here on this planet or not. It can tell you if it's been engineered. It can tell you all sorts of things. 'I am not at liberty to elaborate on anything regarding material. What I can say is what I've said for the record, it is my belief the US government is in possession of exotic material and I have to leave it at that.' 'It's not Lue's way to be coy, he was just being careful because of his long-time past with sensitive issues involving the government,' UFO expert and friend of Elizondo, Tracy Torme told DailyMailTV. 'He's very aware of security clearances he's had in the recent past and there's certain things he's not comfortable to talk about.' Torme, who wrote Paramount alien abduction movie Fire in the Sky, produced Star Trek: the Next Generation, and worked as a consultant on the Jodie Foster movie Contact, said he is seeing a cultural shift towards taking UFOs seriously and credited Elizondo as a key force in that change. The screenwriter said he sees Elizondo as the successor to the late J. Allen Hynek, a government official tasked with investigating UFO incidents in the 1970s. Hynek was at first reviled by 'true believers' as a 'patsy' who worked to discredit witness accounts but later decided there was truth to the topic and became known as the 'godfather of ufology'. Hynek even coined the term 'close encounters', the inspiration for the name of the classic Seven Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind in which Hynek had a cameo. 'I got to know him in his later years, we became pretty good friends,' Torme said. 'He told me wistfully how he was beginning to think that science would never end up taking this seriously. He was really hopeful that maybe one day a whistleblower would come along and answer his prayers. I think Lue Elizondo is that whistleblower.' Annie Barnett was shattered when she learned both her parents had aneurysms When Annie Barnett miraculously survived after two of her five brain aneurysms suddenly exploded, her greatest fear was that her whole family might have the same condition. The young social media manager's parents and brothers were told to say goodbye to the 21-year-old more than once after a stroke and emergency surgery to remove part of her skull. Doctors thought she'd either end up brain dead or die from the trauma, but Ms Barnett defied the odds. She came out of her coma within weeks and re-learned to walk, talk and feed herself properly. Doctors at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital suspected the condition - which happens when arterial walls weaken and balloon with blood - was genetic and urged the rest of her immediate and extended family to get brain scans. The results came back just days before Christmas, and they left Ms Barnett shattered. Annie Barnett (pictured) was devastated when she found out her parents had aneurysms Ms Barnett (pictured) runs a social media marketing business, and was told she had five brain aneurysms in October Parents Greg and Carol Barnett each have four brain aneurysms, her grandmother Cheryl has two, her uncle has one, and her 14-year-old cousin Jack had an undetected brain bleed. 'I was honestly heartbroken - it really upset me, Ms Barnett told Daily Mail Australia. 'The doctors said I only recovered so well because I'm young, so I'm really worried about my parents.' Her father explained Jack had been complaining about a headache a few years ago, 'but it passed and nothing was ever checked,' he said. 'But it could end up being hundreds of people in our family who need testing, as it follows the bloodline. 'Annie's horrid time will save other lives in the family for sure.' Ms Barnett (pictured) somehow survived after two aneurysms exploded in her brain within two weeks Pictured: Annie with her parents Greg and Carol, who were recently diagnosed with brain aneurysms According to John Hopkins Medicine, less than two per cent of the population have brain aneurysms, and only 20 per cent of those patients have more than one. Ms Barnett, who still has three unclipped aneurysms, and her mother had surgery on Tuesday to map their brain arteries so doctors know where to clip each blood vessel in follow-up procedures. Her father underwent the same mapping operation on Wednesday. The young woman is also very concerned about her grandmother Cheryl, who is in her late 70s and has 6mm aneurysm - which is classified as large. 'I hope she doesn't need an invasive surgery,' she said. Annie Barnett had a piece of her skull removed because her brain was swelling. She is pictured with her parents in hospital The family will have to wait a few weeks for the specialists to work out the best treatment plan, but thanked hospital staff for their continued support since Ms Barnett's first admission. The family's aneurysm ordeal began when the young woman went to bed at about 8pm after her shift at the deli section at Woolworths on October 9 complaining of a headache. She woke up about three hours later in 'the worst pain I've ever felt'. Her younger brother Bernie, 19, found her crying, moaning and crashing into walls as she tried to stagger through the hallway of their home in Burpengary, north of Brisbane. She was in agony because one of her five aneurysms burst, causing blood to ooze into her brain. Ms Barnett was released from hospital before Christmas. She is pictured in her bedroom Ms Barnett's cousin Jack, 14, has a mysterious brain bleed, and her grandma Cheryl has two aneurysms (both pictured) Doctors unsuccessfully tried to stop the bleeding through a vein in her leg, but ended up removing part of her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain and complete the life-saving operation. 'It was a horrific operation and the doctor came out and said she was in a bad way,' Mr Barnett said. 'She was in an induced coma and on a ventilator, but they had to wake her up every hour for about a week to ask her questions like "where are you? what's your name?" to see what her brain was doing.' A week later, the young woman was miraculously sitting up in bed and chatting with her family with a big bandage over her head with the words 'no bone' to show where the piece of her skull was missing. Annie Barnett is pictured with her dad, Greg. Doctors told him he has four aneurysms Pictured: Annie Barnett (top) and her mother Cheryl before they both went into surgery on Tuesday Experts said she exceeded their expectations in her recovery and, a week after that, she was moved to her own room and awaited surgery to clip the four remaining aneurysms. 'A few days before she went into surgery, a doctor told me there was a less than one per cent chance of those aneurysms rupturing within the next decade,' Mr Barnett said. 'The second one ruptured later that night.' Ms Barnett said the moment it burst was terrifying because she was in excruciating pain again - exactly like when the first one ruptured. 'I lost feeling in my legs and felt like I couldn't move,' she said. 'I was lying there for about an hour and a half before about ten doctors rushed in.' Doctors removed a part of Annie Barnett's skull to relieve the pressure on her brain (pictured) The 21-year-old (right) hopes to finish her last semester of university and become a social media marketing manager Her devastated family were told to say goodbye - 'people don't survive two ruptured aneurysms in a fortnight,' her father said. The young woman looked sickly and grey. Her condition didn't worsen over the next two weeks, she didn't wake up and medical staff were saying it was very likely she was likely going to be brain dead. In another tragic turn of events, her parents then got a call from the hospital to say she had a stroke. 'Nurses were touching us on the shoulder and saying they were sorry, that there was no hope, but we kept saying there was hope as long as she was alive,' her father recalled. 'Even if she was severely brain damaged, we said that's OK - we'll take care of her.' Annie Burnett's parents said goodbye to their daughter (pictured) after she had a stroke The young woman is excited to have her three remaining brain aneurysms clipped to ensure they don't burst Despite the dire prognosis, the young woman regained consciousness and slowly began to improve. Within about two weeks, Ms Barnett re-learnt to walk, talk and feed herself properly. To help the family out with living expenses while they're in hospital, Mr Barnett's sister set up a Go Fund Me campaign. Ms Barnett wants to continue working on her marketing business when she finally recovers, and hopes to work with Aneurysm Support Australia to raise awareness. 'I've met so many people who had the same thing as me and they didn't know what it was, but most of them were around 40 or 50 - I was definitely the youngest,' she said. 'Most people don't know that it's hereditary, and I feel like there should be more awareness.' Louisiana's governor has posthumously pardoned shoemaker Homer Plessy - 125 years after his arrest for for refusing to leave a 'whites-only' rail road car in a case that led to the Supreme Court's 'separate but equal' ruling. The state Board of Pardons last year recommended the pardon for Plessy, who boarded the rail car as a member of a small civil rights group hoping to overturn a state law segregating trains. Instead, the protest led to the 1896 ruling, known as Plessy v. Ferguson, which solidified whites-only spaces in public accommodations such as transportation, hotels and schools. The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling stood as the law of the land until the Supreme Court unanimously overruled it in 1954, in Brown v. the Board of Education. At a ceremony yesterday held near the spot where Plessy was arrested, Governor John Bel Edwards said he was 'beyond grateful' to help restore Plessy's 'legacy of the rightness of his cause ... undefiled by the wrongness of his conviction.' Keith Plessy, whose great-great-grandfather was Plessy's cousin, called the event 'truly a blessed day for our ancestors ... and for children not yet born.' Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (pictured, holding the signed pardon yesterday) has posthumously pardoned shoemaker Homer Plessy - 125 years after his arrest for for refusing to leave a 'whites-only' rail road car in a case that led to the Supreme Court's 'separate but equal' ruling Keith Plessy, whose great-great-grandfather was Plessy's cousin, called the event 'truly a blessed day for our ancestors ... and for children not yet born' Since the pardon board vote in November, 'I've had the feeling that my feet are not touching the ground because my ancestors are carrying me,' he said. Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote in the 7-1 decision: 'Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences.' Justice John Marshall Harlan was the only dissenting voice, writing that he believed the ruling 'will, in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as the decision made by this tribunal in the Dred Scott Case' - an 1857 decision that said no Black person who had been enslaved or was descended from a slave could ever become a US citizen. The ceremony began with cellist Kate Dillingham - a descendant of the dissenting justice - playing 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' while the audience sang along. The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling allowing racial segregation across America until the Supreme Court unanimously overruled it in 1954, in Brown v. the Board of Education. Both cases argued that segregation laws violated the 14th Amendment's right to equal protection. The Brown decision led to widespread public school desegregation and the eventual stripping away of Jim Crow laws that discriminated against Black Americans. The state Board of Pardons last year recommended the pardon for Plessy, who boarded the rail car as a member of a small civil rights group hoping to overturn a state law segregating trains (pictured, Keith Plessy, a descendant of Homer Plessy, and his wife) At a ceremony held near the spot where Plessy was arrested, Governor John Bel Edwards (pictured signing the pardon) said he was 'beyond grateful' to help restore Plessy's 'legacy of the rightness of his cause ... undefiled by the wrongness of his conviction. How segregation continued for decades after slavery was abolished The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the 13th Amendment of 1865 brought an official end to slavery - but for newly freed African-American slaves, life didn't change overnight after the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The 13th Amendment stated: 'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 'Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.' The 14th and 15th Amendments in 1868 and 1870 respectively then granted citizenship status to all citizens including former slaves and allowed them to vote in the 1868 presidential election, but in practice this did not occur for many black Americans. Many Southern states imposed new laws which raised barriers to voter registration which led to widespread disenfranchisement. Jim Crow state and local laws and Black Codes also prevented emancipated slaves from gaining equality. Instead of granting former slaves a glorious moment of liberty, some free-slaves were required to keep working on the same plantations, convicts were forced back into slavery and sharecropping made African-Americans slaves through debt. Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the former Confederacy, including public transport, schools, restaurants, bathrooms and drinking fountains. The name Jim Crow became a pejorative term for black Americans after the popularity of the Jump Jim Crow minstrel song and dance that was performed in blackface in the 1830s. Thomas D. Rice performed the role of Crow, who was believed to be based on a real disabled slave, in wildly popular tours across the US and Great Britain. When restrictions were placed on the rights of black people in the later 19th century, Jim Crow became an epithet for the rules which reinstated White Supremacy. It was not until the Civil Rights movement that many of these barbaric laws were finally removed in 1965. Advertisement Plessy was a member of the Citizens Committee, a New Orleans group trying to overcome laws that rolled back post-Civil War advances in equality. The 30-year-old shoemaker lacked the business, political and educational accomplishments of most of the other members, Keith Weldon Medley wrote in the book 'We As Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson.' But his light skin - court papers described him as someone whose 'one eighth African blood' was 'not discernable' - positioned him for the train car protest. 'His one attribute was being white enough to gain access to the train and black enough to be arrested for doing so,' Medley wrote. Eight months after the ruling in his case, Plessy pleaded guilty and was fined $25 at a time when 25 cents would buy a pound of round steak and 10 pounds of potatoes. Keith Plessy said donations collected by the committee paid the fine and other legal costs. But Plessy returned to obscurity, and never returned to shoemaking. He worked alternately as a laborer, warehouse worker and clerk before becoming a collector for the Black-owned People's Life Insurance Company, Medley wrote. He died in 1925 with the conviction on his record. Relatives of Plessy and John Howard Ferguson, the judge who oversaw his case in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, became friends decades later and formed a nonprofit that advocates for civil rights education. Also present at the pardon ceremony were descendants of the Citizens Committee and descendants of the local judge. The purpose of the pardon 'is not to erase what happened 125 years ago but to acknowledge the wrong that was done,' said Phoebe Ferguson, the judge's great-great-granddaughter. Other recent efforts have acknowledged Plessy's role in history, including a 2018 vote by the New Orleans City Council to rename a section of the street where he tried to board the train in his honor. The five blocks of Homer Plessy Way run through the campus of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a public school where the courtyard ceremony was held. Cars from the city's Public Belt Railroad served as a backdrop for the signing of the pardon, which took place blocks from where Plessy was arrested. The governor's office described this as the first pardon under Louisiana's 2006 Avery Alexander Act, which allows pardons for people convicted under laws that were intended to discriminate. Former state Senator Edwin Murray said he originally wrote the act to automatically pardon anyone convicted of breaking a law written to encode discrimination. He said he made it optional after people arrested for civil rights protests told him they considered the arrests a badge of honor. Advertisement Omicron 'should be welcomed' because the ultra-infectious variant could consign the days of Britain recording thousands of Covid deaths each day to history, according to experts who say mortality rates had already dipped 20-fold before the strain had really took off. Despite cases skyrocketing to pandemic highs of over 200,000 because of the super-mutant strain which has driven out deadlier rival variants fatalities have stayed flat at around 110 since early December. MailOnline analysis shows the UK's case fatality rate the proportion of confirmed infections that end in death was dropping even before the variant took off. And intensive care admissions have yet to spiral, despite soaring hospital admissions. Just 0.15 per cent of cases led to a death towards the end of December, compared to highs of over three per cent during the darkest days of last year's second wave when the Alpha variant was in full motion and the NHS had yet to embark on its vaccination drive. Government advisers warned soaring case numbers this winter would lead to an inevitable surge in hospital admissions and deaths of up to 6,000 per day, even with immunity provided by boosters. But a host of studies have since claimed the variant, which was only detected in Britain in November but made up 90 per cent of all cases before Christmas, is intrinsically less severe than its predecessors because it replicates in the upper airways rather than the lungs where it would do more damage. Professor David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline the strain's emergence could be the best thing to have happened for the pandemic, echoing comments made by health experts in Denmark earlier this week. He said: 'With the spread of Omicron over the past three weeks, recorded cases have gone from around 50,000 per day to around 200,000. This has not fed through into an increased death rate and a rise would have been expected by now, if it was going to happen. 'The divergence between case and death rates agrees perfectly with Omicron being highly transmissible but less lethal than earlier variants exactly as asserted by doctors in South Africa who discovered it. 'It tallies also with studies from Hong Kong and Cambridge showing that Omicron is less able to infect lung cells and more likely to stay in the upper airways, were it does less serious harm. 'In all these respects, Omicron is far preferable to the more dangerous variants that proceeded it and its take over should be welcomed.' MailOnline analysis shows just 0.15 per cent of cases led to a death towards the end of December, compared to highs of over three per cent during the darkest days of last year's second wave when the Alpha variant was in full motion and the NHS had yet to embark on its vaccination drive. The rate is calculated by comparing average death numbers to average case numbers from two weeks earlier, which is roughly the amount of time it takes for the disease to take hold, experts say Official data shows the number of people dying has barely changed across the UK over the last month, with fatalities dropping in the week up to December 31. Graph shows: Covid deaths by death date in the UK. More up to date death data by date reported is biased by reporting issues over the bank holiday weekends The number of daily positive Covid tests recorded in England has exceeded 100,000 for nearly two weeks. However, the number of patients in hospital with the virus is a fraction of the level seen last winter, while deaths remain flat 24 NHS trusts declare critical incidents but Grant Shapps insists it's 'not unusual' for hospitals to suffer winter crises Twenty-four NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' amid staffing shortages and rising Covid admissions but ministers have downplayed the warnings saying it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises. Grant Shapps said that 24 out of England's 137 trusts or 17.5 per cent of the entire health service had signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, telling Sky News: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter with things like the flu pandemic.' The full list of trusts has not been made public, however those which have raised the alarm include North East Ambulance Service, Dorset County Hospital and Great Western Hospitals. Trusts declaring critical incidents can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and raising the alarm enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. It comes as MPs warned the patient waiting list has hit 6million in England alone, and could double in three years without further action due to pressure on the health service. But Boris Johnson said yesterday that life could be back to normal by February, after cases rose by just six per cent in a week yesterday. The UK recorded 194,747 daily cases, compared to 183,037 last Wednesday. The Prime Minister has held his nerve in the face of the spiralling Omicron wave unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales and imposed no new curbs over the holidays, winning him praise from Tory MPs. Advertisement On another day of coronavirus chaos: Critics accused ministers of sitting on evidence justifying slashing self-isolation to just five days since last summer; NHS figures suggested as many as 5,000 Covid patients in hospital in England may have been admitted for other ailments; Twenty-four NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions; Travel companies braced for a surge in demand from British tourists after pre-departure Covid tests for those arriving in England were scrapped in a major boost for the beleaguered industry; A major Office for National Statistics report claimed a total of 1.3million Britons were living with long Covid before the Omicron surge. MailOnline's analysis suggests the Covid fatality rate fell to as low as 0.14 per cent on December 28 its lowest ever total after dropping every day since November 18. The rate is calculated by comparing average death numbers to average case numbers from two weeks earlier, which is roughly the amount of time it takes for the disease to take hold, experts say. It means the case-fatality rate which is different to the infection-fatality rate, which will be even lower because not everyone who has the virus gets tested was already dropping before the strain kicked off in Britain in mid December, suggesting vaccines have played a huge role in thwarting the virus. Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline the Covid fatality rate has been falling in recent weeks in the UK but some of this 'is probably down to delayed reporting of deaths over Christmas'. He said the 'fatality rate for Omicron does seem to be lower than we have seen with previous variants and is probably now below 0.2 per cent'. But the figure is also skewed slightly by increased levels of testing, with the number of swabs being carried out every having shot by around 245 per cent over the past year. Testing in Britain reached its highest ever level in the week leading up to Christmas this year, before peaking on January 4 at more than 2million. And data shows cases were predominantly occurring in people aged under-50, who have always been less at risk of dying from the virus. Rates are now only going up in over-60s in London, signalling what may be to come fore the res of the country. Experts say the trend is set to reverse next week, with infections slowing in the vulnerable age group and expected to fall. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data also shows the number of people who died on New Year's Eve the latest date fatalities by death date is available for fell to 103. Death numbers remained below 140 throughout December, having been closer to 200 at points in November and October. More up-to-date death figures by date reported is marred by data issues over the bank holiday weekends. Britain yesterday logged 334 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test, up 486 per cent on the previous week's reported total. The proportion of beds occupied by patients who are primarily in hospital 'for' Covid, versus those who were admitted for something else and tested positive later, referred to as 'with' Covid. The data covers the week between December 21 and December 28, when were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26 in 2019, 2018 and 2017 While Covid hospitalisations are rising quickly in England, they are still half of the level of last January and far fewer patients are needing ventilation At least 5,000 Covid 'patients' in England are NOT primarily in hospital for virus, data suggests As many as 5,000 Covid patients in hospital in England may have been admitted for other ailments, NHS figures suggest as the super-mild Omicron variant continues to engulf the country. Latest data shows so-called 'incidental' cases those who test positive after admission for something else, such as a broken leg made up a third of coronavirus inpatient numbers on December 28. At that point, there were just 8,300 Covid sufferers being treated in England's hospitals, 2,750 of which were not primarily receiving care for the virus (33 per cent). More up-to-date statistics from the Government's Covid dashboard show that, as of Wednesday, there were 15,600 beds occupied by people infected with the virus. It is not clear exactly how many of the current patients are there primarily for Covid because the NHS's breakdown is backdated and only covers up to December 28. But, if incidental cases still account for a third of cases, it means at least 5,000 who are being counted as coronavirus patients are not suffering seriously with the disease. Experts say there is reason to believe the share of incidentals will continue to rise as Omicron pushes England's infection rates to record numbers, with one in 15 people estimated to have had Covid on New Year's Eve. In South Africa ground zero of the Omicron outbreak up to 60 per cent of Covid patients were not admitted primarily for the virus at the height of the crisis there. Separate analysis of NHS data shows 45 per cent of beds newly occupied by Covid patients in the final week of December were patients not primarily ill with the virus. It comes as two dozen NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by sky-high infection rates, indicating that they may be unable to provide vital care in the coming weeks. One in ten workers are off and 183,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average, prompting calls for the isolation period to be cut to five days. Advertisement And Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures which distinguish deaths caused by Covid from those where the virus was merely incidental shows fatalities dropped for the sixth week in a row in the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve. Just 501 people were killed by the coronavirus the fewest since August, according to the surveillance report. Professor Livermore told MailOnline the Omicron variant could be beneficial because its increased transmissibility has helped wipe out more lethal variants, including Delta, and could help prevent future ones from emerging. He said: 'Because it is so transmissible, and because the vaccines targeting the spike protein of the Wuhan variant give only "mismatched" and brief protection against Omicron, most of us are going to catch it over the next few weeks and months. 'It'll then act as a natural vaccine or booster. And that, I believe rather than through human efforts is how the pandemic will end. It's how respiratory pandemics ended in the past. 'Afterwards we'll all of us live in equilibrium with five common cold coronaviruses, not four, as previously.' His comments echoed those made by Tyra Grove Krause the chief epidemiologist at Denmark's State Serum Institute who said a study from the organisation found that the risk of hospitalisation from Omicron is half that seen with the Delta variant. This, she said, has given Danish authorities hope that the Covid pandemic in Denmark could be over in two months. 'I think we will have that in the next two months, and then I hope the infection will start to subside and we get our normal lives back,' she said on Danish TV 2. Despite early fears that Omicron could prolong the pandemic due to its increased level of infection, Dr Krause said it actually could spell the end of curbs. And Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline descriptions from others of the ultra-infectious variant being a 'natural vaccine' were right. He said that while any Covid variant boosts immunity the fact Omicron was highly transmissible yet milder worked to help boost population immunity. 'Whatever version you were infected with your immunity would be boosted,' he said. 'That mild bit suits us because it means we can get immunity without, or with much less, risk.' However, he warned against any 'chickenpox' style parties where people intentionally try to catch Omicron, saying we needed to protect people who could get severely ill from the virus. 'You have to be careful here not to stretch it to things such as chickenpox parties because there will always be a vulnerable minority and to encourage infection puts them at risk,' he said. Hopes of Omicron ushering in the end of the pandemic stage of Covid were sparked by a South African study into Covid death rates in the nation's Omicron wave. It showed fatalities were just a quarter of levels seen during other surges. Researchers examined records of 450 patients hospitalised in the City of Tshwane, in the 'ground zero province of Gauteng, since the extremely-transmissible variant took off in the country. Their survival rates were compared to nearly 4,000 patients hospitalised earlier on in the pandemic. A total of 24 out of 137 NHS Trusts in England have declared critical incidents or 17.5 per cent. Above are the trusts that have publicly announced they have declared these incidents to help them manage winter pressures Tory MPs criticised the BBC over its Covid coverage last night after it gave airtime to a Left-wing critic of the PM. It came as the Today programme aired a string of warnings from other NHS figures over the 'really challenging' circumstances facing hospitals UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show Covid cases in Omicron hotspot London are now only going up in people aged 60 and above. Graph shows: The case rate per 100,000 in people aged 60 and above (yellow line) and under-60 (red line). Cases have started to drop in under-60s, though the rate still remains above the more vulnerable older age groups UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show confirmed infections have fallen week-on-week on seven of the eight days leading up to December 30 - the latest date regional data is available for - in people aged 59 or below. Graph shows: The week-on-week rate of growth in average cases in under-60s (red line) and people aged 60 and above (yellow line). Cases are falling in under-60s and the rate of growth is slowing in over-60s The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated a record 3.27million people in England were infected on any given day in the week to December 31, up more than 60 per cent on the previous week Data justifying move to cut self-isolation period to five days was evident last summer Ministers have sat on evidence justifying slashing self-isolation to just five days since last summer, according to critics who have demanded Boris Johnson drops the crippling rules that are paralysing the nation. Rail services and bin collections have ground to a halt with up to 1.3million Britons currently under house arrest, while the workforce crisis has left NHS bosses asking heart attack patients to make their own way to hospital. But the Adam Smith Institute, a neoliberal thinktank, said data published in August last year suggested it was safe to halve the quarantine period, which at the time stood at 10 days. Oxford University research found 98 per cent of transmission occurs within the first five days of symptoms, and prompted experts on the topic to say the isolation period 'could be much shorter'. Virologists said today that they agreed with the findings, with the vast majority of spread happening in the days before and after someone starts feeling ill. And James Lawson, a fellow at the ASI, told MailOnline: 'The research shows we can safely reduce the isolation period. 'Governments say they want to follow the science, yet are ignoring the changes in circumstances and much of the data we've had since last summer.' Advertisement Just 4.5 per cent of patients hospitalised with Covid in the last month died from the virus. For comparison, the rate stood at around 21.3 per cent earlier in the pandemic Scientists from South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the University of Pretoria, who carried out the research, said it shows 'a decoupling of cases, hospitalisations and deaths compared to previous waves'. Omicron could be a 'harbinger of the end' of the darkest days of the pandemic and could usher in the virus's endemic phase, the team wrote in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Despite death numbers remaining unaffected by the current wave of cases across Britain, 24 hospital trusts have declared critical incidents because of staffing shortages and rising Covid admissions. The full list of trusts has not been made public but they include North East Ambulance Service, Dorset County Hospital and Great Western Hospitals. Trusts declaring critical incidents can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and raising the alarm enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that 24 out of England's 137 trusts or 17.5 per cent of the entire health service had signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But he poured cold water over the alerts, telling Sky News: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter with things like the flu pandemic.' NHS hospitals are currently facing severe pressures from a staffing crisis fuelled by Covid, with one in ten medics now thought to be off sick, and an increase in Covid hospitalisations. And GPs are now also short-staffed, with the head of the Royal College of GPs Professor Martin Marshall warning a 'growing number' of clinicians and other staff members are isolating because of the virus. He warned of the 'pressure' GPs were under, and said patients with 'minor self-limiting problems' should try to treat themselves where possible using online resources, or visiting pharmacies. Some medics are calling for self-isolation to be slashed to five days in line with France and the US as long as it is backed up by the science, to help get staff back on to wards faster. But Government scientists have warned against the move saying it would be 'counter-productive' because it risked sending infectious employees back onto wards. Former talent manager Melanie Blake tells all about some of Britain's biggest divas, including the Duchess of York, whose first words to the PR were: 'Do you not own an iron?': Once I was contacted by someone working with Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, who was looking for a new PR. I had an impressive roster of high-profile clients at the time and a meeting was arranged at celebrity-catnip restaurant The Ivy. It was a hot day so I wore linen. When I approached the table where Fergie was sitting, she scanned me up and down and said with disdain, 'Do you not own an iron?' The smooth-talking agent in me thought, 'Let it go, she's a royal'. But the human being in me replied, 'Darling, of course I own one. But there isn't enough steam in the world to iron out the creases in your reputation.' Her jaw hit the floor and I walked away with a smirk on my face that matched the crease in my dress. This may sound like a storyline from Ten Percent, the new Amazon Prime drama about a London celebrity agency, but it's totally true. The show, a remake of French lockdown hit Call My Agent!, takes us behind the scenes of the British showbiz industry, portraying a group of long-suffering agents hell-bent on keeping their clients' careers alive. Garrisons housing American troops in Iraq and Syria were struck by Katyusha rockets and gunfire Wednesday in the latest attack to purportedly avenge a US airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. No casualties were reported after the rockets hit military bases in Iraq's western Anbar province and capital city Baghdad; in Syria, eight rounds of indirect fire landed inside a base occupied by members of the US-led coalition, military officials said. It was the latest in a string of attacks after Iran vowed revenge against 'assassin' Donald Trump unless he faces trial and 'retribution' for the January 3, 2020, airstrike that killed Soleimani, head of Irans elite Quds Force. The commander was blown up in his motorcade by a Reaper drone missile outside Baghdad airport in 2020 in a strike ordered by Trump after intelligence revealed Soleimani was planning attacks on American soldiers in Iraq. Iran's vengeful President Ebrahim Raisi let out a scathing diatribe Monday, demanding justice for the killing. 'Otherwise, I will tell all US leaders that without a doubt the hand of revenge will emerge from the sleeve of the Muslim nation,' he said during a speech to Tehran's largest mosque. Katyusha rockets were fired Wednesday at Military bases housing US troops in Iraq in the latest string of attacks meant to avenge the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani Soleimani (pictured in 2013) headed the Quds Force, the shadowy operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards The commander was blown up in his motorcade by a Reaper drone missile outside Baghdad airport in 2020 in a strike ordered by Trump after intelligence revealed Soleimani was planning attacks on American soldiers in Iraq According to an Iraqi officer, an Iraqi base housing U.S. troops in the western Anbar province was hit with five Katyusha rockets Wednesday evening; three other rockets fell outside the base's parameter. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said U.S.-led coalition forces at the base were forced into shelters by the barrage. Earlier Wednesday, the Iraqi military said a rocket launcher with one rocket was located in a residential district in western Baghdad, an area used in the past by Iran-backed militias to fire at the airport. Scrawled in Arabic across one of the wings of the drones shot down this morning was the message 'Soleimani's revenge' In eastern Syria, meanwhile, the rounds hit a base run by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces with a small coalition advisory presence. The coalition said in a statement there was minor damage. On Monday, two armed drones were shot down as they headed toward a facility housing U.S. advisors at Baghdad airport. Photos obtained by AFP from the coalition official show remains of one of the drones, with the message 'commanders' revenge operations' written on it in Arabic. Two explosives-laden drones targeting an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops in western Anbar province were destroyed on Tuesday at the Al Asad air base. The January 3, 2020 US strike killed Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy leader of the Iran-backed Hashed al-Shaabi coalition of armed groups. Soleimani, commonly known as the second-most powerful man in Iran and tipped as a future president, was so badly maimed in the strike that he had to be identified by a large ring he wore on his finger. No casualties were reported after the rockets hit military bases in Iraq's western Anbar province and capital city Baghdad on Wednesday Conversely, pictured is the aftermath of the deadly Reaper drone strike on Soleimani's convoy outside Baghdad airport A massive funeral with thousands all dressed in black lined the streets of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani's hometown of Kerman in Iran in January 2020 Two explosives-laden drones targeting an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops in western Anbar province were destroyed Tuesday at the Al Asad Air Base Initial retaliation began days after the bombing, when Iran responded by firing missiles at bases hosting US troops in Iraq. No one was killed but Washington said dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries. Amid the heightened tensions Iran also accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger jet on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard. The US-led coalition formally ended its combat mission supporting Iraqi forces in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State group last month. Some 2,500 troops will remain as the coalition shifts to an advisory mission to continue supporting Iraqi forces. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is laying into a group of vacationers who drank, danced and vaped their way from Montreal to Mexico aboard a chartered Sunwing flight. Trudeau castigated the maskless passengers - who filmed themselves defying a number of aviation rules during the December 30 trip - as Canucks on the ground were faced with pandemic-induced shutdowns and restrictions on holiday gatherings. 'Like all Canadians who've seen those videos, I'm extremely frustrated,' he told reporters. 'We know how hard people have worked to keep themselves safe, to limit their family gatherings at Christmastime, to wear masks, to get vaccinated, to do all the right things. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'It's a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible.' Those on the plane could be in for more than a scolding after the federal government launched an investigation and ministers said passengers could face fines. In a joint statement, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino called the behavior 'unacceptable' and said passengers who broke federal travel regulations could face $5,000 fines per offence. 'Our government takes reported incidents such as these very seriously,' the statement said. 'We have directed our respective departmental officials to immediately launch an investigation into these allegations of non-compliance with COVID-19 and air safety rules and regulations.' Unmasked revelers were filmed partying on a plane from Montreal to Cancun, sparking a probe by Canadian government A group of rowdy Quebecois passengers defied numerous aviation rules December 30 while partying maskless on a chartered Sunwing airplane from Montreal to Cancun. One woman even filmed herself vaping while in the air Shocking footage of the trip to Cancun was shared online as Canada battles a surge of new Covid cases that are overwhelming hospitals and prompting school closures in Quebec and neighboring Ontario. The passengers -reportedly social media 'influencers' were filmed vaping, dancing, and snapping selfies in violation of numerous air transport rules. The plane was chartered by the 111 Private Club, which organized the all-inclusive six-day getaway, the CBC reported. Company founder James William Awad posted a bizarre response to the brouhaha on Twitter, claiming he 'respected all instructions given by Sunwing.' He later described the situation as a 'simple party.' 'I take this matter very seriously,' he tweeted. 'A simple party on a plane did all this buzz. I will take a moment to sit down and re think everything. Especially how I can do things better next time. Give me a moment to understand the situation better.' The plane was chartered by the 111 Private Club, founded by James William Awad, who on Twitter expressed surprise that a 'simple party on a plane did all this buzz' It's not clear when the group will have another opportunity to board a plane; they were scheduled to return home to Montreal on Wednesday but some carriers refused to shuffle them back. Sunwing said it cancelled the group's return leg. Meantime, Montreal-based Air Transat said it would not allow the rowdy passengers to travel on its fleet of planes. 'We are aware of the situation regarding disruptive passengers who have traveled to Cancun and are now attempting to return to Canada on our flights,' the company tweeted. 'We confirm that they will be denied boarding based on our legal and regulatory obligations to ensure the safety of both our passengers and crew, which is our top priority.' Air Canada told CBC that it would also deny boarding to group "to the extent that we can identify the passenger' in order to 'ensure the safety of other passengers and its crew.' This man appeared to be enjoying the party vibe - but he and everyone else aboard the flight have had their return trip axed by Sunwing Canada's Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Twitter he had asked regulator Transport Canada to investigate the situation. 'I am aware of the reports of unacceptable behavior on a Sunwing flight,' Alghabra said. It's not clear where the flight crew was during the ruckus. The Toronto-headquartered leisure operator said by email that the behavior of a group of passengers on the private charter flight 'was unruly and contravened several Canadian aviation regulations as well as public health regulations.' Passengers were seen in video footage taking gulps from a bottle of Grey Goose vodka Passengers in one video could be soon sharing a large bottle of Grey Goose vodka; in another, they took turns speaking to passengers over the plane's intercom system. A group called 111 Private Club took credit for the party on Instagram, the Toronto Star reported. The group's social media account includes video footage of passengers cheering and screaming. Sunwing said it has canceled the group's return flight to Montreal scheduled for January 5 as a result of the carrier's investigation and due to a refusal by the group to accept all terms of carriage. Sunwing said the flight to Cancun triggered an investigation by its security department and an initial notification to Transport Canada. The Canadian regulator was not immediately available for comment. 'This is unacceptable behavior from passengers that puts our cabin crew at enormous risk,' said Rena Kisfalvi, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local which represents Sunwing flight attendants. 'We need the airlines and the federal government to support and protect our members against this kind of mob behavior and make sure it never happens again.' Canadians flocked to social media to express their dismay over the party held as Canucks on the ground returned to lockdown, with gyms and other non-essential businesses once again shutting. Canadians flocked to social media to express their dismay over the party held as Canucks on the ground returned to lockdown A number of Canadians, including Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, took to Twitter to condone the behavior 'If you ever wondered why so many Mexicans detest Canadian tourists, it's because they've adopted what used to be solely American behaviours,' tweeted @DaGorro. 'It only gets worse once the plane lands in Cancun.' Added another user: 'In case you're wondering why Sunwing is trending No, it didn't go out of business (yet). Moronic Quebec 'influencers' decided to turn a Cancun-bound plane into their own personal nightclub.' Another social media user claimed flight attendants were forced to hide out during the flight. 'These fools acted like wild animals on their flight south, even the flight attendants hid away from them, there was zero control,' @MarieCh48003039 tweeted. 'The latest? Pending criminal charges/bans from airlines and Sunwing has cancelled their return home.' Kiwis in Australia remain locked out of their own country and won't be allowed to apply for a place in the next release of hotel quarantine rooms. On Friday, there will be 1,250 rooms up for grabs as part of New Zealand's Managed Isolation and Quarantine program for March and April. However, those rooms won't be open to those travelling from Australia. With quarantine free travel from Australia to New Zealand currently paused courtesy of the explosion in Omicron cases, having a voucher for a place in the MIQ program is required to enter the country. A limited number of rooms are available with the places allocated under a lottery-style first-in-first-served system. A message on the MIQ website claims that: 'Due to the delay to the opening of the self-isolation pathway from Australia, airlines do not currently have any red flights scheduled from Australia for March or April'. New Zealand has implemented a hard border against Australia and banned quarantine-free travel amid a surge in Omicron cases in across the Tasman (pictured: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern) Airlines flying from Australia to New Zealand are running 'green' flights which are for quarantine-free travellers and 'red' flights for those required to quarantine on arrival. Under directions from the NZ government airports are required to have zones fenced off for the different types of flights and crews on either red or green flights must remain completely separate. Airlines had already been selling quarantine-free green flight tickets expecting the border ban to be lifted in late January but have been scrambling after the re-opening was postponed until at least late February. A review of the NZ border is expected on February 28 which, if pushed back again, could see New Zealander's unable to return to their country for months. The government has said there are further MIQ rooms yet to be released for March and April though it is unclear if these will be open to those in Australia. The frustration over the changing rules was clear from those commenting on the announcement online. 'This is not about opening up, it's about allowing people the chance to get an MIQ spot which has been taken away from them for over a month,' one person said. 'Have the Opposition have given up scrutinising government decisions and support an isolationist future for NZ?' another said. While a lot of the frustration was directed at Jacinda Ardern's government, some also placed blame on the Australian Government. 'I'd blame the Aussie government's failure to control Covid for this mess. An utter shambles over there,' a third added. Airlines had been selling green quarantine-free tickets to NZ but are now scrambling after the travel bubble was paused in December. Kiwis can still travel to Australia (pictured: passengers arrive from NZ at Sydney airport in 2020) NSW and Victoria are currently seeing thousands of new daily cases of the Omicron variant. In New Zealand case numbers remain low, but they are decentralising beyond the previous hotspot of Auckland. On Wednesday, health authorities reported 17 community cases of the virus, of which only five were in the nation's largest city. The low case number comes amid reduced testing figures, with many Kiwis on holiday. Other infections were found in the Bay of Plenty (nine) and the Waikato (three), as well as two in Taranaki which will be added to Thursday's case count. Until this week, Auckland had provided the lion's share of daily community cases in New Zealand's Delta outbreak, which began in August. For the last three days, and for the first time since Delta emerged, cases outside Auckland have outnumbered those in NZ's biggest city. Aucklanders were freed from a 107-day lockdown in December, and can now move around the country again: a change which public health experts predicted would lead to a spread of COVID-19 in regional areas. While that may be happening, there has been no surge of cases: the rolling seven-day average is 37. Infections discovered at the border outnumbered those in the community in Wednesday's figures. Health officials reported 23 cases within quarantine - including 11 from Australia - with many believed to be the Omicron variant. 'This variant of COVID-19 continues to be having a significant impact globally, so it is not unexpected to see an increase of Omicron cases at the border,' a Ministry of Health statement read. Airlines flying to New Zealand are required to operate separate green and red flights for those travelling quarantine-free and those going into MIQ (stock image) Just three cases of Omicron have been found in the community, and public health officials do not believe the variant is spreading undetected. There are 44 people with COVID-19 in New Zealand's hospitals, including five in intensive care. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appealed to Kiwis to get their booster shot to aid in the country's vaccination push. From Wednesday, 1.2 million adults become eligible for a third dose of vaccine. 'We know we have another challenge in front of us and that is the Omicron variant,' Ms Ardern wrote on her Instagram. 'If we want to prepare for this much more transmissible variant, a booster shot is incredibly important to help stop people becoming severely unwell.' Tory peer Michelle Mone is set to be questioned by police over a claim that she sent a racist text message to a financial consultant of Indian heritage after a fatal yacht accident on the French Riviera. Richard Lynton-Jones alleged Lady Mone racially abused him and called his partner a 'nut case bird' and 'mental loony' three weeks after a day of 'drinking and partying' on two superyachts which ended in an accident and the death of a deckhand. He claimed she said to him in a Whatsapp message that he was a 'waste of white man's skin'. After the claim first emerged in December, Lady Mone's lawyers said she believed vehemently he was '100% white and British' and there was 'no trace whatsoever of non-white colouring or any features'. The Metropolitan Police are now investigating a formal complaint against Lady Mone. According to The Sun, she has been asked to attend a police station for an interview under caution. Tory peer Michelle Mone is set to be questioned by police over a claim that she sent a racist text message to a financial consultant of Indian heritage after a fatal yacht accident on the French Riviera Richard Lynton-Jones (pictured) alleged Mone racially abused him and called his partner a 'nut case bird' and 'mental loony' three weeks after a day of 'drinking and partying' on two superyachts which ended in an accident and the death of a deckhand The news comes just days after it emerged that Mr Lynton-Jones had started legal proceedings against Lady Mone, claiming to be a victim of defamation, libel and slander. How 'Baroness Bra' made her money Lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone was born in 1971 and grew up in Glasgow's East End, leaving school with no qualifications aged 15 before finding work as a model. After running a sales and marketing team for the Labatt's brewing firm, she decided to create a range of support bras after the idea came to her while wearing an uncomfortable bra during a dinner party. Lady Mone founded MJM International with her then-husband Michael Mone in November 1996, and three years of research, design, and development resulted in the patented Ultimo bra. In August 1999, a month after having her third child, she launched Ultimo at the Selfridges department store in London, which sold the pre-launch estimate of six weeks of stock within 24 hours. The business grew rapidly and in 2010 she earned an OBE from the Queen for her contribution to business. But she sold 80 per cent of Ultimo in 2014, one year after announcing she had left the company following a breakdown in her marriage. Lady Mone was nicknamed 'Baroness Bra' after being elevated to the House of Lords in 2015, where her official title is Baroness Mone of Mayfair. To celebrate her 50th birthday last month, she decided to host five parties - one for each decade of her life with her new husband billionaire tech tycoon Doug Barrowman, 55. The pair married last November in a glitzy but low-key wedding ceremony at their home on the Isle of Man. Lady Mone has also had a lucrative public speaking career but called time on this last month, saying she wanted to 'focus on her family and new ventures'. Advertisement A Met Police spokesman said: 'In June 2021 police received an allegation of a racially aggravated malicious communication in relation to information posted on a messaging app. 'Police spoke to the complainant and advised that for the investigation to progress a statement would need to be taken; for this to be admissible in any future court proceedings, this would need to be done in person. 'In October, the complainant gave a statement to police and the investigation continues. 'A 50-year-old woman has been invited to attend for an interview under caution at a future date.' A previous statement from a representative of Lady Mone said: 'Baroness Mone is 100 per cent not a racist. Baroness Mone and her husband have built over 15 schools in Africa in the past three years.' Her lawyers later said Mone has 'no access' to the messages and no 'detailed memory of them'. They added: 'She is not prepared to comment on the messages unless and until their authenticity has been confirmed. 'But Baroness Mone, in any event, very strongly denies that she is a racist, a sexist or that she has a lack of respect for those persons genuinely suffering with mental health difficulties.' Mr Lynton-Jones, from Ferndown in Dorset, began his career with the Queen's bank Coutts, working in Jersey on offshore services for clients. He was a vice president at Barclays Wealth in both Jersey and Monaco before joining the Monaco office of investment bank UBS. He specialises in working with ultra high-net worth individuals with investable assets of at least 50 million euros. In 2018, he joined Lady Mone and Mr Barrowman's new virtual currency venture which saw them launch a coin called Equi which they claimed would be the British Bitcoin. Mr Lynton-Jones was appointed head of capital raising and investor relations. On social media last month, Baroness Mone confronted Mr Lynton-Jones's claims, writing on Instagram: 'Since when did calling out a man on his actions... his entitled white privilege constitute racism? 'Quite the opposite - the accusations I have read today against me are full of contradictions.' The bust-up happened after Mr Lynton-Jones was among guests on a superyacht who met up with Lady Mone and her businessman husband Douglas Barrowman who were with friends and relatives on his 88ft yacht called Minx. The two groups, totalling 18 people, motored out in their respective boats to enjoy a lunch at a restaurant on an island called Ile Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, leaving their respective crews on board. They later rafted their boats together so they could continue the fun day out on the water, hopping on and off each other's boats, before deciding to return to shore in the early evening when it was still daylight after more than five hours of partying. Crewman Jake Feldwhere (pictured), 27, was on the foredeck of an 88ft-long Minx preparing to lift the anchor when he was struck and killed off the coast of Ile Sainte-Marguerite in 2019 Minx (crash damage, left) is owned by Michelle Mone and her husband Douglas Barrowman The French skipper of the second superyacht called Vision which was chartered by British internet gaming millionaire Richard Skelhorn, accidentally ploughed into Mr Barrowman's boat as he was turning round to head for home. An MAIB investigation found the skipper had cannabis in his bloodstream. Jake Feldwhere was on the foredeck of the Minx preparing to lift the anchor when he was struck and killed in the collision on the evening of May 25, 2019, which was the last day of the Cannes film festival. The bust-up between Mr Lynton-Jones and Lady Mone reportedly happened in a group WhatsApp chat on June 13, 2019, after she allegedly questioned how much his partner had suffered psychologically after the accident. Lawyers for the House of Lords member, pictured with her husband Douglas Barrowman, said she has no 'detailed memory' or 'access' to the messages and denied that she is a racist Mr Lynton Jones who is believed to have a mother of Indian heritage and a white father, and works in Monaco as a financial consultant, replied that his partner had been seriously traumatised by the yacht incident, saying: 'I would prefer you back the f**k off'. According to screenshots seen by The Guardian, Lady Mone is said to have replied: 'OMG what a pile of c**p!! You are talking to me, a smart, bright individual who doesn't get taken in by your s**t! 'In fact my b******t detector was on you from day 1. You & your mental loony of a girlfriend have been parting [sic] like mad! You need to get a grip and have respect for a guy that was killed!!! 'Funny how your mad girlfriend has now deleted all the pictures, don't worry I have screenshots of the dates and times. 48 hours after the guy was killed. Your [sic] a low life, a waste of a mans [sic] white skin so don't give us your lies. Your [sic] a total disgrace.' Mr Lynton-Jones is said to have made an official complaint in August this year to Martin Jelley, the House of Lords commissioner for standards about the alleged messages, claiming they were 'derogatory and racist' towards him and 'abusive and derogatory' towards his partner's mental health. But the commissioner declined to investigate because the alleged messages were not sent in the course of Lady Mone's parliamentary duties. Vietnam Airlines flight from Japan faces security threat The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) on January 5 published a press release regarding Flight VN5311/NRT-HAN of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, which had faced a security threat. A plane of Vietnam Airlines (Photo: Collaborator) The agency said the flight, using aircraft B787-868, departed from Narita (Japan) for Hanoi at 10:30 (local time) on January 5, with 15 crew members and 47 passengers aboard. At about 11:10, the Vietnam Airlines branch in Japan received a phone call, with a male voice, who spoke Japanese and claimed himself to be an American. "Flight VN5311 had better come back to Narita or it will be shot down when passing Tokyo Bay," the anonymous caller said. The Vietnam Airlines office reported the incident to the Vietnam Airlines Corporation that then forwarded the information to Japanese authorities, the CAAV and competent agencies of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. The Corporation afterward convened an urgent meeting of its emergency committee and steering sub-committee for counter-terrorism. The CAAV submitted a report on the incident to Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is also Chairman of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee. With the approval of the Deputy PM and the Minister of Transport, the head of the CAAV instructed Vietnam Airlines to ask for permission from the Japanese side to divert the flight to Japans Fukuoka airport. The flight safely landed at the Fukuoka airport at 13:02. After authorities and police checked the plane and interviewed the crew members and passengers, and the flight's safety was evaluated, it was permitted to leave Fukuoka at 15:48 for Hanoi, and landed at Noi Bai International Airport at 18:12 (Vietnam time). The CAAV has reported the incident to competent agencies that will coordinate with the Japanese side to clarify the case./ North Korea test-fired a hypersonic missile, Wednesday, in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the day after. KCNA report said the latest test was a success. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the launch. Yonhap By Jung Da-min North Korea is expected to continue its missile tests this year, regardless of who is elected to be the next president of South Korea in the election set for March 9, according to North Korea watchers, Thursday. This forecast came a day after the North's state-run Academy of Defense Science test-fired a hypersonic missile the day before, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Thursday. It said the missile launch was part of efforts to fulfill the country's national task of modernizing strategic armed force capabilities under its five-year plan for the strategic arms sector, first presented at the eighth congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in January of last year. Pyongyang's latest missile launch was the second test of the country's hypersonic missile, following the first launch of the Hwasong-8 in late last September, although the tested missiles had different form factors. Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said he believes North Korea has made its message clear, that it will continue its weapons testings, including the hypersonic missile, according to its own plan and timeline, regardless of the international geopolitical situation. "North Korea cares about China's response, but Beijing did not really criticize Pyongyang's latest missile test. This is like North Korea getting a 'green light' to continue its weapons tests. Unless North Korea conducts a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile or stages missile tests too often in a short period of time, China is likely to stand back and watch," Park said. "North Korea is likely to continue its missile tests regardless of the results of the South's next presidential election, as they see it as an independent issue. The North's negotiation strategy toward the South's new administration would be presented in another way. If the candidate of the ruling liberal bloc is elected, North Korea is likely to insist on its previous stance that the South and the U.S. should first withdraw what it calls hostile policies against it. If the candidate of the conservative bloc becomes the next president, it is expected to stage a certain level of provocation to see the response of the new administration." On the left is the photo released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Thursday, of the country's test of a hypersonic missile conducted the day before. On the right is the photo of the country's test of the Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile, Sept. 28, 2021. Yonhap This year's Grammy Awards ceremony has been postponed out of an abundance of caution after the US records 869,187 COVID cases on Tuesday, even though virus deaths remain relatively low. The Recording Academy and CBS confirmed on Wednesday that the 64th Annual Awards ceremony would be 'postponed' due to rising COVID cases spurred on by an Omicron surge. 'After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show,' the official postponement announcement said. The Recording Academy and CBS confirmed that the 64th Annual Awards ceremony would be 'postponed' due to rising COVID cases Comedian Trevor Noah (pictured) hosted last year and is set to host this year's ceremony as well 'After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show,' the official postponement announcement said The statement continued: 'The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. 'Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music's Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.' The announcement comes one day after the US recorded 869,187 new cases, down from the record set on Monday when America became the first country in the world to record more than one million COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. As of Wednesday the country's seven-day rolling average of new cases stood at 565,042, a 114 percent increase from a week ago, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. However, deaths remain relatively low, with 2,384 new deaths on Tuesday, a decline of 13 percent from week-ago levels on a rolling average basis. Hospitalizations are rising, but remain well below their peak last January. The wildly transmissible Omicron variant, which appears milder particularly among vaccinated individuals, is fueling the surge in cases, but experts say the wave could burn out within the month and fall off quickly. On Wednesday, Center for Disease Control director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that the agency estimates that the Omicron variant now represents 95% of all cases across the US, and Delta makes up the remaining 5%. 'The sharp rise in cases and the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and boosters,' she said. President Joe Biden, in an address to the nation on Tuesday, again blamed those who refused to get vaccinated. The president emphasized that vaccines, booster shots and therapeutic drugs have lessened the danger for the overwhelming majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated. 'You can still get COVID, but it's highly unlikely, very unlikely, that youll become seriously ill,' Biden said of vaccinated people. 'There's no excuse, there's no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated,' he added. 'This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated.' He also encouraged Americans, including newly eligible teenagers 12 to 15, to get a booster dose of the vaccines for maximum protection. The surge has affected the biggest night in music, which was originally scheduled to be an in-person event on Monday, January 31 held at the Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles. The move to postpone mirror's last year's Grammys, which were scaled down and held outdoors at the Los Angeles Convention Center after moving its ceremony date from January 31, 2021 to March 14, 2021 due to Covid-related concerns. Comedian Trevor Noah hosted last year and is set to host this year's ceremony as well. While no artist has yet to publicly comment on the postponement, fans have expressed disappointment but said it was the right move. 'I don't watch any of those shows, but it makes sense for health of our citizens,' one person tweeted. Another person tweeted: 'Sad for the artists, but very happy they won't be put in a potentially dangerous situation.' 'Tbh if its for the health and safety of everyone I say go for it... I dont want it to be postponed but I understand,' another person tweeted. No performers for this year's awards have been announced yet, but nominations were revealed in on November 23, 2021. Composer and musical artist Jon Batiste surpassed all nominees with an impressive 11 nominations, while Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. scored eight each and Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo tied with seven. Reunited Swedish pop group ABBA scored their first-ever Grammy nomination in their 48-year history for 'I Still Have Faith In You' in the Record of the Year category. Both Lil Nas X and Brandi Carlile got an impressive five nominations each, while Bruno Mars and Anderson Paaks group Silk Sonic received four. Icy road conditions are proving difficult for drivers as multiple car pile-ups shut down roadways in three states and killed two people. Multiple car pile-ups happened across New York, New Jersey, and Michigan, including two in the tri-state area that left two killed after they were struck by skidding vehicles when they exited their wrecked cars. Anastasia Arthur was identified as the victim in a New Jersey crash, while the New York victim remains unidentified. Police said both exited their vehicles after losing control of their own and were struck by another vehicle that lost control in the same spot, according to ABC 7. Arthur was killed on Route 3 near the Hackensack River Bridge in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while the New Yorker was killed on the eastbound Cross County Parkway connection to the northbound Bronx River Parkway. More than 30 cars were involved in a pile-up on the Hutchinson River Parkway near Pelhamdale Avenue in New Rochelle, New York, during rush hour on Wednesday, according to News 12. Multiple pile-ups occurred across New York (pictured), New Jersey, and Michigan as icy road conditions proved difficult for drivers Several crashes happened in New Jersey, including on Route 10 (pictured) and Route 3, where Anastasia Arthur was killed after exiting her crashed vehicle and being struck by another one. An unidentified New Yorker was also killed in a separate accident Several vehicles experienced body damage, but most injuries were non-life-threatening Police reported that three emergency vehicles assisting the scene were also struck after other cars slipped on ice. Several highways and exit ramps were closed as Westchester Police advised drivers to 'avoid driving if possible' due to 'treacherous' road conditions. Icy conditions also delayed flights at LaGuardia Airport in Queens. Flights were delayed by at least an hour, according to the Sun. Drivers in Michigan also saw disastrous road conditions after a semi-truck jackknifed, leading to a 40-car pile-up and several injured on US 131. More than 30 cars were involved in a pile-up on Hutchinson River Parkway (pictured) near Pelhamdale Avenue in New Rochelle, New York, during rush hour on Wednesday Police reported that three emergency vehicles assisting the scene were also struck after other cars slipped on ice Road conditions are expected to worsen as more snow is expected to hit the tri-state area on Friday with up to five inches expected to hit Jersey Around 12.30pm, a semi-truck jackknifed after attempting to avoid a crash ahead of it after the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids issued a warning to drivers to beware of 'dangerous driving conditions in parts of West Michigan.' US 131 was shut down for several hours following 'numerous crashes' as emergency personnel assisted the scenes and attended to several injuries. None were life-threatening. Earlier this week, hundreds of drivers in Virginia were stranded for 27 hours on I-95 around 8.30am on Monday when six tractor-trailers jackknifed in the winter storm and triggered a chain reaction, causing a day-long pile-up along the 50-mile stretch of the I-95 just south of Washington, DC. The Fredericksburg area saw 14 inches of snow as temperatures plunged to the low teens. Several drivers were forced to sit in the cool after turning off their vehicles or running out of gas as they sat in a gridlock. Some drives even left their vehicles on the highway and began walking to unknown locations. Parts of the highway were blocked by downed trees and disabled vehicles. Crews worked tirelessly to clear the roadways, but it still left most stranded for hours and hours. Outgoing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was being slammed for failing to deploy the National Guard to rescue the hundreds of motorists left in freezing conditions without food or water by blaming the 'unusual weather' for blindsiding authorities. 'We all need to be clear that this was an incredibly unusual event,' Northam said at the conference, noting that the winter storm started as rain on Monday morning, meaning the roads couldn't be pretreated the night before. But Meera and Raghavendra Rao, who were stuck on the interstate for 16 hours just 100 feet past an exit, told AP: 'Not one police (officer) came in the 16 hours we were stuck.' 'Being in the most advanced country in the world, no one knew how to even clear one lane for all of us to get out of that mess?' a frustrated Meera questioned. Yet Northam defended his decision not to activate the Virginia National Guard or declare a state of emergency, citing the difficulty of getting workers and equipment through the snow and ice to where they needed to be. Around 40 cars were involved in a massive mile up in Michigan (pictured) after a semi-truck jackknifed on US 131 around 12.30 on Wednesday Dangerous road conditions led to 'numerous crashes' across the highway, leaving the road shut down for several hours None of the injuries were life-threatening He also claimed that a state of emergency, which would typically be declared hours or days before an event to create extra flexibility in responding, would have done no good. These crashes come just as Nashville to New York are expected to get another snowstorm in the coming days, leaving 20million people under winter weather alerts. New York City, which missed the snowstorm earlier this week, is expected to get two to four inches by Friday. New Jersey and Long Island could see up to five inches with gusty winds. The tri-state area also could see rain showers on Sunday. New York state has recorded almost 78,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, officials announced on Wednesday - with nearly half of them in New York City, suggesting the Omicron peak is still yet to arrive. Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said on Wednesday that she knew people were fed up with the seemingly endless pandemic. 'I know New Yorkers are exhausted, but we can't let up against this winter surge,' she said. 'Let's continue to use the tools that will protect ourselves, our children and our vulnerable loved ones from getting severely sick or hospitalized from COVID.' New York state recorded 77,859 COVID cases - with 36,186 of them in New York City. She urged the 10.6 percent of New Yorkers over 18 yet to get their first shot to seek a vaccination clinic, and told fully vaccinated residents to get the booster, wear a non-cloth well-fitting mask and exercise caution while indoors. New York state has recorded almost 78,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the governor said on Wednesday Long lines of people are seen on Tuesday in Times Square, lining up for their COVID tests New York state is witnessing a surge in COVID cases (above, yellow line) and hospitalizations, but the rate of deaths (red line) is well below the April 2020 peak Hochul confirmed that 10,867 New Yorkers were currently hospitalized with COVID - an increase of 1,968 on the previous day. Of those, 1,359 were in ICU and 657 intubated. This week is seeing the highest rate of hospitalizations this week since May 2020, The New York Times reported. New York City was the hardest-hit part of the state, followed by Long Island. In New York City, the seven-day average of cases per 100,000 people was continuing to rise, with 457.73 per 100,000 on January 2; 462.97 on January 3; and 468.22 on January 4. The Bronx was most afflicted, with a seven-day positivity rate of 27.8 percent, followed by Queens and Staten Island, both with 24.1 percent. Manhattan was the least affected, with 18 per cent positivity. On Tuesday 96 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 48,898. Forty one of those deaths were in New York City; eight were in the Bronx, 15 in Brooklyn, eight in Manhattan and nine in Queens, and one in Staten Island. New York City's offices were once again quiet, as employees switched back to remote working. Governor of New York says bars will once again be allowed to sell to-go alcoholic drinks New York Governor Kathy Hochul has delighted constituents who enjoy a tipple with a surprise move to permanently legalize to-go alcohol orders from bars and restaurants. 'Cheers, New York,' Hochul said after announcing the move during her State of the State address to the legislature in Albany on Wednesday, as the Omicron wave further disrupts the Empire State economy. In her announcement, Hochul said: 'So many small businesses are pushed to the brink. Thousands of bars and restaurants, the soul of our neighborhoods, have had to close. For others hanging on by a thread, survival depends on whether they can create more space outdoors, a tough task during our New York winters. 'To help offset these costs we'll provide a tax credit for COVID-related purchases like outdoor heating and seating.' Carry-out booze had been temporarily allowed last year during the pandemic, which Hochul noted was a 'critical revenue stream' in tough times, but the measure expired in June. Advertisement Hochul on Wednesday, in her first State of the State speech in Albany, announced that she would propose spending $10 billion to help rebuild a health care work force exhausted and depleted by the pandemic. 'We simply do not have enough health care workers in our hospitals, or in our long-term care facilities, in our ambulances, or in the homes of our loved ones,' she said. 'The health of every New Yorker depends on strong stable and equitable health care system.' Hochul did not directly address the short-term challenges of this wave of the pandemic, such as increasing testing capacity, immediately finding more staff, or getting more therapeutics, which are in short supply, from the federal government. She did give some good news for bars and their customers, however - announcing that takeout cocktails and other alcoholic drinks would be reinstated, and permitted permanently. Hochul said the move is necessary to help struggling businesses during the surge of COVID-19 cases. 'So many small businesses are pushed to the brink,' she said. 'Thousands of bars and restaurants, the soul of our neighborhoods, have had to close. 'For others hanging on by a thread, survival depends on whether they can create more space outdoors, a tough task during our New York winters. 'To help offset these costs we'll provide a tax credit for COVID-related purchases like outdoor heating and seating,' the governor said. Nationwide, new cases of COVID-19 remain near record highs - although many predictive models forecast that the Omicron wave will crest before the end of January. On Tuesday the U.S. recorded 869,187 new cases, down from the record set on Monday but higher than any other day since the pandemic began. The country's seven-day rolling average of new cases stood at 565,042, a 114 percent increase from a week ago, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. However, deaths remain relatively low, with 2,384 new deaths on Tuesday, a decline of 13 percent from week-ago levels on a rolling average basis. Hospitalizations are rising, but remain well below their peak last January. On Wednesday, Center for Disease Control director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that the agency estimates that the Omicron variant now represents 95 percent of all cases across the U.S., and Delta makes up the remaining 5 percent. 'The sharp rise in cases and the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and boosters,' she said. 'This week, the FDA made several vaccine authorizations and the CDC followed these authorizations to make additional vaccine recommendations.' This includes shortening the window between the second dose of a Pfizer vaccine and a booster shot to five months, down from six months. The latest news from South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, is a positive sign, as the wave there has collapsed completely, running out of people to infect after spreading through an estimated half of the population. In the UK, which is a few weeks ahead of the US in the surge, more than 3 million people in England had COVID on New Years Eve, or roughly one person in every 15, the Office for National Statistics estimated. However, there were 'early signs' that infections are already peaking in London, the epicenter of the current wave. Models from Columbia University and the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and evaluation project U.S. peaks in late January before cases decline. 'It's spreading much faster than we ever expected,' Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at IHME, told the Washington Post. Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington expect the virus to peak at 2.8 million new cases a day nationwide by January 28 "We now estimate that omicron represents about 95% of cases in the country," CDC Director Walensky says. pic.twitter.com/JgAohuo3lT MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 5, 2022 Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sowed further confusion late Tuesday by declining to require a negative test result to complete its new five-day isolation protocol for asymptomatic cases, but recommending the tests in certain cases. The agency had been pressured by health experts to institute a test requirement after it cut in half its guidance last week for people to isolate after a COVID-19 infection to five days from 10, but refused to do so. It said the move was based on science around transmission of the virus. 'It is confusing. It does feel like a bit of a 'choose your own adventure,' said Dr. Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine, in an interview with CBS Mornings. 'That kind of complicated algorithm might work in the ICU at a hospital, but it doesn't really work well as public heath guidance.' President Joe Biden, in an address to the nation on Tuesday, again blamed those who refused to get vaccinated. The president emphasized that vaccines, booster shots and therapeutic drugs have lessened the danger for the overwhelming majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated. 'You can still get COVID, but it's highly unlikely, very unlikely, that you'll become seriously ill,' Biden said of vaccinated people. 'There's no excuse, there's no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated,' he added. 'This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated.' He also encouraged Americans, including newly eligible teenagers 12 to 15, to get a booster dose of the vaccines for maximum protection. The CDC on Tuesday said it now estimates that the highly contagious Omicron variant accounts for 95.4% of COVID cases Compared with last year, more Americans are employed, most children are in classrooms, and instances of death and serious illness are down - precipitously so among the vaccinated. 'We're in a very different place than we were a year ago,' said White House press secretary Jen Psaki when asked if the country had lost control of the virus. Nevertheless, leaders of Chicago Public Schools canceled classes Wednesday after the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. Chicago has rejected a districtwide return to remote instruction, saying it was disastrous for children's learning and mental health. But the union argued the district's safety protocols are lacking and both teachers and students are vulnerable. The Chicago Teachers Union's action, approved by 73 percent of members, called for remote instruction until 'cases substantially subside' or union leaders approve an agreement for safety protocols with the district. Union members were instructed to try and log into teaching systems Wednesday, even though the district said there would be no instruction and didn't distribute devices to students ahead of the union votes, which were announced just before 11pm Tuesday. 'This decision was made with a heavy heart and a singular focus on student and community safety,' the union said in a statement. However, district officials blamed the union for the late cancellation, saying despite safety measures, including a high teacher vaccination rate, 'our teachers are not willing to report to work.' A sign on the fence outside of Lowell elementary school asks students, staff and visitors to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday in Chicago, Illinois. Classes at all of Chicago public schools have been canceled today by the school district after the teacher's union voted to return to virtual learning, citing unsafe conditions in the schools Meanwhile, Walmart and Kroger raised the price of rapid home-testing kits by $5 to $10 after an agreement with the White House to sell the tests at a reduced price expired. The test kits, still hard to find in some parts of the country, are now listed on Walmart's website at $19.88, up from $14 in December. Kroger lists the kits for $23.99. In Philadelphia, emergency room doctor Kit Delgado wrote on Twitter that almost all of the serious hospital cases he saw were among those who were either unvaccinated, or chronically ill and unboosted. 'Hardly saw anyone who had gotten a booster because if they caught Covid they're likely at home doing fine or having regular cold/flu like symptoms,' he wrote. 'Unvaxxed: These are the folks that get sick and had to be hospitalized because they need oxygen, some even younger than me,' he wrote. 'Covid is all around. Chances are you'll get it at some point. I share these observations in case you're on the fence about whether you want a booster or your first shot, or if you are fully boosted, that you have some peace of mind and feel less anxious,' wrote Delgado. Airlines continue to suffer massive disruptions due to staffing shortages, with crews out sick. On Wednesday morning more than 1,400 flights had been cancelled in the US, according to FlightAware. Scott Morrison has dismissed calls for a nationwide lockdown amid surging Covid cases as he points to Australia's high vaccination rates and steady hospitalisations - instead urging citizens to 'ride the wave'. The prime minister vehemently denied citizens would be subjected to stay-at-home orders ever again when he declared 'the days of lockdown are over' on Monday. The encouraging message came as infections continue to explode across the country with Australia detecting a record 64,774 cases on Wednesday. However, Mr Morrison has called for calm in the face of heavy caseloads as new variants continue to evolve attitudes and force changes towards Covid rules. 'We have no choice but to ride the wave. What's the alternative? What we must do is press on,' the prime minister said. Scott Morrison has dismissed calls for a nationwide lockdown amid surging Covid cases as he points to Australia's high vaccination rates and steady hospitalisations - instead urging citizens to 'ride the wave' of the latest Omicron outbreak (pictured, beach-goers in Bondi) PM Scott Morrison (pictured) has called for calm in the face of record numbers as new variants continue to evolve attitudes and force changes to Covid rules WHAT ARE THE NEW CHANGES TO TESTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA? - 10 free Rapid Antigen Tests now available to low-income and vulnerable Australians over a three-month period - The free tests can be accessed at chemists with a concession or seniors card - PCR test no longer required to officially confirm a positive RAT result - Price gouging on RATs banned, with businesses caught doing so facing fines of up to $66,000 - The move comes after the in-demand tests were being sold for as much as $50 Advertisement 'Australia, with its high vaccination rates, is in an even stronger position than the United Kingdom is. We are in the top 10 most vaccinated OECD countries in the world. So we are in a good position to push through or ride the wave. 'That's why we just have to keep carefully managing these issues as they present.' Following an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Mr Morrison announced only the sick and close contacts of confirmed cases need a PCR test. The move is hoped to alleviate pressure on testing facilities around the country struggling to keep up with demand as states record numbers of new infections. The suite of changes to the country's testing system saw the government announce they would subsidise rapid antigen tests for disadvantaged Australians. Vulnerable groups including those on welfare, pensions and concession cards can receive 10 RATs over a three-month period - numbered to be 6.6million Australians. The deal is predicted to cost the federal government $850million and comes after escalating calls for free tests loudened amid crippling nationwide shortages. In another major change, Mr Morrison confirmed citizens will no longer need to seek a PCR test if they test positive on a rapid antigen test, and should count themselves as Covid positive. 'If you have gone along, if you are a close contact and had a rapid antigen test and it is positive, you do not need to get a PCR test to confirm that. That will take pressure off PCR testing lines,' Mr Morrison said on Wednesday afternoon. The prime minister vehemently denied citizens would be subjected to stay-at-home orders ever again on Monday (pictured, a group of women celebrate New Year's Eve in Melbourne) Following an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Mr Morrison announced a suite of changes to the country's testing system (pictured, testing queues at a Gold Coast clinic) The changes come in stark contrast to previous warnings from health officials who urged people with even minor symptoms to get tested during the Delta outbreak. The majority of states have adopted the prime minister's relaxed approach to the virus, despite Western Australian where citizens remain crippled by strict rules. Premier Mark McGowan has steadfastly refused to open WA to areas considered Covid hotspots and has introduced a hard border with every Australian state. Meanwhile, Australia's Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly additionally revealed the number of hospitalisations remained steady amid rising case numbers. Dr Kelly said the number of people infected with the Omicron variant that required hospital care was at a third of what they were under previous strains. He pointed to data that revealed why cases had exploded from 30,000 to 218,000, hospitalisations had only risen from 824 to 2,158. Meanwhile, Australia's Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly (pictured) revealed the number of hospitalisations remained steady amid rising case numbers The majority of states have adopted the prime minister's relaxed approach to the virus and eased a suite of Covid rules (pictured, a woman at a testing site in Sydney) The prime minister echoed these sentiments when he said Omicron is '75 per cent less severe' than Delta, while urging citizens to practice Covid-safe behaviours. 'Everything that you used to do to control Delta is not how you manage Omicron. It has the advantage of being less severe but has the disadvantage of having very high levels of transmission, which gives you a big volume problem,' Mr Morrison said. Dr Kelly warned the country could see 100,000 cases by the end of the week given the international case rate was doubling every two to three days. However, hospitalisation and ICU numbers remain steady amid skyrocketing infections, with positive signs the outbreak could soon be reaching its peak. Dr Kelly was tentative to put a timeframe on the peak but said NSW would be the first to experience a substantial drop in cases, while states like WA would peak later. It comes as infectious Disease Expert Professor Peter Collignon predicted the worst point of the Omicron outbreak could be just two weeks away. Professor Collignon (pictured) said it would only take from five to ten days for case numbers to plummet once the wave has peaked, triggered by gatherings over Christmas Prof. Collignon said it would only take from five to ten days for case numbers to plummet after the wave has peaked, triggered by gatherings over Christmas. 'I think it will go down. That takes 5-10 days. I would be optimistic it will come down,' he said during an appearance on Sunrise on Thursday morning. The professor added the 'real issue' lay with unvaccinated Australians who were disproportionately in hospital and entering intensive care units with the virus. 'The figures I have seen from ICU from a week or so ago, it is mainly Delta putting people into hospital and people who are unvaccinated,' he said. On Monday, the prime minister hit back at suggestions of a circuit-breaker lockdown to put a pause on multiplying infections. On Monday, the prime minister hit back at suggestions of a circuit-breaker lockdown to put a pause on multiplying infections (pictured, people wait outside a testing clinic in Brisbane) Mr Morrison told the Today Show: 'No. Because it is not about numbers. 'I keep making this point. This is a different type of variant which requires an evolution of our response. 'The days of lockdown are gone. We're going forward. We're not going back. That's not how you manage this virus. 'There will be high case numbers but the severity is a lot less so you focus on your hospital system. 'If you are in hospital at the moment, the primary reason for that is you weren't vaccinated. The second reason is you've got Delta, not Omicron.' NSW recorded 34,994 new cases on Thursday, with 1,609 in hospital while Victoria hit 21,997 infections with 631 people currently receiving care. On the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol attack, Statuary Hall - where a number of solemn events have been held over the years - was being turned into a TV studio. A stage was set up in the middle of the ornate chamber, alongside a large camera crane and teleprompters. The room will be used Thursday by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as they address the nation first thing in the morning from the U.S. Capitol Building. Later, CNN will take it over for a Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper anchored special entitled, 'Live from the Capitol: January 6th, One Year Later.' A press release from CNN said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi along with nine House members, all Democrats besides Rep. Liz Cheney, would be joining the program. On Wednesday night, a number of Republican aides were aghast by the sight. 'It's tasteless to treat this anniversary like a Super Bowl spectacle to be milked for TV ratings, especially as Capitol staff who were in the building a year ago continue to grapple with their experiences that day,' one senior Republican aide told DailyMail.com. By Wednesday night, Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building had been turned into a TV studio, complete with a large stage, a camera on a crane and teleprompters A teleprompter and TV monitor were set up in Statuary Hall in preparation for a Thursday night CNN TV special anchored by Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper A teleprompter can be seen set up in Statuary Hall on the eve of the first anniversary of the January 6 Capitol attack Another GOP aide also remarked on the event's 'Super Bowl'-like nature. 'It's their 24/7. It's their only issue,' the source scoffed. 'As someone who knows people with PTSD, these members who have been so-called scarred by these events aren't acting like it,' the source added. 'If they really had PTSD, they wouldn't talk about it or parade the event like they've been doing for a year.' Another GOP Capitol Hill aide suggested Pelosi was turning the 1/6 anniversary into a spectacle to draw attention away from the large-scale Omicron U.S. COVID outbreak, which has left Democrats - in charge of the White House and both chambers of Congress - looking flat-footed and unprepared. 'Speaker Pelosi can't go back in time to focus Democrats' 1.9 trillion COVID relief bill on COVID testing, so she'll play act a time when Trump was president by turning the former House chamber into a soap opera set,' the aide said. 'There she'll talk about how our democracy barely survived an out-of-hand protest like it was the battle of Hogwarts,' the source added. A television crew sets up in Statuary Hall Wednesday in advance of Thursday's January 6 anniversary Statuary Hall, which is the original House chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building, has been used for a number of both solemn and joyful occassions TV crews try out different configurations of chairs on the large stage constructed Wednesday in Statuary Hall Statuary Hall, which is the original House chamber, has been used as the setting for a number of both solemn and joyful occassions. It's where Rep. Elijah Cummings and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lain in state. And it's where the traditional inaugural luncheon takes place, among other celebrations. On Thursday, the remembrances will start there, but move elsewhere around the U.S. Capitol complex. At 9 a.m., Biden and Harris will address the nation from Statuary Hall. An hour later, Pelosi will give a statement on the House floor and offer a statement of reflection for House staff. At noon, Pelosi will lead the House of Representatives in a moment of silence. And then at 1 p.m., she'll lead a discussion with historians in the Cannon Caucus Room. Testimonials from members will also take place there later in the afternoon. The day will conclude with prayer vigil on the Capitol steps at 5:30 p.m. And then the CNN broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. Two Republicans allied with former President Donald Trump - Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz - plan to hold their own press event while members give testimonials steps away. Dr Zahid Chauhan told Radio 4's Today Boris Johnson was wrong to say country could 'ride out' the Omicron threat Tory MPs criticised the BBC over its Covid coverage last night after it gave airtime to a Left-wing critic of the PM. Dr Zahid Chauhan a GP in Oldham and Labour councillor was invited on Radio 4's Today programme to take aim at Boris Johnson. He claimed it was wrong for the PM to say, as he did on Tuesday, that the country could 'ride out' the Omicron threat when the public was 'suffering'. It came as the Today programme aired a string of warnings from other NHS figures over the 'really challenging' circumstances facing hospitals. Yesterday, more than 20 NHS trusts declared a so-called 'critical incident' over increasing Covid admissions and virus-related staff shortages. But the PM's official spokesman said that some incidents lasted only 'a matter of hours, a morning or afternoon', meaning the declarations were 'not a good indicator necessarily of how the NHS is performing.' Tory MPs criticised the BBC over its Covid coverage last night after it gave airtime to a Left-wing critic of the PM. It came as the Today programme aired a string of warnings from other NHS figures over the 'really challenging' circumstances facing hospitals Meanwhile it was claimed that NHS officials were under pressure to relax infection prevention and control rules that require contacts of confirmed Covid cases in hospitals to be isolated for 14 days regardless of testing negative. Yesterday's Today programme led with the story that 17 struggling hospitals in Greater Manchester had put non-urgent surgery on hold. Presenter Nick Robinson then interviewed Dr Chauhan, who he introduced as 'a GP in Oldham and a Labour councillor in the area'. Asked what the cancellation of non-urgent surgery would mean, he said: 'It means for my patients that they will be waiting longer, they will be unfortunately suffering more... If you are waiting for a hip replacement and you can't walk, that means you are in pain.' Asked whether the cancellations would have been necessary had restrictions been in place, he said: 'If you have appropriate availability of lateral flow tests and PCR tests available, that means staff can come back to work. Dr Zahid Chauhan a GP in Oldham and Labour councillor was invited on Radio 4's Today programme to take aim at Boris Johnson. He claimed it was wrong for the PM to say, as he did on Tuesday, that the country could 'ride out' the Omicron threat when the public was 'suffering' 'In the Manchester area people could not book PCR tests yesterday. All these factors play a role. It does not help when your Prime Minister says we will ride it out while the public is suffering.' Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Medical experts are there to express a view about Covid issues and risks but not to make political points about the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition. 'If you invite someone on for their medical opinion and they talk about their political views, it ends up with allegations of political bias.' A BBC spokesman said: 'We made it clear at the top of the interview that the GP was also a Labour councillor and none of the questions put to him were of a political nature.' The inconvenient truth: More patients were in hospital two years ago Analysis by Shaun Wooller Health Correspondent For The Daily Mail Omicron has swept through the UK with infections at record levels for the past three weeks and hospital admissions are now on the rise. One in ten NHS staff are also off work, with many isolating, placing additional strain on the health service though it is no worse than at this time last year. But Boris Johnson is confident the country can ride out the current wave without further restrictions. So is there reason for optimism? Bed numbers Hospitals in England have had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid, latest figures show. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26, 2019. Data from NHS England show there were an average of 95,917 beds open and 86,078 occupied that week, giving an occupancy rate of 89.7 per cent. This is higher than the 87.4 per cent in the most recent data, suggesting there is room for further admissions. The number of beds unavailable because of Norovirus outbreaks has almost halved, which makes it easier to move patients around, allowing for further admissions. Hospitals in England have had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid, latest figures show. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied (stock photo) Where's the flu? Despite bleak warnings of a 'double peak' of flu and Covid crippling the NHS, seasonal influenza has yet to take off reducing normal winter pressures on hospitals. Flu cases are currently 95 per cent below levels of 2019-20, the last winter before the pandemic. During the last bad flu season, in 2017-2018 there were 22,000 flu deaths in England and Wales but latest ONS data shows that over the past month there have been just 1,640 deaths due to flu. Spare intensive care capacity The NHS has more spare capacity in intensive care now than it did pre-pandemic and could open even more beds if it needed to. The number of Covid patients in critical care in England is half the level of previous peaks. There were an average of 4,079 adult critical care beds open each day in the week to December 26, but only 75 per cent of them 3,058 were occupied. Compare that to an occupancy rate of 79.6 per cent in the week to December 26, 2019, when there was an average of 3,647 adult critical care beds open and 2,903 occupied. On January 24 last year there were 3,736 Covid patients in intensive care in England the highest of the pandemic with 6,270 critical beds open for any illness. Covid infections in England have soared to record levels, but the number of patients in intensive care has remained flat since Omicron emerged in the UK. Just five per cent of patients in hospital with Covid are on mechanical ventilators, compared with 11 per cent at the peak of the pandemic last January. The number of Covid patients in England's hospitals has doubled in the past fortnight and there are currently 15,659 patients receiving treatment. But only 769 are on ventilators fewer than two months ago when cases were significantly lower. At the peak last January, there were 34,336 Covid patients in England's hospitals, including 3,736 in intensive care. And the proportion of patients with Covid in hospital who then end up in intensive care has plummeted compared with the numbers in April. Fewer A&E admissions Fewer people are attending A&E and being admitted to hospital as an emergency with any illness than before the pandemic. There were 2,040,323 A&E attendances in England in November, down from 2,143,505 in the same month in 2019. The number being admitted to hospital as an emergency has also fallen, from 559,556 to 506,238. However, patients are being made to wait longer in A&E, with just 74 per cent admitted, transferred and discharged within four hours in November 2021. The fall in attendances and admissions comes despite doctors now having to treat patients with coronavirus, indicating reduced demand from other conditions. But the number of patients made to wait more than 12 hours for a hospital bed after doctors decided to admit them has rocketed from 1,111 to 10,646. Omicron is good news Multiple studies now show Omicron is less dangerous than previous variants, raising hopes it may be possible finally to learn to live with the virus. South Africa was able to lift its night-time curfew for the first time in 21 months in December after the Omicron wave peaked without overwhelming hospitals. A study on hospital admissions in the country, where cases first accelerated, revealed it may be ten-times less deadly than previous variants. The UK Health Security Agency said data shows people are half as likely to have to attend A&E or be admitted to hospital with Omicron as they are with Delta. And they say the risk of hospital admission alone for Omicron which now accounts for nine in ten infections is around a third of that for Delta. Booster drive is key The UK has given a booster to a higher proportion of its population than any EU country. Those boosted are eight times less likely to end up in hospital than those who are unvaccinated, UK Health Security Agency data shows. Around 34.5million people in the UK have received a third dose of the vaccine, which helps protect them and reduces the chances of the NHS becoming overwhelmed with Covid patients. People no longer have any protection against symptomatic infection from the variant 20 weeks after a second dose of AstraZeneca. And vaccine effectiveness also wanes over the same period of time in Pfizer and Moderna jabs, down to just 10 per cent. But the vaccine is 88 per cent effective at protecting against hospital admission two weeks after a booster shot, highlighting its importance. Up to 90 per cent of patients in intensive care with Covid have not had their booster and over 60 per cent have not had any vaccine at all. STEPHEN GLOVER: Ignore the BBC and Labour shroud-wavers. The NHS is not in crisis... and Boris is right to stand firm in the face of their hysteria Can Britain 'ride out' the Omicron wave without another lockdown, as Boris Johnson suggested on Tuesday? Or is the NHS being hopelessly overwhelmed as Covid infection rates soar? The answer to the first question is Yes. The answer to the second is No. But listening to Labour and much media coverage, particularly on the BBC, you would think we were in the grip of a terrible scourge which can only be checked by draconian measures. Labour's Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, yesterday stood in for Sir Keir Starmer, infected with Covid for the second time. In the Commons she painted a lurid picture of the supposedly dire state of the NHS, and implied that her party was ready to support further restrictions. Can Britain 'ride out' the Omicron wave without another lockdown, as Boris Johnson suggested on Tuesday? Or is the NHS being hopelessly overwhelmed as Covid infection rates soar? The answer to the first question is Yes Meanwhile, on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme, hysteria was being whipped up. Presenter Nick Robinson informed listeners in sepulchral tones that 'the Prime Minister was forced to acknowledge yesterday that the NHS is under huge pressure'. Why forced? Didn't he choose to say what he said? Mr Robinson then interviewed a GP from Oldham who happened to be a Labour councillor. This gentleman took a gloomy view after 17 hospitals in his area of Greater Manchester put some non-urgent operations on hold. Prompted by Mr Robinson, he agreed that a lack of new restrictions was partly to blame. Mr Robinson also questioned a representative of the Road Haulage Association, who supplied a relatively upbeat picture, saying that problems created by staff absences 'are not really translating into the supply chain'. The somewhat disappointed interviewer concluded: 'So not too great a problem, at least now.' Over on BBC television news, the lugubrious figure of Hugh Pym, the BBC's Health Editor, makes my heart sink each night. In the unlikely event of his ever finding some good news to report, he would still contrive to sound miserable. People who claim to speak on behalf of NHS managers, nurses, ambulance drivers and other hospital workers are swarming on to the airwaves to tell us the NHS will come apart at the seams unless the Government acts. The current situation is not as bad as in the recent past Will it? I don't doubt that those working in hospitals are under huge pressure, as is usual at this time of year. They deserve our respect and gratitude. But it doesn't follow that there should be a lockdown or other restrictions. Needless to say, the next few weeks are bound to be challenging. Infection rates will go up in some places, though probably not in London, where Omicron seems to have peaked. Pressure on many hospitals is likely to increase. Death rates may rise. So it is certain that there will be more calls for further stringent measures. While announcing a very welcome relaxation of Covid testing requirements, the PM repeated yesterday in the Commons that the Government doesn't want to 'shut down the country again'. We must hope he sticks to his guns. There are two main flaws in the arguments put forward by the Government's critics. The first is that they exaggerate the predicament of the NHS. The occupancy of hospital beds in England is close to what it was five years ago, pre-Covid, during a gruelling winter for the health service. In the Commons Labour's Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, painted a lurid picture of the supposedly dire state of the NHS, and implied that her party was ready to support further restrictions According to official figures, there were 17,276 hospital patients with Covid in the UK on Tuesday, compared with 30,775 exactly a year earlier. There are about 140,000 hospital beds in the UK. In other words, although there is obviously a lot of pressure on the NHS, which is why hospitals in the Greater Manchester area have stopped doing some non-urgent operations, the situation is not as bad as in the recent past. Indeed, Jeremy Hunt a former health secretary and no great fan of the PM's was almost certainly right when he said yesterday in the Commons that admissions to hospital in London are no longer increasing. It is perfectly true, of course, that the number of hospital beds in the UK has more than halved over the past 30 years. Germany has more than three times as many per head. Our vaunted NHS has been rash in getting rid of beds, creating unnecessary constraints. Angela Rayner painted a lurid picture of the supposedly dire state of the NHS Nevertheless, even with those limitations, the NHS is not yet in the perilous state depicted by some of the Government's critics, and Angela Rayner was scarcely justified in claiming yesterday that it 'is struggling to keep afloat'. As for Labour's claim that the NHS is unable to function properly because of consistent underfunding, that is hard to swallow, since expenditure has nearly doubled in real terms over the past 40 years, and this Government has been funnelling countless extra billions into it. The NHS has an insatiable appetite. All that can be said with reasonable confidence is that it is not at breaking point. The Government must continue to resist the false contention that it is. Otherwise we will drift towards lockdown. There's a second major flaw in the case made by those agitating for further restrictions. They seem not to have noticed that, although our daily rate of new infections is comparable with those of France, Italy or Spain, our Covid death rate in recent weeks has often been lower than theirs. Admittedly, yesterday's figure of 334 fatalities for the previous 24 hours was high the highest since March. But it almost certainly included many deaths unreported during the Christmas and New Year break. Looking back over the past few weeks, the daily Covid death rate in the UK has tended to be markedly below that of several European countries, some of which have had lower infection rates. One possible explanation, floated by Dr Clive Dix, a former head of the vaccine taskforce, is that the United Kingdom's earlier reliance on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine preposterously vilified by the likes of President Macron of France has given us an edge. Another explanation, which seems even more likely to me, is that Britain has accomplished a significantly higher proportion of booster jabs than France, Italy and even Germany. Rebellious Tory MPs have put steel in the PM's spine Granted, nearly nine million people in the UK still haven't received a booster, even though there are supposed to be two million slots available this week. Refusing a booster (unless you have, or have just had, Covid) is a very foolish thing to do, in view of the high degree of protection it confers. The point stands that the UK's booster programme has hitherto been more successful than those of most European countries. This must account in large measure for our recent less alarming fatality rate. In short, Mr Johnson's evangelising of boosters, and his avoidance of lockdown measures, is succeeding and will succeed all the more if a substantial number of those nine million step forward to be jabbed. Some 100 rebellious Tory MPs have put steel in the PM's spine, since he knows they would oppose more restrictive measures. But he must, all the same, be congratulated for resisting the doomsayers in the Labour Party, the scientific community (though there are notable exceptions) and on the BBC. Will Boris Johnson stand firm? These will be difficult weeks. The pressure on him will be immense. But if he can carry the country through Omicron, so that the economy and society do not suffer further grievous blows, it will be an undeniable political triumph. Six of the 18 rapid antigen test products approved for sale in Australia are rated 95 per cent accurate at detecting Covid - but 12 of them are made in China. The Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved kits have taken on critical importance as the Omicron surge overwhelms coronavirus testing centres. With Covid cases soaring in the tens of thousands every day in most states, Australians will no longer need to wait for hours queuing up for a PCR swab test in a laboratory. Instead, they will be able to rely on a home test kit, priced from $12 individually, or cheaper if bought in bulk, to confirm a positive test result for the virus under relaxed National Cabinet rules announced on Wednesday. But rapid antigen kits quickly sell out at chemists and supermarkets and new price gouging fines of $66,000 coming into force on Saturday to stop profiteering. The federal government has approved 18 rapid antigen tests kits with two-thirds of them made in China as an Omicron surge threatens to overwhelm Covid testing centres (pictured is registered nurse Niamh Costello demonstrating a rapid antigen test kit in Sydney) But rapid antigen kits have sold out with new price gouging fines of $66,000 coming into force on Saturday morning (pictured is a Sydney chemist) Where rapid antigen kits come from CHINA: 12 out of 18 including six with a 'very high' 95 per cent clinical sensitivity US: two out of 18 including one with 'very high' clinical sensitivity AUSTRALIA: one out of 18 with an 'acceptable' clinical sensitivity GERMANY: one out of 18 with a 'very high' clinical sensitivity SINGAPORE: one out of 18 with a 'very high' clinical sensitivity SOUTH KOREA: one out of 18 with an 'acceptable' clinical sensitivity Advertisement Chemists aren't the only ones selling rapid antigen tests with Woolworths, Dick Smith Electronics and Costco also selling kits from China. The TGA, an agency of the Department of Health, has approved 18 products since October with 12 of them made in China. Only one of the kits was made in Australia with the others coming from the US, Germany, Singapore, and South Korea. From 1am on January 8, retailers who price gouge on rapid antigen tests will be liable for a fine of up to $66,000 or five years' jail, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigating profiteers. With queues now forming outside chemists instead of Covid testing centres, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government had bought another 70 million rapid antigen tests, which would take Australia's total to 200 million. 'There's a short-term challenge around the rapid antigen supply,' he told Seven's Sunrise program on Thursday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted the states and territories would be relying on PCR laboratory tests for at least the next fortnight with rapid antigen tests in short supply. 'Given the supply issues over the next two weeks, that's what I would expect to occur in the majority of cases,' he said. 'But that gives the states a couple of weeks to get this other system in place, and that's what I anticipate that would occur.' Here's Daily Mail Australia's guide to all 18 tests and which ones are the most accurate, cheapest, and where they come from. With queues now forming outside chemists instead of Covid testing centres, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government had bought another 70million rapid antigen tests, which would take Australia's total to 200million Very high - 95 per cent sensitivity The most effective home kits are deemed to have a 95 per cent or 'very high' clinical sensitivity rating. Almost all require an uncomfortable nasal swab test within seven days of someone being symptomatic of the virus. Of this category, three of the six are made in China with the rest coming from the US, Germany and Singapore. The Chinese-made All Test rapid antigen tests are selling for $12 at Priceline with nasal kits listed on their website but sold out. Dick Smith, now an online electronics store selling health products, is selling a 10-pack of LYTHER nasal antigen test kits, also made in China, for $109. The store is selling a Chinese-made 20-pack of V-Chek saliva test kits for $249, making it the only 'very high' rated kit that doesn't require a nasal swab. A 20-pack of the US-made Onsite nasal swab kit is available online at the CPAP Clinic for $169. A 25-pack box of the German-made Panbio test is available online via McFarlane Medical for $339.75. A Singapore-made Biomedicals rapid antigen test is yet to be sent to retailers. The most effective home kits, deemed to have a 95 per cent or 'very high' clinical sensitivity rating, almost all require an uncomfortable nasal swab test within seven days of someone being symptomatic of the virus. Dick Smith, now an online electronics store selling health products, is selling a 10-pack of LYTHER nasal antigen test kits, also made in China, for $109. The retailer is selling a Chinese-made 20-pack of V-Chek saliva test kits for $249 High - 90 per cent sensitivity On the list of 18 rapid antigen tests, all eight of the 'high sensitivity' kits, with a 90 per cent clinical sensitivity rating, are made in China. A RightSign Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test, as a nasal swab, is listed at Chemist Warehouse for $24.99 as a two-pack and $49.99 as a five pack. Both products are out of stock, which means consumers have to place an order online to reserve a delivery. Workplaces wanting to go bulk testing can buy a 480-pack of Chinese-made JusChek nasal test kits for $5,984, or $12.40 each, from Onsite Drug Testing and Training Priceline is listing online an oral swab All Test kit for $12 but it is sold out. It has also sold out of Orawell saliva test kits retailing for $14.99, another item out of stock. Woolworths is selling a five-pack of the Chinese-made Hough Pharma for $50. Costco is selling TESTSEALABS nasal swab kits from China for $154.99 in a pack of 20. Workplaces wanting to go bulk testing can buy a 480-pack of Chinese-made JusChek nasal test kits for $5,984, or $12.40 each, from Onsite Drug Testing and Training. The oral version of the same product is yet to be listed for sale in Australia. The Chinese-made My Covid Test Antigen Rapid Test, supplied by AM Diagnostics, is meant to be available at Woolworths in NSW, Victoria, and Queensland. But the supermarket giant has yet to list this oral test kit on its website. On the list of 18 rapid antigen tests, all eight of the 'high sensitivity' kits, with a 90 per cent clinical sensitivity rating, are made in China. A RightSign COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test, as a nasal swab, is listed at Chemist Warehouse for $24.99 as a two-pack and $49.99 as a five pack Acceptable - 80 per cent sensitivity Only one rapid antigen test kit is made in Australia but the InnoScreen COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test Device, manufactured by Innovation Scientific, only has an 'acceptable' sensitivity rating of 80 per cent. But this kit is only, so far, available at a wholesale level with AusHealth Work taking orders on behalf of pharmacies. A Korean-made nasal swab kit, manufactured by SD Biosensor for Roche Diagnostics is available at Blooms The Chemist online as a five-pack for $59.99. Blooms is also selling a Chinese-made Ecotest saliva kit for $25.99 as a two-pack. The American-made CareStart nasal swab is yet to go on sale in Australia. Nasal kits dominate Nasal test kits make up 12 of the 18 rapid antigen tests, compared with three for the saliva test options and three for an oral fluid swab requiring a cotton bud at the back of the throat. The TGA performance guidelines are aligned with World Health Organisation and European Commission specifications. Priceline is listing online an oral swab All Test kit but it is sold out. It has also sold out of Orawell saliva test kits (pictured) retailing for $14.99 Mr Morrison this week announced all concession card holders - more than six million Australians - will be given access to 10 free rapid antigen tests. The decision was made after an emergency National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. All Australians who are deemed close contacts or who have symptoms will still be able to access free rapid tests from testing clinics. The Commonwealth will provide 10 million rapid antigen tests to be distributed throughout the states and territories for eligible Aussies. To access the tests, which is capped at five per month, a recipient will require identification in the same way people need to prove their identity to access certain prescription drugs. Russia last night sent a peacekeeping force into neighbouring Kazakhstan to quell violent protests sparked by rising fuel prices. Protesters in Kazakhstans largest city stormed the presidential residence and the mayors office and set both on fire as demonstrations escalated sharply. Police reportedly fired on some protesters at the residence in Almaty before fleeing. They have clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in recent days, deploying water cannons in the freezing weather, and firing tear gas and concussion grenades. The Kazakh interior ministry said eight police officers and national guard members were killed in the unrest and more than 300 were injured. No figures on civilian casualties were released. A burnt car is seen by the mayors office on fire. Protests are spreading across Kazakhstan over the rising fuel prices; protesters broke into the Almaty mayors office and set it on fire Kazakhstan on January 5, 2022 declared a nationwide state of emergency after protests over a fuel price hike erupted into clashes and saw demonstrators storm government buildings A man rallies outside the burning mayors office. Protests are spreading across Kazakhstan over the rising fuel prices; protesters broke into the Almaty mayors office and set it on fire Riot police officers block a street during the protests in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 05/01/2022 President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev vowed to take harsh measures to quell the unrest and declared a two-week state of emergency for the whole country, expanding one that had been announced for both the capital of Nur-Sultan and the largest city of Almaty. Mr Tokayev appealed to a Russian-led security bloc to help stem the violence and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation responded by sending troops over the borders last night. Today I appealed to the heads of CSTO states to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming this terrorist threat, Mr Tokayev said on state television as he blamed terrorist bands. In fact, this is no longer a threat, he added. It is undermining the integrity of the state. A truck is left burning in the street close to the mayor's office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, amid widespread protests Riot police officers patrol in a street during rally over a hike in energy prices in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 05 January 2022. Protesters stormed the mayor's office in Almaty, as Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the capital until 19 January 2022 Moscow leads the CSTO security alliance, which includes five other former Soviet states. The Kazakh government resigned in response to the unrest. Kazakh news sites became inaccessible late in the day, and the global watchdog organization Netblocks said the country was experiencing a deliberate internet blackout. Although the protests began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of liquefied petroleum gas that is widely used as vehicle fuel, their size and rapid spread suggested they reflect wider discontent in the country, which has been under the rule of the same party since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Kazakhstan, the ninth-largest country in the world, borders Russia to the north and China to the east and has extensive oil reserves that make it strategically and economically important. Despite those reserves and mineral wealth, discontent over poor living conditions is strong in some parts of the country. Many Kazakhs also chafe at the dominance of the ruling party, which holds more than 80 per cent of the seats in parliament. Nancy Pelosi has branded Donald Trump a 'rogue president', a 'liar' and claims he should be ashamed of himself over the US Capitol riot. On the eve of the January 6 riot, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that 'democracy was on the brink of catastrophe' during the 2021 violence. 'Democracy won,' Pelosi, 81, said, but warned democracy was in dire condition previously. 'Make no mistake, our democracy was on the brink of catastrophe.' In an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday, inside the Capitol where a mob loyal to Donald Trump had laid siege, Pelosi said it's time for the country to turn to its 'better angels,' draw from history and ensure a day like January 6 never happens again. 'Democracy won that night,' she said. 'These people, because of the courageous work of the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police and others, they were deterred in their action to stop the peaceful transfer of power. 'They lost that night. It was a failure for them, it was a victory for democracy.' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 81, told the Associated Press that 'democracy was on the brink of catastrophe' before the January 6 riots She also claimed that 'democracy won that night.' She said: 'They lost that night. It was a failure for them, it was a victory for democracy' The speaker will lead Congress on Thursday in a day of remembrance at the Capitol, with President Joe Biden speaking in the morning, and historians and lawmakers sharing remembrances throughout the day - though few Republicans are expected to attend. 'This has to be a period of remembrance, of reconciliation,' Pelosi said, drawing on the example set by Abraham Lincoln. 'Lincoln said: "With malice toward none, with charity toward all" as the Civil War was ending. "We have to extend the hand of friendship."' The deadly riot stunned the country, and the world, as rioters ransacked the Capitol, some in hand-to-hand combat with police, after a defeated President Trump exhorted them to fight as Congress was certifying the Biden's election. Pelosi said no one could have imagined a US president calling for an insurrection, but there's now an 'enormous civics lesson learned as to what a president is capable of,' she said. 'I think now people are alerted to the fact that there can be rogue presidents.' Republicans are mostly staying away from the remembrance events. They downplayed the assault and blame Democrats for not fortifying the Capitol. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, said in a letter to colleagues that Democrats are using the anniversary 'as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country.' Pelosi, the California congresswoman, who made history 15 years ago as the first female speaker of the House - and has become one of the most powerful leaders ever to have held the gavel - said she bears 'absolutely no sense of responsibility' for the current divisions in Congress, or the country. After having twice led the House to impeach Trump, she said her message to those who assaulted the Capitol - and the millions of Americans who backed Trump and could support him again - is that they were lied to. Countless court cases and investigations have shown no evidence of voter fraud that could have tipped the election, as he claims. 'They may have thought that was right,' she said. 'But they were lied to by the president of the United States.' For that, she said: 'He should be ashamed.' Sitting beneath a portrait of George Washington, Pelosi drew heavily on the founders' vision for a country where Americans would have many differences but rely on common sense to resolve them. She referred to Lincoln's efforts - insisting on constructing the dome of the Capitol despite naysayers during the Civil War - to underscore national unity. 'We cannot shirk our responsibility. We have the power and we have the responsibility and we will live up to that to keep our country together,' she said. Inside her offices at the Capitol (pictured), Pelosi showed the mirror that was shattered in the melee but has since been repaired, along with a door that was vandalized as the mob went searching for her, menacingly calling her name 'Let's hope that we never elect a president who will incite an insurrection on the Congress of the United States.' Looking back on the night of January 6, once the Capitol was cleared of the mob, Pelosi said she is most proud of the decision congressional leaders made to quickly return to certify the election results. She hopes to 'soon' reopen the mostly shuttered Capitol - a 'symbol of democracy to the world,' now closed to the public longer than any other time in its history - once the coronavirus pandemic wanes and the physician's office signals it is safe. Inside her offices at the Capitol, Pelosi showed the mirror that was shattered in the melee but has since been repaired, along with a door that was vandalized as the mob went searching for her, menacingly calling her name. There is a conference room where several from her staff barricaded themselves, silent and fearful as rioters stalked outside. She had been presiding over the House, down the hall, and was hurried to a secure location. Pelosi said while historic artifacts can be mended and replaced, she knows the emotional toll of the deadly day lingers for many. 'What I remember most about the day is something that I find most unforgiving about it, and that is the impact that it had on young people in the Capitol, my staff in particular,' she said. 'What I remember the most, and will never forget, is the trauma that I saw in the eyes of the young people who were present for that violence.' The politician said the country learned there 'can be rogue presidents' and that the rioters were 'lied to by the president of the United States' Donald Trump She also claimed that Trump 'should be ashamed' of lying to the rioters, who then incited the violence on the Capitol Biden has suggested that one way to bolster democracy at home and around the world is to show that America's government can work, though his agenda has stalled in the Senate. Pelosi agrees and said she expects Congress to finish up Biden's Build Back Better Act, a package of social initiatives and climate change strategies, and send it to the president's desk 'this year.' She also said the election-law and voting rights legislation now stuck in the Senate is 'probably the most important legislation that we can pass.' She said of Biden: 'I think he's a great unifier. I think the times have found him and that he's the right person for the right job at this time,.' As for her own plans, as many expect this may be her final term in office, Pelosi would only say she 'may' run for reelection. For now, she urged Americans to look ahead, not back. 'The future is America's resilience, America's greatness,' she said. 'America will always prevail and that we will survive - even what we went through last year.' Tasmania has recorded 751 new covid cases, with one person admitted to hospital to be treated for virus symptoms. The daily case figure comes from 2958 laboratory tests and takes the island state's number of active infections to 3534. One patient is being treated specifically for coronavirus symptoms, while four other people are in hospital for unrelated medical conditions. Tasmania has recorded 751 new covid cases, with one person admitted to hospital to be treated for virus symptoms One patient is being treated specifically for coronavirus symptoms, while four other people are in hospital for unrelated medical conditions The daily case figure is a drop from Wednesday's record of 867. Of the active infections, 374 are being monitored at home and 64 are staying in community management facilities. State Public Health Director Mark Veitch has said one-in-50 Tasmanians could be active cases in about a week, up from the current rate of about one-in-170. He said Tasmania's true case numbers could be double what is being recorded. State Public Health Director Mark Veitch has said one-in-50 Tasmanians could be active cases in about a week, up from the current rate of about one-in-170 Tasmania had no cases when it reopened to mainland hotspots on December 15. The news follows Western Australia's announcement on Wednesday that they would be moving Tasmania and the ACT to the 'extreme' covid risk category. The re-categorisation will happen at 12:01am on Saturday January 8 and Premiere Mark McGowan has warned all travelling residents to get home or risk lock out. The news follows Western Australia's announcement on Wednesday that they would be moving Tasmania and the ACT to the 'extreme' covid risk category 'Because once the reclassification takes effect, they will not be able to do so, except for the most extraordinary circumstances,' he said. From Saturday WA will only accept 'certain government and specialist workers' from Tasmania and the ACT and will have to complete a 14-day hotel quarantine. The Northern Territory will be the only state not classified in the 'extreme risk' category by Western Australia. South Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) held a regular meeting on Thursday and reaffirmed the commitment to continue efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said. National security adviser Suh Hoon presided over the NSC meeting, but a post-meeting statement released by Cheong Wa Dae made no mention of North Korea's claims that it test-fired a hypersonic missile the previous day. "The members emphasized that stability on the Korean Peninsula and institutionalization of peace are more important than ever and decided to continue efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea by closely cooperating with relevant nations, including the United States," the statement said. Earlier in the day, North Korean state media reported Pyongyang successfully tested a hypersonic gliding missile on Wednesday. It was the North's second reported test of the advanced weapon following its first known test in September last year. On Wednesday, South Korea's military said the North launched a suspected ballistic missile, prompting the NSC to hold an emergency meeting and express concerns over the launch. Hypersonic missiles usually fly at a speed of at least Mach 5, five times the speed of sound or 6,125 kph, giving little time for enemies to respond. Wednesday's launch came just days after North Korea wrapped up a key party meeting that stressed the importance of boosting its defense capabilities. However, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not issue any particular messages for South Korea or the U.S. Denuclearization negotiations between the U.S. and the North have remained stalled since the two countries' no-deal Hanoi summit in 2019. (Yonhap) Farmers and landowners will be paid to protect nature by planting trees and restoring wetlands and peat under the largest farming reforms in 50 years. Ministers claim that plans unveiled today to overhaul agriculture subsidies would turn 741,000 acres of England into wildlife habitats over the next 20 years. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has unveiled the 2.4billion-per-year plan to replace the European Unions common agricultural policy. Some 15 nature reserves will be created, which will aim to recover threatened native species such as the curlew, sand lizard and water vole, restoring rivers, lakes, ponds and streams. Farmers and landowners will be paid to protect nature by planting trees and restoring wetlands and peat under the largest farming reforms in 50 years (stock image) Other threatened species expected to benefit from the plans include the Marsh fritillary butterfly, the shrill carder bee and wild asparagus. The plans will take effect this year, starting out with restoring 24,700 acres of habitat. The Government claims it will help cut greenhouse gases in the UK by the equivalent of taking between 12,000 to 25,000 petrol or diesel cars off the road, a reduction of 25-50 kilotonnes of carbon. Despite the proposals large scale, some 22.2million acres of farmland will remain, so officials do not expect food output will be affected. NFU vice president Tom Bradshaw said farmers welcome protecting nature alongside sustainable food production. But he added: At a time when public support for British food and farming is at a high, our biggest concern is that these schemes result in reduced food production in the UK, leading to the need to import more food from countries with production standards that would be illegal for our farmers here. This simply off-shores our production and any environmental impacts that go with it and would be morally reprehensible. The common agricultural policy, which subsidised farmers according to how much land they owned, had been criticised for providing incentives to destroy habitats. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has unveiled the 2.4billion-per-year plan to replace the European Unions common agricultural policy. Pictured: A curlew, which is one of the animals that will hopefully be aided by the policy One scheme in the new plans, Local Nature Recovery, rewards farmers for making space for nature in farms and countryside. This could include planting trees, restoring peat bogs and turning fields into wetland areas. More radical changes will take place in a second scheme, Landscape Recovery. This will include establishing new nature reserves, restoring floodplains or creating forests and wetlands. The two new schemes follow on from the previously announced Sustainable Farming Incentive, which provided support for practices such as reducing pesticide use, improving soil quality and rewarding farmers for preventing local river pollution. The schemes aim to bring up to 60 per cent of Englands agricultural soil under sustainable management by 2030. The reforms will be the biggest changes to farming and land management in 50 years with more than 3,000 farmers already testing the schemes. At the Oxford Farming Conference today, Defra Secretary George Eustice is to announce applications will shortly open for the first wave of Landscape Recovery projects. He said: We want to see profitable farming businesses producing nutritious food, underpinning a growing rural economy, where nature is recovering and people have better access to it. One scheme in the new plans, Local Nature Recovery, rewards farmers for making space for nature in farms and countryside. Pictured: A water vole We are building these schemes together, and we are already working with over 3,000 farmers across the sector to test and trial our future approach. An early version of the Local Nature Recovery scheme will be on trial in 2023 with a nation-wide rollout from 2024. Tony Juniper, chairman of government advisers Natural England, said: More than two thirds of England is farmed and these reforms pave the way for those who manage the land to produce healthy food alongside other vital benefits, such as carbon storage, clean water, reduced flood risk, thriving wildlife and beautiful landscapes for everyone to enjoy. Dr Alexander Lees, senior lecturer in conservation biology at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: Escaping from the clutches of the common agricultural policy, which has driven biodiversity loss across Europe by incentivising habitat destruction, represents a major opportunity to improve the state of UK nature. If the UK is serious in reversing declines in its diminishing species we need to be racing towards the 300,000 hectare [741,000-acre] target as fast as possible, he added. All the new schemes will be voluntary and it will be for farmers to decide what combination of actions is right for them. Some 15 nature reserves will be created, which will aim to recover threatened native species such as the curlew, sand lizard (pictured) and water vole, restoring rivers, lakes, ponds and streams UK gives Leo charity 28k to protect the dwarf buffalo By Helena Horton for the Daily Mail Leonardo DiCaprios green campaign group has been given 28,800 of taxpayers cash to lobby for rewilding. The charity backed by the Oscar-winning actor, who is worth an estimated 200million, received the grant to protect a species of dwarf buffalo called the Tamaraw in the Philippines by conserving land from development, allowing it to remain wild. The sum appeared in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs accounts as official development assistance. Leonardo DiCaprios green campaign group has been given 28,800 of taxpayers cash to lobby in order to protect a species of dwarf buffalo called the Tamaraw in the Philippines by conserving land from development DiCaprio, 47, launched the conservation project Re:wild last year and has already attracted large donations. According to its website the actor has provided more than $100million (75 million) in grants to a variety of programmes and projects, with Re:wild described as the latest undertaking linked to DiCaprios environmental activism. The stars most recent film, Dont Look Up, sees a deadly comet heading towards Earth in what many have interpreted as a metaphor for climate change. He said of his role: I just felt like this was an incredible gift to be a part of a movie that encapsulated exactly what were going through. The actor recently came under fire for jetting from New York to Miami and back in one day soon after speaking at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. A Defra spokesman said the projects it supports focus on local action... to address unsustainable use, habitat degradation and loss, whilst delivering poverty reduction. Heavy-handed health and safety rules have ruined a 30-year-old tradition of rural firefighters spraying locals with water at a community event. The town of Wickham, north of Karratha in WA, held its annual water fight and lolly run between locals, police, and firefighters on Christmas eve last year. Footage went viral of children throwing water bombs at local police before a fire truck zips down the street and sprays them with water. But the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services was not amused and ordered firefighters to stop jetting water at the public, citing health concerns. 'Crews are not to jet water on or hose down the public with water from fire appliances at community events (such as school fun runs),' it said. 'Fire appliances are for operational and educational activities. Hosing down participants with water from appliances has potential health risks with the quality of water that may be held within the appliance.' An annual water fight held for three decades between the community and local authorities in Wickham, WA (pictured) has been put to an end after the DFES ordered firefighters to not spray children with water The decision was slammed by social media users who labelled the DFES the 'fun police' for putting an end to the decades-long tradition. Locals started a petition to continue the annual 'water fight and lolly run' on Christmas Eve. 'This year a video of the event unexpectedly went viral and received lots of positive feedback. Praising the town of Wickham and the Fireys for community engagement and spirit,' local Kazza Dan wrote. 'Unfortunately, DFES also saw this video and has sent out circulars that will effect the Water fight running in years to come.' Footage of the Christmas eve tradition went viral in December last year (pictured) He also feared the decision would affect other nearby towns in Karratha and Roebourne where annual water fights are held by fire brigades around Christmas. The petition argued everyone was aware firetrucks would spray water from their tanks and participating was a 'personal choice'. 'This is a personal choice from each member in the community, making an informed decision to partake in a great community event,' he wrote. 'If a community member doesnt wish to partake, they do not have to. But I dont think youll find a single person in the town of Wickham who would frown upon the event of the year.' The petition has garnered 1,282 signatures since launching less than 20 hours ago. Advertisement Reality TV star Renee Graziano was snapped leaving a Staten Island police precinct after she was arrested for crashing her car and flipping it over while she was allegedly high on Adderall. Exclusive DailyMail.com photos showed Graziano puffing on a cigarette outside the 123rd precinct on the south shore of Staten Island Wednesday after being detained the previous night. The 52-year-old Mob Wives star, who has reportedly battled substance abuse and depression, told police shed taken Adderall earlier Tuesday, it is claimed. On Wednesday morning, she wore a grey camo and star patterned sweatsuit and white sneakers as she lit up a cigarette before leaving in an awaiting car. She then stopped off at a local deli where she carried two Louis Vuitton designer bags into a different car which was picking her up. Wearing her striking black framed eyeglasses, Renee also used the ATM at the deli to withdraw a wad of cash. Reality TV star Renee Graziano was caught leaving a Staten Island police station after DailyMail.com learned she was charged with driving while impaired by drugs after crashing her car Tuesday night Graziano, who has reportedly battled substance abuse and depression in the past, is said to have told police she'd taken Adderall earlier in the day before she was arrested The crash happened at 10.19pm at the intersection of Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road. Driving a 2020 Nissan Murano with New Jersey plates, Graziano struck an unoccupied 2020 Jeep Wrangler. Her car ended up on the south side of Arthur Kill Road. She was exiting the drivers seat when cops arrived, sources said. She was allegedly incoherent, had watery eyes and slurred speech. She was taken to a nearby hospital to be examined, then transported to a local police precinct and charged with the misdemeanor crime of operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, sources said. DailyMail.com spotted Graziano leaving through the back entrance of criminal court Wednesday. On Wednesday morning, she wore a grey camo and star patterned sweatsuit and white sneakers as she lit up a cigarette before leaving in an awaiting car Graziano, 52, was spotted smoking a cigarette outside the 123rd precinct on the south shore of Staten Island Wednesday after being detained the previous night The Mob Wives star, who has reportedly battled substance abuse and depression , told police shed taken Adderall earlier in the day. She then stopped off at a local deli where she carried two Louis Vuitton designer bags into a different car which was picking her up Wearing her striking black framed eyeglasses, Renee also used the ATM at the deli to withdraw a wad of cash Mob Wives star Renee Graziano crashed her car Tuesday night on Staten Island DailyMail.com spotted Graziano leaving through the back entrance of criminal court Wednesday She has been charged with driving while impaired by drugs, DailyMail.com has learned. Graziano posed in front of NYPD cars in an Instagram post Driving a 2020 Nissan Murano with New Jersey plates, Graziano struck an unoccupied 2020 Jeep Wrangler Graziano is the daughter of Anthony Graziano, a former consigliere of the Bonanno crime family. She rose to fame in reality show show Mob Wives and in 2016 came in third on Celebrity Big Brother. Graziano's sister Jennifer created and produced the reality show, which led to an estrangement between Anthony and his daughters. However they are said to have since reconciled. Her ex-husband Hector Pagan Jr. is also a former associate of the Bonnano crime family and became an informant. Graziano rose to fame in reality show show Mob Wives and in 2016 came in third on Celebrity Big Brother Graziano is the daughter of Anthony Graziano (center), a former consigliere of the Bonanno crime family The series ended shortly following the death of Graziano's co-star Angela "Big Ang" Raiola, who passed away on February 18, 2016 at the age of 55 following a battle with cancer. That same year, Graziano reportedly entered rehab for depression. 'She is back in Florida,' her sister Jennifer said at the time. 'She is getting treatment that stems from her depression and some things that she has to work out.' The first cases of simultaneous flu and COVID-19 infections have been detected in the United States in two children from Texas and California. The 'Flurona' cases were found this week in a child in Texas and one in Southern California. The first case was diagnosed at Texas Children's Hospital Monday after a test confirmed the child was infected with both influenza A and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. The child was not hospitalized and is said to be recovering at home, USA Today reported. No other details about the patient were immediately available. The second case was discovered in Brentwood, California on New Year's Day at a mobile testing center. The patient, from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was visiting the US on a family vacation. The child was experiencing symptoms but in 'fairly good condition' and has not been hospitalized, Steve Farzam, CEO of 911 COVID testing, told KVEA Wednesday. The minor was released to their parents after test and sent home. It is unclear if either child has received their COVID or flu shots. The positive Flurona cases come just days after the first case of the double infection was found in a woman in Israel. She was suffering mild symptoms and health officials are studying her case to determine whether the combination causes any greater severity of illness. The first cases of simultaneous flu and COVID-19 infections have been detected in the United States in children in Texas and California (Pictured: An official conducts COVID tests at a drive-thru near the Getty Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. This is the facility where a child was diagnosed with Flurona) COVID is generally very mild in children. Just 803 Americans aged between 0 and 18 have been killed by the virus between spring 2020 and December 29 2021, according to the latest CDC figures. Texas Children's Hospital was the first hospital in the US to confirm the co-infection and is working with other medical experts nationwide to conduct further research. 'This is one confirmed case and, of course, we'll be working with our colleagues across the country to see if there are more cases and whether we will see a distinct pattern in these cases,' Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief and COVID command center co-leader at the hospital, told reporters Monday. The hospital was also the first in the nation to report joint infections of COVID and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, over the summer. Versalovic said dozens of the children diagnosed with both COVID and RSV required hospitalization. However, he notes there is no specific treatment or vaccine for RSV, so health experts speculate children diagnosed with Flurona will see better outcomes than those diagnosed with the COVID RSV co-infection. Farzam, whose testing facility diagnosed the California case, said the child's symptoms resembled that of other ailments. 'It was a family visiting from Mexico, from Cabo San Lucas,' Farzam. 'Some very mild symptoms, almost could be easily confused with sinusitis.' Texas Children's Hospital was the first hospital in the US to confirm the co-infection. Their Flurona patient was not hospitalized and is said to be recovering at home Steve Farzam (pictured Wednesday), whose testing facility diagnosed the California case, said the child's symptoms were 'very mild' and could have been 'easily confused with sinusitis' Health experts expect to see a rise in co-infections and warn both the flu and COVID can cause serious illness. The Los Angeles County Health Department reiterates that 'concurrent infection with more than one respiratory virus is exceedingly common and there is no reason to expect that SARS-CoV-2 should be an exception to this rule'. Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Esper, a physician at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, reminds families that although Flurona will become more common this winter, health officials have treatments for both illnesses. 'I expect to see plenty of co-infections (of flu and COVID-19) going forward, but I don't see anything that suggests it makes COVID infections worse,' he said. 'Those are two viral pathogens that we actually have medicines for.' In addition to offering vaccinations to prevent severe illness, health care providers are prepared to simultaneously treat the infections with Tamiflu and remdesivir. Esper also notes that co-infections are more likely to occur in young children because their immune system is still becoming familiar with many common viruses. 'Hands down, the No. 1 predisposition for having more than one virus at the same time is your age, and it's really children under 5,' the doctor said. 'They all have virus running rampant and swap them like trading cards.' Health experts expect to see a rise in co-infections and warn both the flu and COVID can cause serious illness. They also notes that co-infections are more likely to occur in young children because their immune system is still becoming familiar with many common viruses People are tested Wednesday for COVID-19 at 911 COVID Testing drive-thru, where a child tested positive for Flurona on New Year's Day Confirmation of the Flurona diagnoses comes less than a week after a young, pregnant Israeli woman became the first person in the world to be infected with both COVID and the flu. The woman tested positive for both viruses in Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva city, Israel, on Thursday. She was suffering mild symptoms and Israeli health officials are studying her case to determine whether the combination causes any greater severity of illness. Dr. Jim Versalovic (pictured), of Texas Children's Hospital, said his team is working with 'colleagues across the country to see if there are more cases and whether we will see a distinct pattern in these cases' Her case is first documented in the world but doctors believe there could be more Flurona infections in the country. Professor Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the hospitals' Gynaecology Department, told Hamodia: 'She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived. Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again.' 'The disease is the same disease. They're viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract.' The woman is expected to be discharged this week. Vizhnitser added: 'We are seeing more and more pregnant women with the flu. It is definitely a great challenge dealing with a woman who comes in with a fever at childbirth. 'This is especially when you do not know if its coronavirus or the flu, so you refer to them the same. Most of the illness is respiratory.' Meanwhile, new cases of COVID remain near record highs across the US - although many predictive models forecast that the Omicron wave will crest before the end of January. On Tuesday the U.S. recorded 869,187 new cases, down from the record set on Monday but higher than any other day since the pandemic began. Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington expect the virus to peak at 2.8 million new cases a day nationwide by January 28 The CDC on Tuesday said it now estimates that the highly contagious Omicron variant accounts for 95.4% of COVID cases The country's seven-day rolling average of new cases stood at 565,042, a 114 percent increase from a week ago, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. However, deaths remain relatively low, with 2,384 new deaths on Tuesday, a decline of 13 percent from week-ago levels on a rolling average basis. Hospitalizations are rising, but remain well below their peak last January. COVID cases are also on the rise in California and Texas, where the Flurona diagnoses were discovered. California reported 141,752 new cases Tuesday and 76 deaths. The state is reporting a seven-day average of 52,855 cases and 53 deaths. Health officials in Texas reported 53,990 cases Tuesday. There were no deaths. The state reported a seven-day average of 37,390 cases and 67 deaths. On Wednesday, Center for Disease Control director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that the agency estimates that the Omicron variant now represents 95 percent of all cases across the U.S., and Delta makes up the remaining 5 percent. California reported 141,752 new cases Tuesday and 76 deaths. The state is reporting a seven-day average of 52,855 cases and 53 deaths Health officials in Texas reported 53,990 cases Tuesday. There were no deaths. The state reported a seven-day average of 37,390 cases and 67 deaths 'The sharp rise in cases and the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and boosters,' she said. 'This week, the FDA made several vaccine authorizations and the CDC followed these authorizations to make additional vaccine recommendations.' This includes shortening the window between the second dose of a Pfizer vaccine and a booster shot to five months, down from six months. The latest news from South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, is a positive sign, as the wave there has collapsed completely, running out of people to infect after spreading through an estimated half of the population. In the UK, which is a few weeks ahead of the US in the surge, more than 3 million people in England had COVID on New Years Eve, or roughly one person in every 15, the Office for National Statistics estimated. However, there were 'early signs' that infections are already peaking in London, the epicenter of the current wave. Models from Columbia University and the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and evaluation project US peaks in late January before cases decline. The phone first rang just after breakfast. And that initial call was followed over the next few hours by a volley of texts. All were from Jewish theatre colleagues and all were on the same topic: Maureen Lipmans decision to go off the deep end about Helen Mirren, aggrieved that the non-Jewish actress had been chosen to play the former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. According to Lipman, the Jewishness of the character is so integral that it is unthinkable for a gentile to so much as attempt it, even an actress of Dame Helen Mirrens versatility and experience. But shes played Jews before! a director friend told me. One Mossad agent, one victim of Nazi looting. No one complained. An actor, who had recently played both Nazis and Holocaust survivors for me, texted: Shes not Jewing-up, shes Goldaing-up. Get real! Dame Helen Mirren portrays Israel's first female prime minister Golda Meir in the film, Golda, telling the story behind Meir's dramatic time in office during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 The cause of all the fuss is a new film called Golda, set during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 when Israel came as close to total annihilation as it ever has. Dame Maureen told the Jewish Chronicle that she was not comfortable about the title role being given to a non-Jewish person. She added: Im sure she will be marvellous, but it would never be allowed for Ben Kingsley to play Nelson Mandela. You just couldnt even go there. Actress Dame Maureen Lipman, pictured playing a vicar in 2015, told the Jewish Chronicle she was not comfortable at the title role being given to a non-Jewish person Clearly, no one is suggesting that there should be a return to blackface roles, but barring Dame Helen from playing such a part is nonsensical. To paraphrase Laurence Oliviers famous quip to Dustin Hoffman: Maureen darling, its called acting! Yes, looking at the advance photos from the production, Dame Helen does require the help of facial prosthetics to appear authentic in the role. But this isnt to make her look Jewish, its to make her look like Golda Meir. I rather despair of Lipmans criticisms because I dread a world in which actors and characters are separated into silos. If all Jewish characters must be played by Jewish actors, where does it end? Must gay roles become the exclusive preserve of gay actors? Should Jews be banned from portraying Christians and vice versa? If so, that would certainly have precluded Dame Maureen from donning a dog-collar to play a Church of England vicar vying to become an archbishop, no less, in The Vicar Of Dibley, as she did in a Red Nose special in 2015. Do we really want a world where we live in these compartments and never stray? As my breakfast texters reminded me, this isnt Dame Maureens first foray into this dispute. All too recently, she complained of cancel culture making life impossible for comedians, for fear of giving offence. They were quick to point out that this plea for outspokenness hardly tallies with her reaction to Mirrens casting. Nor is it the first time that Maureen has railed against what she might consider to be gentile mission-creep. Back in 2019 she attacked the West End musical Falsettos, which featured a Jewish family, for insufficient Jewish involvement both on stage and off. But even then I thought that she was missing what I consider the best thing about being Jewish in Britain our invisibility. Dame Helen Mirren described Golda Meir as 'a formidable, intransigent and powerful leader' I am Jewish on my fathers side, and thanks to his genes I walk around with a classic Jewish nose and Ashkenazi eye-bags which seem to become more grey and more ponderous every year. Then theres my surname of Myerson which is not only the name of the first Jewish Miss America but also Golda Meirs original married name (sadly, no relation to me either). As a result, there are plenty of European countries in which many peoples Jew-dar would instantly flash red at the mere sight of me. In the UK, there is rarely so much as a flicker. The fact is that it does not cross most British peoples minds even to ask the question. Some UK rabbis might bemoan the extent of this integration but surely that is the better way the only way forward? Rabbi Jonathan Romain, the high-profile director of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, soon came out against Dame Maureens intervention. You dont have to be Jewish to play a Jew, or orphaned to be an orphan, he tweeted yesterday. While Stephen Pollard, editor at large of the Jewish Chronicle, the very paper that broke the story, said: I adore Maureen Lipman but she couldnt be more wrong on this. The logic of her position is that the only character any actor can play is themselves. This isnt the first time the issue of so-called Jewface has raised its head, of course. The role of the American comedienne Joan Rivers in a forthcoming biopic has been given to a non-Jewish actress called Kathryn Hahn. Ms Rivers made no secret of her Jewishness but you would be hard-put to say she looked especially Semitic. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (1898 - 1978) at the Socialist International Congress in Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1969 But that didnt stop Sarah Silverman, the U.S. comedian, criticising the casting. One could argue that a gentile playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called Jewface. Of course, the very word Jewface is designed to make us think of Blackface a genre which involved white minstrel performers painting their faces to do comedy routines about black people and all the horrible implications of that. But there really is no comparison. First, Blackface is gruesomely freighted not only with the long history of white colonialism, but also the casual appropriation of black culture. When I see Dame Helens remarkable prosthetic transformation, I do not think: Oh, theres another goy dressing up as a Jew. Nor do I have any cause to remember how much Jewish cultural life has been subsumed by White European culture largely because it hasnt. If anything, its the other way round. Jewish humour has become effectively the dominant form of U.S. humour, and therefore worldwide humour. And thanks to the first Hollywood and Broadway moguls, Jewish storytelling everything from schmaltzy sentimentality to plangent music became central to 20th-century film and theatre. But do actors, whether Jewish-looking or not, want to be compartmentalised as Jewish? You cant criticise any actor most of whom are not Dames or Sirs and spend their time scrabbling for the next job for avoiding that. Nor is Helen Mirren in the same position as Eddie Redmayne, who expressed his regret that he played a trans character in the 2015 romantic drama The Danish Girl and now feels that he should have left the field open to a trans actor. His mea culpa followed a similar one last year from the director of My Left Foot in which Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his portrayal of a character with cerebral palsy. Jim Sheridan, a six-time Academy Award nominee, said that he does not think its right any more for able-bodied actors to play disabled characters. But the disabled and the trans communities are horribly under-represented in casting throughout stage and screen. Sorry, Maureen, Jewish actors cannot say the same. Of course, if youve made it your thing to play Jewish and as such Dame Maureen is a National Treasure then to see a fellow Dame mopping up the juicy role of Golda Meir must be frustrating But please, Dame Maureen, lets not accidentally go down the same road as Karl Lueger, the infamously anti-Semitic mayor of Vienna between 1897 and 1910, who declared, I decide who is a Jew. Scott Morrison has dramatically accused Novak Djokovic of trying to 'run the border' in an epic serve against the tennis star who has been refused entry into Australia. The prime minister said the world No.1 only had himself to blame for his predicament because he didn't have a valid vaccine exemption to enter the country. 'I want to thank the Border Force officers for doing their job implementing the Government's policies, they have done their job, entry with a visa requires double vaccination, or a medical exemption,' Mr Morrison said. 'I am advised that such an exemption was not in place, and as a result he is subject to the same rule as anyone else. 'People try to run the border all the time. People come with a visa that may not satisfy other requirements for entry - and they are put back on planes and turned back all the time.' 'I also want to stress, that ultimately, this is the responsibility of the traveller. It is for the traveller to be able to assert and backup their ability to come into the country consistent with our laws. However Alan Jones blasted the federal government over the move to deport Djokovic - claiming the world No.1 is being treated like a 'common criminal'. The outspoken broadcaster accused the government of 'weaponising' Djokovic's case and unfairly singling him out when similar applications from other players had been approved. Novak Djokovic pictured with his wife Jelena. He is awaiting deportation to Serbia after his visa was cancelled at Melbourne Airport by border officials A van believed to be holding tennis player Novak Djokovic is surrounded by workers in personal protective equipment in a hotel car park in Melbourne on Thursday 'It gives every impression, as with so many issues, that governments are prepared to abandon facts and cave in to pressure from the left-wing Twitter mob,' Jones wrote in a post on his personal Facebook page. 'Djokovic was granted an exemption - now it appears that the visa rules which have applied to others who were granted exemptions, do not apply to Djokovic.' 'It is easy to see Djokovic as the villain; but the image of an Australia treating a bloke like a common criminal owes more to the behaviour of a police state than it does to a liberal democracy. 'You either have rule by law or rule by the mob. Which is it?' The shock jock, who launched his own online show last month after leaving Sky News Australia, claimed the case was proof 'of the police state that we have seen operating in Victoria for some time'. Jones' rant came as a image emerged reportedly showing Djokovic being taken in a van to a hotel quarantine facility in Melbourne on Thursday morning. Djokovic's team are understood to have applied for a type of visa that does not allow medical exemptions for the unvaccinated. There are also believed to be issues with the controversial exemption itself, with questions about whether he has adequate proof to support it. Scott Morrison pictured outside Parliament House on Thursday. He said there had never been a vaccine exemption in place for Novak Djokovic to enter Australia Alan Jones blasted the federal government over the visa cancellation - claiming the world No.1 is being treated like a 'common criminal' ALAN JONES' FULL RANT ON DJOKOVIC'S DEPORTATION It may be unfashionable to make the point but we should be seriously concerned, not about why Novak Djokovic was granted an exemption but rather why he is now being treated like a virtual criminal. Whatever emotions might dictate, the image to the rest of the world is of the police state that we have seen operating in Victoria for some time. In these things, facts go out the window. The first fact of significance is that Tennis Australia has imposed far tougher rules for those seeking exemption than would apply to any other Australian entering the country. All applications are what is being called 'blind', that is, all personal details - name, country etc. - have been redacted. It is clear that the bulk of the applications for exemption by players and officials have been rejected. The Djokovic application was approved but, repeating, the approval was granted without the expert panels knowing the name of the applicant. So, Djokovic arrives in Melbourne with an exemption. Then he was told his visa application was flawed. But those asking Djokovic to give reasons why he has been granted an exemption are now not giving reasons why the visa application is flawed. It appears that other players, unnamed, with similar visa applications, have been allowed into the country. But all that aside, is this an appropriate image for Australia? That the world's leading tennis player, with no convictions of any kind other than the fact that some may disagree with his views, is now being treated like a criminal; firstly, reportedly, hauled up in a room at midnight with armed guards and then, reportedly, being told to leave the country tonight. And now, politically, it is being weaponised. The federal government are trying to say the Victorian Labor government were prepared to let Djokovic in when, in fact, visa matters are a matter for the federal government. It gives every impression, as with so many issues, that governments are prepared to abandon facts and cave in to pressure from the left-wing Twitter mob. Admittedly, people are angry that apparently unvaccinated people, be they tennis players or anyone else, are allowed into the country when other Australians have made massive sacrifices. But Djokovic did not make the rules. He just applied for an exemption. The exemption was objectively assessed by "medical experts". Djokovic was granted an exemption. Now it appears that the visa rules which have applied to others who were granted exemptions, do not apply to Djokovic. It is easy to see Djokovic as the villain; but the image of an Australia treating a bloke like a common criminal owes more to the behaviour of a police state than it does to a liberal democracy. You either have rule by law or rule by the mob. Which is it? Advertisement Novak Djokovic was caught up in a late night visa bungle as he touched down in Melbourne about 11pm on Wednesday night. He is pictured at Nice Airport in France in February 2020 He is believed to have been issued an exemption on the grounds that he was infected with coronavirus in the past six months. However, though this may satisfy his entry into the tournament and Victoria, the federal government controls the international border and his exemption appears to not hold up under federal rules. Health Minister Greg Hunt on Thursday morning said the federal government was not involved in the decision to approve Djokovic's medical exemption. The world No.1 and prominent Covid vaccine sceptic now faces a difficult legal fight to stay in the country and keep his Australian Open title fight alive. Djokovic's lawyers are gearing up to fight the visa cancellation in court, though it is not clear if the star player will stay in Australia during the case. Djokovic with his wife Jelena. Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed his visa had been cancelled on Thursday morning Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Djokovic's visa had been cancelled on Thursday morning. 'Mr Djokovics visa has been cancelled,' Mr Morrison wrote on Twitter. 'Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. 'Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from Covid, we are continuing to be vigilant.' Mr Hunt also confirmed the visa cancellation, and Border Force issued a statement to that effect. 'The Australian Border Force will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements,' the force said. Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic (pictured with physiotherapist Ulises Badio) has taken to social media to give fans a small insight into the team's predicament 'The ABF can confirm that Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled. 'Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa cancelled will be detained and removed from Australia. 'The ABF can confirm Mr Djokovic had access to his phone.' The world number one touched down on an Emirates flight from Dubai about 11.30pm Wednesday AEST, just 24 hours after he confirmed he would play in the Australian Open. WHAT HAPPENS TO DJOKOVIC NOW? The world No.1 will be moved to a hotel in Melbourne under police guard on Thursday while he waits to be deported back to Serbia. Djokovic's lawyers are understood to be preparing a legal challenge against the Australian Border Force decision. However it is unclear whether the 34-year-old will remain in the country for the case. Advertisement Two weeks out from the Grand Slam, it remains uncertain if Djokovic will lose the chance to defend his Australian Open Crown entirely. A source familiar with the situation said the player's lawyers are in the process of contesting the decision made by Australian Border Force officials. The Serbian star was not allowed through passport control, and endured several hours of discussions with Border Force officials. His coach, former tennis star Goran Ivanisevic, and support staff have been processed through immigration, but stayed at the airport while Djokovic was questioned. His father Srdjan confirmed to a Serbian radio station that the star was 'isolated in a room' at the airport with his support staff banned from entering and without access to a mobile phone, even claiming he was under 'police guard'. 'Novak is currently in a room which no one can enter,' he told the B92 internet portal. 'In front of the room are two policemen.' Mr Djokovic Snr warned protesters would gather on the Serbian streets if border officials didn't make a decision in the next half hour. 'I have no idea what's going on, they're holding my son captive for five hours,' he said. 'This is not a fight for the libertarian world, this is not just a fight for Novak, but a fight for the whole world! 'If they don't let him go in half an hour, we will gather on the street, this is a fight for everybody.' Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Djokovic's visa had been cancelled on Thursday morning, saying 'rules are rules' Novak's father Srdjan told a Serbian radio station that the star was 'isolated in a room' at the airport and warned protesters would gather on the streets if border officials didn't make a decision in the next half hour Meanwhile, Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic has taken to social media to give fans an insight into the team's predicament. The photo features himself and physiotherapist Ulises Badio kicking back on large armchairs with the caption: 'Not the most usual trip Down Under'. And by early morning a flag-waving Serbian fan accompanied by another supporter holding an accordion had arrived at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport to send support to the superstar player as he awaits his fate. Djokovic's declaration to the world that he was on his way to Australia sparked an outpouring of anger on a day the nation recorded a record 64,770 new Covid cases. Border Force officials learned while Djokovic was in the air that he would be trying to enter the country on a visa that doesn't permit medical exemptions for being unvaccinated, sources said. A Serbian fan rushed to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport with flag in hand to send support to the superstar player as he awaited his fate in an isolated room (pictured) However the fan was eventually left disappointed when federal border officials denied Djokovic entry into Australia and sent him to a hotel to await deportation back to Serbia Two of Djokovic's supporters are pictured outside Melbourne International Airport on Thursday alongside a Serbian flag As a result, the federal government contacted Victorian officials late on Wednesday night to ask it to formally help facilitate his entry into the country - but this was rejected. Acting sports minister Jaala Pulford confirmed the state government would not support the application. 'The Federal Government has asked if we will support Novak Djokovic's visa application to enter Australia,' Ms Pulford tweeted at 11.14pm. 'We will not be providing Novak Djokovic with individual visa application support to participate in the 2022 Australian Open Grand Slam. 'We've always been clear on two points: visa approvals are a matter for the Federal Government, and medical exemptions a matter for doctors.' The Victorian Government was asked to support his application because the state government works with Tennis Australia to run the Open, the event that his visa would allow him to work at. The federal government therefore wanted Victoria to formally back his entry, something the state government quickly claimed was not in their jurisdiction. It was revealed hours earlier the Acting Australian Border Force Commissioner was examining an 'issue' with Djokovic's Australian Travel Declaration as the prime minister warned the tennis star will receive no special treatment. Djokovic arrived in Australia to defend his Australian Open crown but had to provide evidence to support his vaccination exemption - something that caused chaos overnight 'If that evidence is insufficient, then he will be treated no different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home,' Mr Morrison said. Later it emerged there were also issues with the exemption itself, and not just that he had arrived on the wrong visa. Tennis great Rod Laver, after whom centre court at the Australian Open is named, called on Djokovic to 'own up' to the reason for his exemption or face hostility from spectators. 'If he's got a reason for (the exemption) then... we should know it,' the 11-time grand slam winner told News Corp. 'Yes, you're a great player and you've performed and won so many tournaments, so, it can't be physical. So what is the problem?' Mr Morrison (pictured on Wednesday) insisted Djokovic will receive no special treatment upon arrival in Melbourne if he can't provide evidence to support his exemption If he doesn't, Djokovic should expect hostility from fans every time he walks onto the court in a city which has spent than 260 days in lockdown since early 2020. 'I think it might get ugly,' Laver said. 'I would think the Victorian people would be thinking ''yes I would love to see him play and compete but at the same time, there's a right way and a wrong way'.' Everyone entering Australia - even its own citizens - must be fully-vaccinated against Covid or face two weeks in hotel quarantine. A late night visa bungle has left Novak Djokovic's entry into Melbourne in doubt (the tennis star is pictured with his wife) 'My view is that any individual seeking to enter Australia must comply with our border requirements,' Mr Morrison said on Wednesday afternoon. 'Now Novak Djokovic, when he arrives in Australia, he has to if he's not vaccinated, must provide acceptable proof that he cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons to be able to access the same travel arrangements as fully-vaccinated travellers. 'So we await his presentation and what evidence he provides us to support that. 'If that evidence is insufficient, then he will be treated no different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home. 'There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever.' A man in his 20s has died with Covid in New South Wales, as the state detected 34,994 new cases on Thursday. The young man, who was from the ACT, was double vaccinated and had no underlying health conditions, NSW Health said on Thursday. He died at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. There were four other men and one woman who died on Wednesday in NSW, they were aged in their 60s, 80s and 90s. Two were from the Lake Macquarie area and three were from Western Sydney. Hospitalisations in NSW still remains steady with 1,609 patients receiving care, up from 1,491 on Wednesday. ICU rates in NSW have risen by 12 to a total of 131. It comes as Premier Dominic Perrottet announced elective surgery could yet again be paused amid rising hospitalisation rates. A man in his 20s has died with Covid in Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital (pictured) as the state detected a record 34,994 new cases on Thursday There were four other man and one woman who died on Wednesday in NSW, they were aged in their 60s, 80s and 90s (pictured, a woman is swabbed at Sydney testing clinic) 'During the Delta outbreak, and the year before, we suspended elective surgery for a period of time,' Mr Perrottet said on 2GB radio on Thursday morning. 'That is certainly something we are looking at now.' 'At the moment the healthcare system is strong, but we will need to make some changes - I suspect on elective surgery and I would also expect in terms of our work with the private health system.' Last July, non-urgent elective surgeries were put on pause in public hospitals across Greater Sydney during the peak of the Delta outbreak. The premier also urged employers to stop requiring workers to return a negative test to come back to work - due to long wait times for test results. New South Wales 's Covid-19 cases have climbed by 34,994 and six deaths while Victoria has recorded 21,997 new infections Meanwhile, PM Scott Morrison (pictured) announced all concession card holders - more than six million Australians - will be given access to 10 free rapid antigen tests 'They should not be required to get a test ... people are being forced to either pay for a RAT or get a PCR test when they are asymptomatic,' he said. Mr Perrottet said all leaders at an emergency National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday committed to returning students to classrooms in just a few weeks time. It comes as parents rush to book appointments to get their children vaccinated, after the Pfizer vaccine was approved for children aged 5-11 years old. '[The state and territory leaders] will be finalising our plan within 24 hours and hopefully next week we will have a national position in ensuring every single kid is back in the classroom on day one,' he said. Meanwhile, Scott Morrison announced all concession card holders - more than six million Australians - will be given access to 10 free rapid antigen tests. 'Universal free access to tests was not agreed by any of the states and territories today, or the Commonwealth. I make that very clear,' he said. The decision was made after an emergency meeting of state leaders that resulted in a major overhaul of the country's testing system. All Australians who are deemed close contacts or who have Covid symptoms will still be able to access free rapid tests from testing clinics (pictured, lines for testing in the Gold Coast) The Commonwealth will provide 10 million rapid antigen tests to be distributed throughout the states and territories for eligible Aussies (pictured, testing queues at Bondi Beach) All Australians who are deemed close contacts or who have Covid symptoms will still be able to access free rapid tests from testing clinics. The Commonwealth will provide 10 million rapid antigen tests to be distributed throughout the states and territories for eligible Aussies. WHAT ARE THE NEW CHANGES TO TESTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA? - 10 free Rapid Antigen Tests now available to low-income and vulnerable Australians over a three-month period - The free tests can be accessed at chemists with a concession or seniors card - PCR test no longer required to officially confirm a positive RAT result - Price gouging on RATs banned, with businesses caught doing so facing fines of up to $66,000 - The move comes after the in-demand tests were being sold for as much as $50 Advertisement To access the tests, which is capped at five per month, a recipient will require identification in the same way people need to prove their identity to access certain prescription drugs. The changes will not yet help NSW keep track of its escalating infections, with the scheme not expected to be up and running for a fortnight. However, case numbers may become of less importance to health officials after it was announced Australians will no longer need to seek a PCR test if they test positive on a rapid antigen test, and should count themselves as Covid positive. There is currently no system in place to register positive rapid antigen tests meaning these numbers are exempt from the daily case numbers. In the meantime rapid tests will remain in short supply and testing sites overwhelmed as Australian Medical Association NSW chair Michael Bonning says the new measures don't go far enough. 'We are very supportive of the idea that a PCR test doesn't need to be the standard now for people who have already had a positive rapid antigen test ... we need more rapid antigen tests in the community so that people can be making good choices about activity, but also detecting disease early so that then they can stay away from others,' Dr Bonning told Nine's Today on Thursday. The AMA is meeting with NSW Health on Thursday hoping to establish how infections will be tracked. As announced on Wednesday, Australians who test positive on a rapid test will no longer have to get confirmation on a PCR swab Also announced on Wednesday were changes to isolation and testing rules with those who test positive to the virus on a RAT now no longer required to get a PCR swab. Previously, anyone who tested positive to RAT had to get a proper viral swab to confirm their infection - but now will be treated as Covid positive without having to get further confirmation. This change, confirmed by the Prime Minister, was made on Wednesday because of the pressures on the testing system caused by people seeking PCR swabs, which are more accurate but much more time-consuming and costly to process. 'That will take pressure off PCR testing lines,' Mr Morrison said. Those with the virus will still have to inform others they have spent time with as they could be potentially infected. People who were with a positive person for four hours or more are 'close contacts' and must self-isolate for seven days. This includes people they live with - also known as 'household contacts'. If you test positive for Covid-19 - and/or if you are a close contact you need to self-isolate for seven days from the day you were tested. You can only leave self-isolation after seven days if your symptoms have gone or in some states, if you have returned a negative RAT. One of Australia's top infectious disease experts said the peak of Omicron may be reached in just two weeks Meanwhile, in some positive news for Australians struck down with the virus, Infectious Disease Expert Professor Peter Collignon said the peak of Omicron infections could be reached in two weeks. The new and highly-infectious strain was first detected in November in South Africa and has since run rampant across most parts of the world. 'You look at England and South Africa it reaches a peak and goes up quickly and comes down. I think that we have a week or two to go,' Professor Collignon told The Today Show. Prof. Collignon said people gathering during the period between Christmas and the New Year had triggered infection levels that would ease in January. 'I think it will go down. That takes 5-10 days. I would be optimistic it will come down,' he said - adding the virus would plateau before kicking up again in winter. Rapid tests have sold out in many states as thousands are struck down with the virus 'That is when this virus spreads more rapidly as is happening in the Northern Hemisphere. Provided that your vaccinate it is not the end of the world. 'Most people will have very mild infections and get better after a day or two and have better long-lasting immunity than a booster.' The professor said the 'real issue' lay with unvaccinated Australians who were disproportionately in hospital and entering intensive care units with the virus. 'The figures I have seen from ICU from a week or so ago, it is mainly Delta putting people into hospital and people who are unvaccinated,' he said. Two sisters are among 12 people killed in a Philadelphia apartment building blaze, with grieving relatives fearful that many of the siblings' 11 young children also died. Family members said sisters Virginia Thomas, 30, and Rosalee McDonald, 33, were killed in an apartment fire Wednesday morning in Philadelphia's Fairmount section that authorities said killed at least 12 people, including seven children. The woman's cousin Aneisha Thomas told the Philly Inquirer that she was mourning her relatives, and that she fears Thomas's five young children and McDonald's six youngsters are also among the victims. They have yet to discover which of the youngsters may have lost their lives, or survived. The blaze was first reported at 6.38am at 860 North 23rd Street where 26 people were living across two apartments on three floors. Sisters Virginia Thomas, 30, (left) and Rosalee McDonald, 33, (right) were killed in an apartment fire Wednesday morning in Philadelphia's Fairmount section Fire officials said the fire began in the kitchen of the upstairs apartment and quickly spread A Philadelphia firefighter works at the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia Eighteen people occupied the second and third floor duplex apartment, and eight live on the first floor. The fire began on the second floor then spread upwards, tearing through the top of the building. By the time firefighters could get inside around 50 minutes later, 12 of the 18 in the second and third floor apartment had died. Firefighters rescued two survivors, one of whom was a child and is now in the hospital. The eight residents of the first floor apartment were able to escape unharmed. While officials have not named any of the victims, Aneisha Thomas, 36, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the deceased include her two first cousins Thomas and Mcdonald, plus several of their children. 'When I go visit Philly, it's going to be a void,' Thomas, 36, told the Inquirer. 'It's going to be a blank stare when I visit because of how I can't go visit them.' Family members said 33-year-old Rosalee McDonald, (pictured) also known as Rose, died in Wednesday's blaze, along with her six children Friends say that 30-year-old Virginia Thomas' (pictured) hobbies included doing hair and getting tattoos and piercings A single rose lies in the street near the scene of Wednesday's deadly fire that killed at least 12 people The blaze was reported at 6.38am at 860 North 23rd Street. It started on the second floor then ripped through the third floor of the building, killing at least 12 people including seven kids An unidentified woman reacts at the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia Virginia Thomas, who was known as Jenny, and McDonald, known as Rose, were both Muslim, Thomas' friend Caprice Duckett told the Inquirer. 'She didn't bother nobody,' Duckett said of Thomas. Thomas hobbies included doing hair and getting tattoos and piercings. Duckett said Thomas tattooed the names of her four children-Shaniece, Natasha, Janiyah, Rahsean- and pierced her tongue with a horizonal barbell. Duckett told the Inquirer that while Thomas liked to party she was very family oriented, celebrating her children's birthdays- most recently her eldest daughter Shaniece's tenth birthday and Natasha's seventh birthday this November. Meanwhile, McDonald and Thomas's sister Jacuita Purifoy said that her family was still waiting on a final list of who they lost. 'I don't have no emotion, so I can't really speak about nothing because I'm still trying to figure out what's going on, just like everybody else,' Purifoy, 37, told the Inquirer. The fire was at 860 North 23rd Street in Philadelphia, less than two miles north of the city center and its famous Rittenhouse Square Firefighters are still working through the debris inside the building. The deputy fire commissioner warned there may be more victims recovered Fire officials said the fire began in the kitchen of the upstairs apartment, the Inquirer reported. The cause of the deadly blaze remains unknown. There were four smoke detectors across the two apartments but none sounded the alarm on Wednesday. Philadelphia Housing Authority says all were inspected in May and were working. Mayor Jim Kenney choked on tears as he spoke at the scene. He called it 'without a doubt one of the most tragic days in the city's history.' 'I've been around for 35 years now and this is probably one of the worst fires I've ever been to. I don't have the words for how we're feeling right now,' Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said. Prince Andrew allegedly asked the BBC's Emily Maitlis if he should mention that he was 'unable to sweat' in their infamous Newsnight interview. The broadcaster quizzed the Duke of York in November 2019 over allegations made by Virginia Roberts that he had sex with her three times after she was trafficked by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Miss Roberts, who is now suing the Duke under married name of Giuffre, claimed he had sweated profusely when she claimed to have danced with him in 2001 at London's Tramp nightclub. The prince claimed in his interview with Ms Maitlis that a medical condition after being shot at during the Falklands War left him unable to perspire. Writing on the BBC website yesterday, Ms Maitlis said Andrew asked her during a meeting at Buckingham Palace in the days leading up to the grilling if it would be 'interesting' for him to mention the claim. The news comes after it emerged that Prince Andrew could settle out of court with Ms Giuffre if US judge Lewis Kaplan rules that the her case against him should go to trial. Andrew's lawyers argued this week in a New York court that Miss Roberts' case should not go to trial because of a 2009 civil settlement she made with Epstein. The Duke's legal team said that in return for a $500,000 (370,000) payout, she agreed to waive her right to sue any other 'potential defendants' which would include the prince, given the allegations she has made against him. Prince Andrew allegedly asked the BBC's Emily Maitlis if he should mention that he was 'unable to sweat' in their infamous Newsnight interview The broadcaster quizzed the Duke of York in November 2019 over allegations made by Virginia Roberts that he had sex with her three times after she was trafficked by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein Ms Maitlis wrote this week that she and her production team were invited 'right into the heart of Buckingham Palace' to meet the Duke in the days before the November 2019 interview. 'It was Prince Andrew who volunteered the information to me in that early meeting that he was "unable to sweat",' she said. 'His Falkland Islands wartime experiences, he claimed, had produced a glut of adrenalin that meant he hadn't been able to sweat properly since being shot at. 'I remember him asking me very directly if we thought that would be interesting to hear. 'And I said yes - I was fascinated by adrenalin - and that we wanted to hear as much detail of his account as we could.' Ms Maitlis also said that Andrew agreed to the interview because he wanted to 'clear his name'. Andrew's lawyers argued this week in a New York court that Miss Roberts' case should not go to trial because of a 2009 civil settlement she made with Epstein (pictured) Virginia Roberts, who is bringing the case under her married name Giuffre, holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her sexually She added: 'He believed things had been said about him that he could disprove. And he had his defence ready.' The infamous interview, in which Andrew also claimed to have been at Pizza Express in Woking on one of the days that Miss Roberts claims he assaulted her, was viewed millions of times. It led to Andrew stepping back from the royal limelight. Miss Roberts is making a claim against the Duke for battery and infliction of emotional distress. She claims she was raped on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17 and he was 41. Prince Andrew could settle out of court with his US sex-case accuser if a judge rules that the case should go to trial. Insiders say the option remains on the table if, as expected, Judge Lewis Kaplan rejects his legal teams motion this week to have Virginia Roberts lawsuit dismissed at an early stage (Andrew pictured in BBC interview, 2019) The potential settlement of her claims before they proceed to trial would mean Andrew could avoid having to be interviewed by Miss Roberts' lawyers. Andrew's legal team said this week that Miss Roberts' case should be thrown out. They highlighted her previous settlement with Epstein and argue she has not given enough specifics about the alleged abuse and that her pursuit of the case was 'unconstitutional'. Judge Kaplan said on Tuesday he would issue his ruling on whether the case should go to trial 'pretty soon'. However, the judge did verbally dismiss many of the arguments made by Andrew's lawyers. Sir Tony was branded a hypocrite last night for accepting a knighthood after leading the charge to strip Robert Mugabe of his. As prime minister, Sir Tony told MPs in 2003 that he would certainly look at the issue of the honorary knighthood granted to Mugabe, then president of Zimbabwe. Mugabe was eventually stripped of his honour by the last Labour government, under Gordon Brown. The honorary knighthood was annulled in 2008 by the Queen, following a recommendation by foreign secretary David Miliband as a mark of revulsion at his abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process. Summit: Newly-elected PM Tony Blair and Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe in Edinburgh in 1997 Mr Miliband had previously served as Sir Tonys chief of staff in No 10 and was a close personal and political ally of the former PM. Sir Tony himself had been challenged in the Commons in 2003 by Tory MP Andrew Robathan now Lord Robathan to rescind the honour. Lord Robathan told the Mail last night: Many people will find it extraordinary that Tony Blair thought it appropriate to remove Robert Mugabes knighthood while seeing nothing hypocritical in accepting one for himself. It is truly bizarre. Sir Tony spoke out in favour in stripping Mugabe of his knighthood in December 2003, eight months after the start of the Iraq war and claimed removing the honour was one way to force regime change in Zimbabwe. Mugabe was eventually ousted in a coup in 2017, and died two years later. Mugabe had been made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1994 when Sir John Major was prime minister. The honorary knighthood was annulled in 2008 by the Queen, following a recommendation by foreign secretary David Miliband (pictured) as a mark of revulsion at his abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process Sir Tony has been made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter the most senior form of knighthood, which has been bestowed upon all bar one of his predecessors in the Queens reign. Unlike the New Years Honours list, which is drawn up by the Government for the Queens approval, the Order of the Garter is bestowed as a personal gift by the monarch herself. The Honours Forfeiture Committee, which can remove honours for those involved in scandals, cannot recommend the removal of knighthoods handed out in this way. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and main opposition People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol / Yonhap By Lee Hyo-jin With about 60 days left until the March 9 presidential election, the campaign pledges on healthcare and pandemic response measures introduced by the leading candidates are drawing significant attention, as the country enters its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the two major presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) have both pledged to eradicate the pandemic, they have proposed differing policies for handling the public health crisis. Lee has vowed to strengthen the public healthcare system in order to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and prepare for future crises. He laid out his plans on Dec. 31 to expand access to public healthcare services across the country, saying that his administration will guarantee every resident equal access to medical treatment. To bridge the gap between the Seoul metropolitan area and the provinces in accessing medical services, Lee promised to add at least 70 more state-funded hospitals in rural areas and to increase the number of doctors by raising the admissions quota for medical schools, as well as by establishing new public medical schools. But these plans are expected to face a heavy backlash from doctors' groups, which previously opposed the Moon Jae-in administration's medical reform proposal announced in August 2020 that also included a medical school quota increase and the establishment of new public health medical schools. The Korean Medical Association (KMA) issued a statement, Tuesday, expressing regret over Lee's campaign pledges, which they argue "run counter to the agreement signed with the government in September 2020." At that time, following weeks of protests from medical students and doctors on the proposed medical reform plans, the government had to take a step back, with the two sides agreeing to postpone further discussion until the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, center, announces his election pledges on healthcare at the party's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul, Dec. 31. Yonhap Another thorny issue on which Lee stands far from the doctors' group is the mandatory installation of surveillance cameras (CCTV) in operating rooms. After the controversial bill on requiring the installation of CCTVs in operating rooms was approved by the National Assembly last September, the details of the bill are expected to be discussed in the new administration. The former Gyeonggi Province governor, who supports the installation of the cameras, had ordered six public hospitals run by the provincial government to be equipped with CCTVs during his term. Other healthcare pledges introduced by Lee, such as including hair loss treatment coverage in the national health insurance program and offering free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations to all teenagers aged between 12 to17, have drawn positive public responses. Meanwhile, Yoon of the PPP has proposed a different direction for handling the government's COVID-19 response. If elected, he vowed to overhaul current COVID-19 response strategies and enact quarantine policies only based on scientific data, criticizing the incumbent administration for carrying out "political quarantine measures." He also denounced the government's top-down decision making process, stressing that his administration will increase communication with frontline COVID-19 medical workers. "Public health officials at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare should involve more external medical experts, COVID-19 patients and their families when making decisions on coronavirus-related measures," he said during a meeting with KMA officials, Dec. 16. "Implementation of unilateral social distancing measures will not bring the virus situation under control. If I am elected, I will set up a platform on pandemic response measures and make decisions based on scientific data and carry them out through cooperation with experts." In addition, Yoon plans to increase support for the telemedicine industry by improving regulations that may hinder the growth of startup companies in the medical sector. Telemedicine companies, which have been enjoying a contactless boom after the government provisionally permitted their services in the middle of the public health crisis, have been calling for the establishment of legal grounds for a stable business environment even after the pandemic ends. During a meeting with startup companies in early December, Yoon said, "I will make sure that all people can benefit from the innovative healthcare services, while minimizing conflicts of interest between doctors and telemedicine service providers." Bereaved military mothers have urged Boris Johnson to release all secret documents relating to Tony Blairs wars. Their call comes after the Mail told how Sir Tonys own defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, revealed in his memoir that he was ordered to burn a memo warning that invading Iraq could be illegal. Rose Gentle, whose 19-year-old son Gordon was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq in 2004, is leading a legal bid to unlock state secrets about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is now being backed by five more mums Carol Valentine, Hazel Hunt, Caroline Whitaker, Caroline Jane Munday-Baker and Helen Perry who have already written to the Queen, urging her to strip Sir Tony of his knighthood for sending troops to war on a bed of lies. Bereaved military mothers have urged Boris Johnson to release all secret documents relating to Tony Blairs wars Mrs Gentle said: I have fought so hard to get at the truth all these years, but I have been blocked at every corner. Blair belongs in the dock for what he has done and now his own defence secretary has confirmed it. Its time for Boris Johnson to step up and unlock the secrets of these terrible wars and atone for the hundreds and hundreds of unnecessary deaths and suffering. The truth needs to come out now and the only thing that should be locked up is Blair. In his memoir See How They Run, Mr Hoon says his principal private secretary was told by Jonathan Powell, then Sir Tonys chief of staff, to burn advice from attorney general Lord Goldsmith about the Iraq war. Mr Hoon ensured the document was locked away instead. But Mrs Valentine, whose son Simon, 29, was killed clearing landmines in Helmand Province in 2009, said: Geoff Hoon needs to apologise for perpetuating Blairs lies. Its funny how he thinks its appropriate to come clean now as he has a book out. Mr Powell this week denied Mr Hoons claims but a source close to the former minister insisted his account was correct. Sir Tony dismissed the burning story as nonsense when it emerged in 2015. A commemorative coin showing the Queen on horseback has been unveiled for the Platinum Jubilee. Marking seven decades on the throne, the equestrian image will be struck on the 'heads' side of the Royal Mint's new 50p and a traditional 5 crown. The coin's other side will bear the number 70. Designed by artist John Bergdahl, the coin, pictured, is the first collectable 50p piece to celebrate a royal event. Beth Perry holding the new 50p coin by the Royal Mint. The commemorative coin shows the Queen on horseback and will mark the Platinum Jubilee It is not, however, the first time a minted coin has shown the Queen on horseback, rather than her portrait on the obverse 'heads' side. The equestrian design is reminiscent of the 1953 coronation and 2002 jubilee crown pieces, which showed the Queen on a horse. The Royal Mint said this year's design had been personally approved by Her Majesty. The Royal Mint's Clare Maclennan said: 'Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee coins are enduring pieces of art that will be collected, cherished and passed down for generations.' The new 50p coin by the Royal Mint, part of the Platinum Jubilee coin collection. Marking 70 years on the throne, the special obverse design, by esteemed artist John Bergdahl, depicts the Queen on horseback and will be struck on the 'heads' side of a new 50p Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen throughout the Commonwealth after her father, George VI, died on February 6, 1952, while she was in Kenya. The centrepiece of months of Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be an extended bank holiday from Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5, with public events and community activities. Royal Mint Museum Historian Chris Barker said: 'The Queen's legacy on coins stretches the length of her momentous reign, with The Royal Mint striking five definitive portraits of Her Majesty on official UK coin and celebrating previous Jubilees. 'The 1977 Silver Jubilee crown was the first major UK commemorative coin produced at The Royal Mint's Llantrisant home, after the minting in London ceased in 1975. Roughly thirty-seven million coins were produced at that time, and thousands were gifted to children across the UK as a memento of the occasion. Today's launch marks another significant milestone, and The Royal Mint plays a proud part in the nationwide celebrations.' Scott Morrison has defended the government's supply of Covid-19 rapid antigen tests, saying the whole world has been under pressure from the Omicron variant and scrapping for test supplies. The prime minister rejected the assertion the country was left underprepared for worst case scenarios despite extensive modelling on various possibilities by the health department. 'I don't accept the suggestion that they haven't been doing their job. I think they've been doing their job extremely well and under extraordinary pressure in a very uncertain environment,' he told reporters on Thursday. But criticism continues over the availability and affordability of RATs after changes to Australia's testing regime were announced after Wednesday's national cabinet. PM Scott Morrison (pictured) has defended the government's supply of Covid-19 rapid antigen tests, saying the whole world has been scrapping for test supplies The prime minister rejected the assertion the country was left underprepared for worst case scenarios despite extensive modelling (pictured, a woman is swabbed in Sydney) People who test positive on a RAT don't have to get their results confirmed with a PCR test in the hopes of easing pressure on overwhelmed clinics. But University of Melbourne epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely warned surveillance would not be accurate going forward with the tests mainly being done at home. 'The horse has bolted, this is the biggest policy failure so far in Australia,' he told the Seven Network on Thursday. 'We also haven't thought about how you can load up that data to the surveillance system, so we won't get that in place in the next couple of weeks.' But Mr Morrison said it was more important to connect people with care than reporting numbers. 'Case numbers are less of an issue (and) will be underestimated in Australia because we know that people are self managing in many instances,' he said. 'What matters first is that people who have Covid (is) the care they get connected to.' Mr Morrison noted national cabinet is working through how to more accurately record case numbers so hospitals were able to prepare. People who test positive on a RAT no longer have to get their results confirmed with a PCR test in the hopes of easing pressure on overwhelmed clinics (pictured, Sydney health workers) Mr Morrison noted national cabinet is working through how to more accurately record case numbers so hospitals were able to prepare (pictured, staff at Sydney's St Vincent's hospital) Infectious disease expert Professor Peter Collignon said getting a PCR confirmation of a positive rapid test doesn't add much, telling people to stay home and isolate if they have a positive test. 'If you're vaccinated and are a 30- to 40-year-old, your chance of coming into grief is really low. We have support if you need it but don't get on the (PCR) queue and delay the older people who may need to be in front of you,' he told Sky News. It comes as NSW registered another 34,994 new cases on Thursday and a further six deaths. There are 1609 patients in hospital, with 131 in intensive care. Victoria recorded a new one-day high for new cases, with 21,997 infections and six deaths. The state has 631 patients in hospital with 51 in intensive care and 22 of those on ventilation. There were a record 222,565 booster shots delivered on Wednesday. Mr Morrison said 200 million rapid tests would be available in coming weeks but ruled out making them universally free, instead providing 10 tests over a three-month period to concession cardholders, which covers more than six million people. Victoria recorded a new one-day high for new cases, with 21,997 infections and six deaths (pictured, shoppers wear masks as they shop in Adelaide) It comes as NSW registered another 34,994 new cases on Thursday and a further six deaths (pictured, a health worker is seen handing out rapid antigen tests in Melbourne) Labor senator and chair of a parliamentary Covid-19 committee Katy Gallagher hit out at the concession plan, saying the Australian pandemic response had been one where everyone was in it together. 'Huge amounts of funding has been provided to ensure we have been able to live safely. Providing rapid antigen tests to everybody is part of that approach,' she told Sky News. Health Minister Greg Hunt said tests have always been free for health purposes. 'When you go to a testing clinic, whether it's a PCR test or a rapid antigen test, and you are going for symptoms or as a close contact, that remains the case that is free,' he told the Nine Network. 'If you are using them for somebody coming to your house or other social or casual uses, then there is an additional private market where people can access that.' Sir Billy hasn't been trousered in decades, but has helped the word get into the dictionary He may not have touched a drop since the 1980s. But Sir Billy Connolly has managed to get the word 'trousered' to describe being drunk into the Oxford English Dictionary. The comedy legend is mentioned in the latest edition of the tome after being credited with popularising the term. A new meaning for trousered has been included in the dictionary to reflect it being a slang term for being intoxicated. The dictionary's researchers found the earliest printed mention of the word in that context was in a 1977 newspaper interview with Glasgow-born Connolly. He was describing how he stayed sober until after he came off stage at his shows. He said: 'After I've finished I can get totally trousered along with the best of them. But I never touch the stuff before.' The official entry for trousered in the dictionary reads: 'Slang (chiefly British and Irish English). Drunk, intoxicated.' The dictionary said the word had also been used by English author Niall Griffiths' in his 2001 novel Grits to describe a drunk character. Kate Wild, the dictionary's executive editor, said: 'The newly added sense of trousered meaning 'drunk' expands what is already one of the largest categories, drunk, which contains over 200 words: from Old English fordrunken through to late 20th-century coinages such as wazzed and mullered.' Sir Billy, 79, previously said he gave up drinking in 1985 after a wild night out with actor Sir Michael Caine. Phil Redmond, the creator of Grange Hill, has penned a movie about the fictional London school Tucker Jenkins and Gripper Stebson may not have seemed like potential silver screen material as you tucked into spam fritters for tea in the late 1970s. But Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond is set to turn the now-defunct hit children's TV series into a film, it has been revealed. The 72-year-old TV producer and screenwriter, who was also behind Brookside and Hollyoaks, has reportedly just completed the script for a film based around the children's programme set in a school. It is thought that the planned film, due later this year, will deal with the planned closure of the school as well as issues around social media and children's grief. The movie is expected to feature former cast members from the show in the roles of parents or grandparents. Grange Hill, set in a fictional comprehensive school, ran as a BBC children's TV series for 30 years between 1978 and 2008. Grange Hill made household names of characters including Tucker Jenkins (played by Todd Carty, left) and Benny Green (Terry Sue-Patt, centre) Todd Carty (shown as Tucker) later appeared in the spin-off series Tucker's Luck before joining the cast of EastEnders Among the characters that featured over the years were Tucker Jenkins, played by Todd Carty, Benny Green, Zammo McGuire, Justine Dean, and Norman 'Gripper' Stebson. The show covered a range of social issues including Zammo's addiction to heroin. In an interview with The Guardian, it was revealed that Mr Redmond met with colleagues last February to discuss the project. He told the paper: 'We've been through four school-rebuilding programmes in my lifetime, but it's not about bricks and mortar, it's about getting the best out of every pupil. 'How will ripping schools out of communities solve anything? Or making catchment areas so big that kids have to travel miles to be with their friends? 'That's the thesis of the movie: it's decided the school is costing too much to maintain so it should be knocked down, the land sold and proceeds used to build a new one and replenish local coffers.' Mr Redmond told the paper that David Cameron had told him his favourite character was school bully Gripper Stebson. An Italian man working as a low level rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster in the UK has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of stealing hundreds of unpublished manuscripts by famous authors by impersonating well-known editors and agents over email in the hope of using their ideas for his own books. Filippo Bernardini, 29, was taken into custody at JFK airport in New York City on Wednesday on suspicion of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He is due in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. According to prosecutors, Bernardini - who has worked for Simon & Schuster since 2019 - used his knowledge of the industry to impersonate well-known agents and editors then target authors by creating fake domain names and email addresses. The scam has stumped the literary world for years; many of the targeted authors expected to see the works turn up on the dark web for sale but they never did. Known as 'The Spine Collector', the mystery thief impersonated hundreds of authors, editors and authors to harvest the works then vanished. Filippo Bernardini, 29, was taken into custody at JFK airport in New York City on Wednesday on suspicion of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He is due in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. The thief - known in the literary world as The Spine Collector - stole manuscripts by Margaret Atwood, left, and Ethan Hawke, right. He planned to steal the ideas for his own masterpiece, according to federal prosecutors Prosecutors say Bernardini was careful not to reveal his identity online. This is his LinkedIn page , where he leaves blank his surname, but boasts about being 'obsessed' with the written word Prosecutors say Bernardini - who himself admits to being 'obsessed with the written word' online - aimed to use their ideas to write his own masterpiece but could never pull it off. The scheme began in 2016, when he was working in various intern and assistant roles for legal firms and literary companies in Italy. Among his victims is Margaret Atwood and actor Ethan Hawke who has written nine books. 'We allege Mr. Bernardini used his insider knowledge of the industry to get authors to send him their unpublished books and texts by posing as agents, publishing houses, and literary scouts. 'Mr. Bernardini was allegedly trying to steal other people's literary ideas for himself, but in the end he wasn't creative enough to get away with it,' Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI's New York Office, said in an announcement on Wednesday. Bernardini has been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He is due in court later today. Bernardini's LinkedIn page describes his 'obsession' with the written word. Prosecutors say he deliberately did not include his full name in his social media pages or online. Bernadini lives in North Finchley, London, with Ben Kaye (above together). Bernardini (second from left) is shown with friends and Kaye (far right). He is due in court in Manhattan on Thursday on charges if fraud and aggravated identity theft 'My obsession for the written word and languages has resulted in me obtaining my bachelors in Chinese language from Universita Cattolica (Milan, Italy) and my masters in Publishing from UCL (London, UK). 'Combining these two passions has resulted in me pursuing a career within foreign rights management, a critical aspect of publishing. This ensures that books can be read and enjoyed all over the world and in multiple languages. I have also taken commissions to translate books and corporate materials,' he says. It's unclear why Bernardini was flying to the US, or where he was flying from when he was arrested on Wednesday. He duped authors and their agents by changing a single letter in his email address or domain name like exchanging the letter 'm' for 'rn' in Penguin Random House. According to the indictment against Bernardini, which was filed in July but only unsealed yesterday, the schemes had been taking place from at least August 2016 through July of last year. It said Bernardini 'used fraudulent, look-alike, domains to impersonate individuals involved in the publishing industry to gain surreptitious access to these materials,' and that over the years he 'impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals.' Simon & Schuster, in a statement, said it had no knowledge of his involvement in the scam. 'The safekeeping of our authors intellectual property is of primary importance to Simon & Schuster, and for all in the publishing industry, and we are grateful to the FBI for investigating these incidents and bringing charges against the alleged perpetrator,' the statement added. Jon Stewart has backpaddled on his claims that J.K. Rowling was anti-Semitic for her portrayal of goblins in Harry Potter and now claims he was just being 'light-hearted'. The former host of The Daily Show, who is Jewish, had complained that Rowling's goblin characters that run the Gringotts bank were based on caricatures of Jews from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an infamous anti-Semitic text that purports to show a Jewish plan for world domination. 'Here's how you know Jews are still where they are,' Stewart said in the December 16 episode of his podcast, The Problem with Jon Stewart. 'I just want to show you a caricature. And they're like, "Oh, look at that, that's from Harry Potter!" And you're like, "No, that's a caricature of a Jew from an anti-Semitic piece of literature." J.K. Rowling was like, "Can we get these guys to run our bank?"' He also questioned why Rowling chose to 'throw Jews in there to run the f***ing underground bank' in a fictional world where people 'can ride dragons and have pet owls.' He was referring to the book and movie series' fictional Gringotts Bank, which is staffed by goblins. Stewart's comments grabbed headlines and sparked backlash from Potter fans as well as a Jewish community who pointed out that the author had been a vocal opponent of anti-Semitism and was 'very supportive' of the religious community. As the outcry grew, Stewart, 59, has gone back on his claims and aggressively hit out at news outlets covering the story, telling them to 'get a f***ing grip'. Jon Stewart (pictured Wednesday), who recently slammed J.K. Rowling over goblins that run Gringotts bank in her Harry Potter film series, says he didn't actually accuse the author of being anti-Semitic and that people need to 'get a f***ing grip' 'I cannot stress this enough -- I am not accusing J.K. Rowling of being anti-Semitic,' Stewart said in a video shared to Twitter Wednesday attempting to put an end to the drama surrounding his comments. 'She need not answer to any of it. I don't want the Harry Potter movies censored in any way. It was a lighthearted conversation. Get a f***ing grip!' Stewart said he loves the Harry Potter films and is 'not accusing J.K. Rowling (pictured) of being anti-Semitic' The comedian now claims 'no reasonable person' would have heard those comments and assumed they were serious. 'There is no reasonable person that could've watched it and not seen it as a lighthearted conversation between colleagues and chums, having a laugh, enjoying ourselves about Harry Potter -- my experience watching it for the first time in a theater as a Jewish guy, and how some tropes that are so embedded in society that they're basically invisible even in a considered process like movie making,' Stewart said Wednesday. 'We did this a month ago, like two COVID mutations ago, back when we were still in Beta world or wherever we were, this was a month ago. This morning I wake up and it's trending on Twitter and here's the headline from Newsweek: "Jon Stewart accuses J.K. Rowling of anti-Semitism"'. He continued: 'Let me say this as clearly as I can. My name is Jon Stewart. I do not think J.K. Rowling is anti-Semitic. I did not accuse her of being anti-Semitic. None of that is true.' Newsweek et al, may eat my ass. pic.twitter.com/eRoYYeNRi1 Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) January 5, 2022 Stewart characterized the goblins as an obvious anti-Semitic trope, and questioned why more people haven't done the same (Pictured is a movie still from the first Harry Potter film) The comedian now claims ' no reasonable person' would have heard those comments and assumed they were serious (Pictured: A goblin from the first Harry Potter film) The podcaster claimed to 'love the Harry Potter movies' and said the accusations that Rowling is Semitic are 'bonkers'. 'I have to address this. This is bonkers, guys,' he said in his social media video. 'I do not think J.K. Rowling is anti-Semitic. I did not accuse her of being anti-Semitic. I do not think the Harry Potter movies are anti-Semitic.' He added: 'I really love the Harry Potter movies, probably too much for a gentleman of my considerable age.' Stewart then slammed Newsweek, calling their business model 'f***ing arson' and part of the problem with the media. 'Let me say this to Newsweek - Your business model is f***ing arson and not the good kind,' he said. 'The kind of arson where you're on the mountain and you've got f***ing five minutes and you don't know where the dogs are. That's your business model and now all the sh**heads ridiculously out of context nonsense that you out out there.' Stewart slammed Newsweek - who published an article alleging he called Rowling anti-Semitic - called their their business model 'f***ing arson' (Pictured: Tweet Stewart posted Wednesday) Stewart (center, pictured in the social media video) reiterated Wednesday: 'Let me say this as clearly as I can. My name is Jon Stewart. I do not think J.K. Rowling is anti-Semitic. I did not accuse her of being anti-Semitic. None of that is true' The podcaster's 'lighthearted' remarks prompted response from fans and members of the Jewish community. Comedian Sarah Silverman was one of the first to weigh in on the controversy, although she said she hadn't read the books or seen the films. 'After watching the below and then seeing the clip in the thread I am just kind of stunned. You know when you giggle but its really more fear than joy?' she wrote on Twitter. Dave Rich, director of policy at Jewish charity the Community Security Trust, told MailOnline that Rowling had been 'very supportive' of the Jewish community. He said: 'JK Rowling has been very supportive of the Jewish community in recent years and tweeted repeatedly against antisemitism, so it is hard to imagine that she used anti-semitic caricatures in her books. Sometimes a goblin is just a goblin.' Fans also defended the author, suggesting that her depiction of the goblins was typical of the fantasy genre, with the likes of JRR Tolkien and Terry Pratchett making similar descriptions (Pictured: Goblins as seen in The Lord of The Rings films) Jewish fans were also quick to note that the author constantly called out anti-Semitism in recent years Comedian David Baddiel also waded in, adding: 'The goblins in Harry Potter need to be seen not in a simplistic #teamRowling vs #antiteamRowling way but in a many-centuries long, deeply subconsciously embedded cultural context.' Author and literature expert Nicholas Jubber told MailOnline: 'Rowling appears to have followed traditions in British fantasy literature. The old German word, 'kobold', gave us the word 'cobalt', signaling the association of these creatures with mining for precious ores. So it makes sense that goblins would be linked with vaults and underground storage.' Jewish fans were quick to note that Rowling has consistently called out anti-Semitism in recent years; including as a frequent critic of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership of the Labour Party and when she refused to join a cultural boycott of Israel. Fans also suggested her depiction of the goblins was typical of the fantasy genre, with the likes of JRR Tolkien and Terry Pratchett using similar descriptions. Fans took to social media to defend the author One said Wednesday: 'Goblins were described and depicted like that decades before Rowling. So if those activists have problems with how goblins are depicted - they should cancel fantasy books and mythos that existed before.' Another added: 'You would have to tar all fantasy writers such as Tolkien and artists, who have portrayed goblins in exactly the same light since the 19th Century. 'In most fantasy and children's writings they are almost always portrayed as mean, hoarders of gold and jewels with the same features.' Others noted that Rowling's original sketch of goblins was significantly different to the movie depiction of the creatures, which Warner Brothers are behind. Donald Trump on Wednesday told his supporters to 'rise up' against Democrat overreach, in a statement that raised eyebrows on the eve of the anniversary of the Capitol riot. Trump had planned to hold a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday, but was warned against it by his allies, who felt it was provocative and likely to be damaging. Instead, he issued a statement criticizing Joe Biden's handling of the COVID pandemic. 'Now, there's talk by the Biden Administration again about closing schools and even vaccine mandates for school children,' Trump said. 'This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach.' The urging of his supporters to 'rise up' hours before the anniversary of an event in which four of his supporters died raised eyebrows, although he used the words in the context of urging his followers to push back against government policies. Donald Trump is seen on January 6, 2021, at a rally shortly before his supporters stormed the Capitol People protest against vaccine mandates in Huntington Beach, California, on Monday Trump is seen on New Year's Eve with his son Don Jr and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle Tension has been mounting as the anniversary approached, and the Capitol Police were recently warned of online posts that called for a 'real insurrection,' CNN reported. Joe Biden will speak from the Capitol on Thursday morning. The White House said Biden would push back against Trump's claims, adopted by many of his followers, that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, as well as attempts to downplay the violence of the worst assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812. On Wednesday evening, Trump launched a scathing attack on his successor, but with no reference to the anniversary. 'The Democrats are so incredibly mandate happy,' Trump said. 'The Biden Administration's response to COVID is getting worse every day. Joe Biden said, 'there is no federal solution' to the pandemic, but he then federalized the distribution of antibodies, and red states are getting the short end of the stick. 'In my administration, we respected the role of Governors to take care of their own states, and they could request antibodies and therapeutics depending on what they needed. That's the way our Country is supposed to be run.' Thousands of Trump supporters are seen on January 6, 2021, marching towards the Capitol The riot of January 6 left 150 members of law enforcement injured, and cost five their lives Trump then boasted about his own government creating 'vaccines in record time', but said mandates were wrong. 'People should be able to choose how they want to govern their own health. The federal government must be reined in and give the people back the freedom to decide whether they want to be vaccinated or not. 'Joe Biden said he would never issue mandates, but he did it anyway like so many other things.' Ghassan Amoun, the brother of Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam Hamzy, has been shot dead in the street in a brazen lunchtime execution. Amoun was the known 'next target' in Sydneys long-running underworld war between the Hamzy and Alameddine families. The high-ranking underworld lieutenant was gunned down as he sat in a BMW outside an apartment building in western Sydney. The broad daylight shooting was said by police to have been carried out a man 'wearing dark clothing' and having 'a covered face'. Around 3pm on Thursday, the 35-year-old's body was still lying in the street covered by a blue sheet, as police and forensics officers wearing gloves and and masks and carrying clipboards swarmed over the crime scene. The body of slain Ghassan Amoun, 35, (above) lies in the street body covered by a blue sheet as police and forensic officers swarm onto the crime scene Ghassan Amoun (above) was gunned down in broad daylight on Thursday less than a year after police told him he was a marked man, and 'next' on the list to be executed Burnt out vehicle believed to be getaway driven by a shooter 'wearing dark clothing' and having 'a covered face' was abandoned at a nearby intersection, on Una and Smith Streets (pictured) Acting Superintendent Glen Fitzgerald said the shooting was 'quite obviously targeted' and detectives were investigating 'obvious connections to criminal networks'. Police already had information about the burnt-out vehicle and were looking for at least two offenders. 'There are appears to be a driver and a shooter that got out of one of the vehicles,' acting Superintendent Fitzgerald said. Amoun had been approached as he got into his car in a 'very brutal attack'. 'Any type of incident like this is a worry,' acting Superintendent Fitzgerald said. 'This is what happens when firearms are in the possession of the wrong people.' Executed Ghassan Amoun is the brother of imprisoned Brothers 4 Life gang leader, Bassam Hamzy (above) and the third Hamzy family member gunned down in two years The grey BMW Amoun drove to the location remains on the street, its door open, after the slain Hamzy family lieutenant's body was found and pronounced dead at the scene Streets and a highway were sealed off with crime tape as police combed the scene for clues and forensic officers wearing masks and gloves gathered evidence Police scrambled to erect a tent over the body as gusts of wind whipped up at the scene in the late afternoon. Just before 5pm on Thursday 13 police vehicles were on the scene with a police helicopter overhead, sirens wailing in the distance and locals sitting on their balconies watching police do their work. Officers were doorknocking neighbours and shop owners in the vicinity in the hope that residents in their homes might have vital clues as to the killer's identity. Police and paramedics rushed to the shooting on Rawson Road in South Wentworthville about 12.45pm on Thursday, but Amoun died at the scene. A number of roads, including Rawson Road and two westbound lanes on the Great Western Highway, were closed and motorists were urged to avoid the area. Police walk down the street near where the high-ranking Hamzy family lieutenant was executed ina surprise attack around 12.45pm on Thursday in South Wentworthville The taped off scene in South Wentworthville where police and paramedics rushed to the scene around 12.45pm on Thursday to find Ghassan Amoun fatally shot in the road Police and forensics officers wearing gloves and and masks (above) at the crime scene hours after the 35-year-old 'marked man' was gunned down execution style However, cars heading west up the highway slowed their vehicles to see the drama as they drove by, and residents on the upper floors of a nearby apartment block were straining to get a better look at the grisly scene below. Amoun is the third Hamzy relative to be assassinated in less than two years after Bassam's brother Mejid Hamzy in 2020 and cousin Bilal Hamze in 2021. Police with crime scene equipment in a van at the scene at South Wentworthville where Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam Hamzy's brother was executed in brazen lunchtime shooting on Thursday Police on the scene where Ghassan Amoun, the brother of crime boss Bassam Hamzy, was shot dead in Western Sydney (pictured, burnt out car believed to have been driven by one of the shooters at South Wentworthville on Thursday) Police located the burnt vehicle at a nearby intersection on Una and Smith Streets (pictured) Initial inquiries lead police to a burnt out car at a nearby intersection on Una and Smith Streets, believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle. In June last year Bilal Hamze, 34, was shot dead after a date with a woman at trendy Japanese restaurant Kid Kyoto on Bridge Street, near Circular Quay. Despite knowing he was a marked man, Amoun brushed off police fears he was 'at risk' and attended his executed cousin's Sydney funeral with grieving family members. Bassam Hamzy's older brother Mejid Hamzy, 44, was gunned down outside his home in Condell Park by two black-clad men on the morning of October 19, 2020. The man executed on Thursday was among mourners at his cousin's funeral last year (above) despite being warned he was the family's next target on the gangland war list Another Hamzy brother Ibrahem (kneeling in grey hoodie) is pictured last year at his cousin Bilal Hamze's gravesite after Hamze was executed Last year a court heard that prior to Amoun attending Bilal Hamze's funeral that a judge had concerns for his safety associating with other mourners. Amoun had secretly fought police at the NSW Supreme Court court for the very right to be at the funeral. Lawyers for Amoun had applied for the court to relax serious crime prevention orders which banned them from associating with two cousins for the duration of the funeral. Police intelligence obtained earlier that week 'suggests that (Ghassan Amoun) is said to be the next person to be targeted', Justice David Davies told the court 24 hours before the June 2021 funeral. MyPillow CEO and key Trump supporter Mike Lindell is filing a lawsuit against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to stop her and the House of Representatives from subpoenaing the pillow mogul's phone records as part of their investigation into the January 6 riot. Lindell filed suit Wednesday against the panel investigating the insurrection, Pelosi and Verizon to stop the telecoms giant from turning over the records from November 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021, which the committee has requested. Those targeted by the committee have largely responded by countersuing. On Tuesday, commentator Sebastian Gorka filed suit to block their subpoena for his own phone records, saying it overstepped their authority. Former National National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney John Eastman, Trump advisor Steve Bannon and other witnesses targeted by the committee have also sued. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, an ally and supporter of President Donald Trump who was seen before and after the insurrection at the White House on January 6, is trying to sue to block release of his phone records Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is named as part of the suit. Pelosi's committee to investigate the insurrection is also named, as well as telecoms giant Verizon As the country hits the one year anniversary of the insurrection, the Democrat-controlled House continues to attempt to subpoena key Trump allies to try and find out if any of them are responsible Attorneys for Lindell say that his actions related to the 2020 election are 'motivated, in part, by his strongly held religious beliefs' and that getting his phone records would violate Lindell's freedom of religion, speech, press, political expression and ability to associate with others to advance their shared beliefs. This is at least the second time the committee has asked for Lindell's communications. Lawyers argue Lindell had 'no involvement whatsoever' in that attack. The MyPillow CEO was at the White House even after the riot ended carrying papers with the words 'insurrection act' and 'martial law if necessary' on them. The lawsuit was given to St. Paul-based Trump appointee Judge Eric Tostrud. A spokesperson for the committee declined comment. Spokespersons for Verizon and Pelosi have not yet responded to a request for comment. Lindell told CNBC Wednesday that he would sue 'to completely invalidate this corrupt subpoena.' Lindell was scene after the riots on January 15 at the White House holding notes that contained language many liberals found disturbing The MyPillow CEO was carrying papers with the words 'insurrection act' and 'martial law if necessary' on them. However, it's not the only lawsuit Lindell faces related to the election and the fallout. Dominion and Smartmatic, election software companies at the center of pro-Trump conspiracy theories, are seeking billions of dollars in damages from Trump allies, including Lindell. In August, a judge denied motions to dismiss filed by Lindell. He continues to defend himself in court, arguing with other Trump allies that their remarks about Dominion and Smartmatic were free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. An employee of dental implant maker Osstem Implant, only identified by his surname Lee, is taken into Gangseo Police Station in Seoul, Jan. 6, after police arrested him in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, the previous day for allegedly misappropriating 188 billion won ($157.7 million) of the company's funds. Yonhap Police arrested an employee of dental implant maker Osstem Implant, Wednesday, who is suspected of embezzling a large amount of company funds. Police had been searching for the man, only identified by his surname Lee, after the company sued him Friday for misappropriating 188 billion won ($157.7 million). He was in charge of managing corporate funds. Officers arrested the suspect in Paju, just north of Seoul, at around 9:10 p.m. while searching a building he lived in, Gangseo Police Station in Seoul said. He was hiding out in a different unit of the building, it added. The allegedly embezzled funds are estimated to be equivalent to over 90 percent of the company's equity of 205 billion won as of the end of 2020. Earlier in the day, the chief of Osstem Implant apologized for the incident. "I sincerely apologize for causing anxiety to shareholders and customers," CEO Um Tae-kwan said in a statement. "The company is doing everything it can to retrieve the embezzled money." Um said the alleged amount is huge, yet it is not enough to damage the company's financial standing. "It is about 59 percent of the company's equity capital as of the end 2021," Um said. He added that the company's net profit could even swing into the black for 2021 once the embezzled money is retrieved. Police are tracking the whereabouts of the 188 billion won, after the possibility that the money was divided and transferred through multiple bank accounts. Police found that Lee purchased 851 1kg gold bars, estimated to be worth 68 billion won, between Dec. 18 and Dec. 28. Trading of the company's stocks was suspended on the secondary Kosdaq market Friday. The suspension will be in place until the bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, makes a decision on the dental implant maker's listing eligibility. The operator suspends trading and decides whether or not it is to be included in the delisting review when the amount of embezzlement exceeds 5 percent of equity capital. The decision is expected to be announced by Jan. 24, but could be postponed for up to two years. Also, the company can file an objection. Concerns have risen that foreign investors could possibly suffer a significant loss as they hold a 44.2 percent stake in Osstem Implant. The portion of foreign holding in the company is the sixth largest on the Kosdaq. Last year, foreigners bought a combined 161.2 billion won worth of Osstem Implant shares. Their average purchase price per share is estimated at around 130,000 won. Established in 1997, Osstem Implant is the country's largest manufacturer of dental implants. The company also holds the largest market share in the Asia-Pacific region and is fourth in the global market. It is the 20th mostly valued firm on the secondary market with a market capitalization of 2 trillion won. (Yonhap) A Florida man attempted to strangle a woman at a Miami bus stop with a shoelace in a horrific random attack near the airport. Aaron Quinones, 27, has been charged with felony attempted murder after he allegedly tried to strangle an unidentified woman, 26, at a bus stop near the Miami International Airport on January 2 around 11am. It does not appear the pair knew each other. The woman, who appeared to be on her phone and had luggage sitting beside her was aware that Quinones was behind her when he attack. Video footage shows the Quinones - who appears to be going to or from the airport as he had a neck pillow resting on his backpack - quietly walking up behind her before tentatively stretching his arms out to wrap the makeshift noose around her neck. Aaron Quinones, 27, has been charged with felony attempted murder after he allegedly tried to strangled an unidentified woman, 26, at a bus stop near the Miami International Airport on January 2 around 11am He appeared to drag the woman to her side before climbing on top her as he tightened the makeshift noose The woman struggled to get Quinones off of her The woman looks back at him while he tightens his hold on her, dragging her to her side onto the bench as he climbed over her. The pair grappled for a moment before Quinones became repeatedly punching the woman in the face as she kicks her attacker away. The woman is saved by a bystander, wearing a green t-shirt, who approached the pair waving his arms before he pulls Quinones after her, then the video cuts out. 'Had it not been for a Good Samaritan that stepped in that basically stopped this individual from attacking this victim, the outcome would have been way worse,' Miami-Dade police officer Angel Rodriguez said. Police reported Quinones 'fled on foot' after the bystander dragged him off the woman. The woman was treated on scene by a Fire Rescue team and the extent of her injuries are unknown. When she began to fight back, he punched her several times in the face A bystander in a green shirt pulled Quinones off the woman before he fled the scene. The bystander also left the scene before authorities arrived The bystander left the scene before police arrived and now authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying him. An investigation in Quinones is still ongoing, and no motive for the attack has been shared. He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $250,000 bond. DailyMail.com contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department for comment. Crime is active within the country, with a total of 28 violent crimes happening within the first two days of the year and 50 non-violent crimes, according to the Miami-Dade Police. The fare evader who died after breaking his neck while drunkenly trying to jump barriers at a Queens subway station is being remembered by his loved ones as a devoted father to his four year old son. Police said 28-year-old Christopher De La Cruz died Saturday morning after jumping over a New York City subway turnstile at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue train station in Queens, tripping and cracking his head on the concrete floor. He has been pictured in photos released by his grieving relatives, riding a merry-go-round with his son, and toting the little boy on his shoulders for a photograph. The Medical Examiner determined the accidental death was caused by blunt impact injury of head and neck. Scroll Down For Video: Described as a loving father, family shared photos of De La Cruz going for a ride on a merry go round with his four-year-old son Family shared photographs of De La Cruz beaming while hoisting his son on his shoulder Graphic surveillance video of the incident showed De La Cruz struggling to lift his legs over the turnstile before falling forward and hitting his head on the floor Surveillance footage of the incident shows that at first, De La Cruz falls into the turnstiles, sending his phone skidding across the floor. The footage then goes on to show him stumbling around and struggling to lift his body before he slips and breaks his neck. Cops and EMS personnel responded to a call of a man lying unconscious on the mezzanine floor of the station, which serves the E, F, M and R lines. Police said that the 28-year-old was drinking before the tragic accident. The freak accident has left De La Cruz's family in shock and struggling to cope with his sudden death. 'For us, the shock is really here,' his brother Brian told the New York Daily News as the family makes funeral plans. 'There's never really words to describe the loss, especially as his brother. There's nobody to replace him or his love of his son. It really seemed like things were looking up and unfortunately this happened.' Christopher De La Cruz, 28, died Saturday morning after jumping over a New York City subway turnstile at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue in Queens, tripping and cracking his head on the concrete floor. He was unconscious when police and EMS personnel arrived at the scene Before his fatal fall De La Cruz was captured stumbling around and struggling to lift his body over the turnstiles To honor his brother, who he described as 'the kindest soul' Brian created a GoFundMe that has already raised over $15,000. The fundraiser featured photographs of De La Cruz beaming while hoisting his son on his shoulder and another of the pair going for a ride on a merry go round. Brian said all donations will go towards helping with funeral costs and creating a college fun for De La Cruz' four-year-old son Neithyn, who Brian says was very close to his dad. 'If there was one thing in this world that my brother wanted to be remembered for, it was his love for his son who meant the world to him,' Brian wrote on the fundraiser. 'Anyone who has ever spoken to Chris, for even a brief moment, has probably seen my nephew's face or heard about the love my brother had for him.' 'No amount of money can replace the loss of a loved one,' Brian wrote. 'We ask that you donate what you can, if you can. Thank you' In a separate social media post the mother of De La Cruz's son said that the 28-year-old was thoughtful and a 'pure soul' and that his memory will live on though his son, the Daily News reported. 'The light you shined was beyond this world,' she wrote. 'Your contagious laughter, your whole aura radiated love to its core. The purest of souls, because you would always share whatever you had, even like splitting the last slice in half.' 'Your son will always know of your name, your love & all the love you ever gave him & will continue to give him from beyond this dimension. I love you,' she added. The freak accident comes in the first days of 2022 after a year of violence in the Big Apple. However, nothing seems to be changing in the new year, although newly-inaugurated Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to take a tougher stance on crime than his predecessor Bill de Blasio. On Tuesday, a shocking video captured the moment an 85-year-old woman was slammed into a wall inside a Bronx apartment building after a cold-hearted thief dragged her out of an elevator by her cane and rifled through her purse. The callous thief, who was wearing a surgical mask and hoodie to hide his identity, walked into the elevator of the complex's first floor and rode with the 85-year-old woman up to the sixth floor. He then got out when the doors opened, appeared to look down the floor's hall to make sure no residents were out of their apartments and then went back inside the elevator to steal the womans purse The NYPD shared surveillance video on Monday of the robbery at the building on E 149th St and Morris Ave in Mott Haven at 3.10pm as the city's spiraling crime keeps sinking to new depths. The callous thief, who was wearing a surgical mask and hoodie to hide his identity, walked into the elevator of the complex's first floor and rode with the elderly woman up to the sixth floor. He then got out when the doors opened, appeared to look down the floor's hall to make sure no residents were out of their apartments and then went back inside the elevator to steal the elderly womans purse. The unidentified elderly woman was taken to Lincoln Hospital with neck pain, police said. Later in the day, the thief was seen entering the elevator again with a stack of cash in his hand, believed to be from the purse. The amount of money he stole is unclear. A woman was found stabbed to death near a diner in Queens on New Year's Day, making it the first known murder of 2022 The attack came on the same day as four violent incidents were reported in various locations throughout the crime-ridden subway system, including one where a man was pushed on the tracks but managed to climb to safety. Above ground, a woman in her 40s became the first homicide of 2022. The woman, who has not been identified, was found lying on the sidewalk in Astoria, Queens, just before 9pm on Saturday. She had been stabbed multiple times near Bel Aire Diner in Astoria and later died at Astoria General Hospital. No witnesses or suspects have been identified in the killing. Crime will a major focus of NYC's new mayor Eric Adams, whose first day on the job was Saturday. Adams, 61, a former New York City police captain, began his first day on the job by riding the subway from his Brooklyn brownstone to City Hall. He chatted with New Yorkers with a throng of reporters following him and while waiting for the train, he called 911 to report a fight after witnessing two men tussling near the subway station. Later in the day, he promised to aggressively go after violent crime while holding a news conference about a police officer who was shot and injured hours earlier. NYC Mayor Eric Adams hugs commuter Pauline Munemya as he rode the subway to City Hall on his first day in office in New York on Saturday Adams and his new police commissioner, Keechant Sewel, held the conference Saturday afternoon outside a hospital after a police officer was shot while sleeping in his vehicle in a precinct parking lot between shifts. The officer is expected to fully recover. Adams declared that New York is 'not going to be a city of violence'. 'I am clear on my mission to aggressively go after those who are carrying violent weapons in our city,' he said. Hours earlier, as confetti continued to drift across Times Square, Adams recited his oath of office. Associate Justice Sylvia O Hinds-Radix of the state Supreme Court's appellate division swore Adams in as he placed one hand on a family Bible and his other held a photograph of his mother, Dorothy, who died in 2020. After canceling initial plans to be sworn into office at a Brooklyn theater, Adams said Saturday that he chose to hold his inauguration ceremony at the scene of the New Year's Eve ball drop to show that the city was open and alive and 'that New York can and should be the center of the universe again'. The pandemic had put the city through 'two years of continuous crisis,' Adams said, 'and that insults our very nature as New Yorkers'. 'There's one thing that everyone knows about New Yorkers: We dont like anyone telling us what to do,' he added. Adams said he and advisers are studying whether to expand vaccine mandates and noted that they plan to distribute face masks and rapid tests, as well as introduce a color-coded system alerting New Yorkers to the current threat level. While promising to be a man of action in the mayor's office, Adams is at times an unconventional politician who is expected to put his own stamp on the role. Adams, the former Brooklyn borough president, has struck a more business-friendly, moderate stance than his predecessor but describes himself as a practical and progressive mayor who will 'get stuff done'. He is the city's second black mayor, after David Dinkins, who served from 1990 to 1993, and the 110th mayor of New York City. He held his first cabinet meeting Saturday morning. Later in the afternoon, he sought to send a powerful symbol of his own resiliency by visiting a police precinct in Queens where he was beaten by officers when he was a teenager. 'Today is an important moment for me as I finally leave the demon right here on these streets, no longer living the trauma I experienced in this precinct, but back as the mayor in charge of the entire police department,' he said. A South Australian woman initially thought to have died of natural causes is now believed to have been murdered after fresh information was provided to police. Angela Berecz, 53, was found dead on the houseboat where she lived with her partner in October 2020. She suffered from significant health issues and was found unresponsive in a recliner chair. A pathology review indicated her death was not suspicious and was related to her medical conditions. But Detective Superintendent Des Bray said fresh information received recently had cast a new light on the woman's death. Angela Berecz, 53, was found on the houseboat where she lived with her partner in October 2020 He said police now have a new and suspicious cause of death, a suspect and a motive, but declined to elaborate further for operational reasons. 'This new development has come as a shock for Angela's family, but they are assisting with the investigation,' he said. 'She was a vulnerable member of our society and detectives are doing everything they can to ensure that anyone responsible for Angela's untimely death is brought to justice.' Supt Bray said Ms Berecz and her partner had lived on a houseboat, moored on the Murray River at Blanchetown, for about six years. He said given the circumstances it was most likely the person or persons responsible for her death were known to her. 'She lives on a houseboat, she's mostly immobile .... so it's more likely than not it's somebody known to her,' Supt Bray said. 'The investigation is in its infancy but we're very fortunate we do have a suspect and we're exploring the possibility of more than one person being involved. 'This is not a job where we don't have any leads. This is a job where we have a clear focus.' A married Russian booking deputy who emigrated to the US as a mail order bride has been accused of duping a former Olympic speed skater into romance and making her the beneficiary of his will, then neglecting him as he died of mad cow disease. Marina Billings, 49, emigrated to the US from Siberia in 2007 with her daughter Lina to marry Robert Billings, 70, after she was selected for marriage by Robert after listing herself as an eligible wife in a catalog. Years later she allegedly wheedled her way into Olympian Boris Leikin's life despite being married, then neglected Leikin and got him to sign over his assets to her before his death in July 2021 aged 68. Billings and her husband have both been charged with financial exploitation and abuse in relation to Leiken's death. Cops haven't accused them of murder, but say their behavior may have hastened Leiken's decline from mad cow disease, a fatal degenerative brain condition which can be caused by eating infected meat. It was unclear if the Billings intentionally sickened Leikin. Married Russian booking deputy Marina Billings (right), 49, who emigrated to the US as a mail order bride, has been accused of duping former Olympic speed skater Boris Leikin (left) into romance and making her the beneficiary of his will, then neglecting him as he died of mad cow disease Marina Billings (left) and her husband Robert have been charged with financial exploitation and aggravated abuse in connection to the death of Leikin (pictured right at the US Long Track Championships in 2005) Friends of the late athlete said he took his health very seriously and was in good shape. Some of his neighbors were stunned to be summoned to his home to see that the Billings were able t get Leiken to sign an updated will giving them his assets while his hand shook, with Marina allegedly speaking to him 'like a dog.' Friends said Leiken - who online records list as a competitor in the 1998 Winter Olympics - quickly fell ill after he started dating Idaho booking deputy Billings, who he met online on a chat forum for Russian expats. Tammy, a former colleague who worked with Billings from 2008 to 2014, remembered her as a kind, outspoken and hardworking woman who 'was open about being a mail order bride'. Tammy told DailyMail.com that Billings emigrated to America because of her husband, although she never met him or even knew his name. 'Last I heard she left him for someone else, but that's just rumors,' Tammy added. Shortly after Billings moved into Leikin's Cottonwood Heights, Utah, home, he became sick and was hospitalized, according to court documents obtained by ABC 4. However, it was unclear when Billings moved in with her so-called lover. Billings emigrated to the US from Siberia in 2007 with her daughter Lina (pictured together) to marry Robert Billings, 70, after she was selected for marriage by Robert after listing herself as an eligible wife in a catalog Billngs (pictured in February 2021) allegedly wheedled her way into Leikin's life despite being married, then neglected Leikin and got him to sign over his assets to her before his death in July 2021 aged 68 Leiken continued to skate well into his 60s, and was listed as competing at one event just weeks before his death. The deputy reportedly told neighbors she was caring for the skater and managing his finances while he was hospitalized. After his release she acted as his caretaker, isolated him from others as his condition deteriorated and forced him to sign an amended version of his will despite appearing 'incapacitated'. Billings and her husband have been accused of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult. Investigators are still trying to determine if the married couple intentionally got Leiken sick, Fox 13 reported, and contributed to his death. It is unclear when he was diagnosed with mad cow disease. Leikin, who was one of the oldest athletes to compete in the US Olympic Trials, started dating Billings after the pair met online. His neighbors claim he had fallen in love with her, despite the fact that she was 20 years his junior, and did not know she was married. Billings moved in with Leikin when he was, as neighbors said, the 'picture of health' and still competing in speed skating competitions. His health quickly deteriorated after her arrival and he was hospitalized twice. The corrections officer told Leikin's neighbors he had been diagnosed with mad cow disease and she would be caring for him, as well as controlling his finances, while he battled the ailment. Court documents allege Billings, claiming she was Leikin's fiancee, restricted visitors during his hospitalizations. The neighbors allege Billings invited them over to Leikin's home (pictured) while she was adjusting his will to name her beneficiary and executor. They claim she forced him to sign the document while 'visibly incapacitated,' noting that his hand was shaking a Billings spoke to him 'like a dog' Neighbors claim Leikin (pictured at the US Long Track Championships in 2005) was the 'picture of good health' when he started dating Billings and that he quickly fell ill after she moved in with him Hospital staff claimed the elderly man appeared 'severely neglected' and that Billings 'remained indifferent' to his condition. Leikin's neighbors issued a similar sentiment claiming Billings once invited them over to his home. Her husband, Robert, was present at the time. The neighbors allege they watched Billings place a pen in Leikin's hand and force him to sign an amended version of his will that named her as his beneficiary and executor. They claim he was 'visibly incapacitated,' noting that his hand was shaking as Billings spoke to him 'like a dog'. Investigators later confirmed that Billings drafted Leikin's new will and, during a search of her Pocatello, Idaho home, discovered a a secret basement room containing copies of his will, power of attorney, medical records and more. While Billings stayed at his home, Leikin (pictured on right) was hospitalized twice. Hospital staff claimed the elderly man appeared 'severely neglected' and that Billings 'remained indifferent' to his condition During a search of Billings' Pocatello, Idaho home (pictured), police discovered a secret basement room containing copies of his will, power of attorney, medical records and more Billings and Robert both face charges of financial exploitation and aggravated abuse. Jeff Hall, chief deputy at the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, said the couple is not being charged with murder because they did not directly cause Leikin's death. 'In a murder charge, we would accuse someone of directly causing the death of someone else and doing that unlawfully,' he told Fox 13. 'In this instance, the allegation is that these people created circumstances that compromised a vulnerable adult's health, not necessarily that they directly caused a death.' Billings was also been placed on administrative leave from her duties at the Bannock County Sheriff's Office while an internal investigation is underway. Mark McGowan has given a very simple instruction to anti-vaxxers abusing hospitality staff checking their vaccination status: 'don't be a dropkick'. The Western Australia premier made the controversial comments in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon after some Covid-19 restrictions were brought in this week. Residents living in Perth and Peel must show proof of vaccination when entering a high risk venue such as nightclubs, hotels and pubs with a capacity of over 500 people. Mark McGowan has given a very simple instruction to anti-vaxxers abusing hospitality staff checking their vaccination status: 'don't be a dropkick' The Western Australia premier made the controversial comments in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon after some Covid-19 restrictions were brought in this week Some hospitality workers have reportedly been copping abuse for asking patrons to show their vax certificate, prompting the premier's sharp remark. 'If you're asked to show your proof of vaccination, don't be a dropkick,' he said. 'There is never an excuse to be rude to staff not now, not ever. It's not the Western Australian way.' Dropkick is Australian slang that is used to suggest a person is not very smart. Mr McGowan urged residents to be prepared as they headed out to bars and clubs before pleading with them for a second time not to be a 'dropkick'. 'Remember, this is to keep you and everyone else in attendance safe. So please, don't be a dropkick,' he added. But his comments weren't taken on well by many Western Australians with some hitting out at his 'inappropriate' language. 'This is totally unprofessional and I'm disappointed that a Premier of this state and members of his parliament are repeatedly resorting to name calling to convince people to act in a certain way,' one wrote. Residents living in Perth and Peel must show proof of vaccination when entering a high risk venue such as nightclubs, hotels and pubs with a capacity of over 500 people Mr McGowan urged residents to be prepared as they headed out to bars and clubs before pleading with them for a second time not to be a 'dropkick' 'Calling people names while expecting people to act appropriately....are you listening to yourself!' said another. 'The west Australian way is to be able to choose what's right for you and your family not be coerced into doing,' someone commented. 'The only DROP-KICK here is you McGowan. How dare you speak down to the people you are serving!' one fired up woman wrote. Meanwhile others were impressed with the premier's choice of adjective. 'You sir are a legend. Looking forward to hanging out with educated people,' one man said. 'The app should give you an option, vaxxed or a dropkick,' said another. 'Abusing people for doing their job is being a dropkick. Don't like being called a dropkick don't abuse the workers be polite and go away,' one West Aussie commented. 'This has made my day! It's simple. And there could be a lot harsher words to choose from!' One of the best known US Capitol rioters has claimed he was actually trying to quell the crowd during last year's disturbance, and has blamed the media for making him the 'face' of the violence. Chansley is seen in his booking photo. He was arrested three days after the riot So-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley, 37, was sentenced in November to 41 months in prison for his role in the riot - one of the first to be sentenced. Speaking from a federal prison in Oklahoma, Chansley - who is appealing against his sentence - told CBS's Inside Edition that he blamed the media for his fate. 'As far as being the 'face', that's something the media made me,' he said. 'I didn't make myself anything.' Chansley, from Phoenix, Arizona, was asked whether he regretted going to the Capitol. 'In retrospect one thing I can say that I regret is not working to make sure there was far more peace on that day,' he said. 'If I had known that was going to happen, I would have stepped in before the barricades were breached. 'I actually tried to calm down the crowd on more than one occasion, it just didn't work.' Jacob Chansley, 37, known as the 'QAnon Shaman', spoke to Inside Edition from federal prison in Oklahoma He said he was in a better state of mind now than when he was initially arrested, because he was no longer in solitary confinement. Chansley's mother Martha Chansley, who the rioter is famously close to, said she was standing by her son. 'He was invited to go to the Capitol by President Trump,' she said. 'I feel really passionately about how wrong it is that he is even doing any time at all.' Chansley, with his spear and Viking helmet, was among the most recognizable of Capitol rioters Chansley was among the first 30 rioters in the building, according to prosecutors, and was bare chested with red, white and blue face paint; wearing a Viking hat; and carrying a six-foot spear. Chansley sat in the chair in the Senate recently vacated by the then-vice president, Mike Pence, and refused to move - even scrawling a note for Pence which read: 'It's Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!' He was arrested on January 9 and has been in custody ever since. Chansley, who gave himself the 'QAnon Shaman,' title, considers eating organic food to be part of his 'shamanic belief system and way of life,' his lawyer said in February, requesting that he be provided with organic vegan food. A judge agreed and he was transferred to a different facility with different food. The Arizona-born Chansley is seen on January 6, 2021 before storming the Capitol Chansley is seen climbing scaffolding around the Capitol on January 6, 2021 Martha Chansley, Jacob's mother, told Inside Edition she thought her son should not be in prison In less than a year, more than 725 Donald Trump supporters have been arrested and charged. After listening to the outgoing president repeatedly denounce what he claimed was a stolen election, they stormed into the Capitol building as members of Congress were poised to certify the victory of Joe Biden. That list has grown almost by the day, and it could ultimately double in length: while federal investigators originally estimated that 800 people took part in the siege of the Capitol, they now say the number is closer to 2,000. The accused are predominantly men - 87 percent - and most of them white, and with an average age of 39. They come from across the United States, with varied socioeconomic profiles including lawyers, landscapers, real estate agents; and those with military backgrounds or who have faced bankruptcy are significantly overrepresented. The varied group includes far-right extremists and the conspiracy-minded, but also ordinary supporters of Trump convinced by his insistent claims that the election was stolen. Chansley, with his bullhorn, is seen on January 6, 2021 inside the Capitol Most of the accused are not charged with any violence or vandalism but merely with having illegally entered the building; they generally face only misdemeanor charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct on restricted grounds. Prosecutors appear eager to process members of the group as quickly as possible, often through plea bargain agreements that avoid the need for trial: 165 of the accused have already reached such agreements, and some 50 have been sentenced. Most of those sentences have been relatively light: one young man, who admitted having stolen a beer from the office of House speaker Nancy Pelosi, was sentenced to 20 days in prison, to be served on weekends - allowing him to keep his job. Chansley's lawyer Al Watkins said the sentencing gap sends the wrong message. 'That perspective does not look right for those who believe that they are political prisoners,' he told AFP. The longer sentences are just beginning to be handed down, against those accused of the most serious crimes: the approximately 225 individuals accused of acts of violence, notably against Capitol police. At least five people died during the rioting by Trump supporters at the US Capitol The heaviest sentence so far has gone to Robert Palmer, a 54-year-old Florida man accused of attacking police with boards and a fire extinguisher. He received a five-year sentence. Some 40 people are being charged with criminal conspiracy, which implies a pre-organized attack. This serious charge has been levied primarily against members of far-right groups like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. These defendants, some of whom have been held in preventive detention for months, are expected to face jury trials beginning as soon as February. One member of the Proud Boys, a New York man in his 30s, has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence. So far, no one is being accused of sedition or insurrection - serious charges mentioned early in the investigation but which are difficult to prove. Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson hit out at Senator Ted Cruz Wednesday for branding the Capitol riot 'a violent terrorist attack.' Carlson's opening monologue mocked the idea - as Carlson has repeatedly - that the storming of the building was an 'insurrection.' He then went after Republicans, including Cruz, whom he felt took Democratic talking points he claims were first made by Attorney General Merrick Garland to discuss the riot. 'Now let's be honest,' Carlson said. 'Everyone who's conservative appreciates Ted Cruz. You may not like him. But you've gotta appreciate him. He's legitimately smart. He's one of the more articulate people to serve in the Congress, maybe the most articulate.' 'He doesn't use a single word by accident,' Carlson added. 'Every word Ted Cruz uses is used intentionally. He's a lawyer.' Carlson continued by wondering why he was using his carefully chosen words to describe the events of the 6th as a terrorist attack. 'He described January 6th as a violent terrorist attack,' the top-rated cable news host said. 'Of all the things January 6th was, it was definitely not a violent terrorist attack. It wasn't an insurrection. Was it a riot? Sure. It was not a violent terrorist attack. Sorry! So why are you telling us it was, Ted Cruz?' Tucker Carlson, speaking on his Fox News show 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' Wednesday, hit out at Senator Ted Cruz for his comments on the insurrection on January 6, 2021 at the Capitol Carlson also argued that Merrick Garland - President Biden's attorney general - had 'written' the 'talking points' Cruz used. 'We are approaching a solemn anniversary this week,' said the senator in a clip Carlson played from last week. 'And it is an anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol where we saw the men and women of law enforcement demonstrate incredible courage, incredible bravery, risk their lives to defend the men and women who serve in this Capitol.' Carlson expressed that he was still an ally of Cruz, but found the former presidential candidate's use of words curious. Tonight at midnight, just hours from now, we will begin the first of many annual remembrances of January 6th. pic.twitter.com/EZkV7LfpHQ Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 6, 2022 Carlson played clips of Cruz calling the events of the 6th a 'violent terrorist attack' and an 'insurrection' 'He described January 6th as a violent terrorist attack,' the top-rated cable news host said. 'Of all the things January 6th was, it was definitely not a violent terrorist attack. It wasn't an insurrection. Was it a riot? Sure. It was not a violent terrorist attack' Cruz was one of eight Republican senators to object to Electoral College results on January 6 Former President Donald Trump addressed his supporters outside the White House on January 6, 2021 before they marched on the Capitol and tried to stop the certification of Biden's victory The Fox News host finished his monologue by returning to criticism of the Republican Party. Carlson concluded, 'What the hell's going on here? You're making us think, maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was. That can't be true. Reassure us, please, Ted Cruz.' Cruz was one of eight Republican senators to object to Electoral College results on January 6. He also joined Republican Rep. Paul Gosar in objecting to the Arizona Electoral College votes, which prompted a joint session of Congress to break up and debate the objection shortly before rioters breached the building. Former President Donald Trump addressed his supporters outside the White House on January 6, 2021 before they marched on the Capitol and tried to stop the certification of Biden's victory. Five people died either shortly before, during or following the event. House Democrats impeached Trump for his role but he was acquitted by the Senate. Advertisement Stunned family members say a Florida sheriff's deputy killed himself 'for reasons completely unknown' on New Year's Eve, starting a tragic chain of events that saw his girlfriend kill herself two days later, leaving their six week-old baby son orphaned. Shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve Lucie Sheriffs Office Deputy Clayton Osteen, 24, attempted suicide but survived and was taken to a hospital. His family later made the decision to remove him from life support. Two days after Osteen's fatal suicide attempt, his partner, colleague and the mother of his one-month-old son, Victoria Pacheco, 23, took her own life. A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the couple's son Jayce said: 'Tragically, for reasons completely unknown and totally out of character, Clayton took his own life December 31st, 2021. 'Reeling from the shock of loss, Victoria took her own life two days later.' It continued: 'Clayton and Victoria were joy-filled, first-time parents excited about their growing family, enamored with their baby Jayce, and so in love with each other.' Now family and friends reeling from the loss are expressing shock at the parent's choice to end their lives, saying they were as happy as ever after welcoming their new baby and that the reason behind the drastic actions are unknown. The St. Lucie Sheriffs Office is rallying to raise money and day to day basics to help raise baby Jayce, (pictured) including accepting essentials like diapers, wipes, gift cards to baby stores and food stores The tragic deaths of Osteen and Pacheco left their baby son Jayce Osteen, who was born November 22, 2021 orphaned Family and friends are reeling from the loss are expressing shock at Osteen and Pacheco's choice to end their lives, saying they were as happy as ever after welcoming their new baby and that the reason behind the drastic actions are unknown St Lucie County Sheriff's deputies Clayton Osteen (left) and Victoria Pacheco (right) died as a result of suicides just days apart last week Jayce Osteen has been left orphaned after his mom and dad, who were both sheriff's deputies, took their own lives The young couple had just welcomed their first child together, a boy, in mid-November. Osteen and Pacheco are pictured during her baby shower in September Osteen and Pacheco served on the force since November 2019 and February 2020, respectively. Osteens brother, also a St. Lucie Deputy, will now care for newborn Jayce. The St. Lucie Sheriffs Office is rallying to raise money and day to day basics to help Osteen's brother raise baby Jayce, including accepting essentials like diapers, wipes, gift cards to baby stores and food stores. Kelly Ridle, the mother of one Osteen's and Pacheco's co-worker, who set up the GoFundMe for baby Jayce described Osteen's suicide attempt as 'unexpected' and 'unexplainable'. 'The grief is deep and painful,' Ridle wrote on Facebook. 'Parents shouldnt have to bury their children. Brothers and best friends should be called upon for support. Babies should grow up surrounded by the love of their parents. But know my friends, despite this horrendous situation, Ive witnessed more grace, love, compassion, answered prayers, and even what feels like a few miracles this week than I could imagine even existed among those left behind. We are forever bonded to one another and Jayce.' Osteen was a retired US Marine, previously serving as a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. He enlisted in May 2015 and was featured in a video about undergoing training in the jungles of Brunei in 2016. Osteen, pictured above cradling his girlfriend's pregnant belly, attempted to take his life on New Year's Eve and was taken off life support two days later Osteen was a retired US Marine, previously serving as a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment The young mother-of-one took her own life just one day after her partner's death Authorities have not said what might have prompted the couple's back-to-back suicides, nor how they died, but Sheriff Mascara noted in his statement that deputies often deal with 'stress' and are 'human.' 'While it's impossible for us to fully comprehend the private circumstances leading up to this devastating loss, we pray that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change, a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding mental well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis,' the sheriff added. Friends have been sharing memories and photos of the tragic couple on social media. 'A true brother lost his internal battle,' Ray Tourville wrote of Osteen on Facebook. 'I struggle with finding the words to write that even remotely does him justice. Im incredibly sorry that you felt this was your only option.' To make a donation to help support baby Jayce, click here. Write 'Jayce Osteen' in the donation's comment box to ensure the cash goes straight to him. Or send baby supplies to Collin Pratt at 2318 Laurel Rd E Apt 3306 North Venice , Fl 34275 Alternatively people can donate by via GoFundMe. President Joe Biden will today mark the first anniversary of January 6 Capitol insurrection with a speech blaming Trump for the 'chaos and carnage'. Biden will 'lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol' and place 'singular responsibility' on then-President Donald Trump, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing yesterday. He will say: 'And so at this moment we must decide what kind of nation we are going to be. Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? 'Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? 'We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it.' Psaki last night also said Biden would speak to the truth of what happened and draw a contrast between that and 'the lies some have spread since', referencing the continued refusal by many Republicans to affirm that Biden won the 2020 election. The President and congressional Democrats will start the anniversary in Statuary Hall, one of several spots where rioters swarmed a year ago and interrupted the electoral count. A series of remembrance events during the day will be widely attended by Democrats, in person and virtually, but almost every Republican on Capitol Hill will be absent. President Joe Biden (pictured during a meeting of the White House Covid-19 Response Team on January 4) will today mark the first anniversary of January 6 Capitol insurrection with a speech blaming Trump for the 'chaos and carnage' Biden will 'lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol' and place 'singular responsibility' on then-President Donald Trump, (pictured speaking at a rally in Washington onJanuary 6, 2021) White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing yesterday Rioters breached the Capitol on January 6 during a 'Stop the Steal' rally which claimed Donald Trump had won the election as Congress met to count electoral votes and certify Joe Biden's presidential election win How President Joe Biden will mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection: 9am: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will address the nation from Statuary Hall. 10am: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will give a statement on the House floor and offer a statement of reflection for House staff. 12pm: Pelosi will lead the House of Representatives in a moment of silence. 1pm: Pelosi will lead a discussion with historians in the Cannon Caucus Room. Testimonials from members will also take place there later in the afternoon. 5:30pm: The day will conclude with prayer vigil on the Capitol steps. Advertisement The division is a stark reminder of the rupture between the two parties, worsening ever since hundreds of Donald Trump's supporters violently pushed past police, used their fists and flagpoles to break through the windows of the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Biden's victory. While congressional Republicans almost universally condemned the attack in the days afterward, most have stayed loyal to the former president. In a bid to inform the public, Democrats investigating the insurrection plan to spend the coming months telling the American people exactly what happened on January 6. But leaders will spend the one-year anniversary appealing to broader patriotic instincts. During the 2020 campaign, Biden said his impetus for running for the White House was to fight for the 'soul of the nation' after watching Trump's comments that some good people were among the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. He warned that American democracy was at stake, and his view is that the January 6 attack was a vivid demonstration of his fears. On Thursday, aides said, Biden will harken back to his call during his inaugural address, just two weeks after the insurrection, for leaders to speak the truth about the attack and what motivated it - even as some GOP lawmakers and the the public deny the events of that day. 'There is truth and there are lies,' Biden said at the time. 'Lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders - leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation - to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, too, is marking the anniversary with a high-minded appeal, telling The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that 'democracy won that night,' when Congress returned to the Capitol after the riot and affirmed Biden's victory. To honor the anniversary, Pelosi has scheduled a moment of silence in the House, where many members were evacuated and some were trapped as the rioters tried to break in; a moderated discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham; and a session featuring testimonials from members who were there that day. But last night, a number of Republican aides were aghast by the preparations inside the Capitol building. 'It's tasteless to treat this anniversary like a Super Bowl spectacle to be milked for TV ratings, especially as Capitol staff who were in the building a year ago continue to grapple with their experiences that day,' one senior Republican aide told DailyMail.com. Statuary Hall, which is the original House chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building, has been used for a number of both solemn and joyful occassions A television crew sets up in Statuary Hall Wednesday in advance of Thursday's January 6 anniversary TV crews try out different configurations of chairs on the large stage constructed Wednesday in Statuary Hall Another GOP aide also remarked on the event's 'Super Bowl'-like nature. 'It's their 24/7. It's their only issue,' the source scoffed. 'As someone who knows people with PTSD, these members who have been so-called scarred by these events aren't acting like it,' the source added. 'If they really had PTSD, they wouldn't talk about it or parade the event like they've been doing for a year.' Another GOP Capitol Hill aide suggested Pelosi was turning the 1/6 anniversary into a spectacle to draw attention away from the large-scale Omicron U.S. COVID outbreak, which has left Democrats - in charge of the White House and both chambers of Congress - looking flat-footed and unprepared. 'Speaker Pelosi can't go back in time to focus Democrats' 1.9 trillion COVID relief bill on COVID testing, so she'll play act a time when Trump was president by turning the former House chamber into a soap opera set,' the aide said. 'There she'll talk about how our democracy barely survived an out-of-hand protest like it was the battle of Hogwarts,' the source added. A teleprompter and TV monitor were set up in Statuary Hall in preparation for a Thursday night CNN TV special anchored by Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper A teleprompter can be seen set up in Statuary Hall on the eve of the first anniversary of the January 6 Capitol attack While many lawmakers will be absent due to concerns about Covid-19, several of the events will be livestreamed so they can participate. Biden's sharp message, and the Republicans' distance from it, comes as lawmakers are adjusting to the new normal on Capitol Hill - the growing tensions that many worry will result in more violence or, someday, a legitimate election being overturned. Democrats and a handful of Republicans feel a desperate urgency to connect to a public in which some have come to believe Trump's lies that the election was stolen from him, and that the attack was not violent at all. A new poll from Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 3 in 10 Republicans say the attack was not violent, and about another 3 in 10 say it was somewhat violent. Around two-thirds of Americans described the day as very or extremely violent, including about 9 in 10 Democrats. As Biden is prepared to direct blame toward the former president, the percentage of Americans who blame Trump for the Jan. 6 riot has grown slightly over the past year, with 57 per cent saying he bears significant responsibility for what took place. In an AP-NORC poll taken in the days after the attack, 50 per cent said that. Trump's claims of widespread election fraud were rejected by the courts and refuted by his own Justice Department. An investigation by the AP found fewer than 475 cases of voter fraud among 25.5 million ballots cast in the six battleground states disputed by Trump, a minuscule number in percentage terms. Violent pro-Trump protesters carrying 'Trump 2020' flags breach the Capitol as they try to stop Congress certifying Joe Biden's presidency on January 6, 2021 Thousands of Trump supporters are seen on January 6, 2021, marching towards the Capitol A judge is slamming the Colorado governor for reducing the sentence of killer truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos (pictured) without consulting with him The judge who sentenced the Colorado truck driver who killed four in a fiery crash to 110 years behind bars blasted Governor Jared Polis for reducing the trucker's sentence to 10 years without consulting with him. Jefferson County District Court Judge Bruce Jones claims he did not receive formal notification of Polis' decision to reduce Rogel Aguilera-Mederos' sentence to ten years and instead learned of the decision from news reports. Jones, who was set to re-sentence Aguilera-Mederos, next week, said Polis was perfectly entitled to take the action - but alleged the governor's failure to inform him of the decision to commute is a sign of disrespect. 'While the Court has not received a formal notification, news reports confirm that the Governor commuted Defendants sentence to ten years in the Department of Corrections,' Jones wrote Tuesday in an order, obtained by KDVR, vacating the trucker's re-sentencing hearing. 'The court respects the authority of the Governor to do so. Based on the timing of the decision, however, it appears this respect is not mutual.' Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was driving a semi-truck on April 25, 2019, along Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado at 85mph, when he slammed into two dozen vehicles - including four other transporters stuck in rush-hour traffic. The impact caused a fireball explosion that incinerated cars and trucks, killing four people. The driver was found guilty on 27 criminal charges in October and was sentenced last month to 110 years behind bars. However, after widespread public backlash, including from Kim Kardashian, Polis made the rare decision on December 30 to slash the sentence to just ten years. Jones has since vacated Aguilera-Mederos' re-sentencing hearing and said the court 'extends its condolences to the families of those who died, to those who were injured, and to all were traumatized' by the crash. Jefferson County District Court Judge Bruce Jones (left) alleged the Governor Jared Polis' (right) failure to inform him of the decision to commute is a sign of disrespect Jones delivered his jab at Polis on Tuesday in an order vacating the trucker's re-sentencing hearing. The judge had sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to 110 years in jail and was scheduled to re-evaluate his sentencing on Jan. 13 While Polis has not responded to the judge's jab, his spokesperson did issue a statement claiming the decision came with 'urgency' to 'remedy' the trucker's sentence and 'restore confidence' in Colorado's justice system. 'The judge was forced to give a 110-year sentence due to mandatory sentencing requirements,' the statement read. 'This individual is guilty and he will go to jail just as others who have committed similar crimes were punished. A 110-year punishment was totally different than what others who committed similar crimes received.' The statement continued: 'There was an urgency to remedy this sentence and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system.' Duane Bailey - brother of Bill Bailey, 67, who was killed in the crash - claimed Jones' remarks were 'bold' and uncharacteristic of a public official. 'Thats a pretty bold statement for a judge to make,' Bailey said. 'Surprised honestly, because for a judge to make a comment like that on the record is pretty rare. Thats a big statement by him stating that he was just as displeased with the governor as we were.' Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was driving a semi-truck on April 25, 2019, along Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado at 85mph, when he slammed into two dozen vehicles - including four other transporters stuck in rush-hour traffic The impact caused a fireball explosion that incinerated cars and trucks, killing four people The explosion was so big, it created a large plume of smoke to form over the highway Bailey believes Jones likely felt undermined after been given no discretion to make a sentencing decision in a case that has received national attention. Jones actually scheduled the rare re-sentencing hearing after a social media petition with more than five million signatures from outraged Americans led First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King to seek to reduction of Aguilera-Mederos' sentence. King said she 'would likely be recommending a sentence of 20 to 30 years' for the trucker. 'I would have liked at least 20 years,' said Bailey, adding he believed 110 years was too long and that he 'certainly didnt want Aguilera-Mederos to spend the rest of his life in jail'. 'He (Polis) said he wanted to restore faith in the judicial system. In our view, he didnt show any faith in the judicial system because had he had faith in that, he would have let the system play out.' Bailey - who learned of the decision on a Zoom call with other victims' family members 90 minutes before Polis issued the commutation - said he's frustrated the governor couldn't wait two weeks for Jones to re-sentence Aguilera-Mederos. He said if Polis still didn't approve of the decision after the hearing, he could then have exercised his authority to commute. Among the victims of the deadly crash were Stanley Politano, 69, of Arvada, Colorado, left, and Miguel Angel Lamas Arrelano, 24, of Denver, right, Doyle Harrison (left) was also killed in the inferno, as was Victim William Bailey (pictured right with his wife, Gage Evans) 'He wouldnt tell us in his own words why he couldnt wait two weeks,' Bailey alleged. 'Fully believe that he set the timing of that release to coincide with the [wildfire] so that it would get buried in the news cycle. I dont think hes embarrassed by making the decision but I dont think he wanted the negative press from it.' District Attorney King, in a statement issued December 30, said her office is also 'disappointed in the governor's decision to act prematurely'. 'I joined the surviving victims and families of those who lost their loved ones in their wish to have the trial judge determine an appropriate sentence in this case, as he heard the facts and evidence of the defendants destructive conduct that led to death, injury and devastating destruction,' she wrote. Aguilera-Mederos, of Texas, was working for a Houston-based trucking company and driving an 18-wheeler loaded with lumber at the time of the fatal crash. Prosecutors said he barreled eastbound down the interstate from the mountains at speeds of 85 mph. They said he swerved at times, forcing others off the road before he crashed into two dozen vehicles causing a giant fireball. The crash left behind a scene of 'significant, just unbelievable carnage,' Lakewood Police Spokesman Ty Countryman said during a news conference following the crash, noting that some bodies were still in the wreckage hours later. Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King (pictured), in a statement issued December 30, said her office is also 'disappointed in the governor's decision to act prematurely' Video showed cars stopped in every direction as the huge fire spread, sending smoke billowing. 'This is looking to be one of the worst accidents we've had here in Lakewood,' Countryman said. Those killed in the crash were Doyle Harrison, 61, of Hudson, Colorado; William Bailey, 67, of Arvadal; Miguel Angel Lamas Arrellano, 24, of Denver; and Staney Politano, 69, of Arvada. Six others were taken to hospital. Aguilera-Mederos has since testified that the brakes on his semitrailer failed as he was descending a steep grade of Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountain foothills. His defense attorney claimed he did not know that his truck brakes were smoking or that he would not be able to stop. He also argued that Aguilera-Mederos' actions were a series of negligent decisions, and that he did not intend to hurt anybody. But, prosecutors argued he should have used a runaway ramp designed for such situations. Aguilera-Mederos, for his part, said he was struggling to avoid traffic and trying to shift to slow down. After the explosion, Aguilera-Mederos was convicted of 27 charges Aguilera-Mederos has since testified that the brakes on his semitrailer failed as he was descending a steep grade of Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountain foothills. His defense attorney claimed he did not know that his truck brakes were smoking or that he would not be able to stop Butm prosecutors argued he should have used a runaway ramp designed for such situations. Aguilera-Mederos, for his part, said he was struggling to avoid traffic and trying to shift to slow down On October 15, a jury ultimately found Aguilera-Mederos guilty of 27 criminal charges, including: Four counts of vehicular homicide Two counts of vehicular assault Six counts of assault in the first-degree with extreme indifference 10 counts of criminal attempt to commit assault in the first degree One count of reckless driving Four counts of careless driving causing death He was also found not guilty of 15 counts of criminal attempts to commit assaults in the first degree. As Aguilera-Mederos faced sentencing on December 13, he issued a statement apologizing to the victims' families, crying as he spoke. 'It's hard. This was a terrible accident, I know,' he said. 'I take the responsibility, but it was an accident. 'I have never thought about hurting anyone in my entire life and Jesus Christ, he knows that, he knows my heart,' he continued. 'I am not a criminal, I am not a murderer.' 'The accident - it wasn't intentional, it wasn't intentional, Your Honor. I did all that I can as a man. I put myself in harm's way to avoid harming anyone else.' He claimed that he tried to avoid the traffic, and noted that he did not flee in the aftermath 'because I respect the laws. 'I want to say sorry, sorry for the loss, sorry for the people injured,' he concluded, noting: 'I ask ... God many times why them and not me.' Relatives of the victims supported at least some prison time at his sentencing hearing. Most agreed the 110-year sentence was severe, but also felt reducing it to ten was too lenient. Prosecutors said Thursday they indicted the two founders of Mergepoint, a once-popular online discount app, for causing some 100 billion won ($83.63 million) worth of damages to customers and member stores by selling virtual coupons that could not be used. The Seoul Southern Prosecutors Office said the sibling founders Kwon Nam-hee, CEO of the app operator, Mergeplus, and Kwon Bo-goon, the top strategy executive were charged with fraud and violating the e-transaction law. The latter Kwon was also charged with breach of trust. They were arrested last month. They stand accused of selling 252.1 billion won worth of "Mergemoney" to some 570,000 people from May 2020 to August last year, knowing that their business was going under with mounting losses. They are also suspected of operating the online discount service without registering the business with the Financial Service Commission during the first half of last year, as well as offering an online payment service for VIP customers without a regulatory license. Prosecutors believe the younger Kwon also misappropriated about 6.7 billion won of company funds to use it for personal spending. Prosecutors launched the investigation in August after consumers filed complaints over Mergepoint's abrupt announcement to significantly reduce its reward service. Mergepoint gained huge popularity in South Korea for the discount service in which consumers could buy items or eat out with the Mergepoints at a 20 percent discount off the regular price and use them in about 60,000 places nationwide, like retail chains, convenience stores and coffee shops. The announcement prompted tens of thousands of users to seek refunds for the points. The total amount of financial damages is estimated at 100 billion won, according to the prosecution. (Yonhap) An Australian man hatched a clever plan to steal back his stolen e-scooter after seeing it listed for sale online - but his mum made him promise to let the police handle it. Wes recognised his Segway Ninebot F30 kickscooter, which was allegedly pinched despite being locked up outside Big W in Brisbane on his birthday, in a Facebook marketplace ad for $600. In a viral reddit post, Wes, 31, outlined his plan to steal it back from the seller, a woman. Wes told her that he wanted to buy it, and was setting off to her Wollongabba address, planning to ride it home without paying. But his mum talked him out of the daring scooter rescue, he told Daily Mail Australia. An Australian man's mum talked him out of executing a clever plan to steal back his stolen e-scooter after seeing it listed for sale online I told mum on the way over there and she made me promise not to go. She said 'they are not normal people. She made me promise not to go.' The Queensland police who he'd told about the listing also told him 'these things never work out the way you think they will'. 'I might have lied to the police but you don't lie to your mum.' In the end, the police retrieved the scooter. Reddit users asked how Wes was certain the scooter for sale was his particular one. 'I scuffed it the first week I got it with my watch and recognised it. Also, my Bluetooth auto-connected,' Wes wrote. He also posted a screen shot of the conversation with the seller. In it he tells the seller he is 'hoping to come grab it today' and that the price is 'a literal steal'. Apparently the seller didn't twig to Wes's plan. Wes recognised his Segway Ninebot F30 after the kickscooter, which was pinched in downtown Brisbane on his birthday, was posted on Facebook marketplace for $600. He posted a screenshot of his conversation with the seller on reddit (pictured) Wes claimed the seller had three other e-scooters for sale, each with a description that read 'don't ride it anymore'. He said the seller was 'raided' and claimed she obtained the scooters innocently. 'They claimed a homeless man gave them the stuff.' A man who told the Queen he was a solar panel engineer when she asked him 'and what do you do?' was stunned when she paid him to install some on Balmoral Castle. Businessman George Goudsmit, 80, of Forres, Moray, met Her Majesty at an event on the Isles of Scilly in 2015 and had a '20 second' conversation with her. When she asked him what he did, he told her that he made solar panels - and she mentioned she had thought about having them at her Scottish residence. Mr Goudsmit, managing director of AES Solar, was shocked when he was later commissioned to install panels at Balmoral, the Queen's estate in Aberdeenshire. He and his team carried out a survey and put the panels on a large estate house there - and there are now even discussions of installing them at Buckingham Palace. Solar panel engineer George Goudsmit, 80, is managing director of AES Solar in Forres George Goudsmit, 80, of Forres, Moray, met the Queen at an event on the Isles of Scilly in 2015 Mr Goudsmit, who has worked in the solar industry for 30 years, said: 'I am always on the look out to find interesting projects - and I can definitely say this is one of the best ones we've found. This was such big thing for me and our company. 'Solar energy and renewables is what I go for and push anytime and anywhere, to get as much renewables into the world as possible. 'There was talk of renovating Buckingham Palace but it all came to a halt when the pandemic hit. 'Hopefully this will be something to discuss in the future now that we have already worked with the Royal Family.' Mr Goudsmit met the Queen at a function on the Isles of Scilly to celebrate the success of his daughter's business, Little Island Chocolate. He said: 'She asked what I did and I told her I make solar panels. As she walked away she turned around and said, 'maybe I should have solar panels at Balmoral'.' Mr Goudsmit's team carried out a survey and put panels on a large estate house at Balmoral George Goudsmit and his team celebrate 40 years of AES Solar in 2019 in Forres, Moray Mr Goudsmit, who recently received a lifetime achievement award at the Solar and Storage Awards, waited two weeks before chasing up the potential business opportunity. He said: "You don't slip your business card to the Queen, so I waited two weeks - but nobody contacted me so I wrote to Buckingham Palace. "By return post, they wrote back with an appointment to go to Balmoral to measure up and see what we could do." Mr Goudsmit and his team carried out a site survey at Balmoral Estate four years ago. He said: 'We measured them up and met the caretakers. 'The Queen wasn't in, otherwise I'd have had tea with her. We installed solar thermal panels on one of the houses. It was a nice little project.' Looking to the future, Mr Goudsmit is hopeful AES Solar will be asked back to carry out even more work at Balmoral. He said: 'The castle may come. It is an incredibly complicated building for solar energy - so many roofs. Mr Goudsmit recently received a lifetime achievement award at the Solar and Storage Awards Mr Goudsmit examines an AES Solar Thermal panel with an AES Solar member of staff 'If it wasn't for Covid, I'm sure we would've been back. They are still very interested but everything has come to a stop.' Mr Goudsmit took over AES Solar, based in Forres, from founder Lyle Schnadt in 1989. The business, which celebrated its 40 year in 2019 and has 12 staff, was part of the Findhorn Foundation - an ecovillage in Moray - before it moved to Forres. Mr Goudsmit has held several roles in the UK solar industry over the past 30 years. He was appointed a board member of the Solar Trade Association, now Solar Energy UK, and was part of its senior management team for 20 years. He also played key roles in the founding of the Scottish Solar Energy Group, Scottish Renewables, Solar Cities Scotland, and Seda Solar - the solar branch of the Scottish Ecological Design Association. As for retirement, Mr Goudsmit has no plans to slow down. He said: 'It's a very exciting industry and there are so many new and possible avenues.' Are you a farmer with a view on the proposals? Email martin.robinson@mailonline.co.uk or tips@dailymail.com Advertisement Are Boris' wife Carrie, father Stanley and his eco-chums the Goldsmith brothers pushing through their 'rewilding' pet project? Carrie Johnson and her husband's father Stanley Johnson, who says rewilding is 'halting man's manipulation of the landscape to allow animals and plants to return' Environment minister Zac Goldsmith has repeatedly spoken out to insist the Government is 'committed' to rewilding, so much so they are described as being part of a 'cult'. The Tory peer says farmers should be 'rewarded' for allowing their land to return to its natural state, letting native plants and animals come back. Environment minister Zac Goldsmith and his landowner brother Ben Goldsmith His public backing for the policy came at a time when police were investigating his younger brother Ben Goldsmith, a Department for Environment board member and also a friend of Carrie Johnson, over claims by neighbours that he released red deer and wild boar from his land in breach of rules. Millionaire farmer Mr Goldsmith told the Mail that the issue was 'a bit of a Vicar of Dibley-style local ding-dong' and said he believed it was due to two neighbours who had 'philosophical' differences with him over his rewilding stance on his 300 acre farm in Somerset. Lord Goldsmith said in a speech to Tory think-tank Bright Blue: 'I'm committed to ensuring that as we invest our Nature for Climate fund, we place a lot of importance on rewilding.' He added that he wanted to see a 'much greater uptake of rewilding'. Lord Goldsmith also hailed the end of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which will become the Environmental Land Management scheme (ELM). The Mail revealed that his brother had claimed EU CAP subsidies of 25,000 for his farm last year. The payments were under the CAP scheme that ministers have vowed to reform post-Brexit. Lord Goldsmith said: 'So if I want to go and plant ten hectares of land with trees I can be paid to do so and I can be paid reasonably well. If I want to leave that land to actually regenerate because that's the best solution for that piece of land, it won't be recognised and that's something that we need to address. 'So there is lots of work to be done... but I'm absolutely convinced that we need to get the incentives right to reward, and incentivise, much greater uptake of rewilding.' Ben Goldsmith caused fury among farmers in 2020 by tweeting that 'overgrazing' by upland sheep farmers rather than near-record rainfall was responsible for the devastating floods suffered in South Wales Boris Johnson's father Stanley is also a fan of rewilding, calling it a way of 'halting man's manipulation of the landscape to allow animals and plants to return'. In 2020 the Prime Minister Johnson gifted his father a group of beavers on his 80th birthday. According to the Telegraph, the Prime Minister and his siblings clubbed together to get a licence to allow their father to have beavers in the river of his Exmoor estate. The Prime Minister met with the UK's top rewilder, Derek Gow, to ensure the paperwork was arranged and the land suitably converted into a good beaver habitat. Stanley Johnson was said to be 'delighted' at the gift. Ben Goldsmith is an investor in Derek Gow's rewilding project. Advertisement Farmers reacted with fury today to Boris Johnson's 'ridiculous' 800million plan to rewild swathes of the UK's fields, telling the Prime Minister: 'We know how to manage land - for goodness sake leave us alone to do what we do best'. The Government's 2.4billion-per-year plan to replace the European Union's common agricultural policy - called the 'Sustainable Farming Incentive' - was launched by Environment Secretary George Eustice at the Oxford Farming Conference this morning. Landowners will be paid to plant trees and restore wetlands and peat bogs on 741,000 acres of land under the largest farming reforms in 50 years when Britain joined the EEC. But farmers say swapping fields of crops or cows for trees and bogs will make British food production a 'dirty word' and force smaller growers 'off the land' and out of business. From 2023 the taxpayer will fund 15 large nature reserve projects of up to 12,000 acres across the UK plus thousands of other smaller projects. The 'landscape recovery' rewilding scheme will eventually cost 800million from 2028. Boris Johnson's pursuit of a 'green dream' for Britain - including eating less meat, banning petrol cars from 2030 and scrapping gas boilers - has been blamed by some farmers on the Prime Minister's family and friends. The Prime Minister's father Stanley, wife Carrie Johnson and their environmentalist 'chums' Zac and Ben Goldsmith, who are advising the Government, are accused of being part of a 'cult of rewilding'. The announcement came days after Ed Sheeran announced his own plans to purchase farmland to plant 'as many trees as possible' to offset his considerable carbon footprint after years of worldwide tours and jet-setting. Jono Dixon, a farmer in East Yorkshire whose family have grown wheat on the land since 1857, said: 'I'm sick to death of all this tree planting rewilding mumbo-jumbo malarkey. Let us farm, let us produce but for goodness sake leave us alone to do what we do best'. He told MailOnline: 'Planting trees on a mass scale on good productive farm land producing cereals, vegetables and other edible crops is quite simply ridiculous and in my view shouldn't happen. 'As custodians of the countryside, we farmers know how to manage land, we monitor wildlife and we generally look after what's precious and that's our daily surroundings. We seem to be surrounded by a bunch of complete utter imbeciles who think they know everything but actually no nowt at all'. Mr Dixon said the people around Mr Johnson are 'dangerous', adding that Ed Sheeran and other millionaire non-farmers buying up land for conservation are getting into something they 'know nothing about'. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insists that projects will not go ahead if food production is risked and claims it will help cut greenhouse gases in the UK by the equivalent of taking between 12,000 to 25,000 petrol or diesel cars off the road. Chair of the NFU Cymru Milk Board, Abi Reader, said this week: 'At some point growing food alongside nature became a dirty word', adding sarcastically: 'It's ok because when we can't grow enough to eat here we can import food from other places round the world and reassure ourselves we have the upper hand on nature'. She believes that 'selling rewilding as the answer to all our problems' is wrong, because it takes farmers 'off the land' at a time when 'self sufficiency is falling' and rural communities are 'fragile'. Cash will be handed to farmers over a number of years, and they will have to prove they have been planting trees and plants, restoring rivers and dunes or reintroducing certain types of wildlife, including beavers, curlew birds, sand lizards and water voles. There are concerns that the new policy will reward the richest landowners who can bring in millions in taxpayer-funded grants, while smaller tenant farmers face 'financial catastrophe' because of the 'joke environmental idea'. All the new schemes will be voluntary and it will be for farmers to decide what combination of actions is right for them. But it appears that if they don't go along with it, they will miss out on cash. British beef farmer Joanne Pile predicted: 'We're walking head first in to a very dangerous future of food security for this country'. Under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, farmers were given taxpayers' money from Brussels broadly based on the amount of land they farmed. This meant that the more land they had, the more cash that came their way. Until 2024, the Government will maintain the 2.4billion paid to the UK in EU agriculture subsidies, but will halve the 1.8billion handed out in direct payments to farmers. The 800million to 900million-a-year saved will go towards the new 'landscape recovery' scheme. Farmers and landowners will be paid to protect nature by planting trees and restoring wetlands and peat under the largest farming reforms in 50 years (stock image) There are concerns that the plans focus too much on freeing up land for rewilding instead of supporting British food production Farmers are angry about the move towards rewilding, branding it 'mumbo jumbo c**p' One in ten Welsh farms could go to the wall because of rewilding, unions warn Welsh farmers are up in arms over plans by Mark Drakeford administration to plant 80million trees - insisting politicians are 'fixated' with rewilding. Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) has said it will make it impossible for farmers to continue to live in their communities - and that 10% of farms could go. Last year more than 12 farms in mid-Wales were sold to investors outside the country, amid claims the land was just being bought up and planted to offset the carbon of the rich. Teleri Fielden has just taken over the tenancy of a farm in Snowdonia. She told the Guardian: 'I just find it bizarre. It is as if they just go, 'we'll pluck all you people out of there, we don't want you, your livelihoods, your traditions or your land management skills', adding: 'It's a weird kind of Highland clearance,' adds Fielden, referring to the forced removal of people from farms in the Scottish Highlands by landlords from the mid-18th century. 'Nature can do amazing things, but if we separate ourselves from the land, we will lose that link, as well as the skills and experience of managing it for ever. We could just import food or instead, we could create livelihoods, local communities and homegrown protein', she said. There are similar concerns in Scotland. NFU Scotland vice-president Andrew Connon has said is 'naive at best and certainly short-sighted, having the potential to be damaging in other economic, environmental and social aspects'. He said: 'I am receiving fresh calls every week from despairing farmers and crofters across Scotland telling me of another farm or estate destined for tree planting'. Advertisement The NFU also has concerns, with vice president Tom Bradshaw declaring: 'At a time when public support for British food and farming is at a high, our biggest concern is that these schemes result in reduced food production in the UK, leading to the need to import more food from countries with production standards that would be illegal for our farmers here. 'This simply off-shores our production and any environmental impacts that go with it and would be morally reprehensible.' Under the plans some 15 nature reserves will be created, which will aim to recover threatened native species such as the curlew, sand lizard and water vole, restoring rivers, lakes, ponds and streams. Other threatened species expected to benefit from the plans include the Marsh fritillary butterfly, the shrill carder bee and wild asparagus. The plans will take effect this year, starting out with restoring 24,700 acres of habitat. The Government claims it will help cut greenhouse gases in the UK by the equivalent of taking between 12,000 to 25,000 petrol or diesel cars off the road, a reduction of 25-50 kilotonnes of carbon. Despite the proposals' large scale, some 22.2million acres of farmland will remain, so officials do not expect food output will be affected. The common agricultural policy, which subsidised farmers according to how much land they owned, had been criticised for providing incentives to destroy habitats. One scheme in the new plans, Local Nature Recovery, rewards farmers for 'making space for nature' in farms and countryside. This could include planting trees, restoring peat bogs and turning fields into wetland areas. More radical changes will take place in a second scheme, Landscape Recovery. This will include establishing new nature reserves, restoring floodplains or creating forests and wetlands. The two new schemes follow on from the previously announced Sustainable Farming Incentive, which provided support for practices such as reducing pesticide use, improving soil quality and rewarding farmers for preventing local river pollution. The schemes aim to bring up to 60 per cent of England's agricultural soil under sustainable management by 2030. The reforms will be the biggest changes to farming and land management in 50 years with more than 3,000 farmers already testing the schemes. At the Oxford Farming Conference today, Defra Secretary George Eustice said applications will shortly open for the first wave of Landscape Recovery projects. The scheme is part of the environmental land management payments programme to replace the EU Common Agricultural Policy payments which mostly focused on the amount of land farmed. What is the Government's plan for replacing the EU's 2.4bn-a-year Common Agricultural Policy? The 'Sustainable Farming Incentive' will replace the EU's common agricultural policy that was worth more than 2.4billion a year. Under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, farmers were given taxpayers' money from Brussels broadly based on the amount of land they farmed. This meant that the more land they had, the more cash that came their way. Until 2024, the Government will maintain the 2.4billion paid to the UK in EU agriculture subsidies, but will halve the 1.8billion handed out in direct payments to farmers. The 800million to 900million-a-year saved will go towards the new 'landscape recovery' scheme. It will pay farmers for protecting the environment instead of largely receiving payments to grow crops and rear livestock. Environment Secretary George Eustice insists the policy will 'ensure a vibrant and profitable food and farming industry'. Farming accounts for more than 10 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions, making it critical to climate change. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) praised the scheme as potentially 'the most progressive and environmentally responsible' of its kind. But Britain's three biggest nature charities the Wildlife Trusts, National Trust and RSPB said it was a 'huge disappointment'. Instead of encouraging farmers to prevent harm to the environment in the form of air and water pollution and soil erosion, the scheme rewards the status quo, the charities claimed. They added that standards saying legumes, which improve soil health, are required on only 15 per cent of land was 'a really low ambition'. Craig Bennett of the Wildlife Trusts said: 'After leaving the EU, we were promised that the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money given to farmers would be used to improve our natural world.'. He added: 'It's an absolute scandal that the Government has failed to seize this unique and important opportunity.' Advertisement There will also be a 'local nature recovery' scheme paying farmers to take local action and work together to benefit the environment, through measures such as reducing run-off, curbing flood risk by restoring peat or wetland areas, and adding trees and hedges to fields. It will be trialled in 2023 with a full rollout across the country from 2024. The landscape recovery scheme will pay for more radical, long-term, large-scale land use changes and habitat restoration, officials said. A sustainable farming incentive, which supports environmentally friendly farm practices such as looking after the soil by growing cover crops in the winter, has already been announced. The three strands of the new scheme are expected to each receive roughly a third share of the 2.4 billion annual Government spending on farm and land management payments by 2028. The Government said the schemes would help halt the decline in species, restore up to 300,000 hectares of habitat by 2042 and generate carbon savings of six million tonnes a year by the mid 2030s. Mr Eustice said: 'We want to see profitable farming businesses producing nutritious food, underpinning a growing rural economy, where nature is recovering and people have better access to it. 'Through our new schemes, we are going to work with farmers and land managers to halt the decline in species, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, increase woodland, improve water and air quality and create more space for nature. 'We are building these schemes together, and we are already working with over 3,000 farmers across the sector to test and trial our future approach. 'Farmers will be able to choose which scheme or combination of schemes works best for their business, and we will support them to do so.' Speaking at the online Oxford Farming Conference, Mr Eustice said the 'local nature recovery' scheme would pay farmers to make space for nature, by planting trees, making ponds and creating wildflower meadows on unproductive parts of their land. It is aimed to be a more ambitious replacement for the existing countryside stewardship scheme, which is also seeing a 30 per cent increase in the value of payments to encourage more take-up as a bridge to the new regime. The landscape recovery element was 'about much more fundamental land use change', Mr Eustice said. Under the scheme, land managers can bid to receive funding for large-scale, long-term projects for establishing woodlands, restoring peatlands, wetlands and other habitats and creating new nature reserves. In the first wave, up to 15 pilot projects, which could include rewilding schemes that help re-establish natural processes in the landscape, will focus on restoring England's rivers and streams and helping threatened native species recover. Successful bids, which will cover landscapes of between 500 and 5,000 hectares (1,200 to 12,000 acres), will be chosen by a team of experts over the summer. Mr Eustice said that the 'radical rewilding experiment' at the Knepp Estate in Sussex showed that 'sometimes if you let go of the reins and allow nature to re-establish itself, and have a nature-led recovery of habitats, you can see some quite significant changes in a relatively short time'. He told delegates: 'These types of projects we envisage under landscape recovery won't be right for every farm business or every farm holder, and indeed they probably won't be right for most farm businesses. Environment Secretary George Eustice (pictured) launched the new rewilding plans in Oxford today 'It will enable us to support a choice that some landowners may want to take, but we won't be requiring anybody to enter these schemes.' He told the conference: 'It's important that we recognise the truth around land use. 'If we're to deliver the targets we've set ourselves for woodland creation in England - around 10,000 hectares of trees per year - and deliver our objective of getting 300,000 hectares of land where habitat is restored, there is inevitably going to be some degree of land use change.' But he said it would only be a small proportion of the 9.3 million hectares of farmland in England. And seeking to answer concerns about a drop in food production, he said there was not a direct correlation between productivity and the amount of land farmed, and the Government would be keeping a close eye on food security. Professor Alastair Driver, director of campaign group Rewilding Britain which works with landowners on rewilding projects, said the landscape recovery proposals were a significant step-change, but urged ministers to 'get the details right' by ensuring rewilding was at the heart of the initiative. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has unveiled the 2.4billion-per-year plan to replace the European Union's common agricultural policy. Pictured: A curlew, which is one of the animals that will hopefully be aided by the policy One scheme in the new plans, Local Nature Recovery, rewards farmers for 'making space for nature' in farms and countryside. Pictured: A water vole Some 15 nature reserves will be created, which will aim to recover threatened native species such as the curlew, sand lizard (pictured) and water vole, restoring rivers, lakes, ponds and streams 'Rewilding marginal and unproductive farmland, and upscaling nature-positive regenerative farming, is a major opportunity to tackle the nature and climate emergencies, while offering opportunities for farmers and rural communities, and ensuring no loss of productive land for growing food,' he said. Tony Juniper, chairman of government advisers Natural England, said: 'More than two thirds of England is farmed and these reforms pave the way for those who manage the land to produce healthy food alongside other vital benefits, such as carbon storage, clean water, reduced flood risk, thriving wildlife and beautiful landscapes for everyone to enjoy.' Dr Alexander Lees, senior lecturer in conservation biology at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: 'Escaping from the clutches of the common agricultural policy, which has driven biodiversity loss across Europe by incentivising habitat destruction, represents a major opportunity to improve the state of UK nature.' If the UK is serious in reversing declines in its diminishing species 'we need to be racing towards the 300,000 hectare [741,000-acre] target as fast as possible,' he added. All the new schemes will be voluntary and it will be for farmers to decide what combination of actions is right for them. UK gives Leo charity 28k to protect the dwarf buffalo By Helena Horton for the Daily Mail Leonardo DiCaprio's green campaign group has been given 28,800 of taxpayers' cash to lobby for 'rewilding'. The charity backed by the Oscar-winning actor, who is worth an estimated 200million, received the grant to protect a species of dwarf buffalo called the Tamaraw in the Philippines by conserving land from development, allowing it to remain wild. The sum appeared in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' accounts as 'official development assistance'. Leonardo DiCaprio's green campaign group has been given 28,800 of taxpayers' cash to lobby in order to protect a species of dwarf buffalo called the Tamaraw in the Philippines by conserving land from development DiCaprio, 47, launched the conservation project Re:wild last year and has already attracted large donations. According to its website the actor 'has provided more than $100million (75 million) in grants to a variety of programmes and projects', with Re:wild described as 'the latest undertaking linked to DiCaprio's environmental activism'. The star's most recent film, Don't Look Up, sees a deadly comet heading towards Earth in what many have interpreted as a metaphor for climate change. He said of his role: 'I just felt like this was an incredible gift to be a part of a movie that encapsulated exactly what we're going through.' The actor recently came under fire for jetting from New York to Miami and back in one day soon after speaking at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. A Defra spokesman said the projects it supports 'focus on local action... to address unsustainable use, habitat degradation and loss, whilst delivering poverty reduction'. Australia's eastern states face dangerous supercell storms for the next several days with heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, flooding and damaging winds likely as extreme weather continues across the continent. A huge 1,200km band of thunderstorms is moving through New South Wales, leading the Bureau of Meteorology to issue a severe thunderstorm warning with 'intense rainfall and damaging winds' predicted. The massive storm front, which stretched from Brewarrina south to Griffith, Canberra and Albury, was delivering widespread lightning and lashing central and south-eastern NSW with heavy rain, damaging winds and hail. The NSW Rural Fire Service was responding to calls over storm damage including fallen trees and power lines around Wagga Wagga. Australia's four eastern states and the ACT are set to cop a battering from storms over the coming days (pictured, shoppers run for cover in Brisbane in November 2021) A vast 1200km band of thunderstorms was moving south through central NSW on Thursday night (pictured, a rain clouds close in during a storm in regional NSW) Thunderstorms with lighting are likely across the eastern states in coming days. (Pictured, lightning during a storm in south east Queensland) The storm front was moving steadily south-east, headed through the ACT and towards Victoria and Tasmania. Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT are also facing severe storms on Thursday with damaging winds and hail possible, continuing into Friday, while Queensland will also see heavy rain on Friday. Sydney and parts of coastal NSW face a wet weekend, while the Northern Territory and Western Australia faces extremely hot weather. Melbourne faces a humid Friday morning with heavy rain and storms developing in the afternoon. As thunderstorm activity continues, #NSWRFS crews are assisting #NSWSES with sandbagging, responding to storm damage and trees down. For assistance in floods and storms call the NSW SES on 132 500. (Image: Forest Hill and Glenfield RFS assist in Wagga Wagga. Photos: Pete Bye). pic.twitter.com/egEMjNVKWd NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 6, 2022 Storm systems with damaging winds, thunderstorms and hail are set to hammer Victoria and Tasmania in coming days (pictured, the current weather systems forming in south eastern Australia) Ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth is headed back to land bringing high winds and heavy rain to south east Queensland (pictured, ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth) Thunderstorms and heavy rains of up to 100mm in some areas are possible in Victoria's north east. There are flood warnings for the Snowy, Tambo and Mitta Mitta catchments. Canberra is likely to see some of the worst weather in the nation on Friday, with severe thunderstorms and heavy rain, especially on Friday night and Saturday morning. Sydney faces a wet day on Friday and worsening weather on Saturday, with heavy rain and possible severe thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon and evening. While the eastern states face heavy rain and damaging winds, it will be beach weather in Western Australia (pictured, a couple in the surf at Perth's Cottesloe Beach) Expect to see a lot of skies overhead like these in coming days across Australia's eastern states (pictured, storm with lightning over Melbourne) Sydney won't be as wet on Sunday, but showers are forecast for the NSW capital in the morning and afternoon. The forecast shows the possibility of heavy rain returning to Sydney next Wednesday and Thursday. In Queensland severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall are possible between Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast on Friday as ex-tropical cyclone Seth hits the coast. Brisbane is expected to see up to 35mm of rain and thunderstorms and the Gold Coast could also see heavy rain. A tropical cyclone could develop off the coast of north west Queensland in the Coral Sea bringing wild weather including heavy rain and thunderstorms to northern Queensland next week. Melbourne, Tasmania, the ACT, NSW and Queensland are all expecting storms and heavy rain in coming days (pictured, commuters wait for trams on a wet day) Melbourne is expected to see heavy rainfall on Friday (pictured, pedestrians on Melbourne's Southbank in 2019) Meanwhile Central Queensland is expected to face heatwave conditions with temperatures into the 40s. Several areas in Western Australia face severe to extreme fire danger according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The areas with the greatest fire danger include the Gascoyne coast and Gascoyne inland in the north west, inland from Exmouth and Carnarvon on Friday and Saturday. Next week Gascoyne Junction, 174km east of Carnarvon could reach a blistering 47 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures in Perth are set to reach a scorching 38C on Friday, before dropping to the low 30s over the weekend and roaring back up to 38C by next Wednesday. In Tasmania, Hobart will be wet on Thursday night and into Friday with thunderstorms developing in the state capital. Hail is also possible. The massive 1200km supercell storm system is depicted in radar images moving south through NSW on Thursday Advertisement Around 2,500 soldiers of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) have arrived in Kazakhstan to help quell violent protests, the secretariat of the security bloc said today. The forces from Russia's 'mini NATO' will stay in Kazakhstan for several days or weeks, and have been given the right to use weapons in Kazakhstan in case they are attacked by 'armed gangs,' according to Russia's RIA news agency. After they arrived the shooting qwuietened down at the end of a day when gunfire and explosions had rocked the capital Almaty. The first CSTO troops arrived to help quell the mounting unrest after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev - an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin - appealed overnight to the Russia-dominated security bloc which includes five other ex-Soviet states (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). It is the first time that a contingent of CSTO peacekeeping troops has been dispatched to deal with conflict in one of its member states. It comes despite the refusal of Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev to send CSTO troops to quell deadly unrest in Kyrgyzstan in 2010, because 'only in the case of a foreign intrusion and an attempt to externally seize power can we state that there is an attack against the CSTO - all the problems of Kyrgyzstan have internal roots.' Dozens of demonstrators were gunned down today as the streets of Almaty were turned into a 'war zone', with protesters being accused of beheading three police officers. Burnt-out vehicles littered the city's streets, several government buildings were in ruins and bullet casings were strewn over the territory of the presidential residence, which was stormed and looted by protesters yesterday. Officials have said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the clashes, with nearly 400 hospitalised and 62 in intensive care. The number of protesters killed has not been revealed, but Police said earlier they had 'eliminated' dozens of rioters. Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest. Kazakhstan's interior ministry on Thursday said 18 security officers have been killed and 748 wounded in the clashes with protesters. The ministry also said 2,298 protestors had been detained. This handout image grab taken and released by the Russian Defence Ministry on January 6, 2021 shows Russian paratroopers boarding a military cargo plane to depart to Kazakhstan as a 'peacekeeping' force Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest metropolis, is located in the country's south east. It served as the country's capital until 1997 and remains Kazakhstan's trading and cultural hub. The bulk of the protests have taken place in Almaty, and the unrest has already resulted in the deaths of dozens of police officers and protestors, with up to 1,000 wounded Armed forces in Kazakhstan gunned down more demonstrators today as the streets of Almaty were turned into a 'war zone', with protesters being accused of beheading three police officers by Russian news agencies. Pictured: A man stands in front of the mayor's office building which was torched during protests triggered by fuel price increase in Almaty, January 6, 2022 Pictured: A car (top-right) ploughs into Kazakh security forces in Aktobe, Kazakhstan What is the CSTO? The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) was formed by Russia and other former Soviet states in 2002, months after a US-led coalition intervened in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It groups together some of the signatories - Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - of a 90s-era security pact among former Soviet republics. Russia's President Vladimir Putin said at the time that 'we are living in a fast-changing world and therefore have to reinforce the treaty linking us and to adapt it new threats.' The bloc founded a 20,000-strong rapid reaction force in 2009, while its 3,600-member peacekeeping unit is recognised by the UN. Pascal Ausseur, a French former soldier and senior defence official who now heads the FMES think-tank, called the CSTO a 'mini-NATO... with Russia in place of the US on the other side'. Advertisement Kazakhstan's Khabar 24 news channel reported that three of the dead security officers had been found with their heads cut off, Russian news agencies Interfax and RIA Novosti reported. 'The most difficult situation remains in Almaty, where armed men seized and partially destroyed a number of the premises of state bodies, financial organisations, television companies and trade facilities,' the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the Russian news agencies. Video showed protesters armed with batons and shields overpower and brutally beat a Kazakh special forces. The Kazakh government said the severing of three officers' heads proved that riots were of a 'terrorist character'. The shooting continued into Thursday, with reports saying that soldiers were firing at protesters and cars on the main square of Almaty. There are reports of multiple deaths. It came after people had been warned to leave. One car was shown driving into a line of security personnel forming a defensive line against protesters. Video of the incident showed officers chasing the car after it crashed through the shield line, but failed to catch it. 'It's a war zone,' said one eyewitness, as gunfire continued in downtown Almaty this evening. Earlier, shocking footage showed dozens of corpses lined up in a morgue - giving a sense the scale of the carnage in the ex-Soviet republic where the worst violence since gaining independence in 1991 is continuing unabated. The video from the morgue showed dozens of bodies but it is unclear where or exactly when they were slain. Commentary on the macabre footage said: 'The corpses, the bodies of the protesters. Different ages, young people. These are all protesters - adult, young. Very young.' Separate footage on Wednesday night showed protesters pulling down a statue of Nursultan Nazarbayev - the self-styled 'Father of the Nation' and long-time ally of Putin. Analysts say the Kremlin will fear that the protests in Kazakhstan are the latest signal that citizens who have spent decades living under autocracies in the shadow of the former Soviet Union are reaching their breaking point. Pictured left: A video showing a riot officer being beaten by sticks and batons after being knocked to the floor. Right: Armed police round up protesters and detain them in Kazakhstan. The protesters are shown handcuffed and hooded People take part in a protest. Protests were sparked by rising fuel prices in the towns of Zhanaozen and Aktau in western Kazakhstan, January 6, 2022 Pictured: Security forces carry out an operation to quell protesters in Kazakhstan. Media reports on Thursday said 18 security officers have been killed and 748 wounded Pictured: A still from a deeply shocking video has shown the bodies of dozens of protesters slaughtered in the bloody unrest in Kazakhstan. The corpses in a mortuary in Almaty - the country's largest city - indicate the scale of the carnage in the ex-Soviet republic where the violence is continuing unabated Footage on Wednesday night showed protesters pulling down a statue of Nursultan Nazarbayev - the self-styled 'Father of the Nation' and ally of Vladimir Putin. Pictured: A statue of Nursultan Nazarbayev - the self-styled 'Father of the Nation' - is pulled down. Nazarbayev, 81, yesterday gave up his final role in overall charge of security in the country. Rumours suggest he may have fled to China or Russia Pictured: Security forces are deployed against protesters o stop mass unrest in Kazakhstan. Officials have said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the unrest, with nearly 400 hospitalised and 62 in intensive care. The number of fatalities has not been revealed Protesters take part in a rally over a hike in energy prices in Almaty on January 5, 2022 In a blow to the Kremlin, Nazarbayev, 81, yesterday gave up his final role in overall charge of security in the country. Rumours suggest he may have fled to China or Russia, with The Daily Telegraph reporting Russian military planes landed in Kazakhstan to rescue him so he could seek 'urgent medical treatment.' 'It is absolutely not in Putin's interest to have this blow up in his backyard when he's in the middle of a showdown with Nato,' Eugene Rumer - an author and former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council, told the Financial Times. Russia and other ex-Soviet states answered a call by the current Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for military reinforcements to quell the protests. Russian paratroopers landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday in the role of 'peacekeepers' from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation which comprises a number of ex-Soviet states. Earlier, Britain called for an end to violent protests, voicing concerns about the mass unrest triggered by an increase in fuel prices. 'We are urging against further escalation and want to see a peaceful resolution,' Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman told reporters. Top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell said that Russia's military intervention in Kazakhstan brought back 'memories of situations to be avoided'. Borrell expressed 'great concern' about the situation and added: 'Rights and security of civilians must be guaranteed ... EU is ready to support in addressing this crisis.' Overnight police spokesman Saltanat Azirbek admitted the slaughter of 'dozens' of protesters. 'Extremist forces attempted to storm the administrative buildings, the police department of the city of Almaty as well as district directorates and police departments,' she said. 'Dozens of attackers were eliminated, their identities are being established.' The Kazakh authorities have portrayed the protesters as 'terrorists' and said an operation somewhat ironically named 'For the Sake of Peace' was underway to counter them. Intense shooting was underway in the main square of Almaty. 'Troops arrived at the square, and started the mop-up of trouble-makers. The intensive firing is underway,' said a report from the scene by TASS news agency. 'In relation to this, we are urging residents and the city's guests to refrain from leaving houses for the sake of their own safety,' she added. Videos also show widespread looting in the city with seven hypermarkets totally empty of goods in the country's worst-ever mass unrest. At least one gun shop was also looted and weapons were stolen when rampaging protesters overran the Almaty branch of the National Security Committee, the state secret service, equivalent of the Russian FSB. The authorities - struggling to keep control of the energy-rich country amid the unprecedented protests - have not given a death toll for demonstrators, while stressing that a number of police have died. Pictured left: Flames are seen inside the mayor's building in Almaty. Right: People gather around a items looted in Almaty Pictured: An outside view of the burning mayor's office which was set on fire during unrest in Almaty on January 6. Protesters were reported to have stormed several government buildings on Wednesday, including the Almaty mayor's office Last night a statue of Nursultan Nazarbayev (pictured) was toppled by an angry mob after Nazarbayev, 81, yesterday gave up his final role in overall charge of security. Rumours suggest he may have fled to China or Russia Pictured: Russian airborne troop units depart aboard Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft to join the Collective Security Treaty Organisation's peacekeeping force in Kazakhstan Videos showed widespread looting in the city with seven hypermarkets totally empty of goods in the country's worst-ever mass unrest. Pictured: A Christmas tree in a looted shop on January 6 Protests spread across the nation of 19 million this week in outrage over a New Year increase in prices for liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used to fuel cars in the west of the country. Thousands took to the streets in Almaty and in the western province of Mangystau, saying the price rise was unfair given oil and gas exporter Kazakhstan's vast energy reserves. Protesters were reported to have stormed several government buildings on Wednesday, including the Almaty mayor's office and the presidential residence. A video shows protesters outside a hospital forming a 'human shield' apparently angry that wounded police were getting priority over demonstrators. They demanded 'no treatment for cops'. The offices of five TV channels were looted in Almaty - MIR, Kazakhstan, Khabar, Eurasia, and KTK. A student in his early 20s, Nurlan Mailinov, a keen snowboarder, has vanished after posting footage of the carnage in Almaty, including the fire at the mayor's office, burning cars, and smashed, looted cafes. He told how in the seized office protesters broke open a safe with millions of Kazakh currency tenge inside. 'They gave out 2,000 tenge (3.40) to each person,' he said, holding the banknotes. 'We are in our local parliament- and they are giving away money.' His posts suddenly stopped amid the battles with law enforcers. The full picture of the chaos was unclear, with widespread disruptions to communications including mobile phone signals, the blocking of online messengers and hours-long internet shutdowns. The protests are the biggest threat so far to the regime established by Kazakhstan's founding president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down in 2019 and hand-picked president Tokayev as his successor. Tokayev tried to head off further unrest by announcing the resignation of the government headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin early on Wednesday, but protests continued. Last night a statue of Nursultan Nazarbayev was toppled by an angry mob after Nazarbayev, 81, yesterday gave up his final role in overall charge of security. Rumours suggest he may have fled to China or Russia. Tokayev also announced he was taking over from Nazarbayev as head of the powerful security council, a surprise move given the ex-president's continued influence. Protesters are seen as they enter the governor's office as protests continue across Kazakhstan against fuel price increase, in Almaty, Kazakhstan on January 5 2022 Pictured: Trucks belonging to Kazakh security forces are shown in Almaty as troops work to quell the on-going protests Kazakhstan's Khabar 24 news channel reported the toll as of midday, saying that the body of one of the dead security officers was found with its head cut off, Russian news agencies Interfax and RIA Novosti reported With protests escalating, the government late on Wednesday said a state of emergency declared in protest-hit areas would be extended nationwide and in effect until January 19. It imposes an overnight curfew, restricts movements and bans mass gatherings. Much of the anger appeared directed at Nazarbayev, who is 81 and had ruled Kazakhstan since 1989 before handing power to Tokayev. But the protests appear to have no identifiable leader or demands. Many protesters shouted 'Old Man Out!' in reference to Nazarbayev and images posted on social media showed a statue of the ex-president being torn down. The EU and the UN called for 'restraint' on all sides, while Washington urged authorities to allow protesters to 'express themselves peacefully.' Kazakhstan's government tolerates little real opposition and has been accused of silencing independent voices. Spontaneous, unsanctioned protests are illegal despite a 2020 law that eased some restrictions on freedom of assembly. Pictured: Riot police guard the Ak Orda Presidential Palace against protesters on January 5 A burnt car is seen by the mayors office on fire. Protests are spreading across Kazakhstan over the rising fuel prices; protesters broke into the Almaty mayors office and set it on fire A man rallies outside the burning mayors office. Protests are spreading across Kazakhstan over the rising fuel prices; protesters broke into the Almaty mayors office and set it on fire Riot police officers block a street during the protests in Almaty, Kazakhstan,January 5 Under increasing pressure, President Tokayev appealed to the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), which includes five other ex-Soviet states, to combat what he called 'terrorist groups' that had 'received extensive training abroad'. Within hours the alliance said the first troops had been sent, including Russian paratroopers and military units from the other CSTO members. 'Peacekeeping forces... were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilise and normalise the situation,' the CSTO said in a statement, without specifying the number of troops involved. The CSTO's current chairman, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, earlier announced the alliance would agree to the request, saying Kazakhstan was facing 'outside interference'. One report said Russia had ten Il-76s and three An-124s involved in a massive military operation to quell the disturbances. Some planes with Russian forces are already in Kazakhstan, where one in five of the population are ethnic Russian. A spokesman for Magnum, the largest Kazakh hypermarket and supermarket chain, Dmitry Shishkin, said that by 4 am some seven outlets were completely looted. Another seven were partially looted. The TSUM department store had been totally looted along with many smaller shops. Videos show the mass looting, which included banks and thefts from cash machines. Looters even used a tractor to smash into one bank branch. A mob also took over weapons store Korgan, making away with guns and ammunition. The country's largest airport in Almaty was overrun by a mob which also seized five planes and looted the terminal. Beleaguered Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev - who has fired his Cabinet and security officials in a bid to remain in charge - told Khabar-24 TV channel: 'Terrorist gangs are seizing large infrastructural facilities. 'In particular, in Almaty they have seized the airport, five planes, including foreign planes. Almaty has been subjected to an assault, destruction and vandalism. 'Almaty residents have fallen victim to the attack by terrorists and bandits.' All banks remained closed today across Kazakhstan, the world's ninth largest country in size, due to the state of emergency. The violence follows a doubling of prices for gas. The country has seen pent up resentment over low wages and poverty and the enrichment of a narrow elite controlling the government and Kazakhstan's oil and gas reserves. Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world, borders Russia to the north and China to the east and has extensive oil reserves that make it strategically and economically important. Despite those reserves and mineral wealth, discontent over poor living conditions is strong in some parts of the country. Why Kazakhstan uprising will strike fear in Putin: Protests against another of Vladimir's allies show citizens of former Soviet nations are ready to rise up after decades of suppression A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan on Thursday, amid fears from the Kremlin over what example the toppling of the country's government could set for other former Soviet republics. Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet states of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest. One of five ex-Soviet nations in the region, Kazakhstan is of crucial importance to Russia as an economic partner and home to a large ethnic Russian population. While Russia will likely blame foreign meddling, experts have claimed the riots will strike fear in to the Kremlin. Analysts say protests in Kazakhstan are the latest signal that citizens who have spent decades living under autocracies in the shadow of the former Soviet Union are reaching their breaking point. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tried to head off further unrest by announcing the resignation of the government headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin early on Wednesday, but protests continued. Tokayev is the chosen successor to Putin ally Nursultan Nazarbayev, a statue of whom was toppled by an angry mob on Thursday. Nazarbayev, 81, is believed to have fled to Russia, with reports saying he was rescued by military plane. Protesters take part in a rally over a hike in energy prices in Almaty on January 5, 2022. A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan on Thursday Pictured: Thousands of protesters attend an opposition protest in Minsk, Belarus, October 4 2020. Opposition leaders came close to toppling strongman Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Belarus before the Putin ally rigged national elections to ensure he held on to power The significance of the statue of Nazarbayev - the self styled 'Father of the Nation' - being toppled on Thursday will not have gone unnoticed in Moscow. 'It is absolutely not in Putin's interest to have this blow up in his backyard when he's in the middle of a showdown with Nato,' Eugene Rumer - an author and former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council, told the Financial Times. Moscow called for a 'peaceful solution... through dialogue, not through street riots and violation of laws.' Similar revolts were seen in Ukraine and Georgia the early 2000s, pushing the countries further towards Western relations. Both have actively sought Nato and EU membership - the stuff of nightmares for Putin. Since then, Moscow has exercised military strength against both nations, with around 90,000 troops currently amassed on Ukraine's border raising fears of a full-scale military invasion of the country. In 2020, opposition leaders came close to toppling strongman Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Belarus before Europe's 'last dictator' rigged national elections to ensure he held on to power. In doing so, political rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was sent into exile. Kazakhstan's president Tokayev is the chosen successor to Putin ally Nursultan Nazarbayev, a statue of whom was toppled by an angry mob on Thursday (pictured) Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) poses for a photo with Founding President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev (left) at the informal summit of leaders of Commonwealth of Independent States on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Petersburg, December 28, 2021 In addition to Putin giving his blessing to Lukashenko's brutal crackdown on dissidents, the Russian strongman has also quelled any political opposition at home. Before the end of the 2021, he shut down Russia's most prominent civil rights group Memorial, and at the beginning of the year imprisoned leader of Russia's opposition Alexei Navalny, who was also poisoned in 2020. However, the issues in Kazakhstan that have led to the unrest are largely domestic, with the The cause of the unrest being a spike in prices for LPG in hydrocarbon-rich Mangystau. Much of the anger appeared directed at Nazarbayev, who is 81 and had ruled Kazakhstan with an iron fist since 1989 before handing power to Tokayev. Many protesters shouted 'Old Man Out!' in reference to Nazarbayev. Even if Kazakhstan's government were to completely fall, the country is unlikely to entirely slip out from under the influence of Moscow, although Russia will be concerned about pet projects such as the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia itself will unlikely be threatened by the chaos across the border. Women with their mouths taped over attend a pro-Ukraine rally in Simferopol March 13, 2014 Opposition coalition supporters hold a rally in central Tbilisi, Georgia in May, 2008 Putin has built deep-rooted defences against any uprising at home, demonstrated by his ruthlessness in dealing with supporters of Navalny, and Navalny himself. However, according to The Telegraph, some pro-Kremlin media outlets were likening the situation in Kazakhstan to a 'Maidan' - a reference to Ukraine's revolution that in Putin's eyes was the result of foreign interference. The Russian oligarch will keeping a close eye on Kazakhstan as events unfold. Former President Donald Trump yesterday chatted about 'windmills killing birds' and blamed Joe Biden for a decrease in vaccine uptake - but ignored January 6 during an interview on the eve of the anniversary. Trump, speaking to Blaze TV's Glenn Beck in a special titled 'The January 6th Distraction', said one of the pitfalls of wind power was that turbines 'kill birds' and 'decimate landscapes'. He blamed President Biden for a decrease in vaccine uptake, claiming the Democrat's jab mandates have damaged trust in the treatment and hurt the economy. Only Beck himself mentioned the last year's 'stupid' breach of the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters in the interview's introduction, describing the January 6 Committee as 'a complete sham' and a 'witch hunt'. He lambasted the left for using January 6 as an 'opportunity to demonize' Trump and said discussions around an investigation into the incident were distracting Americans from the real issues. It comes after Trump yesterday issued a statement calling for MAGA supporters to 'rise up' against Democrat overreach and criticizing Biden's handling of the pandemic. Former President Donald Trump yesterday chatted about 'windmills killing birds' and blamed Joe Biden for a decrease in vaccine uptake - but ignored January 6 during an interview on the eve of the anniversary Trump, speaking to Blaze TV's Glenn Beck in a special titled 'The January 6th Distraction', said one of the pitfalls of wind power was that turbines 'kill birds' and 'decimate landscapes' Speaking about oil, Trump complained 'other technology does not have the power to fire up our plants.' 'Wind is extremely expensive and, by the way, the turbines are all made in Germany and they're all made in China - those two places.' He claimed turbines make little difference to 'dirty' air and 'atmospheric filth' - but added 'assuming you believe that'. The former president said wind turbines were 'very expensive, don't work... very intermittent' and said they do not 'have the power to do what you want to do'. 'And by the way, kills all your birds and ruins your, I mean these magnificent landscapes that are just being decimated by win.' He also lambasted solar energy which, he said, does not have sufficient power to provide electricity to US plants. He said the renewable energy was 'dirty' and said it was not a long term solution because solar panels have to be replaced 'every ten years'. The pair went on to discuss the Joe Biden's handling of the pandemic, with Trump complaining the Democratic president has not 'fixed anything'. 'Actually, he scared people from taking the vaccine, which is interesting,' he said. 'When I was there, we came up with [the vaccine] and everybody wanted it. When I left, people really didn't want it and then they do the mandates, which is terrible, shouldn't do it.' Asked whether he would have imposed a vaccine mandate, Trump said: 'No and they shouldn't have done it either. They scared everybody and they hurt the economy very badly. 'You know, the mandates are one of the reasons you can't get anybody to work for you. The mandates have been a disaster. 'I would like them to take the vaccine but they have to do it if they want it. There's plenty of people that would take it.' Donald Trump is seen on January 6, 2021, at a rally shortly before his supporters stormed the Capitol People protest against vaccine mandates in Huntington Beach, California, on Monday Trump also touched on oil prices, which he wrongly claimed had hit $7.77 per gallon in California - one station in Gorda has reportedly charged $7.59 in recent months, though it is thought this is because it is 40 miles from the next gas station. He blamed the Biden administration's decision to reverse his policy to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the high prices. The former president also spoke about the origins of Covid-19 and said he had stopped funding of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has been blamed for leaking the deadly virus. He also claimed he had ignored advice given by Dr Fauci, who he described as 'not a great doctor' but 'a great promoter'. 'Everything he wanted, I didn't do,' Trump said, claiming that Dr Fauci is 'totally controlling Biden'. The comments come after he released a statement yesterday calling for MAGA supporters to 'rise up' in a statement that raised eyebrows on the eve of the anniversary of the Capitol riot. Trump had planned to hold a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday, but was warned against it by his allies, who felt it was provocative and likely to be damaging. Instead, he issued a statement criticizing Joe Biden's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Now, there's talk by the Biden Administration again about closing schools and even vaccine mandates for school children,' Trump said. 'This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach.' Thousands of Trump supporters are seen on January 6, 2021, marching towards the Capitol The riot of January 6 left 150 members of law enforcement injured, and cost five their lives Joe Biden will speak from the Capitol this morning. The White House said Biden would push back against Trump's claims, adopted by many of his followers, that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, as well as attempts to downplay the violence of the worst assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812. On Wednesday evening, Trump launched a scathing attack on his successor, but with no reference to the anniversary. 'The Democrats are so incredibly mandate happy,' Trump said. 'The Biden Administration's response to COVID is getting worse every day. Joe Biden said, 'there is no federal solution' to the pandemic, but he then federalized the distribution of antibodies, and red states are getting the short end of the stick. 'In my administration, we respected the role of Governors to take care of their own states, and they could request antibodies and therapeutics depending on what they needed. That's the way our Country is supposed to be run.' Trump then boasted about his own government creating 'vaccines in record time', but said mandates were wrong. 'People should be able to choose how they want to govern their own health. The federal government must be reined in and give the people back the freedom to decide whether they want to be vaccinated or not. 'Joe Biden said he would never issue mandates, but he did it anyway like so many other things.' Achilleas Costa, 52, was charged on November 30 with two counts of murder Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene at 9.30am on November 28 The father and daughter were stabbed to death at home in Wood Green, London Fernanda Assis, 31, and her father Joanilason Assis, 61, have been pictured A father and daughter who were stabbed to death at their north London home have been pictured. Fernanda Assis, 31, and her father Joanilason Assis, 61, were found with multiple stab wounds at a property in Wood Green, London, just after 9.30am on November 28. Despite the efforts of paramedics, both victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Achilleas Costa, 52, of no fixed address, was charged with two counts of murder on November 30. He appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court on December 1 and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on February 18. According to reports at the time, Costa was known to have been in a relationship with Fernanda. Fernanda Assis (left), 31, and her father Joanilason Assis (right), 61, were found with multiple stab wounds at a property in Wood Green, north London on November 28 Tributes described Fernanda - who is believed to have cared her father, who locals said was deaf, and her mother, who is reportedly blind - as 'friendly' and 'bubbly'. Her mother is understood to live outside London and was not at the Wood Green property at the time of the incident. Speaking of Fernanda, a shopkeeper who knew the family said: 'I knew her well, she was always friendly and bubbly, we'd always chat whenever she came in. 'Everyone here knew her, she would come in to shop often. I only met her father once or twice, I didn't know him well but she would always come in. 'She had a difficult life, both her mother and father were ill. Her mother is blind and her father needed help, so she'd go between the two to care for them.' Another woman from the area, who wished to remain anonymous, said at the time: 'It was a shock, I live here with my children. I didn't know them, I think they were private people. Achilleas Costa, 52, of no fixed address, was charged on November 30 with two counts of murder. Pictured: A forensic car parked at the scene in Wood Green on November 28 The pair were found unresponsive in a property on Mayes Road in Wood Green, north London 'I know that she looked after him, she was his daughter and he was deaf.' A spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police previously said: 'At 09:37hrs on Sunday, 28 November, police were called to a property in Mayes Road, N22 after concerns were raised for the welfare of the occupants. 'On arrival, they found two people 61-year-old Joanilason Assis and his 31-year-old daughter Fernanda Assis with stab wounds. 'The London Ambulance Service was called and both victims were pronounced dead at the scene. 'Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.' Detective Chief Inspector Claire Hine previously said: 'Our thoughts are with their loved ones as they come to terms with such an unimaginable loss. 'We are providing and will continue to provide them with whatever support we can. 'We believe the victims and the man in custody were known to each other and while the investigation is still in its early stages, I am confident we are not looking for additional suspects and there is no continuing risk to members of the public in the area.' WHAT DOES THE ECHR RULING MEAN? The European court is a 'subsidiary' to national systems, not an alternative, meaning that national courts should determine human rights cases first. This means that if an application is brought to the European court in Strasbourg, it should 'have the benefit of the views of the national courts', ECHR rules say. The rule is intended to give national authorities, primarily the courts, the opportunity to 'prevent or put right the alleged violations of the [Human Rights] Convention' themselves, the ECHR's Practical Guide on Admissibility Criteria says. Today, the ECHR threw out Gareth Lee's complaint that he was discriminated against over a Christian bakery's refusal to make him a cake iced with 'Support Gay Marriage' because he had not 'exhausted domestic remedies'. This is because Mr Lee did not specifically argue in the British courts that his human rights - as set out by the European Convention on Human Rights - were violated. Bringing a case to a national court is known as a 'domestic remedy'. There is an obligation in international law to 'exhaust domestic remedies', which means national courts should have an opportunity to settle a case first. Advertisement The Northern Ireland Equality Commission faces 'serious questions' after it spent 251,000 of public money backing a gay activist who brought legal action against Christian bakers, the region's First Minister said - as he claimed the case 'should never have been brought to court in the first place'. The high-profile controversy began when Gareth Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, ordered a 36.50 cake from the Ashers bakery in Belfast, run by Daniel and Amy McArthur, in May 2014. The couple refused to fulfil the order because they disagreed with the slogan - 'Support Gay Marriage' - which was supposed to be drawn in icing on the dessert item, which also featured Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie. This sparked a seven-year-old legal battle which cost The Equality Commission of Northern Ireland 251,000 of public money backing Mr Lee, while the Christian Institute covered 250,000 of legal costs for Ashers Baking Company, which takes its name from an Old Testament figure. But in what appears to be a finishing blow for Mr Lee's case, the European court in Strasbourg threw out his complaint today, ruling that he should have brought up the alleged violation of the human rights convention in British courts - which he failed to do. Northern Ireland's First Minister Paul Givan said the case raises 'serious questions' for Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, which backed Gareth Lee in his court actions. Mr Givan said: 'I am glad the European Court of Human Rights has ruled this to be inadmissible. It validates the decision of the UK Supreme Court, which was to say that this never should have been brought to court in the first place.' Phoenix Law, who represented Mr Lee, acted on a pro-bono basis for the European court case, meaning they did not charge him legal fees because of 'the significance and public interest level', his lawyer Ciaran Moynagh told MailOnline, adding: 'And therefore there was no cost to the taxpayer [for the ECHR case].' He also said that, while Mr Lee may not be able to re-hash his own case in British courts, if a similar incident were to arise he and his legal team would offer their support. 'Instead of going to a county court on a goods, facilities, services and premises basis, it would be straight to the High Court on a human rights challenge because the legislation needs testing,' he added. The ECHR deals with cases free of charge, but claimants will still typically have to bear their own costs such as lawyers' fees - unless advocates take the case pro-bono - or research expenses. Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy, the owners of Ashers bakery, pictured in 2018 The Belfast bakers refused to make a cake decorated with the words 'Support Gay Marriage' (pictured: A cake with a similar design, made by another bakery) Lorcan Price, legal counsel faith-based advocacy group ADF International, said the UK Supreme Court had 'rightly protected the religious rights of service providers'. How the 'gay cake case' has been running for seven years Timeline of the 'gay cake case' May 9, 2014 : Gareth Lee asks the Ashers bakery for a cake to be decorated with the slogan 'Support Gay Marriage' : Gareth Lee asks the Ashers bakery for a cake to be decorated with the slogan 'Support Gay Marriage' May 12, 2014 : Owner Daniel McArthur calls Mr Lee to say that they would not print the cake because it goes against their beliefs. Mr Lee later gets another bakery to make the cake : Owner Daniel McArthur calls Mr Lee to say that they would not print the cake because it goes against their beliefs. Mr Lee later gets another bakery to make the cake June 26, 2014 : The Equality Commission sends the bakers a letter, claiming they had acted unlawfully : The Equality Commission sends the bakers a letter, claiming they had acted unlawfully October 27, 2014 : The Commission tells the the McArthurs they also breached political and religious discrimination laws : The Commission tells the the McArthurs they also breached political and religious discrimination laws November 7, 2014 : Legal action against the bakers is begun : Legal action against the bakers is begun March 26, 27 and 30, 2015 : Case is heard at Laganside Courts in Belfast : Case is heard at Laganside Courts in Belfast May 19, 2015 : Court rules the bakery breached political and sexual orientation discrimination regulations and orders it to pay 500 damages. : Court rules the bakery breached political and sexual orientation discrimination regulations and orders it to pay 500 damages. 9-12 May, 2015 : Appeal by the Ashers is heard at the Court of Appeal in Belfast : Appeal by the Ashers is heard at the Court of Appeal in Belfast October 24, 2016 : Court of Appeal rules against the bakery : Court of Appeal rules against the bakery May 1-2, 2018 : Hearing at the Supreme Court in Belfast : Hearing at the Supreme Court in Belfast October 10, 2018 : Bakers win their appeal over discrimination claims : Bakers win their appeal over discrimination claims March 2019 : Mr Lee makes an application to the European Court of Human Rights : Mr Lee makes an application to the European Court of Human Rights January 2020 : Northern Ireland recognises same-sex marriage : Northern Ireland recognises same-sex marriage January 6, 2022 : The ECHR rules the case 'inadmissible' because Mr Lee had failed to exhaust domestic remedies Advertisement His group said in a statement: 'With the support of the tax-payer funded Equality Commission of Northern Ireland, Gareth Lee, who had ordered the cake, sued the bakery for discrimination, with UK charity, the Christian Institute, supporting the McArthur family. In October 2018 the UK Supreme Court unanimously held that the bakery had acted lawfully.' They added: 'The issues in the Ashers Bakery case reflect wider concerns that citizens across Europe face when anti-discrimination laws are misapplied to prevent them living out their faith including through their business and professional lives.' The commission had supported Mr Lee's claim in Britain, but said it had 'no remit to assist Mr Lee to make his application' to the ECHR on August 15, 2019. He had referred the case to the ECHR, claiming appropriate weight was not given to him under the European Convention of Human Rights, after the UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Christian bakers in 2018. When the row broke out in 2014, same-sex marriage was not legal in Northern Ireland, but it was officially recognised in January 2020. The Christian Institute welcomed the ECHR ruling today, saying it was 'good news for free speech, good news for Christians'. 'I'm surprised anyone would want to overturn a ruling that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they don't share, just as much as it protects Christian business owners,' spokesman Simon Calvert said. A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Equality Commission told MailOnline: 'The Equality Commission provides support and assistance to people who feel they may have been discriminated against contrary to Northern Ireland's equality laws, including providing assistance to take a legal case to court or tribunal. 'This is in accordance with our statutory remit, as an independent public body with an important role in ensuring effective application of Northern Ireland's equality laws. 'Whilst the Commission did not support Mr Lee in his application to the European Court of Human Rights, we had supported Mr Lee's discrimination case in the domestic courts in line with our remit. 'The Belfast County Court and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal found that Mr Lee had been discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation, political opinion and religious belief. The Supreme Court overturned these findings in 2018. Northern Ireland's First Minister Paul Givan, pictured in December, said the 'gay cake' case 'should never have been brought to court in the first place' 'In support of Mr Lee's discrimination case against Ashers Baking Company Ltd in the domestic courts, the Commission's legal expenditure amounted to 250,603.86 over the four financial years.' But speaking after the ruling, Mr Lee said he had 'hoped for a different outcome' in his challenge to the ECHR, adding that he was 'most frustrated that the core issues did not get fairly analysed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality'. Mr Lee's lawyer, Ciaran Moynagh of Phoenix Law, said they would consider whether to bring a fresh court challenge under domestic law. Belfast-based human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice described the ECHR not being able to deal with the issue 'on a technicality' represents a 'missed opportunity' to clarify the law, and there is now an 'ambiguity' on whether campaigners can be refused services like printing leaflets or setting up websites on the basis of 'it's not you, it's your message'. And John O'Doherty, director of LGBTQ support group the Rainbow Project, said the ECHR ruling may bring the case to a close, but 'there remains a number of questions around what protections exist for LGBTQIA+ people when accessing goods, facilities and services following the Supreme Court decision in October 2018.' Gay rights activist Mr Lee said he had 'hoped for a different outcome' in his challenge to the ECHR over the 'gay cake' case. He said: 'Everyone has freedom of expression and it must equally apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. 'The message on the cake was mine and I paid a company that printed messages on cakes to print my message. 'My message supported the campaign for same-sex marriage that was ultimately successful and I am delighted with that. 'I am most frustrated that the core issues did not get fairly analysed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality. 'None of us should be expected to have to figure out the beliefs of a company's owners before going into their shop or paying for their services. 'This case has put a spotlight on the challenges faced by LGBT+ in Northern Ireland. 'I will continue to support all law that protects and gives rights to all people equally.' The ECHR ruling said: 'Convention arguments must be raised explicitly or in substance before the domestic authorities. The applicant had not invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings. 'By relying solely on domestic law, the applicant had deprived the domestic courts of the opportunity to address any Convention issues raised, instead asking the court to usurp the role of the domestic courts. 'Because he had failed to exhaust domestic remedies, the application was inadmissible.' Councillor Andrew Muir was photographed cutting a replacement cake at a gay rights event in 2014 In 2018, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee was not discriminated against The cake, which featured Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie, was intended for a private function marking the International Day Against Homophobia. The order was accepted and he paid in full, but two days later the Christian owners of the company called to say it could not proceed due to the message requested. Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, launched the legal case, supported by Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, alleging discrimination on the grounds of his sexuality. The case was fought in several courts, eventually in 2018 reaching the UK Supreme Court, which ruled that Mr Lee was not discriminated against when Ashers bakery refused to make him a cake with the slogan supporting gay marriage. Mr Lee then referred the case to the ECHR, claiming that the Supreme Court failed to give appropriate weight to him under the European Convention of Human Rights. But the ECHR in Strasbourg today ruled that the case was 'inadmissible', finding that Mr Lee had failed to 'exhaust domestic remedies' in the case, and he had not 'invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings'. Mr Lee had previously won hearings at the county court and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in 2015 and 2016, but the owners of Ashers - backed by the Christian Institute - challenged those rulings at the Supreme Court. In 2018 five justices unanimously ruled that they had not discriminated against the customer. The Supreme Court's then president, Lady Hale, said that the bakers did not refuse to fulfil the order because of the customer's sexual orientation, but because they objected to 'the message on the cake'. Mr Lee then referred the case to the ECHR, claiming that the Supreme Court failed to give appropriate weight to him under the European Convention of Human Rights. He claims that his rights were interfered with by the decision of the UK's highest court to dismiss his claim for breach of statutory duty to provide services, and the interference was not proportionate. The high-profile controversy first flared when Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, ordered a 36.50 cake from the Ashers bakery, run by Daniel and Amy McArthur, in May 2014 In a previous hearing, the UK Supreme Court's then president, Lady Hale, said the McArthur family hold the religious belief that 'the only form of marriage consistent with the Bible and acceptable to God is between a man and a woman'. She said: 'As to Mr Lee's claim based on sexual discrimination, the bakers did not refuse to fulfil his order because of his sexual orientation. 'They would have refused to make such a cake for any customer, irrespective of their sexual orientation. 'Their objection was to the message on the cake, not to the personal characteristics of Mr Lee or of anyone else with whom he was associated.' Mr Lee said at the time that the refusal to make the cake made him feel like a 'second-class citizen'. The McArthurs said they did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message requested on the cake. The Christian Institute welcomed the ECHR ruling, saying it was the 'right result'. Spokesman Simon Calvert said: 'The UK Supreme Court engaged at length with the human rights arguments in this case and upheld the McArthurs' rights to freedom of expression and religion. 'It was disappointing to see another attempt to undermine those rights, so it is a relief that the attempt has failed. 'I'm surprised anyone would want to overturn a ruling that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they don't share, just as much as it protects Christian business owners. 'The ruling in October 2018 by five of the country's most distinguished and experienced judges was welcomed by lawyers, commentators and free speech experts from across the spectrum. 'They all knew of the implications for freedom of speech and religion, had the decision gone against Ashers. Gay rights activist Gareth Lee, center, leaves Laganside court, Northern Ireland, Thursday March 26, 2015 'This is good news for free speech, good news for Christians, and good news for the McArthurs.' Belfast-based human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) described the ECHR ruling in the 'gay cake' case as a 'missed opportunity'. Daniel Holder, deputy director of the CAJ, said: 'The European Court of Human Rights having not been able to deal with this issue on a technicality is a missed opportunity for it to clarify its case law on sexual orientation and discrimination in the private sector, particularly when it is said to relate to the message rather than the customer. 'We believe this leaves an ambiguity whereby individuals and organisations across Europe actively campaigning on gay rights would be particularly vulnerable to a commercial business refusing to provide services like printing posters, leaflets, setting up websites, etc, through claiming an exemption to non-discrimination laws on the basis of 'it's not you, it's your message'.' Mr Lee's lawyer Mr Moynagh said: 'Mr Lee brought the appropriate and only application available to him and dealt with all arguments that arose in the course of appeals. 'We are clear that Mr Lee's convention rights were engaged and put forward during the litigation. 'Given the position the European court has taken, we will now consider whether a fresh domestic case is progressed. 'The substantive issues raised by my client in his application to the ECHR remain unaddressed and this is a missed opportunity. 'Today's decision means that the law here in NI remains in a state of uncertainty as to how persons' rights can be protected. 'Owners of limited companies have long taken advantage of being able to separate themselves financially from their business. 'We continue to believe they should also keep their political and religious views separate.' A Turkish couple have been left stunned after their 'stillborn' baby boy began crying just moments before he was due to be buried in a cemetery. Melek Sert, 32, and her husband Hasan Sert, 34, had been left heartbroken when doctors at the Yuregir State Hospital in Adana, Turkey, told them their baby had not survived delivery. The child, born at just five months on January 2, was even given a death certificate by medics, who believed the mother had had a miscarriage. The father decided to take the baby to a cemetery to bury him, when his newborn son suddenly began crying in the car on the way there. The tiny boy was rushed back to hospital where he is now fighting for his life. Melek Sert, 32, and her husband Hasan Sert (pictured), 34, had been left heartbroken when doctors at the Yuregir State Hospital in Adana, Turkey, told them their baby had not survived delivery (Pictured: Hasan Sert holds a small body bag and death certificate, which he was given after being told his son was stillborn) Photos show how a small grave had been dug for the child, who began crying en route to the cemetery Authorities have since launched an investigation against the Seyhan State Hospital (pictured) to determine if any negligence took place Mr Sert said anyone wanting to help and who has a 0 Rh-negative blood type, can donate their blood to his baby. He added: 'My baby is fighting for his life. Since we haven't given him a name yet, donors can give blood for the Sert baby.' Mrs Sert had been experiencing severe pain and bleeding and first went to hospital on December 27. She was treated before being discharged on December 30. But she fell ill again on December 31 and was taken to the Seyhan State Hospital, where her condition deteriorated on January 2. It was then that doctors told her that she was 'having a miscarriage', explaining that her baby was 'dead'. Mr Sert (pictured) has appealed for blood donations for his newborn son, who is now fighting for his life in hospital Mr Sert holds up the death certificate that was issued for his baby boy The baby was delivered naturally but the couple - who have two other sons, aged 10 and seven - were told it was stillborn (Pictured: Child's death report) The baby was delivered naturally but the couple - who have two other sons, aged 10 and seven - were told it was stillborn. Photos show how a small grave had been dug for the child while the father was given a small body bag to bury him in. Mrs Sert told Sabah news: 'When they took my baby, I felt that my baby was alive and I asked my husband, is my child alive? 'I told him to go and ask the nurse. They told Hasan, "He is not alive, he is dead."' Authorities have since launched an investigation against the hospital to determine if any negligence took place. Food industry giants are begging the government to make changes to close contact rules as the isolation of thousands of staff leaves supermarket shelves bare, while Woolworths resists bringing in purchase limits. Alarming pictures from stores across the country show Australians are struggling to get even the most basic supplies, with meat and vegetable in particular shortage. Australia recorded 72,393 new infections on Thursday, smashing the national record of 64,774 daily infections set 24 hours earlier. The soaring case numbers mean tens of thousands of workers are plunged into isolation with Covid each day, not to mention their families and close contacts. The chaos has led to Coles reintroducing buying limits on meat and poultry, while Woolworths are yet to follow suit. One of Australia's biggest supermarket chains has resisted calls to reintroduce product limits as supplies of fresh produce and grocery essentials diminish. The supply chain crisis has taken toll on the fruit and vegetable section at Woolworths Chester Hill (pictured) in Sydney's south-west Poll IS YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET AFFECTED? Yes - shelves are empty No - they're holding up well IS YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET AFFECTED? Yes - shelves are empty 145 votes No - they're holding up well 168 votes Now share your opinion Footage has emerged on TikTok of an empty Woolworths fruit and vegetable section at Chester Hill in Sydney's south-west, where garlic, watermelon, apples and a few capsicums were among the few items left in stock after fresh produce didn't arrive. 'I guess it's watermelon and garlic stew again,' one viewer quipped. Others said similar scenes were happening in their own local stores across Australia as they struggle to come up with meal ideas based on the limited stock. 'Woolworths Leichhardt today. Need to rethink dinner!' a Sydneysider tweeted. 'Not many veggies at my local Woolies. Frozen peas for dinner tonight,' one woman tweeted. Another Woolworths shoppers shared photos of his local store with minimal fresh produce at 8am in the morning while a Gold Coast woman shared a photo of the empty meat section at her Coles. Fresh produce and meat are along the main grocery items in scarce supply. There were no avocados in stock at this Woolworths stores when doors opened on Thursday Other shoppers shared photos of empty bread aisles while some stores are running low on toilet paper in a repeat of the panic-buying chaos during the early days of the pandemic 'Today at Woolworths Warringah Mall. I call this#2020TOO,' one woman captioned a photo of an empty toilet paper aisle. Woolworths insists the food shortages are due to Covid-19 related delivery delays and stands by its decision to not reinforce buying limits with the exception of rapid antigen tests, which are restricted to one pack per customer. 'Our customers have been shopping in reasonable quantities and are only buying what they need, so we don't believe product limits are needed at this stage,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday night. 'We will continue to closely monitor product availability across our stores. 'While we are experiencing some delays with stock deliveries to our stores due to COVID-19 impacts across the supply chain, deliveries continue to arrive daily. 'Stores may have reduced availability of some products at points throughout the day before they receive their next delivery, however we're continuing to restock our shelves as often as possible. 'We ask our customers to be mindful of others and continue shopping normally as they have been.' Even toilet paper supplies are running low at this Woolworths store at Warringah on Sydney's Northern Beaches Food suppliers have warned of huge disruptions to their supply chains, with as many as 70 per cent of staff at some factories off work and in isolation. Some suppliers were forced to close their doors over Christmas during their busiest time of the year. Newcastle-based food distributor Red Funnel lost $1million over the course of its 10 day shutdown due to the close contact rules. The surge of Covid-19 cases continues to cause widespread chaos, despite the national cabinet amending the definition of close contacts to ease isolation rules. The rules have also been overhauled for positive Covid cases, who only have to isolate for a week if they have no symptoms on day seven. Woolworths has no plans to bring back product limits, despite the lack of stock in-store Testing requirements for truck drivers have also been amended to removing the need for a PCR test every seven days. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision was key to ensuring food distribution networks could continue moving. 'We need truckies keeping on trucking ... to keep moving things around,' he told reporters on Thursday. But food suppliers say the close contact rules should be scrapped entirely. 'It's something that needs to be managed by the business, by the individual,' Red Funnel owner George Sofanios told The Australian. 'The government puts everything else back onto business, so why do they want to hold onto this one that damages businesses the most.' Gold Coast-based food distributor, Jeff Godden was forced to stand down almost half of his truck drivers. 'Our customer base is feeling it even worse than we are, being the hospitality industry. Restaurants, cafes, clubs, pubs any venue that would be categorised as hospitality, they're now closing,' Mr Godden said. 'So what we're getting is a massive downturn in business and we're back to where we were pretty much two years ago. On Wednesday, Coles restricted customers to two packs of chicken breasts, chicken thighs, mince and sausages, while rapid antigen tests are limited to one pack per transaction. One section of the meat department of this Coles store was stripped bare The peak industry body is calling for meat workers to get rapid antigen testing priority to keep them working or face a nationwide meat shortage in the next two weeks. 'This is an emergency as of now,' Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive Patrick Hutchinson told Seven News earlier this week. 'We're now seeing a large amount of meat workers who actually can't get to work. 'There's hundreds and hundreds of staff up and down the eastern seaboard, certainly Queensland, NSW and VIC who aren't able to get to work at this stage.' He admitted there may be no lamb by Australia Day. 'That's a real possibility unless we get the settings right,' he replied. 'I'm actually concerned we will have a shortage because we just won't have the people on site over the next month to six weeks to be able to process anything.' AMIC also called for urgent guarantees are put in place to shore up meat production and supply capacity. Woolworths says product limits aren't required, despite this grim scenes at many stores across the Australia The Victorian Farmers Federation has also called for the supply of rapid antigen tests to be fast-tracked and isolation requirements to be eased. 'We're clearly experiencing a huge escalation in COVID-19 cases throughout the community, meaning a rising amount of people are subject to isolation requirements.' president Emma Germano said. 'The less workers there are to maintain our supply chains, the more vulnerable it becomes, and this directly threatens our food security.' 'Farmers can't provide the food and fibre needed to feed the country without the means to transport it via our essential supply chains. 'Our access to the inputs needed to operate is also severely impacted.' She called for asymptomatic workers deemed close contacts to have their isolation period reduced similar to the rules for healthcare workers. 'Workers need to have a reliable access of a RAT and decision makers must prioritise this.' Ms Germano said Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) / Courtesy of Abhijit Banerjee Gov't needs to strengthen public education system for the underprivileged By Lee Hyo-jin The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated inequality in many countries, and Korea is no exception. Nearly two years into the pandemic, the country is seeing deepening polarization in various areas of society, including education, employment, access to healthcare and housing. The unprecedented health crisis has had an especially hard impact on the vulnerable and poor, pushing them further into poverty, while the share of wealth owned by the rich has soared. As such, addressing the issue of increasing inequality between the haves and have-nots, will most likely become an even more pronounced long-standing trend even after the pandemic ends. This has become an urgent issue of concern for Korea's policymakers. One of the solutions floated by some policymakers and politicians here and abroad is the universal basic income (UBI) plan, under which the government offers unconditional subsidies to all residents on a regular basis to revitalize the economy and support those suffering from financial hardship. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung announces his campaign pledge to provide basic income to all citizens during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, July 22, 2021. Joint Press Corps While the pandemic has served as a good opportunity for policymakers to test various models of a UBI, debate continues within political circles about whether emergency relief funds should be offered to all residents or selectively to those who are in urgent need of support. In a recent email interview with The Korea Times, Abhijit Banerjee, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, said that the two ideas do not conflict with each other. "I don't see why it needs to be either one or the other. The government should not worry too much about being selective, precisely because of the urgency," said the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who specializes in development and behavioral economics, as well as political economy. He proposed two ways to implement the emergency cash handout, saying, "One way to do this is to send everyone a bank transfer right away, since the effects of the pandemic took some time to play out and right at the beginning it was not clear who would not need the help. "Another way to do this is to offer it to everyone, but impose a small cost of collecting the weekly installment so that those who don't need it stay away," he added. When asked whether the UBI scheme will be applicable in Korea, Banerjee, said, "I wouldn't necessarily support UBI in Korea as a long-term social program, but it's a smart emergency response. "Korea has good public records, it should be possible to quickly identify those who are in economic pain at any point of time and channel help to them. In the long run, it may be better to target those who have had a spot of bad fortune or lacked opportunity with extra help, while keeping a UBI as a special tool for crises," he explained. Debate over the basic income plan has heated up here, as Lee Jae-myung, the presidential hopeful of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has been promoting it as the core of his economic policy. If he wins the election in March, Korea may become the first country in Asia to adopt the payment as a national policy. The longtime advocate of UBI has vowed to roll out the policy by providing 250,000 won ($200) to all residents and another 1 million won ($835) to people aged 19 to 29 every year. "To maintain the capitalist market economy, the basic income scheme serves the role of creating a minimum level of consumer demand. It can boost consumption to maintain demand, and this will assist the economic virtuous cycle as well as alleviating social and economic polarization," Lee said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. 'Head start' needed for children from low-income households Banerjee said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing inequalities that date back to before the Covid-19 pandemic, and education is one sector showing a widening in inequality. "As far as education is concerned, the children of middle-class parents who can help their kids and have good internet connections and a quiet place to study have a huge and obvious advantage over the children of less educated and less well-off parents," he said. In this regard, Banerjee highlighted the importance of strengthening public education as a key way to overcome COVID-19-induced inequalities. Students attend a class at an elementary school in Dobong District, Seoul, Nov.22, 2021. Joint Press Corps "Now that children are back to school, teachers have to deal with the fact that the children from worse off families have fallen further behind than the rest," he said, expressing concerns that these students may be abandoned in the classroom, left to their own devices while the class moves on. Against this backdrop, he stressed the government's role in strengthening the public education system so as to ensure that children from lower-income families be provided with the same educational environment as that given to the middle and upper classes, in order to enable all children to shape their future. "It is critical that the government provides extra resources to schools to help the lagging children catch up, and encourage the teachers to do what it takes to retrieve these children (and bring them) into the mainstream of the education system." He also emphasized the importance of giving such children a "head start" through preschool, so that they can start with an advantage. "Poor children often lack the stimulation at early ages that richer children get and start school less prepared. Given that they are the ones who are already at risk of falling behind 'after they join school,' this is backward. We want the poorest children to have a head start, to start with an advantage. They need subsidized, high-quality preschools." The Indian-American economist also shared his thoughts about the wealth tax, a policy he had earlier called on the Indian government to reintroduce in order to tackle the widening wealth inequality there. In Korea right now, a so-called comprehensive real estate tax is levied on high-priced homes, which make up the core of the wealth of many taxpayers. But the tax does not exclude debt, prompting a backlash from the public, who believe it is unfair for the state to tax unrealized capital gains based on a home's official assessed value. Regarding this situation, Banerjee said: "I don't want to argue that every kind of wealth tax is equally good. There are reasons to exclude debt, since net wealth should count. But now, rich people seem to live by borrowing against their unrealized capital gains, and therefore avoid all taxes. This huge hole needs to be plugged." The Nobel laureate said that the pandemic has highlighted inequalities in many other sectors of society as well. Regarding access to healthcare, he said, the fact that the best hospitals are located where the better off live is well documented, providing them with quality healthcare as well as updated understanding of the latest COVID-19-related information. In terms of employment, while people with white-collar jobs have been able to work from home, those who work in factories have been deprived of such opportunities, and thus have faced a higher risk of infection. Embracing migrant workers Migrant workers work on a farm in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Jan.22, 2021. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho The brother of a young woman found dead with her one-year-old son has described her a devoted mother who 'lived' for her baby. The bodies of Natalie Kane, 27, and one-year-old Harry were discovered by police after they were called to concerns for her welfare on December 30. Cumbria Constabulary said they were sent to a house in Whitehaven at 2.52pm when officers tragically found their bodies. Neighbours near the property told MailOnline they heard running water just before the bodies were found. A spokesman for the force said there are no suspicious circumstances at this time. Post-mortems are set to take place next week. Natalie's heartbroken brother Shane Evitts, 31, has set up a fundraising page for the pair, and paid tribute to his sister. He told the Sun: 'She lived for her Harry. It is just one of those tragic things. 'The family is getting by, with the help of the close community. 'Natalie was lively and bubbly. She was such a good mam, a lovely mam to her son Harry.' Natalie Kane, 27, and her one-year-old son Harry, were found by police officers at an address in Wellington Row, Whitehaven, on December 30 Tributes have been paid to the 'wonderful and loving' mother and her baby son after they were found by officers A neighbour earlier said: 'She was a lovely lass and absolutely doted on that little boy, he was beautiful and this is such a tragedy. 'The police haven't told us what happened, just that Natalie and Harry were found dead in her flat. 'There was nothing alarming beforehand, the only unusual thing was that there seemed to be water constantly running down the waste pipe. 'It sounded as though a bath or sink had perhaps been overflowing. 'The police were asking neighbours if they had seen Natalie and the next thing I knew there were police officers and paramedics running into the flat. 'When they told us they'd both died it was heartbreaking.' The police have not confirmed the identity of the pair, but they have been named locally as well-wishers paid tributes to a 'lovely mother devoted to her one-year-old little boy'. A fundraising page was set up by Shane and close friends Ashton Graham and Stacey Hackett to help towards the pair's funeral, and has already raised more than 6,000. Ashton said: 'I just want to say what a brilliant mam she was and how proud we all are of her. 'She's touched a lot of hearts and she'll never know how truly loved and special she and baby Harry are. 'When people say your best friend can be your soulmate, I truly truly believe that's what you are. 'A part of me has died with you, my life will never ever be the same without you, nothing will be the same again. 'He (Harry) was such a happy baby. You were such a brilliant little mam, protected him from any harm, made sure he had everything he needed. 'You gave him the best life, he was the making of you.' Officers arrived to the property after concerns were raised for the welfare of a woman. Pictured: GV of Wellington Row A statement on the fundraising page reads: 'We would like to give Natalie's family a big help by contributing to this as this is what they deserve. 'We're not asking for the full amount but every little helps and if were to receive more than expected Natalie's brother Shane's chosen charity is Women Out West. 'This charity helped Natalie out so much and Shane is so pleased that they were there for Natalie that this is the best way to say thank you.' A balloon release has now been planned in Natalie's home town of Maryport, Cumbria, in tribute to her and Harry on January 7. Cumbria Police have confirmed that they are not treating the deaths as suspicious. In a statement they said: 'Police attended an address in Wellington Row, Whitehaven, after being made aware at 2.52pm on December 30 of a concern for the welfare of a woman. 'Sadly, two people were found deceased in the address - a woman in her twenties and a one-year-old child. 'There are no suspicious circumstances at this time. The coroner has been contacted.' Dame Maureen Lipman today doubled-down on her comments about Helen Mirren's casting as ex-Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and suggested she will be good at the role 'because she's sexy'. The Coronation Street actress said stars Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand, who are Jewish, should have been considered ahead of the Oscar-winner for the lead role in upcoming film 'Golda'. She also suggested Scarlett Johansson, whose mother is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, could have played the part in Israeli director Guy Nattiv's film. But she somewhat undermined her own argument by also suggesting Tracey Ullman, who isn't Jewish, as another possible contender. And the 75-year-old actress also admitted 'contradicting' herself over her comments on Dame Helen's casting. She said she did not want to get to a stage where 'only actors with scoliosis could play Shakespeare's Richard III'. Asked if she thinks she had upset Dame Helen with her comments, she said: 'I don't know Helen, I have met her once, we had one exchange. 'I was going out with a dangerous man at the time and she said "Ooh I would like to go out with a dangerous man", and that was the conversation.' The Coronation Street actress today said stars such as Bette Milder and Barbara Streisand, who are Jewish, should have been considered for the starring role in upcoming film 'Golda' Dame Maureen's comments sparked fans to point out that she herself had played a vicar in a 2015 Red Nose Day special of the Vicar of Dibley. In the comedy special, Dame Maureen's character (pictured centre) competed with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Watson and Ruth Jones, Annette Crosbie for the job of archbishop A publicity image of the film Golda, where Dame Helen portrayed Ms Meir during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, showed Dame Helen covered in prosthetic to look more like the politician. Lipman suggested 37-year-old American-star Scarlett Johansson (pictured), whose mother is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, could have played the part She also said she believed Dame Helen, 76, would be a good fit for the role as Ms Meir - affectionately labelled 'the grandmother of the Jewish people' - because 'she is sexy'. Her latest comments were made in an interview with Good Morning Britain, in which she also revealed that she had only met Dame Helen once. But she said she expects the highly-acclaimed actress will 'understand' the contexts behind her comments and urged her to look beyond the 'headlines'. It comes after Dame Maureen, who is Jewish, sparked a row by questioning the casting of Dame Helen's as Ms Meir - Israel's first female Prime Minister. Dame Maureen previously said she felt uncomfortable at the casting of the multi award-winning actress, who is not Jewish, because the 'Jewishness of (Meir's) character is so integral'. However figures from the UK's Jewish community defend the casting, including Rabbi Jonathan Romain who said: 'You don't have to be Jewish to play a Jew'. The times that Dame Maureen Lipman has played non-Jewish characters Up the Junction (1968) - Sylvie - A working class girl who befriends a wealthy young heiress The Smashing Bird I Used to Know (1969) - Sarah - A lesbian prisoner who befriends an inmate from a middle-class background On Your Way, Riley (1985) - Kitty McShane - A fictional version of the real-life Irish actress Educating Rita (1983) - Trish - A room mate of the titular character Rita Water (1985) - Margaret Thatcher - A fictional version of the real-life British prime minister Bookmark (1992) - Enid Blyton - A fictional version of the real life English writer Coronation Street (2002) - Lillian Spencer - A relief manager who helps run the Rovers Return Inn Doctor Who (2006) - The Wire - An energy being villain that takes the souls of TV-watching Britons during Queen Elizabeth II's coronation Holby City (2011) - Bonnie Walters - A patient at Holby City Hospital The Vicar of Dibley (2015) - Alicia - A Church of England vicar competing with five other women to become an archbishop Coronation Street (2018 to Present) - Evelyn Plummer - the grandmother of established character Tyrone Dobbs Advertisement Despite the criticism, Dame Maureen, who once played a Church of England reverend in the Vicar of Dibley, today doubled-down on her view. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, she said : 'My feeling is, firstly, that Helen Mirren is a fine actress, and will be brilliant in the role and will green-light the film 'And she will be very good because she is sexy and Golda Meir, believe it or not, was very sexy. She didn't look it but read her book. 'And I've seen shows about her before, so I have nothing against Helen playing it. 'My query is should the casting directors looked first, and maybe they did, at Bette Midler, (Barbara) Streisand, Jennifer Connolly, Scarlet Johansson, or indeed, probably I would have gone with, Tracey Ullman, who is a brilliant actress. 'But maybe they wouldn't have green-light a film and maybe they have considered that Helen has Russian in her background and therefore she could play this Jewish women from Milwaukee.' Dame Maureen also admitted she herself had been questioned for playing an Irish Catholic, a role which was critiqued by the late Canadian film critic Milton Shulman. 'It's a complicated argument, and I will end up contradicting myself, but say for example that, you wanted to cast a film about Ghandi, would it be alright, would there be a fuss, if you cast Salma Hayek say, a Mexican, probably Catholic? 'Once I played an Irish Catholic, and Milton Shulman wrote a review: "Maureen Lipman playing an Irish Catholic is like Barbara Streisand playing mother Theresa". 'Now you might say "why not?".' Asked if acting was about the skill of a person's portrayal of a character, she joked: 'Of course, and that's why I would be arguing against myself, because as globalisation gets bigger, casting gets smaller. 'And we are getting more and more tribal. So in the end, if you were doing the "Maureen Lipman Show" you would only be able to have a 75-year-old woman who was born in Northfield Road, Hull, with an overbite and myopia. 'And it's crazy, it's not what it should be. 'But you've had a lot of things lately, like Javier Bardem has been criticised because he's Spanish, not Cuban, in Being the Ricardos - that's nuts. 'Jake Gyllenhaal has played a Persian when he's American-Swedish, Rooney Mara has been criticised for playing a Native American. Actress Dame Maureen Lipman (left) said Dame Helen Mirren (right) should not have been asked to play the Israeli leader Golda Meir, adding that she was uncomfortable with the casting The Coronation Street actress said she thinks stars such as Tracey Ullman, Bette Midler (pictured right) and Barbara Streisand (pictured left), should have been considered for the starring role in upcoming film 'Golda' 'My point here, and I'm contradicting myself, as I said, if the religion fires the character, then I honestly think you should look at that group that gender, if the character is gay I think you should see the gay actors first, see the Jewish actors first, if it doesn't work out, fair enough, go ahead. 'Clearly there will never be another Lawrence Olivier playing Othello, that's probably right, although he was wonderful, or an Alec Guinness in A Passage to India - that's been and gone - but we don't want to get to a stage where Richard III has to be played by someone with Scoliosis, whose committed insanity.' Asked if she thinks she had upset Dame Helen with her comments, she added: 'I'm sure that she of all people will understand what the headline was was not necessarily what the context was. So I'm not worried about that.' It is not clear if those behind the film, which is being directed by acclaimed Israeli director Guy Nattiv, had considered Jewish actresses for the role prior to Dame Helen's casting. MailOnline has contacted representatives for comment. Dame Maureen's latest comments come as Rabbi Jonathan Romain, director of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, yesterday took to Twitter to express his view on the row, saying: 'You don't have to be Jewish to play a Jew'. Taking to Twitter, Rabbi Romain, 67, wrote: 'We had a discussion on this at Maidenhead Synagogue two weeks ago; the unanimous verdict was that actors should act - that's what is their skill. Rabbi Jonathan Romain, director of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, today took to Twitter to express his view on the row, saying: 'You don't have to be Jewish to play a Jew' The first woman to be the prime minister of Israel who earned the nicknamed the 'strong-willed grandmother of the Jewish people': Who is Golda Meir? Born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev, present-day Ukraine, in 1898, Golda Meir would go on to become on of Israel's most prominent political figures. Her father, Moshe, was a carpenter in the city, then under the control of the Russia empire. She faced a difficult life as a child, later recording in her autobiography that her first memory was of her parents boarding up their home for fear of anti-Semitic violence. Meir grew up with two sisters, Sheyna and Tzipke, as well as five other siblings who died in childhood. In 1903, her father Kiev for New York City, while her family moved to Pinsk in modern-day Belarus. After finding a job and in Milwaukee, Moshe moved his family over the United States, where Meir's mother Blume Mabovitch ran a grocery store. Born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev, present-day Ukraine, in 1898, Golda Meir would go on to become on of Israel's most prominent political figures. Pictured: Golda Meir standing with U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1973 Meir showed leadership skills at a young age, organizing a fundraiser to pay for her classmates' textbooks and forming the American Young Sisters Society. While at high school she joined the Labour Zionist Youth Movement and became a keen Socialist Zionist. She married sign painter Morris Meyerson in 1917 after the pair met in Denver four years earlier. She remained married to him until his death in 1951. The pair had two children together. As part of a pre-condition of their marriage, Meir agreed to settle in Palestine, but the couple were delayed due to the US entering the First World War. The pair made the move in 1921 with her sister Sheyna, living in an international community of Jews known as a kibbutz. They later moved to Tel Aviv before settling in Jerusalem. It was here she became secretary of the Working Women's Council, a job which meant she returned to the US for two years as an emissary. During her time back in America she was the Jewish observer from Palestine at the Evian Conference - where a discussion took place on Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany. Meir continued to rise up the ranks in Jewish politics and was one of 24 signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. She was selected as Minister Plenipotentiary to Moscow, carrying the first Israeli-issued passport, before being elected to the Knesset and becoming Israel's Labor Minister - a position she held from 1949 until 1956. During Meir's (pictured in 1973) time as premier she faced dealing with the fourth Israel-Arab conflict - which came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. The short 19 day war ended in an Israeli victory Meir later served as Foreign Minister, before stepping back from her role in 1966 after being diagnosed with lymphoma. However she returned to front line politics in 1969 after being elected by her party to succeed leader Levi Eshkol following his sudden death. She became Israel's fourth Prime Minister - and the first female Prime Minister - a role she held until 1974. During her time as premier she faced dealing with the fourth Israel-Arab conflict - which came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. The short 19 day war ended in an Israeli victory. But her government became plagued by infighting and questions over Israel's lack of preparation for conflict. Her party won the next election, but her coalition government lost seats and was unable to form a majority, leading to her resignation. Two years later, in 1975, Meir was awarded the Israel Prize for her special contribution to society and the State of Israel. In 1978, five years after her resignation, Meir died of lymphoma at the age of 80. However her legacy lives on in Israel, where, while her success as a prime minister is debated, she is widely praised for her work as a labour and foreign minister. Today she is described as the 'strong-willed grandmother of the Jewish people', while others have referred to her as the original 'Iron Lady' before British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the Muslim world however her legacy is one of controversy, having been quoted in 1969 in the Times as saying: 'There were no such thing as Palestinians'. In 2019, the American Muslims for Palestine, a US-based group dedicated to educating the American public about Palestine, said: 'She had no problem with forcibly removing people from their homes and kicking them out of their country in order that Israel may exist.' In the US Meir has several buildings named after her, including a school and a library in Milwaukee, where she lived her early years, while there is a bust of her at Golda Meir Square, New York City. In Israel she has has a road named after her, Golda Meir Boulevard, Jerusalem, and a performing arts centre, Gold Meir Centre for Performing Arts, which is home to the Israeli Opera. Advertisement 'You don't have to be Jewish to play a Jew or orphaned to be an orphan. But it's wise to have an adviser from whatever is the context.' Meanwhile, Mr Pollard, who was up until last month the editor of the weekly newspaper, Tweeted: 'I adore Maureen Lipman but she couldn't be more wrong on this. 'The logic of her position is that the only character any actor can play is themselves.' However journalist Nicole Lambert, responded to say the position is 'more nuanced'. She wrote: 'I think a more nuanced take is that sometimes these roles of brilliant Jewish women should sometimes be played by Jewish women. And they never are.' The row comes after Dame Maureen spoke to the Jewish Chronicle and gave her view on the casting. In November a publicity image of the film Golda, where Dame Helen portrayed Ms Meir during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, showed Dame Helen covered in prosthetic to look more like the politician. Ms Meir was the fourth prime minister of Israel and held the position from 1969 until 1974. During her time as premier she faced dealing with the fourth Israel-Arab conflict - which came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. The short 19 day war ended in a Israel victory. But her government became plagued by infighting and questions over Israel's lack of preparation for conflict. Her party won the next election, but her coalition government lost seats and was unable to form a majority, leading to her resignation. Two years later, in 1975, Meir was awarded the Israel Prize for her special contribution to society and the State of Israel. Speaking about the casting of Dame Helen for the role of Golda, Dame Maureen said: 'The Jewishness of the character is so integral. 'I'm sure she will be marvellous, but it would never be allowed for Ben Kingsley to play Nelson Mandela. You just couldn't even go there.' Dame Maureen's comments sparked fans to point out that she herself had played a vicar in a 2015 Red Nose Day special of the Vicar of Dibley. In the comedy special, Dame Maureen's character competed with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Watson and Ruth Jones, Annette Crosbie for the job of archbishop. It is later revealed there are five positions open and Dawn French's character is the only one not to be selected. She returns to find she has been replaced in her Dibley role by another vicar, played by presenter Fiona Bruce. It comes after Tamsin Greig told The Daily Telegraph last month she 'probably shouldn't' have played a Jewish mother in Channel 4's Friday Night Dinner. Ms Greig is a practising Christian, although does have Jewish ancestry. But Patrick Marber, the playwright who directed Sir Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt, said he did not think 'lived experience' should be taken into consideration when casting for roles. He said to force actors to have experienced lives similar to the characters they play would deny the actor the challenge and right to impersonate someone else. Sarah Silverman, the US comedian, has previously slammed the casting of non-Jewish actress Kathryn Hahn as Joan Rivers, calling it 'Jewface'. Elliot Levey, who is currently playing a German Jew in Cabaret in the West End, called the argument a 'dystopian nightmare' as he criticised the idea of 'people showing their papers to authenticate Jewish ancestry'. Dame Helen is a supporter of Israel, adding her name to an open letter rejecting a cultural boycott of the country. While promoting her film The Debt, in which she played a retired Mossad agent, she was asked by The New York Times whether she might be 'a secret Jew'. She said she 'wouldn't be surprised'. Last year internet trolls branded Dame Helen 'racist' and described her as a 'well known Zionist and Israel-worshipper' after taking on the role of wartime prime minister Ms Meir. The film, Golda, is set during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 when Arab states attacked Israel. Dame Helen described Meir as 'a formidable, intransigent and powerful leader' and said it was 'a great challenge to portray her at the most difficult moment of her extraordinary life'. But critics on social media described the production as 'fascism', 'sick' and 'tasteless'. One Twitter user, who said they were 'Palestinian and proud', wrote: 'How sick making a biopic on criminal Golda Meir and yes no surprise Helen Mirren the racist is happy to portray the pure distorted version of a disgusting individual.' Another wrote: 'Helen Mirren doing a film about the first female prime minister of Israel is a slap in the face to all the people of Palestine, they are literally celebrating taking over Palestine and taking families out of their homes, murdering children, families! Tasteless film!' One social-media user said it was 'hugely disappointing that Helen Mirren is volunteering for this role', while another wrote: 'More fascism to show how 'wonderful' Israel is.' Born in Ukraine in 1898 before moving to the US as a child, Meir made history in 1969 as Israel's first female prime minister. She soon provoked international controversy, saying: 'There were no such thing as Palestinians.' Meir faced huge criticism in Israel for failing to adequately prepare for the threat of war, despite receiving word that Arab forces were gathering for an attack. Following the backlash for her handling of the war, Meir announced her resignation in 1974. She died in 1978 aged 80. Dame Helen has faced criticism in the past for saying that she was a 'believer' in Israel and that she rejected calls to boycott the country. The film also stars Call My Agent! actress Camille Cottin as Meir's personal assistant and Israeli Lior Ashkenazi as her chief of staff. Of course Dame Helen can play a Jew, darling. It's called acting! Maureen Lipman once played an Anglican vicar - but she complains that Helen Mirren is the wrong religion to be cast as Golda Meir, writes JONATHAN MYERSON By Jonathan Myerson for the Daily Mail The phone first rang just after breakfast. And that initial call was followed over the next few hours by a volley of texts. All were from Jewish theatre colleagues and all were on the same topic: Maureen Lipmans decision to go off the deep end about Helen Mirren, aggrieved that the non-Jewish actress had been chosen to play the former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. According to Lipman, the Jewishness of the character is so integral that it is unthinkable for a gentile to so much as attempt it, even an actress of Dame Helen Mirrens versatility and experience. But shes played Jews before! a director friend told me. One Mossad agent, one victim of Nazi looting. No one complained. An actor, who had recently played both Nazis and Holocaust survivors for me, texted: Shes not Jewing-up, shes Goldaing-up. Get real! The cause of all the fuss is a new film called Golda, set during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 when Israel came as close to total annihilation as it ever has. Dame Maureen told the Jewish Chronicle that she was not comfortable about the title role being given to a non-Jewish person. She added: Im sure she will be marvellous, but it would never be allowed for Ben Kingsley to play Nelson Mandela. You just couldnt even go there. Clearly, no one is suggesting that there should be a return to blackface roles, but barring Dame Helen from playing such a part is nonsensical. To paraphrase Laurence Oliviers famous quip to Dustin Hoffman: Maureen darling, its called acting! Yes, looking at the advance photos from the production, Dame Helen does require the help of facial prosthetics to appear authentic in the role. But this isnt to make her look Jewish, its to make her look like Golda Meir. I rather despair of Lipmans criticisms because I dread a world in which actors and characters are separated into silos. If all Jewish characters must be played by Jewish actors, where does it end? Must gay roles become the exclusive preserve of gay actors? Should Jews be banned from portraying Christians and vice versa? Dame Helen Mirren described Golda Meir as 'a formidable, intransigent and powerful leader' If so, that would certainly have precluded Dame Maureen from donning a dog-collar to play a Church of England vicar vying to become an archbishop, no less, in The Vicar Of Dibley, as she did in a Red Nose special in 2015. Do we really want a world where we live in these compartments and never stray? As my breakfast texters reminded me, this isnt Dame Maureens first foray into this dispute. All too recently, she complained of cancel culture making life impossible for comedians, for fear of giving offence. They were quick to point out that this plea for outspokenness hardly tallies with her reaction to Mirrens casting. Nor is it the first time that Maureen has railed against what she might consider to be gentile mission-creep. Back in 2019 she attacked the West End musical Falsettos, which featured a Jewish family, for insufficient Jewish involvement both on stage and off. But even then I thought that she was missing what I consider the best thing about being Jewish in Britain our invisibility. I am Jewish on my fathers side, and thanks to his genes I walk around with a classic Jewish nose and Ashkenazi eye-bags which seem to become more grey and more ponderous every year. Then theres my surname of Myerson which is not only the name of the first Jewish Miss America but also Golda Meirs original married name (sadly, no relation to me either). As a result, there are plenty of European countries in which many peoples Jew-dar would instantly flash red at the mere sight of me. In the UK, there is rarely so much as a flicker. The fact is that it does not cross most British peoples minds even to ask the question. Some UK rabbis might bemoan the extent of this integration but surely that is the better way the only way forward? Rabbi Jonathan Romain, the high-profile director of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, soon came out against Dame Maureens intervention. You dont have to be Jewish to play a Jew, or orphaned to be an orphan, he tweeted yesterday. While Stephen Pollard, editor at large of the Jewish Chronicle, the very paper that broke the story, said: I adore Maureen Lipman but she couldnt be more wrong on this. The logic of her position is that the only character any actor can play is themselves. This isnt the first time the issue of so-called Jewface has raised its head, of course. The role of the American comedienne Joan Rivers in a forthcoming biopic has been given to a non-Jewish actress called Kathryn Hahn. Ms Rivers made no secret of her Jewishness but you would be hard-put to say she looked especially Semitic. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (1898 - 1978) at the Socialist International Congress in Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1969 But that didnt stop Sarah Silverman, the U.S. comedian, criticising the casting. One could argue that a gentile playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called Jewface. Of course, the very word Jewface is designed to make us think of Blackface a genre which involved white minstrel performers painting their faces to do comedy routines about black people and all the horrible implications of that. But there really is no comparison. First, Blackface is gruesomely freighted not only with the long history of white colonialism, but also the casual appropriation of black culture. When I see Dame Helens remarkable prosthetic transformation, I do not think: Oh, theres another goy dressing up as a Jew. Nor do I have any cause to remember how much Jewish cultural life has been subsumed by White European culture largely because it hasnt. If anything, its the other way round. Jewish humour has become effectively the dominant form of U.S. humour, and therefore worldwide humour. And thanks to the first Hollywood and Broadway moguls, Jewish storytelling everything from schmaltzy sentimentality to plangent music became central to 20th-century film and theatre. But do actors, whether Jewish-looking or not, want to be compartmentalised as Jewish? You cant criticise any actor most of whom are not Dames or Sirs and spend their time scrabbling for the next job for avoiding that. Nor is Helen Mirren in the same position as Eddie Redmayne, who expressed his regret that he played a trans character in the 2015 romantic drama The Danish Girl and now feels that he should have left the field open to a trans actor. His mea culpa followed a similar one last year from the director of My Left Foot in which Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his portrayal of a character with cerebral palsy. Jim Sheridan, a six-time Academy Award nominee, said that he does not think its right any more for able-bodied actors to play disabled characters. But the disabled and the trans communities are horribly under-represented in casting throughout stage and screen. Sorry, Maureen, Jewish actors cannot say the same. Of course, if youve made it your thing to play Jewish and as such Dame Maureen is a National Treasure then to see a fellow Dame mopping up the juicy role of Golda Meir must be frustrating But please, Dame Maureen, lets not accidentally go down the same road as Karl Lueger, the infamously anti-Semitic mayor of Vienna between 1897 and 1910, who declared, I decide who is a Jew. Advertisement Cheapest flights available for Britons this month 4 to Croatia: London Stansted to Zagreb (Ryanair, January 22, 0830-1150, 2h20m) London Stansted to Zagreb (Ryanair, January 22, 0830-1150, 2h20m) 5 to Italy : London Luton to Rome (WizzAir, January 22, 1020-1350, 2h30m) : London Luton to Rome (WizzAir, January 22, 1020-1350, 2h30m) 5 to Netherlands : London Stansted to Eindhoven (Ryanair, January 22, 0615-0830, 1h05m) : London Stansted to Eindhoven (Ryanair, January 22, 0615-0830, 1h05m) 6 to Norway : London Stansted to Oslo (Ryanair, January 22, 1800-2100, 2h) : London Stansted to Oslo (Ryanair, January 22, 1800-2100, 2h) 6 to Poland : London Stansted to Krakow (Ryanair, January 22, 0840-1155, 2h15m) : London Stansted to Krakow (Ryanair, January 22, 0840-1155, 2h15m) 7 to Austria : London Stansted to Vienna (Ryanair, January 22, 0830-1135, 2h05m) : London Stansted to Vienna (Ryanair, January 22, 0830-1135, 2h05m) 8 to Bulgaria : London Stansted to Sofia (Ryanair, January 25, 0635-1135, 3h) : London Stansted to Sofia (Ryanair, January 25, 0635-1135, 3h) 8 to Ireland : London Stansted to Dublin (Ryanair, January 25, 0530-0745, 1h15m) : London Stansted to Dublin (Ryanair, January 25, 0530-0745, 1h15m) 9 to Czech Republic : London Stansted to Prague (Ryanair, January 25, 1145-1435, 1h50m) : London Stansted to Prague (Ryanair, January 25, 1145-1435, 1h50m) 9 to Denmark : London Stansted to Copenhagen (Ryanair, January 26, 0840-1125, 1h45m) : London Stansted to Copenhagen (Ryanair, January 26, 0840-1125, 1h45m) 9 to Germany : London Stansted to Berlin (Ryanair, January 22, 0730-1010, 1h40m) : London Stansted to Berlin (Ryanair, January 22, 0730-1010, 1h40m) 9 to Greec e : London Stansted to Athens (Ryanair, January 25, 1545-2115, 3h30m) : London Stansted to Athens (Ryanair, January 25, 1545-2115, 3h30m) 9 to Latvia : London Stansted to Riga (Ryanair, January 19, 0620-1055, 2h35m) : London Stansted to Riga (Ryanair, January 19, 0620-1055, 2h35m) 9 to Portugal : London Stansted to Lisbon (Ryanair, January 25, 0620-0910, 2h50m) : London Stansted to Lisbon (Ryanair, January 25, 0620-0910, 2h50m) 9 to Romania : London Luton to Bucharest (WizzAir, January 22, 1650-2205, 3h15m) : London Luton to Bucharest (WizzAir, January 22, 1650-2205, 3h15m) 9 to Spain : London Stansted to Zaragoza (Ryanair, January 22, 1245-1555, 2h10m) : London Stansted to Zaragoza (Ryanair, January 22, 1245-1555, 2h10m) 9 to Sweden : London Stansted to Gothenburg (Ryanair, January 25, 1845-2140, 1h55m) Checked by MailOnline on Skyscanner at about 10am today. Flight arrival and departures times are local. Advertisement Travel companies were today braced for a surge in demand from British tourists after pre-departure Covid tests for those arriving in England were scrapped in a major boost for the beleaguered industry. The requirement for travellers to self-isolate on arrival in England until they receive a negative PCR test is also being dropped - and they will instead have to take a lateral flow test no later than the end of day two after arriving. The measures will save families hundreds of pounds on not having to buy so many tests and make it much easier to book holidays - with an expected surge in demand among winter sun-seekers and families looking to reunite with loved ones. PCR tests on average cost around 80 per traveller, compared to 20-30 for a rapid swab, saving families up to 200 on post-arrival tests alone. They could save another 100 in pre-departure tests. Britons can fly to 16 countries for under 10 this month - including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. The cheapest single flights found today by MailOnline for this month were 4 from London Stansted to Zagreb with Ryanair, and 5 for both London Luton to Rome with WizzAir and Stansted to Eindhoven with Ryanair. UK tourists can also go from Stansted with Ryanair to Oslo or Krakow for 6, Vienna for 7 and Sofia or Dublin for 8. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement in the House of Commons yesterday that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is now so prevalent in the UK that the measure is having limited impact on the spread of the disease. Flight booking website Skyscanner now expects 2022 will now be a 'bumper bargain year for travel' with prices currently up to 71 per cent cheaper than pre-pandemic for some destinations, compared to the 2019 average. The company said that in the first hours following Mr Johnson's announcement, Skyscanner saw an 81 per cent increase in visits to the site, week on week. It said bookings by UK travellers were already up 25 per cent in the week to this Monday compared to the previous week - and the top five summer destinations booked by Britons are Orlando, Malaga, Faro, Alicante and Palma. Stephanie Boyle, Skyscanner's global travel industry expert, told MailOnline: 'This news will go a long way towards boosting confidence for travellers who are hoping to visit loved ones overseas or book a holiday in 2022. 'We expect to see a surge in demand from UK holidaymakers following the scrapping of pre-departure testing and self-isolation requirements, especially given the timing which aligns with a traditionally busy time for travel. Britons can fly to 16 countries for under 10 this month - including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain Passengers sit in the international arrivals hall at London Heathrow Airport today after the new testing rules were announced Passengers walk around the departures area of London Heathrow Airport today after the rules were changed Flight crew walk through Heathrow Airport today as it was revealed that pre-travel testing requirements will be dropped 'Winter-weary workers returning this week after the festive period tend to want something to look forward to and will be keen to book breaks in the short term as well as planning bigger trips for the summer.' She added: 'We have more information on what we can expect from a calendar year living with the virus now and many will be planning big trips for the summer when traditionally we have seen fewer restrictions. What will the new travel rules be for UK tourists? If you qualify as fully vaccinated for travel to England (meaning at least 14 days has passed since your second jab), and you will arrive in England after 4am tomorrow (Friday, January 7), you do not need to: Take a Covid test before you travel to England Quarantine when you arrive in England If you qualify as fully vaccinated and will arrive in England after 4am this Sunday (January 9), you can choose to take a lateral flow test instead of a PCR test after you arrive in England. If you take a lateral flow test and test positive, you will need to self-isolate and take a free confirmatory PCR. You must book the test before you travel to England. You can book lateral flows from 4am tomorrow (January 7). You must take the lateral flow test no later than the end of day two after arriving. For example, if you arrive on a Monday, this would be by the end of the Wednesday. You cannot use a lateral flow until after 4am this Sunday. Before this time, you must use a PCR test after arrival. The fully vaccinated rules also apply to children aged 17 and under, people taking part in an approved vaccine trial, and people who are unable to have a vaccination due to medical reasons. Click here for more details Advertisement 'The travel industry has proved its agility and resistance through difficult times and will be hoping for these new simpler rules to remain in place without change to continue the safe and sustained return of travel.' The current travel testing rules were introduced in November last year amid a global panic over the spread of Omicron - but with the variant now dominant in the UK, many questioned why they remained. Mr Johnson told the Commons that from this weekend, costly post-arrival PCR tests would be replaced with cheaper rapid swabs for the fully vaccinated. Travellers must buy the post-arrival lateral flow tests from private providers before returning to England. They cannot use free NHS ones. Pre-departure tests taken within 72 hours of travelling to England will also be axed. This change will come into force at 4am tomorrow, whereas the replacement of PCRs with lateral flows post-arrival will come into effect at 4am on Sunday. The new rules will apply only to those who have been fully vaccinated which means double, rather than triple-jabbed. Children aged five to 17 will be treated as fully vaccinated even if they are not, meaning they must also take day two post-arrival lateral flow tests. Under-fives are exempt. The changes apply only to England, with Scotland and Northern Ireland yet to declare if they will follow suit. In Wales, health minister Eluned Morgan said they would be 'reluctantly' following suit. Mr Johnson said: 'When the Omicron variant was first identified, we rightly introduced travel restrictions to slow its arrival in our country. 'But now Omicron is prevalent, these measures are having limited impact on the growth in cases, while continuing to incur significant costs to our travel industry.' The changes come just in time for the travel industry, with January traditionally the busiest period for summer holiday bookings. A British Airway aircraft comes in to land at London Heathrow Airport yesterday evening as the rule changes were announced An aircraft comes in to land at Heathrow Airport last night as Boris Johnson announced a relaxing of travel testing rules Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to the House of Commons yesterday where he announced changes to the travel rules Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association trade body, said: 'This is a long- overdue and welcome step back to the pre-Omicron regime. It's clear that the extra measures had little or no impact on the spread on this new variant.' Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: 'Travellers can now book with confidence and look forward to reconnecting with loved ones and business colleagues. Meanwhile... vital testing capacity can be reallocated where it is needed the most in hospitals, schools and crucial national infrastructure.' Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the industry body Airlines UK, said it would be a 'massive boost' for the sector at a 'critical' time of the year. 'People will now be able to book knowing that - for the fully vaccinated - all emergency testing restrictions have been removed,' he said. 'Today marks an important step towards learning to live alongside the virus, helping passengers and the travel sector look ahead to what will be an all-important spring and summer season.' EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren also welcomed the move but said the Government needed to go further. 'This will make travel much simpler and easier and means our customers can book and travel with confidence,' he said. 'However, the Government must now urgently take the final step towards restriction-free travel and remove the last remaining unnecessary test for vaccinated travellers so flying does not become the preserve of the rich.' A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said: 'Although this is welcome news, there is still a long way back for aviation which remains the lifeblood of the UK's economy, supporting millions of jobs in all four nations.' NHS lateral flow tests cannot be used for international travel, and the tests must be brought from a private provider. Those who have already brought PCR tests for travelling needs can still use these. Julia Simpson, chief of the World Travel & Tourism Council, said: 'The removal of pre-departure tests and replacing Day 2 PCRs with more affordable antigen testing will significantly boost the UK travel and tourism sector and help both it, and the whole UK economy recover much faster than expected.' And Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: 'It is abundantly clear to everyone that travel testing requirements have had no impact on the spread of the Omicron variant, so this should represent the end of a set of measures that are not only disproportionate but futile too. 'That said, the removal of these travel restrictions is the news that our customers have been desperate to hear, and the massive surge in traffic and bookings tells us that holidays are very much back on for UK holidaymakers. 'Customers are jumping at the chance to book the holidays they have been looking forward to and we want to give them even more to smile about, which is why we are launching this sale.' He added: 'Whether it is a family holiday, a break with the other half or a group get together, we know how much everyone needs that well-deserved holiday. 'Holidays just got a lot easier and whether it is sun, ski or a leisure city holiday, we can see just what a shot in the arm today is for customer confidence.' An escaped tiger has bitten off a zoo keeper's hand and attacked two others at a safari park near Tokyo. The 10-year-old male Bengal was found roaming the Nasu Safari Park, based in the Tochigi prefecture, when staff were preparing to open at around 8.30am on Wednesday morning. The 330lbs (150kg) beast, who measures around 6ft 6ins (2m) in length, had not been properly fenced inside his enclosure the night before, Kyodo news agency reported. When three members of staff returned the next morning, they happened upon the creature in a corridor leading to an exhibition area, and were savagely attacked. One female worker, in her 20s, lost her hand and was taken to hospital by helicopter. A second woman received several bites to her body while a male worker sustained injuries to the back of his head. Both workers, also in their 20s, had to be taken to hospital. The 10-year-old male Bengal was found roaming the Nasu Safari Park (pictured), based in the Tochigi prefecture, when staff were preparing to open at around 8.30am on Wednesday morning The 330lbs (150kg) beast, who measures around two metres (6.5 feet) in length, had not been properly fenced inside his enclosure the night before, Kyodo news agency reported (file photo) According to Kyodo, keepers did not properly check that the fence to the tiger's cage was closed on Tuesday, after it had been led back inside once the exhibition was over. The park closed for the day and police are now investigating to see if mismanagement played a part in the incident. The fate of the tiger has not been reported. The park's latest tweet, posted on Wednesday, reads: 'An accident has occurred in the tiger enclosure on the morning of January 5 and one worker has been injured. 'We are currently confirming the condition of employees and we are investigating the cause of the accident. 'We will tell you all more as soon as we understand the details. 'For now, the park will remain closed.' The Nasu Safari Park offers tours on specialised buses and for customers in their own cars to see its collection of around 700 animals including giraffes and elephants. The park has had safety incidents before, including keepers being attacked by lions in 1997 and 2000, according to Kyodo. The attack this week comes just days after a zoo keeper in Florida in the US was mauled by a tiger when he allegedly stuck his hand through the fence to pet it. Graphic video from December 29 shows River Rosenquist, 26, of Naples, bloodied and on the ground at the Naples Zoo tiger enclosure as he screams out in pain: 'Please help me! Please help me! Oh my God! Shoot it! I'm going to die!' Collier County sheriff's deputies tried kicking the enclosure, where Eko, an eight-year-old Malayan tiger, was housed, in an attempt to get the animal to free the worker. Police body camera video shows the horrific moment a Florida cop shot and killed a tiger after it seized the arm of a zoo cleaner River Rosenquist, 26, who tried to pet and feed it Eko (pictured), an eight-year-old Malayan tiger, was killed Wednesday night after a deputy struck him with a single shot After an unsuccessful attempt, the deputy - believing he had no other options - fired a single shot at the tiger in an attempt to save Mr Rosenquist's life. Eko could be heart grunting around the time the fatal shot was fired, then retreated to the rear of the enclosure where he died. Deputies were called to the zoo around 6.26pm last Wednesday after Mr Rosenquist allegedly violated the park's rules by entering the tiger enclosure. Preliminary investigations revealed he was supposed to be cleaning the restrooms and gift shop when he decided to enter an unauthorised area of the tiger enclosure and stuck his hand through. He appeared to be either petting or feeding the tiger, both of which police said were 'unauthorised and dangerous activities'. Eko then believed to have grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him into the enclosure, prompting authorities authorities to step in. 'Our deputy did everything he could do in that situation and he ultimately made the only possible decision he could in order to save this man's life,' Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a press release. 'This was a tragic encounter at our world-class zoo facility. We value our community partnership with the Naples Zoo and their focus on conservation and education.' Mr Rosenquist may now face criminal charges. Advertisement As many as 5,000 Covid patients in hospital in England may have been admitted for other ailments, NHS figures suggest as the super-mild Omicron variant continues to engulf the country. Latest data shows so-called 'incidental' cases those who test positive after admission for something else, such as a broken leg made up a third of coronavirus inpatient numbers on December 28. At that point, there were just 8,300 Covid sufferers being treated in England's hospitals, 2,750 of which were not primarily receiving care for the virus (33 per cent). More up-to-date statistics from the Government's Covid dashboard show that, as of Wednesday, there were 15,600 beds occupied by people infected with the virus. It is not clear exactly how many of the current patients are there primarily for Covid because the NHS's breakdown is backdated and only covers up to December 28. But, if incidental cases still account for a third of cases, it means at least 5,000 who are being counted as coronavirus patients are not suffering seriously with the disease. Experts say there is reason to believe the share of incidentals will continue to rise as Omicron pushes England's infection rates to record numbers, with one in 15 people estimated to have had Covid on New Year's Eve. In South Africa ground zero of the Omicron outbreak up to 60 per cent of Covid patients were not admitted primarily for the virus at the height of the crisis there. Separate analysis of NHS data shows 45 per cent of beds newly occupied by Covid patients in the final week of December were patients not primarily ill with the virus. It comes as two dozen NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by sky-high infection rates, indicating that they may be unable to provide vital care in the coming weeks. One in ten workers are off and 183,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average, prompting calls for the isolation period to be cut to five days. The proportion of beds occupied by patients who are primarily in hospital 'for' Covid, versus those who were admitted for something else and tested positive later, referred to as 'with' Covid. The data covers the week between December 21 and December 28, when were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26 in 2019, 2018 and 2017 While Covid hospitalisations are rising quickly in England, they are still half of the level of last January and far fewer patients are needing ventilation A total of 24 out of 137 NHS Trusts in England have declared critical incidents or 17.5 per cent due to soaring staff absences amid the Omicron outbreak. Above are the trusts that have publicly announced they have declared these incidents to help them manage winter pressures The number of daily positive Covid tests recorded in England has exceeded 100,000 for two weeks. However, the number of patients in hospital with the virus is a fraction of the level seen last winter, while deaths remain flat The proportion of Covid beds in the NHS occupied by patients primarily being treated for the virus is decreasing and has fallen sharply since mid-December. The NHS' breakdown is backdated and currently only covers up to December 28. In England a third of of total Covid patients were incidental on that date. While the number of patients primarily ill with Covid is increasing the proportion of incidental patients is rising Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, an eminent statistician at Cambridge University, told MailOnline that the rise in incidental cases 'reflected the huge number of infections' at the moment. He added: 'The rise in the share of incidental Covid patients could be largely due to the increased rate of people catching Covid while in hospital. 'But we have good evidence from other sources that, compared to Delta, Omicron tends to produce milder disease - although it can still affect some people badly.' Now 24 NHS trusts declare critical incidents as patient waiting list hits 6MILLION Twenty-four NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions, it was revealed today but ministers have downplayed the warnings and insisted it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises amid growing hopes that the Omicron outbreak is close to peaking. Grant Shapps announced another four sites hit the panic button overnight, meaning roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. It comes as MPs warned the patient waiting list which already stands on the brink of 6million in England alone could double in three years without urgent action to get more doctors and nurses on wards, saying efforts to clear the backlog are being thrown off course by the self-isolation fuelled staffing crisis. Even NHS bosses have called for No10 to look at slashing the quarantine period to five days, like the US. Despite NHS bosses warning of escalating pressures on wards with up to one in 10 medics thought to be off sick, Boris Johnson last night all but ruled out adopting another lockdown and held out the prospect of a return 'closer to normality' within weeks. The Prime Minister has held his nerve in the face of demands to introduce tougher restrictions to thwart Omicron, unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales, and imposed no new curbs over the holidays, winning him praise from Tory MPs. A raft of data has suggested that the outbreak in London the first region to fall victim to the ultra-transmissible strain may have already peaked. Up to one in 10 people living in the capital were infected on New Year's Eve, statisticians estimate. Cases are still going up in over-60s in London but experts believe the trend will reverse in the next week. And the number of daily infections spotted across the UK as a whole jumped just 6 per cent in a week yesterday. Advertisement As of yesterday, official data shows there were 15,659 Covid hospital patients in English hospitals, up 51 per cent in a week. But that is still fewer than half of the peak last January when there were 33,000 inpatients and the rise of incidental cases has given ministers confidence that no extra restrictions are needed. The NHS is due to publish an updated breakdown of primary and incidental inpatient numbers tomorrow, but it will only cover up to January 3. Experts and Tory MPs have called on the Government to differentiate between primary and secondary Covid patients in the daily figures for transparency. Cambridge epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali has previously told MailOnline that it would 'not only helpful but in many ways essential' in assessing the true pressure on the NHS. Now that there is a growing acceptance that Omicron is unlikely to lead to a wave of severe illness like previous peaks, NHS leaders say isolation and staff absences are the central crises they face. Meanwhile, separate analysis of the NHS figures suggests that nearly half of patients who contributed to the surge in Covid infections in hospital before the new year were admitted for other reasons. Between December 21 and December 28, there were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were for primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend. Meanwhile, 24 trusts in England have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions caused by Omicron. It means roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. But ministers have downplayed the warnings and insisted it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises amid growing hopes that the Omicron outbreak is close to peaking. Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, accepted that there are 'very real pressures' but added: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26, 2019. Data from NHS England show there were an average of 95,917 beds open and 86,078 occupied that week, giving an occupancy rate of 89.7 per cent. This is higher than the 87.4 per cent in the most recent data, suggesting there is room for further admissions. The number of beds unavailable because of Norovirus outbreaks has almost halved, which makes it easier to move patients around, allowing for further admissions. The NHS also has more spare capacity in intensive care now than it did pre-pandemic and could open even more beds if it needed to. The number of Covid patients in critical care in England is half the level of previous peaks. There were an average of 4,079 adult critical care beds open each day in the week to December 26, but only 75 per cent of them 3,058 were occupied. Compare that to an occupancy rate of 79.6 per cent in the week to December 26, 2019, when there was an average of 3,647 adult critical care beds open and 2,903 occupied. On January 24 last year there were 3,736 Covid patients in intensive care in England the highest of the pandemic with 6,270 critical beds open for any illness. A total of 1.3million Britons were living with long Covid before the Omicron surge, according to major report by the Office of National Statistics. This is equivalent to approximately 2 per cent of the UK's population or one in 50 people, with symptoms ranging from tiredness to headaches and nausea. The ONS calculates 506,000, 40 per cent, have suffered the wide-ranging condition for over a year. The estimates are based on a survey of 350,000 people who self-reported suffering with long Covid, meaning they were not necessarily diagnosed. These responses were collected in the four weeks to December 6, before the recent surge in Covid infections driven by the Omicron variant. There are fears the new wave could exacerbate the problem, now record numbers of people are catching the disease. Experts have previously cast doubt over the ONS's long Covid sufferer findings, with some saying they are likely to be an overestimation given symptoms like headaches and fatigue can be linked to a variety of conditions. The 1.3million estimate is an increase of 100,000 from the ONS's previous toll which was released at the end of October. Experts highlighted that long Covid numbers have not, however, risen at the same rate as Covid cases meaning vaccines may be offering some protection against the condition. The ONS has estimated 1.3million Britons are currently living with Covid, and 506,000 have been doing so for over a year (stock image) What is Long Covid? As of October 2, an estimated 1.2 million people in the UK were estimated to have long Covid, according to the NHS. Long Covid is an informal term, used to describe ongoing symptoms following a Covid infection that go on longer than 12 weeks. A dizzying array of symptoms have been attributed to long Covid, including: extreme tiredness (fatigue) shortness of breath chest pain or tightness problems with memory and concentration ('brain fog') difficulty sleeping (insomnia) heart palpitations dizziness pins and needles joint pain depression and anxiety tinnitus, earaches feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste rashes There is no cure for the condition though the NHS does recommend a number of treatments designed to help alleviate the symptoms. Advertisement Long Covid is defined as having lingering symptoms of the virus for more than a month after infection. It is a poorly understood condition with sufferers normally reporting extreme tiredness, breathing difficulties, a loss of smell, and problems concentrating. But it has been linked to an array of other symptoms like joint pain, nausea, insomnia and depression. The condition was estimated to affect the day-to-day lives of 809,000 people, nearly two thirds of self-reporting long Covid sufferers. Fatigue was the most commonly reported long Covid symptom with just over half of suffers, 51 per cent, reporting feeling tired. This was followed by loss of smell (37 per cent), shortness of breath 36 per cent, and difficulty concentrating 28 per cent. Of those that suffered symptoms, 247,000, one in five, said reported that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities had been 'limited a lot'. Out of the 351,850 people the ONS based its analysis on, the condition was most common in 35-69-year-olds, people living in deprived areas, and those with a life-limiting condition or disability. Women, and people who worked in health or social care and education were also more likely to self report as having long Covid. The ONS report also noted that its the number for people working in education as self reporting long Covid saw the biggest increase of any employment group. As of December 6, 26,047 people employed in teaching and education reported having long Covid, a jump of 1,050 compared to the figure for the end of October. In comparison the number of people employed in the health sector self reporting for long Covid only increased by 1,031 to 20,995. Record 3.3MILLION people one in 15 had Covid on New Year's Eve in England A record one in 15 people were infected with Covid on New Year's Eve in England, the country's gold-standard surveillance study has found. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated 3.3million people were infected on any given day during the week to December 31, up more than 60 per cent on the previous spell. Before the emergence of Omicron, that figure rarely rose above 1million, but the ultra-transmissible variant has pushed the country's infection rate to astronomical levels. The super-mild strain has, however, created a huge disparity between cases, hospitalisations and deaths, with admissions still a third of the level of previous peaks and fatalities 10 times lower. A shocking one in 10 Londoners were estimated to have Covid on New Year's Eve but the ONS said there were 'early signs' that infections had peaked in the capital, which has been hit hardest by Omicron. The ONS' weekly infection survey is regarded as the most reliable indicator of the UK's outbreak because it uses random sampling of around 100,000 people, rather than relying on people coming forward to be tested. Advertisement Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer from University of Exeter, said the ONS estimate, which would include people who caught the virus in the Delta wave, suggested that vaccines are helping to ward off long Covid. He said the figures 'support the hypothesis that the hugely successful vaccination program reduced the risk of progressing to long Covid'. However, with an eye on the recent surge in cases due to Omicron variant, Dr Strain added this did not mean the UK should be complacent about the risk posed by long Covid. 'The stark warning here, however, is that, based the previous waves, over 800,000 people have their day-to-day activities significantly affected over three months after catching Covid, nearly a quarter of a million report this has a dramatic impacts on their quality of life,' he said. 'As we continue to see case numbers of Omicron rise, we must be wary that our reliance purely on hospitalisations and death as a measure of the risk from Covid could grossly underestimate the public health impact of our current Covid strategy.' The UK is currently dealing with a massive surge in Covid cases due to highly transmissible Omicron Covid variant. A gold standard estimate by the ONS calculated that a record 3.3million people, equivalent to one in 15 Britons were infected on any given day during the week to December 31. Thankfully hospitalisations and deaths due to the virus have not risen by an equivalent amount with the protection offered by vaccines believed to be helping reduce the number of people becoming seriously ill. However high case numbers are causing other problems in the health service with dozens of NHS hospitals declaring critical incidents due to the number of staff off work to either having the virus or needing to self isolate. Would you like to marry Muhammad? Email danny.hussain@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement More than 2,000 people have contacted a lonely bachelor who advertised himself on billboards across Birmingham in the hope of finding a wife. Mohammad Malik, 29, took the bold step of picturing himself lying down on huge hoardings across the city with the words, 'Save me from an arranged marriage'. He also set up a website 'Findmailkawife.com' in order to catch the eye of a potential partner. Since news of his unusual love search broke, more than 1,000 hopefuls have contacted him via his website. And another 1,000 or so have slipped into his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook DMs. Mohammad, an innovation consultant and entrepreneur, told Radio Five Live how he intends to sort through the avalanche of interest. Mohammad said he has enlisted a few friends to create spreadsheets and will then 'audit' his way through all the messages. The columns will include age, location (ideally UK), hobbies and personality type but said he would not focus so much on looks. Entrepreneur Muhammad Malik, 29, set up the website 'findmalikawife.com' and has plastered his face across several advertising hoardings across Birmingham Mohammad said he has enlisted a few friends to create spreadsheets and will then 'audit' his way through all the messages He said: 'I am really pleased, I am overwhelmed actually with the responses. 'There's been over a thousand responses now on the official channel which is the website but then even more responses, even more than a thousand through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and social media and stuff like that. It's a nice surprise.' And any meetings between suitors will take place in real life in the coming weeks. He said: 'Maybe the week after, we will start getting those meetings in.' Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, he added: 'I am definitely not against arranged marriages - it is quite a tongue-in-cheek thing to say. 'I think it is a 100 per cent legitimate way to find somebody but I thought let me have a crack at something else first. The first thing that comes to mind is personality. I am a bit out there, I am a people person, an inner thespian comes out at times, so somebody who can balance that energy. 'Maybe someone who is a bit more grounding, maybe into nature and things that are a bit more chilled out rather than exacerbating this energy that I have. That is really important I think. But then somebody who is also enthused and passionate.' Host Susanna Reid joked in response: 'That's quite a list...you didn't put all that on the billboard!' Mohammad can be seen lying on his side pointing upwards with a big smile on billboards. He is from London but calls Birmingham his second home thanks to the 'top quality food spots in the city centre, bustling Alum Rock (and) the incredible mosques'. Drivers using the A34 can see a smiling Muhammad lying on the floor and jokingly begging prospective partners to 'save me from an arranged marriage' Muhammad is originally from London, but describes Birmingham as 'a second home' thanks to the 'top quality food spots in the city centre, bustling Alum Rock and the incredible mosques' He said: 'My ideal partner would be a Muslim woman in her 20s, who's striving to better her deen. 'I'm open to any ethnicity but I've got a loud Punjabi family - so you'd need to keep with the bants. Always personality and faith over anything else! 'P.S I'm an only child and look after my mom and dad. If this is a deal-breaker I don't think it'll work out.' Muhammad hopes his big vision will trump anyone opting for dating apps, expert advice or trying to connect through mutual friends or family members. 'I just haven't found the right girl yet. It's tough out there', he explained. 'I had to get a billboard to get seen!' Muhammad says he took the unusual approach to find romance after the usual methods of meeting 'the one' did not bear fruit. He said: 'I'm a creative, love doing the most random and absurd - but 100 per cent halal of course - things. 'Traditional methods such as 'rishta aunties' didn't work for me so thought why not take it to the billboards!' The word 'Rishta' means to propose in Hindi, meaning a 'rishta auntie' is essentially a marriage broker who serves as a matchmaker for men and women in her community. Muhammad was keen to stress his search for love was genuine and that he is not against arranged marriages. He said: 'I think arranged marriages have a place and tradition in many Islamic cultures. Muhammad says he took the unusual approach to find romance after the usual methods of meeting 'the one' did not bear fruit Muhammad was keen to stress his search for love was genuine and that he is not against arranged marriages 'In fact, there are many studies that show that arranged marriages have many advantages. 'I just want to try and find someone on my own first.' The singleton has also taken out similar adverts in Manchester and London but refused to reveal how much he has paid for them. The average costs of advertising on a billboard in the UK is believed to be around 500-600 a week dependent on location. Giving his reasons for going to such drastic measures, Muhammad, from West London, said: 'Probably because of my personality. 'I'm a creative and I love doing the most random and absurd things - as long as they are 100 per cent halal of course. 'Traditional methods such as 'rishta aunties' didn't work for me so thought why not take it to the billboards. 'I have been looking for someone seriously on and off for two years I'd say.. I began casually searching just before the start of Covid. 'And I actually did find someone and was planning to get married but when the pandemic hit my freelance and consultancy work grinded to halt and I shifted my focus to pivoting my career. 'After finding my feet in my new work I began looking again after the second lockdown but without luck. 'I've got billboards in Birmingham, Manchester and London - which I thought would increase my chances of finding someone. 'They have been up since the New Year. A New Year, a new me! 'It's early days but responses thus far have been in the triple digits and from some really lovely people - keep them coming. 'I'm hoping to get in touch with women I like soon.' UKHSA said real figure of those who have had both viruses at once will be higher EXCLUSIVE: More than 130 Britons have been infected with Covid and the flu More than 160 cases of 'flurona' have already been detected in England, MailOnline can reveal but experts say true toll could be in the region of 1,000 and insist it the fears are 'overhyped'. Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows of the 8.6million people in England who tested positive for Covid by the end of November, 169 also had influenza 0.002 per cent. Health chiefs said the real figure of those who have had both viruses at once will be higher, and around three in 10 people who require an intensive oxygen treatment in hospital have a secondary infection on top of Covid. Dual infections of influenza and coronavirus have been reported this week in Europe and the US, including in children and a pregnant woman. But doctors monitoring the cases have so far reported mild symptoms, and one top expert said concerns over 'flurona' are 'overhyped'. Flu has yet to make a resurgence in the UK after cases fell to their lowest level in 130 years during the pandemic, as restrictions brought in to reduce the spread of Covid also prevented flu cases from reaching usual levels. Experts warned this lack of immunity could lead to 60,000 flu deaths this winter, up from the usual annual death toll of 10,000 to 25,000. But data from the Office for National Statistics which groups death data for flu and pneumonia shows this category of fatalities were a fifth lower in November than the five year average in England. However, experts told MailOnline the risk of dual infections will inevitably increase if flu takes off this winter, like seen elsewhere. The UKHSA graphic shows the number of Covid patients who tested positive for another virus within a day of having their Covid infection confirmed (black bar). It also shows the number of people who tested positive for another virus within 28 days before testing positive for Covid (light blue bar) and within 28 days after having their Covid status confirmed (blue bar) UKHSA data shows the rate of people per 1,000 individuals in England presenting with flu-like symptoms rose towards the end of 2021. The graph shows the number of people visiting their GP (green), phoning their GP (blue), visiting hospital (black), phoning NHS 111 (yellow) with flu-like symptoms. But flu deaths in England were a fifth below the five-year average in November, according to ONS data, and experts warn the flu season is yet to kick off The UKHSA report shows 93 Covid patients were diagnosed with influenza A, while 37 had influenza B and four had an unconfirmed type of the virus. But the figures only go up to October 24, before Omicron had taken off to infect up to one in 10 people by New Year's Eve. The UKHSA admitted the figure could be an underestimate, as flu tests are not as widely available as Covid tests. What is 'flurona'? People who are infected with both flu and Covid have been dubbed as 'flurona' cases. This is not a newly mutated virus. Instead, people become infected with both viruses at the same time. Data released by Public Health England in 2020 before vaccines were rolled out showed those who caught Covid and flu were twice as likely to die. And the most recent figures from the UK Health Security Agency shows that around a third of Covid patients who are put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation a machine that takes over a patient's heart and lung functions are also infected with another virus. But experts warned fears around 'flurona' are over-hyped, as it is common for people to catch more than one respiratory virus at once. And while acknowledging they will have not picked up all cases, UK health chiefs found just 0.002 per cent of people who caught Covid were also infected with flu - around one in 50,000. Advertisement Around half of the flu cases were detected within a day of testing positive for Covid, while the other infections were detected within a month of a positive test. The figures equate to just 0.002 per cent of all Covid cases having concurrent flu infection. Nearly half of the coinfections (62) were detected in the first three months of the pandemic, up to June 28 2020. Meanwhile, 32 were registered during the second wave between June 29 2020 and April 26 2021. Some 40 cases were detected between April 27 and October 24 2021. And the remaining 35 were detected between October 25 and November 28, equating to more than one case per day, the highest level recorded in the pandemic so far. The UKHSA said around a third of Covid patients who are put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation a machine that takes over a patient's heart and lung functions are also infected with another virus. And data released by Public Health England in 2020 before vaccines were rolled out showed those who caught Covid and flu were twice as likely to die. But Professor Julian Tang, a virologist at Leicester University, told the Times that having both flu and Covid doesn't necessarily mean people will become more unwell. He said children can have up to four respiratory viruses at once, adding: 'The idea of "flurona" is a bit overhyped.' Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist based at Reading University, told MailOnline there seems to be a 'fairly low' amount of flu circulating in the UK at the moment, so the risk of coinfection is 'not currently high'. But he warned: 'Contracting both viruses simultaneously increases the risk of being seriously ill, but risks can be mitigated by getting vaccinated and boosted against both diseases. 'Allowing increased numbers of either infection increases the risk of contracting both of them. 'With testing for both viruses uncoupled as they are, the numbers of confirmed flu infections is probably a substantial underestimate and it is possible that the risk of dual infection is much greater than we realise. 'I would be surprised if the current number of flu and Covid co-infections was below a thousand.' And Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline coinfections from any respiratory viruses 'are generally more severe'. People who caught Covid and flu at the start of the pandemic were 'roughly twice as likely' to be hospitalised or admitted to intensive care compared to those who just had Covid, he said. UKHSA data shows 81.4 per cent of over-65s came forward for their flu jab by the end of 2021. NHS England said this is the highest uptake ever recorded among the cohort, above the 80.9 per cent figure from last winter. Meanwhile, 49.2 per cent of under-65s in a clinical risk group and 37.1 per cent of pregnant women got the injection Data from the UKHSA shows preschool vaccination rates are lower than 2020's record uptake. Some 49 per cent of three-year olds and 46.6 per cent of two-year olds received the flu jabs so far this winter Professor Hunter said: 'There is also the problem for the NHS if it is having to deal with two pandemics simultaneously.' There has not been a bad flu season for nearly two years, so 'when it does come back it could be bad', he added. Despite coinfection with both viruses being recorded by UK health chiefs since the beginning of the pandemic, fresh concern around 'flurona' spread last week after Israeli health chiefs confirmed a young pregnant woman tested positive for both viruses in Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva. Professor Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the hospitals' Gynaecology Department, told local newspaper Hamodia: 'She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived. Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again.' 'The disease is the same disease. They're viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract.' The woman is expected to be discharged this week. Vizhnitser added: 'We are seeing more and more pregnant women with the flu. It is definitely a great challenge dealing with a woman who comes in with a fever at childbirth. 'This is especially when you do not know if its coronavirus or the flu, so you refer to them the same. Most of the illness is respiratory.' Two flurona cases were subsequently detected in the US. Medics at Texas Children's Hospital on Monday confirmed a child was infected with both influenza and Covid. And a second case was confirmed in a youngster in Brentwood, California on New Year's Day. The boss of the testing firm that diagnosed the child said their symptoms were 'very mild' and could 'easily be confused with sinusitis'. Both children were recovering at home and neither had been admitted to hospital. Dr Jim Versalovic, a pathologist-in-chief and Covid command centre co-leader at the Texas hospital said on Monday that medics across the US were working to identify more 'flurona' cases and determine if there is a pattern in infection. A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan on Thursday, amid fears from the Kremlin over what example the toppling of the country's government could set for other former Soviet republics. Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet states of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest. One of five ex-Soviet nations in the region, Kazakhstan is of crucial importance to Russia as an economic partner and home to a large ethnic Russian population. While Russia will likely blame foreign meddling, experts have claimed the riots will strike fear in to the Kremlin. Analysts say protests in Kazakhstan are the latest signal that citizens who have spent decades living under autocracies in the shadow of the former Soviet Union are reaching their breaking point. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tried to head off further unrest by announcing the resignation of the government headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin early on Wednesday, but protests continued. Thousands have been injured in clashes between security forces and protesters, with police saying they had 'eliminated' dozens. At least 13 officers were also killed. Tokayev is the chosen successor to Putin ally Nursultan Nazarbayev, a statue of whom was toppled by an angry mob on Thursday. Nazarbayev, 81, is believed to have fled to Russia, with reports saying he was rescued by military plane. Protesters take part in a rally over a hike in energy prices in Almaty on January 5, 2022. A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan on Thursday Pictured: Thousands of protesters attend an opposition protest in Minsk, Belarus, October 4 2020. Opposition leaders came close to toppling strongman Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Belarus before the Putin ally rigged national elections to ensure he held on to power The significance of the statue of Nazarbayev - the self styled 'Father of the Nation' - being toppled on Thursday will not have gone unnoticed in Moscow. 'It is absolutely not in Putin's interest to have this blow up in his backyard when he's in the middle of a showdown with Nato,' Eugene Rumer - an author and former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council, told the Financial Times. Moscow called for a 'peaceful solution... through dialogue, not through street riots and violation of laws.' Similar revolts were seen in Ukraine and Georgia the early 2000s, pushing the countries further towards Western relations. Both have actively sought Nato and EU membership - the stuff of nightmares for Putin. Since then, Moscow has exercised military strength against both nations, with around 90,000 troops currently amassed on Ukraine's border raising fears of a full-scale military invasion of the country. In 2020, opposition leaders came close to toppling strongman Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Belarus before Europe's 'last dictator' rigged national elections to ensure he held on to power. In doing so, political rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was sent into exile. Kazakhstan's president Tokayev is the chosen successor to Putin ally Nursultan Nazarbayev, a statue of whom was toppled by an angry mob on Thursday (pictured) Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) poses for a photo with Founding President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev (left) at the informal summit of leaders of Commonwealth of Independent States on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Petersburg, December 28, 2021 In addition to Putin giving his blessing to Lukashenko's brutal crackdown on dissidents, the Russian strongman has also quelled any political opposition at home. Before the end of the 2021, he shut down Russia's most prominent civil rights group Memorial, and at the beginning of the year imprisoned leader of Russia's opposition Alexei Navalny, who was also poisoned in 2020. However, the issues in Kazakhstan that have led to the unrest are largely domestic, with the The cause of the unrest being a spike in prices for LPG in hydrocarbon-rich Mangystau. Much of the anger appeared directed at Nazarbayev, who is 81 and had ruled Kazakhstan with an iron fist since 1989 before handing power to Tokayev. Many protesters shouted 'Old Man Out!' in reference to Nazarbayev. Even if Kazakhstan's government were to completely fall, the country is unlikely to entirely slip out from under the influence of Moscow, although Russia will be concerned about pet projects such as the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia itself will unlikely be threatened by the chaos across the border. Women with their mouths taped over attend a pro-Ukraine rally in Simferopol March 13, 2014 Opposition coalition supporters hold a rally in central Tbilisi, Georgia in May, 2008 Putin has built deep-rooted defences against any uprising at home, demonstrated by his ruthlessness in dealing with supporters of Navalny, and Navalny himself. However, according to The Telegraph, some pro-Kremlin media outlets were likening the situation in Kazakhstan to a 'Maidan' - a reference to Ukraine's revolution that in Putin's eyes was the result of foreign interference. The Russian oligarch will keeping a close eye on Kazakhstan as events unfold. With protests escalating, Kazakhstan's government late on Wednesday said a state of emergency declared in protest-hit areas would be extended nationwide and in effect until January 19. It imposes an overnight curfew, restricts movements and bans mass gatherings. Under increasing pressure, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appealed overnight to the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), which includes five other ex-Soviet states, to combat what he called 'terrorist groups' that had 'received extensive training abroad'. Russia has sent 3,000 troops to Kazakhstan. Within hours the alliance said the first troops had been sent, including Russian paratroopers and military units from the other CSTO members. still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry's press service shows Russian servicemen boarding a military aircraft on their way to Kazakhstan, at an airfield outside Moscow, Russia, January 6, 2022 'Peacekeeping forces... were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilise and normalise the situation,' the CSTO said in a statement, without specifying the number of troops involved. The CSTO's current chairman, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, earlier announced the alliance would agree to the request, saying Kazakhstan was facing 'outside interference'. In the worst reported violence so far, police said dozens of people were killed in battles with security forces at government buildings in the country's largest city Almaty. 'Last night, extremist forces tried to assault administrative buildings, the Almaty city police department, as well as local police commissariats. Dozens of assailants were eliminated,' police spokesman Saltanat Azirbek was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Kazakhstan, TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies. The European Union and the United Nations called for 'restraint' on all sides, while Washington urged authorities to allow protesters to 'express themselves peacefully.' Kazakhstan's government tolerates little real opposition and has been accused of silencing independent voices. Spontaneous, unsanctioned protests are illegal despite a 2020 law that eased some restrictions on freedom of assembly. Smaller rallies had been staged in cities across the republic from Sunday, beginning with the town of Zhanaozen in Mangystau. The initial cause of the unrest was a spike in prices for LPG in hydrocarbon-rich Mangystau. Reports by independent media suggested that Tokayev's announcement of a new price of 50 tenge (11 US cents) per litre, down from 120 at the beginning of the year, failed to weaken the rallies in Zhanaozen and Mangystau's capital Aktau as demonstrators aired new demands. Have you been affected by the IT issues at Gatwick Airport? Email tips@dailymail.co.uk Advertisement Three flights were diverted from Gatwick Airport on Thursday morning because of IT issues in the air traffic control tower. A spokesman for the airport said the problems have been resolved but 'some flights may still experience delays'. Passengers have been advised to check the status of their flight with their airline. This morning, Gatwick Airport said IT issues in the air traffic control tower resulted in three diverted flights. These included two British Airways arrivals - from Tampa and Antigua - which were diverted to Heathrow, and an easyJet flight from Northern Ireland which was diverted to Luton Airport. Those three flights were due to land at Gatwick Airport between 7.45am and 8.10am. In an updated statement, Gatwick Airport said: 'Earlier IT issues in the Air Traffic Control tower this morning have been resolved and flights are arriving and departing the airport as normal. 'Some flights may still experience delays and we advise you to check the status of your flight with your airline.' British Airways flight BAW2256 was due to arrive at Gatwick from Tampa this morning but was forced to circle an area south of the airport before being diverted to Heathrow Three flights were diverted from Gatwick Airport on Thursday morning because of IT issues in the air traffic control tower (file picture) Two British Airways arrivals - from Tampa and Antigua - were diverted to Heathrow, and an easyJet flight from Northern Ireland was diverted to Luton Airport (file picture) Flight tracking service Flight Radar showed a number of planes circling above Gatwick Airport between 8am and 10am. Earlier this morning, Gatwick Airport tweeted: 'We have been experiencing IT issues in the Air Traffic Control tower this morning, resulting in three diverted flights. 'We continue to experience delays with both arrivals and departures, and are working to fully resolve this as soon as possible.' One passenger said his flight had been diverted to Heathrow while his car was parked in Gatwick. In a tweet, he added: 'I've just landed in Heathrow on British Airways but my car is parked in Gatwick. 'We have a little child. Whats being done? Im so confused by all this.' The passenger said he was waiting for the plane to be refuelled before it heads back to Gatwick, adding that his mood was 'calm'. Flight Radar shows one BA flight which was diverted to Heathrow has now been flown back to Gatwick. Another passenger tweeted: 'You learn a lot about businesses when they deal with problems, and the Comms as we sit at Heathrow having been diverted from Gatwick Airport by British Airways due to it being closed, suggests we wont learn anything positive about either company today.' Fiona Hackston reported long queues at Gatwick, calling the situation a 'shambles'. Lottie Wood, who was returning to Gatwick from her honeymoon, said her British Airways flight was diverted to Heathrow where they spent two hours waiting before they were flown back to Gatwick, arriving three hours after their expected arrival time. Once at Gatwick she said there was an issue with the baggage belt which Gatwick Airport said staff were working to 'get this resolved'. Seoul Station is crowded with passengers due to train delays, Jan. 5, after a KTX bullet train was derailed on the Seoul-Busan route when a steel structure tore loose from a tunnel in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, and hit it. Yonhap Train operations on the Seoul-Busan line were normalized Thursday morning, a day after a KTX bullet train was derailed in the central part of the country, injuring seven passengers, the railway operator said. The Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said trains bound for Seoul from the southeastern port city of Busan resumed normal operations from 5:47 a.m. and those heading to Busan from Seoul from 7:55 a.m. The normalization came after more than 130 trains were delayed or canceled Wednesday afternoon, after the KTX-Sancheon train was derailed as it passed through tunnel in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, about 215 kilometers south of Seoul. The derailment occurred at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday after the train was apparently hit by a steel structure that fell from the tunnel. Seven passengers suffered minor injuries in the accident, according to KORAIL. Until 7:55 a.m., southbound KTX trains passing the section between the central city of Daejeon and the southeastern city of Daegu, connected by the Yeongdong tunnel, had to take a detour to slower lanes due to lengthy recovery work. KORAIL said they completed safety inspections and a trial run before resuming services. "We deeply apologize for causing inconvenience to train users," a KORAIL official said. KORAIL will thoroughly investigate the exact cause of the accident in cooperation with the related authorities and come up with measures to prevent such an accident from recurring, the official added. (Yonhap) An illegal immigrant who sexually assaulted two women at packed Bournemouth beach while his friends watched and laughed has been jailed for 18 months. Kuku Machhal, 31, of Southall, west London, groped the women in the sea in two separate incidents on July 23 last year, Portsmouth Crown Court heard. The attacks took place on Bournemouth beach in front of a group of Machhal's friends, who were heard cheering and laughing about what had happened. Machhal's behaviour was described as 'intimidating' and 'degrading' by Judge David Melville QC, who added that both victims were vulnerable as they were in the water. His actions came just a few days after a 15-year-old girl was raped in the sea close to Bournemouth Pier in an unconnected attack. In that incident, the teenage suspect, who remains at large, dragged the girl into deeper water and away from her friends before raping her. In Machhal's case, the court heard that both victims reported what had happened to them to authorities and seafront security staff located the suspect and stopped him from leaving until police arrived. Kuku Machhal (pictured), 31, of Southall, west London, groped the women in the sea in two separate incidents on July 23 last year, Portsmouth Crown Court heard The attacks took place on Bournemouth beach (pictured) in front of a group of Machhal's friends, who were heard cheering and laughing about what had happened Machhal, who arrived illegally in the UK from the Punjab state of India in 2015, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. Judith Constable, prosecuting, said that in a police interview, Machhal accepted touching the first victim but claimed there had been a 'strong current which brushed him into her'. Machhal, who had no previous convictions, also denied doing anything wrong in respect of the second woman. He initially denied both allegations but changed his plea to guilty at a previous court hearing. Lesley Manley, defending, told the court that the defendant was sorry for his actions, but the judge did not accept that Machhal was remorseful. Machhal, who arrived illegally in the UK from the Punjab state of India in 2015, was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment at Portsmouth Crown Court (pictured) Ms Manley said: 'On that day, Mr Machhal did not go there with any premeditated intention to do harm but obviously his behaviour was not what one would expect. 'Nothing like this has happened before and it is extremely unlikely, I submit, that this behaviour would ever be repeated. Machhal, whose wife and two children are in India being supported by his sister, is facing deportation. He has lived in Southall for the past six years. Ms Manley said he still has debts to the people who helped him get documentation to enter the country and he was fearful for his safety should he return to India. She added: 'Currently he is facing deportation. A notice has been served upon him and he is hoping to seek legal advice in relation to his immigration position.' Judge Melville described Machhal's actions as 'disgraceful' and said he showed 'no remorse'. He said: 'There was a degree of planning and you did of course have your friends with you as well. 'I do no accept that you are remorseful. When interviewed you accepted no personal responsibility at all.' Machhal was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and was placed on the sex offender's register for five years. Advertisement North Korea has hailed the successful launch of its second 'hypersonic missile' after joining the global race to develop the 'new generation' of weapons - which are designed to dodge anti-missile defence systems. According to state media KCNA, the missile, launched on Wednesday, managed to hit its target some 430 miles away. Newly released photos show what analysts say is a liquid-fuelled ballistic missile with a conical-shaped Manoeuvrable Reentry Vehicle (MaRV) blasting off from a wheeled launch vehicle in a cloud of flame and smoke. In Wednesday's test, the 'hypersonic gliding warhead' detached from its rocket booster and manoeuvred 120 kms (75 miles) laterally before it 'precisely hit' a target 700 kms (430 miles) away, KCNA reported. The missile demonstrated its ability to combine 'multi-step glide jump flight and strong lateral manoeuvring', it added. The test also confirmed components such as flight control and its ability to operate in the winter, KCNA said. Newly released photos show what analysts said is a liquid-fuelled ballistic missile with a conical-shaped Manoeuvrable Reentry Vehicle (MaRV) blasting off from a wheeled launch vehicle in a cloud of flame and smoke People watch a television broadcast reporting on North Korean Kim Jong-un North Korea staged a mass rally on Wednesday with thousands gathering in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Tens of thousands of North Koreans crammed into Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang for a mass rally on Wednesday 'The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernising the strategic armed force of the state,' the report said. Huge rallies have been held in Pyongyang in support of the country's leader Kim Jong-Un following the launch. North Korea is one of several military powers which has joined the race to develop hypersonic missiles, which allow warheads more manoeuvrability. Analysts believe the latest launch is part of the pariah state's goal to develop a weapons arsenal capable of dodging anti-missile defence systems in the likes of the US and South Korea. It comes after the US completed a huge $1.5 billion long-range radar for a homeland missile defence system in Alaska last month, which it says can track ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic weapons from countries such as North Korea. Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Reuters: 'My impression is that the North Koreans have identified hypersonic gliders as a potentially useful qualitative means to cope with missile defence.' Wednesday's launch, which comes amid stalled denuclearisation talks, drew criticism from the US, Japan and South Korea. The reclusive state first tested a hypersonic missile - considered to be the next generation of arms - in September. The weapons usually fly towards targets at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound - or about 6,200 kms per hour (3,850 mph). Despite their name, analysts say the main feature of hypersonic weapons is not speed - which can sometimes be matched or exceeded by traditional ballistic missile warheads - but their manoeuvrability. The weapon fired on Wednesday is a different version than the missile tested last year, Mr Panda said, and was first unveiled at a defence exhibition in Pyongyang. 'They likely set up at least two separate development programmes,' he added. 'One of these was the Hwasong-8, which was tested in September. This missile, which shares a few features in common with the Hwasong-8, is another.' The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the missile launch during a call with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday. The reclusive state first tested a hypersonic missile - considered to be the next generation of arms - in September (Pictured: Citizens participate in a demonstration march after a rally to pledge to thoroughly carry out the decision of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022) The pair discussed cooperation to achieve complete denuclearisation and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the US State Department said in a statement. 'We take any new capability seriously, and as we've said, we condemn (North Korea's) continued testing of ballistic missiles, which are destabilising to the region and to the international community,' a State Department spokesperson said later. Denuclearisation talks have been on hold following a series of summits between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump, which broke down with no agreement in place. Current US President Joe Biden's administration is open to re-starting the talks, but there has been little interest from North Korea, with Pyongyang accusing America's overtures of being empty rhetoric. North Korea says it wants substantive changes to 'hostile policies', including military drills in the region and ongoing sanctions. An official probe into claims Downing Street staff held illicit Christmas parties during lockdown will not scapegoat junior staff but identify senior figures present, it was claimed today. Whitehall heavy hitter Sue Gray is carrying out out inquiries into three alleged gatherings at No10 and the Department for Education in November and December last year, when indoor mixing was banned. Fears have been raised that she might pick out junior staff for blame, after it was revealed she had hauled special advisers and Civil Service officials in for questioning before Christmas. But a source told the Times today: 'I don't think she would reasonably expect an office junior to carry the can for senior people who ended up attending any events. 'I don't think she is looking for scapegoats in that sense. If somebody junior was asked to do something that will be reflected, but it will be reflected who asked them to do it.' Whitehall heavy hitter Sue Gray is carrying out out inquiries into three alleged gatherings at No10 and the Department for Education in November and December last year, when indoor mixing was banned. She was drafted in from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case quit his role leading the inquiry. Ms Gray was drafted in from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case quit his role leading the inquiry. He was forced to step down after it emerged a December 2020 quiz was held in his own department that he was aware of and spoke at. Another source told the paper 'she has to now deliberately go harder than Case because she's so publicly associated with it (the investigation).' Ms Gray is a former director general of propriety and ethics at The Cabinet Office and has been described as the most powerful civil servant you have never heard of. In her former job as director-general of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office she had enormous power and long experience in Westminster scandals, and developed a fearsome reputation among ministers and officials. She dealt with complaints against ministers on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister. Her inquiry into the so-called Plebgate affair led to the resignation of minister Andrew Mitchell. Her investigation into Damian Green led to his forced resignation after she discovered he had lied about pornography found on his Commons computer. From 2018 to 2021 she served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance at the Northern Ireland Executive. She returned to London to head up work on the Union earlier this year. No10 deny that parties happened when indoor gatherings were banned in the capital in November and December last year. But one of Boris Johnson's top advisers is alleged to have given a speech and handed out awards at one gathering on December 18. Jack Doyle, then the PM's deputy director of communications and since promoted, is said to have made a 'thank you' speech to up to 50 people who attended the bash. Advertisement London's Covid cases are slowing down just a month after the Omicron variant took hold, according to the country's largest symptom-tracking app. The finding is the latest piece of evidence that the capital's outbreaks is peaking and comes as daily Covid hospital admissions fell for the fourth day in a row. The symptom study, led by King's College London scientists, estimated 33,000 were testing positive in the capital each day in the week to January 3, down a third on the week before. KCL's Dr Claire Steves, who co-runs the study, said there was definitely a 'slow down' in cases but it was 'too early' to confirm if they had peaked. She warned the return of schools could trigger further outbreaks. In another promising sign, UK Health Security Agency's weekly Covid surveillance report revealed that London's cases fell six per cent last week. They said the capital was no longer the country's epicentre for the first time since Omicron took hold, with the North West now taking up that mantle, followed by the North East and Yorkshire. Office for National Statistics figures published yesterday also showed 'early signs' that the city's outbreak was peaking, statisticians said, although they cautioned one in ten Londoners were infected on New Year's Eve. Government dashboard data also suggest cases in London are flatlining. There were 21,854 cases in the capital today, down 11 per cent in a week. Hospital admissions fell for the fourth day in a row. There were 367 Covid hospitalisations on January 4, the latest date with data, marking a 20 per cent fall on the previous week and the largest week-on-week drop yet. Fewer than 400 people are now being admitted in the capital on average each day compared to around 900 at the peak of the second wave last January. But scientists say it is difficult to untangle what is happening in the capital because up to four million Londoners leave for Christmas. King's College London scientists today suggested that cases in the capital also appeared to be peaking. They said they had dropped by a third within a week, raising hopes that the worst of the outbreak may be over. The figures rely on weekly reports from three quarters of a million people nationally to estimate the prevalence of the virus UK Health Security Agency figures published today showed London's Covid cases had fallen six per cent in a week (green line). It is the only region to see cases fall, and now has the fifth biggest outbreak in England Slide me The above maps show the percentage change in infection rates across London's 32 boroughs over the week to December 26 (left) and the week to January 2 (right). They indicate that the outbreak is slowing in the city Slide me Pictured above is the % change in infection rates in England over the week to December 26 (left), and January 2 (right) Nationally, Covid cases rose eight per cent last week the app estimated. They said there was a slowdown in rising infections across London and in 18 to 35-year-olds Nationally, they said cases were now starting to drop in 18 to 35-year-olds after they spiralled to record levels. But they were also seeing infections tick up in older age groups who are more at risk from the virus The study also run by health data science company ZOE said nationally Britons suffering from a cold were more likely to have Covid (blue line) than another respiratory disease (orange line) Some scientists point to testing data to suggest cases in the capital are yet to peak. They say that while the number of tests done has fallen, meaning fewer cases can be spotted, the postivity rate the proportion of swabs that spot the virus is still rising suggesting the outbreak has not yet peaked The KCL, UKHSA and ONS data are also yet to cover the period after New Year's Eve, when celebrations were allowed to go ahead unimpeded by restrictions meaning the virus could have spread further. Covid testing data from the capital shows that the number of PCRs carried out has fallen to about 500,000 a day, but the positivity rate the proportion that detect the virus is still heading upwards. Boris Johnson is holding his nerve and not introducing any new restrictions in England, unlike his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which has won him praise from Conservative MPs. The Prime Minister said he believes the country can 'ride out' the wave. But amid a crisis in hospitals with 24 out of 137 or 17 per cent declaring critical incidents because so many staff are off sick, there is mounting pressure for self-isolation to be cut to five days following France and the US. Scientists say the vast majority of transmission happens within the first two days after symptoms appear, but Government experts warn it would be 'counterproductive' to cut quarantine because it could end up sending people back to the workplace when they are still infectious. Data justifying move to cut self-isolation period to five days was evident last SUMMER Ministers have sat on evidence justifying slashing self-isolation to just five days since last summer, according to critics who have demanded Boris Johnson drops the crippling rules that are paralysing the nation. Rail services and bin collections have ground to a halt with up to 1.3million Britons currently under house arrest, while the workforce crisis has left NHS bosses asking heart attack patients to make their own way to hospital. But the Adam Smith Institute, a neoliberal thinktank, said data published in August last year suggested it was safe to halve the quarantine period, which at the time stood at 10 days. Oxford University research found 98 per cent of transmission occurs within the first five days of symptoms, and prompted experts on the topic to say the isolation period 'could be much shorter'. Virologists said today that they agreed with the findings, with the vast majority of spread happening in the days before and after someone starts feeling ill. And James Lawson, a fellow at the ASI, told MailOnline: 'The research shows we can safely reduce the isolation period. 'Governments say they want to follow the science, yet are ignoring the changes in circumstances and much of the data we've had since last summer.' Advertisement Nationally, King's College London scientists estimated 208,471 people were catching Covid every day up to January 3 which was an eight per cent rise on 192,290 previously. They said cases were rising rapidly among the over-75s, which are most vulnerable to the virus, in a warning sign that hospitals could soon face further pressure, but falling among 18 to 35-year-olds who had the highest infection rates when Omicron took hold. Dr Steves said: 'Its good news that the number of daily new cases has slowed for now. ZOE Covid Study data shows that this slow down is being driven by cases falling in London and in younger age groups. 'However, its worrying to see cases increasing in the over 75 age group. This is the group we need to protect as they are the most likely to be hospitalised as a result of a Covid infection.' She added: 'Its too early to know if cases have truly peaked in London, as schools are yet to reopen after the holidays. We've seen school terms driving infection waves throughout the pandemic. 'The health and care systems are already under huge pressure, so we all need to take personal responsibility for limiting the spread of Covid. This could be in the form of regular testing, wearing masks, staying away from busy crowded places, meeting up outside and getting booster vaccines.' The UKHSA weekly report which is based on national surveillance data showed London's Covid cases fell from 1,833.9 to 1,723.8 per 100,000 in the week to January 2. This was also eight per cent below London's peak over the week to December 19, when the rate was 1,880.9. It now has the fifth largest outbreak in the country, behind the North West (2,228.9), the North East (1,929.2), Yorkshire and the Humber (1,777.7) and the East Midlands (1,754.4). Nationally, they said Covid infections were rising in 134 of 149 local authorities in England or nine in ten. Covid infections also rose in all age groups, they said. In another sign that London's Covid outbreak may be slowing down its hospitalisations also appear to be levelling off. The numbers of patients in Covid wards were rising by up to 15 per cent daily a week ago, but this has now dropped to one to two per cent a day. There are currently 4,074 Covid patients on wards in the capital's hospitals, which is well below the peak last January when almost 7,800 beds were occupied by patients with the virus. ONS figures published yesterday regarded as the most reliable indicator of the UK's outbreak because they use random sampling of 100,000 people suggested cases were also dropping in London. Chief ONS analyst Sarah Crofts said: 'There are early signs of a potential slowing of infections in London in the days before New Year's Eve. 'However, it is too early to suggest this is a change in trend overall. The data continues to change rapidly, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.' Separate data from the Government's dashboard based on daily centralised testing shows that while Covid cases are no longer rising in young and middle-aged Londoners, they are going up in over-60s, who are most vulnerable to the virus. Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance said on Tuesday it was too early to say London's crisis had peaked because hospital pressures were likely to worsen over the coming weeks because of the trajectory. However, other experts expect the trend in over-60s to follow that of younger adults and begin falling in the next week or so, mirroring the trend in South Africa the first country in the world to fall victim to the variant, where infections are now in freefall. The UKHSA's report also showed Covid cases were rising in every age group, and ticking up rapidly among older adults UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show Covid cases in Omicron hotspot London are now only going up in people aged 60 and above. Graph shows: The case rate per 100,000 in people aged 60 and above (yellow line) and under-60 (red line). Cases have started to drop in under-60s, though the rate still remains above the more vulnerable older age groups UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show confirmed infections have fallen week-on-week on seven of the eight days leading up to December 30 - the latest date regional data is available for - in people aged 59 or below. Graph shows: The week-on-week rate of growth in average cases in under-60s (red line) and people aged 60 and above (yellow line). Cases are falling in under-60s and the rate of growth is slowing in over-60s Now 24 NHS trusts declare critical incidents as patient waiting list hits 6MILLION Twenty-four NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions, it was revealed today but ministers have downplayed the warnings and insisted it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises amid growing hopes that the Omicron outbreak is close to peaking. Grant Shapps announced another four sites hit the panic button overnight, meaning roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. It comes as MPs warned the patient waiting list which already stands on the brink of 6million in England alone could double in three years without urgent action to get more doctors and nurses on wards, saying efforts to clear the backlog are being thrown off course by the self-isolation fuelled staffing crisis. Even NHS bosses have called for No10 to look at slashing the quarantine period to five days, like the US. Despite NHS bosses warning of escalating pressures on wards with up to one in 10 medics thought to be off sick, Boris Johnson last night all but ruled out adopting another lockdown and held out the prospect of a return 'closer to normality' within weeks. Advertisement Professor David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that infection numbers are 'bumpy' over the festive period because of reporting delays and fewer testes being carried out. He said: 'Nonetheless, the rate is the under-60s does look to have peaked and be falling convincingly. 'This pattern of a short sharp peak is what you would expect from Omicrons increased transmissibility [and] it also tallies with South African experience.' Growth rates already suggest that the infection rate in older people is slowing down. Professor Livermore added: 'I would expect a similar peak and drop off, within a week or thereabouts, among the over 60s.' Overall, cases in London fell 10 per cent from 27,820 on December 23 to 25,038, the latest date official statistics are available for. Government data showed the number of positive tests had dropped in the run up to Christmas, with a slight blip in the days immediately following festivities, before the trend resumed. And MailOnline on Tuesday revealed cases were now falling in two-thirds of London's neighbourhoods. It prompted 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson an influential No10 adviser whose grim death projections spooked ministers into adopting draconian restrictions back in spring 2020 to say he is 'cautiously optimistic' that the capital's cases were plateauing, and could fall nationally within as little as a week. But the raw case numbers are unreliable because fewer tests are being carried out and the positivity rate shows no signs of slowing down yet. However, separate figures show hospitalisation rates are already falling in London. Ministers are believed to be watching admissions in the capital closely, with 400-a-day thought to be a tipping point that requires nationwide intervention, given that London has acted as the canary in the coalmine for the UK's Omicron crisis. Latest data shows daily hospital admissions are falling in the capital, dipping 7.22 per cent from 374 on December 26 to 347 on January 2, the latest date data is available for. They were only above 400 for four days. Boris Johnson last night all but ruled out adopting another lockdown and held out the prospect of a return 'closer to normality' within weeks. The Prime Minister has held his nerve in the face of demands to introduce tougher restrictions to thwart Omicron, unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales, and imposed no new curbs over the holidays, winning him praise from Tory MPs. But 24 NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions, it was revealed today. Grant Shapps announced another four sites hit the panic button overnight, meaning roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. At least 5,000 Covid 'patients' in England are NOT primarily in hospital for virus, data suggests and nearly HALF of newly occupied beds in most recent week were taken up by 'incidental' cases By Connor Boyd Deputy health editor for MailOnline As many as 5,000 Covid patients in hospital in England may have been admitted for other ailments, NHS figures suggest as the super-mild Omicron variant continues to engulf the country. Latest data shows so-called 'incidental' cases those who test positive after admission for something else, such as a broken leg made up a third of coronavirus inpatient numbers on December 28. At that point, there were just 8,300 Covid sufferers being treated in England's hospitals, 2,750 of which were not primarily receiving care for the virus (33 per cent). More up-to-date statistics from the Government's Covid dashboard show that, as of Wednesday, there were 15,600 beds occupied by people infected with the virus. It is not clear exactly how many of the current patients are there primarily for Covid because the NHS's breakdown is backdated and only covers up to December 28. But, if incidental cases still account for a third of cases, it means at least 5,000 who are being counted as coronavirus patients are not suffering seriously with the disease. Experts say there is reason to believe the share of incidentals will continue to rise as Omicron pushes England's infection rates to record numbers, with one in 15 people estimated to have had Covid on New Year's Eve. In South Africa ground zero of the Omicron outbreak up to 60 per cent of Covid patients were not admitted primarily for the virus at the height of the crisis there. Separate analysis of NHS data shows 45 per cent of beds newly occupied by Covid patients in the final week of December were patients not primarily ill with the virus. It comes as two dozen NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by sky-high infection rates, indicating that they may be unable to provide vital care in the coming weeks. One in ten workers are off and 183,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average, prompting calls for the isolation period to be cut to five days. The proportion of beds occupied by patients who are primarily in hospital 'for' Covid, versus those who were admitted for something else and tested positive later, referred to as 'with' Covid. The data covers the week between December 21 and December 28, when were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26 in 2019, 2018 and 2017 While Covid hospitalisations are rising quickly in England, they are still half of the level of last January and far fewer patients are needing ventilation A total of 24 out of 137 NHS Trusts in England have declared critical incidents or 17.5 per cent due to soaring staff absences amid the Omicron outbreak. Above are the trusts that have publicly announced they have declared these incidents to help them manage winter pressures The number of daily positive Covid tests recorded in England has exceeded 100,000 for two weeks. However, the number of patients in hospital with the virus is a fraction of the level seen last winter, while deaths remain flat The proportion of Covid beds in the NHS occupied by patients primarily being treated for the virus is decreasing and has fallen sharply since mid-December. The NHS' breakdown is backdated and currently only covers up to December 28. In England a third of of total Covid patients were incidental on that date. While the number of patients primarily ill with Covid is increasing the proportion of incidental patients is rising Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, an eminent statistician at Cambridge University, told MailOnline that the rise in incidental cases 'reflected the huge number of infections' at the moment. He added: 'The rise in the share of incidental Covid patients could be largely due to the increased rate of people catching Covid while in hospital. 'But we have good evidence from other sources that, compared to Delta, Omicron tends to produce milder disease - although it can still affect some people badly.' Now 24 NHS trusts declare critical incidents as patient waiting list hits 6MILLION Twenty-four NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions, it was revealed today but ministers have downplayed the warnings and insisted it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises amid growing hopes that the Omicron outbreak is close to peaking. Grant Shapps announced another four sites hit the panic button overnight, meaning roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. It comes as MPs warned the patient waiting list which already stands on the brink of 6million in England alone could double in three years without urgent action to get more doctors and nurses on wards, saying efforts to clear the backlog are being thrown off course by the self-isolation fuelled staffing crisis. Even NHS bosses have called for No10 to look at slashing the quarantine period to five days, like the US. Despite NHS bosses warning of escalating pressures on wards with up to one in 10 medics thought to be off sick, Boris Johnson last night all but ruled out adopting another lockdown and held out the prospect of a return 'closer to normality' within weeks. The Prime Minister has held his nerve in the face of demands to introduce tougher restrictions to thwart Omicron, unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales, and imposed no new curbs over the holidays, winning him praise from Tory MPs. A raft of data has suggested that the outbreak in London the first region to fall victim to the ultra-transmissible strain may have already peaked. Up to one in 10 people living in the capital were infected on New Year's Eve, statisticians estimate. Cases are still going up in over-60s in London but experts believe the trend will reverse in the next week. And the number of daily infections spotted across the UK as a whole jumped just 6 per cent in a week yesterday. Advertisement As of yesterday, official data shows there were 15,659 Covid hospital patients in English hospitals, up 51 per cent in a week. But that is still fewer than half of the peak last January when there were 33,000 inpatients and the rise of incidental cases has given ministers confidence that no extra restrictions are needed. The NHS is due to publish an updated breakdown of primary and incidental inpatient numbers tomorrow, but it will only cover up to January 3. Experts and Tory MPs have called on the Government to differentiate between primary and secondary Covid patients in the daily figures for transparency. Cambridge epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali has previously told MailOnline that it would 'not only helpful but in many ways essential' in assessing the true pressure on the NHS. Now that there is a growing acceptance that Omicron is unlikely to lead to a wave of severe illness like previous peaks, NHS leaders say isolation and staff absences are the central crises they face. Meanwhile, separate analysis of the NHS figures suggests that nearly half of patients who contributed to the surge in Covid infections in hospital before the new year were admitted for other reasons. Between December 21 and December 28, there were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were for primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend. Meanwhile, 24 trusts in England have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions caused by Omicron. It means roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. But ministers have downplayed the warnings and insisted it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises amid growing hopes that the Omicron outbreak is close to peaking. Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, accepted that there are 'very real pressures' but added: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26, 2019. Data from NHS England show there were an average of 95,917 beds open and 86,078 occupied that week, giving an occupancy rate of 89.7 per cent. This is higher than the 87.4 per cent in the most recent data, suggesting there is room for further admissions. The number of beds unavailable because of Norovirus outbreaks has almost halved, which makes it easier to move patients around, allowing for further admissions. The NHS also has more spare capacity in intensive care now than it did pre-pandemic and could open even more beds if it needed to. The number of Covid patients in critical care in England is half the level of previous peaks. There were an average of 4,079 adult critical care beds open each day in the week to December 26, but only 75 per cent of them 3,058 were occupied. Compare that to an occupancy rate of 79.6 per cent in the week to December 26, 2019, when there was an average of 3,647 adult critical care beds open and 2,903 occupied. On January 24 last year there were 3,736 Covid patients in intensive care in England the highest of the pandemic with 6,270 critical beds open for any illness. Detectives are still hunting for the cold blooded killers who gunned down underworld kingpin Bassam Hamzy's brother - but police had already predicted that the stolen getaway car would be used for an underworld hit three months earlier. Ghassan Amoun, 35, was shot dead in a brazen daylight execution at about 1pm on Thursday, as he sat in a BMW outside an apartment building in Western Sydney. Amoun, a high-ranking organised crime lieutenant, was the known 'next target' in Sydney's bloody gang war between the Hamzy and Alameddine families. He was set upon by a man 'wearing dark clothing' who had his face covered in what investigators called a 'quite obviously targeted' attack. A second assailant is then thought to have picked up the triggerman in a Mini Cooper before speeding off and eventually setting it alight in a neighbouring suburb. Police made a chilling warning about the small car just three months ago, fearing it would be used to target men linked to the Brothers 4 Life founder, Bassam Hamzy. The body of slain Ghassan Amoun, 35, (pictured) lies in the street body covered by a blue sheet as police and forensic officers swarm onto the crime scene Ghassan Amoun (pictured) was gunned down in broad daylight on Thursday less than a year after police told him he was a marked man, and 'next' on the list to be executed Executed Ghassan Amoun is the brother of imprisoned Brothers 4 Life gang leader, Bassam Hamzy (pictured) Detectives issued a public alert for a grey 2017 Mini Cooper that was stolen from a Warrawee home on Sydney's Upper North Shore on October 28 along with three other cars. The aggravated break-in was part of a wave of high-performance auto thefts in the area between October 25 and November 2, which were later used in underworld hits. 'We have previously seized more than 40 luxury stolen vehicles used in crimes across Greater Sydney including vehicles used in an alleged murder attempt at North Sydney earlier this year and a double murder at Guildford last month,' Detective Superintendent Grant Taylor said at the time. Police foiled an alleged gangland hit on Ibrahim Hamze in August last year when officers spotted a Mercedes - one of the four vehicles reported stolen. Salim and Toufik Hamze weren't so lucky in October when they were gunned down outside their home in Guildford. The long-running feud between the waring crime clans has been going on for years, as Bassam Hamzy continues to call the shots from his Goulburn Supermax prison cell after being sentenced for murder. Pictured: The taped off scene in South Wentworthville where police and paramedics rushed to the scene around 12.45pm on Thursday to find Ghassan Amoun fatally shot in the road Detectives issued a public alert for the grey 2017 Mini Cooper (pictured) that was stolen from a Warrawee home on Sydney's Upper North Shore on October 28, fearing it would be used in a gangland hit The Mini cooper (pictured on Una Street) was found burnt out and is believed to have been the getaway car The modus operandi of the hitmen contracted to take out Hamzy associates is to sneak up on the target - often in a public place - and pepper them with bullets. They then speed off in a stolen car with cloned number plates before dumping it in a nearby suburb and torching it. A witness who saw the frightening scene play out on Thursday described the moment masked men set the Mini Cooper on fire in Una Street, Wentworthville. 'There was a bang and everything started exploding,' Ruth Simpson told Nine News. 'Then there was just black smoke and all of this orange fire. Oh my god it was just like, "wow"!' At about 3pm on Thursday, the 35-year-old's body was still lying in the street covered by a blue sheet, as police and forensics officers wearing gloves and and masks and carrying clipboards swarmed over the crime scene. Acting Superintendent Glen Fitzgerald said the shooting was 'quite obviously targeted' and detectives were investigating 'obvious connections to criminal networks'. Streets and a highway (pictured) were sealed off with crime tape as police combed the scene for clues and forensic officers wearing masks and gloves gathered evidence The grey BMW Amoun drove to the location remains on the street, its door open, after the slain Hamzy family lieutenant's body was found and pronounced dead at the scene 'There appears to be a driver and a shooter that got out of one of the vehicles,' acting Superintendent Fitzgerald said. Amoun had been approached as he got into his car in a 'very brutal attack'. 'Any type of incident like this is a worry,' acting Superintendent Fitzgerald said. 'This is what happens when firearms are in the possession of the wrong people.' Police and paramedics rushed to the shooting on Rawson Road in South Wentworthville about 12.45pm on Thursday, but Amoun died at the scene. Amoun is the third Hamzy relative to be assassinated in less than two years after Bassam's brother Mejid Hamzy in 2020 and cousin Bilal Hamze in 2021. In June last year Bilal Hamze, 34, was shot dead after a date with a woman at trendy Japanese restaurant Kid Kyoto on Bridge Street, near Circular Quay. Despite knowing he was a marked man, Amoun brushed off police fears he was 'at risk' and attended his executed cousin's Sydney funeral with grieving family members. Amoun, who was executed on Thursday, was among mourners at his cousin's funeral last year (above) despite being warned he was the family's next target on the gangland war list Another Hamzy brother Ibrahem (kneeling in grey hoodie) is pictured last year at his cousin Bilal Hamze's gravesite after Hamze was executed Bassam Hamzy's older brother Mejid Hamzy, 44, was gunned down outside his home in Condell Park by two black-clad men on the morning of October 19, 2020. Last year a court heard that prior to Amoun attending Bilal Hamze's funeral, a judge had concerns for his safety associating with other mourners. Amoun had secretly fought police at the NSW Supreme Court court for the very right to be at the funeral. Lawyers for Amoun had applied for the court to relax serious crime prevention orders which banned them from associating with two cousins for the duration of the funeral. Police intelligence obtained earlier that week 'suggests that (Ghassan Amoun) is said to be the next person to be targeted', Justice David Davies told the court 24 hours before the June 2021 funeral. Firefighters race to put out the Mini Cooper believed to have been set alight by the killers British holidaymakers who booked a luxury Caribbean New Year cruise on the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner have spent the trip isolating in their cabins after mass Covid outbreaks on board. Passengers had paid up to 5,000 a head for the cruise on the famous Cunard vessel from Southampton sailing on 13 December that was to take in New York and then stops around the Caribbean before returning this weekend. But by the time they'd crossed the Atlantic on the first leg of the voyage there were Covid infections on board and despite the ten passengers who by then had tested positive leaving the ship in New York, the numbers contracting it among both passengers and crew continued to rocket. Cabin fever: Christine Martin, 66, from Angmering, West Sussex, and her optometrist husband Richard, 70, (pictured) have been confined to their cabin since testing positive for Covid The couple, who paid 9,860 for their trip, say that it has been ruined by the Covid crisis on board their ship, which has meant they have had to spend days stuck in their room (pictured) Passengers hoped for a luxury cruise on the The Queen Mary 2 (pictured) but Covid wiped out their plans, meaning many had to isolate and some stops to Caribbean islands were scrapped They were turned away from their next two scheduled stops, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and Basseterre in St Kitts, because of the infections. By the time they'd reached Barbados most passengers were told they couldn't disembark and many were forced to spend days in their cabins without leaving. And the number of staff getting ill meant conditions deteriorated sharply. Christine Martin, 66, from Angmering, West Sussex and her optometrist husband Richard, 70, both tested positive in late December despite being triple jabbed and having taken all precautions. The couple, who had paid 9,860 for their trip, have had few if any symptoms but have been left frustrated at being shut up for days with nothing to do. Mrs Martin told Mail Online: 'We tested positive for Covid on Tuesday 28th December and have been in isolation since. It's been pretty miserable. We do have a balcony for fresh air but nowhere at all to exercise. 'It's hard to know exactly how many people have tested positive as they haven't told us but friends who are still allowed to use the dining rooms tell us they are ghostly. 'The captain regularly speaks on the tannoy to passengers but never makes any reference to us - the positive passengers - not even a Happy New Year. We feel like lepers.' Before they tested postive Christine Martin and her husband Richard were enjoying the cruise She went on: 'Our food is served on paper plates stone cold . We do get clean linen but only on request. We have had one phone call from a doctor on 29th December other than that we phone to ask about testing etc. No one has otherwise asked about our general well-being.' But the couple's main problem is the misery of their conditions and they haven't been too badly affected by the Covid itself: 'The vaccinations are doing their intended job and we and the people we have had contact with have said we just feel like a summer cold indeed some people haven't had any symptoms at all.' Mrs Martin continued: 'It all started when we arrived in New York from Southampton and people started testing positive. We all had a routine test and those with Covid weren't allowed to disembark. 'We were in New York for three days then sailed onto the Caribbean with new American passengers on board . Our first stop was supposed to be Tortola but we weren't allowed to dock there and this was the same at all ports until Barbados.' The Queen Mary 2 is famous for its luxury experience but some passengers aren't happy The boat docked in Bridgetown in Barbados for three days meaning it also missed its next three scheduled stops, at Roseau in Dominica, Philipsburg in the Dutch Antilles and a second stay in New York. Instead it will head straight back to Southampton with passengers who had intended to disembark in New York instead flying there from Barbados. Others who could afford to and had had enough flew back to the UK instead of sailing. It's believed so many staff were ill and isolating on board that new workers had to go on board to keep the boat functioning. It is now on its way back to Southampton with many passengers still isolating in cabins. 'Only those passengers who had booked an organised trip could go ashore. By then Covid was becoming more of a problem to the degree that Captain decided we could not go onto our last port of call or back to New York. 'The passengers who were to disembark in New York were flown back from Barbados and of those disembarking at Southampton who wanted to fly back rather stay on the ship.of those as many as possible were flown back to Uk.' They had hoped to stop at a number of Caribbean beauty spots but some passengers have spent days stuck in cabins She added: 'A lot of the problem has been the complete lack of information from the Bridge as to the extent of Covid on board, and in fact anything else. Of course it goes without saying that covid needs to be taken seriously but the lack of information given is intolerable.' A spokesperson for the cruise liner said they were unable to give numbers for how many had been affected by positive tests. They said: 'Cunard/P&O Cruises has an approved framework of enhanced protocols in place to protect the health and wellbeing of guests, crew and the communities we visit and best manage against Covid-19. 'This framework includes a requirement for all guests, as well as all crew to be fully vaccinated, as well as testing before boarding our ships and testing on board as required by certain ports of call. Similar to the protocols for all international travel, should a guest test positive for Covid-19 whilst on board, they and their close contacts will isolate for their and other guests' well-being. 'All guests in isolation can request room service, from the full dining room and in-stateroom menus, at any time and have the support of ship's crew throughout. 'Our on board medical teams will then work local port authority / Port Health requirements to determine whether the guests should remain on board for their period of isolation or disembark. In situations where guests are required to disembark the ship, we will secure the most appropriate accommodation to continue the period of isolation. 'In most instances, these will be pre-determined hotels which have been identified as ones able to accommodate positive cases of Covid-19. 'Any guests that do find themselves in these circumstances have ongoing and direct support from our dedicated support team.' Former President Jimmy Carter has warned democracy is in danger, that there is a risk of 'civil conflict' and urged Americans to 'set aside their differences'. Writing in an op-ed in the New York Times as part of a series to mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, Mr Carter said that 'our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss.' He said he had hoped the breach of the Capitol would have 'shocked the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy' but lamented that it had not. 'Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late,' he wrote. Last year, the 97-year-old joined fellow former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in denouncing the Capitol insurrection as Congress was certifying the Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election. And on Wednesday, Mr Carter set out five steps 'for American democracy to endure' including that people 'of all political stripes' must agree on fundamental constitutional principles and the rule of law. He also called for the US to pass electoral reforms; resist the polarization of politics; recognize that violence has no place in politics; and stop the spread of disinformation. It comes as President Joe Biden prepares to mark the anniversary of the insurrection today with a speech blaming then-President Trump for the 'chaos and carnage'. Writing in an op-ed in the New York Times as part of a series to mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, former President Jimmy Carter said that 'our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss' Mr Carter said he had hoped the breach of the Capitol would have 'shocked the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy' but lamented that it had not Mr Carter lamented that one year ago 'a violent mob, guided by unscrupulous politicians... almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power.' He said he, and other former lawmakers, had 'brief' hope the insurrection would force the nation into addressing issues at its core that 'threatens our democracy'. But, he wrote that in the year that has followed 'promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems.' He warned that 'these forces', without naming them, 'exert power and influence through relentless disinformation' and said they have succeeded in turning 'Americans against Americans.' Providing examples of this, Mr Carter wrote that 'The Washington Post recently reported that roughly 40 percent of Republicans believe that violent action against the government is sometimes justified.' And, he said 'according to the Survey Center on American Life, 36 percent of Americans almost 100 million adults across the political spectrum agree that the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.' President Joe Biden (pictured during a meeting of the White House Covid-19 Response Team on January 4) will today mark the first anniversary of January 6 Capitol insurrection with a speech blaming Trump for the 'chaos and carnage' Biden will 'lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol' and place 'singular responsibility' on then-President Donald Trump, (pictured speaking at a rally in Washington onJanuary 6, 2021) White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing yesterday Thousands of Trump supporters are seen on January 6, 2021, marching towards the Capitol Violent pro-Trump protesters carrying 'Trump 2020' flags breach the Capitol as they try to stop Congress certifying Joe Biden's presidency on January 6, 2021 'For American democracy to endure, we must demand that our leaders and candidates uphold the ideals of freedom and adhere to high standards of conduct,' he wrote, adding a five step plan. In the first step, Mr Carter said that while citizens can disagree on politics they must all adhere to 'fundamental constitutional principles and norms of fairness, civility and respect for the rule of law.' He said this should include 'transparent, safe and secure electoral processes' that are 'conducted peacefully, free of intimidation and violence.' Mr Carter also called for political 'participants' should agree to accept judges adjudications on claims of election irregularities. In a second step, he called for electoral reforms that 'ensure the security and accessibility of our elections and ensure public confidence in the accuracy of results.' He said 'phony claims' of electoral fraud and 'pointless' multiple audit only served to 'detract from democratic ideals.' Third, Mr Carter wrote, Americans ' must resist the polarization that is reshaping our identities around politics' and instead focus on 'core truths'. He said these were: 'That we are all human, we are all Americans and we have common hopes for our communities and our country to thrive.' He called for Americans to do more to bridge the divides within politics 'respectfully and constructively' and called on citizens to engage in 'civil conversations' with family, friends and co-workers. Mr Carter wrote that 'phony claims' of electoral fraud and 'pointless' multiple audit only served to 'detract from democratic ideals' The riot of January 6 left 150 members of law enforcement injured, and cost five their lives The fourth step was to remove violence from politics and 'urgently' strengthen laws 'to reverse the trends of character assassination, intimidation and the presence of armed militias at events'. He said reforms should serve to protect election officials from threats to their safety and give law enforcement the power to address 'these issues', including coming to terms with 'the past and present of racial injustice.' Finally, Mr Carter called for the US to tackle disinformation, especially on social media. 'We must reform these platforms and get in the habit of seeking out accurate information,' he wrote, adding that 'corporate America and religious communities' should aid in these efforts. Mr Carter also wrote about his work at the Carter Center, set up after he left office to 'promote free, fair and orderly elections across the globe'. He described scenes of hope, courage and commitment as thousands of citizens cast their first ever ballots, but said he had seen 'how new democratic systems and sometimes even established ones can fall to military juntas or power-hungry despots.' The Biden administration apparently knows what went wrong on Virginia's I-95 on Tuesday, after an entirely predictable winter storm trapped hundreds of drivers in frigid temperatures for 24+ hours. They didn't pour enough money on it! Who knew dollars melt ice? Even as commuters sat shivering in their vehicles, Kamala Harris took to Twitter. The gaffe-prone Vice President never wastes an opportunity to make a bad situation even worse for the Biden-Harris administration. The tweet, even by Kamala standards, was incredibly tone-deaf. 'Because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, America is moving again. That's what infrastructure is all about: getting people moving.' The explanation for this poorly timed tweet is anyone's guess. I'm betting a naive social media intern sent it out without realizing the optics nightmare that would ensue. If that is the case, and if the rumors about the Vice President's treatment of her staff are true, then good luck to the poor soul who hit send on that whopper. It is conceivable that Kamala and her team didn't know about the turmoil on I-95. After all, Harris has been tasked with solving the border crisis, advancing voting rights, and filming YouTube videos about the moon's craters with paid child actors. Her schedule is jam-packed. But what makes no sense whatsoever is the fact that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg decided to retweet the Vice President's empty message. What is Pete's excuse for being out of the loop? I doubt any of Secretary Pete Buttigieg's woke platitudes about race and equity comforted the hundreds of people stuck in their cars for hours in Virginia on Tuesday. The Biden administration apparently knows what went wrong on Virginia's I-95 on Tuesday (above), after an entirely predictable winter storm trapped hundreds of drivers in frigid temperatures for 24+ hours. They didn't pour enough money on it! One Twitter user replied, 'Why, why oh why would anyone think this tweet is a good idea at the same time I-95 is trending for a 12 hour+ 30-50 mile standstill? Are you guys *trying* to write GOP midterm attack ads for them?' I don't think either of these political gaffe machines *try* to do much of anything. Mayor Pete's next tweets must have been even more reassuring to starving folks, going on a full day without food, frantically tearing apart their cars in search of a snack. 'This year, we're using the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve transportation across the country... Now that we have the resources, I'm confident @USDOT will meet this moment.' Though I'm pretty sure the problem in Virginia wasn't a lack of money. It was a lack of competence. A good place to start to solve that problem would be admitting that it is true. In just one year, Pete Buttigieg has proven to be a terrible Secretary of Transportation. What did we expect? His qualifications for the job were that he was Mayor of South Bend, Indiana and that he proposed to his husband at O'Hare International Airport. Not exactly an impressive resume. In October, when Pete returned from his 2-month paternity leave, his lack of credentials showed. His shoulder-shrugging response to the supply chain crisis facing the American people didn't inspire confidence. 'I think there have always been two kinds of Christmas shoppers. There's the ones who have all their list completed by Halloween, and then there's people like me who show up at the mall on Christmas Eve if you're in that latter bucket, obviously there's going to be more challenges.' How insightful. Another sign that Pete is over his head? He wants to turn the topic of infrastructure into a conversation about racism. This past April, Buttigieg said in an interview that there is 'racism physically built into' United States highways. Why can't Pete leave the college thesis on the Power Broker and Robert Moses to college students and focus on his job? I doubt any of Pete's woke platitudes about race and equity comforted the hundreds of people stuck in their cars for hours in Virginia on Tuesday. Now, had this 30-hour backup happened under President Donald J. Trump, I'm sure the mainstream media would have had zero issue blaming not just Orange Man, but also the then-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The gaffe-prone Vice President never wastes an opportunity to make a bad situation even worse for the Biden-Harris administration. Mayor Pete's tweets must have been even more reassuring to starving folks, going on a full day without food, frantically tearing apart their cars in search of a snack. I'm tempted to do the same thing now and blame Pete for the miles of traffic on I-95. However, the truth is that what led to Tuesday's gridlock can't be blamed on Biden's underwhelming heir to the presidency. Naturally, the Secretary of Transportation could have been more present and assertive during the ordeal -- and his apparent solutions fell flat. Even so, the bulk of the responsibility should fall with the Governor of Virginia. At first, liberals agreed with me. When news first started to break about I-95, activists who identify as journalists rushed to their keyboards to blast the disgusting incompetent, and uncaring leadership in Virginia. After all, what kind of governor lets his or her constituents sit in the freezing cold for hours and doesn't have a plan? Eric Boehlert, a savvy blue-check journalist, chimed in tweeting, 'The Youngkin era begins in Va'. Deranged CNN viewers wasted no time and echoed his sentiment. Unfortunately for the rabid Left, Youngkin is not the governor of Virginia not yet anyway. The Republican, who beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe, isn't going to be sworn in until January 15th. That means that this final highway swan song belongs to none other than Ralph Northam. The sitting Governor has had his fair share of scandals over the years including in 2019 when he was at the center of a blackface controversy. A photo emerged from Ralph Northam's yearbook page. It depicted two men, one in blackface and the other dressed up as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. First, Northam apologized for the photo. But the next day, in a press conference, he reversed his stance and claimed he was not either of the two men featured on the yearbook page with his name on it. Northam eventually left the press conference. But he did not leave the office. He got away with taking no responsibility for his mistake. If anyone thought this same guy was going to accept blame for Tuesday's disaster, well you haven't been paying attention. Northam told the Washington Post, 'We gave warnings, and people need to pay attention to these warnings, and the less people that are on the highways when these storms hit, the better.' In other words, the governor tried to blame the drivers. Perhaps that is why Northam decided not to call out the National Guard. Was this his twisted way of sending Virginians a message? The message of course being, I told you so. The buck stops somewhere, but not with Northam. The Governor blamed the drivers, who in turn blamed the Virginia Department of Transportation for their lack of preparation ahead of the storm. The VDOT, like any good state government agency, refused to shoulder any of the responsibility for the lackluster response. Marcie Parker, the VDOT district engineer, told the Washington Post that she believed the department was prepared prior to the storm. 'We got more snow than what was initially predicted, and the rate was falling harder. Could we have kept up with a snowfall rate of that amount? No.' Clearly, the solution is solar-powered road heaters running the length of the Eastern seaboard. Or we could use salt and snowplows. I live in Boston -- believe me -- it's possible. There is a lesson here beyond the fact that only Republicans can be held accountable for screw-ups. The underlying message is that these incompetent, tone-deaf Democrats do not have the capabilities to solve actual problems. Whether it is the traffic jam on I-95 or the pothole in front of your house, the real issues are too daunting for these Socratic minds. They would much rather focus on the abstract. Why fix a pothole when you can lower the Earth's temperature and save the planet? Why improve the highway system or solve the supply chain crisis when you can talk about systemic racism and human infrastructure? To radical progressives like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg and Ralph Northam, government is about quantity, not quality. So don't be surprised when their big spending bills don't result in anything more than woke talking points and a few electric car charging stations. May I suggest that those EV stations get placed on the side of the highways in Virginia? I would hate for someone to be caught in a Northam-era traffic jam and have their car battery run out. Listen to Grace's show every weekday from 12-3 at GraceCurleyShow.com. Anti-Semitism campaigners have criticised a suspended sentence given to a neo-Nazi, who was told by a judge he should read literature classics. Ben John, 21, was described as a white supremist with a neo-Nazi ideology by police. He was given a two-year suspended prison sentence at Leicester Crown Court in August last year. He was found guilty by a jury of possessing a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. John was invited by a judge to read famous works including Pride And Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities as he was given a five-year serious crime prevention order. At a review hearing in the same court today, Judge Timothy Spencer QC asked John to write down the books he had read since they had last spoken as they were not contained in his report. 'It is clear that you have tried to sort your life out,' the judge said. 'I would like to know what you have read of the classic literature you told the jury you were interested in. 'There is nothing in the report on that and I want you to write down now what literature you have read since we last met.' Telling Judge Spencer what he had read since the sentencing hearing, John said: 'I enjoyed Shakespeare more than I did Jane Austen but I still enjoyed Jane Austen by a degree.' 'Well I find that encouraging,' the judge replied. Judge Timothy Spencer QC told Ben John, 21, (pictured) he could stay out of prison as long as he steered clear of white-supremacy literature and and read books and plays by Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens A Leicester Crown Court jury voted unanimously to find John guilty of having in his possession a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism (stock image) The absence of a custodial term has sparked an angry backlash from anti-Semitism campaigners, who labelled it a 'pathetic sentence'. A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: The Attorney-General was absolutely right to ask the Court of Appeal to review this pathetic sentence. 'It is inexplicable that a man who collected nearly 70,000 neo-Nazi and terror-related documents could entirely avoid a custodial sentence for crimes that carry a maximum jail term of fifteen years. 'Instead, Ben John left court with a mere suspended sentence and some English homework. 'For all the novels that the judge ordered Mr John to peruse as he enjoys his unearned freedom, it was notable that Crime and Punishment was not among them. Perhaps the judge himself ought to review that classic as he reflects on the risk that his dangerous sentence poses to the public. 'We await the result of the Attorney-Generals referral of the sentence to the Court of Appeal.' The charge under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act, which has a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, was brought following the discovery on a computer of a publication containing diagrams and instructions on how to construct various explosive devices. Police said John, of Addison Drive, Lincoln, had also amassed 67,788 documents in bulk downloads onto hard drives, containing 'a wealth' of white supremist and antisemitic material. Judge Spencer told John he acknowledged 'publicity of this case' had affected his rehabilitation. John was told to attend court again in six months' time where the judge would check his progress. John (pictured) had amassed 67,788 documents in bulk downloads, which contained a wealth of white supremist and anti-Semitic material and police also found material related to a Satanist organisation Forensic computer investigators found a radical publication from the 70s, The Anarchist Cookbook (pictured), which included diagrams and instructions on how to build explosives in his hard drive 'I am encouraged about what you have written out for me and I am encouraged by your efforts to seek employment and I wish you well with that,' Judge Spencer said. The Attorney General has asked the Court of Appeal to review the 'unduly lenient' sentence handed to the defendant. The decision by Suella Braverman QC to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal came after anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate sent an open letter, asking for the case to be considered under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheme. 'This sentence is sending a message that violent right-wing extremists may be treated leniently by the courts,' the letter read. On August 11 this year he was found guilty by a jury at Leicester Crown Court of possessing information likely to be useful for preparing an act of terror and the court heard the conviction had a maximum jail sentence of 15 years. But Judge Spencer concluded his crime was likely to be 'an act of teenage folly' and an isolated incident. He told John at the sentencing: 'You are a lonely individual with few if any true friends.' He added John was 'highly susceptible' to recruitment by others more prone to action but said: 'I am not of the view that harm was likely to have been caused.' He made John promise him not to research any more right-wing materials. The judge then asked him: 'Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with Pride and Prejudice and Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. 'Think about Hardy. Think about Trollope. 'On January 4 you will tell me what you have read and I will test you on it.' He added: 'I will be watching you, Ben John, every step of the way. If you let me down you know what will happen.' In January 2018 he had come to the attention of the authorities for his extreme views and had meetings with Prevent officers, which aims to de-radicalise young people at risk of extremism. But in May 2018 John wrote a letter to his school claiming to be part of 'The Lincoln Fascist Underground', with a tirade against gay people and immigrants, which led to more intensive intervention by Prevent and psychiatric evaluation. That did not stop him and in April 2019 he copied more than 9,000 right-wing and terror-related documents onto the hard drive of his computer, adding another 2,600 a few months later in August 2019. Those documents were only discovered in January 2020 after John's student accommodation was raided by police. They included seven documents that the judge described as being 'many, many viable instructions on how to make devastating explosions'. Lincolnshire Police had to carry out a forensic examination of his hard drives because they had been wiped by John, of Addison Drive, Lincoln, a month before the raid. The documents included 'a worrying amount of right-wing literature and imagery'. In the UK, it is illegal to knowingly possess material that could assist in terrorist-related activities under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act. John had amassed 67,788 documents in bulk downloads, which contained a wealth of white supremist and anti-Semitic material and police also found material related to a Satanist organisation. Judge Spencer said: 'It is repellent, this content, to any right-thinking person. 'This material is largely relating to Nazi, fascist and Adolf Hitler-inspired ideology. 'But there was also a substantial quantity of more contemporary material espousing extreme right-wing, white-supremacist material. 'You suggested at trial it was mere academic fascination - I reject that. My view is that to a significant degree you have aligned with these ideologies and to a significant degree have adopted the views expressed as your own.' The bomb-making literature was examined by British military experts at Porton Down near Salisbury and seven of the documents had accurate guides to making firearms, ammunition and explosive devices. But Mr Bentley, representing John, argued that his client was 'very young' and 'not likely to cause harm'. He said that despite still having the documents on his computer throughout 2019 he had been 'engaging well' with Prevent team officers at that time. Mr Bentley said the whole case again John was 'really about not deleting items on a computer', which the judge described as an 'over-simplification' of the case. Mr Bentley said: 'Violence is the necessary ingredient of terrorism. It is not the prosecution case he was planning a terrorist attack. 'He was fascinated by extreme right-wing views and shared those views himself. 'He was a young man who struggled with emotions, however he is plainly an intelligent young man and now has a greater insight. 'He is by no means a lost cause and is capable of living a normal, pro-social life.' At the end of the hearing, the judge commended all the officers who worked on the case. Commenting on the sentence, Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands Detective Inspector James Manning, who led the investigation, said: 'This was a young man who could be anyone's son, studying at university, and living one life in public, while conducting another in private. 'He possessed a wealth of National Socialist and anti-Semitic material which indicated a fascination and belief in a white supremacist ideology along with support for an extreme satanic group which is increasingly of concern for law enforcement agencies. 'The terrorist material he was found in possession of is extremely dangerous, and he acquired this to further his ideology. 'It indicates the threat that he and other followers of this hateful ideology pose to national security. 'It was not light reading, or material most would concern themselves with for legitimate reasons. This has been a long and complex investigation over the course of 11 months.' This is the moment a woman carried her pet lion through the streets of Kuwait after the animal escaped from her home. Footage from Sabahiya, south of Kuwait City, shows the owner struggling to hold onto the big cat underneath its front legs as it thrashed around. The short clip, which was posted on Sunday, shows the young animal writhing around in its owner's arms while growling loudly. After walking several yards, the woman, seemingly exhausted, then put the animal on the ground as she took a rest from carrying it home. A lion can be seen in a video writhing in its owners arms as it tries to escape her grip a street in Kuwait The woman, dressed in a black burkha, can be seen struggling to contain the big cat as it growls loudly The owner places the lion on the ground after being unable to carry it back to her property News website Al Anbaa reported on Sunday that the lion had escaped in the Sabahiya area, south of Kuwait City. According to Al Arabiya, environmental police were called to the scene. Officers helped the woman contain the big cat before it was returned to captivity. Keeping exotic animals as pets is a popular phenomenon in many Gulf states, even though it is illegal, including in Kuwait. In Dubai, a new crackdown on owning dangerous animals was launched in June 2020 following reports of a wild cat roaming The Springs community - although it later transpired that the animal caught on film was actually a house cat. While both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have laws that ban the ownership of such pets, enforcement is lax. Big cats are popular status symbols within Saudi Arabia and the UAE where their wealthy owners flaunt them on Instagram (pictured) In 2019, experts warned that cheetahs were at risk of dying out in eastern Africa because their cubs are being stolen and sold to wealthy Arab men as pets. Dr Laurie Marker, of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, told Mail Online that up to three quarters of cubs born to wild cheetahs in the Horn of Africa each year are being taken and sold to smugglers. She warned that if action was not taken to end the trade, then the animals would die out within the next two years. Videos and images posted on Instagram and uncovered by Mail Online revealed how wealthy owners in Saudi Arabia and the UAE flaunt the big cats as status symbols, driving around with the animals in their cars and posing with them at home. By Lee Hyo-jin The nation's human rights watchdog has called on investigative bodies to improve their phone log examination systems, expressing concerns about recent controversies surrounding the alleged surveillance activities of a state-run anti-corruption agency. Song Doo-hwan, the chief of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), issued a statement, Thursday, urging the government and the National Assembly to introduce proper systems and legislative measures to prevent human rights violations in telecommunication surveillance by law enforcement authorities, including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). The National Human Rights Commission of Korea / Korea Times file Horrifying body-camera footage has revealed the moment a Houston cop screams as he drives a police cruiser with one hand at speeds of up to 100mph before mounting a sidewalk and killing a 62-year-old pedestrian. Officer Orlando Hernandez and his partner Anthony Aranda, both 25, were helping another cop in hot pursuit of a suspect who had run away in Houston at around 5.40pm on December 4. Footage shows Hernandez turn the steering wheel nearly 180 degrees to swerve out of the way of other cars. But his cruiser slides slightly to the right, making him jump the sidewalk and smash into Michael Wayne Jackson, 62, who was walking to his barber on Reed Road. Officer Orlando Hernandez and his partner Anthony Aranda, both 25, were helping another cop and were in hot pursuit of a suspect who had run away in Houston at around 5.40pm on December 4 Hernandez slides slightly to the right, making him jump the sidewalk and smash into Michael Wayne Jackson (pictured), 62, who was walking to his barber on Reed Road Footage shows Hernandez turn the steering wheel nearly 180 degrees to swerve out of the way of other cars The footage shows Hernandez hit him around 34 seconds after passing through the intersection on Cullen Boulevard. Collected data suggests the cruiser was travelling at 75mph before mounting the sidewalk, according to Chron. Just before Hernandez swerves drastically to avoid hitting other cars, footage shows his speedometer hit 60mph. Footage shows both officers run to Mr Jackson as Hernandez said: 'I need HFD here. I just got wrecked out, uh, Scott and Reed. 'One male patient is going to be knocked unconscious, not breathing, uh, bleeding from the head.' The footage shows Hernandez hit him around 34 seconds after passing through the intersection on Cullen Boulevard Footage shows the moments leading up to and right after the officers crashed into the victim Another officer arrives and orders Hernandez to start performing CPR before the video cuts out. Paramedics from the Houston Fire Department pronounced Mr Jackson dead just minutes later. Tamica Burns, Mr Jackson's stepdaughter, said she believes the Houston Police Department should pay for his funeral costs as worrying about finances is adding to her mother's grief. She told The Black Wall Street Times: 'She's grieving. She's stressing. Now we have to come up with money to bury him, and it's not fair. It's not right.' President of the Houston Police Officers' Union called the crash a 'tragic accident'. In a text message, seen by Chron, he said: 'It's my belief that the officers left the road to avoid a collision and never saw the citizen. Truly sad for all involved.' The incident is being investigated HPD Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorneys Office. Assistant chief Yassar Bashir said in a video statement: It is important to note we are in the very early stages of our investigation.' He added that Mr Jackson received CPR chest compressions within a minute of the fatal crash. It is unclear whether prosecutors will press charges against Hernandez but both he and Aranda have been placed on administrative duty and they are still listed as active officers. A Channel migrant who drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl before killing her has tried to use a legal technicality to stay in the UK, a court heard today. Afghan-born Rasuili Zubaidullah, 23, is accused of drugging and raping teenager Leonie Walner whose body was found rolled up in a carpet in the Austrian capital of Vienna last June. Leonie met Zubaidullah and one of his accomplices at the Danube Canal, Vienna, on June 25 last year. The three took ecstasy and went back to Zubaidullah's apartment in Donaustadt, in Vienna's 22nd district, where they were joined by two other men, 18 and 23. The men allegedly gave the schoolgirl more drugs to 'make her compliant' before brutally raping her and rolling her body up in a carpet. She was then dumped on the street about 100 metres from Zubaidullah's apartment, an extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. Austrian police arrested the three other men, also immigrants, after they allegedly boasted to a friend about having wild sex with a young girl. The friend immediately reported the crime to the police. Zubaidullah then boarded a boatload of refugees and claimed asylum in Britain. He provided authorities in Kent with a fake name on July 18 last year after he successfully crossed the Channel, the court heard. He was arrested on July 29 at an Ibis Hotel after an international arrest warrant was issued. He was living at a taxpayer-funded hostel in Whitechapel, east London for two weeks before his arrest. At a hearing today, his lawyer Ben Keith objected to his extradition under Section 12A of the Extradition Act 2003, by claiming Zubaidullah has 'not yet been charged or tried' in Austria. Leonie Walner's body was found rolled up in a carpet in the Austrian capital of Vienna last June Rasuili Zubaidullah is accused of the drugging, rape and suffocation of 13-year-old schoolgirl Leonie Walner He was arrested by officers from the National Extradition Unit on July 29. It was initially believed Zubaidullah had made his way to Italy before it became clear he had snuck into the UK. Wearing a blue, red and white hoodie and a grey jumper, he appeared in custody for a full extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court today. He spoke through a Farsi interpreter and was flanked by one dock officer and stood maskless as the case against him, involving one charge of rape and another of severe sexual abuse against a person under 14, was laid out. Jonathan Swain, prosecuting told the court: 'This case relates to a warrant issued by Austrian authorities on 29 July this year. This was certified by the National Crime Agency a day later. 'Zubaidullah is suspected of committing two offences on 25 and 26 June last year, which are described as a willful collaboration with three named people. 'He coerced the alleged victim by force and got her to engage in and acquiesce to sexual intercourse by force. 'He gave her seven ecstasy pills before having vaginal intercourse with her. 'It is said the victim was grabbed and choked until she was unable to breathe and suffocated, and therefore she ultimately died. 'The second charge relates to the fact he had sex with her when she was under 14 years old.' His lawyer Ben Keith objected to extradition under Section 12A of the Extradition Act 2003, claiming the Austrian authorities had not yet decided to charge Zubiadullah. He said: 'The issue is whether this case is in fact going to proceed to prosecution and whether this defendant is going to be prosecuted. 'The court could request further information, or it could discharge this case. 'We say the fact Austrian authorities have tried to interview this defendant is evidence that the reason they have not progressed this far is not because the defendant is not in the country, but because he is still at the investigation stage. 'There is enough information to show no decision has been made to charge him.' District Judge Michael Snow deferred judgement until January 12, to give his lawyer- who is isolating because of the pandemic - time to have an in-person conference with Zubaidullah to discuss whether to appeal if it is decided he should return to Austria. The case has raised concerns that checks on Afghan refugees coming into the UK are not strict enough, at a time when border crossings have reached record highs. Peter Velz confirmed Wednesday he is leaving Vice President Kamala Harris' team making him the seventh staffer to depart since June Kamala Harris has now lost at least seven aides since her disastrous southern border trip on June 25 after her director of press operations Peter Velz confirmed Wednesday he is leaving his role with the White House. Velz's announcement comes in the midst of a staff exodus following reports the vice president is a 'bully' who facilitates a toxic work environment and other reports indicate tensions between the president's staff and Harris'. 'Today is my last day at the White House, and it truly has been an honor,' Velz tweeted on Wednesday. 'I will be forever grateful to Vice President Harris, the incredible Team @VP, and I'm so proud of our work this past year supporting this historic Administration.' 'The White House is an amazing place to work -- you're surrounded by the most selfless, smart, hard-working people everyday doing their best to serve the American people. And it has has been an absolute joy,' he added. Velz's next job will start later this month at the State Department's Protocol team where Velz says he will still support President Joe Biden and Harris in their meetings with foreign leaders, delegations and international travel. His announcement comes the day after fellow staffer Vince Evans confirmed his departure from the vice president's office to replace Kyle Anderson as executive director with the Congressional Black Caucus. Evans and Velz's departures exhibit the reports of a staff exodus coming to fruition amid reports of turmoil in the vice president's office. At the end of December, Harris' chief spokesperson Symone Sanders left her post. It followed the departure of Ashley Etienne, Harris' former communications director, who left in November. In the aftermath of Harris' botched Central America and border trip, reports emerged that two other aides were eyeing the exits. Harris' former director of advance Karly Satkowiak and deputy director of advance Gabrielle DeFranceschi departed shortly after the trip in June. Staffers on the VP's advance team are responsible for planning all of her trips, surveying venues for her to visit and working with local officials to prepare venues for media coverage. Velz (left) made his announcement the day after Vince Eans (right) confirmed his departure from Harris' team Velz confirmed his departure in a Wednesday tweet after reports emerged toward the end of 2021 that he was eyeing the exits in the midst of a staff exodus from the vice president's office Velz will work with the State Department on the protocol team starting later in January He posted a throw back image of hi at the press briefing room podium from 2021 and a more current image in the same pose At the time of Satkowiak's and DeFranceschi's departure from Harris' team it was not clear why they were leaving but it did fuel further rumors of workplace tensions. Rajan Kaur who was Harris' director of digital strategies left her staff in July after opting not to relocate to Washington D.C. from Brooklyn. Harris' job approval rating is at 32 per cent, according to a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Tuesday. While that is a terrible rating, it is a 4 per cent increase from the November poll where her approval was at only 28 per cent. Evans, in moving on from the vice president's office, will work closely with CBC Chairwoman Representative Joyce Beatty from Ohio. 'I started my career in Washington working for a member of the CBC, so I know firsthand the tremendous leadership and impact this caucus has in Congress and across the country,' Evans said in a statement. 'As we write the next chapter of the CBC story, I am excited for the opportunity to lend my experience and passion for supporting the collective vision of this storied caucus.' Evans (right) said he is leaving Vice President Kamala Harris' (left) office to become executive director with the Congressional Black Caucus Velz tweeted his congratulations to Evans on Tuesday Velz wrote in a tweet Tuesday of Evans' new position: 'Congrats to the absolute KING and MVP of Team VP! Adore this man one of the best colleagues and friends you can ask for.' 'I'm so happy to see you continue fighting the good fight and go do great things with the Congressional Black Caucus. Love you, [Vince Evans]!' he added along with a picture of them together. Reports revealed that Velz, currently director of press operations for Harris, has also told those in the vice president's office that he plans to leave. As Evans joins the CBC, there are already seven members of the 56-member caucus who have said they will not run for reelection in this year's midterms. This includes veteran members and Democratic Representatives Brenda Lawrence from Michigan and Bobby Rush from Illinois, the only lawmaker to ever beat Barack Obama in a political election. Other CBC members seeking other offices include Representatives Karen Bass from California, Anthony Brown from Maryland and Val Demings from Florida all Democrats. As of Wednesday morning, 25 House Democrats announced they will not seek reelection this year as the party tries to hold onto their razor thin majorities in both chambers. Evans, in his new role with CBC, will function as a chief of staff for one of Congress' most influential caucuses. His duties will include overseeing daily activities and working with members and their top aides to coordinate and implement priorities and legislative agenda. A Florida native, Evans began his political career as an aide to a Tallahassee city commissioner, was a staffer in the Florida state Senate and served on the senior staff of Florida Representative Al Lawson. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Evans was Southern political director for Joe Biden and was political director for Harris when she became the vice presidential nominee. Symone Sanders (left), Harris' senior adviser and chief spokesperson, left the White House at the end of 2021. It came after Ashley Etienne (right), Harris' former communications director, left in November Officials maintain that Sanders and Etienne's departures were long-planned and not evidence of the reported turmoil. Further, reports note that Sanders is getting married next year and was never able to go on a proper tour to sell her book, No, You Shut Up, which was published in May 2020. Sanders, 32, defended her former boss in an interview published Monday in her hometown newspaper Omaha World-Herald, claiming it was the 'honor of her life' to serve Vice President Harris. 'She is someone who I watch every single day bring her full self to work,' Sanders said. 'I watch her challenge her teams, I watch her push us all to be better. She added: 'I watch her raise issues and perspectives and topics and policy that other people other folks just weren't thinking about.' Sanders called the reports and rumors of dysfunction in Harris' office just 'salacious gossip.' When announcing her departure last year, many took Sanders' exit as further evidence that Harris's office was in disarray, amid headlines of a toxic work environment and an exodus of key personnel. Some stories, however, pointed the finger at Sanders. Two unidentified sources told The Hill that the spokeswoman was seen as a rival to Harris's communications director, and that she was the 'voice in numerous blind quotes about friction in the office.' The Washington Post published a damaging expose in December branding Harris a 'bully' who inflicted 'constant-soul destroying criticism' on her office staff. The piece - a result of interviews with 18 people connected to the VP - alleges that Harris failed to read briefings they'd prepared, only to turn on them if she was subsequently criticized for being unprepared. The claims from staff who worked for Harris were published amid confirmed departures of two high level staffers, with two others who are said to be heading for the door too. 'It's clear that you're not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work,' a former colleague told the Washington Post. 'With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. 'So you're constantly sort of propping up a bully and it's not really clear why.' Harris's staffers Meanwhile, Gil Duran, who worked with Harris for just five months in 2013 before quitting, said the vice president was 'repeating the same old destructive patterns.' Writing in his San Francisco Examiner column, he said: 'One of the things we've said in our little text groups among each other is what is the common denominator through all this and it's her.' 'One of the things we've said in our little text groups among each other is what is the common denominator through all this and it's her,' Duran told the Post. 'Who are the next talented people you're going to bring in and burn through and then have (them) pretend they're retiring for positive reasons.' People familiar with the conversations told Politico that even more 'key members of Harris' orbit' are 'eyeing the exits' and have expressed interest in leaving less than a year into her vice presidency. Some Democratic allies have urged Harris to embrace the concept of a reset after a rocky first year as vice president, which has been riddled with project failures like addressing the southern border crisis and reports of tensions between her team and the president's. Her poll ratings have tanked, with top Democrats said to be appalled at the idea of her running for president in 2024 should Joe Biden decide not to seek a second term. Harris' staff are leaving because they're burned out, there are better opportunities elsewhere and they don't want to be permanently branded a 'Harris person,' according to Axios. Harris tamped down rumors of tension as she addressed Sanders' departure during a gaggle on her trip to North Carolina last month. 'I love Symone,' the vice president said. 'And I mean that sincerely.' 'I can't wait to see what she will do next. I know that it's been three years jumping on and off planes, going around the country ' Harris continued. Sanders joined President Joe Biden's presidential campaign in 2019. Harris declined to answer further questions on the wave of departures. 'Well, I told you how I feel about Symone,' Harris said. During the trip, Harris' personal aide, Opal Vadhan, posted a photo of the VP's team all smiling as they celebrated the birthday of Deputy Director of Advance, Juan Ortega. 'A favorite tradition in the @VP's office is celebrating staff birthdays with cupcakes! Happy Birthday, @JuanoBano!' she wrote. Harris was in Charlotte, North Carolina to tour a public transit facility and give a speech on the bipartisan infrastructure bill alongside Pete Buttigieg, her rumored competition. She hugged the Transportation secretary before they both boarded Air Force Two. Buttigieg then took questions from a gaggle of reporters on the plane alone. Amid poll numbers in the high 20s, some Democrats are pushing for Buttigieg to replace Harris at the top of the ticket in 2024, should Biden choose not to run for a second term. The White House insists Biden plans to run again, but he will be 82 in 2024. In November, Harris hit back at claims she is being misused as vice president, saying she doesn't feel like she's being under utilized by Biden and dismissed her low approval ratings which plummeted to 28 per cent in a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of registered voters earlier this month. 'Polls, they go up, they go down,' Harris said. 'But I think what is most important is that we remain consistent with what we need to do to deal with the issues that we're presented with at this moment.' No announcement has been made on whether Sanders has lined up another job, sparking questions over the circumstances surrounding her departure. Harris in recent weeks has battled mounting reports that her office is in disarray, and that her team is frustrated at being handed 'no-win' tasks that don't suit her skillset, such as tackling the 'root causes' of migration behind the recent border crisis. Asked if the staff departures were prompted by bad headlines for Harris, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that working in the first year of an administration is 'grueling and exhausting.' 'It's natural for staffers who've thrown their heart and soul into a job to be ready to move on after a few years,' she said. Praising Sanders' work in the administration, Psaki said the spokeswoman 'has charisma coming out of her eyeballs.' 'It's natural for staffers who have thrown their heart and soul into a job to be ready to move on to a new challenge after a few years,' Psaki said. Sanders traveled frequently with Harris and as a senior adviser helped her juggle a daunting portfolio including the migrant issue and push for a sweeping federal overhaul of election laws. Harris has suffered plunging approval ratings since taking office, threatening what would normally be an easy path to the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, or 2024 if Biden decides not to seek re-election at age 81. Amid the turbulence, Sanders has been Harris' top bulldog defender, batting back at claims of internal disarray and tension with the West Wing. Last month, Sanders was the first to respond to a detailed CNN report in which Harris aides complained that she has been set up to fail, and handed a portfolio that is not commensurate with her historic status as the first woman, and first woman of color, to hold the vice president's office. 'They're consistently sending her out there on losing issues in the wrong situations for her skill set,' said a former high-level Harris aide in the bombshell report. Sanders fired back in a statement: 'It is unfortunate that after a productive trip to France in which we reaffirmed our relationship with America's oldest ally and demonstrated U.S. leadership on the world stage, and following passage of a historic, bipartisan infrastructure bill that will create jobs and strengthen our communities, some in the media are focused on gossip - not on the results that the President and the Vice President have delivered.' Amid the turbulence, Sanders (right) has been Harris' top bulldog defender, batting back at claims of internal disarray and tension with the West Wing An official in the vice president's office pointed out to Politico that Sanders, a former Biden campaign aide, had been working for the administration in some capacity for three years, and said that Biden and Harris had known of her departure 'for a while'. Etienne's plan to leave was confirmed on November 18. 'Ashley is valued member of the Vice President's team, who has worked tirelessly to advance the goals of this administration. She is leaving the office in December to pursue other opportunities,' a White House official told DailyMail.com at the time. Both Harris and Biden have vehemently denied that there is any tension between them, denying reports that are mostly based on the accounts of anonymous staffers. The White House went full throat with their defense of her after a CNN report claimed Biden was distancing himself from Harris because of her sliding poll numbers, while the vice president is said to have felt isolated and frustrated with being given some of the most difficult issues for the administration in her portfolio. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain tweeted Harris is an 'incredible leader' and Psaki argued Harris receives more criticism because of her status as a woman of color. Harris is the country's first female vice president and the first vice president of color. The president has publicly said he intends to run again, although pundits say that announcing he intends to step down after a single term would turn him into a lame duck leader. But there has been anonymous chatter among Democrats that, if he does, he should consider replacing Harris. There's additional speculation that if he doesn't run again, Harris would not be the strongest contender to replace him. Some have suggested Buttigieg would be a better candidate for the nomination. A Politico/Morning Consult poll at the end of 2021 showed the transportation secretary with a higher favorability rating than both Biden and Harris whom he led by 12 points. Russia is to toughen its child sex laws this month to automatically jail repeat paedophiles for life in harsh polar prisons. Monsters who sexually abuse children should serve their sentences in hard labour penal colonies in the Arctic, where they could be forced to work in Siberian mines, the country's parliamentary speaker said. The new legislation is being pushed through after a horrific case this week of a girl, five, who was abducted by a recidivist paedophile and his lover, then raped and stabbed to death. Veronika Nikolayeva had been playing near her mother's workplace in Kostroma, and a video showed how she was snatched before being abused. The helpless girl 'struggled and fought back' but passersby did not pay attention to her distress - and the men took her to their hostel. Her corpse was later found in a duffle bag as the suspects, named Denis Gerasimov, 44, and Vadim Belyakov, 24, planned to dispose of her body. Parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin (pictured) said child rapists 'cannot be called human' as he called for new law to send repeat offenders to the Arctic for life Distressing footage shows the moment two men in Russia snatched a five-year-old girl and carried her through the snow and past unaware members of the public One of the suspects was named as Denis Gerasimov, 44 (left), earlier jailed for paedophile offences including producing child pornography. The other suspect Vadim Belyakov, 24 (right), reportedly has a conviction for theft Both men confessed on video to her murder. Parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, said the 'terrible tragedy' of Veronika's abuse and death showed the urgency of toughening laws. 'One of the detained men turned out to be a formerly convicted paedophile,' he said. 'Let's do everything for the law on life sentences for paedophiles to be adopted in January.' He backed calls for even tougher measures by sending all paedophiles to polar regions to serve their sentence. 'Those convicted for such crimes should serve life sentences in the harshest conditions - in the extreme north (of Russia) or in mines. 'These b******s should undergo the hardest labour, so they remember the crimes they committed every day - and regret them.' They 'cannot be called human', he said. Pictured: CCTV footage shows the two men moments before the kidnapped the girl Pictured: A still grab from a video showing the inside of a room searched by police in relation to the case, in which two suspects have been detained over the rape and murder of the girl Alexander Khinstein, an influential MP in the main pro-Putin United Russia party, said: 'It is necessary to adopt our bill on life punishment for paedophile-rapists as soon as possible.' All sex attackers released from jail should wear electronic tags, he said. Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin's commissioner for children's rights, warned that sex attacks on children and adolescents have risen 79 per cent in the past eight years. In this week's case, Gerasimov had been released from a sex crime conviction in March. As the girl's body was removed from the suspects' hostel, a mob of locals demanded to be allowed to lynch the suspects. The suspects are understood to have been in a long term relationship since the younger man was underage. The men told interrogators that the crime was 'spontaneous', it was reported. The younger one 'suggested that his partner catch the girl and make fun of her'. The video shows one suspect carrying the kidnapped girl down snowy streets, while the other walks alongside. Pictured: Russian police offers are shown inside a home during a search Pictured: Officers leave a hostel in Russia carrying the girl's body, after a mob formed upon hearing the news about her death When police raided the room shared by the suspects in a hostel, they found the girl's body hidden in a duffle bag, say law enforcement sources. The girl had been raped before she was killed. Local news said that as soon as the information was made public, a mob formed. 'Immediately after the information about the detention of (the suspects) appeared, local residents gathered by the hostel, where the child's body was found,' reported 112 news outlet. 'They demanded the (suspected) murderers should be handed over and wanted to lynch them.' A video shows the girl's body being carried into a police vehicle. A social media post said: 'This case shows again that the surveillance system for paedophiles does not work and gives them the opportunity to commit crimes again.' Tory minister Jacob Rees-Mogg poked fun at France over the migrant crisis today, insisting the country was a safe haven for refugees - unless they dislike garlic. In remarks that may ruffle feathers in a country famous for its rich culinary heritage, he took aim at use of the pungent plant in a debate over the surge in illicit journeys from the continent last year. The Government is facing pushback against its tough new 'pushback' policy, with the PCS union which represents thousands of Border Force staff threatening strike action. In the Commons today, Conservative MP for Redcar Jacob Young demanded ministers declare the 'crisis in the channel as a national emergency', adding that France was 'safe'. Commons leader Mr Rees-Mogg replied: 'I wonder how often France has been called safe in this particular chamber over the centuries, but I think we can accept that it is safe for most refugees except those who don't like garlic who may need to escape. In remarks that may ruffle feathers in a country famous for its rich culinary heritage, he took aim at use of the pungent plant in a debate over the surge in illicit journeys from the continent last year. The Government is facing pushback against its tough new 'pushback' policy, with the PCS union which represents thousands of Border Force staff threatening strike action. France has a rich culinary heritage, including widespread use of garlic 'What has been going on in the Channel is appalling and is something that should concern us all because it is led by people smugglers, it is led by evil people and it has led to deaths and we need to protect further lives from the most dangerous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit desperation.' Home Secretary Priti Patel is facing a revolt against her plans to get tough on Channel migrants. The PCS union last night lashed out at 'morally reprehensible' plans to turn back dinghies that set of from the continent, saying they risked lives and may break international law. The organisation has joined forces with a refugee charity to seek a judicial review of the 'pushbacks' policy. Even if the court application is unsuccessful, the union has not ruled out industrial action and officials refusing to carry out the pushbacks. It comes as new figures showed that more than 28,000 people crossed the Dover Strait aboard small boats in 2021, triple the number for 2020. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'The legality of the pushbacks policy is in serious question, and it is right that the court decides whether it is unlawful to turn back Channel boats. 'We cannot have a situation where our members could be open to potential civil and criminal action for implementing a policy that they do not agree with and know is not safe. 'Although we are hoping for a positive outcome from the legal proceedings, people should be in no doubt PCS strongly opposes this policy, on moral and humanitarian grounds, and we will not rule out industrial action to prevent it being carried out.' Unions are telling public sector workers they can now take 28 days off work without a sick note as a result of new Covid rules. There are fears the new rule, which was introduced so GPs were free to administer vaccines, will be abused by workers looking to stay home. Public sector union Unison told its members: 'The UK Government has made a temporary change to the provision of 'fit notes' until January 27 2022. 'If you go off sick on or after December 10 2021, employers can only ask employees for proof of sickness (such as a fit note) after 28 days of sickness (including non-working days).' Unions are telling public sector workers they can now take 28 days off work without a sick note as a result of new Covid rules. Pictured: A deserted Waterloo Station at 8.15am Tuesday MPs have urged the Government to reverse the rule over concerns it could be abused at a time when the UK is facing staffing crisis. Pictured: Overflowing bins in the Walton area of Liverpool Circulating the update to its 1.4million members, it added that 'proof of sickness cannot be requested earlier than 28 days'. Before the rule change, anyone who needed to stay off work with an illness for more than a week was required to produce a sick note from their GP. The rule change has come when the Government is also introducing changes to testing and isolation rules. From January 11 anyone who tests positive for Covid using a lateral flow test at home will not need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. MPs have called for the Government to reverse the rule over fears it could cripple the country if more people are allowed to stay home from work, according to the Telegraph. Around 1.3million Britons are currently thought to be languishing under house arrest as the NHS, rail services and bin collections all buckle under the weight of staff absences. With 183,000 Brits being sent into isolation every day on average, the situation is expected to get worse before it gets better. There are growing calls from experts, businesses and even NHS leaders themselves to cut self-isolation to five days to avoid paralysing the economy and disrupting vital services. Train services and bin collections are also grinding to a halt as the virus spreads, while schools are warning that they may not have enough teachers in work to run their normal timetables. Brendan Clarke-Smith, a Conservative MP on the education select committee, told the Telegraph he believed the rule was 'open to abuse' particularly in sectors 'where we can't really afford for that to happen'. He added: 'There is a debate to be had about the 28 days that is quite a long period for someone to be off for, and in terms of what that will do to the workforce. Sir John Hayes, a Conservative MP and former minister, told the paper: 'That may have been necessary during the period where we were getting the booster out quickly, but we certainly need to review it as soon as possible.' Pictured: NHS trusts across England have declared 'critical incidents' indicating that they may be unable to deliver vital care to patients in the coming weeks due to the staffing crisis More than 20 NHS trusts have now declared a 'critical incident' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by the rapid spread of Omicron, as medics called for infection control rules to be loosened to increase capacity. The Prime Minister's official spokesperson said more than 20 of England's 137 trusts 15 per cent of the entire health service have signalled they may not be able to deliver vital care in the coming weeks. But the spokesperson stressed the alert level is 'not a good indicator' of the pressures the health service was under because it only provides a snapshot in time. Hospitals have cancelled operations and the Prime Minister yesterday revealed plans are being drawn up to call in the Army if the crisis continues to worsen. Some non-urgent operations at 17 hospitals across Greater Manchester was called off, as health chiefs said 15 per cent of their staff were stuck at home with Covid. Unison said it was only circulating rules that the Government had introduced to ensure its members were aware of the change in legislation. Jon Richards, the assistant general secretary of Unison, said: 'These temporary rules were of the Government's making to relieve pressure on GPs. 'Public sector employees have been keeping essential services running throughout the pandemic. 'Most have had no option to work from home, putting them at higher risk of illness as they continue to go into their workplaces. 'Woeful levels of sick pay mean many public sector staff would rather not be off work.' A government spokesperson said: 'To free up capacity for our GPs to support the ramping up of the Covid booster jab rollout, we introduced temporary Statutory Sick Pay changes. 'For any sickness absences which began on or after 10 December 2021, up to and including 26 January 2022, GPs do not need to provide employees with medical evidence of sickness, such as a fit note, for the first 28 days of absence.' 'We encourage everyone eligible to get their booster jab as soon as possible.' A devout Maryland bakery truck driver answered the prayers of hundreds of starving drivers by handing out loaves of bread to those trapped on a snow-clogged Virginia highway. In a now-viral video, Ron Hill, 60, can be seen gingerly walking over the ice-covered roadway to deliver bread from his Schmidt Baking Company truck early Tuesday morning - after Monday's crippling snowstorm turned a 50-mile stretch of I-95 between Washington, DC and Richmond, Virginia, into a parking lot for more than 24 hours. Hill, of Harford County near Baltimore, was moved to hand over some 500 packages of Potato Rolls and Old Tyme split-top wheat bread after getting a knock on his driver's door from another trapped motorist. 'I was weeping and didn't understand why. I was thinking, ''Should I go in the back of this truck, start handing out bread, and catch the weight later?'' Hill told Baltimore Magazine. 'As I was sitting at the steering wheel thinking about it, I saw a lady walk up to the side of my truck.' That lady was Casey Holihan, 23, who was stranded with her husband, John Noe, 24, a few cars behind Hill's truck. With her stomach grumbling, Holihan got the idea to call the company after seeing schmidtbaking.com listed on Hill's truck. Maryland bakery driver Ron Hill steps out of his truck to help feed hundreds of motorists trapped along two-mile stretch of traffic-clogged Virginia highway Casey Holihan, who with her husband John Noe, was stranded just behind Hill's truck and had called the company's customer service Hundreds of motorists were stranded in freezing temperatures along a 50-mile stretch of I-95 'We kind of called them on a whim,' Holihan said. 'We definitely did not think anything would come of it.' Less than 20 minutes later, H&S co-owner and retail distributor of Schmidt Baking Company, Chuck Paterakis, called Holihan and asked her to hand the phone to Hill. Paterakis then ordered Hill to give as many loaves of bread as was needed to the starving and frustrated motorists. 'It was the best loaf of bread I have ever eaten in my entire life,' Holihan said. 'We can't stop raving about the humanity of everybody.' 'After almost 21 hours of being stuck on 95 South, sleeping here overnight, not having access to food or water, and all of the nearest towns being out of power we were tired, frustrated, and hungry,' Holihan wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. The couple was traveling from their home in Ellicott City, Maryland, to visit family in North Carolina before they leave for Germany next week for Noe's job in the Air Force. 'Many of the people stuck out here had small children, were elderly, had pets in the car, and hadn't eaten in almost a whole day,' she added, after they fed those trapped for about two miles. Hill, an independent truck driver for 14 years, said hed never seen the traffic nightmare on I-95. 'It was just different. I'm a veteran so Im pretty much prepared for anything,' he told Yahoo News. He said was worried about running out of diesel as he kept his truck running to stay warm. He slept two hours and had nothing to eat. When there were still no signs of relief when morning came, Hill said he went into the back of his truck to pray. 'Tears started rolling down my eyes,' he said. Those tears turned into a smile after the sudden act of kindness cheered up motorists who had been stuck on the highway for almost an entire day, knowing more hours would pass until they could go home. Hill hands out loaves of bread to those trapped on a snow-clogged Virginia highway 'We were going up to windows holding bread up, and many people were like, ''How much money do you want for it?'' When we said it was free, some of them were almost moved to tears. They were just so relieved,' Holihan told Baltimore Magazine. Just hours before, the same overwhelmed motorists had been honking at each other with frustration. 'But then you remember that these are real people. They have lives. We got to talk to some of them and pet their dogs and ask them about where they were going. It was a little pocket of humanity and community that we created on that stretch of I-95 that won't be forgotten,' Holihan added. Paterakis said the truck was headed from its headquarters in the Fells Point section of Baltimore to a distribution center in Norfolk, Virginia. The family-run Maryland bakery was founded by Greek immigrants in 1943. 'This company is incredible. This bread truck was on the way to being delivered. The company definitely could have made a profit off the bread but instead chose to help the people around them,' Holihan told local news station WBAL, 'That is just so incredible that someone chose humanity over profit, especially in a situation that people were so desperate.' 'Shout out to Casey and John who helped get the bread rolling. And to the intrepid Ron Hill, one of our contract drivers, who's got a heart as big as a bread bowl,' Schmidt Baking Company tweeted on Wednesday John Noe joined Hill and his wife in giving away loaves of bread to stranded motorists Holihan Chuck Paterakis, owner of the family-run Maryland bakery, gave the go-ahead for Ron Hill to hand out bread to trapped motorists Drivers stuck in the jam were not only dealing with dropping temperatures, but also with the lack of access to food and water. 'When I heard from Casey, all of these things were going through my mind, but the main thing was that this is our core value,' Paterakis told Baltimore Magazine. 'We're cultured to help out in situations when things are desperate.' Paterakis, whose company has donated roughly three million loaves to charity organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, estimates that about 500 loaves were given away to motorists on Tuesday. 'From what I can gather it was very icy, slippery, and they were on somewhat of a hill,' Paterakis said. 'There were a lot of people who were hungry, but didn't want to get out of the car or open the door because they had limited gas and didn't want the heat to escape,' he added. 'Shout out to Casey and John who helped get the bread rolling. And to the intrepid Ron Hill, one of our contract drivers, who's got a heart as big as a bread bowl,' Schmidt Baking Company tweeted on Wednesday. Hundreds of motorists were stranded in freezing temperatures along the 50-mile stretch of I-95 on Tuesday. Police said part of the road became impassable when tractor-trailers jackknifed in a winter storm. The interstate fully reopened Tuesday night after more than a day of blockage. Security video captured the moment a murder suspect described by authorities in Georgia as 'dangerous' escaped from a county jail after a cell door malfunctioned and was apparently left unlocked by staff. Kevin David Lenix Wilson, 32, walked out of Effingham County jail on Monday, triggering a massive manhunt involving US Marshals. As of Thursday morning, he has not been caught. Guards at the jail were performing a routine inmate head count at around 7.10am on Tuesday when they realized that Wilson had escaped. It's still unclear how he managed to make his way out of his cell to the exit without running into any physical obstacles or guards at the facility, which houses suspects facing charges, but also sentenced inmates. Security video from Effingham County jail in Georgia shows inmate Kevin Wilson escaping on Monday night after walking through an unlocked door Wilson, who is a murder suspect and is considered dangerous, is seen fleeing after 8pm Authorities believe Wilson had an accomplice who picked him from the area of the jail Officials believe he walked out of the unlocked cell door just before 8pm the night before and was able to enter an unsecured area, where he made his escape. Video from the jail courtyard shows Wilson fleeing on foot. Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie said during a press conference aired by WJCL on Tuesday that a computer glitch caused by a recent storm and 'human error' were to blame for the inmate's escape. Wilson had been in jail since October 2020 on a slew of charges stemming from a traffic stop and police chase, before he was indicted on murder and assault charges in a separate case 'Once you start with those computers, all kinds of stuff can go haywire,' McDuffie said. 'The jail was initially unlocked from that situation. This was a door that just never got locked back. 'We apparently didnt check it like we should have.' Shortly after Wilson's absence was discovered, a bloodhound from the Statesboro K9 Unit picked up the fugitive's scent near the jail, but it 'dissipated,' suggesting that he had been picked up by someone who was helping him, according to McDuffie. Wilson had been in jail since October 2020 on a slew of charges stemming from a traffic stop and chase, including willful obstruction, possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, receipt, possession or transfer of firearm by convicted felon, marijuana possession, drug trafficking, reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude police, weaving over roadway and speeding. There have been at least three inmate escape incidents at the county jail since 2007 This image shows the interior of the county jail where the escape had taken place on Monday It's unclear how Wilson was able to make his way from his unlocked cell to the exit Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie said a computer malfunction caused by a recent storm and 'human error' were to blame for the inmate's escape Then in August 2021, Wilson was indicted by the Chatham County Grand Jury on three counts of malice murder, one count of felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felony stemming from a homicide that took place on May 13, 2020, in Savannah. Wilson is suspected of being involved in the killing of Vincent Smalls Jr, 28, who was found shot dead in the 2300 block of Pinetree Road. Police arrested a second suspect in the Smalls murder, 19-year-old Labrea Adger, in June 2020, reported Fox 28. Sheriff McDuffie said Wilson had not been a problem inmate until his escape, but warned people not to approach him and call 911 because he is considered dangerous. Wilson is suspected of playing a role in the May 2020 killing of Vincent Smalls Jr (left and right). The 28-year-old was found shot dead in Savannah, Georgia Wilson's alleged accomplice in the homicide, Labrea Adgar, 19, was arrested on murder and robbery charges in June 2020 The sheriff's office is now working with multiple law enforcement agencies, including the US Marshals, to track down the escapee. The agency also has launched an internal investigation to determine how Wilson was able to break out of the jail. WTOC reported that Monday's incident marks at least the third time that inmates have escaped from the Effingham County jail since 2007. According to the jail's website, its mission 'is to provide for the safety and security of inmates and staff by maintaining a safe, sanitary, and secure environment.' Wilson is described as a 5-foot-10, 189-pound black man with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to call 911 or Crimestoppers at 912-234-2020. A lone protester demonstrating against the January 6 attacker stands outside the Capitol during Biden's speech Madam Vice President, my fellow Americans: To state the obvious, one year ago today, in this sacred place, democracy was attacked -- simply attacked. The will of the people was under assault. The Constitution -- our Constitution -- faced the gravest of threats. Outnumbered and in the face of a brutal attack, the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard, and other brave law enforcement officials saved the rule of law. Our democracy held. We the people endured. And we the people prevailed. For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol. But they failed. They failed. And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again. I'm speaking to you today from Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. This is where the House of Representatives met for 50 years in the decades leading up to the Civil War. This is -- on this floor is where a young congressman of Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, sat at desk 191. Above him -- above us, over that door leading into the Rotunda -- is a sculpture depicting Clio, the muse of history. In her hands, an open book in which she records the events taking place in this chamber below. Clio stood watch over this hall one year ago today, as she has for more than 200 years. She recorded what took place. The real history. The real facts. The real truth. The facts and the truth that Vice President Harris just shared and that you and I and the whole world saw with our own eyes. The Bible tells us that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free. We shall know the truth. Well, here is the God's truth about January 6th, 2021: Close your eyes. Go back to that day. What do you see? Rioters rampaging, waving for the first time inside this Capitol a Confederate flag that symbolized the cause to destroy America, to rip us apart. Even during the Civil War, that never, ever happened. But it happened here in 2021. What else do you see? A mob breaking windows, kicking in doors, breaching the Capitol. American flags on poles being used as weapons, as spears. Fire extinguishers being thrown at the heads of police officers. A crowd that professes their love for law enforcement assaulted those police officers, dragged them, sprayed them, stomped on them. Over 140 police officers were injured. We've all heard the police officers who were there that day testify to what happened. One officer called it, quote, a med- -- 'medieval' battle, and that he was more afraid that day than he was fighting the war in Iraq. They've repeatedly asked since that day: How dare anyone -- anyone -- diminish, belittle, or deny the hell they were put through? We saw it with our own eyes. Rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America. But what did we not see? We didn't see a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attack -- sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nation's capital under siege. This wasn't a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection. They weren't looking to uphold the will of the people. They were looking to deny the will of the people. They were looking to uphold -- they weren't looking to uphold a free and fair election. They were looking to overturn one. They weren't looking to save the cause of America. They were looking to subvert the Constitution. This isn't about being bogged down in the past. This is about making sure the past isn't buried. That's the only way forward. That's what great nations do. They don't bury the truth, they face up to it. Sounds like hyperbole, but that's the truth: They face up to it. We are a great nation. My fellow Americans, in life, there's truth and, tragically, there are lies -- lies conceived and spread for profit and power. We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie. And here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He's done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his country's interests and America's interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He can't accept he lost, even though that's what 93 United States senators, his own Attorney General, his own Vice President, governors and state officials in every battleground state have all said: He lost. That's what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward. He has done what no president in American history -- the history of this country -- has ever, ever done: He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people. While some courageous men and women in the Republican Party are standing against it, trying to uphold the principles of that party, too many others are transforming that party into something else. They seem no longer to want to be the party -- the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan, the Bushes. But whatever my other disagreements are with Republicans who support the rule of law and not the rule of a single man, I will always seek to work together with them to find shared solutions where possible. Because if we have a shared belief in democracy, then anything is possible -- anything. And so, at this moment, we must decide: What kind of nation are we going to be? Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it. The Big Lie being told by the former president and many Republicans who fear his wrath is that the insurrection in this country actually took place on Election Day -- November 3rd, 2020. Think about that. Is that what you thought? Is that what you thought when you voted that day? Taking part in an insurrection? Is that what you thought you were doing? Or did you think you were carrying out your highest duty as a citizen and voting? The former president and his supporters are trying to rewrite history. They want you to see Election Day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6th as the true expression of the will of the people. Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country -- to look at America? I cannot. Here's the truth: The election of 2020 was the greatest demonstration of democracy in the history of this country. More of you voted in that election than have ever voted in all of American history. Over 150 million Americans went to the polls and voted that day in a pandemic -- some at grea- -- great risk to their lives. They should be applauded, not attacked. Right now, in state after state, new laws are being written -- not to protect the vote, but to deny it; not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert it; not to strengthen or protect our democracy, but because the former president lost. Instead of looking at the election results from 2020 and saying they need new ideas or better ideas to win more votes, the former president and his supporters have decided the only way for them to win is to suppress your vote and subvert our elections. It's wrong. It's undemocratic. And frankly, it's un-American. The second Big Lie being told by the former President and his supporters is that the results of the election of 2020 can't be trusted. The truth is that no election -- no election in American history has been more closely scrutinized or more carefully counted. Every legal challenge questioning the results in every court in this country that could have been made was made and was rejected -- often rejected by Republican-appointed judges, including judges appointed by the former president himself, from state courts to the United States Supreme Court. Recounts were undertaken in state after state. Georgia -- Georgia counted its results three times, with one recount by hand. Phony partisan audits were undertaken long after the election in several states. None changed the results. And in some of them, the irony is the margin of victory actually grew slightly. So, let's speak plainly about what happened in 2020. Even before the first ballot was cast, the former president was preemptively sowing doubt about the election results. He built his lie over months. It wasn't based on any facts. He was just looking for an excuse -- a pretext -- to cover for the truth. He's not just a former president. He's a defeated former president -- defeated by a margin of over 7 million of your votes in a full and free and fair election. There is simply zero proof the election results were inaccurate. In fact, in every venue where evidence had to be produced and an oath to tell the truth had to be taken, the former president failed to make his case. Just think about this: The former president and his supporters have never been able to explain how they accept as accurate the other election results that took place on November 3rd -- the elections for governor, United States Senate, the House of Representatives -- elections in which they closed the gap in the House. They challenge none of that. The President's name was first, then we went down the line -- governors, senators, House of Representatives. Somehow, those results were accurate on the same ballot, but the presidential race was flawed? And on the same ballot, the same day, cast by the same voters. The only difference: The former President didn't lose those races; he just lost the one that was his own. Finally, the third Big Lie being told by a former President and his supporters is that the mob who sought to impose their will through violence are the nation's true patriots. Is that what you thought when you looked at the mob ransacking the Capitol, destroying property, literally defecating in the hallways, rifling through desks of senators and representatives, hunting down members of congress? Patriots? Not in my view. To me, the true patriots were the more than 150 [million] Americans who peacefully expressed their vote at the ballot box, the election workers who protected the integrity of the vote, and the heroes who defended this Capitol. You can't love your country only when you win. You can't obey the law only when it's convenient. You can't be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies. Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of America -- at American democracy. They didn't come here out of patriotism or principle. They came here in rage -- not in service of America, but rather in service of one man. Those who incited the mob -- the real plotters -- who were desperate to deny the certification of the election and defy the will of the voters. But their plot was foiled. Congressmen -- Democrats and Republicans -- stayed. Senators, representatives, staff -- they finished their work the Constitution demanded. They honored their oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Look, folks, now it's up to all of us -- to 'We the People' -- to stand for the rule of law, to preserve the flame of democracy, to keep the promise of America alive. That promise is at risk, targeted by the forces that value brute strength over the sanctity of democracy, fear over hope, personal gain over public good. Make no mistake about it: We're living at an inflection point in history. Both at home and abroad, we're engaged anew in a struggle between democracy and autocracy, between the aspirations of the many and the greed of the few, between the people's right of self-determination and self- -- the self-seeking autocrat. From China to Russia and beyond, they're betting that democracy's days are numbered. They've actually told me democracy is too slow, too bogged down by division to succeed in today's rapidly changing, complicated world. And they're betting -- they're betting America will become more like them and less like us. They're betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman. I do not believe that. That is not who we are. That is not who we have ever been. And that is not who we should ever, ever be. Our Founding Fathers, as imperfect as they were, set in motion an experiment that changed the world -- literally changed the world. Here in America, the people would rule, power would be transferred peacefully -- never at the tip of a spear or the barrel of a gun. And they committed to paper an idea that couldn't live up to -- they couldn't live up to but an idea that couldn't be constrained: Yes, in America all people are created equal. We reject the view that if you succeed, I fail; if you get ahead, I fall behind; if I hold you down, I somehow lift myself up. The former President, who lies about this election, and the mob that attacked this Capitol could not be further away from the core American values. They want to rule or they will ruin -- ruin what our country fought for at Lexington and Concord; at Gettysburg; at Omaha Beach; Seneca Falls; Selma, Alabama. What -- and what we were fighting for: the right to vote, the right to govern ourselves, the right to determine our own destiny. And with rights come responsibilities: the responsibility to see each other as neighbors -- maybe we disagree with that neighbor, but they're not an adversary; the responsibility to accept defeat then get back in the arena and try again the next time to make your case; the responsibility to see that America is an idea -- an idea that requires vigilant stewardship. As we stand here today -- one year since January 6th, 2021 -- the lies that drove the anger and madness we saw in this place, they have not abated. So, we have to be firm, resolute, and unyielding in our defense of the right to vote and to have that vote counted. Some have already made the ultimate sacrifice in this sacred effort. Jill and I have mourned police officers in this Capitol Rotunda not once but twice in the wake of January 6th: once to honor Officer Brian Sicknick, who lost his life the day after the attack, and a second time to honor Officer Billy Evans, who lost his life defending this Capitol as well. We think about the others who lost their lives and were injured and everyone living with the trauma of that day -- from those defending this Capitol to members of Congress in both parties and their staffs, to reporters, cafeteria workers, custodial workers, and their families. Don't kid yourself: The pain and scars from that day run deep. I said it many times and it's no more true or real than when we think about the events of January 6th: We are in a battle for the soul of America. A battle that, by the grace of God and the goodness and gracious -- and greatness of this nation, we will win. Believe me, I know how difficult democracy is. And I'm crystal clear about the threats America faces. But I also know that our darkest days can lead to light and hope. From the death and destruction, as the Vice President referenced, in Pearl Harbor came the triumph over the forces of fascism. From the brutality of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge came historic voting rights legislation. So, now let us step up, write the next chapter in American history where January 6th marks not the end of democracy, but the beginning of a renaissance of liberty and fair play. I did not seek this fight brought to this Capitol one year ago today, but I will not shrink from it either. I will stand in this breach. I will defend this nation. And I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of our democracy. We will make sure the will of the people is heard; that the ballot prevails, not violence; that authority in this nation will always be peacefully transferred. I believe the power of the presidency and the purpose is to unite this nation, not divide it; to lift us up, not tear us apart; to be about us -- about us, not about 'me.' Deep in the heart of America burns a flame lit almost 250 years ago -- of liberty, freedom, and equality. This is not a land of kings or dictators or autocrats. We're a nation of laws; of order, not chaos; of peace, not violence. Here in America, the people rule through the ballot, and their will prevails. So, let us remember: Together, we're one nation, under God, indivisible; that today, tomorrow, and forever, at our best, we are the United States of America. God bless you all. May God protect our troops. And may God bless those who stand watch over our democracy. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell went after Democrats again Thursday morning for trying to get voting rights legislation passed by tying the bills to the anniversary of the deadly U.S. Capitol attack. The Kentucky Republican called January 6 a 'dark day for Congress and our country.' 'The United States Capitol, the seat of the first branch of our federal government, was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job,' he said. 'This disgraceful scene was antithetical to the rule of law,' he added, thanking the U.S. Capitol Police. He then blasted Democrats who have used the anniversary as a rallying cry to change the filibuster rules to get two House-passed voting bills across the line. 'As I said yesterday, it has been stunning to see some Washington Democrats try to exploit this anniversary to advance partisan policy goals that long predated this event,' McConnell said. 'It is especially jaw-dropping to hear some Senate Democrats invoke the mobs attempt to disrupt our countrys norms, rules, and institutions as a justification to discard our norms, rules, and institutions themselves.' 'A year ago today, the Senate did not bend or break. We stuck together, stood strong, gaveled back in, and did our job,' McConnell added. 'Senators should not be trying to exploit this anniversary to damage the Senate in a different way from within.' Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was 'beyond distasteful' for Democrats to use the anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol attack to get voting rights bills passed In a Wednesday floor speech, he made the same point. 'It is surreal to hear sitting senators invoke January the 6th to justify breaking the rules to grab outcomes they have not earned,' McConnell said, repeating the phrase twice to make a point Wednesday on the Senate floor. 'It is surreal to hear sitting senators invoke January the 6th to argue that institutions can be trampled because they'd like a different result.' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has advocated changing the upper chamber's filibuster rules to get voting rights bills passed. Schumer's argued that GOP-led state restrictions on voting could lead to more uncertainty in future elections - and another January 6th-like attack. 'Without addressing the root causes of the events of January 6, the insurrection will not be an aberration, it could well become the norm,' Schumer warned. McConnell has characterized Democrats' fears about GOP-endorsed state-level voting restrictions to be overblown. 'The fact that violent criminals broke the law does not entitle Senate Democrats to break the Senate,' he argued on the floor Wednesday. McConnell made similar remarks Tuesday as well. 'It appears as if the majority leader is hellbend to try to break the Senate,' McConnell said at a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday. 'His argument is that somehow state legislatures across the country are busily at work trying to make it more difficult for people to vote.' McConnell said that simply wasn't true. 'Of course that's not happening anywhere in America,' the Kentucky Republican said. On the Senate floor Tuesday McConnell also offered, 'Most Washington Democrats want to appoint themselves a nationwide Board of Elections on steroids.' He also said that the Democrats had their own 'big lie' - which was that 'democracy is dying because Democrats sometimes lose elections.' 'It appears as if the majority leader is hellbend to try to break the Senate,' McConnell said at a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday 'Our democracy is not in crisis. Repeating this rhetoric doesn't make it factual. The 2020 election saw the highest turnout in more than 100 years,' McConnell argued. After Democrats won back the White House in 2020 with the election of now President Joe Biden, Republican-run states like Georgia and Arizona have pushed back and made things like mail-in voting more difficult. Mail-in ballots were widely used in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats have also voiced concerns about Republicans pushing voter ID provisions - which often impact young people and voters of color who tilt more Democratic - and GOP legislatures politicizing state election boards. House Democrats have passed two voting bills, but they've been stuck in the Senate as 60 votes are needed to overrule a GOP-led filibuster. The Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris utilized as the tie-breaking vote. Schumer has pitched changing the rules so there's a carve-out for the voting rights bills, though he's getting resistance from moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. He needs every Democratic senator to support the move. Speaking from the Capitol Tuesday night, Manchin said the 'filibuster needs to stay in place any way, shape or form that we can do it,' according to Punchbowl News. Manchin was meeting with Schumer. Manchin, however, remained open to some rules changes and while he supported a bipartisan vote to change the rules, he didn't close the door on joining just Democrats in the maneuver. Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok, left, and the party's presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol hug each other following a meeting of PPP lawmakers at the National Assembly, Seoul, Thursday, ending a conflict between the two sides over election strategies and appointments of election camp personnel. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun PPP lawmakers flip-flop on attempt to oust party leader By Nam Hyun-woo The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) managed to patch up a month-long internal dispute that escalated mainly between its Chairman Lee Jun-seok and presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol over election strategies. Lee, who locked horns with Yoon, was on the verge of losing his leadership post in the party when its lawmakers nearly agreed to adopt a resolution demanding the chairman's resignation. But he came to a reconciliation with Yoon and party members endorsed the truce to prevent the candidate from suffering a further decline in his support rate. However, the chances of further conflict seem to remain, as a majority of the conservative party's members expressed hostile feelings toward Lee in their botched attempt to kick out the 36-year-old chairman and also voiced concerns that his presence is no longer a benefit for the party's election victory. On late Thursday evening, Yoon made an unscheduled visit to a closed-door meeting of PPP lawmakers at the National Assembly where they were discussing the resolution calling for Lee's resignation. Lee was also at the meeting to defend himself. "We have elected Lee as the party's chairman and it is time to join our hands," Yoon said. Lee replied, "The past two to three weeks have been a painful period for me as well," and "I will not waste another second to help Yoon's election campaign." Lee added that they are now "one team," with PPP lawmakers applauding their cordial remarks. The reconciliation came as a surprise as Lee and Yoon's conflict was escalating. Until around 8 p.m., lawmakers attending the closed-door meeting were leaning toward adopting the resolution, and Lee stood up against their attempt, asking them if they have "alternative plans" to win the election. The resolution was proposed by PPP vice floor leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho in the morning session of the meeting, and the lawmaker was quoted by other party members as saying, "We cannot take Lee's behavior anymore" and "It is time to make a decision on the resignation." It was also reported that some lawmakers referred to Lee using words like "psychopath" while blaming him for the party's month-long internal strife and their presidential candidate's faltering support rate. Hours before the meeting, the party's leadership approved Yoon's nomination of Rep. Kwon Young-se as the party's secretary-general, despite Lee's opposition. Kwon was named as chief of Yoon's campaign team a day earlier, when the candidate dissolved his previous election committee and showed the committee's chief, Kim Chong-in, the door. It was Lee who had recommended Kim to be chief of the campaign committee. However, Lee changed his mind and approved Kwon's appointment, as Yoon sought to railroad the selection in accordance with the party's rule which allows a presidential candidate to have authority over the party's chairman. This was seen as a sign of Lee losing his grip on the party, because the secretary-general post is in charge of working-level matters on the party's nomination of candidates for by-elections in March and local elections in June. Nominating candidates for elections is a right of the party chairman, but disagreement with the secretary-general may deal a blow to Lee's authority. As a result, Lee has been saying that he will exercise his right in the upcoming elections. However, Yoon's aides have been insisting that the party has to nominate candidates who can help his presidential election as a running mate for the by-elections. People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, left, walks past party chairman Lee Jun-seok's office at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps The BBC has demanded that teenagers who suffered anti-Semitic abuse in Oxford Street should reveal their identities before the corporation responds to a legal complaint over its report suggesting victims used 'anti-Muslim slurs'. Last month, a video emerged of a group of men hurling abuse and spitting at a group of Jewish teenagers sitting inside a bus, before banging on the windows as it pulled away. The incident was treated as a hate crime by police, but in its original report of the incident, BBC News said 'racial slurs about Muslims could be heard inside the bus'. The claim was criticised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism and lawyers acting on behalf of the victims, who 'categorically deny' the slur was said, wrote to the corporation to contest it. In response, the BBC said: 'We will be unable to substantively further progress your legal complaint until you identify your clients.' Leading legal expert Lord Carlile said the BBC's demand was 'wholly unacceptable', while Jonathan Turner, executive director of UK Lawyers for Israel, accused the corporation of 'attempting to intimidate the youngsters into dropping the claim', the Jewish Chronicle reported. The incident on Oxford Street in December was treated as a hate crime by police and was condemned by the Prime Minister and by the Mayor of London The men were seen shouting abuse and gesturing at the bus after the teenagers got on board It comes days after Rabbi YY Rubinstein, a contributor to BBC programmes including Good Morning Sunday and the Thought For The Day, resigned in a letter to the corporation. Jewish broadcaster resigns from BBC over 'inexcusable' anti-Semitism by Dan Sales A Jewish BBC broadcaster resigned after the corporation's coverage of an anti-Semitic attack wrongly accused the victims of making offensive Muslim slurs. Rabbi YY Rubinstein, a contributor to BBC programmes including Good Morning Sunday and the Thought For The Day, quit via a letter. He released it on Facebook, addressed to a member of staff, only known as Gabby. The letter said: 'The current crisis over anti-Semitism at the Corporation and its attempts to turn the victims of the recent anti-Semitic attack on Jewish children in London and claim that the victims were actually the perpetrators, was and is inexcusable. The obfuscation, denial that followed, was and is utterly damning. 'The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles actually includes the BBC in its annual global anti-Semitism, 'Top Ten'. 'This does not in any way reflect on your own production company whose own record in this regard is exemplary. It also does not apply to many of the individuals I have worked with at the BBC over three decades. 'They were among some of the most courteous, kind and talented people I ever met or worked with. The same applies to you and your colleagues. 'I simply don't see how I or in fact any Jew who has any pride in that name can be associated with the Corporation anymore.' Advertisement His letter, which he released on Facebook, addressed a member of staff, only known as Gabby, and said: 'The current crisis over anti-Semitism at the Corporation and its attempts to turn the victims of the recent anti-Semitic attack on Jewish children in London and claim that the victims were actually the perpetrators, was and is inexcusable. The obfuscation, denial that followed, was and is utterly damning. 'I simply don't see how I or in fact any Jew who has any pride in that name can be associated with the Corporation anymore.' The Board of Deputies of British Jews commissioned its own independent report by forensic audio experts and a linguist which concluded there were no anti-Muslim insults. It found the phrase thought to be a slur was actually a Hebrew phrase, 'Tikrah lemishu,ze dachuf' meaning: 'Call someone, it is urgent.' Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl described the BBC's 'misreporting' as 'a colossal error', which 'has added insult to injury in accusing victims of antisemitism of being guilty of bigotry themselves'. She continued: 'What takes this from an egregious failure to something far more sinister is the BBC's behaviour when confronted with its mistake. Instead of admitting it was wrong, it has doubled and tripled down.' Ms Van der Zyl demanded the corporation publicly apologise, and said the Board of Deputies would be holding a meeting with Director General Tim Davie later this month, which will include 'a full and frank discussion of this issue'. She said the corporation's behaviour 'raises serious questions about deep-seated biases within the BBC towards Israelis, and indeed towards Jews in general'. At the end of last month, the BBC stood by its report of the incident, and a spokesman said: 'Antisemitism is abhorrent. We strive to serve the Jewish community, and all communities across our country, fairly. 'Our story was a factual report that overwhelmingly focused on the individuals the police want to identify; those who directed abuse at the bus. 'There was a brief reference to a slur, captured in a video recording, that appeared to come from the bus. We consulted a number of Hebrew speakers in determining that the slur was spoken in English. 'The brief reference to this was included so the fullest account of the incident was reported.' Rabbi YY Rubinstein, a contributor to BBC programmes including Good Morning Sunday quit earlier this week Part of Rabbi YY Rubinstein's resignation later, which he posted onto Facebook MP Theresa Villiers, who is also vice-chairwoman of Conservative Friends of Israel, told the Jewish Chronicle that the 'BBCs reporting of this shocking incident falls below the standards of impartiality' expected from it. She said the situation had been 'made worse by the corporations failure to correct its article and by its defensive and unhelpful response to the complaint from lawyers acting for the victims'. Tory MP John Whittingdale said the issue has 'left a damaging stain on the BBC in the eyes of the Jewish community'. Hundreds of Jews gathered outside Broadcasting House for a protest about the story two weeks ago, with attendees holding banners and chanting 'BBC News where's the proof!' and 'BBC News tell the truth!' Dame Maureen Lipman encouraged people to join the demonstration 'because you care, and you will be demonstrating against my often-times employer asking for parity with other victims of racism, prejudice and abuse'. It came as the BBC was ranked third - behind Iran and the Palestinian terror group Hamas - in a 'Global Antisemitism' list compiled by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in the US. The men banged on the windows and spat at the bus as it pulled away from Oxford Street Footage showed the group of Jewish teenagers dancing as they celebrated Hanukkah moments before the attack Hundreds of Jews gathered outside Broadcasting House for a protest about the story two weeks ago, with attendees holding banners and chanting 'BBC News where's the proof!' and 'BBC News tell the truth!' Rabbi Marvin Hier, the head of the centre, said the BBC was 'guilty of several incidences of antisemitism during the past year'. He told the Mail on Sunday: 'People might assume we would put neo-Nazi groups on our list but the BBC is there because when a globally recognised organisation allows antisemitism to creep into its reporting, it makes it all the more insidious and dangerous. 'People around the world trust the BBC and rely on it for truthful reporting of world events.' Rabbi Hier said the decision to include the BBC on the annual list had come 'after months of intense debate and discussion'. He singled out the broadcaster's reporting of an attack on a bus carrying Jewish teenagers by a group of men who chanted anti-Israel slogans. The attack took place on Oxford Street in Central London and video footage appeared to show a group of men shouting threats, spitting, hurling abuse and banging on the bus's windows. The incident was treated as a hate crime by police and was condemned by the Prime Minister and by the Mayor of London. Newly sworn-in mayor Eric Adams has hit back at New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for misconstruing comments he made Tuesday about 'low-skilled' workers, accusing the liberal congresswoman of being the 'words police.' Speaking on CNBC's morning talk program Squawk Box on Wednesday, the new mayor was asked to respond to a tweet by Ocasio-Cortez where the ex-waitress criticized Adams' comments. During a press conference Tuesday, the newly crowned mayor pushed for businesses to get employees back into the office amid the city's recent COVID surge for the sake of their fellow New Yorkers and the city's economy. 'My low-skilled workers, my cooks, my dishwashers, my messengers, my shoe-shine people, those who work at Dunkin' Donuts - they don't have the academic skills to sit in the corner office,' Adams said during the conference, fighting for the city to stay open. In response Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: 'The suggestion that any job is "low skill" is a myth perpetuated by wealthy interests to justify inhumane working conditions, little/no healthcare, and low wages.' 'Plus being a waitress has made me and many others *better* at our jobs than those whove never known that life,' the self-professed democratic socialist added. When confronted with the tweet Thursday morning, Adams appeared to laugh the attack off. 'Right now, we are in a society where we have the "words police,"' said Adams, 61, smiling as he spoke. 'Everyone wants to take every term you use and try to make it seem that you want to be offensive.' Speaking on CNBC's morning talk program Squawk Box, the new mayor was asked by interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin to respond to a tweet by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez where the ex-waitress criticized Adams' comments that seemed to slight low-wage and essential workers 'The suggestion that any job is "low skill" is a myth perpetuated by wealthy interests to justify inhumane working conditions, little/no healthcare, and low wages,' Ocasio-Cortez, colloquially known as AOC, wrote Wednesday in response to Adams' Tuesday remarks "We are in a society where we have the words police," says @NYCMayor responding to @AOC. "I was a dishwasher. I went to school at night...low wage workers--they can't telecommute. They need the support of those who are part of our financial ecosystem." pic.twitter.com/vpDZGIMkrU Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) January 6, 2022 A breath of fresh air in the stuffy liberal landscape of the city he now represents, Adams, a more moderate Democrat - who clashed with BLM leader Hawk Newsome in November after the latter threatened the then-mayor elect with 'riots and bloodshed' if he reinstates the city's anti-crime police unit - is adamant about keeping the city open amid a surge in COVID cases caused by the Omicron variant. He went on: 'Listen, I was a dishwasher. I went to school at night. My mom was a cook in a daycare center. 'The term I really wanted [to use] was low-wage workers. Low-wage workers, they can't telecommute. Let's be honest. 'They need the support of those that are part of our ecosystem - our financial ecosystem,' said Adams, who had urged office workers to return to in-person work for at least a few days a week to help sustain the city's economy Tuesday. 'It's time to get back to work,' Adams asserted. 'It is dangerous to keep our economy closed...let's start out with a 3 day week to let people see how safe it is to come back to work. Then we cycle back to a 5 day week. We can do this within a 3 week period.' In the interview with Sorkin, 44, Adams reiterated the fact that businesses such as restaurants and dry cleaners rely on office workers to support their own staffers, whom the mayor maintains is a crucial part of the city's ecosystem. When confronted with the tweet Thursday, Adams, who has been dogged by controversy since saying 'low-skilled workers' like restaurant workers and shoeshiners lack the skills to work in an office, appeared to laugh the attack off, before hitting back at the progressive politician 'Right now, we are in a society where we have the "words police,"' said Adams, 61, Thursday morning, without mentioning Ocasio-Cortez by name. 'Everyone wants to take every term you use and try to make it seem that you want to be offensive' 'If you're not in the office, and you're an accountant, then you are not going to go down to that restaurant, that cafeteria, get your shoe shined, or take that cab,' Adams told Sorkin. 'This ecosystem includes all of us, and I think it's wrong, to be home and not go to the cleaners, to clean your suits; to not bring in business travelers into the city.' 'We are in this together,' Adams declared. 'Those low-wage workers - like I have been and have fought for; the foundation of my support - the blue collar workers, run this city in a real productive way.' Adams came under fire in his first week in office for saying 'low-skilled workers' lack skills to 'sit in a corner office,' outlining his plans to deal with the city's COVID surge. He is adamant about keeping the city open to sustain citizens' quality of life - particularly low-wage workers Self-professed democratic socialist Ocasio-Cortez, 32, found issue with the mayor's comments, and used her background as a waitress to lambaste her fellow Democrat The mayor then appeared to take another shot at Ocasio-Cortez, 32, who was spotted partying in a crowded bar in Miami Sunday without a face mask. 'The words police are going to try to criticize everything,' an unamused Adams told Sorkin. He then asserted that despite the critiques, he is 'focused and disciplined, and won't be distracted by Twitter.' 'I'm going to make sure that I am focused on my city being safe and productive and open,' Adams said. "It's time to get back to work," says @NYCMayor. "It is dangerous to keep our economy closed...let's start out with a 3 day week to let people see how safe it is to come back to work. Then we cycle back to a 5 day week. We can do this within a 3 week period." pic.twitter.com/8zqDe1Mg24 Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) January 6, 2022 Sworn into office on Saturday, Adams came under fire in his first week in office for saying 'low-skilled workers' lack the skills to 'sit in a corner office' Tuesday while outlining his plans to deal with the city's Omicron-fueled COVID surge. In his address, the newly crowned mayor pushed for businesses - including those that can operate remotely - to get employees back into the office for the sake of their fellow New Yorkers and the city's economy. Adams warned that businesses moving to remote work amid the recent rush of COVID cases in the city could negatively affect these businesses and other small-time workers who rely on foot traffic to make a living - and the city's economy as a whole. 'My low-skilled workers, my cooks, my dishwashers, my messengers, my shoe-shine people, those who work at Dunkin' Donuts - they don't have the academic skills to sit in the corner office,' Adams had asserted during the conference. 'They need this. We are in this together.' Adam's anecdote quickly sparked a firestorm on Twitter, with many criticizing the mayor for referring to such workers as 'low-skilled.' The controversy even spurred the mayor to clarify his comments the following day on social media and a televised interview, explaining he used to work such jobs and relied on people spending their disposable income to survive. 'My low-skilled workers, my cooks, my dishwashers, my messengers, my shoe-shine people, those who work at Dunkin' Donuts - they don't have the academic skills to sit in the corner office,' new mayor Eric Adams, 61, asserted during a press conference Tuesday Donning a mask and a brightly colored T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'vaccine and testing,' Adams warned that businesses electing to work remotely as cases rise could negatively affect these businesses, as well as the economy as a whole. 'That accountant - I need him to go to the cleaners,' the new mayor affirmed in his speech, speaking on the effects that could have on the city that once served as the US' epicenter for the persistent virus. He went on: 'I need him to go down to Dunkin' Donuts. I need him to go to the restaurant. I need him to bring in the business traveling. The politician proceeded to make a brazen declaration that contended that New Yorkers are in for a rude awakening if they continue to work remotely amid the new swell of cases. 'If we say that, "Well I don't have to go in. I'm still getting my salary," then you are not helping those New Yorkers who need us to come in.' The mayor's spiel came in response to a reporter's remark that worker don't yet feel safe returning to work and that employers too want to delay staffers' return to the office. Adams responded to the reporter's claim by proclaiming that businesses should remind their workers they are part of the 'ecosystem of this city,' and therefore have a duty concerning their contributions to the city's economy. Adams responded to the controversy in a tweet Wednesday, explaining that he used to work such jobs and relied on people spending their disposable income to survive Adam's words come as a slew of Manhattan-based companies, such as JPMorgan Chase (their office situated in the city's Financial District pictured here ) have revised their respective back-to-the office plans amid a recent surge in COVID cases in The City That Never Sleeps Adams is adamant that if office workers don't return to work on-site, 'low-skill workers' - like shoeshiners (pictured) - will in turn suffer Adam's words promptly stirred up a stream of backlash on social media against the politician, who found issue with his clumsy comments regarding essential workers. 'Restaurant owner here. First, I challenge any human to handle a board full of orders as long as the eye can see, and get orders out on time and correct, then tell me that is 'low skill,'' one Twitter user wrote in the wake of Adam's remarks. 'No such thing as low skill workers, just undervalued ones,' another asserted. 'Really?' a further user asked after hearing the mayor's speech. 'A lot of those people working in those jobs are working their way through college. And I've worked with a lot of those academic corner sitters who didn't have the sense god gave a squirrel.' 'I didn't realize the cashier/bagger at the grocery store, the waitstaff/dishwasher, person working as a cashier/food handler at a place like McDonalds was considered "low academic."' another sniped. 'Silly me.' The poster went on to point out that many of those workers have degrees from other countries that do not hold any bearing in The States. Adams' remarks spawned a stream of backlash on social media, stemming from his comments regarding essential workers Others were quick to rush to the defense of the former state senator. 'How he said it isn't great... but what he's saying is absolutely true,' wrote Twitter user @RyanGirdusky. 'Hes just saying it how it is, but you cant do that anymore in 2022,' another attested. A further Adams supporter attempted to explain the mayor's contentious comments, as thousands of social media users continued to express their outrage. 'He's not talking about unskilled but about low skilled people,' the poster wrote. 'Their existence is a technical fact. Denying that would probably be a proof of that.' Another offered an explanation as to what Adam's meant by 'low-skilled.' '"Skill' refers to educational training, not potential or intelligence,' the user wrote. '"Low skill" jobs are not easier than high skill jobs (often, theyre much more difficult), but they do require less training.' Others, meanwhile, were quick to rush to the defense of the former state senator, with many attempting to clarify his comments Adams addressed the controversy during an interview with CBS Mornings' Gayle King the following morning. 'Listen - I was a cook. I was a dishwasher,' Adams told King, clarifying the point he was attempting to make. 'When you talk about closing down our city,' he explained, 'if you're a dishwasher, you can't remotely do your job. 'And if don't have an accountant in an office space coming to a restaurant... that dishwasher is not going to have a job.' Adams echoed the sentiment later that day on social media. 'I was a cook. I was a dishwasher,' he tweeted Wednesday afternoon. 'If nobody came to my restaurant when I was in college, I wouldnt have been able to survive. When you talk about closing down our city, you're talking about putting low-wage workers out of a job. Im not letting that happen.' Im focused, Im disciplined and Im grinding to bring my city back: NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been in office for less than a week, and hes already making headlines.@NYCMayor shares his plans for fighting crime and keeping schools open during the Omicron surge. pic.twitter.com/r5mhdqbqM8 CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 5, 2022 Meanwhile, Coronavirus cases in New York have soared in recent weeks, fueled by the meteoric rise of the Omicron variant. As of Wednesday, the city saw hospitalizations top 5,000 a day, at 5,495, for the first time since May 2020, when the city served as the country's de facto hotbed for the then recently emerged virus. The city had a daily average of 39,152 new cases per day on Wednesday as well, up from an average of 1,729 just a month earlier, according to data from The New York Times. The daily average of deaths from the virus in the city is increasing as well, up from 20 deaths a day earlier in the month to 27 this week. Meanwhile, Coronavirus cases in New York have soared in recent weeks, fueled by the meteoric rise of the Omicron variant As of Wednesday, the city saw hospitalizations top 5,000 a day, at 5,495, for the first time since May 2020, when the city served as the country's de facto hotbed for the then recently emerged virus The daily average of deaths from the virus in the city is increasing as well, up from 20 deaths a day earlier in the month to 27 this week The city had a daily average of 38,1327 new cases per day on Tuesday, up from an average of 1,729 just a month earlier, according to data from The New York Times As cases rise, many large businesses in New York have elected to allow their employees to work from home throughout the first weeks of January. Adams, however, is adamant about reopening the city, arguing it would be best for the economy. On CNN Tuesday, the politician reiterated his stance concerning the prospective reopening of the city's schools and businesses, doubling down on his stance that people should instead get vaccinated and regularly test themselves for the virus. 'We have to open up,' Adams asserted in the Tuesday interview. 'What we must understand is the resiliency of returning back to a normal life. 'If we don't open our cities, there are almost a million people that are behind in their rents right here in this city,' he said. 'We have low-skilled employees who can't do remote employment from home. 'That's not a reality in a city like New York and America. I need my cities to open.' Two University of Kansas fraternity houses have been suspended for their 'exceedingly dangerous' hazing practices. Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Delta Theta have both had their status as 'registered student organizations' suspended until 2027 - until all of its current members graduate - after investigators uncovered shocking allegations of abuse against pledges. Pledges were allegedly forced to sleep in sheets soiled with vomit and urine, were rolled into mattresses and violently slammed into walls - leaving one brother with a concussion - and one pledge was even forced to watch a video of a dolphin being mutilated and tortured as a sick punishment. Others were reportedly made to go for extended periods without sleeping and forced to drink lots of alcohol in a pattern of 'emotional torture' and 'forced servitude'. Probes into the two fraternities were opened by their national chapters after KU students reported their treatment. Both chapters have undergone probes before - Phi Gamma Delta was scrutinized in 2012, 2015 and 2020, while Phi Delta Theta underwent probes in 2010, 2019 and August of this year. Pledges at Phi Gamma Delta, known as 'Fiji,' were 'under the control and authority of members every waking minute each day' and subjected to an 'undisputed level of forced alcohol consumption,' according to a heavily-redacted 30-page report compiled by outside investigators hired by the fraternities and obtained by the Kansas City Star. The probes into Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Delta Theta at University of Kansas were spurred on by the complaints of current pledges '[A] largely undisputed level of forced alcohol consumption is exceedingly dangerous and is reflective of the dangerous systemic hazing taking place within Phi Gamma Delta,' wrote Vice Provost Tammara Durham in the document. To hide what was going on inside the frat house on Louisiana Street in Lawrence, black garbage bags were often taped onto its windows. Phi Gamma Delta's locker room was 'covered in vomit, liquor, pee, old food, trash, and who knows what else,' a prospective brother told investigators. 'When we tried to clean it up, we were told to go immediately to bed without showering and do it in the morning,' the pledge wrote of an incident in September, saying he and others were forced to 'sleep in vomit covered sheets.' 'I dont know what else to say other than that being a part of this fraternity has been very difficult, has caused us physical harm, emotional torture, and interfered with our chances of success in college.' Two of the university's fraternity houses have been suspended since 2018, and students gathered en-masse to protest after a female student was allegedly drugged and raped at Pi Kappa Phi's fraternity house in September Pictured is Phi Gamma Delta's fraternity house at 1540 Louisiana Street in Lawrence, Kansas Another pledge described being partially restrained with a pillowcase over his face as he struggled to breathe. Nine lines describing what led up to the punishment were redacted, according to the Lawrence Journal-World. '[A] largely undisputed level of forced alcohol consumption is exceedingly dangerous and is reflective of the dangerous systemic hazing taking place within Phi Gamma Delta,' wrote Vice Provost Tammara Durham (pictured) in the document 'I was getting lightheaded and tried to tilt my head down in order to get the pillowcase off my face for a good breath, but was told to tilt my head back up and yelled at as consequence,' the student told investigators. It is unclear whether that student was subjected to 'forced alcohol consumption.' When Fiji brothers would come home drunk from parties or bars, they would subject new members to a hazing ritual called 'tacoing,' forcing new members to 'stand or lie on [their] mattress[es] and then rolling up both sides so [they] would be the "meat inside a taco" and then spray[ing them] with substances to simulate condiments.' Then, they would slam the folded mattresses into lockers and walls. The new member who originally filed the complaint against the fraternity that would spark the university's investigation alleged that one of his pledge brothers who was subjected to the treatment suffered a concussion and was sick for a week. The student who described the conditions of the locker room said he once didn't sleep for four nights in a row under the constant threat of the 'tacoing' practice. Pledges at Fiji were forced to carry cigarettes and vapes on them at all times for fraternity brothers to use, the Star reported. Phi Delta Theta wasn't cited for forcing its pledges to drink alcohol - however, their personal belongings were often rifled through and destroyed, their mattresses were often thrown out of windows and they were subjected to a routine of emotional torture and mental intimidation. Pictured is Phi Delta Theta's fraternity house at 1621 Edgehill Road in Lawrence, Kansas One pledge was forced to watch a graphic video of a dolphin being mutilated, 'wherein the dolphin is brutally slaughtered,' investigators wrote in their report. He was then given the name 'Dolphin,' because he was the 'one who is the most hated and should be slaughtered.' Late at night, fraternity brothers would 'rough up' new members in their sleeping areas with 'pushing, shouting, jumping on their bed, etc,' with one member injured after he fell out off his mattress and onto the floor. New members were also forced to perform calisthenics that 'resulted in physical injury to new members and contributed to sleep deprivation.' One new member told investigators that he slept in his car on multiple occasions in order to get sleep. The hazing, which investigators said took place once or twice a week, included 'personal servitude,' the details of which were redacted from the report. The new member who blew the whistle on Phi Delta Theta was pushed, spit on and pelted with beer bottles when fraternity brothers found out, the report said. The received several derogatory messages, one using a homosexual slur and another attacking his belief in Christianity. Another said: 'I have never met someone in my life that I hate as much as you.' More than a thousand protesters demonstrated outside of a University of Kansas fraternity house in September night in an outcry against sexual assault outside of the Pi Kappa Phi Greek house was fueled by allegations that a woman was drugged and raped at the frat house on Saturday night by a new undergraduate member That student chose to attend classes remotely for the semester. KU spokesman Joe Monaco told the Journal-World that 'members of these two fraternities - including the organization's leadership - knowingly engaged in systemic hazing that threatened the health and safety of students.' 'Moreover, this behavior was the continuation of a well-documented pattern of hazing during the previous decade, demonstrating these organizations are unwilling to address this behavior themselves. This is not acceptable.' Two former KU students from each fraternity listed as the chapters' presidents could not be reached by DailyMail.com for comment at press time. Both organizations can appeal the university's decision within the next 30 days. The two houses are the most recent in a string of Greek organizations pulled from the University of Kansas campus. In 2018, Sigma Alphia Epsilon was suspended for 'at least' four years for 'multipe health and safety violations' by its national chapter. In 2020, Pi Kappa Phi was suspended for at least five years for an 'open culture' of drug use and hazing. 'Breaking the cycle requires an opportunity for the organization to reset without current members and leaders who have been an active part of the problematic culture and activities,' Durham wrote of the 2020 decision. Two separate accusations of rape were made at University of Kansas earlier this year, with more than 1,000 protestors gathering around Pi Kappa Phi's fraternity house a female student was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted there on September 11. Less than two weeks later, a student was accused and arrested for allegedly raping a female student in a dorm room. After the September 13 protests, a recent KU graduate told The Daily Beast that the school's Panhellenic Association provided students in sororities with a list of 'safe' parties to attend while she was enrolled. Of the fraternities, she told the outlet, 'none of them are safe.' A veteran care home manager was sacked for going to a lockdown party - the day after Boris Johnson allegedly attended a packed leaving do in Downing Street, an employment tribunal has heard. Selina Taylor breached Covid rules in November 2020 by going to a gathering with six junior members of her staff from Bamford Close care home in Stockport, Greater Manchester to celebrate one of their birthdays. Miss Taylor, who worked at the care home for 15 years, later apologised and admitted it was 'stupid' of her to attend the party at a colleague's home. She was fired following a disciplinary investigation. She later launched legal action against Borough Homes, claiming she was unfairly dismissed, but an employment tribunal in Liverpool has now thrown out her claim. The get-together, held on November 28, 2020, was just a day after the Prime Minister is accused of going to a busy leaving do for top Downing Street aide Cleo Watson. Reports suggest that at the party - now thought to be under investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray - people were drinking and Johnson gave a speech. The Prime Minister has denied breaking any coronavirus rules. The No 10 leaving do on November 27 is one of several alleged parties in the lead up to Christmas in 2020 which are now being investigated. Selina Taylor, manager at the Bamford Close care home in Stockport, breached Covid rules in November 2020 by going to a gathering with six junior members of staff Selina Taylor breached Covid rules in November 2020 by going to a gathering with six junior members of her staff from Bamford Close care home in Stockport In November 2020 the UK was gripped by a second national lockdown and rules imposed by the Government meant indoor gatherings were banned. An employment tribunal heard Miss Taylor was employed by Borough Homes, which runs 11 care homes for the elderly and vulnerable in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Miss Taylor, who had a clean record and was manager of Bamford Close in Stockport, was on annual leave in November 2020 and was invited by care assistant Pat Renshaw to attend her birthday gathering. However, Miss Taylor was caught attending the gathering on a Snapchat video filmed on the night. A tribunal report said: 'On Monday November 30 Borough Homes received an email about a party with a video attachment. 'The video had been seen on social media and depicted staff dancing and frolicking in close contact with one another. Miss Taylor was visible in it. 'It was clear from the video that the event was a party without social distancing and without PPE.' Miss Taylor, who did not inform bosses or test staff for Covid-19 on their return to work, was then investigated. When quizzed over why she didn't stop the party, she said 'she had been told it would be a couple of people having a curry' and even claimed she attended to 'spy on them'. The get-together, held on November 28, 2020, was just a day after the Prime Minister is accused of going to a busy leaving do for top Downing Street aide Cleo Watson. Reports suggest that at the party - now thought to be under investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray - people were drinking and Johnson gave a speech. The Prime Minister has denied breaking any coronavirus rules She claimed she 'took her mask off when drinking and then put it back on' however the tribunal found the video shows 'there were no masks in sight' and 'there was no evidence of social distancing. Miss Taylor also said she and her six colleagues were in a work bubble, and that she went because 'curiosity got the better of her' and only stayed a 'short time'. Miss Taylor was sacked on December 22 - four days after a Christmas party took place at Downing Street, which led to the resignation of No 10 advisor Allegra Stratton. Borough Homes said her conduct brought the company into disrepute. Miss Taylor 'admitted the party but residents at risk but said they were put at risk every day anyway'. Since, Miss Taylor has launched legal action against Borough Homes, claiming she was unfairly dismissed. However, an employment in Liverpool has now thrown out her claim. Employment Judge Liz Ord said: 'Miss Taylor breached Government guidelines and Borough Home's infection control practices without good reason. 'Furthermore, her attendance at the party, even if only for a short while, had given support to other more junior staff in their breaches. 'Participants had intermingled in close proximity to one another and no PPE had been worn, which exacerbated the situation and increased the risk. 'Miss Taylor ought to have been setting an example to more junior staff and not participating herself. 'She ought to have tried to stop the party happening in the circumstances. 'The party consequently put the lives of vulnerable elderly people at unnecessary risk, and Miss Taylor's attitude, in saying that they were at risk anyway, was irresponsible and unbecoming of a person in her position of seniority and authority.' Advertisement A husband fulfilled his wife's childhood dream by secretly buying her a dilapidated Welsh castle as they looked for a holiday home. Jude Edgell was on a beach walk with husband Terry when he revealed he'd snapped up the fairytale castle near Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, for 775,000. The only snag was that it was a 'bit of a wreck' needing years of work, having fallen into a desperate state of disrepair. The couple, who have not revealed the cost of the project, admit the ruin will 'never be worth' the total cost of the renovation, describing it instead as 'a labour of love'. Terry, 56, made the announcement after telling Jude, 58, he wanted to have a serious chat - and she feared he was going to tell her he wanted the couple to separate. She said: 'I thought he was going to say divorce and he was very quiet, but he said: 'It's too late, they accepted a bid on the castle'. 'I didn't believe him, so I checked on Rightmove and it said 'sold subject to contract'. I said: 'Is that us?' and he said yes.' The stunning castle was snapped up for 775,000 but the only snag was that it was a 'bit of a wreck' needing years of work Jude Edgell was on a beach walk with husband Terry when he made her childhood dream come true by buying a fairytale castle The couple were looking for a holiday home in Spain - but decided to view 200-year-old Penllyn Castle near Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, out of curiosity Businessman Terry later secretly put a bid in for the building before making the shock announcement of his big surprise spend on the beach walk The couple admit that the property is 'a bit of a wreck' and will need years of work to bring it up to a respectable standard Penllyn Castle is a Norman architecture castle, located in Cowbridge, around four miles south-east of Bridgend, South Wales Jude, of Aberdare, South Wales, said: 'I wasn't cross, I was happy because I'd always loved it but I was very scared as well, I knew it was going to change things. I've always known about the castle, I have lived by it, but never been in it' She added: 'I remember when I was about 25 riding by it and I thought: 'Oh my god, I can't believe people live in houses like that' Terry, originally from Buckinghamshire, works long hours as CEO of Premier Forest Group - so the majority of the project is down to Jude Terry, 56, made the announcement after telling Jude, 58, he wanted to have a serious chat - and she feared he wanted to separate Penllyn Castle: The 200-year-old manor house which once starred in an episode of Doctor Who There has been a settlement, castle, farmhouse, manor and mansion on the historic site above the River Thaw for well over a thousand years. The Castle itself dates back to the early 1100s when it was likely to have been built by Earl Robert of Gloucester's Sheriff, Robert Norris and had one of the first Norman keeps in Glamorgan. In the late 14th Century the Norris heiress married into the Turbervilles who remained in occupation until 1702. In that time Penllyn became less of a castle and more a Tudor Manor House. In 1702 it was sold and went through various inheritances until Miss Gwinnett, whose brother Button Gwinnett settled in Maryland and was one of the signees of the Declaration of Independence and killed in a dual with his rival General MacIntosh. Miss Gwinnett rebuilt the house as a new mansion in the 1790s. in 1846 John Homfray, son of Jeremiah Homfray who had founded the Penydarren Iron Works in Merthyr, bought it. Various improvement and alterations were made including the decoration of the Drawing Room in the Third Empire style following a visit to the Paris Exhibition of 1861. It changed hands to distant relations in 1961 and has remained in the same hands until it was finally sold to Jude and Terry. The old castle even featured in a 2006 episode of Dr Who when actress Pauline Collins played Queen Victoria. Advertisement The couple were looking for a holiday home in Spain - but decided to view 200-year-old Penllyn Castle near Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, out of curiosity. Businessman Terry later secretly put a bid in for the building before making the shock announcement of his big surprise spend on the beach walk. Jude, of Aberdare, South Wales, said: 'I wasn't cross, I was happy because I'd always loved it but I was very scared as well, I knew it was going to change things. I've always known about the castle, I have lived by it, but never been in it. 'I remember when I was about 25 riding by it and I thought: 'Oh my god, I can't believe people live in houses like that.' 'When I walked into the drawing-room on that first day all the hairs came up on the back of my neck, and I still get that pull now, that connection.' Terry, originally from Buckinghamshire, works long hours as CEO of Premier Forest Group - so the majority of the project is down to Jude. She set up a team of specialist trade workers including a site manager, specialist conservation architect, archaeologist, heritage specialists and an engineer. Jude said: 'I've also never had so many sleepless nights in my life, I feel totally overwhelmed, out of my depth, dealing with the size of the property, the problems, the fact that it's listed. 'It's really important to me that long after my days that it's been done properly, I want it to be there for 100, 200 years, it's safeguarding it for the future.' The project has now been ongoing for three years and the couple are looking forward to more exciting home improvements in the hope of moving in in 2024. The old castle even featured in a 2006 episode of Dr Who when actress Pauline Collins played Queen Victoria. Jude found some scary monsters of her own and didn't even realise the castle had a swimming pool - because it was overgrown with brambles. Jude said: 'There's a little enclosed courtyard right in the middle of the house and we've had pre-planning permission to have a glass roof put over it. 'Finding the swimming pool was a funny moment, they had a pool there and it had just been abandoned with just out a net over it and over the 20 years or so the brambles had covered it. 'We didn't know it was there until our son Max stepped a corner luckily in the shallow end. The brambles gave way and he literally disappeared and dropped three-foot.' Jude set up a team of specialist trade workers including a site manager, specialist conservation architect, archaeologist, heritage specialists and an engineer The project has now been ongoing for three years and the couple are looking forward to more exciting home improvements in the hope of moving in in 2024 The old castle even featured in a 2006 episode of Dr Who when actress Pauline Collins played Queen Victoria Jude found some scary monsters of her own and didn't even realise the castle had a swimming pool - because it was overgrown with brambles The house was built in 1790 for Lady Barbara Vernon on the site of a Norman castle ruin. It was then left to her friend Miss Emilia Gwinnett Jude said: 'I love the fact that a woman left it to another woman, and now we have a woman in charge of putting it back together' The couple say there is another two years of work left to do at the Grade II-listed property They are now hoping to restore the historic mirrors and crystal chandeliers inside Jude says the budget is a 'rolling sum' - and added: 'It will never be worth what it's cost us in our lifetime. It's a labour of love, it's not about value' The entire property, including tiles on the roof of the castle, need a facelift to bring it up to an acceptable standard Jude has embraced the project while her husband has been busy with his own forestry and wood business The couple hopes the project, which has seen the castle covered in scaffolding, will finally be finished in two years' time There has been a settlement, castle, farmhouse, manor and mansion on the historic site above the River Thaw for well over a thousand years. The Castle itself dates back to the early 1100s when it was likely to have been built by Earl Robert of Gloucester's Sheriff, Robert Norris and had one of the first Norman keeps in Glamorgan. In the late 14th Century the Norris heiress married into the Turbervilles who remained in occupation until 1702. In that time Penllyn became less of a castle and more a Tudor Manor House. In 1702 it was sold and went through various inheritances until Miss Gwinnett, whose brother Button Gwinnett settled in Maryland and was one of the signees of the Declaration of Independence and killed in a dual with his rival General MacIntosh. Jude said: 'I love the fact that a woman left it to another woman, and now we have a woman in charge of putting it back together.' Various improvement and alterations were made including the decoration of the Drawing Room in the Third Empire style following a visit to the Paris Exhibition of 1861. It changed hands to distant relations in 1961 and has remained in the same hands until it was finally sold to Jude and Terry. The couple say there is another two years of work left to do at the Grade II-listed property. They are now hoping to restore the historic mirrors and crystal chandeliers inside. Jude says the budget is a 'rolling sum' - and added: 'It will never be worth what it's cost us in our lifetime. It's a labour of love, it's not about value.' The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still hunting for the suspect in a grey hoodie and mask who was captured on video appearing to place a bomb under a bench outside of the Democratic National Committee the night before the January 6 riot. Investigators have talked to more than 900 people and collected 39,000 video files just to find the suspect, who was also captured walking in an alley near the Republican National Committee before a bomb was placed there. He wore black and light gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers with a yellow logo. Both party buildings are within a few blocks of the Capitol. The bombs were rendered safe the morning of the Capitol riot and no one was hurt. The FBI has released various surveillance videos of the person walking around DC from multiple angles, along with a map of his route. It is unclear if any more footage is likely to come out. The bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com. Agents are still looking for 250 people seen on video assaulting Capitol police, including a man who used an electric prod disguised as a cane on a cop. Another 100 have been identified but not yet arrested for multiple crimes tied to January 6. Scroll down for video Authorities are still searching for a suspect who planted two bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committees the day before the January 6 riot. Above, the suspect walking in an alley near the RNC before the bomb was placed The FBI still doesn't know if it's a man or a woman. Above, the suspect in a grey hoodie and a mask after planting the explosives, which were rendered safe the next day More than 700 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the January 6, 2021 riot, including 225 people accused of attacking or interfering with officers On January 5, 2021, the suspect was covered from head to toe, skulking through the dark streets of the nation's capital before methodically placing two explosives outside the committee buildings. Only 17 hours later - and just before the Capitol was stormed by a sea of pro-Trump rioters - were the pipe bombs discovered. It quickly became one of the highest-priority investigations for the FBI and the Justice Department. The investigation into the rioters has been a massive undertaking for federal law enforcement, who have already charged more than 700 people, but hundreds more remain on the loose. It is still unknown if the bombing suspect - authorities don't yet know if it's a man or a woman - had any relation to the Capitol riot that ensued the day after. 'In normal times, like if this wasn't COVID, a person walking down the street in DC covered from head to toe with a mask on, glasses and gloves would have been a red flag,' said Steven D'Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's field office in Washington. But the trail grew cold almost immediately. A year later, federal investigators are no closer to learning the person's identity. And a key question remains: Was there a connection between the pipe bombs and the riot at the Capitol? President Biden walks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, right, on his way to speak during the anniversary of the Capitol riot Thursday Biden blamed President Trump for promoting lies about the 2020 election that inspired his supporters to attack the government Vice President Harris said: 'When I meet with young people, they often ask about the state of our democracy, about January 6. What I tell them is January 6 reflects the dual nature of democracy' Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina responded by bringing up the United States' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August On Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the anniversary of the January 6 riot in the Statuary Hall of the Capitol building, surrounded by statues of prominent historical figures. Biden blamed President Trump for promoting lies about the 2020 election that inspired his 'mob' of supporters to attack the government. 'He's done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interest as more important than his country's interest and because his bruised ego matters more to him than the Constitution,' he said. He congratulated 'some courageous' Republicans who are standing against Trump's claims that he rightfully won the election. Vice President Harris spoke before Biden, pointing to the 'fragility' of democracy. The bombing suspect, who planted the bombs the night before the Capitol riot, was captured walking around DC and sitting on a bench outside the DNC in various surveillance videos 'When I meet with young people, they often ask about the state of our democracy, about January 6, what I tell them is January 6 reflects the dual nature of democracy. 'Its fragility and its strength. The strength of democracy is the rule of law, the strength of democracy is the principle that everyone should be treated equally, that elections should be free and fair, that corruption should be given no quarter. The strength of democracy is that it empowers the people. 'And the fragility of democracy is this: That if we are not vigilant, that if we don't defend it, democracy will simply not stand, it will falter and fail,' Harris said. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina responded by bringing up the United States' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, which left the insurgent Taliban group back in power. 'I wonder if the Taliban who now rule Afghanistan with al-Qaeda elements present, contrary to President Biden's beliefs, are allowing this speech to be carried?' Graham asked. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene - who has been banned from Twitter for posting election misinformation - and Rep. Matt Gaetz are expected to deliver a Republican rebuttal to Biden and Harris' speeches on Thursday afternoon. The bombing suspect is among hundreds of people still being sought by the FBI following last January's deadly insurrection, perpetrated by supporters of former President Donald Trump who sought to stop Congress from certifying the election results in favor of President Joe Biden. 'This investigation takes time because it is a lot of lot of work, a lot of painstaking work that they look at the video kind of frame by frame,' said Steven D'Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI's field office in Washington Robert Palmer, 54 was sentenced to 63 months in December for his involvement in the riot Palmer threw wooden boards, a pole and a fire extinguisher at police Jacob Chansley, 34, has the second-longest sentence with 41 months A few weeks ago, a Florida man who sprayed police officers with a fire extinguisher before throwing it at them during the riot was given the harshest sentence yet - more than five years. Robert Palmer, 54, from Largo, Florida, pushed himself to the front of the crowd and threw wooden boards at police before retreating after being pepper sprayed, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Juman. Jacob Chansley, 34, the so-called QAnon Shaman, has the second-longest sentence with 41 months. But for the FBI agents working on the cases, the job is far from over. Agents and investigative analysts have been poring over thousands of hours of surveillance video, going second by second in each video to try to capture clear images of people who attacked officers inside the Capitol. Police body cam footage captured a man using a cane with electric prods on the end to shock officers. He has still not been identified 'This investigation takes time because it is a lot of lot of work, a lot of painstaking work that they look at the video kind of frame by frame,' D'Antuono said. In one case, police body camera footage captures a man using a cane with electric prods on the end jabbing at officers and shocking them as they fight to hold back the riotous crowd trying to break through a barricaded line of officers at one of the doors of the Capitol. The crackling sound of the electricity can be heard as he prods his cane into one of the officers. The man, known only as 'AFO114' - using shorthand for 'assaulting a federal officer' - is still being sought. This image from an FBI poster seeking a suspect who allegedly placed pipe bombs in Washington on January 5, 2021. It is still unknown if the incident was related to the riot the next day The unidentified suspects above are still wanted for assaulting officers during the Capitol riot 'The assaults against the police officers are extremely serious,' D'Antuono said. More than 100 police officers were attacked by rioters on Jan. 6, some attacked by multiple people and some attacked multiple times, he said. More than 225 people have been accused of attacking or interfering with officers, according to the New York Times. Officer Brian Sicknick suffered two strokes the day after the riot, according to NPR. He had been sprayed with chemical irritants during the demonstration, but they don't appear to have been a factor in his death. On Thursday, President Biden and Vice President Harris honored the various law enforcement officers who tried to protect the Capitol from the rioters. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes the day after the riot Biden said: 'We all heard what the police officers who were there testified. One officer called it a medieval battle and that he was more afraid that day than he was fighting the war in Iraq.' Four police officers who were defending the Capitol from the rioters died by suicide in the months after the event, CNBC reports. Harris added, 'The violent assault that took place here, the very fact of how close we came to an election overturned, that reflects the fragility of democracy. 'Yet the resolve I saw in our elected leaders when I returned to the Senate chamber that night, the resolve not to yield but to certify the election. their loyalty not to party or person, but to the constitution of the United States, that reflects its strength, and so, of course, does the heroism of the Capitol Police, the MPD, the National Guard and other officers who answered the call that day, including those who later succumbed to wounds both visible and invisible.' In one video from the riot, a man is seen repeatedly bashing a police officer over the head with a 6 ft (1.8-meter) metal pole as he tries to push his way into the Capitol. And a third shows a man spraying some kind of chemical from a can into the faces of other officers. 'There is still a lot of work to be done on this,' D'Antuono said. 'There were a lot of people up there at the Capitol, a lot of people that either committed violence up there did other unlawful actions up there.' In the search for the person who left the pipe bombs at the RNC and DNC offices, investigators have interviewed more than 900 people, collected 39,000 video files and examined more than 400 leads. They have dived into the components of the explosives and have been working to try to discern anything they can about the suspect, from analyzing the person's gait to trying to collect information about purchases of the distinctive Nike sneakers the person wore. But they are still no closer to finding the suspect's identity and are hoping renewed attention on the video of the person may spark a tip to crack the case. Jeffrey McKellop was pictured wearing a paramilitary bulletproof vest and helmet, with a gas mask with a patch of the Georgia national flag A MPD captain prepared to deploy the riot-control spray at McKellop and the crowd when the Army veteran picks up a flagpole from the ground and shoves it into the captain's face An MPD police captain is pictured after being jabbed with the flag pole during the Capitol riot The explosive devices were placed outside the two buildings between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on January 5, 2021, but weren't located by law enforcement until the next day. Capitol Police and agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called to the Republican National Committee's office around 12.45pm on January 6. About 30 minutes later, as the agents and bomb technicians were still investigating at the RNC, another call came in for a similar explosive device found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters nearby. No one was hurt by the bombs. The suspect, caught in various videos, wore black and light gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers with a yellow logo. Former President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed the 2020 election had been rigged against him before his supporters attacked the Capitol Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, has been charged with contempt of Congress after refusing to sit down with lawmakers investigating the January 6 riot 'We've used and continue to use every investigative tool that we lawfully have to find this individual,' DAntuono said. But, a year later, investigators still don't know whether the suspect is a man or a woman. The person carried the bombs - made of threaded galvanized pipes, kitchen timers and homemade black powder - in a backpack. 'We're still nose to the grindstone here and trying to find this individual, trying to bring the person to justice,' D'Antuono said. 'But there is hopefully maybe somebody still out there that knows the person or sees the video again.' It is unclear whether the bombs were related to planning for the insurrection or whether they were unrelated to the deadly riot. Both buildings are within a few blocks of the Capitol. The government has charged more than 700 people in the riot, but authorities estimate that at least 2,500 people took part in it, the New York Times reports. A Democratic-led select House committee is investigating the riot, including its origins. Two aides to former President Donald Trump, who claimed the 2020 election had been stolen from him in the days leading up to the riot, have been charged with obstruction of Congress for refusing to sit down with lawmakers. Experts have slammed the decision to let a TV historian provide testimony at the trial of the so-called 'Colston Four' despite him openly siding with the Black Lives Matter protesters who pulled down the statue to the 17th century slaver. The appearance of David Olusoga during the two-week trial in Bristol, among other witnesses for the defence, turned a criminal hearing into a 'political' trial, claim lawyers and political commentators, with the long-dead trader Edward Colston appearing to be in the dock himself rather than the four self-professed vandals. Mr Olusoga had previously said he 'desperately' wanted to join the Bristol protests that saw a bronze memorial to Edward Colston thrown into the city harbour in June 2020. He later told the Radio Times that he followed the crowds on social media as they moved closer to the statue, and had to fight urges to cycle down and join them. Despite these remarks, and objections from the prosecution, the 52-year-old - who has previously shared stinging criticism of former PM Winston Churchill - was still invited to speak for two hours as an expert witness for the defence in the 'Colston Four' trial. Ministers are set to press ahead with sweeping changes to legislation following the jury's decision to clear protestors Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Sage Willoughby, 22, and Jake Skuse, 33, of all criminal damage charges. Lawyers and political commentators have since slammed the jury's verdict, with some admitting they fear that the 17th century slaver was put on trial at Bristol Crown Court, rather than the four vandals. Presenter and historian David Olusoga (pictured) had previously said he 'desperately' wanted to join the Bristol protests that saw a bronze memorial to Edward Colston thrown into the city harbour in June 2020. Mr Olusoga is pictured outside Bristol Crown Court on December 16 The bronze memorial to the 17th century merchant Edward Colston was pulled down on June 7 last year during a Black Lives Matter protest, and was later dumped in the harbour (pictured) A banner in support of the vandals dubbed the 'Colston Four' was laid at the foot of the empty plinth in Bristol Judge Peter Blair QC allowed Mr Olusoga to provide evidence despite the prosecution pointing out a potential conflict of interest due to the presenter's past comments that he 'desperately' wanted to join Black Lives Matter protestors. Political commentator and campaigner Calvin Robinson said he sceptical of the defence's decision to bring 'biased' Olusoga as an expert witness. He told MailOnline: 'David Olusoga was obviously biased, but more importantly he's not an expert in destruction of property, he is a historian. 'This court case should have had nothing to do with history. It was about the destruction of public property. 'Clearly it was Colston on trial, and not the Black Lives Matter thugs. The whole trial was on Colston - it wasn't entirely relevant and now the result looks political.' Mr Olusoga, who provided expert testimony for the defence at Bristol Crown Court despite concerns being raised by the prosecution, welcomed the jury's verdict. He told Good Morning Britain on Thursday: 'That statue standing there for 125 years was validating the career of a mass murderer. 'And to people whose ancestors were enslaved by Colston and men like him, it is offensive, and you can talk to thousands of people in Bristol who found it offensive. 'I think what this verdict shows is that when people are given the evidence about Edward Colston, about Britain's involvement in slavery, and about the rather strange story about the cult that was built in Bristol in the 19th century around Edward Colston, when they get that information directly rather than through tabloids or journalists or politicians, then they actually react to the evidence rather than to the culture war drum beat that is built around it. 'Most people don't understand the details of this history, of this statue, and the long campaign to have it removed peacefully.' Political commentator and campaigner Calvin Robinson (pictured) said he sceptical of the defence's decision to bring historian Mr Olusoga as an expert witness Mr Olusoga has previously been highly critical of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill (pictured) - accusing him of being involved in activities in Africa that would today be considered war crimes Mr Olusoga joined fellow defence witnesses Cleo lake, a former Lord Mayor of Bristol, and Lloyd Russell, 65, who both spoke about racism in the city. Ms Lake, now a Green Party politician who had previously tried to remove symbols of Colston in the city, spoke in favour of the defendants who were on trial. The former Bristol Mayor who celebrated the toppling of Colston statue and spoke for defence Cleo Lake, former Lord Mayor of Bristol who had previously tried to remove symbols of Edward Colston in the city, spoke for the defendants who were on trial. While being quizzed by the defence, the Green Party politician admitted she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7. She told the court that she was 'shocked, alarmed and startled' to discover a portrait of the slave trader in the Lord Mayor's parlour, and tried to have it removed. Cleo Lake Once a student at Colston Girls' School in the city, she remembered protests in the mid 1990s from members of Bristol's Afro-Caribbean community calling for the 17th century bronze memorial to be removed. Ms Lake told the court she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7, feeling a 'great sense of relief' when she watched it fall into the harbour. Advertisement She told the court that she was 'shocked, alarmed and startled' to discover a portrait of the slave trader in the Lord Mayor's parlour, and tried to have it removed. Once a student at Colston Girls' School in the city, she remembered protests in the mid 1990s from members of Bristol's Afro-Caribbean community calling for the 17th century bronze memorial to be removed. Ms Lake told the court she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7, feeling a 'great sense of relief' when she watched it fall into the harbour. Other witnesses called to trial included charity worker Lloyd Russell, 65, who said his family arrived in Bristol from Jamaica in the 1950s. He compared living in the diverse community of St Paul to the 'Bronx of New York', and explained he attended a mostly white grammar school in Montpelier, where he first faced racism aged 11. 'At the time I just didn't want to be at school', he told Bristol Crown Court. 'My mum told me how when they came to Bristol there were vigilante white people chucking things through the windows. 'My father was a proud black man who didn't heed the warning. He took my mum into Broadmead and they spat in her face.' Mr Olusoga has previously been highly critical of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill - accusing him of being involved in activities in Africa that would today be considered war crimes. While accepting the former PM was a 'national hero', Olusoga said in 2018: 'While I'm personally glad that Churchill overcame Halifax in early 1940 and it was Churchill who faced the Nazis that year and the years that followed, that doesn't mean that he wasn't somebody that wasn't responsible, or largely responsible, for the Bengal famine [of 1943-44]. 'It doesn't mean that he wasn't someone who took part in things we would consider war crimes in Africa. It doesn't mean that his views, the things he espoused, were shocking to members of his Cabinet, never mind to people at the time. 'Both of those things are true. Both of those Churchills exist. We're going to have to accommodate the fact that these things are true, and there are two sides to these stories and we're not good at it.' Reacting to the verdict, William Hughes QC, of the prosecution, told MailOnline: Ultimately it was a disappointing result. 'In terms of David Olusoga, we [the prosecution] did not dispute the back story of Colston. 'We accept he was a slaver, he was involved in the Royal African Company. In our view, Olusoga's testimony didn't add anything. 'Rather, it was a gloss that I can imagine would have put anyone in the jury at a degree of unease. The judge had a discretion to deal with matters that were relevant or not. We said it wasn't, but he took the view that it was important the jury heard it. We have to respect that. 'Although it wasn't a unanimous decision by the jury, and it is an unusual case, it demonstrates the jury can think about matters of importance in this day and age, relating back to matters 300/400 years ago. 'Whether I agree or not, it's a vindication of the jury mode of trial in the UK.' Calls for Attorney General to review 'WRONG' Colston statue verdict: Fury grows over case that should 'NEVER' have been heard in Bristol amid high-profile Banksy campaign with T-shirts and graffiti By Jacob Thorburn for MailOnline Furious Tory MPs have written to Britain's chief legal advisor urging her to review the jury's 'wrong' verdict as public backlash at their decision to let the 'Colston Four' walk free continues to grow. Ministers are set to press ahead with sweeping changes to legislation following the jury's decision to clear Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Sage Willoughby, 22, and Jake Skuse, 33, of all charges at Bristol Crown Court. Six men and six women, taken from Bristol's population of 500,000, served on the jury. They did not return a unanimous verdict on Wednesday, but Judge Peter Blair QC allowed them to make a majority ruling. A number of Tory MPs are also understood to have written to Attorney General Suella Braverman, who could use little-known powers to push the decision through to appeal amid mounting public anger over the case. Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland described the jury's decision as 'perverse' as Sir John Hayes MP, who leads the Common Sense Group, called the verdict 'very disappointing' and argued that the trial should never have been heard in Bristol. The former minister told MailOnline: 'This should have been a straightforward matter for the jury, who were certainly devoid of understanding of the definition of criminal damage If you damage, destroy of deface property without permission, you are guilty by definition. 'Clearly, the wrong decision has been made here. The case should never have even been heard at Crown Court, nor should it have been heard in Bristol considering the rhetoric surrounding this trial. 'I will be writing to the Attorney general tomorrow on behalf of The Common Sense Group to address these concerns.' His comments come as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK was 'not a country where destroying public property can ever be acceptable' after a jury cleared four vandals who admitted playing a part in the destruction of the historic statue of slave trader Edward Colston during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. MailOnline can also reveal how a leading barrister for 22-year-old defendant Sage Willoughby was slammed by the case's experienced judge outside earshot of jury members. Peter Blair QC accused Liam Walker, for the defence, of loading an 'excessive burden' on jurors and told the QC he had placed undue emphasis on the historical implications of the jury's decision. Mr Walker later apologised. The protestors raised tens of thousands of pounds for their defence through high-profile fundraising campaigns, music events and even a unique T-shirt campaign by Bristol-based artist Banksy, which helped them afford leading barristers from legal aid law firm Hodge Jones & Allen. It is not known if the group used legal aid. One online fundraising page raised 28,000 alone, while Banksy's 30 T-shirts sold out at five Bristol independent shops. A legal source suggested to MailOnline that the cost of the defence team would certainly have been a five-figure sum. Lawyers and political commentators have since slammed the jury's verdict, with some admitting they fear that the 17th century slaver was put on trial at Bristol Crown Court, rather than the four self-professed vandals. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK was 'not a country where destroying public property can ever be acceptable' after a jury cleared four protestors who admitted playing a part in the destruction of the historic statue of slave trader Edward Colston during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 Photos from outside the courtroom show Sage Willoughby, Jake Skuse, Milo Ponsford and Rhian Graham (from left to right) celebrating after receiving a not guilty verdict at Bristol Crown Court, on January 05, 2022 in Bristol, England A banner in support of the vandals dubbed the 'Colston Four' was laid at the foot of the empty plinth in Bristol Tory MP Sir John Hayes, who leads the Common Sense Group, described the jury's verdict as 'very disappointing' and argued that the trial should never have been heard in Bristol. He says he has written to Attorney General Suella Braverman (right) who could push the jury's decision to appeal amid mounting public anger over the high-profile case Sage Willoughby takes a knee to celebrate following the verdict in his favour. The prosecution's argument that the case was about the rule of law and not politics was repeated vehemently by critics, who raised concerns the not-guilty verdict would set a precedent for further vandalism and dangerous identity politics Dozens of fundraising events, including a limited edition grey 'Bristol' t-shirt designed by Banksy (right), were held to help pay for legal costs for the 'Colston Four' Speaking on the vandals dubbed the Colston Four, Mr Shapps told Times Radio: 'We live in a democratic country. If you want to see things changed you can get them changed, you do that through the ballot box, or petitioning your local council. 'You don't do it by going out and causing criminal damage. We'll always be on the side of the law and when necessary we will fix any loopholes in the law to make sure that's always the case.' Mr Shapps added that the Government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will close a 'potential loophole' by ensuring a maximum sentence of 10 years for those who admit to damaging memorials. He told BBC Breakfast: 'We do have a clause in the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill which will perhaps close a potential loophole and mean you can't just go round and cause vandalism, destroy the public realm, and then essentially not be prosecuted.' The new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes legislation that could see criminals handed a 10-year jail term if they are found guilty of damaging statues. The move comes after a host of memorials and statues across the country have been damaged in the past year as a result of increasing tensions over Britain's colonial history. Under current law, criminal damage is an either way offence that can either see a defendant fined or sent to prison. At present, if the damage caused by the defendant is less than 5,000, the case is considered a summary trial, meaning it must be heard by magistrates and carries a maximum punishment of 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 2,500. But the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will scrap the monetary divide that currently impacts sentencing powers when it comes to the criminal damage of memorials - adding a maximum imprisonment of 10 years for offenders. Political commentator and campaigner Calvin Robinson told MailOnline: 'I'm not sure the verdict would have been different in any other part of the country, there was lots of pressure on the jury to be on the 'right side of history'. 'That's a worrying thing to say. They should have been looking for truth or justice I don't think they found it. 'This verdict does set a common precedent that people can feel they can get away with committing vandalism, destroying public property rather than going through the correct democratic process. We should have more faith in democracy, and not encourage vigilantism. Top defence barrister APOLOGISED for placing 'excessive burden' on jury in Colston vandals trial MailOnline can reveal how the judge slammed a leading defence barrister for the Colston Four, before allowing 'political' evidence to be heard. Judge Peter Blair QC criticised defence barrister Liam Walker, who was accused of loading an 'excessive burden' on the jury in his closing remarks according to the experienced judge. In his closing comments, Mr Walker had told the 12 Bristol-based members of the jury: 'Make no mistake members of the jury, your decision is not just going to be felt in this court room or this city. 'It will be reverberate around the world. I urge you all to be on the right side of history.' While the jury had left the main courtroom, Judge Blair criticised Mr Walker for placing undue pressure on the jury, and Mr Walker apologised for his remarks. Judge Peter Blair QC (pictured) criticised defence barrister Liam Walker, who was accused of loading an 'excessive burden' on the jury in his closing remarks Addressing the jury himself, Judge Blair said: 'Firstly you must decide the case on the basis of the evidence you have heard in the case.' He told them to 'focus their decision making' on the defendants' accounts of what happened, and not on the alleged wider impact of the removal of the statue referenced in the defence barristers' summing up. 'You must try this case on the evidence you heard before Christmas.' Judge Blair had earlier allowed TV historian David Olusoga to provide evidence despite the prosecution pointing out a potential conflict of interest due to the presenter's past comments that he 'desperately' wanted to join Black Lives Matter protestors. Advertisement 'People make comparisons to the suffragettes, but the problem there is that they had to take direct action. 'They had no access to the democratic process, but the Black Lives Matter thugs did. They didn't choose to vote or stand for election, they chose to commit a criminal act. 'Ultimately I have faith in the jury trial system, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. 'There are anomalies and this is clearly a case of injustice. It is obvious that this was a criminal act, and they should have been punished. I do think further action is required in this case.' The decision to acquit the defendants now raises the question of who will now pay the estimated 3,750 in damage that was done to the statue after it was torn from its plinth. A further 350 charge also applies to fix the damaged railings of Pero's Bridge. MailOnline can also reveal how Judge Peter Blair QC criticised defence barrister Liam Walker, who had loaded an 'excessive burden' on the jury in his closing remarks according to the experienced judge. In his closing comments, Mr Walker had told the 12 members of the jury: 'Make no mistake members of the jury, your decision is not just going to be felt in this court room or this city. 'It will be reverberate around the world. I urge you all to be on the right side of history.' While the jury were out of the room, Judge Blair criticised Mr Walker for placing undue pressure on the jury, and Mr Walker apologised for his remarks. Addressing the jury himself, Judge Blair said: 'Firstly you must decide the case on the basis of the evidence you have heard in the case.' He told them to 'focus their decision making' on the defendants' accounts of what happened, and not on the alleged wider impact of the removal of the statue referenced in the defence barristers' summing up. 'You must try this case on the evidence you heard before Christmas.' He continued: 'Don't feel under pressure by the comment 'make no mistake, your decision will reverberate around the world' and 'you should be on the right side of history'.' Judge Blair said it would be 'quite wrong' if the jury felt they had 'some kind of additional burden on your shoulders'. Speaking on Thursday, Downing Street insisted vandalism 'remains a crime' and it expects police to take it 'seriously' despite the ruling in the Edward Colston statue case. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'Rightly we would never comment on individual jury decisions, which we respect. But we expect the police to take all crimes seriously, including vandalism or public damage to property. 'We've been clear it's always legitimate to examine and challenge Britain's history but we should retain and explain our heritage so more people can understand our nation's past to its fullest. 'Vandalism of any sort remains a crime, we expect police to take all crimes seriously. 'You'll know that we are changing the law to ensure those found guilty of desecrating or damaging a memorial face a punishment that better reflects the high sentimental and emotional impact these actions can have.' It comes as historian David Olusoga, who provided expert testimony for the defence at Bristol Crown Court despite concerns being raised by the prosecution, welcomed the jury's verdict. Judge Peter Blair QC allowed Mr Olusoga to provide evidence despite the prosecution pointing out a potential conflict of interest due to the presenter's past comments that he 'desperately' wanted to join Black Lives Matter protestors. He told Good Morning Britain on Thursday: 'That statue standing there for 125 years was validating the career of a mass murderer. 'And to people whose ancestors were enslaved by Colston and men like him, it is offensive, and you can talk to thousands of people in Bristol who found it offensive. 'I think what this verdict shows is that when people are given the evidence about Edward Colston, about Britain's involvement in slavery, and about the rather strange story about the cult that was built in Bristol in the 19th century around Edward Colston, when they get that information directly rather than through tabloids or journalists or politicians, then they actually react to the evidence rather than to the culture war drum beat that is built around it. 'Most people don't understand the details of this history, of this statue, and the long campaign to have it removed peacefully.' New Government bill that could see vandals handed 10 year prison term for damaging memorials The Government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes new legislation that could see criminals handed a 10-year jail term if they are found guilty of damaging statues. The move comes after a host of memorials and statues across the country have been damaged in the past year as a result of increasing tensions over Britain's colonial history. Under current law, criminal damage is an either way offence that can either see a defendant fined or sent to prison. At present, if the damage caused by the defendant is less than 5,000, the case is considered a summary trial, meaning it must be heard by magistrates and carries a maximum punishment of 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 2,500. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will scrap the monetary divide that currently impacts sentencing powers when it comes to the criminal damage of memorials. It will also cover structures like the Cenotaph and any other similar monuments installed to commemorate a person or animal alive or dead. The new mode of trial will ensure the monetary damage caused to the statue will not impact which court hears the case, and the maximum sentence of imprisonment will be ten years behind bars. The proposed rules come amid public fury over the destruction of statues and memorials, and perceived limitations on the court's powers to punish offenders, over the past 18 months. Advertisement Mr Olusoga has previously been highly critical of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill - accusing him of being involved in activities in Africa that would today be considered war crimes. While accepting the former PM was a 'national hero', Olusoga said in 2018: 'While I'm personally glad that Churchill overcame Halifax in early 1940 and it was Churchill who faced the Nazis that year and the years that followed, that doesn't mean that he wasn't somebody that wasn't responsible, or largely responsible, for the Bengal famine [of 1943-44]. 'It doesn't mean that he wasn't someone who took part in things we would consider war crimes in Africa. It doesn't mean that his views, the things he espoused, were shocking to members of his Cabinet, never mind to people at the time. 'Both of those things are true. Both of those Churchills exist. We're going to have to accommodate the fact that these things are true, and there are two sides to these stories and we're not good at it.' Cleo Lake, former Lord Mayor of Bristol who had previously tried to remove symbols of Colston in the city, also spoke in favour of the defendants who were on trial. She told the court that she was 'shocked, alarmed and startled' to discover a portrait of the slave trader in the Lord Mayor's parlour, and tried to have it removed. Once a student at Colston Girls' School in the city, she remembered protests in the mid 1990s from members of Bristol's Afro-Caribbean community calling for the 17th century bronze memorial to be removed. Ms Lake told the court she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7, feeling a 'great sense of relief' when she watched it fall into the harbour. Other witnesses called to trial included charity worker Lloyd Russell, 65, who said his family arrived in Bristol from Jamaica in the 1950s. He compared living in the diverse community of St Paul to the 'Bronx of New York', and explained he attended a mostly white grammar school in Montpelier, where he first faced racism aged 11. 'At the time I just didn't want to be at school', he told Bristol Crown Court. 'My mum told me how when they came to Bristol there were vigilante white people chucking things through the windows. 'My father was a proud black man who didn't heed the warning. He took my mum into Broadmead and they spat in her face.' Sage Willoughby, Jake Skuse, Milo Ponsford and Rhian Graham speak to the media after after receiving a not guilty verdict. Mr Willoughby said: 'He proudly announced: 'We didn't change history, they were whitewashing history by calling him a f***ing virtuous man, sorry to swear, we didn't change history, we rectified history' Milo Ponsford, left, Sage Willoughby, second left, Jake Skuse , second right in mask, and Rhian Graham right, were cleared of all criminal damage charges at Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday Milo Ponsford and Rhian Graham were pictured laughing and smiling outside the courtroom this evening. Speaking after the verdict was announced, Ms Graham said the defendants' actions admitted the group were 'ecstatic' at the jury's decision. The bronze memorial to the 17th century merchant Edward Colston was pulled down on June 7 last year during a Black Lives Matter protest, and was later dumped in the harbour (pictured) Questions have been asked over who will now pay the estimated 3,750 in damage that was done to the statue after it was torn from its plinth. Pictured: The statue of Edward Colston is retrieved from Bristol Harbour on June 11, 2020 A large crowd, some armed with placards that said they stood with the 'Colston statue topplers' gathered outside Bristol Crown Court to show their support on Wednesday Cleo Lake, former Lord Mayor of Bristol who had previously tried to remove symbols of Colston in the city, admitted she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7as she spoke in favour of the defendants at Bristol Crown Court The bronze memorial to 17th century merchant Colston was pulled down in Bristol on June 7, 2020 and was later dumped in the harbour during an anti-racism demonstration, one of the many that swept the globe in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Who are the four protesters who toppled the statue of slave trader Edward Colston? Ms Graham, from Bristol, works as a stage manager in the theatre industry Rhian Graham, 30 Ms Graham, from Bristol, works as a stage manager in the theatre industry. She is also the half sister of British pop star Rag 'n' Bone Man. In a page on jobs website Mandy.com, she says she has been 'singing and dancing' she she was a child and more recently performed as an 'aerial hoop artist'. The Bristol resident added on LinkedIn: 'I love anything circus, festivals and creating temporary spaces for people to experience.' She holds a degree in Arts and Event Management from Arts University Bournemouth. Ms Graham said during her trial that before helping to tear down the statue of Colston, she had signed petitions calling for it to be removed. She claimed she did not originally have a background in politics or activism but, from 2019, had 'started to make more friends who had more of a passion for history, politics and equality.' 'I felt a bit embarrassed about my own knowledge and felt I needed to try and engage more with the world.' Ponsford, 26, works as a carpenter and lives in a motorhome in Bristol Milo Ponsford, 26 Ponsford, 26, works as a carpenter and lives in a motorhome in Bristol. During the trial at Bristol Crown Court, he said he was 'usually a reserved and professional individual.' The carpenter supplied one of the two ropes which were used on June 7 to haul the statue of Colston off its plinth. He was later seen jumping on the statue and trying to pull Colston's staff away. Ponsford, 26, works as a carpenter and lives in a motorhome in Bristol Sage Willoughby, 22 Willoughby, also from Bristol, is the youngest of the group of four who tore down the statue. Unlike Ponsford, who was arrested at his motorhome after the statue was toppled, Willoughby attended a police interview voluntarily. Jurors heard at the trial at Bristol Crown Court that Willoughby, a keen climber, had tied a rope around the neck of the statue, before Ponsford and Graham pulled on the ropes. Willoughby said in court that he had been signing petitions to have the statue removed 'since he was 11 years old' and added that its toppling of the statue had been an 'act of love, not violence'. He said he had grown up in the St Pauls area of Bristol, which has a large Afro-Caribbean population. As a result, he said he believed having the statue of Colston in the city was an 'insult' and he would continue to believe that whatever the outcome of this [trial].' Skuse, also from Bristol, did not take part in the toppling of the statue but was charged with criminal damage after helping to roll it to Bristol's harbour, where it was dropped in the water Jake Skuse, 33 Skuse, also from Bristol, did not take part in the toppling of the statue but was charged with criminal damage after helping to roll it to Bristol's harbour, where it was dropped in the water. During his trial, he said he had attempted to 'sentence the statue to his death' before tossing it into the harbour. He claimed to have not seen the initial toppling but arrived later and got carried away with the 'hype' of the moment. Skuse said he was inspired to throw the statue in the water after his 'foot was getting sore' from kicking the solid bronze monument. However, the activist admitted that his knowledge of Colston beforehand had been limited to conversations he had had with others and reading the plaque on the statue's plinth. Advertisement The four defendants opted not to have their case dealt with by a district judge or in a magistrates' court. Instead, they opted to be tried by a Crown Court jury in Bristol, which is well-known for its activism. Mr Willoughby let fly an expletive-laden rant outside court, as he too justified the group's actions. 'We didn't change history, they were whitewashing history by calling him a f***ing virtuous man, sorry to swear, we didn't change history, we rectified history,' he said. Mr Skuse, wearing black baseball cap, said the verdict was 'for once the right decision,' and thanked graffiti artist Banksy for designing limited edition t-shirts which they wore outside court. Mr Ponsford issued a 'big thank you' to jurors for 'being on the right side of history'. Ms Graham told Good Morning Britain on Thursday that she never 'felt like a criminal' throughout the trial and denied the verdict set a precedent condoning political vandalism. She said: 'I completely understand people's concerns and I really don't think this is a green light for everyone to just start pulling down statues. 'This moment is about this statue in this city in this time. 'I will leave the fate of monuments in other cities to the citizens of those cities.' Ms Graham also claimed that the Colston statue's value had been estimated to have risen from around 6,000 to more than 150,000 and potentially up to 300,000 since it had been toppled. The prosecution's argument that the case was about the rule of law and not politics was repeated vehemently by critics, who raised concerns the not-guilty verdict would set a precedent for further vandalism and dangerous identity politics. Graham, Ponsford and Willoughby were accused of helping pull down the monument, while Skuse allegedly orchestrated it being rolled to the water and thrown in. Despite the two-week trial revolving around the criminal damage charge, the defence argued the protestors' actions were justified, at one point urging members of the jury to 'be on the right side of history'. The defence said the statue, erected in 1895, memorialised a man who prospered from the slave trade, caused offence to people in the city and had not been removed despite repeated campaigns. The decision to acquit the defendants also raises the question of who will now pay the estimated 3,750 in damage that was done to the statue after it was torn from its plinth. A further 350 charge also applies to fix the damaged railings of Pero's Bridge. 'It's felt just out of reach for a long time, I've always felt hopeful but had to remain grounded in that it could have gone either way, but here we are. Just thank you, thank you so much for sitting and listening,' said Ms Graham, who is the half-sister of pop star Rag 'n' Bone Man. Throughout the trial, the protestors did not disagree that they were the ones who orchestrated the demise of the statue, but argued their actions were accounted for because the statue itself had been a hate crime against the people of Bristol. The four defendants laughed as they were today cleared of criminal damage charges, and hugged supporters as they left the courtroom. Speaking outside court on Wednesday, Ms Graham said: 'We are ecstatic and stunned. I tried to write something ready for this moment and I'm just so overwhelmed because it never felt like we'd get here and now we're here. 'There were so many people that day, so many people reverberating across the world in response to it... thanks to really key people, obviously our legal team who have been incredible. I can't thank them enough for getting us through this. 'Everybody on the day, those 10,000 people who marched through the streets of Bristol in the name of equality for our love. 'All the rope-pullers, the statue-climbers, the rollers, the egg-throwers, the marchers, the placard-holders, all those people, you lot are incredible, and the international topplers - the people that went and took their agency and went and did something in their hometown and changed the landscape of their place. 'One thing that we know now is how Colston does not represent Bristol.' Ms Graham said: 'That is one thing that has been a really big lesson to me, being able to take agency in my own life. 'We all have the ability to say how our space is decorated and who we venerate and who we celebrate and one thing we know now is that Colston does not represent Bristol.' Mr Willoughby denied the group were trying to edit history. He said: 'We didn't change history, they were whitewashing history by calling (Colston) a f****** virtuous man - sorry to swear. 'We didn't change history, we rectified it.' He continued: 'This is a victory for Bristol, this is a victory for racial equality and it's a victory for anybody who wants to be on the right side of history.' Some big names lent their support to the defendants, including TV historian and author Professor David Olusoga who gave expert evidence on the history of slavery. Former Bristol lord mayor Cleo Lake came to court to recount her own struggle to have Colston's picture removed from her office, while street artist Banksy designed a limited-edition T-shirt to raise funds for the defendants. The Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees has spoken of his surprise that four people were cleared of criminal damage for pulling down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston. Mr Rees, the first black mayor elected in the UK, said he was focusing on tackling racism and inequality in Bristol rather than following the outcome of the Colston trial. 'Well I didn't really have much reaction at all to be perfectly honest with you,' he told Times Radio. 'Although it's a big story and many people in the city are quite excited about it, what is happening to those four particular individuals has very little to do with what we're actually trying to get done in the city, in driving the city's ambition tackling race and class inequalities within Bristol. 'It really doesn't have much bearing on it, I'll admit you know I was quite surprised but, you know, the verdict itself is between them, the jury and the judge.' Mr Rees said he wanted to do 'real politics' around tackling racism and inequality and removing statues was 'not top of that list'. 'I'd also say around this that while statues, and what we choose to publicly celebrate is important, it's not everything,' Mr Rees said. 'Let's make sure that we don't end up talking about symbolic events that captured the imagination but not if they come at the cost of doing real substantial politics.' He said the issue of Colston's legacy in Bristol was very complicated but those who wanted to 'indulge your own fantasies of being a revolutionary' were not welcome. 'This isn't the place to come to do criminal damage, come and smash police stations and all the rest of it,' he said. 'The simplistic thing that people are trying to push here is that somehow they - the people that pulled down a statue - are the embodiment of anti-racism and everything that didn't support them in the way that they say they should have been supporting are pro the status quo. 'I'd say it's a little bit more complicated than that. Do I lament the absence of the statue? No, but that's one debate. The question of how it was taken down is another question. 'We're not encouraging criminal damage, we're not encouraging disorder in Bristol, but we are encouraging challenge and change to the way the city and the country has worked historically, which is a way that has compounded inequality.' The former Bristol Mayor who celebrated the toppling of Colston statue and spoke for defence Cleo Lake, former Lord Mayor of Bristol who had previously tried to remove symbols of Edward Colston in the city, spoke for the defendants who were on trial. While being quizzed by the defence, the Green Party politician admitted she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7. She told the court that she was 'shocked, alarmed and startled' to discover a portrait of the slave trader in the Lord Mayor's parlour, and tried to have it removed. Cleo Lake Once a student at Colston Girls' School in the city, she remembered protests in the mid 1990s from members of Bristol's Afro-Caribbean community calling for the 17th century bronze memorial to be removed. Ms Lake told the court she celebrated the toppling of Colston's statue on June 7, feeling a 'great sense of relief' when she watched it fall into the harbour. Advertisement During trial, the prosecution said it was 'irrelevant' who Colston was, and the case was one of straightforward criminal damage. Reacting to the defendants being cleared, campaign group Save Our Statues tweeted: 'Colston statue accused defy justice. Verdict not only gives the green light to political vandalism, but also legitimises the divisive identity politics it helped succour.' Conservative commentator Darren Grimes questioned: 'I cannot believe this news about those who toppled the statue of Edward Colston being found not guilty of criminal damage. 'Are we really now a country that says you can destroy public property as long as you're doing it for a purportedly noble political cause?' Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg described the jury system as one of the UK's 'greatest monuments' after criticism from Conservative MPs that the verdict set a bad precedent for future 'defacement' of public monuments. He told MPs: 'I don't think the result in Bristol does do that, because the decision does not set a precedent. It was a case decided by a jury on the facts before them. 'I shall not be going out of here immediately afterwards and drawing a moustache on the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside, much though I am opposed to regicides in principle and think that they deserve to be removed from pedestals, broadly speaking. I think we should recognise our history even when the figures in that history are not ones that we individually admire.' As he responded to Conservative MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone, he added: 'I think he is right that we should protect monuments, right that they should be removed by due process, but one of our greatest monuments is the jury system which is the greatest protector of our liberties.' Mr Hollobone had called for a statement from the Commons Speaker setting out that statues must be removed by 'lawful means' if they are to be removed at all. He added: 'If the Government doesn't make this clear, those monuments that some people don't like, as result of the recent court case in Bristol, are now at greater risk of defacement, destruction or removal.' Former Government minister Robert Jenrick, the Conservative MP for Newark, said on Twitter: 'We undermine the rule of law, which underpins our democracy, if we accept vandalism and criminal damage are acceptable forms of political protest. They aren't. Regardless of the intentions.' But legal commentator David Allen Green responded: 'Jury verdicts do not 'undermine the rule of law'. Jury verdicts are part of the rule of law. An acquittal is as much an aspect of due process as a conviction.' The distraught wife of a Texas father, 24, who was gunned down in the parking lot of Chuck E. Cheese on Friday, says she has 'no idea' why. Calogero Duenes, 24, was walking into the restaurant in Humble, Texas with his wife and two daughters to celebrate his six-year-old's birthday when he got into a dispute with driver who almost ran him over. Unreleased surveillance video shows a driver approach Duenes, nearly hitting him. An argument erupted and police say the driver pulled out a gun and shot Duenes, then sped away in a Ford vehicle. Duenes' wife Amber Uresti and their two daughters had already gone inside the restaurant ahead of her husband, who was trailing behind them carrying the cake. Calogero Duenes, 24, had just arrived at Chuck E. Cheese in Humble, Texas with his family to celebrate his 6-year-old daughter's birthday when he was fatally shot in the parking lot following a dispute with a wrong way driver who nearly hit him as he arrived carrying his daughter's birthday cake. The Humble Police Department say the driver and Duenes exchanged words in the parking lot of the Chuck E. Cheese before the driver pulled out a gun and shot Duenes, then sped away in a Ford vehicle. 'I saw him walking towards us,' Uresti told KTRK. 'I told the lady my husband was on his way. I pointed at him, and the instant I turned around, he came running in through the door and he kept saying, 'I got shot! I got shot!'' Uresti said their six-year-old daughter saw her father fall to the ground. 'He had no weapons,' Uresti added. 'He was holding my daughter's birthday cake. He had nothing on him. I don't understand why.' Amber Uresti, Duenes' wife, speaks out to KTRK after he was shot last Friday. She said she was already inside Chuck E. Cheese for their daughter's birthday when Duenes came stumbling inside crying out, 'I got shot! I got shot!' Duenes' daughter has been crying herself to sleep at night while sleeping with her father's shirt. He's described by his family as a loving, caring father and husband, who was silly and playful. The Humble Police Department say the driver and Duenes exchanged words in the parking lot before the driver pulled out a gun and shot Duenes, then sped away in a Ford vehicle. Duenes was rushed to the hospital where he died a short time later. 'I don't understand how someone could do something like that,' Uresti told KHOU. 'He was walking with a cake.' Duenes, 24, died after being shot Friday in the parking lot of a Chuck E. Cheese in Humble, Texas. The family has set up a gofundme to help with funeral expenses. She added that she hopes the police can find the person responsible soon, for the safety of the community. Uresti, who met Duenes as a teenager, described him as a loving, caring father and husband, who was silly and playful. 'We grew up together,' she told KTRK. 'Every day for the last 10 years, it's been me and him. I really don't know what I'm going to do anymore. It's really hard.' Uresti told KHOU that her her daughter has been crying herself to sleep at night while sleeping with her father's shirt. 'There's nothing I can tell her,' she said. 'There's no words to tell her other than, 'Daddy is with you in your heart. He loves you.'' Police say the shooter, who is believed to be driving a black Ford vehicle, has not yet been caught. An investigation is ongoing. The family has set up a gofundme.com account to help with funeral expenses. A school run mum who allegedly used her 4x4 to 'nudge' an Insulate Britain protester has today appeared in court to deny assault. Sherrilyn Speid, 34, appeared before magistrates in Basildon, Essex, this afternoon after the drama was captured on camera near to the M25 in October. Speid was filmed as she drove her 80,000 Range Rover into an Insulate Britain activist near to junction 31 of the motorway near Thurrock. A video - filmed by another person at to the protest - shows Speid driving her vehicle into the back of two protesters - described previously as a 'nudge'. The mum-of-one appeared in court room for a short hearing this afternoon. She faces a charge of dangerous driving and a second count of assault on activist Bethany Mogie , who was named in court today as the alleged victim. Sherrilyn Speid, 34, is accused of dangerous driving and one count of assault Video shows Speid allegedly using 4x4 to 'nudge' an Insulate Britain protester in October Speid denies both allegations, which centres on an incident during a protest last year Speid, dressed all in black for her appearance, stood in the dock and spoke just to confirm her name, address and date of birth. She then said 'not guilty' as each of the two charges was put to her during a 10-minute hearing. Rima Begum , prosecuting, told the court the incident was captured in two minutes of video footage. 'The Crown's case is that she drove her vehicle into protestors during an incident on October 13. The mum-of-one appeared in a Basildon court room for a short hearing this afternoon Speid said 'not guilty' as each of the two charges was put to her during the 10-minute hearing The court was told that the incident was captured in two minutes of video footage last year 'It was captured on camera. The defendant is someone who is previously of good character.' No further evidence was heard and Speid, of Grays, Essex, was told her trial will be held at the same court. She was granted unconditional bail ahead of the next hearing in March. Speid, who was accompanied to court today by a friend, posed for waiting photographers as she left the building. She previously said: 'I think it's disgusting that they were stopping working class people from getting to work and their kids to school and now they're trying to prosecute a single mum. 'I could lose my whole livelihood. If I have a criminal record I won't be able to work with children anymore. It's really not fair. All I was trying to do was take my son to school and go to work. 'These Insulate Britain protesters are middle class. They say they care about people and the country - so why would they want a single mum to lose her licence and her job? 'There is no one supporting the working class people who are trying to make an honest living and are working hard.' A statue of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani has been torched hours after it was unveiled by officials to mark the second anniversary of his assassination. Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed on January 3, 2020 in Iraq in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport along with his Iraqi lieutenant and others. On Wednesday morning, a statue to honour him was unveiled in Hazrat Qamarbani Hashem Square in the southwestern Iranian city of Shahrekord. But by the evening it had been set on fire, ISNA news agency reported, calling it a 'shameful act by unknown individuals'. 'This treacherous crime was carried out in darkness, just like the other crime committed at night at Baghdad airport,' when Soleimani was killed, senior Muslim cleric Mohammad Ali Nekounam said in a statement carried by the Iranian state media. Iranian authorities have unveiled several sculptures dedicated to Soleimani since his assassination two years ago, and portraits of the revered commander dot the landscape across Iran. A statue of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani has been torched hours after it was unveiled by officials in Shahrekord, central Iran, to mark the second anniversary of his assassination On Wednesday morning, a statue to honour Qassem Soleimani (pictured) was unveiled in Hazrat Qamarbani Hashem Square in the southwestern Iranian city of Shahrekord State broadcaster IRIB condemned the latest attack as an 'insulting' act, that comes as Iran marks the second anniversary of Soleimani's killing, with several events in recent days. Saudi Arabia's Arab News reported the statue was torched by Iranian opposition movement the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, though this was not confirmed. The English language daily cited Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, saying the 'resistance units' torched the statue because they 'despised Soleimani'. Qassem Soleimani, who headed the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed on January 3, 2020 in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport along with his Iraqi lieutenant (pictured, a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of Solemani's death) Iranian Women hold pictures of Qassem Soleimani, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary his death on January 3 On Thursday, thousands of Iranians also paid tribute to 250 'unknown martyrs' killed in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Ceremonies were held across the country, AFP reporters and state media reported. 'We are always suffering from the loss of martyrs, like Hajj Qassem [Soleimani], because they all fought on the frontlines with their heart,' Ali Asghar, a mourner in Tehran, said. Court's decision should not lead to quarantine setback A local court has put the brakes on the government's quarantine plan to mandate a vaccine pass - requiring people to present vaccination certificates or negative COVID-19 test results upon entry - at educational facilities. On Tuesday, the Seoul Administrative Court accepted in part a request from groups representing parents and private educational facilities to suspend the vaccine pass mandate at private academies, reading rooms, and study cafes. Accordingly, the reinforcement of the vaccine pass system will be halted until a lawsuit on its merits is completed. The ruling, which supported the position of unvaccinated people for the first time amid conflicts over the vaccine mandate, will likely have a significant impact on the government's quarantine policies. "The Ministry of Health and Welfare's action restricts unvaccinated group's access to private academies and study rooms and their rights to use these facilities," the court said. "It thus infringes on the freedom to choose schools and professions by restricting the education rights of unvaccinated people who want to prepare for various exams using these educational facilities." The court also pointed out that this policy, which "inflicts a serious disadvantage," is the virtual enforcement of vaccination upon minors and "violates the right to self-determination of the body." However, the court's decision is limited to the vaccine mandate at educational facilities. In other words, it judged that the personal rights to be limited by the measure are greater than the public good to be gained by the compulsory application of the quarantine pass at these facilities. As the judgment considered the specific nature of private educational facilities, people should not interpret it as the denial of the overall vaccine mandate policy. It is indisputable that the vaccine mandate restricts people's freedom to a certain extent. However, it is necessary to protect those most vulnerable to infection, including the unvaccinated group, from COVID-19. That also explains why the government, which initially encouraged voluntary vaccination, shifted to a "strong recommendation," so as to eliminate the blind spots of quarantine. Health authorities need to provide sufficient information to address the aversion displayed by young people to vaccination. To prevent further confusion in quarantine policy, it should also reset the targets of the vaccine mandate in a more fine-tuned manner and strengthen communication with the public. However, there must not be any setbacks in quarantine policy amid the accelerating spread of new virus variants, including Omicron. The rogue juror whose admission that he was a victim of sexual abuse has thrown the Ghislaine Maxwell conviction into chaos and has lawyered up over the disastrous fall-out of his revelations, DailyMail.com can reveal. Juror Scotty David rejected prosecutors' offer to appoint counsel for him when they called for a court investigation in an apparent attempt to get ahead of events branded 'a disaster' by legal experts. Instead, New York based lawyer Todd Spodek, who represented 'fake heiress' Anna Sorokin, informed the court that he had been appointed counsel for Juror 50 and that his client was rejecting its offer of counsel. And Maxwell's defense team wasted no time rejecting a prolonged investigation and calling for a mistrial. David was the first of two jurors who have revealed their stories of sexual abuse and the role that sharing it played in deliberations. He first told DailyMail.com that he had not revealed this history during jury selection because it had not been asked on the juror questionnaire. When it was pointed out that question 48 of the 50 asked exactly that question, he then claimed that he did not remember it but had answered all questions 'honestly.' He told other outlets that he, 'flew through' the questionnaire. He also revealed that a second juror had shared their own story of sexual abuse, a claim later verified by the juror who wished to remain anonymous. Juror Scotty David rejected prosecutors' offer to appoint counsel for him when they called for a court investigation in an apparent attempt to get ahead of events branded 'a disaster' by legal experts Scotty's admission has thrown Maxwell's conviction into chaos as her defense team is calling for a new trial US State Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams called for the court to, conduct an inquiry, in a letter filed in Federal Court Wednesday morning claiming that public statements made by the juror, merit attention by the Court. FREE AT LAST? GETTING BAIL FOR MAXWELL IS POSSIBLE With the declaration of a mistrial the clock would effectively be wound back to one day before this trial started. Because Maxwell was not out on bail, she would not automatically walk free, but one legal expert told DailyMail.com that it was inconceivable that her attorneys would not swiftly attempt to renew their bid for bail. Because a mistrial under these circumstances would not have been declared for substantive reasons there was no evidence admitted that should not have been, nor evidence withheld by the government, for example there is nothing in the proceedings that would change her lawyers previously unsuccessful bond arguments. However, the situation itself would hand Maxwells lawyers a new and potentially persuasive reason to press for bail. According to one expert, You have a constitutional right to a speedy trial and her lawyers could now argue that because of all this she essentially has not got that. The prosecution would absolutely be brought in again because the mistrial would not have been called for a substantive reason, but for what was basically a screw up. That means they will have to go through the whole process again. If I were her lawyer, I would certainly be making the argument that it is inhumane to make her sit in jail through all that, after all this time, and all over again. The judge just might be sympathetic to that. Advertisement The letter stated, In particular, the juror has described being a victim of sexual abuse. Assuming the accuracy of the reporting, the juror asserted that he flew through the prospective juror questionnaire and does not recall being asked whether he had been a victim of sexual abuse, but stated that he would have answered honestly. The letter signed off by all four prosecutors asked for a hearing to be scheduled within the month. But Maxwell's lawyers have insisted that no investigation is necessary, calling instead for a new trial and claiming that the statements that both jurors have now made publicly across multiple news outlets are 'incontrovertible grounds' for a mistrial. Judge Alison Nathan has stated that she will hear briefings from all parties as the high-profile prosecution hovers on the brink of implosion. A date is yet to be determined. Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Insider that David and the second jurors' decision to speak out was, 'absolutely the last thing you want when you get a guilty verdict. It's an absolute disaster.' Maxwell was convicted on five out of six counts of sexual trafficking in a verdict that came at the end of the fifth day of deliberations and proceedings that lasted four weeks. If the convictions stand, the 60-year-old ex-socialite faces up to 65 years in prison. But now, according to Rahmani, 'This entire conviction may get tossed and we may have to retry the case.' The admission by the jurors pose two potential issues perjury, or lying under oath and prejudice, or a preconceived opinion that may have improperly swayed the jury. According to Maxwell's lawyers it makes no difference whether either or both jurors deliberately or simply mistakenly failed to correctly answer the juror questionnaire when asked, 'Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault? (This includes actual or attempted sexual assault or other unwanted sexual advance, including by a stranger, acquaintance, supervisor, teacher, or family member).' There were three boxes to tick by way of answer: Yes (self), Yes (friend or family member) and No. The US Attorney General has requested an investigation into Scotty David's public admission that he 'flew through' the juror questionnaire and 'could not remember' revealing that he had been a victim of sexual abuse Questioned by DailyMail.com David could remember only a question relating to friends or family members and colored up when pressed about any answer relating to his own sexual history. According to former Federal Prosecutor David S Weinstein, now a partner in Miami based law firm Jones Walker, all jurors may now be interviewed and specifically the two jurors who have shared their stories publicly. He has now rejected prosecutors' offer to appoint counsel for him and has hired his own lawyer, Todd Spodek, who represented 'fake heiress' Anna Sorokin He said that the admissions would not necessarily be considered automatic grounds for a mistrial but that it would, at the very least, be 'an arrow in the quiver' for Maxwell's appeal. He said, 'There's going to be a record of whether or not he was asked that question, what his answer was, whether there were any follow up questions. Maxwell's lawyer will have this questionnaire and they will go back to it.' DailyMail.com has already established that whatever David answered on the questionnaire it did not elicit any follow up questions at the interview or 'voir dire' stage of jury selection. David told DailyMail.com, 'It was never raised. We went in front of the judge and there were all the lawyers in the room and that's where they asked me some questions. They asked me what I do, what I like to do for fun and if I can be fair and impartial. It was literally like 30 seconds long and then I was out of the room.' Conversely when he shared his story in the jury room on day three of deliberations, he recalled 'the room went silent.' According to David his own sharing led a second juror to share their story. His experience, he said, allowed him to better understand the victims who testified and parlay that into a better understanding in jurors who were not convinced of the victims' credibility. Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell say they have 'incontrovertible' grounds for a mistrial after a juror openly admitted that he was a survivor of sexual abuse and had discussed it during deliberations According to Weinstein lawyers will want to know if he answered 'no' to the question about being a sexual assault victim whether it was inadvertent or intentional. He said, 'Was this something that was done intentionally to hide the fact that was what he was? If he says I didn't do it intentionally maybe he say I got this big questionnaire and ticked these boxes. I made a mistake. I didn't come in wanting to be on the jury.' David told DailyMail.com that he was 'quite excited' to be selected for jury duty and that when he discovered that he had been called for selection for the Maxwell trial he was, 'shocked.' He said, 'I thought this is incredible. If I get selected for this that would be an honor.' He added, 'I honestly didn't know much about her or Jeffery Epstein going into it. I didn't know who Jeffery Epstein was until he died.' During the trial Scotty, who works in finance, was seated in the third row of the jury box, in the back corner. From his vantage point, he said, he had a vista of the entire court and the 'perfect view' of Maxwell herself If Maxwell's lawyer were aware of David and the second juror's history and failed to pick up on it, or to consider its possible implications, Weinstein pointed out, 'that's on them.' He said, 'Being a victim of sexual abuse doesn't disqualify you from being a jurorEven if it did influence the way the jury voted, they're not asking people to put aside they're life experience during deliberations. 'They're asking them to use that to determine proof beyond reasonable doubt and apply it to the facts.' But while Weinstein took the view that the revelations did not automatically mean the tossing of Maxwell's verdict or a retrial he admitted, 'This is certainly another arrow in the quiver of the defense team. It's a bit of a bombshell.' Advertisement Taiwanese troops and armoured vehicles were deployed Thursday for a mock urban street battle in the latest drill preparing forces against China, which has long vowed to take the island. On Thursday, soldiers from two platoons faced off in a simulated battle in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, firing at each other from houses and sandbag barricades as tanks rolled down a street in a mock-up town complete with signs for pharmacies and beer brands. One soldier was seen throwing an aerosol bomb outside a fake O'Donoghues pub, sending pink smoke bellowing into the air, while dummy bodies of 'dead soldiers' were seen laying on the ground. Democratic Taiwan lives under constant threat of an invasion by its authoritarian superpower neighbour China, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be seized one day - by force if necessary. Beijing has ramped up military drills and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen - who regards the island as a sovereign nation - came to power in 2016. Much of this has focused on urban warfare, which has become an increasingly key training subject for the military. On Thursday, soldiers from two platoons in Taiwan faced off in a simulated battle, firing at each other from houses and sandbag barricades as tanks rolled down a street in a mock-up town complete with signs for pharmacies and beer brands Soldier with machine gun takes aim during military drill in Taiwan Urban warfare has become an increasingly key training subject for the military (Pictured: Taiwanese soldiers break a door for an assault against enemies , during an Army Preparedness Enhancement Drill) Soldiers participate in a military exercise simulating an invasion by China, organized by Taiwan's Army Infantry Training Command, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Pictured: A dummy soldier lays dead on the floor in the mock-up town created for the drill) Taiwan is bracing for more Chinese military patrols this year, after Peoples Liberation Army incursions more than doubled in 2021, fueling concern about a clash Taiwanese soldiers form a circle by placing their hands on each others' shoulders before they take part in a demonstration at an army base in Kaohsiung A soldier with a machine gun in position, during the Army Preparedness Enhancement Drill A soldier donning sunglasses throws an aerosol bomb Soldiers kitted out in military gear are seen brandishing huge and heavy weapons while waiting in position Soldiers with face coverings stand ready with machine guns near a CM-34 armoured vehicle Soldiers brandishing machine guns march in procession alongside a CM-34 armoured vehicle Soldier removes a safety pin of an aerosol bomb before throwing it Soldier dons face covering and glasses as he holds huge machine gun in Taiwan Soldiers are briefed while participating in a military exercise simulating an invasion by China in Kaohsiung, Taiwan 'Any future battle to protect Taiwan will be an urban warfare,' Kiwi Yang, an instructor at Army Infantry School, told reporters, noting most of Taiwan's 23 million people live in cities. 'The Chinese communist troops' battle plans will be invading and landing firstly from coastal towns, then the fighting will progress into more populated residential and commercial areas and lastly push into mountainous villages,' he added. With mountain ranges, changeable weather and limited beach landings, invading Taiwan would be a Herculean challenge for any military. For decades analysts largely concurred that China simply could not pull it off but Beijing has dramatically closed the gap in recent years. Sabre-rattling towards Taiwan has increased considerably under President Xi Jinping, China's most authoritarian leader in a generation unafraid to flex the country's geopolitical muscle. Meanwhile, Chinese warplanes are making historically high levels of incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone and fears among Western allies are growing that Beijing could order an invasion, even if they consider it unlikely for now. Taiwan Air Force pilots run past a F-16V fighter jet during a military training exercise in Chiayi County, Taiwan, on Wednesday, January 5 F-16V jet fighters taxis on the runway for an emergency takeoff training at the Air Force base An F-16V jet fighter taxies on the runway for an emergency takeoff training at the Air Force base in Chiayi, Taiwan, as the Taiwanese military holds a drill for preparedness enhancement ahead of the Chinese New Year, amid rising threats from China Taiwanese soldiers pictured on the move during the wargames drill on Thursday Tanks roll in on the practice street battle amid pink smoke set off by aerosol bombs CM-34 armoured vehicles approach the mock-up town Soldiers infiltrate the mock city, which was set up for the military drill A platoon of soldiers stand guard with machine guns in hand Soldiers take aim from the rooftop during the military drill on Thursday Soldiers take physical training, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Thursday, January 6 Taiwanese soldiers take part in a demonstration at an army base in Kaohsiung Soldiers ignite a device for door explosion during the drill A soldier throws an aerosol bomb as troops move through the purposefully built urban area The city put up signs for shops and pharmacies to make the drill as realistic as possible Taiwan recorded incursions by around 970 Chinese military aircraft last year, according to a database compiled by AFP, more than double some 380 carried out in 2020. Taiwan's Air Force also held military drills on Wednesday, involving its F-16V fighter jets. China has also publicised multiple military drills simulating an invasion of the island. Last month, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) deployed hundreds of troops and dozens of tanks in a mock street combat to seize Taiwan, according to Chinese state television CCTV. A team representing the PLA took the city in just under three hours after removing landmines, roadblocks and other obstacles posed by the opposing team, the report said. The wounded partner of slain Illinois police officer Marlene Rittmanic is still fighting for his life in the hospital and is 'far from out of the woods', according to his family. Tyler Bailey was shot in the head along with Rittmanic when Darrius Sullivan, a 25-year-old career criminal, and his pregnant 26-year-old girlfriend Xandria Harris emerged from their room. The officers knocked on the door of their room at the Comfort Inn in Bradley, Illinois, for 14 minutes before Harris cracked the door open, only enough to slip through while still protecting Sullivan inside, on December 30. The two police officers were responding to a call about the couple's barking dogs which they'd left in their car in the parking lot of the motel but Sullivan is the subject of multiple arrest warrants. When he finally swung the door open, Sullivan was brandishing a 9mm handgun. He first shot Bailey in the head then chased Rittmanic down the hall and shot her in multiple times while she lay on the ground begging for her life. Tyler Bailey was shot in the head along with Marlene Rittmanic (right) when Darrius Sullivan, a 25-year-old career criminal, and his pregnant 26-year-old girlfriend Xandria Harris emerged from their room. Bailey is still in the hospital and Rittmanic died Bailey is shown with his wife, Sydney. On Wednesday, his family said he was 'far from being out of the woods'. Courtesy of mmhphotos.com He and Harris then went on the run. They were arrested on December 31 and are now both facing the death penalty. Bailey was also shot in the head but he survived and was taken to the hospital where he remains. In a statement last night, his family said he is 'far from out of the woods'. 'While we are not able to go into specific details about the severity of Tyler's condition, we can certainly say that without the surgical intervention, Tyler would not have survived the remainder of the day on December 30. 'After the procedure, we are cautiously optimistic about beginning discussions for Tyler's recovery over the short term, although he is far from out of the woods at this point. Darius Sullivan started shooting at the two officers as soon as his pregnant girlfriend Xandria Harris opened the door of their hotel room. The pair now face the death penalty. The cops had been called because they'd left their dogs in their car and the animals were barking Sullivan's rap sheet starts in June 2014, when he was 19 years old Rittmanic, left, is pictured with her wife, Lyn Stua and their rescue dogs. Her funeral is on Friday 'Since the surgery, Tyler has continued to fight for his life. He is stable but remains in very critical condition,' they said in the statement that was issued online by Illinois State Police. Rittmanic's funeral has been scheduled for Friday in Boubonnais, Illinois. There is growing fury about the fact that Sullivan, who has been arrested 21 times since 2014, was even on the street. The shooting took place at the Comfort Inn on Illinois' Highway 50 Members of the Bradley Police Department stand by as fallen Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic is taken into the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais, Illinois on Thursday, December 30 Bradey Police Lt. Philip Trudeau, left, comforts Bourbonnais Police officer Andy Cox following a ceremonial procession for fallen Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic on Thursday, December 30 He was the subject of an arrest warrant for battery dating back to last May, but it's unclear what the details of that case are. Prosecutors are demanding that the pair be sentenced to death for the 'cold blooded' murder of Sergeant Rittmanic. They have been charged by state prosecutors so far, who cannot seek the death penalty in state court because Illinois has no death penalty. Federal prosecutors can however seek it as a punishment if they bring charges against the pair. It remains to be seen if that will happen. The state's case will go to a grand jury on January 22. The next court appearance for either of the pair is on January 27, when Xandria Harris is due before a judge. Prosecutors have today dropped a murder charge against the husband of a mother-of-five who was found drowned in a lake. Andrius Vengalis, 46, was accused of killing Lithuanian-born Egle Vengaliene, 35, by holding her under the water at Brandon Country Park, Suffolk, in April last year. A court heard a witness had initially told police how he had seen Mr Vengalis, who lived near the 30-acre park with his wife, 'pumping up and down' on Mrs Vengaliene in the water. The witness later clarified his account and said he believed he had seen Mr Vengalis attempting to resuscitate her after pulling her out of the lake. A judge said prosecutors faced 'alternative scenarios' - that Mr Vengelis 'throttled and submerged his wife' or was 'attempting to save her'. But a post-mortem, reviewed by two pathologists, could not determine whether Mrs Vengaliene was unlawfully killed, had taken her own life or whether her death was accidental. He also said there had been material to suggest Mrs Vengaliene may have had undiagnosed mental health issues. Today, at Ipswich Crown Court, prosecutors offered no evidence in the case and a not guilty verdict was recorded by Judge Martyn Levett. He said that Mr Vengalis, who lived with his wife in Brandon, could now be released from custody. Mr Vengalis is thought to have been held in custody for some nine months, since his arrest last April. Andrius Vengalis, 46, was accused of killing Lithuanian-born Egle Vengaliene (pictured), 35, by holding her under the water at Brandon Country Park, Suffolk, in April last year A court heard a witness had initially told police how he had seen Mr Vengalis (pictured here with Mrs Vengaliene), who lived near to the 30-acre park with his wife, 'pumping up and down' on Mrs Vengaliene in the water The court heard a Royal Mail parcel delivery driver saw Ms Vengaliene walking into the woods at Brandon Country Park at 3.30am on April 9 last year. Judge Levett said: She walked in and then out again without attracting any attention. 'It was dark and she didnt have a torch to light her way: she didnt ask for help, she was wearing a striped T shirt but there was nothing about her demeanour which would have caused concern except for the time of day. Prudently the lorry driver turned back to check on her welfare, but she couldnt be found. 'There was no sound, no light, and no noise of any scream or rustling when the lorry driver searched for her. Two hours later at 5.15am care workers at the Brandon Park nursing home overlooking the lake, saw Ms Vengaliene tap on the window. Judge Martyn Levett said Mr Vengalis (pictured), who lived with his wife in Brandon, could now be released from custody Judge Levett added: She wasnt injured, she was smiling, she waved, but she looked cold and damp. 'She mouthed the words Help me, but due to Covid restrictions she was not allowed refuge in the home. The court heard how care workers from the home saw her again at 5.45am and spoke to her, but she declined help. Staff decided to call the police who searched the area and couldnt find her. A member of the public was walking around the lake at 7am the same day when he heard screams, possibly from a man. Judge Levett said: He saw in the distance a male pumping up and down in the water. 'His account was made more clear later and indicated that from what he could see was a man performing CPR on a lady in the water. He later said that he thought that the defendant was pulling the woman out of the water and doing CPR compressions. Her death was certified at 7.42am. Judge Levett said a first post-mortem examination was unable to identify the cause of death but a pathologist later said Ms Vengaliene had drowned. He added: This early opinion formed the basis of the prosecutions case which was therefore presented as Mr Vangelis as the defendant, was seen trying to submerge and drown his wife. The eyewitness account of the member of the public neutralised that allegation to suggest an alternative proposition that the defendant was pulling his wife out of the lake and performing CPR on her chest when thigh deep in water. There were alternative scenarios: either, Mr Vangelis was acting unlawfully by throttling and submerging his wife causing her death by drowning or Mr Vangelis was acting as the Good Samaritan, rescuing and attempting to save his wifes life. Judge Levett said criminal cases were built on evidence and prosecutions failed when there was insufficient evidence to prove a case. He said post mortem evidence had been considered by two pathologists and neither report had provided a real answer to the allegation about any unlawful act done by the defendant. A post-mortem, reviewed by two pathologists, could not determine whether Mrs Vengaliene was unlawfully killed, had taken her own life or whether her death was accidental. Pictured: Police at the scene in April last year Judge Levett added that there was unused material in the case which might suggest some undiagnosed mental health issues. He said that Vengalis who lived with his wife in Brandon could now be released from custody. Edmund Burge QC, prosecuting, told the court that the decision to offer no evidence had been taken following a thorough review of the case. He said: All reasonable lines of inquiry have been made by the police and the conclusion was that there is no realistic prospect of conviction. Vengalis was arrested five hours after his wifes body was found and was charged with her murder three days later. Ms Vengaliene who was originally from the city of Rokiskis in Lithuania, but had lived in the UK for around seven years, according to friends. Her family said in a tribute Egle Vengaliene, at the age of only 35-years-old, passed away on 9th April, 2021. She was loving, caring and devoted to her family, radiating optimism, cheerfulness and positive energy and believing in her familys bright future. She leaves behind five of her children, who will have to grow up without their mothers love and will always long and mourn their mother. Protect your children from heaven and rest in peace. A friend described her as a a good mother and a pretty woman as well as a beloved daughter and sister. Vengalis was arrested five hours after his wifes body was found at Brandon Country Park (pictured) and was charged with her murder three days later A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: 'The CPS has carefully reviewed material provided by Suffolk Police relating to an allegation of murder. 'We have concluded our test for bringing a prosecution is not met and there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. 'As a result, we will not be taking any further action in this case. Our thoughts remain with the family of Egle Vengaliene at this sad and difficult time.' The stepmother of missing seven-year-old Harmony Montgomery has pleaded not guilty to a felony count of welfare fraud after being accused of collecting $1,500 worth of food stamps in the child's name for a year after her disappearance. Kayla Montgomery, 31, a mother-of-three from Manchester, New Hampshire, was arraigned in Hillsborough County Superior Court on Thursday, a day after her arrest. On Tuesday, Montgomery's estranged husband - and Harmony's father - Adam Montgomery was picked up in Manchester on charges of assault for allegedly punching his daughter in the face, as well as interference with custody and endangering the welfare of a child related to his daughter's disappearance two years ago. During Kayla's court hearing, a prosecutor asked the presiding judge to set her bail at $5,000, pointing out her past criminal record, including convictions on misdemeanor charges of drug possession, theft and making a false report, and arguing she is a flight risk. Montgomery's defense attorney asked the judge to release her on her own recognizance, stressing that she has strong ties to Manchester and three children, ages one, two and four, with whom she has been living in a shelter since July. The judge ultimately sided with the prosecution and set Montgomery's bail at $5,000. As of Thursday afternoon, she remained in custody at the Hillsborough County Jail, officials confirmed to DailyMail.com. A probable cause statement obtained by DailyMail.com alleges that Kayla obtained $1,500 in food stamps from December 2019 to June 2021 for Harmony, who is not her biological daughter, even though the girl was no longer living with her and Adam during that time. Kayla was quoted as telling police last week that she had last seen Harmony in November or December 2019, before her husband dropped her off at work. Kayla Montgomery, 31, missing Harmony Montgomery's stepmother, appears in Hillsborough County Superior Court in New Hampshire for her arraignment on Thursday Montgomery pleaded not guilty to a felony count of welfare fraud for collecting $1,500 in food stamps in the name of the seven-year-old Harmony Montgomery was arrested on Wednesday, more than two years after last seeing Harmony Harmony Montgomery, pictured as a 5-year-old, has not been seen in two years and police are still looking for her 'Adam said that he was driving [Harmony] back to Crystal who was living in Lowell, MA, at the time,' the affidavit states, referring to the girl's birth mother, Crystal Sorey. 'Kayla claimed she never saw, or heard about [Harmony] after that day.' Sorey has denied having Harmony in her care, telling police she has not seen her daughter in two years and has been trying to track her down. Kayla also told police she hadnt seen Adam since October and had not spoken to him since November. Kayla's husband and Harmony father, Adam Montgomery, 31, has been charged with assault, interference with custody and endangering the welfare of a chil A 'change report' submitted by Kayla Montgomery for food stamps on February 25, 2019 three days after her husband received legal custody of Harmony said Harmony 'is now currently living with us full-time. She is 4 years old and permanently blind in one eye, she was born like that,' according to the police document. As of January 2021, further food stamp paperwork indicated her household consisted of two married adults and four children, 'three in common and all claimed as tax dependents.' A case worker had added a note saying Kayla Montgomery 'seemed confused about whether or not Harmony lived there because (she) goes to her moms every other weekend,' according to the document. When police pressed Kayla about receiving food stamps for Harmony for over a year after the child's last sighting, 'Kayla 'acknowledged receiving those benefits knowingly,' the affidavit stated. The mom-of-three claimed that she had tried to remove Harmony from her New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Division of Family Assistance account but was unsuccessful. But a Manchester police detective claimed that based on a review of case management documents, 'Kayla did not make any request or attempt to remove [Harmony] from her household account' until last summer. On June 2, 2021, an account change report noted that case management for Harmony was closed, stating that 'client said she moved back with her mother and to remove her from her case,' the document said. Harmony was reported missing by her biological mother in November and still has not been found. Manchester police set up a 24-hour tip line this week and offered $60,000 in rewards in an effort to find Harmony Montgomery. They said they were working to find her with the state Division for Children, Youth and Families and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 'An innocent child is unaccounted for and we are working tirelessly to get the answers needed to locate her,' police said in a news release about the increased donations being offered by local businesses. Kayla and Adam Montgomery (pictured together) have three young children together Kayla claimed she last saw Harmony, then aged 5, before her husband, Adam Montgomery, said he was driving the child back to her mother in November 2019. Yet, the woman allegedly continued collecting food stamps in the girl's name for more than a year An arrest affidavit filed in Adam Montgomery's case alleges that the father, who has a history of criminal offenses in two states and drug abuse, punched Harmony in the face and gave her a black eye in July 2021 - just six months after New Hampshire's child protective services handed him custody of his daughter. Montgomery's uncle quoted Adam as telling him of the beating: 'I bashed her around this house,' according to the filing. He also would allegedly spank his daughter on her buttocks, force her to stand in a corner for hours and make her scrub the toilet with her own toothbrush. Montgomery's uncle, Kevin Montgomery, told police he reported the 2019 assault to the Department of Children of Children Youth and Their Families (DCYF), but it is unclear whether his complaint was ever investigated by the agency. The portion of the affidavit pertaining to that incident has been redacted. An investigation was launched only after Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, called the Manchester Police Department on November 18, saying that her daughter was missing and that she had not seen her since April 2019 on a FaceTime call. 'Crystal recalled that [Harmony] seemed frightened,' according to the affidavit. Harmony was described as four-feet tall and weighs 50-pounds. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and wears glasses because she is blind in her right eye Harmony, right, pictured with her younger brother, Jamison, was reported missing only in November 2021 by her mother Sorey explained that she had lost custody of Harmony in July 2018 because she was a drug addict, and she said that Montgomery also had struggled with substance abuse problems. Boston 25 reported that Harmony and her younger brother, Jamison, spent their early years in foster care, but that in February 2019, DCYF placed Harmony in her father's custody, while her brother was adopted by a TV reporter. Records cited by the station revealed that Montgomery has a vast criminal history dating back to 2007 in New Hampshire, including charges of burglary, stalking and first-degree assault. In Massachusetts , he was charged in 2014 with armed robbery and assault with intent to murder during a drug deal, but the charges were later downgraded. Beginning on December 27, police in Manchester made repeated attempts to track down Montgomery and other family members to establish the last time Harmony was seen. Three days later, a detective interviewed Montgomery's brother, Michael Montgomery, who raised concerns about Harmony's safety. 'Michael recalled that Adam was "super short" with the child, and he learned through other family members that Adam had given [Harmony] a black eye,' according to the affidavit.' On New Year's Eve, Montgomery's uncle, Kevin Montgomery, told police that has not seen his nephew or Harmony since late 2019. 'However, Kevin had first-hand knowledge of the child's eye injury from 2019,' the court document alleges. The uncle told police that he returned to Manchester in July 2019 after a trip to Florida and observed Harmony with a black eye, prompting his call to DCYF. Kevin Montgomery said that Adam told him that he had punched Harmony, saying of the incident: 'I bashed her around this house.' According to the uncle, Montgomery explained to him that he had left Harmony, then aged 5, in charge of her infant brother while he was in the bathroom. Montgomery (left) is accused of punching Harmony in the face and giving her a black eye in July 2021. Multiple relatives observed the then-5-year-old with the eye injury at the time Crystal Sorey (right) had lost custody of Harmony in 2018 because of her drug addiction When the baby started crying, Montgomery said he came out of the bathroom to find Harmony with her hand clamped over her brother's mouth to stop him from crying. 'Adam told Kevin that he responded by striking [Harmony] in the face and causing the black eye,' according to the affidavit. The uncle told police he believed his nephew had relapsed on drugs around that time. He also recalled Harmony being spanked, forced to stand in the corner for hours, 'and Adam ordering [her] to scrub the toilet with her toothbrush.' On the same day, detectives interviewed Montgomery's estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, who recalled seeing Harmony with a black eye, but she said Adam told her that it was one of their children who had hit the girl with a toy. Hours later, police found Montgomery sleeping with his girlfriend in a car parked near Harvell Street in Manchester. 'During our roadside interview with Adam, he made some contradictory statements during our interaction which raised our suspicion and concern for [Harmony's] well-being,' police stated in the filing. Montgomery initially told a detective that his daughter was 'fine' and he had seen her somewhat recently. But as the conversation progressed, the 31-year-old allegedly admitted that he had not seen Harmony since he claimed her mother came to pick her up around Thanksgiving 2019. Detectives repeatedly pressed Montgomery on Harmony's whereabouts, to which he was said to have replied, 'I have nothing else to say' and 'If I'm not under arrest, I'm leaving.' The 31-year-old had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf by his lawyer. He has been jailed without bail. How the unions are ignoring or changing Government guidance in schools Vaccinations Department for Education: Recommend all school staff and eligible pupils take up the offer of a vaccine. National Education Union: All school staff are urged to get fully vaccinated and encourage unjabbed colleagues to do. Staff should get paid time off to have jabs if needed. Ventilation DfE: Identify any poorly ventilated spaces and take steps to improve fresh air flow in these areas. NEU: If ventilation is not good enough and cannot be improved in classrooms, reduce the number of people in the room, the length of time groups spend in the room, or temporarily vacate it. Face coverings DfE: Recommend that face coverings should be worn by pupils in Year 7 or above, staff and adult visitors when in classrooms as well as moving around the premises in corridors and communal areas. NEU: Must be worn by pupils and staff in secondary communal areas and by primary staff in communal areas. Social distancing DfE: No longer recommend that it is necessary to keep children in consistent groups or 'bubbles'. Assemblies can take place. No alternative arrangements to avoid mixing at lunch are required. NEU: Reintroduce measures to minimise mixing and do not adopt DfE guidance to consider combining classes to address staff shortages. Whole school or year group assemblies should be avoided. Testing and isolation DfE: Staff and secondary school pupils to test twice weekly at home, three to four days apart. NEU: Strongly encourage testing for all staff and pupils at least twice weekly. Consider texting test reminders to parents twice a week. Staff shortages DfT: School leaders are 'best placed to determine the workforce required to meet the needs of their pupils' but should consider combining classes NEU: Teachers at a school other than supply workers should be expected only to cover for absence in 'circumstances that are not foreseeable'. Advertisement MPs today urged ministers to 'get a grip' on the teaching unions and stop them putting children in a 'pandemic straitjacket' after members were told to dismiss Government guidance and impose their own stricter rules. The National Education Union has urged headteachers not to combine classes if there are staff absences - despite Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi telling them to, it has emerged. Government guidance also states that pupils should only stay home if they have tested positive for Covid or have symptoms. But union chiefs have told teachers to extend this to students who have a family member who is ill with the virus. These children can only return when they have received a negative PCR result. The NEU's document is backed by the National Association of Schoolmasters as well as Unite, GMB and Unison, who also represent teachers and staff. Prominent Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen, who represents North West Leicestershire, said: 'Who is speaking up for the children? Nadhim Zahawi needs to get a grip and have a strong word with the unions and remind them that they are working in public service.' Liz Cole of the parent campaign group UsForThem told the Telegraph: 'It's incredible to see these unions suggest something that goes so far beyond what the Government has required for schools. This is desperately unfair to children and plunges them back into a pandemic straitjacket.' Conservative MP Steve Brine, a Tory MP said: 'This is the drip, drip of getting some people to the place they always wanted to be and it's the children who lose out. As we are seeing with schools and we've seen throughout other areas, it's not the law and the rules which do the damage, it's the signals sent. Ministers give an inch and a mile is taken.' The Department for Education (DfE) suggested 'combining classes', and said teachers infected with Covid could 'deliver lessons from home', which are then streamed to pupils in supervised classrooms. But a NEU briefing document seen says that this should not happen because it will 'increase virus transmission' and teachers should not be 'routinely expected' to teach classes, other than their own. The document says: 'Cover is not an effective use of a teacher's time and collapsing/combining classes is not only cover, but increasing the numbers of pupils in classrooms, or having large numbers of pupils in halls, will also only serve to increase transmission of the virus.' On Sunday, an email from the DfE advised headteachers that they may wish to use existing teaching, temporary and support staff 'more flexibly' where required to ensure schools remain open amid staffing issues. It added: 'As pupils do not need to be kept in consistent groups, you may wish to consider combining classes.' Pupils are returning to class this week, with new advice for secondary school pupils in England to wear face masks in lessons due to a rise in Covid-19 cases. Secondary school and college students are also being encouraged to test on site before returning to class. Ian Bauckham, the chair of Ofqual, has suggested that schools may need to suspend 'specialist' subjects like music to cope with staff absences. In a case study posted on a DfE portal for heads, Mr Bauckham added that two or more classes could be 'combined and taught by a single teacher' in a larger space as an alternative to remote learning in the event of high staff absences. The Department for Education (DfE) had told headteachers they may want to consider 'combining classes' in the event of staff shortages to keep face-to-face teaching in place. Pictured: Year 10 students wear face masks in lessons at Park Lane Academy in Halifax What testing measures are in place for the return of secondary schools? All secondary schools have been asked to provide one on-site test for pupils ahead of their return to the classroom this term to help reduce the transmission of Covid-19. Schools and colleges ordered tests before Christmas and have received these in advance of pupils returning. Pictured: Covid tests at Park Lane Academy in Halifax Government education chiefs say they will continue to be able to order additional tests through a separate supply route. Meanwhile, students returning to university have also been advised to test before they travel back to campus. Secondary, college and university students and education staff and early years staff are advised to continue to test themselves twice a week. They will be asked to test more frequently in the event of an outbreak. Source: Gov.uk Advertisement He wrote: 'Where pupils in a year group are in any case in contact with each other in different classes for different subjects, or in informal social time, then it should not be a concern to bring classes together as envisaged here.' But the coalition of education unions says measures to 'minimise mixing' - such as keeping groups as consistent as possible - should be reintroduced in schools, and whole year group assemblies should be avoided. A spokeswoman for the NEU said: 'There are established ways of coping when teachers are absent. These include employing supply staff and for shorter periods asking HLTAs (higher level teaching assistants) to take classes. 'All of these routes must be exhausted before there is any consideration of mixing classes. There are clear risks with combining classes leading to more mixing, more spread of the virus and therefore more disruption. 'Practically this is also not a solution open to all schools. England has one of the most overcrowded school sites in the developed world. There is simply not the space in many school buildings to combine classes. 'Education staff are already in greater danger of being infected by Covid-19 than any other profession. 'Government should be doing everything it can to suppress Covid-19 transmission in schools, not making recommendations which are likely to lead to greater spread of the virus and more education disruption.' A DfE spokeswoman said: 'It is our priority to retain face-to-face learning and the benefits it brings pupils. 'We understand that some schools and colleges might find it difficult to run their usual timetable if high numbers of staff are absent, which is why we are supporting schools to put in place appropriate contingency measures. 'It would be for individual schools to consider if it was appropriate to merge classes, but we're clear face-to-face learning is the priority.' Unions could CRIPPLE Britain with new Covid rules: Staff told they can take 28 days off WITHOUT sick note under latest measures to help vaccine rollout Unions are telling public sector workers they can now take 28 days off work without a sick note as a result of new Covid rules. There are fears the new rule, which was introduced so GPs were free to administer vaccines, will be abused by workers looking to stay home. Public sector union Unison told its members: 'The UK Government has made a temporary change to the provision of 'fit notes' until January 27 2022. 'If you go off sick on or after December 10 2021, employers can only ask employees for proof of sickness (such as a fit note) after 28 days of sickness (including non-working days).' Unions are telling public sector workers they can now take 28 days off work without a sick note as a result of new Covid rules. Pictured: A deserted Waterloo Station at 8.15am Tuesday MPs have urged the Government to reverse the rule over concerns it could be abused at a time when the UK is facing staffing crisis. Pictured: Overflowing bins in the Walton area of Liverpool Circulating the update to its 1.4million members, it added that 'proof of sickness cannot be requested earlier than 28 days'. Before the rule change, anyone who needed to stay off work with an illness for more than a week was required to produce a sick note from their GP. The rule change has come when the Government is also introducing changes to testing and isolation rules. From January 11 anyone who tests positive for Covid using a lateral flow test at home will not need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. MPs have called for the Government to reverse the rule over fears it could cripple the country if more people are allowed to stay home from work, according to the Telegraph. Around 1.3million Britons are currently thought to be languishing under house arrest as the NHS, rail services and bin collections all buckle under the weight of staff absences. With 183,000 Brits being sent into isolation every day on average, the situation is expected to get worse before it gets better. There are growing calls from experts, businesses and even NHS leaders themselves to cut self-isolation to five days to avoid paralysing the economy and disrupting vital services. Train services and bin collections are also grinding to a halt as the virus spreads, while schools are warning that they may not have enough teachers in work to run their normal timetables. Brendan Clarke-Smith, a Conservative MP on the education select committee, told the Telegraph he believed the rule was 'open to abuse' particularly in sectors 'where we can't really afford for that to happen'. He added: 'There is a debate to be had about the 28 days that is quite a long period for someone to be off for, and in terms of what that will do to the workforce. Sir John Hayes, a Conservative MP and former minister, told the paper: 'That may have been necessary during the period where we were getting the booster out quickly, but we certainly need to review it as soon as possible.' Pictured: NHS trusts across England have declared 'critical incidents' indicating that they may be unable to deliver vital care to patients in the coming weeks due to the staffing crisis More than 20 NHS trusts have now declared a 'critical incident' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by the rapid spread of Omicron, as medics called for infection control rules to be loosened to increase capacity. The Prime Minister's official spokesperson said more than 20 of England's 137 trusts 15 per cent of the entire health service have signalled they may not be able to deliver vital care in the coming weeks. But the spokesperson stressed the alert level is 'not a good indicator' of the pressures the health service was under because it only provides a snapshot in time. Hospitals have cancelled operations and the Prime Minister yesterday revealed plans are being drawn up to call in the Army if the crisis continues to worsen. Some non-urgent operations at 17 hospitals across Greater Manchester was called off, as health chiefs said 15 per cent of their staff were stuck at home with Covid. Unison said it was only circulating rules that the Government had introduced to ensure its members were aware of the change in legislation. Jon Richards, the assistant general secretary of Unison, said: 'These temporary rules were of the Government's making to relieve pressure on GPs. 'Public sector employees have been keeping essential services running throughout the pandemic. 'Most have had no option to work from home, putting them at higher risk of illness as they continue to go into their workplaces. 'Woeful levels of sick pay mean many public sector staff would rather not be off work.' A Colorado family lost everything twice in the span of a week after the few personal items they had salvaged from their home before escaping the Marshall fire were stolen by a heartless thief who swiped their SUV. Nikki and Ryan Fazio and their children, aged 5 and 7, rushed to their home in Louisville to save their pets and some personal items, including treasured family photos, before the fire turned their house to ash just before the new year. They packed five boxes and two bins with pictures inside their 2002 red Denali SUV and headed to a hotel, where they found refuge amid the heartache. But on Tuesday, they were stripped of their remaining possessions when someone stole their SUV parked outside a Hampton Inn in Westminster. The shell-shocked wife relayed her horror at finding the precious keepsakes gone in an emotional plea on GoFundMe, begging whoever stole the car to at least return the pictures. 'I was outside with the kids until 10:30am and it was still there. When we walked out at 12 to go meet with FEMA the car was gone. Were trying to find some meaning in all this, and were very grateful for everyone helping so much,' Nikki Fazio said. Her husband added: 'We wouldn't even care if they kept the car as long as they just drop the photos off somewhere, because that is literally her entire life. We had all the photos and could only fit two boxes and now they are gone.' Nikki and Ryan Fazio and their children, aged 5 and 7, were struck by misfortune twice in the span of a week when their SUV with the few items they had salvaged from their home as they escaped the Marshall fire was stolen But on Tuesday, the Fazios experienced loss again when their 2002 Red Denali SUV, which had treasured family pictures inside, was stolen The family said they were not prepared to experience loss again after their house and everything they had built over weeks for Christmas was suddenly gone Nikki said she broke her foot over Christmas, and her husband lost most of the vision in his right eye The Fazios had been at lunch when they heard about the evacuation notice issued for their Rock Creek neighborhood on December 30 and immediately rushed to their home. About 20 minutes later, the fire department knocked on their door and told them they had to leave for their own safety. '[My wife] ran around the house like a champ, and I packed everything into a couple of bags and got everything else ready,' Ryan Fazio told Abc 7. 'And just within 20 minutes we got us, the kids, and the animals and got out of there.' Making matters worse, Nikki said she broke her foot over Christmas, and her husband lost most of the vision in his right eye. Among the few personal items they managed to save were pictures of Ryan's late mother, Roberta, which the family now fears may be lost forever. 'I just wish we still had Ryans moms photos back. We only made it out with two of the seven boxes, and they were in the car,' Nikki said. 'His mom is one of the reasons why I am such - of why I am a good mom. And it just breaks my heart. I honestly don't care about the car, even after losing everything, I just want to have some memories to give the kids,' she told NBC 9, tearing up. 'We made it out with our animals, five bags of personal items, and whatever we could shove in the car. But everything else was lost during the fire, including two cars. The next-door neighbor was able to walk the couple miles back and said the entire house is in a huge pile in the basement,' she added. Among the few personal items they had collected were pictures of Ryan's late mother, Roberta, which the family is the most afraid of forever losing. Above, Roberta with her grandchildren 'I just wish we still had Ryans moms photos back. We only made it out with two of the 7 boxes, and they were in the car,' Nikki said One of the Fazio children plays with his pet in front of the family's SUV before it was stolen on Tuesday The Fazios' SUV was parked outside a Hamton Inn in Westminster before it was stolen Police in Westminster opened an investigation into the car robbery and urged anybody with information about the crime to contact them. 'Everything that we have been building and collecting, we've been doing this for our family the last couple of years, and we had a nice house,' said Fazio. 'And now when you go back to it it is literally just a pile of ash.' The Marshall fire erupted in and around Louisville and Superior, neighboring towns about 20 miles northwest of Denver, charring a 9.4-square-mile swath of homes and businesses. Nearly 1,000 homes and other structures were destroyed and hundreds more were damaged after the wildfire whipped by hurricane-strength winds swept through the suburban area at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The Fazios' home was turned into ashes by the Marshall fire just before the new year The Marshall fire turned the Fazio's house into ashes just before the new year Colorado officials said nearly 1,000 homes and other structures were destroyed and hundreds more were damaged. The Fazios were evacuated by the fire department, but their home was not spared in the fire The Fazios home and two of their cars were destroyed by the Marshall fire. Days later, their SUV was stolen A GoFundMe page was set up to raise funds for the family as they get back on their feet. More than $20,000 out of the $40,000 goal has been raised The family said they were not prepared to experience loss again after their house and all the decorations they had put up in the weeks leading up to Christmas were suddenly gone. Their GoFundMe page has raised more than $20,000 out of the $40,000 goal as of Thursday. Denver police asked anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 720-913-7867. He was near the north Syrian border when he was caught by authorities in 2019 He flew from London to Istanbul and spent six months trying to get into Syria Mamun Rashid, who attempted to join jihadi camp, has been jailed for 12 years A wannabe terrorist who used his student loan and carer's allowance to fund his failed attempt to join a Syrian jihadi training camp has been jailed for 12 years. Mamun Rashid, from Whitechapel, east London, partly funded a terror plot with his student loan - but did not attend lectures or complete any coursework - and state benefits for being his mother's registered carer. Rashid, 28, flew from London to Istanbul in July 2018, where he spent six months hatching a plan to try and enter Syria to fight the government, Woolwich Crown Court heard. He was within walking distance of the north Syrian border when he was caught by Turkish authorities in February 2019, the court was told. Rashid pleaded guilty to one count of preparing acts of terrorism, having initially denied the offence upon being deported to the UK. His Honour Judge Andrew Lees on Thursday gave Rashid an extended sentence of 12 years and three months in prison, with a further five years on licence. Mamun Rashid (pictured), 28, from London, has been jailed for 12 years after using his student loan and carer's allowance to fund his failed attempt to join a Syrian jihadi training camp Speaking to Rashid, the judge said: 'When you were 23 years old you started corresponding with a friend about an 'amazing idea' you said Allah had given you. 'You described yourself as being 'crazy enough to go through with it' for the sake of Allah. 'You described yourself as having constant thoughts of dying in the cause of Allah. 'You lamented the plight of Muslims elsewhere in the world while you enjoyed the luxuries of your life in London. 'You said you felt like a hypocrite until Allah saved you, and that now you felt like a king.' The judge said he was unable to verify Rashid's claims in custody that he no longer had the same extremist mindset. Prosecutor Paul Jarvis said Rashid wanted to get into Syria, which has been mired in a civil war since 2011, to fight the government, which has been led by president Bashar Al Assad since 2000. He added: 'From his early twenties, he [Rashid] took an interest in the plight of Muslims in Syria, and blamed Bashar for their suffering.' Rashid, 28, spent six months in Istanbul hatching a plan to enter Syria to fight the government before being caught by Turkish authorities in 2019, Woolwich Crown Court (pictured) heard Mr Jarvis said Rashid began talking about his plans with others, telling one, 'I hope I can be the best martyr' before adding, 'I need to reach the blessed land'. Rashid was briefly kicked out of his family home by his father, who suspected him of being a terrorist, before relenting and allowing him to return, the court heard. He flew to Istanbul in July 2018 and spent several months trying to find a way into Syria. Rashid eventually caught a bus to Hatay Province, in the south-west of Turkey, where he was caught and detained for 282 days before being deported. Mr Jarvis said: 'But for his apprehension, it is very likely he would have carried out that intention of joining a terrorist group.' His defence team said Rashid had no plan to join Isis or any other specific terror organisation, describing his plan as 'staggeringly amateurish'. Rashid was handed an extended sentence of 12 years and three months in prison, with five years on licence. He will serve a minimum of two-thirds of his jail term in custody, before being released with conditions for the remainder of the sentence. His total sentence, including the extended licence period, will be 17 years and nine months. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic senators recounted their experiences on January 6 during floor speeches Thursday before the Senate held a moment of silence to observe the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack. Schumer recalled being 'within 30 feet of these nasty, racist, bigoted insurrectionists,' recalling footage that had been shared during former President Donald Trump's second impeachment of the New York Democrat's narrow escape. 'I was told later that one of them reportedly said, 'There's the big Jew, let's get him,'' said Schumer. 'Bigotry against one, is bigotry against all,' he added. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic senators recounted their experiences on January 6 during floor speeches Thursday before the Senate held a moment of silence to observe the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, presides over the Senate's moment of silence on the anniversary of January 6. Across the Capitol, the House of Representatives held a moment of silence at the same time In a security video shared during former President Donald Trump's second impeachment, Schumer can be seen being evacuated from the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 Schumer and his security detail can be seen running the opposite direction after encountering the MAGA mob during the January 6 insurrection The antisemitic anecdote was originally told to The New York Times in March. 'And I saw something that I've been told later never happened before - the Confederate flag flying in this dear Capitol,' Schumer continued. 'That's just one of many, searing grotesque images of this unimaginable, most un-American day,' he said. Democratic senators lined up to make floor speeches to mark the one-year anniversary. Many of their Republican counterparts were out of town for the funeral of the late Sen. Johnny Isakson. Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sent out a statement calling January 6 a 'dark day for Congress and our country,' but lambasting Democrats for trying to get voting rights legislation passed by tying the bills to the anniversary of the deadly attack. A number of Democratic senators referenced the voting rights bills - which are stuck in the upper chamber due to its filibuster rules - when they spoke on the floor Thursday. Schumer has pushed changing the filibuster rules to get the bills through. 'Senators should not be trying to exploit this anniversary to damage the Senate in a different way from within,' McConnell said. At noon, Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, was in the chair and announced the moment of silence. Across the Capitol, in the House chamber, lawmakers were holding their moment of silence as well. During her floor speech, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith called out a number of the GOP colleagues by name including Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Lindsey Graham When it was her turn to speak, Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, called out her Republican colleagues by name. Smith noted that in the aftermath of the insurrection 'some Republicans spoke the truth about the terrible tragedy of that day.' 'Senator McConnell said, and I quote, "The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,"' Smith said. 'Sen. Lindsey Graham, sitting right over there, declared in reference to the disgraced former president, "Count me out, enough is enough."' After President Joe Biden delivered remarks Thursday morning, Graham went after his speech in a tweet, calling it 'brazen politicization of January 6.' 'So for a moment, it seemed like we would unify in condemning the political violence incited by a president who had betrayed our fundamental democratic principles,' Smith said. 'But later that night Sen. Cruz, Sen. Hawley and six other senators, voted to overturn our free and fair elections, continuing down this reckless path.' Smith called out the GOP for continuing to push Trump's so-called 'big lie.' 'They claim that the people who stormed the Capitol with zip-ties and bludgeons were tourists. They've attempted to portray the violent insurgents as martyrs rather than domestic terrorists,' she said. 'And this is why today, 58 per cent of Republicans believe falsely that the election was stolen from President Trump.' Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy of Vermont recalled a law enforcement officer calling him 'Shamrock' on January 6. 'So many memories flooded back because Shamrock was a police codename for me when I was a recipient of a deadly Anthrax letter,' Leahy said During his time on the floor, Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy of Vermont the longest serving sitting member of the chamber spoke about visiting the Senate as a teenager and later as a law student before being sworn in in 1975. 'I never expected to become the dean of the Senate. A year ago I sat on the floor of the Senate as vice president Pence was announcing the certification of ballots,' he began. 'We were all in the Senate paying attention when suddenly officers came rushing on the floor Most of us I remember looking around you we were wondering what was happening? Until I saw a few feet from me, I saw a man wearing a vest that said 'Police.' On the Senate floor he was carrying a submachine gun. I had never seen anything like this in the U.S. Senate.' Then Leahy described being rushed to the basement of the Capitol and a secure location amid the chaos of the riot. 'I still tried to sort through my mind what was happening. Officers were going through the halls when one officer came along and took my arm and he said,' Leahy recounted, pausing to collect himself. 'He said, "We're going to watch out for you, Shamrock,"' he said. 'So many memories flooded back because Shamrock was a police codename for me when I was a recipient of a deadly Anthrax letter addressed to me that killed and mamed others,' Leahy recalled. This is the crazy moment a Russian adventurer cut out a perfect circle of ice on a frozen lake to make his very own fairground ride. Farmer Nikolai Zlydnev, 35, from Leninsk, Russia used a metal pole, axe, and a chainsaw to measure out and cut the circle. Footage shows him then use the pole to smash a small hole near the edge of the circle for his outboard motor. Farmer Nikolai Zlydnev, 35, from Leninsk, Russia uses a metal pole, axe, chainsaw to measure out and cut the circle Zlydnev, pictured, used a chainsaw to cut through the ice on the lake in Leninsk, Russia Zlydnev sat down on an upturned metal bucket and used his outboard motor to spin him a round in a circle on his ice carousel Moments later, Zlydnev returned from off camera carrying a small metal bucket and a tiny two-stroke outboard motor. The farmer puts the propeller through the ice and turns the bucket upside down to use as a makeshift seat. As soon as Zlydnev fires up the outboard's engine, he is propelled around in a circle while waving at the camera. Zlydnev claimed that his stunt was 'perfectly safe' as the ice was very thick and the lake was not very deep. In 2019, a team in Finland smashed the world record for the largest ice carousel after carving 27 inches through thick ice to make a 604ft circular block turn 360-degrees. Janne Kapylehto and two friends - Ville Haapasalo and Ismo Apell - spent five days in Finland carving out the 604ft wide carousel. The team, called Kuopio Great Balls of Ice, took breaks in a wooden sauna which they placed in the centre of the disc. Janne Kapylehto and two friends - Ville Haapasalo and Ismo Apell - spent five days in Finland carving out the 604ft wide carousel in 2019 The team, called Kuopio Great Balls of Ice, took breaks in a wooden sauna which they placed in the centre of the disc After cutting two parallel circles using a giant compass and a chainsaw the team had to remove the ice from between them. When the gap between the carousel and rest of the ice on the lake was clear they were able to make the circular block turn 360-degrees. A solar-powered outboard motor was used to propel the disc around. German frigate docks at Ho Chi Minh City port The German naval vessel Bayern arrived at the port of Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning. The frigate docked at Nha Rong Port at 10 am on January 6. The Vietnam visit is another stop on the frigate's seven-month training and presence cruise in the Indo-Pacific. The frigate, which carries 232 servicemen and women, had departed for the Indo-Pacific from its homeport of Wilhelmshaven on August 2, 2021. The voyage has so far taken the frigate via the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Australia, Guam, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City where it will stay until January 9. Further port visits on the return to Germany are planned in Sri Lanka and India. "The visit of the frigate Bayern is an expression of the friendship between Vietnam and Germany. It recognises the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific for international relations, said German Ambassador Dr Guido Hildner. With the frigate's voyage, Germany strengthens co-operation with key partners and reaffirms the international rule-based order, especially the validity of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the authoritative set of rules for the seas," the German diplomat noted. Yoon should work together with PPP chief Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has managed to avoid the worst-case scenario, by agreeing to end his feud with PPP leader Lee Jun-seok. The move came Thursday, one day after Yoon disbanded his bloated election committee and formed a streamlined campaign team. Yoon and Chairman Lee reached a surprise agreement to mend their relationship and work together to win the presidential election. It is fortunate that the party has managed to patch up its internal dispute, though belated. It is also good to see PPP lawmakers drop their proposal to impeach Lee over his conflicts with Yoon, as the two moved toward reconciliation at the last minute. The patch-up agreement is likely to mark a turnaround for Yoon, who wants to keep his distance from the conservative party's influence and stand on his own for the remainder of the race. In fact, Yoon's public support rate has plunged amid the party's factional infighting and power struggles. His continued controversial remarks and the allegations about his family's misdeeds have also made many people, particularly centrist voters, shift their support to other candidates. Now it is imperative for Yoon to take direct control over his campaign headquarters and rally party members behind him. However, there are still some worries that the PPP's internal rifts might reemerge at any time because the rival factions of the party do not appear to have buried the hatchet once and for all. Some of the lawmakers, who proposed the ousting of Lee, expressed their disappointment with the patch-up, holding Lee accountable for Yoon's falling support rate. Yoon should take all responsibility for the current turmoil. He has failed to exercise his leadership properly to overcome internal discord and unite the party ahead of the March 9 election. He cannot win the election without active support from all members of the party. At stake is how Yoon can bring all party members together to achieve a common goal. He has promised to start over from scratch to win back the hearts and minds of the people, particularly those in their 20s and 30s. However, this is easier said than done. Now is the time for Yoon to change himself to regain public trust. He entered politics in protest against the Moon Jae-in administration's hypocrisy after stepping down as prosecutor general in March 2021. He had enjoyed a high level of public support thanks to his advocacy for fairness and common sense. But he has disappointed many of his supporters over the PPP's internal disputes and his lack of leadership and political skills. Most of all, Yoon should present a vision for the future and bring hope to the people by making better policy proposals. The latest poll showed that Yoon's support rate stood at 26 percent, far behind the 39.1 percent rate of Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Yoon faces an uphill battle in reversing the trend, with only two months left before the March poll. The gun-toting Missouri couple who pointed their firearms at Black Lives Matters protesters are suing to get their weapons back after they were pardoned for charges related to the now-infamous incident. A city official conceded Wednesday that the automatic rifle and pistol wielded by Mark and Patricia McCloskey to intimidate protesters passing by their luxury St. Louis home have yet to be destroyed. The Colt AR-15 rifle, which retails for about $1,000, and the Bryco .380-caliber pistol, which costs about $100 used, were supposed to be destroyed after the couple turned them over to the state. The revelation that the firearms still exist came during a legal hearing to determine whether they should be returned to their original owners, who were pardoned by Governor Mike Parson last August. Mark McCloskey - who is suing the city, state and sheriffs to have the firearms returned - told DailyMail.com on Thursday that getting the guns back is a matter of principle. 'It's a matter of the Second Amendment; it's a matter of the government not having a right to take private property without just cause and without compensation,' he said. 'That's a constitutional right on a variety of levels. 'But mostly, it's just that I was being punished by a woke, Soros-funded prosecutor for doing no more than defending myself and exercising my second amendment rights, for which I should suffer no penalty whatsoever.' Mark and Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanors last year after pointing their guns at Blacks Lives Matter protestors outside their St. Louis home on June 28, 2020. The state's governor pardoned the couple last August City attorney Robert Dierker said during a virtual court hearing yesterday that officials aren't keen to hand the weapons back over, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. City attorney Robert Dierker says he's surprised the guns have not been destroyed 'Obviously with our customary efficiency, we should have destroyed (the weapons) months ago,' Dierker told a judge. 'We haven't. So McCloskey's a beneficiary of bureaucratic, I want to say, ineptitude. But in any event, it's fortuitous that the weapons still exist.' The fate of the firearms is expected to be decided during a February 22 hearing. The lawsuit was filed by Mark McCloskey and his wife is representing him. Mark McCloskey, who is running as a Republican candidate for the US Senate in the midterm elections, told the court he was legally entitled to have the weapons returned after being pardoned. 'The loss of that property would certainly be a legal disqualification, impediment or other legal disadvantage, of which I have now been absolved by the governor, and therefore the state no longer has any legitimate reason to hold the property,' he said. Dierker contended otherwise, saying that the pardon did not take away the fact that the couple surrendered their guns as part of a legally-binding plea bargain. 'We do not think he can demonstrate the right to immediate possession,' Dierker said. Patricia and Mark McCloskey surrendered their guns as part of a plea bargain last year, but say they are now entitled to have them back because the Missouri governor pardoned them Mark McCloskey said politicians from the highest-level of government have agreed that he should not be punished for protecting his property. 'The [former] president of the United States agreed with that,' he said. 'The governor of my state agreed with that; the attorney general of my state - who is actually my political adversary right now in the run for Senate - agreed with that. Fourteen sitting members of Congress wrote a letter to then-attorney general William Barr asking him to investigate the prosecutor for violating my civil rights by charging me. 'Ans so that's why I'm asking for the guns back, because I don't think the government has any right to take my personal property for me doing nothing more than defending myself.' The Colt AR-15 rifle surrendered by the couple retails for about $1,000 (right), while the Bryco .380-caliber pistol (left) used in the incident sells alone for about $100 The McCloskeys shot to notoriety last June when they were caught on camera emerging from their home in an upscale neighborhood brandishing firearms at protesters marching past. The couple, both lawyers in their 60s, said they felt threatened by the protesters, who were passing their home on their way to demonstrate in front of the mayor's house nearby in one of hundreds of similar demonstrations around the country after George Floyd's death. The couple also said the group was trespassing on a private street. The McCloskeys shot to notoriety last June when they were caught on camera emerging from their home in an upscale neighborhood brandishing firearms at protesters marching past No shots were fired, and no one was hurt as the stone-faced couple guarded their home Photos and cellphone video captured the confrontation, which drew widespread attention and made the couple heroes to some and villains to others. No shots were fired and no one was hurt. They were indicted by a grand jury on felony weapon and evidence tampering charges in October 20. The following June, they pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and agreed to hand over the firearms used in the incident. The controversial couple also face have their law licenses suspended after Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel filed a complaint against the couple last September. Pratzel wrote in his motion that the McCloskey couple's crimes showed 'indifference to public safety' and involved 'moral turpitude,' warranting discipline. He recommended that the Supreme Court indefinitely suspend the married attorneys' law licenses. This is the heartwarming moment a woman calls her deaf dog into the room - by sending her other pet to fetch her. Animal care specialist Brie Alessi, 28, from Clearwater, Florida, has two rescue dogs: Finn, a deaf Australian shepherd, and Lacey, a mini Australian shepherd who has full hearing. In the footage, Ms Alessi begins by calling Finn into her bedroom while Lacey is sitting in front of her. Lacey is relaxing on her owner's bed in Florida in the footage before Ms Alessi calls Finn After running into the other room and coming back in, Lacey brings Finn in tow to answer the call Lacey gets up and takes her toy with her to get Finn. She reappears almost immediately with her black and white 'brother' following shortly afterwards. Lacey developed the skill by herself - without any training by Brie. She says the two dogs have become inseparable since Brie adopted Lacey in 2020. Finn was born deaf and used to be a very anxious dog, but Lacey has brought him out of his shell. The pair have become inseparable since Lacey was adopted by Ms Alessi in 2020, with Lacey teaching herself to fetch Finn when he is called An owner in the UK, took a very different tactic with a deaf sheepdog - teaching her hand signals so she could return to work. Peggy the eight-year-old Border Collie was given up by her previous owners after she lost her hearing and could no longer follow voice commands. She was taken in by the RSPCA's Mid Norfolk and North Suffolk branch in 2018. Animal welfare manager Chloe Shorten, whose husband Jason is a shepherd, initially fostered Peggy as a stopgap, then 'completely fell in love with her'. The couple trained Peggy to follow hand signals, with Mrs Shorten describing her as living proof that you can 'teach an old dog new tricks'. Peggy the eight-year-old Border Collie (pictured) was given up by her previous owners after she lost her hearing and could no longer follow voice commands A Florida man who tried to strangle a woman with a shoelace in Miami over the weekend has a history of violence against women, having been charged with assaulting his girlfriend in 2020 along with various other arrests. Aaron Quinones, 27, was charged with felony attempted murder after he attacked an unidentified woman, 26, at a bus stop near the Miami airport Sunday at around 11am, according to the Miami Dade Police Department. It does not appear the pair knew each other. Just two years earlier, Quinones was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina for a similar crime against another woman. Quinones was charged with misdemeanor simple assault against his girlfriend on January 22, 2020 and held on $500 bond. The exact outcome of the Charlotte assault incident is unclear. DailyMail.com has reached out to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office for more information. Quinones was living in the North Carolina city at the time of the 2020 assault, according to county records, but Miami police report he is now homeless in Florida. Separately, he was also wanted for allegedly breaking into a Charlotte apartment and stealing $5,000 worth of exercise equipment in June, according to WJZY. Police say a warrant for his arrest was issued but he was never arrested.. Quinones was also arrested in April 2013 for shoplifting from a Belk department store in Charlotte's Northlake Mall. In fact, a public records search by DailyMail.com reveals Quinones has a litany of prior arrests in North Carolina dating back as early as 2013 when he would have been just 19. 2020 mugshot, left, and 2022 mugshot, right; Aaron Quinones, 27, was charged with felony attempted murder after he tried to strangle an unidentified woman at a bus stop in Miami on Sunday. Two years earlier, Quinones was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina for assaulting his girlfriend Quinones is still being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on $250,000 bond after he came up from behind and choked the woman with a shoelace near the Miami airport on Sunday Video footage shows Quinones - who appears to be going to or from the airport, as he had a neck pillow resting on his backpack - quietly walking up behind her before tentatively stretching his arms out to wrap the makeshift noose around her neck As of Thursday afternoon, Quinones is still being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on $250,000 bond after he came up from behind and choked the woman with a shoelace near the Miami airport on Sunday. The woman appeared to be on her phone and had luggage sitting beside her. She seemed to be aware that Quinones was behind her when he attacked. Video footage shows Quinones - who appears to be going to or from the airport, as he had a neck pillow resting on his backpack - quietly walking up behind her before tentatively stretching his arms out to wrap the makeshift noose around her neck. The woman looks back at him while he tightens his hold on her, dragging her to her side onto the bench as he climbed over her. The pair grappled for a moment before Quinones began repeatedly punching the woman in the face as she kicks him away. The woman is saved by a bystander in a blue T-shirt, who approached the pair waving his arms before pulling Quinones after her, then the video cuts out. 'Had it not been for a Good Samaritan that stepped in that basically stopped this individual from attacking this victim, the outcome would have been way worse,' Miami-Dade police officer Angel Rodriguez said. Police reported Quinones 'fled on foot' after the bystander dragged him off the woman. The woman was treated on scene by a Fire Rescue team and the extent of her injuries are unknown. Quinones was a suspect in the theft of $5,000 worth of exercise equipment from a Charlotte apartment in June. Police say a warrant was issued but he was never arrested When the unidentified woman began to fight back, he punched her several times in the face A bystander in a blue shirt pulled Quinones off the woman before he fled the scene. The bystander also left the scene before authorities arrived The bystander left the scene before police arrived and now authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying him. An investigation in Quinones is still ongoing, and no motive for the attack has been shared. The Miami-Dade Police Department told DailyMail.com there is no new information regarding the Miami incident. Crime is active within the county, with a total of 28 violent crimes happening within the first two days of the year and 50 non-violent crimes, police say. Head of NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, said he would suppor changing Covid self-isolation to five days Called on Government to remove isolation period for people who had coronavirus but were asymptomatic Tony Stein said around 500 of the company's workers have had to isolate at some point during the pandemic Advertisement The boss of a care home group with 2,300 staff has called on the Government to remove isolation requirements for people with Covid who are asymptomatic amid a rising backlog of patients in hospital. Tony Stein, chief executive of Healthcare Management Solutions (HCMS), which has around 60 care homes in the UK, said around 500 of the company's workers have had to isolate at some point during the pandemic, despite most having no symptoms. The Birmingham firm, which owns some care homes and runs others for investors, currently has more than 100 staff isolating, a spokesman said. Mr Stein has now called on the Government to go a step further than it already has - after dropping the requirement for people who have tested positive on a lateral flow test to then have a PCR - and remove isolation for those who were otherwise well. He backed up his call by saying the Omicron variant was 'drastically milder' and that care home staff must be fully vaccinated, along with most residents. It comes as the head of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, revealed he would support changing Covid self-isolation to five days amid an escalating staffing crisis that has engulfed hospitals and led some to cancel routine operations. Speaking on the removal of the isolation period for those who were asymptomatic Mr Stein said: 'We now have had more than 500 team members - around a quarter of our workforce - who have tested positive for Covid. Most of them have been asymptomatic. 'The removal of the PCR element of the isolation period is welcome but we should go a step further and remove isolation periods entirely for these people. Tony Stein (left), chief executive of Healthcare Management Solutions (HCMS), has called on the Government to remove isolation for those who are asymptomatic. It comes as the head of NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor (right), revealed he would support changing Covid self-isolation to five days amid an escalating staffing crisis 'In a highly vaccinated population like the UK, where a drastically milder version of Covid is becoming prevalent, it is time for the Government and public to accept that asymptomatic people shouldn't isolate. 'Evidence suggests that if you're double vaccinated and boosted - like all social care staff are mandated to be - you aren't going to get seriously ill. A vast majority of residents are also vaccinated. 'There is a flaw in the argument that the purpose of isolation is to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. Most people with Covid are not ending up in hospital and those that are are less ill and for a shorter time.' Mr Stein said a lack of care staff due to isolation rules meant there was a backlog of patients who were ready to leave hospital but had no place to go to. He said: 'In fact, at this point the cure could be worse than the disease itself. In December, there were roughly 14,000 patients who had been stuck in a hospital bed for over three weeks. 'Nearly 9,000 of these were deemed ready for discharge, but the number of carers isolating meant care homes didn't have the staffing levels to receive them. This clearly has a knock-on effect and is preventing other patients from receiving treatment.' A lack of care home staff also made it difficult to manage visitors for residents - to the detriment of those missing their families, Mr Stein added. His comments come after Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation, an organisation which represents trusts, said two more days should be shaved off the isolation period as long as it was backed up by the science. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the situation was 'desperate' and any way of getting staff back to work was a 'good thing'. But he said it would be 'completely counterproductive' to have infectious staff return to wards because it would exacerbate the spread of Omicron. Last month ministers cut the self-isolation period to seven days, providing someone tested negative using a lateral flow on days six and seven. But pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to follow the US, which has squeezed quarantine to only five days for anyone without symptoms. It came as figures showed nearly 6million people were on the NHS waiting list for routine treatment in England and more than 10,000 people waited 12-plus hours to be seen in A&E in November. The latest calls come as twenty-four NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' due to staffing absences and rising Covid admissions, indicating that they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Today Britain's daily Covid cases fell for the first time in a month and hospitalisations dropped in London as Government ministers claimed the NHS crisis will be 'short-lived'. Department of Health figures showed another 179,756 Covid cases were recorded over the last 24 hours, down slightly on the 189,213 reported last week. The drop is likely linked to figures from Wales, which reported two days of cases last Thursday but only a day's today. Its infections have fallen 56 per cent from 21,051 to 9,213. In England, infections rose four per cent to 152,306. But the lower rise may be a glimmer of hope that cases in the country are now starting to flatten amid signs London's cases may be peaking. Latest hospitalisations showed another 2,078 people were admitted to wards on January 6, which was up 38 per cent on a week ago. But in London which was first to be struck by the Omicron wave admissions fell 19 per cent from 456 to 367. Boris Johnson (pictured at a Covid vaccine centre in Northampton today) claimed the NHS has enough staff to see through the Omicron wave in a bid to downplay hospital pressure despite two dozen trusts declaring 'critical incidents' and waiting lists hitting new highs A total of 24 out of 137 NHS Trusts in England have declared critical incidents or 17.5 per cent. Above are the trusts that have publicly announced they have declared these incidents to help them manage winter pressures The number of daily positive Covid tests recorded in England has exceeded 100,000 for nearly two weeks. However, the number of patients in hospital with the virus is a fraction of the level seen last winter, while deaths remain flat Tory MPs criticised the BBC over its Covid coverage last night after it gave airtime to a Left-wing critic of the PM. It came as the Today programme aired a string of warnings from other NHS figures over the 'really challenging' circumstances facing hospitals Another 231 Covid deaths were also recorded today, down 30 per cent on the same time last week. Boris Johnson today claimed the NHS has enough staff to see it through the Omicron wave as he tried to downplay hospital pressure despite two dozen trusts declaring 'critical incidents' and waiting lists hitting new highs. At least 5,000 Covid 'patients' in England are NOT primarily in hospital for virus, data suggests As many as 5,000 Covid patients in hospital in England may have been admitted for other ailments, NHS figures suggest as the super-mild Omicron variant continues to engulf the country. Latest data shows so-called 'incidental' cases those who test positive after admission for something else, such as a broken leg made up a third of coronavirus inpatient numbers on December 28. At that point, there were just 8,300 Covid sufferers being treated in England's hospitals, 2,750 of which were not primarily receiving care for the virus (33 per cent). More up-to-date statistics from the Government's Covid dashboard show that, as of Wednesday, there were 15,600 beds occupied by people infected with the virus. It is not clear exactly how many of the current patients are there primarily for Covid because the NHS's breakdown is backdated and only covers up to December 28. But, if incidental cases still account for a third of cases, it means at least 5,000 who are being counted as coronavirus patients are not suffering seriously with the disease. Experts say there is reason to believe the share of incidentals will continue to rise as Omicron pushes England's infection rates to record numbers, with one in 15 people estimated to have had Covid on New Year's Eve. In South Africa ground zero of the Omicron outbreak up to 60 per cent of Covid patients were not admitted primarily for the virus at the height of the crisis there. Separate analysis of NHS data shows 45 per cent of beds newly occupied by Covid patients in the final week of December were patients not primarily ill with the virus. It comes as two dozen NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by sky-high infection rates, indicating that they may be unable to provide vital care in the coming weeks. One in ten workers are off and 183,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average, prompting calls for the isolation period to be cut to five days. Advertisement While the Prime Minister accepted the health service was 'under huge pressure, he said it was 'not true' that it could be overwhelmed because so many staff are off isolating with Covid. He said staff numbers had been increased about 6,000 more doctors and 10,000 nurses were hired during the pandemic which should ease the strain, combined with the NHS' volunteer army of trainee and retired medics. Earlier, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, claimed the current NHS crisis would be 'short-lived' and Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said the situation was 'not unusual' for winter. On Wednesday, the PM predicted that the country would be 'much closer to normality' by the end of this month, despite another day of near-record Covid cases. Mr Johnson has held his nerve despite calls for tougher restrictions to tackle Omicron, unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales, winning him praise from Tory MPs. But more than 180,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average and the crisis has forced one in 10 NHS staff off work, putting significant strain on local health services. Twenty-four NHS trusts so far have declared 'critical incidents' due to staffing absences and rising Covid admissions, indicating that they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. It comes as MPs warned the patient waiting list already on the brink of 6million in England alone could double in three years without urgent action to get more doctors and nurses on wards. They say efforts to clear the backlog are being thrown off course by the self-isolation fuelled staffing crisis. Even NHS bosses have called for No10 to look at slashing the quarantine period to five days, like the US. But Mr Johnson said it is 'not true' that the NHS does not have enough staff to cope with the pressures it is facing. Speaking at a vaccination centre in Moulton Park, Northampton, today, he said: 'First of all, yes, I appreciate that the NHS is under huge pressure and yes, you're quite right in what you say about the way it's been continuous over the last 18 months we've had wave after wave of Covid and our NHS has responded magnificently and they've kept going. 'And of course I understand how frustrating it is to see another wave coming in, and I thank doctors, nurses, all health staff, everybody, for what they're doing to keep going.' But he said staff numbers had been increased, and that combined with the calling back of retired staff and volunteers would ease the strain. He insisted Omicron was milder than previous variants but said: 'The pressures on hospitals are clear. What we've got to do is give the NHS all the help we can through the next period, with all the simplifications of systems, moving staff from one hospital to another, all the ways we can back staff up, but also make sure that the people who are likely to get ill get vaccinated first. 'The saddest words in the English language are 'too late'. When you're in ICU and you haven't been vaccinated, sadly it's too late to get vaccinated, so get boosted now.' Mr Eustice predicted the country would get past the Omicron peak of infections 'relatively soon', with NHS struggles set to be 'quite short lived'. Speaking to Sky News, the Cabinet minister said: 'This is a difficult situation. 'It will be quite short lived because obviously we will get past this peak of infections relatively soon, but in the meantime we've taken that step to reduce the isolation period and we're doing all we can to make sure we can redeploy resources (in the NHS).' Asked when hospitals are likely to return to 'normal', he added: 'We've seen growing numbers of infections over the last couple of weeks but people will start to return. 'So even as some start to go off work, there will be others returning. As I say, it won't be too long where you'll have more people returning to work than those who are isolating. 'But in the meantime, there is obviously a short-term issue and that's why we need to try and redeploy resources the best we can around the country to help those who are suffering a particularly acute shortage of staff.' Mr Shapps also poured cold water over the rising number of NHS trusts declaring incidents, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. A raft of data has suggested that the outbreak in London the first region to fall victim to the ultra-transmissible strain may have already peaked. Up to one in 10 people living in the capital were infected on New Year's Eve, statisticians estimate. Cases are still going up in over-60s in London but experts believe the trend will reverse in the next week. And the number of daily infections spotted across the UK as a whole jumped just 6 per cent in a week yesterday. It comes amid growing calls from experts, businesses and even NHS leaders to cut self-isolation from five days to avoid paralysing the economy and disrupting vital services. The proportion of beds occupied by patients who are primarily in hospital 'for' Covid, versus those who were admitted for something else and tested positive later, referred to as 'with' Covid. The data covers the week between December 21 and December 28, when were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26 in 2019, 2018 and 2017 While Covid hospitalisations are rising quickly in England, they are still half of the level of last January and far fewer patients are needing ventilation The US and France have already squeezed quarantine to five days for anyone without symptoms, and studies show very few patients are infectious beyond that point. Around 1.3million Britons are currently thought to be languishing under house arrest as the NHS, rail services and bin collections all buckle under the weight of staff absences. With the NHS facing staffing and capacity struggles, Mr Shapps defended the Government's decision to not go further than Plan B restrictions for England. 'We are always trying to find the right compromise on going too tight on restrictions lockdowns, let's face it, they have a lot of costs connected,' he added. 'Then again, not wanting our hospitals to be overrun. This is where I think Plan B has been shown to be the right approach so far.' NHS sources told MailOnline that critical incidents were 'not a good way' of monitoring pressures on hospitals, saying it was better to analyse patient admissions and staff absences. They warned that more than 24 trusts may have already declared critical incidents because they are not required to report them centrally. Government figures showed a total of 17,276 people were in hospital in the UK with Covid as of January 4, up 58 per cent week-on-week. The figure is the highest number since February 19 last year, although far below the peak of almost 40,000 in January 2021. Some 10 per cent of workers are also off sick of self-isolation due to Covid in hospitals, according to data leaked over the weekend. Pressure is now also spilling over to GPs, where leaders warn there are a 'growing number' of staff absences due to Covid. GPs say staffing absences are leaving them struggling to offer appointments GPs are struggling because of a 'significant number' of staff off sick with Covid, the chair of the Royal College of GPs has said. One in ten NHS workers is already off work either because they are sick or are infected with the virus. Professor Martin Marshall warned today that GP surgeries were also being affected, and struggling to meet their appointments. He told Sky News: 'We've got very significant pressures in general practice, which are long-standing of course but are made considerably worse by the Covid pandemic, and particularly by this Omicron variant. 'We've got a growing number of clinicians and administrative staff in general practice who are either unwell or who are isolating, and are unable to contribute to the growing number of consultations that we're providing and the vaccination programme that we're contributing to as well. 'So we've got a significant crisis on top of a long-standing one.' He said there is a need to communicate to the general public 'the pressure that general practice is under and explain why it isn't possible to provide the service, the access and the quality of care that we would expect and want to be able to provide'. He added: 'We also need to be able to direct patients who've got minor self-limiting problems to other resources, whether it be online, whether it be pharmacies, and we also, I think, need to be able to help our patients to self-care wherever that's possible. 'But the big issue here is the long-term crisis, which is about the recruitment of the 6,000 extra GPs and the 26,000 other health professionals which the Government committed to in 2019, but unfortunately isn't delivering on at present.' Advertisement Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, told Sky News: 'We've got very significant pressures in general practice, which are long-standing of course but are made considerably worse by the Covid pandemic, and particularly by this Omicron variant. 'We've got a growing number of clinicians and administrative staff in general practice who are either unwell or who are isolating, and are unable to contribute to the growing number of consultations that we're providing and the vaccination programme that we're contributing to as well. 'So we've got a significant crisis on top of a long-standing one.' He said there is a need to communicate to the general public 'the pressure that general practice is under and explain why it isn't possible to provide the service, the access and the quality of care that we would expect and want to be able to provide'. He added: 'We also need to be able to direct patients who've got minor self-limiting problems to other resources, whether it be online, whether it be pharmacies, and we also, I think, need to be able to help our patients to self-care wherever that's possible. 'But the big issue here is the long-term crisis, which is about the recruitment of the 6,000 extra GPs and the 26,000 other health professionals which the Government committed to in 2019, but unfortunately isn't delivering on at present.' Mr Johnson's decision to hold his nerve and not impose more restrictions in England has won him praise from Conservatives, who said it was right not to lockdown every time there was a new variant. Former Prime Minister Theresa May hailed Mr Johnson, telling the Commons: 'May I commend you for resisting calls from Labour for more restrictions before Christmas. It's not in the national interest to shut down sectors of our economy every time we see a variant.' Lockdown-sceptic MP Steve Brine also heralded the PM, saying: 'The PM deserves real credit for decisions in respect of Covid he has followed the evidence and taken the wider view of our society and economy.' Tory MPs have also vented their fury over the BBC giving airtime to Dr Zahid Chauhan a GP in Oldham and Labour councillor who was invited onto Radio 4's Today programme to take aim at Mr Johnson. He claimed it was wrong for the PM to say, as he did on Tuesday, that the country could 'ride out' the Omicron threat when the public was 'suffering'. Presenter Nick Robinson interviewed Dr Chauhan, who he introduced as 'a GP in Oldham and a Labour councillor in the area'. Asked what the cancellation of non-urgent surgery would mean, he said: 'It means for my patients that they will be waiting longer, they will be unfortunately suffering more... If you are waiting for a hip replacement and you can't walk, that means you are in pain.' Asked whether the cancellations would have been necessary had restrictions been in place, he said: 'If you have appropriate availability of lateral flow tests and PCR tests available, that means staff can come back to work. 'In the Manchester area people could not book PCR tests yesterday. All these factors play a role. It does not help when your Prime Minister says we will ride it out while the public is suffering.' Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Medical experts are there to express a view about Covid issues and risks but not to make political points about the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition. 'If you invite someone on for their medical opinion and they talk about their political views, it ends up with allegations of political bias.' A BBC spokesman said: 'We made it clear at the top of the interview that the GP was also a Labour councillor and none of the questions put to him were of a political nature.' It comes as MPs warned today that efforts to clear record waiting lists risked being thrown off course by a staffing shortage caused by Covid isolation rules. The Commons health and social care committee said there were 93,000 vacancies in the health service, with rules forcing staff to self-isolate for at least a week if they test positive for Covid adding to the shortfall. The committee said NHS staff are under pressure from multiple angles as they deal with routine care, Covid and soaring demand for ambulances and A&E. MPs fear workers will quit unless they see 'light at the end of the tunnel' in the form of more recruits. They say tackling the wider backlog caused by the pandemic is a major and 'unquantifiable' challenge as it includes all those who have yet to come forward for care. Committee members want a broad national recovery plan embracing emergency, community and social care, as well as mental health and GPs. The report said: 'Of the 5.8million patients waiting to start treatment in September 2021, 300,000 have been waiting more than a year and 12,000 more than two years.' But it cautions: 'With Covid-related measures such as social distancing and staff self-isolation constraining NHS capacity, we heard it is extremely difficult to accurately quantify the true scale of the backlog.' Former Health Secretary and committee chair Jeremy Hunt warned that NHS workers were retiring early because of the 'stress and pressure' they faced, combined with 'perverse' pension arrangements. He said preventing doctors and nurses from leaving the health service was crucial to addressing a backlog of almost six million people waiting to receive NHS treatment. Speaking to LBC, the chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee said: 'I think one of the things that will make a difference is to do things that stop people leaving the NHS. 'We're getting a lot of people leaving the NHS, we're getting a lot of people who are retiring early because of the stress and pressure. 'Some people find that it doesn't pay to work beyond a certain age because of the pension arrangements, which are very perverse at the moment, so we could attack those. 'But I would say, most of all, what people want to know is that the pressure of not having enough doctors and nurses is not going to go on forever.' It comes amid mounting pressure to cut self-isolation periods to five days to help ease pressures on the health service, with doctors warning current guidelines were adding to 'misery' and 'crippling' the health service. They are also calling for guidelines on patients exposed to a Covid case to be reviewed, which currently require them to isolate for 14 days from last exposure if they remain in hospital. This applies to all patients, irrespective of whether they have been fully vaccinated or had a previous Covid infection. The same rule applies if the patient is discharged to a care home they must be isolated for the remainder of the 14-day period. Pat Cattini, an infection control nurse at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation Trust, told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) the guidance has never been updated 'despite vaccination and changing epidemiology and is crippling healthcare'. Data justifying move to cut self-isolation period to five days was evident last SUMMER, experts argue amid growing calls for Boris to follow the US to save nation from being paralysed By Luke Andrews Health reporter for MailOnline and Emily Craig Health reporter for MailOnline Ministers have sat on evidence justifying slashing self-isolation to just five days since last summer, according to critics who have demanded Boris Johnson drops the crippling rules that are paralysing the nation. Rail services and bin collections have ground to a halt with up to 1.3million Britons currently under house arrest, while the workforce crisis has left NHS bosses asking heart attack patients to make their own way to hospital. But the Adam Smith Institute, a neoliberal thinktank, said data published in August last year suggested it was safe to halve the quarantine period, which at the time stood at 10 days. Oxford University research found 98 per cent of transmission occurs within the first five days of symptoms, and prompted experts on the topic to say the isolation period 'could be much shorter'. Virologists said today that they agreed with the findings, with the vast majority of spread happening in the days before and after someone starts feeling ill. And James Lawson, a fellow at the ASI, told MailOnline: 'The research shows we can safely reduce the isolation period. 'Governments say they want to follow the science, yet are ignoring the changes in circumstances and much of the data we've had since last summer.' He added: 'The isolation period is having harmful unintended consequences, including putting more pressure on the NHS through staff shortages. It is also making it harder to keep schools open, maintain deliveries and so on, which undermine wider society.' Mr Lawson also said it was time for No10 to 'start trusting Britons' to take sensible precautions and 'forge a path back to normality, rather than adopting restrictions forever'. Meanwhile, an NHS leader yesterday called for the period to be cut to five days if the science allows, saying any way to get staff back to work would be a 'good thing'. Covid testing rules could be relaxed in an effort to combat the havoc wreaked on essential services across the country by thousands of key workers being stuck in self-isolation. Pictured: A deserted Waterloo Station at 08.15 on Monday As the number succumbing to the virus reached a record high, there were fears that staff absence due to Covid could become just as big a problem, with bin collections delayed, trains cancelled and several hospitals in Greater Manchester saying they would suspend non-urgent surgeries. Pictured: Overflowing bins in the Walton area of Liverpool on Tuesday Last month ministers trimmed the self-isolation period to seven days, providing someone tested negative using a lateral flow on days six and seven. But the Prime Minister is under huge pressure to follow the US, which squeezed quarantine to just five days for anyone without symptoms. Business leaders yesterday warned that they too were struggling, with the managing director of supermarket Iceland saying their absence graph was 'almost vertical' and more than double the previous peak. Richard Walker, managing director of the chain, told Sky News: 'I think it is fair to say that business is under strain as never before. This new variant seems to be a lot more contagious and that is having a big impact. 'My call on government would be firstly to prioritise lateral flow tests for key workers including food retail front line shop workers, but also to revisit the onerous isolation rules. Now No10 scraps pre-departure Covid swabs and says Day 2 tests do NOT have to be PCR Boris Johnson yesterday axed the Covid travel testing scheme brought in to fight Omicron and asymptomatic people who test positive on lateral flow no longer need a follow-up PCR, in a bid to ration testing. The Prime Minister told MPs in the Commons that fully vaccinated passengers entering the UK will no longer be required to take pre-departure tests from 4am on Friday. Day 2 follow-up PCRs for UK arrivals are also being scrapped and replaced by lateral flows saving people up to 60 per test and people no longer need to isolate until they get a negative result. If they test positive, however, they will have to take a PCR swab and self-isolate for up to 10 days if they are indeed positive. Mr Johnson said the Omicron variant is now so prevalent in the country that the measure is having limited impact on the spread of the disease. The moves which were welcomed by the struggling travel industry come after it was revealed confirmatory PCRs for asymptomatic cases who test positive on lateral flow will also be scrapped next week. The changes have been announced amid sky-high case numbers with another 197,000 announced yesterday and unprecedented demand for testing. Advertisement 'Seven days is a long time for people who are triple jabbed when the symptoms are for the vast majority of people not more than a common cold or mild flu.' MPs and experts have also joined the growing chorus demanding a change in the rules, with other nations such as France and Greece having already cut it down to five days. Tory MP Craig Mackinlay told MailOnline earlier this week that the government faced a 'tough' choice, but the country was in the midst of a 'semi-lockdown' with a million Britons currently isolating after catching Covid. He said cutting the quarantine period from seven to five days could be 'the answer' to England's self-isolation misery. 'We're almost facing a semi-lockdown because of people being off work who are perfectly well. You couldn't make that up,' he said. 'The US must have done a lot of work on it... and they have come up with five days as the answer. Perhaps it is.' Epidemiologist Professor Tim Spector, who runs Covid-tracking study ZOE, said the UK should follow suit to 'protect the economy'. And Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation an organisation which represents trusts said two more days should be shaved off the period as long as it was backed up by the science. He told BBC Radio 4: 'As long as it is based on the science. Because on the one hand we do need to try to get staff back to work as soon as possible. 'Hospitals who have declared critical incidents, for example, are essentially reaching out to staff who are on leave, on rest days or even recently retired and asking them to come back to wards, so the situation is desperate any way of getting staff back into hospital is a good thing. 'But on the other hand, if staff come back into hospital and are infectious, that's completely counterproductive because that is going to mean more sickness in the hospital and for staff, so this can't be led by politics or blind hope it has to be led by the science. 'If the science says it is possible for people to go back to work earlier, then of course NHS leaders will want that to be possible.' He suggested that people in quarantine could test themselves on days three, four and five, and come out of isolation on day five if they test negative. University of St Andrews' researchers first raised the alarm bells about the length of quarantine in November 2020, discovering that the vast majority of Covid transmission happens during the first few days that someone is ill. The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet Microbe, was a review of 79 studies investigating how long someone is infectious for. The team's assertion that most people do no spread the virus after five days was based on research out of China and Taiwan but only included several hundred patients. And in August last year Oxford University scientists said just two per cent of transmission happens from five days after warning signs appear. The institute's Pathogen Dynamics Group which was involved in developing the NHS Test and Trace app also found 40 per cent of transmission occurs before symptoms emerge, and 35 per cent within the first and second days of falling ill. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated a record 3.27million people in England were infected on any given day in the week to December 31, up more than 60 per cent on the previous week Even NHS bosses back cutting self-isolation period to FIVE days as staffing crisis sees hospitals CANCEL routine operations An NHS leader yesterday revealed he would support slashing Covid self-isolation to five days amid an escalating staffing crisis that has engulfed hospitals and led some to cancel routine operations. Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation an organisation which represents trusts, said two more days should be shaved off the period as long as it was backed up by the science. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the situation was 'desperate' and any way of getting staff back to work was a 'good thing'. But he said it would be 'completely counterproductive' to have infectious staff return to wards because it would exacerbate the spread of Omicron. Last month ministers cut the self-isolation period to seven days, providing someone tested negative using a lateral flow on days six and seven. But pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to follow the US, which has squeezed quarantine to only five days for anyone without symptoms. Around 1.3million Britons are currently thought to be languishing under house arrest as the NHS, rail services and bin collections all buckle under the weight of staff absences. One in ten NHS employees are estimated to be off sick or self-isolating, and Mr Johnson yesterday revealed plans are being drawn up to call in the Army if the crisis continues to worsen. Some 10 out of 137 hospital trusts in England have declared 'critical incidents' in recent days or eight per cent, signalling that they may struggle to deliver vital care to patients in the coming weeks because so many medics are off isolating. Seventeen hospitals in Greater Manchester have also started shelving operations. Advertisement For comparison, only about two per cent of transmission was recorded over the five to ten days after symptoms emerged. Oxford University sources said the paper was shared with the Government before its results were released. It is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. It is unclear how many Covid cases the teams findings were based on. Neither team has yet to comment on whether isolation should be shortened in response to current pressures. But UK Health Security Agency scientists say any further reduction would be 'counterproductive', arguing it risks sending infectious people back to work and spreading the virus further. The body, which replaced the now-defunct Public Health England, recommended the change because modelling showed it did not increase the risk of spreading the virus. Professor Julian Tang, a virologist from Leicester University, told MailOnline: 'I think the studies' findings are right. Most transmission occurs just before and just after symptom onset. 'Up to five to seven days post symptom onset the immune response kicks in, and starts to decrease the viral load.' He suggested NHS workers could be allowed to return to their jobs from seven days after developing symptoms, regardless of whether they had tested positive. 'If they are a healthcare worker and they are going to be wearing masks at work all day, [the risk of transmission] may not matter much,' Professor Tang added. 'If they are a teacher going back to school to teach in a class of mostly vaccinated and masked children, it may not matter much.' Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline research suggests 'the large majority of Covid infections are transmitted between two days before to three days after symptom onset'. 'That doesn't mean infection after that is impossible just very unlikely,' he said. 'Some risk remains for longer than five days but it is so small that continuing isolation beyond five days, whether or not LFD positive, is probably not justified except when in Contact with particularly vulnerable people,' Professor Hunter added. Dr Alex Crozier, a researcher at University College London, told MailOnline the UK should not rely on lateral flow tests for its isolation policy, as they can 'often take much longer than 10 days to materialise and we risk over-isolating people and exacerbating staffing issues this way'. 'A lot of vaccinated people will continue to test positive beyond day five to seven via LFT, even once their symptoms have resolved and the risk of onwards transmission is really quite low,' he said. The vast majority of the population is double-jabbed and 'many of us even have four or five doses of immunity now', Dr Crozier said. 'We therefore have to interpret the results of antigen tests differently and carefully in three-dosed individuals,' he said. Dr Crozier added: 'People testing negative a few days into symptoms doesn't necessarily always mean they aren't infectious, and testing positive post day five doesn't necessarily mean they are significantly infectious. 'There is a trade-off to be had and it is all about balancing different risks. 'After testing positive, if symptoms have resolved for more than 24 to 48 hours and people have received the booster vaccine, we might be able to release them earlier than day 10, regardless of LFT status. 'If they still have some symptoms on day five then that is a different story. For critical roles, we can now probably move to a more flexible isolation policy, based on clinical expertise and context, not relying on just LFT status and blanket rules.' Julian Jessop, economics fellow at the think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, told MailOnline that the case for easing the rules for mandatory isolation periods is 'further is strengthening by the day'. He said: 'Scientists are now more confident that the Omicron variant is milder, and that the risks of transmission drop off sharply within a few days. This reduces the benefits of lengthy isolation periods. 'On the other side of the equation, the surge in the number testing positive for Covid is adding to the costs of isolation, since many more people are having to stay at home.' Mr Jessop added: 'It is hard to see how widespread staff shortages of 10 per cent or more will not have a crushing impact on output. Even just a 2 per cent reduction in activity would cost the economy about 4 billion every month. 'It might be worth taking a large but temporary hit to GDP to protect health, and this could be better for the economy too in the long run. However, long isolation periods seem to be doing more harm than good including to the NHS itself. 'It is increasingly clear that the biggest threat to the NHS is a shortage of staff, due to the isolation rules, rather than a surge in the number of people who are seriously ill with Covid. 'The UK government should therefore not hesitate to follow the trend elsewhere in Europe, the US and South Africa, and continue to ease the isolation rules. Reducing the minimum period from 7 to 5 days would be an obvious next step.' Calling for self-isolation periods to be reduced, Matthew Taylor, the head of the NHS Confederation which represents trusts, said two more days could be shaved off. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday: 'On the one hand we do need to try to get staff back to work as soon as possible. 'Hospitals who have declared critical incidents, for example, are essentially reaching out to staff who are on leave, on rest days or even recently retired and asking them to come back to wards, so the situation is desperate any way of getting staff back into hospital is a good thing. 'But on the other hand, if staff come back into hospital and are infectious, that's completely counterproductive because that is going to mean more sickness in the hospital and for staff, so this can't be led by politics or blind hope it has to be led by the science.' Advertisement On the one-year anniversary of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, 'The Daily Show' erected a very tongue-in-cheek monument in New York to honor the heroes of the Freedomsurrection, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rudy Giuliani. The Comedy Central show, hosted by Trevor Noah, unveiled the display in Manhattan's Flatiron District on Thursday, which also marked one year of the deadly attack. The temporary installation is comprised of eight stone markers featuring plaques with the faces of prominent GOP figures, including Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House strategist Steve Bannon. The temporary installation is comprised of eight stone markers featuring plaques with the faces of former president Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rudy Giuliani, and other prominent GOP figures, including Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House strategist Steve Bannon. Former President Trump is front and center at the monument, the description reading that 'no hero player a bigger part in the Freedomsurrection' than the 45th president himself. Beneath Trump's image, the description reads that 'no hero player a bigger part in the Freedomsurrection' than the 45th president himself. 'Though to humble to willingly release documents detailing the full scope of his efforts to stop the tyrannical will of the the people, we do know he fought tirelessly to install turnover-friendly allies in the Justice Department, and directed officials to just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me. While his efforts were not enough to keep him in the White House, his bravery on January 6 will never be forgotten, unless Republicans retake Congress and disband the committees investigating it.' Another plaque features Cruz's face and reads that he 'rallied the troops with all his natural charisma and oozing likeability.' The face of Sen. Ted Cruz is featured at the monument with his plaque reading that he 'rallied the troops with all his natural charisma and oozing likeability. And when the Freedomsurrectionists ransacked his papers on the Senate floor, they knew where he stood, "Hes with us!" they told each other on video that would soon become very useful to prosecutors. Cruz would want us to do this!"' The monument is located at 23rd Street and Broadway in Manhattan's Flatiron District, and will be on display Thursday until 11 p.m. The Daily Show asks that they not be torn down, 'because history.' We put up monuments to the patriots who fought against America on January 6th. Please don't tear them down, because history. 23rd St. and Broadway. Today only until 11pm. #DailyShowMonuments pic.twitter.com/AYhjCwv0mI The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 6, 2022 Rudy Giuliani is featured on the display in New York, his plaque reading that 'on the morning of the Freedomsurrection, Giuliani told the crowd to prepare for trial by combat. This would later turn out to be the only kind of trial he could take part in, as his law license was soon suspended.' Fox News host Tucker Carlson is featured on one of the plaques at the monument, which reads 'armed with the resources of (but for legal purposes, no affiliation with) Fox News, Carlson produced a docuseries proving that the Freedomsurrection which he had earlier proclaimed was made up of solid Americans was, in fact, carried out jointly by long-standing allies Antifa and the FBI in order to justify purging legacy Americans from society.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's plaque reads she declared 'January 6 our 1776 moment, Greene reportedly met with organizers of the Freedomsurrection in advance to coordinate her efforts to overturn the election on the floor of the House with their slightly more boisterous attempts outside the building. With 700 of them now facing charges and Donald Trump still not president, Greenes comparison to 1776 may have been premature, but she can still hold her head high as the Freedomsurrectionists celebrate their 1865 moment: meeting in courthouses to negotiate the terms of their surrender.' Former White House strategist Steve Bannon is featured at the monument, his plaque reads that 'when patriots stormed the Capitol steps, Bannon was right there leading the charge - from the safety of his podcast studio.' Sen. Josh Hawley's plaque reads that 'he stood against the "woke mob" even though it cost him a book deal - and then quickly got him a new book deal.' Rep. Lauren Boebert's plaque reads that she 'flipped the safety off on her phone and blasted out a round of tweets to keep her fellow patriots outside apprised of the situation inside during that chaotic day.' In a speech Thursday, President Joe Biden tore into former President Donald Trump for watching TV while a mob stormed the Capitol on January 6, mocked his 'bruised ego' and accused him and his supporters of holding a 'dagger in the throat of democracy.' In his most searing attack on his predecessor to date, Biden called Trump a 'defeated former president' and criticized him for 'refusing to accept he lost' the November 2020 in remarks on the one-year anniversary of the attack alongside Kamala Harris. 'We saw with our own eyes rioters menace these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House. Literally erecting gallows to hang the vice president of the United States of America,' Biden recalled. 'What did we not see? We didn't see a former president, who just rallied the mob to attack, sitting in a private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours.' Biden went after the MAGA mob saying: 'This wasn't a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection.' He did not mention his predecessor by name but - 16 times - referred to him as 'the former president,' accusing Trump of creating and spreading 'a web of lies about the 2020 election.' Trump called Biden's speech 'political theater' and a distraction for his failures in a statement shortly after Biden finished, and doubled down on his false claim he won the 2020 election and the result was rigged. Biden's speech was filled with descriptive phrases: Trump's 'bruised ego' and 'web of lies.' He decried the rioters for 'ransacking the capitol, destroying property, literally defecating in the hallways?' He old DailyMail.com he didn't mention Trump by name because he didn't want to start a 'contemporary political battle.' 'I did not want to turn it into a contemporary political battle between me and the president. It's way beyond that. It's way beyond that,' he said. Biden made his remarks at the start of 2022, the year of a midterm election where Republicans are looking to retake control of Congress and Trump is playing a kingmaker role in that party. Former George W. Bush political advisor Karl Rove went after Republican 'apologists' for the Jan. 6th rioters in a blistering op-ed and says patriotism demands that those responsible be held to account. Rove issued his call in sharp Wall Street Journal piece posted the evening of Jan. 5th, where he said there should be 'no absolution' for anyone who coordinated the events. 'Ive been a Republican my entire life, and believe in what the Republican Party, at its best, has represented for decades,' Rove writes. 'There can be no soft-pedaling what happened and no absolution for those who planned, encouraged and aided the attempt to overthrow our democracy,' writes Rove. 'Love of country demands nothing less. Thats true patriotism.' He specifically called out Republicans 'who for a year have excused the actions of the rioters who stormed the Capitol, disrupted Congress as it received the Electoral Colleges results, and violently attempted to overturn the election.' Former George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove called on Republicans to hold Jan. 6 rioters to account and said there should be no 'absolution' for planners His blast came on a day when former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly displayed his grip over the elected GOP, repeatedly called the 2020 election a 'crime' and again sought to undermine President Biden's victory, on a day the president took to Statuary Hall to defend it. 'These apologists say those who stormed the Capitol were innocent patriots, tourists visiting the seat of the national government to petition their elected representatives peacefully. Were told that these harmless, ordinary Americans are being persecuted as political prisoners,' wrote Rove, referencing comments by Trump, as well as GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.). He did not specifically mention a more substantial group of GOP lawmakers, who have more subtly challenged the results by saying Biden 'is' the president but without saying he was legitimately elected, and brought Trump back into the fold by visiting him at Mar-a-Lago and saying he remains the party's penultimate leader. Rove wrote a blistering op-ed on the eve of the anniversary of the riot Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Mike Pence attend a funeral service for late Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole at the National Cathedral in Washington, U.S., December 10, 2021. Rove called the riot an 'attempt to overthrow our democracy' Rove called out 'apologists' who said rioters were 'innocent patriots, tourists.' Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz have held numerous events on the treatment of Capitol riot prisoners, and on Thursday suggested the FBI was behind the Capitol riot Rove's blast was timed with the Jan. 6th anniversary, on a day when Democrats were organizing commemorations and President Joe Biden delivered a speech defending the legitimacy of his win. It came hours before former Vice President Dick Cheney, who served under Bush for eight years, joined his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney as the only Republicans in House for moment of silence for Jan. 6th. The normally tight-lipped elder Cheney blasted House GOP leaders for their handling of Jan. 6th. Rove took a few shots at Democrats, calling them to resist 'their leaderships petty habit of aggravating partisan fault lines by indiscriminately condemning all who came to Washington that day.' But he saved most of his criticisms for his own party, proposing an alternate scenario for them to consider. 'What if Democrats claimed that Donald Trumps razor-thin victories in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin resulted from extensive voter fraud and should be rejected, despite having failed to establish in a single court that extensive fraud had actually occurred?' he asked. 'What if they insisted that in his role as Senate president then-Vice President Joe Biden had sole authority to seat Hillary Clintons electors from any contested states and thereby hand her the presidency?' He said they would not have accepted such 'extralegal means.' The bodies of four swimmers have been found mauled by piranhas in a spate of attacks that has sent shockwaves throughout South America. The attacks happened in Paraguay, where people have visited local rivers in large numbers during the current heatwave in order to cool down. The first death of the New Year happened on Sunday when a 22-year-old man was bathing in the Paraguay River. The alarm was raised when he suddenly vanished, and when his body was eventually found 45 minutes later, several parts had been torn off and eaten by the piranhas. A 22-year-old man, who was swimming in the waters of the Paraguay River with friends, vanished on Sunday and was later found dead with severe piranha bites Piranhas are known for their incredible appetite and terrifyingly-sharp teeth (file image) The second attack also happened on the Paraguay River when a 49-year-old man was found dead after being attacked by piranhas. He had been reported missing hours earlier, and he was also found with severe bites to the face. In this case, however, it is believed the man died from a heart attack and only then was he attacked by the piranhas. The Paraguay River is one of the biggest in the country, in the Ita Enramada neighbourhood, just south of the capital Asuncion. Two other people were found dead with piranha bites on their bodies in the Tebicuary river on Sunday. There have been further alleged attacks, which were not fatal but resulted in serious injuries, on the Parana River at the Bella Vista Fishing Club, which is in the department of Itapua. The attacks follow on from other incidents reported in Argentina recently, including a teenage girl who had a toe bitten off. Local TV reports showed images of medics treating wounds sustained by the bathers to their hands and feet. This victim was lucky not to lose a toe This individual had a chunk bitten out of one of their fingers by the piranhas during the attack According to local media, such attacks occur during hot weather. They are more common during the summer when the fish reproduce and come close to the coast when water levels are low. After the latest attacks that left 20 injured and at least two people dead, Argentinian biologist Julio Caply revealed that although there are eight species of piranhas in the country, the attacks are usually made by only two - serrasalmus marginatus and serrasalmus maculatus. The biologist said that the killer fish are mainly present in the Parana and Paraguay rivers, saying that they tend to hide under floating plants before suddenly rushing out to attack victims. Locals have now been warned to avoid bathing in the rivers during breeding season, in particular areas with floating plants - where piranhas may be guarding their eggs and offspring. In another incident, a man had his big toe bitten off again in a piranha attack on the Parana River, on this occasion as it followed its course through the small city of Coronda in the east-central Argentinian province of Santa Fe. The man had the tip bitten off his big toe and his son had a chunk torn from the heel of his foot, both leaving gaping wounds. Nobles Jr. didn't flinch after the shot was fired, and made sure to give his father a clear line of fire as he argued with the motorcyclist Roger Dale Nobles Sr., 51 (pictured), was charged with first-degree murder after he shot a black motorcyclist from his pick-up truck on Monday as his son argued with the victim outside the vehicle A white North Carolina motorist has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting dead a black motorcyclist in a road rage attack. Roger Dale Nobles Sr., 51, allegedly fired a shotgun from the driver's seat of his pick up truck, at 32-year-old military veteran and father-of-three Stephen Addison who was arguing with his son Roger Nobles Jr. at an intersection. The bullet whizzed past Nobles Jr., who didn't flinch or react, and struck Addison in the chest. Nobles Jr. then got back into his father's 1992 Chevy pick-up, and his father calmly waited until the light turned green to drive away from the Fayetteville intersection of Skibo and Cliffdale roads, according to WRAL. Nobles Sr. was arrested as soon as he arrived home after the incident, and is now charged with first-degree murder. His son was also taken into police custody and questioned after he appeared unsurprised by his father's actions. Prosecutors may also by weighing hate crime charges after a neighbor claimed Nobles Sr. had a history of racial abuse, allegedly calling her the n-word and putting her 'through hell'. Scroll down for video Roger Nobles Jr., left, is pictured arguing with Stephen Addison, 32, right, moments before the motorcyclist was shot dead in the road by Roger Nobles Sr. Security analysts who watched video of the footage said that Nobles Jr. knew that his father was planning to shoot Addison. They pointed out that the shooter's son didn't flinch when the shot was fired, and that he seems to have positioned himself in a way to give his father a clear shot Victim Stephen Addison, pictured, was a father to three children and an army veteran 'He done drove in my yard and took pictures of me on my porch,' said neighbor Shahara Chance. 'He's shot his gun in the air telling me to turn my music down. I done been through hell with this man,' she said, adding that he had harassed her for years. District Attorney Bill West told WRAL that 'if the evidence warrants that type of charge, [a hate crime is] certainly something we would look at and pursue.' In footage of the shooting, Nobles Jr., who is 25 according to public records, doesn't flinch after his father pulls the trigger. Security analysts who reviewed the video said his reaction, along with his stance in relation to his father's car window, indicate that he anticipated that his father was going to shoot Addison. Anthony Waddy, an analyst with SAV Consulting, said that Nobles Jr. 'cleared a path' for his father to fire the fatal shot. What is a 'fatal funnel'? The 'fatal funnel' is what law enforcement refers to doorways or vantage points where a target can be easily seen within and it is difficult for them to move out of the way of incoming bullets. Advertisement 'Where he's actually standing in reference to, what we call in the military, a "fatal funnel,"' Waddy told WRAL. 'He's clearly out of harm's way.' 'The most startling parts of the video are what did not happen, according to Waddy,' WRAL reports. 'Nobles Jr. looked down at Addison after he dropped to the ground, but did not turn to his father and did not appear surprised. Nobles Jr. also didn't render any aid to Addison, who ended up dying from his injuries. Neighbors said that police swarmed the Nobles as soon as they pulled into their driveway on Auburn Street. 'They put them in handcuffs, and then it went from there,' one neighbor said. 'They started searching the truck.' Nobles Sr. admitted to the shooting, but did not offer a motive to police. He is currently being held at Cumberland County Jail without bond. Nobles Jr. has yet to be charged in the incident, although he was initially taken into custody by police. Defense attorney Daniel Meier told WRAL that there likely isn't enough evidence to charge Nobles Jr. with a crime unless prosecutors could prove that he knew his father was going to shoot - he was not legally obligated to call police, render medical aid to Addison after he was shot or report his father. Addison (pictured) has been described by friends as a 'great, loving soul' Nobles Jr. (left and right with his father) has yet to be charged in the incident, although he was initially taken into custody by police After Addison had been shot, Nobles Jr. got back into his father's 1992 Chevy pick-up (pictured), and his father waited until the light turned green to drive away 'You don't have an obligation to report a criminal activity, even if you know the person who committed it,' Meier told the outlet. 'You can watch a crime occur right in front of you, and you dont have to call the police.' To be charged as an accessory to murder, Nobles Jr. would have needed to help dispose of evidence or cover up the killing. Justin Cockrell, Addison's best friend who served alongside him at the Fort Bragg army reserve base, said the victim was a 'great, loving soul.' '[He was] a loving, caring guy for anybody. He stayed out the way [and] was never in anybody's business,' Cockrell told WRAL. Cockrell said that there 'won't be one bad word spoken about Stephen' in the Fayetteville community, and that he felt he'd 'lost a friend for nothing.' 'It's just senseless,' Cockrell said. 'It's 2022 and we're still talking about road rage. I mean, come on. I lost my brother, for what? He has three kids... he's a veteran and served in the military.' A young soldier who took his own life in Kabul last year committed an 'unexpected and impulsive act' that nobody could have predicted, a coroner has concluded. Private Joseph Berry, who was serving with 'A' Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Kabul, Afghanistan, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on February 22, 2020, the inquest into his death heard. Earlier that day, the 21-year-old, known as Joe, had received a telling off from his sergeant major after having broken weapons protocol that left him teary eyed, the inquest at Warrington Coroner's Court heard. Shortly afterwards, he sent a worrying text message to colleagues and indicated a location in the camp base where he could be found. He was found dead later that day next to his Glock 9mm pistol, and forensic and pathology experts concluded the evidence surrounding the private's death was 'strongly supportive of self-infliction'. The private had left a note for his family, which was not made public at the hearing but witnesses said indicated his intention to take his life. It made no complaint of bullying or anything 'untoward from the Army side', the inquest heard. Private Joseph Berry, 21, was serving with 'A' Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the time of his death on February 22, 2020. He was found dead next to his Glock 9mm pistol, and forensic and pathology experts concluded the private died from a gunshot wound with features 'strongly supportive of self-infliction' Earlier, the hearing was told that Pte Berry had had a problem with his SA80 rifle. He went to see Lance Corporal Scott Goodenough at the base armoury for help to clear a blocked muzzle on the weapon, and others lent a hand. But the armoury was next door to the office of Sergeant Major Christopher Groves, who heard a 'commotion' outside, 'stumbled' across the problem and started asking questions. L/Cpl Goodenough said Pte Berry was 'too honest' and admitted he had broken Army rules by unloading the weapon himself, alone and unsupervised instead of in a designated area as directed by orders 'from on high'. Sgt Major Groves took Pte Berry into his office and closed the door. L/Cpl Goodenough said Pte Berry then came out of the office 'with his tail between his legs' and 'looking a bit sheepish'. Sgt Major Groves told the hearing he spoke to Pte Berry and, because he became upset, told him 'We all make mistakes', adding that he would deal with the matter later and telling him to get on with his duties. Shortly afterwards, Pte Berry sent a text message to his friend, Lance Corporal Josh Brown, detailing a specific location on the base and reading: 'Thanks for being such a good friend. I wish I was better in everything. Love you man.' Sgt Major Groves and others dashed to the scene and called a medical officer and the padre but Pte Berry was already dead. He had no alcohol or drugs in his body and no record of any welfare issues while in the forces. A statement given by the British Army, which said Berry had died of a 'non-battle injury', described the private as 'an optimistic, capable, and compassionate soldier' who showed great promise. The day before, Pte Berry had told his mother, Lisa Snow, he was 'exceptionally happy' and was making plans for his future. His father, RAF Squadron Leader Nick Berry, said he had 'beaten himself up' wondering if he had missed any signs, but said: 'There was nothing there.' Senior Coroner for Cheshire Alan Moore replied: 'Sometimes there isn't.' Concluding the inquest, Mr Moore added: 'It was really such an unexpected and impulsive act. 'Joe gave no indication to anybody what he was going to do or why. 'Nobody could have predicted what was going to happen and nobody could have done anything to anticipate or to prevent it. 'Not Joe's mum and dad, not his mates in 2 Para or military chain of command, and not company Sergeant Major Groves.' The Glock 17 9mm pistol has been in service with the British Army since 2013. Private Berry was found dead with his pistol nearby and a note for his family in his notebook. Lisa Snow, said her son had wanted to join the Paras since the age of 14. She said: 'He was loving it, he was living his dream. He wanted to see the world and hoped the Army would help him do that.' Private Berry's brother, Mark Smith, said: 'He'd always go out of his way to make people happy. He knew he wanted to join the army and he always wanted to be the best of the best, which is why he joined the paratroopers. 'He even recovered from pneumonia and passed all his qualifications despite having spent weeks in bed.' Berry was born and raised in Crewe, Cheshire, and began training with The Parachute Regiment Training Company in September 2017. A statement given by the British Army, which said Berry had died of a 'non-battle injury', described the private as 'an optimistic, capable, and compassionate soldier' who showed great promise. Help can be found by calling the Samaritans free of charge at any time, on 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org or visit Samaritans.org. Seattle police staged sightings of armed Proud Boys in conversations on public police radio frequencies during protests following George Floyd's death in a vain effort to deter rioters, an investigation by a police watchdog group has found. According to Seattles Office of Police Accountability, officers made remarks like 'It looks like a few of them might be open carrying' and 'Hearing from the Proud Boys group They may be looking for somewhere else for confrontation,' to scare off protesters. The coordinated ruse by multiple members of the Seattle Police Department the night of June 8, 2020, came after protesters seized control of a portion of the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood and turned it into a police-free 'autonomous zone, a report released by the org Wednesday revealed. According to Seattles Office of Police Accountability, officers made remarks like 'It looks like a few of them might be open carrying' and 'Hearing from the Proud Boys group They may be looking for somewhere else for confrontation,' to scare off protesters. The forced takeover saw hundreds of citizens outraged by African-American Floyd's murder the month prior surround the city's East Precinct and set up a six block perimeter around the building, forcing officers to evacuate. Protesters declared the area an autonomous territory, setting up road and human barriers to deter officers, and dubbed it the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest - or CHOP - zone. Hours after the takeover, the OPA found, officers took to their radios upon realizing protesters were monitoring SPD radio communications, and engaged in what the watchdog group referred to as a 'misinformation effort.' In an attempt to distract and confuse the crowd, officers began broadcasting a hoax, exchanging false reports of sightings of armed members of the far-right facist group in an attempt to 'scare' protesters - many of whom were African-American. However, instead of luring protesters away from the site, OPA Director Andrew Myerberg wrote, the false reports only 'added fuel to the fire' of the already tense protests. The coordinated ruse by multiple members of the Seattle Police Department the night of June 8, 2020, came after rioter protesting the death of George Floyd seized control of a portion of the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood and turned it into a police-free 'autonomous zone The officers' falsified reports were chronicled in painstaking detail in the OPA's report. The filinf reveals officers took to their radios upon realizing protesters were monitoring SPD radio communications, and engaged in what the group referred to as a 'misinformation effort' 'The use of the Proud Boys when it was known that the transmissions would be monitored took a volatile situation and made it even more so,' Myerberg wrote in his report, referring to the violence seen in the city following Floyd's murder. At the time, reports of protesters throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks and shining green lasers into officers' eyes were rife, as well as other accounts of other violent clashes between rioters and SPD cops, which had spurred officers to flee and board up the precinct. Myerberg, however, contended that the violence in the police-free zone only grew worse over time, after its inception on June 8, attributing the then spiraling situation to the officers' falsified reports, which were chronicled in painstaking detail in his report. The first forged communication mentioning prospective Proud Boys members chronicled by Myerberg's group - who had become aware of the falsified reports after a journalist approached the org requesting confirmation of the then-rumored transmissions - came a little after 9:30 PM PT on the night in question. 'Three Echo,' an unnamed officer begins, reporting in to the dispatcher with his radio codename. 'Just for your information. Small group, possible Proud Boys... it looks like a few of them might be open carrying,' the OPA's report reveals. About a minute late, the dispatcher responds: 'Radio copy. Advising just a small group of possibly Proud Boys.' Approximately 10 minutes later, another officer, with the codename one Alpha, reports another Proud Boy sighting, stating that the group looked to be gearing up for potential attack. 'Was that for our group?' the officer asks. 'Do you think those are other Proud Boys coming down here? It seems like they are starting to muster up, maybe thinking about marching around.' A moment later, a third officer, codename two Charlie, chimes in, confirming the other officer's suspicions: 'Two Charlie affirmed. They look associated with that group that you are monitoring.' Less than ten minutes later, Alpha offered more color on the fictional band of right-wing extremists, who are often associated with white supremacist ideals. 'One Alpha to radio. Just be advised the group is very boisterous tonight so if you get some calls about some kind of menacing verbiage. That is all it is.' Twenty minutes later, one Alpha reports in again with the last fabricated Proud Boys sighting, offering an ominous prognosis of the made-up groups intentions. 'Hearing from the Proud Boys group. They are not very happy with the response in the audience. They may be looking for somewhere else for confrontation.' The report notes that four officers - who referred to themselves as 'one Alpha,' 'one Adam,' 'three Echo,' and 'two Charlie' - were engaged in the phony correspondence, as well as the dispatcher. None are named in the report. A defaced sign on the exterior of the Seattle Police Departments East Precinct after protesters kicked out cops and set up a six-block 'autonomous zone' as a memorial to Floyd. Cops came up with the ruse in an effort to quell the uprising, the OPA's report says Protesters pictured in the CHOP zone on June 9, the day after the alleged incident. The OPA found that the cops' hoax only added to the violence that was then occurring in the city The report does, however, name the mastermind behind the ruse, SPD Captain Bryan Grenon, who was interviewed by the group during their investigation. In the interrogation, Grenon told OPA officials that he came up with the plan as 'an innocent way to just throw out some distraction' at a time when the department was short-handed and under pressure. '[There was] no intent to put any kind of false narrative out there, as far as like Proud Boys, or anything,' Grenon said, according to the OPA's report. 'That was not the guidance that I that I gave to those. I just wanted to see if that was something that would, that could actually work. 'There was no- no intent to you know, provide any kind of false information,' asserted the then police captain, who later ascended to the rank of assistant chief before leaving the force in 2021. Grenon went on to tell investigators the purpose of the faked conversations was to 'get [protesters] into other areas' because 'we were overrun with, you know, forces or protesters,' according to the filing. A member of the proud boys, a far-right extremist group often associated with white supremacy, pictured in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood during protests in August. Police falsely claimed they saw armed Proud Boy members in June hoping to 'scare' protesters He continued, 'It was never my intent to cause alarm,' adding that 'Hindsight is 20/20.' According to the report, the journalist who tipped the watchdog group off in November of that year, Converge Media's Omari Salisbury, was with protesters the night of the fabricated communications. Salisbury spurred the investigation when he asked OPA for body camera video from the officers who had supposedly followed the Proud Boys group. When OPA couldnt locate any such video, the office launched an investigation. olice push demonstrators back atop a Black Lives Matter street mural in the area formerly known as CHOP. Protesters were removed from the zone nearly a month after its inception, on June 8 - the day of the SPD's fabricated Proud Boy sightings The report reveals: 'In his perspective, things were going fine in CHAZ/CHOP until people in the crowd heard reports that the Proud Boys were coming. Salisbury stated that 'when this occurred, it seemed like everyone in the crowd who owned guns went to get theirs and the event went from being peaceful to something entirely different.' The investigation was completed by September 2021. When questioned by the watchdog org, then-SPD Chief Carmen Best asserted to investigators that she had not been informed of the tactic. Many of the protesters in the CHOP zone during the summer of 2020 were African-American The OPA's report discerned that Grenon violated departmental policies, as did two of the other officers involved. Like Grenon, both had already left the department by the time of the reports release, and will face no discipline from within the police department. In a statement Wednesday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said that the ruse had done 'immeasurable' damage to citizens' trust in city-run orgs, and the city as a whole. 'Misinformation, especially of this inflammatory nature, is totally unacceptable from our Seattle police officers,' he said. 'This kind of tactic never should have been considered.' None of the officers involved will face criminal charges. By Robert D. Atkinson It's easy to get caught up in artificial intelligence (AI) hype. We are bombarded with claims that AI is a transformative technology: more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. In other words, AI is the "Superman" of all technologies, doing things no other technology could ever do. So, as the narrative goes, we should be afraid, very afraid. After all, AI will destroy most jobs, create a surveillance state, generate Terminator-like autonomous weapons, make current levels of inequality look like child's play and generate a panoply of other dire consequences. If policy makers don't step in now to harness the "demon of AI," as Elon Musk called it, it will be too late. We will all be living in a real-world "Squid Game." To which, I must say: nonsense. Stop listening to the hype, either the techno-utopian hype that says the "AI revolution" will be greater than the First Industrial Revolution or the techno-dystopians who say all is lost. The reality is that AI is just computer code. As leading AI scientist Pedro Domingos states: " a lot of the talk that we hear as if AGI (artificial general intelligence) is just around the cornerreally doesn't understand the history of AI and doesn't appreciate just how hard the problem is Even if AGI was around the corner, there's still no reason to panic. We can have AI systems that are as intelligent as humans are; in fact, far more, and not have to fear them. People fear AI because when they hear 'intelligence' they project onto the machine all these human qualities like emotions and consciousness and the will to power and whatnot, and they think AI will outcompete us as a species. That ain't how it works." Or as retired Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, the first director of the U.S. Defense Department's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, stated, "People talk about [AI] it in very unrealistic waysFirst of all, I take the discussion of artificial general intelligence off the table. And I give that to the researchers who look 50 to a hundred years down the road." The problem with AI magical thinking is that it leads to distorted policy conversations and harmful policies. The nonsensical notion that AI will destroy a large share of jobs and lead to a new lumpen-proletariat has no basis in reality. Technologies that boost productivity have always led to lower prices which meant more demand and job creation. Even if AI could significantly boost labor productivity in a host of occupations (a dubious proposition), the result would be not fewer jobs, but higher incomes. Moreover, the debate should not be about whether AI creates more jobs than it eliminates; almost no technologies in the past created more jobs than they eliminated. What they did was create more income and that led to more jobs in existing industries and occupations that expanded. The idea that AI will lead to significantly increased income inequality is even more farfetched, for it implies that there will be a handful of mega-corporations and their founders that make never-before-seen profit rates so large as to suck up all the wealth benefits from AI. The only way that happens is if the laws of economics and competition were repealed. What about the rise of the AI surveillance state? This is certainly something to worry about if one lives in an authoritarian nation without core human rights, like China. But the idea that just because China uses AI in ways that violate human rights, does not mean that AI will be used to surveil people in democracies. The latter have laws and regulations that protect people from government surveillance, whether through AI or other technologies. Finally, what about "killer robots"? As Robert Marks, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University, notes "we need to separate science fiction from science fact. Artificial intelligence will never be sentient. It will never be creative. It will never understand." Moreover, any global ban on AI weapons can never be adequately monitored and enforced (how do you monitor computer code in a drone?), so any ban will mean that allied adversaries will have AI weapons, while allies will not. All of this means that a good rule of thumb is that, controlling for other variables, there is an inverse relationship between a country's AI fear and its AI progress. Narratives of fear generate policies of precaution. Narratives of excitement generate policies of promotion and competitiveness. The choice should be an easy one for Korea to make if wants to be an AI-enabled economy and society. Robert D. Atkinson (@RobAtkinsonITIF) is president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), an independent, nonpartisan research and educational institute focusing on the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. The sister of a federal officer slain in a drive-by shooting by followers of an extremist anti-government movement is suing Facebook's parent company, claiming the social media giant promoted 'inflammatory and violent content' that contributed to his death. Angela Jacobs Underwood - whose brother was fatally wounded outside a courthouse in Oakland, California - said Meta connected her brother's accused killer and his accomplice on Facebook to the extremist group called Boogaloo to plan the ambush. 'The shooting was not a random act of violence,' she said in a lawsuit filed Thursday in California Supreme Court. 'It was the culmination of an extremist plot hatched and planned on Facebook by two men who Meta connected through Facebook's groups infrastructure and its use of algorithms designed and intended to increase user engagement and, correspondingly, Meta's profits.' The lawsuit against Meta - which changed its corporate name from Facebook last year after a raft of scandals - cited research suggesting the tech giant rewarded 'untrue, divisive, and violent content,' to boost user engagement. David Patrick Underwood, a Department of Homeland Security officer, was murdered on May 29, 2020 Facebook spokesman Kevin McAlister refuted the allegations in a statement to DailyMail.com. 'We've banned more than 1,000 militarized social movements from our platform and work closely with experts to address the broader issue of internet radicalization,' he said in a statement. 'These claims are without legal basis.' David Patrick Underwood, a Department of Homeland Security officer, was ambushed while guarding the Donald V. Dellums Federal Building on May 29, 2020 during the George Floyd protests. The 53-year-old was shot in the neck and flank by members of an extremist anti-government group that calls itself Boogaloo, prosecutors said. Authorities say they determined the accused killer's ties to the Boogaloo movement based on the far-right phrases he wrote in his own blood on the hood of a car he is allegedly stole after shooting the deputy and also his social media posts Air Force Staff Sgt. Steve Carrillo (left) is charged with killing Underwood and Santa Cruz County Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller during a second shooting June 6. Robert Justus Jr. (right) is also charged with aiding and abetting Carrillo in the murder of Underwood in the initial attack Police charged Air Force Staff Sgt. Steve Carrillo, 32, with killing Underwood and Santa Cruz County Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller during a second shooting June 6. A second man, Robert Justus Jr., was also charged with aiding and abetting Carrillo in the murder of Underwood in the initial attack. Just a day before the killing, Carrillo posted a video on a Facebook Boogaloo page showing a large crowd attacking California Highway Patrol Vehicles, the lawsuit said. Justus commented on the post, saying: 'lets boogie,' according to the legal filing. They made plans to meetup the next day, when Underwood was shot dead. 'Meta played an active role in the events that led to Dave Patrick Underwoods death,' the lawsuit said. Underwood, a Department of Homeland Security officer, was ambushed while guarding the Donald V. Dellums Federal Building on May 29, 2020 during the George Floyd protests 'The shooting was not a random act of violence,' says a lawsuit filed Thursday in California Supreme Court It also claimed that Facebook creates 'inflammatory content' to keep users engaged. 'Meta's algorithms promote extremism by exposing users to inflammatory, divisive, and untrue content,' the lawsuit said. Meta has elected to do this because material that engenders a strong emotional reaction engages readers. '...Facebook accounts that are known for and promote misinformation generate almost twice as much engagement per follower than other accounts.' The two suspects met in person for the first time on the day of her brother's killing. Jacobs Underwood said 'their paths had no reason to cross' outside the social media platform. She said that while the term 'boogaloo' first appeared as a reference for future civil war in 2018, the term soon began proliferating on Facebook with dangerous consequences. 'These Facebook groups openly advocated for violence, discussed tactical strategies, combat medicine, and the merits of specific weapons, and shared information about building explosive devices,' she said. Angela Jacobs Underwood, whose brother was killed by extremists, is seeking unspecified damages from Facebook Authorities say they determined Carrillo's ties to the boogaloo movement based on the far-right phrases he wrote in his own blood on the hood of a car he is accused of stealing after killing the deputy and also his social media posts. 'BOOG,' 'I became unreasonable' and 'stop the duopoly' were among the phrases written in blood on the hood, according to photo evidence included in court documents. Carrillo is accused of plotting to target the federal security officer a day before the May 29 attack during an online chat with Justus and a third person. WHAT IS THE BOOGALOO MOVEMENT? Boogaloo is a far-right, anti-government extremist movement. The heavily armed participants linked to the group say they're preparing for a second Civil War. It got its name from the panned 1984 movie 'Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo' and uses the title as a code word for a second Civil War. Other derivations of 'boogaloo' are 'big igloo' or 'big luau.' Followers are easy to spot with their trademark Hawaiian shirts and high-powered rifles and tactical gear. The movement is made up of pro-gun and anti-government groups. Participants mostly organize on Facebook but have attended recent events like the COVID-19 lockdown protests and demonstrations of George Floyd's death. Facebook earlier this month moved to limit the movements exposure on its platform by no longer recommending user groups associated with the term 'boogaloo' to members of similar associations. Advertisement In a Facebook group that included his alleged accomplice Justus and an unidentified third person, Carrillo linked to a video showing a crowd attacking two California Highway Patrol vehicles and wrote: 'It's on our coast now, this needs to be nationwide. It's a great opportunity to target the specialty soup bois. Keep that energy going', according to the complaint. Boogaloo adherents refer to federal law enforcement as 'soup bois' because federal agencies sometimes are referred to as 'alphabet soup' due to their varied acronyms. Prosecutors says Justus responded with 'lets boogie.' The third member of the chat later wrote that Oakland might be 'popping off' with police protests. The next day, Carrillo drove from Travis Air Force Base and picked up Justus. He offered him body armor and a firearm. Justus, who turned himself in after the deputy was killed, told investigators he wouldn't take the weapon and gear. Justus said he drove Carrillo's white van, parked it near the courthouse and then did a 10-minute walk around the area. Justus told investigators that he did not want to participate in the killing but felt he was forced to because he was trapped in the van with Carrillo. In her lawsuit, Jacobs Underwood also blamed Facebook for participating in the indoctrination of Justus, a high school dropout. 'Meta led Justus down a road toward extremism, recommending, among other things, that he join boogaloo-related groups, including the group that introduced him to Carrillo, where members conspired to commit acts of violence against federal law enforcement officers under the cover of the protests taking place in response to the police killing of George Floyd,' the lawsuit says. Facebook in June 2020 moved to limit the movements exposure on its platform by no longer recommending user groups associated with the term 'boogaloo' to members of similar associations. The Royal Navy has admitted one of its warships collided with a Russian hunter-killer submarine in the north Atlantic in what is believed to be the first collision between Russian and British vessels since the Cold War. The Russian submarine was lurking 200 miles north of Scotland in 'late 2020' when the crew of HMS Northumberland was dispatched on a 48-hour mission to hunt it down amid fears it would try to tap into or cut undersea cables essential for communication and the internet. The Royal Navy's Type 23 frigate sailed into the region where the sub was believed to be hiding and deployed its array sonar - a cable covered in hydrophones pulled along behind the hull - to listen for sounds from the sub. But in what a navy source has described as a 'million-to-one chance event', the submarine passed right behind the British vessel and smashed into the sonar cable being towed behind the frigate. The collision, which was caught on film by a Channel 5 TV crew, did considerable damage to the HMS Northumberland's sonar device which was raked across the Russian sub's hull, forcing the British crew to abort their mission and return to base for repairs. In the video of the moment of impact, a crew member is heard exclaiming, 'what the f*** have I just hit?'. At the time, it is believed the Russian submarine knew that HMS Northumberland was there, but Navy sources said the collision must have been an accident. A handout picture provided by the British Ministry of Defence shows the HMS Northumberland (front) monitoring the Russian destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov as it sails north-west of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, in December 2020 The collision was caught on film by a Channel 5 TV crew. In the video of the moment of impact, a crew member is heard exclaiming, 'what the f*** have I just hit?' The collision was caught on film as part of Channel 5 show Warship: Life At Sea - which airs on Mondays at 9pm HMS Northumberland Armament: 1 32-cell Sea Wolf GWS.26 VLS canisters for 32: Sea Wolf (range 110 km) or Sea Ceptor missiles (1-25+ km) 2 quad Harpoon launchers 2 twin 12.75 in (324 mm) Sting Ray torpedo tubes 1 BAE 4.5 inch Mk 8 naval gun 2 30 mm DS30M Mk2 guns, or, 2 30 mm DS30B guns 2 Miniguns 4 General-purpose machine guns Range: 7,500 nautical miles Speed: 28 knots (32mph) Size: (l) 436ft Crew: 185 Advertisement The collision, which took place in late last year according to a Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokesman, came amid a period of tense close-calls between British and Russian ships. The collision was caught on film as part of Channel 5 show Warship: Life At Sea - which airs on Mondays at 9pm. Commander Thom Hobbs says in the clip: 'We are very close to the submarine, we are probably parallel. 'If they were on the surface we would definitely see faces.' The Royal Navy reported it had shadowed a total of nine Russian warships around the UK in the space of just two weeks in the run up to December 2020. A Navy source told the Sun of the collision: '[The sonar device] was badly chewed up and unusable. 'The crew of the submarine would have sh*t themselves,' he said, before adding that the submarine would've also likely incurred damage as a result of the crash. Tom Sharpe OBE, the former commanding officer of Royal Navy warship HMS St Albans, said: 'The question is, was it deliberate or was it an accident? 'Ship and submarine detection is not an exact science. It could have been a close pass gone wrong,' Sharpe said, but added: 'the Russian threat to our undersea communications is real, on our doorstep and ever increasing.' An MOD spokesman said: 'In late 2020 a Russian submarine being tracked by HMS Northumberland came into contact with her towed array sonar. 'The Royal Navy regularly tracks foreign ships and submarines in order to ensure the defence of the United Kingdom.' The Russian embassy in London declined to comment. The news of the seaborne collision comes as Russia continues to bulk up its military capabilities amid rising tensions in eastern Europe. The Russian submarine was lurking under the waters 200 miles north of Scotland when the crew of HMS Northumberland was dispatched to hunt it down (pictured: a Russian Akula class submarine) Map shows where crash took place, 200 miles north of Scotland near the Arctic Circle Vladimir Putin declared Russia's ongoing programme to upgrade its military power had seen a successful test-firing of multiple Zircon hypersonic missiles in December Russia currently has up to 100,000 troops stationed along the Ukrainian border amid warnings from the Pentagon that an invasion could take place within weeks. Just one week ago, Russian state media announced that the military had successfully deployed a new missile designed to shoot down nukes and satellites in space. The S-550 missile defence system is thought to be Russia's latest foray into the space arms race - designed to take out targets hundreds of miles above earth such as low-orbit satellites, nuclear warheads, and orbital hypersonic weapons. Moscow is thought to have carried out a test of this weapon system last month when it blew up one of its own defunct spy satellites in a move that enraged Washington and ramped up tensions with NATO. The test came just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the successful test-firing of a salvo of new generation hypersonic missiles. Russia's top-secret S-550 'star wars' missile system has entered active service, defence sources have said, after a number of rumoured tests (pictured) As world powers race to develop advanced weaponry, Russia has carried out a number of successful tests of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. Pictured: An test of Russia's Zircon missile in November The 'Zircon' missiles are being developed as part of an ongoing programme of development in Russia targeted at upgrading the eastern superpower's military capabilities. The test, which saw a salvo of Zircon missiles launched 'successfully and immaculately' last month, was described by Putin as 'a big event in the life of the country and a considerable step in strengthening Russia's security and improving its defence capability.' The Zircon missiles are set to go into use with Russia's navy later this year, and can be fired from a number of Russia's submarines - a threat demonstrated last November with another successful seaborne launch. A close family friend of two Christian bakers who were embroiled in a discrimination case after they refused to bake a 'support gay marriage' cake has said the couple are 'relieved and happy' that the seven-year 'ordeal' is over. Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute and friend of bakers Daniel and Amy McArthur, exclusively told the MailOnline: 'They're happy at the result, relieved and happy for us to deal with the media on their behalf. 'The European Court has made clear that this decision on inadmissibility [of the case] is the final ruling, so that's the end of the road. 'The family have had this hanging over them for [close to eight] years but throughout that time they have always publicly and privately held very closely to their Christian faith and they've taken comfort in that. 'They're private people, this hasn't been easy for them as you can imagine, but they knew that they hadn't done anything wrong. 'They knew that they hadn't done anything unlawful and they were vindicated by the UK Supreme Court and they've been vindicated again today by the ruling from Strasbourg.' The Northern Ireland Equality Commission faces 'serious questions' after it spent 251,000 of public money backing a gay activist who brought legal action against Christian bakers, the region's First Minister said - as he claimed the case 'should never have been brought to court in the first place'. WHAT DOES THE ECHR RULING MEAN? The European court is a 'subsidiary' to national systems, not an alternative, meaning that national courts should determine human rights cases first. This means that if an application is brought to the European court in Strasbourg, it should 'have the benefit of the views of the national courts', ECHR rules say. The rule is intended to give national authorities, primarily the courts, the opportunity to 'prevent or put right the alleged violations of the [Human Rights] Convention' themselves, the ECHR's Practical Guide on Admissibility Criteria says. Today, the ECHR threw out Gareth Lee's complaint that he was discriminated against over a Christian bakery's refusal to make him a cake iced with 'Support Gay Marriage' because he had not 'exhausted domestic remedies'. This is because Mr Lee did not specifically argue in the British courts that his human rights - as set out by the European Convention on Human Rights - were violated. Bringing a case to a national court is known as a 'domestic remedy'. There is an obligation in international law to 'exhaust domestic remedies', which means national courts should have an opportunity to settle a case first. Advertisement The high-profile controversy began when Gareth Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, ordered a 36.50 cake from the Ashers bakery in Belfast, run by Daniel and Amy McArthur, in May 2014. The couple refused to fulfil the order because they disagreed with the slogan - 'Support Gay Marriage' - which was supposed to be drawn in icing on the dessert item, which also featured Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie. This sparked a seven-year-old legal battle which cost The Equality Commission of Northern Ireland 251,000 of public money backing Mr Lee, while the Christian Institute covered 250,000 of legal costs for Ashers Baking Company, which takes its name from an Old Testament figure. But in what appears to be a finishing blow for Mr Lee's case, the European court in Strasbourg threw out his complaint today, ruling that he should have brought up the alleged violation of the human rights convention in British courts - which he failed to do. Northern Ireland's First Minister Paul Givan said the case raises 'serious questions' for Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, which backed Gareth Lee in his court actions. Mr Givan said: 'I am glad the European Court of Human Rights has ruled this to be inadmissible. It validates the decision of the UK Supreme Court, which was to say that this never should have been brought to court in the first place.' Phoenix Law, who represented Mr Lee, acted on a pro-bono basis for the European court case, meaning they did not charge him legal fees because of 'the significance and public interest level', his lawyer Ciaran Moynagh told MailOnline, adding: 'And therefore there was no cost to the taxpayer [for the ECHR case].' He also said that, while Mr Lee may not be able to re-hash his own case in British courts, if a similar incident were to arise he and his legal team would offer their support. 'Instead of going to a county court on a goods, facilities, services and premises basis, it would be straight to the High Court on a human rights challenge because the legislation needs testing,' he added. The ECHR deals with cases free of charge, but claimants will still typically have to bear their own costs such as lawyers' fees - unless advocates take the case pro-bono - or research expenses. Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy, the owners of Ashers bakery, pictured in 2018. Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute and friend of the McArthurs, exclusively told the MailOnline: 'They're happy and relieved at the result. They knew they hadn't done anything wrong.' The Belfast bakers refused to make a cake decorated with the words 'Support Gay Marriage' (pictured: A cake with a similar design, made by another bakery) Calvert told the MailOnline: 'There's no way Mr Lee's lawyers can attempt to relitigate events from years ago and I think most people would like to think that the McArthur's can now just get on with their lives. 'I want to say that I've got no doubts whatsoever that this has also been a difficult ordeal for Mr Lee, I've said that before and I'll say it again. 'But if I had the opportunity to have a coffee with Mr Lee, I would want to say this isn't a ruling which in any way endorses discrimination against gay people. 'The idea that the UK Supreme Court is somehow a bastion of homophobia is ludicrous. 'No, it's a ruling which benefits everybody - Christians, gay people, everybody benefits from the protection of freedom of speech. 'Lots of people who don't agree with the McArthur family's Christian faith will still be very happy today that their successful appeal to the UK Supreme Court still stands. 'I mean, I'm surprised that anybody would've wanted to try to overturn a ruling that protects everyone's free speech, because the Supreme Court ruling protects a gay baker from being forced to print cakes saying that gay marriage is an abomination, just as much as it protects Christian bakers from having to support gay marriage. 'So the Supreme Court ruling is a ruling which protects everybody's free speech. 'It has been an ordeal for everybody involved and I think most people will just be glad that we can finally draw a line under it and that we've reached a settlement in the courts that benefits people on all sides of the debate.' How the 'gay cake case' has been running for seven years Timeline of the 'gay cake case' May 9, 2014 : Gareth Lee asks the Ashers bakery for a cake to be decorated with the slogan 'Support Gay Marriage' : Gareth Lee asks the Ashers bakery for a cake to be decorated with the slogan 'Support Gay Marriage' May 12, 2014 : Owner Daniel McArthur calls Mr Lee to say that they would not print the cake because it goes against their beliefs. Mr Lee later gets another bakery to make the cake : Owner Daniel McArthur calls Mr Lee to say that they would not print the cake because it goes against their beliefs. Mr Lee later gets another bakery to make the cake June 26, 2014 : The Equality Commission sends the bakers a letter, claiming they had acted unlawfully : The Equality Commission sends the bakers a letter, claiming they had acted unlawfully October 27, 2014 : The Commission tells the the McArthurs they also breached political and religious discrimination laws : The Commission tells the the McArthurs they also breached political and religious discrimination laws November 7, 2014 : Legal action against the bakers is begun : Legal action against the bakers is begun March 26, 27 and 30, 2015 : Case is heard at Laganside Courts in Belfast : Case is heard at Laganside Courts in Belfast May 19, 2015 : Court rules the bakery breached political and sexual orientation discrimination regulations and orders it to pay 500 damages. : Court rules the bakery breached political and sexual orientation discrimination regulations and orders it to pay 500 damages. 9-12 May, 2015 : Appeal by the Ashers is heard at the Court of Appeal in Belfast : Appeal by the Ashers is heard at the Court of Appeal in Belfast October 24, 2016 : Court of Appeal rules against the bakery : Court of Appeal rules against the bakery May 1-2, 2018 : Hearing at the Supreme Court in Belfast : Hearing at the Supreme Court in Belfast October 10, 2018 : Bakers win their appeal over discrimination claims : Bakers win their appeal over discrimination claims March 2019 : Mr Lee makes an application to the European Court of Human Rights : Mr Lee makes an application to the European Court of Human Rights January 2020 : Northern Ireland recognises same-sex marriage : Northern Ireland recognises same-sex marriage January 6, 2022 : The ECHR rules the case 'inadmissible' because Mr Lee had failed to exhaust domestic remedies Advertisement Lorcan Price, legal counsel faith-based advocacy group ADF International, said the UK Supreme Court had 'rightly protected the religious rights of service providers'. His group said in a statement: 'With the support of the tax-payer funded Equality Commission of Northern Ireland, Gareth Lee, who had ordered the cake, sued the bakery for discrimination, with UK charity, the Christian Institute, supporting the McArthur family. In October 2018 the UK Supreme Court unanimously held that the bakery had acted lawfully.' They added: 'The issues in the Ashers Bakery case reflect wider concerns that citizens across Europe face when anti-discrimination laws are misapplied to prevent them living out their faith including through their business and professional lives.' The commission had supported Mr Lee's claim in Britain, but said it had 'no remit to assist Mr Lee to make his application' to the ECHR on August 15, 2019. He had referred the case to the ECHR, claiming appropriate weight was not given to him under the European Convention of Human Rights, after the UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Christian bakers in 2018. When the row broke out in 2014, same-sex marriage was not legal in Northern Ireland, but it was officially recognised in January 2020. The Christian Institute welcomed the ECHR ruling today, saying it was 'good news for free speech, good news for Christians'. 'I'm surprised anyone would want to overturn a ruling that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they don't share, just as much as it protects Christian business owners,' spokesman Simon Calvert said. A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Equality Commission told MailOnline: 'The Equality Commission provides support and assistance to people who feel they may have been discriminated against contrary to Northern Ireland's equality laws, including providing assistance to take a legal case to court or tribunal. 'This is in accordance with our statutory remit, as an independent public body with an important role in ensuring effective application of Northern Ireland's equality laws. 'Whilst the Commission did not support Mr Lee in his application to the European Court of Human Rights, we had supported Mr Lee's discrimination case in the domestic courts in line with our remit. 'The Belfast County Court and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal found that Mr Lee had been discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation, political opinion and religious belief. The Supreme Court overturned these findings in 2018. Northern Ireland's First Minister Paul Givan, pictured in December, said the 'gay cake' case 'should never have been brought to court in the first place' 'In support of Mr Lee's discrimination case against Ashers Baking Company Ltd in the domestic courts, the Commission's legal expenditure amounted to 250,603.86 over the four financial years.' But speaking after the ruling, Mr Lee said he had 'hoped for a different outcome' in his challenge to the ECHR, adding that he was 'most frustrated that the core issues did not get fairly analysed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality'. Mr Lee's lawyer, Ciaran Moynagh of Phoenix Law, said they would consider whether to bring a fresh court challenge under domestic law. Belfast-based human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice described the ECHR not being able to deal with the issue 'on a technicality' represents a 'missed opportunity' to clarify the law, and there is now an 'ambiguity' on whether campaigners can be refused services like printing leaflets or setting up websites on the basis of 'it's not you, it's your message'. And John O'Doherty, director of LGBTQ support group the Rainbow Project, said the ECHR ruling may bring the case to a close, but 'there remains a number of questions around what protections exist for LGBTQIA+ people when accessing goods, facilities and services following the Supreme Court decision in October 2018.' Gay rights activist Mr Lee said he had 'hoped for a different outcome' in his challenge to the ECHR over the 'gay cake' case. He said: 'Everyone has freedom of expression and it must equally apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. 'The message on the cake was mine and I paid a company that printed messages on cakes to print my message. 'My message supported the campaign for same-sex marriage that was ultimately successful and I am delighted with that. 'I am most frustrated that the core issues did not get fairly analysed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality. 'None of us should be expected to have to figure out the beliefs of a company's owners before going into their shop or paying for their services. 'This case has put a spotlight on the challenges faced by LGBT+ in Northern Ireland. 'I will continue to support all law that protects and gives rights to all people equally.' The ECHR ruling said: 'Convention arguments must be raised explicitly or in substance before the domestic authorities. The applicant had not invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings. 'By relying solely on domestic law, the applicant had deprived the domestic courts of the opportunity to address any Convention issues raised, instead asking the court to usurp the role of the domestic courts. 'Because he had failed to exhaust domestic remedies, the application was inadmissible.' Councillor Andrew Muir was photographed cutting a replacement cake at a gay rights event in 2014 In 2018, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee was not discriminated against The cake, which featured Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie, was intended for a private function marking the International Day Against Homophobia. The order was accepted and he paid in full, but two days later the Christian owners of the company called to say it could not proceed due to the message requested. Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, launched the legal case, supported by Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, alleging discrimination on the grounds of his sexuality. The case was fought in several courts, eventually in 2018 reaching the UK Supreme Court, which ruled that Mr Lee was not discriminated against when Ashers bakery refused to make him a cake with the slogan supporting gay marriage. Mr Lee then referred the case to the ECHR, claiming that the Supreme Court failed to give appropriate weight to him under the European Convention of Human Rights. But the ECHR in Strasbourg today ruled that the case was 'inadmissible', finding that Mr Lee had failed to 'exhaust domestic remedies' in the case, and he had not 'invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings'. Mr Lee had previously won hearings at the county court and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in 2015 and 2016, but the owners of Ashers - backed by the Christian Institute - challenged those rulings at the Supreme Court. In 2018 five justices unanimously ruled that they had not discriminated against the customer. The Supreme Court's then president, Lady Hale, said that the bakers did not refuse to fulfil the order because of the customer's sexual orientation, but because they objected to 'the message on the cake'. Mr Lee then referred the case to the ECHR, claiming that the Supreme Court failed to give appropriate weight to him under the European Convention of Human Rights. He claims that his rights were interfered with by the decision of the UK's highest court to dismiss his claim for breach of statutory duty to provide services, and the interference was not proportionate. The high-profile controversy first flared when Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, ordered a 36.50 cake from the Ashers bakery, run by Daniel and Amy McArthur, in May 2014 In a previous hearing, the UK Supreme Court's then president, Lady Hale, said the McArthur family hold the religious belief that 'the only form of marriage consistent with the Bible and acceptable to God is between a man and a woman'. She said: 'As to Mr Lee's claim based on sexual discrimination, the bakers did not refuse to fulfil his order because of his sexual orientation. 'They would have refused to make such a cake for any customer, irrespective of their sexual orientation. 'Their objection was to the message on the cake, not to the personal characteristics of Mr Lee or of anyone else with whom he was associated.' Mr Lee said at the time that the refusal to make the cake made him feel like a 'second-class citizen'. The McArthurs said they did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message requested on the cake. The Christian Institute welcomed the ECHR ruling, saying it was the 'right result'. Spokesman Simon Calvert said: 'The UK Supreme Court engaged at length with the human rights arguments in this case and upheld the McArthurs' rights to freedom of expression and religion. 'It was disappointing to see another attempt to undermine those rights, so it is a relief that the attempt has failed. 'I'm surprised anyone would want to overturn a ruling that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they don't share, just as much as it protects Christian business owners. 'The ruling in October 2018 by five of the country's most distinguished and experienced judges was welcomed by lawyers, commentators and free speech experts from across the spectrum. 'They all knew of the implications for freedom of speech and religion, had the decision gone against Ashers. Gay rights activist Gareth Lee, center, leaves Laganside court, Northern Ireland, Thursday March 26, 2015 'This is good news for free speech, good news for Christians, and good news for the McArthurs.' Belfast-based human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) described the ECHR ruling in the 'gay cake' case as a 'missed opportunity'. Daniel Holder, deputy director of the CAJ, said: 'The European Court of Human Rights having not been able to deal with this issue on a technicality is a missed opportunity for it to clarify its case law on sexual orientation and discrimination in the private sector, particularly when it is said to relate to the message rather than the customer. 'We believe this leaves an ambiguity whereby individuals and organisations across Europe actively campaigning on gay rights would be particularly vulnerable to a commercial business refusing to provide services like printing posters, leaflets, setting up websites, etc, through claiming an exemption to non-discrimination laws on the basis of 'it's not you, it's your message'.' Mr Lee's lawyer Mr Moynagh said: 'Mr Lee brought the appropriate and only application available to him and dealt with all arguments that arose in the course of appeals. 'We are clear that Mr Lee's convention rights were engaged and put forward during the litigation. 'Given the position the European court has taken, we will now consider whether a fresh domestic case is progressed. 'The substantive issues raised by my client in his application to the ECHR remain unaddressed and this is a missed opportunity. 'Today's decision means that the law here in NI remains in a state of uncertainty as to how persons' rights can be protected. 'Owners of limited companies have long taken advantage of being able to separate themselves financially from their business. 'We continue to believe they should also keep their political and religious views separate.' President Biden should change his COVID strategy to accept a 'new normal' of COVID-19 rather than rather than keeping the nation on an emergency footing, according to six of his former health advisers. In a series of articles published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association they call for improved surveillance, testing, masking and ventilation that will allow the nation to live with the virus. At the same time, the White House insisted the goal remained 'to defeat the virus' even as a growing band of experts says the effort is in vain. 'As the US moves from crisis to control, this national strategy needs to be updated,' they write. 'Policy makers need to specify the goals and strategies for the new normal of life with COVID-19 and communicate them clearly to the public.' They are the latest to suggest that the effort to reduce virus levels to zero is the wrong approach. Six of President Biden's former health advisers urged him to change tack on the pandemic to better prepare the nation for the 'new normal' of endemic COVID-19 Will COVID deaths stay low during Omicron surge? Data show current US death rate is HALF that of January 2021 While Omicron drives record COVID-19 case increases in the U.S., deaths have stayed relatively low so far - with about 1,300 Americans dying each day in the past week, compared with 2,600 deaths per day at this point in 2021. The variant's inherently milder qualities, combined with high levels of immunity from vaccination and prior infections, may mean that a low percentage of people infected in the Omicron surge will face severe symptoms. The U.S. could follow the U.K., where the current COVID mortality rate is 21 times lower than it was during the country's second wave. Following a large wave of cases in the U.S., some experts say that the variant could lead to even higher levels of population immunity - meaning that future surges will be even less severe. Experts call the phenomenon of the rising case rate compared to a low death rate 'decoupling': hospitalizations and deaths used to increase at the same rate as cases during surges, but now they increase at lower rates. In the U.S., decoupling may be attributed to both Omicron's inherent biology and high levels of immunity in the population. A growing number of studies are showing that Omicron is less likely to cause severe symptoms than past coronavirus strains. Unlike other variants, Omicron can rapidly replicate in the upper airways - but has limited capacity to wreak havoc in the lungs, where the worst respiratory symptoms take place. More than 70 percent of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose, while about one-third have been infected at some point, computational biologist Trevor Bedford recently told STAT News. 'Factored together, that's 80-odd percent [of people with some immunity,' Bedford said. While the vaccines are less effective at protecting against Omicron infections than they were at preventing infection from past strains, vaccine protection against severe disease remains strong. Experts are observing a similar decoupling pattern in the U.K., which is a couple of weeks ahead of the U.S. in its Omicron wave. Dr David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline the strain's emergence could be the best thing to have happened for the pandemic, echoing comments made by health experts in Denmark earlier this week. He said: 'With the spread of Omicron over the past three weeks, recorded cases have gone from around 50,000 per day to around 200,000. 'This has not fed through into an increased death rate - and a rise would have been expected by now, if it was going to happen. it and its take over should be welcomed.' Advertisement They were all members of a medical board that advised Biden during the transition, and include Dr. Luciana Borio, former acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist, medical ethicist and University of Pennsylvania professor. Their papers argue that the new normal should place COVID-19 within the constellation of circulating respiratory viruses. To better prepare for future outbreaks, public health officials should draft benchmarks - such as numbers of hospitalizations and deaths - that should trigger emergency measures. 'The new normal requires recognizing that SARS-CoV-2 is but one of several circulating respiratory viruses that include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and more,' write Emanuel, Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert at New York University. 'COVID-19 must now be considered among the risks posed by all respiratory viral illnesses combined.' They point out that Biden proclaimed '"weve gained the upper hand against this virus," and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relaxed its guidance for mask wearing and socializing' in July 2021, only for Delta and Omicron to upend things again. Rather than a 'perpetual state of emergency,' a new pandemic strategy, better access to testing and better data collection would allow the country to react to peaks when necessary. The authors call for every person in the United States to have access to low-cost testing. They say Biden's plan to buy 500 million rapid tests is not enough. And they say surveillance systems must be improved. 'The recent emergence of the Omicron variant has highlighted the need for a comprehensive, nationwide environmental surveillance system that includes wastewater and air sampling to monitor for potential outbreaks of viral and bacterial illnesses,' they write. The authors said they had made their views knows to Biden officials. 'We understand that they have their hands full and are working to try to do everything right to get through this surge,' Dr. Rick Bright, the chief executive of the Rockefeller Foundations Pandemic Prevention Institute, and author of two of the pieces, told the New York Times. 'But at the same time, we think a lot of work still needs to be done to see through that smoke to see how this is going to end, and start laying down steps for how we will be able to live a normal life with' the virus. During her regular daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked whether the president was coming around to the idea that COVID-19 was here to stay. 'Well, of course, the president's ultimate goal continues to be to defeat the virus,' she said. 'But what you have seen the president do and the administration do in recent weeks and months is really expand the tools we have to fight the virus and to reduce hospitalisation to reduce the chance of death, to purchase large quantities of treatment options in order to help people who do who do get the virus who do get seriously ill.' She was later asked whether she had seen the papers. 'It's obviously been a busy day to read these articles,' she said. Tributes have been paid to a 'beautiful and kind' paramedic who died after a collision between an ambulance and a cement lorry. Alice Clark, 21, a newly-qualified paramedic who joined the South East Coast Ambulance Service in November 2021, died at the scene after the crash on the A21 near Tonbridge, Kent, on Wednesday night. Three members of staff were travelling in the ambulance at the time of the crash but were not transporting a patient. Multiple crews attended the scene, including the air ambulance service alongside police and fire service colleagues. A male paramedic, who sustained serious multiple injuries, was airlifted to Kings College Hospital in London and a student paramedic, who was travelling in the rear of the vehicle, was taken to hospital with a head injury. The lorry driver suffered minor injuries, a spokesperson for South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said. Today, Alice's parents said their daughter would be 'missed more than words can say'. Tributes have been paid to paramedic Alice Clark, 21, who died after a collision between an ambulance and a cement lorry In a statement shared by South East Coast Ambulance Service, her parents said: 'Alice was so excited to qualify as a paramedic and looked forward to every shift. 'She was a beautiful, kind, fun-loving daughter, sister and granddaughter. 'She loved to travel and anyone who met her loved her. She will be missed more than words can say by family and friends. We would ask for privacy at this very sad and tragic time for us.' Paying tribute today, Giovanni Mazza, Manager for the Paddock Wood Operating Unit where Alice was based said: 'Although she had only been with us for a short time, Alice was already very much part of our ambulance family and will be remembered as a kind and dedicated paramedic. 'She will be deeply and sadly missed by her colleagues and we're sending our love and prayers to her family and friends during this horrendous time.' Yesterday SECAmb Executive Director of Operations Emma Williams said: 'We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and our heart-felt sympathies go to her family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time. 'Our thoughts are also with the other injured staff members as well as all of those who responded to the incident. 'We are supporting the police in their enquiries and would urge anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact them.' Crash scene investigation teams spent hours collecting evidence and using specialist laser scanners to try and recreate what happened. Dashcam footage is said to have been recovered from the two vehicles, but police are keen to see more from others in the area who witnessed the collision. Members of the ambulance service at the scene after the crash on the A21 near Tonbridge, Kent, on Wednesday night Crash scene investigation teams spent hours collecting evidence and using specialist laser scanners to try and recreate what happened Police were called at 8.16pm last night after a crash between an ambulance and a cement lorry The crushed front of the ambulance is seen following the crash in Sevenoaks, Kent The road was closed for several hours as the force investigated the area before finally reopening just before 8am this morning. A Kent Police spokesman said: 'Dashcam footage and witnesses are being sought following a collision on the coastbound carriageway of the A21 near Sevenoaks. 'Kent Police was called to the scene at 8.16pm on Wednesday 5 January 2022, following a report of a collision involving an ambulance and a cement lorry. 'Officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit have commenced an investigation and are asking anyone with dashcam footage prior to the incident to come forward. 'Anyone who witnessed the collision is also being asked to contact officers.' Officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are asking anyone with dashcam footage prior to the incident to come forward Anyone who witnessed the collision is also being asked to contact officers Road closures are in place and motorists are being asked to check their route before travelling A spokesman for the SECAmb UNISON Branch, which represents operational ambulance staff, said: 'Our thoughts are with everyone involved with this awful tragedy, including those who attended the scene on the night, and those still in hospital. 'UNISON is supporting members distressed by the events and hopes for a full recovery for our injured colleagues.' Community First Responders Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells, a charity of trained volunteers who respond to 999 calls assisting SECAmb, said in a statement posted on Facebook: 'Our thoughts are with all those involved in this tragic incident, such sad news. 'The professionalism and dedication of the crews that attended this incident to care for their friends and colleagues makes us all immensely proud to be a part of the SECAmb family. 'I'm sure we'll all be hugging our loved ones that bit tighter today.' Flight cancellations within the US have topped 1,000 for the 12th day in a row as airlines battle inclement weather and staff shortages from the Omicron variant during a winter that has seen travel numbers climb back to pre-pandemic levels. Airlines have cancelled 2,000 flights and delayed 2,900 flights going to, from or within the country as of Thursday afternoon, according to tracking website FlightAware. Southwest, United and Skywest have recorded the most disruptions today, with Southwest alone cancelling 580 flights and delaying 589. On Monday, Delta blamed 'a series of winter weather systems throughout the US coupled with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant' for straining its operations. United Airlines, which cancelled 236 flights and delayed 199 on Thursday, blamed the 'nationwide spike in Omicron' in a statement provided to DailyMail.com. Thursday marked the 12th consecutive day of more than 1,000 flight cancellations in the US Airlines on Thursday axed 2,000 flights and delayed 2,900 flights. Above, travelers at Newark airport in New Jersey rest before their flights on Monday Airlines have the Omicron variant as a reason for the disruptions. Above, passengers walk through the Miami International Airport on Monday On Wednesday, 1,790 flights were cancelled and more than 6,000 were delayed within the United States. Above, travelers at the Delta counter at Salt Lake City airport on December 30 Airlines like United have also blamed bad winter weather for disrupting flight patterns Meanwhile, travelers continue to sound off on social media after their post-holiday plans are thwarted, with many having a hard time getting back home after enduring delays and cancellations en route to holiday destinations. Flights have been disrupted since before Christmas Eve, but Thursday marks the 12th consecutive day that flight cancellations have topped 1,000. Nearly 1,000 US flights were cancelled on Christmas and more than 3,000 were delayed, with travelers sleeping on airport floors and desperately lining up at check-in counters in airports across the country. On Wednesday, 1,790 flights were cancelled and more than 6,000 were delayed within the United States. The trend continued on Thursday. People are still taking to Twitter to complain about widespread flight cancellations One twitter user wrote, 'Guess I live in Maryland now since my flight has been cancelled 4 times.' Another one added: 'Southwest cancelled my flight tomorrow morn and they better not cancel my evening flight now.' Customers are jamming up phone lines along with check-in counters. 'First time in years I booked a trip on @united,' wrote upstate New York radio host Robbie Raugh. 'My trip was cancelled twice in the last 4 hours without any other flights available. And now your message says you cant process the refund and I need to call. Of course the wait time is hours. I know times are tough but wow.' 'The nationwide spike in Omicron cases has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,' United said in a statement to DailyMail.com 'As a result, we've unfortunately had to cancel some flights and have been working to notify impacted customers up to a week in advance of them coming to the airport. Were sorry for the disruption and are working hard to rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way.' Delta cancelled 55 flights and delayed 240 on Thursday. The airline also blamed winter weather and Omicron and said it was working to 'reroute and substitute aircraft and crews' The airline predicted more cancellations due to 'winter weather' in the Northeast and Denver in a tweet Wednesday. Delta Airlines, which cancelled 55flights and delayed 240 on Thursday, cited similar reasons for the melees at airports across the country. 'A series of winter weather systems throughout the US coupled with the rapidly spreading omicron variant put extraordinary pressure on our operation, our employees and customers like you,' the company wrote Wednesday on its website. 'It has been one of the most difficult operational environments weve ever faced, and it forced us to cancel hundreds of flights as a result.' Delta says it's 'working to reroute and substitute aircraft and crews' and to get people on the next available flight as soon as possible The airline says it's also removing change fees and extending SkyMiles and other reward benefits. Southwest Airlines said wintery conditions at some of its largest hubs, including the main airports in Baltimore, Denver, Nashville and Chicago. Travelers have grown frustrated as their holiday return plans have been thwarted. Above, people waiting in line at Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport in New York City Some passengers have complained of long lines at airports and even longer queues to speak on the phone with a representative. Above, Miami International Airport on Monday The cancellations come as travelers resume flying at numbers seen before the pandemic. Nearly 1.5 million people in the US flew on Wednesday, up from 665,855 who flew a year ago 'As we work to balance staffing amid the weather disruptions, our COVID-19 sick call counts among Employees, and the required quarantines for close contact among other individuals, are experiencing an uptick. This uptick is reflective of the national COVID-19 trend but adds another layer of complication when working to recover our network.' the airline wrote Thursday in a statement to DailyMail.com. Regional airline Skywest, which carries United, Delta and American passengers on smaller routes, recorded 349 cancellations and 640 delays on Thursday. Airlines are especially struggling as the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant coincides with a rise in travel numbers that mirrors pre-pandemic days. On Wednesday, January 5, the Transportation Security Administration checked nearly 1.5 million people at checkpoints in airports across the country. That's significantly up from the 665,855 people who traveled domestically a year ago and close to the 1.8 million people who traveled on January 5, 2020, before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Similarly, 1.7 million traveled through US airports on Christmas Eve, up from about 616,000 on December 25, 2020 and inching closer to the nearly 2.6 million who traveled on December 25, 2019, days after the first patients with COVID reported feeling shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The seven-day rolling average of 587,098 new cases remains up 95 percent from a week ago Cases began soaring in December due to the more contagious Omicron variant Deaths, however, have remained low, with 1,986 new deaths recorded Wednesday, a 15 percent decline from week-ago levels Meanwhile, the seven-day rolling average of 587,098 new cases remains up 95 percent from a week ago, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Deaths remained low, with 1,986 new deaths recorded Wednesday, a 15 percent decline from week-ago levels on a rolling average basis. On a seven-day rolling average, the US has recorded 1,318 deaths. Hospitalizations are increasing, but remain well below their peak levels a year ago. About 85,000 Covid patients are currently hospitalized in America's hospitals, compared to a peak of 124,000 during last winter's surge, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Experts predicted the current flight chaos back in October. Pilots back then were already complaining about work conditions due to understaffing. People wait outside a COVID-19 testing site at the Miami airport on Monday 'We want that flying to get done, but we don't want tickets sold that can't be fulfilled,' Capt. Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, told CNN at the time. 'Are they biting off more they can they chew?' In November, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby expressed concern about staff numbers. He said he supported vaccine mandates for staff because tests were unreliable. 'Imagine if you have thousands of employees on one day calling in and saying, "For some reason, my test didn't pass,'" he said to investors. 'I mean it is going to be a huge challenge for airlines that are not implementing vaccine requirements. Customers can book with confidence on United. We're done with it.' United has cancelled 172 flights and delayed 568 on Thursday. A far-right, anti-vax podcaster died from COVID-19 after he allegedly caught it at the ReAwaken America Tour in Texas late December where attendees accused the host of pumping anthrax through the fog machines. Doug Kazum, 61, died on Monday after a 10-day-long battle with COVID in the hospital, with friends telling The Daily Beast that he caught it at the Dallas event during the December 11 weekend. Event organizer Clay Clark has vehemently denied the rumors that he poisoned people with anthrax after some attendees got sick and refused to believe they contracted COVID at the crowded, maskless event. Kazum, of Virginia, ran the Fully Rely On God, or FROG News show and covered Clark's event, where the podcaster interviewed guests that made false claims about hospitals intentionally killing patients, doctors inflating COVID numbers and that the vaccine was being used to kill seniors. Doug Kazum (left) attended the ReAwaken America Tour in Dallas on December 11. He interviewed many anti-vax guests, like Dr. Bryan Ardis, who urged Americans to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine and tests, claiming they were used to kill people The event was led by Clay Clark (center) who was accused of poisoning attendees with anthrax after some, like Kazum, contracted COVID -19 One of his usual guests, Dr. Bryan Ardis, joined him at the tour stop and urged Americans to avoid not only the vaccine, but also PCR COVID testing. 'This is a direct onslaught and murderous plot to actually wipe out and weed out a of the strain our federal government considers the Medicare age group,' Ardis said of the US vaccine rollout. Kazum stood by Ardis and urged his listeners to listen to his advice. After returning form the Q-Anon friendly event, Kazum's health took a turn for the worse, with fellow right-wing podcaster and friend Tim Greer telling the Daily Beast that Kazum was hospitalized by the end of December. Greer also suggested that Kazum caught COVID at the Dallas event. 'He didn't have it before he went there, let's say that,' Greer said. Kuzma's daughter, Amanda Kuzma, confirmed that her father had been hospitalized and died on January 3. 'I really loved him and I would do anything for him,' she told the Daily Beast. 'He was a great father.' Clay Clark (right) organized the ReAwaken America Tour, a far-right event touring the nation that congregates hundreds together without masks or social distancing Hundreds attended the event in Dallas on the December 11 weekend The ReAwaken America tour brought out many far-right favorites, including former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, who spoke during the event in November The Dallas event was part of Clark's ReAwaken America tour help across several states and have included popular guests like Donald Trump Jr., former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Despite rumors that attendees were poisoned with anthrax - as some experienced coughs and shortness of breath afterwards - there was no evidence of the substance being used at the event. Like the rest of the Nation, Texas has experienced a surge in COVID-19 due to the spread of the Omicron variant. The state reported 35,453 new cases as of Thursday, and about 9,514 additional suspected cases. While cases have soared, the death rate has remained relatively low compared to previous spikes, with Texas confirming 126 new deaths on Thursday. Missing seven-year-old Harmony Montgomery's dad has been blasted as a 'sweet-talking' liar by his mother-in-law - who told DailyMail.com: 'He's pure evil I pray she's still alive.' Cops in Manchester, New Hampshire have spent the past few weeks searching desperately for the blond-haired youngster after learning from family members that she has not been seen since 2019. Harmony was supposed to be in the custody of deadbeat dad Adam Montgomery, 31, who was found homeless and living in a car this week. Montgomery was arrested on a felony assault charge after his relatives told cops he once gave the little girl a black eye - but so far he has not charged over her baffling disappearance. Adam Montgomery, 31 (left), the father of missing New Hampshire girl Harmony Montgomery (right), was arrested Tuesday on charges of assault, interference with custody and endangering the welfare of a child Montgomery's mother-in-law Christina Lubin, 51, slammed the 31-year-old as a 'sweet-talking' liar and described him as 'pure evil' as she spoke outside her Manchester, New Hampshire, home Thursday This aerial photo shows police searching the backyard at 77 Gilford Street in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Sunday as part of an investigation into the disappearance of seven-year-old Harmony Montgomery In a further twist Wednesday night his estranged wife Kayla Montgomery, who has three kids with him but is not Harmony's mom, was arrested for claiming $1,500 worth of food stamps in Harmony's name from December 2019 to June 2021. Kayla Montgomery, 31 (left), was arrested and charged with felony welfare fraud for collecting food stamps in the name of her missing stepdaughter, Harmony Montgomery Speaking after her daughter's arraignment Thursday morning, Christina Lubin, 51, admitted Kayla had a history of dishonesty but insisted she had nothing to do with Harmony's disappearance. She pointed the finger of suspicion squarely at estranged son-in-law Montgomery, a career criminal with a history of violence and drugs. 'Adam, for the first couple years was some sweet guy but he's not, he is pure evil. He is pure evil,' she repeated from the doorstep of her Manchester home. 'He can sweet-talk and swindle like he did with us for two years. He points the finger at everybody else and talks up quite the storm.' Court records seen by DailyMail.com reveal that Lubin sought a restraining order against Montgomery last year. She confirmed she has spoken several times this week with police and provided potential new information - but declined to go into specifics. Lubin said that after her son-in-law's arrest she immediately grilled her daughter, 31, about what was going on with Harmony. Adam Montgomery's estranged wife Kayla has three kids with him but Harmony is from his previous relationship Harmony Montgomery, pictured as a 5-year-old, has not been seen in two years and police are still looking for her Harmony was described as four-feet tall and weighs 50-pounds. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and wears glasses because she is blind in her right eye She said Kayla's story was consistent with the account she gave to cops as outlined in her arrest affidavit. In court filings Kayla is quoted as having told detectives last week that she had last seen Harmony, who is blind in one eye, in November 2019, before her husband dropped her off at a Dunkin' Donuts, where she worked. 'Adam said that he was driving [Harmony] back to Crystal who was living in Lowell, MA, at the time,' the affidavit states, referring to the girl's birth mother, Crystal Sorey. 'Kayla claimed she never saw, or heard about [Harmony] after that day.' Sorey, 31, lost custody of Harmony in 2018 and has denied even taking her back. She told police she has not seen her daughter since a 2019 FaceTime call and has been trying to track her down ever since. When police pressed Kayla about receiving food stamps for Harmony for over a year after the child's last sighting, she 'acknowledged receiving those benefits knowingly,' the affidavit goes on. Lubin said her daughter told her an identical story about how she last saw Harmony sometime between Thanksgiving and December 6, 2019. Crystal Sorey (right) - Harmony's biological mother - lost custody of the young girl in 2018 because of her drug addiction Montgomery (left) is accused of punching Harmony in the face and giving her a black eye in July 2021. Multiple relatives observed the then-5-year-old with the eye injury at the time 'Adam dropped her off at work and he said to her, I am bringing Harmony to her mother. And then he came back later. I don't know how many hours,' she said. 'I've given all that information to the police. I do believe her, she is staying very consistent. I'm her mom. I can tell. 'I drilled my daughter, believe me. She used to be a liar but I know how to get the truth out of my daughter. And all she said was that he dropped her off at work.' She said of missing Harmony: 'I hope and pray she is still alive but it's been two years so I don't know.' Harmony was reported missing by her biological mother in November and still has not been found. Manchester police set up a 24-hour tip line this week and offered cash rewards totaling $33,000 in an effort to find the child. They said they were working with the state Division for Children, Youth and Families and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Adam Montgomery was arrested on Tuesday in Manchester on a warrant charging him with one felony count of second-degree assault; one misdemeanor charge of interference with custody, and two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Kayla Montgomery appeared in Hillsborough County Superior Court in New Hampshire for her arraignment on Thursday Montgomery pleaded not guilty to a felony count of welfare fraud for collecting $1,500 in food stamps in the name of the seven-year-old Harmony The Manchester Police Department stated in a press release that despite Montgomery's arrest, 'the search for Harmony continues.' An arrest affidavit obtained by DailyMail.com alleges that Montgomery, who has a history of criminal offenses in two states and drug abuse, punched Harmony in the face and gave her a black eye - just six months after New Hampshire's child protective services handed him custody of his daughter. Montgomery's uncle quoted Adam as telling him of the beating: 'I bashed her around this house,' according to the filing. He also would allegedly spank his daughter on her buttocks, force her to stand in a corner for hours and make her scrub the toilet with her own toothbrush. Kevin Montgomery also told police that he reported the 2019 assault to the Department of Children of Children Youth and Their Families (DCYF), but it is unclear whether his complaint was ever investigated by the agency. The portion of the affidavit pertaining to that incident has been redacted. An investigation was launched only after Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, called the Manchester Police Department on November 18, saying that her daughter was missing and that she had not seen her since April 2019 on a FaceTime call. Harmony, right, pictured with her younger brother, Jamison, was last seen in October 2019, but she was reported missing only in December 2021 'Crystal recalled that [Harmony] seemed frightened,' according to the affidavit. Sorey explained that she had lost custody of Harmony in July 2018 because she was a drug addict, and she said that Montgomery also had struggled with substance abuse problems. Montgomery, who was pictured in his booking photo with a teardrop tattoo on his face, was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, but he waived his right to a hearing and was ordered held without bond. According to the Superior Court Bail order, Montgomery has been placed in what is known in New Hampshire as preventive detention 'based on clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's release will endanger the safety of the defendant or of the public.' Montgomery has also been prohibited from having any contact with Harmony's mother, or his estranged wife. Records cited by the station revealed that Montgomery has a vast criminal history dating back to 2007 in New Hampshire, including charges of burglary, stalking and first-degree assault. In Massachusetts , he was charged in 2014 with armed robbery and assault with intent to murder during a drug deal, but the charges were later downgraded. Survivors and relatives of the British tourists killed in the 2015 Tunisia beach massacre have agreed a settlement with travel firm Tui UK. Seifeddine Rezgui killed 38 people, including 30 Britons, at the Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel complex on the Sousse coast, with dozens more injured, on June 26 that year. The victims alleged that Tui UK was responsible for safety and security breaches at the hotel, which the company denied, and a trial of liability issues was expected to take place at the High Court in February. However, on Thursday, the tour operator and Irwin Mitchell, the law firm representing more than 80 victims, said in a joint statement that they have reached a settlement 'without admission of liability or fault', bringing the legal action to an end. The settlement came as a survivor of the attack, Tony Callaghan, 69, spoke of his frustration at missing out on the settlement because he and his wife Chris did not claim compensation from the airline. Survivors and relatives of the British tourists killed in the 2015 Tunisia beach massacre have agreed a settlement with travel firm Tui UK. Seifeddine Rezgui (pictured) killed 38 people, including 30 Britons, at the Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel complex on the Sousse coast, with dozens more injured, on June 26 that year Tui and Irwin Mitchell said: 'The tragic events of 26 June 2015 in Tunisia shocked and devastated us all and changed the lives of those affected forever. Tui has always expressed heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those caught up in the terrorist attack that day and continue to extend deepest sympathy. 'The claimants have fought tirelessly to understand how the attack happened and to seek to ensure that lessons have been learned so that other families are not affected by similar tragedy. 'Tui has worked collaboratively with the claimants and their representatives, Irwin Mitchell, to reach a settlement without admission of liability or fault and in recognition of the wholly exceptional circumstances of the case, and in the hope that it will go some way to assisting the claimants. 'Tui appreciates how difficult it must be to move on from such a horrific incident but hopes today will provide the opportunity for those affected to start to do so.' The victims alleged that Tui UK was responsible for safety and security breaches at the hotel, which the company denied, and a trial of liability issues was expected to take place at the High Court in February. Above: Relatives of the victims outside the High Court in London in 2017 The victims alleged that Tui UK was responsible for safety and security breaches at the hotel, which the company denied. Above: Holiday makers in pay their respects at the scene of the terrorist attack shortly after it took place In 2017 the coroner conducting the inquests of the 30 Britons who died in the attack ruled they were unlawfully killed. However, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith ruled against a finding of 'neglect' by Tui, or the owners of the Riu Imperial Marhaba. Mr Callaghan and wife Chris, 68, were both shot by gunman Rezgui as he chased them down a corridor in their hotel on June 26, 2015. The couple were hospitalised and Chris is now disabled - but the couple did not claim damages from TUI because they did not think the company was at fault. Mr Callaghan said it was 'unfair' that other victims hadn't received support. The settlement came as a survivor of the attack, Tony Callaghan, 69, spoke of his frustration at missing out on the settlement because he and his wife Chris did not claim compensation from the airline. Above: The couple after the attack Tour operator Tui and Irwin Mitchell, the law firm representing more than 80 victims, said in a joint statement that they have reached a settlement 'without admission of liability or fault' The former RAF man said: 'It seems unfair that if you were independent and not with lawyers that you're missing out on what TUI are giving to people. 'That doesn't seem fair, especially when we weren't blaming them [TUI]. 'We're happy for people who have received a settlement that's going to help their situation but many other people who have suffered injuries will think this isn't right. 'Surely it should go across the board. It's like if you haven't got them solicitors behind you then you've got no chance. 'A Joe Bloggs is just left out on his own.' Mr Callaghan said that he is considering writing to TUI to enquiry about compensation for himself and Chris. The couple, from North Walsham, Norfolk, were shot in the legs less than 24 hours after starting their week-long holiday in Sousse, where they'd stayed two times before. Mr Callaghan recalled how Rezgui threw a hand grenade at them and around 20 other holidaymakers inside their hotel. Rezgui killed 38 people in the attack, including 30 UK citizens. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Holdings CEO Chung Kisun talks to his cousin Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun at the HHI booth set up for the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group Korean shipbuilder signs MOU for data platform with Palantir By Kim Hyun-bin LAS VEGAS Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group, the world's biggest shipbuilder by sales, aims to take the lead in the future shipbuilding industry by introducing the world's first self-driving vessel equipped with autonomous navigation technology within the first quarter of this year, the company said Wednesday (local time). Logo for Consumer Electronics Show / Courtesy of Consumer Technology Association "I am proud of the past 50 years of HHI Group, which has laid the groundwork for the growth of the world. In the next 50 years, we will become the world's best 'future builder' and create new growth that is more sustainable, smarter and more inclusive, something we have never seen before," Chung Kisun, CEO of HHI Holdings, said at a press conference, Wednesday, the first day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 held at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). The CEO's presentation focused on the visions and goals related to the "future builder" concept and highlighted several key innovative technologies for future growth, including the Avikus autonomous navigation technology, liquid hydrogen transport propulsion system technology, intelligent robotics and solution technology as the group's innovative technologies that will lead its three core businesses of shipbuilding and offshore engineering, energy and industrial machinery. Avikus is the autonomous navigation system development unit of the Korean shipbuilder. Avikus engineer Joo Hyo-gyeong introduced Avikus' autonomous navigation technology as a core technology that can reduce the possibility of marine accidents and dramatically change maritime logistics and marine resource development. "Avikus plans to have the world's first self-driving, massive-scale transoceanic voyage by the first quarter of this year. Our mission is to enable fully autonomous navigation to create the safest and most intelligent ships," Joo said. Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings CEO Chung Ki-sun introduces the conglomerate's future vision and technology innovations in the shipbuilding sector at a conference held during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Convention Center, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a press conference marking one year since the Capitol riot Thursday where they promoted a fringe conspiracy theory that the federal government was behind the deadly events that day. They claimed that people added to the FBI's Most Wanted list for breaking into the United States Capitol last year simply 'fall off' like Ray Epps, a military veteran who members of the far-right have claimed to be an 'FBI plant' goading Donald Trump's supporters into violence that day. 'Congresswoman Greene and I are not here to celebrate January 6. We're not here to obsess about it, but we're here to expose the truth, to ask key questions about what happened on January 6, what animated the violence, the extent to which the federal government had been involved,' Gaetz said at the outset of their media event. 'We know this -- January 6 last year wasn't an insurrection. No one has been charged with insurrection. No one has been charged with treason. But it may very well may have been a fed-surrection.' The two firebrand Republicans countered Democrats' solemn day of retrospection to with their own alternative slate of programming focused on questioning the security failures that occurred that day and undermining House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's January 6 committee. That included Greene appearing outside of the Capitol with the mother of Ashi Babbitt, the Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer when she was at the head of a mob breaking through a window near the Speaker's Lobby. Greene and Gaetz held a press conference fueling conspiracy theories that the federal government was involved in the Capitol riot Greene and Gaetz sought to frame the Trump supporters who entered the Capitol as having been manipulated by undercover federal agents and those who were subsequently arrested over it as political prisoners. 'We are very concerned that we have sent letter after letter to Attorney General Garland and FBI Director Wray to simply get to the bottom of unexplained circumstances where people are on the FBI Most Wanted List from January 6, and then they fall off of that list,' Gaetz said during the press conference. They played a series of videos that showed Epps, a Marine veteran who once ran a chapter of the far-right Oath Keepers group, directing people toward the Capitol on January 6. There is no evidence that Epps ever entered the building himself that day and he was never arrested in connection with the storming. In one video he's seen in the street on January 5 saying: 'I'm going to put it out there. I'm probably going to go to jail for it, OK? Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol. Into the Capitolpeacefully.' At that point some in the crowd clearly believe he is a plant and begin to chant: 'Fed! Fed! Fed!' The following day, Epps can be seen in another clip dressed in military-style clothing and yelling to a crowd: 'OK folks, spread the word. As soon as the president is done speaking, we go to the Capitol, where our problems are.' They claimed Ray Epps (pictured wearing a red hat and directing people on January 6) is an FBI plant, a conspiracy theory that's been circulating in right-wing circles Pointing behind him, he adds: 'It's that direction. Please spread the word.' 'Imagine if we actually had the powers of the January 6 committee, the powers of the federal government to understand why Ray Epps, the evening of the 5th is out telling people dispassionately, professionally, with laser focus that the objective is to enter the United States Capitol building?' Gaetz said on Thursday. He claimed Epps was on the FBI's Most Wanted List but was mysteriously removed after right-wing blog Revolver labeled him a 'Fed-protected provocateur.' But rather than disband the committee, Gaetz said he would want to reshape it if Republicans took back the majority in 2022. 'I would throw off the tyrants that are on that committee now. I would make Marjorie Taylor Greene the chair. I would make Darren Beattie the staff director, and then we would get the truth in front of the American people,' he said. Gaetz also lashed out at GOP Senator Ted Cruz, who yesterday branded the riot a 'violent terrorist attack.' 'The establishment will never love you, Ted,' Gaetz quipped. 'You can bend over -- bend the knee for them, but they're just not gonna love you.' Cruz's comments at a Wednesday Senate Rules Committee hearing are more in line with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's reflections a year after the insurrection than with Trump's, though like most allies of the former president he didn't ascribe him any blame. Greene also appeared alongside Ashli Babbitt's mother Micki Witthoeft who came to the Capitol on the year anniversary of her daughter getting shot and killed while breaking into the facility Greene and Witthoeft stood arm-in-arm as the grieving mother claimed her daughter was 'executed' and the election was 'stolen' from Donald Trump 'I think that's maybe an effort by the good senator -- who we agree with on many, many things -- to recast himself in the eyes of some of the folks in your profession,' Gaetz told the journalists, adding: 'But we didn't find it particularly factual or sincere.' Greene said she 'completely disagrees' with Cruz and criticized his comments as 'irresponsible.' Earlier in the day she appeared alongside Micki Witthoeft, who stood outside the Capitol and declared the riot where her daughter Ashli Babbitt was killed was a 'protest' and not an 'insurrection.' 'The mainstream media needs to stop pushing that narrative forward and at this point, that should be a libelous comment,' Witthoeft said standing next to Greene. 'My daughter was a proud American patriot, she served this country her whole adult life, she loved God, loved America, loved her family, and came to DC to hear Donald Trump speak about a stolen election.' Babbitt's mother said 'she was murdered by a careless, reckless Capitol police officer, Michael Byrd, who should've been fired two years ago.' Last year two separate investigations, one by the Justice Department and an internal Capitol Police probe, cleared Byrd of any wrongdoing. Seven of the eight children killed in the horrific Philadelphia house fire have been pictured, as the DA investigation says one of the youngsters who survived may have started the blaze by playing with lighter fluid near the Christmas tree. Investigators are looking into the possibility that a 5-year-old child who was playing with a lighter set a Christmas tree on fire, sparking a conflagration that killed 12 people in a Philadelphia rowhome, officials revealed Thursday. That child is said to have run out to safety moments later, and subsequently told investigators what they say happened. The revelation was included in a search warrant application as city and federal investigators sought to determine the cause of the city's deadliest single blaze in more than a century, which took the lives of two sisters, several of their children and others early Wednesday. Jane Roh, a spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner, confirmed the contents of the search warrant, which was first reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Fire officials provided few details at an afternoon news briefing, declining to say how many people escaped the blaze or speculate on a possible cause, adding the fire scene was complex. Officials also did not say where the fire began, calling it part of the investigation. 'I know that we will hopefully be able to provide a specific origin and cause to this fire and to provide some answers to the loved ones and, really, to the city,' said Matthew Varisco, who leads the Philadelphia branch of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). ATF specialists and other investigators took photos and combed through the charred, three-story brick duplex. Thomas's four children in 2019 including daughters Natasha and Shanice Three of McDonald's six children are pictured after they died in the fire Family member put together a collage of some of the victims tragically killed in the fire Sisters Virginia Thomas (right), 30, and Rosalee McDonald (left), 33, were killed in the apartment fire Sisters Virginia Thomas, 30, and Rosalee McDonald, 33, and eight of their 11 combined children were killed when the duplex they shared went up in flames around 6.38am Wednesday. Two other adults, who have not been identified, were also killed in the blaze. Family members say the victims ranged in age from 33 to just one years old. Another two, including a child, are in critical condition. 'They're babies, young children. They didn't even get to experience life,' Isaiah Brown, a cousin of the family, told Fox News. Fire chiefs later revealed that a total of four smoke alarms failed and they fear they may recover more bodies inside the home as they work through the debris. Fire officials said the blaze began around 6.30am Wednesday in the kitchen on the second floor then spread upwards, tearing through the top of the building. The District Attorney is now saying the blaze may have started by a child playing with lighter fluid near the Christmas tree The children and their mothers lived together in the duplex, which spans the second and third floors, with a total of 18 people. It's not clear how many are unaccounted for. Fire investigators believe the blaze began in the kitchen on the second floor then spread upwards, tearing through the top of the building. Authorities are also probing the possibility that a Christmas tree ignited the fire. The exact cause remains unclear. A spokesperson for Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections said that while a large number of people lived in the apartment, the city does not limit the number of family members who can live in a single unit. Fourteen people were authorized to live in the four-bedroom upper apartment. PHA 'does not evict people because they have children,' the spokesperson said. 'This was an intact family who chose to live together. We don't kick out our family members...who might not have other suitable housing options,' he said. Family members Qaadira and Jacuita Purifoy told CBS Philly: 'No alarm was in the house. There were three of them and none of them worked. 'So I feel like this could have been avoided.' Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) said that all the alarms were inspected back in May and were working. There were also reportedly carbon monoxide detectors that did not go off Wednesday morning. Family member Qaadira Purifoy (pictured) told ABC6: 'No alarm was in the house. There were three of them and none of them worked. So I feel like this could have been avoided.' An investigation into why the smoke detectors failed remains ongoing A GoFundMe created Thursday to cover funeral expenses has already raised more than $100,000 as of late afternoon The fire was at 860 North 23rd Street in Philadelphia, less than two miles north of the city center and its famous Rittenhouse Square The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) deployed their National Response team to the rowhome Thursday morning to help determine the cause of the fire. The team, which specializes in determining the origin of fires, helped investigate the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and said they wanted to help 'given the magnitude and scope of the fire,' they told ABC6. Mayor Jim Kenney choked on tears as he spoke at the scene. He called it 'without a doubt one of the most tragic days in the city's history.' 'Please keep all these folks and these children in your prayers. Losing so many kids is devastating. Keep these babies in your prayers,' he said. A GoFundMe created on Thursday to cover funeral expenses has already raised more than $100,000 as of late afternoon. Additionally, two unidentified people were taken to the hospital, ABC6 reported. One was rushed to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the other went to Temple University Hospital. Surviving family members grieved the enormous loss of so many victims, whose ages ranged from one to 32. Brown, who told ABC6: 'One was 16, one was like 10...and seven. You know, they were babies - babies, man. Young children. Didn't even get a chance at life.' Fire chiefs also struggled to put into words the horror of the blaze while giving an update on Wednesday morning. 'I've been around for 35 years now and this is probably one of the worst fires I've ever been to. I don't have the words for how we're feeling right now,' Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said, adding that he was concerned his team would uncover more bodies in the aftermath. 'That number is dynamic because there's still an ongoing recovery effort inside. That number sits right now at 13. We also had eight people self evacuate. 'As of right now, the fire marshal along with the ATF are in the process of doing a thorough investigation of this terrible event,' he said. A Philadelphia firefighter at the scene of a deadly rowhouse in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia The blaze was reported at 6.38am at 860 North 23rd Street. It started on the second floor then ripped through the third floor of the building, killing at least 13 people including eight kids Mayor Jim Kenney (pictured) choked on tears as he spoke at the scene. He called it 'without a doubt one of the most tragic days in the city's history' An unidentified woman cried into her hands at the scene of the deadly fire A single rose laid in the street near the scene and investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire PHA spokesperson Kirk Dorn told ABC6 that the family moved into Unit B about a decade ago. At the time they moved in, there were only six residents but the family had since expanded and there were many young children living in the apartment at the time of the fire. Dorn also said that due to the pandemic and high demand for low-income housing in Philadelphia, the PHA could not move the family into a five-bedroom home or split them up into different units. Neighbors watched in horror on Wednesday as firefighters continued to work through the scene. 'I knew some of those kids - I used to see them playing on the corner,' said Dannie McGuire, 34, fighting back tears as she and Martin Burgert, 35, stood in the doorway of a home around the corner. 'They had lived there for a decade and some of those kids have lived here as long as us. 'I can't picture how more people couldn't get out - jumping out a window,' McGuire said. 'It is too early for us to say more. The property was last inspected in May 2021, and all the smoke detectors were operating properly at that time,' PHA CEO Kelvin A Jeremiah said. First Lady Jill Biden, who lived in a suburb north of Philadelphia, tweeted in response to the tragedy on Wednesday afternoon According to ABC6, firefighters received the first call about the fire at 6.36am and were on the scene four minutes later. They reportedly received an additional 36 calls about the blaze. First Lady Jill Biden, who lived in a suburb north of Philadelphia, tweeted in response to the tragedy on Wednesday afternoon. 'My heart is with the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic fire in Philadelphia,' she wrote. The building had two apartments, Unit A and Unit B, which was home to a total of 26 residents. All eight occupants in the separate bottom floor apartment, Unit A, were safely evacuated. NSW could suspend elective surgery, shut nightclubs, ban singing and dancing in pubs, and pause major events as the state records 38,625 new Covid cases and 11 deaths. The changes to the rules are expected to be finalised later this morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Venues are set to be discouraged from allowing people to standup while drinking. Meanwhile, major events would be risk-assessed by NSW Health and postponed if required. The significant wind back of freedoms in response to surging covid cases flies in the face of Premier Dominic Perrottet's insistence the public needed to learn to live with the virus. Further Covid-19 restrictions could be introduced on Friday such as nightclub closures, a ban on singing and dancing and pausing major events (pictured, Sydneysiders attend Christmas parties for 2021 end-of-year celebrations) Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, Professor Jane Halton, said the new restrictions were sensible given the rise in infections. 'What we are trying to do now is manage this particular variant of the virus, and that means slowing its spread down,' Prof Halton told the Nine Network on Friday. 'This is very infectious, we know that, so people are going to have to be prudent for the next several weeks.' NEW COVID RULES SET TO BE COMING BACK IN NEW SOUTH WALES TODAY NO STANDING AT VENUES: Venues will be discouraged from allowing 'vertical consumption' while drinking at bars. ELECTIVE SURGERY SUSPENDED: The state is set to suspend elective surgeries to relieve pressure on the hospital system. BAN ON SINGING AND DANCING: Singing is set to be banned in 'high-risk environments such as choirs - while dancing could also be off the cards. NIGHTCLUB SHUTDOWN: Nightclubs could be forced to close in an effort to stop the spread of Omicron MAJOR EVENTS POSTPONED: Major events would be risk-assessed by NSW Health and postponed if required. Advertisement Dominic Perrottet has long advocated the need to reopen the state and get the economy moving again in the face of rising cases numbers. Ultimately, we not only need to learn to live alongside the virus, but live alongside the variants as well,' he said. 'This pandemic is not over. These variants will continue, cases will continue to rise and the best thing we can do to keep the community safe, keep your family safe is to go out and get vaccinated and get that booster shot when you can.' He said 'for the moment' he intended to stick with the state's plan as NSW could not be a 'hermit kingdom on the other side of the world'. But clearly the strategy has changed. NSW on Thursday also reported six deaths including a vaccinated and otherwise healthy ACT man in his 20s who died at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital. The other fatalities were four men and a woman aged in their 60s, 80s and 90s. Two were from Lake Macquarie in the Hunter Region and three from western Sydney. As of Friday, there are 1,738 people in hospital and 134 patients in intensive care units. Premier Dominic Perrottet warned the state may suspend elective surgeries to relieve pressure on the hospital system. Private hospitals could also be asked to help 'in managing ... these increases in cases', he said. Australian Medical Association NSW president Danielle McMullen said the indication elective surgery could be cancelled was 'yet another sign of a system in crisis' and suspending surgeries was an 'avoidable' move that 'will have profound consequences for patients'. 'Elective surgery shouldn't be a tap that government turns on and off to cover for serious cracks in our healthcare system,' Dr McMullen says. Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, Professor Jane Halton, said the new restrictions were sensible given the rise in infections. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has long advocated the need to reopen the state and get the economy moving again but has since backtracked on restrictions NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is expected to finalise anticipated restrictions on Friday morning as he reveals Covid-19 testing sites are at capacity (pictured, people endure long queues for PCR tests in Sydney during January) 'What we are trying to do now is manage this particular variant of the virus, and that means slowing its spread down,' Prof Halton told the Nine Network on Friday. 'This is very infectious, we know that, so people are going to have to be prudent for the next several weeks.' Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians to check eligibility for the pandemic leave disaster payments following the case surge. The payment is worth $750 for each seven day period a person has been told to self-isolate or quarantine. Mr Perrottet said the testing system was at full capacity and it will take time to relieve the pressure as people adjust to new testing guidelines (pictured, healthcare workers administer PCR tests at St Vincent's Hospital drive-thru clinic, Bondi Beach, on New Year's Eve) Many of NSW's testing sites and pathology labs are also under strain due to high demand. Mr Perrottet said the testing system was at full capacity and it will take time to relieve the pressure as people adjust to new testing guidelines. Under changes approved on Wednesday by national cabinet, people who test positive after a rapid antigen test won't have to get a PCR test to confirm the result. Employers should also stop asking workers to get PCR tests when they are asymptomatic. 'Given the current strain on the system, (PCR tests) are taking days to come back, so the (need) as we move forward for employers to be saying that to employees, is very, very low,' the premier told Sydney radio 2GB. Under new restrictions venues could be discouraged from allowing people to standup while drinking (pictured, seated diners enjoy a meal and drinks at Sydney's Opera Bar in October) Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians to check eligibility for the pandemic leave disaster payments as cases surge and wait times for results explode. The payment is worth $750 for each seven day period a person has been told to self-isolate or quarantine. Opposition Leader Chris Minns said NSW is in a crucial period where it needs to protect the hospital system and find a way to monitor the prevalence of the virus in the community as testing shifts predominantly to RAT kits. 'The government still needs to be aware where those cases are popping up so that resources can be deployed,' Mr Minns said. Health authorities could be left 'flying blind' if there was no way for people to self report their results from RAT kits, he said. Unlike PCR tests, RAT results are not registered. The AMA is meeting with NSW Health on Thursday to establish how infections detected under the kits will be tracked. Some of the 50 million RAT kits recently ordered by NSW will begin arriving next week. They will be distributed in conjunction with the federal government through pharmacies and 'potentially in testing centres and vaccination hubs', as well as to frontline staff in schools, Mr Perrottet said. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has backtracked on his call for calm that NSW would stay open despite surging Covid-19 case numbers The federal government still faces calls to provide RAT kits for all Australians following the announcement they would only be provided free to six million concession cardholders across Australia, with each person able to get 10 over the next three months. The deal is predicted to cost the federal government $850million and comes after escalating calls for free tests loudened amid crippling nationwide shortages. Australian Medical Association NSW chair Michael Bonning said providing some free tests did not go far enough. 'We need more rapid antigen tests in the community so that people can be making good choices about activity, but also detecting disease early so that then they can stay away from others,' Dr Bonning told Nine's Today program. The move hoped to alleviate pressure on testing facilities around the country struggling to keep up with demand as states record numbers of new infections. In just two days NSW recorded 70,000 Covid-19 infections and a significant spike in hospitalisations as Omicron sweeps the state. Some of the 50 million RAT kits recently ordered by NSW will begin arriving next week amid stock shortages (pictured, a healthcare worker undertakes a rapid antigen test) NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said on Wednesday it planned to quadruple vaccinations at its state hubs. More than 300,000 jabs are expected to be delivered by the end of January as the government prepares a 'targeted' response to the Omicron outbreak. 'The alternative is, as we move through this next phase of the pandemic is to go back into lockdown,' Mr Perrottet said last Tuesday. 'That is not what we're doing in NSW, that is not the alternative that we're considering. 'We've said we will tailor our response to the situation that comes. If evidence changes, we will have targeted restrictions in place. 'But the key metric here is vaccination rates, that is our key to success.' Three people, including an illegal immigrant Amazon driver, were arrested after hundreds of opened amazon packages that were supposed to be delivered for Christmas were found dumped on the side of the road in Oklahoma County. The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office discovered the 600 opened Amazon packages last week with most of then contents stolen out of them in what authorities described as a 'massive Amazon theft ring.' Some of the items left behind were books, a calendar, and a copy of the Quran. 'Every one of these packages was supposed to be delivered by Christmas Day,' said Aaron Brilbeck with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. 'So, 600 people didn't get their Christmas gifts as a result of this.' Cesar Yasnier Cerqueira Rojas and Maikel Perez Laurencio are illegal immigrants from Cuba and believed to be third party drivers for Amazon, according to the sheriff's office. Dinneris Matos Delgado, 37, who is a legal immigrant from Cuba, is charged with possession of stolen property, embezzlement, and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. Deputies also found a garbage bag containing an envelope with an address and a receipt from a local store, which led them to obtain a warrant at a house on South Birch Street in Luther, Oklahoma. The house was filled with thousands of undelivered Amazon packages that were stored in almost every room, even filling the storm shelter. Investigators believe Cesar Yasnier Cerqueira Rojas, an illegal immigrant from Cuba who was working as a third party driver for Amazon, loaded extra pallets onto the truck and transported them to the house. It's believed he had been delivering packages using a truck owned by 37-year-old Dinneris Matos Delgado, who is a legal immigrant from Cuba, the sheriff's office said. Maikel Perez Laurencio, 38, who is a third party driver and an illegal immigrant, was also arrested. The three face 15 felony counts of possession of stolen property and embezzlement. Delgado is also charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance. Thousands of undelivered Amazon packages were found at a house on Birch Street in Luther, Oklahoma, that were stored in almost every room, even the storm shelter. The packages found at the house on Birch Street were hauled away and sent back to Amazon to be re-delivered to their intended destinations. Inside the house on Birch Street, investigators found thousands of undelivered Amazon packages. Some were still wrapped on pallets. The sheriff's office stressed that investigators are working to verify the identities of Rojas and Laurencio, stating that even though they were provided with identification from Cuba, there is question as to whether or not the ID's are authentic. Authorities expect more charges to be filed. 'We are thankful for the quick investigative work of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office and are committed to taking care of any customers who may have been impacted by this criminal activity,' Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said. 'Customers missing packages are encouraged to report any delays to Amazon customer service so we can work quickly to make it right.' Capt. Robert Tye says that all the recovered packages have been sent back to Amazon and that the sheriff's office is working directly with the company in order to get the missing packages to their final destinations. The organizer of the wild influencer party flight from Montreal to Mexico has apologized after being met with outrage over their flouting of COVID rules, and is now begging airlines to get them home. James Awad , the founder of the 111 Private Club which arranged the party trip, chartered a plane with company Sunwing to get the revelers to Mexico on December 30. After footage of them drinking, vaping, partying and singing without masks went viral, Sunwing pulled out of the January 5th flight to take them all home. Now, Awad is trying to convince other airlines to take them all as a group, promising that they will wear their masks and behave appropriately. In a statement online, he said on Thursday: 'At this time, the 111 private club is working tirelessly to get everyone back home safely as quickly as we can. 'The 111 private club is a dream and a vision that I poured my heart and soul into creating. This was my first travel event. I have significantly learned, and I am still learning from this experience. James Awad , the founder of the 111 Private Club which arranged the party trip, chartered a plane with company Sunwing to get the revelers to Mexico on December 30 Unmasked revelers were filmed partying on a plane from Montreal to Cancun, sparking a probe by Canadian government A group of rowdy Quebecois passengers defied numerous aviation rules December 30 while partying maskless on a chartered Sunwing airplane from Montreal to Cancun. One woman even filmed herself vaping while in the air This man appeared to be enjoying the party vibe - but he and everyone else aboard the flight have had their return trip axed by Sunwing 'Learning from them is what makes the difference,' he said. Sunwing refused to fly the group home because he said they wouldn't provide a meal. He maintains that they did nothing wrong on the flight, because the only people on board were in their group and they had all tested negative for COVID before getting on the plane. Awad however said he understood why people were so angry with the videos, at a time when Omicron has COVID cases soaring. Change of tune: The top tweet on January 4 shows Awad claiming the group did nothing wrong. Below, his vow to take it more seriously on Wednesday after Sunwing canceled their flight home 'As I thoroughly reviewed the current situation, I understand why many fellow citizens are upset about the current situation. 'As someone who enjoys bringing people together, I committed to hosting a private and safe event in Cancun with my group from the 111 private club,' he said. ' The group even stoked the ire of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said: 'Like all Canadians who've seen those videos, I'm extremely frustrated.' 'We know how hard people have worked to keep themselves safe, to limit their family gatherings at Christmastime, to wear masks, to get vaccinated, to do all the right things. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the group's behavior a 'slap in the face' 'It's a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible.' Those on the plane could be in for more than a scolding after the federal government launched an investigation and ministers said passengers could face fines. In a joint statement, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino called the behavior 'unacceptable' and said passengers who broke federal travel regulations could face $5,000 fines per offence. 'Our government takes reported incidents such as these very seriously,' the statement said. 'We have directed our respective departmental officials to immediately launch an investigation into these allegations of non-compliance with COVID-19 and air safety rules and regulations.' The mother of slain Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt has called for the release of surveillance footage of her police shooting death on the one year anniversary of the killing. Babbitt, 36, was fatally shot by Capitol police officer Michael Byrd during the Capitol riot as she tried to climb through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby outside the House chamber. On Thursday her mother Micki Witthoeft appeared outside the Capitol with controversial Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, demanding Speaker Nancy Pelosi release surveillance footage from the shooting and calling for 'justice' for those arrested in the riot, whom she called political prisoners. 'She served this country her whole adult life,' Witthoeft said of Babbitt, an Air Force veteran. 'She loved God, loved America, loved her family, and came to DC to hear Donald Trump speak about a stolen election.' BREAKING: Ashli Babbitt's mother speaks on Jan. 6 anniversary pic.twitter.com/kcOW5RYN8J RSBN (@RSBNetwork) January 6, 2022 Ashli Babbitt's mother Micki Witthoeft (right) appeared outside the Capitol with controversial Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on the anniversary of her daughter's death 'She served this country her whole adult life,' Witthoeft said of Babbitt, an Air Force veteran Babbitt, 36, was fatally shot by Capitol police officer Michael Byrd during the Capitol riot as she tried to climb through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby Witthoeft said that her daughter was 'murdered' by Byrd, whom she called 'careless and reckless.' An investigation into Babbitt's death by the US Capitol Police and the United States Department of Justice determined that the shooting was 'lawful and within Department policy' 'I feel like the Capitol police need to change the way they do things, they operate with impunity, which I did not know until my daughter was publicly executed,' Witthoeft told reporters. Witthoeft addressed Pelosi, telling the House speaker: 'This is not your playhouse or your private domain.' 'These surveillance cameras were put up to capture what happened that day, the American people have a right to see the 14,000 hours of footage,' she said. She appeared to be referring to footage provided by Capitol police to two key committees investigating the Capitol assault, The House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, which has not been made public. 'You're not the queen, Nancy Pelosi. This is America's 14,000 hours of missing footage. We have a right to see it,' said Witthoeft. Ashli Babbitt's mother Micki Witthoeft along with others during a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot Michelle Witthoeft speaks at a vigil sponsored by Look Ahead America to protest the treatment of prisoners charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol Ms Witthoeft attended the candlelit vigil last night and also gave a speech Witthoeft called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to release surveillance footage from the shooting U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd is seen minutes before fatally shooting Babbitt she and other rioters were breaking into the Speaker's Lobby where members of Congress were retreating Babbitt's death has been a lightning rod in the debate over the Capitol riot, with Trump's loyalists painting her as a patriotic martyr, and his detractors dismissing her as a conspiracy-spouting extremist. An Air Force veteran who served in Iraq and previously voted for Barack Obama, Babbitt died wrapped in a flag bearing Trump's name, convinced of his claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Babbitt was among the first of hundreds of people to breach the Capitol building's security, as elected officials barricaded themselves in rooms, cowering from an angry mob. In footage filmed by one of the intruders, she could be seen trying to get through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby. 'Go! Come on!' she shouts, encouraging those behind her to hoist her in. As her head appears through the window, a Capitol police officer fires his weapon, striking Babbitt in the shoulder. She would die from her injuries. Rioters are seen outside the Speaker's Lobby in the seconds after Babbitt was shot In footage filmed by one of the intruders, she could be seen trying to get through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby when she was shot Babbitt was born in 1985 to a modest Southern California family in the San Diego suburbs, where politics was not particularly important, said Roger Witthoeft, one of her four younger brothers in an interview with AFP. She enlisted in the Air Force at age 17, straight from school, and did tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. Subsequent spells in the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard led to a posting near Washington, as well as two more deployments to the Middle East. Babbitt left the military as a relatively low-ranking senior airman in 2016, several years before she would have become eligible for a pension or other benefits, and she returned to her hometown, not far from the Mexican border. There, she and her second husband took over a struggling pool maintenance company. In videos posted to social media, Babbitt raged against both the homeless and undocumented migrants, castigating Democratic elected officials for 'refusing to acknowledge or even admit that we do need' a wall on the Mexican border -- Trump's signature campaign pledge. 'The border is an absolute s**t show,' she said. 'There's riots, there's arrests, there's rapes, there's drugs... there are tons of issues. 'I want my politicians to start coming down here and telling me that my reality is a lie. 'You guys refuse to choose America over your stupid political party.' An Air Force veteran who served in Iraq and previously voted for Barack Obama, Babbitt died wrapped in a flag bearing Trump's name, convinced of his election fraud claims She attended Trump rallies wearing the red 'Make America Great Again' hat that symbolized the movement, and presented herself on Twitter as a 'libertarian.' It was here that she railed against the 'pedophiles' and 'satanists' she believed controlled the Democratic Party. To her brother, Babbitt was just 'a normal Californian.' 'The issues she was mad about were the things all of us are mad about,' he said. 'That was one of her things -- for the first time in her life, she could actually say what she wanted to say, and didn't have to bottle it up' as she had had to do in the military. When the Covid-19 pandemic took hold of the United States, Babbitt embraced the anti-science rhetoric of the hard right. A sign posted on the door of her company read: 'Mask free autonomous zone, better known as America,' where 'we shake hands like men.' On January 5, she took to social media again, writing: 'Nothing will stop us...they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon (Washington) DC in less than 24 hours...dark to light!' Antifa demonstrators hold a sign reading "Ashli Babbitt deserved it" days after her death A portrait of Ashli Babbitt who was shot dead during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, hangs on a fence on the first anniversary of the event outside the Capitol on Thursday The phraseology is common among followers of QAnon, the loose amalgam of conspiracy theories that sees present-day politics as an existential fight between good and evil. For some fellow travelers, this invocation was enough to earn Babbitt immortality as a woman fighting for the soul of America, a tragic heroine who fell in battle. Babbitt's mother told The Washington Post her daughter 'made the ultimate sacrifice' to bring attention to what she said was 'a stolen election.' But she acknowledged that not everyone agrees. 'Half the country loves her and half the country hates her,' she told the paper. 'It's weird to have your child belong to the world.' Celeste Norris, pictured, revealed Monday how she was rammed and stalked by slain Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt four years before the January 6, 2020, attacks DailyMail.com first revealed last year how Babbitt, a Trump supporter who was fatally shot by police while attempting to enter the Capitol building during the ill-fated insurrection early last year, had harassed, chased and rammed Celeste Norris with her SUV in July of 2016. At the time, Babbit, then 30, was engaged in an extramarital affair with Norris' then boyfriend of six years, Aaron Babbit - the man Babbit would eventually wed. Now, however, speaking publicly for the first time since the incident with the Associated Press, jilted lover Norris decided to detail the horrors she faced at the hands of the late Air Force veteran, who has been hailed as a hero by right-wingers for her part in the 2020 attacks. Norris, 40, told the Press exclusively Monday that her first encounter with Babbitt in 2015 was a rude one, when the future insurrectionist rammed her vehicle three times with an SUV, and proceeded to exit the car and pound on the window of Norris' Ford Explorer, challenging her to a fight. At the time of the incident, Babbit, at right, was engaged in an extramarital affair with Norris' then boyfriend of six years, Aaron Babbit, at left - the man Babbit would eventually wed Norris has revealed exclusive photos of her car after it was repeatedly smashed by Babbitt's SUV in 2016 'She pulls up yelling and screaming,' Norris said in an exclusive interview with The Press, recounting the July 29, 2016, incident, which occurred in Prince Frederick, Maryland. 'It took me a good 30 seconds to figure out who she was.' Norris added that Babbitt - who was married to another man during the affair - also hit her with a barrage of 'all sorts of expletives, telling me to get out of the car, that she was going to beat my ass.' The average length of a hospital stay for Covid patients over the age of 80 in the UK has more than halved in a major boost for the NHS, figures suggest. During the third wave, from May 1 last year, over 80s were usually hospitalised for 11 days. But since December 1 and the onset of the Omicron wave they have typically required a bed for around just five days. It is a similar story for those in the 50 to 69 and the 70 to 79 categories. During the third wave, those aged 70 to 79 required a hospital bed for eight days and those aged 50 to 69 for seven days. Now they too are on five days. Th average length of a hospital stay for Covid patients over the age of 80 in the UK has more than halved. Pictured: Ambulances outside the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel During the third wave, those aged 70 to 79 required a hospital bed for eight days and those aged 50 to 69 for seven days The good news also extends to those under 50, with the length of a hospital stay falling from four days to three. The more rapid recovery and discharge in December is likely to be due to the protective effect of vaccines, drugs and the milder Omicron variant. The welcome news came as dozens of troops were set to be dispatched to London hospitals to help medics cope with staff shortages brought about by Omicron isolation. Meanwhile in another development, MailOnline analysis showed that Covid mortality rates had dipped twenty-fold - at around 0.15 per cent of cases now compared with over 3 per cent at the pandemic's worst. The positive data could be a game-changer for the NHS, with government advisors saying that a halving of the length of hospital stays effectively doubles capacity and reduces the risk of the health service being overwhelmed. Members of the armed forces gather outside outside the NHS Nightingale Hospital in London in April 2020 Health experts in South Africa, where the Omicron variant first exploded, have also reported a reduced length of hospital stays since the variant emerged. South Africa was able to lift its night-time curfew for the first time in 21 months in December after the Omicron wave peaked without overwhelming hospitals. A study on hospital admissions in the country revealed it may be ten times less deadly than previous variants. Doctors reported fewer patients needing oxygen or mechanical ventilation and far fewer were being admitted to intensive care than in previous waves. Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: 'The UK appears to be mirroring South Africa, with Covid patients now staying in hospital for a shorter period of time and becoming less ill. 'This is great news for the NHS because discharging patients sooner frees up a bed for someone else to be admitted and effectively increases capacity.' The UK Government has not published data on the length of hospital stays but the Spectator magazine used a specialist scanning technique to extract information from graphs presented to Sage on December 23. UK's daily Covid cases FALL for first time in a month in 5% weekly drop to 179,756 as hospitalisations keep tumbling in London ByLuke Andrewsand Connor Boyd For Mailonline Britain's daily Covid cases fell for the first time in a month today and hospitalisations dropped in Omicron hotspot London as Government ministers claimed NHS pressure will be 'short-lived'. Department of Health figures show there were 179,756 positive tests recorded across the UK over the last 24 hours, down 5 per cent on last week and a drop on yesterday. The drop has been accelerated by the fact two days' worth of cases were reported in Wales last Thursday, making today's fall appear steeper. But it adds to growing evidence the country's Omicron wave is no longer spiralling. Latest hospital data showed another 2,078 Covid patients were admitted to UK wards on January 2, which was up 38 per cent on a week ago. Another 231 deaths were also recorded, down 30 per cent on last week. But in London which is several weeks ahead of the rest of the country in its Omicron outbreak admissions fell 19 per cent in a week to 367, marking the fourth day in a row that they've dropped week-on-week. Fewer than 400 people are now being admitted in the capital on average each day, compared to around 900 at the peak of the second wave last January. Signs that the crisis has peaked in just three weeks in London will raise hope that the situation in the rest of the country follows a similar trajectory. Boris Johnson (pictured at a Covid vaccine centre in Northampton today) claimed the NHS has enough staff to see through the Omicron wave in a bid to downplay hospital pressure despite two dozen trusts declaring 'critical incidents' and waiting lists hitting new highs Even NHS leaders now say there are signs admissions in the capital may be peaking, however, experts note that cases are still rising in the over-60s who are most vulnerable to severe disease. Now that there is a growing acceptance that Omicron is unlikely to lead to a wave of severe illness like previous peaks, health leaders say isolation and staff absences are the central crises they face. Boris Johnson today downplayed pressure on hospitals saying they had enough staff to see them through the winter, despite two dozen trusts declaring 'critical incidents' and waiting lists hitting new records. While the Prime Minister accepted the health service was 'under huge pressure', he said it was 'not true' that it could be overwhelmed because so many staff are off isolating with Covid. He said staff numbers had been increased about 6,000 more doctors and 10,000 nurses were hired during the pandemic which should ease the strain, combined with the NHS' volunteer army of trainee and retired medics. Earlier, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, claimed the current NHS crisis would be 'short-lived' and Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said the situation was 'not unusual' for winter. Mr Johnson has held his nerve despite calls for tougher restrictions to tackle Omicron, unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales, winning him praise from Tory MPs. But more than 180,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average and the crisis has forced one in 10 NHS staff off work, putting significant strain on local health services. A total of 24 out of 137 NHS Trusts in England have declared critical incidents or 17.5 per cent. Above are the trusts that have publicly announced they have declared these incidents to help them manage winter pressures Slide me The above maps show the percentage change in infection rates across London's 32 boroughs over the week to December 26 (left) and the week to January 2 (right). They indicate that the outbreak is slowing in the city Slide me Pictured above is the % change in infection rates in England over the week to December 26 (left), and January 2 (right) Nationally, Covid cases rose eight per cent last week the app estimated. They said there was a slowdown in rising infections across London and in 18 to 35-year-olds King's College London scientists today suggested that cases in the capital also appeared to be peaking. They said they had dropped by a third within a week, raising hopes that the worst of the outbreak may be over. The figures rely on weekly reports from three quarters of a million people nationally to estimate the prevalence of the virus UK Health Security Agency figures published today showed London's Covid cases had fallen six per cent in a week (green line). It is the only region to see cases fall, and now has the fifth biggest outbreak in England Twenty-four NHS trusts so far have declared 'critical incidents' due to staffing absences and rising Covid admissions, indicating that they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. Health chiefs detect UK's first human case of deadly bird flu in South West England The first human case of a deadly strain of bird flu in the UK has been detected in a person living in the South West of England as the country faces its largest ever outbreak in animals, health officials have said. Britain's 'patient zero' caught the H5N1 virus after 'very close and regular' contact with a large number of infected birds which they kept in and around their home, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It is the first ever human case of H5N1 which kills up to half of the people it infects recorded in the UK and fewer than 1,000 people have ever been diagnosed with the strain globally since it emerged in the late 1990s. No more details about the individual have been released, but officials said they were in good health and currently in self-isolation. All of the patient's infected birds have been culled. Their close personal contacts, including people who visited the premises, have also been traced and there is 'no evidence' of the infection having spread to anyone else, the UKHSA said. The current H5N1 outbreak is the largest bird flu crisis ever recorded in Britain - with officials saying more than half a million poultry have had to be culled as part of efforts to control the virus. The outbreak has been going on for weeks and sparked fears of a turkey shortage in the run-up to Christmas. Bird to human transmission of bird flu also known as avian flu is rare and has only occurred a small number of times in the UK. However, the public is being urged not to touch sick or dead birds. Subsequent human-to-human transmission of avian influenza is also rare and the risk of a major outbreak in people is deemed to be even lower. But the development comes with fears about infectious pathogens at an all-time high in the UK after two years of the Covid pandemic, reignited by the latest surge in Omicron infections. The case was first detected after the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency, identified an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian flu in the person's flock of birds. As a precaution, UKHSA swabbed the person involved and detected low levels of flu. Further lab analysis showed the virus was the H5 type found in birds but have UKHSA said it has not been possible to confirm that this is the same H5N1 infection currently circulating in birds Britain. The birds the person had contact with have now been culled, health authorities confirmed. UKHSA chief scientific officer Professor Isabel Oliver, said: 'While the risk of avian flu to the general public is very low, we know that some strains do have the potential to spread to humans and that's why we have robust systems in place to detect these early and take action. 'Currently there is no evidence that this strain detected in the UK can spread from person to person, but we know that viruses evolve all the time and we continue to monitor the situation closely.' Advertisement It comes as UK Health Security Agency figures showed infections were still rising in 129 of 149 local authorities in England or 87 per cent last week. But in London a majority of boroughs were seeing cases fall. And in another glimmer of hope the ZOE Covid Symptom study showed 208,471 people were catching Covid every day up to January 3, which was an eight per cent rise on 192,290 previously. They said the slow down was driven by a drop in infections in London and among 18 to 35-year-olds. The UK today detected its first case of human bird flu. Officials said 'patient zero' caught the H5N1 virus after 'very close and regular' contact with a large number of infected birds which they kept in and around their home. The UKHSA downplayed concerns saying human-to-human transmission of avian influenza is rare and the risk of a major outbreak is even lower. Meanwhile, Mr Johnson today said it was 'not true' that the NHS has too few doctors and nurses to deal with the pandemic. Speaking at a vaccination centre in Moulton Park, Northampton, today, he said: 'First of all, yes, I appreciate that the NHS is under huge pressure and yes, you're quite right in what you say about the way it's been continuous over the last 18 months we've had wave after wave of Covid and our NHS has responded magnificently and they've kept going. 'And of course I understand how frustrating it is to see another wave coming in, and I thank doctors, nurses, all health staff, everybody, for what they're doing to keep going.' But he said staff numbers had been increased, and that combined with the calling back of retired staff and volunteers would ease the strain. He insisted Omicron was milder than previous variants but said: 'The pressures on hospitals are clear. What we've got to do is give the NHS all the help we can through the next period, with all the simplifications of systems, moving staff from one hospital to another, all the ways we can back staff up, but also make sure that the people who are likely to get ill get vaccinated first. 'The saddest words in the English language are 'too late'. When you're in ICU and you haven't been vaccinated, sadly it's too late to get vaccinated, so get boosted now.' Mr Eustice predicted the country would get past the Omicron peak of infections 'relatively soon', with NHS struggles set to be 'quite short lived'. Speaking to Sky News, the Cabinet minister said: 'This is a difficult situation. 'It will be quite short lived because obviously we will get past this peak of infections relatively soon, but in the meantime we've taken that step to reduce the isolation period and we're doing all we can to make sure we can redeploy resources (in the NHS).' Asked when hospitals are likely to return to 'normal', he added: 'We've seen growing numbers of infections over the last couple of weeks but people will start to return. 'So even as some start to go off work, there will be others returning. As I say, it won't be too long where you'll have more people returning to work than those who are isolating. 'But in the meantime, there is obviously a short-term issue and that's why we need to try and redeploy resources the best we can around the country to help those who are suffering a particularly acute shortage of staff.' Mr Shapps also poured cold water over the rising number of NHS trusts declaring incidents, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Twenty-four out of 137 trusts in England or 17 per cent have declared critical incidents so far in response to staffing shortages and mounting Covid admissions. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. MPs warned today that the patient waiting list already on the brink of 6million in England alone could double in three years without urgent action to get more doctors and nurses on wards. They say efforts to clear the backlog are being thrown off course by the self-isolation fuelled staffing crisis. Even NHS bosses have called for No10 to look at slashing the quarantine period to five days, like the US. NHS sources told MailOnline that critical incidents were 'not a good way' of monitoring pressures on hospitals, saying it was better to analyse patient admissions and staff absences. They warned more trusts may have declared critical incidents but ministers are unaware because they do not need to be reported centrally. Government figures showed a total of 17,988 people were in hospital in the UK with Covid as of January 4, up 50 per cent week-on-week. The figure is the highest number since February 19 last year, although far below the peak of almost 40,000 in January 2021. The number of daily positive Covid tests recorded in England has exceeded 100,000 for nearly two weeks. However, the number of patients in hospital with the virus is a fraction of the level seen last winter, while deaths remain flat Tory MPs criticised the BBC over its Covid coverage last night after it gave airtime to a Left-wing critic of the PM. It came as the Today programme aired a string of warnings from other NHS figures over the 'really challenging' circumstances facing hospitals The proportion of beds occupied by patients who are primarily in hospital 'for' Covid, versus those who were admitted for something else and tested positive later, referred to as 'with' Covid. The data covers the week between December 21 and December 28, when were around 2,100 additional beds occupied by the virus in England of which 1,150 were primary illness (55 per cent). That suggests 45 per cent were not seriously ill with Covid, yet were counted in the official statistics. In the South East of England 66 per cent were primarily non-Covid, in the East of England it was 51 per cent and in London it was 48 per cent. Critics argue, however, that the figures are unreliable because they don't include discharges, which could skew the data. But they add to the growing trend Latest figures show that hospitals in England have actually had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied. But the NHS was looking after more hospital patients in the week to December 26 in 2019, 2018 and 2017 While Covid hospitalisations are rising quickly in England, they are still half of the level of last January and far fewer patients are needing ventilation At least 5,000 Covid 'patients' in England are NOT primarily in hospital for virus, data suggests As many as 5,000 Covid patients in hospital in England may have been admitted for other ailments, NHS figures suggest as the super-mild Omicron variant continues to engulf the country. Latest data shows so-called 'incidental' cases those who test positive after admission for something else, such as a broken leg made up a third of coronavirus inpatient numbers on December 28. At that point, there were just 8,300 Covid sufferers being treated in England's hospitals, 2,750 of which were not primarily receiving care for the virus (33 per cent). More up-to-date statistics from the Government's Covid dashboard show that, as of Wednesday, there were 15,600 beds occupied by people infected with the virus. It is not clear exactly how many of the current patients are there primarily for Covid because the NHS's breakdown is backdated and only covers up to December 28. But, if incidental cases still account for a third of cases, it means at least 5,000 who are being counted as coronavirus patients are not suffering seriously with the disease. Experts say there is reason to believe the share of incidentals will continue to rise as Omicron pushes England's infection rates to record numbers, with one in 15 people estimated to have had Covid on New Year's Eve. In South Africa ground zero of the Omicron outbreak up to 60 per cent of Covid patients were not admitted primarily for the virus at the height of the crisis there. Separate analysis of NHS data shows 45 per cent of beds newly occupied by Covid patients in the final week of December were patients not primarily ill with the virus. It comes as two dozen NHS trusts declared 'critical incidents' amid staggering staffing shortages caused by sky-high infection rates, indicating that they may be unable to provide vital care in the coming weeks. One in ten workers are off and 183,000 Brits are being sent into isolation every day on average, prompting calls for the isolation period to be cut to five days. Advertisement It comes amid a growing body of evidence that London's Covid cases are slowing down just a month after the Omicron variant took hold, sparking fresh hopes the capital's outbreak may have already peaked. King's College London scientists estimated cases fell by a third after 33,013 people in the city were estimated to be catching the virus every day on January 3, compared to 49,331 the week before. Their findings based on three quarters of a million weekly reports and 68,000 swabs in the country add to a growing body of evidence that the worst may be over in London. Any peak in infections in the capital which was first to be struck by the fourth wave suggests that the rest of the country may soon follow suit and also see its Covid crisis ease. Dr Claire Steves, who works on the study also run by data science company ZOE, said there was a 'slow down' in cases in London but that it was 'too early' to confirm they had peaked. She warned the return of schools could trigger further outbreaks. In another promising sign, UK Health Security Agency data revealed that London's cases fell six per cent last week. They said the capital was no longer the country's epicentre for the first time since Omicron took hold, and had the fifth largest outbreak in England. The epicentre is now the North West, followed by the North East and Yorkshire. Office for National Statistics figures published yesterday also showed 'early signs' that the city's outbreak was peaking, statisticians said, although they cautioned one in ten Londoners were infected on New Year's Eve. Official figures also suggest cases in London are flatlining with 21,854 infections recorded today, down from 24,865 a week ago. It is several thousand below the peak 27,799 set on December 22. But some scientists say it is hard to tell what is happening in the capital because of the holiday period, when up to four million people or half the city's population leave to go 'home' for Christmas. Most figures are also yet to cover the period after New Year's Eve, when celebrations were allowed to go ahead unimpeded by restrictions meaning the virus could have spread further. Covid testing data from the capital shows that the number of PCRs carried out has fallen to about 500,000 a day, but the positivity rate the proportion that detect the virus is still heading upwards. Dr Steves said: 'Its good news that the number of daily new cases has slowed for now. ZOE Covid Study data shows that this slow down is being driven by cases falling in London and in younger age groups. 'However, its worrying to see cases increasing in the over 75 age group. This is the group we need to protect as they are the most likely to be hospitalised as a result of a Covid infection.' She added: 'Its too early to know if cases have truly peaked in London, as schools are yet to reopen after the holidays. We've seen school terms driving infection waves throughout the pandemic. 'The health and care systems are already under huge pressure, so we all need to take personal responsibility for limiting the spread of Covid. This could be in the form of regular testing, wearing masks, staying away from busy crowded places, meeting up outside and getting booster vaccines.' Yet ANOTHER study shows London's Omicron crisis has peaked: Symptom-tracking app hails 'good news' and finds cases only jumped 8% nationwide ByLuke Andrews Health Reporter For Mailonline London's Covid cases are slowing down just a month after the Omicron variant took hold, according to the country's largest symptom-tracking app. The finding is the latest piece of evidence that the capital's outbreaks is peaking and comes as daily Covid hospital admissions fell for the fourth day in a row. The symptom study, led by King's College London scientists, estimated 33,000 were testing positive in the capital each day in the week to January 3, down a third on the week before. KCL's Dr Claire Steves, who co-runs the study, said there was definitely a 'slow down' in cases but it was 'too early' to confirm if they had peaked. She warned the return of schools could trigger further outbreaks. In another promising sign, UK Health Security Agency's weekly Covid surveillance report revealed that London's cases fell six per cent last week. They said the capital was no longer the country's epicentre for the first time since Omicron took hold, with the North West now taking up that mantle, followed by the North East and Yorkshire. Office for National Statistics figures published yesterday also showed 'early signs' that the city's outbreak was peaking, statisticians said, although they cautioned one in ten Londoners were infected on New Year's Eve. Government dashboard data also suggest cases in London are flatlining. There were 21,854 cases in the capital today, down 11 per cent in a week. Hospital admissions fell for the fourth day in a row. There were 367 Covid hospitalisations on January 4, the latest date with data, marking a 20 per cent fall on the previous week and the largest week-on-week drop yet. Fewer than 400 people are now being admitted in the capital on average each day compared to around 900 at the peak of the second wave last January. But scientists say it is difficult to untangle what is happening in the capital because up to four million Londoners leave for Christmas. King's College London scientists today suggested that cases in the capital also appeared to be peaking. They said they had dropped by a third within a week, raising hopes that the worst of the outbreak may be over. The figures rely on weekly reports from three quarters of a million people nationally to estimate the prevalence of the virus UK Health Security Agency figures published today showed London's Covid cases had fallen six per cent in a week (green line). It is the only region to see cases fall, and now has the fifth biggest outbreak in England Slide me The above maps show the percentage change in infection rates across London's 32 boroughs over the week to December 26 (left) and the week to January 2 (right). They indicate that the outbreak is slowing in the city Slide me Pictured above is the % change in infection rates in England over the week to December 26 (left), and January 2 (right) Nationally, Covid cases rose eight per cent last week the app estimated. They said there was a slowdown in rising infections across London and in 18 to 35-year-olds Nationally, they said cases were now starting to drop in 18 to 35-year-olds after they spiralled to record levels. But they were also seeing infections tick up in older age groups who are more at risk from the virus The study also run by health data science company ZOE said nationally Britons suffering from a cold were more likely to have Covid (blue line) than another respiratory disease (orange line) Some scientists point to testing data to suggest cases in the capital are yet to peak. They say that while the number of tests done has fallen, meaning fewer cases can be spotted, the postivity rate the proportion of swabs that spot the virus is still rising suggesting the outbreak has not yet peaked The KCL, UKHSA and ONS data are also yet to cover the period after New Year's Eve, when celebrations were allowed to go ahead unimpeded by restrictions meaning the virus could have spread further. Covid testing data from the capital shows that the number of PCRs carried out has fallen to about 500,000 a day, but the positivity rate the proportion that detect the virus is still heading upwards. Boris Johnson is holding his nerve and not introducing any new restrictions in England, unlike his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which has won him praise from Conservative MPs. The Prime Minister said he believes the country can 'ride out' the wave. But amid a crisis in hospitals with 24 out of 137 or 17 per cent declaring critical incidents because so many staff are off sick, there is mounting pressure for self-isolation to be cut to five days following France and the US. Scientists say the vast majority of transmission happens within the first two days after symptoms appear, but Government experts warn it would be 'counterproductive' to cut quarantine because it could end up sending people back to the workplace when they are still infectious. Data justifying move to cut self-isolation period to five days was evident last SUMMER Ministers have sat on evidence justifying slashing self-isolation to just five days since last summer, according to critics who have demanded Boris Johnson drops the crippling rules that are paralysing the nation. Rail services and bin collections have ground to a halt with up to 1.3million Britons currently under house arrest, while the workforce crisis has left NHS bosses asking heart attack patients to make their own way to hospital. But the Adam Smith Institute, a neoliberal thinktank, said data published in August last year suggested it was safe to halve the quarantine period, which at the time stood at 10 days. Oxford University research found 98 per cent of transmission occurs within the first five days of symptoms, and prompted experts on the topic to say the isolation period 'could be much shorter'. Virologists said today that they agreed with the findings, with the vast majority of spread happening in the days before and after someone starts feeling ill. And James Lawson, a fellow at the ASI, told MailOnline: 'The research shows we can safely reduce the isolation period. 'Governments say they want to follow the science, yet are ignoring the changes in circumstances and much of the data we've had since last summer.' Advertisement Nationally, King's College London scientists estimated 208,471 people were catching Covid every day up to January 3 which was an eight per cent rise on 192,290 previously. They said cases were rising rapidly among the over-75s, which are most vulnerable to the virus, in a warning sign that hospitals could soon face further pressure, but falling among 18 to 35-year-olds who had the highest infection rates when Omicron took hold. Dr Steves said: 'Its good news that the number of daily new cases has slowed for now. ZOE Covid Study data shows that this slow down is being driven by cases falling in London and in younger age groups. 'However, its worrying to see cases increasing in the over 75 age group. This is the group we need to protect as they are the most likely to be hospitalised as a result of a Covid infection.' She added: 'Its too early to know if cases have truly peaked in London, as schools are yet to reopen after the holidays. We've seen school terms driving infection waves throughout the pandemic. 'The health and care systems are already under huge pressure, so we all need to take personal responsibility for limiting the spread of Covid. This could be in the form of regular testing, wearing masks, staying away from busy crowded places, meeting up outside and getting booster vaccines.' The UKHSA weekly report which is based on national surveillance data showed London's Covid cases fell from 1,833.9 to 1,723.8 per 100,000 in the week to January 2. This was also eight per cent below London's peak over the week to December 19, when the rate was 1,880.9. It now has the fifth largest outbreak in the country, behind the North West (2,228.9), the North East (1,929.2), Yorkshire and the Humber (1,777.7) and the East Midlands (1,754.4). Nationally, they said Covid infections were rising in 134 of 149 local authorities in England or nine in ten. Covid infections also rose in all age groups, they said. In another sign that London's Covid outbreak may be slowing down its hospitalisations also appear to be levelling off. The numbers of patients in Covid wards were rising by up to 15 per cent daily a week ago, but this has now dropped to one to two per cent a day. There are currently 4,074 Covid patients on wards in the capital's hospitals, which is well below the peak last January when almost 7,800 beds were occupied by patients with the virus. ONS figures published yesterday regarded as the most reliable indicator of the UK's outbreak because they use random sampling of 100,000 people suggested cases were also dropping in London. Chief ONS analyst Sarah Crofts said: 'There are early signs of a potential slowing of infections in London in the days before New Year's Eve. 'However, it is too early to suggest this is a change in trend overall. The data continues to change rapidly, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.' Separate data from the Government's dashboard based on daily centralised testing shows that while Covid cases are no longer rising in young and middle-aged Londoners, they are going up in over-60s, who are most vulnerable to the virus. Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance said on Tuesday it was too early to say London's crisis had peaked because hospital pressures were likely to worsen over the coming weeks because of the trajectory. However, other experts expect the trend in over-60s to follow that of younger adults and begin falling in the next week or so, mirroring the trend in South Africa the first country in the world to fall victim to the variant, where infections are now in freefall. The UKHSA's report also showed Covid cases were rising in every age group, and ticking up rapidly among older adults UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show Covid cases in Omicron hotspot London are now only going up in people aged 60 and above. Graph shows: The case rate per 100,000 in people aged 60 and above (yellow line) and under-60 (red line). Cases have started to drop in under-60s, though the rate still remains above the more vulnerable older age groups UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show confirmed infections have fallen week-on-week on seven of the eight days leading up to December 30 - the latest date regional data is available for - in people aged 59 or below. Graph shows: The week-on-week rate of growth in average cases in under-60s (red line) and people aged 60 and above (yellow line). Cases are falling in under-60s and the rate of growth is slowing in over-60s Now 24 NHS trusts declare critical incidents as patient waiting list hits 6MILLION Twenty-four NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions, it was revealed today but ministers have downplayed the warnings and insisted it is not unusual for hospitals to face winter crises amid growing hopes that the Omicron outbreak is close to peaking. Grant Shapps announced another four sites hit the panic button overnight, meaning roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. It comes as MPs warned the patient waiting list which already stands on the brink of 6million in England alone could double in three years without urgent action to get more doctors and nurses on wards, saying efforts to clear the backlog are being thrown off course by the self-isolation fuelled staffing crisis. Even NHS bosses have called for No10 to look at slashing the quarantine period to five days, like the US. Despite NHS bosses warning of escalating pressures on wards with up to one in 10 medics thought to be off sick, Boris Johnson last night all but ruled out adopting another lockdown and held out the prospect of a return 'closer to normality' within weeks. Advertisement Professor David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that infection numbers are 'bumpy' over the festive period because of reporting delays and fewer testes being carried out. He said: 'Nonetheless, the rate is the under-60s does look to have peaked and be falling convincingly. 'This pattern of a short sharp peak is what you would expect from Omicrons increased transmissibility [and] it also tallies with South African experience.' Growth rates already suggest that the infection rate in older people is slowing down. Professor Livermore added: 'I would expect a similar peak and drop off, within a week or thereabouts, among the over 60s.' Overall, cases in London fell 10 per cent from 27,820 on December 23 to 25,038, the latest date official statistics are available for. Government data showed the number of positive tests had dropped in the run up to Christmas, with a slight blip in the days immediately following festivities, before the trend resumed. And MailOnline on Tuesday revealed cases were now falling in two-thirds of London's neighbourhoods. It prompted 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson an influential No10 adviser whose grim death projections spooked ministers into adopting draconian restrictions back in spring 2020 to say he is 'cautiously optimistic' that the capital's cases were plateauing, and could fall nationally within as little as a week. But the raw case numbers are unreliable because fewer tests are being carried out and the positivity rate shows no signs of slowing down yet. However, separate figures show hospitalisation rates are already falling in London. Ministers are believed to be watching admissions in the capital closely, with 400-a-day thought to be a tipping point that requires nationwide intervention, given that London has acted as the canary in the coalmine for the UK's Omicron crisis. Latest data shows daily hospital admissions are falling in the capital, dipping 7.22 per cent from 374 on December 26 to 347 on January 2, the latest date data is available for. They were only above 400 for four days. Boris Johnson last night all but ruled out adopting another lockdown and held out the prospect of a return 'closer to normality' within weeks. The Prime Minister has held his nerve in the face of demands to introduce tougher restrictions to thwart Omicron, unlike his counterparts in Scotland and Wales, and imposed no new curbs over the holidays, winning him praise from Tory MPs. But 24 NHS trusts have now declared 'critical incidents' due to staff shortages and rising Covid admissions, it was revealed today. Grant Shapps announced another four sites hit the panic button overnight, meaning roughly a fifth of England's 137 trusts have signalled they may not be able to deliver critical care in the coming weeks. But the Transport Secretary poured cold water over the alerts, saying: 'It's not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter.' He accepted, however, that there are 'very real pressures'. Officials have yet to release the full list of affected trusts, however those which have raised the alarm include NHS sites in Bristol, Plymouth and Blackpool. Health bosses have already been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and have asked heart attack victims to make their own way to hospital. Trusts declaring critical incidents the highest level of alert can ask staff on leave or on rest days to return to wards, and enables them to receive help from nearby hospitals. Boris Johnson said vandals should not be allowed to change our history following an outcry over the Colston statue trial verdict. There was widespread anger after a jury cleared four activists of criminal damage for toppling the controversial monument in Bristol. The Prime Minister did not comment on the case specifically, but he entered the debate by insisting that those who want to remove statues must do so democratically. Prosecutors were last night under mounting pressure to launch a challenge in the wake of the perverse verdict in the Colston Four case. There was widespread anger after a jury cleared four activists of criminal damage for toppling the controversial monument in Bristol Former justice secretary Robert Buckland urged the Crown Prosecution Service to refer the jurys decision to the Court of Appeal. He said urgent action was needed in a bid to iron out any ambiguity in the law, amid concern the astonishing verdict could become a vandals charter. It emerged that trial judge Peter Blair QC told the jury to disregard remarks by one defence barrister, who urged them to be on the right side of history. He said it would be quite wrong if jurors felt they had some kind of additional burden on your shoulders. The judges remarks suggest he feared undue pressure was being placed upon the jury by the lawyers excessive rhetoric. Mr Johnson said the specific Colston case was a matter for the court, but added: My feeling is that we have a complex historical legacy all around us, and it reflects our history in all its diversity, for good or ill. The Prime Minister did not comment on the case specifically, but he entered the debate by insisting that those who want to remove statues must do so democratically What you cant do is go around seeking retrospectively to change our history or to bowdlerise it or edit it in retrospect. Its like some person trying to edit their Wikipedia entry its wrong. If people democratically want to remove a statue or whatever, thats fine. But I think that, in general, we should preserve our cultural, artistic, historical legacy. Downing Street said vandalism remains a crime and it expected police to take it seriously despite the Colston ruling. The four activists were acquitted on Wednesday after tearing down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston and throwing it into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020. Conservative MPs voiced fears the verdict set a dangerous precedent which could lead to juries acquitting defendants for political reasons rather than according to the evidence. Although the action proposed by Mr Buckland will not change the outcome of the trial in the Colston case, he said it could help prevent the courts being turned into political playgrounds. Last night a CPS spokesman said: We are considering the outcome of the case but under the law the prosecution cannot appeal against a jury acquittal. Mr Buckland, a former criminal barrister and part-time judge, said: This was a perverse verdict. But perverse verdicts are the price we must sometimes pay for the admirable system of jury trials that I strongly believe in. If there was any ambiguity in the law and the way it was applied in this case, then it is open to the prosecution to consider making a reference to the Court of Appeal to ask for clarity. The Court of Appeal could issue guidance which would help prosecutors and judges when these types of defence arguments arise, so our courts do not become a political playground. It is important that we do not see a fad developing where political groups run defences in trials in the hope a jury will take pity on them. Prosecutors were last night under mounting pressure to launch a challenge in the wake of the perverse verdict in the Colston Four case Mr Buckland highlighted powers under the Criminal Justice Act 1972 which allow the CPS and the Attorney General to refer acquittals to the Court of Appeal. Senior judges could then rule whether the outcome of the trial was incorrect on a point of law. Attorney General Suella Braverman will consider any submission from the CPS very carefully, sources said. Former communities secretary Robert Jenrick said: We undermine the rule of law, which underpins our democracy, if we accept vandalism and criminal damage are acceptable forms of political protest. They arent. Regardless of the intentions. Bristol mayor Marvin Rees the countrys first black elected mayor said he wanted to achieve real results on tackling racism, and that removing statues was not top of that list. The simplistic thing that people are trying to push here is that somehow they the people that pulled down a statue are the embodiment of anti-racism and everything that didnt support them... are pro the status quo, Mr Rees told Times Radio. Its a little bit more complicated than that. A year after hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, more than 725 people have been arrested and the Justice Department is preparing for its first criminal trials next month in what it says is its biggest ever investigation. The Department of Justice will not say how many people are working on its investigation or how much has been spent. But Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out a sense of the scale of the federal investigation. 'Led by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the FBIs Washington Field Office, DOJ personnel across the department in nearly all 56 field offices, in nearly all 94 United States Attorneys Offices, and in many Main Justice components have worked countless hours to investigate the attack,' he said in a speech to mark the anniversary. 'Approximately 70 prosecutors from the District of Columbia and another 70 from other U.S. attorneys offices and DOJ divisions have participated in this investigation.' Suspects had been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia,' he said. Attorney General Merrick Garland said 140 prosecutors were involved in 'one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history' More than 725 people have been charged in connection with the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol The attack lasted seven hours, when about 10,000 people gathered on the Capitol grounds 'So far, we have issued over 5,000 subpoenas and search warrants, seized approximately 2,000 devices, pored through over 20,000 hours of video footage, and searched through an estimated 15 terabytes of data,' he said in a speech to mark the anniversary,' he added. 'We have received over 300,000 tips from ordinary citizens, who have been our indispensable partners in this effort.' He described the result as 'one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history.' The attack lasted seven hours, when about 10,000 people gathered on the Capitol grounds. Hundreds clashed with police officers trying to protect lawmakers inside certifying Joe Biden's election victory. At least 2000 people made it inside, suggesting hundreds more suspects could be arrested and charged in the months to come. The Department of Justice said 140 officers were wounded. And five people died, including a police officer, during or after the violence. On top of that, American taxpayers are on the hook for the costs of the attack itself. The bill is estimated at $500 million, including damage to the building itself to overtime for police officers during the day of the violence and the aftermath. Some conservatives criticized the scale and scope of the investigation this week, accusing Democrats of politicizing the violence in a way they did not for Black Lives Matter protests. Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz held a press conference on Thursday fueling conspiracy theories that the federal government was involved in the Capitol riot Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson dedicated a monologue on Wednesday, the eve of the one-anniversary, to ridiculing Garland for saying he was hunting 'everyone who was responsible.' 'John Dillinger is laughing from the pit of hell,' he said. 'Jan. 6 trumped him, and it trumped the manhunt after 9/11. 'It trumps all manhunts. So people who were just standing there taking pictures on their phone got picked up by the FBI, some of them got sent to jail, but its not ending, theres still more to come.' Critics question why no one has been charged with insurrection, and spread conspiracy theories claiming Trump supporters were duped into breaking the law by federal agents. 'We know this - January 6 last year wasn't an insurrection,' said Trump loyalist Rep. Matt Gaetz. 'No one has been charged with insurrection. No one has been charged with treason. But it may very well may have been a fed-surrection.' NSW has reported a record 38,625 new Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths while Victoria has recorded 21,728 new cases and six deaths with both states reintroducing restrictions. NSW is considering suspending elective surgery, shutting nightclubs, banning singing and dancing in pubs, and pausing major events. The changes to the rules are expected to be finalised later on Friday morning and mark a massive backflip by Dominic Perrottet who previously claimed it was time to learn to 'live with the virus', the Sydney Morning Herald reports. In Victoria, density limits of one person per 2sqm have been brought back for indoor areas at hospitality venues like pubs, nightclubs and restaurants. These rules do not apply to indoor cinemas and theatres as people are seated and are wearing masks but will be enforced in arcades and casinos. NSW has reported a record 38,625 new Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths while Victoria has recorded 21,728 new cases and six deaths with both states reintroducing restrictions NSW is considering suspending elective surgery, shutting nightclubs, banning singing and dancing in pubs, and pausing major events The changes to the rules are expected to be finalised later this morning despite Dominic Perrottet previously claiming it was time to learn to 'live with the virus' NSW's looming restrictions mark a massive backflip by Dominic Perrottet who previously claimed it was time to learn to 'live with the virus' Victorians have also been strongly advised to work and study from home until Australia Day. As of Friday Victoria will also begin categorising people who test positive on a rapid antigen test as a 'probable Covid-19 case'. Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said the new process means fewer people will be waiting on PCR test results. LATEST RESTRICTIONS IN VICTORIA Density limits of one person per 2sqm: Indoor areas of pubs, nightclubs and restaurants, arcades and casinos. Excluding indoor cinemas and theatres Return to the office extended: Victorians strongly advised to work from home Advertisement 'We will see fewer Victorians waiting on the results of that PCR test before they can go and either receive the care and information they need or return to life as normal,' she said. Anyone who receives a positive RAT must isolate for seven days and notify their contacts. They will receive the same clinical and financial support as PCR confirmed cases. Testing commander Jeroen Weimar said the hotline and form will check whether people have symptoms and what they are, whether they're a close contact, what support they need, whether they have been vaccinated, any existing conditions they have and if they're happy being supported by a GP. He said it would allow for care to be more quickly provided. It will be mandatory to report the result of a Covid-19 antigen test by calling 1800 675 398 or online from Friday. The return of restrictions comes as case numbers continue to explode in both states with hospitalisation rates increasing, ICU figures rising and testing clinics continuing to bend under intense demand. In NSW, hospitalisation rates have continued to climb with 1,738 patients being treated - up from 1,609 reported on Thursday. ICU figures have also increased to 134 - an uptick from 131. In Victoria, hospitalisations have jumped to 644 - up from 631 - and ICU numbers have increased to 58 - an increase from 51. NSW venues are set to be discouraged from allowing people to standup while drinking. Meanwhile, major events would be risk-assessed by NSW Health and postponed if required. NSW on Thursday also reported six deaths including a vaccinated and otherwise healthy ACT man in his 20s who died at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital. The other fatalities were four men and a woman aged in their 60s, 80s and 90s. Two were from Lake Macquarie in the Hunter Region and three from western Sydney. The number of people in hospital (1609) and intensive care units (131), as well as those on ventilators (38) also rose. Mr Perrottet warned the state may suspend elective surgeries to relieve pressure on the hospital system. Further Covid-19 restrictions could be introduced on Friday such as nightclub closures, a ban on singing and dancing and pausing major events (pictured, Sydneysiders attend Christmas parties for 2021 end-of-year celebrations) NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is expected to finalise anticipated restrictions on Friday morning as he reveals Covid-19 testing sites are at capacity (pictured, people endure long queues for PCR tests in Sydney during January) Private hospitals could also be asked to help 'in managing ... these increases in cases', he said. Australian Medical Association NSW president Danielle McMullen said the indication elective surgery could be cancelled was 'yet another sign of a system in crisis' and suspending surgeries was an 'avoidable' move that 'will have profound consequences for patients'. 'Elective surgery shouldn't be a tap that government turns on and off to cover for serious cracks in our healthcare system,' Dr McMullen says. Under new restrictions venues could be discouraged from allowing people to standup while drinking (pictured, seated diners enjoy a meal and drinks at Sydney's Opera Bar in October) Many of NSW's testing sites and pathology labs are also under strain due to high demand. Mr Perrottet said the testing system was at full capacity and it will take time to relieve the pressure as people adjust to new testing guidelines. Under changes approved on Wednesday by national cabinet, people who test positive after a rapid antigen test won't have to get a PCR test to confirm the result. Employers should also stop asking workers to get PCR tests when they are asymptomatic. 'Given the current strain on the system, (PCR tests) are taking days to come back, so the (need) as we move forward for employers to be saying that to employees, is very, very low,' the premier told Sydney radio 2GB. Opposition Leader Chris Minns said NSW is in a crucial period where it needs to protect the hospital system and find a way to monitor the prevalence of the virus in the community as testing shifts predominantly to RAT kits. Mr Perrottet said the testing system was at full capacity and it will take time to relieve the pressure as people adjust to new testing guidelines (pictured, healthcare workers administer PCR tests at St Vincent's Hospital drive-thru clinic, Bondi Beach, on New Year's Eve) 'The government still needs to be aware where those cases are popping up so that resources can be deployed,' Mr Minns said. Health authorities could be left 'flying blind' if there was no way for people to self report their results from RAT kits, he said. Unlike PCR tests, RAT results are not registered. The AMA is meeting with NSW Health on Thursday to establish how infections detected under the kits will be tracked. Some of the 50 million RAT kits recently ordered by NSW will begin arriving next week. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has backtracked on his call for calm that NSW would stay open despite surging Covid-19 case numbers They will be distributed in conjunction with the federal government through pharmacies and 'potentially in testing centres and vaccination hubs', as well as to frontline staff in schools, Mr Perrottet said. The federal government still faces calls to provide RAT kits for all Australians following the announcement they would only be provided free to six million concession cardholders across Australia, with each person able to get 10 over the next three months. The deal is predicted to cost the federal government $850million and comes after escalating calls for free tests loudened amid crippling nationwide shortages. Australian Medical Association NSW chair Michael Bonning said providing some free tests did not go far enough. Some of the 50 million RAT kits recently ordered by NSW will begin arriving next week amid stock shortages (pictured, a healthcare worker undertakes a rapid antigen test) 'We need more rapid antigen tests in the community so that people can be making good choices about activity, but also detecting disease early so that then they can stay away from others,' Dr Bonning told Nine's Today program. The move hoped to alleviate pressure on testing facilities around the country struggling to keep up with demand as states record numbers of new infections. In just two days NSW recorded 70,000 Covid-19 infections and a significant spike in hospitalisations as Omicron sweeps the state. NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said on Wednesday it planned to quadruple vaccinations at its state hubs. More than 300,000 jabs are expected to be delivered by the end of January as the government prepares a 'targeted' response to the Omicron outbreak. 'The alternative is, as we move through this next phase of the pandemic is to go back into lockdown,' Mr Perrottet said last Tuesday. 'That is not what we're doing in NSW, that is not the alternative that we're considering. 'We've said we will tailor our response to the situation that comes. If evidence changes, we will have targeted restrictions in place. 'But the key metric here is vaccination rates, that is our key to success.' Jewell Hall at the University of Kentucky on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Jack Weaver | Staff Hundreds of troops are being sent into London hospitals to fill in for NHS staff who are isolating because of Omicron, it was announced last night. The 200 soldiers, whose deployment was requested by NHS trusts, include 40 medics who will help directly with patient care on wards. Troops from other services have also been called up to help the NHS. The remainder will assist with medical and general duties such as checking in patients and conducting basic health checks. Troops were last deployed to hospital wards in early 2021 when NHS staff were overwhelmed by the numbers of in-patients who had contracted the virus. But this time the soldiers are being sent in due to the staffing shortages in hospitals caused by the high numbers isolating. Members of the armed forces gather outside outside the NHS Nightingale Hospital in London in April 2020 It is understood that the Department of Health submitted a request for additional MoD personnel on behalf of a number of hospital trusts in London which are experiencing staffing issues. Several have declared 'critical incidents' in recent days, with health chiefs claiming that the service is under enormous strain. But there has been debate over how severe the pressure actually are, with hospitalisations and severe illness much lower due to the mildness of Omicron. Ministers yesterday pushed back against claims hospitals were on the brink of collapse, with Environment Secretary George Eustice predicting that the NHS's acute problems would prove to be 'quite short lived'. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson said it was 'not true' that the health service did not have enough staff to cope and Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said that it was 'not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter'. Latest Department of Health figures show that on Wednesday there were 179,756 positive Covid tests recorded across the UK, down 5 per cent on the same day last week. However, looking at the week-by-week numbers, the number of cases is still rising. The 200 military personnel will be broken down into 40 teams of five, each comprised of one medic and four soldiers who will assist as doctors and nurses deem appropriate. The troops have been told they will be working in hospitals for at least three weeks. Last night Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: 'The men and women of our Armed Forces are once again stepping up to support their dedicated colleagues in the NHS. 'They have shown their worth time and again throughout this pandemic, whether driving ambulances, administering vaccines or supporting patients and they should be proud of their contribution to this truly national effort.' Boris Johnson greets a member of vaccination staff during a visit to a coronavirus disease vaccine centre in Northampton this week Military personnel assisting at the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in 2020 Defence chiefs are also providing 32 personnel to join ambulance crews until the end of March. Downing Street has insisted the number of critical alert declarations was 'not a good indicator' of the pressure on the health service. And Mr Shapps told Sky News the NHS was facing 'very real pressures', but said these were not insurmountable. Visiting a vaccination centre in Northampton, Mr Johnson said: 'I appreciate that the NHS is under huge pressure. 'We've had wave after wave of Covid and our NHS has responded magnificently.' He said staff numbers had been increased, and that, combined with calling in retired staff and volunteers, would ease the strain. He said Omicron was milder than other variants but said: 'We've got to give the NHS all the help we can through the next period.' Mr Eustice predicted the country would get past the Omicron peak of infections 'relatively soon'. However, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said it was 'clear that we are facing a staffing crisis', with around 10 per cent of workers in self-isolation or on sick leave. Data from the Zoe Covid app study suggested cases are falling among those aged 18 to 35 but rising in older groups, including the over-75s. Dr Claire Steves of King's College London, which runs the app, said: 'This is the group we need to protect as they are the most likely to be hospitalised.' Lord Tebbit, who was injured by IRA bomb said agreement should 'demerit him from any honours' Victims of IRA atrocities condemned Tony Blair's knighthood yesterday over his secret deal to provide 'get out of jail free' cards to almost 200 suspected terrorists. Families torn apart by Republican attacks hit out at the former prime minister for 'providing an effective amnesty to murderers and bombers' as part of the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal. Tory grandee Lord Tebbit, who was severely injured in an IRA bomb attack during the 1984 Conservative Party conference, said Sir Tony's agreement to release terrorists early and provide immunity to others should 'demerit him from any honours'. It came as a petition demanding that Sir Tony is stripped of the honour announced at New Year passed 900,000 signatures. While the former PM's involvement in the Good Friday Agreement has been lauded for bringing an end to 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, victims of terrorist attacks have criticised concessions he was forced to make to Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA. Families torn apart by IRA attacks hit out at former prime minister Sir Tony Blair for 'providing effective amnesty to murderers and bombers' as part of the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal. The criticism comes after Sir Tony was honoured with a knighthood Tory grandee Lord Tebbit, who was severely injured in an IRA bomb attack during the 1984 Conservative Party conference, said Sir Tony's agreement to release terrorists early and provide immunity to others should 'demerit him from any honours' Mark Tipper's brother, Trooper Simon Tipper, was one of four soldiers from the Blues and Royals killed by an IRA bomb at Hyde Park in 1982. Chief suspect John Downey walked free from the Old Bailey in 2014 when he produced an 'on-the-run' letter issued in secret by Sir Tony's government to at least 187 fugitives. The controversial documents, also called 'comfort letters', told those accused of serious crimes including murder and terrorism that they were no longer 'wanted'. In 2019, a civil court found Downey was an 'active participant' in the bombing. Mr Tipper said: 'The on-the-run letters were beyond belief, to give terrorists a get out of jail free card, which is what it was. The terrorists got away but we as victims have to live with it for the rest of our lives. It wasn't until 2019 that we got the justice we deserved. Mark Tipper (right), the brother of Trooper Simon Tipper (left) who killed by an IRA bomb at Hyde Park in 1982, said he 'despised' Sir Tony for issuing secret 'on-the-run' letters which effectively 'gave terrorists a get out of jail free card' Trooper Simon Tipper, was among the four soldiers from the Blues and Royals and seven horses killed by an IRA bomb at Hyde Park in 1982 as they rode through central London to attend the Changing of the Guard 'Blair has a lot of families to answer to who he left hurt because of the decisions he thought were right. I think they were only to suit his legacy. I despise Blair for what he has done. A knighthood? Not for me.' In 2015 Sir Tony apologised for Downey's letter. Lord Tebbit's late wife Margaret was left paralysed from the chest down following the 1984 assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet. The 90-year-old peer said: 'The result of the Good Friday Agreement was terrorists getting out of jail free, while for years afterwards soldiers who were seeking to deal with terrorists have been put on trial.' Ex-soldier behind the petition on way to 1m signatures By Andrew Levy The former soldier whose petition calling for Tony Blair to be stripped of his knighthood said he had to take action against someone who took Britain to war using 'lies and deceit'. Angus Scott, 55, said it was a 'kick in the teeth' when he heard the former PM was to receive the honour. He warned it sent a 'terrible message' when someone who 'should have been held to account' for the conflict in Iraq was rewarded instead. The committed royalist said it was particularly painful that the knighthood had been the personal gift of the Queen, to whom he had sworn an oath of loyalty in the Territorial Army. Mr Scott, who now works as a voice artist, said Sir Tony 'sent people to their deaths on a false premise'. 'I thought I might get a hundred signatures,' he added. 'I was astounded when it went viral.' Advertisement Five people were killed in the attack at The Grand Hotel, Brighton. Bomber Patrick Magee was freed early from prison in 1999 having served 14 years, despite a legal challenge by then-Home Secretary Jack Straw. Lord Tebbit added: 'I did not see how it was possible for a reasonable-minded man to come to the conclusion that he should have been released.' Victims campaigner Alex Bunting, who lost a leg in 1991 when an IRA bomb detonated in his taxi described Sir Tony's knighthood as 'absolutely disgusting'. While the former PM had played a major role in the peace deal, his decision to provide 'amnesties' was 'the start of a slippery slope', he said. SAS hero Robin Horsfall, 64, one of the elite soldiers to storm the Iranian Embassy in 1980, revealed he mobilised his veterans' following of over 200,000 on social media to sign the petition. But crossbench peer Lord Kilclooney, a former Ulster Unionist Party MP who was seriously injured in a 1972 Official IRA assassination attempt, backed Sir Tony's honour. He said: 'I worked closely with Tony in preparation for the Belfast Agreement and I have nothing but admiration for his time and effort in getting devolution restored to Northern Ireland. His knighthood is well deserved.' Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also took a swipe, sharing a link to the Daily Mail's revelation that Sir Tony's defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, said he was ordered to burn a memo warning that invading Iraq could be illegal. Mr Corbyn wrote: 'This underlines once more what a disastrous act of aggression the war on Iraq was.' A YouGov survey conducted on Tuesday found that 63 per cent of Britons disapprove of the knighthood while 14 per cent approve. Fresh outcry over Tony Blair's links to Kazakhstan's ruling regime amid deadly protests over fuel prices ByVanessa Allen for the Daily Mail Amid deadly protests in Kazakhstan yesterday, Tony Blair faced renewed scrutiny over his dealings with the countrys regime. Street battles have gripped Kazakhstan after demonstrations over fuel prices escalated into violent clashes between protesters and police. Much of the anger was directed at former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled over Kazakhstan for three decades until 2019, and who continued to wield immense power after he stepped down as president. His authoritarian regime faced international criticism for human rights abuses and in 2011 Sir Tonys consulting business Tony Blair Associates (TBA) took on a contract to advise the Kazakh government. Amid deadly protests in Kazakhstan yesterday, Tony Blair faced renewed scrutiny over his dealings with the countrys regime. Pictured: Then-PM Blair meets Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev at Downing St in 2006 The controversial deal saw Sir Tony face accusations that he had helped Mr Nazarbayev to spin a massacre which saw security forces kill at least 14 during a protest over wages. The former British prime minister advised the Kazakh leader on how to deal with questions from the Western media about the 2011 shootings, and suggested passages to be inserted into a speech Mr Nazarbayev was giving at Cambridge University in 2012. In a letter, he said: These events, tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress that Kazakhstan has made. After the letter was leaked, opposition groups in Kazakhstan said Sir Tony had blood on his hands for helping the regime to whitewash the killings. Street battles have gripped Kazakhstan after demonstrations over fuel prices escalated into violent clashes between protesters and police The TBA deal with Kazakhstan operated for five years and by the end the consultancy firm was seeking more than 5million-a-year for its services. Author and historian Mark Almond tweeted: Kazakhstans current protests should remind us that the new-coined chevalier of human rights, Tony Blair, helped the regime to cover up repression there in the past. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: He has been an adviser to numerous leaders around the world who would be considered repressive. It is one of the factors that has made his knighthood so contentious. Sir Tony has always denied receiving money to whitewash Kazakhstans human rights record, and insisted he was advising on political reforms and governance, and was not profiting personally. In 2016, he announced he had wound down his commercial operations. But as recently as 2020 Sir Tony appeared in a video praising Mr Nazarbayev for his leadership. A spokesman said he was speaking in a personal capacity and had not been paid. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took a jab at Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday after she compared the Capitol riot to the September 11 terror attacks in her speech marking one year since the deadly events of January 6. He also criticized the volume of media coverage and Democrat attention going toward the insurrection, claiming they were treating it like 'Christmas.' 'Look, if you obstruct a proceeding, all about holding people accountable. If you're rioting, hold them accountable,' DeSantis told reporters. 'But let's just be clear here: When they try to act like this is something akin to the September 11 attacks, that is an insult to the people that were going into those buildings,' he added in reference to New York City's twin towers that collapsed when hit by two passenger planes. During her speech Harris also compared January 6 to the assault on Pearl Harbor. 'Certain dates echo throughout history, including dates that instantly remind all who have lived through them where they were and what they were doing, when our democracy came under assault,' Harris began. 'December 7, 1941, September 11, 2001 and January 6, 2021.' In the coordinated terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, 2,977 people were killed. In the Pearl Harbor bombing, 2,403 Americans lost their lives. DeSantis criticized the media's coverage of January 6 and accused outlets of 'milking' the riot Asked about his feelings a year out from the insurrection, the Republican governor used it as an opportunity to attack media coverage of its first anniversary. 'It's interesting how everything in our society becomes very politicized, and so today -- honestly, I'm not going to watch any of it -- you're going to see the D.C./New York media, this is their Christmas, January 6,' DeSantis said. '"They are going to take this and milk this for anything they could to smear anyone who ever supported Donald Trump.' In her Capitol remarks Harris alluded to civil rights fights of the past century. 'What the extremists who roamed these halls targeted was not only the lives of elected leaders ... what they were assaulting were the institutions, the values, the ideals that generations of Americans have marched, picketed and shed blood to establish and defend.' 'We cannot let our future be decided by those bent on silencing our voices, overturning our votes, and peddling lies and misinformation by some radical faction that may be newly resurgent, but whose roots run old and deep.' 'Certain dates echo throughout history, including dates that instantly remind all who have lived through them where they were and what they were doing, when our democracy came under assault,' Harris began Harris then called the U.S. the 'oldest and greatest democracy in the world.' 'I wonder, how will January 6 be come to be remembered?' Harris said. 'Will it be remembered as a moment that accelerated the unraveling of the oldest and greatest democracy in the world? Or a moment when we decided to secure and strengthen our democracy for generations to come?' Democracy was coined by the Greeks in 430 B.C., means 'for the people' and many communities such as Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Britain, San Marino and Switzerland have had democracies dating back to the ninth and tenth centuries. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said critics of Harris' 9/11 comparison were using the remarks as an 'excuse.' 'Instead of, for those who are being critics of the vice presidents remarks, I think instead of focusing on, or analyzing comparisons of moments in history, I would suggest that they be a part of solving the threat to democracy that occurs today They are using this as an excuse not to be a part of that.' Biden and Harris arrive to speak from Statuary Hall at the Capitol 'Here is the truth,' Biden said. 'The former president of the United States of America created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election' Artist Stephen Parlato, who is demonstrating against the January 6th attackers, holds a banner in front of the U.S. Capitol on the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack What about Iceland, San Marino and the ancient Greeks, Kamala? How the VP got her political history so wrong by calling U.S. world's 'oldest democracy' Vice President Kamala Harris referred to the U.S. as the world's 'oldest and greatest democracy' in her Jan. 6 anniversary speech, as she made her pitch for voting rights legislation. But democracy truly began at least 2,500 years ago, when the term, which means 'rule by the people,' was coined by the ancient Greeks in Athens. Democracies which began in the 9th and 10th centuries, such as Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Britain beginning with the Isle of Man, are still running today. By the end of the 1400s, the English governing system had adopted many features of modern parliamentary government. In 1649, the monarchy was abolished and a republic was established, but in 1660 the monarchy was brought back. By 1830 the constitutional principal that the House of Commons was given choice of the prime minister and Cabinet. The U.S., declared independence from Britain in 1776, and the Constitution establishing today's democracy was signed in 1787. But there are numerous interpretation of what defines democracy, as most of the world left large shares of their population out of the right to vote until relatively recently. The Isle of Man established universal suffrage in 1881, and New Zealand followed in 1893. The U.S. did not allow women the right to vote until 1920. Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan once made the same claim as Harris. 'This is the oldest deliberative body in the world,' Ryan said of Congress. 'We are the oldest democracy.' Ryan's press secretary noted that the U.S. Constitution is the oldest single government document. 'That founding document established our democracy,' said Ian Martorana told Politifact. 'It stands to reason that if America has the oldest constitution (that founded the democracy in question), then America also has the oldest democracy.' Advertisement On Jan. 6, 2020, hundreds of Trump supporters marched from his 'Save America' rally to breach Capitol security as members of Congress and former Vice President Mike Pence were certifying the vote in favor of Biden. Four people died in the chaos of the day, and one injured Capitol police officer died a day later. Arizona's GOP Rep. Andy Biggs' questioned Harris' 9/11 and Pearl Harbor comparisons. 'Kamala compared Jan6 to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Twin Towers. Fear-baiting and truth-twisting at its finest,' Biggs wrote on Twitter. The vice president then pivoted to a push for legislation to expand voting rights. 'The violent assault that took place here, the very fact of how close we came to an election overturned, that reflects the fragility of democracy,' she said. 'The American spirit is being tested.' 'Here in this very building, a decision will be made about whether we uphold the right to vote and ensure free and fair elections. Let's be clear - we must pass voting rights bills that are now before the Senate.' Biden, meanwhile, used his speech to tear into former President Trump. 'We saw with our own eyes rioters menace these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House. Literally erecting gallows to hang the vice president of the United States of America,' Biden recalled. 'What did we not see? We didn't see a former president, who just rallied the mob to attack, sitting in a private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours.' 'Here is the truth,' Biden continued. 'The former president of the United States of America created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election.' Trump did so 'because he values power over principle. Because he sees his own interest as more important than his country's interest, than America's interest,' Biden said. 'And because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution,' Biden stated. 'He can't accept he lost.' Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that Harris' and Biden's speeches were an 'attempt to resurrect a failed presidency.' 'Their brazen attempts to use January 6 to support radical election reform and changing the rules of the Senate to accomplish this goal, will not succeed,' the senator wrote on Twitter. 'The Biden Administration seems to be incapable of dealing with the challenges America faces, and their efforts to politicize January 6 will fall flat.' The Senate has put back and forth negotiations on Biden's Build Back Better social spending bill on the back burner and pivoted toward bills that would expand voting rights. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer threatened to use a 'nuclear option' to break the 10-vote filibuster if senators don't come to an agreement by Martin Luther King Jr. day. After Democrats swept the House, Senate and presidency in 2020, GOP-led states like Georgia, Arizona and Texas pushed through new voting restrictions, particularly ones that made mail-in voting more difficult. Democrats have called the restrictions 'racist' and say they disproportionately impact young voters and voters of color who lean Democratic. House Democrats have passed two voting bills, but they've been stuck in the Senate as 60 votes are needed to overrule a filibuster in the split 50-50 upper chamber, where Harris casts the tie-breaking vote. Thought Schumer has pitched changing the rules so there's a carve-out for the voting rights bills, he's getting resistance from moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. He needs every Democratic senator to support the move. Speaking from the Capitol Tuesday night, Manchin said the 'filibuster needs to stay in place any way, shape or form that we can do it,' according to Punchbowl News. Biden wipes his eye as Harris delivers her remarks commemorating Jan 6 She compared the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol one year ago to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 A fiery blasts rocks the World Trade Center after being hit by two planes September 11, 2001 in New York City, killing nearly 3,000 Thick smoke billows up from stricken American warships during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, December 7, 1941, killing 2,400 Jacob Rees-Mogg has form in ousting prime ministers just ask Theresa May. The millionaire Old Etonian led an abortive coup against the former prime minister in 2018 which failed at the time but triggered a chain of events that saw her forced from office a few months later. So the revelation he has been agitating against a key government policy set tongues wagging at Westminster today just what is Jacob up to now? The Commons leader used a Cabinet discussion on the cost-of-living crisis on Wednesday to demand a rethink of the planned national insurance hike in April. The controversial 1.25 per cent rise is designed to provide 12billion a year to help clear NHS waiting lists and, eventually, deliver on the PMs pledge to tackle the social care crisis. But it also involves breaking the Tory manifesto and risks triggering another blow to family finances just a month before critical local elections. Mr Rees-Mogg suggested that, whatever the needs of the NHS, another tax raid could not be justified at this time. Downing Street considers Rees-Mogg to be one of the PMs most loyal ministers - he has told MPs privately that potential successors like Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are mad to be manoeuvring now against a Prime Minister he believes will be in place for years. Wouldnt it be more frugal and responsible to look for savings in public spending before asking hard-pressed families to open their wallets again, he asked? Couldnt the vast army of civil servants be trimmed, particularly given the questionable productivity of many of those working from home? Mr Rees-Mogg has also made little secret of his unhappiness with the imposition of heavy-handed Covid curbs over the last two years. He opposed the introduction of Plan B and was tipped by some to follow Lord Frost out of the Cabinet at the end of last year. Some would say he was already living on borrowed time having advised the PM to attempt a disastrous defence of Owen Paterson over sleaze allegations, which ended up dragging the whole government into disrepute. But allies of Mr Rees-Mogg insist he is much happier with the general direction of government policy since the PM took the bold decision not to impose further Covid curbs over Christmas. Downing Street also considers him to be one of the PMs most loyal ministers and he has told MPs privately that potential successors like Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are mad to be manoeuvring now against a Prime Minister he believes will be in place for years. On this occasion, it appears Mr Rees-Mogg has simply spied an opportunity to reopen a case he has been making for months and one he believes holds true to traditional low-tax Toryism. The Commons leader was one of only three ministers to speak out against the tax rise at the original Cabinet discussion last September, alongside Lord Frost and Miss Truss. The decision went against him and he accepted it in public. But with the cost-of-living crisis now rising towards the top of the political agenda, he appears to have spotted a chance to reopen a matter that had been settled. And, following last months stormy Cabinet meeting over Covid curbs, senior ministers feel more emboldened to speak up. For the first two years of his administration, Boris Johnsons Cabinet meetings have often been little more than a rubber-stamping exercise, with ministers often reading from prepared scripts. But with the PM weakened politically, and the Cabinet able to claim it has helped guide him back towards the Tory partys instincts on Covid, senior ministers are feeling empowered. Mr Rees-Mogg is not plotting another coup. But his intervention is a sign the PM might have to get used to paying more attention to his ministers which may be no bad thing. Advertisement In the coming decades humans will be visiting space more frequently, and will be doing so in luxury, thanks to a number of new space station concepts, including a 'business park' by Blue Origin and a Voyager space hotel. More than 600 people have been into space since Yuri Gagarin made the first solo orbit of the planet on April 12, 1961, with more than 250 of them visiting the International Space Station (ISS). Unfortunately, the ISS is starting to show its age, and so both the US and Russia are keen to see it replaced, with NASA looking to the private sector to take on the responsibility of keeping humans in low Earth orbit. A number of concepts for future commercial space stations have been proposed, including a massive 'space business park' called Orbital Reef, developed by a consortium led by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. This 'address in orbit' could be operational by 2027, and would be capable of housing up to ten people at a time, and be for both commercial and government use, including experiments, tourism and even cinema. However, a major driver of commercial space is expected to be tourism, and with that in mind the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) proposed the rotating Voyager Station. This would be a luxury space hotel, capable of housing up to 400 people, also providing 'pods' for researchers, governments and scientists - and doing so while generating artificial gravity. Other ideas suggested for future space stations include floating labs, connected by hatches, through to versions of various existing spacecraft, such as Northrup Grumman's Cygnus, that could be connected together. Many of the proposals could be launched by the end of this decade, when the ISS is expected to reach the end of its 'safe lifespan' - bringing an end to the government-led monopoly in low Earth orbit. A number of concepts for future commercial space stations have been proposed, including the massive Orbital Reef 'space business park', developed by a consortium led by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin (pictured) Developed by the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the Voyager Station could be operational as early as 2027, with the infrastructure built in orbit around the Earth and providing space for 400 people in 'lunar gravity' conditions NASA SELECTS THREE OPERATORS FOR INITIAL STATION FUND NASA has selected three firms for a share of a $415.6 million pot: The Blue Origin-led project called Orbital Reef will get $130m A Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin station named Starlab will get $160 And a Northrup Grumman platform based on its Cygnus spacecraft will receive $125.6 million This is an initial 'get started fund' with the rest of investment expected to come from the private sector. Advertisement The first humans arrived on the ISS 21 years ago, and it has been permanently occupied since then, but it was only set to last about 15 years. Despite constant upgrades and new additions, the core structure is ageing badly. While a number of firms, including Axiom Space and OAC, have been putting concept art for future commercial stations into the public domain for years, NASA has finally made moves to directly fund a station. It has set aside $415.6 million and will split it between three groups. This money will finance initial investigations, designs and commercial analysis of a privately owned space station. These include the Blue Origin-led project called Orbital Reef, a Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin station named Starlab, and a Northrup Grumman platform based on its Cygnus spacecraft. All three hope to be operational by the middle of this decade, with NASA as a customer, but the bulk of funding from commercial sources. They will join the Axiom space station, that will start its life as the first ISS commercial module, the ISS itself, the Chinese station Tiangong and an as yet unnamed Russian space station, expected to launch this decade. The aim is to have platforms that can be used by NASA, and other government agencies, as well as private sector customers, including for tourism. 'Building on our successful initiatives to partner with private industry to deliver cargo, and now our NASA astronauts, NASA is once again leading the way to commercialize space activities,' said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Here are a few of the proposals, including those from private operators not directly funded by NASA as part of the 'ISS replacement' project: Blue Origin's Orbital Reef Blue Origin will use the $130 from NASA to develop its Orbital Reef space station, unveiled five weeks ago, in partnership with Sierra Space and Boeing. The Jeff Bezos-backed consortium aims to launch the first module in the station in the second half of this decade, expanding the platform by the end of the decade. Orbital Reef is a consortium of a number of firms, including Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering, and Arizona State University, each providing different elements. It is expected that the struggling Boeing Starliner will be operational in time to take passengers to the new Orbital Reef by the time it launches in the late 2020s. The Jeff Bezos-backed consortium aims to launch the first module in the station in the second half of this decade, expanding the platform by the end of the decade Orbital Reef is a consortium of a number of firms, including Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering, and Arizona State University, each providing different elements It is being designed to be a 'mixed-use space business park' that provides essential infrastructure needed to support all types of human spaceflight activity in low-Earth orbit and can be scaled to serve new markets, according to the group. That tag line is 'your address in space,' suggesting that some companies could use it as a permanent base in orbit. 'Features such as reusable space transportation and advanced automation can minimise cost and complexity to enable the widest range of users. 'Accommodations, vehicle docking ports, and utilities can all be scaled with growth in market demand.' It is designed to support 10 people, which is one more than the ISS long-term capacity, and will be a similar size to the International Space Station once fully operational. 'Whether film-making in microgravity, opening a space hotel, or conducting cutting edge research, Orbital Reef will lease locations that scale to fit your vision,' it says. 'We sell only the utilities and services you need to sustain your business: power, cooling, high-bandwidth communications, information and physical security, robotic servicing, technician attention, stowage, and logistics.' Nanoracks Starlab Nanoracks' commercial low-Earth orbit destination is being built with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin and has been given the name Starlab. This station is schedule to launch by 2027 on a single flight, and will be a 'continuously crewed, commercial space station dedicated to conducting advanced research and fostering commercial industrial activity.' Nanoracks' commercial low-Earth orbit destination is being built with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin and has been given the name Starlab (pictured), a four person station expected to launch by 2027 Starlab is designed for four astronauts and will have power, volume, and a payload capability equivalent to the International Space Station. The basic elements of the Starlab space station include a large inflatable habitat, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, a metallic docking node, a power and propulsion element, a large robotic arm for servicing cargo and payloads, and the George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park. The GWC Science Park is a state-of-the-art laboratory system which will host a comprehensive research, science, and manufacturing capability. 'Starlab is the confluence of Lockheed Martins rich space expertise and history, Nanoracks innovation, and Voyagers financial savvy,' said Lisa Callahan from Lockheed Martin. 'This team is equipped to aid NASA on its mission to expand access to LEO and to enable a transformative commercial space economy,.' Northrop Grumman station Northrop Grumman has yet to name its upcoming space station, but says it is designed to be a modular, commercial destination in low-Earth orbit. The design leverages flight-proven elements, such as the Cygnus spacecraft that provides cargo delivery to the International Space Station and will be able to support four crew members at any one time. This will provide a base module for extended capabilities including science, tourism, industrial experimentation, and the building of infrastructure beyond initial design. Northrop Grumman is yet to reveal the name of its craft, but notes it will enable 'sustainable commercial-based missions where NASA does not bear all the costs, but serves as one of many customers' Multiple docking ports will allow future expansion to support crew analog habitats, laboratories, crew airlocks, and facilities capable of artificial gravity, in support of multiple customers, the firm explained. It is the least realised of the three finalist projects, with the firm planning to use the money from NASA to provide a detailed proposals. This includes a commercialisation, operations, and capabilities plan, as well as space station requirements, mission success criteria, risk assessments, key technical and market analysis requirements, and preliminary design activities. Northrop Grumman's team includes Dynetics, with other partners to be announced. 'Under this agreement, the Northrop Grumman team will deliver a free flying space station design that is focused on commercial operations to meet the demands of an expanding LEO market,' said Steve Krein, vice president, civil and commercial space, Northrop Grumman. 'Our station will enable a smooth transition from International Space Station-based LEO missions to sustainable commercial-based missions where NASA does not bear all the costs, but serves as one of many customers.' Axiom Space When the International Space Station was first occupied by astronauts from Russia and the US, in November 2000, it had an expected life of about 15 years. This has since been extended to 2025, and is now expected to be operational until at least 2030, with Axiom Space launching the first commercial module in 2024. Axiom Space has the most developed of the commercial stations, and will initially launch as a module attached to the International Space Station in 2024 (pictured, as it will be when complete) Axiom hope to eventually detach its commercial module from the ISS, and use it as a foundation for a full commercial space station by 2030. Once fully assembled, Axiom Station will nearly double the useable volume of the International Space Station. NASA is already working with Axiom on the design and implementation of the first commercial module, which will be connected to the ISS via a docking port and passageway. The Axiom project is not part of the NASA two-stage plan to replace the ISS with a commercial station, but rather something developed independently. For the second phase the agency intends to certify various platforms for NASA crew use - meaning it can send astronauts to that station and purchase services. 'This strategy will provide services the government needs at a lower cost,' NASA says. Voyager Space Hotel Developed by the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the Voyager Station would be a 'space hotel' with rooms for 400 people, living in pods around a large circle that rotates to produce artificial gravity. Some of these 24 modules will be run by the Gateway Foundation and will be for things like crew quarters, air, water and power. They will also include a gym, kitchen, restaurant, bar and other essential facilities for people due to be on the station longer term. The other modules will be leased or sold to private companies and governments. Government agencies could use the station to house their own science module or as a training centre for astronauts preparing to go to Mars. The space station will be a large circle and rotate to generate artificial gravity that will be set at a similar level to the gravity found on the surface of the Moon Each of these 24 integrated habitation modules will be 20 metres long by 12 metres wide and will carry a different function - from hotel rooms to movie theatres. The firm also expects their ring to include viewing lounges, concert venues, bars, libraries, gyms and a spa - all things you'd see on a cruise ship, but this one will cruise around the whole world every 90 minutes. First the team plan to test the concept with a much smaller scale prototype station and a free-flying microgravity facility similar to the International Space Station. 'This will be the next industrial revolution,' explained John Blincow, founder of the Gateway Foundation, adding it will create a new space industry. NASA estimates the agency's future needs in low-Earth orbit will require continuous accommodations and training for at least two crew members. It will also need the ability to support a national orbiting laboratory, that would be operated by commercial astronauts from various universities and firms. 'By transitioning to a model where commercial industry owns and operates the assets in low-Earth orbit and where NASA is one of many customers, the agency can save on costs to live and work in low-Earth orbit.' It also allows NASA to 'focus on pushing innovation and exploration of the Moon and Mars through NASA's Artemis missions,' the agency says. An out-of-control Russian rocket has fallen back to Earth after being trapped in orbit for nine days. The Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket launched on December 27 and was set to reach an orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface, but a failure in firing of the upper stage left it in low Earth orbit. At around 5:30pm ET, the 18th Space Control Squadron confirmed the reentry of the IPM 3/PERSEY (#50505, 2021-133A) at 13:08 PDT [4:08pm ET] on 5 Jan, 2022, over the Pacific Ocean, the agency shared in a tweet. The rocket stage traveled 4.7 miles per second as it reentered the atmosphere, Holger Krag, the head of the European Space Agency's Space Debris Office, said earlier Wednesday, as reported on by CNN. An out-of-control Russian rocket has fallen back to Earth after being trapped in orbit for nine days There is no indication of damages or injuries from the out-of-control rocket, which seems to have ended its journey in a favorable scenario. The modern Angara A-5 rocket is crucial to Russia's ambition to send advanced spy and weapons navigation satellites into orbit in the coming years. The heavy-lift launch vehicle will also play a part in Russia's ambitions to send robots and eventually people to land on the moon - in partnership with China. The Angara and the Persei booster carried a mock satellite payload on this pioneering test flight, that was destined for a graveyard orbit. At around 5:30pm ET, the 18th Space Control Squadron confirmed the reentry of the IPM 3/PERSEY (#50505, 2021-133A) at 13:08 PDT [4:08pm ET] on 5 Jan, 2022, over the Pacific Ocean, the agency shared in a tweet While the launch itself was 'flawlessly', there was a failure with the Persei upper stage after its separation 12 minutes into the flight. This means it did not fire its boosters that would have pushed it, and the payload, beyond low Earth orbit - causing it sit about 150 miles above the Earth. Many satellites and rocket stages re-enter the atmosphere all the time, but every so often one drops down uncontrollably and without a known destination. In May, the world turned to the skies as a 201-ton Chinese rocket was set to fall back to Earth - but no one knew when and where. The Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket launched on December 27 from Plesetsk spaceport carrying a dummy payload and was set to reach an orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface, but a failure in firing of the upper stage left it in low Earth orbit Some speculated it could land on populated areas, with New York being a potential path. Fortunately, the Long March rocket stage broke up on reentry above the Indian Ocean, north of the Maldives. Bill Nelson, the NASA administration, criticized Beijing and insisted it was 'critical' for China and other countries to 'act responsibly and transparently in space.' 'Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,' he wrote in a statement. 'It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.' An experimental Russian rocket has burnt up in Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, with small pieces of debris likely landing in the water. The Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket launched on December 27 and was set to reach an orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface, but a failure in firing of the upper stage left it in low Earth orbit for nine days, before falling into the atmosphere. The Persei upper stage re-entered the atmosphere at 21:08 GMT over the South Pacific Ocean, the Space Force 18th Space Control Squadron confirmed. Experts said that it may be impossible to know exactly where the tiny fragments of the 4 tonne booster actually came down, but it was likely in the Pacific Ocean. The new-generation Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket was launched on December 27 from Plesetsk spaceport carrying a dummy payload The upper stage of an experimental Russian rocket burnt up in Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, with small pieces of debris likely landing in the water The modern Angara A-5 rocket is crucial to Russia's ambition to send advanced spy and weapons navigation satellites into orbit in the coming years. It travelled 4.7 miles per second as it reentered the atmosphere, Holger Krag, the head of the European Space Agency's Space Debris Office, said on Wednesday. The region of the South Pacific Ocean it came down isn't far from where space agencies send rockets coming back to Earth on a controlled entry. This area is known as Point Nemo, the most remote place on Earth - it is more than 1,000 miles from civilisation in all directions in the South Pacific Ocean. It sits within the South Pacific Gyre, a rotating current that prevents nutrient-rich water from flowing into the area - so even life is scarce. The heavy-lift launch vehicle will also play a part in Russia's ambitions to send robots and eventually people to land on the moon - in partnership with China. The Angara and the Persei booster carried a mock satellite payload on this pioneering test flight, that was destined for a graveyard orbit. While the launch itself went 'flawlessly', there was a failure with the Persei upper stage after its separation 12 minutes into the flight. This means it did not fire its boosters that would have pushed it, and the payload, beyond low Earth orbit - causing it sit about 150 miles above the Earth. Many satellites and rocket stages re-enter the atmosphere all the time, but every so often one drops down uncontrollably and without a known destination. The Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket launched on December 27 from Plesetsk spaceport carrying a dummy payload and was set to reach an orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface, but a failure in firing of the upper stage left it in low Earth orbit At around 5:30pm ET, the 18th Space Control Squadron confirmed the reentry of the IPM 3/PERSEY (#50505, 2021-133A) at 13:08 PDT [4:08pm ET] on 5 Jan, 2022, over the Pacific Ocean, the agency shared in a tweet In May, the world turned to the skies as a 201-ton Chinese rocket was set to fall back to Earth - but no one knew when and where. Some speculated it could land on populated areas, with New York being a potential path. Fortunately, the Long March rocket stage broke up on reentry above the Indian Ocean, north of the Maldives. Bill Nelson, the NASA administration, criticised Beijing and insisted it was 'critical' for China and other countries to 'act responsibly and transparently in space.' 'Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,' he wrote in a statement. 'It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.' Dogs are able to recognise the difference between speech and gibberish and can even distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages, a study has found. Researchers from the Eotvos Lorand University took brain scans of 18 dogs as they played either real speech in, or gibberish derived from, either Hungarian or Spanish. They found that different auditory regions of the dogs' brains responded when the animals were identifying speech as compared to telling if a language was familiar. The former was handled by the primary auditory cortex, while the latter was handled by each canine's secondary auditory cortex. The study, the team said, represents the first time that scientists have demonstrated that a non-human brain is capable of telling two different languages apart. Scroll down for video Dogs are able to recognise the difference between speech and gibberish and can even distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages, as study has found. Pictured: Kun-kun, the pet dog of ethologist Laura Cuaya, awaits a brain scan as part of the study Researchers from the Eotvos Lorand University took brain scans of 18 dogs as they played either real speech in, or gibberish derived from, either Hungarian or Spanish. Pictured: paper author Attila Andics looking after Barack the dog during the tests The team found that different auditory regions of the dogs' brains responded when the animals were identifying speech as compared to telling if a language was familiar. Pictured: Kun-kun at the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine The research was conducted by ethologist Laura Cuaya and her colleagues at the Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary. 'Some years ago I moved from Mexico to Hungary [] for my postdoctoral research. My dog, Kun-kun, came with me,' explained Dr Cuaya. 'Before, I had only talked to him in Spanish. So I was wondering whether Kun-kun noticed that people in Budapest spoke a different language Hungarian. 'We know that people, even preverbal human infants, notice the difference. But maybe dogs do not bother. After all, we never draw our dogs' attention to how a specific language sounds. 'We designed a brain imaging study to find this out.' In their study, the researchers trained 18 dogs (including Kun-kun!) who were used to normally hearing only either Spanish or Hungarian to lie motionless in a type of brain scanner called a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. During each scan, the dogs were played excerpts taken from the 1943 children's book 'The Little Prince' spoken in both Hungarian and Spanish. Alongside comparing familiar and unfamiliar languages, Dr Cuaya said that they also played 'scrambled versions of these excerpts, which sound completely unnatural, to test whether [dogs] detect the difference between speech and non-speech at all.' The researchers found that the dogs exhibited entirely distinct patterns of brain activity in their primary auditory cortices when listening to speech versus non-speech regardless of whether such was derived from a familiar language or not. There was, however, no evidence to suggest that dog brains would have a neural preference for speech over that of non-speech. 'Dog brains, like human brains, can distinguish between speech and non-speech,' said paper author Raul Hernandez-Perez, also of the Eotvos Lorand University. However, the ethologist added, 'the mechanism underlying this speech detection ability may be different from speech sensitivity in humans. Whereas human brains are specially tuned to speech, dog brains may simply detect the naturalness of the sound,' he explained. During each scan, the dogs were played excerpts taken from the 1943 children's book 'The Little Prince' spoken in both Hungarian and Spanish. Pictured: Kun-kun 'poses' with the novel The study, the team said, represents the first time that scientists have demonstrated that a non-human brain is capable of telling two different languages apart. Pictured: Kun-kun The findings, said Dr Andics, are 'exciting, because it reveals that the capacity to learn about the regularities of a language is not uniquely human. Still, we do not know whether this capacity is dogs' specialty, or general among non-human species' Alongside being able to tell real speech apart from gibberish, the team found that dogs appear to also be able to distinguish between Hungarian and Spanish. The difference, however, was that these language-specific brain activity patterns were instead focussed in the canines' secondary auditory cortices. In addition, the researchers noted that older dogs despite proverbially being unable to learn new tricks were much better at distinguishing between the familiar and unfamiliar languages. 'Each language is characterized by a variety of auditory regularities,' explained Dr Hernandez-Perez. 'Our findings suggest that during their lives with humans, dogs pick up on the auditory regularities of the language they are exposed to.' 'This study showed for the first time that a non-human brain can distinguish between two languages,' said paper author and Eotvos Lorand ethologist Attila Andics. 'It is exciting, because it reveals that the capacity to learn about the regularities of a language is not uniquely human. Still, we do not know whether this capacity is dogs' specialty, or general among non-human species. 'Indeed, it is possible that the brain changes from the tens of thousand years that dogs have been living with humans have made them better language listeners, but this is not necessarily the case. 'Future studies will have to find this out,' he concluded. The full findings of the study were published in the journal NeuroImage. Sex tech returned for another year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with several companies showcasing a range of erotic devices that improve both men's and women's performance and experience between the sheets. Satisfyer brought a trove of vibrators to the Las Vegas tech conference, all of which pair to a smartphone and some use the power of air to stimulate the body. Health tech pioneer Lora DiCarlo is back for her third CES since the ban on sex tech was lifted in 2020 and this year her company touted a micro-bot that simulates a human mouth, providing gentle massage and pressure to remedy sexual dysfunction among women. Technologies to increase men's sexual performance are also present at the conference, with one firm debuting a smart patch that prolongs sexual intercourse. Scroll down for videos Satisfyer brought a trove of vibrators to this year's Consumer Electronics Show, joining several other companies in the sex tech industry Sex tech was banned at CES after its 2019 event, but organizers came under fire for the move and brought it back in 2020 on a trial basis. It seems the erotic devices are here to stay. Satisfyer brings a trover of vibrators to CES that pair with a smartphone, allowing users to personalize the erotic experience Satisfyer, which is a repeat attendee of CES, is back with a huge collection of new vibrators of all different sizes, colors and purposes. Satisfyer, which is a repeat attendee of CES, is back with a huge collection of new vibrators of all different sizes, colors and purposes. The company's Hot Lover vibrator (pictured) was at the conference, which is a warming rabbit vibrator for $59.95 Pictured is the Pro 2 that uses air to stimulate parts of the body The $39.95 Signet Ring for men, which also pairs with a smartphone, was at the company's booth Each connects to the company's companion app, providing users with a remote control on their smartphone and allowing them to personalize sensations. The company displayed its Hot Lover item at the conference, a warming rabbit vibrator for $59.95. The $39.95 Signet Ring for men, which also pairs with a smartphone, was at the company's booth, along with the air pulse vibrator Pro 2, which sells for $59.95. Lora DiCarlo is awarded for its micro-robot that simulates a human mouth Lora DiCarlo is a well-known name at CES, not just for the company's erotic devices, but for an incident that happened in 2020. Lora DiCarlo showed off its Baci-baci, a bio-inspired micro-robot that simulates a human mouth and was developed in partnership with researchers at Oregon State University's College of Engineering One of its robotic massagers received an award that year, but it was quickly taken back because of its erotic nature. However, that has not deterred Lora DiCarlo from attending a third year in a row and this year the company has again received an award for its Baci-baci - but it has not been disqualified this time. Baci-baci is a bio-inspired micro-robot that simulates a human mouth and was developed in partnership with researchers at Oregon State University's College of Engineering. According to the American Sexual Health Association, the largest US study of female sexual dysfunction revealed that 21 percent of women live with female orgasmic disorder (FOD), which is the inability to achieve orgasm despite arousal. And the company's founder, Lora DiCarlo, hopes the mini robot can change this. 'Baci-baci (meaning'kiss' in Italian) introduces an entirely new category of consumer technology for women's health: an intelligent robot that replicates the feel and motion of the human lips and tongue,' according to the company 'Baci-baci (meaning'kiss' in Italian) introduces an entirely new category of consumer technology for women's health: An intelligent robot that replicates the feel and motion of the human lips and tongue,' according to the company. 'Small but mighty, it delivers direct, varied clitoral stimulation to end the frustration of failed orgasm.' Men's sexual health has a presence at the conference this year, which has been previously absent. vPatch aims to help men last longer during intercourse by letting users control how much the muscles and nerves between the genitals and anus are stimulated Virility Medical, a consumer healthcare company specializing in sexual well-being, is showcasing at CES the world's first and only FDA cleared wearable skin patch scientifically engineered to delay ejaculation. Virility Medical, a consumer healthcare company specializing in sexual wellbeing, is showcasing the world's first and only FDA cleared wearable skin patch scientifically engineered to delay ejaculation at CES As the stimulation inhibits the rhythmic muscle contractions, ejaculation is delayed. And the patch can be applied hours before intercourse Tal Gollan, founder of Virility Medical, said in a statement: 'The Virility Patch creates a paradigm shift in sexual wellbeing, prolonging time until ejaculation and fulfilling the desire to last longer during sexual intercourse. 'The patch improves a man's time to climax, creating a better outcome for couples.' The patch, called vPatch, is placed between the genitals and anus and users push a button on the device to turn it on. The wearable stimulates muscles and nerves in this region, which is controlled with a companion app. As the stimulation inhibits the rhythmic muscle contractions, ejaculation is delayed. And the patch can be applied hours before intercourse. The Virility Patch will be available for purchase in low and high intensity options beginning in the Fall of 2022. Many electronics makers have attempted to master foldable devices, but it seems only Samsung has been able to achieve the innovation. The South Korean company debuted several new folding gadgets at CES 2022, both smartphones and laptops that either have a S- or G-shape design. The 'S' design features three panels the fold out to make a larger tablet-like device, while the 'G' folds inward on all sides, allowing you to store away the device without scratching the display. During a presentation at CES, Samsung showcased the Flex Note that went from a 13-inch tablet to 17 inches when fully expanded, and the Flex Slidable smartphone with a display that extends to the side. Scroll down for videos Samsung debuted several new folding gadgets at CES 2022, smartphones and laptops (pictured), which either have a S- or G-shape folding design During a presentation at CES, Samsung showcased the Flex Note that went from a 13-inch tablet to 17 inches when fully expanded Samsung already has a foldable smartphone on the market - the Galaxy Z - that starts at $1,799. The company showed off its skills in making such devices during this year's CES with new concept devices. The Flex S is a tri-folding setup that opens up in an 'S' shape, allowing for a significant expansion of the screen. The Flex G panel, which also has three panels, features an inward fold that offers more protection to the display and allows for the device to be more portable since it can be folded twice. Samsung also showcased its Flex Slidable smartphone with a display that extends to the side. The Flex Slidable features a hidden screen that is released with a push of a bottom on the top left-hand corner The Flex Note is a prototype laptop that can be transformed into a larger monitor when unfolded. The Flex Slidable features a hidden screen that is released with a push of a bottom on the top left-hand corner. In a demonstration video, the screen slides to the right and display's the user's apps, allowing them to continue working on the larger, left screen. Although these devices are concepts, Samsung did launch a new smartphone at CES on Monday that is available for pre-order. The Flex S is a tri-folding setup that opens up in an 'S' shape, allowing for a significant expansion of the screen Pictured is the S-shape folding design that shows the panels folding outward Galaxy S21 FE, dubbed Fan Edition, boasts similar technology of the Galaxy S21 smartphone family, but for $100 less. The new handset starts at $699. S21 FE, dubbed 'Fan Edition,' features a 6.4-inch AMOLED screen, the same processor as the flagship devices, a triple-lens camera and 5G capability. The Galaxy S21 FE also comes in a range of colors including olive, graphite, lavender and white and includes Samsung's 'fastest chip.' And the handset's battery can get a 50 percent charge after being plugged in for just 30 minutes. The Flex G panel, which also has three panels, features an inward fold This design offers more protection to the display and allows for the device to be more portable since it can be folded twice Shipping for S21 FE is set for January 11. TM Roh, president and head of Samsung Electronics, said in a statement: We saw an incredible response to Galaxy S20 FE and Galaxy S21 lineup. So we applied the same approach with S21 FE 5G, equipping it with the premium features that matter most to our loyal Galaxy fans because were focused on delivering a smartphone that meets their most important needs.' Arsenal are set to receive fierce comeptition in their bid to lure Lille midfielder Renato Sanches to the Emirates this month. The Portugal international has reinvented himself with the Ligue 1 outfit after a dip in his career, which included an ill-fated loan spell with Swansea City. His club have confirmed that they are willing to let the Euro 2016 winner leave for a big club, should a suitable offer emerge this month. Renato Sanches is a top target for Arsenal this winter, but they face competition for the player 'If an offer from a big club arrives, he can leave,' Lille president Olivier Letang stated back in October. That had led to reports that Arsenal had been given the go ahead to complete a move for Sanches, with a fee of around 25million reported by French broadcaster Telefoot. However, reports in Portugal have now suggested the north London side are not the only ones sniffing around for his signature. Barcelona have reportedly made the Portugal international a 'priority target' in the window According to ELEVEN, as reported by the Mirror, Barcelona have singled Sanches out as a 'priority signing'. The Spanish outfit have already made their first signing of the window having finally secured a move for Ferran Torres from Manchester City. Manager Xavi is looking for more additions however, with his side languishing in fifth in the table - 15 points behind league leaders and rivals Real Madrid. Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has shut himself away in one corner of his mansion to quarantine from his family after testing positive for Covid-19. The 37-year-old missed Chelsea's Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham after the Blues confirmed he and N'Golo Kante tested positive for the virus on Wednesday morning. The Brazilian's wife revealed that he is carrying out his period of isolation away from the rest of the family after they tested negative. Thiago Silva (pictured) has shut himself away in one corner of his mansion to quarantine The Brazilian's wife revealed that he is carrying out his period of isolation away from the family Posting on her Instagram story, Isabelle Silva assured fans that her husband was fine despite contracting the virus. She shared two clips to her social media of her wearing a mask to leave a bottle of water outside the centre back's room before opening the door slightly to show him also wearing a face covering. She posted the clips with the captions: 'He is fine without symptoms and in quarantine. On her Instagram, Isabelle Silva assured fans that her husband did not have any symptoms 'All of the house (have been) tested and are negative. Amen.' Silva looked to be fit and healthy, donning Chelsea training kit despite being locked down at home. The Brazil international committed his future to Chelsea by signing a new one-year deal to stay at the club through the 2022-23 campaign on Monday. Isabelle also revealed that Silva was quarantining as the rest of the family had tested negative Silva joined the Blues from Paris Saint-Germain during the summer of 2020, and has made 56 appearances. The veteran has gone on to win the Champions League trophy and has impressed many by bringing calmness and experience to Tuchel's back line. 'To play here with Chelsea is a real pleasure. I never thought I would play for three years here in this great club, so I'm very happy to stay for another season,' Silva said on the Chelsea website. The Chelsea defender penned a new one-year extension with the west Londoners on Monday 'I will continue to give everything for this club and for the supporters, who have always been by my side since I arrived. 'It's amazing to have this relationship with the fans and not only that but the players, staff and the whole club. 'I am going to give everything to keep playing at this level in the most important league in the world.' Chelsea beat Spurs 2-0 in the first leg of the cup tie despite Thomas Tuchel being forced into a last minute change following Silva and Kante's positive results. Advertisement These images show the unadulterated beauty of the Big Apple and beyond. They are all winning and runner-up photographs from the inaugural New York Photography Awards which, despite the name, is actually open to any photographer over 18 'out to define themselves through their eye-catching photos... who have a story to tell'. There is, of course, a 'New York Photography' category, but entrants could also submit photographs to categories that included 'Architecture', 'Black & White', 'Commercial', 'Nature' and 'People'. The judges chose from over 3,000 photographs submitted from more than 50 countries, selecting winners based on 'the creative messages and nuances behind each photograph'. A shot of a thunderous New Zealand waterfall and a picture of a castle emerging from the fog in Tuscany impressed the judges and in the 'New York' category a spectacular bird's-eye view of Manhattan and a mesmerising shot of a lightning bolt hitting One World Trade snared runner-up gongs. The shots of New York's architectural landmarks by Italian photographer Raffaele Canepa lso struck a chord with the judges, so much so that they bestowed upon him the title of Professional Photographer of Year. Kenjo Ong, CEO of the International Awards Associate (IAA), which runs the contest, said: 'Were truly astonished by the fact that many amazing photographers worldwide submitted their one-of-a-kind photographs in the awards. We were able to honour the efforts and time that was put into capturing these images, as well as bestow upon them the accolades they truly deserve.' Below, you'll find MailOnline Travel's pick of the winners and runners-up. Scroll down to the very bottom to find a shot from Canepa's winning portfolio. Photographer Saso Domijan set himself a goal to capture a bolt of lightning striking the antenna of the One World Trade Center in New York City, and succeeded with this photograph. He said: 'I had no idea how many times it happens or if it would even happen at all.' Domijan's first few attempts didn't go to plan, as rain and fog 'cut the visibility to zero'. He explained: 'So all I got were lightning strikes and no buildings. With patience and having alerts set in many weather apps I managed to catch the "perfect storm". The rain and fog moved towards the east but high clouds still remained and with a few lightning strikes I managed to catch a perfect one.' He described the experience as 'once in a lifetime'. The awe-inspiring picture was a runner-up [known as a 'Gold Winner' in the contest] in the 'New York Photography - Cityscapes' category 'I wanted this image to represent the sheer incredibly epic landscape in front of me during a visit to Eystrahorn [a mountain in the Eastfjords] in Iceland,' says British photographer Marc Le Cornu of this powerful picture. It was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Aerial/Drone' category, and was taken during an 'amazing photographic road trip'. Le Cornu recalls: 'There was a brief gap in the clouds allowing the sun to shine through and we stood in awe as it illuminated the volcanic mountains! With the storm clouds still surrounding the mountains, the view was breathtaking and hopefully, I captured that moment' Le Cornu was also behind this camera for this stunning aerial shot, which was the overall winner in the 'Editorial Photography - Sports' category of the contest. It shows swimmers competing at the start of the 2021 Jersey Triathlon in September. Le Cornu was hired by the event organisers and sponsors to document the race. He says: 'After a year where the athletes were unable to compete due to Covid, this explosion of human power was a release of pent-up adrenaline that the athletes had been keeping contained for such a long period of time. [They were] finally able to release it in the swim start of the triathlon.' He adds: 'I wanted to capture this important moment in the lives of these athletes' This spectacular picture was a runner-up in the 'Long Exposure Photography' category. Photographer and pilot Christiaan van Heijst reveals that it is a wide-angle shot taken from the cockpit of a Boeing 747, 'flying high above the face of the earth'. He adds that the plane was 'suspended between the stars and the world below' Cast your eye above and you'll see a breathtaking shot of the Milky Way illuminating the skies over the Sahara Desert in Egypt. This photograph - taken by Alexander Vershinin - was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Landscapes' category Feast your eyes on a runner-up in the 'New York Photography - Cityscapes' category. Ranjan Ramchandani took this photograph from an aircraft that was flying over Manhattan. He says: 'After photographing the city from practically every vantage point on land and water, I decided to take a new dimension [by] making cityscapes from the air and this is one of them.' He recalls: 'I still remember my pilot showing me the typical frame of Manhattan from the sea which they call the "money shot", but wanting to be different, I kept my eyes peeled till I saw this frame and requested a second fly-past to capture it' Here you'll see a charming shot of a fennec, also known as a 'desert fox', moving through the Sahara Desert. Italy-based wildlife photographer Marcello Galleano was behind the lens. The photograph, which is titled 'Spacewalk of a Fennec', was a runner-up in the 'New York Photography - Wildlife' category Lomagnupur, a subglacial mound in south Iceland, is shown in this spectacular shot, which was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Seascape' category. It was taken by German photographer Judith Kuhn. With her camera in position, she waited for the clouds to disappear and for the water in the foreground to turn completely still before she captured this shot. Kuhn recalls: 'Then the first rays of sun fell on the Lomagnupur and there was a wonderful contrast between the reddish stone and the green moss at the foot of the mountain' 'Kelingking Beach on the Penida island [in Indonesia] is famous for its beautiful and also dangerous waves.' So says Jaka Ivancic of the setting for this shot, which was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Seascape' category. The Slovenian photographer adds that visitors 'sometimes risk their lives' on the beach by running alongside the waves Ivancic also took this beautifully wintry picture, which was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Seasons' category. It was captured in the Javornik Hills in Slovenia and shows 'a combination of fog, wind and freezing temperatures' creating 'art' on the area's trees. Ivancic says: 'It's typical for this weather phenomenon that the ground remains brown, but the trees are totally embraced with linear ice formations' This enchanting picture was captured by Brazilian photographer Henrique Murta, whose portfolio was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Aerial/Drone' category. It shows the Bardenas Reales, a semi-desert region in southeast Spain. He says: 'This series is about one certain planet. A rare kind of planet you can only dream of' Another striking shot from Murta's prize-winning portfolio. It shows Jostedal Glacier in Norway, which is the largest glacier in continental Europe Italian photographer Alberto Fornasari captured this magical picture, which was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Landscapes' category. It was snapped in the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, in Campigna, Italy. Fornasari says that the national park has 'the most spectacular foliage in Italy'. With his photography, he set out to show 'the beauty of nature' and 'the colours of autumn through the light of dawn with the fog' Fornasari impressed the judges yet again with this shot, which was a runner-up in the 'New York Photography - Landscape' category. It shows the 13th-century Poppi Castle, also known as Dante's Castle, rising through the fog in the small town of Poppi, Tuscany. Highlighting the cultural significance of the castle, he says that the fortress is 'among the best preserved in Italy'. Fornasari adds that the castle has 'ten beautiful rooms inside' and that visitors can climb its high tower, 'from which you can admire the spectacle of the most typical Tuscan countryside' LEFT: This picture, taken by Carl Stanley in 2018, was a runner-up in the 'Fine Art Photography - Landscape' category. It shows a waterfall in Milford Sound on New Zealand's South Island. Stanley set out to capture the 'spray of water crashing against the rock at the base of the falls'. He adds that the 'unique dark rock walls add a sense of mood'. RIGHT: Here you'll see a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Milky Way' category, captured by Lars Gesing. It shows the stars of the Milky Way galaxy over a hut in the American West - an area that Gesing describes as a 'megalith of history, dotted with the proud ruins of grit and determination' This vibrant picture shows a farmer 'going home on his bicycle after laying out red chillies on plastic sheets' in Panchagarh, a district in Northern Bangladesh. It was a runner-up in the 'People Photography - Lifestyle' category, and was snared by Emran Ali. Sharing the backstory to the picture, the photographer explains that 'during the harvesting season, which lasts for two months, tons of chilis are laid out to dry creating a patchwork effect on open green fields' Look above and you'll see a dramatic shot of Lake Baikal in Russian Siberia. This picture was a runner-up in the 'Nature Photography - Landscapes' category and was snared by Taiwanese photographer Hsiaohsin Chen, who took a hovercraft on the frozen lake to explore its 'amazing and unforgettable natural beauty'. He says that he 'worked hard to photograph the beautiful scenery' of the area while enduring the 'severe cold of minus 40 degrees or even minus 50 degrees Celsius.' Chen notes: 'Although it was very hard work, it was extremely satisfying to be able to shoot beautiful images' Chen is also responsible for this wonderful shot, which was captured in Iceland. It was a runner-up in the 'Fine Art Photography - Night' category. He recalls that when the Northern Lights 'burst', the 'aurora was very active and the light track was flying unpredictably' To walk along the main road is to walk through a symphony of hoots and toots Curious whistles and chirrups echo through the jungle around Kongthong, a remote Indian village, but this is no birdsong. It's people calling out to each other in music - an extraordinary tradition that may even be unique. Here in the lush, rolling hills of the northeastern state of Meghalaya, mothers from Kongthong and a few other local villages compose a special melody for each child. Everyone in the village, inhabited by the Khasi people, will then address the person with this individual little tune - and for a lifetime. They have conventional 'real' names too, but they are rarely used. This custom has earned Kongthong the nickname of the 'whistling village'. The rural village of Kongthong, pictured, is nestled in the lush, rolling hills of the northeastern state of Meghalaya To walk along the main road in this village of wooden huts with corrugated tin roofs, perched on a ridge miles from anywhere, is to walk through a symphony of hoots and toots. On one side a mother calls out to her son to come home for supper, elsewhere children play and at the other end friends mess about - all in an unusual, musical language of their own. 'The composition of the melody comes from the bottom of my heart,' mother-of-three Pyndaplin Shabong told AFP. 'It expresses my joy and love for my baby,' the 34-year-old said, her youngest daughter, who is now six, on her knee. Kongthong has long been cut off from the rest of the world - it's several hours of tough trek from the nearest town. Electricity arrived only in 2000, and the dirt road in 2013 Locals use a unique melody to communicate and the village is full of musical sounds 'But if my son has done something wrong, if I'm angry with him, he broke my heart, at that moment I will call him by his actual name,' rather than singing lovingly, said Rothell Khongsit, a community leader. Kongthong has long been cut off from the rest of the world - it's several hours of tough trek from the nearest town. Electricity arrived only in 2000, and the dirt road in 2013. Days are spent foraging in the jungle for broom grass - the main source of revenue - leaving the village all but deserted, except for a few kids. To call out to each other while in the forest, the villagers would use a long version lasting around 30 seconds of each other's musical 'name', inspired by the sounds of nature all around. 'We are living in far-flung villages. We are surrounded by the dense forest, by the hills. So we are in touch with nature, we are in touch with all the gracious living things that God has created,' says Khongsit. 'Creatures have their own identity. The birds, so many animals, they have ways of calling each other.' The custom is known as 'jingrwai lawbei', meaning 'song of the clan's first woman', a reference to the Khasi people's mythical original mother. The matrilineal society has devised the musical language in honour of the mythical leader of the Khasi And unusually for India, this is a matrilineal society. Property and land are passed down from mother to daughter, while a husband moves in with his wife and takes her name. 'We consider the mother the goddess of the family. A mother looks after a family, after the inheritance we get from our ancestors,' Khongsit said. But according to anthropologist Tiplut Nongbri, a professor at Jamia Millia Islamia university in Delhi, it is something of a 'disguised patriarchy'. She told AFP: '[Women] don't have decision-making powers. Traditionally, they can't take part in politics, the rules are very clearly demarcated between male and female. 'Taking care of the children, that's the women's responsibility. Statecraft and all that is (a) male function.' The origin of 'jingrwai lawbei' isn't known, but locals think it is as old as the village, which has existed for as long as five centuries. The custom of creating unique melodies is known as 'jingrwai lawbei', meaning 'song of the clan's first woman' The tradition's days may be numbered, though, as the modern world creeps into Kongthong in the shape of televisions and mobile phones. Some of the newer melodic names are inspired by Bollywood songs. And youngsters are increasingly going off singing out their friends' melodic names, preferring instead to phone them. However, some locals are hoping to develop Kongthong as a heritage village, and last September, it was one of 174 villages nominated for the prestigious UNWTO Best Tourism Villages award. The award celebrates rural villages that are 'harnessing the power of tourism to provide opportunity and safeguard their communities, local traditions and heritage. Advertisement In its 91 years, Havana's majestic Hotel Nacional de Cuba has borne witness to some of the biggest events of Cuban history. It was once bombed as part of a conflict between rival units of Cuba's military, hosted a summit of mafia dons, was a key site of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and a holiday jaunt for Hollywood's most eccentric figures. Yet for 20 months ending in mid-November, this building that mixes Art Deco and neoclassical elements along with Moorish tiles was deserted because of the coronavirus pandemic. But far from a death knell for the hotel, it was an opportunity to restore the facade, and put in new floors and windows in the rooms. Inaugurated in 1930, Havana's Hotel Nacional has been the site of several crucial events in Cuban history 'A lot of work was done so that when the tourists returned they would find the 1930s hotel, although with greater comfort... reliving the past,' said Arleen Ortiz, a specialist in the hotel's history. Now guests will often specifically request to stay in certain rooms, like number 211 where the Italian-born gangster Lucky Luciano sojourned in December 1946 during the mafia bosses summit. That was an incident immortalized in the 1974 film by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather II. As the mobsters meet on a terrace at the hotel, they divide up a cake in the shape of the island nation - a metaphor for their sharing out control of lucrative illicit businesses. The real summit opened on December 22, 1946, with Luciano seated at the head of a large rectangular table. The pandemic offered an opportunity to restore the hotel's facade, and to put in new floors and windows in the rooms A jukebox and roulette table from the former casino at Havana's Hotel Nacional Over the past 91 years, the Hotel Nacional has attracted a motley mix of celebrities and gangsters The walls of the Hotel Nacional bar are adorned with pictures of famous former guests A scale model of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in the hotel bar 'Las Vegas didn't exist and Cuba was the perfect place for gambling due to its proximity to the United States, the climate, the beaches, the rum,' said Ortiz. Havana was ideally placed to become the gambling capital of the world. The entire hotel had been booked by the dons for their families to spend Christmas in the city, with Frank Sinatra a special guest for the occasion. Perched on a hill overlooking the Straits of Florida, the Hotel Nacional - with its brand new English china, clocks imported from Germany and chandeliers hanging from the ceilings - was opened on December 30, 1930, allegedly financed partly with mob money. Just three years later, 400 army officers loyal to the deposed president Gerardo Machado hunkered down in the hotel as government troops bombarded it from land and sea. Outnumbered and with ammunition running out, they were soon forced to surrender. The hotel survived, bearing the pockmarked signs of the siege, but would soon be attracting a very different kind of attention. The pool of the Hotel Nacional, into which Olympic swimming champion and former Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller once jumped from a second-floor window Pictured above is the former casino of the hotel under restoration in November of last year The halls and rooms are filled with photos, objects and letters of the celebrities that have stayed at the hotel. Five-time Olympic swimming champion and former Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller was one such guest, impressing staff by jumping from a second-floor window into the swimming pool below. In the 1950s, Ava Gardner drank daiquiris for breakfast at the hotel after a night of partying in Havana's cabarets alongside the likes of Ernest Hemingway. Guests at the hotel will often specifically request to stay in certain rooms, like number 211 where the Italian-born gangster Lucky Luciano sojourned in December 1946 The foyer of the Parisien Room at the hotel. 'It's beautiful, it's magical being here,' remarked one guest during their visit Cuban soldiers dug tunnels underneath the grounds of the Hotel Nacional during the 1962 missile crisis The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Winston Churchill, Marlon Brando, Errol Flyn, Rita Hayworth and Nat King Cole all stayed at the hotel. But following Fidel Castro's communist revolution of 1959, the hotel was converted into a dormitory for 900 peasant women who went to the capital to learn to sew. Ortiz explained that 'those young women, who had never before left their homes with no electricity and dirt floors' suddenly found themselves in the plush hotel's elegant rooms. Tensions would soon mount again with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when soldiers dug trenches and tunnels underneath the hotel grounds as the United States and Soviet Union teetered on the brink of nuclear war. But it is for star-gazing that it is best known. 'The foreigners know this place and what they want is to sit where so many celebrities did before them,' said Tania Fernandez, a Cuban doctor from Sancti Espiritus province who brought her children to explore the tunnels. The hotel underwent another makeover in the 1990s, a time when the hardline communist regime barred locals from staying there. 'It's beautiful, it's magical being here. I love the Cuban people and I love the energy. It's incredible,' Sierra, 39, an American teacher, said while sipping wine with her boyfriend and looking out to sea. She has every reason to be on cloud nine since her boyfriend put a ring on it. And it looked as though newly-engaged Francesca Allen, 26, was still thriving off last month's proposal on Wednesday night as she flashed her diamond ring en route to Isabel, Mayfair, with her handsome husband-to-be, Ed Crossan. The affianced couple looked utterly smitten with one another as they were snapped up outside the upmarket eatery. Bride-to-be: Newly-engaged Francesca Allen flashed her diamond ring as she and fiance Ed Crossan headed for a spot of dinner at Isabel in Mayfair on Wednesday The former Love Island contestant, who entered the word of showbiz following her 2019 stint on the dating show, displayed her enviable washboard abs in a tight black crop top and chic grey trousers. The brunette beauty was leather clad in a blazer and coordinating boots, as the ex clothing store manager divulged to her Instagram followers that her entire outfit was courtesy of the Zara sale. Francesca opted for a natural makeup palette and coiffed her locks with loose curls. Quick peek: It looked as though the former Love Island contestant, 26, was still thriving off last month's proposal as she flashed the eye-catching jewellery Date night: The affianced couple looked utterly smitten with one another as they were snapped up outside the upmarket eatery Chic: The reality star displayed her enviable washboard abs in a tight black crop top and chic grey trousers Fashion: The brunette beauty was leather clad in a blazer and coordinating boots, as the ex clothing store manager divulged to her Instagram followers that her entire outfit was courtesy of the Zara sale Francesca's fiance was recently revealed as her family friend, businessman Ed, who previously dated TOWIE 's Amber Turner. The Love Island beauty revealed in December that Ed, the vice chairman of London-based waste management company Powerday, had popped the question in an idyllic festive proposal, having previously stayed coy on his identity. She had previously taken to Instagram to reveal their romance after years of friendship, in which they embarked on family holidays, including a jaunt with the Crossan clan to Marbella shortly after her 2019 Love Island appearance. Happy news: Francesca's fiance was recently revealed as her family friend, businessman Ed, who previously dated TOWIE 's Amber Turner Future: The Love Island beauty revealed in December that Ed, the vice chairman of London-based waste management company Powerday, had popped the question in an idyllic festive proposal, having previously stayed coy on his identity Exciting: Francesca said yes to Ed's proposal at Marylebone's swanky members club Home House and shared images of the moment with her Instagram followers Francesca said yes to Ed's proposal at Marylebone's swanky members club Home House and shared images of the moment with her Instagram followers. While she failed to tag her husband-to-be, her management company HLD Talent and her sister Claudia both named Ed in their congratulatory posts. Ed's sister Tara also commented on the post, simply writing: 'THE BEST'. Francesca has shared and tagged images of Ed in the past, seemingly before they formed their romance, with their 2019 Marbella trip seeing the star jet away with his family and enjoy a host of boozy nights and exercise sessions. A former Big Brother Australia star who spent two years running from the pandemic has now chosen to isolate with her Covid-positive boyfriend, saying she would prefer to catch the virus from him 'sooner rather than later'. Tully Smyth, from Melbourne, confirmed on Wednesday she was moving in with Daniel Parasi, who is symptomatic and quarantining at home, despite having no symptoms herself and returning a negative rapid antigen test result. The 33-year-old, who is double vaccinated, explained she may have already caught Covid from Daniel after kissing him a day ago, and one of her reasons for isolating with him is to reduce the risk of passing Covid to her housemate. She also wants to look after her boyfriend while he is unwell. Choice: Big Brother Australia star Tully Smyth (left) has temporarily moved in with her new boyfriend Daniel Parasi (right) after he tested positive for Covid-19, saying she would rather have the virus 'sooner rather than later' 'So... the boy has woken up feeling awful and testing positive on a RAT (at his house) but I'm still testing negative (at my house),' she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. 'After MUCH anxiety and deliberation (I literally called three people to ask their opinion) I've decided to pack my stuff and move in for the week to hopefully catch it sooner rather than later. 'Packing essentials included lots of loungewear and oversized tees, four books, Monopoly Deal, a nice smelling candle, ear plugs (jokes baby) and of course, the golden ticket RATs. Wish me luck!' Making a move: Tully, from Melbourne, confirmed on Wednesday she was moving in with Daniel Parasi, who is symptomatic and quarantining at home, despite having no symptoms herself and returning a negative rapid antigen test result Bold move: She then posted a video of herself outside the door of Daniel's home, as she said: 'Enjoying my last bit of freedom before I join the Covid house of horrors - hey patient zero! How you feeling? I feel great! Let's see how long that lasts' She then posted a video of herself outside the door of Daniel's home, as she said: 'Enjoying my last bit of freedom before I join the Covid house of horrors - hey patient zero! How you feeling? I feel great! Let's see how long that lasts.' After receiving an abundance of messages from her followers, Tully later explained: 'I was with Daniel yesterday morning. I kissed him goodbye. 'He tested negative yesterday but positive this morning. Chances are I already have it and by coming here and isolating, I'm less likely to give it to my housemate.' She went on to say she was double vaccinated with Pfizer, and had booked in her booster jab but had to cancel for obvious reasons. 'Appreciate there is a chance I isolate and still don't get it however A) I'd rather take my luck and both of us have it at the same time than get it later and put us back into iso for another week, missing weddings etc and B) to look after him,' she said. Precaution: After receiving an abundance of messages from her followers, Tully explained: 'I was with Daniel yesterday morning. I kissed him goodbye. He tested negative yesterday but positive this morning. Chances are I already have it and by coming here and isolating, I'm less likely to give it to my housemate.' Explaining her boyfriend's symptoms, she added: 'Daniel had a sore throat and a bit of a fever late last night but woke up feeling like a train had hit him - body aches, headaches etc.' She also showed the couple's test results on day one, confirming she had tested negative while Daniel was positive. On Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that anyone with a positive rapid antigen test would no longer need to get a PCR test. Previously, anyone with a positive RAT had to get a proper viral swab to confirm their infection, but now they will be treated as Covid positive without having to get further confirmation. 'Daniel did manage to get a PCR yesterday; however, as the new rules state, if I get a positive RAT I'll be taking that as gospel and following the appropriate PCR guidelines, as is the new rule of yesterday,' Tully added. Results: She also showed the couple's test results on day one, confirming she had tested negative while Daniel was positive On Thursday, there were 21,997 new infections in Victoria while NSW recorded 34,994. Tully said she appreciates everyone has 'their own opinion' on what she should have done, adding: 'I'm not even sure this is the right play, but it's a weird time and we're all just doing what we think is best. Stay safe, be kind.' An hour later, she returned to Instagram to confirm she was putting her phone away for the foreseeable future, adding: 'I do not in the slightest think it's "cool" to get Covid. In fact I am very anxious about it. 'Like everyone else, I've spent the last two-plus years doing everything in my power to avoid it. However, unfortunately my partner was already positive so it's not looking good for me. Defence: 'Like everyone else, I've spent the last two-plus years doing everything in my power to avoid it. However, unfortunately my partner was already positive so it's not looking good for me,' Tully said in a subsequent Instagram post 'I am allowed access to RAT tests just like everyone else. I drove around for days and days trying to track them down, just like everyone else. I now have a box of seven (less three) to share with my partner, his brother who lives here and myself. I'm hardly "squirreling them" away. 'Speaking of "the boy" I am MORE than capable of being away from him for seven days. We're very independent people who like our along time. But A) If I very likely have it B) can avoid passing it onto my housemate and her family and anyone she sees and C) Can be here to look after my partner, I'm going to do that. 'I'm not sure if it's the right decision but it's the one I made because it seemed like the best option, predominately for my housemate. 'I'll say this again... the world is a weird place right now. Please be kind and stay safe.' Tully went Instagram official with Daniel in December, and opened up about having to keep their relationship a secret for six months. 'Kept you quiet for six months; now its time to celebrate you. Thank you for being the most kind, thoughtful, witty, patient little weirdo. I love you,' she wrote. She is holidaying in Mexico with her boyfriend Josh Moss after they jetted out of Sydney at the end of 2021. And on Wednesday, Love Island Australia star Amelia Marni stripped down to a stylish swimsuit for a sunset photo shoot. The 25-year-old influencer flaunted her trim figure and pert derriere in a high-cut white one-piece. Golden hour: Love Island Australia star Amelia Marni stripped down to a stylish swimsuit for a sunset photo shoot in Mexico on Wednesday She turned around to show off her perky backside as the sun radiated a golden light. Her swimsuit featured a plunging neckline that accentuated her ample assets and slender physique. She wrote in the caption, 'Never leaving,' along with an emoji of the Mexican flag. Last week, Amelia and Josh announced to they had made it to Los Angeles. Flawless: Her swimsuit featured a plunging neckline that accentuated her ample assets and slender physique Derriere: She turned around to show off her perky backside as the sun radiated a golden light Josh, 28, said: 'It still doesn't feel real we're here.' While some fans were worried about the pair catching Covid in the U.S., Amelia assured them they were both double vaccinated and taking precautions. 'I guess it's the risk we take leaving Australia,' she said. 'Where I live in Sydney has just come out of intense lockdowns, which has caused the virus to spread like crazy.' Still going strong: Amelia and boyfriend Josh Moss, 28, announced to their followers that they had made it to Los Angeles after jetting out of Sydney for a holiday They made it! While some fans were worried about the pair catching Covid in the U.S., Amelia assured them they were both double vaccinated and taking precautions. 'I guess it's the risk we take leaving Australia' She continued: 'Josh and I knew from the moment we left our house we were at risk of getting it. 'We are both double vaxxed and have been so incredibly lucky to not have caught it in Australia, too.' Since arriving in LA, the couple have shared photos of themselves at their Airbnb rental and dining at trendy vegan eateries. No worries: She continued: 'Josh and I knew from the moment we left our house we were at risk of getting it. 'We are both double vaxxed and have been so incredibly lucky to not have caught it in Australia, too' Making memories: Since arriving in LA, the couple have shared photos of themselves at their Airbnb rental and dining at trendy vegan eateries Their overseas adventure comes six months after the couple announced they had finally moved in together, three years after they met on the Nine dating show. 'We're moving in together! Finally. After three long years,' Amelia said in a YouTube vlog on July 19. 'We're so happy in our new home. It's so nice to have your own space together. Like, I love living with friends, but obviously we've been together for a while, so we just felt like it was the right time.' 'We're moving in together!' Their overseas adventure comes six months after the couple announced they had finally moved in together, three years after they met on Love Island Amelia confessed she'd been wanting to move in with Josh 'for a long time', but he had been hesitant to take the next step. 'I'm more about the waiting game. I don't want to rush into things. I want to take things nice and slow,' he explained. The genetically blessed couple met on the first season of Love Island Australia, which was filmed in Spain and aired in 2018. Last year marked Jodie Comer's glittering Hollywood debut. But the actress has now put stage before silver screen by pulling out of her latest film - citing theatre commitments. Jodie, 28, was to play the Empress Josephine in Sir Ridley Scott's historical drama about Napoleon Bonaparte. Exit: Jodie Comer has bowed out of Ridley Scott drama Kitbag to focus on theatre commitments (pictured June 2021) The movie, Kitbag, was to be a reunion for the star and Sir Ridley after they worked together on his 2021 film The Last Duel. The director previously said the Apple Studios project would begin filming in the UK this month. The Scouse actress returns to TV screens next month in season four of the BBC hit Killing Eve. Prioritising: The actress, 28, has now put stage before silver screen by pulling out of her latest film - citing theatre commitments. Jodie was to play the Empress Josephine in Sir Ridley Scott's historical drama about Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured September 2021) She is due to make her West End debut as a brilliant young barrister forced to confront the power of the law in the play Prima Facie in April. She blamed Covid-related scheduling issues for her decision to walk away. Fellow Briton Vanessa Kirby, 33, who was Princess Margaret in the first two series of The Crown, will now portray Josephine, the first wife of Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix). Taking the reins: Fellow Briton Vanessa Kirby, 33 (pictured October 2021) who was Princess Margaret in the first two series of The Crown, will now portray Josephine, the first wife of Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) Kitbag will look at the French leader's climb to power through the lens of their volatile relationship. Napoleon and Josephine's relationship is described as, 'addictive and often volatile,' with Josephine said to be his, 'one true love.' Apple Studios picked up the project in October 2020 with Scott coming aboard to direct, reuniting with his Gladiator star Phoenix. Whoopi Goldberg is stumped over how she contracted COVID-19 during the holiday break in filming her daytime talk show, The View. During a remote interview while quarantining at her home, Goldberg told her co-hosts that she was surprised to learn that she had tested positive because she felt she had been taking all the right precautions. 'I left a couple of weeks ago, just before the break, because somebody I had been around tested positive for coronavirus, so I left. So I've been gone a long time, I feel,' Goldberg, 66, said of her surprise diagnosis. State of shock: Whoopi Goldberg, 66, says she's baffled over how she could have contracted COVD-19 during the holidays, during a remote interview with her co-hosts of The View The New York native went on to share how employees with The View were being tested before returning to their jobs. 'They have to test us, and so they sent people to test me, and they tested me, and it was like, "Oh no you're not coming back. We're not sending anybody to your house. You have corona." And it was like, wait what?' she confessed. The results left her in a state of shock because, in her mind, she had been talking all the necessary precautions, which includes being fully vaccinated and getting the vaccine booster, all while avoiding going anywhere except her home. 'But that's the thing about the omicron, you just don't know where it is,' she explained to her work colleagues, adding, 'You don't know where it is, whos got it, who's passing it.' Public disclosure: Goldberg went public with her positive test earlier in the week, and then on Wednesday, seemingly in good spirits, she detailed her shock over getting the virus The process: Goldberg said she started to feel a bit sick with mild symptoms after Christmas, took a COVID-19 test last Thursday, and then received her positive test results on Friday Goldberg said she started to feel a bit sick with mild symptoms after Christmas, took a COVID-19 test last Thursday, and then received her positive test results the following day, which is now six days ago. The daytime talk show returned to a remote broadcasting format this week amid the recent spike in coronavirus cases across the U.S. And after going public with her positive test results earlier this week, the rest of her co-hosts: Ana Navarro, Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin, decided to 'check-in with Whoopi, via Zoom on Wednesday. Seemingly in good spirits, Goldberg was adamant about how she had been taking all the necessary precautions. Safety first: The daytime talk show returned to a remote broadcasting format this week amid the recent spike in coronavirus cases across the U.S. Brave face: Despite the shock over her diagnosis, Goldberg was seemingly in good spirits Mystery: 'Its one of those things where you think I've done everything I was supposed to do,' she explained during the interview with her co-hosts 'Its one of those things where you think I've done everything I was supposed to do,' she explained, before using her situation as a learning tool to push for everyone to get vaccinated. 'Yeah, it doesn't stop omicron, and that's the problem with a variant, because it gets stronger and does different stuff to you, so, you know, unless everybody gets vaccinated this is what we're going to be facing for the next, you know, little while.' If all goes as planned, Goldberg is planning to return to her seat on The View this coming Monday. Making a difference: The New York City native pushed for everyone to get vaccinated in order to make a real change in the fight again COVID-19 Tamra Judge says that friend and former co-star Vicki Gunvalson is 'having a really hard time' after her ex-fiance Steve Lodge announced his engagement this week. Discussing the situation on her podcast Two T's in a Pod, the Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted that Vicki, 59, has struggled with the news of Steve's engagement to 37-year-old teacher Janis Carlson. 'She's really sad about it and she's having a hard time,' Tamra, 54, told co-host Teddi Mellencamp. 'She doesn't want to be single': RHOC veteran Tamra Judge (left) says that Vicki Gunvalson (right) is struggling after ex-fiance Steve Lodge got engaged this week 'She just can't understand, she doesn't want to be single. It's coming up on her 60th birthday and all she can talk about is, "I don't wanna be single! I am 60, I wanna be in a relationship!" 'But I think that she dodged a bullet with that one,' she added. 'He's been engaged seven times.' Tamra also said that Vicki's 'not a good picker' when it comes to choosing men. The Vena CBD mogul also said she believes distance played a part in the demise of Vicki and Steve's relationship. Tough times: 'She's really sad about it and she's having a hard time,' Tamra, 54, told co-host Teddi Mellencamp on their podcast Two T's In a Pod According to Tamra, after Vicki purchased a retirement home in Mexico's Puerto Vallarta, things started to go sideways. '[Steve] was there full time,' she explained. 'And [Vicki] has a job, she's got an office, she owns a business, so she couldn't be there all the time. 'Then there started being this distance, they started fighting, and then he blocked her on Instagram - it started to become very high school-ish.' A shocked Teddi interjected: 'While he was living in her house?!' 'Yeah,' Tamra responded. 'So she said about October, after moving to Mexico, he went a little sideways.' Lucky escape? I think that she dodged a bullet with that one,' Tamra added. 'He's been engaged seven times' Former police officer Steve, who ran for governor of California in the recent Gavin Newsom recall election, popped the question to Orange County teacher Janis Carlson before Christmas. Lodge, 63, dated Vicki for five years before officially ending their engagement in September, although he told PEOPLE they called it quits on their relationship the year before. 'I really don't want to give him any more publicity,' Vicki said as she responded to the betrothal in a statement obtained by Page Six. 'He's a fame whore.' 'I did ask Janis on December 20th if she would become Mrs. Steve Chavez Lodge, and she happily agreed,' Lodge said in a statement to People. 'We will be married in April 2022.' He added: 'We are both very excited, incredibly happy, totally in love and look forward to our life together.' Fresh start: Former police officer Steve (left) popped the question to Orange County teacher Janis Carlson (right) before Christmas Janis is a third grade school teacher and only recently went Instagram official with Steve on Christmas Day. The reality television veteran shared an inspirational quote in September with the news she broke off her two-year engagement nearly five years into their relationship, which was documented through the years on RHOC. 'This is what appeared for today's 'Vibe of the day' pretty appropriate for what I'm going through,' she wrote. 'It's taken me a day to be able to make a statement after the press started writing about Steve and I. Yes, the rumors are true. The time has come for Steve and I to move forward or move on and we are . moving on. Bride-to-be: RHOC matriarch Vicki served as the longest running castmember of the franchise since it premiered on Bravo in 2006, but was demoted to a friend role for season 14 before ultimately leaving the show (pictured with Steve in happier times) 'There is no fault with either person, we are just going in different directions. I wish him the best life has to offer and to be happy, and he has wished the same for me. 'I gave it my all, but sometimes the 'ALL' isn't enough.' Vicki and Steve first met in 2016 at a Boys & Girls Club charity event in Anaheim, Calif. which was filmed for Bravo cameras. He later popped the question in April 2019 and they celebrated with a cowboy-themed party at the Coto Valley Country Club just east of Laguna Beach. A Married At First Sight star has revealed his hack for getting Covid PCR test results back faster. Cameron Dunne, who starred on the 2021 season of the wildly popular reality TV series, revealed his secret in an Instagram post on Thursday. He said the technique allows you to get results '12-24 hours before you get a text'. Life hack: Married At First Sight star Cameron Dunne (pictured) has revealed his hack for getting Covid PCR test results back faster Dunne explained: 'If you go to your Health Record in your myGov account, click on the COVID-19 dashboard and scroll down to recent COVID-19 tests. 'Your results are often there 12-24 hours before you get a text.' The 32-year-old crane operator infamously cheated on his MAFS 'bride' Samantha with Coco Steadman before leaving the experiment. Time savings: He claimed the technique of accessing your Health Record via myGov allows you to get results '12-24 hours before you get a text' Cameron's tip comes after another MAFS alum, Michael Brunelli, celebrated his freedom after spending more than a week in isolation following his Covid-19 diagnosis. The personal trainer, 31, celebrated getting his medical clearance from Victoria's health department on Monday by going out for a brisk stroll and visiting a nail salon. He revealed how he spent his first day out of isolation during an Instagram Q&A, saying he couldn't wait to escape the house for a pedicure. Taste of freedom! Cameron's tip comes after another MAFS alum, Michael Brunelli, celebrated his freedom after spending more than a week in isolation following his Covid-19 diagnosis Michael said that while he enjoyed the self-care session, it wasn't his first choice. He'd actually wanted to spend time with his parents, but they were on holiday. Michael's freedom comes after he and fiancee Martha Kalifatidis tested positive to Covid-19 after a whirlwind trip to North America in December. They visited New York City, Los Angeles and Mexico, and were diagnosed with Covid a few days after returning to Australia. Treating himself: The personal trainer, 31, celebrated getting his medical clearance from Victoria's health department on Monday by going for a pedicure at a local nail salon In it together: Michael's freedom comes after he and fiancee Martha Kalifatidis (right) tested positive to Covid-19 after a whirlwind trip to North America in December On Sunday, which was day seven of the couple's isolation period, tempers began to flare and Michael secretly recorded one of their spats for Instagram. Martha, 33, also revealed she'd lost her sense of taste and wasn't able to enjoy a barbecue with Michael and her mother Mary Kalifatidis. The double-vaccinated couple, who are unsure if they caught Covid in Australia or overseas, previously spoke about their symptoms. In the doghouse! On Sunday, which was day seven of the couple's isolation period, tempers began to flare and Michael secretly recorded one of their spats for Instagram 'Covid sucks. It is so f**king s**t. Some people are like, "It's just a cold," but it is a pretty s**t one. It's like tonsillitis, gastro and the flu in one,' Martha said last week. She added that Michael did 'projectile vomit' at the start of his symptomatic period, which is quite uncommon. Martha and Michael met on Married At First Sight in 2019 and announced their engagement late last year. Chris Hemsworth is known for his incredibly ripped physique, keeping in shape for his starring roles in Thor and Netflix's Extraction. And now the buff 38-year-old has revealed how stays so fit, sharing his favourite go-to ten minute Centr workout with fans. In a new clip for his fitness program, Chris works out alongside his personal trainer and lifelong friend Luke Zocchi, completing exercises including mountain climber switches, squats and plank shoulder taps. Want to be ripped like Chris Hemsworth? Thor star, 38, showed off his bulging biceps this week as he shared his go-to 10 minute Centr workout In the clip, Chris exercised in a grey tank singlet and beige cap with dark shorts, showing off his buff physique and bulging biceps. He also completed exercises including bicycle sit-ups, joking that he feels like he was in a 'bike crash' doing a set of the grueling exercise. Chris also did plank windmills, prisoner squats, Russian twists and reverse lunges with a high knee. His team: In a new clip for his fitness program, Chris works out alongside his personal trainer and lifelong friend Luke Zocchi Grueling: He completed exercises including mountain climber switches, squats and plank shoulder taps Not for the faint-hearted: He also completed exercises including bicycle sit-ups, joking that he feels like he was in a 'bike crash' doing a set of the grueling exercise Chris, who rose to fame back in the day on Home and Away and Neighbours, is celebrating a new giveaway with his fitness program, Centr. He is giving 1,000 people free lifetime memberships to Centr to kickstart the New Year and support them on their health and fitness journey. His program includes workouts from his trainers, meditations and even healthy recipes to keep users on track and focused with their goals. Giveaway: Chris is celebrating a new giveaway with his fitness program, Centr. He is giving 1,000 people free lifetime memberships to Centr to kickstart the New Year and support them on their health and fitness journey In a statement shared with Daily Mail Australia, Chris said he wants to help others live 'healthier and happier long-term'. 'This is the team that helps me live the way I want to live, and be the best I can be,' Chris said. 'With Centr, I'm able to share that with people all over the world. And now, we're sharing that for a lifetime. This is about living healthier and happier for the long-term.' For more details on how to enter the competition, click here. A Woman Of Substance author Barbara Taylor Bradford, who was handed an OBE by the Queen, claims the Duchess of Sussex tried and failed to outshine Her Majesty. 'Meghan came to the UK imagining she'd be the star of the red carpet, even though she wasn't much more than a starlet in America,' she says of the U.S. former actress. 'What she didn't realise is that we already have a shining star on the red carpet, someone who's been there for 70 years. She's called the Queen.' Leeds-born Taylor Bradford, who has lived in New York for decades, adds: 'The Queen is magnificent, and William and Kate grow in stature day by day. She's divine and how does she stay so slim?' Leeds-born Taylor Bradford, who has lived in New York for decades, said: 'The Queen is magnificent, and William and Kate grow in stature day by day. She's divine and how does she stay so slim?' (Duchess of Sussex pictured with the Queen) 'Meghan came to the UK imagining she'd be the star of the red carpet, even though she wasn't much more than a starlet in America,' says Barbara Taylor Bradford. 'What she didn't realise is that we already have a shining star on the red carpet, someone who's been there for 70 years. She's called the Queen.' Views: Leeds-born Taylor Bradford, who has lived in New York for decades, adds: 'The Queen is magnificent, and William and Kate grow in stature day by day Top Tory's brother: 'I'm not fat so don't need Covid booster' When only the over-50s were able to have Covid vaccinations last March, billionaire's son Ben Goldsmith skipped the queue by receiving the jab 4,000 miles away in the United Arab Emirates. Now, the financier has apparently decided that jabs are frightfully common and declared that he will refuse a Covid booster. Provocatively, the 41-year-old son of late tycoon Sir James Goldsmith claims he doesn't need it because he's neither old nor fat. His comments could cause embarrassment to his brother, Zac, who's a Tory minister and key ally of Boris Johnson. The Government sees booster jabs as the main plank of its strategy to avoid a new lockdown. Ben is also an environmental adviser to the Government. 'I have been vaccinated twice in the last year,' Ben says. 'Since then I have had Covid twice, so I have strong natural immunity. Why should I have endless boosters?' He adds: 'If I hadn't already had Covid, or if I were old or very fat or unwell . . . then fine. But otherwise no. Enough.' When only the over-50s were able to have Covid vaccinations last March, billionaire's son Ben Goldsmith - pictured with wife Jemima Jones - skipped the queue by receiving the jab 4,000 miles away in the United Arab Emirates. Goldsmith who has three children with wife Jemima, 34, and two surviving children with his first wife, banking heiress Kate Rothschild raised eyebrows in December 2020 when he went to the UAE, before the UK's third lockdown, and decided to stay rather than return home. While there, he and his family had the vaccination at the invitation of a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. 'When the opportunity presented itself we gratefully took it,' he explained. By the time he and his family returned to Britain last March, the Gulf State was on the Government's red list. Instead of having to suffer the indignity of quarantine in a London airport hotel for ten days, as Britons travelling from red-listed countries were required to do, they flew home via Kenya, where they spent three weeks. TikTok MP is ready for her close-up She broke down barriers when she became the first female Conservative MP to come out as bisexual. Now, Dehenna Davison might be the first to set a trend of Tory TikTokers. Davison, 28, who caused shockwaves when she turned the 'Red Wall' Labour seat of Bishop Auckland blue, has shared details of her morning routine on teenagers' favourite video-sharing app, TikTok. She's seen washing her face, plucking her eyebrows and applying her make-up while lip-syncing to Taylor Swift's song Ready For It? Davison, who was married to a male councillor 35 years her senior, is a close friend of Boris Johnson's wife, Carrie. So how long before we see the PM brushing his teeth on TikTok? She broke down barriers when she became the first female Conservative MP to come out as bisexual. Now, Dehenna Davison might be the first to set a trend of Tory TikTokers. Ladies prove it's good Manners to be in Country Life Some of us mark our lives with holiday snaps, but the Duke of Rutland's family have portraits in Country Life instead. His youngest daughter, interior designer Lady Eliza Manners, 24, has posed for the 'girl in pearls' page of the bucolic magazine as it celebrates its 125th anniversary. The Duke's great-aunt, Lady Ursula d'Abo, did the same in 1948. Lady Ursula was a maid of honour at George VI's Coronation in 1937 before serving as a nurse in the war. Some of us mark our lives with holiday snaps, but the Duke of Rutland's family have portraits in Country Life instead. His youngest daughter, interior designer Lady Eliza Manners (L), 24, has posed for the 'girl in pearls' page of the bucolic magazine as it celebrates its 125th anniversary IT'S the Notting Hill pub that pop superstar Adele calls her favourite and which has played host to royals including Princess Eugenie, but The Walmer Castle has alarmed health inspectors. They've given it a woeful food hygiene rating of one out of five, saying 'major improvement' is necessary in the management of food safety. This is particularly worrying when three of the pub's signature dishes involve raw fish: oysters, sushi and sashimi. Probably best Adele sticks to the drinks menu when she visits. PRINCE Charles wants someone to run his 'Royal NHS' at Dumfries House, his stately home in Ayrshire. The Prince's Foundation is advertising for a 'health and wellbeing business coordinator' on a salary of up to 35,000. The successful candidate will oversee a programme that offers mindfulness classes, as well as chronic pain management and healthy eating advice. The advert states that experience or knowledge of complementary therapies is 'desirable'. Alternative treatments have been dismissed by critics as 'voodoo medicine'. THE Apprentice star Karren Brady feels she's succeeded despite, rather than because of, her 35,000-a-year private education. 'When you go to boarding school, you spend your whole existence doing what you're told,' says Baroness Brady. 'By 18, I'd had enough of being told what to do. But being independent only goes with money, so I got a job instead of going to uni. I started carving a career out by myself.' The 12 bakers set to compete on the upcoming season of The Great Australian Bake Off have been revealed. The aspiring chefs will take on 30 challenges to test their baking skills and creativity when the show premieres on Foxtel later this month. Maggie Beer and Matt Moran will return as judges, while Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle are set to co-host the series. First look: The 12 bakers set to compete on the upcoming season of The Great Australian Bake Off have been revealed The new season will feature scientist and stay-at-home dad Haydn Allbutt, 46, retired navy veteran Ashley Callaghan, 30, and sales assistant Lidia Morosin, 62. Joining them are high school teacher Aaron Hawthorn, 31, GP Nurman Noor, 35, CEO Tom Mosby, 52, and disability support worker Blessing Mudzikitiri, 19. Public servant Jawin Ratchawong, 27, creative copywriter Ella Rossanis, 35, and document controller Carmel Scassa, 48, will also be competing on the show. Hoda Alzubaidi, 28, who works in publishing sales, and recruitment consultant Naveid Zarsho, 32, round out this year's cast. Line-up: Maggie Beer and Matt Moran will return as judges, while Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle are set to co-host the series Judge Matt Moran said he was really excited 'about this season's batch of bakers'. 'Certainly some of the best bakes we've ever seen,' he said. 'The techniques they were learning through the technical bakes were being put back into the showstoppers, and I know Maggie and I were very excited and humbled by that,' he added. 'Some of the best bakers we've ever seen': Judge Matt Moran said he was really excited 'about this season's batch of bakers' The Great Australian Bake Off last aired on Foxtel in 2019, before being canned the following year. Rumours quickly began swirling that the show would make a comeback on free-to-air television by replacing My Kitchen Rules on Seven. However, it was confirmed in July last year that Foxtel had re-secured format rights to the franchise and would begin airing season five in 2022. The Great Australian Bake Off premieres on January 27 at 8.30 pm on Foxtel Love Island Australia star Jessie Wynter has previously urged fans to avoid plastic surgery following her botched boob job. And on Wednesday, she revealed she was considering having her breast implants removed. During an Instagram Q&A, a follower asked: 'Do you think you would ever get your breast implants removed?' No more busty displays? Love Island Australia star Jessie Wynter is considering having her breast implants removed The 25-year-old answered: 'Yep, I've been thinking about this a lot lately.' Jessie has previously discouraged others from getting plastic surgery after a botched boob job left her with implants that were set 'really far apart'. She told Who in 2019 she had travelled overseas for the procedure several years ago, but was unhappy with the results and underwent corrective surgery as a result. Considering it: The 25-year-old said she was open to having them removed during an Instagram Q&A with fans this week Warning: Jessie has previously discouraged others from getting plastic surgery after a botched boob job left her with implants that were set 'really far apart' 'I honestly wish I could go back and tell younger me, "Dude, don't get a boob job, you're fine the way you are,"' said the Tasmanian influencer. She explained: 'So they kind of shoved [the implants] in, didn't structure it or anything and they were just really, really far apart. And they pretty much fell into my armpits.' Before entering the Love Island Australia villa, Jessie said: 'I did get a boob job when I was younger, and it was one of those nightmare ones that didn't go to plan. Unhappy: Jessie revealed in 2019 she'd travelled overseas for the procedure several years earlier, but was unhappy with the results and underwent corrective surgery 'I fortunately got it fixed. I've had a really great year actually, getting it fixed was fantastic. I hope people don't call me fake and they can see past it.' Jessie's Q&A comes as she isolates in her home after contracting Covid. She shared a photo of herself resting and wearing a pink hoodie on Wednesday, and wrote: 'Who else has Covid at the moment?' Positive: Jessie's Q&A comes as she isolates in her home after contracting Covid. She shared a photo of herself resting on Wednesday, and wrote: 'Who else has Covid at the moment?' Unwell: In a subsequent post, she shared her symptoms from her first couple of days In a subsequent post, she shared her symptoms from her first couple of days, including tiredness, a headache, body aches and sore muscles, sweats and chills. 'These are my symptoms everyone's body will react differently,' she added. Jessie starred on season two of Love Island Australia and coupled up with Todd Elton. They continued to date after the show but split in early 2021. Rebel Wilson and Brittany Hockley's friendship has blossomed ever since the two met in the USA last year. And like all good relationships, the pair have been bonding over their love of food. The Pitch Perfect star, 41, and the podcaster, 33, on Wednesday enjoyed a long lunch at the upmarket Japanese restaurant Nobu at Crown Sydney. Fancy feasting! Rebel Wilson (pictured) and Brittany Hockley on Wednesday enjoyed a long lunch at the upmarket Japanese restaurant Nobu at Crown Sydney 'Let us feast!' ex-Bachelor star Brittany captioned a video of her famous friend. The two women posted several Boomerang clips of themselves feasting on the finest sashimi and sipping cocktails. They were also joined by a male friend. After their main meals, the duo ordered sorbet and Japanese sweets for dessert. Brittany wore a khaki gown with sexy cut-outs, while Rebel opted for black top that showcased her recent 35kg weight loss. Pals: 'Let us feast!' ex-Bachelor star Brittany (pictured) captioned a video of her famous friend Lunch date: The two women, who were accompanied by a male friend (centre) posted several Boomerang clips of themselves feasting on the finest sashimi and sipping cocktails It comes after Brittany offered fans a glimpse of the lavish NYE party she attended at a mansion on Sydney Harbour, where Rebel has been staying while in Australia. At the time, the two posed together in photos shared to Instagram. The pals cuddled up as fireworks exploded overhead, with Brittany captioning the image: 'Isn't it romantic. Sydney does it best.' 'Sydney does it best': It comes after Brittany offered fans a glimpse of the lavish NYE party she attended at a mansion on Sydney Harbour, where Rebel has been staying while in Australia Brittany and Rebel also showed off their glamorous metallic outfits earlier in the night, both opting for eye-catching bronze tones. The Fat Pizza star was the picture of elegance in the sequinned Burberry number, which sparkled under the lights as she posed in front of a swimming pool. The friends also spent some time on a nearby beach with pals as well as watching the sunset from a wharf. Beach babes: The friends also spent some time on a nearby beach with a group of pals Party pals: On New Year's Even, Brittany Hockley (right) and Rebel Wilson (left) attended a lavish party at a mansion on Sydney Harbour, where Rebel has been staying while in Australia Wow! The Fat Pizza star was the picture of elegance in a sequinned Burberry number Her sheer outfit showed a peek of her ample cleavage through the gauzy material and was cut above the knee to show a flash of her sculpted legs. Captioning the stunning pictures, Rebel wrote: 'Starting the New Year off strong! HAPPY NEW YEAR you legends, love from downunder!' She later posted to her Instagram Stories to film the Sydney fireworks on the harbour, which she watched with a group of friends. The 16th series of the business reality show is set to finally return to screens on Thursday following a two-year hiatus, with a fresh batch of hopefuls battling it out for a huge investment from Lord Sugar. But from the looks of preview images for episode one, things get off to a difficult start for contestant Alex Short, 27, as he cuts a pensive figure while facing the business mogul, 71, in the boardroom. While Lord Sugar looks furious as he makes his infamous phone call to his receptionist as the candidates await their fate - but who stays and who goes? Uh oh! Preview images for The Apprentice episode one sees things get off to a potentially difficult start for contestant Alex Short, 27, as he cuts a pensive figure while facing Lord Sugar 71, in the boardroom Meanwhile, the first task of the new series sees Nick Showering, 31, stripping down to his boxers as he films in front of a green screen. But will his scantily-clad antics secure a victory for the boys? Or will the girls, who are seen filming on a cruise ship, emerge as victors in episode one? Who's fired? While Lord Sugar looks furious as he makes his infamous phone call to his receptionist as the candidates await their fate - but who stays and who goes? Whatever the outcome, fans will no doubt be delighted as Karren Brady's legendary raised eyebrow is back as she casts her steely gaze over the candidate's actions, ready to report back to Lord Sugar. This year will see series one contestant Tim Campbell join Karren as Lord Sugar's other trusted aide, having replaced former star Claude Littner who bowed out due to an E-bike accident. Karren recently gave a hilarious insight into the eagerly anticipated new series of the reality show as she discussed the chaotic opening episode during an appearance on Tuesday's This Morning. What's going on here? Meanwhile, the first task of the new series sees Nick Showering, 31, stripping down to his boxers as he films in front of a green screen Onto a winner? But will Nick's scantily-clad antics secure a victory for the boys? (L-R Aaron, Conor, Alex, Ashkay) Going for gold: Or will the girls, who are seen filming on a cruise ship, emerge as victors in episode one? (L-R Francesca, Kathryn, Stephanie, Sophie) A clip was shown of the BBC show showing the contestants coming up with a questionable name for their cruise liner company - with Karren, who was appearing via video link from the Maldives, saying: 'It goes from bad to worse. This opening episode is back with a bang. 'It's really back to its best. We've got new things, a visit from a familiar looking tooth fairy when they devise a kid's toothbrush. 'All sorts of other things, including inventing a new videogame, we actually do a tourism task for Wales which involves Europe's longest zipwire. 'And I had to go down it, but I wasn't as scared as the candidate who was screaming their head off in fear. It was a lot of fun.' She's back! Whatever the outcome, fans will no doubt be delighted as Karren Brady's legendary raised eyebrow is back as she casts her steely gaze over the candidate's actions Look who it is: This year will see series 1 contestant Tim Campbell join Karren as Lord Sugar's other trusted aide,having replaced former star Claude Littner who bowed out due to an E-bike accident Elsewhere, Lord Sugar has revealed the last-ever task he will set for his business candidates will be to plan his funeral. The Amstrad magnate has previously spoken about quitting the show after 20 series, and has hatched a plan for his final set of candidates to pitch what his coffin could look like before he bows out of the programme. Ahead of the debut of series 16 on Thursday, the star said: 'I'm not going nowhere and the programme is going nowhere. 'I really want to make it 20 seasons. This one is 16 so I still have four more to go. I've already worked out the final task in one of the series is to arrange my funeral. In the firing line: Karren recently gave a hilarious insight into the eagerly anticipated new series of the reality show (pictured Karren, Lord Sugar and fellow advisor Tim Campbell) Blunders: A clip was shown of the BBC show, with Karren, who was appearing via video link from the Maldives, saying: 'It goes from bad to worse. This opening episode is back with a bang' THE APPRENTICE 2022: MEET THE WOMEN AMY ANZEL, 48 Occupation: Owner, beauty brand Lives: London Key information: Starting her beauty business a little later in life, Amy has now found what she really loves doing after previously working in sales, showbiz and jingles. She says: 'I can be nice when I need to be, but when I unfortunately have to be a b***h, I will' BRITTANY CARTER, 25 Occupation: Hotel front of house manager Lives: Bristol Key information: Brittany is looking to break away from her hotel role and launch the first alcoholic protein drink, with Lord Sugar's help. She says: 'My motto for life is 'always look on the bright side' FRANCESCA KENNEDY-WALLBANK, 26 Occupation: Owner, sustainability company Lives: Surrey Key information: The eco-conscious, mathematics graduate is looking for investment in her next venture, providing a product carbon footprint service for businesses with a simple equation of her own creation. She says: 'There's two types of people in the world- people that say they are going to do things and people that actually do them and I'm a doer' HARPEET KAUR, 30 Occupation: Owner, dessert parlour Lives: West Yorkshire Key information: Describing herself as a born leader, fearless and funny, Harpreet plans to 'level up' her successful, six-figure coffee and cakes business to become a leading brand in the UK. She says: 'I'm definitely not in business to make friends. I'm here to make money, and I'm sure Lord Sugar isn't looking for a new mate. KATHRYN LOUISE BURN, 29 Occupation: Owner, online pyjama store Lives: Swindon Key information: Kathryn has worked a wide range of jobs from mortgage advisor to events manager. Describing herself as ambitious, kind, and often 'savage', she says she's there to win, not to make friends. She says: 'My dreams in my head are absolutely huge and I believe I can achieve them.' SOPHIE WILDING, 32 Occupation: Owner, boutique cocktail bar Lives: Cheltenham Key information: Describing herself as 'magical and enchanting' Sophie even has a witch school qualification. She previously worked in sales and has huge renovation plans for her bar. She says: 'Failure is not an option. Winning is part of my DNA.' STEPHANIE AFFLECK, 28 Occupation: Owner, online children's store Lives: Kent Key information: With her East-London roots, the blonde is hoping to bond with Lord Sugar and match his no nonsense attitude towards business. She's looking for funding to develop her designer store and be part of the growing pre-loved fashion industry. She says: 'I've got grit, determination and I'm determined to be successful.' SHAMA AMIN, 41 Occupation: Owner, children's day nursery Lives: Bradford Key information: Shama already has a busy work life running her children's day nursery as well as juggling life with five children at home. She is ready to prove she has the 'skillset that is required to be one of the best, successful businesswomen in the early years sector.' She says: 'Being a lady of colour, wearing a headscarf as well and the challenges that we face on a daily basis, I just want to be a living example for the Asian women out there.' Advertisement 'I want to see how well they arrange it and what kind of coffin they will get for me.' When asked whether Piers Morgan would be able to fill his shoes and carry on the witty banter and one-liners, Lord Sugar laughed: 'You've got to be joking, he's got as much humour as a lead balloon.' Sugar also shut down the idea of a celebrity series of The Apprentice made up of members of the government, claiming politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wouldn't even pass the auditions. The new series marks the eagerly anticipated return of the show after it was forced off-air for two years due to the pandemic. You're Pyre-d! Elsewhere, Lord Sugar has revealed the last-ever task he will set for his business candidates will be to plan his funeral A former rugby player, eco warrior, a 'witch school' graduate and the self-dubbed 'Asian version of Lord Sugar' lead the diverse 16-person group who will be battling it out in the boardroom in a bid to nab Lord Sugar's 250,000 investment in their business. This year's group features eight women and eight men from a wide range of business backgrounds, with specialists in online pyjama sales, the retail industry and the food and drink market set to make their screen debut when the series launches on Thursday. The contestants - who BBC bosses insisted were all double vaccinated before taking part in the series - are set to face the toughest challenges ever due to many businesses across the UK having been negatively affected by the pandemic. The hit BBC show is now in its 16th season, having began in 2005 as a groundbreaking show which featured some of the country's best young business minds hoping to secure a job with the then Sir Alan. Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge is giving fans a first look at his classic characters as adults for a new movie. Paramount Plus announced in February that Mike Judge would return for a new Beavis and Butt-head movie that would lead into a new animated series. While little else was revealed then, Judge, 59, took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a glimpse of what his creations would look like as grown men, while teasing a release date will be announced soon. First look: Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge is giving fans a first look at his classic characters as adults for a new movie 'Beavis and Butt-Head will be returning this year with a brand new movie and more on Paramount+,' Judge began his tweet. 'No exact date yet, but soon. They need some time to get back in shape,' he concluded in his tweet, which has more than 13K retweets and 71K likes. The tweet was accompanied with artwork featuring a glimpse at an overweight and balding Butt-head, who is also a smoker. Return: 'Beavis and Butt-Head will be returning this year with a brand new movie and more on Paramount+,' Judge began his tweet He's wearing a t-shirt over an unbuttoned short-sleeve button-down shirt with shorts and sneakers, with the makings of an early beard. Beavis, on the other hand, still has his blonde coif of hair... though it appears his hairline is receding. He also wears eyeglasses while wearing a t-shirt, pants and shoes, sporting a bit of a gut but not nearly as much as Butt-head's. Old look: He's wearing a t-shirt over an unbuttoned short-sleeve button-down shirt with shorts and sneakers, with the makings of an early beard Beavis and Butt-head first aired on MTV in 1993, following the teenage heavy metal fans commenting on current MTV music videos and their adventures in their small town of Highland, Texas. The show ran for seven seasons between 1993 and 1997, with a theatrical motion picture Beavis and Butt-head Do America hitting theaters in 1996. The show was revived in 2011 with another season airing on MTV, with the show also producing the popular spin-off Daria, which aired for five seasons between 1997 and 2001. MTV: Beavis and Butt-head first aired on MTV in 1993, following the teenage heavy metal fans commenting on current MTV music videos and their adventures in their small town of Highland, Texas Comedy Central announced in 2020 they signed an 'expansive deal' with Mike Judge to 'reimagine' Beavis and Butt-head with new shows and specials. The network ordered two seasons of the show which would follow the title characters, 'through a new Gen-Z world.' However, Paramount Plus announced a new movie in February 2021 that will seemingly lead into a new TV series, though no further details are available. I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia has suffered a significant dip in the ratings, just days after Monday's season premiere. The launch episode drew 1.049 million viewers nationally, including 794,000 from the five major cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. But Wednesday's episode saw this audience plummet, with just 570,000 metro viewers tuning in. Decline: I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has suffered a significant dip in the ratings, just days after Monday's season premiere. Pictured: hosts Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown The latest disappointing numbers come after I'm a Celebrity placed first in all key demographics on Monday: 16 to 39, 18 to 49 and 25 to 54. The premiere broadcast delivered the highest ratings in the prime-time slot across the free-to-air channels. It also boosted 10's audience share to the number-one spot. Results: Monday's premiere drew 1.049 million viewers nationally, including 794,000 from the five major cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth While 10 usually sits in third place behind Nine and Seven, it topped both stations for Monday with a 26.4 per cent network share. Seven came in second with 25.8 per cent and Nine in third with 23 per cent. It wasn't all good news for 10, however, with the opening episode drawing the lowest ratings for an I'm a Celebrity premiere since its inception in 2015. Drop: Wednesday's episode saw this number plummet, with 570,000 metro viewers tuning in Last year's premiere had 1.031 million metro viewers. There were also declines in viewership in key demos compared to last year's opener. I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! is usually one of 10's most well-received and highest-rated reality programs. More than two decades after his breakthrough role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli is returning to HBO. The 55-year-old actor has signed on for a series regular lead role in Season 2 of HBO's The White Lotus, according to Deadline. The first season debuted in July with the premium cable network renewing the series for a second season back in August, though the cast will be much different. Michael's return: More than two decades after his breakthrough role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli is returning to HBO First season: The first season debuted in July with the premium cable network renewing the series for a second season back in August, though the cast will be much different The first season of the 'social satire' series is set in a lush Hawaiian resort, following a group of vacationing characters at a resort known as The White Lotus. Despite the gorgeous settings, each day that passes reveals new dark secrets about this resort setting. The second season will not take place in Hawaii, but in a different setting at another White Lotus property. First season: The first season of the 'social satire' series is set in a lush Hawaiian resort, following a group of vacationing characters at a resort known as The White Lotus Dark secrets: Despite the gorgeous settings, each day that passes reveals new dark secrets about this resort setting Imperioli is the first confirmed cast member for the new season, playing a character named Dominic Di Grasso. He is said to be travelling with his aging father and his son, a recent college graduate, on the resort vacation. While most of the stars from Season 1 aren't expected to return, a report from October revealed Jennifer Coolidge will return as Tanya McQuoid. First cast: Imperioli is the first confirmed cast member for the new season, playing a character named Dominic Di Grasso Jennifer returns: While most of the stars from Season 1 aren't expected to return, a report from October revealed Jennifer Coolidge will return as Tanya McQuoid Her character was described as, 'a wealthy, unstable woman, recovering from the death of her mother, traveling alone to the hotel, looking for love and in desperate need of a massage.' The first season's ensemble cast also included Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany OGrady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney and Steve Zahn. Series creator Mike White is returning, presumably to write and direct every episode like he did with the first six-episode season, and executive produce with David Bernard and Nick Hall. Cast: The first season's ensemble cast also included Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany OGrady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney and Steve Zahn The White Lotus drew in 1.9 million viewers for its season finale across all platforms, which was a 59% jump from the previous week and nearly 3.5x the July 11 premiere. Imperioli is also developing a new series with Silicon Valley co-creator Alec Berg for HBO that he is attached to star in. The show is said to be a, 'meta blend of fact and fiction loosely based on Imperiolis experiences as a practicing Buddhist.' Ratings: The White Lotus drew in 1.9 million viewers for its season finale across all platforms, which was a 59% jump from the previous week and nearly 3.5x the July 11 premiere Advertisement Sydney Sweeney showed off her sculpted midriff as she led the stars at a photo-call for the second season of the HBO sensation drama Euphoria. The 24-year-old was every inch the blonde bombshell, letting her luxurious wavy hair down and sharpening her screen siren features with makeup. She showed off her enviably svelte midriff in a strapless crop top that was bedazzled with glittery embroidery, matching the floor-length silver skirt she was wearing. Aglow: Sydney Sweeney showed off her sculpted midriff as she led the stars at a photo-call for the second season of the HBO sensation drama Euphoria Sydney, who in addition to appearing on Euphoria has also been on the show The White Lotus, accentuated the ensemble with a pair of white opera gloves. Adding a splash of dazzle to the look with glimmering hoop earrings, she flashed her megawatt smile for the camera while posing up a storm on the black carpet. Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann's daughter Maude Apatow, another one of the stars of Euphoria, glowed as she stood for the shutterbugs at the photo-call. She arrived in hair and makeup reminiscent of the 1930s, including a wavy dark bob and a shade of deep scarlet lipstick that clashed fashionably against her black ensemble. A touch of class: Sydney, who in addition to appearing on Euphoria has also been on the show The White Lotus, accentuated the ensemble with a pair of white opera gloves Making it happen: Adding a splash of dazzle to the look with glimmering hoop earrings, she flashed her megawatt smile for the camera while posing up a storm on the black carpet What a look: Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann's daughter Maude Apatow, another one of the stars of Euphoria, glowed as she stood for the shutterbugs at the photo-call Swanking about: The ensemble allowed her to put her shapely legs on display, and she heightened the effect by balancing on a pair of sky-high black stilettos for her latest big event Her outfit included a sparkly see-through sheath with a fuzzy fringe lining the hem, worn over a black bodysuit that emphasized her hourglass frame. The ensemble allowed her to put her shapely legs on display, and she heightened the effect by balancing on a pair of sky-high black stilettos for her latest big event. Angus Cloud, another one of the stars of the show, struck an idiosyncratic pose where he puts his hands together as if in prayer and shot a supermodel glare at the photographers. His outfit was just as striking as his stance during the photo-call, featuring a glowing orange suit over a white top and a matching pair of sneakers. Making it happen: Angus Cloud, another one of the stars of the show, struck an idiosyncratic pose where he puts his hands together as if in prayer and shot a supermodel glare at the photographers Eric Dane, who shot to prominence as 'McSteamy' on Grey's Anatomy before his Euphoria days, cut a dapper figure in a suit and tie for the evening's event. Jacob Elordi, who has become an international star through the Netflix film series The Kissing Booth, was dashing as ever as he smiled for the pictures. The Antipodean heartthrob arrived at the fete wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt, leaving his top button beguilingly undone over his chest. Colman Domingo wore a glinting beige raincoat over a white ensemble, while Austin Abrams teamed a charcoal blazer with a deep pink t-shirt and black jeans. Season two of Euphoria premieres on HBO on Sunday, January 9. Silver fox: Eric Dane, who shot to prominence as 'McSteamy' on Grey's Anatomy before his Euphoria days, cut a dapper figure in a suit and tie for the evening's event Radiant: Jacob Elordi, who has become an international star through the Netflix film series The Kissing Booth, was dashing as ever as he smiled for the pictures Kicks: The Antipodean heartthrob arrived at the fete wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt, leaving his top button beguilingly undone over his chest A stunning Queensland Instagram model has become the first Australian woman to join sizzling Netflix dating show Too Hot to Handle. Georgia Hassarati, a 26-year-old student midwife and social media influencer, will join nine other aesthetically blessed singles from around the world on season three of the top-rating series, which premieres on January 19. While little is known about Georgia, an official bio released by Netflix reveals she hails from Brisbane and has a 'crush' on pop-star Justin Bieber. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Queensland Instagram model Georgia Hassarati, 26, (pictured) has become the first Australian woman to join sizzling Netflix dating show Too Hot to Handle Her Instagram account boasts 62,000 followers, and contains endless photos of Georgia in skimpy bikinis and party dresses. She has also used her page to promote skincare products and fashion brands. Georgia is the second Aussie to appear on Too Hot to Handle, following in the footsteps of Queensland-born Harry Jowsey who featured on season one in 2020. Racy: While little is known about Georgia, an official bio released by Netflix reveals she hails from Brisbane and has a 'crush' on pop-star Justin Bieber Sending pulses racing: Her Instagram account boasts 62,000 followers, and contains endless photos of Georgia in skimpy bikinis and party dresses Influencer: She has also used her page to promote skincare products and fashion brands The racy reality series revolves around 10 sexy singles who are known for engaging in meaningless flings and one-night stands, and are unable to form long-lasting relationships. The group are isolated together in stunning Turks and Caicos, where they are banned from kissing, sexual contact and even self-gratification. They begin with a massive prize pool of $100,000, but deductions are made whenever the chastity rule is broken. Incoming: Other contestants this year include hunky British 'tree surgeon' Harry Johnson and U.S. Instagram model Holly Scarfone. Pictured: the cast of Too Hot To Handle season three Remember me? Georgia is the second Aussie to appear on Too Hot to Handle, following in the footsteps of Queensland-born Harry Jowsey (pictured) who featured on season one in 2020 The group also must show their commitment by participating in various workshops. Other contestants this year include a hunky British 'tree surgeon' named Harry Johnson and busty American Instagram model Holly Scarfone. Too Hot to Handle has been a hit for Netflix, becoming the No. 1 television program on the streaming giant when it premiered in April 2020. Season three of Too Hot to Handle streams on Netflix from January 19, 2022 As a popular influencer on Instagram, he owes his career to the Facebook-owned social media platform. But Kurt Coleman lashed out at the website on Thursday, describing Instagram as 'sick-minded' in a lengthy rant about 'censorship'. 'If everything I think or say is gonna get censored, like, can someone just tell me a new app [to use instead]?' the 24-year-old said in a shirtless video. Hysteria: Influencer Kurt Coleman (pictured) lashed out at Instagram on Thursday, describing the Facebook-owned social media platform as 'sick-minded' in a lengthy rant Coleman had previously suggested he'd been 'shadowbanned' by Instagram for sharing questionable content related to Covid. Shadowbanning refers to the act of hiding or restricting a user's content without informing the user that it's happening. One of the social media personality's followers suggested the action had been taken because Kurt had posted 'anti Covid' content. 'I will be leaving these apps if there is a better app,' said Coleman. He then went on to 'agree 1000 per cent' with a fan's hysterical comment that the level of control held by Instagram was 'scary' and that 'it doesn't feel like we're living anymore'. Paranoia: Coleman had previously suggested he'd been 'shadowbanned' by Instagram for sharing questionable content related to Covid It's not the first time Coleman has taken issue with the social media site, and once blasted Instagram for not letting him publish a rant he wrote six years ago. 'I just wrote something so true to my heart and how I really feel And this is what I get? HELP!!!! It wont let me post it,' he wrote. Kurt managed to circumvent Instagram's apparent restrictions by burying the rant behind a video in a gallery post. Freedom fighter: One of the social media personality's followers suggested the action had been taken because Kurt had posted 'anti Covid' content 'Something I wrote called a "fake reality," he wrote in the second slide of the post. 'This video came up in my Facebook memories from six years ago.' 'At that time in my life, everything around me was FAKE,' he continued. 'But I truly believed it was real.' He added that the 'CONTROL that is going on in this world' made him want to change what he wanted out of his future. Brooke Cleal has certainly had a rough trot over the last few months. Posting to Instagram on Thursday, The Bachelor runner-up confirmed she has tested positive to Covid-19. 'Joining most of Melbourne in #ISO... I hope everyone is feeling okay,' she wrote, adding that she's been watching Netflix. Positive: On Thursday, Bachelor runner-up Brooke Cleal confirmed she has tested positive to Covid-19 and been isolating in her Melbourne home 'I have a bad cough, sore chest and a little short of breath, but hoping this is the worst of it,' Brooke, 27, added. She then let fans know she'd been spending her time bingeing the popular Netflix series Money Heist. In a follow-up post, the brunette also told fans to 'be aware' of their symptoms as she had originally thought she was only battling 'iron fatigue.' Symptoms: In a follow-up post, the brunette also told fans to 'be aware' of their symptoms as she had originally thought she was only battling 'iron fatigue' Brooke made a dramatic exit from the show in August, after learning that her beloved grandfather had passed away during filming. Later in the month though, Brooke made a grand return at the cocktail party to continue her battle for Jimmy's heart. 'Yes, I am back!' she exclaimed to producers, before telling Jimmy she was 'ready' to return after a devastating few days. Regardless, she didn't have what it took to win Jimmy's heart as she came runner-up to Holly Kingston, 27. Jimmy, 32, now resides in Sydney with the marketing manager and has even recently hinted at getting engaged soon. Alison Brahe, the model wife of TV and radio personality Cameron Daddo, was hospitalised on Thursday. The 52-year-old shared a photo to Instagram of herself lying in a hospital bed with her hand wrapped in a bandage. 'Well this was unexpected. Can safely say I can now pick up signals from Moscow from the wires in my thumb. That Putin guy is a real gas,' she wrote. Concern: Alison Brahe (right), the model wife of TV and radio personality Cameron Daddo (left), was hospitalised on Thursday 'Thanks Northern Beaches Hospital for the stay. Your tomato and cheese sandwiches could do with a little work but grateful for all the care,' she added. Alison went on thank her family for their 'kindness' and support. Fans were quick to express their concern, with one writing: 'Hope you're okay? Looks like that would've hurt. Sending healing vibes your way.' 'Oh no! Wishing you a speedy recovery Ali,' another commented. 'Oh noooooo are you ok? Sending you loads of love and healing vibes,' a third said. Post: The 52-year-old shared this photo to Instagram of herself lying in a hospital bed with her hand wrapped in a bandage It comes after Alison's husband, Cameron Daddo, spoke about hurting his wife by cheating on her three years after tying the knot in 1991. The Australian actor, 59, discussed his marriage on Nova FM's Separate Bathrooms podcast and admitted it was important to 'learn how to apologise'. 'We were told by Reverend Brian that married us, he said, "You're going to hurt your partner the most of anyone in your life." In my case, it's probably true,' an emotional Cameron said. 'So it's a good idea to learn how to apologise, mean it and then make the necessary actions, so you don't repeat it. That's a good lesson,' he added. Worried: Fans expressed their concern, with one writing: 'Hope you're okay? Looks like that would've hurt. Sending healing vibes your way' The couple wed in 1991 and have three children together, daughters Lotus, 24, and Bodhi, 14, and a son, River, 20. Back in 2019, Cameron revealed his marriage was never the same again after his extra-marital affair in 1994. His infidelity took place in America, after he had relocated there for his acting career. Alison admitted their marriage was hardly 'couple goals', but they worked on it and were better off today. Love Island Australia host Sophie Monk has confirmed she's given up smoking once and for all following years of addiction. The 42-year-old took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal the news, breaking out into dance in her home as she celebrated with her followers. 'Guess who gave up smoking? Me!' she captioned the video. 'Better late than never!' Time to celebrate! Love Island Australia host Sophie Monk has confirmed she's given up smoking once and for all, sharing a video of herself dancing confirm the news In the video, Sophie was seen shaking her bottom as she smiled and raised her arms in the air, while dressed in a pair of dungarees. While it's unclear exactly how long Sophie has been hooked on cigarettes, it's believed she has been smoking for most of her adult life. Sophie previously confessed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she'd found it difficult to kick the unhealthy habit while filming The Bachelorette in 2017. Shake it! In the video, Sophie was seen shaking her bottom as she smiled and raised her arms in the air, while dressed in a pair of dungarees And in 2014, Sophie discussed her addiction with U.S. media personality Dr Oz. She confessed she smoked 'too much' and could even get through 10 cigarettes a night while drinking alcohol. Sophie shot to fame in 2000s girl band Bardot, and went on to feature in Hollywood films before returning to Australia to host Love Island and Beauty and the Geek. Surprise! Sophie became engaged to Joshua Gross (left) in December 2020 but waited until January the next year to announce the news Fame: Sophie shot to fame in 2000s girl band Bardot, and went on to feature in Hollywood films before returning to Australia to host Love Island and Beauty and the Geek After failing to find love on The Bachelorette, Sophie became engaged to Joshua Gross in December 2020 but they waited until January the next year to announce the news. The couple met in August 2018 when they were seated together on a flight. In July, Sophie lifted the lid on her baby plans, telling The Sunday Telegraph: 'We would love a family if we are lucky enough. 'You just never know but we would love to.' Penelope Cruz is out on the promotional trial for her latest film, The 355, which included a stop on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that airs on Thursday, January 6. The American spy action film that has a number of high-profile actors that includes the likes of Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Diane Kruger, Sebastian Stan, Edgar Martinez, Sebastian Stan, among others. The Spanish star, 47, lit up the studio when she made her grand entrance in a lovely black-patterned gown. Pomo mode: Penelope Cruz, 47, wore black-patterned ensemble while out, in part, to promote her latest film, The 355 on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, that airs on Thursday, January 6 The full-length and plunging design helped showcase her array of feminine attributes, which included her cleavage and petite 5ft6in figure. She got a boost by wearing a pair of black platform heels that appeared to give her an extra couple of inches in height. Cruz rounded out her her overall ensemble with a number of accessories like stylish earrings, bracelets, rings, and her dark brown tresses styled long and flowing with a part on the slight right. The pants flared from the knees down to her ankles, while the plunging vest helped showcase her cleavage and overall lean figure uality family time: The Spanish actress shared about spending New Year's eve with her beloved brother in Los Angeles During her time in the guest's chair, Cruz chats about spending New Year's Eve with her beloved brother in Los Angeles, The actress also shared some of the New Year's Eve traditions in her native country of Spain, and how some of them have been a source of stress now that she has children. The Parallel Mothers star also revealed how her longtime friend and 'sister' Salma Hayek took her under her wing when she first arrived in Hollywood even though they had never met each other in person. She also confessed that she has met Hayek's pet owl. The actress also shared some of the New Year's Eve traditions in her native country of Spain, and how some of them have been a source of stress now that she has children oOngtim friends: The Parallel Mothers star also revealed how her longtime friend and 'sister' Salma Hayek took her under her wing when she first arrived in Hollywood even though they had never met each other in person. DeGeneres also reminisced about the time Crux gave her dance lessons during her appearance on the show way back in 2005. The 355 tells the story of a CIA agent who teams up with other international agents to recover a top-secret weapon, and all the drama that ensues. Directed by Simon Kinberg, who's best known for his work on the X-Men film franchise, the 355 is slated to premiere in the United States on January 7, 2022 The divorce between Larsa Pippen and Scottie Pippen has been finalized. Attorneys for both parties took part in a virtual hearing Wednesday putting the finishing touches on the split, which The Real Housewives of Miami personality, 47, initially filed for in November of 2018. 'I can confirm that Scottie and Larsa Pippen are now divorced, and that the divorce was finalized on December 15, 2021,' lawyer David J. Glass told Us Weekly in a statement Wednesday. The latest: The divorce between Larsa Pippen, 47, and Scottie Pippen, 56, has been finalized after their attorneys took part in a virtual meeting in LA Wednesday Glass continued: 'All issues were resolved amicably. The parties are now focusing [on] successfully co-parenting their remaining minor children.' 'Larsa is relieved to have the entire process behind her and is happy that she and Scottie managed to keep their private lives largely private,' Glass told Hollywood Life. Last August, Larsa and the Chicago Bulls icon, 56, came to an accord on terms of the split, at which point a judge needed to authorize it. The former couple initially exchanged vows in 1997 and are parents to four children: Scotty Jr., 21, Preston, 20, Justin, 17, and Sophia, 14. The duo posed at Scottie's 50th birthday party in Miami in September of 2015 The former couple was seen with their four kids at a June 2013 event in LA The former pair said they were separating in 2016, but got back together briefly until Larsa's filing in November of 2018. Larsa in December of 2019 told the outlet that she and Scottie remained focused on co-parenting in the wake of their split, describing their relationship as 'best friends.' 'Our kids are amazing, and I feel like we both parent the same way,' she told the outlet. 'Were really traditional in the way we raise our children. Thats really important. 'We are obsessed with our kids. Scottie and I are both the same in a lot of ways. Family always comes first.' According to The Blast, details of the financial settlement the former couple made were kept confidential. Kanye West went shopping with rapper Future, who performed at his New Year's Eve Black Party in Miami this weekend, at Balenciaga on Tuesday. Just days after whisking his rumored girlfriend Julia Fox around New York, the Grammy winner, 44, returned to Florida for some retail therapy. As the dad-of-four browsed through designs from the luxury fashion house, he wore a black hoodie, around-ear headphones and a pair of sunglasses. Back in Florida: Kanye West went shopping with rapper Future, who performed at his New Year's Eve Black Party in Miami this weekend, at Balenciaga on Tuesday Earlier this week, West enjoyed a night out at Carbone restaurant with Fox in Manhattan as well as two hangouts with pop artist Audri Nix in Miami. While his estranged wife Kim Kardashian enjoys a romantic getaway to The Bahamas with Pete Davidson, a source told TMZ the Stronger hitmaker date with the Uncut Gems actress, 31, was 'nothing serious.' The KKW Beauty, 41, founder filed for divorce from Kanye in early 2021 following six years of marriage and four kids together. Shopping: Just 24 hours after whisking his rumored girlfriend Julia Fox around New York, the Grammy winner, 44, returned to Florida for some retail therapy Trendy: As the dad-of-four browsed through designs from the luxury fashion house, he wore a black hoodie, around-ear headphones and a pair of sunglasses Interestingly, both Pete and Kanye were ringing in 2022 in Miami. Pete was cohosting a New Year's Eve special with Miley Cyrus, while Kanye announced a surprise, last-minute show in Miami on December 31. Kanye ended up spending New Year's Eve at Game Changer Lounge, and though TMZ reported the rapper did perform a set, Page Six claims West ended up just hanging out with Future, Quavo, and French Montana at the club after a failed attempt at finding a venue to perform at. New flame? Earlier this week, West enjoyed a night out at Carbone restaurant with Fox (pictured in 2019) in Manhattan Date night: Earlier this week West and Fox were seen enjoying night out on Broadway, which included watching Slave Play at the August Wilson Theater Kim and Pete were first spotted holding hands at Knott's Scary Farm in October though an insider told People at the time that the two were just friends. 'Kim is so into him. [Kim and Pete] are both really cuddly and affectionate with each other,' a source told People as another insider shared with Us Weekly that the unlikely pair are getting 'serious' with one another. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star's friends think he's 'exactly what [ Kim] needed' after her split from Kanye. Lavish lifestyle: West has also been spending time with Puerto Rican pop artist Audri Nix Dating around: The pair were seen on a hotel balcony together and walking around Miami this week The comedian - who has previously dated the Kate Beckinsale and Kaia Gerber - is helping the TV star to move on from her marriage. An insider recently said: 'He's exactly what Kim needed after her divorce - someone to make her laugh and just have a fun time with. 'The end of her marriage was a very dark time for her and Pete has been the best antidote.' Since Kim filed for divorce in February, Kanye has been briefly linked to Russian model Irina Shayk and model Vinetria, 22. Moving on! Kim has begun moving on from her marriage with Kanye with SNL star Pete Davidson They have chemistry! The duo shared a kiss during a sketch on Saturday Night Live last year Jessica Chastain suffered a terrifying accident on the set of her new movie The 355. Speaking to James Corden on The Late Late Show on Wednesday night, the actress recalled how she hit her head on a marble floor after insisting on doing one of the stunts herself in the spy action movie. Appearing on the chat show alongside her The 355 co-star Penelope Cruz, Jessica said the cast and crew had to persuade her to go to hospital after she 'heard a crack.' Ouch: Jessica Chastain suffered a terrifying accident on the set of her new movie The 355, revealing she cracked her head on a marble floor During filming for a fight scene, Jessica said that she had to fall and hit her head on purpose but had misjudged the distance to the marble floor. 'I heard a crack,' Chastain, 44, recalled. 'Yeah, that may be why I am the way I am today. I heard a crack. Everyone stopped and looked scared and I was a bit stunned like "I don't know what's happening."' A miscommunication from her stunt double didn't help matters. 'My stunt double comes up to me. She was so sweet. She is French and doesn't speak a lot of English,' the actress explained. 'And she comes up to me and goes, "I'm sorry but I have to put it back in." And I'm sitting there like 'put what back in? Are my brains outside of my face? What's happening?' Support: Appearing on the chat show alongside her The 355 co-star Penelope Cruz, Jessica said the cast and crew had to persuade her to go to hospital 'And I guess it was just a bruise she was pushing back in my head. I did a couple more takes because I don't give up easy, and then I went to the hospital.' Penelope, 47, added: 'Because we convinced you to go to the hospital because she didn't want to go. She wanted to keep going. I was like: "You're going to the hospital."' Speaking some more about their movie The 355, Jessica, who produced the project, said she had the idea to make it the action/thriller spy movie with all women because she hadn't seen it done before. She said she called all the women, raised the money for it themselves and made the movie for a fraction of the normal cost. Spy film: The 355 follows a group of international female spies including Jessica, who also is a producer of the movie Stunt: During filming for a fight scene, Jessica said that she had to fall and hit her head on purpose but had misjudged the distance to the marble floor Good friend: Penelope, 47, added: 'Because we convinced you to go to the hospital because she didn't want to go' 'And we are the owners of the film,' she said. Lupita Nyong'o, Diane Kruger and Fan Bingbing star alongside Jessica and Penelope as a a group of international spies who must come together to stop a terrorist organization from starting World War III in the movie. Elsewhere in the interview, the two acclaimed actresses admitted they still get starstruck when meeting icons like Meryl Streep. 'With Meryl Streep I am obsessed with her and she knows it,' said Penelope. She admitted the first time she met her she was shy, but that Meryl was affectionate so she reciprocated. Joint appearance: Penelope Cruz and Jessica Chastain admitted they got starstruck when meeting Meryl Streep during a joint appearance on Wednesday on The Late Late Show 'Every time I see her after that I hug her and kiss her a thousand times,' said Penelope. Jessica said she preferred not to meet anyone that she idolized because she was just awkward, revealing she had a very embarrassing moment with Meryl. Explaining how she was doing a play in New York, Jessica said she was shocked when she saw Meryl in the lobby. Meryl walked up to her in the lobby afterwards and told her she was wonderful in the play. 'I literally didn't know how to function,' said Jessica of being awestruck by the legendary actress. Action movie: The 47-year-old Spanish actress and Jessica, 44, were on the CBS show to promote their new action movie 'I said thank you so much it means so much to me that you came buh bye and I walked, like an idiot,' said Jessica. 'I just don't want to meet anyone.' Penelope, who was wearing a short white dress with Chanel bracelets, asked James if he ever worked with Meryl. 'She's the worst,' James joked, making them both laugh. 'Not a pleasant person.' James later shared that he met Penelope, who is married to actor Javier Bardem, 52, at the Met Gala. She said she kept trying to dance near James, but that he didn't notice. First time: Penelope appeared as a guest for the first time on the show Still starstruck: Elsewhere in the interview, the two acclaimed actresses admitted they still get starstruck when meeting icons like Meryl Streep James said he didn't pick up on those clues because he was 'quite the solo dancer'. 'When I get in the zone, when the feet take over, get out of the way,' he said. 'It's why I have never done Dancing With The Stars because I could partner myself.' James is also close friends with Jessica, revealing that he vacationed with the actress, who is married to Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, with his family. The Brit shared that Jessica was in charge of selecting the movies each night on vacation but that turned out to be 'a bone of contention' between them. While Jessica was adamant that when she first met James she thought they would be soul mates for the rest of their lives, James didn't appear to be appreciating her foreign movie choice. Big hug: Jessica and Penelope gave each other a big hug as they took a seat on the CBS talk show filmed in Los Angeles He said the problem was that it was every night and it was a 'different film that was made for seven dollars with a cello played in a minor key.' James then asked Penelope about how both she and her husband Javier won Oscars but that he heard that her award statue was different. She said instead of getting her award engraved on the night that she won that she had her father do it for later. She said he did it without wearing his glasses and ended up putting her name upside down. 'My Dad, unfortunately, is not with us anymore so of course I could never change it,' she said. 'It's really emotional for me to look at it.' Lily James looked the spitting image of Pamela Anderson as she slipped into a busty red swimsuit in the Pam & Tommy trailer. The upcoming Hulu series focuses on Pamela's relationship with Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, played by Sebastian Stan. The new clip saw the pair grapple with the fallout of their stolen sex tape, yet it was Lily's amazing Baywatch babe moment that stole the show. Seeing double: Lily James (L) looked the spitting image of Pamela Anderson (R) as she slipped into a busty red swimsuit in the Pam & Tommy trailer The actress, 32, donned prosthetic breasts for filming in order to mimic Pamela's famous bust, and put her ample cleavage on display in the low cut scarlet swimsuit. Pamela, now 54, had two breast implant surgeries in the early 1990s, increasing her breast size to a 34D, and then to a 34DD respectively. Throwing herself into the action, Lily emulated the iconic series about a group of lifeguards by filming a scene running down to the ocean in slow-motion. Wow: The actress, 32, donned prosthetic breasts for filming in order to mimic Pamela's famous bust, and put her ample cleavage on display in the low cut scarlet swimsuit One to watch: The upcoming Hulu series focuses on Pamela's relationship with Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, played by Sebastian Stan The trailer begins with Lily attending a deposition where she is asked about her relationship with Tommy Lee. 'Did you know anything at all about Mr. Lee before you met him?' she is asked, to which she replies 'I knew he was the drummer, from Motley Crue,' she replies. 'Did you find him attractive?' she is then asked, as a swooning Lily replies, 'I liked his smile.' 'I liked his smile': The trailer begins with Lily attending a deposition where she is asked about her relationship with Tommy Lee He makes her heart beat! James swooned as she recalled her relationship with the drummer in the deposition So in love! The famous couple shared a snuggle on the red carpet Viewers are then given a glimpse of the making of the sex tape as Sebastian, in character as Tommy, sets up their camcorder before joining Pamela in bed. 'To everlasting love!' he is heard saying as he kisses his wife. But things take a turn for the worse after bad actors manage to obtain the tape. Seth Rogen, who plays Rand Gauthier, the disgruntled porn actor-turned-electrician who stole Pamela and Tommy's sex tape in 1995, is seen moving a massive safe from the house before breaking into it out in the woods. For their eyes only: Viewers are then given a glimpse of the making of the sex tape as Sebastian, in character as Tommy, sets up their camcorder before joining Pamela in bed X-rated video: The camcorder sat on the top of their television monitor as Sebastian rushed to be with his wife 'It's like we're seeing something we're not supposed to see,' Rand's associate, Uncle Miltie, played by Nick Offerman, says as they watch the tape. As they discuss how they could distribute the tape, Rand suggests selling the tape online. 'No one's gonna get rich off a celebrity sex tape,' a man tells the two. 'What if we sold it somewhere nobody could find us,' Rand suggests. Breaking in: Seth Rogen, who plays Rand Gauthier, the disgruntled porn actor-turned-electrician who stole Pamela and Tommy's sex tape in 1995, is seen moving a massive safe from the house Up to no good: Rand breaks into the safe in the woods Get rich quick: As they discuss how they could distribute the tape, Rand suggests selling the tape online in order to obscure their identities The tape eventually makes its way into the hands of Pamela's colleagues, whom are caught watching it on the set of Baywatch. As men gather around to watch the tape, Pamela walks in, dressed in her red bathing suit and jacket. 'Wow, you are so hot!' Tommy's voice can be heard as she approaches the truck where the tape is playing. Pamela walks into the trailer before grabbing the tape, speechless. Partner-in-crime: Nick Offerman plays Uncle Miltie, his associate who helps him distribute the tape Getting it out there: The tape lands in the hands of those who order it online Prying eyes: The tape eventually makes its way into the hands of Pamela's colleagues, whom are caught watching it on the set of Baywatch Invasion of privacy: James can't believe her eyes as she pulls the tape out Devastating: Sadly, the operation to reproduce the tape has gone into full swing 'How many copies of this are out there? There could be dozens!' Pamela asks her husband in the music studio. Sadly, the operation to reproduce the tape has gone into full swing. 'Pirated copies are spreading up all over the web,' one woman says after the scope of the operation was unveiled. Pamela is panicked over the tape as she agonizes over the ramifications of it to her husband. 'Pirated copies are spreading up all over the web,' one woman says after the scope of the operation was unveiled All on tape: Stan seen in a moment from the controversial tape Panicked: 'How many copies of this are out there? There could be dozens!' Pamela asks her husband in the music studio Uh-oh: The couple cannot believe their eyes as they see the tape online 'You don't seem to understand what a big deal this is,' Pamela tells Tommy in their bedroom. 'I'm on that tape just as same as you,' Tommy says. 'But this is worse for me,' Pamela replies. 'How is this worse for you?' Tommy asks, before Pamela is seen looking exasperated. Social ramifications: 'You don't seem to understand what a big deal this is,' Pamela tells Tommy in their bedroom Feeling misunderstood: 'How is this worse for you?' Tommy asks, before Pamela is seen looking exasperated Pamela, 54, and Tommy, 59, tied the knot on a beach in Mexico in 1995 after dating for just four days. At the time, Pamela's mother hadn't even met Tommy. The pair would go on to welcome sons Brandon, 25, and Dylan, 24, but they divorced in 1998. In 2015, Pam told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she never profited from the sex tape, nor even watched it. She said: 'I've never seen it. I made not one dollar. It was stolen property... 'We made a deal to stop all the shenanigans. I was seven months pregnant with Dylan and thinking it was affecting the pregnancy with the stress and said, "I'm not going to court anymore. I'm not being deposed anymore by these horny, weird lawyer men. I don't want to talk about my vagina anymore or my public sex anything."' Whirlwind romance: Pamela, 54, and Tommy, 59, tied the knot on a beach in Mexico in 1995 after dating for just four days; pictured with son Brandon The sex tape was stolen by Rogen's character Rand Gauthier after Tommy reportedly refused to pay for work that he had performed on their house. When Gauthier confronted the musician about not being paid the $20,000 he was owed, Tommy pulled out a gun to scare him away. Gauthier took his revenge by stealing the giant safe that had been kept in the couple's garage, which mainly housed the drummer's guns and Pamela's jewelry, in addition to the sex tape. Not meant to be: The pair would go on to welcome sons Brandon, 24, and Dylan, 22, but they divorced in 1998 Earlier this year, Pam claimed that the video wasn't actually a sex tape, but was merely a compilation of footage of them naked on vacation, which just happened to include sex acts. Last year, insiders claimed to The Sun that the Pam thinks Pam & Tommy is 'a joke and cheap knock-off.' She reportedly called the show 'God awful,' though the series had just begun filming, and she apparently claimed she had never heard of Lily or Sebastian. The source said Pamela had 'no intention of watching this God awful show, absolutely not. Never.' Pam & Tommy airs February 2 on Hulu and Disney+ Sadie Frost's youngest sister Holly Davidson has welcomed her first child with her fashion photographer husband Sebastian Roos, 45. The actress announced she gave birth to her daughter, whom she has named Frankie, weighing 6lbs 5oz on 30th December at 6.42am. In an emotional post, Holly, 41, described Frankie as 'my everything' after having three miscarriages in the last two years, before falling pregnant with her little girl. Congratulations: Sadie Frost's youngest sister Holly Davidson has welcomed her first child with her fashion photographer husband Sebastian Roos, 45 Uploading a sweet photo, Holly, who is based in Sweden, wrote: 'VERY happy to introduce our daughter. Frankie Alma Hope Roos. 'Day three of loving you and my heart is yours. Ive waited my whole life to hold you and you are simply perfect. Your tiny hands, your smell, the little noises you make. 'You have made me the happiest mumma ever. Frankie is doing very well, feeding, pooing, sleeping, no crying (yet). She is super chilled. Mother: The actress announced she gave birth to her daughter, whom she has named Frankie, weighing 6lbs 5oz on 30th December at 6.42am 'Im also doing really well, the labour was a dream, I can honestly say I enjoyed it. Painful but also magical. Sebastian is amazing, super emotional and very proud of his wife, there have been lots of happy tears, he is besotted already. 'Thank you all for your messages, it means so much. 'I know so many of you have shared this crazy journey with me. So many downs but we all never lost hope. And here she is. Now I need to go and stare at my baby Frankie some more.' Relationship: Holly and Sebastian married on 21 June 2019 on a beach in Sweden Over the moon: In an emotional post, Holly, 41, described Frankie as 'my everything' after having three miscarriages in the last two years, before falling pregnant with her little girl Delighted: Uploading a sweet photo, Holly, who is based in Sweden, wrote: 'VERY happy to introduce our daughter. Frankie Alma Hope Roos' The former Casualty actress had previously revealed how Frankie was born two weeks early and later shared a sweet clip of her little girl sleeping. 'You are my everything. All the heartache, all the loss, I would do it all again if I knew you were coming. You are perfect Frankie, simply perfect, Six days old today,' she wrote. Holly, who is now a personal trainer and author of fitness books, has documented her fertility journey. When she announced her pregnancy in July, Holly spoke of her 'story so far'. She wrote: 'My first two pregnancies happened naturally & pretty quickly but after nearly a year of trying after my second loss we decided to look into IVF (I was 40 at the time). 'After months of waiting for appointments I was finally ready to start, the drugs were in the fridge & mentally I had prepared myself. Pregnancy: Holly, who is now a personal trainer and author of fitness books, has documented her fertility journey 'That month my period was late & I found out I was pregnant, literally couldnt believe it! But it was very short lived & I had a miscarriage at 6 weeks.' Holly said she was devastated by the loss and the thought of having to start over gain but decided to keep on going. She continued: 'So the next month my IVF drugs still ready to go, I waited for my period, the day it was due I did a pregnancy test, it said I was pregnant, WTF?! Again?! 'Sebastian & I looked at other in disbelief, it surly must be wrong but it wasnt. At 6 weeks I had a very early scan & it confirmed I was pregnant (too early to see a heartbeat but I was definitely pregnant).' Holly described how they decided not to celebrate and she soon became fearful any slight discomfort meant she was having a miscarriage. She said: 'Every day that passed felt like an eternity. At 8 weeks I started to bleed, I couldnt believe it, not again! We tried to stay calm. 'But then a large blood clot came & I burst into tears. The only difference this time was that I didnt have any cramps at all. 'I said to Sebastian I dont know if I can do this again, every time it chips away at me me a tiny bit more, I felt so deflated & exhausted. 'We had to wait the whole weekend before seeing the doctor & having a scan. When they said I was still pregnant I burst into tears, this was honestly not the news I was expecting. 'Sebastian wasnt allowed in with me so I ran to the car screaming "were still pregnant!". I think that was the first moment for both of us that it started to feel real.' Holly and Sebastian married on 21 June 2019 on a beach in Sweden. He angered his neighbours in Cornwall during the first national lockdown after apparently flouting government guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic. And Gordon Ramsay was back at his controversial 4.4million Cornish abode, showing off stunning views of the sunrise from a balcony on Thursday morning. The celebrity chef, 55, took to Instagram to share a story of the spectacular moment the sun appeared captioning the video 'Good morning sunshine'. Purple haze: Gordon Ramsay was back at his controversial 4.4million Cornish abode, showing off stunning views of the sunrise from a balcony on Thursday morning Gordon caused fury among Cornish locals after relocating during the coronavirus crisis, despite the Government urging Britons not to travel from hotspots to the countryside. He was heavily criticised by neighbours who had claimed that he had 'brought the virus with him' after moving his family to the mansion. However, the chef and his family had retreated to their second home at the start of the lockdown, which was not against the government guidelines at the time. The chef was accompanied in Cornwall in the first lockdown by his wife Tana and three of their five children - Jack, Tilly, and Oscar. Life's a beach: Gordon (pictured in the Maldives over Christmas) caused fury among Cornish locals after relocating during the coronavirus crisis Tranquil: However, the chef and his family had retreated to their second home at the start of the lockdown, which was not against the government guidelines at the time The TV personality has recently returned to the UK following a family holiday to the Maldives during the festive period. Gordon treated his followers to a look at his age-defying physique while larking around on the beach with son Oscar, two. As he enjoyed the jaunt along the shore, he went shirtless and was sporting a pair of bright blue shorts while playing around with his youngest. Beach views: He was heavily criticised by neighbours who had claimed that he had 'brought the virus with him' after moving his family to the mansion (stock image) Gordon looked incredibly ripped in a trio of body-baring images, which made the most of his sculpted abs and lean body. He added a caption on the shot reading: 'Little Man Big Man Happy New Year lots of love from all the Ramsay', in a nod to his family on the vacation. The short-tempered TV chef shares Oscar with wife Tana, 47, as well as Megan, 23, twins Holly and Jack, 22, and Tilly, 20. The couple have been married since 1996. She jetted to Mexico to ring in the New Year with husband Mark Wright. And Michelle Keegan set temperatures soaring as she took to her Instagram stories on Wednesday to share a sizzling bikini-clad snap. The actress, 34, showcased her incredible figure in a strapless lilac bikini top and ripped denim jeans while enjoying a cocktail- after breaking her Dry January ban. Beach babe: Michelle Keegan set temperatures soaring as she took to her Instagram stories on Wednesday to share a sizzling bikini-clad snap from Mexico Michelle had certainly caught the sun as she showed off her bronzed tan in black ripped denim shorts and the busty bikini top. The former Coronation Street star donned a pair of sunglasses while her dark hair fell down her back in beachy waves. Michelle showed she was not afraid to indulge while on holiday as she later uploaded a snap of her lunch as she tucked into a creamy pasta dish with fresh herbs and onion. Delicious: Michelle showed she was not afraid to indulge while on holiday as she later uploaded a snap of her lunch as she tucked into a creamy pasta dish with fresh herbs Idyllic break: The screen star jetted to Mexico to ring in the New Year with husband Mark Wright It comes after Michelle delved into a self-help book Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson. In snap shared on Instagram, the former Coronation Street actress leafed through the book, which is a follow-up to The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck, with both books working to tackle anxiety and finding an 'honest version of one's self'. As well as her self-reflection through literature, Michelle also revealed she ditched Dry January within just a matter days on the trip with her husband Mark as she was seen sipping a cocktail during her reading session. 'It was fun while it lasted!' It comes after Michelle delved into a self-help book Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson Michelle relaxed on a sun lounger with a bright blue cocktail and captioned her post: 'Dear New Years Resolution, Well it was fun while it lasted. Sincerely January 4th.' The star relaxed in a copper tube top and bikini bottoms while wearing a straw hat. The synopsis of the book is: 'Everything Is F**ked by Mark Manson is a book about hope and how we shouldn't be too dependent on it... Reading up: In snap shared on Instagram, the former Coronation Street actress, leafed through the book, which is a follow-up to The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck Stunner: As well as her self-reflection through literature, Michelle also revealed that she ditched Dry January within just a matter days on the trip Looking good: Michelle gave a glimpse of her washboard abs earlier in the day as she continued to document her holiday to Mexico with Mark 'Rather, we should create a world in which hope is not a means to an end but an end in itself. Hope should stem from appreciating our own insignificance in the grand scale of things however uncomfortable the truth is. Michelle's post came after she gave her followers a glimpse at her washboard abs on Tuesday as she continued to document her sun-soaked holiday while enjoying a spicy margarita. The screen star looked sensational in a brown bandeau top and beige shorts as she chilled out at her hotel. In a short clip shared to her Instagram stories, the Our Girl star penned: 'Not lying my blood is now made up of 80% spicy margarita.' Her other post saw her in a patterned blue crop top and matching shorts as she posed and pouted next to a metal statue on a bench. They have chartered Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarellis yacht Vava II for their New Year's break in St Barts. But Leonardo DiCaprio and girlfriend Camila Morrone were on dry land on Wednesday as they explored the town and strolled along the beach. The actor, 47, and Camilla, 24, were joined by Lukas Haas before going shopping with the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful. Holiday: Leonardo DiCaprio and girlfriend Camila Morrone were on dry land on Wednesday as they explored the town and strolled along the beach during their St.Barts trip Camila cut an elegant figure in a long white maxi beach dress. Featuring in a gathered waist, the skirt fell out in soft pleats. The actress teamed the look with a simple gold necklace, large sunglasses and a Saint Laurent bag. She wore her brunette locks in a centre-parting and showcased her natural beauty with a minimal make-up look. Stunning: Camila cut an elegant figure in a long white maxi beach dress. Featuring in a gathered waist, the skirt fell out in soft pleats Getaway: They have chartered Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarellis yacht Vava II for their New Year's break in St Barts Outing: The actor, 47, and Camila, 24, were joined by Lukas Haas, 45, before going shopping by the editor-in-chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful Leo, meanwhile, was casually-clad in a blue-grey T-shirt, shorts and wore a face mask for his beach walk. The group were seen making their way into town for a spot of shopping. And the afternoon seemed to be successful as Camilla left carrying a large bag of goodies. Gorgeous: Camila wore her brunette locks in a centre-parting and showcased her natural beauty with a minimal make-up look Designer garb: The actress teamed the look with a simple gold necklace, large sunglasses and a Saint Laurent bag Low-key look: Leo, meanwhile, was casually-clad in a blue-grey T-shirt, shorts and wore a face mask for his beach walk Afternoon out: The group were seen making their way into town for a spot of shopping The couple then boarded their small boat to take them to the superyacht. Camila wrapped her arm around Leo as they set sail. They have had a whirlwind week on the Caribbean Sea where he joined Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, Drake, and a slew of famous faces for New Year's Eve celebrations. Camilla was most recently spotted filming Daisy Jones & The Six in Los Angeles last month, while Leonardo's film Don't Look Up was recently released on Netflix. The couple are famously private about their relationship having dated for more than four years. Shop till you drop! And the afternoon seemed to be successful as Camila left carrying a large bag of goodies Busy schedule: Camila was most recently spotted filming Daisy Jones & The Six in Los Angeles last month Girls' trip: She chatted to a friend as she walked through the town Leo reportedly partied the night away at club king Richie Akiva, Ernesto Bertarelli, and Darren Dzienciols New Years Eve bash, according to Page Six. Rapper Meek Mill performed before YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul got behind the decks for a song or two. 'Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Dua Lipa, Mike Tyson, Scott Disick, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tik Tok star Dixie DAmelio and WhatsApp founder Jan Koum,' were also reportedly in attendance at the star-studded soiree which had a 500-person guest list. 'It was mayhem,' a source said. 'It went till 9 or 10 in the morning. Everybody on the island tried to come. Anyone who is anyone was there.' Smitten: The couple then boarded their small boat to take them to the superyacht. Camilla wrapped her arm around Leo as they set sail Private: The couple are famously private about their relationship having dated for more than four years Wow: They have had a whirlwind week on the Caribbean Sea where he joined Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and a slew of famous faces for New Year's Eve celebrations Daniel Craig's explosive final scene as James Bond almost didn't happen as he and director Cary Joji Fukunaga revealed the film originally had a different ending. In the film, Bond goes out in a blaze of glory as he calls in a missile strike in order to defeat Saffin (Rami Malek) and save his love interest Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) and their daughter Mathilde. When the missiles hit, Madeleine and Mathilda are both saved but Bond dies. Alternat ending: Daniel Craig's explosive final scene as James Bond almost didn't happen as he and director Cary Joji Fukunaga revealed the film originally had a different ending In an interview with Variety, Daniel and Cary revealed that Bond's death in the film was almost from a stray bullet. Cary said: 'A bullet, like an anonymous bullet, I remember that one. But it just seemed like a conventional weapons death didn't seem appropriate. 'Given how much he had been able to escape from everything else, the fact that it would just be a bullet that always had your name on it from the beginning, while realistic, for Bond it had to be something even beyond thatlike the impossible, impossible situation.' Daniel added: 'I think the important thing was that we all try to create a situation of tragedy. The idea that there's an insurmountable problem, there's a greater force at play, and there's nothing anybody can do about it.' Plot: In the film, Bond goes out in a blaze of glory as he calls in a missile strike in order to defeat Saffin (Rami Malek) and save his love interest Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) and their daughter Mathilde (Daniel pictured with director Cary Joji Fukunaga) No Time To Die received positive reviews from critics, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes saying the film 'concludes Daniel Craig's franchise tenure in satisfying style'. Meanwhile, the battle to replace Daniel as 007 is 'wide open', according to MGM boss Pamela Abdy. Pamela, who serves as MGM's President of Motion Pictures, has revealed that the studio has had 'preliminary conversations' with 007 producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson about who will replace Daniel who bowed out as Bond in the recent flick No Time To Die. 'It's wide open. We've had very early preliminary conversations with Barbara and Michael, but we wanted Daniel to have his last hurrah,' she told The Hollywood Reporter. Change: In an interview with Variety, Daniel and Cary revealed that Bond's death in the film was almost from a stray bullet (pictured with co-star Lea Seydoux) Idris Elba has been tipped as a potential 007 but it was recently reported that the Luther star was in 'early' talks to play a Bond villain. A source told The Sun newspaper: 'Idris has had informal talks with the studio and he has been told there is a role in the next Bond film for him, if he wants it. 'He wont be the title character, but they do recognize the amount of pull and respect he commands, and they want to work with him on a completely original character for the next installment. 'It is still very early days for the conversations but, so far, it looks like it would be the role of a villain.' Moving on: The battle to replace Daniel as James Bond is 'wide open', according to MGM boss Pamela Abdy (Craig pictured September 2021) Idris previously said that he would jump at the chance to play Bond, but he would worry that the public reaction would focus on his ethnicity rather than his skill. The Concrete Cowboy star said: 'James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey. 'Of course, if someone said to me, "Do you want to play James Bond?" I'd be like, "Yeah!" 'That's fascinating to me. But it's not something I've expressed, like, "Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond." You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, "It can't be." And it really turns out to be the color of my skin. Possible replacement: Idris Elba, pictured October 2021, reportedly has a chance to appear in the next Bond movie, but his conversations have been geared more to a villain role 'Then if I get it and it didn't work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That's a difficult position to put myself into when I don't need to.' Myriad other actors have been rumored to be in contention for the role though its unclear how true these rumors are. Tom Hardy may be up for the role, it has been claimed. Bridgerton's Rege-Jean Page and Lashana Lynch, who played a major role in last Bond movie, might also take on the iconic mantle. She's awaiting the birth of her second child, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is squeezing in plenty of fun with her son Jack, four, before the new arrival. The model and actress, 34, shared a string of Instagram snaps from her recent jet-setting with Jack and her partner Jason Statham, 54. Rosie showed off her bump in a series of chic looks as the family spent time in London, the UK countryside and a tropical location. Expecting: She's awaiting the birth of her second child, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is squeezing in plenty of fun with her son Jack, four, before the new arrival Uploading her favourite memories to Instagram, Rosie looked gorgeous in her holiday wardrobe, wowing in a ribbed grey midi dress and another skin-tight nude number. The proud mum also shared snaps of her son Jack. One showed the little boy being welcomed on board a private jet, while another saw him enjoying his Spider-Man comics while taking to the skies. While she didn't share where the family were headed, Rosie showed off a stunning beachside location in another snap, showing Jack exploring among palm trees. Come fly with me: The model and actress, 34, shared a string of Instagram snaps from her recent jet-setting with Jack and her partner Jason Statham, 54 This is the life! The proud mum also shared snaps of her son Jack. One showed the little boy enjoying his Spider-Man comics while taking to the skies The little boy also posed in a bed at the luxury resort, with petals and leaves spelling out 'Baby Moon' on the bedspread. Another babymoon treat was Rosie's morning coffee, with the staff adding a picture of Rosie and Jason into the foam. Rosie announced that she was expecting her second child with partner Jason in August. Chic: Rosie showed off her bump in a series of chic looks as the family spent time in London, the UK countryside and a tropical location Holiday: While she didn't share where the family were headed, Rosie showed off a stunning beachside location in another snap, showing Jack exploring among palm trees Family time: The little boy also posed in a bed at the luxury resort, with petals and leaves spelling out 'Baby Moon' on the bedspread Sweet: Another babymoon treat was Rosie's morning coffee, with the staff adding a picture of Rosie and Jason into the foam Rosie, has been engaged to actor Jason since 2016, with the couple welcoming their first child, Jack, in 2017. It's been a busy holiday period for the family, as on Sunday the model shared more photos from a getaway to the UK countryside. The former Victoria's Secret model shared a sweet snap of little Jack as she showcased her blossoming baby bump beneath her coat. Baby on board: Rosie announced that she was expecting her second child with partner Jason in August Stunning: The blonde beauty showed off her bump in a chic skintight dress in one snap Family: Pregnant Rosie gave another rare glimpse into her family life as she headed out on a country adventure with her son Jack on Monday Her son posed beside her in a black padded coat and Hunter wellington boots as they for an adventure in their Range Rover. In another, the tot could be seen he gazed out at the UK from above as they took a helicopter ride. Alongside the update she penned: 'Heres looking at you 2022! Wishing everyone a very happy new year!' Sweet: Her son posed beside her in a black padded coat and Hunter wellington boots as they for an adventure in their Range Rover Wow! In another, the tot could be seen he gazed out at the UK from above as they took a helicopter ride Home life: Alongside the update she penned: 'Heres looking at you 2022! Wishing everyone a very happy new year!' Growing: Rosie is currently expecting her second child with Jason Statham, 54 She displayed her blooming baby bump as she showcased her very chic winter wardrobe in a series of mirror selfies, last week. The model, took to Instagram to share the sophisticated images from her luxurious home dressing room. Rosie posted a selection of both evening outfits and more casual attire as she photographed her outfits of the day, for a range of occasions. He shot to fame when he entered the Love Island villa in 2019 and was paired up with Lucie Donlan. And Joe Garratt, 23, looked unrecognisable after his 3 stone weight loss transformation as he revealed he is trying to tighten loose skin under his chin. The reality star took to Instagram on Thursday to show off his chiseled abs and muscular arms captioning the reel 'It's all about Actions > Words. Let's go smash 2022 and make it ours!' Joe Garratt, 23, looked unrecognisable after his 3st weight loss journey as he revealed he is trying to tighten loose skin under his chin (pictured before, left, and after, right) He revealed he originally put on the weight after knee surgery from playing rugby at a semi-professional level. When he recovered from the injury, Joe lost 19kg eating cleanly and hitting the gym. 'I used to be a lot bigger and dropped a lot of weight quite quickly through training and eating healthy,' Joe told the Sun. 'So always had a bit of loose skin under my chin, Im just trying to tighten that really. 'Plus I think its good to take care of your skin, its the biggest organ on our body at the end of the day!' In May 2020, Joe showcased his incredible weight loss transformation with an impressive video montage. Toned: He revealed he originally put on the weight after knee surgery from playing rugby at a semi-professional level Transformed: The first image saw Joe smiling at the camera as a young teenager in a white shirt and with shorter hair The first image saw Joe smiling at the camera as a young teenager in a white shirt and with shorter hair. He then shared a collection of snaps showcasing his weight loss with the final photos displaying his toned torso. Referencing the term 'glow up', Joe uploaded the montage video alongside a caption that read: 'You could say I had a "Joe Up".' And fellow Love Islanders including Ched Uzor, Joanna Chimonides and Eva Gale were quick to show their support. Active: He then shared a collection of snaps showcasing his weight loss with the final photos displaying his toned torso Appreciation: And fellow Love Islanders including Ched Uzor, Joanna Chimonides and Eva Gale were quick to show their support on the post The former Love Island star separated from American model Desiree Schlotz last April due to the distance between them, as Joe returned to the UK after the pair had been together in Dubai. A source told The Sun: 'Over lockdown Joe went to America to be with Desiree and was there a few months and then went Dubai together again for a couple of months. 'But Joe had to return back to UK for work and Desiree to America for work and just being a long distance relationship wasn't going to work. It's amicable and they're going to stay friends.' Meghan King talked about finding love once again after splitting from Joe Biden's nephew, Cuffe Biden Owens, following two-month marriage. 'Let's raise our vibe in 2022, team,' she wrote on Instagram. 'I need to remember love can be found in unexpected places... including from within. I know my heart is incredibly right for me.' King announced the end of her marriage to Cuffe in December nearly two months after the couple married in the backyard of his childhood home in Pennsylvania, and only months after initially meeting online. Staying optimistic: Meghan King talked about finding love once again after splitting with Joe Biden's nephew, Cuffe Biden Owens, following two-month marriage Megan was feeling introspective as she shared a quote from Yung Pueblo: 'There is no shortage of people who you will find physically beautiful, but finding someone who matches the maturity you are looking for, the dedication to grow, the humor that brings you comfort, and someone who just feels right in your arms and life is incredibly unique.' Just before the new year, Meghan thanked her one million followers for standing by her side as she navigated new terrain after announcing the end of her marriage. 'Thank you for all your messages,' she wrote. 'Thank you for holding space for me. Thank you for lifting me up. You all are good people and I appreciate you.' King seemed to be in much better spirits after she broke her silence and admitted she was 'rattled' following the end of her marriage to the LA-based attorney who she met online only months before. Kind: Meghan King thanked her one million followers on Instagram for standing by her side as she navigated new terrain after announcing the end of her marriage to her husband of two months, Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens Mom mode: Meghan went to Hutchinson Island, Florida with her three kids after revealing the end of her third marriage; seen on Instagram, with her daughter in a Dippin Daisys swimsuit Sources told E! News that their split 'had to do with distance' as he is an Los Angeles-based attorney while she raises her three kids across the country in St. Louis, Missouri. 'Meghan cannot uproot the children from where they currently live and he lives and works in California,' the insider revealed. She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor. 'It was not a relationship rooted in that much practicality,' the insider said. 'She had hopes of being able to spend more time in California but the kids cannot just be moved.' But King completely shot down the idea that distance played into their issues when she told Page Six: 'Cuffe lived with me. We didnt have any distance.' Over: Meghan King broke her silence on Monday and confirmed she had split from her husband of two months, Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens She added: 'We lived together every day since the day we met. There was no Cali/MO distance. There was zero long distance whatsoever.' Her long-time Real Housewives of Orange County nemesis, Kelly Dodd, took no time trolling the mother-of-three as she paid up on a contest from October where she asked her podcast listeners to predict the end of Meghan's relationship. Dodd, 46, and her husband, former Fox correspondent Rick Leventhal, said they predicted the union would last less than a year, and hosted an 'impromptu contest' where one lucky Patreon subscriber guessed the correct time frame. Yikes: Kelly Dodd took no time trolling the mother-of-three as she paid up on a contest from October where she asked her podcast listeners to predict the end of Meghan's relationship; seen in 2019 'One of them wrote us with the winning guess of "less than six months." We're sending her a 'Rick & Kelly Unmasked' hat,' the couple, who shared a wedding anniversary with Meghan and Cuffe, said in a joint statement to Page Six. They added: 'As bad as we feel for her, neither of us is surprised. 'We actually talked about her nuptials on our Rick & Kelly Unmasked Podcast right after she tied the knot in October, and both of us predicted it wouldn't last, because of how new their relationship was and how short their engagement was.' Kelly was famously fired from the franchise earlier this year after a host of controversial issues including toasting to a super-spreader event with her friends at a bar during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a Drunk Wives Matter hat at her bridal shower and claiming in April 2020 that the pandemic was 'Gods way of thinning the herd' as she argued with an Instagram user who called her out after taking a cross-country flight. Nothing to see here: Kelly was famously fired from the franchise earlier this year after a host of controversial issues including toasting to a super-spreader event with her friends at a bar during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a Drunk Wives Matter hat at her bridal shower and claiming in April 2020 that the pandemic was 'Gods way of thinning the herd' as she argued with an Instagram user who called her out after taking a cross-country flight Her issues with Meghan clearly carried over from her Housewives days as she previously told King that her ex-husband Jim Edmond's affair with the nanny in 2019 was 'karma' and further clarified in an Instagram comment: 'I am sorry but ladies if you marry a man that has a history of cheating and a professional athlete your chances of him being faithful is very slim .. come on!!' Meghan King confirmed the end of her marriage to Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens in a lengthy Instagram story shared on Monday morning, just two months after the couple married in a backyard ceremony attended by the President and First Lady. The former Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted to being 'rattled' over their failed union as she shared a series remarks on social media days after it was revealed they split. 'I'm rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating,' she wrote. 'This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out. I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams.' 'I'm rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating,' she wrote. 'This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out. I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams' Tough time: The former Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted to being 'rattled' over their failed union as she shared a series remarks on social media days after it was revealed they split Family: She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor Sources told E! News that their split 'had to do with distance' as he is an Los Angeles-based attorney while she raises her three kids across the country in St. Louis, Missouri. 'Meghan cannot uproot the children from where they currently live and he lives and works in California,' the insider revealed. She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor. 'It was not a relationship rooted in that much practicality,' the insider said. 'She had hopes of being able to spend more time in California but the kids cannot just be moved.' But King completely shot down the idea that distance played into their issues when she told Page Six: 'Cuffe lived with me. We didnt have any distance.' She added: 'We lived together every day since the day we met. There was no Cali/MO distance. There was zero long distance whatsoever.' Weeks before their split, Meghan wrote online that the couple had slipped away for a local hotel stay to reconnect after hitting a rough patch. 'We feel like weve been married for a million years (thanks to marrying later in life and with a lot of history and, well, kids) so a two month anniversary staycation was called for,' she wrote. King had high hopes that the staycation would 'do a new marriage good,' adding, 'Please, give us more good marriage tips!' And Just Like That actress Nicole Ari Parker is thrilled about how woke HBO Max's 10-episode continuation is - thanks to the writing staff adding women of color Samantha Irby, Keli Goff, and Rachna Fruchbom. 'My happiness is that [And Just Like That creator] Michael Patrick King and the writers, they diversified the writers' room,' the 51-year-old SAG Award nominee told People on Thursday. 'The fact that they were introducing characters of color two African-American women [including Karen Pittman], an Indian actress (who's one of my friends of 30 years, Sarita Choudhury), and Sara Ramirez... 'They did it right': And Just Like That actress Nicole Ari Parker (R, pictured August 16) is thrilled about how woke HBO Max's 10-episode continuation is - thanks to the writing staff adding women of color Samantha Irby, Keli Goff, and Rachna Fruchbom 'So, they did it right. They were staying on brand with the comedy format, but they let [Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte] stumble over the absence of these people in their lives.' When Nicole's character - socialite Lisa Todd Wexley - invites Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) and her husband Harry (Evan Handler) to dinner, they wind up being the only Caucasians in the room. '[The creators] gave the people of color the same kind of awkwardness,' noted Parker, who called the leading ladies 'warm and kind and generous and fly and amazing.' The 51-year-old SAG Award nominee told People on Thursday: 'My happiness is that [And Just Like That creator] Michael Patrick King and the writers, they diversified the writers' room' (pictured December 9) Nicole added: 'The fact that they were introducing characters of color two African-American women [including Karen Pittman (2-L, pictured December 13)], an Indian actress (who's one of my friends of 30 years, Sarita Choudhury (M), and Sara Ramirez (L). It wasn't just, they got a black friend and we're watching them deal. They created characters who had full lives' '[The creators] gave the people of color the same kind of awkwardness': When Parker's character - socialite Lisa Todd Wexley - invites Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) and her husband Harry (Evan Handler) to dinner, they wind up being the only Caucasians in the room 'It wasn't just, they got a black friend and we're watching them deal. They created characters who had full lives. We're not just crossing [the] frame. 'We've got husbands, and girlfriends, and boyfriends, and kids, and mother-in-laws, and we're adjusting to the new friendships too. And that is a slight detail that I really appreciate, that it goes both ways.' As for diversity in Sex and the City, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) dated music mogul Chivon (Asio Highsmith) in season three, but his sister Adeena (Sundra Oakley) fought her because she was white. 'I don't see color - I see conquests': As for diversity in Sex and the City, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) dated music mogul Chivon (Asio Highsmith) in season three, but his sister Adeena (Sundra Oakley) fought her because she was white 'He said "I love you" on a cookie': In season six, Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) dated Dr. Robert Leeds (Blair Underwood) for five episodes until she decided to go back to her babydaddy Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) In season six, Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) dated Dr. Robert Leeds (Blair Underwood) for five episodes until she decided to go back to her babydaddy Steve Brady (David Eigenberg). And Brazilian actress Sonia Braga had a three-episode arc as artist Maria Diega Reyes in the fourth season, who's too clingy in her relationship with Samantha. Sadly, an Asian man has yet to be cast as a love interest for Carrie and her gang and - aside from Lucy Liu - Asian actors have mostly been relegated to playing doctors, servers, and manicurists. 'Do you wanna see fireworks?!' Brazilian actress Sonia Braga had a three-episode arc as artist Maria Diega Reyes in the fourth season, who's too clingy in her relationship with Samantha She was fined 4,500 last year for trying to flee Barbados when her boyfriend tested positive for Covid. And, while many celebrities have jetted to the Caribbean island to catch some January sun, Zara Holland, 26, is enjoying an alternative holiday destination in Dubai this year. The former Love Island star took a break from the desert heat as she stripped down to a hot pink bikini for a dip a suspended skypool, sharing a snap to Instagram on Thursday. Sizzling hot: Zara Holland, 26, took a break from the desert heat in Dubai as she stripped down to a hot pink bikini for a dip in the pool, sharing a picture on Instagram on Thursday Zara showed off her fit physique in the brightly coloured two-piece which featured chain detail on the straps and bows to the side of the bottoms. Gold pendants hung down from her top, with the influencer sporting a healthy glow after relaxing in the sun. Television personality Zara, who rose to fame on the second series of Love Island, could be seen sipping an orange cocktail as she cooled down in the crystal clear water, with the azure Persian Gulf and city skyscrapers visible behind her. Dreamy days: Zara could be seen sipping an orange cocktail as she cooled down in the crystal clear water, with the azure Persian Gulf and city skyscrapers visible behind her She captioned her post: 'Dreamy Pool Dayzzz @auraskypooldubai #dubai #dubailife #auraskypooldubai.' Zara and her partner Elliot Love, 31, were intercepted at Barbados airport last year and faced a jail sentence of up to a year, before both being let off with fines. In early January, Zara was believed to have returned home without her partner, when she was seen sat alone before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to Manchester at the Grantley Adams International Airport. Fined: Zara and her partner Elliot Love, 31, were intercepted at Barbados airport last year and faced jail sentences of up to a year, before both being let off with fines during the pandemic Meanwhile, Elliot was forced to stay in the island's mosquito-ridden Paragon Isolation Centre until he was clear of the virus and had to pay a heavy fine to the country. Following the offence Love managed to escape jail and received a reduced fine after his lawyer argued he was a 'simple guy', who owned a small demolition company and worked for 450-a week. Elliot was fined 1,400 less than his famous girlfriend - despite him being prepared to get on a packed holiday jet while infected with the virus. Zara was ordered to pay a heftier fine before fleeing the country due to her compliance in the offence, despite not testing positive herself. The former Miss England jetted back to Britain just hours after she was ordered to pay her fine or go to jail for nine months for breaching the island's tough Covid rules. Meanwhile, Zara had a happier end to the 2021 following her rocky start, enjoying Christmas with her loved ones. Sharing a family snap on Instagram last month, the reality star wrote: 'Merry Christmas! Family is everything #christmas #christmasday.' Sarah Michelle Gellar shared a collection of snaps that had been taken during her recent family vacation in Hawaii to her Instagram account on Thursday. The 44-year-old actress appeared to enjoy her time with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr, and children Charlotte Grace and Rocky, aged 11 and nine, whose faces were obscured in all of the shots. She also wrote a short message in her post's caption that read: 'Vacation photo dump (also know as me sitting at home trying not to get covid and looking longingly through pictures).' Looking back: Sarah Michelle Gellar shared a collection of snaps that had been taken during her recent family vacation in Hawaii to her Instagram account on Thursday Gellar's first shot showed her spending time with her husband and children while spending time at a party on a picturesque cliff overlooking the ocean. She also included another picture of her family taking in a majestic sunset that illuminated much of the sea behind them. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star made sure to share a selfie in which she was seen wearing a stylish blue swimsuit. The actress made a point of capturing her backside, which appeared in a bathroom mirror, in her shot. Fashionable: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star made sure to share a selfie in which she was seen wearing a stylish blue swimsuit Better together: Gellar and Prinze were then pictured enjoying the company of one of their friends as they sat down for a meal on a secluded beach Gellar and Prinze, 45, were then pictured enjoying the company of one of their friends as they sat down for a meal on a secluded beach. Rocky was also seen getting a close look at a turtle as he spent time in the fresh tropical climate. The Scooby-Doo star appeared to be making the most of her time with her friends while they spent time with each other on a set of rocks that shot out into the ocean. The performer's final shot showed her and Prinze happily attending a New Year's Eve party. Animal lover: Rocky was also seen getting a close look at a turtle as he spent time in the fresh tropical climate The actress also sported an article of festive headwear during the celebration. Gellar and her husband have made a point of hiding their kids from the eyes of the media over the past few years. The actress recently spoke about her decision to keep her children away from social media during an interview with Us Weekly, where she expressed that they were not ready to handle the implications of a public profile. 'You have to be OK with what you're putting out there and be able to stand behind that. I just don't think they're at an age where they can really comprehend that,' she said. Keeping them safe: The actress recently spoke about her decision to keep her children away from social media during an interview with Us Weekly Gellar noted that, although Charlotte is beginning to take an interest in social media, she will not allow her child to start any accounts for the time being. 'My daughter is definitely curious, but we've explained that these are our rules and different families have different rules,' she stated. The actress made a point of expressing that her daughter understands that the implications of her posts may make a difference in her future endeavors. 'One day, I'll have to cross that bridge. I've told [Charlotte] it will have to be a public account because you have to be held accountable,' she said. Hannah Elizabeth insisted she 'couldn't be happier' as she showed of the painful-looking after effects of her rhinoplasty on Instagram on Thursday. The former Love Island star, 31, jetted to Turkey this week to have her nose done and posted pictures of herself with bruised skin and bandages on her face. Despite still recovering from the procedure, Hannah said she 'couldn't be happier from what I can already see' with her new 'pixie nose', saying with her 'nose bestie' who appeared to have had the same surgery in a video: 'New year, new nose b******.' New nose: Hannah Elizabeth insisted she 'couldn't be happier' as she showed of the painful-looking after effects of her rhinoplasty on Instagram on Thursday (left this week, right 2021) Sharing a picture of herself as she lay in bed after going under the knife, Hannah wrote: 'Day after op. Recovering from my rhinoplasty with @comfortzonesurgeryofficial @serenecosmetic_. 'Being looked after back at the villa resting up. Cant wait to see my end results @prettylittlething. #surgery #comfortzone #serenecosmetic_ #buttonnose #dollnose #barbie #rhinoplasty.' She added in a video: 'This is the day after. I'm back at the villa and I'm feeling a lot better. Me and Joel are just going to have a rest day today. In recovery: The former Love Island star, 31, jetted to Turkey this week to have her nose done and posted pictures of herself with bruised skin and bandages on her face Changing faces: Hannah said she 'couldn't be happier from what I can already see' with her new 'pixie nose' Resting up: Hannah said: 'I'm a bit bunged up and my eyes are black but there's no pain, I'm just a bit uncomfortable so I'm just going to have a day in bed' 'I'm a bit bunged up and my eyes are black but there's no pain, I'm just a bit uncomfortable so I'm just going to have a day in bed.' Comparing rhinoplasty with other procedures she's had, Hannah said: 'When I've had body surgery I can get up and walk around fine. I'm not in a lot of pain at all, it's just more discomfort and I just feel drowsy today so I'm just in and out of sleep.' Before flying out to Turkey, Hannah had booked in to have her nose job and a lip lift but the doctor told her it wasn't possible to go ahead with both ops because her lip was 'already as turned up as it could be', with Hannah saying: 'I'm so glad he was honest with me.' Under the knife: Before flying out to Turkey, Hannah had booked in to have her nose job and a lip lift Altering plans: However, the doctor told her it wasn't possible to go ahead with the lip lift because her lip was 'already as turned up as it could be' Hannah wanted to get her nose altered as she felt it looked bent to the right side. She said: 'Actually, when the doctor cut my nose open, he said it was a lot more crooked inside than we originally thought, so I ended up having to have quite a bigger op than we thought. 'I've actually got my nose stuffed at the minute. It's like a bit of a scaffolding to hold my nose into the new position. I will have to go to hospital where they will pull that out.' Fame game: Hannah splashed out 15,000 on two boob jobs, lip fillers and Botox before she rose to fame on the first series of Love Island in 2015 Romance: She finished runner-up with then-boyfriend Jon Clark, with the couple being the first pair to have sex in the villa Hannah splashed out 15,000 on two boob jobs, lip fillers and Botox before she rose to fame on the first series of Love Island in 2015, on which she finished runner-up with then-boyfriend Jon Clark. They were first couple to have sex in the villa, with Hannah saying at the time: 'Ive met the love of my life and winning Love Island would just help start our future together.' However, three months after the show they went their separate ways with Jon telling OK! magazine: 'I've got no animosity towards the girl, the break-up hasn't been good. Moving on: Hannah and Jon went their separate just three months after their series of Love Island ended 'We had arguments, there are things that happened between us, on both sides, not just mine. 'The arguing was getting too much for me and we just weren't working anymore.' She has since welcomed two-year-old son Reggie with YouTuber George Andreeti and she is now loved-up with former The Only Way Is Essex star Frank Major. Her second Spanish-language album is set to be released later this month. And just weeks before the much anticipated album drop, Christina Aguilera posed for Ocean Drive magazine's cover story. The pop star, 41, wowed in a glittering eye mask with a glamour black sheer dress for the cover, as she revealed her most prized possessions include her Latin Grammy Award and her Disney Legend Award. Iconic: Her second Spanish-language album is set to be released later this month. And just weeks before the much anticipated album drop, Christina Aguilera posed for Ocean Drive magazine's cover story The stunner wowed in a sheer black lace dress with a glittering eye mask, black lipstick and long red tresses. Christina was named a Disney Legend in summer 2019 while at the kick-off ceremony for the D23 Expo, Disney's biennial fan convention. A Disney Legend is someone who has 'made remarkable contributions to the Disney Legacy.' Christina started her career as a Mouseketeer during the Micky Mouse Club in the 1990s. Star: The pop star, 41, wowed in a glittering eye mask with a glamour black sheer dress for the cover, as she revealed her most prized possessions include her Latin Grammy Award and her Disney Legend Award She sang on the Mulan soundtrack as well for the animated film as well as the live-action version. Christina won the Latin Grammy in 2001 for her 2000 album Mi Reflejo - which was her first Spanish-language album. The mother of two also said she can't live without her kids: son Max, 13, with ex-husband Jordan Bratman, and daughter Summer, seven, with fiance Matthew Rutler. The star said: 'They are the most prized part of my life.' She revealed one of her favorite things to do is play video games with them, specifically Mario Kart: 'I know it's not the most unique thing, but it's something unexpected that I truly love.' Disney Legend: Christina was named a Disney Legend in summer 2019 while at the kick-off ceremony for the D23 Expo, Disney's biennial fan convention; pictured August 23, 2019 in Anaheim, California at the D23 Disney Legends event at Anaheim Convention Throwback: Christina won the Latin Grammy in 2001 for her 2000 album Mi Reflejo - which was her first Spanish-language album She talked about her upcoming Spanish-language album and the album making process. She wrote the album at Sony Latin's Miami writing camp with a group of musicians, songwriters and producers during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. The pop icon revealed that they had a family dinner every Friday until the album was done. 'Something crazy happened there. The chemistry and synergies between us, the storytelling and sharing among such beautiful souls... the Miami flavor - it was indescribable. We had a family dinner every Friday night, and by the last dinner, we realized - holy s**t, we have an album!' the star told the outlet. Christina's first single of the album, Pa' Mis Muchachas with Becky G, Nathy Peluso and Nicki Nicole, was actually the first song they created during the writing sessions. 'All three of those women are role models and represent strength and Latina sisterhood. I couldn't have imagined better collaborators for this track,' she told the magazine. They released the album at the end of 2021 and debuted it the 2021 Latin Grammy Music Awards in Las Vegas along with Becky, Nathy and Nicki. January Jones is bringing the heat for her 44th birthday. The Mad Men actress posted to her Instagram on Thursday a series of pictures in a one piece cheetah print swimsuit to thank her fans for all of their birthday wishes. 'Thank you for your birthday wishes yesterday. Ive always been of the theory that Age is But a Feeling,' the Golden Globe nominated actress began her caption. Heating up January: January Jones is bringing the heat for her 44th birthday. The Mad Men actress posted to her Instagram on Thursday a series of pictures in a one piece cheetah print swimsuit to thank her fans for all of their birthday wishes Feeling young: 'Thank you for your birthday wishes yesterday. Ive always been of the theory that Age is But a Feeling,' the Golden Globe winning actress began her caption 'And despite a rough last week or so Im feeling really good, really grateful and around maybe 27 (but wiser ).' In the selfies on her Instagram story, January played Tiesto and Ava Max's song, The Motto, over all three shots. She also re-storied on Wednesday her birthday shout-outs from family and friends. She posted a personal birthday video from InStyle Magazine's editor-in-chief, Laura Brown and her Australian husband, Brandon Borror-Chappell. 'I adore your bday videos the mostest,' January captioned the story. Still 27 at heart: 'And despite a rough last week or so Im feeling really good, really grateful and around maybe 27 (but wiser ),' the 44-year-old captioned her birthday post During Christmas time: January posted a series of pictures of the holiday in a black jumpsuit and knee-high black heeled boots January mentioned in her birthday post that she has had a rough week, but she's feeling better and grateful and feels 27 again. This time, she's just wiser. Recently, January appeared in Netflix's comedy-drama The Politician as a bored, wealthy housewife. She also starred as a former figure skater and single mother in the Netflix series Spinning Out, which concluded after one season. January likes to keep her personal life very private, with rare appearances from her 10-year-old son, Xander Jones. The actress decided to keep Xander's fathers identity from the public. 'Thats my sons business,' she explained to The New York Times in May 2013. 'Its not the publics business.' Denzel Washington is opening up about working with the late Chadwick Boseman, whom he directed in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in a new Variety cover story released on Thursday. The 67-year-old icon revealed that, at the time, no one on set was aware that the late actor was suffering from cancer but Washington had 'wondered if something was wrong.' Chadwick sadly died of colon cancer on August 28, 2020, aged 43, following a quiet, four-year battle with the disease. Legend: Denzel Washington is opening up about working with the late Chadwick Boseman, whom he directed in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in a new Variety cover story released on Thursday 'A man among men. He suffered quietly,' Denzel told Variety of the late star. Washington directed Boseman in the Viola Davis led Ma Rainey's Black Bottom for Netflix. The Black Panther star won posthumous Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role and was nominated for an Oscar. 'He made the movie, and nobody knew. I didn't know. He never said a peep about it,' Denzel recalled. 'He just did his job. I wondered if something was wrong because he seemed weak or tired sometimes. 'A man among men. He suffered quietly,' Denzel told Variety of the late star. 'He made the movie, and nobody knew. I didn't know. He never said a peep about it. He just did his job. I wondered if something was wrong because he seemed weak or tired sometimes.' 'We had no idea, and it was nobody's business. Good for him, keeping it to himself.' Washington has been opting to direct rather than act in his later years and said in his interview that he was often forced in front of the camera in order to get the funds to make the film. 'In fact, I never enjoyed headlining and directing,' he revealed. 'I acted in the movies because I needed to in order to get the money to direct them.' He added of his latest film, A Journal for Jordan: 'So now, for me, this feels like the first film I've directed, because I'm not in it. That's the way I prefer it.' 'We had no idea, and it was nobody's business. Good for him, keeping it to himself,' Washington added of Boseman's quiet battle with cancer The film, starring Michael B. Jordan, is inspired by the true story of First Sgt. Charles Monroe King, who was killed in Iraq in 2006, leaving his partner Dana Canedy to raise their young son Jordan on her own. Canedy, a former New York Times journalist and a Pulitzer Prize winner, originally wrote about a journal that her late fiance prepared for their son during his time in Iraq for her newspaper, before expanding it into a 2008 book, which served as the basis for the new film. While speaking with Religion News, Washington admitted that he would gather his cast and crew in prayer before starting to film for the day. A loss: Chadwick sadly died of colon cancer on August 28, 2020, aged 43, following a quiet, four-year battle with the disease (pictured in 2019) 'The spirit of God is throughout the film. Charles is an angel,' he said of the character played by Jordan. 'Im a believer. Danas a believer. So that was a part of every decision, hopefully, that I tried to make. 'I wanted to please God, and I wanted to please Charles, and I wanted to please Dana,' he added. The film was released Christmas Day in a limited number of theaters and will be followed by a streaming release on Apple TV+ on January 14. A contestant on The Apprentice created a company to launch her own fitness brand just eight days before the new series starts tonight. Mystery surrounds the timing of the decision by Brittany Carter, 25, to incorporate her own company on Wednesday last week. Its launch long after the completion of the filming of the new show, is likely to spark speculation that she could have already won the 12 week series which begins on BBC One tonight. Mystery: Brittany Carter, 25, created a company to launch her own fitness brand just eight days before the new series of The Apprentice But a spokesperson for The Apprentice indicated that the timing of the companys incorporation did not indicate anything about how far Brittany gets in the show. Hotel worker Brittany talked of her dream of winning the programme when she was revealed to be a contestant this week. She disclosed that she wanted to get Lord Sugars 250,000 cash injection for her fledgling business idea to launch the first alcoholic protein drink. Tactical? Mystery surrounds the timing of the decision by Brittany to incorporate her own company on Wednesday last week Companies House records confirm that Brittany is the sole shareholder and only director of her company called Maintain The Gain Ltd which was incorporated on December 29. The spokesperson for The Apprentice did not disclose the reason for the companys formation just days ago. She said in a statement: Some candidates come into the process with an existing business that theyre looking to expand or develop, others with an idea. Facts: Companies House records confirm Brittany is the sole shareholder and only director of her company called Maintain The Gain Ltd which was incorporated on December 29 All candidates are free to continue developing their businesses and business plans after filming, which has no bearing on how far they get in the process or which business Lord Sugar invests in. Brittany also declined to say why her company had just been incorporated. She added in a statement: As this is a question related to the show process, it is best answered by the show. Her LinkedIn profile states that she is currently the multi-property sales manager for two Marriott hotels in Bristol. A sign? Its launch long after the completion of the filming of the new show, is likely to spark speculation that she could have already won the 12 week series She adds on the professional network website: In my spare time, I have a passion for fitness. I am taking my passion to the next level by launching my own fitness brand: Maintain the Gain - the Home of Protein. MTG will be an online e-commerce platform, initially selling protein products and supplements. I have identified a gap in the market, and am also launching the first high-protein alcoholic drink. I am extremely excited to enter the entrepreneurial world and see how far I can elevate Maintain the Gain. Watch this space! The pre-show publicity launch for The Apprentice on Tuesday this week also referred to Brittanys fitness brand without disclosing that her company was less than a week old at the time. Cheers: Ahead of the show, Brittany said she wanted to get Lord Sugars 250,000 cash injection for her fledgling business idea to launch the first alcoholic protein drink It said: Describing herself as kind, sociable, and enthusiastic people person Brittany has a positive outlook on life and is looking for Lord Sugars help launching her business idea for the first alcoholic protein drink. Brittany is ready to learn as much as possible throughout the process and is confident shell make it to the final. Her new website which appears to have been launched since the New Year, describes itself as The Home of Protein and Coming Soon in 2022. It adds: Here at Maintain the Gain, we are on a mission: to be the innovators in protein. 'We are on a mission to bring you new protein products to market. Career girl: Her LinkedIn profile states that she is currently the multi-property sales manager for two Marriott hotels in Bristol We are (sic) a mission to be your new Home of Protein. And our current protein-innovation project: The High-Protein Alcoholic Drink. With a delicious, light, juicey (sic) consistency, there is no compromise on taste. 'Just the added benefits of protein. Brittany has a first class BA (hons) degree in Hotel Management from the Edge Hotel School within the University of Essex. She adds in her LinkedIn profile: I am in the midst of a fantastic career with Marriott International, who have given me the skills and opportunities to explore multiple hotel divisions and take on various projects to maximise my development. Brittany goes on to describe herself as highly skilled at building relationships and rapport with clients, guests and colleagues and as being forward-thinking and pro-active. The Apprentice starts on BBC One at 9pm on January 6. Back on screens: The Apprentice starts on BBC One at 9pm on January 6, with Sir Alan Sugar fronting the show THE APPRENTICE 2022: MEET THE WOMEN AMY ANZEL, 48 Occupation: Owner, beauty brand Lives: London Key information: Starting her beauty business a little later in life, Amy has now found what she really loves doing after previously working in sales, showbiz and jingles. She says: 'I can be nice when I need to be, but when I unfortunately have to be a b***h, I will' BRITTANY CARTER, 25 Occupation: Hotel front of house manager Lives: Bristol Key information: Brittany is looking to break away from her hotel role and launch the first alcoholic protein drink, with Lord Sugar's help. She says: 'My motto for life is 'always look on the bright side' FRANCESCA KENNEDY-WALLBANK, 26 Occupation: Owner, sustainability company Lives: Surrey Key information: The eco-conscious, mathematics graduate is looking for investment in her next venture, providing a product carbon footprint service for businesses with a simple equation of her own creation. She says: 'There's two types of people in the world- people that say they are going to do things and people that actually do them and I'm a doer' HARPEET KAUR, 30 Occupation: Owner, dessert parlour Lives: West Yorkshire Key information: Describing herself as a born leader, fearless and funny, Harpreet plans to 'level up' her successful, six-figure coffee and cakes business to become a leading brand in the UK. She says: 'I'm definitely not in business to make friends. I'm here to make money, and I'm sure Lord Sugar isn't looking for a new mate. KATHRYN LOUISE BURN, 29 Occupation: Owner, online pyjama store Lives: Swindon Key information: Kathryn has worked a wide range of jobs from mortgage advisor to events manager. Describing herself as ambitious, kind, and often 'savage', she says she's there to win, not to make friends. She says: 'My dreams in my head are absolutely huge and I believe I can achieve them.' SOPHIE WILDING, 32 Occupation: Owner, boutique cocktail bar Lives: Cheltenham Key information: Describing herself as 'magical and enchanting' Sophie even has a witch school qualification. She previously worked in sales and has huge renovation plans for her bar. She says: 'Failure is not an option. Winning is part of my DNA.' STEPHANIE AFFLECK, 28 Occupation: Owner, online children's store Lives: Kent Key information: With her East-London roots, the blonde is hoping to bond with Lord Sugar and match his no nonsense attitude towards business. She's looking for funding to develop her designer store and be part of the growing pre-loved fashion industry. She says: 'I've got grit, determination and I'm determined to be successful.' SHAMA AMIN, 41 Occupation: Owner, children's day nursery Lives: Bradford Key information: Shama already has a busy work life running her children's day nursery as well as juggling life with five children at home. She is ready to prove she has the 'skillset that is required to be one of the best, successful businesswomen in the early years sector.' She says: 'Being a lady of colour, wearing a headscarf as well and the challenges that we face on a daily basis, I just want to be a living example for the Asian women out there.' Advertisement Her new book book The Secret To Happy has finally hit the shelves. And Vicky Pattison looked sensational in a white knitted dress as she attended an interview at BBC Radio 5 in London to promote her publication on Thursday. The former Geordie Shore star, 34, showed off her curves in the form-fitting midi with a split that allowed her to flash a glimpse of her toned legs. Wow: Vicky Pattison looked sensational in a white knitted dress as she attended an interview at BBC Radio 5 in London to promote her publication on Thursday Vicky's stunning dress featured a black bow, pockets and embellished silver buttons running down the front, with the look completed with red and black piping. She teamed it a simple pair of pointed black heels and carried her essentials in a black quilted handbag. The TV star added a pop of colour to her chic look with a sweep of red lipstick, while her caramel locks were worn loose for the occasion. Bit off all white: The former Geordie Shore star, 34, showed off her curves in the form-fitting midi with a split that allowed her to flash a glimpse of her toned legs Vicky was certainly in great spirits as she flashed a broad smile for the camera. It comes after Vicky had earlier revealed she previously used alcohol to 'quell' her insecurities after she won I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! The beauty was crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2015 and told how she had 'imposter syndrome' and worried her career in the limelight would 'go away'. Gorgeous: Vicky's stunning dress featured a black bow, pockets and embellished silver buttons running down the front, with the look completed with red and black piping Details: She teamed it a simple pair of pointed black heels and carried her essentials in a black quilted handbag Upping the glam: The TV star added a pop of colour to her chic look with a sweep of red lipstick, while her caramel locks were worn loose for the occasion Happy days: Vicky was certainly in great spirits as she flashed a broad smile for the camera Speaking on Thursday's episode of ITV's Lorraine, Vicky also told how she has made the decision to freeze her eggs, saying she wants to have children one day with boyfriend Ercan Ramadan. Discussing her insecurities, Vicky said: 'To quell the insecurity I drank, it was a scary and dark time for me. Everyone goes through certain things in life and it makes you. 'I have dealt with my fair share of struggles but now I'm on my way to being a healthy and happy woman. And I want to help other people feel the same.' Candid: It comes after Vicky had earlier revealed she previously used alcohol to 'quell' her insecurities after she won I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! On freezing her eggs, Vicky added: 'For ages I put it off as I didn't want to think I wouldn't have it for ages. 'I'm 34 and I would love a family. Ercan is a bit younger and I want us both to be in the right place.' Speaking about Ercan, Vicky said: 'He's upstairs. I'm dead happy, I feel really lucky, real life has been hard but I have finally got to a place where I love myself and so I won't settle for bad relationships. I was ready to accept his lovely love.' Honest: The beauty was crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2015 and told how she had 'imposter syndrome' and worried her career in the limelight would 'go away' Show: Vicky was previously known for he raucous antics on MTV's Geordie Shore Asked for her advice on how to be happy, Vicky said: 'There's no secret to happy but we have to learn to put ourselves first. We are so embarrassed to say we are putting ourself first.' The star boasts 4.9million followers on Instagram and told how she often feels insecure when she checks social media. She said: 'I make a conscious effort to show both sides of the coin on Instagram. It was affecting my mental health.' Kathy Hilton admitted she was 'heartbroken' after she finally watched the This is Paris documentary which detailed her daughter's traumatic experiences at a Utah boarding school. The 62-year-old reality star chatted with Andy Cohen via Zoom on Wednesday where she revealed it took her some time to watch the YouTube series. Cohen asked the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star: 'Is it true that you have not seen her documentary?' to which Hilton responded, 'It was true' at one point, but she has since seen the film. Tough: Kathy Hilton admitted she was 'heartbroken' after she finally watched the This is Paris documentary which detailed her daughter's traumatic experiences at a Utah boarding school 'It put me in such a depression,' Kathy told the Bravo patriarch on his SiriusXM show. She initially avoided watching the film, which premiered on YouTube in September 2020, because she thought it would be too painful to relive. 'It was too much after watching just the clips and promos 'cause you could imagine me just finding out [about the abuse],' Kathy said. 'I'm not one of those people, "Oh this is about me" it's not about me. 'But yeah, it really was so devastating. For her to keep that in for 20 years.' Difficult: Cohen asked the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star: 'Is it true that you have not seen her documentary?' to which Hilton responded, 'It was true' at one point, but she has since seen the film Awful: Paris revealed some of the harrowing experiences she endured as a student at Utahs Provo Canyon School, where she said she was physically, mentally and emotionally abused at 17 years old; seen in November Paris revealed some of the harrowing experiences she endured as a student at Utahs Provo Canyon School, where she said she was physically, mentally and emotionally abused at 17 years old. 'I said to her finally a few weeks ago, and then when I went to Washington with her, I said, "I'm just not ready to watch it,"' Kathy recalled. 'So when we got back, I did watch it, and we held hands.' She added: 'We held hands for an hour watching this thing, and just the energy that I was feeling from her and how relieved and happy that she was that I was watching.' 'I said to her finally a few weeks ago, and then when I went to Washington with her, I said, "I'm just not ready to watch it,"' Kathy recalled. 'So when we got back, I did watch it, and we held hands' Hilton told Andy that she only sent Paris to the boarding school so that her daughter would stop sneaking off to clubs in the middle of the night. 'A lot of people understood that [we were] trying to help our daughter. We were trying to save Paris. I'm not that strict we were worried,' she said about her husband Rick Hilton. 'She was living in New York. She was sneaking out and sometimes didn't come back home for three days, not going to school. So we put her in this boarding school, in this one, in this one. Gotta keep her away from the city and all these predators and people that wanted her to model.' Paris said in her documentary that she suffered from panic attacks and was 'crying every single day' at the boarding school where students could be thrown into solitary confinement for '20 hours a day.' 'I was just so miserable,' she said. 'I felt like a prisoner, and I hated life.' There's a new member of the Byrde family getting into the money-laundering business - teenager Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) - in the latest trailer for the fourth and final season of Netflix's Ozark. Season four will be divided into two parts with the first seven episodes streaming January 21, and the final seven episodes do not yet have an air date. Julia Garner - who's back in her two-time Emmy-winning role as criminal Ruth Langmore - asks Jonah: 'What if you did the laundering for me?' What could possibly go wrong? There's a new member of the Byrde family getting into the money-laundering business - teenager Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) - in the latest trailer for the fourth and final season of Netflix's Ozark Upon hearing this development, Jonah's criminal father Marty (Jason Bateman) remarks: 'Jesus, laundering at 14.' Marty's wife and partner in crime Wendy (Laura Linney) replies: 'Do not be proud of him right now.' The two-minute teaser paints this as a bad sign as Mexican drug kingpin Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) could be heard warning Byrde: 'Your greatest threat will always come from the inside, Marty. Never forget that.' Omar offers the Byrds a chance to get out from under his thumb if they broker an immunity deal with the FBI, so he can safely move to the States to start a new life. Ready for more? Season four will be divided into two parts with the first seven episodes streaming January 21, and the final seven episodes do not yet have an air date Julia Garner - who's back in her two-time Emmy-winning role as criminal Ruth Langmore - asks Jonah: 'What if you did the laundering for me?' Upon hearing this development, Jonah's criminal father Marty (Jason Bateman) remarks: 'Jesus, laundering at 14' Marty's wife and partner in crime Wendy (Laura Linney) replies: 'Do not be proud of him right now' The two-minute teaser paints this as a bad sign as Mexican drug kingpin Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) could be heard warning Byrde: 'Your greatest threat will always come from the inside, Marty. Never forget that' 'You two are celebrities. You will use your influence,' Navarro says. 'I will walk away from my business. I will be free of the threat of arrest or assassination and to move freely between the United States. Do this and you are free of your obligation to me.' However, FBI Special Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) 'expects more than he's willing to give' in the dicey deal. The Byrds also send a sinister warning from the Navarro cartel to their Ozark rival Darlene (Lisa Emery) and former protegee Ruth. 'You will use your influence': Omar (L) offers the Byrds a chance to get out from under his thumb if they broker an immunity deal with the FBI, so he can safely move to the States without the threat of arrest or assassination 'What would it take?' However, FBI Special Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) 'expects more than he's willing to give' in the dicey deal 'What's so important?' The Byrds also send a sinister warning from the Navarro cartel to their Ozark rival Darlene (Lisa Emery) and former protegee Ruth Marty says: 'They've been made aware that you intend to start producing heroin again. They have instructed us to warn you they're response is going to be quick and it's going to be brutal' After telling Ruth not to get herself killed, she flatly replied: 'Like you f***ing care' 'They've been made aware that you intend to start producing heroin again,' Marty says. 'They have instructed us to warn you they're response is going to be quick and it's going to be brutal.' After telling Ruth not to get herself killed, she flatly replied: 'Like you f***ing care.' Assassination attempt? There's also a shot of the Byrd family driving in an SUV just as an 18-wheeler truck intentionally swerving in their lane ready to hit them head on Blood on everyone's hands: The preview shows the SUV careening off the road and flipping over two times as the phrase 'no one gets out clean' flashes on the screen The press release stated: 'They find another opportunity to get out of the Ozarks but some past sins won't stay buried and the most dangerous threats come from blood' Legendary: Linney pulls double duty on Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams' critically-acclaimed crime drama as she also serves as executive producer At the helm: Bateman is not only executive producer, he won an Emmy Award for directing an episode of Ozark in 2018 There's also a shot of the Byrd family driving in an SUV just as an 18-wheeler truck intentionally swerving in their lane ready to hit them head on. The preview shows the SUV careening off the road and flipping over two times as the phrase 'no one gets out clean' flashes on the screen. 'They find another opportunity to get out of the Ozarks but some past sins won't stay buried and the most dangerous threats come from blood,' the press release stated. That's a wrap! The cast and crew of Ozark posed for this epic shot after concluding production Season four will feature newcomers Alfonso Herrera, Adam Rothenberg, Ali Stroker, Bruce Davison, Bruno Bichir, CC Castillo, Damian Young, Felix Solis, Katrina Lenk, and Veronica Falcon. Linney pulls double duty on Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams' critically-acclaimed crime drama as she also serves as executive producer. And Bateman is not only executive producer, he won an Emmy Award for directing an episode of Ozark in 2018. Advertisement She's the model and former Home and Away star with one of the best figures around. And Pia Whitesell showed off her incredible bikini body on Thursday while sailing in Los Cabos, Mexico, on a luxury yacht with her Hollywood agent husband Patrick, 56. The actress, 38, stripped down to a black ribbed two-piece while sauntering around in the sun. Bikini babe: Pia Whitesell showed off her bikini body on Thursday while sailing around Los Cabos, Mexico, on a luxury yacht with her Hollywood agent husband Patrick, 56 Pia put on a busty display in the skimpy swimwear which highlighted her ample bosom and toned legs. She wrapped herself up in a grey fluffy towel after going for a refreshing swim. The screen star styled her long brunette hair loosely, showed off a deep golden tan and also appeared to go makeup free. Before stripping down to a bikini, Pia covered up in a beige knitted sun dress to lounge on the deck of the boat. Hot to trot: Pia's skimpy swimwear highlighted her ample bosom and toned legs as she relaxed on the boat with Patrick Beach chic: Before stripping down to a bikini, Pia covered up in a beige knitted sun dress to lounge on the deck of the boat Laid-back: The couple spent the day relaxing in the sun, and Pia was seen sipping a cocktail as she walked around the yacht. Patrick, the super-rich executive chairman of the Endeavor Talent Agency, kept things casual in a white polo shirt She accessorised with black sunglasses and a beige sun hat. Patrick, the super-rich executive chairman of the Endeavor Talent Agency, kept things casual in a white polo shirt and black shorts. The couple spent the day relaxing in the sun, and Pia was seen sipping a cocktail as she walked around the yacht. What a vacay! Pia and Patrick, who married in May last year, have been holidaying in Cabo San Lucas with her family Her boy: They were joined by her eldest son Isaiah Loyola, 19, whom she had when she was 19 Family: The Whitesells are on vacation with Pia's mother Angelica, sister Paz, brother Jesus and sister-in-law Stephanie Loyola They were joined on the yacht by Pia's eldest son Isaiah Loyola, 19, whom she welcomed when she was 19. The Whitesells, who married in May last year, have been holidaying in Cabo San Lucas with her Australian-based family. They are on vacation with Pia's mother Angelica, sister Paz, brother Jesus, and sister-in-law Stephanie Loyola. Ringing in 2022: Pia celebrated New Year's Eve in style with Patrick at Malibu restaurant Nobu Distracted? Patrick kept busy on his phone as Pia soaked up the sun and admired the idyllic sea view Newlyweds: Pia, who played police officer Kat Chapman on Aussie soap opera Home and Away from 2015 and 2018, married Patrick last May. The couple waved as the boat set sale New life: Pia relocated from Sydney to Los Angeles to be with Patrick last year and appeared to be enjoying her time in Mexico Pia celebrated New Year's Eve in style with Patrick at trendy Malibu restaurant Nobu. The Chilean-born actress and Endeavor CEO, 56, first had to do Covid-19 tests, which came back negative. The mother of two relocated from Sydney to Los Angeles to be with Patrick last year. Pia, who played police officer Kat Chapman on Aussie soap opera Home and Away from 2015 and 2018, secretly married Patrick last year. In an Instagram post in May, the actress shared a photo of bottles of Champagne and white, bridal-looking floral arrangements. Love story: The couple had announced their engagement in November 2020 and looked closer than ever as they headed out on the boat Proof? In an Instagram post in May, the actress shared a photo of bottles of Champagne and white, bridal-looking floral arrangements in what seemingly was a celebration of getting married '90 days ago' She appeared to be hinting that she had wed the multimillionaire Hollywood agent, 90 days ago, and was celebrating the milestone. According to The Daily Telegraph, the pair were 'celebrating their newlywed status' with a takeaway dinner from CicciaBella in Bondi. In the comments below the image, a friend of the pair, Sydney socialite Nina O'Brien, let slip that the pair are husband and wife. 'Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. PPW,' she wrote, referencing the pair's initials. They had announced their engagement in November 2020. Patrick is the ex-husband of Lauren Sanchez, who is now dating Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man. He is considered one of Hollywood's most influential celebrity agents, representing the likes of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Hugh Jackman, and has an estimated net worth of US$440million (AU$630million). Big Brother Australia star Tully Smyth has returned serve after a Sydney doctor said her decision to isolate with her Covid-positive boyfriend in order to catch the virus 'sooner rather than later' was a 'slap in the face to frontline workers'. Dr Yumiko Kadota, who resigned from public hospital work in 2018 after experiencing burnout and is now an author, labelled Tully 'ridiculous' and said people should always try to avoid catching Covid because the symptoms can be unpredictable. However, Tully has denied she only moved in with her boyfriend to catch Covid from him, saying she had likely already been exposed to the virus by kissing him and was also protecting her housemate by leaving their shared apartment. Her choice: Big Brother Australia star Tully Smyth (left) has returned serve after a Sydney doctor said her decision to isolate with her Covid-positive boyfriend Daniel Parasi (right) in order to catch the virus 'sooner rather than later' was a 'slap in the face to frontline workers' Dr Kadota tweeted on Thursday: 'Tully Smyth thinks going to her Covid-positive boyfriend's house to "hopefully catch it sooner than later" is better for their social schedule. I can't even. 'She is an influencer. I hope she doesn't "influence" those in her audience to do this.' The medical educator also said in subsequent posts on Instagram that Tully's actions risked putting a strain on the healthcare system because it's impossible to know what strain of the virus you'll get or predict the severity of symptoms. 'If your partner who lives in a separate apartment gets Covid then DO NOT GO OVER. You are LUCKY that they can isolate and keep you safe,' Dr Kadota wrote. 'If you catch it theres no guarantee you get a mild form of it. You can get really unwell. This is so f*****g ridiculous and a slap in the face to frontline workers.' Criticism: Dr Yumiko Kadota (pictured), who resigned from public hospital work in 2018 after experiencing burnout and is now an author, labelled Tully 'ridiculous' and said people should always try to avoid catching Covid because the symptoms can be unpredictable Tully issued a strongly worded rebuke on Thursday evening, telling Pedestrian Dr Kadota had misrepresented her decision to isolate with her boyfriend. She insisted she hadn't moved in with him to catch Covid at a more convenient time, as the doctor had suggested, but was instead trying to protect her housemate. 'The crux of why I decided to isolate with my partner is that he had already exposed me. We had been together (and kissed) the day before he tested positive,' she said. Fighting talk: Dr Kadota, who is now a medical educator, also said Tully's actions risked putting a strain on the healthcare system because it's impossible to know what strain of the virus you'll get or predict the severity of symptoms Response: Tully issued a strongly worded rebuke on Thursday evening, telling Pedestrian Dr Kadota had misrepresented her decision to isolate with her boyfriend. She insisted she hadn't moved in with him to catch Covid at a more convenient time, as the doctor had suggested, but was instead trying to protect her housemate 'I do not live alone, so my options were: A) isolate at my place and very probably pass it onto my poor housemate who had not seen my boyfriend or B) isolate at my boyfriend's place with him, who was already testing positive on a RAT. 'I made the decision to isolate with them and hopefully spare my housemate. That is why Im here. Not to "try" to catch it - statistically and according to everything we've been told, I most likely am already carrying it. I was exposed as a close contact. 'I simply did it to try stop my housemate from catching it also.' Furious: Dr Kadota tweeted on Thursday: 'Tully Smyth thinks going to her Covid positive boyfriend's house to "hopefully catch it sooner than later" is better for their social schedule. I can't even. She is an influencer. I hope she doesn't "influence" those in her audience to do this' It comes after Tully said on Wednesday said she was moving in with her Covid-positive boyfriend Daniel Parasi, who is symptomatic and quarantining at home, despite having no symptoms herself and returning a negative rapid antigen test. The 33-year-old, who is double vaccinated, said at the time she would prefer to catch the virus from him 'sooner rather than later'. Tully also explained she may have already caught Covid from Daniel after kissing him a day earlier , and one of her reasons for isolating with him is to reduce the risk of passing Covid to her housemate. She also wanted to look after her boyfriend while he is unwell. Choice: It comes after Tully said on Wednesday said she was moving in with her boyfriend Daniel - who has Covid, is symptomatic and quarantining at home - despite having no symptoms herself and returning a negative rapid antigen test result 'So... the boy has woken up feeling awful and testing positive on a RAT (at his house) but I'm still testing negative (at my house),' she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. 'After MUCH anxiety and deliberation (I literally called three people to ask their opinion) I've decided to pack my stuff and move in for the week to hopefully catch it sooner rather than later. 'Packing essentials included lots of loungewear and oversized tees, four books, Monopoly Deal, a nice smelling candle, ear plugs (jokes baby) and of course, the golden ticket RATs. Wish me luck!' Making a move: She asked her family to 'wish me luck' as she prepared to move in with Daniel Bold move: She then posted a video of herself outside the door of Daniel's home, as she said: 'Enjoying my last bit of freedom before I join the Covid house of horrors - hey patient zero! How you feeling? I feel great! Let's see how long that lasts' She then posted a video of herself outside the door of Daniel's home, as she said: 'Enjoying my last bit of freedom before I join the Covid house of horrors - hey patient zero! How you feeling? I feel great! Let's see how long that lasts.' After receiving an abundance of messages from her followers, Tully later explained: 'I was with Daniel yesterday morning. I kissed him goodbye. 'He tested negative yesterday but positive this morning. Chances are I already have it and by coming here and isolating, I'm less likely to give it to my housemate.' She went on to say she was double vaccinated with Pfizer, and had booked in her booster jab but had to cancel for obvious reasons. 'Appreciate there is a chance I isolate and still don't get it however A) I'd rather take my luck and both of us have it at the same time than get it later and put us back into iso for another week, missing weddings etc and B) to look after him,' she said. Precaution: After receiving an abundance of messages from her followers, Tully explained: 'I was with Daniel yesterday morning. I kissed him goodbye. He tested negative yesterday but positive this morning. Chances are I already have it and by coming here and isolating, I'm less likely to give it to my housemate.' Explaining her boyfriend's symptoms, she added: 'Daniel had a sore throat and a bit of a fever late last night but woke up feeling like a train had hit him - body aches, headaches etc.' She also showed the couple's test results on day one, confirming she had tested negative while Daniel was positive. On Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that anyone with a positive rapid antigen test would no longer need to get a PCR test. Previously, anyone with a positive RAT had to get a proper viral swab to confirm their infection, but now they will be treated as Covid positive without having to get further confirmation. 'Daniel did manage to get a PCR yesterday; however, as the new rules state, if I get a positive RAT I'll be taking that as gospel and following the appropriate PCR guidelines, as is the new rule of yesterday,' Tully added. Results: She also showed the couple's test results on day one, confirming she had tested negative while Daniel was positive On Thursday, there were 21,997 new infections in Victoria while NSW recorded 34,994. Tully said she appreciates everyone has 'their own opinion' on what she should have done, adding: 'I'm not even sure this is the right play, but it's a weird time and we're all just doing what we think is best. Stay safe, be kind.' An hour later, she returned to Instagram to confirm she was putting her phone away for the foreseeable future, adding: 'I do not in the slightest think it's "cool" to get Covid. In fact I am very anxious about it. 'Like everyone else, I've spent the last two-plus years doing everything in my power to avoid it. However, unfortunately my partner was already positive so it's not looking good for me. Defence: 'Like everyone else, I've spent the last two-plus years doing everything in my power to avoid it. However, unfortunately my partner was already positive so it's not looking good for me,' Tully said in a subsequent Instagram post 'I am allowed access to RAT tests just like everyone else. I drove around for days and days trying to track them down, just like everyone else. I now have a box of seven (less three) to share with my partner, his brother who lives here and myself. I'm hardly "squirreling them" away. 'Speaking of "the boy" I am MORE than capable of being away from him for seven days. We're very independent people who like our along time. But A) If I very likely have it B) can avoid passing it onto my housemate and her family and anyone she sees and C) Can be here to look after my partner, I'm going to do that. 'I'm not sure if it's the right decision but it's the one I made because it seemed like the best option, predominately for my housemate. 'I'll say this again... the world is a weird place right now. Please be kind and stay safe.' Tully went Instagram official with Daniel in December, and opened up about having to keep their relationship a secret for six months. 'Kept you quiet for six months; now its time to celebrate you. Thank you for being the most kind, thoughtful, witty, patient little weirdo. I love you,' she wrote. Jennifer Garner is staying warm on her morning walk in Los Angeles' brisk winter weather. The 49-year-old actress was seen taking a phone call following a yoga class on Thursday morning. The 13 Going on 30 star wore black leg warmers over her blue leggings as she strolled with a cup of coffee in her hand. The mother-of-three had her reading glasses on as she walked to her car in black running shoes and a matching sweatshirt. Morning walk: Jennifer Garner is staying warm on her morning walk in Los Angeles' brisk winter weather. The 49-year-old actress was seen taking a phone call following a yoga class on Thursday morning The Juno star recently returned to Los Angeles after she took her three kids: Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9, on a snowy holiday getaway. While spending Christmas in the snow, Jennifer filmed herself making Ina's beef bourguignon stew, which she said was a regular 'family Christmas tradition.' She decided to depart from the standard recipe for a stronger flavor with double the cognac, which is supposed to be lit on fire to burn off some of the alcohol. A massive flame erupted after she lit it on fire, and Jennifer joked in the caption she nearly set her kitchen on ablaze. Specs appeal: The mother-of-three had her reading glasses on as she walked to her car in black running shoes and a black sweatshirt Back in LA: The 13 Going on 30 star wore black leg warmers over her blue leggings as she strolled with a cup of coffee in her hand Warmer weather: The Juno star recently returned to Los Angeles after she took her three kids: Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9, on a snowy holiday getaway 'Don't double the cognac!' she emphatically told her 11.8 million Instagram followers, adding, 'That was wild!' While Jen and the kids were on vacation, her ex-husband Ben Affleck stayed behind in LA to spend some quality time with his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. The lovebirds were spotted leaving a lunch date with her twins Max and Emme, 13, on Wednesday at the Hotel Bel-Air, which has special significance for the couple. Too much alcohol: 'Don't double the cognac!' she emphatically told her 11.8 million Instagram followers, adding, 'That was wild!' Nicolas Cage is about to become a father for the third time. The actor, 57, and his wife Riko Shibata, 27, are expecting their first child together, a representative for the family confirmed to People. 'The parents-to-be are elated!' the representative said. Baby makes three! Nicolas Cage is expecting his first child with wife Riko Shibata; pictured 2021 The Kick-Ass actor has son Weston Coppola Cage, 31, with ex Christina Fulton and son Kal-El, 16, with ex-wife Alice Kim. Caga and Shibata met in Japan in 2020 when he was filming Sion Sono's Prisoners Of Ghostland. She landed a role in the movie playing one of the four Mannequin Women. After getting engaged on FaceTime, the couple tied the knot at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas in February 2021. Cage confirmed the wedding at the time and said the couple were enjoying newly-wedded bliss. Love story: Caga and Shibata met in Japan in 2020 when he was filming Sion Sono's Prisoners Of Ghostland; pictured at the premiere of Pig 'Its true, and we are very happy,' he told DailyMail.com in a statement. During their ceremony, the bride wore a black handmade Japanese Bridal Kimono from Kyoto that required three layers. She held a bouquet of yellow and red roses that offset her bright red lipstick, while she wore her long dark hair falling straight around her shoulders. Cage wore a black Tom Ford Tuxedo complete with a yellow rose buttonhole to match Riko's bouquet. I do! During their ceremony, pictured, the bride wore a black handmade Japanese Bridal Kimono from Kyoto that required three layers Riko walked down the aisle to her favorite song Winter Song by Kiroro before they exchanged traditional Catholic and Shinto vows with poetry from Walt Whitman and Haiku 'sprinkled in', a rep for Cage told DailyMail.com. The happy couple were pictured surrounded by white candles and green foliage in the hotel's Primrose Courtyard as the masked officiant Reverend Richard E. Walter performed the ceremony, before the newlyweds walked hand in hand back into the hotel. After the wedding, the bride and groom held a small celebration attended by Cage's third wife Alice - with whom he has remained good friends - and their son Kal. A state of Nevada marriage certificate obtained by DailyMail.com earlier shows Riko has taken Cage's name and is now known as Riko Cage. She is 30 years younger than Cage and four years younger than his first son Weston Cage. Nicolas and Riko made their red carpet debut at the LA premiere of the movie Pig in July and then were seen appearing on their first magazine cover together for Flaunt in October. This is Southern California native's fifth marriage, which also includes Patricia Arquette (1995-2001), Lisa Marie Presley (2002-2004), Alice Kim (2004-2016), and Erica Koike (2019). Cage and Koike were married to for four days in March 2019 before he filed for an annulment. The Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2022 -- Joe Biden's verbal assault on Donald Trump met with almost pin-drop silence from top Republicans on the anniversary of the Capitol riot Joe Biden's verbal assault on Donald Trump met with near pin-drop silence from top Republicans on Thursday's anniversary of the US Capitol riot, ceding the stage to the fury of the former president whose personality still dominates their party. The citadel of American democracy was under heavier-than-normal guard as Biden tore into Trump for instigating the riot with the "lie" that the 2020 election was stolen, which no court has ever substantiated. But as Biden's Democrats vowed "never again," warning democracy will be on the ballot in November's midterms and the 2024 presidential race, Republican lawmakers were conspicuous by their absence. Donald Trump addressing a rally in Iowa in October 2021 -- Trump retains enormous influence with Republican voters, and may seek to return as president in 2024 No Republican leaders participated in the Capitol Hill events commemorating the deadly January 6 assault. Instead, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, attending a late colleague's funeral in Georgia, released a statement accusing Democrats of seeking to "exploit" the anniversary, while the party's leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, had yet to make public remarks. With the nation stunned by the Capitol assault a year ago, both men had broken ranks to condemn Trump for stoking the violence. US President Joe Biden called on Americans to face up to the gravity of the January 6, 2021 assault of the Capitol Since then, however, they have quietly backed off -- along with almost the entire party, bowing to Trump's enormous influence with voters, and possible bid to return as president in 2024. With no other leading Republican voices to guide the narrative, Trump filled the vacuum. "This political theater is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed," Trump charged, in one of a rapid-fire series of statements pushing back at the president. "Never forget the crime of the 2020 Presidential Election. Never give up!" Trump thundered, doubling down on his baseless claim that the election was "rigged." - 'Poisonous bile' - Democrats have implored Republicans to stand up against Trump's corrosive claims of election fraud, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warning Thursday how the billionaire's "poisonous bile" can erode American democracy. US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had initially condemned Donald Trump for stoking the January 6, 2021 violence at the Capitol -- but has since quietly backed off "Too many are hoping the American people will just look away and forget that that day ever took place," Schumer said of January 6. Like Schumer, Biden called on Americans to face up to the gravity of the Capitol riot -- and draw the consequences. "Close your eyes. Go back to that day. What do you see?" Biden said. "You've got to face it. That's what great nations do. They face the truth, deal with it, and move on." One year later, most physical signs of the insurrection have been scrubbed away. Paint and blood smeared on statues have been cleaned off, smashed windows and doors replaced, and the ransacked offices of lawmakers repaired and reset. But magnetometers installed after the insurrection remain at the doors to the House chamber, and the US Capitol Police force has been bolstered. US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Donald Trump acolyte, convened a press conference with fellow far-right Republican Matt Gaetz on the anniversary on the Capitol riot 'to expose the truth about January 6' One Trump ally -- Senator Lindsey Graham -- did acknowledge the crimes of the rioters, hundreds of whom are currently being prosecuted. But his statement was far from the demonstration of "unity" to which Vice President Kamala Harris appealed in her own anniversary address. Instead, Graham assailed Biden's presidency as "in free fall not because of the attack on our Capitol, but because of failed policies and weak leadership." - 'Violence over voting' - Only two Republicans appeared to be present for the minute of silence held in the House for US Capitol Police officers who died in the wake of the unrest -- outspoken Trump critic Liz Cheney and her father, the former vice president Dick Cheney. "An extraordinary image of where this country's politics are," tweeted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy in response. US lawmakers held a prayer vigil -- attended almost exclusively by Democrats -- on the first anniversary of the assault on the US Capitol "It's just haunting. It's an ominous warning for what's ahead," House Democrat Eric Swalwell told AFP following an evening vigil on the US Capitol steps -- also attended almost exclusively by Democrats. "If you move on without accountability for what happened on January 6, you are embracing the concept of violence over voting." Some Republicans appeared eager to whitewash the events altogether. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump acolyte who like him has been excluded from Twitter, convened a press conference with fellow far-right congressman Matt Gaetz "to expose the truth about January 6" and insist that what occurred was no insurrection. Republicans and Trump supporters have been "smeared constantly over this past year," Greene said. "We did not want the Republican voice to go unheard, and we did not want today's historical narrative to be hijacked," added Gaetz. News Headlines Contemporary dance play set for Hanoi's stage Stamford Police / Contributed After a fire ripped through a public housing unit in Philadelphia, killing 12 people on Wednesday, fire officials in Connecticut are urging residents to take precautions. Fire officials in Philadelphia said the fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. in the area of the Fairmount neighborhood, near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its famous steps from the Rocky film. Officials said eight children and four adults were found dead. The incident marked the citys deadliest fire in more than a century, according to the Associated Press. Griebs Pharmacy in Darien is showcasing the work of local artist Peter Saverine in an exhibit called, Darien, I Like the Sound of it, through the end of January. The exhibit features eight prints that are inspired by local scenes. Each one is 18 by 24 inches. Each piece of artwork is for sale for $300. The sales will benefit the Person to Person food pantry in town, said Griebs Pharmacy owners Debi and Chuck Hibben. She called the display an Off-the-Wall Holiday Art Sale, saying that purchasers can take the artwork directly from the exhibit and take it home or give as a gift. The art exhibit changes as each piece of artwork is sold. The artist and store owners are also making a joint donation of $50 from the sale of each painting to the food pantry as well. The family-owned Griebs Pharmacy is located at 1021 Post Road in Darien. Saverine previously sold his popular coastal artwork at Griebs to benefit Darien Emergency Medical Services, EMS, Post 53. Born and raised in Darien, he is the director of philanthropy at STAR Inc., Lighting the Way, a nonprofit organization that serves residents of all ages with intellectual, and developmental disabilities. He is a self-taught artist whose bright seascapes capture familiar scenes along Long Island Sound, Nantucket, Mass., and Cape Cod, Mass. He is the author of Jennys Pennies A Nantucket Tradition, a self-published childrens book about a mermaid at the Brant Point Lighthouse. Saverine has an artist page at etsy.com/shop/luckypennyartworks. Since 1968, Person-to-Person has been delivering on its mission to provide emergency assistance for basic needs and support for individuals and families as they move toward stability. Person-to-Person serves 28,000 residents in lower Fairfield County and operates three food pantries, including one in Darien. Virtual event with authors of Chilling Thrillers The Darien Library and the Barrett Bookstore are presenting a Chilling Thrillers: An Author Event, a virtual event with four bestselling authors in the genre that will put readers on the edge of their seats. The presenters will Debbie Babitt, author of Saving Grace; Lynne Constantine Shaw, co-author of The Stranger in the Mirror; Wendy Walker, author of Dont Look for Me; and Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of Her Perfect Life. They will share stories of mysterious disappearances, forgotten pasts, shady characters and secrets galore. It will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 12. Register online at darienlibrary.org/event/5496. Colgate students earn Deans Award with Distinction The following students from Darien were recognized for earning the Deans Award with Distinction for the spring 2021 semester at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. All of the students received a term grade point average of a 3.6 or higher, while completing at least three courses for a conventional letter grade during the semester. The students who earned the Deans Award with Distinction are: - Henry Wilson, a political science major, who graduated from the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass., - Campbell Matheis, a sociology major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Ellen Ferguson, a religion major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Grace Feingold, an English major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Kyle Fisher, an economics major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Anna Camp, a molecular biology major, who graduated from St. Lukes School in New Canaan, - Megan Smith, a mathematical economics major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Chloe Kosnik, an English major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Warwick Carter, an economics major, who graduated from Westminster School in Simsbury, - Grace Klein, an educational studies major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Larsen Klein, a peace, and conflict studies major, who graduated from Darien High School, - Jessica Steib, an environmental geography major, who graduated from King School in Stamford, - Robert Cassady, a political science major, who graduated from Taft School in Watertown, - Dennis Kennedy, a biology major, who graduated from Taft School in Watertown, - Noelle Kennedy, an education major, who graduated from Darien High School, and - Lauren Sulger, a sociology major, who graduated from Darien High School. Student named to honors list Alexander Pardo, a student from Darien, has been named to the fall 2021 Honors List at the Pomfret School. To achieve the level of distinction, Pardo earned a grade point average of at least a 3.330, and received no grade lower than a B at the Pomfret School, an independent boarding and day school located in Pomfret in the northeast corner of Connecticut. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription and are still unable to access our content, please link your digital account to your print subscription If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. HYDERABAD: A total of 1,87,538 teenagers belonging to the age group of 15 to 18 were vaccinated from January 3 to 5 in the state. Around 16.53 lakh of the same age group are yet to be vaccinated. While many students are excited about taking their first dose of vaccination, a few are quite nervous and scared of the rumoured side effects. Those whose examinations are going on are willingly skipping the vaccination till their exams are completed, fearing fever and cold. Karan Jain, a 17-year-old student said his college was conducting quarterly examinations which may or may not be considered as final examinations due to the rise in Covid cases, and he could not get distracted by the after-effects of taking the first dose of vaccination. Those who I know have said they got a mild fever, cold, cough and rise and drop in sugar levels after taking the vaccination and I want to presently focus on my exams. I will get vaccinated after my exams are completed, he said. Most of the students who study in private educational institutes had to book their slots through the CoWIN website and said the process was easy as they just had to give out basic details like name, age and Aadhaar card number. Shiva Sudiksha, a 17-year-old girl took her first dose of Covaxin at a private hospital in the city and was accompanied by her father. She said it was not difficult to get vaccinated as she just had to show the booking details through the CoWIN app and the vaccination was completed in a few minutes. I was happy to get vaccinated and had the time to do so since I have online classes going on. The health authorities also advised me to sit for 15 minutes after the vaccination was completed to check if there were any side effects or giddiness. I was perfectly fine and have no fever or body pains as of now, said Sudiksha. Tinku Hamel, a 16-year-old student said she was excited to get vaccinated but said that she would not miss school as holidays were starting soon. I am very excited to take my first dose of vaccination and will feel safer, but since I may require rest for two days, I will get vaccinated on Saturday or Sunday, she said. A free vaccination drive was also conducted for the students belonging to the 15 to 18 years age group who study in government educational institutions. The medical team visited all government educational institutions on January 5th and provided free vaccination to the students. We expect to complete the vaccination by tomorrow for all students who fall under the same age group in government institutions. Students ID cards are checked as well, said Laxma Reddy, Deputy Director, Board of Intermediate Education. He added that there were talks going on with the district medical health office on setting up vaccination centres in educational institutions during the Sankranti break which is from January 8 to 16. Molnupiravir was earlier approved under Emergency Use Authorisation from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. (Photo: AP/File) Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma Limited has launched COVID-19 treatment drug Molnupiravir under brand name "Molnaflu" in India. Molnupiravir is for treatment of adult patients hospitalised with COVID-19, under certain conditions, a press release from the city-based drug maker said. Molnupiravir was earlier approved under Emergency Use Authorisation from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. Earlier last year, Aurobindo had signed a bi-lateral non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Merck Sharpe Dohme, Singapore (MSD), a subsidiary of Merck & Co. (US) to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir to over 100 low and middle-income countries (LMIC), including India. K Nithyananda Reddy, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Aurobindo said, "We are delighted with the timely permission from DCGI for the licensed version of Molnupiravir (Molnaflu) as it opens up access to an affordable treatment option for COVID-19 patients and enable us to help battle the pandemic with effective and high-quality pharmaceutical products. For the licensed version of Molnupiravir, Aurobindo enjoys backward integration with in-house API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) manufacturing which equips it with stronger control on the Quality systems and Supply chain. The product will be made at the Company's manufacturing facilities in India that are approved by global regulatory agencies including USFDA and UK MHRA. The company has adequate capacities to meet the global demand across the over 100 LMI Countries for the product, Aurobindo said. The announcement comes just about a week before Sankranti, which is going to affect the livelihoods of fisherfolk running into thousands. (Photo: DC) VISAKHAPATNAM: Barring bigger vessels sailing out from the harbour, Visakhapatnam district administration has banned fishing along the coast from Peda Gantyada to Bheemli, a stretch of 55 kilometres, for an indefinite period. The ban is owing to ongoing tussle overuse of ring nets within the eight-km coastal zone in Bay of Bengal. The announcement comes just about a week before Sankranti, which is going to affect the livelihoods of fisherfolk running into thousands. Enforcing the ban are riot police and regular policemen of four police stations, who have fanned into fishing villages of Peda Jalaripeta, Vasuvanipalem and Jodugullapalem, where prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in force. In addition, there are two patrol boats on the sea implementing ban orders. The government is very particular about conserving marine life. We are hence implementing orders of High Court and state government, as well as suggestions of technical committee, which has prohibited use of ring nets within eight kilometres of the shore, fisheries joint director P. Lakshamana Rao said on Thursday. He told Deccan Chronicle that there are 83 ring nets in Visakhapatnam, 11 of them licensed. Licenses of eight of these nets have been cancelled and three have not been renewed. This follows government orders not to renew or issue fresh licenses for use of ring nets, Lakshamana Rao underlined. Ring nets are used by nearly 2,000 of about 10,000 traditional fisherfolk in Visakhapatnam. With limited resources and manpower, it is difficult for Fisheries Department to keep a tab on ring nets. Ring nets are mostly used in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts of the state. We will allow fishing after peace returns to the area. Even when we allow it, ring net boats will have to operate beyond eight kilometres, failing which we will invoke AP Marine Fishing Regulation Act and take action against erring fishermen, Lakshamana Rao declared. Peda Jalaripeta village president Teddu Parsanna told this correspondent that they have made ring nets an issue as they had been affecting their livelihood. If ring net owners take away the entire fish, what will the remaining 10,000 fisherfolk families get from traditional fishing, he asked. Parsanna underlined that they are only demanding implementation of the High Court order on use of ring nets. Government must look into the matter and save their livelihoods, he stated. People wearing masks wait to get vaccinated for COVID-19 outside a school in Kochi, Kerala. (Photo: AP/File) Thiruvananthapuram: Omicron cases continued to increase in Kerala with the state on Thursday reporting 50 fresh cases of this new variant of COVID-19, taking the tally to 280, the health department said. A day ago the state had logged 49 cases of Omicron. Of the 50 patients reported on Thursday, 18 were from Ernakulam, 8 from Thiruvananthapuram, 7 from Pathanamthitta, 5 each from Kottayam and Malappuram, 3 from Kollam and 1 each from Alappuzha, Thrissur, Palakkad, a health department release said. Besides these, a Coimbatore native, who returned from Egypt, also tested positive for Omicron while he was in Kerala, the release said. According to the release, 32 of the Omicron infected persons had come from the UAE. The remaining came from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, USA, UK, Italy, Ukraine, Sweden, Singapore and the Maldives. "With this, Omicron has been confirmed for a total of 280 people in the state. Of them 186 came from low risk countries and 64 from high risk countries. A total of 30 people were infected through contact," the release said. Guwahati: The Assam Police located the fourth accused in the "Bulli Bai" case, arrested from Jorhat, on Wednesday evening within hours of information being shared by the Delhi Police, a senior officer said. Niraj Bishnoi, 21, is the "main conspirator" in the case and was arrested on Thursday morning for his alleged involvement in the app that has listed hundreds of Muslim women for "auction", police said. "Delhi Police have been coordinating with us over the matter. Their team reached here on Wednesday morning and by evening, we had located the accused," the officer of Assam Police told PTI. "The operation was over in about 12 hours here," he added. The Mumbai Police, which is also probing the case, did not contact the police in Jorhat regarding the accused, the officer said. Bishnoi, a resident of Jorhat who studies in Bhopal, is also the creator of the "Bulli Bai" app on GitHub as well as the main Twitter account holder of "Bulli Bai", police said. He was arrested by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police. He was taken to Delhi from Jorhat in the afternoon for further investigation. The cyber cell of Mumbai Police has made three arrests -- a 19-year-old woman, alleged to be the main culprit, from Uttarakhand, a 21-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru and another 21-year-old, also from Uttarakhand. Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on the "Bulli Bai" mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. The app appeared to be a clone of "Sulli Deals" which triggered a similar row last year. On Saturday, Delhi Police registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly uploading a doctored picture of a woman journalist on a website. The journalist had lodged a complaint and shared a copy on Twitter. New Delhi: The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday a plea to ensure there is no breach in the security of the prime minister in future. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of senior advocate Maninder Singh's submission that a serious breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security took place in Ferozepur, Punjab, on Wednesday. After that, the prime minister returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. We will list it tomorrow as the first item, the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, said on Thursday. The state is witnessing a sudden spike in Covid cases during the past two days as they crossed the 1,000-mark. (Representational Image/ PTI) Hyderabad: Although the medical and health department has submitted a report to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Monday stating that there was no need for imposing lockdown in the state, the state government is seriously considering proposals to impose weekend curfew or night curfew on all days in the wake of rising Covid cases. Official sources said the Chief Minister would review Covid situation in a day or two and take a call. The state is witnessing a sudden spike in Covid cases during the past two days as they crossed the 1,000-mark. The cases have more than doubled from 400 to 1,500 in the last two days. However, there is confusion in the government whether to impose Covid restrictions prior to Sankranti on January 15 or later, sources added, which will be discussed in the Chief Ministers meeting. The decisions taken by the governments in neighbouring states Maharashtra and Karnataka imposing Covid restrictions are also learnt to have influenced the state government to follow them. There are fears that if restrictions are not imposed on state borders, the virus may spread further in Telangana. During Covid second wave in April 2021, the Chief Minister announced imposition of Covid restrictions in a phased manner. First, it started with night curfews and later extended to day curfews and continued until June when cases subsided. The Chief Minister now wants to follow the same with the increase in Covid cases, considered as the spread of third wave in the state. The Maharashtra government has imposed night curfew from December 25 while Karnataka government imposed weekend curfew from January 5. Rao has advanced holidays for all educational institutions to January 8 due to Covid cases on Monday against Sankranti vacation from January 11. As of now, the holidays for educational institutions were declared till January 16 but likely to be extended further after Sankranti. Educational institutions are likely to be asked to shift to online mode again. The seating capacity in film theatres is also likely to be reduced to 50 per cent again to ensure physical distancing. The enterprising farmers in Andhra Pradesh have taken up cultivation of Dragon Fruit crop from last year and the yields are encouraging to the farmers. (AFP file photo) KAKINADA: The enterprising farmers in Andhra Pradesh have taken up cultivation of Dragon Fruit crop from last year and the yields are encouraging to the farmers. The fruit is cultivated in seven districts and chief minister Jagan gave a target of 200 hectares for this cultivation in the state. The central government will meet the seed cost up to five acres per farmer under the extension of new crop scheme. The farmers have to construct cement or rock pillars in the fields to cultivate the creeper-like crop. Some 400 such pillars are needed per acre and four saplings have to be planted to each pillar. Experts told the farmers that they can get the yield within a year of its planting. But, farmers say they are getting the yield within nine months. Farmer Machina Rambabu of Nayakampalli village is cultivating Dragon Fruit crop on an acre near the National Highway near Rangampeta in East Godavari district. He had planted the seedlings in November 2020 and got 500kg of the crop in May. He got Rs 300 per kilo of the fruit. Big shopping malls are buying these fruits, grading, packing and selling them to customers. However, some farmers say they got only Rs 150 to Rs 200 per fruit. Horticulture department deputy director Rammohan Rao said the fruit is also called desert crop as there is no need for much water. The price is encouraging at present but if the crop is cultivated on a larger scale, there is a chance of the price falling in the market. So farmers should expect no more than Rs 45 to Rs 50 per kilo. However, this is a suitable crop in upland areas to get yields with lowest investment, he said. According to the farmers, an investment of Rs 6 lakh is required per acre initially, but the yield will continue for upto 20 years. Horticulture deputy director for West Godavari Dr Panduranga said a subsidy of Rs 35,000 per hectare is being given to the farmers for this purpose by the state government. Sirisha, director of an NGO, said the organisation is supplying seeds or plants to farmers across the state including the Krishi Viznana Kendram and the nursery cost would be met by the central government. Her organisation is also facilitating a buy-back agreement with the farmers for marketing their crop. The mayor said the Jinnah tower was a symbol of freedom movement and Hindu-Muslim unity but the BJP is trying to disrupt communal harmony by raising such issues. (Twitter/@sasidharv1) VIJAYAWADA: The Guntur Municipal Corporation has started works to protect the Jinnah Tower by erecting a fence around it for safety purpose in view of BJP threats to demolish it. Mayor Manohar Naidu accompanied by the GMC and police officials went to the Jinnah tower and reviewed the works on Thursday. The mayor said the tower was a symbol of freedom movement and Hindu-Muslim unity but the BJP is trying to disrupt communal harmony by raising such issues. The police installed a picket at the tower in this context. The GMC will erect the fencing around the tower in two days time. He criticised the statement of BJP president Somu Veerraju that the party would ensure sale of liquor at Rs 50 per bottle if it came to power in the state. BJP leader LK Advani had praised Jinnah as a great freedom fighter, during his visit to Jinnahs mausoleum in Pakistan. Now, the party is speaking against Jinnah. It is true that a person by name Singh submitted a proposal to Guntur municipality in 1966, seeking renaming of the Jinnah tower as Hamid tower but the proposal was rejected by the Guntur municipal council then led by Sanakkayala Ankamma, the mayor said. He said Chief Minister Jagan was also reluctant to change the name of Jinnah tower. BJP is trying to create communal disturbance by raising the tower issue but the government will not allow such conspiracies to disturb peace, he added. Hyderabad: D.S. Lokesh Kumar is likely to be transferred from his present position as Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation commissioner after Sankranti. Either incumbent CDMA director N Satyanarayana or special Secretary for Finance Ronald Ross would replace him. This apart, special chief secretary Arvind Kumar and IT principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan are also expected to swap their departments. According to highly placed sources, Lokesh Kumar would any time be transferred to Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) and Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TTWREIS). The government has been actively considering special secretary for finance Ronald Ross as the replacement. However, the CDMA director has been lobbying for the commissioners post and has even shared the news among his close circles that he would be made the civic body commissioner anytime post-Sankranti.Sources also said that Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary (MAUD) and I&PR commissioner will swap the department with Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary,. Though this news has been in circulation for over a month, the government has been actively considering swapping their departments rather than transfer them to other departments. The state government at this juncture cannot afford to take the risk of transferring the two. Even after swapping, they will continue to help the minister for IT and MA&UD K.T. Rama Rao. Sources said that the bureaucratic transfers have been kept very confidential and the government would take a decision at an appropriate time. They said that caste equations would play a key role in the transfer of IAS officers and the government is closely monitoring their track-record. Vijayawada: Telugu Desam chief and former CM Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday asked chief minister Jagan to explain to the people what he had achieved out of his latest visit to Delhi. Did the CM seek Special Status, Polavaram funds, Visakhapatnam railway zone and protection of Vizag Steel Plant? Did he have any courage to tell the people about his achievements, Naidu asked. Delivering the valedictory address at the party state- level meeting here, the TD chief sought an unconditional apology to the people from the CM for his failures vis-a-vis the reorganisation promises. Jagan Reddy, who spoke in the past of bending the back of the Centre was now surrendering to Delhi for his own personal gains at the cost of APs future, he said. Naidu said the people here are facing danger from Jagans misrule, which was a worse threat than the coronavirus. With a little caution, people can escape from Covid infection but there would be no escape for them if they were hit with the Jagan virus. The last three years of the Jagan rule have caused unprecedented financial, physical and mental pain and anguish to all sections of the people, Naidu averred. Addressing a state-level meeting of MPs, MLAs, parliamentary and assembly in charges, Naidu said TD leaders were being persecuted with fabricated cases and false arrests under the Jagan rule. Naidu recalled how the TD government gave a good direction to the state and raised the hopes on the development of AP even as it was faced with very limited resources after bifurcation. There was a Rs 22,000 crore deficit in the budget but welfare and development were taken up in right earnest, he claimed. Naidu asserted that the TD government spent Rs 64,000 crore on irrigation projects and completed 71 per cent of the works on Polavaram. Amaravati was developed into a Rs 2 lakh cr asset. The TD made over 2.65 lakh TIDCO houses ready for distribution but Jagan would not hand them over to the beneficiaries, he said. The TD chief said the entire state was reeling under the impact of the YSRC misrule. While his party considered society as a temple and the poor people as its gods, Jagan has been looting the society and considering the poor families as his easy prey. The Thalli Bidda Express and ambulance services have been stopped. The elementary system was given a goodbye. The age-old systems were under threat. Jagan did not give one single teacher job since he came to power. The Jagan rule, which promised Prohibition, made the people drink over Rs 124 crore of liquor in one single day, Naidu said. Vijayawada: Government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy asserted that YSR Congress government is extending welfare schemes to all eligible people on a saturation basis. Addressing media here on Wednesday, he said people have full faith in Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has stood by his promise and credited over 1.2 lakh crore directly into bank accounts of eligible people in the last 30 months, leaving no space for corruption. Ramakrishna Reddy said unlike TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, who misused public funds as chief minister and put out false figures, the current government has a record of every penny spent. He said Naidu can now only dream about coming to power because the reality is that TDP has even lost Kuppam. The government advisor said people have punished the former chief minister by rejecting him in 2019. But instead of reviewing his mistakes, he is continuing to commit the same errors. Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy made it clear that there would be no early elections in the state. He said that the people have power for five years to YSRC and YSRC would take use the mandate. He said that elections will be held in the state as per the schedule. KARIMNAGAR: A large number of BJP leaders and activists gathered at the Karimnagar jail and accorded a warm welcome to the BJP state chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar who was released from the jail following the orders issued by the High Court here in Karimnagar district on Wednesday. Speaking to media persons outside the jail, Sanjay Kumar came down heavily on Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and said that he was ready to go to jail any number of times for the sake of the wellbeing of people of Telangana. The BJP is going to form a government after two years and will give back your jobs if you lose in fighting against the TRS government, he appealed to the employees and teachers. I am not going to spare the Chief Minister and the leaders who are supporting him. Rao might be feeling happy by sending me to jail, but he forgot that the entire Telangana community was backing me when I went to jail. But when I send Chandrashekar Rao to jail for looting crores of public money, people will pray not to release him, he said. BJP leaders and activists were not afraid of any kind of action taken by Rao and the state government, he said and added that Dharma Yuddham started now and Rao dug his own grave. Rao forgot that when the TRS government is in power in the state, the BJP is in power at the Centre and it is not going to leave Rao who looted Telangana society and amassed lakhs of crores of rupees. The BJP government will definitely send him to jail in the days to come, Sanjay Kumar said. He demanded that the Chief Minister amend GO 317 and not to create disputes between seniors and juniors, wives and husbands, locals and non-locals and to provide opportunities to widows and disabled persons and not to believe the union leaders who did nothing for the welfare of employees and unions. Sanjay expressed thanks to all national and state committee leaderships and BJP activists who backed him and gave necessary courage when he was in the jail. Meanwhile, BJP leaders and activists celebrated the release of Sanjay by distributing sweets and bursting crackers along with raising slogans against the Chief Minister and the TRS government across the erstwhile Karimnagar district. VIJAYAWADA: The AP government would resolve the PRC issue in two to three days. Chief Minister Jagan held talks with leaders of government employees unions and associations in the Joint Staff Council meeting at the camp office in Tadepalli on Thursday. Asking the unions to think in a pragmatic manner, the chief minister said he would make a statement on the PRC in two to three days time. I have taken note of the issues raised by the unions and would rectify anomalies, he said. The CM said the States Own Revenues (SORs) was Rs 62,503 crore in 2018-19 and this decreased to Rs 60,934 crore in 2019-20. It was Rs 60,688 crore in 2020-21. The expenditure for employees' salaries and pensions was Rs 52,513 crore in 2018-19 while it has been increased to Rs 67,340 crore in 2020-21. The increase in the expenditure was due to the decisions taken by the government for the benefit of the employees, the CM stressed. He said the state government has given 27 per cent interim relief to employees after it came to power in 2019 and the amount that had been paid thus was of Rs 18,000 crore since July 1, 2019. The salaries of Anganwadi and Asha workers as also the contract and outsourcing employees were increased and the expenditure on their salaries has been increased from Rs 1,198 crore to Rs 3,187 crore per annum. Jagan said the merging of APSRTC in state government has burdened the exchequer of Rs 5,380 crore from January 2020 to October 2021. The setting up of Village and Ward Secretariats has caused an additional burden of Rs 12,300 crore per annum. He said the recruitment of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff was done on a large scale and this had led to another Rs 820 crore burden per annum. APCOS was set up to benefit outsourcing employees and it has caused a burden of Rs 2,040 crore per annum on the state government. The MPDOs promotional channel issue and VRO Grade -1 promotional channel issue were solved by the state government, the CM said, and listed out other employee-friendly steps of the state government. Comparing Telangana with AP, Jagan said the net per capita income of Telangana was Rs 2,32,632 while it was only Rs 1,70,215 in AP. Telangana has spent Rs 22,608 crore on salaries and pensions for the first seven months from April to October while it was Rs 36,000 crore for AP for the first seven months in 2021-22. This was Rs 16,053 crore in Gujarat and Rs 25,567 crore in Bihar, he noted. The chief minister said the revenues of AP were declining while that of Telangana were increasing. The burden would be Rs 7,137 crore per annum if 14.29 per cent fitment is provided. DAs should be cleared by the time fitment is released. I am more compassionate, humanitarian and responsive when it comes to doing good to others, the CM said. Finance department has informed the CM that cash constraints were due to the bifurcation of the state and added that the net per capita income of the state is lowest compared to other south Indian states. Many of these institutions have worked in India for decades on difficult problems where government services were either inadequate or unavailable, such as leprosy and tuberculosis, healthcare and emergency relief. (Representational Image/ Twitter) It must be presumed that the home ministry and the Government of India headed by Narendra Modi, with the numerical majority of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, must have valid reasons for refusing to renew the permission to receive foreign funding under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act to almost 6,000 non-governmental organisations. No responsible and accountable government, especially one in a country the size of India with its many problems and critical gaps that affect the competence of the administration to deliver essential and life-saving services to the vulnerable, can function in a whimsical fashion. The question has arisen because among the almost 6,000-odd NGOs are prestigious institutions like the Indian Medical Association, the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia, Leprosy Mission, Tuberculosis Association of India, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the India Islamic Cultural Centre, the Missionaries of Charity and Oxfam. For the MHA to tersely state that these institutions have been denied permission because of violations is not sufficient. The beneficiaries of the assistance must know more, because if there has been a violation, the nature of the violation must be disclosed. Explanations are necessary. As much for the foreign donors, as for the recipients of services from these institutions, information about their credibility is important. Many of these institutions have worked in India for decades on difficult problems where government services were either inadequate or unavailable, such as leprosy and tuberculosis, healthcare and emergency relief. Many of these institutions have been the first responders in any crisis, like natural disasters as well as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Teams of doctors from the Indian Medical Association have worked alongside governments in the states to deliver to healthcare to people affected by natural disasters or out of control spread of disease, like Oxfam during and even now in the pandemic. Oxfam offered and the Government of India accepted the proposal that the organisation would bring in small oxygen plants and set them up in sub-district and district hospitals. The government also accepted Oxfams aid for bringing in emergency medical supplies at a time during the pandemic when the Supreme Court felt it necessary to intervene to remind the Government of India that it was falling short because it had failed in its primary responsibility for keeping the people safe. Generations of Indians have seen images of the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity working around the clock at disaster sites across the country and indeed in conflict and disaster zones in trouble-torn countries. It is therefore a shock to people to discover through the RSSs mouthpiece Panchajanya that the Bharat Ratna was conferred on Mother Teresa because of the necessities of the so-called secular politics of India, and that her sainthood was a lie. To make the charges credible, the Panchajanya article, Crucifixion, Power and Conspiracy, refers to books and articles on Mother Teresa that questioned her morals and her work for the poorest of the poor. The selection of charges and the slant in the article is curiously similar to the narrative crafted by Christopher Hitchens in his The Missionary Position, where he questioned the work, principles and morals of Mother Teresa. Explanations are also necessary after the controversy over FCRA rules were relaxed to allow the newly minted Prime Ministers Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations fund to receive funds from Indian citizens, corporates as well as foreign donors. While a bureaucrat heading the PM-CARES maintained that the fund was a public charitable trust and not a government entity, the actual status of the fund is disputed. If it were an NGO as its functionaries and lawyers claim, then why is its Web address the same pmcares.gov.in as that of other government entities? The portal has the Prime Ministers image on it; it also displays the Lion Capital of Asoka, which is Indias state emblem, the use of which is legally restricted to the government and government entities. The point is that all governments in elected parliamentary democracies are tasked with governance and there must be valid reasons for the decisions that are taken. The absence of clarity over PM-CARES is as much a violation of the idea of accountability as is the lack of explanation on why many first responder institutions have been listed by the Union home ministry as violators. The absence of transparency on how the home ministry arrived at its conclusions about various NGOs and their utilisation or alleged misuse of foreign funds once again challenges the credibility of the Narendra Modi government and underscores the trust deficit in the executive that has grown over time. The reaction of Mamata Banerjee and other Opposition leaders, as well as the social media chatter, suggests that sections of the public and the political establishment see the non-renewal of permission to receive FCRA funds as a penal measure that delivers a political message. The weaponisation of the FCRA by this and earlier governments is all the more unacceptable because some of the institutions that have been put on the list of NGOs denied permission to receive foreign funds have worked and continue to work to plug the gaping holes created by the governments failures on many fronts. Over the decades, successive governments at the Centre and in the states have failed to construct adequate health infrastructure, social infrastructure and the capability of anticipating, planning and responding to crisis management as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic shamefully revealed to the Indian people and the global community. Not all the NGOs are flawless. Not all NGOs use funds as they should under the law. It is the task of the government to monitor and deal with violations of the law. But the act of monitoring and regulation cannot be perceived as whimsical or vindictive. To avoid such perceptions, born of distrust, it is necessary for all governments, at the Centre and in the states, to be transparent and without prejudice. If Oxfams India Inequality Report 2021 was embarrassing for the Narendra Modi government, the response is not to cancel the institutions permission to receive foreign funds. If the Missionaries of Charity is in violation of the FCRA rules, there is no need for the RSS to attack Mother Teresa. The government has to function on its own terms. Being perceived as operating on terms that are purely political only diminishes the leader. Dubai: Thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Iranian cities on Thursday for the mass funeral of 250 victims of the Iran-Iraq war, a testament to the brutal conflict's widespread scale and enduring legacy 35 years later. A funeral procession carrying the remains of soldiers recently recovered from former battlefields snaked through the capital, Tehran, while other victims were returned to another two dozen provinces. Although Iran and Iraq sporadically exchange war dead excavated from borderlands that witnessed major combat in the 1980s, Thursday marked the largest such ceremony in recent years. While serving as remembrance for a country routinely consumed in mourning over the grisly war that killed a million people on both sides, the patriotic extravaganza also demonstrated the power of the Iranian hard-liners who organised it, as the country's diplomats met in Vienna for talks over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal. With conservatives under President Ebrahim Raisi in control of all branches of government, Iran has presented maximalist demands at the negotiating table, exasperating Western delegates as the country presses its nuclear advances. Meanwhile, tensions have ratcheted up across the region hostility with roots in US support for Iraq in the eight-year war. The funeral also comes just days before Iran marks the two-year anniversary of the Iranian military's downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board a tragedy that ignited an outburst of unrest across Iran and further damaged its relations with the West. Outside of Tehran University, trucks piled high with flag-draped coffins made their way through the streets. Men and women in black thronged the coffins, many weeping for those lost in the bloody, ultimately stalemated war started by Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party in 1980. It was the first time in recent years that Iran honored the interment of so many 1980s war dead at once. Hassan Hassanzadeh, a Revolutionary Guard general, told state TV that Iran had planned the mass funeral two years ago but pushed it back because of the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated the country. Infections have declined in recent weeks as vaccination accelerates. Thursday's ceremony, also commemorating the death of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatima, came as social media in Iran was awash with hashtags and images commemorating the crash of the Ukrainian plane that shocked the world on January 8, 2020. For days as Iran and the US teetered on the verge of war, the paramilitary Guard denied downing the plane, ultimately deepening public mistrust and unleashing popular anger in Iran. This week, hard-liners have been pumping out photos and slogans on Twitter to show solidarity with the recovered Iranian war dead. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the soldiers and offered his support to the family members of victims, Iranian media reported. His conservative protege, President Raisi, paid his respects at the funeral. Most of the victims' remains were recovered from the southwest border area of Shalamcheh, some 400 miles from Tehran, state TV reported, one of the main war-ravaged sites of Hussein's surprise invasion. Many were killed in Iran's offensive called Karbala 5 in January 1987 the war's bloodiest battle that killed up to 19,000 Iranians who struggled to win back some 60 square miles of the country's territory. None of the victims' remains returned Thursday were identified. The tombstones read anonymous martyr. The fate of many of the soldiers on both sides remains unknown. For many Iranian families, the conflict's painful legacy drags on in continuous waiting for news of loved ones still missing. The war that shaped the young theocracy after the 1979 Islamic Revolution continues to haunt Iran. Most of the top Iranian officials today either fought or contributed to the vast war effort. The military sent legions of young conscripts to the battlefields, including those who dropped out of high school to join the volunteer force and never returned. American support for Saddam's forces during the war, as Iraq unleashed thousands of chemical bombs against Iranians, also helped fuel wariness between Iran and the US that persists today. Jet Airways on Wednesday said its VP-operations, Sudhir Gaur, who was designated as the airline's 'accountable manager', has quit the company. The grounded airline, which is expected to resume operations this year under its new promoters Murari Lal Jalan-Kalrock consortium, in a regulatory filing clarified that Gaur was not the interim CEO of the company. It also said the Monitoring Committee at its meeting on January 5 has provided its "in-principle approval" to the nomination of Priyapal Singh as the new 'accountable manager' of the company. Jet Airways ceased operations in April 2019. Also Read | Jet Airways in talks with Boeing, Airbus for $12-billion order: Report "Sudhir Gaur is not the 'interim CEO' of the company as reported by certain news agencies. Gaur, who recently resigned from the company, was employed in July 2021 as VP- Operations and designated as the 'accountable manager' of the company (for the purposes of the requirements under civil aviation laws and regulations)," Jet Airways said in the filing. It said that the day-to-day operations and management of the company are being carried out by the monitoring committee constituted under the Resolution Plan as approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). "On account of Sudhir Gaur vacating the office of the accountable manager, the Monitoring Committee has provided their in-principle approval to the nomination of Priyapal Singh as the new accountable manager of the company in its meeting held today (January 5, 2022)," the firm stated, adding Jet Airways has not yet appointed its CEO. On June 22 last year, the NCLT approved the consortium's resolution plan for grounded Jet Airways, subject to certain conditions. A seven-member Monitoring Committee has also been formed to manage the day-to-day affairs of Jet Airways till the insolvency resolution process is complete. The consortium had on December 17 last year said that Jet Airways 2.0 plans to start domestic operations at the earliest in 2022 as a full-service carrier. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Reliance Industries Ltd has raised $4 billion in US dollar bonds, in the country's largest ever foreign currency bond deal, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The conglomerate raised $1.5 billion in a 10-year tranche, $1.75 billion in a 30-year and $750 million in a 40-year deal. Orders for the deal reached $7.25 billion and each of the tranches was primarily bought by Asian investors, the term sheet showed. It was the largest ever foreign currency bond transaction in India, according to Dealogic figures, eclipsing the previous record set by ONGC Videsh in 2014 when it raised $2.2 billion in US dollar bonds. Part of the cash raised by Reliance will be used to refinance $1.5 billion worth of debt due to mature in February, the term sheet said. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. But it confirmed the fundraising in a statement to stock exchanges on Thursday. Reliance said the proceeds from the issuance of notes will be utilised primarily for refinancing of existing borrowings, adding that the notes were nearly three times oversubscribed with peak orderbook aggregating $11.5 billion. Watch the latest DH videos: With the Bengaluru civic polls looming, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved a Rs 6,000 crore boost to the citys infrastructure along with a grand plan to address mobility issues at the notorious Hebbal junction. Briefing reporters, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said that Bengaluru will get Rs 6,000 crore over three years under the Chief Minister's Amrit Nagarotthana scheme. "The city will get Rs 2,000 crore every year," he said. The funds will be used for development of basic infrastructure in the city. This will be in addition to the works already taken up by the BBMP, Madhuswamy said. Separately, Madhuswamy unveiled the government's "vision" to ease traffic flow at the Hebbal junction, which connects the city to the airport. The plan also involves interventions aimed at KR Puram and Tumakuru Road where vehicular density is nightmarish. Also read: Layoff fears loom as Bengaluru businesses brace for curfew jolt Various civic agencies of the city have been directed to come up with a master plan. "The BMRCL has already started a comprehensive study to ease the flow of traffic at Hebbal junction and to increase its capacity based on projected traffic density for the year 2051," Madhuswamy said, adding that the BBMP, BDA, BMTC and other parastatal agencies will pitch in. Preliminarily, the government has listed 12 projects that mainly involve increasing the number of traffic lanes at key points. "The cost of all these projects are yet to be estimated. The required funds for the project will be sanctioned in the next budget," Madhuswamy said. As per the proposal being explored, three flyovers are planned along Ballari Road to increase the number of lanes from Bengaluru city to the airport from three to five on either side. A three-lane underpass from Tumakuru Road to KR Puram, two-lane flyover from KR Puram towards the city centre, two-lane flyover from KR Puram towards airport, widening the service road from aiport to KR Puram from two lane to three, widening KR Puram-Tumakuru road to four lanes among other initiatives have been planned. An elevated circular skywalk is also proposed near the busy Banashankari metro station intersection that has a bus stand, the Banashankari temple and the market. The skywalk will help pedestrians and ease the movement of BMTC buses at the busy junction, Madhuswamy said. In another decision, the Cabinet gave administrative approval to procure 300 electric buses for the city at the cost of Rs 100 crore. Check out DH's latest videos: Each year on January 17, Shahana bakes a cake and invites friends to her home in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. They sing happy birthday for her son, even light a candle. But it's a birthday without the birthday boy. Her son, Asfand Khan, was 15 in December 2014 when gunmen rampaged through his military-run public school in Peshawar killing 150 people, most of them students, some as young as 5. Asfand was shot three times in the head at close range. The attackers were Pakistani Taliban, who seven years later have once again ramped up their attacks, seemingly emboldened by the return of Afghanistan's Taliban to power in Kabul. In the last week of December, they killed eight Pakistani army personnel in a half dozen attacks and counter attacks, all in the country's northwest. Another two Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack on Taliban outposts late Wednesday night. Also Read | Taliban order Afghan shop owners to behead mannequins The Pakistani Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, are regrouping and reorganising, with their leadership headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan, according to a UN report from July. That is raising fears among Pakistanis like Shahana of a return of the horrific violence the group once inflicted. Yet the Afghan Taliban have shown no signs of expelling TTP leaders or preventing them from carrying out attacks in Pakistan, even as Pakistan leads an effort to get a reluctant world to engage with Afghanistan's new rulers and salvage the country from economic collapse. It is a dilemma faced by all of Afghanistan's neighbors and major powers like China, Russia and the United States as they ponder how to deal with Kabul. Multiple militant groups found safe haven in Afghanistan during more than four decades of war, and some of them, like the TTP, are former battlefield allies of the Afghan Taliban. So far, the Taliban have appeared unwilling or unable to root them out. The sole exception is the Islamic State affiliate, which is the Taliban's enemy and has waged a campaign of violence against them and for years against Afghanistan's minority Shiite Muslims, killing hundreds in dozens of horrific attacks targeting, schools, mosques, even a maternity hospital. Washington has identified the Islamic State branch, known by the acronym IS-K, as its major militant worry emanating from Afghanistan. The Taliban's longtime ally al-Qaida is not seen as a strong threat. Though US military leaders say there are signs it may be growing slightly, it is struggling near rudderless, with its current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, alive but unwell, according to the July UN report. Still, there are plenty of other militants based in Afghanistan, and they are raising concerns among Afghanistan's neighbors. China fears insurgents from its Uighur ethnic minority who want an independent Xinjiang region. Russia and Central Asian nations worry about the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which in recent years went on a recruitment drive among Afghanistan's ethnic Uzbeks. Also Read | Spoils of war: Taliban put victory over US on display For Pakistan, it is the TTP, which stands for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group perpetrated some of the worst terrorist assaults on Pakistan, including the 2014 assault on the military public school. The TTP numbers anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 fighters, according to the UN report. It has also succeeded in expanding its recruitment inside Pakistan beyond the former tribal regions along the border where it traditionally found fighters, says Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, an independent think tank in the capital Islamabad. Analysts say the Afghan Taliban's reluctance to clamp down on the TTP does not bode well for their readiness to crack down on the many other groups. The plain truth is that most of the terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, aside from IS-K, are Taliban allies, says Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center. And the Taliban aren't about to turn their guns on their friends, even with mounting pressure from regional players and the West. The militants' presence complicates Pakistan's efforts to encourage international dealings with the Afghan Taliban in hopes of bringing some stability to an Afghanistan sliding into economic ruin. Analysts say Pakistan's military has made a calculation that the losses inflicted by the TTP are preferable to undermining Afghanistan's Taliban rulers by pressing them on the issue. A collapse would bring a flood of refugees; Pakistan might be their first stop, but Islamabad warns that Europe and North America will be their preferred destination. Islamabad attempted to negotiate with the TTP recently, but the effort fell apart. Rana of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies said Pakistan's policy of simultaneously negotiating with and attacking the TTP is confusing and risks emboldening like-minded insurgents in both countries. Also Read | Nowhere to hide: Abused Afghan women find shelter dwindling It also worries its allies, he said. China, which is spending billions in Pakistan, was not happy with Islamabad's attempts at talks with the TTP because of its close affiliation with Uighur separatists, said Rana. The TTP took responsibility for a July bombing in northwest Pakistan that killed Chinese engineers as well as an April bombing at a hotel where the Chinese ambassador was staying. Pressure is mounting on Pakistan to demand the Afghan Taliban hand over the TTP leadership. But Islamabad's relationship with the Taliban is complicated. Pakistan's powerful military, which shepherds the country's Afghan policy, has ties to the Taliban leadership going back more than 40 years to an earlier invasion. Then, together with the US, they fought and defeated the invading former Soviet Union. After the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan was accused by Washington and its Afghan allies of aiding the Taliban. Pakistan denied the accusations, even as Taliban leaders and their families lived in Pakistan while waging their insurgency against Kabul. But the Taliban also have interests divergent from Pakistan's, particularly the issue of the two countries' 2,500-kilometer (1,600-mile) border. Afghanistan has never recognised the border, known as the Durand Line, which was drawn by British colonial administrators in the 19th Century. Last week, Afghan Taliban anger over Pakistan's construction of a border fence threatened to turn violent. Videos shared on social media showed Taliban destroying rolls of barbed wire meant for the fence and threatening to open fire on Pakistani troops. The Taliban's Defense Ministry issued a statement saying Pakistan had no right to erect a border fence. On Wednesday Pakistan's military spokesman Gen. Babar Iftikar said the fence was 94% done and would be completed. The fence on the Pak-Afghan border is needed to regulate security, border crossing and trade, he said. "The purpose of this is not to divide the people, but to protect them. Even if Pakistan were to ask the Taliban to hand over TTP leaders, it shouldn't expect any results, says Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal which tracks global militancy. The Afghan Taliban will not expel the TTP for the same reasons it won't expel al-Qaida, he said. Both groups played a key role in the Afghan Taliban's victory. They fought alongside the Afghan Taliban and sacrificed greatly over the past 20 years. Check out DH's latest videos Its the first week of the new year, but the competition to win the 2022 fashion collaboration game, that ever-escalating race to come up with the most eye-popping, head-shaking counterintuitive pairing of brands, has already begun. First out of the gate: Balmain, the French high fashion house, and Barbie, the ultimate plastic doll. It may signal the official breaching of the next big fashion frontier: the world of toys. Though the marriage of Mattel iconography and material iconography is not exactly what you might expect. There is no doll involved: Instead there is a 50-piece Barbie-inspired collection for grown-ups. It is modeled by racially diverse avatars and will include three nonfungible tokens of one-off looks to be auctioned online, each of which comes with a doll-size physical design, thus extending Barbies reach into the digital collectible space. Read more: Elle to drop fur from editorial content worldwide And most pointedly, both the collection and the NFT looks are unisex: Barbie clothing that erases the Ken-Barbie divide. After all, even in the era of the first female vice president, when Barbie and all the antiquated female stereotypes she can represent seem irrelevant, the collection is disarmingly appealing. It was designed with a dash of irony filtered through pink glasses and the giant grin of a boy who once felt he wasnt supposed to play with dolls and has now been given free rein to reimagine the most popular one in the world. Having Barbie in my Balmain army, making a collection inspired by her where there are no boy clothes or girl clothes, is my small revenge, said Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain. I think Barbie represents a joyful dream world. Theres nothing wrong with a dream. But lets push the dream and not dream of the 1950s or 1960s, but 2022. For me, its a lot more than just a commercial project. Its very emotional. He was speaking, he said, from personal experience as a kid, I did play with Barbies and did feel some rejection for it which was the reason he was interested in taking his relationship with Mattel beyond the dress-the-doll phase. Rousteing previously made looks for the Claudia Schiffer Barbie and, in 2021, invited a computer-generated Barbie and Ken to the Balmain digital fashion show. And he is but one of a long list of designers who have made clothes for the doll, including Jean-Paul Gaultier, Michael Kors, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg and Karl Lagerfeld. In 2009, for her 50th anniversary, there was a special Barbie fashion show at New York Fashion Week, and in 2019 Barbie received the Council of Fashion Designers of America Board of Directors Tribute, an award given previously to Michelle Obama and Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood. But this collection takes her influence, and the concept of inclusivity, to an even broader level. As to why Mattel was interested, well, according to Richard Dickson, president and chief operating officer of Mattel, the company believes that toys have the potential to be a credible fashion accessory, just like bags and perfume. When you combine the seriousness of high fashion with the fun of toys, its very powerful, Dickson said. As it happens, Mattel has some experience in this area, having created a limited-edition Hot Wheels Cadillac with Gucci in October. The toy cars 5,000 of them, priced at $120 each sold out within minutes, according to Dickson. Prices for the Barbie x Balmain collection are higher than that. They range from $295 for a T-shirt to $42,494 for a signature gown, which is a lot more than usual Barbie prices but less than classic Balmain, for which a basic logo tee retails for $495. (No one knows how much the NFTs will go for in the current gold rush climate of digital collectibles; the auction takes place Tuesday to January 14.) The point, Dickson said, is that just as those who may aspire to a Chanel bag can begin with a bottle of Chanel No 5, those who dream of a Balmain dress can start with a Barbie x Balmain accessory. Read more: The high price of our obsession with fast fashion People are looking for optimism and joy, especially now when life is very heavy, he said. Toys are that by definition. That the same definition can be applied to fashion is one of the convergence points. And it is true that it is hard to look at the Barbie x Balmain collection and not giggle, despite the saccharine sweetness of the color palette, which ranges from fuchsia to bubble gum (in other words, not very far at all), with some white, blue and yellow thrown in as accents. There are giant, squishy puffer bags with Balmain Paris scrawled over them in curving Barbie script under the 1970s Balmain logo and clear plastic shoppers that resemble Barbie doll boxes; baby-pink silk-satin suits with kimono jackets and striped shortie pajama sets; sequined mini-disco frocks and a strapless mermaid gown. Also, overalls and sweats and sharp-shouldered boucle jackets with gold buttons. The sheer, silly kitsch meets pop culture meets couture combination works surprisingly well. It adds levity to Rousteings signature 80s power shoulders and trussed-up-turkey dresses, which can sometimes seem overcooked, and raises the bar on collaborations. Like the Balenciaga Simpsons episode, it makes social and cultural commentary part of the value proposition. And in doing so, it gives credence to Dicksons prediction that soon the fashion-toy industrial complex is going to be a whole new business. Watch the latest DH videos: President Joe Biden on Thursday savaged Donald Trump's "lies" and attempt to overturn the 2020 election, vowing on the first anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot that he would let no one put a "dagger at the throat of democracy." After largely ignoring Trump for a year, Biden took off the gloves, describing the Republican as a cheat whose ego wouldn't let him accept defeat and whose supporters almost shattered US democracy when they stormed Congress to prevent certification of the election. "This was an armed insurrection," Biden said in a speech from Statuary Hall inside the Capitol, where a year ago thousands of people brandishing Trump flags trampled over police to invade the chamber, forcing lawmakers to flee for their lives. "For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power," Biden said. Also Read | Trump accuses Biden of trying to further divide America by invoking his name on Capitol attack anniversary "They came here in rage," Biden said of Trump's backers, and "held a dagger at the throat of America." "I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy." Laying out the dangers facing a country that has long styled itself as leader of the free world, Biden asked: "Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?" "Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people?" the veteran Democrat continued. "We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation." Also Read | Biden, Congress mark a year since violent insurrection Although Biden did not mention Trump's name, he made clear whom he was talking about in a blistering portrait of a man he said scorned democracy because he couldn't accept defeat. "The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election," Biden said. "He values power over principle." During the assault on Congress, Trump was "sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours," Biden said, his anger clear. "He's a defeated former president." Trump, who has spent the last year spreading conspiracy theories about his election loss to millions of followers, quickly responded by repeating his lie about the "rigged" election. Democrats "got away with something, and it is leading to our country's destruction," his statement said, claiming Biden was mounting "political theater" to distract from failures. The day's commemorative events were also to feature a speech by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and a prayer vigil on the steps of the Capitol. However, such are the depths of division 12 months later that many senior Republicans didn't even show up. The party's top lawmaker, Senator Mitch McConnell, was leading a delegation to a funeral of a recently deceased senator some 600 miles (965 kilometers) away in Atlanta, Georgia. In a statement, McConnell said January 6 had been a "dark day" but called it "stunning to see some Washington Democrats try to exploit this anniversary." McConnell was among the senior Republicans a year ago who condemned Trump for stoking the unprecedented violence with his barrage of lies about fraud, which no court or independent investigator has ever substantiated. Since then, however, almost the entire party has quietly backed off from talking about January 6, bowing to Trump's enormous influence with Republican voters -- and possible bid to return as president in 2024. On the eve of the anniversary, the Capitol police chief, Thomas Manger, said his forces would never be caught unprepared again, as they were last year. But the political risk may be, if anything, higher than before. Writing in The New York Times, former Democratic president Jimmy Carter said the United States "teeters on the brink of a widening abyss." "Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late," Carter wrote. More surprising was the voice of Karl Rove, one of the chief architects of Republican strategy over the last 30 years, who wrote in the right-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial pages that there was no forgiveness for the assault on democracy. "There can be no soft-pedaling what happened and no absolution for those who planned, encouraged and aided the attempt to overthrow our democracy. Love of country demands nothing less. That's true patriotism," he wrote. Check out latest DH videos here British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday hit out at anti-vaccine groups who spread "mumbo jumbo" on social media but ruled out the UK following some European countries in making Covid-19 vaccination a mandatory legal requirement. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in Northampton in eastern England, Johnson said the UK will maintain a voluntary approach to its vaccination programme as opposed to "coercion". However, he condemned anti-vaxxers for spreading complete nonsense and urged people to take up their booster doses to protect against the surging Omicron variant. "They (anti-vaxxers) are totally wrong and I think it is time that I, the government, call them out on what they are doing, Johnson told reporters. "It is absolutely wrong, it is totally counterproductive, and the stuff they're putting out on social media is completely mumbo jumbo You haven't heard me say that before, because I think it's important we have a voluntary approach in this country and we're going to keep a voluntary approach, he said. Also Read | New Covid curbs in England 'last resort', says minister Italy is the latest country to make vaccination compulsory for some, with all over-50s now being told to have a jab. Earlier, Austria was among the first countries to make vaccination a legal requirement. Johnson said while Omicron is milder than previous variants, "the pressures on hospitals are clear". He pointed out that the National Health Service (NHS) was under "huge pressure" at the moment and that it was a tragedy that some people were refusing what would keep them safe and out of hospital. "What a tragedy that we've got all this pressure on the NHS, all the difficulties that our doctors and nurses are experiencing, and we've got people out there spouting complete nonsense about vaccination, he said. "The saddest words in the English language are 'too late'. When you're in ICU and you haven't been vaccinated, sadly it's too late to get vaccinated, so get boosted now," he added. NHS England announced that around 90 per cent of over-50s have now received their third top up booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and that millions of appointments remain available for anyone yet to get boosted. "It is brilliant to see so many people getting their vital top-up dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, with 90 per cent of those eligible aged 50 and over now boosted, and more than 29 million boosters given in total, said Dr Emily Lawson, head of the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme. "Vaccination gives the best protection for you and your loved ones against coronavirus, so if youre eligible please get boosted now, she said. Meanwhile, the government hopes that the peak of the Omicron variant wave will be hit quite soon after the UK recorded over 190,000 daily infections. The requirement for a confirmatory PCR test to follow a positive lateral flow test conducted on a home testing kit has been scrapped in an attempt to relieve some of the pressures on testing laboratories and also to address staff absences by containing self-isolation for milder cases to seven days. Check out latest DH videos here China has said that its space station, stated to be a major strategic asset in space, will be ready for operations this year, providing a birds-eye view of the world. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station of its own as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative project of several countries. In an announcement on Wednesday, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) said that the country will complete the building of the space station in 2022. China Space Station (CSS) is also expected to be a competitor to the ISS. Observers say that CSS may become the sole space station to remain in orbit once the ISS retires in the coming years. Currently three astronauts, which included a woman, were busy building the station in orbit. Earlier, the US expressed concern over CSSs massive robotic arm which could grab objects from space. The arm was in action on Thursday as it successfully grabbed and moved the 20 tonne Tianzhou-2 cargo ship in a test, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said. It was the first such manoeuvre of the 10-metre-long robotic arm. In the early morning, it reached out and grabbed Tianzhou-2 and disconnected it from the CSS core module and transferred to another position. The operation tested the feasibility and effectiveness of using the mechanical arm to manoeuvre a section of the space station while in orbit and verified the arm's capability of handling heavy loads, state-run CGTN-TV reported. The success has paved the way for follow-up in-orbit assembly work for the construction of the space station later this year, it said. So far, the unfinished space station is composed of the Tianhe core module, Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo ships and Shenzhou-13 spaceship. CSS was in news recently as China has complained to the UN that satellites of SpaceX Starlink, owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, had two close encounters with it in orbit, endangering the safety of its astronauts. Also, according to CASTC, China will see 40-plus space launches in 2022, including multiple manned space flights, which will be on par with the US. In addition, China plans to launch two cargo craft, two Shenzhou spaceships and two laboratory modules for the space station within the year, the Xinhua report said. Other missions relating to the space station include in-orbital rendezvous and docking, extravehicular activities and spacecraft return. The Long March-6A carrier rocket will also make its maiden flight in 2022, it added. Check out DH's latest videos: A Nigerian designer is incorporating artefacts like the famous Benin Bronzes into fashion accessories, hoping to promote the country's cultural heritage as well as make a profit. Tosan Ideh said ITSK Gold, the company he co-founded with his friend Tuoyo Dudu, was motivated by Nigerian cultural symbols and artefacts to create jewellery like rings and bracelets as well as clothes. At his shop in Lagos, each piece of gold, silver and brass-coated jewellery represents Nigerian tradition and culture. "So people might really be able to speak their languages but symbols always resonate and its something we felt people can always resonate with like anywhere around the world," Ideh, who has lived in Canada, told Reuters. "I feel that we want to create products that people can have for a long time, they can pass from one generation to generation and know that this is true African heritage which is timeless." Among the jewellery are gold rings depicting the Queen Idia Mask, part of thousands of Benin Bronzes looted by British troops from the Benin palace in 1897. Idia was a 16th century queen mother from the Kingdom of Benin. Also on display is a ring topped with a Jekri sword, a symbol of the Niger Delta's Itsekiri people which is associated with courage and royalty and believed to have magical powers. "It is not just wearing pieces, it is wearing pieces that mean something," said customer Abdulmalik Obaseki after buying a lapel that represented his dual Hausa and Benin tribal roots. Watch latest videos by DH here: Kazakhstan is experiencing the worst street protests the country has seen since gaining independence three decades ago. Government buildings have been set ablaze and at least eight law enforcement officers have been killed. The outburst of instability is causing significant concern in Kazakhstan's two powerful neighbours: Russia and China. The country sells most of its oil exports to China and is a key strategic ally of Moscow. Also Read | Protesters seize airport of Kazakhstan's biggest city A sudden spike in the price of car fuel at the start of the year triggered the first protests in a remote oil town in the west. But the tens of thousands who have since surged onto the streets across more than a dozen cities and towns now have the entire authoritarian government in their sights. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has cut an increasingly desperate figure. He first sought to mollify the crowds by dismissing the entire government early Wednesday. But by the end of the day he had changed tack. First, he described demonstrators as terrorists. Then he appealed to a Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, for help in crushing the uprising and the CSTO agreed to send an unspecified number of peacekeepers. Why are people angry? Of the five Central Asian republics that gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan is by far the largest and the wealthiest. It spans a territory the size of Western Europe and sits atop colossal reserves of oil, natural gas, uranium and precious metals. Also Read | Kazakh government resigns after violent protests But while Kazakhstan's natural riches have helped it cultivate a solid middle class, as well as a substantial cohort of ultrarich tycoons, financial hardship is widespread. The average national monthly salary is just under $600. The banking system has fallen prey to deep crises precipitated by non-performing loans. As in much of the rest of the region, petty corruption is rampant. The rally that set off the latest crisis took place in the dusty western oil town of Zhanaozen. Resentments have long festered in the area over a sense that the region's energy riches haven't been fairly spread among the local population. In 2011, police shot dead at least 15 people in the city who were protesting in support of oil workers dismissed after a strike. When prices for the liquified petroleum gas most people in the area use to power their cars doubled overnight Saturday, patience snapped. Residents in nearby cities quickly joined in and within days large protests had spread to the rest of the country. Who is leading the protests? The suppression of critical voices in Kazakhstan has long been the norm. Any figures aspiring to oppose the government have either been repressed, sidelined, or coopted. So although these demonstrations have been unusually large some drawing more than 10,000 people, a large number for Kazakhstan no protest movement leaders have emerged. For most of Kazakhstan's recent history power was held in the hands of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. That changed in 2019 when Nazarbayev, now 81, stepped aside and anointed his long-time ally Tokayev as his successor. In his capacity as head of the security council that oversees the military and security services, Nazarbayev continued to retain considerable sway over the country. Tokayev announced Wednesday that he was taking over from Nazarbayev as security council head. Also Read | Protesters in Kazakhstan storm city mayor's office Much of the anger displayed on the streets in recent days was directed not at Tokayev, but at Nazarbayev, who is still widely deemed the country's ultimate ruler. The slogan Shal ket! (Old man go) has become a main slogan. How are authorities responding? The initial reaction was in keeping with usual policy in the face of public discontent. Police and the National Guard have been deployed in large numbers. The crowd that made its way to City Hall in the commercial capital, Almaty, early Wednesday was met by large phalanxes of riot police and armoured personnel carriers. While gatherings are normally dispersed with ease, the number of people on the street this time was too large. With government buildings coming under assault in several large cities, Tokayev appealed for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-led military alliance. He justified the appeal for external intervention by claiming the protesters were operating at the behest of international terrorist groups. He offered no details on what he meant by that. Is the government likely to be toppled? This is uncharted territory for Kazakhstan. The country has seen major demonstrations before: In 2016, after the passage of a contentious land law. And again in 2019, after the contentious election that secured Tokayev's hold on power. But never anything on this scale. In one of his appeals to the public Wednesday, Tokayev pledged to pursue reforms and hinted that political liberalization might be possible. His darker remarks toward the end of the day, however, suggested he would instead go down a more repressive road. Still, because the street protests are so lacking in focus, at least for now, it's difficult to see how they might end. But even if they fail to topple the government, it looks possible they might lead to deep transformation. What is not clear is what that might mean. Check out DH's latest videos: Bengaluru student arrested in the Bulli Bai hate app case targetting Muslim women was average in studies, had poor attendance, and kept to himself. He was in the third semester of a civil engineering course at a prominent college in Kumaraswamy Layout. He is from Bihar and is about 21. Mumbais cyber police came looking for him at 11.30 am when he was attending a class on Monday. The student was called to the faculty room and his parents were informed over a call before he was whisked away. His arrest was confirmed the next day and he was sent to police custody till January 10. He is the first among the four to be apprehended in the case where an app called Bulli Bai was hosted on GitHub (see box) to display photos of at least 100 Muslim women for a fake auction and these photos were shared on Twitter by handles with Sikh aliases. The co-accused are youngsters under 22 from Uttarakhand and Assam. Metrolife visited the Bengaluru campus and spoke to students from his department and other courses. With the exception of two BCom students, no one knew about the controversy that has hit the national headlines, and galvanised cyber teams from Mumbai and Delhi into action. His name did not ring a bell to most of his batchmates and seniors and none knew where the accused, a day scholar, lived. He was enrolled in Section A and the class representative said he had not noticed him more than two times in the class. The students also blame the pandemic for limited interactions among each other. After a year of virtual classes, students returned for on-campus classes on October 4, 2021. Auditoriums are shut and college events barred for Covid safety since then. A member of the faculty says the boy had no delinquency records, but his attendance was just 60%. We had shared the concern with his parents, he says. The college has no plans of holding an internal inquiry for now. What is Bulli Bai case? On January 1, photos of over 100 Muslim women were listed on an app called Bulli Bai for a virtual auction. Photos were used without their consent, some morphed. The women are mostly journalists, social workers and student activists critical of the government, and active on social media. The app was hosted on a platform called GitHub, and shared via multiple Twitter accounts. This comes six months after an app called Sulli Deals surfaced on the same platform, putting the profiles of several Muslim women up for bidding. No arrests have been made in connection with that incident yet. Sulli and Bulli are derogatory terms used to refer to Muslim women. What is GitHub? It is the worlds largest open-source software development platform. Users can upload their codes on the website for others to view, edit, or collaborate. Bulli Bai and Sulli Deals apps were developed and hosted on GitHub. The San Francisco-based company has taken down the two offensive apps. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), which is Indias nodal agency on cyber security, and the police are co-ordinating with GitHub to identify the creators. Bengaluru students involvement He allegedly made a Twitter handle called Khalsa Supremacist with a bio claiming that he lived in Canada. D Prajapati, his lawyer, says he has been falsely implicated. Some of the best years of my life I miss those people. Good times and memories, but I have moved on. Not my best days, but I have made peace with them. Glad to be away from those people I dont miss the high school experience. Vote View Results The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will host a conference on 'Muslims in UP - Development, security and inclusion', in Lucknow on Friday. The conference will dwell at length on a recent study on the current conditions of Muslims in terms of demography, challenges in education, including madrassas, participation in industrial sector, entrepreneurship, population aspects, criminalisation and incarceration. The study, which will be tabled at the conference, is based on data collected mostly from government reports available in public domain and from works of well-known names in the field of research. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that talking about various aspects related to the Muslim community without backing it with credible empirical data were usually dismissed as rhetoric. Also Read UP Assembly elections biggest test for Owaisi and AIMIM "More than 80 per cent of the data used in the study has been picked from government records available in public domain. The remaining data has come from exhaustive academic works of leading researchers," Owaisi said. "The data available does not give a rosy picture of what the community is dealing with at present and more effort is required from all quarters to improve the situation. "Muslims constitute 19.25 per cent of the total population of Uttar Pradesh against the national figure of 14.23 per cent. However, 71.2 per cent of Muslims above 15 years are illiterate or educated below the primary level in the state as compared to the national average of 58.3 per cent. The educational profile of Muslims in 2019-20 as per PLFS shows that at least 40.83 per cent Muslims are illiterate as compared to the overall illiteracy rate of 34.01 per cent. Such data is essential to fix responsibility on those responsible for the state of affairs," he said. The conference in Lucknow is being held just ahead of the Assembly elections and while addressing the media, Owaisi said that the idea was to attract attention from all quarters of the society on the condition of Muslims in India. "And what better a time than before the elections when issues related to communities and people get more attention," he said. Watch the latest DH Videos here: President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed concern over security breach during PM Narendra Modi's Punjab visit. PM Modi is likely to meet him. The Election Commission on Wednesday expressed concern over the slow pace of anti-Covid-19 vaccination in Manipur, where assembly polls would take place within the next few weeks along with Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa. Stay tuned for more updates. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday increased pressure on the Opposition Congress over the issue of a lapse in the cavalcade of prime minister Narendra Modi. In addition, PM Modi called on President Ramnath Kovind to give him a firsthand account of the incident, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. President Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse, the Rashtrapati Bhavan's handle tweeted. Also Read | BJP leaders slam breach of PM Modi's security in Punjab, demand apology Several ministers of Modis Cabinet raised the issue in a meeting of cabinet ministers, and expressed concerns'', said sources. Many of the ministers asked for exemplary action. This is an unprecedented incident, and there should be accountability and exemplary action, said a minister on condition of anonymity. Also Read | PM returned as barely 700 people turned up for rally: Punjab CM Channi While announcing Cabinet decisions, union minister Anurag Thakur told reporters that the home ministry will take tough decisions. The Home Ministry will take action. After we have enough information, whatever big and tough decisions have to be taken, we will do it. Whenever there is a breach like this, then whatever steps have to be taken will be taken. There are some people who have approached the Supreme Court, too, Thakur too. Also Read | There was no plan to stop PM's visit or obstruct his programme: SKM BJP leaders and workers across the country chanted the mahamrityunjaya mantra at various places to pray for the long life of prime minister Narendra Modi, a day after the party alleged an attempt to the PMs life in poll-bound Congress-ruled Punjab. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan chanted prayers at the Gufa Mandir in Bhopal. Reports said that 108 priests will recite the mantra over the next three days. Prayers were conducted at two other temples in the state Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga and Khandwa's Omkareshwar temple both centres of worship of Shiva. The mahamrityunjaya mantra is a verse from the Rig Veda, a canonical treatise of the Hindus, and the mantra is chanted to pray for longevity. Also Read | PM Modi got 'troubled' in 15 minutes, while farmers camped for a year: Navjot Singh Sidhu In Delhi, too, several leaders conducted prayers. BJP General Secretaries Arun Singh and Dushyant Gautam led prayers at Preeti Vihars Durga temple and Connaught Palaces Hanuman Mandir, respectively. Vice-president Baijayant Panda led prayers at the Jhandewalan Temple. Tripura CM Biplob Deb also conducted prayers at Agartalas Meher Kalibari temple, and BJP legislator Rekha Verma prayed at her constituency Dhaurahas Shiv temple. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, too, tweeted the mantra in support. Special prayers will also be conducted at Varanasis Kaal Bhairav Mandir. On Wednesday, PM Modis cavalcade was stuck for 15-20 mins atop a flyover in Bathinda as protestors blocked roads. The BJP has alleged that this lapse of security was an attempt to his life aided by the states Congress government. Check out DH's latest videos: When the Omicron coronavirus variant spread through India late in December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the nation to be vigilant and follow medical guidelines. Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the capital region of Delhi, swiftly introduced night curfews, shut down movie theatres and slashed restaurants and public transport to half capacity. Then, both men hit the campaign trail, often appearing without masks in packed rallies of thousands. When it is our bread and butter at stake, they force restrictions and lockdowns, said Ajay Tiwari, a 41-year-old taxi driver in New Delhi. There are much bigger crowds at political rallies, but they dont impose any lockdown in those areas. It really pains us deep in the heart. Also Read | India's R-value higher than 2nd Covid-19 wave peak: Govt As Omicron fuels a rapid spread of new infections through Indias major urban hubs, the countrys pandemic fatigue has been intensified by a sense of deja vu and the frustration of mixed signals. It has been just a few months since the deadly Delta variant ravaged the country when government leaders vastly underestimated its threat and publicly flouted their own advice. The memories of overwhelmed hospitals and funeral pyres working around the clock are still all too fresh here. The metropolis of Mumbai on Wednesday reported more than 15,000 new infections in 24 hours the highest daily caseload since the pandemic began, beating the citys previous record of about 11,000 cases during the second wave in the spring. In New Delhi, the number of daily infections increased by nearly 100% overnight. The sheer size of Indias population, at 1.4 billion, has always kept experts wary about the prospects of a new coronavirus variant. In a few places around the world was the toll of the Delta as stark as in India. The countrys official figures show about 500,000 pandemic deaths a number that experts say vastly undercounts the real toll. Read | Upsurge of Covid cases happening in cities: Centre Omicrons high transmissibility is such that cases are multiplying at a dangerously rapid pace, and it appears to be ignoring Indias main line of defence: a vaccination drive that has covered about half the population. Initial studies show that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, a locally manufactured version of which has been used for about 90% of Indias vaccinations, does not protect against Omicron infections, though it appears to help reduce the severity of the illness. Sitabhra Sinha, a professor of physics and computational biology at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, said his research into the reproduction rate of the virus an indicator of how fast it is spreading that is called the R-value in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai shows insanely high numbers for cities that had built decent immunity. Both had a large number of infections in the spring, and a majority of their adult populations have been vaccinated. Given this high R-value, one is looking at incredibly large numbers unless something is done to stop the spread, he said. But officials appear to be latching onto the optimism of the early indications from places like South Africa, where a fast spread of the variant did not cause devastating damage, rather than drawing lessons from the botched response to the Delta wave in the spring that ravaged India. Read | Third Covid vaccine dose won't be mix-and-match: Centre Dr. Anand Krishnan, a professor of epidemiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said Indias messaging of the new variant as a mild illness has led to complacency. The health system has stopped being complacent. But the population is complacent. People are not wearing masks or changing their behaviour, Krishnan said. They think it is a mild illness, and whatever restrictions are being imposed are seen more as a nuisance than necessary. Scientists say any optimism about Omicron is premature simply because of how many people the variant could infect. Even if it is a microscopic percentage who require hospitalisation, Sinha said, the fact is that the total population were talking about is huge. Also Read | Omicron driving Covid surge in Karnataka, say experts Although the percentage of newly infected people turning to hospitals has been increasing in recent days, data from Indias worst-hit cities Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata showed that only a small number of Covid-designated beds were occupied so far. Data compiled by the Observer Research Foundation showed that about 3% of the known active cases in Delhi and about 12% in Mumbai have required hospitalization. Dr. J. A. Jayalal, until recently the president of the Indian Medical Association, said what worried him was not hospital beds or oxygen running out a capacity that Indian officials have been trying to expand after the deadly shortfalls during the Delta wave but that the health system might face an acute shortfall of health workers. About 1,800 Indian doctors are known to have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, Jayalal said. Health workers are struggling with pandemic fatigue. Tens of thousands of doctors only recently called off a strike protesting being overworked and a delay in recruiting new doctors. Reports in local media suggest hundreds of doctors and medical workers have tested positive in recent days. Watch the latest DH Videos here: A 20-year-old engineering student, whom Delhi Police describes as the main conspirator and creator of the derogatory Bulli Bai app that posted pictures of over 100 Muslim women and conducted online auctions, was arrested from Assam on Thursday. Neeraj Bishnoi, a resident of Assams Jorhat, was apprehended by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police's Special Cell following investigations into a case registered by it following a complaint by a young woman journalist earlier this month. This is the first arrest by Delhi Police in the case while Mumbai Police has apprehended three youths an 18-year-old Uttarakhand resident Shewta Singh, 20-year-old Delhi University BSc Chemistry student Mayank Rawat from Uttarakhand, a 21-year-old engineering student in Bengaluru Vishal Kumar Jha hailing from Bihar in a case registered separately. Also Read | 'Bulli Bai': The malcontents of a poisoned society Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra said Bishnoi is the main conspirator and creator of 'Bulli Bai' app on GitHub platform and the owner of the main Twitter account of the app. He is a second year student of Vellore Institute of Technology in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal. Malhotra claimed Bishnoi, whose father is a businessman, has confessed about the creation of the application. "Forensic remnants of the creation have been found in his laptop...The IFSO worked out the case using technical analysis, IPDR (Internet Protocol Detail Records) and other gateways," he said, adding Bishnoi allegedly sent the app to social media propagators. Also read: 'Bulli Bai' app to intimidate the courageous minority women, says Mariam Dhawale An Assam Police officer said the operation to arrest him lasted about 12 hours and the arrest took place within hours of information being shared by Delhi Police, PTI reported. The Bulli Bai app, which surfaced six months after a similar Sulli Deals app surfaced, came to light on January 1 when some of the women whose pictures were used and auctioned online spotted these on Twitter. An outrage followed and Union Information and Technology Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw assured action. A number of vocal Muslim women, which included journalists, political party activists, a radio jockey, mother of a JNU student who went missing and anti-CAA student activists among others. Delhi Police had registered a case on the basis of a complaint by Ismat Ara, a journalist with news portal The Wire. Also read: 'A vocal Muslim woman is everything that they hate,' says Hasiba Amin on 'Bulli Bai', 'Sulli Deal' cases While the app was taken off, Github, the platform that hosted both the Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai apps, was asked to provide details of the creator of these apps. Activists had said that the investigations in the previous Sulli Deals app failing to catch the perpetrator had emboldened others to come up with the Bulli Bai app Check out the latest DH videos here: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday set up a committee to probe the security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cavalcade in Punjab, an issue that has become a political war between the BJP and the Congress. The panel will look into the "serious lapses" in the security arrangements during Modis visit to Ferozepur on Wednesday, which led to the "exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk", an MHA spokesperson said. The three-member committee will be led by Secretary (Security) in Cabinet Secretariat Sudhir Kumar Saxena and will include Intelligence Bureau Joint Director Balbir Singh and Special Protection Group Inspector General S Suresh, IG, SPG. Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has constituted a committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modis visit to Ferozepur, Punjab on 05.01.2022,which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk. Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) January 6, 2022 The committee has been directed to submit the report at the earliest. Modi was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes while on way to Hussainiwala as protesting farmers blocked the roads. The MHA had blamed the Punjab government for the "serious security lapse". Also read | PM Modi returned as barely 700 people turned up for rally: Punjab CM Channi On Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had targeted the Congress for the "security breach" and said "such dereliction" of security procedure is "totally unacceptable" and accountability will be "fixed". He had said, "todays Congress-made happening in Punjab is a trailer of how this party thinks and functions. Repeated rejections by the people have taken them to the path of insanity. The topmost echelons of the Congress owe an apology to the people of India for what they have done." Check out DH's latest videos: Founder of Ittehad-e-Millat Council Tauqeer Raza Khan's call for a 'Dharam Sansad' on Friday has got support from All India Tanzeem ul Islam, which on Thursday asked the community members to gather in large numbers. The protest has been called to offer 'mass sacrifice' in protest against hate speeches delivered in Haridwar. Raza Khan appealed to muslims of Uttar Pradesh to gather in large numbers at the Islamia School in Bareilly on Friday for "mass sacrifice" in protest against recent hate speeches made in Haridwar. The announcement was made on Saturday where he said, "the recent Dharam Sansad against which objections were raised by our community was not the first one but it has been happening for many months, but the present government was never ready to hear anything." Read more: 'Dharam Sansad' for liberating temples from govt control "Our ulemas have conducted three meetings but we never called it Dharam Sansad, but the language used in Haridwar can never be used by our ulemas and the ulemas show the path of peace, patriotism and love to disciples," he added. The cleric said that the hate mongers want to kill 20 lakh Muslims. "We have decided that we are ready for it. I urge the government that they can send their people to kill us and on Friday at least 20,000 Muslims will surrender before them. The best way is that Muslims sacrifice their lives to ensure peace in the country." Khan has got support of Tanzeem which recently advocated united India as it was in medieval period. Mujahid Hussain Qadri of Tanzeem said that people want to create disharmony between Hindus and Muslims but they will not succeed. The hate speech was reportedly made during an event in Haridwar held from December 17 to 20. Video clips of the event, circulated on social media, say that "Hindus should arm themselves like those seen in Myanmar, every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a Safayi Abhiyan." The event was organised by Yati Narasimhanand, a controversial religious leader who has been accused in the past of inciting violence. The Uttrakhand Police have lodged an FIR in the case against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi -- former Shia Waqf board chairman, who recently converted to Hinduism. In a similar incident, Chhattisgarh Police had arrested Kalicharan Maharaj for allegedly using derogatory language against Mahatma Gandhi from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho. The police had registered an FIR and arrested the religious leader and others for allegedly making derogatory comments on Mahatma Gandhi and praising Nathuram Godse. The Congress is criticising the delay in action against the accused in Haridwar. Watch the latest DH videos: As the BJP took the prayer route to cash in on the security breach of the Prime Minister convoy, the Congress on Thursday accused Narendra Modi of lowering Indias image and insulting Punjab and Punjabiyat by suggesting that his life was in danger in the poll-bound state. You went to Pakistan suddenly. You feel safe there. Because of the hatred you have for your own people, you are defaming the whole regionYou cannot demonise, insult Punjab and Punjabiyat, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told a press conference. Taking exception to Modis purported comments to officials to thank their Chief Minister for him reaching Bhatinda airport alive, Khera said, Modi is not just BJPs Prime Minister but the whole countrys. People of Punjab know the value of their Prime Ministers lifeThe bravehearts, who sacrificed their lives, have been wrapped in tricolour more than the number of times the BJP-RSS waved the tricolor. The Congress's attack came as BJP fanned senior leaders across the country to hold Mahamrityunjay Jap for the long life of Modi, who was stuck on a fly-over in Punjab following a security breach due to farmers blocking a road. Several BJP leaders like External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who tweeted a Sanskrit verse with a hashtag #ModiJiJiyoHazaroSaal (1,000 years for Modi), took to social media as part of a campaign. Also read | Explained: PM's security detail and the SPG As the BJP sought to put the Congress in a spot over the security breach in party-ruled Punjab, Khera said India was not a banana republic and no one should dent the morale of security forces. He said the Prime Minister could have waited for 15 minutes to allow the Punjab Police to clear the protesters from the road but he instead chose to defame Punjab. He said Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had on such occasions engaged with protesters but Modi hates questions, protesters, Opposition and accountability. He referred to a few incidents in which Modi faced protests during his visits and getting stuck in traffic jams. He said Modi never made comments like the one he did in Bhatinda airport when girl students of Banaras Hindu University protested during his visit to Varanasi in September 2018 or when his cavalcade had taken a wrong route in December 2017 in Uttar Pradesh. Also read: SC to hear plea related to 'breach of PM's security' in Punjab on January 7 Highlighting an incident in which Modi got stuck in Delhi traffic, Khera said the BJP had then celebrated it as ending the VIP culture. Modi did not say thank you Chief Minister then, he said. Recalling the 2017 Gujarat poll campaign, he said Modi had accused former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Hamid Ansari and former Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, among others of conspiring with Pakistan. Late Arun Jaitley had to express regret in Parliament for this. When the polls are around, just see how some people lower the standards, he said. Check out DH's latest videos: The CPI(M) on Thursday found fault with a section of Opposition parties for not raising their voice against the anti-Muslim Dharam Sansad in Haridwar due to the upcoming Assembly elections, saying they are unable to grasp the enormity of the danger posed by fascistic Hindutva forces. In an editorial in party mouthpiece Peoples Democracy, the CPI(M) said the men and women in saffron who made the anti-Muslim speeches and call for violence to eliminate them were not some fringe elements but represented the mainstream of the Hindutva forces, which include the RSS and the BJP. It also said that they have the state patronage and it was evident from a picture that emerged of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami touching the feet of one of the inciters at the Dharam Sansad, Swami Prabodhananda. Also Read | Muslim cleric's call of 'Dharam Sansad' against hate speeches gets support The editorial said the Haridwar event was part of the speeches and rhetoric of the leaders of the RSS outfits and the BJP that are taking place with greater frequency and cited Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths constant Muslim baiting speeches to BJP MP Tejashwi Suryas recent call to use mutts and temples to reconvert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism. These are not just hate speeches in the realm of rhetoric but it is being translated daily into acts of violence and intimidation of Muslims and Christians on the ground, it said. However, the editorial said that it was regrettable that some of the secular opposition parties are unable to grasp the enormity of the danger posed by the fascistic Hindutva forces. Some issued statements of disapproval or condemnation while some others sought to avoid the issue given that elections are around the corner in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Not just condemnation in words but concerted united action is the need. When the BJP-ruled states are letting these forces run amok, it becomes the duty of the secular and democratic forces to unitedly rebuff and counter these forces, it said. Also Read | Hate speech: Time to step back from the brink However, the CPI(M) did not specify which Opposition party or parties it was referring to. The editorial said the speeches at the Dharam Sansad fall under the sedition as per the Supreme Court interpretation that the provision was applicable only when there is a call or incitement to violence. "The evidence is all there in the public domain. The event had been live-streamed and videos of the speeches widely circulated. They all show speaker after speaker, calling for arms to be taken up, the massacre of Muslims, cleansing the villages off them and one speaker even saying that he would have shot (former) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a revolver if he had had the opportunity to do so, it said. The speeches do not constitute just hate speech, but are an open incitement to violence and ethnic cleansing, it added. Check out latest DH videos here Amid differences of opinion amid the ruling coalition majors, JD-U and BJP on the former's push for a caste-based census, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has emerged as a forceful proponent of the move and is urging Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to take a "bold decision" on the issue. The assurance was made by state RJD President Jagadanand Singh on Wednesday. The issue has split the ruling partners with the BJP's top leadership ruling it out while Nitish Kumar and his JD-U's top leadership are in favour of it. Also Read | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar loses cool over his speech getting disrupted Nitish Kumar has already announced to conduct a caste-based census at the expense of the state government. He has also called for an all-party meeting and blamed the BJP for delaying it. After his Janata Darbar on Monday, he said that all political parties of Bihar are in favour of a caste-based census except the BJP. After Nitish Kumar's statement, Jagadanand Singh appealed to him to take a positive decision on the caste-based census and said that the RJD will support him. "The Narendra Modi government at the Centre ruled out conducting a caste-based census in the country but it has allowed states to do the same if anyone wants to. In this case, why is Nitish Kumar delaying on taking decisions on it? We want to assure him that he should go for it, the largest political party of the state is with him," he said. Also Read | Nitish Kumar's inebriation worse than liquor addiction, says RJD leader RJD leaders always claimed that the issue of the caste-based census was first raised during the Rabri Devi government. Hence, RJD wants to take the edge on this issue and also create differences between JD-U and BJP. "After the clear stand of the Centre, there is no bar for Nitish Kumar to take a decision on it. Still, he is making excuses. I appeal to Nitish Kumar to become brave and take bold decisions. Don't give excuses. Take decisions in the interest of large sections of society," Singh added. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider an urgent plea raising the issue of breach of security to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Punjab's Bhatinda. A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana asked senior advocate Maninder Singh, who brought up the matter, to serve the copy of the plea filed by 'Lawyers Voice' with the Punjab government counsel and posted it for hearing on Friday. Singh sought an "efficient and professional" probe into the entire episode to avoid its recurrence in future. Also Read | BJP leaders slam breach of PM Modi's security in Punjab, demand apology He asked the top court to direct the District Judge, Bhatinda to take into possession of the entire records related to the breach of security. The Punjab government has also formed a high-level committee to probe lapses during Modi's visit. On Wednesday, Modi's convoy remained stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur. The incident forced the PM to cancel his rally and other events planned in poll-bound Punjab. Check out the latest DH videos here: A day after it breached the 10,000-mark, the national capital is likely to report 14,000 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. "Coronavirus cases in Delhi have seen a spike in the past few days. Today it is going to be near 14,000," Jain said. Currently, the death ratio is 1 on 1000, indicating that the situation is fine as compared to last time. "Yesterday we had 9,000 beds, today it has become 12,000, so our preparations are complete. We are now conducting close to 90,000 tests," the minister added. On Wednesday, the minister asserted that the third wave has started in the national capital. "The Covid cases can jump to nearly 10,000 today with the infection rate nearing 10 per cent by today evening in Delhi", he had said, adding that it is obvious now that the third Covid wave has started in the union territory. Also read: Indias rising Omicron wave brings a grim sense of deja vu Delhi, on Wednesday, reported 10,665 fresh Covid cases, a significant rise of 94.58 per cent from yesterday. It was the highest single-day rise after May 12 when the tally stood at 13,287. The new cases pushed the infection tally to 14,74,366 in the city. Meanwhile, a total of eight Covid deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, which is the highest since June 26 when only nine deaths were reported. With this, the death toll has climbed to 25,121.The active cases in Delhi have also gone up to 1.58 per cent. In the meantime, India's tally of Omicron-positive cases went up by nearly 500 on Thursday morning to reach 2,630, according to the Union health ministry update. The new variant of Coronavirus has now reached 26 states, the ministry' data further showed. Check out the latest DH videos here: Hindus expelled from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and living in Uttar Pradesh, have been accommodated in the land that the state government freed from encroachers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday. He also said his government has introduced transparency in all government exams, thereby marking a paradigm shift in the recruitment process from the previous regime. "Hindus, who were living in Meerut for decades after facing expulsion from Pakistan and Bangladesh, could not afford to build their own houses or buy lands. We have given 63 such Bengali Hindu families two acres of land and 200 square yards for housing per family in Kanpur Dehat. These lands were freed from 'bhu mafia' (land grabbers)," he said. Each of the 63 families is also given Rs 1.20 lakh under 'Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana', Adityanath said at a programme organised to distribute appointment letters to candidates selected for various posts in government services. Also Read | Yogi compares Yadav clan to Mahabharat characters The chief minister said all the land freed from "encroachers" was brought under a 'land bank' and these pieces of land will be used for setting up schools, industries and other businesses. "Many facilities of the Defence Industrial Corridor have also been built on these recovered lands," he said. According to the chief minister, the state government currently has 64,366 hectares of the recovered land and it is being allotted for the poor to build houses. Adityanath had earlier said in the Legislative Council that the anti-land mafia task force had freed 67,000 acres of land belonging to the revenue department. Speaking about introducing transparency in recruitment to government services, the chief minister said without taking any names, "Before 2017, whenever vacancies were announced, the uncle and nephews used to carry out extortion up to the village level. While they used to extort, the officials involved in the recruitment process were made the scapegoats. "But... now whenever there is any irregularity in the selection process, we have not desisted from cancelling it and taking stern action against those involved." Adityanath handed over appointment letters to 57 naib tehsildars, 141 spokespersons of government colleges and 69 assistant teachers on the occasion. The chief minister claimed that the state government has so far appointed more than 1,75,000 teachers in primary, secondary and higher education departments. "Never before were so many teachers recruited. The recruitment process was completely transparent," he said. Check out latest DH videos here It is very odd that Satya Pal Malik, Governor of Meghalaya, has launched a frontal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Odder that even after three days, the government and the party are quiet. No counter; no riposte. Malik has not only called Prime Minister Modi "very arrogant" but also egotistical and quarrelsome about policy disagreements. Allegedly when Malik suggested that 500 farmers had died in protests against the farm laws, the prime minister's response was, "Have they died for me?" Malik claims that within five minutes of discussion on the farmers' issue, he ended up in a "fight with him" and was told to speak to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Apparently, when he did consult Shah, he said, "Satya Pal, he has been misguided by some people (Iskee akal maar rakhi hai logon ne). You be carefree and keep meeting us. Things will be understood one day." Expectedly, Malik issued a pro-forma denial a day after his statements went viral, claiming that his comments (available on video) had been "misconstrued" and that Shah "did not make any comment on the prime minister." While conceding that the prime minister was now on the right path, Malik has not withdrawn his earlier comments. What is odd about the entire episode is that Malik has targeted the prime minister over an old meeting, recounting it much after the farm laws have been repealed and agitating farmers have left the year-long sit-ins. Although Malik has been openly supporting the farmers in the last six months, he has never before launched a frontal attack on the prime minister. In November, he taunted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for being unfeeling, "Even when an animal dies, Delhi netas' express condolences. But they could not pass a condolence motion for 600 farmers in the Lok Sabha." He did not name Prime Minister Modi. Why then has he chosen to engage the prime minister so adversarially at this juncture and escaped censure? Some political observers claim that the governor wants to be sacked so that he can contest the Uttar Pradesh (UP) legislative elections. But he could have done so by resigning peaceably from his gubernatorial assignment. The BJP might have backed him as their pro-farmer face, who would attract the Jat caste vote in Western UP. If this is indeed a consideration for Malik, clearly, in his judgement, the BJP's prospects are not very bright in UP. The government seems to be in a quandary about what to do with Malik. As a constitutional authority, he can be dismissed for politicking. However, if the Union Cabinet (on whose recommendation the president acts) recommends such punitive action, it could be said that he has been punished for telling the truth. There is also fear of the Jat vote in Western UP turning against the BJP. On the other hand, not removing Malik would make Prime Minister Modi seem weak and erode his authority. He is known for never having forgiven an adversary (even those from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) either in his term as the chief minister of Gujarat or as prime minister. If Malik is not brought to heel, Prime Minister Modi could become fair game for others in the BJP as well. If Malik is not sacked, the message that goes unchallenged across the country is that the prime minister is arrogant, self-centred and does not care for the deaths of Indian citizens, even if they die in hundreds. Yet, more than 72 hours since Malik trained his guns on Prime Minister Modi, everyone has maintained radio silence on Malik's comments. Malik had earlier said that he had been appointed by "two or three powerful people in Delhi" and that they alone could remove him. But the cat seems to have got their tongue. Does the failure to orchestrate an effective defence of its leader indicate goings-on within the government and the party which outsiders have not fathomed? Even Union Home Minister Shah considered the prime minister's right-hand man - allegedly spoke of the prime minister being misled. With such perceptible loss of authority, it is difficult to see how Prime Minister Modi can lead the BJP in the 2024 general election. Prime Minister Modi has failed to combat growing unemployment. The economy is not doing great. Poverty and inequality have gone up. The prime minister has shown no statesmanship in taking along the Opposition on important national issues. His much-touted national security credentials lie in shreds as he is unable to even admit to the fact of Chinese aggression in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Distributing freebies before elections and Hindu-Muslim polarisation is too fragile a political platform to support his candidature for a third term. The deafening silence in the party and government may be the first admission of this. (The writer is a journalist based in Delhi) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. Check out the latest DH videos here: The Central government's move of raising the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years has led to an unprecedented rush for marriages in the Muslim community in Hyderabad and other towns of Telangana. Hundreds of marriages are being solemnised in the state every day due to the panic which has set in ever since the Child Marriage Amendment Bill 2021 was tabled in Parliament last month. Though the Bill was referred to the Select Committee following objections raised by the opposition parties, the fears of the Bill getting Parliament's approval in the next session of Parliament are driving parents to advance the marriages originally fixed for later this year or next year. Also Read | Why should men decide the rights of women? asks DMK's Kanimozhi Fearing that the legislation will delay the marriages of their daughters by three years, parents are convincing the parents of bridegrooms to advance the marriages. In many cases, only the legal formalities are being completed with both sides agreeing to have reception, Valima and other rituals as per the original schedule. Several qazis are performing 10-20 nikah each every day. Nikahs are not just being solemnised in mosques and function halls but also at homes. Qazis, who are appointed by the State Waqf Board, are seen rushing from one place to other to complete the legal formalities. Nikahs are usually held in mosques in the evenings but due to the huge demand nikahs are also being performed in the afternoon. On normal days, mosques see one to two nikahs each every day but now this number has gone up to eight-ten. Qazis say they have never seen a situation like this in the past. Even at the peak of the marriage season, they used to perform 3-4 nikahs. "This is unprecedented. Parents are very worried and they want the nikah to be solemnized as early as possible," a qazi said. Also Read | 'Disheartening': Shiv Sena MP seeks more women representation in panel for marriage age Parents are in a hurry to complete the entire process by obtaining the marriage certificates from Wakf Board, Some unscrupulous elements are cashing on the situation by offering anxious parents to help them complete the formalities and documentation. Appeals by Muslim leaders and organisations to parents not to panic are apparently not having much impact. The parents fear that if the Bill is passed they not only have to wait for a couple of more years but may even lead to cancellation. The situation has forced Telangana State Waqf Board to step in. Its chairman Mohammed Saleem held a meeting with qazis and advises them to help allay the apprehensions among parents. "I have urged qazis to counsel both sides not to panic as the Bill has not yet passed and the legal age of marriage for women continues to be 18. We are appealing to parents not to take wrong decisions in a hurry," said Saleem A leader of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Saleem hopes that the Bill will not be passed as several parties were against the move to enhance the legal age of marriage of women. He claimed that 90 per cent of parents in all the communities marry off their daughters at the age of 18-20 and only 10 per cent give them higher education. The Waqf Board chairman said even if the Central government pushes through the Bill it is not likely to be passed early. He pointed out that the Bill has already been referred to the Select Committee. The panel will have consultation with members of different parties and this process itself will take a few months. He said TRS and other parties would oppose the Bill in Parliament. Since the Bill has to be passed by both the houses and the President has to give his assent to make it a law, he believes that the entire process may take two years. United Muslim Forum, an apex body of various Muslim socio-religious organisations, has also appealed to the community not to rush through the marriages as the Bill has still not passed by Parliament. The Bill has already drawn flak from several Muslim groups, who see this as an interference in Muslim Personal Law. They say Islam permit marriage of a girl once she attains puberty. Check out DH's latest videos: Covid-19 cases in Telangana are rising at an alarming rate but the top health official said that they are winding up the airport surveillance as Omicron has now spread in the local community. There is not much use now testing the foreign returnees. We are removing the Omicron data columns from our Covid-19 bulletins too from today, Telangana public health director Dr Srinivasa Rao said while addressing a press conference on Thursday. The state health officials said that they are not in favor of imposing lock-down like restrictions which could hurt the economy and livelihoods of people. The state has reported 1,913 new cases on Thursday, up from 1,520 on Wednesday and 1,052 on Tuesday. On Monday, the new cases were 482. The new case load was below the 200 mark for many weeks until 10 days back. Out of the 1,913 cases from across Telangana on Thursday, Hyderabad contribution alone is 1,214. Rao stated Omicron as apparently "playing a vital role in the surge. We would see a big surge in cases in the coming four weeks. January last week could be the peak in the country and the state and by the middle of February the wave might go down as quickly as it came up, Rao said. Till Wednesday, the state has officially recorded 84 Omicron cases. Knowing the variant does not make any difference as the treatment is the same for Covid-19, be it Delta, Omicron or any other mutation. However, medical teams would be deployed at the borders with Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to screen the entering people. Telangana government has decided to operate fever/Covid-19 clinics in all the state run medical facilities from Thursday. Authorities said two crore testing kits, and over one crore home isolation kits with nine medicines for Covid-19 are readied and dispatched to all the districts Even now only 2.3 percent of the hospital beds are filled, the same proportion of last few months. No one required oxygen as of now, Rao said. But people need to be extremely careful. Take vaccines, wear masks, avoid gatherings. We also appeal to political parties, public organizations to cancel their programmes for the next few weeks. Even one percent of the infected needing hospitalizations would put an undue pressure on our medical infrastructure, the official said. Check out DH's latest videos: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Atul Pradhan was booked after a video in which he can be heard calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'liar' went viral on the social media. The Meerut police took suo motu cognisance of the same and lodged an FIR. Pradhan said that he had not said or done anything wrong and the BJP government was "misusing its powers by booking all those who are raising their voice against the ruling party." Narendra Sharma, station house officer (SHO) of the Daraula police station, said that Pradhan has been booked under Section 505 (2) of the IPC, which entails a maximum of five years of imprisonment. He said the section is slapped on those who hurt 'sentiments of people'. The SHO said, "I have found a 32-second video in which Atul Pradhan can be seen making indecent remarks about the Prime Minister. His statements have created a furore among people." Pradhan, meanwhile, said that he had spoken against the Prime Minister via Facebook live and that he did not regret what he had said. "Doesn't the Prime Minister keep making remarks about others during his rallies? An FIR against me is a misuse of powers by the ruling party, which is fearing defeat in the upcoming polls," he said. Watch the latest DH Videos here: In the seven-and-a-half years that he has been Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has not answered any questions, has not made the customary statement in Lok Sabha after a State visit abroad, has not engaged in a tete-a-tete with a fellow member during a debate. The only time he took part in the proceedings was during his first year in office. When there was a strong protest from Opposition members over a controversial remark by Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in an election rally, where she posed a choice between Rams sons and illegitimate sons. She apologised, but the members demanded an explanation from the Prime Minister. Modi, speaking in the Lok Sabha and in Rajya Sabha in December 2014, asked Opposition members to consider the fact that she was from a village and asked them to be magnanimous and accept the apology. The only time that Modi has spoken through these seven years in Parliament is during the reply to the Motion of Thanks to the Presidents Address. And he takes care to mention some of the members who spoke in the debate. In February 2017, in his reply, he retorted to former PM Manmohan Singhs criticism of demonetisation as organised loot and legalised plunder saying that despite the scams surrounding him, Singhs image remained clean but that was because he (Singh) knew the art of bathing with a raincoat on. Before every session, Modi has given a soundbite to the media expressing hope that there would be useful discussions in the two Houses, but he has never been an active participant in any discussion in Parliament. This is quite in contrast to the sentiments he expressed about Parliament when he was elected in 2014. He genuflected on the steps of Parliament House and described it as the temple of democracy. As a Member of Parliament from Varanasi, Modi has paid a lot of attention to the constituency he has been elected from, visiting the place regularly, even taking former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe there in December 2015, and then there is the corridor he has got constructed from the riverfront to the Vishwanath temple. He seems to believe that as an MP from Varanasi and as PM, it is enough if he beautifies the place. He is doing his duty by his constituency. Would his constituents also like to see him participate in parliamentary proceedings? There is a larger implication of Modis absence, or silence, on the working of Parliament. It seems that that the Modi government in Parliament is managed entirely by ministers. It is indeed the case that it is the ministers of various portfolios who answer the questions, but the occasional intervention of the PM as leader of the Lok Sabha would have given the Modi government a better image. Modi may believe that his image lies in the work of the government and not in his intervention in Parliament, but that would be wrong in a parliamentary democracy. The PM needs to defend his government in the two Houses. He should be heard in Parliament, rather than at public rallies. In the British House of Commons, every Wednesday is the Questions to the Prime Minister or Prime Ministers Question Time, and the PM has to answer directly the questions of the Leader of Opposition. In the Indian Parliament, however, while this tradition exists, the PM can have the Minister of State in the PMO answer. And thats what has happened so far in the Modi regime. This seems to be a personality trait. He does not like to be questioned. And it seems to be also the reason why he has not held a single press conference in these seven years. The interviews he did as Chief Minister of Gujarat did not show him to enjoy the questioning. And the few interviews he did after he became PM were from those who were more inclined to praise him rather than to question him and his government. Even former American President Donald Trump, who hated the media and publicly said so, nonetheless faced the media day in and day out, and he did it in his own bumptious way. But Modi avoids being confronted with questions, whether in Parliament or with the media. The effect of a disengaged Prime Minister in Parliament is that the Opposition is restless and dissatisfied. A PM who addressed them directly could alter the tenor of the proceedings in the two Houses. Modi sits through the presentation of the Budget, but he does not do so on other occasions. If he is present in the House, and if he were to answer a question or two in the form of clarification or a statement, then the Opposition would be satisfied. It is true that the Opposition may use the opportunity of the Prime Ministers presence to insist that he respond. But this is indeed the spirit of parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister is a member of the House, and as head of the government, he should be interacting with the legislature. When Modi came into office, observers like Arun Shourie predicted that Modis would be a presidential style of governance, that he would take decisions on his own and that he was not merely the first among equals in the Union Cabinet. It seems that Modi has adopted the same presidential attitude towards the legislature, too. He remains aloof from Parliament. It will be argued that each Prime Minister brings his own style to the office, and that Modis aloofness is his style and that one should not complain about that. We need not quarrel with Modis political stylistics. But it remains incumbent on us to observe and describe the phenomenon. (The writer is a New Delhi-based political commentator) Watch the latest DH Videos here: Despite the lull and drawdown in media coverage, international engagement in Afghanistan is at a critical juncture. A looming humanitarian crisis, driven primarily by constraints in food and resource, economic turmoil and harsh winter, should underscore the immediacy of combined international action in this regard. The most prominent impediment to taking international steps in Afghanistan is the Taliban, their inability to form an inclusive government and, above all, provide assurance to the international community that there will be a genuine follow through on critical tenets of governance and security. In fact, the Talibans return to the helm has only compounded challenges ranging from militancy and violence to human rights violations, for nations near and far. Consequently, international engagement with Afghanistan is bedevilled by the dilemma of choosing between inactivity on the one hand and engaging the Taliban, despite their anachronistic policies, on the other. Also Read | Afghan Taliban do little to stop Pakistan fighters India finds itself at the heart of this quandary, divided between restoring Afghanistan as a strategic priority in its policy and the practical hurdles on the ground. Currently, India is assessing three broad ways of potential engagement with Afghanistan: providing humanitarian assistance, exploring a joint counterterrorism effort with other partners, and talking to the Taliban. The end goal of all these is to restore people-to-people links and prevent backsliding of the gains Delhis developmental aid has made in Afghanistan in the past two decades. India has undertaken more than 400 key infrastructure projects in all 34 Afghan provinces and has signed strategic agreements to enhance trade and bilateral relations. Beyond the historical and civilisational links that India and Afghanistan share, in the immediate circumstance, India recognises the importance of its investments in Afghanistans peace and development. Today, there is an open assertion made by India regarding Afghanistan, calling for the urgent, non-discriminatory distribution of humanitarian assistance across all sectors of the Afghan society. Also Read | Taliban order Afghan shop owners to behead mannequins As a responsible power and the largest in South Asia, India has deep stakes in not just the reconstruction of Afghanistan but also in safeguarding the interests of minorities, women and vulnerable sections of Afghan society. India has voiced its obligation to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan at numerous multilateral fora. In delivering assistance, India has opted to coordinate with other stakeholders, instead of with the Taliban. Apprehensive of the Taliban exploiting the current humanitarian crisis and following a partisan distribution process, India is more inclined towards distributing assistance through international agencies like the UN and the FAO as their involvement comes with an implicit larger consensus. For India, one of the vital components of the enabling environment is the establishment of a stable humanitarian aid corridor through Pakistan. Although Pakistan finally relented in permitting a free two-way transit between India and Afghanistan, its reluctant, conditions-based authorisation and deteriorating relations with Delhi rule out complete reliance on any such corridor. Indias policies toward Afghanistan have been underpinned by the terrorism threat that emanates from Pakistan. The recent rise in terrorist attacks in Kashmir could well be a pointer of things to come. As such, India is cautious about a terror corridor that might be facilitated from eastern Afghanistan leading up to Kashmir, should a land-based link be established. Such concerns ride on the proximity of the Taliban with Islamabad and some of the Talibans statements on Kashmir. Read | Had no plan to kill former President Ghani after takeover, says Taliban India has consistently reaffirmed its support for UNSC Resolution 2593 and staunchly maintains that Afghan soil should not be used for anti-India terrorist activities. Counterterrorism is likely to play an increasingly pertinent role in shaping Indias policies vis-a-vis Afghanistan, even as India seeks an alignment in its broader Indo-Pacific obligations and its immediate South Asian goals. India has demonstrated a growing interest in developing more robust counter-terror approaches across various multilateral fora, including the UNSC and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. More recently, the Quads focus on counterterrorism apropos Afghanistan could provide a rare opportunity to combine capacities with Australia, Japan and the US. The Quad members share a consensus on the significance of cooperation, the necessity of regulating funding channels and of closely monitoring means of recruitment via online media. The hosting of the very first counterterrorism table-top exercise (CT-TXT) by the National Investigation Agency has presented an opportunity to Delhi to lead the Quads counterterrorism narrative. This could include the country using its bilateral intelligence-sharing networks with the US as a strong plank to improve and consolidate the intelligence-sharing capacities of the group. Additionally, India could also propose the development of a Quad-led counter-terror ecosystem: a regional structure bringing together the South Asian neighbourhood to deliberate over the best practices to regulate terror groups and combat violent extremism in the region. With Indias permanent representative to the UN recently named the new Chair of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, India could amplify such concerns at the global level. Also Read Spoils of war: Taliban put victory over US on display In its wait and watch policy, Indias stance on the official recognition of Afghanistan under the Taliban and engaging Kabul finds resonance with most international and regional countries. Delhi is reluctant to draw sharp conclusions on the nature of the Taliban rule. However, there is a realisation that India should stay relevant and preserve its influence in the region. This has manifested in the events that led up to the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan, assembling NSAs of regionally important countries. While Delhi sought to convene critical stakeholders and pave a new political roadmap for a unified regional response to the Taliban, it experienced multiple hurdles in convincing the South Asian neighbourhood to align with its leadership. For instance, Pakistan and China chose to attend the Troika-plus deliberations, instead of joining India. These competing approaches to Afghanistan will be a reality going forward. A realistic assessment of its goals, both long-term and short-term, together with readjustments, is the need of the hour in framing a strategically sustainable Afghanistan policy. Delhi rethinking the issue of opening its embassy in Kabul could be a good start. (Mishra is Fellow, Observer Research Foundation; Dhabhai is Research Intern, Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies) Watch the latest DH Videos here: Attapadi, Indias first tribal block, located among the hills adjoining the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala is home to the Irula, Muduga and Kurumba Adivasi communities. In 2013, reports about infant deaths in Attapadi caught national attention. That this happened in Kerala, globally renowned for the good health and wellbeing of its population, added to the shock. Both the Centre and the state governments swung into action with targeted schemes and a special financial package to reverse the alienation of the Adivasi communities and improve their health status. However as recent reports indicate, despite all these measures, the spate of infants continues. Since 2013, a lot has changed in the local health system in Attapadi. Currently, there is a well-functioning Tribal Speciality Hospital, a Community Health Centre, three Primary Health Centres and twenty-eight sub-centres spread across Attapadi. All health facilities are staffed with several medical officers, Nurses, ASHAs etc. The Tribal Speciality Hospital has multiple specialists. All healthcare, both in-patient and outpatient is provided completely free with even indirect costs such as travel expenses, food etc. being reimbursed. Despite all these measures, why does infant mortality continue to haunt this tribal block? Recent news reports and researches conducted in Attapadi have shown that community engagement and ownership are missing here. Recent research on healthcare in Attapadi has described how potentially well-intentioned actions have led to the stigmatisation and alienation of the local communities. The lack of meaningful engagement with the village chiefs (moopans) or the community forums such as the village assembly (ooru kootams) while planning interventions has led to activites that have no real impact on the health status. In its efforts to ensure that hospital-based care for all, the local health system also took the path of forced compliance of the community to its directives. This led to a trust deficit among the community of the local healthcare system. A key feature of successful indigenous health programs globally is the importance given to culturally safe healthcare delivery by placing indigenous traditions and customs in a central role. Culturally, safety is not about learning a few indigenous words or practising art. It is about changing the approach to providing quality healthcare by focusing on the rights of indigenous communities to receive healthcare that is not only technically sound but respects them and their worldview. The health system should take concrete steps to integrate itself with the right of indigenous communities to lead a life that is in keeping with their cultural and spiritual belief systems. Community involvement One of the key lessons that we learnt from the National Health Mission (NHM) was the importance of village health committees in ensuring quality healthcare. Given the unique features of indigenous communities, this initiative needs to be adapted and integrated into their worldview. The traditional system of governance among the indigenous communities of Attapadi is headed by the ooru moopan who was assisted by a council. All matters of common interest were discussed and decided by the ooru kootams convened by the moopan when required. While the roles of the moopan and the ooru kootams have gradually been replaced by the governance mechanisms of the state, they still hold immense cultural significance. Instead of imposing a system from outside, the local health system in Attapadi needs to adapt itself to these cultural institutions so that they can work together as allies in pursuit of the common goal of health for all. To achieve this, the department of health should ensure that: Village-level health committees are formed immediately in each village consisting of the moopan and the ooru ASHA. Sensitise and train all health personnel working in Attapadi on culturally safe approaches to providing healthcare within the next six months. Mandate that all doctors and nurses should attend the village assembly in their area at regular intervals to discuss issues faced by the community and promote awareness of the various initiatives of the department. Involve local indigenous organisations to build capacities of the Indigenous communities to engage with the health system. (The writer is a research fellow, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra. He carried out ethnographic fieldwork in Attapadi between 2018-19 for his PhD thesis that investigated the reasons for poor access to healthcare in among indigenous communities in Attapadi) Watch the latest DH Videos here: In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. 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It was on December 25 that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rejected an application from the Mother Theresa-founded Missionaries of Charity (MoC) to renew its licence to collect foreign donations, citing adverse reports against the NGO. Neither the MHA nor MoC, which issued separate statements, spelt out what the adverse reports were. A week later, the number of organisations that lost their licences under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rose to over 6,000. Among those who lost their licence effective January 1 were Oxfam India, Jamia Milia Islamia, IIM Bengaluru and Kolkata, IIT-Delhi, Biocon Foundation, Azim Premji Foundation, the governments labour think-tank VV Giri National Labour Institute, and Satyajit Ray Film and TV Institute. By January 5, there were 12,422 NGOs whose FCRA licences had expired. Some 179 of them lost their permission to collect foreign funds after the MHA claimed to have found violations in their application and activities. They have an option to appeal the rejection and some of them are moving in that direction. The renewal exercise was necessitated by a 2015 amendment that mandated that the licence to collect foreign funding would have a validity of five years only. A large number of NGOs were granted licences in November 2016, and their validity ended on October 31. The MHA first extended the validity of the licence till December 31, and then to March 31, 2022. It said, however, that the extension was only for those NGOs whose renewal applications were still pending before it. The likes of MoC dont have that luxury. Also Read | MHA allows some NGOs to collect foreign donations till March 31 The issue became public when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted on Dec 27 that a freeze had been ordered on the bank accounts of MoC. Following public outrage, the MHA issued a statement within hours that MoCs application for FCRA renewal had been rejected but it had not ordered a freeze on the NGOs bank accounts. The quick damage control came perhaps as the government already facing criticism over the Haridwar Dharma Sansad -- did not want adverse international publicity on account of action against a reputed international humanitarian organisation. The MHA confirmed that it had rejected the MoCs application for renewal over adverse inputs against the NGO, which it did not specify, and went on to claim that the State Bank of India had informed it that it was MoC itself that had asked its accounts to be frozen. The NGO corroborated that the MHA had not ordered any freeze, but it also clarified that it had not approached the SBI to freeze its accounts, rather that it had only asked its own centres not to operate any accounts dealing with foreign funds until the FCRA matter was resolved. As suspicion arose that the government may have arm-twisted MoC to issue its statement, Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien tweeted: First, the Government of India intimidates. For weeks, right through to December 25. And then, they pile on the pressure to extract this (MoC statement). Shame on the MHA and its shameless damage control tactics. Also Read | Choking NGOs wont do any good Oxfam, on its part, issued a long statement explaining how the government action would puncture its work in 16 states during the third wave of Covid-19 as it would hit the NGOs plans to set up oxygen plants and deliver life-saving equipment to hospitals, among others. While the MHA remained mum on where the NGOs had erred, neither MoC and Oxfam India nor other NGOs impacted by the decision have said what reasons the authorities have cited to reject their renewal applications. Governments trying to put a squeeze on NGOs is nothing new. It was not long ago that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had raged against those protesting against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, citing national interest. The UPA government amended the FCRA to make it stringent, the Modi government has taken it much further. Soon after it came to power in 2014, the Modi government opened a broad front against NGOs like Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Ford Foundation, and several others. A large number of NGOs lost their licences in the purge. It further amended the FCRA to make it more difficult for NGOs to obtain funds from abroad including mandating all NGOs seeking foreign donations to open a dedicated account with the SBI in Delhi. Civil society is curiously silent over the latest episode, even as opacity rules the governments actions against the NGOs. Were the renewal applications of MoC and Oxfam India hastily and summarily rejected? Whose reports are these adverse reports that the government is relying on and citing? The MoC has long been a target of Hindutva outfits; Oxfam, meanwhile, has been critical of the Modi government on occasion. Why have some 150 NGOs been taken off the list of organisations with expired licences in the past few days? One explanation is that they filled in their applications after the MHA updated the list (at 7 PM) but before the deadline of midnight on December 31-January 1. It is not easy to find out which these NGOs are since there is no consolidated list of NGOs that applied at the last minute. Is it a question of our NGOs versus your NGOs? Every government would love to have a pool of NGOs that support it. The UPA regime had institutionalised its interaction with NGOs through the National Advisory Council (NAC) but the relationship went awry as civil society turned against it. The Modi government has amplified the UPA governments argument that many NGOs were acting against the countrys economic interests, but it may have added an ideological bias to whats already a messy problem. At a time when the government is fast withdrawing from the social sector and Indias ability to achieve many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals come into question, the role of NGOs is rising and critical. To tar a certain section of them with a selective brush and to squeeze them out of existence may do the country no good. Watch the latest DH Videos here: With Congress deciding to go ahead with its 'padayatra' (march), demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river, despite the government's Covid-19 restrictions, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Thursday warned of action in case of violation of rules. An unfazed Congress' state president D K Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Siddaramaiah reiterated that they will go ahead with the padayatra and said they are ready to go to jail, in case the government arrests them. The Congress' march from Mekedatu to Bengaluru, covering a distance of over 100 kilometres, demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project, which is being opposed by neighbouring Tamil Nadu, is scheduled from January 9 to 19. "They (Congress) are not behaving like a responsible opposition, at the time when the state is amid a pandemic. How to behave is left to them, people are watching. Not doing anything (on Mekedatu) for six and half years while in power, they are now saying they will agitate for the sake of water. During normal situations they had every right to do it, but this is not the time," Jnanendra said. Also read: Mekedatu yatra: Cong's padayatra is last yatra in Karnataka, says Kateel Speaking to reporters here, he pointed out that even PM Narendra Modi's programme in Lucknow has been cancelled, also the state BJP has cancelled its 'Chintana Shibira' scheduled to be held from January 7-9 in the wake of a spike in cases and Covid restrictions. "If they (Congress) go ahead with the padayatra and violate guidelines, necessary action will be taken, and people are watching everything," he said, adding that "our health is in our hands and I appeal that everyone should cooperate." The Congress on Wednesday had decided to go ahead with its padayatra, despite the government's Covid-19 restrictions, and had described Covid containment measures as a "conspiracy" to "scuttle" their march. Stating that Covid rules are not different for political parties and people, Jnanendra said rules are same for anyone and in case of any violation, strict action will be taken in accordance with law. People like Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar who have been in public life for long, have to think that the life of the people is more important than politics, he said, as he warned that in case they violate Covid rules, action will be taken against them also as per law. "We will observe them, if they violate, we will take action.....there is no question of any permission (for padayatra), we have cancelled our own meetings, all activities have been prohibited, when such is the case, how can special permission be given to them, it is not possible," he said. The Karnataka government on Tuesday had decided to impose curfew on weekends and restrict public gatherings to fight the third wave of Covid-19, till January 19. It has also decided to continue the night curfew for two more weeks, and has prohibited all rallies, dharnas, protests, among others Reacting to the Home Minister's statement, Shivakumar said his party will go ahead with the padayatra following Covid precautionary measures and was ready to go to jail if the government decides to arrest him. "....let them arrest me or Siddaramaiah or MLAs. We will respect law and Covid rules," he said. Pointing at a large gathering of political leaders including Chief Minister, Ministers, opposition leaders, legislators and their supporters at the swearing-in of newly elected MLCs at Vidhana Soudha today, the KPCC chief accused the government of double standards and asked Jnanendra as to how this event was allowed, and said that his party will not fear "futile threats". "There is Covid here as well, what are they (govt) doing? what is Home Minister doing? They should have done it (swearing-in) virtually or should have called only newly elected MLCs for swearing-in inside the Council chambers.....We will go ahead with our padayatra for the sake of the people and get them the water, no one can stop, let the government show its strength," he said. Siddaramaiah too asserted the Congress is going ahead with the padayatra with all precautionary measures like wearing face masks and gloves, maintaining distance and using sanitizers. To a question on no permission being accorded for taking out the march, he said, "We will not take permission and do padayatra... but we will not violate the law....let them (govt) take action." "If the government imposes prohibitory orders to stop people from joining the padayatra, two or three of us leaders will march," he added. The padayatra is for the implementation of the Mekedatu multipurpose (drinking and power) project, which involves building a balancing reservoir, near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district of Karnataka. The project once completed is aimed at ensuring drinking water to Bengaluru and neighbouring areas (4.75 TMC) and also can generate 400 MW power, and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore Watch the latest DH videos: The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) has released the temporary schedule for Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams amid fears of Covid surge. The exams are scheduled between March 28 and April 11. The Board has asked the parents and candidates to submit objections between January 6 and 14. According to schedule, the examination for first language will be held on March 28; second language on March 30; Economics/core subject on April 1; Mathematics/Sociology on April 4; Social Science on Apr 6; Third language on April 8 and Science, Political Science, Karnatak/Hindustani music on April 11. Also Read | Civil services (main) exam to be conducted from January 7: UPSC The exams will be held between 10.30 am and 1.45 pm. Candidates will be given 15 minutes to study question papers. Last year amid the Covid challenge, former Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Sureshkumar was appreciated for his efforts to conduct SSLC exams between July 19 and July 22, 2021. The exams were conducted in the multi-choice objective type format. About 9 lakh students attended the exams. Karnataka was one among the few states in the country which had conducted board exams by cutting short exams to two days. Check out latest DH videos here Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday came under pressure from his own Cabinet colleagues to relax Covid-19 curbs in those parts of the state where the pandemic situation is not as bad as it is in Bengaluru. Some ministers told Bommai in the Cabinet meeting that the night curfew and weekend curfew should not be imposed in districts where the rate of infection is less. They even asked him to allow liquor shops to operate during the weekend curfew. However, the government has decided not to revisit the Covid-19 protocols for now. The curbs will be in force till 5 am on January 19. Several civil society groups have placed their demands. In the Cabinet also, some things were discussed, such as allowing excise shops. But, we havent decided anything, Bommai said. Based on the severity of the infection in the coming days, we will take a call. Also read: Bengaluru gets Rs 6,000 cr boost for infrastructure; plan to decongest Hebbal Junction Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said the government will review the applicability of the rules on January 14 or 15. Some ministers raised the issue that the guidelines shouldn't apply everywhere. Weve decided to wait for some days before thinking of relaxing curbs wherever possible, he said. Before the Cabinet meeting, RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa voiced his opposition. A single rule for the entire state is wrong. Districts where the problem is less should have a separate rule, he said. In fact, theres no curfew in Shivamogga (his constituency). The order hasnt even reached us. Defending the imposition of the stay-at-home orders every night and during weekends across the state, Madhuswamy said the government wants to get a grip on the situation early and not after things go out of control. We saw what happened last time. People went from Bengaluru to other places and the infection spread. We want to make things safe everywhere, he said. The third wave of Covid-19 will not be as bad as the second one, Madhuswamy said. We believe that the rate of hospitalisation wont be high. The third wave will be unlike the second one in terms of hospitalisation and requirement of oxygen, he said, adding that controlling the rate of infection is key. Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar also wrote to Bommai on relaxing curbs on hotels and restaurants. "Livelihoods of a lot of people will be at stake. There are workers who come to Bengaluru everyday for jobs..." he stated. Check out DH's latest videos: The number of known Omicron cases may be relatively small in the state, but there is little doubt that the new variant is driving the fresh surge, experts said. As of Tuesday, Karnataka had 226 confirmed Omicron cases even though it has recorded 21,102 Covid-19 cases since December 2, when the first two Omicron cases in the state were made public. There is little doubt in my mind that Omicron is driving the current surge in cases. Based on the epidemiological pattern, four out of five new cases being found in the country are due to Omicron, virologist Dr T Jacob John told DH. Also Read | Parents wary as doubts on Covaxin's shelf life persist State Health Commissioner D Randeep concurred that Omicron cases have started to comprise a large chunk of cases from January onward. Genomic sampling will increasingly show this in the days to come, he said. An analysis by DH of existing sequencing results in the state for the last one month had found that while the Delta sub-lineages are continuing to play a role in the outbreak, showing a 141% increase in the last 30 days, Omicron cases have bolted upwards at a rate of over 11,000%. A national-level genomic expert in government, who did not want to be named, also told DH that "in Delhi and in Mumbai which has sequenced, (Omicron) has dominated and become a major proportion". Also Read | Karnataka imposes weekend curfew for 2 weeks to curb spread of Covid-19 While in Karnataka too, the scale of Omicrons presence in this new outbreak could be verified by genomic sequencing, ongoing lag in results means a genomic picture of the outbreak that is slightly outdated, officials said. There is a delay of 3 to 8 days before the sequencing result comes back. Furthermore, only about 1% of samples from positive cases are being sent for sequencing, officials said, clarifying these limitations are due to the states capacity for sequencing having been reached. Amid this handicap (which also extends to other states), experts noted that epidemiological patterns can help make a determination. The current surge is marked by a higher test positivity rate, a higher R-value and a faster doubling period than can be caused by the Delta variant or its sub-lineages, Dr John pointed out. Also Read | Centre's slow response to Omicron: No excuse this time When DH looked at the states Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in the first seven days of the Delta-driven second wave (from March 12 to 18), the rate was found to have risen by 40.7%. In the first seven days of this latest surge (from December 29 to January 4), the TPR rose from 0.52% to 2.60%. A data expert formerly with Covid-19India.org said that while Bengalurus rate of increase is high compared to the second wave, it has not yet reached the scale of Delhi or Mumbai to offer conclusive confirmation that Omicron is responsible. However, low testing in Bengaluru could be blamed for this, he said. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Released: January 5, 2022 Delaware County now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the Southeastern PA region. In response to the surge in cases and the urgent demand for COVID-19 testing, Delaware County Council and the Delaware County COVID-19 Task Force have worked with private partners and the State to open three additional COVID-19 testing sites. The drive-through sites will provide free PCR COVID-19 testing to hundreds of Delaware County residents each day helping to address the growing and urgent need for testing to slow the virus spread amid the Omicron surge. Expanded Testing Sites in Delaware County: Chester City Hall 1 Fourth St., Chester, PA Thursday, January 6 from 11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Testing is by appointment only PCR testing for residents age 5 and older No health insurance needed but please bring ID Results provided in 3-5 business days Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital 600 S. Wycombe Ave., Yeadon, PA Week of Jan. 3: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the public. Week of Jan.10: Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the public. Testing is reserved for First Responders, Emergency Management Services personnel, and Healthcare Workers from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. each morning. No appointment is needed PCR testing for residents age 3 and older No health insurance needed but please bring ID Results provided in 3-5 business days Delaware County 911 Training Center 1600 Calcon Hook Rd., Sharon Hill, PA Personic Health Care will begin operation of this free COVID-19 drive-through testing site at the Delaware County 911 Training Center on Jan. 7. Hours of operation and requirements will be updated at https://covidtestdelco.com/ The three new testing sites are additions to the Countys permanent testing sites located at the Delaware County Wellness Center in Yeadon and the Keystone First Wellness Center in Chester. Delaware County Wellness Center 125 Chester Avenue, Yeadon, PA 19050 Mondays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Closed Mon., Jan. 17) Free PCR testing for residents age 5 and older Testing by appointment only No health insurance needed but please bring ID Results provided in 3-5 business days Keystone First Wellness Center 1929 W. 9th Street Chester, PA 19013 Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Free PCR testing for residents age 5 and older Testing by appointment only No health insurance needed but please bring ID Results provided in 3-5 business days A full list of County-sponsored and non-County sponsored COVID-19 testing sites can be found at delcopa.gov/testing. The County commends our local partners and the State for coordinating efforts to offer increased access to testing as we face a surge in COVID-19 across the County, said Delaware County Board of Health Chair and the Countys COVID-19 Task Force Director, Rosemarie Halt. During this time of extremely high transmission, we remind residents of the critical need to wear well-fitted masks properly, adhere to social distancing, and get vaccinated and boosted. Vaccines remain our most effective tool to fight the Omicron strain and all residents are encouraged to get vaccinated. Information on COVID-19 vaccination sites can be found at delcopa.gov/vax. Derry, NH (03038) Today Periods of rain. High 61F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low near 45F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Northern Irelands film and TV industry is going from strength to strength, with Netflix and Paramount among the latest US studios to bring projects to the region. While Line Of Duty and Bloodlands were some of the highlights of 2021, Kenneth Branaghs Belfast and the third and final season of Derry Girls are already sparking excitement for 2022. National agency Northern Ireland Screen also listed successes in animation, games and interactive content despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Belfast Harbour Studios became home to the streaming giant Netflix in 2021, while Titanic Studios was occupied by Paramount Pictures, attracting A-list celebrities for filming The School For Good And Evil and Dungeons And Dragons. Epic Viking saga The Northman, filmed at Belfast Harbour Studios at the end of 2020, is set for cinema release in April 2022. Meanwhile, Belfast, which had its Irish premiere in the city in November, has been nominated for seven Golden Globes and 11 Critics Choice Awards. It opens in cinemas on January 21. Among the highlights on the small screen in 2021 was the third series of the crime drama Marcella, starring Anna Friel, while Sunday evenings were dominated by the drama Bloodlands, featuring James Nesbitt. Bloodlands became the BBCs biggest new drama launch since June 2020 with an average 8.2 million viewers, and in Northern Ireland the first episode had a 52% consolidated audience share, making it the highest-rating BBC drama to launch locally on record. The second series is set to be filmed in early 2022. Line Of Duty returned for its sixth series and scored a ratings record, with 12.8 million viewers tuning in for the final episode to find out the identity of the mysterious H. It won the Returning Drama and Special Recognition Awards at this years National TV Awards. Comedy series Frank Of Ireland, starring brothers Brian and Domhnall Gleeson, was shown on Channel 4 in April, while The Windermere Children, based on a true story in 1945 when hundreds of child survivors of the concentration camps were taken to the Lake District to recuperate, was nominated for the Single Drama Award at the Bafta TV Awards and also for Best Single Drama at the Broadcast Awards. More recently, Dalgliesh, starring Bertie Carvel as Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, aired on Channel 5, showcasing locations across Northern Ireland, including Strangford, Armagh, Islandmagee and Ballyclare, among others. The Co Down town of Donaghadee is also enjoying time in the spotlight thanks to new police drama Hope Street, which is currently airing on BBC One Northern Ireland before going UK-wide in 2022 and US-bound on Britbox. Another police drama, Blue Lights, is in the pipeline, inspired by the experiences of serving police officers in Northern Ireland. For younger viewers, Sixteen Souths Odo, a pre-school programme that follows the adventures of an owl, aired on Channel 5s Milkshake! in the UK and on HBO Max in the US, and has been nominated for Best Pre-School Programme at the 2022 Broadcast Awards. Northern Irelands games and interactive sector also continues to thrive. Highlights included Out Of Tune Games launching its first game, Crooks Like Us, where players get to steal everything they see, and Blackstaff Games Buildings Have Feelings Too!, a city-management puzzle game. Meanwhile, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF) supported content including Sonas Productions Iarnrod Enda for RTE One, a series about abandoned railway routes presented by former taoiseach Enda Kenny. Northern Ireland Screens Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund (USBF) also continued to support a range of content, including chef Paula McIntyres Hamely Kitchen. Throughout 2021, Northern Ireland Screen supported 344 individuals through various initiatives, including helping crew members step up to a higher grade, and Screen Academies provided opportunities for young people in animation, VFX and gaming. Northern Ireland Screen chief executive Richard Williams said there are high hopes as awards season approaches. A variety of content we supported has been selected for some of the most prestigious festivals across the world, picked up much coveted industry awards and set social media alight, he told the PA news agency. We have had two of the biggest TV dramas of the year broadcast Line of Duty and Bloodlands. There was a great sense of excitement as a whole host of A-list stars were spotted across the country as they filmed at various locations. It was a privilege to co-host the Irish premiere of Kenneth Branaghs Belfast in Belfast, with Belfast Film Festival. With the film already leading the way in the Golden Globes and hotly tipped for the Oscars, 2022 is sure to get off to a great start. The north coast will take a leading role in Robert Eggers The Northman when it is released in cinemas in April. On the small screen, Erin, Claire, Michelle, Orla and the wee English fella will return to our screens in what will undoubtedly be an emotional farewell for Lisa McGees Derry Girls. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Subscriber content preview Photo courtesy of Lakebay Marina Facebook page [enlarge] The sale had been in the works since 2019. The historic Lakebay Marina, at 15 Lorenz Road S.W. in Pierce County, is under new ownership and set to get a new lease on life as a public park. The marina, which sits on Key Peninsula on Mayo Cove's western shore, consists of a pier, a warehouse and cafe, and five parcels of land on 2.8 acres of upland and tideland property. As reported in The News Tribune, the new owners are the state Department of Natural Resources and the nonprofit Recreational Boating Association of Washington, who joined forces to purchase the property for $1.6 million. . . . Subscriber content preview By RACHEL LA CORTE Associated Press OLYMPIA Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday the state has ordered 5.5 million at-home tests to distribute to the public and will improve booster vaccine access and supply about 10 million free protective masks amid a steep increase in COVID-19 cases due to the more contagious omicron variant. Inslee's office said the state has already received 800,000 of the tests from manufacturers this week, and that another 4.7 million are expected to arrive next week. Those tests will be distributed in various ways, including through a web portal that is expected to become available in the coming weeks so that families can order tests directly to their homes at no cost. . . . Subscriber content preview By ZEKE MILLER and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press WASHINGTON U.S. health officials said Wednesday they are not changing the qualifications for being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but they are urging Americans to stay up to date on their protection against the virus by getting booster shots when eligible. The move to keep the existing definition of fully vaccinated either two doses of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes as health officials warned of waning protections from the initial doses. They are encouraging Americans to get additional doses to stave off serious illness and death from the delta and omicron variants. . . . Southland Industries Southland Industries completed a brand consolidation with its Portland-based subsidiaries TCM and Envise Northwest. This completes the first phase of the company's plan to consolidate all brands to Southland Industries by January 2023. As one of the nation's largest MEP building systems firms, this unification aligns with Southland's strategy to provide fully integrated building lifecycle solutions under one brand. Dan Heichelbech will continue as the Northwest Division leader for Oregon, Washington and surrounding markets. Founded in 1949, Southland specializes in the engineering, construction and service of mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, process piping, and automation and controls systems, as well as comprehensive energy services needs. As of Friday 7 January 2022, the Covid-19 travel ban imposed by the Republic of Mauritius on the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia will be lifted and commercial passenger flights from these countries to Mauritius can resume. Travellers are requested to get in touch with airlines and tour operators to confirm availability of flights, as well as the necessary Covid-19 protocols to follow. Full details of Covid-19 entry requirements and safety protocols are online: www.mauritiusnow.com We are very pleased that South Africans can once again travel to Mauritius. The Covid-19 has placed significant pressure on all nations to do the right thing and we thank South Africans and the South African travel industry for their patience in this regard, says Arvind Bundhun, Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA). The Mauritian health authorities are continuing to implement a wide-ranging COVID-19 response and are presently prioritising the rollout of booster doses for those who are already double vaccinated. The vaccination of 15 to 18-year-old is also well underway. The health authorities remain confident in their ability to manage the recent increase in infection rates and will continue to follow world-leading scientific advice in this regard. Sanitary protocols throughout the Mauritius hospitality industry remain at the very highest standards, ensuring that the local community and international guests are afforded maximum protection from the virus. Visitors can book holidays to Mauritius with a high degree of confidence that their trips will be enjoyable, safe, and secure, says Arvind. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires US President Joe Biden has delivered what he declared was the Gods truth as the country marked the first anniversary of the US Capitol insurrection. The violent attack by Donald Trumps supporters fundamentally changed Congress and raised global concerns about the future of American democracy. Mr Bidens criticism was particularly blistering of then-president Mr Trump and his violent supporters. For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Mr Biden said. But they failed. I will stand in this breach, he declared, his voice rising. Democracy was attacked, Mr Biden said at the Capitol. We the people endure. We the people prevailed. The president and congressional Democrats started the day in Statuary Hall, one of several spots where rioters swarmed a year ago and interrupted the electoral count. He drew a contrast between the truth of what happened and the false narratives that have sprung up about the Capitol assault, including the continued refusal by many Republicans to affirm that Mr Biden won the 2020 election. You and I and the whole world saw with our own eyes, Mr Biden said. He asked those listening to close their eyes and recall what they saw that day, as he described the harrowing, violent scene, the mob attacking police, threatening the House speaker, erecting gallows threatening to hang the vice president all while Mr Trump sat at the White House watching it on TV. Here is the Gods truth about January 6 2021, Mr Biden said. They were looking to subvert the constitution. We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie. Heres the truth, he said. The former president of the United States of America has spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. A series of remembrance events during the day will be widely attended by Democrats, in person and virtually, but almost every Republican on Capitol Hill will be absent. The division is a stark reminder of the rupture between the two parties, worsening since hundreds of Mr Trumps supporters violently pushed past police, used their fists and flagpoles to break through the windows of the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Mr Bidens victory. While congressional Republicans almost universally condemned the attack in the days afterwards, most have stayed loyal to the former president. Representative Liz Cheney, chairwoman of the House committee investigating the attack and one of the few Republican legislators attending the Capitol ceremonies, warned that the threat continues. Mr Trump, she said, continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6. Unfortunately, too many in my own party are embracing the former president, are looking the other way or minimising the danger, she told NBCs Today. Thats how democracies die. We simply cannot let that happen. Duncan, OK (73533) Today Thunderstorms this morning, then partly cloudy and windy during the afternoon hours. High 84F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 46F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%. The Dundalk Democrat asked local councillors and TDs from north and mid Louth to share their hopes, ambitions and predictions for the year ahead. In this piece, Sinn Fein councillor Antoin Watters from the Dundalk-Carlingford Electoral Area, shares his thoughts on 2022. Its been a tough year for people and despite lockdowns and restrictions my work didnt stop. We got a lot of work done on the peninsula and theres more to be done. 2021 saw great progress on road safety throughout the Peninsula and I am continuing to work on projects that will hopefully come to fruition in 2022, including those I am currently preparing Clar Funding applications for with the assistance of Louth County Council. We have seen improvements to facilities at Gyles Quay and with work progressing on the Greenway extension I will be prioritising tourism including the upkeep of our Greenways and pursing the Narrow Water Bridge Project. One issue that continues to blight our area is illegal dumping and the Cross-Border Anti-Dumping Project is something that I am passionate about. Dumping is an environmental attack on our community. I dont believe this issue will be resolved anytime soon but I will continue to be working on it. Issues like rural broadband and water are still prevalent in North Louth and I hope to see a vast improvement in the coming year. I feel that 2022 will be the year we see progress on the so called Border Question. Border counties like Louth will lead the way in encouraging the debate around the need for a Citizens Assembly to debate the way forward in the reunification of Ireland. I am optimistic for 2022 and am looking forward to continuing to represent the people of North Louth. On a final personal note, I want to thank my wife Fionnghuala for all her support because without her I wouldnt be able to do half of what I do. Utility poles such as those used for electricity, can and should be used as EV charging points, Louth Fine Gael Senator John McGahon has said. Senator McGahon wants us to put electric vehicles in pole position as we continue to reduce carbon emissions in our fight against climate change. Senator McGahon said: Utility poles that we see on our streets in every town and village across the country, such as electricity poles, should be used for EV charging points. With more and more people rightly thinking of making the switch to an electric vehicle, they need to be assured of access to chargers. In the city of Melrose in Massachusetts they have made great strides in using utility poles as EV chargers. Through a mobile app, users can scan a QR code located on the pole and automatically open a charging cable that lowers to the ground and extends the length of two car park spaces. It is safe and accessible. We must ensure EV charging points are more widely available here if we are serious about our ambitious target of having 1 million electric vehicles on our roads by 2030. In the Seanad I recently raised the issue of people in apartment blocks or houses with no driveway, and I am pleased to say that Government is examining ways to extend the EV home charger grant to these types of accommodation. "To supplement this, I believe we should also be looking at using our easily accessible utility poles as charging points, Senator McGahon concluded. Claremont, NH (03743) Today Rain likely. High 53F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. David Lidstone, 81, stands for a photograph near the Merrimack River, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Boscawen. Lidstone, a former hermit in New Hampshire, known to locals as River Dave, whose cabin in the woods burned down after nearly three decades on the property that he was ordered to leave, and who received more than $200,000 in donations, has been charged with trespassing there once again. Year 2021 demonstrates purity of friendship between China and Pakistan 17:16, January 05, 2022 By Zamir Ahmed Awan ( People's Daily Online China-Pakistan relations are often quoted as a role model. This can be verified by the number of events held to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Pakistan and China held about 140 events last year to celebrate and commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, a theme that remained popular from the beginning to the end, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. This year marked the 70th anniversary. The two sides held a series of events in celebration and commemoration of this important occasion, he said during his regular briefing. Indicating some of the key features for the events, he said that the many celebrations had showcased great popularity, adding that the two sides originally planned for more than 120 activities, but in fact held about 140 events, well above the targets. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the celebrations have remained popular. Zhao Lijian said that there was an exchange of congratulatory messages between the leaders and high-profile receptions to celebrate the anniversary. The two sides also held activities such as the signing of deals on becoming friendship provinces and cities, exchanges covering areas including political, diplomatic, sub-national, educational, scientific, cultural and other sectors. These have attracted many young people and renewed the friendship in the new era, he added. About the good results of the events, he said that whether virtually or in person, the celebrations rose above the pandemic to deepen mutual political trust, strengthen the two peoples friendship and promoted practical cooperation in various sectors. He reiterated that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners and iron clad brothers and added, our friendship is unbreakable and rock firm. The spokesperson said that looking forward, China is ready to work with Pakistan to deepen political trust, promote the high-quality development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and enhance exchanges and cooperation across the board. At the beginning of 2021, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chinas State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi formally commenced activities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations during a virtual ceremony held simultaneously in Islamabad and Beijing. In fact, there were so many more activities, but many were not documented in fact, as the scale of these smaller activities were not large enough, nor did they gain any official status. There were no matching celebrations in the case of diplomatic relations with other countries. It involved people-to-people contacts, CPEC and pure love between the two countries, which was reflected during the events. Celebrations were a source of promoting understanding and goodwill. Some of the events were highly intellectual and scholars from both countries expressed the importance of relations in their own perspective. Most especially, with rapidly changing geopolitics, the two nations have been pushed into closer relations with each other. Both nations are facing similar challenges, especially the pressure and coercion of the Western world, so it is important to face off against them in a united front and strengthen each other against any aggression, pressure, or coercion. It is well understood that China-Pakistan relations will further strengthen with the passage of time and be cemented even more in the days to come. The next important series of celebrations are expected to mark the 75th anniversary, which is set to take place in 2026. Zamir Ahmed Awan is a non-resident fellow with the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and a sinologist at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan. E-mail: [email protected] This article does not necessarily reflect the views of People's Daily Online. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Lehigh Valley children are testing positive for COVID-19 in greater numbers than at any other time in the pandemic, with local health networks reporting hundreds of new pediatric COVID-19 cases each day and school districts grappling with a return after the holiday break. Last week, St. Lukes University Health Network saw more than 1,000 children test positive for COVID-19. Lehigh Valley Health Network had more than 1,300 children test positive last week and the number of child hospitalizations for COVID-19 has reached the highest point of the pandemic, with about 10 hospitalized network-wide at any given time. Advertisement It used to be a busy day when we had 50-60 children per day testing positive; this past week we have been seeing upward of 300 children per day testing positive for COVID-19, said Dr. Jennifer Janco, chair of pediatrics for St. Lukes. Cumulative pediatric COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania more than doubled during the second half of 2021 to 365,027 as of Dec. 30, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In November and December, there were 95,775 new child cases in Pennsylvania, with 17,648 reported during the last week of 2021. Advertisement Lehigh Valley school districts are also seeing a significant number of reported cases. Nazareth Area School District, for example, had more than 700 students absent Monday, the first day back from break, with about half of those students missing school for COVID-related reasons. Tuesday wasnt much better, with 685 students out and almost 350 for COVID-related reasons, Superintendent Dennis Riker said in a letter. For much of the pandemic, children were spared the brunt of COVID-19. While children who catch COVID-19 arent getting sicker than before, cases are surging this winter and children are making up a larger share of COVID-19 cases than ever. The number of hospitalized children varies week to week, Janco said, but pediatric hospitalizations have increased over the past month and currently there are two children in St. Lukes pediatric intensive care units for COVID-19-related illnesses. At LVHN, about 23% of COVID-19 tests on school-aged children are coming back positive, Dr. Nathan Hagstrom, chair of pediatrics at Lehigh Valley Reilly Childrens Hospital, said. More children are getting infected with the COVID virus and thus were seeing more hospitalizations, Hagstrom said. However, there is nothing that makes us think that children are more likely to have serious disease or complications. Advertisement The high rate of COVID-19 spread within the Lehigh Valley has been a concern for school districts. From Dec. 23 through Monday, Allentown School District had 247 student and staff cases reported. Bethlehem Area School District had about 260 positive cases reported to them over the holiday break, Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy said in a video update Tuesday afternoon. Catasauqua High School went virtual this week because of COVID cases causing a staffing shortage. Advertisement It was the first time this school year that the district had to pivot to remote learning, Superintendent Robert Spengler said. Other districts havent been as lucky. Nazareth students had lessons remotely Dec. 23, the last day before winter break, because of the spread of COVID. Bethlehems Miller Heights Elementary also briefly transitioned to remote-only learning in September. In New Jersey, some schools are starting the new year remotely and will not return to in-person classes until mid-January, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. In Philadelphia School District, 92 of the districts 216 schools moved to virtual instruction beginning Wednesday, according to the Inquirer. In the Tuesday video update, Roy said in-person learning is Bethlehems preference but the district faces a number of challenges to maintain in-person learning, including keeping safe staffing levels, as well as the spread of the virus. Advertisement We will continue to balance the need to be in school in-person learning with safety protocols that we get and follow from the health department, Roy said. In-person learning is our choice so we want to stick with it despite some of the challenges. Allentown is also watching the spread closely, district spokesperson Melissa Reese said. Should there be evidence of transmission in a classroom or building, the district is prepared to transition those students to virtual learning for a period of time, she said. Masking in schools Last week, St. Lukes called on local school districts to require masking. In a news release, St. Lukes cited record or near-record numbers of COVID-19 patients being cared for at area hospitals and exceedingly high demand for tests. What we are experiencing now is our biggest COVID surge yet, said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, infectious disease expert for St. Lukes. If there was ever a time for area school boards, administrators and parents to get behind masking, its now. Nazareth, which in late November dropped its mask mandate, recently announced that it would switch back to requiring masks for students in grades 5-12. Masks are optional at the elementary schools. Roy in a letter to Bethlehem parents Dec. 31 said that the districts mask mandate would remain until further notice. Advertisement Allentown extended its masking requirement through its second quarter. Parkland students and staff will wear masks for the rest of the school year. A push to get kids vaccinated Hagstrom, of Lehigh Valley Reilly Childrens Hospital, said cases have been fairly evenly distributed among children older than 6, but those 5and under tend to test positive at lower rates, although there has been an increase in that age group. He said from August through much of November the positivity rate among this age group was about 5% but through December into the new year, its been about 12.5%. Janco said St. Lukes has started to see childrens cases more evenly distributed among all ages, a trend that only recently began. Children 5 and older can get vaccinated, but vaccination rates among young children and teens in the Lehigh Valley are lower compared with the population as a whole. About 41% of those age 5-19 in the Lehigh Valley have at least one shot compared with about 77% for the entire population, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Children ages 5-11 became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in mid-November. Janco said demand was relatively high early but it has progressively diminished, a trend that has been seen nationally, too. However, Janco said now is the time for parents and guardians to be taking more steps to mitigate risk of COVID-19, not less. Advertisement I strongly encourage parents to get their children 5 years of age and older vaccinated. And their vaccinated children 12 years of age and older boosted, Janco said. Several school districts in the Lehigh Valley have set up clinics, including Allentown and Bethlehem Area. Allentown had about 400 students get the shot at a clinic in December, Reese said. The district will have another clinic Thursday. Widespread vaccination is critical to ending this pandemic, keeping our schools open, and ensuring our students continue learning without interruption, Reese said. We want our families to understand that individuals who are fully vaccinated can avoid quarantines and missed days of in-person learning that can result from exposure to COVID-19. Morning Call reporter Leif Greiss can be reached at 610-679-4028 or lgreiss@mcall.com. We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism as we continue to cover the coronavirus crisis. If youre not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you havent already, please activate your digital access. Already sick of winter? A taste of the tropics is coming to a venue near you. La Frikitona, a food truck serving up Puerto Rican dishes such as mofongo, tostones and canoas, began visiting Lehigh Valley breweries and other attractions about two months ago, according to co-owner Yesenia Rodriguez. Advertisement La Frikitona, a food truck serving up Puerto Rican dishes such as mofongo, tostones and canoas, began visiting Lehigh Valley breweries and other venues about two months ago. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / La Frikitona) The mobile operation, which also accommodates requests for catering and special events, has already established a strong following in its first few months of business, said Rodriguez, who runs La Frikitona with her husband, Armando. Customers at local breweries such as HiJinx Brewing Company in Allentown and Funk Brewing and Yergey Brewing in Emmaus line up for some of the trucks most popular offerings, including empanadas and loaded baked potatoes. Advertisement Our menu is very extensive and we change it for each location that we visit, Yesenia said. So, at breweries, for example, we usually condense it to offer items like empanadas and baked potatoes that we load up with either chicken, pork, beef or tripleta. La Frikitona, a food truck serving up Puerto Rican dishes such as mofongo, began visiting Lehigh Valley breweries and other venues about two months ago. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / La Frikitona) While tripleta typically refers to the traditional Puerto Rican sandwich, combining three meats, the Rodriguezes are using the word to describe their mix of pork, ham and chicken, which they then incorporate into various menu items. We can also serve it with a rice platter or just with tostones, which are simply fried plantains, Yesenia added. The Rodriguezes, both natives of Puerto Rico, previously helped run a beachside food stand run by Armandos father in Puerto Rico more than a decade ago. The Salisbury Township couple uses long-held family recipes in a majority of their dishes. Other menu highlights include canoas (plantains stuffed with chicken, pork or tripleta); pastelillos (hand pies filled with meat and other ingredients); and alcapurria (Puerto Rican fritters). La Frikitona, a food truck serving up Puerto Rican dishes such as mofongo, tostones and canoas, began visiting Lehigh Valley breweries and other venues about two months ago. Pictured is a baked potato with beef and tripleta. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / La Frikitona) A sampler box, dubbed a chapiadora box, features fried cheese, arepa, sorullito, beef empanada, fried pork, alcapurria and French fries. The business also offers drinks such as coquito, Puerto Rican eggnog made of coconut milk, coconut cream and cinnamon. La Frikitona, named after the popular song by popular Puerto Rican musical duo Plan B, will be announcing its winter schedule in the coming weeks. Advertisement To stay up-to-date on where the truck will be, follow the business social media accounts, facebook.com/lafrikitonallc and instagram.com/lafrikitonallc. A year after protests of the 2020 presidential election boiled over into a violent rebellion in the U.S. Capitol, a handful of people charged from the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas have accepted responsibility and are learning the consequences. Two from Lehigh County, Kelly OBrien and Jackson Kostolsky, have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and await sentencing. Their fates may be signaled in the case of Andrew Wrigley, a Jim Thorpe man sentenced to probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for stepping inside the Capitol to snap selfies and video that he later posted on Facebook. Advertisement OBrien pleaded guilty Wednesday and is set to be sentenced April 8. Kostolskys sentencing is set for Tuesday. The misdemeanor offenses they admitted to carry a maximum sentence of six months behind bars. Jackson Kostolsky of South Whitehall Township pleaded guilty to one count of parading, picketing or demonstrating in a Capitol building. (Special to The Morning Call / Courtesy FBI) But others facing felony charges, like Craig Michael Bingert, the former state police cadet from Washington Township, Lehigh Township, who allegedly fought his way through a police line; a Berks County man accused of charging Capitol police with a Taser; and a Montgomery County man who allegedly hit an officer repeatedly with a metal flagpole, may face prison when their cases are resolved. The longest sentence for a participant so far was more than five years handed down to a Florida man who hit police with a fire extinguisher and a wooden board. Advertisement A body camera footage still allegedly shows Craig Bingert pushing this police barricade during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in Washington. (COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE) Thursday marks one year since President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally near the National Mall in Washinton, where he called the election fraudulent and urged supporters to fight like hell and take back our country. Although Trump said the crowd would march to the Capitol and peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard, the scene turned violent. Thousands stormed the Capitol grounds and many made it in to the chambers of Congress, causing more than $1.5 million in damage to the building. The siege forced members of the House and Senate to take refuge and delayed the certification of Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden. With 63 people charged, Pennsylvania is among the top three states for Capitol breach defendants, tied with Texas and behind only Florida, where 76 residents have been arrested. Bucks, with six, and Lehigh, with three, are among the Pennsylvania counties with the largest number of residents charged, according to the George Washington University Program on Extremism analysis of the Capitol siege cases. Nationwide, more than 725 people have been arrested and federal authorities are still seeking help to identify more than 350 people suspected of taking part in the insurrection, the U.S. Department of Justice said this week. So far, about 70 defendants have been sentenced; 31 received prison terms and the rest were sentenced to house arrest or probation. Bingert, 30, contacted a lawyer who helped him turn himself in to the FBI in the weeks after the insurrection when he saw his picture on a bulletin According to court records, prosecutors say Bingert worked with other protesters to shove a barricade into D.C. Metropolitan police officers. He then helped lift it in an apparent attempt to break through the police line. One of the officers guarding the barricade provided body camera footage of Bingert. He held an American flag, and wore camouflage over a hoodie, as well as a blue knit hat with American embroidered on it. Footage shows him waving the flag while the crowd around him chants, F--- the police, court records say. He has since been indicted with two other men and court records show they plan to ask to have the charges dismissed. Advertisement Alan Byerly, 54, of Fleetwood allegedly attacked an Associated Press photographer and was among a crowd of rioters who gathered near a line of bicycle racks set up by police to keep the crowd at bay. In this Jan. 6, 2021, image from video, Alan William Byerly, right, is seen allegedly attacking an Associated Press photographer during a riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Byerly has been arrested on charges that he assaulted an Associated Press photographer and police officers. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) (Julio Cortez/AP) Court records say video shows Byerly just behind the bike racks holding what appears to be a Taser, which he raises in the air with his right hand and activates. Byerly then charges at police, some of whom can be heard yelling Taser! Taser! Taser! to warn their fellow officers. Within seconds, the officers were able to knock the Taser out of Byerlys hands. But he kept charging, hitting and pushing officers. At one point he tried to take a baton from an officer, knocking that officer to the ground in the process. He pleaded not guilty in September to assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder, entering a restricted building and displaying disorderly conduct in a restricted building. His lawyer told a federal judge in Washington in November that Byerly had rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors and wanted his case to go to trial. Among the most recently charged, Howard Richardson of Upper Merion Township was arrested last month after his booking photo in an assault case unrelated to the Capitol breach led FBI agents to him. Howard Richardson of Montgomery County is charged with assaulting a police officer during the U.S. Capitol riot Jan. 6. (handout/The Morning Call) Video from Washington Metropolitan Police officers body cameras shows Richardson, unprovoked by officers, taking a metal flagpole with a blue Trump flag and hitting a metropolitan police officer three times. In the video, Richardson is heard yelling here it comes before hitting the officer. He stopped swinging only after the flagpole broke in his hands, according to a charging document. Advertisement Richardson admitted he swung the flagpole at an officer, the court document says, but he maintained that he swung at the officer only after the officer swung a piece of metal at him. Agents searching his Montgomery County home allegedly found a day planner that detailed his whereabouts hour-by-hour during the siege. He has pleaded not guilty to engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; civil disorder; and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon, among other charges. Bear spray stains from a canister OBrien allegedly carried Jan. 6 helped investigators confirm the Schnecksville woman was the person seen in Facebook video and security footage walking through the Capitol in a long white coat. When investigators searched her home, the coat was nowhere to be found but her husband told agents she threw it away after the bear spray canister exploded in their powder room. Kelly O'Brien is charged with illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Video posted on OBriens Facebook page showed her narrating the approach to the Capitol of a group of people, including Jacob Angeli, the bizarrely attired man dubbed the QAnon Shaman whose image dominated photographs of the insurrection in the news. Security video captured images of OBrien wearing her white coat walking through the Crypt of the Capitol and in the lobby of a hotel four blocks away where she was registered as a guest, the filing says. OBrien, 49, was charged in August with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct and engaging in physical violence in the Capitol. She pleaded guilty Wednesday to entering a restricted building. Like OBrien, clothing that stood out in the crowd helped investigators identify Kostolsky. The South Whitehall Township man wore a distinctive leopard-print vest during the siege that allowed agents to match video from his cellphone with other video taken inside the Capitol. Advertisement Kostolsky, 32, admitted that he entered the Capitol knowing that he didnt have permission to be there. In exchange for pleading guilty to one count of parading, picketing or demonstrating in a Capitol building, federal prosecutors withdraw additional charges. Last Call Daily Get top headlines from The Morning Call delivered weekday afternoons. > Judge Amy Berman Jackson had stern words for Wrigley, the 51-year-old Jim Thorpe man who admitted stepping into a Capitol vestibule to take photos he later posted to social media with the tag #stopthesteal. While Wrigley was not among those who fought police or broke down barriers, he set himself apart from the peaceful protesters by continuing undeterred inside the building. He was charged after a tipster sent screenshots of his Facebook page to the FBI and pleaded guilty in September. Berman sentenced Wrigley to 18 months of probation and ordered him to pay a $2,000 fine. He also voluntarily paid $500 in restitution to offset the cost of damage to the Capitol. A Bucks County gym owner who recorded herself during the storming of the Capitol saying she was looking for Nancy Pelosi to shoot her in the friggin brain pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor in September. Dawn Bancroft, 59, of Doylestown pleaded guilty in September and is set to be sentenced Feb. 10 alongside Diana Santos-Smith, also of Bucks County, who appeared in the background of Bancrofts video and pleaded guilty with her. Dawn Bancroft, left, and Diana Santos-Smith, right, in a still from a selfie-video Bancroft shot as they left the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. (Courtesy Justice Department court filings/TNS/TNS) Ryan Samsel of Bristol was arrested in January on charges of assaulting a federal agent and other offenses. A grand jury handed down additional charges last month alleging he and a co-defendant used a metal crowd control gate to assault officers defending the Capitol. He remains in custody after prosecutors argued his extensive criminal history puts the public at risk if he is released on bail. Advertisement Also from Bucks County, Leonard Ridge of Lower Southampton Township was sentenced Tuesday to 14 days in jail and one year of supervised release; Gary Edwards of Northampton Township was sentenced in December to one year of probation; and Raechel Genco of Bristol, who was recorded at the Capitol with Samsel, is awaiting a preliminary hearing. Morning Call reporter Peter Hall can be reached at 610-8206581 or peter.hall@mcall.com. The set of four limited-edition drinking glasses are etched with Hessons four favorite native Arizona cactus bloom sketches: the saguaro, claret cup, prickly pear and cholla. ALMOST 2m has been granted in funding for rural regeneration projects in two big county towns in Cork. Fermoy and Macroom are the recipients of 1.935m in total, under the Rural Regeneration Development Fund (RRDF), which is being invested in projects that will rejuvenate town centres, drive economic growth and footfall, combat dereliction, develop pedestrian zones and outdoor spaces and boost tourism in Rural Ireland. The Fermoy Town Centre Renewal Project will see plans developed for the adaptive and sustainable reuse of vacant town centre buildings to accommodate a range of uses that will address the social, economic, cultural and physical needs of the town, the development of an exemplar Craft Makers Hub, the provision of enhanced recreational facilities and place making and public realm enhancements. The project aims to deliver large-scale regeneration in the town through targeted interventions to revitalise the town centre and drive it forward as a vibrant, liveable, diverse and competitive centre of scale. Fermoy Fianna Fail Councillor Frank OFlynn called the 1.54m in funding the best New Years present the town of Fermoy has ever had. Mr OFlynn also mentioned the funding followed a 200,000 allocation from central government to enhance Barnane Walk. This money will help revitalise the town centre, tackling vacant and derelict buildings, and making Fermoy a more attractive tourist destination." Mr OFlynn also mentioned the funding followed a 200,000 allocation from central government to enhance Barnane Walk. Fianna Fail Cork East TD James OConnor also welcomed the announcement. Deputy O'Connor said, This funding was hard fought for by Cork County Council and I want to thank Niall Healy and his team in County Hall and Fermoy for putting this application forward. Fermoy has come a long way in the past 10 years with the growth of activity on the main street. This development will further enhance the town centre. This investment by the Government underpins Our Rural Future and will have a transformational impact across the north Cork region. This announcement follows Fermoy's retention of its place among the top-ten cleanest area in the country according to the final Irish Business against Litter League table for 2021. Deputy OConnor added When complete, these projects will leave a lasting difference on areas like Fermoy for generations to come, benefitting tens of thousands of families across Rural Ireland Meanwhile, Fine Gael TD Michael Creed said the 395,000 announced for development for Macroom would have a transformational impact that will inject new life into the town centre. This project will develop plans to revitalise the centre of Macroom, including the public realm interventions that will enhance footfall and improve accessibility and the development of a future vision for a prominent derelict heritage property in the centre of the town. A number of the projects approved for funding involve the repurposing of old, derelict and historical buildings into modern-day remote working hubs, as well as enterprise, cultural and community facilities. The funding will bring projects through the development stage and to the point where they are ready to commence works. A man in his fifties has been charged in connection with an alleged Christmas day assault on a man and a woman on the outskirts of Banteer in Co Cork. Laszlo Nemeth, a 56-year-old Hungarian national with an address in Cork, appeared before Midleton District Court in connection with an incident where a middle-aged woman was left in critical condition after sustaining stab injuries on December 25, 2021. She was treated at Cork University Hospital and is now recovering from her injuries. Detective Garda Padraig Reddington gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. Laszlo Nemeth, a 56-year-old Hungarian national with an address in Cork, appeared before Midleton District Court today. Pic: Larry Cummins He said that Mr Nemeth was charged with four offences at Mallow Garda Station at 2.41am on January 6th. He told Judge Joanne Carroll that Mr Nemeth made no reply when the charges were put to him under caution. Mr Nemeth was charged with two separate charges of assault causing harm to a woman in her fifties and to a younger man. The charges are contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. Mr Nemeth, who required a Hungarian translator in court, also faces two charges of being in possession of offensive weapons capable of causing harm, namely a fishing knife and a long-handled axe. The possession charges are contrary to Section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990. The charges refer to alleged incidents which took place on the afternoon of Christmas day at Glen North, Banteer in Co Cork. Defence solicitor David O'Meara reserved the right to make a bail application in the case at a later date. He also applied for free aid which was granted by Judge Carroll. Mr O'Meara requested that Mr Nemeth be able to appear in person at his next court appearance rather than by video link. He also asked that his client would again have the assistance of a Hungarian interpreter. The hearing of the case was severely delayed today arising out of the shortage of Hungarian interpreters because of the increase in Covid-19 cases in Ireland. Judge Carroll was told that gardai had to ask a member of the Hungarian community with excellent English to step in instead of a regular agency worker. Judge Nemeth granted the defence application and reassured Mr O'Meara that his client would be able to appear in person rather than by video link at his next hearing. Mr O'Meara said that he needed an "unfettered consultation with his client prior to the hearing next week. Judge Carroll remanded Mr Nemeth in custody to appear before Mallow District Court on January 11. The defendant did not speak during the brief hearing. In September of last year, heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida reached the Northeastern U.S., killing at least eight people and flooding enough New York City subway stations that the whole system had to shut down. Now, a new study warns that scenes like this could become more common as the climate crisis continues. The research, published in Nature Geoscience, found that hurricanes and cyclones could form and intensify in mid-latitudes this century, putting major population centers like New York, Boston and Beijing at risk. This research predicts that the 21st centurys tropical cyclones will likely occur over a wider range of latitudes than has been the case on Earth for the last 3 million years, study author and Yale University physicist Joshua Studholme said, as the Hartford Courant reported. Tropical cyclones, as their name suggests, typically form over the warm waters of tropical oceans. Storms like Ida that form in the Caribbean and then move north can still do massive damage to mid-latitude population centers. But the new study suggests that these destructive storms could actually begin over mid-latitude waters. One example was 2020s subtropical storm Alpha, which was the first ever tropical cyclone to make landfall in Portugal. These dangerous storms could shift because the difference in temperature between the tropics and the poles will decrease as the climate warms, weakening the jet stream that typically keeps hurricanes and cyclones near the equator. As the climate warms, that sort of jet stream activity that happens in the middle latitude will weaken and in extreme cases split, allowing this sort of cyclone formation to occur, Studholme told BBC News. The researchers based their predictions on satellite data, future weather and climate projections and the physics behind atmospheric convection and planetary winds, the Hartford Courant explained. They also looked at models of the distant past, when Earth was warmer, such as the Eocene (56 million to 34 million years ago) and the Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). Those models showed tropical cyclones forming and intensifying at mid-latitudes. There is debate as to whether or not the climate crisis will increase the total number of hurricanes, but there is a growing consensus that it is making the ones that do form more intense. The new research adds to the understanding of what tropical storms could look like through the end of the current century. There are large uncertainties in how tropical cyclones will change in the future, study co-author and Yale professor of oceanic and atmospheric sciences Alexey Fedorov said, as the Hartford Courant reported. However, multiple lines of evidence indicate that we could see more tropical cyclones in mid-latitudes, even if the total frequency of tropical cyclones does not increase, which is still actively debated. Compounded by the expected increase in average tropical cyclone intensity, this finding implies higher risks due to tropical cyclones in Earths warming climate. However, the study authors said it was still possible to avoid the worst of this future. The control over this is the temperature gradient between the tropics and the poles, and thats very tightly linked to overall climate change, Studholme told BBC News. By end of this century, the difference in that gradient between a high emission scenario and a low emission scenario is dramatic. That can be very significant in terms of how these hurricanes play out. The Amazon rainforest is Brazils most famous imperiled carbon sink and biodiversity hotspot. But its not the only one. The Cerrado savanna is the most biodiverse savanna in the world, according to WWF. Its also an important carbon store, thanks to the upside-down forest of its extensive root system. But now, scientists are sounding the alarm as the Cerrado has experienced its highest deforestation rates since 2015. Its extremely worrying, University of Brasilia ecologist Mercedes Bustamante told Reuters. Figures released by the Brazilian government on New Years Eve revealed that deforestation and vegetation clearing on the grassland rose by eight percent between August 2020 and July 2021, to 8,531 square kilometers (approximately 3,294 square miles), or more than 10 times the size of New York City. The savanna is home to small trees with extensive root systems. In fact, around 70 percent of the Cerrados biomass is below ground, and it may store around 118 tons of carbon per acre, WWF said. Like the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado is largely being cleared for agriculture. Since the 1950s, it has lost about half of its native vegetation. The remaining 50% is under high pressure for conversion and is impacted by fires and drought, Bustamante told Unearthed in 2020. Its not like we even have 50% left in good condition. And, as with the Amazon, the situation has gotten worse under the leadership of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has prioritized economic development over environmental protection, Reuters reported. Deforestation is the most naked and raw indicator of the terrible environmental policy of this government, Amazon Environmental Research Institute science director Ane Alencar told Reuters. Bustamante also criticized the government for releasing the figures on New Years Eve. The Cerrado extends for 200 million hectares, or the size of Germany, France, England, Italy, and Spain put together, according to Chain Reaction Research. It is home to 200 species of mammal, 860 species of birds, 180 species of reptiles, 150 species of amphibians, 1,200 species of fish, and 90 million species of insect, WWF said. It also is home to traditional and Indigenous communities, Unearthed reported. Further, its an important water source: six of Brazils 12 major hydrological regions begin there, according to WWF. A major driver of deforestation in the Cerrado is soya. Unearthed tied significant deforestation in the grassland from 2015 to 2020 to Cargill, which grows soy for chicken feed. In 2017, environmental groups launched the Cerrado Manifesto to call on companies that sourced soy and meat from the region to act to protect it. This includes the adoption of effective policies and commitments to eliminate deforestation and conversion of native vegetation and disassociate their supply chains from recently converted areas, the signatories wrote. Seaweed, a term for the diverse group of large, nonflowering marine organisms known as algae, has a wide range of uses, from food and fertilizer to fuel. It also absorbs carbon and is a potentially potent tool in fighting climate change. Seaweed is simple to grow, requiring only seawater and sunlight, and is beginning to be farmed more extensively all over the world. In California, scientists at UCSDs Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been developing seaweed that helps reduce the methane produced by cows. You essentially just pump seawater from offshore through some filters. You have your system of tanks and you basically just need sunlight and seawater to cultivate the seaweed, said project leader Dr. Jennifer Smith, as ABC 10News San Diego reported. According to Smith, methane is a 30-times more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. When the cows eat the red seaweed developed by Smith and the other scientists on the team, studies have shown a reduction in the amount of methane emitted from the cows belches. Their digestive process is made more efficient by the seaweed and thus less of what they eat is converted into waste and its byproduct, methane. Following three years of research, Smith and the other scientists hope to have their seaweed supplement available for use at California farms early this year. The team expects the emissions from the cows to be reduced by over 50 percent. If you could get it out of the mix, youd have an immediate effect on the rate of climate change. Today about 25% of warming is a result of methane, said Scott Peters, a San Diego Congressmember who was co-author of a bill to help tackle methane emissions, ABC 10News San Diego reported. But for some California companies trying to farm seaweed in the state, the permitting process is so lengthy and costly, its proving to be a roadblock for those that want to join the blue economy. It can take years and cost thousands of dollars to set up a seaweed farm in California. I just dont understand why this is so difficult when its something that is so important and could be so good for the environment, said Daniel Marquez of seaweed farm PharmerSea, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Marquez has waited six years to get permission from the State of California for his underwater kelp farm near Santa Barbara. He and his wife use the kelp in research and in their cosmetics company. Seaweed farmers in California are frustrated by the permitting process, as seaweed farms in other states like Alaska, Maine and Hawaii flourish. Other than in a few local harbor or port areas, a new commercial aquaculture lease hasnt been issued in California for more than 25 years. Just last year, Californias first commercial open-water seaweed farm opened in Humboldt Bay, where the local harbor district has the authority to grant its own permits. [The California Coastal Commission treats] permitting a new shellfish farm like a nuclear power plant, said John Finger, CEO of Hog Island Oyster Co., the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The company stopped trying to farm seaweed due to permitting obstacles. As reported by 6Park News, Oyster and clam farmers are interested in growing algae because they absorb carbon and reduce ocean acidification that damages shellfish. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, from 2006 to 2015 farmed seaweed doubled worldwide. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy invested $55 million for research into farming seaweed for use in the making of bioplastics and biofuel. Still, the most effective way to sequester carbon is to not release it in the first place, wrote Heather Smith of Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club. For example, scientists recently calculated that bottom trawling releases as much carbon into the atmosphere as the entire aviation industry does about a billion metric tons a year. Cristen Hemingway Jaynes is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. My family has been fortunate during the pandemic. With our vaccinations and the precautions weve taken, and surely some luck, we havent had any infection scares. Still, when I came across some rapid self tests Wednesday morning at my neighborhood hardware store, I scooped them up. Advertisement With the omicron variant running wild even in vaccinated folks, it cant hurt to have tests handy so we wont have to wait in a long line at a clinic should testing be needed. Or scramble to find self tests. Were also now prepared for the possibility that our son will have to show a negative test to return to college at the end of the month. Advertisement When you are desperate to find testing, you also can fall victim to scams, and I didnt want to be in that position. Tuesday, I saw a warning about that from the Federal Trade Commission. Fake and unauthorized at-home testing kits are popping up online as opportunistic scammers take advantage of the spike in demand, the agency said. The warning echoed calls from the Food and Drug Administration late last year. You will risk unknowingly spreading COVID-19 or not getting treated appropriately if you use an unauthorized test, it warned. Consult the FDAs list of approved home tests before buying. You can find the list of antigen diagnostic tests here and the list of molecular diagnostic tests here. OraSure Technologies in Bethlehem is among those that are producing approved at-home tests. I made sure the test I bought, CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Home Test by AccessBio, was approved. They werent cheap I paid $64 for two boxes of two tests and I didnt want to waste my money. [ Dont fear the omicron variant. But be very afraid of more government restrictions ] Be cautious if you buy tests online. The FTC offered these tips: Advertisement Check a seller before you buy, especially if youre buying from a site you arent familiar with. Search online for the website, company or sellers name plus words like scam, complaint or review. Compare reviews from a variety of websites. You can get a good idea about a company, product or service from reading user reviews. Think about the source of the review. Ask yourself: Where is this review coming from? Is it from an expert organization or individual customers? Pay by credit card. If youre charged for an order you dont receive, or for a product thats not as advertised, contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. Choose wisely if you plan to go to a testing site, too. Tuesday, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health warned it can be difficult to know if a testing site is legitimate. It issued guidance in response to inquiries it had received about sites that had popped up as the demand for testing increased. The department is investigating street tent testing locations that claimed to be sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at a time when FEMA was not running clinics in Philadelphia. Its possible these places are doing legitimate testing, but given some of the previous problems weve had with partners and a group misrepresenting themselves on something as basic as whos funding them, it gives us pause and we ask the residents of Philadelphia to be careful when they look for testing sites, department spokesperson James Garrow told WHYY. The departments advice is universal and should be heeded anywhere. Ask who the testing site is affiliated with. The location where they are set up should be able to vouch for the testing group. Look for logos of institutions on paperwork and signs; call those institutions to make sure the testing site is legitimately affiliated with them. COVID testing sites may ask for your insurance information but should not charge you for testing. COVID testing sites should not ask for your Social Security number. [ Fraud alert: How to avoid COVID-19 vaccine scams ] Its also important to check the expiration date on test kits. Advertisement The ones I bought Wednesday expire at the end of the month, but a sign at the store said the FDA routinely has been extending the dates. Dont assume a kit is no good even if the date has passed. Check the manufacturers website or the FDAs website (fda.gov) to see if the date has been extended. Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com The Italian Senate has voted to approve an amendment to the budget law that will close the remaining ten mink farms in Italy within six months and ban fur farming throughout the country. The decision came about after talks with Humane Society International/Europe, which offered practical strategies in its report Mink breeding in Italy: Mapping and future perspectives for closing fur farms and converting them into businesses that are humane and sustainable. Following approval of the resolution by Parliament, Italy will become the 16th European country to ban fur farming. There are very clear economic, environmental, public health and of course animal welfare reasons to close and ban fur farms, said the director of Humane Society International in Italy, Martina Pluda, Humane Society International reported. Todays vote recognizes that allowing the mass breeding of wild animals for frivolous fur fashion represents a risk to both animals and people that cant be justified by the limited economic benefits it offers to a small minority of people involved in this cruel industry. The amendment requires all active fur farms in Italy be closed by June 30, 2022. It also includes an immediate ban on the breeding of mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas, according to Humane Society International. To help ease the transition, fur farmers will be compensated 3 million by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2022, reported VegNews. Fur has been falling out of favor in the fashion world, with major brands like GUCCI, Prada, Valentino and Versace banning the use of fur in their collections, and large retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Macys no longer selling it. With so many designers, retailers, and consumers going fur-free, conversion of fur farms offers people a sustainable future that the fur trade simply cannot provide, Pluda said, VegNews reported. Fur farming also presents COVID-19 risks, as many mink farms in Europe discovered the presence of the virus early in the pandemic. COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported at 465 mink fur farms in 12 countries, including Italy, the U.S. and Canada. In thirty years of animal rights battle this is the best victory. Finally, a parliamentary vote sanctions the end of unspeakable suffering inflicted on animals only in the name of profit and vanity, remarked Hon. Michela Vittoria Brambilla, president of the Parliamentary Intergroup for Animal Rights in Italy, according to the Greek Reporter. It is a great achievement, which finally all those who love and respect animals rejoice! Brambilla added, as Humane Society International reported. While global warming impacts our world and our lives in many obvious ways, a new study links rising temperatures with renal diseases, such as kidney disease. This public health threat could cost millions. Published in The Lancet, the study analyzed data on hospital patients with renal diseases and increasing temperatures in Brazil from 2000 to 2015. The researchers, scientists from Brazil and Australia, evaluated data for daily hospitalizations in 1,816 cities across Brazil. They found over 2.7 million hospitalizations for renal diseases during the time frame and identified an interesting link between these cases and increasing temperatures. The researchers found that for every 1C increase in temperature, the estimated risk of hospitalization for renal diseases lasting up to seven days increased by 0.9%. For children up to four years of age, adults over 80, and women, the risks are even higher. The authors noted that 0.9% can seem like a small percentage, but it affects a large number of people when applied to the over 212 million people living in Brazil. We already knew that temperature had an effect on kidneys because doctors have always known this. However, there had never been a study this size done on the topic, study co-author Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, a mathematician and meteorologist at the University of Sao Paulo, told Mongabay. Previous studies have found impacts of heat on the heart and lungs. A recent study from 2021 links extreme heat events to heart disease and related death. But this is the first study to link higher temperatures to kidney problems as well. Kidney disease is a global public health issue, with over 2.5 million related deaths as of 2017. Global warming is now. Our bodies are already responding to it with illnesses. The impacts of the climate crisis stretch beyond flooding, landslides and epic droughts. Climate change is costing us now! said Paulo Hilario Nascimento Saldiva, study co-author and professor at University of Sao Paulos medical school. Peoples health depends on our not destroying the environment. Human health is a part of the ecosystem. According to the World Health Organization, heat stress, along with malnutrition, malaria and diarrhea, could lead to over 250,000 deaths each year from 2030 to 2050. The new study on rising temperatures and kidney disease also shows that heat stress could lead to serious, ongoing and costly health issues for many people. In Brazil alone, dialysis costs over $700 million for the 90,000 or so people who rely on it. This nationwide study provides robust evidence that more policies should be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalizations and mitigate climate change, the study noted. Effingham, IL (62401) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 69F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Rain early...then remaining cloudy with thundershowers developing overnight. Low near 60F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Washington, MO (63090) Today Showers and thundershowers likely. High 64F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 59F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Washington, MO (63090) Today A mix of clouds and sun this morning. Showers and a possible thunderstorm developing this afternoon. High around 65F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Periods of rain. Low near 60F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible. It is hard for Harrisburg to tackle difficult problems facing the commonwealth, such as adequate school funding and property taxes. Add in the politics that surround an open governor and U.S. Senate race, and the environment gets even tougher. Compound these challenges with the once-every-decade redrawing of our legislative maps, and the atmosphere and the ability to reach compromise becomes bleak. Advertisement Despite these challenges, I will continue to be a strong voice fighting for commonsense solutions. My immediate focus as your state senator will be pushing for changes to the recently proposed state Senate legislative district maps. These maps are unconstitutional, plain and simple. Advertisement The Legislative Reapportionment Commission is charged with the responsibility and obligation to formulate maps complying with the law. However the recently released state Senate map only reinforces everything that I have been saying for the better part of 20 years this commonwealth needs an independent citizens commission to fairly draw our legislative district lines. Lisa Boscola (James Robinson / Pennsylvania Senate Democratic C) The Pennsylvania Constitution states: Unless absolutely necessary no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township or ward shall be divided in forming either a senatorial or representative district. The proposed map unnecessarily divides Bethlehem into two Senate seats. No independent commission would have suggested the map proposed for the Lehigh Valley. According to the chairman of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, Mark Nordenberg, the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate negotiated the Senate map. These leaders have one objective in mind to increase their respective partys power and influence in the Senate chamber. Wed be lucky if the best interests of the voters and communities were considered at all. Even worse for the Lehigh Valley, the commission members are from Western Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. The way the maps were drawn by these commissioners demonstrates a lack of understanding of Lehigh Valley communities and whats in their best interests. A preliminary map of proposed new state Senate districts in Pennsylvania. (Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Committee / via Dave's Redistricting) More often than not, Northampton County is on the losing end of the redistricting process. Twenty years ago, redistricting moved the county seat, Easton, out of the Northampton County Senate seat entirely. So for a decade, the residents of Easton were represented by someone living in Montgomery County. Advertisement Ten years later, Easton returned along with the entire city of Bethlehem under one Senatorial district; this needs to be preserved. Keeping the largest cities in Northampton County unified in one seat strengthens our voice in Harrisburg. All of Bethlehem belongs in one state Senate district, separate from Allentown. This increases the power and leverage each city has for state government resources and grants. Unfortunately, there is an effort in Harrisburg to merge Allentown and Bethlehem into one Senate district. Allentown and Bethlehem (the two largest cities in the Lehigh Valley) are very different communities with different needs that demand unique and separate representation. They do not compete head-to-head for grant funding, school funding and the other issues that come before the state Senate. Combining the cities and their school districts dilutes their representation in the Senate, weakening the peoples voice. In addition to fighting these maps, I will continue to be the voice for property tax reform for our seniors, homeowners, small businesses and farmers. This remains the No. 1 issue facing homeowners in the Lehigh Valley. Finding consensus on a solution to this problem has proven difficult. As one of the few senators who relentlessly fights for property tax relief, I will continue to be the voice for homeowners in Harrisburg. Advertisement The property tax problem in the Lehigh Valley stems from our school districts not getting their fair share from Harrisburg. In 2016 the legislature enacted a fair funding formula to better distribute needed education dollars throughout the state. In typical Harrisburg fashion, however, the new funding formula was only partially implemented. So today, Lehigh Valley school districts remain underfunded. As a result, our school districts make up the difference with local property taxes. Other parts of the state receive the bulk of their funding from Harrisburg, so they are less reliant on property taxes. It has been five years now since the fair funding formula became law. It needs to be fully implemented immediately to help our schools and reduce property taxes for our homeowners. The next 12 months in Harrisburg will be contentious and politically supercharged. I will continue to be an independent voice fighting for commonsense solutions to help hard working families and business owners in these challenging times. Lisa Boscola is a Democratic state senator representing the 18th district, which includes part of Northampton and Lehigh counties. Tributes paid to former High Bailiff Tributes are being to former High Bailiff and Coroner of Inquests, Thomas Michael Moyle. Mr Moyle passed away on New Year's Eve. He was appointed deputy high bailiff in the Isle of Man in 1995 and was promoted in 2003 before retiring in 2010. Police chief constable Gary Roberts has described his passing as 'terribly sad'. Athens, AL (35611) Today Thunderstorms, accompanied by locally heavy rainfall at times. High 84F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. As 2021 comes to a close, I continue to be deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Pennsylvania as governor. Although the past few years have been especially challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I remain optimistic about Pennsylvanias future. We have made great strides in vaccinating Pennsylvanians, sending our children back to classrooms and reopening our economy. Advertisement As I enter my final year in office, we will continue to rebuild and focus on the issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians education, job creation, keeping people safe and healthy, and protecting our seniors. Seven years isnt enough time to fix all the problems Pennsylvania faces, but Im proud of the progress that weve made together. Advertisement When I first took office, Pennsylvania was in a dire fiscal situation. We had $80,000 in the Rainy Day Fund and a $3 billion structural deficit. It was simply unsustainable. As a former business owner, I know what it takes to balance the books. Through sound fiscal management, weve put Pennsylvania back on track. Today, the commonwealth has a $3 billion surplus that allows us to budget responsibly and save taxpayers money. Gov. Tom Wolf and Keith Caldwell, partner at Factory LLC, tour the facility in Bethlehem last July. Factory invests in small businesses and provides them with resources such as office spaces, marketing and distribution. (Ash Bailot/Morning Call) By balancing our budget, were able to make investments that make a difference in Pennsylvanians lives. I restored the previous administrations drastic cuts to our education system and have been able to invest $2 billion into our schools so we can give our kids the education they deserve. To keep our children from moving out of the commonwealth in the future and to attract new Pennsylvanians, we need to make sure we have an economy that will support them. We eliminated the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax to make Pennsylvania more business friendly and invested billions in job creators, workforce development and skills training to ensure Pennsylvanias economy is positioned for continued growth. To support our economy and keep Pennsylvanians safe and supported throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we oversaw the massive rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, administered $145 million to support the restaurant industry and invested millions of American Rescue Plan dollars to support small businesses, help renters and homeowners, bolster the child care industry and keep schools open. To ensure Pennsylvanians have access to the health care they need, I expanded Medicaid and launched Pennie, Pennsylvanias one-stop shop for health insurance through the marketplace. Today, more than 3 million Pennsylvanians are covered by Medicaid, and nearly 344,000 Pennsylvanians purchased health insurance through Pennie in the programs first year. Now, Pennsylvanias uninsured rate is the lowest it has ever been. We also created Community HealthChoices to provide seniors and Pennsylvanians with disabilities the support and services they need to maintain greater independence and age in place. Advertisement Weve also reformed our pension system, enacted an administration-wide gift ban, raised the minimum wage for state workers and contractors, made strides to end the opioid epidemic, and strengthened our communities through criminal justice reform. Moving into 2022, I will continue to prioritize the issues Ive worked on throughout my administration to build on our progress and keep Pennsylvania on solid financial ground. I will work with the Legislature to finally fully fund the Fair Funding Formula so that every child, no matter their ZIP code, will have access to quality education. We also need to support and protect our workers, so I will continue the fight to increase our minimum wage. All of our neighboring states have a higher minimum wage than Pennsylvania, and our workers deserve fair wages to sustain a better quality of life for themselves and their families. I remain focused on reducing gun violence without infringing on lawful gun owners rights, protecting the right to vote, increasing accessibility to vote and addressing climate change. These are all bipartisan, commonsense issues that Pennsylvanians widely support. Finally, we will put Pennsylvania on a path of fiscal prosperity for years to come. I will be the first governor in nearly four decades to leave the commonwealth with a structural surplus instead of a deficit. Advertisement By balancing our budget and making smart investments in our communities, I know we can make Pennsylvania an even better place to live, work and raise a family. Tom Wolf is governor of Pennsylvania. Waukee School District teacher Liz Wagner in her home, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021, in Urbandale, Iowa. Teachers have already landed on the front lines of the culture war. Now the Jan. 6 anniversary is prompting some to decide how -- or whether -- to teach their students about the events that sit at the heart of the countrys division. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Popcorn Time, the app that was once popular for making pirating movies as easy as watching Netflix, has shut down. Its original developers took the service down and abandoned the project merely a few days after it launched in 2014. But since the project was open source, other developers were able pick up where they left off, and it's been killed and revived a few more times ever since. It remains to be seen whether Popcorn Time is now gone for good, but it looks like the biggest contributor to its most recent demise is the dwindling interest in the app. On its website, the developers posted a graph of "popcorn time" searches over the past seven years. While the app enjoyed a ton of searches in the months after its launch in 2015, the graph shows a sharp decline in interest by 2016. Its popularity continued to wane, and it never really recovered after that, at least based on Google Trends. According to Bloomberg, the group behind Popcorn Time announced its closure in an email. While they didn't say whether law enforcement action was a factor behind their decision to shut down the app this time around, Popcorn Time has had brushes with the law in the past. The original version may have closed after authorities got involved, and Hollywood studios even sued individual users who allegedly downloaded and shared copies of movies illegally. Developers associated with Popcorn Time previously talked about how they're not responsible for piracy themselves, because the service doesn't actually host any content. Instead, it relied on a peer-to-peer sharing system and only provided a way for users to access content hosted on other people's computers. One of the products Samsung showed off at its CES 2022 presentation was the Home Hub, an 8.4-inch tablet for controlling all the connected home devices in your household. The company has now shared more information about it. At launch, the Home Hub will have the ability to connect to every product in the SmartThings ecosystem, including Samsung appliances. Samsung In that way, it can tell you how much power your appliances use and if one needs cleaning. Home cooks will find a recipe hub for creating shopping lists and meal plans. Those are just some of the use cases Samsung outlines for the Home Hub. The company says the devices AI software will anticipate what you need and put that information in front of you exactly when you need it. Samsung has also pledged to support the upcoming Matter standard, which should open the door for the hub to connect to devices from other manufacturers. Based on the photos shared by Samsung, the Home Hub runs Android, suggesting it may also be possible to use it as a standard tablet. The device also comes with two speakers and two microphones, as well as the companys Bixby assistant. The tablet will come with the charging dock you see pictured in the photos, and youre free to take it out of that stand. At first glance, its hard to see the appeal of the Home Hub. After all, its essentially a tablet that comes with the companys SmartThings app preinstalled. You can download that same software on your phone. So its not like its offering something that isnt already out there. However, framed another way, its a different approach to a smart display. Samsung hasnt tried to create a device like the Echo Show 15 that wants to be the center of your home. The focus here is narrow, and thats something that could appeal to people. Samsung will release the Home Hub in Korea sometime in March, with global availability to follow later. No word yet on US pricing. Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here! Enid, OK (73701) Today Windy with scattered strong thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. Low around 40F. Winds NNW at 25 to 35 mph. It is very likely that Russia will invade Ukraine and it can only be stopped by enormous sanctions, Adam Schiff, the chair of the US House intelligence committee said on Sunday (2 January). I think that it would require enormous sanctions on Russia to deter what appears to be a very likely Russian invasion of Ukraine again, Schiff said. And I think our allies need to be solidly on board with it. Russia needs to understand we are united in this. This comes as a NATO official confirmed (4 January) that Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting with allied ambassadors and Russian diplomats on 12 January in Brussels. The meeting will take place amid tensions over Russias military build-up around Ukraine. NATO foreign ministers are expected to meet via videoconference later this week to prepare for the meeting. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Ukraines frontline on Tuesday (4 January) and held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in a show of support for Kyiv, as the West warns Russia against launching any attacks on its ex-Soviet neighbor. The visit comes after months of tensions, with the West threatening Moscow with a massive coordinated sanctions response if it invades Ukraine. With Russias increased military build-up, I am here to show EU support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, Borrell said. Brussels fears it is being sidelined as the US and Russia discuss the balance of power in Europe, with Borrell insisting that any discussion about European security must happen in coordination with and participation of EU. The United States and its allies have accused Russia of planning an invasion after massing some 100,000 troops near Ukraines border. The Kremlin said it wanted a legally binding guarantee that the NATO military alliance would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, part of a list of demands it wants to negotiate with the West. In a separate but related development, pre-Christmas statements from the Kremlin, including an ultimatum that NATO should commit itself not to expand eastwards. have challenged the dogmas of Finlands foreign and security policy and have electrified the debate on possible NATO membership. Kremlin spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, reiterated the ultimatum by saying that the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden would have grave political and military consequences. In his traditional New Years address, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto made it clear that his countrys room for maneuver and freedom of choice remains intact, adding that those include the possibility of military alignment and of applying for NATO membership, should we ourselves so decide and that there is no room for spheres of interest in this day and age. More recently, statements from within the Green party in Finland, a member of the ruling coalition, suggest that Finnish NATO membership could be on the cards in as little as five years. The apparent change in tune marks a shift in the position adopted by the party in 2018, that Finland has no imminent reason to apply for NATO membership. The Pound South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) Exchange Rate has fallen drastically today, as a strengthened Rand drove the currency pair down. At time of writing the GBP/ZAR exchange rate is at around R21.4621, which is down around -0.9% from this mornings opening figures. South African Rand (ZAR) Exchange Rates Soar as Country Passes Fourth Wave Covid Peak The South African Rand (ZAR) has climbed against its rivals today amid falling levels of the Omicron variant and a weakened US Dollar. In a statement issued on Dec 30, the South African Department of Health reported a 29.7% in new cases and a general decline in hospital admissions. The statement outlined that the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave and those who were infected had seen less severe illness. The news is likely to have renewed confidence in the Rand, and also provided some optimistic news for the rest of the worlds markets. The results of a years-long enquiry into former president Jacob Zumas rampant corruption could have prompted some further upward movement in the Rand today. The report on Tuesday recommended the prosecution of many former senior officials including Zuma, who was imprisoned last year for refusing to attend the inquiry. Current president Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the report as a defining moment for the countrys battle against corruption. The South African Rand may also have been boosted slightly by the upward trend in gold prices. Spot gold was up 0.32% on Wednesday, although trading remained muted as investors await minutes from the US Federal Reserves latest policy meeting. Pound (GBP) Stumbles as Emergency Services Struggle with Staff Shortages The Pound has dipped against many of its rivals today amid skyrocketing Covid-19 cases. Sterling did see a spike at the opening of the European session this morning however, likely prompted by Prime Minister Boris Johnsons press conference on Tuesday evening. Amid a reported 218,724 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, a fresh record for the UK, Johnson announced that the government would not be imposing further restrictions in order to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Johnson reiterated his stance that the country could withstand the surge in cases, and this likely prompted renewed confidence in Sterling. High levels of Covid-related absences across the UKs health, care, hospitality, emergency, and retail sectors may undermine this confidence however. Whilst reports indicate that the UK may be scrapping the requirement for positive confirmatory PCR tests, ongoing difficulties in securing supplies of lateral flow tests have hampered the countrys efforts to keep case numbers down. Johnson has however promised priority testing for around 100,000 critical workers as even fire stations struggle to stay open. Mark Chapman, Fire Brigades Union Regional Secretary, had the following to say: The service is at an absolutely threadbare level of cover. We even had one fire station essentially left without any firefighters, having to borrow firefighters from another station. As Omicron takes grip across the country thats something well continue to see in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and more widely. GBP/ZAR Exchange Rate Forecast: Will Both Countries See PMI Figures Fall? Looking to the week ahead, Thursday will bring the final reading of Decembers PMI for the UKs services. The countrys hospitality sector has struggled over the winter period and is likely a driving factor in the fall currently forecast. If figures print as expected then the Pound could be driven downward. South Africa will also see PMI data for December this week, with the index figures for the manufacturing sector due to be published on Friday. The index is currently forecast to show a slight decline in manufacturing output which could cause the South African Rand to fall slightly. ZAR is also likely to be affected the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee minutes on Wednesday evening, as a strengthened US Dollar could hamper the Rands upward movement. Hans Nadler was a constant presence in the eponymous bakery he founded in 1963 and later moved to the intersection of Babcock and Callaghan. Arriving no later than 5 a.m. to start baking and always the last to leave, he still would work the room each workday, greeting customers and thanking them for their business. When customers came to pick up one of his custom cakes, which were the centerpiece for too many weddings and other celebrations to count, he would carry it to the persons car to ensure it made it safely. Even after his age forced him to slow down in 2015 and let his daughter take the reins, he would sit at a table with a beverage, greeting customers of Nadlers Bakery and Delicatessen as he always did and stroll around to make sure things were on point. No longer. Nadler died Saturday at age 91. No job was too big or no detail too small for Dad to make sure was done, said his daughter Alexia Nadler-Mendez, Nadlers director of operations. It was always all about the customer. Express-News file photo Born in Zug, Switzerland, on Sept. 10, 1930, Nadler served in the Swiss Army and then the U.S. Army during the Korean War, which earned him U.S. citizenship. During his service, his cakes and pastries earned such high praise that commanding generals would request them for special events. When Nadler moved to the U.S. at 23, he wanted to open a bakery and settled in San Antonio, which he knew from a stint at Fort Sam Houston in his Army days. He figured the South Texas market would have less competition for his style of baking than New York City. What Dad did was he bridged the European style of baking with the American style to create his own identity, Nadler-Mendez said. Dad never lost his passion for the job. Never raised his voice, and he genuinely loved what he did. I knew at a very early age that I wanted to stay in this family business. He started the bakery in 1963, and I was born in 1965, so I was literally raised in the bakery business. Nadlers Bakery built a solid reputation with a variety of sweets, from cakes and cupcakes to fudge, and an array of sandwiches. But the top seller has always been the strawberry whipped cream pie, manager Pamela Quirk said. Another high-demand item was the croquembouche, cream puffs drizzled with caramelized sugar. Express-News file photo But Nadlers crowing achievement came in 2011 when he was named the Worlds Baker of the Year by the Italy-based International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners, a group that supports bakery and confectionery associations around the globe. A kind of lifetime achievement award, its been awarded only three times, Nadler-Mendez said. A wall in the bakery displays many of the achievements of Nadlers life, including several trophies, best of plaques, newspaper articles and the chefs whites he received in 2011 when he won Worlds Baker of the Year, as well as one of his first hand-written recipes from 1949. Coming here to work for him changed my life, Quirk said. He was such a humble and generous person, and everybody knew about Mr. Nadler. Nadler is survived by his wife, Minerva, whom he married in 1957; his daughters Sharon Kay Ash and Nadler-Mendez; his son Rainer Nadler; and multiple grandchildren. Services are pending at Porter Loring Mortuary North, as is a burial date at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. In a 2013 interview with the Express-News, Nadler said, It amazes me how many people, when they realize who I am and that Im here, they say, Oh, there really is a Mr. Nadler? Indeed there was. Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect that the existing Nadlers Bakery and Delicatessen location at 1621 Babcock Road is not the original location. cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount On paper, Tardifs American Brasserie looks like a master class on opening the right restaurant in the right place at the right time. Location is everything, and Tardifs snagged a villa-style corner spot in a brand new shopping center near the Dominion, an easy exit off an upwardly mobile stretch of Interstate 10. The buildout turned a big, boxy warehouse of a room into a sweeping diorama with a skylight bar, a shadow-box entryway with wine racks for days, marble-top tables and leather banquettes with half-walls to create pockets of intimacy. Chef and owner Jean Tardif is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and has owned and cooked at restaurants in Mexico City. The restaurants stated mission of French food with a Texas twist dovetails nicely with San Antonios recent French restaurant renaissance. With everything Tardifs got right, how did so much go wrong? Mike Sutter /Staff Not that youd know it from some of the photos with this review, mementos of Tardifs more picturesque moments: the majestic beef Wellington, the meticulously composed duck with the shiny red Le Creuset serving vessel on the side, the seared foie gras that screams fancy French restaurant. On ExpressNews.com: The 25 best dishes from San Antonio restaurants in 2021 Unfortunately, Tardifs is also a montage of dishes that are badly composed, poorly executed or any of the more bless-your-heart ways of saying ugly. Theres the glossy, congealed mess of a salty-sour French onion soup that the 80s would like to send back to the kitchen, the broken and dry edges of a salmon crepe that tasted more like a cracker-borne canape, and the undisciplined pile-on of a potato pave that brought scalloped potatoes to the family reunion by mistake. Theres the splotchy balsamic overkill of the endive salad, the scorched escargot-style presentation of dry persillade mussels evicted from their shells and the tomato tart cut from a sheet pan rather than custom built for the plate, a tart that looked and tasted like a slice of mall pizza. Mike Sutter /Staff A few of the photos from Tardifs look nice but dont tell the whole story. A smart blue Le Creuset pot holds a blood-red steak tartare in a color-wheel celebration of complementary colors. Whats harder to see are the hordes of capers that hijacked the chopped raw tenderloin. And while the rack of lamb might look like a church with interlocking alabaster spires, the underlying truth is that it was divided into two chops, one with three bones and the other with two bones. And surprise, they didnt cook the same, leaving the bigger chop full-on raw in the middle. The smaller chop was a picture-perfect medium-rare, with a nice sear and big meadowy lamb flavors accented with rich cashew basil pesto. Some of my frustration spilled beyond the plate and into glasses, especially a weak mezcal cocktail derailed by fast-melting motel ice-machine ice that started the watering-down process before the drink ever hit the table. I cant get behind $16 cocktails that arent playing with pro-level ice. And when I asked for wine advice, the conversation went straight to the most expensive bottles on the list. I dont need help spending harder; I need help drinking smarter. Other details that caught my attention included dinner lighting that started as bright as a Dennys until they dimmed the lights an hour in. But a dimmer glare is still a glare when its bouncing off so much brass, glass and marble. And while my service experience was solid, I saw a well-dressed man at the table across from me lift his appetizer plate into the air mid-bite to make room for main courses that flew to the table before the first course ran its course. On ExpressNews.com: 10 great San Antonio brunches In its more photogenic moments, both visually and metaphorically, Tardifs stepped up with beef Wellington, an increasingly rare old-school dish that wrapped a perfectly medium-rare tenderloin steak dressed with a precision-cut, earthy mushroom duxelle inside a flaky pastry shell the size of a Stephen King novel, served with a textbook demiglace as deep as a mirror to French culinary tradition. Mike Sutter /Staff In that same traditional vein, duck magret showcased well-roasted slices of duck harvested from birds being fattened for foie gras, their pronounced game-bird character balanced with a sweet duo of sliced pears and caramelized onions. And speaking of foie gras, Tardifs can prepare it in a subtle, cooled-down torchon style like a country pate or seared the way I ordered it, like liver candy with a creme brulee shell. As it stands, Tardifs is a well-groomed newcomer that feels out of focus with San Antonios new French wave for the simple fact that for all the money that went into the fancy little Le Creuset serving dishes, there might have been more care given to whats in them. Tardifs American Brasserie ** 23110 W. Interstate 10, Suite 201, 210-324-0601, tardifs.com Quick bite: Upscale French restaurant with a full bar near the Dominion Hit: Beef Wellington, duck magret, seared foie gras Miss: Salmon crepe, endive salad, persillade mussels Hours: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday Price range: Appetizers, $14-$38; soups and salads, $12-$18; entrees, $24-$69; lunch entrees, $18-$41; desserts, $9 Alcohol: Wine, cocktails and beer ***** Excellent, an almost perfect experience **** Good, among the best in the city *** Average, with a few standouts ** Poor, with a redeeming factor or two * Bad, nothing to recommend Express-News dining critics pay for all meals. See More Collapse msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking The San Antonio Police Department this week called on an FBI dive team to help in the case of missing 3-year-old Lina Sardar Khil. And while a two-day search of a creek bed in the Medical Center area did not yield conclusive evidence in the girls disappearance, the presence of this elite team which has searched oceans and rivers in airline disaster and serial murder investigations indicates the degree to which local law enforcement is prioritizing its efforts to find her. The FBIs Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team, or USERT, from Washington, D.C., searched the creek near 5700 Babcock Road just a few miles from her home on Tuesday and Wednesday. On ExpressNews.com: Hopes for a better life for Lina Sardar Khil dashed by her disappearance Lina disappeared on Dec. 20 from a playground at her gated apartment complex at the Villas Del Cabo apartments, 9400 Fredricksburg Road. San Antonio police said they brought in the FBI search team to broaden their search for Lina. Police said a lead led them to the creek. The FBIs USERT consists of trained divers who use high-tech equipment to search for evidence underwater. On ExpressNews.com: FBI divers search Northwest Side creek for evidence in disappearance of Lina Khil These agents search for things as big as a jet engine and as small as a bullet that may be hidden in water. From weapons to a planes black box to human remains, the dive teams efforts to recover evidence can be critical to an investigation, the FBI said in a statement to the Express-News. Unlike other FBI units, USERT is not a tactical team and more like a military dive team. Working in dark environments, the divers use special equipment like sonar and metal detectors to search for hidden evidence. Their equipment eliminates the need for light, which is critical because the particulate matter churned up from walking on the water bottom diffuses any light that would be emitted. William Luther/Staff USERT has four teams based around the country in the FBIs Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C., field offices. Each team has 16 members who serve in the general territory, though divers can fill in on other teams as needed. The members help in federal, state and local law enforcement cases, including some high-profile cases such as the emergency landing of a passenger plane US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009 and the Israel Keyes serial murder investigation in 2011. USERT has also assisted in situations such as when TWA Flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean in 1996. Divers scoured a 40-square-mile patch of ocean floor to recover the remains of 230 passengers and 96 percent of the plane. On ExpressNews.com: S.A. business owner with a 3-year-old daughter gives away banners to help find Lina Sardar Khil Being a part of the team is demanding not only because of the dark and difficult conditions the divers work in, but also the physical demands of the job. The weight of the divers equipment, helmet and other gear can exceed 100 pounds on the surface, and walking on the bottom with a current as slow as 3 or 4 knots roughly the speed the Mississippi River is similar to jogging on the surface. There are three configurations that USERT uses when its members dive, depending on various circumstances: contaminated water, which requires a protective suit and helmet with air supplied from the surface; normal conditions that dont require a helmet, with air provided from the surface through a mask; and scuba conditions that require a tank, regulator and mask. Anyone who has information on Lina's disappearance is asked to contact the missing person's unit at 210-207-7660. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net Bexar County Sheriff's Office San Antonio police arrested two men accused of fatally shooting a third man outside a motel on New Years Eve, court documents showed. Deundray Thomas and Jarian Bernard McGarity, both 42, were charged with murder in connection with the death of 42-year-old Charles Bradley Shelton. As the omicron wave washes over San Antonio, kids and grownups are staying home from school. Less than a week into the spring term, some of the areas largest districts are marking absent an abnormally high number of students and teachers. And although explanations for this abound, COVID infections or exposures are definitely in the mix, officials said. At Northside Independent School District, the largest district in the San Antonio area, staff absences rose to 1,380 on Wednesday. Of these, 1,067 were teaching positions or other classroom-related positions like teaching aide that require substitutes. About 59% of the classroom absences were covered. The district started classes Monday with 1,260 staff absences, 926 classroom-related absences, and a substitute fill rate of 58%. By Tuesday, staff absences rose to 1,340, with 1,017 of those being classroom-related positions requiring substitutes. The fill rate rose slightly to 60%. As for Northsides students, about 84% attended Monday and 87% Tuesday, down from the districts average of 90%. With more than 103,000 enrolled this year, the latest absentee rate of 13% meant over 13,000 kids out of the classroom Tuesday and more than 16,000 Monday. The Northside chapter of the American Federation of Teachers is asking the district for a temporary reinstatement of the masking requirements that were dropped by the board of trustees last fall. We are asking the district to ... to make hard decisions that not everybody may like, but are based in science, said Melina Espiritu-Azocar, Northside AFT lead organizer. Northside spokesman Barry Perez said the district would continue to strongly encourage the use of facemasks. But we have been advised by counsel that NISD does not have the legal authority to reinstate a facemask mandate at this time, he said. Staff In neighboring North East ISD, this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday brought approximately 700 staff absences daily. Among them were 400 teachers who stated family or personal illness, said Aubrey Chancellor, spokesperson for the district. We had roughly 188 teacher positions that were not able to be covered by substitutes Tuesday, Chancellor said. While that is more than normal, like many districts across the state, we have been dealing with substitute shortages all year long. Wednesday, the city of San Antonio reported 2,757 new COVID-19 cases, seven new deaths and 115 new COVID-related hospitalizations. The number of new cases is down from the 4,363 reported Tuesday, but deaths and hospitalizations rose in the same period from zero and 102, respectively. Northside officials acknowledge a good majority of the staff absences may be related to health issues, or COVID-19 concerns. For sure though, not all of the absences cited below are COVID-related, Perez says in a written statement. Perez said the district wants to sort out how many were COVID-related in order to provide quarantining guidance based on peoples exposure, infection and vaccination status. At Harlandale ISD, out of about 2,100 total staff members, approximately 329 were absent Monday, including 151 teachers. On Tuesday, the district reported 330 staff absences, 198 of them teachers, said district spokesperson Mariana Veraza. A smaller district like East Central ISD is not struggling with as many teachers out sick. On Monday, which was a teacher workday at the district, 87 out of 860 teachers did not come to work. The majority were not COVID related (out of town, medical other than COVID), said Brandon Oliver, a spokesperson for the district. He estimated about 20 were COVID-related. Somerset ISD had 34 staff absent, 15 of which were teachers, and 14 who were COVID-19 positive this week. South San ISD had 67 of its total 1,200 staff out. Of those 67, 45 were out because of COVID-19, said Brad Domitrovich, a spokesman for the district. Two of the smallest districts in the county, Ft. Sam Houston ISD and Lackland ISD, had 24 teachers and 13 staff out sick with COVID-19, respectively. Students North East ISDs attendance rate on Monday was 85% and Tuesday was 89%, which equates to 6,783 students who were absent just Tuesday, said Aubrey Chancellor, spokeswoman for the district. On Wednesday the rate remained at 89%. A typical attendance rate for the district during the pandemic is about 93%. Before the pandemic, the district hovered at about 96%. At Harlandale ISD, student attendance fluctuated: 75% Monday, 83% Tuesday, 80% Wednesday. At Somerset ISD, 87% of students were absent both Monday and Tuesday, said Natalie Martinez, a spokeswoman for the district. Like North East ISD, during the pandemic the district was seeing a 92% attendance rate. Before the pandemic, the district was at 95% or 96%. At Lackland ISD the attendance rate Wednesday was 85%, well below the average 96% or 97%, said Superintendent Burnie Roper. At Ft. Sam Houston ISD, the rate was at 90% this week, lower than usual, said Assistant Superintendent Mina Schnitta. At East Central ISD, the rate was 86% Monday and 88% Tuesday. At South San ISD, the rate Wednesday was 79%. Judson ISD and Alamo Heights ISD did not have immediate attendance numbers available Wednesday. danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH claire.bryan@express-news.net San Antonio native Robert Santos was sworn in Wednesday as head of the U.S. Census Bureau, becoming the first Latino director of an agency whose work helps to shape Americas political maps and influences the distribution of billions in federal aid. The swearing-in marked the final step for Santos to take office. President Joe Biden nominated him for the post in April, and the Senate confirmed him in November. Hes perfectly suited for the job, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. He understands the importance of a diverse country and the importance of counting every single person in every community, and I know hes going to make that central to the job that he does. In his new role, Santos will face the major task of addressing complaints that the 2020 census failed to count millions of Black and Latino residents, diminishing their political representation and reducing funding for government programs that serve them. Several recent analyses including one in which Santos participated as a vice president and chief methodologist at the Washington-based Urban Institute have reached the same conclusion. The institutes study estimated that Texas had the highest statewide undercount of Black and Latino Americans in raw numbers, omitting nearly 380,000 people from the states final tally. Diversity and inclusion have been priorities for Santos throughout his career, and he has spoken often and publicly about the importance of accurately counting minority groups. Santos told a U.S. House committee in 2020 that undercounting those populations only reinforces inequities in political representation, federal funding to local communities, and economic and public health opportunities. IN-DEPTH: What to know about the San Antonio native tapped to lead U.S. Census Bureau Santos, a third-generation Mexican American, is the first person of color to be confirmed as Census Bureau director on a permanent basis. James Holmes, who is African American, served as acting director on a temporary basis in 1998. Its an honor and privilege to serve, Santos tweeted. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund said in a statement Wednesday that Santos must rebuild trust in the bureau after a 2020 census challenged by the pandemic, natural disasters, delays and attempts at political interference by the Trump administration. It is imperative that Director Santos leads the bureau to conduct critical evaluations and provide data quality indicators to help inform our understanding of a potential undercount, the fund said. Additionally, the bureau must proactively assess the impact of an undercount of Latinos on the full range of activities for which Census 2020 data are used, including civil rights enforcement and federal funding. The organization also is pressing Santos to conduct additional research on modernizing census questions about Hispanic origin and race a topic Santos has spoken about candidly. When I fill out the census form, I check the Latino-Hispanic-Mexican American box, Santos told KERA, a public radio station in North Texas, in 2019. And when it comes to race, I mark other and insert mestizo because thats how I feel about race and ethnicity. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, whose department oversees the Census Bureau, tweeted a photo of the swearing-in ceremony early Wednesday. With more than four decades of experience in the field, Santos is well-positioned to lead our nations foremost provider of quality data about its people and economy, she said. Santos most recently served as president of the American Statistical Association, in addition to his roles at the Urban Institute. Mr. Santos is a tremendous leader, and I have full confidence that he will lead the Census Bureau with integrity in the years ahead, Raimondo said. Santos, whose term expires in 2026, will oversee preparations for the 2030 census. RELATED: San Antonio native Robert Santos becomes first Latino to lead U.S. Census Bureau Santos grew up just south of Woodlawn Lake. He attended Little Flower Catholic School and Holy Cross High School. His parents worked at Kelly AFB. He attended San Antonio Community College and later earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Trinity University in 1976. He went on to earn a masters degree in statistics at the University of Michigan in 1977. Henry Cisneros, a former San Antonio mayor and former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, called Santos a genuine, grounded product of San Antonio neighborhoods. His accomplishments serve as an example for the citys next generation of ambitious young people, Cisneros said. Its helpful for the world to see that we can produce that level of excellence and leadership, and San Antonio is a good platform for that, said Cisneros, who added that he and his siblings attended the same elementary school as the new Census Bureau director. Outside of work, Santos is known for his love of grilling, fishing and hunting. He had a longtime side gig as a photo crew chief for the SXSW Festival in Austin, helping to manage about 100 photographers each year. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Cayla.Harris@Express-News.net U.S. authorities allege a Texas businessman who unsuccessfully ran for governor of a central Mexican state falsely told some investors that he had a 100-percent acceptance rate for entrepreneur visas in a ploy that defrauded them out of more than $30 million. An FBI agent and federal prosecutors said at a hearing in San Antonio that Juan Carlos Martinez Cecias Rodriguez, 51, made other misrepresentations to investors that resulted in fraud to the E-2 visa system. The feds added that the 2020 candidate for governor of Queretaro state could face additional fraud charges in an unrelated case in Houston related to the sale of protective masks he was not allowed to sell. Those and other allegations did not convince U.S. District Judge Fred Biery to keep Martinez in jail. In a ruling this week, Biery affirmed a federal magistrate judges order allowing Martinez to post a $500,000 surety bond, but ordered him to house arrest once he makes bail. Martinez had remained in jail since his arrest Dec. 6 because federal prosecutors appealed the magistrate judges order to Biery. Biery said Martinez could be considered a flight risk, but he had enough family and financial ties in this country that likely would keep him from fleeing. Martinez, who runs a truck bed-coating franchise in Texas, lives in a home in Houston with his family and his U.S.-born children attend colleges in Texas. An FBI agent testified at a hearing Dec. 27 that Martinez misled more than 120 businessmen to invest $175,000 each in licensing agreements for a truck bed-coating franchise. The investors sought E-2 visas in the U.S., and FBI Special Agent Tyler Kennedy testified that Martinez made several misrepresentations, including falsely telling them that if they each invested $175,000 in a truck bed protective coating franchise, he would provide the equipment and employees. The visas allow eligible foreign nationals to temporarily stay in the United States to run a business if they make a substantial investment in it and meet other qualifications. According to Kennedy, Martinez worked with San Antonio resident Karina Hernandez to market and sell the Uberwurx franchise to Mexican national investors. But Martinezs company, MCM, managed the Uberwurx franchises instead of the investors doing so, in violation of E-2 visa requirements, Kennedy said. The agent said Martinez claimed he had a 100-percent acceptance rate for E-2 visas to induce them to invest. He also told them that for their investment, they would get a van and at least two employees and earn a guaranteed return of 10 percent in the first year, and 15 percent in years 2 to 5. The details later changed without investors knowledge, and he was taking money from some investors to pay returns to others, Kennedy alleged. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland San Antonio officials are opening three new public testing sites that will offer free COVID-19 tests to address the high demand driven by the surging omicron variant in San Antonio and Bexar County. Metro Health on Thursday opened the first new mass testing site at the Alamo Colleges District support operations building, 2222 N. Alamo St. It will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Additional sites will open later this week at Palo Alto College and St. Philips College. No appointment is necessary and testing is free. On ExpressNews.com: Here is why COVID tests are so hard to get in Bexar County The new test sites were contracted by the city of San Antonio with the nonprofit Community Labs to help cut down wait times and fraudulent operations. The Bexar County Commissioners Court said next week it will weigh whether to allocate more than $4 million toward additional testing sites. The announcement for new testing sites comes just days after health officials upgraded the city's virus risk level to severe as the highly transmissible omicron variant causes infection rates to soar and hospitalizations skyrocket. At the same time, at-home rapid tests are scarce and testing sites have lines wrapped around the block in some areas of Bexar County. Online appointments are also full. On ExpressNews.com: Community Labs in talks for more COVID-19 testing Though some testing lines may be long, we have the capacity for everyone to get tested, said Claude Jacob, the public health director for Metro Health. We hope these additional testing sites will help meet and alleviate those current wait times. These demands are also leading to a proliferation of fake testing sites in San Antonio and in Texas, said Dr. Junda Woo, Metro Healths medical director. Woo said that these scammers are mainly interested in personal and sensitive information. These sites can often be identified through a lack of logos on printed materials and odd pop-up locations placed on a sidewalk. These fake testing sites often ask patients to pay up front and often dont provide accurate COVID-19 test results. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the omicron variant is spreading seven times faster than the delta variant and is driving up hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 patients now admitted to San Antonio hospitals has risen to 569. There were only 24 patients in the hospital on Dec. 24. Because Texas is only allocated 3,000 doses of monoclonal antibody treatment, Bexar County and the city of San Antonio have asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to supply remdesivir antiviral treatments to help supplement the areas shortage of monoclonal treatments, Wolff said. Wolff also said that at least 411 nurses are en route to San Antonio to help with staffing shortages at local hospitals. The nurses, who are expected to arrive Thursday or Friday, were delayed because of flight cancellations. The second test site will be operated at the Palo Alto College Building 23, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. This site opens at 8 a.m. Friday. A third site will be opened at St. Philips College, 1801 Martin Luther King Drive, starting at 8 a.m. Monday. Once opened, the hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays for all three sites. The sites are in addition to the 17 testing sites that the city operates through the health care company Curative. For a complete list of COVID-19 testing locations, visit covid19.sanantonio.gov or Curative.com. Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net Carline Jean /Sun Sentinel Curative Labs temporarily has closed a COVID-19 testing site at New Braunfels City Hall after its staff was exposed to the virus. We are doing this to contain any potential risk and spread to the community, Terra Williams, Curatives Texas director of growth, said in a city news release. Michele Carraman described the moment she tried to stop the bleeding from her dying son Kristopher. She was among several relatives and police who testified Wednesday during the murder trial of her cousin Edison Carraman, particularly about the shooting and subsequent investigation. He was alive, but lifeless, Carraman said, fighting back tears during her testimony on day two of the trial in the 437th District Court. Kristopher Carramans mother, aunt and fiance told the jury a similar account of the events leading up to his death around 11:30 p.m. on March 27, 2020. The family had been having a regular cookout, making tacos and enjoying each others company outside a home in the 1800 block of West Pyron Avenue. At some point, Kristopher left with his fiance, Angelica Perez, to take his children to their mothers house. There, relatives testified that Kristopher Carramans former high school sweetheart told him she was starting to date his cousin, Edison Carraman, who was 21 at the time of the shooting. He was concerned about Edison being around his son because of some of the activities that Edison participates in, his aunt Alexandria Carraman testified. On ExpressNews.com: Not what we do with family: San Antonio man testifies cousins were fighting over a woman before fatal shooting When Kristopher Carraman, 23, returned to the home on Pyron, he was disappointed, relatives told the jury. Edison and Kristopher Carraman began exchanging calls. At first, the talks were calm, with Kristopher Carraman sounding more concerned than upset, his aunts testified. Relatives then said that Edison sounded angry, and that they recognized his voice over the phone. Ed was yelling and cursing, Alexandra Carraman said. Alexandra Carraman awoke her mother, Juanita Carraman, and told her that Edison was coming over. They wanted to fight, the aunt and grandmother told the jury. As the family gathered at the front of the house, they said they saw a black car old and beaten by the sun pull up kitty-corner to the home and turn off its lights. It then crept forward, witnesses testified. A hand with a gun reached out from the passenger side and fired two shots in the air, followed by more shots aimed toward Kristopher Carraman, witnesses said. Another aunt, Audrey Carraman, told jurors she heard six shots overall. Defense attorney Raymond Martinez questioned each of the relatives about how they knew it was Edison Carraman, even though they had not seen his face. Kristopher Carramans aunts, grandmother and fiance said they recognized the shooters voice as he cursed at Kristopher Carraman by his nickname. His mother ran to his side and tried to stop the blood coming from his head above his left eyebrow. She said she saw Edison Carraman and recognized his haircut. Kristopher Carraman was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he died. His mother said her son had big goals and dreams as he had recently found his trade as an auto mechanic, proposed to his fiance and was planning to buy a house. All of the relatives pointed out Edison Carraman in the courtroom and described the green polo he was wearing. He sat quietly wearing a black mask and did not appear to react to any testimony. San Antonio police officers who testified about Edison Carramans arrest following the shooting said they went to a home where was staying nearby and found him after he had taken a shower. The officers told the jury that they had searched the home and found him standing behind the door of a restroom with the lights off, still wet from the bath. The jury was shown body camera footage of Edison Carramans arrest hours after the shooting. My cousins making lies on me, Edison Carraman said, moments after an officer took him into custody. jbeltran@express-news.net On the first anniversary of the violent, armed assault on the U.S. Capitol and on democracy itself former President Donald Trumps most ardent supporters wont see the truth, or the crimes, committed that day. Cultists have blamed everyone else for an organized, failed attempt to overturn a democratic election on Trumps behalf. At first, they pointed fingers at the anti-fascism antifa movement and Black Lives Matter protesters, who werent involved. Participants who spoke to CNN this week about the Jan. 6 insurrection remain adamant that what they saw wasnt a right-wing mob invading the Capitol, attacking hundreds of police officers. One officer called it a medieval battle scene. Insurrectionists kept chanting USA! but fellow cultists still dont see that they destroyed property, called for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence, hunted for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and sought to capture lawmakers fleeing for safety. The cultists dont see that the insurrectionists were predominantly white, wore Make America Great Again caps and carried all sorts of abhorrent slogans and flags, including the Confederate flag. One observer described their zealotry as absolutely unreal. Yet the cult wont accept that Trump egged on the mobs attempt to upend the certification of ballots, the peaceful transfer of power and the 2020 election of President Joe Biden. Theyve clung to the big election fraud lie. This week, some of them spoke to CNN and other news outlets and blamed everyone else but the former president; his inner circle who helped plan the events that led to the assault; and the ring-wing groups involved, among them domestic terrorists and white supremacists. Some were active and former military service members and off-duty police officers. They saw the election as fraudulent because thats what was fed to them by the former president, members of his administration, sycophants who parade as journalists and ordinary citizens who sipped from the same poisoned well. Trump followers have said people in the crowd were actually Democrats parading as Republicans. Others have said government forces, such as the FBI, staged the event. When a CNN reporter told a Trump follower that some of those convicted for their crimes at the Capitol have admitted they were following Trumps orders to stop the count, it had no effect. The woman blamed judges appointed by Democrats who were in on a plot for the guilty convictions. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, some Republican leaders did hold Trump accountable. But theyve since quieted. U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has admonished them. The Republican Party has to make a choice, she said. We can either be loyal to our Constitution or loyal to Donald Trump, but we cannot be both. A whole ecosystem of alternate reality news channels and websites have supplied Trump supporters, white supremacists and domestic terrorists with lies, stoking more division. Such is a nations denial after a blatant, violent attack on U.S. democracy from the inside. Sometimes its hard to see a way out of this mess, but the path can be made clearer by the continued criminal prosecutions of those guilty of crimes in that attack. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday made mention of those cases and his promise to continue the Justice Departments investigations. Garland has promised to follow the facts wherever they lead and hold every perpetrator at any level accountable. It cant come soon enough, because the righteous path is clear: prosecute and punish those involved, top to bottom. Under Garland, the Justice Department will act carefully but must also be decisive. Republicans and Democrats whove taken a pledge to protect and serve the Constitution will have to step up and act, too, not on behalf of their parties but their country. It should be an easy choice, but far too many of them worried about re-election and the perks that accompany their offices are hiding and recasting a mob scene that cant be rebranded. Their stances are stunning for a party that wrapped itself in the flag, as if it was theirs exclusively. To make their patriotism real, they must lead the charge against insurrectionists. The nation needed their voices then and still needs them today, one year later. Given nationwide attacks on voting rights and free, fair elections, the threat to democracy remains real. eayala@express-news.net All good politicians have discerning noses. A whiff of anything that could jeopardize their image puts them on alert. And when a controversial issue comes up for a vote, they ask themselves, How must I vote to be a hero in the eyes of the public? Better still, how must I vote to look like a savior? Having worked on eight presidential campaigns, and about 100 regional and local races, Im like the guy in the Farmers Insurance ads: I know a thing or two, because Ive seen a thing or two. Most politicians, whether veterans or rookies, want to do the right thing. They want to represent their constituency, and our city, with integrity as long as they look good doing it. Lets take the issue of public art in San Antonio. Not as top of mind as other issues such as drainage, yet its an issue that must be taken seriously because it is central to how we express ourselves and what we say we are as a city. On ExpressNews.com: Take a public art tour of San Antonios North Side parks, libraries and more For as long as humans have inhabited this Earth, weve expressed ourselves in many ways. Through hieroglyphics and signage. Through stories and writing. And through public art. Public art endures worldwide because through it, we create beauty. We communicate. We learn. We build. We share. Public art is a natural way of expressing our happiness. Our joys. Our needs. Our fears. Our tragedies. Our pride. And it is for all. In San Antonio, for more than 25 years, publicly funded art has helped this city emerge as a national leader in cultural understanding and awareness. Thanks to city and Bexar County leaders such as County Judge Nelson Wolff, former Mayors Phil Hardberger and Julian Castro, and, more recently, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, public art has been part of the city and county budget. But now, just as we are on the cusp of our rightful place, nationally and internationally, as a cultural capital, city bureaucrats are proposing waiving the 1 percent allocation to public art in the proposed drainage/flooding portion of the upcoming bond program. This, after we as voters approved it in the most recent bond election. So why would we even think of taking away public art funds? Why would we ever go back to the days when San Antonio was thought of as a sleepy little behind-the-times town? All great cities fund public art. And fund it well. Paris. Rome. Berlin. Los Angeles. Dallas. And why would we let the city back out on its promise to the voters? Are we to believe that ignoring public opinion is a way forward? Thats not the San Antonio we know. Todays San Antonio is bigger than that. And better than that. On ExpressNews.com: Take a tour of public art in downtown San Antonio We ask the city leaders to keep true to their word. To fund public art. Like you said you would. Like we know you should. P.S. Two suggestions to City Council members as they consider the vote: One, do the right thing and represent your constituency with integrity. Vote to leave the 1 percent for public art in the budget on all public capital projects. Dont create a bait-and-switch slippery slope by siphoning off public art funds to whatever project seems most popular (or underfunded) at the time. Two, get to work on the next bond issue that includes an adequate allocation that also fixes the more than 100-year-old drainage problem once and for all. Youll look good doing it. Lionel Sosa and his wife, Kathy, are working on a public mural downtown that will tell much of the history of San Pedro Creek and its people through the ages. We dont want to support a rate increase for CPS Energy. Several members of the Editorial Board lived through CPS Energys botched rolling brownouts during Winter Storm Uri last year. Whats worse than having no power for days in frigid temperatures? Hearing little from the utility about it, and then paying a monthly fee to cover the cost of the power you didnt receive. Weve been shocked by some of the executive turnover at CPS Energy which culminated with the recent departure of President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams and see a city-owned utility that must ingratiate itself with the public it serves. We see a utility that cant seem to chart a clear way forward with the coal-fired Spruce 2 power unit, and we see a utility that is in a precarious financial position, fighting over some $580 million in Uri-related debt and weighed down by about $140 million in unpaid bills due to the pandemic. On ExpressNews.com: Watch: A discussion with CPS Energy on its proposed rate increase So, no, we dont want to support the proposed 3.85 percent rate increase for CPS Energy. Because like many ratepayers, we have had enough. But here is why we strongly support the rate increase even though we dont want to: Rejecting the rate increase will only make these challenges worse. It would be a short-term political move with long-term negative consequences. We wonder what it would signal to potential executives to have City Council balk at a modest rate increase. CPS Energy desperately needs a visionary change agent at its helm, but rejecting a rate increase would point to a fickle council that is afraid to invest in the present, let alone the future. Beyond this, it would cost ratepayers. As Express-News staff writer Diego Mendoza-Moyers outlined in November, credit agencies are threatening a downgrade if CPS Energy doesnt move forward with a rate increase. A credit downgrade would mean higher borrowing costs, which would only deepen CPS Energys financial pain. Finally, CPS Energy interim CEO Rudy Garza, who has been a welcome breath of fresh air, has made a strong case in regard to need. Its been eight years since CPS Energy last had a rate increase. This proposed rate increase of 3.85 percent would raise monthly bills about $5 on average and generate about $73 million a year in revenue. These funds could be used to update information technology, hire staff and meet the needs of a growing city. And, of course, it should help avoid the dreaded credit downgrade. Ideally, City Council would approve this rate increase and then hire a new CEO, who would then make the case for a series of gradual rate increases over the next five years. This would be similar to what we have seen with the San Antonio Water System and a way to avoid rate shock while ensuring financial strength. But such a case can only be made with strong public trust, and CPS Energy has a long way to go on that front. This would be a welcome opportunity to earn back the publics trust. On ExpressNews.com: City Council splits on CPS rate increase ahead of January vote While we think the vote should be unanimous (it wont be), there is one member of City Council who should sit this one out. Were looking at you, District 9 City Councilman John Courage. As Express-News Metro columnist Gilbert Garcia reported, Courages wife, Zada True-Courage, works as a financial analyst with CPS Energy. City officials have said there is no conflict as the rate increase does not have a direct impact on Courages wife. If council, for example, had to approve pay raises for (CPS) employees at a certain level, that would clearly be a direct conflict, City Attorney Andy Segovia said. Point taken. But seriously? This is how the public loses faith in government. Courage should recuse himself on this vote, and the council should pass the rate increase, even if many members dont want to. As Gov. Greg Abbott mobilizes thousands of Texas National Guard troops to assist with his border initiative known as Operation Lone Star, the state has struggled to pay soldiers on time while slashing their tuition assistance benefits, raising concerns about morale in the 19,000-member force. In recent months, Abbott has ramped up the National Guards presence along the Texas-Mexico border, enlisting some 10,000 troops to set up border fencing and help Department of Public Safety troopers carry out his plan to arrest and jail migrants on state charges, dubbed Operation Lone Star. Military officials acknowledged last week there were approximately 150 service members experiencing pay issues, attributing the delays to the magnitude of onboarding thousands of Guardsmen as part of the operation. A spokesman for the Texas Military Department, which oversees the National Guard, has told media outlets that the pay issues have been corrected, though the department did not respond to further requests for comment Wednesday. The pay issues have fueled criticism from Abbotts Democratic and Republican opponents, who have also taken aim at the governor over a series of four recent National Guard suicide deaths, questioning the mental health support for soldiers deployed to the border. Gov. Abbott is the commander-in-chief of the Texas National Guard, former congressman Beto ORourke, one of five Democrats running for governor, said in a statement. It is his duty to pay them, deliver the benefits he promised them, and ensure they receive proper mental health support in order to prevent the kind of tragedy weve seen in recent months. And if he cant justify their deployment, he owes it to them and their families to send them home. Critics decry tuition assistance cuts Compounding the pay issues, meanwhile, is a more than 50 percent cut in the Military Departments two-year tuition assistance budget, from $3 million to $1.4 million. The change suggested by military officials to meet a 5 percent budget cut imposed on most state agencies by Abbott and other state leaders reduces the number of soldiers who will receive tuition benefits and the amount paid out to those who will still receive aid. Military officials separately asked state lawmakers to restore the tuition assistance budget. Texas Adjutant General Tracy Norris who commands the Military Department under Abbott told a House committee in March that tuition assistance is vital to retention and longevity of our guardsmen. Norris said state tuition benefits help members of the Army and Air National Guard cover education costs before they accumulate enough service time to become eligible for federal aid. She noted that members of the Texas State Guard, meanwhile, are not eligible for federal tuition aid. For the State Guard, its only state benefits, Norris said. Tuition assistance is really the only thing we have to keep those members in. During the 2019-20 school year, according to the Military Departments budget request, the state received 985 tuition assistance applications and awarded 608 service members an average of $2,338. The total cost of 1.4 million is roughly double the departments $714,211 tuition assistance budget for the current fiscal year. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Featherston, a former senior official in the Texas National Guard, said the tuition cuts are among several factors contributing to low morale among soldiers deployed to the border for Abbotts initiative. When you cut benefits for tuition assistance by 54 percent, thats wrong, Featherston said Tuesday at a news conference organized by Allen West, one of Abbotts Republican primary challengers. Thats not taking care of any soldier. And soldiers depend on that TA for an education, to get a better job, to further support their family. Mental health budget boosted The Texas National Guard has also been roiled by a series of four suicides during a recent eight-week span from late October to mid-December, with all four soldiers tied to Operation Lone Star, the Army Times first reported. A fifth soldier assigned to Abbotts border initiative died early New Years Day after accidentally shooting himself in the head, days after another soldier had survived a suicide attempt, the Times reported. Its unclear how the series of suicide deaths compares to recent years or the first several months of 2021, before thousands more troops were sent to the border. In the 2017 fiscal year, the Texas National Guard recorded nine suicides and 14 attempted suicides, according to a 2018 budget document in which Texas military officials requested extra funding for counseling and behaviorial health services. State lawmakers earlier this year approved a two-year budget that more than triples the Texas Military Departments two-year mental health budget, from $2 million to $6.6 million. The Military Department did not respond to an email Wednesday requesting suicide figures from the last four fiscal years. Military Department officials are only the latest who have struggled to keep pace with the demands of Abbotts border program, which also overwhelmed local officials who were quickly overwhelmed last year by a massive backlog of arrests stemming from Operation Lone Star. The governor has said his border initiative is necessary to handle a sharp uptick in border encounters under the Biden administration. His critics, meanwhile, have accused Abbott of pandering to right-wing activists and voters who have urged the governor to take a stronger stance on border security. Abbott has largely ignored the criticism, focusing his attention instead on President Joe Biden, who he sued Tuesday over a federal vaccine mandate for military members. Texas is beyond grateful for the brave men and women of the National Guard and DPS who are diligently and selflessly securing the border in the federal governments absence, Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze said in a statement Tuesday. We continue working with service leaders to ensure all who are deployed in Texas and overseas have the support they need to keep forging ahead and serve our great state and our nation. jasper.scherer@chron.com U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz played a key role in trying to delay the certification of the 2020 elections just before supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Cruz, a Republican from Houston, supported the objection to the Arizona electoral votes and called for Congress to create a commission to give a 10-day review of the election results before certifying it. I am not arguing for setting aside the results of this election, Cruz told other Senators. Cruz said he was looking for an option between refusing to certify the election just because one side lost and discounting the concerns of some Americans who believed the election had been rigged. He said would it have helped both sides by creating a commission similar to what happened after the disputed 1876 presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. Heres Cruz's speech from that day. It was delivered about 20 minutes before the storming of the Capitol forced Senators to call an emergency recess and seek cover during the riots. Before Cruz made his speech, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was among the speakers at the rally near the White House. Paxton had unsuccessfully tried to sue four other states to block their election results from being counted. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his suit. At the rally before the storming of the Capitol, Paxton lamented the Court refusing to hear the case during his short 2 minute speech and lauded Trump for not giving up on the election. What we have in President Trump is a fighter and I think thats why were all here, he said. We will not quite fighting. Heres Paxtons full speech that day. GREENWICH At least 60 staff members at Greenwich Hospital were not working Wednesday amid a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections that is likely driven by the omicron variant, a hospital official said. We didnt have the number of staff out the first three waves that we are having now, so its just there are different challenges, for sure, Diane Kelly, the hospitals president, said during the towns COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday afternoon. Across Yale New Haven Health, the hospitals parent health care system, 700 patients were hospitalized as of Wednesday for treatment of COVID-19, with 95 in intensive care units, Kelly said. That includes 60 patients at Greenwich Hospital, five of whom were in the ICU, she said. This fourth wave, whats different is how contagious it is - so its rapidly spreading, very quick - but what we are seeing is a different level of acuity, Kelly said. Some people who have received an initial round of vaccine are getting sick and ending up in the hospital, she said, but those who are hospitalized after getting a booster shot often have other underlying issues. Really, the majority of people are not in the ICU, theyre not requiring ventilated or mechanical assisted breathing in any way, she said. Those who are not vaccinated at all are the ones that are sicker, Kelly said. Greenwich Hospital recently announced a new policy severely limiting visitors in most wards due to the spike in COVID-19 cases across the state. No visitors are allowed in inpatient, emergency, outpatient surgeries, procedural areas and psychiatry departments at all, with exceptions for people with disabilities and patients who are dying. As of Tuesday, the total number of active COVID-19 cases in Greenwich was 466, town officials said. Between Dec. 28 and Jan. 4, a total of 650 new cases were reported. Despite the jump in cases, First Selectman Fred Camillo said he had no plans to reinstate a townwide mask mandate. Many businesses already require patrons to wear face coverings, Camillo said, and most people are wearing masks of their own accord. Youve got to be careful with these mandates, Camillo said during the news conference. You know weve done it in the past we did it a few times, and in some cases it was not very popular. Except for a mask mandate put in place last August, he noted that all prior mask mandates predated the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Most businesses downtown are already doing it, he added. You dont want to be nanny state, always throwing mandates left and right, Camillo said. Masks are required in all town-owned buildings, including town hall and the civic centers, under an order from Camillo last month. Also last month, Town Director of Health Caroline Baisley said the omicron variant was raging in town. In total statewide, Connecticut recorded more than 10,300 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, while hospitalizations rose to 1,676 patients higher than at any point since the spring of 2020, according to state statistics. Camillo acknowledged that the surge in COVID-19 cases has also affected town agencies, without naming which ones. Some have been hit particularly hard, but theyre all coming back full-strength, he said. One department had a lot out a few weeks ago, Camillo said. We were in contact with them and operations were unaffected. We had other contingency plans, he said. On Tuesday, the town distributed thousands of COVID-19 home test kits at two sites for town residents Grass Island Park for everyone and the Senior Center for residents age 60 and up. The town received a shipment of 6,000 Flowflex kits ordered by the state of Connecticut. The town expects to receive another shipment of tests to distribute, Camillo said. But when they would arrive is unclear, and he declined to say how many kits the town is expected to receive. Also on Tuesday, the Greenwich Public Schools reported its largest-by-far number of new COVID cases 392 among students and staff on its online tracker. The numbers, which were the first reported in the 11 days since Dec. 24, reflect the new COVID-19 cases diagnosed during the school districts holiday recess. The Greenwich Public Schools also received 46 boxes of iHealth tests, or 8,280 total tests, and five boxes of Flowflex, or 1,440 total tests, on Tuesday. The kits can be used if a student or staff member exhibits symptoms and needs to be screened for COVID-19; if a student or staff member has a direct exposure to an individual with COVID-19; or if a class or program is experiencing multiple cases of COVID-19, a school may distribute tests to all students in that classroom or program if they have difficulty accessing tests. The state also sent tests to private schools in Greenwich. This service allows you access to our online content at no additional charge for the duration of your print subscription. Please note, your online access will begin in correlation of your first print delivery. If you are already receiving your paper you will have access upon entering your account number Please contact us if you have any questions 478-994-2358 The government has unveiled the next stages of its plan to pay farmers for actions which benefit the environment, but industry groups warn that many farming businesses are being left in the dark over their future. Announcing the plans today at the Oxford Farming Conference, Defra Secretary George Eustice said the two new environmental land management (ELM) schemes will play an 'essential role' in fighting climate change and halting the decline in species by 2030. The Local Nature Recovery scheme will pay farmers for locally-targeted actions which make space for nature in the farmed landscape, such as creating wildlife habitat, planting trees or restoring peat and wetland areas. Meanwhile, the Landscape Recovery scheme will support more radical changes to land-use change and habitat restoration, such as establishing new nature reserves, restoring floodplains, or creating woodland and wetlands. Taken together with the previously announced Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) which supports sustainable farming, they are designed to provide farmers with a range of voluntary options to choose from. The reforms are the biggest changes to farming and land management in 50 years, with more than 3,000 farmers already testing the new schemes. But industry groups have warned that many farmers are still left in the dark over the future direction of their businesses, with notable concerns including future costs and the exclusion of tenant farmers from participating. The NFU said its biggest worry was that the schemes would result in reduced food production in the UK, leading to the need to import more food from countries with lower production standards. Responding to today's announcement, the union's vice president Tom Bradshaw said more information was needed from the government. "While it is encouraging that sustainable food production is recognised, there is still a lack of detail on how it fits in with the schemes ambitions to improve farm biodiversity, restore peatlands and manage woodlands. "This lack of detail is preventing farmers from making crucial long-term decisions that are essential to them running viable and profitable businesses." He added: There are still a number of questions that need answers, not least the costs farmers are likely to incur from participating in these new schemes and how the schemes are accessible right across the country and for every farmer. "Currently there appears to be a lack of options for tenant farmers to get involved and this must be addressed as a matter of urgency." Industry groups have also raised concerns that neither of the two schemes will be widely available to farmers over the next three years, making it difficult to replace the falling income from BPS. While the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) welcomed the announcement, it said the schemes were 'by no means a silver bullet' and that a profitable agriculture sector remained 'a core part of the rural economy'. Mark Tufnell, president of the CLA, said: "Britain is already at the forefront of agricultural innovation and animal welfare standards, and we must do more to ensure our great produce is supported here and abroad. "We need to ensure that profitable agriculture remains a core part of the rural economy and feeds the nation sustainably." Mr Eustice also announced today that applications will shortly open for the first wave of Landscape Recovery projects, with up to 15 projects selected in the first wave. These will focus on two themes recovering Englands threatened native species and restoring Englands rivers and streams. The pilot projects are expected to deliver major benefits, including the creation of 10,000 hectares of restored wildlife habitat and carbon savings between 25 to 50 kilo tonnes per year. But while environmental and nature groups have welcomed today's detail from the government, they have called for more systemic and transformational change. The Soil Association said there needed to be "clearer, quantified targets, such as for reducing pesticide and artificial nitrogen fertiliser". The government must also acknowledge that these schemes wont work in isolation," the charity's policy director, Jo Lewis said. "They risk failure if they are forced to compete with mounting commercial pressures that encourage more intensive farming and cheap food production, for which the environment and our health ultimately pays the price. Rewarding nature-friendly farming practices is only part of the equation. We need fairer, shorter supply chains that prioritise nutritious food over cheap, ultra-processed food, and which fairly rewards farmers. "And we must stop signing trade deals that undercut our farmers by wiping out nature abroad." The Local Nature Recovery scheme is the government's successor to the Countryside Stewardship in England, rewarding farmers to take action at a local level and work together to tackle environmental issues. An early version of the Local Nature Recovery scheme is expected to be trialled in 2023, with a full roll-out across the country from 2024. The Landscape Recovery scheme will pay farmers who want to take a more radical, large-scale, and long-term approach to producing environmental outcomes through land use change and habitat and ecosystem restoration. By 2028, government spending is expected to be evenly split across farm-level, locally tailored and landscape-scale investment. It said all schemes will be designed to pay for public goods which go above and beyond regulatory baselines, and that the schemes wont pay for the same actions twice. Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, said the environmental schemes 'mark an historic shift' in the way farmers managed their land. These reforms pave the way for those who manage the land to produce healthy food alongside other vital benefits, such as carbon storage, clean water, reduced flood risk, thriving wildlife and beautiful landscapes for everyone to enjoy." Farmers should be aware of losing control of their land use options amid conflicting demands for natural capital, public goods and food production. This is according to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), which says farmers are facing a generation's change in the space of just one decade. These include the removal of support payments combining with Brexit, the drive to net zero and changing political and public demands. Those pressures drive new competition for rural land use, the CAAV says, with potential for massive change and more varied enterprises to meet all these needs. But the industry group explains that it is vital for farmers to assess the options to retain control rather than being locked into long-term plans. Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference on Wednesday, Jeremy Moody, secretary of the CAAV, said two-thirds of the retargeted Basic Payment money in England will go to changing habitats. Meanwhile, in Scotland, he noted that the government there is aiming to increase forestry, restore peatland and reduce farm emissions by 31% by 2032. Such policies might help or hinder farmers but the real decisions over land use are theirs to take," Mr Moody explained. "This decade offers the transition period in which to manage this major change. According to CAAV, there are five general routes for farming to develop: Commodity production by good farmers focusing on efficiencies; higher investment, higher return farming of vegetables, fruit and livestock under cover; controlling value with specialism, branding, adding value, etc; combining agriculture with environmental outputs; focusing land use mainly on the environment, from re-wilding to forestry and solar, with little or no agricultural production. It says farmers should be aware of the obligations and restrictions of some environmental land use agreements, as they could tie them into restrictive management for 30 years or more. In some cases like solar leases that might be attractive, but agreements based on outcomes rather than actions would be even more limiting. Mr Moody said: If youre paid to provide services thats one thing, but once the buyer takes control of the carbon, biodiversity or other outcomes you may have lost control of the farm, with restrictions and penalties to protect what the buyer has bought." He added: Carbon is also a paradox: It is very important to the farm but has a trivial market value. Selling carbon credits looks to handicap farmers who will be expected to reduce their own carbon footprint; it is counter-productive as the farmer will then have to find that carbon reduction again. Farmers are also unlikely to be wooed by forestry, according to the CAAV, given the permanent land use change and loss of options it involves. But new markets for biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality could be potential options in future. However, biodiversity net gain agreements are set at over 30 years, and nutrient neutrality could take even longer," Mr Moody said. Given rapidly advancing scientific knowledge and technology, as well as evolving natural capital markets, the agricultural world could be a very different place in 30 years, he warned. Defra Secretary George Eustice has denied that the UK is sleepwalking into a food crisis, despite heavy criticism of the governments post-Brexit trade agreements. Following the decision to leave the EU, farming representatives pleaded with the government not to sign trade deals that would allow imports of foods produced to lower environmental and animal welfare standards. Last year the independent body set up to advise the government on the interests of agriculture in trade negotiations said that Britains farming standards should not be undermined. Yet the government has since agreed deals with Australia and New Zealand, which British farming leaders have criticised for allowing lower standard imports. The Oxford Farming Conference, held online because of the pandemic, was attended by Mr Eustice, along with Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs in Wales and Edwin Poots, Minister of Agriculture in Northern Ireland. One member of the public asked them: Is the UK sleepwalking into a food crisis in the same way as we have sleepwalked into an energy crisis through offshoring? Mr Eustice denied this was the case: I dont think it is. We have made it a legal requirement under the Agriculture Act for the government to do a comprehensive review of food security every three years. "The first report from that was published before Christmas. It showed that we actually have high levels of self sufficiency in those key areas where we are able to produce certain foods. "Our overall self sufficiency as a country has been relatively stable since the turn of the millennium, over that last 20 years or so. "It currently runs at about 77% for the foods we can produce - we produce more milk and more lamb than we consume," he explained. "And we have seen an increase in self sufficiency in key sectors like soft fruit and other elements of horticulture and also in poultry as well. "Its generally a positive picture at the moment but we are not complacent and we do have to keep an eye on that food security and thats why every three years this will be subject to further review. However, Mr Poots raised concern: I fear it could be the case. It may not happen in five years but it can happen much more quickly than people would anticipate, and we saw the problems in the early days of Covid. During the conference he criticised the UK's trade deals: The trade deals that are being done with New Zealand, Australia and I have no doubt with many other parts of the world, which we welcome on one hand, will have an impact on agri-food. Such deals were very lucrative to food producing countries from other parts of the world, he said, including food producing countries which may not have the same 'environmental consciousness' as the UK. The result of that will be that we import cheaper products from other parts of the world which are produced in a less environmentally sustainable way," Mr Poots added. "That is not a policy which I want to be associated with or a policy that I want to engage in. I want to ensure that, in terms of our social conscience, we develop a food policy in the UK which produces that food in an environmentally sustainable way, which ensures that local communities, local rural communities, are sustainable because agriculture is the heart beat of the rural community. Lesley Griffiths added: I think what is really important is getting or sustainable farming scheme right so that we can become one of the best countries in the world for sustainable farming, making sure we meet our global obligations without offshoring food production to regions and countries that have lower standards than we do. "I think Edwin is quite right that the public health crisis we have had with the global pandemic has made us realise that we need to look at our food security. The Trade and Agriculture Commission was established under pressure from the NFU, which was concerned that UK quality, environmental and animal welfare standards could be traded away in order to secure post-Brexit deals with countries like the US. It said in an executive summary of its report that the UK should match tariff-free market access to relevant climate, environment, animal welfare and ethical standards, remedying competition issues arising where permitted imports do not meet relevant UK and international standards. Numerous projects in Scotland have been awarded funds totalling over 170,000 in a bid to tackle climate change in agriculture and food production. Projects aiding emissions reduction and tackling climate change have been selected as part of the last round of the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF). The chosen projects have a specific focus on resource efficiency, cutting emissions, environmental performance and sustainability of agricultural holdings, and are supported by over 170,000 of funding. The Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund is delivered through the Scottish governments rural budget, with the scheme funding knowledge transfer and innovation based projects. One project to receive a 70,000 grant is 'Soil Health A Route Towards Net Zero', which is being facilitated by Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd. The project's aim is to help the agricultural industry meet the Scottish governments targets by becoming more efficient, specifically through better management of soil health. Nourish Scotland has received 43,500 to spearhead its agroecology project, which aims to facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange between farmers who have started to adopt agroecological approaches and practices. The project is looking to widen understanding of agroecology in Scotland, specifically through a farmer to farmer cooperative learning programme. It aims to achieve this with groups of 8-10 farmers which are diverse in terms of enterprises and geography, with the learning shared across groups and with industry bodies. Elsewhere, Wholesome Pigs Scotland has been awarded 35,000 of government funding to help develop its 'Carbon Trotterprints' project. This aims to build on the success on the use of benchmarking within the Scottish pig industry to deliver improved measurement tools and to minimise the work involved on-farm to complete carbon audits, thereby reduce any future financial support requirement. At least three different pig farm carbon calculators will be interrogated to provide the project team with an understanding of the specific data input requirements for each calculator. Tenant farmers have expressed 'grave concerns' in being unable to access new environmental schemes after the government announced new information on them today. It follows today's speech by Defra Secretary George Eustice to the Oxford Farming Conference, providing new details on the Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery elements of the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme. But there is concern among the industry that tenant farmers could be excluded from the schemes, especially those on Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) agreements. The Tenant Farmers' Association (TFA) said it was 'alarming' that after more than three years of discussions with Defra, there was 'still no clear plan'. TFA chief executive, George Dunn said: "Payments under the Basic Payment Scheme are being removed from tenant farmers in real time while we have a vague commitment for further work to be undertaken on how tenants can access schemes. "It does feel like we are pushing water uphill given that we have already provided Defra with solutions which we urgently need to see implemented. There is concern on the extent to which FBT tenants will be disenfranchised from accessing LNR and LR due to landlords refusing consent, as well as by landlords who may consider trying to access schemes themselves. The TFA has called for a ban on landlords accessing schemes for at least 12 months after they have served notices to quit on their tenants. The body also had a meeting with Defra farming minister Victoria Prentis last week, resulting in numerous points being agreed upon. These include putting the landlord community on notice that if it did not act reasonably in terms of allowing access to new schemes for tenants occupying on FBT agreements, the government could act to reconsider whether the provisions within the Agriculture Act 2020 should be extended to FBTs. Defra also agreed to arrange a meeting with senior figures from the national firms of land agents to remind them of their responsibilities and to exhort them to show better practice. Since the meeting we have been chasing for progress on these points including through further meetings with officials, added Mr Dunn. Only subscribers with PAID Print or E-Edition subscriptions please enter here to gain access. If you are not already a Paid subscriber do not go through this portal. Please return to the subscription page to purchase one of our offers. Thank you! The future of Fauquier Times now depends on community support. Your donation will help us continue to improve our journalism through in-depth local news coverage and expanded reader engagement. Support The purpose of the legislative session is for priority bills to become law. Thousands of bills are introduced; this year, 293 bills became law. Its hard to keep up with them all, so heres a brief rundown of major bills that became lawand bills that did not. Whats the use of West-donated COVID-19 vaccines to Africa when millions of doses expire? By Cui Fandi and Hu Yuwei (Global Times) 08:43, January 06, 2022 At a time when global cooperation and help are most needed, many countries on the African continent are facing "vaccine nationalism" from the West. Several countries have been forced to discard more than 3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines because the vaccines expired within months of being received as donations. The situation is "regrettable" and "heartbreaking," Africa experts told the Global Times. The vaccine nationalist mentality in Western countries is the number one cause of vaccine waste in Africa, the experts said. Western countries stockpile excess vaccines and "donate" them to African countries when they are about to expire, for political show. They don't care about whether Africa lacks vaccine storage conditions and primary care services, and these unusable vaccines drain the expectations and budgets of African countries. Heartbreaking waste The WHO Regional Office of Africa confirmed to the Global Times that vaccine discard in African countries is a noted situation. On December 22, 2021, the Nigerian government destroyed more than 1.06 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine at a landfill on the outskirts of the capital city Abuja. According to media reports, these vaccines were part of the more than 2.59 million doses Nigeria received from Europe in October 2021, and had expired in November. The destruction of these vaccines followed reports that vaccines received from Europe through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access program (COVAX) arrived in Nigeria with only four to six weeks of viability remaining, making them unusable for the timely inoculation of populations in the African country. Concerning the heartbreaking news that more than 1 million doses of vaccines would be destroyed in a country with less than a 4 percent full vaccination rate, the Nigerian Ministry of Health issued a statement saying that many low- and middle-income countries have experienced similar situations. The Ministry called on vaccine donors to start the donation process as soon as possible so that recipient countries are able to receive the vaccine with a longer shelf life to avoid wastage. Nigeria said it is no longer accepting vaccine donations with short, unviable shelf lives. Nigeria is not the first country to destroy expired vaccines. Senegalese authorities also recently said that 400,000 doses of expired vaccines would be destroyed. Malawi burned 20,000 doses of expired vaccines in May 2021, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) returned 1.3 million doses of vaccines due to expiration. Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe have asked Pfizer, in the last several months, to pause shipments because of challenges with vaccine uptake, according to the company's statement. The situation is regrettable, especially as Africa remains the least vaccinated continent against COVID-19, Adhere Cavince, a Kenyan scholar, pointed out to the Global Times. As of the end of 2021, only a worrying 7.5 percent of the continent's 1.3 billion people are fully vaccinated while a few Western countries are stockpiling far more vaccines than they need and are wasting them. Statistics show the US and its partners have about 240 million doses of vaccines about to expire. And many of these vaccines being used for donations have been criticized as being props in political showmanship. The act has sparked international concern and discontent. The COVID-19 Vaccine Procurement Facility, led by the African Vaccine Procurement Trust, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the WHO, recently issued a statement calling for improvements in the quality of vaccines donated to Africa. Data from a World Bank study shows that for every month that vaccines are delayed in arriving in Africa, there is a loss of about $13.8 billion in local GDP. West's 'vaccine nationalism' Africa's slow pace of vaccination is mainly caused by "vaccine nationalism" of the producing countries that bought much of the global supply, leaving little for Africa, Cavince, the Kenyan scholar on international relations, told the Global Times. Donation being the major way through which Africa receives vaccines, most donations are a just second thought political decision by developed countries which have seen vaccines nearing expiry shipped to the continent, he said. His accusations are echoed by many African medical experts and senior officials, who fired at the West's blatant arrogance over the issue. "We had developed countries that procured these vaccines and hoarded them. At the point they were about to expire, they offered them for donation," condemned Faisal Shuaib, head of Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also accused the developed countries of being "unjust and immoral" by hoarding vaccines needed in poorer nations. "The greed that they demonstrated is something that is quite disappointing indeed, particularly when they say they are our partners," he said, according to the South African government. The WHO-led vaccine distribution mechanism has disclosed that the majority of the vaccine donations made to date to African countries have been ad hoc, provided with very short notice, and even shorter shelf lives. The result is that many developing countries don't only fail to receive the much-needed help, but also have to instead become "large-scale vaccine waste treatment plants" for the US and the West. The West has been ignorant to the fact that many African countries do not have the capacity to rapidly distribute and administer the vaccines, Cavince told the Global Times. "It is one thing to donate vaccines to Africa and quite another for African citizens to receive them," he said. Experts familiar with vaccine donation processes noted to the Global Times that considering the time required to administer the vaccines, vaccine donors usually send out the doses several months in advance. Given the infrastructure and organizational capacity in Africa, the window set aside for vaccine donation can be up to six months, Tao Lina, a Shanghai-based vaccine expert, told the Global Times. Other reasons considered to have contributed to the current situation in Africa include difficulties in storing vaccines, the lack of supply support, and prevailing attitudes by people toward vaccines. Light at the end of the tunnel In order to tackle the current situation, developing countries need to be allowed to manufacture and directly procure vaccines, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. African experts also noted to the Global Times that the only sustainable way to ensure Africa has access to the vaccines it needs is to encourage local production in the continent. China, picking up the mantle, is already blazing that trail with joint production hubs in Egypt and Morocco. The FOCAC 2021 commitments by China to produce 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the continent should be emulated by other vaccine-producing countries. The 400 million doses expected to be co-produced by China and African countries is part of China's 1 billion vaccine donation promise for 2022, which was announced in November 2021, in order to help the continent achieve the AU's target of vaccinating 60 percent of the population by 2022. China had already provided about 180 million doses of vaccines to Africa as of November 30, 2021, covering almost all African countries. Most of the more than 6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Zimbabwe are vaccines developed by Chinese companies. "Chinese vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel," said Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In Namibia, about 140,000 people have been vaccinated using China's Sinopharm vaccines. Equatorial Guinea received 100,000 doses of vaccines from China in November 2021, becoming the first West African country to receive a large consignment of vaccines. Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue said that when facing difficulties, "only China has taken us into its heart and extended a helping hand." In the meantime, medical experts noted that the inactivated vaccines widely used in China require less demanding transport and storage conditions than the mRNA alternative used in the West, and is also more suitable for large-scale use in low- and middle-income countries. The appeal of the Chinese vaccines for developing countries is obvious, Zha said. Due to China's mature vaccine technologies, longer shelf lives, and lower requirement for storage and transportation, Chinese-made vaccines are a more preferable choice for many developing countries with relatively weak vaccination infrastructures. This has been reflected in the approval of Chinese vaccines in more than 100 countries. China has once again demonstrated what the responsibilities of a great power should be in its vaccine donations to Africa, in stark contrast to the arrogance of Western countries, Zhu Weidong, senior research fellow with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said. "In aiding Africa, China has always emphasized real results that fall into place, and this has been proven once again in this joint fight against the pandemic," Zhu said. Vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna rely on mRNA technology which needs to be stored at around minus 70 degrees and minus 20 degrees Celsius, respectively. Such a requirement presents a challenge for many African countries, where poor electricity infrastructure cannot support ultra-cold freezers during transport. Even more, some of the vaccines are shipped without accompanying medical supplies like syringes, which means the recipient countries must make more investments before deployment. "Expired vaccines have no role in helping Africa achieve its vaccination target of 60 percent by 2022," Cavince said. In addition, some common infectious diseases, including malaria, continue to plague African countries, leaving many to prioritize immunization against those diseases and put COVID-19 vaccination on the back burner. The lack of infrastructure needed along its vaccine transport chain also drags back vaccination rates, Zha Daojiong, a professor at Peking University who had previously been heard on feedback from African health experts, told the Global Times. More, people in many African countries, especially Muslim-majority ones, still have vaccine skepticism, and they believe in traditional treatments over vaccines. It is partly due to some Western media's frequent reports over incidences of AstraZeneca vaccination-related deaths, which further added to the skepticism, Zha noted. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Colombia international midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero is set to return to River Plate, a year after leaving the Argentine club to join Shenzhen FC. The 28-year-old is a free agent after parting ways with the Chinese Super League side by mutual consent this week, according to TyC Sports. It added that the playmaker would travel to Buenos Aires on Monday (January 10) after visiting his family in the Colombian city of Medellin. Quintero made just 21 appearances for Shenzhen after joining the club in February. Reports of his imminent return to River Plate caused commotion among the club's fans on social media on Wednesday. The former Porto player earned icon status at River after scoring the decisive goal in his team's extra-time victory over rivals Boca Juniors in the 2018 Copa Libertadores final. Quintero has represented the Buenos Aires outfit 61 times across all competitions and scored 12 goals. He is expected to be River's third signing of the pre-season, joining Tomas Pochettino and Emanuel Mammana. Enditem As we head into 2022, Kansas Citys restaurant scene is facing both the typical winter doldrums as well as a surge in COVID-19 cases that has been upending an already unsettled industry. Several beloved restaurants have closed or plan to close, citing difficulties related to the ongoing pandemic, including Plowboys BBQ in Overland Park, Chai Shai in Midtown Kansas City and Brookside Poultry Co., which plans to close at the end of January. There are a handful of new restaurants and bars that prove to be bright spots in the citys culinary scene, however, and may give us an indication of where 2022 may be headed. Down in Grandview, Housewife debuted in early December, offering creative and fresh pastries, breakfast and lunch items in an airy, comfortable environment. Further west in South Overland Park, the fast-casual Jumbo Noodles Bar offers cozy hot pots and customizable noodle bowls. And on the western edge of the metro, Quentin's BBQ and Sides opened in Bonner Springs, offering specialty dishes like wagyu burnt ends served on brioche. Next month, keep an eye out for the nearing openings of Briarcliff Barrio (the third restaurant to join the Brookside/Red Bridge Barrio family), as well as Riverbluff Brewing in the City Market and the Made in KC Cafe at Martini Corner. Check up on all of this month's openings and closings below. Eric Nybo Eric Nybo College of Pharmacy Associate Professor Eric Nybo received good news earlier this year from the United States Patent Office. Equally pleased by the second patent issued solely to Ferris State University are the state-funded mentors and the entities that provided financial support to study and develop a genetically-modified host organism capable of expressing an anthracyclinone or potent chemotherapy drug. Word that a patent for genetically-modified host organism for expressing an anthracyclinone analogue, method associated therewith, and synthetic nucleic acids came about two and a half years after the United States Patent Office acknowledged the first filing on Nybos research. In 2018, I received an ADVANCE Proof of Concept Grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a state-supported program that is managed by Michigan State Universitys Innovations Center, Nybo said. As part of that funding to further my research, I was connected with Bruce Auerbach, who has three decades of pharmaceutical industry experience, which includes shepherding two drugs to clinical trials. The other mentor-in-residence from the Technology Transfer Talent Network (T3N), Karen Studer-Rabeler, offered expertise in discovering potential customers for this organism so that the technology might achieve commercialization. I continue to receive help from the T3N mentor network and consultations are a most valuable part of this collaboration. Intellectual property protection, such as patents, is an important component of life science commercialization, Studer-Rabeler said. I, and my T3N colleagues, look forward to helping Eric and his team advance this process, so that this life sciences technology might reach its full potential to impact human health. Nybo agreed the current phase of this project is another opportunity to collaborate and advance the process. His lab is further developing this technology with an RUI (Research in Undergraduate Institutions) grant from the National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering. We entered the first round of customer discovery for this technology, with help from TreMonti Consulting, LLC, Nybo said. It is exciting to be at the point of discussing the project with pharmacy executives and researchers, exploring options for our work. MEDC University Relations Director Denise Graves said it is exciting to see Nybos technology continue to advance toward commercialization. Ferris has come a long way in supporting this type of research for faculty, which is paying off with additional projects in the pipeline, continued follow-on funding, and issued patents, Graves said. A supportive and collaborative statewide university network, access to mentors and targeted matching funds provide exactly what researchers need to bring their technologies to market. Nybos study and other investigative activities on the Ferris campus receive support from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, a unit within the universitys Academic Affairs division. We are indebted to the support of MEDC and Denise Graves, and colleagues at MSUs Innovations Center and the University of Michigans Center for Innovative Partnerships, ORSP Director Thomas Dowling said. I have enjoyed working with MEDC since 2016 to develop this partnership. Collaborating with these R-1 programs allows us to tap into resources that would not ordinarily be available for faculty at smaller, primarily undergraduate Universities. A requirement for receiving any MEDC-based grants or mentorship support is an invention disclosure on file with the host university. Ferris currently has two other patents in development with MEDC support, including Daniel Taylor, from the Michigan College of Optometry, and Sonali Kurup, from the College of Pharmacy. The information described in this news release is covered under U.S. Patent No. US10,980,817 to Ferris State University (inventor Nybo, S.E.). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ENG-2015951 (to S.E.N). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary - The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought a positive impact on the plant-based food market due to the increased consumption of plant-based nutrition to boost immunity. The market witnessed rise due to the reluctance to consume meat owing to the outbreak and the demand for plant-based food rose significantly. The e-commerce platform is likely to play a salient role in driving the market growth in the COVID-19 era. The market witnessed a rise in demand for food products such as beans, legumes, and others. A report from Market Research Future (MRFR) evaluates that the Global Plant-Based Food Market is expected to acquire a market value of USD 37,981.6 Million while recording a CAGR of 10.20% by 2027. Plant-based food refers to food such as legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and others, that are derived from plants. The plant-based market is likely to procure significant opportunities of expansion in developing countries in the coming time. Active Companies in the markets today include Plant Veda Foods Ltd. (OTCPK: PLVFF) (CSE: MILK), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG). The report said: "The growing demand for plant-based food due to increasing awareness about veganism is anticipated to be a significant factor that can drive the global market during the forecast period. The rising cases of lactose intolerance across the globe is likely to enhance demand for non-dairy products, which is predicted to increase demand for such food, thereby benefitting the industry in the coming time. Apart from these, the rising concern towards the protection of the environment and increasing efforts to reduce carbon footprint are other salient factors that is likely to drive the industry in the analysis timeframe. In addition, the increasing initiatives to incorporate innovation in food products can also aid in strengthening the market expansion in the coming time. In the recent most example, Las Vegas, in January 2021, announced that now it has a Vegan Food Bank which would offer food to the needy. Another crucial factor that is likely to positively impact the plant-based industry is the endorsement of veganism by popular actors such as Beyonce, Zac Efron, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jason Mraz, Jacqueline Fernandez, among others." Plant Veda Foods Ltd. (OTCPK: PLVFF) (CSE:MILK) BREAKING NEWS:Plant Veda Wraps 2021 and Expects a Prosperous 2022 - Plant Veda Recaps 2021 and Looks Towards 2022 -- Plant Veda Foods Ltd. ((the "Company" or "Plant Veda"), an award-winning dairy-alternative food manufacturer, is pleased to provide an overview of its business achievements of 2021 and its plans for 2022. In 2021, the Company implemented its business strategies across all divisions, including distribution, manufacturing, and corporate structure. These milestones included, but not limited to, winning the Cleanchoice Award from Clean Eating Magazine and finalist for the Product of the Year Award by BC Food and Beverage Association. The Company was able to double its retail presence, working with institutions such as Sysco Corp., America's biggest wholesale food distributor, and the Canadian subsidiary of United Natural Foods, Inc. with its network of more than 5,000 Canadian retail stores. Additional retail stores onboarded included Nesters Markets, Buy-Low Foods, IGA and Sungiven Foods and others. The Company launched its new product line of spoonable yogurt "PlantGurt" and a new Sampler Box available on Plant Veda's e-commerce store. Plant Veda products were also featured at both TEDMonterey and TEDWomen. Corporately during 2021, Plant Veda commenced trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol MILK, the Frankfurt Exchange on July 2021 under the ticker symbol A3CS6B, and the OTC Markets in the USA under the symbol PLVFF. The Company strengthened its management by adding Deanna Embury, former Be Fresh CEO, and Wilson K. Lee, an award-winning restaurant entrepreneur, to its Board of Advisors. Plant Veda also appointed production and quality expert Mr. Mehdi Gohardehi as New Plant Manager. Plant Veda secured its new home of a 25,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Delta, B.C., Canada and received its production license from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for both the Canadian and export markets. The Company also successfully registered with the U.S. FDA for product importation. "The Plant Veda team made remarkable progress in 2021 laying the foundations for a prosperous 2022," said Sunny Gurnani, CEO of Plant Veda. "The initial phase one expansion of our new state of the art facility will allow for an annual production capacity of 2.5M litres, enabling us to further develop our current distribution channels while establishing new ones." "In 2022 we have defined goals, including additional product launches, completion of phase one capacity expansion, and accelerated revenue growth. We have always faced production constraints in our previous location, which limited growth. Now, thanks to the hard work of the entire Plant Veda team, 2022 is expected to allow the expansion we have been planning for. We, again, thank our team, our partners and our supporters for all their assistance in 2021. We look forward to an exciting and prosperous 2022." CONTINUEDRead this full release for Plant Veda Foods Ltd. at:https://www.plantveda.com/pages/news Other recent developments in the markets include: Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) is taking another step in its efforts to become the most sought-after place to work by providing greater access to affordable childcare for frontline workers and their families. The company recently said it plans to build an on-site childcare and learning facility at its new Humboldt, Tennessee, poultry processing plant, and recently announced a program at its Amarillo, Texas, beef plant, to work with two local providers to provide free childcare to the children of second shift workers. The $3.5 millionHumboldt facility, expected to be operational in 2023, will support up to 100 children, five years of age and younger, and employ a staff of 18. Called Tyson Tykes, it will be operated as an early childhood learning center by KinderCare and subsidized by the company to lower the cost for Tyson team members. A study by Center for American Progress states the national average cost of care for one child in a center amounts to about $10,000 per year, which exceeds what most families with young children can afford. Research also shows children enrolled in early childhood education programs have greater high school graduation rates, increased IQ scores, higher career earnings and are less likely to commit a crime as they enter adulthood. McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) recently announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021. "Our third quarter results are a testament to our unparalleled scale and agility," said McDonald's President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Kempczinski. "Our global comparable sales increased 10% over 2019, which was delivered across an omnichannel experience that is focused on meeting the needs of our customers. We continue to execute our strategic growth plan and run great restaurants so that we can drive long-term, sustainable growth for all of our stakeholders." Third quarter financial performance was: Global comparable sales increased 12.7% (10.2% on a 2-year basis), reflecting positive comparable sales across all segments: Consolidated revenues increased 14% (13% in constant currencies) to $6,201 million; Systemwide sales increased 16% (14% in constant currencies) to $29,948 million; Consolidated operating income increased 18% (17% in constant currencies) to $2,987 million and included $106 million of strategic gains related to the sale of McDonald's Japan stock; Diluted earnings per share was $2.86. Excluding strategic gains of $0.10 per share in 2021 and $0.13 per share in 2020, diluted earnings per share for the quarter was $2.76, an increase of 24% (23% in constant currencies); and The Company declared a 7% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to $1.38 per share and also announced the resumption of its share repurchase program. Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) recently reported results for the third-quarter ended September 30, 2021. Worldwide system sales excluding foreign currency translation grew 8%, with 5% same-store sales and 4% unit growth. Third-quarter GAAP EPS was $1.75, an increase of 90% over the prior year quarter. Third-quarter EPS excluding Special Items was $1.22, an increase of 21% over the prior year quarter. David Gibbs, CEO, said "Our third quarter results, led by record-breaking unit development and sustained momentum in digital sales, are a testament to the strength of our Brands and the unmatched commitment and capability of our best-in-class franchise partners. I am proud that each of our global divisions contributed to delivering 760 net-new units in the quarter. Our 5% same store sales growth for the third quarter, or 3% same-store sales growth on a 2-year basis, demonstrates the resilience of our diversified global business model despite the headwind of the Delta variant in certain key markets. Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) recently announced that its board of directors approved a quarterly dividend payment of $0.3125per share of CAG common stock to be paid on March 2, 2022 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on January 31, 2022. Conagra Brands, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, is one of North America's leading branded food companies. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit, Conagra Brands combines a rich heritage of making great food with a sharpened focus on innovation. The company's portfolio is evolving to satisfy people's changing food preferences. Conagra's iconic brands, such as Birds Eye, Marie Callender's, Banquet, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, and Vlasic, as well as emerging brands, including Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Duke's, Earth Balance, Gardein, and Frontera, offer choices for every occasion. DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult =a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated twenty five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Plant Veda Foods Ltd. by a non-affiliated third party. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements. Contact Information: Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com +1(561)325-8757 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 5, 2022) - Cirrus Gold Corp. (CSE: CI) (the "Company" or "Cirrus") provides an update on the recent Cu-Au exploration work carried out on the Chuchi South Property (the "Property"). In September 2021, two geologists and a prospector spent nine days on the Chuchi South Property. The team was able to assess the geology in additional areas and collect approximately 160 grab samples. The September field programme resulted in: The expanded understanding of a subparallel copper zone 50 m north of the COHO Zone. This zone is related to irregular monzonite to syenite dikes and strong K-feldspar and epidote alteration in the diorite. The expanded understanding of a copper exploration zone 300 m north of COHO. This zone is in a very strongly magnetic gabbro and pyroxenite host which is lithologically distinct and easily traced as a magnetic high. Some veins had been previously sampled by the vendor, but additional veins and disseminated copper sulphides were noted, as well as one shear with a solid 3 cm chalcopyrite vein. Many of the veins are irregular quartz breccia veins with chalcopyrite and local sphalerite concentrated in the centre and epidote margins. Finally, the field team also unearthed a new exploration area of interest. It occurs in the west part of the property, close to monzonite where veinlets and fractures of chalcopyrite mineralization extends for 350 m. This mineralization is very similar to the zone 300 m north of COHO with quartz-epidote-chalcopyrite veins being very common, some of which are quite rich (determined by visual review). Figure 1.0 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1.0, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8445/109175_b72267445490683d_001full.jpg Readers are encouraged to read the additional information and Figure on the Property located below in this Press Release. James Walchuck, CEO of Cirrus, stated: "The results of the 2021 field exploration programme were more than just successful for Cirrus. The Company thanks our Geological team for the great work in assessing and increasing the knowledge base of the known zones located on the Property as well as discovering a new zone to explore. Given the Property's proximity to known deposits and combined with analogous geology we are highly encouraged with the Property and look forward to further exploration on it." The Company will continue to review and assess the information it has currently on hand. Once the Company receives the grab sample assays and adds that information to what it already has it will then outline the next steps for the exploration of the Chuchi South Exploration Project. Additional Information and Figures on the Chuchi South Property The Chuchi South Property consists of 13 mineral tenures covering approximately 31.2 km2. The Mt. Milligan copper gold Mine is 32 km to the southeast and is in analogous geology, as is the Chuchi Lake deposit located 3 km north of the Property. The Mt. Milligan Mine has Proven and Probable Reserves of 170,576 Mt containing 2.148 Moz Gold and 837 Mlbs Copper as well as Measured and Indicated Resources of 125,103 Mt containing 1.396 Moz Gold and 521 Mlbs Copper (Centerra Gold Inc. 2020 Year-End Mineral Reserve and Resources Summary). In a non-43-101 compliant report from the BC Gov. Minfile Geologic Database (Minfile) it is reported that the Chuchi Lake Deposit contains a "geologic resource estimate" of 50 Mt of at least 0.21 g/t gold and 0.21% copper. The reader is cautioned that the presence of Cu-Au deposits proximal to the Property does not indicate that similar deposits occur on the Property. The Chuchi South Property overlies the southeastern exposed portion of the Early Jurassic Hogem Batholith. There are five BC Minfile occurrences within the Property (Fig. 1): The Creek Occurrence is within the Hogem Batholith and consists of chalcopyrite and pyrite veinlets with associated potassium feldspar and epidote alteration. A drill hole is reported to have returned 8 m @ 0.71 g/t Au and 1.27% Cu. The Skook Occurrence is an alteration system with several small showings proximal to a crowded porphyry phase of the Hogem Batholith. A 1 m chip sample ran 13.4 g/t Au, 16.6 g/t Ag and 2.3% Zn; other samples have anomalous Cu as well. The GG Occurrence is a small zone of quartz vein float containing sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite and pyrite. It is hosted by volcanics adjacent to the Hogem Batholith. The Rig Breccia occurs at the approximate contact between the Hogem Batholith and the surrounding volcanics. It is described as a gouge zone with sulphides; a 3 m chip sample returned 0.11 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag, 0.12% Cu, 0.61% Zn and 0.03% Pb. The SRM Occurrence consists of chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite in veins and quartz breccia near the contact between volcanics of the Chuchi Lake Succession and the Hogem Batholith. A 5 m drill intercept ran 0.97 g/t Au and 0.70% Cu. Two geologists and a prospector spent six days on the Property for Cirrus in September 2020, conducting geological reconnaissance/sampling and local detailed mapping. 47 grab samples were collected. While samples were taken from the historical mineral occurrences (Minfiles), attention focussed on the COHO Zone, midway between the GG and SRM occurrences, where the property vendor had previously obtained good mineralization. An airborne magnetic survey was flown over the Property in October, 2020. With the new geologic information and airborne magnetic survey, an altered and mineralized diorite zone, approx.30 m in width and 350 m in strike was outlined. This zone remains open to the east and west. The COHO Zone contains Cu-Au Pb Zn mineralization in quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins associated with an east-west fault zone. The fault is marked by a steep prominent valley and a magnetic low. There are fine quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite-malachite veinlets and fracture coatings that extend south from the main east-west fault. The host rock is diorite of the Hogem Batholith. Fresh diorite north and south of the mineralized zone is moderately to strongly magnetic. In the mineralized/altered diorite, magnetite has been altered and the rock has a low magnetic susceptibility. The altered and mineralized diorite has a width of ~30 m and strike length of at least 350 m, but is open to the east and west, where swamp and overburden prevent further delineation. Seventeen grab samples were collected in this area in 2020. Gold ranged from 0.019 to 16.15 g/t, with eight samples having in excess of 1 g/t. Copper assayed from 1,350 ppm to 46,100 ppm (0.14 to 4.61%), with sixteen samples containing more than 0.5% Cu. Anomalous lead and zinc is also present. Figure 2.0 To view an enhanced version of Figure 2.0, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8445/109175_b72267445490683d_002full.jpg Qualified Person Dr. Tom Setterfield, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has read and approved all technical and scientific information contained in this news release. About Cirrus Gold Corp. Cirrus is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Canada. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct its exploration program on the Chuchi South Property. The Chuchi South Property consists of thirteen mineral claims covering an area of 3,118.7 hectares located approximately 185 km northwest of the City of Prince George, within the Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia. For more information, please refer to the Company's prospectus dated July 7, 2021, available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). On Behalf of the Board of Directors James Walchuck Chief Executive Officer, President and Director For further information, please contact: James Walchuck Chief Executive Officer, President and Director (778) 372 9888 invest@cirruscopper.com CIRRUS GOLD CORP. 2710 - 200 Granville Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 1S4 Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the commencement of trading of the Company's common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange, future capital expenditures, anticipated content, commencement, and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Company's projects and mineral properties, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, resources and/or reserves on the Company's projects and mineral properties, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious and base metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration of the Company's properties, that the COVID-19 global pandemic will not affect the ability of the Company to conduct the exploration program on the Chuchi South Property, the availability of financing on suitable terms, and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Company's option to acquire the Chuchi South Property, the proposed expenditures for exploration work thereon, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated July 7, 2021 and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release except as otherwise required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109175 KUALA LUMPUR & TAIPING, Jan 6, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Spritzer has launched the KitaJagaKita Care Package for customers who wish to donate mineral water to victims of the ongoing and recent floods that have affected the country.The Company is offering 25% off KitaJagaKita Care Packages to customers who are donating to temporary relief centres across the nation that are in urgent need of potable water. Customers can visit bit.ly/kitajagakitaspritzerwa to purchase these care packages.Package 1 comprise 5 cartons of 600-ml and 5 cartons of 1.5-litre Spritzer Natural Mineral Water and is priced at RM235 while Package 2 comprise 10 cartons of 6-litre Spritzer Natural Mineral Water together with water pump dispensers priced at RM161.Spritzer will assist in the logistics of sending the care packages to those evacuation centres and temporary relief centres that are in need directly. However, due to system limitations, customers purchasing from the dedicated KitaJagaKita Care Package site need to place own address as the delivery address when checking out.Spritzer stands in solidarity with people across the country who have been impacted by the floods and have donated supplies to victims. The Company will continue to monitor the situation and look for ways to assist affected communities.For more information, please contact:Muhammad Hakim Syed MunifTel: +6012 318-5410Email: h.juraimi@swanconsultancy.bizSource: Spritzer BerhadCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- For the Lithuanian government, recognizing its mistake on the Taiwan-related issues is a step in the right direction, but only the first step. To repair the damaged China-Lithuania relations, the European nation needs further swift actions to rectify the wrongdoings. According to media reports, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday that it was a mistake for the Lithuanian government to allow the Taiwan authorities to set up a "representative office" under the name of Taiwan in Lithuania. In response to the wrongdoings, which are a brazen breach of the one-China principle, China decided in November to downgrade the diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the level of charge d'affaires. The countermeasures taken by China are legitimate and reasonable responses to the wrongdoings from the Lithuanian side that have severely infringed upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and gravely hurt China's core interests. Any sovereign and independent country would do the same if in China's shoes. In response to Lithuanian president's latest statement, the Chinese government urges actions on the ground to correct the mistake, which are far more important. In the meantime, the Taiwan authorities should be aware that whatever they do to seek so-called "Taiwan independence," they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China. Neither can they shake the international support for the one-China principle. Enditem With its most mature product--Lunit INSIGHT CXR and Lunit INSIGHT MMG--now clinically used in more than 38 countries, the company expands its AI product line for radiology with Lunit INSIGHT DBT and Chest CT Arab Health 2022 to be held both online and offline, 24-27 January at Dubai , UAE; Lunit booth SC C53 SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lunit, a leading medical AI provider, will be present at Arab Health 2022, with its up-to-date, comprehensive AI solutions for chest and breast radiology. Lunit's first showcase at Arab Health, the company will showcase the demo version of the brand new AI solution for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) and Chest CT along with its most mature products, at booth SC C53. Lunit's most mature products for radiology include AI solutions for chest x-ray, Lunit INSIGHT CXR, and for mammography, Lunit INSIGHT MMG. These products provide AI-powered detection of lesions that are suspicious of chest abnormalities and breast cancer with 96-99% accuracy and visualize the location of the findings. The software is clinically used in more than 480 medical sites in 38 countries. The company is now expanding Lunit INSIGHT product lines with DBT and chest CT solutions. According to Lunit, its AI solution for DBT, 'Lunit INSIGHT DBT', can accelerate reading by handpicking the 3D slice image with suspicious lesions among multiple images. Its solution for CT is 'Lunit INSIGHT Chest CT', in which AI automatically generates the location, type, volume, and axial diameter of the detected nodule. "Chest x-ray and mammography are the first-line examinations where you find suspicious diseases that can cause lung or breast cancer," said Sunggyun Park, Chief Product Officer of Lunit. "CT and DBT are more sophisticated examinations where you can further evaluate the specification of nodules or distinguish cancer. At this stage, our AI will be able to assist radiologists to diagnose cancer faster, at a higher accuracy. The products are now under final validation, and expected to officially launch next year." "It is meaningful for us to showcase the demo of Lunit INSIGHT DBT and Lunit INSIGHT Chest CT at Arab Health, where we will be publicly demonstrating the solution for the first time to our potential users in the region," said Brandon Suh, CEO of Lunit. "From x-ray, mammography to Chest CT, DBT and more, we will keep working on developing innovative AI solutions to offer comprehensive medical imaging--to improve radiologist workflow and patient health." Lunit Booth Visit booth SC C53 for product demonstration for Lunit INSIGHT CXR, Lunit INSIGHT MMG, Lunit INSIGHT DBT, and Lunit INSIGHT Chest CT. Available from January 24 - 27, 2022 , daily. *Some of the products will be available for demonstration not only at the Lunit booth, but also displayed at our global partners' booths: FUJIFILM, GE Healthcare, Philips, and Agfa. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1576401/Lunit_CI_Logo.jpg ARPEGE is designed to achieve solutions to antibiotic resistance by combining preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic and economic approaches for the first time. Led by the French biotech company Antabio, the ARPEGE consortium is acting jointly with bioMerieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, and Toulouse School of Economics. ARPEGE is of major importance for public health, using a ground-breaking model to provide a framework for innovation and to strengthen the ability of healthcare systems. LABEGE, TOULOUSE, MARCY L'ETOILE and LYON, France, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The ARPEGE[1] project aims to develop a set of solutions to strengthen the ability of healthcare institutions to fight antibiotic resistance. The consortium, led by Antabio, has been awarded close to 9 million in public funding under the "PSPC" call for projects conducted on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance. In recent decades, the emergence of pathogens resistant to antibiotics has become a growing threat to global public health and carries three major risks to society: A strong epidemiological risk, which already results in 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. Projections suggest that by 2050, antibiotic resistance could result in up to 10 million deaths per year[2]. A risk to modern medical practice in particular: chemotherapy, surgery, transplants, and other procedures all depend on the availability of effective antibiotics. A risk to the world economy, as additional costs for health systems of approximately 100,000 billion dollars per year result from antibiotic resistance. In this context, France is actively taking part in the fight against antibiotic resistance alongside other countries such as Germany, the UK, and the USA. The four-year ARPEGE project has been funded by the French government with nearly 9 million out of a total estimated budget of 17 million. This pioneering French initiative is coordinated by a consortium of four partners committed to tackling antibiotic resistance: Antabio, the leading partner, is a French SME dedicated to developing therapeutic solutions for infections identified as priorities by the World Health Organization (WHO); bioMerieux, is a world leader in microbiological in vitro diagnostics that develops solutions to improve patient health and consumer safety; Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), is the second largest French university hospital, jointly with the International Centre for Infectious Disease Research (CIRI), which focuses on understanding, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases; Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), is one of the world's top 10 research and teaching centers in economics, with 150 researchers working alongside Jean Tirole, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics. The ARPEGE consortium offers a unique multisectoral approach in four priority areas: Expanding the arsenal of effective antibiotics, which is urgently needed to ensure improved patient care. Through its drug candidate ANT3310 Antabio aims to offer an innovative treatment option for infections caused by pathogens identified by the WHO as priority pathogens. According to Marc Lemonnier , CEO of Antabio: "As we face a historic pandemic, ARPEGE is creating the synergies needed for a coordinated and effective French response to another imminent global challenge: antibiotic resistance. The 5.5 million public funding for Antabio will allow us to continue the development of ANT3310 towards clinical studies and reach crucial milestones such as the clinical demonstration of its safety and tolerability in humans." Improving diagnostic through a targeted and informed approach to antibiotic prescription, thanks to a sequencing-based software solution enabling new-generation susceptibility testing to obtain the resistance profile of a specific pathogen. Francois Lacoste, Executive Vice President, R&D, bioMerieux: "The fight against antibiotic resistance is a strategic focus for our company and represents 75% of our R&D activities. With ARPEGE, bioMerieux is committed to the development of diagnostic solutions that are able to simultaneously process a very large amount of data by using artificial intelligence. This type of diagnostic solution with high medical and economic value will optimize patient care and reduce associated costs for healthcare systems." Preventing bacterial transmission in hospitals through early and automated detection of epidemics and potential at-risk situations (the EpiTrack solution by HCL and bioMerieux). According to Jean-Philippe Rasigade, a bacteriologist at HCL's Infective Agents Institute: "The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that it is essential to detect epidemic outbreaks early on to enable control strategies. This need for surveillance and rapid detection is equally crucial to combat the spread of resistant bacteria. By accelerating the development of EpiTrack, a fully automated real-time epidemic surveillance system, ARPEGE and its industrial partners are giving HCL and CIRI a major opportunity to strengthen the fight against antibiotic resistance, for the safety and wellbeing of our patients." Developing new economic models capable of sustainably enhancing the value of innovations that are needed in the fight against antibiotic resistance. According to Jean Tirole, Honorary President of TSE and winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics: "Antibiotic resistance is a major problem for society, and my colleagues and I are excited to place economic science in support of ARPEGE in order to offer long-term solutions that will deliver improved global health." Media Contacts: ARPEGE Marc Lemonnier media@arpege-amr.com Sylvie Berrebi sylvie.berrebi@medistrava.com Bpifrance Sophie Santandrea Tel: +33 (0)1 45 65 51 62 sophie.santandrea@bpifrance.fr General Secretariat for Investment Tel: +33 (0)1 42 75 64 58 presse.sgpi@pm.gouv.fr About Antabio Antabio is a private biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of new therapies for severe and life-threatening multidrug-resistant infections. Antabio's portfolio consists of three highly differentiated development programs targeting WHO priority pathogens: ANT3310-MEM is a novel best-in-class serine -lactamase inhibitor combined with meropenem (MEM) for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens including carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii (WHO priority number 1). Ready to enter Phase 1, ANT3310-MEM was granted QIDP (Qualified Infectious Disease Product) status by the FDA in 2020. ANT2681-MEM is a novel metallo -lactamase (MBL) inhibitor combined with meropenem for the treatment of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) that produce MBLs such as the New Delhi metallo -lactamase (NDM). Ready to enter Phase 1, ANT2681-MEM was granted QIDP status by the FDA in 2019. ANT3273 is a first-in-class elastase inhibitor targeting a key virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the treatment of pulmonary infections. For more information, visit Antabio's website www.antabio.com, LinkedIn and Twitter. About bioMerieux Pioneering Diagnostics A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 55 years, bioMerieux is present in 44 countries and serves more than 160 countries through a large network of distributors. In 2020, bioMerieux generated sales of 3.1 billion, more than 90% of which were generated outside France. bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software and services) that determine the origin of a disease or contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used primarily for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. They are also used for the detection of microorganisms in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMerieux is listed on Euronext Paris. Code: BIM - Code ISIN : FR0013280286 Reuters: BIOX.PA / Bloomberg : BIM.FP Website: www.biomerieux.com Section dedicated to investors: www.biomerieux.com/en/finance About HCL Hospices Civils de Lyon is a group of 13 public hospitals, all of which are driven by a triple mission: care, research and teaching. Together, we form a community of 24,000 women and men, medical and non-medical workers, who share a single vocation: To care for each patient, whatever their situation and pathologies, throughout their lives. From the management to the treatment of diseases (from the most benign to the rarest), and in collaboration with all healthcare professionals in Lyon, we place research at the heart of our approach in order to respond to the latest medical advances and anticipate the therapeutic challenges of tomorrow. As the second largest university hospital in France, we support and train the medical and non-medical staff of tomorrow through our 11 schools and institutes. www.chu-lyon.fr About TSE Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) is a world-renowned research and training center with over 150 faculty members, including Jean Tirole, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics. Over the past four decades, TSE has established itself as one of the top economics institutions in Europe, ranking among the top three recipients of prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants in economics. TSE is now ranked ninth in the world among economics institutions according to the RePEc ranking. www.tse-fr.eu About Bpifrance Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses - at every stage of their development - through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra-financial services (training, consultancy.). to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export). More information on: www.Bpifrance.fr Follow us on Twitter: @Bpifrance - @BpifrancePresse About Programme d'investissements d'avenir (PIA) Created 10 years ago and directed by the General Secretariat for Investment under the Prime Minister, PIA finances innovative projects that contribute to the transformation of the country, sustainable growth, and the creation of jobs for the future. From the emergence of an idea to the dissemination of a new product or service, PIA supports the entire life cycle of innovation, between public and private sectors, alongside economic, academic, territorial, and European partners. These investments are based on demanding criteria, open selection procedures, and principles of co-financing or return on investment for the State. The fourth PIA, known as PIA4, with 20 billion in commitments over the period 2021-2025, will provide long-term support for innovation in all its forms, so that our country can strengthen its position in the sectors of the future, in the service of competitiveness, the ecological transition, and the independence of our economy and our organizations. More information on: www.gouvernement.fr/secretariat-general-pour-l-investissement-sgpi Twitter: @SGPI_avenir [1] ARPEGE - AppRoche theraPeutique Economique & diaGnostique de l'antibioresistancE (Economic, diagnostic and therapeutic approach to antibiotic resistance) [2] Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report and recommendations, The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, Chaired by Jim O'Neill, May 2016. NICOSIA, CYPRUS / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / Atalaya Mining Plc (AIM:ATYM)(TSX:AYM) is pleased to announce that it has approved the construction of the first phase of an industrial-scale plant ("Phase I") that utilises the E-LIX System ("E-LIX"), which will produce high value copper and zinc metals from the complex sulphide concentrates sourced from Proyecto Riotinto. Highlights Expected to unlock significant value from Atalaya's portfolio of polymetallic resources in the Riotinto District by materially increasing the recoveries of copper, zinc, lead and precious metals from complex sulphide ores. Producing high-purity metals on-site will reduce transportation costs, treatment charges and penalties associated with producing and delivering conventional concentrates. Expected to reduce Atalaya's carbon footprint through a reduction in land and sea freight and by utilising power from Proyecto Riotinto's planned solar plant. Following its announcement on 28 October 2020, Atalaya has concluded a feasibility study that evaluated the technical and economic viability of producing cathodes from complex sulphide concentrates by applying E-LIX, a new electrochemical extraction process developed and owned by Lain Technologies Ltd ("Lain Tech") with the financial support of Atalaya. E-LIX is patented by Lain Tech. Relative to conventional flotation techniques, the value creation potential of E-LIX offers a unique opportunity for Atalaya. As a result, as disclosed in the 28 October 2020 announcement, the Company has secured certain terms of exclusivity with Lain Tech for the use of E-LIX within the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The E-LIX plant will dissolve the valuable metals contained within the concentrates. The testwork and system design allows for the dissolution of chalcopyrite while avoiding the passivation of particles. After copper or other metals are brought into solution, they can be recovered by conventional precipitation or solvent extraction followed by electrowinning ("SX-EW"). Phase I plant capacity has been designed to produce between 3,000 to 10,000 tonnes of copper or zinc metal per year depending on the ratio of copper to zinc in the concentrate feed. The estimated capex for Phase I is 12 million and the design allows for unlimited capacity expansion through the addition of multiple lines in parallel. Atalaya will start the construction of the plant in the coming weeks and it is expected that the plant will be operational in 2022, including commissioning. The decision to approve and construct the Phase I industrial-sized plant follows over six years of evaluation and de-risking work including continuous tests at the laboratory, a small pilot plant and finally a semi-industrial pilot plant. A semi-industrial E-LIX pilot plant was constructed in late 2019 and has operated during 2020 and 2021 despite the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. The results of the pilot tests were included in the feasibility study and successive optimisation work. The long run continuous tests demonstrated the feasibility of leaching complex polymetallic concentrates with global recoveries of over 95% for copper and zinc while producing clean metal precipitates and/or high purity metals. The use of the E-LIX System has shown the potential to unlock the significant value from the polymetallic sulphides contained within Atalaya's mineral resources, including: The polymetallic deposits of San Dionisio, San Antonio, Masa Valverde and Majadales, all of which are located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and within trucking distance of Proyecto Riotinto's modern 15 Mtpa processing facility. The significant contained metal within these historical drilled resources from San Dionisio and Masa Valverde contain over 1.1 million tonnes of copper, 2.4 million tonnes of zinc, 1.7 million ounces of gold, over 110 million ounces of silver as well as additional lead resources. These figures are in addition to the over 1 million tonnes of copper reserve at Proyecto Riotinto's Cerro Colorado orebody and at Proyecto Touro. Historical applications of differential flotation within the Iberian Pyrite Belt in Spain and Portugal have typically resulted in recoveries of 60 - 80% into concentrates for complex copper-zinc polymetallic sulphides, with even lower recoveries historically reported for lead, silver and gold. The use of hydrometallurgical systems, such as E-LIX, has demonstrated that base metal recoveries of over 90% can be achieved. E-LIX is also expected to reduce Atalaya's carbon footprint. By producing high-purity metals on-site, Atalaya can reduce the transportation costs associated with delivering concentrates to smelters, avoid treatment and refining charges associated with converting concentrates into metal, and eliminate penalties associated with deleterious elements often contained within concentrates produced in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and elsewhere. The E-LIX plant is also expected to utilise the renewable energy that will be produced by Proyecto Riotinto's planned solar plant. Alberto Lavandeira, CEO commented: "The E-LIX System offers Atalaya a unique opportunity to unlock significant value from its portfolio of deposits that contain complex polymetallic mineralisation. Atalaya has worked together with Lain Technologies for many years in order to test, refine and demonstrate the E-LIX process, providing the Company with confidence in its potential. In addition to enhancing recoveries, E-LIX will eliminate penalties associated with deleterious elements and reduce the costs of transportation and energy, thereby improving the Company's carbon footprint." Contacts: SEC Newgate UK Elisabeth Cowell / Tom Carnegie + 44 20 3757 6880 4C Communications Carina Corbett +44 20 3170 7973 Canaccord Genuity (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio +44 20 7523 8000 BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker) Tom Rider / Andrew Cameron +44 20 7236 1010 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker) Ross Allister / David McKeown +44 20 7418 8900 About Atalaya Mining Plc Atalaya is an AIM and TSX-listed mining and development group which produces copper concentrates and silver by-product at its wholly owned Proyecto Riotinto site in southwest Spain. Atalaya's current operations include the Cerro Colorado open pit mine and a modern 15 Mtpa processing plant, which has the potential to become a centralised processing hub for ore sourced from its wholly owned regional projects around Riotinto that include Proyecto Masa Valverde and Proyecto Riotinto East. In addition, the Group has a phased, earn-in agreement for up to 80% ownership of Proyecto Touro, a brownfield copper project in the northwest of Spain. For further information, visit www.atalayamining.com This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Atalaya Mining PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681193/Atalaya-to-Start-Construction-of-an-E-LIX-Plant PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Sodexo S.A. (SDXAY.PK), a French food services and facilities management company, posted a rise in sales for the first quarter, amidst recovery in consumer demand. The company has reiterated its guidance for the current fiscal, citing higher sales and positive market cues. For the first three-month period of fiscal 2022, the Paris-headquartered firm reported its total revenue at 5.26 billion euros, a rise of 18.8 percent, compared to the same period a year ago. In addition, the company's business and administration, education, and onsite services posted a double digit growth for the quarter. Accordingly, business and administration, education, and onsite services reported revenues of 2.61 billion euros, 1.12 billion euros, and 5.08 billion euros, respectively, a rise of 19.8 percent, 22.7 percent, and 19.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2021. Owing to positive market sentiments, the French company has reiterated its guidance for the fiscal year 2022. Sodexo expects its organic growth to be in the range of 15 percent - 18 percent, and underlying operating margin of close to 5 percent, at constant rates. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Danone S.A. (DANOY.PK), a food-products corporation, said on Thursday that it has made three new appointments to further strengthen its leadership committee. The French firm has named Vikram Agarwal as new Chief Operation Officer or COO of cycles & procurement, manufacturing, and supply chain. With over 33 years of international experience, he will also be responsible for end-to-end design to delivery coordinator. Henri Bruxelles, who currently, serves as COO of end-to-end design to delivery, will serve as Chief Sustainability and Strategic Business Development Officer with effect from January. Bruxelles will also be in charge of identifying, assessing, and exploring new and sustainable growth opportunities, from geographic, category, and business model perspectives. Starting from April 2022, Isabelle Esser is scheduled to join Danone as Chief Research, Innovation, Quality and Food Safety Officer, bringing more than 25 years of experience in leading research and development functions. Antoine de Saint-Affrique, Chief Executive Officer, commented: 'The completion of the Danone's Executive Committee team, in particular with the addition of two new senior executives recognized for their expertise, is an important step in bringing Danone back to what made it a unique company: a passion for brands and innovation and excellence in execution, all combined with a pioneering spirit in terms of sustainability.' Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Booth features Hyundai Motor's future vision of creating synergies between robotics and virtual reality under main theme of ' Expanding Human Reach' , from Jan. 5-7 , from Diverse applications of the newly unveiled Plug & Drive (PnD) and Drive & Lift (DnL) module as well as Boston Dynamics' Spot and Atlas to be on display and Atlas to be on display Robotics demonstrations and dance performance programs to happen at the exhibition booth, three times per day between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. (PST) LAS VEGAS and SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company welcomes the media and general public to experience its vision for robotics and the metaverse at its CES 2022 booth at Las Vegas Convention Center, West Hall #5818, from Jan. 5-7. At its CES 2022 presentation on Jan. 4, Hyundai Motor shared how the company's robotics business will drive the paradigm shift towards future mobility, going beyond the traditional means of transportation to fulfill unlimited freedom of movement for mankind. Representatives of Boston Dynamics and Microsoft joined Hyundai Motor to share insights about pioneering new concepts of 'Metamobility' and 'Mobility of Things' (MoT) that were also revealed at the event. Under the main theme of 'Expanding Human Reach', Hyundai Motor will show CES 2022 visitors its future vision of how mobility in the real world can be advanced with robots, and also offer a glimpse of the future robotics society where robots will connect the virtual and real worlds. The company also is exhibiting its robot product lineup, including the various applications of the new Plug & Drive (PnD) and Drive & Lift (DnL) modular platforms unveiled at the event as well as the recently revealed Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobED) and Boston Dynamics' Spot and Atlas. (For more information, see table 1 below.) Utilizing four working models, there will be three 20-minute-long robotics demonstration programs happening at the booth, at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (PST). Spot will perform a dance program, demonstrating its range of dynamic movements, and three robot models using PnD modules and DnL eccentric wheel technology will demonstrate their own types of dynamic movements on the theme of mobility. For more information Hyundai's CES 2022 booth exhibition, please visit: globalpr.hyundai.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1721126/Photo__1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1721127/Photo__2.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1721128/Photo__3.jpg LONDON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert cask broker Spiritfilled constantly search out the best casks of whisky. They launched their own series of independent bottlings in July, starting with an award-winning Caol Ila 12 Year Old finished in an Pedro Ximenez cask. The Mythical Beasts series features exceptional single cask whiskies coupled with exquisite artwork. This month, they have released the second and third instalments in the series, a Fettercairn 32 Year Old and a Glenrothes 15 Year Old. Mythical Beasts Fettercairn 32 Year Old was procured from a private seller who had held the cask for over 30 years. With an outturn of 98 bottles, and at a cask strength of 48.6%, this single malt is an absolute winner. Spiritfilled kept this noble whisky exactly as they found it sleeping in an ex-Bourbon hogshead, where it had aged since its filling in July 1989. Spiritfilled's Fettercairn is aptly named The Dryad. Deep in the beautiful, forested glens and groves of the Highlands stands a mighty oak. Strong and silent, it hides a secret, hidden in its core: a tree nymph, beautiful, shy and unique. The Dryad deserves respect, with hidden strengths and beneficial supernatural powers, deeply connected to its Celtic roots. This whisky reflects the smooth flowing power of this mythical being, in touch with Nature and the spirit of Scotland, housed in oak, with a hint of mystery and a timeless quality. Mythical Beasts Glenrothes 15 Year Old is a stunning single malt from the heart of Speyside. Much like the Fettercairn release, this scotch has been maturing in the same cask since its filling: a first fill sherry butt. As well as creating a wonderful golden colour, the sherry influence has also created a very special flavour - enhanced by the traditional Glenrothes profile. With a limited number of 588 bottles from this cask at 55% ABV, it's a beautiful addition to the collection. Spiritfilled's Glenrothes takes its name from the river god Nyami Nyami. The sparkling blue waters of the mighty Spey wind their way through Speyside, their depths home to many myths. Gliding effortlessly through deep waterways, Nyami Nyami radiates benevolence, using his supernatural powers to provide sustenance for his followers, bestowing wealth and good fortune, and protecting them in troubled times. Yet there is a poignancy about his solitude; he searches the rivers endlessly, seeking a reunion with his beloved mate. If thwarted, this powerful beast has only to shake his mighty snake-like tail to send tremors through the earth and waves crashing to the riverbank. Smooth, strong and complex, with a sting in the tail, this mythical beast leaves a lasting impression. Russell Spratley, Director, said: "With the great success of our first bottling (and the first gold award under our belts!), we are proud and excited to offer these next two expressions in the series. The Fettercairn showcases three decades of careful bourbon maturation, while the Glenrothes is an exemplar in full term sherry maturation. We have lots planned for 2022 so watch this space for more superb releases!" Spiritfilled's Mythical Beasts collection is available to buy on spiritfilled.co.uk/pages/single-cask-whisky , while limited stocks last. The Dryad Fettercairn 32 Year Old is 425, and the Nyami Nyami Glenrothes 15 year old is 135. Both are 700ml, and are presented natural colour and without chill filtration. Tasting notes by Ian Wisniewski, Spirits Writer and Broadcaster, are supplied below. TASTING NOTES The Dryad Fettercairn 32 Year Old: Nose: Rich, juicy apricots and raisins, followed by caramelised apples, garnished with creme brulee and gingerbread, around a core of oak and English breakfast tea. Palate: Elegant, generous mouthfeel, opens with juicy apricots, orange marmalade, lemon tart and hints of English breakfast tea, subtle sweetness and distinct dryness establish parameters and unite to create richness, with a finale of gingerbread, oak and maltyness. Finish: Light dryness joined by maltyness, as dryness grows oak and orange marmalade join in. Nyami Nyami Glenrothes 15 Year Old Nose: Rich apricot and orange marmalade extend with Brazil nuts. Then vanilla and lemon meringue appear, with a burst of maltyness and oak providing a spine. nuts. Then vanilla and lemon meringue appear, with a burst of maltyness and oak providing a spine. Palate: Soft, rich mouthfeel. Concentrated flavours embrace each other, apricots, apricot jam, juicy lemon freshness and indulgent orange marmalade. Gingerbread emerges and maltyness grows backed up by oak and underlying toasted notes, with a luscious finale of fruit compote and nutmeg. Finish: Tangy dryness grows with malty, oak notes, culminating in orange marmalade underlined by dryness. CONTACT Russell Spratley: russell@spiritfilled.co.uk Website: spiritfilled.co.uk Social Media: @spiritfilledltd Phone: +44 (0) 208 126 1760 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1719885/Spiritfilled.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1606179/Spiritfilled_Ltd_Logo.jpg Chris McNulty to lead Global Sales and Brent Godfrey to oversee Global Partner Sales for BlueSnap LONDON and BOSTON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueSnap, who helps businesses accept payments globally, today announced the expansion of their Global Sales and Partnership team by welcoming Chris McNulty and Brent Godfrey. In his new Sales role, Chris McNulty will be responsible for overseeing the growth and development of the BlueSnap global sales team and Integrated Payments team. Chris brings 31 years of payments industry experience to BlueSnap and has held several key leadership positions. He has deep knowledge and experience in enterprise sales, as well as partner acquisition & development. Chris was most recently the Chief Revenue Officer of BillingTree, which sold to Repay for more than $500M. Prior to BillingTree, Chris was the President of Merchant's PACT, a payment consulting firm for merchants, banks, ISVs ISOs, and PE firms. Chris was also a Group Executive at TSYS Merchant Solutions, where he was responsible for sales, business development, and client relations. In his new role, Brent Godfrey will be responsible for strategic global partnerships. He will focus on signing new global partners including banks, payments networks, technology partners, and strategic ecommerce/point of sale (POS) platforms like Big Commerce and Oracle. Brent comes to us from Neustar, Inc/TRUSTID (a TransUnion company) where he held several senior sales & leadership roles over the last 10 years, including Head of Sales of TRUSTID. "With the addition of Chris and Brent to our sales team, BlueSnap is well-positioned to expand on our remarkable success over the next few years and beyond," said Ralph Dangelmaier, CEO of BlueSnap. "Chris is an enthusiastic leader with a focus on results and activities that fuel growth. He has a history of creating repeatable sales processes that have made incremental growth more efficient. And Brent's vast partnership experience will help catapult BlueSnap's exposure in the Payments ecosystem and drive more new customers to BlueSnap." About BlueSnap VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (CSE:NEON)(OTCQB:NMDBF)(FRA:6UF) ("NeonMind' or the "Company"), an integrated drug development and wellness company, announced today that Robert Tessarolo, President and Chief Executive Officer, will participate in the H.C. Wainwright Bioconnect Conference, being held virtually on January 10-13, 2022. H.C. Wainwright Bioconnect Conference Details: Date: January 10-13, 2022 Registration: HCW Events The Company's presentation will be available on-demand at the start of the conference beginning on January 10, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. ET. For more information about the conference, please contact KCSA Strategic Communications at NeonMind@kcsa.com or an H.C. Wainwright representative directly. About NeonMind Biosciences Inc. NeonMind operates two divisions: (i) a pharmaceutical division engaged in drug development of psychedelic compounds with two lead psilocybin-based drug candidates targeting obesity; and (ii) a medical services division focused on launching specialty mental health clinics that integrate psychedelic therapeutics into traditional psychotherapy settings. In its pharmaceutical division, NeonMind has two distinct psilocybin drug development programs targeting obesity. NeonMind's lead candidate, NEO-001, employs psilocybin as an agonist at the serotonin 5- HT2A receptor, which is involved in the hallucinogenic effect of psychedelics. The Company's second drug candidate, NEO-002, employs low-dose psilocybin as an agonist at the 5-HT2C receptor, which controls appetite. NeonMind and its strategic partners are building NeonMind-branded specialty mental health clinics in Canada that incorporate evidence-backed innovative interventional psychiatry treatments to address a variety of mental health needs. For more information on NeonMind, go to www.NeonMindBiosciences.com. Rob Tessarolo, President & Chief Executive Officer, NeonMind Biosciences Inc. rob@neonmind.com Tel: 416-750-3101 Investor Relations: KCSA Strategic Communications Scott Eckstein/Tim Regan neonmind@kcsa.com Tel: 212-896-1210 The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or NeonMind's future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected","estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on NeonMind's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, NeonMind's drug development plans, its ability to retain key personnel, and its expectation as to the development of its intellectual property and other steps in its preclinical and clinical drug development constitute forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The statements made in this press release are made as of the date hereof. NeonMind disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: NeonMind Biosciences Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681173/NeonMind-to-Present-at-HC-Wainwright-Bioconnect-Conference New AiDash VP will streamline Europe operations and expansion at new London office LONDON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AiDash, a leading provider of satellite- and AI-powered operations, maintenance, and sustainability platforms, today announced the appointment of Shashin Mishra as Vice President of the EMEA region. An IIT Kanpur alumnus bringing more than 19 years of experience in consulting on technology strategy and designing and implementing technology solutions, Mishra will operate out of AiDash's new London office. In his new role, Mishra will be leading the business for the EMEA region, with an initial focus on the UK, Ireland, and mainland Europe. One of his main goals will be expanding AiDash's Intelligent Vegetation Management System (IVMS) market in Europe, alongside building a world-class product management team for ISMS, AiDash's Intelligent Sustainability Measurement System . "AiDash is using technology to solve a novel problem that has traditionally been solved 100% manually," said Shashin Mishra, AiDash's new VP of EMEA. "IVMS and ISMS exemplify how AI as a technology is transforming our lives and reckoning with the effects of climate change to lay the foundation for a brighter future. I'm thrilled to be joining the AiDash team, and I look forward to contributing to making these products more successful." A senior technology leader and author, Shashin Mishra has built transformational AI products across industry verticals and co-authored a book on how to build Responsible AI. Prior to joining AiDash, Mishra most recently worked at Publicis Sapient, where he led the data science practice in the UK. During his career, Mishra has built and scaled professional services and product teams, built a data science practice, and co-founded Masplantiz Technologies, India's first IoT startup for real-time smart meter and distribution grid monitoring. In 2009, Mishra was recognized as the Most Promising Entrepreneur of India. "We're proud to have Shashin Mishra on board," said Abhishek Singh, Co-founder and CEO of AiDash. "His impressive background and experiences, along with his technology and AI expertise, will help the company meet both our short- and long-term goals, including hiring 10+ employees in the UK by June 2022." If you're interested in applying to join the AiDash team, please visit our careers page . About AiDash AiDash is an AI-first vertical SaaS company enabling satellite- and AI-powered operations, maintenance and sustainability for industries with geographically distributed assets. AiDash uses high-resolution multispectral and SAR data from the world's leading satellite constellations that are fed into its proprietary AI models to make timely predictions at scale. These AI models empower AiDash's full-stack applications that transform O&M for utility, energy, transportation, water and wastewater, mining and construction companies. For more, visit www.aidash.com . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1683875/aidash_Logo.jpg BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Mainland customs have strengthened the inspection and quarantine of live fish imports from Taiwan since Dec. 30, 2021, after forbidden drugs were detected in the imports, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). Starting the same day, the clearance of live fish from two fisheries on the island was suspended, according to a warning notice issued by the GAC. Recently, Xiamen Customs detected leucomalachite green and leuco crystal violet, both banned on the mainland for food safety, from live groupers imported from Taiwan, according to the notice. "Shield Right" Authenticates API Requests, Protecting Against, Bot-Driven Data Theft, Mobile Man in the Middle Attacks, and Other Automated Attacks and API Vulnerabilities. Approov, creators of advanced mobile threat protection solutions, today announced that it has been honored as winner of the 2021 CyberSecured Award for Best Mobile API Threat Protection by 1105 Media's Security Today. The CyberSecured Awards honor the outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered particularly noteworthy in the transformation of cybersecurity. The Approov Mobile API Shielding solution is recognized by CyberSecured Award for providing companies of all sizes, new and leading-edge, affordable threat protection for their mobile-based applications. Mobile apps have become an essential part of our lives and adoption is accelerating, but mobile apps are also an increasingly valuable target for hackers and malicious actors, and the new attack surfaces they present cannot be protected with traditional solutions. "It is always a pleasure to evaluate the IT security solutions entered in our product awards contest. As expected, the entries this year take security to the next level," said Ralph C. Jensen, editor in chief of Security Today magazine, and CyberSecured eNews. "The IT security products we see today are the guardians of digital networks. I am amazed at the brilliance, integrity and thoughtfulness each solution brings to the end user. With so many networking issues announced every day, the demand for robust security is absolutely paramount." Approov provides effective mobile threat protection for both large hyperconnected organizations and fast-growing mobile-first businesses that need to deploy mobile threat protection quickly but are daunted by complex deployments with high overhead. The one thing all Approov customers have in common is that their business depends on the seamless operation and security of their mobile apps and the APIs that service them. Approov delivers: Instant, immediate effective shielding of mobile apps and their APIs from the costs of fraud, without demands on in-house talent to implement and sustain complex back-end solutions, Easy back-end integration with partner solutions (e.g. API Gateways, WAFs, CDNs, etc.) for comprehensive security and control of API access, Deep security expertise to stay ahead of attackers' next moves, Cross-platform consistency that's complementary to Apple iOS and Google Android tools, Real-time visibility and enhanced reporting, and "Actual use" pricing that charges only for the validation of genuine active monthly users. Competing offerings also charge for rejected traffic at the backend, failed attempts by bots, scripts or tampered apps, etc. Alexandre Branquart, CIO/CTO Co-Founder of award-winning Swiss eCommerce platform Deindeal said: "Knowing what is calling your API is necessary to protect your mobile channel against scripts and bots that can negatively impact your revenue streams." Nico Gabriel, COO of mobility services disruptor Sixt, said: "In the early days of car sharing, we saw aggregators displaying the availability and location of our vehicles. Reviewing our API security arrangements, we realized how straightforward it was to extract this level of data and we worried that third parties might be able to take a further step, and reserve and access our cars via our API. We sought a solution which could authenticate API requests from our mobile apps and from third party mobile apps. We are not opposed to sharing data, but we want to control what we share and who we share it with. Approov gives us that control." Approov's patented cloud-based run-time shielding solution is easy to deploy and stops mobile apps from being tampered with or cloned, protects any stolen keys from being used to abuse APIs, effectively protecting mobile apps, APIs and the channel between them from any automated attack. By ensuring only an untampered genuine mobile app running in an uncompromised environment can access the API, Approov prevents in real-time any malicious exploitation of: Stolen user identity credentials via bots i.e. credential stuffing. Stolen API keys and other secrets. Any vulnerabilities in your apps or APIs, irrespective of whether the vulnerabilities are already known, uncovered through testing or "zero-day". Business logic of the API. Man-in-the-middle or man-in-the-device attacks. David Stewart, CEO of Approov, said: "Making mobile apps safe for consumers to use and for enterprises to operate is what we care about. We created the Approov service in order to offer the most comprehensive run-time threat protection for mobile apps and the APIs they use, in a way that is frictionless for end users and easy for developers to deploy. This last year, we've all seen just how foundational integrated mobile applications and services are to the fabric of our daily lives. We have also seen, through the eyes of our customers, how effectively Approov addresses the security challenges presented by our increased dependence on mobile apps and APIs, and we are very honored that Approov has been recognized by this CyberSecured Award." About 1105 Media's Infrastructure Solutions Group 1105 Media's Infrastructure Solutions Group includes several leading industry media brands that provide new product and technology solutions for security professionals: Security Today, securitytoday.com, CyberSecured, Campus Security Life Safety, campuslifesecurity.com, and GovSec. The brands' print, digital, custom media and research products integrate physical and IT security coverage and provide the smartest, most cost-effective solutions for reaching security decision makers. About Approov Approov solutions help stop API abuse at the edge, and prevent security breaches in mobile channels. With more businesses moving to digitalization and future-ready services that utilize mobile API connections, securing those connections properly can get overlooked or not fully implemented for all possible threats, exposing organizations and their users to breaches, fraud, denial of service, and other forms of API abuse. Approov API Threat Protection provides a multi-factor, end-to-end mobile API security solution that complements identity management, endpoint, and device protection to lock-down proper API usage. It ensures that only safe and approved apps running in safe environments can successfully and securely access an organization's APIs, and turns away unauthorized accesses by attacker scripting, bots and fake or tampered apps. https://www.approov.io/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005316/en/ Contacts: Dan Chmielewski Madison Alexander PR, Inc. 714-832-8716 C: 949-231-2965 dchm@madisonalexanderpr.com Malaysia gains international attention as Hepatitis C Treatment Hub of Asia at Expo 2020 Dubai. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Malaysia was featured as the Hepatitis C Treatment Hub of Asia at Expo 2020 Dubai during the opening ceremony of Malaysia Healthcare Excellence week at the Malaysia Pavilion. Being the first country in the world to be given conditional approval for Ravidasvir in combination with Sofosbuvir to treat Hepatitis C, Malaysia is poised to offer access to an affordable and efficacious treatment solution for those infected with the virus. "In response to the World Hepatitis Day 2021 theme, "Hepatitis Can't Wait", Malaysia is ready and raring to move forward with a treatment solution for those infected with the disease. This is in line with WHO's mission to reduce new viral hepatitis infections by 90% and reduce deaths by viral hepatitis by 65% by 2030. Malaysia is offering Hepatitis C patients a treatment with a cure rate of 97% and cost reduction of 95%," said Chief Executive Officer of MHTC, Mohd Daud Mohd Arif, at the opening ceremony. Pharmaniaga Berhad Group Managing Director, Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope, added, "Through our expertise in supply, logistics and distribution of Hepatitis-C Drug to MHTC's Member Hospitals, we are proud to contribute to the shared goal of both Malaysia and World Health Organisation to eliminate Hepatitis-C by 2030. In creating access to treatment for local and international patients in need, we partner in the vision of forging resilience, further propelling the Malaysia Healthcare forward." Adding to this, Mohd Daud Mohd Arif said, "As Malaysia Healthcare moves towards industry recovery, it is even more important for Malaysia Healthcare to showcase the strength of our healthcare offerings and remain top of mind as a leading global healthcare destination." ABOUT THE MALAYSIA HEALTHCARE TRAVEL COUNCIL The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) is a government agency that has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating the country's healthcare travel scene. Founded in 2009, MHTC works to streamline industry players and service providers in facilitating and growing Malaysia's healthcare travel industry under the brand "Malaysia Healthcare" with the intended goal of making Malaysia the leading global healthcare destination. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1720605/image.jpg Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Copper Fox Metals Inc. (TSXV: CUU) (OTCQX: CPFXF) ("Copper Fox" or the "Company") through its wholly owned subsidiary Northern Fox Copper Inc. is pleased to provide an update on its 100% owned Eaglehead polymetallic porphyry copper project located approximately 50 kilometers ('km') east of Dease Lake, British Columbia. The Eaglehead project covers a large portion (15,956 ha) of the late Jurassic age, multi-phase Eaglehead stock located at the southern margin of the Quesnel terrane. The Quesnel terrane hosts several porphyry copper deposits including Lorraine, Mt. Milligan, and Mount. Polley to the south. The 2021 program at Eaglehead focused on the Far East zone located approximately 3km southwest of the East zone. Highlights: The 2021 program has identified several chemically distinct intrusive phases and three episodes of copper mineralization in the Far East zone. The porphyry "footprint" on the Eaglehead project has been extended approximately 3km along strike to include the Far East zone. In diamond drill hole ('DDH') 66, the core interval from 70.26m to 160.32m contains four intervals of Cu-Mo-Au-Ag mineralization, including a 12.56m interval that returned a weighted average of 0.473% Cu, 0.013% Mo, 0.119g/t Au and 7.53g/t Ag. DDH-78 contains two intervals of Cu-Au-Ag mineralization including 0.276% Cu, 0.003% Mo, 0.732g/t Au and 6.85 g/t Ag over a core interval of 7.17m. The mineralized drill holes reported in this news release tested a positive chargeability signature, identified in 2006-2007, that measures approximately 2,000m long and on average, 600m wide. Elmer B. Stewart, President and CEO of Copper Fox, stated, "The 2021 program has identified a sizable porphyry copper target in the Far East zone which significantly extends the porphyry 'footprint' of the Eaglehead project. The metal associations, alteration patterns and shape of the mineralized intervals in the Far East zone is similar to that previously identified in the Pass, Bornite, and East zones. The highly anomalous 'fertility indices' in DDH-78, suggest several stages of intrusive activity including contributions from a highly evolved, hydrous 'fertile' magma. The multiple intrusives, combined with overlapping episodes of copper mineralization suggests the drill holes in the Far East zone intersected the upper level of a highly evolved porphyry copper system. The results of the 2021 geophysical survey are currently being assessed and will be reported when received." Drill Core Analytical Results: A total of 293 core samples (including re-sampled intervals) were collected from five diamond drill holes in the Far East zone. All intervals (regardless of thickness) of copper mineralization above a 0.05% Cu cut-off are listed below. The mineralized intervals are hosted in granodiorite, hornblende quartz diorite and mafic volcanics of the Kutcho group. The overlapping metal assemblages suggests multiple injections of hydrothermal fluids emanating upwards along a system of fractures and faults from an evolving porphyry copper system at depth. DDH ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Cu (ppm) Cu (%) Mo (ppm) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) 65 96.32 99.36 3.04 3550 0.355 11.0 0.038 1.53 110.36 115.15 4.79 2130 0.213 7.0 0.020 0.76 135.87 148.74 12.87 910 0.091 7.0 0.017 0.18 153.92 154.84 0.92 607 0.061 tr tr 1.30 162.72 165.20 2.48 796 0.080 tr 0.012 1.46 66 10.05 10.36 0.31 11150 1.115 30.0 0.151 21.20 29.21 30.00 0.79 1215 0.122 tr tr 1.57 42.00 45.99 3.99 530 0.053 tr tr 0.35 61.78 62.42 0.64 14300 1.430 tr 0.394 6.93 70.26 71.32 1.06 20800 2.080 133.0 0.142 28.20 83.15 114.60 31.45 2670 0.267 36.0 0.063 4.54 131.98 144.54 12.56 4730 0.473 127.0 0.119 7.53 157.58 160.32 2.74 18910 1.891 53.0 0.252 13.05 191.65 192.00 0.35 870 0.087 6.0 0.042 0.47 213.20 219.15 5.95 1150 0.115 tr tr 0.16 67 18.60 19.50 0.90 2320 0.232 37.0 0.161 1.07 31.09 44.80 13.71 560 0.056 33.0 0.012 0.16 53.95 72.24 18.29 1110 0.111 52.0 0.018 0.32 104.88 105.00 0.12 4370 0.437 41.0 0.070 1.13 126.80 133.20 6.40 910 0.091 31.0 0.012 0.29 68 47.00 50.59 3.59 1020 0.102 18.0 tr 1.01 103.30 103.60 0.30 1790 0.179 tr tr 1.56 123.75 125.12 1.37 1780 0.178 21.0 tr 1.19 157.30 160.30 3.00 650 0.065 20.0 tr 0.56 198.90 199.80 0.90 1925 0.193 tr tr 1.35 208.94 209.70 0.76 1085 0.109 tr tr 1.40 215.20 224.30 9.10 1540 0.154 tr 0.120 1.58 233.50 239.57 6.07 1770 0.177 tr 0.011 2.20 78 116.89 124.05 7.16 2764 0.276 30.0 0.732 6.85 140.51 151.49 10.98 1355 0.136 14.0 0.343 4.13 Notes: a) metal concentrations of less than 0.01g/t Au and 5.0 ppm Mo listed as tr., b) cut-off for mineralized intervals 0.05% Cu., c) grade capping was not employed. d) weighted average interval includes up to 10m core length of material below the Cu cut-off. The analytical program increased lengths of the mineralized intervals in several drill holes and identified additional intervals of Cu mineralization. Significant Cu-Mo-Au mineralization occurs in DDH-66 and DHH-67 in proximity to the Kutcho/Intrusive contact. DDH-78 located approximately 200m north of DDH 66 returned a similar style of mineralization with significantly higher Au concentrations. The 2021 analytical results yielded similar copper-molybdenum concentrations, lower silver and modestly higher gold concentrations than previously reported. Geology: The Far East zone is underlain by biotite granodiorite and hornblende quartz diorite phases of the Eaglehead stock and Kutcho andesitic volcanics, intruded by late-stage aplite, quartz feldspar porphyry and mafic dikes. The mineralized intervals are characterized by strong potassic alteration followed by successive phases of phyllic and propylitic overprinting. The Cu mineralization primarily occurs in fractures and to a lesser extent in quartz veinlets. The mapping north of the Pass and Camp zones located several copper occurrences. This area is underlain by biotite granodiorite intruded by several late-stage hydrothermal breccia of variable apparent thickness. Fertility Indices:The use of trace element ratios is being used as an effective method, using least-altered samples to distinguish between potential ore-forming intrusions from ordinary, unproductive intrusions. Loucks (2014) demonstrated that Cu-rich porphyry Cu-Au deposits are associated with intrusions that have average Sr/Y values ranging from 50 to 150 whereas Au-rich porphyry Cu-Au deposits are associated with magmatic rocks that have lower average Sr/Y values ranging from 25 to 75. The unusually high contents of Sr and V, and unusually low contents of Y and Sc in a magma result from the accumulation of dissolved H 2 O due to multiple cycles of replenishment and crystallization in high-pressure magma chambers. The element ratios Al2O3/TiO2, Sr/Y and V/Sc are effective in discriminating copper-ore-forming intrusions from unproductive intrusions. The following table lists the core intervals from the Far East zone with positive trace element indicator ratios. DDH From (m) To (m) Lithology Sr/Y V/Sc Al2O3/TiO2 66 10.36 102.51 iGBD 61 10 55 146.76 157.51 iGBD 61 10 49 67* 72.24 75.40 iGBDQE 104 12 55 78 4.27 154.00 iGBD 111 11 80 * = Quartz "eye" bearing biotite granodiorite dike intruding Kutcho Volcanics. Analytical Procedures: Sample preparation and analytical work were completed by ALS Laboratories located in Vancouver, BC. ALS's package codes PREP31-A was used for sample preparation, MEMS61 four-acid digestion was used to determine total copper (as part of a 48-element suite), and Au-AA23 for gold content via fire-assay and atomic absorption spectrometry. Copper over limits (>10,000 parts per million) were assayed using ALS code Cu-OG62. ALS has an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 UKAS (ref 4028) accreditation for laboratory analysis. Quality Control: A total of 20 field blank and 39 certified reference standards were inserted (insertion rate 1:12) in the samples sent for analysis. QA/QC procedures completed on the blanks and standards indicated a 6% overall failure rate based on the CV for each of the standards and blank. Qualified Person Elmer B. Stewart, MSc. P. Geol., President and CEO of Copper Fox, is the Company's non-independent, nominated Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release. About Copper Fox Copper Fox is a Tier 1 Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: CUU) focused on copper exploration and development in Canada and the United States. The principal assets of Copper Fox and its wholly owned Canadian and United States subsidiaries, being Northern Fox Copper Inc. and Desert Fox Copper Inc., are the 25% interest in the Schaft Creek Joint Venture with Teck Resources Limited on the Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project located in northwestern British Columbia and the 100% ownership of the Van Dyke oxide copper project located in Miami, Arizona. For more information on Copper Fox's other mineral properties and investments, visit the Company's website at http://www.copperfoxmetals.com. For additional information contact: Investor line 1-844-464-2820 or Lynn Ball, at 1-403-264-2820. On behalf of the Board of Directors Elmer B. Stewart President and Chief Executive Officer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is generally identifiable by use of the words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "anticipates," "intends," "budgets", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "projects" and similar expressions, and the negative of such expressions. Forward-looking information in this news release include statements about: the Eaglehead 2021 exploration program; significant intervals of Cu-Mo-Au-Ag and Cu-Au mineralization; fertility indices, hydrous, highly evolved magmatic system; three phases of copper mineralization; and similarities to the mineralization in the Pass, Bornite and East zones. In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, Copper Fox and its subsidiaries have made numerous assumptions regarding, among other things: the geological, metallurgical, engineering, financial and economic advice that Copper Fox has received is reliable and is based upon practices and methodologies which are consistent with industry standards; the speed of field studies and the stability of economic and market conditions. While Copper Fox considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause Copper Fox's actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include among others: the 2021 geophysical program may not generate additional exploration targets; the Cu-Mo-Au-Ag and Cu-Au mineralization may represent small, localized bodies; the fertility indices may not be related to a hydrous, highly evolved magmatic system; the three phases of copper mineralization may not be accurate; and similarities to the mineralization in the Pass, Bornite and East zones may not exist; uncertainties relating to interpretation of the previous results; the overall economy may deteriorate; uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; fluctuations in commodity prices and demand; currency exchange rates; and uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals. A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing Copper Fox is disclosed in Copper Fox's continuous disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and Copper Fox disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events, or developments, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109152 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Cabral Gold Inc. (TSXV: CBR) (OTC: CBGZF) ("Cabral" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a summary of successes achieved during 2021 at the Cuiu Cuiu gold district in northern Brazil, and outline its plans for 2022. During 2021, Cabral's ongoing drill program was primarily focused on defining the high-grade zones within the MG and Central gold deposits, but the Company also identified two new near surface gold-in-oxide blankets at MG and PDM, as well as a new high-grade mineralized zone in hard rock at PDM. The Company continued to drill test and expand other new target areas, such as Machichie, Machichie SW, Morro da Lua, and Indio. There are still some 39 other gold targets to test on the 36,000 ha Cuiu Cuiu property. Concurrent with the drill program Cabral continued its regional grassroots reconnaissance exploration in new areas of the district including stream- and soil-geochemical sampling and prospecting. Based on positive initial results realized during early 2021, Cabral accelerated its drilling campaign. The Company started 2021 with two RC rigs and added a diamond rig in February and two more diamond rigs in July following the successful closing of a financing in July. A total of 25,359m of drilling was completed during the year, including 16,027m of RC drilling and 9,332m of diamond drilling. Assay results from 21 diamond-drill holes and 12 RC holes completed at MG, PDM, and Central were still pending at year end and will be released in the coming weeks. Cabral is looking forward to continuing its aggressive exploration program in 2022 and is planning an expanded drill program at PDM following encouraging drill results in December which included 22.4m @ 4.8 g/t gold from the granitic rocks below the recently identified gold-in-oxide blanket. In addition, diamond drilling at the Central and MG gold deposits will continue with the objective of defining higher grade zones within both deposits, while testing for additional zones of mineralization. RC drilling will also continue testing the overburden above the Central gold deposit with the objective of identifying a third gold-in-oxide blanket. Elsewhere additional drilling and trenching is planned at Machichie, and several regional targets including Tracaja, Indio, Dona Moca and the new Escondido target. Figure 1: Topographic map showing the location of the MG and Central gold deposits (in red) and the outline of the recently discovered gold-in-oxide blankets at PDM and MG (in beige) as well as other key targets at Cuiu Cuiu. The outline of the historic placer gold workings are shown in pale yellow. MG and Central are the two deposits comprising the current project resource To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3900/109245_de659b64c41b6840_002full.jpg Highlights of 2021 are as follows: MG Gold Complex: Initial RC and diamond drilling at MG resulted in a significant reinterpretation of the geology of the MG deposit. A thick, laterally extensive, flat-lying cover sequence of redeposited oxidized, heavily weathered and unconsolidated mineralized material (oxide blanket) was identified extending from surface to up to 60m depth, and represents a new discovery during 2021 . This new style of gold deposit resulted from the erosion of the basement MG gold deposit, and unconformably overlies the primary gold deposit. It extends significantly to the north and south of the east-trending basement deposit. Importantly, this mineralized blanket material will likely be free digging and was largely considered sterile waste material in the compilation of the 2018 resource estimate. MG Gold-in-Oxide Blanket: Based on the initial discovery of near-surface oxide mineralization in April 2021, Cabral conducted an aggressive RC drilling program consisting of 79 RC holes totaling 6,609m. These were designed to determine the vertical and lateral extent of the gold-in-oxide blanket. The surface footprint has since grown to 40 hectares, and remains open in several directions. Drilling highlights (see press releases dated May 19, July 29, August 31, October 14, November 9, and November 24, 2021) during 2021 include: 60m @ 3.5 g/t gold including 2.6m @ 64.6 g/t gold 46m @ 1.3 g/t gold including 5.0m @ 3.6 g/t gold and 1.0m @ 7.7 g/t gold 46m @ 1.2 g/t gold including 3.0m @ 5.5 g/t gold 66m @ 0.7 g/t gold including 6.0m @ 2.5 g/t gold 47m @ 0.7 g/t gold 48m @ 0.5 g/t gold 16m @ 1.2 g/t gold 22m @ 0.7 g/t gold including 2.0m @ 3.0 g/t gold 24m @ 0.8 g/t gold 34m @ 0.7 g/t gold including 2.0m @ 3.0 g/t gold and 1.0m @ 5.4 g/t gold 46m @ 0.5 g/t gold Within the blanket, there is an east-trending zone of thicker and higher-grade mineralization that is evident within the overall outline of the blanket. This higher-grade zone largely occurs directly above the primary basement MG gold deposit Five diamond drill holes were drilled during 2021 with the objective of collecting samples of blanket material for metallurgical test work. Drill results from these five holes included: 70.8m @ 1.0 g/t gold, including 17.0m @ 3.3 g/t gold; 43.6m @ 1.4 g/t gold; 30m @ 2.2 g/t gold; 54.0m @ 0.7 g/t gold; 13m @ 0.9 g/t gold; and 21.7m @ 0.8 g/t gold (see press releases dated December 2 and December 9 2021). Samples have been dispatched to the Kappes Cassiday laboratory in Reno, Nevada. This work is critical to understanding the economic viability of this unconsolidated surface oxide mineralization at MG, which may be amenable to low-cost heap-leach processing. Results are expected in March 2022 The mineralized blanket is an important new discovery and lies entirely within the confines of any potential open pit that would exploit the basement gold deposit at MG. Most of this blanket material was previously considered to be barren and therefore the removal of this material as pre-strip within any open pit was expected to constitute a significant cost. Instead, this newly discovered gold-in-oxide material could prove to be an economic bonus that appreciably improves the overall economics of the project. This material is soft and much of it will likely be free digging, which would significantly reduce mining costs. Moreover, the softer rock would also have a much lower work index leading to lower crushing and grinding costs than the harder basement rocks. It is also possible that the blanket material may be amenable to heap-leach processing, which could further reduce processing costs, initial capital costs, and cutoff grades MG Primary Basement Gold Deposit: Drilling during 2021 targeted the basement deposit at MG and was designed to expand and confirm high-grade gold mineralization, establish vertical and lateral continuity, and evaluate untested regions of a potential open pit, particularly closer to surface. Drilling continues, and assays are currently pending from ten holes drilled during late 2021. Key results to date include: Several parallel zones to the primary MG gold deposit were discovered, notably in the footwall, where highlights included: 18.1m @ 4.3 g/t gold, including 1.0m @ 45.1 g/t gold; and 2.1m @ 29.4 g/t gold, including 0.5m @ 120.6 g/t gold (see press releases dated April 15, July 8, November 3 and December 2, 2021) The deposit was also extended to the west where diamond drilling returned 19.1m @ 2.2 g/t gold, including 7.0m @ 4.5 g/t gold (see press release dated December 2, 2021) Lateral and vertical continuity of known high-grade mineralization was confirmed in several areas highlighted by: 17.6m @ 4.1 g/t gold, including 4.3m @ 11.3 g/t gold; 14m @ 1.9 g/t gold, including 2.5m @ 7.5 g/t gold; and 10.5m @ 2.4 g/t gold, including 2m @ 4.7 g/t gold (see press releases dated July 8, July 29 and November 3, 2021) In much of the deposit, the mineralized zones are now interpreted to dip more shallowly to the north than previously thought. As a result, the historic drilling may have missed the main mineralized zone in some areas Central Deposit: The Central gold deposit is currently the largest gold deposit at Cuiu Cuiu and is open at depth. Historic drilling indicates the potential to add ounces in a number of areas, and there is also potential for parallel zones of mineralization. One diamond drill rig commenced drilling at Central in late November (see press release dated November 24, 2021) and results are currently pending on eight diamond holes which were completed in late 2021 Based on the discovery of the new gold-in-oxide blankets above the MG gold deposit and at the PDM target during 2021, a 25-hole RC drilling program was initiated above the Central gold deposit to test for the possibility of a third gold-in-oxide blanket. Results are currently pending on 12 RC holes and the program is ongoing PDM Gold Complex: Following the identification of the gold-in-oxide blanket mineralization at MG, the Company elected to explore for similar near surface oxide gold deposits elsewhere within the Cuiu Cuiu district. The next target was PDM, located 2.5km NW of the Central gold deposit and 6.5km NW of the MG gold deposit. Several scattered historic holes and trenches at PDM had returned significant gold values from bedrock as well as oxidized weathered rock. PDM Gold-in-Oxide Blanket: In August, results were announced on an initial 11 RC holes which suggested the presence of a second gold-in-oxide blanket at the PDM target (see press release dated August 10, 2021). Drill result highlights (see press releases dated August 10, August 26 and October 28, 2021) include: 40m @ 2.2 g/t gold, including 7m @ 9.4 g/t gold 16m @ 1.3 g/t gold 13m @ 0.9 g/t gold 10m @ 0.6 g/t gold . The blanket at PDM is an important new discovery and currently covers an area of 900 x 350m (31.5ha), having expanded significantly from the initial 200 x 400m estimate in August. The blanket also contains a significant NW trending zone of higher grade and remains open to the north and west. This higher grade zone is very similar to the high-grade core within the blanket at MG, which largely occurs directly above the basement primary gold mineralized zone at MG PDM Primary Basement Target: In late 2021, diamond drilling at PDM in un-weathered basement rocks underneath the gold-in-oxide blanket, returned 22.4m @ 4.8 g/t gold, including 1.35m @ 62.0 g/t gold (see press release dated December 15, 2021). This new intercept suggests the presence of a significant new zone of higher-grade primary gold mineralization at PDM. This basement gold mineralization is the most likely source of the near-surface gold-in-oxide blanket at PDM and lies beneath the higher-grade zone within the blanket The new mineralized basement zone is an important new discovery. It extends at least 200m along strike, trends NW-SE and dips steeply to the SW. It is open to the north, south and down-dip. The zone appears similar to, and is 2.5km NW and along strike from the NW-SE trending Central gold deposit. Virtually no exploration has been done in the intervening NW-SE trending corridor. Additional drilling is planned for 2022 to establish the extent, strike and dip of the basement zone. Machichie and Machichie NE Target: The Machichie target area is located 500m north of the MG deposit. The main Machichie target is an E-W trending mineralized zone, comprising a high-grade vein structure surrounded by a lower grade halo, very similar to the nearby MG gold deposit RC drilling during 2021 along the strike of the main Machichie target, returned encouraging drill results including 34m @ 5.4 g/t gold, which included 13m @ 13.4 g/t gold (see press release dated January 5, 2021). Results to date suggest that the mineralized zone extends E-W for at least 500m and it remains open to the east and west and contains higher-grade shoots within the main mineralized zone along strike. Further drilling and trenching are planned for 2022 At Machichie NE, five holes were drilled to follow-up a mineralized intercept from a single drill hole completed in 2019 which returned 15.9m @ 1.7 g/t gold, including 0.5m @ 21.3 g/t gold. 2021 drill results are highlighted by 8m @ 3.3 g/t gold, and 17m @ 0.8 g/t gold, including 4m @ 2.9 g/t gold (see press release dated February 11, 2021). Follow drilling at Machichie NE is planned during 2022 in order to evaluate the extent of this mineralized zone Morro da Lua Target: Follow-up RC drilling at the Morro da Lua target during 2021 identified at least three high-grade NE trending veins. Results were highlighted by 2m @ 10.5 g/t gold, and 3m @ 6.6 g/t gold, and indicated continuity along strike and down dip (see press release dated July 15, 2021). Further drilling is planned for 2022 Other Targets: Encouraging drill results were also returned from the Machichie SW area, where the number of known NE trending veins was increased from six to nine. Diamond drilling during April on the Hamilton Novo vein returned 3m @ 13.2 g/t gold including 1.0m @ 36.7 g/t gold (see press release dated April 29, 2021), and RC drilling during October identified three additional NE trending vein structures with drill results including 1m @ 18.5 g/t gold, 2m @ 3.5 g/t gold, 3m @ 2.8 g/t gold, and 1m @ 18.3 g/t gold (see press release dated October 6, 2021) Similarly, first phase reconnaissance drilling at the Indio target, which is located 1.5km SE of the MG gold deposit, returned encouraging results, including 5m @ 2.7 g/t gold and 4m @ 2.5 g/t gold suggesting continuity of gold mineralization in an E-W direction for at least 150m (see press release dated March 31, 2021). Given the continuity of mineralization at Indio, follow-up drilling is planned during 2022 Reconnaissance stream-sediment sampling during late 2021 (see press release dated December 9, 2021) identified a new gold anomaly called Escondido located 3.4km ESE of the MG gold deposit. The new anomaly is very similar to the geochemical and magnetic anomaly which define the MG gold deposit and will be the subject of follow up soil and auger sampling and if results justify, reconnaissance drilling, during 2022 Tenure: During 2021 Cabral acquired surface rights to all of the surface footprint of the MG Complex as well as much of Machichie and PDM Board Addition: In April 2021 the Company announced the addition of an experienced mining engineer to Cabral's Board of Directors, Rodney Cooper, P.Eng. Bought Deal Financing In June, the Company announced a $10,000,000 Bought Deal financing led by Cormark Securities Inc. on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters including Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc., Paradigm Capital Inc., and Research Capital Corporation (see press release dated June 8, 2021). The offering was subsequently closed in early July and included the exercise in full of the underwriters' over-allotment option. The Company sold an aggregate of 21,298,000 units at a price of $0.54 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $11,500,920 Alan Carter, Cabral's President and CEO commented, "2021 was an extremely busy and pivotal year for Cabral and must surely be the most successful year in our Company's history. The new unconsolidated oxide and hard-rock gold discoveries that we made at MG and PDM during 2021 confirm that Cuiu Cuiu is a district and contains multiple gold deposits. I would like to again congratulate our team in Brazil on a very successful year. We look forward to another exciting year in 2022 that will focus on establishing the limits of these new mineralized zones and will also see us drill testing a number of other high-quality targets within the Cuiu Cuiu district during the coming months." Plans for 2022 The discovery of the two near surface gold-in-oxide deposits at MG and PDM is a potential game changer for Cabral. The completion of the metallurgical test work at the Kappes Cassiday lab in Reno will be a high priority for the Company in early 2022. Should this work indicate that the mineralized material at MG is amenable to low-cost heap leaching, the Company plans to proceed with a scoping study later in 2022. As outlined above, diamond drilling will continue at the primary MG gold deposit in order to fully determine the size of the high-grade zones at MG and in order to determine the western limits to the main MG mineralized zone. This drilling will also further investigate the potential of the parallel zones intersected in diamond drilling during 2021. Diamond drilling will continue at the Central gold deposit. As at the MG gold deposit, the current program is designed to further define the high-grade zones at Central. RC drilling at Central is also in progress with the objective of testing for the presence of gold-in-oxide blanket mineralization above the primary Central gold deposit similar to that identified at both MG and PDM in 2021. An initial 25-hole RC drill program is in progress. Further diamond drilling is also planned at the PDM target following the recent discovery of a zone of high-grade primary gold mineralization which returned 22.4m @ 4.8 g/t gold in the granitic rocks underlying the gold-in-oxide blanket. This drilling will determine the dimensions and grade of the new mineralized zone. Further trenching and drilling is planned at the Machichie target during 2022 where RC drilling during 2021 returned 34m @ 5.4 g/t gold including 13m @ 13.4 g/t gold. Whilst the focus of the drill campaign during 2022 will remain on the MG and Central trends, and the targets in and around those trends (notably PDM in the Central trend and Machichie at MG), Cabral will continue to test the various regional targets at Cuiu Cuiu and is currently planning drilling at Tracaja, Indio, Dona Moca and the new Escondido target. About Cabral Gold Inc. The Company is a junior resource company engaged in the identification, exploration and development of mineral properties, with a primary focus on gold properties located in Brazil. The Company has a 100% interest in the Cuiu Cuiu gold district located in the Tapajos Region, within the state of Para in northern Brazil. Two gold deposits have so far been defined at Cuiu Cuiu and contain 43-101 compliant Indicated resources of 5.9Mt @ 0.90g/t (200,000 oz) and Inferred resources of 19.5Mt @ 1.24g/t (800,000 oz). The Tapajos Gold Province is the site of the largest gold rush in Brazil's history producing an estimated 30 to 50 million ounces of placer gold between 1978 and 1995. Cuiu Cuiu was the largest area of placer workings in the Tapajos and produced an estimated 2Moz of placer gold historically. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: "Alan Carter" President and Chief Executive Officer Cabral Gold Inc. Tel: 604.676.5660 Guillermo Hughes, MAusIMM and FAIG., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will", "expected" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. This news release contains forward-looking statements and assumptions pertaining to the following: strategic plans and future operations, and results of exploration. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. The Company believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Notes Gold analysis has been conducted by SGS method FAA505 (fire assay of 50g charge), with higher grade samples checked by FAA525. Analytical quality is monitored by certified references and blanks. Until dispatch, samples are stored under the supervision the Company's exploration office. The samples are couriered to the assay laboratory using a commercial contractor. Pulps are returned to the Company and archived. Drill holes results are quoted as down-hole length weighted intersections. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109245 Marcia Avedon, executive vice president and chief human resources, marketing and communications officer, to retire in April Mairead Magner named senior vice president and chief human resources officer Carrie Amendum Ruddy named senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator, today announced that Marcia Avedon, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief human resources, marketing and communications officer, has announced her planned retirement from the company in April 2022 after 15 years of service and a distinguished career. Mairead Magner has been named senior vice president and chief human resources officer, and Carrie Amendum Ruddy has been named senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer, effective immediately. Magner and Ruddy will report to Dave Regnery, Trane Technologies board chair and CEO, and will serve on the Enterprise Leadership Team as executive officers of the company. Avedon has served as chief human resources officer since 2007, also overseeing the company's communications, marketing and government relations functions. She led the launch of the company's diversity and inclusion strategy, and dramatically enhanced the strategic value of the company's people and stakeholder engagement practices. Avedon has led through significant organizational change and transformation, including several mergers and acquisitions. She is widely recognized for building an engaging, award-winning culture at the company. Avedon currently serves on the board of directors for Generac Power Systems. She is a fellow and director of the National Academy of Human Resources, and serves on the board for the HR Policy Association (HRPA) and chairs the HRPA's Center on Executive Compensation. She was a founder and inaugural chair of the University of South Carolina's Center for Executive Succession and currently serves on the board. "Marcia has been integral to our transformation over many years, resulting in the Trane Technologies of today," said Regnery. "She has worked in deep partnership with me as well as former chair and CEO Mike Lamach to shape our unique and uplifting culture. Through her leadership in professional, academic and industry organizations, she has contributed widely to the advancement of the human resources discipline. Marcia has made a tremendous and lasting impact, and I wish her the best in her retirement." Avedon will work over the next few months to support a smooth transition of responsibilities to Magner and Ruddy. Magner will lead all aspects of the company's human resources strategy and oversee all human resource functions globally. She has spent her entire career with the company, joining in 1998 through a human resources leadership development program. She has led human resources for several of the company's business units in Europe, the Americas and globally, supporting business growth, organizational development, mergers and acquisitions, and transformation initiatives. Most recently, Magner served as vice president, talent and organization capability, where she led the organizational design after the separation of the company's Industrial segment and the launch of Trane Technologies in 2020. Ruddy most recently served as vice president, communications and corporate citizenship and will now also oversee the company's marketing and government relations functions. She has led internal and external communications and stakeholder engagement for several strategic transactions and organizational change efforts, including the launch of Trane Technologies. Ruddy joined the company in 2014 as head of employee communications and engagement. Previously, she held communications leadership roles at Bank of America, Delhaize Group and Wachovia Corp. "I'm excited to add Mairead and Carrie's varied experiences and valuable perspectives to our leadership team," said Regnery. "Mairead provides excellent counsel and business partnership and has deep expertise building diverse teams and capabilities, developing company culture, and accelerating business objectives through talent strategies and organizational capabilities. "Carrie is skilled in leading reputation and stakeholder engagement strategies for major corporate transactions, large-scale organizational changes, and strategic business initiatives. These leaders will help enable our strategy as we continue to challenge what's possible for a sustainable world." About Trane Technologies Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane and Thermo King, and our environmentally responsible portfolio of products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes, and transportation. Learn more at tranetechologies.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005153/en/ Contacts: Media: Jennifer Regina, Trane Technologies +1-630-390-8011 jennifer.regina@tranetechnologies.com Investors: Zachary Nagle, Trane Technologies +1-704-990-3913 zachary.nagle@tranetechnologies.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The White House COVID-19 Response Team has warned that the coming weeks are going to be challenging as the Omicron variant continues to spread fast among US communities. 'We're going to see cases continue to rise because Omicron is a very transmissible variant,' White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said at a routine news conference Wednesday. In the same platform, Chief Medical Advisor to the President Dr. Anthony Fauci said, 'The Omicron variant, so far, appears to be less severe than the Delta. But remember the caveat: Rapid community spread is seeing larger numbers of children being hospitalized - again, mostly among the unvaccinated.' CDC director Dr.Rochelle Walensky said that an estimate based on CDC genomic sequencing shows that Omicron represents about 95 percent of cases in the country, and Delta represents the remaining 5 percent of the cases. An average of about 14,800 Covid patients are being admitted in US hospitals per day, an increase of about 63 percent over the previous week, she told reporters. White House COVID-19 Response Team said a total of 2.4 million pieces of personal protective equipment - PPE - were shipped in the last two weeks alone to help keep healthcare workers safe. Free testing centers were established in locations across the nation, with additional new sites opening soon in Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Delaware, Texas, and Washington State. The first tranche of 10 million Pfizer antiviral pill treatment courses, which are capable of dramatically decreasing hospitalizations and deaths, will be delivered by the end of June instead of September end. The weekly average of Covid cases in the U.S. skyrocketed by 247 percent in two weeks, driven by the more easily transmitted Omicron variant. With 643660 new cases reporting on Wednesday, the national total rose to 57,762,144, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. With 1986 additional casualties, the total Covid death toll has risen to 832,148. Hospital admissions have increased by 53 percent, to 107,094, according to data compiled by the New York Times. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / Sativa Wellness Group Inc. (CSE:SWEL) ("Sativa Wellness" or the "Company") announced today the successful achievement of ISO 22000 certification applicable to food safety relating to cannabis extraction at its Polish plant. The company also successfully passed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point ("HACCP") requirements, including Good Hygiene Practice ("GHP") and Good Manufacturing Practice ("GMP") as one of the components of the HACCP requirements. During the audit, the certification scope "Production of plant extracts" was confirmed. ISO 22000 was developed as a food safety standard to acknowledge that the consequences of unsafe food can be serious. ISO's food safety management standard helps organisations identify and control food safety hazards to provide a layer of reassurance within the global food supply chain, helping products that people can trust cross borders. HACCP is also a certification to help manage food safety hazards as food safety management procedures should be based on HACCP principles. Geremy Thomas, Executive Chairman, said; "We are pleased to again achieve further certifications to demonstrate the quality of the products we produce and the standards we adhere to." The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Marc Howells Chief Executive Officer Sativa Wellness Group Inc. +44 (0) 20 7971 1255 enquiries@sativawellnessgroup.com www.sativawellnessgroup.com Anne Tew Chief Financial Officer Sativa Wellness Group Inc. +44 (0) 20 7971 1255 enquiries@sativawellnessgroup.com www.sativawellnessgroup.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Sativa's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes" "plan is" or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur", "will be achieved" or "shortly". Although Sativa believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this press release, and Sativa does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Sativa Wellness Group Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681116/Sativa-Wellness-Group-Announces-ISO-22000-Food-Safety-Management-System-Certification VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. (the "Company" or "GSilver") (TSXV:GSVR)(OTCQX:GSVRF) announces that it will begin processing 3rd party silver and gold mineralized material at its El Cubo mill located 11km east of Guanajuato, Mexico. Third-Party Minerals Processing: GSilver announces it has signed a contract to purchase approximately 4,000 tonnes of silver and gold mineralized material from a mining operation located in the Guanajuato area. This material will be processed at the Company's El Cubo processing plant separately from material sourced from the Company's El Cubo and El Pinguico mines. James Anderson, Chairman and CEO, said, "It is GSilver's intention to use the approximately 20,000 tonne per month of excess capacity at the El Cubo mill to profitably process mineralized material from various potential sources in the Guanajuato area. Whether the business arrangement is designed as toll milling, raw material purchasing, or profit sharing, if it serves to contribute to our bottom line and helps to expand our presence in the 480-year-old mining camp of Guanajuato, then we will pursue it." Hernan Dorado, Director and COO, added, "The processing of these 4,000 tonnes of third-party material demonstrates our ability to create additional lines of business for GSilver. With El Cubo centrally located within the heart of one of the world's great silver-gold mining districts, we are confident that we will be able to generate expanded revenue streams as we look to transition our milling complex toward 100% capacity." El Cubo / El Pinguico Production: The Company is now averaging approximately 1,000 tonnes per day through its El Cubo mill; this production combines material from El Cubo and the El Pinguico above-ground stockpile. The current mined output from El Cubo remains on target with the Company's ramp-up schedule. Further details of current and planned production, grades, and recoveries will be forthcoming in subsequent news releases. About Guanajuato Silver Co. Ltd.: GSilver is a precious metals producer engaged in reactivating past producing silver and gold mines near the city of Guanajuato, Mexico. The Company is currently producing silver and gold from its 100% owned El Cubo and El Pinguico projects, while simultaneously advancing the El Pinguico Mine to restart. Both projects are located within 11km of the city of Guanajuato, which has an established 480-year mining history. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "James Anderson" Chairman and CEO For further information regarding Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., please contact: JJ Jennex, Gerente de Comunicaciones T: 604 7213 1433 E: jjj@GSilver.com Gsilver.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which relate to future events or future performance including, but not limited to, the current and projected mined output from El Cubo, the ability of the Company to source mineralized material from external sources within the Guanajuato area for processing through the El Cubo mill to generate additional revenue streams, the ability of the Company to increase production of mineralized material from El Cubo, El Pinguico and external sources to successfully ramp-up production to 100% capacity of the El Cubo mill and the timing and schedule thereof; the Company's ability to restart production from the El Pinguico mine, the Company's future development and production activities; estimates of mineral resources and the accessibility, attractiveness, mineral content and metallurgical characteristics thereof; the opportunities for future exploration, development and production at El Cubo and El Pinguico and the proposed exploration, development and production programs therefor and the timing and costs thereof; and the success related to any future exploration, development and/or production programs. Such forward-looking statements and information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to and assumptions made by the Company; which assumptions, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: our mineral resource estimates at El Cubo and El Pinguico and the assumptions upon which they are based, including geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock conforming to sampled results and metallurgical performance; available tonnage of mineralized material to be mined and processed; resource grades and recoveries; assumptions and discount rates being appropriately applied to production estimates; success of the Company's combined El Cubo / El Pinguico operation; the Company's ability to secure external sources of mineralized material for processing, prices for silver and gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements and information are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, currency rate fluctuations, actual results of exploration, development and production activities, actual resource grades and recoveries of silver and gold, availability of third party mineralized material for processing, unanticipated geological or structural formations and characteristics, environmental risks, future prices of gold, silver and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, equipment or personnel delays, delays in obtaining governmental or regulatory approvals and permits, inadequate insurance, and other risks in the mining industry. There are no assurances that GSilver will be able to successfully ramp-up and maintain production at the El Cubo mill to process mineralized materials to produce silver and gold concentrate in the amounts, grades, recoveries, costs and timetable anticipated. In addition, GSilver's decision to process mineralized material from its estimated resources at El Cubo and above and underground stockpiles at El Pinguico through the El Cubo mill is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and therefore is subject to increased uncertainty and risk of failure, both economically and technically. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them, and may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing, and other relevant issues. There are no assurances that the results of the Company's 2021 preliminary economic assessment and projected production of silver and gold will be realized. There is also uncertainty about the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern and the impact they will have on the Company's operations, supply chains, ability to access El Pinguico and/or El Cubo or procure equipment, contractors and other personnel on a timely basis or at all and economic activity in general. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com including the Company's annual information form for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by law. SOURCE: Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681187/GSilver-Begins-Processing-Third-Party-Silver-and-Gold-Mineralized-Material TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / Lumira Ventures, a leading North American healthcare venture capital firm, today announced the promotion of Dr. Lu Han, Ph.D., to Partner and the appointments of Dr. Suman Rao, Ph.D. as an Associate and Dr. Ai Li (Alice) Luo, Ph.D. as an Analyst. This expansion of the Lumira Ventures investment team follows a year in which the firm raised over US$370 million (C$450 million) via three new investment vehicles: Lumira Ventures IV, Angelini Lumira Biosciences, L.P., and LAVA Medtech Acquisition Corp. Dr. Han joined Lumira Ventures in 2014 as an Analyst and was later promoted to Director, Business Development Asia Pacific, and then to Principal. Since joining the firm, he has led or co-led the sourcing, evaluation and management of investments in numerous biotherapeutics companies. He currently serves on the boards of AmacaThera Inc. and Deka Biosciences and is an observer on the board of several other Lumira portfolio companies. He has been actively engaged on behalf of the firm and its portfolio companies on strategic initiatives in Asia and he oversees several important corporate/strategic relationships for Lumira. In 2021 Dr. Han launched Lumira's Venture Innovation Program (Lumira VIP), an immersive 6-12 month program designed to offer accomplished Canadian students from all backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented within the venture capital industry, the opportunity to participate in the full lifecycle of life sciences venture innovation and investment. Prior to joining Lumira, Dr. Han was a co-founder and VP, Business Strategy and Operations, at Sound Options Tinnitus Treatment Inc., and he also held positions at the Ontario Brain Institute and The Hospital for Sick Children. He earned a B.Sc. in medical sciences from Western University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Toronto. He is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese. During the first half of this year Dr. Han will be relocating to Vancouver, British Columbia, joining Venture Partner Richard Glickman, where he will continue to expand and build the firm's presence in Western Canada and the U.S. Northwest. Dr. Suman Rao joined Lumira Ventures in Toronto in 2021 after serving as a Senior Associate Consultant at L.E.K. Consulting in Boston, where she advised biopharma and biotechnology clients on portfolio expansion, growth opportunities, therapeutic area prioritization and other strategy-related solutions in the life sciences sector. Previously she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, applying chemical proteomic, biochemical and cellular techniques to study signaling pathways driving growth and proliferation in cancer cells. Dr. Rao received her B.Sc. in biochemistry and her Ph.D. in experimental medicine from McGill University. Dr. Alice Luo joins Lumira's Toronto office as a full-time member of the firm after being selected in 2021 as part of the inaugural class of the Lumira Venture Innovation Program. During her tenure as a VIP she worked closely with the Lumira team, and her commitment to excellence, ability to quickly identify and engage on the key issues and work collaboratively with founders, co-investors and the entire Lumira team made her transition to a full-time role in 2022 seamless. Prior to joining the firm she was a Fellow with HaloHealth, a Canadian physician angel group, where she evaluated investment opportunities in Canadian and U.S. health technology start-us. Dr. Luo holds a Ph.D. in pulmonary regenerative medicine and a M.Sc. and B.Sc. in immunology and medical sciences, all from the University of Toronto. "We are pleased to recognize Lu's significant contributions since joining Lumira in 2014, and excited to welcome Suman and Alice to the team as well," said Peter van der Velden, Managing General Partner. "2021 was all about building our platform and expanding our franchise. The addition of significant new funds under management and the building of a team that now comprises 21 investment professionals, operations staff and special advisors means that we are extremely well-positioned to leverage our platform and growing franchise as we continue to support world-class entrepreneurs pioneering best-in-class biomedical innovations across Canada and the U.S." About Lumira Ventures Lumira Ventures is a North American healthcare venture capital firm with decades of experience investing in and helping to build transformative biomedical companies. We are a multi-stage investor that partners with mission-driven entrepreneurs and like-minded investors to build innovative healthcare companies. These companies are harnessing rapidly evolving innovations in genomics, cell therapy, gene therapy, bioengineering, robotics and artificial intelligence to develop high impact, often transformative products for patients while generating exceptional returns for our investors and meaningful economic value to society. To date, Lumira's companies have brought dozens of biomedical innovations to the market, impacting the lives of over 1 billion patients worldwide. Lumira Ventures manages its activities from offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Boston. For more information, please visit www.lumiraventures.com Media Inquiries: info@lumira.vc www.lumiraventures.com SOURCE: Lumira Ventures View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681167/Lumira-Ventures-Announces-Promotion-of-Lu-Han-PhD-to-Partner-and-Team-Expansion TAMPA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) today announced Yijun "Jenny" Wang has been named SVP-Global Strategic Marketing, Head of China and India, and joins the company's Senior Leadership Team effective January 1, 2022. Wang, current VP-Global Strategic Marketing, leads pricing strategy and product placement for phosphate and potash globally, strategic market and analysis, brand marketing, new product commercialization, and Mosaic's distribution businesses in China and India. Wang has also served on the Board of Directors at Canpotex for two years. "Jenny's expertise in the global agriculture market has played a key role in Mosaic's strategy for the past 10 years," said President and CEO Joc O'Rourke. "Her leadership will be critical to Mosaic's global positioning as the industry continues to evolve and we expand our distribution business in China and India." Prior to joining Mosaic in 2011, Wang held various leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, Strategy and Business Development, Global Product Management and as Country Managing Director at Syngenta for 16 years in China, Vietnam and its global headquarters in Switzerland. Wang earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Sun Yat-sen University and a Master of Biology degree from South China Agriculture University. She graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. About The Mosaic Company The Mosaic Company is one of the world's leading producers and marketers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Mosaic is a single-source provider of phosphate and potash fertilizers and feed ingredients for the global agriculture industry. More information on the company is available at www.mosaicco.com. Media Ben Pratt The Mosaic Company 813-775-4206 benjamin.pratt@mosaicco.com Investors Paul Massoud The Mosaic Company 813-775-4260 investor@mosaicco.com SOURCE: The Mosaic Company View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681189/The-Mosaic-Company-Names-Jenny-Wang-to-Senior-Leadership-Team KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia has reported another 123 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and 88 of them are those returning from the Umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Thursday. Khairy said the country has detected 245 Omicron cases, of which 233 are imported and 12 are local transmissions. Some 157, or 64.08 percent of the total, are those returning from Saudi Arabia, he told a press conference. While those infected with the Omicron variant have mostly presented mild symptoms, Khairy warned that a surge in cases would place the country's recovering healthcare system under renewed stress. "The problem is the high infectivity of Omicron," he said. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSXV: BRC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its initial metallurgical test work on the Tonopah West high-grade, epithermal silver-gold vein system located along the prolific Walker Lane trend of Western Nevada. Results show that the silver-gold mineralization at the project appears to be amenable to standard cyanidation processing with average recoveries of 95% gold and 87% silver. HIGHLIGHTS: Twelve composites from 6 of the veins on the Tonopah West project returned an average gold recovery of 95% and an average silver recovery of 87%; Gold recoveries range between 90% to 98%, and the silver recoveries range between 81% and 94%; The Merten vein, the largest vein in the DPB resource area, returned an average gold recovery of 96% and a silver recovery of 90%; The high-grade Bermuda vein yielded average recoveries of 93.5% for gold and 91% for silver; and The DPB maiden resource is on track for Q1 2022. Andrew Pollard, the Company's President and CEO, stated, "Initial metallurgical testwork at the project has yielded very high silver and gold recoveries that appear amenable to cyanidation, providing highly positive implications for the future development potential of the project. Historically, the Tonopah Extension Mining Company had a 60-stamp mill, which gave us a good indication that the metallurgy would be amenable to standard processing methods. This indication has now been confirmed with testwork showing excellent metal recoveries, representing a significant milestone in our crusade to quickly advance and de-risk the project. The two largest, and most important structures for us within the DPB resource area, the Merten and Bermuda veins, also returned the highest metallurgical recoveries. The results will support and inform our maiden resource estimate on our DPB vein corridor, anticipated for Q1, 2022." A total of twelve vein composites were assembled and delivered to Kappes and Cassidy (KCA) in Reno, Nevada. KCA completed cyanide bottle roll leach tests to test the initial metallurgical characteristics of the Tonopah West high-grade, epithermal silver-gold vein system. A low- and high-grade composite was created for each of the Victor, Denver, Paymaster, Bermuda, Merten and Mule veins. The metallurgical test returned average recoveries 95% for gold, and 87% for silver. The gold recoveries range between 90% to 98%, and the silver recoveries range between 81% and 94%. These test results compare favorably to the historic recoveries achieved in the Tonopah district when gold and silver were liberated using stamp mills. Blackrock project geologists constructed a set of low-grade and high-grade composites for each of the major veins in the DPB and Victors areas. The low-grade (LG) composite was assembled from coarse drill reject material based on gold and silver assays with a calculated silver equivalent (AgEq) grade of greater than 150 g/t AgEq, but less than 300 g/t AgEq. The high-grade (HG) composite was created of similar coarse reject material based on gold and silver assays with a calculated silver equivalent (AgEq) grade of greater than 300 g/t AgEq. The silver equivalent grade was calculated by using the silver assay added to the gold assay times 100. Table 1 shows the recoveries and associated parameters for the gold in each composite. Table 2 shows the corresponding silver recovery for each composite and the associated parameters of the bottle roll leach test. An average of the HG and LG recoveries is calculated in the last column of each table. Table 1: Bottle Roll Leach Tests for Gold in Tonopah West Composites Description Head Average, gms Au/MT Calculated Head, gms Au/MT Extracted, gms Au/MT Avg. Tails, gms Au/MT Au Recovery % Consumption NaCN, kg/MT Addition Ca(OH) 2 , kg/MT Average Au Recovery % Bermuda HG 6.429 5.862 5.627 0.235 96% 1.03 1.02 93.5% Bermuda LG 0.994 0.938 0.854 0.084 91% 0.48 1.02 Denver HG 4.526 4.439 4.248 0.190 96% 0.94 1.02 93.0% Denver LG 0.823 0.884 0.796 0.087 90% 0.35 1.02 Merten HG 7.663 7.490 7.325 0.165 98% 0.89 0.76 96.0% Merten LG 1.183 1.096 1.029 0.067 94% 0.47 1.02 Mule HG 7.680 7.202 7.022 0.180 98% 0.92 0.76 97.0% Mule LG 1.457 1.349 1.294 0.055 96% 0.67 0.76 Paymaster HG 2.349 2.397 2.323 0.074 97% 0.97 0.76 96.0% Paymaster LG 1.200 1.159 1.097 0.062 95% 0.53 0.76 Victor HG 3.549 3.709 3.652 0.057 98% 1.02 0.76 97.0% Victor LG 1.226 1.184 1.135 0.049 96% 0.39 1.02 Average 3.256 3.142 3.034 0.109 95% 0.72 0.89 95% Minimum 0.823 0.884 0.796 0.049 90% 0.35 0.76 93% Maximum 7.680 7.490 7.325 0.235 98% 1.03 1.02 97% Table 2: Bottle Roll Leach Tests for Silver in Tonopah West Composites Description Head Average, gms Ag/MT Calculated Head, gms Ag/MT Extracted, gms Ag/MT Avg. Tails, gms Ag/MT Ag Recovery, % Consumption NaCN, kg/MT Addition Ca(OH) 2 , kg/MT Average Ag Recovery, % Bermuda HG 95.69 102.36 96.41 5.95 94% 1.03 1.02 91.0% Bermuda LG 98.57 106.84 93.59 13.25 88% 0.48 1.02 Denver HG 120.46 123.85 111.60 12.26 90% 0.94 1.02 89.5% Denver LG 110.83 128.02 113.65 14.37 89% 0.35 1.02 Merten HG 91.53 100.63 89.63 11.01 89% 0.89 0.76 90.0% Merten LG 100.58 104.19 94.62 9.57 91% 0.47 1.02 Mule HG 434.57 442.12 384.93 57.19 87% 0.92 0.76 84.0% Mule LG 444.00 448.01 363.63 84.38 81% 0.67 0.76 Paymaster HG 614.40 602.88 489.64 113.25 81% 0.97 0.76 85.0% Paymaster LG 213.09 210.33 187.39 22.94 89% 0.53 0.76 Victor HG 533.14 500.95 426.94 74.01 85% 1.02 0.76 83.0% Victor LG 496.37 495.93 400.71 95.22 81% 0.39 1.02 Average 279.44 280.51 237.73 42.78 87% 0.72 0.89 87% Minimum 91.53 100.63 89.63 5.95 81% 0.35 0.76 83% Maximum 614.40 602.88 489.64 113.25 94% 1.03 1.02 91% All composites were leached for 96 hours on 45 micron material. Based on these attractive initial results, the Company plans additional metallurgical testwork after its maiden resource estimate is completed. Blackrock's exploration activities at the Tonopah North Project are being conducted and supervised by Mr. William Howald, Executive Chairman of Blackrock Silver Corp. Mr. William Howald, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #11041, is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. About Blackrock Silver Corp. Blackrock is a junior precious metals focused exploration company that is on a quest to make an economic discovery. Anchored by a seasoned Board, the Company is focused on its Nevada portfolio of properties consisting of low-sulphidation epithermal gold & silver projects located along the established Northern Nevada Rift in north-central Nevada and the Walker Lane trend in western Nevada. With over 110,00 metres of drilling completed at our flagship Tonopah West silver-gold project, the company plans to deliver a maiden resource estimate in Q1, 2022. For further information, please contact: Andrew Pollard, President & CEO Blackrock Silver Corp. Phone: 604 817-6044 Email: andrew@blackrocksilver.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements concern the Company's strategic plans, completion and exercise of the Tonopah option agreement, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs, estimates of mineralization from drilling, geological information projected from sampling results and the potential quantities and grades of the target zones. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; future operating costs; and the historical basis for current estimates of potential quantities and grades of target zones. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors including the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and uncertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds; failure to delineate potential quantities and grades of the target zones based on historical data, the impact of COVID 19 on operations and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109195 Now valued at 1.82B, the startup aims to strengthen its position in its current markets PayFit, a leading payroll and HR management solution for SMEs, today announced that it has raised 254M in a Series E funding round, a record-breaking amount for a French human resources (HR) startup. General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, led the round, with participation from existing investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and Accel Ventures. PayFit plans to use the funds to recruit additional top talent, accelerate the development of innovative new products, and increase its market share across Europe. PayFit's mission is to simplify payroll and HR management, which has become even more important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many complexities it has introduced for companies in managing human capital. The company provides a leading next-gen payroll solution that automates complex and time-intensive HR processes, particularly for the underserved small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and micro-SME segment. PayFit's proprietary technology platform enables HR managers to easily conduct payroll calculations in markets with complex regulatory requirements, a key differentiator amidst the fast-growing market for HR technology. Since its founding in 2015, PayFit has gained over 6,000 clients, and has raised 179M to date, prior to this funding round. Its 90M Series D funding round, which closed in March, supported the company in the continued innovation of its current product suite and hiring of 300 new employees, reinforcing its leadership in the European HR tech sector. Based in France, PayFit has successfully expanded into three additional major European markets Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom and plans to scale from more than 700 current employees to over 1,000 within the next 12 months. The expansion of the PayFit team has included key senior leadership hires across critical business functions spanning technology, finance, operations, and more. PayFit will leverage the proceeds from its Series E round to deepen its penetration in existing markets, invest in its core automated payroll software offering, and continue to expand its SME-tailored solution across HR management by complementing leaves/absences and expenses with interview assessment functionality, among other features to be launched in 2022. Firmin Zocchetto, CEO and cofounder of PayFit explained: "PayFit's expansion beyond France into the UK, Spain and Germany demonstrated further validation of our innovative offering and our capacity to scale up. As we look ahead, we plan to use these new funds to deepen our presence in our existing markets, where we have significant growth potential. At PayFit, we are proud to have built a company with strong foundations, where people are happy to work and that can have a real impact on our clients. This Series E funding will allow us to maintain the rapid growth we have achieved since our founding." Chris Caulkin, Managing Director and Head of Technology for EMEA at General Atlantic, commented: "PayFit has built an innovative and disruptive product supporting the payroll and HR management needs of SMBs across Europe. We see great opportunities ahead for the company as it extends its product offering and continues to capture market share in France and across Europe. We are delighted to support PayFit and its management team in this next chapter of growth." PayFit marks General Atlantic's seventh investment in France's technology ecosystem over the last five years, a region in which the firm has strong conviction. About PayFit Launched in 2015 by Firmin Zocchetto, Ghislain de Fontenay and Florian Fournier, PayFit revolutionizes and simplifies payroll and HR processes for companies. Fast, intuitive and automated, PayFit allows employers to easily and independently manage payroll and human resources, saving them valuable time and allowing employees to access a dedicated online space. The company's ambition is to support the digital transformation of human resources in companies through a 100% reliable SaaS solution that provides a unique experience for its users. More info: payfit.com About General Atlantic General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $86 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2021, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. More info: generalatlantic.com About Eurazeo Eurazeo is a leading global investment group, with a diversified portfolio of 21.8 billion in Assets Under Management, including 15.0 billion from third parties, invested in over 450 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid. More info: eurazeo.com About Bpifrance and Large Venture Bpifrance's equity investments are carried out by Bpifrance Investissement. Bpifrance finances companies at every stage of their development in credit, collateral and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation projects and internationally. Bpifrance also ensures their export activity through a wide range of products. Consulting, university, networking and acceleration programs for start-ups, SMEs and ETIs are also part of the offer proposed to entrepreneurs. Thanks to Bpifrance and its 49 regional offices, entrepreneurs benefit from a close, unique and efficient contact to help them face their challenges. With 1.75 billion, Large Venture is Bpifrance's venture growth fund dedicated to high-potential technology companies, with the aim of fostering the emergence of French champions, future world leaders in their markets. Large Venture is active in governance and has a long-term vision. It is always in a co-investment approach with a lead or follower positioning. Large Venture participates in fundraising projects of more than 20m with a minimum initial investment of 10m. The fund has already invested in more than 55 companies since its creation in 2013. More info: bpifrance.fr About Accel Partners Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Arista, Atlassian, Braintree, Celonis, CrowdStrike, Deliveroo, DJI, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Freshworks, Jet, Kayak, Lynda.com, Qualtrics, Rovio, Rows, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Swiggy, Tenable, UiPath, Venmo and Webflow are among the companies the firm has backed over the past 35+ years. We help ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. More info: accel.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005381/en/ Contacts: Media Emily Japlon Casey Gunkel General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Quantum eMotion Corp. (TSXV: QNC) (OTCQB: QNCCF) (FSE: 34Q) ("QeM" or the "Company") today announced that its CEO Francis Bellido is exercising his right to purchase Company shares in the amount of $300,000 by exercising a total of 2,000,000 warrants. QeM will receive the totality of $300,000 from these warrants. In the past few months several other investors exercised 11,285,000 warrants for proceeds to QeM of an additional $1,692,750. 'After one year at the helm of Quantum eMotion, I remain totally committed to its future. This investment of capital reflects my confidence in QeM's growth trajectory and the view that the Company's current share price is undervalued compared to the milestones achieved to-date, as well as the opportunities that lie ahead," stated Francis Bellido, CEO of QeM. "With these proceeds from the warrant exercise the Company is in an excellent financial footing and has additional flexibility to execute its business plan and to further expand its ambition pipeline of post-quantum Cybersecurity solutions." Francis Bellido added, "I encourage all the QeM's warrant-holders not to miss this opportunity and to consider exercising their warrants before they expire on January 15th, 2022." About QeM The Company's mission is to address the growing demand for affordable hardware security for connected devices. The patented solution for a Quantum Random Number Generator exploits the built-in unpredictability of quantum mechanics and promises to provide enhanced security for protecting high value assets and critical systems. The Company intends to target the highly valued Financial Services, Blockchain Applications, Cloud-Based IT Security Infrastructure, Classified Government Networks and Communication Systems, Secure Device Keying (IOT, Automotive, Consumer Electronics) and Quantum Cryptography. For further information, please contact: Francis Bellido, Chief Executive Officer Tel: 514.956.2525 Email: info@quantumemotion.com Website: www.quantumemotion.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in the Corporation's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Quantum from time to time with securities regulatory authorities. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109247 Resource Drilling Focused on Shallow Mineralization Proximal to Bethania Mine Workings 63% of Indicated Silver Equivalent* Resource Estimate Located Above Historical Production Adit (4670 Level) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Kuya Silver Corporation (CSE: KUYA) (OTCQB: KUYAF) (FSE: 6MR1) (the "Company" or "Kuya Silver") is pleased to announce its first-ever mineral resource estimate on the Bethania Silver Project (the "Project"), focused on the historical mine area where most of the Company's shallow diamond drilling took place during the 2021 Phase 1 exploration program. The resource estimate consists of 18 different veins all located within the original mine area and includes data collected from the 2021 ("Phase One") 5,000 metre diamond drilling program as well as previously collected underground rock chip samples. The mineral resource estimate is reported in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Definition Standards (2014) incorporated by reference in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The mineral resource estimate is solely focused on the main Bethania Mine area, with no mineral resource estimates for the newly identified and proximal Hilltop Zone. Highlights of the initial mineral resource estimate include: Indicated resources of 5,858,521 oz silver equivalent* at an average grade of 451 g/t silver equivalent contained in 404,000 tonnes. Inferred resources of 8,006,431 oz silver equivalent* at an average grade of 356 g/t silver equivalent contained in 700,000 tonnes. Silver represents 74% of the gross metal value* in the Indicated resource and 70% of the gross metal value* in the Inferred resource. Approximately 63% of the Indicated silver equivalent ounces are located above the main historical production adit level (4670 Level). Significant resources contained above the 4670 Level, including approximately 56% of the Indicated tonnes and 34% of the Inferred tonnes. Identified three main mineralized structures that control the 18 veins included in the mineral resource estimate. The resource model extends to a maximum depth of 230 m from surface in the 12 de Mayo vein, 200 m in the Espanola vein and 180 m in the Victoria vein. All three vein systems appear to be similarly important in controlling silver mineralization and remain open along strike and at depth. Average diamond drill hole length in the 2021 drilling program was approximately 140 metres. *for AgEq or silver equivalent calculations and other critical assumptions see "Mineral Resource Estimation Methodology" section. David Stein, President and CEO of Kuya Silver stated, "We are very excited to have our first-ever mineral resource estimate which has exceeded our expectations for the initial Phase One drilling program. The data collected to date will help guide the exploration strategy as well as the design for the underground development of Bethania. This is a great start to our growing silver project. The quality of our understanding of the Bethania resource potential has increased considerably as we have now identified numerous other veins and their spatial relationship to one another. This understanding will be hugely important as we continue to explore these veins at depth and along strike towards the northeast." Christian Aramayo, Kuya Silver's COO added, "The amount of mineralized material estimated to be above the current mine workings is a pleasant surprise. While this initial mineral resource estimate confirmed our understanding of the mine geology, our drilling to date has been relatively shallow and we look forward to exploring the Bethania vein system at depth in the next campaign while ramping up development in preparation for planned future production." Table 1: Initial Mineral Resource Estimate Statement, Bethania Silver Project, Peru Table 1 To view an enhanced version of Table 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/109191_kuya1.jpg Mineral Resource Estimate Methodology The independent Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource Estimate, as defined by NI 43-101, is Mr. Simon Mortimer (FAIG #7795) of Atticus Geoscience Peru. The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is December 10, 2021. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred and Indicated Resources in this Mineral Resource Estimate are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred and Indicated Resources as Measured, however it is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Measured Mineral Resources with continued exploration. A cut-off grade of 100 g/t silver equivalent ("AgEq") was applied in the reporting of the resource model, which used a minimum block size of 0.60 metres to reflect the minimum mining width applied at this deposit. The cut-off was determined as an approximate break-even cost calculated from known historical mining and recovery costs. Geological and block models for the Mineral Resource Estimate used data from a total of 33 surface drill holes, completed by the Company, and historical underground sampling collected by previous operators. The drill hole database was validated prior to resource estimation and QA/QC checks were made using industry-standard control charts for blanks, core duplicates and commercial certified reference material inserted into assay batches by Kuya. Mineral resource estimates in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 have been rounded to two significant figures. The Mineral Resource Estimate was calculated on the basis of 18 modelled veins which were grouped into three vein systems based on the current understanding of the major structures controlling silver mineralization. The Mineral Resource Estimate statement excludes material that has been mined out and the material in the upper levels of the mine that may not be extracted based on expected requirements for mine safety. Silver equivalent (AgEq) was calculated using the following commodity prices: Au (USD/oz) $1,849.78, Ag (USD/oz) $25.44, Pb (USD/t) $1,981.79, Zn (USD/t) $2,658.62, and Cu (USD/t) $7,971. The recovery factors (%) used in the calculation of the Mineral Resource Estimate were: Au at 0.4439; Ag at 0.9324; Pb at 0.9449; Zn at 0.9265; Cu at 0.8829. The Mineral Resource Estimate was prepared following the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (November 29, 2019). The development of the Mineral Resources that are the subject of the Mineral Resource Estimate may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, and other relevant risks. For additional information on risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company and the development of its mineral projects, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's Amended and Restated Annual Information Form dated October 15, 2021 for the year ended December 31, 2020 ("AIF"), which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The risk factors identified in the AIF are not intended to represent a complete list of factors that could affect the Company or the development of its mineral projects. Eighteen veins were modelled in the mineral resource estimate ("MRE"), which have been grouped into three vein systems based on the current understanding of the major structures controlling mineralization (Table 2). Table 2: Mineral Resource by Vein System Table 2 To view an enhanced version of Table 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/109191_kuya2.jpg The three vein systems, which comprise 18 resource-hosting veins and 2 vein structures, appear to have strong structural controls along the broadly NE-SW trend of the concession, with various veins locally branching off the main structures. The Espanola Vein system includes eight veins: Espanola, Espanola Footwall Branch (RFW), Carolina, Carolina II, Betsaida, Maria, Maria Footwall Branch (RFW), and Maria Footwall Branch 1 (RFW1), as well as the Carolina Footwall Branch (RFW) which is identified as a structure but currently contains no resources. The 12 de Mayo Vein system includes eight veins: 12 de Mayo, 12 de Mayo South, 12 de Mayo Footwall Branch (RFW), 12 de Mayo Footwall Branch 1 (RFW1), 12 de Mayo Hangingwall Branch (RHW), 12 de Mayo South Footwall Branch (RFW), 12 de Mayo South Hangingwall Branch (RHW), and New Vein, as well as the New Vein Footwall Branch (RFW) which is identified as a structure but currently contains no resources. The Victoria Vein system includes two veins: Victoria and Yolanda. By analyzing the current MRE by elevation, approximately 56% of the indicated tonnes and approximately 63% of the Indicated silver equivalent ounces are located above the mine's 4670 Level (Table 3). Approximately 66% of the Inferred tonnes and 65% of the Inferred silver equivalent ounces are located below the mine's 4670 Level. The 4670 Level was the main production adit level prior to the mine suspending operations in 2016, with minimal development and production occurring below that level. A significant portion of the current MRE is located in the upper levels of the historical mine (above the 4670 Level) while the mineral resources remain open at depth. Table 3: Mineral Resources Above/Below the 4670 Mine Level Table 3 To view an enhanced version of Table 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/109191_kuya3.jpg Figure 1: Espanola Vein long section showing historical workings, 2021 estimated block model grades (Indicated/Inferred only), and 2021 drill hole traces. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/109191_159a740514315b46_004full.jpg Figure 2: 12 de Mayo Vein long section showing historical workings, 2021 estimated block model grades (Indicated/Inferred only), and 2021 drill hole traces. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/109191_159a740514315b46_005full.jpg Figure 3: Victoria Vein long section showing historical workings, 2021 estimated block model grades (Indicated/Inferred only), and 2021 drill hole traces. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/109191_159a740514315b46_006full.jpg Data Verification Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans (P.Geo., APGO #1083), Principal Author, visited the Bethania Silver Project on 15 June 2019. The purpose of the site visit was to observe mine and general Property conditions, surficial geology, underground geology and mining procedures, proposed sites for the processing plant and related equipment, and sites for any exploration work including historical surface trenching and excavation (past mining), inclusive of associated quality assurance/quality control. During the 2019 site visit by Dr. Jobin-Bevans, a total of five rock samples were collected from five of the main veins, either from surface exposures or from underground workings. Mr. Simon Mortimer (MAusIMM, FAIG), consulting geologist (Atticus Consulting S.A.C.) visited the Bethania Silver Project from the 24 to 27 May 2021. The purpose of the site visit was to observe the processes and protocols in place for the collection of geological data - the geological logging, the capture of data in digital format, the selection, taking, and registering of samples, the associated quality assurance/quality control and the transport and storage of the samples; to visit the drill pads and observe the procedures in place for the extraction of the core and delivery to the logging shed; and to review the drill core, the surface geology and map some of the principal structures, contacts and outcropping veins. The QPs have reviewed the historical data and information regarding past exploration, development work, and historical mining on the Property as provided by Kuya. Kuya was entirely cooperative in supplying the QPs with all the information and data requested and there were no limitations or failures to conduct the verification and so it was concluded that information in the database is suitable for mineral resource estimation. Past mine production data as reported to the Ministry of Energy and Mines during the period 2013-2016 is evidence that the mine was worked to accepted standards, and although it should be recognised that geological data relating this last period of mine working lacks QA/QC support, mine mapping and sampling is noted to be of a high standard, and the QPs are confident that this data can be used for guidance in the planning of future work programs and for the purposes of geological modelling and inclusion in the current MRE. The sampling of, and assay data from, the drill core was monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance/quality control ("QA/QC") program designed to follow industry best practice. See the technical report titled, "Independent Technical Report on the Bethania Silver Project, Department of Huancavelica, Province of Huancavelica, District of Acobambilla, Peru", dated 29 September 2021, for additional information on the QA/QC program and results. National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure Mr. Simon Mortimer (FAIG #7795) of Atticus Geoscience Peru, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release pertaining to the Bethania Silver Project mineral resource estimate. The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Scott Jobin-Bevans, PhD, PMP, P.Geo. Both persons are independent Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Kuya Silver Corporation Kuya Silver is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with a focus on acquiring, exploring, and advancing precious metals assets in Peru and Canada. For more information, please contact the Company at: Kuya Silver Corporation Telephone: (604) 398-4493 info@kuyasilver.com www.kuyasilver.com Reader Advisory This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information," including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may," "would," "could," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "must," "next," "potential," "progress," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109191 Assurant (NYSE:AIZ), a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases, today announced the expansion of its partnership with the Telefonica Group to provide a comprehensive trade-in program, which will include on-device app and web browser based diagnostics, trade-in services, and device pricing analytics across all their distribution channels owned stores, dealers, online channel and third-party dealers. Telefonica will provide access to trade-in services for smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearables and hearables using Assurant's patented proprietary platform, which features remote on device app- and web browser-based diagnostics and trade-in transaction management. Following Assurant's acquisition of HYLA Mobile, a leading provider of smartphone software, trade-in and upgrade services, Telefonica will access advanced, market-leading trade-in technology. "Trade-in programs are an integral part of the device lifecycle, in addition to supporting the upgrade process, especially as more consumers switch to 5G devices," said Biju Nair, President of Global Connected Living at Assurant. "The combination of our patented software technology and trade-in platform with our end-to-end mobile device lifecycle management capabilities enables us to develop innovations and promote sustainable practices that benefit Telefonica and its customers." Assurant will partner with Telefonica across its geographical footprint, including its strategic markets in Spain, UK, Germany and Brazil, where Telefonica is a market leader. Telefonica serves more than 360 million customers around the world. "As a market leader for device trade-in with proven innovative and seamless digital platforms and global supply chain disposition capabilities, Assurant is providing the Telefonica Group with advanced, leading-edge solutions to deliver a best-in-class customer experience in each of our markets," said Fernando Valero, Global Supply Chain Director, Telefonica. Trade-in programs help consumers by putting money back in their pockets in exchange for their used devices, benefit wireless providers by increasing customer retention and reduce environmental impact by keeping millions of used phones out of landfills. In 2020 alone, Assurant recycled approximately 1.5 million phones, resulting in the recovery of an estimated 23,815 kilos of copper, 525 kilos of silver, 51 kilos of gold and 22 kilos of palladium. These precious metals were kept from being discarded in landfills and helped to reduce the need for new mining of materials. About Assurant Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) is a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases. Anticipating the evolving needs of consumers, Assurant partners with the world's leading brands to develop innovative products and services and to deliver an enhanced customer experience. A Fortune 500 company with a presence in 21 countries, Assurant offers mobile device solutions; extended service contracts; vehicle protection services; renters insurance; lender-placed insurance products; and other specialty products. The Assurant Foundation strengthens communities by supporting charitable partners that help protect where people live and can thrive, connect with local resources, inspire inclusion and prepare leaders of the future. Learn more at assurant.com or on Twitter @AssurantNews View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005110/en/ Contacts: Media: Linda Recupero Senior Vice President, Enterprise Communication Phone: 201.519.9773 linda.recupero@assurant.com Investor Relations Contacts: Suzanne Shepherd Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Sustainability Phone: 201.788.4324 suzanne.shepherd@assurant.com Sean Moshier Assistant Vice President, Investor Relations Phone: 914.204.2253 sean.moshier@assurant.com The Rohatyn Group ("TRG"), an asset management firm with expertise in emerging markets and real assets, announced today that it is appointing Colin Clark and Erik Kankainen as Partners. Mr. Clark, who is based in London, leads TRG's private equity investments in Europe across a wide range of sectors. Mr. Kankainen, who is based in Boston, is responsible for the management and financial analysis of TRG's Northern Hemisphere timber and agriculture investments. Mr. Clark and Mr. Kankainen joined the firm following the acquisitions of Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI) in 2013 and GMO Renewable Resources (GMORR) in 2017, respectively. TRG Partner and Head of Private Markets Miguel Gutierrez said: "The addition of Colin reflects our expectation that the CEE region, along with broader peripheral Europe, offers highly compelling investment opportunities and will continue to do so in the years to come. Colin has vast experience with complex transactions, and developed and implemented a pioneering East to West European private equity strategy." TRG Partner and Head of Forestry and Agriculture Mike Claridge said: "Erik's unparalleled experience in and knowledge of the timber sector has been instrumental in growing TRG's forestry and agriculture practice. Erik has helped build out a rigorous investment management model well suited to the rapidly changing landscape for the forestry asset class." TRG CEO Nick Rohatyn added: "Erik and Colin both exemplify TRG's collaborative, entrepreneurial, and determined culture. Their unique experiences contribute highly complementary perspectives and skillsets to the TRG partnership, and we are proud to recognize their hard work and talent." Mr. Clark has over 20 years of private equity experience in Europe spanning buy-outs and growth capital investments. He currently serves on the Amethyst Radiotherapy, Optimapharm, Prestige and Tallink Boards of Directors. Prior to joining TRG in December 2013, Mr. Clark was a Partner at CVCI and a member of the investment team from 2003. Before CVCI, Mr. Clark originated and structured project finance transactions for Citi across the EMEA region. From 1996 to 2000, he worked with Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh in various positions in project finance and acquisition finance. Mr. Kankainen has over 15 years of experience in timber investing. Prior to its acquisition by TRG in December 2017, Mr. Kankainen was a forest investment manager for GMORR. Before joining GMORR in 2012, he was a Senior Economist in Bioenergy at Forest Economic Advisors and a Senior Analyst in Timber at RISI, Inc. About TRG Founded in 2002, The Rohatyn Group is an asset management firm focused on emerging markets and real assets headquartered in New York, with a global presence in 18 cities across the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. For more information, please visit www.rohatyngroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005120/en/ Contacts: TRG: Julie Rudnick/Columbia Clancy Sard Verbinnen Co TRG-SVC@SARDVERB.com Amara's organic plant-based baby food is now available in Loblaws locations nationwide across Canada, tapping demand for consumers seeking delicious, convenient, plant-based foods for their growing families. Eat Well Investment Group Inc., the "Company" or "Eat Well Group" or "EWG") (CN:EWG) (US:EWGFF) (FRA:6BC0) is pleased to announce that it's majority-owned portfolio company, Amara Organic Foods ("Amara"), one of the fastest-growing baby food brands in America, is now available nationwide across Canada in Loblaws Inc. ("Loblaws") (TSX:L). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005357/en/ Amara Organic Foods (Photo: Business Wire) Established in 1919, the Loblaws group of companies have over 2,400 locations across Canada and are one of North America's leading grocery and pharmacy chains. "We are incredibly excited to see Amara add another premier distribution point in Loblaws, one of Canada's most well-known and established grocery stores. We look forward to seeing Amara become a house-hold name as it continues to rapidly disrupt legacy baby and toddler food brands," stated Marc Aneed, Director and CEO of Eat Well Group. "We expect our revenue from our CPG investments to equate to approximately 25-35% of our anticipated $90-110M projected 2022 revenue," continued Aneed. National distribution to Loblaws locations across Canada adds to Amara's strong retail footprint with distribution to many of North America's leading big-box retailers, including; Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmer's Market, and more. Amara is focused on accelerating its omnichannel sales distribution strategy and continued growth across natural health food stores and traditional big-box retailers, in addition to ecommerce. Eat Well Group's management believes Amara's growth can be attributed to the global trend of consumers seeking nutritious plant-based foods to add into their everyday lifestyles, and Amara's delicious toddler snacks and baby foods being 100% organic with excellent taste. The infant nutrition market is estimated to reach over $109 billion globally by 20271, and Amara is poised to be a leader in the plant-based segment. For 15% off and free shipping on Amara products valid until January 31, 2022, visit www.amaraorganicfoods.com and enter the code: TASTETHEDIFFERENCE15 To learn more, join Eat Well Group's mailing list for important updates. ABOUT EAT WELL GROUP Eat Well Group is a publicly-traded investment Company primarily focused on high-growth companies in the agribusiness, food tech, plant-based and ESG (environmental, social and governance) sectors. Eat Well Group's management team has an extensive record of sourcing, financing and building successful companies across a broad range of industries and maintains a current investment mandate on the health/wellness industry. The team has financed and invested in early-stage venture companies for greater than 25 years, resulting in unparalleled access to deal flow and the ability to construct a portfolio of opportunistic investments intended to generate superior risk-adjusted returns. Disclaimer for Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "likely" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may," "will," "should," "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information in this news release includes future anticipated business developments for the companies in which Eat Well Group invests. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including but not limited to the ability of the Company or its portfolio companies to execute their business plans. The Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable in the circumstances. However, forward-looking information is subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Such risks include, without limitation: the failure to negotiate and execute additional investments in target industries, the ability of the Company to complete investments in a timely manner or at all; the receipt of requisite approvals to complete the additional investments; the ability of the Company to realize the expected benefits and synergies of investments; unexpected disruptions to the operations and businesses of the Company and investee entities as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic or other disease outbreaks including a resurgence in the cases of COVID-19; the ability of the Company to comply with applicable government regulations in a regulated industry; any change in accounting practices or treatment affecting the consolidation of financial results adverse market conditions; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; costs of inputs; crop failures; litigation; currency fluctuations; competition; availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms; industry consolidation; loss of key management and/or employees; and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. For more information on the Company and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com. The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. ______________________ 1https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/05/26/2236117/0/en/Global-infant-nutrition-market-size-to-register-10-6-CAGR-by-2027.html View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005357/en/ Contacts: Eat Well Investment Group Inc. Marc Aneed, CEO ir@eatwellgroup.com www.eatwellgroup.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC) (OTCQB: FDCFF) ("Forum" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent (the "LOI") to option the drill-ready Highrock Uranium Project to Sassy Resources Corporation ("Sassy"). Forum's 100% owned Highrock property is one of eight high quality, near surface uranium projects that were drilled by Forum and partners from 2005 to 2017 (Figure 1). Cameco's former producing Key Lake mine, which extracted over 200 million pounds of uranium by open-pit methods at an average grade of 2.3% U3O8 from 1983 to 1997, is located immediately to the north of the Highrock claim boundary. Rick Mazur, President & CEO commented, "With the renewed interest in uranium as a carbon-free source of energy, Forum plans to advance its uranium portfolio by drilling some of its 100% owned projects, such as Wollaston and seeking partners for its other projects, as demonstrated by the option/joint venture with Orano on our Fir Island project and this agreement with Sassy." Ken Wheatley, Forum's Vice President, Exploration stated, "The proximity to the Key Lake mine, the strength of the conductive trend which we interpret to be the same basal graphitic unit that hosted the 200 million pound Key Lake uranium deposit and the quality of the gravity lows make this a high priority, near surface target for exploration." Highrock Highlights: Highrock is situated just outside the Athabasca Basin along the same interpreted conductive lithological unit that hosts the Key Lake deposits. The property consists of two claims covering 20 sq. km; The exploration target at Highrock is a basement-hosted deposit similar in style to NexGen Energy's Arrow deposit and Fission Uranium's Triple R deposit; Gravity surveys at Highrock have identified numerous gravity lows, some associated with zones of alteration, along a strong multi-km-long EM defined graphite conductor; Initial drilling by Forum in 2016 defined zones of chloritization, bleaching, elevated boron and other pathfinder elements (some associated with the gravity lows), which are in need of follow-up drilling (see Forum News Release dated June 1, 2016); Cameco Corporation adjoins Highrock to the east, the upper northwest and along strike to the south. Fission 3.0 has property immediately southeast of Highrock; A 10 to 12-hole drill program totaling approximately 3,000 meters is proposed to test the Highrock target areas in Q1/2022. Permitting, community engagement and procurement processes are underway. The Deal: Sassy paid Forum $50,000 cash upon signing of the binding LOI. The LOI between Sassy and Forum describes a staged earn-in under which Sassy will initially acquire a 20% interest in Highrock by paying Forum $50,000 cash, 250,000 Sassy shares (on February 2, 2022, post-Gander Gold date of record for share distribution) and completing $1,000,000 in exploration expenditures during 2022; Sassy can earn an additional 31% interest ( 51% total ) by paying $50,000 cash and 250,000 shares on or about January 2, 2023, and by providing $1,000,000 in exploration funding for 2023; ) by paying $50,000 cash and 250,000 shares on or about January 2, 2023, and by providing $1,000,000 in exploration funding for 2023; Sassy can earn an additional 19% interest ( 70% total ) by paying $50,000 cash, 250,000 shares on or about January 2, 2024 and providing $1,500,000 in exploration funding for 2024; ) by paying $50,000 cash, 250,000 shares on or about January 2, 2024 and providing $1,500,000 in exploration funding for 2024; The final 30% interest in the Property ( 100% total ) may be acquired by Sassy by paying Forum $150,000 in cash and 3,000,000 shares on or before December 31, 2025; ) may be acquired by Sassy by paying Forum $150,000 in cash and 3,000,000 shares on or before December 31, 2025; In total , to acquire 100% of Highrock , Sassy will pay $350,000 in cash, issue 3,750,000 shares and provide up to $3,500,000 in exploration funding over four years between January 3, 2022, and December 31, 2025. Should the project advance to this stage, Sassy will pay Forum $1,000,000 on delivery of a Feasibility Study and a further $3,000,000 on commencement of commercial production. Forum maintains a 1% NSR on Highrock, half of which (0.5%) can be purchased by Sassy prior to the commencement of commercial production for the sum of $1,000,000. A 1% NSR on the north claim (S-113362) is shared by third parties, half of which (0.5%) may be purchased by Sassy for the sum of $1,000,000. A 2% NSR on the south claim (MC00013262) is held by a third party and at present is not subject to a repurchase clause; , , Should the project advance to this stage, Sassy will pay Forum $1,000,000 on delivery of a Feasibility Study and a further $3,000,000 on commencement of commercial production. Forum maintains a 1% NSR on Highrock, half of which (0.5%) can be purchased by Sassy prior to the commencement of commercial production for the sum of $1,000,000. A 1% NSR on the north claim (S-113362) is shared by third parties, half of which (0.5%) may be purchased by Sassy for the sum of $1,000,000. A 2% NSR on the south claim (MC00013262) is held by a third party and at present is not subject to a repurchase clause; Forum Energy Metals will act as project operator for 2022 and 2023 and may do so at Sassy's option in 2024. Permitting and procurement processes are well underway to facilitate 2022 drilling starting as early as February. The parties have agreed to complete a Definitive Option Agreement by January 31, 2022. This Definitive Agreement is subject to customary Board, Exchange and regulatory approvals, as required. Figure 1 Location of Forum's portfolio of drill ready uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4908/109200_dc244c5684184907_003full.jpg Figure 2 The Highrock project is located just south of the Key Lake uranium deposit along the graphitic conductor trend that hosts Key Lake. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4908/109200_dc244c5684184907_004full.jpg Ken Wheatley, P.Geo., Forum's Vice President, Exploration and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. About Forum Energy Metals Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC) (OTCQB: FDCFF) is a diversified energy metal company with uranium, copper, nickel, and cobalt projects in Saskatchewan, Canada's Number One Rated mining province for exploration and development and a strategic cobalt land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. For further information: www.forumenergymetals.com This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Forum's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include but are not limited to: uncertainties related to the historical data, the work expenditure commitments; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund future exploration or development programs; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; changes commodity prices, litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or an inability to obtain permits required in connection with maintaining or advancing its exploration projects. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Richard J. Mazur, P.Geo. President & CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information contact: Rick Mazur, P.Geo., President & CEO mazur@forumenergymetals.com Tel: 604-630-1585 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109200 ATLANTA (dpa-AFX) - Beverage alcohol company Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ, STZ.B) announced Thursday that it has entered into a brand authorization agreement with The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) in the United States to bring the FRESCA brand into beverage alcohol through the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and launch of FRESCA Mixed - a new, distinctive line of spirit-based, ready-to-drink cocktails. Under the agreement, Constellation Brands will manufacture, market, and distribute new FRESCA Mixed cocktails, which will launch this year in the United States. The Coca-Cola Company's FRESCA brand is not only trusted by consumers, but also directly delivers on consumer preferences for refreshment, flavor, and convenience. The new FRESCA Mixed will be a distinctive and intriguing brand that delivers consumers fuller-flavored, convenient, ready-to-drink cocktails using real spirits that are great tasting and high quality. FRESCA Mixed is expected to launch this year, starting with cocktails using real spirits and inspired by recipes created by FRESCA fans from around the globe. The products will be produced and marketed by Constellation and distributed through Constellation's 3-tier distribution networks. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - ScreenPro Security Inc. (CSE: SCRN) (OTCQB: SCRSF) ("ScreenPro" or the "Company") announces that the Company would like to highlight its COVID testing services in Ontario and British Columbia are available through clinic locations and concierge services seven (7) days a week. Testing Reservation, Location Info and Price Toronto: Please contact 416-901-8711 ext. 206, email travelon@screenprosecurity.com or visit at 6023 Yonge Street, main floor, Toronto, ON, M2M 3W2 Vancouver: Please contact 778-325-1418 or visit 1418 W Hastings, Vancouver, BC, V6G 3J6 Type Toronto Vancouver Walk-In Concierge Walk-In Concierge Rapid Antigen Test $49 $69 $49 N/A PCR - Regular (24-36hrs) $129 $159 $149 $249 PCR - Rush (less than 12hrs) $159 $199 $189 $289 * Note: Price may change without further notice Travel certificate available upon request with no extra cost Booking a COVID test is effortless and can be also done through the Company's website at ScreenPro Security Testing. ScreenPro offers both rapid antigen with results in fifteen (15) minutes, and the laboratory polymerase chain reaction ("PCR") testing in preparation for travel or prevention of spreading COVID. Also, ScreenPro has an expanded medical team with doctors and nurses with its wholly owned subsidiary, Concierge Medical Consultants Inc. ("Concierge"), and can provide COVID testing for corporate and individuals in the comfort of your home or at a business or office location with preventative screening to determine the presence or absence of COVID. ScreenPro provides travel documents for both PCR and antigen COVID test results upon request without an extra fee. With over 314,000 confirmed active COVID-19 cases in Canada and with new highly contagious Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, testing will remain a front-line tool to reduce cases in Canada as people can be asymptomatic and spread the new variant and those who are exposed appear to get sick faster and may have symptoms that are different than those of other variants. "With the Omicron variant rolling through communities and case counts hitting an all-time-high, it is important to get tested and stop the spread of Omicron and keeping the countries hospital ICU's from hitting capacity. We have the medical staff and lab capacity to deliver COVID testing in Toronto and Vancouver area," stated Lena Kozovski, CEO of the Company. About Concierge Concierge Medical Consultants is a small group of board-certified practicing emergency physicians who think that urgent care does not just happen in an ER or your doctor's office, it can happen anywhere at any time. Dr Jibran Sharif, MD, CCFP EM, RDMS, is the founder and CEO of Concierge Medical Consultants and grew up in Vancouver. He earned a degree in Economics at the University of British Columbia before graduating with a medical degree and residencies in Emergency Medicine and Ultrasound at the University of Sydney, University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Calgary, respectively. He is a full time Emergency physician in the GVRD and a Clinical lecturer with the faculty of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. For additional information, please visit Concierge's website at www.conciergemedical.ca About ScreenPro ScreenPro is a Screening and Medical Technology company that provides turnkey screening solutions with its proprietary medical alerting software. ScreenPro's unique access to multiple manufacturers of high-quality test kits and its strategic partnership with labs in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec allowing ScreenPro to be a full-service nationwide provider of COVID testing solutions across Canada. In addition, ScreenPro has its own medical doctor and nursing professionals along with on the ground support staff and transportation, as access to high quality PPEs to ensure that its clients are protected in all aspects of their testing needs. ScreenPro provides alerting software through its secure GoStop application that enables individuals to use the app for test screening results as well as provides automated identification codes for our laboratories and analytics to our clients on their testing cadence. For additional information on ScreenPro and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.screenprosecurity.com For more information about the Company, please refer to the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information please contact: Jamie Hyland, Director Email: info@screenprosecurity.com P. (604) 442-2425 Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information, including statements relating to expectations regarding the business of Concierge Medical Consultants Inc. and the future development of ScreenPro's business. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The actual results of ScreenPro could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which ScreenPro operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to ScreenPro's strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of ScreenPro. Management of ScreenPro believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents ScreenPro's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. ScreenPro disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation. ### To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109226 A group of Canadian social media influencers and reality TV stars are now stranded in Mexico, after at least three airlines refused to fly them home over a maskless on-air party. The group flew from Quebec to Cancun aboard a Sunwing charter flight on Dec. 30. Footage of the wild ride showed many of the group disobeying COVID safety regulations by vaping, drinking alcohol and socializing without wearing any face masks while in the air. Advertisement The pre-New Years extravaganza sparked outrage in Canada; led to an investigation by both the airline and Transport Canada; and resulted in a public reprimand by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Its a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible, an extremely frustrated Trudeau told reporters Wednesday. Advertisement It also led Sunwing to cancel their return flight. The group was given terms and conditions to ensure the safety of the crew and passengers, according to the airline. However, according to a statement released by Sunwing, the group did not accept all of the terms, and as a result we have made the decision to cancel the return flight. Sunwing, Air Transat, Air Canada refusing to board 'unruly' Quebec influencers returning from Mexico https://t.co/bJTA7kJQGa Joe Lofaro (@giuseppelo) January 5, 2022 Two other Canadian airlines, Air Canada and Air Transat, later also refused to fly the group home, citing the safety of everyone traveling. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > With the information we currently have regarding the events that took place on the Sunwing flight, and to the extent that we can identify the passengers who were part of the group, Air Canada is denying boarding to ensure the safety of other passengers and its crew, the airline said in a statement, according to CTV Montreal. On Wednesday, Air Transat said on Twitter that the company was aware of the situation regarding disruptive passengers who have traveled to Cancun and are now attempting to return to Canada on our flights. 2/2 We confirm that they will be denied boarding based on our legal and regulatory obligations to ensure the safety of both our passengers and crew, which is our top priority. Air Transat (@airtransat) January 5, 2022 We confirm that they will be denied boarding based on our legal and regulatory obligations to ensure the safety of both our passengers and crew, which is our top priority, the statement added. One of the passengers, 19-year-old Rebecca St. Pierre told The Canadian Press that she is now stranded in Tulum, Mexico. She said that the organizer of the trip, James William Awad, has simply abandoned everyone. Advertisement Another passenger, Isabelle Labrecque, told her followers in an Instagram Live video that some in the group were sleeping at the time and are being blamed for things that we didnt do. Transport Canada said that passengers could face fines of up to $5,000 Canadian dollars (about U.S. $3,900) per offense for violating Canadian Aviation Regulations. On Wednesday night, about a dozen passengers were able to arrive in Montreal, CTV reported. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2021 / Rockland Resources Ltd. (the "Company" or "Rockland") ( CSE: RKL ) is pleased to announce it has obtained surface access rights to its recently acquired Elektra ("Elektra Project") claystone lithium project located in northern Sonora, Mexico. The Elektra Project is contiguous to the large advanced Sonora Lithium Project ("Sonora") being constructed by Bacanora Lithium Plc ("Bacanora") and Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. ("Ganfeng") with lithium production anticipated in 2023. Rockland's CEO, Mike England stated "With work permits in place and now surface access secured we are excited to move ahead on the Elektra Claystone Lithium Project in Mexico. Global demand for battery metals is at an all time high so our focus will be to advance Elektra expeditiously in 2022." Rockland is assembling a team of industry professionals in both Mexico and Canada and is compiling all available historical data from the project to aid in determining a clear, concise exploration plan that is expected to commence this month. Highlights of the Elektra Project: Large property - the Elektra project comprises four exploration concessions totalling 41,818 hectares (418 square kilometers) in the northern portion of the Sonora, Mexico. Drilling - Only a limited portion of the Agua Fria target has been drill tested to date. On the Agua Fria target, a total of 16 RC drill holes were completed between April and June 2017, comprising 1,762 meters. Drill results from this maiden drill program were encouraging with several intervals of greater than 900 ppm Li over widths of up to 90 meters. The best drill intercepts include hole AF 17-001 returning 1058 ppm Li over 33 meters from a depth of 3 meters; plus 21 meters averaging 1043 ppm Li from a depth of 54 meters, and in hole AF 17-014, from 0 to 24 meters, 1050 ppm Li over 24 meters. The Elektra Property has additional lithium anomaly targets on Tecolote that have not been drilled. Knowledge and Data - the Elektra Project was initially evaluated in 2015 and the current Mexican owners, and members of the technical team, remain involved. Work conducted from 2015 to 2018 is readily available to the company and was completed to 43-101 standards and represents an opportunity to fast-track exploration activities on various targets on the Elektra Project. Strategic Position - the Elektra Project concessions are contiguous to the north (Tecolote) and south (Tule) of Bacanora-Ganfeng's Sonora Property, on trend with the mineralized lithium-bearing clay units localised within volcaniclastic sediment successions in the basins. The Agua Fria target is located southwest of the Sonora Property and was the site of the discovery of significant lithium-bearing clay units in surface exposures and in reverse circulation (RC) drilling in 2016-2017. The Agua Fria prospect, located within the Elektra concession, was interpreted as having similarities to the La Ventana Zone on the Sonora Property and is characterized by fine-grained minerals, a portion which contain lithium, providing significant potential to increase plant feed grades by beneficiation. Garry Clark, P.Geo , a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release as it pertains to the Elektra Lithium Property. Lithium values and mineralization described on adjacent properties in similar rocks are not representative of the mineralization on the Elektra Project, and historical work and activities on the Elektra Project have not been verified and should not be relied upon. About Rockland Resources Ltd. Rockland Resources is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets for the benefit of its shareholders. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Richard Sutcliffe President and Director For further information, please contact: Mike England Email: mike@engcom.ca Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM). SOURCE: Rockland Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681217/Rockland-Resources-Obtains-Surface-Access-at-The-Elektra-Claystone-Lithium-Project-In-Sonora-Mexico Cloud-based SaaS Provider Continues Bolstering Executive Leadership Team Globally Enfusion, Inc. ("Enfusion") (NYSE: ENFN), a leading provider of cloud-based investment management software and services, today announced two internal executive promotions. Iris Xinwei Wang will serve as Enfusion's Chief Strategy Officer, based in New York. Additionally, Lotte Tnsberg will serve as the London-based Head of Sales for EMEA. "We are thrilled to announce the promotion of Iris and Lotte, both of whom have been instrumental in our global expansion," said Thomas Kim, CEO of Enfusion. "Our people are our greatest asset, and we are thoroughly committed to fostering and growing our best internal talent and rewarding success. We have the utmost faith in Iris and Lotte to continue leading and growing our organization in their new roles." As Chief Strategy Officer, Iris will serve as the global driver of Enfusion's continued strategic expansion, corporate development and transformation. Since joining Enfusion, Iris has been pivotal in developing the firm's multi-year business strategy and strategically strengthening the company's foothold in Asia. She led the establishment of Enfusion Shanghai, which is Enfusion's first step toward serving investment managers in mainland China. Iris brings twelve years of strategy expertise, including six years at Bridgewater Associates in strategy and business planning. Previously, she worked at Boston Consulting Group on market entry and global growth strategies. Iris has a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Finance from Fudan University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. As Head of Sales, EMEA and Executive Director, EMEA Lotte will direct the firm's business development efforts for investment managers and hedge funds located in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Lotte joined the firm in 2020 as Senior Vice President, Sales Manager EMEA and helped expand Enfusion's client base across Europe, with a focus on the U.K. and Scandinavia. Lotte has spent nine years managing corporate sales, with previous roles at SimCorp Ltd as a Sales and Account Manager for U.K and Ireland, and Global Account Manager for UBS Asset Management and at Bloomberg LP as a Key Account Manager, Core Terminal, Norway Sales. Lotte holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Kingston University and a Master of Science in Global Banking and Finance from European Business School, Regent University. About Enfusion Enfusion's investment management software-as-a-service platform removes traditional information boundaries, uniting front-, middle- and back-office teams on one cloud-native system. Through its software, analytics, and middle/back-office managed services, Enfusion creates enterprise-wide cultures of real-time, data-driven intelligence, boosting agility, and powering growth. Enfusion partners with 680+ investment managers from 10 global offices spanning four continents. Source: Enfusion, Inc. Source Code: ENFN-IR ENFN-CORP View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005204/en/ Contacts: Media Prosek Partners pro-enfusion@prosek.com Investors Brian Murphy EnfusionIR@icrinc.com VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / Lucky Minerals Inc.(TSXV:LKY)(OTC PINK:LKMNF)(FRA:LKY) ("Lucky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into a strategic partnership with Hubbard Drilling Services, ("Hubbard Drilling") and also announces a non-brokered private placement of up to $2,011,795. Non-Binding Letter of Intent: Drilling Contract and Shares for Services Agreement The Company, has received a non-binding letter of intent ("Letter of Intent") for a proposed drilling services contract from the Ecuadorian subsidiary of Hubbard Drilling whereby, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, Hubbard Drilling will be paid in shares for the drilling services provided. Commitments Received: Non-Brokered Private Placement In addition to the Letter of Intent, the Company announces it has received commitments from individuals, including a strategic partner related to Hubbard Drilling, to enter into non-brokered private placement agreements ("Private Placement") for gross proceeds of up to CDN $ 2,011,795. The private placement will consist of 22,353,278 units of the Company at CDN $0.09 per unit, with each unit consisting of one common share and one full two year common share purchase warrant, exercisable at a price of CDN $0.20 per common share. The Company expects to close in the coming days. The Company may pay finders' fees on a portion of the proposed Private Placement in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. This Private Placement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to complete the first drill program on the Company's Fortuna Project in Ecuador and for general working capital purposes. Francois Perron President and CEO states "This initiative places Lucky on solid ground ahead of our upcoming drilling program. Our treasury will be bolstered by these additional investors and combined with the shares for drilling services agreement will allow the drilling to continue beyond our initial proposed program of 3,000 metres. Our work in the field continues to advance and we now expect to begin drilling at Wayka in the first quarter of 2022" ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Francois Perron" Chief Executive Officer About Lucky Lucky is an exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in proven districts with the potential to host world class deposits. Lucky owns a 100% interest in the Fortuna Property. The Company's Fortuna Project is comprised of twelve contiguous, 550 km2 (55,000 Hectares, or 136,000 Acres) exploration concessions. Fortuna is located in a highly prospective, yet underexplored, gold belt in southern Ecuador. Covid-19 Safety Protocols Lucky has strict rules in place for all workers arriving to and from field sites. All personnel are tested upon arriving and leaving and are tested every two weeks. All personnel are following COVID protocols with permanent disinfection procedures in place and are following correspondent social distancing while being isolated from the surrounding communities. Further information on Lucky can be found on the Company's website at www.luckyminerals.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting Francois Perron, President and CEO, by email at investors@luckyminerals.com or by telephone at (866) 924 6484. Or by contacting: Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Daniel Gordon: dgordon@renmarkfinancial.com Tel: (416) 644-2020 or (212) 812-7680 www.renmarkfinancial.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Adjacent Properties and Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related to exploration and development; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in input costs; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration activities; and labor relations matters. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations also include risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will not update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements unless required by Canadian securities law. SOURCE: Lucky Minerals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681198/Lucky-Minerals-Announces-Strategic-Partnership-with-Hubbard-Drilling-Services-and-Private-Placement Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Mr. Edward Yurkowski ("Yurkowski") announced today that 1095474 B.C. Ltd. ("109 BC Ltd."), a company which is controlled by him, has acquired 19,740,754 common shares (the "Common Shares") of BC Moly Ltd. (the "Company") pursuant to an agreement to settle an aggregate of $1,110,417.39 of indebtedness owed by the Company to 109 BC Ltd. at a deemed price of $0.05625 per Common Share (the "Debt Settlement"). Prior to the closing of the Debt Settlement, Yurkowski beneficially owned or exercised control or direction over 4,565,156 Common Shares of the Company, representing approximately 51.66% of the Common Shares then issued and outstanding. After the closing of the Debt Settlement, Yurkowski beneficially owns or exercises control or direction over an aggregate of 24,305,910 Common Shares of the Company, representing approximately 85.05% of the outstanding Common Shares of the Company. The Common Shares issued to 109 BC Ltd. in connection with the Debt Settlement were issued pursuant to applicable exemptions from Canadian prospectus requirements. 109 BC Ltd. has granted an option to purchase the Common Shares issued pursuant to the Debt Settlement to an arm's length group of purchasers (the "Optionees") for a purchase price of $467,365.37 (the "Option") in accordance with the terms of a definitive agreement between 109 BC Ltd., Yurkowski Joint Partner Trust and an arm's length third party (the "Definitive Agreement"). The Option will be exercisable for an aggregate exercise price of $1.00 commencing on the date that is four months plus one day following the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Definitive Agreement. In connection with the Option, 109 BC Ltd. has granted a power of attorney appointing the applicable Optionee as the true lawful attorney for 109 BC Ltd., and in the name, place and stead of 109 BC Ltd. to: (i) vote at and to execute and deliver any and all proxies for the Common Shares subject to the Option relating to any meeting of shareholders of the Company, or any adjournment thereof in respect of the matters arising in the course of business and requiring approval of the shareholders of the Company; and (ii) to execute on behalf of 109 BC Ltd. with respect to the Common Shares subject to the Option, any written resolution to be executed by the shareholders of the Company. In addition to the Option, pursuant to the Definitive Agreement, 109 BC Ltd. and the Yurkowski Trust have agreed to sell an aggregate of 4,465,156 Common Shares to an arm's length group of purchasers for an aggregate purchase price of $232,639 on the basis of a purchase price of approximately $0.0521 per Common Share. Depending on his evaluation of the business prospects and financial condition of the Company, general economic and market conditions and other factors, Yurkowski may from time to time increase or decrease his beneficial ownership of shares of the Company, by private agreement or otherwise. Additional information will be provided in the early warning report filed by 109 BC Ltd. on www.sedar.com under the Company's profile. For further information or a copy of the early warning report, contact Edward Yurkowski at (604) 833-2006 or edwardyurkowski@gmail.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109220 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Entheon Biomedical Corp. (CSE: ENBI) (OTCQB: ENTBF) (FSE: 1XU1) ("Entheon" or the "Company"), a biomedical company focused on the research and development of psychedelic drugs and leading-edge biomarkers to provide personalized treatment of addiction disorders, has announced the submission of the regulatory package for its upcoming Phase 1 Clinical trial, EBRX-101, to the ethics committee of the BEBO Foundation for the Assessment of Ethics of Biomedical Research (the "Ethics Committee"). The Ethics Committee is an independent Medical Research Ethics Committee for biomedical scientific research involving human subjects taking place within the Netherlands. Concurrent to the review of the regulatory package, site initiation and initial screening is planned for the near-term, with patient recruitment and enrollment to follow shortly thereafter. EBRX-101 is the primary research focus of Entheon RX, one of Entheon's core business divisions, which is advancing the therapeutic potential of N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and next-generation DMT-based drug analogues. The study will evaluate the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and safety of a target controlled intravenous infusion of DMT in a population of otherwise healthy smokers. "We are thrilled with the progress that was made by the Company in 2021 and are excited to kick-off EBRX-101 later this quarter," says Timothy Ko, CEO of Entheon. "This human trial has been designed to be one of the most comprehensive studies of DMT to date and will serve as a benchmark for further investigation into DMT as a treatment for addiction disorders." About Entheon Biomedical Corp. Entheon is a biomedical company focused on the research and development of psychedelic drugs and leading-edge biomarkers to provide personalized treatment of addiction disorders. Entheon is comprised of three divisions, Entheon RX, focused on the development of therapeutic drugs, using N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) as the pharmacological benchmark; Entheon ID, focused on identification, analysis and predictive use of EEG biomarkers and genetics in the selection and management of drug treatment; and Entheon IQ, focused on the development of treatment algorithms through the analysis of patient data. Subject to obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals and permits, Entheon intends to generate revenue through the sale of its DMT Products to physicians, clinics and licensed psychiatrists in the United States, certain countries in the European Union and throughout Canada. For more information, please contact the Company at: Entheon Biomedical Corp. Joseph Cullen, Investor Relations Telephone: +1 (778) 919-8615 joe@entheonbiomedical.com https://entheonbiomedical.com/ For media inquiries, please contact Elizabeth Glassen of BlueSky Communications at: BlueSky Communications Elizabeth Glassen, Account Manager Telephone: +1 (647) 309-0141 eglassen@blueskycommunications.com Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to the results of the submission of the regulatory package for EBRX-101, the commencement of EBRX-101 site initiation, initial screening, patient recruitment and enrollment and the expected timeline for results and other matters. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company, including, but not limited to, assumptions relating to the continued impact and status of COVID on the Company's personnel and planned research activities, that general economic and political conditions will remain the same, stability in applicable law and regulations that the Company will receive the in vivo toxicity reports timeously, will be able to prepare the regulatory within the time frame expected, and that the Company will submit the EBRX-101 regulatory package within the expected timeframes. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, a rise in the number of COVID cases globally, an adverse impact of COVID on the research activities of the Company and its research partners, difficulties in subject enrollment, initial screening or site initiation, delays to the Company's planned clinical trial timeline as a result of other unknown uncertainties and adverse changes to applicable law and regulations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109231 Red Light Holland and CCrest Laboratories continue to demonstrate their strong commitment to the highest regulatory Health Canada compliance standards, as the two synergistic companies applaud, and are paying close attention to, Health Canada's updated Special Access Program (SAP) Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTC Pink: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of a premium brand of magic truffles, is pleased to announce that it has received the second report, produced by Shaman Pharma Corp. and CCrest Laboratories Inc. under a Health Canada Controlled Drugs & Substances license. This report was focused on perfecting potency assays and identifying variables such as water content and size that might influence the amount and the characteristics determining active ingredients (psilocybin and psilocin) in the truffles as a step towards creating a standardized consistent dose from naturally occurring psychoactive truffles. "We continue to move towards creating a standardized consistent dose from naturally occurring psilocybin truffles that can potentially benefit both the hopeful recreational and medicinal markets," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland. "We are learning through market research and anecdotal movements that many people prefer naturally occurring psilocybin over synthetics - so it's exciting that Red Light Holland with the help of Shaman Pharma are once again working aggressively within all legal means, and adding to the scientific knowledge of these natural products. We hope the Canadian Government will see the need to provide patients, who are approved to use natural psilocybin, with an ability to access our tested products of known dosage." "The progress we have made in the year 2021 was simply groundbreaking which positioned our companies to start this new year with incredible momentum. We look forward to continuing and expanding our collaboration with Red Light Holland." said Alex Grenier, CEO of Shaman Pharma and President of CCrest Laboratories. "The timely news regarding the Special Access Program is in line with our expectations and we are fully committed to exceeding the exemplary regulatory standards put forward by Health Canada, hoping it will inspire the health authorities of other countries to follow without hesitation." Now that a precise and specific analysis method (SP1-173-L) has been determined next steps will be taken to test its robustness and accuracy. Other substances were also identified in the truffles and more bibliography will be needed to identify other alkaloid compounds that might be present in the truffles such as Norbaeocystin, Baeocystin and Aeruginascin which will help research the possibility of an "entourage effect" in naturally occurring truffles. From the report, it can be inferred that the size is not affecting the concentrations of psilocybin and psilocin, but the water content is an essential factor. In the case of large-sized truffles (Galindoi and Tampanensis) removal of water content, without degrading psilocybin, is a challenging task which in turn affects the extract concentrations. It can be observed from these results that the laboratory was successfully able to bring the raw material to their anhydrous state while maintaining the same ratio of active ingredients. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2017/109252_a4a3dcc8d47728da_001full.jpg. Future analysis will also expand research using scientific methods applied in pharmaceutical drug development, for instance determining the exact influence of light on the degradation of psilocybin and psilocin by doing a forced degradation study, and performing stability studies under various conditions. These studies can illustrate the chemical stability of the molecule which further facilitates the development of stable experimental design and suitable storage conditions. This information will aid in the development of lab-scale production projects to provide practitioners with quality-controlled psilocybin for their patients. On January 5, 2022, the Controlled Substances Directorate of Health Canada announced that amendments were published and came into force immediately to restore the possibility for practitioners who are allowed to prescribe drugs to request access to restricted drugs, including psilocybin, through Health Canada's Special Access Program (SAP). With the regulations now amended, practitioners who are allowed to prescribe drugs can, on behalf of patients with serious or life-threatening conditions, request access to restricted drugs through the SAP when other therapies have failed, are unsuitable, or are not available in Canada, among other conditions. While all SAP requests will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and there is no guarantee that access to restricted drugs will be granted through the SAP, this much anticipated step forward validates the importance of the work performed at CCrest Laboratories with psilocybin truffles from Red Light Holland. Canada is leading the way in providing practitioners with a path for patients to access psilocybin, and it is critical to make it readily available through a legal and quality-controlled supply chain, and that practitioners can rely on specific, precise and consistent dosage. Red Light Holland continues to establish itself as a leader in the recreational sector and push for legal, responsible and safe access to natural psychedelic truffles/mushrooms while Scarlette Lillie Science and Innovation pursues research and development, technology, and applied science. About Red Light Holland Red Light Holland is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale (through existing Smart Shops operators and an advanced e-commerce platform) of a premium brand of magic truffles. For additional information on the Company: Todd Shapiro Chief Executive Officer & Director Tel: 647-643-TRIP (8747) Email: todd@redlight.co Website: www.RedLight.co About Shaman Pharma Corp. Shaman Pharma is a federally registered Canadian corporation with the mission to power outstanding psychedelic life science innovation. Accelerating time-to-market through its portfolio of assets, Shaman launches and consolidates revenue-driven pharma-biotech life sciences ventures focused on supplying psychedelic drugs & novel active ingredients. Forward-Looking Statements Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Red Light Holland. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: statements with respect to the Company creating a standardized consistent dose from naturally occurring psychoactive truffles; statements with respect to Health Canada's Special Access Program, including the Company's expectations with respect to exceeding any potential regulatory standards set by such program; statements with respect to further evaluation and testing of the Company's naturally occurring psilocybe truffles by CCrest Laboratories for scientific and medical purposes; the potential of the Company's products being used for scientific and medical purposes; the Company's ability to establish itself as the leader in the recreational psychedelics sector. Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions made by Red Light Holland, including without limitation: the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Canadian economy and Red Light Holland's business, and the extent and duration of such impact; no change to laws or regulations that negatively affect Red Light Holland's business; there will be a demand for Red Light Holland's products in the future; no unanticipated expenses or costs arise; the Company will be able to continue to develop products that are allowed to be imported and sold under Health Canada's import permit; and the partnership with Shaman Pharma Corp. will help Red Light Holland to achieve its business goals. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what the Company believes to be reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the inability of the Company to obtain all necessary governmental and/or other regulatory approvals, licenses, and permits necessary to operate and expand the Company's facilities; the effect of regulatory and/or political change and its effect on the legislation and regulations surrounding the psychedelics industry including SAP; negative perception of the medical-use and adult-use psilocybin industry; the inability of CCrest to complete the planned testing of the Company's products; the inability of the Company to create a standardized dose; the potential unviability of psilocybin for medical and/or scientific purposes; the inability of the Company to continue its growth; the Company's limited operating history; reliance on management; the Company's requirements for additional financing; and competition for mental health and wellness investments. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109252 LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2022 / Gabriel Resources Ltd. ("Gabriel" or the "Company") announces that it has granted an aggregate of 297,790 incentive stock options under the Company's stock option plan (the "Option Plan") and 167,171 deferred share units under the Company's deferred share unit plan (the "DSU Plan") to certain directors of the Company as non-cash directors' fees for service during Q4 2021 (the "Director Grant"). All incentive stock options issued under the Director Grant are exercisable for a period of ten years at $0.195 per share and vest immediately from the date of grant. The maximum number of common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") available for issuance under the Option Plan shall not exceed 59,778,004. As of the date hereof, a total of 33,294,830 Common Shares are allocated for issuance in respect of outstanding incentive stock options granted under the Option Plan, representing approximately 3.4% of the issued and outstanding share capital. 4,486,845 Common Shares are currently allocated for issuance in respect of outstanding deferred share units granted under the DSU Plan. For information on this press release, please contact: Dragos Tanase President & CEO Phone: +40 730 399 019 dt@gabrielresources.com Richard Brown Chief Financial Officer Mobile: +44 7748 760276 richard.brown@gabrielresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About Gabriel Gabriel is a Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's principal focus has been the exploration and development of the Ro?ia Montana gold and silver project in Romania. The Rosia Montana Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Europe, is situated in the South Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, an historic and prolific mining district that since pre-Roman times has been mined intermittently for over 2,000 years. The exploitation license for the Rosia Montana Project is held by Ro?ia Montana Gold Corporation S.A., a Romanian company in which Gabriel owns an 80.69% equity interest, with the 19.31% balance held by Minvest Ro?ia Montana S.A., a Romanian state-owned mining company. Upon obtaining the License in June 1999, the Group focused substantially all of their management and financial resources on the exploration, feasibility and subsequent development of the Rosia Montana Project. Despite the Company's fulfilment of its legal obligations and its development of the Rosia Montana Project as a high-quality, sustainable and environmentally-responsible mining project, using best available techniques, Romania has blocked and prevented implementation of the Rosia Montana Project without due process and without compensation. Accordingly, the Company's current core focus is the ICSID Arbitration. For more information please visit the Company's website at www.gabrielresources.com. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" (also referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. In this press release, forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies that may cause the Company's actual financial results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied herein. Some of the material factors or assumptions used to develop forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the uncertainties associated with: the ICSID Arbitration, actions by the Romanian Government, conditions or events impacting the Company's ability to fund its operations (including but not limited to the completion of further funding noted above) or service its debt, exploration, development and operation of mining properties and the overall impact of misjudgments made in good faith in the course of preparing forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors including those set out below, that may never materialize, prove incorrect or materialize other than as currently contemplated which could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "is of the view", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events, conditions or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of fact and may be forward-looking statements. Numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including without limitation: the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) may affect the Company's operations and/or the anticipated timeline for the ICSID Arbitration; the duration, required disclosure, costs, process and outcome of the ICSID Arbitration; Romania's actions following the inscription of the "Rosia Montana Mining Landscape" as a UNESCO World Heritage site; changes in the liquidity and capital resources of Gabriel, and/or the group of companies of which it is directly or indirectly parent; access to funding to support the Group's continued ICSID Arbitration and/or operating activities in the future; equity dilution resulting from the conversion or exercise of new or existing securities in part or in whole to Common Shares;the ability of the Company to maintain a continued listing on the TSX Venture Exchange or any regulated public market for trading securities; the impact on business strategy and its implementation in Romania of: any allegations of historic acts of corruption, uncertain fiscal investigations; uncertain legal enforcement both for and against the Group and political and social instability; regulatory, political and economic risks associated with operating in a foreign jurisdiction including changes in laws, governments and legal regimes and interpretation of existing and future fiscal and other legislation; volatility of currency exchange rates; and the availability and continued participation in operational or other matters pertaining to the Group of certain key employees and consultants. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and investors should not infer that there has been no change in the Company's affairs since the date of this press release that would warrant any modification of any forward-looking statement made in this document, other documents periodically filed with or furnished to the relevant securities regulators or documents presented on the Company's website. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of assumptions or factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subject to the Company's disclosure obligations under applicable Canadian securities regulations. Investors are urged to read the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory agencies which can be viewed online at www.sedar.com. ENDS SOURCE: Gabriel Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/681224/Issuance-of-Incentive-Stock-Options-and-Deferred-Share-Units OXFORD, England, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Unipart Logistics has won a three-year contract to provide customer services across Jaguar Land Rover's North American aftermarket. The new business growth sees Unipart as the single point of contact for Jaguar Land Rover retailers across the US and Canada, focused on delivering exceptional service for the region. The team of 30, based at Mahwah in New Jersey, has joined the Unipart North America Customer Support team, who have a strong track record of excellent customer and retailer support. In April 2021, the team was recognised by the Business Intelligence Group, who crowned them Customer Service Outsoure Partner of the Year. Claire Walters, Chief Commercial Officer, Unipart Logistics, said: "We are immensely proud of our strong partnership with Jaguar Land Rover. This new contract recognises the strength of our Customer Service team, and the invaluable support they provide to Jaguar Land Rover retailers, sharing their digital and process expertise." Caroline Benton, Director, American Market, Unipart Logistics, said: "The team in North America are delighted to grow our partnership with Jaguar Land Rover and we are looking forward to delivering exceptional service to the retailers for the long term." This is the second new contract for Unipart Logistics with Jaguar Land Rover in the US, following the award of a five-year contract to support Jaguar Land Rover's US expansion in the North East from Mickleton, New Jersey. Mickleton, a flagship 280,000 square feet aftermarket site, is the first US dual-brand site for Jaguar Land Rover, servicing 90 retailers and the Port of Baltimore. Unipart will employ 100 people to support inbound, outbound, reverse logistics, transport management, facility management for parts, and branded goods out of the new site. Alistair Drummond, alistair.drummond@unipart.com, tel: 01865 383068 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1721397/Unipart.jpg Sellig Will Drive Enhanced Customer Service and Go-To-Market Strategy LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Adare Pharma Solutions ("Adare"), a global, technology-driven contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), today announced the appointment of Tom Sellig as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Sellig, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, will lead the organization in supporting pharmaceutical companies in the development and manufacturing of transformative medicines that improve patient health and outcomes. "Tom's track record of driving commercial and operational excellence in pharmaceutical services uniquely prepares him to lead Adare, at a moment when pharmaceutical companies are increasingly seeking partners to solve their most complex formulation and commercialization challenges," said Vivek Sharma, who resumes his position as Chairman and Board Director after serving as the company's interim CEO. Adare offers technology-driven solutions to solve pharmaceutical companies' challenges from product development to commercial scale manufacturing and packaging. The company's differentiated offerings and end-to-end services make it an innovative partner in the CDMO space. Adare has developed proprietary technologies that enable the production of critical pharmaceuticals, including technologies for taste masking, controlled release, and precision injectable delivery. Additionally, Adare's recently expanded service offerings include a high potency suite for pilot and commercial scale high potency projects and extensive packaging capabilities from high-speed bottle filling to stick pack and blister packaging. "This is a watershed moment when pharmaceutical and biotech companies are introducing transformative medications into market," said Sellig. "Adare has developed innovative solutions that make these medicines more widely and readily available to patients through our partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies. I could not be more excited to join such a talented team as we help widen access to critical healthcare." "Adare is a global leader in CDMO services," said Megan Preiner, Managing Director at Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., a financial sponsor of Adare. "Tom's leadership will bolster Adare's services and support to its pharmaceutical and biotech partners, advancing the interests of patients and extending access to best-in-class, patient-centric medications." "We are thrilled to welcome Tom to Adare," said Nathan Every, General Partner at Frazier Healthcare Partners, a financial sponsor of Adare. "Tom drove remarkable expansion and transformation in his prior roles at LabConnect, ConnectiveRx, and Patheon. His skills, relationships and leadership will be incredibly valuable as Adare continues to grow." Sellig brings 30 years of executive experience in life sciences, with a focus on CDMO. He served as Chief Executive Officer of LabConnect, a leading global provider of central laboratory and support services for the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to LabConnect, Sellig was Chief Commercial Officer at ConnectiveRx, where he was responsible for all commercial and customer-facing activity at the patient-support and patient-access company. Before joining ConnectiveRx, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Patheon, where he played an integral role in the company's sale to and integration with Thermo Fisher. Earlier in his career, he served as Global Vice President of Sales and Client Services at Covance. Sellig received his bachelor's degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University and MBA from New York University. The announcement of Sellig's appointment comes on the heels of Adare's acquisition of Frontida BioPharm, which expanded Adare's global footprint to seven manufacturing and R&D sites dedicated to contract services for the pharmaceutical industry. Adare is backed by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., and Frazier Healthcare Partners. About Adare: Adare Pharma Solutions is a leading specialty contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and global provider of advanced pharmaceutical technologies, development services, and manufacturing. The Company utilizes its differentiated pharmaceutical technology and microbiome platforms to develop novel, improved medicines, and therapies for the global market. Adare Biome is a division of Adare Pharma Solutions focused on postbiotic production through a proprietary ECHO fermentation process. Adare Biome operates from Houdan, France, a GMP Drug facility for microbial fermentation. Adare Biome's activity is to develop, produce, and commercialize microbiological products including its pharmaceutical product Lacteol, and its ingredient for digestive health applications, LBiome. To learn more, visit https://www.adarepharmasolutions.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1699408/AdarePS_RGB_Logo.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSXV: NBM) (OTCQB: NBMFF) ("NEO" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has established and built its R&D Scale-Up Centre at the Yonsei University of South Korea through NEO Battery Materials Korea Co., Ltd. ("NBM Korea"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. NEO and Yonsei University entered into a Collaborative Development Agreement in May of 2021 for the development and commercialization of the Company's proprietary nanocoating technology for silicon anode materials. Due to the increasing need for expanding space and procuring equipment to advance R&D and manufacturing activities, NEO had decided to establish the independent scale-up centre through NBM Korea, and with the active support of Yonsei University, NEO has successfully secured a strategic space of 4,300 square feet, which is located next to testing and evaluation facilities within the university to develop its technology. Mr. Spencer Huh, President and CEO of NEO, expressed, "We are very glad to have our own R&D Scale-Up Centre at Yonsei University. We have placed an order for equipment to facilitate further silicon anode production and will be in place by mid-February. With the setup of our research space, we are underway to hire more talented researchers. We believe that this Centre could speed up our further development of additional NBMSiDE pipelines of silicon anode active materials." The establishment of the R&D Scale-Up Centre will make it further possible to access non-dilutive Korean government grants and financing through NBM Korea, including tax incentives for the Korean subsidiary registered as a foreign investment company from Canada. "We will keep our valuable shareholders updated regarding our continuous corporate activities in Korea and Canada," Mr. Huh added. About NEO Battery Materials Ltd. NEO Battery Materials Ltd. is a Vancouver-based company focused on battery metals and materials. NEO has a focus on producing silicon anodes materials through its proprietary single-step nanocoating process, which provides improvements in capacity and efficiency over lithium-ion batteries using graphite in their anode materials. The Company intends to become a silicon anode active materials supplier to the electric vehicle industry. For more information, please visit the Company's website at: https://www.neobatterymaterials.com/. On behalf of the Board of Directors Spencer Huh President and CEO 604-697-2408 shuh@neobatterymaterials.com This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of technologies which have not yet been tested or proven on a commercial scale, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109234 The Mayo Clinic has let 700 employees, or 1% of its workforce, go for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the renowned institution said Tuesday. The needs of the patient come first, Mayo spokeswoman Kelley Luckstein told the Daily News in an emailed statement. This is a time when Mayo Clinic must stand firmly behind the evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines to help protect the health and safety of our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities. Advertisement Mayo had told its 73,000 employees across all locations to receive at least one dose of vaccine by Monday and to not be overdue for their second. The Mayo Clinic is in Rochester, Minn. (KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images) Only medical or religious exemptions were allowed, and the majority of medical and religious exemption requests were approved, the clinic said in its statement. Approximately 1% of Mayo Clinic staff across all locations will be released from employment as a result of the required vaccination program, which is comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced in implementing similar vaccine requirement programs. Advertisement Given the fact that many of the people who seek care at the Mayo Clinic have serious or complex diseases, the mandate was necessary, the clinic said, adding that once those ex-employees are vaccinated, they can apply for jobs. While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe, Mayo said in an emailed statement. Based on science and data, its clear that vaccination keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Lawmakers in Minnesota, where Mayo is based, have pushed back against the edict, led by Minnesota House of Representatives Republican Peggy Bennett, NBC News reported. Last month 38 lawmakers signed a letter to the hospital asking that the rule be nixed. The signatories said they were not opposed to vaccinations but were rather opposed to the mandate. People deserve to make this decision based on the benefits and risks for themselves and not coerced or forced into doing so by threat of losing ones job, they said in the letter. They acknowledged the benefits shown from the recently developed vaccines against COVID-19 in protecting against severe illness and death. But they compared it to the legitimate concerns such as lack of available long-term safety data, and potential rare side effects that have befallen some who took the vaccine, putting equal weight on both. COVID-19 has killed more than 830,000 in the U.S. and inflicted months of sometimes debilitating symptoms upon many of the survivors in a syndrome known as long COVID. In contrast, anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination has occurred in about 5 people per million, and its something that can happen after any vaccination, not just the one for the novel coronavirus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Likewise, an extremely rare blood-clotting issue had developed in 57 of the 17.2 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine given as of Dec. 16, the CDC noted. The lawmakers also said that people who have already had COVID have naturally acquired immunity and dont need a vaccine, a notion that has been disproven, according to data cited by Johns Hopkins University. The Mayo Clinic used the opportunity to once again, along with stretched-to-the-limit medical professionals worldwide, urge people to get vaccinated. Advertisement Mayo Clinic is deeply grateful to our staff who are working tirelessly and showing tremendous dedication to delivering the highest level of care to our patients in extremely challenging circumstances, the clinics statement said. With the rising wave of infections from the omicron variant, Mayo Clinic also urges all who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible. And if you are eligible for a booster, Mayo Clinic urges you to get a booster as soon as possible to help protect your health and the health of everyone around you. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended January 1st. The report showed initial jobless claims crept up to 207,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 200,000. The uptick came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 197,000 from the 198,000 originally reported for the previous week. 'The Omicron surge in coronavirus cases may have helped to prop up claims, but it's difficult to say conclusively since the claims data are still subject to seasonal noise,' said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead Economist at Oxford Economics. She added, 'Assuming any layoffs related to Omicron are limited amid tight labor market conditions, we expect initial claims to continue to hover around the 200k mark.' The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also inched up to 204,500, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 199,750. Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also rose by 36,000 to 1.754 million in the week ended December 25th. In the previous week, continuing claims hit their lowest level since March of 2020. The four-week moving average of continuing claims still fell to a new pandemic-era low of 1,798,750, a decrease of 61,250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,860,000. On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of December. Economists currently expect employment to jump by 400,000 jobs in December after rising by 210,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de -Manufacturers are increasing efforts to spread awareness about nutritional benefits of using oilseed cakes as animal feed and invite more number of farmers to livestock farming -Growing focus of players on process automation and expansion of production capabilities is prognosticated to play a key role in the expansion of the livestock cake market ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global livestock cake market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period, from 2021 to 2031, according to analysts at Transparency Market Research (TMR). The market growth can be attributed to several factors including rising demand for meat across the globe and increasing use of livestock cakes as animal feed. Owing to rising population of several developing nations, the sales of dairy products is expected to increase in the near future. Moreover, the growing demand for varied convenient food products is estimated to increase in the upcoming years. These factors are boosting the sales opportunities in the livestock cake market. Edible oil cakes are in high demand due to their use in several biotechnological applications and in the production of antioxidants and vitamins. These factors are likely to fuel the growth of the livestock cake market. Oil seed cakes are being utilized by farmers as fertilizers in organic farming. Furthermore, they are also gaining traction as an efficient catalyst in biogas digesters. In addition, they are also known for accelerating biogas production in the cold season. Thus, the livestock cake market is projected to exceed the valuation of US$ 1.38 Bn by 2031, notes a study by TMR. Get PDF Brochure for More Insights - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=83843 Livestock Cake Market: Key Findings With increasing inclination toward consuming high-protein food products, the demand for meat, dairy products, and eggs is consistently rising, as they are rich sources of protein as well as nutrients. Growing interest of livestock farmers on providing superior quality products is resulting in revenue-generation opportunities in the livestock cake market. Due to rising demand for livestock cakes by farmers, companies in the livestock cake market are increasing their focus on advancing production capabilities. This driving the companies to invest more in advanced technologies. Latest processing procedures and development of the analytical detection technology are helping manufacturers to produce high quality and safe feed for animals Many players are increasingly investing in IT and automation in order to track the complete production process. They are also employing automated equipment in order to monitor feed processing activities. Such developments are estimated to fuel the expansion of the livestock cake market in the upcoming years. Ask for Special Discount on Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=83843 Livestock Cake Market: Growth Boosters Improving disposable incomes as well as lifestyles of consumers are boosting the demand for products such as meat and eggs, which, in turn, is positively impacting the global market Expansion of the dairy industry and rise in demand for dairy products from across the globe are fueling the demand for good quality animal feed such as livestock cakes Livestock farmers are increasing focus on maintaining the health of their livestock. Thus, they are feeding high-quality foods such as rapeseed cakes, soybean cakes, and other oil seed cakes. Livestock Cake Market: Competition Landscape Companies are focused on the development of next-gen technologies Several players are acquiring competitors to boost their production capabilities and maintain a significant market position. These strategies are also helping players in regional expansion. Request a Sample - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=83843 Livestock Cake Market: Key Players Some of the key players profiled in the report are: Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. Archer Daniels Midland Company Tirumalla Oil Cake Louis Dreyfus Company Bunge Limited DHN International Dhofar Cattle Feed Co. Indian Hydrocolloids Al Ghurair Investment LLC ALSAYER Holding Livestock Cake Market Segmentation Source Palm Soybean Rapeseed Peanut Cottonseed Others Livestock Poultry Cattle Cow Buffalo Camel Sheep Horse Goat Region North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Oceania Middle East & Africa Buy an Exclusive Research Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=83843 Defense lawyer Roy Wasserman said everyday New Yorkers serving on grand juries were also being put at risk. Advertisement But Chalfen said the wheels of justice must continue spinning. More than a million schoolchildren went in to school today in New York City. No state or city leader or government agency is backtracking, this is not March 2020, Chalfen told The News. As the virus becomes increasingly endemic, we continue to responsibly monitor its impact on all aspects of how we conduct the courts business and its long term affect on all involved, not just select parties. Galveston, TX (77553) Today Windy with a mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. The first days of the first week of the 2022 election year have been filled with a flurry of announcements of leaders leaving and candidates campaigning for office. Legislative moves Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, told lawmakers via text message on Wednesday afternoon that he would not run for re-election in 2022. I will serve out the remainder of my term," Courtney said in the text, first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. "It has been an honor and a privilege to have been allowed to serve locally on the Salem City Council and for all these years in the Oregon State Legislature. I hope Ive helped. Courtney, the longest serving Senate president in Oregon history, joins House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, the chamber's longest-serving presiding officer, in announcing their plans to exit the Legislature after the 2022 election. Courtney is retiring, while Kotek is running for governor. Win or lose, she will have to relinquish her seat to a newcomer in 2022. Kotek is hoping to succeed Gov Kate Brown, who is barred from running again because of term limits. Courtney has been Senate president since 2003, while Kotek has been speaker since 2013. Courtney is Oregon's longest serving legislator, having a combined 38 years in the House and Senate. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. Courtney's announcement Wednesday ensures that the trio at the top of the state's political order will change for the first time since early 2014. Brown became governor in February that year when as secretary of state, she assumed office after the resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber amid influence-peddling accusations. More change at the top may be coming. OPB also reported that House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland, will step down from her leadership position if re-elected in 2022. Barring an electoral upheaval in November, Democrats will choose new presiding officers from their ranks. The party holds a 37-23 majority in the House and 18-12 majority in the Senate. New election brings new candidates While Courtney's departure scrambled the Legislature's top, filings to run for the House and Senate officially opened on Monday. The Secretary of State's website showed that as of Wednesday afternoon, 24 candidates had filed to run for the Legislature 19 in the House and five in the Senate. Among current lawmakers, Rep. Raquel Moore-Green, R-Salem, filed to run for a seat in the Senate. COVID-19 disrupted the 2020 U.S. Census, having the domino effect of delaying redistricting until September 2021. The Oregon Supreme Court rejected Republican challenges to the new maps drawn by the Democratic majority for 60 House seats and 30 Senate seats. The court set Jan. 1 as the first day that candidates could formally file to run for the Legislature. But many candidates jump-started the races by registering campaign finance committees earlier in the year, which were unaffected by the delays. The Secretary of State's web pages for election finances on Wednesday shows 53 finance committees for House seats and 18 for Senate seats are already soliciting contributions and spending money to tout candidates. The relative trickle will turn into a steady stream between now and March 8, the last day to file for office. All 60 House seats, which have a two-year term, will be on the ballot, along with more than half of the Senate seats, which have staggered four-year terms. GOP legislative leader makes governor run official Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, announced Tuesday that she was running for governor. A rally in Aurora confirmed Drazan's plans outlined late last year when she stepped down as House minority leader, but said she would retain her seat through the election. Prices are rising, taxes are high, streets are lawless, schools are a mess, and too many of our fellow citizens are sleeping in the cold, Drazan said at the rally. Oregonians are desperate for change. We dont need more of the same, Drazan enters a crowded field for governor, with 29 candidates from all parties filing to run so far. One of Drazan's opponents in the May 17 Republican primary, 2016 GOP governor nominee Bud Pierce of Salem, will formally announce his own entry at a rally Thursday night in Salem. Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam, Baker City Mayor Kerry McQuisten and Portland political consultant Bridget Barton are among Republicans already in the race. If she won the GOP primary, Drazan could face House Speaker Tina Kotek, R-Portland, one of several Democrats running in their party's primary for the state's top job. Kotek and Drazan have tangled frequently on the floor of the House, including a bitter feud last September over redistricting. Kotek says she will retain her House seat and her position as the chamber's top officer through the November election. The winner of the two party primaries will likely find themselves with three major candidates on the November ballot. Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, resigned from the Senate last month to prepare for a bid for governor, running without any party affiliation. Republicans have not won the governor's office since Gov. Vic Atiyeh was reelected in 1982. Booze news Supporters of sales of hard liquor in markets are moving forward with a single initiative they hope to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot. With a few exceptions, hard alcohol sales are currently limited to state-licensed liquor stores. Lauren G.D. Redman of Bend and Bill Caldwell of North Bend were the chief petitioners on all the proposals, which mainly differed on the range of hard liquor that could be sold. Supporters planned to survey which version had the best chance of winning public support. A change in state statutes requires 120,020 valid signatures submitted to the Secretary of State to get on the ballot. Two signature drives in prior elections have fallen short of qualifying. The final 2022 proposal, submitted as the Customer Choice & Convenience Act of 2022 #1 , allows for a broad range of sales. Redman, CEO of Newport Avenue Market in Bend, said last fall that she believed voters were ready to back an initiative after seeing well-regulated market sales in other states. Appointment to Senate down to three Democrats Melissa Busch, Rachel Armitage and Nadia Gardner have been nominated to the open Senate District 16 seat relinquished by Johnson to concentrate on her campaign for governor. Under law, the new senator has to be from the same party as the prior incumbent. Democratic leaders met in Seaside on Monday to choose three finalists from eight candidates. Former State Rep. Deborah Boone of Clatsop County was among the five people who did not make the short list. The final selection will be made Jan. 14 by commissioners from counties in the district: Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook, Washington, and Yamhill. The appointee would finish the remainder of Johnson's term, but would need to run for re-election this year to remain in office. Busch is a traveling home nurse from Warren in Columbia County who had already announced plans to run for the seat. She's been endorsed by the Oregon Nurses Association and has the backing of Rep. Rachel Prusak, D-West Linn, chair of the House Health Care Committee. Armitage also lives in Warren, is a former legislative assistant in Salem. Gardner is the chair of the Clatsop County Planning Commission and lives in an unincorporated part of the county. Corner battleground The Senate District 16 appointee can run as an incumbent, but redistricting has reshaped the boundaries for the 2022 election, giving the district a slight Republican voter tilt. Each Senate district "nests" two House districts within its borders. Senate District 16 includes House Districts 31 and 32. Rep. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, has already announced she will run for the Senate seat. Weber flipped House District 31 to Republicans in 2020 after Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell, D-Astoria, did not run for re-election. Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, narrowly won re-election to House District 31 in 2020. Redistricting added more Republicans to his district, prompting Witt to announce he'll not seek another term this year. Altogether, the moves guarantee that the Senate and two House seats will have freshman lawmakers when the Legislature convenes in 2023. Weber's 2020 victory is part of a shifting political alignment in northwest Oregon. Columbia and Tillamook counties are relatively unique in the nation. The two counties are among a few dozen of the country's more than 3,000 counties that voted for Democrat Barack Obama for president in 2008 and 2012, then supported Republican Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Levy back for second run Bend attorney Emerson Levy formally filed for another bid to win House District 53. Levy, a Democrat, lost the 2020 race to incumbent Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond. Redistricting created a district where Democrats make up more than 50% of voters. Population growth in Central Oregon led to more and smaller legislative districts. House District 53 was effectively sliced in half, with the southern portion, including Sunriver and La Pine, moving into House District 55. The remainder is centered around northern Bend and Redmond, is more favorable to Democrats. Zika announced he would not seek another term. Republican Ben Schimmoller, who lost to Zika in the 2018 GOP primary by a history-setting two-vote margin, now lives in Redmond. He said in an email earlier this week that he did not plan to run for the seat in 2022. Kristof in or out The biggest story of the first week of the election year could come Thursday or Friday. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will announce whether New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof meets residency requirements to run for governor. The much debated question won't be be over this week, with Kristof expected to go to court to appeal if he's kept off the ballot and his opponents seeking to have the decision overturned if Fagan rules he can run. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Eritrea eyes all-round cooperation with China Xinhua) 09:03, January 06, 2022 Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki shakes hands with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Asmara, Eritrea, Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Zhen) ASMARA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Eritrea hopes to learn from China's development experiences and strengthen cooperation with China in various fields, said Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Wednesday. Afwerki made the remarks when meeting with the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Asmara, the country's capital. Afwerki asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping. Afwerki congratulated the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its centenary, saying that over the past century, the CPC has adapted socialism to the Chinese context and continuously carried it forward, demonstrating the strong vitality of the socialist system. China has not only made brilliant achievements in its own national development and economic development, but also made great contributions to the cause of human progress by opposing hegemonism and building a just and equal global order, he said. Strengthening partnership with China is crucial to Africa's development, and cooperation with China is of great significance to the 1.3 billion people on the African continent, said Afwerki, who hopes China to play a bigger role in supporting Africa's development. Afwerki said Eritrean-China friendship enjoys a solid foundation and Eritrea always firmly supports China in safeguarding sovereignty and independence and respects China's legitimate position. Afwerki said he was very pleased to have decided with President Xi Jinping to establish the bilateral relationship as a strategic partnership. Eritrea has drawn up a roadmap for cooperation with China and looks forward to learning from China's development experience to conduct more dynamic cooperation, especially in infrastructure, mineral resources, agriculture and human resources, said Afwerki. Wang first conveyed cordial greetings and best wishes from President Xi Jinping for Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. He said that Eritrea is the first stop of his opening visit as Chinese Foreign Minister in the new year, which fully demonstrates the importance China attaches to the Sino-Eritrean relations and traditional friendship between the two countries. The two heads of state decided to elevate China-Eritrea relations to a strategic partnership, opening up broader prospects for bilateral cooperation, said Wang. China would like to take this opportunity to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and push bilateral cooperation across the board to a new high, said Wang. China stands ready to work with Eritrea to turn the traditional political friendship between the two countries into a driving force for economic cooperation, transform Eritrea's rich natural resources into its development advantage and help Eritrea enhance its capacity for independent development and expedite its industrialization process, said Wang. Afwerki refuted the so-called Chinese "debt trap" rhetoric, stressing that China has never interfered in other countries' internal affairs and is an indispensable and true development partner of Africa. He hoped that China can play a bigger role in Africa's peace and development process. The two sides also agreed to work together to implement the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and boost China-Eritrea practical cooperation in all areas. Wang also held talks and signed a joint statement with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh on Wednesday. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Newly released NYPD body camera footage shows a pair of cops fierce struggle with a Bronx gunman that ended with both officers shot. Call a bus (ambulance)! Im shot! Officer Robert Holmes screamed after he wrestled suspect Charlie Vasquez to the ground during the frantic 20-second skirmish on E. 187th St. and Beaumont Ave. in Belmont on Nov. 24. Advertisement Im shot too! Officer Alejandra Jacobs screamed, gun still in hand, body camera video shows. Vasquez is on the ground, moaning. NYPD Officer Alejandra Jacobs, who was shot along with her partner by an armed suspect, leaves Saint Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx on November 25. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News) My arm! Jacobs screams. Where are you shot? Advertisement Both cops were hit once and Vasquez was struck multiple times during the 8:10 p.m. confrontation. The NYPD has not confirmed if one of the cops was hit by friendly fire during the clash. The two officers were called to the location on a report of a man with a gun seated on a stoop outside the building. When they arrived, they found Vasquez sitting on the fenced in stoop. He was unnervingly quiet, his hands thrust in his pockets as police approached, the video shows. Holmes opened the gate and asked Vasquez to take his hands out of his pockets but instead the suspect pulled a handgun and opened fire. NYPD Officers Alejandra Jacobs and Robert Holmes. (NYPD) Vasquez fired off six shots as he and Holmes brawled down the stoop and onto the sidewalk. As shots ricocheted off the sidewalk, Jacobs squeezed off five rounds at the struggling Vasquez and Holmes, surveillance video and the newly released body camera footage show. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > Vasquez was shot in the stomach, chest and armpit and was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment. Hes currently facing two counts of attempted murder, assault on a police officer and other charges. Advertisement Holmes was shot in the left side of his chest while Jacobs was hit in the right bicep. Both cops were expected to fully recover. The NYPD could not immediately determine if Holmes, who was next to Vasquez when Jacobs started shooting, was hit by friendly fire. The investigation is still at an early stage and there is much that remains to be done, an NYPD spokeswoman said a day after the shooting. It is clear that both officers acted heroically under fire. This week the NYPD could still not say if friendly fire has been ruled out. The investigation remains ongoing, an NYPD spokesman said. Jacobs is a U.S. Air Force reservist who joined the NYPD in November 2020. Holmes is an eight-year veteran of the department. Rangers at Silver Falls State Park near Sublimity need 20 volunteers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 17, to help create a better wildlife corridor for animals that live in and near the park. The work party will help build a new trail; the North Rim Trail will have a view of 136-foot North Falls. Volunteers' primary task will be to spread rock on new trail surfaces. Volunteers must register in advance and registration ends Monday. Hand tools and other equipment will be provided. Volunteers must be at least 14 years old, be able to work with hand tools and walk up to one-half mile on gravel and uneven surfaces. Volunteers should bring their own lunch and gloves, and wear clothes suitable for the weather. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a designated national day of service. Jan. 17 is also the kickoff of Oregon State Parks 100 Volunteer Projects for 100 Years series. Visit https://store.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=&itemTypeId=2 to see other volunteer opportunities scheduled for the year. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. An autistic teenager who ran away from his Brooklyn home Sunday has been found, and is in good condition, police said Wednesday. Terell Gray, 13. (DCPI) Cops on Monday released a photo of Terell Gray, 13, who ran away from his home on McKinley Ave. near Crescent St. in Cypress Hills after an argument over homework. Advertisement On Wednesday night, an NYPD spokesman had no information on how the teen was found. VANCOUVER, British Columbia and IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PowerTap Hydrogen Capital Corp (NEO: MOVE) (FWB: 2K6B) (OTC: MOTNF) (PowerTap or the Company or MOVE) is pleased to provide an update on its investee, FusionOne Energy Corp. (FusionOne), after the companys announcement of its purchase of 5% of FusionOne in April 2021 and subsequent FusionOne update in May 2021. FusionOne is a producer of technologies primarily for the conversion of plastic waste to hydrogen and clean electricity with proprietary, patented pending technologies for the thermal processing of plastics and other carbon matter into clean white hydrogen and electricity. FusionOne has continued its efforts to commercialize its HydroPlas Reactor with plastic polymer feedstocks and a number of other carbon-based waste feedstocks and is on track to have the first system operational in the first half of 2022, as planned and as announced in PowerTaps April 2021 announcement. Installation of the first reactor will be in feedstock rich Detroit, Michigan in the new year with final components arriving for full system commissioning in late February 2022. FusionOne has focused itself on securing its supply chain within North America and is pleased to have built strong relationships with key component suppliers able to meet FusionOnes growth plans over the coming years. Additional sites are expected to be announced in early 2022. As we have been finalizing fabrication of the HydroPlas Reactor, we have actively engaged with hydrogen industry leaders, particularly in the US and European hydrogen mobility sectors, to develop key relationships and identify additional sites for deployment of our reactor in strategically significant locations in support of efforts by global governments which are focused on combatting climate change, commented FusionOne CEO, Elliott Talbott. We at FusionOne see ourselves as a key component of these strategies and developing the infrastructure and hydrogen supply chain required to support these governments. PowerTap CEO Raghu Kilambi noted that, While PowerTap is focused on deployment of blue hydrogen production at the moment, we recognize that other forms of hydrogen production may be appropriate in different geographies, based on local context and environment. ABOUT FUSIONONE ENERGY CORP. FusionOne is a privately owned end-to-end technology and operations company specializing in renewable energy, hydrogen production and thermal processing technologies. Deployment of their commercial system will result in thousands of tons of waste being diverted to a clean and profitable energy stream. FusionOnes team brings decades of experience in emerging technologies and research and development to the most advanced solutions to the energy sector. To register interest in FusionOne's technologies visit: https://www.fusionone.co ABOUT POWERTAP HYDROGEN CAPITAL CORP. PowerTap Hydrogen Capital Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary, PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp. (PowerTap), is focused on installing hydrogen production and dispensing fueling infrastructure in the United States. PowerTaps patented solution has been developed over 20 years. PowerTap is now commercializing its third-generation blue hydrogen product that will focus on the refueling needs of the automotive and long-haul trucking markets that lack hydrogen fueling infrastructure. There are currently under 100 operational publicly available hydrogen stations in the United States with most of the existing stations purchasing industrial hydrogen from industrial manufacturers and shipping hydrogen to individual stations via tanker trucks. www.PowerTapcapital.com www.PowerTapfuels.com PowerTap Hydrogen common shares are listed on the NEO Exchange. Please visit the company's profile on the NEO Exchange website at https://www.neo.inc/en/live/security-activity/MOVE#!/market- depth. Investor Contact: Tyler Troup, Circadian Group IR MOVE@circadian-group.com PowerTap Contact: Raghu Kilambi raghu@hydrogenfueling.co +1 (604) 687-2038 NEITHER THE NEO EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Notice Regarding Forward Looking Information: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of PowerTap. Some assumptions include, without limitation, the development of hydrogen powered vehicles by vehicle makers, the adoption of hydrogen powered vehicles by the market, legislation and regulations favoring the use of hydrogen as an alternative energy source, the qualification for carbon credits (including the availability of credits, benefits, emission reductions, offsets and allowances, howsoever entitled, attributable to the production, combustion or other use of biogas), the availability of sufficient RNG feedstock the Companys ability to build out its planned hydrogen fueling station network, and the Companys ability to raise sufficient funds to fund its business plan. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. This press release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to, among other things, the timing and ability of the Company to complete any potential investments or acquisitions, if at all, and the timing thereof. Forward-looking information is based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks, which could cause actual results to vary and, in some instances, to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described in the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Although the Company believes that the material factors, expectations and assumptions expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available to it on the date such statements were made, no assurances can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements and such statements are not guarantees of future performance. The forward-looking information contained in this release is expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements and is made as of the date of this release. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise. NEW YORK, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (GREC or Greenbacker), a leading owner and operator of sustainable infrastructure and energy efficiency projects, announced today that RoxWind, a 15.3-MW wind farm, entered commercial operation on November 30. When it was acquired in 2020, the to-be-constructed project in Roxbury was Greenbackers first asset in Maine, a state with a history of strong support for renewables. Since then, the company has acquired four other assets and steadily built out its pipeline of renewable energy projects there, with RoxWind being its first in the state to reach the commercial operation milestone. The RoxWind projects wind power helps diversify the regions energy resources and is expected to produce nearly 50,300 megawatt-hours of annual clean energy, or enough to power approximately 4,500 homes per year. The project has also supportedand continues to providelocal clean energy jobs, including approximately 80 jobs during its construction, dozens of subcontractors for ongoing maintenance and special projects, and four full-time service technicians. The wind farm is Greenbackers largest sustainable infrastructure asset in Maine. Its four turbines are also the biggest in the companys fleet, by both capacity and length, reflecting an evolutionary trend in wind power technology: Fewer, larger turbines generate energy more efficiently than many smaller turbines producing the same amount of power. Each of RoxWinds turbines can produce over 3.8 MW of wind power and has a rotor diameter of 137 metersroughly the length of 10 full-sized school buses placed end to end. RoxWind also has deep roots in the community. John G. Richardson, Jr., the 97th Speaker of Maines House of Representatives, was an invaluable proponent of the project who passed away before the construction was completed. His memory was honored in June 2021 during a community blade signing and commemoration event organized by Greenbacker and its development partners. RoxWind is a win for all involved, delivering affordable clean power to consumers and driving a future powered by clean energy, said Charles Wheeler, CEO of GREC. This milestone is a testament to the Town of Roxburys support, and a credit to the expertise of the development teams at Palmer Capital, Solaya Energy, and Horseshoe Valley Wind, with whom we look forward to partnering again. Originally developed by Palmer Capital, RoxWind began construction in 2020. Today, it generates renewable energy for four investment-grade municipal utilities via long-term offtake agreements. We are pleased to have partnered with GREC, with their active footprint in Maine, to construct and commission this project in the Town of Roxbury, said Lindsay Deane-Mayer, Senior Vice President from Palmer. Bringing a project online is the culmination of many years of focus by the entire development team, the Town, and various stakeholders. We are grateful for everyone who participated in bringing this project from concept to commercial operation. This project, dedicated to our partner John G. Richardson, will generate clean energy for decades as part of his legacy of giving back to his home state. Greenbackers fleet of sustainable infrastructure projects comprises approximately 2.2 GW of generating capacity (this includes both RoxWind and assets that are to be constructed). Since 2016, Greenbackers real assets have generated 3.4 million megawatt-hours1 of clean energy, abating 2.1 million metric tons of carbon.2 Today these projects support 3,200 green jobs.3 1 Data is as of September 30, 2021. 2 Carbon abatement is calculated using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator which uses the AVoided Emissions and geneRation Tool (AVERT) US national weighted average CO2 marginal emission rate to convert reductions of kilowatt-hours into avoided units of carbon dioxide emissions. Data is as of September 30, 2021. 3 Green jobs are calculated from the International Renewable Energy Agency's measurement that one megawatt of renewable power supports 3.8 jobs. Data is as of September 30, 2021. About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC is a publicly reporting, non-traded limited liability sustainable infrastructure company that acquires and manages income-producing renewable energy and other energy-related businesses, including solar and wind farms. We seek to invest in high-quality projects that sell clean power under long-term contract to high-creditworthy counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations. We are long-term owner-operators, who strive to be good stewards of the land and responsible members of the communities in which we operate. We believe our focus on power production and income generation creates value that we can then pass on to our shareholderswhile facilitating the transition toward a clean energy future. For more information, please visit www.greenbackercapital.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. Although Greenbacker believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. Greenbacker undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in its expectations. Media Contacts: Greenbacker Chris Larson Senior Writer & Media Communications 847.313.9035 c.larson@greenbackercapital.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/48325fcb-17ac-47b9-b404-4c933383273d https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bec5d6a9-b7c7-49bf-b159-9986513cb157 NEW YORK, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BEKE) between August 13, 2020 and December 16, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 28, 2022. SO WHAT: If you purchased KE Holdings securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the KE Holdings class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2227.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 28, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) KE Holdings inflated the Company's GTV; (2) KE Holdings inflated the Company's revenues; (3) KE Holdings inflated the number of stores and agents using the Company's platform; and (4) that, as a result, of the foregoing, Defendants' statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. To join the KE Holdings class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2227.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 lrosen@rosenlegal.com pkim@rosenlegal.com cases@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Core One Labs Inc. (CSE: COOL), (OTC: CLABF), (Frankfurt: LD6, WKN: A3CSSU) (the Company or Core One) applauds Health Canada for its recent amendment to the Special Access Programme (SAP), which will now allow physicians to request patient access to psychedelic treatments, including psilocybin-assisted therapy. The amendments under the SAP came into effect as of today, January 5, 2022, as published in the Canada Gazette, and allows physicians to request psychedelic treatments on behalf of their patients, on a case-by-case basis, for serious treatment-resistant or life-threatening conditions. This significant amendment has the potential to provide numerous Canadians struggling with serious mental health afflictions with alternative therapies where traditional treatments have failed, or where other treatments are unsuitable or are unavailable in Canada. Canadas SAP was designed with the purpose of allowing people access to new, potentially life-saving medications before they are formally approved for routine use in healthcare, however prior to todays milestone amendment, psychedelic medications have been ineligible for Special Access Programme applications. Todays regulatory amendment will enable Canadian physicians to apply for psychedelic therapies in a similar process as to how other investigational medications are accessed prior to formal drug approval. The amendment to SAP by Health Canada is an historic milestone in Canadas approach to treating mental health conditions and signifies a growing recognition of the important and growing body of research that supports the efficacy of psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapies in treating mental health afflictions. According to Health Canada, access to psychedelic treatments will be provided where there is sufficient data to support the safety and efficacy of the targeted drug for a patients specific condition. Under the SAP patients are not eligible to make direct application for access to psychedelic therapies, only licensed healthcare practitioners who are authorized under the laws of a province or territory to treat patients with a prescription drug may file requests through the SAP. "This is an incredibly important milestone for Canada, stated Joel Shacker, Core One CEO. Health Canadas amendment to the Special Access Program, has the potential to improve the lives or numerous Canadians suffering from mental health afflictions, including major depression, end-of-life anxiety and even addictions and historical traumas. It also provides doctors and their patients a safe, legal and regulated process for providing alternative treatments to mental health patients that desperately seek alternatives to otherwise failing contemporary modalities. Core One applauds Health Canadas serious approach to mental health reform, and feels a brighter future is in near sight for many Canadians. Well done, Canada!" In addition to applauding the historic amendments made by Health Canada to the SAP, the Company also announces that, further to its press release dated December 22, 2021, the Company has removed the voluntary pooling restrictions on the 5,814,000 common shares issued in connection with its acquisition of New Path Laboratories Inc., which includes 114,000 common shares issued to certain third parties who provided administrative services necessary to complete the Transaction. The Company further announces that is has granted a total of 2,144,000 Restricted Share Units (the RSUs) to certain eligible consultants, directors, officers, and employees under its 10% rolling Restricted Share Unit Plan. The RSUs will vest in four (4) months. All the RSUs (and any common shares issuable upon redemption) will be subject to applicable securities law hold periods. About Core One Labs Inc. Core One Labs Inc. is a research and technology company focused in life sciences and on bringing psychedelic medicines to market through novel delivery systems and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. The Company has developed a patent pending thin film oral strip (the technology) which dissolves instantly when placed in the mouth and delivers organic molecules in precise quantities to the bloodstream, maintaining excellent bioavailability. With this technology, the Company intends to further develop its IP technology to focus on delivering psychedelic molecules with an initial focus on psilocybin. Core One also holds an interest in walk-in medical clinics which maintain a database of over 200,000 patients combined. Through research and development in these clinics, including the integration of its intellectual property related to psychedelic treatments and novel drug therapies, the Company intends to work towards regulatory approval for research that advances psychedelic-derived treatments for mental health disorders. Core One Labs Inc. Joel Shacker Chief Executive Officer FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: info@core1labs.com 1-866-347-5058 Cautionary Disclaimer Statement: The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect managements current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Companys limited operating history and the need to comply with strict regulatory regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. In addition, psilocybin is currently a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) and it is a criminal offence to possess substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) without a prescription or authorization. Health Canada has not approved psilocybin as a drug for any indication. Core One does not have any direct or indirect involvement with illegal selling, production, or distribution of psychedelic substances in jurisdictions in which it operates. While Core One believes psychedelic substances can be used to treat certain medical conditions, it does not advocate for the legalization of psychedelics substances for recreational use. Core One does not deal with psychedelic substances, except within laboratory and clinical trial settings conducted within approved regulatory frameworks. Gurugram, India, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axtria, a global leader in cloud software and data analytics for the life sciences commercial business, is honored to be Great Place to Work-Certified. This certification is a significant achievement, and Axtria has doubled the reward with two designations. 2021 marks the second year Axtrias US offices have been awarded this certification, while Axtrias India offices are counting 2021 as their fourth certification in a row. These Great Place to Work certifications, along with a previous Great Place to Work in IT & IT-BPM recognition in November 2021, are a tremendous testimony of Axtrias culture. The high-trust, high-performance culture helps Axtrias employees consistently grow and continuously impact the life sciences industry. Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture and leadership behaviors. Certification is a mark of a great employee experience. These rankings are a validation of every Axtrians attitude to be the best at what they are, said Jassi, President and CEO, when he heard the news. I would like to thank each Axtrian for their commitment and passion personally, he said. Great Place to Work Institute is a global authority on workplace culture and has studied employee experience and people practices across organizations for over three decades. Every year, more than 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries partner with the Great Place to Work Institute for assessment, benchmarking, and planning of actions to strengthen their workplace culture. Axtria has met the criteria of the Great Place to Work gold standard, excelling on the five dimensions of the Trust Model - Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie. From the moment an Axtrian is onboarded, our people-centric processes kick in to ensure that we are not just connected for work, but also as people, said Shikha Singhal, Head of People Practices. Our attitude of endeavoring to be the best in every aspect of an individuals growth new and exciting work, high-performance culture, and every policy designed to keep our peoples well-being at the center has been the essence of Axtrias journey. We dont need to chase the milestones like this one. Our good work brings them along the way! This certification is one of the most prestigious achievements for any organization across the globe. For an organization to get certified, 70% or more of its employee respondents must rate the organization as a great workplace through the Great Place to Work Institute. Learn more about Axtria in Great Place To Works company directory or to discover more about Axtrias state-of-the-art products and solutions, please visit www.axtria.com. About Axtria Axtria is a global provider of cloud software and data analytics to the life sciences industry. Axtria helps life sciences companies transform the product commercialization journey to drive sales growth and improve healthcare outcomes for patients. Axtria has a strong focus on sales and marketing operations in the life sciences industry. With customers in over 75 countries, Axtria is one of the biggest global commercial solutions providers in the life sciences industry. Axtria helps customers improve operational effectiveness with solutions that leverage Big Data, cloud software, predictive analytics, and machine learning. Axtria DataMAx, Axtria InsightsMAx, Axtria SalesIQ, and Axtria CustomerIQ are cloud-based software platforms that enable customers to efficiently manage data, leverage data science to deliver insights for sales and marketing planning, and manage end-to-end commercial operations. For more information, go to www.axtria.com. Connect with Axtria: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/axtria/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AxtriaInc Twitter: https://twitter.com/Axtria Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeataxtria/ Trademarks Axtria, Axtria SalesIQ, Axtria CustomerIQ, Axtria InsightsMAx, and Axtria DataMAx are trademarks or registered trademarks of Axtria. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Attachment Pune, India, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global heparin market size is projected to reach USD 12.06 billion by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.7% during the 2021-2028 forecast period. The market stood at USD 8.82 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 9.38 billion in 2021. Increasing cases of chronic disorders globally are likely to boost market growth, shares Fortune Business Insights in its report, titled, "Heparin Market, 2021-2028" Heparin is a drug that is used extensively to cure several chronic disorders globally. It is an extremely effective drug that helps patients recover faster and boost their health. It cures several diseases such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, which, in turn, can boost their demand drastically. Increasing investments in the development of advanced drugs are expected to boost heparin's demand. Industry Development April 2019: B Braun Medical Inc. launched its novel and first of its kind Heparin Sodium Injection with a safety needle for subcutaneous, and intravenous purposes. Get Request a Sample Copy of the Heparin Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/heparin-market-104447 COVID-19 Impact Rising Demand for Effective Medications to Foster Market Progress This market is expected to be positively impacted during the pandemic because of the rising demand for effective medications. According to studies, rising infection among COVID-19 patients is leading to disorders such as kidney failures, and other disorders. As a result, the product's demand is expected to increase rapidly. The adoption of online retail enables manufacturers to increase their market reach and boost their sales. These factors are likely to boost market growth during the pandemic. Report Scope & Segmentation Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 3.7% 2028 Value Projection USD 12.06 Billion Base Year 2020 Market Size in 2021 USD 9.38 Billion Historical Data for 2017 to 2019 No. of Pages 138 Segments covered Product Types, Source, Application, end-Users and Geography Growth Drivers Shortage of Raw Material Coupled with Higher Prices of Certain Types to Restrain Market Growth LMWH Segment to Emerge as Dominant Segment in 2021-28 Increased Incidence of Cardiovascular and Other Chronic Disorders to Boost Market Growth Segmentation By product type, the market is segmented into unfractionated and low molecular weight heparin. As per the source, it is classified into bovine and porcine. Based on application, it is divided into the stroke, heart attacks, atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis & pulmonary embolism, and others. As per the route of administration, it is categorized into subcutaneous injection and intravenous infusion. By end-user, it is segregated into clinics, hospitals & ASCs, and others. Geographically, it is grouped into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market. Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/heparin-market-104447 Drivers and Restraints Rising Cases of Cardiovascular Disorders to Bolster Market Growth Increasing investments in the development of advanced drugs and medications are likely to fuel market progress. Increasing cases of cardiovascular diseases enable manufacturers to develop effective solutions that mitigate diseases. The rising cases of heart disorders in developing countries such as India are likely to boost product demand drastically. This factor is likely to fuel the demand for the product. Further, technological advancements in the medical sector lead to the development of advanced and effective drugs. Increasing spending capacity, evolving lifestyle, and rising demand for effective medication is likely to propel the product's sales. These factors are likely to drive the market growth. However, raw material shortages and higher prices of medicines may hinder the progress of the market. Quick Buy - Heparin Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/104447 Regional Insights Rising Investments in Healthcare Sector to Boost Market Growth in North America North America is expected to dominate the heparin market share because of the rising investments in the healthcare sector. North America reached USD 4.50 billion in 2020 and is expected to lead the growth of the market. Evolving consumer preferences and increased medical expenditure boost the product's adoption. In addition, the presence of major players is expected to boost industry progress. In Europe, rapid adoption of technologically advanced products is expected to boost heparin's demand. Further, the prevalence of several cardiovascular diseases is expected to boost market progress. In Asia Pacific, increasing diabetes patients is expected to boost demand for the products. Increasing healthcare expenditure, rising spending capacity, and evolving preferences are expected to bolster heparin's demand. These factors are likely to fuel industry progress. Competitive Landscape Prominent Companies Launch Novel Products to Improve Brand Image The prominent companies operating in the market launch novel products to boost their brand image. For example, Fresenius Kabi presented two presentations of its Heparin Sodium in the U.S. in April 2021. The company incorporated the product in ready-to-administer Freeflex IV bags to increase its brand image and boost sales. Further, companies invest heavily in research and development to improve their product quality and improve brand image. In addition, the incorporation of technologically advanced production processes helps companies improve quality, boost operational efficiency, increase revenues and satisfy goals. Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/heparin-market-104447 List of Key Players Profiled in this Market Report Opocrin S.p.A. (Formigine, Italy) Baxter (Deerfield, U.S.) Pfizer Inc. (New York, U.S.) Bioiberica S.A.U. (Barcelona, Spain) Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (Bad Homburg, Germany) Hebei Changshan Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Shijiazhuang, China) B. Braun Melsungen AG (Melsungen, Germany) Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd. (Hyderabad, India) LEO Pharma A/S (Ballerup, Denmark) Aspen Holdings (Durban, South Africa) Ask for Customization of this Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/heparin-market-104447 About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 London, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Precedence Research, the global robotic process automation market size was valued at USD 2.65 billion in 2021. Robotic process automation (RPA), sometimes known as software robotics, employs automation technology to replicate back-office functions performed by human workers, such as data extraction, form completion, file movement, and so on. It integrates and performs repetitive operations between enterprise and productivity apps by combining APIs and user interface (UI) interactions. RPA technologies complete autonomous execution of diverse tasks and transactions across unconnected software systems by deploying scripts that replicate human operations. Get the sample copy of report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/sample/1348 Crucial factors accountable for market growth are: Penetration of RPA to manage complicated unstructured data and automate any business operation Increasing Adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Cloud-Based Solutions High demand for RPA services from BFSI sector The innovation and technological advancement The increasing focus on reducing the burden of medical professionals Scope of the Robotic Process Automation Market Report Coverage Details Market Size In 2021 USD 2.65 Billion Growth Rate From 2021 to 2030 CAGR of 27.7% Fastest Growing Market Asia Pacific Largest Market North America Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2021 to 2030 Companies Covered UiPath, Celaton Ltd., Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, NICE, EdgeVerve Systems Ltd., Pegasytems, KOFAX, Inc., NTT Advanced Technology Corp., FPT Software, OnviSource, Inc., HelpSystems, Xerox Corporation Regional Snapshots North America is the market's most dominant region, while Asia Pacific is the fastest expanding in the RPA industry. The financial markets in the United States are the world's largest and most liquid. Finance and insurance accounted for 7.4 percent (or $1.5 trillion) of US GDP in 2018. Leadership in this vast, fast-growing sector generates significant economic activity and direct and indirect job creation in the United States. Financial services and products aid in the facilitation and financing of the export of manufactured goods and agricultural products from the United States. The insurance industry's net premiums written totaled $1.1 trillion in 2016. According to NAIC data, premiums collected by life and health insurers accounted for roughly 53%, while premiums collected by property and liability insurers accounted for 47%. Furthermore, approximately one-third of all reinsurance sold globally is purchased by companies based in the United States. International insurance businesses are constantly seeking business agreements and collaborations with American insurers. The dominance of the BFSI industry in North America has a beneficial impact on the RPA market. Ask here for customization study@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/customization/1348 Report Highlights Based on the type, Service segment is the most dominating in the RPA market due to the rise in demand for outsourcing RPA and installing software over the cloud for automation. The on-premises segment is the major contributor in the RPA market due to its in-house ownership. The BFSI segment held the largest share in the RPA market. Based on the industry, the BFSI segment holds the largest market share. Banking and insurance businesses use RPA for regulatory reporting and balance sheet reconciliation. Market Dynamics Driver Large enterprises will increase the capacity of their existing RPA portfolios by 2024. The majority of new spend will come from large enterprises purchasing new add-on capacity from their original vendor or ecosystem partners. Organizations will need to add licenses to run RPA software on new servers as they grow, as well as additional cores to handle the strain. This tendency is a logical reflection of the increasing demands on an organization's "everywhere" infrastructure. RPA use will expand as corporate users become more aware of its benefits. In fact, Gartner projects that by 2024, over half of all new RPA clients would come from business buyers outside of the IT group. In the near future, such factors will drive the robotic process automation industry.The stats for KYC alone are staggering. In 2017, financial institutions spent USD 150 million on KYC procedures, with expenses likely to rise by 13% over the next year. Similarly, onboarding new clients now takes 26 days, up from 24 days in 2016, and firms predict a 12% increase by the end of 2018. According to industry analysts, RPA can assist merging banks in easing compliance processes that require heavy lifting from banks. The increased demand in the BFSI industry would drive the RPA market throughout the forecast period. Restraint RPA Infrastructure and Customization Issues Will Restrain Market Growth A corporation must have sufficient infrastructure and a professional team to oversee all operations before installing an RPA technology. It is tough, complex, and expensive to set up infrastructure, hire professionals, train existing personnel, and install thousands of bots. The platform on which RPA bots operate changes frequently, and the requisite adaptability isn't always included into the bots. As a result, many firms resist implementing RPA in their operations. Opportunities The rising trend of cloud-based solutions and the increased usage of robot-based solutions As enterprises pursue new IT architectures and operational philosophies, they lay the groundwork for new digital business prospects, including next-generation IT solutions. Organizations that embrace dynamic, cloud-based operational models will be more competitive, particularly in today's fast changing business climate. These firms appreciate not only the short-term benefits of cloud computing, but also position themselves to be early adopters of disruptive developments that will shape the future. Cloud services are rapidly being used by organizations for new initiatives or to replace current systems, implying that investment on traditional IT solutions is shifting to the cloud. According to the most recent Gartner IT spending report, investment on data center systems is expected to be USD 188 billion in 2020, a 10% reduction from 2019. By 2024, traditional solutions will account for more than 45 percent of IT spending on system infrastructure, infrastructure software, application software, and business process outsourcing.Because of this growth, cloud computing has been one of the most persistently disruptive forces in IT industry since the dawn of the digital age. This creates an opportunity for the RPA market players. Challenges Organizational culture While RPA will diminish the need for certain employment categories, it will also encourage the creation of new roles to handle more complicated tasks, allowing employees to focus on higher-level planning and creative problem-solving. As responsibilities within job positions alter, organizations will need to foster a culture of learning and innovation. The adaptability of a workforce will be critical to the success of automation and digital transformation programs. Employees may prepare teams for ongoing shifts in objectives by educating personnel and investing in training programs. Related Reports Recent Developments In October 2019 Automation Anywhere, a global RPA vendor, said that it would extend operations into the Greater China Region (GCR) by building multiple regional offices. In February 2019,Datamatics collaborated with Mumbai Metro to secure an automated fare collection contract for Metro Lines 2A, 2B, and 7. For instance, in March 2021, UiPath bought Cloud Element, an API integration platform startup. In March 2021, Automation Anywhere collaborated with Google to help build a new portfolio of technologies that can automate basic job responsibilities in organizations. Segments Covered in the Report By Type Software Service Consulting Implementing Training By Deployment Cloud On-Premise By Industry BFSI Pharma & Healthcare Retail & Consumer Goods Information Technology (IT) & Telecom Communication and Media & Education Manufacturing Logistics, and Energy & Utilities Others By Geography North America U.S. Canada Europe U.K. Germany France Asia Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of the World Click Here to View Full Report Table of Contents Buy this Premium Research Report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/checkout/1348 You can place an order or ask any questions, please feel free to contact at sales@precedenceresearch.com | +1 9197 992 333 About Us Precedence Research is a worldwide market research and consulting organization. We give unmatched nature of offering to our customers present all around the globe across industry verticals. Precedence Research has expertise in giving deep-dive market insight along with market intelligence to our customers spread crosswise over various undertakings. We are obliged to serve our different client base present over the enterprises of medicinal services, healthcare, innovation, next-gen technologies, semi-conductors, chemicals, automotive, and aerospace & defense, among different ventures present globally. For Latest Update Follow Us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/precedence-research/ https://www.facebook.com/precedenceresearch/ https://twitter.com/Precedence_R VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV:OSI) (FSE:RSR1) (OTCQX:OSIIF) ("Osino or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Ondundu gold exploration property in Namibia (Ondundu) from B2Gold Corp. ("B2Gold") dated December 31, 2021 (the "Acquisition Agreement"). Under the terms of the Acquisition Agreement, Osino agreed to purchase (the "Purchase") all of the issued and outstanding shares (the "Razorback Shares") of the Namibian company, Razorback Gold Mining Company (Proprietary) Limited ("Razorback"), which owns 100% of the Namibian exclusive prospecting license 3195 (the "License") covering 19,969 hectares located approximately 130km northwest of Osinos Twin Hills Gold Project in Namibia, together with all technical information and other books and records in respect thereof (the Ondundu Gold Project or the Project) for an aggregate purchase price of US$15,200,000 (the "Purchase Price") including a combination of cash, deferred cash and shares. The Acquisition Agreement is subject to Namibian regulatory approvals and certain other customary closing conditions. Heye Daun, Osinos President & CEO commented: We believe this is a highly accretive transaction for Osino which provides significant additional scale, diversification and consolidation of Osinos Namibian projects. We plan to build on the excellent exploration and resource development work which B2Gold completed over the last 6 years and to quickly advance the project to compliant resource stage. Based on the Project's historical exploration and analysis, we believe the Ondundu Gold Project has the type of mineralization with potential to host a significant open-pit gold resource possibly in the order of more than 1moz of contained gold* with the possibility for co-development with Osinos Twin Hills Gold Project. The consideration payable is partially deferred and upon close will result in B2Gold becoming a strategic shareholder of Osino. We are very pleased that B2Gold has agreed to the part-equity structure of the transaction and appreciate B2Golds implicit vote of confidence in Osinos ability to take Ondundu to the next level. *As indicated, the reader should note that potential quantity and grade is presently conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to define such a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. Commercial Terms Pursuant to the Acquisition Agreement, Osino will pay the Purchase Price to B2Gold as follows: (1) US$3,850,000 was paid into escrow, which will be released and paid to B2Gold on closing of the Purchase (the "Closing") or will be released and returned to Osino if the Purchase has not closed by June 30, 2022; (2) US$5,000,000 in common shares of Osino will be issued to B2Gold on Closing having a price equal to the weighted average price for the 20 days immediately prior to Closing (the "Closing Date"); (3) US$3,850,000 will be paid to B2Gold on the first business day after the six-month anniversary of the Closing Date; and (4) US$2,500,000 will be paid to B2Gold on the earlier of completion of a feasibility study including the License area and first production or sale of ores, minerals or mineral products from the License area, payable at Osino's option in cash or common shares of Osino having a price equal to the weighted average price for the 20 days immediately prior to the date of issuance thereof. The Purchase is not a related party transaction and no control person will be created as a result. No finders fees or commissions are being paid in connection with the Purchase. The Agreement will terminate on June 30, 2022 if the Purchase has not closed by then. About Ondundu The Ondundu Gold Project is located 250 Km northwest of Windhoek in northern central Namibia (Figure 1) within EPL 3195 and has an area of 19,969 hectares. Discovered in 1917, it is hosted within the Northern Zone of the Neoproterozoic Damara Orogen in north-central Namibia. Ondundu is a sediment-hosted, structurally controlled, mesothermal gold deposit metamorphosed to the greenschist facies. The gold mineralization is hosted in bedding parallel, quartz-ankerite-pyrite veins associated with steep west-dipping shear zones. Gold mineralization and the structural setting show many similarities to other turbidite-hosted orogenic gold systems, such as those developed in the Lachlan Orogen Victorian gold district of Victoria, Australia, the Pine Creek Orogen of the Northern Territory, Northern Australia and the Meguna district of Nova Scotia (Rhys, 2016 and Boyack, 2010). Figure 1: Ondundu Gold Project location relative to Osinos Namibian ground holdings https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7a22dbd4-b9a9-4e27-90a2-09ab1f877549 Project Highlights Extensive exploration history by various operators since discovery in 1917. US$10m of exploration expenditure including 48,765m of RC, DD and RAB drilling completed by B2Gold between 2015 and 2021. Gold mineralization identified along a 2.5km by 0.5km ridge protruding approximately 60m above the surrounding terrain (due to silicification of host rocks). Shallow plunging, steeply dipping stratiform deposit with open pit potential. Gold is free milling and relatively coarse grained. Accessory minerals include pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, marcasite, siderite, ankerite and limonite. Minor amounts of sphalerite and galena have been noted. Preliminary metallurgical testwork indicates that the project is highly amendable to gravity recovery methods, suggesting high recoveries and mass pull which may make the project amenable to co-development with Osinos Twin Hills project. A potentially feasible co-development route thus could entail mining/crushing/milling and gravity pre-concentration at Ondundu with subsequent concentrate trucking and further processing at Osinos Twin Hills gold project. The Project has only been systematically drilled over the northernmost 1.5km of a 2.7km long target The Ondundu map in Figure 2 below indicates parasitic folding on the nose of the large antiform and the gold mineralization along a shared limb of a small anticline - syncline pair Additional information on the Ondundu Gold Project can be found in the geological technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") entitled, "Technical Report on the Ondundu Gold Project EPL 3195, Namibia" dated March 2010 and revised July 20, 2010 publicly available under the SEDAR profile of Forsys Metals Corp. at www.sedar.com filed March 29, 2011. Project History prior to B2Gold 1917 initial discovery of gold at Ondundu. 1922 first claims sparked a minor gold rush. 1923 1945 Alluvial gold production from underground workings Hard rock mining from open cuts and trenches on the hillside Underground mining at Margarethental and Geolex South 1936 first bulk metallurgical tests determining recovery parameters. 1980s Tsumeb Corporation Limited and Goldfields Namibia exploration programmes. 1996 JV between Keadeber Resources (Pty) Ltd, (75%) and Southern Cross Exploration (25%): Tested a 600kg sample at MINTEK (RSA) but no significant exploration was completed, permit lapsed in 1999. 2003 permit awarded to Omatjete Mining. 2007 Westport acquired 100% of Omatjete Mining. Geological Overview Located within the 6km wide Ondundu anticline which plunges gently to the south. Lithologies are deep water turbidites consisting of interbedded muds, silts and sands. Sediments are moderately calcareous. Metamorphism is lower greenschist facies. Figure 2. Detailed geological map of Ondundu Main Zone (OMZ) showing parasitic folds and limb of anticline hosting mineralization https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b95599a9-981a-4db9-ad9b-4b24add48e58 Geological Controls and Styles of Mineralization The mineralization is focused along a north-south, high strain zone. Locally hosted within the steeply west dipping limb of an anticline syncline pair. Margarethental (north) and Razorback (south) form two south plunging en-echelon zones. All mineralization is contained within quartz carbonate +/- sulphide veins usually 1 10cm in thickness (occasionally wider). Gold bearing veins are conformable with bedding. Very little or no gold in the wall rock. The prevalent styles of mineralization are demonstrated in the core photos in Figure 3 below: Conformable quartz carbonate and quartz only veins in fine grained portion near top of upward fining sequence. Note coarse arsenopyrite in sand bed above veins. Quartz carbonate sulphide vein with bleached sericitic selvage. High strain (sheared) zone with ankerite spot alteration. Figure 3: Core photos showing styles of mineralization https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1d7259bf-3a4b-43fc-af4e-734199ff357c Mineralization Modelling The Ondundu Gold Project and its surroundings have been explored extensively, including detailed exploration and resource drilling especially since B2Gold took over as operator of the Project in 2015. The table below summarises the historical exploration drilling completed at Ondundu to-date: Period RAB RC RCDD DDH Total Pre 2015 3,389 120 13,974 7,320 24,803 B2Gold Corp. 12,251 865 35,649 48,765 Total 15,640 985 13,974 42,969 73,568 A significant part of the project has been drilled on 100m by 50m spacing, especially over the lower grade and over the areas with lower vein-density. Large parts of Margarethental and Razorback (refer to Figure 2) have been drilled to 25 by 25m or 25 by 50m drill spacing. The drill depths are generally between 150 and 350m. Internal mineralization modelling carried out by B2Gold indicates that the project could be advanced to resource modelling suitable for disclosure in accordance with NI 43-101, without the need for extensive further drilling. The diagram below depicts a typical cross-section through the main mineralized body. Figure 4: Typical cross-section through Ondundu mineralization demonstrating steeply dipping mineralization within limb of anticline https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fdb0f2cb-6006-45fd-9c9a-6e1a16ea0a14 Qualified Persons Statement David Underwood, BSc. (Hons) is Vice President Exploration of Osino Resources Corp. and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No.400323/11) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101. About Osino Resources Osino is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the development of our Twin Hills gold discovery in central Namibia. The Twin Hills Gold Project is at an advanced stage of exploration with various advanced development studies underway with the aim of fast-tracking the project. Osino has a large ground position of approximately 6,700km2 located within Namibias prospective Damara sedimentary mineral belt, mostly in proximity to and along strike of the producing Navachab and Otjikoto Gold Mines. The Company is actively advancing a range of gold prospects and targets along the belt by utilizing a portfolio approach geared towards discovery, targeting gold mineralization that fits the broad orogenic gold model. Our core projects are favorably located north and north-west of Namibias capital city Windhoek. By virtue of their location, the projects benefit significantly from Namibias well-established infrastructure with paved highways, railway, power and water in close proximity. Namibia is mining-friendly and lauded as one of the continents most politically and socially stable jurisdictions. Osino continues to evaluate new ground with a view to expanding our Namibian portfolio. Further details are available on the Company's website at https://osinoresources.com/ CONTACT INFORMATION Osino Resources Corp. Julia Becker: Investor Relations Manager Tel: +1 (604) 785 0850 jbecker@osinoresources.com Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's recently completed financings, and the future plans or prospects of the Company, including prospects for economic recoverability of mineral resources. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned that any reference to current mineral resources or geological technical information about Osinos current mineral properties (not including the Ondundu Gold Project) is based on, excerpted from and expressly qualified by Osinos current technical report (the Technical Report) which was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 entitled, Amended and Restated Twin Hills Gold Project, Namibia, Preliminary Economic Assessment, National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report dated effective July 14, 2021 prepared for Osino Resources Corp. Accordingly, Osino recommends that the reader refer to and read the Technical Report in its entirety, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under Osinos issuer profile. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. RIDGEFIELD PARK, NEW JERSEY, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- LIFEQUEST WORLD CORP (LQWC) is focused on innovative, scalable and disruptive decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse technologies. Our subsidiary in South Africa is engaged in Water-as-a-Service (WaaS) involving treatment of industrial and sewage wastewater. The current plant at a major beef processor involves a Water-as-a-Service (WaaS) agreement for 10 years with automatic renewal for 10 additional years. Under this Agreement the client pays a service fee for every cubic meter of treated water. Pieter Jansen, the CEO of our subsidiary, said, We are absolutely delighted to get our first WaaS plant producing clean reusable water and solids that are being fed to a biogas plant. Our client is a vertically integrated beef processor and keenly interested in reusing every drop of water. The plant has successfully delivered the required quality of water with a Turbidity of 2.38 NTUs and less (potable water is between 1 and <5). The plant is operating effectively and efficiently as designed and has shown the capability to exceed the required average daily discharge volumes and to deal with the expected variability in discharge quality of wastewater typical of such applications that conventional treatment processes tend to struggle with. The client is currently processing 450 cattle heads per day and we are working on a plan to increase the capacity of the plant. Max Khan, the CEO of Lifequest, said, We pivoted towards WaaS model due to challenging capital investment environment for government and commercial clients and disruptions from Covid-19. Corporate customers are aggressively investing in sustainability and reuse of wastewater has become inevitable due to water stress around the world. All our WaaS agreements will have minimum take or pay clauses and offered only to credit worthy clients with long operating histories in order to reduce counter party default risk. We have utmost confidence in the treatment capabilities of our technologies. We have additional plants in the pipeline and we are completing the technical due diligence to invest in a 900m3/day plant for a major dairy producer. IRRs and ROI remain very attractive and we are in discussions with potential investors for non-dilutive project finance debt to fund additional plants. Our current business plan is adequately funded. About Lifequest & Biopipe Lifequest offers effluent treatment plants (ETP), sewage treatment plants (STP), fat oil and grease (FOG) separator and hybrid media for water polishing. Biopipe, a wholly owned subsidiary, has developed a patented 100% sludge-free, chemical-free, odor-free, silent, easy to assemble and install, scalable, low cost, ecological and low maintenance-free onsite sewage wastewater treatment system. The Abrimix ETP solution available through our joint venture is a highly efficient and cost-effective industrial wastewater treatment system that is vastly superior to Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF) and other onsite industrial wastewater treatment systems. www.lifequestcorp.com https://www.biopipe.co/ Phone: 646-201-5242 This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future events. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Words such as "will," "will be," "anticipate," "predict," expect "continue," "future," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of the Company and are difficult to predict. Examples of such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: political unrest in countries we operate in, Covid-19 pandemic related disruptions, shipping constraints, expatriation of invested capital, defaults, future revenues, expenditures, capital, the adequacy of the Company's current cash and working capital to fund present and planned operations, investments and the growth through joint ventures. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, can be found in our current Disclosure Statements at www.otcmarkets.com. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause views and expectations to change. The Company assumes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any intention or obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Attachment Cops have identified a Queens woman as the citys first homicide victim of 2022. Shwesin Nyuntwai, 41, was stabbed to death about 8:35 p.m. Jan. 1 on the corner of 23rd St. and Broadway. She lived in Elmhurst, about 3 miles away. Advertisement A man passing by saw the woman in a pool of blood and called 911, cop sources said. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News) Police believe she worked in the area where she was killed, but had no information Wednesday night on what led to her slaying. Advertisement Video shows her walking with a man not the one who found her before the stabbing, but it was unclear if he was the killer, sources said. Neighbors told the Daily News they didnt hear any commotion the night of the killing. I was here all night. I was sitting there waiting for my daughter to come home, I sat there, I went to sleep, said Kevin King, 62, who lives in Brooklyn. I didnt hear no gunshot, no screams, no nothing, and I was sitting in my car. It was raining, so I didnt get out my car I just thought someone was drunk and fell down. Another resident who lives across the street said the violence was uncommon in the neighborhood. Nothing like this I seen before in the area. I would notice a homicide, but I dont feel particularly unsafe here, he said. There are a lot of homeless people I see around. Police have made no arrests in the slaying. With Rocco Parascandola BALTIMORE, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- St. Mary's County Health Department (SMCHD) and PinPoint are partnering to launch a new results reporting service for COVID-19 at-home tests, now available to St. Mary's County residents. The test results reporting service will allow community members to report results from their at-home rapid antigen test to SMCHD. This allows SMCHD to help notify contacts and provide guidance and resources to prevent further spread of infection. Test reporting is conducted using the HIPAA-compliant PinPoint digital platform. SMCHD will distribute free at-home test kits through the drive-thru at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department on the following dates and times, while supplies last: Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, from 3-7 p.m. Tests will be limited to two per person present, for individuals who live in St. Mary's County only. Community members are asked to please not arrive prior to scheduled distribution time. "We are excited to provide St. Mary's County this test results reporting service," said Chris Nickerson, Pinpoint Managing Director. "Our partnership with the county health department has enabled us to leverage technology in innovative ways to protect health. This service creates a flexible platform for quickly uploading home test results and sharing real-time guidance." "As we expand access to take-home rapid antigen test kits, we need to make it easier for our community members to record and report their results," says Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary's County Health Officer. "This also gives public health a better understanding of the local burden of infection so we can provide guidance to infected community members, take data-driven action to protect our community, and prepare health care resources. We are grateful for our partnership with the PinPoint team in offering digital resources for our community as we work together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic." St. Mary's County residents can access the test results reporting service, and more information on COVID-19 testing, at smchd.org/covid-19-testing. For local COVID-19 updates, information, and data, please visit smchd.org/coronavirus or call SMCHD at (301) 475-4330. Powered by WellCheck and founded in 2016, PinPoint is a trusted provider of safety solutions and compliance technology for businesses, schools, and municipalities. Baltimore-based, PinPoint originally launched in a school to provide instant accountability for students and teachers in emergency situations. A web-based HIPAA-compliant screening application delivers questions for COVID-19 symptoms, vaccine verification, testing uploads, and temperature thresholds for staff to complete before entering the workplace. Upon successful verification, a digital health pass can be issued to show digital proof of vaccination. Press Contact: Abby Chandler Press@WellCheck.us 877-721-0624 Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Cary, NC, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fewer than one percent of networking professionals in the world achieve the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification. So consider Brian McGahan, who has earned four of them, a bona fide genius in the field. Today, Brian marks the 20th anniversary of passing the CCIE Routing and Switching Exam, and in doing so, earns the rarified status of CCIE Lifetime Emeritus tenure. I literally cried tears of joy when I got that first email that said Congratulations on passing the CCIE Lab Exam, Brian recalls with a smile. Hes had plenty to smile about since. Brian McGahans journey began as a teenager growing up in south suburban Chicago, studying Computer Science with little enthusiasm and working in desktop support. After stumbling on a local magazine ad offering $120,000 salaries for CCIE certified applicants, McGahan quickly shifted gears. At the time I had never even heard of CCIE, but after a little research, I was hooked, he says. Brian set his eyes on becoming the youngest CCIE in the world, dropping out of university, and throwing himself into studies at a local community college. At the age of 20, he achieved this goal, locking in his first CCIE as #8953 in January of 2002. I took my dad with me to the exam site in North Carolina, not for moral support, but because I was too young to rent a car at the time, Brian remembers. Although the CCIE is the pinnacle of many networking careers, for Brian McGahan, it was only the beginning. Over the next decade, he would earn CCIEs in Service Provider (2006), Security (2007), and Data Center (2013), along with his CCDE (2013). While achieving these milestones, Brian co-founded INE, quickly growing it into a global leader in the rigorous landscape of self-paced and instructor-led CCIE training. As an instructor, guide, and mentor, Brian has helped thousands of students achieve their own networking goals through an extraordinary ability to break down the most challenging topics into bite-sized nuggets of information. Brian McGahan is simply put, a big deal, says David Winfree, CCIE #55949. Brian takes Networking Engineering and operates like a brain surgeon. Brian is a true master of his craft. The CCIE is Ciscos most prestigious certification, notorious for its rigorous combination of written qualification exams and eight-hour hands-on labs. It requires a deep understanding of networking technologies and typically requires several years of industry experience. As a CCIE Lifetime Emeritus, Brian is recognized for his technical proficiency and long-term status within the program and is permitted to participate in discussion forums, blogs, groups, etc., as an Emeritus. In addition, his CCIE number is maintained and is now classified as Emeritus status. Brian has been with INE for 18 years and is currently the Director of Networking Content. Brian McGahan is in a class of his own, says INEs CEO Richard McLain. His knowledge, expertise, and ability to transfer that knowledge to students is incomparable. I cant remember a time when Brian didnt drop everything to help a student solve a problem or figure out a solution. It is a privilege to work with him each day. INE Live will host a special stream Friday, January 7 at 1:00pm EST featuring a conversation with Brian McGahan. Hell share his journey, lessons learned, and advice for others in the live stream, which will be shared on INE Live, as well as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. About INE: INE is the premier provider of online technical training for the IT industry. Harnessing the world's most powerful hands-on lab platform, cutting-edge technology, global video distribution network, and world-class expert instructors, INE is the top training choice for Fortune 500 companies worldwide, and for IT professionals looking to advance their careers. INEs suite of learning paths offer an incomparable depth of expertise across cyber security, cloud, networking, and data science. INE is committed to delivering the most advanced technical training on the planet, while also lowering the barriers worldwide for those looking to enter and excel in an IT career. Attachment TORONTO, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quisitive Technology Solutions, Inc. (Quisitive or the Company) (TSXV: QUIS), a premier Microsoft solutions provider and payment solutions provider, announced today the appointment of Jana Schmidt to the newly created position of President of Global Payments Solutions, effective January 3rd, 2022. The President of Global Payments Solutions will be responsible for aligning the Companys strategic initiatives of full commercialization of its cloud-based payments processing and Payments Intelligence platform, LedgerPay, along with the ongoing management of BankCard USA, and the build out of the growing merchant services group. Schmidt will report directly to Company CEO, Mike Reinhart. Schmidt brings over 20 years of payments and consumer engagement experience in senior management positions. She served as President and CEO of Harland Clarke, a division of Vericast, where she led their strategy to connect businesses and people how, when and where it matters by delivering payment and omnichannel marketing services that drove customer engagement across the customer lifecycle. Prior to her role as CEO of Harland Clarke, Schmidt was the CEO of Ecova, now ENGIE Insight, which provides technology-enabled services to Fortune 500 companies to manage their energy and sustainability strategies. Schmidt is also currently a Board Member at WebBank and Resource Innovations, Inc, along with serving as vice chair for non-profit, Girl Talk, Inc. Schmidt holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology from Colorado State University and completed Advanced Programs of Disruptive Innovation and Fintech Revolution at Harvard Business School and The Wharton Business School, respectively. "Jana is an experienced payments, consumer data, and consumer experience veteran, and we're pleased to bring her on board as President of Global Payments Solutions," said Company CEO Mike Reinhart. "She has demonstrated her ability to spearhead successful go-to-market initiatives and to execute growth strategies from her previous tenure, and we are confident shell be able to translate that to our organization. As we enter the new year on the cusp of LedgerPay commercialization, Jana will play an integral role in ensuring the completion of our transformational solution, in conjunction with scaling our Sales and Marketing strategy and leading our broader global payments division. We warmly welcome Jana and look forward to the impact she will be making. Schmidt commented: "Im excited to join Quisitive at such a pivotal time in the companys development. I understand firsthand the unique challenges of executing a comprehensive go-to-market strategy and scaling a suite of existing and developing services. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside this incredibly talented organization. We will build on the tremendous accomplishments of the Quisitive Payments Solutions team, focusing our efforts on bringing new capabilities and unique insight into the evolving global payments ecosystem. About Quisitive: Quisitive (TSXV: QUIS) is a premier, global Microsoft partner that harnesses the Microsoft platform and complementary technologies, including custom solutions and first-party offerings, to generate transformational impact for enterprise customers. Our Cloud Solutions business focuses on helping enterprises move, operate, and innovate in the three Microsoft clouds. Centering on our LedgerPay product suite, our Payments Solutions business leverages the Microsoft Azure cloud to transform the payment processing industry into an entirely new source of customer engagement and consumer value. Quisitive serves clients globally from fifteen employee hubs across the world. For more information, visit www.Quisitive.com and follow @BeQuisitive. Quisitive Investor Contact Matt Glover and John Yi Gateway Investor Relations QUIS@gatewayir.com 949-574-3860 Quisitive Management Contact Mike Reinhart President and Chief Executive Officer mike.reinhart@quisitive.com 949-574-3860 Tami Anders Chief of Staff tami.anders@quisitive.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain forwardlooking information and forwardlooking statements (collectively, forwardlooking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation regarding Quisitive and its business. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forwardlooking statements. Forwardlooking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forwardlooking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: information concerning anticipated synergies, growth prospectus, projected milestones and timelines, and other anticipated benefits and impacts of the Transaction. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, are described under the headings Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Risk Factors in the prospectus supplement to the Companys amended and restated short form base shelf prospectus dated September 10, 2021 in relation to the offering of common shares of the Company and the Transaction, and those factors described under the heading "Risks Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated August 20, 2021, each of which are available under the Companys issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. HOUSTON, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Access Consciousness celebrates its 9th Annual Global Access Bars Day on Jan. 15, a day for people to discover new possibilities for growth and happiness as they embark on a new year. Attendees are invited to experience one of the fastest growing forms of self-care - Access Bars. Access Bars is a light touch stress relief technique that has been proven to provide similar effects to meditation, decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety while increasing feelings of peace, relaxation, and happiness. The target for this 9th Annual Global Access Bars Day is to create a ripple effect, reducing stress, and creating more consciousness, peace, and ease across the globe. This event will feature 10 hours of inspirational live-streamed content, free sessions of Access Bars, and live interviews with Co-Creators of Access Consciousness, Gary Douglas and Dr. Dain Heer. Topics covered will include happiness, creativity, and how to move out of a place of just surviving to thriving during these difficult times. Members of the Houston community are invited to attend the event in person at the Post Oak Hilton Hotel in Houston, Texas. To register for this free event in Houston visit, www.accessconsciousness.com/relax. Other highlights of the day include: Premier of Dr. Dain Heer's new TV Series, 'Is Now the Time?' Interviews with Gary Douglas, Dr. Dain Heer, Simone Milasas, and Brendon Watt Plus, content, photos and videos submitted from 40+ countries Further information about the live-stream event, which will be translated into 21 languages, can be found here. For live coverage on Jan. 15, visit www.globalaccessbarsday.com. To follow this event on social media, follow the hashtags #globalaccessbarsday, #accessbars and #getyourbarsrun ### About Access Bars Access Bars utilizes points on the head to dissipate the electromagnetic components of stress, thought and emotions, and has brought relief to millions of people. The Access Bars technique has been in practice for nearly 30 years and was performed on this global scale for the first time in 2013. Last year participants from all over the world, such as in India, France, Germany, China, and the United States, took part in the annual online event. About Access Consciousness Access Consciousness is a system of tools, techniques, and processes that can change every aspect of your life. Designed to empower you, Access invites you to be the expert of you. Whether you want to change anything in your business, relationships, or body, Access Consciousness has tools and systems to facilitate change. Delivered through seminars, telecasts, online training, books, audios, and consultations, Access Consciousness has over 500,000 facilitators worldwide and is available in over 175 countries. Access is designed to create greater possibilities and more ease, joy, and glory in your life. Learn more at www.accessconsciousness.com. Media Inquiries Please contact Justine McKell at McKell Media: justine@mckellmedia.com or (346) 303-1081 Related Images Image 1: Access Bars Access Bars Logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment In Her Role, Ms. Moore Will Focus on Coalescing the Necessary Advisors to Help the Company Achieve Growth Objectives Through its Global Platform of Sustainable Hemp and Cannabis Solutions Ms. Moore Will Also Lead the Companys Efforts Evaluating Various Global Supplier Diversity Initiatives Similar to the Recent Stellantis and National Business League National Black Supplier Development Program LAS VEGAS, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One World Products (OTC: OWPC) (One World or the Company), the largest Black-controlled, fully-licensed cannabis and hemp producer in Colombia, today announces the addition of Minyon Moore to its Advisory Board. She will serve as Chairperson of the Advisory Board and will be instrumental in further building the Companys Advisory Board as One World expands into multiple industries and markets. Ms. Moore will also lead the Companys efforts evaluating various global supplier diversity initiatives like the recent Stellantis National Black Supplier Development Program. One World Products was recently selected by Stellantis N.V., one of the worlds largest automotive manufacturers with brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Maserati, and Peugeot - to develop and supply hemp-based bioplastic solutions for interior and exterior components as part of the National Black Supplier Development Program. The Program is a joint initiative of Stellantis, and the National Business League (NBL), and is the nations first black supplier development program. We are both excited and proud to have Minyon join our team. Minyon is considered one of the nations top strategic thinkers, with extensive experience in political and corporate affairs. Her extensive background in providing counsel and developing strategies that address emerging consumer markets and public policy goals will be invaluable as we seek to become a leading international supplier of cannabis and industrial hemp, commented Isiah Thomas, Executive Chairman and CEO of One World. As Chairperson of our Advisory Board, Minyon will lead our continued efforts to build a world-class group of individuals who will support and advise our team as we enter new industries and markets around the world, continued Mr. Thomas. Ms. Moore stated, One World Products is perfectly positioned to leverage its environmentally- and socially-focused efforts and sustainable hemp and cannabis platform to become a leader in the global hemp and cannabis economy. With numerous efforts across industries underway, I am excited to help the Company grow and execute, and to recruit skilled, like-minded advisors to help propel One World Products to their next level of success. Currently a principal at the Dewey Square Group (DSG), Ms. Moore leads DSGs State and Local Affairs and Multicultural Strategies practices with clients ranging from the Fortune 100 to startup non-profits seeking counsel for developing strategies that address emerging consumer markets and achieve public policy goals. Under President Bill Clintons administration, Ms. Moore served as Assistant to the President and Director of White House Political Affairs. In this capacity, she served as the principal political adviser to the President, Vice President, First Lady and senior White House staff, with primary responsibility for planning outreach and directing the political activities of the White House. As CEO of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Ms. Moore was responsible for day-to-day operations and oversight of the Democratic Party. Named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine, Ms. Moore has been honored with numerous awards, including the Uncommon Height Award for excellence in service to others. A Chicago native, Ms. Moore currently resides in Washington, DC. She attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and graduated from the Boston University Digital Filmmaking Program (DC). Ms. Moore has lectured at Yale University, and at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. In 2018 Ms. Moore was awarded the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the AAPC Hall of Fame. Her book, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics, co-authored with Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway and Leah Daughtry, was awarded the 2019 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary work, Non-Fiction. About One World Products One World Products is the largest Black-controlled, fully licensed cannabis and hemp producer with offices in Las Vegas, Nevada and offices and operations in Bogota and Popayan, Colombia. One World Products planted its first crop of cannabis in 2018 at its cultivation site in Popayan, Colombia, and began harvesting commercially in the first quarter of 2020. The company expects to supply its global clients with the highest quality industrial and commercial applications for cannabis, hemp and hemp products, including derivatives in crude oil, distillate, and isolate forms with industrial scale production to serve global cannabis and hemp demand. Its products will be produced and tested to GAP, GMP and ISO standards. One World Products was recently selected by Stellantis N.V., one of the worlds largest automotive manufacturers with brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Maserati, and Peugeot - to develop and supply hemp-based bioplastic solutions for interior and exterior components. As its name suggests, One World is also focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, with particular emphasis on its impact on the environment as well as ensuring that its employees, particularly those within its Colombia operations, are valued and recognized for their contributions, while simultaneously maintaining stewardship over their indigenous land. Contact: CORE IR Matt Blazei 516-386-0430 ir@owpv.com CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Insight Global, a national leader in the staffing services industry, announced today the official opening of its newest office located in Calgary, Alberta. While Insight Global has been supporting the Calgary market from its other Canadian offices for nearly three years, the opening of the Calgary office marks an opportunity to connect with the local community on a deeper level and create more economic growth for the city. Insight Global will work with companies throughout the area to provide staffing services, managed services, culture consulting, healthcare services and government services. In addition to working with long-standing drivers of Albertas economy like oil, gas, energy, transportation and agricultural companies, the new office location enhances Insight Globals ability to invest in local companies, including those that make up Calgarys growing technology industry. Were thrilled to have a home base in Calgary that will enable us to expand our reach throughout the province, said Bobby Beamish, sales manager at Insight Global Calgary. With so many innovative companies thriving throughout Calgary and its surrounding areas, were eager to help these companies expand and innovate. Many large corporations are investing in Calgary as many professionals relocate to the area from larger cities. Were seeing a heightened need for top level talent in and around Calgary, Beamish added. Calgary is very inviting, has a lower cost of living, and local companies do a great job of providing work-life balance for employees. The opportunities for growth are seemingly endless, and Insight Global is thrilled to be a part of putting people to work in this amazing community. The Calgary office is Insight Globals third brick and mortar location in Canada, preceded by offices established in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2019 and Toronto, Ontario in 2014. Insight Global Calgary is located at Stephen Ave Place, 700 2nd Street SW Calgary, AB Suite 3100. For more information about Insight Global Calgary, please contact Bobby Beamish at bobby.beamish@insightglobal.com. Learn more about Insight Global www.insightglobal.com. About Insight Global Insight Global isnt just a staffing company. Were a company that cares for others. It might sound lofty, but it's the idea that gets us up every day, determined to make it true. Insight Global is a company that people can anchor to in moments of triumph, struggle, and every time in between. Whoever you are and wherever you come from, you matter to us and we have your back. Whether its finding the right candidate for a job or seamlessly managing a project end to end, our conviction and commitment to our consultants and clients runs deep. With 60+ field offices across the US and Canada, putting to work over 50,000 Consultants annually, we believe together, anything is possible. Learn more at www.insightglobal.com. Media Contact: Lisa Ptak 312-623-0479 lptak@approachmarketing.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2f862dc7-a473-4e30-8401-b3bd3e44e903 Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Its estimated that one out of two people who suffer psychological conditions do not have access to care, including appropriate medication. Now, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is helping to fill that gap, by offering masters degrees in psychopharmacology to licensed psychologists. Only in five states do psychologists with this special training have the authority to prescribe medications. Meanwhile, in rural towns and underserved ethnic communities, people who need medication to manage mental health challenges often have few places to turn. With the pandemic highlighting the chronic shortage of psychiatrists, theres new urgency for the movement to authorize psychologists to prescribe medication to their patients. In New Mexico, Louisiana, Illinois, Iowa and Idaho, licensed clinical psychologists (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) who complete pre- or post-doctoral masters degrees in psychopharmacology are filling the treatment gap, using prescriptive authority to augment clinical counseling. There is a large body of evidence that shows psychologists who are trained to prescribe can help meet the growing need for giving patients access to medications as part of an integrated approach to assessment, diagnosis and intervention of mental illness, said Dr. Michele Nealon, president of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. At The Chicago School, we are proud to be an innovative training ground for addressing mental health access and treatment. The new two-year training is led by Dr. Gerardo Rodriguez-Menendez, director of the Master of Science in Clinical Psychopharmacology program, which is designated by the American Psychological Association (APA) and accredited by the Council of Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs. Psychologists who are able to prescribe medication to their clients are taking a bio-psycho-social approach to care for the entire person, said Dr. Rodriguez-Menendez. This is the holistic way we need to treat everyone. The movement to grant psychologists the authority to prescribe medication began in the 1960s when the APA identified psychopharmacology as a discipline of psychology. During the last 60 years, pilot programs have demonstrated success on U.S. military bases in more than 40 states. The need is great, and the evidence is clear, said Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer, president of the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists and a leader of the Prescriptive Authority Movement. Legislating prescriptive authority for psychologists is an essential step to providing thousands of patients with access to high caliber, comprehensive mental health care. There is pending legislation and ongoing negotiations about prescriptive authority in several states, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Norway, Taiwan, and Australia. About The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Integrating theory with hands-on experience, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology provides education rooted in a commitment to innovation, service, and community for thousands of diverse students in the United States and globally. Founded in 1979, the nonprofit, regionally-accredited university has campuses across the country (Chicago, Southern California, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Dallas) and Online. In addition to training psychologists, The Chicago School offers 35 degrees and certificates in the professional fields of health services, nursing, education, counseling, business, and more. Through its engaged professional model of education, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and an extensive network of domestic and international professional partnerships, The Chicago School provides its students with real-world training opportunities that reflect their future careers. The Chicago School is a proud affiliate of TCS, a nonprofit system of colleges advancing student success and community impact. Visit www.thechicagoschool.edu. I Boston, MA, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mass General Brigham and Bank of America today announced a partnership to expand access to leading healthcare technology and investment insights at the World Medical Innovation Forum held annually each spring in Boston. Bank of America will join with Mass General Brigham as presenting sponsor of the Forum, bringing together two leading organizations with extensive healthcare expertise to advance medical breakthroughs for patients and support Bostons continued growth as a global biotech and investment hub. The 2022 Forum, being held May 2-4 at the Westin Copley in Boston, will explore the promise of new gene and cell therapies (GCT), the challenges to their development, and investment and market dynamics. GCT is widely recognized as a transformational opportunity in medicine, with the potential to stop or slow the effects of disease by targeting it at the genetic level. Innovation is central to enhancing patient care now and, in the future, said Anne Klibanski, MD, President and CEO, Mass General Brigham. The collaboration with Bank of America will enhance our ability to more broadly engage innovators and those who work to ensure innovation is translated to patient care -- clinicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, government leaders and payors -- and advance medical breakthroughs for millions of patients around the world. Forum speakers include CEOs of leading companies in the GCT and biotech fields, investors, entrepreneurs, Harvard clinicians and scientists, government officials and other key influencers. Senior Bank of America healthcare bankers and research analysts will be among the featured speakers. Recently confirmed speakers include Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, Robert Bradway, CEO of Amgen, Marc Casper, CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Peter Marks, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Biologics, Evaluation and Research, FDA. Our corporate and investor clients will benefit from the expertise and perspective that Bank of America and Mass General Brigham can bring to our Boston conference, said Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America. We see the conference as a crossroad of science, technology, and investment capital that can lead to breakthrough medical advancements and solutions. Mass General Brigham is the nations largest academic research enterprise. Its 6,200 Harvard Medical School appointed faculty conduct more than $2 billion of life science research every year, and they have pioneered some of the most significant GCT therapies. Many of these leading investigators are featured on the Forum agenda, which covers GCT strategy, clinical opportunities, patient access, economic and investment considerations, regulatory frameworks, and manufacturing scalability, among other topics. To find out more about the Forum, and to register, visit https://worldmedicalinnovation.org/. The Forum team will continue to monitor COVID-19 and event safety protocols. Updates regarding the event format will be shared in the coming months. About the World Medical Innovation Forum The World Medical Innovation Forum was established in 2015 in response to the intensifying transformation of health care and its impact on innovation. The Forum is rooted in the belief that no matter the magnitude of change, the center of health care needs to be a shared, fundamental commitment to collaborative innovation industry and academia working together to improve patient lives. About Mass General Brigham Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic healthcare system, uniting great minds in medicine to make life-changing impact for patients in our communities and people around the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a non-profit organization that is committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nations leading biomedical research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org. About Bank of America Bank of America is one of the worlds leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial centers, approximately 17,000 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with approximately 41 million active users, including approximately 32 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. www.bankofamerica.com Media Contacts: Mass General Brigham Tracy M. Doyle Mass General Brigham Innovation Tdoyle5@partners.org (M) 262 227 5514 Bank of America John Yiannacopoulos Global Investment Banking and Global Markets, and Enterprise Media John.yiannacopoulos@bofa.com (M) 917-750-0570 Attachment NEW YORK, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nearly $175,000 was raised by members of the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union (PSFCU) for selected hospices in Poland and for helping Polish underprivileged children in the United States, in the course of the eighth edition of the "Children's Holiday Smile" charity fundraiser. Since 2014, over a million dollars have been raised for this cause. The annual "Children's Holiday Smile" campaign started on November 26 and lasted until December 31, 2021. During that time, PSFCU members made 7,761 contributions at 21 PSFCU branches and on-line for a total amount of $174,498. Since the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union does not charge any fees, the entire collected amount will be distributed to the participating entities: Salvatorian Hospice Association, John Paul II Hospice in Bielsko Biala $66,633; Swietlikowo Silesian Hospice for Children Foundation in Tychy $42,962; Divine Providence Hospice of Orionine Fathers in Wolomin $40,888; Childrens Smile Foundation in New York $26,015. Yet again, our Credit Union Members have proven that charity runs in their blood. During the holiday season between Thanksgiving and the end of 2021, they showed incredible generosity and commitment to helping children in need, and also broke the fundraising record, raising nearly $175,000, said PSFCU President/CEO Bogdan Chmielewski. The "Children's Holiday Smile" fundraising campaign has been organized by the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union since 2014, and for several years, the initiative has been held under the auspices of the First Lady of the Republic of Poland, Agata Kornhauser-Duda. Previously, the highest amount - $151,000 - was raised during the first edition seven years ago. In the course of the eight editions of the campaign, members of our Credit Union raised a total of $1,000,009, which was distributed among 19 hospices in Poland, a hospice in Vilnius, Lithuania and New Yorks Children's Smile Foundation (intended for the treatment of seriously ill Polish children). I would like to express my gratitude for every, even the smallest donation. I wish to thank everyone who got involved - we know that special fundraisers were organized by Polish schools, parishes and even private individuals. As usual, Polish Americans show that they always support those who need our help," Mr. Chmielewski said. ABOUT PSFCU: Founded in Brooklyn, NY in 1976 by immigrants, PSFCU is the largest ethnic credit union in the U.S. with $2.5 billion in assets. It offers carefully tailored financial products and services to its 140,000 members and their families throughout the country, mainly through its 21 branches in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania, and Mortgage Center in New Britain, CT. Long known for its commitment to the communities it serves, the credit union proudly sponsors and supports countless Polish-American organizations, schools, churches and cultural events that all help make local neighborhoods succeed and thrive. Contact: Pawel Burdzy, PR Manager Phone: +1 973-349-7088 email: pburdzy@psfcu.net Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aea5da12-3c5b-4215-9d72-123711a43e24 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a55a01af-5331-4913-8bf4-d1c8fab78dfc English French MONTREAL and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harfang Exploration Inc. (Harfang) (TSX.V: HAR) and LaSalle Exploration Corp. (LaSalle) (TSX-V: LSX) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive Arrangement Agreement dated January 5, 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to which Harfang will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of LaSalle (the LaSalle Shares). The transaction will be carried out by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the Arrangement). Under the terms of the Arrangement, LaSalle shareholders will receive, on a pre-consolidation basis (further details on the proposed Harfang share consolidation below), 0.3908 of a Harfang common share (the Harfang Shares) for each LaSalle Share. The exchange ratio implies a consideration of $0.0968 per LaSalle Share based on the 30-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) of the Harfang Shares and the LaSalle Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) on December 22, 2021. Upon completion of the Arrangement, it is expected that the shareholders of LaSalle will hold approximately 35.5% of Harfangs issued and outstanding shares (prior to the concurrent Offering). The LaSalle management and board, representing 5.1% of the LaSalle Shares, are supportive of the transaction and have entered into support agreements with Harfang to vote their LaSalle Shares in favour of the Arrangement. LaSalles CEO, Ian Campbell, and VP Corporate Development, Ron Stewart will continue their positions to lead the combined company, which will deliver LaSalle shareholders an exceptional geological and financial team in a much stronger exploration vehicle. See details below. Dan Innes, Chairman of LaSalle commented, This transaction represents a compelling opportunity to accelerate the growth strategy of LaSalle in all aspects from exploration, access to capital and additional accretive transactions. It delivers to both LaSalle and Harfang shareholders the platform to create an industry leader guided by an experienced management team, an exceptionally strong board, a highly prospective portfolio of exploration assets, the financial resources and access to capital to advance our projects and realize their full potential. Andre Gaumond, Chairman of Harfang added, We are delighted to be entering into a transaction between LaSalle and Harfang. It is an excellent strategic and cultural fit for both companies, creating a far stronger platform that has already been embraced by the Quebec institutional funds. The new Harfang will be larger, more relevant and benefit from the significant synergies unlocked by the transaction. Transaction Highlights The transaction will consolidate the contiguous gold exploration assets of Lasalles Radisson and Harfangs Serpent properties, James Bay Region, Quebec, both of which will benefit from operational efficiency, synergies and a combined exploration strategy as the projects advance, along with an exploration portfolio of high quality gold assets in Quebec and Ontario. The integration of the Radisson property will add 6 km of strike of potential mineralization to the Serpent gold bearing structures, further solidifying Harfang as the largest mineral claim holder in the region totalling 508.4 km2. Drill-ready targets within the consolidated project portfolio offer compelling value creation potential to shareholders of the combined company. Figure 1. Location of the major gold corridor straddling the limit between the Serpent and Radisson properties. The transaction offers several positive direct benefits to the shareholders of Harfang and LaSalle, including, the following: Highly qualified board and management team with a track record of success; Solid platform for further consolidation and growth opportunities; $9.8M in treasury, excluding the proceeds under the concurrent Offering for total maximum gross proceeds of $5M; Accelerating the exploration of a new district-scale gold corridor in the James Bay Region, QC, by merging Serpent and Radisson properties (total surface area of 508.4 km 2 ); ); Numerous drill ready targets and blue-sky exploration potential; LaSalle and Harfang to commence a combined minimum 6,000 metre drill program on the Serpent-Radisson property; Strong portfolio of exploration properties from which to unlock shareholder value. Ian Campbell, President and CEO of LaSalle and incoming President and CEO of Harfang commented, I am very excited about leading the team and to what this transaction represents for all of our shareholders as we open this new chapter. Ron and I are very much looking forward to joining forces with Francois Huot and Yvon Robert and leveraging our broad range of skillsets, adding value through focused exploration, unlocking value in all our projects and the platform which opens up tremendous potential for further consolidation and growth opportunities. Strong Board and Management The Arrangement brings together a highly experienced team of mining industry professionals with the Board to be composed of: Jean-Pierre Janson as Chairman, current Chairman of Midland Exploration Andre Gaumond, Former President of Virginia Mines Daniel Innes, Founder and original CEO, Lake Shore Gold Corp. Ian Campbell, President and CEO of LaSalle Exploration Corp. Sylvie Prudhomme, former Manager, Investor Relations at Osisko Mining Corporation Karen Rees, Former VP Exploration and Corporate Secretary at Temex Resources Corp. Vincent Dube-Bourgeois, CEO of GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. At the closing of the Arrangement, Ian Campbell will be appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Stewart will be appointed as Vice President, Corporate Development, Francois Huot will remain Vice President Exploration, and Yvon Robert will remain as Chief Financial Officer. Francois Goulet has accepted to remain as President and Chief Executive Officer of Harfang until the closing of the Arrangement, at which time his resignation previously announced on September 1, 2021 will become effective. Transaction Details Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Harfang will acquire all of the issued and outstanding LaSalle Shares on the basis of 0.3908 Harfang Shares (on a pre-Consolidation basis) for each share of LaSalle held (the Exchange Ratio). Warrants and options of LaSalle will be adjusted or exchanged to become warrants and options, respectively, of Harfang based on the Exchange Ratio. It is anticipated that these securities will be adjusted or exchanged on a post-Consolidation basis. The transaction was negotiated at arms length. Immediately prior to the closing of the transaction, it is anticipated that Harfang will consolidate its common shares on a 2.1554 for one basis (the Consolidation), subject to the receipt of all necessary approvals. The Arrangement will be carried out by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) and is subject to a number of conditions being satisfied or waived by one or both of Harfang and LaSalle at or prior to closing of the Arrangement, including approval of LaSalle shareholders, together with any requisite minority approvals, completion of the Consolidation, amendment of the Harfang stock option plan to extend expiry date of stock options to 12 months following the date a person ceases to be an eligible person under the plan, and receipt of all necessary regulatory and court approvals and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary for a transaction of this nature, including completion of the Offering (as hereinafter defined). It is expected that the special meeting of LaSalle shareholders to approve the proposed Arrangement will be held on or before March 31, 2022 (the LaSalle Meeting) and, if approved at such meeting and all other conditions have been met, it is expected that the Arrangement would close shortly thereafter. The Agreement includes customary provisions, including non-solicitation, right-to-match and fiduciary out provisions, as well as certain representations, covenants and conditions that are customary for a transaction of this nature. A termination fee of $300,000 may be payable by either party in the case of certain terminating events. Further information regarding the Arrangement will be contained in the management information circular to be prepared by LaSalle (the LaSalle Circular) and mailed to its securityholders in connection with the LaSalle Meeting. All securityholders of LaSalle are urged to read the information circular once available, as it will contain important additional information concerning the Arrangement. LaSalle is subject to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). MI 61-101 provides that, in certain circumstances, where a related party (as defined in MI 61-101) of an issuer is entitled to receive a collateral benefit (as defined in MI 61-101) in connection with an arrangement transaction such as the Arrangement, such transaction may be considered a business combination for the purposes of MI 61-101 and subject to minority shareholder approval requirements. LaSalle has determined that certain directors or executive officers of LaSalle are receiving a collateral benefit in connection with the Arrangement as each beneficially owns or exercises control or direction over more than 1% of LaSalle Securities (calculated in accordance with MI 61-101). Consequently, the LaSalle Shares beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, these certain directors or executive officers will be excluded for the purposes of determining if minority approval of the Arrangement is obtained This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to sell any shares or a solicitation of a proxy. Concurrent Financing Concurrently with the Arrangement, Harfang proposes to complete, on a post-Consolidation basis, a non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts (the Offering) for minimum proceeds of $1 million and maximum proceeds of $5 million. The Offering will be comprised of common share subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of $0.55 per Subscription Receipt. Upon satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions (as defined below), each Subscription Receipt shall be exchangeable for one post-Consolidation common share of Harfang. The Offering is anticipated to close on or before January 31, 2022. The funds received from the Offering will be held in escrow (the Escrowed Funds) by an escrow agent pending completion of the Arrangement. Release of the Escrowed Funds will be conditional upon satisfaction of the following conditions (together, the Escrow Release Conditions): (i) approval of the Arrangement by LaSalle shareholders; (ii) closing of the Arrangement; (iii) completion of the Consolidation; (iv) the closing of the Offering for minimum proceeds of $1 million; and (v) the receipt of all required regulatory approvals including, without limitation, the conditional approval of the TSX-V for the Arrangement, the Consolidation and the Offering. Harfang intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering, once released by the escrow agent following completion of the Escrow Release Conditions, to continue its exploration programs on the combined Serpent / Radisson properties and for general corporate purposes. The LaSalle Circular will contain complete details on the intended use of proceeds. In connection with the Offering, Harfang has received expressions of interest from strategic investors including Quebec Institutional Funds for an amount of $1,600,000. Furthermore, Harfang and Monarch Mining Corporation (Monarch) have signed a binding term sheet pursuant to which Monarch has agreed to participate in the Offering for an amount of $1,500,000 (the Monarch Investment). In connection with the Monarch Investment, and as a condition precedent thereto, Harfang has also agreed, subject to the receipt of the required regulatory approvals, to subscribe for common shares of Monarch for a total amount of $750,000. It is also anticipated that management will participate in the Offering for a total of $200,000 (details of such participation remain to be confirmed). Board Recommendations The board of directors of LaSalle (the LaSalle Board) has formed a special committee (the Special Committee) to consider and evaluate the Arrangement. The Special Committee, following a review of the terms and conditions of the Agreement and consideration of a number of factors, unanimously recommended that the LaSalle Board approve the Arrangement. After receiving the recommendation of the Special Committee and advice, including a fairness opinion, from its advisors, the LaSalle Board has unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of LaSalle and will recommend that LaSalle shareholders vote in favour of the Arrangement. Prior to the execution of the Agreement, Evans & Evans, Inc. provided a fairness opinion that, based upon and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications in such opinion, the consideration to be received by the LaSalle shareholders is fair, from a financial point of view, to LaSalle shareholders. A summary of the fairness opinion will be included in the LaSalle Circular. LaSalle Delisting and SEDAR If the Arrangement is completed, the LaSalle Shares will be delisted from the TSX-V. A copy of the Agreement will be available through LaSalle and Harfangs filings with the applicable securities regulatory authorities in Canada on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Advisors and Counsel Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor and Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is acting as legal counsel to Harfang. Evans & Evans, Inc. has provided the Special Committee with a fairness opinion in respect of the Arrangement and Armstrong Simpson is acting as legal counsel to LaSalle. Qualified Persons Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved on behalf of Harfang by Francois Huot, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of Harfang, and on behalf of LaSalle by Ron Stewart, Vice President Corporate Development, BSc. Geology, of LaSalle, both of whom are qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Harfang Exploration Inc. Harfang is a mining exploration company whose primary mission is to discover new gold districts in the province of Quebec. Harfang's development model is based on the generation of new mining projects and on the establishment of partnerships with major exploration and mining companies to advance its exploration projects. Harfang trades on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol HAR. About LaSalle Exploration Corp. LaSalle is a Canadian exploration company focused on less explored districts of the Abitibi in Ontario and Quebec, recognized for mining investment based on mineral potential, policy and success, LaSalle is actively exploring Radisson in the developing Eeyou Itschee-James Bay region in Quebec as well as the Blakelock and Egan high-grade gold properties located in northeastern Ontario. LaSalle trades on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol LSX. For further information please contact: Harfang Exploration Inc Telephone: 514 940-0670 x339 Email: info@harfangexploration.com LaSalle Exploration Corp. Telephone: (604) 647-3966 Email: info@lasallecorp.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release about anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seek, anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect and intend and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding anticipated benefits of the Arrangement, the closing of the Arrangement, the Offering, the Serpent and Radisson properties (the Projects), including anticipated operational synergies between the properties, are forward-looking statements. Although Harfang and LaSalle (the "Companies") believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since the Companies can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Companies' periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators, and assumptions made with regard to: the Companies' ability to complete the proposed Arrangement; the Companies' ability to secure the necessary shareholder, securityholder, legal and regulatory approvals required to complete the Arrangement; the ability to complete the Offering; the estimated costs associated with the advancement of the Projects; and the Companies' ability to achieve the synergies expected as a result of the Arrangement. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companies expectations include risks associated with the business of Harfang and LaSalle; risks related to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions to the closing of the Arrangement; non-completion of the Arrangement; risks related to reliance on technical information provided by Harfang and LaSalle; risks related to exploration and potential development of the Projects; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the impact of COVID-19 on the Companies business; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; the need for cooperation of government agencies and indigenous groups in the exploration and development of properties and the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time and additional risks identified in Harfang and LaSalles filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. Neither Harfang nor LaSalle undertakes any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. A trio of muggers who target people after they withdraw cash from ATMs are responsible for eight robberies in Queens since mid-November, police said Wednesday. The crooks zeroed in on their prey in Jamaica at all hours, with five of the muggings happening within a few blocks of Rufus King Park on Jamaica Ave. and 159th St., and three on Hillside Ave. at 168th St. Advertisement Typically, one or more of the suspects would wait for their victims to take out cash, then punch them, rip the wallet out of their hands or pull a knife and demand cash. All but one of the victims were male, and all ranged in age from 16 to 63. Advertisement The New York City Police Department released a photo of a person who is wanted in connection to several robberies that occurred within the confines of the 103 Precinct. (DCPI) Police released video from a Nov. 30 robbery on Sutphin Blvd. at Jamaica Ave., with the footage showing a 63-year-old man slowly walking down the sidewalk about 5:30 p.m. when a figure dressed in dark clothes crept behind him, ripped the wallet from his hand and knocked him to the ground. Cops also released a photo of a suspect wearing a red mask, taken at the scene of another robbery at 2:30 p.m. that same day, at 148th St. near Hillside Ave. In that incident, one of the thieves brandished a knife at a 22-year-old man and demanded cash, then made off with $1,300, cops said. The muggings took place between Nov. 14 and Dec. 22, cops said. Police ask anyone with information about the suspects to contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cox Media Group (CMG) today announced the debut of a new, local morning show in San Antonio on Y-100/KCYY featuring broadcasting team Frito & Katy whose decade-long era in College Station ended last month. Their new show will debut on Y-100 on January 10. Tucker Frito Young and Katy Dempsey have racked up a variety of awards during their historic run in College Station, including eight Best of the Brazos Valley Best Radio Personality awards, the 2021 National Association of Broadcasters award for personality of the year, and the 2017, 2018 and 2021 Marconi Awards for station of the year. They have also been handed three NAB Crystal Awards for public service (2012, 2016, and 2019) and the 2021 NAB Leadership Foundations Celebration of Service to America award for local community service. I am so excited to add the award-winning Frito & Katy show to the Y100 lineup, said Christi Brooks, KCYY Program Director. They bring authenticity and incredible passion for serving our local community and entertaining morning listeners in San Antonio. I cant wait to see the new heights well achieve with our already successful Y100 team! Young and Dempsey are graduates of the University of Texas at Austin. Young, who began his career as a traffic anchor, previously served as Operations Manager for the College Station cluster. Dempsey was previously Program Director at KNDE and is a devoted volunteer for the Special Olympics-Texas and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. "To do morning radio with your best friend in a city we both love with a company like CMG is really a dream come true," said Frito and Katy. "Our show is all about community, and we can't wait to serve San Antonio!" About Cox Media Group Cox Media Group, Inc. (CMG) is an industry-leading media company with dominant brands, award-winning content, and exceptional people. CMG provides valuable local content to viewers in the communities in which it serves. The company's operations primarily include 53 top-performing radio stations delivering all genres of content in 11 markets, 33 high-quality, market-leading television stations in 20 markets, and numerous streaming and digital platforms. CMG's portfolio includes primary affiliates of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and MyNetworkTV, as well as several valuable news and independent stations. Additionally, the company also offers a full suite of national, regional, local and digital advertising services with CMG Local Solutions, CoxReps and Gamut. For more information about CMG, visit www.coxmediagroup.com. Reno, Nev., Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tony Slonim, MD, Dr.PH, president and CEO of Renown Health in Reno, NV is the first quadruple-board-certified doctor in the United States with certifications in adult critical care, internal medicine, pediatric critical care and pediatrics and a Doctorate in Public Health. Dr. Slonim has conducted academic medical research under numerous grant awards, authored hundreds of scientific articles, chapters and books in the published medical literature and taken to the stage many times to educate physicians and health care professionals. However, today marks the first time he will take the stage to speak to the worlds most progressive thinkers and energetic tech pioneers across the globe about how remote patient monitoring and Renowns Transfer and Operations Center team are working to improve health and lives. The technology industry is back together in Las Vegas to experience the next generation of innovation with over 2200 exhibitors exhibiting in person at CES 2022. Key industry leaders are committed to advancement with 195 of the Fortune Global 500, 77 of the Interbrand 100, 66 of the top retailers, leading US and global media and attendees from 159 countries taking part in the most influential tech show in the world. We at Renown Health are proud of our national reputation as an innovator and our ability to bring better systems of care to consumers across Nevada and the world, said Tony Slonim, MD, Dr.PH, President & CEO, Renown Health. Our extraordinary clinical experts are leading the way, partnering with the nations top technology firms to transform care and demonstrate value to patients. In August, the Renown Transfer and Operations Center (RTOC) opened for business. Powered by Renown doctors, nurses, technicians and national technology partners, this state-of-the-art facility helps ensure seamless care for patients and providers for 27 counties across northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe and northeast California. The Transfer and Operations team ensures a better experience for every Renown patient and family. Through this highly coordinated care logistics system, Renown is now able to customize health care to the needs of every patient; delivering the right care, at the right time and place across the integrated delivery system. This system enables providers to provide care closer to home, in lower-cost ambulatory, outpatient surgical and skilled nursing settings- instead of the hospital, and to deliver a sizeable portion of care to patients- where they want to be- in their homes. The RTOC is amongst the largest in the country, and is a gift to clinicians across Renown and the state, allowing them to dedicate more time to serving patients, and improving outcomes- and leaving the logistics to other experts. Similar to how air traffic controllers manage traffic in and out of airports, the Renown Transfer and Operations Center (RTOC) team sees a birds-eye view of whats happening across our entire integrated delivery system, explained RTOC Director, Melanie Morris, MSN, RN. Having access to real-time information is critical because every action we take is tied to improving the health and well-being of our patients. Time and accuracy is always of the essence, and this Center drastically improves the efficiency of the entire health care system. Renown Regional Medical Center is the regions only Level II Trauma Center. Our caregivers and specialists are prepared to care for high-acuity patients including those who have suffered heart attacks and strokes, said Susan Lee, MD. MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Acute Services. Serving over 1 million people, the Transfer and Operations Center assists in caring for patients in both urban and rural communities. We now work together, in one location, to ensure we have the appropriate care teams and facilities ready to serve patients- immediately and upon their arrival at Renown Regional Medical Center, Renown South Meadows Medical Center, Renown Childrens Hospital and Renown Rehabilitation Hospital, as well as our emergency and urgent care sites. Remote hospital at home monitoring systems are a game-changer in improving patient care at Renown, said Mitchell Fong, Director, Telehealth. "We are now able to provide appropriate patients with a telehealth solution using wearable, continuous pulse oximetry, allowing patients the convenience of being in their own homes, with the confidence and security of knowing that Renown clinical staff are closely monitoring their health data, and regularly communicating with them through their recovery process. The Transfer and Operations Center spans 6,000 square feet, and is one of the largest centers of its kind in the nation, equipped with 28 high-definition dashboards on the front wall, two in the center of the room and four hanging monitors toward the back. Large plasma screens display important metrics such as patient vital signs, bed availability, facility capacity, staffing, technology and more. Registered Nurses and dispatchers continuously monitor activity around the clock, across Renowns 100,000 square mile service area, 100+ locations and partner facilities to make the best decisions for patients, providers and care teams. At first, this digital technology project was seen as a program that would connect patients to skilled clinicians and product inventors to improve care. However, once others heard about Dr. Slonims idea through Josh Mitchells recent Wall Street Journal article on the shrinking nursing workforce, and The Journal podcast on using automation to solve the healthcare labor shortage, representatives from long term care organizations and other states began to approach him. The project is off and running and quickly. The work pioneered by Dr. Slonim, the RTOC and Renowns technology partners may only be just the beginning. Within 10 years, I believe wearable devices backed by 24/7 clinical monitoring will transform a large part of patient care to the home, and will become the standard care for people when they are not feeling well. I expect you will be able to purchase a monthly subscription for wearable devices and the remote monitoring service at a local pharmacy, next to the cold medicine. People will then have the peace of mind that they or their loved ones are being monitored 24/7 by a supportive clinical team and have the security of knowing that if their condition worsens, that we can elevate the level of care for you - immediately, and real-time. commented Dr. Slonim. Dr. Slonim is now putting in the work to collect and analyze the preliminary data will revolutionize the way Renown cares for its patients, and he believes other health systems can follow suit. "Figure out how you can help your patients, expand the clinical expertise of your medical and nursing teams to serve thousands of patients- instead of one hospital floor or one practice, and work with patients and partners to learn, test, correct and revise. We're using innovative digital technology to provide a better experience for our customers, and we are excited for the future of delivering more convenient health care in every home. ### About Renown Health Renown Health is the regions largest, locally governed, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe and northeast California. With a diverse workforce of more than 6,500 employees, Renown has fostered a longstanding culture of excellence, determination and innovation. The organization comprises a trauma center, two acute care hospitals, a childrens hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a medical group and urgent care network, and the regions largest, locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown is currently enrolling participants in the worlds largest community-based genetic population health study, the Healthy Nevada Project. For more information, visit renown.org. MIAMI, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Wednesday, December 29, Step One Automotive Group launched the website to their first-ever VIP Rental USA company. The rental company is located at 4041 NW 26th St Miami, FL, 33142 - only two short blocks away from the Miami International Airport. Customers will experience the premium vehicle rental booking process entirely online easily through their phone and within minutes. The company's mission is to provide a VIP Car Rental experience that allows customers to complete the entire booking process through the website or WhatsApp, completely skipping the rental counter. Curbside pickup from Miami International Airport is one of the premium features offered for all rentals. VIP Rental USA advertises a diverse fleet made up of intermediate cars, full-size cars, intermediate SUVs, standard SUVs, large SUVs, pickup trucks, premium cars, and luxury cars. Customers who are unsure of which model vehicle they want to rent are encouraged to test drive the different selection of cars, trucks, and SUVs with the help of the company's employees. The first VIP Rental USA customer was Romain Grosjean, a Swiss-French racing driver in the NTT IndyCar Series. Drivers over the age of 21 with a legal driver's license and credit card can visit www.viprentalusa.com to reserve their premium rental vehicle today. Contact: Step One Automotive Group Aerika Wardrip awardrip@steponeauto.com (850) 461-2524 ### About Step One Automotive Group Step One Automotive Group is an American company based in Florida that was built on a singular dedication to empowering lives through smarter and easier ways of accessing mobility. Step One Automotive Group has 19 locations in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, representing 16 brands including Chrysler, Dodge Jeep, Ram Fiat, Volkswagen, Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, Genesis, Ford, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati, two pre-owned operations and three wholesale parts operations. Out of 18,000 dealerships in the United States, Step One Automotive Group ranks in the top 90 dealer groups in the country and the top 10 in Florida. Step One Automotive Group's headquarters are in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Please visit https://www.steponeautomotive.com. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steponeauto/ Instagram: @steponeautomotivegroup Related Files VIP Rental USA Logo.jpg Related Images Image 1: Romain Grosjean, first VIP Rental USA customer. The first VIP Rental USA customer was Romain Grosjean, a Swiss-French racing driver in the NTT IndyCar Series. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Beverly Hills , Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Venture capital is a pillar in the business industry, as it serves as the fuel to ignite a start-up business. However, the industry is evolving and modern times have called for modern strategies. Consequently, its structures have been rebuilt, familiar terms have gained new meanings, and ecosystems continue to expand. On this episode of The BARE Ventures Podcast, Samir Vig introduces founder and partner of Story Ventures, Jake Yormak. Yormaks experience and expertise provide clarity on the current state of the world of venture capital. Vig and Yormak discuss the key details within this broad topic. Listen to the full episode with host Samir Vig and Jake Yormak here. Story Ventures: How Jake Yormak Found his Passion A former New York-based lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Yormak focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and leveraged finance. Transitioning to another firm, Gunderson Dettmer, his focus shifted to early-stage startup tech companies. After Yormak noticed the citys industry environment evolving from the corporate world to the tech world, he started Story Ventures with his brother, Brian Yormak. Just shy of six years ago, Story Ventures was established. The Focus of Story Ventures Story Ventures is an early stage venture fund that invests in entrepreneurs with big visions that leverage technology and the proliferation of data to change the way people interact with the world. Targeted sectors include cybersecurity, energy infrastructure, telecom, payments, lending, computer processing, data analytics/visualization, autonomous vehicles/connected car, computer vision, and urban infrastructure. In short, they aim to fund companies that will excel in and change their target sectors. Data Automation: The Increase of Investors and its Evolvement A key influence on launching Story Ventures was the lack of data and automotive technology investors in New York City. However, that has changed. Its still in the early daysspecifically outside the bay area, Yormak states. Venture capital has grown exponentially, as more new funds enter the market and raise larger pools of capital than ever before. In addition, the pace of company creation has had a staggering increase. Pre-seed and Seed Stage Funding Pre-seed funding is a critical phase in the evolution of a new business, and Yormak emphasized the differences between pre-seed and seed funding between then and now. Three years ago, I would have told you it was less than one million dollars, Yormak explains. But now you see pre-seeds at $1.5 to $2 million dollars. Seed rounds can far exceed this and even begin to resemble what some traditionally would view as a Series A. Product-Fit Market Validation Validating product market fit is a key step to attracting investors. Strong growth, gaining market share and product enhancement serve as evidence of the momentum Yormak speaks of. What I see in this market is that Series A venture capitalists (VCs) are much more interested in momentum than they are the absolute metric, says Yormak. Evolution of early stage founders, investors and structures Changing day by day and second by second, the world of investing makes it difficult for old strategies to work with the modern investing industry framework. Vig opens up the topic of the evolution of founders, investors, and structures, with his viewpoint on classifications of a company. The progress of a business is now how the market is beginning to classify business phases, rather than the traditional letter classification. The lines are blurred now, and its tough to call something a letter just by where it is, Vig states. Yormak supports Vigs viewpoint by revealing the structural changes over time. What used to be classified as a series A in the past, would now be classified as a seed fund, for example. The Next Chapter for Story Ventures As the discussion on the evolution of early stage founders, investors and structures continues, the spotlight is put on the future of Story Ventures. Vig invites Yormak to give listeners a glimpse on the next chapter of his company. We just want to be the best, says Yormak. Being the best means we have to be flexible, because if youre just going to do the same thing over and over again, its very hard to maintain that edge. Getting Involved In terms of what Story Ventures looks for when it comes to building their portfolio, its in the sweet spot of automation and data technologies, with a high priority in commercial, technical and detail orientation. There is a network of active venture capital, explains Yormak. If you manage to build a fund that survives for five years or more, you can start to benefit from it Entrepreneurs are encouraged to dive into the opportunities that first check investors may bring, or in other words, align visions with the right venture capitalist. Investing now should be more of a mutual diligence. About Bringing together founder, operator and investor experience, BARE Ventures as a firm strives for a well-balanced approach to fund management. With an institutional investment background, BARE Ventures focuses on proven traditional methodologies combined with emerging learnings in the ever-changing venture capital landscape. Learn more at https://www.barevc.com/. Media Communications Inquiries: adamtorres@missionmatters.com Publicist for Adam Torres and Mission Matters Media KISS PR Brand Story PressWire Brand Publicity Partners KissPR.com For more details, visit Kisspr.com. KISS PR Digital PR & Marketing powers the Mission Matters Business podcast with brand storytelling. T: 972.437.8942 Attachment Beverly Hills , Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In this interview, Jonathan Shroyer talks with Mission Matters about the growing importance of customer experience and the trend of decentralized work. Listen to the complete interview of Jonathan Shroyer with Adam Torres on the Mission Matters Innovation Podcast. What mission matters to you? Driven by a mission to empower smaller communities, Shroyer says the question that keeps him awake at night is, How do you give people opportunities, no matter where they live in the world, to have purposeful work to be able to uplift the economies where they live and also to have fun with their families? I grew up in a small town in Texas, he continues, and one of the things that I noticed early on was there just wasnt as much technology service and other job opportunities in those small towns. And so, our mission has always been: how do you bring those economic opportunities through business to those small communities? How did you get started as an entrepreneur? I started my career in large enterprise companies and never really envisioned myself as an entrepreneur, Shroyer says. A few years ago, I came up with this idea around a decentralized network of CX (customer experience) workers and thought, this is what the future of CX is, in a decentralized network of profit-based workers, and decided to try it out. Two years later, his firm, Officium Labs, had earned $10 million in revenue. With resilience and grit, Shroyer was able to maintain his core purpose while pivoting from the specifics of the original idea. That process, he says, informs his advice to industry newcomers. To have a successful startup business, you must have a problem that youre trying to solve, have a different way to solve it than anyone else has done, you have to be able to monetize it, and then you ought to have the passion to really go after it, he says. Can you explain in a nutshell what customer experience (CX) is? The minute you buy a product, Shroyer explains, your customer experience begins, and when you stop using that product, your customer experience ends. "When you're looking at the entire spectrum of your experience from the start to the end, there are many different points along the way, he says. Maybe you have a question you talk to support, you might engage with their website or app, maybe you engage with other people in a community; all of those things are inside of that customer experience." Tell us about Arise and Officium Labs. Arise Virtual Solutions recently acquired Officium Labs, Shroyer explains, and for good reason. Over the last 27 years, (Arise) has been building a decentralized workforce of service partners that bring value to huge enormous brands all over the world, he says. Their mission aligns seamlessly with the work Officium Labs does, with its focus on three pillars: transformation, decentralization, and innovation. With our transform business, we help companies understand how to create a profit center-based customer experience organization and framework, and then we show them how to prove it mathematically, he says. As for the decentralization focus, he says its important for people to be able to work anywhere in the world with an efficient platform, technology, and opportunity. The future of services is a network of workers, technology, and capabilities where you can tap workers from anywhere in the world to clients and technologies and create this profit center focus, he says. The innovation component, he notes, involves products and technologies and helps companies optimize using AI and analytics. Whats next for the brand? We strongly felt that Arise was well-positioned over the next upcoming years to not only help us fulfill our vision and purpose, but to do it 10x better than we could have ever done ourselves, Shroyer says. Thats why we were super excited to join the Arise family and to bring the best of us to the best of them so that we can create (something) amazing together. To learn more, visit https://www.arise.com/. Media Communications Inquiries: adamtorres@missionmatters.com Publicist for Adam Torres and Mission Matters Media KISS PR Brand Story PressWire Brand Publicity Partners KissPR.com For more details, visit Kisspr.com. KISS PR Digital PR & Marketing powers the Mission Matters Business podcast with brand storytelling. T: 972.437.8942 Attachment VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Major Precious Metals Corp. (Major Precious Metals or the Company) (NEO:SIZE | OTC:SIZYF | FRANKFURT:3EZ) is pleased to announce that it will present at the inaugural Future Minerals Summit (FMS) to be held from January 11-13, 2022 at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Over 150 mining, and exploration and development companies are expected to attend FMS including over 2,000 in-person attendees. The summits program will focus on three main themes: (1) minings contribution to society, (2) reimagining mining, and (3) investing in new and emerging mining regions. Mr. Tony Williams, Chairman and CEO of Major Precious Metals will provide shareholders and interested stakeholders with an update on the Companys Skaergaard PGM Project (Skaergaard) located in Greenland on Thursday, January 13, at 2:10 PM Saudi Arabia Standard Time. A link to this presentation will be available on the Companys website at www.majorprecious.com after the event. Skaergaard Project Update The Company is also pleased to report that core and channel samples from its 2021 summer exploration and diamond drilling program at Skaergaard are currently being analyzed at ALS Globals geochemistry laboratory in Loughrea, Ireland with initial assay results expected to be released within Q1-2022. On behalf of the Board of Directors MAJOR PRECIOUS METALS CORP. Tony Williams Chairman and CEO Suite 810 789 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC V6C 1H2 Ph: 1-877-475-0963 info@majorprecious.com About Major Precious Metals Corp. Major Precious Metals is a Canadian junior mining company listed on the NEO Exchange (NEO) and its common shares trade under the ticker symbol SIZE. The Companys flagship project is the Skaergaard PGM Project in Greenland containing one of the largest palladium and gold deposits outside the major PGM producing areas of Russia and South Africa. The Company is focused on accelerating the progress of the Skaergaard Project along the Mine Development Cycle and has recently initiated a further major work program of drilling and economic evaluation. Additional information relating to Major Precious Metals is available at www.majorprecious.com . The NEO Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Forward-looking Information Statement This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. When used in this news release, the words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, target, plan, forecast, may, schedule and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the development of a mineral resource estimate for the Skaergaard PGM Project, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Companys current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. WARSAW, Ind. and BOULDER, Colo. and PARIS, France, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WishBone Medical, Inc., a leader in pediatric orthopedic medical devices, and SpineGuard (FR0011464452 ALSGD), an innovative company that deploys its Dynamic Surgical Guidance (DSG) sensing technology to secure and streamline the placement of bone implants today announced a long-term collaborative partnership with, for exclusive distribution rights of PediGuard smart spinal drilling devices to childrens hospitals across the United States. This strategic alignment with SpineGuard enables WishBones spine division to support and focus 100% on the pediatric spine community. Our goal is to provide clinical solutions to surgeons unmet needs related to improving patient safety and enhancing practice outcomes, says Jeff Wertz, Executive Vice President of Spine, WishBone Medical. Increasing accuracy rates when making a pilot hole in axially rotated spines in scoliosis surgery is critical to a successful outcome. In addition, Surgical teams can significantly reduce the amount of radiation exposure to children associated with pre-op CT scans and intra-op X-rays taken during surgeryan important risk factor that can be greatly reduced and minimized in AIS procedures. We will implement this very promising collaboration in close cooperation to integrate with our existing network of US agents, leveraging the new DSG Connect platform that adds visual display and data recording capabilities. Despite todays evolving spine surgery solutions, the inherent design rationale behind DSG continues to elevate the key elements which have kept DSG technology extremely relevant in that risk mitigation, low radiation exposure, minimal set-up, and a 12-year clinical history of providing real-time accuracy that rivals all other far more expensive modalities, says Patrick Pilcher Vice President, Sales and Marketing, North America SpineGuard. Pierre Jerome, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of SpineGuard, adds: We are delighted to join forces with WishBone to offer our X-ray-free real time guidance technology to a much larger number of US surgeons and hospitals providing pediatric orthopedic care and to help them make spine surgery safer. This congruent alliance will significantly broaden our sales footprint in the United States. WishBone has the passion, leadership and access necessary to drive faster and wider adoption for our DSG technology in spinal deformity correction, a historical foundation integral to SpineGuard. Through the contracts that WishBone holds with multiple group purchasing organizations, we now are in network with 242 of the 268 standalone childrens hospitals doing orthopedic surgery, says Nick Deeter, Founder, Chairman and CEO, WishBone Medical. This level of access will provide surgeons the opportunity to immediately use DSG and minimize radiation exposure to their patients. This technology is a perfect addition to WishBones sterile spine solutions as we push to raise surgical standards for children. The safety and efficacy of utilizing DSG for spine surgery has been proven by more than 85,000 surgeries across the globe and supported by 17 scientific, peer reviewed publications.* DSG probes allow for haptic, tactile feel, act as an internal GPS system inside the pedicle, and enhance residents' and fellows' ability to place spinal implants more accurately for increased patient safety.1 The literature supports DSG accuracy rates as equal to or superior to navigation/robotic alternatives, without the disadvantage of disrupting surgical workflow and avoiding intra-operative CT scans. Combining DSG technology with the ASTRA Spine Deformity System will provide a clinical solution to help support the growing needs of the pediatric spine surgeon community. *A full list of supporting publications can be found on manufacturers website: https://www.spineguard.com/dynamic-surgical-guidance-technology 1. Williams, John & Samdani, Amer & Defino, Helton & George, Keri & Gaughan, John & Betz, Randal. (2014). Anticipation of vertebral pedicle breach through dynamic surgical guidance. Coluna/ Columna. 13. 210-213. 10.1590/S1808-18512014130300R85. About SpineGuard Founded in 2009 in France and the USA by Pierre Jerome and Stephane Bette, SpineGuard is an innovative company deploying its proprietary radiation-free real time sensing technology DSG (Dynamic Surgical Guidance) to secure and streamline the placement of implants in the skeleton. SpineGuard designs, develops and markets medical devices that have been used in over 85,000 surgical procedures worldwide. Seventeen studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals have demonstrated the multiple benefits DSG offers to patients, surgeons, surgical staff and hospitals. Building on these solid fundamentals and several strategic partnerships, SpineGuard has expanded its technology platform in a disruptive innovation: the smart pedicle screw launched late 2017 and is broadening the scope of applications in dental implantology and surgical robotics. DSG was co-invented by Maurice Bourlion, Ph.D., Ciaran Bolger, M.D., Ph.D., and Alain Vanquaethem, Biomedical Engineer. SpineGuard has engaged in multiple ESG initiatives. For further information, visit www.spineguard.com . Disclaimer The SpineGuard securities may not be offered or sold in the United States as they have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any United States state securities laws, and SpineGuard does not intend to make a public offer of its securities in the United States. This is an announcement and not a prospectus, and the information contained herein does and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities referred to herein in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or exemption from registration. Contacts SpineGuard Pierre Jerome CEO & Chairman Tel: +33 1 45 18 45 19 p.jerome@spineguard.com NewCap Investor Relations & Financial Communication Mathilde Bohin / Pierre Laurent Tel: +33 1 44 71 94 94 spineguard@newcap.eu About WishBone Medical WishBone Medical is a global pediatric orthopedic company committed to providing anatomically appropriate implants and instruments in single-use, sterile packed procedure kits that are designed to prevent infection, reduce overall costs for customers and achieve the best outcomes for children everywhere. The WishBone Medical Family of Companies offers a comprehensive head-to-toe product portfolio of innovative systems with operations in Warsaw, IN; Istanbul, and Singapore. For further information, visit www.WishBoneMedical.com or contact Kaitlyn Hughes, Director of Marketing & Communications, at +1-574-306-4006. Contact: Kaitlyn Hughes Tel: +1-574-306-4006 KHughes@WishBoneMedical.com www.WishBoneMedical.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed3cdf7f-e7cc-4017-b8f6-92e98883356b Merrillville, Indiana, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jean-Luc Barone Promoted to Chief Executive Officer, Hospitality Management David Lanterman Promoted to Chief Operating Officer New Organizational Capability, Rooms Operations Vice Presidents Named White Lodging, one of the largest independent hotel development and management companies in the United States, has named Jean-Luc Barone the Chief Executive Officer of the hotel management company. Ken Barrett, who previously held this role, will continue to serve as President of White Lodging, focused on the performance of the companys owned assets and other key company initiatives. Both Barone and Barrett will report to White Lodging Founder and Chairman, Bruce White. Barone joined White Lodging in 2016 as the Vice President of Food & Beverage, and most recently served as the companys Chief Operating Officer, a position he has held since 2018. Filling the now-open Chief Operating Officer position is David Lanterman, current Senior Vice President of Operations at White Lodging. Jean-Luc and David have been catalysts for positive change and have quickly elevated the companys urban and lifestyle hotel offerings and locally relevant restaurants, said White. Both leaders also have a reputation for creating an environment that allows each associate to be their best self, and grow through training, development and mentorship something associates all across the industry need more than ever. Barone is responsible for all of White Lodgings hospitality management operations, including new hotel openings; concept creation and execution; and the award-winning Brush Creek Luxury Ranch Collection. Prior to joining White Lodging, Barone spent 16 years with Starwood Hotels in a variety of operation roles, including Vice President of Global Food & Beverage for Starwood hotels. As Chief Operating Officer, Lanterman will oversee all strategy execution, operations and customer service at the property level. His focus will be on driving consistent and focused execution across the portfolio. Prior to joining White Lodging in 2013, David spent 10 years with Winegardner and Hammons Hotel Group in multiple leadership positions. He is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University. New Organizational Capability, Rooms Operation Vice Presidents Named Steve Ransone will serve as White Lodgings Vice President of Organizational Capability. In this role, Ransone is responsible for recruiting, training, development, and other direct efforts designed to grow associates personal and professional skills. Ransone is a 23-year White Lodging veteran who most recently served as Vice President of Rooms Operations. He worked at Marriott International for more than 10 years before joining White Lodging. Whitney Flores will serve as White Lodgings Vice President of Rooms Operations, filling the role most recently held by Ransone. Flores joined White Lodging in 2014 and most recently served as Director of Rooms Operations. She is responsible for execution and process improvement across all front office and housekeeping operations, including all new hotel openings. Before Joining White Lodging, Flores spent five years in various Hyatt Hotel operations roles. Our people are the heart and soul of White Lodging and Im proud to see these internal associates thriving, said White. About White Lodging White Lodging, established in 1985, is one of the leading ownership, development, and management companies in America. An innovative trendsetter, the organizations portfolio includes convention, urban lifestyle, and suburban select hotels with more than $1 billion in managed revenue. White Lodging operates approximately 90-premium hotels, 40 restaurants and 30 brands. Success knows no boundaries at White Lodging, where associates and leadership have consistently earned superior guest satisfaction scores, top market share and industry-leading profit margins while recruiting the best, brightest, and most passionate professionals in every discipline for three decades. White Lodging is a proud winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award. For more information about White Lodging, visit www.whitelodging.com or follow the company on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Attachment VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euro Manganese Inc. (TSX-V and ASX: EMN; OTCQX: EUMNF; Frankfurt: E06) (the "Company" or "EMN") is pleased to announce that pursuant to the Project Support Agreement entered into by the Company and EIT InnoEnergy, as announced on February 22, 2021, and to the receipt of two investment tranches aggregating 187,500 (CAD$278,012), the Company has issued 478,027 common shares ("Shares") to EIT InnoEnergy. The first EIT InnoEnergy investment tranche of 62,500 (CAD$92,850) was advanced to the Company on March 24, 2021, for which the Company agreed to issue 147,380 Shares at the price of CAD$0.63 per Share (refer to EMN news release dated March 30, 2021). The second investment tranche of 125,000 (CAD$185,162) was advanced to the Company on July 26, 2021, for which the Company agreed to issue 330,647 Shares at the price of CAD$0.56 per Share (refer to EMN news release dated July 27, 2021). The issue prices of the Shares issued pursuant to each investment tranche were determined using the 10-day volume weighted average stock price on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") prior to receipt of such investment tranche. The share issuances were approved by the TSXV effective April 7, 2021 and August 9, 2021. EIT InnoEnergy is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which is a body of the European Union. It leads the industrial stream of the European Battery Alliance, an initiative launched by The European Commission in October 2017 with the objective to build a strong and competitive battery industry in Europe. The support of EIT InnoEnergy, which also includes assistance in securing financing and offtake agreements, is intended to help accelerate the successful integration of the Chvaletice Manganese Project (the "Project") into Europes electric vehicle (EV) battery value chain. The funds from the first two investment tranches were used to support ongoing work on the Projects definitive feasibility study and the Project's demonstration plant, which is intended to produce large-scale samples of high-purity manganese for supply chain qualification by prospective customers, including European electric vehicle makers and battery manufacturers. The third and final investment tranche of 62,500 from EIT InnoEnergy under the Project Support Agreement is expected later in the first quarter of 2022. Following the issuance of the 478,027 Shares to EIT InnoEnergy, the Company has 377,961,442 Shares issued and outstanding. In accordance with Canadian securities laws and policies of the TSXV, the Shares issued to EIT InnoEnergy are subject to a four month and one day statutory hold period expiring on May 7, 2022. About Euro Manganese Inc. Euro Manganese Inc. is a battery materials company whose principal focus is advancing the development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project, in which it holds a 100% interest. The proposed Project entails re-processing a significant manganese deposit hosted in mine tailings from a decommissioned mine, strategically located in the Czech Republic. The Companys goal is to become a leading, competitive and environmentally superior primary producer of ultra-high-purity Manganese Products in the heart of Europe, serving the lithium-ion battery industry, as well as other high-technology applications. Authorized for release by the CEO of Euro Manganese Inc. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) or the ASX accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contact: Euro Manganese Inc. Dr. Matthew James Fausto Taddei President & CEO Vice President, Corporate Development +44 747 229 66 88 & Corporate Secretary + 1-604-681-1010 ext. 105 Media inquiries: Ron Shewchuk Director of Communications +1-604-781-2199 E-mail: info@mn25.ca Website: www.mn25.ca Company Address: #709 -700 West Pender St., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 1G8 Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as may, would, could, will, intend, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, estimate, scheduled, forecast, predict and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking information or statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the receipt of the third investment tranche from EIT InnoEnergy; the completion and timing of the definitive feasibility study; the timing, installation of the delivery and operation of the demonstration plant; the Companys ability to negotiate offtake agreements with potential customers; the evaluation and development of any new business opportunities; and the Companys ability to finance the full-scale, commercial development of the Project. Further, it should be noted that no production decision has been made with respect to the Project and that such a decision will only be made based on completion of a positive feasibility study, permitting and financing having been secured. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under Risks Notice and elsewhere in the Companys MD&A, as well as the inability to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner; the potential for unknown or unexpected events to cause contractual conditions to not be satisfied; unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the Company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth in the Risks Notice section and elsewhere in the Companys MD&A for the year ended September 30, 2021 and its Annual Information Form. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lui Franciosi is pleased to announce that he will be examining The Green House Project as one of the most innovative models of senior care. This Project is a non-profit organization based out of the United States that is dedicated to creating alternative living environments in traditional care homes. Their focus is to have seniors live meaningful lives. Residents within their homes have private rooms and baths, they are able to move around without restrictions, and they live with a small group of other seniors (i.e., usually between 7 to 10 residents per home). This enables them to form good relationships with each other and even participate in preparing their own meals or perform daily cleaning much like they may have done in their previous lives. There are usually 2 to 3 staff members available to assist; they are also the same staff which helps build the necessary trust and compassion with residents. Lui Franciosi states, This past year has been a challenging one for many seniors and their families who are within the traditional, institutional model of senior care. There is a need to better understand if alternative models of senior care such as the Green House Project could improve quality of life and delivery of care, even within the current model without spending an enormous amount of money. This would mean changing existing building layouts or staffing plans with the aim of creating smaller cohorts of seniors and staff to live and work together within an existing community. It is definitely possible if there is a will to change for the better. There are similar models that will be also evaluated, i.e., the Dutch Dementia Village Model and The Danish Model of senior care. Both also emphasize small groups of seniors and staff with daily functional activities. There is also suggestion that alongside better health outcomes, these small group models helped augment infection control measures during this COVID-19 pandemic. This formal review will assist administrators of senior housing such as long term care, assisted living and independent living prepare policies and plans for future development. The aim is to have it published in the form of a white paper for administrators as well as seniors, families and the general public. For more information about Lui Franciosi and his company Franciosi Consulting Ltd., please visit https://franciosiconsulting.com/ or his YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7PSoeH8yN-HuLg5xFi5Qxw/. Dr. Franciosi advises on the operational and research needs of the pharmaceutical and senior care industries. He also discusses topics online such as running your own business, chronic pain, the importance of senior care, Lyme Disease, as well as COVID-19 & the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. About Lui Franciosi Lui Franciosi is a consultant with over 20 years of executive experience collected in the pharmaceutical and senior care industries. He holds a Masters degree and a Doctorate from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He also studied business at the University of Warwick in the U.K. Lui Franciosi founded Franciosi Consulting Ltd. in 2015 and is the President and CEO. He is currently also an Adjunct Professor at The University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in areas of pharmacology and gerontology, respectively. Contact lui@franciosiconsulting.com +1.778.998.6260 The suspected shooter of a Brooklyn teen lured to his death by a woman in a Facebook chat was busted outside a Georgia fast-food joint after seven months on the lam, police said Thursday. Ricardo Dash has been extradited to New York to face charges of murder, attempted robbery, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon for the slaying of Shaheem Bascom possibly targeted over a running beef with a local street gang, authorities said. Advertisement The suspect was nabbed in mid-December, barely a week before his 21st birthday, by the NYPD and U.S. marshals in the parking lot of a Bojangles fried chicken restaurant in Henry County, Ga., police said. Ricardo Dash, 21, is charged with murder (Henry County Sheriff's Office) Local news reports in Georgia said he was carrying a weapon when arrested outside the restaurant where he was apparently working, although it was not immediately clear if the gun was the same one used in the killing of Bascom. Advertisement Dash lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to cops. He was returned to the city Tuesday and was awaiting arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court Thursday. An alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Deshawn Holder, of East New York, has also been arrested and charged with attempted robbery and gang assault for his role in the killing, cops said Thursday. The 18-year-old victim was gunned down near Hegman Ave. and Linwood St. in East New York about 11:30 p.m. May 10 as he headed to meet with the woman after the pair chatted online, cops and his mother said. Bascom lived with family in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Shaheem Bascom,18, was lured to his shooting death in East New York by a woman he met online. (Obtained by Daily News) Police were investigating whether suspect Sarina Davis, 25, of East New York, arrested last month for attempted robbery and assault, was the woman responsible for inviting the victim to a meeting that turned into a murder. They just ambushed my kid, Bascoms mother said shortly after the murder. That little girl set my son up. She told him to come to one address and then gave him another. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > Bascoms mom said her son survived two previous attempted hits after running afoul of the lethal 900 Gang, a crew operating out of public housing complexes in Bedford-Stuyvesant and had even moved in with his father to escape the neighborhood. One of them pulled a gun out on him, and then another tried to stab him, his mother told the Daily News in May. She spoke on condition her name not be used, saying she feared retaliation. But he wasnt in a gang, she added. He was a good kid. It was about who he hung around with. Advertisement He lived long enough after the shooting to tell police about his online conversation with the woman supposedly named Desiree and his plans to meet with her that night. Cops said Dash has two prior arrests, for assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Holder had a pair of previous busts as well, for assault and possession of stolen property, cops said. In August, cops arrested Kaliyah Philips, 23, of East New York, for assault and gang assault, but cops at the time said she was not Desiree. Her case has since been sealed. Gloucester, MA (01930) Today Overcast with rain showers at times. High 54F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Occasional rain. Low 44F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. SHIPSHEWANA [mdash] Lorene Miller, 69, Shipshewana, died at 7:15 p.m., Saturday, April 30, at Life Care Center, LaGrange. She was born Sept. 8, 1952 in LaGrange, to Lester and Mary Alice (Miller) Hochstetler. On Oct. 24, 1974 in Shipshewana, she married Chris B. Miller, he survives. Survivor Authorities in Tennessee have issued a warrant for a suspect in the murder of rapper Young Dolph, who was gunned down outside a popular cookie store in South Memphis late last year. The rapper, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., was purchasing sweets at Makedas Homemade Butter Cookies when he was fatally shot on Nov. 17, 2021. Police said two gunmen drove up to the popular shop, a spot frequented by Dolph during his visits to the city, and unleashed a hail of gunfire. Advertisement The Memphis Police Department in a statement Wednesday night identified one suspected shooter as 23-year-old Justin Johnson, who is now wanted on a first-degree murder charge. He was also added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Most Wanted list. American Rapper Young Dolph performs during the Astroworld Festival at NRG Stadium on November 9, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images) Authorities in Memphis along with the U.S. Marshals service are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Advertisement Johnson stands around 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. He also has the name Jaiya tattooed on his right arm. The suspect also has an outstanding warrant for violation of federal supervised release out of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Authorities further noted that Johnson has ties to organized criminal gangs and should be considered armed and dangerous. In wake of the shooting, authorities released photos taken from surveillance cameras in the area. They show a pair of armed suspects exiting a white two-door Mercedes-Benz and approaching Young Dolph inside the cookie store. The gunmen, whose faces were partially covered, shot the rapper several times before fleeing the scene, police said. Makedas Homemade Butter Cookies closed in wake of the violence and later served as a sort of memorial for Young Dolphs fans. It reopened about a week later. Anyone with information on Johnsons whereabouts is urged to call 901-378-3132 or 1-800-TBI-FIND. Governor Northam Announces Qualtrics to Expand in Fairfax, Creating 400 New Jobs Experience management software company to invest $15.9 million RICHMONDGovernor Ralph Northam today announced Qualtrics, an experience management software company, will invest $15.9 million to expand in Fairfax County. Virginia successfully competed with Pennsylvania and Ohio for the project, which will create 400 new jobs. Virginia offers access to the highest concentration of tech talent in the United States, said Governor Northam. The Commonwealths diverse tech ecosystem is driven by our stable business climate, competitive operating costs, and a world-class workforce. We look forward to Qualtrics continued success in Fairfax County. Qualtrics is the leader and creator of the Experience Management (XM) category, one of the sectors fastest-growing markets. The company helps organizations understand what customers and employees are thinking and feeling and enables them to act on that feedback to provide optimal experiences. The Qualtrics XM Platform is used by more than 13,500 organizations around the world to drive customer and citizen engagement, improve loyalty and retention, and grow revenue. Qualtrics recently acquired the Reston-based company Clarabridge, a leader in omni-channel conversational analytics. The Commonwealth has become one of North Americas premier locations for the tech sector, providing the ideal environment for fast-growing software companies to thrive, said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. We are excited to see Qualtrics expand its presence and advance cutting-edge technology in Fairfax County while creating high-quality, 21st-century jobs. Organizations everywhere are undergoing an experience transformation and Qualtrics has an incredible opportunity in front of us. With its strong talent pool, Virginia is a perfect place for us to grow, said Qualtrics Chief Executive Officer Zig Serafin. The investments were making today will put us in an even stronger position to help our customers build their next great customer, employee, product, and brand experiences. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Northam approved a $1.4 million grant from the Commonwealths Opportunity Fund to assist Fairfax County with the project. The Governor also approved $2 million in funds from the Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant. The Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant was established as a self-funded program of performance-based incentives that the Commonwealth awards to exceptional economic development projects with large numbers of employees and very high wages relative to average wages for that particular area. Support for job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and other higher education partners, with funding support from the Northam administration and the Virginia General Assembly. Launched in 2019, the program accelerates new facility start-ups through the direct delivery of recruitment and training services that are fully customized to a companys unique products, processes, equipment, standards, and culture. All program services are provided at no cost to qualified new and expanding companies as an incentive for job creation. This marks the second vote of confidence that Qualtrics has made in our business community this year, said Fairfax County Economic Development Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Victor Hoskins. First was the purchase of Clarabridge, a homegrown tech success story, and now the expansion being announced today. We thank and congratulate Qualtrics for this tremendous growth and we stand ready to assist the company further as it expands its footprint here. "Congratulations to Qualtrics on expanding their offices in Fairfax County, said Senator Janet Howell. Qualtrics, with their innovative spirit, customer obsessed-solutions, and data-driven analytics, will find itself right at home, where some of the worlds leading cloud-based IT companies flourish and continue to find tremendous success." # # # A Colorado mother who pretended her daughter was terminally ill so she could reap the benefits has reached a plea agreement in connection with the girls 2017 death. Kelly Turner on Monday pleaded guilty to felony theft, felony charity fraud and child abuse negligently causing death, according to KUSA. Shed previously been facing counts of murder and abuse in the case. Advertisement When her daughter, Olivia Gant, dubbed Batgirl by her community, died in August 2017, it was initially believed she had finally succumbed to the series of health issues she suffered throughout her short life. Just months later, Turner was accused of faking the 7-year-olds illnesses so she could enjoy gifts and donations from Make-a-Wish foundation and perks from other charities. Investigators said Turner went as far as fooling doctors at Childrens Hospital Colorado into providing unnecessary and what were likely life-threatening medical procedures for Olivia. Advertisement The disgraced mother previously claimed her daughter had been diagnosed with neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy, a condition that attacks the bodys vital organs. Olivias health problems ultimately earned her the attention of both the Make-a-Wish Foundation and DaVita Inc. a Denver based dialysis company who teamed up to help the girl play out of her dreams of battling alongside Batman. Turner also allegedly received nearly $600,000 in Medicaid benefits and donations from charities and GoFundMe donors, according to the indictment. An investigation was launched into Olivias death in 2018 after Turner started seeking out medical treatment for another daughter. She claimed the girl had cancer, which was ultimately determined to be untrue. Olivias body was exhumed amid the probe and an autopsy was performed, though the cause of death was inconclusive. According to her first death certificate, she had chronic intestinal failure, autism and seizure disorder. Several physicians and doctors however told investigators they could not find any evidence to corroborate any of the illnesses Turner claimed her daughter had. Whats more, none of the conditions she did have should have resulted in the girls death. Turner is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 9. She faces a maximum of 16 years for the charge of child abuse resulting in death and another 10 years for the charge of felony theft, and three years for the charge of charitable fraud. USA Truck Inc. has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) for an initial purchase of 10 Nikola Tre BEV trucks from Thompson Truck Centers, a member of the Nikola Corporation sales and service dealer network. The LOI between USA Truck and Thompson Truck Centers is a fleet-as-a-service model in which Thompson will provide sales, service, maintenance, and energy infrastructure required to operate the Nikola Tre BEV trucks, expected to be delivered in the first half of 2022. The agreement also includes the option to purchase an additional 90 Nikola zero-emission trucks over the next two years. USA Truck is a leading capacity solutions provider headquartered in Van Buren, Arkansas. With more than 2,000 driving team members, USA Truck is regarded as one of the nations largest over-the-road truckload carriers and brokers, providing capacity solutions to a broad customer base throughout North America. How to Clip Click and hold your mouse button on the page to select the area you wish to save or print. You can click and drag the clipping box to move it or click and drag in the bottom right corner to resize it. When you're happy with your selection, click the checkmark icon next to the clipping area to continue. The Community Announcements calendar publishes twice weekly on Thursday and Saturday. The submission deadline for Thursday announcements is noon on the previous Tuesday. The submission deadline for Saturday is noon on the previous Wednesday. A Philadelphia man was freed from prison more than three decades after he was found guilty of a 1980 murder a verdict only reached as a result of false testimony provided by a witness who accepted bribes of sex and drugs from police officers. Willie Stokes served more than 37 years of his life sentence by the time the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated his murder conviction last week. Advertisement This remarkable case is marked by prosecutorial and policing practices that were too pervasive during the so-called tough-on-crime 1980s and 1990s, and unfortunately persist in far too many jurisdictions today, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement. Willie Stokes walks from a state prison in Chester, Pa., on Tuesday after his 1984 murder conviction was overturned. (Matt Rourke/AP) Prosecutors have an obligation to seek justice, and to redefine prosecutorial success not by wins in the form of convictions, but by accuracy and fairness in resolving criminal investigations and prosecutions. Advertisement Despite Stokes repeated denials, jurors convicted him for the slaying of Leslie Campbell on Aug. 21, 1984, based primarily on statements from Franklin Lee. He later recanted his story and was charged with perjury in connection with the case just days later though Stokes was not informed about it until 2015. During an evidentiary hearing in November, Lee testified that his initial statement and subsequent testimony at the preliminary hearing had been false. He also said that prosecutors told him he would receive a favorable deal on his open cases in exchange for framing Stokes. Lee at the time was in prison facing murder and rape charges. He said that he was approached by two detectives, Lawrence Gerrard and Ernest Gilbert, who offered him sex, drugs, and a deal, in exchange for his testimony, the Washington Post reported. In a bid to persuaded him, the officers allowed Lees girlfriend to meet with him in private at police headquarters. On another occasion, they provided condoms and a sex worker, Lee testified. He added that he was also told he would, at most, receive a seven-year sentence for the charges hed been facing. Lee in the end served 35 years behind bars. He was released two years ago and currently works as an assembly line worker. Both detectives have been accused of using similar tactics in different cases. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, at least five other men remain behind bars on convictions with similar claims. The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) slapped Alphabets Google with a 150 million fine, and Metas Facebook with 60 million. The reason is both companies made it difficult for users to refuse online cookies. Accepting cookies is done with a single click, and rejecting should be as easy, said Karin Kiefer, Head of Data Protection and Sanctions at CNIL. The watchdog claimed facebook.com, google.fr, and youtube.com did not allow the refusal of cookies easily, Reuters reported. The two companies have three months to comply with orders and provide an easy solution or will be ordered to pay an extra 100,000 per day for the time of the delay. Facebook did not comment, but a Google spokesperson was quoted to say the company understands its responsibility to protect the trust of consumers and is committing to further changes. This is the second time the regulator fines Google. The first was back in 2020 when Googles French websites didnt seek the consent of visitors and saved advertising cookies on computers without providing clear information on the action and its consequences. Source University of Guam President Thomas Krise, left, and Senior Vice Provost Anita Borja Enriquez pose with cutting boards that were engraved using a laser cutter at the G3 Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub at Chamorro Village in Hagatna January 2022. A young father was fatally shot late last week in the parking lot of a Chuck E. Cheese in Humble, Texas, while carrying a cake to celebrate his daughters sixth birthday. According to local reports, 24-year-old Calogero Duenes was gunned down on Friday night, after getting into an argument with a man who was driving a Ford vehicle and almost hit him. Advertisement His wife Amber Uresti, and their two daughters, ages 3 and 6, had gone into the restaurant first. We had just gotten off [the car]. I had gotten my daughters off I was going to get the stamps and get them prepared when their dad came in, she told KHOU 11. Advertisement She then heard him screaming hed gotten shot. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > I ran out behind him, my daughters ran out behind me, they saw him lying on the floor, she said. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim suffering from multiple bullet wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he later died. I dont understand how someone could do something like that. He was walking with a cake, Uresti said. Its a tragedy. I really cant wrap my head around it. Like, Im hurt. I cant understand how someone can do that to someone thats holding a cake, she told KPRC-TV. We just went to go celebrate my daughters sixth birthday. I mean, thats all he was tasked with. Thats all he had on him was a cake. Her sister, Rosemarie Uresti, wrote in a GoFundMe page set up to help the family with funeral expenses that Amber is at a loss for words, and the entire family is devastated in this tragedy. They were just arriving my sister walked inside with the girls and he stayed behind to get the cake, as he was walking a vehicle approached him & tried to run him over and fatally shot him, she wrote. This is not how we expected to start the new year. Duenes will be buried in his hometown of Corpus Christi. His funeral will be held on Monday. The cassette sample well at left from the FlowFlex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test shows a positive result, while the sample well at right shows a negative result on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022. Manufacturer information indicates the test has not been cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but it is FDA-authorized under an Emergency use Authorization to detect proteins from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens. The Guam Election Commission has announced that candidate packets for the 2022 elections will be available for pickup beginning Friday. Guam voters will head to the polls this year to cast votes for governor and lieutenant governor, delegate to Congress, senator, attorney general, education board and Consolidated Commission on Utilities. The primary election is Aug. 27, and the general election is Nov. 8. Early in-office absentee voting lasts from July 28 to Aug. 19 for the primary election, and from Oct. 10 to Oct. 31 for the general election. Out of concerns for public safety, the commission is advising people to visit gec.guam.gov/candidates to complete the request form for an electronic candidate packet. Electronic candidate packets will be sent via email and will include all the forms and manuals necessary to run for public office. Individuals who require hard copy packets may visit the Election Commission office located on the second floor of the Oka Building on Farenholt Avenue in Tamuning. Additionally, the Guam Election Commission encourages all potential candidates and their treasurers to attend a candidate seminar to be held in the GEC Conference Room on the second floor of the Oka Building in Tamuning. Packets for governor, lieutenant governor, delegate, attorney general can be filed between April 19 and June 28, and packets for Guam Education Board, CCU and judicial retention can be filed between July 1 and Sept. 9. Call GEC at (671) 477-9791 to reserve space, as seating is limited. Guam Department of Education officials are looking for ways to support accelerated learning without making up days lost during pandemic disruptions. Deputy Superintendent Joe Sanchez said the idea is to focus more on maximizing the quality of classroom education, and not just on increasing instructional time. You cant just cram more information in an already tight school year, said Sanchez. The idea is to work with teachers, parents, and students to maximize regular school instruction by providing more resources, support, and opportunities for collaborations. Failure rate Since the beginning of the pandemic, the estimated failure rate of Guam DOE students has doubled, Sanchez said. Following discussions with administrators and school faculty, plans are being updated and will be discussed in a school leadership teams meeting in the next few weeks with administrators, teachers, counselors, librarians, and staff representatives. The strategies include: Identifying and clarifying the most essential content knowledge and skills. Regularly assessing students at the classroom and district level, monitoring student needs and progress. Supporting and strengthening classroom instruction by training teachers and encouraging them to share effective lessons, strategies and best practices. Providing high-quality instructional resources with both hard copy and online e-books. Providing access to technology and online resources. Providing ongoing opportunities for collaboration and engagement at all levels to support schools professional learning communities. Promoting the alignment of efforts through district-level training, workshops and sharing sessions. Providing additional supplemental instruction and learning activities outside of school for students most in need. The law requires 180 instructional school days, but 24 days were lost this year before students returned to full face-to-face instruction. Waivers Guam DOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez said that with the Guam Board of Educations approval, the department will be seeking a waiver for both service-learning and the 180-day instruction requirement in order to get as much flexibility as possible to get through this school year. However, he said this doesnt prevent the board from determining that they would like to see an extended school day or extended school year either this year or next year. I dont think were at the point of re-thinking the school year entirely, but I think the big challenge is moving from distance learning back to in-person instruction, recognizing the challenges distance learning has posed on not just us, but many other school districts, and the increased effectiveness of having students back in school with their teachers, said Fernandez. I think moving forward, if we do see a major shift, it will be more on an emphasis on distance learning as a part of our school system and curriculum, implementing distance learning on a regular basis. Zachary David Salas Palomo and Jude Donovan Santos were charged after they were accused of breaking into a womans Tumon home and business. Joint Region Marianas is again requiring all personnel on Department of Defense installations to wear a face covering in congregate settings indoors or outdoors when social distancing cant be maintained. After two months of a downward trend, we are now experiencing a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases and we want to make sure we get ahead of the spread and slow it back down to protect our families and our island, Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson stated in a Joint Region Marianas news release. In early November, Joint Region Marianas announced that fully vaccinated people no longer had to wear masks on Guam military bases. The reinstated mask policy is applicable to all military personnel stationed, assigned to temporary duty or assigned to a visiting unit temporarily located in Guam and to civilian dependents, contractors and DOD civilian employees and visitors to DOD installations, the release stated. Mask wearing isnt required during physical training activity or due to operational necessity as determined by individual unit commanders, the release stated. Boosters Nicholson encouraged all eligible recipients to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. The health and safety of our personnel, families, employees, and our larger community remains a top priority, and vaccinating against COVID-19 remains our best defense against the disease, he said in the release. A man was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of burglary, criminal trespassing and harassments according to the Office of the Attorney General of Guam on Thursday. Orlando Hadley was found guilty after trial by a Supreme Court jury in October 2021 of burglary as a second-degree felony, criminal trespass as a misdemeanor and harassment as a petty misdemeanor. He was originally meant to face up to 10 years in prison. Case According to the Attorney Generals office he broke into his ex-girlfriends home by removing sliding glass panels of the bathroom window and climbing in. He initially told police his name was Jess Partolome. He admitted to officers that he became angry after learning the woman was dating someone else and wanted to fight the man according to the office of the Attorney General. From left, Vibe interns Miwa Gudmundsen and Sophia Espaldon with Harvest House Executive Director Bethany Taylor after dropping off holiday donations from St. Johns School Dec. 10, 2021. A 1-month-old baby was left suddenly orphaned after his parents, both of them law enforcement officers in Florida, died by suicide within days of each other. St. Lucie County Deputy Clayton Osteen died Jan. 2 and Deputy Victoria Pacheco took her own life in the wake of Deputy Osteens death, Sheriff Ken Mascara said in a statement on Tuesday. Advertisement Words cannot express the tremendous loss after losing these two members of our Sheriffs Office family, Mascara continued. As sheriff, I saw these two deputies as young, ambitious, and a great complement to my already amazing group of professionals. Clayton Osteen and Victoria Pacheco (Fort Lauderdale PD) On New Years Eve, authorities were informed Osteen attempted to take his own life just before the stroke of midnight. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, but his family on Sunday made the very difficult decision to remove him from life support. Advertisement Just two days later, police learned Pachecho also died by suicide, leaving behind the infant she shared with Osteen. Osteen had been a deputy with the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office since 2019 and he also previously served as a U.S. Marine. He was awarded Deputy of the Year in 2020, after his first year with the force, according to personnel records obtained by WTSP. Clayton was one hell of a funny guy, someone you could always count on in the time of need, and loved being an uncle, his obituary reads. He absolutely adored his significant other and mother of his child. But of all his accomplishments, he was most proud of being a dad. Pachecho, who joined the force in 2020, was also celebrated for her work as a police officer. She was recognized last year for saving the life of someone who was overdosing on drugs. While it is impossible for us to fully comprehend the private circumstances leading up to this devastating loss, we pray that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change, a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis, Mascara said. Haiti - Politic : The Senate denounces a campaign of intoxication The Senate Office in a note dated January 5, 2022, bearing the signature of Senator Joseph Lambert, President of the Upper House "[...] strongly denounces the diversionary and intimidating maneuvers planned and implemented by the occult laboratories which have been working on destabilizing the Senate for some time. The objective of this intoxication campaign is in fact to further discredit the Grand Corps in order to prepare public opinion to naively consummate the dictatorial and unconstitutional project of dismissing a third of the Senate on the second Monday in January 2022. The Office invites the population not to get caught in the well-known trap of the apprentice dictators who want, by all means, to eliminate all those to whom the Haitian people have delegated the exercise of national sovereignty, with regard to the article 58 of the Constitution. By this artifice, they dream of establishing a strong regime, where all the powers are concentrated in the hands of a single person who, himself, does not derive his legitimacy from any constitutional and democratic entity. In addition, the Bureau urges the Senators not to be intimidated by these vile and indecent political manipulations and these intoxication campaigns, while inviting them to continue to defend the Senate institution, democracy and the Haitian people." In addition, let's recall that the President of the Senate Joseph Lambert organized a meeting at the beginning of the year with the security agents and passed clear instructions to put themselves in a combat position to defend the mandate of the 10 remaining senators. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35634-haiti-flash-end-of-the-mandate-of-senators-in-2023.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - NOTICE : Closure of the Embassy of Haiti in Canada The Embassy of Haiti in Canada informs the Haitian community and the general public that due to the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic and its variants and in accordance with the public health measures decreed by the Province of Ontario, access to Embassy premises is closed to the public. This measure is effective from January 5, 2022 until further notice. Embassy services remain available virtually. Cases requiring physical authentication will be limited by appointment made by phone at 613-796-4718, 613-238-1628 or by email info@ambassade-haiti.ca, consulaire@ambassade-haiti.ca, culture@ambassade- haiti.ca The Embassy encourages everyone to protect themselves and to respect barrier gestures in order to help slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. HL/ HaitiLibre Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Thank you for reading! You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism. HAMMOND Cleveland-Cliffs and two environmental groups are within 90 days of shaking hands on a deal to resolve complaints the company's steel plants frequently foul Lake Michigan. Lawyers for the Cleveland-based steelmaker, the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center and the Hoosier Environmental Council informed a U.S. District Court judge Tuesday of the potential settlement. The two sides stated in a memo to the court they reached a settlement in principle last Friday and will draft the final terms of the agreement within the next three months. The two environmental groups sued the Burns Harbor steel mill, then owned by ArcelorMittal, in 2019 over what they claimed were more than 100 violations of the Clean Water Act since 2015 that had killed thousands of fish. Watch Now: Riding Shotgun with Munster Officer Luke Tambrini The Burns Harbor mill is on the Lake Michigan shoreline, near the Indiana Dunes National Park. The environmental groups claimed the mill regularly discharges toxic levels of cyanide and ammonia into the Little Calumet River, which flows directly into Lake Michigan. They demanded a federal jury issue a verdict that would stop further discharges, fine the steelmaker and order compliance with the letter of the law. Cleveland-Cliffs, which acquired the Burn Harbor facility in 2020, disputed the allegations. NWI Business Ins and Outs: Capriotti's, Downtown Delights, Pi City, creperie and former Indianapolis Colts quarterback's firm opening; Chop House closes A quirk in Indiana's turn signal statutes that leaves pretty much every motorist at risk of being pulled over by police at just about any time is poised to be corrected. Under current law, Indiana drivers are required to use turn signals any time they're about to make a turn or change traffic lanes. At the same time, the law also mandates the turn signal begin at least 200 feet prior to the turn or lane change, or 300 feet if the vehicle is traveling in excess of 50 mph. State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, believes the second provision is impossible to comply with in most urban and suburban areas where streets often intersect less than 200 feet apart. He also said there's no practical way for a driver to signal for 200 feet before, for example, pulling out of a parking lot or making a quick lane change due to a traffic hazard ahead. To fix that issue, Freeman has filed Senate Bill 124. It replaces the 200 feet (or 300 feet) minimum turn signal distance with a directive that motorists signal all turns and lane changes "a reasonable time" before completing them. "The law should be clear in my opinion, and people should know what the law is," Freeman said. "The 200 feet was undoable in a lot of situations." State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said he's concerned if Freeman's measure becomes law that police in different parts of the state might interpret "reasonable" in different ways, perhaps leading to increased traffic stops of minority drivers followed by police requests to search their vehicles. In response, Freeman noted nearly every motorist already is violating the 200 feet requirement just about every time they get behind the wheel, so police already have a basis to pull drivers over as a prelude to further investigation if that's their intention. The Senate Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law is expected to advance the proposal to the full Senate in coming weeks, likely with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2023, to give the Bureau of Motor Vehicles time to revise its driver's guide and license test if the measure becomes law. Written By Reporter Sophia Voight is a reporter for the Hastings Star Gazette. She is from Oshkosh, WI and graduated from the UW Oshkosh with a bachelor's degree in Multimedia Journalism in 2021. She can be reached with any news tips at svoight@orourkemediagroup.com | Sinopharm, Sinovac vaccines prevent severe hospitalization from Omicron: report Xinhua) 09:14, January 06, 2022 CAIRO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines protect against "severe hospitalization" caused by the Omicron variant, the United Arab Emirates-based news outlet The National reported Tuesday, quoting a World Health Organization (WHO) expert as saying. Abdi Mahamud, the WHO's incident manager for the pandemic, said that "more evidence is showing that Omicron is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants." The UAE recently approved the emergency use of a new recombinant protein vaccine manufactured by Sinopharm, which will be used as a booster jab in the country, the report said. The new Chinese vaccine demonstrated an improved immune capacity against the new variant, "with a high safety rate that allows rapid production and easy storage and distribution," according to the UAE's health ministry. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Homer Plessy, the Louisiana man whose Supreme Court loss set the template for Jim Crow laws in the early 1900s, was posthumously pardoned Wednesday. Plessy, a Black man, intentionally boarded a whites only train car in 1892 to challenge a Louisiana segregation law. He was arrested and his case made it to the Supreme Court in 1896. Advertisement In the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision, the court voted 7-1 against Plessy. The justices held that as long as facilities were separate but equal, segregation was legal. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and other attendees of the pardon ceremony stand in front of a train car Wednesday in New Orleans. (Janet McConnaughey/AP) Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned in 1954s landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. But Homer Plessy himself, a shoemaker and activist, took his Supreme Court defeat, pleaded guilty to violating the Separate Car Act of 1890 and paid a $25 fine (the equivalent of about $700 today). He died in 1925. Advertisement The 1896 Plessy decision ordained segregation for the explicit purpose of declaring and perpetuating white supremacy, as immoral and factually erroneous as that was and is, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday. Edwards shows one of the copies of the pardon. (Janet McConnaughey/AP) The Louisiana Board of Pardons had voted unanimously in favor of Plessys posthumous pardon in November. Mr. Plessys conviction should never have happened, Edwards said. But, there is no expiration on justice. No matter is ever settled until it is settled right. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit The development of vaccines and other medical treatments, and the ability of peopl During a public meeting held by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Tuesday night Fort Belknap officials and community members universally opposed attempts to explore for potential new mining opportunities in the Little Rocky Mountains The meeting was an effort to gather public comment on a draft environmental assessment for Luke Ployhars proposed exploration project in the location of the former Zortman Mine. Those who spoke at the meeting largely pointed to the damage inflicted on the area in 1980s and 90s, by Zortman Mining Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pegasus Mining Co. Pegasus used heap leach mining to extract gold from the area via two open-pit mines totaling about 1,200 acres of land, half public and half private, before going bankrupt in 1997. The process, which uses chemicals including cyanide to leach minerals like gold from ore, left heavy environmental damage. The bond posted by Pegasus did not cover the costs, and the state and federal government have spent millions on the cleanup so far with millions more to come in annual water treatment along with reclamation. Further back in history, the federal government coerced the Fort Belknap tribes in the 1890s to sell the land, part of the original Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, back to the government after gold was discovered there. This history of exploitation was cited by many at Tuesdays meeting as a reason for their opposition to new ming operations. Ployhar has argued that the mining techniques his company would employ are different and would not cause any significant environmental destruction, but that claim was met with skepticism by those at Tuesdays meeting. Questions answered at Tuesdays meeting At the meeting, Whitney Bausch of DEQ said the hearing was to discuss the draft of her agencys environmental assessment of the exploration project, not a full mining operation, which would require its own environmental assessment and public comment period. Bausch said DEQ is only examining the possible impacts of the exploration itself, not any mining activities that may be developed after that. She said public comment for this stage of the process is not required under law, but they recognize the sensitive nature of the place being explored, environmentally, historically and culturally, so they determined that it required more public engagement. She said DEQ would not respond to any comments made at the hearing, but would examine everything said and use it to refine the final environmental review which will include responses to those comments. After that, Bausch said, DEQ will issue a final bond calculation to ensure that the area will be reclaimed after exploration is complete and that bond must be submitted by Ployhar before an exploration license is issued. Officials and community members asked DEQ representatives about the estimated impacts of the exploration and Bausch said, based on the review of the project, the trench that will be carved during exploration will stop 675 feet above any ground water and is much further away from any surface water. She said anti-erosion measures would be set up to make sure material does not reach that surface water as well, so impacts of the exploration on water should be minimal. She said it will also have no effects on ongoing water treatment, reclamation or monitoring in the area. DEQ Mining Bureau Chief Dan Walsh said, due to the small size of the exploration, impacts on air quality are minimal but a full mining operation would be an entirely different story and would require its own examination. Fort Belknap Indian Community Council Member Dominic Messerly asked if DEQ has assessed potential impacts on cultural resources and archeological sites. Messerly said he believes that DEQ should not finalize the analysis until it examines such impacts, which should be required under the National Historic Preservation Act, which would also require they consult with the Fort Belknap Historic Preservation Office, as the area is within the ancestral treaty land and the tribes were coerced into giving them up in the 1890s for the sake of mining. Bausch said DEQ does evaluate cultural resource impacts but they are limited in their authority to address those potential impacts on private land. Fort Belknap officials objected to the exploration, primarily on the grounds that its merely the first step in a process that inevitably leads to full-scale mining. Fort Belknap Indian Community Council President Jeff Stiffarm thanked DEQ for the opportunity to comment on the matter, but said the tribes still stand is to opposition to any effort to reestablish mining in the area. He said taxpayers are still footing the bill for what Pegasus left behind and Ployhar and those supporting his efforts are more interested in money than the effects mining has had and could still have on his peoples lives, not just environmentally, but spiritually. Luke Ployhar and the people of DEQ dont live here, but we do, he said. We gotta live with everything that happens up here in these mountains. Stiffarm also called attention to what he characterized as the suspicious speed with which the exploration license request was made. Since 2000, the U.S. Department of the Interior had been issuing five-year withdrawals of the federal lands in the region from mining claims, renewing the withdrawals every five years. In a request for an investigation by the office of the inspector general of the U.S. Interior Department, opponents of the mining noted that Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed a notice for a 20-year mineral withdrawal, but on a reduced area, Oct. 1, 2020, and the notice wasnt published in the federal register until Oct. 7, 2020. The previous five-year withdrawal expired Oct. 4, 2020, and Blue Arc, owned by Ployhar, filed 10 mining claims in the area Oct. 5, prior to the intended withdrawal being noticed to the public. Derf Johnson, a staff attorney with the Montana Environmental Information Center also voiced the centers opposition to the project based on the effect mining has had on the area in the past. I dont think anyone who actually goes and sees that project, or what happened up in the Little Rocky Mountains would be comfortable with more mining, Johnson said. The devastation is just jaw dropping. He said DEQs evaluation of the effects of the this exploration project sound similar to the evaluation of the Pegasus Mines Environmental Impact Statement. He said time and time again with mines, agencies will predict minimal environmental impacts only to see massive environmental damage happen in the aftermath. You can certainly change mining techniques, but you cant change the geochemistry in the area, he said. Bonnie Gestring of Earthworks, an organization she said has been promoting reclamation efforts in the area for many years, also voiced opposition to any mining in the area. She said the resources poured into the area to clean up and reclamation efforts in the aftermath of the Pegasus mine cannot be overestimated and the proposal to resume mining in the area contradicts those decades of effort, and should be rejected on that basis. She said the environmental assessment of the exploration project is insufficient for a number of reasons which she has submitted to DEQ in writing. DEQ criticized for lack of communication Stiffarm also said the tribe was not reached out to and no concern has been shown for the cultural importance of that area and the effect mining will have on it. The lack communication with Fort Belknap also was criticized by Messerly, who said tax payers are still left hold the bag from the last time mining was done there, and thats without even getting into the cultural importance of the area. He said resuming mining in the area could undo decades of reclamation and cleanup efforts, and DEQ needs to do more analysis. These sentiments were echoed by Council members Steve Fox and Geno LeValdom the latter of whom said no one in the community wants this mine and their wishes are being ignored. Council Member Derek Azure also spoke in opposition to any new mining. Many of those that commented, officials and community members, said the tribes should have been consulted about these potential mining ventures sooner under Montana law. Opposition to to the mining did not come excessively from the Fort Belknap community. Havre resident David Brewer, who said he has history with the area including hunting, also voiced his opposition to the mine and said he feels Fort Belknap is being ignored and disrespected. He said he understand DEQ has limitations on what they can and cant do, but they are part of a process that seems to be being rushed for the sake of a project that shouldnt even be being considered given the history of the area. None of us should be here, he said. Cultural impacts of mining Fort Belknap Historic Preservation Office Cultural Liaison Daniel Wood was among the many people who spoke about the cultural significance of the mountains and said the community does not want any more mining there. Its a peaceful area and we want it to stay that way, he said. I dont want to go to one of our peaks to pray for a few days and be alone with the creator for a few days and have to look down on Luke Ployhar mining. He said hes recently gone back to look at documents detailing the objections to ventures like this before and its always the same, with the tribes objecting and being ignored over and over again. When is enough enough? he asked. When are we ever going to just be able to live peacefully out here? Fort Belknap Water Quality Coordinator Mitchell Healy also commented on the affects of mining not just environmentally, but culturally and said community is not benefitted by this mine. It just makes me think about our history with the mountain, that area where the mines are were our lands at one time, and to see it damaged the way that it was, and now with this project, its just mind-boggling to be that something like this could happen again, he said. Many more commented Tuesday evening and only one, Shelby DeMars of the Montana Association of Oil, Gas and Coal Counties, voiced support for mining. She said this meeting is not for a mining permit only for an exploration that will have minimal impacts on the environment. She said progress has been made both in the mining industry and mine regulation since the days of the Pegasus mine and Montana has very strict rules for mine operation. She said she hoped DEQ will approve grant the exploration license and that it leads to full mining development. DeMars also voiced her opposition to any attempt to extend the public comment period. Public comment on the environmental assessment is still being accepted by DEQ until Jan. 11, but multiple representatives at Tuesdays meeting said that deadline may be extended if necessary, and people can request an extension to the deadline in their submitted comments. Comments can be submitted by email to [email protected], or by mail at DEQ Mining Bureau, Whitney Bausch, PO Box 200901, Helena MT, 59620-0901. An Ohio police officer shot through a wooden fence at a man who was firing a gun into the air to celebrate the new year early Saturday morning, bodycam footage released by cops shows. Video of the fatal shooting of James Williams, a 46-year-old Black man, was released Thursday by police in Canton. Advertisement (Warning: Graphic Video) The officer, whose name has not been revealed, hears the gunshots and runs to the fence. Before saying a word, he fires at least four shots through the fence. Advertisement Then, he yells Shots fired! Shots fired! Police! Get down now! Police! Get down now! No more shots are heard after that. Williams lay dying on the other side of the fence. Canton cops prepare to enter the Williams family home early in the morning of Jan. 1. (AP) Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Out of the blue, he said he got shot, he got hit, his wife Marquetta Williams told the Canton Repository. I dont know where it came from. Nobody said anything. They didnt say, Police. They didnt say, Freeze. They didnt say, Drop your weapon. They just shot him. After the shooting, the cop ordered the Williams family to leave their home. Marquetta and six children exited orderly. James was bleeding out inside the home. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Marqeutta Williams points out the fence that stood between her husband James and the Canton police officer who killed him. (Julie Vennitti Botos/AP) Canton police claimed the officer feared for his life when he fired the fatal bullets. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, led by state attorney general Dave Yost, will investigate the shooting. Police had initially said the officer confronted a subject prior to opening fire. Any confrontation was absent from the body-camera video that was released. Each year before New Years Eve, cops across the U.S. warn people against celebratory gunfire, but the calls are mostly ignored and people are almost never charged with crimes for it. Marquetta Williams told the Canton Repository it was common in the neighborhood: Everybody shoots on New Years Eve. New Years gunfire has been linked to multiple deaths across the country in recent years, including the death of a woman in Durham, N.C., last week. With News Wire Services According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights," On Thursday, ISIS mercenaries targeted a car carrying members of Damascus government forces with bullets and RPGs in the Al-Rasafah desert, killing three of the latter and wounding two others. Since early hours of this morning., several Russian fighters have been taking turns targeting ISIS sites in Al-Rasafah desert. On January 3, an ambush by ISIS mercenaries targeted a military convoy consisting of several vehicles, near the administrative borders between the eastern desert of Homs and the eastern desert of Deir ez-Zor, in areas of T2 and T3 oil pumping stations, which led to human losses, where 9 members of Damascus government forces and Fifth Corps were killed, while 15 others were wounded. Despite the Russian intense air support, Damascus government forces and their loyalists have not been able to eliminate ISIS mercenaries from Al- Badia so far. A.K ANHA After a decade in which Eastern Kentucky counties lost population, it was expected that legislative redistricting would make some big changes for the area. However, the reaction of legislators across the region shows that even some in the majority party are surprised by the changes made, which include the area losing one entire district and other districts being stretched across several counties. Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne joined other Republican leaders on Dec. 30 in a press conference announcing that the House redistricting plan would be introduced on Jan. 4 and saying the plan was done with an eye toward equal representation. Osborne pointed out that the plan was drawn with the entire state in mind, not just individual districts, and was drawn with great care. This map does not divide a single precinct in the state of Kentucky, Osborne said, adding that some past maps have divided as many as 153 precincts. This plan is the result of months of discussion, months of work, working with stakeholders and countless hours of effort by our members and staff, he said. Chris Fugate, who represents the 84th Dist, said this week he is not dissatisfied with the proposed maps. If everything goes through as its proposed then I would continue to represent my home county of Perry County, but instead of half of Harlan the proposal puts me in Breathitt County and Owsley County also, Fugate said. The reason that our districts move is because of population that left our area. Every district has to be approximately 44,000 plus or minus five percent. Because of the people who left our region it really pushed us towards central Kentucky, and western Kentucky legislators, it moved them towards central Kentucky. Fugate said the results of the Census are forcing the legislature to cut one district from Eastern Kentucky. Its very important people fill out the census papers in east Kentucky, it really is, he said. Were going to lose a legislator in East Kentucky basically. While the proposal contains large changes to all Eastern Kentucky House districts, the main district to see the biggest change was House Dist. 93, which currently encompasses all of Martin County and some of Pike County. Under the GOP proposal, Dist. 93, currently represented by Republican Norma Kirk-McCormick, would disappear, instead being folded into a new 97th Dist., currently represented by Bobby McCool. That district would contain all of Johnson and Martin counties and some of Pike. That has at least one affected legislator concerned. Kirk-McCormick said that she was not expecting her district to expand into Dist. 97 in this way. Im just concerned that Johnson County is a pretty big county on its own, and then you have Martin and east Pike that are a little farther away from Johnson County, but I just hope that we can get ample representation in Frankfort as Johnson County, Kirk-McCormick said. It is concerning; Ill be very honest. Constituents are reaching out to me, especially in the Pike County area, thats concerned that they wont have a voice and theyll be left behind in the new district zones. She said she also did not expect to now be in direct competition with her friend and fellow state Rep. Bobby McCool in the upcoming Republican state House primary election this May. It was very much a surprise. I wasnt prepared for it. Ive had little input into it as far as the precincts that Ill continue to carry, but its an unfortunate situation where you have two good Republican legislators that are being pitted against each other, Kirk-McCormick said. As far as I know, Bobby and I will both be on the ballot in May, and Im just hoping that the Republicans show up and make their voice be heard when they cast their votes for the candidate. Kirk-McCormick said, though, that she is currently uncertain about whether she will support this proposed redistricting plan when it is brought before a vote in the General Assembly. Im not happy with it, but if I see that its going to be in the best interest of the constituents, then Ill support it, she said. Osborne said during his press conference that difficult realizations were a part of the process. Drafting this plan did, quite frankly, include some difficult realizations, Osborne said. Theres been dramatic population shifts in Kentucky and because of those population shifts, districts have had to be combined. Some Eastern Kentucky counties have seen major population shifts, Census data shows, including Pike County, which lost 9.8 percent of its population, Martin County, which lost 12.7 percent and Floyd, which lost 8.9 percent. Others, however, saw only slight changes, such as Johnson County, which lost 2.9 percent of its population, and Perry, which lost 0.8 percent of its population. John Blanton, a Republican who represents the 92nd Dist., which currently covers Knott, Magoffin and part of Pike County, said he believes the process of drawing the districts was done well and through diligent work. This house proposal attempts to give balance across the districts. Blanton said. It looks very fair. Blanton said Gov. Andy Beshear not calling a special session forced the quick action on the matter. When the governor didnt call a special session to address this redistricting, that forces us to take it up quickly, Blanton said. But it will require the filing deadline to be extended so people can know what the districts are and if they need to refile if theyve already filed. Angie Hatton, a Democrat who represents the 94th Dist., which would see some big changes under the proposal, stretching from eastern Harlan County to eastern Pike County, said she has numerous concerns about the redistricting process. I havent even seen the new map, Hatton said. My staff got the map before the holiday, then we got an email saying that map was wrong so I still dont know. I think its a terrible disservice to the people to not know who their representative will be. To rush this through like this is totally unfair. Hatton also decried a lack of transparency in the process. I think the lack of transparency in the process is what has turned people off about politics, Hatton said. I understand the Senate still hasnt released their proposed map. During the press conference, the leadership did not release exact details of the plans, so all changes are not known yet. The plan is expected to be presented Jan. 4 and then voted on by Jan. 8. After that, Osborne said, leadership expects Beshear to act quickly to approve the matter. I would hope he would act equally expediently, Osborne said. A consequence of the redistricting is that the filing deadline for offices on the May primary ballot will move from Jan. 7 to, Osborne said, possibly Jan. 25. Osborne said during the Dec. 30 press conference that he expects that anyone who requests changes to the redistricting plan will take, as House leadership did, the entire state into account, and not just a single district. I think it unlikely that you will see wholesale changes, Osborne said. TOP 10 STORIES OF 2021: 7, 6, 5 U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn makes a speech at state GOP Convention in November. 7. The gift that keeps on giving Madison Cawthorn wasted no time establishing his brand as the gift that keeps on giving. Just three days after he was sworn in as the youngest member of Congress, the Hendersonville native made a fiery appeal to the crowd gathered for the Jan. 6 rally for President Trump. Wow, this crowd has some fight in it, he exulted. I am so thankful that each and every single one of you whove come. I just rolled down from the Capitol building about two miles away down Pennsylvania Avenue. And I will tell you, the courage I see in this crowd is not represented on that hill. The 26-year-old firebrand wasnt done. Last summer he served generous helpings of red meat to a crowd of supporters in Macon County. "I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there's nothing that I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American, he said before making a cryptic allusion to a plan to bust out patriots jailed for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Trumpy lightning rod also: Got caught in February with an unloaded 9-mm Glock in his carry-on bag at the security check at Asheville Regional Airport. Repeatedly carried a large knife to school board meetings he attended to oppose mask mandates, in violation of state laws prohibiting weapons on school property. Announced on Dec. 21 his divorce from his wife, Cristina Bayardelle Cawthorn, after eight months of marriage. Stunned North Carolina Republicans and roiled the races for two congressional seats when he announced he was abandoning his current seat to run in the newly created 13th Congressional District west of Charlotte. That touched off a series of falling dominoes, including state Sen. Chuck Edwards entry into the District 14 contest and state Rep. Tim Moffitts filing for Edwardss seat. 6. Obituary for a funeral home The story of one of the citys most respected and successful businesses came to an emphatic and tragic close with a state-ordered shutdown and the death of its generation patriarch. Founded in 1903, Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors had been battling to stay open since a consent order in November 2018. A series of complaints over the past two years and an inspectors report ultimately sealed the fate of the Church Street stalwart. The N.C. Board of Funeral Service ordered the funeral home shut down and revoked the funeral director license of Thomas Redmond Tom Shepherd and the crematory license of his wife, Melody Shepherd. Three weeks earlier, the N.C. Cemetery Commission won a judges order to seize the assets of Shepherd Memorial Park and put the cemetery under the authority of an appointed manager. Tom Shepherd, who had been in failing health in recent years, died on Dec. 30, leaving the future of the family-owned business more clouded still. 5. District attorney removed from office Appointed district attorney in 2013, Greg Newman had cruised to win election to the post in 2014 and 2018. But he failed to prevail in a Henderson County courtroom in April when his job was on the line. Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin of Morganton ordered Newman removed from office, two weeks after a three-day hearing into charges that the top prosecutor for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties had mishandled a plea deal for an accused child sexual offender, failed to ensure the victim and her family had the opportunity to speak and lied about his actions to the state Bars Disciplinary Hearing Commission. Judge (Athena) Brooks would not have accepted that plea on that date if she had been advised that the victim wanted to be heard, Ervin wrote, citing the judges testimony at the state Bar inquiry. The court would not have accepted (James) Sapps plea if the judge had been aware that the victim had not been notified of the hearing and wished to be heard by the court. Regarding another Bar complaint that resulted in a reprimand of Newman, concluded that the district attorneys misrepresentations ... to the State Bar in connection with the investigation into the grievance constituted willful misconduct and a fourth grounds for removal under state law. A former mayor of Hendersonville, Newman accepted the order without appealing. Mr. Newman is honored to have served the people of Henderson, Polk and Transylvania since 2013, his attorney, David B. Freedman, said in a statement after the removal was announced. His office has done great things to ensure the safety of the people of the community and he looks forward to being able to help them in the future. Newman has since received an appointment to serve as a public defender in Buncombe County. Proclamation honors 'remarkable history' of city as it turns 175 years old Members of the Hendersonville City Council and City Manager John Connetl hold a banner marking the 175th anniversary of the town. Six years after Judge Mitchell King of Charleston, South Carolina, donated 56 acres of his sprawling summer estate to form a county seat in the newly created Henderson County, the town of Hendersonville was chartered. The Hendersonville City Council commemorated the city's 175th birthday Thursday night during its first meeting of 2022. Named in honor of Judge Leonard Henderson, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the N.C. General Assembly created the town of Hendersonville in 1847. The town got an economic boost and a delivery means for its robust agricultural output with the arrival of the railroad in 1879. Mayor Barbara Volk read the councils proclamation highlighting the history of Hendersonville during the meeting Thursday. The city plans to celebrate the anniversary all year with special events, she said. Hendersonville resident Indian Jackson spoke at the meeting about the anniversary during the time the council sets aside for public comments. Jackson, who spoke on behalf of the Diversity, Inclusion, Community and Engagement group in the city, asked council to remember all the people who were enslaved in Hendersonville both when the town was created and for many years later. Just remember that these people have a voice. They had no voice before, she said. Here is the full proclamation highlighting the "remarkable history" of Hendersonville: WHEREAS, in 1841 Judge Mitchell King of Charleston, South Carolina, generously donated 56 acres from his summer estate for a site to build the county seat within the county of Henderson, which was formed in 1838 from the southern part of Buncombe County; and WHEREAS, on January 7, 1847, the North Carolina General Assembly approved an act to establish the Town of Hendersonville, to serve as the seat of government for Henderson County, and named in honor of Judge Leonard Henderson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina; and WHEREAS, with the arrival of the railroad in 1879 from Spartanburg, South Carolina, the agricultural significance of the city increased; and WHEREAS, in 1913 the Town of Hendersonville became known as the City of Hendersonville; and WHEREAS, Hendersonville's Main Street, a remarkable one hundred feet in width, was designed by surveyor James Dryer Justice on what was known from the 1850s to 1880s as the Buncombe Turnpike. Main Street today retains much of the character it has possessed since the height of its development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was registered in the National Register of Historic Places in March 1988; and WHEREAS, Hendersonville is traditionally known as The City of Four Seasons with its distinct seasonal weather patterns which draw visitors to the area; and WHEREAS, the City of Hendersonvilles governing body and staff are committed to providing quality, efficient services to residents, visitors, and businesses, and promoting a high quality of life, and WHEREAS, the 175th anniversary is an appropriate time to reflect on the remarkable history of the City of Hendersonville; NOW, THEREFORE, I, Barbara G. Volk, Mayor of the City of Hendersonville do hereby proclaim January 7, 2022, IN RECOGNITION OF THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY OF HENDERSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA and commend its observance to all citizens. Free access for current print subscribers As a home delivery subscriber, you get free unlimited digital access to premium content on HenryHerald.com, including local news, local sports, obituaries, legal notices, local features, and the e-edition. All you need is your print subscription account number and your last name. Don't know your subscription number? Email access@henryherald.com with your delivery address. Activate your account now. Harmony Montgomery has been missing since October 2019, but that hasnt stopped her stepmother from collecting food stamps on behalf of the 7-year-old girl, according to police. Kayla Montgomery, 31, was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with one count of welfare fraud, the Manchester Police Department announced Thursday. Advertisement New Hampshire police say Montgomery collected more than $1,500 in food stamp benefits between December 2019 and June 2021, despite the fact that Harmony was no longer living with her and her husband, Adam Montgomery. Montgomery appeared in court Thursday and was ordered held on a $5,000 bond. If she is released, she is not allowed to travel outside New Hampshire, possess firearms, consume alcohol or drugs and must check in daily in person with Manchester police. Advertisement That makes the second arrest in connection to the missing girl, but police still have no signs of where she is or if shes even alive. [ Father of missing 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery arrested ] Kayla Montgomery, right, stepmother of Harmony, left, was arrested Wednesday. (Manchester Police Department) Harmonys father, Adam, was arrested late Tuesday on one charge of felony second-degree assault for a 2019 incident involving Harmony, one misdemeanor charge of interference with custody and two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Multiple relatives accused Adam Montgomery of misconduct, including Harmonys mother, Crystal Sorey, who reported the young girl missing on Nov. 18 after not seeing her for six months, according to Montgomerys arrest affidavit. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Sorey had lost custody in July 2018 due to her substance abuse issues and told Manchester police that she had last seen Harmony on video chat around Easter 2019 and that Harmony seemed frightened, according to the affidavit. Montgomerys brother, Michael, accused Adam of being physically abusive toward Harmony and his uncle, Kevin, told police that he had seen Harmony with a black eye and claimed Adam had told him that he bashed her around this house after an incident with her younger brother. Kevin Montgomery also told police hed seen Adam spank Harmony, force her to scrub the toilet with her toothbrush and leave her standing in the corner for hours, according to the affidavit. On New Years Eve, police tracked Adam to the car he was sleeping in in Manchester and asked him about Harmony, at which point he made contradictory statements about his daughter. During our interaction with Adam, we stressed my concern that (Harmony) had not been physically observed in over two years and that we had concern for whether or not she was alive, the affidavit reads. Adam did not exhibit much emotion or reaction to this. Advertisement Harmony is listed at 4 feet tall, weighing about 50 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. She is blind in her right eye and should be wearing glasses. Anyone with information is asked to call the Manchester Police Department at 603-668-8711, Detective Jack Dunleavy at 603-792-5561 or the anonymous CrimeLine tip line at 603-624-4040. Greenville, TX (75401) Today Cloudy and windy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Advertisement The head of a Utah tech company was canned after taking COVID conspiracy theories to another level. Dave Bateman, head of software firm Entrata, was forced out after sending an anti-Semitic email that went viral, claiming the Jews had invented the coronavirus pandemic to euthanize the American people. Advertisement Bateman, the companys founder and chairman, on Tuesday wrote to a number of CEOs and leaders in Utahs business and political communities under the subject line Genocide, KSTU-TV first reported. Dave Bateman, CEO of Entrata, speaks during StartFEST at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo on Wednesday. (Stacie Scott/AP) I write this email knowing that many of you will think Im crazy after reading it, Bateman wrote, according to numerous copies sent to KSTU and Mediaite. I believe there is a sadistic effort underway to euthanize the American people. Its obvious now. Its undeniable, yet no one is doing anything. Everyone is discounting their own judgment, and dismissing their intuition. It went downhill from there, with attacks on the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine, claims of censorship against vaccine criticism and vilification of Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president. Recipients included Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and numerous other prominent leaders. Contacted by KSTU and Mediaite, Bateman confirmed he wrote the email and stood by what he said. Yes. I sent it. I have nothing but love for the Jewish people, he told the outlets. Some of my closest friends are Jews. My heart breaks for their 2500 years theyve been mistreated by nearly every country on earth. But I do believe Scottish Rite Freemasons are behind the pandemic (overwhelmingly Jewish). And I fear billions of people around the globe right now are being exterminated. Bateman said he wrote to a few close friends but it also apparently went to Coxs official account as well. Cox tweeted a response citing the irresponsible comments and labeling them hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them. Advertisement Cox showed his true feelings on his personal account. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Sheesh, the Republican governor wrote, using emojis to describe the rant. This is [bat s--t] crazy stuff. I get insane emails like this from people often and normally wouldnt dignify it with a response, but I guess its getting lots [of] attention. I hope he gets some help. Bateman has been a big Republican party donor in Utah, according to KSTU. Bateman was canned immediately from his post as chairman of Entrata. The opinions expressed by Dave were his alone, and do not reflect the views or values of Entrata, the executive team, board of directors or investors. To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms, wrote Entrata CEO Adam Edmunds. Entratas board of directors today asked Dave Bateman to resign from the companys board of directors, including his position as chairman. Dave agreed and is no longer a member of the Entrata board, effective immediately. Advertisement Jewish leaders also came out swinging. Its a flaming pile of garbage on its face, Hasidic Rabbi Avremi Zippel of Chabad Utah told KSTU, noting how such vitriol can be a prelude to violence and stating that he and his congregation are all vaccinated. We know how quickly things go from ridiculous conspiracy theories online and in emails, how that jumps to violence rather quickly. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we've all known individuals who have done more than their share to help their neighbors and communities with food, comfort, care, companionship and dozens of other needs. If you know of such a person, you can nominate them to be featured in our upcoming H Uniontown, PA (15401) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High around 70F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 51F. Winds light and variable. ALBANY Andrew Cuomo is still getting his day in court, albeit virtually. The former governor will appear before a judge via video on Friday after prosecutors decided not to pursue forcible touching charges against the disgraced Democrat. Advertisement Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced earlier in the week that his office was dropping the ex-governors groping case despite finding alleged victim, Brittany Commisso, cooperative and credible. Judge Holly Trexler asked all parties in the case to appear before her as she weighs a formal dismissal of the misdemeanor complaint, which alleged Cuomo fondled Commissos breast while the two were at the Executive Mansion in late 2020. Advertisement Then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to board a helicopter after announcing his resignation, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Manhattan, New York. (Seth Wenig/AP) The Judge will be on the bench and has allowed all parties to appear virtually, including the defendant, said New York Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen. The virtual hearing will take place at 1:30 p.m. in Albany City Court. Cuomo, who resigned last August following the release of a bombshell report detailing multiple sexual harassment allegations against him, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. A second report, following a scuttled impeachment inquiry conducted by the state Assembly, found overwhelming evidence Cuomo sexually harassed state employees. Soares noted in a letter to Trexler that the multiple probes into Cuomos alleged misconduct led to technical and procedural hurdles with regards to disclosing evidence to the defense as required. Several prosecutors across the state have said they believe other allegations made against Cuomo are credible, but that they couldnt pursue criminal charges against the 64-year-old due to statutory constraints. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apples office raised eyebrows by filing the misdemeanor forcible touching case against Cuomo in October without informing prosecutors. Soares complained at the time that the charges were filed without his knowledge and called the case potentially defective. In his letter to Trexler this week, Soares said that while he was troubled by the allegations there was not sufficient enough evidence to move forward with the case. Advertisement Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin sent a separate request to Trexler to dismiss the case, noting issues raised with regards to Apples initial charging documents and Soares own admission that his office cannot successfully prosecute this case. News that Israeli actress Gal Gadot is to play Cleopatra in a new film has ignited a storm of protests. Critics accuse Gadot of perpetrating "genocide" and cultural appropriation by planning to play the ancient Egyptian queen. A prominent Pakistani journalist blasted "Your country steals Arab land and now you're stealing their movie roles ..." Some are claiming that a Jew cannot play Cleopatra, and the role should go to an African or Arab actress instead. Nonsense. Cleopatra was a complex figure. Cleopatra VII (there were many Queen Cleopatras in Egypt. The final queen is the most famous) l... What a shock! (A good one.) ... I love to watch Jeopardy!, the television game show. It is my 7 p.m. "go to" show. For the past several weeks there has been one person winning each time. She is phenomenal! She is also a trans-gender person who seems very proud of her status. (She should be proud! I never saw anyone with such diverse knowledge.) Her name is AMY SCHNEIDER and she is Jewish! As you know by now, I write this column almost two weeks in advance of your receiving the Heritage. So, Amy may not still be the week-after-week champion, but she has won almost one million dollars so fa... Nobel Peace Prize laureate and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu attends a celebration for his 86th birthday in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 7, 2017. (JTA) - Desmond Tutu, the archbishop who identified closely with the historical suffering of the Jewish people in his forceful advocacy against apartheid in South Africa, died Sunday at age 90. Tutu, the first Black archbishop of Cape Town, used his role as a church leader to bring religion into the fight against apartheid, South Africa's repressive system of racial segregation. Advocating for nonviolence and, later, restorative justice, Tutu gained renown far beyond South Africa, earning a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. In the years preceding and during the negotiations to end apartheid in Sou... (JNS) - Valerie Greenfeld, 58, immigrated to Israel just before Passover 2021 from Washington D.C., amid widespread travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. She began her quarantine immediately after arriving in Israel, which coincided with the first night of Passover. She had her own one-woman Passover seder and though it was a different way to celebrate the holiday than most years, she told JNS that she "felt very connected." Beginning the aliyah process in 2019, Greenfeld's immigration was delayed because of the pandemic. "It took two years before I had the approval to... NEW YORK Anuradha Mittal, the head of Ben & Jerrys Board of Directors and vice president of Ben & Jerrys Foundation Inc. has been crowned 2021 Antisemite of the Year by watchdog group StopAntisemitism. After several weeks of voting, thousands selected Mittal for the distinct dishonor, beating the other two finalists Dua Lipa and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Earlier this year, Mittal spearheaded the effort by Ben & Jerrys to stop the sale of its ice cream to 800,000 Jews living throughout various parts of Israel. This decision was clearly not made for the sake of the Palestini... (JTA) - Chaim Walder, an Israeli haredi Orthodox children's book author who was accused last month of sexual abuse by several teenage girls, was found dead Monday in an apparent suicide. His body was found in a cemetery in Petah Tikva, in central Israel, after a passerby heard a gunshot and called police, according to Israeli news reports. Walder's death came a day after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that a rabbinical court in Safed had heard testimony from 22 young women about alleged abuse at Walder's hands. The abuse dated as far back as 25 years ago and as recently as six month... (JTA) At a time when many local Jewish news outlets are scaling back or shuttering operations altogether, the Cleveland Jewish News is expanding its footprint for the second time in three years. CJNs publisher, the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company, announced Dec. 21 its plans to begin serving the Jewish population of Akron, Ohio, after reaching an agreement with the Jewish Community Board of Akron to revamp the current Akron Jewish News as a monthly print newspaper and standalone website, beginning in February 2022. The current December/January issue of Akrons paper will be th... (JNS) As U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan arrived in Israel on Tuesday to discuss Iran and other strategic issues, and as nuclear talks continue in Vienna, the Israeli leadership increasingly believes that applying heavy pressure on Tehran is the only way to stop the Iranian advance toward nuclear weapons. But where exactly do the U.S. and Israel go from here on the Iranian threat? Sima Shine head of the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies think tank as well as former head of the research and evaluation division at the Mossad explained during... (JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday the approval of a 1 billion shekel ($317.3 million) program to develop and settle the Golan Heights. Addressing the weekly Cabinet session, held in Kibbutz Mevo Hama in the southern Golan, Bennett said that the governments goal was to double the Golans population, according to an official statement. The current population is approximately 50,000. To achieve this goal, the government plans to build two new neighborhoods in Katzrin, the unofficial capital of the Golan, and also to establish two new communities, Asif an... Gov. Hochul and New York City Mayor Adams are joining forces to fight homelessness in the citys subways, announcing Thursday that they will flood the transit system with more cops and teams of social workers in an effort to get vulnerable people into shelters. In a press conference at the Fulton Street station in Manhattan, Hochul said she had signed an order requesting cost proposals from private contractors for five Safe Options Support or SOS teams, which will each be made up of between eight to 10 social workers and medical professionals. Advertisement New York Governor Kathy Hochul (left) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (right) are pictured Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, at the Fulton Street Station in Lower Manhattan, New York. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News) The teams will patrol subway trains and stations across the city and attempt to convince homeless people living in the system to move into shelters in hope that they can eventually secure permanent housing, Hochul said. This truly is a humanitarian crisis, Hochul said, noting that nearly 4,000 New Yorkers sleep in the citys subways and streets every night on average. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that every New Yorker has a roof over their head and that they are safe. Advertisement In addition to SOS teams, Adams and newly-minted NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell announced theyre deploying hundreds of more officers into the system, in part by sending desk duty cops into the field. Adams and newly-minted NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, pictured Thursday, announced theyre deploying hundreds of more officers into the system, in part by sending desk duty cops into the field. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News) But the additional officers coming to the subways will not focus on interacting with homeless individuals, but rather alert SOS teams if they encounter them, Adams said. This new plan also frees up our police officers to focus on crime and not be the street sweepers of sweeping men and women who are homeless off the system, Adams said, citing an uptick in slashings and other violent crimes in the subways during the pandemic. The mayor, whose campaign focused heavily on public safety issues, said the NYPD needs to get back to the sort of omnipresence in the subway system that he recalled from his time as a transit police officer in the 1980s. Thats the omnipresence that I knew as a rookie cop. When you walk through the train, and the public sees you, they feel the level of confidence that the system is a safe place to be, he said. Riders will see how officers on that patrol are ready to respond if needed. New York City homeless outreach personnel assist passengers found sleeping on subway cars at the 207th Street A-train station in Manhattan, New York. (John Minchillo/AP) The city Department of Homeless Services has already been deploying teams of outreach workers to the subways during the pandemic. Hochul said the SOS teams will work hand in hand with DHS outreach staff, though it was not immediately clear if they will play any distinctly different function. In contrast to the joint announcement from Hochul and Adams, advocates have long said that homeless people are choosing to sleep in the streets and subways because of dangerous conditions and high crime rates in shelters. Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the press Thursday in Manhattan. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News) Adams admitted the city needs to do a better job at increasing confidence in the shelter system, but did not immediately roll out a plan for how to do so. Advertisement Adams also called on courts to make more use of Kendras Law, which allows judges to order severely mentally ill people committed for psychiatric treatment, as a means for driving down homelessness. With her eyes trained on getting more people into permanent housing, Hochul announced a new tax abatement program to incentivize developers to build more deep affordability apartments and said shell be asking state legislators to pass bills that would make it illegal for landlords to turn away prospective tenants on the sole basis of poor credit score or interactions with the criminal justice system. FILE - In this May 6, 2020 file photo, homeless people sleep on a train at the Coney Island Stillwell Avenue Terminal in Brooklyn. (Frank Franklin II/AP) Still, criminal justice reform advocates said the announcement from Hochul and Adams is misdirected in that it relies on cops. Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams have unabashedly emboldened the NYPD when New Yorkers have taken to the streets and the polls to fight for exactly the opposite outcome, said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. The NYPD should not, under any circumstances, be first responders to people in need of clinical expertise. Mental health crises should be addressed with a trauma-informed response, not an approach that inflicts further trauma and endangers the lives of the very people the NYPD is supposed to serve. (JNS) As tributes from across the globe poured in earlier this week following the passing of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, many Israel supporters note the paradox of a man they say fought a heroic battle against apartheid in South Africa, then invented it in Israel. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday. I think it would be a mistake to lionize him. On the one hand, he fought apartheid in South Africa, and on the other hand, he fought the right of Jewish people to national self-determination, Dan Diker, director of the Political Warfare... (JTA) Israels Ashkenazi chief rabbi called for victims of sexual abuse to bring complaints to the relevant authorities, saying there is an obligation to complain to the authorities in charge of these issues, and not hide it, according to the site Israel National News. The comments from Rabbi David Lau Wednesday came after Lau was criticized for visiting the family of Chaim Walder, the Israeli haredi Orthodox author of childrens books who was recently accused by dozens of young women of sexual abuse, as they sat shiva for Walder following his death by suicide earlier t... The remains of a 2,000-year-old synagogue in Migdal in northern Israel. The synagogue is the second found in Migdal, which was a large Jewish community during the Second Temple era. (Israel Hayom via JNS) - A synagogue dating back some 2,000 years has been excavated at Migdal in northern Israel, a modern town and the site of a significant Jewish community in the Second Temple era. This is the second synagogue excavated in Migdal and the first time archeologists have found evidence of two synagogues coexisting in a Jewish community at a time when the Second Temple was still in use. Like many archeological discoveries in Israel, the second synagogue at Migdal resurfaced due to infrastructure work. In this case, a salvage excavation ahead of the widening of a nearby highw... (JNS) In the estimation of U.S. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, the future of the Iran nuclear deal is going to be resolved by Israel rather than by the world powers who are actually negotiating with Tehran. The Israelis have sat across the table from me for years, looked me in the eye, and said, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. And I believe them, he says. In the following interview with JNS, the former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and currently its ranking member also shares his candid views on Israels right to proactive self-defense, the U.S.-... (JNS) Jerusalems security outlook, which goes back to the days of Israels first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, is focused first and foremost on responding to existential threats. In the past, this meant regular Arab armies that threatened to invade its territory. Today, the country is investing great effort in thwarting the Iranian nuclear threat. The arsenal of missiles at the disposal of Hezbollah and Hamas may not constitute an existential threat but could result in loss of life and material damage, disrupt the lives of Israeli citizens and harm the proper function of vital... (Jewish Journal via JNS) While tens of millions of poor souls are dying and starving under brutal regimes in places like Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Congo and Somalia, among others, the United Nations decided last Thursday that only one country merits an open-ended investigation. If you havent been living on Mars the past few decades, youve already guessed the name of that country Israel the recipient of more U.N. condemnations than all other countries combined. So, what did the worlds only Jewish state do this time to deserve such a staggering level of discrimi... (JNS) The campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel has recently moved into a higher gear with the increased use of one particularly vicious falsehood. This is the claim that Israel is an apartheid state. The claim is as fatuous as it is pernicious. Apartheid was the name given to South Africas systematic oppression of its black inhabitants, who were denied political, civic and human rights. By contrast, Arab Israeli citizens have fully equal rights. They study in Israels universities; enjoy Israels beaches and parks; receive equal treatment as patients in Israels hospita... ALBANY Broad policy proposals, ethics reforms and promises from Gov. Hochul to revive New Yorks COVID-stalled economy drew praise Wednesday from advocates as well as criticism from political opponents. Good government groups largely applauded the governor for laying out environmentally-friendly plans, financial incentives and investments and proposing efforts to combat homelessness and gun violence as the state continues to feel the effects of the pandemic. Advertisement Hochuls plan to accelerate middle-class tax cuts and state efforts to find Medicaid changes that improve access and care, and lower costs, received high marks from Citizens Budget Commission president Andrew Rein. New York Governor Kathy Hochul as she prepared to deliver 2022 State of the State Address in Assembly Chamber at the State Capitol in Albany, New York on Jan. 5, 2022. (Darren McGee/Darren McGee- Office of Governor Kathy Hochul) Her plans span many areas and we commend her intention to ensure New Yorkers who left return and make New York the most business-friendly state in the nation, he said. Advertisement However, Rein cautioned that the programs presented in Hochuls State of the State address must be affordable or they risk the States future capacity to serve New Yorkers, including those most in need. Reinvent Albany and other groups gave a thumbs up to Hochuls ethics overhauls, which include plans to limit statewide elected officials to two terms and a plan to create a new, independent state ethics commission. We believe this new independent ethics commission is by far the most important reform the Governor can champion to restore New Yorkers faith in their state government and curb abuses of power and conflicts of interest, the group said in a statement. New York Public Research Interest Groups Blair Horner was more cautious in his assessment. While an interesting idea, it is an untested one, and one in which the details will matter, he said. Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group (Mike Groll/AP) Hochul also received cheers from hospitality groups for expressing support for a law that would allow restaurants and bars to sell to-go cocktails. A permanent version of the popular pandemic policy failed to pass the Legislature last year. The drinks to go policy provides critically important revenue streams to struggling restaurants and bars and is extraordinarily popular with the public, unsurprisingly, said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. (W)e look forward to toasting her administration and the state legislature once this important policy is reinstated. Environmental groups largely praised Hochuls promises to help combat climate change through investments in clean energy infrastructure, ensuring all school buses are electric by 2035, and plans to enhance wetlands protections and increase funding for state parks. Advertisement In totality, this is a bold, ambitious, and much-needed agenda to move us toward a green economy, said New York League of Conservation Voters president Julie Tighe. The Empire Centers Bill Hammond noted what he called a glaring omission among Hochuls priorities: planning for another pandemic. If New York is to be better prepared for future outbreaks, there can be no higher priority than investigating and fixing the public health breakdowns of last spring preferably through a commission of independent experts, he advised. Hochuls agenda will likely have broad support in the Democratic-controlled Legislature as she vowed to work with leaders on policies and budget proposals. Republicans, meanwhile, panned many of the governors policy proposals, painting New Yorks future as bleak under continued Democratic rule. You know in your bones that New York is broken, state GOP chairman Nick Langworthy said in a videotaped response. A dangerous combination of incompetence and extreme leftist ideology is destroying what used to be the greatest state in the country. Advertisement To fix New York, we need a fresh start. We need to take a bottle of bleach to the halls of Albany and clean house, he said. Earlier in the day, state Senate Republicans unveiled their Take Back New York legislative agenda with aims to repeal bail reform, enact a permanent cap on state spending and reduce regulations on everything from childcare to development. New York Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, R-Lockport speaks about the Republican Take Back New York agenda during a news conference before Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers her first State of the State address at the state Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in Albany, N.Y. (Hans Pennink/AP) Democrat One-Party Rule has been nothing short of a disaster for New York State. From escalating taxes to blatant pro-criminal policies and extreme government overreach, its become harder than ever to live in our communities something reflected in the growing exodus of our fellow New Yorkers., said Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Erie County). Gov. Hochul said Wednesday in her first State of the State address that she plans to turn the page on the beleaguered state ethics board that has tried to pry back cash from disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomos pandemic memoir. The governor proposed replacing the Joint Commission on Public Ethics with an independent and robust new watchdog. The current 14-member board has discretion over state employees and is tasked with overseeing ethics and lobbying in Albany. Advertisement Its membership is determined by elected officials, and it has been locked in a battle with state Attorney General Letitia James office after tasking the office with retrieving Cuomos book cash. James office said last month that JCOPE needed to take further procedural steps before the attorney generals office would move to snatch profits from the book, titled American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Advertisement Cuomo deployed state resources in the production of the multimillion dollar memoir, according to a state Assembly report published in November. New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Darren McGee/Darren McGee- Office of Governor Kathy Hochul) The ethics board, which was the product of legislation signed by Cuomo himself in the early days of his administration, has been dogged by criticism over the last decade. And lawmakers have long eyed overhauling how ethics and misconduct complaints are handled within the Legislature and State Capitol. Its no secret that recent events have called into question the effectiveness of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Hochul said in her speech from the Assembly chamber. I will introduce legislation to replace that commission with a new ethics enforcement watchdog, she added. One with real teeth. One that answers to New Yorkers and not politicians. This cover image released by Crown shows "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic" by Andrew Cuomo. (AP) The governors plan would establish a five-member panel made up of law school deans or their designees. JCOPE declined to comment. The proposal Hochul outlined on Wednesday came as part of a broader push to distance herself from Cuomo and to spearhead ethics reforms in Albany. Advertisement Hochul, who was Cuomos lieutenant governor before he resigned in August, has also proposed limiting governors to two terms. Cuomo was eying his fourth term before a wave of sexual harassment allegations leveled his tenure. Hochul, the states first female governor, had a chilly relationship with Cuomo in the final stages of his governorship. She is running to retain her post in this years Democratic primary. ALBANY A pair of state lawmakers want to mark the anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection with an annual day of remembrance in New York dubbed Democracy Day. State Sens. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens) will introduce legislation Thursday that will outline the commemoration of events from last Jan. 6, meant to honor those who were killed or wounded, and recognize the ongoing threat of anti-democratic, white nationalist, and authoritarian movements in the United States. Advertisement Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images/TNS/(Samuel Corum/Getty Images/TNS)) The bill comes one year after thousands of insurrectionists stormed the Capitol in Washington after former president Donald Trump falsely claimed widespread election fraud cost him the 2020 election. Supporters of the Republican leader sparred with police and broke windows as they attempted to disrupt the certification of President Bidens victory. One year ago today, the former president of the United States and his co-conspirators, including many leaders of the Republican Party, incited an armed insurrection against the government of the United States, with the express purpose of overturning the results of a free and fair election, Krueger said. It was the first time since the Civil War that our country has not enjoyed a peaceful transfer of power. Advertisement Krueger noted that the bill is meant to honor the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol. One Capitol Police officer died during the attack, more than one hundred were injured and four others took their own lives in the weeks following. It is vital that we commemorate this terrible event to recognize their sacrifice and take a stand against the forces that threaten our democracy, Krueger added. New York State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) (Hans Pennink/AP) Rallies and events are scheduled across New York on Thursday marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic events. Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin will speak at the We Are One America Vigil for Democracy rally at Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan and Attorney General James will attend a separate event in Brooklyn as many Democrats call for the passage of federal voting rights legislation. New York State Sen. James Sanders, Jr. (D-Queens) (Mike Groll/AP) Sanders said marking the date as Democracy Day going forward will give New Yorkers a chance to commemorate and remember the insurrection while looking for ways to strengthen democracy in the U.S. We must not allow the innumerable sacrifices made by countless people over many years since 1776 to have been in vain. Vigilance is the order of the day, he said. This noble, although flawed, experiment must not perish from hateful people nor a neglectful citizenry. Democracy Day allows citizens to reflect on how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. IHG Hotels & Resorts has launched the first Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Malaysia with the opening of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Johor Bahru. This contemporary hotel will champion the brand's simple, smart travel philosophy and is set to be the first choice for guests travelling to and within the city. Celebrating its 30th year as one of the most beloved and frequented hotel brands in the world, Holiday Inn Express makes travel simple so guests can be there for moments that matter. Whether traveling for business or leisure, Holiday Inn Express is everywhere guests want and need to be. Johor Bahru has gained traction as a hub for 'Iskandar Malaysia', a southern economic corridor earmarked for economic expansion, and the hotel is situated right at the center of action. MICE and business travellers will appreciate the close proximity to commercial parks, the Persada International Convention Centre, and key government offices like KWSP and UTC. Senai International Airport is a mere 30-minute drive away, making it an excellent choice for jet-setters. For those wanting to add Singapore to their itinerary, the Woodlands Checkpoint and the upcoming SG-JB Rapid Transit System (RTS) are both close by. The 203-room hotel brings new and refreshed offerings to visitors travelling for business or leisure. Created with comfort in mind, each room offers more where it matters most - a great night's sleep with comfortable beds and a choice of soft and firm pillows, a plush duvet and plenty of bedside power outlets. Expect efficient, seamless experiences for guests with speedy check-in, power showers and complimentary WI-FI. Complimentary Express Start breakfast at the brand's signature Great Room where guests will have their pick of an international and local buffet spread, ad all-day dining option is also available after breakfast hours. Meanwhile, those on the move can enjoy a 'Grab & Go' breakfast option with beverages and tasty snacks at the Express Bar. A seamless and intuitive experience for business travellers to connect within the hotel's meeting space, which can accommodate up to 120 people,. Additional facilities available 24/7 include the Fitness Centre and a self-serve Laundry Room. Business services, computer stations and vending machines are also available to keep up with the contemporary needs of travellers. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Johor Bahru and IHG Way Of Clean As part of IHG, guests will stay confident, assured and safe with the refined IHG Way of Clean using new, science-led protocols and service measures in partnership with industry leading experts Cleveland Clinic, Ecolab and Diversey - including the IHG Clean Promise to give guests greater confidence and hotel teams the protection needed. The hotel is also the latest addition to one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, IHG Rewards, where guests can earn and redeem points at nearly 6,000 hotels and major airlines globally. Hotel website Marriott International Inc has signed an agreement with Rackson Hospitality Sdn Bhd to bring the Paris-born Le Meridien brand to Penang, which is the 200-room Le Meridien Penang Airport hotel. Le Meridien Penang Airport is part of the Penang Gateway development, located by the Penang International Airport, on the main Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah road. It will be part of a mixed-use development that will also comprise an independent residential tower, medical centre, commercial and retail space. Construction is due to commence by mid-2022 and is expected to be completed by end-2026. Marriott International area vice president for Singapore, Malaysia and the Maldives Rivero Delgado said the signing signifies Marriott International's growing footprint across Malaysia. Le Meridien Penang Airport is designed by SA Architects Malaysia, with a mid-century design inspired by the brand's roots in the glamorous halcyon days of travel. The hotel will feature a sky bridge connecting guests directly to the adjacent shopping mall, and it also offers guests access to Bayan Lepas industrial areas and Georgetown, which are just a respective 15 and 25 minutes' drive away. The property will also feature the brand's signature Le Meridien Hub, a modern reinterpretation of the traditional hotel lobby. The hotel is anticipated to offer 186 guestrooms and 14 suites, including a 2,000 sq ft presidential suite. Dining options include an all-day dining restaurant offering a blend of modern European and Asian buffet, a specialty restaurant, a cafe with fresh bakes and the brand's signature Latitude Bar. Also in the plan are Club Lounge, fitness facilities, a pool area with a sundeck and 7,000 sq ft of meeting and event spaces. The new year is bringing a new leader to Four Seasons Hotel Austin with the appointment of Beverly Magee as Regional Vice President and General Manager at the 294-room luxury hotel on Lady Bird Lake. Most recently Regional Vice President and General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, Beverly's move represents a much-anticipated homecoming to Texas as she was born in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin before beginning her hospitality career in 1987 as a concierge at Four Seasons Hotel Houston. An experienced hotelier, Beverly transitioned from operations to sales in the late-1980s and was promoted in 1998 to Director of Sales at the former Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle, a position she held until the hotel became a Fairmont in 2003. When Four Seasons returned to Seattle in 2008, Beverly moved seamlessly back into the Four Seasons fold as Director of Marketing. In 2014, she returned to her beloved college town - and back to the operations side of the business - with her promotion to Hotel Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Austin. While in Austin, Beverly oversaw a top-to-bottom renovation of the Hotel and significantly improved guest and employee satisfaction scores. In her free time, she fell back in love with her college hometown, a foreshadowing that would all but guarantee her return to the Texas capital. But first, Charm City came calling. In 2018, Beverly was appointed General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. The enhancements she'd managed in Austin would serve as a useful foundation for several projects she'd spearhead at the harbour-front property, including a new lobby restaurant concept, the expansion of the fitness centre into a Harley Pasternak-designed space, and the introduction of a successful roof-top winter experience, complete with an ice rink. In the early days of the pandemic, Beverly played an integral role in the development of the company's Lead With Care operating guidelines, in addition to serving as the GM Ambassador on Lead With Care's Advisory Board. Her contributions and steady leadership throughout were recognised in February 2021 with her promotion to Regional Vice President and General Manager overseeing Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown and Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston, a role she will continue to perform from Austin. Married to her high school sweetheart John, a 30-year retired captain in the firedDepartment, Beverly loves travelling - especially to Seattle to see her twin daughters, Hayley and Abby - as well as hiking, spinning, Orange Theory Fitness and sailing with friends in the British Virgin Islands. Having enjoyed an illustrious 20-year career with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Martin Cody is set to bring a new dynamic to the two African locations, sharing his passion and experience with the 400-strong team of individuals. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has long been hailed as the ultimate in luxury accommodation, offering unrivalled service and amenities at the world's most sublime locations. What sets the company apart is the dedication and like-minded attitude of every team member, whose collective ideal is to offer their guests a truly memorable experience. The Golden Rule is more than a corporate sound bite; it is the fundamental principle of Four Seasons. Institutionalised by Founder and Chairman Isadore Sharp, a source of inspiration to Cody, the philosophy is supported by every member of the team. Cody's loyalty to the company is evident in his impressive tenure. Hailing from Kilkenny in Ireland, Cody went on to study at Shannon College and the National University of Ireland, Galway, and began his professional career in 2001 at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. Cody's experience and enthusiasm propelled him on a journey to some of the world's most desirable locations, where he grew into progressively senior positions within the company. Having made his mark at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in Maldives, Hawaii and Malaysia, Cody was named General Manager of Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti in 2016, managing the operations of the 77-room luxury lodge. In 2019, Cody was appointed General Manager of the former Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai in China, further cementing his already remarkable career. Cody's new role has him overseeing Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff and Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti. From his new station in Johannesburg, Cody will be sharing his experience across the disciplines, the ability to adapt and learn, as well as his warm team-orientated approach to Four Seasons Safari and Islands Collection, Africa experience. No stranger to adventure, Cody is ready to take advantage of his new base and immerse himself in everything that South Africa has to offer. Cody believes in immersing oneself in the cultural experience of the locations he has served at, a true example of this is the work he has done within the Tanzanian community. Following a year of uncertainty and devastation, Cody is optimistic about the future of the hospitality industry. As for his future endeavours, Cody believes there are always long-term prospects. On the anniversary of last years Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made clear Thursday that he wants those who took part in the attack to be brought to justice. Adams, a former NYPD captain, said that the riot, which left more than 100 people injured and five dead including members of the Capitol Police still haunts him, but that too many of those involved have yet to experience any real consequence for their actions. Advertisement New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives at City Hall on his first day in office in Manhattan, New York, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP) Ive worn a badge to protect my city, he said. Our system demands a shared, foundational belief that our institutions matter, whether you win or lose. Progress starts with shared values. Healing starts with accountability. We owe it to the officers we lost and who were injured that day to bring those who planned this attack to justice. So far, in New York State, only 10 New Yorkers have pleaded guilty to their involvement with the Trump-supporting mobs attempt to disrupt the transfer of power from the former president to President Biden. But there are at least 35 more cases surrounding the Capitol attacks pending in New York State alone. Advertisement On the day of the attack, Trump urged his supporters to take back our country. After rioters stormed the Capitol building, he was slow to request that they leave, waiting two hours after the attack began to tell them: Go home. We love you. Youre very special. That weak response came in spite of the fact that Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr. urged then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to have his dad condemn this s--t ASAP. Adams own condemnation of the attacks and his call for a harder line against the insurrectionists comes at an interesting time. Just a day before he appointed two Republicans who supported Trump to top City Hall posts. On Wednesday, Adams announced that former City Councilman Eric Ulrich would serve as a senior advisor and that Edward Mermelstein would serve as his commissioner of international affairs. Ulrich backed Trump in 2020, and Mermelstein has touted his professional history with Trump working on real estate issues before he was elected president. Adams, a Democrat, was still outspoken Thursday about his own feelings for the former president and his supporters who stormed the Capitol. Lets call it what it was, he said. A violent mob tried to topple American democracy. Key Takeaways This New Years Eve, nearly 4.5 million guests stayed on Airbnb in more than 53,000 places around the world. Cities hosting festive celebrations, and more remote ski destinations or warm-weather locales were popular over the holiday weekend. In the early days of Airbnb, many people were unconvinced that sharing homes with strangers would work, but 14 years and more than 1 billion guest arrivals later, our community has created a truly global network built on connection. This year, nearly 4.5 million guests hailing from more than 220 countries and 50,000 cities and towns stayed in Airbnbs over the holiday weekend, making New Years Eve our biggest night since the start of the pandemic. Guests celebrated the new year by forging connections across the globe, with more than 90 percent of guests staying somewhere other than the typical 10 most popular travel destinations on Airbnb, and staying in more than 53,000 distinct destinations overall. As travel returns, we are continuing to put public health first while encouraging safe and responsible travel. Health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control, have recognized that some short-term rentals may offer a safer travel experience relative to hotels, without the risk of common spaces like lobbies or dining halls. To that end, Airbnb implemented new products over New Years Eve to crack down on unauthorized or disruptive parties, helping to protect our Hosts and minimizing neighborhood disruption. The anchor of this plan was a ban on one-night New Years Eve bookings in entire home listings for guests without a history of positive reviews, building on our global party ban. As the world continues to undergo a revolution in how we live and work, technologies like Zoom are making it possible to work from home, and this newfound flexibility is leading to travelers being untethered and booking longer trips. Guests also traveled farther from home for the holiday. Over 40 percent of New Years Eve nights booked were more than 1,000 miles away from guests origins. And compared to New Years Eve travel in 2019, along with big cities known for festive celebrations, more remote locations renowned for their snowy slopes or sandy beaches also made our top trending list by searches for the weekend: Praia Grande, Brazil Subang Jaya, Malaysia Piedmont, Italy Gerardmer, France Santarem, Portugal Valais, Switzerland Busan, Korea Poconos, United States Mons, Belgium Lima, Peru Many Airbnb guests sought new ways in which to ring in the new year after spending last year isolated from loved ones. Even with travel restrictions in place, a variety of regions experienced spikes in travelers from specific destinations as the world kicked off 2022, compared to 2019. Here are the top trending origins of travelers, and the places where they celebrated the new year: 210% growth in Turkish travelers to the US 200% growth in Brazil travelers to Russia 190% growth in German travelers to Portugal 190% growth in Canadian travelers to Peru 180% growth in Spanish travelers to Lithuania 145% growth in Polish travelers to Spain 140% growth in Costa Rican travelers to the UK 135% growth in Colombian travelers to Chile 130% growth in French travelers to Ireland 120% growth in Portuguese travelers to Denmark Unique stays were another means in which guests sought to celebrate in a new way: Almost 50,000+ guests stayed on farms 30,000+ guests stayed in tiny houses 3,500 guests stayed in castles 3,500 guests stayed in treehouses 2,500+ guests stayed in yurts 850+ guests stayed on islands 550+ guests stayed in caves 280+ guests stayed in windmills 170 guests stayed in lighthouses 130 guests stayed in igloos Read more about: The Future of Travel, Trends About Airbnb Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals across over 220 countries and regions. Travel on Airbnb keeps more of the financial benefits of tourism with the people and places that make it happen. Airbnb has generated billions of dollars in earnings for Hosts, most of whom are individuals listing the homes in which they live. Among Hosts who report their gender, more than half are women, and one in five employed Hosts are either teachers or healthcare workers. Travel on Airbnb also has generated more than $4 billion in tax revenue around the world. Airbnb has helped advance more than 1,000 regulatory frameworks for short-term rentals, including in 80% of our top 200 geographies. In late 2020, to support our continued expansion and diversification, we launched the City Portal to provide governments with a one-stop shop that supports data sharing and compliance with local registration rules. We continue to invest in innovations and tools to support our ongoing work with governments around the world to advance travel that best serves communities. About Airbnb.org Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc."s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org"s charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform. Airbnb Press Airbnb Press Office Airbnb Perhaps youve dreamed of one day joining New Orleans residents for their Mardi Gras parties, but did you know that Nebraska celebrates Arbor Day in a big way? Or that in Utah they pay homage to Salt Lake Citys Mormon settlers with a Pioneer Day Festival? Unique regional holidays can be found throughout the United States. Make 2022 the year you experience a non-traditional holiday in one of these fun destinations. In March Celebrate Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, Colorado The snow-capped Rocky Mountains make for a fitting backdrop to Nederland, Colorados annual celebration of one of their most unique inhabitants: A cryogenically-preserved Norwegian immigrant by the name of Bredo Morstl. Bredo, whos been on ice in a town shed since 1989, is the centerpiece of whats been dubbed Cryonics first Mardi Gras: A three-day festival known as Frozen Dead Guy Days. Visitors to this chilly event, held the second weekend of March, can take part in coffin races, a polar plunge, frozen salmon toss, snowy beach volleyball, decorated hearse parade and more. Where to Stay: Warm up after days of frosty fun in the nearby city of Boulder, where you can unwind by strolling the charming Pearl Street Mall or seek adventure by climbing the craggy Flatirons rock formations. Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder offers toasty suites and a year-round rooftop pool with striking mountain views. In May Join Reenactments During Gaspee Days in Warwick, Rhode Island The town of Warwick, Rhode Island welcomes in summer each year during a special regional holiday: Gaspee Days. The event, which coincides with Memorial Day Weekend, recognizes the anniversary of the Gaspee Affair, a significant event that led up to the American Revolution and pre-dates the more well-known Boston Tea Party. Gaspee Days date back to 1772 when patriots burned a British schooner, the HMS Gaspee. Today, Warwick celebrates this important event by reenacting the ship burning each May. Where to Stay: A visit to Warwick during Gaspee Days also provides the opportunity to view a parade, fireworks and road race. To stay close to the action, book a room at Homewood Suites Providence Downtown. In June Honor King Kamehameha Day in Honolulu, Hawaii Kamehameha the Great played a significant role in Hawaiian history. As the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810, King Kamehameha is honored with a statue in downtown Honolulu, as well as an event held in his honor on June 11 each year. Attendees to the King Kamehameha Day festivities can enjoy a floral parade, hula competition and an important draping ceremony, whereby hundreds of feet of flower lei are placed onto the 15-foot statue of Kamehameha. Where to Stay: When planning a visit to one of the most idyllic destinations in the United States, youll want to secure a room with a view. Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is perfectly positioned on 22 acres of white sand beach and offers five swimming pools, hula lessons, catamaran tours and more. In October Fall in Love with Sweetest Day in Cleveland, Ohio While Valentines Day is celebrated nationwide each February, in the Midwest theres a second holiday devoted to love that takes place each fall: Sweetest Day. This saccharine regional holiday originated in Cleveland in 1922 when the citys candy companies distributed more than 20,000 boxes of sweets to down-on-their-luck citizens. Today locals celebrate the holiday, which takes place on the third Saturday in October, by honoring the people they love and admire most. Where to Stay: Sweetest Day is a chance to recognize anyone you care about, romantically or otherwise, making it the perfect holiday to celebrate with friends and family. Treat them to a stay at Hilton Cleveland Downtown where youll enjoy spacious rooms and easy access to the citys top attractions and dining. Travelers who are part of Hiltons loyalty program, Hilton Honors, can use Points to cash in on a stay at one of these hotels as well as more than 6,700 Hilton hotels worldwide. In addition to instant benefits and exclusive discounts, members can use the Hilton Honors Points Explorer tool to help them plan their next trip to see just how far their Points will take them. And, when booking with Hilton Honors Points, the fifth night of a single stay is always free. About Hilton Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,800 properties and more than 1 million rooms, in 122 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2021 World's Best Workplaces list and been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for five consecutive years. In 2021, in addition to opening more than one hotel a day, Hilton introduced several industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 128 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Hilton Corporate Communications Hilton Noble Investment Group ("Noble") today announced the acquisition of the Hampton Inn Savannah Historic District and Holiday Inn Express Savannah Historic District. The hotels are prominently located on East Bay Street, across from the Savannah River and River Street, and within walking distance to the Historic District's top attractions. Savannah is recognized as one of the top visitor destinations in the world. In 2021, Savannah was named the No. 3 Top City in the United States by Travel + Leisure in the annual reader's World's Best Awards and ranked on TIME's list of The World's Greatest Places of 2021. The city was also ranked in the Conde Nast Traveler 2021 Readers' Choice Awards as the No. 8 Best City in the U.S. The Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport took top honors as the No. 1 Best Airport in the U.S. Savannah's Historic District is the most extensive National Historic Landmark District in the United States. It contains more than twenty city squares filled with museums, historic landmarks, mansions, and monuments from the Revolutionary and Civil War eras. The city is known for manicured parks, horse-drawn carriages, and antebellum architecture and attracts over fifteen million annual visitors contributing more than $3.0 billion to the local economy. The hotels' central location on East Bay Street provides direct access to explore the city's numerous leisure attractions, is a short ferry ride to the Savannah Convention Center, and is proximate to the Port of Savannah, the country's third-busiest container port. Significant market growth continues with the recently completed mixed-use Plant Riverside District on River Street and the multi-phase Eastern Wharf development, which has delivered additional luxury residential units and class A office space to the city. Noble Investment Group Founded in 1993, Noble is a leading real estate investment manager with a diverse team specializing in the upscale U.S. lodging sector. Through its institutional real estate funds, Noble has invested nearly $5 billion in communities throughout the country, adding value across cycles and creating thousands of jobs. As a signatory to the UNPRI. the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, and a fiduciary to foremost pensions plans, endowments, and foundations, Noble's endeavors help to preserve and grow its limited partners" capital, which assists in providing retirement benefits for our country's teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, other pensioners, and financial resources for students to attend college. For more information, please visit www.nobleinvestment.com With the increased popularity of cloud storage and computing systems, information that used to be stored on-premise now sits in data centers around the world, making it more challenging to comply with data processing regulations. Data sovereignty for hotels has become a critical part of a hotels IT strategy. But what exactly is data sovereignty for hotels and what does it mean for business today? The hospitality industry works best when it has good amounts of guest data and preferences. An industry like hospitality, which is all about personalization, cant operate without good data. Today, data sovereignty is still a new concept that is more important than ever, especially with increasing amounts of personal data being stored in places the guest does not control nor even fully comprehend. The Relationship between Data Sovereignty, Residency, and Privacy The concepts of Sovereignty, Residency, and Privacy are closely related when it comes to data, but they require some clarification. Data residency refers to businesses deciding the geographical location where their data will be stored. They may, for example, choose one particular country due to its favorable privacy regulations or low-tax environment. For example, a company located in country C may have found it favorable for their business to store their data in country B where they can save on certain costs. Thus, the data residency is country B. Data sovereignty for hotels refers to stored data being subject to a specific countrys laws This means it must respect the regulations of that country, such as privacy and other regulations (including that the data must be accessible to the government in case of legal need). So, in the above example, the data would be accessible and governed by the rules of country B even if neither the company nor the customers are located there. While Data privacy is related to data sovereignty and data residency, it is again different in that privacy is how one protects personal data from being misused. In the example above, this is quite obvious if the data from a citizen of country A is stored in country B and country B has very lenient data protection laws, it could pose an issue for the citizen of country A. These three concepts are thus closely related, but not the same. Data sovereignty controls how and, more importantly, where users data is stored. The notion is that data should always be subject to the nations legislation where it is collected. For example, if certain user information is collected in a European hotel, the EU regulation (GDPR) should prevail. In hospitality, this is particularly intricate, as users data could easily be created in the US (to book the reservation) and stored in a hotel in Europe, creating gray areas in the interpretation of the regulation. Source: Shiji While the European regulations of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) are often cited as regards to data sovereignty, it is important to differentiate between GDPR and pure data sovereignty. Generally, many data sovereignty initiatives (including data localisation laws, e.g. in Russia) have been introduced to ensure that personal information is given appropriate protection irrespective of its location. This idea has been viewed as closely linked with governments/control (because some countries require the data to be maintained within its borders), but it could interfere with the free flow of freedoms or simply the free flow of data (a concept rooted in the EU). GDPR does not provide data residency requirements per se, but instead, it regulates cross-border transfers in general. For example, GDPR does not prohibit cross-border transfer. Still, it is required to have a basis for the transfer and implement appropriate safeguards aimed at ensuring that personal data are protected no matter where they are stored. Arguably, the most controversial aspect of data sovereignty is how it also dictates the way governments can or cannot access user information. A typical example is the Patriot Act: the US Government has the legal right to access data that is stored on US soil. This is similar to China which has rights for data stored on its soil, and, in all cases, it is a right that governments exert in the name of national security. This becomes an issue when the data of one countrys citizens is stored in another country, and national security cannot be enforced. Thus, the need for data sovereignty legislation. Data Sovereignty, A Political Problem? While there is a lot of political and public relations equity in the topic of data sovereignty, this is primarily an issue of protecting peoples and companies data from being misused. Beyond politics and press, the reason why data sovereignty is important is that citizens and companies live and operate in their country and follow the laws, enjoy the freedoms and the protections that come with living or operating in their country. These freedoms and protections are known to the citizens and businesses who can operate with prediction since they can access their laws. What they do and how they live is adjusted around These freedoms and protections are known to the citizens and businesses, who can then operate with prediction since they can access their laws. What they do and how they live is adjusted around their local laws. But, if the data about how they live is stored in another country where these freedoms and protections are different, it poses a problem. So, beyond the political aspect, this issue is essential for both people and companies and how they conduct their lives and businesses. This is the real reason why it is so important. It is crucial to state this issue in order to understand the reasons behind data sovereignty. It is about keeping people and businesses freedoms and protections in the place where they live and conduct business because those are the rights, rules, and legislations they live by. Many of the current concerns that surround data sovereignty relate to enforcing privacy regulations and making sure that data stored in a foreign country is not collected by the companys host countrys government without its consent. Data regulations are constantly changing to best address this quickly evolving topic, meaning there is no simple rulebook to follow. However, one rule will always apply: The data owner is responsible for knowing precisely where their data is stored, and for taking the necessary steps to ensure that they comply with the legislation that governs that location. Data Security and Privacy in Hotel Technology In our data-driven industry, security is often synonymous with the protection of guests personal data. The principal data breaches of the last few years involved guests information stored in Property Management Systems (PMS). Yet, hotels need to store personal data to operate and thus maintain high-security levels to protect their guests. Security of personal data is a particularly central topic for privacy requirements. Not complying with all the privacy regulations (such as European GDPR, Californian CCPA, Brazilian LGPD, or South African POPI) can be a threat, one that should be identified as early as possible in the process of selecting technology solutions. Ensuring that the compliance of the system is verified by an external auditor and certified for example, with an ISO/IEC 27018 certificate, the code of practice for protection of personally identifiable information (PII). That being said, its undeniable that modern systems have an advantage when it comes to data protection, as they were created when GDPR and similar regulations were developed. Older software may have a limited architecture that makes it much harder to be compliant with privacy regulations. This is particularly challenging for large, on-premise systems because, in extreme cases, security measures cant even be applied, like some legacy technologies that do not support encryption. Data Residency and Cloud Systems For a system to be compliant with the main security and privacy requests, lets debunk some myths about data sovereignty. As weve already discussed, the main idea of data sovereignty is that a customers data should be subject to the countrys laws in which the data is collected and processed. The data residency of personally identifiable information is a bigger challenge for cloud-based solutions compared to non-connected on-premise systems. Luckily, by now, most major cloud computing providers have built-in systems to control where the data is being processed and stored, even though this is not necessarily the case in hotel tech. For example, the Microsoft 365 website clearly states that we start with the assumption that our enterprise customers would like to have their business data stored and processed close to home. Wherever possible, we do just that. So, the location for tenants created with a billing address in France or Germany, for example, will never be the US, but the EU. Source: Shiji Amazon Web Services offers the possibility to use different regions of AWS so that the application can be deployed in multiple locations, such as the EU, US, China, and so on. Customers have the possibility to decide in which part of the world their data (or their customers data) should be stored. In practical terms, a hotel technology vendor can build a storage system for global chains where the data from European hotels is stored in the EU, data from US hotels is stored in the US, data from Chinese hotels is stored in China. Examples of Data Privacy in Hospitality In our industry, if a hotel is working with a provider that is following both security and privacy guidelines, it will be able to have its data stored in a particular region, according to where the property is located. However, hotel chains and groups may need their guests data to travel between different regions. A fitting example is loyalty programs: loyal guests should be recognized at any hotel of the chain or group, and they should be able to check their loyalty points no matter where they are. Transferring the data to another region is achievable if the guest has explicitly agreed to share their data beyond the region. Then, based on the local regulations, data can be shared either globally or with another region. In some countries, this means that a copy must be kept locally, and in other countries, even within the European Union regulations differ and should be verified by professionals. In Europe, the very nature of the service of staying in a hotel allows properties to collect and process personal data of their guests: hotels are authorized to process personal data because the data is needed to provide the service; hence consent is not the only legal basis for data processing. Moreover, unlike many Asian jurisdictions, GDPR does not require permission for cross-border data transfers within an international organisation, but that does not mean that personal data can be moved around without any safeguards and legal basis. The main goal, on the contrary, is to ensure that personal data will be protected wherever they go. GDPR requires transparency and informing individuals what happens to their personal data, including where they are transferred to and why. On top of that, hotels can openly ask their guests to share their data if they explain in their privacy notice the personal information that will be copied abroad for global systems, such as the loyalty program mentioned before. Of course, in this case, the guests should explicitly agree and authorize joining the program and hence sending their data to other locations. Aggregated, anonymized data (such as occupancy rate, Average Daily Rate (ADR), etc.) do not fall under the regulation, so a European hotel can share this information with the headquarters in the US and vice versa. Conclusion: Data Sovereignty Is A Moving Target Data sovereignty for hotels especially is a relatively new concept introduced by the rise of cloud computing. We may go as far as saying that the whole idea of sovereignty is the decolonization of the cloud. That is why both hotels and tech vendors should approach data sovereignty as a moving target. Most countries are working on new, stricter privacy regulations, and data sovereignty is an integral part of these regulations. On this website (Data Protection Laws of the World), you can compare data protection laws worldwide and make sure youre always compliant. Picking your vendors based on their compliance to data sovereignty laws is crucial to avoid your valuable customers information getting into the wrong hands. Note: Shiji and the Insights team are not providing any legal advice in this article. This article is being provided for general information and overview purposes. Readers are encouraged to work with their privacy officers and/or legal counsel and advisors to determine what data protection measures they should take. This article originally appeared in TechTalk.Travel. About Shiji Shiji is a multi-national technology company that provides software solutions and services for enterprise companies in the hospitality, food service, retail and entertainment industries, ranging from hospitality technology platform, hotel management solutions, food and beverage and retail systems, payment gateways, data management, online distribution and more. Founded in 1998 as a network solutions provider for hotels, Shiji today comprises over 5,000 employees in 80+ subsidiaries and brands in over 23 countries, serving more than 91,000 hotels, 200,000 restaurants and 600,000 retail outlets. For more information, visit www.shijigroup.com. View source Banks are extending more credit to oil companies as crude prices recover from the pandemic-driven oil bust of 2020. Ranger Oil Corp. on Thursday said its revolving credit limit increased 20 percent to $725 million as the Houston company outlined plans for significant cash on cash returns and disciplined growth. This increase continues to strengthen our balance sheet, creates financial flexibility for consolidation and other opportunities, and enhances the potential liquidity available to the company, Ranger CEO Darrin Henke said in a statement. We expect this pattern of value creation to continue as we execute our 2022 development program, targeting significant cash on cash returns, a robust free cash flow profile and disciplined growth." Banks, which slashed credit lines and pulled back energy investments during the pandemic, are starting to extend capital back to oil companies as producers pledged to maintain capital discipline after years of unfettered spending and growth. A recent survey by the Dallas-based law firm Haynes and Boone found that more than 60 percent of lenders expect to increase the borrowing base of energy companies by at least 10 percent and as much as 20 percent. The increased borrowing capacity is good news for the beleaguered shale sector, which requires a constant flow of capital to drill wells and replenish rapidly declining oil reserves. Banks appear to be willing to lend more to oil companies as crude prices have rebounded to around $80 a barrel from negative-$37 a barrel in April 2020. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, was trading at $79.41 on Thursday morning, up $1.56 from Wednesday. Minneapolis-based Northern Oil and Gas in November said its credit limit was increased to $850 million from $725 million, and Oklahoma City-based PHX Minerals in December said its credit limit was increased to $32 million from $27.5 million. A Fort Worth company, HighPeak Energy, said last fall that its borrowing base was raised to $195 million from $125 million. RECOVERY: Once on the brink of bankruptcy, Oxy appears to have turned a corner The Haynes and Boone survey, published in October, found that nearly two-thirds of 84 oil companies surveyed expect more capital to flow into the energy sector in 2022. "Producers are expected to use cash flow from operations and accessing bank debt as their primary sources of capital in 2021," Haynes and Boone said. "The most notable change in market sentiment is a slight increase in banks as a potential capital source and a slight decrease in alternative capital providers." Banks reassess oil companies borrowing capacity twice a year, taking into account current crude prices, market forecasts and production projections. Wall Street firms have been divesting energy stocks and pulling investment from the sector after recent oil busts. Banks sold off loans and cut credit lines to oil and gas companies to reduce their risk of defaults after the 2020 oil crash. Several oil companies, such as Houston-based Bruin E&P Partners, said they were forced to file for bankruptcy during the pandemic after lenders pulled credit lines as crude prices plunged and revenue dried up. Capital could remain constrained, however, as public concerns grow over climate change. Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street -- some of the largest oil investors with $22.3 billion invested in 30 major oil companies -- have pledged to invest in net-zero emission companies. WASHINGTON On a recent Sunday afternoon a television ad ran in Washington, D.C., showing a young couple out on the town for the evening. They are dressed stylishly of the sort who might slam Big Oil on social media and then all of a sudden their night falls into chaos. Their sneakers, their smart phones, their eyeglasses all disappear, along with the tires on their ride share. A spokesman asks, What if we lived in a world without oil and gas? What might seem a standard piece of oil industry marketing quickly drew jeers online one Twitter commenter proclaimed Criiiinnnnnnggggggeeeeeeeeeeeee illustrating the challenges the industry faces as it tries to shape opinion on the energy transition without alienating a public already suspicious of oil companies. With President Joe Biden pushing hard on climate policy, the U.S. oil and gas industry is in the middle of an advertising push to try to protect their share of an energy marketplace that is shifting away from their products. But how to best market themselves in the current political climate is an increasingly tricky task for executives. They must simultaneously declare their commitment to addressing climate change while reminding the public of the need for oil and natural gas all while separating themselves from their climate denial of the past. People are trying to figure out their lane, said Frank Maisano, a Washington public relations consultant at the law firm Bracewell. Energy Transfer is trying to remind people how important oil and gas is in our lives. Exxon Mobil is spending a lot on Spotify ads that are very technology focused. And Ive been pummeled with Saudi Aramco ads about hydrogen. On HoustonChronicle.com: Big Oil cautions against disruptive energy transition While they generally share the same message about their commitment to clean energy, oil companies take different approaches when it comes to the role of their products in society. European companies like BP and Royal Dutch Shell generally stay quiet about their petroleum businesses while promoting their investments in wind and solar. But some U.S. companies and their lobbyists are vocal in warning of the dangers of shifting off fossil fuels too quickly. A case in point is the ad with the young couple, run by the Dallas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer. It was conceived out of the belief held by Kelcy Warren, the companys founder and chairman, along with other executives, that the public, particularly younger people, do not understand how integral oil and gas is to their lives, said Vicki Granado, vice president of corporate communications at Energy Transfer. They think theyre going to buy an electric vehicle and theyre not going to need fossil fuels anymore, but they will, she said. Its not something you would normally expect from a pipeline company, but if we as an industry dont step forward to educate people, then no one else is going to do it for us. But where Warren might see a void in messaging ready to be filled, others see a case of overly aggressive, in-your-face advertising, reminiscent of the industrys campaigns of the late 1990s questioning the science of climate change. Weve spent a lot of money trying to figure out the best message, and weve found this methodology, where youre saying youre going to lose all these things if you dont embrace natural gas and oil, its not at all well received by the focus groups, said a lobbyist for an industry trade group, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for alienating Energy Transfer. Its this threatening message thats counter intuitive to everything were trying to do as an industry. Its the big bad bogeyman is going to take away your stuff. Once a side issue in U.S. politics, climate change has risen to the forefront in recent years amid increasingly unusual weather events, whether its late season wildfires in California or unusually large rainfalls in Houston. And, according scientists, those effects are only going to worsen in the decades ahead. Environmental groups have targeted pipeline and LNG projects for litigation, tying up companies for years in court and, in some instances, halting construction altogether. At the same time, investors are pressuring oil companies to reduce emissions. In May, Exxon Mobil lost two board seats to an activist hedge fund that stressed to shareholders that the companys executives werent taking climate change seriously. On HoustonChronicle.com: Big Oil CEOs to face questions on 'misleading' ad campaigns in climate hearing The oil and gas industry in the United States is really feeling the change in social sensibility, said Mark Brownstein, senior vice president of energy at the Environmental Defense Fund. Climate change is not a philosophical thing. Its confronting the reality that continuing to put huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere is driving us toward an unlivable planet. In recent years, Exxon and other large oil companies have worked to improve their image by advertising their energy expertise, pointing to research into technologies such as algae-based biofuels and capturing carbon dioxide for underground storage and making the case that society needs them if it is to successfully reduce emissions. But they face an uphill climb. After decades of oil spills, misinformation and massive profits, the publics poor perception of the oil industry is unlikely to be changed by advertising alone, said Lan Ni, a University of Houston professor who studies public relations. Im not sure how much change (advertising) can bring to peoples emotional behavior, she said. Oil companies should be doing more community engagement. This might be difficult, but they should try to sit down and try to find some common ground. If the companies are just trying to dismiss the communities concerns, it will only increase the distrust and the hostility. Paul Sakuma, STF / Associated Press For now, oil and gas companies are focused on using social media to counter environmental campaigns against them. In 2020, oil companies and their trade groups produced more than 25,000 ads on Facebook alone, which were seen more than 430 million times, according to the British nonprofit InfluenceMap, which tracks the impact of businesses on climate change. The ads ramped up in the runup to the presidential election in November 2020, and now analysts are seeing a similar uptick as Congress debates Bidens $2 trillion spending bill, which includes a methane tax opposed by the oil and gas sector, said Dylan Tanner, executive director of Influence Map. Almost half those ads were about the industrys efforts to address climate change, with another 31 percent addressing the necessity of oil and gas in our everyday lives. Theres a range of approaches, anything but the climate denial of the past, Tanner said. Our research shows this kind of (ad) spending is highest during these electoral moments. Its very strategic. They focus on the swing states. Members of Congress see these ads and it can influence how they vote. On HoustonChronicle.com: Exxon warns investors of climate risk to its oil and gas assets For many oil companies, the long-term mission is to build enough of a relationship with government officials to get a seat at the table when it comes to deciding how to shift the worlds economies toward clean energy. Oil and gas executives believe that their firms have unmatched expertise in delivering energy, which will be sorely needed in the future whether its wind power or oil. But so far, convincing elected officials of that is proving difficult, said a public relations staffer at one major oil company. At COP26 (the climate summit in Glasgow this year) there were people who didnt want oil and gas there, said the individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, to discuss sensitive relationships with government officials. For us, we want to play a role. james.osborne@chron.com Houstonians are experiencing their first significant flu season since 2019 as the highly contagious omicron variant drives a resurgence of COVID. The term "flurona" has become popular on social media and in news reports describing cases of people becoming sick from both the coronavirus and influenza, leading to fears of a "twindemic" that could strain local hospital systems. But the problem with using that term, according to two Houston doctors, is that "flurona" isn't an actual disease and COVID-19 and influenza are not the only viral illnesses circulating around Houston this winter. Instead, the real concern is that people won't be vaccinated or take other precautions against infection with any of the viruses while hospitals are already trying to handle a rise in omicron, the doctors said. Viral co-infection Co-infections with the coronavirus and other viruses have been happening since the start of the pandemic, said Dr. Flor Munoz, an infectious disease specialist at Texas Children's Hospital and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Last summer, a wave of children suffering from both COVID and respiratory syncytial virus swept through pediatric hospitals in Houston. An unusually light flu season in 2020 meant many people lacked recent exposure to the influenza virus. Scientists were also left guessing about which strains to focus on for this year's flu vaccines, Dr. Wesley Long, Houston Methodists medical director of diagnostic microbiology, told the Chronicle in September. Over the holiday season in December, Houstonians began falling ill with the flu. State data shows a slight decrease in the positivity rate of influenza tests during the last week of December, but Munoz said the dip is due to reporting delays and people not getting tested while away for the holidays. Flu season is finally emerging, she said, but other seasonal viruses such as adenovirus and human metapneumovirus are also circulating alongside influenza and the coronavirus. "These are viruses circulating in the community all the time, theyre both very transmissible and very contagious," she said. "During the early stages of the pandemic, we were seeing only COVID because people were staying away from each other." Munoz said terms like "flurona" give the mistaken impression of a new variant of COVID or a new illness. While being sick with more than one virus can add up to more severe sickness, they each cause distinct illnesses and have their own treatments, she said. However, COVID and the flu have a similar range of symptoms, including high fever, lower respiratory tract disease, seizures and secondary bacterial infections, said Munoz. The only way to know is to be tested for each virus, she said. FACT CHECK: Did the CDC say its COVID-19 tests can't differentiate between the virus and the flu? While COVID tests remain in-demand, not as many people are getting tested for the flu, said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, a professor of infectious diseases at UTHealth and physician at Memorial Hermann. "I keep seeing a lot of people who have symptoms, and they go test for COVID and test negative, and they dont get any more testing," he said. "These patients can have very severe disease, so we need to know if we have one, or the other, or both." Although COVID and the flu are both respiratory illnesses that are treated similarly, the antiviral therapeutics are different, said Munoz. People who show up to emergency rooms with flu-like symptoms will often be tested for several seasonal viruses, she said, but those who make a point to get tested for the flu can access medications like tamiflu more easily. 'Drive-by term' So far, hospitals have seen lower levels of influenza-related activity than in a pre-pandemic flu season, Munoz said. But if this year's flu season or the omicron-driven COVID wave get more severe, hospitals could face more strain, she said. RELATED: Harris County could raise COVID threat level to red soon, Lina Hidalgo says "Even though omicron is supposed to be less severe, so many people are getting sick that there will be a risk of individuals being very ill and coming into the hospital, so the volume is so large that it could eventually overwhelm the system," said Munoz. Munoz described flu season as the "drive-by term" of hospitals, where some emergency rooms can get so full that those seeking help are told to drive to the next institution. Flu season typically ends in February, though Munoz said "we'll see." "If we have both viruses coming back every season, it could be a problem," she said. Though tamiflu is available, some COVID antiviral therapies are less common, she said. In the meantime, Munoz recommended being vaccinated against the flu and COVID, in part because there are no vaccines or treatments for other winter viruses like adenovirus and human metapneumovirus. But for those who suspect they already have COVID or the flu, there are a few hints, said Ostrosky. Coronavirus notably causes a loss of taste and smell, while people with influenza suffer severe fatigue, he said. "If you have really deep fatigue normally seen with influenza, but with smell and taste issues, that would be a sign" of a possible co-infection, he said. In that case, getting tested to receive the right treatment quickly is important, said Ostrosky. "We are seeing very high loads for COVID, so the last thing we want to do is get another patient stream with influenza," he said. charlie.zong@chron.com When it comes to racial healing in America, Nikole Hannah-Jones isnt hopeful, but that doesnt stop her from trying to educate Americans about our countrys history of racism. The Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist at the New York Times Magazine and creator of the The 1619 Project, which commemorates the 400th anniversary of African slaves arriving in America, expected backlash when the project published in the magazine in 2019. It traces the nations beginning to the year enslaved African people were first brought to America instead of 1776. But she didnt expect to become a lightning rod for political agendas, considering that many of her harshest critics have yet to even read her work. Im not a hopeful person when it comes to the issue of race, Hannah-Jones said, but I certainly have taken to heart all of the people who have embraced this work and wanted to learn and Ive realized how little they actually have known about their country. I do believe that theres a segment of Americans who dont care and will never care but I dont think thats most Americans. In the past year, Hannah-Jones ended a tenure fight with her alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, by joining Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C. She created the 1619 Freedom School, a free after-school literacy program, in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. And shes had two bestsellers The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story and The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, a childrens picture book with co-writer Renee Watson and illustrator Nikkolas Smith, a Houston native. NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here. The Pulitzer Center also has created a 1619 Project curriculum for students and educators. In an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle, Hannah-Jones talked about impact and controversy of The 1619 Project and what she hopes readers will take away. Q: Your work has been applauded and praised, but also vilified. How do you deal with that? A: It really depends on the day. I didnt expect that I would become a symbol of something or that anyone would care about anything other than the work. It hasnt been easy to see the type of personal attacks, but at the same time, people show me a lot of love. Its been a lot, and sometimes, I dont quite know how to process it. Q: Do you think The 1619 Project has had an impact on how race and inequality are covered in the media? A: I think my work shows that you can treat racial inequality as an investigative beat. That it is a serious subject worthy of serious journalistic inquiry and rigor. I hope that future generations will see in my work a model for how to do investigative journalism that exposes the way that racial inequality is maintained. Many of us, of my generation, were taught that or told that wanting to write about race was going to pigeonhole you. That if you wanted to be able to reach the height of your profession, you had to do work other than that. And I think that my work, along with the work of many other respected journalists, has disproved that. Q: As you travel the country to talk about the book, what are people saying? A: Among Black people who come to my talk, theres often been a really emotional experience. A lot of Black Americans, like me, have felt really erased from the American story. When you are erased, you often take that as being less than. So I think Ive heard from so many people who didnt believe the history as it was told but didnt have any facts otherwise. Q: What have you learned through this? A: I feel like Ive learned so much, and I have so much knowledge and understanding and really just a great sense of pride about everything, not just that our ancestors have endured, but that our ancestors were always contributors to the American story. Ive gotten similar reactions from people who arent Black who said, I just had no idea about the history of my country. And I cant see my country the same. Its been a deeply gratifying experience. Q: Do you think The 1619 Project will have far-reaching implications on how the history of this country is told to the next generations? A: I dont know. Its hard to talk about what impact you think your own work is going to have, but I hope so. The project is based upon decades of scholarship, much of it by Black historians. So what I hope it does more than anything is lift up the work of those without whom this work would not exist. Q: Whats next? A: Im working on The 1619 Project basically all the time. Well be putting out at least two more books, one being a graphic novel. Im filming the 1619 documentary right now, and then well be doing other TV and film projects. Then, of course, Im founding the Center for Journalism and Democracy at Howard University. (The center, co-founded by bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates, will train and support aspiring journalists.) Q: Are you hopeful that we are moving toward racial healing? A: I just think most Americans have been taught a very poor understanding of their country. But with that said, youre calling from Texas, where The 1619 Project has been prohibited by law from being taught to children. Theres been an intensive backlash to this work and other anti-racist texts. Texas is also passing anti-voter laws. Theyre also passing laws against womens reproductive rights. I think we are in a very dangerous period in our country. White backlash is always the response to racial progress. And we had the racial reckoning of last year, which The 1619 Project was certainly a text of that reckoning. Now were seeing a very organized backlash against it. Its hard to feel hope in this moment. Q: What would you like Texans to know know about your work? A: I just hope that they will come to the project with an open mind, that they will read it and decide for themselves, and not let politicians or anyone else determine how they think about the project. I certainly hope that folks will organize and push back because, whether you love the project or hate the project, we should all, as Americans, be opposed to the state trying to censor speech that it doesnt like. We should all be opposed to the state trying to prohibit the teaching of texts because politicians dont like whats in those texts. I hope that readers will not just accept that the state can decide that certain texts cant be taught to children. Our children deserve better. Schools should not teach students what to think but how to think. joy.sewing@chron.com Volunteers join food delivery activities of Deshan shared kitchen in Xi'an Xinhua) 09:52, January 06, 2022 Volunteers package foods for delivery at Deshan shared kitchen in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 4, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) Volunteers transport foods onto a car for delivery in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 4, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) A volunteer contacts patients' families to take foods at Shaanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 5, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) Volunteers package foods for delivery at Deshan shared kitchen in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 4, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) A volunteer leaves Deshan shared kitchen to deliver foods in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 4, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) Volunteer Li Guang makes dishes for delivery at Deshan shared kitchen in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 4, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) A volunteer delivers foods to a nurse at Shaanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 5, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) Volunteers package foods for delivery at Deshan shared kitchen in Yanta District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 4, 2022. Located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Deshan shared kitchen was run as an "anti-cancer kitchen", providing convenience for cancer patients and their families to cook meals. Xu Kai, founder of the shared kitchen, transformed this "anti-cancer kitchen" into a "fight-against-epidemic kitchen" after the city has been hit by the recent COVID-19 resurgence. Up to now, more than 30 volunteers have joined the food delivery activities of the kitchen to help not only cancer patients and their families who are stranded in Xi'an, but also some personnel who work for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Mayor Adams laid out a plan Wednesday to send $111 million in new funding to public hospitals and a $27 million loan to public safety-net hospitals in an effort to battle the ongoing omicron surge. The loan is coming from Goldman Sachs and will be FEMA reimbursable, according to the citys Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi. Advertisement The cash influx comes as hospitals in the city struggle to maintain personnel levels due to shortages brought on by staffers testing positive for COVID, and as healthcare providers struggle to turn around COVID tests in a timely fashion amid surging demand. New York City Mayor Eric Adams visits Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, New York City on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News) Were going to surge funds through every part of our healthcare network. Were going to provide a financial backstop to hospitals, healthcare staff, essential workers and the entire team that keeps us healthy every day, Adams said at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. Advertisement Elmhurst, one of the hardest hit medical facilities in the country during the initial onset of COVID in 2020, is one of 11 hospitals in the citys Health + Hospitals network. It will receive additional funding as part of the $111 million allocation from the city and FEMA, but exactly how much it will receive is unclear. Well fill in wherever people are out, said Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz. Some of the earliest nurses we were able to bring in, they went to Coney Island Hospital because that was where we were hardest hit first. Money from the $27 million loan fund will go to safety net hospitals such as Brookdale and Wyckoff hospitals, which serve patients who are predominantly Black and brown and on Medicaid or uninsured. Adams hailed the loan as a a good community-corporate partnership and commended Goldman Sachs for making the cash available, highlighting a departure from his predecessor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who typically ran cold when it came to Wall Street. Were calling on other financial institutions to do the same, Adams said. The financial outlay comes as city health officials are bracing for a continued surge in COVID cases brought on by the omicron variant, a surge they expect will get worse before it gets better. Adams interim Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said hospital beds throughout the city are now running at 75% to 80% capacity, but that he expects that number to increase in the coming days. This is why it is so vital to surge resources and support to our health care system, particularly to our safety net and H+H hospitals, he said. Advertisement Chokshi added that the funding would also help the city in shoring up public health infrastructure posts like nurses, lab personnel and data analysts. Houston Chronicle file The first hospital in Houston exclusively for children would soon open in the Texas Medical Center, the Arabia Temple Shrine announced on this day in 1949. Designed by Alfred C. Finn, the hospital would actually open as the Arabia Temple Crippled Children's Hospital in 1952. Though the building was new, the Arabia Temple had been involved in pediatric care here since 1920. In 1966, the hospital became the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children. Thirty years later, Shriners Hospital for Children would move to a new location. Authorities on Wednesday night found more than a dozen people inside an illegal boarding home in northwest Harris County. Sixteen residents were found living in a residence on the 12600 block of Cypress North Houston that officials described as a boarding home and assisted living home with no permit, according to the Harris County Marshal's Office. The residence had no fire or life safety measures, according to the fire marshal. Families picked up some of the residents. Buses from the Atascocita Fire Department and SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council transported other residents to licensed facilities for proper care, the fire marshal's office said. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and Harris County Sheriff's Office were assisting at the scene. The Houston Emergency Center is investigating what may be a delay of several hours for police response to the shooting of George Floyds grandniece, a 4-year-old girl, at her home in the citys South Side New Years Day. The girl was asleep in her bedroom just before 3 a.m. in the familys apartment in the 3300 block of Yellowstone Boulevard, when bullets struck her torso. She suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a punctured liver, but is in stable condition, according to Tiffany Cofield, a close family friend. On HoustonChronicle.com: Authorities find 16 people living in illegal boarding home in NW Harris County The girls father, Derrick Delane, told ABC13 the girls mother drove her to the hospital, and that police did not respond to the apartment until 7 a.m., more than four hours after they called 911. The Houston Emergency Center said it has opened an internal investigation into the call handling protocols and procedures that may have led to a late response time. Preliminary information suggests that police were not notified of the shooting at the same time as paramedics, according to a statement from the Houston Office of Emergency Management. This is an active investigation being conducted within HEC and we want to ensure all calls we received regarding this incident are properly reviewed, said Robert Mock, director of HEC, in the statement. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said officers received a ShotSpotter notification near the scene of the shooting and noticed a large hole in the fencing of the apartment complex where the family lives. They went to investigate but did not find a crime scene or any victims, because the girl had already left for the hospital. On HoustonChronicle.com: Critics say ShotSpotter gunfire alert data is inaccurate, but Houston is spending $3.5M to expand it The girl is recovering by Gods grace but will remain in the hospital for at least a week, Cofield said. She added, She needs all the prayers that she can get because of the toll it's going to have on her emotionally, mentally, psychologically. An adult wouldn't be able to grasp the severity of that. Gabrielle Banks contributed reporting. Minutes after 45 Norte Sports Bar closed for the night, a dispute erupted in the parking lot. One patron said a group at the north Houston bar also known as Mala Vida wanted to buy marijuana, or so he thought, and that they threatened in Spanish to kill him, according to investigators. Three Harris County constables deputies working an off-duty security job in the clubs parking lot moved to break up the fight. One of the deputies, Juqaim Barthen, was handcuffing one of the men involved when he heard two gunshots, he later told Houston Police Department detectives. Instantly, there was chaos. His fellow deputies Kareem Atkins and Darryl Garrett ran toward the commotion and tackled the man who felt threatened to the ground. Within moments, there was more gunfire and Atkins was killed, while Garrett and Barthen were wounded during the Oct. 16 clash. Interviews with several club patrons spanned a 12-page arrest warrant for 19-year-old Eddie Miller the only person charged in the shooting revealing new and, at times, convoluted details on how the night escalated from an argument to deadly gunfire. The Chronicle is not naming those identified in court documents as having joined Miller at the club because they have not been charged in connection to the shooting. Barthen said he left the handcuffed man behind at the sound of a third gunshot and rushed to locate his colleagues, who he found wrestling the threatened man to the ground. A bar patron who witnessed the fight said the man had a handgun and she believed there had been an earlier robbery attempt. Barthen also saw a man believed to be Miller with a rifle pointed at him. That man shot him in the left leg. Miller later told his friends that he had seen two people on top of his friend, the patron who said he was threatened. Thats when Miller upped it up, another of Millers friends told police. According to investigators, witnesses saw Miller grab a semi-automatic rifle from the trunk of a friends vehicle and shoot the deputies. One of the witnesses also saw a man with a rifle screaming at someone moments earlier. The threatened friend whom deputies soon tackled tried calming him down and at one point motioned for him lower the rifle. The friend then fired a pistol into the ground as a deputy was behind him, court records show. The rifle-wielding man shot the deputies as his friend was pinned to the ground, the witness told police. Surveillance footage shows Barthen, shot and wounded, limping away for safety toward the front of the club. The warrant does not indicate if Barthen witnessed Miller shoot Atkins and Garrett though he believes that Miller fired at him first. The threatened man said the deputies were on top of him when he heard multiple gunshots. One of the wounded deputies asked if he was OK. He then wiggled out from under the wounded deputy and fled to his car with two friends neither of whom were Miller. After the attack, Miller and his friends scrambled to escape. A third friend said he spotted Miller running away with a rifle the same one that Miller showed him earlier while picking him up at his Richmond home. That friend told police that he let Miller store the rifle in his car trunk and the two continued to the club. At some point during the night, he drank too much and handed his car keys to Miller, according to investigators. The friend said he found his car running and trunk open after the shooting. The rifle was gone. Near the club, Miller flagged down a different friend from a nearby gas station and got a ride, police said. In the hours that followed, Miller and his friends gathered at a home, where they talked about the incident, according to investigators. Within a week of the shooting, and as authorities waved a hefty reward for information leading to the shooters arrest, detectives linked several people to having been at the club with their suspect. By then, Miller had started deleting his social media accounts and was laying low, according to court records. At some point, Miller invited one of the friends to join Signal an encrypted messaging app in order to talk to him, police said. Authorities in December apprehended Miller on charges of capital murder of a police officer, attempted capital murder and aggravated assault against a public servant. He is being held without bond on the most serious of the charges. Millers defense attorney, Mario Madrid, declined to comment on details of the case. The interview with one of the friends does not indicate whether Miller recognized Atkins, Barthen or Garrett in the moment as law enforcement officials. The three deputies were wearing department-issued uniforms with the word Constable emblazoned on their backs, according to authorities. The warrant mirrors a brief narrative that police have said about the shooting in news conferences. The document, however, elaborates on who said what to police and what witnesses saw in the parking lot. It does not contain the word ambush, which is how Constable Mark Herman had described the shooting. In a phone call Thursday, the constable said his stance has not changed. In text messages, two of Millers friends debated what they could have done differently that night. I probably wouldve stopped Edd and just tackled the security guys off you, one wrote, according to court documents. nicole.hensley@chron.com A man was taken into custody following an hourslong standoff in which he exchanged fire with authorities, who came to execute a felony aggravated assault family violence warrant at a northwest Houston home Wednesday, according to Houston Police. Houston Polices SWAT officers responded around 7:45 p.m. to a home in the 9200 block of Opelika Street, northeast of Kempwood and Blalock, to execute a felony aggravated assault family violence warrant, said Houston Police assistant chief B. Tien. Five people outside in the yard who were detained by police confirmed to them that the suspect was inside, according to Tien. Officers surrounded the residence and made multiple attempts to call him out of the home without success, and they began attempting to enter the home to locate him, according to Tien. On HoustonChronicle.com: Jersey Village police officer shoots man who police say struck cruiser While searching the home, the man shot at an officer in close range, Tien said. Authorities believe it was bullet fragments not the round itself that hit the officer, who had minor injuries to the face and was transported to the hospital, according to Tien. Officers fired back when the man shot at the officer and then retreated from the house to take cover, continuing to attempt to call him out while they did so, according to Tien. Authorities dont believe the man was hit by gunfire. The man barricaded himself and officers kept trying to call him out without success, police said. The hostage negotiation team responded and he was taken into custody after more than six hours of negotiation, according to Tien. On HoustonChronicle.com: 17-year-old faces murder, intoxication assault charges in deadly northwest Harris County crash Tien said chemical agents and less lethal ammunition were used to contain him. Tien also mentioned they had used an armored vehicle to breach the home. While authorities were trying to take the man who they say had made threats on social media into custody, he fired multiple times, police also said. He was being treated and was expected to be sent to a hospital, according to Tien at the time of a media briefing. Regarding potential additional charges, Tien said authorities would consult the district attorneys office. Officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative duty in accordance with protocol, according to Tien. Authorities are investigating. Jay R. Jordan / Jay Jordan, Staff A woman was killed and a man injured Wednesday in a shooting in the East Little York/ Homestead area of Houston, police said. Authorities have identified the woman slain as 36-year-old Tasia Gardner. The motive behind the shooting is unknown, according to police. Channelview Independent School District has selected a lone finalist to be its next superintendent. After a four-month nationwide search, Tory C. Hill, current superintendent of Sweeny ISD near Lake Jackson, was selected by the Channelview board of trustees Wednesday as the sole finalist. Hill has roots in the Houston area, previously working in Katy and Clear Creek ISDs. We are excited to welcome Dr. Hill to our Channelview ISD family, said Patrick Lacy, president of the Channelview ISD board. We look forward to working with Dr. Hill to continue to advance our districts commitment to develop and enhance our students intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth. As required by Texas law, there will be a 21-day waiting period for Hill as the lone finalist before he can be officially named superintendent. On HoustonChronicle.com: Channelview ISD moves to mask requirement as omicron spreads The board said it anticipates meeting Feb. 12 to officially name Hill as superintendent and approve his employment contract. Hill, who has worked in Sweeny ISD for five years, worked to pass a $28 million bond in 2019 to fund safety, health and wellness initiatives, as well as infrastructure improvements. The board said Hill was selected to lead the nearly 10,000-student Channelview district with input from community, parent and staff surveys. I am humbled and honored to serve the students, teachers, staff and community of Channelview, Hill said in a prepared statement. I look forward to partnering with the board of trustees to build on the rich legacy of excellence in Channelview Independent School District. On HoustonChronicle.com: Confusion reigns as Houston schools make last-minute changes to COVID plans amid omicron wave Under Hills leadership, Sweeny ISD entered into a $1.7 million agreement with Chevron Phillips in 2020 for the naming rights to the districts new career and technology center. Prior to his role as superintendent, Hill was a social studies teacher in Georgia, Florida and Texas. Hill went on to work as an assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent in Katy ISD. The educator also was the executive director of professional learning in Clear Creek ISD. Hill graduated from Texas A&M University with a doctorate in education curriculum and instruction and earned a masters degree from Florida A&M University. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education from Southern University. Hill and his wife, Cassandra, have three daughters together. hannah.dellinger@chron.com Houston Independent School District is calling on students and alumni for help to address the loss of learning its elementary students suffered due to challenges from the pandemic. The district announced Wednesday that it is hiring 500 HISD students and alumni for spring semester tutoring positions at elementary schools throughout the district. The district is seeking students ages 15 and up and alumni currently in college for the position which pays $12 an hour, according to a release. Houston ISD is the largest Texas school district and the seventh largest in the U.S. With 160 elementary schools, the program will focus on 50 designated as "high-need," according to a district spokesperson. "These are schools that, based on STAAR, reading, math, and other intervention factors, have experienced the greatest academic impact throughout the pandemic," said HISD spokesperson Luis Morales via email. OnHoustonChronicle.com: Nearly a quarter of Houston ISD students were absent the first day after winter break The program is part of a partnership with iEducate, a nonprofit that connects young adults who aspire to teach with students who need to learn, embedding college and high school students alongside teachers as college readiness mentors to enhance the learning of elementary students and strengthen the homegrown teacher pipeline. Our core mission in HISD is to provide students with tools necessary to reach their full potential," said HISD Superintendent Millard House II in a prepared statement. "This partnership will expose students to the valuable skills employers demand, developing a pipeline of highly-effective future teachers and supporting elementary school students in need in the process. I urge eligible students to take advantage of this exciting opportunity." iEducate also partners with Aldine and Alief ISD, according to its website. Since its inception in 2013, more than 13,000 students have benefited from its network of more than 800 college readiness mentors, according to its website. "We are looking forward to partnering with HISD to address learning loss exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating pathways for graduates to become teachers in their home district," said iEducate CEO Arun Gir in a statement. "We hope this sets the stage for how a school district can engage its youth community and alumni to further the cycle of mentorship and college readiness while exposing more young adults to the teaching profession." PREPARING FOR FUTURE: Magnolia ISD taking steps to identify, address future growth Student tutors will work in-person with shifts available during the school day, after school and on Saturdays, according to the release, and will be paired with a certified teacher for up to 20 hours a week to help third to fifth-grade students with core subjects like English, Math and Science. The program begins in January and runs through the end of June, according to the release. Those interested should apply by Jan. 12 at apply.ieducateusa.org. No experience is required and the district welcomes all majors. Omicron is poised to overwhelm the healthcare system yet again with an unprecedented level of contagiousness. But will the surge quickly flame out, like it appears to have done in South Africa? The Chronicle asked health experts that question and more for this weeks COVID Help Desk. It means you have COVID, said Dr. Megan Berman, an associate professor of internal medicine at The University of Texas Medical Branch. False negatives can occur for a variety of reasons, such as being tested too soon after exposure. The virus may simply not be detectable yet in the body, or the sample may not be sufficient, she said. On HoustonChronicle.com: Can't find a COVID test in Houston? Here's what to do Whether relying on rapid antigen tests or the more sensitive PCR tests, its important for symptomatic people to isolate and retest. Treat any positive as a true positive, given the amount of omicron cases circulating, she said. Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an infectious disease epidemiologist with UTHealth School of Public Health, recommends retesting again within 24 to 48 hours for symptomatic people who test negative or had a very close contact. When do we expect the omicron surge to peak? The University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium projects the current surge will peak nationwide by the end of January, but the exact timing depends on booster uptake and mitigation strategies. Cases appear to be plateauing in London and could start falling within a week, according to Neil Ferguson, a top scientist in the U.K. South Africa, the epicenter of the omicron surge, is experiencing a dramatic drop in cases since peaking in mid-December. In the event of a late-January peak in the U.S., the effects of the omicron wave are expected to linger into March, with hospitalizations and deaths lagging behind new infections, said Dr. David Persse, Houstons chief medical officer. Of course, this is all an estimate based on what were seeing happen in other countries and there are unique factors in the United States, he said. Dr. Bhavna Lall, clinical assistant professor of adult medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Houston College of Medicine, expanded on that. The U.S. has a population that is varied in their vaccination percentages around the country and many individuals also have increased risk factors for COVID-19, including chronic disease and obesity, she said. Why does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keep changing its guidance, and what do I really need to know and do? The CDC changed its guidance on Dec. 27, shortening the recommended isolation period for people with COVID from 10 days to five. The agency said the change was motivated by science showing the majority of COVID transmission happens early in the course of the illness, generally within three days after the onset of symptoms. On HoustonChronicle.com: Omicron may be less severe, but it's raising Houston hospitalizations to staggering levels But if we read between the lines, it seems they are trying to balance science with feasibility of the current situation (lack of tests, lots of disruptions in the workforce), said Jetelina of UTHealth. The guidance did not require negative tests to leave isolation an exclusion that garnered significant pushback from the medical community. The CDC clarified its guidance earlier this week, saying that people can use a rapid antigen test around day 5 if the person has access to a test and wants to test. Still confused? Heres how Jetelina broke it all down: If you have symptoms or were in contact with someone (who tested positive), then assume youre positive and isolate. After five days you can leave isolation if youre feeling better. Once you leave isolation wear a really good mask for five more days. Ideally, you would use a rapid antigen test until youre negative to leave isolation (but this is optional). julian.gill@chron.com The night before nearly 200,000 students returned to class from winter break and fewer than 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19, Franklin Bynums daughter remained in isolation and he was not clear what Houston ISD expected him or the fifth grader to do. He opted to heed a doctors suggestion to keep her home for 10 days. The lack of communication from HISD during the time off in which the omicron variant of COVID-19 surged to new levels of contagion in the region struck Bynum as odd, he said, considering the barrage of information he usually receives from the district recorded phone messages, emails and texts about other matters, such as an alleged viral threat the day before break. I just could not believe that there was no robocall. What do you do when your kid has COVID? Bynum said. You got to blast that information. It was not immediately apparent to me Sunday night. Confusion has accompanied many students resuming instruction in Houston-area schools this week amid the latest surge in COVID cases. A review of districts safety plans showed many were revised in the days before kids returned to classrooms, but remained a patchwork of policies across the region. At least 11 districts Aldine, Alief, Alvin, Friendswood, Houston, Klein, Pasadena, Santa Fe, Sheldon and Spring Branch ISDs and Stafford MSD changed their plans to match new recommendations from federal health officials to isolate infected individuals for five days, instead of the previously suggested 10. It appeared only one district, Channelview ISD, had implemented a mask mandate due to the deluge of cases. Aldine, Spring and Houston ISDs kept their face-covering requirements in place. Most of the other districts stances on masks stayed the same, varying from highly recommend to an expectation to respect the choice of others regarding the wearing of masks. A handful of districts said they were awaiting guidance from the Texas Education Agency, which has not updated its public health guidance since September. Meanwhile, the omicron variant has infected thousands, including teachers and other employees, prompting a warning in Fort Bend County about expected school bus delays exacerbated by an ongoing driver shortage. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing and we have seen a sharp increase in the number of cases in our staff over the break. Late last week area superintendents and I participated in a conference call with experts from the Houston Medical Center who warned that the omicron variant will likely be widely spread especially in schools during the month of January, Waller ISD Superintendent Kevin Moran wrote in a Monday message on the districts site. We encourage you all to seriously consider all recommendations and make decisions that are in the best interest of your family. On HoustonChronicle.com: As omicron sweeps through Houston, thousands of kids return to school in HISD The extent of omicrons impact on Texas schools remains unclear as many districts resumed classes on Tuesday or Wednesday and had not yet released attendance numbers for students. In Alief ISD, 86 percent of students returned to school on Tuesday, compared to the average 92 percent attendance during December, the district said. HISD reported 45,515 student absences on Monday, or about a quarter of the districts population. Things were a little better Tuesday, with 26,259 student absences, a roughly 85 percent attendance rate. District attendance averaged 95 percent during the 2018-19 school year, the latest figures available from the Texas Education Agency. District figures also showed 301 teachers were absent Monday, 242 on Tuesday and 122 on Wednesday. There were 758 total employees including teachers absent Monday, 527 on Tuesday and 321 on Wednesday, according to the district. HISD had nearly 30,000 employees as of October 2020. Anecdotally, some HISD teachers have posted on social media about seeing only a fraction of their students return this week. Tania Andrews, who teaches high school in the district, said she expected more students to be absent in the coming days considering she received a flurry of emails Tuesday evening from students telling her they were positive or experiencing symptoms. One student was stuck out of the country. Meanwhile, finals are scheduled for next week. I think maybe we should have delayed opening or like restarting for maybe a week or two, Andrews said. It is difficult to do what I need to do as a teacher, meaning keep my plans for the final exams in place, while knowing that some students physically cant be here because theyre either quarantining because they were told to or theyre sick, like there are so many different things going on. Andrews also felt the impact on the other side of the equation, as a parent of kids who tested positive over the break. She kept them at home until Wednesday. Trying to figure that out, by the way, is a nightmare for parents, she said. And then when you add to it: Well am I exposing other kids? I dont want to expose other kids but I also dont want my own child to miss out. On HoustonChronicle.com: Nearly a quarter of Houston ISD students were absent the first day after winter break Numerous school districts in the region sent parents letters in recent days encouraging the use of masks, which medical experts have identified as a crucial safety precaution, and asking them to keep sick kids at home. Of the districts surveyed by the Chronicle, at least seven Spring Branch, Katy, Sante Fe, Alief, Waller, Sheldon and Cypress-Fairbanks ISDs said masks were not mandated due to Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order banning such requirements. That order remains the subject of ongoing litigation. In a statement this week, TEA said its guidance for districts reflects scientific and medical guidance. It is reviewed regularly and recalibrated whenever a change in protocols is warranted, the statement read. Our focus remains to prioritize the health and safety of all our students, teachers and staff. Friendswood ISD Superintendent Thad Roher in a letter to parents wrote that the new wave of cases likely would be short-lived. We have continued to keep as many kids in school and activities as we can in front of us, and we will continue into this second semester, he said. Bynum, whose daughter got ill, said he understood the operational difficulties presented by the pandemics swells as he is a county criminal court judge. While he was able to work remotely, he noted not everyone has that option. He said he felt confident in HISDs leadership but wished guidance had been clearer. If my kid werent vaccinated and if she had not gotten it over break, I would certainly be afraid that she would get it going back to school, he said. It is super contagious. hannah.dellinger@chron.com alejandro.serrano@chron.com The Big Apple may soon get a publicly appointed pooch. Mayor Adams is apparently taking to heart the old saying that if you want a friend in politics, you get a dog hinting Thursday that hes considering adopting a pet to keep him company at Gracie Mansion. Advertisement I am so tempted, he said during an interview on 1010 WINS Thursday morning. You know, I tell my staff all the time, Gracie Mansion needs a dog, and I love dogs so much. New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Shawn Inglima/for New York Daily News) If Adams goes ahead with getting a furry four-legged companion, hed become the first mayor since Michael Bloomberg to have a house pet, and the first living at Gracie Mansion to have one since Mayor Rudy Giulianis yellow Labrador, Goalie, graced its halls. Advertisement Adams, a former NYPD captain, has the prototypical cop dog in mind, too. On Thursday, he said hes thinking of getting a German shepherd, but was disappointed to learn that the NYPD doesnt turn over theirs after theyve finished working for the department. I have not had a dog since my childhood. I just miss a dog the compassion, the caring, he said. After making that remark, Adams quickly pivoted to something decidedly less light-hearted, a recent tragedy involving a dog, which he used to highlight the toll gun violence is taking on New Yorkers. On Monday, Brooklyn mom Jennifer Ynoa and her pit bull, Blue, were fatally shot in a Bedford-Stuyvesant smoke shop. Both collapsed onto each other on the sidewalk, where Blue died. Medics rushed Ynoa to Brooklyn Hospital Center, but she could not be saved. It broke my heart a few days ago when we saw a young lady who was shot and killed in a store, and her dog was shot and killed, he said. It just tore me apart, and it just shows you the dangers of the overproliferation of guns in our city not only hurts human beings, it hurts out animals as well. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 17 Andy Messing holds his dog during a visit by Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich at a Space Coast Town Hall Meeting on Jan. 25, 2012, in Cocoa, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Adams predecessor Mayor Bill de Blasio didnt keep pets at Gracie and is notorious for playing a role in the death of Staten Island Chuck, the groundhog he dropped during a 2014 Ground Hog Day event. Bloomberg did cohabitate with pooches during his time running the city, but they didnt reside at Gracie. His partner Diana Taylor had two yellow Labradors the couple lived with in the former mayors Upper East Side townhouse, but Bloomberg never lived in the traditional mayoral residence on East End Ave. Some of Khara Breedens patients tried three or four other hospitals before they arrived at Harris Health for medical forensic exams following a sexual assault. Then a forensic nurse examiner in the Harris County healthcare system, Breeden could assist them. But time and time again, she witnessed victims express their pain from having to retell their stories, or wait for hours, at other hospitals only to find out they couldnt be treated. Many healthcare organizations didnt and still dont employ specially qualified nurses to perform the forensic exams. Breeden set out to fill the gaps. She created Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners, a network that dispatches its nurses to hospitals and people in need. In three years, the organization has administered exams to more than 2,800 people and expanded to 56 hospitals that serve 13 counties, Breeden said. Its hard, because you dont want that many people to need this service but you want it to be available to all who do need it, she said. Theres no reason a hospital shouldnt be contracting to make sure this is available. On HoustonChronicle.com: New program addresses traumatic reporting process for sexual assault victims at Houston colleges Legally, any nurse can perform exams for victims of sexual assault, but most dont feel comfortable or are afraid of doing so incorrectly, said Summer Block, director of emergency services at St. Lukes Health-The Woodlands. The best care, she said, comes from sexual assault nurse examiners, who are specifically trained in the process. The forensic nurses, or SANEs, test for serious health concerns that can result from a sexual assault, including injuries, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and HIV. Theyre skilled at avoiding retraumatizing the victim, and they also collect evidence for rape kits and testify in court cases, Breeden said. Breedens efforts to remedy the shortage of forensic nurses began with the Harris County District Attorneys Office, where prosecutors wanted to make sure victims were assessed after strangulations that took place during consensual or nonconsensual sex. County hospitals were the only places Breeden knew in the area to perform strangulation assessments, so she envisioned a program that would partner with hospitals and clinics around the region. She filed her nonprofit paperwork in December 2017, secured grants and funding the following year and opened her doors in March 2019. The founder and CEO started with three clinics one at a home office on Richmond Avenue and two at Houston agencies serving women. Texas FNE signed its first hospital contract with CHI St. Lukes- The Woodlands in May 2019 and has expanded ever since. It snowballed, Breeden said. We call it the Hold on tight game. Every day we had some new partner or some new clinic location. The number of patients that Texas FNE assisted has multiplied each year, going from 350 in 2019 to more than 1,000 in 2020 and to nearly 1,390 in 2021, Breeden said. Exams can also be given to people who are victims of intimate partner violence, human trafficking, child abuse and elder maltreatment. (Not every victim seeks exams, and Texas FNE doesnt force anyone to receive an exam once they arrive at a hospital or clinic, the CEO said.) With 10 full-time forensic nurses, Texas FNE works out of seven clinic locations and dozens of hospitals, mostly in southeast Texas. Other counties covered include Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Walker, Wharton, Chambers, Matagorda, Liberty and Polk, Breeden said. When CHI St. Lukes in the Woodlands calls Breedens team, they arrive in usually 60 minutes with a victim advocate who also helps direct the patient to other services, Block said. To be able to bring experts in so quickly to care for these patients, thats probably whats made the biggest impact, she said. Education really eases a lot of fears and anxiety. Deshaun Watson lawsuits: Allegations highlight Texas lax punishment for unwanted sexual contact Having a victim advocate on staff has been crucial, Breeden said. She also hired an attorney to answer legal questions for patients and help them obtain protective orders. In 2020, the mission of Texas FNEs expanded further when the Harris County DAs office pitched the idea of a forensic interviewing program, in which qualified staffers conduct interviews that can replace initial police questioning at the start of a criminal case. Law enforcement officers confer with the interviewer beforehand and watch the interview occur from another room, said Sgt. Tommy Smith, of the Harris County Sheriffs Offices sexual assault unit. Police interviews tend to come across as intimidating, even if authorities dont intend to create a traumatic experience for victims, Smith said. Forensic interviewers are more relaxed and foster a more organic conversation, he said. Theyre able to be more detailed, be more open, he said. Things come out more naturally, things that they wouldnt discuss with an investigator. Related: Why Deshaun Watsons accusers may have turned to civil courts instead of police in sex assault cases District Attorney Kim Ogg in December announced her office would continue funding the groups interviewers, adding that they produce better evidence that leads to more successful prosecutions. Texas FNE has conducted close to 700 interviews to date, Breeden said. After a busy several years, Texas FNE is starting to hit a groove, Breeden said. She is now eyeing other geographical areas that she can expand into, or even help other communities create similar programs. As big as Texas is, theres a lot of gap areas, Breeden said. Until that is met and a patient can go into any hospital in this region, I will say my work is not done. samantha.ketterer@chron.com Wait! Before you go Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. After violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol today, a tactical team with ATF gathers in the Rotunda to provide security for the continuation of the joint session of the House and Senate to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) was the only Republican lawmaker who attended a moment of silence marking the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and she brought her famous dad along to make a point. Accompanied by former Vice President Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney stood alone on the GOP side of the aisle as the House of Representatives solemnly remembered the violent attack that took place exactly a year ago. Advertisement The future of the country is at stake, Rep. Cheney said. There are moments when we all have to come together in order to defend the Constitution. Former Vice President Dick Cheney walks with his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) vice-chair of the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led what was intended to be a bipartisan effort to mark the anniversary of the attack, in which many lawmakers thought they would be killed or taken hostage by violent supporters of former President Donald Trump. Advertisement Dozens of Democratic lawmakers joined the tribute to the Capitol Police officers who died after defending the Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Rep. Liz Cheney (top, in red) is pictured during a moment of silence at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. After the moment of silence, Pelosi and other top Democrats greeted both Cheneys on the floor of the House. The elder Cheney said he is deeply disappointed at the failure of Republicans leaders to stand up to Trump. Its not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for 10 years, said Dick Cheney, who served in the House before becoming vice president under President George W. Bush. The ex-veep said he came to show support for his daughter but suggested she is no stranger to bare-knuckled political fights. My daughter can take care of herself, Dick Cheney said. Liz Cheney is one of just 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack. The outspoken critic of Trump is serving as vice chairwoman of the congressional select committee that is investigating the attack, a panel that includes only one other Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) Advertisement House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pictured at the Capitol building in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, during a moment of silence. The presence of Dick Cheney is a reminder that Trump remains a deeply divisive figure among GOP mandarins even though he maintains the unquestioned support of the vast majority of Republican voters. Lawmakers say Congress was mostly united across party lines in recognizing the danger posed by the Jan. 6 attack and Trumps enduring grip on the GOP in the days after the attack. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pictured at the Capitol building in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, during a moment of silence. The vast majority of Republicans now seek to avoid discussing the attack or try to downplay it. That courage is a rare commodity these days, Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said. Hudson, NY (12534) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. New York Times columnist Nick Kristoff Thursday was barred from running for governor of Oregon because he has not been a state resident for the required three years. The liberal scribe was ruled ineligible to run by Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat like Kristof, who affirmed a decision by junior elections officials. Advertisement The rules are the rules and they apply equally to all candidates for office in Oregon, Fagan said. Mr. Kristof does not currently meet the Constitutional requirements to run or serve as Oregon Governor. New York Times journalist Nick Kristof (Jim Spellman/WireImage) Kristof did not immediately comment on the decision but he is considered likely to appeal the decision or challenge it in court. Advertisement The columnist grew up in Oregon but has mostly lived in New York and in other places around the world where he served as a foreign correspondent. He says he has long considered himself a resident of Oregon. In a campaign filing, Kristof listed his occupation as Journalist, Author, Farmer. He says he and his wife, writer Sheryl WuDunn, have been working to revitalizing a family fruit farm in Yamhill, Oregon. Kristof last year quit his job at The Times, where he won two Pulitzer Prizes, to seek the Democratic nomination to replace Gov. Kate Brown, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection in 2022. Two other major Democratic candidates, House Speaker Tina Kotek and State Treasurer Tobias Read, are vying with Kristof in the race to run the reliably blue state. . Chartmetric founder Sung Cho on the future of music data and more On this special episode of the How Music Charts podcast, Chartmetric Founder and CEO Sung Cho shares wisdom, entrepreneurial advice, and predictions on the future of music data analytics. By Rutger Ansley Rosenborg from Chartmetrics HowMusicCharts. Our guest on this episode is the Founder and CEO of Chartmetric himself, Sung Cho. During this fireside chat, recorded live at our company retreat in upstate New York, Sung talks candidly about where weve been, where we are now, and what our future holds, sharing wisdom, entrepreneurial advice, and predictions on the future of music data analytics. One thing that attracted me about music was the topic itself is fun. When I thought about becoming an entrepreneur, I thought about what story I would tell my daughters. I thought it would be more fun if I worked on something that people can relate to easily and better when I go share my stories to anyone. Listen to the full interview here Before starting Chartmetric, Sung worked on Sales Cloud as the Principal Product Manager at Oracle Corporation. Prior to that, he was the first employee/engineer at the publicly-traded gaming company Gamevil (which has a market capitalization of $400M), where he initiated mobile game development and eventually positioned the company as a leading mobile game developer. As a Korean, the advancement of K-Pop was inspiring and interesting to me. People know about Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia but when it comes to culture, when people recognize the culture as well that feels quite different. When I saw that, I vaguely thought that I wanted to contribute to this. Okay, K-Pop is becoming more popular; is there any way that I can contribute to this? Sung graduated with a Bachelors degree of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Seoul National University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He enjoys posting ideas on his blog, which has attracted more than 5M views and is considered one of the leading tech blogs in Korea. To date, Sung has invested in 10 startups in New York, Silicon Valley, and Seoul all while growing the music industrys leading music data analytics platform. Ups and downs, we all have that. We feel frustrated, something that were working on doesnt work. But one thing that I believe in is as long as smart brains are together thinking about that one problem for long enough, then there is always a way to get through. Its very rare that somebody or some company are still focused on that same problem for 6-10 years. As long as we try and continue, there will be a day when we feel proud of our achievement and look back and think, Wow, were already here. Every day was a small step, but after a while, then we know that it was quite a big stride. Share on: POSTPONED: Internet Safety Presentation Set at Drury High The District Attorney's Office announced Thursday that that the Internet Safety Presentation will be postponed until March because of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Originally Published on Jan. 3, 2022, at 4:00 pm NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The Berkshire District Attorney's Office, U.S. Attorney's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Massachusetts State Police, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, and North Adams Public Schools are teaming up to provide parents, caregivers, and educators a presentation on how to best protect children from online exploitation. The law enforcement agencies will give a presentation at Drury High School on Wednesday, Jan. 12. The Berkshire Food Project is providing dinner prior to the event starting at 5:45 p.m. The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Williams College will provide free child care to those who request it. The organizations request that those interested in attending RSVP to Stephanie Puc at the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition at 413-663-7588 or spuc@nbccoalition.org by Friday, Jan. 7. Participants can indicate if they would like child care. "Our children now spend an enormous amount of time online where they can be vulnerable to exploitation. This presentation gives parents and educators the tools they need to ensure that our youth are safe and secure," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said. "I thank all of our partners for their expertise and effort to put this presentation together. The Northern Berkshire community truly embodies the concept of taking a village to raise a healthy and safe child." The topics include internet safety, social media 101, digital footprints, online gaming, cyberbullying, sexting, sextortion, and protection against online predators. The speakers are Chief of the Berkshire District Attorney's Office's Child Abuse Unit Stephanie Ilberg, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Grant, FBI Child Exploitation Task Force Officer Danielle Rex, State Police Troopers Deshawn Brown and Andy Canata, and U.S. Attorney's Office Victim Witness Specialist Lauryn Myers. District Attorney Andrea Harrington and North Adams Public Schools Superintendent Barbara Malkas will provide opening remarks. Adams Council on Aging Hopes to Move to Memorial Building This Month ADAMS, Mass. As the renovation of the former Memorial School Building nears completion, the Adams Council on Aging hopes to start moving its operations into it by the end of the month. "Right now, it's more just clean up to get us over there. So we are hopeful to be there by the end of January," said Council on Aging Director Sarah Fontaine during Monday's board meeting. Fontaine said work in the former Memorial School building is ongoing and nearing a point where the COA can operate there. Selectmen Chairman John Duval, Vice Chairwoman Christine and Town Administrator Jay Green were in attendance. Fontaine visited the building the week before Christmas and said new flooring was in the process of installation, with ductwork fully complete. While there is not a set date currently, she said the goal is to have this work done begin moving in during the month. One thing which will not be complete before moving in, according to Fontaine, is all of the bathrooms for the facility. While there are several bathrooms throughout the facility, there is only one handicap-accessible bathroom, with more to be made later. "The goal is to make the locker room area several stalls of bathrooms," she said. "That won't be done for us to move in, but that will be an ongoing project, probably when we need it. There are other bathrooms throughout the building for us to be able to use, but just the one handicap accessible one at the front of the building." Fontaine said they need to spend some money on new furnishings and equipment. Despite this, she said much of the furniture used in the current COA space, located in the Adams Visitor Center at 3 Hoosac St., can be kept and moved to the new facility. Snow Expected Friday Morning; North Adams Schools Close The Berkshires can expect 2 to 5 inches of snow overnight into Friday morning. A winter weather advisory is in effect from midnight through noon on Friday. A wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is also possible late Saturday night into Sunday, which could result in slippery travel conditions, according to the National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y. North Adams Public Schools will use an emergency day for Friday in light of the coming weather and staffing shortages because COVID-19. There will be no school or afterschool activities on Friday. The state Department of Transportation is warning of 3 to 9 inches across the state and the governor has directed all non-emergency state employees working in Executive Branch agencies not to report to their workplaces Friday. The administration is also urging residents to stay off roadways and to use public transportation when possible. "We will have crews patrolling and chemically treating our roads by late this evening as snow is anticipated to begin in Western Massachusetts just after midnight tonight," said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. "Depending on the region of the state, the storm will last until Friday afternoon, with heavy snowfall in some areas falling at the time of the Friday morning commute. Travelers are advised to use caution, travel at reduced speeds, and be mindful of poor visibility." Accuweather meteorologists are predicting 1 to 2 inches of snowfall an hour in some locations, particularly in areas south and east of the Berkshire, though South County may be affected. A bitterly cold airmass is expected early next week. Said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist, Jonathan Porter: "Our latest snowstorm is quick moving but intense which is going to create dangerous road conditions and significant travel delays from parts of the South through the Middle-Atlantic and the Northeast." A snowstorm in Virginia earlier this week left thousands stranded on I-95 for more than a day. 4:15 PM: Here is the updated forecast for Friday's winter storm. Portions of E MA, RI & E CT will see 6-8" of snow. Isolated accums of 10" are not out of the question in SE MA where 1-2"/hr snowfall rates set up. The AM commute *will* be hazardous. Avoid travel if possible. pic.twitter.com/tzHSAQdZqB NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 6, 2022 All Eyes on the storm to the south that will clip us with snowfall. The roads for the AM Commute will get slippery. We've pushed the accums up slightly from 24 hours ago. Looks like the HEAVIEST snows along the New England Coast. pic.twitter.com/TFRQhoxS5o Steve Caporizzo (@SteveCaporizzo) January 6, 2022 Snow totals GOING UP a bit... still expecting a widespread 4-8" snowfall event for much of central/eastern Mass. The latest forecast on @WBZ at Noon. pic.twitter.com/jCUeORdbhZ Jacob Wycoff (@4cast4you) January 6, 2022 After violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol today, a tactical team with ATF gathers in the Rotunda to provide security for the continuation of the joint session of the House and Senate to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Former President Trump falsely accused President Biden of naming him in a speech on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to divide Americans. The Democrats want to own this day of January 6th so they can stoke fears and divide America, Trump said in an email statement. I say, let them have it because America sees through their lies and polarizations. Advertisement [ Biden rips into Trump on anniversary of Jan. 6 attack ] The twice-impeached president falsely accused Biden of invoking his name in his speech. In fact, Biden studiously referred to him only as the former president. (Biden) used my name today to try to further divide America, Trump said. This political theater is all just a distraction. Advertisement Former President Donald Trump (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Trump pointedly did not discuss the riot itself at all in his statement. He did not explain why he failed to act for more than three hours as his supporters rampaged through the Capitol hunting down enemies. Deemed the failed former president by Biden, Trump was convinced to scrap plans to hold an attention-grabbing press conference at Mar-A-Lago to mark the anniversary of Jan. 6. But predictably, he could not stay silent in the face of Bidens powerful denunciation of his incitement of the attack. President Joe Biden speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Instead of offering a defense of his actions or inaction on Jan. 6 as the riot unfolded, Trump repeated timeworn political attacks on Biden policies on the economy, immigration and even the COVID-19 pandemic. This political theater is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed, Trump said. Then-President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) He also repeated his lie that the election was stolen from him, even when Biden powerfully cited the contrary decisions of scores of judges and election officials from both parties. They want all conversation concerning the Election Canceled. Trump said. In actuality, the Big Lie was the Election itself. In a second message, Trump repeated many of the same messages, saying Democrats are the ones who tried to stop the peaceful transfer with a rigged election. Never forget the crime of the 2020 Presidential Election, he wrote. Never give up! Advertisement Two of Trumps strongest allies in the Congress, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), defended their support for his big lie in an anniversary event they dubbed the Republican response. The pair insisted GOP lawmakers should be proud of their role on Jan. 6 and their effort to fight back against what Trump has falsely claimed was an election that was rigged by Democrats. If Republicans retake the House in next years midterms, Gaetz said he hopes to reconstitute the committee investigating Jan. 6 as a body to probe his fellow lawmakers and prosecutors. Were ashamed of nothing, Gaetz declared. A gay rights activist in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has lost a seven-year legal battle against a bakery that refused to bake a cake decorated with a pro-marriage equality slogan. Gareth Lee, a British national who was born in 1969 and lives in Belfast, sued Ashers, a Christian-run bakery, in 2014. Advertisement Shortly after the Northern Irish Assembly rejected legalizing same-sex unions for the third time, about seven years ago, Lee ordered a cake from the bakery to be used at an LGBTQ rights event. FILE - Gay rights activist Gareth Lee, center, leaves Laganside court, Northern Ireland, Thursday March 26, 2015. A top European court said Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 that it could not rule in a high-profile gay rights discrimination case centered on a request to decorate a cake with the words Support Gay Marriage. The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights said the case was inadmissible because gay rights activist Gareth Lee had failed to exhaust domestic remedies in his case. (Peter Morrison/AP) The cake, which was to be decorated with the logo of a local LGBTQ rights organization, a picture of Bert and Ernie, the characters of the popular childrens television series Sesame Street, and the slogan Support Gay Marriage, was paid for in advance. Advertisement The following day the bakery called him to say that it would no longer fulfill his order because Ashers was a Christian business. The bakery apologized and refunded his money, but Lee sued. He argued that the bakery had discriminated against him on grounds of his sexual orientation. After winning the case and an appeal in the U.K., a 2018 decision by the Supreme Court disagreed with the lower court and ruled in favor of the bakery. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > He then took the case to the European Court of Human Rights. On Wednesday, a decision by a seven-judge panel declared the case inadmissible, saying that he had failed to exhaust all options in the U.K. courts, and didnt invoke his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights. The Court reiterated that in order for a complaint to be admissible, the Convention arguments must be raised explicitly or in substance before the domestic authorities, the judges wrote in the ruling. The applicant had not invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings. By relying solely on domestic law, the applicant had deprived the domestic courts of the opportunity to address any Convention issues raised, instead asking the Court to usurp the role of the domestic courts. Because he had failed to exhaust domestic remedies, the application was inadmissible, the judges added. Some might see this as a strike for common sense but when you think about it how strong is your faith in a higher power if your beliefs make you so pitifully prejudiced! Ashers 'gay cake' case: European court rules case inadmissible - BBC News https://t.co/61j2cPhKaE Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 6, 2022 Lee expressed disappointment after the ruling, saying that his case was dismissed on a technicality. Advertisement None of us should be expected to have to figure out the beliefs of a companys owners before going into their shop or paying for their services, he said, according to the BBC. Everyone has freedom of expression and it must equally apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, he added. I am most frustrated that the core issues did not get fairly analyzed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality. Gina Bisignano literally stood out from the crowd on January 6, 2021, when thousands of rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. She spoke over a megaphone about the salon she owns in Beverly Hills. It was a moment that made her an international figure, and a curiosity. While many of the rioters wore military-like gear, Bisignano was outfitted in leather gloves, a Louis Vuitton sweater, and Chanel boots while exhorting the rioters for support. "Everybody, we need gas masks, we need weapons, we need strong angry patriots to help our boys. They don't want us to leave. We need protection," she said that day. Bisignano's two-person business regularly generated revenue approaching half a million dollars a year. University of Chicago professor of political science Robert Pape has spent the past year gathering information about the insurrectionists and their co-ideologues. According to Pape, 26 percent of the rioters charged were business owners; an additional 28 percent were white-collar workers. "There are relatively more business owners in the insurrectionist pool than in America," Pape notes. The composition of those charged with a crime -- with 716 individuals studied by Pape thus far -- undermines what "we're used to thinking about far-right violence and extremism." This was a heavily white-collar riot -- a businessperson's riot -- which is in some ways unsurprising because the protest that set it off was fomented, as President Joe Biden just reminded us, by the businessman/president who lost his bid for reelection. Where right-wing extremists generally are young, less likely to be employed, and very often members of a gang or a militia group, that doesn't describe the only demographic that rioted at the Capitol. As Pape's studies have shown, the fact that the crowd had so many business owners is an important part of revealing the general insurrectionist movement to be quite a lot larger than had been assumed. His surveys found that the equivalent of around 21 million Americans agree with the disproved conspiracy theory that Joe Biden stole the election in 2020, while also believing that violence to restore Donald Trump to office is justified. Like many of those arrested, Bisignano now has regrets about what she did a year ago. "I hurt so many people around me," she says. Her son, her mother, and others had to deal with her 45 days in jail, she says. Her business in relatively liberal Beverly Hills suffered. "I lost about half of my people," at her eyelash and skin care salon. As for the other half of her business, "My people that know me, stayed with me; they know I'm pro-life, and I'm a Christian girl." Even before January 6, Bisignano had divided her customers in two groups, just like the rest of the country: the conservatives whom she'd open up to, and the rest. "Nobody that was liberal knew ... about my political preference," she says, explaining that she "could tell right off" who was a liberal and know not to share her political views around them. After the riot, she lost the liberal half of her clientele. "They dumped me, and they said we didn't know you were an extremist." She laments the loss of half her clients: "I think the way I work, honestly, I'm one of the best lash artists." When it comes to her actions during the insurrection and her political views, she asserts, "That shouldn't affect my work, but I understand how people feel; they take it, they internalize it as if I was a bad person." Her business has declined from "about half a million dollars a year" and one employee, to "maybe one hundred thousand" and "I'm by myself." She sees her identity as a business owner as central to the reason why she and so many like her joined the insurrection that day. "You wanna know why?" she asks about her participation, and then goes on to explain with a grab bag of explanations, beginning with "First of all, I'm a single mom," continuing through describing her business as something "I built from sweat and tears" and going on to complain about how, during Covid-19 lockdowns, "they were closing up our restaurants." Her answer is rambling and her thoughts don't seem to connect, save for repeated invocations of "my president." She expresses some conflicting feelings about Trump and his actions that day, as well. "When the president takes you for a walk, you don't think he's going to lead you into something like ... " she laments, though she goes on to clarify that she doesn't think Trump was actually in favor of the insurrection: "I think he was set up." Pape hasn't asked whether insurrectionists have faced business consequences -- losses of customers or investors -- as a result of their involvement in the riot at the Capitol, but a number of them showed no noticeable difference from a year ago. One name that stands out is Becky's Flowers in Midland, Texas. Owner Jenny Cudd reached an additional level of notoriety when she asked for a postponement of her court date so she could take her annual trip to Mexico. For Pape, this anecdote helps illustrate Cudd as an example of "the mainstream of the fringe," a way in which the January 6 riot was bourgeois. (Cudd did not reply to a request for comment.) The company has more than 5,000 likes on its Facebook page, and posts flower arrangements for engagement. Over Christmas, Becky's stuck to its political message, offering "Let's Go Brandon" ornaments for sale. Within a conservative local area, a small business's owner might find that being one of more than 700 insurrectionists won't affect the bottom line. But, as Bisignano discovered, bringing politics into business can have consequences. At CES on Tuesday, Sony announced that it was launching an electric vehicle (EV) division called Sony Mobility, with plans to build and sell its own vehicle. It would be easy to dismiss Sony's announcement as just another company jumping on the EV bandwagon. After all, Sony first rolled out its Vision-S concept car two years ago at CES 2020. At the time, the company wasn't planning to sell the vehicle, but intended it as a showcase for the company's sensor technology--something it hoped would be adopted by other vehicle manufacturers. The fact that the company introduced a second concept, the Vision S02, and says it actually plans to sell it to customers is why I think dismissing the company's latest effort would be a mistake--especially if you're Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk. Sony's announcement comes after Volkswagen and Toyota, the world's two largest automakers--at least in terms of vehicles sold--separately laid out plans to spend $170 billion on their EV efforts. It's clear they're no longer content making gasoline-powered vehicles while leaving Tesla to dominate the EV market. Add in the fact that more than a handful of consumer electronics companies are moving toward selling EVs, with most focusing on vehicles that can drive themselves, and Tesla is about to face real competition for the first time. In addition to Sony, Apple has long been rumored to be working on an autonomous car, with some analysts thinking a product could come in the next five years. Here's why this is interesting, and why it should worry Musk: There's no question that Tesla has a huge lead, but that's largely by default. It's had the entire market to itself for the better part of a decade. Most legacy car makers--until now--have seemed to have little interest in building EVs as anything more than a public relations exercise, or to satisfy regulators who are cracking down on internal combustion engine cars. California, for example, has said it would ban the sale of cars that burn gasoline by 2035. Sony, on the other hand, is already a leader in building the types of sensors and cameras needed to give a car the information it needs to navigate busy city streets. That's the real goal. It's no longer just about building a car powered by a giant battery; it's about building a car that you can sit in, take a nap, and wake up at your location, without having to do anything. That's not a small thing--Tesla hasn't exactly mastered the art of keeping its "autopilot" feature from steering into parked emergency vehicles, for example. I'm not suggesting that Tesla's cars aren't good. They certainly are, and considering that the company started from scratch a century after its competitors, it made up the ground incredibly quickly. I am, however, suggesting that Tesla's dominance isn't entirely due to its making a better EV. It's because it's the only company that has put the effort into mass producing any EV. Even companies like Lucid Motors, which not only competes directly with Tesla's flagship Model S, but also poached away a significant number of executives and engineers from Musk's company, are a long way off in terms of posing a real threat. I'm still not even sure Sony's real goal here is to sell vehicles to consumers. That's a very different proposition than selling, say, OLED televisions or cameras. It already sells its camera sensors to other manufacturers, including Apple, which uses them in the iPhone. For Sony, the real opportunity is in being the tech that helps automakers build viable EVs that people actually want. The real opportunity is taking what it's really good at, and selling it to companies that so far haven't shown that they're good at it at all, or even that they care enough to try. When business leaders look into the economics and realities of starting or moving a business to a Midwestern state like Ohio, they often find that their preconceived notions are incorrect. With lower operating and payroll costs, combined with a wealth of talent and initiatives to support businesses, companies may want to look at the many reasons to set up shop in the state. A webinar at the recent Inc. 5000 conference highlighted one CEOs experience building a high-growth business in Cincinnati that was an Inc. 5000 company for three consecutive years. Heena Rathore, CEO of TrueChoicePack, co-founded her company in 2008. It specializes in design through delivery of packaging and disposable products technology. During the webinar, Rathore discussed how to build a business between the coasts with Jason Jolley, a professor of rural economic development at the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University. Jolley also works with economic developers throughout the state, particularly in Appalachian, Ohio--a region in the southeastern portion of the state consisting of 32 counties, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission. Here are four takeaways from that conversation: Ohio has plentiful access to capital and talent While Rathore lived in New York for many years and understands the value coastal markets bring, she appreciates that Ohio has easy access to capital and a strong talent pool. When it comes to capital, $1.2 Billion in venture capital investments were made by Q2 of 2021, with an increase of over 23% since 2019. And when it comes to talent, Midwestern universities produce a diverse group of international, national, and local students in a variety of fields, including engineering and high-tech fields. Ohio private and state schools enroll about 80,000 students. Were producing a lot of very talented graduates, many of whom want to stay in Ohio after college, says Jolley. It also costs businesses less money to hire employees in Ohio. For example, companies are able to pay software engineers about 40 percent less than in California, he says. Economic development agencies offer support to companies Ohio, its cities, and its business communities offer support to companies through business incubators, tax breaks for companies that create jobs or generate certain levels of capital investment, access to venture capital, as well as other resources. JobsOhio, the states economic development, and the Ohio Department of Developments Third Frontier program, help innovative startups through programs that support businesses and communities. With all these resources, starting and developing the company, in my experience, was much easier than developing and growing companies in New York or the other coast, Rathore says. Site Selection magazine gives high marks to Ohio and its cities In 2020, Site Selection magazine awarded Ohio the Governors Cup for having the most projects per capita nationwide. The state also ranked second in the country for having the greatest number of projects. Toledo, Ohio, tied for the top spot for Tier 2 metro area last year, and four micropolitan areas--urban centers with populations between 10,000 and 50,000--were in the top 10 for that category, with Findlay, Ohio, in the number one spot for attracting 22 new development projects. Ohio has no corporate income tax, and that helps attract companies and new projects to the state. Ohio offers culture, affordability, and a diverse economy Especially compared to the coasts, youre combining a great low-cost place to live, work, and grow your business with affordable, but talented workers, Jolley says. Cincinnati, where TrueChoicePack is located, also is the hub for Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble and Kroger. With a diverse population, a family-oriented culture, and high-tech jobs, the city is attracting young and talented workers, says Rathore, and its a less challenging place to live than San Francisco or New York. Our home prices in our three major metro areas--Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati--are well below the price of competing metro areas such as Austin, Boston, and Chicago. New York City has a longstanding history as a mecca for some of the world's brightest minds and most sought-after talent. If it weren't competition enough as it is, NYC just took a seemingly small step that will prove to greatly extend its lead after passing a new law requiring employers to post salary on job listings. And its effects will be felt among companies in all corners of the country come April when it is enacted. The law, created to help chip away at commonplace anti-worker and discriminatory practices in the workplace, has been praised by the general public for its efforts toward corporate transparency. But it also comes with the bleak reality that, for many, the Great Resignation will surge, and the mass exodus of staff will reach new heights for companies in the U.S. fighting in the incredibly competitive pandemic talent war. Or so the story goes for those who are blind to the surprisingly shiny silver linings of the salary transparency law. Here's how companies can benefit from adopting NYC's new salary transparency law--regardless of where they are located. 1. It saves time (and with that, money) By accepting applications from candidates who don't know what your salary range is, you're not only wasting their time, you're also wasting your own. Imagine going house hunting and being told you have to wait until closing day for the price to be revealed to you. Sure, there are averages and ballpark figures, but employment, like real estate, can vary wildly--and in some cases, arbitrarily. For example, the average salary for a marketing manager at Conde Nast is $76,000. Meanwhile, a marketing manager at Google earns nearly double at just under $150,000, according to data from Glassdoor. What this means for candidates is that they're often left blindly applying for positions with little understanding of whether the company even meets their minimum compensation requirements. So, by publicly posting your minimum and maximum salary range on your job listing, you will effectively field candidates. In return, you will only receive applicants who would gladly accept the compensation you plan to offer, saving you time and money. 2. It can help you attract candidates Salary is the most important part of a job ad, according to SHRM, and so if you want to get more respondents, you need to include what matters to prospective applicants. Yet many shy away under the premise that their salary may hinder, rather than help, their chances at acquiring applicants from top talent. It's no secret that NYC companies offer higher-than-national-average salaries. But that doesn't mean companies in other cities across the nation can't compete with--if not beat--NYC salaries. In fact, while New York City is above the national average, it doesn't rank in the top five for U.S. cities with the best pay, with the top five cities being San Jose, California, Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Stamford, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and Seattle, respectively. That said, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that your salary targets are on-par with, if not higher than, those of larger cities.And if not, it might be a sign it's time to reevaluate how much you should pay your employees. Get a pulse on whether your salary range is within the realm of "competitive" by checking out the wage data by area and occupation from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 3. It fosters a positive company culture While the vast majority of companies still hide a position's salary range, leaving candidates to guess, those that post salaries will immediately become more enticing to candidates. But not simply in regards to acquiring new staff; also in terms of retaining your existing workforce. This is because the law does more than expose a position's pay range, and provide potential candidates with monetary insights. It is a display of integrity and mutual respect, which builds confidence and instills trust. In return, it creates a more positive company culture where staff trust that their employer respects them--and with that, values them and their time. And with that, they are more likely to remain happily employed at their company. Keep in mind, that amid the Great Resignation some of the strangest strategies are also the most effective. Because people aren't simply walking away from gainful employment. They're seeking out new opportunities and trading one employer for another, in what is more accurately the "Great Reshuffle." Business leaders say they are concerned about democracy and what the sense of crisis holds for the U.S. economy a year after insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. Nearly half of business owners said they are very concerned about the state of democracy in the United States while another third shared that they are somewhat concerned, according to a new poll conducted by the data intelligence company Morning Consult. The poll, which surveyed 400 businesses, was carried out for the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Public Private Strategies, which helps create partnerships, build coalitions, and bridge opportunities between the public and private sectors. Most of the businesses polled believe that a strong democracy is good for business--even as entrepreneurs as a group were overrepresented in the January 6 riot. The research shows that leaders in the business community "view democracy and voting rights as an economic issue," says Rhett Buttle, the founder of Public Private Strategies and president of the independent research and education firm, Public Private Strategies Institute. Despite the concern over democracy, a majority of polled businesses remain optimistic for the future -- 60 percent of business leaders believe that the U.S. is headed in the right direction. Overall, most businesses believe that they have a major responsibility in upholding democracy. As Buttle sees it, businesses can do the following: Advocate for strong public policy Rebuke undocumented voter fraud claims, such as those perpetuated by the "Big Lie" -- the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former president Donald Trump Push back against laws that make it difficult to vote Carve out time for your workers to go vote -- employers are not required under federal law to give workers time off to vote Many business leaders have expressed support in passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which seeks to protect voting rights by restoring and updating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That current piece of legislation remains a contentious issue, a symbol of the division within the country and the Congress that represents it. Though the House approved the measure, Senate Republicans last November blocked the bill from moving forward. But businesses are still for passing voter protection measures, at least to some degree. Thursday's poll shows that around three quarters of businesses support passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act while 77 percent of business leaders support passage of the Freedom to Vote Act. Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community! Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this week that President Biden would likely "make a decision about any cancellation of student debt before the conclusion" of a pause on student loans, set to expire late this summer. The news comes with roughly six months left until the midterm elections and as prominent Democrat politicians like Elizabeth Warren increased calls this week for the President to do more to ease the student debt crisis in the country. Do you believe President Biden should cancel all student debt and pass the costs onto taxpayers? Why or why not? Let us know in this week's poll question below. You voted: Larsen & Toubro (L&) on Thursday announced that the Water & Effluent Treatment Business of L&T Construction has secured a slew of orders from various prestigious clients. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Punjab has awarded two EPC orders for the Bulk Supply of Treated Water to 10 lakh people across 412 villages and 15 dhanies in the Fazilka and Ferozepur districts of Punjab on a DBOT (Design Build Operate Transfer) basis.The aggregate scope of work comprises Design & Construction of raw water intake systems, storage & sedimentation tanks, water treatment plants of a total capacity of 114 MLD, clear water reservoirs with pumphouse, supply & laying of transmission pipelines, and associated Electromechanical & Instrumentation works. The project also involves automation works that include measurement of inflow and outflow water quantity and quality through suitable SCADA & other instrumentation works.Previously, the business commissioned the Moga Water Supply Project for the same client.The Department of Water Resources, Government of Odisha has given a repeat EPC order to execute the Under Ground Pipeline Irrigation System for the Rengali Right Irrigation Project (Phase-I).Under the project, water for irrigation to 24,063 Ha. of Culturable Command Area (CCA) and 26,334 Ha. of Command Area Development (CAD) is envisaged for the Dhenkanal and Cuttack districts of Odisha by way of gravity flow taken from the Rengali Right Bank Canal and its distributaries. The scope includes survey, design, procurement, construction and installing of DI, HDPE & PSC pipelines of various diameters and pipeline distribution networks with all allied works.In addition to these, the Business has also secured add-on orders from the Uttar Pradesh State Water Et Sanitation Mission to implement various rural water supply projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission to provide Functional House Tap Connection (FHTC) in the state.The Business is already executing water supply schemes in the districts of Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakhoot, Gonda, Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Balrampur and Shravasti for the same client.On Sensex, L&T closed at Rs1925.20 per piece down 1.18%. The question today and tomorrow and tomorrow is whether the rupture at the U.S. Capitol one year ago was the beginning of the end of Trumpism, most specifically its swallowing of poisonous lies and its rejection of free and fair elections, or whether it was merely the beginning of the end. Evidence leans heavily toward the latter, which is a frightening prospect indeed. As thousands more rallied outside, about 2,000 people made it inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. By any count, that represents only a tiny sliver of a small slice of the population demanding Congress override Joe Bidens rightful victory on the basis of phantom claims of mass election fraud. Advertisement The first insurrectionist. (Evan Vucci/AP) But before and especially after Jan. 6, the contingent at the Capitol has been reflective of a far deeper rift in our nation of 330 million. A third of Americans, led by the vocal pathological liar they still revere, question the legitimacy of Bidens victory; this includes 71% of Republicans (not coincidentally, as late as 2016, 72% of Republicans doubted Barack Obamas American citizenship). Forty percent of Republicans and 41% of independents say violence against the government is sometimes justified. It is chilling that there are at least 40 million Americans about 70% of about 60 million registered Republicans for whom Jan. 6 was a harmless protest, if not a righteous exercise in affirming American values. And given Donald Trumps enduring hold on his party, those 40 million people are disproportionately represented in the halls of Congress and in state legislatures. Advertisement Their hands at the levers of power, they now draw most of the maps that will determine who will represent Americans in the U.S. House. They now rewrite the rules to make it harder for some people to vote this year and in 2024, and to determine how electoral votes are counted next time around. Be afraid, and at least at very, very least fix the Electoral Count Act to prevent a future Congress from subverting the will of voters. remaining of Thank you for Reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. First Nations organizations and the Federal government, along with class-action lawyers announced details of two agreements in principle that, if ratified, could end a nearly 15-year-old legal battle over the racist underfunding of child welfare services on reserves and in the Yukon. The deal is worth $40 billion and would respectively spend $20 billion compensating tens of thousands of families victimized over the last three decades and another roughly $20 billion over five years on program reform. Its the largest settlement in Canadian history, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told reporters, No amount of money can reverse the harms experienced by First Nations children. However, historic injustices require historic reparations. Miller spoke at a press conference in Ottawa alongside other federal ministers, leaders from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and legal counsel representing First Nations youth and families. Sotos Class Actions lawyer David Sterns said the deal may be the largest settlement in the world. The enormity of this settlement is due to one reason and one reason only, Sterns said, and that is the sheer size and scope of the harm that was inflicted on the class members as a result of a cruel and discriminatory First Nations family and child welfare system. According to APTN, Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, said her organization was not party to the compensation agreement, but called the draft agreement on long-term program reform a pathway to a final deal, adding that only when that deal is signed and implemented can youth be sure real change is coming. Once final details are negotiated, the settlement agreements and distribution plan must be approved by the court and tribunal before implementation. By deciding to settle out of court, the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau could resolve the long and bitter legal fight. AFN and Blackstock filed the original human rights complaint in 2007 alleging Indian Affairs funding formula for First Nations child welfare known as Directive 20-1 and came into effect in 1991 and deemed racially discriminatory. More than 200,000 children and families are impacted by this compensation agreement. This wasnt and isnt about parenting; its, in fact, about poverty, said Blackstock. As per APNT, The complaint also alleged Canada failed to implement Jordans Principle, a child-first principle supported by the House of Commons in 2007 to ensure First Nations children have access to essential health care unhindered by jurisdictional bickering between governments over who should pay. The Canadian government under then-Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper responded with what the AFN last year called an obstructionist campaign of administrative and legal delay tactics, deflection and non-compliance. Between 2008 and 2013, Canada motioned to have the complaint dismissed and tried to derail the process by retaliating against Blackstock, ejecting her from a meeting and spying on her. At the same time, the Harper regime knowingly withheld more than 100,000 documents and emails it was obligated to disclose. The records, it turned out, were prejudicial to Canadas case and highly relevant and the human rights tribunal scolded Canada for its lack of transparency and blatant disregard for the process. While presiding Judge Paul Favel, who is Cree, was more restrained in his judgement, he sided with the tribunal nevertheless. He said it reasonably exercised its discretion to handle a complex case of discrimination while ensuring all issues, including compensation, were addressed fairly. Canada responded with another appeal but promised to try and negotiate a solution by Dec. 31, 2021. Federal officials said they would only litigate if negotiations failed. They added they wont drop the appeal until a final deal is ratified. Theyve pointed in the past to the fact the tribunal order compensates victims dating back to 2006, while the class action represents plaintiffs dating back to 1991 when the policy came into effect. A huge portion of victims wouldnt be paid as a result of the tribunals decision. Lawyers told the press conference, $40,000 will be the minimum for those removed from their homes, but the amount they can receive wont be capped. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which probed the history and legacy of Canadas residential schools. The commissions first call to action was for government to immediately reduce the number of Indigenous children in state care. The modern child welfare systems disturbing similarities to the residential school system is something the complainants and plaintiffs pointed out several times throughout litigation. The original complaint noted that, at the time of filing, there were more First Nations children in state custody than at the height of residential schooling in the 1940s. There are now three times as many. Residential schools were notoriously, chronically and knowingly underfunded. Ottawas funding policy, which consisted of a yearly per capita grant, created a financial incentive for churches to snatch as many pupils as possible to obtain the maximum grant. Under modern child welfare Directive 20-1, Ottawa provided a fixed and insufficient pot of cash for prevention services but fully reimbursed agencies for apprehending children and maintaining them in out-of-home care. This perverse incentive, legal filings said, ensured Canada continued to scoop children from their families, homes, communities and cultures by the thousands right up to present day. The federal child welfare program was broken from the start. Most Canadians do not know this that there was actually an incentive for child welfare agencies to remove children. Blackstock said the human rights complaint would be closed when the tribunal is satisfied the discrimination has ceased. re you aged between 18 and 35? Do you have healthy children? Are you physically and psychologically fit? Are you law-abiding? These are the advertisements that are plastered on buses and throughout the metro in Ukraine. Ukraines most popular surrogacy company, offers women willing to become surrogates nearly $11,000 for one pregnancy and a $250 monthly stipend a sum more than three times the average yearly salary in Ukraine of approximately $3,000. Ukraine has become an increasingly popular destination for foreign couples seeking affordable surrogacy services since it became legal in 2002. The average package costs around $30,000, compared with prices between $80,00 and $120,000 in the United States. Demand has surged since 2015 when Thailand, India, and Nepal outlawed commercial surrogacy following reports of widespread exploitation of women. However, the surrogacy industry is extremely dubious. Even Ukraine's Ministry of Health was unable to provide data on the number of surrogate mothers in the country. Demand has surged since 2015 when Thailand, India and Nepal outlawed commercial surrogacy According to Sergii Antonov, a Kyiv-based lawyer specialising in the medical and reproductive field, between 2,000 and 2,500 children are born through surrogacy in Ukraine every year, with almost half through BioTexCom. About a third of customers are Chinese. But as demand grows, Antonov says there are increasing reports of alleged exploitation of both surrogate mothers and intended parents. Conditions for surrogate mothers are terrible Many women who opted to become surrogates say that the conditions for them are terrible. They are sometimes forced to share a bed with another surrogate mother. Most of the women come from small villages and are in hopeless situations. They spend the first few weeks lying around, crying. Women are sometimes not paid promised amounts or are housed in terrible conditions during the later stages of their pregnancies. In some cases, parents have discovered they have no genetic link with children born to surrogates. Authorities suspect some clinics are also using surrogacy as a cover for illegal commercial adoptions. The highly profitable and murky business, that many worry, is taking advantage of desperate young women and operating in a grey zone open to abuse. Women are sometimes not paid promised amounts or are housed in terrible conditions "Ukraine is becoming an international online baby store," the country's commissioner for children's rights Mykola Kuleba warned, condemning the "exploitation" of Ukrainian women and calling for a ban on the industry. The fact that Ukraine is one of the few countries allowing commercial surrogacy for foreigners was oddly thrown into the spotlight by the coronavirus. When travel restrictions imposed to fight the pandemic prevented dozens of parents from picking up their children born to surrogates, a local surrogacy company posted a video online showing the infants lying in rows of plastic cots in a hotel on the edge of Kyiv. One of the poorest countries in Europe, the post-Soviet nation is also known for its attractive prices, with birth through a surrogate costing about $42,000. In the United States, it can cost more than twice as much. The pandemic has been revealed to be an "international online store for babies" with infants treated as nothing more than "commodities". For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. 125 passengers on a Milan-Amritsar charter flight were found to be Covid-positive when tested on arrival. Officials said there were a total of 179 passengers on the charter flight YU-661 that landed at the Amritsar airport at around 1.30 PM on Wednesday. Since Italy is one of the "at risk" countries according to the Union Health Ministry, all eligible passengers -- 160 in this case -- were tested for COVID-19 and 125 of them were found to be positive. AFP Children also on board Out of the total of 179 passengers, 19 were children or infants so they were exempt from on-arrival RT-PCR testing. The charter flight between Milan in Italy and Amritsar in Punjab was operated by Portuguese company EuroAtlantic Airways. Wikimedia Scheduled international flights have remained suspended since the first outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, back in March 2020. But in November this year, the Indian government had decided to resume scheduled international flights from December 15 which it subsequently revoked due to rising concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had said that the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights to and from India has been extended till January 31, 2022. This restriction, however, shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. Given the explosion of Omicron cases in India and around the world, it is highly likely to be extended for at least a couple of more months. International scheduled flights may still be allowed on select routes by the authorities on a case-to-case basis. PTI In May 2020, India had launched Vande Bharat Mission, under which Indians stranded in foreign countries due to lockdowns there were brought back. International flights flying under air bubble pacts Since July 2020, limited international flights have also been operating to and from India under air bubble pacts. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories. India had air bubble deals with around 32 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. On Wednesday, Hong Kong banned flights from eight countries including India until January 21, in a bid to arrest the rising number of Omicron cases. On the same day, Lufthansa announced the resumption of Swiss International Airlines operations to Mumbai from international destinations starting from January 10 under the Air Bubble agreement. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. At least six factory workers have died and 22 others were hospitalised after they were exposed to toxic fumes in Gujarat's Surat district. The toxic gas reportedly leaked from a chemical tanker parked near a factory in the Sachin industrial area of Gujarat's Surat. All the workers exposed to the toxic gas were employees of a dyeing factory. ANI What happened? The leak happened in the early hours of Thursday when the toxic chemical was being illegally discharged from the tanker. Surat Municipal Corporation's (SMC) in-charge chief fire officer Basant Pareek said the fire department received a call around 4.25 am. 25 to 26 workers fell unconscious after inhaling the toxic fumes coming out of the chemical tanker parked on a roadside near the factory and were rushed to the new civil hospital. BCCL "Six people have died, while 22 others are hospitalised and undergoing treatment," the civil hospital's resident medical officer, Omkar Chaudhary, said. The condition of seven of them are said to be critical. The fire department later managed to close the tanker's valve to stop the leakage, Pareek said. "This was not an accidental gas leakage. Hazardous chemicals were being discharged when the incident took place," a police official said. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed grief over the incident. "Many people have died due to gas leak in Surat. May God give peace to the departed souls and strength to the family members to bear this suffering. I pray for the health of those who have fallen ill in this incident," the CM said in a tweet. Two accidents in December In recent days, Gujarat had seen several industrial mishaps. On December 24, four people including a mother-daughter duo lost their lives after an explosion in a boiler at a chemical factory located in Vadodara GIDC area. ANI The powerful blast at the Canton Laboratories factory also left at least 11 others injured and destroyed the entire boiler crushing many. The walls of surrounding houses also suffered damages due to the explosion. Canton Laboratories is based in Vadodara, manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The company had built its residential units adjoining the boiler, in violation of the rules. On December 16, a similar factory blast had killed seven persons and injured several in Panchmahal district. Preliminary reports have stated that the blast took place due to high pressure in a vessel at the plant. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. I-6 F1, the most sophisticated commercial communications satellite ever built has begun its Electric Orbit Raising (EOR) process to reach geostationary orbit, 36,000km above the Earth. Built for Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, by Airbus Defence and Space, it was launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on 22 December, 2021. In the hours following its launch, initial acquisition of telemetry from the satellite was received, followed by two further milestones completed on 24 December: apogee thruster firing and solar array deployment during which the solar arrays wingspan exceeds that of a Boeing 767. Several days later, as the Inmarsat team worked throughout the Christmas and New Year break, the 9-metre wide L-band reflector was deployed. Each of these moves are crucial steps in the orbital manoeuvre, which slowly makes I-6 F1s orbit slightly more circular to prepare the satellite for the electric orbit raising (EOR). The EOR process, which takes the satellite to its final location in geostationary orbit via an all-electric propulsion system, is expected to take around 200 days to complete. A more detailed video explanation of the satellites journey to geostationary orbit from Inmarsats Vice President, Space Segment Mark Dickinson is available here. Once I-6 F1 reaches its final position, approximately 36,000km (~22,500 miles) above the Earth, extensive testing will begin, before its entry into service in early 2023. Ground stations at Perth and Merredin in Western Australia will support I-6 F1. Rajeev Suri, CEO of Inmarsat, said: This launch marks Inmarsats newest technological leap forward as we maintain our strong commercial momentum and sector leadership. This satellite extends our world leading mobile satellite communications services for our customers and partners, especially in the Indo Pacific region. I-6 F1 will play a crucial role in Inmarsats world-leading, dynamic mesh network ORCHESTRA as we plot the course to further connectivity innovation for our customers. My warmest thanks and congratulations go to the Inmarsat team that delivered flawlessly on this project as well as our launch provider Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and our satellite manufacturing partner Airbus Defence and Space. I-6 F1 is Inmarsats first ever hybrid L- and Ka-band satellite, and the first of seven planned for Inmarsat by 2024 in the companys fully-funded technology roadmap. I-6 F1 will be followed by I-6 F2, which is currently in testing on the ground, prior to an early 2023 launch. The I-6s incorporate increased capacity and new technological advances for ELERAs transformational L-band services, delivering an enhanced platform for customers looking to embrace next-wave technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things, thanks to dramatically increased network capacity and resilience. The I-6s also offer additional Global Xpress (GX) high-speed broadband capacity, ensuring it continues to support the growing needs of commercial and government customers for data especially in congested regions and hotspots. Adding to an existing global fleet of 14 geostationary satellites, the I-6s will extend Inmarsats commitment to mission critical services while enabling a new generation of pioneering technologies to connect and sustain the world. The launch of the I-6s is further evidence of the momentum underpinning Inmarsats business and technology leadership in global mobility communications. I-6 plays an integral role in the reliable GEO infrastructure that underpins Inmarsat ORCHESTRA the worlds first network that will combine GEO, highly elliptical orbit (HEO), low Earth orbit (LEO) and terrestrial 5G into one harmonious solution. Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below. In July of 1974, a Black woman from Texas addressed the nation from the House Committee on the Judiciary as it considered articles of impeachment for Richard Nixon. She pointed out that when our Constitution was written, people like her were not included in We the people. Yet, Rep. Barbara Jordan expressed her unshakable commitment to American democracy. My faith in the Constitution is whole, she said, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution. Advertisement On Jan. 6, 2021, we witnessed an attempt to diminish, subvert and destroy our Constitution by violence, as part of an ongoing effort to subvert democracy by demagoguery, and unfair laws. Jordan has a lot to tell us about this new moment of peril. We should take warning from her reminder that this nation has too often failed to live up to its principles, and take comfort from her faith in this nations institutions. Supporters of US President Donald Trump clash with the US Capitol police during a riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. ((Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)) The only question that remains is whether we will sit back and be idle spectators. My answer: We must act vigorously to preserve our Constitution. My belief: We will. Yes, this is a frightening moment, but it is not a hopeless one. I retain my faith that America will do the right thing not out of some fuzzy trust in our exceptionalism, but from a realistic sense that this has never been a perfect democracy, yet Americans have always chosen progress. Advertisement This is what we need to do. The prosecution of the mob that stormed the Capitol is an opportunity to establish a precedent of stern punishment to fit a grave crime. So far, the authorities have arrested more than 700 of the traitors, but I havent seen enough of them arrested, or convicted. Nor have I seen sentences equal to the damage they did to democracy. I was heartened to read that the attorney general of the United States has promised Congress that he will pursue the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 attack at any level. We need to see every person involved in this sickening assault on our nation brought to justice, with punishments that fit their crimes. We need to see that soon. The House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is doing admirable work. That work is far from finished, and I have high hopes for what we will see from the committee in the coming year. But I would also like to see all those who have refused to respond to lawful subpoenas from the House have their day in court, and receive appropriate punishment. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > We need to see the House of Representatives bring the full weight of its legal power down on the heads of anyone attempting to obstruct its investigation. We need to see that soon. Finally, we need our leaders in Congress to act with urgency to pass strong laws to protect the right to vote, and to erect legal barriers to any future president seeking to overturn a legitimate election. We need to see that soon. Supporters of US President Donald Trump clash with the US Capitol police during a riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Id like to note, that as New Yorks attorney general, I have never shied from investigating or suing powerful people if the facts and the law warrant it. That way of doing things follows from my understanding of the proper way to behave in a democracy and the proper way to preserve democracy. So, we have come to another moment of choosing. I say, another moment, because democracy is a choice that must be made by each generation. My faith that our generation will make the right choice in the end, comes from the same place that Barbara Jordans did. As women of color, we understand all too well the many ways this nation has never fully lived up to its promise. Yet we have also seen progress. Advertisement This nation overthrew a monarchy. It beat back a traitorous attempt to divide itself in two over slavery. It ejected the poison of Sen. Joseph McCarthys hysteria from the body politic. It slowly, grudgingly and yet inexorably expanded rights to women, people of color, LGBTQ Americans, and more. So, let us agree with Barbara Jordan that our faith in the Constitution is whole; let us resolve not to be idle spectators in the subversion of our Constitution; and let us act. The cost of refusing to do so is too awful to contemplate. James is attorney general of New York. After a tense week of back and forth between parents and school administrators, Fairfax County Public Schools announced Thursday they plan to keep students in the classroom despite the surge of COVID-19 but are preparing for potential teacher shortages. In a letter to staff and parents, Superintendent Scott Brabrand said the plan includes converting some classes or entire schools to in-person asynchronous learning if a high percentage of staff members are absent due to COVID. Braband said the school system is preparing to reopen and resume in-person learning once the winter storm surge subsides and travel is safe again. FCPS remains committed to providing safe in-person learning for students while navigating the national Omicron surge we are experiencing as we return to school after winter break, a spokesperson for the school system told InsideNoVa. This is our plan for keeping schools safe and providing continuity of instruction as we navigate this surge." In the letter Brabrand outlined three contingency plans depending on teachers attendance. Plan A - Normal Operations: 0% of classrooms are without coverage or doubled up Plan B - In-Person Asynchronous Learning for Targeted Classrooms: 1-10% of classrooms without coverage. Students would access asynchonous learning assignments from school and would be grouped together for supervision as needed. Plan C - School-Wide Asynchronous Learning: 11-25% of classrooms without dedicated coverage. The full school would switch to asynchronous learning for a specified period of time. Teachers who are not on sick leave would still report to school buildings, and students could access the learning either from home or at school. Legislation passed by the General Assembly last spring requires all Virginia school systems to maintain in-person instruction (with an online option) for the entirety of the 2021-22 school year. Within the past few weeks, parents of Fairfax students have pressured on the school system to keep students in class and not regress back to virtual learning. However, like other school systems, Fairfax has struggled with staff shortages, especially for substitute teachers. If a classroom teacher is absent, Brabrand said the classes may be covered by a substitute, another teacher or staff member, or multiple classes may be integrated and taught by one teacher or supervised for asynchronous instruction. The contingency plan will be followed for two to three weeks, according to the letter, and any changes to the current plan will be addressed after that period. I have faith that working together, we can overcome this new challenge, Brabrand told staff and families in the letter. Our families and our students are counting on us. I believe that we will come through this better and stronger, because I believe in the value of public education for the success of our students. The school system also noted that staffing shortages are also affecting bus drivers and warned that there will be delays in bus routes with more double-backs that may mean students will arrive after school starts. Schools will adjust instruction to ensure that no child is missing important classroom time, the school system said. Parents are encouraged please consider driving their child to school, or having them walk or ride a bike if they live nearby. In addition, the school system said, it may need to change to providing bag lunches, instead of the regular menu. Read the full plan here. Less than a year after breaking her leg in a gruesome fall, actress Ashley Judd completed a 25-mile hike. The Double Jeopardy star wrote in an Instagram post that the hike took place on the 11-month anniversary of her accident in Congo, which she said left her nearly hemorrhaging to death, along with four breaks in her right leg and a paralyzed foot. Advertisement What is here, now, is a leg that works (with a wee limp and a some knee stiffness at times), a spirit that (wont) let anything hold it back, and a desire to show up for the fullness of a beautiful life, Judd wrote Wednesday. Judd, 53, added that she is now eager to return to Congo following months of rehabilitation. Advertisement Ashley Judd at the Oscars in 2018. (Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) My heart is open and eager, she wrote. I do not yet know what I will feel, I know only that I will feel, and I am ready to greet the experience with curiosity, wonder, and an abundance of gratitude for every life-saving sister and brother who stroked my face, carried my make shift hammock through the rain forest for hours, wept alongside my agony, or simply laid beside me as I bit a stick while in shock, Judd continued. And really, all that is in the past now. Judd thanked the people who rescued her in an Instagram post last August, writing that if it wasnt for them, internal bleeding would have likely killed me, and I would have lost my leg. Last August, Judd shared a video showing her walking again as she hiked in the Swiss National Park. Renaissance Alliance Hires Jackson as SVP Renaissance Alliance, which helps insurance agencies grow, has named Lorenzo Jackson senior vice president and New York sales leader. Jackson recently served as Great Lakes region president for Main Street America Insurance, and spent four years as assistant regional vice president for The Hanover in New Jersey. He will lead a team of New York salsespeople to recruit agencies to sign up for the firms services. Renaissance said it works with independent property and casualty agencies to grow premium and maximize revenue. This is done by increasing profit sharing while outsourcing some business expenses. Zurlini to Berkshire Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has named Elisa Zurlini as the new head of transactional liability claims. Zurlini spent 15 years at AIG, most recently as assistant vice president for financial institutions and mergers and acquisitions, Berkshire Hathaway said in a news release. Boston-based Berkshire Hathaway Specialty, or BHSI, said it underwrites a broad range of transactional liability products, including representations and warranties insurance, tax insurance, contingent liability insurance and class-action settlement insurance for companies around the globe. NCC Elevates Darragh to President National Coverage Corp., an insurance intermediary focused on excess and surplus, construction casualty and property insurance, has named Ryan Darragh president. Darragh has been director of casualty at the company since 2017 and has more than 17 years of brokerage experience, the company said in a news release. NCC, based in Sayville, New York, has grown substantially in the E&S casualty market and has promoted Darragh to oversee the continued expansion. The firm said its primary clients include many of the largest retail brokers in the U.S. In addition to excess and surplus lines placements, NCC also provides casualty products and retail placements. Topics AIG Aston Lark, the London-based insurance broker that is soon to become part of Howden, announced Phoenix Healthcare (UK) as the latest addition to the group. Established in 1996 in Oadby, Leicester, Phoenix Healthcare is a leading independent UK broker and adviser specializing in all aspects of corporate healthcare provision. Financial details of the deal, which is Aston Larks second acquisition of 2022, were not disclosed. Paul Wright, founding director of Phoenix Healthcare, said: Both Lee Shorter and I have over 35 years experience in the industry, and are delighted to choose Aston Lark as the long-term partner for our business. We firmly believe that they will be a great home for our staff and share our client-first approach to corporate healthcare broking. Becoming part of Aston Lark and having access to their resources and products will provide great opportunity for further helping our clients, added Lee Shorter, founding director of Phoenix Healthcare, added: When I first met Paul and Lee, it was clear that they share the same client service ethos as Aston Lark. Were becoming a real powerhouse in Private Medical Insurance, and Im delighted to welcome Paul, Lee and their team to the Aston Lark family, commented Peter Blanc, Aston Lark Group CEO. Aston Lark has more than 1,700 employees across more than 55 offices in the UK and Ireland, 200,000 customers and more than 1 billion of GWP. Its expertise spans all commercial sectors, industry-specific schemes, employee benefits consultancy, and a wide range of private client solutions. Source: Aston Lark Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd. (MS AUL), the Lloyds global specialty re/insurer, announced its Singapore-based operation has launched its second local special purpose reinsurance vehicle (SPRV). Called Phoenix 2 Re Pte. Ltd., this SPRV will provide a quota share to MS Amlin Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (MS AAP) for its select reinsurance portfolio written via its Singapore underwriting platform. The SPRV complements the companys first SPRV, Phoenix 1 Re, in terms of ceded business and structure. Phoenix 2 Re has secured US$37.5 million of collateralized capacity through a number of Asia-based investors. MS AAP worked in conjunction with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), to establish Phoenix 2 Re, using an insurance-linked securities (ILS) catastrophe bond grant, alongside Hong Kong-based ILS specialist ILS Advisers, part of the HSZ Group. We are pleased to have secured capital for Phoenix 2 Re during a challenging time for fundraising, a testament to our financial soundness, robust risk management systems, and reputation. This launch is a natural continuation of our first SPRV and highlights our commitment to the region, as well as source innovative ways to cultivate relationships with capital market partners, commented Will Ho, CEO of MS MS AAP. (MS AUL and MS AAP are subsidiaries of global top-10 insurance group MS&AD). We are delighted to have launched another ILS offering with the help of HSZ and are thankful for the support provided by everyone involved, in particular to MAS and Lloyds Asia for their continued support to us in this space, added Ho. In 2021, Phoenix 1 Re showed the value that thoughtful and creative access to a new set of independent and diversified perils can provide to ILS investors, especially in yet another year where many faced a string of significant natural catastrophe losses from the more traditionally accessed parts of the world, said Tim Yip, Executive Director, ILS Advisers. We were very pleased to work with MS Amlin Asia Pacific again, helping them arrange their latest investment opportunity focused on the emerging Asia region, and to support their goal of providing products and innovative solutions required for a region facing a large and ever-growing insurance protection gap, Yip continued. With Phoenix 2 Re successfully issued out of Singapore, this continues to demonstrate Singapores value as an entry point for capital, to support the growing needs of the region. Source: MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd. Topics Auto Reinsurance Mississippi A new study shows that COVID-19 incidence rates were not statistically different in counties with in-person learning versus remote school modes in most regions of the U.S. Many educators believe that in-person learning results in high learning outcomes but that it also may increase the community spread of the virus. A recent study published in Nature Medicine challenges this latter assumption by analyzing data from the 12 weeks after school opening from July to September 2020, before the Delta variant became predominant and before vaccines were available. The research, led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, compared the learning models used at 895 districts about half of all schools nationwide to the infection rates collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the 459 counties where those schools are located. After controlling for case rate trends before school start, state-level mitigation measures and community activity level, COVID-19 incidence rates were not statistically different in counties with in-person learning versus remote school modes in most regions of the U.S. Remote Learning As the COVID-19 virus arrived on U.S. shores in early 2020, nearly every school district went to all-remote learning in the hopes of slowing down the spread of the outbreak. Parents, teachers and education administrators soon discovered that the sudden implementation of online classes had many drawbacks, such as students difficulties learning and isolation from their friends. After having the summer to evaluate, school officials faced three choices when reopening last fall while keeping everyone safe. Many districts went to all-online learning, others continued to stay open as usual, and some developed a hybrid approach where students would take turns attending in person two or three days a week and learn remotely the rest of the week. In most of the U.S., we found no evidence linking school mode to COVID incident rates, suggesting that there is no point in disrupting students learning experiences Serving as lead author for the study is Assistant Professor Zeynep Ertem from the Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering at Binghamton Universitys Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. Her collaborators are from across the U.S., including the Department of Medicine at Harvard University, the Boston University School of Medicine, Brown University, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), the Iowa City VA Healthcare System and the University of Utah. The main argument to close schools is driven by earlier conclusions from flu studies that younger children dont always show symptoms but they may transmit the disease to their family members, which may include older groups at risk, Ertem said. However, our study finds no evidence of this in most regions of the U.S. Ertem and her team sifted through information such as grade levels, local and state COVID mitigation efforts, the extent of community mobility, and the differences between urban and rural areas to better compare different school districts and regions. In most of the U.S., we found no evidence linking school mode to COVID incident rates, suggesting that there is no point in disrupting students learning experiences even though in the South, there was a statistically significant increase in cases when they were open for hybrid and traditional learning, Ertem said. There might be other factors behind it, because Southern states used limited mitigation measures compared to other regions. But in the Northeast and Midwest regions, the differences in the number of cases were not detectable across any of the three learning modes. By comparing education modes to infection rates, the research gives policymakers more information when making decisions regarding the current pandemic or any future one. The conclusions dont offer simple answers, however. Its not a one-size-fits-all model, Ertem said. Its hard to say do not open or do not close the schools. Depending on the region, other factors might have an effect. Earlier this year, Ertem published other research assessing the effectiveness of early social-distancing measures in communities with different population characteristics, such as urban versus rural areas. Next, she will lead a study on how the pandemic has changed the body-mass index (BMI) of children and teens. The effects of COVID-19 will be with us for many years to come, she said. We must understand the consequences if we are to learn better responses for the future. Original study: The impact of school opening model on SARS-CoV-2 community incidence and mortality Topics COVID-19 A major lawsuit in the collapse of a Florida beachfront condominium building that killed 98 people will go to trial in March 2023, a judge said Wednesday. Thats about six months later than Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman had originally planned, but lawyers in the complex and unusual case said experts need more time to evaluate what caused the 12-story Champlain Towers South building to fall in June 2021. That is a firm deadline, ladies and gentlemen, Hanzman said during a hearing held virtually. This case will be going to trial in March 2023. The collapse of Champlain Towers, located in Surfside, Florida, was one of the worst building disasters in U.S. history. Federal and state agencies are investigating what happened, but likely wont reach a conclusion for many months. The main lawsuit filed in November contends that work on an adjacent luxury condo building, known as Eighty Seven Park, damaged and destabilized an aging Champlain Towers building already in dire need of major structural repair. Lawyers for insurance companies, the adjacent buildings developers and other entities said the initial plan for a September trial date wouldnt allow engineers and other experts to fully evaluate what happened. It will be impossible to try this case in the fall, said Michael Goldberg, a court-appointed receiver for the Champlain Towers condo association. The lawsuit contends that excavation, pile-driving and other work at Eighty Seven Park, just across the city line in Miami Beach, between 2016 and 2019 caused vibrations that weakened the shaky structure next door. In addition, groundwater was funneled from the new building to the Champlain Towers basement after developers bought a small road separating the two, the lawsuit says. The defendants have denied that construction of the 18-story Eighty Seven Park building was responsible for the collapse. They contended in a prior statement that Champlain Towers was improperly designed, poorly constructed, significantly underfunded and inadequately maintained. The property where the now-demolished Champlain Towers South once stood is up for sale with bidding for the prime oceanfront land currently at about $120 million. Plans are also in the works for a nearby memorial to those who perished. The lawsuit does not demand a specific dollar amount in damages but lawyers say it could run into hundreds of millions of dollars. All of this would go to wrongful death claims and to compensate people who lost their condos and belongings in the collapse. Hanzman told lawyers not to expect any further delays beyond March of next year. This court is not working under some leisurely schedule, the judge said. This case will not be continued. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Florida Condominium The year for the cannabis industry went by like a puff of smoke and we need make no excuse the bad pun for a year that was a) forgettable, b) not the sort of year that legalization advocates hoped for, and c) forgettable (it bears mentioning twice). Insurance Journal as part of its coverage of insurance and cannabis did its best to keep on top of the intersection of two industries that couldnt be more different. We also put out a regular podcast on the topic, as well as a bimonthly Insuring Cannabis newsletter. The top read stories that concerned cannabis and insurance included a highly read article on federal legalization, stories on newly legal states, and big acquisition of a cannabis insurance firm. Numerous stories on trends within the space were also well read but didnt make the top five list. Following are the top five insuring cannabis stories of 2021. 1) With Federal Legalization Expected, Cannabis Insurers Quietly Get Ready to Roll A story from Reuters around the middle of the year on how insurers are quietly gearing up for a potential ten-fold increase in sales in the cannabis industry as Congress inches closer to legalizing pot at the federal level was one of the more popular stories. While legalization, which looked to be a safe bet with the party that has traditionally been the biggest supporter of it firmly in the drivers seat steering the federal government, it turned out to be a big nothing burger. While 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia having legalized cannabis for medical or recreational use, U.S. legal cannabis sales jumped 45% last year and are expected to hit $41 billion in 2026, according to data firm BDSA. However, the insurance industry only wrote roughly $250 million in policies last year, according to estimates by Reuters, and the handful of carriers that were offering products were not offering much. That helped keep rates high and a poll of cannabis brokers working at a large brokerage points to rates in key lines heading up 10% or more next year. 2) Wisconsin Gov. Proposes Legalized Marijuana Recreational and Medical Legalization at the federal level may be perennially stalled, but states continued to roll out the welcome mat for the industry. Several articles on legalization by states were well read. The most read among those was when Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made headlines in August when he proposed legalizing marijuana and regulating and taxing it like the state does alcohol. Evers made the proposal in his 2021-23 biennial budget, which estimated that legal marijuana would generate more than $165 million annually beginning in the second year of the biennium (Fiscal Year 23). Legalizing and taxing marijuana in Wisconsin just like we do already with alcohol ensures a controlled market and safe product are available for both recreational and medicinal users and can open the door for countless opportunities for us to reinvest in our communities and create a more equitable state, Evers said in a statement released by his office. The governors announcement cited a 2019 Marquette University Law Poll showing that nearly 60% of state residents support adult use legalization and 83% support the legalization of medical marijuana. Evers previously called for medical marijuana legalization in his 2019-2021 biennial budget but Republicans in the Legislature rejected that proposal. Despite some bipartisan support, Evers didnt get his wish in 2021. Read below for more on states and legalization. 3) Studies Find Crash Rates Rise When States Legalize Marijuana; Suggest Link to Alcohol The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute in June published a report showing increasing evidence that motor vehicle crash rates rise when states legalize recreational use and retail sales of marijuana. The report, which notes that what effects marijuana by itself has on drivers remains unclear, notes that crash rates spiked with the legalization of recreational marijuana use and retail sales in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The report is a bit contrary to preliminary results of a separate IIHS study of injured drivers who visited emergency rooms in California, Colorado and Oregon, which showed that drivers who used marijuana alone were no more likely to be involved in crashes than drivers who hadnt used the drug. That is consistent with a 2015 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that found that a positive test for marijuana was not associated with increased risk of being involved in a police-reported crash. Our latest research makes it clear that legalizing marijuana for recreational use does increase overall crash rates, IIHS-HLDI President David Harkey said in a statement. Thats obviously something policymakers and safety professionals will need to address as more states move to liberalize their laws even if the way marijuana affects crash risk for individual drivers remains uncertain. 4) One80 Makes Cannabis Buy-in with Cannasure Insurance Services Acquisition One80 Intermediaries acquisition of Cannasure Insurance Services early in 2021 was among the biggest insuring cannabis news of the year. The purchase Boston, Mass.-based One80 Intermediaries, a privately held, national wholesaler and program manager with offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, of the Ohio-based wholesale broker and managing general agent focused on the cannabis and hemp industry, created quite a buzz. Cannasures founder after the announcement appeared on an Insuring Cannabis podcast along with other industry experts to talk about the implications of the deal. Cannasure is a national wholesale broker, program manager and third-party administrator that serves cultivators, dispensaries, extractors, processors, product manufacturers, testing labs, landlords and ancillary businesses in all states where cannabis and hemp are legal. It offers coverage on a monoline or package basis. The Cannasure acquisition ensures that we stay at the forefront of the industry, providing unmatched protection to cannabis and hemp businesses helping them thrive, Matthew F. Power, president of One80 Intermediaries, said in a statement. 5) RICO Suit against Colorado Cannabis Firms Highlights D&O Dearth A scarcity of directors and officers coverage for cannabis companies took on an even bigger spotlight following a Colorado lawsuit in which two large cannabis operators and several executives were accused of illegally transporting marijuana to Arkansas. The lawsuit also invoked the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, which seeks increased damages for the plaintiff. Among the firms named is Chicago, Ill.-based Verano Holdings, which is accused in the lawsuit of illegally transporting marijuana from its home state of Illinois to Arkansas. While medical marijuana is legal in Arkansas, cultivation, sale, and possession of the drug remains federal offenses in Arkansas. Cannabis also remains a controlled substance in the eyes of the federal government, as the lawsuit notes. The allegations of illegal interstate marijuana shipments stem from the attempted acquisition of Verano by Phoenix, Ariz.-based Harvest Health & Recreation in a deal that fell through last year, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. 6) Bonus This is a top five list, but as previously mentioned, numerous well-read insuring cannabis stories had to do with states and legalization. Following are some of the more popular among those: Topics Cannabis San Francisco, California-based Coalition named Jennifer Livingstone head of strategic agency management. Livingstone has more than 25 years of leadership experience in broker management, business development, marketing, underwriting, operations, and sales management at both insurance carriers and insurtechs. Livingstone was most recently chief marketing officer at CNA Insurance. Prior to joining CNA, Livingstone was a vice president at Cyence, a predictive analytics start-up focused on modeling cyber risk and accumulation for the financial services industry, acquired by Guidewire in 2018. Coalition is a provider of cyber insurance and security, combining comprehensive insurance and proactive cybersecurity tools to help businesses manage and mitigate cyber risk. LP Insurance Services LLC added Steve Cooper to the Truckee/Tahoe commercial insurance team. Cooper will serve commercial clients across the Truckee/Tahoe community and beyond. He has an emphasis on commercial risk especially construction and the outdoor industries. Cooper has nearly 20 years of experience in financial services and insurance. Reno, Nevada-based LP Insurance Services is a risk management and insurance brokerage firm specializing in property/casualty, surety, workers compensation, employee benefits, personal and risk management services. Topics California Commercial Lines Business Insurance The Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in late December will result in roughly $1 billion in losses, according to a report from catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co. On Dec. 30, a devastating late-season wildfire started off of State Highway 93 and Marshall Road in unincorporated Boulder County. The fire was contained after the area received roughly 10 inches of snow on December 31 The blaze is considered the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. The previous record belonged the East Troublesome Fire in 2020, which destroyed more than 500 structures and cost nearly $500 million in insured losses. Months of unusually warm and dry weather along the Colorado Front Range primed the environment for the fast-spreading Marshall Fire, according to the report from Karen Clark & Co. Precipitation had been at record lows in the region since July, and Denver had just experienced its second warmest fall season on record, the report states. The unseasonably hot and dry weather led to desiccated vegetation throughout the state, which can easily ignite and spread fire. The exact cause of the Marshall Fire is still under investigation, but the modeling firm noted that an intense, downslope wind event that impacted the Colorado Front Range assisted with the fast rate of spread. The strong winds on the morning of December 30 were flowing nearly due east across the high peaks of the Colorado Rockies in the mid-levels of the atmosphere. By midday, an amplified mountain wave had developed over the Front Range and began to bring those strong mid-level winds to the surface, where gusts of over 100 mph began to be reported, the report states. The report notes that in Colorado, the wildfire season does not typically extend into the winter, as snow cover and cold temperatures prevent fire spread, but the Marshall Fire is part of a general trend of a lengthening fire season and drier fuels in the Western U.S. due to warming global temperatures. The Marshall fire burned roughly 6,000 acres and devastated entire subdivisions throughout Superior, Louisville, and unincorporated Boulder County. A breakdown of the damage totals by location is as follows: Louisville: 553 destroyed, 45 damaged Superior: 332 destroyed, 60 damaged Unincorporated Boulder County: 106 destroyed, 22 damaged The majority of damage occurred in Louisville, a suburban area about 20 miles northwest of Denver. Hundreds of homes and a large commercial area, including a shopping center and a hotel, were among the destroyed structures. Related: Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Profit Loss Wildfire Colorado France's data privacy watchdog CNIL said on Thursday it had fined Alphabet's Google a record 150m for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms' Facebook was also fined 60m for the same reason, the CNIL said. "The CNIL has found that the facebook.com, google.fr and youtube.com websites do not allow to refuse cookies as easily as it is to accept them", the watchdog said in a statement, also citing Google's video-streaming platform. The authority said the two companies had three months to comply with its orders or face an extra penalty payment of 100,000 per day of delay. These include the obligation for Google and Facebook to provide French internet users simpler tools for refusing cookies, in order to guarantee their consent. The CNIL said that while Google and Facebook provided a virtual button to allow the immediate acceptance for cookies, there was no equivalent to refuse them as easily. "People trust us to respect their right to privacy and keep them safe. We understand our responsibility to protect that trust and are committing to further changes and active work with the CNIL in light of this decision," a Google spokesperson said. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters A birthday celebration fit for a queen has pivoted to a memorial for the last of Americas treasured Golden Girls. On what wouldve been her 100th birthday, Betty Whites hometown is set to pay a fitting tribute to the late television icon. The star, who died Dec. 31, just three weeks shy of her Jan. 17 centennial, will have a day named after her in Oak Park, Ill. Advertisement Betty White accepts the legend award at the TV Land Awards in 2015, in Beverly Hills. (Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Betty White, as a true optimist, made the choice every day to be happy, Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman told the Daily News. Embracing the memory of her amazing life and taking the time to honor her feels like a symbol of hope. She has given us so much to smile and laugh to. We are proud to know and celebrate her connection to the Village of Oak Park. Due to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance on Jan. 17, event organizer Lourdes Nicholls told The News Thursday that official festivities will commence Jan. 15 at 10 a.m. Advertisement Oak Park is not quite St. Olaf, but we are proud to be Betty Whites real hometown, Nicholls said, referencing the Minnesota birthplace of Whites Golden Girls character Rose Nylund. We look forward to celebrating her on Jan. 15. The event will include a giant birthday cake, a Betty White mural contest, a pet adoption event and the lighting of the local Lake Theatres marquee. Local businesses will feature specials of Whites favorite foods which she named in a 2012 interview as hot dogs and Red Vines and potato chips and French fries. A performance by Cindy Fee, the fellow Oak Parker who sang the iconic Golden Girls theme song Thank You for Being a Friend, is also scheduled. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > Though raised in Los Angeles since early childhood, White, the star of sitcoms such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland, was born in Oak Park in 1922. Scaman is scheduled to give a proclamation for Betty White Day, and a representative from the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest will give a speech on what Oak Park looked like 100 years ago. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 45 Hollywood's favorite "Golden Girl" Betty White died Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. The incredible actress had a career spanning more than 70 years, with notable performances in shows like "Golden Girls" and "Hot in Cleveland." In honor of the beloved icon, take a look back at the life and career of Betty White. (D Dipasupil/Filmmagic) Whites 100th birthday is also being celebrated on social media with the Twitter hashtag #BettyWhiteChallenge, encouraging fans to donate $5 or more to local animal shelters or rescue organizations in her name, or adopt a shelter pet. The five-time Emmy Award winner and Television Hall of Famer famously championed care and love for all animals. Both my mother and father were tremendous animal lovers, she told Smithsonian magazine in 2012. They imbued in me the fact that, to me, there isnt an animal on the planet that I dont find fascinating and want to learn more about. Advertisement That year, she authored the book, Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo. HSE chief executive Paul Reid has apologised to families of high-risk children still waiting for a vaccination appointment, and said the delays should not have happened. About 10,000 children were registered by their parents or guardians as high-risk onto the HSE booking system in late December on the understanding they would be prioritised for vaccination. However, many parents who spoke to the Irish Examiner earlier this week said they were shocked to see children from the not-at-risk groups getting vaccinated before they even had an appointment date for their child. I am extremely sorry that some of the vulnerable children didnt get their vaccine in the appropriate time, Paul Reid told a press briefing. We are sorry that those children didnt get their appointments in the proper time. He said there were problems with scheduling at a number of large centres around the country with appointments offered for not-at-risk children first. This was being fixed throughout yesterday and today. Up to this afternoon, he said, there were about 200 high-risk children still waiting on appointment dates, and he expected this to be finalised shortly. In all, more than 70,000 children aged five to 11 have now registered on the booking system, with the age group estimated to include about 480,000 children. So far, 6,500 children of this age have been vaccinated, mainly in mass vaccination centres, but a small number of severely ill children received the vaccine in hospitals. Meanwhile, the booster campaign has slowed down compared to the rush for shots before Christmas, Mr Reid said, adding that health officials are concerned that people are "dropping off". He urged people to come forward as all age groups are now open. Mr Reid said one issue is the large number of Covid cases currently, as anyone who has the virus must wait for three months before getting a booster shot. Cases identified since Christmas Day now make up 25% of all cases during the past 12 months. Over 2.27m booster doses or additional doses for immuno-compromised people have been administered, meaning 62% of the eligible population have received a booster. Within that number, 91% of people aged over 70 are now boosted and 85% of people in their 60s. However, among younger people, the number is much lower with just 34% of people aged 30 to 39 and younger people who got the Janssen vaccine boosted. HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry urged people to get vaccinated, saying 51% of patients in intensive care are unvaccinated, even though they make up less than 6% of the population generally. A further 3% are partially vaccinated, he said, with many vaccinated people in intensive care having serious underlying conditions. HSE data shows last week 3,000 people attended to get their first dose and this continues to be offered. Professor Ross Morgan, respiratory consultant with Beaumont Hospital, said most unvaccinated patients he has seen in intensive care are under-50. We had a number of family groups, parents and children in their 30s and 40s, he told the briefing referring to unvaccinated patients. Scientists in the US and Europe are creating risky self-spreading viruses in the hope of developing viral vaccines, a new paper has warned. The paper, written by an international team of academics led by Kings College London, warns the research could have irreversible consequences for the planet. According to the paper, scientists are currently attempting to modify the viruses in the lab to spread easily between hosts. The scientists hope the viruses could be used like insecticides to protect crops, or even used like a vaccine to spread immunity from one host to another. The authors, led by Dr Filippa Lentzos, of the Department of War Studies and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Kings College London, say these scientists are ignoring the long-held view that self-spreading viruses are too unstable to be safe. In a statement, Dr Lentzos said the research is an example of risky virology similar to virus hunting in bat caves. Developing self-spreading viruses for environmental release is another example of risky virology research, like virus hunting in bat caves or deliberately making dangerous pathogens even more dangerous in the lab, all in the name of pandemic preparedness, but where it is far from clear that the anticipated benefits outweigh the very clear risks. The authors of the paper have called for greater regulation and an open discussion about the risks and benefits of such research. Only a concerted, global governance effort with coherent regional, national and local implementation can tackle the challenges of self-spreading viruses that have the potential to radically transform both wildlife and human communities, they said. According to the reports authors, the concept of self-spreading viruses has been around for years, with attempts to use them on insects and wildlife in Australia and Spain respectively abandoned over warnings that the potential consequences were too serious. However, 2016 saw renewed interest in the idea, with the European Union, the US National Institutes of Health and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funding proposals around using self-spreading viruses for wildlife immunisations. Burma Myanmar Junta Soldiers Killed in Clash With TNLA Members of the Taang National Liberation Army on the frontline in northern Shan State in September 2019. / The Irrawaddy At least four Myanmar junta soldiers were killed on Wednesday and six others injured in fighting with the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Namkham, northern Shan State. The clashes are the first this year between ethnic armed group the TNLA and the military regime. Fighting between the TNLA and the Myanmar military has intensified since 2012, but lessened last year. Since the February 1 coup, the TNLA has clashed occasionally with junta troops, as well as with another Shan State-based ethnic armed group, the Restoration Council of Shan State. After the clash on Wednesday afternoon, regime forces fired artillery rounds at TNLA fighters who were operating close to Namkhams hospital, according to locals. A local resident said that the TNLA came to the towns hospital to search for something or someone, but said he didnt know what they were looking for. They fired about six or seven artillery rounds. It was very loud and we heard that about five or six civilians near the hospital were injured, said the resident. Some locals think that the TNLAs presence in Namkham may be connected to a shooting in the towns Myoma Market on Tuesday, when two TNLA fighters were killed. The Irrawaddy was unable to contact the TNLAs spokesperson for comment. A Taang community news site, Shwe Pee Myay News Agency, said that six civilians from Hona Village, including a two-year-old child, a five-year-old child and two elderly women in their sixties were injured by the regime shelling. The children were hit in their foreheads, shoulders and on their hands, while two adults suffered stomach wounds. Along with three other ethnic armed groups, the TNLA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance based in northeast Myanmar. Another alliance member, the Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, has clashed repeatedly with junta forces in the last few weeks. The Brotherhood Alliance has condemned the juntas Christmas Eve massacre in Kayah States Hpruso Township, when at least 35 civilians including two aid workers were tortured and burned to death by junta soldiers. You may also like these stories: Touting Its Friends, Myanmar Regime Only Underscores Its Isolation Junta Court Rejects Appeal for Myanmars Ousted Ruling Party Vice-Chair ASEAN Acknowledges Illegality of Myanmars Military Coup Burma Touting Its Friends, Myanmar Regime Only Underscores Its Isolation Myanmar regime leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing at the Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March 2021. / Cncds Its safe to say that Myanmars military regime is one of the worlds loneliest administrations, with many nations reluctant even to send a courtesy message extending congratulations on the countrys Independence Day, let alone on other occasions. Since its power grab from the countrys democratically elected government in February, and following its brutal crackdowns on protesters last year, the junta has been largely ostracized by the international community. Western countries have imposed a series of sanctions against its members and their families. The UN still refuses to consider its request to replace Myanmars current pro-democracy ambassador to the world organization. Closer to home, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to which Myanmar belongs, has excluded coup leader Min Aung Hlaing from its summits over his failure to implement a promised peace plan. In short, Myanmars military regime lacks international recognition and its leaders have become social and political outcasts as a result of the coup. Thenunknowinglythey confessed as much! The admission came in the form of self-aggrandizing propaganda printed in the regimes state-run newspapers on TuesdayMyanmars 74th annual Independence Dayand Wednesday. The papers dutifully published felicitations from foreign heads of state to coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to mark Independence Day. Those foreign heads of state are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cambodian King Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko. The regimes appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin also received messages from his Russian, Cambodian, Serbian and North Korean counterparts. For the regime, printing the messages was a proud boast to show that it has supporters despite the Wests moves to isolate it. Of course, receiving felicitations from just five countries when you officially have diplomatic relations with 125 is quite ridiculous. In other words, it is a clear testament to the regimes continued lack of international recognition and legitimacy, despite nearly a year having elapsed since it seized power. If you pay closer attention to the senders, youll see that all are more or less pariah states, while some have leaders with personal interests in the regime. Russia, Serbia and Belarus sell arms to the Myanmar military, while Cambodias prime minister is trying to promote himself as a so-called peace broker between Myanmar and ASEAN. North Korea is a hermit state under a dictatorship. Missing from the list is China, India and Thailand. Their absence is made all the more conspicuous by the fact that the regime occasionally praises them as our good neighborsChina for its reliable vetos of any resolutions critical of the regime at the UN Security Council, and India for its assistance with military hardware. As for Thailand, Min Aung Hlaing has personal ties with elites in the countrys leadership. It would be fair to recall the worlds reaction to Myanmars Independence Day one year ago, under the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy government, which was later ousted by the coup. For the record, both President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were showered with felicitations from such global dignitaries as Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II, Xi Jinping, Joko Widodo, Moon Jae-in and others. In a nutshell, the NLD government still received a total of 38 messages from heads of state near and far, from North America and Europe to the Middle East and Africa, Asia and Australia, as well as the Caribbean nation of Cuba, despite international condemnation for its silence on the militarys mistreatment of the Rohingya. You may also like these stories: Rohingya Without Myanmar ID Not Being Given COVID-19 Jab: Junta Myanmar Junta Troops Killed in Sagaing and Kayah Myanmars UN Ambassador to Stay On: UN Sources Burma Yangon Vehicle Ramming Commander Honored by Myanmar Junta Leader Three protesters killed by the military pickup truck in Yangon on Dec. 5. (From left) Vice Senior General Soe Win, Dhammasut Chekinda, Tilaka Bhivamsa, Dr. Aung Kyaw Win. The junta officer who organized the ramming attack on peaceful anti-regime protesters in Yangon last month is among those honored for his outstanding performance under military rule. To mark Myanmars Independence Day on Jan. 4, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing honored more than 1,000 staff, including soldiers, police, ministries staff and several hundred assassinated ward administrators. Colonel Naing Bo Bo of Infantry Battalion 82, who led the troops who attacked the flash mob in Kyimyindaing Township in early December, was praised for his brave services and heroism, according to junta-run newspapers. Min Aung Hlaings deputy, Vice Senior General Soe Win, was also honored. Monks Dhammasuta Chekinda from the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University and Tilawka Bhivamsa, influential Buddhist nationalists with close connections to the regime and military families, were among 300 religious figures acknowledged by Min Aung Hlaing for their outstanding performances in religious affairs. Dr. Aung Kyaw Win, the husband of regime-appointed minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, Daw Thet Thet Khine, was honored. According to a mission report for the Yangon ramming leaked by a soldier, the attack was organized by Naing Bo Bo. Troops drove a pickup truck into protesters, reportedly killing five and injuring several others, including two journalists covering the protest. However, the regime claimed 11 people, including a woman with serious injuries, were detained at the protest. The regime did not mention the vehicle attack or deaths. The United Nations condemned that attack and called for accountability. Ramanathan Balakrishnan, the UN resident coordinator in Myanmar, said last month: I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and pass on my deepest condolences to the families of all those who were killed or injured. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and todays action by security forces is completely unacceptable. Those responsible for excessive and disproportionate use of force against unarmed civilians must be held to account. Following the attack, resistance fighters across Myanmar escalated attacks on regime forces. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Junta Soldiers Killed in Clash With TNLA Touting Its Friends, Myanmar Regime Only Underscores Its Isolation Junta Court Rejects Appeal for Myanmars Ousted Ruling Party Vice-Chair We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Were working to cover how COVID-19 is affecting our region. Tell us your story. Have you or someone close to you been monitored, quarantined or tested and can you share about the process? Are you a medical professional dealing with this who wants to share your experience and needs at this time? Are you a student or worker affected by closures? Are there questions you have about the coronavirus and COVID-19 response that havent been answered? We want to hear about your experience. We understand this is a sensitive and private issue and we are willing to protect your identity if you request it. Today Sunny. High around 95F. SSE winds at less than 5 mph, increasing to 10 to 15 mph. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Mainly sunny. High 92F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Profile: 86-yr-old agronomist spreads seeds of corn, hope in China Xinhua) 09:55, January 06, 2022 Cheng Xiangwen observes the growth of corns at the field of a cultivating base in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) HAIKOU, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- For his 86th birthday, Cheng Xiangwen enjoyed a corn-shaped cake his colleagues prepared for him. "My birthday wish is to develop better corn varieties," he said. After the celebration, he embarked on yet another journey to Sanya, in south China's Hainan Province, where he worked for a big chunk of his life. Cheng, 86, is an agronomist and spends most of his life studying and cultivating corn. He comes to Sanya in November every year and stays for six months for corn breeding. Cheng's work forms part of China's efforts to strengthen agriculture and food security. Over the years, China's policies on ensuring food security have played a significant role in elevating the living standards of its 1.4 billion people and contributed to world food security. Ensuring food security will remain a priority in the country's agricultural development in 2022. During the annual central rural work conference held last month, Chinese leaders reiterated that the nation must secure its food supply at all times, urging all relevant parties to play their part in protecting farmland and stabilizing grain output. "GOLD BEANS" Cheng is a native of central China's Henan Province, a massive corn production base. After graduating in 1963, Cheng became an agrotechnician in Henan's Xunxian County. At that time, the county saw a meager average annual corn output of 750 kg per hectare. Once, when he was conducting a field survey, a local farming lady said to him in tears: "You graduated from college. Could you please find a way to boost the corn output here? If the yields are higher, our children will no longer suffer from hunger." Since then, Cheng has made breeding high-yield corn varieties his life goal. In 1964, he came to Hainan, where it was warmer, and started breed work there. He slashed the cultivation period and created hybrid corn breeds for the first time. With these new breeds, farmers in Xunxian County saw their average corn output exceed 3,750 kg per hectare per year. Local farmers described his seeds as "golden beans." Despite the beautiful coastline, the environment where Cheng works used to be plagued by grinding poverty and poor traffic. A local slang once described the environment as having rampant rats, mosquitoes, leeches, and poisonous snakes. At that time, he did everything on his own. He went back and forth between the cornfield and a public toilet several kilometers away to manure the field. He lived in a local villager's house for over 20 years. He frequently went to the deep mountains to chop firewood to cook during this time. HARVESTING His hard work has paid off. Now, authorities have approved 14 new, high-yield corn varieties Cheng helped develop. Soon, Cheng will spend his 57th Chinese Lunar New Year at the cultivating base in Sanya. Now, he heads a research team of more than 10 members. The research facilities there are much better. Cheng is dedicated to breeding high-yield corn varieties with stronger resistance that are easier to harvest with machines. He still goes to the fields each day and observes and records the corn plants. "Cultivating seeds is like raising kids. Only by careful parenting can you become familiar with their strengths and weaknesses and help them grow healthy," he said. Cheng Xiangwen observes the growth of corns at the field of a cultivating base in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) Cheng Xiangwen works at the corn field of a cultivating base in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) Cheng Xiangwen observes the growth of corns at the field of a cultivating base in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) This is no game. South Korean model-turned Squid Game breakout Hoyeon Jung, the most-followed Korean actress on Instagram, has made history as the first Korean to land a solo Vogue cover, CNN reported Thursday. Advertisement The 27-year-old, who stars on the Netflix hit as North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, is the cover star of the magazines February issue. HoYeon Jung attends the 2021 Gotham Awards Presented By The Gotham Film & Media Institute on Nov. 29, 2021 in New York. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) The landmark achievement isnt exactly surprising though, even if it is overdue. Advertisement With the success of the dystopian series, which hit Netflix in September and quickly became an international sensation on and offline, Hoyeon went from 400,000 to 15 million Instagram followers in a mere three weeks, according to the cover story. As of Thursday, that number had ballooned to 23.7 million for the Koreas Next Top Model runner-up. Even if eight people loved me and only two people hated me, I always cried, at home alone, she told Vogue. Even now, I struggle with low-self-esteem. Jung Ho-yeon is seen in "Squid Game." (Noh Juhan | Netflix/Netflix) But whatever fame she garnered as a result of that experience has nothing on the past few months. Following Next Top Model, Hoyeon signed with a New York modeling agency, moved to the Big Apple until a Squid Game callback beckoned her home at the start of the pandemic studied English, martial arts and acting and fell in love with the prospect of the latter as her modeling job offers were harder to come by. Looking back, she told Vogue, If not for those quiet and lonely times [watching cerebral films], I dont know that I would have ever dreamed of acting. As for her newfound global fame which hit over a period of days Hoyeon said she lost eight pounds as she struggled to grasp the intensity of the situation. I dont know why, but I couldnt eat. I was so confused, and it was so chaotic. I didnt believe it. I didnt trust it, she told Vogue, noting her family didnt let it get to her head. My mom did joke that my acting was very realistic, like when Im being mean to her. ... My younger sister ... just thinks of me as her older sibling. Jacksonville, TX (75766) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low around 70F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Staff Writer Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Jonesborough, healthcare and higher education. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019. As Florida lawmakers get ready for another session that convenes Tuesday, affordable housing advocates are worried about keeping dedicated funding and the home insurance industry is pondering what might be done about soaring costs. Jaimie Ross, president and CEO of Florida Housing Coalition, says the No. 1 concern for her organization is always the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund, which allocates money to affordable housing and other programs. Advertisement What we are looking for this is to see that the Legislature keeps its promise and that not a penny is swept, she said. The Sadowski Fund sets aside a portion of taxes generated by home sales to build affordable homes in the state. Since its founding in 1992, legislators have raided the fund for pet projects and other state needs. Advertisement Last year, Florida passed a bill that permanently took half of the fund for other concerns, but promised that the other half would be used strictly for housing. If these provisions hold, the fund is set to receive $209.2 million this year, the largest amount appropriated in more than 10 years. Even losing 50%, housing is getting more money than it has been getting, Ross said. Ross gave credit to Gov. Ron DeSantis for requesting the full amount in his proposed budget, which she said the governor has done every year hes been in office. Now, she says shes waiting to see if lawmakers agree. Also on Ross radar is SB 788, the Hometown Hero program, which grants loans to first responders, educators and other government and medical employees to help with down payments on new homes. Ross said she wants to make sure the legislators dont use Sadowski funds to pay for it. Ross said her organization is also hopeful for HB 495/SB 1150, which gives municipalities the right to grant tax exemptions for affordable housing. And shes interested in HB 511/SB 648, prohibiting agencies from using an eviction during the pandemic against new tenant applicants. We are very concerned that people who get evicted could end up homeless, she said. Both bills could face tough sledding in the Republican-controlled House and Senate. Michael Carlson, president and CEO of the insurance lobbying organization Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, said he predicts a relatively quiet legislative session on issues of property insurance. Advertisement Its not that he doesnt see issues to tackle, mainly rising home insurance costs. Rates are increasing by double digits in many parts of the state, he said. If we keep going, people are not going to be able to afford homes because they cant afford the insurance. Carlson points to legislation from last year that was aimed at attorneys fees for litigating insurance claims, a move that was intended to reduce the number of what Carlson calls predatory roofing claims. Part of that legislation was struck down as unconstitutional. Carlson believes there may be some attempts to retool it. However, the fight to get the legislation passed last year pit two of the states biggest lobbies, insurance and trial attorneys, at odds. It took a lot out of people to get that passed, he said. Carlson also is concerned about the growing size of the state-run Citizens Property Insurance, which insures houses at lower rates for people who cant find home insurance in the mainstream market. Advertisement The growing number of customers for Citizens puts all Florida taxpayers at risk of having to cover the company if it suffers a catastrophic loss. As of its most recent report, Citizens has 715,516 policies, representing more than $211 billion in property. Sen. Jeff Brandes. R-St. Petersburg, has put forward SB 186, which allows surplus line insurers to be part of take-out programs and other measures designed to get customers off of Citizens. Carlson suggested that Citizens is charging too little in premiums. Its really too competitive, Carlson said of the state-run company. We need to bring it more in line with other insurers. Finally, HB 325/SB 512 has caught the eye of Denis Hanks, executive director for Florida Vacation Rental Management Alliance. The bills, submitted by Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, and Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, respectively, would collect sales tax from sites such as Airbnb and VRBO and make people renting their houses subject to local ordinances in place for vacation rentals. Advertisement Hanks says a few of the provisions would be hard on those who are maybe only renting out one or two properties and not going through the big platforms. I think the thing were looking for is standardization across the board, he said. Our goal is just to make it more palatable to those small-time operators. Want to reach out? Email tfraser@orlandosentinel.com. Follow TIFraserOS on Twitter. Joplin, MO (64801) Today Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 48F. S winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. On Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, Christ Reformed United Church of Christ of Martinsburg honored its 50- and 75-year members. A small ceremony was held during worship in which the honorees were called forward and presented with certificates in commemoration of this milestone. Immediately following the service, a light reception was held in the chapel, consisting of cake, cookies and punch. A total of six members were honored. These included 50-year members Darlene Bauer, James W. Jim Dailey II, Mary Catherine Kackley and Dorothy Wolf, as well as 75-year members Sue Henry and William E. Bill Taylor. As the omicron variant of COVID-19 rages across the U.S., the spread has forced at least one cruise line to call off some sailings from Florida. Norwegian Cruise Line said Thursday it had canceled the remainder of an 11-night Panama Canal sailing of the Norwegian Pearl that departed Miami on Monday as well as a planned nine-night Caribbean sailing of the Norwegian Getaway from Miami due to COVID related circumstances. Advertisement The ships are not alone, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitoring case reports on every ship sailing with passengers from the U.S. The CDC stated that for the two-week period from Dec. 15-29, all cruise lines reported 5,013 COVID-19 cases, compared to 162 from Nov. 30-Dec. 14. Our first priority is the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit. Due to ongoing travel restrictions, weve had to modify a few sailings, according to an update on the cruise lines website. Advertisement The line has also pushed planned restarts on six other ships in the U.S. and overseas including the Pride of America in Hawaii to March 5 instead of Jan. 22. Other ships delayed until at least March include Norwegian Jewel from Panama, Norwegian Jade from Rome, Norwegian Star from Barcelona, Norwegian Sun in Asia and Norwegian Spirit in Australia. Passengers look out from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, as it sails back to PortMiami in Miami. The ship left on Monday on an 11-day trip to the Panama Canal, but it had to return after several crew and staff tested positive for COVID-19. (Marta Lavandier/AP) Advertisement The passengers who returned to Florida after less than two days aboard the Pearl said they were told it was because crew members had become ill with coronavirus. They were back in Miami on Wednesday, the same day passengers were supposed to depart on Norwegian Getaway. Matt Daly, of Surf City, North Carolina, said he drove to Miami for that cruise, and that although it was canceled late Tuesday, Daly and his wife were driving overnight and did not see the notification until they arrived at the port Wednesday. Im never leaving North Carolina, Daly said. Too much of a hassle. As of Wednesday, the CDC has investigations for all 92 cruise ships sailing in the U.S. with passengers after each ship reported COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the omicron variant. Each of the ships are classified as Yellow in the CDCs color-coded status, meaning they either had at least 0.1% of passengers test positive for COVID-19, or have had at least one crew member test positive. That means if a ship is sailing with 4,000 passengers, that four or more have tested positive. The only ships approved for sailing from the U.S. with the less severe orange or green status are those that have yet to sail with passengers. No ship is listed as red status, meaning the facilities on board to deal with any sort of COVID-19 outbreak have been overwhelmed. Advertisement Elsewhere in the world, Royal Caribbean had to cancel its planned Thursday voyage aboard Spectrum of the Seas from Hong Kong after the Hong Kong Department of Health notified the line that a person infected with COVID-19 had been in close contact with nine people on board. According to a statement from the cruise line, those nine guests were quarantined, and all tested negative after PCR tests, but the ship returned to port on Wednesday so all crew and guests could be tested. A required second round of testing Friday for the crew meant the line had to cancel the sailing. The CDC raised to the highest level its travel risk assessment for cruises on Dec. 30 stating that cruise travel should be avoided no matter passengers vaccination status. Jim Harvey holds on to his bags and he and his wife Anita, second from right, of Ocala, Fla., wait for a taxi after disembarking from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in Miami. The ship left on Monday on an 11-day trip to the Panama Canal, but it had to return after several crew and staff tested positive for COVID-19. (Marta Lavandier/AP) Despite the increase in CDC investigations in the U.S., NCL has been the only line so far to cancel a sailing because of COVID-19 since the industry slowly started getting back to business last summer after having been shut down for 18 months after the pandemic brought cruises to a halt in March 2020. The long effort to get ships back to business included moving from a CDC no-sail order to a conditional sail order that required lines to impose more than 80 COVID-19 safety protocols such as carving out space on board to deal with positive cases so that passengers and crew could be quarantined in the event of an outbreak. That conditional sail order remains in effect, but will become a voluntary program on Jan. 15. The order was already voluntary for ships sailing out of Florida after the state brought a federal lawsuit against the CDC and won a temporary injunction. Despite that ruling, cruise lines have all adhered to the safety protocols and are expected to continue those protocols after Jan. 15. Advertisement That includes wearing masks in indoor spaces and when social distancing isnt possible. Cruise lines have also required vaccines for passengers and crew as well as proof of negative COVID-19 tests ahead of departures. With those protocols in place, cruise line officials have insisted ships remain safe options for vacations, even though cruise lines were at the center of some deadly COVID-19 outbreaks when the pandemic first emerged in early 2020, prompting the industry shutdown. Last week Royal Caribbean Group Chairman & CEO Richard Fain said the omicron variant will affect travelers in the short-term, but with it not being as severe as previous variants of COVID-19, the long-term outlook for the industry remains strong. Omicron is having a big short-term impact on everyone, but many observers see this as a major step toward COVID-19 becoming endemic rather than epidemic, Fain said. We dont like to see even one case, but our experience is a fraction of the comparable statistics of virtually any other comparable location or industry. Cruise lines under Royal Caribbean Group, which also include Celebrity and Silversea, sailed with more than 1.1 million passengers since restart efforts, according to a company press release. Of those, 1,745 people had positive tests, a positivity rate of 0.16%. Those numbers dont include recent sailings with the increased number of positive omicron results. Advertisement The company is navigating through the ever-evolving information on the omicron variant, said Royal Caribbean Groups Chief Medical Officer Dr. Calvin Johnson. Our case count has spiked, but the level of severity is significantly milder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Associated Press contributed to this article. Living Reporter and Theatre Critic Tim covers leisure and arts, and he is also a theater critic. He interned for the JI in 2015, and was hired in 2016. Tim graduated from UConn, Central College of McPherson, Kansas, and American Musical & Dramatic Academy. His favorite movie is "Jaws." State Reporter Eric covers state government and does special projects. Eric joined the JI in June 2014. He graduated from CCSU, and his hobbies include speaking truth to power and exposing hypocrisy. He is a fan of the New York Giants and Metallica. Reporter Susan covers the towns of Somers and Enfield. She joined the JI in May 2021 and graduated from Skidmore College. She recently completed docent training for the Wadsworth Atheneum and hopes to start giving tours some time next year. After 103 days of hearings in the trial against Anwar Raslan, the Koblenz court closed the collection of evidence on the 1st of December. In the last weeks of 2021, the prosecution and joint plaintiffs presented their final statements. They argued that half of the 58 deaths in the indictment and all of the 4.000 cases of torture had been proven over one and a half years of trial. All of them demanded a lifelong prison sentence for Raslan. Six of the plaintiffs as well as seven of their lawyers made statements, adding some political and personal arguments to the prosecutors legal assessment, and criticizing some shortcomings in the worldwide first trial against Syrian regime officials. Since April 2020, dozens of witnesses have testified about secret service Branch 251, or al-Khatib branch, in Damascus, where defendant Anwar Raslan was the head of investigations. He is accused of crimes against humanity that allegedly occurred under his responsibility in the branch and its underground prison. Since Raslans co-defendant Eyad al-Gharib was convicted for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity in February, the prosecution did not spend much time speaking about the framework of the crimes. The February verdict had defined what happened in Syria after 2011 as a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population, meaning crimes against humanity. Therefore, the pleas in Raslans case focused mostly on his individual contribution to those crimes. As a colonel in Branch 251, the prosecutors argued that he was responsible for the torture during and after interrogations, as well as for the general conditions in the prison that themselves amounted to torture. Many of the inmates had been closer to death than to life, said prosecutor Jasper Klinge: Many are broken until today. Their tears and their unbelievably deep sadness that wrapped every word they spoke, every gesture and sometimes even the whole courtroom into a dark veil were proof of their dire condition. A high-ranking meeting in 2012 One of the main lines of Raslans defense had been that despite his rank and position he had lost all his authority in the branch in spring 2011, after he had helped so many prisoners that he was seen as disloyal by his superiors. The prosecutors took their time to dismantle this argument that the defendant himself had presented in his initial statement. They argued that he had never mentioned this before the beginning of the trial, even though he would have had several opportunities to do so, for example during his asylum procedure and when he filed a complaint with the Berlin police. They also quoted a witness who knew that the colonel was present at an important meeting with the highest ranking secret service officers, as late as November 2012. It is ridiculous to assume that he would have been invited to such an elitist meeting if he had been considered untrustworthy, argued Klinge. His statement does not make sense. It is not logical that the regime would leave a secret service officer who is considered disloyal in his position pro forma. In addition, he mentioned several ex-prisoners who had testified that they met Raslan during their detention and saw him give orders or make decisions. Raslan himself had listed some of these to speak in his favor, since he had treated them well and released them from the branch. The prosecution, however, came to a different conclusion: He was either powerless, then he could not have helped prisoners, or he wasnt. Both is not possible. The therapeutic effect of the trial Regarding the number of victims, the prosecution stuck to its original number of 4.000 cases of torture, as mentioned in the indictment. Based on testimonies of several witnesses and secret service insiders who had mentioned the number of prisoners in Branch 251, they estimated a total number of 4.000 prisoners during the time of the crimes. Since the first verdict in February 2021 had stated that the prison conditions in the branch amounted to torture, the prosecution counted every inmate as a victim. They found that 30 deaths had been proven 28 less than originally indicted and as many as eleven of them on the testimony of Raslans former co-defendant Eyad al-Gharib. Considering the high number of victims and the long duration of the crimes, the prosecution not only demanded a lifelong prison sentence for Raslan. They asked the court to acknowledge the particular severity of his guilt, which would make it impossible for him to benefit from an early release even after he has spent 15 years in jail, as is the case with conventional life sentences. During his plea, prosecutor Klinge quoted the Jewish Austrian poet Jean Amery who had been persecuted by the Nazis. Amery wrote that whoever has succumbed to torture can no longer feel at home in this world. Klinge went on to say that he hoped this trial had helped some of the survivors of al-Khatib feel that sense of belonging once again. And indeed, the joint plaintiffs who gave their statements during the following two weeks, pointed out the positive effect that the trial had had on them. I used to tell people the story of how I was detained and my rights were abused, said Ruham Hawash. Now that story continues, and I can tell them how I helped hold one of the perpetrators accountable. Another plaintiff, who had worked as a psychiatrist in Syria, compared his experience of the trial with psychotherapy. He referred to the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl who said that one needs to find purpose in suffering in order to survive. My participation in this trial, as hard as it may have been, has helped me find that purpose, he said, adding that he wanted to contribute to uncovering the regimes torture machinery and make sure that these crimes would not happen again. Ask God for forgiveness Another plaintiff, the Syrian blogger and ex-detainee Hussein Ghrer, spoke about the crime of enforced disappearance. He compared the disappeared person to Schroedingers cat: nobody on the outside knows whether they are dead or alive. And because of that uncertainty, he said, it was one of the most painful experiences for friends and family. With more than a hundred thousand Syrians still missing, the issue of enforced disappearances plays a major role in the Syrian diasporas fight for justice. Not in the Koblenz trial, however: the request by the joint plaintiffs to include this crime to the indictment against Raslan had not been supported by the prosecution and had been rejected by the court. This point was emphasized again by the plaintiffs lawyers. In addition, they criticized the courts lack of outreach to the Syrian community, its refusal to offer translation for the public gallery, and the fact that a regional court like the one in Koblenz did not have the means for protecting witnesses that would be necessary in an international trial. Other trials will have to deal with these same challenges, said lawyer Anna Oehmichen, which is why it is important to learn from this one. All the more disappointing that the court had refused to record the hearings and even the final pleas, she added. Finally, all the lawyers as well as the prosecution, called on the defendant to tell the truth. One lawyer, himself a Muslim, appealed to Raslan on religious grounds: If a person has done something bad, our religion offers a solution: to repent earnestly, and to ask God for forgiveness. Blaming his superiors and denying his own responsibility was not going to do the job, he added, and like the other lawyers he urged Raslan to use his last words before the verdict to break his silence and share all the inside information he had on the Syrian secret services. The defense will have their time to answer, starting on January 6. The U.S. is urging that everyone 12 and older get a COVID-19 booster as soon as theyre eligible, to help fight back the hugely contagious omicron mutant thats ripping through the country. Boosters already were encouraged for all Americans 16 and older, but Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed an extra Pfizer shot for younger teens those 12 to 15 and strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds get it, too. Advertisement It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDCs director, said in a statement Wednesday night. This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDCs COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, she said. Advertisement Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19, including omicron what experts say is their most important benefit. But the newest mutant can slip past a layer of the vaccines protection to cause milder infections. Studies show a booster dose at least temporarily revs up virus-fighting antibodies to levels that offer the best chance at avoiding symptomatic infection, even from omicron. Earlier Wednesday, the CDCs independent scientific advisers wrestled with whether a booster should be an option for younger teens, who tend not to get as sick from COVID-19 as adults, or more strongly recommended. Giving teens a booster for a temporary jump in protection against infections is like playing whack-a-mole, cautioned CDC adviser Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University. But she said the extra shot was worth it to help push back the omicron mutant and shield kids from the missed school and other problems that come with even a very mild case of COVID-19. More important, if a child with a mild infection spreads it to a more vulnerable parent or grandparent who then dies, the impact is absolutely crushing, said panelist Dr. Camille Kotton of Massachusetts General Hospital. Lets whack this one down, agreed Dr. Jamie Loehr of Cayuga Family Medicine in Ithaca, New York. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only option for American children of any age. The CDC says about 13.5 million children ages 12 to 17 slightly more than half of that age group have received two Pfizer shots. Boosters were opened to the 16- and 17-year-olds last month. Wednesdays decision means about 5 million of the younger teens who had their last shot in the spring are eligible for a booster right away. New U.S. guidelines say anyone who received two Pfizer vaccinations and is eligible for a booster can get it five months after their last shot, rather than the six months previously recommended. The Health Report Weekly A weekly update on health news in Florida. > But one committee member, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, worried that such a strong recommendation for teen boosters would distract from getting shots into the arms of kids who have not been vaccinated at all. Advertisement The advisers saw U.S. data making clear that symptomatic COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are between seven and 11 times higher in unvaccinated adolescents than vaccinated ones. While children do tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults, child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave -- the vast majority of them unvaccinated. During the public comment part of Wednesdays meeting, Dr. Julie Boom of Texas Childrens Hospital said a booster recommendation for younger teens cannot come soon enough. The chief safety question for adolescents is a rare side effect called myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys who get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The vast majority of cases are mild far milder than the heart inflammation COVID-19 can cause and they seem to peak in older teens, those 16 and 17. The FDA decided a booster dose was as safe for the younger teens as the older ones based largely on data from 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds in Israel who got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose. Israeli officials said Wednesday that theyve seen two cases of mild myocarditis in this age group after giving more boosters, 40,000. Earlier this week, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the side effect occurs in about 1 in 10,000 men and boys ages 16 to 30 after their second shot. But he said a third dose appears less risky, by about a third, probably because more time has passed before the booster than between the first two shots. After stepping down as CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, Jim Hinton joined a well-known private equity firm focused on healthcare and technology. Wales, Carson, Anderson and Stowe Announced on Thursday Hinton will join the company as an operating partner of its medical resources group.Hinton Retire on December 31 As the CEO of the largest non-profit medical system in Texas, he has held this position since 2017. We are very happy to welcome Jim to the WCAS team and start the next chapter in his career, Brian Regan, head of the WCAS healthcare team, said in a statement. Press ReleasesHe has decades of experience in leading major health systems, working with clinicians, and focusing on improving the patient experience, which is extremely valuable to WCAS and our portfolio companies. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe are major players in the healthcare and technology industries, with a total amount of funds raised and managed in excess of US$27 billion in committed capital. In August, his private equity firm Launched a new portfolio company, Valtruis, directs funds to healthcare providers and payers that use a value-based payment model, and has invested $300 million in the joint venture. For many years, I have known and respected the WCAS team and look forward to participating in their diverse team of leading healthcare companies, Hinton said in a new edition. I am particularly excited about the record of WCAS working with the healthcare system to improve the quality, experience and value of patients. Hinton has served as the head of healthcare for 38 years. Before becoming the CEO of Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White, he worked for Presbyterian Healthcare Services in New Mexico for more than 30 years, including 21 years as the CEO. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Hospital Association in 2014. Modern Healthcare has ranked Hinton as one of the 100 most influential people in the healthcare field five times. The last time was in 2021. Under Hintons leadership, Baylor Scott & White took a radical approach to outsourcing, firing hundreds of employees and replacing them with employees from third-party companies.The most recently reported example was early last year when the system Cut about 1,700 jobs Covers five areas that can be outsourced: revenue cycle, health information management, information systems, finance and analysis. Hinton told Modern Healthcare in June that outsourcing can help solve the biggest problem facing healthcare: affordability. His successor Pete McCana declined to say whether outsourcing would continue under his leadership. During Hintons tenure, Baylor Scott & Whites financial situation improved. The operating margin of the system rose from 3.2% in fiscal year 2017 (the year he was at the helm) to nearly 11% in fiscal year 2021, which ended on June 30. Yves here. Lawrence Wilkerson and Paul Jay have a wide-ranging discussion of Americas military posture, with a focus on China and why Team Dem believes it is advantageous to cop an aggressive tude. Wilkerson is quite clear that the US is willing to launch a nuclear war to protect Taiwan, even though neither the Chinese nor Russians want a confrontation with the US. One thing continues to puzzle me. I understand and support the soi-disant lefts desire to end our military adventurism. And its not hard to independently accept the notion that Taiwan is not a hill that the US should be willing to die on. However, what I find harder to understand is the hostility among the left, which Jay exhibits, for at least philosophical and measured pragmatic backing of Taiwan. If you are going to support the rights of Palestinians, how can you not also support Taiwan? By Paul Jay. Originally published at theAnalysis.news Paul Jay Welcome back to theAnalysis.news. This is a continuation of my conversation with Larry Wilkerson. As the year ends, please dont forget the donation button. If you havent and youre watching, and you want to donate, thatd be great. In the U.S., we are a 501 (c)(3). You can share, subscribe, and all that stuff. Well be back in just a few seconds with Larry. President Biden recently held his democracy conference, or whatever it was called. Something like that. Where he invited a whole bunch of countries that under their definitions, the White House definitions, are democracies. Of course, a lot of questions can be raised about who got invited. But that being said, one of the quote-unquote invitees I was about to say countries except theyre not, was Taiwan. What business did Taiwan have to be there? Yeah, they have elections and so on. Still, even according to U.S. law and U.S. diplomacy, Taiwan is supposedly part of One-China, so what is it doing at a conference of countries other than to raise the level of tension with China? Now joining us again to discuss the situation in China and Taiwan is Larry Wilkerson, whos a retired professor. He used to be Chief of Staff to Colin Powell at the State Department, and hes a good friend and regular on theAnalysis. Thanks for joining us again, Larry. Lawrence Wilkerson Good to be with you, Paul. Paul Jay So, this invitation is not a one-off. Theyve been making other moves in some of the UN [United Nations] agencies. Theyre talking about increasing even more arms sales to Taiwan. Theyre getting closer and closer to essentially crossing a line that clearly is a line that will be the most provocative thing the United States could do with China, which comes very close to recognizing Taiwan as an independent entity. I mean, in many respects, they actually really do have short of a formal declaration of independence, and it almost seems like theyre heading in that direction. This is [Donald] Trump-esque in its level of provocation. Whats going on with [Joe] Biden? Lawrence Wilkerson I would say its [George W.] Bush-esque, as in George W., and Richard Cheney-esque, and Donald Rumsfeld-esque. They started it when Chen Shui-bian was the President of Taiwan and wanted to hold a referendum for independence and came very close to doing it with the strong encouragement of Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. So, its not something new. The newness of it is perhaps the fact that China has progressed, and when I say theyve progressed, theyre much more powerful today than they were in 2002 or 2003. Powerful in the sense that, for example, what Bill Clinton did by putting a carrier in the Taiwan Strait would never happen today. No North American sailor is going to take a carrier into the Taiwan Strait. Its too provocative, and it might be provocative to the point where it wound up in Davy Joness locker. So, the situation has really changed in that sense, but in the sense of stupidity, crassness, and very poor diplomacy. The United States seems intent on topping the world again, and again, and again. Taiwan is just another example. Now, I was there for a lot of the early shenanigans, if you will, over Taiwan. I was a Pacific Commander under [William J.] Bill Crowe, then I was under [Ronald] Ron Hayes, and then I was, of course, under Powell when he was Chairman. Yes, every now and then, we have to assert ourselves a bit and do this or do that, and that shows that were still hanging around holding Taiwans coat. You could say that this invitation to the Democratic Convention, or whatever, the credentials I would question at that convention are Americas. Paul Jay Yeah, right. Lawrence Wilkerson Incidentally. Some of my colleagues from around the world sent me emails to that effect, too. How dare you even hold a conference on democracy? Looking at the 6th of January, are you? But anyway, you have to do these sorts of things, and China does them from time to time, too, on the other side of the scales in order to let the other side know youre still alive and you still care. But you dont do it provocatively. You dont do it the way Donald Rumsfeld did. For example, he tried to send himself to Taipei to talk with his counterpart in Taipei. That was on the burner until Powell killed it. So, I dont have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is doing it inexpertly, doing it constantly, and taking it well beyond the art of the deal, which is what we have with China. We have this tacit bargain that China recognizes Taiwan as part of China, and we recognize Taiwan as something if its made part of China by force, well fight over. Thats the tacit bargain, its worked for so long, and its just really stupid to cast it aside without anything to put in its place except bellicosity thats going to be rewarded with a massive defeat in the first confrontation. Paul Jay Defeat for the United States? Lawrence Wilkerson The United States. Paul Jay Well, the United States cant accept a defeat over Taiwan. Lawrence Wilkerson No, it wont. Paul Jay So then what? Lawrence Wilkerson It will go nuclear. It will up the ante and go nuclear. Paul Jay Which in 1958 people have seen my interview with [Daniel] Ellsberg about this. Ellsberg has this still-classified document that hes waving around, challenging someone to come charge him for talking about it publicly. So far, they havent. But in it, theres this conversation, and I believe its minutes of a meeting between the Joint Chiefs. The document is from 1964 and was commissioned by [Robert] McNamara. It is about what happened in the crisis in 1958 over Taiwan. One of the Generals, essentially, they say to each other a nuclear war would be better than losing prestige and strategic positioning in Asia. Lawrence Wilkerson Yeah. Paul Jay And that logic, I guess its still their logic. Lawrence Wilkerson It was still there with Walt Rostow, McGeorge Bundy, and the group around LBJ [Lyndon B. Johnson]. McGeorge Bundy kept using the word prestige, which Dean Acheson called the shadow of power. I kind of like Deans approach to it better than Bundys, but Bundys idea was, okay, 59,000 Americans dead? Thats all right because we fought for prestige. This is a very dangerous concept. Paul Jay Yeah. Curtis LeMay used to say, Well, to defend our prestige, even 10 or 20 million dead Americans wasnt too many, and of course, he was grossly underestimating. The other thing to defend American prestige back in Curtis LeMays day, it was okay to wipe out Europe because maybe the Russians or the Soviets couldnt reach more than 20 million Americans. Still, they could have essentially wiped out the whole of Western Europe. The whole of American prestige is more important than that. Lawrence Wilkerson I think it was Bertrand Russell in a sort of Oscar Wilde moment who said, Prestige doesnt keep you very warm in the grave. Paul Jay Well, then how much of this artifact, about prestige and all that, has internalized the identity of these cold warriors. I believe it must be a large part of that, but underlying it is these tensions just make so much damn money. We talked about this in our other interview about Ukraine. Still, the military-industrial complex in the United States, and I have to say the military-industrial complex in China, are both doing very well out of all this. Lawrence Wilkerson Yes, and thats one of the scary things about recent developments. I was in China in 2009 for a Petroleum disruption exercise, which was quite a good simulation. We had lots of countries there, and I was amazed at how the Foreign Ministry, which was, you know, there were intel people there too, but it was mostly Foreign Ministry people. I was amazed at how they sort of stood back from the military, not in the sense of all, but in the sense of dullards. We really are the people who run this country. Thats changed now, and its reflected in so many things. Even in the writing, the novels that sneak out of China from time to time. The military is triumphant now, and theyve taken the people along with them. Its almost like what Powell did with the first Gulf War. He renewed Americas love affair with the military. After Vietnam, the love affair really soured, and Im not sure it was ever a love affair. It had to be after World War II to a certain extent, and its built up now to where it just got all out of hand. Im very happy to see recent polling showing that the American people find the military slipping a bit, in their estimation. Still in the 70s, but it was in the 75,78, 79, 80 range. Its slipping a little bit now. Afghanistan, no doubt, did some damage to it. It should have done a lot of damage to it. Braindead people in Afghanistan for 20 years, but its scary with China because the Politburo now has its own deal, its own problem, its own challenge, and you got to satiate these people. You got to give them what they want from time to time. And from time to time, you probably got to give them war. This is scary. This is very scary because as Mao [Zedong] used to say, hey, we got at that time, almost a billion people. Now theyve got 1.4, 1.5 billion people. We can take a lot of casualties. Paul Jay You get a chance to talk to a lot of members of Congress, present and former military. When you listen to the language coming out of much of the Democratic Party, pretty much all the Republican Party, its at the level I mean, the anti-China language Lawrence Wilkerson Jack Reed scared me to death. Paul Jay its at the level when it was worst, during the 1950s Cold War Anti-Soviet stuff. If anything, its actually at a higher level. Do they actually believe this stuff? I mean, its ridiculous. Lawrence Wilkerson Seven hundred and 68 billion dollars, Paul. And Jack Reed was cheering it right along. Seven hundred and 68 billion dollars. Thats about 100 billion dollars of pure pollution. Pure pollution. It gets in their brains and waters them. Just look at what theyre doing right now with this business of the vaccinations. Now, theyre saying theyre going to force 50,000 plus sailors, soldiers, airmen, and marines out for refusing vaccinations. Theyre going to force them out, and Congress said in the language of the NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] about this now. This years budget language says theyve got to give them honourable discharges. Well, this is because they dont want them to flock straight away to Trumps legions. They dont want a January 6th repeat to be fueled by 50,000 ready soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Paul Jay Lets have a whole other conversation about that because I want to get back to China. Lawrence Wilkerson Well, its all about China, too, because how are we going to fight China, Paul? This bellicose rhetoric and everything. How is this country going to fight China? Theres only one way nuclear weapons. Paul Jay How do you explain people who are in the Democratic Party, who are relatively progressive on most issues, and have all the virulent anti-China rhetoric as any Republican, do they believe this stuff? Or theyre doing it because they dont want to be critiqued for being weak on China or Lawrence Wilkerson Bingo. Paul Jay What the hell is it? Lawrence Wilkerson I think thats the principal reason. Thats the principal reason. When I had an hour-long conversation with Reed, we started out talking about Paul Jay So, tell people who Reed is. Lawrence Wilkerson Jack Reeds the West Point graduate, long-serving Senator now from Rhode Island. And Jack is a Democrat, and hes from Rhode Island. Yet I didnt meet anyone over there who was more adamant about the defence budget and it having to go up rather than down, flat, or whatever. Were now giving the military more money than weve given them in any single year since the peak of World War II. More than Ronald Reagans 1980 build-up, the early 80s build-up. More than the Vietnam War, more than the Korean War, and what have they done lately? Lost, lost, lost, lost. Now part of that is the stupid wars the civilian leadership sent them on, but they went willingly and said, can do, can do, can do. Send me some more troops and some more money, and I can do it even more. Paul Jay Yeah, but youre missing one very important and glorious victory for the American military. Lawrence Wilkerson Do you mean the First Gulf War? Paul Jay Grenada. Lawrence Wilkerson Oh, Grenada. I dont even top that. Paul Jay They were able to actually change the government there. I think thats the actual one-use of military power that quote-unquote worked. Lawrence Wilkerson But it is the use that was studied hard because it was such incompetence, and it produced Goldwater Nichols, the 1985, 86 DOD [Department of Defense] Reorganization Act because it was so poorly done. It was the feeble enemy that made us victorious, but the first Gulf War was a victory. It was a victory. Paul Jay Go back to Reed again. Lawrence Wilkerson Well, I think Paul Jay Why does he think China is such a problem? Or does he just, you know, he wants his piece of the military budget. Lawrence Wilkerson I think thats it. I think youve got to have your piece of the military budget. Youve got to show bona fides in national security. Its not a traditional strong point of the Democrats, which is stupid. Harry Truman was a Democrat, but thats part of it. And part of it is, I think, and I dont know if this is true with Jack. Id have to go back and look at the chart. Bill [William D.] Hartung sent me a chart recently that shows all the money, exactly whom it came from, and to whom it went. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and all those people in the center are represented and getting it on the receiving end. I dont know if hes heavy into that, but its a combination of all these things. That you dont think you can get re-elected unless you are strong on defence, you are getting money in your packs from defence contractors, you genuinely feel like Americas losing its way, and China is the reason. All of these things combined. I think for Jack, its not just purely the complex, giving him money or whatever. As it is, I think, for some of the more crass members, like the guy from Oklahoma who brought a snowball into the Senate to disprove climate change. Paul Jay I was watching an interview, David Frum, the right-wing now pundit or whatever the hell he was, but he actually was one of Bushs speechwriters. Hes credited with the Axis of Evil line. Im not sure it was his, but he gets credit for it. But certainly, he was a hardcore neo-con. I dont know exactly what he is now. Lawrence Wilkerson David was a member of the group that I belong to called the Transition Integrity Project. He was one of the guys in there that was helping us plan for the worst in the 2020 elections. I think hes seen a little light since the Bush administration. Paul Jay He was interviewing another big neo-con a few months ago, and I should get this guys name because I cant remember, but hes a very seniorone of the big neo-con brains. He was talking about how terrible the strategy is in terms of dealing with China. Not that he didnt want a hostile strategy towards China. He just thought the current strategy was pretty bad. He talked about how aircraft carriers are actually totally useless because both the Chinese and the Russians can knock out an aircraft carrier with ease. Yet, theyre building, I think, something like 12 or 13 new Ford-class aircraft carriers at about 14 to 15 billion each. Lawrence Wilkerson Which makes no sense. Paul Jay Which makes no sense, but everybody in on it is so conscious. Lawrence Wilkerson A lot of people get money out of it, yeah. Paul Jay And everyone in on it knows its bullshit. Lawrence Wilkerson If youre going to hit someone like Syria or youre going to hit someone like Iran or some country that doesnt have a really formidable military, [inaudible 00:18:14] you sail right up with that carrier and pound them. But if youre going to hit Russia, or youre going to hit China with sometimes double and even triple sea-skimming hyper missiles, high altitude low altitude missiles, 65-centimetre wake homing torpedoes, diesel submarines, nuclear submarines. If youre going to hit somebody like that, your aircraft carrier is no good at all. In fact, its a sailing tomb. Paul Jay And if you do want to sail it right up to the border of a country that doesnt have the ability to knock out your aircraft carrier, you dont need a 14-billion-dollar Ford-class carrier. What you got is plenty. You dont need anything new. Lawrence Wilkerson You could put a marine amphibious ready group on the shore, push it in a little bit, build an airfield, and fly off the airfield. Paul Jay Such a scam. I just hope we can get workers and others who are buying this defence of American freedom its all national security, how much theyre being scammed by all of this. Lawrence Wilkerson Its a terrible scam on the American people because they think theyre getting security, and theyre not. Just look around you and see whats tearing you up. Covid-19. Just look around you and see what really bled you dry for the last 20 years. Stupid wars in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and a whole bunch of other places I cant mention. Thats whats tearing you up. What is an aircraft carrier going to do to Covid-19? Paul Jay Spread it. Lawrence Wilkerson Yeah. Paul Jay Talk about super-spreading events. They probably arent letting us know just how bad it may be on some of these subs and aircraft carriers. Lawrence Wilkerson We had a little brouhaha there for a while, but it seems to have subsided now. Im assuming that with respect to the Navy, Im assuming that theyre really pushing the vaccinated troops hard, really hard in order to try and keep from breaking out again. Paul Jay Right. So, we look ahead to 2021. Biden is so weak. If he ever had any intention of a better foreign policy, the Democrats, and I dont know that he actually does or did but lets say there are some people in the Democratic Party that would like a saner foreign policy. Were looking now at a likelihood that the Republicans might be in charge of the Senate, the House. So, its like a perfect storm, and I dont, you know, talking about a perfect storm for the Democrats. Its a perfect storm for the world. Lawrence Wilkerson It is. Paul Jay Were both on the military side, and you get climate deniers controlling. All they need is one House. Never mind both. Two if they had the presidency. Jesus, its a bloody scary situation. Lawrence Wilkerson And you have there because Im relatively familiar with the way the Chinese think, having been in the Central party school. And in that Petroleum simulation, we actually had the person who was really running the school at that time. It had been Hu Jintao, and hed been elevated to be President at dinner a number of times and talking with them. So, I think I know a little bit about how they think about matters like this. And the Russians, I think Ive got some insight into it. Not like Jack Matlock, but I do have some, and Ive got to tell you, theyre not stupid, and they have superb intelligence. So, theyre sitting back. Were going to kill ourselves, Paul. They dont want a war with us. Neither China nor Russia wants a war with us. Were killing ourselves. Were destroying our own democracy. Were doing it the exact way [Abraham] Lincoln predicted wed do it. If we ever did it, were killing ourselves. If I were Beijing or Moscow, I wouldnt want to Ive exacerbated as much as I could like they are doing, but I wouldnt want to open the door because that might revive us. Paul Jay Well, its pretty stupid on their part to exacerbate it as well because Lawrence Wilkerson I agree. Paul Jay its going to be chaos for everybody, mostly on the climate side. Lawrence Wilkerson Yes, and there you put your finger on the big issue. If we dont cooperate, at least minimally cooperate, in order to meet this train wreck its not a train wreck. Its a colossal disaster threatening the existence of the human race, not the planet. The planet will get older and go right on. Develop some new form of sentient life, maybe, but it will get rid of us. If we dont do something together to do something imperative about that. Not just adaptive. Dont just build sea walls and retreat to the inner parts of our countries and so forth but do something that ameliorates the situation. That is, stop burning fossil fuels, primarily. Were toast anyway. People have got to get that through their heads. They watch these 200 tornadoes rip through Kentucky and Tennessee, and its like, the news goes out and says, whoa, lets interview these people and everything. You see these heartrending stories on the television, and thats good for the media to do that, especially local media, but whos out there saying, wow, I wonder if this has anything to do with the changing climate? Yes, and guess what? Its going to get a lot worse. Paul Jay All right. Thanks for joining us, Larry. Lawrence Wilkerson Thanks for having me, Paul. Paul Jay And thank you for joining us on theAnalysis.news. Please dont forget that if you can donate by the end of the year, thatd be great. You get a tax receipt in the United States. Subscribe, share, and push what were doing out there. As Ive mentioned before, YouTube seems to be doing everything they can to suppress what were doing, but you can go to the website at theAnalysis.news and let people know about it. Thanks again. This article is a live version of Martin Sandbus free lunch newsletter.register here Send the newsletter directly to your inbox every Thursday Happy New Year to all readers! It may not completely wait for Godot. However, more than two years after the election of the British government with its flagship commitment to improve the countrys unreasonable regional inequality (next to Brexit), few flagship decisions can prove this. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been slow to include some of the most capable politicians in his party in the archives, and the Labour opposition has done the same before the release of the expected escalation white paper.However, that paper was postponed to the new year-to understand the ins and outs, please read New blog post Written by Gemma Tetlow of the Government Research Institute (and former FT colleague). Perhaps this document will surface at half of the maximum five-year term of the current parliament. However, as we wait, ordinary readers will remember that regional inequality is one of Free Lunchs favorite interests. So let us put forward some ideas at the beginning of this year, if someone asks me, I will contribute to the government. It is certainly crucial to know what level should be raised: it is productivity. Regional inequality in productivity is the core issue; it is the cause of income inequality, and this inequality can only be partially resolved through redistribution. It also shows that there is a lot of waste-if backward areas can make up at least part of the productivity gap, they will get a lot of prosperity. Productivity depends on many factors, including slow access to resources such as infrastructure and skilled labor. But it also depends on the production companies that choose to expand at this time and place, and companies usually turn to higher-productivity production practices.This is likely to be in a High Pressure EconomyIn this case, confidence in the growth of demand has caused companies to compete for labor and capitalthe people who can use it most effectively are ready to win this competition. In a high-pressure economy, if any, upgrades will occur, so here are three measures to ensure one: Promote macroeconomic operations: Keep fiscal and monetary policies stimulating, as long as it needs to create prosperity in the backward parts of the economy and not just in the economic center. Make it easier for people to leave bad jobs, find better jobs or prepare themselves, so that labor can be smoothly redistributed from non-productive activities to more productive activities. This requires the establishment of an immediate support system for job seekers and replacement workers who have little or no savings to help them spend the time required for retraining or finding better jobs, so that tight family budgets will not trap people Dilemma. Strengthen investment incentives. Allow the full expenditure of the investment cost of the enterprise, and even make the additional deductionyou can deduct more than 100% of the investment expenditure from taxable incomepermanent. It is true that these policies have affected the entire national economy-although it is hoped that they will have a stronger positive impact on the underdeveloped regions. They need to be supplemented by local-targeted policies to directly solve the problem of insufficient regional productivity. There are two here: Finally, productivity depends on capital invested in high-yield, high-risk companies. In fact, while areas with lagging productivity may bring returns to investorsbecause of the potential for catching up with growththey also have risks. Their success depends on many things being done at the same time, from policies to attracting capital to the local entrepreneurial spirit not being frustrated.How do we make sure Does capital not flee from the left-behind areas but flow to the left-behind areas? Two thoughts: Solve the problem that the tax system is biased towards credit financing and make it treat equity like debt.In addition, the establishment of institutions to direct equity capital to backward areas-perhaps the local intangible asset investment trust as the 21st century Local community bank. Shift the capital tax to the net wealth tax, i.e. Reward more productive investment Better than profits tax. If people living in affluent areas hold large amounts of wealth disproportionately, then progressive net wealth taxes over time should ensure that private wealth is distributed more geographically. This will create a deeper local capital pool. We will undoubtedly come back to this point when the white paper finally comes out, so stay tuned. Other readability Learning to coexist with the virus does not mean acting as if a pandemic does not exist, I think My FT column this weekOn the contrary, it means preparing for the permanent existence of this virus or other viruses and planning ahead of time an emergency system that can be fast but shorter in duration. European Commission came up with In the new green finance taxonomy, both nuclear energy and natural gas can be labeled green to ensure the responsible disposal of nuclear waste under strict conditions, while natural gas is only a transition to zero-emission energy.The Green Parties in Germany and Austria are Fierce opposition Objections include nuclear; FT Leaders Column Proposals welcome There are some reservations. Dont forget Russian President Vladimir Putin Has invaded Ukraine. Digital news The Beach Plum Farm Owners Curtis Bashaw and Will Riccio have turned a 62-acre farm into a wellness retreat. Less than two miles from Cape Mays famed historic downtown, The Beach Plum Farm has been producing food to Cape May restaurants - The Ebbitt Room, Blue Pig Tavern, Rusty Nail, The Boiler Room, Louisa's Cafe and Exit Zero Filling Station since 2008. Besides growing a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, the farm offers luxury cottage accommodations with a farm kitchen and market, and seasonal farm dinners held throughout the year. Prices begin at $369 for two. Of the hotels fourteen rooms, five are spacious one-bedroom suites. The suite doors are colored to match the sky at sunrise. Eleven rooms offer private patios with hammocks. Sheva Kefai Go back in time while staying at the remodeled 1959's Azure Sky in Palm Springs. It's the latest project by Acme Hospitality and Eastern Real Estate that is opening in Spring, 2022. This adult-only boutique hotel features 14 rooms enveloped by mid-century architecture among desert landscape and San Jacinto Mountain views. The creative Lightning Bar Palm Springs design and build firm managed an extensive renovation while keeping the essence of this architectural jewel. It's a sanctuary of indoor and outdoor enhanced spaces. Upgrades include walk-in showers with mosaic tile; concrete sink counters; custom millwork; built-in beds; stone tile flooring; and mid-century inspired design accents, all using a neutral palette to express desert colors and a tranquil, cool vibe. Guests enter the lobby and are greeted at the premium cocktail bar, near a cozy fireplace that is accented by vintage lighting and custom woodworking. Walking to their guestroom, one will notice the grounds, heated pool and Jacuzzi are the focal points of the property. Near the meadow courtyard are two fire pits, lounge seating and chaise lounges. The outdoor courtyard offers space for up to 120 guests for reunions, weddings and special events. Azure Sky offers morning coffee and continental breakfast in the lobby daily. Twelve of the rooms include small and fully equipped kitchenettes for ensuite cooking, yet for those that prefer dining off-property, the hotel will arrange reservations with nearby restaurants within walking or driving distance. Playa Viva Stay in a Manta Ray design tree-house along a mile of pristine beach on the Pacific Coast side of Mexico at Playa Viva. The recently unveiled six luxurious new bamboo treehouses are surrounded by lush green palms. This is one of the first resorts to be built with a Watershed Regeneration project. Owner David Leventhal said in an interview, A stay at Playa Viva is a true return to paradiseyou are immersed in nature and have the opportunity to connect to place in a way that transforms you and the local ecosystem. The new treehouses were designed based on drone footage of the Mobula Manta Ray migration in front of the resort by Nomadic Resorts. These iconic oceanfront treehouses are being built in a grove of palm trees. Construction is being led by Jorg Stamm, who has led world class projects from Colombia to Bali, including the renowned Green School. Building materials have come from the propertys own harvest of bamboo and palm fronds for the palapa roofs. The landscaping and vegetation are grown on-site in a nursery run by local women entrepreneurs supported by Playa Viva. The Manta Ray treehouses are made up of two buildings. The perch in front includes a king bed and a hammock suspended out over the ground. The bath house has a private bathroom downstairs and a second bedroom/lounge upstairs, outfitted with daybeds and a desk area. In addition to the new treehouses, Playa Viva has made other developments to enhance each guest's experience. An enhanced culinary program led by Chef Daniel includes custom dining options sourced with ingredients from the on-site farm. Some of these items include coconuts, mangos, cashews, tamarind, tomatoes, lettuces, cactus and many other earthly delights, especially cacao for homemade chocolate. Since the farm grows so much produce, it has begun selling to other restaurants in the area. A redesigned common area and beachfront bar continue to build community among guests staying on the property. Playa Viva offers activities for couples and families or groups of all sizes. Guests can partake in daily beachside yoga classes, receive a variety of massage services, and visit the resort's baby sea turtle sanctuary. Room rates are based on double occupancy and start at $265 - $620 per person, per night based on seasonality. Rates include airport ground transport to and from the resort, all meals, including snacks, all beverages (except bar, blended drinks, smoothies and organic coconuts), daily yoga, WiFi in common area, tips, taxes and a donation to the Regenerative Trust. Two more episodes and SBS' melodrama "Now, We Are Breaking Up" starring Song Hye Kyo, and Jang Ki Yong is ready to bid farewell on primetime. After almost two months of journey, the love story of Ha Young Eun (Song Hye Kyo) and Yoon Jae Guk (Jang Ki Yong) is finally coming to an end. 'Now, We Are Breaking Up' Finale Spoilers Viewers are looking forward to what kind of choice will Ha Young Eun make in her love life, now that she already has everything she wants in her career as a fashion designer and as the owner of her very own Sono brand. Ha Young Eun has been doing her best as the design team leader of the top brand Sono of the fashion company, The One. Not only did she show excellent skills as a designer, but Young Eun also established Sono by working hard. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 6 New K-Drama OSTs From 'Now, We Are Breaking Up,' 'The Red Sleeve Cuff,' 'Snowdrop,' and More to Add to Your Playlist Even though many individuals wanted to bring her down, Ha Young Eun stayed still and now stood out in the company for her perseverance, hard work, and love for her job. Even her colleagues admire her for being an inspiration. Will Ha Young Eun Protect Both Her Love life and Career? Sono experienced a crisis, but Young Eun was able to come up with a brilliant idea to fulfill the untact fashion show attended by the biggest names in the world of fashion and succeeded. As a result, she received an offer from Olivier, a famous French designer who wants to collaborate with me. But being genuine that she is, Ha Young Eun declined the offer. Meanwhile, The One's CEO Hwang (Joo Jin Mo) made a surprise proposal to become independent with Sono. Ha Young Eun's ability and burning passion for elevating and protecting Sono were highly anticipated by the fans. Meanwhile, Yoon Jae Guk is ready to leave for Paris and asks Ha Young Eun again if she will go with him. Will this be the start of their romantic relationship? After the drama, Kim Nam Gil and Jin Sun Kyu's "Through the Darkness are ready to occupy the "Now, We Are Breaking Up" slots on SBS. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Now, We Are Breaking Up' Episode 14: Song Hye Kyo Torn Between Career and Love Let us all find out in "Now, We Are Breaking Up" episodes 15 and 16 to air on January 7 and 8 at 10 p.m. (KST) on SBS. For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars. Kdramastars owns this article. Written by Shai Collins. A man takes a photo of windows of a police kiosk damaged by demonstrators during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Demonstrators denouncing the doubling of prices for liquefied gas have clashed with police in Kazakhstan's largest city and held protests in about a dozen other cities in the country. (AP Photo/Vladimir Tretyakov) When seeking a COVID-19 test, make sure you go to a legitimate center, like the Econ Soccer Complex hosted by Orange County Health Services. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) Floridas attorney general warned Thursday of COVID-19 testing scammers seeking to steal victims personal, financial or medical information. The office has received reports of fake test sites, people impersonating health-care workers at legitimate sites and at-home testing scams, Ashley Moody said in a statement. Advertisement Last week in Sarasota, law enforcement received reports of suspicious individuals impersonating health care workers at a legitimate testing site asking test seekers to provide personal, financial and medical information, Moody said in the consumer alert. A man trying to get a test at the drive-through site at Ed Smith Stadium said a woman walked up to his car and handed him a Ziploc bag with a swab test. She asked for his phone, and had him scan a QR code, WFLA reported. Advertisement I dont think medical professionals are actually wanting to touch your phone if Im possibly COVID positive its just not protocol, he told the TV station. She had no hazmat gear or anything like that. As the omicron variant of the virus spreads and tests become more difficult to get, these scams have been emerging statewide and across the U.S. A fake health-care worker may seem uninformed about the testing process, may be dressed differently than other health-care workers at the site, may not wear a mask and could fail to adhere to other health and safety guidelines in interactions with patients. Other clues to spot imposters: Theyre not interacting with test seekers within the established test-site area. They cant accurately and correctly answer questions without seeming nervous or confused. They pressure you for personal or financial information. The Health Report Weekly A weekly update on health news in Florida. > In the case of an entire testing site being fake, one clue is that it has no affiliation with a local medical provider or a government entity. Another sign: It fails to deliver test results. Consumers should also avoid companies that ask for private information to make an appointment, especially if they dont guarantee an appointment time. Finally, when buying COVID-19 tests for use at home, consumers are advised to stick with well-established, legitimate stores and websites. Other advice for buying tests: Advertisement Search online for the brand name of the test and any complaints. Beware of private companies offering free or reduced cost at-home testing services. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists known fraudulent products on its website. As we have seen throughout the pandemic, scammers change tactics as news and situations change, according to Moodys statement. With the recent rise in the number of people seeking COVID-19 tests comes an increased risk that scammers will try to take advantage of the demand. Please take precautions to protect your personal information when seeking a testwhether at a legitimate site or when purchasing an at-home test. Anyone who suspects a COVID-19 vaccine-related scam should report it to local law enforcement, or to the Florida Attorney Generals Office by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com. An investigation by the Kenosha Fire Department into the Model Market fire Wednesday evening is ongoing, with the buildings owner worried about an unaccounted for tenant. The Model Market grocery store, at 2327 54th St., was still smoldering Thursday afternoon as two of the Del Frate brothers, whose family has owned the building for over a century, looked at the heap of burnt metal, wood and ice. Eldest sibling Tony Del Frate said his biggest concern at the moment was locating one of the tenants who had been living in one of the four apartments above the store, and whom he was speaking with during the fire. I may have been the last person to speak with him, Tony Del Frate said. I told him there was a fire. Tony said he hasnt been able to account for him since the fire. Joseph Nosalik, public information officer with the Kenosha Police Department, and Fire Chief Christopher Bigley confirmed they had received reports of the unaccounted for tenant, but had not substantiated those reports by press time Thursday. Were aware of that report, and were looking into it, Nosalik said. Ryan McNeely, acting battalion chief for the Kenosha Fire Department, said Wednesday night that there had been no reports of injuries resulting from the fire. Justin Kern, spokesman for the American Red Cross of Wisconsin, said Thursday that four people from two apartment units are reported to have been displaced by the fire and are on a list for assistance. A neighborhood fixture Tony and John Del Frate, two of an eight sibling family, were both teary eyed as they walked Thursday morning around the building that they had grown up in. Everybody had a hand in it, Tony Del Frate said. I was a little son of a butcher. Model Market served the community for more than a century. The grocery store had become a neighborhood institution since being established in 1919 by Nello and Amelia Del Frate along with brother-in-law Peter Guidotti, according to Kenosha Kernals, a since discontinued paid-advertisement section of the Kenosha News. John Del Frate recalled having to stand on a milk carton to be tall enough to reach the counter to make sausages as a child. Although they sold the business in 2006, the family still owned the building, and had generations of memories. Each and every one of us worked here, John Del Frate said. Another big worry was for the surrounding neighborhood, which relied on the store for fresh food. Tony Del Frate said that the store has a long history of working with local charity organizations, and his father had his own charitable streak. Whatever they could pay, he would accept, John Del Frate said. He fed the neighborhood. Recounting the incident The fire was reported at about 5 p.m. Wednesday and, according to Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Tilton, KFD units were on the scene until 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Although he wasnt on the scene, Tilton said the cold weather, which was in the lower teens with wind chills below zero and wind speeds of 25 to 35 mph at the time of the fire, likely made the job even harder. Anytime we have adverse weather conditions, it makes out job more difficult, Tilton said. Kenosha Fire Department called in fire crews from Kenosha and Racine counties and Lake County, Ill., to staff city firehouses. The Town of Paris and Newport (Illinois) fire departments assisted at the fire scene, Bigley said. Thirty Kenosha firefighters worked the scene, with 12 off-duty firefighters called in to rotate with on-scene crews. In total, 20 off-duty firefighters were called in to assist in various positions, including manning city firehouses. Bigley said approximately eight firefighters from Paris and Newport also on fire scene. A Pleasant Prairie aerial truck and its crew were also briefly at the fire scene. According to Kenosha police, the fire caused several local power outages. A city bus was also called to the scene to provide a mobile warming center. As the winds picked up, towering smoke billowed from the storefront. The smoke could be detected from at least a mile out from the scene. Bigley said that firefighters dealt with a couple of malfunctioning fire hydrants and noted that water pressure in that part of the city can be low. The biggest issue was on our people (firefighters), Bigley said referring to the weather conditions. Firefighters were called back to the scene several times Thursday to extinguish lingering hot spots in the buildings rubble. Tenant alerted by co-worker Antonio Jaramillo, who lived in one of four apartments above the grocery store and has been an employee there for the last decade, said he was upstairs in his apartment watching TV at the time the blaze broke out and didnt know there was a fire at first. Then, somebody came and knocked. They were knocking really hard, he said of a co-worker who had been downstairs. And then, I came out and there was smoke and so I grabbed my dog and we got out. Jaramillo, who has lived in the apartment for about a year, said other occupants inside the apartments also were able to leave the building. Im OK. But now Im displaced, he said while relatives showed up to see how he was holding up. A Gofundme has been set up for Jaramillo by his sister. Hopkinsville, KY (42240) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Ketchikan, AK (99901) Today Cloudy. High 52F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Becoming windy overnight. Low around 40F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch. A Florida man may be one of the first cases of the COVID-19 and flu combination within the state. Cape Coral resident Erick Salazar received the dual diagnosis on Monday, NBC-2 reported. Advertisement Salazar said he learned about it after hearing about the prognosis making headlines less than a week ago. Flurona is what happens when someone tests positive both for COVID-19 and for the flu. Advertisement Salazar said hed received both vaccination shots, a flu shot, but no booster yet, NBC-2 reported. Read the full report on nbc-2.com. 1 Shares Share I recently had an email exchange with a friend and psychiatric colleague, Dr. Michael Myers, on the topic of professional courtesy. Its a topic Ive written about before. However, one of my essays stirred considerable controversy, so much so that readers comments turned ugly and unprofessional, and the commenting section on the host website was closed. It seems my op-ed struck a raw nerve primarily among millennials, many of whom were unfamiliar with the concept of professional courtesy and strongly objected to it once it became clear to them that I expected preferential treatment from other physicians for myself or my family members treatment in the form of discounted fees or quick appointments, or both. Readers considered me privileged and entitled. A recent article about Dr. Michael Myers characterized him as a doctors doctor because he specializes in treating physicians and their families. He noted that the culture of medicine surrounding the treatment of physicians with mental illness and substance use disorders has significantly improved in the past several decades. But physicians suffering from mental disorders are still shunned and marginalized by physicians in mainstream medicine, especially those in positions of leadership and authority, who continue to buy into the myth that if a physician or medical trainee becomes psychiatrically ill, he or she may not be fit to practice medicine, or may not have been cut out for it. Although mental health stigma has lessened, it persists, and there is a great need for psychiatrists indeed, for all physicians to be on guard and available for their colleagues in times of need. Helping physicians recover from mental illness or substance use disorders is rewarding for the individual, the practitioner, and the profession. I regret that I never had a chance to explain this to readers who impugned my essay. I was never given a second chance to tell them how unfair it is that our mentally burdened colleagues tend to be judged by institutional and archaic rules of medicine. I never had the opportunity to remind them that Sir Francis Peabody famously said: One of the essential qualities of the clinician is interest in humanity, for the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient. And I wasnt able to appeal to their reasoning by informing them that groomers at PetSmart have more autonomy to book longer appointments for their pets than physicians do for their patients. I felt vindicated when I read Dr. Myers comment that he grew up in the era of what was called professional courtesy the idea that as fellow professionals, we look after our own. Its very gratifying work. You can help so many people who are in turn helping others get well. When Dr. Myers and I presented a workshop (at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in 2016) for physicians with practice-related PTSD, it generated tremendous interest and a standing-room-only crowd. Many physicians spoke candidly about their personal experiences with trauma in the course of practicing either first-hand or witnessed traumatic experiences and one psychiatrist broke down in tears while telling her story. We asked her to stay afterward to share more of her experience. She had been traumatized by a recent divorce and fell victim to vicarious trauma while treating patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital. We gave her the names of professionals in her area she could contact for further help and possible psychiatric treatment. She deeply appreciated our concern and that we were willing to spend extra time with her. I have stayed in touch with this doctor over the years. She is doing quite well; to ease the pain of her trauma, she left practice for a non-clinical career. In my recent email exchange with Dr. Myers, he wrote: There is a middle ground [to professional courtesy]. I think that we can still offer [it] to each other without actually accepting the new patient ourselves. Ive done this a lot over the years. I call the colleague back ASAP but certainly by the end of the day, explain my situation, then offer the names of one or two colleagues whom I highly recommend who I think would see the colleague (or their family member). If the caller demurs, then I offer to call the folks myself. Obviously, this is time-consuming but Ive found that simply taking the referral seriously and trying to assist makes the colleague feel respected and heard. Years ago, he continued, when I was practicing in Vancouver, I was treating a physician for severe depression, but she also had horrendous migraines. I called one of our local headache specialists, a neurologist, who at that time had a waiting list for a year (remember, this is Canada). He took my call, listened for a minute or two, and said, Have her contact my receptionist. Ill see her tomorrow night at 7 p.m. If we cant help each other in our hour of need, then medicine is really f***ed. I was so grateful. When I called my patient and told her about the appointment, she sobbed with relief. Whether the diagnosis is depression, PTSD, substance use, or some other mental health condition, many of our peers are like the two physician patients described herein: filled with pent-up emotion, ready to burst at the seams, and incredibly appreciative of colleagues going the extra distance to ensure their well-being. Call it professional courtesy or simply old-fashioned medicine our colleagues deserve no less. Lets heed Dr. Peabodys call to the basics of our humanity and restore humility and decency in medicine. We should all aspire to be a doctors doctor. Arthur Lazarus is a psychiatrist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Mixologist Ryan Ferraro amid a flamboyance of mocktails at Four Flamingos, A Richard Blais Florida Kitchen at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. (Ryan Ferraro / Courtesy photo) Mixologist Ryan Ferraros take on the classic pina colada is called the Get Toasted and delivers on that name via the twin engines of Siesta Key Coconut Rum and banana liqueur. Guests at Four Flamingos: A Richard Blais Florida Kitchen, the TV chefs new eatery at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, have been enjoying the cocktail and its alcohol-free doppelganger since the place opened last month. Advertisement The virgin offers up all the same flavors tropical pineapple and creamy coconut and warm cinnamon courtesy of Ferraros housemade syrup but delivers something altogether different to those who choose it: inclusion. People have different reasons why they might not be drinking whether thats for one night, a few weeks for Dry January or ever, Ferraro. But you always want the guest to be able to enjoy the experience of the restaurant, and thats why so many places are coming up with mocktails. Advertisement In his previous post managing the bar at Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Ferraro and his team created a whole separate menu of mocktails that proved quite popular. It went over really well, he says. People just want to enjoy the same experiences as those who are drinking. Ive heard similar sentiments from teetotalers at concerts and music festivals, where Ive spied them swigging from the sleek, black tallboys of Liquid Death, with packaging that exudes all the badassery of a black metal bacchanal while hydrating its consumers with nothing but 100% mountain water from the Alps. That uber-hip can makes many of them feel something closer to a shared experience with their friends who are drinking. Similarly, says Ferraro, mocktails in particular when they are renditions of cocktails that are actually on the menu, allow non-drinkers to have the same experience as everyone else. "I love that guests who choose not to drink can still enjoy our signature cocktail," says Four Flamingos mixologist Ryan Ferraro. (Four Flamingos / Courtesy photo) Ferraros unleaded take on the restaurants signature cocktail, the Fifth Flamingo, is one hes particularly pleased with, for precisely this reason. I create all my own syrups, shrubs and fusion components for the bar, and I bring these to the mocktails, which are as mixology-driven as anything on the menu. His raspberry orgeat, front and center in the Fifth Flamingo, serves the booze-free version particularly well. Advertisement The regular version has rum and Creme de Noyaux, he explains, the latter an almond-flavored creme liqueur. The orgeat syrup is made from almonds, as well, and delivers that nutty flavor so you dont miss the liqueur. There isnt a big difference at all. People order mocktails for their children, he explains. And Ive created them for pregnant women who come to sit at the bar. There are lots of guests who dont drink but they still want something fun and to enjoy the special tropical experience that we have here. You can also enjoy a bit of it at home via simplified versions of Ferraros recipes, which offer up tons of island vibe but remain a decidedly sobering experience. Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie or email me at amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, and your question could be answered in my weekly Ask Amy Drew column. For more foodie fun, join the Lets Eat, Orlando Facebook group. Fruity flavors and bold color imbue The Fifth Flamingo with a decidedly tropical vibe, irrespective of alcohol content. (Courtesy photo / Courtesy photo) The Fifth Flamingo Mocktail Ingredients 3 ounces pineapple juice 1 ounce pink guava puree .75 ounces fresh lemon juice .75 ounces easy raspberry-orgeat syrup (recipe below) Directions Advertisement Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice. Quick shake. Strain over crushed ice into highball glass. Suggested garnish: umbrella and flamingo pick. (Want it frozen? Put all the ingredients in a blender with enough ice to fill your chosen serving glass. Blend. Pour, Garnish. Serve! Same goes for the Get Toasted, as well.) For easy raspberry-orgeat syrup Making orgeat, which requires boiling, steeping and straining almonds and up to seven hours of time, is labor intensive. For an easy version, follow the instructions below using store-bought orgeat syrup instead. Ferraro recommends the Giffard brand, available through various online retailers. 6 ounces fresh raspberries 2 cups orgeat syrup Directions 1. Add raspberries to a saucepan. Muddle well. 2. Add syrup. Bring to simmer, simmer 5 minutes. Advertisement 3. Turn off heat. Allow to cool before straining through fine strainer. The Get Toasted mocktail leaves out the rum but not those familiar pina colada flavors. (Courtesy photo / Courtesy photo) Get Toasted Mocktail Ingredients 3 ounces pineapple juice 1.5 ounces coconut cream .5 ounces fresh lime juice .75 ounces cinnamon syrup (recipe below) Directions Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice. Quick shake. Strain over crushed ice into highball glass. Suggested garnish: pineapple slice and leaves. For cinnamon syrup 4 cinnamon sticks 2 cups sugar 2 cups water Directions 1. Break up cinnamon sticks into pieces. (Ferraro uses a muddler) Advertisement 2. Add water and cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to boil. 3. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. 4. Add sugar. Stir until completely dissolved. 5. Turn off heat. Allow to cool before straining through fine strainer. Looking to update your home? Watch the KHQ Spring Home Design Guide featuring the areas top home improvement businesses on Sat, May 7 at 4:30pm on KHQ. And click here to win a $500 VISA gift card, courtesy of our presenting partner - VPC Electric! Vicky Phelan with her parents John and Gaby Kelly and artist Vincent Devine A specially-commissioned, iconic portrait painting of Kilkenny health campaigner Vicky Phelan was officially launched in Mooncoin Parish Hall at the weekend, ahead of a national tour. Present for the launch in her native Mooncoin, Vicky spoke about the painting and her journey, having recently returned from the US. Friends, family and neighbours gathered for the socially-distanced and restriction-compliant event. The painting will now go on display and on a tour around Ireland. The Triptych portrait was painted by Irish artist Vincent Devine, who was inspired by Vickys incredible courage. His aim was to convey the tragedies and the joys in Vickys life, through symbolism in the anatomy of her body and different objects. Mr Devine explained all about each section of the painting, and also about the illness and injuries that Vicky has had down the years. David Brennan, a family friend of Vicky and the Kelly family, is the owner of the portrait painting. Mr Brennan has promised to bring the painting home to display in Mooncoin, and has also given permission for the painting to tour around Ireland, so as it will be seen by as many people as possible. The EU has dedicated the year 2022 as the year to celebrate young people all across Europe. The pandemic has had a significant negative effect on young people and the European Year of Youth will be a chance to bring their needs to the forefront. Young people in Kilkenny will be invited to participate in various events as part of the celebrations. 2022 has been dedicated European Year of Youth with an aim to empower, support and engage with young people in a post-pandemic perspective. The EU has said that the young generation is a priority for Europe and next year will be a year to offset damage caused by lock down. The year will see long-term activities for young people initiated to extend beyond 2022. Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune said the overall objective of the year is to reinforce the efforts of the EU and the Irish Government and Local Authorities in Ireland to support young people in a post-pandemic world. MEP Clune said: The year 2022 has been dedicated to supporting and empowering young people across Europe. I am really pleased that 2022 has been dedicated to young people as it is so important for us to acknowledge the significant impact the pandemic has had on the younger generation. This initiative will be a great opportunity to listen to their voices and bring about change as their voices reach policy makers. We will also be especially looking to hear from young people from rural areas and vulnerable groups. In Ireland young people will have an opportunity to get involved and as MEPs we will be working on helping young people do that. The EU will aim to engage young people in key consultation processes, such as the Conference on the Future of Europe, as well as in other public policies at EU, national and local level. Events to be organised under the EYY umbrella are conferences, initiatives promoting youth participation in policy making, awareness raising campaigns on a more inclusive, green and digital society, as well as studies and research on the situation of youth in the EU. The Irish Finance Minister has said tax receipts from corporation tax in Ireland will begin to decline from 2023 onwards. Yesterday (January 5), new figures revealed that Irish tax receipts surged to their highest ever level last year at 68.4 billion, reducing the Exchequer deficit down to 7.3 billion. It is the highest recorded tax yield, and more than 9 billion more than the previous highest figure in 2019. Corporation tax soared by almost 30%, and is now the countrys second largest revenue in the state. For years, a low corporate tax rate has been a key part of the Irish economic policy. However, last year Ireland agreed to join the OECD framework for a global rate of 15% tax, giving up its highly prized previous rate of 12.5%. Today (January 6) Paschal Donohoe said he expects that from 2023 onwards Ireland will begin to see corporate tax revenue decline. If you look at where we are with this rate, overall Ireland will lose money and nobody knows this better than me, he said. Well lose money because of two things happening. The first thing we will lose money from over time will be the full implementation of the global tax reform package. He added that this was not just the reformed rate of tax, but the change that will happen regarding where tax is paid. Secondly, many of the large tax payers are in a position of very high profitability due to other things that have happened in the global economy. And we cannot, nor should we expect, that to continue. So we will get to a point where our corporate tax revenue and Ive been saying this in particular since 2018 will come down, he told RTE radio. Ill be on @TodaywithClaire shortly after 10 to discuss the exchequer returns published yesterday which showed the continued strength of our economy in 2021 despite the many challenges Covid-19 presented. Tune in if you can pic.twitter.com/NpG10mvr7G Paschal Donohoe (@Paschald) January 6, 2022 He said that he expects the Irish corporate tax rate will be set at 15% in the Government Budget for 2023. According to the latest data from the Department of Finance, consumer spending and an increase in wages helped bolster the tax figures. The Department of Finance said that Ireland now gets one euro out of every 4.50 collected in overall tax revenue. Chief economist at the Department of Finance John McCarthy said that total spending for last year amounted to around 105.5 billion. Capital spending amounted to almost 10 billion, an increase of around 3% compared with 2020. AdventHealth, Central Florida's largest hospital system, is one of many hospitals subject to the federal vaccine mandate. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel) Floridas Agency for Health Care Administration sent an email threatening Florida health care providers with fines if they comply with a federal vaccination mandate. While many experts are advising clients to follow federal law, David Miller, a Miami-based employment attorney at the Bryant Miller Olive law firm, equated the situation faced by many Florida employers as being a bone between two dogs, with the canines being the state and federal governments. Advertisement If I were a health care provider subject to whats going on here, I wouldnt know whether to laugh or to cry or just put my fist through the drywall, he said. The Biden Administration on Nov. 4 laid out requirements for COVID-19 vaccinations for staff at nearly all Medicare and Medicaid-certified health care facilities. The rule was projected to affect more than 17 million workers in 76,000 facilities, as well as home health care providers. Advertisement The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services threatened fines as well as potential termination from the program for health care providers that did not comply, which would potentially affect options for the nearly 4.7 million Floridians who use Medicare and Medicaid as their health insurance. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the mandate, sued to block it alongside several other states, and fought back with new state laws on Nov. 18 that banned all private companies including health care facilities from mandating vaccines unless they offered employees exemptions beyond the standard medical or religious exemptions offered by Bidens mandate. The CMS mandate lacks any coherent justification in terms of public health. Firing unvaccinated health care workers during a pandemic when there was already a shortage of health care workers to begin with is absurd and dangerous, said DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw on Wednesday. Porpoise Evans, an employment lawyer at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman in Miami, said if health care providers absorb heavy fines from the state, they could be driven out of business and everybody could end up out of a job. He said most employers are not inclined to fire workers for refusing a COVID shot. The vast majority of my clients have zero interest in terminating people, he said. In its email to health care workers statewide, the Florida AHCA reaffirmed its commitment to following state law over federal law and warned that violators could face hefty fines from the Florida Attorney Generals office. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) will follow Florida law. Accordingly, AHCA will not survey for compliance with the CMS vaccine mandate rule, the email read. The Attorney Generals Office is authorized to impose administrative fines up to $10,000 per violation for an employer with fewer than 100 employees and up to $50,000 per violation for an employer with 100 or more employees. Advertisement Now, health care providers dont know what to make of the conflicting orders. At True Health, which operates seven federally funded community health clinics in the metro Orlando area, CEO Janelle Dunn said the states warning has left the nonprofit organization in limbo in regards to vaccination mandates. Just under half of the organizations employees have voluntarily been vaccinated for COVID-19 so far, Dunn added, saying administrators have respected both workers who choose vaccination and those who choose to hold off. We are still working with our employment attorney on the issue, so our approach at this time is to just hold off, she said. Were going to wait and see what happens at the Supreme Court level before we make any final decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court is conducting a hearing Friday on the requirements for health care workers set up by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as the broader mandate devised by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for businesses employing more than 100 people. Meredith Plummer, an employment attorney at the Gunster law firm in West Palm Beach, said the situation will become more clear after the court rules, but despite these ongoing legal challenges, the Gunster firm is advising its employer-clients to be ready for the possibility that the federal vaccine requirements could stand after the ruling. Advertisement We tell our clients to be prepared to be in compliance with those deadlines and to put policies in place and put employees on notice as to whats going on, Plummer said. Its still up in the air. Meanwhile, some health care systems are counting on avoiding retroactive punishment.. Florida health care facilities such as Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale and the Memorial Health System, based in Hollywood, achieved high rates of vaccinations before any state or federal laws and rules were activated. Holy Cross imposed a mandate; Memorial waged a strong education program. The Health Report Weekly A weekly update on health news in Florida. > Holy Cross Health is committed to the safety of our colleagues, patients and communities, the company said in a statement Tuesday to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Because of this, we implemented a COVID-19 vaccine requirement prior to any CMS regulations or Florida state laws being in place on the matter. We are compliant with current Florida Law governing the COVID-19 vaccine. Memorials 14,000-member work force is more than 90% vaccinated, said Margie Vargas, senior vice president and human resources officer of the six-hospital group in South Broward County. We encourage it through education and reliance on the science, Vargas said. But were not requiring it. Advertisement Other large hospital systems did not share how they will juggle demands from state and federal laws. AdventHealth Central Florida spokesperson Jeff Grainger said hospital leaders are aware of the recent announcements and are monitoring the situation, whereas Orlando Health spokesperson Nicole Ray said the hospital system is reviewing guidelines and will take appropriate steps. Health care providers in Florida were almost spared from having to choose between federal and state law when judges temporarily paused the federal mandate nationwide in early December, erasing the former Dec. 6 deadline for a first shot and prompting many hospital systems, such as AdventHealth, to cancel their vaccination requirements. However, the Biden Administration then appealed that decision and the federal government was once again allowed to enforce a health care worker vaccination mandate in 25 states, including Florida, on Dec. 15. The current deadline to get a first shot is Jan. 27, with a second due by Feb. 28 for those receiving vaccines that require double doses. Orlando Sentinel Now afternoon update for Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Listen as our reporters, editors and columnists discuss stories that are important to Central Florida: Apple podcasts , GooglePlay , Spotify or OrlandoSentinel.com/Conversations . interactive_content HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST, WATCH LIVE AND PARTICIPATE Listen to the podcast using the player above or subscribe to Orlando Sentinel Conversations to listen to all the daily updates using these providers: The trial for Anthony Todt, the Connecticut physical therapist accused of killing his wife and three children at their Celebration home, is still set to begin this month despite prosecutors asking for a delay Thursday following the death of one of Todts defense attorneys. During a hearing, Circuit Judge Keith Carsten asked Orange-Osceola Public Defender Robert Wesley if Todts defense team was ready for the Jan. 24 trial after the December death of its lead attorney, Assistant Public Defender Peter Schmer. Advertisement Its been a dramatic change in circumstance regarding the case, Carsten said. Please accept the courts condolences to Mr. Schmers family, as well as your colleagues, for his untimely passing. Wesley told the judge they were prepared to begin the jury selection process Jan. 21 and start the trial. Advertisement But Assistant State Attorney Danielle Pinnell said another one of Todts defense attorneys told her the team was not ready for trial and would be requesting a delay until March. The state can be prepared for trial ... however, based upon my conversations, the state believes the defense is not ready for trial, she said. Theyve made no such representations to the court, Carsten said. The judge said, though, the case still has pending issues it needs to take care of before the trial begins, including a lingering fight over whether Todts alleged confession should be allowed in as evidence. While I understand that it has been Mr. Todts steadfast preference to have his trial as soon as possible, the court needs to resolve these unresolved matters, Carsten said. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > Carsten also said he expects to deal with jury turnout difficulties because of the omicron variant, which has ignited a surge of COVID-19 cases locally. The judge said a multitude of employees from the offices of both the state attorney and public defender are out for COVID-19 concerns. Pinnell asked for a delay in the trial based on serious concerns about the preparedness of the defense. Its the states job to protect the integrity of the case, as well as the courts, she said. I think that it would be prudent for this trial to be continued. Advertisement The judge told her to put the request in writing and send it to Todts defense attorneys for their consideration. The case is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 12. Todt, 45, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty in the killings of his wife, 42-year-old Megan Todt; the couples children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4; and their dog Breezy. He has pleaded not guilty. mcordeiro@orlandosentinel.com Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Rain. High 52F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 42F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Two Easy Ways To Subscribe! The Kodiak Daily Mirror offers full-service, five-day a week subscriptions with home delivery in addition to unlimited access to our online services (including our e-Edition). Online-access-only subscriptions include unlimited access to the Mirror's online services without delivery of the printed newspaper. (Note: New users: You must register and login before purchasing a subscription. Support local journalism Local news, sports and entertainment when you want it. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the best local news, sports and entertainment coverage. I'm currently a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in political science. I'm a fan of all St. Louis sports, Oasis and pretty much any Kurt Russell film. Feel free to reach out to me at mgp89g@umsystem.edu or on Twitter @MattPasz2000. Follow Matt Paszkiewicz Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Chinese scientists use telecom optical fiber to monitor aftershocks Xinhua) 09:56, January 06, 2022 BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have developed a new way to monitor aftershocks by using telecom optical fiber with less deployment time and cost, the China Science Daily reported Wednesday. A research team from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used distributed optical fiber seismic-sensing technology to turn an urban telecom optical fiber network into an ultra-dense seismic monitoring array for a rapid post-quake response. Aftershocks monitoring of strong or destructive earthquakes can help the earthquake early warning and estimation. The mobile seismic monitoring network is one of the main tools of aftershock monitoring. The distributed optical fiber seismic-sensing technology can detect the stretch or compression of optical fibers during the quakes and turn them into seismic signals. The research team used a 7.6-km telecom optical fiber in Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, to monitor aftershocks after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake had jolted the Guye District of the city on July 12, 2020, and detected dozens of weak aftershocks with a preliminary distribution of potential earthquake damage risk. The research finding was published in the journal Seismological Research Letters. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) SALEM, Ore. Oregons secretary of state ruled Thursday that former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is not eligible to run for governor because he does not meet the states residency requirement. Questions about Kristofs residency had dogged him even before he announced his candidacy in October. According to Oregon law, a candidate must have been a resident of the state for at least three years before an election. Advertisement Kristof voted in New York in November 2020, raising questions about his eligibility to run in the November 2022 election in Oregon. Oregon officials had asked him for more information. The Oregon Elections Division said it notified the Kristof campaign Thursday morning that it is rejecting his filing for governor because he does not meet the constitutional requirements to serve. Advertisement The rules are the rules and they apply equally to all candidates for office in Oregon. I stand by the determination of the experts in the Oregon Elections Division that Mr. Kristof does not currently meet the Constitutional requirements to run or serve as Oregon governor, said Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. For years, Kristof was a globe-trotting foreign correspondent and columnist. The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner retired from the newspaper last year. Kristofs announcement that he would run for governor as a Democrat generated a lot of interest and he raised more than $1 million in less than a month. Oregon Elections Director Deborah Scroggin said Kristof can appeal the decision and that her division is committed to doing everything possible to allow Oregon courts to decide promptly. Kristofs campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including whether he planned to appeal the decision. Lydia Plukchi of the secretary of states office earlier said candidate eligibility is typically vetted by checking voter registration records and since he had voted in New York, she asked Kristof for any additional documentation or explanation to show he was an Oregon resident for three years prior to November 2022. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > Kristofs campaign offered a legal opinion by retired Oregon Supreme Court Justice William Riggs that Kristof has been a resident of Oregon since at least November 2019 and likely much longer. Riggs said that Kristofs voting in New York would undermine his Oregon residency only if it established that he didnt intend Oregon to be his permanent home. Kristof had pointed out that he moved as a 12-year-old with his parents to a farm in Yamhill, Oregon, in 1971, and has considered it to be his home ever since. He has purchased additional acreage nearby since then. Advertisement The 62-year-old Kristof, in his sworn statement, said that after he dies he wants to be cremated and his ashes spread on the farm and on the Pacific Crest Trail. Democrats have held Oregons governors office since 1987, and others in the party running for the states high office include Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek and state Treasurer Tobias Read. Republicans seeking their partys nomination include state Rep. Christine Drazan, former Republican nominee Bud Pierce and Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam. Former Democratic state Sen. Betsy Johnson is running as an independent. As the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations now surpass those during the Delta variant surge over the summer and fall, more states are enacting emergency protocols to deal with growing staff shortages at hospitals, and pictured, Jordyn White, a member of the Ohio Air National Guard, prepares to check the vital signs of a patient. Here's what you need to know: Thursday, Jan. 6 Law enforcement and federal authorities in the Washington area are stepping up security efforts in anticipation of the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. South Korea's vice foreign minister has held back-to-back talks with top negotiators of the five countries involved in Vienna-based talks aimed at reviving a 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Choi Jong-kun was in the Austrian capital for the talks as Seoul hopes the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will help address the thorny issue of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea under U.S. sanctions. This week, Choi met with U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley and Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora, who serves as the coordinator of the Vienna talks, as well as the representatives of France, Germany and Britain. At the meetings, Choi shared the view that the current round of negotiations has reached "a critical juncture" and called for efforts to achieve "positive progress," the ministry said in a press release. "Choi reaffirmed that our government will continue diplomatic efforts for progress in the Iranian nuclear negotiations and at the same time actively play any role that it can possibly play," the ministry said. South Korea is not party to the Vienna talks but has keenly watched related developments amid prolonged tensions with Iran over its assets frozen here under U.S. sanctions that were restored after Washington withdrew from the JCPOA under former President Donald Trump in 2018. His visit came as the ongoing nuclear talks are known to be focusing on the possible relaxation of U.S. sanctions, which have left about $7 billion worth of Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks. (Yonhap) By Winnie Byanyima GENEVA Last month, the world could have been celebrating the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, vaccine apartheid and restricted production continue to fuel the spread of the coronavirus. More than a year has passed since the first COVID-19 vaccines were approved, offering hope that humanity could be liberated from this disease. Scientists did their part by creating safe and effective vaccines with unprecedented speed. But world leaders failed to deliver them to all. Public health experts, developing-country governments, and the People's Vaccine Alliance warned that persistent low vaccination coverage in large parts of the world would create a risk of new variants and prolong the pandemic. We argued that ending the pandemic required enabling developing countries to make their own vaccines. We urged rich countries to share the rights to vaccine technology and COVID-19 treatments, removing barriers at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Former world leaders, Nobel laureates, nurses, jurists, and millions of individuals have echoed this call. But rich countries turned a deaf ear, bowing to the pressure of pharmaceutical corporations. Despite receiving huge amounts of public funding to produce the vaccines, these companies still dictate the terms of supply, distribution, and pricing. Pfizer, Moderna, and BioNTech alone are making a profit of $1,000 every second from their COVID-19 vaccines. Putting profits first has resulted in less than 4 percent of people in low-income countries being fully vaccinated, creating an optimal breeding ground for new variants. Meanwhile, at least five million people have now died of the virus worldwide though some calculations put the number considerably higher. In Africa, pain mingles with anger. The continent remains unprotected just one-quarter of African health workers are fully vaccinated and is bracing for more variants. Like many Africans, I have lost friends and family to this disease. Exhausted relatives in my home country of Uganda no longer announce deaths let alone report cases. In Africa, six of every seven COVID-19 cases have gone undetected. It feels like deja vu. Between 1997 and 2006, 12 million Africans died from HIV/AIDS because pharmaceutical monopolies priced poor countries out of lifesaving antiretroviral drugs. Getting access took a spirited movement that began with people living with HIV and expanded to include everyone from doctors and religious leaders to Nelson Mandela. Eventually, governments and producers of generic drugs in India, Thailand, Brazil, and elsewhere worked together to break the monopoly, and the price of HIV drugs dropped by 99 percent. Imagine if the world had learned the lessons of that historical injustice. Imagine if a year ago, world leaders had agreed to compensate the vaccine developers generously, but not give them exclusive rights. Imagine if they had insisted that, to qualify for tens of billions of dollars in public funding, vaccine producers would have to share any successful formula openly. Imagine if they had agreed to pay qualified producers everywhere in both developed and developing countries to manufacture the vaccines. And imagine that governments had started building enough additional manufacturing capacity around the world over a year ago, rather than relying on a handful of corporate monopolies to repurpose a few factories. It is a moral disaster that some people are making billions of dollars by sitting on vaccine technology as billions are left unprotected and millions die avoidable deaths. We must imagine a different way, one that would vaccinate the world, address known and future variants, and foster an equitable global economic recovery from the pandemic. Just as U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke up industrial monopolies to fight tyranny in World War II, the United States can help the world overcome pharmaceutical monopolies to fight COVID-19. Wealthy countries must scale up donations of excess doses and end vaccine hoarding. Despite repeated proclamations, as of October, rich countries had delivered only 14 percent of 1.8 billion promised vaccine doses (already an inadequate number). These countries can also facilitate vaccine purchases. Yet even when African countries buy their own supplies as Botswana did, purchasing a half-million doses from Moderna at $29 per dose, more than wealthy countries pay companies often fail to meet their delivery commitments. But donations and charity, though welcome, will never be enough. To end the pandemic, developing countries must have the right and recipes to manufacture their own reliable supply of safe and effective vaccines. The US government funded and co-developed the vaccine sold by Moderna through an agreement with the National Institutes of Health. If the manufacturing know-how was shared with the World Health Organization through its South Africa COVID-19 mRNA hub, qualified manufacturers worldwide could begin to produce it. Experts have identified more than 100 qualified companies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America which have the capacity to produce COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The proposed temporary intellectual-property waiver covering all COVID-19 vaccines and technologies at the WTO remains a necessary precondition to defeat the pandemic. The waiver removes complex legal barriers to expanding vaccine production by restoring to governments the authority to choose when and how to enforce patent protections. The waiver could end pharmaceutical companies' global monopolies while still allowing them to be compensated. U.S. President Joe Biden was right that the emergence of the Omicron variant "reiterates the importance" of approving the waiver. The U.S. can use its diplomatic and economic influence to push other wealthy powers to end their opposition and embrace a resolution that will benefit the whole world. We do not have another year to lose. Only solidarity can end this pandemic and save millions of lives. Winnie Byanyima is executive director of UNAIDS and under-secretary-general of the United Nations. This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). This Statement of Offense document in the government's case against Devlyn Thompson is photographed Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. In a letter to the court Thompson wrote, My conservative creed still remains the same. However, the system of governance, a constitutional republic, and the processes in place for deciding who sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk transcends any one candidate or party. ... My message to fellow conservatives, or any American dissenting with the current administration, is that we must continue our work within the confines of the system and condemn the actions on January 6th as atrocious. Thompson pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer with a baton and received nearly four years in prison.(AP Photo/Jon Elswick) (Jon Elswick/AP) Facing prison time, many Jan. 6 rioters admit they were wrong to enter the U.S. Capitol and disavow political violence, despite what former President Donald Trump claims in spreading lies about the attack. Some directly blame Trump for misleading them and warn Trump supporters not to trust him. Others remain defiant and allege they are victims of so-called cancel culture. Advertisement At least 170 rioters have pleaded guilty and more than 70 have been sentenced. One case was dismissed and two others closed after the people charged died. No one has been found not guilty. A sampling of what they and their lawyers have said in court: Advertisement ___ Why did I enter the Capitol building? I dont have a good answer. Ive gone over it a thousand times and Im still not sure why I didnt recognize what was happening and take alternative action. There were some factors influencing me that day which cannot be discounted. We were told, everyone is going to the Capitol and be peaceful. The entire experience was surreal. I trusted the President and that was a big mistake. Leonard Gruppo, of Clovis, New Mexico, in a letter to the judge sentencing him. Gruppo, a retired Special Forces soldier, was sentenced to three months house arrest. ___ I have realized that we, meaning Trump supporters, were lied to by those that at the time had great power, meaning the then sitting President, as well as those acting on his behalf. They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was our duty to stand up to tyranny. Little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold on to power at any cost, even by creating the chaos they knew would happen with such rhetoric. Robert Palmer, of Largo, Florida, in a handwritten letter. Palmer threw a fire extinguisher and attacked police officers. He was given more than five years in prison. Advertisement ___ This police body-worn image from video, annotated by the source, that was contained in the statement of facts presented by the Justice Department in support of the criminal complaint, shows Glenn Wes Lee Croy inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. His attorney said in a court filing, "False claims were made on media sources, as well as by the President himself, that the election system had been corrupted and that the integrity of the election should be questioned. ... Mr. Croy believed what he read on the internet and heard from the President himself that the election had been stolen." (Justice Department via AP) (AP) False claims were made on media sources, as well as by the President himself, that the election system had been corrupted and that the integrity of the election should be questioned. ... Mr. Croy believed what he read on the internet and heard from the President himself that the election had been stolen. attorney Kira Anne West, writing in a court filing for Glenn Wes Lee Croy, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was sentenced to three months home detention. ___ I have attended several of Pres. Trumps events without incident. ... My intention that day was to support, not to cause any kind of trouble. I am deeply saddened at the events that transpired on that day and very remorseful that I will forever be associated. Dona Sue Bissey, of Bloomfield, Indiana, in a handwritten letter. She was given 14 days in jail. Advertisement ___ The only plan I had was to go to the White House Ellipse to listen to President Trumps speech. He said during his speech that he would be going to the capitol after he spoke and he asked us to walk there together after his speech. I left his speech early to walk back to my hotel room because I was cold. Once back in my room, I saw on the news that people where (sic) at the capitol building. ... Having travelled a long way to attend this rally, I decided to put on an extra layer of clothing and walk to the capitol. Valerie Elaine Ehrke, of Arbuckle, California, in a letter to the court. Ehrke was given three years probation. Trump never went to the Capitol that day. ___ In this image from Senate Television video, Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, Fla., front, stands in the well on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. Hodgkins' attorney wrote in part, "This country has a long history of the public seeking to punish those who are perceived to have done wrong in 'their' eyes. .... A significant percentage of our population will 'cancel' Mr. Hodgkins because of 15-minutes of bad judgment, casting stones in his directions, all the while never fully realizing their own indiscretions and hypocrisy." (Senate Television via AP) (AP) This country has a long history of the public seeking to punish those who are perceived to have done wrong in their eyes. .... A significant percentage of our population will cancel Mr. Hodgkins because of 15-minutes of bad judgment, casting stones in his directions, all the while never fully realizing their own indiscretions and hypocrisy. attorney Patrick Leduc, writing in a court filing for Paul Allard Hodgkins, of Tampa, Florida, who breached the Senate carrying a Trump campaign flag. Hodgkins was given eight months in prison. Advertisement ___ This image U.S. Capitol Police security video, annotated by the source, was contained in the statement of facts presented by the Justice Department in support of the criminal complaint, shows Jennifer Leigh Ryan inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. In a letter to the court Ryan wrote, "While I feel badly about unlawfully entering into the Capitol on January 6th, not everything I did that day was bad. Some actions I took that day were good. I came to DC to protest the election results. I wanted my voice to be heard. My only weapon was my voice and my cell phone. It is my belief that America is presently in an 'Information War.' This so-called 'war' that I spoke of, using my first amendment rights, is a war that is not fought with weapons, but with words, ideas, constructs and opinions." Ryan received 60 days in jail after posting online that "I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I'm not going to jail." (Justice Department via AP) (AP) While I feel badly about unlawfully entering into the Capitol on January 6th, not everything I did that day was bad. Some actions I took that day were good. I came to DC to protest the election results. I wanted my voice to be heard. My only weapon was my voice and my cell phone. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > It is my belief that America is presently in an Information War. This so-called war that I spoke of, using my first amendment rights, is a war that is not fought with weapons, but with words, ideas, constructs and opinions. Jenna Ryan, of Frisco, Texas, in a letter to the court. Ryan received 60 days in jail after posting online that I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and Im not going to jail. She told NBC News in an interview published this week that she was being scapegoated like the Jews in Germany. ___ My conservative creed still remains the same. However, the system of governance, a constitutional republic, and the processes in place for deciding who sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk transcends any one candidate or party. That peaceful transfer of power and the method set out for achieving it are worthy of protection. My message to fellow conservatives, or any American dissenting with the current administration, is that we must continue our work within the confines of the system and condemn the actions on January 6th as atrocious. Advertisement -Devlyn Thompson, of Seattle, in a handwritten letter. Thompson, who pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer with a baton, received nearly four years in prison. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland, contributed to this report. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Generally cloudy. High 58F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 49F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Weather Alert ...LAKE WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph expected. Scattered thunderstorms are also expected. * WHERE...American Falls Reservoir. * WHEN...From noon today to 9 PM MDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Strong winds and rough waves on area lakes will create hazardous conditions for small craft. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Boaters on area lakes should use extra caution since strong winds and rough waves can overturn small craft. && Orlando has chosen a familiar company to operate its federally funded rental assistance program: The same firm that ran it the first time around. The city council will vote Monday on allowing a staffer to negotiate a contract with KPMG to disburse $5.15 million in emergency rental assistance over the next year. The program is expected to resume accepting applications later this month, though an official date isnt known, a city spokesperson said. Advertisement The contract calls for KPMG to receive $1.635 million to cover personnel and operating costs, which is a significant bump from the previous deal. Under an emergency contract inked last April, the company was paid $755,000 to run the program. Thats because the first Emergency Rental Assistance Program had rules stipulating only 10% of the funding could be spent on administrative costs, while in the second phase, that figure was increased, said Samantha Holsten, a city spokesperson. Advertisement In the new agreement, $950,000 would cover personnel costs to administer the program, and $685,000 would provide services like case management and other housing stability services. The amounts are based on 15% for administration and an additional 10% for housing from the citys overall $6.87 million allotment in federal relief funds. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > Under the second phase, the US Treasury increased the amount to 15% so that communities would have adequate funding to expediently administer the program without having to supplement with local funds, Holsten said in an email. This phase of funding also allows an additional 10% for Housing Stability Services, which is included in the contract with KPMG. Housing Stability Services will be provided through counseling to prevent evictions, or to assist tenants in finding new housing and when necessary pay fees, deposits, and rent for the new unit. The agenda item states KPMG believes it can exhaust this latest fund within seven months, but the contract lasts a year, with four additional one-year options. It hints the city could further supplement the fund from its own budget if necessary. There are many unknown factors involved (level of need, quality of applications received, etc.) and as a result it is difficult to determine the length of time necessary to process applications and disperse funds. General funds may be needed to administer the program if the Housing Director determines the program needs to be extended beyond the original funding period, the agenda reads. In November, the city had to pause the rental assistance program, which had helped more than 1,600 households during the pandemic cover rent and utility payments. The average payout was around $5,200 for people who were economically impacted by the pandemic. The city had exhausted one $8.67 million allotment from the federal government under the emergency contract. But before starting the next round of payments, the contract needed bids, which two companies, including KPMG, submitted. During the pause, Orange County opened up its rental assistance portal to Orlando residents, but the county said it wasnt sure how many city residents had taken advantage. rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, shown here earlier this year during House debate, on Wednesday discussed his new job as an administrator for the Small Business Administration. (Photo by Hilary Scheinuk, The Advocate) Atlanta Falcons punter Thomas Morstead (19) kicks the ball away during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) The U.S. and Europe are facing growing migration crises and humanitarian emergencies at overwhelmed borders raising the question of how to legally authorize the flow of people who do not count as refugees. People are regularly forced to leave their home countries for various reasons. Its not just war, torture or persecution based on political views, race or religion that force people around the world to seek better lives elsewhere. Yet only those who fall in those narrow categories can apply for asylum as a route to living in the United States and many European countries. Advertisement Our current system for refugees fails to recognize that economic desperation is often the cause that drives people across borders. These migrants enter a veritable black hole of international law, quite literally a no mans or no persons land without immigration pathways for people experiencing economic desperation, no matter how acute. The worlds framework for accepting refugees needs to be overhauled to give more of these migrants viable futures. Anthony Pahnke is an associate professor of international relations at San Francisco State University. - Original Credit: Courtesy photo (Courtesy photo) Our current system is stuck in how the world defined refugee following World War II. The 1951 Refugee Convention was hashed out between most of the worlds countries to address the post-war humanitarian catastrophe and organize settlement for the millions who had been uprooted. Over time, the universal definition of refugee has become someone fleeing religious, political, racial and/or national persecution who therefore had the right to apply for asylum in a foreign country. Advertisement Yet one notable omission from the definition remains a sticking point today: recognizing the economic drivers of displacement. People fleeing poverty to improve their economic situation count as migrants, not refugees. While migrants may access certain services sometimes provided by governments in the countries where they find themselves, including health care and food assistance, they are not guaranteed these resources by any kind of right. Refugees, by contrast, are entitled to certain rights. Perhaps most importantly, they have a legal right to reside in the host country, so they dont live in fear of deportation. This approach has its roots in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1945, the pillar of international human rights, which states that everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. The declaration also suggests that displaced people would eventually return to their home countries, expressed in Article 13s statement that everyone has the right both to leave his country and to return. But not all migrants can rebuild lives at home. Receiving countries often recognize this reality for refugees by allowing them to apply for citizenship after a short-term residence. The problem is that people who are forced from their home countries for economic reasons do not typically get such privileges from receiving countries. With rapid climate change and increasing economic upheaval (some brought on by policies such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, which impoverished millions in rural Mexico), tens of millions of vulnerable people will be forced to cross borders to survive. Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. > Preparing for this unavoidable reality will require a significant move among nations to amend the 1951 Refugee Convention. A good first step came in 2018 with the Global Compact for Migration, orchestrated by the United Nations and endorsed by 152 countries including Britain and most of the nations in the European Union. The agreement seeks to establish guidelines for the safe, orderly and humane flow of people, helping to shape policy in the places where migrants end up. Participating countries could give the Global Compact more force by making it more like a treaty, having governments sign and ratify it. A more forceful option would be to change the definition of who counts as a refugee by amending the existing Refugee Convention to include people fleeing poverty. Advertisement Meanwhile, individual countries should make their immigration systems more flexible and accommodating. Ultimately they decide which refugees and migrants they will permit across their borders, and what services and residency options they will provide. If the world is to live up to its promise of enabling movement for all people in accord with basic human rights, its definition of refugee and its treatment of migrants have to change. Anthony Pahnke is an associate professor of international relations at San Francisco State University. BILLINGS, Mont. - A Billings woman has been sentenced after packages containing meth for distribution were sent through the U.S. Postal Service to her residence. In August 2020, 38-year-old Holly Michele Hedberg plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the government alleged in court documents that in July 2020, an investigation began after the U.S. Postal Service located a suspicious package that was destined for Hedbergs address. A search warrant was served on the suspicious package and agents determined it contained meth. Law enforcement learned that Hedberg was getting packages of meth from Washington through the mail. In a search of Hedbergs residence, drug paraphernalia was found along with a drug ledger and packaging from previous packages from the Washington address. Hedberg admitted to receiving about 10 packages of meth from Washington, with each package containing from two to four ounces of meth the DOJ said. Holly Michele Hedberg was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. (The Center Square) The majority of Americans support Congressional efforts to block President Joe Bidens vaccine mandates for large businesses ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court hearing on that very issue, according to a new poll. Convention of States Action, along with the Trafalgar Group, released the poll, which found that 51.1% of surveyed voters support a bill in Congress to stop Bidens vaccine mandates for large businesses. The poll reports that 40.6% of voters do not support the bill while 8.3% of voters are unsure. The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan measure in December to block Bidens mandate, which requires employers with at least 100 workers to ensure they are vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. Businesses that do not comply face hefty fines. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would enforce the mandate. Notably, 62.9% of surveyed Independent voters with an opinion on the question said they support the bill to block the mandates as well. In this poll we see that a good number of voters are not aware of the measure in Congress to block Bidens vaccine mandate, but among those who are aware, big majorities support the effort, even a third of voters in Bidens own party, said Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action. This is the defining issue of the 2022 election cycle. Surveys were conducted Dec. 17 through Dec. 21 of more than 1,000 likely 2022 voters. The poll comes ahead of the Supreme Courts oral arguments on a legal challenge to two of Bidens vaccine mandates. Those arguments are scheduled to begin Friday. Critics argue the vaccine mandates set a dangerous precedent. All Americans should know this: if this OSHA mandate goes into effect, it will not be the last time OSHA attempts to regulate private businesses in novel areas that might have once been unthinkable, Gene Hamilton with the group America First said. Vaccines today, what tomorrow? We are immensely proud to partner with [Texas Public Policy Foundation] and other organizations to continue this vital fight. The Biden administration has defended its mandates, arguing the danger of the virus warrants the federal government's intervention. Especially as the US faces the highly transmissible Omicron variant, it is critical to protect workers with vaccination requirements and testing protocols that are urgently needed, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. At a critical moment for the nations health, the OSHA vaccination or testing rule ensures that employers are protecting their employees and the CMS health care vaccination requirement ensures that providers are protecting their patients. We are confident in the legal authority for both policies and DOJ will vigorously defend both at the Supreme Court. FRISCO, TEXAS- Its no secret that there have been travel issues across the country the last few weeks due to COVID and weather. And thats something you should be prepared for. Our reporter Bradley Warren woke up at 3 a.m. to find out his flight through Seattle had been canceled, pushed back to the next day, and got in at 10 p.m. Bradley was able to make a different flight which got him into Dallas later today than planned but nonetheless there. The flight that he was on actually got into a different airport in the Dallas area, he had to go back to the other airport to pick up the rental car. As of Tuesday, around 1500 flights were delayed across the nation. According to the Wall Street Journal that is 11 days of flights being canceled over the amount of 1000 a day. Due to COVID, some airlines are also not at staffing capacity which is making it difficult to get flights in and out. What to do? Best advice coming from Bradleys mom who is a travel agent, Check-in the night before and confirm that you have a seat assignment Be early If you do not have a seat assignment and youre allowed to purchase a seat, do it. Saver flights do not always guarantee a seat, meaning a saver seat would be the first person bumped from the flight. Bradleys mom, Laurie also says when dealing with delays like this its best to set reminders the night before to wake up to check and see if your flight was canceled, perhaps your flight is at 9 a.m., wake up at 4 a.m. and check if it is canceled that gives ample time to reschedule. Since Christmas, according to the Wall Street Journal close to 21,000 flights of been canceled. Asked about the future of American democracy, Madeleine Albright called herself an optimist who worries a lot. I feel the same way. Our shared outlook is likely shaped by our similar personal stories. Advertisement She was born in Czechoslovakia before World War II. Her family fled Nazism, then communism, and was given sanctuary in the United States. She rose to become the first female Secretary of State. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat, represents Floridas 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. (XX) I was born in Vietnam after the Vietnam War. My family fled communism, was rescued by the U.S. Navy, and was given sanctuary in America. I became the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress. Advertisement I love America and deplore those who threaten her security or violate her values. It doesnt matter to me if the threat is external or internal, or comes from the extreme right or the extreme left. Such patriotism is common among refugees. Having received Americas grace and generosity, we feel duty-bound to defend the nation that came to our rescue. We understand America may sometimes fall short of its ideals, but we never take America for granted. We believe democracy and democratic capitalism are the best ways to promote security, justice and prosperity. We know what the alternatives look like, because our own families endured them until they escaped them. As immigrants whove seen their native countries disfigured by dictatorship, we also recognize there is nothing inevitable about the success or survival of American democracy. It must be preserved and protected by patriots of all political stripes, generation after generation. Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. > In recent years, Albright has warned that our democracy is endangered from within. The events of Jan. 6, 2021, proved her prophetic. On that day, four decades after my family fled violence in Vietnam for security and stability in the United States, I was in the Capitol fleeing my fellow Americans. Members of the angry mob were lied to by powerful people willing to discard all of the things that actually make America great in their ruthless effort to retain power: a free and fair election, the rule of law, the peaceful transfer of power, our proud democratic traditions, and independent institutions essential to our system of checks and balances. Many of those same people, some of whom are still in power or seek to regain power, are now trying to dismiss or downplay Jan. 6. One goal of the bipartisan congressional committee investigating the attack, on which I serve, is to hold those who incited the violence accountable to the American public and in the judgment of history. Advertisement One year has elapsed since the assault on the seat and symbol of Americas democracy by its own citizens. It is a time for national reflection. We remember a heartbreaking and harrowing day on which we witnessed the worst of America, but also the best of America. We honor the law enforcement officers who kept members of Congress and staff safe and enabled a free and fair election to be properly certified. This is also a moment for national resolve. Whether you were blessed to be born an American, or to become an American like me, we the American people Democrats, Republicans, and independents should unite and resolve to never take American democracy for granted, to cherish it, and to defend it. If we do not, we will lose it. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat, represents Floridas 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Iowa City man shoots and injures his landlord while fixing pipes in his home, police say After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent a few minutes sounding short of breath, he paused at a news briefing Wednesday to tell his audience excuse me while quickly moving his head and recomposing himself. Was he OK? DeSantis appearance sparked questions across social media about whether the governor needed to get himself tested for COVID. But on Thursday, he said he was symptom-free and feeling fine. Testing hasnt been necessary, he said a position that coincides with him advocating that testing be done only for people with symptoms from the highly contagious virus. Advertisement I havent had any symptoms and havent tested, DeSantis said during a news briefing in West Palm Beach. The governor has held multiple news conferences across Florida this week, appearing without a mask at the lectern while standing in the company of the directors of his key agencies. Advertisement When Trump was president, they would test me every time I might see him, DeSantis said. I have not had the test to go anywhere in an awfully long time and Id only test if I had symptoms. Getting vaccinated While the governor has said he received the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, he has been elusive about whether he has received a booster as recommended by health experts. During a December interview on the Fox Channel, DeSantis was asked directly whether he had received the booster. [ RELATED: DeSantis says Florida will provide a million at-home COVID test kits to senior facilities ] Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. > So, Ive done, whatever I did. The normal shot, he replied. And that at the end of the day is peoples individual decisions about what they want to do. Taking a booster? On Monday, Politicos Gary Fineout asked DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw whether DeSantis has taken the booster. I am not privy to the governors private medical decisions and am unable to share information about his booster status, she said, adding that Governor DeSantis has consistently said that vaccination (and by extension, boosters) should be a personal choice, and anyone who has questions or concerns should consult with a healthcare provider. [ RELATED: Q & A I got a booster then tested positive for COVID. Was it a waste? ] At news briefings this week, DeSantis has downplayed vaccinations, saying with Omicron, you know, the vaccinations are not preventing infection. He pointed out Miami-Dade as a county with a high vaccination rate and a high number of cases. Advertisement A Miami-Dade COVID tracker shows the majority of COVID hospitalizations are unvaccinated people or those who have the shots but are immunocompromised. Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com or Twitter @cindykgoodman MILLER COUNTY, Mo. Three people were arrested on Tuesday during a search of a residence in Brumley. According to the Miller County Sheriff's Office, during the evening hours of Jan. 4, deputies executed a search warrant at a residence on Castle Road in Brumley. During the search of the residence, deputies located and arrested Joseph Angel who was wanted on several felony no bond warrants out of Miller and Osage counties. Also located and arrested was Brian Burd, who had three felony Miller County warrants, and Rebecca Webster. Deputies reportedly located methamphetamine and paraphernalia during the search. Webster has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and is currently being held in lieu of a $25,000 bond. Burd and Angel are being held with no bond. All three individuals remain in custody at the Miller County Adult Detention Center. Deputies were assisted by detectives with the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force. Migration trends set off by the pandemic are still radically reshaping the nation, and the big losers continue to be the states of Illinois and California. Those states saw the largest net loss in residents during 2021, based on data provided by U-Haul. The company measures the net gain/loss of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from well over 2 million one-way U-Haul truck customer transactions that occur annually. The five states that saw the highest number of net exits were Alabama (#46), Massachusetts (#47), Pennsylvania (#48), Illinois (#49), and California (#50). Illinois and California also came in dead-last in U-Haul's 2020 net migration metrics. It's not just U-Haul data; census numbers bear out the trends. In fact, so many people have left California and Illinois in recent years, the states have each lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The states of Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York will also lose a representative in 2022. Meanwhile, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, North Carolina, and Florida will all be gaining one new congressional seat, while Texas will gain two. The Lone Star State earned U-Haul's bragging rights as the leading growth state of 2021, narrowly besting Florida for tops honors, according to U-Haul Growth Index data. Tennessee ranked third, South Carolina fourth and Arizona fifth among the top growth states. Missouri was 39th, down from 7th in 2020. Two other buzzed-about states during the pandemic, Idaho jumped from #30 in 2020 to #9 in 2021, and South Dakota moved from #25 in 2020 to #11 in 2021. Related Coverage It will be bitterly cold heading into the weekend for southern Wisconsin, and after a brief warmup on Saturday, another blast of cold will move in, according to forecasters. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory for roughly the western half of Wisconsin from 9 p.m. Thursday through 9 a.m. Friday, and there also is a winter weather advisory for counties in the Lake Superior lake effect snow belt. Dane County is not part of the advisory, but wind chills still will be down to 10 below to 20 below overnight into Friday, while they tumble as low as 25 below to the west. Look for periods of light snow continuing Thursday, with accumulations of up to a half-inch mainly north of Madison and Milwaukee. There is a chance for a period of light freezing rain or freezing drizzle Saturday afternoon and evening, especially for portions of southeast Wisconsin, followed by another arctic air mass Sunday into early next week, with wind chills again 15 below to 25 below Sunday night into Monday morning, the Weather Service said. Jaclyn Anderson, Weather Service lead forecaster, warned that such cold wind chills can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. In Madison on Thursday, there is a 20% chance for snow before noon, then flurries after noon, with mostly cloudy skies, a high near 12 and northwest winds at 10 to 15 miles per hour producing wind chill values of 5 below to zero. After an overnight low around 5 below with wind chill values of 10 below to 20 below, Friday should be sunny, with a high near 11 and northwest winds at 5 to 10 mph turning out of the south in the afternoon and producing wind chills of 10 below to 20 below. The Weather Service forecasts quiet conditions for the Madison area into the middle of next week. Skies over Madison should be partly sunny Saturday, sunny Sunday and Monday, and mostly sunny Tuesday and Wednesday, with highs near 28, falling to 8, 7, 22 and 30, and lows Friday night through Tuesday night around 10, 10, 5 below, 6 below and 12. 27 Storm Track meteorologist Max Tsaparis forecasts flurries possible Thursday morning, a few flurries possible Saturday and again Monday. Tsaparis said highs for Madison Thursday through Wednesday should be near 10, 8, 32, 16, 9, 23 and 26, and overnight lows around 5 below, 4, 10, 7 below, 4 below and 10. Wednesdays high in Madison was 31 at 3:31 a.m., 3 degrees above the normal high and 20 degrees below the record high of 51 for Jan. 6, set in 2012. Wednesdays low in Madison was 11 at 11:59 p.m., 2 degrees below the normal low and 38 degrees above the record low of 27 below for Jan. 6, set in 1884. Officially, 0.02 inches of precipitation was recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport on Wednesday, boosting Madisons January and 2022 precipitation total (rain plus snow converted to liquid) to 0.06 inches, 0.17 inches below normal. The meteorological winter (December through February) total rose to 1.75 inches, 0.11 inches below normal. Madisons record precipitation for Jan. 5 is 1.11 inches, set in 1939. Officially, 0.9 inches of snow was recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport on Wednesday, boosting Madisons January and 2022 snow total to 1.7 inches, 0.2 inches below normal. For meteorological winter, Madison has received 8.2 inches, 5.7 inches below normal. For the snow season (since July 1), Madison has received 8.8 inches, 8.7 inches below normal. Madisons record snowfall for Jan. 5 is 9.9 inches, set in 1929. Madisons official snow depth is 3 inches. To make decisions about what venture to get into next, farmer Shannon Hayes uses two guiding principles: the quality of life she desires and her farms mission. Letters from Miami prosecutors informing several key figures in Floridas ghost candidate scandal that they are facing the possibility of criminal charges are to be publicly released, following a court hearing Thursday. Attorneys representing former state senator Frank Artiles objected to the public release of certain evidence they deemed private during the hearing but did not argue to shield from disclosure the letters, which alerted three individuals and a nonprofit organization that they are also under investigation. Advertisement Its not clear when the letters, as well as statements taken from three other people connected to the scheme and bank records for the nonprofit organization under investigation, will be released. The existence of those documents was first made public in a Wednesday court filing. Attorneys representing Artiles, who is accused of paying a friend nearly $45,000 to run as an independent candidate in a highly competitive Miami-area state Senate race in 2020, had requested to keep nonpublic other records prosecutors in the case have collected, including Artiles credit report and files collected from his personal laptops and cell phone. Advertisement Attorneys representing several media organizations, including the Orlando Sentinel, challenged the request from Artiles attorneys, arguing the release of evidence in the case serves an important public interest. Under Florida law, evidence gathered by prosecutors in a criminal case generally becomes public record when it is disclosed to the defense. Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan is scheduled to rule on the defense request later this month. Frank Artiles leaves the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on March 18, 2021, following his arrest. (MATIAS J. OCNER/TNS) Artiles is accused of bribing Alex Rodriguez to run for office as an independent in the 2020 state Senate District 37 election. He was one of three so-called ghost candidates who entered battleground races, did no campaigning but were boosted by ads touting them as progressives, apparently to siphon votes from Democrats. Prosecutors in the Artiles case and news organizations have traced the money used to boost the spoiler candidates to a network of political committees, dark-money nonprofits and behind-the-scenes operatives, including some of those whove now received prior to letters from prosecutors. Among them: Alex Alvarado, whose political committees spent $550,000 on ads championing the apparent spoiler candidates; Richard Alexander, the chairman of the nonprofit Grow United, which funded Alvarados committees; former Democratic fundraiser Dan Newman, who raised nearly $1 million into Grow United in 2020; and Lets Preserve the American Dream, a nonprofit that contributed to more than $1 million to Grow United that year. Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. > Alvarado and Newman have said they did nothing illegal, while Alexander has ignored requests for comment from the Sentinel. A prior to letter from the State Attorneys Office typically alerts someone they are the target of an investigation, giving them a chance to sit for an interview with prosecutors. Frank Quintero, who is representing Artiles, said the letters, as well as newly disclosed witness statements and bank records, were not relevant to the states case against Artiles. Tim VanderGiesen, a public-corruption prosecutor in the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office, during Thursdays hearing acknowledged a parallel investigation into others involved in the 2020 ghost candidate scheme, including people who had professional relationships with Artiles and were paid by the same organization. Advertisement The court filings released this week show the State Attorneys Office has taken a statement from the chief financial officer for Data Targeting, which paid $15,000 per month plus expenses to Artiles to work on South Florida state Senate races in 2020 and oversaw Republican state Senate campaigns. Prosecutors also interviewed Ryan Tyson, a former vice president for the corporate lobbying group Associated Industries of Florida and the head of Lets Preserve the American Dream, which worked with Artiles before the 2020 election, as well as Abigail MacIver, who helped coordinate Grow Uniteds contributions to Alvarados political committees and who records show has also been paid through Lets Preserve the American Dream. Artiles faces four felony charges and has pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez, the spoiler candidate in District 37, pleaded guilty in August and agreed to testify against Artiles. No one else has yet been charged in the case, though authorities have said their investigation is ongoing. anmartin@orlandosentinel.com New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Investors Clinic (IC), the leading real estate consulting company did a month long campaign (Flat 983) on Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, to identify and reward a COVID Warrior, who contributed selflessly and tirelessly to serve the society in these unprecedented times. Investors Clinic gifted keys of a flat to COVID warrior couple, Himanshu and Twinkle Kalia from Delhi, for providing free Ambulance services to COVID patients. The month-long campaign was run to select the winner through public opinion amongst the six finalists. Also Read | Lohri 2022 Food Recipes: From Sarso Ka Saag to Pindi Channe, 5 Authentic Punjabi Dishes for Lohri ki Thaali (Watch Videos). Investors Clinic has been running this campaign for last five years with Radio Mirchi. The company has acknowledged the work undertaken by various civil society organizations and individuals in the last five seasons. Last year the company had gifted the flat to a Martyred Army Officer's family. Speaking on the occasion, Honeyy Katiyal, Founder, Investors Clinic said, "Investors Clinic has always believed that giving back to the society is the most important duty for every individual and company. The times have been really harsh, but some people have risen above normal beings and helped people during the COVID pandemic. We have been running this campaign to acknowledge the contribution of few exceptional people and highlight their impact on the society. This year, we decided to acknowledge the contribution of COVID Warriors. We congratulate Vasundhara and Kunal Bose for winning a small token of appreciation from our end and hope that they will continue doing the good work." Also Read | AR Rahman Birthday Special: From Deadpool 2 to Lord of War, 7 Times Hollywood Memorably Borrowed Music Maestro's Indian Musical Gems (LatestLY Exclusive). The theme for this year's campaign was around COVID Warriors. Investors Clinic received more than 100 entries and six entries were finalized by the Jury which included - Himanshu Kalia and Twinkle Kalia (fondly known as Ambulance couple) for providing Free Ambulance Service; Vasundhara and Kunal Bose, Kvaab Welfare Foundation for working for distress animals; Rakesh - COVID Sample Collector, Paramedical Staff who collected more than 10k samples; Padma Shri Awardee Dr Jitender Singh Shunty, President Shaheed Bhagat Singh Seva Dal; and Usha Gupta, Pickle Lady who helped more than 65k families. While people are running the race of life to earn a living and become successful, there are few who selflessly contribute towards the society. It is important to recognize such work, so that they turn out to be inspiration for more and more people and create for warriors for the society. Investors Clinic has a strong network of 34 offices across India, more than 1.65 lakh sq. ft. of office space and global foray with international presence in Dubai, Doha and Singapore. Investors Clinic's brand value is - reckoned at more than INR 2000 Cr. with a turnover of INR 300+ Cr. Investors Clinic is strengthening its reach and presence very rapidly. Investors Clinic has a proven track record of working with more than 200 leading developers. The company is committed to providing best-in-class customer service through world-class technology, processes and response mechanisms. Investor Clinic is involved into end-to-end property deals, from property value appreciation to new property launches. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for construction of a bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India)- Dharchula (Nepal). "An MoU will be signed between India and Nepal to construct a bridge over river Mahakali which will help the people living in Uttarakhand (Dharchula) and in the area under Nepal territory," Union Minister Anurag Thakur told the media after a cabinet briefing. Also Read | Gujarat Shocker: Private School Teacher Rapes 16-Year-Old Girl In Kutch By Promising Good Marks In Exam, Forces Her To Steal Jewellery; Booked. The signing of MoU will further improve diplomatic relation between the two countries. An official release said India and Nepal as close neighbours share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture. Both India and Nepal have been working together on different regional forums such as SAARC, BIMSTEC as well as global fora. (ANI) Also Read | Volvo Car India Reports 27% Jump in Retail Sales in 2021. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI): Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday assured that the Central government will do everything in its capacity to ensure the income of the farmers of the North-Eastern region is doubled. Tomar and Union Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy co-chaired a meeting to review the progress of various schemes of the Government of India in the Agriculture sector in states of the NER virtually from Vignan Bhavan, New Delhi today. Also Read | Chandigarh COVID-19 Restrictions: UT Administration Announces Night Curfew From 10 PM to 5 AM, Shuts Schools and Colleges; Check Details. Addressing the North Eastern States, Tomar said, "The GOI will do everything in its capacity to ensure that the income of the farmers of the NER region is doubled. Our door is always open. I request all State Governments to come up with a proposal if you find any difficulty in any schemes related to the agriculture sector." He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi put special emphasis on the development of the North Eastern Region. Also Read | Munawar Faruqui, Stand-Up Comedian, Calls Off Hyderabad Show Due to COVID-19 Curbs. Speaking on the opportunities in the oil palm sector, Tomar said, "ICAR suggested that 9 lakh hectare land in the North East is suitable for oil palm production. Due to the oil palm production farmers of the NER will be hugely benefitted, employment will be generated and import of oil palm can be reduced. Thus, North East has a major role to play to make India self-reliant in edible oil." The Minister said there are some horticulture and medicinal crops only produced in North-Eastern State. He said that Agriculture and Commerce Ministry are working together to tap such opportunities and to solve the logistic problems faced by the North Eastern States. The Agriculture Minister also requested State Government to focus on Natural Farming and said that the PM's vision to minimize the dependence of farmers on purchased inputs through Zero budget Natural farming that reduces the cost of agriculture by relying on traditional field-based technologies which leads to improved soil health through natural farming should be fulfilled. He also congratulated Sikkim and the other North States for their achievements in organic farming. Reddy, while addressing the states suggested that a task force be formed with representatives from Agriculture Ministry, DoNER, and State governments to ensure that the schemes of Agriculture Ministry are saturated for the Northeastern Region and the schemes can be customized to address the unique nature and the nuances encountered in the Northeast Region. He further said that post-harvest management also needs to be improved by involving FPOs, SHGs, and the private sector. In the meeting, Agriculture Ministers of the Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura discussed the issues and challenges they were facing in detail. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on Thursday expanded the scope of the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF), which would now examine bank frauds of Rs 3 crore and above and recommend action. Till now, the ABBFF was only looking into banking and financial frauds of Rs 50 crore and above. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Dispenses Rs 4,314 Crore Loans to Over 5,06,995 MSMEs. With the above amendment, there will be complete synchronisation of all the frauds where complaints/FIRs are filed with CBI for the threshold of Rs 3 crore and above, an official statement said. "CVC in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Department of Financial Services has further expanded the role of ABBFF headed by T M Bhasin, former vigilance commissioner, to cover all banking and financial fraud cases involving the amount of Rs 3 crore and above, to examine the role of all levels of officials/Whole Time Directors (including ex-officials/ex-WTDs) in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Public Sector Financial Institutions (PSFIs)," it said. Also Read | BJP Will Win Elections in 2022, Form Govt in 2024, Says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The cases classified as fraud (between Rs 3 crore and Rs 50 crore) and reported to RBI by banks and financial institutions on or after January 6, 2022 would also fall under the purview of the panel. "The ABBFF is functioning as a 'Safety Valve' for bankers and it critically and comprehensively examines the gravity of lapses/accountability, if any, on the part of officials/ Whole Time Directors of PSBs/PSFIs, based on the documentary evidence," it said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in August 2019, while addressing industry leaders had reassured the corporates that all steps would be taken to spur growth of the economy and for this purpose, all bonafide credit decisions of bankers would be protected and there would not be any witch hunting, taking the benefit of hindsight. The CVC, in consultation with RBI, thereafter in August 2019 constituted the ABBFF comprising four members for an initial term of two years. This period has been further extended by two years in August 2021. Bhasin, a veteran banker, served as vigilance commissioner in the CVC for four years from June 2015 to June 2019. Prior to that, he was chairman and managing director of Chennai-based Indian Bank for more than five years. Other members of the ABBFF are Madhusudan Prasad, former secretary of Ministry of Urban Development; D K Pathak, former director-general of BSF; and David Rasquinha, former managing director of EXIM Bank. Lenders would refer all large fraud cases worth Rs 3 crore and above to the ABBFF and on receipt of its recommendation or advice, the bank concerned would take further action in such matter. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may also refer any case or matter to the board where it has any issue or difficulty or in technical matters with the PSB and PFI concerned. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, January 6: A Delhi Court on Thursday sent the main conspirator and creator of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app to seven days police custody. The accused Neeraj Bishnoi was produced by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO) unit at the deputy magistrate's house. Bulli Bai App Creator Neeraj Bishnoi Highly Radicalised, Reveals Long Planning but Shows No Remorse, Say Delhi Police. The police had demanded seven days' custody and it was granted by the deputy magistrate. Niraj Bishnoi was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO) team from Assam for the alleged involvement in the Bulli Bai case. Earlier today, he was brought to the national capital from Assam and will be produced before Delhi court today. Neeraj Bishnoi (20) is a resident of the Digambar area of Assam's Jorhat. He is a B.Tech student of the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. "During interrogation, Neeraj Bishnoi disclosed that the app was developed in Nov 2021 and updated in Dec'21. He said he created one more Twitter account to talk about the app. Using another account he has stated 'You've arrested the wrong person," said the Delhi Police Special Cell. Bulli Bai Case: Delhi Police Asks Twitter to Remove Objectionable Content. Several complaints were received by police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year. An engineering student from Bengaluru, a young girl from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends have also been arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case, informed police on Wednesday. "Three people have been arrested in the 'Bulli Bai' app case, including Vishal Kumar Jha and Shweta Singh. The third accused is Shweta's friend," said Hemant Nagrale, Mumbai Police Commissioner. Vishal Kumar has been sent to police custody till January 10 by a Bandra court and Shweta Singh is on a transit remand. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, January 6: Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO), Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested the main conspirator of the 'Bulli Bai' case from Assam on Thursday. KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) IFSO Delhi, informed, "Neeraj Bishnoi, arrested from Assam by Delhi Police Special Cell's IFSO team, is the main conspirator and creator of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app. He is being brought to Delhi. Neeraj Bishnoi (20) is a resident of Digambar area of Assam's Jorhat. He is a BTech student of Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal: IFSO The Bulli Bai case was transferred to the IFSO on Wednesday. Several complaints were received by several police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year. Bulli Bai App Case: Main Accused Neeraj Bishnoi Arrested by Delhi Polices IFSO Special Cell From Assam. Earlier, an engineering student from Bengaluru, a young girl from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends has been arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case, informed police on Wednesday. "Three people have been arrested in the 'Bulli Bai' app case, including Vishal Kumar Jha and Shweta Singh. The third accused is Shweta's friend," said Hemant Nagrale, Mumbai Police Commissioner. Vishal Kumar has been sent to police custody till January 10 by a Bandra court and Shweta Singh is on a transit remand. Mumbai Police on Monday filed a first information report (FIR) against unknown persons based on complaints that doctored photographs of women were uploaded for auction on the 'Bulli Bai' application hosted on the GitHub platform. On Sunday, West Mumbai Cyber Police station registered a case against the 'Bulli Bai' app developers and Twitter handles that promoted the app. The case was registered against the unknown culprits under sections 153(A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion etc), 153(B) (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295(A) (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 354D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology Act. Sulli Deals 2.0: GitHub App Bulli Bai Targets Muslim Women, Shares Pictures of Journalists, Social Workers, Students, Famous Personalities. After both the Delhi and Mumbai police lodged FIR in the matter under relevant sections, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a tweet on Sunday said, "Government of India is working with police organizations in Delhi and Mumbai on this matter." (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Faridabad, Jan 6 (PTI) Faridabad Police has busted an interstate gang arresting seven of its members for allegedly duping over 180 people across 21 states in a credit card fraud, a senior police officer here said on Thursday. The accused posed as SBI employees and elicited credit card information from unsuspecting customers. Also Read | Todays CCEA Decision Adds Strength to Indias Efforts of Achieving the Target of 450 Latest Tweet by PM Narendra Modi. Police has recovered Rs 22.60 lakh in cash, 35 mobiles, 109 SIM cards and 15 ATMs from the possession of the accused. The accused were identified as Sonveer, Rahul, a native of Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, Aman, a native of Itawah in Uttar Pradesh, Shakti, a native of Bihar, and Pankaj and Abdullah, both from Delhi, who were arrested from the city's Uttam Nagar area. Also Read | BJP Will Win Elections in 2022, Form Govt in 2024, Says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. Subhan, a native of Farrukhabad in UP, was arrested from his state. Arora said the accused would buy customers' data from Just Dial website and call them up using a toll free number posing as SBI executives. They would then lie to the customer that they needed to get a new credit card and would offer them a new replacement. They would then ask them for card information - card number, CVV, PIN etc - telling them it is part of the process, he said. Once they had got all the information, they would withdraw the funds, he added. Taking cognisance of the increasing cybercrime, we formed a special team and our cybercrime police station team finally cracked the gang, the top officer of the city said. He said the gang was spread out in 21 states of India and committed 21 such crimes in Haryana including five in Faridabad. In Faridabad cases they had duped over Rs 5 lakh from five people, he said. In its investigation, the police went through 17 accounts of the accused and found transactions of about Rs 1.25 crore, he said. The accused confessed duping 50 people in Telangana, 41 in UP, 21 in Haryana, 12 in Maharashtra, and seven in Tamil Nadu. The also duped 21 in Delhi, six in Punjab, four in Rajasthan, four in MP, four in Uttarakhand, three in Gujarat, three in West Bengal, two each in Jharkhand and Odisha, and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka. The Police Commissioner rewarded the cybercrime team with cash prize of Rs 25000 for busting the gang. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, Jan 6 (PTI) Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 36,265 new coronavirus cases, 36 per cent more than the previous day, and 13 deaths, health department officials said. Also Read | Puducherry COVID-19 Restrictions: UT Administration Announces New Curbs As COVID-19 Cases Surge; Check Details. The new cases included 79 Omicron infections. Also Read | Bihar: 17-Year-Old Teenager Flees From Vaccination Centre After Testing COVID-19 Positive in Jamui District. Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said earlier in the day that the state government has not yet considered shutting down local trains in Mumbai and imposing inter-district travel restrictions as number of hospitalizations was still low. Mumbai alone reported 20,181 new COVID-19 cases, a new record for the city, and four deaths. The state reported 9,727 more cases compared to Wednesday when 26,538 cases had come to light. Tope and additional chief secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas met NCP president Sharad Pawar (whose party is part of the ruling combine) and discussed the coronavirus situation in the state and the restrictions in force. In Mumbai, the hospitalisation rate has not increased significantly and 80 per cent of hospital beds in the city were still unoccupied, Tope told reporters. A similar rise in infections had been seen during the second wave too, but this time around the demand for medical oxygen and the number of deaths have not increased, which was a positive sign, he added. The new infections are seen to be affecting the upper respiratory tract including the nose and throat more, and not so much the lungs, the health minister said. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pawar on Thursday said she has tested positive for coronavirus. Pawar is the Lok Sabha member from Dindori in Nashik district of Maharashtra. Hemant Godse, a fellow MP from the district had also tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. On the inoculation drive against coronavirus, the health department said 13,64,60,096 doses have been administered in the state so far. Of this, 3,16,746 doses were administered to children in the age group of 15-17 years. In a related development, a 16-year-old boy in Maharashtra's Nashik district was mistakenly administered a dose of Covishield vaccine instead of Covaxin. As per the Union government's directive, children in this category are supposed to get only Covaxin. But the boy did not suffer any adverse effects, a local health official said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Aurangabad (Maharashtra) [India], January 6 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad on Thursday slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and State Finance Minister Ajit Pawar for not attending pre-budget consultation meetings called by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the upcoming Union budget. Speaking to ANI, MoS Karad said, "There have been a total of 12 to 13 meetings for the upcoming Union bugdet. Maharashtra CM and the state finance minister were called for two meetings of the Union Finance Ministry over it." Also Read | Munawar Faruqui, Stand-Up Comedian, Calls Off Hyderabad Show Due to COVID-19 Curbs. "But neither the Chief Minister nor the state finance minister was present at the two meetings," he added. Further, the MoS said, "I understand that Maharashtra CM may have been busy but couldn't the state finance minister or Deputy CM take part in the meeting called by the Union Finance Ministry?" Also Read | Bulli Bai App Case: Main Accused Neeraj Bishnoi Sent To 7-Day Police Custody By Delhi Court. Kadar asserted that if Maharashtra was represented at the meeting it would have been beneficial for the state. The Union Budget for 2022-23, is scheduled to be presented in Parliament on February 1, 2022. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tanda (Hoshiarpur), Jan 6 (PTI) Facing flak from the BJP over the "security lapse" during the prime minister's Punjab visit, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday alleged that Narendra Modi's "gimmick" of "threat to his life" was aimed at "toppling a democratically elected government" in the state. Channi further said the prime minister is a respected leader of the nation but it does not behove a leader of his stature to indulge in "such cheap theatrics". Also Read | Chandigarh COVID-19 Restrictions: UT Administration Announces Night Curfew From 10 PM to 5 AM, Shuts Schools and Colleges; Check Details. He was addressing a gathering here after laying a foundation stone for development works worth Rs 18 crore at the New Grain Market, an official statement said. Channi also addressed another gathering in Dasuya here where he alleged that the "failure" of BJP's rally on Wednesday was a reflection of the fact that wise Punjabis have outrightly rejected the "divisive" agenda of the party. Also Read | Munawar Faruqui, Stand-Up Comedian, Calls Off Hyderabad Show Due to COVID-19 Curbs. In Tanda, the chief minister claimed there was no threat to Modi's life but he cancelled his programme because of less number of people at the BJP's rally at Ferozepur. He said because of the empty chairs at the rally venue, the prime minister went back to the national capital citing the "frivolous reason of security threat". Channi alleged that the "false pretext" under which the PM cancelled his visit was part of a "larger conspiracy to defame Punjab and murder democracy in the state on lines of what was done earlier in Jammu and Kashmir". The chief minister asked how could the prime minister's life be threatened if the protestors were more than a kilometre away from him. He said that not even a slogan was raised at the place where Modi's cavalcade stopped, then how could his life have been under threat. Channi reminded Modi that Punjabis have sacrificed their lives for unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country and added that they could never pose any danger to the life and security of the prime minister. "The lean presence of public in the rally has exposed the poor position of the BJP in the state which is not going down well with its entire leadership," he claimed. In Dasuya, Channi said the fact that only 700 people were present at rally with 70,000 chairs shows mounting resentment in minds of people against the Modi government. "The vacant chairs showed the mirror to BJP and it's entire leadership about their failure to gauge public sentiment... Punjabis have made their mind to teach haughty BJP leaders a lesson in the upcoming assembly polls and this flop show of the BJP was a precursor to it," he said. The chief minister said there was no security lapse during Modi's visit to the state and that stipulated protocol was followed during the visit. He said that he had himself supervised the necessary arrangements for the visit. Making a comparison, Channi in Tanda said the weather was poor on Wednesday and on Thursday as well but there were very few takers for BJP's rally on Wednesday, whereas the Congress's rally was swelling with people across the state. "Yesterday's gimmick by the prime minister and his coterie is aimed at imposing the President rule in the state," he claimed. Channi reminded the prime minister that Punjab can be won only with love and not by pressure. He said Punjabis will vehemently oppose any move to destabilise democracy in the state. The chief minister urged Modi to "stop defaming the state and its people for vested political interests". "The slanderous campaign launched by the BJP is an insult to all the Punjabis and it is unwarranted and undesirable," he said. At a separate event at Machhiwara in Ludhiana, Channi asked what were the intelligence officials around the prime minister doing if they had sensed a threat to his safety. He claimed the fact of the matter was that barely 700 people turned up at the BJP's rally but the blame was pinned on the Punjab government citing security threat to Modi. "The truth is that five days before the PM's scheduled rally, the Special Protection Group (SPG) took over the landing spot, rally site and (went over) each security detail but later the prime minister's cavalcade suddenly took land route," Channi said, adding that the route was cleared by the SPG. The chief minister reiterated that had there been any danger to the prime minister, every Punjabi was nationalist enough to face bullets as they had done before in the service of the nation. At Tanda, Channi termed former chief minister Amarinder Singh a "political deadwood", saying it was evident from a rally on Wednesday where the royal scion of Patiala addressed empty chairs. He said that everyone knew Amarinder Singh had "backstabbed" Punjab due to which no one wanted to listen to him. "The day is not far when all the candidates of the Maharaja will lose their deposits in the polls," Channi claimed. Assailing AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Channi described him as a "chronic liar", alleging that he was trying to "mislead the people of the state with his fake promises". In a "major security lapse", Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a scheduled rally. The prime minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 42,750 crore, including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway and a PGIMER satellite centre on Wednesday, besides addressing a rally. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh, Jan 6 (PTI) The Punjab government on Thursday set up a high-level committee to probe lapses during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state, an official spokesperson said. In a "major security lapse", the prime minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. Also Read | Assembly Elections 2022: Election Commission, Health Officials to Review COVID-19 Situation Today, Say Sources. The Union Home Ministry directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment, while Home Minister Amit Shah said that such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, however, denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government was ready for an inquiry. Also Read | Bihar: 84-Year-Old Man From Madhepura District Claims to Have Been Jabbed With COVID-19 Vaccine 11 Times. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh, Jan 6 (PTI) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur, a senior Punjab police officer had issued necessary directions to concerned police officers to keep a watch on the movement of farmers, according to a letter issued by an ADGP. The Additional Director General of Police (law & order) rank officer had also asked police officers to make necessary traffic diversion in case of road blockades. Also Read | Maharashtra Reports 36,265 New COVID-19 Cases, 13 Deaths in Past 24 Hours; Mumbai Reports Single-Day Rise of 20,181 Cases. The directions were issued to all senior police officers including the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, and Senior Superintendent of Police. You are requested to make necessary security, traffic and route arrangements in your area by deploying force at important points. Also Read | Odisha: Omicron Infected Woman Dies in Bolangir District. You are further directed to keep a watch on the movement of farmers and they should not be allowed to move to district Ferozepur to disrupt the rally, said the letter issued on January 4 -- a day before the PM's visit. The letter was issued with the subject line -- 'security and route arrangements in districts on Jan 5 - PMs rally day in view of farmers' agitation'. Any dharna may result in road blocks, therefore please make necessary traffic diversion plan in advance, it had said. In another letter issued by the ADGP (law & order) on January 2, it said around one lakh people are being mobilized from all the districts of Punjab. You are requested to make necessary traffic and route arrangements in your area to ensure smooth movement of traffic by deploying force at important points. Recovery vans should also be kept to avoid blockade by broken down vehicles. There are a large number of dharnas going on in most of districts. Farmers are also likely to hold dharnas on 5 January. These dharnas may result in road blocks at many places. Please make necessary traffic diversion plan in advance, it read. In a security breach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event or rally. Activists of Bharaitya Kisan Union (Krantikari) on Wednesday had blocked the road near village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road as part of their protest. The PM's convoy got stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes when it reached was 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala in Ferozepur. Some farmer bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) had earlier opposed Modi's visit. The farmers have been pressing the government to fulfil their pending demands, which include a law to guarantee the minimum support price for crops and withdrawal of police cases against farmers who protested the central farm laws. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Eyeing the Indian Navy's carrier-borne fighter jet deal, France sent a Rafale maritime fighter aircraft to a naval facility in Goa on Thursday to demonstrate its combat capabilities. The Indian Navy is planning to procure a batch of fighter jets for indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant that is likely to be commissioned in August. Also Read | Bulli Bai App Case: Main Accused Neeraj Bishnoi Sent To 7-Day Police Custody By Delhi Court. The demonstration by the naval variant of the Rafale jet has kicked off at the shore-based test facility (SBTF) in Goa, people familiar with the development said. In 2017, the Indian Navy had issued a Request for Information (RFI) to procure 57 multi-role combat aircraft for its aircraft carrier. Also Read | Bulli Bai App Creator Neeraj Bishnoi Highly Radicalised, Reveals Long Planning but Shows No Remorse, Say Delhi Police. Four planes were in contention for the deal which included Rafale (Dassault, France), F-18 Super Hornet (Boeing, US), MIG-29K (Russia) and Gripen (Saab, Sweden). While F-18, Rafale and MIG-29K are twin engine jets, Gripen is a single-engine aircraft. In the next few months, remaining contenders are also likely to bring in their aircraft to India for demonstration. The government also wanted manufacture of these planes in India. The RFI sought to know at what level of Transfer of Technology (ToT) and deep repair expertise the companies are willing to share with India. India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 59,000 crore for the Indian Air Force. The first batch of five Rafale jets, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, arrived in India on July 29, 2020. Already 33 Rafale jets have been delivered to the IAF by the plane's maker Dassault Aviation. French Defence Minister Florence Parly, during a visit to India last month, indicated that France will be interested to supply the carrier-based jets. "We know that the aircraft carrier will soon be...that aircraft are needed. We are open and ready to provide any other Rafale if this is India's decision," she said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington [US], January 6 (ANI): President Joe Biden will speak about the responsibility that he believes former President Trump had in the January 6 attacks on Thursday (local time), marking the first anniversary of the deadly event, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. During a media briefing, Psaki was asked if the US President would address Trump's role in the riot. She responded, "yes." Also Read | Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Tests COVID-19 Positive. "I would expect that President Biden will lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw," Psaki as quoted by The Hill said. "And he will forcibly push back on the lie spread by the former President in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters, as well as distract from his role and what happened," she added. Also Read | US Strategic Interest Includes Ukraine's Acceptable Ties With Russia. Biden and Vice President Harris will speak on Thursday morning at the Capitol, one year after Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to halt the certification of Biden's 2020 victory. On January 6, a group of Trump's loyalists stormed the US Capitol building, clashing with police, damaging property, seizing the inauguration stage and occupying the rotunda. The unrest took place after Trump urged his supporters to protest what he claims is a stolen presidential election. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington [US], January 6 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday (local time) discussed a range of regional and global challenges, including the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday (local time). During a call with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Blinken reiterated the Administration's ironclad commitment to Israel's security. Also Read | Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Tests COVID-19 Positive. "The Secretary and Foreign Minister discussed a range of regional and global challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as the challenges posed by Iran. Secretary Blinken reiterated the Administration's ironclad commitment to Israel's security," Price said in the statement. In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - that stipulated Iran must scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom plus Germany, the European Union and Iran signed the nuclear agreement, according to Sputnik News Agency. Also Read | US Strategic Interest Includes Ukraine's Acceptable Ties With Russia. Iran largely abandoned its own obligations under the accord after the US withdrawal. The seventh round of talks to revive the nuclear agreement began in late November 2020, it added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Brasilia, Jan 6 (AP) Vaccination of Brazilian children between the ages of 5 and 11 will begin in January, without the demand for prescriptions from doctors the government had previously signalled, officials from the health ministry have announced. The government's guidelines on Wednesday come almost three weeks after the health regulator authorised use of Pfizer's shot for children, setting off backlash from none other than President Jair Bolsonaro. Also Read | Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Tests COVID-19 Positive. After sowing doubt about the efficacy of the vaccine and refusing to be vaccinated himself last year, in recent weeks the president staked out a position opposing vaccines for kids and warning of possible side effects. A study released in late December by US health authorities confirmed that serious side effects of the Pfizer vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 are rare. The results were based on approximately 8 million doses dispensed to youngsters in this age group. Also Read | US Strategic Interest Includes Ukraine's Acceptable Ties With Russia. Taking a cue from Bolsonaro, his health ministry last month published an online questionnaire about the issue, and some of the president's supporters also leery of the vaccine actively engaged on messaging apps trying to pressure people to swing the results. They failed: the majority of the survey's almost 100,000 participants opposed the need for a doctor's script, a health ministry official said in a public hearing on Tuesday, without providing figures. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Minister Queiroga also didn't disclose what percentage of respondents opposed prescriptions. With regard to the prescription, a public consultation was done. We heard society, specialists, said Queiroga. It isn't backtracking; it is part of the decision-making process. A recommendation has been made. Other countries, such as the US, Germany, France, Argentina and Chile are already vaccinating their children. It had been unclear whether Brazil's health ministry could impose a demand that children obtain a prescription for vaccinations; most Brazilian states' health secretariats openly said they would defy such an order. Although the ministry stopped short of issuing such a directive, its official in charge of fighting COVID-19 still said parents should seek out medical opinions. It is essential that parents consult a doctor. Why? Children in this age group are developing and we have some adverse effects. At this age, care should be greater, said the official, Rosana Leite. The announcement came one day after a small protest in opposition of vaccinating children outside the Pan American Health Organization's office in capital Brasilia, where children held signs reading I'm not a guinea pig. Inside, members of medical societies and experts participated in a public hearing promoted by the government to debate the issue, most of whom reinforced the safety of the vaccine. Pfizer's director in Brazil, Marjorie Dulcine, stated several times: The vaccine isn't experimental. Bolsonaro, for his part, has characterised vaccination as an issue of personal choice rather than a means for ensuring the common good. He has repeatedly claimed, incorrectly, that he's immune to the virus because he already contracted it in 2020. At least 16 of his 22 ministers have been vaccinated, along with his political children and his wife. Bolsonaro has said he won't let his 11-year-old daughter be vaccinated. Last month, he said he would name and expose the public servants who issued the approval of the Pfizer shot for children, prompting a union representing health agency workers to express concern about online abuse or even physical attacks. In Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, a group of people demonstrated in favour of vaccinating children. Two young boys held a sign reading: Vaccine is a right! Vaccine is safe! Vaccine yes! (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tel Aviv, Jan 6 (AP) Travellers from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries should be cleared for landing in Israel, the Health Ministry recommended on Thursday. The ministry said all countries should be removed from Israel's red no-travel list, including the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Mexico, Switzerland and Turkey. The decision is one of several rapid changes in policy for Israel as the super-contagious omicron variant sets infection records around the world. Also Read | Pakistan Vows To Continue Fencing at Afghanistan Border Despite Taliban's Objections. The ministry also recommended relaxing testing requirements for vaccinated and recovering inbound travellers, a day after the government recommended more home tests to ease the burden on testing centers. The ministry's recommendations still have to go through a final, legal step, which is a formality, and are expected to go into effect at midnight Thursday. Also Read | Flurona Detected in US: Two Children From Texas and California Infected With Influenza A and Coronavirus. The moves are a recognition that the variant is infecting more people but apparently not causing more severe illness and deaths, especially among vaccinated people. On Thursday, the government reported another record for new infections, with more than 16,000 recorded a day earlier. That's despite being a vaccination leader early in the pandemic and the first country to offer a 3rd vaccination, or booster shot. Now, Israel is among the first to begin offering a 4th jab. About 64% of Israel's 9.4 million people have received two vaccinations, and about 46% have received three shots. Additionally, vaccinated and recovering travellers to Israel can leave quarantine after receiving a negative test result or after 24 hours. Unvaccinated people can leave quarantine after testing negative twice, on landing and after a week of isolation. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday spoke with his counterparts from Sri Lanka, UAE and Singapore wherein he extended New Year greetings and discussed bilateral ties. "Greeted FM G.L. Peiris of Sri Lanka in the New Year. A reliable friend, India will support Sri Lanka in these difficult times. Agreed to remain in close touch," Jaishankar tweeted. Also Read | Pakistan Vows To Continue Fencing at Afghanistan Border Despite Taliban's Objections. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that he also spoke with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. "Pleasure as always to speak to UAE FM Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 2021 was a year of notable progress. Appreciate his deep commitment to taking our ties to a higher level," tweeted Jaishankar. Also Read | Flurona Detected in US: Two Children From Texas and California Infected With Influenza A and Coronavirus. Jaishankar also connected with the Foreign Minister of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan and talked about bilateral ideas. He shared his views on regional challenges with his counterpart. "Good to connect in the New Year with FM Vivian Balakrishnan of Singapore. Exchanged notes on the Covid situation. Discussed ideas on the bilateral front. And shared views on regional challenges." tweeted the Foreign Minister. Earlier, Jaishankar also spoke with his counterparts in Nepal and Bangladesh. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kathmandu, Jan 6 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's scheduled visit to India next week has been cancelled following the Gujarat government's decision to postpone the Vibrant Gujarat Summit due to a spike in the number of COVID cases in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to inaugurate the 10th edition of the Summit on January 10 in Gujarat. Also Read | Omicron Spread: Thailand Raises Alert As New COVID-19 Variant Surges in the Country. The Prime Minister's four-day visit to India starting from January 9 has been cancelled as the Gujarat Summit has been cancelled, said sources in the prime minister's private secretariat. Besides attending the summit, Deuba was also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Modi during the visit. Also Read | Taliban Urges Its Rank and File Not To Violate People's Privacy. The Gujarat government on Thursday decided to postpone the Summit in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to the Chief Minister's Office. The three-day summit was to be held in a big way to attract investments, and delegations from many partner countries and CEOs of top companies were supposed to participate in the event. On Wednesday, the daily COVID-19 cases in Gujarat crossed the 3,000-mark for the first time after May 26 last year with the addition of 3,350 infections, raising the state's tally to 8,40,643. Also, Gujarat reported 50 new cases of the Omicron variant on Wednesday, taking the tally of such cases in the state to 204, as per the state health department. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Cairo, Jan 6 (AP) Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and other cities once again on Thursday to protest the October military coup, while security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Activists have posted live videos on the social media showing protesters waving the Sudanese flag in several cities and chanting: Power to the people! and The military belongs in the barracks! Also Read | Pakistan Vows To Continue Fencing at Afghanistan Border Despite Taliban's Objections. Social media also swarmed with images showing tear gas clouding rallies in the capital, and protesters hurling stones and throwing back empty gas canisters at security forces. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded many rallies since the Oct. 25 coup, called earlier on protesters to march to the presidential palace, the seat of the ruling military government in Khartoum. Also Read | Flurona Detected in US: Two Children From Texas and California Infected With Influenza A and Coronavirus. Since the Oct. 25 coup, at least 60 people have been killed and hundreds have been wounded in clashes with security forces as they sought to thwart protests. Thursday's protests come less than a week after Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok resigned from office citing failure to reach a compromise between the generals and the country's pro-democracy movement. Hamdok was ousted in the coup, only to be reinstated a month later following a deal with the military meant to calm tensions and anti-coup protests. The deal was rejected by most political groups and parties who insisted the generals should promptly hand power over to civilians. Meanwhile, the military said they would not relinquish power until a new government is elected in July, as laid out in a constitutional document governing the transitional period. Earlier on Thursday, the advocacy NetBlocs group said on Twitter that the mobile internet was disrupted ahead of the protests, a routine measure taken by authorities since the coup. Some activists also tweeted that many bridges and roads were closed. Sudan has been politically paralyzed since the coup. The military takeover came more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New York [US], January 6 (ANI): Authorities in Myanmar are being urged to conduct a full investigation into the killing of a journalist last month, reportedly during an army attack in the southeast, the UN's educational and cultural agency, UNESCO, said on Wednesday. Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General, denounced the killing of Sai Win Aung, also known as A Sai K, who died on 25 December in Lay Kay Kaw, a town located near the border with Thailand. Also Read | Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Tests COVID-19 Positive. The reporter was covering the plight of refugees in Kayin state for the Federal News Journal when he was fatally shot in an artillery attack carried out by Myanmar's armed forces, UNESCO said, citing reports. "I condemn the killing of Sai Win Aung. Media workers like Sai Win Aung risk their lives to keep the public informed. Their work deserves to be recognized and their safety protected in line with international humanitarian law, which forbids attacks on civilians," Azoulay said. Also Read | US Strategic Interest Includes Ukraine's Acceptable Ties With Russia. Sai Win Aung was the second journalist killed in Myanmar during December 2021, according to UNESCO, which supports press freedom by advocating for the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for those who attack them. The UN continues to monitor developments in the Southeast Asian country in the wake of the military coup nearly a year ago, which has sparked protests and unrest. Armed resistance against the junta, known as the State Administration Council (SAC), has increased, according to media reports. In a recent update, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said the conflict has intensified over the past month, with increased reports of army raids across Myanmar, especially in the northwest and southeast regions. Since the Army takeover, Lay Kay Kaw "has become one of the hideouts for pro-democracy activists and civil servants from the State Administration Council (SAC)," the agency said. "As a result of the raids and ensuing conflict, hundreds of people were displaced." UNHCR reported that Thailand confirmed some 4,600 people from Myanmar have fled the recent escalation around the town since mid-December, some of whom voluntarily returned. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington [US], January 6 (ANI): The United States and Germany condemned Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday (local time) said in a joint statement with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. "We condemn Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders, as well as Moscow's increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke a conflict with Russia," Blinken said. Also Read | Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Tests COVID-19 Positive. US Secretary of State also said that one country cannot simply change by force the borders of another or dictate the choices another country makes in its foreign policy or with whom it chooses to associate or seeks to establish a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbours. "What's happening right with Russia's actions towards Ukraine isn't just about Ukraine, as important as that is. It's about some of the most basic principles of international relations that we both share and adhere to - for example, that one country cannot simply change by force the borders of another or dictate the choices another country makes in its foreign policy or with whom it chooses to associate - or seeks to establish a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbors," Blinken said. Also Read | US Strategic Interest Includes Ukraine's Acceptable Ties With Russia. "These principles and upholding them are necessary to preserve peace and security, and we cannot and will not allow them to be violated with impunity. That's something that Germany and the United States believe strongly, and our countries are steadfast in our support for Ukraine's independence, its territorial integrity, its sovereignty," he added. Blinken also said that Germany and US will raise their concern over Russia's destabilizing actions and violations of international norms. "In the meeting today, the foreign minister and I emphasized our desire and preference to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation to deal with the situation that currently confronts us. We would far prefer a diplomatic path and diplomatic solution to the situation. We will test Russia's willingness to take that path starting next week through the US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, through the NATO-Russia Council, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe," US Secretary of State said. "In those three meetings, we expect that Russia will raise some concerns that it has, many of which have already been publicly aired. We will raise our concerns about Russia's destabilizing actions and violations of international norms," he added. The US and NATO have voiced concerns over Russia's alleged preparations for invading Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying that Russia has the right to relocate the troops within its territory at its own discretion, while NATO's military activity near Russian borders poses a threat to its security. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) The pop songstress delivered bombshell testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court over the summer in which she accused her father, Jamie Spears, of "conservatorship abuse." She recently called out her family on social media for the same. Days after slamming them on social media, Britney had also unfollowed her sister Jamie Lynn Spears on Instagram. New York, January 6: After Israel detected cases of simultaneous flu and Covid-19 infections, the US has now detected two such cases in children from Texas and California, media reports said. The first case was diagnosed at Texas Children's Hospital on Monday after a test confirmed the child was infected with both influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes Covid-19, USA Today reported. The child was not hospitalised and is said to be recovering at home. No other details about the patient were immediately available, the report said. The second case was discovered in Brentwood, southern California on New Year's Day at a mobile testing centre. The patient, from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was visiting the US on a family vacation. First Case of 'Florona', A Combined Infection of COVID-19 & Influenza, Reported in Israel. The child was experiencing symptoms but in "fairly good condition" and has not been hospitalised, Steve Farzam, CEO of 911 Covid testing, was quoted as saying to local media on Wednesday. The minor was sent home with parents after the test. However, it is unclear if either child has received their Covid or flu shots, the report said. According to the news website Ynetnews, the double infection was first identified in a pregnant Israeli woman who went into labour at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. She was suffering mild symptoms and health officials are studying her case to determine whether the combination causes any greater severity of illness. Covid has generally been very mild in children, but off late the US has seen significant increase in paediatric hospitalisation due to the infectious virus. "This is one confirmed case and, of course, we'll be working with our colleagues across the country to see if there are more cases and whether we will see a distinct pattern in these cases," Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief and Covid command center co-leader at Texas Children's Hospital, told reporters. The hospital was also the first in the nation to report joint infections of Covid and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, over the summer, Daily Mail reported. Health experts also expect to see a rise in co-infections and warn both the flu and Covid can cause serious illness. The Los Angeles County Health Department reiterates that "concurrent infection with more than one respiratory virus is exceedingly common and there is no reason to expect that SARS-CoV-2 should be an exception to this rule", the report said. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2022 06:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Australia, China and Malaysia on Tuesday called off the underwater search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, saying no new information has been discovered. The plane vanished in March 2014. For 17 months, no trace of it was found. The location of the missing passenger jet officially remains a mystery. The Boeing 777 carried 239 passengers and crew members. All are presumed dead. Here's a synopsis of one of the most mysterious disappearances in aviation history: NEWSLETTER: Get the day's top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> Where the plane was headed On the morning of March 8, 2014, the Beijing-bound plane departed Kuala Lumpur around 12:20 a.m. with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The plane's planned route would have taken it north over the Gulf of Thailand and Vietnam, with an arrival in Beijing around 6:30 a.m. Read more Who was on board More than 150 passengers were from China, 38 from Malaysia and three from the United States. Other passengers were from Indonesia, Australia, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada, Russia, Taiwan, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, officials said. The pilot, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and copilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, were both Malaysian. Shah had 18,000 hours of flying time, and Hamid had 2,700. One of the Americans on board was Philip Wood, a 50-year-old IBM executive. Another passenger was martial arts expert Ju Kun, who recently had joined the production of the Netflix series "Marco Polo," which was filming in Malaysia. Read more Last contact with the plane Around 1 a.m., the plane transmitted its final Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System signal, which allows computers aboard the plane to communicate with control towers on the ground. According to officials, the last communication MH370 had with air traffic control came around 1:20 a.m., when one of the pilots said, "Good night Malaysia three seven zero." Shortly after that, officials with the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam said, the plane failed to check in as scheduled with air traffic controllers in Ho Chi Minh City, and all computers aboard the plane that could track its location had been deactivated. How the flight path changed Based on military radar, it is believed the plane changed course immediately after the communications systems were deactivated. It banked west from its northern path and headed back toward Malaysia and out over the Indian Ocean. U.S. investigators suspect MH370 remained in the air for up to four hours before crashing into the Indian Ocean. Some theories on what might have occurred Theories included a possible electrical failure or a fire in the cockpit. Terrorism was also considered, especially because two Iranian men had used stolen passports to board the plane, but it was later ruled out. Was it pilot error? That remains a mystery. Investigators looked into Shah and Hamid, but because the black boxes that hold flight data recordings have not been discovered, investigators don't have a definitive answer. A report conducted by Malaysia's Ministry of Transport found that a battery on one of two underwater beacons attached to the plane's black box had expired more than a year before the aircraft vanished. That finding suggests that searchers listening for "pings" from the beacons on the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder never even had a chance of detecting a signal from one of the devices. Read more See the most-read stories this hour >> The initial search Search teams began by looking for the plane in the Indian Ocean about 1,600 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia. Pings thought to be from the plane's black box recorders were being picked up in the area, and a fleet of ships and aircraft were dispatched. Satellites located debris, and some oil slicks were seen in the water, though nothing was recovered. After about 10 days searching the area, radar estimates were recalibrated and the search was moved about 700 miles northeast, where it remains. In January 2015, the plane's disappearance was ruled an accident. "At this juncture, there is no evidence to substantiate any speculations as to the cause," Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of the civil aviation department, said at the time. Read more Status of the search Australia, China and Malaysia called off the underwater search on Jan. 17, 2017, saying no new information has been discovered to solve what has become one of aviations greatest mysteries. A statement by the Joint Agency Coordination Center in Australia, which has helped lead the $160-million effort, said the deep-sea search was suspended after failing to find a trace of the Boeing 777 in a 46,000-mile zone in remote waters west of Australia. Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting-edge technology, as well as modeling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft, the statement said. Read more The Mozambique debris One of the parts in Mozambique was discovered in February 2016 by American lawyer and part-time adventurer Blaine Gibson of Seattle. Gibson, who said he's been searching for Flight 370 over the last year, found the piece on a sandbank. Soon after Gibson's find was publicized, a South African teenager realized a piece of debris he'd found on a beach during a family vacation in Mozambique might also be from the plane. Liam Lotter came upon the gray piece of debris while strolling on a beach in southern Mozambique in December and thought it might be from an aircraft. His parents dismissed it as trash that may have come from a boat, but the teen insisted on bringing it back to South Africa to research the fragment. Once back at home, the piece ended up in storage alongside the family's fishing gear and was nearly forgotten. It was only when Lotter read about Gibson's find about 186 miles from where he had made his discovery that the family alerted authorities. Given the vast distances involved, the variability of winds and the time that has elapsed, it is impossible for experts to retrace the parts' path back to where they entered the water. So experts will examine the debris to see whether it can offer any other clues, such as structural deformities that could show the angle at which the plane entered the ocean or markings that could indicate a midair explosion. The Reunion Island discovery On July 29, 2016, a piece of an airplane wing was discovered on Reunion Island, which belongs to France and sits off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Days later, a Malaysian transport official said the piece called a flaperon was from a Boeing 777. Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, the country's deputy transport minister, told reporters he believed the item could provide "conclusive proof that Flight MH370 crashed into the Indian Ocean," and said he believed officials were "close" to solving the mystery of the jetliner's disappearance. The item was discovered within the 1,100-mile search area investigators have been operating in since 2014, but experts believe the plane probably went down far from Reunion Island. The length of time since the plane disappeared and the onset of winter in the search area will keep search efforts at a crawling pace, they say. On Aug. 5, French and Malaysian officials confirmed that the item belonged to Flight 370, only hours after experts began examining it at a defense laboratory near Toulouse. As of late March 2016, the wing part found on Reunion had not yet yielded any significant clues into the plane's fate. What else the wing piece could show Close-up pictures of the flaperon show damage that suggest it broke off the aircraft during a high-speed dive, a prominent aviation accident analyst said. That would validate one of the main theories about what happened to the plane: "that when the aircraft ran out of fuel it made an almost straight spiral down," said David Soucie, a former accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration. Read more What has happened to the passengers' families? Malaysia's official declaration that the plane's disappearance was an accident should clear the way for the compensation process to proceed for families of the 239 people who were on board. "Without in any way intending to diminish the feelings of the families, it is hoped that this declaration will enable the families to obtain the assistance they need, in particular through the compensation process," Rahman of the civil aviation department said at the time. Sarah Bajc, the partner of passenger Wood, has joined with others in hiring a private investigation firm with about $100,000 they have raised. Bajc, 48, was in Beijing waiting for Wood when the plane disappeared. "I won't give up hope until there's proof otherwise," Bajc told The Times last year. Read more A statement by Voice370, a group made up of family members of the missing, pleaded with the governments to continue the search, saying that commercial planes cannot be just allowed disappear without trace. Read more Times staff writers Julie Makinen, James Queally and Carol J. Williams contributed to this report. kurtis.lee@latimes.com UPDATES January 17, 2017, 7:20 a.m.: This article was updated with news that the search for Flight 370 has ended. March 24, 2016, 9:53 a.m.: This article was updated with the discovery of debris off the coast of Mozambique. Aug. 5, 11:42 a.m.: This article was updated after officials confirmed the wing debris found on Reunion Island did belong to Flight 370. Aug. 2, 7:56 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from aviation analyst David Soucie. July 31, 9:08 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from a Malaysian transport official about the recovery of a possible piece of the plane. July 30, 10:52 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information about the shipwreck discovered in May and reaction to the discovery of a possible piece of the plane off the coast of Madagascar. July 30, 7:59 a.m. This article was updated with information about the possible recovery of a piece of the plane near Madagascar. May 5, 1:22 p.m.: This article was updated with information on a shipwreck that was discovered. Another aide of Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that he was leaving her office amid reports of turmoil and dysfunction in her office. CNBC reported that Vincent Evans, Harris' deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs, has quit to take on a new job on Capitol Hill. According to The Daily Wire, Evans would join the Congressional Black Caucus headed by Democratic Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty. Evans is the latest aide of Harris to resign amid claims of tension in her office and the vice president being a "bully" who delivers "soul-destroying criticism." Ex-Kamala Harris Aide Says He's Still in Good terms With the Vice President Vincent Evans said he was still on good terms with Kamala Harris despite the reports against the vice president's office. He added that the resignation was not linked to previous departures. Evans noted that he is deeply honored to be named the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, New York Post reported. The former Harris aide worked with the vice president's team at the start of the 2020 election and during the presidential transition. The Congressional Black Caucus is led by Black lawmakers who advocate for issues important to minority communities across the country. READ NEXT: U.S. Pres. Joe Biden, Vice Pres. Kamala Harris Mocked in Billboard With Text "Dumb and Dumber" Vice President Kamala Harris' Office A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that Kamala Harris supports Vincent Evans' decision on his career move. Beatty, on the other hand, praised Evans. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) chair said she believes Evans will help the CBC reach greater heights, as well as create substantive advances in 2022. Beatty added that Evans knows the significance of developing critical relationships when it comes to public engagement. Evans left the vice president's office at a time when there were multiple reports of tension and dysfunction within Harris' office. Harris' allies were reportedly taking aim at her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, for her handling of the vice president and her team. Last July, reports of an unhappy working environment in Kamala Harris' office have reached former staffers, who have described similar experiences dating back more than a decade. According to another New York Post report, Harris alumni have been talking about what they described Harris' office as "chaotic" with a "tense and at times dour" atmosphere. A former staffer said that so many people recognized themselves in the reports or at least recognized the treatment they had seen or treatment they had heard about. Some of the staffers recalled Harris as "unpredictable" and can be demeaning at times. There were also reports from several sources who remembered Harris calling the office and hanging up on staffers if she did not get the information she wanted quickly. Meanwhile, some aides claimed that the vice president feels "constrained" in her role, with some close to her saying that Kamala Harris felt she had been set "up to fail, Newsweek reported. Kamala Harris' chief spokesperson and senior adviser, Symone Sanders, along with communications director Ashley Etienne departed last month. Peter Velz, the vice president's director of press operations, also resigned. READ MORE: Kamala Harris Briefly Becomes First Woman Acting U.S. President as Joe Biden Underwent Colonoscopy This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Another Kamala Harris Aide Quits as Claims of Turmoil, 'Bullying' Mount - From New York Post President Joe Biden would be blaming his predecessor, Donald Trump, for the "chaos and carnage" of January 6 in a speech to mark the first anniversary of the Capitol attack. The White House said Wednesday that Biden would tell the public in his speech that Trump carries "singular responsibility" for the deadly attack on Capitol Hill. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak on Thursday morning at the U.S. Capitol. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the president will "lay out the significant" of what took place in the Capitol in his speech, adding that Trump has "the singular responsibility" for the "chaos and carnage that we saw," Reuters reported. "He [Joe Biden] will forcibly push back on the lies spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters as well as distract from his role in what happened," Psaki noted. Psaki said the president has been "clear-eyed" regarding the threat that Trump poses to the country's democracy. The press secretary added that the former president works to "constantly undermine" the basic American values and rule of law. Donald Trump's Spokesperson Says Joe Biden Tries to Further Divide the Nation Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich said it was not surprising that Joe Biden would spend January 6 "trying to further divide our nation." Budowich noted that division is the only thing that Democrats know how to do. Donald Trump falsely claimed that the election was stolen from him. In a new Axios-Momentive poll released on the eve of the first anniversary of the Capitol attack, more than 40 percent of Americans still do not believe that Joe Biden legitimately won the presidential election in 2020 despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Laura Wronski, senior manager for research science at Momentive, said it was dispiriting to witness that "this shocking thing" the public saw last year had not changed people's perceptions. READ NEXT: House January 6 Committee Examines Mark Meadows' PowerPoint Presentation Detailing Donald Trump's Plan to Retain Presidency January 6 Capitol Attack Anniversary Attorney general Merrick Garland on Wednesday updated the public regarding the Justice Department's investigation into the January 6 attack. Garland noted that the department has filed charges against 725 defendants in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, The Guardian reported. Garland added that the actions that they have taken would not be their last. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has yet to arrest the person caught on video footage planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee ahead of the January 6 attack. A year ago, a mob of Trump supporters breached into the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Congress from ratifying Joe Biden's election victory against his predecessor. Four people died at the Capitol riot, with three others dying from "medical emergencies" at the same time, the Independent reported. Four more police officers on duty that day died by suicide following the Capitol attack. Officials noted that around 140 members of law enforcement were assaulted during the riot. Meanwhile, Donald Trump canceled a press conference scheduled on January 6 at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Trump noted that he would be canceling the press conference in light of the "total bias and dishonesty" of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack. The former president said he would discuss many "important topics" at his rally in Arizona on January 15, adding that it would be a big crowd. READ MORE: Justice Department Indicts Steve Bannon with Contempt of Congress for Refusing to Comply Capitol Riot Subpoena This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Biden Speaks as Pro-Trump Protestors Storm Capitol - 1/6/21 - From CNBC Television The U.S. announced Tuesday that a former Colombian military officer has been charged in connection with the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise last July. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, allegedly participated in a plot "to kidnap or kill the Haitian president," BBC reported. The department noted that a complaint was filed in Florida against Palacios and a group of about 20 other Colombian nationals and dual Haitian-American citizens. They were accused of "conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping" outside the U.S. "Palacios and others entered the president's residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing President Moise, and in fact, the president was killed," the Justice Department said in a statement. It can be recalled that more than 40 suspects, including 19 former Colombian soldiers, have been arrested and detained in connection with the assassination of Moise, NBC News reported. Palacios was reportedly a member of Colombia's military for 20 years. He was arrested in Jamaica last October and was scheduled to fly to his native country. However, Interpol notified Palacios during a stopover in Panama that the U.S. government was extraditing him. READ NEXT: Prosecutor Says There Are "Enough Elements to Prosecute" Haiti PM Ariel Henry for Pres. Jovenel Moise's Killing; PM Replaces Chief Prosecutor Colombia's Ex-Military Officer Charged in Florida Court In Connection With Haiti President's Killing Mario Antonio Palacios appeared at a Miami court in Florida on Tuesday to hear the charges against him without entering a plea. A complaint unsealed on the same day noted that Palacios spoke voluntarily with the U.S. authorities in October. The Colombian military officer told them that he was hired to travel to Haiti to provide security and participate in an operation to arrest the Haitian president. Palacios said the initial plan was for co-conspirators to wear black hoodies before capturing Jovenel Moise at the airport in June and taking him away by plane. He also revealed that he was informed about the plan to kill Moise a day before the assassination. Court-appointed attorney Alfredo Izaguirre told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes that he recommended Palacios stay in detention as he has no immigration status, relatives, or ties to the U.S. The judge then ordered detention because he was a flight risk. The former Colombian military officer is set to appear in court again on January 31. Izaguirre noted that his client would probably plead not guilty at the preliminary hearing. Former Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph lauded the U.S. taking custody of Palacios, saying it was a "step in the right direction." However, Joseph urged authorities in Haiti to work with the U.S. government in extraditing Palacios so that he could face justice in their country. Haiti President Jovenel Moise's Assassination A group of gunmen had assassinated Jovenel Moise and wounded his wife at their home in Port-au-Prince on July 7. Police had killed four suspects at the time. The Haitian ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, earlier said that foreign mercenaries and professional killers carried out the attack. Edmond noted that the suspects were pretending to be agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The said agency has an office in Haiti's capital to help the government in its counternarcotic efforts. READ MORE: Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Asked to Testify in Pres. Jovenel Moise's Assassination Hearing, Rejects the Invite This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: President Jovenel Moise: What is Next for Haiti? - From Al Jazeera English Mexico City prosecutors on Tuesday said a judge has ordered a former political leader to be held in jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. According to ABC News, Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez used to be the Mexico City leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century. The city prosecutor's office noted that Gutierrez would be held in jail while being tried on four counts of attempted human trafficking "in the commission of aggravated sexual exploitation, as well as criminal conspiracy and other charges. The charges were based on allegations that came up in 2014 that his office hired women to have sex with him and placed them on payrolls of the party. Gutierrez resigned following reports. At the time, prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to bring the case to trial, but it was later re-opened. In 2014, a story was aired in the MVS radio station, wherein an undercover reporter recorded conversations with recruiters at Gutierrez's office. The recruiters were telling the women that they would have to have sex with the former political boss if given a job as secretaries or receptionists, according to Border Report. The report noted that Gutierrez recruited women for the positions through newspaper ads that offered "women to work in government offices." Gutierrez denied the allegations at the time. He was long known as "The King of Trash" as his family once led an association of the city's garbage-pickers. READ NEXT: Texas CBP Officers Confiscated $3 Million Worth of Methamphetamine Along U.S.-Mexico Border The Arrest of Former Political Leader in Mexico Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez was arrested at his residence in Mexico City on December 29 after the government's anti-money laundering froze his bank accounts. In a statement, the Mexico City Office of the Attorney General said the intelligence work between the Attorney General's Office for the Investigation of Trafficking Persons, the National Intelligence Center, and the Special Reaction and Intervention Group allowed the seizure of Gutierrez. Daily Mail reported that women between the ages of 18 and 32 were hired through misleading job listings for a prostitution ring that Gutierrez allegedly operated. The classified ads offered hostess, receptionist, or administrative assistant positions at the Institutional Revolutionary Party's headquarters with monthly salaries between 8,000 to 14,000 Mexican pesos. Radio Reporter Went Undercover and Secretly Taped Conversation With Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez's Staff The radio reporter who went undercover had a conversation with one of the women who had been hired. The woman admitted that she was required to give oral or vaginal sex to her boss, Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez. She added that she could possibly take home 11,000 Mexican pesos tax-free per month in addition to tips. Reports said the political party had quickly cut ties with Gutierrez hours after the scandal broke. Three women who have been hired told authorities that they were required to dress in skirts, dresses, and heels and have sex with Gutierrez. In March, arrest warrants were issued against four other employees of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in connection with the human trafficking and prostitution ring. Among those who were arrested was former Senate candidate Claudia Priscila Martinez Gonzalez. She was arrested in Mexico last September and was charged with human trafficking and criminal association. Martinez Gonzalez allegedly oversaw the publishing of job listings in newspapers and online sites, according to prosecutors. Institutional Revolutionary Party's office assistant Adriana Rodriguez Regalado, who was tasked with leading the recruitment of women, was also arrested in March, while congresswoman Sandra Esther Vaca Cortes and former party finance director Roberto Zamorano remain at large. Meanwhile, Gutierrez's lawyer Lazaro Tapia told Radio Formula on Thursday that his client's arrest was illegal and that police overstepped its boundaries. READ MORE: Cocaine Found in Christmas Cards Bound for New York at Guyana Post Office This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez, Exlider Del PRI, Se Queda en Prision; Lo Acusan De Trata De Personas - From El Universal The attorney for Brian Laundrie's family said the notebook found near his remains was not linked to his parents' petition to access his estate. On Tuesday, NewsNation reported that Laundrie's parents were trying to get the notebook back. It was reportedly part of the formal proceedings to control their son's estate. But lawyer Steven Bertolino told Fox News Wednesday that the notebook was not included in elder Laundrie's petition to gain access to their son's estate, specifically the $20,000 in his Bank of America account. "The petition is simply to administer his estate, which is primarily the bank account... The return of property by law enforcement is separate," Bertolino said. Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, perhaps wanted to know if their son wrote anything in the notebook related to his last wishes since he did not leave a will. According to Bertolino, the notebook was still in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI took the item after they found it during their search at the Carlton Reserve in Florida. Fox News reported that the FBI is declining to say whether it plans to turn over the notebook and other items recovered near Laundrie's body. Bertolino said the FBI has yet to tell the elder Laundries whether investigators found anything pertinent to the case in the notebook. He added that the FBI did not also say if what they recovered is even legible after spending weeks in the swamp. Laundrie's parents filed the request in Sarasota County, Florida last December 8 to gain access to their son's estate as beneficiaries since he did not have a will. Records showed that they submitted their son's death certificate in court together with the details about his bank accounts and property. READ NEXT: Dog the Bounty Hunter Heads to Utah to Help Solve a Murdered Woman Case Linked to Brian Laundrie Gabby Petito's Mom Files Claim For Daughter's Belongings at Brian Laundrie's Home Gabby Petito's mom, Nichole Schmidt, has filed a petition requesting to obtain all of her late daughter's possessions from Brian Laundrie's home in North Port, Florida. Nichole's request comes as part of the elder Laundries' petition to collect access to their son's estate. Court records showed that Petito's mom filed a statement in Sarasota County on December 28 regarding Laundrie's estate battle. However, it does not state any specific items of Petito's that she wanted to collect. "The basis for the claim is possession or control of personal property of Gabby Petito," Nichole's claim reads. It added that "the amount of the claim is unknown and is both now due and will become due on the release of personal property." The request further noted that "the claim is contingent or unliquidated because it is unknown if the decedent's final photos, videos and words are contained in the property." Bertolino earlier said that he and Rick Stafford, Petito's family attorney, were "trying to work this out cordially." He noted that the Laundrie family would not challenge Nichole's claim. He said Petito's belongings at Laundrie's home would be given to her family "without contest." Gabby Petito lived at the Florida home with Brian Laundrie for two years before taking off on their cross-country road trip. Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito's Death Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. They were traveling to Oregon when the Petito stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August. Laundrie was named a person of interest by the North Port police after returning home alone on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family. A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said Petito was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide. The partial skeletal remains found at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20 were confirmed to belong to Laundrie after a review of dental records. According to the autopsy report, Laundrie died of a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide. Brian Laundrie was never charged in connection with Gabby Petito's murder. But an arrest warrant was issued for him for allegedly using Petito's debit card after her death. READ MORE: Brian Laundrie Case: Probe Into Utah Cops Who Responded to Gabby Petito and Fiance's Domestic Dispute 'Close' to Wrapping Up This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Could Brian Laundrie's Notebook be Returned to His Family? - From WFLA News Channel 8 If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Two Florida sheriff's deputies, who were in a relationship, took their own lives days apart, leaving their newborn son an orphan. The deaths of deputies Clayton Osteen and Victoria Pacheco were announced by St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara on Tuesday. Daily Mail reported that Osteen served since November 2019, while Pacheco joined the force in February 2020. According to Mascara, their department received a call about an attempted suicide shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve. Clayton Osteen was one of their members and was off-duty at the time. Investigators learned that the person who had tried to take his own life was Osteen. The sheriff's deputy was taken to a hospital after his suicide attempt. Osteen's family decided to remove him from his life support two days after his arrival at the hospital. Victoria Pacheco took her own life the next day. She was Osteen's partner, colleague, and mother of his one-month-old son. Mascara released a statement expressing their grief over the loss of the two members of the sheriff's office. Mascara noted that deputies are "human" and often deal with "stress." Mirror reported that officials have yet to release details about the nature and circumstances of their deaths. Mascara said they are praying that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change. "A catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding mental well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis," he noted. READ NEXT: Dog the Bounty Hunter Heads to Utah to Help Solve a Murdered Woman Case Linked to Brian Laundrie The Florida Sheriff Deputies Clayton Osteen enlisted into the U.S. Marines as a rifleman in May 2015. The following year, he was seen in a video for the corps that featured their training in the jungles of Brunei. Friends and loved ones shared memories and photos on social media showing the couple. Ray Tourville wrote on Facebook about Osteen that "the true brother lost the battle inside him," Texas News Today report. Clayton Osteen and Victoria Pacheco welcomed their son, their first child, in mid-November. Mental Health in Law Enforcement Results of a survey study published in JAMA Network Open noted that routine mental health screening of police officers might be warranted in law enforcement agencies. According to Healio, Katelyn K. Jetelina, MPH, Ph.D., of the department of epidemiology, human genetics and environmental sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center, said evidence suggests that exposure to law enforcement work is linked with increases in many forms of stress. Jetelina noted that police officers are exposed to traumatic calls for service on a daily basis, including domestic violence, child abuse, car accidents, and homicides. She further noted that repeated exposure to these instances might be linked with the development of mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, somatization, and burnout. Jetelina and colleagues wrote that further studies are encouraged regarding patterns and barriers of mental illnesses and characteristics of law enforcement officers who express interest in seeking help. Results of a prior study revealed that twice as many police officers died by suicide than dying in the line of duty in 2018. READ MORE: Florida Man Found Dead in Spain Luxurious Hotel After Inviting Some Men He Met at a Party Back to His Room for Sex This article is owned by Latin Post Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Two St. Lucie County Deputies Die by Suicide Over Holidays - From WPBF 25 News The nonprofit medical center, Mayo Clinic, has fired around 700 workers after failing to comply with its COVID vaccine mandate. According to NBC News, employees at the Mayo Clinic had been given until Monday to get their COVID vaccine first dose or obtain a medical or religious exemption to the rule. Workers were also expected not to delay receiving a second dose if they had already gotten their first dose. In a statement on Wednesday, the Mayo Clinic said that hundreds of employees had failed to meet those requirements and were let go. The nonprofit health organization noted that almost 99 percent of employees across all Mayo Clinic locations complied with their COVID vaccine mandate by the January 3 deadline, adding that around one percent of its workforce or about 700 people would be released from employment. The clinic said they must stand firmly behind the evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of COVID vaccines to help protect the health and safety of their patients and those in their communities. It further noted that individuals who were let go can get vaccinated at a later date and apply for future job openings, Fox 9 News reported. READ NEXT: Judge Discontinues U.S. Pres. Joe Biden's COVID Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors Nationwide Mayo Clinic COVID Vaccine Mandate The Minneapolis-based medical center reported in December that 99.8 percent of its roughly 27,000 workers were either vaccinated or received vaccine-mandated exemptions, according to Star Tribune. Vaccine mandates have been a controversial topic across the country, with many large health care employers having already created their vaccination rules before a federally mandated one was imposed. Last November, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation banning private Florida employers from mandating that all employees get vaccinated. The measure includes fines of $50,000 for large companies that do not allow employees to seek an exemption, while smaller firms would face a $10,000 fine, Jacksonville reported. Florida Law Clashes With Federal Rule Requiring Health Care Workers' COVID Vaccinations The Florida state law opposes a federal rule requiring vaccinations of all health care workers at hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. Spokesman Kevin Punsky released a statement noting that Mayo Clinic supports a required COVID vaccine program for all staff, including its Florida campus, to advance the primary value of Mayo Clinic. Punsky added that the needs of the patient come first. The spokesman also addressed the complication with Florida's law regarding the COVID vaccine mandate. He noted that Florida staff who are not following the organization's COVID vaccine mandate would remain employed, awaiting the outcome of litigation related to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service requirements. The Mayo Clinic did not note the vaccination rates at each of their respective clinics. Mayo Clinic employees who were fired were at Mayo's Arizona and Minnesota locations. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to decide on President Joe Biden's COVID vaccine mandates for large businesses and health care workers. There will be an in-person argument regarding the matter on Friday. Challengers argue that Biden and his administration have overstepped their authority. READ MORE: More Than 5,000 Students in a Single Florida School District Quarantined or Isolated Due to COVID This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Local Mayo Clinic Employees Protest COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate - From News4JAX For the third time in a span of six months, deputies from Flagler County in Florida stopped a teenage girl from jumping off an overpass bridge. According to reports, the girl has attempted to jump off the overpass bridge of Palm Coast Parkway and I-95 on Tuesday. The sheriff's office said the girl was standing on the outer ledge of the bridge, outside of the metal barrier, when the officers arrived at the scene, Fox 35 reported. As officers responded to rescue the teenager, Palm Coast Parkway and I-95 were immediately shut down to traffic. Reports said the same girl attempted to jump off the same place twice in the summer and needed rescue from the deputies as well. All Female Negotiation Team in Florida The sheriff's office of Flagler County in Florida said that several agencies responded to the incident that happened on Tuesday night. Palm Coast Fire Department and FCSO Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT) were also at the scene and immediately formed an all-female negotiation team. According to a press release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, deputies noted that the teenager did not respond well to male negotiators in the past engagements. Hence, the formation of an all-female team to rescue the girl. After thorough communication and coaxing, the negotiation team was able to convince the young girl to cooperate. The team was then able to lower her down to safety. After the incident, the girl was processed in accordance with the Baker Act and was transported immediately to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach to be evaluated. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office released a video of the incident. In the footage, the girl can be heard telling the officers to leave her alone. It was not until a female deputy stepped in to convince the girl that she held her hand as she made her way safely back down to the ground. READ NEXT: Rapper Kodak Black Arrested After Being Charged With Trespassing in Florida on New Year's Day Florida Sheriff Tells Parents That The Child Needs Help Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said that "this is another outstanding rescue by all involved." Staly noted that the quick response and efforts of the police and several agencies made it possible to save the teenager again. He added that their de-escalation techniques training had paid off, and their ability to coax someone who is threatening to end their life back to safety is remarkable. Staly commended everyone who stepped in to rescue the child for the third time in under a year. He noted that the child needs significant help, encouraging the parents of the girl and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to take action before it is too late. The identity of the girl, who is still under evaluation, has yet to be released. READ MORE: In Rare Occurrence, California Twins Born 15 Minutes Apart but in Different Months and Years This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Jess Smith WATCH: FCSO Saves Juvenile Trying to Jump Off Palm Coast Parkway & I-95 Bridge, 3rd Attempt in 6 months - From FCSO Former President Donald Trump issued a statement on the eve of the Capitol attack's anniversary that criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the COVID pandemic. In the statement on Wednesday evening, Trump urged the Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters to "rise up" against the "Democrat overreach" as he commented on how the Biden administration handles the COVID-19 surge and closing of schools. "There's talk by the Biden Administration again about closing schools and even vaccine mandates for school children... This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach," the former president said. Trump noted that Joe Biden's response is "getting worse every day." Trump went on to say that Biden moved to federalize the distribution of antibodies after saying that "there is no federal solution" to the pandemic. Donald Trump then noted that the "red states are getting the short end of the stick" because of Biden's action. The former president then boasted that they created vaccines in record time during his tenure but never issued mandates. Trump added that they respected the role of governors to take care of their own states and could request antibodies and therapeutics depending on what they needed. He said people should be able to choose how they want to govern their own health. "The federal government must be reined in and give the people back the freedom to decide whether they want to be vaccinated or not... That's the way our Country is supposed to be run," Trump noted. He said that "the Democrats are so incredibly mandate happy," with Joe Biden saying, "he would never issue mandates, but he did it anyway like so many other things." READ NEXT: Ex-Pres. Donald Trump's Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Sues House Select Committee as They Advance for Contempt Charges Against Him Donald Trump Cancels Capitol Attack Anniversary Speech Donald Trump canceled a press conference scheduled on January 6 at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Independent reported. In a separate statement, the former president noted that he would be canceling the press conference in light of the "total bias and dishonesty" of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack. The former president said he would discuss many "important topics" at his rally in Arizona on January 15, adding that it would be a big crowd. Joe Biden to Blame Donald Trump for 'Chaos and Carnage' of Capitol Riot Joe Biden would be blaming his predecessor for the "chaos and carnage" of January 6 in a speech to mark the first anniversary of the Capitol attack. The White House said Wednesday that Biden would tell the public in his speech that Trump carries "singular responsibility" for the deadly attack on Capitol Hill. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak on Thursday morning at the U.S. Capitol. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the president will "lay out the significant" of what took place in the Capitol in his speech, adding that Trump has "the singular responsibility" for the "chaos and carnage that we saw," Reuters reported. "He [Joe Biden] will forcibly push back on the lies spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters as well as distract from his role in what happened," Psaki noted. Psaki said the president has been "clear-eyed" regarding the threat that Donald Trump poses to the country's democracy. The press secretary added that the former president works to "constantly undermine" the basic American values and rule of law. A year ago, a mob of Trump supporters breached into the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Congress from ratifying Joe Biden's election victory against his predecessor. Four people died at the Capitol riot, with three others dying from "medical emergencies" at the same time. Four more police officers on duty that day died by suicide following the Capitol attack. Officials noted that around 140 members of law enforcement were assaulted during the riot. READ MORE: Hillary Clinton Predicts Donald Trump Will Run for President in the 2024 Elections This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Capitol Insurrection: Tracking the Attack 1 Year Later - From ABC News Mexico is once again seeing a rise in COVID-19 infections, especially in major tourism destinations in the country's coastal states. Quintana Roo, Mayan Riviera, and Baja California Sur, which are usual tourist destinations during the holidays, are experiencing their highest total infections since the pandemic started in 2020, according to data provided by the Mexican government. On December 29, at least 700 infections were recorded in Baja California Sur, higher than a previous high in July of fewer than 600. On the other hand, Quintana Roo saw a significant increase in just eight days, from 27 cases on December 20 to 484 on December 28. According to Al Jazeera, this could be because beaches in the said areas were filled with tourists during the holidays. They had been closed early in the pandemic. Public Health Experts Question Mexico's COVID-19 Response Public health experts and even average citizens have repeatedly questioned the Mexican government's response to the sudden rise of COVID-19 infections. It can be recalled that a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination is not required for tourists and visitors who wish to enter the country. This policy has boosted the number of visitors in Mexico but might be causing more public health damage. READ NEXT: Florida Cops Stop Teen Girl From Jumping off Highway Overpass for 3rd Time Mexico Delayed Return to Schools About a year ago, Mexico saw one of the worst moments of the pandemic. Their hospitals were overwhelmed, and more than 1,400 people died from COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, Mexico has reported more than 3.99 million COVID-19 cases and at least 299,580 deaths due to coronavirus. However, authorities noted that the real number of deaths could be significantly higher than what was reported. On Tuesday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador warned that the new variant of COVID-19, the Omicron, is very contagious. However, he assured the public that its symptoms were not severe enough to require hospitalization. According to data from Johns Hopkins, more than 57 percent of Mexico's population has now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The country has also started rolling out booster shots for the vulnerable population, the elderly, and healthcare workers. NBC News reported that teachers are also set to receive their booster doses in the coming days. Meanwhile, the sudden increase in COVID-19 cases led to a delay in return to classes in a dozen of Mexico's 32 states after the holidays. Several students have already returned to school, but other states, including Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo, are set to start on January 17. Health officials in Mexico are yet to comment on criticisms thrown at them for their poor COVID-19 response. READ MORE: Cruise With COVID-19 Outbreak Disembarks in Northern Mexico After Country Announces Acceptance of Ships with Positive Cases This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Jess Smith WATCH: In a First, Global Daily New COVID-19 Cases Cross One Million Mark Since the Pandemic Began - From WION Need help logging in? We have transitioned to a new user-friendly interactive website. You will need an account and a subscription to see the site in its entirety. HOME DELIVERY subscribers get online access for free with their subscription. If you are a home delivery subscriber, create a new account and follow the directions to validate your home delivery subscription. If you were a previous ONLINE ONLY subscriber, you should have received an email with directions on how to log in. If you are still experiencing issues contact us at bulletincirc@gmail.com. Elk Point, SD (57025) Today Rain likely. High 47F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Low 37F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Interview: RCEP to boost ASEAN's post-pandemic economic recovery, says Malaysian analyst Xinhua) 09:58, January 06, 2022 KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states will receive a much needed boost in their post-pandemic economic recovery with the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, a Malaysian analyst has said. In an interview with Xinhua, Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser for Malaysia's Pacific Research Center, said that beyond the economic benefits of the world's largest free trade deal to date, RCEP is a victory for multilateralism and a strong affirmation of China's strong and continuous push for global free trade to be inclusive and balanced. "China is the major trading partner of a number of Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN as a whole also became China's largest trading partner," Oh said. "On that very successful basis, why not we extend it to include some other regional major economies right, such as Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and also Australia," explained the Malaysian analyst. Hopefully, with this extension, RCEP will become the world's largest free trade bloc, and it should then serve as a leading light for the free trade movement in the world, he said. This would spur post-pandemic economic recovery efforts by participating economies, allowing better integration of supply chains, common standards, and infrastructure through the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and allowing the movement of goods, services and technology between RCEP participants, Oh said. Oh pointed out that the trade agreement will serve as a demonstration of the success and benefits of multilateralism over narrow, nationalistic approaches to world trade, serving to bring up less developed countries, allowing for an inclusive and balanced sharing of prosperity. "It doesn't make sense anymore to be nationalistic, and simply confine your production, your marketing to your local national markets. It makes more sense for you to diversify, for example, your production bases to other ASEAN countries or even to countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, and so on. And similarly, you must explore markets beyond your own country, or even beyond ASEAN," he said. "Now with RCEP, you could explore the huge China market, you could explore the Japanese and South Korean markets and you could go down south to Australia and to New Zealand to explore the markets there," he added. RCEP, which took effect on Jan. 1, is made up of 10 ASEAN members, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, covering about 30 percent of the world's population, as well as its gross domestic product and trade volume. While Malaysia is a signatory, it has yet to ratify the pact due to delays in its parliamentary proceedings caused by the COVID-19 situation in the country. RCEP is expected to be ratified when the lower house of Malaysian parliament convenes in February. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Laois Integration Network recently launched a campaign about diversity in Ireland, known as the Anti-Rumours project. The Anti-Rumours Project which was first designed by the City of Barcelona in 2010 and is now an EU wide project that sets out to dispel the widespread myths and misconceptions around the topic of immigration and migrant integration by providing evidence-based answers and utilising social networks to spread the message of the campaign. The campaign was first rolled out in Limerick in 2014 by migrant support organisation, Doras and now Laois Integration Network has designed a survey which focuses specifically on county Laois. Karen McHugh, Chairperson of Laois Integration Network encouraged all the people of Laois to complete the survey. "We want the people of Laois to tell us their views about immigration and migration integration. We passionately believe in Laois Integration Network that it is only through active listening, effective two-way communications and integration that it will be possible for people throughout Laois to feel part of the Laois community," she stated. "This survey will help us ascertain the current views of people living in Laois about immigration and migrant integration and dispel any myths with evidence based answers," commented Ms McHugh. The survey can be accessed on all social media Laois Integration Network pages, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. People can also complete the survey by accessing this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mS-MxPilN2ffcBctMe1Oj6XjHpmFa2olAb9vL7qFbuE/viewform?edit_requested=true&fbclid=IwAR3qzSMtm0GPWQpCdXJ1bDypjmvBQMUnKBndCzABOYuhfSFLJBsFpTcQb_M Welcome Guest! You Are Here: An important Laois council meeting held this Thursday morning to decide the future of the county, has been adjourned for another day, as it clashed with a family funeral of a councillor. At the same time as the online meeting, Fianna Fail Cllr Padraig Fleming was attending the funeral of his sister Ann Fleming. Minister of State Sean Fleming is also a brother of the late Ms Fleming. Councillors all expressed condolences to the Fleming family and agreed that adjourning the meeting was the right decision. However they had a hard time agreeing another date when all were free to discuss and adopt the new Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027, taking ten minutes of proposing and rejecting dates before finally agreeing on Tuesday, January 25. Cllr James Kelly said "you'd have a better chance of winning the 19 million in the Lotto than getting this meeting organised". The plan by law must be adopted within two years of notice first being given, which would mean by next Wednesday January 12. However given Covid, the CEO of Laois County Council John Mulholland said given "exceptional circumstances" including Covid delays this year, he did not think that adjourning the meeting and adopting the plan after that date "can be legally challenged". Mr Mulholland also expressed his condolences to the Fleming family. FF Cllr John Joe Fennelly thanked his colleagues for their co-operation. "It is a very sad time for the Fleming family. I know people would probably like to get this meeting over with today but I think it is the right decision," he said. The Cathaoirleach Cllr Conor Bergin also passed on condolences on behalf of councillors. "It is a very difficult time, particularly at the moment, our thoughts are with them. I thank members for their co-operation," he said. Ann Fleming from The Swan, Wolfhill, died peacefully in the loving care of the nurses and staff at Peamount Health Care, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, formerly in the care of The Sisters of Charity, Navan Road, Dublin. She was predeceased by her father and mother John and Peg. Deeply regretted by her brothers and sisters Mary, Lazerian, Jim, Padraig, Leo, Margaret, Sean, Brendan and Joseph, relatives and friends. Removal is from Rigney's Funeral Home, Athy at 12.15pm on Thursday afternoon, January 6, to arrive at St Mary's Church, Wolfhill, for Requiem Mass at 1pm. The Mass will be livestreamed, on ballyadamsparish. Burial afterwards in Clogh Cemetery. A team of scientists are sailing to the place in the world thats the hardest to get to so they can better understand how much and how fast seas will rise because of global warming eating away at Antarcticas ice. Thirty-two scientists are starting a more than two-month mission on board an American research ship to investigate the crucial area where the massive but melting Thwaites glacier faces the Amundsen Sea and may eventually lose large amounts of ice because of warm water. The - which is reportedly the size of Florida in the US, or twice the size of Ireland - has earned the nickname the doomsday glacier because of how much ice it has and how much seas could rise if it all melts more than two feet over hundreds of years. Because of its importance, the US and the UK are in the midst of a joint 50 million dollar mission to study Thwaites, the widest glacier in the world by land and sea. Not near any of the continents research stations, Thwaites is on Antarcticas western half, east of the jutting Antarctic Peninsula, which used to be the area scientists worried most about. Thwaites is the main reason I would say that we have so large an uncertainty in the projections of future sea level rise and that is because its a very remote area, difficult to reach, said Anna Wahlin, an oceanographer from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Speaking from the Research Vessel Nathaniel B Palmer, which was scheduled to leave its port in Chile hours later, she added: It is configured in a way so that its potentially unstable. And that is why we are worried about this. Thwaites is putting about 50 billion tons of ice into the water a year. The British Antarctic Survey says the glacier is responsible for 4% of global sea rise, and the conditions leading to it to lose more ice are accelerating, University of Colorado ice scientist Ted Scambos said from the McMurdo land station last month. Oregon State University ice scientist Erin Pettit said Thwaites appears to be collapsing in three ways: Melting from below by ocean water. The land part of the glacier is losing its grip to the place it attaches to the seabed, so a large chunk can come off into the ocean and later melt. The glaciers ice shelf is breaking into hundreds of fractures like a damaged car windshield. This is what Ms Pettit said she fears will be the most troublesome with six mile-long cracks forming in just a year. ICYMI: The RRS Sir David Attenborough travelled to Antarctica as part of its maiden voyage and arrived at our Rothera Research Station for the first time last week. Jaskiran Nagi Read more: https://t.co/Ma5CzqdKCg pic.twitter.com/A2Vudl7Csy British Antarctic Survey (@BAS_News) December 23, 2021 No one has stepped foot before on the key ice-water interface at Thwaites. In 2019, Ms Wahlin was on a team that explored the area from a ship using a robotic ship but never went ashore. Ms Wahlins team will use two robot ships her own large one called Ran which she used in 2019 and the more agile Boaty McBoatface, the crowdsource-named drone that could go further under the area of Thwaites that protrudes over the ocean to get under the glacier. The ship-bound scientists will be measuring water temperature, the sea floor and ice thickness. They will look at cracks in the ice, how the ice is structured and tag seals on islands off the glacier. Thwaites looks different from other ice shelves, Ms Wahlin said. It almost looks like a jumble of icebergs that have been pressed together. So its increasingly clear that this is not a solid piece of ice like the other ice shelves are, nice smooth solid ice. This was much more jagged and scarred. Minister of State Martin Heydon, who has responsibility for Farm Safety at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has launched the Agri Aware Farm Safe Schools Programme for 2022. Minister Heydon said: I am determined that we get the message of Safety First onto every farm. That is why I am delighted to be able to support the Farm Safe Schools Programme for 2022. It is important that we take every opportunity to emphasise the need for a change of culture around safety on our farms. I believe children can play an important role in improving safety on farms by bringing the safety message home to their families. We should not underestimate the ability of young people to deliver real and tangible change and this programme can empower them to do so. The Agri Aware Farm Safe Schools programme in association with, the Irish Farmers Association, Agrikids and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine is just in its second year. As a pilot programme, Farm Safe Schools ran in over 500 schools across Ireland and impacted over 21,000 primary pupils, in an attempt to improve farm safety nationally in 2021. Despite Farming accounting for only 6% of national workplaces, it accounts for almost half of workplace deaths. The Farm Safe Schools Programme has three modules: Farmer and Field Safety, Animal Safety and Machinery Safety, highlighting the many risks on farms to schoolchildren. This curriculum-linked programme aims to engage, educate and empower Irish children to become farm safety ambassadors and in doing so help create a safer, brighter future on Irish farms. Farm Safe Schools 2022 will run from February to May and is free for all schools to sign up. Schools can register here. The Agri Aware Farm Safe Schools programme in association with, the Irish Farmers Association, Agrikids and The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine is in just its second year. Despite Farming accounting for only 6% of national workplaces, it accounts for almost half of workplace deaths (HSA Report) As an existing component of the SPHE curriculum, this programme will also provide Irish primary school classrooms with fun, interactive resources and webinars all tailored to the Farm Safe School ethos. In order to become accredited Farm Safe Schools, teachers must cover three topics in each of the 3 programme modules (two topics for younger classes) and show evidence of learnings achieved for each. Modules cover everything from Farmer and Field Safety, as well as Animal and Machinery Safety. Teachers can create a web page, a logbook or blog page to showcase their classes hard work on raising farm safety awareness. They are also encouraged to share their progress via social media, using the hashtag #FarmSafeSchools. As well as achieving the status of becoming a recognised Farm Safe School, participating schools who show excellence in each module and achieve the Superstar status of accreditation will have the opportunity to be crowned the Farm Safe Schools Champion. The inaugural Farm Safe Schools Champions were Scoil Naomh Brid, Talbotstown, Co. Wicklow. The school has 76 pupils and completed the programme across all classes. Naas District Court was told that a woman reported that her son threatened to break the place up. His son, aged in his early 20s, appeared before the court on December 15 for an alleged breach of a protection order. Sgt Kelly said the woman indicated her son was agitated and aggressive before making the threat and added that a protection order is in place. Read more Kildare news There was no objection to bail and the matter was adjourned to April 28. Judge Desmond Zaidan told the man that he was being released on bail of his mother had a protection order and any breach of that between now and the adjourned date could mean he would spend Christmas and New Year in prison. He said he is not to eff and blind at his mother or issue threats against her or he would be brought before the court for bail to be revoked. A tattoo artist operating in Kildare has criticised the new EU ink ban, calling it a purge on what some see as unacceptable. Last year, updated EU regulations on alleged cancer-causing chemicals known as Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), were agreed by member states in 2020 and came into force on January 4. It is believed that the ban could affect about 4,000 substances used in tattoo inks, including isopropyl alcohol, a disinfecting lotion used in the process. While the law was agreed in December 2020, the industry was given a year to adjust and find alternatives. However, tattoo artist Steve Collins of Lucky 13 in Rathangan, Kildare has said that he had no idea whatsoever of the ban until Thursday, January 6. He said: To be honest, I am stunned... I haven't heard anything about this new law at all (until recently), and I am a registered artist with over two decades of experience. Mr Collins went on to explain that once he found out, he rang his supplier, who gets all his inks on his behalf from within the EU to confirm the news. His supplier in response said that whilst they had heard of the change in law, they were given no information regarding alternatives to sell to tattoo artists. Mr Collins explained: Tattoos should be up to the individual: every person I tattoo signs a waiver outlining the risks, and they still get them done. He added that, in his career as a tattoo artist, he has never personally seen anyone have a bad reaction to tattoo ink: Yes, maybe one in, say, 10,000 people might have a mild reaction, such as a rash or itching, and there was an issue with red ink some years ago, but that's been sorted. People don't die from getting tattooed, but they do die from alcohol abuse and cigarettes. Mr Collins also pointed to one statistic, which estimates that 54 million people across the EU have tattoos. I fear that this law is going to make my work criminal... and I've never broken a law in my life! I have a family to support, and this is going to affect my business. He concluded: My main point is that if this is a law that makes tattooing illegal, all registered tattoo studios should have been notified in writing with details and alternatives. Further concerns: Another tattoo studio based in Newbridge, Ink Lovers, also recently released a statement regarding the issue. They echoed Mr Collins' complaints, saying: The tattoo industry has spent decades fighting for the recognition and respect it deserves, as well taking the time to develop the safest and most effective equipment and products, so the sudden ban on our inks is a huge blow to every single artist. The team at Ink Lovers added that while alternatives do exist, they are usually much more expensive, and in very short supply and do not meet the demand for tattoos. There is also lack of clarity and guidance, especially here in Ireland: we feel that the absence of regulations, and now the banning of industry standard inks, will create more unsafe practices which will reflect badly on all of us artists. Considering how there is not a lot of solid research on the relationship between tattoos and the serious health problems mentioned in the the new regulations, we feel it is unfair to completely ban the use of the majority of our inks, they added. We at Ink Lovers, always try to ensure the highest standards of practice to provide safe and professional tattoos for our clients, and although the recent ban is hindering, we will continue to uphold these standards with new EU compliant inks, though we hope a suitable compromise can be achieved sooner than later, they concluded. The latest surge of Omicron has resulted in a number of schools across Kildare facing reduced staff and pupil numbers. Principal of Athy Community College, Richard Daly, has said that his school received numerous calls from teachers on Wednesday, January 5 who had issues relating to Covid-19. He also gave an update on the attendance numbers on Thursday, January 6, the date when schools across Ireland would reopen after the Christmas holidays: We decided to take the most prudent approach of allowing exam classes only to attend... personally, I would have reopened on Monday, but it is what it is. We have 15 teacher absences, which represents over a third of our teaching staff, and about 50 per cent attendance of students with several phone calls from parents explaining that there are Covid issues in the home. Mr Daly said that he notified parents through the school's website, as well as through social media and text messages, and said he received a very positive response. He continued: At this point all but a handful of the teacher absences will have ended their containment by the weekend and unless there is another sudden spike we should be in a position to cater for the full complement of students on Monday next. Combining Covid with a nationwide shortage of teachers has proved challenging over past months, but we are committed to providing the very best and hopefully safest service to the students and families in our community. The Patrician Primary School in Newbridge also revealed that it had 310 students on roll, with 89 absences. David Dempsey, the new principal of the PPS, explained that he is actually isolating and working from home after testing positive for Covid-19. He added: We had around four or five teachers out of a total of 20 out on January 6, myself included. It's a lot, but nothing major we can't handle. As for Kildare Town Community School, principal John Hayes confirmed that 200 out of the school's 976 students were absent on Thursday. In addition, he said that 22 of the school's 74 teaching staff and 14 SNAs were absent (this does not include office staff and caretakers, but the school is also down four support staff). I would have preferred a phased return to school: it would give us the chance to converse with the students directly and inform them about what's coming for the year, similar to an orientation day. It's just a shame that we couldn't have spoken to the kids face-to-face on Thursday: we had to do so over the intercom. Mr Hayes added that he believes that his school is safe: All students have been provided with Covid-19 compliance kits, staff members have the proper PPE, and we have a gravity ventilation system in place. He also thanked parents for their support during what he called a very difficult and complex time for the school. With Irish gaining full status as an official language of the European Union this week, this will give more opportunities to gain employment throughout the many inner sanctums of Brussels in the months and years ahead. Former Donegal MEP, Pat the Cope Gallagher, who was a great promoter of the Irish language while a member of the European Parliament said,I very much welcome the official EU recognition of the Irish language. My first contribution as an MEP back in 1994 was in Irish. "To make it successful, I would hope that all the Irish MEPs would speak Irish in parliament at every opportunity. Former Donegal MEP, Pat the Cope Gallagher Since Monday last, January 1, as a full official language, all documents now published by the EU must be translated into Irish. Over the past five years the number of Irish translators in Europe has increased to about 200 and this will increase significantly with the news that Irish has become an official language of the EU. A derogation, in place since 2007, limited the amount of material published through Irish by the EU Institutions. But since 2015, the scope of this derogation has been gradually reducing as the capacity for the translation of Irish within the EU Institutions has increased, the culmination of which happened this week. The Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, TD, said that the volume of Irish language translations has risen almost six fold since 2016, from 8,000 to almost 46,000 by October 2021. President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins said: This full status is an important recognition at international level of our specific identity as a people with a distinctive language of our own that we use alongside all the other languages we use and respect. We have, in this coming year not only a responsibility, but a joyful opportunity to ensure that our native language is available and valued by our future generations. The Irish language is that of us. Let us take this opportunity to make it part of all of our lives. Our young people are showing how it carries no burden of any exclusion or dismissal of others. Every generation can be part of our shared Irish, European, global multiple identities. Career pathways and options within the European Union can be found on the website EUJobs - Department of Foreign Affairs www.dfa.ie . As many as 8,000 teachers could be absent due to Covid-19 when schools return on Thursday, according to a teacher's union. The General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) John Boyle said that 15% of teaching staff, around seven or eight thousand teachers will be absent because of Covid-19 Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland earlier today, Mr Boyle said that the term ahead, up to mid-term, is going to be an extremely difficult one. He said there will be situations whereby children will have to have classes at home. He added that priority will be given to those children who "don't thrive in the remote learning scenario", particularly younger children and those with additional needs. "There isn't a hope" that there would be enough replacement teachers, Mr Boyle said, with concern about the challenges involved in keeping the system going. He called for the reintroduction of contact tracing, and noted that over 60,000 primary school children did contract the virus before Christmas. Much more had to be done about filtration in classrooms, Mr Boyle said. A spokesperson for the Department of Education described a meeting on Tuesday with the unions and health officials as productive. Education stakeholders were briefed by the minister and public health representatives on how the Covid-19 mitigation measures in place in schools have been reviewed by public health and will continue in place in the coming term, the spokesperson said. Public health remains of the view that these mitigation measures are effective and appropriate. Furthermore, public health officials advised that there is no public health rationale to delay the reopening of schools later this week," the education spokesperson said. Schools will operate in line with their Covid-19 response plans, which set out a range of mitigation measures for schools, including hand hygiene, mask-wearing, and social distancing. RETAILERS in Limerick and across the country have been advised to remove Genrui branded antigen tests from their shelves by the Health Products Regulatory Authority. The HPRA has asked outlets to take the voluntary measure pending a further investigation, after it was flooded with more than 550 complaints of false positive results associated with the brand of Covid-19 test. While all rapid antigen tests have the potential to provide false positive results, the HPRA said the rapid rise in reports linked to Genrui was significant and meant a precautionary removal from sale is warranted. The matter is set to be further investigated by the manufacturer Genrui Biotech, based in Shenzen, China and its European representative. The HPRA advises precautionary removal from sale of Genrui SARS-COV-2 Rapid Antigen Self-Test see more information: https://t.co/e3mZPdsiKB pic.twitter.com/FfJgUCIfkK HPRA (@TheHPRA) January 5, 2022 The HPRA also advises against the online purchase of Genrui self-tests at this time while the matter remains under investigation. Individuals who have received a positive result following use of any rapid antigen self-test, including this test, should follow the current public heath advice on the HSE website the HPRA said in a statement. The HPRA will continue to liaise with the manufacturer to investigate the matter further, and is also in contact with other European Competent Authorities in relation to this issue. Individuals who have experienced a false positive or false negative result can report the occurrence via the HPRA website hpra.ie. The HPRA wishes to acknowledge the cooperation and swift response of retailers in relation to this matter. Any retailers supplying this product who have not yet received communication in respect of this issue should contact devicesafety@hpra.ie. A LIMERICK woman who won a new house in a GAA prize draw has said she feels like a new world has been opened up for her. Lorraine Ni Ghairbhith was the big winner of the Westport GAA Win a House Draw and she is now the proud owner of a four- bedroom house in the town worth 325,000. The Bruff woman paid 100 for a ticket in the draw after she saw an ad for the competition on Facebook. The lecturer lives in Dublin currently however she says she has always dreamed of moving west and living near the sea. She said: "I honestly don't know why I entered the competition but maybe the universe is looking after me! "I have been trying to buy a house in Dublin and I bid on a few but I have been pipped to the post, I was trying my best but it just wasn't happening. "I have always said when I retire I would love to move west but with a single mortage it is very hard to buy a house. "People have been asking me will I sell it and I say 'of course not!', of course I would live there." Lorraine said she has been inundated with well wishes since she shared the life-changing news. "I am still enjoying the tsunami of love that is coming my way, all the well wishes have been unbelievable. I am happy that it won't be ready until March because I can just sit back and enjoy the joy. I feel as if a door has opened and everything is ahead of me. "Nothing has been decided. At the moment I feel everything is possible. It is just pure magic, I can't believe I own my own home." THE Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, has signed new regulations doubling the fixed charge penalty for motorists who are caught parking on footpaths, cycle lanes or bus lanes. The new 80 penalties, which will apply in Limerick and across the country, will apply from February 1, next. Commenting after signing the regulations, Minister Ryan said: "I am very pleased to announce these increased penalties which will both promote active travel and encourage a more considerate use of road space. Parking on footpaths puts vulnerable pedestrians, such as wheelchair users and those pushing buggies, at significant risk by forcing them off the footpath and into traffic." The minister added: "Parking in bus and cycle lanes endangers cyclists and undermines State investment in sustainable public transport infrastructure. These increases should help improve the safety of all vulnerable road and footpath users, by creating a more effective deterrent to these specific forms of illegal parking. The enforcement of the regulations will not change and fines can be issues by traffic wardens or members of An Garda Siochana. This is needed as we continually see parking that takes no consideration of the safety of pedestrians & cyclists. https://t.co/dfxyufIYkA Cllr Daniel Butler, Mayor of Limerick (@DanielButlerFG) January 6, 2022 Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety, Hildegarde Naughton, has also welcomed the increased penalties. Obstructing footpaths, bus lanes and cycle tracks can confront vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, with particularly dangerous obstacles on busy roads, while also forcing tricky manoeuvres upon buses and cars who may be attempting to overtake such careless parking. These new penalties will safeguard families and communities as they make use of our growing network of active travel infrastructure." Even as the Omicron strain forces Londons white-collar workers to do their job from home, U.S. investors are eyeing the U.K. capitals offices. Returns are better than other European hubs, but maybe not for long. North Americans were the biggest purchasers of London offices in the fourth quarter of 2021, accounting for 39% of deals by value overall and 56% within the City of London district, based on data from real-estate firm Knight Frank. Typically, they make around one in five purchases. The numbers may be skewed by the fact that Asian buyers, who usually dominate London deals, face travel restrictions. But higher returns on the citys offices are also becoming a draw. Average rent yields on the best properties are around 4%, while in Paris and Berlin they are below 3%. Prices have been suppressed in London mainly because of the risks of Britains exit from the European Union. The U.K.s Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that leaving the bloc will reduce the U.K.s potential gross domestic product by 4% over the long term, double the hit of the pandemic. But international investors seem increasingly willing to overlook this as they search for places to park cash. Compared to major U.S. cities, London may be a safer bet as remote working takes hold. Supply of newly built offices with high sustainability ratingsthe kind that big corporate tenants are now looking for as they try to hit their own net-zero targetsis tight in the British capital. Take-up of space is expected to be 4.7 million square feet a year between now and 2025, while just 8 million square feet of speculative office construction is slated to take place by then. Bank of America projects that rents for Grade A offices in London will increase by 5% a year between now and 2027 as a result. Office landlords have a weaker hand in some large U.S. cities, which already looked oversupplied before Covid-19 hit. One in six San Francisco offices was vacant by the end of the third quarter, based on Colliers data. Even relatively new properties are proving difficult to fill: 18.3% of Manhattan offices built since 2015 were available to rent by the end of September. The vacancy rate for Grade A buildings in London was just 3.5% by comparison, according to listed landlord British Land. Competition to buy the best London offices is growing, so the city may not look relatively cheap for long. Strong demand from tenants for Grade A buildings has encouraged buyers to stump up more, pushing down rent yields. In Londons premium West End district, yields tightened to 3.25% by December compared with 3.75% a year ago, CBRE analysis shows. Low supply of the climate-friendly buildings that both investors and tenants now want could push London yields down further. Just 9% of the citys office stock complies with sustainability standards that are likely to be mandatory in the U.K. by the end of the decade according to Bank of America estimates. Properties that dont meet the grade will need heavy investment. Despite questions about the future of offices in big cities, investors hunting for Londons trophy buildings could soon feel squeezed. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text NEW DELHI : The Gavi vaccine alliance is in talks with India's Bharat Biotech over potential procurement of the company's Covaxin COVID-19 shot for the COVAX global vaccine distribution programme, a Gavi spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday. "We are in discussion with (Bharat Biotech) as we consider the overall needs of the COVAX portfolio in 2022. However, we have no agreement for supply of Covaxin to COVAX at this time," the spokesperson said in an email. The World Health Organization in November gave Covaxin, India's first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, approval for emergency use. Three of the 10 vaccines the global agency has approved are mass-produced in India. About 180 million Covaxin doses have been administered in India and more than 3 million doses have been exported or donated. Gavi said it was also working with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the world's biggest vaccine maker to start supplying the Novavax vaccine to COVAX. Gavi has a firm order commitment for 300 million doses of the shot, with options for an additional 700 million doses. The SII has stockpiled tens of millions of doses of the Novavx shot, which it calls Covovax, and has shipped more than 9 million doses of the drug to Indonesia in bilateral deals. The SII is also a big supplier of the AstraZeneca vaccine to India and COVAX. India, which resumed vaccine exports in October after stopping shipments in April to inoculate its own citizens, has so far donated or sold more than 1 billion doses in total. The world's biggest vaccine-making country has capacity to produce about 5 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year. The repeal of Indias central farm laws is seen so widely as gravely negative for prospects of further economic reform that it might be opportune at the start of this New Year to set the record straight. The good news is that farm reform, defined as opening up marketing channels for farm produce, was already well underway before the three central laws were enacted. The bad news is that there is still a great deal of avoidable confusion as to the exact state of play in that process. The states were the appropriate jurisdiction for legislating on trade in farm produce, since in any case it was state laws enacted 50 years ago that had limited the purchase of farm produce to licensed traders in Agricultural Market Produce Committee (APMC) market yards. A model act for doing away with the APMC-controlled regime was drafted for states in 2017 by the Centre. The 2017 model is an admirably comprehensive and carefully-worded legal provision, protecting farmers as it does from every conceivable abuse of the move towards greater freedom of sale. In December 2019, the 15th Finance Commission, in its interim report, incentivized states to enact legislation based on the 2017 template, with a promised reward in their final report. Since Ramesh Chand was a member of both the Finance Commission and the Niti Aayog, the Centre quite clearly agreed that states were the appropriate legislating authority. That thinking seems to have changed in 2020, with enactment of three central laws. How many states had already gone with the 2017 template by 2019? The Union ministry of agriculture, at a conference of state agriculture ministers in July 2019, presented a detailed tabulation showing that 22 states had provided freedom for farmers to sell their produce to private traders, the key element enabled by the 2017 model law. Kerala and Manipur had never enacted an APMC law, and Bihar repealed its APMC law in 2005. That left only three states of the present Indian total of 28 which did not give farmers freedom to sell to private traders: Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Sadly, we cannot conclude that the freeing of farmers from the clutches of the APMC monopsony was complete, barring those three states, because in the same July 2019 presentation, only four states are named as having fully followed the 2017 template: Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab. It could be that the other states had not followed the 2017 template in every detail. Another explanation could be that those states had not followed enactment with a notification of rules. But without notification (the point at which any law is administratively recognized), how could 22 states have been listed as having freed farmers to sell to private traders? The issue remains mired in confusion. I should explain why I rate the 2017 model act so highly. Many laws at both the Centre and states leave details about procedures to the rules, which can easily be changed by administrative notification, without having to refer back to the legislative body for a change in the law. The 2017 template was exceptional for having inserted procedures for setting market fees, and specifying uses to which the revenue from these fees could be put, right in the law itself without being waved away to the rules. There was no compulsion on states to enact their own legislation based on the 2017 template. There are prior and very successful instances of states having voluntarily followed a standard template on which to base their own legislation. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) acts, enacted by states starting in 2005, was one such. Another example was the model VAT law offered to states that same year. In the case of farm laws as well, it was only a matter of time before all states would have seen the advantages of enacting (and notifying) laws based on the 2017 template. The equivalent central law of 2020 is much shorter than the 2017 model, because it does not go into the kind of painstaking detail as the 2017 template does in order to secure the rights of farmers. There were also two major departures in the 2020 act. One was that it explicitly ruled out the levy of market fees. That was most puzzling, since a lot of initial investment and maintenance is needed for agricultural market yards. If no market fees are levied, investment and maintenance have to be fully borne by either government or private traders. If its the latter, an agricultural market could easily degenerate into a local monopsony. That possibility was what the 2017 model act guarded against. The second departure was that the central law required all traders in farm produce, barring farmer organisations, to have a permanent account number (PAN) for income taxation. Quite aside from the merits of that requirement, it should have been in a finance bill rather than a farm bill. I have dealt only with the marketing law, of the three enacted, for lack of space. The essential point is that the 2017 model is still in place, providing a secure legal basis for opening up markets to farmers in a non-exploitative way. Indira Rajaraman is an economist The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future By Stephen Marche Avid Reader Press. 238 pp. $27 - - - To glimpse the coming dismemberment of the United States of America, just stop by your local bookstore. "How Civil Wars Start" by Barbara F. Walter, one of the most-discussed titles of the moment, warns that the signs typically heralding such conflicts are now evident at home. "Divided We Fall" by David French, published weeks before the 2020 election, pictures the cleaving of the United States into two culturally distinct states, united only in their mutual detestation. On the magazine racks, the Atlantic argues that the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol was merely "practice" for the more effective democratic subversion that's now underway. And on the fiction shelves, you can pick up a paperback of Omar El Akkad's 2017 novel, "American War," a grim vision of environmental destruction, youth radicalization, internally displaced populations and biological warfare in the United States, a vision rendered less fashionable only by its timing (here, the second American civil war is not waged until the latter half of the 21st century). Into this crowd steps Canadian novelist and journalist Stephen Marche with "The Next Civil War: Dispatches From the American Future," which takes the realities of a politically tribalistic United States -- burdened by racial and economic injustice, packed with social resentments, awash with guns -- and imagines its move toward all-out conflict. "The background hum of hyper-partisanship, the rage and loathing of everyday American politics, generates a widespread tolerance for violence," Marche writes. "Eventually somebody acts on it." In this telling, the precipitating act of the next civil war is almost incidental, and Marche conjures up several options. It could be a local dispute over the closing of a small-town bridge by federal safety inspectors that escalates into an armed confrontation, forces led by a charismatic sheriff on one side and a decorated general on the other. Or the assassination of a president (no one will expect him to do it, Marche writes of the creepy young killer, yet "no one will be surprised when he does"). Or a natural disaster that upends New York City, overwhelms governmental capacities and sends climate refugees pouring across the country. Or a drone armed with bioweapons that strikes the Capitol. "America is one spectacular act of political violence away from a national crisis," Marche writes. Such scenario-spinning is a staple of the Civil War redux and secessionist lit. French's book imagines California breaking off over gun laws or Texas splitting away over abortion disputes, while Walter's envisions multiple bombings of state capitol buildings after the 2028 presidential election, leading to domestic terrorism and even attempts at ethnic cleansing. There is a horrifying yet normalizing quality to such discussions. The more often cable news chyrons, think tank analyses, political rhetoric and nonfiction works elevate the discussion of a new civil war, the more inevitable such an outcome may seem, and the more fatalistic the public may feel. It's not clear that fanciful scenarios are all that necessary; one year ago, we witnessed a real-life spectacular act of political violence against the U.S. Capitol, carried live on television, while a recent Washington Post-UMD poll finds that one-third of Americans say violence against the government can be justified. Oddly, given his book's title, Marche oscillates between certitude about a coming civil war (we are already on its "threshold," he warns, and any catalyzing event will appear "a logical outcome to the trends of the country") and the belief that we can avoid it ("none of the crises described in this book are beyond the capacity of Americans to solve," he writes, as long as we recapture the spirit of a country "devoted to reinvention"). Marche's final two chapters are titled "The End of the Republic" and "A Note on American Hope." When you're betting on the end of the American experiment, a little hedge doesn't hurt. After all, the U.S. of A. has survived local-federal standoffs, domestic terrorism, natural disasters and presidential assassinations before. Why would today be different? Marche ticks through the circumstances that, in his view, heighten the risks: extreme political and geographic polarization; the particular radicalization of the right; drought and other climate-related crises; deepening racial resentments and injustices; technological and informational silos; the proliferation of guns; and obscene levels of economic inequality. "Every society in human history with levels of inequality like those in the United States today has descended into war, revolution, or plague," Marche contends. Given how many societies have experienced some form of war, revolution or plague, regardless of their inequality statistics, such a warning may be less ominous than it first appears. Indeed, Marche's brisk writing sometimes falls into spirals of political and cultural buzzwords. The aftermath of a presidential assassination, for example, would produce "an ever-hardening version of soft autocracy riddled with violent grievance politics born out of a sense of institutional illegitimacy." (It's like death-of-democracy Mad Libs.) Yet Marche does hit on a more fundamental tension, one that underlies so many of our divides: "Each side accuses the other of hating America, which is only another way of saying that both hate what the other means by America." Even fledgling separatists, he notes, take pains to assure that their efforts are consistent with the Constitution, with American traditions. ("It's genuinely weird," Marche admits.) A future civil war will be a fight "to preserve a coherent definition of America itself." It will be, he concludes, "a war over meaning." And what is that meaning? "Difference is the core of the American experience," Marche argues. "Difference is its genius. There has never been a country -- in history, in the world -- so comfortable with difference." But now that comfort, to the extent that it ever truly existed, has become insufferable irritation, and that American genius, national zealotry. Disillusioned and angry, some citizens "don't want America's differences," Marche writes. "They can no longer tolerate America's contradictions." Marche stresses the contradictions involving culture and race and history and national identity, of enslavers who extolled freedom and equality, or of a country that has imagined itself both a White settler republic and a multicultural democracy. These battles over meaning have animated past American conflicts -- not just Marche's "next" civil war but the first one, too. Yet such contradictions are embedded throughout the American story. Think of the ways the country has perceived itself throughout its history, and what such notions mean today. The land of opportunity, but denying it to many. A nation of immigrants, finding new ways to be unwelcoming. American ingenuity, creating sophisticated engines of division and misinformation. The land of the free, with a system of mass incarceration. The aspirations that have defined us threaten to rip us apart. Books on the threats to the American experiment come in waves, each new theme more treacherous than the one before. Polarization books. Democratic-decline books. Now, the new civil war literature. But we don't have to browse the latest titles to find fears of disunion. We can revisit instead some of the earliest and most enduring American prose. George Washington's farewell address of Sept. 19, 1796, was, overwhelmingly, a plea to preserve a united country. "Your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty ... the love of the one ought to endear you to the preservation of the other," he declared. Washington foresaw how the malign influence of parties and factions "agitates the Community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection." Such admonitions find resonance at a moment when one major American party has grown unmoored from democratic observance, when too many of its partisans uphold false conspiracies that can propel supporters toward violence against the union. Whether it portends civil war or lesser forms of conflict, the tragedy of Jan. 6 is not just the assault of that day and the lies that produced it, but what it signals for days to come. As our first president warned when explaining his intention to relinquish the office, "cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People, and to usurp for themselves the reins of Government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion." - - - Carlos Lozada is the Post's nonfiction book critic and the author of "What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era." Houston Heights-area restaurant Preslee's is facing backlash this week over a pair of messages mocking leading Democratic party members on the large marquee overlooking the W. 20th Street establishment. Both signs mentioned California Democratic congresswoman and sitting speaker of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and one featured the popular anti-Joe Biden phrase "Let's Go Brandon." The first sign, a large and brightly lit dig at Pelosi's physical appearance, was captured by the Houston Chronicle's Alison Cook on December 30. The popular Southern-style hangout located in north downtown punctuated its first "No mask needed" with the tag "Unless you look like Nancy Pelosi." COVID cases continue to skyrocket in the Laredo area. And during this major surge, the City of Laredo announced it has issued a Declaration of Public Health Emergency and an Emergency COVID-19 Mitigation Order. The City of Laredo and Webb County reported via an online dashboard the city has 55,940 positive cases and 988 deaths historically since the emergence of the pandemic in March 2020. The data last updated on Tuesday brings Laredo to 1,485 new positive cases and two COVID-related deaths that were reported since the update last weekend. This is a major uptick. With still three more days in the week to go, Laredo has already more than doubled the 642 reported cases from last week. Cases sat at 181 and 132 the prior two weeks and were at 100 or fewer each of the previous seven weeks. In fact, the positive cases so far this week already eclipse the peak of the third wave of COVID-19 in Laredo. That had only two weeks eclipse 1,000 new cases, with the highest hitting 1,081. LMT is unable to accurately give active cases, as the citys latest data states that historically there have been more recoveries (56,833) than positive cases (55,940). LMT calculates active cases by taking historical positives and subtracting recoveries and deaths from that total. The city estimates 2,107 active cases, although it uses a rolling 14-day confirmed positive total instead for calculations after changing its formula on Jan. 1. Just a few days ago, LMTs active case total was at 727 while the city estimated 1,087. Laredos rolling seven-day positivity rate is at 9.3%. Texas rolling positivity rate is up to a sky high 31.8% while the United States is at 23%. Its important to note that these positivity rates are off the charts. The previous high for a positivity rate in the U.S. topped out at 23% during the first wave, with the second wave hitting 13.2% and the third wave 9.7%. And in Texas, the state peaked in the first wave at 20.5%, the second wave at 20.6% and the third wave at 18.5%. So this level of spread is uncharted territory for everyone. More Information COVID-19 Metrics Positives: 55,940 Deaths: 988 Hospitalizations: 28 ICU: 12 Fully Vaccinated: 89.7% Recoveries: N/A Total Tested: 481,478 7-Day Positive Rate: 5.6% Source: Laredo Health Dept. See More Collapse Due to this significant spike, the City of Laredo announced that Mayor Pete Saenz has signed a Declaration of Public Health Emergency due to the increased spread of COVID-19 in the area which will immediately go into effect. The city states that the declaration observes the need to mitigate the local spread of the infectious disease due to substantial transmission levels in Laredo, as identified by Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Trevino. Although the high positivity rates have not impacted hospitalization admissions, mitigation is needed to prevent city and healthcare workers from getting infected and requiting isolation, the City of Laredo said in a statement. This will allow us to continue providing basic municipal services and avoid experiencing a shortage of hospital personnel to care for patients. This declaration will continue for seven days after its issuance unless continued or renewed by City Council. The city also announced that Saenz, Trevino and Laredo Health Director Dr. Richard Chamberlain issued an Emergency COVID-19 Mitigation Order applying to all city employees regarding COVID exposure. The city states that all city-related travel and trainings have been postponed, all meetings will be rescheduled or completed virtually and all city-owned facilities open to the public will be limited to 50% capacity for visitors. This includes libraries, recreations centers and administrative buildings. zdavis@lmtonline.com Pope Francis lamented Wednesday that many couples are choosing to have more pets than more children, saying that a trend of forgoing child-rearing "takes some of our humanity away." The pontiff started his weekly address at the Vatican by praising the paternal virtues of the biblical Joseph. But his reflection on the importance of parenthood shifted to a warning about dwindling birthrates, encouraging people to "take the risk of welcoming children," biological or adopted. "Today . . . we see a form of selfishness," the pope said, according to translations in multiple reports. "We see that some people do not want to have a child." Or, he said, they may have one or two kids - "but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children." Countries around the world, including the United States, have been reporting annual drops in birthrates in recent years. Population powerhouses in the developing world are also posting low growth. In 2020, data from Indian authorities indicates, the country's fertility dropped below "replacement rate," needed to maintain a stable population over time. In China, three decades of stringent family-planning policies have left the country's birthrates plummeting. The pope, who has called for the adoption process to become easier, said people who do not have children "are lacking something, something fundamental, something important." And he cautioned that countries may soon be forced to grapple with the consequences of lower birthrates - such as lower tax revenue and shrinking economies. Yet the pope's remarks drew criticism from many on social media who insisted that having children is a personal choice. Dana Nessel, Michigan's attorney general, referenced her experience with the foster care system, saying that having kids out of a feeling of obligation can lead to "terrible outcomes for both the kids and parents." Wednesday's address was not the first time the pope has spoken out against the preference for some smaller households to have more pets. He voiced his concerns as early as 2014, when he celebrated daily mass alongside 15 couples. Even then, the pope told the couples not to substitute children with house pets. "It might be better - more comfortable - to have a dog, two cats, and the love goes to the two cats and the dog. Is this true or not? Have you seen it?" Pope Francis said, according to Religion News Service. "Then, in the end this marriage comes to old age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness." And last month, the pontiff warned that Italy's declining number of births, which reached its nadir since the 1860s, may threaten the country's future, Reuters reported. The 85-year-old leader of the Catholic Church has largely been seen as a liberal figure, making numerous statements that have raised the eyebrows of the Church's more hard-line members. For instance, the pontiff bucked calls from conservative Catholic bishops and reportedly said last year that President Joe Biden, who supports abortion rights, should be allowed to continue to receive Communion. While the pope is not known to keep a personal pet, he has been photographed in the past interacting with animals including a lamb, dogs and a tiger. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz predicted Republicans will impeach President Joe Biden as political payback if they win back the U.S. House this year in the midterm elections. Yeah, I do think theres a chance of that, whether its justified or not, he said on the latest episode of his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz. Democrats weaponized impeachment, he said, referring to House Democrats twice voting to impeach former President Donald Trump. They used it for partisan purposes to go after Trump because they disagreed with him. And one of the real disadvantages of doing that is the more you weaponize it and turn it into a partisan cudgel, you know, whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice, but the Senate lacked the votes needed to convict him in both cases. In 2019, the House impeached Trump over his phone call with the leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. A record of the call released by the White House detailed how Trump implored Zelensky to investigate Biden, who beat Trump in 2020, and his son, Hunter Biden. Last year, the House impeached Trump during his final days in office, charging him with incitement of insurrection for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Tuesday, Cruz said that impeachment shouldnt be used as a political tool. Thats not how impeachment is meant to work, he said. But the junior Texas senator also said there were multiple grounds to consider for impeachment against Biden. Probably the most compelling is the utter lawlessness of President Bidens refusal to enforce the border. His decision to just defy federal immigration laws and allow 2 million people to come here unimpeded in direct contravention of his obligation under Article 2 of the Constitution to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, he said. That is probably the strongest grounds right now for impeachment, but there may be others. Cruz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Texas Republicans have blamed Biden's less stringent immigration stance for a sharp increase in migrants coming to the border seeking entry into the U.S. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Lena Ann "Lee Ann" Enzinna, age 77 of the City of Tonawanda, April 28, 2022. Lee Ann was a 1962 graduate of Tonawanda High School and a graduate of Buffalo State Teachers College. She had been employed by Roswell Park Cancer Inst. for many years. Daughter of the late Samuel F. Sr. and Lena E If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Daily 8AM (Translated by RAWA), January 1, 2022 The United Nations says children are more likely to be abused in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and northern Ethiopia. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday released statistics on child violence around the world, particularly in Asia, saying that in 28,500 incidents, 27 percent of the world's child casualties were recorded in Afghanistan. The agency adds that children have been killed in armed conflict, violence and devastating insecurity in 2021. In its latest figures, UNICEF notes that Afghanistan, for example, has had the highest number of child deaths since 2005. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says every effort must be made to protect children around the world, especially in Afghanistan. Women and children have suffered the most casualties among civilians in the wake of recent developments and the intense fighting in Afghanistan. A school girl has written an open letter to the Taoiseach and Minister for Education following the decision to reopen schools this week. Sadhbh Ryan is a 5th year student in Ardscoil Mhuire Corbally who is hoping to become a vet and attend college in Poland. The 17 year old said in her honest letter that she needs to do well in her Leaving Cert in order to attend college however classroom conditions are affecting her schoolwork. Sadhbh said her school is fantastic and do everything they can for students however they are dealing with 'freezing' classrooms. The letter read: "My school is fantastic and do everything and anything for us to reach our potential. I love seeing my friends and learning new things. "I have loved walking in the doors of ASM as they welcome everyone with open arms and make you feel comfortable which is a hard thing to do for adolescent girls. "However, for the past year and a half, I have dreaded going into school with the unbearable temperatures of the classrooms I am forced to sit in for at most nine hours a day (I do after school study as well)." One third of students stay home from Longford school as Omicron wave fears hit home Around a third of students stayed at home from one Longford school today for Covid-related reasons as pupils returned from their Christmas break. Sadhbh went on to say that the INTO have stated the minimum temperatures for classrooms should be 18 degrees for it to be considered working conditions. She continued: "The classrooms in my school and every other school in Ireland do not reach this, instead they fall far behind reaching at most 14 degrees celsius (we recorded this temperature for a double chemistry class I had) and even falls below at times. "It is freezing and I know in order to fix this is to layer up. I can see my school is trying their best by turning on the heating but that does nothing as heat rises and as it rises it goes out the window as they have to be kept open. "It's hard for my school and many others listening to 600 students complaining that they are too cold. Some students don't attend school for this very reason. "I can't feel my fingers as they are numb. I can't concentrate properly and I can't wait for 5:50 for the bell to ring so I can go home and warm up." The teen asked in her letter for HEPA filters to be installed in every classroom in Ireland so pupils can enjoy school and reach their full potential. Sadhbh's mother Tracie said that the school principal has since been in touch to say that HEPA filters are being installed in every classroom next week. The principal spent Christmas sourcing the correct filters which Tracie says should have been supplied by the Department of Education. Sadhbh finished off her honest correspondence by asking the Taoiseach and the Minister for help. She said: "It's hard listening to the Taoiseach and members of the Teachta Dala claiming repeatedly that classrooms are a safe environment when they haven't been in a freezing cold classroom themselves for nine hours a day. "It is unbearable and at this point I am begging you to please help. Of course our classrooms are well ventilated but what good is that when half of my classmates are out sick with the common cold or the flu. "Claiming school are a safe environment is one thing but not experiencing the cold is another thing. "We have missed so much these past two years because of covid, don't let our future be another thing we lose". Longford Cystic Fibrosis campaigner Jillian McNulty has called on people to talk about organ donation following newly released figures that show a decrease in the number of organ transplants since the beginning of the pandemic. The Irish Kidney Association (IKA) has acknowledged the kindness of the 64 deceased donors, and their families, who, in a time of great sorrow which has been accentuated by the uncertainties and restrictions of the pandemic, have thought of those in need of an organ transplant. They also applauded 35 living kidney donors for stepping forward to help a family member or friend. Unfortunately, as with 2020, Covid-19 has had a negative impact on organ donation and transplantation in Ireland in the last 12 months as borne out by preliminary end of year figures for 2021 released by the HSEs Organ Donation Transplant Ireland (ODTI) today. Its so disappointing to see such a drop in organ transplants, Jillian told the Longford Leader. So many people, including myself, are desperately waiting for a chance of a somewhat near normal healthy life. Ive been waiting for a kidney for two years and seeing this news is very disheartening, Ive been told I could be waiting five years but figures like this could extend it by more years. The IKA believes that while the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the national organ donation and transplant programmes, some lessons have already been learned. Beaumont Hospital has put in place a robust Covid-19 secure pathway for kidney transplantation to continue after they were obliged to suspend the programme between March and May 2020. There has been a call by the ODTI and the IKA for organ donation and transplantation to be recognised as important life giving/saving services that must not be compromised by outside forces. The fragility of the transplant service in Ireland was exposed in November 2021 when a transplant did not proceed at the Mater Hospital, due to the unavailability of an ICU bed, explained Carol Moore, Chief Executive of the Irish Kidney Association. We hope this unfortunate incident will not be repeated and will be the catalyst to effect change as soon as possible by ring fencing of resources including ICU beds for transplant activity. We welcome the HSE investigation into this incident. The Irish Kidney Association is calling for detailed data on seeking consent for organ donation in our hospitals nationwide and also more transparency around transplant waiting lists. We need more clarity about the reasons why more transplant operations are not taking place in Ireland, she said. For example, was the decline in 2020 and 2021 due to a lack of ICU beds in the donor or transplant centres, or were all suitable donor families approached? There were no (deceased) kidney transplant operations in the months of March and June 2021. The HSEs National Renal Office has reported that since the arrival of Covid-19, one in three patients that end up in ICU as a result of Covid-19 have Acute Kidney Injury and require temporary dialysis. Some of these patients will not recover their kidney function and will end up on long-term dialysis or will hopefully get a transplant, particularly those with pre-existing kidney disease. The pandemic has also highlighted the vulnerability of people on dialysis and thus the need to focus resources and innovation on improving their situation. Because people on dialysis typically have to attend a hospital/dialysis unit for treatment three times a week, every week, for many of them holidaying with their family within Ireland is not an option due to all the dialysis units in the country operating at or near full capacity, said Ms Moore. This means no visiting family/friends outside of the catchment area of their regular dialysis unit. For some people, this means not being able to visit elderly parents. At the moment in Ireland, altruistic kidney donation - where a person can donate a kidney to someone they do not know - is not allowed. Longfords Jillian McNulty maintains that such donations should be allowed in Ireland as they would be lifelines to those with advanced kidney disease. They need to allow altruistic kidney donations here, something thats not possible unless you know the donor, she explained. A stranger cannot donate. A lot more lives could be saved if altruistic donations were allowed. I urge anyone reading this to ensure they sign a donor card or tick it off on their driving licence; no one knows what the future holds and in the event of a tragedy your organs can save up to eight lives. Your legacy can live on in people like me. One day some amazing person will save my life. For now Im needing a kidney and, having Cystic Fibrosis, I will one day also need lungs. The IKAs key message to the public will continue to focus on the importance of sharing your organ donation wishes with your family as they are the people who will be asked for final consent for organ retrieval to take place. People need to have the conversation, although morbid, but wishes need to be known, said Jillian. I wait in hope that 2022 will be the year I get a kidney. Until then, dialysis is keeping me alive. Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association on 016205306 or Free text DONOR to 50050. You can also visit the website at www.ika.ie/get-a-donor-card or download a free digital organ donor card APP to your phone. You can also indicate your decision to donate by having Code 115 added to your Drivers License. Longford town has solidified its position as being among the top ten cleanest towns in the country. The county town secured an eighth place finish in the latest Irish Against Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey published on Monday. The result follows on from a previous IBAL report last October which returned a tenth place finish. An Taisce, which carries out the surveys for IBAL, found Longford to be cleaner than European norms with seven out of ten sites receiving the judges top litter grade. These included the towns Harbour Row Shopping Centre, Longford Train Station as well as some of its approach routes. News of the results were given a cautionary welcome by local Tidy Towns officials. Its a good and positive result, said chairman John Farrell. If you go back and look at past results (January 2021) we were 25th and in 2015 we were number one. What that shows is that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Mr Farrell said a large degree of the fragility surrounding the frequency of IBAL results hinged on the ongoing scourge of illegal dumping. The Longford Tidy Towns chief said the continued battle against fly-tipping on predominantly out of town roads and pathways was making it damn close to impossible to control. It (illegal dumping) tends to happen on approach roads and back lanes. Its a good result to finish eighth out of 40 or 50 towns, but it doesnt hide from the fact that littering is a major, major problem. His comments follow a number of incidents of alleged illegal dumping over the festive period. Several bags of domestic household waste were found discarded at a bottle bank beside Longford Shopping Centre two days before Christmas. That was followed earlier this week when a deluge of rubbish bags, tyres and cardboard boxes were discovered along a popular walkway of Ardagh Mountain. Those incidents have sparked heightened calls for tougher sanctions to be handed out by the courts. The penalties are just too light, added Mr Farrell, as he urged society at large to ensure towns like Longford uphold their litter free status. We (Tidy Towns) get a lot of help from the municipal district financially but the bottom line is for everybody to play their part. If every person looked after their own stretch of ground outside their own door there would be very little work for us to do, he said. The grief-stricken brother of a young man killed in a single vehicle road crash in Co Longford on New Years Day has told his funeral of how his familys hearts have been left broken by the tragedy. Twenty-three-year-old Ciaran McDonnell, from Longford town died after the car he was driving was found partially submerged in water off the main road between Granard and Ballinalee (R194) at Clonfin last Saturday. There were emotional scenes inside St Mels Cathedral this morning as family and friends paid their final respects to the avid Manchester Utd supporter. His brother, Martin, fought back tears as he spoke of how he and his family were still struggling to come to terms with news of the tragedy. I dont even know where to start, he told mourners. Our hearts are broken into pieces. You were one of a kind and you were my best friend. He said despite the enormity of the past few days, the memory of his late brother would continue to live on. I promise you I will do you proud, he added. You are my hero and I will always love you. You were simply the best. You will be missed and you will always be in our hearts. A number of the late Mr McDonnells immediate family filed into the cathedral sporting white t-shirts emblazoned with an image of the young Longford man. Floral tributes that read brother and son flanked both sides of Mr McDonnells coffin alongside a framed photo. Gifts, including a Manchester Utd blanket and a teddy bear, were brought to the altar in remembrance of the Longford native as mourners joined together to sing a rendition of Silent Night. In addressing members of the congregation from the altar, Fr Michael McGrath said it was shocking to believe how a young mans life could be so tragically cut short on New Years Day. It was a day of hopes and resolutions that turned dark, he said. Ciarans sudden death has caught us all off guard. In the space of a moment our lives were turned upside down. Following funeral mass, burial took place in Ballymacormack Cemetery. The late Ciaran McDonell is survived by his parents William and Patricia, brothers, sisters, grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, girlfriend Mandy, relatives and many friends. The Raising Voices fellowship is inviting aspiring writers and/or illustrators who make work for children and young adults to apply for their new fully-funded, career-altering programme. Encompassing a host of creative and practical supports, the six selected fellows will be connected to a welcoming community of practice and supported in developing their careers. The fellowship is led by a group of literature organisations including Childrens Books Ireland, Illustrators Ireland, Publishing Ireland, the Dublin Book Festival and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig. Raising Voices aims to break down barriers to publication and progression, and to increase diversity and representation in the Irish literature sector for those whose voices have been underrepresented due to background or identity. Elaina Ryan, CEO of Childrens Books Ireland commented on the Raising Voices fellowship: The recent Diversity and Inclusion Survey published by Words Ireland indicates that there is still a long way to go in ensuring equality of access and progression for underrepresented groups in the Irish literature sector. Childrens literature is, unfortunately, no exception. We know that there are authors and illustrators in Ireland whose work has not yet reached audiences and who have the talent, skill and tenacity to carve out incredible careers in childrens books. Raising Voices is our chance to identify and provide support to some of these artists, to learn more about the barriers that must be broken down, and to connect them with networks that will help them flourish. The creative and practical supports included in the fellowship programme are as follows: Mentorship with an experienced writer or illustrator A detailed critique from an editor/art director suited to the fellows practice A week-long residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig Access to a bespoke speaker series, bursary information clinic with the Arts Council, and various events and courses. Tools, information and guidance needed to finalise a manuscript or dummy, prepare work for submission, research the market, and apply for bursaries. Entry requirements The programme is designed for writers and illustrators that: Make work for children and young people including fiction, non-fiction and poetry Work in English or as Gaeilge Have a complete manuscript, picturebook or illustrated book outline Come from backgrounds or communities that are underrepresented in childrens and young adult literature or whose identity is traditionally underrepresented Have not yet been published or secured a contract with a publisher or agent Live permanently in Ireland or Northern Ireland Rather than list strict and exhaustive criteria, the Raising Voices fellowship is asking writers and illustrators who apply to self-identify as underrepresented. Six fellows will be selected, by representatives from the five partner organisations and three external readers. As fellows may face financial barriers, the initiative is fully funded by the Arts Council, therefore all mentoring and supports received will be free of charge. The Raising Voices Fellowship commences in February 2022 and will run until November 2022. The application deadline is Thursday, January 13th 2022 at 3pm. The Raising Voices fellowship application form is available in both English and as Gaeilge. More information is available here. The first art exhibition by visual artist Ciara Tuite who is a native of Edgeworthstown is running in the new community library in Edgeworthstown until January 31. The launch which took place just before Christmas was attended by a lovely gathering of local people and guests who had travelled from as far away as South West Kerry. Currently a resident in the Abbey Rd. Studios, sister to the Luan Gallery, Athlone, Ciara is also based in Ballinskelligs in Kerry where she works at the Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat. It was very fitting that Eamonn Brennan, himself a native of this beautiful part of the world but living and teaching in Longford for many years was asked to officially open the exhibition. He is very familiar with the beautiful landscape and history and heritage of this region and was well versed in the theme of Ciaras exhibition which is titled Nostalgia. Cill Rialaig, once a famine village and now converted into an artists retreat by the well know patron of the arts Noelle Campbell Sharp draws artists from all over the world who are inspired by this breathtakingly beautiful isolated setting. Speaking at the opening of the exhibition Eamonn Brennan recited some wonderful old Irish phrases that resonated with the theme of the show - Oidhreacht ar sinsir bunchloch ar ndochas which translates as the heritage of our ancestors is the foundation stones of our hopes. Ciara speaking to the Leader said she was delighted to be holding her first solo exhibition in the county in the magnificent new community library in her native Edgeworthstown. These paintings are an intuitive response to personal memories and stories, she said. This body of work is like a songline, Im recording my journey through painting. Between the wilds of Kerry and the lowlands of Longford and everywhere past and present in between, places very much inform and inspire my art. I see these abstract paintings as living entities, containing stories and mystery. There is no finality to them and perhaps people will recognise some of the themes at play and that will spark memories of their own. In two vibrant paintings titled Swingboats and Candyfloss, Ciara recalls attending a carnival as a child where now the library stands in its three storey glory. Many of the paintings are paired with lines from Ciaras own poems. Eamonn Brennan congratulated Ciara on the exhibition - The first in this sacred place, that inspires peace, contentment, devotion and most of all stillness. This stillness is highlighted in the painting Requiescat where the artist has put Oscar Wildes poem of the same name beside it in honour of his sister, Isola who lies still in the graveyard nearby. The exhibition will run in Edgeworthstown Community Library until January 31 so please do drop in and take a look. To find out more about Ciara you can follow her on @cicituite or check out www.ciaratuite.com or contact her at tuiteciara@gmail.com. You can check out the library opening hours on www.longfordlibrary.ie. The Independent, January 4, 2022 Maya Oppenheim The Taliban reportedly instructed mannequins in Afghan clothes shops to be beheaded, claiming the dolls infringe Islamic rules. Afghanistans Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is said to have made the order in the western province of Herat. Local businesses have hit out at the Talibans move to ban mannequins, according to The Times. Commentators noted the new rules will lead to yet more difficulties for firms, many of whom are already finding it hard to stay afloat under the Talibans new regime. Aziz Rahman, the head of the ministrys local arm, referred to the mannequins as statues and accused people of worshipping them against Islamic law. Mr Rahman stated those who infringed the ruling would face grave penalties. Marzia Babakarkhail, who used to work as a family court judge in Afghanistan but now lives in the UK, told The Independent the Talibans order for the heads of mannequins to be removed reveals who they really are. Photo grab of a social media clip showing mannequins being beheaded in Herat. Photo grab of a social media clip showing mannequins being beheaded in Herat. Ms Babakarkhail, a campaigner for Afghan womens rights, added: It is brutal. This is the kind of behaviour of children. Not of a government leading a country. This shows the nasty face of the Taliban. If the Taliban cannot accept a doll, how they can they accept a woman with a voice to be in Afghanistan. Now when I read the news, I am scared. The Taliban pretends to change. They announced an amnesty saying they forgive all of their opponents but this is a big lie. We should stand against the Taliban. We should have our rights. She warned the Taliban was trying to scare Afghan citizens in a bid to force them indoors and remain silent. The Taliban's behaviour shows their character, Ms Babakarkhail added. It shows their real face. But why the world is silent is a big question in my mind. The the 55-year-old, who is campaigning for the female judges to be rescued from Afghanistan, has previously told The Independent the Taliban tried to kill her in Afghanistan in 1997 and in Pakistan in 2007. New rules unveiled by the Talibans Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in November blocked soap operas and dramas from including women actors in Afghanistan. The regulations have also forbidden all films thought to infringe Islamic or Afghan values, as well as making the hijab a head covering some Muslims choose to wear compulsory for all female journalists who appear on TV. The Taliban swept to power in mid-August as the US and British forces withdrew - quickly declaring Afghan women would be blocked from taking part in all sports. The last time the hardline Islamist group ruled the country, women were barred from working and leaving the house without a male relative, and girls were blocked from going to school. Schools in Ireland have reopened, amid warnings that Covid-19 will keep thousands of teachers at home in the days to come. Earlier this week, public health chiefs told school managers and unions that it is safe to return to the classroom, despite the high case numbers. Concerns remain among teachers unions, which are calling for increased protective measures for staff and students to be implemented. The ASTI has been proactively advocating and engaging on behalf of members regarding the reopening of schools after the Christmas break: https://t.co/hRB74LGMn4 pic.twitter.com/KkRZqUzXeZ ASTI (@astiunion) January 5, 2022 Education officials and principals are hoping that relying on trainee teachers and replacements will be enough to cope with Covid-related absences. But the Government has acknowledged that the coming weeks will bring fresh challenges for staff, parents and pupils. Substitute teachers said they are concerned about the pressures that schools are under. Sorcha Ni Chonghaile, a 22-year-old primary school teacher from Meath, is mostly based in and around north Dublin. She said she and her colleagues are scared but will be taking all the precautions they can. She is concerned whether there will be enough substitute teachers to plug the gaps, if replacement staff are forced into isolation too. I suppose theres just that fear that, because theres such little mitigation in the younger years, that we might end up in a situation where weve become a close contact ourselves and then theres no fallback, she said. We just have to do what we can and try and keep ourselves safe. It is important that everyone follows public health advice to keep everyone well at home and in school. pic.twitter.com/oV6weFlV8R Department of Education (@Education_Ire) January 5, 2022 A further 17,656 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland on Wednesday, as the number of people in hospital with the virus continues to rise. However, politicians have said the fact that the number of people in intensive care remains relatively stable is a good sign for the country. The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) will meet later on Thursday to discuss the latest Covid situation. However, senior ministers have indicated that no new restrictions are expected to be recommended. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said on Wednesday that rising hospital numbers are a concern and urged people to keep up their efforts in following public health advice. It is concerning to see the rising number of people with Covid-19 in hospital, he said. This means that our collective efforts to follow the public health advice remain very important. As Irelands booster programme continues, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said new EU Digital Covid Certificates will be issued to people who have received a third jab as soon as this week. Digital COVID Certs will be updated soon to reflect your additional vaccine. The EU is applying a maximum 9 mth validity to certs based on a completed primary vaccination course. You can also request a DCC of Recovery if you've recovered in the last 6months via online portal pic.twitter.com/VtGHkOHOqR Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) January 5, 2022 He said on Wednesday: Digital Covid Certs will be updated soon to reflect your additional vaccine. He tweeted: The EU is applying a maximum 9 mth validity to certs based on a completed primary vaccination course. You can also request a DCC of Recovery if youve recovered in the last 6months via online portal. The new EU travel regulations take effect from February. The Late Late Show and host Ryan Tubridy return to screens this Friday night for the first show of 2022 with a stellar guest line-up. Charlie Bird with his army of volunteer climbers, Leitrim's Seamus ORourke, comedian Jason Byrne, and Bosco are among the guests for this week's show. One third of students stay home from Longford school as Omicron wave fears hit home Around a third of students stayed at home from one Longford school today for Covid-related reasons as pupils returned from their Christmas break. RTE stalwart Charlie Bird has been candid about his recent Motor Neuron Disease diagnosis, and tomorrow evening, Charlie will be back in studio with a cast of willing volunteers to launch the inaugural "Climb with Charlie" event. Charlie, along with Vicky Phelan, hopes to inspire thousands of Irish people to climb Croagh Patrick and other peaks around the country (and across the world!) on April 2nd next. Details about how you can get ready for the challenge in the twelve weeks between now and then and how to register for the Croagh Patrick event. We'll hear from Charlie, Vicky, Mary McAleese, Davy Fitzgerald, Baz Ashmawy, Joanna Donnelly, Dr Harry Barry, Dermot Bannon, Karl Henry and many, many more who are throwing their full support behind the epic climb. Leitrim actor and writer Seamus O'Rourke, beloved by Late Late Show audiences, will be giving us his inimitable take on "new year, new you", while comedian Jason Byrne will be giving us all a laugh through his trials and tribulations of the last year. The magnificent music of the Beatles will be showcased with stunning performances by Niamh Farrell and Somebody's Child. And we may even get to have a look inside Bosco's box...All will be revealed! Catch The Late Late Show on Friday night at 9.35pm on RTE One. Politics By Chris Boyle Published: January 06 2022 "On day one as Governor, I pledged to restore trust in government and I have taken steps every day to deliver the open, ethical governing New Yorkers deserve," Governor Hochul said. Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to institute term limits for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller as the first proposal of the 2022 State of the State. The Governor will also propose a ban on outside income for statewide elected officials while serving in office. These bold reforms are aimed at increasing accountability and trust in the integrity of State government. "On day one as Governor, I pledged to restore trust in government and I have taken steps every day to deliver the open, ethical governing New Yorkers deserve," Governor Hochul said. "I want people to believe in their government again. With these bold reforms, we will ensure New Yorkers know their leaders work for them and are focused on serving the people of this state." The Governor will introduce a constitutional amendment to set limits of two consecutive terms for statewide elected officials. Governor Hochul will also propose legislation to impose a ban on earned outside income for the same statewide elected officials, with an exception for academic positions that must receive ethics board approval. From her first day in office, Governor Hochul has taken actions to restore public trust in government: Ensure you get a print copy of the Loudoun Times-Mirror delivered weekly to your home or business! Complete online access is included with all print subscriptions purchased online. Plus, up to four other members of your household can share online access through this subscription with their own, individual linked accounts at no additional charge. (Are you a current advertiser? Ask your sales rep for our special advertiser rate code!) (Alliance News) - American hedge fund and activist investor Elliott Advisors said it would back the appointment of former Persimmon boss Dave Jenkinson as chief executive officer at FTSE 100 housebuilder Taylor Wimpey PLC, The Times reported Thursday. In December, Taylor Wimpey announced that current CEO Pete Redfern would step down after 14 years in the role, with effect when a suitable candidate has been found and a handover process completed. According to sources, Jenkinson, the former CEO of peer Persimmon PLC, was one of the names given by Elliott when pressed for potential examples of replacements. Jenkinson had been part of Persimmon for 22 years, and was appointed CEO in 2019, but was replaced by Dean Finch in June 2020. Days after Redfern announced his resignation from Taylor Wimpey, Elliott had published a letter attacking his poor decisions, and urged the company to win back its lost credibility. "With the recent resignation of the CEO following reports of Elliott's involvement, the company has taken an important first step toward the change that Taylor Wimpey needs to restore this lost confidence. "However, the board now finds itself at a critical juncture: To remedy its long-term underperformance and regain credibility with investors, the board's process to find a new CEO must be transparent and thorough; it must focus on external candidates who have not been a party to the underperformance to date; and it must be accompanied by governance enhancements to support the new CEO with the right kind of operational experience and expertise," Elliott stated. Another name raised was Peter Truscott, currently CEO at FTSE 250 housebuilder Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC, as well as Steven Boyes, deputy chief executive at Barratt Developments PLC. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/elliott-advisors-favours-as-taylor-wimpey-chief-executive-l3h07l5b0 Shares in Taylor Wimpey closed 2.0% lower at 174.40 pence on Thursday in London. By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Glencore PLC said on Thursday it had closed the sale of its subsidiary Ernest Henry Mining Pty Ltd, the owner of the Ernest Henry Mining copper-gold mine in Australia, in a deal valued at AUD1 billion, or USD715 million. Glencore has received AUD800 million and will receive a further AUD200 million in 12 months time from Sydney-based Evolution Mining Ltd. Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss mining company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, will offtake 100% of the copper concentrate produced at Ernest Henry Mining. The acquisition means Evolution assumes full ownership and operational control of the copper-gold mine. Evolution has worked in partnership with Glencore for the past five years at the Ernest Henry copper-gold mine, and has operations in Australia and Canada. In Johannesburg, Glencore shares was down 0.2% to ZAR83.50 in early morning trade on Thursday. In London, they were down 1.5% at 387.10 pence. By Artwell Dlamini; artwelldlamini@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson must outline a Covid exit strategy and show how the UK can "live with this virus" in the long term, according to Tory MPs. The prime minister faced a series of requests from his own backbenchers on when restrictions will be dropped, such as working from home guidance, and for assurances that certain sectors will be exempt from any future curbs. Johnson insisted face masks in schools will "not last a day more" than needed and noted there are no restrictions on weddings and funerals at the moment, telling MPs: "That's certainly the way we wish to keep it." He also gave assurances that "something closer to normality", with fewer Covid restrictions, could begin by the end of January. Johnson reiterated the existing Plan B measures expire on January 26, telling MPs: "By then we hope to have greatly increased the already extraordinarily high number of people in this country who have not only been vaccinated, but who have been boosted." He added: "As Omicron blows through and it is is very much my hope and belief that it will, I do believe we will get back to something much closer to normality. "That doesn't meant there won't be further challenges but I think life will return to something much much closer to normality. It won't be necessary to have the restrictions that we currently have in place." Conservative former prime minister Theresa May commended Johnson for resisting calls for more restrictions before Christmas and for further changes announced on Wednesday. She added in the Commons: "We will see new variants appear in future and the likelihood is that they will continue to be less serious. "It is not in the national interest to partially or wholly shut down sectors of our economy every time we see a new variant." Johnson said a vaccine that "can deal with any type of Covid mutation" is needed, as well as therapeutics. Conservative former minister Mark Harper went on to ask the prime minister when he will set out a plan "to live with this virus, like normal, forever". The MP for Forest of Dean said: "We cannot respond to every new variant in the way we have to this one. We have got to have a plan to live with this virus, like normal, forever. "When is he going to set that plan out in this House? So that we all know where we stand." Johnson reiterated the "measures we have in place expire on January 26" as some Labour MPs could be heard shouting: "And then what? What is the plan?" The prime minister went on: "Whatever the situation may be then and I am confident that it will be much better, whatever the situation may be we will continue with the fundamental, the tools that we have, that is vaccination, therapeutics and testing but it is important that Omicron seems to provide some sort of immunity already against Delta." Conservative former health minister Steve Brine pressed Johnson on a "long-term plan for living with Covid in 2022", as he suggested the current measures are not "sustainable". The MP for Winchester said Johnson "deserves real credit" for his recent decisions on Covid, adding: "It is increasingly clear we are a long way from learning to live with Covid but we also have an NHS on a permanent war footing and that's not sustainable. "So what is the long-term plan for living with Covid in 2022 and could that include any changes to mandatory isolation, test and trace as for instance we see different isolation dates in the US and Germany to here in the UK?" Johnson said the government will continue to "keep isolation timings under review" as it does not want to "release people back into society so soon". He added: "As I said in my earlier answers, I do think we have a good chance of getting through this difficult wave and getting back to something like normality as fast as possible. "It is important that Omicron seems to provide some sort of immunity for instance against Delta, that may be a positive augury for the future." Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) said Lincolnshire MPs had been told by NHS officials that "only two" intensive care beds in the county were taken by people "because of or with Covid". He added: "Although there were large numbers of staff absences, a quarter of them were accounted by staff being absent because they were isolating. "So the suspicion is the NHS is not being brought to its knees by Covid but by these rules that require people to isolate for so long. So what is the road map for shortening the period of isolation?" Johnson, in his reply, said: "Absences, although are high, are not as high as it has been at some other points in this pandemic a that's no cause for complacency. "What we will do is keep the period of isolation under constant review and if we think we can bring it down without increasing infection then of course we will." source: PA Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Weather Alert ...The Flood Warning is extended for the following rivers in Louisiana... Mississippi River At Red River Landing affecting West Feliciana, East Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee Parishes. For the Lower Mississippi River...including Red River Landing... Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov/lix. Click on the Rivers and Lakes menu for forecasts and observations. The next statement will be issued when updates are needed. && ...FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL EARLY FRIDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Mississippi River At Red River Landing. * WHEN...Until early Friday morning. * IMPACTS...At 51.0 feet, All river islands along the reach from Red River Landing to Baton Rouge will be inundated. Recreational camps and river bottom farm land will be under water. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 9:00 AM CDT Monday the stage was 50.2 feet. - Recent Activity...The maximum river stage in the 24 hours ending at 9:00 AM CDT Monday was 50.3 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to fall below flood stage Thursday evening. - Flood stage is 48.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 48.8 feet on 04/22/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood && A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Jefferson, GA (30549) Today Partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors. Months before attackers supporting then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6, social media sites were flooded with angry postings claiming the presidential election had been rigged and calling for violence. The stop the steal campaigns, which falsely claimed Democrats stole the election for President Joe Biden through widespread voter fraud, became a rallying cry for the angry mob that attacked the Capitol on a day that will go down as one of the darkest in American history. One year after the attack, false information continues to be recirculated and repeated by Trumps supporters, by candidates running for elected office, by Trump himself and among families around dinner tables. +2 After a year, locals fear Jan. 6 repercussions Al DeKruif remembers friends in Washington, D.C., texting him one year ago today, telling hi Political observers, pollsters and researchers contend those divergent, false narratives about the worst violence visited on the center of American government in more than 200 years continue to sow seeds of radicalization. The legacy of the Capitol riots is that violence, or the threat of violence, has now become the norm for this kind of political strategy, said Juliette Kayyem, a national security expert and former Homeland Security official under former President Barack Obama. Thats something we havent seen since the Civil War. Kayyem said Trump and other Republican leaders refusal to repudiate the Jan. 6 siege increases the likelihood of political violence in the future. Its created an atmosphere in which violence sits just a scratch below the surface of our voting rights, she said. And that, to me, is the most troubling aspect. Years in the making Although Trump and many of his inner circle continue to discard the Jan. 6 attack as a spontaneous eruption, a flow of evidence that started days before the Capitol breach suggests the violence was part of a coordinated effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. This was not something that just got out of hand, Kayyem said. Researchers who track disinformation in American politics say the roots of the attack date back years. Luke OBrien, a research fellow at Harvard Universitys Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, said many of Trumps supporters across the country were radicalized over a period of years by conservative social media influencers and political rhetoric from the former president, members of his family and surrogates. OBrien points to conservative political activists such as Ali Alexander, who began fanning claims that the 2020 election would be rigged even before voters headed to the polls. You had this influencer class of right-wing propagandists, working together to get out disinformation about the election, OBrien said. Meanwhile, youve got a whole contingent of elected officials in Congress and elsewhere who were amplifying this disinformation and putting a stamp of authority on it. He said that gave a green light to extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who federal investigators contend coalesced to coordinate before and during the violence. By themselves they dont have the numbers to overthrow our democracy, OBrien said. They needed to activate a mob, and thats exactly what happened. Partisan divide persists In the year since the attack, a mass of evidence has emerged, providing an often firsthand view of the assault, and intimate glimpses of its underlying catalysts. More than 700 people have been charged with crimes related to the attack counts ranging from assaulting a police officer to conspiracy. A number of the defendants have been sentenced to prison terms. The FBI still is seeking and arresting more suspects. But even efforts to organize congressional examinations of the Capitol siege and its motivators have exposed divisions between lawmakers who witnessed the violence firsthand. On Capitol Hill, a Democratic-led House committee is conducting hearings as part of its investigation into the riot. That panel has subpoenaed hundreds of individuals to testify and collected a mountain of documents, phone records and texts. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans were quick to condemn the Capitol riots in the immediate aftermath, but Trumps supporters and even members of Congress have since helped spread lies and disinformation about the incident. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, criticized the Justice Department for harassing suspected rioters, whom he described as peaceful patriots. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Georgia, described rioters walking through the Capitol on Jan. 6 as appearing to look like a normal tourist visit and suggested that the riot was far less serious than portrayed. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, suggested recently that the riots were an attempt to overthrow tyrants and therefore supported by the Constitution. Some elected officials even suggested the attack was staged by the government, a false-flag operation a claim stoked by conservative media outlets. They are trying to paper over these attacks and pretend like it never happened, said Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass. who was at the Capitol building during the riot. Many of us were hoping that this would be a turning point for the Republican Party, to move away from extremism, but that clearly hasnt happened. Trahan noted some Republican lawmakers have even criticized the work of the House special committee and the two GOP lawmakers Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois who serve on it. Even some GOP lawmakers whose decisions were profoundly impacted by what they witnessed during the attack are reluctant to discuss the melee today. When rioters breached the Capitol, Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, stood at the podium giving a speech, challenging the integrity of the Arizona election results and urging his colleagues to create a 10-day commission to audit the ballots. A day after he fled the Senate chamber with other lawmakers, Lankford wrote to supporters that rioters trashed multiple offices, broke windows and occupied the Capitol. Those painful images will forever be burned into my mind, he wrote. He said violence and terror are not acceptable ways to handle disagreements. Lankford later voted to accept the electors in the Senate debate in part because he wrote that delaying the vote would only add more uncertainty and opportunities for risk in our nation. A year later, in the midst of a 2022 re-election campaign, Lankford faces criticism for his statements and actions in the aftermath of Jan. 6. Jackson Lahmeyer, a Republican challenger, noted on his campaign website Lankford flip-flopped like a fish out of water and caved like a coward to certify a lie. Lankford declined a request for an interview for this story. It could happen again Meanwhile, Trump and his surrogates continue to circulate disinformation about the events of that day as his supporters call for the release of political prisoners arrested as part of the FBIs criminal investigation into the melee. The fact-checking organization Politifact rated efforts to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots as the lie of the year in 2021. Political observers say a legacy of the mob violence is a country more divided, a claim that has been born out in recent surveys that suggest misinformation about the Capitol riot resonated with supporters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in April found that six in 10 Republicans believe the false claim championed by Trump that Novembers presidential election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. Roughly half of Republicans surveyed at the time believed the siege was a non-violent protest or was instigated by left-wing activists, pollsters found. Kevin Boyle, a professor of American History at Northwestern University, said disenchantment with the political process, fueled by widespread disinformation, is breeding political violence and sowing seeds of insurrection. I think that there is a fundamental distrust of American politics of American public life that has taken hold with large segments of the American population, he said. Theres an awful lot of anger that is channeled into political extremism that has a whole bunch of roots to it, some of them economic, some of them racial. Meanwhile, a recent Politifact investigation revealed that many of defendants arrested on charges related to the attack saw their actions as patriotic and believed that day would be a turning point in American history. Ernesto Verdeja, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame, said social media has played a key role in fueling division. He said partisan debate on social media drives people into further fringe activities and groups. When the Internet first started, we believed it would have a democratizing effect, Verdeja said. What has been really fascinating to see is how social media has effectively become echo chambers for very intentional disinformation. OBrien, with the Shorenstein Center, said many of the propagandist networks backing the former president still are active and waiting for the next rallying call. A lot of those people who spread this information are still out there, doing exactly the same thing, he said. So, as troubling as it is, it can happen again. CNHI Statehouse reporters Janelle Stecklein, Ali Linan and Whitney Downard contributed to this report. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. To subscribe, click here. Already a subscriber? Click here. McAlester, OK (74501) Today Cloudy. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 51F. SSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. DFS sales drive New Year holiday tourism consumption in Hainan Xinhua) 10:02, January 06, 2022 HAIKOU, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Su Qingtian, a newlywed from east China's Fujian Province, kicked off her honeymoon trip by spending big at the duty-free shops (DFS) in the southern Chinese island of Hainan. "It's a fun day. I became a purchasing agent for family members and friends and even got a gold card membership," said Su, with over 10 bags in hand, sharing her experience on WeChat. During the three-day New Year holiday, duty-free shops in Hainan launched a variety of promotions, drawing consumers from across the country. Data from Haikou Customs show offshore duty-free sales in Hainan during the 2022 New Year holiday hit 600 million yuan (about 94 million U.S. dollars), up 9.7 percent year on year. On New Year's Day alone, the island province's duty-free shops received 18,200 visits, with the per capita consumption hitting 8,917 yuan, up 9.9 percent and 17.3 percent respectively year on year. From Jan. 1 to 3, about 739,000 items were purchased at these stores, an increase of 9.7 percent from a year ago. Advantaged climate, good epidemic control measures and tempting discounts have together boosted DFS sales during the New Year holiday in Hainan, according to Wang Jiansheng, head of the Hainan Tourism Development Research Association. Duty-free shopping has become one of the core competitive features of Hainan's tourism consumption. The province now boasts 10 duty-free shops, hosting more than 720 brands in a total shopping area of 220,000 square meters. Since July 1, 2020, Hainan has raised its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person. The duty-free purchase limit for cosmetics has been raised from 12 items to 30. The province, which vows to build itself into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century, has also rolled out a range of policies such as flexible pick-up services to provide a better experience for customers. In 2021, offshore duty-free sales in Hainan reached nearly 60.2 billion yuan, an increase of 84 percent year on year, said the provincial department of commerce. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Mary C. (Hoff) Lee, 84, of Atlantic passed away Sunday, May 1, 2022, in her residence. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Loutzenhiser-Jordan Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc., 366-368 S. Main St., Greenville. Meridian, MS (39302) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Low 68F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. This truck collided with a small SUV Dec. 29 on Highway 84 past Hernandez. Mary Boggs, who lives at the intersection where the collision took place, called it a bad intersection, and that people often dont stop at stop signs before entering the highway. I cant even get out of my gate sometimes because people come flying past, she said. They ignore the stop sign. 'Were trying to start the new year out right': Home Place sees movement towards rebuild When Bremen Elementary School students returned to classrooms on Tuesday, they were met with a Christmas surprise. Muhlenberg County Public Schools students havent been in classrooms since Dec. 10, hours before a deadly tornado ripped through their community. Because of that many of the elementary school students especially those in Bremen, which was hit the hardest were not able to have their end-of-year holiday festivities. Bremen elementary staff wanted to make sure students could still celebrate Christmas with their school family, even if it was belated. Grant Sharp, Bremen principal, said students were invited to wear pajamas to school along with many other year-end traditions such as cookies and hot cocoa. The district also provided additional counseling service, and students were visited by therapy dogs. The extra trauma-informed care was necessary for school to resume normally, Sharp said. Our main thing is safety, security, and love, he said. If students get those three things, we can get back on our learning path. Those three things are the foundation for them to learn. At the start of each day, Sharp has a morning message he has students say aloud with him: I am great, I am important, I am valuable, my words are meaningful, I make someone proud, and I am loved. He said hearing that on Tuesday was an emotional experience for he and other educators. At least 20 Bremen students were directly impacted by the storm, whether they lost a loved one or had a home damaged or destroyed. However, all students can see the remnants of the storm, and the destruction it caused to the small community on their drive to and from school. This is a small community, so its not without reason to assume everybody has been affected in some way, Sharp said. One of the BES holiday traditions is to have a Polar Express train come through the school. That had to be canceled because some students are still triggered and traumatized by the sound of a train, Sharp explained. The school was immediately used as a shelter, and later as a staging areas for donations and volunteer services following the storm, so there was a lot of work to be done to ensure it would be student-ready, according to Carla Embry, MCS community relations specialist. Teachers and staff at the school participated in much of the relief effort following the storm, even some of them who had their homes destroyed or damaged. Most of them also came into the school during their winter break to ensure that it was ready for students to return this week. Seeing students return to the classroom has felt like somewhat of a catharsis for teachers, Sharp said. Everyone has been so glad to be here, so glad to see the kids again, and to welcome them back to normalcy, he said. Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315 Daviess County commissioners said there are several projects and initiatives they are focused on in 2022, ranging from paving roads to cleaning Panther Creek of debris and looking into expanding broadband internet. Commissioners outlined their priorities for the year Wednesday. On Thursday, Jan. 6, Daviess Judge-Executive Al Mattingly will deliver his State of the County address during the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerces Rooster Booster Breakfast at the Owensboro Convention Center. Central County Commissioner Charlie Castlen said the county is moving on the possibility of expanding broadband. We did a RFP (request for proposals) on broadband, and we had five proposals, Castlen said. We interviewed three companies. The county is working on getting a contract outlined for the selected broadband company, Castlen said. No later than April 1, we will have a contract for someone to move forward with the broadband, Castlen said. The project is qualified to be paid for with American Rescue Plan Act dollars, Castlen said. Broadband is a two-year project, Castlen said. East County Commissioner Mike Koger said, Hopefully, we will make a decision on broadband this year. In the east, a priority is starting the Kentucky 54 widening project, Koger said. The state highway departments Madisonville office said last month the plan is currently in the utility coordination stage for the first phase of the project. Work is set to start in the fall. We still have a lot of development coming, and a lot of businesses coming that way, Koger said. West County Commissioner George Wathen said a priority is getting the countys digital radio system for law enforcement and first-responders online. In 2019, commissioners approved replacing the outdated VHF radio system used by firefighters and sheriffs deputies in the county. The old system suffers from transmission problems, making it difficult for deputies and firefighters to always communicate with 911 dispatch. I think one of the biggest things, in terms of dollars, is I want to make sure we complete the installation of the new radio system that supports our firefighters and deputies, Wathen said. Also, we want to make sure we do some large scale maintenance of Panther Creek, Wathen said. Debris such as limbs need to be removed from the creek. Wathen said the project requires the permission of agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers. We have some plans we are working on now, Wathen said. We have contacted some of the government organizations you have to contact. ... Its overdue. We need it. Koger said some of the traditional work of county government, like resurfacing roads, is a priority. We will always continue resurfacing our roads, Koger said. Our roads are some of the best out there (compared to) other counties. Castlen said finishing the countys veterinary clinic is important, adding that the hope is to have the clinic complete by April 1. Castlen and Wathen also said keeping up with road resurfacing and repaving remains a priority. We have been very aggressive with our Fiscal Court, in resurfacing and repaving, Castlen said. The county has $2 million budgeted for repaving, Castlen said. In the parks, Castlen said Fiscal Court is doing a rehabilitation of the trails this year, adding that the department will also start renovating park shelters. Wathen said improving water service is on Fiscal Courts agenda for the year. I think we are going to have an opportunity to help the Daviess County Water District. We can help them update their system with new water pumps, Wathen said. On parks, Wathen said maintenance work is planned on some of the ball diamonds, with plans to look at installing new lights at the Panther Creek ball fields. Wathen and Koger both said a long-term goal is to build a new senior center. They have been in that building for a long time, Wathen said. We really need a new senior center. Koger said of seniors, it would be nice to build them something. But money is a key issue. James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse Congressman Brett Guthrie said Wednesday that immigration policies that keep migrants outside the United States are needed, because it will help reduce exploitation of migrants by drug cartels. Guthrie, a Bowling Green Republican, discussed a visit to the southern border with the Owensboro Rotary Club. In an interview before the meeting, Guthrie said he met Tuesday with Border Patrol officials, toured facilities where juvenile migrants are being held and talked with officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Guthrie said the Biden Administrations decision to end the Trump Administrations Remain in Mexico policy last January resulted in people coming into the country claiming refugee status. The policy required people seeking asylum in the U.S. to stay in Mexico while waiting for their claim to be heard. When President Biden got rid of Remain in Mexico, the floodgates opened again, Guthrie told rotary members during a noon talk at Kentucky Wesleyan College. Guthrie said removing Remain in Mexico created an incentive for people to cross the border, because people claiming refugee status are allowed to remain in the U.S. pending a court date. The Remain in Mexico policy was a deterrent for people to come, Guthrie said. The Biden Administration was forced to restart the policy by a court order. Guthrie said the restarted program has conditions, so few people are returned to Mexico. Guthrie said allowing migrants seeking asylum to stay in the country incentivizes illegal immigration. That has led to a business among drug cartels to move people across the border. Cartel members subject minors to extortion, sexual assault, human trafficking and violence, Guthrie said. There shouldnt be a policy that incentivizes the way these people are treated by the cartels, Guthrie said. When asked if Congress was working on immigration policy reform, Guthrie said: You have to have the border secure first. Youve got to stop the incentive for the cartels, Guthrie said. Fentanyl crosses the border, because the synthetic opioid is easy to transport, Guthrie said. Fentanyl is highly potent. Its whats causing our overdoses here, Guthrie said. Fentanyl is temporarily classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning its considered a drug with no accepted medical purpose and a high degree of abuse. The temporary scheduling is set to expire in February. My big push, when I get back to committee, is to get it permanently scheduled, Guthrie said. Guthrie is the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committees Health Subcommittee. I would be willing to allow research (on fentanyl), to schedule it and allow research, Guthrie said. But fentanyl should be treated differently, because its more potent, and easiest to smuggle, he said. On Tuesday, members of the state Senate released their redistricting maps for Congressional seats. The Senates proposal would cause Guthries Second District to gain Muhlenberg, McLean and Ohio counties, while losing some counties in central Kentucky. Daviess County remains in Guthries district under the proposed map. One of my priorities was to keep Owensboro and Daviess County in the Second District, Guthrie said. I have absolutely enjoyed working with the leaders in Daviess County. Congressional maps are required to be redrawn based on the most current U.S. Census data. You always hate to lose places you had where you made friendships, Guthrie said. James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse Two familiar faces from Daviess County government entered the race for judge-executive on Wednesday. Former Judge-Executive Reid Haire, who held the office between 1999 and 2010, and former Central County Commissioner Bruce Kunze, both filed to run for the countys top seat. Kunze, who held the Central Commissioner seat from 1999 to 2010, has filed to run as a Democrat, and is the first member of his party to file for the office. Haire, who was a Democrat when he served as judge, has filed to run as a Republican. That sets up, so far, a three-way primary between current Central County Commissioner Charlie Castlen, and Owensboro businessman Will Mounts. Haire served 27 years with the Internal Revenue Service, and retired as the agencys regional manager for western Kentucky. In a press release, Haire listed accomplishments as judge-executive, including partner(ing) with the city to completely revamp our downtown area. The release said during his tenure, Fiscal Court was part of creating the new Owensboro Health, the new jail, and the Community Health Center. Fiscal Court also purchased the land and allocated county dollars to build Kentuckys first locally financed four-year university with the Western Kentucky University-Owensboro campus. Haire said he made the decision to run for county judge in recent months. I felt there was a gap in experience, management and leadership, which whoever holds the office needs to have, Haire said. I looked at the field of candidates, Haire said. I also considered some positive things that could be done in the area of economic development, infrastructure, on education and all the areas I focused on in my 12 years in office. I didnt hear it or see it in the other candidates. Haire said he would work with city officials to make some significant improvements in the economic development area and the recreation area. Haire said his time away from county government was needed to reenergize myself to run for the office again. You want to hand (the office) over to someone who has new ideas, and will move the ball forward, Haire said. Kunze is a retired teacher and is a director of the Wendell Ford Government Education Center. He has also served as a board member of the Owensboro Regional Farmers Market. In a press release, Kunze said his priorities as judge would be to enhance economic opportunities for all county residents; to explore innovative ways to streamline and provide sufficient funding for public safety; to establish and fund annual drainage and infrastructure projects; and toensure fiscal responsibility. Kunze said there was no issue in particular that prompted him to run. I do want to make sure we have elected officials that are forward-thinking and can be open-minded. ... I want to see the community moving forward, and it takes the right person to make that happen, Kunze said. Kunze said Fiscal Court had a number of accomplishments during his time in office, including building the East County Fire Station and Utica Fire Station, creating the county operations center, and passing the countywide smoking ordinance. The smoking ordinance we passed was very forward-looking, Kunze said. Fiscal Court was joined with the city in 2009 to raise the insurance premium tax, which generated funds to build the Owensboro Convention Center. Without the support of Fiscal Court, I dont think that would have happened, Kunze said. It was a successful 12 years, in my opinion, and I was honored to be a part of that. Kunze said he did not consider changing political parties. I know there has been a lot of divisiveness between the two parties, but I think in a local election, people look at the individual, Kunze said. I think I have the record to run for the office, he said. Kunze said he would release a more specific platform in the future. Im just excited to be running, and I look forward to talking to people about my ideas, and their ideas as well, Kunze said. James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse Owensboro Health has purchased The Springs Health Centre, a medical office complex located in the Kentucky 54 corridor at 2200 E. Parrish Ave. The complex, formerly owned by the Malcolm Bryant Corporation, will add five additional buildings to the healthcare systems portfolio. According to Daviess County Property Valuation Administrators records, OH paid $18 million for the complex in December. OH was previously leasing one building in the complex and the OH Outpatient Imaging facility. OH already owned one of the buildings where the OH COVID-19 Testing Center formerly Physicians Affiliated Care, PSC is located. The complex currently houses 45 tenants of various independent practices, including The Springs Urgent Care. OH CEO Mark Marsh said the purchase will not affect the current tenants, whose leases will remain intact. For the time being, Marsh said the goal will be to maintain a positive partnership with current tenants and assess each of their needs. We want to make sure to maintain all of those providers and other services there. We want to be great partners for them. We have no intent to make changes with those. Many of those leases go out for many years and we want to maintain those and make sure we maintain great relationships with the current tenants, he said. However, he said, the purchase provides an opportunity for expansion at OH should any of the current providers at the complex decide to retire or transfer ownership of their practices to OH. Marsh said there are already ongoing discussions with The Springs Health Centre providers about potential moves. Even if we maintain the leases, we know there are some that are going to be retiring, he said. We dont have all the specialties that we need and were pretty full at capacity at our medical office building at the main campus. It gives us, now, some flexibility to bring in more providers to give patients greater access in the future. As the main OH campus is maxed out at present, Marsh said this purchase was an opportunity to think about how to move forward and continue expanding in the future. We want to maintain a great relationship with the providers that are there, but we think it gives us a greater capacity for the future as we think about the future growth, both for Owensboro and Owensboro Health, he said. This really gives us convenience, which is really important for access; so we want to make sure we have great access for our patients, and certainly, somewhere they are familiar with. Additionally, Marsh said he believes there is a lot more room for growth in the Kentucky-54 area, in general, and this purchase creates an opportunity to open up that potential. Were going through kind of a two-year strategic plan right now, so a couple of those key drivers for us are greater access and more affordable healthcare. With the growth and expansion going out on 54, we know were going to be bringing a lot more providers and physicians in, he said. Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360 Daviess, Hancock, McLean, Muhlenberg and Ohio county school districts and Owensboro Public Schools have opted to be closed Thursday, Jan. 6 due to inclement weather in the forecast. Owensboro Catholic Schools follow the Daviess County Public Schools calendar, and therefore, will also be closed. Owensboro Public Schools, McLean County Public Schools, Ohio County Schools, Muhlenberg County Public Schools and Hancock County Schools will be utilizing nontraditional, or NTI, days. This means students will still have an opportunity to complete remote learning assignments while at home. DCPS students will be having a bonafide snow day. Ahead of districts making this decision, a lot goes into calling a school day due to wintry weather. If a weather event has taken place overnight, school systems have teams in place to travel bus routes to determine whether or not they are safe for travel. When inclement weather is expected mid-morning or early-afternoon, like the system coming through on Thursday, districts have to take a different approach. While students may be able to get to school safely, district officials have to determine if the roads may be too dangerous by the time dismissal occurs. Districts also try to avoid early dismissals, if possible, because they are disruptive, Daviess County Public Schools spokeswoman Lora Wimsatt said. The options for dealing with winter weather have changed since the pandemic, which necessitated that schools implement remote learning options. Now when schools close, theyre better equipped to provide at-home learning, which calls into question the traditional snow day. On Wednesday afternoon, DCPS announced its new DCPS@Home plan, specifically to be used in the event of inclement weather. On DCPS@Home days, elementary school students have been given packets to complete at least five days worth of assignments. Middle and high schools will communicate directly with students regarding schedules for Google Meets to continue learning. DCPS@Home days do not have to be made up at the end of the school year, Wimsatt said. Thursday, however, is not a DCPS@Home day. Jared Revlett, Owensboro Public Schools spokesman, said the district will determine on a case-by-case basis if students use an NTI or have a snow day. With a limited number of NTI days to use, and with COVID-19 still impacting schools, districts have to be careful how and when to use them, Revlett said. The NTI expectations for OPS families is available on the district website, Revlett said. Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315 Afghan refugees who have settled in Owensboro continue to face challenges as they adapt to a new culture, but many have felt welcomed and have received assistance throughout the process. The biggest hurdles are housing availability and receiving documentation, as there is a language barrier that exists for many of the refugees and parolees, according to Khaibar Shafaq, who assists in translation for other refugees. Ahmad Bilal Badaan was evacuated from Afghanistan on Aug. 27, following the attack on the Kabul airport. Badaan is settled in a house in Owensboro with his wife and four children. Getting settled was not necessarily easy, he said, but he and his family received lots of help from the International Center and other community volunteers. After spending about two-and-a-half months on a military base in Wisconsin following his evacuation, Badaan and his family were transported to Owensboro. He said he had no idea where Owensboro even was, but he has since come to love it, along with the rest of his family. We were all in the bases, and they were asking where were our ties where do you have friends and relatives living in the United States? Shafaq translated for Badaan. His relatives were living in Colorado and Virginia and also Seattle, so these two places he gave his ties, but he didnt know where he was going. He was expecting he might be shipped to one of these locations because he gave the tie and addresses of the people that he knows, but the weather got cold, and they came to him and said, youre moving to Kentucky, Owensboro. Although the family was originally apprehensive about the location, Badaan said settling in Owensboro has been a positive change for his family. Once we came here, we saw the people are very nice, they treat us well and helped us a lot, they welcomed us, they took care of myself and my family members, he said through Shafaq. Now my family members are calling me asking, when are you coming, are you going to stay here, and I told them no, Im going to stay (in Owensboro). If they want to come here, they are most welcome, but Im staying. Badaan said his four children are also enrolled in school and happy. He said they have already started making new friends and the community has embraced him and his family. While Badaan and his family have managed to get proper documentation in order to receive housing, find jobs and open a bank account, he said the process, in general, tends to be slow for many others who may not have the same assistance he has had access to along the way. Many of his coworkers who were transported to other countries throughout Europe, he said, have already received their necessary documents. However, many he knows in the U.S. are having difficulties. This is something hes a little bit worried about, and hes trying to request if the U.S. government can ease this process and provide the documents so they can be free to move and to work freely in any places, Shafaq said. The International Center in Owensboro has been a tremendous help in making sure refugees arriving in the city are able to get the documentation they need, according to Badaan, which he said he is grateful for. We are safe; the family is safe; the kids are going to the school they are happy. We have a house here; if we would have stayed in the country, our lives and the family life would have been in danger, he said. The 15th the country collapsed, the 17th, they came to my house looking for me and threatened the whole family everyone was scared. The U.S. government has brought us into a safe haven. Badaan is currently studying to take a driving test and get his license and said the process here is moving very well. Kanishka Safi has resided in a hotel in Owensboro since arriving about a month ago. He said while he is happy to be here, it is difficult to not have access to housing for many. More than 170 people staying in the hotel and finding shelter is a difficult time, he said. Many people are not willing to give houses for the Afghanistan refugee who doesnt have any credit here, and we are new here, so they are not willing to rent a house. This is one of the big, challenging problems here. Jobs, he said, are also difficult to find. Safi said, however, that the International Center and other volunteers in the community have been working hard to help with the process and get refugees and parolees anything they might need, including food, clothing, a place to sleep, transportation and medical appointments. (It) is a special time for everyone, and we are getting a warm welcoming here, and we are thankful for that. They help us a lot, he said. Muhammad Sabir, who arrived in Owensboro without family, has also been resettled into a home with another refugee who arrived alone. Sabir arrived in Owensboro after spending 76 days in a military base in Virginia. He then spent more than a month at a hotel before being settled into a home. He said he is happy to have a home and all his essential needs and is excited to start his life here. Sabir said he and his housemate are working on getting some household items and have already started making friends in Owensboro, both locals and other refugees, even inviting them to their home at times. He said he looks forward to meeting even more people and getting acclimated in Owensboro. We are happy, he said through the assistance of Shafaq. Its the beginning of the new life. Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360 In summer 2020, The New York Times coordinated a nationwide project to document the lives of Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved collaborating with 11 other local newsrooms around the U.S. The Messenger-Inquirer was the only newspaper from Kentucky in the collaboration. The resulting collection of stories was published Oct. 23, 2020, in the New York Times print edition and at nytimes.com/outofwork. The following list is the Messenger-Inquirer's local unemployment coverage from that time period; read more by clicking the "New York Times Project" header. Click on "Out Of Work In America" to go to the full FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 5, 2022 CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112 LANSING, Mich. - Four Michigan universities will receive $18.5 million in federal funds over the next two years to collect and analyze genomic data to address emerging infectious disease threats and enhance the state's ability to respond to those threats, announced the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today. Michigan Tech University, Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Wayne State University will use the funding to increase sequencing capacity in the state starting with SARS-CoV-2 and then other infectious disease threats with the potential for broad community spread. Funding for the Michigan Sequencing Academic Partnership for Public Health Innovation and Response (MI-SAPPHIRE) is through a CDC Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity grant MDHHS received. MI-SAPPHIRE activities will include sequence generation and analysis, such as sample collection and sequencing; data processing, storage and sharing; and data interpretation and analytics. "The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance and need for genomic sequencing, surveillance and epidemiology capacity both globally and right here in Michigan," said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. "The MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories has rapidly expanded its efforts to identify COVID-19 variants since the start of the pandemic to support public health actions. MI-SAPPHIRE will allow our state to expand sequencing and analysis capacity and the number of pathogens that undergo routine sequencing, and ensure we are sampling diverse geographic areas across the state." MDHHS has been a leader in national sequencing and genomic epidemiology as the national center for tuberculosis sequencing, PulseNet foodborne pathogen regional center, and SARS-CoV-2. The state generates over 25,000 genomes per year for bacterial and viral organisms. Partnerships with the four universities will allow for the scalability of capacity and response for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens. The MDHHS BOL has sequenced 23,000 COVID-19 samples since March 2020. The University of Michigan lab has also conducted sequencing throughout the pandemic to provide information about COVID-19 variants circulating in the state. Data generated or activities funded must support public health action, surveillance activities, infrastructure development or pandemic response efforts. Data or projects generated solely for research purposes and not directly actionable by state epidemiologists are not allowable with federal grant funds. For more information on genetic sequencing, visit What is Genomic Surveillance? | CDC. # # # A day after the breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his visit to Punjab, the state's Congress government on Thursday announced to constitute a high-level committee for a thorough probe into the lapses. An official spokesperson said the committee would comprise Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) Anurag Verma. The committee will submit its report within three days. Regretting that Modi had to cancel his scheduled visit to Ferozepur midway, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday said there was no security lapse that led to the cancellation of the Prime Minister's visit to the district bordering Pakistan. "We were told that the Prime Minister would fly by helicopter from Bathinda to Ferozepur. But all of a sudden, he decided to move by road. If there were any security lapses during PM Modi's visit, we are ready for probe the matter," Channi had told the media here. Modi at the last minute cancelled his visit while en route to Ferozepur, where he was scheduled to lay foundation stones for projects worth Rs 42,750 crore. The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. We're sorry, but we're unable to locate the page you requested. The page may have been removed, renamed, or deleted. You can try searching for the topic using the search button in the right hand corner above. ONEKAMA Onekama author John Wemlinger's novel, "The Cut," was recently awarded the designation of a Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. Its an honor that Wemlinger takes very much to heart. Writers aspire to validation of their work," Wemlinger said in a news release. "The inclusion of 'The Cut' in such an exclusive list of books certainly does that for me. I am both honored and humbled at the same time. Each year, the Michigan Notable Book list features 20 books, published during the previous calendar year, which are about or set in Michigan, or written by a Michigan author. Selections include a variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction, that appeal to many audiences and explore topics and issues close to the hearts of Michigan residents. Wemlinger believes the storyline of "The Cut," based on historic events of how the town of Onekama and its iconic water channel came to be, perfectly fits the Michigan Notable Book list criteria and is what garnered the attention of the selection committee. 'The Cut' is my first crack at historical fiction, and tells a story of how my hometown, Onekama, was founded," he said in the news release. "A group of hardworking, downtrodden Manistee County farmers many of them veterans of the recently ended Civil War must defy authority in the early 1870s or continue losing a high percentage of their land to big lumber. I think what the selection committee liked about the book was its true portrayal of the strength and resilience of these farmers against almost overwhelming odds. Wemlinger's novel was published by Mission Point Press. The books title references Onekamas channel connecting Portage Lake and Lake Michigan, historically referred to as the cut. Wemlinger weaves together the history of the channels creation, fictional characters and throws in a little romance for good measure. The topic of "The Cut" is near and dear to the author, who retired to Onekama a few years ago. "My wife, Diane, our border collie, Sydney, and I moved to Onekama eight years ago from Battle Creek. We came to know the area through friends over a decade of long summer weekends spent with them in Onekama," Wemlinger said in the release. "When it came time for us to retire, there was no doubt about where that was going to be. Onekama is a special, almost magical place and we are blessed to call it home. For more information on "The Cut," visit johnwemlinger.com. In a year where disaster struck the Port Austin community out of nowhere, local groups like the Port Austin Lions Club stepped up to show how important they are in rallying support. The club's biggest accomplishment this year was raising over $130,000 for those impacted by June's tornado that destroyed and damaged homes south of Port Austin. "A lot of what we do is help and support things that go in and around Port Austin," said Lions Club Vice President TJ Polega. "Whether it's a project we're trying to do, a local family that needs help, or whether we're donating time or money, that is a lot of what we do." Like other Lions Clubs across the country, the Port Austin club helps those who have vision issues. Its main program for that is called Glasses for Youth, where the group accept applications from families who need glasses for their kids and cannot afford them and refers them to an optometrist. "In general, we end up with about four kids a year," Polega said. "What we typically get is who applies." The Lions Club was also involved in maintaining the ice rink at Gallup Park, helps at pop-up food pantries, participates in the white cane fundraiser to benefit the Rochester Hills-based Leader Dogs for the Blind, does roadside trash pickup through the Adopt a Highway program, helps distribute food with the Port Austin Goodfellows, and puts on Lions Club Live, a charity raffle where all the proceeds work their way back into the Port Austin community. The Lions Club has between 60 and 65 members who volunteer at different events. Despite COVID-19 making it hard to meet at times, Polega said they had no membership issues at all during the pandemic, even gaining some members in that time. "For a while it was hard to meet," Polega said. "A lot of the club was of an age where you have to be mindful of this stuff." More Information How to join: Port Austin Lions Club meetings take place at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of the month at the Bank 1884 restaurant in Port Austin. New members must be sponsored by a current member in order to be voted in. See More Collapse Aside from Port Austin, the Lions Club helps out in Kinde, since there is no club there, and at other food pantries in the area. "Our focus is Port Austin, but we spread out further than that," Polega said. In the coming year, the Lions Club plans on continuing the same benefits as this year, like the Glasses for Youth, food pantries, and Port Austin Goodfellows. Polega said they will also be donating time and funds to an unannounced Port Austin project that is still in development. The first week of 2022 marks the start of a midterm election year and the anniversary of the stunning assault on the U.S. Capitol by protesters egged on by Donald J. Trumps demonstrably false claim that the election was stolen. Trumps insistence the election was rigged and his animus to Republicans who say otherwise is a distraction that GOP candidates in Connecticut say they are intent on ignoring, while Democrats promise to make that impossible. With polling consistently showing at least two-thirds of Republican voters saying Biden did not win, GOP officials who merely acknowledge reality do so at the risk of antagonizing significant elements of their base. But Connecticut Republicans largely are avoiding equivocating or expressing doubts about Bidens win, reasoning that to do only would keep Trump as an unwelcome wingman in 2022. Trump may be on the ballot in 2024, but the Connecticut Republican state chair, Ben Proto, said his advice to candidates is to acknowledge Trumps defeat in 2020 rather than engage in a fight that undercuts GOP campaigns in 2022. If we want to change things in Connecticut, if we want to take us out of the bottom of every important category that judges a state and get us back on track, then we need to change the people who are making the decisions in 2022, Proto said. Twenty-twenty-four will come around soon enough. But our job is to deal with 2022. Bob Stefanowski, the 2018 gubernatorial nominee and a likely candidate this year, dodged questions about Trumps claims a year ago, the day before rioters tried to stop Vice President Mike Pence from certifying the results. On Wednesday, he answered a question about Bidens legitimacy without equivocation. Joe Biden won the election, and its past time to move on from 2020 and focus on CT residents trying to figure out how they are going to keep the lights on, gas up their car, get a simple COVID test without waiting in line for hours, Stefanowski said in a text message. A rival for the nomination, former House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, offered the same opinion today as she did a year ago: She had no objection to Trump pursuing every legal avenue to confirm the accuracy of the vote prior to certification but not his continuing efforts to mislead Americans about the results. He had a constitutional right to those challenges, and not one of them changed the results, Klarides said. Its time to move on. I feel the same way as I felt last year. Even Republicans who insist voter fraud is a significant issue in American elections, including Connecticuts, say it did not rise to a level capable of de-legitimizing Bidens solid popular vote victory of 81 million to 74 million. Dominic Rapini, a Republican candidate for secretary of the state, has the view that Connecticut is not nearly stringent enough in investigating election fraud, but he does not share Trumps belief that the presidential election was stolen. Joe Biden is a constitutionally elected president of the United States. I just think thats important for people to understand, Rapini said. I know theres people in Connecticut that dont want to hear that, and I understand that. State Sen. Rob Sampson of Wolcott says small-scale voter fraud such as the harvesting of absentee ballots is a problem that deserves bipartisan attention, but he does not support Trumps claim that Biden is illegitimate. I try to tell people who are on the extreme Trump bandwagon, who believe every word about the supposed election fraud that happened nationally and the President being robbed and so on, is that it doesnt matter, Sampson said. Even if it were true, theres no one whos going to actually reverse that election. Sampson said the belief that Trump somehow can be restored to the White House without winning an election is more outlandish than the belief that the election can be proven to be rigged, as Mike Lindell of MyPillow claims in a self-funded documentary. Lindell said votes were stolen by hacking, even though voting machines are not connected to the web, and the digital voting machines used in most states produce paper ballots that can be hand-counted in audits and recounts. Theres no miracle. Michael Lindell the pillow guy is not going to show up one day with a smoking gun and announce to the world, Look what happened! And suddenly were going to install Trump, Sampson said. Thats not going to happen. Thats just an absurdity. Elsewhere, Republicans have frozen, dissembled or expressed uncertainty about 2020. During a debate in Minnesota last month, Hugh Hewitt, the prominent conservative radio host and writer, asked five Republican candidates for governor, In your opinion, did President Biden win a constitutional majority of the Electoral College? If yes, how definitive is your conclusion, and if no, could you please explain which states you think are in dispute. I cant know what I dont know, and I think we have to take that attitude towards 2020, said Scott Jensen, a family doctor and former state senator. No one gave Hewitt an unqualified yes, though two acknowledged the Electoral College gave Biden sufficient votes to win. After the debate, Hewitt tweeted, It is an important question and needs to be framed, I think, as I did. I expect it will be often asked and answered (or not) of many candidates in the year ahead. Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, and other Democrats said in a news conference Thursday they will press Republicans to say whether they stand with Trump and his continued efforts to perpetuate the Big Lie. So for anybody who is running for the House of Representatives, we will ask you that question publicly, [on] social media, many, many times, Ritter said. If youre going to be part of the House of Representatives, is that who you support, and what do you think about what happened on that day, and are those the values that we should be teaching our citizens and our children? Bronin said Republican leaders have a responsibility to help restore faith in free and open elections. When two-thirds of Republicans nationwide say that they believe the big lie about the 2020 elections, the only people who can change that, the only people who can protect our democracy today, are the leaders of that party, Bronin said. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, among the last members of Congress evacuated from the House chamber on Jan. 6, said in an interview the unwillingness of more Republicans to acknowledge Bidens victory and the belief of so many GOP voters that Trump was cheated is more alarming than the riot. Viking-horn guy with spear was not going to be the way our democracy ends, Himes said. But two-thirds of the adherents of a major political party, believing a lie for which there is not a shred of evidence, is the sign of a deeply, deeply sick democracy. On Jan. 6, 2021, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky unequivocally said Trump was wrong to insist Congress could reject the results, warning of permanent damage to the democratic republic. The voters, the courts, and the states have all spoken. Theyve all spoken. If we overrule them, it would damage our republic forever, McConnell said. This election, actually, was not unusually close. Just in recent history, 1976, 2000 and 2004 were all closer than this one. The Electoral College margin is almost identical to what it was in 2016. If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral. Himes said too few Republicans in the House are willing to rebuke Trumps unprecedented undermining of an American presidential election. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming were the only two to vote to create the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. Yes, there is an Adam Kinzinger. And yes, theres a Liz Cheney. But theres one Adam Kinzinger. And one Liz Cheney, Himes said. How is it possible that the party of Lincoln and Roosevelt cant even muster 50% of its members to adhere to reality around something as important as our democratic republic? Himes holds a Fairfield County seat held by moderate Republicans for 40 years before his victory in 2008 over Chris Shays, the last GOP member elected to Congress from Connecticut. By some measures, the last GOP seat now is the safest Democratic seat in the state. Revulsion to Trump has played a role in that transformation, accelerating what had been a Democratic trend, he said. Himes said he takes some comfort in Connecticut Republicans showing greater independence of Trump. I know that weve got Trumpy authoritarians in Connecticut, but I think I know most Republicans are deeply uncomfortable with Donald Trump and all that he represents, Himes said. You know, thats how you win a Senate seat in Greenwich, Conn. Himes was referring to Republican Ryan Fazio of Greenwich flipping a state Senate seat in a special election in August. Greenwich reached a tipping point in 2020: Democratic voters surpassed Republicans, 12,435 to 11,973. There are 15,917 unaffiliated voters, meaning that the GOP ranks third in Greenwich a stunning fall that accelerated with the nomination of Trump in 2016. A year ago and now, Fazio refused to stand with Trump on the legitimacy of Bidens win. I think the behavior of the president in the aftermath of the last election was deeply untoward and problematic and dishonest, Fazio said in an interview Wednesday. And that was very, very disappointing to me and I think many other Republicans. Fazio said the question Hugh Hewitt posed in Minnesota should get a clear answer. Its not a difficult question, Fazio said. President Biden was duly elected. And its as simple as that. A second-year engineering student, who is said to be the main conspirator and creator of the 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app, Neeraj Bishnoi, has been arrested by IFSO (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit) of the Special Cell of Delhi Police. Bishnoi was held from Assam by a team of IFSO (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit), Special Cell, led by DCP K.P.S. Malhotra. Bishnoi is a resident of the Jorhat village of Assam. He is a second year B.Tech, computer science student doing course from Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. Bishnoi will be brought to Delhi from Assam by flight which will land at Indira Gandhi Airport by 4.30 p.m Thursday. The Mumbai Police has already arrested three persons, including an 18-year-old girl Shweta Singh, one 21-year-old Mayank Rawat, a DU student and one engineering student Vishal Kumar Jha. The arrests by the Mumbai Police were made from Bengaluru and Uttrakhand. Vishal Jha and Mayank are on police remand while the police custody of Shweta ended on January 5. What was the 'Bulli Bai' controversy? On January 1, this app, which was performing on Github's space, posted the photos of a number of women of a particular religion. These included journalists, social workers, students and famous personalities. It happened six months after the controversy of Sulli Deals. Vishal Kumar Jha, the engineering student, was one of the followers of Bulli Bai, which led the police to him. Hosting platform Github provided space to Sulli Deals, and the 'Bulli Bai too was created on the Github platform. Later on after the controversy erupted, Github removed the user 'Bulli Bai' from its hosting platform. But by then 'Bulli Bai' had sparked a nationwide controversy. The 'Bulli Bai' app was also being promoted by a Twitter handle with the name @bullibai, with the display picture of a Khalistani supporter. This Twitter handle was endorsing the Bulli Bai app saying 'women can be booked from the app'. This handle was also promoting Khalistani content at the same time. Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to the Mumbai Police after which the case was lodged. A case in this connection was also lodged by the Delhi Police. No arrest made in 'Sulli Deal' case After blaming last weeks botched effort to distribute 500,000 test kits before New Years Eve on a local wholesaler, Gov. Ned Lamonts administration said Tuesday that it is still engaged in talks with the company to deliver tests to the state. Lamonts office also sought Tuesday to clarify what it said was a misstatement by the governor: Neither the governor nor the states top health official had seen pictures of the tests readied for shipment to Connecticut. Pictures had been mentioned by both officials on consecutive days as evidence that the state had a deal in place for the tests. Copies of a purchase order and other procurement documents provided by Lamonts office over the weekend identify the states source for the doomed shipment as Jack Rubenstein CT, LLC, based in Glastonbury. The point-of-contact listed on the documents is the companys owner, Jeffrey Barlow. Barlow and a Lamont spokesperson said Tuesday that discussions were ongoing between the two sides regarding future shipments of testing kits. Im still working diligently on finding kits for them, so Id rather spend my time there, Barlow said Tuesday when reached by Hearst Connecticut Media Group and asked about the companys initial deal to provide testing kits last week. Lamont declined to publicly identify the company during a press conference last week when he announced the shipment of tests failed to arrive, though he and other officials repeatedly accused the states supplier of misleading them to believe that the tests were being loaded on a plane bound for Connecticut. During the Thursday press conference, Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani went so far as to say the companys misrepresentations included photographs sent to state officials, a claim that Lamont then picked up on the next day when speaking to reporters in New Britain. You know that we were told in no uncertain terms, even with pictures, that the tests were in the plane, Lamont said Friday. Max Reiss, Lamonts spokesperson, said Tuesday that the governor had spoken Friday based on his muddy understanding of the situation at the time. What was represented was that the tests were confirmed for CT but that there were delays getting them in the shipping pipeline, like we said last week. The photo was of what CT would be receiving, what the packaging looked like of iHealth kits, Reiss wrote in a text message. There was never a photo of cases on a plane or anything like that. Neither Reiss nor Barlow gave more details and Reiss declined to say whether the administration had lingering concerns about working with Barlow. The company did deliver 15,000 tests last Thursday by FedEx, which the state distributed through social service agencies, including shelters and Connecticut Foodshare. When asked whether Lamonts depiction of the companys supposed deal to provide the state with 500,000 test kits was accurate, Barlow said he had not seen the governors remarks and ended the phone call. Details about the failed deal remain murky. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said he was told by the Lamont administration that the state was out-bid by another buyer seeking a similarly large shipment of tests. Lamont has repeatedly referred to the wild west of the market for tests, as states, nations and corporations vie for product. Connecticut reported purchasing more than $14.9 million worth of medical supplies from the Glastonbury company between April and December 2020, according to vendor data from the Office of State Comptroller. The state did not report doing any business with the company during the five previous fiscal years before the pandemic. Barlow, a graduate of Tulane University, told the schools alumni association last year how he had a light-bulb moment, to sell equipment such as masks to Connecticut after the pandemic disrupted his existing business of importing consumer electronics from China. It definitely was a learning curve for me, Barlow told the alumni group. You have to learn quickly to listen and talk to people and try to understand both the customer side and the supplier side and learn about the different products and levels. When youre placing orders of millions of units at a time, you want to make sure youre getting the right product for what the customers require. Barlow did not say Tuesday how many tests he hoped to acquire for the state, or what happened to the original shipment expected last week. The purchase order provided by the state shows the price of the total order of tests kits 1.5 million, each with a pair of tests, with 1 million of those to be delivered in January was $18.54 million. When asked last week whether he would ever work with the company again, Lamont said he did not know and that he was focused on the issue at hand, of finding another supply of tests. As of Tuesday, the state had received 1.1 million tests, including a CVS shipment. Many were distributed by cities and towns and others are going to schools and child care centers. Manchester Police Department MANCHESTER It has been more than two weeks since 21-year-old Sherrian Howe disappeared. Howe has been missing from Manchester since Dec. 21. Police upgraded the case to a silver alert Dec. 29 after police found an unoccupied car connected to Howe in Windsor Locks the day before. MIDDLETOWN The towns high school was forced to dismiss students early on Thursday due to staffing shortages caused by COVID-19, officials said. Middletown High School students were dismissed at 11 a.m. Thursday. All other schools in the district held a regular school day. Jessica B. Lavorgna, director of communications for Middletown Public Schools, said the staff shortage was all COVID-related. It does not mean that all our staff have COVID, Lavorgna said. She said that 21 high school staff members do have COVID-19, while several others were unable to work for various reasons related to the virus. Some had family members test positive, while others were forced to stay home because their childrens schools were closed due to COVID. She said a nationwide shortage of substitutes also may have contributed to the situation. In an effort to attract more substitutes, Middletown schools increased their daily pay rates beginning Jan. 1. She admitted, though, that more substitutes would not have prevented the call for an early dismissal. Its not just teaching staff, its also support staff, Lavorgna said. She said that since students returned from their holiday break, in the middle of the worst spike in cases the state has seen, central office staff members have been dispersed among the districts schools to fill in where needed. Were trying to plug the holes wherever we can, Lavorgna said. Remote learning is not an option, Lavorgna said, because it would not count toward the 180-day school calendar. There were a total of 225 confirmed COVID cases among students across the district as of Wednesday. ENFIELD Two men who fled law enforcement in Massachusetts were found at a Dennys in Enfield on Wednesday afternoon, according to police. Around 2:25 p.m. Wednesday, police got a be-on-the-lookout transmission from authorities in Springfield, Mass., for a red Mercedes with Connecticut license plates that fled from officers in their city. Police said at least one of the people in the vehicle was believed to be armed with a gun and wanted in connection with multiple crimes in Springfield on Wednesday. Shortly after 3 p.m., the vehicle was found unoccupied by Enfield police in the Saint Adalberts Cemetery. Enfield police said the individual left on foot, and were tracked to the area of the Kohls shopping plaza on Elm Street. Officers found the two alleged suspects in the Dennys on Elm Street, police said. They were both taken into custody for offenses that occurred within the town of Enfield, police said without further specifying. Seized during the arrests was about $2,100 in cash, nearly 140 grams of crack cocaine, 10 grams of powdered cocaine and six oxycontin pills. Manuel Torres, 24, of Springfield, was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell/distribute, conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to sell/distribute, possession of a controlled substance and interfering with a police officer. He was held on a $500,000 bond pending additional charges by Springfield police. Fabien Rosario, 20, also of Springfield, was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell/distribute and conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to sell/distribute. He was released after posting a $15,000 bond. Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Gov. Ned Lamont is recovering at home after undergoing hip replacement surgery on Wednesday, according to a statement from his office. Lamont, 68, had one of his hips replaced last year and Wednesdays procedure was to replace the other hip. The governor plans to work remotely for the next couple of days as he recuperates at home, Max Reiss, the governors director of communications, said in the written statement. A military judge has required a jury in Germany to reach a unanimous decision to convict an Army officer facing sexual assault charges, marking the first time that high bar has been required for a guilty verdict in a court-martial. The move would put the court-martial on par with civilian court standards and a Supreme Court ruling, but on Wednesday military prosecutors successfully requested an Army appeals court to pause the trial. In a pretrial decision, Col. Charles Pritchard, an Army judge in Kaiserslautern, Germany, ordered that any guilty verdict must be unanimous in the case of Lt. Col. Andrew Dial, who has been charged with three counts of sexual assault. Read Next: Judge Blocks Navy's Discipline of SEALs for Refusing the COVID-19 Vaccine Despite the legal wrangling, the unusual order is unlikely to herald a broader change in the military justice system and its prosecution of sex crimes, an expert told Military.com. "It's pretty rare for a military judge to make that gutsy of a ruling," said Eric Carpenter, a former military lawyer who is now an assistant law professor at Florida International University. "I think this ruling itself is not going to be super critical, because it's probably just going to apply to this case." At the heart of the issue is an April 2020 Supreme Court ruling that the Sixth Amendment requires guilty verdicts in civilian criminal trials to be unanimous. At the time of the ruling, Oregon was the only state that allowed non-unanimous guilty verdicts. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a court-martial requires a three-fourths vote for conviction. Supreme Court decisions about civilian law generally do not apply to military law because of separate rulings that have held military justice is a matter for Congress. But since the Supreme Court ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana, lawyers for defendants in dozens of courts-martial have filed motions seeking to have the unanimous verdict standard apply to their cases. In his ruling Monday, Pritchard did not agree that Ramos applies to courts-martial since previous rulings have found the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury does not apply to the military. But the judge did agree with defense lawyers that a non-unanimous guilty verdict would violate Dial's due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. "The consequences of conviction at a special or general court-martial are no less serious than for civilian criminal convictions," Pritchard wrote. "There is no apparent or logical reason for the disparate treatment" between civilian and military defendants, he added. "It appears that the non-unanimous verdict in courts-martial simply slipped into congressional legislation pertaining to military justice without much thought." The ruling did not contain details of the allegations against Dial, nor did the defense and prosecution briefs on the motion or an Army court docket. Government prosecutors had argued that requiring a unanimous verdict in military trials could result in more hung juries and retrials, as well as leave jurors open to reprisal from commanders since their votes will be known. On Wednesday, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals granted the government's request to pause the trial, which had been scheduled to start Monday, pending an appeal of Pritchard's order for a unanimous verdict. However, Carpenter said it would be "really, really difficult" for the government to appeal. In dozens of other cases, defendants are asking for unanimous verdicts and judges are denying those motions, and Carpenter said he expects the issue to work its way through appeals courts. Ultimately, though, Carpenter said he does not foresee an appeals court ruling making unanimous guilty verdicts the standard across the military justice system. "Ultimately, they will come out and say, 'That's not for us to decide, that's up to Congress to decide,'" he said. Congress has been moving to make the military justice system more closely resemble civilian courts, particularly when it comes to sexual assault cases. Under the defense policy bill signed into law last week by President Joe Biden, cases of sexual assault and related crimes for the first time will largely be handled by independent prosecutors rather than military commanders. Some in Congress have pushed to go even further and take almost all serious crimes entirely out of the chain of command. Carpenter said that, while requiring unanimous guilty verdicts would be "perfectly consistent" with the reform Congress has already undertaken to bring military justice closer to the civilian system, he does not foresee much support for raising the standard for guilty verdicts. Doing so could mean fewer convictions at a time when lawmakers are aiming for more sexual assault convictions, he said. "While there's the sexual assault problem that's in the forefront for everybody, I think even liberals who tend to want more protective rules for defendants aren't going to go that far because there will be fewer sexual assault convictions," he said. "At the end of the day, we'll probably end up back right where we started." -- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel. Related: Defense Bill Headed to Biden's Desk as Military Justice Debate Rages On Nearly 10 years in the making, the Army plans to implement its controversial new fitness test later this spring. But a new batch of critiques about gender discrimination and the sheer logistical challenge of administering and training for the new test could imperil that deadline. Creating the new Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, has been a monumental undertaking for the service. The mission: rework how the force judges whether someone is physically fit enough to serve and fight America's wars. This is the first time since the 1980s that fitness has had any major overhaul in the Army. Army leaders tested their new fitness standards in 2019, initiating a campaign to gather data that would decide which events ended up becoming a part of the final test, and how they would be scored. The goal was to have all soldiers judged by the new metrics in October 2020, but the ACFT immediately hit turbulence. Read Next: 'He Is Not Your Commander-in-Chief:' Texas Governor Promises Guardsmen He'll Fight Biden Over Vaccine Mandate First, the pandemic shut down gyms and severely limited how soldiers can work out. Second, Army leaders looking to implement the test had to navigate a myriad of obstacles, including skepticism from Capitol Hill and the secretary of the Army over lopsided underperformance by women, and questions over whether a cyber warfare soldier needs the same fitness test as an infantryman on a test some say is more akin to a CrossFit workout than a precise tool to grade fitness for combat. "There's something seriously wrong here," Kyle Novak, a data scientist who crunched ACFT data for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., ahead of her introducing a law delaying the test, said in an interview. "There's gender bias built into the ACFT." Novak said the Army used poor data and methodology to figure out what to put in the ACFT, specifically not using enough women in early trials. For example, a study at Fort Benning, Georgia, to measure what physical abilities are needed for combat used 136 male soldiers and only 16 women, according to Army documents. That led to an overemphasis on physical activities the average male is inherently better at than the average woman, such as the power throw and leg tucks. Army research, however, suggests those events have little correlation with combat. On top of that, Novak said other potential events that measure balance and flexibility, much needed physical attributes in battle, were sidelined. Those challenges spurred lawmakers to delay using the ACFT across the Army and tasked Rand Corp. with investigating the test's impact on soldier retention and troops' ability to train for the evaluation in different environments. The study is set to be released this month, according to a Rand spokesperson, pushing Army officials to make final decisions on whether to keep the test as is, tweak it, or scrap it altogether. The test also initially faced scrutiny from the rank and file because of the same issues that drew the ire of Congress, as well as the new tests complicated logistics, and the fact that all major new programs draw some resistance in the military, a group generally known to be slow to change. Regardless, leaders have had to pitch the test to the entire force, all the way down to the youngest soldiers. It isn't just the ACFT itself; the Army is moving toward a holistic health initiative aimed to get soldiers to eat better and take care of their mental and spiritual health. It's part of a wider campaign to combat a national obesity crisis that some have pointed to as a national security concern. "Getting a new idea in the Army is the only thing harder than getting an old idea out; introducing anything makes everyone go nuts," a senior Army official told Military.com. "The [ACFT] is the best thing to ever happen to the Army, but only if we get the entire Holistic Health and Fitness program going. It isn't a la carte," the senior official added. "The obesity issue in the past decade wasn't really around when I got in. This is a societal problem. The test isn't built to kick people out, it's built to get people fit." Women Struggle on the Test Soldiers who fail the test currently face no adverse actions or consequences, but if the Army hits its April 1 target to make the test official, how soldiers perform on it will have massive impacts on their careers. Failing the test could lead them to be booted from the service. Data obtained by Military.com in May 2020 showed nearly half of women in the Army wouldn't have passed the test. While women have made progress since soldiers began actively training for the new standards, passing the test isn't enough for most troops. High performance on the test gives soldiers an edge when it comes to promotions and opportunities to attend elite courses such as Ranger School, which can themselves lead to job opportunities. The ACFT grades soldiers on a 600-point scale, with a 360 being the minimum needed to pass and 500 and above largely considered very good scores. As of May, only 66 women had scored above 500 in trials of the new test, versus nearly 32,000 men. Some senior leaders urged Military.com to ignore that data, saying it is old and that soldiers are performing better on the test in recent months. None of them would speak on the record, citing concerns that most leaders have not yet fully reviewed up-to-date ACFT data or Rand's findings, and that the force isn't sure yet how the Army wants to talk about the test to the press and soldiers. The Army is trying to juggle dueling goals of creating a stronger force while also creating more opportunities for women. Yet service officials acknowledge men and women ultimately have different physiologies, with the average woman likely having to work harder than the average man to deadlift heavy weight. In a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, women were found to have 40% less upper body muscle than men, and 33% less in the lower body. In March, the Army kicked off a new scoring system -- breaking the two genders into tiers. In practice, this could mean men and women still would have to meet the same standards but would not be compared to one another. A soldier's percentile ranking could be reflected in their record; for example, they might be described as being in the top 10% of fitness ability among their gender across the Army, but the top 10% of men will likely have higher scores than the same tier of women. The test's fate ultimately falls to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who has already raised significant concerns to Capitol Hill about how easy the test appears to be for men to pass, and excel at, while women are apparently just scraping by. "I have concerns on the implications of the test for our ability to continue to retain women," Wormuth, the first woman to serve in the role, told lawmakers at her confirmation hearing in May. At a separate hearing that month, Gillibrand, citing Military.com's reporting, pressed key brass about whether they were concerned by the early data and if changes needed to be made. "We fully acknowledge that the initial limitation of the test did show that there was a large disparity, one of which was a little bit troubling between genders," Army's G1 Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gary Brito said. The Army Is All-In on the ACFT Most soldiers interviewed by Military.com believe the force is too committed to the test to consider scrapping it. Leaders have been touting the test for years, and the force has spent more than $63 million on exercise equipment from Sorinex specifically to support training for the new standards. However, a spokesperson for Sorinex told Military.com that the Army has not made any new significant orders for more gear since its initial purchase in 2019, despite many units still seemingly not having easy access to equipment critical for physical training. New sales to the force are mostly focused on repairing and replacing equipment such as hex bars and bumper plates. "It has become part of the culture now, even with the flaws. Too many mostly male soldiers and male leaders love the test and made hard sales pitches on it to the soldiers and [press]," another senior Army leader told Military.com on the condition of anonymity. "You'll [see] some tweaks, maybe even getting rid of an event or two, but we can't walk this back now." Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston has repeatedly said an exciting effect of the test was having soldiers rethink fitness. The test itself, which some -- mostly male -- soldiers interviewed by Military.com agree is easier to pass than the previous fitness evaluation, is less important, he said. Having to do deadlifts, sprints and ball throws has added much-needed diversity to their workouts. Whatever the ACFT looks like come April, if there is a new test, one thing is clear: The previous test, the Army Physical Fitness Test, or APFT, is dead. "You will no longer take another APFT; it's good news," Grinston said at a panel in 2020. "I think it's good news for me. I'm ready to move on." While soldiers remain skeptical of the ACFT, most agree it's a huge improvement overall to the APFT, replacing what some described as a dull string of two-minute series of push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. "I love seeing myself and my soldiers train for this; it's fun," Staff Sgt. Nicole Pierce, who is stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, told Military.com But, for Pierce, it's still a tall order to perfect the test. "I'm 5'5 and 115 lbs.. Most men can pick up the deadlift like it's nothing. I know 140 lbs. is probably my max for now. I go into ACFTs not sure if I'm going to get past the first event," she said. "I was able to do a leg tuck by six months postpartum. I pushed myself because I wanted to pass. I've always been physically fit; I ran up until the day I gave birth. I know every woman can't do that, but that is what helped me." Fitness Tests Change When Women's Roles Advance in the Army The APFT was a much simpler event requiring no equipment. It was introduced in 1980 following the so-called "running boom" of the 1970s, in which jogging and long-distance running became a fitness sensation. Dozens of soldiers and senior leaders interviewed for this story all agreed that the APFT was a poor measure of fitness. The Army itself found in a 2019 study that the old test had no "scientific evidence" that it appropriately measured fitness for combat and that the scoring was arbitrary. The APFT was largely a reaction to the Pentagon dissolving the Women's Army Corps, integrating women into non-combat units in the 1970s. In 1975, before the APFT, all soldiers took a fitness test, but men and women had completely different events. Men were graded on an inverted crawl, a run/dodge/jump event, climbing a ladder, sit-ups and a 2-mile run. Women were tasked to run 80 meters; do push-ups, sit-ups, and a run/dodge/jump event; and run one mile. A report from the Government Accountability Office in 1976 recommended the force develop a fitness test that "has genderless performance standards to enhance performance," and is "easy to administer and required minimal equipment." The APFT became the test of record in 1980 and, while there were gendered standards, it required only a stopwatch and a flat space to run. Fast forward to the 2010s, where CrossFit workout routines that consist of constant diversity of functional movements performed at a high intensity, usually involving squats, deadlifts and kettlebells hit the mainstream and gathered what some have described as an almost cult-like following. In that same time period, talks about integrating women into combat arms, allowing them to serve in jobs such as infantry and cavalry scouts, gained traction. In 2013, the Army began the development of the ACFT, leading up to the 2015 move to open up all military jobs to women. National Guard and Reserve Struggle for Gear The new test and its gear-heavy approach to fitness has created trouble for many soldiers, who have struggled to find the necessary kit. Even on active-duty installations, not all gyms have the space or gear for soldiers to train for the test. In many cases, gear is locked up in storage containers. Just setting up a test can take an hour or more, with troops having to measure lanes for the sprint/drag/carry event, find a place to conduct the 2-mile run, and move thousands of pounds of weights. "This has easily become the most annoying thing," one active-duty company commander told Military.com on the condition of anonymity. "I'm Team ACFT, but the logistics do not incentivize testing, or practice. By the time everything is set up, the test is complete, and gear is packed up, that's like half my day." But the issue is compounded in the National Guard and Reserve, where most armories that units operate out of do not have any ACFT gear, and in many cases lack the space to conduct the test. In most cases, equipment is stored in other locations, such as a battalion headquarters, which can be on the other side of a state, making testing and practice virtually impossible. In a June story, Military.com spoke with Guardsmen and Reserve soldiers who were spending hundreds, in some cases thousands, of dollars on expensive gyms and personal equipment. On paper, troops can train at a cheaper gym, but most of those facilities do not have the space or gear the ACFT demands. The Army has said that troops do not need the gear to train for the test, a claim some soldiers scoff at, arguing that their only time doing an exercise for real should not be during an event that dictates their career. "I've had the money for a hex bar and such to train, but I can't imagine how most can do it," one senior Guard official told Military.com. "National Guard and Reserve were probably an afterthought. People underestimate our constraints. We're all over the damn state, and if I need to take a test, there is no simple meeting at a high school track." -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: For Guard and Reserve Soldiers Without Easy Access to Equipment, ACFT Training Costs Pile Up "Eric," a Guardsman from Maryland, went to work largely unaware of what was brewing at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Then, "the phone calls started coming in." He quickly headed to his armory in Maryland, expecting he'd be sent to the Capitol to combat one of the most violent efforts to upend democracy in the last 200 years of American history. But the noncommissioned officer, whose name has been changed and who was granted anonymity in order to be able to speak candidly about his experiences without fear of reprisal from National Guard leadership, said he spent much of that evening waiting instead of acting. Read Next: Oldest US Veteran of WWII, Lawrence N. Brooks, Dies at 112 "We probably had our orders changed eight-nine times in a 12-hour period," he said. Finally, in the early hours of the next day, he and about 50 other Guardsmen boarded buses into Washington, D.C., arriving around 6 a.m. on Jan. 7. They spent the next 24 hours guarding the central seat of American power, a governing body few thought at risk only days before. That inaction and indecision foreshadowed the rest of his deployment to D.C., and it mirrors the lack of progress that has been made on the military issues that arose from that day. The past year has also served to further reveal the scope of the problem that military leaders, members of the National Guard and state leaders face when it comes to the force that became the embodiment of a government reinstating control after the chaos of that day. Since Jan. 6, 2021, lawmakers have searched for answers about the Guard's delay, and the digging is expected to continue into a second year. In March, a pair of Senate panels brought in Maj. Gen. William Walker, commander of the D.C. National Guard at the time of the Capitol riot, who testified that it took more than three hours for him to get approval to deploy from time the Capitol Police chief first made a "frantic" call to him asking for help. In Walker's account, the response was delayed by Pentagon officials' concerns about "optics" and "unusual" restrictions that prevented him from deploying a quick reaction force without higher approval. Former Defense Secretary Christopher Miller separately testified to the House Oversight Committee in May, defending the department's response at a hearing that largely devolved into partisan sparring rather than providing new insight into the Pentagon's actions. In November, a Pentagon inspector general report contradicted Walker's testimony, finding that Pentagon officials "did not delay or obstruct the DoD's response" to the attack, though Walker has refuted the report. We Had No Intel Eric said that his struggles did not end with questions over the deployment. Once he and his unit arrived in D.C., the question "became 'what are we going to do here?'" He described a situation in which he and his men were expected to maintain a constant state of full alert despite a lack of planning and information. "I can't just stand at 100% security posture for an indefinite amount of time. ... That appears to be what the initial and ongoing command philosophy was," he said. "Mission analysis, mission planning, troop leading procedures -- none of that was happening. None of it," Eric added, his voice still rising with frustration. "That is one thing that just absolutely drove me up a wall because my dudes were suffering, you know?" he explained. The biggest detail that stuck out to him was the hours soldiers would spend guarding empty streets in freezing temperatures. In what would become a clear sign of the lack of coordination and planning for the deployment, one unit was forced to rest and recover in a parking garage until lawmakers like Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., intervened. One particular detail that sticks out to Eric is the lack of intelligence and information about the possible threat he and his men were there to deter. "I was getting intel from friends that work for other agencies," the senior NCO said. "We had no intel in the Guard, none." A Senate staff report released in June noted that a key contributing factor to Jan. 6 "was the failure of the Intelligence Community to properly analyze, assess, and disseminate information to law enforcement regarding the potential for violence and the known threats." The soldier who spoke with Military.com quickly began to wonder: "Do I need 100 guys to stand in a straight line for 100 yards and stare out into the abyss and freeze their asses off?" From his perspective, it seemed like "there were political folks playing politics with soldiers per usual." "I just think that a lot of higher-ups didn't think through what the mission was," he said. A House committee empaneled to investigate Jan. 6 is also looking into the Guard deployment. Much of the panel's work has been behind closed doors, but a committee report last month detailing its reasons for holding former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he refused to testify provided a lens into its questions about the Guard, highlighting an email Meadows sent Jan. 5 saying National Guardsmen would be on hand Jan. 6 "to 'protect pro Trump people' and that many more would be available on standby." In the coming months, the committee, formally known as the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, is planning on holding public hearings to "tell the story" of the attack, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., has said. "We will talk to the National Guard people who ... sat for over three hours ready to come help the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police defend the Capitol, but they were not authorized to go," Thompson said Sunday on CNN when asked about what to expect at the hearings. "There's a belief that a lot of what happened on that day wasn't a comedy of errors, but a planned, coordinated effort." Ultimately, Eric said the situation "got better as more units came in," and he has no reservation about the underlying philosophy behind the mission. "If a bunch of people started storming the Capitol right now ... I would drive to my house and grab my stuff and drive right down to D.C. again, no questions asked," he said. "That's the general consensus across political lines within my unit as well," he added. Streamlined Process Meanwhile, the Pentagon has recently announced that it has streamlined the process to activate the Guard for problems in the country's capital, including "formally clarifying the process by which Federal and local partners request assistance for both pre-planned and time sensitive events." "The Secretary of Defense is now the single approval authority for all requests that would involve District of Columbia National Guard personnel participating directly in civilian law enforcement activities," a Pentagon statement released on Dec. 30 said. The Pentagon also announced that it has designated the Executive Secretary as "the single entry point for these requests." Congress has also sought to streamline the process on its end, recently passing legislation to allow the Capitol Police chief to request National Guard help without the Capitol Police Board's prior approval. While a more streamlined process to deploy Guard troops is welcome for leaders in the federal government and agency heads within the District of Columbia, it also draws attention to the fact that the National Guard has been a go-to solution for many problems in the last two years. The Guardsman who spoke with Military.com noted that, prior to deploying to the U.S. Capitol, he had deployed to support Maryland's response to COVID-19 early in 2020, then again in the summer in anticipation of riots in Baltimore following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. In total, Eric said that he has been "on orders" -- deployed at the request of state or federal governments -- for eight months in the last two years. 81 Rioters with Military Experience Another issue that still lingers for the military a year after the riot is that of extremists in the ranks -- both active and retired. The latest figures from the George Washington Program on Extremism show that 81 of the more than 700 people arrested for their actions on Jan. 6 -- about 12% -- had some form of military experience. Of that 81, five were currently serving and one later shipped off to basic training. Out of that group of five currently serving, all but one were Army or Army National Guard, and only one has since been separated. Pfc. Abram Markofski, who was among that group of five, serves with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, a National Guard unit based in River Falls, Wisconsin. He is still in the Guard despite pleading guilty to one charge stemming from his actions on Jan. 6. Since that day, the Pentagon has begun to address the problem with working groups and studies that have added new guidelines and definitions of extremist activity. Data recently released by the Department of Defense's inspector general shows that the problem is military-wide and not insignificant. However, experts and data from Jan. 6 clearly indicate that veterans are a key concern when tackling extremism. Of the 81 people with military service arrested that day, 73 were veterans. William Braniff, the director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), told reporters at an event on extremism in the military last month that "when military individuals or veterans participate in violent extremism domestically, they really punch above their weight, having an outsized impact." Furthermore, Braniff's data shows that these veterans "were affiliated with no fewer than 120 different organizations around the country [like] local militia groups or local white supremacist groups without a national footprint." "The idea that somehow the Department of Defense ... is going to be able to access what is really a geographically decentralized, local issue -- it's just not realistic," Braniff added. Experts in extremism have repeatedly told Military.com that intervention to prevent radicalization is most effective when done early -- before a person becomes too entangled in ideology. Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq War veteran who has spent years studying extremism in the ranks, previously told Military.com that "the insider threat is never going away, and it is going to constantly evolve." "No one policy change, no one administration is going to do this," Goldsmith said. -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. -- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel. Related: Pentagon Plan to Fight Extremism in the Ranks Is a Start, But Experts Say Problems Loom SYDNEY The leaders of Japan and Australia signed a landmark defense agreement Thursday that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in a virtual summit to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first such defense pact signed by Japan with any country other than the United States. The agreement follows more than a year of talks between Japan and Australia aimed at breaking down legal barriers to allow the troops of one country to enter the other for training and other purposes. Japan is our closest partner in Asia as demonstrated by our special strategic partnership Australias only such partnership, Morrison said. An equal partnership, shared trust between two great democracies committed to the rule of law, human rights, free trade and a free and open Indo-Pacific. Kishida hailed the agreement as a landmark instrument which will elevate security cooperation between the nations to new heights. While China wasnt mentioned, its significance at the signing was implicit. Japans ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, said that in light of the deteriorating security environment, what Japan and Australia can do together is first of all to increase deterrence. Morrison said the agreement will form an important part of Australia and Japans response to the uncertainty we now face and will underpin greater and more complex engagement in operability between the Australia Defense Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces. He called the pact a "pivotal moment for Australia and Japan and (for) the security of our two nations and our people. Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the agreement recognized the importance of establishing firm defense partnerships to deter an increasingly aggressive China. Japan is breaking away from its post-war constitutional constraints on the use of military force because Tokyo recognizes the challenges it is facing from China, he told Sky News. There is a territorial dispute between China and Japan ... and more significantly there is a growing concern China will make a move over Taiwan in the next few years. The pact builds on the strategic dialogue known as the Quad, which includes Japan, Australia, the United States and India. Australia last year also signed the AUKUS agreement with the United States and Britain, both of which have pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines. As the nation marked the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, there was plenty of praise heaped on the National Guard for its help restoring order to the seat of American democracy. President Joe Biden hailed "the heroism of the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard and other law enforcement officers who answered the call that day" in a Thursday morning speech at the Capitol. "Outnumbered in the face of the brutal attack, the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard and other brave law enforcement officials saved the rule of law," Biden said. Read Next: Can the Army's New Fitness Test Survive Critics and Become Official in April? But the question remains: Why did it take Army leaders three hours to approve those much-needed Guard reinforcements? The National Guard's hours-long response time -- and whether anyone in the Trump administration obstructed that response -- remain questions at the top of lawmakers' minds as the House panel investigating the attack prepares to take its work more public a year after the assault. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House committee investigating the attack, told CNN this week he believes the National Guard delay "was, in my opinion, by design." "When people are breaking into the United States Capitol, it should not take long for reinforcements to arrive," Thompson told the news outlet. "Three hours is just absolutely too long." Exactly a year ago, supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol while Congress was meeting to certify Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election. Lawmakers and others in the building, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, were forced to stop the counting and hide in safe rooms as the rioters beat police, ransacked congressional offices and shouted, "Hang Mike Pence." One police officer who clashed with rioters died when he suffered two strokes shortly after the melee. One Trump supporter was shot and killed by police while she tried to climb through a broken window adjacent to the House chamber that lawmakers were still in. Three other rioters died from medical emergencies during the chaos, and four police officers who responded to the attack have since died by suicide. The D.C. National Guard had placed about 340 troops around the city to help with crowd control at Metro stations and city intersections in anticipation of pro-Trump rallies. But Guardsmen did not arrive at the Capitol until after 5 p.m., when the worst of the attack was already over. A pair of Senate panels investigated the security failures of Jan. 6 and released a bipartisan report in June, but their probe did not look into root causes for the attack, including Trump's role. After efforts to create a bipartisan, independent commission to do a more comprehensive investigation into Jan. 6 failed because of Republican opposition, House Democrats created a Select Committee to investigate. House Republican leadership refused to participate in the Select Committee, but Democrats appointed two anti-Trump Republicans to the panel: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. The panel is unwinding a sprawling narrative and probing everything from what preparations government agencies made ahead of Jan. 6, to the funding for rallies that preceded the attack, to what was going on at a hotel in D.C. where Trump allies had set up a "war room" in the hours before the riot, to what Trump himself was doing as footage of the rioters storming the Capitol was broadcast live on TV. So far, the committee, formally called the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, has interviewed more than 300 witnesses and collected about 35,000 documents -- largely done behind closed doors. The panel has released some documents that have illuminated its investigation, including part of a Jan. 5 email from Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in which he said the National Guard would be on hand Jan. 6 to "protect pro Trump people" and promised more would be on standby. In the months ahead, the committee is planning to do more of its work in public, including holding open hearings to "tell the story" of the attack, as Thompson has described the plan. The committee is also expected to release an interim report over the summer and a final report before November's midterm elections. Thompson has said the National Guard will be part of the public testimony. The timeline for the Guard's response has been in dispute since almost immediately after the Capitol was breached. In March, Maj. Gen. William Walker, who commanded the D.C. National Guard at the time of the attack, testified at a Senate hearing that he received a "frantic" call from the Capitol Police chief pleading for help at 1:49 p.m., but did not receive approval from Army leadership to deploy until 5:08 p.m. Walker held that he could have deployed a quick reaction force immediately if not for "unusual" restrictions placed on him Jan. 5 requiring higher approval before deploying the force. He also attributed the delay to Pentagon officials' concerns about "optics." Other Pentagon officials from that time have insisted there was no delay that day and that they moved as fast as they could to develop a clear mission plan to defend the Capitol after only being prepared for traffic control. A Pentagon inspector general report released in November concluded that Pentagon officials "did not delay or obstruct the DoD's response." The inspector general report also said Walker was first given approval to deploy at 4:35 p.m. and that then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy had to call Walker a second time at 5 p.m. to reissue the deployment order. Walker has told The Washington Post and Politico that the alleged first call never happened. The Pentagon and Capitol Police leadership insist they are coordinating more effectively now than a year ago, and that the Capitol is better defended. "I have spoke with the Department of Defense and in fact am meeting with them later today to make sure that we have the process down so that if the time ever came that we needed to make that call, everyone would know what the expectations are on both sides of the call," Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, who took over the force after the attack, testified at a Senate hearing Wednesday. "My hope is that with the other processes, planning that we put into place, that there's not going to be the need for a panicked call in an emergency." -- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel. Related: A Year Later, a Guardsman Who Responded to the Capitol Riot Recalls Delays and Uncertainty Residents of military housing on Oahu have filed a potential class-action lawsuit against their property management companies after fuel was found in their tap water, driving them from their homes. The lawsuit, filed Dec. 31 in Hawaii's First Circuit Court, alleges that the companies failed to honor their residential leases, guaranteeing their tenants potable water and habitable housing. The plaintiffs also say the companies -- Ohana Military Communities and Hunt HM Property Management, as well as Island Palm Communities and Hickam Communities operated by Lendlease -- failed to warn tenants of the risks a fuel storage facility posed to their homes' water supply, exposing them to "adverse health risks and other adverse health outcomes without their knowledge and against their will," according to court documents. Read Next: A Year Later, a Guardsman Who Responded to the Capitol Riot Recalls Delays and Uncertainty "Specifically, defendants failed to disclose risks associated with water contamination and failed to provide clean, safe, and healthy potable water rendering plaintiffs' communities uninhabitable," plaintiffs' attorneys wrote in the suit. Although the Navy operates the well and treatment system that supplies water to the homes, the service is not named in the lawsuit. Active-duty personnel are largely barred from suing the U.S. military for personal injuries that may be considered incidental to military service, and their family members are similarly restricted from suing for their service members' injuries. Dependents are, however, allowed to sue the federal government for negligence. Thousands of residents at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and other military communities near Honolulu began reporting Nov. 28 that their water smelled of fuel and had an oily sheen. Families posted on social media and notified authorities that the water and the smell were making them ill, causing rashes, nausea, nosebleeds and other health symptoms. Navy officials initially said the water well serving the affected neighborhoods showed no sign of contamination, but later tests determined that the well, known as Red Hill, had been polluted with jet fuel, while another section of the system tested positive for petroleum contamination. The contamination forced more than 3,000 military, civilian and retiree families into area hotels over the holidays as the Navy continues to work to resolve the problem. The plaintiffs in the case include residents Michael Casey, Payton Lamb and Jamie Williams, a Coast Guard spouse who told The Washington Post that her health problems began well before the contamination became obvious. She said her menstrual period inexplicably lasted for three months last year and she experienced brain fog and fatigue that "cleared up when I stopped drinking the water." The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of all residents and will need to be certified as a class action to apply to all those affected. The plaintiffs opted to sue the property management companies, which have fewer legal protections than the federal government in liability cases. Spokesmen for Hunt Military Communities the company that oversees Ohana and Hunt HM Property Management and Lendlease declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said they have been working with the Navy, the state of Hawaii and others to resolve the problem and assist their residents since the problems began. "Our teams have been working tirelessly to support our residents during this difficult time," said Brian Stann, president of Hunt Military Communities, in a statement to Military.com. "We have continuously communicated with and provided support and resources to our impacted residents." "From the very beginning of the fuel spill from the Navy's Red Hill fuel storage facility, Island Palm Communities and Hickam Communities have been, and will continue to be, committed to serving the needs of the military and our residents to the best of our ability," said Tom Reller, Lendlease's corporate communications director for the Americas, in an emailed statement. "We can assure you that our commitment to our residents' wellbeing is always our first priority." Lendlease's chief operating officer, Phillip Carpenter, said employees began distributing bottled water to the Island Palms community and proactively working with the Army to establish a hub for affected residents to receive services as soon as the problem came to light. He added that at Hickam, which is managed primarily by the Navy, Lendlease had less "visibility" as to what was being offered to Air Force tenants there, so the company contacted all 2,400 families to ensure they were supported. "We've maintained as much communication as possible with our families," Carpenter said. Many of the families continue to struggle, however. A Navy spouse told Military.com the families have been advised to replace all plastic in the kitchen, as well as their dishwashers, washing machines and coffee makers. But the families have no idea how or when they will be reimbursed for these losses. "We are having problems getting clear answers on any subject. ... Housing says it's the Navy's responsibility, and the Navy says it's housing. ... We are being stonewalled," said the wife, who asked not to be identified because she has been harassed for previously speaking out. The Navy began flushing the system last month, starting with a test run in the Pearl City Peninsula military housing neighborhood. The effort was delayed, however, by heavy rains at the start of the new year, according to service officials. The Hawaii Department of Health issued an emergency order Dec. 6 requiring the Navy to drain the tanks at the fuel facility, which can hold up to 250 million gallons of fuel for aircraft and ships and is one of the country's largest storage facilities. The Navy has protested the order. A Hawaii health official affirmed the order Tuesday; the Navy has not announced whether it will appeal the decision. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: More than a Thousand Military Families in Hawaii Stuck in Hotels Through the Holidays The U.S. Navy has discharged a first group of 20 sailors who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the service announced Wednesday. The 20 were all discharged as "Entry Level Separations," meaning that they had recently enlisted and were booted within 180 days of beginning service. These separations mark the start of the promised consequences for active-duty sailors who refused to get fully vaccinated by the Navy's deadline of Nov. 28. Officials previously have told reporters that they anticipate most sailors who are leaving the service will separate by June 1. Read Next: Can the Army's New Fitness Test Survive Critics and Become Official in April? According to the latest update, the Navy currently has 5,268 unvaccinated sailors and has received 3,009 requests for religious accommodation. To date, none of the military services has granted a religious accommodation request for the COVID-19 vaccine. In contrast, the Marine Corps announced that it has discharged 45 Marines in the last week alone for vaccine refusal. The Corps has discharged 251 Marines since it began the separations the week of Dec. 16. The discharges come at a tricky time for the Navy and the Pentagon's enforcement of the vaccine mandate. This week, a federal judge in Texas ordered the Navy to pause disciplinary procedures against 35 SEALs for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the order only halts proceedings against the 35 defendants -- it does not apply to the Navy or military overall. The Navy made clear in November that it planned to discharge sailors who rejected the COVID-19 vaccine. As part of that plan, it created a COVID Consolidated Disposition Authority to oversee separations. More recently, Navy leaders said that they would be willing to work with sailors who change their mind and get the vaccine despite having missed the deadline. "We want every sailor to receive the vaccine and stay Navy," Rear Adm. James Waters, the Navy's director of military personnel plans and policy, told reporters during a roundtable in mid-December. "And if a sailor gets their shot, we will honor that and make every effort to retain them." The Navy and the Pentagon have also signaled that a mandate for booster shots could be on the horizon. As part of its response to an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee, the service offered and recommended booster shots to the rest of the crew. A Navy message released Dec. 22 noted that, while booster shots are "not mandatory," they are "strongly recommended." "Because all studies are converging on the need for a vaccine booster to ensure enduring protection, it is essentially becoming the next-shot in a series and will likely become mandatory in the near future," the message added. -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. Related: 11 Days from Outbreak to Recovery: Milwaukee's Vaccinated Crew Back at Sea Gary Anderson is a retired Marine Corps colonel who served as a special adviser to the deputy secretary of defense and as a civilian adviser in Iraq and Afghanistan. The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. Our general officers should not be allowed to investigate themselves, and any conclusions about the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and its military forces inevitably will be tied to the actions of those officers who for two decades shaped U.S. strategy. The recently passed annual defense policy bill includes a requirement for a new study of the failures in Afghanistan. In the past, it was pro forma to appoint retired flag rank officers, usually four-stars, to lead such an investigation. The current legislation precludes the generals and admirals who were part of the problem, as well as members of Congress serving since 2001, ostensibly a roundup of all of those who were responsible for the decisions made in Afghanistan. That is a good call, but giving the Investigation three years is not; the war will be ancient history by then. Several recent opinion polls suggest that the traditionally high regard that Americans have held for our military is eroding. But a closer look shows that the public still respects our troops. It's senior military leadership that is losing the trust of the public. Americans appear to be far ahead of Congress, which let the generals who fouled up the Afghan evacuation off the hook with a proverbial slap on the wrist during hearings last fall. The sad truth is that our flag rank officers have become merely another political interest group. They know that upon retirement they will be appointed to the boards of think tanks, corporations and universities. Going along to get along is the norm, and one never criticizes another member of the club. This careerist, risk-avoiding atmosphere has been developing for years. Not all modern general officers are guilty, but far too many are. This goes a long way in explaining why no senior flag officer demanded that serious questions be asked about the course of the war in Afghanistan while their subordinates, particularly in the enlisted ranks, knew it was going sideways for two decades. I listened as soldiers and Marines complained bitterly of being told that they had to abandon terrain that they had fought hard to take and hold because a general officer miles away had decided that it was no longer important or that the Afghans would take over, when it was obvious that they were not ready. Some of the revolving door American commanders in Kabul tinkered at the margins, but none had the intestinal fortitude to ask the really hard questions such as: Why did we create an Afghan army in our own image? Soldiers from Herat in the west were defending Kabul while soldiers from Kabul were defending distant Herat. Regional forces would have made sense. That was the way the Taliban organized; they were not dependent on outside supplies that might or might not arrive, or far away chairborne Afghan generals who were pocketing soldiers' pay. Such a reorganization was possible even as late as 2019, but the idea was never seriously considered. Why was the Afghan air force not a priority? Given the nation's abysmal road system, the only way to support remote army posts was by air. The Afghan air force was always a secondary consideration. Support to the air force was one of the first capabilities to be eliminated as the decision to leave was implemented while remote outposts were being left to wilt on the vine, and no American general officer had the moral courage to go public with the fact that the organization could never be self-sustaining. About roads, why was the completion of the Ring Road, which would have connected the nation to Kabul, never a military priority? Instead, construction was left to often corrupt civilian contractors who lacked the ability and force protection to operate in contested areas. In 2012, my civilian District Support Team and our military partners in the remote northwest of Badghis Province were still totally dependent on NATO aerial resupply. That was 11 years after the initial NATO incursion. Nonetheless, no U.S. commander voiced opposition to handing over the province's defense to the Afghan government, which was totally unprepared to assume the responsibility. Instead of publicly telling President Barack Obama the truth, the American commander of NATO forces, Gen. John Allen, punted. Finally, as it became obvious that we were going to quit the country, why was the defensible Bagram Air Base abandoned in the dead of the night and the vulnerable Kabul Airport chosen as a point of embarkation? This was military incompetence of the highest order. Thirteen service members died unnecessarily, and no one has yet been held accountable. The same holds true with a drone strike that decimated an innocent Afghan family. Who then should make up the congressionally mandated Afghanistan investigation commission? There are many retired midgrade officers who served in Afghanistan and have gone on to succeed in business and in the academic world over the past few decades; some are now in Congress. The same holds true of any number of enlisted personnel who have achieved advanced degrees. People who saw the war up close should make up the commission. There should also be retired State Department and CIA operatives who knew what was really going on while the generals acted as combat tourists, occasionally visiting the troops and handing out challenge coins. Without the perspective of those who did the real fighting, we will learn nothing. Staff Sgt. Earl Plumlee was a Special Forces weapons sergeant deployed to Forward Operating Base Ghazni in August 2013. He had a long military career before then, serving in the Oklahoma National Guard before graduating from high school and then joining the Marine Corps in 2000. He had even spent a year deployed to Iraq's Anbar Province as a Marine before he joined the Army Special Forces. So when a large explosion from a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device shattered the perimeter wall at FOB Ghazni on Aug. 28, 2013, Plumlee showed no hesitation in defending the base and his fellow soldiers. Before the smoke cleared, insurgents dressed in Afghan National Army uniforms began pouring through the 60-foot breach in FOB Ghazni's outer wall. The explosion was just the beginning of the attack. The insurgents who came through the smoke and rubble also were wearing suicide vests, carrying small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Plumlee and five other Special Forces soldiers mounted armed vehicles and drove directly toward the site of the explosion. They drove into the line of fire, positioning their vehicle between the Taliban fighters and some wounded comrades who were fighting for their lives. Without regard for his own safety, Staff Sgt. Plumlee hopped out of the vehicle, using his body to protect its driver while drawing his sidearm. He fought off two attackers and was wounded by a detonating suicide vest before he could get to adequate cover. He killed the two insurgents in his field of fire, but at least eight were still firing on American forces. He left his position with only his pistol and advanced on the enemy alone, finally reaching a fellow soldier behind cover after what must have seemed like hours. Under intense enemy fire, he and the other soldier, no longer alone, withdrew to join other American and coalition troops who were preparing a counterattack. Now armed with a rifle, Plumlee moved along with the counterattack, killing an insurgent as he and his allies advanced. His next move was to run to a wounded troop, carrying him to safety and performing first aid. He rallied three more coalition soldiers to form a defensive posture and moved to clear the battleground of insurgents. One American and one Polish soldier were killed in the attack. The complex assault never managed to penetrate farther into the base, due to the quick reaction of the Special Forces soldiers inside and the selfless work of Plumlee, who received a promotion after the battle. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star, which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor and presented to him by President Joe Biden on Dec. 16, 2021. Then-Sgt. 1st Class Earl D. Plumlee, assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), is presented the Silver Star Medal by Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl, I Corps Deputy Commanding General, during a ceremony at the 1st SFG (A), Joint Base Lewis-McChord. (U.S. Army) It almost never happened because in the eyes of one decorations board member, Plumlee was just doing his job. A member of the Senior Army Decorations Board believed the bar for awarding the Medal of Honor should be high for a senior non-commissioned officer, as opposed to a junior enlisted soldier, according to the 2016 Medal of Honor Award Process Review report. "From my perspective, as [a noncommissioned officer] ... there's a certain level of leader attributes and competencies and expectation synonymous with the term -- and especially one who is a senior NCO, versus a private who would be seized by the moment and take extremely valorous and courageous action; there's a difference between those two," was the opinion of one board member, whose name was redacted in the report. A Senior Army Decorations Board is comprised of three lieutenant generals from the Secretary of the Army's office, except when the nominee is enlisted. In that case, the sergeant major of the Army takes the third seat on the board. All votes count equally, and each voting member can vote to approve, disapprove, upgrade or downgrade the award. The board received two votes for the Silver Star and one vote for a Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for heroism facing the enemy. The board member who made a distinction between private and senior NCO further explained his vote. "One's a leader. One's a Soldier. And so when I looked at the circumstances and, although the battle was ferocious and unfortunately a couple members were killed, I just thought that it wasn't a sufficient level for the Medal of Honor, based off of the individual and the circumstances and that, I just felt there was an expectation of a leader who did a phenomenal job, that there was something more that [the nominee] needed to have done in order to, in my mind, to make a recommendation for a Medal of Honor." Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine Corps veteran, took up the cause for Plumlee's Medal of Honor. He requested the Department of Defense report on the Army's Medal of Honor awards process and whether the Army deviated from its usual processes. Hunter also believed the Army was punishing Plumlee for an allegation that he sold Army equipment online, a charge he was cleared of later. Hunter left Congress in 2020 amid campaign finance violations charges for which he would later be found guilty and subsequently pardoned by President Donald Trump. The Special Forces community and senior Defense Department leaders continued their push for Plumlee. Their consistent advocacy led to a special authorization for now-Master Sgt. Plumlee's Medal of Honor in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, along with Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe and Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. There are 2.4 million veteran-owned businesses in the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Like many small businesses, veteran entrepreneurs looking to grow their business or get to the next level are looking for one important element: their next source of capital. USAA and Bunker Labs are teaming up to give veteran-owned businesses a chance to win $100,000 to invest in their business in 2022 with the "From Service to Startup" pitch contest. The contest is part of USAA's 100th anniversary celebration, but Bunker Labs will be handling the applications from eligible businesses. Although the grand-prize winner will receive $100,000 from USAA, the military-only bank and insurance company is giving out almost $300,000 in total awards to those businesses who make the cut. Bunker Labs will choose 36 total applicants to compete in regional pitch contests, hosted in Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; and Charlotte, N.C. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges (yet to be determined) in each city. The regional winners from each city and four "wildcard" businesses will be invited to the finals in San Antonio, where USAA is headquartered. The first-place winner from each regional event will also receive $10,000. The second-place winner will receive $5,000 but will not move on to the next round in San Antonio. The grand prize will be awarded to the first-place winner in San Antonio, but the second-place finisher at the finals will receive $50,000 while third place will receive $25,000. A "Crowd Favorite" will also be selected to receive $15,000. The competition is open to U.S. active-duty military members and honorably discharged and retired veteran entrepreneurs. Widows, spouses and children of these members are also eligible to enter, but there are a few other rules for what businesses can apply. First, an eligible vet-owned business must have raised less than $5 million in capital already. Second, the business must have demonstrated annual revenues, not to exceed $1 million, or have demonstrated an executed pilot. Applicants also must be able to travel to the site of at least one regional pitch event and abide by local masking and vaccination requirements. Travel and lodging expenses must be paid by the applicants, but those traveling to San Antonio for the finals will receive a travel stipend. Finally, applicants don't have to be members of USAA, but if they are, they must be members in good standing. As Bunker Labs says on the contest website, any business owner who is unsure if they meet the requirements should still apply. They can apply to any and all regional competitions. The dates of the competitions are as follows: Los Angeles: Feb. 17, 2022 Austin, Texas: March 24, 2022 Chicago: April 21, 2022 Washington, D.C.: May 26, 2022 Seattle: July 21, 2022 Charlotte, North Carolina: Sept. 15, 2022 San Antonio (Finals): Nov. 10, 2022 The 10 entrepreneurs who are invited to compete in the finals in San Antonio also will be featured in USAA and Bunker Labs storytelling campaigns and will be invited to attend support programs from both organizations. To learn more about the "From Service to Startup" pitch contest or to apply, visit the competition page on the Bunker Labs website. It also has helpful frequently asked questions to help veteran entrepreneurs prepare for the contest, along with a list of industries that are not eligible to participate. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Know More About Veteran Jobs? Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. As a current print subscriber, you receive 24/7 access to our website and online e-edition at no additional charge. All you have to do is activate your access. To activate digital access, you will need your account number. You can find your account number on any recent subscription notice or bill. Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/06/2022 -- According to the new market research report "Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Type (Unit Load, Mini Load, VLM, Carousel, Mid Load), Industry, and Region (North America, Europe, APAC, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is projected to grow from USD 7.8 billion in 2021 to USD 11.0 billion by 2026 at CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period. The growth of the ASRS market is majorly driven by growing demand for ASRS in e-commerce due to onset of COVID-19, increasing demand for ASRS in the automotive industry, need for, optimum utilization of space and rise in labor costs. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=195267987 Unit load ASRS accounted for the largest share of the ASRS market in 2020. Unit load ASRSs are used for storing large size articles and also provide real-time information on inventory making them more preferable type in several industries compared to other types of ASRS. Moreover, unit load ASRS is a high-density heavy payload ASRS that enables accurate, efficient, safe, and stable handling of full pallets. The market growth is also supported by their wide range of applications in consumer goods, automotive, electronics, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals & medical supplies, and retail & apparel industries. Automotive industry to account for the largest size of ASRS market in 2021. The shift in demand toward electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles has prompted automakers to ramp up automotive manufacturing, which requires automotive spare parts. Automotive suppliers must effectively manage large amounts of goods and variation and breadth of stock. Also, these suppliers need to improve the storage capacity within the available floor space. Thus, automated storage and retrieval systems are increasingly being used to fulfill the requirements related to material handling capacity. Browse in-depth TOC on "Automated Storage and Retrieval System Market" 174 Tables 57 Figures 238 Pages Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=195267987 APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 20212026. The ASRS market for APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rapid growth of automotive, food & beverages, and healthcare industries in emerging economies such as China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea has contributed to the growth of the ASRS market in APAC. Moreover, governments in APAC countries are increasingly emphasizing on safety and security on production floors, which can be best achieved by the implementation of ASRSs. The ASRS market is witnessing rapid growth in countries such as China and Japan owing to increasing investments by manufacturers and suppliers in the installation of these systems at warehouses and distribution centers. Daifuku (Japan), Kardex (Switzerland), Murata Machinery (Japan), SSI Schaefer (Germany), TGW Logistics (Austria), KION (Germany), KUKA (Germany) are some of the major players in ASRS market. Related Reports: RFID Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Product Type (Tags, Readers, and Software and Services), Wafer Size, Tag Type (Passive Tags and Active Tags), Frequency, Applications, Form Factor, Material, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 Warehouse Management System Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Offering (Software, Services), Deployment (On Premises, Cloud), Tier Type (Advanced, Intermediate, Basic), Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Tunisian former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri, who has been refusing food or medication since his arrest last week, has agreed to treatment, doctors said Wednesday, after his supporters expressed alarm over his health. The 63-year-old, who was arrested by plainclothes officers on Friday and later accused of possible "terrorism" offences, suffers from several pre-existing health conditions and was hospitalised on Sunday. The Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, of which he is deputy chairman, played a central role in Tunisian politics until a power grab by President Kais Saied last year. "Saying he is stable would be saying a lot," medics from the hospital in the northern town of Bizerte told Mosaique Radio on Wednesday. Bhiri's blood pressure was still high and "his kidneys are beginning to struggle" due to dehydration, they said. "His family spoke with him and he accepted being put on a drip" for rehydration and treatment, "in the hope that he will agree to eat", the medics added. Bhiri had been on a hunger strike since his arrest and had been refusing to take his regular medication. Earlier Wednesday, Ennahdha lawmaker Samir Dilou, citing medical sources, had told reporters that Bhiri was "between life and death" and that his wife and children were on standby. "Those who ordered his kidnapping must assume their responsibilities," he added, referring to Saied and his interior minister, Taoufik Charfeddine, who ordered Bhiri's arrest. A previous alarm sounded by Ennahdha about Bhiri's health had been discounted by Tunisia's independent national body for the prevention of torture (INPT) after it visited him late on Sunday. 'Arbitrary' The INPT said it had dispatched a medical team on Wednesday. "They have just arrived and are carrying out their examinations, but we haven't yet received their report," the INPT's Lotfi Ezzedine told AFP mid-afternoon. Saied on July 25 sacked the Ennahdha-supported government and suspended parliament, presenting himself as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution. He later took steps to rule by decree, and in early December vowed to press on with reforms to the political system. The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) said Wednesday that Bhiri's detention was "not only arbitrary but also illegal", decrying that he was "arrested without a warrant" and that his location was "kept secret" until his hospitalisation. Bhiri's defence committee on Wednesday rejected the interior minister's "terrorism" accusations against him as "totally false". The public prosecutor's office said Tuesday that an investigation had been opened after it received a report "from services combating terrorism and organised crime". It said a Syrian couple had allegedly been assigned false identity documents and nationality certificates while Bhiri was head of the justice ministry. Tunisia was the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring revolts of a decade ago, but civil society groups and Saied's opponents have expressed fear of a slide back to authoritarianism after the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Human Rights Watch warned late last month that Tunisian authorities were using "repressive" dictatorship-era laws to snuff out criticism of the president. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned governments decision to reverse the benchmark value discounts on imports introduced in 2019 to cushion importers. The Finance Minister in the 2022 budget, announced governments policy to reverse the discounts on benchmark values in order to curb imports and raise badly needed revenue. The NDC has decried what it says will be the severe hardships that will emanate from the policy reversal since importers will pass on the increase in duty payments to consumers who are already overburdened with taxes. Addressing a press briefing on the matter Wednesday, Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, singled out Vice President Bawumia for criticism describing his stance on the issue of benchmark value reversal as deceitful. Mr Gyamfi dismissed government claims that the reversal of the discounts was aimed at curbing imports and shoring up revenues at the port which he says has consistently witnessed increases in the last few years. He described as callous and insensitive, the decision to pass on the full cost of imports to importers when escalating prices of goods and services had become a major problem for Ghanaians. Mr Gyamfi urged the Akufo-Addo administration to look within and streamline expenditures some of which he classified as wasteful and align them with whatever revenues are raked in. He said the Ghanaian people could no longer bear the hardships imposed on them through incessant taxation and called for an immediate resolution of the situation. 05.01.2022 LISTEN The opposition National Democratic Congress has stated the NPP is punishing Ghanaians for its bad economic management. Speaking at their Headquarters in Accra today, 5th January, 2022, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi of the National Democratic Congress emphasised they are, "utterly appalled by the decision of the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to reverse benchmark value discounts on selected imported goods, effective yesterday, 4th January, 2022." The NDC Spokesperson further feared that government's decision to reverse benchmark revenue discounts will cause traders to pass on the cost to already suffering Ghanaians. He intimated that the move will increase prices of goods and services and worsen "the severe hardships Ghanaians are already reeling under." Sammy Gyamfi added, "This will ultimately increase the cost of doing business in the country, negatively affect turnover of businesses and the volume of trade in the country, and lead to the collapse of many businesses and jobs." Find below more details of the statement read at the press conference: 1. It will be recalled that sometime in April 2019, government through Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced a 30% and 50% discount on the benchmark values of imported vehicles and general goods respectively. Sadly but unsurprisingly, government has decided to scrap these discounts on 44 categories of imported goods. 2. This terrible decision comes at a time when the national currency is depreciating and world commodity prices are increasing at an alarming rate, with freight charges and port handling charges being extremely high. More importantly, the callous decision by government to reverse benchmark value discounts comes at a time Ghanaian businesses, startups, parents and households are reeling under a yoke of excessive taxation, persistent increases in fuel prices and high cost of living never before witnessed in the anals of our country. 3. Ladies and gentlemen, what the decision to reverse benchmark value discounts effectively means is that, prices of the affected items such as; vehicles and spare parts, machinery, equipment and plants, aluminum finished products (roofing sheets), portland cement, cement paper bags, and clinker, poultry, animal products (meat), fish, rice, sugar, pasta, spaghetti, noodles and macaroni, pharmaceuticals (including drugs such as paracetamol, condoms etc.), toilet paper, facial tissue and towel, chocolate, toffees and chewing gum, palm oil (crude and refined oils), mosquito coils, ceramic tiles, tile cement, machetes, plastics, textile and textile articles, fruit juices, tomato paste and ketchup, furniture and parts, boxes of paper and paperboard cases of corrugated paper, iron steel bars, toilet soap and laundry bar soap, detergents washing powder, lubricating oil, soft drinks and carbonated drinks, biscuits/wafers, among others; will all go up by 30%- 50% in the coming days. 4. These increases which will eventually be passed on to Ghanaians will further escalate prices of general goods and services in the country and exacerbate the severe hardships Ghanaians are already reeling under. This will ultimately increase the cost of doing business in the country, negatively affect turnover of businesses and the volume of trade in the country, and lead to the collapse of many businesses and jobs. 5. In fact, the bitter reality is that, given the many draconian taxes that have been introduced by the callous Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government since April 2019 and the continuous depreciation of the Ghana Cedi which is already eroding profit margins and the capital of businesses, importers and Ghanaians in general will be worse off as a result of this decision. In short, import duties will be far higher than they were before April 2019 when the benchmark value discounts were introduced, in view of the continuous free fall of the Cedi and the raft of new crippling tax measures that government has introduced since April 2019. 6. Ladies and gentlemen, we wish to make the point, that this catastrophic decision has been occasioned by the self-inflicted economic malaise we presently find ourselves in, with our economy in tatters and government simply unable to find money to do anything. After five (5) years of economic mismanagement and reckless election-driven spending, which have taken the country back to its HIPC days, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government has decided to punish the already-burdened Ghanaian people with more hardships for their own recklessness and mismanagement. This is why all manner of crippling taxes and killer revenue measures such as the reversal of benchmark value discounts are now being imposed on Ghanaians to shore up governments revenue just to create an artificial picture of a sound economy in order to convince the investor community on more and more borrowing. 7. We in the NDC are left in no doubt whatsoever that this latest decision by Government to reverse discounts on benchmark values of imported goods, further accentuates Dr. Bawumias place as the most deceitful Politician in Ghanas history. It will be recalled that sometime in the year 2019, Dr. Bawumia was all over the place pontificating that Ghana's Ports were one of the most expensive in the sub-region and that government had decided to introduce discounted benchmark values in order to facilitate more trade volumes, make our ports more competitive, reduce smuggling and increase government revenues from the Ports. 8. Friends, the question that ought to be asked is, what has changed in just two years to warrant a reversal of that so-called brilliant economic policy which was introduced by the once economic messiah of the NPP who has now turned himself into an IT champion? What happened to all the justifications Dr. Bawumia mounted for the introduction of the discounted benchmark values? Is government no longer interested in facilitating more trade volumes and making our Ports competitive? Is government no longer interested in reducing smuggling and increasing national revenue through benchmark value discounts? 9. Furthermore, the reversal of benchmark value discounts on selected imported goods reinforces our long-held view that this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government is an insensitive and callous administration which does not have the wellbeing of the Ghanaian people at heart. These are the very people who promised among other things to move this country from taxation to production, but have yet again pulled another deception on Ghanaians relative to import duty and Port charges. Never has a government been this cunning and untruthful to the people in our history as a country. 10. As always, it would come as no surprise to us for governments apologists led by Dr. Bawumia himself to once again canvass the COVID-19 pandemic as a convenient excuse for the decision to reverse benchmark value discounts. These days, the inept and clueless Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government blames literally every single thing on COVID-19, including when the sun fails to appear. However, it is important to state forcefully that COVID-19 can never be blamed for the reversal of benchmark values. Government exceeded its revenue target for the year 2020 (COVID year) and actually raked in more revenue than they did before COVID struck. For instance, in the year 2019 before the advent of COVID-19, total tax revenue stood at just about GHS43 billion, while total tax revenue for 2020 (covid-year) stood at GHS45.3 billion, thereby exceeding governments tax revenue target for 2020 by a whopping GHS2.5 billion. Also, whereas government projected a total tax revenue of GHS55 billion for the 2021 fiscal year, our checks show that this revenue target has been exceeded. 11. In addition to this, and by courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic, government has received support of about US$2 billion from the IMF, a US$100 million grant from the World Bank, US$250 million from the Stabilization Fund, about GHS20 billion support from the Central Bank, among others, all of which have been squandered on hyper-inflated consumption-related expenditures. 12. Ladies and gentlemen, it is worthy of note that, several countries in the sub-region such as Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, among others, have better budget deficit, debt to GDP ratio and other economic indices than Ghana despite being hit by the COVID pandemic. None of these countries have slapped their citizenry with the kind of draconian revenue measures the Ghanaian people are witnessing at the hands of the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. Therefore, COVID-19 can neither be a reasonable justification for the reversal of benchmark discounts on imported products nor the imposition of unprecedented hardships and misery on Ghanaians by this government. On the contrary, it is down to crass economic mismanagement spurred by a toxic combination of unbridled borrowing and reckless spending on misplaced priorities that have brought us here. That is what has created the unprecedented high budget deficit and unsustainable debt hole we presently find ourselves in. 13. Again, we must register our displeasure at the misplaced priorities of this government and the continuous waste of the public purse on the opulent lifestyle of the President and his government of family and friends in this time of economic difficulties. It is important to emphasize that, revenue has never been a problem for the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government. Without any argument, this government has been the luckiest and most resourced government in Ghanas history, with a total resource envelope of over GHS460 billion accruing to them in the last five years. It is a fact that this government has had more taxes than any other government in Ghanas history (GHS157 billion in four years (2017-2020) as compared to GHS86 billion that accrued to the NDC/Mahama administration in four years- 2013-2016); more oil revenue and more borrowed funds than any government in Ghanas history. 14. Yet, the chunk of all these unprecedented revenues is spent on consumption-related expenditures such as the rental of hyper-expensive luxurious jets to satisfy the comfort of President Akufo-Addo, while the rest of the meager resources of state are misappropriated through corruption and naked thievery by his appointees and family & friends, as was recently noted by the Catholic Bishops Conference. For instance, the 2020 Auditor General report shows that Ghana lost over GHS32 billion as a result of corruption and financial irregularities in the public sector from 2017-20202. President Akufo-Addo continues to display such insensitivity in this time of economic difficulties and same continues to be emulated by his appointees. 15. Friends from the media, the claim by government that the purpose of the reversal of benchmark value discounts is to address concerns raised by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and promote local production, is mischievous and ridiculous to say the say least. This is because some of the items listed under the 44 categories of imported goods affected by this draconian policy, such as vehicles, spare parts, Plants, Equipment, machinery, sugar, some drugs (pharmaceuticals) are not manufactured in Ghana, while some of the affected items such as Clinker, cement paper, paper etc. are input materials for local production. Even for the few affected products that are produced locally, we do not currently have the local capacity to produce to meet national demand. Hence, any policy that seeks to increase import duties and ultimately the prices of goods, will lead to more hardships in the country. The sensible thing for government to do under the circumstances if they are genuinely minded to support AGI and boost local production is to reduce the cost of doing business and the factors of production by stabilizing the Ghana cedi, reducing the tax burden on businesses and by ensuring that businesses have access to cheaper credit, low utility tariffs and subsidized inputs. This is the the surest and sustainable way of boosting local production without necessarily increasing the level of hardships in the country. 16. In conclusion, we wish to make the point, that Ghanaians have had enough of the deception and callousness of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government. The NDC holds the view, that this is not the time for more taxes and draconian revenue measures such as the reversal of benchmark value discounts. We share in the view expoused by GUTA that the GRA withdraws the statement announcing this measure which will only go a long way to stifle the already burdened businesses in the country. We contend that this is the time for the judicious and efficient use of taxes collected, and the meager resources of state for the benefit of the Ghanaian people. Enough of the wastage and ostentation being displayed by President Akufo-Addo and his government, only to turn around and impose hardship on the Ghanaian people through killer measures such as these. 17. It is about time we came together as a people irrespective of our social backgrounds or political affiliations to resist these draconian measures of the failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government which will only worsen our living conditions should they be allowed to stand. Enough is Enough! The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has lambasted the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia following the decision by the government to reverse the benchmark values on some imported goods into the country. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in a statement on Sunday, January 2, 2022 announced that the implementation of the reversal of the Benchmark Value will kick start on January 4. Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, January 5, 2021, Sammy Gyamfi who is National Communications Officer of the NDC described Dr. Bawumia as the most deceitful political actor in the history of Ghana. We in the NDC are left in no doubt whatsoever that this latest decision by this government to reduce benchmark value on imported goods further accentuate Dr. Bawumia as the most deceitful political actor in Ghanas history, Sammy Gyamfi told the media. According to him, it is the view of the NDC that the reversal of the benchmark is wicked on the part of the government. He said the argument that the move is to support local manufacturers in the country are just lies. Dont be deceived that the policy they have introduced is to support AGI and local manufacturers, it is not true the reason for the introduction of this draconian policy is revenue and nothing more. The government is broke they have wasted all the money accrued to them and now they want to collect more from us even though they know that times are tough, Sammy Gyamfi shared. The implementation of the reversal of the Benchmark Value will affect 43 selected items including rice, poultry, sugar, palm oil, toilet paper, mosquito coils, machetes, and vehicles among other goods imported into the country. Consumers are now expected to pay more for the affected goods on the Ghanaian market. President Nana Akufo Addo has appointed Rosemary Beryl Archer, who is currently the Head of SME at Exim Bank, as the new Deputy Chief Executive in Charge of Banking/Business. In a letter dated 4th January 2022, and signed by Chief of Staff, Frema Osei-Opare, the appointment is pursuant to the 2016 Ghana Export and Import Bank Act 911. Profile of Rosemary Beryl Archer Rosemary Archer hails from the Western Region. She has over 20 years of experience in three key industries, including the media and telecoms, as well as banking. In her 16 years in the banking sector, she assumed various roles, including roles in Corporate and Institutional Banking, Retail, SME, Business Development, Treasury, Credit and Recoveries, export development from within several local banks including the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) the Access Bank (formerly Intercontinental Bank) and Fidelity Bank. She currently heads the SME Banking Department at GEXIM where she has been instrumental in advancing key initiatives to position SME businesses as a useful platform to facilitate the Industrial Transformation Agenda of the government. In 2020, GEXIM's Tuesday Market, an initiative she spearheaded to promote Made-in-Ghana products locally and internationally, was adjudged the CIMG President's special award. As Head of International Cooperation at GEXIM, Rosemary Archer was key to the completion of MOUs with peer international development banks such as US Exim, India Exim, Indonesia Exim, as well as the Hungary, Thai and Slovenia Exims. All of these relationships and partnerships occasioned new access to funding and knowledge transfer. In addition to these, her tenure as head of International Co-operation occasioned the appointment of the CEO of GEXIM to the high office of President of The Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions. She is expected to bring her banking experience and extensive familiarity with the organization and its objectives to bear on this new role. RoseMary is a product of three academic institutions including Holy Child School, the University of Ghana and the University of Bedfordshire In the UK. By Citi Newsroom Michel Houellebecq the world's most famous French contemporary author returns to familiar subjects of politics and power in his much-anticipated eighth novel Aneantir (Annihilate), out on Friday. But the 65-year-old also makes time for love and family ties. A hefty first print run of 300,000 copies will hit bookshops on 7th January two years after Houellebecq's novel Serotonin seemed to foresee the Yellow Vest movement and seven years to the day since the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks. A simple coincidence perhaps, but Houellebecq is no stranger to provocation. His best-selling novel Submission was slated for release on 7th January 2015. It tells the tale of sharia law being imposed in France following the victory of a Muslim who defeated real-life French politician Marine Le Pen in the 2022 presidential elections. Now 2022 is upon us, hard-right Le Pen is a real-life candidate in the April polls, and she may make it through to the second round. But so far there are no Muslim candidates in the running. Nonetheless, Houellebecq's fans and reviewers of his work love to portray him as some kind of social barometer, if not an outright visionary. The vision in Annihilate is, broadly-speaking, bleak on the political front but with signs of solace on the family side. Literary critic Eugenie Bastie praised a "poignant, depressing and tender novel" that talks about death and love as a couple. Online website Mediapart struck a very different tone, however, saying Houellebecq's writing was "on its last legs". Political thriller Houellebecq, whose work has been translated into more than 40 languages, specialises in the depressed, white, male anti-hero struggling to live in a world that's changing a bit too fast. His latest protagonist goes by the name of Paul Raison, a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Finance. The 730-page book is woven with the melancholy of the human condition, with many of Houellebecq's habitual themes: the couple who share nothing but solitude, sexual misery, existential emptiness, death, terrorism and political intrigue. It starts out as a political cyber-security thriller, set during a fictional presidential election campaign in 2027, with security experts trying to track down a mysterious terrorist group that has hacked government IT systems. One of the group's videos stages the execution of the economy minister Bruno Juge who bears more than a passing resemblance to the incumbent economy minister Bruno Le Maire. President Emmanuel Macron appears to feature in the intrigue, but is not mentioned by name like Le Pen and firebrand 2022 candidate Eric Zemmour. Life and death Against this background of Parisian politics and global cyber terrorism, the book turns into a more metaphysical meditation, taking on the weighty subjects of ill health, death, end of life, and ultimately the meaning of life in a liberal society that has lost much of its social glue. The France of 2027 is bleak, gripped by tensions caused by inequality and the steady decline of rural communities a theme Houellebecq explored in Serotonin. "The gap between the ruling classes and the populace has reached unprecedented levels," the narrator comments. The second part of the book hones in on family affairs. Raison comes to recognise his wife's courage and beauty in later life, and grows closer to his father, now in a vegetative state following a stroke, on nightmarish visits to elderly care homes. Houellebecq finally drops the mask of provocation and cynicism to show an empathic face, wrote Bernard Lehut and Aymeric Parthonnaud on RTL online. Aneantir is of course a dirge but lit up by love and the possibility of happiness, they add in a nod to Houellebecq's 2005 novel The Possibility of an Island. Characters more human Happiness is a big word in Houellebecq's often nihilistic universe. Agathe Novak-Lechevalier, author of a book on Houllebecq, nonetheless recognises a difference in his most recent characters. They're more ordinary, more simply human than usual, she told Le Point magazine. Above all they're shrouded in extraordinary goodwill, which ends up characterising the relations they have with each other. In a rare media interview last week Houellebecq defended showing this softer side. "There's no need to celebrate evil to be a good writer," he told Le Monde. There are very few bad people in Annihilate and I'm happy about it. "The ultimate triumph would be to have no bad people at all." However there is one nasty, unredeemable character in the novel and she happens to be a journalist. Diving into nothingness The novel's title Aneantir includes the word neant, meaning "nothingness". While Novak-Lechevalier says there is never just one side to a Houellebecq book, his latest one does describe, in part, the terrifying dive into nothingness of a Western world that's run out of steam. The last part of the book is about looking illness, pain and death in the face, she concludes. And he makes no call for resistance to help a society, haunted by evil, to survive. We may be on the edge of the abyss, but there is a counter-offensive allowing the characters to find what matters before the inevitable catastrophe. It's not exactly cheerful, but it's softer on the nihilism. It may make me sound like an old jerk, but the underlying aim of my novels has always been to make people laugh and cry, Houellebecq told Le Monde. That's exactly what I'm trying to provoke in people. If I don't manage to do that, I'm not happy. Love him, hate him Not everyone will be laughing, crying or even picking up the book. Winner of the Goncourt Prize in 2010, awarded a legion of honour in 2019, Houellebecq is a controversial figure in France. During an interview in 2001 to promote his novel Platform in which he appeared to condone sex tourism and Islamophobia Houellebecq called Islam the stupidest religion. A number of anti-racism groups took legal action, although the charges were ultimately dropped. In an essay for a US magazine in 2019 he praised Donald Trump as a "good president" for his unconventional diplomacy and hostility to free trade. He also said Europe was "just a dumb idea that has gradually turned into a bad dream, from which we shall eventually wake up". Tunisian doctors on Wednesday expressed "grave fears" for the health of former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri, who has been refusing food or medication since his arrest last week, a rights body said. The 63-year-old, who was arrested by plainclothes officers on Friday and later accused of possible "terrorism" offences, suffers from several pre-existing health conditions and was hospitalised on Sunday. The Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, of which he is deputy chairman, played a central role in Tunisian politics until a power grab on July 25 last year by President Kais Saied. The president sacked the Ennahdha-supported government and suspended parliament, presenting himself as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution, and later took steps to rule by decree. Tunisia's independent national body for the prevention of torture (INPT) said three of its medics had visited Bhiri on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the day he had agreed to be put on a fluid and medication drip, "but later he refused again", INPT official Lotfi Ezzedine said. INPT and Bizerte hospital doctors have "grave fears" of a deterioration in his health, Ezzedine said. 'Arbitrary' Bhiri suffers from hypertension and diabetes and has had heart issues. He has been on a hunger strike since his arrest, while also refusing to take his regular medication. His blood pressure was still high and "his kidneys are beginning to struggle" due to dehydration, the hospital medics said. "Saying he is stable would be saying a lot," they added. Earlier Wednesday, Ennahdha lawmaker Samir Dilou, citing medical sources, had told reporters that Bhiri was "between life and death" and that his wife and children were on standby. "Those who ordered his kidnapping must assume their responsibilities," he added, referring to Saied and his interior minister, Taoufik Charfeddine, who ordered Bhiri's arrest. The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) said Wednesday that Bhiri's detention was "not only arbitrary but also illegal", decrying that he was "arrested without a warrant" and that his location was "kept secret" until his hospitalisation. Bhiri's defence committee on Wednesday rejected the interior minister's "terrorism" accusations against him as "totally false". The public prosecutor's office said Tuesday that an investigation had been opened after it received a report "from services combating terrorism and organised crime". It said a Syrian couple had allegedly been assigned false identity documents and nationality certificates while Bhiri was head of the justice ministry. Tunisia was the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring revolts of a decade ago, but civil society groups and Saied's opponents have expressed fear of a slide back to authoritarianism after the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. On Wednesday, local media said Tunisia's judicial system has decided to prosecute 19 politicians, including Ennahdha chief Rached Ghannouchi, for alleged electoral offences. The accused will be required to appear in court on January 19, the Tunis court of first instance said in a statement quoted by local media. Human Rights Watch warned late last month that Tunisian authorities were using "repressive" dictatorship-era laws to snuff out criticism of the president. Happy new year to all farmers and agricultural sector stakeholders across the country who are working to keep Ghana food secure. In 2021, this nation faced a number of agricultural sector challenges including hikes in the prices of basic food commodities that we need to be careful about in 2022. In this article, we draw attention to five critical food sector issues that the Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and the government in general need to pay attention to in 2022. 1) Rising cost of food The first of such issues is the rising cost of food in the country. Despite the repeated rhetoric by the Minister for Food and Agriculture that food prices in the country are amazingly low, the reality on the ground is far different. The evidence is in data published by the Statistics, Research, and Information Directorate of the Ministry for Food and Agriculture (MOFA). Between January and October 2021, the average price of maize rose by 56%, price of plantain rose by 74%, price of tomato rose by 44%, price of yam rose by 20%, and price of fresh pepper rose by 54%. Additionally, over that same period, price of cassava rose by about 6%, yam by 20% and rice by 12%. What this means is that it was more difficult for people to buy these foods and others that they needed to stay satisfied and healthy. Make no mistake, claims that when food prices rise, farmers make more money is a myth. Nothing can be further from the truth. Food prices usually rise because of rising cost of inputs. In the end farmers profits either do not increase at all or falls. The reality is that there is a general rise in the prices of food across the globe but that cannot be an excuse for us not to do anything about it at home. One way around it is for government to increase subsidies to farmers in a better targeted manner, so they are cushioned when it comes to the rising prices of inputs. Otherwise, things will get out of hand in 2022. 2) Dependence on foreign support to the agricultural sector The 2022 budget statement that got approved by parliament allocates 1.1 billion Ghana Cedis to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for expenditures this year. Out of that amount, 293 million Cedis will be coming from foreign donors or development partners, 11.5 million Cedis will be coming from internally generated funds and 798.5 Cedis million will come directly from the government of Ghana. That means about 26.6% of the total funding for the sector will come from abroad. But this is what we need to watch out for. World over, donor partners are increasingly moving resources from various sectors to the health sector because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We hope that a good chunk of the projected support from Ghanas development partners to the agricultural sector comes through. But government needs to pay attention and ensure that any possible shortfalls are augmented locally. The reality is that the total sum of money these development partners send to the developing world has not increased much since Covid-19 hit. They are only shifting around the same or even less resources. So, lets be careful, and the government of Ghana must be ready to step in if the donor support to agriculture shrinks. 3) One-village, One-dam Initiative needs salvaging in 2022 or never 2022 should be the year the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government revives the One-village, One-dam Initiative for farmers in the savannah belt of Ghana, or never. We are all seeing climate change cause poor rainfall patterns and long periods of no rain in several parts of the world. We heard from Ghana government officials during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last year, as they repeatedly emphasized the administrations commitment to investments that will mitigate the impact of climate change on the populace. We believe no single government policy has the potential to help farmers in the savannah belt deal better with climate change than the One-village, One-dam Initiative. We were told that these dams will be multipurpose water storage structures that will help provide water all year round for small holder farming activities, livestock rearing as well as for domestic purpose. The dams were supposed to have sizes covering 2 to 3 hectares, be about 2.5m below and another 2.5 m above ground level, be capable of holding about 30,000 cubic meters of water, have inlet-outlet structures to supply water downstream (to irrigation farms) from the small dams, as well as spillway to control the level of water in the dams. But as research conducted by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana in 2020 revealed, less than 50% of the dams promised to farmers in the Upper East Region Region had been done, and majority of the dams were not serving their purposes. The situation has since not changed much. If there is any single policy initiative the government needs to roll out crucially that could vastly transform agriculture in the northern belt, it is providing farmers there with irrigation facilities. Otherwise, a lot of farmers up north will soon struggle to produce enough food to feed themselves, and the rest of the country. In 2022, the government should prioritise providing the promised dams, spend 2023 dealing with whatever bottlenecks may emerge, and probably spend 2024 properly integrating the policy in the Ghana Irrigation Development Authoritys structures, so it becomes a lasting legacy. 4) GMOs The government needs to clarify what exactly its policy position on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is, because 2022 will be a crucial year for GMOs in Ghana. There is no doubt GMOs have become a controversial subject world over. All agriculture sector stakeholders need to get interested in the conversation on GMOs and government must lead the way. In November last year, a new 13-member board for the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), the nations GMO regulator was sworn into office by the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI). Earlier in the year, scientists at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) submitted documentation to the authority, requesting for environmental release of Ghanas first GMO crop, Bt cowpea (beans), which has inherent resistance to pest attacks. But the authority asked the scientists to hold on until a new board is in place. Now that the new board is in place, that process is expected to resume. And after the application is sent, the authority will have 6 months or so to return with a decision. So, we are likely to see a lot of activity in the GMO space this year. At the swearing in ceremony, the Minister Dr. Kwaku Afriyie disclosed in my office, I know that (there are) GMO linked products which are waiting for go ahead for the next phase. The stance of MESTI since the days of Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng has been, supporting approval for GMOs. But the Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie is on record in 2019 to have said the Ghanaian society was seriously against it (GMOs) and, indeed, we dont need it. For a minute, lets put aside the debate about whether GMOs are good or bad, and ask the administration to let the people of this country know its policy position on the technology, so we can all have a national conversation about it. 5) Agriculture is the economys backbone; it deserves better attention The final critical issue we want the government to pay attention to in 2022 is that agriculture is the economys backbone and it deserves better attention. This is nothing new but we believe it is necessary to reiterate it in 2022. As we all know, agriculture is the second largest sector of Ghanas economy, and more than half of the countrys population live in rural areas and are engaged in agricultural activities as their means of survival. Government needs to allocate a more substantial portion of the national budget towards the sector to ensure we build an equitable and sustainable food system. We need to address challenges of low public sector investment in the sector, low institutional capacity, poor marketing systems, land tenure challenges, low penetration of mechanisation services, low transfer and uptake of research findings, as well as low application of science and technology to production. We also need to deal with challenges of low investment in the local livestock, fisheries and poultry industries. The approach to improving agriculture has to be wholistic. Government cannot do it alone. But government has a responsibility to show it wants these challenges dealt with, as the sure way to attract adequate private sector support to improve the agricultural sector. Authors: Sebuava Sedudzi is a graduate student pursuing an MSc in Agriculture Economics and Management at the College of Agriculture, Economics and Management, China Agricultural University China. Joseph Opoku Gakpo is an AgBioFEWS (Agricultural Biotechnology In Our Evolving Food, Energy, and Water Systems) Fellow at the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University USA. Every country, whether developed or developing needs revenue to develop and to create jobs for the people. That revenue comes from the exportation of goods and taxation. However, intelligent Ghanaians need to ask what has Nana Akufo Addo done for me after five years in power to pay E-Levy? I don't see Akufo Addo as a president or someone capable of ruling a country, the man is an opportunist and oppressor. "Sika kom di nu," therefore, his greed and incompetence, have destroyed Ghana beyond remedy. The common Ghanaians that stood in the hot temperatures to cast their votes for NPP have been neglected, denied jobs, and proper health facilities, including their own uncompleted projects by the former government, left by the NPP to rot, therefore, someone like Akufo Addo doesnt deserve E-Levy. The truth is bitter than the bile, yet it is better to die for the truth than to support a useless course to your disgrace. Ghanaians can give Caesar what is Caesars but not to Nana Akufo Addo, who has emptied the governments coffers, including the COVID-19 funds. Its a disgrace to the NPP government after five years in power, they couldnt achieve anything significant, not even uncompleted projects as evidence, yet bent on stealing money from the same people they have lied to them right from the campaign trail to the presidency. I can understand the reason the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, didnt give Akufo Addo any support over the Agenda 111 project, because he knows that Akufo Addo is a liar, thus; the need to avoid any disgrace is necessary. Now, where is the Habona 101 project? It has evaporated into the thin air. How much does the Director of Communication, Eugene Arhin worth before he entered into politics? Thanks to his wife, else Ghanaians wouldnt have known the money he has stolen and the property he has acquired. Mr. Arhin didnt face any corruption charges, he was rather protected by the president. The same president who has accommodated every corrupt NPP politician in his government and claims he is fighting against corruption now comes out to tell you to pay E-levy. When is the youth going to be wise? E-Levy in Ghana is a fraudulent means to fill the gap of corruption created by the incompetent NPP government May I ask, what is really wrong with Ghanaians, especially the common ones who dont even know where their meals will be coming from? Has the lack of unemployment made the Ghanaian youth too weak to reject this fraudulent taxation? The NPP government is the only party in the political history of Ghana that has spent more money than any government and also has incurred the heaviest dept on the country, yet cant account for the money they have used, therefore, that means the money has been stolen. That is what corruption is about. Taxation is an effective tool to raise revenue to develop a nation but to impose E-Levy on people you havent done anything for them for the past five years, to me is stealing. If Akufo Addo is in the shoes of the common people, would he accept that? I will be shocked if this fraudulent E-Levy doesn't meet any confrontation or demonstration. Intelligent Ghanaians shouldnt accept this and finally, the common people shouldnt accept either. Because when Akufo Addo is wasting the taxpayers' money recklessly on foreign trips, he refused to listen to any advice or warnings, including that Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for the North Tongu in the Volta region. Leadership doesn't only mean creating multiple taxations to fill the gap created by your corrupt government, Akufo Addo, but also fighting corruption and crime, which you have lost control over that. This is one of the reasons everywhere including the harbors are infested with corruption and crime. France's National Assembly has approved a bill with measures to address the spread of Covid-19, including the transformation of the current health pass into a vaccine pass, as the country registers a record number of new cases. Lawmakers approved the legislation in the early hours of Thursday morning in a vote of 214 for and 93 against, sending the measures to the Senate for further examination before a vote to make it law by mid-January. The vote came after three days of acrimonious debate, with the ruling LaRem party insisting the measures are essential to save lives. President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday saying his intent was to "piss off" those who have not been vaccinated against the virus. One of the main parts of the bill includes transforming the current health pass, needed for access to restaurants, cafes and other locations, into a vaccine pass, for which only fully-vaccinated people qualify. Divisive issues Criticism of the legislation came from the far right and far left, whose lawmakers decried limits to personal freedom, and were among those who voted no. Debates overnight Wednesday focused in particular on measures intended to clamp down on fraud, including allowing restaurant and cafe owners to ask for proof of identity to accompany a vaccine pass. The issue divided the right-wing Les Repbulicains, who had publicly expressed support for the legislation, but whose lawmakers ended up split, with 28 voting for the bill and 24 against and 22 abstaining. The bill was on an accelerated path through the legislation, and it will be now up to the Senate to vote after it starts examining it starting next Tuesday. The measures, including the vaccine pass, are to come into fore on 15 January, and will be required for those 16 years old and up. Record number of infections On Wednesday, France registered more than 332,000 new Covid infections, a new daily record after the previous day's numbers topped 300,000 for the first time. According to Health Minister Olivier Veran, some 66,000 people received a first dose of the vaccine, an increase that he attributes to the pressure coming from the government. Around five million people in France are still unvaccinated, 20 per cent of them considered to be at high risk. (with wires) Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/06/2022 -- According to a new market research report "Smart Water Management Market by Water Meter (AMR, AMI), Solution (Enterprise Asset Management, Network Management, Smart Irrigation), Service (Professional, Managed), End User (Commercial & Industrial, Residential), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026" published by MarketsandMarkets, the Smart Water Management Market size to grow from USD 13.8 Billion in 2021 to USD 22.4 Billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.1% during the forecast period. The presence of various key players in the ecosystem has led to competitive and diverse market. The growth of the SWM market is expected to gain traction in the next five years, which can be attributed to factors, such as rapid urbanization generating enormous pressure on water utilities for quality and continuous water supply and related services; rapid adoption of advanced technologies for innovating smart solutions to cater to the growing water industry challenges; rising concern for sustainable living leading to the development of regulations and laws by governments across the globe to reduce water consumption; and developing water treatment solutions. Developed economies across the globe are facing a major challenge in the form of aging infrastructure, which generates a huge demand for its replacement with smart water infrastructure solutions, offering precise control over water resources through real-time data. Browse in-depth TOC on "Smart Water Management Market" 283- Tables 48- Figures 258- Pages Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1265 The solution segment to record a larger market share during the forecast period In Smart water management market by offering the solutions segment is expected to record a larger market share during the forecast period With technology becoming more advanced with time, water utilities are adopting smart solutions to integrate various business processes, accelerating them toward growth. Integrating various advanced technologies with the existing operations helps them increase the operational efficiency of the entire water network even with low infrastructure investment. These technologies and smart infrastructure are used to develop innovative solutions for customers in the smart water industry. During the forecast period, the adoption of smart solutions fare is expected to surge due to the rising awareness about the quality of water, scarcity of natural freshwater resources, rising consumer demands, and technological advancements. Residential segment is expected to have higher growth rate during the forecast period By end user the residential segment is expected to have the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The demand for freshwater in residential areas has shown unprecedented growth due to the world's growing urban population, changing lifestyles, and eating habits leading to higher water consumption. The increase in water consumption is more pronounced in urban settings with high population density with the presence of production industries that contribute toward major water consumption. The rising demand for quality water services is expected to propel the demand for SWM solutions in residential areas. The solutions for SWM in residential areas are more focused on supplying quality water to the consumers, as water and sanitation access rates are higher in residential areas, leading to the rising demand for improved city planning and infrastructure with an efficient water supply and drainage system. In residential areas, the demand for quality water and improved sanitation services is rising due to concerns, such as poor health conditions resulting from contaminated water consumption. AMI Meters segment is expected to have a higher growth rate during the forecast period By Watermeter Type, AMI meters is expected to have a higher growth rate. AMI is a network-based technology that uses two-way communication to communicate data from water meters to a remote metering master office, providing similar benefits to AMR systems. The AMI system comprises a head-end system that combines hardware and software to bring water utility data up to date. It also includes digital smart water meters. However, the fundamental communications network in AMI is bidirectional. AMI supports the collection of meter data more frequently than AMRs, where the data is utilized by the utility for billing, consumption, and usage analysis, and meter control, such as Meter Data Management MDM) and Master Client Index (MCI). In addition to these, AMI also offers water utilities the ability to turn on and off the services from one central location. AMI systems can tie together more utility departments, from engineering and operations departments to asset management and planning departments. AMI is an advanced and smarter system that has built-in tools for the enhancement of customer service and satisfaction. In the coming five years, AMI is set to replace legacy systems in residential, commercial, and industrial setups due to the increasing demand for advanced functionalities and technologies to analyze, store, and utilize a large amount of data. North America to hold the largest market size during the forecast period North America is expected to hold the largest market size in the global Smart Water Management market during the forecast period. Factors responsible for the growth of the North American market are fast technology adoption, a large urban population with rising demands for quality services, and aging infrastructure, which is in serious need of replacement or upgrades. In North America, SWM solutions are being deployed at a rapid pace to address the effects of climate change, water usage patterns, and the management of new man-made contaminants. According to findings by the US Water Alliance, more than 1.6 million Americans face a shortage of running water, indoor plumbing, and wastewater treatment. Along with this, the most pressing issue in the region is the aging infrastructure, which has led cash-strapped water utilities to deploy smart water solutions due to acute water losses from a large number of pipeline leakages, bursts, and outage incidents. Speak to Research Expert @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=1265 The key and emerging market players in the Smart Water Management market include Siemens (Germany), IBM (US), ABB (Switzerland), Honeywell Elster (US), Schneider Electric (France), Itron (US), SUEZ (France), Oracle (US), Landis+Gyr (Switzerland), Trimble Water (US), HydroPoint (US), i2O Water (UK), Xenius (India), Neptune Technology (US), Takadu (Israel), Badger Meter (US), AquamatiX (UK), Fluid (US), Lishtot (Israel), Elentec (UK), Syrinix (UK), CityTaps (France), FREDsense (Canada), Fracta (US), and Xylem (US). These players have adopted several organic and inorganic growth strategies, including new product launches, partnerships and collaborations, and acquisitions, to expand their offerings and market shares in the global Smart Water Management. About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, and strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com MnM Blog: https://mnmblog.org Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/smart-water-management.asp The West Africa Regional Director for Cuts International, Appiah-Kusi Adomako, has attributed the ability of telecommunication giant MTN to increase the cost for their data without recourse to public concerns to their market power. MTN Ghana from January 4, 2022, introduced new rates of Fibre broadband and Turbonet bundle prices, increasing by almost 50% with 90 days validity. This new development has received negative reactions from Ghanaians Mr Appiah- Kusi Adomako spoke to Citi Breakfast Show Host, Bernard Avle. MTN is the largest player, so we can say that MTN has what we call market power, and when a firm has market power, it can actually increase its prices above the current level and sustain it. Because of its large market size, it knows that once they increase prices, it can sustain it without thinking of suffering any losses or drop in demand. So because a firm has a dominant share in the market, it may do certain things that other players cannot do. Before the implementation of the new tariffs, GHS 300 worth of data amounted to 393.58GB and 332.57GB Mtn Fibre broadband and MTN TurboNet respectively. But now the same amount will give customers 231.08GB on MTN Fibre Broadband and 190.23GB TurboNet. Yello Valued Customer, thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Kindly note, Fibre broadband and TurboNet bundle prices will be increased from 4th January 2022 with 90 days validity. You will enjoy a 50% bonus on every purchase you make within the first three months after the increment. Thank you for your continuous support as we strive to serve you better. #WeDey4U, MTN sent this message to its customers. citinewsroom Pressure is mounting on the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly to pull down its newly constructed office complex situated on a reserved zone at Dansoman Sharp Curve in Greater Accra. The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) and the National Engineering Coordinating Team (NECT) have asked the assembly to comply with their orders to pull down the building situated on the reserved shoulder of the road. Last Thursday, officials from the NECT stormed the assembly to demand the demolition of the building. But the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Kofi Ofori, said the assembly would hold a management meeting next week to take a decision on the demand by the two bodies. If we have to demolish, we will demolish, but since the structure is government property, we have to meet to take that decision, he said in an interview. The assembly had been served twice by the NECT to pull down the building, but they have not been complied with. 150 feet distance According to the NECT, the problem was widespread, as all assemblies were flouting the 150-feet distance rule set by the government. We wrote to the assembly in 2020 to demolish the building, and again wrote to it in 2021, but neither of the letters was acknowledged by the assembly, Mr Alex Kwadwo Asamoah, the officer in charge of Acquisition and Utilities Coordination at the DUR, said. The Chairman of the NECT, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, said it was a shame that the assembly was flouting its own laws. The NECT, which was established 25 years ago, is made up of 37 institutions, including the utility companies and other government institutions, ministries, departments and agencies. A meeting was held on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, between the various agencies and the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Mr Dan Kwaku Botwe, on the action of the assemblies, including the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly. According to Mr Ashigbey, the minister had promised to remedy the situation. Rezoning He cautioned against the rezoning of road reservations by metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies. He said the rezoning and encroachment on reserved spaces had rendered future development and expansion of roads difficult, for which the government had paid compensation. Mr Ashigbey noted that between 2020 and 2021, over GH100 million was paid as compensation by the utility companies to individuals who had encroached on their space. He said the widespread encroachment on reservations had affected underground utility lines, including those built by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the telecom companies. Graphic.com.gh China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced Thursday that Beijing would appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa, signalling his country's intention to play a greater role in the conflict-torn region. The announcement came as a US envoy was due to arrive in Ethiopia to encourage talks to end more than a year of war in the country's north. Wang, on a three-nation tour of Africa, said China wanted to encourage dialogue to overcome peace and security challenges plaguing the Horn. "China will appoint a special envoy of the Chinese foreign ministry," he told reporters in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. "We will continue to play even a bigger role for peace and stability in the region," he said, speaking through an interpreter. Wang's visit to Eritrea, Kenya and the Comoros comes on the heels of a trip to Africa by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in November that was in part aimed at countering China's growing influence on the continent. It also coincides with a return visit to Ethiopia by Jeffrey Feltman, the US special envoy for the Horn, who is expected to arrive in Addis Ababa on Thursday. The State Department says Feltman, who is soon expected to stand down from the role, will try again to nudge the warring parties to the negotiation table amid a lull in fighting. Rebels who were feared to be planning a march on Addis Ababa have withdrawn to their stronghold in Tigray, and the government says the military will not pursue them. Feltman's trip comes after the United States angered Ethiopia by removing trading privileges for the longtime ally due to human rights concerns during the war. Washington also slapped sanctions on Eritrea last year over its involvement in the Ethiopia conflict, which has killed thousands of people and created a deep humanitarian crisis. Washington has demanded Asmara withdraw its troops from Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray, where soldiers from both sides have been accused of raping and massacring civilians. During his visit to Eritrea on Wednesday, Wang voiced China's opposition to unilateral sanctions on the secretive state and foreign interference in the "affairs of other countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights". The Ghana Police Service has interdicted five officers at Asamankese in the Eastern Region after they allegedly extorted money from a driver, allegedly assaulted him, and planted Indian Hemp on him. The Police Officers were led by one Chief Inspector William Tawiah. The others are Sgt. Ibrahim Iddi, Sgt. Richard Otoo, Sgt. Samuel Kumah and Cpl. Richard Kpeanaah. The victim of the extortion said the incident took place on January 2, 2022 at Sukruntu, close to Asamankese. According to the victim, he was searched and informed that the police had found a wrap of suspected Indian Hemp in the back seat of his car. That he was arrested and assaulted, and it took a friend called Abu who happened to chance upon the scene to plead on his behalf. The Policemen demanded and collected 500 cedis from him through his friend Abu before he was released, according to a police communique. The police, however, only admitted to extorting GHS 450. citinewsroom China voiced its opposition to US sanctions on Eritrea during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the Horn of Africa nation the first leg of his inaugural overseas tour of the year. The United States imposed sanctions on Eritrea last year over the brutal conflict in neighbouring Ethiopia, a move Asmara branded "unjust and malicious". But for Beijing, Eritrea represents a strategic opportunity. It borders Djibouti, where China has its only overseas military base, and its also has a long coastline that offers access to the Red Sea. China already has investments in the country: in late 2019, the China Shanghai Corporation for Foreign Economic and Technological Cooperation (SFECO) began construction of a 500 km road connecting Eritrea's Massawa and Assab poprts. In November, Eritrea signed up to be part of China's Belt and Road Initiative. An article in the China Daily revealed already in 2010 that Beijing had its eyes on the country "Blessed with large deposits of precious minerals such as gold, silver, copper and zinc." Isaias Zedong? Wang held talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki who, after joining the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1966, received military training in China and is considered an "old friend" of the country. A confidential cable from the US Embassy in Asmara from October 2009 and published by whistleblower platform Wikileaks is titled "Isaias Zedong?" The cable says he trained as a political commissar in China during the depths of the Cultural Revolution and idolises Mao (Zedong). "(He) remains fond of China and governs Eritrea and its relations with the outside world based on his decades of experience as a revolutionary guerrilla leader combined with his interpretation of Maoist philosophy," the cable reads. "His nationalisation of the economy and the wholesale conscription of Eritrean youth into a 'national service' of military duty and forced labor resemble some aspects of Mao's early rule. "Today China provides about $12m of 'no questions asked' assistance, is a source of easy-term military purchases, has invested in Eritrea's promising mining sector, and has provides political top-cover in multilateral fora." 'Common values' But in offical comments about the meetings this week, there was no lingering on the past. "Both sides agreed to uphold the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, and oppose hegemonic interferences in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights," a joint statement by the two foreign ministers said. "The Chinese side stands against any unilateral sanctions on Eritrea ... The Eritrean side reaffirms adherence to the one-China principle." After his visit to Eritrea, Wang went on to Kenya, where he arrived on Wednesday afternoon. After that, he'll continue to The Comoros and Sri Lanka, before returing to Beijing. The mini-tour comes on the heels of a trip to Africa by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in November that was in part aimed at countering China's growing influence on the continent. China is the Africa's largest trading partner with direct trade worth over $200 billion in 2019, according to official Chinese figures. But Beijing is often accused of using its creditor status to extract diplomatic and commercial concessions, with concerns that it is driving many African countries to take on unmanageable levels of debt. The Office of the Attorney General has said former Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson is seeking to expose Attorney General Godfred Dame to hatred and prejudice with his claim that a recent charge of causing financial loss to the state levelled against him was part of a grand scheme by officialdom to silence him as far as his opposition to the controversial e-levy is concerned. The Ajumako Enyan Esiam MP, who is also the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament together with two others; Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health; and Richard Jakpa, a businessman, is facing criminal charges for causing the state to lose 2.37 million in a deal to purchase some 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016. The trio was dragged to the Accra High Court Thursday, 23 December 2021 by the Attorney General, on five counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to wilfully cause financial loss to the state, contravention of the public procurement act and intentionally misapplying public property. A day after the charges were levelled against him, Dr Forson told the media at a press conference that: I have had to call you this morning for the singular purpose of responding to the news doing the rounds on social and mainstream media that certain charges have been preferred against me by the Attorney General of the Republic, the Honourable Godfred Yeboah Dame. Though I am yet to be formally charged in court, I have seen copies of the charge sheet in the media and wish to say without any fear of the contradiction that these charges are nothing but a frivolous and politically motivated attempt by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his hatchet man, the Attorney General, to silence me for performing my duties as the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of the Parliament of Ghana. But I want to assure the good people of this country, especially my constituents, who elected me to represent them in parliament that I will not and cannot be silenced by the blatant abuse of prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General, he said. Responding to Dr Forson, the office of the Attorney General, in a statement signed by Deputy Attorney General Diana Asonaba Dapaah, said Dr Ato Forsons claims were laden with factual misrepresentations and calculated at scandalising the criminal proceedings pending in the High Court against the Member of Parliament and exposing the Attorney General to prejudice and hatred. The statement clarified that investigations into the financial crimes perpetrated against the Republic of Ghana in the matter of the failed purchase of ambulances for the state began in 2017. Same [investigations] had been ongoing since 2017, with a number of statements taken from various persons at different points in time, including the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, former Minister of Health (now Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana); Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah, Madam Sherry Ayittey and Dr Alex Segbefia, all former Ministers for Health as well as the first accused. classfmonline.com An Accra Circuit Court has ruled that the appropriate forum to hear issues of human rights of the 12 suspects arrested over the Bawku chieftaincy disturbances is the High Court. The Court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh held that the High Court is clothed to tackle issues of human right abuses and that as a circuit court, its hands were tied to grant bail. The Court gave its ruling when the Attorney General (AG) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) produced the 12 suspects who have been held in custody for nine days without being sent to court. The non-appearance of the 12 suspects before court within the 48 hour rule, constitute a breach of fundamental human rights. At today's sitting, 11 out of 12 people appeared in court. Dr Samuel Bugri, an 80 year Retired Medical Doctor, who is among the suspects, is said to be ill and was on admission. On January 4, this year the same court ordered the AG and IGP to produce the suspects before it following an application for bail made on behalf of the suspects lawyers. Lawyers had argued that the 12 suspects have been in custody for the past nine days without putting them before court. However when the state appeared in court, Ms Vivian Osei -Tutu, a Senior Attorney from the AG's Department, opposed to the bail application and relied on the averments and attachments of the affidavit in opposition. Ms OseiTutu recounted that the issue of human rights were solely dealt by the High Courts. According to her, the Circuit Court lacked the requisite jurisdiction to deal with any form or nature of the matter. She said the Ghana Police Service had written to the Chief Justice to constitute a High Court because the High Court was on vacation. According to her, the matter happened in Bawku in the Upper East Region, the Circuit Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter adding that the proper forum should be the High Court. She recalled that despite the imposition of a curfew and a restraining order, the 12 suspects went ahead to hold the funeral of a late chief as well as install a new chief although there was one. Given the nature of this case, the breach of peace and security in Bawku would result in anarchy when accused persons are granted bail. Mr Martin Kpebu who led a team of defense lawyers, noted that the issue of jurisdiction had been blown away by a Supreme Court decision. Mr Kpebu recounted that the 48 hour rule of producing suspects before court had no jurisdictional issues. We are not dealing with criminal matter here. This is a special application court subjected to by the Chief Justice's directives. Accused persons have nothing to do with volatility in Bawku. The issue of volatility is figment of imagination, Defense Counsel said. According to Mr Kpebu, the suspects, including sub chiefs, an Agric Officer, a student, a mother, a retired medical doctor and a driver, were being escorted by the Military and none of them were arrested in Bawku. If it was a case of restraining order, the suspects should be held for contempt of court, counsel argued. We are ready to sign an undertaking that we are not going to Bawku when granted bail. Mr Kpebu held that the Chief Justice had made it clear that Registrars could empanel courts. He therefore prayed the Court to grant suspects bail as they have not caused any war in Bawku and they have not displayed any unruly behavior. They would also not abscond when granted bail. The suspects were arrested by the Police and kept in detention for their alleged involvement in the Bawku Chieftaincy disturbances that broke out last Monday. The alleged disturbances led to the loss of lives and property. There were reports of sporadic shootings in an attempt to perform funeral rites of a chief who died 41 years ago. The suspects are: Issahaku Barkin, Samuel Abdul Rahman, Seidu Mohammed Saani, Richard Amevor, Nantoggman Kwami, Iddirusu Shaibu, Nawam Osman Nabia, Inusah Belko, Abdulai Nandong Dana, Naa Tampuri and Dr Samuel Bugri. GNA The mediator of West Africa's regional bloc, Ecowas, has delivered a message to Mali's junta leader ahead of a summit on Sunday to address the timetable of a transition to civilian rule. Mali's military took over the country in August 2020. The message, the details of which have not been revealed, came during a meeting between former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan who heads a delegation of Ecowas mediators in Mali and Interim President Colonel Assimi Goita, who lead the coup that toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. In a post on Twitter, the Malian presidency said the talks addressed the evolution of the political situation in the country. RFI Mali correspondent Kaourou Magassa says the issue at stake is the timetable for elections and a transition to civilian rule. Goita, who also staged a de-facto second coup in May 2021 forcing out an interim civilian government, had initially committed to holding elections by 27 February, 2022. But on 30 December the government revised its timeline, proposing a transition period lasting between six months and five years, dating from 1 January, 2020, to enable the authorities to "carry out structural institutional reforms and organise fair elections. The junta has cited insecurity in the north of Mali as the reason for postponing elections. Large parts of the country are out of the government's control, run by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Isalmic State armed group, who attack civilians and soldiers. Five years not acceptable Speaking to diplomats in Bamako, Jonathan made it clear that an extension would not be acceptable. Magassa said a member of the mediation delegation pointed out to journalists that five years is longer than the term of a democratically elected president in Nigeria. The junta's proposal has been rejected by local parties and associations, and Ecowas insists on elections on by February, as initially planned. At a summit in December, Ecowas leaders maintained sanctions against dozens of junta members and their families, and threatened further "economic and financial" measures if elections are postponed. Two people on Wednesday got drowned when a boat they were travelling on caught fire on the Black Volta. They were on board with 12 other passengers who were crossing the lake from Bongase to Asuogya in the Banda District of the Bono Region. According to a police situational report, made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the incident happened around 1600 hours. The two, a male and a young lady, yet to be identified, jumped into the Lake, attempted to swim, but got drowned in the process. Holy Siama, operator of the boat, which was fitted with an outboard motor sustained fire burns. On reaching the mid-portion of the lake, the outboard motor caught fire, while in motion, and as a result some of the passengers jumped into the lake, it explained indicating after the fire was put out, the two persons could not be traced or rescued. As at the time of filing this report, the GNA gathered a team of Navy personnel, stationed at Jama in the Savannah Region, were on a search mission on the lake. GNA Exactly one year ago, on January 6, 2021, an evidently coordinated mob of supporters of President Donald Trump and their allied confederacy of extremists and xenophobists set upon and violently attacked the United States Capitol. That is, the congressional building in Washington, D.C. It was a sad and disgraceful day. I watched the events unfold live on tv. It was almost too much to take in as true. But it was true. Like many of you, I was wondering: what is this happening? Is this the great America or a Third World event superimposed on the capital of the American congressional institution? On January 6, 2021, Donald Trumps name, Trump brand and Trump legacy were instantly reduced to the level of an insurrectionist. The man, Trump, immediately became legislated into history as the first president of America who levied war of destruction of the institutions of democracy in America. Americans including those who supported him all these years could not believe their eyes when the instinctively petty and chaotic Trump openly and viciously instigated his mob to walk to the Congress and show strength. It was a direct and naked message for confrontation. It was an open invitation to violate the operations of the legislative arm of the American government through his own mob! Trump has, falsely, been claiming that the election of November 2020 which he was factually and mathematically defeated by Joe Biden was stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats! Trumps mob and their insurrection had led to the deaths of several persons, including Capitol Police officers. Consequently, one of the daughters of the arch-conservative Republican Dick Cheney (former vice president), Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney will be remembered well by history for her reasons to impeach Trump as President of United States on Wednesday, January 13, 2021: "On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. She concluded, specifically: There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution. I will vote to impeach the President." And, she did! After realizing that history and decency and patriotism had left him while he chose to be Trumps shameless apologist and water carrier, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, managed to say that Trump bears responsibility for the insurrection. Sadly, for the past couple of months, McCarthy returned to the position of being a footstool for Mr. Trump all because he wants to be the next Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives. Remember that Mr. Trump is planning to run for president in 2024! Except for his suddenly seeing the scientific advantages and calling on his folks to take the anti-COVID vaccine, I still believe that Mr. Trump has, through a combination of recklessness, lack of self restraint, self-glorification, an over-bearing instinct to lie, and petty vindictiveness reduced his own name and legacy to the lowest levels of Presidents in American and world history of democratic governments. Remarkably, after one year, most of those thorny issues are being sorted while some will linger. I ask, reasonably: What next for Mr. Trump? What next for American democracy? Soon, time will tell. Dr. Chido Nwangwu, the Founder of USAfrica multimedia networks and public policy organization since 1992 in Houston, established the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the Internet USAfricaonline.com. He served as adviser on Africa business to the ex-Mayor of Houston, Dr. Lee P. Brown. He is the author of the summer 2022 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity. Chido has been honored by the Washington-D. C.based National Immigration Forum for utilizing multimedia to fight authoritarianism and foster freedom of expression in parts of the African continent. follow @Chido247 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e8387d9f60)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838b418b8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e8387d9f60)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838b418b8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e838822368)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838b418b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838b418b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e82ff74f30)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e838da1470)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e838da1470)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 These are not the times for arm-chair leadership. There's little or no place for bosses who just sit and point to vision. These are certainly days of leadership of action and transformation. Must it always be a ritual whereby students have to battle with jammed servers for bed space? It was on Wednesday, January 5,2022 where level 200 students of the premiere University of Ghana embarked on a war to struggle for the 20% accommodation that management said they've given to them. The question that many are asking is " Did the University upload already booked Halls? But the question is, was 20% accommodation given to Level 200s? if Yes! Then why are many crying, parents crying and students also crying. The stipulated time was 9am, but when it was time, and this appeared on the site "EXPIRED" what really happened, when the site came back, all rooms were full, some traditional halls were even not available. Upon enquires, the many students that gathered at University of Ghana Computerized System (UGCS), the students that got hall from there were not up to 10, students who converged at Balme Library just a student got a hall, also many students gathered at Internet Cafes around the nation, and information reaching us shows that, if there are 10 students in one cafe it's just one students that got a hall maximum 2 students and even some none got it. Students are worried, thinking about how to get a place of abode to enhance their studies, emotional effects and many things hunting students now. Talking about that student from Upper East, Upper West, Savannah, Volta, Central, Western and many more from far places away from school who didn't get halls, what is going to happen to them. Parents are extremely worried, school is resuming next week and their children don't have a place to sleep. See how hostels prices have inflated, these hostel managers don't care, whether students can afford Gh2500 per semester, 5000gh per year. And when you try to bargain, all they say is, "Serious one will buy it so get away" . nsatia nyinaa ny3 p3 they say in the Akan Language meaning we're all not equal. Do these hostel managers think that single mother with 5 or 6 children, or that widow who have got no help and many people who struggle for themselves hawking on the street to gather money for their fees be able to get such an amount in a very short period. Why is management not talking about this, all they tell us is our halls were temporal because of Covid-19 as if we the L200s are the cause of this virus and putting all the burden on us. Ama Atta Aidoo a poet wrote her book with the title, "No Sweetness Here", indeed there's no sweetness on campus now. Why is management telling students they don't guarantee students accommodation, it's very sad? How can you admit a student and tell him/her you don't guarantee their accommodation? Now questions to management are: Why is Management refusing to give lands to investors to build hostels? Why have they also refused to allow the Vandal Alumni to build their Annex? Were the 20% rooms issued on the residential portal or it was just a camouflage? By: Concerned UG students. The Deputy National Youth Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Edem Agbana, is urging the various public universities to consider an extension of the deadline for payment of school fees for fresh and continuing students. He said this has become necessary due to the economic situation of the country and the difficulties many students are having in raising the funds to pay their fees. Mr. Agbana urged the various education stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, to find a way to ease the burden on suffering parents and students. I have been a member of a University Council before. I have served on committees and boards of the University of Ghana and undoubtedly, the institutions need the money to run efficiently. However, I believe a two to four weeks extension won't cause any havoc to the schools, he said. He called on all stakeholders to take the issue up in order to prevent excellent students from forfeiting their admissions or their education because of the lack of funds. Many tertiary institutions have set the second week of January 2022 as deadline for the payment of fees, which many parents and students have expressed concerns about due to the tight nature of the deadline. The situation has led to many students raising funds on social media to meet the deadlines. citinewsroom 06.01.2022 LISTEN The Eastern Regional Police Intelligence Department (RPID) has nabbed a 23-year-old student of the Koforidua Technical University (KTU) and his girlfriend for displaying guns on social media and allegedly dealing in narcotics. The suspects Samuel Oduro Amoah alias Tattoo Guy, 23, and his cohabiting girlfriend Sakina Abubakar, 25, a hairdresser were arrested on December 30, 2021, after fierce resistance. Reports gathered indicated that on November 2, 2021, the Regional Police Command intercepted pictures and videos on social media in which suspect Oduro Amoah was displaying a weapon in public without authority. The Regional Police Intelligence Department initiated an investigation and trailed the suspect to his residence at Monrovia, a suburb of New Juaben South Municipality. Police laid surveillance on the suspect and established that he was peddling narcotic drugs. On December 30, 2021, at about midday, ASP Martin Bawuah Dokyi leading four men proceeded to the suspect's residence to arrest him. However, the suspect and his girlfriend resisted the arrest for about an hour before the police were able to gain access to the room and arrested them. During the standoff, the girlfriend of the suspect Sakina Abubakar attempted to dispose of some substance in a transparent polythene bag through the back window but rescinded after seeing an armed police officer standing close to the window. Police finally gained ingress into the room which the two suspects were arrested. A search conducted in the room in the presence of a tenant who is a witness, retrieved a black MingXing Plastic pistol with No.P998 together with the said transparent polytene bag containing dried leaves suspected to be Marijuana, two cigarette lighters, and a matchbox. The suspects have been arraigned before the Koforidua Circuit Court but the Prosecuting Officer Chief Inspector Owusu Ababio prayed the court to remand the suspects for further investigation which was granted. DGN online The Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central Constituency in the Upper East Region, Mr. Isaac Adongo has said the decision by government to reverse the benchmark value on imported goods into the country is not only insensitive but very ridiculous. In a Facebook post reacting to the decision, Isaac Adongo says Ghanaians will no longer be able to buy Fufu GHS5, and chicken GHS2. This he says is because the import duty of chicken has significantly now gone up and prices on the Ghanaian market will make it expensive for consumers. Import duty on a 40 footer reefer container of chicken backs (cheapest chicken on the mkt) has increased by almost 100% from Ghc36k to Ghc71k. As for chicken thighs and drumsticks forget. No more fufu Ghc5, akoko Ghc2. 3 more just started. Ridiculous and insensitive, Isaac Adongo emphasised. For the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, the reversal of the benchmark value on imported goods is a wicked decision to punish Ghanaians with more hardships in a struggling economy. The implementation of the reversal of the Benchmark Value will affect 43 selected items including rice, poultry, sugar, palm oil, toilet paper, mosquito coils, machetes, and vehicles among other goods. Consumers are now expected to pay more for the affected goods on the Ghanaian market. 06.01.2022 LISTEN The Ghana Education Service (GES) has disclosed that it has decided to sack 11 staff found guilty of examination malpractices during the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The management of Ghana Education Service has taken the decision in reference to a report from the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) on alleged exams malpractice by some of its officers during the WASSCE and BECE, 2020. The 11 officers include one from Oti Region, one from Bono Region, five from Greater Accra, four from Ashanti Region were invited to appear before a committee at the GES Headquarters, Accra for a hearing over the allegations of their engagement in examination malpractice. During the hearing, they admitted the act contrary to Section 3.32(III) of the Code of Conduct for staff of Ghana Education Service. In view of that, management directs that the appointment of the officers be terminated from the GES in line with Section 4.3(IV) as contained in the Code of Conduct for the staff of GES. Before the termination of contracts take effect, GES has written to Director Generals in Regions where the affected teachers work asking that they be interdicted. Since the terminated of appointment requires the endorsement of the Ghana Education Service Council, the officers should be interdicted forthwith pending the final determination of the matter by GES council which will be communicated to you in due course, part of the letter reads. GES stresses that it has decided to sack the officers for the major misconduct as a deterrent to other staff of the Service. Below is the GES letter with names of the sacked officers: Chief Officer at Ankaful Prisons, Mr Ken Dellie has charged parents and guardians to raise their children into good persons who would respect the country's laws and stay away from trouble. He said it was important parents focussed their attention on the education of their kids and as well, put time and effort into nurturing another component of child success and development. Mr Dellie, who made the call at the 5th Annual General Meeting of AGHETO Welfare Club Anloga-Anyanui said the only way to counter the ills prevalent in society such as armed robbery and killing to promote positive character traits was to guide children towards good habits and behaviours. The Prisons officer recommended parents serve as role models to their children and discipline them consistently among others so children would not become deviants who end up in prisons but grow into useful people who would impact society positively. Let's look after our children well. I was passing by the other day and I saw young ones smoking weed and I became sad. When we don't pay attention to our children, they offend the law, the Police go for them, send them to court and they're sent to prison where there is loss of freedom, loss of materials, goods, and services. I tell you, prison is not a place to be Care for your children. DSP Thomas Yao Agbanyo, Anloga District Police Commander asked residents to obey the law saying, just as the mandate of the Police Service to protect and preserve internal security of the country through law enforcement, the Command would fight crime. He dwelt on domestic violence which he said was increasing in the Dzita-Anyanui area and warned those involved in not just acts of violence but issuing threats to stop saying, beware, threatening words can land you in trouble. Mr Richard Kwami Sefe, Member of Parliament for Anlo urged AGHETO Welfare Club to support education, health, and others to benefit the youth of Dzita-Anyanui area which he identified as the fourth poorest in the Constituency. He said that would, in the end, empower the youth, reduce teenage pregnancy and produce prominent citizens to guarantee the future of the area. Torgbui Hatsu III of Dzita, Anloga District Director, National Commission for Civic Education underscored the need for everyone to partake in the ongoing nationwide SIM card re-registration exercise expected to end on March 31, 2022. He said the exercise (which requires Ghana Card) was part of government's digitisation efforts to curtail the occurrence of cybercrime and fraud using SIM cards noting, everyone must get involved by dialing *404# on their phones to re-register to help sanitise the telecommunications space. Founder of AGHETO Welfare Club, Mr Reindolf Adzido told Ghana News Agency that the intention for establishing the Club, currently with a membership of about 2,000 was to mobilise people from around Anloga-Anyanui to support organisation of funerals for deceased members. He said the leadership was considering ways to make the financially grounded Club benefit members even in their lifetime through birthday and other celebrations and plans to increase benefit payments to GH5,000.00 from the GH4,000.00 paid in 2021. GNA MTN Ghana, has urged foreigners in the country to remain calm, as the telecommunication company undertakes the mandatory nationwide SIM Card Reregistration exercise. Mr Abubakar Mohammed, the General Manager of Southern Regional Sales, MTN Ghana who gave the advice, said there was no cause for alarm, saying discussions were on-going to register foreigners who had obtained non-resident card. The Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011, L.I 2006 mandates network operators or service providers to activate a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) only after the subscriber registers the SIM as directed by the National Communication Authority. Responding to a question on measures put in place to ensure foreigners were captured on the on-going SIM card registration exercise during a virtual meeting, Mr Mohammed emphasised only subscribers with NIA cards and non-residents cards would have their SIMs registered. The company held a two-hour virtual meeting to update journalists on the registration exercise, and measures put in place to facilitate its smoothness. Mr Mohammed, therefore, advised subscribers and customers to go for the NIA cards to pave the way for them to subsequently register their SIMs. He explained the company was reaching out to the rural population as well, saying more than 200 SIM card activations were being done nationwide on a daily basis. Mr Mohammed explained the SIM card registration was undertaken at the company's biometric capture points including, MTN connect stores, distributing centers, as well community activation locations. He reminded the registration was mandatory, and urged the media to use their platforms to sensitize the populace to participate in the exercise and register their SIM cards. GNA Following a failed kidnapping attempt on the edge of South Africa's famous Kruger National Park, the head of the park's administration has issued an urgent warning to visitors to the wildlife paradise. The warning was prompted by an incident this week in which a mother and her two children were attacked on their way back from a visit to the park near Numbi Gate. As they slowed down on the highway near a taxi stand, men approached the car from both sides. As the woman had the presence of mind to accelerate, the unknown men tried to puncture the car's tyres with gunshots. One of the bullets hit her daughter in the arm. The police search for the perpetrators has been unsuccessful so far. "Acting SANParks CEO Dumisani Dlamini ... advised guests to be extra vigilant when travelling through crime hotspots outside of the national parks, as the risk of opportunistic crime is higher in such areas," a statement from the South African National Parks (SANParks) said late Wednesday. The park administration called on the security authorities to intensify controls in the region and also, appealed to the population to protect tourists in the region. According to police statistics, the number of kidnapping cases in South Africa has increased sharply, especially in the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent case was an 11-year-old girl, who was abducted outside her school in Johannesburg's Mayfair district in November. She was found alive in a park on Wednesday, police said, without giving further details about a possible ransom payment. GNA The speaker of Tanzania's parliament quit on Thursday after a very public falling out with President Samia Suluhu Hassan, exacerbating divisions within the ruling party. Job Ndugai, who is no stranger to controversy, had infuriated Hassan last week when he criticised her over what he called Tanzania's "excessive" foreign borrowing. Rifts have emerged recently in the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) as the party prepares for new elections, although the ballot is not due to take place until 2025. Ndugai, 58, said in a statement he had written to the CCM's secretary general informing the party of his resignation from the post he has held since November 2015. "This is my personal and voluntary decision for the interest of my country, government and my party CCM," he said. Hassan, who took power in March last year, had on Tuesday hinted that she would be carrying out a cabinet reshuffle to expel ministers she suspects of siding with rival politicians in the party for the election. The speaker's remarks last week triggered a debate over the country's debt levels, but many people including Hassan's supporters in the CCM lashed out at him for criticising the president. "I did not expect someone who leads a pillar of the state to utter such words," she said, insisting that the government would continue borrowing for development projects. 'Begging bowl' According to figures published by Tanzania's central bank, the country's private and public external debt stood at almost $28 billion in November, with government borrowing accounting for more than 70 percent. Total debt amounted to $36 billion in November, it said, while gross domestic product stood at $64.7 billion at the end of 2020. "Is there any pride in taking around a begging bowl?" Ndugai asked at a public meeting last week. "We have resorted to borrowing every day. There will come a day when this country will be sold off." Ndugai, who was a strong supporter of Hassan's late predecessor John Magufuli and had also served as deputy speaker from 2010 to 2015, apologised to Hassan on Monday, saying his remarks were misunderstood. Tundu Lissu of the main opposition Chadema party, whose leader was arrested in July and charged with terrorism offences, described Ndugai as "the most despicable speaker in the 96 years of our parliament". "His forced resignation, though, confirms that Tanzania has only one omnipotent & untouchable arm of the State: the President. A new democratic Constitution is an urgent & imperative order of the day!" he said on Twitter. In June last year, Ndugai was subject to ridicule after he ordered a woman lawmaker who was wearing trousers to leave parliament because of her "strange" attire. He also angered Chadema in May when he refused, in defiance of Tanzanian law, to expel lawmakers whose membership of the party had been revoked. Hassan became president of the East African country after the death of Magufuli, who was nicknamed the "Bulldozer" for his authoritarian leadership style and who oversaw a crackdown on dissent during his rule. She has sought to break with some of Magufuli's policies, but fears remain about the state of political and media freedoms in the country. A 22-year-old man Daniel Odame alias Churchill has been picked up by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service for the alleged sodomy of a 15-year-old boy. He was arrested together with a suspected accomplice Francis Arhin, aged 24. Confirming the incident to the media Police Prosecutor Inspector Oparebea Amoko said: Today the accused persons were before court and they pleaded not guilty on all accounts. According to the Court documents, the 22-year-old man was arrested at Atasamanso in Kumasi on Friday, 22 October 2021 following a report by the parent of one of the victims. He was arrested together with his accomplice who was found in the same room with a 17-year-old boy on that day. The two appeared before a Kumasi Circuit Court on Wednesday, 5 January 2022 for an in-camera hearing. The first accused was charged with defilement and aiding and abetting unnatural carnal knowledge. His accomplice was also charged with unnatural carnal knowledge. The first accused was remanded into police custody for allegedly defiling the 15-year-old boy and to reappear before the court on Wednesday, 25 January 2022. His accomplice was however granted a bail of GHS50,000. --- classfmonline.com System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e8386e6858)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838772690)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e8386e6858)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838772690)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e8387fcc30)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838772690)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838772690)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e82fdcb128)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e8381fc0f0)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e8381fc0f0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 Five armed robbers have been gunned down in a gun battle with the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Ghana Police Service in the Ashanti Region. The incident took place at Bakoye New Site in the Obuasi Municipality of the Ashanti Region. Six others have been arrested by the police and assisting with investigation. Information available to DGN Online indicates that the incident occurred Thursday, January 6, 2022 when the suspected armed men attempted to attack a mining dealer in the community but luck eluded them as the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Regional Police Command raided the area upon a tip-off. According to sources, the police stormed the community on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, but the operation ended in the wee hours of Thursday. According to a police source, the armed robbers suddenly emerged and started firing at the police when the police also returned fire and in the process, overpowered the robbers, killing five out of the six robbers. The remaining one is currently at large and wanted by the police. Bodies of the five robbers have been conveyed and deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), for preservation and identification. The case is being handled by the Regional Command. In a related development, a special Anti-Robbery intelligence-led operations which were carried out throughout the country in the past 48 hours has led to the arrest ofsix suspected robbers. According to a statement issued by the police Thursday January 6, 2022, similar operations are in progress in the Northern and Western North Regions. ---Citinewsroom The Ministry of Finance is expected to announce its final decision on the implementation of the reversal of the benchmark value policy following a meeting between the Finance Minister and stakeholders Thursday afternoon. The meeting afforded the leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Importers and Exporters Association the opportunity to state their positions on the policy and how it would impact their operations. In separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency, the leadership of the AGI and GUTA, who held opposing views on the policy, expressed the hope that the Ministry would soon state its position on the matter to bring finality to the disagreements surrounding the policy. The implementation of the reversal of the benchmark values on some 43 imported items took effect on Tuesday, January 04, 2022. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), however, deferred the implementation of the policy for 24 hours to allow importers who got their duty bill before January 4, 2022, to pay and clear their goods. The policy has since been met with divided opinions over its appropriateness among industry players and stakeholders. Whereas the AGI supports the reversal of the benchmark value to reduce importation and boost local industries, GUTA and freight forwarders hold contrary position, fearing that the move would increase charges at the Port and affect prices of imported products. Briefing the GNA after the meeting with the Finance Minister, Mr Seth Twum Akwaboah, the Chief Executive Officer of AGI, said the Association maintained its position that the reversal of the benchmark value should not be suspended. The Minister listened to the position of all parties. For us at AGI, our position is that we should support local manufacturing and the local industry. If you have an industrialisation agenda, rolling out One District One Factory and suddenly you reduce the cost of imports to undermine your own industrialisation efforts, it will not work well, he said. Mr Akwaboah said the stakeholders did not get a clear conclusion on the policy at the meeting, adding that the Association was waiting for an official communique from the Ministry. Dr Joseph Obeng, President of GUTA, said the Association appealed to the Finance Minister to suspend the reversal of the benchmark value to cushion traders in the country. From all indications, he (Minister) has listened to us and we are waiting for official communication from the Finance Minister, he said. Dr Obeng urged its members to exercise restraint and pay the old duty until the Finance Ministry announced its final position on the policy. We are appealing to the Minister to come out as soon as possible because our people are confused as to the way forward, he said. The benchmark value policy was introduced by the Government in 2019 in accordance with the World Custom's Organisation policy of regular review of valuation database. Under the policy, certain commodities are benchmarked to the prevailing world prices as a risk management tool, to reflect the true market dynamics of the affected commodities. Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, announced the reversal of the policy during the 2022 Budget Presentation in Parliament in November, 2021. He explained that the move would allow the Government to shore up revenue on goods imported into the country. GNA Two Sudanese protesters were killed on Thursday while taking part in the latest mass demonstrations demanding a transition to civilian rule after a coup, medics said. One of the slain demonstrators took a "live bullet to the head by the putschist forces as he took part in demonstrations" in the capital's twin city of Omdurman, said the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, part of the pro-democracy movement. The second, who also has not been identified, "was hit by a live bullet to the pelvis" during the Omdurman protests, the medics added. The latest killings bring to 59 the overall death toll since the October 25 military coup, the committee added. Their deaths came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed on Twitter for Sudanese security forces to "cease using lethal force against demonstrators & commit to an independent investigation." Singing, beating drums, and holding up posters of others killed in demonstrations since the military takeover, protesters in the capital Khartoum shouted defiant slogans against the army. Many protesters in Khartoum were seen wounded and struggling with breathing difficulties due to the heavy firing of tear gas, according to the witnesses. The military takeover -- one of several in Sudan's post-independence history -- has been accompanied by a security forces crackdown that has also wounded hundreds. Demonstrators -- who have at times marched in the tens of thousands -- remain undeterred. "We will not stop until we get our country back," shouted one protester, Samar al-Tayeb, 22. Other demonstrators set fire to tyres to create burning barricades on the streets. Crowds were marching towards the presidential palace in Khartoum when security forces fired volleys of tear gas that formed thick and choking clouds, witnesses said. Protesters hurled back stones at security forces, they added. "Our marches will continue until we restore our revolution and our civilian government, even if martyrs fall among us," said Mojataba Hussein, a 23-year-old protester. Call for dialogue Demonstrators -- who have at times marched in the tens of thousands -- remain undeterred by a security crackdown which has killed almost 60 people. By - AFP The power grab by military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan more than two months ago dismantled a precarious power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilians established in the wake of the April 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir. The protests on Thursday came days after prime minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned, leaving the military fully in charge. Hamdok had been held under house arrest for weeks following the coup, before being reinstated in a November 21 deal after international pressure. The protest movement called the November pact a "betrayal" for providing what they said was a cloak of legitimacy for Burhan's coup, and kept up its rallies. When Hamdok stepped down on Sunday, he said Sudan was at a "dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival". Western nations say the solution is dialogue, a point made in a tweet Wednesday by Blinken. He said: "To overcome the current crisis in Sudan, we and our partners strongly urge stakeholders to commit to an immediate, Sudanese-led, and internationally facilitated dialogue." Protests in several cities Main developments in Sudan since the October coup.. By Gal ROMA AFP Demonstrations on Thursday again took place in other cities as well as the capital, witnesses said. "The authority is that of the people," protesters chanted in Wad Madani, demanding soldiers "go back to the barracks". In Atbara, protesters called on Burhan to "hand over the country's keys and leave," witnesses said. Crowds in the central state of North Kordofan chanted "No, no to military rule" while waving and draped in the national flag. Others also took to the streets in Central and South Darfur states, according to witnesses. On Tuesday the United States, European Union, Britain and Norway warned the military against naming their own successor to Hamdok, saying that without involvement of "a broad range of civilian stakeholders" such a move could plunge the country into conflict. Protesters set fire to tyres to create burning barricades. By - AFP On Thursday, state-media quoted Burhan's media adviser Taher Abouhaga as saying, in an apparent reference to the absence of a government: "The void must be filled in the least possible time." Burhan last month issued a decree allowing security forces to arrest individuals "over crimes related to the state of emergency", effectively banning street protests. But the rallies continue. Web monitoring group NetBlocks said the mobile internet was cut from mid-morning Thursday, and wider internet access and phone lines were also disrupted, a tactic repeatedly used in an attempt to disrupt activists. Nene Abgasi Zuta V, the newly enstooled Mankralo of the Old Ningo Traditional Area of the Greater Accra Region has been advised not to engage in the sale of stool lands. The Asafoatsegua Oman V (Senior Warlord) of the Kabiawem Clan in the Old Ningo Traditional Area gave the advice during the enstoolment and outdooring of the Mankralo said indiscriminate sales of stool lands have been the foundation of disputes and litigation in the region. The Asafoatsegua Oman revealed that the era under which traditional leaders sold stool lands indiscriminately and most often without being accountable to the people was past gone, stool lands are entrusted into the hands of leaders for protection for future generation. He added that the newly enstooled Mankralo has a responsibility to protect all the stool land for the people of the Old Ningo Traditional Area. According to the Old Ningo Warlord, the traditional area lags as far as development was concerned saying that the enstoolment of the substantive Mankralo was the first step to change the fortunes of the people of the area. Asafoatsegua Oman urged Nene Agbasi to all times work in the interest of the people and must not be seen engaging himself in unacceptable acts in the area. The Chiefs and people of the Old Ningo Traditional area in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region have enstooled Nene Agbasi Zutah V known in private life as Mr Moses Tetteh Zutah from the Kabiawem clan as a new Mankralo after 41 years. GNA A Court in Enchi in the Western North Region of Ghana has remanded a couple into Police custody for killing their 4-year-old daughter over her bed-wetting problem. The sad demise of the school girl identified as Francisca Etuteh occurred last Tuesday at Yakase in the Aowin Municipality. The parents, Effah Donaldson, age 34, and Salome Oteku, age 27, who are now suspects in the case reportedly beat the deceased daughter till she collapsed after bed-wetting. Unlike a previous punishment where she was placed on hot water, Francisca Etuteh this time around also broke her arm through the beatings and had to be rushed to Aowin community clinic. While receiving treatment, she passed on. With the attention of the Police drawn to a plot by the couple to secretly bury the deceased daughter, they took up the matter and managed to arrest Effah Donaldson and Salome Oteku earlier this week. "We arrested the mother and father and picked the body as well to the mortuary. The mother and father were brought to the Police station and interviewed for information. It was there they told us that the child has been urinating in the night frequently on the bed. They woke her up in the morning and tried to make her stop urinating. The first time she urinated they placed her on hot water. Then the second one they beat her and she collapsed and rushed to the hospital. It was there when she was undergoing treatment that she passed on, ACP Henry Bacho who is the Enchi Divisional Police Commander narrated to Citi News on Thursday evening. Having been put before Court today, the couple has been remanded into Police custody to reappear on January 13, 2022. Meanwhile, the body of the deceased girl has been deposited at the Enchi government hospital. UN Peacekeeping expressed its gratitude to Ghana for entering a voluntary compact with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the commitment to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel. According to a Tweet by UN Peacekeeping, the Voluntary Compact is a demonstration of the political will to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, demand accountability and provide meaning support to victims. The Secretary-General introduced the Compact at a High-Level Meeting on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse held in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly on 18 September 2017. The meeting brought together world leaders and leaders of regional and civil society organizations and charted an ambitious strategy aimed at responding comprehensively to sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel. At the High-Level Meeting, the Secretary-General re-affirmed to Member States that the United Nations would not tolerate anyone committing or condoning sexual exploitation and abuse and would not let anyone cover up these crimes with the UN flag. Ghana is currently the 9th largest contributor of military and police personnel to UN Peacekeeping, with more than 2,300 Ghanaian peacekeepers serving worldwide. To date, 105 UN Member States have signed on to the Voluntary Compact. ---United Nations The Tano South Municipal Assembly inaugurated sub-committees of the Assembly including some board members of the various institutions. The objective of the committees is to oversee the organization of meetings including other activities of the Assembly. The committees were inaugurated as enshrined in the Local Government Act 2016 (Act 936) Inaugurated its sub-committees, Mr. Anthony Owusu - Amoako, the Coordinating Director of Tano South Municipal Assembly, commended the new committee members for their dedication and urged all committee members to come together in the discharge of their duties to ensure peace exists among them. He informed the committee members to bring their ideas, knowledge and expertise together in order to improve the development in Tano South Municipal Assembly and beyond. In his address, The Tano South MCE, Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi said the Constitution of Ghana makes emphasis on decentralization and hinted that the decentralization system makes the MMDAs plan and initiate programmes to address the challenges of the rural folks. He indicated that the constitutional provision in the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) was enacted to regulate the Local government system in Ghana. He added that Act 462 was repealed and placed in the 2016 Local Government Act. Hon. Takyi further explained that Act 936 created 3-tiers. Thats the National Administration, Regional administration and District administration. According to him, all nominated Board Members and Committees Members were charged to exhibit good relationship to ensure effective performance of their work during their swearing-in ceremony at St. Joseph College of Education, Bechem. He also charged members to perform their core mandates in accordance with the law. In a short speech, Mr. Jacob Adade Nitiamoah, the Economic and Development Planning Office of Ahafo Region who represent the Ahafo Regional Minister Hon. George Boakye, congratulated the new committee members for allowing themselves to be chosen for the task ahead. He urged them to be submissive and do all they could to ensure Tano South Municipality acquires the needed development to improve the living standards of the people. Cassiel Ato Forson 06.01.2022 LISTEN Former Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson has said Attorney General Godfred Dame is being driven by hatred, prejudice and demagoguery in pursuing the 2.37 million financial loss to state case against him. Dr Forsons accusation follows a statement issued by the office of the Attorney General in which it accused the opposition lawmaker of seeking to expose Mr Dame to hatred and prejudice with his (Dr Forsons) claim that the recent charge levelled against him was part of a grand scheme by officialdom to silence him as far as his opposition to the controversial e-levy is concerned. The Ajumako Enyan Esiam MP, who is also the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, together with two others; Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health; and Richard Jakpa, a businessman, is facing criminal charges for causing the state to lose 2.37 million in a deal to purchase some 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016. The trio was dragged to the Accra High Court Thursday, 23 December 2021 by the Attorney General, on five counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to wilfully cause financial loss to the state, contravention of the public procurement act and intentionally misapplying public property. A day after the charges were levelled against him, Dr Forson told the media at a press conference that: I have had to call you this morning for the singular purpose of responding to the news doing the rounds on social and mainstream media that certain charges have been preferred against me by the Attorney General of the Republic, the Honourable Godfred Yeboah Dame. Though I am yet to be formally charged in court, I have seen copies of the charge sheet in the media and wish to say without any fear of the contradiction that these charges are nothing but a frivolous and politically motivated attempt by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his hatchet man, the Attorney General, to silence me for performing my duties as the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of the Parliament of Ghana. But I want to assure the good people of this country, especially my constituents, who elected me to represent them in parliament that I will not and cannot be silenced by the blatant abuse of prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General, he said. Responding to Dr Forson, the office of the Attorney General in its statement signed by Deputy Attorney General Diana Asonaba Dapaah, said Dr Ato Forsons claims were laden with factual misrepresentations and calculated at scandalising the criminal proceedings pending in the High Court against the Member of Parliament and exposing the Attorney General to prejudice and hatred. The statement clarified that investigations into the financial crimes perpetrated against the Republic of Ghana in the matter of the failed purchase of ambulances for the state began in 2017. Same [investigations] had been ongoing since 2017, with a number of statements taken from various persons at different points in time, including the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, former Minister of Health (now Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana); Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah, Madam Sherry Ayittey and Dr Alex Segbefia, all former Ministers for Health as well as the first accused. In a counter-statement, however, the lawmaker said the AG cannot dictate his (Dr Forsons) feelings about the criminal charges brought against him. I have noted a statement issued by a Deputy Attorney General claiming that by speaking out against the malice and deliberate political persecution inherent in the decision to prosecute me, I am exposing the Attorney General to hate and prejudice. I wish to state that the Attorney Generals office cannot determine my reaction to the sinister plot to needlessly tarnish my reputation and rob me of my liberty simply because I remain implacably opposed to the poor economic policies of this government and in particular the E-Levy, he noted. In his view, It is the Attorney General who is driven by hate, prejudice and demagoguery, explaining: He is the one abusing his prosecutorial powers to silence critical political opponents. For instance, he noted, on Paragraph 7 of the AGs statement issued yesterday, it was claimed that: As stated in the facts of the case filed in court on 22nd December 2011, the cabinet endorsed an executive approval of a joint memorandum submitted to the cabinet by the then Minister for Health and the first accused Cassiel Ato Forson, then Deputy Minister for Finance, for the purchase of 200 ambulances out of a medium-term credit facility of 15,800,000 between Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance. For the avoidance of doubt, the Cabinet memo for the purchase of the ambulances was submitted in December 2011. I became a deputy minister on the 2nd of May 2013. How could I have signed a cabinet MEMO in December 2011? ---classfmonline.com Your Excellency, Gov. Gboyega Oyetola, Bola Ige House, Osun State Secretariat, Abere, Oshogbo. Osun State. Dear Sir, It grieves my heart that I have to write you another letter on this all important subject. It is indeed a matter of deep regret that our fathers and leaders in Ijesa land have to go through another laborious exercise in missive management to once again remind you of your promise to upgrade our Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, to its deserved status of a University. It is a painful thing to experience. Indeed, very agonizing.. We have asked. We have beseeched. We have implored. We have solicited. We have urged. We have begged. We have pleaded. We have petitioned. We have honoured. We have shown respect. We have shown courtesy. We have shown deference. We have paid homage. We have shown veneration. Your Excellency, what remains is to make you a god. Having gone through all this, I don't think it is fair to subject our fathers and leaders in Ijesa land to a laborious, strenuous, arduous, burdensome and tiresome missive management in order to remind Your Excellency of your promises in regards to the subject on the table. As undignifying and scurvy as the exercise of missive management seemed, our fathers and leaders, propelled by patriotism to Ijesa land, have gone through the furnace of sacrifice to do it, signed by twenty three Traditional Rulers other than His Imperial Majesty, the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesa land, Oba (Dr.) Adekunle Aromolaran. Five of the prominent leaders in Ijesa land, also signed the same letter. It is now a widely held opinion among the Ijesa home and abroad, that this delay is tilting to humiliation of the great Ijesa people. They feel that the delay is to make us grovel. To make us beg, blandish and bootlick. To make us crawl, cower and creep. To many Ijesa sons and daughters all over the world, this delay for which they are unable to fathom any reason, is on the borderline of degradation and denigration of a people that are innately proud and dignified. The Ijesa people understands that you are a politician. To expect you to reap maximum political gain from this exercise, if you are able to do it sir, is not a crime. But our anxieties are headed to the wrong direction. The goodwill of Ijesa people towards you and your government is withering and shrinking. Our leaders, because of diplomacy, may not be able to be blunt with you, but this is the general feeling on the street, on this matter. Our people are becoming restive. They are becoming agitated and jumpy. They are exuding tendentious but passive pugnacity They are very worried that after all, you are not different from other politicians who assail us with empty promises, all of the time. On this matter, they are beginning to make new calculations. Many sons and daughters of Ijesa land all over the planet see you and your Government as having sold us a dummy. The only thing that would convince us now is action and not words. Please, we are not interested in press statements any longer. No grandiloquence would serve any purpose at this point. We are not interested in any propitious appearances with any of our fathers or leaders anymore. What we want is action. Enough of words. Enough of promises. Enough of grandstanding. Enough of gimmickry. We are all following the political calendar. We all know that the window is closing. We have an idea of when the next election is taking place. We know that you would soon be out on the campaign trail. With the campaign in full swing, reduced attention would be given to the task of governance. Focus would be on the next four years and who would be the driver of the Osun State vehicle. It would be a grave mistake to further delay action on this. The Ijesa people would not accept any promise from your Government that action would come during your second term. It is not that we would reject it, it is already rejected as I write this. We would not be patient. We have gone through this before. The only reason that my dear Uncle Bola Ige is the only Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN's) Governor that has no University named after him, is because he did not create any. He was waiting for the second term that never came. In my last letter to you in May 2021, I had written inter alia: "There are some musings from the grapevine that Your Excellency is waiting till your second term to have this done. It is difficult to establish the veracity of this. But if this has any iota of truth, my sincere advice to you sir, is simple. Please dont do it. Don't wait. The reason is that today has been given to you, that is why it is called present. Tomorrow is only a promise. No one knows if it would ever come. No one could guarantee it. What you could do today, delay it not till tomorrow. To further understand this point, take a cue from History. Learn it very conscientiously. Take its lessons to heart. Let it be your guide. Listen very attentively to the Spanish born American Essayist and philosopher, George Santayana. He had said, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Nico Mbarga, that music maestro who originated from the rusty milieu of Obubra City on the banks of Cross River, also insisted that opportunity comes but once. Well, may be some opportunities come the second time, but very rarely. So, Your Excellency, do not wait till tomorrow. No one knows if it would ever come. Make the dream of Ijesa people happen today. It is a great opportunity for the Ijesa as well as you. It is an opportunity for you to become indelible in the heart of Ijesa sons and daughters. It is an opportunity for you to belong to the Ijesa pantheon. Make your steps inerasable from the sands of time." History is always very instructive. With due respects to Your Excellency sir, it is inevitable that the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, would become a University. It would be wonderful if you allow yourself to be used for this task. It would be great if you allow yourself to be part of a beautiful and great History of a great and proud people. It is not enough to be remembered as a Governor. It is better to be remembered as a Governor with a meaningful, enduring and historical achievement. For your information, Your Excellency, in Ijesa land today, we are more determined than before to get what we want. We are more focused. We pay serious attention to everything, especially politics and economy. We have a point of convergence which is compulsory development of our Ijesa land. We are more organized than hitherto. We are better coordinated. We are more methodical. Our unity of purpose is as solid as Oke-Imo in Ilesa. We are more concerted and consolidated. We are very united than anyone could imagine. We would not be denied. Just letting you know sir, Your Excellency. Please, act NOW! Yours Sincerely, Remi Oyeyemi Omo Owa, Omo Ekun AF 16D Oke-Iyin St., Ilesa. Osun State. Armed with battle-tested drones, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been developing defence ties with African nations ahead of a major gathering of the continent's leaders in Istanbul. "The most vital sector is the defence sector since this can be a modern resource. Turkey has pushed this sector a parcel, particularly drones," Federico Donelli, an international relations analyst at the University of Genoa, told AFP. The two-day Turkey-Africa partnership summit beginning Friday comes quick on the heels of a top-level commerce gathering in October that centered on investment and trade. The another stage of this fast-blossoming relationship is security, experts say, with a have of African leaders looking to purchase up military equipment at cheaper costs and with less strings attached. Leaders and top ministers from 39 nations counting 13 presidents have affirmed participation, with Erdogan set to form a speech on Saturday. Ankara as of now features a military base in Somalia, and Morocco and Tunisia supposedly took their to begin with conveyance of Turkish combat drones in September. Angola got to be the most recent to precise an intrigued in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) amid Erdogan's to begin with visit to the southern African nation in October. Turkey in August moreover marked a military cooperation promise with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has been entangled in a war with Tigrayan rebels for the past year. Russia's influence and the Turkey intervention Russia has been the prevailing player on the African arms market, accounting for 49 percent of the continent's imports between 2015 and 2019, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). But intrigued in Turkish weaponry is peaking. The TB2 Bayraktar model is in tall request after it was credited with swinging the destiny of conflicts in Libya and Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh within the past few years. The drones are made by the private Baykar company, run by one of Erdogan's sons-in-law. "Everywhere I go in Africa, everybody inquires about UAVs," Erdogan bragged after a visit to Angola, Nigeria and Togo in October. Some of the closest investigation has centered on Turkey's ties with Ethiopia, where a brutal conflict has murdered thousands, uprooted more than two million and driven hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, according to UN estimates. Reports say Ethiopia needs to purchase Bayraktar TB2 drones after military cooperation understanding was signed with Ankara. A Western source said Turkey sent an undisclosed number of combat drones in back of Abiy's campaign prior this year, but that Ankara has since reacted to international pressure and ended the deals. "Ethiopia can purchase these drones from whoever they want," Turkey's foreign ministry spokesman said in October, neither affirming or denying the deals. Taking off sales Official Turkish data does not break down the points of interest of military deals to individual nations, as it were giving the overall deals amount for each month. These have taken off marvelously within the past year. Turkish defence and aviation exports to Ethiopia rose to $94.6 million between January and November from around $235,000 within the same period last year, according to figures published by the Turkish Exporters Assembly. Sales to Angola, Chad and Morocco experienced comparable jumps. Turkey's drones first made worldwide features after Ankara marked two deals with the UN-recognised Libyan government covering maritime and security in 2019. It at that point swarmed the struggle zone with drones, slowing down an progress by revolt eastern powers supported by Turkey's territorial rivals and clearing the way for a truce. Turkey cemented its drones' notoriety last year by making a difference Azerbaijan recover most of the arrive it lost to separatist ethnic Armenian powers in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh about three decades ago. "Now Turkey with drones has more cards to play when they need to deal with other nations," analyst Donelli said. "This may be a exceptionally great bargaining chip for Turkey." The Developing network the Turkey-Africa relations was improved, in 2003 turkey have 12 embassies and invested $100 million and 2021 have 42 embassies and 6.5 billion of investment. The head of Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board - the NGO that facilitated the October gathering in Istanbul--demanded the developing relationship was not almost weapons. "We care almost the defence sector and our relations with Africa," the board's head Nail Olpak told AFP. "But I would like to emphasize that in case we see the defence sector as it were as weapons, rockets, weapons, tanks and rifles, it would be wrong." He highlighted Turkish mine-clearing vehicles in Togo, which qualify as defence industry sales. Donelli agreed, alluding to Togo's plans to progress its armed force with the bolster of Turkey through training and armoured vehicles, weapons and other sorts of equipment. Turkey has allegedly set up a web of 37 military workplaces over Africa in all, in line with Erdogan's confirmed objective of tripling the yearly trade volume with the continent to $75 billion within the coming years. By Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi Hersi Chinese, Turkmen presidents exchange congratulations on 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties Xinhua) 10:06, January 06, 2022 BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, on Thursday exchanged congratulations on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that over the past 30 years, China-Turkmenistan relations have developed by leaps and bounds. China, he noted, was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with Turkmenistan, one of the first countries to support Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality, and the first strategic partner of Turkmenistan established via the form of a political document, and is also Turkmenistan's largest trading partner of natural gas. The development of China-Turkmenistan relations has not only brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their people, but also made important contributions to safeguarding regional peace and stability, Xi said. Xi stressed that China attaches great importance to its relations with Turkmenistan, and will, as always, firmly support Turkmenistan in pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, safeguarding national sovereignty and national independence, and upholding its policy of permanent neutrality. He added that he would like to stay in close contact with Berdymukhamedov, and take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and jointly lift the China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership to new levels for the benefit of the two countries and their people. In his message, Berdymukhamedov said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Turkmenistan and China have carried out all-round cooperation in the broadest scope, and set up a unique multi-level coordination mechanism. China has been a major trading partner of Turkmenistan for multiple years in a row, which vividly represents the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides, he said. The Turkmen side, he added, attaches great importance to the bilateral relationship and stands ready to work closely with China on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual accomodation of interests, and spare no effort to promote Turkmenistan-China ties to higher levels. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Physics professor awarded NSF grant for workshop The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a grant of nearly $50,000 to Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., assistant professor physics and electrical engineering at The University of Scranton. The grant will support The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) 2022 Workshop, which will take place March 18 and 19 at The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The conference, which will take place in-person, also has a virtual format option. The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) is a collective of professional researchers and licensed amateur radio operators (a.k.a. hams) with the objective to foster collaborations between the amateur and professional communities for the purposes of advancing scientific research and understanding, encouraging the development of new technologies to support this research, and to provide educational opportunities for the amateur radio community and the general public. The workshop will serve as a team meeting for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station project, which is a $1.3 million NSF funded project previously awarded to Dr. Frissell. The project seeks to harness the power of a network of licensed amateur radio operators to better understand and measure the effects of weather in the upper levels of Earths atmosphere. The theme for the two-day HamSCI workshop is The Weather Connection. The fifth annual workshop will feature prominent leaders in space weather, atmospheric weather and the connection between them. Read more at: https://news.scranton.edu/articles/2022/01/news-faculty-frissell-nsf-hamsci-2022.shtml A law court in Montreal district of Canada has allowed three Mauritius-based investors of Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between the Indian government-owned Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Ltd, to seize funds deposited by Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Air India with International Air Transport Association (IATA). According to media reports, the court on 21 December 2021 had issued the order for ordering preliminary attachment of $6.8 million of the AAI funds deposited as air service fees with the Montreal-based IATA. "The three investorsDevas (Mauritius) Ltd, Telcom Devas Mauritius Ltd and Devas Employees Mauritius Pvt. Ltdhave won international arbitration awards in their dispute with Antrix Ltd and the Indian government. AAI and Air India are being targeted because they are Indian public sector entities with overseas assets and serve as a proxy for the government of India," says a report from Mint According to the report, the Canadian court in Montreal passed separate orders on 24th November and 21 December 2021 on pleas by shareholders of Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd to enforce arbitration awards against the Indian government. After the order was issued on 21st December, Air India removed its inventory from global distribution systems (GDS), used by travel agents to issue tickets, it added. AAI says it would take legal recourse against the order by a court in Canada. The AAI has not been served any order by the Quebec Court, Canada, in this matter. However, the IATA shared certain documents on the AAIs request, for suspending the transfer of the amount collected on behalf of the AAI. The AAI is taking legal recourse to defend itself, the Airports Authority says in a statement. According to a report from Indian Express , besides the Montreal court, the investors had moved a federal court in the US which, on Monday, turned down their plea to identify assets of Antrix across America. After the investors said Antrix had no assets in the Washington district, as they had been directed by the federal court for the Western district of Washington to find earlier, it told them to identify Antrix assets in the US eastern district of Virginia, it added. Devas Multimedia is also seeking over $1.2 billion from India it won in international arbitration in September 2017. In 2020, an arbitration tribunal had awarded more than $111 million along with interest to Devas. The company also won $562.5 million in damages from separate proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce. This dispute goes back to 2011, when Antrix Corp, a unit of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) annulled an agreement with Devas Multimedia citing force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract). The then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government cancelled the controversial Devas-Antrix contract in February 2011, invoking sovereignty and decided to use the advanced satellite (GSAT-6) for the country's strategic use. Under the annulled deal, Antrix was to lease transponders of the satellite to Devas for allowing it to offer digital multimedia services using the S-band wavelength (spectrum), reserved for strategic purposes. After the cancellation of the deal, Deutsche Telekom, three Mauritius-based foreign investors in Devas Multimedia, and Devas Multimedia itself, approached various international arbitration tribunals seeking damages from the Indian government. Antrix Corp has also initiated proceedings to liquidate Devas Multimedia alleging that the company was a sham entity. The matter is currently pending before the Karnataka High Court. Does the last day of 2021 portend what is in store for 2022? If yes, we are in for tougher times. On 31st December, I had tweeted how chartered accountants (CA), as a community, had erupted in anger over the dysfunctional income-tax (I-T) portal on the last day for filing returns. The government not only rejected their plea to extend the date to file returns but defended the glitchy portal saying 58.9 million income-tax returns (ITRs) have been filed on the new e-filing portal as on 31 December 2021. This disingenuous claim left many professionals stupefied. Like with the malfunctioning goods & services tax (GST) portal, the extent of pain and bugs encountered are in direct proportion to the complexity of returns filed. So numbers do not tell the real story. What is worse, problems with the portal continue unabated. The year began with taxpayers receiving significantly higher refunds than were due to them ( https://twitter.com/caamresh/status/1478190085380075521 ); some, who had successfully e-verified a tax return on 30th/31st December, were receiving unverified acknowledgements in January. This malfunction does not give a bonanza to the lucky taxpayer; it only creates more workof answering follow-up demands and reversal! And, yet, neither have tax professionals got a proper hearing from the finance ministry, nor has the company responsible for the dreadful new portal faced any punitive consequences. The anger among CAs is all the more interesting because many of them are aggressive supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They have been forced to acknowledge that the governments refusal to listen or engage is not limited to farmers, anti-nationals, media or andolan-jeevi (perpetual protestors) types. It is universal. One CA, who had great hopes from the NDA (BJP-led national democratic alliance) in 2014, says, We now have #taxtorture . Atrocious law and highly complicated software making life miserable for taxpayers and tax professionals. Another supporter tweeted: Increasingly this BJP govt feels like UPA II in their last three years. Arrogant and not ready to listen, except through street power. #IncomeTaxReturn . The government has repeatedly passed legislation, without any debate in parliament. It has only paused or rolled back in the face of strong agitation and street protests by affected groups such as farmers, bankers or even resident doctors. Meanwhile, two slogans of 2014 have been forgottenEase of Doing Business and Minimum Government, Maximum Governance. The government is everywhere; it is more intrusive, riding roughshod on individual rights and privacy, and forcing compliance through ever-increasing fines, penalties, bans, threat of imprisonment and investigation. All this is a reminder of the disenchantment with UPA2 and its coalition (a)dharma. NDA2 Is Mirroring UPA2 Many Ways. An article I wrote in July 2019, when Modi Sarkar 2.0 had just begun a new innings, offers a good reference point. At that time, it seemed like the clean up of corporate India had begun in right earnest. Nine months later, a virus had sent the world into turmoil and India went into a hard lock-down. Since then, there has been no new action or conclusion to the investigation into Sahara, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) or even Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) and Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). Rating agencies have got away with a small slap on the wrist for their failure to alert investors to the precarious financial position of these entities and regulators, who had ignored warning signs and detailed letters from whistle-blowers, have not been touched. As for our many fugitive industrialists, they remain safely abroad. Mehul Choksi, who is living it up with his girlfriend in the Caribbean islands, even managed to make the Indian government look very foolish in the middle of the pandemic. In May this year, India dispatched a private jet to bring back the absconding diamantaire wanted in the Punjab National Bank scam; but our officials returned looking foolish after failing to obtain a deportation order. One could argue that it is unfair to expect focused follow-up investigation in the middle of a pandemic. But, on the other hand, the same agencies launched a slew of new investigations, conducted raids and announced major seizures, despite the pandemic. Many have targeted politically-connected persons and businesses. In the past, such investigations dragged on for decades, while the cases were systematically weakened by making crucial documents and witnesses vanish. The photo ops, arrests and leaked documents that mark the initial action are soon forgotten. As a journalist, I have witnessed how sensitive commercial documents leak like a sieve from all government agencies, often directly to powerful corporate competitors. This has remained unchanged under all political formations. The difference is that India is no longer a closed economy and multinationals have the option of invoking international arbitration, bilateral treaties and accessing international courts, which is leading to repeated global embarrassment. Here are two recent examples. At the end of December, two Indian entities of retail giant Amazon filed a writ in the Delhi High Court challenging the jurisdiction of the enforcement directorate (ED) in an investigation opened under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). Its point is that the ED is using the investigation to demand information on transactions that have nothing to do with foreign exchange and are beyond its remit. We hold no brief for Amazon which has used legal teams to dance around Indian rules and brazenly evaded responsibility for the sale of fake products . This happened under the benign watch of various ministries, most notably the ministry of consumer affairs. In the past two years though, it has been subjected to a public tongue-lashing by a minister and its founder Jeff Bezos was childishly snubbed and refused appointments when he visited India in January 2020 ( Government Snubs Jeff Bezos; Was Refused Appointment With PM, Say Sources ). Discerning corporate watchers note that Amazons concerns about a fishing expedition are valid and the governments change in attitude to the company has coincided with the aggressive retail expansion of a powerful business house. Mainstream media wrongly attributed the change to a concern for retail traders. After decades of litigation, Vodafone Cairn Energy (Cairn) and Devas Multimedia (Devas) have successfully embarrassed the government in 2020 and 2021 with significant international victories. In July 2021, when Cairns legal victories continued to be ignored by an arrogant Modi government, Cairn secured an order from a ( Cairn Energy Allowed To Takeover Indian Assets in Paris To Recover Part of $ 1.2 Billion Arbitration Award ) French court to seize about 20 properties in Paris belonging to the Indian government to recover a portion of the US$1.2bn (billion) owed to it by India. Cairns action came after India had confiscated its shareholding in Vedanta shares and withheld dividends and tax refunds. The NDA governments actions defy logic and explanation because all three issues were inherited from the Congress-led united progressive alliance (UPA) government which is reviled and trolled by its leaders every day. The Devas dispute goes back to 2005 when it signed a deal with Antrix Corporation to lease communication satellites for 12 years. The UPA government had cancelled the deal arguing that spectrum allocated was required for national security purposes. Foreign investors in Devas approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration and won an arbitration award of US$1.2bn in 2015 which the government refused to honour. India also ignored bilateral agreements covering the matter and has even lost appeals against these orders. Devas went on to secure favourable orders from the Canadian and US courts, allowing it to seize Indian assets in those countries. Through all of this, the Indian government refused to engage with Devas. Earlier this week, in a major embarrassment for India, Devas and two others secured favourable orders from a Canadian court to seize money collected by the International Air Transport Association on behalf of the Airport Authority of India and Air India. The Canadian court order, says a source, described the NCLT proceedings as being illegal, arbitrary, vexatious and in contravention to the basic tenets of law being violative of the principles of natural justice. This telling comment by a global court about our new and shining bankruptcy forum has even bigger implications for Indian companies that do not have the same legal options. This is just the beginning. If India wants to be taken seriously as a future superpower, the government has to get serious about Ease of Doing Business as well as fair and equitable treatment of job-creators. Vendetta-driven actions have to stop and investigation agencies, regulators and those with fiduciary responsibility, have to be made more accountable to stakeholders. You may want to listen to the audio of this article The Central government on Wednesday released revised guidelines for home isolation of mild/asymptomatic COVID-19 cases. As per the revised guidelines, issued by the ministry of health & family welfare, a patient under home isolation will stand discharged after seven days from testing positive. Patient under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days have passed from testing positive and no fever for 3 successive days and they shall continue wearing masks. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over, said the guidelines. Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo Covid test & monitor health in home quarantine, the guidelines said. The new guidelines, which come amid the sharp surge in COVID cases over the last few days, also added Over the past two years, it has been seen globally as well as in India that majority of cases of Covid-19 are either asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms. Such cases usually recover with minimal interventions and accordingly may be managed at home under proper medical guidance and monitoring. The guidelines have defined the asymptomatic cases as laboratory confirmed cases who are not experiencing any symptoms and have oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93%. While there has been a sharp surge in cases across countries, hospitalizations have remained relatively lower as compared to earlier surges. - @MoHFW_INDIA #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/4UXuwd5rWa PIB India (@PIB_India) January 5, 2022 Clinically assigned mild cases are defined as patients with upper respiratory tract symptoms with or without fever, without shortness of breath and having oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93%. As per the new guidelines, the patient assigned as 'mild/ asymptomatic case' by the treating Medical Officer, will be 'eligible' for home isolation. The patient should be clinically assigned as mild/ asymptomatic case by the treating Medical Officer. Further a designated control room contact number at the district /sub district level shall be provided to the family to get suitable guidance for undertaking testing, clinical management related guidance, assignment of a hospital bed, if warranted, said the guidelines. As per the new guidelines, patients are required to maintain a self-health monitoring chart which should included details like date and time; temperature; heart rate (from pulse oximeter); SpO2% (from pulse oximeter); feeling: (better/same/worse); and breathing (better/same/worse). According to the guidelines, the district administration should monitor all cases under home isolation on a daily basis. According to the revised guidelines, elderly patients who are over 60 years and those with co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and chronic lung disease, among others, should only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by a doctor. Patients suffering from immune compromised status such as HIV, transplant recipients and cancer therapy are not recommended for home isolation, unless cleared by a doctor, the health ministry said. According to the health ministry, India reported 58,097 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, taking the country's active caseload to 2,14,004. In a new development in the ongoing legal tussle between Amazon and Future Group, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed further arbitration proceedings between the parties before the Singapore tribunal till February 1. A bench, headed by Chief Justice D.N. Patel and comprising Justice Jyoti Singh, issued notice on the two appeals filed by Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd. The notice has been made returnable on February 1. The high court also stayed the single judge order, which dismissed the Future Group's plea against the two orders passed by the tribunal. The Future Group had sought termination of the arbitration proceedings instituted by Amazon. Citing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order, the high court noted that there is a prima facie case made out in the favour of appellants. It further added that it will stay further proceedings of the tribunal till the next date of hearing. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Future Coupons Pvt Ltd, cited the CCI order, which kept in abeyance the approval granted for Amazon's deal with Future Group, and added since approval is gone, the agreement automatically loses its value. He argued that the single judge of the high court failed to appreciate the application and also the fact that the agreement will have no effect after the CCI's order. Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, appearing for Amazon, submitted that it was not fair to say that tribunal was not taking cognissance of applications to terminate the arbitration proceedings. On Tuesday, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed Future's pleas seeking a direction to a Singapore tribunal to deal with its termination application in connection with deal with Amazon. Justice Amit Bansal had reserved the orders on Monday after hearing on pleas filed by FRL and FCRL. The Future Group moved the high court seeking direction for the Singapore tribunal to hear termination application ahead of the scheduled hearings in the arbitration case. In December last year, the CCI had imposed a penalty of Rs 202 crore on Amazon and suspended its approval for the e-tailer's deal with Future Coupons, a promoter firm of the group's public listed company Future Retail Ltd, seeking more information. The Singapore tribunal had held that it could not accommodate its termination application ahead of the scheduled hearings on the main case. Citing the CCI order, the Future Group argued the agreement which provided for the arbitration proceedings itself is rendered invalid and as such, the ongoing proceedings, too, would be irrelevant. Amazon opposed it, saying that arbitration and the underlying contract are independent of each other, and also cited legal options, such as appeals, available against the CCI order. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. Canada geese perch on ice shelves along the Clark Fork River and fluff up their down jackets against the cold. Its been quieter in recent weeks for geese and men along the stretch of river near Perkins Lane. Phase 3 of Superfund cleanup began there in spring and will move incrementally along the river and eventually end about half-way to the Galen Road. Phase 3 work continued through summer and fall and just recently paused for the Christmas and New Years holidays. The project is said to be ahead of schedule, but with a lot of excavation and hauling remaining. During summer and fall, trucks fitted with side dump trailers waited as excavator operators filled the trailers with contaminated soils. The trailer loads were hauled a comparatively short distance and dumped in a repository in the Opportunity Ponds. The company doing the work was Missouri River Contractors and its employees labored long hours during the summer days of prolonged light. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is the lead agency for the Clark Fork site. It consults with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and coordinates with the state Natural Resource Damage Program. Tim Reilly, an environmental scientist with DEQ, is the new project manager for the upper Clark Fork cleanup. He reported Tuesday that about 260,000 cubic yards of contaminated soils and materials have been transported to the repository in the Opportunity Ponds. Roughly 300,000 cubic yards remain to be removed, Reilly reported. The contractor is currently ahead of schedule, he said. DEQ anticipates completing Phase 3 cleanup in 2022. Longtime DEQ employee Joel Chavez has served as project manager of the Clark Fork cleanup. He also supervised the remediation of Silver Bow Creek west of Butte, a project whose outcome was generally celebrated transforming a nearly lifeless stream to a recovering ecosystem. Chavez retired Dec. 31. There has been controversy about previously completed cleanup work along the Clark Fork River. Some observers have felt the DEQs approach has been too aggressive, leading to removal of metals-tolerant riparian vegetation and of stream bank structures favored by the rivers declining population of brown trout. The DEQ has responded by saying the agency saves vegetation and river structures conducive to trout habitat when and where it can, noting, however, that its primary mission is to remove contamination. The EPAs Clark Fork River Operable Unit stretches from the rivers headwaters near Warm Springs to the former Milltown Reservoir east of Missoula. But the majority of the cleanup will occur from Warm Springs downstream to Garrison a section of roughly 45 miles referred to as Reach A. Pollutants include heavy metals cadmium, copper, zinc and lead and arsenic. A catastrophic flood in 1908 washed contaminants downstream. The target is removal of tailings in the streambanks and floodplain that harbor the contamination from historic mining, milling and smelting activities upstream by the Anaconda Company. The tailings and toxic sediments have accumulated along the river for more than 100 years. Atlantic Richfield purchased the Anaconda Co. in 1977. Three years later, Congress passed the legislation creating the federal Superfund program. And Atlantic Richfield became responsible for addressing the massive pollution left behind by the once-powerful company that mined and smelted ore. Issue April 28, 2022 - At age 25, Pacific Groves David Steinberg has already ascended the heights of the puzzle world. Whats next? Governor Jim Justice implores West Virginians to remain vigilant against the Covid-19 pandemic during his Tuesday morning press briefing. We cannot afford to become numb to this, he said. We cant become numb about the folks that weve lost. We cant become numb that we have more people in our hospitals. Weve got to keep battling. Weve got to keep striving to make this thing go away. AdventHealth, Central Florida's largest hospital system, is one of many hospitals subject to the federal vaccine mandate. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel) Floridas Agency for Health Care Administration sent an email threatening Florida health care providers with fines if they comply with a federal vaccination mandate. While many experts are advising clients to follow federal law, David Miller, a Miami-based employment attorney at the Bryant Miller Olive law firm, equated the situation faced by many Florida employers as being a bone between two dogs, with the canines being the state and federal governments. Advertisement If I were a health care provider subject to whats going on here, I wouldnt know whether to laugh or to cry or just put my fist through the drywall, he said. The Biden Administration on Nov. 4 laid out requirements for COVID-19 vaccinations for staff at nearly all Medicare and Medicaid-certified health care facilities. The rule was projected to affect more than 17 million workers in 76,000 facilities, as well as home health care providers. Advertisement The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services threatened fines as well as potential termination from the program for health care providers that did not comply, which would potentially affect options for the nearly 4.7 million Floridians who use Medicare and Medicaid as their health insurance. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the mandate, sued to block it alongside several other states, and fought back with new state laws on Nov. 18 that banned all private companies including health care facilities from mandating vaccines unless they offered employees exemptions beyond the standard medical or religious exemptions offered by Bidens mandate. The CMS mandate lacks any coherent justification in terms of public health. Firing unvaccinated health care workers during a pandemic when there was already a shortage of health care workers to begin with is absurd and dangerous, said DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw on Wednesday. Porpoise Evans, an employment lawyer at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman in Miami, said if health care providers absorb heavy fines from the state, they could be driven out of business and everybody could end up out of a job. He said most employers are not inclined to fire workers for refusing a COVID shot. The vast majority of my clients have zero interest in terminating people, he said. In its email to health care workers statewide, the Florida AHCA reaffirmed its commitment to following state law over federal law and warned that violators could face hefty fines from the Florida Attorney Generals office. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) will follow Florida law. Accordingly, AHCA will not survey for compliance with the CMS vaccine mandate rule, the email read. The Attorney Generals Office is authorized to impose administrative fines up to $10,000 per violation for an employer with fewer than 100 employees and up to $50,000 per violation for an employer with 100 or more employees. Advertisement Now, health care providers dont know what to make of the conflicting orders. At True Health, which operates seven federally funded community health clinics in the metro Orlando area, CEO Janelle Dunn said the states warning has left the nonprofit organization in limbo in regards to vaccination mandates. Just under half of the organizations employees have voluntarily been vaccinated for COVID-19 so far, Dunn added, saying administrators have respected both workers who choose vaccination and those who choose to hold off. We are still working with our employment attorney on the issue, so our approach at this time is to just hold off, she said. Were going to wait and see what happens at the Supreme Court level before we make any final decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court is conducting a hearing Friday on the requirements for health care workers set up by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as the broader mandate devised by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for businesses employing more than 100 people. Meredith Plummer, an employment attorney at the Gunster law firm in West Palm Beach, said the situation will become more clear after the court rules, but despite these ongoing legal challenges, the Gunster firm is advising its employer-clients to be ready for the possibility that the federal vaccine requirements could stand after the ruling. Advertisement We tell our clients to be prepared to be in compliance with those deadlines and to put policies in place and put employees on notice as to whats going on, Plummer said. Its still up in the air. Meanwhile, some health care systems are counting on avoiding retroactive punishment.. Florida health care facilities such as Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale and the Memorial Health System, based in Hollywood, achieved high rates of vaccinations before any state or federal laws and rules were activated. Holy Cross imposed a mandate; Memorial waged a strong education program. Holy Cross Health is committed to the safety of our colleagues, patients and communities, the company said in a statement Tuesday to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Because of this, we implemented a COVID-19 vaccine requirement prior to any CMS regulations or Florida state laws being in place on the matter. We are compliant with current Florida Law governing the COVID-19 vaccine. Memorials 14,000-member work force is more than 90% vaccinated, said Margie Vargas, senior vice president and human resources officer of the six-hospital group in South Broward County. We encourage it through education and reliance on the science, Vargas said. But were not requiring it. Advertisement Other large hospital systems did not share how they will juggle demands from state and federal laws. AdventHealth Central Florida spokesperson Jeff Grainger said hospital leaders are aware of the recent announcements and are monitoring the situation, whereas Orlando Health spokesperson Nicole Ray said the hospital system is reviewing guidelines and will take appropriate steps. Health care providers in Florida were almost spared from having to choose between federal and state law when judges temporarily paused the federal mandate nationwide in early December, erasing the former Dec. 6 deadline for a first shot and prompting many hospital systems, such as AdventHealth, to cancel their vaccination requirements. However, the Biden Administration then appealed that decision and the federal government was once again allowed to enforce a health care worker vaccination mandate in 25 states, including Florida, on Dec. 15. The current deadline to get a first shot is Jan. 27, with a second due by Feb. 28 for those receiving vaccines that require double doses. January 06, 2022 The U.S. Directed Rebellion in Kazakhstan May Well Strengthen Russia In early 2019 the Pentagon financed think tank RAND published an extensive plan for soft attacks on Russia. Extending Russia: Competing from Advantageous Ground. The 350 pages long report recommended certain steps to be taken by the U.S. to contain Russia. As its summary says: Recognizing that some level of competition with Russia is inevitable, this report seeks to define areas where the United States can do so to its advantage. We examine a range of nonviolent measures that could exploit Russias actual vulnerabilities and anxieties as a way of stressing Russias military and economy and the regimes political standing at home and abroad. The steps we examine would not have either defense or deterrence as their prime purpose, although they might contribute to both. Rather, these steps are conceived of as elements in a campaign designed to unbalance the adversary, leading Russia to compete in domains or regions where the United States has a competitive advantage, and causing Russia to overextend itself militarily or economically or causing the regime to lose domestic and/or international prestige and influence. RAND lists economical, geopolitical, ideological and informational as well as military measures the U.S. should take to weaken Russia. Since the report came out the first four of the six 'geopolitical measures' listed in chapter 4 of the report have been implemented. The U.S. delivered lethal weapons to Ukraine, it increased its support for 'rebels' in Syria. It attempted a regime change in Belarus and instigated a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The U.S. is now implementing measure 5 which aims to 'reduce Russia's influence in Central Asia'. Kazakhstan, Russia's southern neighbor, was part of the Soviet Union. It is a mineral rich, landlocked country three times the size of Texas but with less than 20 million inhabitants. A significant part of its people are Russians and the Russian language is in common use. The country is an important link in the strategic Belt and Road Initiative between China and Europe. Since the demise of the Soviet Union the country has been ruled by oligarchic family clans - foremost the Nazarbayevs. As the CIA Worldfactbook notes: Executive branch chief of state: President Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (since 20 March 2019); note - Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, who was president since 24 April 1990 (and in power since 22 June 1989 under the Soviet period), resigned on 20 March 2019; NAZARBAYEV retained the title and powers of "First President"; TOKAYEV completed NAZARBAYEV's term, which was shortened due to the early election of 9 June 2019, and then continued as president following his election victory Over the last decade there have been several uprisings (2011, 2016 and 2019) in Kazakhstan. These were mostly caused by uneven distribution of income from its minerals including oil and gas. The oligarchs in the capital of Astana / Nur-Sultan live well while the provinces which produce the minerals, like Mangistauskaya in the south-west, have seen few developments. Recently the price for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used by many cars in Kazakhstan, went up after the government had liberalized the market. This caused another round of country wide protests: The string of rallies that has torn through Kazakhstan since January 2 began in the western oil town of Zhanaozen, ostensibly triggered by anger over a sudden spike in the price of car fuel. Similar impromptu gatherings then quickly spread to nearby villages in the Mangystau region and then in multiple other locations in the west, in cities like Aktau, Atyrau and Aktobe. By January 4, people had come out onto the streets in numbers in locations many hundreds of kilometers away, in the southern towns of Taraz, Shymkent and Kyzyl-Orda, in the north, in the cities of Uralsk and Kostanai, as well as in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, the capital, among other places. Few saw scenes as fiery as those in Almaty, though. Clashes in Almaty continued throughout the night into January 5. After being dispersed by police from Republic Square, part of the crowd headed around two kilometers downhill, to another historic location in the city, Astana Square, where the seat of government used to be located in Soviet times. While there is little reliable way to gauge the scale of the demonstrations, a combination of on-the-ground reporting and video footage appears to indicate that these protests may be even larger than those that brought the country to a near-standstill in 2016. While the grievances that sparked the first rallies in Zhanaozen were to do with fuel prices, the sometimes rowdy demonstrations that have followed appear to be of a more general nature. Chants of shal ket! (old man go!), usually understood as a reference to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who continues to wield significant sway from behind the scenes, have been heard at many of the demos. The protests escalated soon with gangs of armed protesters taking control of government buildings and setting them on fire. There were also attempts to take control of radio and TV stations as well as the airport. Police, which generally did little to intervene, were gunned down. The actions in Almaty, the country's largest city and former capital, are certainly not spontaneous reactions by a crowd of poor laborers but controlled actions by well trained groups of armed 'rebels'. Peter Leonard @Peter__Leonard - 9:18 UTC 6 Jan 2022 Kazakhstan: Very important and intriguing detail with strong shades of Kyrgyzstan 2020. Peaceful people initiate rallies, but shady and violent individuals turn up to sow trouble, and it is never remotely clear who they are or where they came from /1 https://t.co/qYSlUUrMVx From one account I heard, a similar dynamic played out in Almaty on Wednesday morning. A relatively small and mild gathering formed on Republic Square, opposite city hall. All of a sudden hundreds of extremely aggressive men turned up, threatening all and sundry #Kazakhstan /2 They threatened and attacked journalists standing nearby, ordering anybody who took photographs to delete the images. It was clearly this cohort that was responsible for much of the destruction. And it is a mystery (to me) who they were /3 We have seen similar formations during the U.S. instigated uprisings in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Belarus. NEXTA, the U.S. financed regime change media network in Poland which last year directed the failed color revolution attempt in Belarus, announced the U.S. demands: NEXTA @nexta_tv - 13:52 UTC Jan 5, 2022 Demands of the Protesters in #Kazakhstan 1. Immediate release of all political prisoners 2. Full resignation of president and government 3. Political reforms: Creation of a Provisional Government of reputable and public citizens. Withdrawal from all alliances with #Russia A more reliable source confirms these: Maxim A. Suchkov @m_suchkov - 14:43 UST Jan 5, 2022 The list of demands of protestors in #Kazakhstan that's been circulating is interesting, to put it mildly. While most demands focus on bolstering social & economic support & countering corruption points #1, 7, 10, 13, 16 expose the roots of protest & who's driving them #1 demands that #Kazakhstan should leave Eurasian Economic union. #7 demands legalization of polygamy "for certain groups of the population" & prohibition on marriage with foreigners #10 demands independence for Mangystau region &^that revenues of oil companies remain in Mangystau Caveat: this list been circulating a lot on telegram - could be fake or not representative of what protestors want, thou it appears protestors are a diverse group that includes genuinely disgruntled people, political manipulators, "prof revolutionaries" (that were in UKR & BEL), etc The government of Kazakhstan has since lowered the LPG prices. On January 5 President Tokayev relived the 'First President' Nazarbayev of his position as chairman of the Security Council and promised to act tough on armed protesters. Kazakhstan is part of the Russian led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the morning of January 5 Tokayev had a phone call with the presidents of Russia and Belarus. He has mobilized airborne units of the armed forces of Kazakhstan. On the evening of January 5 he requested support from the CSTO against the 'foreign directed terrorists' which are fighting the security forces. Russia, Belarus and other CSTO members have dedicated quick reaction forces reserved for such interventions. These will now be mobilized to regain government control in Kazakhstan. Russian CSTO forces are currently on their way to Kazakhstan. Belorussian and Armenian troops will follow soon. They are in for some tough time: C Os @CalibreObscura - 19:50 UTC Jan 5, 2022 #Kazakhstan: Captured arms from the National Security Committee (equivalent to Russian FSB) building by protestors in #Almaty: At least 2 PG-7V projectiles, possible boxed Glock pistol & (possibly) more in numerous scattered crates, various kit. Anti-Armour capability in 48hrs... Image During the last decades the U.S. and its allies had been relatively quiet about the dictatorial leadership in Kazakhstan. Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled - 14:18 UTC Jan 5, 2022 NATO's cheerleading corner of FSU "experts" already working hard to spin Kazakhstan uprisings as somehow Putin's fault or indictment of Putinbut note how quiet our media-NGO complex has been the past 20 years re: the regime's human rights abuses, corruption & "authoritarianism" Chevron is the largest oil producer in Kazakhstan and the former British prime minister Tony Blair has previously been giving advice to then President Nursultan Nazarbayev on how to avoid an uproar over dead protesters: In a letter to Nursultan Nazarbayev, obtained by The Telegraph, Mr Blair told the Kazakh president that the deaths of 14 protesters tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress his country had made. Mr Blair, who is paid millions of pounds a year to give advice to Mr Nazarbayev, goes on to suggest key passages to insert into a speech the president was giving at the University of Cambridge, to defend the action. Times however are different now as Kazakhstan has continued to strengthen its relations with Russia and China. The CIA offshoot National Endowment for Democracy is financing some 20 'civil society' regime change programs in Kazakhstan with about $50,000 per annum each. The involved organizations currently seem to be mostly quiet but are a sure sign that the U.S. is playing a role behind the scenes. On December 16 details of upcoming demonstrations were announced by the U.S. embassy in Kazakhstan. It is likely that this pre-planned Central Asia part of the 'Extending Russia' program has been implemented prematurely as a response to Russia's recent ultimatum with regards to Ukraine and NATO. Its sole purpose is to unbalance the Russian leadership in Moscow by diverting its attention towards the south. I however believe that Russia has prepared for such eventualities. They will not affect its plans and demands. What is difficult to discern though is what is really happening behind the scenes in Astana/Nur-Sultan. Has Tokayev, who was previously seen as a mere puppet of Nazarbayev, really replaced him? His control of the security forces is somewhat in doubt: Liveuamap @Liveuamap - 19:18 UTC Jan 5, 2022 Tokayev dismissed the head of his security guard Saken Isabekov. Also, the President dismissed the Deputy Head of the State Security Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan from his post But the outcome of the whole game is quite predictable: Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled - 14:31 UTC Jan 5, 2022 The grim likelihood, given all the various "revolutions" in the FSU the past 20 years, is that Kazakhstan's street protests [will be] instrumentalized by a powerful clan to replace the ruling oligarchy with a new oligarchy. The CSTO troops which are now landing in Almaty will take a few days to end the rebellion. The outcome is not in doubt. Moscow, not Washington DC, will have a big say in who will come out at the top. It is quite possible that the results of the whole affair will, like the failed U.S. regime change attempts in Belarus, not weaken but strengthen Russia: Dmitri Trenin @DmitriTrenin - 7:57 UTC 6 Jan 2022 #Kazakhstan is another test, after #Belarus, of RUS ability to help stabilize its formal allies w/o alienating their populations. As 1st action by CSTO since founding in 1999, it is major test for bloc. Lots of potential pitfalls around, but can be big boon if Moscow succeeds. Posted by b on January 6, 2022 at 9:19 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Water Department customer service location opens The city of Midland Water Department Customer Service has relocated to 1030 Andrews Highway, suite 220. This is in the Center Pointe building on the second floor, located next to Wells Fargo Bank. Residents can set up new accounts, make changes to existing accounts and pay water bills at the new location. The drive-thru at City Hall will remain open to pay water bills. In addition to the new location and City Hall drive-thru, residents will still be able to pay their water bill through the online portal and Mr. Payroll at participating Kent Kwik locations. Republican Women The Midland County Republican Women will meet on Jan. 12 at Midland County Club. Speakers include state Rep. Tom Craddick and Joshua Trevino, chief innovation officer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Those attending the event also will hear from the Republican candidates running for the District 31 seat. Those with more questions can go to MCRW website -- https://mcrw.us. Midland ISD school fair The Midland ISD School Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the MLK Center, 2300 Butternut Lane. This is an opportunity to visit with representatives from MISD's 40 campuses in one place. The event will provide an opportunity to learn how to apply to the schools and programs that best first your child's interests and aptitudes. It also allows families to learn more about the options and opportunities available to pre-K, elementary, junior high and high school students Families and students will have the chance to visit the campus of your choice during the week of Jan. 10, when the district conducts campus tours. The event is free, open to the public and will include jumpers, face painting and more. Event schedule Finding Your Roots, 6 p.m. Thursday, Centennial Library. Rodney Carrington Let Me In!, 7 p.m. Thursday, Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Midland Downtown Farmers Market, 9 a.m. - noon Saturday, Museum of the Southwest. Sibley Camera Club, 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sibley Nature Center. School Fair, 11 a.m. Saturday, Martin Luther King Jr Community Center. MCT Open House, 1 p.m. Saturday, Midland Community Theatre. Teen Video Games, 1 p.m. Saturday, Centennial Library. Navigating the Times: A Pandemic Wellness and Workshop, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, 1107 N Big Spring St. Lo. St. Market - Bar Crawl, 2 p.m. Saturday, W. Wall St. Jo Koy Funny is Funny, 8 p.m. Saturday, Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Vinyl Brunch - Music Friendly Edition, 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Barrel and Derrick. The Impact of Trauma in Our City, 6:30 p.m. Monday, 502 East Nobles Ave. MOSC Chorale Auditions, Jan 10-11, sign up at https://www.mosc.org/musicians/chorale/auditions.html?fbclid=IwAR2NqLP2twUHbqorQtEzHm7ggJmE1rGDN_PwMol8pUI0Yvl5EakTNM8pLK4. Lunch and Lecture: James Beauchamp, 11:30 a.m. Jan. 11, Petroleum Museum. CASA of West Texas Information Session, noon Jan. 11, on Zoom. Register at https://casawtx.org/news-events/event/2022/01/11/casa-information-session-/365538?fbclid=IwAR1PU3-AktaXZxeXfingMvmCTsEnwhxEa7sh4HGc50xLr0BHG5WKP8W_R9s. Family Board Game Night, 4:30 p.m. Jan. 12, Downtown Library. Midland Countys 70th Annual Livestock Show and Sale, Jan 12-15, Horseshoe. Theater Thursday, 6 p.m. Jan. 13, Sibley Nature Center. Cinema Under the Stars Mamma Mia!, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13, Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Camila Luz Tour Con Karla Breu, 7 p.m. Jan. 14, La Hacienda Event Center. The West Texas Hunting Extravaganza Exhibitor Hall Opening, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Jan. 15, Horseshoe. Midland Classic Theatre Company audition for Shakespeares Birthday Bash, 2-4 p.m. Jan. 15-16, Matthews Martial Arts. Introduction to Astronomy - Our Place Among the Infinities Part 1 of 5, noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 15, Marian Blakemore Planetarium. Daniel Sorensen Drawing and Painting Class, 1 p.m. Jan. 15, 907 W. Wadley Ave. Tales and Trails, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Jan. 18, Sibley Nature Center. Artist Reception Diane Browne, 6-8:30 p.m. Jan. 18, Sibley Nature Center. Rusty the Cowboy, 6-8 p.m. Jan. 18, Sibley Nature Center. The Crafting Hour, 4:30 p.m. Jan. 19, Downtown Library. Gerardo Ortiz, La Fiera de Ojinaga, Los Vendavales y los Anchondo, 8 p.m. Jan. 21, La Hacienda Event Center. Paw Patrol Meet and Greet, Jan. 21-23, Pollys Restaurant in MCM Grande Fundome. Dinosaur Revolution the Exhibit, 10 a.m. Jan. 22, Centennial Library. Understanding Poverty Training, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24, 502 East Noble Ave. 2022 State of Oil and Gas, 11 a.m. Jan. 26, Midland County Horseshoe. Tom Segura Im Coming Everywhere, 7 p.m. Jan. 26, Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Wagner Noel 10 Year Mini Birthday Party, 4 p.m. Jan. 27, Bird Box Gifts. Wild for Wildlife Family Science Night, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27, Petroleum Museum. Motown Experience, 6-9 p.m. Jan. 27-28, 3211 W Wadley Ave. Tween Video Games, 4:30 p.m. Jan. 28, Centennial Library. Chocolate Decadence, 6-10 p.m. Jan. 28, Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Cody Jinks, 7 p.m. Jan. 28, Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Over the past year, many South Floridians have been charged with participating in the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. Now, one year later, many of these residents, who live in cities such as Hollywood, Cooper City, Davie and Coral Springs, still have criminal cases pending against them. Theyre among about 75 from Florida who face charges, ranging from trespassing on the Capitol grounds to attacking Capitol police officers. And Florida the third most populous state and former President Donald Trumps home state supplied more of the rioters than anywhere else in the country. Advertisement Heres a look at some of the riot-related cases. Posting on Snapchat Felipe Marquez, 25, of Coral Springs, was charged with illegally entering the Capitol grounds and disorderly conduct. Advertisement Marquez posted video clips on Snapchat that showed him storming the Capitol Building with other rioters and breaking into a conference room belonging to a U.S. senator, according to a criminal complaint. He pleaded guilty to the charges. William Rogan Reid, of Davie, and Moises Romero, of Cooper City, both pleaded not guilty to the disorderly conduct and trespassing charges. Reid posted about Jan. 6 extensively on Instagram and Discord accounts, including one post that said he would do it again, court records say. Someone tipped the FBI to the social media accounts. Julio Baquero and his friend and roommate, Louis Valentin, both of Hollywood, each were charged after someone tipped the FBI to their social media accounts. Valentin allegedly told law enforcement in an interview that he had entered the U.S. Capitol building during the insurrection. According to a federal filing, video footage from inside the Capitol shows Baquero entering the Capitol Rotunda and, in one instance, grabbing the hand of a police officer as law enforcement attempted to clear the building. At another point, Baquero is allegedly seen on camera shouting at officers, Youre a traitor! Both pleaded not guilty to the charges. Chanting treason! One Wellington man, Jason Dolan, belonged to an extremist group known as the Oath Keepers, prosecutors say. Before Jan. 6, he discussed with fellow Oath Keepers the need to bring firearms to D.C. for the event, and stored an M4 rifle that he brought from Florida in his hotel room. That day, wearing an Oath Keepers shirt, Dolan stormed through police barricades into the Capitol halls chanting, treason! He pleaded guilty in September. Advertisement The Proud Boys At least two Florida Proud Boys members were arrested in Miami-Dade, including Gabriel Garcia, a retired U.S. Army captain. Garcia uploaded Facebook Live videos of himself in a heated standoff with police inside the Capitol Building. He called the police traitors and riled up the crowd behind him, authorities say. You aint stopping a million, he yelled. Their cases are still pending. The Department of Justice has charged over 700 people for their involvement in the deadly day, when at least five people died and dozens of police officers were injured. Drawing support Floridians involved in the riots were likely to be white men from middle-class backgrounds, said J. Edwin Benton, who teaches political behavior, public opinion and elections at the University of South Florida. He said many of those who joined in from Miami-Dade likely were Cuban Americans who have lived under socialist regimes and were swept up in disinformation. [ RELATED: Disinformation targets Latino voters in South Florida ] The way Benton sees it, theres two main reasons behind why Floridians turned out in droves at the Capitol riots. The first is the presence of former President Donald Trump himself, who calls Florida home. He perhaps encouraged his most loyal disciples, he said. Advertisement Trump appealed to middle-class voters who believed they had been left behind by big business and government, Benton said. The second reason is the misinformation itself has found fertile ground in Florida. You have people such as Donald Trump, and less so Ron DeSantis, who give out those vibes, he said. Sun Valley, ID (83353) Today Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 53F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with rain and snow this evening, becoming all snow overnight. Low 33F. Winds light and variable. Chance of precip 90%. About one inch of snow expected. Muskogee, OK (74401) Today Thunderstorms. High near 75F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Occasional thunderstorms - possibly severe. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 49F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. A year of poor student performance in Florida schools didnt stop students from graduating. Graduation rates for the Class of 2021 reached an all-time high in Florida schools, at 90.1%, up from 90% the previous year, according to graduation data released Wednesday. Advertisement Thats a stark contrast to standardized test scores and student grades, which fell dramatically last school year. Its the second year in a row where graduation rates climbed during the pandemic. Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties achieved their best ever graduation rates, while Broward slipped slightly for the first time in years. Advertisement Palm Beach Countys rate climbed from 90.2% to 91%, which includes both district and charter schools. [ RELATED: No failing grades, but failing performance in South Florida schools ] It is pretty amazing that despite the pandemic, our students rose to the challenge, Palm Beach County Superintendent Mike Burke said. Miami-Dade topped 90% for the first time, with its graduation rate increasing from 89.6% to 90.1%. The District is encouraged and energized by these results, as they are a testament to the extraordinary efforts of our resilient students and dedicated workforce, Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. Broward had less reason to celebrate. Former Superintendent Robert Runcie frequently boasted that graduation rates were climbing each year to record levels. But during his last year with the district, they slipped slightly from 89.4% to 89.1%. The rate is still higher than 2019, when the rate was 86.1%. [ From 2021: Graduation rates soar at start of pandemic ] The past two years have been challenging for our students and school communities due to the pandemic, said Vickie Cartwright, interim superintendent for Broward. We remain committed to providing all students with the resources and support they need to be successful. Fewer than 20% of Broward high school students attended school in-person last year, the lowest of any district. About a third of high school students in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County stayed on campus. Advertisement Broward also had some the states biggest declines on standardized test scores in recent years. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, and the state, also dropped significantly on state test scores last year compared to pre-pandemic. That raises questions about how graduation rates climbed, at the same time student performance fell. One reason may be that most seniors dont take state-required standardized tests, which are given mostly in grades 3 to 10, so their scores were not a factor in the declines seen last school year. [ RELATED: COVID slide shows more students are failing ] Another factor is that districts received millions in federal recovery dollars to offer summer programs to struggling students, including those in danger of not graduating. Summer graduates are included in graduation rates. It also has been easier for students to graduate during the past two years. Most years, students have to pass a 10th grade reading assessment and an algebra end-of-course test to graduate. But the state dropped those requirements for the class of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. About 8.5% of Florida students last year, and 7.1% the previous year, graduated with that exemption. The state did make graduation requirements slightly tougher in 2021, Burke said, by requiring those who failed standardized tests to show mastery in some other way. Advertisement Most of our high school kids chose to stay home and learn remotely, Burke said. I give credit to teachers and students who made sure they were not falling behind. Facing pushback from the Burgess community, an engineering firm withdrew a request to rezone more than 700 acres for a major development beside St. James High School. The Horry County Planning Commission expected to discuss the rezoning at its Thursday meeting, but the applicant pulled the request that afternoon. "I'm very sorry that you wasted your time to come out here," planning commissioner Pam Dawson told the residents who showed up to the meeting at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway. Dawson represents that district that includes the site. If the applicant wants to seek the same rezoning for this property, the firm will have to wait a year to apply, according to county policy. As recently as Tuesday night, the applicant planned to attend Thursday's meeting and discuss the proposal, which called for building 1,907 single-family homes and 1,210 multi-family units near the intersection of S.C. 707 and Salem Road. The proposal also included 552,000 square feet of commercial space. Well cover [the plans] pretty thoroughly Thursday, said Walter Warren of Thomas & Hutton, the engineering firm working on the project, on Tuesday. Thats the right time to do it. Records included in the planning commission's packet showed a reduction from the 2,282 single-family homes and 1,210 multi-family units originally proposed for the site. Warren had said residents concerns definitely led to changes in the plans. The entire tract is about 1,400 acres, but the rezoning covers 706 of them. The parcel borders S.C. 707 on the east with the Waccamaw River to the west. The property is adjacent to the high school and also borders the Blackmoor Golf Club. The landowner needed the property rezoned to build the project. If the property is not rezoned, townhomes could still be constructed there. Since the original development plans were announced, neighbors have raised concerns about traffic congestion and school overcrowding. Many packed a community meeting held at the South Strand Recreation Center last month. The Greater Burgess Community Association also sent a letter to the planning commission outlining its opposition to the project. A 36-year-old caseworker with the Department of Children and Family Services was stabbed to death while working Tuesday. Deidre Silas, a mother of two, was responding to a call in Thayer, south of Springfield, where she was stabbed to death. Law enforcement officials said children were present. The Sangamon County Sheriff's Department reported Benjamin H. Reed, 32, of Thayer was arrested in connection with the crime later Tuesday in Decatur. Reed was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Police officers from Pawnee, Auburn and Divernon responded to a 911 call at about 4:11 p.m. Tuesday regarding a possible stabbing in the 300 block of West Elm Street in Thayer. Sangamon County sheriff's deputies arrived soon after police. Law enforcement officers saw a substance that appeared to be blood near the door of the residence. When they forced their way into the home, they found Silas dead inside, according to the sheriff's department. "Today, the state of Illinois mourns the loss of Deidre Silas, a DCFS caseworker and a hero, taken from us in the line of duty," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. "There is no higher calling than the work to keep children and families safe and Deidre lived that value every single day. Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve. I can think of no more profound legacy. MK and I send our deepest condolences to her colleagues at DCFS, her family, and all who loved her." Department Director Marc Smith said the agency was mourning a colleague. "The Department of Children and Family Services is deeply saddened by the tragic death of our colleague, Deidre Silas," Smith said in a statement. "Our most heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers are with her family during this very difficult time. Social work is more than just a job, it is a calling. Deidre responded to this call and dedicated herself to the children, families and communities she served, and we will be forever grateful for her work. She was an incredible person, and her brightness and positivity will be missed not only by her family and friends, but also her second family at DCFS." Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said preliminary findings from an autopsy Wednesday suggest Silas died of multiple sharp force injuries and blunt force trauma. As the new year settles in, courts in the region are preparing to move forward with some of their tougher cases, including five murder cases. In Morgan County, the trial of a Meredosia man facing first-degree murder charges will go before a jury later this month. Dustin A. Finlaw, 22, of Meredosia has been in custody since the 2018 stabbing death of Robert L. Utter, 42, of Rushville, who was found dead May 24, 2018, in a car in Meredosia. Finlaw also is facing charges of aggravated assault on two police officers, resisting arrest and obstructing justice/destroying evidence. State's Attorney Gray Noll said the case is ready for trial. "He is currently set to go before a jury this month," Noll said. "It has taken some time, but things are moving forward." Finlaw is a pro se defendant, meaning he will represent himself at trial. He next will appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 24 for any final matters prior to jury selection, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 25. Other homicide cases also are moving forward. The three defendants facing charges in connection with the October 2020 homicide of Robert J. Joey Schofield, 32, of Nortonville also will return to court in coming months. Kenneth J. Acree, 36, of Nortonville is scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing at 2 p.m. Jan. 14. He is facing first-degree murder charges and concealment of a homicidal death. Schofield disappeared, prompting a wide search near Nortonville. His body later was found in a cornfield. Some discovery materials still are being processed, Noll said. "I do think it's close to a conclusion," he said. Sara M. Schofield, 30, of Nortonville was charged with concealment of a homicidal death and obstructing justice in the investigation into her husband's death. She is scheduled for a jury pre-trial at 9 a.m. April 6. Laura C. Acree, 36, of rural Murrayville is Kenneth Acree's wife. She also was charged with concealment of a homicidal death and obstructing justice. She is scheduled for a jury pre-trial at 9 a.m. Feb. 2. A Jacksonville man charged with murder in the February 2021 death of Malcolm V. Fitts, 26, of Chicago also will appear in court for a status hearing. Joshua E. Wilson, 38, of Jacksonville will appear in court at 3 p.m. Feb. 1. Fitts died Feb. 28 of a gunshot wound. Police were called to the 800 block of Hoagland Boulevard to reports of shots fired. Michael O. Bailey, 48, of South Jacksonville will be in court for a jury pre-trial at 9 a.m. Feb. 2 on charges of reckless homicide, failure to report an accident with injury and concealment of a homicidal death in the death of Edwina Kris Teubner, 58, of Jacksonville. Teubner was found about 3:20 a.m. Sept. 5 on the grounds of Prairie Land Heritage Museum at 1005 W. Michigan Ave. "We are pretty early on in the case," Noll said. "We are still in the discovery exchange phase, so I imagine the case will be continued in February." Many of the cases still are early in the process and likely will take time before they can move forward, Noll said. "Felony cases are complicated, in general, and it takes longer for those cases to be resolved," he said. In Cass County, Robert D. Harris, 72, of Virginia will go to trial in the early part of this year. Cass County State's Attorney Craig Miller said Harris will be in court at 9 a.m. Friday for a pre-trial conference, though the trial likely will not take place for a few more months. Harris recently was evaluated for fitness to stand trial and was found fit, so things will proceed soon, Miller said. "I'm not sure when the case will be heard, but it should be in the early part of 2022," Miller said. Harris is facing eight counts six counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery and discharge of a weapon after deputies were called just after noon Jan. 10 to reports of a shooting at 140 S. East St. Kathleen G. Wzientek, 68, and Brenda G. Crum, 64, were found dead. A third victim, David Miller, was shot in the head with a .22-caliber handgun, according to court documents. Miller survived. A local case also will be moving forward at the federal level. The jury has been selected and a court date has been set for the trial of two correctional officers charged in the 2018 death of Western Illinois Correctional Center prisoner Larry Earvin, 65. The trial, set for 9 a.m. March 28, will be in federal court in Springfield. Former correctional officers Todd Sheffler of Mendon and Alex Banta of Quincy have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to deprive civil rights, deprivation of civil rights, conspiracy to engage in misleading conduct, obstruction/falsification of documents, and obstruction of misleading conduct. Former correctional officer Willie Hedden of Mount Sterling has pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in connection with Earvins death. Earvin was assaulted May 17, 2018, while being transferred. He suffered multiple broken ribs, a punctured colon and other serious internal injuries. He was set to be released just months later after serving a six-year sentence related to a Cook County robbery, but he died June 26, 2018. Associate Editor Darren Iozia contributed to this story. Two men have been identified by cops in Key West as the pair responsible for burning the iconic buoy that marks the southernmost point in the continental United States. David Perkins, Jr, 21, of Leesburg, Fla., and Skylar Rae Jacobson, 21, of Texas, were identified Thursday as the suspected fire starters who lit up a Christmas tree in front of the buoy in the wee hours of New Years Day. The flames then spread to the famous landmark, torching the colorful paintjob. Advertisement Perkins and Jacobson have made arrangements to turn themselves in, the Key West Police Department said. Perhaps the gentlemen did not realize there was a web cam pointed at them? pic.twitter.com/lc2PEbSkxq Nancy Klingener (@keywestnan) January 1, 2022 Unfortunately for the alleged buoy burners, a camera is aimed at the giant tourist hotspot 24 hours a day. When the two set the Christmas tree alight sometime between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Jan. 1, images of them were captured on video. Advertisement Those images sparked outrage on social media. One Twitter user said the [expletives] should be forced to lick the charred parts off with their tongues. Police described the damage as extensive. The blaze was put out by the Key West Fire Department. CAL Fire 2021 Year Review View Photo Sonora, CA Calling it a year that continued to test many, CAL Fire officials released the statistics on last years statewide emergency responses that included four of the 20 largest blazes in California history. In a social media post, CAL Fire noted the immense amount of work CAL Fire took part in during 2021 that included wildfires to medical emergencies, while also focusing on prevention and reforestation efforts. In total, CAL Fire responded to more than 511,000 calls for emergency services, traffic incidents, structure fires, and medical emergencies, and a key area of response to wildfires. CAL Fire provided these stats for those fires last year: Responded to 8,780 fires that scorched more than 2.5 million acres with Incident Management Teams (called in to oversee/manage large fires) activated seven times. Two of those blazes ignited in August were the Airola Fire in Calaveras County and the Washington Fire in Sonora and Jamestown in Tuolumne County with both causes remaining unknown, as detailed here. Aircraft dropped more than 17,000,000 gallons of retardant and more than 12,000,000 gallons of water 140 arson arrests were made in the state. (That number included a man and a woman in Amador County arrested in September for allegedly setting two separate fires, as reported here. Also of note in 2021, a Mountain Ranch man plead guilty to arson in the Boards Crossing area of Calaveras County in October, as detailed here.) Restoration efforts statewide included more than 225,000 seedlings grown Four of the 20 largest blazes in the state were ignited in 2021. On Tuesday, CAL Fire revealed the cause of the second biggest wildfire, the Dixie Fire that burned 963,309 acres across areas of Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties was due to PG&E equipment, as earlier reported here. The other fires include number 14 the Monument Fire in Trinity County, the Caldor Fire in Alpine, Amador and El Dorado counties at 15, and at 17 is the River Complex Fire in Siskiyou and Trinity counties. Here is the entire list. Regarding the statistics for the CAL Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit last year, spokesperson Emily Kilgore told Clarke Broadcasting those numbers are still being tallied. She stressed, It takes some time to compile because we have to verify each entry. Kilgore added that as soon as the totals are in that information will be reported out. In the statewide stat social media posting, CAL Fire also relayed, As we start the new year, we look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of California in 2022 and beyond. Covid Cases by Episode Date Tuolumn and Calaveras from July to Jan View Photo Tuolumne County Public Health reports the death of a man in his 40s that was determined to be due to Covid-19, he was not vaccinated. There are 55 new Covid-19 positive residents identified since yesterday, 33 are unvaccinated. There are three new Sierra Conservation Center inmate cases for a total of 58 new cases. Tuolumne Countys active community cases decreased 58 to 240 including nine people who are hospitalized, two people in the hospital with Covid-19 are vaccinated. The 14-day average for Covid-19 hospitalized patients has increased 85.7% to 13 which is 6 more patients hospitalized from prior 14-day total. The state reports two ICU beds available in Tuolumne County. Tuolumne County Public Health also shares, consistent with prior recommendation for adults, CDC is now recommending that moderately or severely immunocompromised 511-year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot. At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for children aged 5-11 details are at cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0104-Pfizer-Booster.html The CDC has updated the recommendation for when many people can receive a booster shot, shortening the interval from 6 months to 5 months for people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. This means that people can now receive an mRNA booster shot 5 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series. The booster interval recommendation for people who received the J&J vaccine (2 months) or the Moderna vaccine (6 months), has not changed. An mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) is recommended for a booster shot and you are eligible for a booster: If you completed a Pfizer series at least 5 months ago If you completed a Moderna series at least 6 months ago If you got a J&J vaccine at least 2 months ago The California Department of Public Health has extended the indoor masking requirement through February 15th. Tuolumne County Public Health restates While our COVID response team continues case investigation and contact tracing efforts, due to the large increase in cases that we are experiencing, we will not reach everyone. If you receive a positive test result, you will likely receive a text or email from a Virtual Agent to make contact and provide some information on what to do next. You can help slow the spread of Covid-19 by responding to texts, calls, or emails, and self-isolating when you have symptoms or a positive test result. Also notify any close contacts youve had from 2 days before you became ill or got tested. Any close contacts should follow current quarantine guidance and get tested 3-5 days after exposure. If you are at high risk of severe disease or hospitalization, you can contact your doctor to discuss potential treatment options. If you are not symptomatic, have not tested positive for COVID-19 recently, and are not in quarantine, get vaccinated or boosted. There have been 1,628 inmate cases at the Sierra Conservation Center, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports eight active Covid cases at the SCC. The SCC manages 3,202 inmates including all the southern fire conservation camps and has tested 26% of the prisons population in the past 14 days. The newly reported community cases include 13 cases age 17 or younger and 10 cases age 60 or older. The new Covid cases by gender and age: four girls and one boy age 11 or younger, three girls and five boys age 12 to 17, five women and six men age 18 to 29, five women and two men in their 30s, two women and four men in their 40s, six women and two men in their 50s, one woman and five men in their 60s, two women in their 70s, and two men in their 80s. The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County increased to 51.6 from 46.4 per 100,000 population yesterday. The case rate reached a low of 15.1 on December 17th. A total of 110 individuals were released from isolation, in all 6,552 have been released from isolation. The number of active cases has been above 60 since near the end of July, the first three Delta cases were identified July 2nd active cases peaked August 16th at 407, with the lowest active cases since July being 62 on November 29th. The county sends samples from residents for sequencing which takes time, so far the Omicron Covid-19 variant has not been detected yet. A total of 59% of the population eligible to get vaccinated has been vaccinated. Calaveras County Public Health reports 31 new cases since yesterday. There are 13 more active cases for a total of 63 active cases including three Covid hospitalizations. One of the new cases are age 17 or younger and six are age 65 and older, in total 857 under age 17 and 801 over 65 have been identified with Covid. There are 18 more recovered cases for a total of 4,587 cases recovered and 55.74% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated in the county. Information about Omicron from Mariposa County Public Health was detailed here yesterday. California Department of Public Health has said it sent about 2 million rapid tests to school districts at the beginning of December. A few days before Christmas, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan to purchase 6 million more test kits for students. According to the Associated Press about half of the kits were delivered last week. Others never arrived due in part to distribution challenges and delays caused by winter storms, California schools chief Tony Thurmond told reporters on Wednesday stating the shortfall was disappointing. Thurmond spoke about the California Community Schools Partnership Program, a $3 billion program that will fund schools, including health resources, mental health resources, and social service resources. Thurmond states, I am pleased to share with you today that we will be pursuing a program that will help us have 10,000 more mental health clinicians in the state of California. I cant think of anything more important right now in dealing with the trauma that students and families have experienced. He announced his intention to work to retain 15,000 teachers by providing additional induction supports. Columbia College states this morning they learned the home antigen testing kits they ordered in early December are not arriving this week as expected due to supply chain issues they were not shipped. They are postponing their planned Covid Testing protocol until test kits arrive with the shipment estimated to arrive on campus sometime next week. In the meantime, they request students continue to follow the fall semester guidelines until further notice. This includes masking indoors, distancing when guided, remaining home when symptomatic and completing the Covid Notification forms when indicated. COVID-19 Testing Public health recommends scheduling an appointment to get tested 5 days after possible exposure and if you are having any symptoms, to get tested right away. The Tuolumne County State testing site schedule is 7 days a week from 7 AM to 7 PM at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds. Appointments can be made at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888-634-1123. Testing is also available at pharmacies, at Rapid Care, and the hospital emergency department if you are experiencing any symptoms, or contact your healthcare provider. COVID-19 Vaccine appointments and booster vaccine shots are recommended for anyone age 16 and older (Pfizer only for age 16-17) Vaccine appointments for children ages 5 to 11 can be made through myturn.ca.gov, or by calling 833-422-4255, or through local pharmacies more details are here. For ways to manage a fear of needles or a phobia and help others with it, view the CDCs information guide here. Learn more about self-care strategies by visiting namica.org Images By Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images Covenant Health Plainivew and Community Wellness America will host several COVID-19 testing clinics this week and next. The clinics are set for Jan. 6, 7, 10, 11, 13 and 14. They will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Covenant Medical Plaza, 2404 Yonkers. No appointment times are required and testing is free. TALLAHASSEE After both sides said the case was moot, a South Florida appeals court dismissed a legal fight about school mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. A panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal issued an order Wednesday ending the case, which involved school boards challenging a Florida Department of Health emergency rule aimed at preventing mask requirements for students. Advertisement Attorneys for the school boards in Miami-Dade, Broward and Duval counties filed a document last month that said the case was moot because the emergency rule, which was issued in September, could only be in effect for 90 days and would expire Dec. 21. Attorneys for the Department of Health filed a response this week that agreed with the school boards, leading to Wednesdays dismissal. Advertisement The rule, in part, carried out a July 30 executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has opposed mask requirements. School boards challenged the rule at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, but Judge Brian Newman in November rejected arguments that the emergency rule was improper. That spurred an appeal to the 4th District Court of Appeal. While the appeal was pending, the Legislature passed a law in November that barred school boards from requiring students to wear masks. On New Year's Day, while others slept in and recovered from a rough hangover, I surrounded myself with remarkable views of the Pedernales River, along with the extraordinary sight of Marble Falls limestone, which formed over 300 million years ago when seas covered most of Texas. The calm isolation and soothing sounds of the waterfall hitting the river at Pedernales Falls State Park are worth the less than two-hour drive from San Antonio. Pedernales Falls State Park, named after the river that flows through it, offers over 20 miles of tranquil hiking trails for all skill levels. The most popular trail, the Pedernales Falls Trail, leads to a quick 0.6 walk to the relaxing falls created by cascading water across layers of limestone that stretch for a mile. It's truly the best hike I've been on where you don't have to work too hard to get to an overlook. Before exploring the park with my hiking buddy Denisse, the two of us saw the scenic landscape of the iconic Texas Hill Country and traditional cattle ranches through our drive, which is a one-and-a-half-hour drive north of San Antonio. The park is at 2585 Park Road in Johnson City, only 37 miles west of Austin. And, of course, reservations are needed upon entrance. Cell service at the park isn't available so remember to tell someone of your plans before heading to the 5,212-acre property. Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com History of the Pedernales When the State of Texas purchased the Circle Bar Ranch from Harriet Wheatley in March 1970 and created Pedernales Falls State Park, the land was described by the press and park officials alike as a pristine, undisturbed wilderness, according to a book from John J. Leffler called Farmers, Ranchers, the Land and the Falls: A History of the Pedernales Falls Area, 1860-1970. Based on archeological studies, it shows that people have lived near the Pedernales River over 10,000 years ago. Attracted to resources like water and shelter, native people found refuge near creeks and springs, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Between 1870 and the early 1880s at least six to nine separate farms and ranches were established in what is now Pedernales Falls State Park, and a small community grew, Leffler researched. However, by the mid-1890s that little community had been uprooted by death, drought and economic hardships. The trend continued after 1900, when John B. Wenmohs, a prominent Blanco County rancher, bought most of what is now the park and devoted the land to raising livestock. Charles and Harriet Wheatley bought the land in 1937 and then sold it to the state in 1970. The park opened in 1971 and has changed over the years due to the powerful force of water combined with the geologic process. Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com The Pedernales Falls State Park today Through the process called water erosion, the Pedernales River carves the dramatic landforms you'll see today, according to the TPWD. Water causes calcium in the limestone to dissolve, melting the rock away as water flows over it. Over time, this process shapes the rock into unique formations like deep canyons, potholes and limestone outcrops throughout the park (yes, science is cool). At the falls, you can climb and hike all over the formations. However, watch your step because it's easy to slip on the wet limestone. Half of the park consists of juniper forests that grow in limey, shallow solid rock on top of the limestone. Yes, juniper trees are also known as cedar, so take your allergy pill to avoid a sneezing mess. In other areas of the park, you'll find pecan, elm and sycamore trees that take root in deep clay soils. The rich woodland habitat supports a variety of wildlife, such as deer, coyotes and other mammals. While I didn't see one in person while walking the trails, I did spot their poop. When it rains heavily, it's best to avoid the park because the Pedernales River can reach flood levels with little to no warning, TPWD said. If you notice the water rise or turn muddy, seek higher ground immediately. The floods in the past have snapped large trees in half, carried massive boulders and deposited huge amounts of sand along the riverbanks. On this portion of the park, it's important to remember you can't swim in the river. Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com Trails and more activities at the park During my visit, I hiked the easy walk to Pedernales Falls. Once you arrive at the river, steps await you to lead you down to the waterfront. Take non-slippery hiking shoes (no, running shoes) because you'll need some grip when climbing over the dramatic rock scenery. On the Pedernales Falls Trail System, there are some offshoot trails to take that take you along the river. You can seriously spend hours there just exploring the potholes and canyons. Next, we hiked the moderate Hackenburg Loop Trail (1.2 miles), which is near the Pedernales Falls Trail. It's named after one of the families who owned land in the area in the 1800s. George P. Hackenberg was a Union veteran of the Civil War and purchased about 320 acres of land just west of Pedernales Falls in 1874, according to Leffler. The trail takes you along the river to places where flash floods have had serious impacts. As I walked through it, I saw piles and piles of branches and twigs set aside from the trail route. It feels like you're entering a forest while on this trail. There are parts where you can take a small trip down to the riverbanks as well. Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com If you're looking for a challenge, TPWD recommends the Juniper Ridge Trail. It's about 9.7 miles with tons of shade. It's widely known to be a perfect place to go mountain biking. For the easiest hike, you can trek along the North Loop Equestrian Trail (3.0 miles). On this trail, there's a duck pond where you can take a rest and have a picnic. I didn't have time to hike the 5.5-mile loop, but will soon because it offers one of the most breathtaking views in the park, according to TPWD. On the east area of the park near the 5.5-mile loop, you can have access to the swimming area. To get there, it's a strenuous quarter mile (or more) hike and includes steep rock stairs with no handrail. Between the swimming, hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding, there's so much this park offers, and I barely scratch the surface. I'll be back to discover more about my second favorite park so far in Texas. Garner still has my heart. As COVID-19 continues to rapidly spread across the San Antonio area due to the highly contagious omicron variant, many colleges and universities are changing plans for the spring semester. A few have decided to delay the start date temporarily switching to virtual learning for a few weeks. Here are the latest plans for local colleges and universities: University of Texas at San Antonio will begin the spring semester virtually with most scheduled classes meeting online for three weeks, from January 18 through February 6. All classes will shift to the scheduled teaching modality on February 7. At that time, students should attend and participate in all in-person class activities. Mandatory COVID-19 testing will continue. University of Incarnate Word will begin classes on time on January 10, however, the university is moving all-lecture-based courses to online for the first two weeks. A letter from university president Thomas Evans went out Wednesday to students and staff detailing the plan. Lab, studio, clinical and performance-based courses, such as music, chorale and theatre will take place in-person, as planned. Another update will be shared with the community on or before Friday, January 21, according to the letter. Alamo Colleges District announced it will begin the spring semester remotely with most scheduled classes meeting online from January 18-29. Select programs require in-person attendance. Students enrolled in those courses will be notified for instructions. The district is encouraging faculty, students and staff to get vaccinated. COVID-19 PCR screening remains mandatory for Alamo Colleges District employees. St. Marys University will delay spring semester classes until Monday, January 24. This is includes all undergraduates, graduate, and Ph.D students. The School of Law will begin classes on Monday, January 10 as previously scheduled. The president of St. Marys University sent out a latter to the school community on December 31 announcing the change in plans. For now, all classes will be in-person unless previously designated as virtual. The letter states class time will not be made up and spring break will go forward as planned. Residence halls will be available for students starting Sunday, January 9. All residents will be required to show proof of a negative PCR test taken within two days of arriving on campus. Texas A&M University San Antonio hasnt announced changes to the January 10 spring semester start date. Texas State University President Denise Trauth announced Monday all classes will be held virtually for the first two weeks of the spring semester in response to the COVID surge. All classes will be held virtually beginning January 18 through January 30. Texas State campuses and offices will remain open for business with services offered in-person and virtually. Students are scheduled to return for face-to-face instruction on January 31. Trinity University was the first local university to announce on December 29, it would be extending its winter break by three weeks in order to mitigate the spread of COVID. The spring semester will start January 31. In addition, students and staff were instructed to receive the vaccine booster and report it to the university by January 12. Our Lady of the Lake University is holding most spring semester classes virtually through at least January 23. There will be a vaccine clinic on the San Antonio campus Saturday, January 8, from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. The University of Texas Austin is also taking steps to reduce the additional spread of the virus. University President Jay Hartzell made the announcement in an email to students and staff. In the letter, he is asking faculty members to teach remotely for the first two weeks of the spring semester. Students are encouraged to gradually return to campus leading up to January 31. All students returning to campus for the spring semester should receive a viral COVID test within 72 hours prior to returning to campus or the surrounding community for in-person student activities. University employees are also encouraged to get tested before returning to campus. The university hopes to return to originally assigned teaching January 31. Divers brought in by the FBI were unable to turn up anything in the continuous search for the missing San Antonio 3-year-old, Lina Sardar Khil. Here's what you need to know. The FBI's Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team searched a creek at the 5700 block of Babcock Road on Wednesday, January 5, but weren't able to find anything conclusive, according to a news release. William Luther/Staff The San Antonio Police Department and FBI will widen the scope of the search for Lina. It's unclear if that will still include the dive team that was brought in Tuesday. Lina went missing on December 20 at the Villas Del Cabo Apartments located at 9400 Fredericksburg Road. She was last seen wearing a red dress, black jacket, and black shoes. Jessica Phelps, Staff photographer / Jessica Phelps People with tips or information that will lead to finding Lina should call 210-207-7660. Here's some other news you might have missed. Frost Bank faces lawsuit for overdraft fees A lawsuit has been filed against Frost Bank in San Antonio District Court, saying that overdraft fees were applied to accounts that didn't overdraw, the Express-News reported. The lawsuit is similar to one filed against Credit Human Federal Credit Union last April. The Frost Bank lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages. Read more here. Metro Health launches additional testing sites Amid the largest daily caseload, San Antonio Metro Health is launching three additional testing sites to help document and mitigate the spread of the omicron variant. Read more here. Abbott asks for help while still fighting COVID restrictions On Tuesday, FEMA responded to Gov. Greg Abbott's call for help with the announcement of its own testing sites in Texas. That same day, Abbott sued the Biden administration over the DoD's vaccine mandates. That was only one of the many efforts to block any federal efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Read more here. Taquero Mucho expanding its pink reign The popular and perfectly pink Mexican restaurant with CBD-infused margaritas is opening a second Austin location. Read more here. A geodesic home in Texas has made a recent roundup highlighting the best Airbnb rentals in the United States. The mid-century rental property in Leander has made a list put together by Conde Nasts Traveler publication. Each of the 52 properties featured on the list is run by a Superhost with a rating of 4.8 or higher, according to the publication. Kitschy as the 1970s kit-built exterior may look, this five-bedroom geodome is stuffed with modern amenities like soaking tubs and high-end appliances, the article by Conde Nast reads. At $913 per night, the Texas home is one of the pricier rentals on the list. In addition to the five bedrooms, it also features three full baths, a full kitchen and an observation tower loft library with 360-degree views, according to the official Airbnb listing. Photo provided/Airbnb While the property provides a retreat from city life, it is also only a 30-minute drive from Austin, so there is no shortage of activities for people looking to get out and about. "Originally built in the 90's from the popular geodesic dome home building kits of the 1970s, The Geodome was completely remodeled in 2020 with Wifi-enabled and fully integrated smart devices throughout the entire house," the listing on the Airbnb site reads. The 3,500 square foot home next to Lake Travis has what is described as a "speakeasy" lounge on the bottom floor, a fireplace and 55-inch smart television on the main floor and a spiral staircase leading from the third-floor bedrooms into the observation tower library. If the amenities aren't enough, the photo opportunities might just serve as the icing on the cake. "Throughout the entire house are fun design Easter eggs that will bring a smile to your face and make a great IG post. The elements of natural wood and trend-setting industrial design and MCM furniture will immediately captivate your attention and help you feel right at home," the Airbnb listing reads. For more information on the property, contact the property owner through the Airbnb listing page. Science/Medicine Study casts doubts on rapid Covid tests reliability right after infection STAT (Dr. Kevin). Wow, the false negative was a known issuebut look at to what degree: On days 0 and 1 following a positive PCR test, all of the antigen tests used produced false-negative results, even though in 28 of the 30 cases, levels of virus detected by the PCR test were high enough to infect other people. In four cases, researchers were able to confirm that infected people transmitted the virus to others during the period before they had a positive result on the rapid antigen test. MSM account: Emerging Data Raise Questions About Antigen Tests and Nasal Swabs New York Times (Robert M) A couple of days stale but data is scarce: Yves here. Fracking may become a self-limiting activity because earthquakes. Youd think polluting aquifers would be reason enough, with potable water set to be the resource where we run into widespread scarcity first. But drinkable water is a health matter, which Covid has shown is secondary to preserving the economy, while earthquakes have this nasty way of damaging property and infrastructure. By Irina Slav, a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. Originally published at OilPrice Strongest earthquake in 10-years stirs up debate in Texas The Texas Railroad Commission banned injection of wastewater from well drilling into deep wells just before the big quake Shutting down disposal wells cannot be a permanent decision A week ago, an earthquake with a 4.5 magnitude struck Texas in the most prolific shale play in the countrythe Permian. Days later, another quake shook Americas oil heartland. And seismic activity might eventually force drillers to curb production. The December 27 quake was the strongest in Texas for the last ten years, the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported at the time. It happened at a depth of 4.3 miles near Stanton. And it followed a series of earlier quakes in December. In the middle of December, the U.S. Geological Survey reported four earthquakes in the vicinity of Midland that occurred within 24 hours. The magnitude of these quakes ranged from 2.9 to 3.7, which is not a whole lot, but the number was concerning, especially since it came after more tremors were detected by the University of Texas at Austins Bureau of Economic Geology earlier in the year. And after the stronger quake, regulators have stepped in. The Texas Railroad Commission banned the injection of wastewater from well drilling into deep wells just before the big quake. After the big quake, the commission sent out inspectors to the field as the quake had occurred in an area already under investigation for wastewater disposal in deep wells. According to Reuters, if the inspection results in a halt of wastewater disposal in the area, this could lead to the shutdown of some 18 disposal wells that pump a combined 9,600 barrels of wastewater. And if drillers cannot dispose of wastewater, then they cannot really drill. That hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, causes increased seismic activity has been one of the main weapons in the arsenal of anti-fracking activists. Indeed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the practice of splitting shale rock formation to extract the oil contained in it does cause increased seismic activity. Only its not the fracking itself. Its the wastewater. Fracking requires enormous amounts of liquid, and this liquid, called wastewater but in fact, a mixture of water and chemicals, needs to be disposed of. Disposal usually takes place in disposal wells, some of them quite deep to hold more wastewater. It is these underground wastewater reservoirs that have been linked to increased seismic activity in some oil regions. Five years ago, for instance, Oklahoma drew media attention because of the significantly increased frequency of earthquakes since the start of the shale boom. The state, one of the big oil producers in the U.S., had negligible seismic activity before 2009 when fracking really took off. By 2016, Oklahoma was recording an average of two quakes a daywhat was earlier the average for a year. To date, quakes are just as frequent. According to website Earthquake Tracker, there have been 10 earthquakes in Oklahoma in the last seven days, 68 quakes in the past 30 days, and 2,063 quakes in the past year. Of course, most of these are minor, but due to their increased frequency, they can still causeand have causedmaterial damage. The issue even led to litigation seeking insurance coverage against the effects of wastewater disposal from oil wells. Unfortunately for the plaintiffs in this case, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma this month ruled that no insurance coverage exists for bodily injury or property damage caused by wastewater disposal-related seismic activity. Interestingly enough, there used to be insurance coverage for such damages until a few years ago. As seismic activity grew, Oklahoma insurers started getting increasingly aware of the fact that upping the premiums for earthquake coverage (by 200% in some cases) was not sufficient to avoid substantial losses at this rate of seismic activity. So they began removing this coverage from their service offering and rejecting claims for quake-caused damage, attributing it instead to houses settling or just being plain too old. The Permian is a bigger producer of oil than Oklahoma. It is the biggest producing oil region in the United States and the driver of its production growth, seen as substantial this year as prices remain comfortably high. But unless producers can find an alternative to injecting wastewater into deep wells, some of that production growth might never happen in order to avoid turning Texas into the second earthquake capital of the U.S. after Oklahoma. The alternatives include trucking the wastewater away and disposing of it elsewhere, therefore distributing the burden of tons of water that, if dumped into an underground well, could cause heightened seismic activity. Another alternative is to recycle the water, and it might be worth motivating drillers to consider it as the amounts of water used in shale wells drilling are not going any smaller: according to the Groundwater Protection Council, a single horizontal well requires 45 million liters of water. The U.S. oil and gas industry generates hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater every year. This waters disposal can and does cause increased seismic activity in some places. Shutting down disposal wells cannot be a permanent decision, not for an industry that is just tentatively returning to growth. Washington President Joe Biden forcefully blamed Donald Trump and his supporters Thursday for holding a dagger at the throat of democracy with election lies that sparked last years deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, using the anniversary of the attack to warn that Americas system of government remains under urgent threat. The president set the tone on a day of remembrance that brought fiery speeches, moments of silence and anguished accounts from lawmakers recalling the terrifying hours of Jan. 6, 2021, when the Trump mob laid siege to the Capitol and rioters tried to stop the routine, ceremonial certification of election results. Advertisement Notably, almost no Republicans joined Biden and the Democrats in what some hoped would be a day of reconciliation. Instead, it was a fresh and jarring display of a nation still deeply torn by the lies that led to the riot, by its unsettled aftermath and Trumps persisting grip on a large swath of the country. For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Biden said. You cant love your country only when you win. Advertisement Bidens criticism of the defeated president was rife with condemnation for the assault that has fundamentally changed Congress and the nation, and has raised global concerns about the future of American democracy. His voice booming at times, reverberating in the ornate Statuary Hall where rioters had laid siege, the president called on Americans to remember what they saw Jan. 6 with their own eyes: the mob attacking police and breaking windows, a Confederate flag inside the Capitol, gallows erected outside amid calls to hang the vice president all while Trump sat at the White House watching on TV. The former presidents supporters are trying to rewrite history, Biden said, incredulous. They want you to see Election Day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6 as a true expression of the will of the people. Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country, to look at America? I cannot. President Joe Biden speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/AP) Until the anniversary, Biden had mentioned the attack only sparingly but he aggressively weighed in Thursday and coupled his message with a call for voting rights legislation that Democrats have long been urging. The presidents remarks drew a stark contrast with the false narratives that persist about the Capitol assault, including the continued refusal by many Republicans to affirm that Biden won the 2020 election. Five people died in the Capitol siege and its immediate aftermath. We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie, Biden said. The former president of the United States of America has spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. Yet even as the president spoke, the vanquished Trump gave no signs of letting go, a show of the division in the country emphasized by the silence and absence of most Republicans to join Biden at the Capitol. From Florida, Trump revived his unfounded attack on the elections. He accepted no responsibility for sending the thousands of supporters to the Capitol that day when he told them to fight like hell. By Thursday evening, he was sending out a fundraising appeal. Advertisement Even among congressional Republicans who condemned the attack in the days afterward, few spoke that way now some joining in Trumps false portrayals. What brazen politicization of January 6 by President Biden, tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a sometimes Trump confidant who had initially said he had abandoned Trump after the riot only to quickly embrace him again. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell who at the time said Trump was practically and morally responsible the attack issued a statement that highlighted the gravity of that day, but also said some Democrats were trying to exploit it for other purposes. He was absent, with a contingent attending the funeral of former colleague Sen. Johnny Isakson in Georgia. Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House committee investigating the attack and one of the few GOP lawmakers attending the Capitol ceremonies, warned that the threat continues. Trump, she said, continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6. Unfortunately, too many in my own party are embracing the former president, are looking the other way or minimizing the danger, she told NBCs Today show. Thats how democracies die. We simply cannot let that happen. She was joined by her father Dick Cheney, the former vice president and now a Republican Party elder. They were the only members of the GOP seen for a moment of silence on the House floor. Advertisement Dick Cheney was greeted by several Democrats and said in a statement: I am deeply disappointed at the failure of many members of my party to recognize the grave nature of the January 6 attacks and the ongoing threat to our nation. Throughout Thursday, lawmakers shared their experiences of being trapped in the House or rushed away from the Senate, as the siege raged for hours. Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan showed a shard of glass from one of the Capitols broken windows he carries in his pocket. January 6 is not over, he said, choking up. The threat, and the lie that fuels that threat, continues to rear its head. He said: To truly protect our democracy we need truth. The House panel investigating the insurrection plans to spend the coming months exploring and revealing what happened with public hearings. Biden and his administration have come under criticism from some in his party for not adequately explaining how they believe democracy is at risk, or pushing Congress hard enough to pass election and voting rights legislation that is stalled by a Republican filibuster in the Senate. Barack Obama, the former president, said nothing is more important on the anniversary than ensuring the right to vote. Advertisement Our democracy is at greater risk today than it was back then, Obama said in a statement. Bidens address, and that of Vice President Kamala Harris who is leading the administrations efforts on the voting and elections legislation, appeared as a direct response to critics. We must pass voting rights bills, Harris said in her address. We cannot sit on the sidelines. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drew on history with a hope that Americans would turn to their better angels to resolve differences. Lawmakers held an evening vigil on the Capitol steps. Other remembrances or demonstrations were few around the country. Bidens sharp message and the Republicans distance from it come as lawmakers are adjusting to the new normal on Capitol Hill the growing tensions that many worry will result in more violence or, someday, a legitimate election actually being overturned. Advertisement A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 3 in 10 Republicans say the attack was not violent. Around two-thirds of Americans described the day as very or extremely violent, including about 9 in 10 Democrats. The percentage of Americans who blame Trump for the riot has grown slightly over the past year, with 57% saying he bears significant responsibility, up from 50% in the days after the attack. Trumps claims of widespread election fraud were rejected by the courts and refuted by his own Justice Department. An investigation by the AP found fewer than 475 cases of voter fraud among 25.5 million ballots cast in the six battleground states disputed by Trump, a minuscule number in percentage terms. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Kevin Freking, Jill Colvin Alexandra Jaffe and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report. (Natural News) China is deploying killer robots armed with machine guns to its contested border with India. The border dispute between China and India over parts of the western Himalayas region turned deadly in May 2020 when Chinese and Indian troops engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat using melee weapons like nail-studded clubs. The brawls left many dead on both sides. Members of Chinas military, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), and the Indian Armed Forces are still engaged in a standoff as the border dispute remains unresolved. According to multiple reports from Indian media outlets, the PLA has deployed dozens of autonomous vehicles to Tibet. These vehicles are capable of transporting both weapons and supplies to hard-to-reach areas along Chinas contested border with India. According to Srinjoy Chowdhury, national affairs editor for the Indian media outlet Times Now News, the PLA is replacing its soldiers with robots because they are having trouble properly acclimating to the cold and high altitude in Tibet. Other reports stated that the Chinese troops are struggling to operate at altitudes of 16,000 feet above sea level because of the lack of oxygen. Hundreds of autonomous vehicles being used to boost Chinese forces at border Among the unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) the PLA has deployed to Tibet is the Sharp Claw. Reports claim there are 88 UGVs in Tibet, including at least 38 in the westernmost parts of the province, close to the border with India. The Sharp Claw, developed by Chinese state-owned weapons manufacturing company Norinco and first unveiled in 2014, is designed for use in remote areas that are unsuitable for personnel. It can be used for reconnaissance, patrolling and transportation of weapons and equipment. It has an operational range of one kilometer (0.62 miles) from its operator and is armed with one light machine gun. The PLA has also deployed between 120 to 300 Mule-200s, a tracked multipurpose UGV developed by private Chinese arms manufacturer, Zhong Tian Zhi Kong Technology Holdings. With a range of 50 kilometers (31 miles) from its operator, the Mule-200 is designed to navigate difficult terrain. It can carry up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of equipment, including weapons, supplies and ammunition. The Mule-200 can be outfitted with fire-support equipment like a mounted machine gun and be used to perform combat tasks. A majority of the Mule-200s in Tibet are stationed near Chinas border with India. (Related: China developing suicide military helmets equipped with remote self-destruct capabilities, initiated by their commander.) In addition to the UGVs, the PLA has also boosted its forces in the region with hundreds of other military vehicles, including nearly 80 VP-22 armored personnel carriers and between 150 to 200 Lynx all-terrain vehicles. The VP-22 is a mine-resistant vehicle that can carry up to 15 passengers at a time. Around 77 of the VP-22s have been spotted in Chinas border regions with India. The Lynx is an extremely adaptable vehicle that can carry small groups of soldiers. It can also be used to transport heavy armaments like heavy machine guns, mortars, howitzers and missile launchers. The Lynx can also be used as a platform to fire these heavy armaments from. Around 150 Lynx vehicles have been dispatched to the border. The PLA has also been equipping its soldiers with carbon-fiber exoskeletons to support their feet and ankles while they carry around their heavy military packs at altitudes where the amount of oxygen in the air makes it more difficult for these soldiers to do strenuous physical labor. Listen to this Situation Update episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how China is setting the stage for an all-out nuclear war with India, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and the United States. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Learn more about Chinas military by reading the latest articles in WWIII.news. Sources include: GreatGameIndia.com WIONews.com TimesNowNews.com TibetanReview.net Janes.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The north-central Chinese city of Xian is now experiencing its worst Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) tally in over 21 months, and the capital city of Beijing is scrambling to gain the upper hand as illnesses surge just four weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics which they pledged to be safe and grand. Xian recently implemented severe lockdown policies, barring 13 million residents from leaving their homes. While the 1,700 caseload from Xian pales in comparison to many western countries, residents have long questioned the authenticity of the figures due to the regimes practice of censoring unfavorable news. China is the largest country aiming to implement a zero-COVID policy, and it is going after every virus case no matter the costs. However, its rigid playbook of fighting the virus by relying on vigorous contact tracing, mass testing, centralized quarantines and harsh lockdowns is showing strains amidst the growing frustration and anger from the public. Further, the worsening outbreak in Xian is mounting questions such as how long such COVID measures can last. Getting Xian to zero COVID cases has become a political task, with Shaanxi Province Party Chief Liu Guozhong instructing local officials to tap into their wartime spirit and quarantine anyone at risk without delay. Xian is the decisive destination in the fight against the pandemic and only when the outbreak in Xian has been put under control can we fundamentally reverse the passive situation in the entire province, Liu told state-sanctioned media. Soaring food prices and sealed-off neighborhoods A leaked document circulating on Chinese social media showed that Liu set January 4 as the date the city needs to achieve zero new cases. Racing to contain the outbreak, the city has imposed the strictest lockdown measures since Wuhan became the epicenter of the pandemic. (Related: New coronavirus outbreaks in China lead to strict lockdown measures.) Overnight, thousands of those identified as close contacts were hauled away by truckloads to other counties and cities, where they were quarantined. For the rest, the furthest they could go is the metal door enclosing their neighborhood or residential compound. Some districts found themselves in tighter lockdowns, with residents not allowed to venture past their doorstep. In some areas, the elevator services were cut off without prior notice. Firefighters had to climb the walls to get into a sealed-off neighborhood on New Years Eve, when a building caught fire. The Xian lockdown originally allowed people to leave their houses every two days to shop for basic goods, but security has since been tightened. Some people were not allowed to go out at all, and goods should only be delivered to them. These abrupt confinements have prompted outcries as residents struggled to secure their basic needs. During a recent live stream of a press conference, distraught viewers flooded the channel with pleas in the live comments section, where they clamored for food and other necessities. In response, the authorities disabled the comments section. The price of food in Xian also skyrocketed due to the shortage of supplies. People were reportedly being forced to barter for bags of rice. In a screenshot that has since become viral, a box of Chinese cabbages which used to be dirt cheap now costs around 438 yuan (about $69). Chinas harsh, often brutal measures to control spread of the virus Those who break the rules for whatever reason are immediately punished, sometimes through violent actions and police brutality. A video emerged on social media showing a man beaten by two pandemic control officers for sneaking out to buy steamed buns. The officers kicked and punched the man, whose food spilled to the ground. Another video from New Years Day showed a bloodied man who was hit by a local village official with a brick when he tried to visit his grandmother in a nearby village. The restrictions in Xian follow the same pattern repeated across China through much of the past two years. The heavy-handed approach comes hand-in-hand with an aggressive vaccination campaign that resulted in more than 85 percent of the population in China being forced to get vaccinated as of December. With the Winter Olympics approaching, Beijing is more determined than ever to continue its harsh pandemic lockdowns. The zero-COVID strategy remains to be the best choice for the country, according to a top expert overseeing Chinas outbreak response. Currently, the key to control the outbreak is not about adjustment but implementation,' he said. (Related: Chinese citizens decry draconian lockdown measures in Chinas newest coronavirus hotspots.) He also stated that with the rapid transmission of the omicron variant, China needs to double down on its current measures. I have strong confidence that our countrys outbreak control system can handle mutations like omicron. Watch the video below to learn more about the situation in China. This video is from the COVID Times channel on Brighteon.com. Visit Pandemic.news to learn more about how different countries are dealing with the new COVID variant. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com AlJazeera.com PBS.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) In bad news for anyone who was hoping the pandemic would end soon, the Biden administration apparently has reason to believe that the U.S. will need tens of millions of COVID-19 tests three years from now as the president recently signed a new contract related to test strip production. The $137 million contract with a German pharmaceutical company will see a factory being built to produce COVID-19 test strip materials in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. And while this may sound like good news at a time when tests are in short supply throughout the nation, a Department of Defense press release announcing the new deal failed to mention that it will take three years to build the factory. Once it is running in 2024 or 2025, however, it will be able to produce another 85 million more tests per month. This means that the deal will not do anything to alleviate the current supply problem; the administration has already been under fire for rejecting a deal in October that could have significantly raised the supply of these tests across the nation. Construction work is not expected to get underway until the second half of 2022. For many, however, the most concerning aspect of this story is the fact that the administration expects we will continue to have a need for these tests well into the future. A Department of Defense press release announcing the awarding of the contract in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services noted that it was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. It is believed that the company, MilliporeSigma, will be converting an existing factory into one that is suitable for producing the test strip materials. The site will manufacture nitrocellulose membrane, which is a vital material used in making rapid Covid tests. The timeline was only mentioned in a press release by MilliporeSigma, who stated that they had been awarded a $136.7M USD contract award for the construction of a lateral flow membrane production facility over a three-year period at the companys Sheboygan, Wisconsin site. A MilliporeSigma spokesperson said that the production of lateral flow membrane at the facility is critical for making rapid diagnostic tests that will help not only with detecting Covid but also any future public health emergencies another thought that isnt very comforting. The spokesperson said: Worldwide market demand for lateral flow membrane exceeds supply, and there is limited production capacity in the United States. The current lack of domestic supply of lateral flow membrane impacts the United States ability to respond fully to the COVID-19 pandemic and any future public health emergencies. At-home test shortages, long lines for testing throughout the US Earlier in December, Biden unveiled a plan for distributing 500 million at-home Covid tests as cases surged throughout the nation, but contracts for the order are not expected to be finished until some time this month, and the administration has yet to finalize how the kits will be distributed. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said: Well set up a free and easy system, including a new website to get these tests out to Americans. Were actively working to finalize that distribution mechanism, which includes a website where people will be able to order tests for free. And well share more details in the weeks ahead days and weeks ahead. Right now, Americans are experiencing hours-long waits to be tested for the virus in many areas as drugstores sell out of at-home testing kits, thanks largely to an increase in people seeking to get tested before celebrating the holidays with friends and family. Many retailers that still have stock are placing limits on the number of kits that can be purchased at once, and the FDA has granted emergency use authorization to new at-home tests to try to stem the problem. What few are pointing out, however, is the fact that Americans wouldnt need to take so many tests in the first place if the vaccines were actually delivering on their promises and stopping people from getting infected with the virus. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk FoxBusiness.com (Natural News) By the end of the month, most people who are fully vaccinated will have developed full-blown Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injection-induced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), new government data suggests. German government researchers found that the immune systems of the fully vaccinated have already degraded to an average of -87 percent, depending on when they got jabbed. That degradation will only continue until their immune systems are completely gone. (Related: Fauci Flu shots are also spreading prion disease.) The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) put out the data, which shows that the fully vaccinated now have, on average, an 87.7 percent lower immune response to the new Omicron (Moronic) variant than the unvaccinated. This means that the average German is down to the last 12.3 percent of his or her immune system for fighting certain classes of viruses and certain cancers, reports the Daily Expose. Interestingly, RKI did not produce the normal vaccine effectiveness tables in its December 30 weekly report. This may have been due to the holidays (the British gave up completely on December 23) or may have been because the table would be disastrous for the vaccines, the Expose added. But we can help the Germans out here by doing the calculation for them using Pfizers vaccine effectiveness formula: Vaccine effectiveness = immune system effectiveness = (1-8.12)/8.12 = -7.12/8.12 = -87.7%. Fully vaccinated immune systems are doing WORSE than the predictive models estimated Back in October, it was projected that this type of thing would occur. Scientists looked at data from the UKHSA Vaccine Surveillance Report, concluding that immune system degradation would become progressively worse in the fully vaccinated. Those figures were mocked by some for being too doomsday. It turns out, however, that they were actually underestimates. The fully vaccinated are doing worse in terms of immune strength than even the most pessimistic data modelers anticipated. So Germany, at 87.7% immune system degradation, has done 6.7% worse than our model which predicted, an 81.0% degradation this year (for over 18s based on 2 doses of the anti-vaccine rather than 3), the Expose reported. It is the 3rd dose that really kills the immune system as can be seen from the ONS data for Omicron These figures mean that if you have Covid and you have had 3 doses of the vaccine then you are 4.45x more likely to have Omicron than if you are an unvaxxed Covid case. But the above was merely an estimation. Based on the latest data out of Germany, we now know that the fully vaccinated are 812 percent more likely to develop a Moronic infection than the unvaccinated. The unvaccinated are basically eight times better protected from Moronic than people who took the jabs. And the more jabs you take the faster the degradation of your immune system progresses, the Expose added. It also looks like the unvaxxed are reaching sub herd immunity against Covid-19 whereas the fully vaxxed are being prevented from reaching it by the vaccines. The German figures have destroyed the case for vaccine passports and by themselves prove instead the case for an immediate gene therapy and spike protein vaccination ban. It turns out that we were right, too. So-called vaccine immunity is really just fake immunity. It is flawed, at best. At worst, it destroys the immune system, leaving it unable to naturally fend off infections of any kind. By the end of January every fully vaccinated person in both countries over 30 years old will have full blown vaccine mediated AIDS, the Expose concluded. However much of the immune system that is presently left with the ability to fight Omicron will have gone. The latest news about Chinese Virus injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: DailyExpose.uk NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Health officials are on alert after patients at an Oregon hospital developed a rare but dangerous fungal infection known as Candida auris. Candida auris is a type of yeast that is considered very rare in the United States, and the initial case in the outbreak at Salem Health was the first ever detected in the state of Oregon. The case, which was identified on December 11 and confirmed on December 17, was found in a person who had recent international healthcare exposures. In late December, two other already-hospitalized patients at the facility came down with the same infection. Salem Health worked with the Oregon Health Authority to notify healthcare facilities who had received transfer patients from the units that were affected in hopes of limiting the outbreak. Candida auris is a fungus that can cause infections in wounds and the bloodstream. It is considered particularly dangerous for hospital patients and people in nursing homes who have weakened immune systems, tubes or lines entering their body, or serious medical conditions. However, they emphasize that the risk of infection to people who are otherwise healthy is considered extremely low. The CDC says that the yeast poses a serious global health threat, but only around 1,150 clinical cases have been identified in the U.S. since 2013. However, its ability to cause serious infections and rapid transmission is cause for concern. It was first identified in 2009 in Japan and can spread quickly through healthcare settings, where it leads to invasive infections. It is known for being difficult to diagnose. Specialized lab work is required to diagnose it, which is a significant problem considering the fact that quick action is crucial in stopping it from spreading. Moreover, most of its strains are resistant to one or more antifungal drugs. According to the CDC, 30 to 60 percent of people who have contracted Candida auris have died. However, the agency pointed out that many of these individuals were already at an increased risk of death due to serious illness because it typically preys on patients who already have a compromised immune system or serious medical condition. Salem Health reports that the people who are affected at their facility have been responding to existing treatments. Meanwhile, the hospital is working with the CDC and the Oregon Health Authority to put a plan in place to stop it from spreading. Some of the measures being used so far include ensuring patients healthcare environments are frequently disinfected, treating those infected or colonized with the yeast with transmission-based precautions, and adhering to strict hand-washing protocols. Difficult to diagnose and quick to spread One thing that makes Candida auris difficult to diagnose is the fact that its symptoms can vary and are similar to those of other illnesses. The most common symptoms are chills and fever that do not respond to antibiotics. It may cause infections in the ears, wounds or bloodstream. Many infections will respond to treatment with antifungal medications in the echinocandin family, but some of its strains are known to resist all three main classes of drugs and require high doses of several medications to treat. Earlier this year, the CDC identified two independent outbreaks of pan-resistant strains of Candida auris at two acute care hospitals in Texas and a Washington, D.C. long-term care facility. Although only a few cases have been detected so far in the Oregon outbreak, the fact that a superbug that preys on people with weakened immune systems is spreading at the same time that much of the population is getting vaccines that are known for weakening immune systems means that it is something that patients and healthcare workers need to be looking out for so it can be stopped before it spreads and puts more people at risk. Sources for this article include: SHTFplan.com USAToday.com (Natural News) Cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough shared several discoveries about the B11529 omicron variant of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) during the Jan. 3 episode of Steel Truth with Ann Vandersteel on Brighteon.TV. McCullough noted that the omicron strain first identified in South Africa is the most highly mutated form of SARS-CoV-2. Its far and away the most highly mutated of all the various [strains]. The peppering of mutations around the receptor binding domain (RBD) means that the virus has mutated at its point of attachment to the H2 receptors on human cells. This has basically rendered omicron less likely to invade the human body, he said. The virus goes into the nose as usual. It sets up an infection, but it doesnt invade the lungs or cause serious consequences unlike the other variants. You can see the other variants had nothing in [their] RBD, which is basically unchanged from the original Wuhan wild-type virus. According to McCullough, he had a more difficult time with the B16172 delta variant due to its invasiveness and ability to replicate at high viral loads. He pointed out that omicron replicates 70 times faster than delta, allowing it to quickly overrun the previous variant of concern first identified in India. The cardiologist warned that omicron can now bypass natural immunity, having previously been found in fully vaccinated individuals. He added that those infected with omicron experience a very mild fever. It arose in the fully vaccinated, but it clearly affects unvaccinated people and those naturally immune as well. Its kind of an equal opportunity player, he said. My patients tell me, by the way, that omicron feels like the same thing a patient feels like when they take a COVID-19 vaccine booster. Isnt that interesting? Some people have already said its Mother Natures booster because it feels just like taking a booster vaccine. (Related: Experts say Omicron is a natural vaccine no need for any more boosters.) Early intervention eschewed in favor of vaccines Vandersteel aired a clip from McCulloughs December 2021 interview with podcast host Joe Rogan. According to the Texas-based cardiologist, he testified in two separate instances that a huge percentage of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. could have been avoided. The use of multi-drug therapy backed by numerous studies would have reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 85 percent, he added. It seems to me early on [that] there was an intentional, very comprehensive suppression of early treatment in order to promote fear, suffering, isolation, hospitalization and death. [It also] seems to be completely organized and intentional in order to create acceptance for, and then promote, mass vaccination, McCullough told Rogan. McCullough alleged that the vaccines themselves instilled the fear of COVID-19 in Americans which drove them to get injected with the mRNA shots and suffer serious reactions and death. He told Vandersteel: Sadly, the people dying are our seniors. They may be the most silent and unobserved people in all of society. Its not the young people who died, its the seniors. The vaccines cause an uncontrolled production of the spike protein. Thats a protein devised at the lab in Wuhan, China with gain-of-function research technology to become more infectious and more lethal. Some people produce way too much of it, and its lethal. (Related: Drs. Steven Hotze and Peter McCullough discuss the dangers of spike protein and public health responses Brighteon.TV.) McCullough told the Brighteon.TV host that a scientific reawakening has occurred. He said the U.S. government and the mainstream medias suppression of the actual COVID-19 facts has contributed to it. Americans want to know how the rest of the world is handling COVID-19. Our U.S. government agencies give us no window to the outside world. They want to be updated [with the news] without the filter of whats called the Trusted News Initiative (TNI). According to the BBC, the TNI is a partnership involving several mainstream media outlets and Big Tech companies that seeks to take on disinformation in real time. However, McCullough called the initiative the worst thing thats happened to mainstream media. They agreed to suppress information on early treatment and vaccine safety just to blindly promote the vaccines as the only response to COVID-19. Americans saw right through this, McCullough commented. Watch the full Jan. 3 episode of Steel Truth below. Tune in to Steel Truth with Ann Vandersteel from Monday to Friday at 8-10 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. Pandemic.news has more articles about the B11529 omicron variant. Sources include: Brighteon.com CovidVaccineSideEffects.com BBC.com Gov. Ron DeSantis listens as Jared Moskowitz, the state emergency management director who oversaw Florida's pandemic response, speaks after being appointed to the Broward County Commission on Tuesday Nov. 23, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel) Parkland, Florida The County Commission swearing-in of Jared Moskowitz has been moved up to next week, to accommodate his ailing father, a Broward Democratic powerbroker who has cancer. Moskowitz, 41, appointed to the southwest Broward seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis, will be sworn in Jan. 12 at 2:30 p.m. in Parkland City Hall so that his father can attend. Advertisement Mike Moskowitz, 68, a lobbyist, lawyer and powerful presence in Broward politics for decades, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and his health is declining. He is eager to see his son seated on the County Commission, Jared Moskowitz said, and if possible, wanted to personally swear him in. It was important to me to do it as fast as possible, so my dad could be there, the junior Moskowitz said. Advertisement [ Gov. DeSantis appoints Jared Moskowitz and Torey Alston as Browards two new county commissioners ] The swearing in was scheduled for the next County Commission meeting, Jan. 25, and would have been held in downtown Fort Lauderdale. But Moskowitz said his father couldnt make it downtown, and the timing is too far off. Both father and son reside in Parkland, outside District 8. Under the county charter, an appointee can live outside the district. Were Moskowitz to run for the seat next November, hed have to move into the district in May six months prior to the election, under the county charter. Moskowitz, a Democrat, served as Floridas emergency operations director under DeSantis. Parkland, Pandemic, Pancreatic Cancer (my dad). My last 3 years. I hate the letter P. Jared MASKowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) December 20, 2021 Moskowitzs District 8 is a slice of the county south of Sheridan Street from the Everglades to east of Interstate 95. New district boundaries will take effect in November, but Parkland remains outside District 8. Parkland, in the far northwest of the county, is in District 3, represented by Broward Mayor Michael Udine. DeSantis appointed Moskowitz to the seat held by Barbara Sharief. Sharief submitted an irrevocable resignation letter when she entered the race for Congress against Alcee Hastings, who has since died. That election was won by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Broward Commissioner Dale Holness, in central Broward District 9, also ran unsuccessfully for that congressional seat and will vacate his chair this month. Gov. DeSantis appointed Torey Alston, a Republican, to that seat. (Natural News) PolitiFacts lie of the year is Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance. (Article by Don Surber republished from DonSurber.Blogspot.com) But it was PolitiFacts version of the January 6 protest inside the Capitol that was the big, fat lie. PolitiFact has a lengthy history of lying to serve the Marxists and Maoists in Washington. In 2008, it vouched for Obamas ridiculous claim that you can keep your health plan. Obamacare was designed to kill or make extremely expensive individual health insurance plans. Only after his election, passage of Obamacare, and his re-election did PolitiFact admit Obama lied. Repeatedly. In 2013, PolitiFact named it its lie of the year. That itself was a lie. He did not say it in 2013. He said it in 2008 when PolitiFact assured one and all that it was true, true, true. Forbes hardly a conservative publication said in 2013, Pants On Fire: PolitiFact Tries To Hide That It Rated True in 2008 Obamacares Keep Your Health Plan Promise. How can any lie top that? PolitiFact did. In 2017, PolitiFacts lie of the year was, Russian election interference is a made-up story.' But the Russian story was a cockamamie story made up by Hillarys campaign. 4 years later, John Durhams investigation has clearly shown this to be true. Yet PolitiFact continues to call it a lie. That was not the only lie PolitiFact told that year. It called President Trump a liar for saying Obama used the FBI to spy on him and his campaign. It quoted Comey, who lied to Congress and said, With respect to the presidents tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components. The department has no information that supports those tweets. Comey signed the FISA applications to authorize the domestic spying. Transcripts from that wiretapping were given to the New York Times which indeed called it wiretapping in a front-page story on Inauguration Day. PolitiFact aided and abetted his perjury. This year, PolitiFact went full-blown Pinocchio as it misrepresented the protest at the Capitol. It began its tall tale, Shortly after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, supporters of President Donald J. Trump breached the U.S. Capitol, turning the seat of American democracy into the scene of an unforgettable crime. Crime scene? Really? Was it a crime scene when protesters stormed the Senate building when Kavanaugh was up for the Supreme Court? The fairy tale said, After marching down Pennsylvania Avenue at Trumps urging, the rioters had overwhelmed police surrounding the Capitol. They pushed past them, stripped them of their weapons, dragged them to the ground, sprayed them with chemical irritants, beat them, bludgeoned them, or tased them. None of that happened. The early reports were wrong. In fact, police killed one unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt. PolitiFact did not say her name. Not once. It is bizarre. But then again, so was saying Obama did not lie about keeping your health plan. PolitFact is the best example I know of what is wrong with American Journalism in the 21st century. It lies repeatedly and with no shame. Read more at: DonSurber.Blogspot.com (Natural News) Dr. Sam White and his legal team are pursuing justice against the government of the United Kingdom, which they say is ignoring known safety risks associated with Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines. White et al. recently visited the Charing Cross and Hammersmith police stations in London to try to file a criminal complaint alleging that British authorities are knowingly withholding information from the public about the negative health implications of getting injected. PJH Law says it has significant and irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing, and the Metropolitan Police reportedly accepted this evidence as part of the filed complaint. A crime reference number was then issued for Misconduct in Public Office and a designated officer from the department has been allocated to handle it. Of paramount importance and as a matter of public safety, we as a collective have demanded the vaccine rollout is stopped immediately and we suggested an address to the nation is made by the Metropolitan Police to advise accordingly, stated the lawyers acting on behalf of White. A number of government departments and in particular individuals in public office and government have been named as offenders and we have supporting evidence. The police interview that led to this lasted six hours and was recorded. It is not being publicly released, however, because it is now considered to be a live investigation. One of the things Whites team stressed to police is that doctors, nurses and health care workers all across the U.K. are being blackmailed to take the vaccine or lose their jobs. Health care workers in Great Britain have until Apr. 1, 2022, to get fully vaccinated or else lose their jobs. This just so happens to be April Fools Day, though White and his team say that the current circumstances are not a joke. Forced covid vaccination is medical rape The latest figures, meanwhile, are not looking good in terms of what the jabs are already doing to people who decided to take them. The most highly vaccinated countries in the world are seeing the biggest surges in new cases, as well as hospitalizations and deaths. This is true not only in the U.K. but also in the United States, Singapore, Israel and elsewhere. Great Britain currently has some of the strictest measures in place to strongarm the public into getting jabbed, even if they do not want to. Many are doing it just to keep their jobs or to continue being allowed to travel. Very few, it would seem, are still getting jabbed because they fear some so-called virus. In the beginning of all this, those who believed in the plandemic were eager to get injected, but now it is just the holdouts who are being told that they must take the shots or else be punished. Unfortunately, we are no longer governed by the rule of law but by the law of popular public opinion, lamented one commenter at The Epoch Times. The vast majority support mandatory vaccination. It is therefore acceptable to bully, threaten and coerce and completely ignore the Nuremberg convention. The human race has lost its moral compass. Another questioned why people in the U.K. (and elsewhere) are still being told that they have to mask up since the latest science shows that masking does absolutely nothing to stop the spread (and likely contributes to the spread). I hope these psychopaths are brought to justice for their crimes against humanity, wrote another. I took my first jab in March and had severe chest pains and was hospitalised, my mum had blood clots after both of hers. I know people on my street who went into organ failure, and another developed a blood clot in her lung. The latest news coverage about Wuhan Flu shots can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) There hasnt been a Nazi party in Germany since the end of World War II, but increasingly, in the hysteria over COVID-19, which sickens and kills far fewer people than weve all been led to believe, you would think that elements of that brutal regime were alive and well and functioning within the country today. Prior to COVID-19, Germany was mostly democratic like the bulk of Europe, but this virus has led to more tyranny on the continent than any seen in decades, as evidenced by the tale of a mother who has had her children violently taken from her for the high crime of questioning pandemic restrictions that appear to her to be nonsensical. The RAIR Foundation reports that she recently had her home raided and her children violently removed by police and child protective services, and now the kids are being kept in a state facility, which cannot be better for them than their own home, while the mother pleads for help after being kept away from them for more than 45 days, as of this writing: On November 15, 2021, Maria reports that German police and child protective services broke into her familys apartment. They physically overwhelmed her and violently separated Maria from her children. The children were then thrown into a foster care facility in Treptow-Kopenick. This past year, Maria did not have her children attend school due to the harsh Covid requirements. The Court claims they removed the children due to Marias noncompliance with school attendance. However, Maria repeatedly petitioned the childrens school and its board to allow her kids to participate in distance learning. However, she was flat out denied. Furthermore, the school would not address her safety concerns surrounding face masks and repeated covid tests of the school children. The mother went on to say that the manner in which German authorities carried out the raid was orchestrated to be as dramatic as possible. In addition, she said, to have done all of this in the name of child welfare to justify the action as such is pure mockery. The foundation noted that Marias children were forced to quarantine beginning around Dec. 14 at a dismal state facility where they have essentially been imprisoned after one girl who did not exhibit any symptoms tested positive for COVID. The kids were then sent to isolation for a week and were supposed to be tested again to see if they could be removed from isolation. Maria, however, prohibited the facility from testing her kids, likely because she suspected that the tests would be used to further isolate and imprison them. But the state facility coerced her kids into allowing the testing even though they were asymptomatic. And, one of her children did test positive and then both of them were once again forced to isolate, even remaining in quarantine over the Christmas holiday through Dec. 31. I made a request to the child protective services that my children return home for the Christmas holidays, placing myself in quarantine with them during their stay, but I received no response, said Maria. As of this report, the children remain in state custody. Maria told the foundation that her children are extremely homesick and that they miss their mother terribly. She also said that her 9-year-old daughter breaks out in tears every time she talks to her on the phone. No one at the facility takes the time to engage with her children or any of the other kids, and they did not get to celebrate the holidays at all. Still, she told the RAIR Foundation: I must honestly say, my two children still have it better than the other children, locked up alone in their rooms at the facility because they are together. See more stories like this one at Tyranny.news. Sources include: RAIRFoundation.com PoliceState.news (Natural News) Hundreds of millions of people are in protest around the world. From the streets of London to the Canadian provinces, to Denmark, Ireland, Australia and everywhere in between; the people are rejecting medical tyranny, vaccine passports, family separation, lockdowns and isolation. All the unlawful mandates and all the forced suffering WILL NOT stand the test of time. The Health Ranger sees 2022 as the year of awakening and 2023 as the year of accountability. Millions of vaccine injuries and perpetual covid diagnoses will awaken many in 2022 Millions of vaccine injuries are recorded in pharmacovigilance systems around the world. As governments try to force a third dose of spike protein mRNA into the population, there are hundreds of thousands of families who have already witnessed death and debilitating vaccine injury firsthand. These people have not had enough time to mourn the death of their loved ones, and have decided they cannot medically tolerate any more of this coercive subjugation. The threat of re-vaccination and perpetual covid diagnoses in 2022 will awaken many more to action in the coming years. Every authoritarian figure that used coercion to maximize compliance with these experimental bioweapon injections will ultimately be held accountable. In 2022, hundreds of millions of people already in protest will be joined by hundreds of millions more, who can no longer turn their head to the historic crimes against humanity that are being carried out under the banner of covid-19. Mass formation psychosis will fade away for many, as reality sets in. Health freedom must be defended at all costs. Billions of people have been affected by medical tyranny, medical fraud and vaccine propaganda that has killed many. Billions of people have endured threats to their civil liberties, their body autonomy rights, their careers, their livelihoods. Billions have faced direct threats to their parental rights and have fought off daily subjugation of their children and an all-out assault on their personal religious beliefs. If people are to heal and live in peace and prosperity, these issues of dire importance can no longer be ignored. As 2022 progresses, many millions more will awaken and call out for the complete restoration of medical ethics, medical privacy and medical freedom. This global revolution demands universal respect for body autonomy rights and civil liberties, and recourse for vaccine injuries. The next decade will provide enormous opportunities for accountability, justice, recourse By 2023, there will be serious backlash against medical tyranny and vaccine injuries. Investigations and arrests will be commonplace. People will begin to look toward leaders who demand accountability, justice and legal recourse. Take for instance a recent development in the United Kingdom: Dr. Sam White and PJH Law presented a criminal complaint to the Hammersmith Police Station in London on December 20, 2021. The criminal complaint documents serious safety issues regarding the COVID vaccines and accuses UK government officials of knowingly withholding information from the British public. The complaint was accepted by the Metropolitan police and contains significant and irrefutable evidence. A formal crime reference number has been issued for Misconduct in Public Office. The complaint cites serious safety concerns with the covid vaccines and requires that the vaccine rollout be stopped immediately. Sam White warned the police that healthcare workers in the UK are being blackmailed to take the vaccine or lose their jobs. a human rights issue that cannot be ignored. The next great leaders in this generation will stand with the people and work tirelessly to enforce a New International Treaty for Health Freedom, Medical Ethics, Scientific Integrity and Human Dignity. This treaty must enforce the Nuremberg Code, which has been violated in every way during the covid-19 scandal. The treaty must protect medical privacy rights, and it must banish vaccine passports, medical testing requirements and other coercive measures of medical fraud that subjugate and injure. The treaty must ensure that quarantines can only be sought with proper evidence of infectious disease and through a formal court order. Systems of segregation, discrimination and Apartheid must come to an end. Equally important, pharmacovigilance data on the deadliness of the vaccine can no longer be ignored; therefore, a moratorium must be placed on both gain-of-function virology research and accompanying bioweapon deployment via mRNA vaccines. There must be trials and tribunals for egregious offenders of human rights and for those engaged in medical violence and genocidal acts. The next decade promises a new frontier of challenges. The next generation of leaders must face these challenges with spiritual strength, ethical principles and bold resolve. Sources include: Brighteon.com NaturalNews.com TheEpochTimes.com (Natural News) The Marxists at Twitter continue to persecute liberty-minded Americans and especially conservatives for speaking out against the lies and propaganda being pushed by the deep state, especially when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest casualty is Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who was booted from the platform in recent days because she posted truths about the pandemic that are not allowed by the Biden regime and globalist dictators. We permanently suspended the account for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy, Twitter said in a statement last week. Weve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy. Of course, Greene did not post anything that wasnt true just what was deemed by the regime to be counter to their narrative of endless pandemic, endless vaccines, and endless need for tyrannical control. Her professional/congressional account remains live, for now. Greene, as is her nature, fired back at the speech Nazis in a GETTR post. UPDATE: MTG responds to Twitter via her @GETTRofficial account pic.twitter.com/9AUzHNcvEX Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) January 2, 2022 Maxine Waters can go to the streets and threaten violence on Twitter, Kamala and Ilhan can bail out Black Lives Matter terrorists on Twitter, CNN and the rest of the Democrat Propaganda Media can spread Russia collusion lies, and just yesterday the Chief spokesman for terrorist IRGC can tweet mourning Soleimani, but I get suspended for tweeting VAERS statistics, she noted. Greene then made it clear shes coming for some political payback. Twitter is an enemy to America and cant handle the truth, she continued. Thats fine, Ill show America we dont need them and its time to defeat our enemies. They cant successfully complete a Communist revolution when people tell the truth. Social media platforms cant stop the truth from being spread far and wide. Big Tech cant stop the truth. Communist Democrats cant stop the truth. I stand with the truth and the people. We will overcome! she added. Several other Republicans came to her defense, including the former president of the United States, Donald Trump who himself was deplatformed by the big tech Nazis after they inappropriately blamed him for the Jan. 6 Capitol false flag. Twitter is a disgrace to democracy, Trump noted in a statement released by his Save America PAC. They shouldnt be allowed to do business in this Country. Marjorie Taylor Greene has a huge constituency of honest, patriotic, hard-working people. They dont deserve whats happened to them on places like low-life Twitter and Facebook, added the 45th president. Everybody should drop off of Twitter and Facebook, Trump concluded. Theyre boring, have only a Radical Left point of view, and are hated by everyone. They are a disgrace to our Nation. Keep fighting, Marjorie! GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a close ally to Greene, also went after Twitter and vowed political payback against the platform. Twitter permanently suspended a sitting US President. Theyve now permanently suspended a sitting member of US Congress. Of course, both from the same party. They forget that in 2022 we are taking back the House and we WILL be holding them accountable! she wrote. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also joined in to support his GOP colleague. Their recent decisions to silence Americans including a sitting member of Congress and renowned physicians who share views different from the political and media elite have real world costs, McCarthy noted in a statement. In fact, as we get more information on the virus it is clear many of the views once demonized by technology companies and the political elite are turning out to be true. The doctrines of lockdowns, school closures, and the threat of covid-19 illness according to age groups and previous infection are currently being reversed, he added. On the other end of the spectrum, Americans on the political left, including popular cable news hosts, members of Congress, and even the Vice President, have themselves made public comments that are now universally understood to be false. Yet, they face no repercussions from the gatekeepers of Americas town square, he said. You dont have to be silenced join Brighteon.Social today. Sources include: ConservativeBrief.com USAFeatures.news Predictions given by Joseph Remis on Satflare and Twitter indicates that the Russian rocket will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere around 12:44 p.m. ET on the 5th of January. The projected impact time might be 7 hours off since the rocket is uncontrolled and can move about unpredictably as it goes into the atmosphere. Launching of Russian Angara A5 Rocket The Plesetsk Cosmodrome saw the launch of the Russian Angara A5 rocket on December 27, according to Weather Boy. The Angara rocket was named after a river in Siberia and is Russia's first heavy-lift launch vehicle in decades. December 27 was the third test flight of the massive rocket. The launch went off without a hitch, but an upper-stage rocket failed to ignite. The Persei rocket, which was supposed to be the third stage of the Angara, failed to launch after the first two stages did. In contrast to the first fire, which helped place the fake payload in low Earth orbit, the second fire, which also failed, failed to place the dummy payload in a geostationary transfer orbit. As a result, the 20-ton mass is hurtling toward the planet's surface. Before and not too long after the successful launch of the Angara spacecraft, Roscosmos released images and a congratulatory message. However, Roscosmos has declined to comment on the failure of the Persei rocket and has instead deferred to the Russian military, which was in charge of the launch. At the time of this writing, the Russian military has not commented on this missile. Also Read: China Eyes Russian Rockets for Space Explorations Areas the Rocket May Impact As a result of the out-of-control rocket, commercial and private companies, like SATFLARE, N2YO.com, are releasing maps and data about it on their respective websites to the public. In the early afternoon of Wednesday (East Coast time), SATFLARE.com's Joseph Remis predicts an impact over Australia. As a result of the rocket's incredible speed, it may come in quicker or slower than expected and hit Earth somewhere else on one of its probable orbital planes. To get a sense of where the rocket may land on Earth, there are four orbital paths that pass the country about that time. The first goes from the San Francisco Bay region to the northwest corner of Nevada north and east to southwest Oregon and western Montana. The second stretches from southern California around Los Angeles to central and southern Idaho and Montana via the center of Nevada. Once through the heart of Texas, it'll enter Oklahoma and Missouri before crossing into Illinois and Wisconsin along the Iowa/Illinois border. The fourth route covers southeastern Florida, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, southern New England, and eastern Maine. A shooting star or bolide might be seen in the sky even if the rocket doesn't hit these places. Will the Impact be Life-Threatening? The estimated weight of the rocket and dummy payload is around 20 tonnes. Only a portion of the rocket's cargo has reach the Earth's surface. According to Johnathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics, some fragments may reach the Earth's surface with a dry mass of 4 tonnes. A rogue rocket has endangered the United States before, so this is nothing new. The main stage of the Long March 5 festival came crashing down in May. Some of the rocket stages survived re-entry and came down on Earth, but most of it was destroyed on re-entry. The oceans are more likely to be hit by an errant rocket than populated land regions because of the Earth's water-to-land ratio. Even while the chances are in favor of the out-of-control Russian rocket impacting an uninhabited location, it is still too early to tell for sure. Related Article: Russian Authorities Launch Investigation Following Progress Cargo Spacecraft Crash, Debris Inspected For more news, updates about Russian rockets and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! According to information published by Info Defensa on January 6, 2022, the second Pohang-class corvette donated by South Korea to the Peruvian Navy arrived at the Naval Base of Callao. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link Pohang-class corvette BAP Guise (Picture source: Peruvian Navy) The Pohang-class PCC (Patrol Combat Corvette) is the low-end complement of the high-low mix domestic naval construction plan of the Republic of Korea Navy under the 1st Yulgok Project (1974-1986) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Since 1984, a total of 24 Pohang-class corvettes were commissioned in the Republic of Korea Navy. As of 2022, 7 remain in service in the ROKN, and 7 were transferred to other navies. The Batch IV was the most critical upgrade and change of the Pohang-class. The ship changed the combat system to WSA-423 (Weapon Ship Automation-423) in collaboration with Samsung Aerospace Industries (later Hanwha Systems) and the British Ferranti, which became the backbone of the Republic of Korea Navy's current combat system dubbed as Naval Shield. Installation of this unproven system caused delays in delivering the ship. Additional system changes include Marconi ST1802 fire control radar and Radamec 2400 optronic director, both localized by Samsung. Cases of COVID-19 have reached unprecedented levels in Connecticut schools. The Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 7,612 new infections for students and 2,338 among staff for the week ending Wednesday. The last week before winter break, state data showed 3,691 students and 742 staff reported new infections a previous record this school year. And in the 2020-21 school year, cases peaked for students at 1,618 and staff at 519 cases in mid-January, according to state data. These numbers are certainly cause for concern, said Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, the states largest teachers union. Theyre playing out as understaffed schools. Theyre playing out as students in some situations, theres 50 percent attendance. Thats what this looks like in practice. Staff cases in the preliminary data include employees or contractors that work in schools, from teachers to school transport workers. Bus driver shortages have been a source of several closures this week, as transportation routes were canceled and students were unable to shuttle to-and-from schools. State officials and union heads alike have been adamant that all students and staff have to play their part to curb the viral spread. We really do need individuals who have symptoms to stay home, said Dias. If you arent feeling well, you should probably start by assuming its COVID. We need everybody in the community to adopt that mentality. Children who have yet to be fully vaccinated continued to make up the bulk of cases. Less than a quarter of new infections were among students who had received both doses. Unlike school staff, students are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo testing. Children ages 5 to 11 have been eligible for the COVID vaccine for more than two months. About 37 percent of that age group has received at least one dose, according to state data compared to 75 percent of 12 to 15 year olds or 83 percent of 16 and 17 year olds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 12 and up. Takeaway would be that you need to stick to public health measures, said Dr. Syed Hussain, the chief clinical officer at Trinity Health New England. If your child is eligible now for the vaccine, they need to get vaccinated. If not, then you need to ensure that everybody in your family is vaccinated to provide that safe environment. Students and staff were not in school buildings for the full report period, which began last Thursday while students were on winter break. Some schools had Monday off, too, and many closed for inclement weather on Wednesday, which could impact the data collection. On the ground, the surge has continued to impact school districts across the state. In Ansonia, Middletown and Danbury, teacher and bus driver COVID-related absences abruptly left districts too short-staffed to operate school buildings this week We plan to open the following week anticipating improved staffing, Danbury Superintendent Kevin Walston tentatively told parents. Danbury schools had 296 staff members absent Monday and 322 on Tuesday, according to school district data. Stratford Superintendent Uyi E. Osunde, too, anticipated over the weekend that COVID-19 cases and exposures would leave the district unable to effectively hold classes. There are increased cases across the district, said Andrea Boissevain, director of the Stratford health department. They all live in Stratford with an increase transmission rate, as we expected coming out of the holidays. According to district data, 241 elementary students and 303 middle and high school students are now positive. At one elementary school, close to 70 staff members are currently isolating, the most out of the districts schools so far. Despite surging cases this week, state officials have remained committed to in-person learning. Staff writers Dan Brechlin, Eddy Martinez and Peter Yankowski contributed to this report. One year after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when supporters of Donald Trump attempted to block certification of Joe Bidens election as president, Trump remains a remarkedly potent political force surprisingly to some in Florida and beyond. He has such a strong grip on Republican voters that most of its elected officials dare not cross him. They embrace his continued position as the de facto leader of the party, covet his stamp of approval and downplay Jan. 6. Advertisement A majority of Republican Party voters have come to believe the former presidents oft repeated, and untrue, claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that Biden isnt the legitimate president. Some believe the violent rampage through the Capitol was a protest. Following Jan. 6th last year, there was some question as to how effective his status would be, said Charles Zelden, a professor of history and legal studies who specializes in politics and voting at Nova Southeastern University. Would he fade into the woodwork now that he was out of office? Would he face problems because of overreach, where his followers say he just went too far? Advertisement Hes succeeded in recasting the past, but only to his supporters, Zelden said. What Trump has been very successful in doing is locking down that support within his own party. What he hasnt been very successful in doing is expanding that support beyond his party. [ RELATED: Post-insurrection exodus from Republican Party was real, but it didnt last ] Alarmingly for Democrats and heartening for Republicans (at least publicly) theres no sign thats going to change anytime soon in Florida. Mac Stipanovich, a longtime Republican strategist turned anti-Trump Republican turned independent, said theres been slight slippage in the last year, but not on the scale that will change Republican fortunes before the critical 2022 midterm elections. Later this year, voters will decide whether to re-elect Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, and decide on the makeup of the 28 U.S. representatives the state will send to Congress. Florida is much redder today than it has historically been, Stipanovich said. [ Lee en espanol: Un ano despues de la insurreccion, Trump sigue siendo una poderosa fuerza politica en Florida y otros lugares ] Florida popularity Florida Republicans are very Trumpy. They buy into Trumps take on the world. They buy into his philosophy, Zelden said. The never-Trumpers who are objecting to Trump have either left the party or are sitting very quiet. That wouldnt be the case necessarily in Massachusetts or Maryland. But in Florida it is. For proof, look at Republican candidates, said Joe Budd, the elected state Republican committeeman from Palm Beach County and president of Club 45 USA, a hugely successful political organization named after number of Trumps presidency and founded to support his agenda. Any time you see any election coming up right now, everybodys trying to outdo everybody else in whos the Trump-like candidate, Budd said. From that perspective, obviously, he remains extremely popular and he retains a great deal of influence. Christopher Hill, dressed as Donald Trump, is flanked by Jaime Morton and Simona Fabicovicova at the entrance to the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday, December 11, 2021. They were waiting to see former President Donald J. Trump and former Fox news host Bill O'Reilly during the first event of a national tour. Thousands of people attended and there were also thousands of unsold seats. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Welcome home As Trumps presidency came to an end on Jan. 20, two weeks after his supporters failed in their attempt to overturn the election results, he arrived at his adopted home in Palm Beach Count as a triumphant warrior, not as a loser. Advertisement Crowds along the motorcade cheered the about-to-be-former president as he rode from Palm Beach International Airport to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Though Palm Beach County was solidly Democratic in the 2020 election, Trump headquartered himself in Florida, a state he won. He did much better in Florida in 2020 than in 2016. Trump bought and renovated Mar-a-Lago long before he became president, and in 2019 he declared it was officially his residence after he decided he no longer wanted to call his native New York home. Born in Queens, Trump built an image of himself as a savvy Manhattan real estate mogul. Since then, Budd said, he may have lost a little support, but not much. National polling from YouGov found that Trump was viewed favorably by 83% of Republicans, and unfavorably by 12% on Dec. 31, 2021. Thats almost the same as the 85%-15% split on Jan. 8. Among Democrats, Trump was viewed favorably by 7% and unfavorably by 90% on Dec. 31, virtually the same as the 5% approval and 94% disapproval on Jan. 8. [ RELATED: Former President Trump now at home in Palm Beach County ] A small dent In the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, there was a burst of activity among Florida Republicans leaving the party. Within weeks, thousands of South Florida Republicans changed their voter registrations. Though noticeable, it was a small fraction of the partys registered voters. Six months after the insurrection, the slight erosion had stopped. And by years end, Republican voter registrations in Florida outnumbered Democrats for the first time in modern history. And many people energized to get involved in politics because of their support for Trump remained energized. Club 45 USA has continued to draw large crowds, including people from outside Palm Beach County. The club hit capacity for its November meeting, selling 1,600 tickets for a night with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Its sold about 1,000 tickets for the January meeting with Fox News contributor Joe Concha. Advertisement Theyre latched on so tight right now and theyre going down a rabbit hole, said Grace Carrington, the Democratic state committeewoman for Broward County. Theyre in so deep they cannot get out. I think a lot of them are lost, unfortunately. Its not all completely positive from the perspective of Trump supporters. Out of office he isnt the same draw as when he was a candidate and president. From 2016 through 2020 he routinely drew enormous crowds to his massive campaign rallies. Trumps paid appearances last month at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise and the Amway Center in Orlando conversations with former Fox News host Bill OReilly werent close to sellouts. OReilly touted the success of the Sunrise show, saying it grossed $2 million, but sections of the arena were curtained off and people who bought seats higher up in the area were moved to lower areas. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 14 Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather on Southern Blvd. in West Palm Beach for a rally in his support Thursday, January 6, 2022. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel) Post presidency Trump has spent much of the last year attempting to recast what happened in the 2020 election and on Jan. 6. Hes also touted candidates who echo his claims that the 2020 election was stolen and opposed those who crossed him by supporting his impeachment after the insurrection. There isnt evidence the election was stolen, even though 75% of Republicans surveyed in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College poll conducted in late last year believe Trump has a legitimate claim that there were real cases of fraud that changed the results. Republican elections officials have said there was no widespread fraud. Federal judges appointed by Trump issued multiple opinions finding there was no basis to the claims of irregularities. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who eagerly championed everything Trump wanted in the last four years, said Biden was the clear, legitimate winner. So did the late Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kansas, who was the only living former Republican presidential candidate who endorsed Trump in 2016. Advertisement And an Associated Press examination of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump found fewer than 475 instances, a number so small it would have made no difference. A banner supporting the idea of a 2024 Republican ticket featuring former President Donald Trump and, for vice president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, outside a West Palm Beach rally on May 6, 2021 (Anthony Man / South Florida Sun Sentinel) No internal opposition Nationally, there are a handful of Republicans most prominently U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois willing to publicly take on Trump. There are no such voices in Florida. Zelden said Trump is such a dominant force among Florida Republican primary voters that the backlash from the most minimal opposition to him would translate into defeat. Stipanovich was more direct: Because of his dominance among hard-core Republican voters who are the primary voters, he still has elected officials by the throat. They cannot cross him without drawing a primary opponent and probably be removed from office. Stipanovich said people expect the vast majority of politicians to be self-serving careerists, but Republican elected officials who support Trump are worse. They are cowards. Advertisement He said they either choose not to think about what they are doing, or convince themselves what theyre doing is right. [ RELATED: That sigh of relief youre hearing from Marco Rubio? Trump just endorsed him for re-election ] All in for Trump The most prominent leader in Florida, DeSantis, is solidly in the Trump camp. DeSantis is clearly a Trump guy. It was Trumps endorsement that obviously changed that election, Budd said. People trust DeSantis to be, I would say from the perspective of an America First candidate, along the same lines as Trump was. State Sen. Shevrin Jones said DeSantis has taken the Trump approach and amped it up. People feed into it. He sees it continuing as long as he sees the response is favorable. Jones, a Democrat who represents South Broward and Miami-Dade counties, was an early, strong supporter of Biden. DeSantis emulates Trumps approach in choosing the issues he highlights, such as his assertion that so-called critical race theory is a threat, which helps activate Trumps MAGA voters. Zelden said DeSantis needs the Trump base. He [DeSantis] is running for president. And if you want to win on the national level, you have to get through the Republican primaries. And there you have people who have bought into the Trump legacy, Zelden said. Advertisement [ RELATED: Florida Sen. Rick Scott votes to uphold objection to Pennsylvania results; Marco Rubio rejects objection there and in Arizona ] Rubios status A year ago, Rubio was not among the handful of Senate Republicans who voted to challenge electoral votes from states Trump disputed, and some wondered if Rubios re-election hopes would flounder. Conservatives were looking for a primary challenger and speculation swirled around a potential Ivanka Trump challenge to him in the 2022 primary. The threat to Rubio from within the Republican Party eased in April with a Complete and Total Endorsement from Trump, who was pleased that Rubio, during his service as acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, didnt suggest Trump was involved in Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. Marco has been a tireless advocate for the people of Florida, Trump said in a statement issued by his Save America political organization. Marco will never let the great people of Florida, or our Country, down! Protestors show their grievance with the acquittal of President Donald Trumps impeachment as they hold signs outside the offices of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in downtown Orlando on Wednesday, February 5, 2020. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Future Carrington said Trump has remained adept at keeping his supporters engaged. Im not going to belittle people and say theyre part of a cult or anything of that nature. He is a good salesman. And he really has convinced a lot of people that there are the takers and the makers. We are so divided, and he continues to make the fissure wider and wider, she said. Yeah, they took away his Twitter handle, but he is finding a way to keep reaching these people and retain such great control that it is making things worse. Stipanovich doesnt see that changing for the foreseeable future. Advertisement The only thing that these folks [politicians] will respond to is defeat at the polls. Theyre totally motivated by fear. As long as it is safe to do what they are doing, they will do it, Stipanovich said. It will take some people being thrown out of office by outraged voters for people to start moderating and being a little more principled. But at this point in time theres no indication that that day in Florida is anywhere close. Budd doesnt see Trumps influence waning. He stared a movement, and hes always going to be recognized as the head of the movement. I just dont think thats going to change. Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @browardpolitics As the enterprise edge expands to encompass everything from the factory floor and oil rigs to solar arrays and retail stores, overcoming the challenges of processing, managing, and securing data traffic close to the source has become a top priority for many organizations. Enter edge gateways. These devices process data from sensors, monitors, industrial controllers, and other devices at the edge, passing only actionable information over the WAN to cloud and enterprise data centers while weeding out bandwidth-hogging noisefor example, pressure sensors on an oil rig showing everything is fine. Read more: How to choose an edge gateway As it stands, the edge-gateway market is immature and fractured. A range of infrastructure incumbents, providers of data-center gear, and startups have launched new edge-gateway products in the last couple of years, offering a variety of approaches to taming the edge. Table stakes for edge gateways are still being defined, but at a minimum they must move at least some processing and storage capabilities from the data center to the edge. Encryption, device security and management, connectivity to constrained devices and OT networks, WAN connectivity, and ruggedization are common across edge gateways. But ther features, such as zero trust and pre-built integration with analytics platforms, vary from vendor to vendor. Data-center incumbents extend to the edge For enterprises that shy away from the bleeding edge, the good news is that many of these devices are offered by established vendors. Often linked to SD-WAN, IT-management, data-analytics, and cloud-infrastructure offerings, the edge gateways from the likes of Cisco and HPE are full-featured edge servers with plenty of processing power and on-board storage. These robust edge gateways bring the data center to the edge. They excel at high-computation, high-bandwidth use cases, such as video surveillance, but are probably overkill for simpler tasks, such as sensor monitoring. Here are some vendors offering high-octane edge gateways. Cisco Cisco designed its suite of IoT gateways to provide connectivity at mass scale. IoT devices can connect to Cisco IoT gateways via Wi-Fi 6, 4G, 5G, private LTE, FirstNet and Wi-SUN. Ruggedized models are available for harsh environments. Integration with other Cisco products and services runs deep. Packaged with Ciscos cloud-based IoT operations dashboard for visibility and management, IoT gateways also support secure remote access for operations and equipment monitoring/servicing. The gateways also integrate with Ciscos cybersecurity portfolio to provide managed security across the edge and siloed IT and OT environments. SIM provisioning on edge devices is automated through Cisco Control Center integration. Dell Dell offers a range of edge gateways for a variety of use cases, from retail kiosks to harsh industrial environments. Dell edge gateways are placed close to edge devices and sensors where they aggregate and analyze data before sending meaningful information on to cloud and/or enterprise systems. Edge Gateways include a wide variety of wired and wireless connections, including serial connections. The I/O on the device makes it possible to connect legacy industrial systems to many types of networks including mesh networks. The sateways use Wi-Fi, WWAN, and Ethernet to connect and communicate. In October 2021, Dell announced upgrades across its edge portfolio, including to the Dell EMC Edge Gateway. Dell EMC Edge Gateway securely connects multiple edge devices across OT and IT environments. The Gateway includes 5G connectivity and is powered by 9th generation Intel Core processors. Designed to work in industrial environments and withstand temperatures from -4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it includes storage and compute capabilities to run localized data processing and analytics applications. HPE HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems add compute, storage, networking, security, and systems management to the edge. Edgeline systems process data with Intel Xeon processors or GPU/FPGA accelerators to provide data analytics. The systems support open-standards-based OT data-acquisition and control technologies and integrate them directly into enterprise IT systems that handle analytics. Edgeline OT Link software simplifies data movement via pre-integrated industrial drivers, a drag-and-drop workload flow designer, locally hosted containerized applications, and connectors into major clouds and databases. All activities are centrally managed and orchestrated using Edgeline Workload Orchestrator software. Compact and ruggedized versions are designed for environmentally harsh, space-constrained, and/or dusty environments. Engineered to withstand shock and vibration, industrial models tolerate operating temperatures ranging from 32 degrees to 158 degrees Farenheit. Challengers in the edge land-grab While incumbents are the tentative leaders in this nascent market, the field is still wide open. Vendors mentioned here may not have as big of a footprint in typical US enterprise data centers, but they have competitive infrastructure portfolios, and they offer viable alternatives. Lenovo Lenovo ThinkEdge devices are small, ruggedized embedded servers designed for edge workloads. Powered by Intel processors (Core i5 or i7 vPro, depending on the model) designed for industrial computing, ThinkEdge devices collect IoT data and transmit it to the cloud via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G LTE, or 5G wireless WAN connections. Featuring up to 32GB DDR4 memory and 1TB SSD depending on the model, ThinkEdge devices also include Lenovo ThinkShield 360 security. A self-healing BIOS and self-encrypting drives protect IoT data. Hitachi Vantara Hitachi edge gateways gather data from multiple sensors and provide processing, transcoding, and compression. Hitachi Vantaras portfolio of gateways ingest data via a range of wired and wireless connectivity options and are ruggedized for vehicles and high-vibration industrial environments. Hitachi Edge Gateways' CPU/GPU options support intensive workloads including video analytics and machine vision or machine learning. Multiple PoE+ ports serve as an integrated switch for lidar 3-D laser scanning and camera connections, while serial, DIO, and CAN bus ports support OT integrations. The devices support both Wi-Fi and cellular, and storage options include mPCIe, M.2, SSD, and HDD drives to enable large data capture. The portfolio includes two ruggedized edge-gateway models designed for harsh conditions and that have passed rolling-stock testing. Build-your-own Intel-based edge gear Intels processors power many of the edge gateways listed in this story, but Intel also offers the ability to build your own edge gateway or white-label Intels edge tech. Built for heavy workloads and high bandwidth applications, Intel 11th gen Core vPro, Xeon W-11000E Series, and Celeron processors feature up to eight CPU cores, high-performance integrated graphics/media and display, integrated AI accelerators, and real-time computing capabilities. Low-cost alternatives Not every use case demands the maximum horsepower. For those needing less processing power and storage capabilities in hardware that withstands harsh conditions, streamlined gateways give businesses the ability to spin up edge capabilities quickly and affordably. Vendors include: Digi International Digi XBee gateways aggregate data from IoT devices, convert it from analog to digital, and encrypt it before transmitting over the WAN. Digis gateways are compact devices positioned as low-cost alternatives to the more robust edge gateways. Designed to stand up to harsh environments, use cases include oil- and gas-facility sensors and controls, water/wastewater plants, solar arrays, and agricultural monitoring. Devices connect to the gateways via protocols including Zigbee, Bluetooth, and RS-232/485. 4G LTE and 10/100 Ethernet are supported for WAN connectivity. Digis device-security software, TrustFence, is built in. Eurotech The Eurotech Multi-service IoT Edge Gateway family offers a range of processing, networking, and ruggedness options for use cases that include industrial automation, medical-device monitoring, and rolling stock/automotive monitoring. Ultra-compact devices, such as the ReliaGATE 10-05, are powered by NXP i.MX285 CPUs and support 2G and 3G, WiFi, BLE, and Fast Ethernet connectivity, as well as USB and serial ports. They come with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of eMMC, and a microSD slot. At the high end of the portfolio, the BoltGATE 20-31 features dual and quad-core Intel Atom E3900 processors, up to 8GB of ECC RAM, up to 32GB of eMMC, and an optional SSD storage module. Interfaces include up to 3x GbE, 2x USB 3.0, serial, and display ports. Connectivity capabilities include LTE cellular, 2.4/5.0GHz Wi-Fi, and BLE. The BoltGATE family is designed for rugged rolling-stock applications. Moxa Moxas edge gateway family consists of industrial servers optimized for the solar power, water and wastewater, oil and gas, and factory automation sectors. The gateways include IoT software for delivering edge data to the cloud, and suppport Modbus and generic MQTT/HTTPS protocols as well as Wi-Fi and 4G LTE. They come with built-in clients to connect to AWS and Azure cloud services. Designed for remote monitoring and telemetry, they are equipped with Intel Atom or Arm-based processors and can operate in temperatures ranging from -40 to 158 degrees Farenheit. Edge startups As edge gateways catch on, expect more startups, some of which have already entered the competition: Edjx Founded in 2018 and backed by $23.8M in VC funding, its EdjBlock family comprises three models. They are converged-edge systems that deliver distributed CDN, DNS, and serverless database capabilities. When powered on and connected to a network, EdjBlocks automatically form a peer-to-peer mesh, delivering edge cloud services out-of-the-box with minimal configuration. Litmus Founded in 2014 and backed by $7M in Series A funding from Mitsubishi, Litmus develops edge systems that unify data collection, machine analytics, edge-to-cloud data integration, and edge applications in industrial-IoT hardware. Data is stored and analyzed at the edge, where OT teams can use it to increase uptime and efficiency, while IT can define what data to send to cloud and enterprise systems. Radix IoT Founded in 2020 and backed by undisclosed funding, Radix IoT offers three models. MangoGT is a multifunction gateway and server that provides buildings and automation systems with bi-directional secure connectivity to a centralized cloud. The more robust BB family features Intel Celeron processors, as much as 8GB system memory, and 480GB SSD Storage, along with optional 4G/LTE support. The third model, Micro IoT Appliance is built for OEMs and built with Intel Celeron dual-core N3350 1.1 GHz processors, 8GB of system memory, and native connectivity to more than 100 protocols. Several key figures in Floridas ghost candidate scandal, including the man who orchestrated an advertising blitz that promoted the mysterious candidates in three Florida State Senate races in 2020, are facing the possibility of criminal charges, court records released Wednesday show. Alex Alvarado, who ran two committees that spent a combined $550,000 on ads championing the candidates as part of an apparent vote-siphoning scheme, was among those who received whats known as a prior to letter from Miami-Dade prosecutors, which signals that the recipient is a target of investigators. Advertisement Other recipients of the letters include former Democratic fundraiser Dan Newman; Richard Alexander, the chairman of Grow United, a nonprofit organization that provided all of the funding for Alvarados committees; and Lets Preserve the American Dream, a nonprofit that contributed to more than $1 million to Grow United in 2020. The existence of the letters was revealed in records released Wednesday from the criminal case against former state lawmaker Frank Artiles, who is accused of paying a friend to put his name on the ballot in a South Florida state senate race in 2020. Advertisement Artiles attorneys are trying to shield evidence in the case against the former state senator from public view. The existence of the prior to letters was referenced in an exhibit by the attorneys and was first reported Wednesday by the Miami Herald. Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan will consider the motion during a hearing Thursday afternoon. Several media organizations, including the Orlando Sentinel, have challenged the Artiles lawyers request to keep evidence collected in the case, including files on Artiles laptops, phone and external hard drive, from the publics view. A prior to letter from the State Attorneys Office typically alerts someone they are the target of an investigation and gives them a chance to sit for an interview with prosecutors, said H. Scott Fingerhut, a professor at Florida International Universitys law school. Its an investigative tool that helps prosecutors strengthen strong cases and weed out weak ones, he added. Similar to a target letter used by federal authorities, it signals that an arrest may be forthcoming for the recipient, but thats not a certainty, he said. The letter might also serve to open the lines of communication between a potential defendant and the state, and in that sense, can be seen as opportunity for resolution as much as threat to arrest and worse, said Fingerhut, a former prosecutor in the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office. The letters have not yet been released publicly and Wednesdays court filings did not reveal their contents. Ed Griffiths, a spokesperson for the State Attorneys Office declined to comment. An attorney representing Alvarado could not be reached for comment on Wednesday but another attorney who previously represented him has said he committed no crime and has done nothing wrong. Other recipients of the prior to letters also said they did nothing illegal. Ryan Tyson, executive director of Lets Preserve the American Dream, said the organization worked with Artiles before the 2020 election but cut ties after his arrest. He said he did not know about the allegations against Artiles prior to his arrest. Advertisement Lets Preserve the American Dream complies with all federal, state, and local laws, Tyson said, adding the state attorney has not said otherwise in its wide-ranging investigation into the alleged actions of former Senator Artiles where LPAD has voluntarily cooperated with the state attorneys requests. Newman said Wednesday he planned to tell the State Attorneys office that his fundraising and political work had always complied with state and federal law. He arranged about $1 million in donations to Grow United in 2020, tax records show. I have communicated, through my attorney, with the state attorneys office that I am ready and willing to speak with them as they complete their review, Newman said. I am confident that the work Ive done is all legal and above board. Alexander, who is listed as the chairman of Grow United on the nonprofit organizations incorporation documents but who records suggest had no active role in running the entity, has not responded to requests for comment from the Sentinel. Alexanders sister, April Odom, sent the Grow United checks to Alvarado, records obtained by the Sentinel show. She and other former employees of Matrix LLC, an Alabama-based political and consulting firm, have worked with Florida Power and Light executives to coordinate political donations in recent years, those records show. A spokesperson for the energy company has said it did not have any role in the ghost candidate scheme. Advertisement Artiles, a former state senator, is charged with paying his friend, Alex Rodriguez, nearly $45,000 to file as an independent candidate in a South Florida Senate race in 2020 in an attempt to siphon votes from his Democratic opponent. Rodriguez received more than 6,000 votes, while Republican Ileana Garcia defeated Jose Javier Rodriguez by 32 votes. The South Florida election was one of three key 2020 state Senate races including one in Central Florida won by Republican Sen. Jason Brodeur of Sanford in which so-called ghost candidates who did no campaigning appeared to run in order to siphon votes from Democrats. Evidence released earlier this year showed Artiles was paid $15,000 per month plus expenses by Data Targeting, the Gainesville-based firm that oversaw Republican state Senate campaigns last year, to work on South Florida Senate races in 2020, though its not clear what that work entailed. Artiles faces four felony charges and has pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez pleaded guilty in August and agreed to testify against Artiles. No one else has yet been charged in the case, though authorities have said their investigation is ongoing. The new court filings also show the State Attorneys Office has taken statements from several people, including the chief financial officer for Data Targeting and Tyson, the head of Lets Preserve the American Dream and a former vice president for the corporate lobbying group Associated Industries of Florida. Abigail MacIver, a former Matrix employee who worked to coordinate the Grow United donation to Alvarados political committees, also has spoken with the prosecuting office, the records show. Advertisement anmartin@orlandosentinel.com jgarcia@orlandosentinel.com Help support your local hometown newspaper/website. Independent local news reporting matters. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, for as little as $3, so we can continue to provide independent local reporting on our communities. NEW MILFORD Police said they are looking for a man suspected of robbing a bank Wednesday afternoon before fleeing on a bicycle. The robbery took place at the Webster Bank on Main Street around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to security photos provided by police. Parents can now start booking appointments for COVID-19 booster shots for youths 12-15 through the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, 201 W. Kenyon Road, C. Facial recognition technology makes for better giant panda protection Xinhua) 10:07, January 06, 2022 LANZHOU, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- While facial recognition technology continues to facilitate many aspects of human life, it is now also being applied to aid the protection of giant pandas. A nature reserve in northwest China's Gansu Province has built an AI-enabled video monitoring system to better protect wild giant pandas. Installed with some 300 infrared cameras, the monitoring system is helping ensure the health and safety of all 110 wild giant pandas in the reserve. "By equipping the AI-aided system to retain scores of archived photos of giant pandas and other wildlife, we can obtain a 98 percent success rate for species recognition," said Liu Xingming, head of the reserve's administration, adding that its success rate of recognizing other wild animals can top 80 percent. The system can automatically recognize various wild animals caught in infrared cameras, allowing researchers to collect data on giant pandas and other wildlife while staying indoors. In 2021 alone, this monitoring system captured 2,896 photos of giant pandas and other rare animals and filmed 3,218 seconds of footage, showcasing the nature reserve's sound ecological environment as well as a gradual rise in giant panda population there. The monitoring system was put into operations more than two years ago, and it has since captured scores of photos and videos of giant pandas engaged in activities such as eating, resting and fighting for mates. Liu said that researchers used the system to not only observe the dynamics and health of the giant panda population but also to learn about changes in the natural and biological surroundings of their habitat. "The system provided scientific data to help us grasp the living conditions of wild giant pandas and formulate conservation strategies. More importantly, it also achieved real-time monitoring of the reserve, so that we can detect the threats to the wildlife as early as possible," Liu said. "The monitoring system has enabled systematic, scientific, and intelligent conservation of wildlife," he added. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Florida Power and Light. The regulated utility monopoly won approval for a rate increase from the Florida Public Service Commission, but groups opposed to the deal are taking their case to the Florida Supreme Court. (SSMG) Florida Power & Light customers have one more chance to get a better deal from the states largest utility. Its a slim chance, but the case for it remains solid. In October, the Public Service Commission approved a settlement of FPLs rate request. The agreement gives the company $4.9 billion more from customers from this year through 2025. In a statement last month making it final, the commission said the decision was in the public interest. Advertisement Opposing parties, however, said the settlement was more in FPLs interest. As of this week, four of them have announced that they will appeal the commissions approval to the Florida Supreme Court. Arguments are not scheduled and the parties have not submitted briefs. But the appellants surely will stick to themes they raised before the commission. Advertisement One is that the commission allowed FPL too much profit. The company got a 10.6% return on its investments in new plants and solar energy. That profit margin is higher than the national average for regulated monopolies and higher than the commission approved in recent deals with other investor-owned utilities. Another point is that, because of accounting practices that the agreement allows, FPL can make even more money. In addition, the appellants will argue that the settlement unfairly shifts much of the rate increase from businesses to homeowners. Indeed, FPL crafted the settlement with those whom critics claim stand to benefit most. Groups representing the states retailers and large industrial customers signed off. They previously had opposed settlements of FPL rate cases. More notably, the Office of Public Counsel agreed to the settlement. The office is supposed to represent customers. In 2012 and 2016, under Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, the office unsuccessfully appealed agreements favorable to FPL. So in 2020, the Legislature which has become subservient to FPL approved a bill setting 12-year term limits on the public counsel. Kelly had served for 13 years. Though the legislation made an exception for Kelly, he understood that reapplying would be useless, and so he resigned. The Legislature replaced him with Richard Gentry, a former lobbyist for home builders. It will be sadly ironic if the office under Gentry sides with FPL before the court especially since Kelly won the last victory for the public against FPL. That happened in 2016. Two years earlier, the Public Service Commission had allowed FPL to bill customers as much as $500 million a year for its natural gas drilling venture in Oklahoma. Roughly 70% of FPLs fuel is natural gas. Advertisement As Kelly pointed out, however, Florida law allows utilities to collect only on generation and distribution of power. The court agreed, calling the drilling venture overreach and ordering a refund to customers. Since then, Gov. DeSantis and his predecessor, Rick Scott, have reshaped the court with right-wing appointments. Still, the author of that 2016 opinion was Ricky Polston, a very conservative justice whom former Gov. Charlie Crist appointed to the court, and who is still there. Even if the challenge fails, it will be a needed jolt to FPL. The company has reached the point where it doesnt care who or what it tramples on in search of profit. Extensive reporting by the Orlando Sentinel documented the links between FPL money and ghost candidates in three Florida Senate races last year. Insertion of those candidates, designed to fool voters, amounted to election subversion. More recently, the Miami Herald reported that an FPL lobbyist wrote legislation for the upcoming legislative session that, according to the bills text, would redesign net metering the rule that requires utilities to buy back excess power from homeowners who use solar panels. The bills sponsor is Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island. Her political committee received $10,000 from NextEra Energy, FPLs parent company. Bradley called the bill a starting point. Advertisement With the help of Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, FPL this week put up a webpage attacking the reporter who wrote the net metering story. The attack has no credibility and the Herald story is accurate but it is typical of the companys tactics. FPL also went after Phil Stoddard, the former mayor of South Miami. He opposed FPLs plan to run overhead lines through Miami-Dade County from two proposed nuclear reactors that the company eventually decided not to build. Local leaders wanted FPL to bury the lines, which would have cost more. Contrast Stoddard with Julie Brown. For nearly 12 years on the Public Service Commission, she voted consistently with FPL. As term limits neared, DeSantis an FPL favorite chose Brown to be secretary of the Department of Business Regulation. Now, DeSantis has named Brown to be chairwoman of the new committee to regulate gambling. Like many Americans and corporations, a spokesman wrote, FPL participates in the political process. Actually, in Florida, FPL owns the political process. If it succeeds, this appeal to the Florida Supreme Court will be in the public interest. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Santiago is in her sixth year at Countryside where, as one student describes it, she has a penchant for breaking down concepts that seem complicated at first glance, and she has the patience to work with students until they understand. Our County Editor Dave Hinton is editor of The News-Gazette's Our County section and former editor of the Rantoul Press. He can be reached at dhinton@news-gazette.com. The anti-fogging sprays and cloths many people use to prevent condensation on their eyeglasses when wearing a mask or face shield may contain high levels of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), a new Duke University-led study finds. The researchers tested four top-rated anti-fogging sprays and five top-rated anti-fogging cloths sold on Amazon. They found all nine products contained fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs), two types of PFAS that largely have flown under the scientific radar until now. Exposure to some PFAS, particularly perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), is associated with impaired immune function, cancer, thyroid disease, and other health disorders. Mothers and young children may be especially vulnerable to the chemicals, which can affect reproductive and developmental health. "Our tests show the sprays contain up to 20.7 milligrams of PFAS per milliliter of solution, which is a pretty high concentration," said Nicholas Herkert, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, who led the study. Because FTOHs and FTEOs have received relatively little study, scientists don't yet know what health risks they might pose, Herkert noted, but research suggests that once FTOHs have been inhaled or absorbed through the skin, they could break down in the body to PFOA or other long-lived PFAS substances that are known to be toxic. Additionally, the FTEOs used in all four spray mixtures that were analyzed in the new study exhibited significant cell-altering toxicity and conversion to fat cells in lab tests, he said. If we were to assume that FTOHs and FTEOs have similar toxicity to PFOA and PFOS, then one spray from these bottles would expose you to PFAS at levels that are several orders of magnitude higher than you'd receive from drinking a liter of water that contains PFAS at the current EPA health advisory limit for safe consumption, which is 70 nanograms per liter." Nicholas Herkert, postdoctoral researcher, Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment "It's disturbing to think that products people have been using on a daily basis to help keep themselves safe during the COVID pandemic may be exposing them to a different risk," said Heather Stapleton, the Ronie-Richele Garcia-Jones Distinguished Professor of environmental chemistry and health at Duke, who initiated the study after reviewing the ingredient label on a bottle of anti-fogging spray she purchased for her 9-year-old daughter. "Ironically, it was advertised as safe and nontoxic," Stapleton said. "It said to spray it on your glasses and use your fingers to rub it around." None of the other eight products tested even listed their ingredients, she added, making it next to impossible to tell if they contained potentially harmful chemicals until they were analyzed using high-resolution mass spectrometry in her research laboratory. The researchers published their peer-reviewed study Jan. 5 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Because their study is only the second ever to focus on FTEOs and had a small sample size, more research will be needed to flesh out these initial findings, they said. Larger studies involving tests with living organisms are the logical next step. "FTOHs and FTEOs could be metabolic disrupters, but the only way to tell is through in vivo testing on whole organisms. We only did in vitro (lab dish) testing," Herkert explained. Studies with larger sample sizes might also identify other undisclosed chemicals that are being used in the sprays or cloths. "Because of COVID, more people than ever-;including many medical professionals and other first-responders-;are using these sprays and cloths to keep their glasses from fogging up when they wear masks or face shields," Stapleton said. "They deserve to know what's in the products they're using." Herkert and Stapleton conducted the study with Lee Ferguson and Sharon Zhang of Duke, Christopher Kassotis of Wayne State University, and Yuling Han, Vivek Pulikkal and Mei Sun of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Support came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; the Michael and Annie Falk Foundation; and the North Carolina Policy Collaborative through an appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly. Two X chromosomes are actually one too many. Female mammalian cells hence switch off one of them but only when the cells start to specialize into tissues. A Berlin research team has now discovered how cells "count" their chromosomes and at the same time sense which stage of development they are in. The cells of female mammals have a dosage problem, because they have twice as many X chromosomes as are needed in the body. Consequently, one of them is randomly selected and switched off already during early embryonic development. The Xist gene awakens and produces hundreds of RNA molecules, encasing one X chromosome and making it shrink into a small lump. But how does the cell know to turn off one chromosome at a given time but only if there are two of them? A research team led by Lise Meitner Group Leader Edda Schulz at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) found the answer to this decades-old puzzle in mouse stem cells and published their results in the journal Molecular Cell. A new genetic circuit The Berlin scientists identified a genetic circuit that receives information about the developmental stage of the cell and passes it on to the Xist gene. "We found the regulatory region that senses whether the cell has left its stem cell state," says Edda Schulz. The newly discovered gene switch, dubbed "Xert", is a member of the "enhancer" family of regulatory sequences. It is not sufficient to trigger the deactivation program on its own. Xist will only respond to the developmental cues if it is freely accessible and not blocked by other factors, which is the case when two X chromosomes are present in the cell. Only when both conditions are met, Xist can silence the "surplus" X chromosome. The DNA elements around Xist process information from different sources, almost like a computer, says Schulz: "A cell has programs that can be started and stopped. But unlike a machine made of wires and silicon, its circuits are made of molecules that dock to one another or are created by chemical reactions." Gaining insight by disruption "Our goal was to trace the genetic circuits without knowing the schematics," says Rutger Gjaltema, scientist in Schulz's lab and first author of the paper. "In the end, we got a fairly complete picture of the regulatory landscape of Xist." In an initial screening experiment, the scientists determined 138 DNA segments on the X chromosome that appeared to be involved in signaling around the Xist gene in some way. For each of the segments, they designed a snippet of DNA that could individually target and knock out the potential gene switches. The researchers put the snippets into virus-like particles, infected cells with them, and observed in which cases Xist RNA production was enhanced or impaired. "We tracked down numerous Xist regulators that we already knew, which was a good sign because it confirmed that our approach was working," says Till Schwammle, another scientist on Schulz's team and also first author of the paper. "More exciting, of course, was that a number of completely unknown sequences turned up in the analyses." Division of labor in space To investigate the function of the new sequences, Gjaltema and Schwammle compared their activity in stem cells, developing cells, and cells with two or only one X chromosome. They noticed that there appears to be a division of labor between the genetic switches and a striking spatial separation. The first switch is located in the immediate vicinity of Xist and its starting sequence. It only flips when a double dose of X-linked encoded enzymes is present. These enzymes appear to mediate the degradation of factors that block sections near Xist. Once there is enough enzyme, the gene gets accessible to the Xert enhancer signals. However, with only one X chromosome, there is too little of it and Xist remains blocked and unable to do its job. The second switch is not located near Xist, Schulz explains: "Similar to other developmental genes, the enhancer is relatively far away from its target gene. The DNA has to bend into a loop in order to make contact with the gene," the scientist says. Together with Stefan Mundlos' research group at the MPIMG, her team studied the three-dimensional structure of the DNA around the Xist gene. "We show that signals far away from each other on the DNA strand are integrated." The two signaling pathways are linked. The region in close proximity to Xist arms the mechanism, acting like an on-off switch. Then, the enhancer can pull the trigger when the cell has developed far enough." Edda Schulz, Lise Meitner Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics A model for other developmental genes The new discoveries provide clues for years of further study to fully elucidate X chromosome inactivation, Schulz says. However, while the process controlled by Xist is unique in the animal kingdom, the genetic control mechanisms are not. Schulz believes that Xist regulation can also be used to better understand other developmental genes: "X inactivation is a fascinating system in itself, but most importantly, it's a very valuable model to better understand the regulatory relationships in our genome." In a recent study published on the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers use statistical models to assess the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant in France using variant-specific screening tests and complete genome sequencing. Moreover, the researchers applied their findings to two scenarios involving the dynamics of intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy in French hospitals in early 2022. On November 26, 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of concern (VOC) was first reported in South Africa. As compared to the previously dominant Delta variant, preliminary analyses show that Omicron has a higher transmission rate, higher immune evasion potential, and lower virulence. Study: From Delta to Omicron: analyzing the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in France using variant-specific screening tests (September 1 to December 18, 2021). Image Credit: PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek / Shutterstock.com About the study In the current study, three mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were studied from the 131,478 screening tests. These mutations included E484K, E484Q, and L452R, all of which were referred to as mutation A, mutation B, and mutation C, respectively. The researchers used A0B0C1 to refer to Delta variant infections, A0B0C0 to refer to Alpha or Omicron variant infections or an ancestral lineage, and A1B0C0 to refer to Beta or Gamma variant infections. The researchers utilized a multinomial regression model to determine characteristics related to the result of variant-specific screening test between October 25, 2021, and December 18, 2021, when the pandemic was on the rise. A0B0C0 infections were more common in young people than A0B0C1 infections. In most of the French regions with high relative risk ratios (RRR), the researchers also found significant temporal increases. A) Transmission advantage of A0B0C0 tests over A0B0C1 in France, B) Estimated frequency of A0B0C0 relative to A0B0C0 and A0B0C1 tests in France, C) Lineage of the infected associated with A0B0C0 tests using full genome sequencing (N = 1,610), and D) Cycle threshold values as a function of the test results (N = 7,741). Next, the researchers calculated the transmission advantages of A0B0C0 infections over A0B0C1 infections during a 21-day period. Because variant screening techniques only looked for three mutations, the researchers sequenced the entire genome of 1,160 A0B0C0 samples. The researchers used a linear model to compare the cycle threshold (Ct) values with age, administrative region, sampling site, and sample date as the primary determinants. To reduce bias in screening test findings only tests with a Ct value less than or equal to 28 were included. The sample size was the sole factor that did not show up in an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a type II error. The researchers investigated two scenarios for the beginning of 2022 using the inferred transmission advantage by updating a previous epidemiological model customized to the French epidemic, which has been shown to yield reliable findings over a five-week horizon. The model is based on two types of immunity including population natural immunity, which is a model output, and vaccination immunity, which is based on national data. National intensive care unit dynamics in two scenarios of Omicron properties. The vertical yellow line indicates the day the model was performed, the dark blue dot the data, and the shaded envelope the compatibility intervals of the model projections. Study takeaways The study findings described a rapid rise of Omicron variant infections in France, which is consistent with what has been observed in other nations around the world. The researchers demonstrate that an increasing fraction of A0B0C0 tests corresponds to the spread of the Omicron variant by combining variant-specific screening tests on all positive samples with full-genome sequencing on some of the samples. The Ct values of A0B0C0 samples were substantially higher than those of A0B0C1. Although caution should be exercised when interpreting Ct values, particularly for coronaviruses, this indicates a lesser amount of virus genetic material in the samples, which is consistent with early findings of changes in tissue tropism between the Omicron and Delta variants. The fact that the Omicron variant has a reduced virus burden in nasopharyngeal swabs has serious implications for reverse-transcription polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) test sensitivity. Lastly, epidemiological modeling demonstrated that even though the virulence of the Omicron variant is lower than that of the Delta variant, the rise in reproduction number from the data has the ability to keep coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) activity high in French hospitals, without overburdening them. As a result, rapid response to the latest epidemic wave is critical. A0B0C0 samples exhibited significantly higher cycle threshold (Ct) values than A0B0C1 samples. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Scientists led by Dr. Andres Hidalgo at the Centro Nacional de Investigadores Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have discovered that circulating neutrophils-;a type of immune cell-;acquire different behavior patterns during inflammatory processes. The study, published in Nature, identifies a harmful neutrophil behavior associated with cardiovascular disease. The study provides important information that could lead to new treatments to minimize the consequences of myocardial infarction. Neutrophils are immune cells that form the first line of defense in the body but that can also damage healthy cells, including cells in the cardiovascular system. "Several studies have linked the presence of neutrophils in blood to a higher risk and severity of cardiovascular disease," said first author Georgiana Crainiciuc. Nevertheless, Crainiciuc also pointed out that it is not possible to protect the cardiovascular system simply by removing neutrophils as this would "leave the body defenseless against any pathogen that threaten it." To resolve this problem, the authors sought to identify the specific types of neutrophils that cause vascular injury. The researchers analyzed cells by high-resolution intravital microscopy, a technology that allows the visualization of cells within the blood capillaries of live animals. The scientists designed a highly novel computational system that allowed them to analyze how cells behave in vessels through simple measures of changes in size, shape, and movement. This analysis identified three neutrophil behavior patterns during inflammatory processes but showed that only one of them, characterized by large size and proximity to the vessel wall, is linked to cardiovascular injury. The Fgr molecule Combining this computational system with massive genetic analysis in animal models, the authors were able to identify the molecules responsible for the harmful neutrophil behavior. The team found that the cause of this pathological behavior is a single molecule, Fgr. This discovery provides the key to selecting highly effective drugs able to prevent inflammation and cell death after a myocardial infarction. "The idea now is to continue with further tests and analysis needed to convert this into a clinical treatment for patients," added Crainiciuc. The scientists believe that the study signals a major advance not only toward improved treatment of cardiovascular disease, but also in the methodology for analyzing immune cells. With current techniques, researchers can analyze of a large number of genes and molecules per cell, and this has enabled the discovery of numerous cell populations associated with the development of disease." Dr. Miguel Palomino-Segura, Co-First Author Nevertheless, he added, "our model is unique because it allows the identification of cells not from their genetic profile but from their activity during a disease. This is a completely new approach to the study of immune processes that exploits the dynamism of the disease state to generate new information." "The key to this approach is the ability of neutrophils to change their shape, activity, and capacity to migrate in a matter of seconds. These rapid changes can only be captured under the microscope," said Dr. Hidalgo. To extract the full potential of these images, the research team collaborated with engineers at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, who developed new computer vision techniques for taking measurements in living tissues. The study also required intense efforts to develop the computational capacity needed to systematically combine and compare the huge datasets derived from thousands of cells. "This technology has been applied to other kinds of data, but this is the first example of its use to treat microscopy data, and the results have been surprising", said Jon Sicilia, co-author and bioinformatician in charge of the analytical part of the project. The authors hope that this new methodology will find application in other scientific arenas. "The idea now is to apply this technology in other settings, such as infection or cancer, in which immune cells also play a critical role in disease progression," said Palomino-Segura. Collaborators on this project include researchers at Vithas Hospitals in Madrid; Castilla la Mancha University; the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (ASTAR); and Harvard and Baylor Universities in the USA. The study received support from the following sources: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion; Fundacion La Caixa; the Leducq Foundation; FET-OPEN European Commission; Federation of European Biochemical Societies; and EMBO ALTF. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus was reported from the Wuhan province of China which, subsequently, spread rapidly across the world. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be a pandemic, which is now known as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The causal agent has been characterized as an RNA virus, namely, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Background Since the beginning of this pandemic, several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged due to mutations. Some variants, especially those belonging to the category of variants of concern (VOC), are more virulent and transmissible compared to the original strain, and some can also evade the immune protection induced via COVID-19 vaccination or natural infection. SARS-CoV-2 variants have caused distinct epidemics, either successive or superimposed. Previous studies have indicated that the origin of these variants was mostly after their introduction from abroad. A new variant could also be introduced by mink. These observations were based on genotyping samples obtained from 40,000 COVID-19 patients using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) method. Scientists have also conducted multiple real-time reverse transcription PCR (qPCR) tests specific to each variant to determine its transmission characteristics. A new study, published on the medRxiv* preprint server, has described the emergence of another new SARS-CoV-2 variant from south-eastern France with Cameroonian origin. The emergence of a New SARS-CoV-2 Variant-IHU Researchers have reported that the index case was an adult with COVID-19 infection and his diagnosis was confirmed by qPCR, using a nasopharyngeal sample collected around the middle of November 2021. He was vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection and developed mild respiratory symptoms within three days of returning from Cameroon. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 within a day of experiencing respiratory symptoms. Scientists detected a new pattern of mutations, i.e., an atypical combination with L452R-negative, E484K-positive, and E484Q-negative mutations, which was not similar to the Delta variant (dominating circulating strain) or other SARS-CoV-2 variants. Interestingly, respiratory samples collected from seven other SARS-CoV-2 infected patients residing in the same geographical area showed a similar combination of mutations screened by qPCR. For further analysis, these samples were sent to the university hospital institute Mediterranee Infection for SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing. The genomic analysis revealed the presence of forty-six nucleotide substitutions and thirty-seven deletions. Researchers further reported the presence of fourteen amino acid substitutions and nine amino acid deletions located in the spike protein. Some of the mutation combinations were found to be similar to other SARS-CoV-2 variants, for instance, substitutions N501Y and E484K were combined, which is similar to Beta, Gamma, Theta and Omicron variants. Similarly, the presence of substitution F490S was similar to the Lambda variant, and substitution P681H was similar to the Lambda and Omicron variants. In addition to spike protein, mutations also occurred in other structural proteins, i.e., two substitutions in the nucleocapsid protein and one in the membrane protein. In the context of non-structural proteins, scientists observed one substitution in RNA-dependent RNA polymerase proteins, i.e., Nsp2, Nsp3, Nsp4, Nsp6, Nsp12, and helicase (Nsp13). Additionally, two substitutions were found in Nsp14 (3- 5exonuclease), four substitutions in Nsp8, and three deletions in Nsp6. Amino acid changes were also reported in regulatory proteins, i.e., four substitutions in ORF3a, one in ORF9b, and one in ORF8. After primary analysis, Pangolin characterized this strain to B.1.640 lineage. Later, researchers placed this genome as an outgroup of the B.1.640 lineage which corresponds to a variant that was first identified in France in April 2021, in Indonesia in August 2021, and in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) in September 2021. Several COVID-19 cases of this lineage were also reported from Brittany, France around mid-October 2021. However, both the lineages differ by seven mutations, twenty-five nucleotide substitutions, and thirty-three nucleotide deletions. After studying the genomic similarities and dissimilarities, and mutation patterns, scientists reported the emergence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant and named it IHU. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that IHU and B.1.640 are closely related but comprise two divergent branches. Researchers observed that the index case was possibly infected with the IHU variant during his stay in Cameroon, but none of the sequences available in GISAID, among genomes from this country, matched or belonged to the B.1.640.1 or B.1.640.2 lineages. All IHU variant positive samples exhibited similar patterns of mutation combinations in the spike region. Conclusion The authors highlighted the unpredictability of the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Additionally, they pointed out the higher possibility of the introduction of a new variant from abroad, which may spread rapidly in a new geographical area. Scientists have emphasized the importance of genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 which has been implemented at a country-level in France since the summer of 2020. This study has described the emergence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant and named it IHU. However, researchers stated that it is still early to speculate on the IHU variants as the number of cases is extremely low. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. The covid-19 pandemic is now entering its third year, and the ever-evolving health advice to combat an ever-evolving virus is leaving Americans more cranky and confused than ever. Meanwhile, covid isn't the only health agenda item slipping from 2021 into 2022. Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to figure out how to salvage President Joe Biden's huge health and social spending bill, and the rise of prescription drug prices still angers many Americans. This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call. Among the takeaways from this week's episode: As the omicron variant sweeps the country, it is causing widespread staffing problems in industries ranging from health care to air travel. Experts have noted that omicron appears to not produce as serious an illness as the delta variant does. Even so, when people are diagnosed with covid they must quarantine, and for many people that means staying away from work. Nonetheless, in areas hit hard by omicron, such as New York City, the number of cases appears to be leveling off. Other parts of the country may still not have felt the full impact of omicron, but these early contagions suggest that omicron is following a pattern in the U.S. similar to what was seen in South Africa, where cases declined rapidly after the peak. New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cuts in half the number of days needed to quarantine with covid confused many people. It was not well explained by the agency, and health officials offered varied views. But one of the CDC's objectives may have been to make it easier for infected people to stay home. A shorter quarantine of five days may be acceptable or easier to arrange for patients who still need to work. Plus, some people may be less nervous about getting a covid test if a positive result does not mean a full 10 days in isolation. Helping people in quarantine could also prove effective in trying to limit the spread of the covid virus. Other countries provide patients amenities such as paid leave or grocery deliveries that make it easier to stay home. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on the Biden administration's mandates that most workers either get vaccinated or routinely tested. But even a decision from the court is unlikely to quell this contentious issue. Members of Congress are seeking to overturn the rules through legislation, although such a bill would certainly be vetoed by Biden. The landmark legislation protecting consumers from surprise medical bills took effect this month. That doesn't mean patients are protected from all large bills. Many still will have health plans with high deductibles, so they could end up paying thousands of dollars for in-network services. But they will not be responsible for the often-exorbitant out-of-network charges from doctors and hospitals that they did not choose. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced shortly before the holidays that he could not support the current bill. But talks on the bill have taken a back seat to Democratic initiatives on voting rights, for now. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN's Victoria Knight, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR "Bill of the Month" episode about a costly mix-up in the billing for a newborn intensive care unit. If you have an outrageous medical bill you'd like to send us, you can do that here. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The Washington Post's "Men Across America Are Getting Vasectomies 'as an Act of Love,'" by Emily Wax-Thibodeaux Tami Luhby: The Washington Post's "Nursing Home Staff Shortages Are Worsening Problems at Overwhelmed Hospitals," by Lenny Bernstein and Andrew Van Dam Alice Miranda Ollstein: The 19th's "ACA Health Insurance Plans Need More Protections for LGBTQ+ People, White House Says," by Orion Rummler Mary Ellen McIntire: The New York Times' "When They Warn of Rare Disorders, These Prenatal Tests Are Usually Wrong," by Sarah Kliff and Aatish Bhatia To hear all our podcasts, click here. And subscribe to KHNs What the Health? on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. At a time when public and private agencies and the legal system are grappling with how to best assist people who live at the intersection of homelessness and mental illness during a global pandemic, UCLA researchers have found mental health conservatorships for people with disabling, severe mental illness who are also homeless can result in lengthy psychiatric hospitalizations. "Our study found that mental health conservatorships resulted in very lengthy inpatient stays for those who were homeless when conserved, sometimes as long as months or even a year," said Dr. Kristen Choi, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health assistant professor of health policy and management. "We observed a 'bottleneck' effect in this study. There are very few long-term housing options for people who are disabled by mental illness and in need of supportive housing in Los Angeles. When these individuals are stabilized and ready for a lower level of community-based care, there is no place for them to go." Choi, a psychiatric nurse who is also an assistant professor with the UCLA School of Nursing, led the current study, "Mental Health Conservatorship Among Homeless People With Serious Mental Illness." Mental health conservatorships, known as a Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS) Conservatorship in California, are highly restrictive and thus reserved only for individuals with severe, ongoing disability from mental illness who cannot accept voluntary treatment. There is a strict legal process for initiating such conservatorships that involves review and monitoring by the courts. "It is important to note that the majority of people experiencing homelessness do not have mental illness," said Dr. Enrico Castillo, a psychiatrist with the UCLA Center for Social Medicine and Humanities. "Homelessness is not the same thing as mental illness and as such, the solution to homelessness is housing, not psychiatric treatment." The most recent measurement, the 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, found 66,436 people in Los Angeles County experiencing homelessness; the 2021 survey was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, across the United States, the best available estimate of homelessness is some 580,466 people, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Twenty-one percent of individuals who are homeless have serious mental illness, compared with 5 percent in the general U.S. population. Mental illness among people who are homeless is associated with higher risk for mortality, disability, substance use disorders, and suicide. Publication of the study is pending in an upcoming edition of the peer-reviewed journal Psychiatric Services, published by the American Psychiatric Association. It is currently available on-line. The researchers from the UCLA Fielding School and the UCLA Center for Social Medicine and Humanities examined a sample of 795 adults, 18 years of age or older, who were hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold in Los Angeles between 2016 and 2018. They examined discharge and mental health conservatorship outcomes for patients who were homeless. The researchers found that inpatient stays were almost four weeks longer for individuals who were homeless when admitted compared to those who were housed. For the minority of people experiencing homelessness who also have severe and disabling mental illness, such as those in our study, supportive housing options that combine treatment with housing are greatly needed in Los Angeles." Dr Marissa Seamans, Study Co-Author and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health The study was conducted in partnership with Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center, a safety net mental health system in Echo Park that aims provides mental health care to all people regardless of their ability to pay. In response to their growing homeless patient population and the results of this study, Gateways Hospital has formed a new partnership with the Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement (HOME) Team pilot program to link street-based psychiatric treatment with inpatient, outpatient, and residential treatment in the Gateways system. "This partnership will enable us to better meet the needs of homeless individuals who are living in the streets due to their mental health related impairments," said Dr. Shayan Rab, a street psychiatrist with the HOME Team. "Street-based mental health services can be a first step in addressing long-term treatment needs. At the same time, more residential treatment options in Los Angeles is ultimately the solution we need most." A new drug developed by an LSTM led partnership, which targets the neglected tropical diseases lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis has begun its first in human trial. Lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis are debilitating diseases affecting more than 150 million people globally. Both caused by parasitic worms, this particular drug, AWZ1066S, has been designed to targetWolbachia, a bacterial symbiont which is essential to the worm's survival, rather than the worm itself. Originally developed through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) supported AWOL consortium, the current work is a partnership between LSTM, the Department of Chemistry of the University of Liverpool (UoL) and Eisai Co. Ltd. and funded by a grant from the Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund. AWZ1066S was administered to the first participant enrolled in a Phase I clinical trial being held at the NIHR Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, based at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on December 21. This first in human trial comes following the completion of pre-clinical safety tests and will assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the drug. LSTM's Deputy Director and project lead,Professor Steve Ward, said: "This has been an extremely exciting and productive partnership and it is gratifying seeing the first drug candidate specifically designed for LF and onchocerciasis getting to this stage following a rigorous pre-clinical evaluation. Professor Mark Taylor, Director of the AWOL consortium, commented "Our approach of killing the parasitic worm by targeting the essential bacteria within the worm is unique and one that offers many advantages over drugs that target worms directly and has the possibility of reducing the timeframe of elimination from decades to years, AWZ1066 has real potential to be a game changer." The drug candidate, AWZ1066S,also has the potential to be used in the whole population, including children and pregnant women, providing a unique opportunity to make a large contribution to communities affected by these diseases. This novel drug candidate was developed from a screening campaign followed by several rounds of chemistry optimisation.(link is external)(opens in a new tab) Our multi-parameter chemical optimisation approach has delivered a molecule with high potency and specificity against the target pathogen along with the desired oral exposures and preclinical safety profile. We are all excited to see this novel synthetic molecule enter human trials." Paul O'Neill, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool With the direct involvement of Eisai Co. Ltd.,the partnership has been able to accelerate the speed at which the drug candidate has moved effectively through the development pipeline. The result of this is that the candidate is now ready to enter a first in human trial. The GHIT Fund facilitates and funds global partnerships for the discovery and development of new health technologies, including drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, for infectious and neglected tropical diseases prevalent in developing countries. In addition to Eisai support and GHIT funding, the development and preclinical evaluation of 1066 also was supported by the UK MRC DPFS Scheme. Independent teams from Texas Biomedical Research Institute and the Medical College of Wisconsin have published two papers in Science Translational Medicine identifying how the only approved drug to treat schistosomiasis, a widespread parasitic worm infection, works on the molecular level. The insights lay the groundwork for diagnostic tests to help identify specific patients and regions with drug-resistant parasites, as well as for developing treatments that can overcome this challenge. We have two independent papers using completely different methods coming to the exact same conclusions. Because the papers are being published back-to-back, I think they will be taken very seriously." Tim Anderson, PhD, Texas Biomed Professor, senior author of one of the papers Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease, caused by tiny flatworms called schistosomes. More than 200 million people across a large part of the globe are infected, and thousands die each year. Praziquantel is the only approved drug to treat schistosomiasis, and more than 250 million doses are distributed each year as part of an international campaign to try to eliminate the disease. However, about 30% of people are still infected after treatment. "We have one drug to treat this huge population of parasites, and it works, but it is not perfect," says Winka Le Clec'h, PhD, a staff scientist at Texas Biomed and first author. "We didn't know how it was working, what is the precise mechanism of action. Now, for the first time we have a better idea about the target of praziquantel." The drug binds to a specific type of channel in the cell membrane, called a transient receptor potential (TRP) channel. When the channel is open, there is a massive influx of calcium ions into the cells, which results in worm paralysis and death. Anderson's team has spent the last five years determining that this channel is the main way the drug interacts with the worms. They use a combination of classic parasitology by maintaining the full, complicated life cycle of schistosomes in their lab and state-of-the-art molecular tools, genetic analyses, and bioinformatics. Specifically, they identified hundreds of individual worms that showed resistance to the drug, versus those that were susceptible and died. Le Clec'h wanted an unbiased way to measure those that were alive after exposure to praziquantel, versus those that were indeed dead, and not just resting when visually observed. She measured lactate production, which indicates active respiration, and separated the worms into their two distinct groups. By taking this approach they were able to more accurately quantify how much more resistant the worms that survived were: "They were over 377 times more resistant than the worms that died," says Frederic Chevalier, PhD, a staff scientist at Texas Biomed and co-first paper author. "For a long time, people believed resistance was only 5-fold more. By sorting out the worms into pure populations, we were able to show resistance is a much more dramatic trait." To find a genetic driver behind this resistance, they ran a genome-wide association study to find if there were any sections of the worm's genetic code that differed wildly between the two groups. The largest difference was in the gene that codes for the TRP channel. "It was not just any TRP channel, it was the exact same TRP channel that our collaborator, Jonathan Marchant, identified using a completely different approach," Le Clec'h says. "That was beautiful." Jonathan Marchant, PhD, a Professor at the Medical School of Wisconsin had been investigating schistosome TRP channels in cells. His group's paper, written with scientists from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, the company involved in the discovery of praziquantel, clarifies how the drug physically binds to this particular TRP channel. "Our work identified specific mutations in the TRP channel that can result in a loss of sensitivity to praziquantel. Together with the genetic analysis conducted at Texas Biomed we now have a clear idea how this important drug works and what mutations may cause drug resistance," Marchant says. The two labs were working independently and only learned of each other's investigations at a molecular parasitology conference in 2017. They quickly teamed up, realizing how their different approaches complimented and reinforced one another. There is still much to learn to fully understand schistosomiasis drug resistance. The Texas Biomed team is working with collaborators in "hot spot" regions with a high rate of transmission and treatment failure, to see if the worms carry genetic variants in this TRP channel that confer resistance, or if there are other factors at play. "This really sets the stage for large-scale screens of natural populations of schistosomes to see if we do have a problem with drug resistance," Anderson says. "Research on TRP channels of mammals won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 2021. That these channels are also involved in mode of action of a critically important antiparasitic drug is extremely exciting." A new study published in the medRxiv* preprint server found that the Omicron variant contains a number of mutations that decrease neutralizing antibody activity and immune escape. However, a third dose of either mRNA vaccine increased antibody binding and protection against Omicron. Omicron differs from previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants because it does not promote syncytial fusion and infects cells via an endosomal entry route. Mutational changes in the spike protein The Omicron variants contain numerous mutations on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike glycoprotein, on regions targeted by different classes of RBD-directed antibodies, and within the N-terminal domain (NTD) supersite. Through a deep mutational scan, the researchers found sites containing mutations were more likely to have lower monoclonal and polyclonal antibody binding. Additionally, the mutations altered binding with the human ACE2 protein. A total of 14 mutations were predictive for evasion or decreased antibody binding, including seven Omicron-specific mutations on the RBD. Spread of Omicron In less than a month, the Omicron variant superseded the Alpha and Delta variants as the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. Despite high vaccination rates and naturally-acquired immunity across the population, Omicron has caused a surge of infections and reinfections in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The first 8 Omicron cases in the United Kingdom occurred in the last week of November. The first 10 days of the Omicron outbreak brought 111 new COVID-19 cases in Scotland. Genetic sequencing revealed that the Omicron variant evolved to have about 1 to 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Two dose vaccines less effective in neutralizing Omicron Donated serum samples from vaccinated individuals showed a correlation between vaccination and neutralizing antibody protection. However, decreased antibody levels were associated with reduced vaccine effectiveness. The researchers extended these findings by investigating vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant. People vaccinated with either of the mRNA vaccines showed greater antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2s RBD and NTD compared to individuals immunized with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Moderna vaccine showed the highest neutralizing antibody titers compared to antibody titers produced from either the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine. Nevertheless, the researchers observed a significant drop-in neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant. Specifically, Omicron caused a 33-fold drop in neutralization from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a 14-fold drop for the AstraZeneca vaccine, and a 74-fold drop for Moderna. Booster shots reverse waning immunity Without the booster, the two-dose AstraZeneca shots had negligible vaccine effectiveness against Delta and only 16% against Delta. Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shots produced a 6.84% vaccine effectiveness against Omicron and 56.53% protection against Delta. Moderna vaccines produced an 8.83% vaccine effectiveness against Omicron and 60.07% vaccine effectiveness against Delta. Booster shots increased neutralizing activity against Omicron. A third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine increased vaccine effectiveness to 91.87% against Delta and 67.57% against Omicron. A third dose of the Moderna vaccine increased vaccine effectiveness to 89.28% against Delta and 71.15% against Omicron. Omicron does not cause cell syncytia Viruses can promote syncytial formation, which is when infected cells fuse together with nearby cells to form enlarged and abnormal cells. The Alpha and Beta variants have been shown to induce syncytia. The researchers studied cell fusion in cells infected by Omicron, Delta, and the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Results showed that Delta had the highest levels of cell fusion with the original Wuhan strain coming in second. However, researchers were surprised to see that Omicron did not induce cell fusion, despite confirmed viral infection in cells. Omicron also showed low viral replication in the lungs a magnitude lower than Delta and the Wuhan strain. Omicron's mechanism of action SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells can occur through cell surface fusion after proteolysis by TMPRSS2 or fusion of the endosome after endocytosis and activation of endosomal proteases. Prior SARS-CoV-2 variants tend to follow the cell surface fusion option, which is consistent with high levels of TMPRSS2. In cultured cells that support cell surface fusion, Delta caused approximately four-fold higher infections than Omicron. Omicron achieved higher infection rates 10-fold more than Delta in HEK cells, which primarily supports endosomal entry. Further evidence was seen when cells treated with inhibitors for endosomal entry were resistant against Omicron infection. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. South Dakota voters will decide in November whether the state should become the 39th to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a move that would provide coverage to 42,000 low-income residents. State officials on Monday officially placed the issue on the ballot after validating thousands of petition signatures. For nearly a decade, the Republican legislature has opted against expansion, citing concerns about the federal debt and worries that Congress would eventually cut federal funding for the program. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, strongly opposes Medicaid expansion, even though the federal government picks up most of the cost. To counter the Medicaid ballot initiative, GOP leaders are promoting a separate measure on the June primary ballot that, if passed, would require 60% voter approval for any new constitutional measures that increase taxes or cost the state $10 million or more. It would apply to the Medicaid initiative in November. South Dakota is one of 12 states that have yet to expand Medicaid to all residents with annual incomes under 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $17,774. In South Dakota, adults without dependent children do not qualify for Medicaid regardless of income level. Most states accepted the Medicaid expansion quickly after the ACA was implemented in 2014. After Republican lawmakers blocked widening eligibility, voters in Maine, Idaho, Utah, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri approved Medicaid expansion at the ballot box in recent years. Only the Idaho vote scored more than 60% approval. In the states without Medicaid expansion, collectively more than 2 million Americans are in the so-called coverage gap with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to qualify for federal subsidies to help them buy coverage through the ACA insurance marketplaces. President Joe Biden's Build Back Better legislation would expand federal subsidies to help those in that gap, but the effort has stalled since Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced last month he would not support the bill. In a Senate evenly split along party lines with universal GOP opposition to the bill, Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote. South Dakotans Decide Healthcare, a coalition of patients' groups, health providers, faith leaders, educators and farmers, is leading the initiative to expand Medicaid in the state. The group is following a playbook used elsewhere, emphasizing how Medicaid expansion will bring in millions in federal dollars and help rural hospitals stay in business. Zach Marcus, the campaign manager for South Dakotans Decide Healthcare, said the group is pushing to defeat the 60% voter threshold ballot initiative. But even if it passes, "if we need it, we are confident we can get to 60% support," he said. "Medicaid expansion will be an economic driver for South Dakota," he said. "This is a health care issue, but it's also a common-sense dollars-and-cents issue." South Dakota could be the lone state to face a Medicaid ballot initiative this year. Advocates have also targeted Mississippi but must wait for state officials to reinstate the voter initiative process there. An effort to get an initiative before Florida voters is still being evaluated, according to the Fairness Project, which helps organize Medicaid ballot initiatives, including the one in South Dakota. The Fairness Project is funded by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, a California union. Voter-backed referendums have helped bypass GOP opposition to Medicaid expansion, but results have varied. For example, as of early last month, 210,000 people had enrolled in Oklahoma while Missouri had added fewer than 20,000, following expansions approved in 2020 in both states. The Nebraska expansion was delayed for nearly two years by state officials after voters approved a ballot measure in 2018. As demand for the high throughput production of high quality, highly specialized and reliable cell culture products continues to rise, laboratories and manufacturers need to move away from traditional manual analysis methods in favor of advanced real-time analysis using power spectroscopic methods. Thought Leaders Thermo Fisher Scientific As demand for the high throughput production of high quality, highly specialized and reliable cell culture products continues to rise, laboratories and manufacturers need to move away from traditional manual analysis methods in favor of advanced real-time analysis using power spectroscopic methods. This interview features wide-ranging insight from a number of Thermo Fisher Scientific experts in this area: Krzysztof Inglot Technical Sales Specialist for Single-Use Technology in Central Eastern Europe and the Middle East regions; Femi Egbebi Senior Global Product Manager for Cell Culture Media; and Daniel Merriman - Product Manager for Process Analyzers. The experts outline a number of techniques, tools, and approaches to improve and optimize cell culture processes, including the innovative use of multi-omics, the implementation of process analytical techniques, and real-time process monitoring. Could you give our readers a brief overview of Thermo Fisher Scientifics solutions for process monitoring and how these meet current market demands? Krzysztof Inglot: Market demands are constantly shifting and evolving, meaning that any products introduced into the market should be done rapidly and efficiently, making production times as short as possible. The traditional manual data entry and management approach does not meet the current markets demands, not least because data within the whole workflow process should be traceable and of the highest quality in line with high consumer, regulatory and market demands. In order to optimize a process, it is necessary to have direct access to the data at each process step. This data is key to optimizing each individual step. Facilities are now highly individualized, meaning that approaches to optimization must be tailored to each process. We have observed that customers are using unique devices with highly engineered PLC-based solutions, generating a lot of automatization islands where data integrity is not as well maintained as it should be. The Thermo Fisher Scientific solution to these problems is centered around our controllers. These controllers can be easily connected to virtually any other device, piece of equipment or sensor at either research or production scales. We use the same software package across all platforms, maintaining consistent data flow between R&D, clinical trials and the production site. The heart of the system is our DeltaV controller. We are able to connect this controller to a range of upstream devices, such as bioreactors and pumps from a variety of manufacturers. The controller can also connect to instrumentation used for downstream processing, for example, chromatography skid tools, sterile filtration, ultrafiltration or mixers. Image Credit: Shutterstock/unol How are these devices connected to and integrated with the controller? Krzysztof Inglot: Every device is connected to a single network and controlled via software. We offer a range of control computers with our software installed, each designed to accommodate different applications and sizes of networks. Our basic platform - the Professional Plus Station is able to control the whole process from one platform, while the Application Station can be used to store and process data on a separate device. We also offer specific control systems which allow users to access each bioreactor or instrument locally or remotely throughout the whole process. Our TruBioTM software has been specifically designed for bioprocess solutions. It is FDA 21 CFR part 11 compliant and validated according to GMP. Despite being an off-the-shelf product, we are able to modify and adjust the software to accommodate most process requirements. TruBio features predefined, standard control strategies for controlling pH, DO, temperature, weight and dosing options. The software also offers the unique ability to save the whole process configuration, send this to another location and upload the file to a new system. The entire process - including procedures and setup - will then be recognized at the other location. TruBio can be used to control a wide range of equipment, sensors, pumps and vessels from different vendors - even up to production scale where a single use vessel may be up to 5,000 liters in volume. All of these components can be interfaced using appropriate communication standards, including Modbus, Profibus, TFF or traditional input/output methods. TruBio offers a number of useful configuration options and tools, including signal adjustment via mathematical equations, calculation blocks, comparison functions and timers. These tools allow each device to be controlled or monitored according to a certain equation or function, effectively allowing us to automate the process and make it more efficient. The softwares graphics and control loops will adjust automatically to match the type of vessel currently in use, with all procedures defined for each vessel type available to use via a single interface. TrueBio can also be integrated with a range of manufacturing execution systems (MES) and enterprise management systems. These overarching systems are responsible for the planning, logistical and financial analysis of the whole process. The software can also export reports suitable for a number of different platforms, making it easier to integrate with these wider systems. TruBio can generate and publish reports in a wide range of formats, including PDF and Excel files, or data can be made available via the softwares web portal for instant access. Looking at the wider field, what are some of the main challenges associated with bioprocessing? Femi Egbebi: Bioprocessing is complex with many variables to consider; for example, the cell line, media feeds and process conditions, such as temperature and pH, which need to be controlled. Achieving specific process goals of can feel like a puzzle that needs to be solved in order to arrive at the optimal combination of productivity and product quality. Media and feed are huge parts of this puzzle because each contains hundreds of components. How can media analysis help to simplify this process and make this puzzle easier to solve? Femi Egbebi: There has historically been quite a bit of guesswork involved in designing the best formulation for a specific process because the solution space is huge and complex, and the spent media analysis methods that we typically use provide limited information. This is because spent media analysis measures extracellular components that have been utilized (or not utilized) in the media or secreted into the media. One way to make the media design process better is to have a thorough understanding of the metabolic pathways involved during the cell culture process by combining both intracellular and extracellular information. This is where metabolomics and proteomics (which we collectively call multi-omics) offer great potential to improve the design of cell culture medium feeds. I will briefly introduce how multi-omics works; there are different levels of participants in system biology including the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome. Each of these layers provides a different level of information about a cell culture process. The application of both proteomics and metabolomics lets us take the guesswork out of media design, moving us from an untargeted process to a targeted process. Leveraging multi-omics data very early on during the media design process allows us to narrow down the most relevant nutrition-influencing components and therefore reduce the number of steps necessary to achieve the desired results. This process leads to higher performing formulations while potentially reducing the media development timeline as the developers will need to perform fewer DOE iterations to reach a result. Image Credit: Shutterstock/peterschreiber.media What are the typical steps and considerations when applying multi-omics data to media design processes? Femi Egbebi: A few basic steps are involved when applying multi-omics datasets for media design, optimization and development. Our goal is to first establish a metabolic baseline. We do this by running the cell line of interest in a growth performance assay (GPA) against a panel of formulations. The diversity of the media environment is key to being able to characterize the cell culture process. We can learn a lot about a process by evaluating a range of responses; for example, media conditions and environments that yield low titer versus high titer or low viability versus high viability. This will enable us to determine the pathways that are activated in each of these cases. This feature makes multi-omics different from the traditional approach, which looks to optimize each step in the process. Over the course of the GPA, we collect samples at different time points and analyze these using the mass spectrometers to identify thousands of proteins and metabolites. This is followed by statistical analysis and the use of software tools to identify the relevant pathways and determine which of those pathways are limiting. The final step involves designing the DOE around the nutrients that are influencing the pathways that we consider relevant to our process goals. What sort of instrumentation is typically used for small molecule analysis and how does this fit with the multi-omics workflow? Femi Egbebi: We generally use mass spectrometry instrumentation for small molecule analysis. Our team utilizes an Orbitrap ID-X Tribid MS system which allows us to precisely and accurately identify up to 1,000 metabolites and Orbitrap FusionTM LumosTM TribidTM system when working with light molecules and proteins. Our team has optimized these systems so we can rapidly and accurately identify and quantify proteins with very high reproducibility, including lower abundance proteins that are very difficult to detect. How important is real-time monitoring of cell cultures and fermentation, and how can this be achieved? Daniel Merriman: Real-time monitoring of fermentation and cell culture is vitally important, and we principally do this via gas analysis mass spectrometry. The ability to monitor this in real-time relies on the proper integration of process analytical technology (PAT) into pharma processes. The FDA has previously summarized the implementation of PAT and is starting to require it more and more. The FDA views PAT as vital in the shift from testing according to documents that utilizie on-line, out-line and in-line techniques to monitor process parameters that impact quality. This is essentially about building quality into a process rather than checking the output of the process for its quality. Improvements and benefits from proper implementation of PAT include minimizing the risk of poor processes and process failures while potentially reducing development cycle times in bioprocesses. Image Credit:Shutterstock/luckystep How is a PAT system typically implemented into a process? Daniel Merriman: Implementation of PAT is a multi-stage process. There are critical quality attributes associated with a process, and that is as true of pharma processes as it is of others. The first stage is focused on designing the PAT solution and understanding which process parameters would impact those quality attributes. Having analyzed those quality attributes, the second stage sees us implement systems to monitor those process parameters in order to achieve good outcomes. The next stage of the implementation looks to control these process parameters based on the understanding gained in order to improve processes and ensure consistent performance and, ultimately, high product quality. Can you provide an example of this process in a real-world setting? Daniel Merriman: We can consider this process by looking at an example implementation of a gas analysis mass spectrometer as a PAT tool in a fermenting bioreactor. This example is common in lab environments and a range of other processes, with many similarities, whether this is at benchtop scale or full-scale production. In this example, the critical process parameters (CPPs) may include gases being measured, such as oxygen or carbon dioxide, as well as values that are calculated from those measurements. For example, respiratory quotients (RQ) - the function of the consumption of oxygen and the evolution of CO 2 . By monitoring the gas phase of input and output to a fermenter, calculating critical process parameters such as RQ, and reading those process parameters using a control system, it is possible to achieve changes in the process to maintain the highest level of performance. In the example I mentioned, the total cell count in the process rose throughout the hundred hours or so of the batch. However, a study showed that at about 70 hours, the rate of viability fell considerably. Essentially while the total number of cells continued to increase, cells were dying and viability was falling. This was ultimately due to glutamine depletion. By studying the process, it was also noted that the oxygen uptake rate fell dramatically at around 70 hours into the process knowledge of this in real-time enabled changes to the process to avoid a failed batch. Similar PAT implementations have been found to support the optimization of microbial and bacterial fermentation processes, growth of mammalian cell cultures, food ingredients and agricultural products, and even biofuels. Where can our readers find out more about the optimizing cell culture and media applications and the support that Thermo Fisher Scientific can offer in this area? Daniel Merriman: I would encourage readers to look at the resources on the Thermo Fisher Scientific website as a starting point. For example, the sites PAT page includes application notes relating to the use of gas analysis mass spectrometry as a PAT tool and also includes peer-reviewed papers by researchers from the University College London and NIBRT on the use of gas analysis mass spectrometry in mammalian cell culture. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Environmental and Process Monitoring Instruments We design and manufacture industry-leading products for Gas & particulate pollutants, Flow, gas and liquid measurement, Process analytical measurements, and Industrial Hygiene. Technologies have proven to help customers improve efficiency, ensure process and quality control, maintain regulatory compliance, and increase worker safety. Process mass spectrometers Maximize product yield and increase profitability with process mass spectrometry analysis. Process gas analyzers are engineered to meet a number of challenging process applications in the petrochemical, iron, and steel, and biotechnology industries. Highly reliable and easy-to-own, Thermo Fisher Scientific process gas analysis technologies deliver faster, more complete, lab-quality online gas analysis and process analytics. Learn More Process analytical technology/Biotech Process Analytical Technology (PAT) is a regulatory framework initiated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that encourages pharmaceutical manufacturers to improve the process of pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, and quality control. PAT aims to improve process efficiency by defining Critical Process Parameters (CPP) and monitoring these CPPs to stay within a defined limit, either in-line or on-line to maintain a products Critical Quality Attributes (CQA). Monitoring CPPs with process mass spectrometry gas analysis reduces over-processing, pinpoints contaminants, and increase product consistency. Learn More Industrial hygiene Industrial hygiene instruments keep your investments secure, your facilities compliant with local regulations, and your workers safe from leaking pollutants, gases, or toxic vapors. Make sure you have the most updated technology, with access to repair and calibration support to maintain reliable gas monitoring. With our environmental expertise, you can breathe easy knowing your company, workers, and neighboring communities have cleaner, safer, and healthier air quality. Learn More Sulfur analyzers Online sulfur analyzers replace expensive and time-consuming laboratory sampling. Get fast responses and wide measurement ranges of trace sulfur and total sulfur in flare gas, liquid, and vapor for reliable emissions monitoring. Learn More Gas & particulate analyzers Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements are making it more difficult to maintain regulatory compliance and optimal process performance. Air quality monitoring and reporting requirements in the U.S., China, India, Europe, and Latin America are shifting and being redefined. Together we can arrive at solutions that make sound business sense. Learn More Flow measurement Flow measurement and process control are critical aspects of producing, handling, and transporting hydrocarbons around the world. With our Thermo Scientific suite of flow computers and flow meters, we enable our customers to reduce cost, decrease lost material, automate, and monitor critical points in processes. From field to control room and upstream to downstream, our products provide greater control, confidence, and reliability. Learn More The roots of the National Cancer Act can be traced to a small home in Watertown, Wisconsin. In the early 1900s, a girl named Mary tagged along when her mother went to visit their laundress, Mrs. Belter, who had breast cancer. When they arrived, the woman was in bed, her seven children around her. She was terribly sick. That day, Mary was only around 4 years old, but she remembered it for the rest of her life. When I stood in the room and saw this miserable sight, with her children crowding around her, I was absolutely infuriated, indignant that this woman should suffer so and that there should be no help for her, she recalled decades later, in 1962. That girl grew up to be Mary Lasker, who transformed her outrage into action. Lasker became an activist, philanthropist and strategist focused on supporting medical research. Belter, who'd had her breasts removed, survived. "Ill never forget my anger at hearing about this disease that caused such suffering and mutilation and my thinking that something should be done about this," Lasker recounted. In the first half of the 20th century, cancer was misunderstood. It was widely considered a death sentence, and some people believed it was contagious and something to be ashamed of. It was a disease diagnosis that was whispered about and kept secret, said Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute. Sharpless said that to protect a persons dignity, doctors commonly fibbed about someones condition or said that the patient died of old age. Decades of advocacy and scientific breakthroughs have dramatically changed that. The U.S. government has spent more money on the fight against cancer than any other disease, and many cancers are far less deadly than they once were. A crucial moment in this evolution was the president's signing of the National Cancer Act into law 50 years ago, on Dec. 23, 1971. Launching a crusade For years, Mrs. Belters illness remained vivid in Mary Laskers mind. About 40 years later, in 1943, her cook also fell ill with cancer. As Lasker a person with wealth and status helped her employee navigate the health care system, she was shocked to discover that cancer care had not advanced much. So Lasker started a crusade. In the 1940s, broadcasters wouldnt say cancer on the radio. She worked to change that, with the help of her husband, Albert Lasker, an advertising executive. The couple persuaded Readers Digest to do a series of articles about cancer. And Lasker persuaded her friend behind the Ann Landers advice column to write about it. Lasker, who died in 1994 at age 93, didnt just focus on changing the popular perceptions of cancer. She wanted to cure cancer, and that demanded a real investment in medical research. The amount of money thats being spent for medical research is well, its just piddling, Lasker told Edward R. Murrow on CBS in 1959. You wont believe this, but less is spent on cancer research than we spend on chewing gum. After the United States put a man on the moon, Lasker started calling for a moonshot for cancer. She understood that this was a big problem and the solutions needed to be big. But Mary was willing to think big, said Dr. Claire Pomeroy, president of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. Lasker built her movement: lobbying Congress and making the most of her time on the social circuit. She was a frequent visitor to the White House, as a friend of President Lyndon Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird. At the same time, new treatments were being pioneered only a few miles away, at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Robert Mayer was working there, just beginning his career in medicine. Every Sunday night, the planes would fly in with patients, Mayer recalled. Those patients were young children who had acute leukemia and were traveling to the National Institutes of Health to receive their monthly doses of chemotherapy. They came from all over the country because only a handful of hospitals were then capable of aggressively treating cancer patients. My colleagues thought we were a little crazy, that we would be giving people cell poisons, which is what chemotherapy was thought to be, said Mayer, now an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School. Chemotherapy was still experimental, but the doctors at the National Cancer Institute were getting results. For one pediatric leukemia, the chance of survival improved dramatically. It wasnt just that they were people they were children, and they were children at an adorable age of 3 or 4 or 5, Mayer said. As the stories of these surviving children trickled out in the 1960s, a sense of optimism took hold. Persuading Congress to go big By the late 1960s, Lasker felt things were moving too slowly and decided to increase the pressure on lawmakers by taking out targeted newspaper ads in key congressional districts. This absolutely shocked the people in the House because they never had ads before and people were calling up from their districts and sending telegrams, and it caused quite a little commotion, Lasker said in an interview for the Oral History Research Office at Columbia University Libraries. She also pestered President Richard Nixon, and publicly. She paid for full-page ads in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Big letters screamed out from the page: Mr. Nixon: You can cure cancer. The decades-long campaign in research labs, in the halls of Congress, and in the media finally paid off. On Dec. 23, 1971 at about noon Nixon spoke to a crowd of over 100 people, including Mary Lasker, members of Congress, and prominent scientists and doctors. Hope and comfort, the relief of suffering and the affirmation of life itself these are qualities which have traditionally been associated with the Christmas season, Nixon said in a press statement. There could be no more appropriate time than this to sign into law the National Cancer Act of 1971. After signing the bill, Nixon posed for the cameras, with members of Congress arranged behind his chair. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the Democratic whip and chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate, stood directly behind the president, his hand on the back of the chair. That moment reveals how support for medical research had become politicized, according to Robin Wolfe Scheffler, a historian of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In Schefflers analysis, Nixon signed the bill, in part, to ensure that his support for health research would not be in question during the 1972 presidential race. Kennedy was not seeking the nomination, officially, but was widely considered a possible front-runner. Nixon embraces the war on cancer as a way of taking an issue away from his potential future rivals, not necessarily because he has any particular desire to do something about cancer, said Scheffler, author of A Contagious Cause: The American Hunt for Cancer Viruses and the Rise of Molecular Medicine. Regardless of Nixons motivation, the public investment was significant, $1.6 billion (almost $11 billion in todays dollars). The National Cancer Act funded biomedical research, set up oncology training programs and built a nationwide network of cancer treatment centers. President Nixon Signing the National Cancer Act (1971) Play Many people thought the cancer moonshot would lead to a cure in five years, in time for the countrys bicentennial in 1976. But curing cancer would prove to be much harder than going to the moon. I think you have to admit two things about the National Cancer Act. On the one hand, it was visionary and transformative. It was one of the most important things the United States has ever done in terms of biomedical research, Sharpless said. At the same time, we also have to admit that it was very naive. Americas bicentennial came and went, but cancer death rates continued to climb. News anchors questioned whether taxpayers money was being wasted. People declared the war on cancer a medical Vietnam,' Scheffler said. A debate ensued about whether the National Cancer Acts focus on basic research was misguided if it wasnt leading to advances in treatment. Environmental activists argued that the emphasis should have been on prevention. It took time for the research investment to pay off, Sharpless said. All this basic biology was bubbling beneath the surface. It doesnt look like much was happening in terms of cancer outcomes, he said. But a lot was happening in the cancer research space. Now, 50 years after the funds started flowing, we really are in a time of rapid progress, Sharpless said. Although 600,000 Americans die from cancer each year, the overall death rate for cancer has dropped by about a third from its peak in 1991. But the progress has been uneven. For some cancers, the prognosis is still bleak. For example, the vast majority of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within a few years. But for other types of cancer, there have been major medical advances. Death rates for colorectal cancer, cervical cancer and prostate cancer have declined more than 50%. And there have been advances in the treatment of lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma, among others. We have made remarkable progress, said Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society. But there is a certain segment of the population that is not really benefiting from the advances that we have made in the past five decades. Significant gaps in cancer death rates remain along racial, economic and geographic lines. And insurance makes a big difference people with consistent health insurance are more likely to survive cancer than people who are uninsured or experience disruptions in health insurance coverage. Jemal pointed to policies that can help reduce cancer death rates, including smoke-free workplace laws, tobacco excise taxes and the expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health insurance to low-income people. Jemal said some states in the South and Midwest that did not expand Medicaid were found to have slightly higher cancer death rates. Advocates like Jemal say a goal for the future is to make sure all Americans no matter where they live, what race they are or how much they earn have access to 50 years of cancer progress. This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and KHN. This story relied on archived interviews with Mary Lasker conducted by the Oral History Research Office at Columbia University. Pell City, AL (35125) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High near 85F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Cloudy skies overnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Sisters Gray and Andrea Koesters honored the life of their father, Willi Hans Koesters, by creating an exhibit of his work at the Bourne-Schweitzer Gallery in New Albany. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 574-583-5121 or email cgrace@thehj.com. (Newser) Marquetta Williams says it is a tradition in her Canton, Ohio neighborhood to fire guns in the air at New Year's Evebut this year, her husband's celebratory gunfire was answered with police bullets. The widow says 46-year-old James Williams was killed when an officer opened fire without warning, the Guardian reports. She tells the Canton Repository that her husband fired her AR-15 rifle into the air from their enclosed patio as they heard neighbors doing the same. "We do this every year because it was New Year's Eve," she says. "Everybody (in the neighborhood) was shooting. It was a tradition. Everybody shoots on New Year's Eve." Canton Police Chief Jack Angelo said Saturday that an officer responding to reports of gunfire a few minutes after midnight confronted somebody who began shooting, the AP reports. The chief says the officer fired because he feared for his life. Williams, however, says there was no confrontation. She says the officer, who has been placed on administrative duty, fired without warning through a 6-foot-tall wooden security fence. "Out of the blue, he said he got shot, he got hit," Williams tells the Repository. "I don't know where it came from. Nobody said anything. They didn't say, 'Police.' They didn't say, 'Freeze.' They didn't say, 'Drop your weapon.' They just shot him." "My husband is shot," Williams said in a 911 call released Monday. Her husband was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 12:26am. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the death and has been given evidence including body camera photos. Williams says she wants justice for her husband, who was the father of four daughters and stepfather to two more. "My husband was a good man, and he didn't deserve to die this way," she says. (Read more Ohio stories.) (Newser) Gov. Doug Ducey plans to use $7,000 payments to parents as leverage to keep public schools open during the pandemic, whether the federal government agrees with that use of the money or not. The money would go to families dealing with school closures, Fox News reports. It could be used for child care, transportation, tutoring, and tuition, the state saidapparently including the cost of attending a private or parochial school. In a tweet, Ducey called the move "preemptive action," saying, "We're making sure in-person learning remains an option for all Arizona families and students." Ducey is going into $10 million in federal coronavirus relief aid to fund the program, per Education Week. Families earning as much as 350% of the federal poverty level are eligible; that's $92,750 for a family of four. Two earlier programs of Ducey's included unauthorized use of federal money under the American Rescue Plan Act, the Treasury Department has said. The department threatened to take back the money, saying it's to be used for "evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19." But that hasn't happened, per the Arizona Daily Star. The program kicks in if a school shuts for even a day because of a COVID-19 outbreak. One of Ducey's plans last year offered the same amount to parents who wanted to pull their child out of a school because it enacted a mask mandate. The Republican governor has also sent federal money only to school districts that don't have mask mandates. The message of Ducey's efforts, a press aide said, is "that the closing of schools should not be an option." (Read more Doug Ducey stories.) (Newser) A Russia-led military alliance said Thursday that it will dispatch peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan after the country's president asked for help in controlling protests that escalated into violence, the AP reports. Protesters in Kazakhstan's largest city stormed the presidential residence and the mayor's office Wednesday and set both on fire, according to news reports, as demonstrations sparked by a rise in fuel prices escalated sharply in the Central Asian nation. Police reportedly fired on protesters at the residence in Almaty. They have clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in recent days, deploying water cannons in the freezing weather and firing tear gas and concussion grenades. The Kazakh Interior Ministry said eight police officers and national guard members were killed in the unrest and more than 300 were injured. No figures on civilian casualties were released. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-based alliance of six former Soviet countries, for assistance. Hours later, the CSTO's council approved sending an unspecified number of peacekeepers, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the council's chairman. Tokayev earlier vowed to take harsh measures to quell the unrest and declared a two-week state of emergency for the whole country. The government resigned over the unrest. Kazakh news sites became inaccessible late in the day, and the global watchdog organization Netblocks said the country was experiencing a pervasive internet blackout. The Russian news agency Tass reported that internet access was restored in Almaty by early Thursday. Although the protests began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of liquefied petroleum gas that is widely used as vehicle fuel, their size and rapid spread suggested they reflect wider discontent in the country that has been ruled by the same party since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The protests appear to have no identifiable leader or demands. (Read more Kazakhstan stories.) (Newser) With coronavirus infections skyrocketing and schools at risk of shutting down, a panel of advisers on Wednesday urged the CDC to fight back by recommending 10 million young people receive the protection of a vaccine booster shot. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky agreed, the Washington Post reports. The change will allow health officials to give a clear, unconditional message to parents that their children, as long as they're at least 12 years old and at least five months past their second vaccine dose, should receive a Pfizer booster. "It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease," Walensky said in a statement Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already had made 16- and 17-year-olds eligible for boosters, but the panel wanted them included in the recommendationsaying they should receive a booster, not just that they can. The panel's vote was 13-1, with the holdout arguing that it's more important to emphasize getting unvaccinated children their first shots than ensuring those who have had two doses add the booster. CDC data show that more than half of 12- to 17-year-oldsat least 13 million of themhave had two Pfizer shots. A CDC official said she hopes parents will become more interested in having their children vaccinated as more information about the omicron cornavirus variant becomes available. Walensky said in her statement that data show boosters "help broaden and strengthen protection against omicron and other variants." In their meeting, committee members emphasized that booster shots are less important than masking and the initial vaccine doses, per USA Today. The FDA approved giving boosters to those as young as 12 earlier in the week. (Read more COVID booster shots stories.) (Newser) Deidre Silas went to a home in Thayer, Ill., to check on a report of kids in danger. The 36-year-old Department of Children and Family Services investigator ended up dead. Police got a call about a possible stabbing and responded to the home to find Silas dead, McClatchy News reports. Six children ranging in age from 1 to 7 were at the home when she was killed, and a 32-year-old suspect was ultimately found at a hospital 60 miles away, being treated for a minor cut on his hand. He was arrested and charged with murder, the State Journal-Register reports. Silas' cause of death was multiple sharp force injuries and blunt force trauma. The governor of Illinois called Silas a hero, and another official said in a statement, "This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress." Silas herself had once said of her job, "Kids unleash a lot on you even in the role Im in, and it hurts your soul. But I have always been a people person, and I like helping people." The mother of two joined DCFS in August, having previously worked in behavioral health and at the Department of Juvenile Justice. The suspect's relationship to the children, who are all safe and in protective custody, was not clear. (Read more Illinois stories.) (Newser) Authorities say they've solved a publishing industry whodunit with the arrest Wednesday of a man accused of numerous literary heists in recent years, allegedly impersonating others in the industry to amass a veritable library of unpublished works. Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen working in publishing in London, was arrested Wednesday after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport, said Damian Williams, US attorney for the Southern District of New York in a statement. Bernardini, 29, faces charges including wire fraud, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft. He was expected to appear in federal court on Thursday, the AP reports. For years, the publishing industry has been baffled by an international phishing scheme in which someone with apparent inside knowledge impersonated an editor or an agentby setting up a fake email accountand attempted to trick an author or an editor into sending links to unpublished manuscripts. Works by Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke were among those targeted. The ongoing scheme was all the more mysterious because whoever was seeking the manuscripts was apparently not attempting to sell them or otherwise publicly exploit having them. According to the indictment against Bernardini, which was filed in July but only unsealed on Wednesday, the schemes had been taking place from at least August 2016 through July of last year. Bernardini collected hundreds of unpublished works, according to the indictment. Bernardini allegedly impersonated publishing industry individuals in order to have authors, including a Pulitzer prize winner, send him prepublication manuscripts for his own benefit," Williams said in the statement. This real-life storyline now reads as a cautionary tale, with the plot twist of Bernardini facing federal criminal charges for his misdeeds. The indictment says Bernardini used fraudulent, look-alike, domains to impersonate individuals involved in the publishing industry to gain surreptitious access to these materials, and that over the years he impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals. In the indictment, Bernardini was described as working in London for a major, international, US-based publishing house. Simon & Schuster UK confirms he is an employee and says he has been suspended pending additional information. (Read more weird crimes stories.) (Newser) "I stand here today, my head bowed in shame, remorse and disappointment over the crimes that I have committed to God and mankind," Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein told a hearing Tuesday, where he was sentenced to 14 months for his crimes against the Internal Revenue Service. The 60-year-old rabbi, who was injured in the deadly 2019 mass shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego, was ordered to report to a federal prison by Feb. 23 this year to serve his sentence for his role in several fraud schemes. He was also ordered to pay almost $3 million in restitution, reports NBC San Diego. Goldstein was already under investigation when a gunman stormed the synagogue on the last day off Passover. He was shot in both hands and lost a finger. In a DoJ release, Federal prosecutors said his yearslong fraud schemes included one in which donors to the synagogue and related charities got fake tax receipts and 90% of their money back, with Goldstein keeping the other 10% for himself. In other schemes, Goldstein and co-conspirators defrauded matching donation plans at three major companies and defrauded FEMA with claims for wildfire damage that never happened. The rabbi and five co-conspirators pleaded guilty in July 2020. Prosecutors and the rabbi's lawyers had both called for home confinement, but US District Judge Cynthia Bashant said it was important for Goldstein to serve time in prison because he had "dragged down so many congregants," the New York Times reports. "Its important to send a message to the community, and its important to send a message to you," she said. In a letter to the judge, Goldstein said he had been "seduced to a very dark place, allowing the power of money to get the better part of my soul." (In October, synagogue gunman John Earnest was sentenced to life without parole.) (Newser) Update: Ghislaine Maxwell has requested a retrial following her conviction for crimes including sex trafficking of a minor. The request was made Thursday by a lawyer who requested that all submissions related to "Juror No. 50 remain under seal until the court rules," per the CBC. Two jurors told the media that their own accounts of childhood sexual abuse influenced other jurors. The Supreme Court has held that jury deliberations can't factor into verdict challenges, per the New York Times. However, experts say the verdict could be successfully challenged if jurors were found to have intentionally lied on a questionnaire asking if they'd been a victim of sexual misconduct, and if yes, whether that might make them biased. Our original story from Jan. 6 follows: Ghislaine Maxwell's sex-trafficking conviction is barely a week old and it is already starting to look shaky thanks to jurors' remarks to the press. One man, identified as "Scotty," told Reuters on Tuesday that jurors who doubted whether victims were recalling events correctly were won over when he shared his own account of childhood sexual abuse. Another juror told the New York Times on Wednesday that they were also sexually abused as a childand that speaking about that experience during deliberations seemed to influence other jurors. It's not clear, however, whether either juror answered yes on a prospective juror questionnaire that asked whether "they or anyone in their families had experienced sexual abuse," and Maxwell's attorneys have now requested a mistrial. US Attorneys Office spokesman Nicholas Biase told the Washington Post that juror questionnaires are confidential. Maxwell's defense team also declined to comment on how the jurors answered the question. Scotty told Reuters that he "flew through" the questionnaire and he doesn't recall being asked about sexual abuses, though he added that he would have answered honestly. Maxwell's lawyers said Wednesday that the conviction should be tossed and a new trial scheduled because the "interest of justice so requires." In a letter to US District Judge Alison Nathan, attorney Christian Everdell argued that the remarks present "incontrovertible grounds for a new trial." In a separate filing, prosecutors asked Nathan to investigate the remarks, saying " some of the statements, as related in the media, merit attention by the court. " Nathan gave the defense until Jan. 19 to file a motion for a new trial. "This could be a huge blow to the prosecution if this juror did in fact fail to provide such information, criminal defense attorney Julie Rendelman tells the Guardian. "Keep in mind that this juror suggests that his own experience as a victim of sexual abuse not only impacted his decision making but others in the jury who he relayed his story to." (Read more Ghislaine Maxwell stories.) Bahrains Al Waha Fund of Funds has announced an investment in Mena-based Venture Souqs FinTech Fund I, the regions first sector-specific fund focused on FinTech across the Mena region and Pakistan. The $50 million fund invests in early-stage FinTech and SaaS companies and focuses on key subsectors including payments infrastructure, alternative credit, digital banking, PropTech, InsureTech and personal financial management, working closely with innovative regional entrepreneurs that are disrupting financial services. VentureSouq is aiming to use its FinTech experience and connectivity to help build the next cohort of category-defining FinTech companies in Bahrain and the broader region. As a leading financial services hub in the region, Bahrain is a natural selection partner to empower and grow the FinTech ecosystem in the Mena region. VentureSouq has been active in Bahrain for years as one of Al Waha Fund of Funds partner funds. The venture capital firm has worked with local accelerators and has already invested in one startup in Bahrain. As global investors in more than 40 international FinTech companies, the VentureSouq FinTech Fund team is aiming to bring their global experiences to the region and continue to advance the development of the FinTech ecosystem in Bahrain and the wider Mena region. Suneel Gokhale, General Partner of VentureSouq, said, We are honoured to be working alongside our partners in Bahrain, Al Waha Fund of Funds, to enhance the FinTech and greater tech ecosystem in the Kingdom and the region. The new FinTech fund taps into the opportunity to empower a growing market that is in its early days. Due to the intersection of increased flexibility amongst regulators and a push towards digitisation, the FinTech space has become very interesting for investors. Areije Al Shakar, Fund Director at Al Waha Fund of Funds said, We are very excited to be working with our partners VentureSouq to enhance the FinTech ecosystem in Bahrain and the region. The FinTech opportunity in Mena is evolving in todays hyperconnected and digitised world, and we are proud to be working directly with VentureSouqs FinTech Fund I to tap into the growing sector, in addition to providing first hand access to the Bahraini market. The partnership aims to bridge the gap between Mena and Bahrain, to provide mentorship, networking and funding opportunities for the region. VentureSouqs FinTech fund is backed by other LPs across the GCC such as Jada Fund of Funds, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), UAEs DisruptAD, ADQs venture platform, Mubadala Investment Company and OFC, the Middle East investment arm of The Olayan Group. In addition to investing in the FinTech sector, VentureSouq is also interested in other areas such as HealthTech and FoodTech, which are two sectors the firm expects to grow within the coming years. Al Waha has invested over 61% of its total fund investment to a range of local and global venture capitalists, including BECO Capital, Middle East Venture Partners, 500 Startups, Finch Capital, MSA Capital, Shorooq Partners, B&Y Venture Partners and more. The investments are essential to scale Middle East companies and enable a region that drives innovation. TradeArabia News Service (Newser) MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell is fighting a subpoena for his phone records from the House panel investigating the Capitol attack. Lindellone of the most outspoken supporters of former President Trump's debunked election fraud claimsfiled a lawsuit against the select committee on Wednesday, the day before the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, the Hill reports. In the lawsuit, Lindell sought to block the panel's subpoena for his Verizon phone records from Nov. 30, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, reports Politico. His attorneys argued that the request is unconstitutional because Lindell's election-related activities were "motivated, in part, by his strongly held religious beliefs." An earlier executive branch request from the panel requested "all documents and communications relating to challenging the validity of the 2020 election, to, from, or mentioning Mike Lindell." Lindell tells CNBC that he was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year and he has filed a "complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief" against the panel and Verizon "to completely invalidate this corrupt subpoena." Lindell also denies being present at a meeting with other Trump allies at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, the day before the riot, though others have said he was there. "Fifteen of us spent the evening with Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Tommy Tuberville, Michael J. Lindell, Peter Navarro, and Rudy Giuliani," Txtwire CEO Daniel Beck said in a Facebook post on Jan. 5 last year, per CNBC. "We talked about the elections, illegal votes, court cases, the republics status, what to expect on the hill tomorrow. TRUMP WILL RETAIN THE PRESIDENCY!!" The week after the riot, Lindell was seen entering the White House with a paper that said, in part, "martial law if necessary." Last month, Lindell told Business Insider that he had spent $25 million, around half his estimated net worth, pushing voter fraud claims. (Dominion Voting Systems is suing Lindell for $1.3 billion.) (Newser) Novak Djokovic spent a day confined to a hotel room waiting for a court to deal with the prospect of a possible deportation from Australia. The 20-time Grand Slam singles winner will spend at least another night there, in immigration detention, as he fights against the deportation move. With his entry denied and his visa canceled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules, Djokovic had to trade the practice courts for the courts of law on Thursday, the AP reports. His lawyers launched a legal action which has delayed, at least temporarily, his deportation. The nine-time champion's chance of playing in the Australian Open starting Jan. 17 remains in limbo. A lawyer for the government agreed the 34-year-old Djokovic should not be deported before Friday at the earliest, while the hearing was adjourned until Monday. Djokovics trip was contentious well before he landed, with the conservative federal government and the left-leaning state government of Victoria seemingly having conflicting views over what constituted acceptable medical grounds for an exemption to Australias vaccination policy for foreign travelers. Djokovic announced on social media Tuesday that he had "exemption permission." He landed in Melbourne late Wednesday with a medical exemption from Victoria state that was expected to shield him from the regulations which require all players, fans, and staff to be fully vaccinated to attend the Australian Open. After a long-haul flight, he spent the night trying to convince border authorities he had all the necessary documentation, but the Australian Border Force issued an early morning statement saying Djokovic failed to meet entry requirements. "The rule is very clear, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a news conference. "You need to have a medical exemption. He didnt have a valid medical exemption. We make the call at the border, and thats where its enforced." The president of Djokovics native Serbia blasted the "harassment" of the star. Djokovic was transferred Thursday morning to a secure hotel which is controlled by immigration officials and has previously housed asylum seekers and refugees. Supporters draped in Serbian flags gathered outside during the afternoon in a show of support. (Read more Novak Djokovic stories.) (Newser) Police in Oklahoma say they have recovered thousands of stolen Amazon packagesand the suspects are delivery drivers, not Blackbeard-level porch pirates. In a Facebook post Wednesday, police in Luther, around 30 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, said three suspects were arrested after a home was searched and thousands of undelivered packages were found, some of them still on pallets. Police say their investigation began when around 600 packages were found dumped in a rural area on New Year's Eve, KFOR reports. Most of them were empty but items including books, calendars, and a copy of the Koran were left behind. "Every one of these packages was supposed to be delivered by Christmas Day, said Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office spokesman Aaron Brilbeck "So, 600 people didnt get their Christmas gifts as a result of this." Another dump site was found the same day. Police obtained a search warrant for the Luther home after finding an envelope with an address in a garbage bag at one of the sites. Police say they found undelivered packages stacked in every room of the houseand in the storm shelter. The sheriff's office says third-party drivers Cesar Yasnier Cerqueira Rojas and Maikel Perez Laurencio were arrested, along with truck owner Dinneris Matos Delgado. Investigators believe the drivers picked up extra pallets when they went to an Oklahoma City warehouse and sold the contents online instead of bringing the pallets to UPS or the US Postal Service, per the Washington Post. They believe the scheme could have been going on for around a year. Police say the recovered packages, most of which were supposed to go to addresses in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, have been returned to Amazon for delivery. (Read more Amazon stories.) (Newser) A gig driver badly mauled by a police dog is suing a San Francisco area suburb, alleging use of excessive force and violation of civil rights when police stopped him in December 2020 after he'd missed car rental payments, reports the AP. Dashboard and body-camera videos obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle show an unresisting Ali Badr wailing in pain, his arm in the teeth of an aggressive San Ramon police dog for more than a minute as officers tried to cuff him. "I never do nothing," Badr yelled to officers, the videos show. "I never in my life do anything." Badr, a 42-year-old resident of Oakland originally from Egypt, has driven for Uber and Lyft and started delivering food for DoorDash when the pandemic hit, the news outlet reported. Forced to give up his own car due to declining income, he agreed to rent a Toyota Camry owned by startup CarMommy, which caters to gig workers, according to the lawsuit. He told the Chronicle that he fell behind on payments, but told the company he'd pay them shortly. It was something he'd done before, he said. But CarMommy CEO and co-founder John Blomeke had reported the car stolen, said Matthew Haley, Badr's attorney, resulting in the car's license plate number being listed in a state Department of Justice database shared among agencies. Badr was driving to work at a gas station when the plate triggered one of the city's license plate readers, alerting police of a vehicle reported as stolen. Officers in a half-dozen cars pulled him over, guns drawn and dog barking. He ended up being rushed to the hospital for surgery. San Ramon Police Chief Craig Stevens told the news outlet in an email that the department conducted an internal investigation into the arrest of Badr, but he declined to answer other questions citing the federal lawsuit, which Badr filed last month against the city of San Ramon, Stevens, and several police officers. Badr is also suing CarMommy, Blomeke, and HyreCar Inc. of Los Angeles, which brokered the rental. HyreCar, San Ramon's city attorney, CarMommy, and Blomeke didn't return messages from the Chronicle seeking comment. (Read more police dog stories.) (Newser) A college student who created an adventurous treasure hunt for family and friends is believed to have died while hiding the treasure. Hunter Lewis, a 21-year-old college student in northern California, has not been seen since setting out Dec. 30 in a canoe from a beach in Humboldt County, reports SFGate. Pieces of the canoe have washed ashore, as has the cigar box believed to have contained the unknown "treasure" of the hunt. Hunter's father, Corey Lewis, says Hunter's final clue was that the treasure would be found "where his heart is." The Los Angeles Times explains how the clue might shed light on what happened. In a family video, "Corey Lewis holds up to the camera that last clue: a 3-D printed key, which, when aligned with the rock islands whose shapes match its teeth, ends in a heart that encircles Flatiron Rock," per the Times. The family believes Hunter intended to reach that rock, but was unaware of a treacherous reef near it that likely overturned his boat. We know he was going there, says Corey Lewis. We also know he doesnt know that reef exists. The Coast Guard has suspended the search, per the Sacramento Bee, and Corey Lewis acknowledges that it's now a recovery operation, not a rescue. Hunter, a student at California State University Long Beach, has plenty of outdoor skills, along with his pilot's and scuba license. His treasure hunt was an elaborate one: He made up a story about a fictional ancestor leaving behind a treasure, and he hid clues in places that required people to rappel down cliffs and such. The real ironic, tragic and epic part of this is he started this whole thing with an Instagram page and a letter saying that we had a lost Lewis family treasure that we didnt know about off the North Coast, Corey Lewis tells the Times. Hes that lost treasure. (Read more missing person stories.) (Newser) Thousands of people were stuck in their cars on I-95 in Virginia this week, but most of them didn't have the added joy of paying by the minute. Andrew Peters summoned Uber to take him from Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia to Richmond on Monday night, NBC reports. "We hopped on the first exit and then it was just, we stopped moving right there," Peters said, per WRC. "There were cars behind us. There was nowhere to go." Fourteen hours later, he reached Richmond after what became a $700 trip. The bill was $200, Peters said, to which he added a $100 tip. But Uber later imposed a surcharge of $400, making the total cost for the 120-mile-or-so trip $701.47. That's more than twice what Peters paid for his flight from San Francisco. He wasn't happy with the surcharge. "I had no way of knowing that I would be stuck in this traffic jam for that long, and I don't feel like that's fair because they have the directions," he said. "I have no say in which way the Uber goes." After Peters disputed the charge, Uber refunded the full $700. "We recognized that the prolonged highway shutdown was extraordinary circumstance for him and the driver," an Uber spokesperson said. The 50-mile backup began with an accident involving a tractor-trailer on Monday morning. By Tuesday evening, everyone, including Peters, had been rescued or had been able to drive on. "We're glad that he and the driver got home safely," Uber said. (Read more Virginia stories.) Local top story Trespass charges held for court for maskless residents CATAWISSA Two of three Columbia County residents who were charged for allegedly not complying with a face covering policy at a September Southern Columbia Area School Board meeting have been held for court. Gary Krum, 70, of 1779 Scenic Drive; Kathrine Detwiler, 45, of 136 Church St.; and Elaine Barnhart, 71, of 33 Mercy Road, were each charged by Locust Township police with criminal trespass for refusing to leave the meeting after repeated attempts to have them wear a face covering. Krum and Detwiler were in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Craig Long. Barnhart is hospitalized with COVID-19 the court was told, the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise reported. Her preliminary hearing is now scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Feb. 1. The defendants attorney, Gregory Andrew Stapp, argued in court that the school did not have sufficient signage to make visitors aware that mask wearing extended to board meetings. He also claimed school officials only explained the policy and never made an actual request for them to leave, the newspaper reported. District Attorney Tom Leipold countered that the defendants were given ample opportunity to heed the schools orders, adding that ignorance or mistake of a law is not a defense. Testifying on behalf of the school were school safety officer David Townsend and Superintendent Jim Becker. According to affidavit, Townsend and Becker told a total of five individuals inside the high schools cafeteria that they were in violation of a face covering policy and were advised to remedy the situation. The policy was explained again, adding that violators would need to comply or leave the building. Two unnamed individuals complied with the directive, but the three defendants did not. Townsend then advised that law enforcement would be contacted if they remained inside the school. Spotts arrived on scene at 7:18 p.m. and, after being briefed by Townsend, contacted Krum, who asked if he was being given a lawful order to leave. Spotts responded in the affirmative and Krum left the cafeteria. Detwiler and Barnhart continued to argue the legality of the commonwealths face covering mandate and the districts policy. Spotts advised he responded to a call for people refusing to leave the building and would not debate mandates or policies. The two defendants refused to leave, the affidavit says. The officer contacted Chief of Police Allen Breach, who emailed a copy of a directive from the Columbia County District Attorneys Office that stated incidents of this nature are considered trespassing. Townsend located the directive in his email and first informed the alleged violators they could be charged with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor of the first degree. The board, which had been in executive session, then entered the cafeteria. An unidentified member of the public asked the violators to leave the building in fear the meeting would be canceled. The violators then left. According to the affidavit, it is believed Krum, Detwiler and Barnhart were in non-compliance of the districts order to leave the school for 41 minutes. Spotts noted that the district, including the school board, has requested the defendants be charged. Ben Shapiro, 37, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of The Ben Shapiro Show, and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers How To Destroy America In Three Easy Steps, The Right Side Of History, and Bullies. Metito, a leading provider of water and alternative energy management solutions, has secured a contract to design, build and operate a 100,000 cu m/day wastewater plant in Uzbekistan in addition to a new 7.5-km-long effluent discharge pipeline for the country. The project worth $100 million, is the first wastewater project to be implemented under the countrys Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law with private investment and project financing undertaken by the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services with the full support of the Government of Uzbekistan. Dominated by large desert plains and an arid climate, Uzbekistan is considered a water-scarce country. Namangan is located on the right bank of the Syr Darya River. Due to climate change, there has been lower river flows and water stress causing a growing gap between water supply and demand. The project is the second in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, will contribute towards rehabilitating and expanding the water and wastewater infrastructure in the Namangan region, located 295km from the capital city, Tashkent. This will improve access to safe water and create a more sustainable community. Metito will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction of the project for the first 2 years as well as its operation and maintenance for 23 years after completion. On the contract win, Managing Director Rami Ghandour said the project marks Metitos first PPP project in the Uzbekistan and it was officially announced the winner following a two-staged open international tender run by Asian Development Bank with 23 foreign companies. "Water impacts almost every facet of life, and ensuring a stable and sustainable clean water supply is vital to the sustainable development of any economy. The Namangan PPP braves the path of taking a much bolder approach to financing capital-intensive large infrastructural projects able to address growing water needs where there are budget constraints and other priorities for government budgetary spending," he noted. "We are confident that our global and extended experience in water PPPs, our high-value engineering capabilities along with integrating the latest technologies, will enable us to set a new benchmark for future water projects in Uzbekistan and the wider CIS region," he added. Metitos team of advisory included Synergy Consulting (Financial Advisor), KPMG (Tax Advisor), Hogan Lovells (Legal Advisor). Key European Parliament official hails Bahrains democratic, parliamentary and human rights achievements under HM King leadership Key European Parliament official hails Bahrains democratic, parliamentary and human rights achievements under HM King leadership TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com A top European Parliament official has praised Bahrains democratic, parliamentary and human rights achievements under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, stressed the importance of getting informed about those strides. He was visiting Bahrain and meeting senior officials yesterday to review ties and cooperation between the Kingdom and the European Union to serve common interests. During a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, McAllister expressed happiness at the progress of building close parliamentary relations with Bahrain. He also affirmed the European Unions keenness to continue cooperation with Bahrain and to promote coordination on various regional and international issues. They also exchanged views on the latest political and security situation in the region and its repercussions on security and stability. Dr Al Zayani praised the depth of relations between Bahrain and the European Union. He stressed the importance of McAllisters visit in enhancing cooperation and parliamentary diplomacy, as well as in strengthening ties between countries. Parliamentary diplomacy McAllister was also received by Speaker Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal as they discussed ways to further develop relations between the Council of Representatives and the European Parliament in various fields. The Speaker noted the councils endeavour to activate parliamentary diplomacy and highlight Bahrains democratic image under HM the Kings leadership. She said that Bahrain has raised the values of tolerance and coexistence and has harnessed its efforts to adopt civilised humanitarian initiatives, which has been appreciated by the international community, civil society associations and human rights institutions. Zainal highlighted Bahrains possession of a solid legislative structure and legal base that supports the comprehensive reform approach, which makes good citizenship the basis for the development and modernisation of the state of institutions and law. Prerequisite for growth Shura Council Chairman Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh underscored Bahrains constant steps to foster human rights and respect freedoms. He described the approach as the result of HM the Kings vision and his reform project which is based on respect of human rights as a prerequisite for growth and development. Al Saleh was speaking as he received McAllister. The Shura head highlighted the governments strategies, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to boost democracy and human rights. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrains economy has improved during the third quarter of 2021, thanks to the governments strategies to recover from the pandemic. This is based on the quarterly economic report for the period published by the Ministry of Finance and National Economy on its website www.mofne.gov.bh. The report shows that the Kingdoms implementation of the economic recovery plan, which aims to adopt new strategies that contribute to activating the role of priority sectors, has worked wonders. Another factor in the Kingdoms economic growth is the launch of several initiatives aimed at strengthening the economy and creating qualitative opportunities for citizens to achieve comprehensive economic development. According to the preliminary results of the national accounts issued by the Information and eGovernment Authority, the economic situation of the Kingdom is moving in the right direction, continuing to record a good performance. The nominal gross domestic product (at current prices) grew by 10.2% compared to the third quarter of the year 2020, while the growth rate reached Real (at constant prices) 2.1% on an annual basis. The non-oil sector contributed to pushing the wheel of economic growth, and it achieved a growth (at current prices) of 5.9% on an annual basis, and the real non-oil GDP grew (at constant prices) by 3.8% on an annual basis. As for the oil sector, it witnessed a remarkable growth (at current prices) of 39.9% on an annual basis, while it witnessed a decline (at constant prices) by 4.6% on an annual basis. The report reflected the most prominent indicators of several non-oil sectors during the third quarter of 2021, where the transportation and communications sector achieved the highest growth rate of 25.8%. The real estate activities and business services sector witnessed a growth of 4.7%, followed by the trade sector, which continued its good performance, recording a growth annually at 4.5%, then the government services sector by 1.9%, and the building and construction sector by TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com One of the biggest threats faced by the Kingdom is sea level rise fuelled by climate change, according to a leading academic authority in water resources management. Average sea levels have increased over eight inches since 1880, and within that, about three inches were gained in the last 25 years. An expert study has revealed that every year the sea rises another .13 inches (3.2 mm). Speaking to The Daily Tribune, Prof Waleed Zubari, the Professor of Water Resources Management and Coordinator of Water Resources Management Programme at Arabian Gulf University, said the rise in sea level is an important problem that could impact Bahrain since its landmass is low lying and can be affected strongly either in losing land areas or by coastal erosion. The Kingdom of Bahrain is categorised by the UN as one of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are considered as the front lines of climate change, which are seriously threatened by the impacts of sea-level rise, the top professor said. Prof Zubari said the impact of climate change on the environment is beyond any reckoning. Away from sea level rise, the other impact is the increase in the frequency of climatic variability and extreme events such as heavy rains and droughts. In other words, the average annual rainfall of Bahrain can be received, or even be exceeded, in one or two storms, he said. He said that the sea level rise will hurt water resources management in the Kingdom. The rise in sea levels will lead to a potential increase in seawater intrusion to groundwater resources, leading to salinisation. And this will certainly affect human consumption. The higher desalination costs would burden the municipal sector. As of now, the municipal water consumption is met mainly by desalinated water, which is energy-intensive, and has environmental externalities, Prof Zubari said. Bahrain keen to bolster global partnerships to become first choice for pioneering projects Bahrain keen to bolster global partnerships to become first choice for pioneering projects TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain is committed to strengthening its relations in various international institutions and events to bolster global partnerships. Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani remarked as he met with the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman David McAllister, who kicked off yesterday a two-day visit in the Kingdom. During the meeting, they also reviewed several issues related to economic affairs, which focus on joint economic relations and ways to enhance them, in addition to activating agreements between the private sector leaders on both sides and benefiting more from their experiences. The minister highlighted the role of the private sector in consolidating relations and increasing commercial exchanges, referring to the offers the Bahrain government gives to investors from all over the world, which contributed to making it a destination and the first choice for many projects. Al Zayani noted the facilitating measures adopted by the government to strengthen the economic sector and encourage major projects to reside in Bahrain. McAllister expressed his admiration for Bahrains remarkable progress in all fields, especially the economic and investment sectors, and the governments role in attracting global investments and pioneering projects. Work is moving at a steady pace on the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC) - a 149,000-sq-m facility located in Sakhir that boasts 10 exhibition halls, a 4,500-sq-m conference hall and a parking lot for 1,600 cars - and is on track for opening later this year, reported BNA, citing a senior minister. The foundation stone for the mega project was laid by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince Prime Minister, in January 2020. The project, next to Bahrain International Circuit, features exhibition halls and conference rooms fitted with the latest technology to host major shows and celebrations and seal trade transactions. It is being built at a total investment of BD84 million ($221.4 million). Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani stressed on the strategic importance of the project which stems from the 2030 Bahrain Economic Vision. The milestone will be a key pillar of Bahrains new strategy (2022-2026), which focuses on mega national projects such as the BIECC. Al Zayani was speaking after inspecting the progress of work on the mega project in Al Sakhir. He was accompanied by Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority CEO Dr Nasser Qaidi and other officials from the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning. With 95,000 sq m of exhibition space over 10 halls, a 4,000-seat tiered auditorium, 95 meeting rooms, Royal and VIP Majlis and a 250-seat restaurant, the centre will be the largest venue of its kind in the Middle East. ASM Global has been signed up by BTEA to manage, operate and programme the new destination. Danbury schools are closed Thursday and Friday while they face staffing and transportation issues, largely tied to COVID-19. School Superintendent Kevin Walston notified parents Wednesday night of the plan. The district initially planned to institute a two-hour delay throughout the week giving us the time needed to plan for the safety of our students and to preserve teacher and support staffs ability to adequately plan for their day. That plan changed, however. As mentioned in previous emails, we continue to struggle with staffing in all areas, Walston said in a memo to parents. As a result, we will not be able to run our schools safely on Thursday, January 6, and Friday, January 7. Danbury Schools will be closed for these two days. We plan to open the following week anticipating improved staffing. Danbury schools had 296 staff members absent Monday and 322 out on Tuesday, according to school district data. Thats almost a 160 percent increase from the Monday after holiday break the prior year and a 142 percent rise from the Tuesday after the break in 2021, according to the districts figures. A dearth of bus drivers also meant several buses not running this week for the Danbury district. The staffing issues come as the state sees a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases. State officials reported Wednesday that 10,344 COVID cases were found in 45,760 new tests for a positivity rate of 22.6 percent. That is among the highest rates since widespread testing began weeks into the pandemic in 2020. A net of an additional 114 COVID patients were also admitted to the hospital Wednesday, for a total of 1,676. The continued increase prompted Dr. Robert Fogerty, the director of bed resources at Yale New Haven Hospital, to predict that state hospitals could exceed 2020s peak hospitalization figure within the next two weeks. State officials reported Thursday that 7,612 new COVID-19 infections were reported for students over the last week, along with 2,338 staff members. The last week before winter break, state data showed 3,691 students and 742 staff reported new infections, which made for a significant jump from one week to another. Still, Gov. Ned Lamont reiterated this week his commitment to keeping schools open for in-person learning. If I have a message for you, its: 24 percent infection rate is lousy and it may get worse before it gets better. But we have the tools in place provided you take advantage of the tools, the masks, the vaccinations and then the testing we have the tools to keep you going safe and keep going about your lives, Lamont said at a Tuesday press conference. Schools in some other districts have similarly opened on a delay, while Ansonia opted to cancel school for the week as it dealt with staffing shortages. Lamont and the state Department of Education have opted to not allow school districts to teach remotely. Only students who test positive are allowed to learn from home on their laptops. I am going to do everything I can to keep kids in the classroom safely, Lamont said. Theres nothing that compares to a great teacher in the classroom. Danbury teachers union president Erin Daly, however, warned last month that things are not good when it came to staffing and COVID-19. Our teachers are limping along to try and make it to the winter break due to severe staffing shortages, increased responsibilities, and the uptick of student and staff COVID cases, she said. State officials also issued new guidance for school districts this week tied to COVID-19. The guidance, which Danbury planned to implement, shortened quarantine to five days of isolation instead of 10 and ended contact tracing in schools. While Walston said the abrupt closure of schools created an additional burden for families, the Danbury superintendent said he appreciated the flexibility under these difficult circumstances. We will continue to keep you updated on staffing, transportation, and weather-related decisions to the best of our ability, he said. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few Curipamba at the newly identified Agua Santa volcanogenic massive sulphide system (VMS) within the Curipamba district, CREG-011 intersected 3.35 metres of 0.76% copper, 1.39 g/t gold, 4.29% zinc, 12.5 g/t silver, and 0.17% lead including 1.40 metres of 1.58% copper, 2.67 g/t gold, 31.20% zinc, 55.0 g/t silver, and 1.01% lead at the newly identified Agua Santa volcanogenic massive sulphide system (VMS) within the Curipamba district, CREG-011 intersected 3.35 metres of 0.76% copper, 1.39 g/t gold, 4.29% zinc, 12.5 g/t silver, and 0.17% lead including 1.40 metres of 1.58% copper, 2.67 g/t gold, 31.20% zinc, 55.0 g/t silver, and 1.01% lead Drilling on the Agua Santa target completed 11 drill holes totaling 2,818 metres Pijili the Partners are drill ready on a new porphyry target called El Pato the Partners are drill ready on a new porphyry target called El Pato Santiago target generation ahead of the initial minimum 2,500 m drill program is complete, with drilling planned for Q1 2022. The first hole is expected to twin historical Newmont drill hole FUD-001 that intersected 323.09 metres, grading 0.23% copper and 0.40 g/t gold (see June 15, 2020 news release) and deepen to test the MobileMT geophysical anomaly Curipamba Project Update Regional drilling on the Agua Santa target (Figure 1) started mid-June 2021 and completed on October 3, 2021 with 11 drill holes having been successfully completed totaling 2,818 metres. VMS mineralization was identified in the first drill hole of the work program (CREG-008) designed to test the edge of a Mobile MT ("MMT") airborne geophysical anomaly (Figure 1) that coincided with both favourable geology and surface geochemistry results from prospecting in nearby creek beds (see August 9, 2021 news release). Drill collar locations are summarized in Table 1 at the end of this news release. CREG-011 was a step-out drill hole, collared from the same drilling platform as CREG-008 (see Figure 2) designed to undercut the massive sulphide mineralization on the same drill section. It intersected faulted, but fragmental looking massive sulphide mineralization from 40.35 to 43.70 metres grading, 0.76% copper, 1.39 g/t gold, 4.29% zinc, 12.5 g/t silver and 0.17% lead (Table 2). The intercept had a copper-rich top from 40.35 to 40.70 metres grading, 4.76% copper, 0.51 g/t gold, 0.91% zinc, 28.0 g/t silver, and 0.03% lead, and a zinc-rich base from 41.62 to 42.30 metres grading, 0.37% copper, 5.67 g/t gold, 19.92% zinc, 39.3 g/t silver and 0.77% lead (Table 2). Table 2: Drill results for CREG-011 Drill Hole (1) From (m) To (m) Thickness (m) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Pb (%) CREG-011 40.35 43.70 3.35 0.76 1.39 4.29 12.5 0.17 including 40.35 40.70 0.35 4.76 0.51 0.91 28.0 0.03 including 41.62 42.30 0.68 0.37 5.67 19.92 39.3 0.77 (1) This is an early-stage exploration project, meaning geological modeling has not determined the orientation of stratigraphy to accurately determine an approximate true thickness for lithologies and mineralization An interesting feature of CREG-011 is a wide, low-grade, sulphidized section of the host strata in the hanging wall of the faulted massive sulphide mineralization from 29.75 to 40.35 metres grading, 0.10% copper, 0.68 g/t gold, 0.26% zinc, 2.2 g/t silver, and 0.04% lead. This low-grade intercept suggests the hydrothermal system continued to exhaust mineralized fluids after the deposition of the massive sulphide mineralization. Further review is being undertaken to assess possible vectoring using data from adjacent drill holes. CREG-009 was a step-out drill hole, collared 82 metres to the north-northeast of CREG-008 (see Figure 3) and although it intersected similar volcanic stratigraphy to CREG-008, it appears to have pierced the favourable VMS horizon hosting the massive sulphide mineralization (see August 9, 2021 news release), CREG-009 only intersected highly sulphidized, geochemically anomalous mafic volcaniclastic rocks. The best mineralization intersected in CREG-009 is related to a fault zone from 170.18 to 171.26 metres, grading 1.16% copper, 0.05 g/t gold, 0.01% zinc, and 1.14 g/t silver. CREG-010 was a step-out drill hole, collared 47 metres to the southwest of CREG-008 (see Figure 4) and although it intersected similar volcanic stratigraphy to CREG-008 and CREG-009, like CREG-009, it appears to have pierced the favourable VMS horizon hosting the massive sulphide mineralization (see August 9, 2021 news release) but only intersected wide, highly sulphidized, geochemically anomalous section of mafic volcaniclastic rocks. Mineralization was intersected from 41.00 to 52.04 metres, grading 0.09% copper, 0.20 g/t gold, 0.25% zinc, and 1.7 g/t silver. A narrow section of higher-grade material occurs from 44.50 to 45.12 metres, grading 0.88% copper, 1.32 g/t gold, 2.26% zinc, 14.8 g/t silver and 0.01% lead. The Partners continue to wait for analytical results to be completed and released from the laboratory for regional drill holes CREG-012 to CREG-018. It is understood that BV laboratory is experiencing a significant increase in through volume that is resulting in longer than expected delays for its clients to receive geochemical results. These delays are unfortunately hampering assessment and the interpretation of exploration programs including the relationship of any drill hole results to two prospecting showings of bedrock, fault-controlled VMS mineralization at Agua Santa. The laboratory delays are creating a major challenge for consistent exploration news flow. Once data from drilling and surficial geochemical sampling has been returned from the laboratory and passed the Partners' internal QAQC protocols, the results will be disclosed. Regional drill holes at El Panecillo, east of El Domo (CREG-003, CREG-005, and CREG-006), and at Selva Alegre (CREG-007) did not yield any significant results, although they intersected known strata in the volcanic edifice known to host the El Domo VMS deposit (Figure 1). Further assessment of the geochemistry is ongoing to determine if there are possible exploration vectors present that can be used for follow-up exploration work. Pijili Project Update During the second half of 2021, exploration activities continued to follow up on target generation results on the Mercy, Rosa de Oro, and Carmen de Pijili concessions that make up the Pijili project. Field activities included prospecting, geological mapping, hydrothermal alteration studies, and structural mapping that focused on the paragenetic sequencing of the veining and its link to possible epithermal and porphyry systems known to occur regionally. On the Rosa de Oro and Carmen de Pijili concessions, the technical staff focused their work on the four high-priority targets called El Pato, Rosa de Oro, Naranjos and Papagayo discussed in the April 9, 2021 news release. Table 3 summaries total samples collected to date on Pijili project concessions supporting target generation and drill platform spotting. Copper and gold rock geochemistry is presented in Figures 5 and 6 respectively, and copper and gold soil geochemistry is presented in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. The technical team has concluded that El Pato is ready for final drill targeting, as it is the highest-ranking target on these two western concessions for Pijili project. The Partners have scouted drill platform locations for the El Pato target while planning and budgeting is being conducted for potential drilling in the first half of 2022. Work at the Mercy concession finished in June 2021 with the completion of sampling over the newly discovered Ensillada porphyry system (see April 20, 2021 news release). Sampling included a detailed review of a newly established section of gravel road constructed through the Ensillada porphyry system by a local artisanal miner to access their property. All work since the completion of drilling and the discovery of the Ensillada porphyry system has confirmed the presence of a large hydrothermal system that remains open to the north, northeast and east. Copper and gold rock geochemistry is presented in Figures 9 and 10 respectively, and copper and gold soil geochemistry is presented in Figures 11 and 12, respectively. The technical team continues to review results to plan a follow-up exploration budget for 2022. Table 3: Total sample summary for Pijili project Concession Rock Samples Soil Samples Stream Sediment Samples Drilling Samples Lithogeochemistry and Petrographic Samples Mercy 708 984 14 3,544 142 Maria (artisanal) 74 13 - - - Rosa de Oro 360 563 13 - - Carmen de Pijili 734 525 16 - - QAQC 230 298 - 569 - (1) All samples compiled in this table were collected between 2017 and present day by the Partner's technical team Santiago Project Update Technical crews have finished prospecting and geological mapping the entire Santiago concession, producing the first unified geological and hydrothermal alteration map (Figures 13 and 14). The target generation work has collected 1,053 rock samples bringing the total number of samples to 1,148 between 2017 and 2021. This is in addition to the 760 historical rock samples collected by Silex Ecuador S.A. (see June 2020 news release). Once data from the rock sampling has been returned from the laboratory and passed the Partners' internal QAQC protocols, the results will be disclosed. The principal target area at Santiago has coincident favourable geological and hydrothermal alteration suggesting a high-sulphidation porphyry system denoted by extensive quartz-alunite alteration, coincident historical geochemical anomalies for copper and gold over 2,200 metres by 600 metres, and a geophysical airborne MobileMT signature with both a low frequency apparent conductivity geophysical and resistivity anomaly of approximately 3,000 by 2,000 metres and TMI-RTP magnetic low of approximately 2,000 by 1,500 metres that is encircled by areas of higher magnetic response (see June 15, 2020 news release). The magnetic low is suggestive of magnetic mineral destruction from hydrothermal alteration. This principal target is also coincident with historical drilling by Prospection and Newmont; however, a 3D review indicates that due to the short drill hole lengths of that era, these two historical drilling programs do not provide an explanation for the large MobileMT geophysical anomaly, which suggests that additional, deeper drilling is warranted. The Partners plan on twinning FUD-001 (Newmont drill hole) in Q1 2022, as part of a 2,500-metre drilling program. This program was delayed to accommodate additional community relations and social work with stakeholders that includes but is not limited to the Ecuadorian government and Indigenous leadership. Twinning Newmont's FUD-001 drill hole is critical in not only validating their historical intersection of 323.09 metres, grading 0.23% copper and 0.40 g/t gold, but also examining the deeper MobileMT anomalies (see June 15, 2020 news release). Technical Information and QAQC The three Ecuadorean exploration projects (Curipamba, Pijili, and Santiago) are being managed and reviewed by Vice President Exploration, Jason Dunning, M.Sc., P.Geo., a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Salazar staff collect and process samples that are securely sealed and shipped to Bureau Veritas ("BV") in Quito for sample preparation that includes crushing and milling to prepare pulps that are then split for shipment to their facility in Vancouver, Canada for analysis. All assay data have undergone internal validation of QAQC; noting there is an established sampling control program with blind insertion of assay blanks, certified industry standards and sample duplicates for the Curipamba project. A QAQC program is also in place at BV and includes insertion of blanks, standards, and duplicate reanalysis of selected samples. BV's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999. At BV, samples from regional drilling have silver and base metals analyzed by a modified ore grade 34-element aqua regia technique with ICP-ES finish. Gold is analyzed by fire assay fusion with AAS finish. Overlimit protocols are in place for gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. Qualified Person The technical information of this news release has been reviewed and verified as accurate by Mr. Jason Dunning, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President Exploration for Adventus, a non-Independent Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43-101. About Adventus Adventus Mining Corporation is an Ecuador focused copper-gold exploration and development company. Its strategic shareholders include Altius Minerals Corporation, Greenstone Resources LP, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., and the Nobis Group of Ecuador. Adventus is advancing the Curipamba copper-gold project through a feasibility study, while continuing to explore the broader 215 square kilometre district. In addition, Adventus is engaged in a country-wide exploration alliance with its partners in Ecuador, which has incorporated the Pijili and Santiago copper-gold porphyry projects to date. Adventus also controls an exploration project portfolio in Ireland with South32 Limited as funding partner. Adventus is based in Toronto, Canada, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ADZN and trades on the OTCQX under the symbol ADVZF. About Salazar Salazar Resources Limited is focused on creating value and positive change through discovery, exploration, and development in Ecuador. The team has an unrivalled understanding of the geology in-country and has played an integral role in the discovery of many of the major projects in Ecuador, including the two newest operating gold and copper mines. Salazar Resources has a wholly owned pipeline of copper-gold exploration projects across Ecuador with a strategy to make another commercial discovery and farm-out non-core assets. The Company actively engages with Ecuadorian communities and together with the Salazar family it co-founded The Salazar Foundation, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable progress through economic development. The Company already has carried interests in three projects. At its maiden discovery, Curipamba, Salazar Resources has a 25% stake fully carried through to production. At two copper-gold porphyry projects, Pijili and Santiago, the Company has a 20% stake fully carried through to a construction decision. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This press release contains "forward -looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information herein includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events, or developments that Adventus and Salazar expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future. Although Adventus and Salazar have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Adventus and Salazar undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Table 1: Drill Collar Information (UTM Datum Provisional South American 1956, Zone 17) Hole ID EAST NORTH ELEV AZIMUTH DIP DEPTH COMMENT CREG-008 691805 9851410 448 270 -50 323.90 Successfully completed per design CREG-009 691855 9851475 445 270 -50 258.35 Successfully completed per design CREG-010 691778 9851372 453 270 -50 284.90 Successfully completed per design CREG-011 691805 9851410 448 270 -85 242.45 Successfully completed per design CREG-012 691908 9851586 460 270 -50 284.55 Successfully completed per design; results pending CREG-013 691859 9851410 420 270 -85 203.25 Successfully completed per design; results pending CREG-014 691700 9851397 459 270 -50 242.40 Successfully completed per design; results pending CREG-015 691698 9851397 459 90 -85 208.85 Successfully completed per design; results pending CREG-016 691840 9851781 499 270 -50 261.40 Successfully completed per design; results pending CREG-017 691765 9852359 644 105 -70 230.00 Successfully completed per design; results pending CREG-018 691851 9851853 509 125 -62 278.40 Successfully completed per design; results pending SOURCE Adventus Mining Corporation For further information: from Adventus, please contact Christian Kargl-Simard, President and Chief Executive Officer, at +1-416-230-3440 or [email protected] Please also visit the Adventus website at www.adventusmining.com and LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/adventus-mining-corporation; For further information from Salazar, please contact [email protected] Related Links https://www.adventusmining.com/ Notable insights in the report include: How IBM deploys AI and blockchain-based solutions to build a more transparent and low-carbon supply chain. deploys AI and blockchain-based solutions to build a more transparent and low-carbon supply chain. Intelligent lighting, rainwater collection and energy derived from cooking oil reduce 19 per cent of GHG emission across Swire Properties' portfolio. portfolio. Engineering firm Jacobs helps the city of London analyze billions of data points to model a transport system with 80 per cent of trips using zero-carbon modes. helps the city of analyze billions of data points to model a transport system with 80 per cent of trips using zero-carbon modes. How Tata Power 's rooftop solar monitoring and management system helps customers in over 90 Indian cities produce the equivalent of 258 barrels of oil through renewable energy. The commitments made during the November UN COP26 climate change meeting will reshape the agenda for global business. An expected acceleration of activity to address climate points toward net-zero emissions as an organizing principle for business. The scale of the climate emergency requires organizations in every industry to mobilize now to boost efficiency. Digital technology presents the straightest path to achieve the ambitious targets outlined in the COP26 agreement. "The outcomes of COP26 underline the urgent need for businesses to take ownership of sustainability and work towards becoming more energy efficient now," says Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric. "The next decade will be the one where digital technology puts sustainability ambition into action. With 70 per cent of emissions reduction achievable with existing, proven and competitive technologies, this report is testament to how organizations can apply the digital tools of today to help us arrive at the net-zero future the planet depends on." ______________________________ 1 Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute, International Energy Agency Advanced Artificial Intelligence and machine learning bolster sustainability Unlocking a sustainable future: Why digital solutions are the key to sustainable business transformation features useful case studies from businesses and institutions, including Swire Properties, Equinix, IBM, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Jacobs, Singapore Management University, Tata Power, and the University of Oxford. It illustrates how these organizations have broken ground on digital efficiency, with key stakeholders relaying their digital sustainability experience. By integrating human and machine intelligence, the companies featured have capitalized on the ability of algorithms and high-powered computing to create change in essential areas such as energy use, city design, resource consumption, supply chain efficiency, and power generation. Businesses view digital solutions as crucial in balancing environmental and societal responsibilities Increased expectations to achieve tangible sustainability gains has raised the bar for businesses. With COP26 emphasizing the need for governments and businesses to be held accountable, progressive companies are fast recognizing that a more sustainable future is crucial to ensuring the long-term viability of their business. For example, Swire Properties embarked on a long-term decarbonization trajectory focused on reducing the intensity of GHG emissions within its portfolio. Achieving this entailed investment in digitally efficient measurement tools and a partnership with Schneider Electric to model the energy efficiency of its buildings, resulting in a 19 per cent GHG reduction across their portfolio. Companies stand to gain by viewing sustainability and digitalization as connected transformations Digital technology investments can create significant business value when deployed with the right partner to drive momentum. With the pandemic confirming the importance of digitization for business continuity, the need for a robust, energy-efficient future has never been more apparent. This is also signified by companies such as IHG Hotels & Resorts, who supports its franchise partners around the globe to measure and manage their environmental impact using an innovative online platform. Going a step further, the company now has two hotels making strides to decarbonize, with a clear roadmap helping them navigate toward net-zero based on modeling and carbon impact assessments. Ranked the world's most sustainable corporation by media and research organization Corporate Knights in 2021, Schneider Electric has played a leading role in developing energy-efficient digital solutions for its customers, including the case studies described in this report. Connected, open and digital technology creates business advantages and provides tangible gains in efficiency and business resilience. This helps customers jointly address their twin mandates to deliver for the environment and shareholders. Schneider's top thought leadership content, including reports like Unlocking a sustainable future: Why digital solutions are the key to sustainable business transformation, can be found on the newly launched Schneider Electric Insights website. About Schneider Electric Schneider's purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values. www.se.com Discover the newest perspectives shaping sustainability, electricity 4.0, and next generation automation on Schneider Electric Insights Hashtags: #LifeIsOn #BuildingsOfTheFuture #IndustriesOfTheFuture #SustainabilityForAll #PartnershipsOfTheFuture SOURCE Schneider Electric Canada Inc. For further information: Media Relations: Edelman, on behalf of Schneider Electric, Shae Pollock, [email protected] Related Links http://www.schneider-electric.com New Delhi, Jan 6 (UNI) Delhi Police arrested a 21-year old student on Thursday in connection with an app defaming Muslim women, and said he was the real mastermind behind the social media account, which had illegally put up photographs of women to show that they were on "auction". This is the fourth arrest in the case. A 21 year-old engineering student from Bengaluru, an 18 year-old woman and 21-year-old student, both from Uttarakhand, have already been arrested in the case. While Mumbai police had earlier said the woman arrested from Uttarakhand was the 'mastermind' behind the app, Delhi Police said the man arrested by them from Jorhat, Assam, was the creator of the app. VVIP convoy at a dead stop is extremely vulnerable to snipers, bombers etc. It is open to mobs of unruly protestors who might try to overwhelm the vehicle. The breach at border region makes it even more dangerous with threats from Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modis convoy was brought to a halt by protestors on January 5, Wednesday at Moga-Ferozepur Highway. PMs cavalcade was blocked 30 km from India-Pak border and was in plain sight for 20 minutes. As per a number of articles that have flooded social media in the past couple of days, it is evident that SFJs Pannu and Co was planning this. Yet the breach took place. Hence, isnt it high time to nab people who orchestrated it and are behind the major security lapse. Who are responsible for PMs security? It is the responsibility of the local police to sanitise the entire route. SPG allows PM to move only after a go-ahead from local police. If route changes, contingency plan is always made in advance and state informed. Three days Why is the breach worrying? VVIP convoy at a dead stop is extremely vulnerable to snipers, bombers etc. It is open to mobs of unruly protestors who might try to overwhelm the vehicle. The breach at border region makes it even more dangerous with threats from Pakistan. Ferozepur has in the past reported cases of small arts flown in by drones from Pakistan. The state alerted in advance about agitating farmers occupying the highway. Punjab police was required to make logical and security arrangements. The big question then arises who is plotting a 1984 redux. If we compare the events that unfolded in 1980s, we will find similarities to the present Punjab. From sacrilege attempts, ludhiana court blast after sacrilege, demands of Presidents rule and attempt to pit Hindus vs Sikhs. The fact that something like this was being planned can be seen in multiple articles and warnings. A case in example is of SFJ offering to show shoes to PM Modi 4 days ago. SFJ offered $100,000 to show the shoe to PM Modi. If Pannu & co were orchestrating it from UK, then who is the mole in India? When the farmer unions had given an open call to protest, how was the state police so oblivious? Who was the coordinator of farmers protest? Is it not the responsibility of the state police to secure the perimeter when PM travels? Did the protestors know about the PMs route? If yes, who informed them? Who was the insider who allegedly leaked the information on PMs movement? Why did the Punjab police not use force to remove protestors from PMs route? Are state forces of Punjab compromised and finally how did the protestors manage to strategically place themselves in PMs route? As the number of COVID-19 cases in India continues to rise, the country announced 90,928 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, January 6, up from 58,097 cases on Wednesday. In the past 24 hours, 325 people have died in the country. COVID-19 instances are currently active in 2,85,401 people. The total number of Omicron cases in the country is 2,630, with Maharashtra and Delhi reporting the most instances. According to the government, Maharashtra has recorded the most Omicron cases (797) followed by Delhi (792). (465). Rajasthan (236), Kerala (234), Karnataka (226), Gujarat (204), Tamil Nadu (121), Telangana (94), Haryana (71), Odisha (60), Uttar Pradesh (31), Andhra Pradesh (28), West Bengal (20), Madhya Pradesh (9), Uttarakhand (8), Goa (5), Meghalaya (4), Chandigarh (4), Uttarakhand (8), Goa (5), Meghalaya (4), Chandigar (3). Jammu and Kashmir (3), Andaman and Nicobar (2), Assam (2), Puducherry (2), Punjab (2), Himachal Pradesh (3), Ladakh (3), and Manipur (1) are the other states and union territories reporting Omicron instances. The first Omicron-related death in the nation was verified by the Centre on Wednesday: a 74-year-old man with comorbidities died of the virus last week in Rajasthans Udaipur. Meanwhile, Satyendar Jain, the Delhi Health Minister, stated on Thursday that the national capital is expected to see 14,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with the daily positive rate rising to roughly 14%. Satyendar Jain, speaking at the press briefing, stated, Today, Delhi is expected to see 14,000 new COVID cases, bringing the daily positive rate to roughly 14%. In Delhi, no known deaths have been linked to the Omicron strain of COVID-19. On a daily basis, the Delhi government conducts around 90,000 tests. Meanwhile, the quarantine time for COVID-19 positive patients in home isolation in the national capital has been shortened from 14 days to 7 days. The Delhi government has raised the number of oxygen and ventilator beds in both private and public hospitals, according to the Health Minister. Delhi being the capital of the country has been the first to implement maximum regulations, it doesnt seem like a lockdown is needed right now, he added of COVID-19 restrictions. In a major breach of PMs security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday was stuck on Moga-Ferozepur highway for almost 20 minutes. As the politics over the matter intensifies, we should not ignore the fact that something like this was being planned was plain public knowledge, yet it was not averted. In the backdrop of this, Sikhs For Justices Gurpatwant Singh Pannu released a video stating that Khalistanis are ready to secede Punjab from India. He goes ahead to say, The Free Khalistan Referendum movement began on January 5 when Tirange wale (Indians) fled from Punjab to Delhi while Khande and Kesri wale (Sikhs) forced Indias PM Narendra Modi to flee Punjab. This points out to the fact that the disruption was not merely an accident. Looking at the series of events, Moga-Ferozepur highway near Piarenana village was clear till 11 AM on Wednesday. 50 farmers led by BKU leader Surjeet Singh Phool arrived and blocked the road. The BKU leader took the help of local villagers to block the road. Meanwhile, the Punjab police chose not to exercise force to remove the protestors. PMs cavalcade was stuck on top of a flyover in plain sight around 1:30 PM for 20 minutes, 30 kilometres from the India-Pakistan border. The protestors came as close to 150 m from PMs vehicle. SPG got its vehicles to park themselves strategically to surround PMs car. It is also noteworthy that the area is always on high alert due to detection of drones and tiffin bombs in the past. Thus, the 100 Km Moga-Ferozepur highway was approved as a contingency route in case PM was not able to fly from Bathinda to Ferozepur. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi denied the allegations of any security breach of the Prime Minister saying that he did it have any information about the change of route of the PM. Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], January 6 (ANI): The Punjab government has constituted a high-level committee to probe the security lapses that occurred during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Ferozepur. The committee will submit its report in three days. An official spokesperson of the Chief Ministers Office on Thursday said that the committee would comprise Justice (Retd) Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice Anurag Verma. The committee shall submit its report within three days, added the spokesperson. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. The Home Ministry said in a statement that PM Modi landed at Bathinda on Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. The statement said that when the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. The Prime Minister proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police. Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Ministers convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes.This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister. The Prime Ministers schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready, the statement said. Also in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport, it added. It said only Punjab police knew the precise route of the PM and never has such police behaviour been witnessed.The Home Ministry has taken cognizance of the serious security lapse and has sought a detailed report from the Punjab government. The state government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action. As per the former DGP, this is the first time the Prime Minister of the country has had to return due to a severe security violation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stuck on a flyover in Punjab for 15-20 minutes on Wednesday after farm protestors stopped his cavalcades progress on his approach to the National Martyrs Memorial at the Hussainiwala border crossing with Pakistan. As the Prime Minister returned to New Delhi after cancelling a planned visit to Ferozepur, where he was to lay foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 42,750 crore and address a rally, the Ministry of Home Affairs requested a detailed report from the Punjab government, asking it to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action. Meanwhile, the event sparked a significant political spat, with the BJP alleging that the Punjab government tried to physically injure the prime minister, while other parties criticized the state administration over the law-and-order issue. On the defense, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi rejected any security breach or political motivation during a news conference, saying his administration was ready for an investigation. Following this occurrence, attention has once again been drawn to the protection of the Prime Minister and other VVIPs, as well as the agencies responsible for it and how security details are prepared. Now, according to officials in the Indian government, only the Punjab Police were informed of the PMs itinerary. Therefore, the state police, according to the former MP DGP, are entirely to blame for the tragedy. The DGP should have kept a close eye on how the state police handled the PMs visit. The state police are responsible for keeping the road route secure for the PMs journey, hence the DGP should have deployed extra force using state resources, according to the former DGP. As per the former DGP, this is the first time the Prime Minister of the country has had to return due to a severe security violation. He went on to say that the Punjab Polices participation in this case was inadequate and a failure of the intelligence agencies. It is also noteworthy that the demonstrators appeared to have been well-informed of PM Modis travel, whereas the Punjab Police and the state administration claimed they were unaware of the protesters position on the highway. So far, no action has been taken against any police officers, and Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi has stated that no action would be done against the demonstrators. NEW HAVEN Patricia Araque struck proverbial gold Wednesday at the CVS on Whalley Avenue: she found a take-home COVID-19 test. It was the only one of six area pharmacies that had them in stock that day when a reporter visited them between the late morning and the early afternoon. We are out of COVID tests, a sign posted to the pharmacy counter at the Church Street CVS read. We dont know when our next shipment will be. We also dont know who does have them. Before visiting the Whalley Avenue CVS, Araque said she tried the Walgreens down the road, which also was out of tests. She has been trying to get tested since before Christmas just in case, she said. With so many people getting sick, it is hard to tell who has a cold and who has COVID, she said. Araque tried walk-in testing at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, she said, but lines were too long. The first time it was like 200 people in front of me, she said. Its really tough. Regardless, Araque was going to try again because she worries about the accuracy of the at-home test kit, she said. A short time later and several miles away, Jasmin Rodriguez pulled up to the CVS on lower Dixwell Avenue in Hamden after striking out at the towns nearby Walgreens. Theres nowhere to find (tests) online, she said. Everywhere you call, theres a long hold line. Rodriguez had tried looking for a testing appointment, too also without any luck. I tried every Walgreens in the area, she said, referring to an online system that lets users see where appointments are available. While Rodriguez was not worried that she had COVID, she said, she wanted to get tested as a precaution. She has a child who attends school, and she did not want to risk getting anyone sick, she said. But Rodriguez would not find her test at the Hamden CVS. Like so many others locations, the store did not have any. Meanwhile, customers were leaving the Spring Glen Walgreens on Whitney Avenue empty-handed. For Skye Wellington, the store was one of many she had visited that day. I went to two Targets, a Walmart and then Ive been to most of the CVSes in the area, she said. My little brother has COVID, and actually no one in the house has been able to get tested except for him. While Wellington tried to schedule a test, she said, she did not find appointments available until Jan. 13. I cant work right now, because I cant get a test, so it would really help, she said about finding one. Around the same time, Etkin Tekin walked into the Walgreens only to walk right back out again. He had no reason to believe he had COVID-19, he said, so getting a test was not urgent. Still, Etkin sought one out of an abundance of caution, he said. I think if push comes to shove, Ill just schedule (a test), he said. Its more of a peace of mind thing. Asked whether he had found available appointments, he said there were some available, but not in the immediate area. You have to be willing to drive, he said. But for those without a car, finding a test locally right now means a long wait or a lot of luck. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com Connecticuts model for licensing businesses in its nascent recreational cannabis market is fairly unique since entering the lottery requires information from applicants thats not pre-reviewed, a state spokesperson said. Connecticut also doesnt have a cap on the number of licenses it can issue, unlike many other states, said Kaitlyn Krasselt, spokesperson for the state Department of Consumer Protection. This is intended to allow the market to grow at a measured pace and promote the success of the new businesses established, Krasselt said. The method employed by Connecticut was not specifically modeled after one state, but instead was developed after consideration and analysis of other adult-use state application processes. While other states, such as Illinois and Rhode Island, have lottery systems, they are not operating quite the same as Connecticuts. Connecticut announced Tuesday that it will open on Feb. 3 its first 90-day application period for retailers and disproportionately impacted area cultivators. Application periods for other license types will open on a rolling basis. Attorney Michelle Bodian said shes already had several clients reach out to her about working on their applications to start a business in Connecticut. Bodians firm, Vicente Sederberg LLP, focuses on cannabis-related issues. Bodian said shes excited to see the opportunities the new market will offer in Connecticut and encouraged applicants to remain patient if they are not selected in the first lottery round. Dont be discouraged, given the fact that this is a lottery and theres only so much control you can have, Bodian said. This is going to be a robust market for many, many years to come. Most licenses will be awarded through a lottery system. Each of the license types will have two lotteries one for general applicants, the other for social equity applicants. Social equity status is determined by income and whether the applicant has been a resident of an area disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. Half of all lottery-issued licenses will go to social equity applicants. The state plans to conduct multiple lottery rounds every year, Krasselt said. Its become more common over the years for states to create unique systems of awarding licenses by pulling together elements from states with existing markets, said Rick Garza, agency director of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. Garza is also first vice president of the Cannabis Regulators Association. All the states have done it differently, Garza said. Theres not really one set of rules or regs that rules the day or may be better than one or the other. Collaboration has improved over the years, and the association was created in part to formalize the process. States work together when they are first getting started and as they encounter new issues, Garza said. Washington, which used to have state-operated liquor stores, decided on the number of cannabis retailers to license in a similar way, based on the population. That state licensed fewer initially, and added more as time went on, Garza said. In November, Garza answered questions and told the Connecticut Social Equity Council about Washingtons experience as one of the first states to legalize recreational cannabis. He said Wednesday that Connecticuts plan to issue a few licenses and add more over time seemed prudent. The number of licenses can have a direct effect on the overall market and price of the product, he told council members in November. You can always open more stores later, right?, he said Wednesday. The Department of Consumer Protection worked with the states Social Equity Council to set the number of licenses it would grant after considering the impact on the marketplace and the operational capacity of the agencies involved in application review, Krasselt said. Several states also have social equity elements to their licensing. Massachusetts, for example, has certain license types set aside for social equity applicants, among other measures to ensure those most impacted by the war on drugs are given a fair chance, said Shawn Collins, executive director of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. Massachusetts also provides free training and technical assistance through its social equity program, according to its website. Connecticuts Social Equity Council approved a plan Tuesday to provide free technical assistance, marking the final step before the state announced the number of licenses it would accept in this first lottery. The two states have several differences in the start-up of licensing. Massachusetts didnt have a lottery system. Instead, applicants first got approval for their businesses from the localities where they wanted to operate, Collins said. Then, they can reach out to the state for a license, Collins said. Working together will remain important, Collins added. It can be difficult for regulators to navigate the cannabis market because the substance is still illegal federally. This has really been a really important, not just a Massachusetts effort, but a regional effort and a nationwide effort, he said. We are all in a way struggling and working through this together. New Delhi, Jan 5 (UNI) Home Minister Amit Shah said the Centre has sought a detailed report on PM's security breach in Punjab, and slammed the Congress government in the state over the incident. "The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a detailed report on todays security breach in Punjab. Such dereliction of security procedure in the Prime Ministers visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed," Shah said in a tweet. "Todays Congress-made happening in Punjab is a trailer of how this party thinks and functions. Repeated rejections by the people have taken them to the path of insanity. The topmost echelons of the Congress owe an apology to the people of India for what they have done," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was going to Ferozepur in Punjab for a public event, had to return after his cavalcade was stopped by protesters on his way to Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala. The PM returned to Bhatinda airport without attending the event, and the Home Ministry said it was a major security lapse. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said he is ready for any probe in the incident, adding that the state government had asked the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to discontinue the visit due to bad weather conditions and protests. Prime Minister Modi was to lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 42,750 crore in Punjab's Ferozepur today. A rally with former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who has founded his own Punjab Lok Congress, was also scheduled. A war of words between BJP and Congress leaders ensued as Congress said Prime Minister did not attend the rally due to the thin crowd at the rally, which was denied by BJP with several leaders slamming the state government for the lapse. UNI AO SHK1949 Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media NEW HAVEN A New Haven man was sentenced to more than four years in prison Wednesday for possessing drugs and a loaded gun while on supervised release, according to federal prosecutors. Ronnell Rogers, 28, was released from prison in July 2019 after serving more than a year for unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, court documents state. Cars and trucks are stranded on sections of Interstate 95 Tuesday Jan. 4, 2022, near Quantico, Va. Close to 48 miles of the Interstate was closed due to ice and snow. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The members of the Niagara Falls City Council pose for a photo after their organizational meeting on Saturday. From left are Traci Bax, Donta Myles, Council Chair John Spanbauer, Kenny Tompkins and David Zajac. For more on Saturdays councils annual New Years Day organizational meeting, pick up Tuesdays Gazette or visit our website. ALBANY Gov. Kathy Hochul used her State of the State speech Wednesday to propose $2.3 billion in tax relief, boost the health care workforce First responders tend to an injured party from the scene of a welfare check on Hyde Park Boulevard early Wednesday afternoon. One person was transported to the hospital in critical condition. (Robshots photo) Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. New Delhi, Jan 6 (UNI) Amid reports that Sri Lanka is preparing to sign an agreement with New Delhi on the Trincomalee oil tank farms, India on Thursday acknowledged, without divulging details, that it is in talks with Colombo for the modernisation of the World War II vintage tanks. Sri Lankan Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila is quoted in Sri Lankan media as saying that Colombo will likely sign an agreement with India next week on sharing the oil tank farm in Trincomalee with Lanka IOC, a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation, following the cabinets nod. Gammanpila told reporters on Tuesday that cabinet approval for the agreement has been obtained and a date for the signing will be decided soon. In response to a query, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, said at a media briefing here, that they have seen reports that the Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved the development of the Trincomalee Tank Farms. Energy security is an important area of our bilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka. We are in consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka for the modernization of the Trincomalee Tank Farms. This will allow for the storage of fuel and will augment bilateral energy security, he added. On reports that inking of the Trincomalee agreement would open up prospects of Sri Lanka getting a $1.5 billion loan from India to tide over its severe cash crunch, the MEA spokesperson referred to the visit of Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa to New Delhi last month. Bagchi said that Basil Rajapaksa had briefed the Indian side on the economic situation in Sri Lanka and his Governments approach in addressing these challenges. Basil Rajapaksa had met Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. However, he could not meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to scheduling problems. The spokesperson said that India has always stood by the Sri Lankan people and Sri Lanka is an important part of our Neighbourhood First policy. During the visit discussions took place on deepening cooperation in areas of food and health security, energy security, balance of payment issues and Indian investments in Sri Lanka, among others. I understand that further consultations are ongoing, he added. According to Sri Lankan media reports, Colombo had asked for a US$400 million swap from the Reserve Bank of India, a US$500 million petroleum credit likely from the Exim Bank of India and a US$one billion food and medicines credit during the visit of Basil Rajapaksa to India in early December. With signing of the Trincomalee oil tank agreement, India is poised to extend emergency Lines of Credit and a currency swap request to economically battered Sri Lanka. Gammanpila told reporters that according to the agreement worked out with India, a majority of the 99 tanks in Trincomalee will be in Sri Lankas control, with 24 under the direct control of state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), while the remaining 61 will be brought under Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd, a joint venture, that will be a subsidiary of the CPC. The CPC will hold 51 percent controlling stake in Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd, with Lanka IOC, a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation, owning the remaining 49 percent. Gammanpila said the chairman of the company, as well as four out of its seven board members will all be appointed by the CPC. The company will be subject to government scrutiny and can be questioned by parliament committees, he said. It will be very much part of the state machinery, he said. Gammanpila said that as a result of the new agreement with India, 85 out of the 99 tanks will be under the control of the CPC, 24 directly and 61 through the subsidiary. The LIOC will manage only 14 tanks. Therefore, regaining the control of Trinco Oil Tank Farm by Sri Lanka is a historical victory, the Minister said. The oil tank farm issue is a sensitive one in Sri Lanka with the opposition alleging that the country's assets are being given away. The Trinco oil tank farm is located on 850 acres of land and originally contained 101 tanks, each with the capacity to hold 12,100 metric tonnes (MT) of oil. Out of the original 101 tanks, two were destroyed by a kamikaze attack during the Japanese air raid on Trincomalee on 9 April 1942 and when a Royal Ceylon Air Force plane crashed in the early 1960s. Of the 99 oil tanks in existence, 14 are already being utilised by the LIOC. The remaining 85 tanks are reported to be in a state of disrepair. The purported agreement between CPC and LIOC will be for the renovation and development of these 85 oil tanks. UNI/RN Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) as ... Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) as a terrorist organisation. The call is coming hours after the federal government gazetted an order designating bandits as terrorists. In a statement on Thursday, Nathaniel Ikyur, chief press secretary (CPS), quoted the governor as saying that the organisation has vowed to cause havoc in Benue. Though the federal governments measures on bandits now seems strong, the security challenges will only be adequately addressed if similar hard position is taken on Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, MACBAN, and the Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) who have vowed and continued to cause mayhem in Benue State and other parts of the country because of the anti-grazing laws, the statement reads. For us in Benue State, the law has come to stay. It is irrevocable. In fact, we have maintained our position that Benue State has no grazing routes, reserves or areas so whatever. It was enacted in good faith for peace and order in the state. It was done among other things to end the incessant farmers/herdsmen clashes in the state. Nigerians have absorbed enough hunger and misery in the hands of the All Progressives Congress (APC) misrule. Or is it possible that Mr. President is not aware that Nigerians are dying from his misrule? Ortom also urged Nigerians to support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP is ready to rescue Nigeria from the insecurity and economic horror placed on Nigerians by the APC, he said, adding that the party is better prepared with laudable programmes on the welfare of Nigerians and to rebuild the nation from the APC tale of woes. The Defence Headquarters has frowned at the habit of wearing military uniforms and accoutrements for electioneering campaign posters by so... The Defence Headquarters has frowned at the habit of wearing military uniforms and accoutrements for electioneering campaign posters by some politicians. The DHQ said campaign posters of some governors dressed in military camouflage uniforms are displayed in noticeable areas in their respective states. This is manifestly illegal and an abuse of the privilege of allowing civilians wear military uniforms during military training exercises, DHQ said. The DHQs stance was contained in a statement signed by Acting Director Defence Information, Air Commodore Wap Maigida. It read in part, It is necessary to restate that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, as a professional institution, remains apolitical and, as such, would not want to be dragged into any form of political bias. Accordingly, it is important to advise politicians and others to desist from the use of military uniforms and accoutrements for political events and other engagements henceforth. Please note, anyone found culpable in this regard would be liable to prosecution. Donald Trump hit back at Joe Biden Thursday, accusing him of political theatre after the US president assailed him in a forceful speech ... Donald Trump hit back at Joe Biden Thursday, accusing him of political theatre after the US president assailed him in a forceful speech marking the anniversary of the Capitol riot. Although Biden did not mention Trumps name, he made clear whom he was talking about in a blistering portrait of a man he said tried to cheat his way out of defeat in the 2020 election. Biden used my name today to try to further divide America, Trump said in a statement. This political theatre is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed, Trump said. In his speech, Biden ripped Trump for spreading a web of lies claiming the 2020 vote count was fraudulent in a bid to hold onto power, and blasted the mob of the Republicans supporters who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent certification of the election result. Trump, who earlier this week cancelled a planned press conference for the anniversary, repeated his claim that the election was rigged. Just look at the numbers, they speak for themselves, the former president said. They are not justifiable, so the complicit media just calls it the Big Lie, when in actuality the Big Lie was the Election itself. Trumps claims of fraudulent voting and vote counts have repeatedly been rejected by the states in question, the Justice Department, and US courts. AFP Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has condemned the attack on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Fede... Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has condemned the attack on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government and the Police over Magodo Estate in Lagos. On Tuesday, a Chief Superintendent of Police told Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu that he and others officers could not vacate the Estate. Call your superiors in Abuja and tell them that the governor is here, as the Chief Security Officer. You dont have any business being in my state and I want you to disengage right now, Sanwo-Olu said. But the police team leader explained that they were there at the instruction of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, through the AGF. I am too small or too low to call them. Your Excellency sir, you can call them sir, the CSP politely responded. Reacting on Wednesday, Southwest Governors lambasted federal authorities and Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). In a strong rejoinder Wednesday night, the AGF reminded them that his office belongs to the Executive arm of the Government, while the Supreme Court belongs to the Judiciary. He said the role of the executive is to maintain law and order in due compliance with rule of law arising from giving effect to the judgment of the apex court of the land. Malami decried their unjustifiable insinuation of impunity over execution of a judgment of the Supreme Court. The issue is regarding a Supreme Court Judgement that was delivered in 2012 long before the coming of President Muhammadu Buharis administration in office at a time when Malami was not a Minister. The judgment was a reaffirmation of the judgments of Court of Appeal and High Court delivered on 31st December, 1993, he said. Nothing that the governors position was a surprise, the AGF called it a vituperation of ulterior motives of some political class who derived pleasure in dragging him to achieve some sinister objectives Malami said Sanwo-Olu openly revealed that he spoke extensively with the Inspector-General of Police and the Honourable Attorney-General, and weve resolved all the issues. The AGF urged the South-West Governors to unravel the circumstances preventing the Lagos State Government from enforcing the court order despite several attempts from 2012- 2015 and so-called settlement initiative started in 2016. He maintained that some of the cardinal pillars of democratic Government are the doctrine of separation of powers and obedience to the rule of law inclusive of Court Orders. It is a common knowledge that execution of the judgment and orders of Courts of competent jurisdiction, and the Court of last resort in the circumstances remains a cardinal component of the rule of law. The office of the Attorney General wonders how maintenance of the law and orders in the course of execution of the judgment of the supreme can be adjudged by imagination of the governors to be unruly, he declared. The statement by Malami added that the sanctity of the rule of law was not a matter of choice. Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, at the State House, presided over a meeting on the Magodo imbroglio. It was held 2... Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, at the State House, presided over a meeting on the Magodo imbroglio. It was held 24 hours after a police contingent deployed from Abuja turned down his directive to leave. In attendance were Judgment Creditors (Shangisha Landlords Association), their lawyers, Lagos Commissioner of Police, officers from FCT Command and Force Headquarters, Magodo Residents Association and government officials. The parley discussed enforcement of the Supreme Court judgement delivered on February 10, 2012, in suit no. SC/112/2002. The resolutions were made public in a statement by the Information Commissioner, Gbenga Omotoso. A committee, to be set up and chaired by Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, will hold talks with the Judgment Creditors on Friday, January 7, 2022. Lagos Surveyor-General, Permanent Secretary Lands Bureau, and Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development are to identify available land within Shangisha. The committee was tasked to identify how the plots will be accessed and whether infrastructural development is necessary. After identification, the government will immediately allocate the land to the aggrieved 549 Judgment Creditors. But in the case there is no available expanse land within the Shangisha village scheme, an alternative will be provided. The gathering concurred that the police will restrain from any conduct or action that may instigate violence or breakdown of law and order in Magodo. They should be keepers of peace and act within the confines of the law always. All the parties have agreed to an amicable resolution of the matter. The meeting ended with Mr. Governor restating his resolve to ensure that peace returns to Magodo and that there is justice for all, Omotoso added. The outcome means the Lagos government and the 549 landlords have stood down from their no retreat no surrender position. In a statement Wednesday night, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, accused the state of playing to the gallery. Malami lampooned Sanwo-Olu and coalition of (South-West) Governors for their unjustifiable insinuation of impunity regarding the execution of a Supreme Court judgement. The AGF recalled that the matter was decided in February 2012, long before the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari administration commenced. The judgment was a reaffirmation of the judgments of the Court of Appeal and High Court delivered on 31st December, 1993, he noted. Malami advised Sanwo-Olus colleagues to find out the circumstances stopping Lagos from enforcing the court order despite several attempts from 2012- 2015 and so-called settlement initiative started in 2016. In a subtle declaration that the governors were fighting a battle already lost, the minister stressed that the sanctity of the rule of law is not a matter of choice. The Nigerian Police Force has released its final list of successful candidates in the ongoing 2021 recruitment exercise. According to an upd... The Nigerian Police Force has released its final list of successful candidates in the ongoing 2021 recruitment exercise. According to an update on its recruitment portal, the successful candidates are to report to designated police colleges for training on January 10, 2022. Those who applied for the job have been urged to visit the official police website to check their names or alternatively visit their various State Command Headquarters, to view the list. The successful candidates according to the update, are to report at their various training centres. Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Command, in a statement by its spokesman, ASP Ramhan Nansel urged successful candidates from the state to report at Police Training School, Nwanune, Benue State, from January 10, 2022, to January 15, 2022, for training. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, says there is no plan by the Federal Government to lay off government... The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, says there is no plan by the Federal Government to lay off government workers. Ahmed said this on NTAs Good Morning Nigeria programme on Thursday. The minister denied claims that the government was planning on sacking workers in order to save funds. She said the President, Muhammadu Buhari, had said repeatedly that no worker would be sacked. The minister, however, said the government would encourage people to leave government jobs by giving them incentives. Ahmed said the government would reduce overheads by ensuring that government agencies are merged. She added, Mr President doesnt want to disengage staff. That is what he has directed from the beginning of his administration. He also directed that we pay salaries. The Federal Government has never failed in paying salaries and he said we must always pay pensions. So, he has been consistent in those directives and we have followed those directives to the letter. When asked how the government would cut personnel costs, Ahmed said, Well, we do hope that at the end of the exercise, some agencies will be merged and it will cut down operational costs. And also we will be able to come up with incentive packages to retrain people and redeploy them in some areas where they are useful. For example, we still have a very high need for teachers so we can retrain people and send them to teach but also incentive packages to exit. Again, that is also money. If you want people to exit you have to pay them. That is an incentive package so that they can go. That is why it is taking a lot of time because it is not easy to decide on this. Everything centres on resources. We need resources and if we had a lot of money, we would just give very beautiful incentive packages and people would exit and go and start their businesses and we would reduce the size of the personnel cost. President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his government took loans from China because the Asian country was willing to help Nigerias infras... President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his government took loans from China because the Asian country was willing to help Nigerias infrastructure. Buhari said this on Wednesday during an interview with Channels Television while defending his governments decision to source loans from China. According to him, anybody that is prepared to come and help Nigerias infrastructure to do the roads, rail and power will be welcomed. Recall that according to data from the Debt Management Office, Nigeria has borrowed $2.02 billion as loans from China from 2015 and the nations debt portfolio from China has risen to $3.40bn as of March 31, 2021. We take that (loans) where it is necessary. I told you now of something, what it used to be between Lagos and Ibadan alone, not to talk of the rest of the country, Buhari said. But we got the Chinese to help us in the rail and the roads, how can we turn that down? If we had turned that down, maybe between Lagos to Ibadan, you will have to walk. Chinese envoy calls for objectivity in Syria chemical weapons issue Xinhua) 10:47, January 06, 2022 UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called for respecting a convention on chemical weapons particularly as it relates to Syria. Noting that the Chemical Weapons Convention is the basis for addressing chemical weapons-related issues, Sun Zhiqiang, counselor of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said certain countries in recent years have completely disregarded the convention's provisions regarding Syria. Sun said certain countries failed to seek consensus and lacked objectivity in their work. "Such acts undermine the authority of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), poison its atmosphere and erode the mutual trust among states parties," he told the Security Council. "China urges the countries concerned to change course and desist from politicizing the work of the OPCW." China also hopes that the OPCW Technical Secretariat and the OPCW director-general will uphold objectivity and impartiality and pursue unity and cooperation among states parties over division and confrontation, he added. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu) Mumbai, Jan 6 (UNI) Toll road firm IRB Infrastructure Developers on Thursday said that it has executed the concession agreement with Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UP EIDA) for the development of the 129 km section between Meerut and Budaun on the Ganga Expressway project. The companys wholly-owned subsidiary Meerut Budaun Expressway has won the Rs 6555 crore contract to be developed on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model for a traffic-linked concession period of up to 36 years, that includes 3 years for construction. Meerut Budaun Expressway, wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has now executed Concession Agreement with Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority for the project of development of access controlled six lane (expandable to eight lane) greenfield 'Ganga Expressway' in Uttar Pradesh on DBFOT (toll) basis under PPP, the company said in a regulatory filing. The project will connect Meerut on the west and Prayagraj on the east of Uttar Pradesh and pass through 12 other districts. IRB is one of the largest private roads and highways infrastructure developers in the country, with an asset base of over Rs 55000 crore across the parent company and two InvITs. Its portfolio includes private and public InvIT, comprising 24 projects, including 18 BOT projects, 4 HAM and one TOT project. UNI PSK GNK 1512 Yes, it should be paid for indirectly through property taxes No, continue the 50-50 split between property owners and the city Yes, but I don't like either of these methods of paying for it Vote View Results Watertown, NY (13601) Today Rain. High 54F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 44F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. After a pandemic hiatus, Carnival normalcy seemed to return to New Orleans on Thursday. Jan. 6 is the traditional start of the Mardi Gras season, and familiar events began to unfold early in the day. The Krewe of Joan of Arc oiled its armor for the season's first parade, a walking procession in the French Quarter. Likewise, the Phunny Phorty Phellows chilled the Champagne to lubricate the group's Twelfth Night streetcar ride down St. Charles Avenue. Along the Uptown parade route, the Rex organization had hung banners heralding its 150th year. And everywhere, upper lips were glistening with sugary frosting from 2022s first batch of king cakes. +4 It's Twelfth Night. Watch, follow live as Joan of Arc kicks off the season of parades The 2022 Carnival season is finally here. That means king cakes, parades, costumes and house floats will soon fill the streets of New Orleans. At Mayor LaToya Cantrells morning Kings Day news conference, held among the oversized float decorations at Kern Studios' Mardi Gras World, she sliced a purple, green, and gold pastry ring and clearly savored her first bite. The taste was probably especially sweet, because last year it fell to Cantrell to forbid parades because of the COVID-19 pandemic coursing through the country. This time around, the mayor promised the big party is on. Despite news that COVID infections hit another daily high in Louisiana on Thursday, the mayor did not equivocate. Without a doubt, we will have Mardi Gras in 2022, she said, to the applause of a gathering of krewe captains, costumers and others. Before the Joan of Arc parade, a group of about 20 marchers, costumed as medieval plague doctors, clustered on a parking lot near Bienville Street. They wore black robes and masks shaped like the beaks of crows, and they carried brooms, which one masker said they would use to sweep the plague away, that merriment may ensue. They said their job was to lead the parade. Asked for their advice, one plague doctor said that herbs are somehow important. Everyone agreed that masks were crucial. Yet another marcher counseled: Keep thee in thine castle! The medieval-themed procession celebrating the French warrior saint's birthday set out at 6:45 p.m. Uptown, a crowd grew near the streetcar barn on Oak Street about 6 p.m. as costumed revelers with the Phunny Phorty Phellows and Funky Uptown Krewe prepared to board cars for a festive trip, shortened this year due to road construction. At her news conference, Cantrell said New Orleans nation-topping vaccination rate has made it possible to restart the world-renowned celebration. We know that Mardi Gras and our Carnival season is good for our soul, the mayor said. While we will have our Mardi Gras 2022, we will always do what is best for our bodies as well. Lets do everything that we know is necessary to keep our people safe. James Reiss III, representative of the venerable Rex organization, reiterated the need for COVID consciousness. It is customary, he said, for Rex, the king of Carnival, to issue a proclamation inviting his subjects from across the country to travel to New Orleans on Mardi Gras. This year, the invitation would come with the request that those visitors be inoculated and masked, Reiss said. +19 Mardi Gras 2023, Predicting where and when the New Orleans parades will roll next year Mardi Gras 2023 takes place on Feb. 21, and the traditional Carnival season starts up a few weeks earlier on Jan. 6. We know that for sure. He Carnival isnt just a celebration, its an industry. And float builder Barry Kern, CEO and president of Kern Studios, made it clear that the restoration of parades will be a boon. No one, Kern said, is more relieved at the arrival of normalcy than he is. Another year without Mardi Gras would have been a big problem, he said. Of the several speakers at the news conference, Elroy James, president of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, stole the show with some brief but penetrating remarks that, at first, seemed to have nothing to do with parades and parties. James said hed spent the morning listening to talk-radio discussions of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in Washington. Based on what hed heard, the country remained divided and democracy was in jeopardy. But, James said, Carnival demonstrates just the opposite. From New Orleans East to the West Bank, he said, Carnival brings people together for the common good. This event recognizes what democracy is all about, he said. +23 Joan of Arc parade kicks off Mardi Gras season 2022 with plague doctors Jan. 6 Starting 14 years ago, the Krewe of Joan of Arc has presented New Orleans first Carnival parade each season. The medieval marchers will meand If it werent for the coronavirus, Mardi Gras Indian fans would be getting ready for the annual Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indian marches that usually take place over the next few weeks. To stand on the curb watching fantastically colorful, feather-coated figures pass by, to the sound of rattling tambourines and age-old chants, is one of the most singular and spectacular New Orleans experiences. Theres no question about that. The question is, should we be calling them Mardi Gras Indians? Other terms, such as Black Masking Indians and Black Indians are in use as well. The elaborately beaded, feathered suits worn by New Orleans maskers may have been inspired by traditional Native American dress, but they are an expression of African heritage, too. Deciding on the most appropriate label to apply to the custom is complicated. The answer depends on whom you talk to. Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. Its up to your preference, said Bo Dollis Jr., of the Wild Magnolias tribe. All the time that I was coming up, it was always Mardi Gras Indians, he said. After Katrina, when many Mardi Gras Indians had been displaced by the flood, Dollis began hearing other terms, like Black Masking Indians, he said. Those labels may have become more prevalent during the Black Lives Matter era, to emphasize that Mardi Gras Indian masking is an expression of Black culture, he said. Dollis, who is 40, said that the difference in terminology may be generational, with younger people adopting the less well-known terms. But, he said, I was brought up on Mardi Gras Indians. Im more old-school and thats the way I keep it. Queen Dianne Honore Dianne Honore of the Yellow Pocahontas tribe is new to Indian masking. She sewed her first suit last year and debuted it in a small, socially distanced, outdoor gathering on Mardi Gras morning 2021. Honore said she prefers the term Black Indian. The phrase Mardi Gras Indians was applied to the tradition somewhere along the line, because most people only saw Black Indian maskers on Mardi Gras, she said. But the term hasnt always been as prevalent. When she was a child in the 1960s, we said Indians, Honore said. Back then, she said, the maskers were part of close-knit neighborhood communities. She believes the use of the phrase Mardi Gras Indians was part of the popularization of the practice that came later, as the Black Indians suits and songs became more broadly known. Big Chief Dow Edwards Dow Edwards, of the Timbuktu Warriors tribe, said he uses interlocking, interchangeable terms, from Black Masking Mardi Gras Indians to, simply, Mardi Gras Indians. There are many currents flowing with the titles, and I dont think there can be any one definition of the culture, he said. Its like a gumbo, with new things added to it, as people try to define themselves in the moment. Its hard for an outsider to get it right, because we, inside the culture, use different terms, he said. Each tribe has its own individual way of doing it. Edwards, 59, thinks that early on, newspapers described maskers as Indians, then later the phrase Mardi Gras Indians took hold. The label was convenient, but it didnt fit perfectly with the phenomenon, because it didnt acknowledge the Black aspect of the custom. Edwards said that hes heard alternate terms to Mardi Gras Indian being employed more over the past 12 years or so. But the various titles all go back decades. Edwards pointed out that a film titled Black Indians of New Orleans, which is considered the first documentary of the phenomenon, was released way back in 1976. Big Chief Demond Melancon Demond Melancon, of the Young Seminole Hunters, said that the term hed like to see adopted by the public and the press is Black Maskers. Melancon, 42, said that in 1992, when he began masking, You were an Indian. But now, he said, the culture needs to evolve into what it really is. Its been a hidden culture for 250 years and you have to know where it really comes from. A lot of maskers in New Orleans use their suits to pay homage to the Native Americans who provided refuge to freedom-seeking Blacks during the era of slavery. But the masking culture actually comes from Africa via those enslaved people, he said. The narrative needs to change, he said. We need African stories in the schools and we need African stories in the streets. Melancon pointed out that the label Mardi Gras Indians may be instantly understood in New Orleans, but outside of the city and to out-of-towners it can be unclear. We get profiled as Indians, he said. People ask us, What are you, Cherokee? Melancon said hed like to avoid that sort of misunderstanding. +4 Mardi Gras Indian suit appears at site of former Jefferson Davis statue in New Orleans Canal Street commuters heads swiveled on Mardi Gras morning at the sight of a magnificent Mardi Gras Indian suit standing on the spot once oc Big Chief Darryl Montana Darryl Montana of the Yellow Pocahontas tribe, said that use of the term Mardi Gras Indians probably has something to do with the community you came from. We never called ourselves Mardi Gras Indians, said Montana, 65, who has masked in the 7th Ward neighborhood for more than 50 years. They were just called the Indians. The label Mardi Gras Indian wouldnt have made much sense in his community, he said, because the pre-Lenten holiday was called Carnival. The term Mardi Gras was reserved to playfully describe anyone wearing a costume. People would say, I see you, Mardi Gras, he said. But the prefix wasnt applied to Indians. The description Mardi Gras Indian is too narrow, in Montanas view. Since Black maskers take to the streets on St. Josephs night, as well as Mardi Gras morning, why arent they called St. Joseph Night Indians? he asked rhetorically. Montana acknowledges that the term Mardi Gras Indian is convenient and has become broadly understood. The horse is already out of the stable, he said. But he views it as a sort of inauthentic brand name and prefers the term Black Masking Indians. +11 Mardi Gras Indians have tambourines blessed, remember Tootie Montana as Carnival begins Tambourines rattled and popped around the life-size, bronze statue of the late Big Chief Allison Tootie Montana in Armstrong Park on Wednesd Professor Kim Vaz-Deville Kim Vaz-Deville is professor of education and former associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana. She is also the co-curator of the Mystery in Motion: African American Masking and Spirituality in Mardi Gras at the Louisiana State Museum on Jackson Square. Plus, she is a Black Masking Indian with the Golden Feather Hunters tribe. I guess people have to call them something, Vaz-Deville said of the widespread use of the term Mardi Gras Indians. I know it was for identification, but its a term that came about from transculturation, when different marginalized cultures met and new practices formed. The terminology was different in the 1970s, she said. I grew up here, and I remember when they were just Black Indians. The term Mardi Gras Indians is problematic. Were dealing with layers of misnaming, she said. For example, Vaz-Deville pointed out that Native Americans werent really from India in the first place, so the term Indians is commonplace but incorrect. Such misnomers are a continuation of the afterlife of colonialism and imperialism, she said. Vaz-Deville said she prefers the term Black Masking Indian, because its where contemporary practice usage is moving. +20 A Mardi Gras Indian exhibit to be featured at Louisiana State Museum; see dates, ticket prices The shouting and the rattling of tambourines may be absent in 2021, but the spirit of New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians persists. Spirit is the Big Chief Tyrone Casby Sr. Tyrone Casby Sr., of the Mohawk Hunters, serves as secretary of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Council, which represents 15 of the roughly 60 tribes. Casby, 67, said that he and the council prefer the term Mardi Gras Indians. Thats who we were in the 1930s, he said. Casby said he doesnt intend his opinion as a knock on anyone else, but he finds some of the other terms confusing, such as Black Masking Indians. Im already Black, he said, its understood. Casby suggests that fans of the Mardi Gras Indians take an ecumenical approach to describing the custom. When possible, he said, use the term that the individual masker chooses. Ask them what theyd like to be called and call them that, he said. Oldest US World War II veteran dies at 112 : WWII Museum Washington, Jan 6 (UNI) USs oldest surviving World War II veteran, Lawrence Brooks, died at the age of 112, the National WWII Museum said. Brooks, who died on Wednesday morning, was drafted into the US Army at 31 and spent World War II in the predominantly African American 91st Engineer Battalion, which was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines, according to the museum, reports CNN. "As the nations oldest known living veteran, he proudly served our country during World War II, and returned home to serve his community and church," Stephen J. Watson, president and CEO of the National WWII Museum said. As much as we need visitors and their money in New Orleans, Im afraid too many of them might be carrying more than luggage. A group from St. Bernard Parish said it plans to increase pressure to stop a proposed $1.5 billion contatiner ship terminal, after the Port of New Orleans announced this week that it has completed the purchase of 1,100 acres in Violet where it plans to build the facility. About 30 members of the group Save our St. Bernard attended the St. Bernard Parish Council meeting Tuesday night and demanded the council pass resolutions to further study the environmental impact of the terminal and to seek more information from Port Nola. Though council members unanimously adopted the resolutions, the meeting turned testy as frustrated group members accused some of council of not doing enough to oppose the terminal, which they say will bring traffic congestion and pollution and disrupt their way of life. "Why is my organization having to lead the charge on this?" S.O.S. president Bobby Showalter asked council members. "Because the Parish Council and administration is not taking a lead and representing their constituents, even though we have 10,000 signatures on our petition." Though the Parish Council has consistently voted to oppose the container terminal, several members have noted that the council has no jurisdiction over the ports, which are state entities. "We could pass 100 resolutions and it won't matter," Council Chair Richard Lewis said. "We've hired someone to make sure (Port Nola) follows the law, gets the right permits, and so on." But he suggested to the S.O.S. contingent that their next move should be to go to the state Legislature and try and get members there to take action. St. Bernard Council member Joshua Moran noted the promise of 700 jobs to come from the container terminal, called the Louisiana International Terminal. "They already bought the property so let us as a council do our jobs and try and get the infrastructure money to build the roads which would alleviate the traffic," Moran said. A group from the longshoreman union, ILA Local 1422, attended Tuesday's meeting in support of the LIT and murmured in agreement at Moran's comments. But S.O.S. supporters in attendance and on social media have vowed to fight on. On Monday, Port Nola told St. Bernard Parish residents residents in an email that the land purchase had been completed. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "This comes after a year of due diligence, surveying, and ongoing community engagement," the Port Nola email said. "The next step will be the multi-year permitting process through the Army Corps of Engineers, (which) will include many more studies on the impacts, benefits, and infrastructure investments needed to make the container terminal a successful project for all, particularly the St. Bernard community." Port Nola has for years sought to build a downriver port that will be able to handle rapidly growing container volume on ever-larger vessels. As Port Nola CEO Brandy Christian has pointed out, the port's volume has grown but its share of business coming to the Gulf of Mexico has shrunk because of lack of capacity to handle the big ships that cannot make it past the Crescent City Connection upriver. But opponents to the plan in St. Bernard say that alternative container terminals, including one proposed to be built at Plaquemines Port, make more sense as they aren't in populated areas. Showalter's group last month sued Port Nola in state District Court in St. Bernard Parish, asking a judge to stop the LIT, largely on the grounds that it would cause environmental damage, damage culturally significant areas, and disrupt the lives of residents by causing traffic congestion turmoil. "There are several other angles we're working on now," said Showalter. There will be more physical protests and petition gathering events. He said they plan to press state legislators to support their opposition, especially state Rep. Ray Garofalo and Sen. Sharon Hewitt, who represent the parish. So far they haven't taken a firm position, as is the case for both U.S. Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise. "We're trying to set up meetings with the various representatives to try and make them realize that the port is in the wrong place," said Showalter. Other initiatives S.O.S. is taking include seeking the official endorsement and support from groups that include the NAACP and the Sierra Club, as well as lining them and others up to provide expert testimony for the legal proceedings, he said. They are also expecting to get the support of neighborhood organizations in the Lower 9th Ward who would be affected by traffic from the LIT. PosiGen, the 10-year-old New Orleans company that specializes in marketing solar energy systems to lower-income households, has raised $100 million in new financing for expansion. The company said Wednesday that Magnetar Capital, a $13.5 billion investment firm based in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, will lead the latest investment round, which will include PosiGen's existing investors: Emerson Collective, Irradiant Partners, Activate Capital, The Builders Fund, SJF Ventures and The Kresge Foundation. Magnetar will have two directors on PosiGen's board and the company said the money will be used to expand. "The opportunity to scale PosiGen's operations into many underserved markets in the United States is significant," said Eric Scheyer, co-head of Magnetar's energy and infrastructure division, which accounts for about half the fund's investment. PosiGen was founded 10 years ago by Aaron Dirks and Tom Neyhart with the aim of combining energy efficiency services with financing, made possible by state and federal subsidies, to make solar power systems attainable for lower-income households. Dirks left his position as chairman and sold his stake in 2017; Neyhart remains as CEO. PosiGen started raising outside funding about six years ago and had generated nearly $200 million prior to Wednesday's announcement. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The company has expanded from Louisiana into Mississippi, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Florida and now has about 19,000 residential customers under contract. PosiGen says about half those customers are communities of color. The company's business model depends on tax credits, which allow it to partner with banks or other financial institutions to fund installation of solar panels, which are then leased to homeowners. The primary offering is a 20-year, no money down, no escalating lease that doesn't require a minimum credit score or income level to qualify. Combined with PosiGen's energy efficiency services, the objective is to bring bills down substantially, providing savings over and above the leasing costs. However, the environment for solar leasing in Louisiana has turned sour in recent years. In 2015, the Legislature scrapped its generous solar tax credit program, which covered as much as 50% of the first $25,000 spent on a rooftop system. The state credit, combined with the federal government's 30% tax credit, had encouraged many homeowners to go solar. The out-of-pocket cost for a 5-kilowatt system averaged $12,538 to $16,962 in Louisiana in 2019, according to EnergySage, an online solar marketplace. Then two years ago, the state Public Service Commission cut its "net metering standard," lowering how much utility companies had to pay residents with rooftop solar for the power they produced for the grid. Net metering remains alive in New Orleans, where Entergy is governed by the City Council. Staff writer Halle Parker contributed to this story. A Kenner woman has sued Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto and a former deputy who was accused last year of trying to evict her from her apartment illegally during the pandemic. Lopinto's office says the former deputy, Randy McClendon, who has since resigned, went rogue while off duty. The federal lawsuit filed Thursday describes a run-in that Frances Tapps recorded after McClendon rolled up to her curb in a JPSO patrol vehicle in January 2021, aiming to get her to vacate her apartment. Tapps, 39, was eight months pregnant at the time. She said McClendon banged on her front door and window, a firearm at his side, yelling for her to leave. He then pulled his cruiser in front of her drive. OK, youre a Jefferson Parish police, she said, recording the interaction on her phone. I am a private citizen, McClendon responded. Tapps had already called Kenner police, who arrived and told McClendon that he needed to have her formally evicted, a process that involves a constable. The company that owns the triplex where Tapps lived under a federal Section 8 subsidy, HUM Management, hadnt yet filed the court papers. HUM Management also is named as a defendant in Tapps suit. The incident took place amid a federal moratorium on evictions for failure to pay rent. Tenant advocates saw it as an example of extreme measures by some stymied landlords to enlist law enforcement to circumvent the courts. A JPSO spokesperson said in March that the agency expected to discipline McClendon. But McClendon resigned on April 29, and any discipline became a moot point, the spokesperson, Capt. Jason Rivarde, said at the time. Tapps lawsuit describes McClendons actions as an egregious abuse of power, while accusing Lopinto of negligent hiring, retention and supervision. In response, Lopinto's office distanced itself from the former deputy. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "At the time of the incident referenced in this lawsuit, Mr. McClendon was not on duty and was not acting on behalf of the Sheriff's Office," Rivarde said in an email. "The Sheriff's Office will not be defending Mr. McClendon in this legal proceeding as he was not acting with any authority granted by the Sheriff's Office." Tapps' lawsuit, meanwhile, argues that McClendon shouldn't have been on the force. It pointed to his first stint at the sheriffs office, working as a process server at First Parish Court in Metairie. McClendon resigned in 2009 while suspected of skimming nearly $10,000 from parish schools, where he also worked. District Attorney Paul Connicks office later refused the charges, allowing McClendon to rejoin law enforcement. He signed on with the Harahan police force, then moved to the sheriffs office in St. Charles Parish before landing back at JPSO in May 2019, records from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement show. Tapps lawsuit takes aim at Lopinto over what it describes as institutional policies and practices that allowed McClendon to be hired and retained as a deputy, despite the fact that he was a known problem in the office and had previously been arrested for abusing the publics trust. The lawsuit claims that McClendons eviction attempt amounted to an unconstitutional seizure. Tapps said stress from the phony eviction pushed her into early labor. She gave birth in an emergency C-section and has faced severe physiological, emotional and psychological harms," the lawsuit claims. Led by Cooley LLP, a large national firm, the lawsuit is part of a litigation campaign against racially discriminatory policing orchestrated by the ACLU of Louisiana. Through this lawsuit, we intend to hold JPSO accountable for the policies and practices that made it possible for Randolph McClendon to become a member of the law enforcement community and terrorize Ms. Tapps and her family last year," her attorneys said in a statement. "JPSO must answer for the fact that it knew McClendon was a problem, did nothing to stop his flagrant abuse of power, and then allowed him to resign without consequence. Tapps said by phone Thursday that she stayed at the Kenner apartment until November, when she moved out with her family. Mold had built up since Hurricane Ida. She's since bounced around FEMA-funded hotel rooms with her three children, she said. Born days after the bogus eviction, her youngest turns one next week. Im homeless, living in a hotel, Tapps said. It affected me a lot. Im struggling to make it. It seems like I cant get back on top for nothing. Citing the rising threat from COVID, two state courts in New Orleans have halted jury trials until March at the earliest. Orleans Parish Criminal and Civil District courts said in orders this week that jury service will be halted until March, with further updates to come on the courts websites. Those orders came in the wake of soaring COVID case counts in Louisiana tied to the omicron variant. The jail in New Orleans has been no exception to the trend. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that 33 incarcerated people, 57 staffers and 10 employees of the jail's private medical provider have tested positive. Judge: Prosecutors can't probe DA Jason Williams' past tax problems at January trial A federal judge wont let a jury hear specifics about Jason Williams past tax troubles with the Internal Revenue Service when the Orleans Par Both the criminal and civil buildings remain open to the public, although masks are required. Judges have moved some hearings to online video conferencing. Litigants and witnesses in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, 1st City Court and 2nd City Court who have disabilities or COVID-related issues that prevent them from appearing at the courthouse in person should file accommodation request forms, according to the courts order. The disruptions to jury service this month are the latest in a series in New Orleans, which has struggled to conduct trials in the face of the pandemic and Hurricane Ida. Civil District Court held 29 jury trials in 2019, but fewer than a dozen in the first year and a half of the pandemic. Criminal District Court hosted a handful of trials last year, compared to the dozens it typically conducts. Several trials were set for Monday in criminal court. For defendants sitting in jail at the Orleans Justice Center, the delays have translated into longer stints awaiting trial. The average length of stay in the jail rose from 48 days before the pandemic to 81 days last year. With infections widespread among his staffers, Sheriff Marlin Gusman has redirected some deputies from the courts to the jail to ensure security there, an agency spokesman said. +15 Criminal trials are back in New Orleans, but turnover and COVID precautions could snarl pace On Friday evening, Lurline Duncan gathered with loved ones to launch balloons in memory of her son, Gregory Heisser, who was shot to death wit Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The Orleans Public Defenders said the latest suspension of jury trials is a reminder of the need to examine closely who remains in jail. "We have clients -- presumed innocent -- languishing in jail," said Derwyn Bunton, the chief district defender. "One of the most dangerous places during a pandemic. If we shut down trials, then we need to look deeply at the jail population, and get more of our clients safely released. People should not be forced to wait in jail for trials simply because they cannot afford to buy their freedom." In a statement, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said he understood the court's decision. While the suspension of jury trials makes our jobs exponentially harder, increasing safety and delivering justice in New Orleans will remain our top priorities," he said. "I am anxiously awaiting the green light to get back to jury trials so I can try cases side by side with our dedicated trial lawyers." There was no sign Wednesday that jury trials would be suspended at the federal courthouse in New Orleans, although a few high-profile trials set to start this month are being delayed in any case. The coronavirus surge led U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe on Tuesday to delay a trial against five defendants accused of successfully plotting to kill a federal witness, Milton Womack, in 2012. That trial also was scheduled to start Jan. 24, but defense attorneys asked to delay it and federal prosecutors didnt fight the request. Another federal trial, meanwhile, remained on tap to start Jan. 24 before U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter, who issued an order on Tuesday laying out the rules for the trial of Travis Lamont Murray. The Jefferson Parish man faces federal sexual abuse charges. Authorities say DNA tied Murray to the alleged sexual assault of a woman in 2004 while he was serving in the U.S. Navy in Yokosuka City, Japan. An assistant in the chambers of U.S. District Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown said he had no information Wednesday on any plans to suspend jury trials courtwide. Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain, who was convicted on eight sex crime counts late last year, is asking a judge to acquit him or order a new trial, arguing that the guilty verdicts were not supported by evidence. The motions, filed with ad hoc Judge A. Bruce Simpson on Dec. 30, are not an appeal, but they lay a clear roadmap for what arguments Strain's attorney, Billy Gibbens, is likely to bring to an appellate court after he is sentenced by Simpson on Jan. 18. Collin Sims, who prosecuted the case for 22nd Judicial District Attorney Warren Montgomery's office, said he had no comment on the filing. Gibbens could not be immediately reached for comment. Strain, 59, was found guilty on Nov. 8 of four counts of aggravated rape, a charge that carries a mandatory life sentence, two counts of aggravated incest and one count each of indecent behavior with a juvenile and sexual battery. Strain's attorney argues that the judge should acquit Strain because the prosecution presented an "overwhelming amount" of unreliable and inadmissible hearsay evidence. Among other arguments, Gibbens said that prosecutors failed to prove that all of the offenses Strain was charged with happened in St. Tammany Parish, noting that one of the witnesses said he was raped in a mobile fireworks stand located off a highway. "However, his testimony was not sufficiently specific to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the mobile fireworks stand was in the St. Tammany Parish," the motion says. The motion also asks the judge to throw out Strain's guilty verdict on sexual battery and the aggravated incest charge that goes with it on the grounds that the victim testified that he was touched by Strain on the "groin area." Under Louisiana law, sexual battery is the "intentional touching of the anus or genitals," the motion argues, offering a dictionary definition of "groin." If the court doesn't grant the motion for acquittal, Gibbens said that his client should be granted a new trial, arguing that there were numerous errors during the two-week trial that were prejudicial to the defense. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up For example, the defense had subpoenaed three men who had interviewed Mark Finn, one of the people Strain was charged with raping as a child, but the judge agreed that they should not be required to testify. Strain had reason to believe that their testimony would bring to light inconsistencies in Finn's testimony, the motion said, and not allowing them to be called severely impacted his ability to present a defense. This newspaper does not customarily name victims of sex crimes, but Finn has publicly identified himself. The other victim Strain was found guilty of raping, Skip Keen, has been identified as a victim in his guilty plea to federal fraud charges tied to a kickback scheme orchestrated by Strain. Last month, Strain pleaded guilty in that case to one count of bribery involving federal funds. The motion also points to decisions to allow hearsay testimony about Strain's abuse by Finn's therapist as well as family members of victims and law enforcement officers. The motion acknowledges that such statements are allowed if they are consistent with witness testimony and are offered to rebut a claim of recent fabrication, for example. But during Strain's trial such testimony was allowed even before the victims took the stand, which goes beyond the scope of that rule, the motion says. The defense also takes issue with the court's decision to allow the jury to hear the mother of one of the victim's relate what was said in an emotional phone call with her son. The jury also should not have seen text messages between Strain's wife, Lisa, and one of her sisters that "suggest that Mrs. Strain believed the allegations against her husband," the motion said. Someone else's opinion of guilt or innocence is the most prejudicial type of evidence that can be presented to a jury, and in itself warrants a new trial, the motion said. Finally, the defense complained that the jury was not allowed to see text messages and photos that showed an ongoing relationship between Strain and Skip Keen and his family and with one of this other victims. That evidence was "integral to the defense, highlighted extensively in closing and could not be easily shown to the jury in great detail during the trial," the motion said. After the city registered increases in key violent crimes in 2021, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson on Thursday attributed the spikes to national trends, including stressors surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Road rage, domestic violence, street drug use and neighborhood-level feuds fueled an 8% hike in homicides and a 7% one in non-fatal shootings in 2021, Ferguson said, citing his investigators findings throughout the year. I am no medical expert, but I firmly believe stress has played its part, Ferguson said during a news conference at police headquarters. +2 Senior New Orleans official Peter Bowen fired; cops say he threatened them during DWI arrest New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has fired a senior administration official who crashed his pickup truck while allegedly driving drunk in the New Orleans 218 murders last year were not only up from 199 in 2020, but they were also the most since 2004. Meanwhile, shootings jumped from 429 in 2020 to 462 in 2021, overshadowing a decline in overall crime that was driven by an 11% drop in property-related offenses. Ferguson on Thursday said officers are doing their best to disrupt the citys perennial plague of gun violence, seizing 2,066 illegally possessed firearms last year. That figure was up 77% from the 1,165 gun confiscations reported in 2020. Ferguson said his officers had also identified suspects in roughly half of the killings in 2021, and detectives had cleared homicide or cold cases from prior years. But Ferguson said the NOPD remains far from its staffing goal of 1,600 officers, counting on fewer than 1,100 as the agency embarks on the new year. He also said his officers effectiveness will be limited as long as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the local court system, which hasnt been able to stage a murder trial since the coronavirus arrived in earnest in March 2020. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Hurricane Ida in late August has further exacerbated delays. We will need our criminal justice system to do its part in holding these individuals accountable, Ferguson said. We should not only be making arrests we should also be holding these violent criminals behind bars. Last year was the second consecutive year to see an increase in the number of murders reported across New Orleans. The jumps in 2020 and 2021 erased gains made during thee straight years, beginning in 2017, in which they dropped including 2019, which saw the fewest murders in 47 years: 121. Echoing experts, Ferguson said the increases followed trends in other major cities across the U.S. He alluded to how some cities had fared worse than New Orleans. Though he didnt mention them by name, Jackson, Mississippi, and Baton Rouge each set records for homicides last year year. Nothing unique to just New Orleans this is across the country, Ferguson said. An 80-year-old man who helped beat another man to death last month then fled the scene of the crime in a van driven by his granddaughter was jailed Wednesday, according to New Orleans police. Robert Dickens faces a count of second-degree murder in the killing of 51-year-old Anthony Grana on Dec. 13 in the Leonidas neighborhood, investigators wrote in criminal court records. Dickens 20-year-old granddaughter, Alvion Dickens, was also arrested for being an accessory after the fact. Robert Dickens and another man allegedly argued with Grana in the 8300 block of Cohn Street, tailed him to the 1900 block of Dante Street, and began punching and kicking him repeatedly, police allege. Dickens and the other man whose name isnt included in the court filings then jumped into a white Ford E-350 van with Dickens Transportation written on the side and were driven away by Alvion Dickens, detectives said, citing eyewitness accounts as well as surveillance video. Paramedics brought Grana to a hospital. Three days later, he was pronounced dead from blunt force trauma that he suffered in the beating, police alleged in court records. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Police said they later tracked down Alvion Dickens, who identified her grandfather as one of the men who beat Grana. They obtained a warrant to arrest both Robert and Alvion Dickens on Dec. 23, and arrested them Wednesday at a home in the 1800 block of Cambronne Street, around the corner from where Grana was fatally beaten. Dickens' bail was set at $50,000 on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Alvion Dickens' bail was set at $6,000. Under Louisiana law, Robert Dickens would receive mandatory life imprisonment if convicted of murder. If convicted of serving as an accessory after the fact, Alvion Dickens could get up to five years in prison. Correction: This post was updated to correct Robert Dickens' age. New Orleans police have arrested a 20-year-old man accused of hitting a uniformed officer with a metal chair during a fight in Lakeview Monday. Zachary Bott surrendered to authorities Thursday and was booked with battery of a police officer, according to the New Orleans Police Department. The officer was working a detail for the Lakeview Crime Prevention District and spotted fight in the 800 block of Harrison Avenue about 1:20 a.m. Monday. The officer ordered the people involved to stop. That's when Bott allegedly grabbed the chair and threw it at the officer, who suffered minor injuries. He then fled the scene. Authorities released images of the suspect and asked for the public's help in finding him. They identified Bott through tips from Crimestoppers and the public, police said. Bott was being held Thursday morning at Orleans Parish Prison. Bond has not yet been set. It's been a challenging 18 months at the helm for Jefferson Parish schools Superintendent James Gray, but on Wednesday his bosses gave him a glowing review in his first evaluation since taking the district's top job. The Jefferson Parish School Board approved the evaluation unanimously Wednesday night. School officials refused to release the actual evaluation document, saying employee reviews are exempt from the public records law, but several board members characterized it as overwhelmingly positive. Gray took over in mid-2020 from Cade Brumley, who left to become state education superintendent. Gray was immediately thrust into pandemic management, navigating the changing guidance and infection rates in the state's largest public school district. Things didn't get easier in 2021 as Hurricane Ida laid waste to much of Jefferson Parish, significantly damaging scores of the district's schools and destroying three of them. "I think he's kept the ship afloat," board member Gerard LeBlanc said Wednesday, citing the pandemic and Ida as hurdles that were beyond Gray's control. "I think he's done a pretty good job." Gray noted as much during a speech to parish business groups in November. "We have had to pivot the entire time," he said. Gray's contract runs through June 30, 2024. It calls for him to be paid $265,000 per year, which increases by 2% in years in which he receives a satisfactory evaluation, and 5% in years in which he receives a rating of "excellent." It was unclear on Thursday which rating he received, though one board member described it as "exemplary." Gray's evaluation took into account that he has faced a near unending spate of crises since taking the job, according to Board member Clay Moise. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "Obviously, he was able to hit the targets that were outlined from the get-go," Moise said. He praised Gray for adapting on the fly while keeping the focus on educating the district's nearly 50,000 students. "What he's done in the interim, let's not kid ourselves, every district in the state has followed our lead," Moise said. Jefferson Parish was the first large district in the New Orleans area to return to in-person learning in the late summer of 2020. Gray has also spearheaded the creation of summer and intersession learning programs that have helped prevent as many children from falling as far behind as they may have otherwise, he said. The district also earned a small increase in its District Performance Score from 71.5 to 71.6, the annual school system grade released by the state. It was one of only 20 districts in the state to see an increase in the most recent ratings. Gray's tenure hasn't been without criticism. The suspension by school administrators of Ka'Mauri Harrison, an elementary student who was seen holding a BB gun in his room during a virtual lesson, was met with widespread condemnation. Gray stood behind the decision, even as the state Legislature passed a law in response to it and Harrison and another family whose son had been suspended under similar circumstances sued. The system later settled the suits. In a statement, Gray said he was proud of what the district had done in his first year-and-a-half. "Im proud of those accomplishments, but I also recognize that we have a long road ahead to create the school system that our families and students deserve," he said. "I look forward to continuing to advance our district by working together. Three kids of a family drown in Apsara river 02 May 2022 | 9:52 PM Pilibhit (UP), May 2 (UNI) Three minor boys drowned in Apsara river in Jahanabad area of Pilibhit district here in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. see more.. Sampla assumes charge as NCSC Chairman for second term 02 May 2022 | 9:49 PM New Delhi, May 2 (UNI) Senior BJP leader and former union minister Vijay Sampla assumed charge as the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) at the National Headquarters of the Commission here, for the second consecutive term on Monday. see more.. Everyone should follow principles of Lord Parshuram : Dushyant 02 May 2022 | 9:41 PM Chandigarh, May 2 (UNI) Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said that every person should follow the principles given by Lord Parshuram as his principles as these are in the interest of poor people. see more.. JKFDC, NFDC to organize first ever J&K National Film Festival in June 02 May 2022 | 9:32 PM Jammu, May 2 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir Film Development Council(JKFDC), in collaboration with National Film Development Corporation(NFDC) and Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is organizing the first ever National Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir from June 15 to 20. see more.. Childrens meals in New Orleans must come with a healthy drink by default under a new City Council ordinance thats aimed at reining in childhood obesity but drew objections from the restaurant industry. The new law, backed by outgoing District E Councilmember Cyndi Nguyen, received unanimous approval Thursday. The New Orleans Health Department helped craft the rule, which requires eateries to offer water, milk or a juice drink if they have childrens meals. Kids and parents would still be able to order soft drinks, but only by going off-menu. The ordinance goes into effect on New Years Day 2023. Type 2 diabetes in children doubled at OLOL last year, in latest sign of COVID impact on Louisiana A study suggesting a recent increase in Type 2 diabetes in Baton Rouge children is flashing another warning sign related to the coronavirus pa This is really about helping our young people to stay healthy, but not taking away the rights of our parents, Nguyen said. We really see this as a very simple step to educate and nudge our families towards a healthier option. According to Nguyen, kids aged 2 to 4 in New Orleans have a 14% obesity rate. Nutrition experts say sugary drinks are a leading contributor to childhood obesity, which puts kids at risk of diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases. The American Heart Association supported the ordinance, and experts in childhood nutrition also said that it could help chip away at obesity. I think this legislation is a step in the right direction in terms of childhood obesity prevention, but this can be considered part of an overall, long-term strategic initiative, said Denise Holston, an assistant professor at the Louisiana State University AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Science. We also need to look at affordability, accessibility and availability of quality healthy food options within New Orleans, especially in underserved areas. While New Orleans is joining the ranks of 40 cities and four states that have passed similar laws, the ordinance drew concern from restaurant and beverage-industry representatives who said it will further burden businesses struggling because of the pandemic. They said the council should adopt a symbolic resolution instead. Our industry has been struggling, said Danielle Leger of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. We appreciate the important issues of childrens health being raised, however, we ask that you will instead adopt a resolution at this time. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Coronavirus has kids sitting at home more. Could that make Louisiana's child obesity problem worse? Louisiana has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the country, and some health experts fear the coronavirus, which has kept kids Nguyen said she was very sensitive to the concerns of restaurants and worked with representatives to allow for a larger juice or fruit drink option. She also pushed back the ordinances effective date to next year to allow for a longer period of education and outreach to restaurants, she said. Many large fast-food chains have already made the shift to healthy drinks by default, which means that the ordinance could affect mostly smaller and independently-owned restaurants. The Health Department will be tasked with enforcement, based either on menu reviews for new restaurants or 311 complaints for existing eateries. First violations within a year will result in additional education, the second will come with a warning and the third will come with a $200 fine, according to the ordinance. +2 Louisiana's Medicaid expansion reduced racial gap in health care coverage, report finds The move by Gov. John Bel Edwards to expand Medicaid coverage in Louisiana has helped more low-income residents get insurance. It has also dra "This is not really a penalty ordinance, this is really about encouraging," Nguyen said. District A Council member Joe Giarrusso said he worried that restaurants would respond to the ordinance with an "end-run" like offering brownies or ice cream instead. Jeanie Donovan, deputy director of the Health Department, said that hasnt been the case in other localities that have passed similar legislation. The ordinance is tailored toward beverages because they contribute the most to sugar intake, she said. Drinks are number one, said Donovan. Bloomsburg, Pa. After giving officers a fake name, Jessica Marie Eisbacher, 47, of Olyphant, was also found to be in possession of six grams of a white powder. Initially, Eisbacher denied having any knowledge of the substance. According to reports from Scott Township Police, Eisbacher later admitted the substance was either heroin or fentanyl after further questioning from authorities. Eisbacher was stopped on Dec. 17 and attempted to kick the baggie underneath a patrol vehicle as officers questioned other people she was with that night. Patrolman Joshua Pastucka said he initiated the vehicle stop when he witnessed three individuals inside of it as it sat parked by itself in a lot late at night. All three occupants were taken into custody and questioned. Eisbacher was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance along with several other misdemeanors. Those charges ranged from second-degree tamper with evidence, third-degree false identification to law enforcement, and two misdemeanors that included intentional possession of a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Eisbacher was being held at the Lackawanna County Prison on $10,000 monetary bail. That was changed to unsecured on Dec. 22 and Eisbacher was released from custody. Court records show on Feb. 3, Eisbacher will face President Judge Thomas Arthur for a formal arraignment. Docket sheet Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get Our Free Newsletters Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters. Sign Up Today! Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter? Afternoon Update: What's happening today? Here's your update! Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox. Williamsport, Pa. Three people were arrested and charged after detectives uncovered a methamphetamine operation that resulted in more than 10 grams of the substance being recovered. Nicole Marie McKinley, 24, of Williamsport, Taylon Hamilton, 28, of Linden, and Derrick Leonard Carson, 29, of Williamsport were all charged with felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance after an investigation by detectives from the Lycoming County Narcotics Enforcement Unit. An undercover detective purchased an eight-ball (3.5 grams) of methamphetamine from Carson and McKinely on Oct. 20 for approximately $260. Carson and McKinley were surveilled leaving a residence located near the 400 block of Louisa Street in a vehicle registered to Hamilton. According to the report, Carson waited inside the vehicle as McKinley exchanged the narcotics for cash inside a residence. The pair then departed and returned to the home near the 400 block of Louisa Street. Following an investigation by detectives, McKinley, Carson, and a third person known to police were stopped and found to be in possession of methamphetamine. Detectives said the known male told them McKinley and Hammilton had a large amount of methamphetamine at the residence on Louisa Street. Detectives searched the residence and discovered seven more grams of methamphetamine after both Hamilton and McKinley were stopped. Hamilton and McKinley admitted methamphetamine was inside the residence. Hamilton stated that him, Carson, and McKinley all pitched money and bought the initial supply of meth, a detective wrote. While using meth at McKinleys house, Carson advised that he could make double what Hamilton paid for an eight ball if he sold to McKinleys baby-dad. Hamilton and Carson are being held at the Lycoming County prison on $85,000 monetary bail. McKinley posted $50,000 unsecured bail on Jan. 4 and was released. All three suspects will face Judge Aaron Biichle on Jan. 20 for a preliminary hearing. Nicole Marie McKinley docket sheet Taylon Hamilton docket sheet Derrick Leonard Carson docket sheet Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get Our Free Newsletters Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters. Sign Up Today! Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter? Afternoon Update: What's happening today? Here's your update! Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on www.northcoastcitizen.com. The North Coast Citizen E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement. Lenovo is updating its well-known line of X1 ThinkPad laptops. The 14 inch models ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 and ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 build upon existing designs - the new releases include OLED screen options, a 1080p webcam and Intel Alder-Lake U15 or P28. 4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Benchmark , Biotech , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Education , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Ice Lake , Intel , Intel Evo , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Leaks / Rumors , Linux / Unix , List , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Raptor Lake , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Wi-Fi 7 , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) , Zen 4 Ticker On the outside, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (available from Amazon, affiliate-link) and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga do not look alike. This hides the fact that they are twins in reality, since they are based on the same hardware platform. Components like the motherboard, battery and cooling system are identical. So it is not surprising that the newest models, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7, share many of the new features. Lenovo is introducing the 2022 ThinkPad X1 lineup at the CES, and the upcoming models will be updates of the existing designs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga G7 & X1 Carbon G10: Intel Alder-Lake U15 or P28 Choice - that is a major attribute of the ThinkPad brand. No matter which models are chosen, there are always many different variations. Such choices can be very useful, though they can also be confusing. In the case of the new ThinkPad X1 models, it remains to be seen of the new options will confuse customers or not: Lenovo will offer two different classes of Alder-Lake processors, Alder-Lake U15 and Alder-Lake P28, with up to 14 cores. Supposedly, this will be the six P-cores plus eight E-cores configuration. Jan 6, 2022 KRR Actor Vikram has completed shooting for director Ajay Gnanamuthu's action thriller 'Cobra'. Director Ajay took to social media to make the announcement. He said, "Woah!! Finally, Chiyaan Vikram sir wraps up his shoot for Cobra. What a magical experience this has been!! Loved working with you sir. You are for sure an acting monster! Shall keep these memories very close to my heart." The reason why the director said "finally" was because Vikram was supposed to have completed his portions in December itself. However, the actor tested positive for Covid and as a result, had to isolate himself. Had Vikram not been affected by Covid, the team would have wrapped up the film's shoot by December 18. Click the Movie button below for more info: Cobra Vikram Pictures Several restaurants and other businesses recently have temporarily closed or switched to appointment-only because of COVID-19 amid a surge in the Omicron variant and cases. Zorro's Mediterranean Fusion in LaPorte and Elements Wine Bar in Valparaiso both temporarily closed and since have reopened after recent exposures. "At Zorro's, we take this matter very seriously," the new Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant posted. "During our closure we will be sanitizing the entirety of our restaurant, taking every precaution that it is safe to open back up." Temporary closures have been mounting in Northwest Indiana at a level not seen since early in the pandemic back in 2020. The Irish House in downtown Chesterton temporarily closed after a staff exposure and plans to reopen at 5 p.m. Friday. The Super Walmart big-box store by Cabela's took the rare step of shutting down for a few days for a deep clean. The coronavirus pandemic also has caused widespread staffing shortages that forced Albert's Diamond Jewelers to switch to appointment-only in late December before the New Year's holiday. "Due to extreme staffing constraints, our showroom will be closed to the public for in-store visits until Monday, January 3rd," Albert's posted online. "We are unable to accept repair & cleaning drop-offs, returns/exchanges until Monday, January 3rd and apologize for the inconvenience." The jewelry store since has resumed normal operations. Tech Credit Union again has switched to appointment-only for the indefinite future at its branches in Calumet City, Cedar Lake, Crown Point, East Chicago, Gary, LaPorte, Lowell, Merrillville and Valparaiso. "Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, we are temporarily limiting branch lobby access to appointment only," President and CEO Gene Novello said in a letter to customers. "Teller transactions will be available through the drive-up lanes during normal business hours." People can call a Tech Credit Union branch if they need to conduct business such as open an account, apply for a loan, take out a certificate of deposit, replace a debit card or access a safe deposit box. "We ask that you wear a mask when visiting inside a branch, and we will continue the safety practices we have in place," Novello said. "For your convenience, electronic services, drive-up lanes, ATMs, and loan applications online or by phone at (800) 276-8324 also are available. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to protect the health and safety of our membership and staff." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It's like early 2020 all over again. Amid a rise in the Omicron variant and COVID-19 infections, another big-box store in Northwest Indiana is taking the rare step of temporarily shuttering for a deep clean and sanitization. Days after Walmart temporarily closed its location by Cabela's in south Hammond, the Arkansas-based retail giant closed its Sam's Club at 3134 E. 79th Ave. at 4 p.m. Wednesday. It will not reopen to members until 10 a.m. Friday. "As you know, several areas across the country have seen a renewed increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and we want to assist health officials working against the pandemic," Sam's Club spokesman JD Byrum said. "In support of this effort, we have chosen to temporarily close our Merrillville, Indiana, club location as part of a company-initiated program. "This will allow extra time for a third-party specialist to further sanitize the club and will also give our associates additional time to restock shelves and prepare the club to once again serve the community." Sam's Club, a members-only warehouse that offers discounts on bulk purchases, is giving its employees easy access to vaccines, giving them two hours paid leave to get the shot and up to three paid days off to recover if needed. "Everything were doing is for the well-being of our associates and the thousands of members we serve daily, and in consideration of guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and health experts," he said. "Given the rise in positive cases through the Omicron variant, we will follow CDC guidance, which includes fully vaccinated people wearing masks in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission. These protocols and convenient access to vaccinations are in addition to the extensive measures weve put in place during the pandemic to help protect our associates and members. "We will continue working closely with elected and local health officials, adjusting how we serve the community while also keeping the health and safety of our members and associates in mind." Love 0 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Christmas is over, the new year is here, and now it is time for another annual celebration here in the Region. This weekend finds rock 'n' roll fans of all ages celebrating the Jan. 8 anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth in Tupelo, Mississippi back in 1935. Presley died at age 42 in 1977. This Saturday would have been the rock icon's 87th birthday, and even though he has been gone longer than he actually lived, the impact Presley has had on music and on culture remains ever present. Underscoring that is the annual Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular, a six-date concert tour celebrating the music of Elvis Presley era by era. The concert hits The Venue at Hammond's Horseshoe Casino on Saturday. "The concert begins with the early rockabilly years, then moves through the military years, the movie years, the 68 comeback special in black leather and the show closes with the Las Vegas and concert years," said Omar Farag, who co-founded the event with its musical director Dan Lentino. "Pinch me! Cause it seems like just yesterday. That first year we did this show, people thought we were crazy to do an all Elvis show on this scale, but they 'got it' once they saw the top quality and the level of professionalism of everyone involved." Lentino agreed. "This show has since gone around the world. What makes this show so special is that everyone involved with it -- both behind the scenes and those on stage -- has a genuine respect and reverence for the man, his music and his legacy," Lentino said. "We certainly have a lot of fun with the show, because Elvis himself had a great sense of humor, but we are all serious about giving the audience the very best show possible each night. The goal of this production is to give people an idea of what it was like to experience the real Elvis on stage." Farag said Elvis' music remains appealing. "The Elvis catalog is timeless and in the hands of tremendous performers like Shawn Klush, Ryan Pelton and Cody Ray Slaughter, it comes alive," he said. "There's excitement, passion, and a sense of what it was like to see the real Elvis in his prime. That experience is what keeps people coming back year after year, often bringing friends and family members along for the first time to share in the experience." The line-up of Elvis tribute artists (known in the business as ETA's) has evolved over the years to have included well over a dozen different side-burned, hip-shakers, and the very best of them are returning for this year's tour. The youngest of the three, Cody Slaughter (aka The Prince of Rock N Roll) began performing as an ETA while in his early teens living in Arkansas, became a featured performer in both Branson, Missouri and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, before being named by Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis as the 2011 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist. Slaughter captures the sexual rawness of Elvis during the early Sun Records years and during the '68 leather-clad years of Presley's career. That smoldering aspect won Slaughter the coveted role of Elvis with the national tour of the Tony Award winning theatrical stage hit, "Million Dollar Quartet." Ryan Pelton found his way into the ETA world in 1998 after winning a local Elvis contest and soon after honed his show enough to catch the attention of Farag and Lentino. Pelton has been a frequent performer on the pair's ETA tours for the last two decades, taking time off here and there to work on his acting career. Among Pelton's acting credits is playing a dual lead role in the 2014 Hollywood film, "The Identical," co-starring Ashley Judd, Ray Liotta and Seth Green. Pennsylvania-born Shawn Klush has been the reigning ETA around the globe for the last several years. One can almost get lost in the notion that Presley himself is on stage performing during a Klush set, which is why Elvis Presley Enterprises named Klush the first ever "Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist" and why he was named "The Worlds Greatest Elvis" by the BBC. He has also been billed in Las Vegas as "The Closest Thing to the King in Concert. Like Pelton, Klush has also pursued a side career in acting and appeared in the 2016 Martin Scorsese/Mick Jagger-produced HBO television series, "Vinyl." "I have been doing this now for over 20 years and God willing, I see myself performing the music of Elvis for years to come. His music is a part of me and a part of my life," Klush said. "Doing this was a very natural thing to me because I would always sing along with his records. I worked with a couple of local guys in a band and I'd fool around with doing a few Elvis tunes. Luckily it went over real well, so I just kept doing it more and more." Returning for another year of "Birthday Spectacular" concert tour dates is The Blackwood Quartet, descended from the legendary Blackwood Brothers gospel group Elvis loved as a child and even auditioned with before starting his own musical journey. "It wouldn't be a true Elvis show if we didn't include his gospel roots," said Farag of having The Blackwoods on the bill to perform a couple of Presley's favorite gospel songs, along with backing up the various ETA performers on selected songs. Despite his success in rock 'n' roll, Presley was always passionate about the sacred music he sang in church as a child. "The Blackwood family has strong ties to Elvis and the Presley family," explained Mark Blackwood, the third generation leader of the historic group started in 1934 by his grandfather. "Elvis was a very successful entertainer who could sing most any style of music, but his first love was always Gospel Quartet music. My daddy (Cecil Blackwood) and Elvis went to Sunday School together at First Assembly in Memphis." It is well known that Elvis had a habit of warming up before his live shows by singing Gospel songs backstage. "Elvis won only three Grammy Awards during his career and they were all for his Gospel music recordings," Blackwood said. Although the Blackwoods still record their own albums and perform on their own all over the country, recent years have found them doing more and more Elvis-related events. "We spend a lot of time with Cody and Shawn these days, singing with them all over the world and we just love them to death. They are just wonderful performers." The question remains, WHY does a show about a guy who has been gone from the earth longer than he was on it, have such drawing power? Why does Elvis still continue to win over generation after generation of fans? "It is still all about the music and the style. His voice connected with people," Klush said. "Kids can listen to a song that Elvis, Scotty, Bill and DJ Fontana did over 60 years ago and it still rocks today like it rocked then. He was the best and people still relate to his songs and to him. This show reveals that, as we see grandparents, parents and grandkids all singing along together with us. Elvis is timeless. "When I was a kid, nobody was cooler to me than Elvis," added Slaughter. "All these years later, I still feel the same way. Looking out at the audiences every night, I see that everyone who comes to the shows feels the same. Elvis will always be cool!" Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The new year begins at Hobart Art Theater (230 Main St.) in downtown Hobart with another round of tribute groups bringing the sounds of top artists to roost for a small cost compared to the real thing. On Friday, it's Bon Jovi tribute act, Jovi, followed on Saturday by Tool tribute group Lateralus. Looking ahead to Jan. 14, the Art presents Simply Elton doing a tribute to the original "rocket man." Then offering a brief respite from the barrage of faux rock stars, comedian Pat Tomasulo, of WGN-TV fame, headlines a night of laughs on Jan. 15 with special guest, Adam Burke. More: brickartlive.com. What follows are upcoming Region shows. After a long time away from local stages, party rock band Zodiac is ready to rock once again. Catch Jill Field and her rockin' band o' boys from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday at Decibels at On The Roxx (2524 Portage Mall) in Portage. Zodiac has long been one of this columnist's favorite pop cover bands because of the high energy and the broad swath of material they can muster -- from '80s pop and rock and country to oldies. More: 219-763-7300 or facebook.com/zodiac69. The weekly "Open Mic Monday" series at The Record Bin (1601 Franklin St.) in Michigan City is on hiatus until further notice, but live "after hours" events will continue to be featured at the venue on a semi-regular basis. Upcoming events will be announced in this column and online at tomloungesrecordbin.com. More: 219-210-3813. Leroy's Hot Stuff (333 W. U.S. 20) in Porter is trying something different this Friday, swapping out its standard music fare for live comedy with a two comedian bill to be announced. The live music returns with a powerful double bill on Saturday of The Steepwater Band and The Nomad Planets on the Cantina stage. Performances at 8 p.m. both nights, followed on Sunday by the weekly "Blues Jam" from 7-11 p.m. hosted by Corey Dennison. More: leroyshotstuff.com or 219-926-6211. Fans had the opportunity a few weeks ago to hear a live performance of the songs from Stop.Drop.Rewind's third album "Heavy Love" during a special "preview party" at Michigan City's Record Bin. This Friday, the quirky indie-prog rock trio is officially releasing the original collection with an all ages event at Front Porch Music (505 E. Lincolnway) in Valparaiso and will once again perform the album in its entirety. Opening the show is punk/alt-rock band Overcoast. Admission for the all ages show is $10 and facial masks are required. More: facebook.com/stopdroprewind. Then on Saturday, Front Porch Music (505 E. Lincolnway) in Valparaiso welcomes back to the Region the incredible Special Consensus string band to perform its now traditional first month of the new year concert for all ages to enjoy. Tickets are $25 and reservations are advised given the intimate venue and the popularity of this most excellent group of stellar musicians. More: 219- 464-4700 or facebook.com/FrontPorchMusicValpo. Stolen Enterprise will provide live acoustic music on stage tonight at Northwoods Falls (8101 Indianapolis Blvd.) in St. John from 7-11 p.m. The sound shifts to country music on Friday by The Hoosier Ditty Band, then to pop-rock covers by Listen Betty on Saturday. Music starts 8 p.m. both nights. More: 219-351-5148. Scooter & The Cousins, anchored by Greg Ashby, rock the house from 7-10 p.m. tonight at Austin Community Tavern (81 E. 34th St.) in suburban Steger. More: 708-248-6791. Two of the Region's best -- guitarist Marco Villarreal and jazz/R&B vocalist Lauren Dukes -- pair up for a performance tonight at Shipwreck Bar & Grill (840 S. Broad St) in Griffith from 7-10 p.m. More: 219-513-8342. Classic rockers Any Given Weekend bust out a broad range of cover songs from 7-11 p.m. Saturday when they return for another show at The Izaak Walton League's Miller Chapter (1250 Crisman Road) in Portage. More: facebook.com/agwpartyband. A relatively new classic rock combo -- The Mystics -- will be found kicking out hits from the '70s through the '90s on Saturday at R-Bar (9521 Indianapolis Blvd.) in Highland from 8 p.m.- midnight. More: 219-922-8008 or facebook.com/mysticsmusic. Soundz of Santana teams up with The Misfit Toyz on Friday for a 7-11 p.m. double bill at Griffith's Avenue 912 (202 W. Ridge Road). General Admission tickets: $7 advance/$10 at door. More: 219-306-6790. This Saturday at Thirsty Beaver (5599 127th St.) in Crestwood is where fans of blues-rock will find one of the genre's best. The guitar-driven grooves of the Head Honchos is the featured fare there from 9 p.m. to midnight. More: 708- 239-1108 or facebook.com/HeadHonchosBand. Opinions are solely those of the writer. Reach him at beatboss@nwi.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. William S. "Bill" Landske died in prison last week at age 86 while serving a 55-year sentence for killing a prominent Region attorney more than three years ago, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. Landske, the husband of the late state Sen. Sue Landske, died Dec. 28 at the New Castle Correctional Facility east of Indianapolis, an IDOC spokeswoman said. He would have turned 87 later this month. His death comes more than two years after a Lake Criminal Court jury found him guilty of murdering 64-year-old lawyer T. Edward Page in August 2018 with his late wife's gun at Page's home in Hobart. During Landske's sentencing, Page's brother, Paul Page, and sister-in-law, Sally Page, said T. Edward Page's death left a hole in the fabric of the community. Former Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Michael Toth said at Landske's sentencing that Lake Superior Courts functioned as they did because of Page's leadership. Page had resigned from the public defender's office days before his death and served as a senior judge traveling the state. Page had been a friend of Sue and Bill Landske for decades and delivered a eulogy at Sue Landske's funeral in March 2015, describing her as a leader and dedicated public servant who held a "Lake County steel fist" inside her "velvet glove." Sue Landske died at age 77 after a battle with lung cancer. She served in the Indiana Senate for 30 years. Bill Landske was still dealing with the grief of losing his wife in August 2018 when he chose to go with his daughters to Page's home to pick up tax documents. The family had become frustrated with Page because of filing delays, according to trial testimony. As Page's husband and Landske's daughters placed tax documents in a Landske family car, Landske put his arm around Page and led Page away. Landske then pulled a revolver from his pocket and fired multiple shots into Page's body. Page died immediately. The Indiana Court of Appeals in May 2020 upheld Landske's 55-year sentence, which was imposed by Special Judge Rex Kepner. "Landske shot Page, his friend of some 30 years, at point-blank range, over Page's inattention to Landske's taxes," the Appeals Court wrote. "And Landske committed the murder in the presence of Page's husband and Landske's daughters. We cannot say that Landske's 55-year sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense." The state was not required to prove the murder was premeditated to secure Landske's conviction, the court wrote. "Whether or not the murder was premeditated, Landske's behavior toward Page was methodical and deliberate," the opinion states. Landske "delivered not one shot but multiple shots to Page, point blank and at close range," which reflected poorly on his character, the court wrote. Landske then "calmly recounted the details of the murder to law enforcement in a matter-of-fact manner with no apparent indication of remorse." During a news conference days after Page's homicide in 2018, Hobart police said Landske told investigators he was "losing his marbles slowly," but police didn't believe he was suffering from dementia. "He did not appear to have any mental incapacity to me," then-Lt. James Gonzales told reporters. "In my opinion, Bill Landske is a murderous coward who has left Judge Page's family and friends and the Landske family to deal with an emotional path of destruction," Gonzales said. After Landske's conviction, Page's husband, Kevin Swanson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Landske and several of his children. Landske later agreed to a settlement in the civil lawsuit, court records show. Special Judge Daniel J. Molter on Nov. 1 ordered the enforcement of the settlement agreement. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. HAMMOND A federal court judge sentenced a 29-year-old Chicago man to prison for illegally carrying a gun in Gary. Senior U.S. District Court Judge James Moody imposed a 21-month term Wednesday on Jeremiah Taylor. Taylor pleaded guilty last spring to possessing a Smith and Wesson handgun March 24, 2020. A Gary police officer stopped Taylors car, found him smoking marijuana and found the loaded gun in Taylors clothing. It was illegal for Taylor to possess a firearm because he was a convicted felon, with convictions in 2011 for domestic battery in Cook County, Illinois, in 2012 for aggravated battery on a police officer, in 2016 for fleeing a police officer and in 2017 for criminal damage to government property. Attorneys for the government and Taylors defense told the judge in written memos that Taylor has previously been diagnosed with mental health disorders, drank a pint of alcohol a day and smoked marijuana since age 15. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Indiana House is poised to once again approve legislation authorizing all adult Hoosiers legally entitled to own a firearm to carry a handgun in public without obtaining a state license. On Wednesday, the House Public Policy Committee voted 9-3 to advance House Bill 1077 to the Republican-controlled chamber for a decision, likely next week, on sending the proposal to the Republican-controlled Senate. The measure, sponsored by state Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, repeals the existing licensing requirement to carry a handgun in public, allows Hoosiers wanting a license for out-of-state reciprocity purposes to continue to get one at no cost, and makes firearm theft a level 5 felony punishable by up to six years in prison, instead of a level 6 felony. Supporters of the plan said it's unconscionable the state of Indiana conditions the exercise of a constitutional right on the need to obtain a license from the state police before doing so. If enacted into law, public carry of a handgun still would be denied to convicted felons; fugitives; some non-citizens; a person convicted of domestic violence, domestic battery or criminal stalking; a person under a restraining order; a person under indictment; a person formally deemed dangerous or mentally defective; or a person dishonorably discharged from military service. Handguns also would continue to be prohibited at school buildings. In addition, businesses and homeowners would retain the right to bar customers or guests from bringing a handgun onto their property. The Indiana State Police led the opposition to the proposal. Major Rob Simpson, deputy chief of staff, said without a handgun licensing system officer safety is at risk because they have no way of knowing whether armed individuals they encounter are legally entitled to be carrying a handgun in public, since there's no comprehensive database of individuals prohibited from carrying a handgun. "We have a system, it works, and that's why we stand opposed to this particular bill," Simpson said. State police opposition last year was enough to stop a similar proposal, House Bill 1369, from advancing through the Senate. At the time, Senate President Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, said eliminating the handgun license without creating a database of denied individuals means Indiana police officers lack the information they need to protect themselves and the general public from people who might intend to cause harm. "The bottom line is law enforcement's ability to determine who is prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon is important and this bill does not achieve that," Bray said last year. It's not yet known whether the Senate Republican caucus will be willing to override their chamber leader this year if the permitless carry proposal makes it through the House, or if Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb would sign it into law if it reaches his desk. Though it takes only a simple majority vote in each chamber the same needed to approve legislation in the first place to override a gubernatorial veto and enact a new law notwithstanding his opposition. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT A 19-year-old man illegally entered a family's apartment Friday and demanded "rent" money, then climbed through a window at a woman's apartment and repeatedly raped her, court records allege. Keontrell S. Gill, of Gary, was arrested after he returned to the woman's apartment at the South Shore Commons complex in the 1200 block of West 20th Avenue with $120 he promised her so she would not call police, Lake Criminal Court records state. Gill was charged Wednesday in two separate cases with felony counts of rape, two counts of burglary, two counts of attempted robbery, and single counts of residential entry, sexual battery, battery resulting in bodily injury and attempted escape. He had not yet made an initial appearance before a Lake Criminal Court magistrate. The woman told police she was getting ready to start her day when she heard a noise from a bedroom, went to investigate and discovered a man had climbed through a window into her apartment. The man, who was later identified as Gill, grabbed the woman as she turned to flee, punched her in the face and told her, "I just want sex," court records allege. When the woman's small dog approached Gill, he kicked it across the room, according to court documents. The woman told police Gill raped her three times, told her he'd be back with money and made a comment about "needing to do this often." Gill went out the same window he'd climbed through, and the woman shut it and called 911 after he left, records state. She later told police she played along and said she'd take money from him so he would leave her apartment, records state. As the woman was speaking with officers, Gill opened her apartment door and walked inside. The woman told police, "That's him!" Gill handed $120 to an officer and said, "She's a prostitute," records allege. Gill later admitted in an interview with police he repeatedly raped the woman and offered her the money so she wouldn't call police, according to court documents. During their investigation, police learned of allegations Gill entered another apartment, shined a flashlight in a woman's face as she slept, claimed to be a property manager and demanded rent money. The woman's husband woke up and told the man to go outside, where they could talk about money. The husband could not find Gill after going outside, records state. The woman and the couple both told police they had never met Gill or seen him before. The attempted escape charge against Gill stemmed from an incident in a holding area at the Gary Police Department. After giving police statements and completing a phone call to family, Gill turned and ran from officers when they took off his handcuffs while attempting to place him in a cell, records state. Police chased him down two corridors before capturing him and placing him back in the cell, documents state. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. VALPARAISO Following a body awareness class in school, an 8-year-old Jackson Township girl told officials she had been repeatedly molested by a visiting family member. The accused, Kevin Herbert, 48, of Mokena, Illinois, denied the claims, saying he initially thought the girl was making the accusations for attention, according to newly filed charging documents. "He stated that he felt for Victim 1 because she is the forgotten child," police said. Herbert is charged with three felony counts of child molesting and one count of felony vicarious sexual gratification, court records show. One of the molestation charges, which alleges that Herbert penetrated the girl, carries a potential prison sentence of 20 to 40 years. A Porter County police officer said he responded Dec. 16 to a report of a sexual assault and was told that following a body awareness class Dec. 7, the girl told her mother Herbert had repeatedly touched her inappropriately. The abuse allegedly occurred between Aug. 6 and Nov. 29. The girl told investigators one incident occurred as she was under a blanket with Herbert while watching a movie in the living room of a house, police said. Herbert had claimed he was cold and put a blanket over them even though the girl did not think he was cold. "Kevin did not speak about it when this was happening," the girl reportedly told investigators. "After the movie was over, Kevin pretended like nothing ever happened." The girl further accused Herbert of touching her inappropriately and having her touch him when they were in a pool and hot tub, a charging document states. She described another incident when she was molested by Herbert while watching a movie in the home, police said. When interviewed Tuesday by county police, Herbert reportedly told them he would have his arm around the girl while watching movies and may have touched her bare stomach or her side. Herbert was unwilling to call the girl a liar and when asked if he touched the girl as alleged, he said, "Not like that," police said. When asked if he could have unintentionally touched the girl as accused, he reportedly said, "Anything is possible." "Kevin denied intentionally doing it, if he did," a charging document states. When asked if he thought the girl was making up the allegations, Herbert responded, "It certainly as hell does not sound like she is making things up," police said. "Kevin advised he wants Victim 1 to be OK, he wants to be OK, and he wants to 'put this behind us,'" Herbert reportedly told police. "He indicated that he doesn't know what to say." Herbert is being held at Porter County Jail without bond. His case has been assigned to Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer, and an initial hearing will be held Tuesday morning. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. was indicted Thursday by a Lake Criminal Court grand jury on a felony charge of resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor reckless driving, Special Prosecutor Stanley Levco said. Martinez said he categorically denies the allegations. "In this instance, it is important to note that these are not allegations of political corruption," Martinez said. Martinez was appointed sheriff in September 2017 by a caucus of Lake County Democrats after former Sheriff John Buncich was removed from office because a U.S. District Court jury convicted him of federal bribery and fraud charges. Martinez said the allegations against him don't prevent him from holding office and continuing to perform the duties of office. "The allegations were initiated by a rival politician who has publicly demonstrated his disdain for me and the work that I do for the people of Lake County," Martinez said. "As this matter unfolds, it will come to light that this is nothing more than a political witch hunt." Martinez did not name the rival politician. Levco said the allegations that led to the indictment occurred Sept. 18 in Crown Point and Merrillville. The indictment for resisting law enforcement alleges Martinez "knowingly or intentionally" fled from Crown Point police Sgt. James Poling and Patrolman Dan Lee after they turned on their lights and sirens, "identified themselves and ordered" Martinez to stop. The reckless driving count, which is a Class C misdemeanor, alleges Martinez recklessly operated "a motor vehicle by driving at such an unreasonably high rate of speed as to endanger the safety or property of others." No further detail about the allegations was included in the indictment. According to a news release issued by Crown Point police shortly after the incident, officers were conducting a traffic stop in the 9000 block of Taft Street about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 18 when they noticed the driver of a black SUV traveling north on Main Street at what appeared to be a speed "well above the 45 mph posted limit." The SUV's driver continued at that speed onto Taft Street and passed by the stopped officers, the release states. The officers attempted to catch up to the SUV to stop the driver for speeding. "The SUV was observed marking a right-hand turn onto U.S. 30, now traveling eastbound," the release said. "As officers were nearing the still-moving car, the driver activated emergency red and blue lights, giving notice that it was an unmarked car. In seeing this, officers disregarded their actions any further." At the time, Crown Point police said the identity of the driver and the specific nature of any police call were unknown, so they did not request any assistance from other agencies. Levco said the investigation was turned over to Indiana State Police for the Fort Wayne post in October. The grand jury began considering evidence and testimony Wednesday and heard from a couple more witnesses Thursday morning, Levco said. The case included a total of about 10 witnesses, he said. Martinez will not face arrest, Levco said. Instead, a summons will be issued for him to appear on a yet-to-be-determined date. The case has been assigned to Lake Criminal Court Judge Gina Jones, records show. Martinez's attorney, Paul Stracci, said he was disappointed but not surprised "that a grand jury entirely directed by the prosecutor was able to return an indictment." "It's clear that the prosecution has turned a blind eye to the overtly political nature of this investigation," he said. "We look forward to demonstrating Sheriff Martinez's innocence before an impartial jury in a format in which both sides get to participate equally." Martinez said he's served as a police officer for more than 29 years and had the privilege of serving as Lake County's elected sheriff the past four years. "The good people of Lake County are tired of this type of vicious and petty politics," Martinez said. "I assure you that I will not be deterred, nor intimidated, by this blatant attempt to undermine my reelection as sheriff. I will continue to focus on ensuring the safety and security of the people of Lake County and those that visit here. "When all of the facts are revealed, it will be apparent that this is nothing more than a smear campaign and an attempt to manipulate the legal system by unscrupulous and shameless politicians," Martinez said. "As Lake County voters, you will have the opportunity to hold these individuals accountable." Martinez said he's worked to defend the sheriff's office from "wanna-be political power-brokers" and has remained steadfast in his commitment to the integrity of the office. "Thank you for your continued faith in me as your Lake County sheriff," he said. Love 1 Funny 7 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 7 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MUNSTER Local students were recognized as the Munster Police Department held its annual fall semester Drug Abuse Resistance Education graduation ceremonies. The ceremonies were held Dec. 2 at St. Thomas More School and Dec. 10 at St. Paul's Lutheran School. Fifth-grade students were recognized for completing the 10-week curriculum, which included drug prevention, bullying prevention, managing stress, communication skills, resisting peer pressure and good citizenship. During the ceremonies, students received certificates and gift bags, and some students were also honored with additional awards. Awards were give for the top DARE essays and those who showed outstanding participation during the courses were given the "Daren Award." A fifth-grader from each school was then randomly selected to take home a stuffed animal "Daren the Lion," which is the official DARE mascot. The Munster's DARE Program has been a part of Munster schools since 1988 in elementary and middle schools. Munster police congratulated the young DARE graduates and award winners, as well as thanked the residents, businesses, community organizations and parent-teacher organizations that sponsor DARE every year. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, was serving just his fourth day as a member of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, when an angry mob of Donald Trump supporters invaded the Capitol hoping to halt the formal certification of the 2020 presidential election. It's a day the Region's Congressman will never forget. "There absolutely were moments where I was fearful of what was going on. We heard the gunshot. We heard the breaking glass and the pounding on the doors. We had the gas masks on," Mrvan recalled Tuesday in an exclusive interview with The Times. "The moment was real, and the uncertainty of what was going on in that time was alarming." Mrvan was among the last House members to leave the chamber after staying behind to make sure his new colleagues were able to exit safely amid the chaos. Law enforcement eventually directed Mrvan and several other stragglers to head for a secure room as police barricaded the House door against the marauders; a stand for which Mrvan said he'll be "forever grateful." "It was pure chaos and disarray," Mrvan said at the time. "Something I never thought I would see in the United States of America." Looking back on that day one year later, Mrvan said he now better understands the fragility of American democracy, as well as his duty, particularly as a member of Congress, to protect the Constitution. "There are men and women who have sacrificed their lives, their limbs, their mental health, and their families have sacrificed for our democracy and our Constitution," Mrvan said. "So I want to make sure that we preserve that." To that end, Mrvan said he supports the work of the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, not least because he wants future generations to have confidence in their government and be assured what happened on Jan. 6 was an outlier. "The facts and the truth are important," he said. "We owe it upon ourselves, and the nation, and the state of Indiana, and my district to find out the truth of what happened, so this doesn't happen again." Meanwhile, Mrvan said the Jan. 6 attack also helped establish and solidify friendships among members of the House, particularly new members, that have since led to cooperation on other policy matters important to Northwest Indiana and the country as a whole. "I've created those relationships from that moment that allowed us to be able to understand that we can depend on each other and we can get through a lot of things," Mrvan said. Specifically, Mrvan identified the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as two measures that have sustained the Region's towns, cities, townships, counties, and schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic that might not have become law without the kind of unified support among House Democrats made possible in part by the shared experience of Jan. 6. "We helped save lives by getting dollars into communities and into schools so they can operate safely," Mrvan said. In the year ahead, Mrvan is planning to deliver similar wins for Northwest Indiana by working to reduce inflation, help the steel industry thrive, protect domestic manufacturing, and promote equity and inclusion in the economy. "We have to do all that we can to bring people together in our nation, and that is vitally important to me," he said. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LANSING A man charged in a triple shooting at a Lansing bar has been captured by FBI agents in Evergreen Park, police said. Jeffrey Turner, 29, of Chicago was arrested Wednesday by the FBI Fugitive Task Force, said Detective Lt. Scott Bailey of the Lansing Police Department. Turner was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Lansing Police Department. Turner faces three counts of attempted murder through the Cook County courts systems and additional charges against him are pending. At 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 13, Lansing officers were called to a report of shots fired at Torrence Tap, at 18052 Torrence Ave. When police arrived, they found three gunshot victims and Lansing Fire Department EMS and officers worked together to render aid. The three victims were taken to a hospital and have since recovered, police said. Lansing police and Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigators searched the scene and collected evidence in the bar parking lot and along Indiana Avenue. Lansing detectives also interviewed witnesses and victims from Torrence Tap and police obtained video surveillance footage from the bar. In addition, Lansing squad vehicles equipped with license plate reader cameras captured crucial evidence. After Lansing authorities provided the information to the Cook County States Attorneys Office, an arrest warrant was issued for Turner. Following his capture, Turner will be transported Thursday to the Markham Sixth District Courthouse for a bond hearing. "Lansing police would like to thank the victims, witnesses, and business owners for their cooperation in this case," Bailey said. "By working together, investigators were able to quickly gather leads and evidence for an arrest warrant for Turner. The Lansing Police Department would also like to thank Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigators and the FBI for their assistance in this case." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Patches of blowing and drifting snow that began Tuesday night is expected to last through late Wednesday, causing ongoing travel hazards, according to the National Weather Service. A hazardous weather outlook warned of strong winds and drifting snow that is expected to continue Wednesday night, with an elevated excessive cold risk issued through Friday. Gusty winds of up to 35 mph and blowing patches of snow has caused slick roads on Wednesday, especially on I-65 between Crown Point and Merrillville, the NWS said. Crown Point Fire Rescue alerted of worsening road conditions Wednesday night in their area, stating north and south roads have been mainly impacted. Indiana State Police said there have been some vehicle slide-offs along the area on the interstates, but no serious injury crashes or lane closures have occurred as of late Wednesday evening. ISP troopers advised drivers to use caution and to slow down. According to the NWS, communities along Lake Michigan will likely see spots of lake effect snow and sub-zero wind chills through Thursday morning. The snowfall amount for the northeast area of the Region in and near LaPorte County is expected to be an inch or less through Thursday afternoon. Lake effect snow is expected to continue Thursday afternoon into Friday morning, which could give portions of LaPorte County an additional 2 to 3 inches of accumulation. Temperatures highs are not expected to top 15 degrees through Friday, however Saturday will see a slight warm-up with a high in the mid 30s and a low of 28 degrees, according to the NWS. Saturday is predicted to bring a limited ice accumulation risk with light freezing rain or drizzle Saturday afternoon through the evening. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Does it matter what finger I use? Most health technicians will place the device on the index fingers, but a study of 37 volunteers found that the highest reading came from the third finger on the dominant hand. A close second was the dominant thumb. So if you are right-handed, use the right middle finger. If you are left-handed, use the left middle finger. The difference between fingers is small, so if you prefer the index finger, thats fine. Does skin color make a difference? It might. Researchers suspect that sometimes the devices may give inaccurate readings because of the way the light is absorbed by darker skin pigments. An analysis, of 10,789 paired test results from 1,333 white patients and 276 Black patients hospitalized at the University of Michigan earlier this year, found that pulse oximetry overestimated oxygen levels 3.6 percent of the time in white patients, but got it wrong nearly 12 percent of the time, or more than three times more often, in Black patients. The potential for error is the reason patients should monitor themselves frequently and pay attention to the overall trend of declining oxygen levels. In cases of inaccurate monitoring, the device typically overstates oxygen levels by about 2 points. For that reason, patients with darker skin should consider checking in with their doctors if the reading drop to 93 or 94. Do long nails or nail polish make a difference? Yes. Dark nail polish can affect accuracy of the reading. Very long nails would make it difficult to insert your finger properly in the clip. What happens if my oxygen level falls? What is the treatment? If your number dips to 92 or lower, you should check in with your doctor. But dont panic. The good news is that its a lot easier to bolster an oxygen level that is just starting to drop than one that is dangerously low. When Dr. Anna Marie Chang, an emergency room physician in Philadelphia, tested positive for coronavirus in mid-March, she felt lousy but was reassured by daily checks that showed normal oxygen levels. Dr. Chang, an associate professor of emergency medicine and director of clinical research for Thomas Jefferson University, even started feeling better but kept up her daily monitoring with her pulse oximeter. One morning she felt severely fatigued and saw that her oxygen level had dropped to 88 percent. I texted my colleagues and said, I think its time to go in, she said. Once admitted, she was placed on oxygen with a mask. She spent her days resting in the prone position (on her stomach) because the position opens up the lungs and is more comfortable. I was there for four days and never needed to be intubated, Dr. Chang said. It was just supplemental oxygen. Dr. Levitan noted that patients with Covid-19 can experience a potentially dangerous drop in oxygen saturation without having obvious breathing problems. Without a pulse oximeter, they might never know it or get very used to how they feel, despite very low oxygen levels. By the time they go to the hospital feeling shortness of breath, their oxygen levels would have dropped significantly, and they could have very advanced Covid pneumonia. They are still talking, thinking clearly, and not in obvious distress, Dr. Levitan said. If the level of oxygen became this low all of sudden, these patients would be unconscious, having seizures, or otherwise affected. What that means to me is there is a period of days where they were going silently down and they didnt know it. With coronavirus cases surging across New York State, employees at the only company-owned Starbucks store that is unionized staged a walkout on Wednesday to protest what they say are unsafe working conditions. Kyli Hilaire, a barista at the store, which is in Elmwood in the Buffalo area, said that it was understaffed, that workers were struggling to enforce masking rules and that many of them were anxious about their health as they watched Covid-19 case counts spike in the region. One of our requests was to close the store to let the outbreak of Covid run its course so we can return with a full staff rather than burning out the partners who are able to work, Ms. Hilaire, 20, said. Theyre refusing to take the necessary precautions so our partners are not coming to work sick. The walkout, involving about half a dozen employees, will last the rest of the week, she added. The company said it had not determined whether the store would stay open. Are they? The more time you spend with Rahim, the more you wonder if the skeptics who at first seem bureaucratic, coldhearted or vindictive might have a point. Do his occasional outbursts bespeak a violent temperament? Does his hangdog demeanor cover up an essential dishonesty? Or is he just, as he claims to be, a good guy who cant seem to catch a break? In a sense, these questions the question of whose side you should be on are misdirected. Farhadi is less interested in the essence of who people are than in the causes and results of what they do. The winner of two Oscars (for A Separation in 2012 and A Salesman five years later), he makes films with the discipline and insight of a first-rate novelist. A Hero is as anxious and swift as a thriller, with the density and observational acuity of a 19th-century three-decker. Even incidental characters are vivid and complicated, and in every household, office and storefront youre aware of the impinging presence of untold stories. (You are also, not incidentally, in the presence of an absolutely first-rate ensemble of actors.) Late in the film, a woman shows up, accompanied by her young daughter, at the offices of the foundation whose reputation Rahim has burnished and then tarnished. She is pleading with the director for help in saving her husband from execution, and in a few scenes we become aware of how many other movies are implied by and enfolded within this one. Whats Farkhondehs story? What about Bahrams daughter, who carries the deepest grudge against Rahim? And what about Rahim himself, as husband and father? The questions keep going, and by the time the narrative reaches its (bittersweet, satisfying) conclusion, you may decide that the narrative wasnt really the point. Early in the film, Rahim visits Hossein at his workplace, an ancient necropolis carved into the side of a cliff. Its covered in scaffolding, which is something of a metaphor for the plot of this ingenious and engrossing movie a series of ladders and passageways that both cover and grant access to mysteries of life and death. A Hero Rated PG-13. Anger and deceit. In Persian, with subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 7 minutes. In theaters. The protests of summer 2020 may have been not only some of the biggest in the country, but also some of the biggest in the world. Millions took to streets to condemn the racism that pervades modern life, as well as decades of past injustice. Protesters called for accountability across the ages. The oppressive policies and practices of this era as well as those of yore were tied up together, a continuum, and all of them had to be brought down, their perpetrators brought to justice. The lies America had told itself about the degree and severity of its oppression were put on trial. The American narrative was put on trial. And it didnt fare well. There was a great movement for many toward enlightenment, a mass removing of scales from eyes. Industries responded, schools responded, individual citizens responded. Follow our live updates on the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Anniversary. Last month, a onetime campaign aide to former President Donald J. Trump posted on Facebook, Twitter, Gab and other social media sites. For the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, he wrote, candlelight vigils would be held in 20 cities on Thursday to honor those who stormed the building. January 6th was Americas Tiananmen Square, Matt Braynard, the former Trump campaign aide and founder of Look Ahead America, a right-wing organization, said in a post on Gab. Join us in marking this lie with #J6vigils from coast to coast. The responses were sparse. Seventy-eight people liked the message, and 21 people shared it. The post was an example of what right-wing groups and supporters of Mr. Trump are discussing to commemorate the Jan. 6 anniversary: scattered, local and most likely small gatherings. According to a review by The New York Times of recent posts from right-wing groups on sites including Facebook, Twitter, Gab and Gettr, online chatter about celebrations and rallies for the anniversary has grown in recent weeks, but the posts have not attracted much buzz and appear unlikely to translate into sizable real-world efforts on Thursday. Many of the conversations online have instead centered on gatherings for specific groups in places such as Dallas and Phoenix. In Miami, a local chapter of the far-right Proud Boys said it planned to hold a protest on Thursday to honor those arrested after storming the Capitol, according to a post on the Telegram messaging app. In Beverly Hills, a group dedicated to protesting mask mandates said on Telegram that it planned a rally to rename Jan. 6 after Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by federal officers while storming the Capitol building. CHICAGO Parents across Chicago raced to find child care on Wednesday morning after jarring news: Classes in the nations third-largest public school district were canceled. The teachers union and Mayor Lori Lightfoots administration had failed to agree on how to keep schools open during an Omicron-fueled virus surge. Across the country, the wildly contagious Omicron variant has infected millions and complicated the return to classrooms and workplaces. But nowhere has returning to school been more acrimonious and unpredictable than in Chicago, where, after two days back in classrooms following winter break, 73 percent of teachers voted to stop reporting to work. The city responded by calling off school altogether, refusing the teachers call for remote instruction. With no deal reached by Wednesday evening, district officials said classes would be canceled again on Thursday. The abrupt pause in the academic calendar, rooted in years of enmity between the Chicago Teachers Union and City Hall, jumbled plans for hundreds of thousands of students and posed another major test for Ms. Lightfoot, a Democrat whose tenure has been marked by labor strife, the pandemic and a surge in homicides. If they are in class and Covid is rampaging, thats a problem. If they are not there and out on the streets, thats a problem, said Tamar Manasseh, who leads an anti-violence group in the city, and who said she was looking into ways to help children with nowhere to go during the day. This has put us in an untenable situation. The century-old, three-story brick rowhouse belonged to the Philadelphia Housing Authority, which bought it in 1967, according to property records. It had been divided into two units: one on the first floor and half of the second; the other sharing the second floor and taking up the third. Altogether, Mr. Murphy said, it appeared that 26 people were in the building at the time of the fire, eight in the lower unit and 18 in the upper one. That is a tremendous amount of people to be living in a duplex, said Mr. Murphy, though he emphasized that this was not a definitive number. He said that eight people who were in the building escaped the fire on their own. The city had initially reported the death toll as 13, including seven children, but revised both figures on Wednesday evening. An official with the housing authority said it was unclear why so many people were in the building. This would have been too high a number of occupants for an apartment, Dinesh Indala, the executive vice president for housing operations at the housing authority, told reporters. He did not specify how many people could legally live in the unit, and also cautioned that much was still unknown about who was inside at the time of the fire. Its the holidays, he said. I dont know if they had people coming and visiting. I have no idea. Jenna Collins, a housing lawyer with Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, said the maximum occupancy for the largest units operated by the housing authority was 12 people. But she said that complications of life can render the rules less than hard-and-fast at times; for example, if a person in a unit suddenly gains custody of several children, the family is typically not evicted while waiting for a larger place to open up. In any case, as the mayor and others cautioned, it was too early to make any judgments about the living arrangements in the apartment. The crux of the problem, several administration officials said, is a failure by the C.D.C. and the Biden administrations messaging experts to work in concert. Who is to blame for that is a matter of debate. Dr. Walenskys critics say she is not collaborative enough, too often springing decisions on other federal officials who then struggle to defend them in public. Her defenders say she strives to coordinate, but that it is not her job to ensure consensus across the entire administration. Some suggest the White House has gone too far in its hands-off, let-the-scientists-rule approach, leaving a vacuum of leadership and forcing ad-hoc coordination between the various public health agencies. That has been exacerbated by a health secretary, Xavier Becerra, who receives routine briefings from scientists but does not settle interagency disputes about the pandemic response. Dr. Fauci, the administrations best-known spokesman on the pandemic, has further muddied the waters at times, publicly contradicting the C.D.C. as he did this week or making statements he has later walked back. He said in late December, for instance, that a vaccination requirement for domestic airline passengers should be seriously considered, leaving the White House to field a flurry of questions on a policy it was not prepared to recommend. Later, he said a mandate was unlikely. On Wednesday, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said it was OK for the C.D.C. to modify its guidance, adding that, for one thing, if they hadnt changed their recommendations over the course of time, schools would probably be closed across the country. But even some within Dr. Walenskys own agency agree that the C.D.C.s public pronouncements on the pandemic have repeatedly fallen short, long after experts say the agency should have mastered clear and concise public messaging on the worst public health crisis in a century. The handling of the isolation guidance was a case study in how to confuse the public. And the controversy is not over: health experts continued on Wednesday to criticize the C.D.C.s decision not to recommend a negative test before people with Covid end a five-day isolation. But the attack of a year ago was uniquely shattering in that it was a brutal effort by marauding Americans to keep President Donald J. Trump in office despite his election loss by interrupting one of the nations essential civic functions the tallying of the electoral votes for president. Lawmakers who were on hand are still struggling to comprehend it. Thats the difference, said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who had argued that Congress should shut down on Thursday to spare staff workers the trauma of reliving a horrific day. The last time the Capitol was breached and taken over was in 1814 by British forces. Here, we had our fellow Americans storming the Capitol. The events of last year have turned everyday spaces in the Capitol into testaments to what transpired. Heres a spot where they fought their way into the building; theres a window they broke or a wall they scaled. A heavily trafficked marble staircase on the Senate side of the building is no longer just a way to reach the second floor. It is now etched in memory as the stairway where Officer Eugene Goodman, acting alone, diverted a mob away from a set of back stairs, allowing Vice President Mike Pence and senators to escape unharmed to a secure location before the intruders breached the Senate chamber. WASHINGTON As a pro-Trump protest turned into a violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year, four people in the crowd died. Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as rioters tried to breach the House chamber. Kevin D. Greeson died of a heart attack, collapsing on the sidewalk west of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Rosanne Boyland appeared to have been crushed in a stampede of fellow rioters as they surged against the police. Benjamin Philips, the founder of a pro-Trump website called Trumparoo, died of a stroke. Mr. Greeson and Mr. Philips died of natural causes, the Washington medical examiner said in April. He added that Ms. Boylands death was caused by an accidental overdose. In the days and weeks after the riot, five police officers who had served at the Capitol on Jan. 6 died. Officer Brian D. Sicknick of the Capitol Police, who was attacked by the mob, died on Jan. 7. Officer Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department killed himself after the attack. Officer Howard S. Liebengood of the Capitol Police also died by suicide four days afterward. The Capitol Police had previously said that Officer Sicknick died from injuries sustained while physically engaging with protesters. The Washington medical examiner later ruled that he had died of natural causes: multiple strokes that occurred hours after Officer Sicknicks confrontation with the mob. The medical examiner added, however, that all that transpired played a role in his condition. A bipartisan Senate report, released in June, found that the seven deaths were connected to the Capitol attack. But the report was issued a month before two Metropolitan Police officers Gunther Hashida and Kyle DeFreytag died by suicide in July. The police agencies have not classified the four total suicides as line of duty deaths that would provide the victims families with enhanced benefits. Washington law excludes suicide deaths from the line-of-duty designation. A rabbi who was shot and wounded during a deadly attack on his synagogue north of San Diego in 2019 was sentenced on Tuesday to 14 months in prison for engaging in yearslong, multimillion-dollar fraud schemes, prosecutors said. The sentence handed down by Judge Cynthia A. Bashant of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California exceeded the recommendations of federal prosecutors and the rabbis lawyers, both of whom had recommended home confinement. The rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, 60, the former director of the Chabad of Poway, was also ordered to pay $2,834,608 in restitution for the schemes, which involved phony contributions to the Chabad and affiliated charities and through which he personally received more than $500,000, prosecutors said. You dragged down so many congregants, Judge Bashant said in imposing the sentence, according to a statement from the Justice Department. Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today Mostly cloudy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. It recognizes the extraordinary scale of injustice done to so many people over a long period of time, and offers, as far as possible, restitution, said Paul Johnson, a professor of social sciences at the University of Leeds, who said the change could cover thousands of people. It draws a line under five centuries of state-sanctioned persecution of gay people and says: never again. Image An undated photo of Mr. Stewart. But the change and framing the result as a pardon does not go far enough in addressing the injustice of the past, Mr. Stewart said. He said it was an insult that the government would not proactively reach out to him to clear his conviction. Most of the men it affects, its much too late for them to pursue the careers that they want to be pursuing, said Katy Watts, a lawyer for Liberty, a human rights organization that has represented clients like Mr. Stewart. Its deeply frustrating that its taken so long. Mr. Stewart said, I dont feel its enough, when you consider the impact its had and the loss to me in my life and my career, adding he had appealed his conviction to several home secretaries over the years. I dont want a pardon either, he added, because a pardon is an admission of guilt on my part. Mr. Stewart said he was profiled as gay by two police officers and charged in 1981 after he went into a public restroom to wash his hands on a weekday morning. Youre talking about a young man with very blonde hair tied in pigtails, he said. That would have been pretty conspicuous. He was convicted of importuning a year later. According to a 2000 Home Office report, broad definitions against importuning and gross indecency became a way to regulate consensual behavior between homosexual men. Soliciting, for example, could involve a smile, wink, gesture or some other physical signal. Object for object, there isnt an exhibition in town more beautiful than The African Origin of Civilization at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nor is there one more shot through with ethical and political tensions. The gathering of 42 sculptures in one of the Mets Egyptian galleries unites, for the first time here, pieces from its Ancient Egyptian and sub-Saharan African holdings, centuries apart (the earliest sub-Saharan work on view is from the 13th century). The pretext for the display is a practical one. It immediately follows the recent closure for renovation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing and its Arts of Africa galleries (the wing is scheduled to reopen in 2024). This is a way to keep some of its treasures on view and to forthrightly acknowledge Africa itself as the wellspring of human culture. The show comes at a time when the history of African art in Western museums how it got there, how its treated is under scrutiny. The Mets holdings from the African continent have always been installed in two sections located far apart literally at opposite ends of the Fifth Avenue building reflecting antiquated, racist Western distinctions between high culture (Egypt) and primitive culture (most of the rest of Africa). The show makes a gesture of unification, though, architecture being destiny, the old division will presumably remain intact on a larger scale within the museums geography after the Rockefeller wing renovation. Judith Davidoff, who mastered an assortment of stringed instruments not widely played for centuries, especially the cello-like viola da gamba, and became a leading proponent and player of early music, died on Dec. 19 at her home in Manhattan. She was 94. Her children, Max Rosen and Rebekah Rosen-Gomez, confirmed the death. Ms. Davidoff was trained as a cellist, and she was a good one. She was an absolutely amazing sight reader, Lisa Terry, a fellow musician who learned from her, said in a phone interview. That skill had Ms. Davidoff in demand for recording sessions. But while she was studying the cello as a teenager, something caught Ms. Davidoffs eye. Inevitably as I got involved in the repertoire, I began to notice music for an instrument called the viola da gamba, she told The Intelligencer Journal of Lancaster, Pa., in 1983. I got curious as a teenager to know what this instrument was. So she moves in with barely more than a mail-order mattress and a vintage lamp, only to be tormented by a constant beeping she cant find the source of. Anthony insists it must be the dishwasher (Its always the dishwasher!) and tells her to bang it closed over and over, to no avail. Apparently, Anthony is now the one Carrie calls for such things, which feels, frankly, random. If Willie Garson hadnt died while filming, perhaps Stanford would have been in this scene instead. Maybe were supposed to assume that, with the abrupt exit of Stanny Anthonys and Carries mutual partner in crime the two have bonded over their collective loss. But assuming is all we can do since we havent been given much context. Thats why it feels just as odd seeing Carrie be the one to accompany Anthony to his face lift consultation. Anthony says that Charlotte is up to her ears in kids, and thats the reason he taps Carrie instead, but come on. This is the kind of thing Charlotte would make time for. In any case, the handsome young plastic surgeon, Dr. Paul David (Jonathan Groff), tells Anthony he doesnt need a face lift, but then he quickly turns his attention to Carrie, using some fancy computer imagery to show her the range of options she has for a little refresh. Carrie makes jokes, but as she looks into the eyes of a digital version of who she used to be and could be again, sort of, if she is willing to shell out the cash she is tempted. Here is where a lot of us are going to feel disappointed in our heroine. Carrie isnt a Real Housewife! She should be above this kind of thing! Doesnt it defeat the purpose of a show that centers on aging women if she is even considering this? A spectacularly atrocious, ostensible action thriller, The Commando is distinguished by an incompetence that extends even to locations. The title protagonist, a PTSD-riven agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration played by Michael Jai White, lives with his family in a house that sits on an unusually barren plot of land. The movie, directed by Asif Akbar, was shot in New Mexico, where xeriscaping is in vogue, but this place is, for all intents and purposes, a dirt lot. Theres not even a driveway, which makes things convenient for the baddies who stage a sodden, tedious home invasion near the movies end. The reason for the invasion is a stash of bank-robbery money hidden in the house. (Hidden is generous; the dough is largely stuffed under floorboards that arent even nailed down.) The homes prior owner, Johnny (played by Mickey Rourke), put it there before going to prison. It seems no authorities thought to search the residence of a bank-robbing felon before the place changed hands. Meanwhile, the teenage daughters of the D.E.A. agent have found some of the cash and are enjoying it. FEELING & KNOWING: Making Minds Conscious, by Antonio Damasio. (Pantheon, $26.) In his latest book, the neuroscientist expands on his ideas about the importance of feeling which, he thinks, can bridge the conceptual abyss between the body and the mind. When feelings and images come together in the brain, he says, the result is conscious thought. How beautifully Damasio expatiates on the theme of feeling, Jim Holt writes in his review. The master scientist unites with the silken prose-stylist to produce one thrilling insight after another. He has succeeded brilliantly in narrowing the gap between body and mind. BURNING BOY: The Life and Work of Stephen Crane, by Paul Auster. (Holt, $35.) Multiple biographies of Crane have been published over the past century, but none quite like this one. Auster, the esteemed postmodernist, has taken it upon himself to restore his subject to his rightful place in the canon. Its often thrilling to see a contemporary writer engage so deeply with one of his forebears. In the end, Auster leaves you in no doubt about Cranes genius, Charles McGrath writes in his review. He really was a prodigy, and his voice and style sharp, observant, devoid of moralizing or sentimentality were something brand-new in American letters. WHERE YOU COME FROM, by Sasa Stanisic. Translated by Damion Searls. (Tin House, paper, $17.95.) This autobiographical novel traces a familys history after the breakup of Yugoslavia. With dry wit and a jumble of genres, the narrator recalls his years in Germany and revisits the Bosnian village where his ancestors are buried, a world transformed by war. Damion Searlss translation does justice to Stanisics dry wit and linguistic playfulness, and captures the tense undercurrents building throughout the book, Irina Dumitrescu writes in her review. Though shot through with trauma, Where You Come From is also funny and moving. Ordinary and accidental, this is the quiet beauty of immigrant life. THE INTERIM, by Wolfgang Hilbig. Translated by Isabel Fargo Cole. (Two Lines Press, $22.95.) C., the antihero of Hilbigs novel, is an alcoholic writer who leaves East Germany a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. In a flurry of travel and binges, hes both seduced and repelled by the Wests novelties and permissiveness a funny yet anguished mind caught between competing visions of the world. It cant be easy for a writer to recognize that his sensibility was shaped irrevocably by a world that was deeply compromised and is no longer relevant, Caleb Crain writes in his review, though it has to be said that this is more or less the plight of any writer who has had the misfortune of surviving his youth. JUSTICE ON THE BRINK: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court, by Linda Greenhouse. (Random House, $28.) Greenhouse, the dean of Supreme Court journalists, traces a year of decisions in the 2020-21 term the courts first since Amy Coney Barrett replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg and gestures to the major cases yet to come. In his review, Noah Feldman says that no one can recount judicial decisions as accessibly and intelligently as Greenhouse and points out that, because the court sidestepped many significant issues during the period in question, the book has an anticipatory air: Justice on the Brink is quite literally a book about the highest court (and Barrett) being on the brink of potentially doing extreme things, like overturning Roe. If some or all of this drama occurs in the months and years ahead, one can only be comforted by the knowledge that Linda Greenhouse will be here to write about it. Biden accuses Trump of imperiling democracy With lawmakers gathered in the Capitol on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the building by a pro-Trump mob, President Biden denounced Donald Trump for spinning a web of lies and threatening democracy. In his most scathing attack on the former president since taking office, Biden accused Trump and his allies of holding a dagger at the throat of America and attempting to undermine the legitimacy of the election system comparing Trumps actions to those of autocrats and dictators in faraway countries. Bidens speech kicked off a daylong commemoration that underscored just how fractured the U.S. remains a year after Trump refused to accept a decisive defeat at the ballot box. With not a single Republican senator in the Senate chamber, Democrats took the floor to deliver speeches attacking Trump and tying him to the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 10. And finally, the secret to a full and meaningful life. Consider the lives of these six older New Yorkers. John Leland, a Metro reporter for The Times, wrote about these six people, the last of whom died on Christmas Eve, and shared their lessons on living during the twilight of their lives over the past seven years. At the end of life, what turns out to really matter, and what is just noise? The answers from these elders dont brood about the things you cant reach; live as if your time is limited; focus on the people you care about; enjoy the pleasures near at hand are simple but highly useful, pillars on which to build a good life. Have an inspiring night. Sean Culligan compiled photos for this briefing. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com. Here are todays Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. If youre in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Update: Richard Clarida will resign from the Fed sooner than planned. Richard H. Clarida, the departing vice chair of the Federal Reserve, failed to initially disclose the extent of a financial transaction he made in early 2020 as the Fed was preparing to swoop in and rescue markets amid the unfolding pandemic. Mr. Clarida previously came under fire for buying shares on Feb. 27 in an investment fund that holds stocks one day before the Fed chair, Jerome H. Powell, announced that the central bank stood ready to help the economy as the pandemic set in. The transaction drew an outcry from lawmakers and watchdog groups because it put Mr. Clarida in a position to benefit as the Fed restored market confidence. Mr. Claridas recently amended financial disclosure showed that the vice chair sold that same stock fund on Feb. 24, at a moment when financial markets were plunging amid fears of the virus. The Fed initially described the Feb. 27 transaction as a previously planned move by Mr. Clarida away from bonds and into stocks, the type of rebalancing investors often do when they want to take on more risk and earn higher returns over time. But the rapid move out of stocks and then back in makes it look less like a planned, long-term financial maneuver and more like a response to market conditions. SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, Chile Plans to expand lithium mining in Chile, the worlds second largest producer, hit political roadblocks this week, raising new questions about supplies of a metal that is in high demand as the world transitions away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources. Lithium is used in batteries, including those that power electric vehicles, and demand is soaring globally. It is also at the heart of a profound debate among Chileans, who are at odds over the social and environmental risks of lithium extraction. The New York Times reported last week on the consequences of mining for lithium in the ecologically sensitive salt flats of northern Chile and on how a new constitution, being drafted by an elected body, could change the mining sector, water rights and the countrys response to climate change. The outgoing government of President Sebastian Pinera had invited bids in October from private companies to expand lithium production to 400,000 metric tons a year. But that plan has come under new scrutiny. The store said it had already pulled several bottles from the collection off the shelf, and offered refunds on bottles it had already sold. But that didnt stop Inside Edition from featuring the incident in an eye-opening news report a few weeks later. It was just the latest high-profile example of what distillers, retailers and consumers describe as a growing problem for the bourbon industry and its millions of enthusiasts. Over the past few years counterfeiting, long a problem for purveyors of fine wines and single-malt Scotch, has come to American whiskey. Weve had fans from across the U.S. contact us to tell us theyve been duped, Mary Tortorice, general counsel for Sazerac, the company that owns Buffalo Trace, said in a statement in September. The scammers are finding fertile ground. Luxury bourbon was once an oxymoron; now, its the hottest thing in whiskey. Domestic sales of super-premium American whiskey bottles valued over $50 nearly doubled from 2016 to 2020, to four million cases, compared with an average growth of 30 percent for all American whiskeys, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. At the very high end, where bottles sell for $500 or more, demand has vastly outstripped supply, creating long lines at liquor stores and a robust secondary market, mostly within private social-media groups. Trading or selling in such groups is illegal, though some places, including Kentucky and New York State, are starting to loosen their laws to allow private collectors to sell through an auction or to licensed retailers like Acker. [Follow the latest updates on the Golden Globes 2022 winners.] First, the Golden Globes were going to go toe-to-toe with the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night. Now, after the critics ceremony was postponed amid the Omicron surge, the Globes will have Sunday night all to themselves for a big, splashy audience-less, glorified PowerPoint presentation. After NBC bowed out as the broadcaster for this years event over ethical missteps and a lack of diversity at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group of journalists that puts on the Golden Globes, the ceremony on Sunday will be decidedly low-key. A small number of vaccinated, boosted, masked, socially distanced H.F.P.A. members and other guests will attend the 90-minute event, kicking off at 9 p.m. Eastern time (6 p.m. Pacific) in the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. There will be no red carpet or outside media covering the night in person. It seems the event will be more like a graduation ceremony than the freewheeling party of years past. Muted format aside, there are still some names to watch: Jane Campion is the favorite to take home her first Golden Globe in the best director category for The Power of the Dog, Will Smith and Kristen Stewart could build Oscar momentum with wins for King Richard and Spencer, and West Side Story could score big with wins in several categories. Heres a recap of how we got here and what to expect. What exactly is the controversy surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association? In February, The Los Angeles Times published an investigation that uncovered infighting, possible financial missteps, questionable journalistic ethics and a jarring lack of diversity in the H.F.P.A.s ranks. (Not a single one of the organizations 80-plus voting members, the paper found, were Black.) A New York Times article published a few days later explored the finances of the group, a tax-exempt nonprofit, and reported that it had paid more than $3 million in salaries and other compensation to its members and staff, and that a tax filing showed it had paid $1.3 million in travel costs one year. Peter Bogdanovich, who parlayed his ardor for Golden Age cinema into the direction of acclaimed films like The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, only to have his professional reputation tarnished in one of Hollywoods most conspicuous falls from grace, died early Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 82. His daughter Antonia Bogdanovich confirmed the death but did not specify a cause. Originally trained as a stage actor (he was also a producer, a screenwriter, a film historian, a programmer and a critic, as well as a theater and television director), Mr. Bogdanovich was long recognizable by his soulful basset-hound face, outsize horn-rimmed glasses and trademark neckerchief. As a filmmaker, he was hailed for his ability to coax nuanced performances from actors, and for the bittersweet luminosity of movies that conjured a bygone past bygone in American cinema, bygone in America itself. Reviewing The Last Picture Show only Mr. Bogdanovichs second film and widely considered his foremost on its release in 1971, Newsweeks critic called it a masterpiece, adding, It is the most impressive work by a young American director since Citizen Kane. Two centuries before James Bond 007, there was Agent 355, a lady spy on George Washingtons side during the American Revolutionary War who helped identify the turncoat Benedict Arnold. Her name was hidden from history, but her code number has been claimed by this slick and grim espionage flick that aspires to become an all-star, all-female franchise the Spice Girls version of Bond. Jessica Chastain, a producer and star of the movie, even used Twitter to crowdsource casting suggestions for a #BondBoy. Why not? But were going to need a better plot than one built around a bunch of heroes and terrorists chasing after yet another doomsday gizmo. Chastains Mace Browne, a C.I.A. workaholic repulsed by romantic commitment, is hellbent on securing a one-of-a-kind cyber-whatsit able to hack into and hijack any computer-controlled device on the planet, from a power grid to a plane. This device could start World War III, Mace warns an MI6 computer whiz, Khadijah (Lupita Nyongo), in a rusty clunker of a line that warns the audience that the only novelty in Simon Kinbergs thriller is the cast. It doesnt take a super sleuth to fill in the rest. There will be lectures on teamwork, confessions squeezed out the easy way or the hard way and speeches about the invisible front lines of modern warfare, all rote hubbub building toward a blowout gun battle that makes sure to set aside a bad boyfriend for a sequel. But what a cast. Chastain and Nyongo rumble with Diane Kruger, peer pressure Penelope Cruz and are struck dumb by Fan Bingbing, who saunters in halfway through to shake things up. Individually, the women represent the differing national security interests of the United States, England, Germany, Colombia and China; their pitiful male colleagues, however the lovesick partner (Sebastian Stan) who uses a sting operation to make Mace playact as his fiancee, the distrustful boss (Sylvester Groth) who diagnoses Krugers near-feral street fighter with daddy issues make a case for the women to form a feminist Brawlers Without Borders. James McGuire, who worked as a prosecutor in Manhattan and was chief counsel to Gov. George E. Pataki, a three-term Republican, said Mr. Braggs policies might bring him into conflict with other elected leaders, including Mayor Eric Adams, who ran, in part, on a law-and-order platform. These policies may be a challenge to the mayor and what hes campaigned on, Mr. McGuire said. Asked about the district attorney on Wednesday in an interview with CBS, Mr. Adams said he knew and respected him, calling him a great prosecutor. Mr. Bragg defended his plan in a Twitter thread on Wednesday. These policy changes not only will, in and of themselves, make us safer; they also will free up prosecutorial resources to focus on violent crime and bigger cases that make us safer, he wrote. In an interview before he took office, he said he had used the transition period since the election to stress-test the policies. There will be gaps and gray areas and people who dont agree, he said, adding that he was happy to discuss the new guidelines with members of his staff but that he would be less tolerant of recalcitrance on the part of prosecutors who are not interested in adhering to the underlying principles. Mr. Bragg has also said he would not prosecute some misdemeanors, including prostitution and fare evasion, that his predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., had already stopped charging as crimes. But he is adding several misdemeanors to the list, including the stand-alone charge for resisting arrest. Those who resist arrest by attacking police officers will still be charged. But with New York at a virtual standstill then, there were fewer passengers to notice the upheaval. Subway ridership this week stood at about 40 percent of prepandemic numbers, transit officials said. That is a drop from levels that climbed above 50 percent in November but still represents millions of passengers. On Wednesday morning, as city residents on the affected lines traveled to their first workdays and school days of the year, many griped about the virus-related interruptions to their schedules. Amanda Aponte, 51, said she had experienced delays as long as 20 minutes waiting for the D train to take her from the Bronx to Manhattan for medical appointments. When the trains do arrive, she said, the cars have been more packed than usual. Normally I try to leave at 8:45 a.m., she said, as she stood on the platform at the Fordham Road station at 8 a.m. Today I said, Let me just take my chances and get there earlier. Mr. Cipriano said that he and other transit officials believed the delays had been relatively minimal. But as riders waited for their trains on Wednesday, they disputed his assessment, saying that train service had become frustratingly unreliable and that they have had to shuffle their schedules to get places on time. Luis Toledo, 37, who was waiting for a train in the Bronx, said he has had to leave home 15 minutes earlier to arrive on time to his job as a porter in Manhattan. Thats the only way I can get to my job, Mr. Toledo said. I hope they do something about it. Henry Raine, a librarian, used to be able to hop on a B train in the Bronx and ride 16 stops to the 81st Street station in Manhattan, a trip that on a good transit day used to take about 30 minutes. But the suspension of the B line meant that his commute now required the use of two lines and is taking as long as 45 minutes. But there are a lot fewer riders now ridership in 2021 was down more than 50 percent compared with prepandemic levels and the rate of crimes per million weekday passengers has increased sharply almost across the board compared with 2019, according to a New York Times analysis of crime and ridership numbers. The rate of felony assaults in 2021 was up about 200 percent through November compared with the same period in 2019. The rate was up about 125 percent for robberies, about 15 percent for grand larcenies thefts committed without use or threat of force and about 65 percent for major felonies overall. The total number of felony assaults, in fact, was higher in 2021 than in 2019 despite the drop in ridership. There were 423 felony assaults during the first 11 months of 2021, 50 more than in all of 2019. Many of those incidents were high-profile attacks, like slashings on trains or people shoved onto the tracks, which generated a flurry of headlines about subway violence. Six murders had been reported in the subway system as of the end of November, the total for all of 2020 and double the three murders reported in 2019. During Thursdays announcement, Mr. Adams said that he believed that actual crime and the perception of crime and the perception of disorder all fed the publics fears over the subway systems safety. In a bid to comfort riders, Janno Lieber, the acting chairman and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subway, called on police officials to better deploy officers to places on the trains and to platforms where people may feel vulnerable. Lawrence N. Brooks, the oldest World War II veteran in the United States, who served his country in a segregated unit, died on Wednesday. He was 112. His death was announced by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. It did not say where he died. He had lived in the New Orleans area. Assigned to the mostly Black 91st Engineer General Service Regiment an Army unit, stationed in Australia, that built bridges, roads and airstrips Private Brooks served as a caretaker to three white officers, cooking, driving and doing other chores for them. Most African Americans in the segregated U.S. armed forces at the beginning of the war were assigned to noncombat service units that handled supplies, maintenance and transportation, said Col. Peter Crean, vice president for education and access at the war museum. Of course, not all serious people. The Harvard political scientist Josh Kertzer wrote on Twitter that he knows many civil war scholars, and very few of them think the United States is on the precipice of a civil war. Yet even some who push back on civil war talk tend to acknowledge what a perilous place America is in. In The Atlantic, Fintan OToole, writing about Marches book, warns that prophecies of civil war can be self-fulfilling; during the long conflict in Ireland, he says, each side was driven by fear that the other was mobilizing. Its one thing, he writes, to acknowledge the real possibility that the U.S. could break apart and could do so violently. It is quite another to frame that possibility as an inevitability. I agree with OToole that its absurd to treat civil war as a foregone conclusion, but that it now seems distinctly possible is still pretty bad. The fact that speculation about civil war has moved from the crankish fringes into the mainstream is itself a sign of civic crisis, an indication of how broken our country is. The sort of civil war that Walter and Marche worry about wouldnt involve red and blue armies facing off on some battlefield. If it happens, it will be more of a guerrilla insurgency. As Walter told me, she, like Marche, relies on an academic definition of major armed conflict as one that causes at least 1,000 deaths per year. A minor armed conflict is one that kills at least 25 people a year. By this definition, as Marche argues, America is already in a state of civil strife. According to the Anti-Defamation League, extremists, most of them right-wing, killed 54 people in 2018 and 45 people in 2019. (They killed 17 people in 2020, a figure that was low due to the absence of extremist mass shootings, possibly because of the pandemic.) Walter argues that civil wars have predictable patterns, and she spends more than half her book laying out how those patterns have played out in other countries. They are most common in what she and other scholars call anocracies, countries that are neither full autocracies nor democracies but something in between. Warning signs include the rise of intense political polarization based on identity rather than ideology, especially polarization between two factions of roughly equal size, each of which fears being crushed by the other. Instigators of civil violence, she writes, tend to be previously dominant groups who see their status slipping away. The ethnic groups that start wars are those claiming that the country is or ought to be theirs, she writes. This is one reason, although there are violent actors on the left, neither she nor Marche believe the left will start a civil war. As Marche writes, Left-wing radicalism matters mostly because it creates the conditions for right-wing radicalization. None appeared willing to condemn Mr. Trump for organizing an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden. On the contrary, the Rev. Franklin Graham, writing on Facebook, condemned these ten from Mr. Trumps own party who voted to impeach him and mused, It makes you wonder what the thirty pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for this betrayal. At Christian nationalist conferences I have been reporting on, I have heard speakers go out of their way to defend and even lionize the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. At the Road to Majority conference, which was held in Central Florida in June 2021, the author and radio host Eric Metaxas said, The reason I think we are being so persecuted, why the Jan. 6 folks are being persecuted, when youre over the target like that, oh my. At that same conference, the political commentator Dinesh DSouza, in conversation with the religious right strategist Ralph Reed, said, The people who are really getting shafted right now are the Jan. 6 protesters, before adding, We wont defend our guys even when theyre good guys. Mr. Reed nodded in response and replied, I think Donald Trump taught our movement a lot. Movement leaders now appear to be working to prime the base for the next attempt to subvert the electoral process. At dozens of conservative churches in swing states this past year, groups of pastors were treated to presentations by an initiative called Faith Wins. Featuring speakers like David Barton, a key figure in the fabrication of Christian nationalist myths about history, and led by Chad Connelly, a Republican political veteran, Faith Wins serves up elections skepticism while demanding that pastors mobilize their flocks to vote biblical values. Every pastor you know needs to make sure 100 percent of the people in their pews are voting, and voting biblical values, Mr. Connelly told the assembled pastors at a Faith Wins event in Chantilly, Va. in September. The church is not a cruise ship, the church is a battleship, added Byron Foxx, an evangelist touring with Faith Wins. The Faith Wins team also had at its side Hogan Gidley, a deputy press secretary in the Trump White House, who now runs the Center for Election Integrity, an initiative of the America First Policy Institute, a group led in part by former members of the Trump administration. Mr. Gidley informed the gathering that his group is nonpartisan and then went on to mention that in the last election cycle there were A lot of rogue secretaries of state, a lot of rogue governors. He was presumably referring to Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state of Georgia who earned the ire of Trumpists by rebuffing the former presidents request to find him an additional 11,780 votes. You saw the stuff in Arizona, youre going to see more stuff in Wisconsin, these are significant issues, and we cant be dismissed out of hand anymore, the facts are too glaring, Mr. Gidley said. In fact, the Republican-backed audit of votes in Arizonas largest county confirmed that President Biden won Arizona by more votes than previously thought. But the persecution narrative is too politically useful to discard simply because its not true. Even as movement leaders are preparing for a possible restoration of a Trumpist regime a period they continue to regard as a golden age in retrospect they are advancing in parallel on closely related fronts. Among the most important of these has to do with public education. COVID-19 cases surge in Okinawa, Japanese FM requests curfew for U.S. military bases Xinhua) 13:41, January 06, 2022 TOKYO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The governor of Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa said on Thursday that the daily number of COVID-19 cases is expected to approach the 1,000-mark surging from 623 cases reported a day earlier, local media reported. Denny Tamaki said the latest number of daily coronavirus cases in the prefecture is expected to reach 980, which if so would mark a record high for Okinawa, surpassing the prior record of 809 cases reported on Aug. 25 of last year. Earlier in the day, the prefectural government requested that the central government place Okinawa under a quasi-state of emergency. As virus cases including those connected to U.S. bases, surge in Okinawa, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday requested the U.S. bases in Japan impose a curfew amid the rampant spread of COVID-19 cases among U.S. military personnel. According to the foreign ministry, Hayashi's request was made by telephone to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with Hayashi reportedly telling Blinken that further measures needed to be taken by the U.S. side to prevent the virus from spreading at U.S. military facilities in Japan and further into the community. The Japanese side has been irked by the U.S. lax approach to administering its military personnel with COVID-19 tests before and after arriving in Japan, leading to a spike in cases and cluster infections at multiple U.S. military bases here. At the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, a U.S. Marine Corps air station located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, south of Hiroshima, 182 personnel were confirmed to be infected on Wednesday, official figures showed. The mayor of Iwakuni said the cluster outbreak at the base was "fueling the rapid spread of (the) Omicron (variant of the virus) in his city." "We've heard that the genome of the coronavirus from the base workers and those who tested positive at restaurants in the city is the same. It's highly likely that the Omicron variant has spread from the base throughout the city," Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda was quoted as saying. In Okinawa, where the vast majority of U.S. bases are located in Japan, meanwhile, 623 new cases were reported on Wednesday, more than doubling its daily tally compared to the previous day. This marked the first time the U.S. base-heavy prefecture's daily COVID-19 tally surpassed 600 in more than four months, according to the official figures. Last month, what has been described as a "major cluster of infections" broke out at the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Hansen in Okinawa, as was widely reported at the time, sparking concerns about the virus' potential rapid spread from the base into mainstream Japanese society. If the prefectural government's request to the central government to declare a quasi-state of emergency is granted, local officials will be allowed to introduce more stringent antiviral measures. Other U.S. bases in Japan are also seeing significant COVID-19 cluster outbreaks and have likely been affected by new U.S. military personnel arriving in Japan not being required to undergo COVID-19 testing until five or more days after entering Japan, according to the U.S. forces and as quoted by Japan's public broadcaster NHK. "The U.S. forces then revealed it did not require new personnel to be tested until at least five days after arriving in Japan," NHK said. Some 114 base-linked personnel have also tested positive for the virus recently, with Yokota Air Base in Tokyo seeing 57 personnel newly-infected, Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture reporting 41 new cases, while 16 new infections have been detected at Sasebo Navy base in Nagasaki Prefecture, according to the latest official figures. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-27 02:59:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People sit at a restaurant inside a shopping mall in Farwaniya Governorate, Kuwait, July 27, 2021. Kuwait decided to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions and resume commercial activities, the Kuwaiti government announced Monday. (Photo by Asad /Xinhua) KUWAIT CITY, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait decided to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions and resume commercial activities, the Kuwaiti government announced Monday. Tareq Al-Mezrem, the government spokesman, said at a press conference that Kuwait will resume commercial activities except for conferences, weddings, and social events, starting from Tuesday, amid a drop in COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, unvaccinated people are only allowed to enter pharmacies, food shops, government institutions and hospitals, as of Aug. 1, he said. In addition, the government allowed the opening of all children activities, starting from Sept. 1, he noted. On May 13, the Kuwaiti government lifted the partial curfew, but all commercial activities are still suspended from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., except for pharmacies, food marketing outlets, restaurants, and maintenance services. Enditem This article is part of a collection on the events of Jan. 6, one year later. Read more in a note from Times Opinions politics editor Ezekiel Kweku in our Opinion Today newsletter. The year is 2086. At an unveiling ceremony in the United States Capitols Statuary Hall, visitors listen to august speeches about a dark day, long ago, when patriots fought to defend democracy. The crowd breaks into applause as the cloth covering the new statue falls away. Marble megaphone aloft, headdress and horns gleaming, the QAnon shaman of Jan. 6, 2021, takes his place among the heroes of American history. If it seems far-fetched that a notorious insurgent could be given such a place of honor, the past begs to differ. When the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was imprisoned after the Civil War (rumored to be dressed at the time of his arrest in his own outlandish costume), he was more reviled and mocked than any Capitol rioter, and his crimes far more serious. His statue joined George Washingtons in the Capitol 65 years later. As curators at the Smithsonians National Museum of American History, we are regularly confronted by hard physical evidence of just how slippery the past can be. Materials brought in by curators long ago take on unanticipated meanings. Objects that weve collected, which seem almost to speak for themselves when we catalog them, may find totally different use behind glass decades from now. The Omicron variant is spreading widely and infecting large numbers of people, including the vaccinated and those previously infected with the virus. While spikes in cases have been the norm for the past two years, there are clear indications this wave will differ substantially from previous ones. The record number of cases in the United States and globally is largely because Omicron is more contagious than other variants and has a greater ability to evade immunity to infection. At the same time, early evidence indicates that its less common for people infected with Omicron to experience severe disease and end up in the hospital. This has important implications when estimating just how disruptive Omicron will be in terms of deaths, hospitalizations and work and school interruptions. To assess the future burden of a variant like Omicron, epidemiologists like myself often turn to mathematical modeling and projection. The idea is to use a computer-based representation of how the virus spreads to simulate potential future outcomes. It is important for modelers to explore the unknowns around Covid. For instance, evidence indicates that Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta variant, but by how much? By incorporating uncertainties into our models, we dont merely project a single outcome. Instead, we create a distribution of outcomes, much like the cone of uncertainty used for a hurricane landfall forecast. An example of Big Techs ambition is Facebooks Free Basics, a program that is supposed to take the internet to the developing world. By providing the only reliable online connection, Free Basics, which one media watch group called digital colonialism, would control the flow of information and a majority of online commerce. This goes well beyond owning the newspapers; its like owning the newspapers, the television stations, the wires read in newsrooms and the airwaves. A focus on content moderation wont save us from unbridled tech growth, a more concerning outcome. Its why we should start thinking about ways to address the likelihood that the entire world will start to resemble a Free Basics country, perhaps by taking antitrust action or orchestrating mass abandonment of the platforms. Facebook has 2.5 billion users, Ben Wizner, director of the A.C.L.U.s Speech and Privacy Project, told The Guardian last January. The fact that it has become the dominant platform for certain kinds of debate means we all have a stake. We need to use the law to prevent companies from consolidating that amount of power over our public discourse. That does not mean regulation of content. It would mean enforcing our antitrust laws in the U.S. We should never have allowed a handful of companies to achieve the market dominance they have over such important public spaces. Wizner is right: The scope of this problem is much bigger than Marjorie Taylor Greenes personal account. OK, but cant we just shut down dangerous Covid misinformation and loosen the control tech has over our speech at the same time? One of the more convincing arguments in favor of banning Greene goes something like this: We are in a pandemic that has killed over 800,00 Americans. Anti-vaccination messaging has exacerbated the damage, mucked up the exit plan and jammed emergency rooms and intensive care units with patients who very well could have been spared if they had just listened to science. All tech companies, then, have a responsibility to prevent misinformation from reaching susceptible people, whether in the form of the warnings you see under any Instagram post that mentions Covid or in the elimination of accounts that continually spread anti-vax nonsense. All of this is correct, but a state of alarm can justify any curtailing of speech not only by social media companies but also by the government. The world is not going to get much less scary over the next decade, and its important to make sure that both our elected officials and the tech giants do not take every opportunity to cut away at our civil liberties. When it comes to getting vintage looks on the red carpet, Ms. Jones said, the biggest challenge is often sizing. Temporary alterations can be needed to achieve a perfect fit, but not without risking the original structure of the piece. Its tough, because I dont want to risk a one-of-a-kind piece, she said. There are all these judgment calls having boundaries for my business and myself but also wanting to possibly have this moment with this team. She once lent a piece to a major magazine for a photo shoot with a celebrity, but the garment was never returned; she later tracked it down after seeing the celebrity wearing it in paparazzi photos. Its not like we have 10 more in different sizes, Ms. Jones said. Vintage collectors, by nature, care deeply about preservation. While some have stores with pieces for sale, like Ms. Jones and Ms. Balch, others only rent pieces. I feel strongly about giving pieces a permanent home, said Haile Lidow, whose archive fills a sprawling house in Los Feliz imbued with 1990s drag spirit a lot of hot pink, clashing prints, giant props and wigged mannequins everywhere. Which is difficult, because monetarily, it would be more beneficial if I did sell, but I dont. While Lidow Archive has lent items for red-carpet appearances, like the BET Hip Hop Awards and iHeartRadio Music Awards, she more often fields editorial requests. (Her first major magazine cover placement was the model-actress Hunter Schafer on V, wearing a veiled white hat that Ms. Lidow thrifted in Santa Fe for $20.) LOUISVILLE, Colo. Bryan Giles, who fled with his cat, Chloe, finds himself replaying their harrowing escape from the blaze. The Manz family is scouring the ruins of their home for family heirlooms. Nan Boultbee and Lex Kell are still waiting for their street to reopen to catch a glimpse of the four-bedroom house they had lived in for five years, now torched. In this part of the drought-stricken West, wildfires come more often now. They sweep through neighborhoods and often retreat as quickly as they came, leaving behind new landscapes of suburban rubble this one, after the devastating blaze that swept through the area around Boulder, Colo., softened under a sudden snow. But like the coals that were still glowing days later under the frost, the extent of what was lost and the challenge of what comes next is only now becoming apparent to those who lived in the 1,084 homes and other residential structures that were lost in one of the worst wildfires in Colorado history. As Cam Laundry lay unconscious in the snowy woods near his battered pickup after a rollover crash, his dog Tinsley ran off into the icy Vermont night and returned with help. The authorities and local media are now hailing the 1-year-old Shiloh Shepherd as a real-life Lassie for her actions on Monday night. Rescuers said they would not have spotted Mr. Laundry and his seriously injured passenger if not for Tinsley. They credited her with preventing a terrible night from becoming a lot worse for Mr. Laundry and his passenger. The Vermont State Police said Mr. Laundry, 31, was intoxicated and cited him with driving under the influence. He says he is cooperating with the investigation. While the elaborate fencing around the Capitol has come down and the National Guard has gone home, many were on edge as the anniversary approached and security forces were on guard. Federal officials saw an uptick in online threats, including a video calling for a mass hanging of lawmakers, but cited no new, credible evidence of organized plots, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times. Online chatter about celebrations and rallies by right-wing groups protesting what they call the persecution of the hundreds of rioters who have been arrested did not translate into large-scale events, and the day passed peacefully in Washington. But emotions were high for Democrats who recalled the fear and dread of that day as lawmakers were rushed out of their chambers by overwhelmed police officers who could not contain rioters chanting Hang Mike Pence and hunting for Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont paused to compose himself as he remembered the police officer who took his arm and vowed to protect him. Representative Colin Allred of Texas, a powerfully built former National Football League player, described shedding his coat, expecting to have to physically guard his colleagues. To emphasize the significance of the event, Ms. Pelosi hosted a discussion led by Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, with the historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham, who talked about other moments of peril, like the years leading up to the Civil War. The panel was introduced with a video specially produced by the cast of Hamilton, performing a song from the hit musical about the founding of the country. In my lifetime, this is the hardest moment for democracy, said Ms. Goodwin. Mr. Meacham, who helped write Mr. Bidens speech, called this moment democracys hour of maximum danger and said its either a step on the way to the abyss or it is a call to arms, figuratively, for citizens to engage and say no, we are more important than the whim of a single man or a single party. The absence of Republicans indicated that 1/6 will never be remembered like 9/11, as a moment to come together. The surreal scene of Dick Cheney, himself a former member of the House, being welcomed cordially in the chamber by Ms. Pelosi and other Democrats who once deemed him a war criminal illustrated how much Mr. Trump has transformed the political dynamics of the country. But many companies have restarted campaign donations, with some saying they are doing so in the spirit of nonpartisanship. Our employee PAC program continues to observe longstanding principles of nonpartisan political engagement in support of our business interests, said Trent Perrotto, a spokesman for the defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which contributed $145,000 to 72 lawmakers who voted against certifying the election. Sharon J. Castillo, a Pfizer spokeswoman, said in a statement that following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the company adhered to its commitment to pause political giving to the 147 members of Congress who voted against certifying the election for six months. She added that monitoring elected officials conduct and statements is a part of our governance process, and we will continue to do so as we consider future Pfizer PAC disbursements. CREW noted that some lawmakers who had downplayed the riot or sought to sow doubts about what happened on Jan. 6 had continued to be magnets for corporate money. Representative Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican who has blamed Democrats for instigating the violence and has called those taken into custody in connection with the riot political hostages, received $2,000 in donations from the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors and the Farmers Rice Cooperative Fund. Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has said there is no evidence that an armed insurrection took place, received $1,000 from the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors. In the immediate aftermath of the riot, associating with lawmakers who appeared to abet it was viewed by many companies as a political liability. But in many cases, those concerns did not last. Charles Spies, a Republican campaign finance lawyer who helped run Mitt Romneys presidential super PAC, said that while the initial shock of the attack made corporate donors risk-averse, their thinking shifted with the politicization of the Jan. 6 congressional inquiry. Republicans have sought to downplay the attack and have accused Democrats of using the investigation to hurt the G.O.P.s image. Democrats tried to resume debate in the House, and that quickly ended when an official came and said that tear gas had been sprayed in the Rotunda and lawmakers should prepare to take shelter. It's just pandemonium. The House chaplain barely a few days into her new job at one point is praying. Suddenly, people are pulling out these emergency escape hoods basically a crumpled bag attached to this whirring machine Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and a war veteran is standing on top of the chairs telling people how to use them. Lawmakers and security are pushing this big chest in front of the chamber doors the ones Mike Pence just walked through! to barricade us in. I just remember crouching behind the gallery desk, struggling to open this box holding my escape hood, and then we start moving, people are yelling to get out of the chamber. There are these gold railings that separate the sections of the gallery, so I remember grabbing my laptop, my phone, a charger and just scrambling to get out, stepping on the seats, banging my knees. What's faster over the railing? Under the railing? I literally pulled this woman under a railing to help her get through. The thing that's seared in my mind is looking out from behind this chair and seeing the security detail with their guns drawn pointing at the shattered window of the chamber door. I texted my editor: "Guns drawn. You could see people on the other side, through the shattered window, yelling, people trying to reason with them. I texted my loved ones that I loved them, because in that moment, I just feared that people would start shooting. I remember turning the corner of the chamber I can now see the exit but then there's this bang and we all just drop to the floor. "GET DOWN." I'm on the top of the staircase, and I remember trying to think whether I would be more covered by this auditorium chair or the cluster of the CSPAN cameras at the bottom of the staircase. But I decided not to risk the exposure of scrambling down those stairs. 9 a.m. President Biden and Vice President Harris will deliver remarks in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol. 10:45 a.m. Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, will lead colleagues in floor speeches from the Senate chamber. Noon The House will convene a pro forma session that will include a prayer, speeches and a moment of silence. 1 p.m. The Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, will host a conversation between the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and the Biden adviser John Meacham to establish and preserve the narrative of the attack. BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China will focus on advancing the comprehensive management of water and soil erosion and water conservation, as priorities for its 2022 water conservancy work. The country set the annual target for management of water and soil erosion at 62,000 square km, in an effort to restore the ecological environment of rivers and lakes, said Li Guoying, Minister of Water Resources, at the ministry's annual work conference on Thursday. In 2021, China's investment in water conservancy facilities reached 757.6 billion yuan (118.88 billion U.S. dollars). Speaking at the conference, Li stressed the need for conserving water and strictly keeping water consumption below the upper limit. The government will encourage the development of water-saving industries and technologies in the Yellow River valley and strictly control the building of water-intensive projects, he said. Absolutely. The rhetoric from the speakers was bellicose. One of the speakers said "Today, we dont fight lions and bears. We fight liberals and RINOS." She then added: It is time for war, and declared, Lets stop the steal. I ended up leaving shortly before the rally ended, after I interviewed a few of the Three Percenters and one of them, who had clearly had enough of my questions, told me "we know what to do with people like you." He was holding a club. I figured it was best to make my exit. Multiple lawmakers have called for the preservation of damaged items, particularly a cracked window in the Rotunda doors that open onto the plaza. That window has since been replaced, but it is unclear whether the shattered pane was kept. Hopefully, they will preserve some of what happened here so that the people can come and see it and remember what happened, said Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, who broke with his party to support forming a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack. But Republicans blocked that inquiry, and most of them have spent the past year downplaying or denying the significance of the assault, making it unlikely that they would back legislation to memorialize it. Some Republicans argue that they have already paid appropriate tribute to what happened by supporting legislation that awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the officers who responded. That measure ensures that medals will be displayed at the headquarters of the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department, one at the Smithsonian and one at the Capitol. A plaque at the Capitol will list all the law enforcement agencies involved in protecting the building. Democrats plan to spend the anniversary on Thursday hosting a running series of memorials, reflecting on what they experienced and holding a vigil on the Capitol steps. With the exception of two hard-right lawmakers who plan to protest the treatment of the rioters, there is little indication that most Republicans plan to be involved in such public markings of the day. The Capitol, of course, is filled with reminders of what happened. Riot shields are propped outside entrances to the building, and metal detectors have been installed outside the House chamber. Capitol Police officers still wrap black mourning bands around their badges to pay tribute to the colleagues they lost in connection with the riot. But there is no official site or monument in the Capitol dedicated to explaining what happened, or reflecting on the wounds inflicted on the institution and American democracy itself on Jan. 6. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, said that Jan. 6 is going to be a disaster rather than an asset for Democrats that will cost them seats in the November midterm elections. While he said those who broke into the Capitol should be brought to justice and the event investigated, he argued that Democrats were covering up their own complicity in not providing adequate security for the Capitol. The process of the select committee is only getting more corrupt and destructive, Mr. Gingrich wrote in a newsletter this week. Using an outrageous, painful and unacceptable event (which I fully condemn) to smear your opponents rather than find the truth will ultimately be repudiated by the American people. In fact, at the time of the attack, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, shared control of the Capitol with the Senate majority leader, who at the time was Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky. Republicans have made no attempt to blame Mr. McConnell for the security breach or for failing to prepare for an attack. As unlikely as it seemed 365 days ago, Mr. Trump emerged from the wreckage of Jan. 6 still the dominant force within the party. Those who speak against him are purged, and his endorsement is the most coveted asset in almost any Republican primary. One Republican senator privately explained his reluctance to break with Mr. Trump by noting that the former president polled better among Republicans in his state than he did. You cant minimize that in terms of the political reality, the senator said. Still, Mr. Trump is not all-powerful within the party. For months, he has railed against Mr. McConnell, demanding that Republican senators remove him as their leader. Republican senators have uniformly ignored Mr. Trump as if his rants were irrelevant. And there are times when Mr. Trump appears not so much in command of his base as a captive of it. When he urged an Alabama audience in August to get vaccinated for the coronavirus a vaccine he helped generate the crowd booed him. Taking the point, he avoided bringing up the vaccine again for months. When he said in Texas last month that he had received a booster, he was booed again. This time, he told supporters that although you shouldnt be forced to take it, they were playing into their hands, meaning his opponents, by denigrating the vaccine. By Wednesday, he pivoted to a full-throated attack on vaccine mandates. This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach, he said in a statement. The reimagining of Jan. 6 has not so much evolved as it has splintered into rival, but often complementary, false narratives with a common goal to shift blame away from Mr. Trump, his supporters and a Republican Party maneuvering to win back control of government. The riot was a false flag operation by antifa, the loose left-wing collective; the F.B.I. planted agents to stir up the crowd; the protesters were mere tourists wrongfully accused by a Democratic-led Justice Department and vilified by a biased mainstream media; police officers recounting their injuries and trauma were crisis actors. Mr. Carlson has emerged as a leading proponent of Jan. 6 revisionism, most prominently with his three-part Patriot Purge series. Carried on the Fox Nation streaming service, it amplified a debunked false flag conspiracy theory that the F.B.I. had instigated the violence as a pretext to lock away peaceful but concerned Americans because of their political views, creating a class of patriot martyrs. On Thursday night, he aired excerpts from Patriot Purge on his prime-time show, spreading those conspiracy theories to one of the largest audiences on cable television. Mr. Carlsons relentless promotion of the series and the ensuing silence from Fox News management recently prompted two longtime conservative contributors at the network to quit in protest and contributed to the exit of Chris Wallace, the longtime news anchor. In fact, Patriot Purge was the apotheosis of a yearlong shift in the way Fox News stars refer to the Capitol attack. Though the networks commentators allow that mob violence is wrong, they often pivot to asking why Black Lives Matter protests did not prompt similarly sharp criticism from Democrats. Then there are podcasts like that of Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump adviser who faces contempt charges for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the riot. (In seeking his testimony, congressional investigators cited Mr. Bannons interactions with Mr. Trump and other key players in the effort to dispute the election results as his podcast generously featured false voter-fraud theories; Mr. Trump pardoned Mr. Bannon, hours before leaving office, for unrelated fraud charges.) Even as Mr. Bannon acknowledges things happened on Jan. 6 that did cross the line, his War Room podcast provides a popular stage for people promoting Jan. 6 conspiracy theories or portraying those arrested as political prisoners. On Thursday, Mr. Bannon used his podcast to showcase what he called counterprogramming to the somber ceremonies commemorating the day in Washington. His featured guests were the Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida, who portrayed the events of Jan. 6 as a fedsurrection not an insurrection, now being used against a patriotic, pro-America, God-fearing America First movement all over this great land. ATLANTA On a day when Washingtons partisan divide felt as deep as it has in decades, lawmakers from both parties gathered in an Atlanta church on Thursday to honor one of the U.S. Senates great champions of bipartisanship, Johnny Isakson. Mr. Isakson, a moderate Georgia Republican who once called bipartisanship a state of being, was 76 when he died on Dec. 19, having retired prematurely from the Senate in 2019 because of health complications. He was battling Parkinsons disease. In Washington on Thursday, most Republican legislators refused to take part in the commemorations of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald J. Trump. But they came together at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, in Atlantas Buckhead neighborhood, to honor Mr. Isakson. Among the attendees were Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and Senator Raphael Warnock, the Democrat who was elected to Mr. Isaksons old Georgia seat last January. Around the same time President Biden said former President Donald J. Trump encouraged the violence that took place at the Capitol on Jan. 6, some of Mr. Trumps most prominent supporters deflected blame for the attack during an appearance on a live online show. On the show, hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, one of Mr. Trumps top former advisers, Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene laid responsibility on Democrats, the Capitol Police, the federal government and others. The idea that people other than Mr. Trumps own supporters were responsible for the violence that day has become a popular conspiracy theory among the far right. There is no evidence that undercover agents or other outsiders played a role in the attack and fact checkers have worked to debunk similar claims aired on Fox News. The pair of lawmakers offered little evidence for their claims during the show. Mr. Gaetz, a Florida Republican, repeated some of the unfounded claims on Thursday, including that the government and police tried to set up the protesters. Every two days at a university in Xian in China, cleaners dressed in white hazmat suits taped tight to their bodies disinfect the dormitory hallways. Zhang Shengzi, a 24-year-old student, said the smell is so pungent she has to wait some time after theyve gone before she will open her door again. She can barely leave her room, let alone campus, and all her classes are online. Ms. Zhangs university, like the rest of Xian, has been under a citywide lockdown since Dec. 22. It is the longest lockdown in China since the first one in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began almost two years ago. In scenes recalling the early days of the pandemic, hungry residents have traded coffee for eggs and cigarettes for instant noodles. A pregnant woman and an 8-year-old boy suffering from leukemia are among those who have been denied medical care. People in need of lifesaving medications have struggled to obtain them. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:13 - 0:00 transcript Protesters Clash With Security Forces in Kazakhstan Dozens of antigovernment demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured after protests began Sunday over a surge in fuel prices. [Crowd roaring.] [Loud blast.] [Loud crash.] [Shouting.] Dozens of antigovernment demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured after protests began Sunday over a surge in fuel prices. Credit Credit... Abduaziz Madyarov/Agence France-Presse Getty Images MOSCOW Troops from a Russia-led military alliance arrived in Kazakhstan on Thursday to restore order after protests in the Central Asian country turned violent, with the police reporting that dozens of antigovernment demonstrators had been killed and hundreds injured. The crisis in the oil-rich country marks the biggest challenge yet for the countrys president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in power less than three years, and also threatens to destabilize an already volatile region. Mr. Tokayev requested the Russia-led intervention. The foreign soldiers were dispatched after the city hall in Almaty, the countrys largest city and former capital, was set ablaze on Wednesday, and the airport was overrun by an angry mob. Violence spread through the night. The police opened fire on the demonstrators, some of them armed, but also accused them of killing 18 law enforcement officers and troops, and leaving 750 injured. Throughout the day on Thursday, there were reports of continued clashes in Almaty, with the police saying they were cleansing the city of militants. Heavy gunfire echoed through the city. People hunkered in their homes posted videos of smoke billowing from buildings around the city. On Thursday night, the internal affairs ministry said it had regained control of all government buildings in Almaty. The reports of deaths could not immediately be independently confirmed. Kazakhstan, the worlds largest landlocked country, has some of the largest oil fields on earth and more than 40 percent of the worlds uranium production. But the average salary in Kazakhstan is the equivalent of $570 a month, according to the governments statistics, and many are angry at socio-economic disparities, which have been made worse by the pandemic. The Russian-led effort to quell the unrest, described as a temporary peacekeeping mission by the military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, will be limited in time and will aim at protecting government buildings and military objects, the group said in a statement. The group has dispatched about 2,500 troops to Kazakhstan, and that figure could rise, its secretary general told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. He would not say if they had been sent only to Almaty, or to other cities, as well. This is the first time in the history of the alliance, which is Russias version of NATO, that its protection clause has been invoked. Russian state-run outlets posted videos of Russian troops boarding military aircraft and others driving to Kazakhstan in armored vehicles. 500 miles Moscow Russia Ukraine kazakhstan Caspian Sea Almaty Uzbek. Black Sea china Turkmen. Saltanat Azirbek, a police spokeswoman in Almaty, said that dozens of people had been eliminated by the authorities when they tried to storm government buildings and the headquarters and district offices of the police, the first widespread fatalities since the protests started. The authorities reported that in addition to those who had been killed, about a thousand people had been injured and up to 400 had been hospitalized. By Thursday, around 2,000 people had been detained in Almaty, the Kazakh interior ministry said in a statement read out on state television. Two of the members of the security staff that were killed had been beheaded, Almatys commandants office said in a statement carried by Khabar-24, Kazakhstans state news channel. The protesters also surrounded two hospitals in the city, the statement said. The police warned people living near main government buildings to stay at home. Long adept at stoking unrest in the West, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia sent troops to the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan on Thursday to try to extinguish the latest in a series of dangerous fires to engulf the lands of the former Soviet Union, territory that Moscow views as its own sphere of influence but has struggled to keep calm. But if the turmoil in Kazakhstan has once again exposed the vulnerability of the strongman leaders the Kremlin has trusted to keep order, it has also presented Russia with yet another opportunity to reassert its influence in its former Soviet domain, one of Mr. Putins most cherished long-term goals. The arrival in Kazakhstan of 2,500 troops from a Russian-led military alliance amid continuing spasms of violent protest was the fourth time in just two years that Moscow has flexed its muscle in neighboring states Belarus, Armenia and Ukraine being the other three that the West has long tried to woo. The spectacle of a country like Kazakhstan that seems big and strong falling into disarray so quickly has come as a shock, said Maxim Suchkov, acting director of the Institute for International Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. But it has also shown how, with the exception of Ukraine, in the former Soviet republics that have tried to balance between East and West, boom, you get a crisis and they turn to Russia. SEOUL In November 2020, a North Korean ex-gymnast climbed undetected over 10-foot barbed-wire fences to get into South Korea. When the South belatedly discovered the breach, it began an extensive manhunt. The man was not found until the next day, half a mile south of the worlds most heavily armed border. It was one of the South Korean militarys most embarrassing moments in years. On New Years Day, officials say, the man humiliated the military again by making the trip in reverse, climbing the same fences and crossing the Demilitarized Zone to return to the North. His extraordinary feat not only highlighted South Korean security flaws at the 2.5-mile-wide buffer zone, known as the DMZ, but raised the bewildering question of why someone would risk his life by crossing it twice. The DMZ is lined with barbed-wire fences, minefields and armed sentries. Few North Koreans who defect to the South do so by crossing it directly (most go through China), and it is even rarer for a defector to return that way. BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- True friends always stay united in spirit, as exemplified and lauded in Chinese folktales throughout history. Among such tales, the story of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya must be second to none. Despite the passage of time since it was recorded by historians, the saga of their friendship has always been regarded as a fine example for "junzi," the moral exemplar in Chinese philosophy. Both Guan and Bao were politicians in the State of Qi during the period of Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.), under Duke Huan, the first of the five overlords of that era. They were born in Yingshang, in modern-day Anhui Province in east China, and became acquainted with each other at an early age. Compared to Guan's, Bao's family was relatively wealthy. Nevertheless, the two became best friends, and Bao admired his friend's talent and erudition. Known for being a loyal friend, Bao could always comprehend Guan's difficulties and feelings and never blamed him for his failures and shortcomings. Before entering politics, they were engaged in business and took part in business ventures together. But, Guan always took more profit share than he actually deserved. Bao was well aware of this but never accused him of avarice, on account of Guan's poverty. Guan was dismissed from his posts several times, but Bao believed Guan was not given enough opportunities to demonstrate his abilities fully. Besides, Guan fled battlefields on multiple occasions, and Bao made exceptions for Guan's need to take care of his elderly mother rather than accusing him of cowardice. The two friends later entered politics as tutors to two princes of Qi. Guan was appointed tutor to Prince Jiu. Bao Shuya, meanwhile, became tutor to Jiu's brother, Prince Xiaobai. After a series of murders and coups, Prince Xiaobai became the new duke, namely Duke Huan of Qi. Subsequently, the new duke won the war against the State of Lu which sheltered Prince Jiu and tried to enforce his claim. Consequently, Qi pressured Lu to kill the prince and send Guan back. With Guan Zhong's repatriation, the two friends reunited. But Duke Huan still bore a grudge against Guan, since Guan tried to assassinate him. Meanwhile, the duke planned to elevate Bao, his tutor and guardian, to the post of chancellor. Bao, however, defended his friend's allegiance to his former master and lauded his talents, convincing the duke to exonerate Guan and elevate Guan as the chancellor instead of Bao. At the same time, he convinced Guan to shift his loyalty to the new duke and serve him wholeheartedly. Duke Huan took his suggestion into consideration. Years later, based on Duke Huan's governance and Guan's reforms and deft diplomacy, Qi became the most powerful feudal state of that time. Historian Sima Qian documented a quote of Guan regarding his lifelong friend and supporter in the Shiji, or the Records of the Grand Historian: "My parents gave birth to me, but it is Bao who knows me best." True friendship and the mutual trust and understanding between friends, as represented in the story of Guan and Bao, have been highly regarded in China for thousands of years and continue to have practical significance in contemporary society and inter-state relations. Enditem The path to Justice Maliks nomination was not smooth. She has faced bitter opposition from a large section of the legal community, and some lawyers have threatened to go on strike if she becomes part of the Supreme Court bench. Last September, the judicial commission rejected Justice Maliks elevation after four out of its eight members opposed her, citing her lack of seniority. Justice Malik is fourth in seniority on the Lahore High Court, which she joined in 2012. Despite the opposition, the countrys chief justice continued to support her elevation to the top court, and legal advocacy groups have discounted the argument that lack of seniority is a disqualifying factor for nomination. This elevation has come 74 years too late, and we should all celebrate that some change to an all-male bench has finally come, said Benazir Jatoi, an Islamabad-based lawyer, referring to the creation of an independent Pakistan in 1947. Our judicial system is alien to female representation, Alia Zareen Abbasi, another Islamabad-based lawyer, noted. Despite years and years of struggle and having very able female judges, none was able to make it to the Supreme Court. Even in high courts, the low, almost negligible percentage of female representation is very alarming. The bill was passed through a unanimous consent motion by the House of Commons on Dec. 1 and the Senate on Dec. 7, after Conservatives who had opposed previous legislation on the subject embraced it. On Dec. 8 it was given royal assent, a procedural stamp that started a 30-day clock until it will take effect on Friday. But some legislators were dismayed. Ted Falk, a Conservative member of Parliament from Manitoba, said he and other conservatives were blindsided by the fast-tracked bill that disregarded written viewpoints and concerns. In a Facebook post on Dec. 17, he said there was no sign a consensus or final decision had been reached before the motion was unexpectedly presented just as everyone was rising, giving no time for objections. There were about four seconds in which any one of us could have voiced an objection and, in all honesty, before I could process what was happening, the motion had been passed, he wrote on Facebook. What was repeatedly requested by many of those making submissions, was the governments guarantee included in the legislation itself that conversations with a religious leader, counselor or parent continued to be protected and possible, the lawmaker added. Sadly, these requests were not considered. Canada is among the latest countries to ban conversion therapy. The French Parliament voted on Dec. 14 to ban the practice. At least a dozen countries have also adopted some form of legislative protections against it, including India, Malta, Ecuador and Germany. In the United States, 20 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws banning conversion therapy, according to Born Perfect, a group seeking to outlaw the practice. ROME Pope Francis has not been reluctant to offer his views on polarizing subjects, but on Wednesday, he waded into an issue involving two subjects on which consensus is almost impossible to find. Pets and kids. Speaking on parenthood during a general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, Francis bemoaned the global decline in birthrates what he described as a demographic winter and was bluntly critical of couples who prefer to have pets rather than children. People who have pets instead of children, the pope said, were being selfish, exhibiting a denial of fatherhood or motherhood that diminishes us, it takes away our humanity. Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children, Francis said, laying out the harsh consequences of a childless future, including the inevitable drying up of pension plans. Yes, its funny, I understand, but it is the reality. The Philadelphia Fire Department responded to heavy fire from the second floor of a building in the citys Fairmount neighborhood at about 6:40 a.m. It took firefighters about 50 minutes to get the fire under control, the department said. Laurie Roma, who lives across the street from the building, said she woke to screams. When I looked outside, Ms. Roma, 44, said, I saw orange flames coming out of the second-floor windows, and there was a man screaming for help. Ms. Roma said that no one answered when she dialed 911, but that firefighters arrived two minutes after her call. A spokesman for the city said 911 had received the first calls about the fire at 6:36 a.m. and fielded dozens of calls after that. The federally funded Philadelphia Housing Authority bought the century-old, three-story brick rowhouse in 1967, according to property records. More than 80,000 people in Philadelphia live in the authoritys homes, according to the agency. What caused the fire? City officials said the fire most likely started when a 5-year-old boy ignited a Christmas tree with a lighter. The boy, one of only two people in the apartment who survived, told the police that he had been playing with the lighter, and investigators determined that he was the only person in the part of the apartment where the fire began, said Adam K. Thiel, the Philadelphia fire commissioner. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. About this data Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. The hot spots map shows the share of population with a new reported case over the last week. Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (daily confirmed and suspected Covid-19 hospital admissions); Census Bureau (population data). Data prior to October 2020 was unreliable. Data reported in the most recent seven days may be incomplete. This chart shows for each age group the number of people per 100,000 that were newly admitted to a hospital with Covid-19 each day, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dips and spikes could be due to inconsistent reporting by hospitals. Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (tests, hospitalizations, I.C.U. patients). Tests, hospitalizations, I.C.U.s and deaths show seven-day averages. Hospitalization and I.C.U. data may not yet be available for yesterday. Figures shown are the most recent data available. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. About this data Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (tests, hospitalizations, I.C.U. patients). The seven-day average is the average of the most recent seven days of data. Cases and deaths data are assigned to dates based on when figures are publicly reported. Figures for Covid patients in hospitals and I.C.U.s are the most recent number of patients with Covid-19 who are hospitalized or in an intensive care unit on that day. Dips and spikes could be due to inconsistent reporting by hospitals. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government. Tests represent the number of individual P.C.R. viral test specimens tested by laboratories and state health departments and reported to the federal government. Hospitalizations and tests are counted based on dates assigned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and are subject to historical revisions. Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hospitalizations); Centers for Disease Control and state governments (vaccinations); Census Bureau (population and demographic data). The daily average is calculated with data that was reported in the last seven days. Hospitalized for each county shows the average number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized per 100,000 residents within any hospital service areas that intersect with the county and is updated once a week. Vaccination data is not available for some counties. All-time charts show data from Jan. 21, 2020 to present. This table is sorted by places with the most cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days. Statewide data often updates more frequently than county-level data, and may not equal the sum of county-level figures. Charts show change in daily averages and are each on their own scale. Delaware typically releases new data each day. Weekend counts may be lower because fewer sources report to the state. About the data In data for Delaware, The Times primarily relies on reports from the state. Delaware typically releases new data each day. Weekend counts may be lower because fewer sources report to the state. The state reports cases and deaths based on a persons permanent or usual residence. The Times has identified reporting anomalies or methodology changes in the data. More about reporting anomalies or changes April 8, 2022: Delaware removed about 1,400 cases after verifying records. Delaware removed about 1,400 cases after verifying records. March 10, 2022: Delaware added a backlog of cases from recent months. Delaware added a backlog of cases from recent months. Feb. 24, 2022: Delaware added many cases from a backlog of test results submitted by fax during previous weeks in 2022. Delaware added many cases from a backlog of test results submitted by fax during previous weeks in 2022. July 30, 2021: Delaware added 130 deaths from previous months after reviewing death certificates. Delaware added 130 deaths from previous months after reviewing death certificates. May 19, 2021: Delaware announced a backlog of cases after resolving a technical issue. Delaware announced a backlog of cases after resolving a technical issue. March 11, 2021: Delaware announced a backlog of cases after a testing provider resolved a technical issue. Delaware announced a backlog of cases after a testing provider resolved a technical issue. Feb. 7, 2021: Delaware added 260 cases from recent days after resolving a technical issue. Delaware added 260 cases from recent days after resolving a technical issue. Feb. 5, 2021: Delaware added 54 deaths from December and January after reviewing records. Delaware added 54 deaths from December and January after reviewing records. Dec. 19, 2020: Delaware announced that a reporting delay on Dec. 18 resulted in a higher total on Dec. 19. Delaware announced that a reporting delay on Dec. 18 resulted in a higher total on Dec. 19. Sept. 21, 2020: Delaware added six deaths that occurred between April and August following a review of death certificate records. Delaware added six deaths that occurred between April and August following a review of death certificate records. July 25, 2020: Delaware removed a number of duplicate cases. Delaware removed a number of duplicate cases. July 24, 2020: Delaware added 49 deaths from earlier in the year after reconciling death certificate records. Delaware added 49 deaths from earlier in the year after reconciling death certificate records. June 23, 2020: Delaware added 67 deaths from earlier in the year after reconciling death certificate records. The tallies on this page include probable and confirmed cases and deaths. Confirmed cases and deaths, which are widely considered to be an undercount of the true toll, are counts of individuals whose coronavirus infections were confirmed by a molecular laboratory test. Probable cases and deaths count individuals who meet criteria for other types of testing, symptoms and exposure, as developed by national and local governments. Governments often revise data or report a single-day large increase in cases or deaths from unspecified days without historical revisions, which can cause an irregular pattern in the daily reported figures. The Times is excluding these anomalies from seven-day averages when possible. For agencies that do not report data every day, variation in the schedule on which cases or deaths are reported, such as around holidays, can also cause an irregular pattern in averages. The Times uses an adjustment method to vary the number of days included in an average to remove these irregularities. Researchers in China claim to have developed an advanced AI that is reportedly capable of identifying crimes and filing charges against those suspected of committing them. There is no denying that advancements in artificial intelligence are being made at breakneck speeds and that many of us will one day lose our jobs to a tireless machine, but I doubt anyone imagined prosecutors would find their jobs threatened by machines anytime soon. And yet, if Chinese researchers are to be believed, there is already an AI system that can replace human prosecutors to a certain extent and file a charge with over 97 percent accuracy, based on a description of a suspected criminal case. Photo: Pixabay The controversial AI was developed by a team led by Professor Shi Yong, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences big data and knowledge management laboratory. They claim that the machine can determine a crime and file a charge solely based on a verbal description of what happened, thus being able to replace prosecutors in the decision-making process to a certain extent. In order to bring the AI program to a level where it can file charges with such impressive accuracy, researchers spent five years between 2015 and 2020 training it using over 17,000 different criminal cases. The unnamed AI bot can reportedly charge suspects using 1,000 different traits derived from human-described case documentations. The South China Morning Post reports that the advanced AI program can be used to charge suspects with some of the most common felonies, including fraud, theft, dangerous driving, obstructions of justice, running illegal gambling operations, and more. In time, the team hopes to improve the AI, allowing it to complete more complex tasks like recognizing uncommon crimes and filing multiple charges against a single suspect. Photo: Hunters Race/Unsplash Despite its already impressive achievements, the AI prosecutor is already considered a controversial project by both experts and the general public. One major concern is AI bias, which plays a massive role in determining the outcome of various things. All you have to do is feed the machine biased information and you end up with a flawed AI that makes all sorts of questionable decisions. Legal experts are also wondering who will take responsibility if the AI ever makes a mistake. Despite its impressive 97 percent charging accuracy, there is always a risk of a mistake, and no one really knows who will be blamed. Who will take responsibility when it happens? The prosecutor, the machine or the designer of the algorithm? a lawyer who preferred to stay anonymous told SCMP. Slowey McManus Communications acquires Emerging BioCommunications, a firm specializing in life sciences companies and organizations. The acquisition adds several early and clinical-stage life science firms to SMC's roster of clients. Emerging BioCommunications founder Jeff Krasner will join SMC as a senior vice president and serve as head of its Life Sciences Communications Group. "Bringing Jeff and Emerging BioCommunications into our firm will continue to propel the extraordinary growth we've experienced over the past several years and will greatly expand our services in life sciences and healthcare," said SMC co-founder and principal founder Dominic Slowey. Stagwell picks up Goodstuff, a media planning and buying agency based in London. This is the first full acquisition since the combination of Stagwell and MDC partners in August 2021. The company will maintain operations under the Goodstuff brand and continue to be led by co-founders Andrew Stephens and Ben Hayes. Its employees will join the Stagwell Media Network. "What attracted us to the agency were their world-class leadership and unwavering focus on people, culture, and the work," said James Townsend, Global CEO of both Stagwell Media Network and the network's flagship media agency, Assembly. Symphony Technology Group completes its acquisition of Kantar's Reputation Intelligence business. STG has also purchased UK-based media relations and workflow management platform PRgloo as well as AI technology and data science company Onclusive. The three units will be merged into one media monitoring firm that will operate under the Onclusive name. "Last year STG made clear its intention to create a market-leading insights and software company through the proposed acquisition of Kantar Reputation Intelligence. Completing that acquisition is a major first step. The additional capabilities brought by Onclusive and PRgloo widen the scope of our commitment to providing best-in-class solutions for PR and communications teams," said STF managing director J.T. Treadwell. Katie O'Reilly Katie O'Reilly, who was executive director of the Milken Institute, has joined Prosek Partners to lead its convening and networking offering. The Santa Monica-based economic think tank runs conferences throughout the world to further its mission of helping "people build meaningful lives in which they can experience health & well-being, and pursue effective education and gainful employment." It was founded in 1991 by Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond king Mike Milken, who was convicted of securities fraud in 1989, fined $600M and sentenced to prison. Donald Trump pardoned Milken in 2020. Prior to joining Milken Institute in 2007, O'Reilly was senior development officer at the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. At Prosek Partners, she will be charged with developing programming to engage C-suite executives and other thought leaders. A press conference of the National Astronomical Observatories of China under the Chinese Academy of Sciences is held on Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), also dubbed as the "China Sky Eye," scientists have obtained accurate magnetic field strength in molecular cloud, a region of the interstellar medium that seems ready to form stars. Employing the technique of HI Narrow Self Absorption (HINSA), they achieved a clear detection of the Zeeman effect -- the splitting of a spectral line into several components of frequency in the presence of a magnetic field. It is the only direct probe of interstellar magnetic field strength. The result suggested that such clouds achieve supercritical state, a critical point when they collapse into stars, which happened earlier than previously thought based on the standard model. "FAST's design of focusing radio waves on a cable-driven cabin results in clean optics, which has been vital to the success of the HINSA Zeeman experiment," said Li Di, with the National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), who is the chief scientist of the telescope and the corresponding author of the paper. The study was published in Nature on Thursday. The discovery is crucial to understanding the astrophysics of star formation and it illustrates the importance of FAST in addressing important unsolved astrophysical problems, said Richard Crutcher, an Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the University of Illinois. The scientists revealed a coherent magnetic field structure throughout the cold neutral medium, the molecular envelope, and the dense core, with similar orientation and magnitude. The coherence of the magnetic field signifies that dissipation of the field occurs during the formation of molecular envelop through a previously unknown mechanism. Scientists identified over 500 new pulsars from October 2017 to December 2021, and detected a total of 1,652 independent bursts from a single repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source by using FAST, the largest set of FRB events ever detected in history. Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020 and officially opened to the world on March 31, 2021. It is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope. Enditem Aerial panoramic photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Li Di, a scientist of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), speaks at a press conference held in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Aerial panoramic photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Aerial photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows a view of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Wu Xiangping, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, speaks at a press conference held in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 5, 2022.(Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Aerial photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows a view of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) A staff member works on the feed cabin during a regular maintenance operation to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Dec. 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Aerial panoramic photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Jiang Peng, chief engineer of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) with the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, speaks at a press conference held in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A staff member checks reflector panels during a regular maintenance operation to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Dec. 17, 2021.(Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Photo taken on Dec. 17, 2021 shows the feed cabin during a regular maintenance operation to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Han Jinlin, an expert with the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, speaks at a press conference held in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows the feed cabin during a regular maintenance operation to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Wang Pei, an expert with the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, speaks at a press conference held in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Photo taken on Dec. 19, 2021 shows the feed cabin during a regular maintenance operation to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Melissa Waters Upwork, a platform that connects businesses with freelancers, independent talent and agencies, hires Melissa Waters as chief marketing officer. Waters was most recently global vice president of marketing at Instagram. She left the company in December. Waters previously served as CMO at hims & hers and vice president, marketing at Lyft. Melissas deep expertise in helping high-growth companies scale, establish new categories, and build world-class brands is key to increasing awareness of Upwork, said Upwork president and CEO Hayden Brown. Becky Rawlings Hill+Knowlton Strategies hires Becky Rawlings as director, financial + professional services in London, reporting to managing director Nick Clark. Rawlings was previously a director at integrated comms agency Smarts, where she developed strategic and creative campaigns to drive consumer awareness and behavior change. Her background spans earned media, digital, content and publishing and influencer marketing. Clients need integrated strategy and ideas to help them with customer acquisition and to radically change their content and publishing strategies. Beckys perspective will be invaluable in how we respond to those challenges, said Clark. J Strategies brings on Carly Andersen, Tess Morrissey and Gabriel Torres to assume vice president posts. Andersen, who will be vice president, brand & media communications, has worked with domestic and international food, beverage, CPG and lifestyle clients. She has cultivated media relationships, executed press events and built influencer campaigns. Morrissey will be vice president, policy & strategic affairs. She joins J Strategies from the University at Buffalo, where she was director of community relations and deputy director of state relations. Torres, who will be vice president, community outreach, most recently worked in the office of Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) as director of special projects and policy. The Prostate Cancer Foundation names Digital Science Press founder and CEO Gina Carithers chief communications officer. Carithers appointment comes as PCF acquires DSP, the digital publisher of UroToday.com and a provider of evidence-based clinical content and educational resources within the fields of urology and genitourinary oncology. Carithers will remain CEO of both DSP and UroToday. She will also work to expand PCFs reach to such areas of the prostate cancer community as research, education, communication and patient support. Ginas executive leadership credentials and record of success will strongly support PCFs ability to address our mission more broadly, said PCF President and CEO Charles J. Ryan. OECD Reviews of Health Systems: Brazil 2021 In the 30 years since the inception of the Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude, or SUS), Brazil has reduced health inequalities, and improved coverage and access to health care. However, mobilising sufficient financing for the universal health coverage mandate of SUS has been a constant challenge, not helped by persistent inefficiencies in the use of resources in the Brazilian health system. Demographic and epidemiological changes, rising expectations from society, and the emerging needs of a post-COVID19 recovery period mean that continued adjustments and reforms are needed to ensure the sustainability of the health system. This review uses internationally recognised indicators and policy frameworks to examine the performance of Brazilian health system. The report points to key actions that Brazil should consider prioritising in the coming years to strengthen health system performance, especially improving efficiency and sustainability of financing, upgrading its health data infrastructure to leverage a digital transformation, and addressing major population risk factors such as overweight and harmful alcohol consumption. A companion publication with a review of primary health care in Brazil further examines the key role of primary health care to improve the performance of the Brazilian health system. Also available in: Portuguese In series:OECD Reviews of Health Systemsview more titles Parts of Ireland are set for accumulations of snow tonight and into tomorrow morning according to the latest weather forecast for Ireland from Met Eireann. Temperatures are also set to drop below freezing tonight with thunderstorms also forecast for this afternoon and tonight. The Met Eireann weather forecast for Thursday is for any lingering rain to clear followed from the west by sunny spells and frequent blustery showers. Some showers will be heavy with hail and isolated thunderstorms, and will turn increasingly wintry through the afternoon and evening. Fresh to strong southerly winds, veering westerly by afternoon with temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees. Snow forecast for Ireland for tonight According to Met Eireann, tonight will be cold and blustery with widespread wintry showers, some of snow with accumulations in parts of Connacht and Ulster and on high ground. There will be some hail and scattered thunderstorms in Atlantic coastal counties also. Lowest temperatures of -1 to +3 degrees, coldest in Ulster, with fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds. The Met Eireann weather forecast for Ireland for Friday is for widespread showers of rain, hail, sleet and snow in the morning. However, during the day, showers will become less frequent and turn more to rain and sleet. During the afternoon, rain will develop in the west and southwest. Highest temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees in moderate to fresh and gusty westerly winds. A Lotto player in Offaly missed out by the narrowest of margins on winning the 19 million jackpot last night but they did pick up a very nice consolation prize. Three players, one in Offaly, one in Galway and one in Mayo, each matched five numbers and the bonus number and each will win 305,478. The winning ticket in Offaly was purchased on line and was a Quick Pick. As no additional funds were added to the jackpot as it remains capped, the funds that would usually go to the jackpot were instead distributed to the next prize tier at which there was a winner and in last nights draw, this was the Match 5+Bonus category. The winning numbers for Wednesday nights (January 5) Lotto draw were: 08, 24, 36, 38, 41, 45 and the bonus was 16. The National Lottery has confirmed that a notification to the users online account and a separate email has now been sent to the lucky Offaly ticket holder. The Galway and Mayo winners are advised to sign the back of their tickets and to keep them safe. All three winners should make contact with the prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie and arrangements will be made for them to claim their prizes. Two student representatives from Laois/ Offaly have hit out at the decision to reopen schools. The duo are committee members of the Irish Second-level Students Union (ISSU) which believes that announcing a full reopening of schools is rushing school leaders to put in adequate risk-mitigation measures to ensure a safe return for students. The union claims the Department of Education has not responded adequately to the shortages of school and teaching staff and student absenteeism. The ISSU also notes the high levels of disruption that schools and students have experienced in the last term, and that any return to in-person learning should be done on a phased approach, whilst prioritising exam year students and students with special educational needs. Courtney Chambers, a representative from Laois/ Offaly on the ISSU committee commented: I am very disappointed with the decision to reopen schools, given the current number of Covid cases. There is a lack of HEPA filters in schools and mixing hundreds of students in the corridors seems unwise at this moment in time. Another regional representative from the two counties, Ben Campbell stressed that the lack of student voices in the making of this decision was unfair to the students of Ireland, and unfair to those who are vulnerable or live with vulnerable people themselves. ISSU Uachtaran Emer Neville, after attending a briefing with the Department, said: The briefing has left students in a position of major uncertainty, and schools will have little time to assess their absences and plan adequately for reopening schools safely. With the high levels of close contacts and Covid-19 infections currently affecting the country, many students will either be unable to return to school or will be welcomed back to school on Thursday by classes without a teacher or substitution. Disruptions will remain a major issue for teaching and learning, which leaves students, particularly those in exam years, at an acute disadvantage. The ISSU further notes students were not consulted on this announcement. This demonstrates a disregard for how important the voice of students is in this discussion, as an equal stakeholder in education. This approach to finalising the return to school without consultation comes as a surprise, considering a very productive and close relationship between a wider pool of stakeholders with the Department of Education in recent months, in response to the challenges that the pandemic has brought about. The ISSU is continuing to call for an open and solution-oriented discussion with all education stakeholders on how to minimise disruption of teaching and learning. The union is calling for: The urgent sourcing of HEPA filters for all classrooms. Additional adjustments to be made to the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle exam papers for 2022. The ISSU is urging all stakeholders in school communities to adhere strictly to public health regulations in order to ensure the safety of schools for all students and staff. The union has noted that whilst Public Health representatives have said there is no rationale to not re-open schools, the Department of Education have disregarded the disruption that this rushed reopening will cause to students. With high teacher absenteeism and substitution shortages, schools are under-resourced. The current plan that has been proposed allows the possibility of specific class groups in each individual school to be sent home from school if deemed necessary. This causes significant disruption and uncertainty for students, with the possibility of many students not knowing if they are going to be in school the next day. This also raises concerns about whether individual classes could miss out on in-person learning compared to other classes and what position that will leave students completing state examinations. The Irish Second-Level Students Union (ISSU), expresses major concern at the lack of consultation with students on the return to school. The representatives of students were not consulted at a meeting held on the reopening of schools on January 4th, as they believed they would be, instead, a briefing was held to inform the ISSU and other stakeholders of the decision that had already been made. GARDAI prosecuting people for alleged drugs possession now face a six-month wait because of a backlog of samples at a State laboratory. Garda Tommy Mannion told Tullamore District Court he was awaiting a certificate of analysis from Forensic Science Ireland when he sought a six-month adjournment of the case against Gary Hyland, 19, Church View, Tullamore. Judge Colm Roberts granted an adjournment to June 1 next but said that other statements should be ready within four weeks for disclosure to the defence. In another drugs prosecution which came before him, the judge said he understood the backlog at the laboratory had occurred in part because some staff had been transferred elsewhere to deal with Covid. Mr Hyland is alleged to have possessed cannabis on January 3 at Tullamore Garda Station and on the same date, he is accused of obstructing a garda during a drugs search at Church View. He is also accused of having cannabis at Church View on January 4 and of having cocaine at the same location on December 1, 2021 for sale or supply to others. The accused, a young unemployed man who was granted legal aid and was represented in court by solicitor Donal Farrelly, is on bail but one condition of the bail is that he observe a curfew between 8pm and 8am. Mr Hyland must also sign on daily at Tullamore Garda Station and abstain from alcohol and drugs, unless prescribed by a doctor. Judge Roberts warned the accused that he could be remanded in custody if he breaches the bail conditions. Other charges which were previously brought against Mr Hyland were adjourned to February 2 next. He has been accused of criminal damage at Church View on October 13 last year and having cannabis for sale or supply at St Kyran Street, Tullamore on October 21. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 716-372-3121 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to throw back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes after a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in Kufr Qadoom village near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua) RAMALLAH, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed on Thursday morning during clashes with Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that Bakeer Hashash, a 21-year-old from Balata refugee camp in the suburb of the city, was critically injured by Israeli soldiers and died later in the hospital. Eyewitnesses said that clashes broke out in the refugee after Israeli forces stormed the Nablus-area suburb of Balata. Tension has been flaring in the past few weeks in the West Bank as Palestinians took to streets to protest against Israel for expanding settlements and arresting Palestinians everyday. Enditem A protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at members of Israeli border police in a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the village of Beita, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A protester throws back a tear gas canister fired by members of Israeli border police in a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the village of Beita, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A Palestinian protester burns tires during clashes with Israeli soldiers after a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in Kufr Qadoom village near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua) A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl a stone at Israeli soldiers during clashes after a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in Kufr Qadoom village near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua) Protesters run to take cover from tear gas canister fired by members of Israeli border police in a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the village of Beita, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A member of Israeli border police fires a tear gas canister at Protesters during a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the village of Beita, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A fundraiser in honour of student Harvey Parker, who went missing last month, has raised almost 40,000 for queer and neurodiverse.. PinkNews 06 Jan 2022 Newsy 19 Jan 2022 Watch VideoIf you live in an area where mask mandates have been dropped and attitudes about COVID are more lax than in, say, New.. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. LANZHOU, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- While facial recognition technology continues to facilitate many aspects of human life, it is now also being applied to aid the protection of giant pandas. A nature reserve in northwest China's Gansu Province has built an AI-enabled video monitoring system to better protect wild giant pandas. Installed with some 300 infrared cameras, the monitoring system is helping ensure the health and safety of all 110 wild giant pandas in the reserve. "By equipping the AI-aided system to retain scores of archived photos of giant pandas and other wildlife, we can obtain a 98 percent success rate for species recognition," said Liu Xingming, head of the reserve's administration, adding that its success rate of recognizing other wild animals can top 80 percent. The system can automatically recognize various wild animals caught in infrared cameras, allowing researchers to collect data on giant pandas and other wildlife while staying indoors. In 2021 alone, this monitoring system captured 2,896 photos of giant pandas and other rare animals and filmed 3,218 seconds of footage, showcasing the nature reserve's sound ecological environment as well as a gradual rise in giant panda population there. The monitoring system was put into operations more than two years ago, and it has since captured scores of photos and videos of giant pandas engaged in activities such as eating, resting and fighting for mates. Liu said that researchers used the system to not only observe the dynamics and health of the giant panda population but also to learn about changes in the natural and biological surroundings of their habitat. "The system provided scientific data to help us grasp the living conditions of wild giant pandas and formulate conservation strategies. More importantly, it also achieved real-time monitoring of the reserve, so that we can detect the threats to the wildlife as early as possible," Liu said. "The monitoring system has enabled systematic, scientific, and intelligent conservation of wildlife," he added. Enditem A revolt inspired by anger over a surge in fuel prices has since spread across the country. A Russia-led military alliance has sent.. NYTimes.com 06 Jan 2022 Australia and Japan will sign a treaty on Thursday to increase defense and security cooperation in a move that has been hailed as.. Japan Today 05 Jan 2022 A complaint by Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee that he was discriminated against when the Christian owners of a Belfast bakery refused to make him a cake iced with the slogan "Support Gay Marriage" back in 2014 has been ruled inadmissible by the European Courts of Human Rights. Japan, Australia, the United States, and India are part of the "Quad" group working toward building an alliance in the face of China's burgeoning presence across Asia. The US president accused his predecessor Donald Trump of posing an ongoing threat to democracy in a speech marking one year since the deadly storming of the US Capitol. DW has the latest. Rumble 23 Mar 2022 Putin battles disinformation and Nazis in Ukraine. Media continues to lie and cover up for the deep state, Biden and Fauci. They.. The Park Hotel Melbourne, where Novak Djokovic is reportedly being held, has been criticized for keeping refugees under squalid conditions. Dozens of protesters have been killed in Kazakhstan, as fresh violence broke out in its biggest city and Russian peacekeeping troops headed to the former Soviet state. It was an insurrection that happened on January 6, 2021, dubbed as the worst attack on America's democracy since the Civil War. Some lawmakers who experienced it one year ago are still traumatized by the memory of the incident when they were trapped inside the House and the rioters were trying to break down the doors. Members of Congress mark the attack on the U.S. Capitol a year ago. Experts monitoring extremist worry the U.S. is in a more dangerous place than a year ago. Examining the CDC's messaging problems. Chinese President Xi Jinping (C, rear), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, poses for photos with soldiers of a squad named after the hero soldier Wang Jie, in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2017. Xi inspected the 71st Group Army of the People's Liberation Army in Xuzhou on Dec. 13. (Xinhua/Li Gang) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- On the first day after China's New Year holiday, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the first order of the Central Military Commission (CMC) in 2022, declaring the start of military training for the year. The mobilization order asked all armed forces officers and soldiers to fear neither death nor hardship in their training, to boost their command and fighting capability and encourage excellent conduct. The spirit of fearing neither death nor hardship is a motto passed on from a celebrated Chinese soldier from the 1960s, of whom Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CMC, speaks highly over the years. Wang Jie, a sapper squad head at the time, won multiple honors for his outstanding performance during his service in the Army. He died in 1965 at just 23-years-old while trying to protect 12 people in an explosion. Two months before the accident, Wang wrote in his diary that he was determined to "be fearless of hardship and death, and be a dauntless man." He honored his pledge. Wang's heroic spirit was extolled by Chairman Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders of different generations. He was honored as a model soldier. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R, front), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, meets with senior officers of the 71st Group Army of the People's Liberation Army in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2017. Xi inspected the 71st Group Army of the People's Liberation Army in Xuzhou on Dec. 13. (Xinhua/Li Gang) In December 2017, during his first inspection of the military after the 19th CPC National Congress, Xi visited the company where Wang served, sat with the soldiers and talked with them. "I heard about Wang's story when I was very young, and Wang is a hero in my heart," Xi told the soldiers. During that talk, Xi asked about the soldiers' study, training and whether their life necessities are properly guaranteed. Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the Museum of the Huaihai Campaign in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2017. Xi made an inspection tour in Xuzhou from Dec. 12 to 13. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) "A military is built to fight, and it should live up to this mission," Xi said, stressing that Wang's fearless motto is and always will be treasured by the military. The bond between the top commander, the fallen hero and ordinary soldiers goes beyond that visit. More than one year later, Xi wrote a letter in response to correspondence from Wang's squad, encouraging the soldiers to be outstanding soldiers in the new era. The same year, during the New Year speech to ring in 2020, he mentioned Wang's name again. Just as the soldiers of Wang's troop sing: "the gun of Wang Jie is on our shoulders; the song of Wang Jie is sung by us," the heroic spirit lives on. Any incursion into Ukraine by Russia would be a "massive strategic mistake" that would "come at a severe cost" to Moscow, the foreign secretary has told MPs. Beijing (AFP) Jan 6, 2022 A top health official in China's locked-down Xi'an apologised on Thursday over the miscarriage of an eight-month pregnant woman, after footage went viral of a hospital refusing her entry without a Covid test. The city of 13 million has been under strict home confinement for two weeks to stamp out an outbreak, in line with Beijing's firm "zero Covid" strategy. The distressing incident was Newsy 06 Jan 2022 Watch VideoPresident Joe Biden on Thursday delivered what he declared was the "God's truth" marking the first anniversary of the.. Some members of a rowdy group shown dancing, drinking and vaping maskless aboard a flight to Cancun find themselves stranded in Mexico after their return flight to Canada was scrubbed and other... #cancun The virtual edition of LED Expo Thailand + Light ASEAN 2020 concluded successfully from 18th to 20th November 2020 in the cyber-sphere. This digital version received good responses from both buyers and exhibitors with the conclusion of many business deals, partnerships, interactive product demonstrations, knowledge exchanges and networking, all done virtually over 3-days. A total of over 1757 business visitors, including 78 VIP buyers from over 51 countries attended this Embarking On Voyages CEO & founder, Mr. Abhishek Nag has earned the title of the top 10 ace entrepreneurs to watch out for in the year 2021 on November 29th, 2021 by innovativeZone magazine in their digital magazine release. The InnovativeZone magazine is one of the best magazines in India that informs the audience about innovative business news, startup-related news, different success stories, the latest happenings in the MANISTEE COUNTY Manistee County ranked worst in the region for fatal overdoses in 2020 and fourth for non-fatal overdoses in the first half of 2021. This is according to a news release from Michigan State Police that details the numbers of overdose incidents reported, overdose fatalities and changes in the region from 2019, 2020 and the first half of 2021. Last year there were at least 463 overdose incidents in Region 7, which includes Manistee County. Region 7 includes a total of 19 counties. Recent data has shown an increase in overdose fatalities. There are many resources available to help fight addiction, including the Michigan State Police Angel Program, reads part of the state police news release. If you or a loved one is struggling with a drug addiction, do not hesitate to ask for assistance. There are online resources for obtaining the life-saving drug naloxone as well. According to the release, Manistee County was fourth in the region for non-fatal overdoses in both 2019 and 2020. Data was only available for the first half of 2021 and that showed Manistee County ranking fourth out of the 19 counties for non-fatal overdoses. Naloxone, often referred to by the popular brand of opioid reversal drug Narcan, can be used by the public and first responders. At the December Manistee County Public safety Committee meeting, Manistee County Sheriff Brian Gutowski reported that his office was joining in a pilot program with Wayne State University and Catholic Human Services to offer a vending machine that would dispense opioid reversal kits free to the public. It will look like a typical vending machine where they can come out and get a box of Narcan out of the machine, Gutowski told the committee. Theres only seven other organizations besides ours that was awarded this so were very happy to get that up and running here in Manistee. The vending machine was installed at the Manistee County Sheriff's Office late last year, but is currently awaiting the naloxone kits. In a News Advocate interview, Gutowski noted that the naloxone kits contain liquid that can freeze and therefore advised that they be stored at room temperature. In August, the public safety committee covered the topic of overdoses in Manistee County and how even though entities like the Manistee City Police Department had been seeing about two overdose emergencies each month in the city those numbers may be changing, at least on the surface as more people have access to naloxone. Arielle Breen/News Advocate Naloxone aids in saving lives, but the more widespread access may also be clouding the recorded numbers of overdoses as more can respond to an overdose in the home. At the meeting, Gutowski said that the opioid reversal drug was so prevalent in the community now that before if somebody was overdosing they had to call for an ambulance or (call) for some help. And now I think a lot of those reversals are happening in the home and go completely unreported. Several other leaders like Manistee City Police Chief Josh Glass agreed at the meeting with the sentiment. I think at one point, it seemed like it was two a month but it seems recently we see a lot of home deployments of Narcan where (in) our office, were a version of public safety so our officers go to major medicals and fires. and it seems like were seeing more Narcans deployed by someone other than law enforcement or medical (responders), Glass had said at the meeting. The Michigan State Police news release also pointed out that some may be hesitant to seek medical attention. During a drug overdose, a quick response can save a life. However, people illegally using drugs sometimes fail to seek medical attention during an overdose for fear of alerting the police to their illegal drug use, reads the release. Courtesy graphic/Michigan State Police The release also points out that the states Good Samaritan law was passed in 2016 in an effort to prioritize saving lives. Michigans Good Samaritan law prevents drug possession charges against those who seek medical assistance for an overdose in certain circumstances, the release states. This law makes saving lives the priority during a drug overdose, not criminal prosecutions of illegal drug users. It is important to note that overdoses arent always due to illegal drug use and can also happen accidentally such as if a person mistakenly takes double or triple doses of something like blood pressure medications in instances when they forget if they have taken their prescriptions or not. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS Here are some key takeaways from the Michigan State Police's reported data on overdoses from Region 7. Manistee County ranked worst in the region for fatal overdoses in 2020; Manistee County ranked fourth for non-fatal overdoses in the first half of 2021; In the first half of 2021, Grand Traverse County had the highest number of non-fatal overdoses (82 incidents); The region saw 143 fewer non-fatal overdoses in 2020 compared to 2019; and The state saw at least 11,120 non-fatal overdoses in 2021. See More Collapse There are opiate health home programs in the county and medication-assisted treatment programs that are sharing naloxone in the county. For more information on Centra Wellness Centers Medication Assisted Treatment program or Opioid Health Home call 1-887-398-2013. MANISTEE COUNTY The following includes reports made to the Manistee County Sheriffs Office from Dec. 7-10. All calls may not be reported. This is part of a lengthy report and is compiled by assistant editor Arielle Breen. Dec. 7 Deputies conducted a well-being check at 12:31 p.m. in Manistee Township. Retail fraud and trespassing was reported at 1:57 p.m. in Brethren. Deputies responded to a mental health check and reported threats at 2:22 p.m. in Onekama Township. Deputies assisted a motorist at 3:29 p.m. in Pleasanton Township. Threats were reported at 3:37 p.m. in Onekama Township. A property damage crash was reported at 4:31 p.m. in Pleasanton Township. Deputies conducted a well-being check at 5:44 p.m. in Manistee Township. Animal control was called to Filer Township at 10:06 p.m. Dec. 8 A private property damage crash was reported at 7:27 a.m. in Manistee Township. A private property damage crash was reported at 12:50 p.m. in Dickson Township. Deputies conducted a well-being check at 4:10 p.m. in Dublin. A vehicle-deer accident was reported at 6:20 p.m. in Onekama Township. Animal control was requested at 7:36 p.m. in Manistee Township. A vehicle-deer accident was reported at 11:27 p.m. in Maple Grove Township. Dec. 9 A person was reported to have been driving while intoxicated with a high blood alcohol level and open intoxicants in Bear Lake Township at 2:26 a.m. Deputies conducted a well-being check at 5:48 p.m. in Pleasanton Township. A vehicle was reported as stolen at 6:46 p.m. in Manistee Township. Dec. 10 A suspicious vehicle was reported at 1 a.m. in Cleon Township. A traffic hazard was reported at 8:09 a.m. in Filer Township. Malicious destruction of property was reported at 10:15 a.m. in Cleon Township. An incorrigible youth was reported at 10:20 a.m. in Arcadia Township. A person had snow removal issues at 11:32 a.m. in Springdale Township. Threats were reported at 11:50 a.m. in Bear Lake Township. A cat bite was reported at 2:21 p.m. in Kaleva. Animal control was called to Bear Lake Township at 4:19 p.m. Deputies assisted a citizen at 5:39 p.m. in Manistee Township. A vehicle-deer accident was reported at 6:15 p.m.in Filer Township. A person had a mental evaluation at 7:20 p.m. in Springdale Township. XI'AN, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- After delivering 130 lunch boxes to frontline anti-epidemic workers, Xu Kai, fully dressed in a hazmat suit, headed for his next destination without wasting a second. The photographer, 29, opened a communal kitchen near a cancer hospital in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, last year to serve patients and their families. The kitchen, a godsend for those who are cash strapped, provides free cooking utensils and seasonings "so that every penny can be saved to extend the life of the patients." Xu explained that the use of the stove costs just one yuan (about 16 U.S. cents) each time. "I hope that the familiar taste of home can give the patients some extra strength in fighting against the disease." The kitchen temporarily closed in the early stage of the latest COVID-19 resurgence that hit Xi'an in December last year. The megacity, with its tally of confirmed cases over the past month exceeding 1,800 as of Wednesday midnight, has imposed closed-off management in all communities to contain the spread of the virus. As epidemic control measures upgrade, Xu decided to reopen his kitchen to help people in need. "We mainly offer free meals to frontline medics, cancer patients and stranded students who came here for the postgraduate entrance exam," he said. So far, more than 10,000 meals have been delivered since operations resumed on Dec. 27, averaging over 1,000 meals a day. The number of volunteers at the kitchen has also risen to over 30 from just five thanks to overwhelming support from nearby residents. On New Year's Day, Xu and volunteers specially prepared dumplings, a traditional Chinese food consumed during festivals, to infuse staffers engaged in the anti-epidemic work with a joyous and festive spirit. Xu did a simple calculation beforehand and estimated that roughly 3,000 yuan would be spent every day to run the kitchen, but the actual figure almost doubled to 5,000 yuan. "It's a lot of pressure, but many generous people and entrepreneurs have constantly sent vegetables and other daily necessities to assist us," Xu said, pointing to a pile of packaged rice and vegetables provided by a Taiwan compatriot. Enditem The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Andrew Mullin. Wednesday, Dec. 29: 9:38 p.m. Deputies spoke with a 69-year-old Jerome Township male about a complaint of a 37-year-old male neighbor knocking on his own wall loudly, potentially violating a personal protection order. The deputies spoke with the neighbor, who advised he was working on his plumbing. The deputies determined there was no violation to the personal protection order. 8:20 p.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township residence about an unwanted truck being parked in a 25-year-old males yard. The male advised that the truck owner was an old friend and he would resolve the situation civilly. The male requested no further assistance from the Sheriff's Office. 7:56 p.m. Deputies spoke with a 50-year-old male in reference to a verbal civil dispute between him and his 62-year-old neighbor about the sale of a car. The male advised he would resolve the situation civilly. No further assistance was needed from the Sheriff's Office. 6:51 p.m. Officers responded to a driver operating while intoxicated in the area of Eastman Avenue and West Sugnet Road. 3:10 p.m. Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash on Jefferson Avenue. 2:41 p.m. Officers responded to a case of fraud on South Saginaw Road. 12:31 p.m. Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash on Waldo Avenue. 11:54 a.m. An 84-year-old male had an argument with his 18-year-old grandson about a lock being placed on his bedroom door. There was no assault and the 18-year-old moved out of the residence. 10:15 a.m. Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash in the area of East Buttles Street and Rodd Street. 10:11 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township apartment for a verbal dispute between a 41-year-old Jerome Township male and his 34-year-old Bay City girlfriend. She left the residence for work and both said that they did not need any law enforcement assistance. 9:53 a.m. A deputy responded to a Homer Township business for a retail fraud of $15.99 of liquor. 9:35 a.m. A deputy spoke with a 63-year-old Jasper Township female regarding a potential scam. The female received a letter in the mail that she believes to be part of a phishing scam. She did not fall victim to the scam, but wanted to notify law enforcement that others may be receiving the same letter. 8:42 a.m. An animal control deputy received a call about a stray dog that came into a business in the City of Midland. The dog was turned over to the Humane Society of Midland County. 7:26 a.m. A deputy was dispatched to an Ingersoll Township location regarding a vehicle in the ditch. The vehicle sustained no damage and was pulled from the ditch by a tow truck. 12:09 a.m. Officers responded to a domestic verbal situation on Abbott Road. Just 53 years ago, we finally ventured to the moon and for the first time, we looked back at our planet. Since then, the human population has more than doubled and our knowledge of the solar system has increased dramatically, according to NASA. In 2021, space news was full of events like rocket launches, meteor showers, the first space tourists and billionaires prioritizing space exploration. In December, a NASA spacecraft even touched the sun for the first time. This year looks to be just as exciting, with many space missions slated to launch in 2022. From new launch vehicles like NASA's Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft to missions to the moon, Mars, asteroids and more, a lot of exciting missions are expected to launch or arrive at their destination in 2022, according to reporting by space.com. Beyond the U.S., China is expected to complete its Tiangong space station while Europe and Russia will attempt to land spacecraft on Mars. India, South Korea and Japan are also scheduled for a few missions into space, according to The Guardian. Here are some of the most exciting moments 2022 holds for space travel: Unfolding the universe: The James Webb Space Telescope When: June 2022 The world's most powerful telescope, called the James Webb Space Telescope, launched on Dec. 25, 2021, and its first images are expected in June 2022, according to the @NASAWebb Twitter account. After launching from French Guiana, the observatory traveled to an orbit about one million miles away from Earth and is undergoing six months of commissioning in space because the telescope must unfold its mirrors to be considered fully deployed, according to NASA. Webbs infrared telescope will observe a part of space and time never seen before. It will gaze into the distant stars and galaxies which began burning more than 13.5 billion years ago to help us understand the origins of the universe, according to NASA. The project is a team effort between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Thousands of engineers and hundreds of scientists worked to make Webb a reality, along with more than 300 universities, organizations and companies from 29 U.S. states and 14 countries, according to NASA. For more information about Webb, visit here. Space tourism isn't going away When: February 2022 Photo provided/ NASA/Roscosmos NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station with a launch targeted for Feb. 28, 2022, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "The first private crew to visit the International Space Station is a watershed moment in humanitys expansion off the planet and we are glad to partner with NASA in making it happen," Axiom President and CEO Michael Suffredini said in a statement to NASA. "A thriving commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit begins with expanding access to serious, nontraditional users and that is exactly the aim of our private astronaut missions." Photo provided/NASA The spaceflight, designated as Axiom Mission 1 or Ax-1, will travel to the International Space Station. Once docked, the Axiom astronauts are scheduled to spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA has opened up the International Space Station for commercial activities, including private astronaut missions, as part of its plan to develop a robust and competitive economy in low-Earth orbit, according to a NASA press release. Enabling Ax-1 is an important step to stimulate demand for commercial human spaceflight services so the space agency can be one of many customers in low-Earth orbit, according to NASA. For more information about the Ax-1 mission and to meet the crew, visit here. Additionally, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, and Virgin Galactic, set up by Richard Branson, both launched their first sub-orbital flights last year and both say they expect to begin offering groups of tourists regular missions in 2022, according to reporting by The Guardian. More space news The best space photos of 2021 How to avert an Armageddon-style impact When: September 2022 Illustration provided/NASA Launched last year, NASA's double asteroid redirection test spacecraft is expected to crash into Dimorphos, a small moon orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos in September as a first for the space agency. Astronomers want to see if they can change an asteroid's motion in space to defend the planet if needed, according to NASA. Although this asteroid and its moon pose no threat to Earth, it is a perfect testing ground to see if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid changes its course, should an Earth-threatening asteroid be discovered, according to NASA. While no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years, only about 40% of those asteroids have been found as of October 2021, according to NASA. Enabling human exploration to the moon and mars When: February 2022 Photo provided/NASA Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1, will be the first group test of NASAs deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to NASA. The mission, after being delayed two years, intends to enable human exploration to the moon and Mars and is launching in February, according to NASA. During the first flight, the spacecraft will launch without a crew on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the moon for roughly a five-week mission, according to NASA. "This is a mission that truly will do what hasnt been done and learn what isnt known," Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager at NASA Headquarters said in a statement. "It will blaze a trail that people will follow on the next Orion flight, pushing the edges of the envelope to prepare for that mission." For more information about Artemis I, visit here. Satellite to survey the worlds water When: November 2022 Illustration provided/NASA The Surface Water Ocean Topography mission is a NASA mission to make the first global survey of the planet's surface water. Expected to launch in November, the SWOT mission will help researchers determine how much water Earths oceans, lakes and rivers contain. This will help us understand the effects of climate change on freshwater bodies and the oceans ability to absorb excess heat and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, according to NASA. NASA to capture more stunning pictures of Jupiter When: September 2022 Photo provided/NASA NASAs Juno spacecraft, observing Jupiter since 2016, will come close to Jupiter's moon, Europa, in late September. In February 2022, Juno will travel near Europa at a distance of about 29,000 miles. Then, in late September 2022, Juno will swoop just 221 miles above Europa's surface, offering an up-close view of the massive moon, according to NASA. Additionally, Europa is considered one of the most likely places in the solar system to find alien life. Junos pass could give scientists clues about the moons true nature, according to reporting by National Geographic. Drivers traveling after dark near Sleeper State Park after may have noticed a flashing light recently north of Kinde Road. The source of that light is a malfunctioning cell phone tower, and though the issue has not been resolved, the towers owner is aware of the problem and is in the process of repairing it. Residents of the area had turned to social media for answers after spotting the light, which is located on property west of State Park Road near the state park, describing a "strobe light" that made it difficult for some to concentrate while driving on the nearby road. On the "Caseville!!! Our Little Piece of Heaven in the Thumb" Facebook page, Kelly Jaworski wrote, "It lights up our living room Crazy bright!" Crissy Helfrich-Zatek wrote, "Seriously, driving up state for a couple miles with it flashing in our eyes at night was terrible!" "At night I ran to town and it was lighting up the sky going past Sleeper on 25," Len Hintz said. The tower is owned by American Tower Corporation and a sign has been placed close to the tower with phone numbers to call for maintenance issues. A representative of American Tower said as of late Wednesday afternoon, the problem had not yet been resolved. An open work order exists, but the representative could not provide an estimate of when the tower would be repaired. A winter storm hitting the state on Wednesday is likely one of the reasons for the delay. American Tower's emergency number is 877-518-6937. The sign lists the site's location as Caseville, its site number as ATC-372242, and its FCC registration number as FCC#-1006783. Of the two suspects alleged in Freeland vehicle thefts in early December, an 18-year-old has been arrested, a petition was authorized against a juvenile, and both are awaiting court hearings. Keagan Alcock, 18, of Hemlock was arrested on Friday, Dec. 31. He was bound in the Saginaw County Jail and later released on bond. He is charged with four counts of larceny from a vehicle, said Tittabawassee Township Police Chief David Simon. Simon said a none-count petition was authorized against a 17-year-old Kochville Township girl, whose name was not released because she is a juvenile. He said a juvenile hearing will be scheduled through the Saginaw County Juvenile Division/Probate Court. The charges stem from earlier in December when the two were reportedly caught after getting into unlocked cars and allegedly taking items. The chief said it happened in the Tenth Street area. Before the warrants were recently signed in Saginaw County against the pair, Simon said officers again encountered the duo, this time joined by a third person, attempting to gain access to vehicles early in the morning on Sunday, Dec. 26. Simon deemed it unfortunate that two of the suspects who had already been cited were allegedly attempting the same thing again. This most recent time, the pair was joined by a 19-year-old Auburn man, Simon said. He said when the trio was stopped, it didnt appear they had lifted anything from the inside of vehicles. Regardless, residents missing anything from their vehicles in the area were encouraged to notify authorities. On Dec. 26, a resident spotted activity on a security camera of people attempting to enter vehicles. The resident immediately called police, who were able to stop the car carrying the individuals a short time later, the chief said. He said the report from the resident was key to catching the suspects. I cant believe the boldness of them, said Monica Hill, of Tittabawassee Township, referring to the suspects. To come back to the same place where police caught you just weeks before. The chief again reminds residents not to leave valuables in sight in their vehicles and to lock their car doors. Editors note: If you have an event you would like to have included, please email the information to Reporter Victoria Ritter, vritter@mdn.net. Saturday, Jan. 8 The Dad Joke Show is set for 7-8:30 p.m. at Creative 360. David King will be joined on stage by Stephen Fort, Andrew Fort, Todd Little, John McPeak, Paul Lutenske, Matt Schramm and more hilarious dads. Ever wonder about the origin story of the dad joke? The dads will fill you in on that as they share the best worst and best best jokes of the genre. Rated PG. Admission is $12 prepay, $15 at the door. Guests can bring their own beverage. KeyboardFest is set for 7 p.m. at Midland Center for the Arts' Auditorium. KeyboardFest is an annual piano festival sponsored by the Mid-Michigan Teachers Association. This concert is designed to develop ensemble skills for the more than 150 participating pianists. As many as 24 students will be on stage performing duets at the same time, under the direction of Conductor Jim Hohmeyer. Tickets are $6.50 for adults, $4 for students. Sunday, Jan. 9 Buds, Bark and Branches: Winter Tree ID is set for 10-11:30 a.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Identifying woody vegetation can be hard any time of the year, and its even harder without leaves. Join an Interpretive Naturalist to learn how to identify local trees and shrubs in winter. We will discuss how they survive the cold months and their roles in the ecosystem. This event is free. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Wednesday, Jan. 10 Nature Journaling is set for 6:30-8 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center, hosted by the Wild Ones Mid-Mitten Chapter. A journal is a wonderful way to interact with your world. But you don't have to love to write to journal! Alternative journaling is taking the essence of journaling and fitting it into your environment. This event will explore ways to capture experiences in nature in unique and fun ways. Creative 360 will provide the books and the tools - participants provide the experience and imagination! Presented by Laura Vosejpka scientist, artist, and executive director of Creative 360 in Midland. Free Intro to Improv is set for 7-7:30 p.m. at Creative 360. Guests can come take a peek into the world of improv. Join Ariel for this 30-minute introduction. Who knows, once you get a taste, you may never leave! Pre-register by Jan. 7. Tuesday, Jan. 11 Family Snowshoe Hike is set for 5-6:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Bring the whole family for an afternoon of exploration on snowshoes - no experience needed! The group will search high and low for signs of animals as they explore on and off trails. Please bring a sled to pull younger children. Pre-register for this free event and reserve snowshoes online or call 989-631-0830. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Thursday, Jan. 13 An Evening Snowshoe is set for 5-6:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Come discover the beauty of a winter night! The group will look for signs of animals, study tree silhouettes and enjoy the winter sky. Bring a headlamp or flashlight. If snow conditions are unfavorable, we will hike instead. Pre-register for this free event and reserve snowshoes online or call 989-631-0830. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Saturday, Jan. 15 A History Hike is set for 1-2:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Start the new year with a casual trail hike and explore the natural resources that brought people to the region. Join CNC staff as we look for evidence of how nature has influenced our history and guided the settlement of our area. This event is free. www.chippewanaturecenter.org The Grove Music Festival is presenting an evening of jazz by the John Hill Quintet at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15 at Meridian High School Auditorium, 3303 N. Meridian Road, Sanford. Tickets are available at the door for $10. Sunday, Jan. 16 Snowshoe Sampler is set for 2-4 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. It's time to play outside! Drop by any time to give CNCs snowshoes a try, do a winter scavenger hunt or warm up by a campfire. Meet at the Homestead Cabin and come enjoy a winter afternoon in the snow. If snow conditions are unfavorable, the event will be canceled (based on the discretion of CNC). This event is free. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Monday, Jan. 17 A Full Moon Stroll is set for 5:30-7 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Join an Interpretive Naturalist for a hike to enjoy this months full moon. Learn how the tradition of naming moons began and what makes each month special. Please wear dark colors and bring a flashlight. We may use snowshoes if conditions permit. Reserve snowshoes online or call 989-631-0830. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Thursday, Jan. 20 Story Hour is set for 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Come spend an hour learning about nature! The hour will include a story, crafts and other age-appropriate activities. Dress for the weather for this outdoor program. This event is free. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Stories by the Fire is set for 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Drop by the Homestead and enjoy an early winter evening relaxing by the campfire, listen to tales of how settlers and animals adapt to survive a cold winter. This event is free. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Friday, Jan. 21 Survival of the Fittest is set for 2-3:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Winter is tough for wildlife. From freezing temperatures to low food availability, see how wildlife adapts to survive the harsh conditions. Dress with weather in mind for this outdoor hike and activities. This is a free event. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Saturday, Jan. 22 Yoga Coffee Hour is set for 9:15-11 a.m. at Mi Element Grains & Grounds. Join Sarah Nelson for the special Saturday morning version of our Yoga Happy Hour event series. Participants can enjoy a 45-minute all-levels yoga practice, then stay afterward to enjoy a drink and some friendly conversation between 10-11 a.m. Tickets are $18 (drink included), or $12 for yoga only; the ticket price includes one coffee, tea, or beer (must be 21+ for beer option) to enjoy during the event or take a voucher to enjoy your drink at a later date. Participants can bring their own mat and any yoga props to support their practice; a limited number of mats will be available to borrow. Register at sarahnelsonyoga.com/classes Cardboard Sled Races are set for 1-4 p.m. at Midland City Forest. Hosted by the City of Midland. Pre-register online at www.cityofmidlandmi.gov/chill by Friday, Jan. 21. Registration will be allowed on the day of the event if space allows. Tuesday, Jan. 25 Adventures for Women: Snowshoe Hike is set for 5-6:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Enjoy an afternoon hike on snowshoes as we notice birds, animal tracks and other points of interest in the woods and fields. Beginner and experienced snowshoers are welcome. Pre-register for this free event and reserve snowshoes online or call 989-631-0830. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Wednesday, Jan. 26 Zehnder's Snowfest is set to begin at 8 a.m. in Frankenmuth. Professional snow and ice carvers from around the world will create dazzling sculptures. Visitors can observe exhibitions and competitions between artists and students. Snowfest will continue through Sunday, Jan. 30. For more information, visit zehnders.com. Thursday, Jan. 27 An Evening Snowshoe is set for 5-6:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Come discover the beauty of a winter night! The group will look for signs of animals, study tree silhouettes and enjoy the winter sky. Bring a headlamp or flashlight. If snow conditions are unfavorable, we will hike instead. Pre-register for this free event and reserve snowshoes online or call 989-631-0830. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Sound Community Music Series is set for 7-9 p.m. at Live Oak Coffeehouse. This live music series features classical and jazz musicians from the mid-Michigan area and will be held on the fourth Thursday each month at Live Oak Coffeehouse in Midland. Saturday, Jan. 29 Kids Day at the Midland Mall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. hosted by Midland Recyclers. More than 60 companies participate in this annual event that provides kids and their families with hands-on activities, information and performances. Sunday, Jan. 30 Nature Book Club: Winter World is set for 1-3 p.m. Come for a book club chat and naturalist led hike! Januarys book is National Bestseller Winter World: the Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich. Register by Jan. 28 for this free event. www.chippewanaturecenter.org Monday, Jan. 31 An Evening Snowshoe is set for 5-6:30 p.m. at Chippewa Nature Center. Come discover the beauty of a winter night! The group will look for signs of animals, study tree silhouettes and enjoy the winter sky. Bring a headlamp or flashlight. If snow conditions are unfavorable, we will hike instead. Pre-register for this free event and reserve snowshoes online or call 989-631-0830. www.chippewanaturecenter.org To the editor: On frequent trips to the Aleda E. Lutz Veterans Medical Center in Saginaw the previous four years I endured a picture of the former president staring back at me at the entrance. With the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on our nation's capital fast approaching, I'm happy to report pictures of President Joe Biden and VA Secretary Dennis McDonough were hanging at the entrance on my Dec. 28 visit. President Biden is our duly elected Commander-in-Chief as certified on Jan. 6 and deserves recognition at the Saginaw VA and all our federal buildings. Unlike his predecessor, I believe he does not consider Vietnam veterans losers and suckers. Our democracy is in mortal jeopardy and the Biden presidency needs to be upheld in the face of lies perpetrated by a sore loser. ED RACHWITZ Beaverton Palestine, TX (75801) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the highest body of the organization, has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan, Council Chairman and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday. "Based on the request by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and in view of the threat to the national security and the sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the external intervention, the CSTO Collective Security Council, in accordance with Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty, decided to deploy the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan," Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page. "The forces will be deployed for a limited period of time in order to stabilize the situation in the country," he added. Tokayev said Wednesday he intended to "act as tough as possible" as the situation in the country becomes "extremely tense." About half of the country's territory is engulfed in riots, he said in his address to the people of Kazakhstan, adding that the situation is especially difficult in the Kazakh city of Almaty. "I intend to act as tough as possible... Together we will overcome this black period in the history of Kazakhstan," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Tokayev signed a presidential decree to accept the resignation of the country's government. In accordance with the decree, government members will continue to fulfill their duties until a new government is formed. Enditem Niamey, Niger (PANA) - The Nigerien police seized more than 214 kilograms of cocaine in northern Niger, a record, and arrested a mayor of this region and his driver who were trying to transport the drug to Libya, as a transit country to Europe, the Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS) announced on Wednesday Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The top UN official in Libya has reaffirmed that the world body will stand by the people in their demand for an electoral process to end the long transition period The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has held an official handover ceremony to welcome Masahiko Metoki as the new director general and Marjan Osvald as deputy director general. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Taking place at UPUs headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, the ceremony included the reading of the official UPU oath by Metoki and Osvald, as well as the exchange of the key to the International Bureau. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Speaking at the ceremony, Metoki said, Throughout my term, I will do everything possible to strengthen the ties that bind us closely together. Although symbolic, this key has tremendous significance. If we work in an effective and efficient manner, we can collectively unlock success for the entire postal industry. Referring to the postal strategy guiding his term in office, Metoki added, It sets out a vision of the post as an essential engine for sustainable development and invites governments to do everything possible to reduce the gaps in postal development around the world. As director general, I pledge that I will work in all sincerity with member countries to make this strategy successful. Adding further comment, Osvald said, During my term in office, I encourage the responsible owners [of the post]to define the role of the post in their environment and to support its development. The UPU will thus guide, coordinate and help members to enhance the quality and importance of postal services. Isaac Gnamba-Yao, who represents Ivory Coast as chair of the UPUs Council of Administration, also presided over the ceremony. Welcoming the new leadership team, Gnamba-Yao said, All the member states have witnessed your commitment to continue the work of reforming the postal industry and to rise to the challenges that it faces, with the inclusion and participation of all member countries. Expressing his congratulations to the incoming team, former director general Bishar A Hussein said, I wish to call on member countries and the International Bureau staff to support the two leaders and enable them to continue with their momentous task of transforming this organization to address the demands and the dynamics of the ever-changing postal market. Metoki and Osvald officially began their respective mandates on January 1, 2022. They were elected by member countries during the UPUs 27th Universal Postal Congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in August 2021. Ahead of his election, Metoki served as the senior vice president of international affairs at Japan Post and represented Japan as chair of the Postal Operations Council from 2012 until 2021. Osvald previously served as director of international mail at Posta Slovenije, but has also worked to coordinate developments across the sector through his involvement with PostEurop, the Postal Union for the Mediterranean and the International Post Corporation. Photo: (Photo : Matt Cardy/Getty Images) You've probably been warned about borrowing money from family members before. While this may seem more convenient than dealing with a bank or a lending institution, some experts said it might be more trouble than it's worth. A survey from Bankrate showed that 35 percent of Americans who either lent or borrowed money from a family member ended up with a negative outcome. They damaged the relationship with that family, impacted their credit scores, or blew the money completely. Read Also: Role of Godparents: How Important Are Second Parents or Sponsors for the New Baby? Although you can indeed turn to family members for financial help, especially during a pandemic crisis, here are three reasons why borrowing money from relatives is not a good idea: 1. The vague terms of repayment could be a source of resentment. When borrowing money from a family member, you could assume that the repayment terms are more flexible than existing financial institutions. However, this vague repayment term could become the source of resentment that could cause cracks in the relationship. According to relationship counselor Dee Holmes, some adult children who borrow money from their parents are likely not to pay these back right away. In some cases, the parents might feel that they have the right to encroach on their children's spending choices since they are the source of the funds. Since there is no formal agreement about the payment terms, disputes and arguments could also arise. Accusations between family members may come out, and regretful words could be said in the process that the family might not recover from. 2. You might not be able to live with the feeling of indebtedness. Some family members will not hesitate to mention that you borrowed money from them, other relatives, or even family friends. This could turn into an embarrassing moment, especially when you're not used to that feeling of indebtedness. It's worse if you are a couple and your partner has not been comfortable with asking for financial help from relatives to begin with. Borrowing money from family members will always have that emotional link, so it won't be easy to separate logic from feelings. 3. Family members will gossip about each other. You might need the money for a very personal reason, but your relative might not understand why you have to keep it on the down-low. Don't count on family members to keep quiet about this, though. Worse, if you have upset or disappointed your aunt or uncle for failing to pay them back, they will likely tell your cousins or parents about it. Suppose you're not comfortable with this situation. In that case, it might be good to look for other alternatives or reconsider approaching the bank to do away with a potential emotional fallout with a relative. Analyst Andrew Selepak said that you may still borrow from a relative based only on the amount that you can confidently repay as soon as possible. However, he also advised to put things in writing and keep the necessary documents of payments made. If you're in a really bad situation, consider talking to an accountant who can help manage your finances. Related Article: Mom Says Toxic Mother-in-Law Sent Christmas Card That Was Like an Invoice for What She Spent for the Family This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions (Click on image to Enlarge) This afternoon Apple TV+ announced a series order for "Manhunt," a limited series created by Emmy, Golden Globe, PGA and WGA-nominated writer/producer Monica Beletsky who is also the showrunner and an executive producer. "Manhunt" is a true crime series based on the astonishing events of the Lincoln assassination, aftermath and best-selling book by James Swanson. The limited series is set to star 2021 Emmy Award winner Tobias Menzies as Edwin Stanton, Lincolns war secretary and friend, who was driven nearly to madness by the need to catch John Wilkes Booth and to carry out Lincolns legacy. Part historical fiction, part conspiracy thriller, "Manhunt" will take audiences into the aftermath of the first American presidential assassination and the fight to preserve and protect the ideals that were the foundation of Lincolns Reconstruction plans issues that reverberate into the present day. "Manhunt" marks the first series order to hail from Monica Beletskys overall deal with Apple TV+, which was recently renewed. Deadline added in their coverage that "The Apple series is described as part historical fiction and part conspiracy thriller and will center on the aftermath of the first American presidential assassination and the fight to preserve and protect the ideals that were the foundation of Lincolns Reconstruction plans." Archive: Apple TV News The Chinese Experience } Quiz 8. In 1999, Dr. Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwan-born U.S. citizen working as a physicist in the weapons section of the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratories, was arrested on charges of spying for China. The U.S. District Judge apologized to Lee after he pled guilty to a lesser charge and was released for time served. After his arrest, how long did he spend in solitary confinement? a) 2 weeks b) 1 month c) 3 months d) 9 months ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of eight people were killed Wednesday when members of the Houthi group shelled a residential building in the country's southern province of Shabwa, a military official told Xinhua. "The Houthis randomly shelled a residential building belonging to the chief of the local authority in Usaylan district of Shabwa, where intense fighting is still taking place," the local military source said on condition of anonymity. Eight people were killed and several others injured as a result of the shelling, he said. The Houthi shelling coincided with the presence of senior pro-government military leaders and tribal figures who were gathering inside the residential building, he added. Most of the military leaders survived the Houthi shelling unharmed while their bodyguards died, according to the official. The shelling attack comes as ferocious fighting is still going on between the government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi militia in the western part of Shabwa. Scores were either killed or injured during the non-stop armed confrontations raging over the control of key areas in Shabwa, which includes a number of oil fields, according to the source. The Iran-backed Houthis made substantial advances on the battlefield in September 2021, capturing Bayhan and other key areas in Shabwa after seizing al-Bayda and most areas of Marib. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014. Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthis forced him into exile. Enditem CES 2022 is typically the single most important media event for the PC laptop industry. This year proved no different despite the sudden and unexpected shift from to a largely virtually show (The major chip makers all stayed remote, as did most laptop manufacturers). In fact, 2022 is shaping up to be an excellent year for Windows laptops. New CPUs and GPUs from AMD, Nvidia, and Intel promise to send laptop performance to the moon and thats just the start. Heres 5 top laptop trends from CES 2022 that simply cant be ignored. Expect to see some of these notebooks cracking our list of the best laptops sooner than later. Laptops grow in power (and power consumption) The PC laptop world was focused on large, heavy, and expensive laptops at CES 2022. While AMD, Intel, and Nvidia continue to make silicon focused on thin-and-light systems, the most exciting announcements remain in the realm of high-power, high-performance mobile computing. Even the best thin-and-lights, like the Dell XPS 13 Plus and Lenovo ThinkPad Z, are appealing because they attempt to stuff ever-faster hardware into modest footprints (whether theyre successful remains to be seen). Intels 12th-gen Core processors list a base power as low as nine watts. The maximum potential thermal design power ranges from 29 watts on the U-Series to 115 watts for the quickest H-Series processors, however. For comparison, Intels popular 8th-gen Core Mobile processors, such as the Core i5-8250U and Core i7-8550U, had a maximum listed thermal design power of 25 watts. This increase in wattage is excused by big leaps in core counts, with flagship 12th-gen Core processors packing up to a whopping 20 cores. Acers 16-inch Swift X is powerful for its size, but I wouldnt call it portable. Acer The trend continues in discrete graphics. AMD and Nvidia both announced faster discrete laptop options for graphics, such as the AMD Radeon 6850M XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. These offer the best mobile performance yet from each company, but also target a slightly higher maximum design power than their predecessors. More power consumption can hurt portability, but it has an upside. The focus on powerful laptops means 2022 is a great time to buy if you want a reasonably priced machine with great multi-core CPU performance and respectable discrete graphics. The Acer Swift X, Lenovo ThinkBook Plus, and entry-level Razer Blade all look set to strong results at a mid-range price. For most people, these laptops should be quick enough to replace a gaming or workstation desktop with no noticeable downside. Well, aside from howling system fans. Faster integrated graphics is a win for budget laptops Performance laptops took the spotlight at CES 2022, but there was good news for those who want a budget laptop or a speedy thing-and-light. AMD and Intel announced new integrated graphics (IGP) options that provide the biggest year-over-year performance gain since the release of the first Ryzen APUs. AMDs Ryzen 6000 mobile APUs score a win by shifting the IGP to the RDNA 2 architecture found in recent AMD discrete graphics cards. It claims a two-fold performance improvement compared to Ryzen 5000 APUs, which already delivered great gaming results. This gain will make a bulk of modern games playable at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second, with many playable at 60 FPS. AMDs Ryzen 6000 APU uses the RDNA 2 architecture found in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S AMD The IGP also supports AMDs FidelityFX Super Resolution, which can upscale games from a lower render resolution to further improve performance. With this feature on, AMD says the best Ryzen 6000 processors can average 59 FPS in Far Cry 6 at medium detail and 1080p resolution. Thats very impressive for integrated graphics. Intels integrated graphics for 12th-gen Core i7 and i5 processors appear similar to 11th-gen Core, but Core i3 nets a healthy upgrade from 48 execution units to 64 EUs. The integrated graphics performance of 12th-gen Core i3 processors will still be less than ideal, but this improvement should make a wider range of games playable on entry-level Windows laptops priced around $500. Both wired and wireless connectivity get an upgrade Theres more to a laptop than CPU and GPU performance. Connectivity and Wi-Fi performance often just as important to your day-to-day experience and theres big upgrades landing in 2022. Physical connectivity is improving with the arrival of USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4. These are not new announcements for CES 2022 and already available in some laptops, but theyll become more widely available in 2022. Intels 12th-gen Core mobile platform supports both USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4, so these features will become common as new models appears through 2022. AMDs Ryzen 6000 mobile does not support Thunderbolt 4 but does support USB 4. AMD and Intels mobile hardware will support Wi-Fi 6E, the latest Wi-Fi standard. It opens a new 6GHz wireless band. Ive tested Wi-Fi 6E routers and can vouch for their speed. They effectively render Gigabit Ethernet obsolete for most homes, as Wi-Fi 6E can reliably offer speeds of 800Mbps or higher in real-world conditions. The speeds were a bit of a moot point at the time, because laptops sold in 2021 did not support Wi-Fi 6E. That will change rapidly through 2022. Its not a must-have feature for most, but people with access to Gigabit should seriously consider an upgrade to a Wi-Fi 6E. Its ok to be a bit weird The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 trades the numpad for a touchscreen. Lenovo The lack of progress in thin-and-light laptop design has forced laptop manufacturers to search for new ways to distinguish themselves. Trying to beat the competition with a thinner, lighter system often isnt practical and may even be harmful if it requires a cut to performance. That means PC makers must get creative. Dells radical XPS 13 Plus has an island-style keyboard and replaces the function row with touch-sensitive buttons. Numerous multi-screen laptops are available, including a new Lenovo ThinkBook Plus that replaces the numpad with an eight-inch touchscreen. Lenovos ThinkPad Z and Dells XPS 13 Plus also have haptic touchpads, an unusual feature for a Windows laptop. Asus brought a new high-end folding laptop that targets creators. The radical Asus Zenbook Fold 17. Asus Mid-range laptops are beginning to diverge as well. Acers Swift X, Lenovos Yoga 7i, and Dells Inspiron 7000 series are mid-range laptops with distinct perks. Acers Swift X has RTX graphics, Lenovos Yoga 7i is the only 2-in-1, and Dells Inspiron 7000 brings substantial connectivity with affordable high-end storage and RAM configurations. The laptops have their own style as each company moves to unusual materials and bold colors. Battery life struggles to keep up and AMD makes an unrealistic claim Most laptop trends at CES 2022 are positive, and doubly so if you care about performance. If you want multi-day battery life, however, I dont think the industry is heading in the right direction. In part, this circles back around to the first trend: big, fast laptops that consume a lot of power. AMD, Intel, and Nvidia combat this with optimization. Intels 12th-gen Core processors pair less performant, lower-power E-cores with quicker P-cores and aim to minimize use of the latter when theyre not needed. Nvidia stresses a similar approach in its GPUs, which can selectively maximize the clock of some GPU cores while leaving others unused. And AMD made a vague boast about 50 new power management features that can enable up to 24 hours of battery life. Is it possible to hit 24 hours of battery life? Yes. Will you see it happen? No. AMD Hold up. 24 hours of battery life? In real laptops? Wellno. AMD did test an unspecified reference laptop under conditions that returned the result AMD claims. Its a true statement. However, you cant buy an AMD reference laptop, and the use case is a specific video playback test thats not representative of real use. The claim that laptops with Ryzen 6000 APUs can hit 24 hours of battery life does not mean AMD laptop buyers will see 24 hours of battery life (or anything close to it) in daily use. Intel, to its credit, did not participate in this charade at CES 2022. The press deck for Intel 12th-gen Core processors does not make specific battery life claims, and laptop manufacturers have largely followed Intels lead. I suspect this means the battery life of the 12th-gen Core mobile is unimpressive, but at least it wont lead naive shoppers to expect multi-day endurance. CES 2022 was a boon for laptops On balance, CES 2022 was unquestionably positive for PC laptops despite the ongoing pressures of high chip prices and Apples competitive M1-powered MacBooks. The laptops shown at CES should deliver impressive performance, highly competitive pricing, and unmatched versatility. Theres no question that PC laptops remain the top choice if you want one computer for work and play. An Italian mafia boss on the run for 20 years was tracked down to a Spanish town after being spotted on Google Street View. Gioacchino Gammino, a convicted murderer listed among Italys most wanted gangsters, was arrested in Galapagar, a town near Madrid, where over the years he had married, changed his name to Manuel, worked as a chef and owned a fruit and vegetable shop. Sicilian police carried out several investigations in their search for Gammino, 61, and a European arrest warrant was issued in 2014. The fugitive was traced to Spain, but it was Google Street View that helped to pinpoint his precise location. Read Full Story .... theguardian.com >>> : Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to accept responsibility over what he described as the poor governance in the country. Leadership is about responsibility. If you are elected a leader, you take responsibility. It is a poor leader who says it is not my fault. You are not elected to shift blame and refuse responsibility, he said. Speaking at the 40th anniversary of the 31st December coup dtat, he accused President Akufo-Addo of shifting blame to others for the myriad of problems bedeviling the country. According to former President Mahama, as President, he inherited a power crisis which he attributed to lack of investment over many years in power generation, but he did not put the blame on his predecessors. I did not say that it is not my fault. I went to Parliament and said I take responsibility for it and that we will fix, and indeed we fixed it. Today, somebody is saying I inherited a weak economy. Five years on, you cannot take responsibility and it is still about Mahama and the NDC. If you cannot do the job, just give way and let the NDC come and do it for you, he added. Anniversary The 31st December, 1981 coup detat, which was led by former President Jerry John Rawlings, led to the formation of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), a military junta that ruled the country for about 11 years and later metamorphosed into the National Democratic Congress (NDC) when Ghana returned to democracy in 1993. The 40th anniversary celebrations attracted top personalities of the NDC such as former President Mahama and his running mate in the 2020 general election, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the General Secretary of the party, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and the NDC MP for Klottey Korle, Dr Zanetor AgyemanRawlings. Former President Mahama said the 31st December, 1981 coup detat gave birth to the Fourth Republic and also laid the foundation for a society that ascribed to the principles of probity and accountability. Revolution Dr AgyemanRawlings said the 31st December coup was a revolution and was important for the country because human history for many years had been shaped and built by a form of a revolution According to her, as a revolution, the 31st December, 1981 coup was meant to guide the country to build a better, just, inclusive and more prosperous society, but the exact opposite was what was currently happening in the country. People do not know the level of suffering of the people and they speak as if all is well. Corruption is now part of our national fabric. Not only is it scary but it is annoying, she said. Hung Parliament Mr Ampofo said the current situation in Parliament where the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had the same number of seats was a testament that Ghanaians were not happy with the governance style of President Akufo-Addo. He said the country would have been worse off if the NPP had overwhelming majority in Parliament. For his part, Mr Asiedu Nketia said the current happenings in Parliament was the fault of the NPP and accused the NPP of seeking to circumvent the will of Ghanaians who had voted for a hung Parliament. The NPP want to win in Parliament but they do not have the numbers to win. Meanwhile, they are not modest enough to talk to NDC MPs, he said. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Members of Parliament (MPs) must trust one another to build consensus and reconcile the House, the Most Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, has said. He expressed regret over chaotic incidents that characterised some proceedings of the House last year and said consensus building was the surest way to redeem the image of the House. "Ghana will not burn. Our Parliament will reconcile," he said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the Watch Night Service of the Calvary Methodist Church, Adabraka,last Saturday dawn. Chaos Parliament has come under fierce criticisms following the chaos that broke out on the night of Monday, December 20, 2021 during deliberations on the Electronic Transfer Levy Bill, 2021. The incident has been widely condemned by all, including the international community, with Parliament itself expressing regret over the conduct of the House. Deliberations on the bill, which seeks to impose a 1.75 per cent levy on electronic transactions, have since been suspended by the House. The deliberation has been halted to allow for broader consultations on the proposed electronic transaction levy, announced during the 2022 Budget presentation by the Finance Minister on Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Differences In a New Year message, Most Rev. Dr Boafo said MPs must move beyond their differences and party affiliations and help build consensus in the interest of national development. I believe that they should sit down and look at what has happened so it doesnt reoccur. ...We should trust one another, bring them on board, respect one another so that together whatever bill is to be debated, we all agree for the good of the nation, Most Rev. Dr Boafo said. He urged the citizenry to eschew bad practices such as bribery and corruption that impeded the progress of the nation last year. 2022 He said the Year 2022 presented an opportunity for the nation to move away from the old ways of work and develop new working ethics that would be for the good of the nation. We must move away from the evil that we did; corruption, bribery and all the things that we talked about as a nation, which are impeding our progress. These are new opportunities. Lets move away from it (evil) and move into the New Year so that our nation can grow and grow well, he said. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho has said former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Kwabena Duffuor has what it takes to be the presidential candidate of the NDC and also president of Ghana. In a tweet, Mr Anyidoho said He has what it takes! Happy New year to him. Dr Duffuor had officially declared his intention to be President of Ghana. Although his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is yet to open nominations for the presidential race ahead of the 2024 elections, the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana who was the Finance Minister under the Mills administration said he would welcome a decision of the delegate of the NDC to make him the presidential candidate for the party in the next general elections. He said these in an interview with TV3s Roland Walker in Accra on Monday November 29. Roland told him that I saw a promo of you advocating for young people to get involved in the NDC and make sure that they also take part in the governance process, is it that you have the presidential ambition at all? You want to become president of our Republic? Dr Duffuor replied saying I was the Finance Minister so I was in politics but we have not started talking about the NDC presidential race yet, if we get there and I am given the nod why not? Roland asked again that Potentially and hypothetically, if you get elected as a presidential candidate who ideally will fit the bill of becoming your vice presidential candidate? He replied There are two people who are doing very well in politics, they are lawyers. Look at Bagbin with over 30 years in politics, look at this young man Haruna, any of them. If I have Haruna Iddrisu or Bagbin, any could be my running mate, they are working hard, they are in politics and they will complement me. Source: 3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A Kumasi Circuit Court has granted a GHC100,000 bail to Gabriel Agah, a known communicator with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), facing the charges of defrauding by pretence. Agah, an unemployed is said to have used the name of the former President John Mahama to defraud Nana Opoku Agyemang to the tune of GHC150,000. The suspect who pleaded not guilty to the charges was remanded by the court during his first appearance in December last year. He was, however, admitted to bail with three sureties, one to be justified with a landed property, the court ordered during a second hearing on Wednesday, 5 January 2022. This was after his lawyers pushed for his release after spending nearly two weeks in police custody. The case has since been adjourned to 2 February 2022, to allow the police to make some disclosures as part of the prosecution. Source: asaaseradio.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Founder and Leader of Prophetic Hill Chapel, Prophet Nigel Gaisie says he is ready to go "blow for blow" with the Member of Parliament(MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong. The renowned Prophet has invited Hon. Kennedy Agyapong to bring it on this year 2022 as he won't sit idle for the politician cum business mogul to run his name through the mud, stressing "if he says one thing this year, I will reply with a thousand words''. Prophet Nigel Gaisie, in a corrosive tone during an interview with Kofi Adoma on Kofi TV, alluded to some disparaging remarks and lies that he says Hon. Kennedy Agyapong said about him last year, where the former claimed he (Nigel Gaisie) had murdered a certain female member of his church and also held him responsible for the death of the late Ebony among other allegations. Without mincing words, he stated emphatically that he has cursed Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, his family and all his generations. "Tell Kennedy Agyapong that I pray against him each day that I wake up. I pour oil on him and rise against him because he has laid his hands on me when I have done nothing to him. I was silent because it was election year. If he tries to come at me again, we will wear one pair of shorts in this country . . . I have cursed him!", he warned. Watch video below: Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Actress Lydia Forson has been slammed for having double standards for failing to put Shatta Wale in check over rape comments on Twitter. This emanated during the ongoing feud between the dancehall artiste and Nigerias Burna Boy when he (Shatta Wale) admitted a rape act in his tweet. Shatta tweeted and accused the Nigerian act of rape, stating, Because he is a rapist. He is jealous I did the same to his girl cuz thats his job. Raping jealousy. Social media users did not take his tweet likely as they came at him for laughing when confessing to being a rapist. Others called on the Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare, to take the dancehall act on for such condemning utterance. Since rape has been one of the issues being tackled in the country. Actress Lydia Forson, on the other hand, was accused of failing to put Shatta Wale in check over the rape comment for her advocacy role for rape victims and against rape culture. Lydia, over the years, has reiterated that rapists should not be made to justify their actions, adding that she will block any of such individuals. Rape apologists. Rape Jokes. BLOCK. You dont even get to defend yourself. Block Block Block. She said in a tweet in 2018. However, Tweeps were surprised when the same Lydia revealed details of her conversation with Shatta Wale concerning his rape tweet. She said: I just got off the phone with @shattawalegh- We spoke at length about his tweets, especially on rape. Its been a long conversation. Whiles, were not entirely on the same page (hopefully, we will be eventually). It was important to me that I spoke to him about this; he listened. She continued, I was very deliberate about my tweet because and didnt want to say too much because I understand how easily people run with things here. The rape tweets from both sides triggered me (Ive stated as much). It wasnt enough to just tweet it-I needed a conversation. Last on this-those tweets were problematic, triggering, to say the least. I tweeted as much. (for those who care to go through) But if you have access to anyone, you believe has disturbing views, you go beyond registering your displeasure online-you say it to them too! Source: twitter/3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Commentary: Lithuania must take swift actions to correct wrongdoings on Taiwan-related issues Xinhua) 15:48, January 06, 2022 BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- For the Lithuanian government, recognizing its mistake on the Taiwan-related issues is a step in the right direction, but only the first step. To repair the damaged China-Lithuania relations, the European nation needs further swift actions to rectify the wrongdoings. According to media reports, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday that it was a mistake for the Lithuanian government to allow the Taiwan authorities to set up a "representative office" under the name of Taiwan in Lithuania. In response to the wrongdoings, which are a brazen breach of the one-China principle, China decided in November to downgrade the diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the level of charge d'affaires. The countermeasures taken by China are legitimate and reasonable responses to the wrongdoings from the Lithuanian side that have severely infringed upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and gravely hurt China's core interests. Any sovereign and independent country would do the same if in China's shoes. In response to Lithuanian president's latest statement, the Chinese government urges actions on the ground to correct the mistake, which are far more important. In the meantime, the Taiwan authorities should be aware that whatever they do to seek so-called "Taiwan independence," they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China. Neither can they shake the international support for the one-China principle. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A woman gets inoculated with the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Jan. 5, 2022. Lebanon on Wednesday registered 5,818 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of cases to 746,632, the Health Ministry reported. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) BEIRUT, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon on Wednesday registered 5,818 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of cases to 746,632, the Health Ministry reported. Meanwhile, death toll from the virus went up by 20 cases to 9,213, and around 84 percent of the hospitalized were unvaccinated, according to the ministry. Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad attributed the sudden remarkable increase in COVID-19 cases to the spread of the Omicron variant and the excessive gatherings among citizens during the festive season of Christmas and New Year. Abiad noted that his ministry has required students, who will return to school in a couple of days, to wear masks at schools. He added that the World Health Organization has offered over half a million masks to schools in Lebanon and 80,000 COVID-19 rapid test kits to curb the case increase. Enditem A student gets inoculated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Jan. 5, 2022. Lebanon on Wednesday registered 5,818 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of cases to 746,632, the Health Ministry reported. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) President Joe Biden speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Drew Angerer/Pool via AP Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune. You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.10 per week for 10 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month. Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2022 at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, shows the transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using its space station's robotic arm. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China successfully conducted a transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using its space station's robotic arm Thursday morning. It was the first time that the robotic arm operated a large in-orbit spacecraft for a transfer test, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). The test started at 6:12 a.m. (Beijing Time) and took 47 minutes. After being unlocked and separated from the space station core module Tianhe, Tianzhou-2 was moved into a predetermined position by the robotic arm. The arm then reversed the maneuvers to bring the spacecraft back to its original position. Tianzhou-2 re-docked with the core module and completed locking. The test preliminarily verified the feasibility of using the mechanical arm to conduct a space station module transfer, confirmed the effectiveness of relevant technologies, and laid a foundation for the subsequent in-orbit assembly and construction of the country's space station, said the CMSA. Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2022 at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, shows the transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using its space station's robotic arm. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng) Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2022 at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, shows the transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using its space station's robotic arm. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng) Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2022 at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, shows the transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using its space station's robotic arm. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng) Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2022 at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, shows the transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using its space station's robotic arm. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng) Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Oxtails, jerk chicken and curry goat are shuffled into takeout containers before exiting an unassuming storefront hidden on Huger Street in downtown Charleston. Inside the kitchen, a Ladson couple with five children at home monitors the stove, checking on the authentic Jamaican dishes that were made from scratch earlier that day. For Keneil and Tracey Anderson, the restaurant represents their Jamaican heritage, which theyre expressing through family recipes Keneil brought with him when he moved to the United States from Jamaica in 2010. After renovating a space that was most recently occupied by a deli, the Andersons opened Jam On Deh Bay on Aug. 28. There was no hot food inside so we had to get that ventless stove, Keneil Anderson said, pointing to a small four-burner setup that could fit inside a studio apartment. So its designed for small spaces like this. Everything that (is) inside here we had to put inside here. The restaurant operates as a takeout-only establishment out of necessity; the space has room for just two to four people to comfortably wait in line. Keneil or Tracey greets customers at the cash register while the other fills orders while standing steps behind. Preparation starts at 6 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, when the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. Platters of oxtails, curry goat, fried fish and jerk chicken are Jam On Deh Bays specialties, but you can also get the jerk chicken on a hero sandwich with fries. For a quick and affordable lunch that offers a true taste of Jamaica, order the classic Jamaican coca bread ($2) with a beef patty ($2). The meals all come with rice and peas or you can choose white rice, but they also come with plantains and cabbage, Tracey Anderson said. We also sell Jamaican drinks. Mostly all of these are Caribbean drinks here. Oxtail and goat are the most time-consuming, labor-intensive dishes to make, according to Keneil Anderson, while the fish and jerk chicken cook a little faster. Thats about all the chef is willing to divulge about his family recipes. Oh, thats secret, Keneil Anderson quickly said when asked how the oxtail and curry goat are made. You start with your base seasoning and we use a lot of local herbs like thyme, scallions. The whole process to cook those is like three hours. Not surprisingly, the house-made rub for the jerk chicken is also top secret. Its spicy, so youll definitely differentiate the taste of the peppers inside there, Keneil Anderson said. Theres going to be a bunch of different herbs, but youre definitely going to taste the pepper. After placing an order for jerk chicken and curry goat on Dec. 16, my order is ready in less than 10 minutes because the Andersons cook continuously throughout the day. Walking down Dewey Street to the car, it was clear there was a lot of food packed inside the two plastic containers, just by the sheer weight. The platters were still piping hot when I arrived home to tuck into the fall-off-the-bone-tender goat that has less heat than the chicken. Keneil did mention the peppers. The jerk chickens wet rub tastes sweet before a manageable level of heat comes through shortly after. The Andersons are currently content with their small setup, but they could see themselves opening a restaurant with space for dine-in customers in the future. A quick look at the restaurants Google reviews shows that North Central-area residents hope they stay put. "Best Food Ever," one reviewer recently wrote. "Oxtails are on point. Great service. Great people." We have our community people, you know, they live close by so they say, Oh we live right around the corner, were glad youre here, Keneil Anderson said. We get a lot of returning customer(s). Jam On Deh Bay is at 1 Dewey St., but the front door faces Huger Street on the same block as Berkeleys, Huriyali, Renzo and The Rib Guy. Orders can be placed in person or by calling (843) 573-7040 from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Pan Jiahua, a former senior disciplinary inspector at China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, has been indicted on charges of taking bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Thursday. Pan was formerly the chief of the disciplinary inspection team sent by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and a member of the leading Party members' group of the administration. Pan's case has been filed by the People's Procuratorate of Hefei, Anhui Province, to the city's intermediate people's court. Prosecutors accused Pan of taking advantage of his various posts to seek benefits for others and accepting huge sums of money and gifts in return. The SPP said the prosecutors had informed the defendant of his litigation rights, interrogated him and listened to the defense counsel's opinions. Enditem On the same day that Gov. Henry McMaster assured the public he has no intention of imposing mask or vaccine mandates or shutting down schools in South Carolina, state health officials confirmed Jan. 5 that young adults between the ages of 20 and 40 are driving the current surge in COVID-19 cases. State epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said this particular age group accounts for the highest number of new cases and is contributing to the spread in many communities across the state. While this age group is less likely to die from the disease, the recent rise in new cases is expected to cause huge disruptions in the state's workforce, since 20- to 40-year-olds are a key segment of the working population. "This age group is where many of our health care workers and other vital workers are filled," said Dr. Edward Simmer, director of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. "This is having a major impact on our health care facilities." The state is also seeing a rise in the number of adult and pediatric hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions. On Jan. 4, the state had 37 children hospitalized due to the virus, one less than the previous record of 38. State health officials worry this trend could increase as pupils and students return to public school this week. "We need more young adults in the 20- to 40-year-old age group and more children 5 years and older to be fully vaccinated and to get their boosters as soon as they are eligible for them," Bell said. The latest data from DHEC shows nearly 8 percent of children ages 5-11 have completed their initial vaccine series and only 41 percent of young adults ages 20-39 are considered fully vaccinated. "We have a lot more work to do in these areas to get these groups and our communities protected," Bell said. Meanwhile, testing sites across the state are strapped and continuing to see high turnouts, with extraneous wait times and delayed test results. The strain is so apparent many residents are turning to local emergency departments for COVID-19 testing, further stressing the health care system. This is partly due to the enormous number of people showing signs of illness or being exposed to the virus. "With this current surge, our state's hospitals, emergency rooms and doctors' offices are once again overburdened with people seeking care for COVID, the flu and many other illnesses and injuries," Bell said. "Please do not visit an emergency room for a COVID-19 test." Instead, state health officials are asking residents to visit one of over 300 testing sites open around the state each day or to visit a local pharmacy or testing location. Current recommendations for people who should get tested for COVID-19 include people with COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of their vaccination status, and unvaccinated people who are in close contact with someone with the virus. They should get an initial test as soon as they've been identified as a close contact and should be tested again five to seven days after their known exposure, regardless of whether they have symptoms. Vaccinated people who are in close contact should get tested five to seven days after their known exposure, regardless of whether they have symptoms. Earlier Jan. 5, McMaster said that schools and businesses in the state will not be forced to close and there will be no vaccine or mask mandates. "There's no need for a state of emergency in South Carolina to address the increase in COVID infections caused by the omicron virus," McMaster said. "It's not necessary and there's a better way." McMaster went on to talk about the abundance of vaccines and testing sites throughout the state and mentioned how hospital occupancy rates are lower than in previous years of the pandemic. "This variant is not as dangerous as the ones we've seen before," he said. McMaster said he has not received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but that he intends to soon. The governor's comments on Jan. 5 were made the same day the state recorded more than 6,000 newly confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. The agency also reported 41 new deaths related to the virus. Nearly one-third of all COVID-19 tests performed across the state are coming back positive. Statewide numbers New cases reported: 4,248 confirmed, 2,744 probable. Total cases in S.C.: 804,782 confirmed, 213,653 probable. Percent positive: 32.7 percent. New deaths reported: 32 confirmed, nine probable. Total deaths in S.C.: 12,721 confirmed, 1,994 probable. Percent of ICU beds filled: 77.45 percent. S.C. residents vaccinated In South Carolina, 60.6 percent of people who are eligible for the vaccine have received at least one dose, and 52 percent have completed their vaccinations, according to data from Jan. 5. This number reflects newly eligible residents in South Carolina, including young children. The latest data from DHEC shows 13 percent of children ages 5-11 have at least one vaccine dose. Hardest-hit areas According to the Jan. 5 data, Richland County (667), Greenville County (595) and Lexington County (473) saw the highest totals of newly confirmed cases. What about tri-county? DHEC reported on Jan. 5 that Charleston County had 327 new cases, while Berkeley had 116 and Dorchester 74. Deaths DHEC releases county-level data regarding COVID-19 deaths and the ages of those who have died from the virus on Tuesdays. According to the latest data released Jan. 4, at least 47 people in South Carolina died from the virus Dec. 26-Jan. 1, and their ages ranged from middle aged (35-64) to elderly (65 and older). Greenville County recorded eight COVID deaths that week the highest number of any county in the state. Hospitalizations Of the 1,395 COVID-19 patients hospitalized according to the data published Jan. 5, 280 were in the ICU and 131 were using ventilators. What do experts say? Dr. Gerald E. Harmon, a South Carolina physician and current president of the American Medical Association, expressed his concerns on Jan. 5 about new quarantine and isolation guidance set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calling it confusing and counterproductive. Nearly two years into this pandemic, with omicron cases surging across the country, the American people should be able to count on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for timely, accurate, clear guidance to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities," Harmon said in a press release. "Instead, the new recommendations on quarantine and isolation are not only confusing, but are risking further spread of the virus." Harmon says according to the CDCs own rationale for shortened isolation periods for the general public, an estimated 31 percent of people remain infectious five days after a positive COVID-19 test. "With hundreds of thousands of new cases daily and more than a million positive reported cases on January 3, tens of thousands potentially hundreds of thousands of people could return to work and school infectious if they follow the CDCs new guidance," said Harmon. "Physicians are concerned that these recommendations put our patients at risk and could further overwhelm our health care system." Instead, Harmon suggested that a negative COVID test should be required for ending isolation after one tests positive for COVID-19. "Reemerging without knowing one's status unnecessarily risks further transmission of the virus," said Harmon. Even though the number and rate of infant deaths in South Carolina dropped in 2020, the chance of an infant dying before their first birthday here remains significantly higher than the national average, especially for Black babies, according to new data published by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Among all races, an average 6.5 infants per 1,000 live births died in South Carolina in 2020. For Black infants, the rate was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 births more than twice as high as this state's White infant mortality rate of 4.5. The national 2020 average rate for infants of all races was about 5.4, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In terms of total deaths, out of 55,713 infants who were born in South Carolina in 2020, 364 died within their first year of life 7 percent fewer than in 2019. Most of the infant deaths recorded in 2020 occurred within the first month after birth. "Ideally, we want to see a decline in South Carolinas infant mortality rate each year until that number is as small as possible close to zero, Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC's public health director, said in a prepared statement. The decrease in the number of infant deaths for 2020 is encouraging, but the report also spotlights areas where significant more work needs to be done to improve birth outcomes for women of color," Traxler said. "The disparity in infant deaths between White women and women of color is unfortunately widening and must be addressed. The top causes of death among infants of all races in 2020 were congenital malformations or birth defects, disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, accidents or unintentional injuries, maternal complications of pregnancy and complications of the placenta. Compared to 2019, fewer infants died in 2020 from short gestation and low birth weight, accidents and maternal pregnancy complications, according to the new DHEC report. "Conversely, twice as many infants overall died from complications of the placenta, and the number of infant deaths due to congenital malformations remained constant," the report's authors wrote. COVID-19, first identified in South Carolina in early March 2020, significantly impacted adult mortality that year but has not emerged as a leading cause of infant death. The state health department releases infant mortality data each year because these numbers are considered an important bellwether for public health. Myriad factors play into a state's infant mortality rate: the quality of care provided by hospitals, access to OB-GYNs, a mother's preexisting health conditions, the county in which the infant is born, the number of prenatal visits completed, the length of the pregnancy and more. There are a number of groups invested in lowering South Carolina's higher-than-average rate, including the S.C. Hospital Association, private health insurers and the state health and Medicaid agencies. These organizations have launched a variety of campaigns in recent years aimed at lowering infant death rates, including efforts to promote the use of safe sleep techniques and newborn screenings, as well as a campaign called "Count the Kicks" that encourages expectant mothers to track fetal movement. South Carolina's 2020 infant mortality rate of 6.5 matches the overall rates recorded in both 2014 and 2017. In fact, 6.5 is the lowest infant mortality rate ever recorded in South Carolina, though each time the state has hit that mark previously, the rate has risen again in subsequent years. The drop in infant death rates from 2019 to 2020 was mirrored on the national level. According to a December report issued by the CDC, the infant mortality rate recorded in 2020 about 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births was a record low. A CDC ranking based on 2019 infant mortality rates shows New Hampshire's rate is the lowest in the country at 3.21 and Mississippi's is the highest at 8.71. While COVID hasn't impacted infant death rates in this country, experts widely agree that it could drastically drive down the birth rate, which has been in steady decline in South Carolina, and across the U.S., for years already. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. COLUMBIA The family of Horry County Sheriff Deputy Timothy Causey, who died weeks after working a major fire in the Carolina Forest area, is entitled to his death benefits, the S.C. Court of Appeals ruled on Jan 5. Causey died in May 2013, two months after working three nights of security at the Windsor Green complex during fire that destroyed 26 buildings with more than 100 condominiums. Smoke remained days after fire. In a statement, Fran Humphries, an attorney for the Causey family, said the ruling "brings his wife, Donna, and his children a great sense of validation for the sacrifice Timothy made in the service of the community he loved. An attorney for Horry County declined comment about a potential appeal. Following his shifts at the complex after the fire in March 2013, Causeys wife noticed that he was coughing, had a runny nose with red eyes and later saw a yellowish-black color that he coughed on a tissue, the decision said. Causey was taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where he died weeks later after he was diagnosed with swine flu, according to the decision. A S.C. Workers' Compensation commissioner originally approved the death claim that Causey died because of smoke inhalation from his job. But the commissions appellate panel overturned the decision in an opinion by saying that the deputy died from swine flu, not smoke inhalation, court records show. Without actual evidence that Causey sustained an injury to his lungs on March 16, 2013 and that such injury to his lungs was the proximate cause of his death, he is not entitled to benefits," the Workers' Compensation appellate panel wrote. In reversing the decision, the S.C. Court of Appeals said that medical records, court transcripts, witness testimony and expert opinions convinced them that the evidence does not support the Appellate Panels findings. The Workers' Compensation Commission appellate panel "reached its own proximate cause conclusion based on an erroneous mischaracterization of the medical and circumstantial evidence," the decision read. The S.C. Appeals Court decision added that, "The State of South Carolina, Horry County, and national law enforcement organizations recognized Deputy Causey as having died in the line of duty." MYRTLE BEACH U.S. Rep. Tom Rice lodged more criticism at former President Donald Trump on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riots, saying in a statement the president did nothing to stop the violence. The Myrtle Beach Republican, who stunned the political world by voting to impeach Trump on Jan. 13, 2021, doubled down on his increasing criticism of Trump on the anniversary of the mob attack. January 6th tested the fibers of our democracy and very well could have brought down our country, Rice said in prepared remarks. Any reasonable person could have seen the potential for violence that day. Yet, our president did nothing to protect our country and stop the violence. In a statement sent out soon after President Joe Biden issued his own remarks that the former president "spread a web of lies" about Jan. 6, Trump asked why the House committee examining the Capitol riot is "not discussing the rigged Presidential Election of 2020?" "Its because they dont have the answers or justifications for what happened," Trump continued. "They got away with something, and it is leading to our Countrys destruction. They want all conversation concerning the Election 'canceled.' " Rices comments came two weeks after he told Politico he regretted objecting to certifying the 2020 Electoral College results. In retrospect I should have voted to certify, he said in remarks published Dec. 22. Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol. Rice was one of 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching then-President Trump for failing to intervene during the hours of the mob attack. Of those 10 who voted in favor of impeachment, Rice was the only one who had objected to certifying the election results. The South Carolina GOP later censured Rice for taking his stand and didnt invite him to the partys state conference held in his own district in Myrtle Beach in October. Rice called Trumps actions on Jan. 6, 2021, nothing short of reprehensible in his statement marking the one-year anniversary, in which he also thanked U.S. Capitol Police, Washington, D.C., law enforcement and National Guard troops who responded. I pray all Americans across this country reflect on today, remembering just how fragile the United States of America remains, the 7th Congressional District representative said. Rice presently faces 10 challengers heading toward the 2022 GOP primary for his seat in a district which includes parts of Florence, the Pee Dee, Myrtle Beach and the northeastern part of the state. Trump has signaled he wants to replace Rice, issuing a statement in November calling on additional good and SMART America First Republican Patriots to take on the Myrtle Beach congressman. South Carolinians reacted to the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol with marches and calls for renewed commitment to voting rights, while still continuing the partisan feud over what the riot meant. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham criticized President Joe Bidens anniversary speech, describing his and Vice President Kamala Harris remarks as efforts to resurrect a failed presidency more than marking the anniversary of a dark day in American history. The so-called voting rights acts they are pushing are a liberal Democrat federal takeover of our election systems which constitutionally reside with the states, Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement from Washington. In Charleston, the local chapter of the League of Women Voters organized a Day of Unity march across the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, where about 50 people strode from Mount Pleasant to Charleston. Their message was to advocate for three pending federal voting rights legislations stalled in Congress: the Freedom to Vote Act, the Protecting Our Democracy Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, all of which are under consideration in the U.S. Senate. It is really important to remember the history and also honor those who died that day, Leslie Skardon, a director for the Charleston area league, said. It is also important to turn that into a moment of action, and make sure everyones voice can be heard in our electoral process. Before league members migrated toward the bridge, they held a small vigil at Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park in remembrance of police officers and rioters who died in the violent attack. In Columbia, a handful of lightly attended memorials to Jan. 6 took place throughout the day, including a pair of vigils as well as a virtual panel featuring several scholars discussing the significance of the riot in American history. Interpretations of what happened Jan. 6 have come to be viewed with two different lenses based on racial and political lines, the panelists said. Right-wing narratives have sought to bury the violence and the events leading up to Jan. 6 and have now sought to define Democratic efforts to protect the vote as harmful an effort similar to what UNLV African American history professor Tyler Parry said was exhibited by those seeking to disenfranchise Black voters in the years following Reconstruction. Some of those gains for voting rights, the panelists argued, are now under threat, inspired by then-President Donald Trumps false theories of rampant voter fraud in the 2020 elections. These ideas are not just under siege, but at risk of being lost permanently, said Robert Greene, a Claflin University history professor and a panelist at the event. South Carolinas Congressional delegation was divided, as well. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn condemned Jan. 6 as a reprehensible test of American democracy, while Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, described Biden's speech supporting Democratic-backed election reforms as partisan, highlighting a 2005 vote in which fewer than three dozen Democratic members of Congress broke ranks to vote against certifying George W. Bushs election victory. The state Democratic Party chimed in, too. The South Carolina Republican delegation is full of seditionists and traitors who have defied their oath to the constitution and instead made an allegiance to Donald Trump, state party Chairman Trav Robertson Jr. said in a statement. While vigils took place throughout the state to condemn the violence of Jan. 6, several events organized by conservative groups took place in cities including Aiken and Myrtle Beach in support of rioters in prison or currently being held for their roles in the attack. Back at the Ravenel Bridge, Jeri Cabot, a member of the Charleston area league, said she decided to march because of a need for action. The Jan. 6 riot was a reminder to Americans that people do not trust the election process, she said. We want people to know more about the task of voting and mechanics of how we vote, Cabot said. There is a lot of distrust. Marchers held signs saying Make Democracy Work and Remember Jan. 6, Senators as they moved up the walkway. At an overlook on the bridge, the group stopped and sang America the Beautiful while holding up their signage for all to see. As they sang, many drivers steering toward Mount Pleasant honked and waved. A lawsuit aimed at blocking attempts to lend the city of Charleston's John C. Calhoun statue to a Los Angeles art exhibit has been moved to a new court. The case was originally filed in Charleston County's probate court on Dec. 13 but was moved to South Carolina's 9th Judicial Circuit Court as a civil case on Jan. 4 at the request of the plaintiffs' attorney, Bill Connor. Connor said he originally filed the suit as a probate matter because of the trust issues surrounding original ownership of the statue, but opted to go to circuit court for the ultimate resolution. Justin Kahn, an adjunct professor at the Charleston School of Law, who is not connected to the case, said probate court typically handles trust disputes but, to be safe in handling the matter, it appears the strategy was to start in probate court first before moving to the circuit level. Connor represents descendants of members of the Ladies Calhoun Monument Association and of Calhoun himself. He said he also plans to file a temporary restraining order to pause any further decisions about the statue's use. At the Charleston Commission on Historys Dec. 15 meeting, members voted 7-4 to recommend City Council approve lending the statue out for display, though a vote by council has not been scheduled. "Shipping the historic statue to the LAXART exhibit in Los Angeles (with the potential to be shipped elsewhere and not come back to South Carolina) is, we believe, in clear violation of the Trust accepted by the city and against my clients interests," Connor wrote in an email Jan 5. The 125-year-old statue depicts Calhoun, a congressman and vice president, who died years before the formation of the Confederacy but defended slavery and at one point delivered a speech calling it a positive good. The city took the statue down from its perch in Marion Square in June 2020 after protests against police brutality and racial inequality reached new heights. Los Angeles curator Hamza Walker has spent three years requesting access to decommissioned antebellum and Civil War monuments from across the U.S., including the statue of Calhoun. The art exhibit is slated to open at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in fall 2023. The monuments will be displayed alongside a mix of existing and newly commissioned works of contemporary art. The lawsuit states that when the Ladies Calhoun Monument Association planned to disband in 1898 and gave authority over to the city, the members intended for the statue to honor Calhoun and stay in the state. City of Charleston officials declined to comment on the pending litigation. The Calhoun Monument was designed for the benefit of reminding us all of the great Carolina statesman, the lawsuit states, referencing an 1898 letter from the monument association to the city. SOUTH BOSTON, Va. North Charleston authorities charged a man with murder in connection with a December homicide after he was arrested in a small Virginia town. South Boston Police Department officers arrested three men, including Tymel Thomas Jones, on Jan. 4 in the armed robbery of a grocery store. Jones, 19, of North Charleston, also is wanted in a Dec. 9 homicide on Flora Street, near Rivers Avenue and Interstate 526, said Harve Jacobs, a spokesman for the North Charleston Police Department. Jones and the two other men Khameer DMaury Simmons and Sencere Christopher Hill, both from South Boston are accused of brandishing a handgun after walking into the Jiffy Food Store just before 9 p.m. Jan. 4. They assaulted a man inside the store and took an unknown amount of money from the cash register, according to a news release from South Boston police. Virginia authorities located Jones and the others at a nearby home, the release states. Each man faces two armed robbery-related charges in connection with the shooting. Following his arrest in South Boston, police in North Charleston announced Jones was charged with murder relating to a Dec. 9 homicide. Officers were dispatched around 9:15 p.m. to a Flora street residence, where they found Dezron Washington, 20, fatally shot. The mans family members informed officers Washington ran inside the home from the back door, telling them hed been shot, according to an incident report. Officers identified Jones as a suspect in the homicide, Jacobs said. In addition to the murder charge, Jones is also charged with possessing a deadly weapon during a crime. He was booked into the Halifax County jail in Virginia on the robbery-related charges, where he will await extradition to North Charleston for the homicide-related charges. Jacobs did not know when Jones was expected to arrive in South Carolina. North Charleston police officers would be in communication with the South Boston authorities, Jacobs said. A man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and three counts of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, resolving charges stemming from a 2017 fatal shooting and a 2020 car crash that left three people dead. Lamonte DAngelo Dickinson, 30, pleaded guilty to the charges on Jan. 5 in 9th Judicial Circuit Court. He will serve a maximum of nine years in prison. Judge R. Ferrell Cothran sentenced Dickinson to five years in prison for the manslaughter charge, and nine years in prison for each of the hit-and-run charges. His sentence will be served concurrently, meaning they will all be served at the same time. Dickinson will also get credit for the time he has already spent in custody. Several charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, including the unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. Dickinson and his defense attorney, Blair Jennings, disagreed with some of law enforcements findings in the investigation into the crash, and hired their own accident reconstruction expert. Those questions helped in negotiating the plea agreement, Jennings said. The lawyer called Dickinson's sentence a fair resolution. Dickinson pleaded guilty to shooting Daunte Blake in the head amid a fight outside an illegal Wadmalaw Island nightclub, records show. Authorities found Dickinson an hour after the shooting on Nov. 12, 2017, when the car he was driving ran off the road. A passenger in the car told police theyd been at the shooting, according to court records. Dickinson was charged with murder in the case, but pleaded to involuntary manslaughter as part of the agreement. Dickinson also pleaded guilty to a car crash which killed three people. He was initially charged with three counts of reckless homicide and three counts of hit-and-run with death or injury, but pleaded guilty to the latter three charges. Dickinson was driving a 2015 Chrysler 200 headed east on Maybank Highway near Rackity Hall Road on Wadmalaw Island, and traveling at speeds in excess of 110 mph, according to arrest-warrant affidavits. His car collided with a 2006 Cadillac DTS traveling in the same direction, killing Jeffrey Nesbitt, 29; Nathan Nesbitt, 34; and Steven Mitchell, 49. Dickinson fled on foot, the affidavits stated. Dickinson surrendered to Charleston County sheriffs deputies days later and confessed to driving the Chrysler, according to the affidavits. Dickinson was on bail from charges relating to the 2017 shooting at the time of the crash, and was prohibited from visiting Wadmalaw Island as part of the conditions, Jennings said. The three victims were Dickinsons lifelong friends" who had asked him to come to the island to watch the Super Bowl and hang out, Jennings said at the plea hearing. He made a terrible decision, the lawyer said. He recognizes that and is here taking responsibility. Dickinson, a father of five, briefly spoke during his hearing. He apologized to the victims family members, many of whom were present in the courtroom. Some of them declined to speak, but they were in agreement with Dickinsons plea and hoped he received significant prison time, prosecutor Price Sumner said. Germaine Mitchell, the ex-wife of Steven Mitchell, addressed the judge via videoconference. Were glad that (Dickinson) came forward and is admitting to his guilt, that what he did was wrong, she said. We hope that we can get some closure on this. Dickinson was taken into custody following the plea hearing, Jennings said. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. Servicemen from member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) take part in a joint military drills in Tajikistan, Oct. 18, 2021. (Xinhua) The peacekeeping forces will be deployed for a limited period of time in order to stabilize the situation. MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the highest body of the organization, has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan, Council Chairman and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday. "Based on the request by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and in view of the threat to the national security and the sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the external intervention, the CSTO Collective Security Council, in accordance with Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty, decided to deploy the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan," Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page. "The forces will be deployed for a limited period of time in order to stabilize the situation in the country," he added. Tokayev said Wednesday he intended to "act as tough as possible" as the situation in the country becomes "extremely tense." About half of the country's territory is engulfed in riots, he said in his address to the people of Kazakhstan, adding that the situation is especially difficult in the Kazakh city of Almaty. "I intend to act as tough as possible... Together we will overcome this black period in the history of Kazakhstan," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Tokayev signed a presidential decree to accept the resignation of the country's government. In accordance with the decree, government members will continue to fulfill their duties until a new government is formed. COLUMBIA Gov. Henry McMaster received a huge boost toward his run for reelection when a potential Republican primary opponent, Greenville businessman John Warren, confirmed he would not run for office in 2022. The move means McMaster has what appears to be a mostly clear path toward November, while the three Democrats in the mix are forced to campaign against each other ahead of their June primary. No other Republicans have announced a 2022 challenge of the former state attorney general and U.S. attorney who is seeking to become South Carolina's longest-serving governor. Warren announced via Twitter on Jan. 6 that he would continue to concentrate on his business concerns, including a bitcoin mining venture he announced last month, as well as his role as honorary chairman of the political action committee South Carolina's Conservative Future, an effort he launched seeking to influence various aspects of state government. "Entrepreneurship remains a passion of mine, and I am blessed with the opportunity to contribute to South Carolina's economy by creating jobs," the statement read. "Right now, given my responsibilities as CEO, I do not plan to seek public office in 2022." He went on to say the political action effort would include backing "a strong conservative leader for superintendent of education" and also multiple candidates for the state House of Representatives. Current Republican Education Superintendent Molly Spearman is not seeking reelection. Warren had been McMaster's largest threat in 2018 when he challenged the incumbent in the GOP primary, finishing second in a four-way race that June and forcing a runoff. He entered the campaign late with no previous political experience while pushing his military role as a combat Marine and businessman coming in from outside of politics. He threw $3 million of his own money into his run. The tight runoff prompted then-President Donald Trump to come to South Carolina to stump on McMaster's behalf, and McMaster would go on to win the nomination that June and then the November general election. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Attempts to reach Warren were not immediately successful, but Warren's departure from the field was confirmed by a staffer for the PAC. McMaster's campaign issued a statement saying, "We wish Mr. Warren well in his new endeavors and look forward to working with him to elect and reelect conservatives all across South Carolina." The governor's last campaign disclosure filing shows him with nearly $2.4 million cash on hand for his bid. If McMaster wins in November and serves a full four-year second term, he will have been in office for a state-record 10 years. He became governor in early 2017 when he was promoted from lieutenant governor after Nikki Haley left to become Trump's ambassador to the United Nations. The South Carolina's Conservative Future PAC was launched by Warren in the aftermath of his political foray as he tried to take on misspending in Columbia, as well as how lawmakers elect judges, saying the Statehouse needs to be more conservative than it is even with its GOP majorities in both chambers. Last month, the multimillionaire businessman announced a new direction with an expansion into the world of mining bitcoin, investing in GEM Mining with four other founding partners, all in South Carolina. We saw huge opportunities with our connections to mining, Warren told The Associated Press at the time. He told the AP the Greenville-based company will be the largest of its kind in South Carolina, and he hopes it will soon be among the top handful in the country. Warren said GEM has raised more than $200 million in institutional capital from banks, hedge funds, endowments and pension funds to operate more than 32,000 machines to mine Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency. The three Democrats in the race include former congressman Joe Cunningham of Charleston, state Sen. Mia McLeod of Columbia and activist Gary Votour. The Work Zone Many of us didnt grow up with a strong male influence in the home. My parents split before I was 10, so the majority of the wisdom I picked u Read more People rally to protest against the price rise of liquefied petroleum gas in Aktau in the Mangystau province, Kazakhstan, Jan. 4, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Xinhua) MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- "Dozens of attackers have been eliminated" after they attempted to storm administrative buildings and the police department of the Kazakh city of Almaty on Wednesday night, TASS news agency reported Thursday. A total of 12 law enforcement officers have been killed and 353 others injured in their clashes with the rioters in Almaty, said the report. The "anti-terrorist" special operation continues in the city and police urged residents and visitors to refrain from leaving home for their own safety, TASS said, citing a report of Kazakhstan's Khabar-24 TV channel. Over 1,000 people were injured across Kazakhstan with almost 400 of them hospitalized as a result of the violent protests over the past days, said the report. The protests sparked by dissatisfaction over surging fuel prices escalated on Wednesday, with protesters storming the main government building in Almaty, setting police vehicles on fire, and attacking the regional branch of the ruling Nur Otan party. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. Earlier on Wednesday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a presidential decree on Wednesday, accepting the resignation of the government. Obstacles are settled in front of the city hall for curfew in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 6, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Photo taken on Jan. 5, 2022 shows the light of a police car in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) A police officer stands guard in front of the city hall in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 5, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) People rally to protest against the price rise of liquefied petroleum gas in Aktau in the Mangystau province, Kazakhstan, Jan. 4, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Xinhua) A police officer requires a car to leave the city hall in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 5, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) A police officer stands guard in front of the city hall in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 5, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Military personnel patrol in front of the presidential palace in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 6, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Police officers stand guard in front of a governmental building in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 6, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Ambulence and police car are seen in front of the city hall in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 6, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Military vehicles are seen on the main street of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 6, 2022. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Mangystau Region in southwest Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Lenin famously said that capitalists would sell the rope that Communists would use to hang capitalists. But it turns out his imagination failed him: who knew that capitalists would pay for the rope with which the revolutionary left will kill capitalism. Liberal political analyst Thomas Byrne Edsall, who along with David Shor, Ruy Teixeira, and a handful of other liberals of relative sobriety, notes today in the New York Times the huge increase in contributions to racial equity causes since George Floyds death. Using data assembled by an organization called Candid, the numbers are staggering: Before Floyds death, Candid found that philanthropies provided $3.3 billion in racial equity funding for the nine years from 2011 to 2019. Since then, Candid calculations revealed much higher totals for both 2020 and 2021: 50,887 grants valued at $12.7 billion and 177 pledges valued at $11.6 billion. Among the top funders, according to Candids calculations, are the Ford Foundation, at $3 billion; Mackenzie Scott, at $2.9 billion; JPMorgan Chase & Co. Contributions Program, at $2.1 billion; W.K. Kellogg Foundation, $1.2 billion; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $1.1 billion; Silicon Valley Community Foundation, $1 billion; Walton Family Foundation, $689 million; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, $438 million; and the Foundation to Promote Open Society, $350.5 million. Let that sink in: in a little more than a year, capitalist philanthropy to radical racial causes was three times larger than the total philanthropy of the previous decade. (Dont hold your breath for a close accounting of how the money is spent.) Given that Black Lives Matter, and Ibram Kendi, explicitly stand for expropriation and the destruction of capitalism, one realizes how fully weak-minded our corporate and philanthropic overlords have become. But maybe this is a secret diabolical plot to blow up the Democratic Party? Defund the Police worked so well for them in the 2020 election cycle. Edsall thinks this flood of dollars to radical organizations is very bad for Democrats: There are Democratic strategists who worry about unintended political consequences that could flow from this surge in philanthropic giving. Rob Stein, one of the founders of the Democracy Alliance, an organization of major donors on the left, argued in a phone interview that while most foundation spending is on programs that have widespread support, when progressive philanthropists fund groups that promote extreme views like defunding the police or that sanction cancel culture, they are exacerbating intraparty conflict and stoking interparty backlash. The danger, according to Stein, is that some progressive politicians and funders are contributing to divisiveness within their ranks and giving fodder to the right. . . . Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, argued in a phone interview that no consideration is or can be given to partisan political consequences: We make no calculations about how our grantees give credibility or not to the Democratic Party. That is of no concern to the Ford Foundation, or to me personally. Walker continued: We support organizations that are working toward more justice and more inclusion in America, but we have no interest in the Democratic Partys strengths or weaknesses. I asked Walker about the concerns raised by Stein and Bennett. We support issues that are about progress and inclusion and justice, but the chips fall where they fall, Walker said. If Darren Walker didnt exist, Karl Rove and Steve Bannon have to invent him. JOE adds: This is why I use Patriot Mobile. Even a billion-dollar foundation isnt much in the face of the phone bills of 100 million conservatives. Millions of Americans are fleeing blue states for freer, more prosperous red states. Many have worried that these refugees may be foolish enough to bring blue-state politics with them. This could happen, but recent voter registration data from Florida suggest that it isnt happening there. So in just ten months, the GOP has a net gain of 325,000 voter registrations. Stephen Green comments: Out of over 14 million registered voters, last year Democrats held the edge with 37.38% of registrations compared to the GOPs 35.28%. (The remaining four million or so around 26% were independents or members of minor parties.) Democrats held a two-point advantage, but higher Republican turnout has made the state safely red in the last two presidential elections. *** As you can see, the GOP now has a slight lead in registrations, having gained more than a quarter of a million party members in just the last nine months. 66 out of Floridas 67 counties shifted towards the red. Republicans made a net gain of over 61,000 in Miami-Dade County in just the last 10 months. I assume this has to do, at least in part, with minorities switching to the GOP. Many of these new Republican voters might not be blue-state refugees; Governor DeSantiss strong record no doubt has prompted some party-switching. But at a minimum, the numbers indicate that lots of new residents from blue states doesnt necessarily mean lots of new blue voters. Minneapolis and St. Paul have just imposed mask mandates again. Foreseeing where we were headed, Healthy Skeptics Kevin Roche submitted the column below to the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune has actually been pretty good about publishing his columns, he writes, but he apparently went a heresy too far this week. They declined this column. [I]f the stupid masks cant stop Delta, how the hell would anyone think they will stop Omicron? But I see doctors everyday on Twitter claiming masks work and wear N95s, maybe two or three of them. They have no evidence to support that recommendation. This is simply, as I titled the piece, a mas(k) delusion. Kevin writes: * * * * * The policy response to the epidemic has been marked by a series of unprecedented and untested actions. There is generally no evidence to support the intervention at its initiation, other than an experts belief that it will have the desired effect, which typically is slowing or suppressing spread of Covid-19. And once initiated, the process of evaluating evidence of effectiveness becomes highly politicized. So it is with the notion that widespread wearing of masks has any impact on transmission of Covid-19 in the community. When forced masking was first discussed, I read the existing literature and found no evidentiary support for the practice. And despite the best efforts of what can only be described as the mask religionists, there continues to be no credible data or research favoring a positive impact. Other than on my blog I have avoided discussing those views, because you cant change an emotional belief with reason. But as with many things in the epidemic, events in the passage of time make avoiding a reconsideration of those beliefs very difficult. And the tide has begun to turn in regard to the impact of masking. In the last few weeks two Democratic Governors have come out strongly against renewed mask mandates, saying there is no evidence that they work, and pointing to neighboring states with longstanding mandates and very high transmission levels. The Atlantic magazine, the epitome of woke progressivism, recently published an article debunking one of the CDCs worst mask studies, which was widely used to support forcing children to wear masks for hours and hours, which I view as akin to child abuse. There simply is no well-designed study which shows any impact of mask wearing, much less mask mandates, on the community spread of Covid-19. How do we know masks do nothing to slow transmission? I always encourage people to evaluate any intervention at two levels, the individual one and the population one. At an individual level, in an isolated encounter between a person and the virus, a mask may prevent exposure and infection. But even if a mask were 90% effective, and they arent, over large numbers of encounters at some point you will be exposed. And the best mannequin head study, one which tracked particle flow for hours, not a few minutes, found that masks during extended wearing funneled viral aerosols into the respiratory tract and concentrated them on inner and outer mask surfaces where they eventually were pushed or pulled through. I have jokingly referred to masks as virus collection devices, but that is exactly what they are. A study done by the UK public health agency found that among all surfaces, Covid-19 survived second longest on masks, up to 20 hours. Eventually that virus finds its way into the wearers or others respiratory system. It isnt just Covid-19 that is collected, and scientists have been remarkably incurious about the total number and type of pathogens collected in a mask over hours of wearing, and the ultimate fate of those pathogens. This lack of research is almost certainly politically motivated. At a population level, one has only to look at any chart of cases versus population mask-wearing level (I avoid comparisons with mandate presence, since that may or may not correlate with actual wearing behavior, but those comparisons are even worse for masks). These charts constantly show that there is no correlation. Minnesota is a perfect example, in which the level of cases after the mask mandate was promulgated through when it was ended never dipped to the level before the mandate. Anyone who says it would have been worse without masks should take a good luck at the curves, especially pre-vaccine last fall, and explain how that could be true. As I noted above, it is particularly egregious to force masks on children, who despite ongoing misinformation regarding serious illness and hospitalizations (as Dr. Fauci finally admitted, most have nothing to do with treatment for Covid-19, but rather reflect incidental positives on admission) have a minuscule risk from the virus, but whom we are terrorizing and depriving of normal social development and interactions by forced mask wearing which makes no difference in their risk of being infected. Those who claim that children are resilient and fine are ignoring the clear data showing a massive uptick in mental health issues. The state has evidence in its possession showing that masks have no impact, either in general or in schools, but refuses to release that information and is stonewalling my Data Practices Act requests, which is itself evidence that they know the lack of effect. It is time for everyone to ask themselves what evidence really supports masking as an effective tool against spread and why we continue to encourage, much less force, futile and potentially damaging measures. PAUL ADDS: I have no scientifically or evidentiary-based position on the question of mask efficacy. However, I know there are two sides to the question. Readers interested in seeing the other side can go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, among other places. For a good article critical of pro-mask conclusions some have drawn from certain studies, go here. Latest from the Kamala Kollapse Watch: Another Kamala Harris aide quits as claims of turmoil, bullying mount Yet another Kamala Harris aide has joined the exodus of staffers leaving the vice presidents office amid claims of turmoil and dysfunction. Vincent Evans, the veeps deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs, has quit to take on a role on Capitol Hill, CNBC reported Wednesday. Evans is departing the VPs office to join the Congressional Black Caucus, which is chaired by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio). I dont care how they spin it: leaving a White House job for a staff job with the Congressional Black Caucus is a step down, and indicates how truly miserable it must be to work for Harris. Speaking of more great moments by Harris: Can it really be that there is a Fanfare for the First Lady? (Except thats DOCTOR Jill Biden to you buddy!) The Washington Examiner reports: Jill Biden apparently has her own walk-up music now. The Marine Corps band was reportedly instructed last fall to give the first lady her own entrance theme, a source told the Washington Examiner. The band now has in its repertoire an original composition titled Fanfare for the First Lady. The song, the source said, is essentially Jill Bidens personal Hail to the Chief, in that it is to be performed and repeated at official White House functions, from her first appearance until she is ready to speak. Here it is, in all its glory: The old sarcastic joke about Is the Pope Catholic? is not so funny with the current Pope, but now we can also ask whether Catholic colleges still believe Catholic theology. The College Fix reports: Students paper marked down for describing God as male A student at a private Catholic university recently had her final paper marked down for referring to God as male and had to defend that choice in a revised version of the paper to get full credit. Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu, a professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, cited the male-gendered language for God repeatedly as the reason for the docked points, according to a screenshot of the grading rubric obtained by The College Fix. The student, who asks to remain anonymous, had emailed a response to her professor Dec. 19 voicing concern over the docked points. Your comment that I referred to God as a male, I should not have gotten any points off for that, the student argued. MULTIPLE times throughout the Bible God is referred to as a he. I feel targeted by your comment, as I was raised in the church with the belief that God is a male. And this additional detail in the College Fix story shows why no one should consider sending a childor giving money toLoyola Marymount: In November, another Loyola Marymount University professor made headlines regarding gender pronoun issues. In that case, Assistant Professor of Jainism and Yoga Studies at LMU Christopher Miller required the usage of students gender pronouns in their blog posts, threatening grade deductions for noncompliance. Professor of Jainism and Yoga Studies?? LMU appears not merely to be a left-wing institution, but an unserious one as well. This is apparently genuine, and proof that the country has gone insane: Andrew Luger served as the highly regarded United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from February 2014 to March 2017 under President Obama and the early days of the Trump administration. A favorite of Amy Klobuchar, Luger has been nominated by President Biden to serve again as our United States Attorney. I wrote about his prospective renomination in The return of Andrew Luger. Please see it for the relevant background. When Ilhan Omars political career hung by a thread in August 2016, Luger singlehandedly saved it by writing a letter denying the accuracy of Tom Lydens FOX 9 story reporting that she was under investigation. A copy of Lugers letter is embedded in the body of the linked post. In the aftermath of Lugers letter FOX 9 deleted Lydens story. It has been deposited down the memory hole. I hoped that someone would take this matter up in connection with Lugers current nomination. Senator Tom Cotton is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has raised the issues directly with Luger himself. I have obtained a copy of the questions posed by Senator Cotton to Luger along with the responses submitted by Luger yesterday. They are embedded below via Scribd. In his questions at footnote 3 Senator Cotton cites an August 23, 2016 FOX 9 story that expressly refers to the ICE investigation of Omars plural marriages, including the one to her brother. Reporting on Lugers letter, the FOX 9 story is U.S. Attorney responds to Fox 9 story on Ilhan Omar. The FOX 9 story reported: In a letter to Omars attorney, Jean Brandl, Luger writes, As you are aware, an erroneous news report aired yesterday on Fox 9 indicating that my office has requested an investigation into the immigration status of Ms. Omar. In fact, the Fox 9 report did not address Omars immigration status, but said ICE was investigating Omars two separate marriages one a religious ceremony in 2002 to her current husband and the father of her three children, and one civil in 2009 to a citizen of the United Kingdom. Omars campaign calls the claims a witch hunt by the conservative blog where the story originated. ICE spokesperson Shawn Neudauer said ICE will neither confirm nor deny an investigation into the marriages. Asked why he advised Brandl that Omar was not under investigation by his office despite Department of Justice policy to the contrary, Luger replied: The policy referred to in this question relates, as I understand it, to communications with the media. In this situation, I wrote a letter to the lawyer for an individual correcting a false statement. It was and is my understanding that a United States Attorney has the discretion to inform an individual whether they are or are not the target of an investigation by the U.S. Attorneys office, which is what I did. He further responds: [T]his was not an exception to Department of Justice policy. My recollection is that the story contained a false statement that, as United States Attorney, I had requested an investigation into a political candidate, Ilhan Omar, suggesting that she was the target of an investigation. I believed that Ms. Omar should be informed that this was incorrect and, as U.S. Attorney, I had the discretion to inform her that the story was inaccurate. Asked whether he had any reason to believe that ICE was investigating or otherwise interested in Omar, Luger responds: I do not recall. My focus was on the allegations that the United States Attorney had asked for an investigation into Ms. Omar. He adds that his focus was on the allegations that the United States Attorney had asked for an investigation into Ms. Omar. Lugers 2016 letter to Brandl had the effect of shutting down the intense local media interest in the story of Omars fraudulent marriage to her brother. Documentary evidence supporting the fraud became available when the Minnesota state campaign finance board released its investigative file on Omars 2016 state legislative campaign in June 2019. The Star Tribune ran an important story by Patrick Coolican and Stephen Montemayor based on these documents. The Star Tribune failed to find a single fact supporting Omars version of events. She declined their request for an interview and accused the Star Tribune itself of bigotry for pursuing the story. She gave the Star Tribune the treatment she had given Power Line in 2016. My own reporting in 2019 suggested that Tom Lydens FOX 9 story had it right with respect to an ICE investigation of Omar in 2016, whether or not Luger himself asked for it. Embarrassment should attach to the role Lugers letter played at the moment her career hung in the balance. Lugers letter saved her bacon. Everything we have learned since 2016 supports the fact that Omar had fraudulently married her brother in 2009 and remained married to him while she was running for office with her real husband and father of her children by her side in 2016. She has since divorced her brother and married and divorced her real husband, just to clean it all up. The Star Tribune has resumed business as usual. Andrew Luger is back. 220103 COTTON QFRs for Andrew Luger (Response) by Scott Johnson on Scribd Of the articles I read yesterday and today about the events of January 6, 2021, I found two that are most closely aligned with my views. The first is a Wall Street Journal editorial called Democracy isnt dying. Among the points it makes are these: On all the available evidence Jan. 6 was not an insurrection, in any meaningful sense of that word. It was not an attempted coup. The Justice Department and the House Select Committee have looked high and low for a conspiracy to overthrow the government, and maybe they will find it. So far they havent. [The mob] didnt come close to overturning the election. The Members fled the House chamber during the riot but soon returned to certify the electoral votes. Eight Senators and 139 House Republicans voted against certifying the electoral votes in some states, but that wasnt close to a majority. In other words, Americas democratic institutions held up under pressure. They also held in the states in which GOP officials and legislators certified electoral votes despite Mr. Trumps complaints. And they held in the courts as judges rejected claims of election theft that lacked enough evidence. Democrats grudgingly admit these facts but say it was a close run thing. It wasnt. It was a near-unanimous decision against Mr. Trumps electoral claims. None of this absolves Mr. Trump for his behavior. He. . .was wrong to give his supporters false hope that Congress and Mr. Pence could overturn the electoral vote. He did not directly incite violence, but he did incite them to march on the Capitol. Worse, he failed to act to stop the riot even as he watched on TV from the White House. He failed to act despite the pleading of family and allies. This was a monumental failure of character and duty. As for the Pelosi Democrats, the question is when will they ever let Jan. 6 go? The latest news is that the Speakers Select Committee may hold prime-time hearings this year, and the leaks are that they may even seek an indictment of Mr. Trump for obstructing Congress. We have an open mind about the Jan. 6 Select Committee, not least because an honest inquiry that laid out the facts could be helpful. But at this point its also hard not to see that playing up Jan. 6 has become the main Democratic election strategy for November. The second article is this piece by the editors of National Review called Anniversary of a disgrace. Among the statements they make with which I agree are these: There is no defense for what the mob did that day. None. The people have a right to form loud, angry crowds to petition and protest their government. They need not do so in ways that are pleasant or polite. The Stop the Steal protesters who listened to the speeches and went home were exercising their rights as citizens. But ours is a government of laws, not of men. A rule-of-law system has no place for physical intimidation or mobs obstructing the peaceful, constitutional transfer of power. The Founding Fathers feared few things more than mob rule. They created a federal district to avoid a repeat of a 1783 riot around the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. There is also no defense of what Donald Trump did to summon the crowd, tell it that there remained any option but counting Bidens electoral victory, and urge the assemblage to march on the Capitol because if we allow this group of people to illegally take over our country . . . youre not going to have a country anymore. Trumps recklessness disgraced the office of the presidency. Additionally, there is no defense of Trumps pressuring Pence to take unilateral, unlawful action against the counting of electoral votes, then telling the crowd that Pence might do so, knowing full well that they would discover when they reached the Capitol that Pence would not. Some of them, entering the Capitol, chanted, Hang Mike Pence. It was Trump who led them to believe that his own vice president was allowing their country to be stolen. What happened at the Capitol that day is best understood as a riot that was particularly dangerous because of its setting and context. It was not a purely peaceful protest, or a cartoonish costume party with a little bit of trespassing. The Secret Service had to rush Pence to safety. Members of Congress emptied the chamber and fled for cover. The vote-counting process was interrupted for five and a half hours. The Capitol itself was wreathed in smoke. This is the stuff of a banana republic. The January 6 anniversary calls for serious reflection on how it happened and why it failed. Unfortunately, Democratic politicians and their media allies prefer hysteria, hyperbole, and crass opportunism. America has the worlds oldest constitutional democracy. Our system has outlasted many others because we distribute power that is centralized in other nations and bounded by rule-of-law norms. Though the riot was heinous, it was not an existential threat the electoral votes were going to be counted and Biden acknowledged as the winner, an eventuality that was delayed by a few hours but never in doubt. How many days in American history live in infamy in the national imagination? Only December 7, 1941 comes to mind (and also 9/11, which somehow didnt come to my aging mind at first), though a few others probably should be thought of that way. January 6, 2021 shouldnt be, for the reasons stated by the Wall Street Journal. It was bad enough to warrant serious reflection on this, its one-year anniversary. But now that commentators have engaged in such reflection, along with many ruminations that arent serious, its time to stop the wallowing. All evidence of which Im aware suggests that the vast majority of Americans stopped quite some time ago. The board of directors of FBN Holdings Plc, on Wednesday, announced the appointments of three executive directors for its commercial banking arm, First Bank Nigeria Limited. It appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as executive director, risk management and executive compliance officer, while Oluwatosin Adewuyi will take the role of executive director, corporate banking. Ini Ebong is to take the position of executive director, treasury and international banking. FBN Holdings Plc said this in a statement to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) signed by its company secretary, Seye Kosoko. It said the appointments are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Mr Alebiosu was a group executive and the chief risk officer of the FirstBank Group, since 2016. Also, he was the chief credit officer of the African Development Bank Group (ADB). He previously worked at the United Bank for Africa Plc, the defunct Omega Bank Plc, Peak Merchant Bank as well as Oceanic Bank Plc. Mr Alebiosu is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), an associate of the Nigerian Institute of Management, a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. Mr Adewuyi was group executive, corporate banking at FirstBank, where he was responsible for the banks corporate banking business following the exit of the previous executive director. He is a banker with over 20 years experience covering sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining FirstBank, he worked at J.P. Morgan, where he was a managing director and had been head of its Nigeria business for eight years. He worked at Standard Bank, London for about five years and qualified as a certified chartered accountant Mr Ebong was the Group Executive in charge of treasury and international banking at FirstBank. He was also responsible for the Structured Trade and Commodity Finance business. Mr Ebong is a qualified architect with a BSc and MSc in Architecture from the University of Ife. The prospect of many Nigerian stocks getting their latent value unlocked and their prices further appreciating through more patronage from overseas investors failed to materialise in 2021 as trade volumes lagged way behind their levels before the pandemic erupted. Africas largest economy, 90 per cent of whose foreign exchange proceeds come from oil, has been at the mercy of a dollar crunch since about April 2020 after crude prices struck record lows in the heat of global Covid-19 lockdowns. It meant earnings would now come in trickles or much more depressed quantities as oil struggled to find buyers. That created a scarcity of the greenback in and, in turn, uncertainty around the ease of converting investment into the foreign currency at will, the type of news investors from abroad dont like to hear. The implications of the trend for stocks were not immediately clear that year when, surprisingly, yield of securities tumbled on the fixed income side of the capital market but turned the tables for equities and helped dampen shocks from weak foreign participation. Fund managers were compelled to bet the bulk of the pension fund in their care, previously invested in bonds and treasury bills, on shares, which turned out to be more attractive. The splurge helped Nigerian stocks gain 50 per cent for the year, according to Bloomberg, which ranked it the best performance of the 93 stock indexes it tracked across the world. Closing more than eight times lower in 2021 at 6.07 per cent, the stocks have had the pace of growth in their market value partly slowed by decline in foreign participation. But Timchang Gwatau of Meristem Securities Limited, an investment bank and brokerage based in Lagos, feels yield on Nigerian stocks had reached a crescendo at the end of 2020. Diminishing returns then followed in the year that just went by through price correction, forcing yield to as low as 6.07 per cent, the research associate told PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Gwatau said the yield level for 2021 surpassed the forecast of Meristems analysts. Inflows of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) for the 11 months to November 2021 totalled N189.42 billion, according to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) data, the lowest when compared to every other year since 2013. And the figure for December is not likely to alter the situation when the official figures for the month are issued. Also, the gap in the proportion of domestic inflows to foreign inflows has been widening steadily since 2019 in such a way that the latter is at the narrow end, accounting for only 22.93 per cent of the total investment for the first eleven months of last year. The weak FPI suggests the market is being starved of the liquidity needed to stoke price appreciation with a greater force and analysts have stated that the outlook for 2022 will be gloomier, given its character as a pre-election year. when you ex those major stocks (including telcos and Seplat), you will see that the market underperformed in 2021, Ayodeji Ebo, who heads the retail investment unit of Chapel Hill Denham, told CNBC Africa last month. 2022 is a pre-election year and we expect that there will be more volatility and there will be less participation from foreign investors. We know the quantitative easing in the global space will also reduce flows to emerging and frontier markets, so what we pitch to investors is they need to come in in tranches. Except the market finds a major force to counter the fast-depleting yield, return on Nigerian stocks this year could be tipped into the negative. Mr Gwatau noted that the tremendous possibility that domestic inflows will shape the course the market will take this year could be a test of sustainability for such an investment source and the dependability it can provide where foreign capital is lacking. New listings and prospects The year saw just two entrants getting quoted on the exchange although intimations were made of more debutants joining soon. The bourse received telecom firm Briclinks Africa to its Growth Board the listing segment for small-cap and growth-focused companies in February. Towards year end, Ronchess Global Resources, whose offering encompasses traffic solutions as well as procurement and construction services, was also admitted to the Growth Board. BUA Group, which last year disclosed plans for a consolidation of its five food units and its ultimate listing in Lagos, finally announced its listing of BUA Foods on Wednesday. The NGX has affirmed its intention to overhaul the regulations guiding Initial Public Offering (IPO) to attract tech unicorns over. Advertisements MTN Nigeria breaks three-year lull in the IPO market Nigerias IPO market, which had been quiet for three years, sprang back in November following the declaration by the Nigerian unit of Africas largest wireless operator MTN Group to sell shares to the public for the first time. That was not particularly comforting for the investing public, considering that the telco is already a quoted company and not an outsider firm aspiring to sell its shares to the public to gain a platform for entering the secondary market. NGXs latest strides In March, the NGX completed the long quest to become a public company after a demutualisation process said to have taken around eleven years. It was the 57th exchange in the world to attain the milestone. The transformation spun off three divisions from the old entity comprising Nigerian Exchange Limited (the operating exchange), NGX Regulation Limited (the independent regulation company) and NGX Real Estate Limited (the real estate company). NGX said in July it got the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission to start the first exchange-traded derivatives in West Africa. The seven derivatives are Access Bank Plc Stock Futures, Dangote Cement Plc Stock Futures, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Stock Futures, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc Stock Futures, Zenith Bank Plc Stock Futures, NGX 30 Index Futures, and NGX Pension Index Futures. Frances National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL) on Thursday fined Google and Facebook 210 million euros for data collection breaches. Alphabet Inc.s Google was fined 150 million euros ($170 million) by the nations privacy watchdog while Meta Platforms Inc.s Facebook was fined 60 million euros. Both were fined for the way they manage cookies. CNIL, Frances data protection authority, on Thursday, issued the companies with a three-month ultimatum to provide internet users located in France with a means of refusing cookies as simple as the existing means of accepting them, in order to guarantee their freedom of consent. Failing to do so will come with the risk of an additional daily fine of 100,000 euros, CNIL said in the statement. The latest penalties follow probes by the watchdog looking at companies compliance with new rules on cookies, which are tracking devices that are placed on peoples computers. The watchdog in 2020 fined Google 100 million euros and online shopping giant Amazon.com Inc. 35 million euros for placing such cookies on peoples computers without their consent. EU data protection regulators powers have increased significantly since the blocs General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, took effect in May 2018. The law allows watchdogs, for the first time, to levy penalties of as much as 4 per cent of a companys annual global sales. READ ALSO: The latest fines, however, were levied based on separate rules regulating the use of cookies and other online tracking devices. Google said in a statement that people trust us to respect their right to privacy and keep them safe and that the company understands its responsibility to protect that trust and are committing to further changes and active work with the CNIL in light of this decision under the European Unions e-privacy rules. Facebook said it is reviewing the authoritys decision. Our cookie consent controls provide people with greater control over their data, including a new settings menu on Facebook and Instagram where people can revisit and manage their decisions at any time, and we continue to develop and improve these controls, the social media company said. Drama has trailed the news of the death and sudden resurrection of veteran Yoruba actress, Sidikat Odukanwi, popularly known as Iyabo Oko. The actress, who started her acting career in 1973 on the platform of Eda Onileola theatre troupe, was announced dead on Wednesday by her daughter. She gained prominence in the movie Oko, which was produced by Oga Bello. She earned the nickname Iyabo Oko from the movie. However, contrary to news making the rounds on Wednesday that the veteran actress was dead, it is now confirmed that she is still alive. Yoruba actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that her colleague is alive Although Ms Salako had posted via her instagram page on Wednesday evening that Iyabo Okos transition was early, she has debunked the news about the veterans death. She said: Iyabo Oko is very much alive, what happened was that her daughter had called me at about 11pm yesterday that her mother was pronounced dead, and she forwarded a WhatsApp message to me. But at about 12 a.m she (iyabo Okos daughter) said that her brother confirmed that she was moving her hand, and they rushed her to the hospital where she is responding to treatment. Salako also confirmed that the actress had been suffering from a stroke, but through her charity foundation and the support of Nigerians, they have been catering for the medical needs of the veteran ,not until the surprise news of her death. The death news News about the death of the veteran began to make the rounds after Bisi Aisha, the actress daughter, posted on Instagram on Wednesday that her mother had died. She wrote: My mum is gone. Rest well mummy. May ur soul Rest In Peace mummy. Shortly after her post, Salako also posted via her Instagram page that Iyabo Okos death was quite early. The resurrection According to Ms Aisha, in a video she shared on her Instagram page, while she was still mourning her supposed dead mother, she received a call from her brother that her mother had regained consciousness. The actress returned to life three hours after being announced dead. Wonderful being, she moved her hand after being confirmed dead three hours ago. God, we will forever praise your holy name, Aisha stated on Thursday morning. She said: Yes she is already in the hospital as we speak. Thank you everyone , we still need your prayers please. Salako later updated her earlier report, Just heard from her daughter again that she moved her hand and she is still alive. Hallelujah! She is alive. Medical condition It was reported by one of the veterans daughters, Olamide, that the actress was diagnosed with ischaemic stroke about five years ago but chose to keep her health issues away from the public. She said: What affected my mum was the fact that she was not going for her medical check-ups. I want Nigerians to help provide a car for her. What happened (to her) could have been prevented but because of the unavailability of a car, things took a different turn. She lives very far from the hospital. When she had her last attack, I had to get a motorcycle to convey her to the junction before I could get a cab to pick her. She was diagnosed with a right ischemic stroke some years back. The first health scare happened about five years ago but she did not want anyone to know about it. My elder siblings even flew her to China for better medical treatment and she got better. Sadly, she had two other attacks. According to her, the 61-year-old actress had instructed her children not to tell anyone about her health conditions, unfortunately the veteran had another attack that affected her limbs. However, she is getting better. She can now talk and respond to people. The doctors have assured us that with the help of physiotherapy, she would be able to use her limbs again. We spoke out because we now need financial help. Her children are doing their best but they cant do everything. Actresses like Foluke Daramola, Iyabo Ojo, Mercy Aigbe, and Biodun Okeowo have assisted financially in the past. She said. BAGHDAD, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen on Thursday killed five family members of a paramilitary Hashd Shaabi member in Iraq's capital Baghdad, an interior ministry source said. Earlier in the day, a group of gunmen broke into the house of the Hashd Shaabi member in the al-Maalif district in southwestern Baghdad and opened fire on the family, seriously wounding him and killing five of his family members, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The security forces rushed to the scene after the attackers fled, the source said, adding an investigation into the incident has been launched. Sporadic deadly attacks still occur in Iraq, although the security situation has improved since the Iraqi forces fully defeated the extremist militants of the Islamic State militant group across the country in late 2017. In 2019, Adesuwa (not her real name) made her way to a maternity centre, the only government-owned health facility around Aduloju/Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State, to get a contraceptive as she wanted a stronger conviction beyond condoms and calculating safe periods. Against the standards of practice, health workers, especially in public health institutions, on ascertaining the marital status of women, decide whether or not to give them contraception. Unmarried women are often denied contraception while for married women, their husbands consent is usually sought before contraception is issued. In some cases, unmarried women are advised to get married. Are you married?, the nurse asked Adesuwa, 28. When she replied no, the nurse said she could not administer any contraceptive, advising her to go get married after asking how old she was. Adesuwa went home without getting any contraceptive and continued with condoms and calculating her safe periods which is a traditional method of contraception. One day in 2021, after sharing a pleasurable time with her lover, Adesuwa realised that the calculation of her safe period had not been accurate. She took an emergency pill but it was a little too late. I bought the pill, took it then I was waiting for my period, it did not happen so I felt there was a delay When her menstrual flow for the next month was delayed, she believed it was the emergency contraceptive she had taken. After three weeks, I took a pregnancy test and I was positive. I spoke to a friend and we got Mifepak which was illegal to sell over the counter. Adesuwa, who was still not ready for a child, called a friend for help. Her friend recommended Mifepak (a drug used to induce abortion during early pregnancy). Mifepak is illegally sold over the counter in Nigeria. I bled after taking the medication. I felt it was over. I fell ill but thought it was malaria and went to get malaria medication. I had a uterus scan just to be sure and nothing was found; I felt better after taking the malaria medication. Later, I started having pain in my stomach; I could not lie or sit. I reached out to a doctor friend who recommended paracetamol for the pain. Although I threw up after taking it, I felt better and slept, an emotional Adesuwa narrated. As recommended by her doctor friend, she went to a laboratory with a friend to get another scan. While waiting for her turn, the pain returned. The scan revealed she had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and had lost so much blood and needed urgent surgery. The attendant said I had a few hours to live. She was rushed to a hospital to evacuate the blood and ruptured fallopian tube. The foetus was still alive at the time of the scan but I had only one option which was to stay alive, Adesuwa said, adding I just wish our health workers can be logical, not sentimental. Adesuwa would not have had to deal with this life-threatening situation if the nurse had administered a contraceptive to her two years ago. More Cases It was Detty December and I knew I wanted to have sex. I cannot take care of a child and so getting a contraceptive (injectables) was the only option, Talata Salihu narrated her experience accessing contraceptives. Ms Salihu chose a private facility because she did not want to be judged for her decisions. I went to a private facility (Marie Stopes) whose major work is around these issues and also because I was not sure I would not be judged at a public facility, she said. In Nigeria, unmarried women face discrimination and stigmatisation while trying to access family planning commodities except for condoms and emergency contraceptives that can be gotten over the counter. Advertisements Abortion is illegal in Nigeria. The anti-abortion law states that a pregnancy can only be terminated if there is a life at stake. So, contraceptives become the only other option for preventing unwanted pregnancies. Interestingly, Nigerias 2018 demographic and health survey (NDHS) shows that the use of contraceptives in Nigeria is more prevalent among sexually active unmarried women than among married women with a contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 37 and 17 per cent respectively. Ironically, there is also a high percentage of unmet contraceptive needs among sexually active unmarried women as compared to their married counterparts; 48 and 19 per cent respectively. Of the 37 per cent (CPR) among unmarried women, 28 per cent use modern methods of contraception while nine per cent use traditional methods; 12 per cent use modern methods while five per cent use traditional methods. Modern methods of contraception include male and female sterilisation; injectables; intrauterine devices (IUDs); contraceptive pills; implants; female and male condoms; the standard days method; the lactational amenorrhoea method (LAM); and emergency contraception. Implants, injectables and male condoms are the most used among the two groups of women, the survey further reveals. A pleased Asari Ndem narrated how she got an IUD without a fuss at a private facility. According to Ms Ndem, it is important for women to access contraceptives especially for a country like Nigeria where we have an overpopulation problem. It is also a way of taking control of your body. She added that for a country that upholds purity culture, it is important to note that women are sexually active and they do not need to be married before they can access these commodities. Preaching abstinence rather than safe sex education is more harmful than useful to society, she argued. Aisha Sadiq, who is now married, narrated why she would not dare as an unmarried and younger woman to access or use contraceptives. I never tried to get contraceptive while I was unmarried. The idea of doing it was simply inconceivable. First of all, there was the fear that the neighbourhood pharmacist would report my purchase to my mother. Also there was the stigma attached to single girls who not only had the effrontery to engage in pre-marital sex but also had the audacity to buy contraceptives to protect unwanted pregnancies, Ms Sadiq said. Religion and Culture Several studies suggest that cultural and religious beliefs as well as the culture of shame and stigmatisation in Nigeria dissuade most women, especially unmarried women. In a study titled When Do Nigerian Women of Reproductive Age Initiate and What Factors Influence Their Contraceptive Use? A Contextual Analysis, Ekholuenetale et al found that religious practices may influence contraceptive use. The north, which is predominantly Islam, has the lowest prevalence rate (one-fifth), against (one-third) which is recorded for the catholic faith (predominantly resident in the south east) and 41.4% recorded for other Christians (predominantly South westerners). This suggests that there may be some religious practices supporting or discouraging contraceptive use, the report stated. Another study by Phillips Obasohan titled Religion, Ethnicity and Contraceptive Use among Reproductive age Women in Nigeria, found that contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in Nigeria significantly varied by ethnicity. The possible reason for this is the cultural belief of most of these women that God has placed Children in the womb of a woman and until they are given birth to, you do not stop, the report stated. Perhaps a more interesting part of accessing contraceptives in Nigeria is the misinformation around the phenomenon. Adaugo Ibezim narrated how two years ago she wanted to get an IUD and confided in her friend who in turn told her that the device will decay in her body. Ms Ibezim got scared and has since resorted to emergency contraceptives which are not ideal and are meant for emergency situations only like the name suggests. Ministry of Healths Response Salma Ibrahim, Director Family Health Department at the Federal Ministry of Health, corroborates the findings of these researches. She told PREMIUM TIMES that barriers to accessing contraceptives especially for married women include the inability to make unilateral decisions; that is, they cannot make decisions without the consent of their partners or family members. She added that indeed there is a huge gap in unmet demand for the sexually unmarried as rightly indicated by the NDHS 2018. However, most times unmarried females try to access contraceptives from public health facilities, there is fear, anxiety, which mostly is due to cultural issues and healthcare providers are in most case judgemental and it creates stigma and discrimination which makes young people uncomfortable accessing these services. When this happens, they resort to buying over the counter from drugstores and pharmacies, she said, adding that this act violates the standard of practice put in place by the federal government to enhance access to family planning commodities. Additionally, lack of access could lead to unwanted pregnancy which is most times accompanied by unsafe abortions; negative psychological effects; children who parents are unable to cater for. There should be equity in access whether you are married or unmarried, there should be no form of bias in providing services to clients. This is an area we feel is still a weak link to the service we are providing, Ms Ibrahim noted. If the discrimination and stigmatisation associated with accessing contraceptives continue, Nigeria may again not meet its target of 27 per cent increase in uptake of family planning commodities by 2030. Although there is no legislation yet to sanction or punish health workers who violate these standards, as a way forward, Ms Ibrahim said the ministry has continued to provide training and build the capacity of health workers, ensuring that public health facilities provide youth-friendly services. Also, she said, the health ministry was partnering with traditional and religious leaders to encourage and influence the uptake of family planning commodities. The use of contraceptives and the family planning initiative all over the world is essential to manage the exponential increase in population. According to statistical projections, if Nigeria continues in its current direction, there will be a 100 per cent increase in its population by 2050 400 million people. Despite this projection, Nigeria made no budgetary allocation for family planning in its 2022 budget. The Federal Ministry of Health only made a one per cent provision for family planning after groups spoke against the budget. Expert Reactions In Lagos State, the economic capital of Nigeria, discriminatory access is also rife when it comes to family planning commodities. Yes, even if the unmarried is older in age. Reasons for this have to do with our culture and individual beliefs. A lot of family planning providers are biased and can be very judgemental which is an act of discrimination that affects acceptance and uptake, Folashade Oludara, Director Family Health and Nutrition at the Lagos health ministry said while commenting on discrimination faced by unmarried women. She said contraceptives should be easily accessible and affordable. There must be providers with appropriate technical counselling and good interpersonal skills. Lagos State has seven Youth Friendly Centres and four Young Moms Clinics that are functional, to curb the discrimination, she said. Ms Oludara said a few of the centres are stand-alone but the majority are within the health facilities due to funding and space constraints. She said there are no sanctions for defaulters because patients do not report directly. Discriminatory access to contraceptives in Nigeria, especially for unmarried women, contravenes the principle of inclusiveness and the provision of universal access in a bid for universal health coverage, Stanley Ukpai, the director of programmes at Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC), said. Unmarried women are a key index that still contribute to the population growth, hence their exclusion is a faux pas in the process of population management through family planning services. He said the effect of this discrimination will be seen in the rise in unmet needs for contraceptives, low contraceptive prevalence rate, increase still in the prevalence of maternal mortality and neonatal mortality. Excluding unmarried women who are active from contraceptive use may impair us from reaping demographic dividends. When women are purposely denied contraceptives, their rights to decide on when to conceive and how many they can have are affected. The rates of abortion may rise and this has effects on the probability of mortality, Mr Upkai said. Mr Ukpai added that aside from the effect on mother and child health, it also affects the economy of the country. Our GDP is still struggling and Nigeria is still trying to come out of the recession from two years ago. If we continue to grow unmanaged, this has implications, he said. If the landmass is receding, like we hear in the case of Lake Chad, and population keeps rising, there will be restiveness which will lead to competition for scarce resources which will, in turn, lead to insecurity. Mr Ukpai recommended that the government become more intentional in ensuring equal access to these commodities, especially for younger people. The rampaging coronavirus pandemic is still biting harder as Nigeria on Wednesday recorded additional five fatalities from the virus and 856 fresh infections. This is as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has downplayed the seriousness of a new variant that has been detected in France. Nigerias update The latest statistics released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) early Thursday morning, revealed that the fresh cases were reported across 19 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The new cases have raised Nigerias infection toll to 245,404 cases, while the fatality toll now stands at 3,058. The data also shows that while 25,099 people are still down with the illness, 217,247 people have been successfully treated and discharged in Nigeria. This is as Kaduna, Enugu, Kano and Lagos State reported discharge cases for January 4, 2022. Breakdown The breakdown of the NCDC data revealed that Lagos State, the epicentre of the disease, topped the infection chart with a backlog of 337 cases for January 4, 2022, followed by Kaduna State with 152 confirmed cases reported for January 4 and 5, 2022, wand an additional 123 cases for December 24 and 25, 2021. FCT followed on the log with 87 fresh cases, Gombe State, 47; Delta, 43; while Kano reported 31 cases for January 4 and 5, 2022. While Kwara State reported 27 cases, Enugu State followed with a backlog of 26 cases for January 4 and Nasarawa reported 19 cases. Also, Niger State reported 15 cases for January 2, while Oyo and Rivers States reported 11 cases each. While Benue and Borno states reported nine and seven cases each for January 4, Bauchi and Ogun states recorded eight cases each, and Ekiti State, six, with Edo State recording five cases. Plateau and Bayelsa came last on the log with four and three cases respectively, while Ondo, Osun and Sokoto states reported that they recorded no cases on Wednesday. WHO speaks on new variant The new variant which is identified as B.1.640.2 and nicknamed IHU, was first identified in October 2021 and uploaded on November 4 to Gisaid, a database for disease variants. Experts confirmed that since November 4, only about 20 samples have been sequenced and that a single case was found since early December. Abdi Mahmud, a COVID-19 incident manager with the WHO, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the variant had been on the agencys radar since November, but added that it did not appear to have spread widely over the past two months, New York Times reports. That virus has had a lot of chances to pick up, he said. The variant Scientists in France discovered a new strain of coronavirus that is believed to be more infectious than the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The IHU variant is said to have 46 mutations and 37 deletions. At least 12 cases of the new variant have been reported, with reports indicating that the majority of the victims were hospitalised. By contrast, the Omicron variant, which was first uploaded to Gisaid on November 23, has more than 120,000 sequences in the database, with experts saying that the vast majority of Omicron cases have not been sequenced. It has been detected in at least 128 countries, according to the WHO, and is fueling record-high case numbers in many parts of the world. According to a research paper that was published on a preprint server in late December, the variant was first detected in southeastern France in a vaccinated person who had recently travelled from Cameroon. Researchers found a total of 12 cases in the area and named the variant I.H.U., after the research institute in Marseille that helped identify it. It is too early to speculate on virological, epidemiological or clinical features of this I.H.U. variant based on these 12 cases, researchers wrote. Advertisements The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has warned against wearing military uniforms and accoutrements for electioneering campaign posters by some politicians and other unauthorised persons. The Acting Director, Defence Information, Wap Maigida, gave the warning in a statement on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Maigida, an air commodore , said that the campaign posters of some governors, dressed in military camouflage uniforms, were displayed in noticeable areas in their respective states. He said the act was manifestly illegal and an abuse of the privilege of allowing civilians to wear military uniforms during military training exercises. According to him, it is necessary to restate that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, as a professional institution, remains apolitical and, as such, will not want to be dragged into any form of political bias. Accordingly, it is important to advise politicians and others to desist from the use of military uniforms and accoutrements for political events and other engagements henceforth. Please note, anyone found culpable in this regard would be liable to prosecution, he warned. (NAN) The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said that 33 persons escaped death in an accident that occurred on Thursday on the Ile-Ife Ilesa expressway. The Osun State Sector Commander, Paul Okpe, made this known in a statement issued to journalists by the spokesperson for the command, Agnes Ogungbemi, in Osogbo. Mr Okpe explained that the accident involving two vehicles occurred at 12.25 p.m. on the Dunghill axis, 5km from the Base. The accident resulted in seven male adults, nine female adults, six male children and eight female children sustaining severe injuries, while three other persons were unharmed. A light blue Toyota RAV4 JEEP with number plate FST 746 GD collided with a white Toyota bus without number plate. 30 persons sustained severe injuries while only three persons were unharmed, the sector commander said. According to him, the accident occurred as a result of road traffic violations and excessive speeding. READ ALSO: Mr Okpe said the injured passengers were taken to the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital for medical attention, while both vehicles were towed to the Nigerian Police post, Ile -Ife toll gate. The sector commander cautioned road users against dangerous driving and disobedience to road traffic regulations. Mr Okpe said further that the corps would not relent in its sensitisation against dangerous driving and speeding, adding that violation of road traffic regulations would when caught face the wrath of law. (NAN) A family in Akwa Ibom State, Nigerias South-south, has a bizarre reason for killing two colourful birds which flew into their residence. The birds, identified as Red-vented Malimbe, are common in Nigeria and other West African countries. The family said the two birds were fighting on their late fathers grave, and that they considered the incident not ordinary. A woman, Goodluck Ralph, who is a member of the family, shared on Wednesday, photos of the remains of the two birds on her Facebook stories, and narrated what happened. Those birds were seen fighting seriously on the grave till one had to kill one. After killing one, the second one became very weak and wanted to fly buh (but) brother had to kill the second one, she said. Ms Ralph, who is a teacher in a private school, said the birds have failed and that she and her family were more than conqueror a popular phrase among Nigerian Pentecostals, suggesting a victory has been won against some evil forces. She said the incident happened on the New Year Day, after her fathers burial on December 31. After killing them (the birds), we burnt them, she told PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday. Asked if she did not feel pity for the poor birds, she responded: Pity them? Birds that fought on my dads grave? Ah! Ms Ralph said she would not be surprised if anyone thinks what her family did was wrong. People have a choice to feel differently, she said. Akwa Ibom, with about five million population, is predominantly Christian, with many holding superstitious beliefs and attributing almost every occurrence, including ill-health, job loss, and a failed marriage, to some evil forces. Not endangered The Red-vented Malimbes conservation status is said to be least concern meaning that their population status is not threatened or near threatened. However, Edem Eniang, a professor of Wildlife, University of Uyo, said the species are now scarce in Akwa Ibom. He said the birds use the leaves of raffia palms to make their nest on tall palm wine trees. Their net has a shoe shape. These nest, when we were children, they were common and we used to wear it and marched like soldiers, those of us who were born during the (Nigerian civil) war. We were not wearing it to serve as shoes but wearing it to have the fun of wearing shoes which we couldnt afford, he said. He said the killing of the birds is evidence that, We live in a society where people attached a lot of superstition to every common environmental situation. They also do this to different types of animals. Whatever they dont understand, whatever they dont appreciate in terms of biological science, they attach a lot of interpretation. This is built from a culture that depends so much on myth, unverified myth, which has made our lives even more complex. The government, he said, needs to introduce conservation education in the school curriculum at all levels. Mr Eniang said the Red-vented Malimbe are in their breeding season, and that the two that were killed may have fought for territory. You might find two adults fighting themselves to control a territory, a nesting ground. During their fighting, they wont even know where they are landing, whether it is bare ground, whether it is grave, they are out to fight and win. That is even the reason the observer is able to walk to them and strike them to death, without them noticing your presence, he said. The professor stressed the importance of birds to the ecosystem. Advertisements They play significant role as the indicator of the health of the natural environment. If they are not there, it means the ecosystem is not balanced. Like any other bird, they help in pollination, they help in controlling insect population, they also serve as members of the food-chain for other species that are higher than them on the food chain. The singing of birds are very important (to man). President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday appointed a foremost professor of economics, Doyin Salami, as his Chief Economic Adviser. Mr Salami was until now, the Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC). The Chief Economic Adviser to the President (CEAP) is expected to address all issues on the domestic economy and present views on them to the president, the Nigerian government said in a statement. He is also expected to closely monitor national and international developments, trends and develop appropriate policy responses; develop and recommend to the President national economic policies to foster macro-economic stability, promote growth, create jobs, and eradicate poverty, among others. Profile Mr Salami, an associate professor at Lagos Business School, leads sessions in the Economic Environment of Business. He was the Academic Director of the Global CEO programme. Mr Salami had earlier been appointed as the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council constituted by President Buhari. The Economic Advisory Council is tasked with the responsibility of advising the president on matters relating to economic growth, economic policy, and fiscal analysis. A doctoral degree graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London, his research interests include issues in corporate long-term financial management; macroeconomic policy; corporate competitiveness and risk management; and characteristics of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Governments Economic Management Team. He is also an executive director of the UK-based African Business Research Ltd. In addition to teaching, Mr Salami consults for multiple organisations, including the Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Beyond multilateral organisations, he also works as a consultant for corporations, such as the British American Tobacco (BAT), and BGL Securities Ltd. Other companies for which he has undertaken consulting assignments include Coca-Cola Nigeria and Equatorial Africa (CCNEAL), Kakawa Discount House. He has facilitated or participated in corporate retreats for Zain Nig Ltd., MTN, African Petroleum Plc, amongst others. Blunt Speaker Mr Salami is largely considered to be quite blunt when it comes to review of the nations economic indicators. In 2017, Mr. Salami took the CBN to the cleaners in his assessment of its monetary policy which he said was pushing the country towards a serious economic crisis. He criticised the CBNs massive injections of cash to the government, accusing the bank of serving as a piggy bank for the government, against its own rules. Monetary data shows a sharp rise in the extent of CBN financing of the government deficit, he said. From December 2016, he said the CBN had variously made cash available to the federal government running into trillions, mostly beyond legal thresholds. He said the CBNs claims on the federal government under the period amounts to N814bn, which is twentyfold higher than what the law permits. Ironically, the claim of commercial banks, he said, rose marginally by 0.4% to N4.6 trillion. Last September, Mr Salami argued that Nigerias public debt stock was unsustainable even though the countrys debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio at 35 per cent seemed comfortable. The economist also lamented that with a debt service-to-revenue ratio at 97.7 per cent between January and May 2021, the countrys public debt profile was worrisome. Following the invasion of its offices, the management of Thunder Blowers Online newspaper has said the Zamfara State Government should be held responsible if anything happens to any of its workers again. PREMIUM TIMES reported how thugs invaded the office Monday night. Speaking during a press conference in Gusau Tuesday, Anas Anka, the managing editor of the online newspaper and TV station, said the leader of the thugs had been terrorising opponents of the APC-led administration. He said the man who allegedly led the thugs to the offices, Zayyanu Abdullah (but popularly known as ADC), was the one who destroyed a section of the Nigerian Union of Journalists office in Gusau and disrupted the recent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congress in the state. He said Mr Matawalle funded the renovation of the burnt down NUJ office but no action was taken against the thugs. After a review of the attack, the gang leader, ADC, made it clear to some of us who engaged him that they launched the attack on Thunder Blowers offices because of our constant criticisms of the governor Bello Matawalles government. That same ADC has told me on the phone that he led a team of thugs to invade the PDP congress. It was expected that with the series of calls, the Bello Matawalle administration should have cautioned the gang leader against any such things, but to our surprise, no action was taken. Mr Anka said the thugs crashed eight units of desktop computers and took away three laptop computers, video cameras and server decoder during the attack. He, however, said the said ADC has been reaching out to some of his (Ankas ) elders to plead with them with a promise that he would return everything that they took. Its on the premise that we are calling the attention of the international community, civil society organisations to be aware of the sad development on how Governor Matawalle is trying to muzzle freedom, especially that of expression and political association. There are several incidents of how the government of Bello Matawalle, since inception, has been scouting for the members of the opposition and getting them into prison over allegations yet to be proved; and that is sadly extended to media organisations, Mr Anka lamented. He said the police commissioner and the director of the State Security Services in the state had been duly notified and the name of the lead suspect sent to them. We want to make it very clear that with the scenario that happened, whatever happens to any staff of this medium henceforth, the government of Bello Matawalle should be held responsible because the threat on our staff is becoming alarming, he added. When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the Senior Special Adviser on Enlightenment, Media and Communications to the governor, Zailani Bappa, sent a statement tittle Reckless accusation against His Excellency the Executive Governor: Need for Caution. In the statement, Mr Bappah warned against levelling baseless allegations against the governor. Every person or organisation with grudges against any misdeed must follow due process in seeking for redress by reporting any matter to the security operatives and approaching the court of law for redress based on investigation outcome. Hence, such persons or groups must no longer come to the public and accuse His Excellency or his administration with baseless innuendos. He said freedom of speech does not guarantee anyone to abuse the institution of authority with slander and libel. We, hereby, draw the attention of all persons and organisations to, henceforth, be cautious of being indiscriminate by directly accusing His Excellency as the law will take its course on any further slander of libel against His Excellency, the statement added. While many were off enjoying their end-of-year break in December 2021, Malis transitional government was busy pulling off a feat that could keep it in power for several more years. In a document published on December 30, the high-level panel organising Malis latest national dialogue process proposed extending the transition by five years, starting January 1. That would bring the total period which officially began in September 2020, one month after that years coup to nearly six and a half years. The proposal is based on the conclusions of the dialogue process, which took place from December 11 to 30, giving it some level of popular legitimacy. But it undermines the demands of Malis international partners, especially the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has insisted on limiting the transition period to 18 months. According to its organisers, the dialogue involved more than 80,000 Malians in some 794 discussions across the countrys administrative levels, from municipal to national. However the influence of armed groups, which declined to participate in the process, prevented meetings in the Kidal and Menaka regions. These are the regions where all rebellions have started since Malis independence. The official aim of the dialogue was to review the state of Mali [in order] to initiate a genuine rebuilding process. This was laudable given that poor governance has undermined Malis social, economic and political development and fuelled an unprecedented security crisis for the past 10 years. The 2020 coup had also raised hopes for a Mali Koura (new Mali). But with 13 complex topics to cover in only two days at the municipal, local and regional levels, in-depth debates were impossible. Yet that was the value-add intended to set this process apart from similar government initiatives in recent years. These include the 2017 Conference of National Understanding, the 2019 inclusive national dialogue and to some extent the national consultation that marked the transitions start in September 2020. Recommendations from these initiatives have hardly been implemented. The repetitiveness of these consultations and their conclusions has not escaped the attention of politicians and civil society organisations. Gathered in a platform for a successful transition in Mali, these actors suspected that the government would use the process to disguise its desire to remain in power beyond the agreed deadlines. These were not the only ones wary of the conference though. The armed groups that signed the 2015 Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation were also reluctant to take part. They considered the process opaque and wanted to be involved earlier on. The dialogue could also have opened Pandoras box by questioning the peace agreement, which has barely made inroads in six years and is still criticised by some Malians. The transitional authorities postponed the national dialogue twice, citing boycotts led by these various actors. They eventually rescheduled for December, despite no change in the boycotters stance. Some Malians and international partners supported the postponements. But after pressure from ECOWAS, the government picked up the pace in December when many diplomatic officials were on holiday abroad, creating a fait accompli. Whether a strategy or a coincidence, the timing is a reminder of the transitional authorities ability to impose their choices despite international pressure. This is not the first time theyve caught their international interlocutors off guard. In the immediate aftermath of the 2020 coup, the junta indicated its intention to lead a three-year transition until what would have been the end of deposed president Ibrahim Boubacar Keitas term. As a result of international pressure and ECOWAS sanctions, the military finally conceded the presidency to a civilian for an 18-month transition period. Eight months later, they went back on these concessions with the May 2021 coup, which made the juntas leader head of state, as intended from the outset. A similar scenario now seems to be unfolding on the timeframe issue, with the proposal for an extension following the national dialogue. In another example, when Mali officially notified ECOWAS that elections in early 2022 wouldnt be possible, ECOWAS simply ignored this and insisted that the impossible be done. This stubborn response was fuelled by the naivety of some diplomats in Bamako who believed the junta was aware that a long extension was untenable. Yet the lack of electoral preparations with only a few months to go sent a clear message. These developments offer Malis international partners important lessons for further crisis management. First and foremost, while dialogue with the Malian authorities remains essential, diplomatic actors must be willing to face some uncomfortable truths. Treating Malis authorities as diplomatic juniors, ignoring their statements and hoping to force their hand simply does not work. The diplomatic debacle in the Wagner affair is another example. The language used by France and 15 of Malis Western partners in their December 23 statement regretting a Wagner group deployment in Mali was in sharp contrast to earlier threats aimed at discouraging the country from contracting the Russian paramilitary company. It is time to start listening to each other and move away from ineffective threats and sanctions, which some Malians see as abusive and detrimental to national sovereignty. Coercion must be replaced by dialogue free from taboo and based on equality. This must extend to national political and civil society actors, who are better positioned to hold the transitional authorities accountable for their commitments. Despite particular interests, the transitional governments proposals also reflect popular demand for profound change in a political system that Malians no longer believe in. A thorough review of the system is essential to restore meaning to elections and the democratic process. Ornella Moderan, Sahel Programme Head, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Bamako This article is published with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). Security forces in Kazakhstan said they have killed dozens of anti-government rioters in an operation to restore order in the main city, Almaty. A police spokeswoman said dozens of people had been eliminated on Thursday by the authorities when they tried to storm government buildings, police headquarters, and district police offices. This, Associated Press (AP) reports, is the first widespread fatalities involving protesters since the demonstrations started. That announcement came after earlier reports in the local news media that the police had opened fire on demonstrators in the oil city of Atyrau, killing at least one person. About 1,000 people have reportedly been injured in the unrest, with 400 being treated in hospital and 62 in intensive care. The police said that protesters burned 120 cars, including 33 police vehicles, and damaged about 400 businesses, and that more than 200 had been detained. The protests began peacefully on Sunday in the oil town of Zhanaozen, after the government doubled the cost of fuel. By Wednesday, when the government announced that it would rescind the price increase, the protests had spread across the country, with broader demands for increased political representation and improved social benefits. Apparently unsatisfied by an announcement early Wednesday that the entire government had resigned and that new parliamentary elections were possible, protesters took control of the countrys main airport. Kazakhstans president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, vowed to take harsh measures to quell the unrest and declared a two-week state of emergency for the whole country, expanding one that had been announced for both the capital of Nur-Sultan and the largest city of Almaty. Mr Tokayev said the unrest was led by terrorist bands that had received help from unspecified other countries. On Thursday morning, it was announced that peacekeeping forces from a Russia-led military alliance had been sent to Kazakhstan to help Mr Tokayev regain control. Armenias prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, said the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) an alliance of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would dispatch forces to stabilise the Central Asian country, the AP reports. President Tokayev is only the second person to lead Kazakhstan since it declared independence in 1991. His election, in 2019, was condemned by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as showing scant respect for democratic standards. Much of the anger on the streets, however, seems to have been aimed at his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has held a powerful national security role since stepping down, an analyst told BBC. On Wednesday, Mr Nazarbayev was fired in a bid to subdue the growing unrest and the entire government also resigned. According to the BBC, protesters had been heard chanting Mr Nazarbayevs name, while a video showing people attempting to pull down a giant bronze statue of him in Taldykorgan, in his home region, was shared online. A former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, says how events unfold will determine his next political move and relationship with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. Mr Ganduje succeeded Mr Kwankwaso as governor in 2015 after serving two non-consecutive terms as his deputy. But the two men quarrelled after which Mr Kwankwaso returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). There has been speculation that Mr Kwankwaso is planning to again defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after Mr Ganduje paid him a condolence visit over the death of his brother. Mr Kwankwaso had in November 2013, alongside then governors Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers States joined the APC after staging a walk out from the PDP national convention in Abuja. Mr Kwankwaso, however, in July 2018, rejoined the PDP alongside 14 APC senators and ran unsuccessfully for the PDP presidential ticket for the 2019 election. On Thursday, the former governor told DW Hausa Service that those speculating his defection to the APC were just expression their opinions. Mr Kwankwaso then added: Glory be to God, this is an indication of success. For now, there is nothing like defection. I am not in talks with anyone or perfecting my plan to defect to APC. All these are rumours, Mr Kwankwaso said. After saying it is too early to comment on a presidential bid, Mr Kwankwaso said his supporters in his Kkwankwasiyya movement are all over the world and not just in Nigeria. Reconciliation with Ganduje Mr Kwankwaso commended Mr Ganduje for paying him a condolence visit but attached nothing more to it. The visit just like any other visitors was appreciated and I am thankful to all, he said. Mr Kwankwaso said the visit had been given different interpretations because of the frosty relationship between him and the governor. People talk about reconciliation between us, I predicted that. The discussion is much because of our relevance, he said. Reconciliation or not, Ganduje came and condoled with us. We shall wait and see what will happen in the future. In politics, you cannot predict what will happen in the future, you cannot rule out any scenerio. Reconcilation or not, as we move ahead, time is of the essence in this issue, time will tell, Mr Kwankwaso said. WINDHOEK, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Namibia is currently fighting the 3rd locust outbreak in the Karasburg District, Karas Region in the southern parts of the country, Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry spokesperson Jonah Musheko said in a statement on Thursday. The first outbreak was reported on Sept. 21, 2021, by a commercial farmer and a team was immediately dispatched. Unfortunately, they could not trace, Musheko said. "The initial control commenced on Nov. 3, 2021, in the Karasburg district and by then, the infested area was estimated at approximately 800,000 hectares of farmland, and over 240,000 ha surveyed with approximate 2,000 ha treated/sprayed," he added. According to Musheko, since mid-December 2021, the ministry has been detecting swarms of brown locusts and spraying teams have been dispatched and are in the field to date. "As of yesterday, spraying was carried out at the farms Nakop up to Swartkop, covering approximately a total of 80,000 ha. These first instar locusts are still hatching, they do not move much and did not form groups yet. However, there are large swarms of adult locusts that migrated through the area while reproducing," he added. Musheko, meanwhile, encouraged farmers to continue monitoring and scouting their farms and report any new incidents of locust infestations. National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, says President Muhammadu Buhari has run out of ideas on how to move the country forward. Mr Ayu stated this in reaction to the presidents position on some issues during an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday. Among the issues Mr Buhari commented on are the herders- farmers clashes, agitation for the creation of state police, the Electoral Act Amendment Bill controversy, the lingering security challenges and 2023 presidential election. Against the stance of many Nigerians that herders should be made to raise their cattle in ranches to avoid farmer-herder clashes, Mr Buhari in the interview insisted that the restoration of grazing routes is the only solution to the problem. The grazing route policy in Northern Nigeria is contained in the Grazing Reserve Law of 1965. It allowed herdsmen to transport livestock from one place to another. Mr Buhari also reiterated his opposition to state police, saying it is not an option for curtailing the nations security crisis. State police is not an option. Find out the relationship between local governments and the governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally, he said. In his reaction to Mr Buharis renewed stance on the farmers-herders clashes, Mr Ayu, accused the president of being comfortable with the bloodshed which the policy leads to. He said the president has reaffirmed the oppositions continued insistence that the current administration is short of ideas to move the country forward. As has been said by many before now, to expect anything new from our President would be a misplaced and unfortunate expectation. From the economy to insecurity, killing of innocent farmers by terrorists (which some erroneously term farmer/herder clashes) and other sundry issues, President Buhari honoured his calling as a president who has nothing new to offer, Mr Ayu said in a statement released by his media office after the interview. On state police, the PDP national chairman argued that state-controlled security system will fill the holes which the federal police cannot adequately provide which has aided the growth of insecurity in the country. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) eliminated 950 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in the North-east between May 20, 2021 and January 6, 2022, according to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ). The Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Bernard Onyeuko, a major general, made this known while reviewing progress of the operations on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Onyeuko said that troops eliminated several high profile commanders and Amirs (leaders) of the terrorist groups during the period. He said 24,059 terrorists and their families comprising 5,326 adult males, 7,550 adult females and 11,183 children had so far surrendered to the troops in the region. The spokesperson said that all surrendered elements had been properly profiled and handed over to appropriate authorities for necessary actions. Mr Onyeuko further revealed that 79 terrorists were arrested while 113 kidnapped civilians rescued by the troops within the period. In the same vein, a total of 195 assorted arms including AK-47 rifles, GPMGs, PKT guns and locally fabricated guns were recovered from terrorists in the course of the operations. In addition, a total of 2,385 rounds of different calibres of ammunition and 253 rustled livestock were recovered. Also, total of 14 gun trucks of the terrorists were destroyed in the course of the operations, while 16 gun trucks were captured by troops within the period, he said. (NAN) The Defence Headquarters says troops eliminated a total of 858 bandits, arrested 2,318 and rescued 554 kidnapped victims in different operations across North-west and North-central between May 2021 and January 2022. The Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Bernard Onyeuko, a major general, disclosed this when he briefed journalists on the operations of the armed forces across the country on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Onyeuko said the military achieved the feat through operations Hadarin Daji in North-west, Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke in North-central as well as Thunder Strike/Whirl Punch in North-west and Central. Under Operation Hadarin Daji, he said the operational efforts of the gallant troops resulted in the killing of 537 bandits and other criminal elements and arrest of 374 criminal elements including bandits and their collaborators as well as criminal herdsmen and robbers. Mr Onyeuko added that troops also rescued 452 kidnapped victims and recovered 227 assorted arms, including AK-47 rifles, PKT machine guns and GPMGs as well as 4,443 rounds of different calibres of ammunition. According to him, 3,250 rustled livestock, 238 motorcycles and 118 extra rifle magazines were recovered by the troops in the course of the operations. He said the Air Component recorded another feat on January 3 when it executed air offensives on bandits enclaves at Gusami Forest and West Tsamre village in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara, which led to the neutralisation of scores of bandits. He said the locations were the operational base of two key bandits leaders, Alhaji Auta and Kachalla Ruga, who were killed alongside their followers. According to him, no fewer than 100 bandits were neutralised in the encounter. Under Operation Safe Haven, Mr Onyeuko disclosed that troops arrested a total of 1,771 criminal elements including bandits, armed herdsmen and livestock rustlers; while 109 bandits were killed in action within the period. He added that troops also rescued 75 kidnapped victims and recovered 1,306 livestock, 108 assorted arms including AK-47 rifles and locally produced guns as well as 493 rounds of different calibres of ammunition among other items. According to him, troops carried out various non-kinetic activities in different locations within the theatre to contain security challenges in its area of responsibility. Some of these include; peace and security meetings with critical security stakeholders to discuss and proffer actionable solutions to security concerns as well as organized sporting activities for youths with a view to dissuade them from criminal activities, he said. READ ALSO: In Operation Whirl Stroke, Mr Onyeuko said the troops eliminated a total of 168 criminal elements and arrested 127, including migrant bandits as well as recovered 118 different types of arms and 381 different calibres of ammunition. He further disclosed that 391 livestock were recovered, while 33 kidnapped victims were rescued within the period in the North-central. The Defence spokesperson also disclosed that troops of Operation Thunder Stroke/Whirl Punch, eliminated a total of 44 criminals and arrested 46 within the period. According to him, the operations also led to the recovery of 59 assorted arms, 12 extra AK-47 rifles magazines, 113 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 16 motorcycles among other items in the course of the operations. Additionally, a total of 14 kidnapped civilians were rescued and reunited with their families within the period under review, he said. (NAN) For assaulting a woman and stripping her in public, a State High Court in Uyo has asked an Akwa Ibom man and his wife to pay N4 million to the victim. The man, Uduak Nseobot, and his wife, Aniedi, are to pay an additional N200,000 to the woman to cover the cost of litigation. Mr Nseobot, in November 2018, abducted the victim, Iniubong Essien, in Uyo and drove her to Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of the state, about 27 minutes drive, where he and the wife assaulted the woman and publicly stripped her they had accused her of stealing their money. They said the money was sprayed on them at their wedding a common practice at Nigerian festivities. Ms Essien had her body painted with charcoal and a rope tied around her waist, while she was forced to dance naked before some community people. The incident happened when Mr Nseobot was a councillor (a lawmaker) in Ibiono Ibom council. The assaulted woman, Ms Essien, who had been a close friend to Mr Nseobots wife for about 10 years, denied stealing the money. The judge, Edem Akpan, while delivering judgement on Thursday, said what Mr Nseobot and his wife did to the woman was totally condemnable. The judge said the mans action was a typical disregard Nigerian politicians have for citizens rights. The court said by their own affidavits, Mr Uduak and his wife admitted to committing the atrocities and that they had no defence for what they did. A Lagos-based lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who had filed the fundamental rights enforcement suit on behalf of Ms Essien, told PREMIUM TIMES his client has been vindicated by the judgement. From the onset, the evidence was very compelling. What the former councillor did was quite outrageous. I think that is about one of the most grievous examples of human rights violations (in Nigeria), said Mr Effiong who did the case pro bono for the woman. We are going to enforce the judgement. If they go on appeal, we will be waiting for them, he said. Ms Essien said she was happy with the court judgment. No, I wasnt surprised with the judgment, he couldnt have gotten away with what he did, she told PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Nseobot and his wife were represented in the case by Mfon Ben. The lawyer did not respond to calls seeking comment from him. Meanwhile, the former councillor is facing criminal charges over the incident. A suit in which he filed to stop the police from investigating the matter was dismissed by a judge. President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja received a briefing from former President Goodluck Jonathan on the latest political developments in Mali. Mr Jonathan is the current ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali. An ECOWAS special meeting on Mali holds in Ghana on Sunday to deliberate on the political situation in that country. Femi Adesina, Mr Buharis spokesperson, stated that Sundays meeting was the subject of the parley between his principal and Mr Jonathan. He stated that Mr Buhari repeated his earlier avowal that whatever Nigeria would do on the Mali situation would be done within the ambit of ECOWAS. NAN reports that Mr Buhari had earlier received, in an audience, a Special Envoy of Assimi Goita, the Transitional President of Mali on Thursday. The envoy, Abdoulaye Maiga, Malis Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, briefed Mr Buhari on the conclusions of the National Conference on State-Rebuilding, held in Bamako between December 27 and December 30, 2021. Responding to the briefing, Mr Buhari noted that nobody could love Mali more than Malians. He counselled that all parties should work within the tenets of ECOWAS to restore Constitutional order to the West African country at the shortest possible time. He said: I am pleased you have briefed the ECOWAS Chairman too. Nigeria will work within ECOWAS limitations to assist Mali. Every country has its issues. We fought our own civil war before; we may not know the totality of internal politics of each country; we will make as much sacrifice as we can for Mali, within ECOWAS requirements. (NAN) Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA), on Thursday, expressed shock over the killing of a Nigerian, Kingsley Ezeh, allegedly by the South African police. The President General of NICASA, Benjamin Okoli, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Mr Ezehs death on Tuesday was circumstantial in the hands of members of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD). According to him, members of the JMPD had invaded Mr Ezehs tyre shop in the late evening of January 4, where he was allegedly manhandled in the course of extracting information from him. He alleged that the deceased was choked by police officers which eventually led to his death. Mr Okoli said Mr Ezeh was going about his business when metro police officers with an unmarked black-BMW vehicle arrived with his brother that they arrested earlier at a different location. The NICASA boss said, What led to the death of Ezeh on January 4, remains a mystery which will be unravelled by police investigation. The shop is fitted with a CCTV camera, which we believe will be instrumental and helpful in unravelling the case. From indication and the brothers account, they choked the deceased for several minutes, at the same time asking him to vomit what they assumed he had swallowed; the choking caused asphyxiation. Two other Nigerians in the area had allegedly accused same group of Metro Police officers of attacking them only few months ago using plastic bags to cover their heads and they almost died. Both Nigerians maintained that nothing was found on them at the time of the attack against them; the police stopped them while driving, after searching their cars and found nothing, insisted on extorting them certain amount. According to him, when they refused to pay the bribe, they were attacked and almost died with the plastic used to suffocate them by the said Metro officers. They also alleged that the Metro officers stole their cell phones and cash. We are currently discussing with these two Nigerians, to see how we can add their case to this death as evidence of a pattern of attack by these group of Metro Police against Nigerians. The Metro Police had claimed that the late Ezeh ingested substance they suspected is narcotic when they came into his shop and they claimed he had suffocated by the substance he ingested. Paramedics were called to the shop where he was confirmed dead on the scene; the leadership of NICASA monitored the situation and ensured that protocols are followed to secure evidence, he added. He noted that Mr Ezehs death could be considered an unnecessary and systemic xenophobic way of killing Nigerian nationals by the members of the South African police. He further said that if Mr Ezeh was a criminal but not conceding to it, the police could have arrested and prosecuted him, adding that such death was among many, whereby Nigerians were arbitrarily killed without justification. He, however, appealed to the Nigerian community to remain calm, while the association awaited the result of the post mortem, in the bid to follow up the case to a logical conclusion. Mr Ezeh, a native of Oduma, Aninri Local Government of Enugu State, is survived by his wife and children. President Muhammadu Buhari says his government is working very hard to ensure the local production of vaccines. The president, however, declined to provide any details. We shouldnt make noise about it until we succeed, he said of the efforts his government is making. Mr Buhari spoke in an interview with the NTA, which was aired on Thursday and monitored by PREMIUM TIMES. With its estimated population of 206 million, Nigeria relies on imported vaccines for the prevention and treatment of diseases including polio, COVID-19, measles, and others. COVID-19 and Vaccine The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of local vaccine production as some countries have more access to available vaccines than others. This is partly due to overreliance on foreign donors to get vaccines. Unfortunately, Nigeria is only one of many African countries relying on foreign donors for vaccines, including COVID-19. This also depicts one of the many reasons African countries have the least number of persons vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. So far, more than 8.23 billion doses of the vaccines have been administered across 184 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 36.5 million doses a day. In total, 107 doses have been given for every 100 people around the worldbut the distribution has been lopsided. Countries and regions with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated more than 10 times faster than those with the lowest. In Nigeria, Over six million persons have received the first shot of the vaccines while over 3.5 million have received their second shot. Health experts have repeatedly warned that African leaders must invest in local vaccine production to prevent access challenges and unequal distribution. Vaccine production As of 1940, Nigeria was producing its own vaccines at the Federal Vaccine Production Laboratory at Yaba in Lagos state. This was the first vaccine institute established in the country. The institute was active for about six decades, between then and 1991, producing large quantities of vaccines against smallpox, rabies, yellow fever, for not only Nigeria but neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Central Africa, and a few others on the continent. The vaccine production centre was, however, closed in 1991 by the government, which said it wanted to reactivate and upgrade the facility. But three decades later, the institute is yet to commence vaccine production. Since the closure of the Yaba laboratory in 1991, Nigeria has continued to rely majorly on imported vaccines and donations while the Yaba facility rots away. Failed commitment In mid-January 2021, the Nigerian government announced that it is committing N10 billion ($26,315,789) to set up a vaccine production company in Nigeria, to boost local COVID-19 vaccine production. The ministry of finance has released N10 billion to support domestic vaccine production, Nigerians Health minister, Osagie Ehanire, had said at one of the briefings of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) COVID-19. But almost a year after, nothing visible has been done regarding vaccine production in the country. While responding to questions on the status of the fund in October, Mr Ehanire said there are plans to repurpose the fund to attract investors. Advertisements He said vaccines are not things produced and put on the shelf for people to go and buy. Hence producing vaccines is not an easy task. The N10 billion was intended to procure Vaccines from Nigeria but making vaccines is not easy. So, we are looking at how to repurpose that amount in order to use it to attract investors and for these investors to take us to the down streams section of vaccine production bringing in technology. We believe this is the faster way of going at it before we migrate upstream to producing and adding our homemade vaccine into the production system, he said. The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, has accused his predecessor, Donald Trump, and Mr Trumps supporters of attacking Americas democracy. He spoke Thursday at an event to mark the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol. Mr Biden warned that though the attackers did not succeed, the insurrection remains a serious threat to Americas system of government. For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Mr Biden said, adding that on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again. We saw it with our own eyes; Rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America, Mr Biden said in the Statuary Hall, a venue which rioters paraded through one year ago. But what did we not see, Mr Biden said, is a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attack sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nations capital under siege. This wasnt a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection. They werent looking to uphold the will of the people. They were looking to deny the will of the people, he added. President Biden further accused Mr Trump of spreading a web of lies about the last U.S. election and American democracy. Hes done so because he values power over principle because he sees his own interest was more important than his countrys interest, Mr Biden said of his predecessor. His bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He cant accept he lost, even though thats what 93 United States senators, his own attorney general, his own vice president, governors, and state officials in every battleground state have all said he lost, he added. The 46th American President, who was visibly angry in his speech, said Mr Trump has done what no president in American history has ever done: He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people. The former presidents supporters are trying to rewrite history. They want you to see election day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6 as a true expression of the will of the people. Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country, to look at America? I cannot. We are in a battle for the soul of America, Mr Biden said. I did not seek this fight, brought to this Capitol one year from today. But I will not shrink from it either. I will stand in this breach, I will defend this nation. I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of this democracy. Trump blasts Bidens speech Meanwhile, Mr Trump has lashed out at President Biden over his speech at the January 6 commemorations. He used my name today to try to further divide America, Mr Trump said of Mr Biden in a statement. This political theater is all just a distraction. The former president accused his successor of destroying our nation with insane border policies, corrupt elections and devastating school closures. The Capitol Riot Hundreds of then-President Donald Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Bidens election win. Four people died on the day of the violence and a Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day, January 8. The mayhem led to Mr Trumps second impeachment trial. More than 500 people have been arrested for their roles in the violence. About 140 officers from both the Capitol Police and the D.C. department were injured in the melee. During an emotional testimony last year, four police officers told a House of Representatives special committee that they were beaten, threatened, taunted with racial insults, and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the Capitol against the mob. By August, the U.S. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced that four police officers who responded to the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol have died by suicide. we look forward to the next man in line to be Olubadan, Chief Lekan Balogun On the issue of new Obas in Ibadan, his position will be interesting. He is a supporter of the Oyo State Law and in fact went to court to assert it. By right, as the Olubadan, he can sign off on the Law and see the end of the role of the Olubadan as the everyman of Ibadan a tradition that maintains the republican nature of this great city. I hope he upholds the tradition The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Salihu Adetunji, is now resting. The Olubadan is forever green and at the same time, it is like a Phoenix that rises from the ashes of the last one. Oba mewa, igba mewa ten kings and ten periods on the throne seems like the literal interpretation of the sayings of our people (which my late father deployed for every eventful moment during his time). The Olubadan is a everyman of Ibadan unlike most Yoruba monarchs, this is not an hereditary monarchy. This is a republican monarchy, which for many decades now, has had the stability of generating succession through a participatory system. The 34 steps from Mogaji to Olubadan in modern Ibadan hides the logic that by sheer attrition and warfare, Ibadan chiefs rarely ever lived to get to the top of the pyramid of the Ibadan everyman, either as Baale or Olubadan. All the families that are indigenous to Ibadan, that are warrior families, that have idile in Ibadan, have a chance of having an Olubadan. So it was with the recently passed Olubadan. A cultural entrepreneur who succeeded against all odds in a country that had elevated certification above competence, he like many notables from Ibadan, never let the lack of certificates stop him from using is vocational craft as a tailor as foundation for starting and owning more than one record label, and promoting as well as establishing artistes such as Dauda Epo-Akara, the godfather of were music, which eventually begat Fuji music and Wasiu Ayinde Marshal. For those who do not know, were music used to be the rhythmic vibrations at dawn during the Ramadan festival. In the old town of Ibadan, young people went around twisting through corridor and walk paths, dodging the accompanying gutters that spiral across the sprawling space, with their tin boxes, creating polyrhythmic beats and wailing lyrics to wake up the faithful in neighbourhoods, to observe their Sahur or Sari pre-fast meal. It took a great cultural entrepreneur to build a business model out of propagating this creative effort. The late Olubadan amplified Ibadan in many ways and always authentically, without compromising to the disdain of those who saw this as a low culture of butchers, bus drivers and the working class. This same polyrhythms have subsequently been pushing Nigerian acts to global celebration and accolade. The history of the Olubadan stool is varied, bountiful, and testifies to the fact that Ibadan at least, the third settlement used to have Baales. The Baale, in the Yoruba experience, is usually the head of a large homestead. Ibadan, nevertheless, was not just a city, but a place that had many territories under it. Ibadans history chronicles its evolution form a warrior state to a republic. The whole of what we now know as Yoruba land submitted to the British administrative hegemony, as their desire for Indirect rule and the prioritisation of the monarchical system, led to universal conformance and reduced in fact destroyed the diversity of the city-state. unlike the dictatorship of Kurunmi of Ijaye or the confederacy of Egbaland (both of which were contemporary constitutional devices at the end of the Oyo Empire), it remained a republic, as a tool of finding excellence in its diversity. Sad to say, this did not survive the British humiliation of the lack of a royal heritage, which led to the reclamation of the Olubadan title from Lagelu. Ibadan was not just a republican metropolis but, in fact, was second only to Oyo in having an empire of vassal states. These it acquired through war and ensured that all paid taxes to it, with the exception of its complex relations with Oyo. Suffice to say, in about 100 years of Ibadan dominance of what we now know as Yoruba land, it never sought to establish a beaded crown or a kingship system. This was not because it could not, by force or reclamation of the Lagelu lineage, but because it accommodated a diversity of powerful people from across Yoruba spaces, and the republican status allowed meritocracy in the war front. As such, unlike the dictatorship of Kurunmi of Ijaye or the confederacy of Egbaland (both of which were contemporary constitutional devices at the end of the Oyo Empire), it remained a republic, as a tool of finding excellence in its diversity. Sad to say, this did not survive the British humiliation of the lack of a royal heritage, which led to the reclamation of the Olubadan title from Lagelu. This pattern of decay of the importance of the republican tradition led the immediate past governor of Oyo State (an Ibadan man for that matter!) to build the pathway to the demise of what is left of the republican exception that is Ibadan and the Olubadan stool. The late Olubadan came from a long line of very interesting characters who were Olubadan. Often, the role of the Baale, or eventually the Olubadan, was that of a retired warrior who had become the most senior warrior of the city or the metropolis of Ibadan. Ever present is the fact that since this was a warrior republic, advancement in age was very rare for most of the competent warriors. As such, by the time anyone was able to age to the point that he came off the battle field, he was really appreciative of having a place to rest. Well, that can be said of one of my own ancestors, Balogun Ibikunle. I remember very distinctly in Ibadan House in 2008, when I was executing a project called Mesiogo, which was an effort to build a strategic plan for the city of Ibadan, I engaged in a debate on whether Ibikunle, the architect and foundation builder of the Ibadan empire, was ever the Baale of Ibadan. For many years, Ibikunle was the de-facto ruler of Ibadan and he dominated the wider country, including his failed efforts at Pan-Yoruba engagement. At the end of of his life, it is reported by many historians that he spent a year as Baale and died in that role. However, the Central Council for Ibadan Indigenes does not list him among recognised Olubadans on the Wall of Ibadan House. I cited the authority of Professor Bolanle Awe to no avail. This is not unusual of the stool that is now the Olubadan. All said, the authority of Chief Bolanle Awe has put that to rest (at least in my mind) that Ibikunle was an Olubadan or Baale of Ibadan. The people of Ibadan will be looking forward, hopefully, to the wisdom and capacity that he would have to ensure that his reign does not lead to any political conflict or discord in the metropolis. We, Ibadan people, are extremely respectful of the capacity that weve had for many years to have a participatory democracy to reflect the collective will of a common man, and to evolve this into something that stands distinctively in the Nigerian country. As indicated, the recently passed Olubadan was a man of distinctive character. The entire chieftancy cadre is full of the everyman of the metropolis of Ibadan. The late Olubadan will forever be remembered for his stance on the installation of kings in the Ibadan metropolis by the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi. He was able to maintain a level of cordiality with the governor, while taking him to court, which was not an easy thing to have achieved. Inevitably, the Olubadan won in court, and helped to retain the traditional process that has led Ibadan to have a kind of non-contentious succession system, in comparison to most places in the Yoruba land of today. The fact that the egregious law is still on the books of Oyo State Government and that the case has not been finally resolved, is now up to those of us he left behind. If the march of homogeneity continues and the Oduduwan script plays out, then Ibadan metropolis, like every other place, will have kings and eventually hereditary ones. I hope not. Now, we look forward to the next man in line to be Olubadan, Chief Lekan Balogun, who himself is a man of eclectic character; a man of many capacities and skills. An academic, an entrepreneur, a consultant, a senator, a statesman. On the issue of new Obas in Ibadan, his position will be interesting. He is a supporter of the Oyo State Law and in fact went to court to assert it. By right, as the Olubadan, he can sign off on the Law and see the end of the role of the Olubadan as the everyman of Ibadan a tradition that maintains the republican nature of this great city. I hope he upholds the tradition and ends the support for the changes being canvassed. The people of Ibadan will be looking forward, hopefully, to the wisdom and capacity that he would have to ensure that his reign does not lead to any political conflict or discord in the metropolis. We, Ibadan people, are extremely respectful of the capacity that weve had for many years to have a participatory democracy to reflect the collective will of a common man, and to evolve this into something that stands distinctively in the Nigerian country. We await and respect the new Olubadan. May his reign uplift the city of Ibadan. Adewale Ajadi, a lawyer, creative consultant and leadership expert, is author of Omoluwabi 2.0: A Code of Transformation in 21st Century Nigeria. by Marwa Yahya and Ashraf Suwilam EL-FAYOUM, Egypt, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Unbridled water pollution has put fish production in Lake Qarun to a halt, leaving local fishermen in great hardship "as unemployment rates are hiking and sources of income are vanishing," a local fisheries official has said. "Nearly 650 boats that were working in the lake have stopped because the lake no longer produces fishes," Ragab KirAllah, mayor of fishermen of Lake Qarun in El-Fayoum province, some 80 km southwest of the capital Cairo, told Xinhua. The 1,385-square km Qarun is considered the oldest freshwater lake in Egypt and a precious reserve. Its ecosystem, however, has been in a critical condition after municipal sewage and agricultural wastewater was discharged into the waters, which drives the salinity to a level unfit for fish habitation. "In the past, people were drinking fresh water from the lake, but now its smell became unbearable and those who swim in the lake would experience itchy skin and coughing," KirAllah added. Recent years have seen a record plummet in fish production from natural waters, due to such factors as overfishing, unsustainable fishing techniques, pollution and habitat degradation, according to a piece of research published in the Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Life and Fisheries. This was followed by a parasite challenge, dealing another heavy blow to local fisheries, the Egyptian study revealed. "Although isopod parasites were observed in marine fisheries for a long time and considered as a part of the aquatic ecosystem, today it received considerable attention because they cause serious damage to Lake Qarun," said Atta Allah Abdel-Tawab, chairman of a water station in a nearby village. The isopod parasite attaches itself to the gill of a fish, paralyzing and suffocating it. "It causes more than 70 percent losses of the lake catch because it associates with many commercially important fishes," Atta Allah Abdel-Tawab noted. Salty water is the best incubator for the isopod, he noted. According to the state-run National Research Center, each liter of water in the lake contains 40 grams of salt. According to Fish Resources Authority (FRC) in El-Fayoum, the lake's fish production has declined to 873 tons in 2016 from 4,522 tons in 2014 after the isopod plague. "The current production of the Lake has highly deteriorated," said Salah Al-Nady, an FRC member. "The lake was the only source of income for my family and ancestors for hundreds of years," said Moussa Monem, a 64-year-old fisherman from Shakshouk, a village on the lake's periphery. The pollution has formed salt sediments in the lake bed, which created a severe odor that kills the fishes, the old man said, noting that fish production has reached "its zero levels," and what's worse is that being laid-off also damaged their fishing tools and boats. Egypt's authorities are endeavoring to restore the lake. Ahmad Al-Ansary, governor of El-Fayoum, said there are several salt dilution projects underway to reduce the salinity of the lake and to restore the fishing resources, stressing "government keenness to restore the ecological balance" for the sake of local livelihood. Al-Ansary highlighted that the state-run Academy of Scientific Research and the FRC has undergone separate analysis of the water quality, and all results will be reviewed to develop a clear action plan to tackle the problems and help restore the lake's fish production. Due to the strictness of Bashir Tofa as the publisher, the management ensured that the reports in both newspapers were not only factual and truthful, but also drew from reliable and authoritative sources. Further to this, the publisher made sure that the editorial staff adhered to the core journalism ethics of accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, accountability and an overarching humanism in their work. Beyond his active involvement in politics and the business world, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, who died on January 3 at the age of 74, was a consummate writer, publisher and a general perfectionist, whose edifice in Kano city remains one of the finest mansions ever built in the emirate, since the 1980s. As a teenager in the 80s, I always desired passing by the magnificent and sprawling mansion, which has been continuously retouched to perfection till date, at the Gandun Albashu district of Kano. As a writer, Tofas articles on the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria had appeared in the then major national dailies in the 70s, including New Nigerian, Daily Times, Nigerian Tribune, The Sketch, and the vernacular tabloid, Gaskiya Tafi Kwabo. Beyond his journalistic interventions, he was a wordsmith extraordinaire who authored several books and short stories on contemporary issues in both English and Hausa languages. As a deeply religious person, he also set up the Bureau for Islamic Propagation (BIP), which helped to unite Muslims and promoted interfaith dialogues with non-Muslims towards peaceful coexistence. During my university days in the late 80s, I admired his literary contributions, which were the source of attraction that led me to seek an internship in his media conglomerate that published Pen and Alkalami newspapers, and whose offices were situated within a tall building along the Post Office Road in Kano. It was in this media outfit that I met the manager, Mallam Garba Yusuf, who introduced me to the art of media marketing and Mallam Magaji Galadima, under whose tutelage I was groomed into the vocation of investigative journalism and copy editing for production and publication. As a publisher who believed strongly in the tenets of a free press, I recall vividly how the Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, refused to interfere in an investigative report I had anchored over the mysterious death of a Muezzin in a mosque at the Sheikh Isyaku Rabiu Estate in Kano, the outcome of which he was pressured to alter. I had then conducted an interview with the Divisional Police Officer in the area and the Chief Imam of the mosque when concerns were raised on the need for the report to be stopped. While Garba Yusuf later rose to become a highly influential commissioner in the cabinet of Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, back in the day he was a painstaking worker who always ensured that the editorial team met the production deadlines that made the newspapers available on the newsstands every Friday. On his part, Magaji Galadima, who later became the pioneer Director-General of the Kano Geographic Information Systems (KANGIS) and currently holds the traditional title of Kachallan Kano in the Emirate, was a very thorough editor who ran a fine comb through our news reports and feature articles for factual accuracy and fidelity to the house style. Due to the strictness of Bashir Tofa as the publisher, the management ensured that the reports in both newspapers were not only factual and truthful, but also drew from reliable and authoritative sources. Further to this, the publisher made sure that the editorial staff adhered to the core journalism ethics of accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, accountability and an overarching humanism in their work. Even as the Bashir Tofa ethos was very strict, he still gave the two most senior management staff, who were responsible for the publications, the freedom to manage the newspapers in an independent manner. And although I was just an intern then, I was afforded the opportunity of occasionally going out on marketing drives for advert placements and the commissioning of special reports, alongside my main duty of pursuing investigative stories. It was during that early phase of my experience in journalism that I met Jarman Kano, Alhaji Adamu Dankabo; Talban Kano, Alhaji Garba A.D. Inuwa; and respected businessman, Mallam Sabiu Bako. As a publisher who believed strongly in the tenets of a free press, I recall vividly how the Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, refused to interfere in an investigative report I had anchored over the mysterious death of a Muezzin in a mosque at the Sheikh Isyaku Rabiu Estate in Kano, the outcome of which he was pressured to alter. I had then conducted an interview with the Divisional Police Officer in the area and the Chief Imam of the mosque when concerns were raised on the need for the report to be stopped. Being a philanthropist with a difference, he made huge anonymous donations to different public support causes on a regular basis. And, since the early 90s when he introduced the Ramadan Kitchen, food items have been provided for families in need during the holy month of fasting, while cooked food is also made available to people for the breaking of their fast and the early morning Sahur, in various mosques and communities. While no attempt was made by the publisher or my editors to restrain me from concluding that piece of investigative journalism, the ensuing story was not only published in the Pen, but also in the Alkalami, the Hausa version of the newspaper. Apart from the team and leadership building attributes of delegating responsibilities to his staff, also because he travelled abroad often, Alhaji Bashir Tofa was equally a very generous Muslim, especially in the provision of scholarships to students and payment for the health care of indigent people. As an intern, I was placed on a generous monthly allowance and my final year research project in the university in 1992, was funded by his company. Being a philanthropist with a difference, he made huge anonymous donations to different public support causes on a regular basis. And, since the early 90s when he introduced the Ramadan Kitchen, food items have been provided for families in need during the holy month of fasting, while cooked food is also made available to people for the breaking of their fast and the early morning Sahur, in various mosques and communities. In addition to that, Tofa recruited dozens of tailors annually to sow clothing in large quantities for the masses in communities surrounding him and also for the needy for festive seasons. Born to a Kanuri family in Kano on June 20, 1947, the late Bashir Tofa attended the City of London College, before he started a business and later joined politics. He was the Financial Secretary of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) during the Secondary Republic. At the resumption of political activities in the country during the early 1990s, Tofa joined the then National Republican Congress (NRC), and rose to become its presidential candidate at the June 1993 election, which he however lost to his rival, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. The official results were never fully released by the Babangida government. Alhaji Bashir Tofa was a noteworthy businessman, oil trader, industrialist, politician, author, activist, journalist and a strong contender during what has been declared as the freest presidential election in Nigerian history in 1993. He died in the early morning of January 3 after battling health issues that had kept him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano. Yushau A. Shuaib is author of An Encounter with the Spymaster and Crisis Communication Strategies. www.YAShuaib.com In these debates, conducted and engaged as Marxists and as comrades, we shall propose that only socialism, guided by revolutionary Marxism, as Science and Ideology, that can finally eliminate the National Question not only its capitalist forms, but down to its historical roots. Politically we shall propose, for this task, a united revolutionary Marxist force in a united country. My difficulties in this discussion began with how to construct a title for it. I could break down what I wanted to say into bits of statements and questions. But I could not agree with myself on how to craft a befitting title for the discussion, even a provisional one, in the manner of many writers. Before finally adopting the title that now appears, I had serially considered several alternatives. One of the earliest, the one I loved most, was Marxism in our time, which simply lifts the title of Leon Trotskys essay written in Mexico in 1939, but titled and published posthumously in 1970. Thereafter, I had asked myself: Should Trotsky be rather adapted or modified to read: Marxism in our time, in our land? Or, should it be The universe of Marxism and Marxists, through history, partly adapting the title of Sina Kawonises 2014 collection of essays? Or, indeed, should the title of what I wanted to say be a long one, in the manner of the columns of Comrade Biodun Jeyifo (BJ) in Nigerias The Nation on Sunday (and earlier, in The Guardian on Sunday)? That adaptation would then have led me to: Critical and heuristic questions on theory and use of Marxism for Marxists, in our time, in our land. In this title, as in BJs column, each word or phrase is a definitive aspect of the discussion and makes a definitive contribution to it. Eventually I returned to my earliest, even unlisted title, as I often do, without repudiating any of the latter alternatives. I do request readers to bear this in mind, as they go through this fragmentary piece. It is almost certain that at least one fairly large Left party or Left-leaning party will emerge as a contestant for power or office in the 2023 general election in Nigeria. It is also clear that even without this emergence or early emergence, popular-democratic struggles, organised and spontaneous, planned and unplanned (against mass poverty, impoverishment, immiseration, insecurity, corruption and neofascist dictatorship) will intensify and expand in the period leading up to the election, and beyond. The main task of the Nigerian Left and Nigerian Leftists in this period is therefore cut out for them, as the saying goes. That task is to actively guide this trend as responsibly as possible, mitigating negative effects and consequences of possible errors and, of course, preventing foreseeable ones. Beyond all the above, but equally as important: I would propose that by the end of 2022, the Nigerian Left would have established a functional National Consultative and Coordinating Centre (NCCC) to assume the functions that the name suggests, including the publication of a periodic newsletter. I know that there exists, or can be found within the movement, at least one or a small group of Leftists who can volunteer to pay the rent and underwrite the cost of running the Centre for the first five years. The history of the Nigerian Left has taught us all that in matters like this, individual, small monetary donations and pledges can play only a small material part beyond the moral, the ideological and the symbolic. Among the possible byproducts of this broad projection, if nurtured by older Leftists, especially Marxists, will be the emergence of a much needed Peoples Manifesto for the Nigerian Left or a clear qualitative advance to its emergence; and the engagement in dialogue of segments of the Nigerian Left who have been alienated by their unpopular or minority positions on several strategic and tactical issues, including the question of electoral strategy and the issue of national unity. A byproduct is used here to deliberately designate its ordinary meaning, that is, a secondary and sometimes unexpected consequence or a product made during the manufacture of something else. It is on the last listed possible byproduct that we shall now focus in the remaining part of this piece. I preface this with the affirmation that the question of national unity has been central in the agenda of the Nigerian Left right from its birth several decades ago. The point about not breaking with a secessionist, but non-arms-bearing comrade will require a reconsideration if, in arguing for a break-up, the comrade also argues, directly or indirectly, for a revision of a foundational pillar of Marxism, such as anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism or class struggle being the motive force of history or the strategic and vanguard role of the working class in the struggle for, and construction of socialism. Some weeks ago, on Sunday, December 5, 2021, I called up a younger comrade of mine to re-state a conclusion to our discussion of the day before. Since the telephone line was unclear that previous day, I was not sure that he properly understood me. The discussion was on national unity and the attitude of the Nigerian Left to it. That conclusion, which I thought needed a re-statement, may be framed like this: I find it difficult, as a revolutionary Marxist and as a Nigerian, influenced by Samir Amins youthful but highly heuristic description of Marxism as the social science of revolutionary socialist praxis to break with a Nigerian Marxist comrade solely on the ground that she or he is a secessionist agitator if she or he had not taken up arms. The situation, of course, changes if she or he becomes involved, at any level, in an armed struggle, that pinnacle of Marxist revolutionary politics. That changed situation is outside the scope of the present article. The reason for the first part of the position stated above the part of not breaking with a Nigerian Marxist comrade solely on the ground of being a supporter of secession is simple and straight forward: The Nigerian Marxist Left, including the tendency to which I belong, has not articulated or adopted a categorical position, ideological or political, on what Marxism designates as the national question, that issue dramatised in a bitter, but enlightening debate between Rosa Luxemburg and Vladimir Lenin over a century ago and which has littered the history of Marxist and non-Marxist revolutions ever since. The issue is prominent in the relationships between Marxists in the countries they have either led or in which they are in contention for power, and between states that are led by Marxists. A clear position ought to have emerged on the twin-questions of national question and national unity in a Manifesto of a substantial Marxist formation or Marxist-influenced Left formation since the end of the Civil War in Nigeria, more than 50 years ago. But unfortunately, it has not. Once such a clear position emerges, it becomes binding. Why? Because a Left movement seriously fighting for power must have clear positions on such strategic issues. A clarification: The point about not breaking with a secessionist, but non-arms-bearing comrade will require a reconsideration if, in arguing for a break-up, the comrade also argues, directly or indirectly, for a revision of a foundational pillar of Marxism, such as anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism or class struggle being the motive force of history or the strategic and vanguard role of the working class in the struggle for, and construction of socialism. These are red lines, comparable, in a sense, for Christians and Christianity, to the belief in Christs death and resurrection. A global or universal statement of the ideological and political principle articulated above can be attempted. And my attempt is this: I would not argue against a Marxists continued claim to be a Marxist solely on the ground that she or he argues for, or supports the breakup of her or his homeland. Again, this position will call for a review if in the course of this argument this Marxist calls for a revision of a foundational pillar of Marxism, as illustrated above. Nothing in what I have said in these study notes so far will derogate from the fact that I, myself, have a clear ideological and political position on the national question in general and the question of Nigerias unity in particular. And that position, which I canvass, may be stated, in part, as the struggle for: national unity within the struggle for workers power, popular democracy and socialism. The reason for the first part of my position the part of not breaking with a non-Nigerian Marxist comrade on the sole ground of supporting the breakup of a homeland is two-fold: First, historically, for Marxists, in Nigeria and abroad, what is called the national question has not been settled in the manner of Marxism; that is, settled by history itself. Secondly, for many Marxists, there is embedded in the national question what is known as national oppression. This, for them, exists side-by-side with class oppression. And, also for many of them, including those in Nigeria, national oppression is not inferior or subordinate to class oppression. In fact, in a given historical context, they argue, national oppression can become a dominant contradiction, though many of them concede never a determinant one. Nothing in what I have said in these study notes so far will derogate from the fact that I, myself, have a clear ideological and political position on the national question in general and the question of Nigerias unity in particular. And that position, which I canvass, may be stated, in part, as the struggle for: national unity within the struggle for workers power, popular democracy and socialism. I must humbly admit, however, that this position is a reduced version of a complete statement on the national question. A complete statement must await the resolution of the National Question by Marxism globally, because it is a global question. In a lighter mood, we may recall Fermats Last Theorem in Number Theory, which waited for almost 400 years before a globally acceptable proof emerged only recently! Two final propositions may be used to summarise and conclude the latter segments of these study notes: One: Although we may speak of fixed pillars for Marxism, history has shown that the universe of Marxist politics or politics informed or inspired by Marxism is very wide and complex. Two: The Nigerian Left or a substantial Left political formation, when it emerges I hope very soon should begin to engage secessionist but non-arms-carrying and non-revisionist Marxist comrades from different regions of the country in sustained debates on Marxism, history and politics. In these debates, conducted and engaged as Marxists and as comrades, we shall propose that only socialism, guided by revolutionary Marxism, as Science and Ideology, that can finally eliminate the National Question not only its capitalist forms, but down to its historical roots. Politically we shall propose, for this task, a united revolutionary Marxist force in a united country. Edwin Madunagu, a mathematician and journalist, writes from Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. If the Lagos State Government is not honouring the court judgement, the lawyers of the disputants know what to do. There are so many remedies, including the committal proceedings in respect of the judgement of the Supreme Court. Instead, they have decided to wage a war on Magodo residents. Even as you read this article, policemen from Abuja on the orders of the Inspector General of Police are camped inside Magodo and families continue to live in fear and apprehension! This is a local story and its personal. Im involved. And because Im involved, I thought the best way to tell it is to hear it from persons who have a more intimate knowledge of the story; those who have lived in Magodo Shangisha GRA Scheme II, Lagos, for well over two decades. The three respondents, the first of whom is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, have asked that their names should not be used. Ill simply describe them as Respondents I, II and III. Keep in mind as you read this, that land title in a Government Reserved Area (GRA) is supposed to be the most secure, having both the government-issued Certificate of Occupancy and the gold standard of the government seal of quality assurance. Yet this GRA youre going to read about located just opposite the official seat of power of the Lagos State Government has been invaded four times by trespassers with the aid of hoodlums abetted by an occupying police force. This last time, they came with bulldozers, chains and big padlocks. They came on the watch of 200 policemen from Abuja to execute a writ of possession, which they refused to produce. Yet, those who have sighted the purported writ say it does insist on reclaiming Magodo, the GRA they have besieged for nearly two weeks, in defiance of a personal visit by the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is supposed to be the chief security officer of Lagos. It could be your GRA next: Respondent I: On December 21, 2021, some land-grabbers in the company of hundreds of armed policemen invaded Magodo GRA Scheme II in Shangisha, Lagos State. They came with thugs, fake bailiffs, spray paint cans, and bulldozers. There have been many versions of what happened on that sad day, with varying degrees of falsehood and inaccuracies. The most incredible of them all is by Adebayo Adeyiga, which has gone viral, turning the truth on its head. He made up a fancy story about the so-called displacement of the early occupants in 1984 under the auspices of the Shangisha Residents Association, at the time led by Chief Adebayo Adeyiga, their purported maltreatment in the hands of subsequent governments, and so on and so forth a typical David-v-Goliath narrative, deliberately meant to curry sympathy and incite public anger, while hiding the facts in plain sight. But the facts contradict him. There was no acquisition to build any hospital and no valid claim to a title in the first place. In 1969, there was an acquisition of the totality of the land area from Ojota, Ketu, Magodo, Agidingbi, Omole. It was an extensive acquisition by the Lagos State Government and compensation was duly paid to the main owners then, while a few of the villages were excised. Unfortunately, either through error of commission or omission by the Lagos State Government, they did not follow up with the physical possession of the properties. As a result, trespassers including those now claiming to have been dispossessed in Shangisha/Magodo took advantage. Shangisha was part of it and the properties were demolished, save for a few. It was in the course of the demolition that the Shangisha Landlords Association, led by Chief Adebayo Adeyiga, came into being and tried to use sentiments, knowing full well that they were squatters. For a very long time, the government did nothing, so trespassers proliferated. People who had nothing to do in the place started selling and buying land already acquired by the government and started building. There were no title documents or approved building plans; they simply took the law into their own hands. Until 1984, when the military government of Mohammadu Buhari government came. Air Commodore Gbolahan Mudashiru was the administrator for Lagos at the time. It was his government that took steps to reclaim government land that had been encroached upon. Respondent II Shangisha was part of it and the properties were demolished, save for a few. It was in the course of the demolition that the Shangisha Landlords Association, led by Chief Adebayo Adeyiga, came into being and tried to use sentiments, knowing full well that they were squatters. They begged for compensation, not as of right, but on humanitarian grounds. They engaged the Lagos State Government not as radical or original owners of the land, but for the fact that they had built properties, pleading for compensation on compassionate grounds. These are the same people who are now claiming that the government deceived them that it was going to build hospitals in Magodo only to displace them later: a matter that clearly does not lie in their mouth as squatters! If the government had not listened to them at that time, nothing would have happened because they cannot derive authority over a faulty foundation; they were trespassers. Unfortunately, the government did not document those they were giving allocation; they were submitting names and the government was allocating until it decided to put a stop to it. That was when they decided to go to court. In the court, they put their membership at 549, not taking into account those that had already been given allocation. So, it was not right for them to go to the public and say that because they are poor, the government had taken their land and given it to the rich. It is a fallacy; they didnt have any title in the first place. Respondent III Adeyiga is from Ijebu Irolu in Ogun State. But unfortunately, the case was brought to a Lagos court through the Ministry of Justice that was negligent in terms of following up to defend the interest of the State, and judgement was given. The judgement was affirmed by the court of appeal. But what is in this judgement? The judgment of 31 December 1993 said Lagos State was bound to give them preferential allocation of 549 plots. By the time of this judgement (which was between them and the Lagos State Government), the government had designated Magodo as an Estate and started allocating the land. Advertisements The government started issuing Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in 1986. By 1993, the Lagos State Government had allocated to them about 300 vacant plots in Magodo, even though they were claiming 549 plots. Some of those families opted out, saying Adeyiga could not represent them. But Adeyiga rejected all offers, insisting on a phantom 549 plots! Respondent I (again) If the Lagos State Government is not honouring the court judgement, the lawyers of the disputants know what to do. There are so many remedies, including the committal proceedings in respect of the judgement of the Supreme Court. Residents whose rights were violated and properties marked and locked up as part of the hostage process, will do themselves a world of good by taking the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation to court Thats one way to prevent this nonsense from happening again. Instead, they have decided to wage a war on Magodo residents. Even as you read this article, policemen from Abuja on the orders of the Inspector General of Police are camped inside Magodo and families continue to live in fear and apprehension! We were not party to the judgement and the judgement did not say the judgement creditors should go to Magodo, spray paint on occupied properties with families inside, and lock us up, and deploy bulldozers to level our properties! On December 21, 2021 when they invaded (for the fourth time), we asked them for the writ of possession or the survey attached to the judgement, but they could not provide any! What they came to do here was plain impunity abetted by security forces for whatever reason. If a judgement of the Supreme Court is going to be enforced and the necessary machinery of the Nigerian police is being called for purposes of assistance, it is incumbent on the police authority to ask for the warrant which must show identifiable properties. In this case, there was nothing and yet we have strong reasons to believe that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN), is aiding and abetting this illegality. Of course, we are for the rule of law and the obedience of court orders. But isnt it curious that in spite of allocations given to these fellows by the Lagos State Government (according to the Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice), they have refused to accept the olive branch: It must be Magodo or nowhere else! We can almost see the hand of the snake in this undisguised hostility as we are hearing that some persons have been promised juicy plots in Magodo, at all costs! There is a legal maxim that the law will not compel the performance of an impossibility, but that is exactly what these trespassers are determined to do! The reporter who conducted the interviews inside the Estate was briefly arrested by the Abuja police and detained for videoing them supervising the thugs and invaders. Only the timely intervention of the Force Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, saved the day. Another update at press time indicated that there might indeed be a resolution of the dispute after Governor Sanwo-Olu held a meeting with all the parties in his office on Wednesday. The agreement, in principle, to allocate land to the judgement creditors is a good and bad thing: good because court orders should be obeyed; and bad because, in this instance, a message has been sent that hostage taking is a permissible means to an end. Residents whose rights were violated and properties marked and locked up as part of the hostage process, will do themselves a world of good by taking the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation to court. Thats one way to prevent this nonsense from happening again. Azu Ishiekwene is Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP. Faced with this dire reality, especially the dashed expectations over state police and restructuring, it is now left to the various state governments and the people to think outside the box, moving forward. What form of extra security arrangements can be adopted now to stem the ugly tide of insecurity in the land? For those states where negotiation with roaming herdsmen is not an option, they must device other ways of securing their territories. Decentralisation of Nigerias policing system through the creation of state police received the death knell on Wednesday, at least under the present government, when President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed it as a no-option in the search for remedies to the countrys worsening security challenges. He similarly waved aside the clamour for restructuring as confusing. State police and restructuring are two related subjects that many Nigerians consider essential to solving the deteriorating insecurity in the country, which is threatening diverse critical sectors, down to the very fabric holding the country together. The protagonists of state police argue that decentralising policing will help solve the prevailing problems of low morale, corruption and under-policing by profoundly raising the number of police officers and emplacing grassroots security systems in the country. The total personnel strength of the Nigeria Police currently stands at about 371,000, although the Federal Government plans to recruit more officers to raise the figure to about 650,000 in the coming years. While Nigerias median of police officer to population is not far from the United Nations recommended maximum of one police officer to 450 persons, some analysts say the police problem in the country goes deeper than under-policing to under-security, arising from viral corruption, extortion, intimidation, brutality, lack of commitment, inadequate training and poor equipment. In his interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari flatly ruled out the state police as an option, in the search for solutions to the confounding security challenges of the country, which span terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other extreme violent crimes. He similarly chided advocates of restructuring for allegedly being amorphous in their agitations, while insisting on the resuscitation of old cattle routes as a way of solving the recurring herders-farmers conflicts across the country. The president spoke at a time that calls for state police have remained relentless, amid recurring infractions and abuses by the centrally controlled Nigeria Police Force. At the receiving end of most of the abuses are the people and state governors, who are only chief security officers of their respective states in name, rather than action. Most often the Police only take instructions from the centre. Coincidentally, President Buharis rejection of the state police option came a day after Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu was publicly defied by a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) deployed to Magodo Estate in Lagos by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Baba and the Attorney-General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami. By ruling out state police as an option, President Buhari has clearly shown that he stands with the unitary and anti-state police advocates, who fear that it might jeopardise the unity of the country, accentuate boundary skirmishes between states, encourage secession, create funding challenges for some states and lend itself to abuse by state governors, among others. Antagonists contend that the centralised police system in Nigeria is too far detached from the realities and needs of the people and therefore does not respond effectively and proactively to their needs and challenges. They point to the subsisting federal police system as a fundamental abnormality of Nigerias unbalanced and defective federalism, which that predisposes it to insecurity, and should be reversed. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) places the responsibility of policing the entire country in the hands of the Federal Government and its agencies. According to Section 214 of the Constitution, the Nigeria Police Force shall be under the full and exclusive control of the Federal Government. Furthermore, Section 215 subsection 2 of the same Constitution states that the Nigeria Police force shall be under the command of the Inspector-General of Police and any contingent of the Nigeria Police Force stationed in a state shall, subject to the authority of the Inspector-General of Police, be under the command of Commissioner of Police of that State. The background to Nigerias centrally controlled police arrangement is in the long years of military incursion in the nations politics and governance, which dates back to 1966 when the democratic order was first forcibly overthrown by soldiers. The ensuing twenty-eight years of unitary rule by the military was enough for the centralised command architecture of the nations police to concretise. Advocates of state police are calling for a return to what obtained during the colonial era and the first six years of Nigerias independence, when the second and third tiers of government, just like the Federal Government, had their own regional and native authority policing systems. By ruling out state police as an option, President Buhari has clearly shown that he stands with the unitary and anti-state police advocates, who fear that it might jeopardise the unity of the country, accentuate boundary skirmishes between states, encourage secession, create funding challenges for some states and lend itself to abuse by state governors, among others. Some Nigerians are concerned that the blanket rejection of state police and restructuring are tantamount to gambling with the survival and stability of Nigeria. But President Buhari is unfazed He is cocksure that the country, despite its current insecurity challenges and multifarious problems, would rebound without recourse to restructuring or the creation of state police. It is noteworthy that the argument for or against state police was on the front burner during the 2014 National Conference held during the tenure of former Dr Goodluck Jonathan, President Buharis predecessor in office. In a tight verdict, the Conference voted in favour of state police. However, none of the recommendations of that conference, including the state police, has been implemented by the current administration, six years since assumption of power. Some Nigerians are concerned that the blanket rejection of state police and restructuring are tantamount to gambling with the survival and stability of Nigeria. But President Buhari is unfazed. For him, it is odieshi (no cause for alarm) for Nigeria as per her unity. He is cocksure that the country, despite its current insecurity challenges and multifarious problems, would rebound without recourse to restructuring or the creation of state police. Similarly, he feels no qualms in detaining the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to pass through the judicial crucibles. To the President Buhari, Nigerians, in their innermost minds, know that we are better off together and only make noise as a strategy to get a better deal within the federation. Faced with this dire reality, especially the dashed expectations over state police and restructuring, it is now left to the various state governments and the people to think outside the box, moving forward. What form of extra security arrangements can be adopted now to stem the ugly tide of insecurity in the land? For those states where negotiation with roaming herdsmen is not an option, they must device other ways of securing their territories. Have states like Katsina and Benue, where the governors have openly called on the civil populace to purchase arms and defend themselves, been vindicated by the presidents obstinacy? Regional outfits like the Amotekun, Ebube Agu and Delta Hawks appear mor attractive alternatives to leverage on and strengthen. Anyhow, Nigerians must survive, forging ahead, since nature does not allow for vacuum. This is the time for the entire polity, encompassing the central agencies, states, local governments, security organs, traditional rulers and civil society organisations, to assiduously search for more ways of preempting the criminals in our midst and making the entire country safer for living and business. Nosike Ogbuenyi writes from Abuja. Hundreds of residents from five communities in Anka and Bukkuyum local government areas of Zamfara State have been trouping into Anka town after bandits killed many people in their villages. Sources who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said the number of those killed was yet to be ascertained. A lawyer, who is also a member of Zamfara Charity Organisation, said he saw many of the displaced villagers taking refuge at the Anka local government Secretariat. Before I left for Gusau this morning I counted over 500 people, mostly old women, ladies and children. The attack started from Tuesday night to Wednesday, the source, who pleaded anonymity, said. He said local volunteer workers on the orders of the Sarkin Zamfara Anka were supporting the displaced persons. Attacked villages PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the villages attacked are Tungar Geza, Rafin Gero, Kurfar Danya, Kewaye and Tungar Na More. An anonymous source who spoke to VOA Hausa as monitored by this paper said the attacks started from Barikin Daji in what was described as a fight between the bandits and Yan Sakai (the unofficial vigilante members). They had been fighting since yesterday (Tuesday night). What scared us was how they were able to displace Kurfar Danya. You know it was said that Kurfar Danya was impenetrable, but I swear to God, they (banidts) have burnt down the whole village. They moved to Tungar Na More and to Rafin Gero. As I speak to you now, some houses are still on fire in Rafin Gero. Tungar Isa and Barayar Zaki are also some of the villages that were burnt down, he said. While he could not confirm the number of those killed, the source said several people who made it to Anka town could not find their family members. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Abubakar Gero, a youth leader in Bukkuyum local government area, confirmed that the attacks started in Kurfar Danya. READ ALSO: The attacks were connected. The bandits started attacking communities from Bukkuyum. We gathered that they came in their hundreds because the villagers used to resist any attempt to attack their village. After attacking Kurfar Danya they also raided Ruwan jema and killed many and burnt foodstuff to ashes. I can confirm that they returned to Ruwan Jema this morning. The level of damage is yet to be ascertained by people of the community for they are still on the run, Mr Gero said. The police spokesperson in Zamfara, Mohammed Shehus line was busy when PREMIUM TIMES contacted him and an SMS to him was not responded to. No fewer than 351 suspected illicit drug traffickers were arrested by the Edo Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2021, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. Buba Wakawa, the state commander of the Agency, said this in an interview with NAN in Benin on Thursday. Mr Wakawa said the figure comprises 248 male and 103 female suspects. He said the total weight of drugs seized within the period was 26,459.078 Kilogrammes. He told NAN that 16,344 bags of Cannabis Sativa were found in a cluster of four warehouses in Uzebba in Owan West Local Government Area in the state, weighing 233,778 kilogrammes. The substances were destroyed at the scene of operation, he said. He also said nine vehicles and nine motorcycles used in conveying the exhibits were seized. Also confiscated, according to him, are two pump action, one double barrel and one cut-to-size guns used in guarding the drug warehouses. 25 suspected cannabis sativa farms measuring 49.589964 hectares were traced and destroyed. READ ALSO: In the area of prosecution, our activities were hampered by incessant strikes by the Federal High Courts. However, the command secured 23 convictions while 27 cases are still pending before the Federal High Court Benin, the commander said. Mr Wakawa told NAN that 180 drug-dependent persons were successfully counseled and re-integrated into the society by the command within the period under review. We will vigorously pursue the mandate given by the Chairman, retired Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa. We solicit the support of well-meaning citizens and call on the public to volunteer information that will assist us in ridding the state of bad eggs, he said. (NAN) The price of local rice has remained stable in major markets in Enugu metropolis after the yuletide, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. A survey conducted by NAN on Wednesday showed that the price of local rice has not changed since December 2021, when compared with other foodstuffs. A 50 kg bag of local rice is sold between N27,500 and N28,000, depending on the brand. Also, a 25 kg bag is sold between N14,000 and N14, 500 for a month now. A rice dealer at Mayor Market, Mark Ekwo, attributed the stability in price to availability of the commodity in the market. A rice dealer at Garki Market, John Chukwu, said that patronage had been massive for local rice as many residents could hardly afford foreign rice due to its high cost. Many rice dealers, especially farmers, flooded the market with local rice, which made the price stable, Mr Chukwu said. A rice dealer at Top Land Market on Amechi Road said most local rice dealers allowed the price to remain stable after the yuletide so as to make extra sales. If the price increases, many may not be able to afford it because people have run out of cash following the yuletide, said the dealer who asked that his name should not be mentioned. Although it is costlier, the price of foreign rice has remained stable too. A 50 kg bag of foreign rice is still sold for between N32,000 and N34,000 since December 2021. The 25 kg of foreign rice is sold between N17, 000 and N17,500 depending on the brand. (NAN) COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hosting more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees, Jordan is among the countries that have received the most refugees from the conflict-affected country. The lives of the Syrian refugees are uncertain, and many are struggling with poverty and unemployment. A consortium led by PlanBrnefonden will ensure that more young Syrian refugees enter educational programmes and join the labour market. Youth unemployment in Jordan is record high, and up to 50% of young people were out of work in 2020. With a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation of DKK 200 million (27 million), PlanBrnefonden will work purposefully to give more young people access to jobs and income opportunities. The Foundation has donated more than DKK 500 million (67 million) to counter the effects of the conflict in Syria, which over the years has developed into the world's most extensive humanitarian crisis. The latest grant of DKK 200 million is the largest humanitarian grant in the Foundation's history. "With the grant for PlanBrnefonden, we are sowing the seeds for far more Syrian children and young people to have a brighter future in which they can support themselves and their families and live a dignified life. Unemployment is a huge problem among young people, so considerable effort must be made in primary schools and at the other levels of education, with special emphasis on ensuring that the educational programmes offered match the current job market," says Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO, Novo Nordisk Foundation. The initiative is expected to reach out to up to 48,000 young Syrian refugees and other young people in Jordan affected by the conflict in Syria, which has been going on for more than a decade. PlanBrnefonden is using the grant to launch Najahna, a 5-year programme that includes initiatives to strengthen the transition between education and jobs through, for example, financial offers that will enable young people to access loans on very attractive terms so that they can start their own business. Professional and mental tools targeting young women Girls and young women are especially cut off from educational institutions and the labour market. This partly results from traditional views on education and work but also because more young women drop out of school at an early age as a result of marriage or early pregnancy. Dorthe Petersen, CEO, PlanBrnefonden, says: "It is absolutely crucial that especially girls and young women both Syrians and Jordanians have access to high-quality education and employment. This is the only path to sustainable, long-term development. By giving more young women the professional and mental tools to become financially independent, we ensure that more people can support their family and have a say in the home. We can do this with Najahna because we and our partners have a strong presence among the young people but also in the labour market they are entering. We are extremely happy and proud to receive this grant." PlanBrnefonden's Najahna project comprises a consortium of international and Jordanian public and private actors, including the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), whose sister organization, the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, contributes to the efforts locally in Jordan, as well as PlanBrnefonden's country office in Jordan who is advancing the rights of children and young people in Jordan with a special focus on equality for girls. Thomas Bustrup, Deputy Director General at the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), says: "We must work to ensure greater focus on vocational education in Jordan, and especially that these educational programmes better suit the needs of companies. We build on several years of experience from Jordan in creating better apprenticeships for young people and making finding jobs in a Jordanian company attractive for refugees and other young people." The Najahna Consortium also includes the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the King Hussein Foundation. From the beginning, a key element of the Consortium has been to engage both private and public actors to strengthen the local base of the initiatives. The project has been created in collaboration with the Government of Jordan. Facts about Najahna The development of the Najahna project started in early 2021, with the Foundation awarding an initial grant of DKK 1.2 million (160K) to PlanBrnefonden. The current DKK 200 million (27 million) grant for the project runs over a 5-year period starting in January 2022. The project is part of the Foundation's strategic flagship Youth Empowerment humanitarian initiative, which aims to improve access to education and opportunities for self-sufficiency among young people in conflict-affected areas, with a focus on the crisis in Syria. About the Novo Nordisk Foundation The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an independent Danish foundation with corporate interests. It has two objectives: 1) to provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities of the companies in the Novo Group; and 2) to support scientific, humanitarian and social causes. The vision of the Foundation is to contribute significantly to research and development that improves the lives of people and the sustainability of society. Since 2010, the Foundation has donated more than DKK 30 billion (4 billion), primarily for research at public institutions and hospitals in Denmark and the other Nordic countries as well as research-based treatment and prevention of diabetes. Read more at www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en. About PlanBrnefonden part of Plan International PlanBrnefonden works long term in the world's most fragile and vulnerable areas to ensure the rights of children and young people and create equal opportunities for everyone regardless of gender. This is achieved in close collaboration with colleagues at Plan International in 77 countries around the world. Plan International is one of the world's largest and oldest children's rights organizations. Read more here: https://planbornefonden.dk/om-os (in Danish). SOURCE Novo SAN PEDRO, Belize, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Caye International Bank (CIB) has once again swept the banking awards in 2021. Five prestigious awards include: Best Offshore Bank for CARICOM 2021 as awarded by International Investor Magazine, Best Private Bank in Central America as awarded by Global Banking & Finance Review, Private Bank of the Year for LATAM 2021 as awarded by Pan Finance Magazine, Best International Private Banking Services Provider 2021 Belize as awarded by Corporate Vision Magazine, and Best International Private Bank in Central America for 2021 as awarded by International Business Magazine. Chaired by Attorney Joel Nagel, Caye International Bank is a leading offshore bank headquartered on Ambergris Caye, Belize, with a consistently excellent delivery of financial services and products. Belizes Caye International Bank Chairman, Ambassador Joel Nagel, President, Luigi Wewege, executive management and board members Joshua Guttau, Gladys Urbina, Michael Cobb, and Dr. Kenneth Skorenko receive Best Offshore Bank award for CARICOM 2021 by International Investor magazine (PRNewsfoto/Caye International Bank) Commenting on the series of awards, Ambassador Joel Nagel said: "Caye has earned its good name thanks to its excellent customer service. Our team's trustworthiness and reliability shine through to our clients because of its integrity, dedication, and innovation. We are very proud." Luigi Wewege, newly elected president of CIB, was also an awardee, named Private Banker of The Year (LATAM 2021) by Pan Finance Magazine and Private Banker of The Year (CARICOM 2021) by International Investor Magazine. Wewege has also been invited to join the Forbes Finance Council. "It is an incredible honor to be recognized for my work at the bank and for Caye's exceptional bank growth to be recognized on an international scale. Receiving these awards from all of the superb publications listed is a testament to the dedication and teamwork of bank staff, board members, and their combined tireless efforts to achieving our mission of future growth in 2022 and beyond." CIB Director Michael K. Cobb said: "As more and more people see the need to have a "Plan B" and/or work remotely, Caye International Bank is serving them well." Global Banking & Finance Review determines winners via company documents and public filings, applying local market knowledge, global footprint, and investment breadth and sophistication. Perspective from analysts and consultants are also part of the decision-making process. Pan Finance Magazine is both a print and online journal providing worldwide intelligence on finance, economics, and global commerce. With in-depth analysis and opinion pieces from esteemed academics and celebrated professionals, its readership consists of senior decisionmakers from across the globe. International Investor is also a print and online publication focusing on providing in-depth information and covering a broad range of topics like world markets, investment opportunities, and industry analysis for the forward-thinking, global investor. Corporate Vision, by AI Global Media, acknowledges and celebrates businesses worldwide who actively strive to be better every day. Companies that innovate, grow, and thrive despite challenges and uncertainty are especially heralded, as success relies on an ability to be agile and future-thinking. International Business Magazine delivers the latest news from the financial world and keenly promotes innovative solutions in the industry. It has been regarded as one of the best business magazines in the industry for all its insights and market views. Under the leadership of Ambassador Joel Nagel and Luigi Wewege, Caye International Bank is the only international bank headquartered on the beautiful island of Ambergris Caye in Belize. CIB conducts financial services with both individuals and corporations located outside of Belize, offering a full range of traditional and non-traditional banking services and accounts in multiple currencies. An application to open an account is a simple process and can be facilitated online from anywhere in the world. Contact them today for more information. Contact: Lilia Constantino [email protected] +501-226-2388 SOURCE Caye International Bank TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuvo Groupa privately-held company commercializing INVU by Nuvo, an FDA-cleared, prescription-initiated remote pregnancy monitoring and management system, today announced a partnership with Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe. The partnership, which has two main objectives, brings the previously established benefits of remote pregnancy monitoring to Europe for the first time, while also setting the stage for the use of predictive analytics to improve health outcomes in the future. The primary objective of the partnership seeks to define a remote pregnancy care protocol for Germany, and ultimately, all of Europe, allowing expectant mothers to conduct remote fetal surveillance from the comfort of their homes while still under the supervision of a physician. In addition, the trial aims to identify predictive pathways for preeclamptic patients by extracting raw data from the INVU platform. Hypertension, the key indicator of preeclampsia, occurs in up to 10% of pregnancies. By pioneering a method to identify biomarkers for preeclampsia in its earliest stages, this partnership has a unique potential to improve outcomes for even the most at-risk patients. "We are thrilled to partner with such a prestigious global hospital system as Charite to bring remote pregnancy monitoring and INVU's innovative data capabilities to Europe," says Kelly Londy, Chief Executive Officer of Nuvo. "We are confident that the results will be another exciting example of how INVU can revolutionize the way we deliver care to patients who need it most, both by increasing care access and bettering our understanding of pregnancies through deep data analytics." "We are looking forward to the collaboration with Nuvo," says Professor Stefan Verlohren, leader of the project at Charite's Department of Obstetrics "We will evaluate improvement of care with remote monitoring of fetal and maternal heart rate tracings in Germany. In our planned study, we will explore how these signals, when included into predictive algorithms for hypertensive pregnancy disorders, can help to detect adverse outcomes early." We believe that INVU is the first FDA-cleared remote pregnancy monitoring platform that allows expectant mothers to monitor maternal-fetal health from anywhere under the supervision of their physicians. The physician prescribes INVU to the expectant mother, who wears the INVU sensory band during virtual visits. During these visits, a live reading allows the expectant mother to access simplified data and insights via the paired INVU app, while the provider receives fetal and maternal heart rate tracings comparable to the fetal viability checks that normally occur in prenatal visits. INVU is designed to integrate with other peripheral devices, such as blood pressure cuffs, allowing the expectant mother to easily record and track important vitals for her provider to review all on one app. About Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe, offering 3,001 beds and boasting approximately 100 departments and institutes spread across 4 separate campuses. With a total of 19,400 members of staff employed across its group of companies (16,391 of which at Charite), the organization is one of the largest employers in Berlin. At Charite, the areas of research, teaching and medical care are closely interlinked. 4,707 of its employees work in the field of nursing, with a further 4,693 in research and medical care. Last year, Charite treated 132,383 in- and day case patients, in addition to 655,138 outpatients. In 2020, Charite recorded a turnover of approximately 2.2 billion (including external funding and investment grants) and set a new record by securing 196 million in external funding. Charite's Medical Faculty is one of the largest in Germany, educating and training more than 8,600 medical, dentistry and health sciences students. Charite also offers 577 training positions across 10 different health care professions. www.charite.de About the international Health Tech Pilot Program and the BIH The project with Nuvo was part of the international Health Tech Pilot Program with the Israel Innovation Authority initiated by the Berlin Institute of Health at Charite ("BIH"), conducted with the departments "Strategic Cooperations" represented by Luise Roither and the "Clinical Research Unit" represented by Dr. Sein Schmidt and his team. As the translational research unit within Charite, the BIHs mission is medical translation: transferring biomedical research findings into novel approaches to personalized prediction, prevention, diagnostics and therapies and, conversely, using clinical observations to develop new research ideas. The aim is to deliver relevant medical benefits to patients and the population at large. About Nuvo Group Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nuvo Group Ltd. ("Nuvo") is committed to reinventing pregnancy care for the 21st century through new technology, tools, and practices for providers and expectant mothers, including the INVU by Nuvo platform, an FDA-cleared, prescription initiated remote pregnancy monitoring and management system. INVU is enabling the delivery of remote non-stress tests and maternal & fetal heart rate monitoring today while pioneering new data-driven personalized pathways that Nuvo believes will help improve health outcomes for all women in the future. The technology and patent estate that underpin the INVU platform have been awarded a number of industry recognitions, including Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech (2021), CB Insights' Digital Health 150 (2020), and MedTech Innovator's Top 50 MedTech Startups (2021), as well as multiple grants from some of the world's leading academic medical centers and scientific bodies. Nuvo is led by a diverse team of experienced business and medical professionals, dedicated data engineers, software designers and proud parents who embrace a collective mission to give every life a better beginning. For more information and complete indications, contraindications, warnings and precautions along with instructions for use, visit: www.nuvocares.com. SOURCE Nuvo Group HARARE, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has proclaimed March 26 as the date for long-awaited by-elections to fill vacant seats in the National Assembly and various local authorities across the country. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had in 2020 suspended the holding of by-elections in line with government COVID-19 regulations, banning huge gatherings to curb the spread of the pandemic. In Proclamation 1 of 2022, which was issued on Dec. 24, 2021, and published by the ZEC on Thursday, Mnangagwa fixed Jan. 26 as the date on which nomination courts will sit to accept the filing of papers by prospective candidates. There are 133 by-elections due for National Assembly and local authority seats, most of which fell vacant following the recall of Members of Parliament and councilors by the opposition MDC-T party. Saudi ministers and representatives of the regional and international mining industry and allied sectors will join more than 2,000 decision-makers from more than 100 countries and 150-plus top global investors, as well as more than 100 international speakers and thought leaders at the Forum. The invitation-only, closed-door Ministerial Mining Roundtable Special Session will headline the Forum's program on January 11. The session will feature presentations and discussions on topics that are critical to the future of the mining industry. The "Mining in a Day" workshop will be held in tandem, alongside other workshops and panel discussions that will turn the spotlight on weighty issues, including the attraction of investments, the role of technology in mining, and environment, social and governance (ESG) issues. The General Forum will begin on January 12 with a plenary session and a keynote address by H.E. Bandar Bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources. The session on Reimagining Mining and Maximizing its Contribution to Society will commence the day's program schedule. It will be followed by a Smart-Mining session, "Showcasing Technology & InnovationSupporting Mining of the Future." Two additional sessions Highlighting Mining's Critical Role in a Low-Carbon Economy and Supporting the Region's Growth and Development and Country Briefings will complement exhibition and networking opportunities. January 13 will see the region from Congo to Kyrgyzstan highlighted as the Land of Opportunity A Regional Powerhouse. Also in the spotlight will be a prime-time session on Global Investment Opportunities an Accessing Capital. Deep-dive sessions, keynote fireside chats and other animated inter- and intra-ministry discussions will also follow. Many more Saudi Ministers and dignitaries will attend the Forum, including: H.R.H. Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy; H.H. Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs; H.E. Yassir Bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund; H.E. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment; H.E. Abdulrahman Al Fadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture; H.E. Khalid Al Mudaifer, Vice-Minister for Mining Affairs. In addition to the dozens of confirmed speakers from the mining industry, leaders from multilateral global organizations such as the World Bank, International Council on Mining and Metals, and World Gold Council will also share their knowledge and insights with the Forum attendees. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1719760/Future_Minerals_Forum_Speakers.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1719759/Future_Minerals_Forum_Logo.jpg SOURCE The Future Minerals Forum Organizing Committee LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alkame Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: ALKM), a publicly traded diversified holding company, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, West Coast Copacker Inc., has closed on the acquisitions of two specialty food brands: Maury Island Farm and Quinn's Pepper Jellies. The acquisition includes intellectual property, inventory, and production equipment. The acquisitions were completed without issuance of any company stock. Both product lines are native to the Pacific Northwest with fruits and ingredients procured from the local region and handcrafted in small batches. The integrity of these long-standing brands will continue as the acquisition allows a seamless transition for both companies to work together in ensuring a smooth and speedy integration. Although these regional brands have a long history of annual revenue in the $700,000 to $1,000,000 range, the West Coast Copacker capabilities look to exceed the revenue models by up to 4x within the first year or two, and expectations are to grow these brands into additional regions towards a national brand status. Robert Eakle, Alkame Holdings CEO, States, "We are very excited to begin production of Quinn's and Maury Island, and really watch this grow into something spectacular. Both brands fit nicely into our future vision and our longer-term plans which include entrance in the direct-to-consumer sector as well as national distribution partners. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to see both consistent production and cash flow, as well as strategic growth over the next 5 years. I look forward to providing additional corporate updates in the very near future." About West Coast Co Packer, Inc. West Coast Co Packer, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alkame Holdings, Inc. and is a specialty food & beverage manufacturer, co-packer, private labeler, and contract manufacturer, and is expected to immediately complement and seamlessly integrate with Alkame's other subsidiaries including Bell Food and Beverage, Inc. Bell Food and Beverage, Inc. is a specialty natural, organic liquid-based hot and cold fill food & beverage manufacturer in glass and PET bottles and jars. To learn more about West Coast Copacker visit www.westcoastcopacker.com. About Alkame Holdings, Inc. Alkame Holdings, Inc. is a diversified publicly traded holding company. The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries manufacture products that utilize an enhanced water proprietary technology when applicable to create products with several unique properties. The organization is diligently building a strong foundation through the launch and acquisition of appropriate business assets, and by pursuing multiple applications by placement into several emerging business sectors, such as consumer food and beverages products, hemp products, household pet products, horticulture and agriculture applications, hand sanitizers, and many other various water-based treatment solutions to both new and existing business platforms. For more information, visit www.alkameholdingsinc.com. Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that Alkame will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the Company's contracts, the Company's liquidity position, the Company's ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Alkame Holdings, Inc. Investor Relations Website: www.alkameholdingsinc.com Email: [email protected] +1 702-273-9714 SOURCE Alkame Holdings, Inc. Aperture announced its partnership with Biomechanical Research & Testing, LLC Tweet this Dr. Judson Welcher, President of BRT, commented on behalf of his partners: "Our partnership with Aperture is the start of a new and exciting period of growth for BRT. We believe this partnership will enhance our service to existing clients and allow us to serve a larger national customer base, establishing new groundbreaking channels in research, testing, accident reconstruction, biomechanical engineering, and human factors." Mr. John Oakes, THP Principal and Aperture Board Member, added "We are excited to welcome BRT to the Aperture platform. The BRT team's subject matter expertise, market-leading research, and in-depth testing greatly expand and build upon the existing Aperture service offering. We look forward to further supporting Aperture in its strategic initiatives as a market leader in the forensic engineering space." Aperture is a full-service provider of forensic engineering services primarily in the areas of premises liability, workplace safety, accident reconstruction, biomechanical engineering, human factors, and construction defect analysis (www.aperturellc.com). Aperture is comprised of the following partner companies - Wexco International, Scientific Analysis, VA Forensics, American Bio Engineers, and now Biomechanical Research & Testing - and has its headquarters in Arlington, Texas, with additional locations in Texas (Dallas and Cedar Park), Nevada (Las Vegas), and California (Carlsbad, Berkeley, Marina del Rey, and Long Beach) . Trinity Hunt Partners is a growth-oriented middle market private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas. Media Contact Chad Smith, Vice President Marketing & Business Development [email protected] SOURCE Aperture Michele Ricci joins Banville as VP of Italian Portfolio and brings with him a collection of artisanal Italian wineries. Tweet this Vice President of Italian Portfolio, Michele Ricci adds, "I am very enthusiastic about joining the Banville team and I am confident that the selected brands will blend seamlessly with the already prestigious Banville Wine Merchants portfolio because they share the same philosophy that focuses on high-quality and best-value wines. The vision is to support Lia and to continue building a stronger and more complete International Portfolio, to be recognized in the U.S and Canadian markets as the source for quality fine wines". Banville's investments in personnel in early 2022 bring the company headcount to over fifty people, introducing several new national positions including Chicago based, Director of National Accounts, Kim Johnson. "We appreciate and respect the presence that these wineries have established in the US market and are looking forward to building on that success with Banvilles resources, national network and dynamic expertise in the US market." Gina Della Vedova, VP of National Sales. About Banville Wine Merchants Banville Wine Merchants is a National Importer of fine wine, artisanal beer and craft spirits with Wholesale companies in New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Virginia and Oregon. Founded in 2004 with deep roots in Italy, today Banville Wine Merchants represents meticulously selected wineries and distilleries from top producing regions around the world that share a common belief in integrity, quality, authenticity and family. For more information please visit www.BanvilleWine.com. SOURCE Banville Wine Merchants Cannabis beverage sales in the U.S. are expected to hit $421 million in 2021more than double 2019 figuresand will double again to nearly $1 billion by 2025, according to Brightfield Group, a leading consumer insights and market intelligence company for cannabis industries. "There is a fast-emerging trend of 'sober-curious' and 'cannabis-curious' consumers. It is the perfect time to introduce our very accessible seltzer, infused with our nanoemulsion innovation to make it easier for the body to absorb the CBD and feel the effects faster," says Ben Meggs, Bayou City Hemp co-founder and CEO. Mixer Elixir's fast-acting CBD seltzer is complemented with a crisp, citrus-lime taste and hints of agave. The Ranch Water beverage is the first mind-refreshing seltzer to launch in a series of cocktail-inspired drinks to be enjoyed as a standalone beverage for any time of the day or as a complementary additive with its respective spirit, such as tequila, in the popular Texas cocktail, Ranch Water. "Our first partnership with Chris Shepherd helped us better understand the demand for non-alcoholic alternatives from restaurants, and how to tailor the flavor notes of our additives to complement cocktails," says Meggs. Launching in Dry January, a time when people choose to abstain from booze for the entire month, Mixer Elixir is celebrating its Ranch Water CBD release on January 8, 2022 with a party held at Sipple, the first non alcoholic bottle shop in Texas. Open to the public, the event will host free tastings, giveaways between 3:00-6:00pm at 2410 Quenby Street, Houston, TX. "We are excited to add Mixer Elixir's Ranch Water to our amazing selection of non-alcoholic options," says Sipple co-founder, Danny Frounfelkner. "Whether people are taking a break from alcohol for a day, month or lifetime, more and more care about what's inside the bottle or can, searching for natural ingredients and great taste. There is a reason Ranch Water has become one of the top selling products in our store in four short weeks!" For those located outside of Houston, the Ranch Water is available at www.themixerelixir.com and found in these select specialty stores in Texas: Sipple - Houston Afuera - Houston Get Go - Marfa, TX Sentinel - Marfa, TX Cork & Brew Market - Austin Quickie Pickie - Austin Tinnin Food Mart - Austin Good Things - Martindale, TX Good Things - Lockhart, TX Zoi - Buda, TX Argonaut - Denver The CBD used in Mixer Elixir's Ranch Water is a naturally occurring compound found in the hemp plant. Consumers must be at least 21-years-old to enjoy. About Bayou City Hemp Company Bayou City Hemp Company, headquartered in Houston, is Texas' first hemp processing and extraction company that utilizes the all-natural process of supercritical CO2 extraction to create CBD and other cannabinoid oils, distillates, and isolates. The company sources from the highest quality hemp farmers in Texas, and utilizes its proprietary research and development to create premium-quality wellness products available for white label. Bayou City Hemp-derived CBD extracts are also sold through its own brand, Mixer Elixir and Third Coast Blends. SOURCE Bayou City Hemp Company Related Links http://www.bayoucityhemp.com/ LONDON and BOSTON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueSnap, who helps businesses accept payments globally, today announced the expansion of their Global Sales and Partnership team by welcoming Chris McNulty and Brent Godfrey. In his new Sales role, Chris McNulty will be responsible for overseeing the growth and development of the BlueSnap global sales team and Integrated Payments team. Chris brings 31 years of payments industry experience to BlueSnap and has held several key leadership positions. He has deep knowledge and experience in enterprise sales, as well as partner acquisition & development. Chris was most recently the Chief Revenue Officer of BillingTree, which sold to Repay for more than $500M. Prior to BillingTree, Chris was the President of Merchant's PACT, a payment consulting firm for merchants, banks, ISVs ISOs, and PE firms. Chris was also a Group Executive at TSYS Merchant Solutions, where he was responsible for sales, business development, and client relations. In his new role, Brent Godfrey will be responsible for strategic global partnerships. He will focus on signing new global partners including banks, payments networks, technology partners, and strategic ecommerce/point of sale (POS) platforms like Big Commerce and Oracle. Brent comes to us from Neustar, Inc/TRUSTID (a TransUnion company) where he held several senior sales & leadership roles over the last 10 years, including Head of Sales of TRUSTID. "With the addition of Chris and Brent to our sales team, BlueSnap is well-positioned to expand on our remarkable success over the next few years and beyond," said Ralph Dangelmaier, CEO of BlueSnap. "Chris is an enthusiastic leader with a focus on results and activities that fuel growth. He has a history of creating repeatable sales processes that have made incremental growth more efficient. And Brent's vast partnership experience will help catapult BlueSnap's exposure in the Payments ecosystem and drive more new customers to BlueSnap." About BlueSnap BlueSnap offers businesses a better way to accept payments globally. Our All-In-One Payment Platform is designed to increase sales and reduce costs for all businesses accepting payments. BlueSnap supports payments across all geographies through multiple sales channels such as online and mobile sales, marketplaces, subscriptions, invoice payments and manual orders through a virtual terminal. And for businesses looking for embedded payments, we offer white-labeled payments for platforms with automated underwriting and onboarding that supports marketplaces and split payments. With one integration and contract, businesses can sell in over 200 geographies with access to local acquiring in 47 countries, 110+ currencies and 100+ global payment types, including popular eWallets, automated accounts receivable, world-class fraud protection and chargeback management, built-in solutions for regulation and tax compliance, and unified global reporting to help businesses grow. BlueSnap is backed by world-class private equity investors including Great Hill Partners and Parthenon Capital Partners. Learn more at BlueSnap.com SOURCE BlueSnap BROKEN BREAD follows Choi as he explores complex social justice issues through the lens of food including gentrification, cultural erasure, and the corporate takeover of food and farming and celebrates the people who are making big changes to the current food landscape, what is eaten and where communities gather. He will meet inspiring individuals and organizations who challenge the status quo and use food as a platform for activism and a catalyst for change. As the connector, Choi teams up with those making a difference and thus, fuels his deep love for the food community and the players who fight to transform it for the better. Season two of the series focuses on the faces behind the changing food movement, including Puck and Waters, as well as Journalist Patricia Escarcega and Artist Six Sev. It will also highlight the AAPI experience, as well as what it is like to live on the Mexican side of the Mexican-American border. Choi will answer questions affecting marginalized communities, including: How are the new generation of Mexican-Americans using food as resistance to fight the forces of gentrification and erasure? What role does urban agriculture play in the fight for black food sovereignty, land ownership and the climate? Visit Brokenbread.tv to learn about the organizations and the issues featured in the new season through articles, resource guides and recipes. Viewers can take a deeper dive into the social justice issues explored in the series and ways in which they can become activated to advance change. BROKEN BREAD season two episodes are slated to air as follows (subject to change): "The Future of Restaurants" premieres on Tastemade & KCET on Jan. 25th Roy breaks bread with Chef Wolfgang Puck, journalist Patricia Escarcega and restaurateurs who are working to address the worker exploitation, high food prices and unsustainable financial models that have long defined the restaurant industry. "From Seed to Table" premieres on Tastemade & KCET on Feb. 1st Roy explores seed sovereignty with Kristyn Leach, a farmer in Davis, California, harvests vegetables with kids in Compton and sits down for a heart to heart with the legendary restauratrice and food activist Alice Waters to discuss the food war that has been raging for decades ensuring we protect the right to grow, eat and exchange crops. "Food as Resistance" premieres on Tastemade & KCET on Feb. 8th After learning more about the buried history of the Chavez Ravine neighborhoods where Dodger Stadium now stands, Roy is inspired to meet the people actively preserving Latinx cuisine in L.A. He explores Kernel of Truth, a tortilleria in Boyle Heights, and seeks out some of the city's top taco makers who are using food and flavor as a form of resistance. "Returning to Chinatown" premieres on Tastemade & KCET on Feb. 15th Roy's Chinatown restaurant Chego opened in 2013, which soon became the poster child for gentrification in the area. Roy explores what he would have done differently as he retraces his steps through some of the neighborhood's beloved establishments like Hop Woo and Phoenix Bakery. He also meets newcomers to the neighborhood, Pearl River Deli and Endorffeine. "Owning the Block" premieres on Tastemade & KCET on Feb. 22nd Roy breaks bread in Leimert Park with legendary artist and activist Chuck D, explores local businesses like Simply Wholesome and Harun Coffee with artist Six Sev and meets with elders to find out how a neighborhood so rich in food, art, music and culture can counteract the forces of gentrification in the community. "Tijuana" premieres on Tastemade & KCET on Mar. 1st Roy explores Tijuana's incredible variety of nightlife, street food, restaurants and cultural diversity along one of the most misunderstood stretches of the U.S./Mexico border. Often painted as a place of violence and poverty, Roy's experience is totally different as he visits alongside Mexican punk rock band Tijuana No! and Chef Jose Figueroa. Choi is an executive producer along with Tastemade's Emily Mraz, KCET's Juan Devis, and Choi's business partner, Natasha Phan. Avrielle Gallagher serves as supervising producer. The series is directed by Antonio Diaz. Join the conversation on social media using #BrokenBread, @kcet and @tastemade. Select programming will also be available to stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App. Members of PBS SoCal and KCET get extended access through PBS Passport. ABOUT ROY CHOI Roy Choi was born in Seoul, Korea and raised in Los Angeles, California. Roy is known as one of the architects of the modern food truck movement through Kogi BBQ by merging food and social media with community, and honoring the street food culture that laid the path before him. He is the host of the civic-minded, Emmy Award-winning series, Broken Bread, on Tastemade/KCET, which in 2020 won him a James Beard Award for "Outstanding Personality/Host" in a television series. On a global scale, Roy is co-host in the full-blown Netflix cooking series, The Chef Show, with Jon Favreau. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. In 2010, Food & Wine named him "Best New Chef." In 2013, his cookbook/memoir, L.A. Son, was a New York Times Bestseller. In 2016, he was named one of the "TIME 100 Most Influential People," and in 2017, LocoL received the first-ever Los Angeles Times "Restaurant of the Year" award. Roy resides in Los Angeles where he is a voice and advocate for street food culture past, present, and future, and the co-owner, co-founder, and chef of Kogi BBQ, Chego!, Best Friend at Park MGM Las Vegas, and LocoL. Instagram: @chefroychoi Twitter: @chefroychoi TASTEMADE Tastemade is a modern media company that engages a global audience of more than 300 million monthly viewers on all major digital, mobile, and streaming television platforms, garnering 700 million minutes watched each month. We create award-winning video content and original programming in the categories of Food, Travel, and Home & Design that we share with an engaged, passionate, and global community. Tastemade has won a host of awards and accolades for its innovation and original programming, including two James Beard Awards and Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" list. For more information, visit Tastemade at: www.tastemade.com. Tastemade on Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest | TikTok KCET KCET is part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California, which was formed by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group. As one of Southern California's two flagship PBS stations, KCET is on-air, online as well as in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 55-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about KCET's original productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV. For downloadable artwork and video for press purposes, please visit kcet.org/pressroom SOURCE KCET; Tastemade NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Built In, a global platform for tech professionals, today announced that Enigma, a data science company that provides comprehensive intelligence about the financial health and identity of every U.S. business, was honored in its 2022 Best Places To Work Awards across three categories. Specifically, Enigma ranked on the lists for Best Paying Companies, Best Small Companies and Best Places to Work in New York City. The annual awards program includes companies of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, and honors both remote-first employers as well as companies in the eight largest tech markets across the U.S. "We're as passionate about making Enigma a fantastic place to work as we are about data, and these awards are strong validation of our priorities: putting people first," says Hicham Oudghiri, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Enigma. "This is great recognition to kick off what promises to be an exciting year for us." Built In determines the winners of Best Places to Work based on an algorithm, using company data about compensation, benefits and companywide programming. The program also weighs criteria like remote and flexible work opportunities, programs for DEI and other people-first cultural offerings. "It is my honor to extend congratulations to the 2022 Best Places to Work winners," says Sheridan Orr, Chief Marketing Officer, Built In. "This year saw a record number of entrants and the past two years fundamentally changed what tech professionals want from work. These honorees have risen to the challenge, evolving to deliver employee experiences that provide the meaning and purpose today's tech professionals seek." Enigma is rapidly growing and hiring across all teams. Apply and help improve the future of small business financing: https://enigma.com/careers . ABOUT BUILT IN Built In is creating the largest platform for technology professionals globally. Monthly, more than three million of the industry's most in-demand professionals visit the site from across the world. They rely on our platform to stay ahead of tech trends and news, develop their careers and find opportunities at companies whose values they share. Built In also serves 1,800 innovative companies of all sizes, ranging from startups to the Fortune 100. By putting their stories in front of our uniquely engaged audience, we help them hire otherwise hard-to-reach tech professionals, locally, nationally or remotely. www.builtin.com ABOUT BUILT IN'S BEST PLACES TO WORK Built In's esteemed Best Places to Work Awards, now in its fourth year, honor companies across numerous categories: 100 Best Places to Work, 50 Best Small Places to Work, 100 Best Midsize Places to Work, 50 Companies with the Best Benefits and 50 Best Paying Companies, 100 Best Large Companies to Work For, and 100 Best Remote-First Places to Work. ABOUT ENIGMA Enigma provides comprehensive intelligence about the identity and financial health of every small and medium business across the United States. By engineering better data from hundreds of public and third-party sources, they aim to tell the complete story of every business, so that companies of every size can access the financial services they need to grow and thrive. To learn more visit https://enigma.com . SOURCE Enigma Technologies, Inc. PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) appointed Alexis A. Thompson, MD as Chief of the Division of Hematology in the Department of Pediatrics, following a national search. Dr. Thompson joins a premier, comprehensive program staffed by a multidisciplinary team in a setting designed to provide state-of-the-art inpatient and outpatient services for children with hematologic disorders and to support groundbreaking research in hematology. "We are delighted to welcome Dr. Thompson to CHOP to help advance the care of our hematology patients and hematology patients across the globe," said Joseph St. Geme, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. "Dr. Thompson is a highly accomplished physician, educator and scholar in hematology. She has outstanding leadership abilities and will undoubtedly guide the Division of Hematology to an even higher level of excellence as we continue to make significant contributions in the field of gene therapy and beyond. Additionally, we thank Dr. Mortimer Poncz for his impressive tenure and his profound impact on the care and lives of our patients." Dr. Thompson received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed a three-year fellowship at CHOP and has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, chapters, editorials, and scientific abstracts. Dr. Thompson's areas of clinical interest include the management of patients with sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies, bone marrow failure syndromes, as well as stem cell transplantation for nonmalignant disorders in pediatric patients. About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 595-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu Contact: Kaila Revello Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (610) 457-5916 [email protected] SOURCE Children's Hospital of Philadelphia "As we continue to see accelerating evidence of the impact of our food choices on not just our personal health but that of our planet, crafting a better, more sustainable and resilient food system is imperative," said Cathy Jorin, senior director of the CIA School of Graduate and Professional Studies. "Graduates of this program will have the leadership skills needed to effect change, meet challenges head on, and shape the future of food." Program is first of its kind to approach sustability through a culinary lens, examining the impact of our food choices. In addition to exploring the connection between planetary health and future food systems, the curriculum examines organizational and public policies that address issues of diversity and inclusion along with inequality and social justice within the food system. Contributions from an external advisory council comprised of leaders in sustainability and business strategy from organizations including Food at Google, Oatly, Panera, James Beard Foundation, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste by Kroger, Good Food, FutureTable, and Wholesome Wave, among others, helped inform the curriculum. The program is ideal for people working in or entering the fields of multi-unit restaurant, foodservice, and hotel management; agriculture, food production and food marketing; supply chain management; environmental NGO's; food and nutrition education; food writing; product development; sustainability program management; government/food policy; farm-to-table; and more. The college is currently accepting applications for Fall 2022 entry. To enroll, students must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. institution or the international equivalent to a bachelor's degree. For more information or to apply, visit https://www.ciachef.edu/cia-online-sustainable-food-systems-masters-degree-program. In addition to the three master's degree programs, the CIA's School of Graduate and Professional Studies houses the Food Business Schoolwhich offers non-credit online courses and in-person innovation intensivesand a post-bachelor's Accelerated Culinary Arts Certificate Program. About The Culinary Institute of America Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world's premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in food, beverage, and hospitality, the private, not-for-profit college offers bachelor's, and associate degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking & pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies. The CIA's School of Graduate and Professional Studies offers master's degrees in sustainable food systems, food business, and wine and beverage management, as well as executive education and certificate programs. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry, and its worldwide network of more than 50,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu. SOURCE The Culinary Institute of America Threat of major COVID-19 resurgence in Xi'an under control: epidemiologist Xinhua) 15:49, January 06, 2022 XI'AN, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A leading epidemiologist has projected that a major resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases in the northwest Chinese city of Xi'an is unlikely. "While more cases might be reported in the future, the threat of a major resurgence in Xi'an has been basically brought under control," Li Qun, director of the Health Emergency Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Xinhua in an interview. "We have seen notable progress in the efforts to control the epidemic." Li noted that the number of daily reported cases in Xi'an has gradually declined since the start of this year, indicating a positive trend in containing the spread of the virus. Xi'an, with 13 million residents, reported 63 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The new cases brought the total number of local cases in the city to 1,856 in the latest resurgence since Dec. 9. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) KHARTOUM, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A protester was killed on Thursday during demonstrations in Sudan's capital Khartoum, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) and the dissolved Ministry of Health said. "One person was killed in Omdurman after being shot in the head, bringing the total death toll to 58 since Oct. 25," the dissolved ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page. The CCSD, a non-governmental organization, also confirmed in a statement on its Facebook page the death of a protester during the demonstrations. Omdurman is the most populated city in Sudan and Khartoum State, lying on the western bank of the Nile river, opposite the capital Khartoum. So far, no statement has been issued by the Sudanese government on Thursday's protests. New demonstrations were staged on Thursday in Khartoum to demand the authority be handed over to a civilian government. The protesters attempted to reach the presidential palace, but the security forces used tear gas to disperse them, eyewitnesses said. Earlier in the day, communications and internet services on mobile phones were disrupted in Khartoum ahead of the planned protests. The security authorities closed major roads in central Khartoum and deployed military forces around the army's general command headquarters and the presidential palace. They also announced the closure of the bridges linking the three major cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri ahead of the demonstrations. But Al-Halfaya and Suba bridges are open to traffic. On Jan. 2, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation amid the wave of protests in the country. Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after the general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government. On Nov. 21, 2021, Al-Burhan and then removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok signed a political declaration, which included reinstating Hamdok as prime minister, but the deal has failed to calm the streets. DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Delray Beach Utilities Department is excited to announce it has received honorable mention in the category for Best Web Resource from the Florida Municipal Communicators Association (FMCA) 2021 Outstanding Awards program. The FMCA peer-judged awards program is an annual program that highlights the innovative projects cities work on throughout the year. In January 2021, in an effort to be more transparent with the City's 70,000 residents and stakeholders, city staff launched a new, prominent section on the City's website entitled "City Water." With 20 stand-alone pages, the "City Water" section of the website provides educational information about the City's potable and reclaimed water systems. "We are honored to receive honorable mention from the FMCA," said Hassan Hadjimiry, P.E., Utilities Director for the City of Delray Beach. "The City Water section of our website is a well-trafficked resource that's regularly updated with timely information to keep our residents and stakeholders informed about one of our most important public utility services." From information pertaining to drinking water, water source, treatment and monitoring, and water tank maintenance, the City's water section of its website offers viewers a comprehensive overview. It also includes videos that provide more in-depth information. To learn more about the City of Delray Beach's water systems visit https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/utilities/drinking-water. About The City of Delray Beach The City of Delray Beach is a charming, vibrant city of dynamic and diverse communities. The City fosters an authentic and inspiring community that celebrates its history while building toward the future. The City was an All-America City Winner in 1993, 2001 and 2017, the first city in Florida to do so. The City was named the 5th best city for small businesses in the U.S. by Verizon Business and Coastal Living Magazine named the City America's Happiest Seaside Town and one of the 10 Best Little Beach Towns in Florida. USA TODAY also named Atlantic Avenue one of America's 10 Great Shopping Streets. For more information, please visit https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/. CONTACT: Aimee Adler Cooke (561) 302-6902 (or) [email protected] SOURCE City of Delray Beach BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Coffee, the official State Coffee of Louisiana, celebrates Carnival season, which starts today and runs through Mardi Gras on March 1, with its best-selling Mardi Gras King Cake blend. This fan favorite is a tribute to the beloved seasonal king cake tradition thought to have been brought to Louisiana in 1870 and now enjoyed in cities across the country. First introduced as a limited-edition blend, Mardi Gras King Cake became so popular that Community Coffee now offers it year-round. Featuring aromatic cinnamon and sweet vanilla, this rich, delicious blend provides the festive flavors of Carnival in one perfect cup and pairs perfectly with a slice of king cake. "Community Coffee has strong roots in Louisiana. We began here more than 100 years ago, so our connection to Mardi Gras has always been extra special. Our Mardi Gras King Cake Coffee is one way we can pay tribute to our origins, but more importantly, bring a cup of joy and celebration to our communities wherever they reside," said Community Coffee Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing Leah Herrington. "We love introducing this unique tradition to new fans when they taste our Mardi Gras King Cake blend." According to tradition, king cake season begins Jan. 6, which is the Epiphany or Twelfth Night. The oval-shaped cakes, called king cakes in honor of the three kings, symbolize the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold and green, and has a tiny plastic baby charm hidden inside. The person who gets the baby in their slice of cake is "king" and brings the king cake to the next event. The last king cake of the year is traditionally served on Mardi Gras. With Community Coffee Mardi Gras King Cake, fans can celebrate the flavors of Mardi Gras all year long. It is available online and at select grocers and retailers in 12-ounce bags or 12-count single-serve pods. For more information or to order, go to www.communitycoffee.com. About Community Coffee Company Community Coffee Company, an importer, roaster and distributor of high-quality premium coffees, is the largest family-owned and -operated retail coffee brand in America. Founded in 1919 by "Cap" Saurage in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and run by four generations of the Saurage family, the company works directly with farmers around the world to hand-select exceptional coffee beans that create its whole bean, ground, single-serve and ready-to-drink products. Community Coffee, which received a 2021 Convenience Store News Best New Products Award Ready to Drink Coffee Drink for Espresso + Cream, is sold in retail stores and online and served in restaurants, hotels and various businesses across the country. Known as the Coffee with Heart, Community Coffee gives back to those who help communities thrive through programs such as Cash for Schools and Military Match and by partnering with nonprofit organizations to promote sustainability for coffee farmers and their families. For more information, visit CommunityCoffee.com or find the brand on Instagram , Facebook , and Twitter . Media Contact: Ashley Bain [email protected] 817-329-3257 SOURCE Community Coffee Company CRANBURY, N.J., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Contemporary Pediatrics, a trusted multimedia platform featuring clinical articles, case studies, and practice management tips for pediatricians and other health care professionals who specialize in the care of infants, children, and adolescents, is delighted to announce the winners of its inaugural Resident Writers Award Program. Winners were announced during the virtual celebration at 12 p.m. EST on January 5, 2022. The Resident Writers Award Program is designed to provide the next generation of pediatric health care professionals with experience in writing clinically relevant case studies, to introduce them to Contemporary Pediatrics, and to allow readers across the country to learn from compelling case studies. "It is an honor to recognize the winners of the first-ever Contemporary Pediatrics Resident Writers Award Program," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences, parent company of Contemporary Pediatrics. "This program is designed to recognize the outstanding work of pediatric residents across the nation. We are looking forward to celebrating them in the new year." The first-place winners are: Matthew Christian Metzger , PGY-2, Herman and Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland , "Fever, eschar and rash in a 4-year-old male" , PGY-2, Herman and Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital, , "Fever, eschar and rash in a 4-year-old male" Mikki-Ann Martin , PGY-3, Jackson Memorial/Holtz Children's Hospital, Miami, Florida ," A case of late-onset group B streptococcus (GBS) infection in fraternal twins" , PGY-3, Jackson Memorial/Holtz Children's Hospital, ," A case of late-onset group B streptococcus (GBS) infection in fraternal twins" Autumn Hinds , PGY-3, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida , "To treat or not to treat? Unusual presentation of fever and abdominal pain in a 15-year-old female." The runners-up are: Rachel Wilkinson , PGY-1, Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, New York, New York "Scurvy in a pediatric patient with trisomy 21: A case study." , PGY-1, Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, "Scurvy in a pediatric patient with trisomy 21: A case study." Joshua Baalman , PGY-2, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor , Michigan , "Congenital syphilis in a newborn." , PGY-2, , , "Congenital syphilis in a newborn." Jacob Rotter , PGY-3, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Queens, New York , "IBD in a 2-year-old." "This was an extraordinary learning opportunity for the residents who participated. Many received mentoring from senior clinicians and this will prove valuable throughout their careers, as the cases were so interesting and informative," said Steven M. Selbst, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. "Finally, it was great fun, educational and even inspiring for the jurors!" To view the 2022 Resident Writers Award Program ceremony, click here. About Contemporary Pediatrics Contemporary Pediatrics provides pediatricians with timely, trusted, and practical information to enhance their care of patients. The multimedia platform features relevant clinical and peer-reviewed articles, summarized guideline updates, case studies, and sensible practice management tips that can be immediately implemented. Contemporary Pediatrics is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America, dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels. Media Contact Alyssa Scarpaci, 609-716-7777 [email protected] SOURCE Contemporary Pediatrics Founded on a mission to bring people and institutions nearer to each other through sophisticated AV solutions, NEARITY provides innovations for distance collaboration at cost-effective pricing. Empowered by pioneering audio technology that combines deep learning with traditional signal processing, it offers a comprehensive portfolio from entry-level to high-end solutions that help make conferencing easier, more efficient, and more affordable. NEARITY's audio innovations include full-duplex, AI-driven noise suppression; de-reverberation; advanced daisy-chain technology; and beamforming algorithms to ensure participants are heard clearly. Product lines include dedicated speaker-microphone combinations as well as all-in-one conferencing devices (such as the NEARITY C25 and C30R) that combine a speaker, microphone, and HD or 4K webcam into a single, fully-integrated unit. The company's newest development, the NEARITY S100 USB audio interface, provides bi-directional conversion between line-level, analog audio signals and digital USB signals. This enables USB audio endpoints such as the NEARITY A11 and A20 to be used with legacy video conferencing systems significantly improving audio quality without the waste of replacing the existing conferencing system. "Our goal is to create high-quality, easy-to-use conferencing products and offer them at very reasonable pricing," said Jermy Wang, Global Sales Director at NEARITY. "We believe that every business should have access to great, flexible technology for their users. MVD has a proven track record of helping international vendors like ourselves grow their presence in North America while providing exceptional support to channel partners and customers. We look forward to a long and successful partnership." MVD has been providing full-service distribution and manufacturer representation for market-leading media technology products for over 15 years, with a focus on conferencing, live streaming, collaboration, and video production. MVD works closely with resellers, system integrators, and OEMs to provide the ideal video solution for each unique application and supports them through all aspects of setup and implementation. Other key product lines distributed by MVD include Magewell video capture, streaming, and AV-over-IP devices; ScreenBeam wireless display and collaboration solutions; PTZOptics and HuddleCamHD pan/tilt/zoom and auto-tracking cameras; and NETGEAR managed network switches. "We have been working hard to design complete bundles for small conference rooms and video conferencing from home, in an effort to make it easier for integrators and resellers to bring comprehensive solutions to their customers," said Darryl Spangler, President of Mobile Video Devices. "Home office conferencing is here to stay, but keeping people on such calls engaged requires better video and audio solutions. We were looking for audio products to complement our existing vendors' video innovations, and we were impressed by the quality and affordability of NEARITY's devices. We're excited to become their exclusive North American AV distributor." For more information about Mobile Video Devices, please visit www.mobilevideodevices.com. For more information about NEARITY, please visit nearity.co. About Mobile Video Devices Mobile Video Devices Inc. (MVD) provides distribution services and manufacturer representation in the Americas with a focus on technologies for live streaming, video conferencing, collaboration, networking, and video production. Offering business development, marketing, logistics, channel management and product warranty support services, manufacturers, systems integrators, and resellers choose MVD for its industry expertise and extreme dedication to an exceptional customer experience at every level of the supply chain. Visit www.mobilevideodevices.com for more information. SOURCE Mobile Video Devices SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kevin Frankel, who led high-profile investigations and prosecutions as an assistant attorney general for the state of New York, has joined McGuireWoods' financial services litigation practice as a partner in San Francisco. Frankel joins a McGuireWoods team that represents some of the world's most prominent financial institutions in litigation and government investigations. He has nearly 15 years of experience in public service and private practice, including more than five years supervising civil and criminal matters in the New York State Office of the Attorney General. He also served as a special district attorney with the Major Economic Crimes Bureau of the New York County District Attorney's Office. Frankel investigated and prosecuted white collar crimes allegedly committed by public servants and high-profile elected officials, leading large teams of lawyers, investigators, auditors, and analysts. He was first-chair trial counsel for public corruption jury trials, including a two-month straw donation trial, a six-week bribery trial, and a four-week grand larceny trial. Frankel received the 2021 Louis J. Lefkowitz Award, the highest commendation bestowed by New York's Attorney General for superior service. "Kevin has skillfully handled complex and highly sensitive matters as a prosecutor and in private practice," said Dion Hayes, McGuireWoods' deputy managing partner for litigation. "His sound judgment and insight enhance our capabilities in financial services litigation, government investigations and white collar defense." Before joining the New York AG's office in 2016, Frankel was a litigator at Am Law 100 firms in New York and San Francisco. He recently served as an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of Law, where he received his J.D. in 2007. "Kevin is an outstanding lawyer with an insider's perspective on regulation and enforcement and in-depth knowledge of the pressures and challenges confronting our clients," said Cheryl Haas, chair of the firm's Financial Services Litigation Department. "Kevin's government investigations experience adds an important dimension to the strong financial services litigation team we have in San Francisco," noted David Powell, managing partner of the firm's San Francisco office. McGuireWoods was among an exclusive group of law firms that corporate counsel identified as a commercial litigation powerhouse in "BTI Litigation Outlook 2022: Post Pandemic and Beyond." Law360 has twice named McGuireWoods a "Banking Practice Group of the Year" for excellence representing financial services institutions in litigation, regulatory, and transactional matters. "McGuireWoods has one of the nation's most respected litigation practices, and I look forward to helping the firm build on its strengths in California and nationwide," Frankel said. McGuireWoods LLP is a leading international law firm with 1,100 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It continuously ranks among the top firms in Financial Times' prestigious North America Innovative Lawyers report. The firm has been recognized 15 times on BTI Consulting's Client Service A-Team elite firms singled out for client service excellence based on unprompted feedback from clients in major companies. Its full-service public affairs arm, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, offers infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications and grassroots advocacy, and government relations solutions. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com. SOURCE McGuireWoods LLP LABEGE, TOULOUSE, MARCY L'ETOILE and LYON, France, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The ARPEGE[1] project aims to develop a set of solutions to strengthen the ability of healthcare institutions to fight antibiotic resistance. The consortium, led by Antabio, has been awarded close to 9 million in public funding under the "PSPC" call for projects conducted on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance. In recent decades, the emergence of pathogens resistant to antibiotics has become a growing threat to global public health and carries three major risks to society: A strong epidemiological risk, which already results in 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. Projections suggest that by 2050, antibiotic resistance could result in up to 10 million deaths per year[2]. A risk to modern medical practice in particular: chemotherapy, surgery, transplants, and other procedures all depend on the availability of effective antibiotics. A risk to the world economy, as additional costs for health systems of approximately 100,000 billion dollars per year result from antibiotic resistance. In this context, France is actively taking part in the fight against antibiotic resistance alongside other countries such as Germany, the UK, and the USA. The four-year ARPEGE project has been funded by the French government with nearly 9 million out of a total estimated budget of 17 million. This pioneering French initiative is coordinated by a consortium of four partners committed to tackling antibiotic resistance: Antabio, the leading partner, is a French SME dedicated to developing therapeutic solutions for infections identified as priorities by the World Health Organization (WHO); bioMerieux, is a world leader in microbiological in vitro diagnostics that develops solutions to improve patient health and consumer safety; Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), is the second largest French university hospital, jointly with the International Centre for Infectious Disease Research (CIRI), which focuses on understanding, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases; Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), is one of the world's top 10 research and teaching centers in economics, with 150 researchers working alongside Jean Tirole, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics. The ARPEGE consortium offers a unique multisectoral approach in four priority areas: Expanding the arsenal of effective antibiotics, which is urgently needed to ensure improved patient care. Through its drug candidate ANT3310 Antabio aims to offer an innovative treatment option for infections caused by pathogens identified by the WHO as priority pathogens. According to Marc Lemonnier , CEO of Antabio: "As we face a historic pandemic, ARPEGE is creating the synergies needed for a coordinated and effective French response to another imminent global challenge: antibiotic resistance. The 5.5 million public funding for Antabio will allow us to continue the development of ANT3310 towards clinical studies and reach crucial milestones such as the clinical demonstration of its safety and tolerability in humans." Improving diagnostic through a targeted and informed approach to antibiotic prescription, thanks to a sequencing-based software solution enabling new-generation susceptibility testing to obtain the resistance profile of a specific pathogen. Francois Lacoste, Executive Vice President, R&D, bioMerieux: "The fight against antibiotic resistance is a strategic focus for our company and represents 75% of our R&D activities. With ARPEGE, bioMerieux is committed to the development of diagnostic solutions that are able to simultaneously process a very large amount of data by using artificial intelligence. This type of diagnostic solution with high medical and economic value will optimize patient care and reduce associated costs for healthcare systems." Preventing bacterial transmission in hospitals through early and automated detection of epidemics and potential at-risk situations (the EpiTrack solution by HCL and bioMerieux). According to Jean-Philippe Rasigade, a bacteriologist at HCL's Infective Agents Institute: "The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that it is essential to detect epidemic outbreaks early on to enable control strategies. This need for surveillance and rapid detection is equally crucial to combat the spread of resistant bacteria. By accelerating the development of EpiTrack, a fully automated real-time epidemic surveillance system, ARPEGE and its industrial partners are giving HCL and CIRI a major opportunity to strengthen the fight against antibiotic resistance, for the safety and wellbeing of our patients." Developing new economic models capable of sustainably enhancing the value of innovations that are needed in the fight against antibiotic resistance. According to Jean Tirole, Honorary President of TSE and winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics: "Antibiotic resistance is a major problem for society, and my colleagues and I are excited to place economic science in support of ARPEGE in order to offer long-term solutions that will deliver improved global health." Media Contacts: About Antabio Antabio is a private biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of new therapies for severe and life-threatening multidrug-resistant infections. Antabio's portfolio consists of three highly differentiated development programs targeting WHO priority pathogens: ANT3310-MEM is a novel best-in-class serine -lactamase inhibitor combined with meropenem (MEM) for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens including carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii (WHO priority number 1). Ready to enter Phase 1, ANT3310-MEM was granted QIDP (Qualified Infectious Disease Product) status by the FDA in 2020. ANT2681-MEM is a novel metallo -lactamase (MBL) inhibitor combined with meropenem for the treatment of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) that produce MBLs such as the New Delhi metallo -lactamase (NDM). Ready to enter Phase 1, ANT2681-MEM was granted QIDP status by the FDA in 2019. ANT3273 is a first-in-class elastase inhibitor targeting a key virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the treatment of pulmonary infections. For more information, visit Antabio's website www.antabio.com, LinkedIn and Twitter. About bioMerieux Pioneering Diagnostics A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 55 years, bioMerieux is present in 44 countries and serves more than 160 countries through a large network of distributors. In 2020, bioMerieux generated sales of 3.1 billion, more than 90% of which were generated outside France. bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software and services) that determine the origin of a disease or contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used primarily for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. They are also used for the detection of microorganisms in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMerieux is listed on Euronext Paris. Code: BIM - Code ISIN : FR0013280286 Reuters: BIOX.PA / Bloomberg : BIM.FP Website: www.biomerieux.com Section dedicated to investors: www.biomerieux.com/en/finance About HCL Hospices Civils de Lyon is a group of 13 public hospitals, all of which are driven by a triple mission: care, research and teaching. Together, we form a community of 24,000 women and men, medical and non-medical workers, who share a single vocation: To care for each patient, whatever their situation and pathologies, throughout their lives. From the management to the treatment of diseases (from the most benign to the rarest), and in collaboration with all healthcare professionals in Lyon, we place research at the heart of our approach in order to respond to the latest medical advances and anticipate the therapeutic challenges of tomorrow. As the second largest university hospital in France, we support and train the medical and non-medical staff of tomorrow through our 11 schools and institutes. www.chu-lyon.fr About TSE Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) is a world-renowned research and training center with over 150 faculty members, including Jean Tirole, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics. Over the past four decades, TSE has established itself as one of the top economics institutions in Europe, ranking among the top three recipients of prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants in economics. TSE is now ranked ninth in the world among economics institutions according to the RePEc ranking. www.tse-fr.eu About Bpifrance Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses at every stage of their development through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra-financial services (training, consultancy.). to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export). More information on: www.Bpifrance.fr Follow us on Twitter : @Bpifrance - @BpifrancePresse About Programme d'investissements d'avenir (PIA) Created 10 years ago and directed by the General Secretariat for Investment under the Prime Minister, PIA finances innovative projects that contribute to the transformation of the country, sustainable growth, and the creation of jobs for the future. From the emergence of an idea to the dissemination of a new product or service, PIA supports the entire life cycle of innovation, between public and private sectors, alongside economic, academic, territorial, and European partners. These investments are based on demanding criteria, open selection procedures, and principles of co-financing or return on investment for the State. The fourth PIA, known as PIA4, with 20 billion in commitments over the period 2021-2025, will provide long-term support for innovation in all its forms, so that our country can strengthen its position in the sectors of the future, in the service of competitiveness, the ecological transition, and the independence of our economy and our organizations. More information on: www.gouvernement.fr/secretariat-general-pour-l-investissement-sgpi Twitter: @SGPI_avenir [1] ARPEGE - AppRoche theraPeutique Economique & diaGnostique de l'antibioresistancE (Economic, diagnostic and therapeutic approach to antibiotic resistance) [2] Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report and recommendations, The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, Chaired by Jim O'Neill, May 2016. SOURCE Antabio; bioMerieux; Hospices Civils de Lyon; Toulouse School of Economics Vendor Insights The interstitial cystitis drugs market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The global interstitial cystitis drugs market is dominated by Johnson and Johnson Inc., Vitaris Inc., Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc., etc. The drugs offered by these companies are small molecules and have proven efficacy, which helps these vendors maintain their dominant positions in the market. Despite less vendor fragmentation, recent developments in intravesical therapy and the introduction of regenerative therapies are propelling the industry forward. Such advancements will revolutionize the global interstitial cystitis medications market and are projected to eventually replace present small molecule therapy. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: Astellas Pharma Inc. Bayer AG Johnson and Johnson Inc. Novartis AG Perrigo Co. Plc Pfizer Inc. Seikagaku Corp. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Viatris Inc. Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Free Sample Report. Geographical Market Analysis North America will provide maximum growth opportunities in the interstitial cystitis drugs market, primarily due to the increasing cases of interstitial cystitis in the region, during the forecast period. According to our research report, the region will contribute 36% of the global market growth and is expected to dominate the market through 2025. The US is a key market for interstitial cystitis drugs in North America. A rise in research funding will also contribute to the growth of the market in the region during the forecast period. Factors such as advances in the diagnostic imaging of interstitial cystitis will also support the growth of the market in North America. Furthermore, countries such as the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, and France are expected to emerge as prominent markets for interstitial cystitis drugs during the forecast period. Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with the detailed analysis of the top regions. https://www.technavio.com/report/interstitial-cystitis-drugs-market-industry-analysis Key Segment Analysis The interstitial cystitis drugs market share growth by the oral therapy segment has been significant. The only oral medicine approved to heal the lining of the bladder in persons with interstitial cystitis is pentosan polysulfate sodium. Elmiron builds and restores the protective coating of the bladder tissue. It can also reduce the swelling of the bladder. There are many off-label oral drugs in the global interstitial cystitis drugs market that can reduce the signs and symptoms of the disease. Antihistamines such as loratadine (Claritin) are also used as an oral therapy, which can reduce urinary urgency and frequency and other symptoms. Even though ELMIRON's patents expired in 2010, it continues to be widely used due to its strong therapeutic value. However, various patient assistance programs are available to help patients with their costs, which is projected to drive the market forward during the forecast period. View FREE Sample : to know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years. Key Market Drivers & Trends: The high prevalence of interstitial cystitis is notably driving the interstitial cystitis drugs market growth. Interstitial cystitis is characterized by bladder pain and lower urinary tract symptoms. The exact cause of the disease is unknown, but the disease affects many people, especially women. Interstitial cystitis affects 400,000 people in the UK, 90% of whom are women. Thus, the high prevalence of interstitial cystitis is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Even though interstitial cystitis is one of the most common bladder disorders, many individuals are unaware of it since the symptoms are so similar to those of other bladder diseases. Various government and non-government organizations are doing various projects to raise disease awareness. For example, the Interstitial Cystitis Awareness Month celebration is held on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also attempting to raise awareness of interstitial cystitis. Due to unmet market requirements, vendors would have a lot of market possibilities during the forecasted period. Download free sample for highlights on market Drivers & Trends affecting the Interstitial Cystitis Drugs market. Customize Your Report Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time. We offer USD 1,000 worth of FREE customization at the time of purchase. Speak to our Analyst now! Related Reports: Vitamin K2 Market by Source and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Interstitial Cystitis Drugs Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 5.06% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 283.95 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.81 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW Performing market contribution North America at 36% Key consumer countries US, Japan, Germany, UK, and France Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Astellas Pharma Inc., Bayer AG, Johnson and Johnson Inc., Novartis AG, Perrigo Co. Plc, Pfizer Inc., Seikagaku Corp., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Viatris Inc. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. About Us: Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio DES PLAINES, Ill., Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Americaneagle.com, a global digital agency headquartered in Chicago, is thrilled to announce the opening of its new office in the Nashville, Tenn., area. Tactically located in the town of Franklin, a popular technology and business hub, the new office positions Americaneagle.com closer to a variety of its valuable clients and strengthens its overall presence in the region. Americaneagle.com's new office location enables the company to bridge the gap between its US-based offices in Chicago, Dallas, New York, Washington, D.C, Milwaukee, and more. Additionally, it gives the company a strong Southeastern foundation to build upon in order to continue serving a variety of industry-leading businesses and organizations. "We're excited about the opportunities the new Franklin office will bring us," Vice President of Strategic Alliances Jerry Boduch said. "It will not only allow us to better serve our existing clients in the area, but it will also allow us to service new clients in and around the state." Tony Svanascini, Chief Executive Officer at Americaneagle.com, commented, "Nashville is quickly becoming a popular destination for tech industry stalwarts so we're really looking forward to expanding our presence in the local area. Furthermore, we're looking forward to expanding our team of talented professionals to help serve this exciting market." Americaneagle.com offers a full suite of digital services including website design and development, hosting and security, digital marketing, strategy, and more. The new office is located at 6440 Carothers Pkwy, Suite 205. Currently, Americaneagle.com serves the following Tennessee-based businesses and organizations: Nashville Electric, Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists, The Gideon's International, Astec Industries, and Memphis Area Transit Authority. CONTACT: Michael Svanascini, President [email protected] 847-699-0300 ABOUT AMERICANEAGLE.COM Americaneagle.com is a full-service, global digital agency based in Des Plaines, Illinois that provides best-in-class web design, development, hosting, post-launch support, and digital marketing services. Currently, Americaneagle.com employs 600+ professionals in offices around the world including Chicago, Cleveland, Dubai, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Washington DC, Switzerland, and Bulgaria. Some of their 2,000+ clients include Dairy Queen, FASTSIGNS, Soletrader, WeatherTech, and the American Management Association. For additional information, visit www.americaneagle.com. SOURCE Americaneagle.com ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global livestock cake market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period, from 2021 to 2031, according to analysts at Transparency Market Research (TMR). The market growth can be attributed to several factors including rising demand for meat across the globe and increasing use of livestock cakes as animal feed. Owing to rising population of several developing nations, the sales of dairy products is expected to increase in the near future. Moreover, the growing demand for varied convenient food products is estimated to increase in the upcoming years. These factors are boosting the sales opportunities in the livestock cake market. Edible oil cakes are in high demand due to their use in several biotechnological applications and in the production of antioxidants and vitamins. These factors are likely to fuel the growth of the livestock cake market. Oil seed cakes are being utilized by farmers as fertilizers in organic farming. Furthermore, they are also gaining traction as an efficient catalyst in biogas digesters. In addition, they are also known for accelerating biogas production in the cold season. Thus, the livestock cake market is projected to exceed the valuation of US$ 1.38 Bn by 2031, notes a study by TMR. Get PDF Brochure for More Insights https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=83843 Livestock Cake Market: Key Findings With increasing inclination toward consuming high-protein food products, the demand for meat, dairy products, and eggs is consistently rising, as they are rich sources of protein as well as nutrients. Growing interest of livestock farmers on providing superior quality products is resulting in revenue-generation opportunities in the livestock cake market. Due to rising demand for livestock cakes by farmers, companies in the livestock cake market are increasing their focus on advancing production capabilities. This driving the companies to invest more in advanced technologies. Latest processing procedures and development of the analytical detection technology are helping manufacturers to produce high quality and safe feed for animals Many players are increasingly investing in IT and automation in order to track the complete production process. They are also employing automated equipment in order to monitor feed processing activities. Such developments are estimated to fuel the expansion of the livestock cake market in the upcoming years. Ask for Special Discount on Report https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=83843 Livestock Cake Market: Growth Boosters Improving disposable incomes as well as lifestyles of consumers are boosting the demand for products such as meat and eggs, which, in turn, is positively impacting the global market Expansion of the dairy industry and rise in demand for dairy products from across the globe are fueling the demand for good quality animal feed such as livestock cakes Livestock farmers are increasing focus on maintaining the health of their livestock. Thus, they are feeding high-quality foods such as rapeseed cakes, soybean cakes, and other oil seed cakes. Livestock Cake Market: Competition Landscape Companies are focused on the development of next-gen technologies Several players are acquiring competitors to boost their production capabilities and maintain a significant market position. These strategies are also helping players in regional expansion. Request a Sample https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=83843 Livestock Cake Market: Key Players Some of the key players profiled in the report are: Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. Archer Daniels Midland Company Tirumalla Oil Cake Louis Dreyfus Company Bunge Limited DHN International Dhofar Cattle Feed Co. Indian Hydrocolloids Al Ghurair Investment LLC ALSAYER Holding Livestock Cake Market Segmentation Source Palm Soybean Rapeseed Peanut Cottonseed Others Livestock Poultry Cattle Cow Buffalo Camel Sheep Horse Goat Region North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Oceania Middle East & Africa Buy an Exclusive Research Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=838438 year Breakup by Region: North America United States Canada Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Indonesia Europe Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Poland Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East and Africa and Turkey Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Others For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/oaot5k Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hesai Technology Co., Ltd., a global leader in lidar technology for autonomous driving and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), today showcased its new automotive-grade lidar sensor at CES 2022. AT128 is a long-range hybrid solid-state lidar for ADAS applications. Hesai's AT128 is a directional long-range hybrid solid-state lidar designed for ADAS applications in mass production passenger and commercial vehicles. It combines high performance, compact design, and high reliability. With its consistent resolution over the full field of view (FOV), AT128 is also algorithm-friendly. It has a small form factor, which enables seamless integration onto the vehicle. AT128 provides the essential perception capabilities that L3+ autonomous vehicles require. Additional highlights about AT128 include: Image-level Resolution : AT128 features an ultra-high measurement frequency of over 1.53 million points per second (single return), resulting in image-level resolution. Each AT128 incorporates 128 high-power multi-junction VCSEL arrays, enabling genuine 128-channel e-scanning. Such design avoids the reliability and limited lifetime issues caused by high-speed two-dimensional mechanical scanning. It also provides an unstitched ultra-wide 120 horizontal FOV and image-like structured data, bringing more convenience to autonomous vehicle algorithms. : AT128 features an ultra-high measurement frequency of over 1.53 million points per second (single return), resulting in image-level resolution. Each AT128 incorporates 128 high-power multi-junction VCSEL arrays, enabling genuine 128-channel e-scanning. Such design avoids the reliability and limited lifetime issues caused by high-speed two-dimensional mechanical scanning. It also provides an unstitched ultra-wide 120 horizontal FOV and image-like structured data, bringing more convenience to autonomous vehicle algorithms. Superior Ranging Capability : AT128 has a ranging capability of 200 meters at 10% reflectivity, with effective ground detection as far as 70 meters. It is one of the few hybrid solid-state lidars on the market that can detect objects at such long range, while also reaching such a high measurement frequency. : AT128 has a ranging capability of 200 meters at 10% reflectivity, with effective ground detection as far as 70 meters. It is one of the few hybrid solid-state lidars on the market that can detect objects at such long range, while also reaching such a high measurement frequency. Automotive Grade and High Reliability : Designed for mass production, AT128 is an automotive-grade lidar with high reliability. All key components meet AEC-Q and other relevant standards. AT128 has undergone more than 50 design validation (DV) tests, conducted according to internationally recognized OEM standards such as electrical, mechanical, environmental, sealing, material, and EMC tests. : Designed for mass production, AT128 is an automotive-grade lidar with high reliability. All key components meet AEC-Q and other relevant standards. AT128 has undergone more than 50 design validation (DV) tests, conducted according to internationally recognized OEM standards such as electrical, mechanical, environmental, sealing, material, and EMC tests. Low Cost Enabled by Proprietary ASICs: AT128 is developed based on Hesai's new-generation proprietary lidar ASICs, which greatly simplify the traditional complex assembly process. This increases manufacturing efficiency and consistency for mass production needs. More importantly, it significantly reduces cost while maintaining high performance and reliability. Hesai's AT128 has already been nominated by multiple ADAS programs, totaling several million units in lifetime, such as Li Auto, JiDU, HiPhi, and Lotus. The sensor will begin mass production in 2022. At CES 2022, Hesai also unveiled a new sensor, QT128 - a short-range lidar with 105 ultra-wide vertical field of view (VFOV). QT128 is an ideal blind spot solution for L4 applications such as robotaxis and robotrucks. It features an industry-leading ultra-wide VFOV, allowing it to see more of its surroundings than other available lidar sensors. QT128 also has an automotive-grade design; its manufacturing process is guided by automotive product lifecycle standards, giving it ultra-high reliability and a long operating lifetime. QT128 can output calibrated reflectivity values, delivering environmental details and enhancing the overall perception system. It has optimized horizontal and vertical resolution, which gives the perception system finer details in focused areas. QT128 will begin mass production in Q1 2023. Hesai will demo multiple lidars at CES, including from its Pandar Series, QT Series, and XT series. Hesai's complete sensor portfolio is already widely used for robotaxis, robotrucks, autonomous shuttles, delivery robots, smart city infrastructure, and other applications. CES 2022 attendees are welcome to visit Hesai's booth for introductions and live demonstrations of Hesai's lidar products. Journalists, analysts, and industry partners who would like to schedule a meeting with one of Hesai's representatives can send an email to [email protected]. About Hesai Founded in 2014, Hesai Technology is a global leader in lidar technology for autonomous driving and ADAS. Its vision is to empower robotics and elevate lives through high-performance, reliable, and low-cost 3D sensors. Hesai has developed exceptional R&D capabilities, accumulating deep expertise in optics, mechanics, electronics, and software. The company has been granted hundreds of patents globally for its industry-leading technologies, in areas such as proprietary lidar chips, functional safety, and interference rejection. Hesai's new manufacturing center for automotive production will commence operation in 2022, with a planned capacity of over 1 million units. Hesai has won customers spanning over 70 cities in 30 countries, including leading autonomous driving developers, OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and robotics companies. SOURCE Hesai Technology CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockton , the world's largest privately held brokerage firm that provides insurance, risk management, employee benefits and retirement consulting services, has named Rob Grant as Senior Vice President and Producer in the firm's Chicago office. Grant joins Lockton with over 25 years of experience across roles in the industry including consulting and sales. Most recently, he served as the Senior Vice President in Aon's Chicago office, specializing in Health & Benefits and Total Rewards for mid- and large-market employers. Prior to Aon, Grant was a Principal at Mercer, a global consulting firm. "Rob's hire comes during a time when Lockton is growing and further developing our client service offerings in Chicago," said Bob Wierema, President of Lockton's Midwest series. "Rob's experience perfectly aligns with our needs, and we look forward to benefiting from his leadership." In his role, Grant will be responsible for strategy, well-being and employee engagement. Grant holds a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and is involved in the local community. He has been an officer and Board Member with the Face the Future Foundation , a nonprofit organization working to help kids with craniofacial differences build brighter futures. Originally from St. Louis, Grant has established both his professional and personal life in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park over the past 20 years. He lives with his wife Tracy, and their six children, ranging from 9-23 years old. ABOUT LOCKTON What makes Lockton stand apart is also what makes us better: independence. Lockton's private ownership empowers its 7,500 Associates doing business in over 125 countries to focus solely on clients' risk and insurance needs. With expertise that reaches around the globe, Lockton delivers the deep understanding needed to accomplish remarkable results. For 31 consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognized Lockton as a "Best Place to Work in Insurance." To view and apply for open positions in Lockton's Chicago office visit lockton.com/careers SOURCE Lockton DUBLIN, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global High Performance Message Infrastructure Market By Component (Software and Services), By End User (BFSI, IT & Telecom, Government, Retail, Energy & Utilities, Transportation & Logistics, and others), By Regional Outlook, Industry Analysis Report and Forecast, 2021 - 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global High Performance Message Infrastructure Market size is expected to reach $2,000.1 million by 2027, rising at a market growth of 13.1% CAGR during the forecast period. High-performance message infrastructure refers to the technology which offers a single shared messaging provision for integration of services and applications in an improved, easy, efficient, and safer manner on a large number of platforms. Additionally, this infrastructure works effectively even in fluctuating connectivity situations in order to facilitate constant functioning of the systems and prevent information loss. The growing deployment of integrated platforms and hybrid solutions has increased the spending on online high-performance message infrastructure components, which is expected to fuel the growth of the market. The deployment rate of cloud solutions and services is increasing day by day among various the businesses and thus, it is estimated that this trend will accelerate in the forthcoming period. Moreover, the stakeholders are playing an important role in the high-performance message infrastructure market by investing a huge amount in research and development activities and new product developments to expand their portfolio and stay competitive in this market. COVID-19 Impact Analysis The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had issued a negative impact on various industries across the world. Governments across the world imposed stringent regulations that restricted the movement. Additionally, nations are still trying to find ways to defeat the pandemic and reduce its impact on health, livelihoods, and businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the high-performance message infrastructure market witnessed a prominent growth as there is an increase in the demand for cloud-based solutions and infrastructures. The deployment of high-performance message infrastructure has also escalated to facilitate the communication between logic codes. Market Growth Factors: Growing demand from SMEs as well as large enterprises The demand for high-performance message infrastructure is rapidly increasing as various large enterprises and SMEs are increasingly shifting towards digitalization. The outbreak of the COVID-19 compelled companies to shift their businesses to a digital platform. During the pandemic, governments across various nations imposed various stringent lockdown restrictions, resulting in closure and disruption of numerous businesses activities of majority of global companies. Asynchronous Communication assists in providing uninterrupted operations High-performance message infrastructure provides a safe and single messaging support for efficient integration of services and solutions across several platforms that help in preventing data or information loss and provide uninterrupted functioning of systems even during fluctuating connectivity. In addition, this infrastructure allows the split cloud-based applications to communicate with each other or with other on-premises systems. Additionally, high-performance message infrastructure enables other systems or applications that exist on some different cloud to communicate, irrespective of their locations. Marketing Restraining Factor: A significant increase in the number of cyber security threats As the companies are shifting their businesses to a digital platform, there is a surge in the generation of data. Companies are generating a large volume of data on the daily basis, due to which they need to adopt various solutions to manage and monitor the generated data. In addition, with the increase in the generation of data, the number of cyber security threats has also increased correspondingly. Social engineering and phishing attacks are the major types of cyber threats that is expected to increase with the rapid shift of the companies towards digitalization and cloud. Component Outlook The High-Performance Message Infrastructure Market is bifurcated into Software and Services. In 2020, the software segment acquired the maximum revenue share of the high-performance message infrastructure market and is expected to display the similar kind of trend even during the forecast period. The major factor contributing to the growth of the segment is the rising demand from companies to organize information integration and data sharing among several systems and applications. Industry Outlook The High-Performance Message Infrastructure Market is divided into BFSI, IT & Telecom, Government, Retail, Energy & Utilities, Transportation & Logistics, and others. In 2020, the BFSI segment dominated the high-performance message infrastructure market and the segment is expected to maintain its leading position even during the forecast period. Regional Outlook The High-Performance Message Infrastructure Market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. In 2020, North America emerged as the leading region by obtaining the maximum revenue share of the high-performance message infrastructure market. Moreover, the regional market is expected to showcase the similar kind of trend even during the forecast period. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Market Scope & Methodology Chapter 2. Market Overview 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Overview 2.1.1.1 Market Composition & Scenario 2.2 Key Factors Impacting the Market 2.2.1 Market Drivers 2.2.2 Market Restraints Chapter 3. Competition Analysis - Global 3.1 Cardinal Matrix 3.2 Recent Industry Wide Strategic Developments 3.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements 3.2.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions 3.2.3 Acquisition and Mergers 3.3 Top Winning Strategies 3.3.1 Key Leading Strategies: Percentage Distribution (2017-2021) 3.3.2 Key Strategic Move: (Product Launches and Product Expansions : 2017, Oct - 2021, Oct) Leading Players Chapter 4. Global High Performance Message Infrastructure Market by Component 4.1 Global Software Market by Region 4.2 Global Services Market by Region Chapter 5. Global High Performance Message Infrastructure Market by End User 5.1 Global BFSI Market by Region 5.2 Global IT & Telecom Market by Region 5.3 Global Retail Market by Region 5.4 Global Transportation & Logistics Market by Region 5.5 Global Government Market by Region 5.6 Global Energy & Utilities Market by Region 5.7 Global Others Market by Region Chapter 6. Global High Performance Message Infrastructure Market by Region Chapter 7. Company Profiles 7.1 IBM Corporation 7.1.1 Company Overview 7.1.2 Financial Analysis 7.1.3 Regional & Segmental Analysis 7.1.4 Research & Development Expenses 7.1.5 Recent strategies and developments: 7.1.5.1 Acquisitions and Mergers: 7.1.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 7.1.6 SWOT Analysis 7.2 Salesforce.com, Inc. (MuleSoft, LLC) 7.2.1 Company Overview 7.2.2 Financial Analysis 7.2.3 Regional Analysis 7.2.4 Research & Development Expense 7.2.5 Recent strategies and developments: 7.2.5.1 Product Launches and Product Expansion: 7.2.6 SWOT Analysis 7.3 SAP SE 7.3.1 Company Overview 7.3.2 Financial Analysis 7.3.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 7.3.4 Research & Development Expense 7.3.5 Recent strategies and developments: 7.3.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: 7.3.6 SWOT Analysis 7.4 Amazon.com, Inc. 7.4.1 Company Overview 7.4.2 Financial Analysis 7.4.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 7.4.4 Recent strategies and developments: 7.4.4.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: 7.4.4.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 7.4.4.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 7.4.5 SWOT Analysis 7.5 Oracle Corporation 7.5.1 Company Overview 7.5.2 Financial Analysis 7.5.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 7.5.4 Research & Development Expense 7.5.5 Recent strategies and developments: 7.5.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: 7.5.6 SWOT Analysis 7.7 Real-Time Innovations (RTI) 7.7.1 Company Overview 7.8 Solace (Bridge Growth Partners) 7.8.1 Company Overview 7.9 Informatica, LLC 7.9.1 Company Overview 7.1 Tibco Software, Inc. (Vista Equity Partners) 7.10.1 Company Overview 7.10.2 Recent strategies and developments: 7.10.2.1 Product Launches and Product Expansions: For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hmpi7z Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Here's a news report from Shenzhen Daily: The Qianhai International Talent Hub and Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Legal-services District were officially inaugurated Jan. 4, with an aim to create a comprehensive ecosystem for global talents and a complete chain of legal services in Qianhai. Located in Guiwan area, the talent hub will offer 48,000 square meters of office space during its Phase I construction. It will serve as an important platform for international talents seeking employment, starting businesses and making investment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The hub features four bases of talent free flow, talent services, talent operation and talent data, which will promote the convenient and free flow of international talents, realize one-stop services, and optimize talent management. The hub also has nine talent centers of communication, experience, service, sci-tech innovation, training, evaluation, headhunting and investment, transformation and big data. The talent service center, which has been put into use, provides 451 items of services for international talents, while the experience center will provide 100 one-stop services for strategic scientists, leading and young technologists, and outstanding engineers. The evaluation center will introduce first-class vocational skill appraisal institutions, language proficiency evaluation institutions, and management consulting companies to scientifically evaluate the value of talents and promote cross-border mutual professional qualification recognition. The talent hub will divide its total office space into three equal parts for the settlement of foreign-funded, Hong Kong-funded and domestic-funded enterprises. A total of 22 well-known institutions such as Boston Consulting Group, Elsevier, Hays and Hudson have expressed their willingness to settle in the hub. The planned legal service district will mainly consist of an international commercial dispute resolution center and an international legal service center, and a highland for intellectual property protection relying on institutions including the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court and the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, as well as law firms, notary offices and judicial expertise institutions from Hong Kong, Macao and foreign countries. Original link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9JFnOy-d07unxvJvLdmnEQ SOURCE Shenzhen Daily NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- J.F. Lehman & Company ("JFLCO"), a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors, is pleased to recognize the substantial contributions of key team members through a series of promotions and to announce several new hires. Promotions included David F. Thomas to Managing Director, R. Benjamin Hatcher and Kevin Valles to Principal, Michael P. Leber and Karina Perelmuter to Director, and Sarah Cabrera to Controller. The firm also announced the addition of Megan E. Kanefsky, Vice President Human Capital, and the following Investment Professionals: Alec M. Schmidt (Vice President), Jake T. Korek, Nicholas J. Andonian and James G. Dudzik (Associates) and Sam C. Mecha (Analyst). "Our promotions reflect the firm's proven success in providing meaningful opportunities for professional development," said Louis N. Mintz, Partner. "At the same time, our demonstrated ability to attract blue chip talent is clear evidence of our organization's unique culture and clear momentum." Investment Team Promotions David F. Thomas, Managing Director. Prior to joining the firm in 2010 as a Senior Analyst, Mr. Thomas began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Credit Suisse's M&A Group. He graduated from Yale University, where he earned a B.A. in economics. Mr. Thomas is currently serving as a director of TMS Group, NorthStar Group, Inland Pipe Rehabilitation and Lone Star Disposal. R. Benjamin Hatcher, Principal. Prior to joining the firm in 2013 as an Associate, Mr. Hatcher began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Jefferies LLC's Aerospace & Defense Group. He graduated from the University of Virginia, where he earned a B.A. in economics and foreign affairs. Mr. Hatcher is currently serving as a director of TMS Group, CodeMettle, CTS Engines and Narda-MITEQ. Kevin Valles, Principal. Prior to joining the firm in 2017 as a Senior Associate, Mr. Valles was a Senior Associate at JLL Partners, where he focused on private equity investments in Aerospace and Healthcare. Mr. Valles began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Lazard's Capital Markets Group. He graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.S. in economics with concentrations in finance and operations. Mr. Valles is currently serving as a director of Inland Pipe Rehabilitation, Integrated Global Services and ENTACT. Finance & Administration Promotions Michael P. Leber, Director of Finance & Accounting. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Mr. Leber served as Vice President of Finance for Perpetual Capital Partners and held various senior finance and accounting roles for both Fortune 500 as well as growth companies. He began his career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Leber graduated with distinction from Pennsylvania State University, where he earned a B.S. in accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant. Karina Perelmuter, Director of Marketing & Investor Relations. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Ms. Perelmuter served as a Vice President in Lazard's Private Capital Advisory practice, member of the Investor Relations team at Tiger Global and Fund Accountant at Mount Kellett. She began her career in Assurance at Ernst & Young. Ms. Perelmuter graduated magna cum laude from American University, where she earned a B.S. in finance and accounting. Sarah J. Cabrera, Controller. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Ms. Cabrera served as Director of Accounting for Politico, where she was responsible for all aspects of the accounting function. Previously, Ms. Cabrera worked for a public company with SEC filing requirements. She graduated from Strayer University, where she earned a B.S. in accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Administration New Hires Megan E. Kanefsky, Vice President, Human Capital. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Kanefsky spent 15 years in the Human Resources Group at Blackstone, where she focused on recruiting, benefits administration, performance evaluation and management, organizational development and was the HR Business Partner to the Legal and Compliance Team. She earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in industrial and organizational psychology from Baruch College. Investment Team New Hires Alec M. Schmidt, Vice President. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Schmidt was a Senior Associate at Rubicon Technology Partners, where he focused on private equity investments in Enterprise Software. Mr. Schmidt began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Harris Williams & Co's Consumer Group. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University, where he earned a B.S. in finance with a minor in business law. Jake T. Korek, Associate. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Korek began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Wells Fargo's Industrials Group. He graduated from the University of Virginia, where he earned a B.S. in commerce with a concentration in finance and a track in real estate. Nicholas J. Andonian, Associate. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Andonian began his career at Goldman Sachs as an Investment Management Analyst before transitioning to the Cross Markets Group in the Investment Banking Division. He graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College, where he earned a B.A. in economics with a minor in Spanish. James G. Dudzik, Associate. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Dudzik began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Houlihan Lokey's Global Industrials Group. He graduated from the University of Virginia, where he earned a B.A. in economics. Sam C. Mecha, Analyst. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Mecha graduated from Williams College in 2021, where he earned a B.A. in English. About J.F. Lehman & Company, Inc. Founded in 1992, J.F. Lehman & Company is a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors. The firm has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. For more information about J.F. Lehman & Company, please visit www.jflpartners.com. SOURCE J.F. Lehman & Company NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare and technology industries, announced today that Jim Hinton will join the Firm as an Operating Partner in its Healthcare Resources Group. Mr. Hinton retired on December 31st as the CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit health system in Texas with 47,000 employees, 50 hospitals, 7,500 affiliated physicians and a value-based care platform serving more than one million lives. Mr. Hinton has been a leader in the healthcare industry for more than 38 years. In his most recent role as the CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, he strengthened the organization's patient-safety focus, improved employee engagement and drove strong operational performance each year of his tenure. Among the industry honors he has received, Mr. Hinton has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine five times, most recently in 2021. "We are thrilled to welcome Jim to the WCAS team for the next chapter in his career," said Brian T. Regan, Head of the Healthcare Group and General Partner at WCAS. "His decades of experience leading major health systems, partnering with clinicians and focusing on improving the patient experience will be incredibly valuable to WCAS and our portfolio companies. We are proud to call him a friend and now an official member of our team." Mr. Hinton said, "I have known and respected the WCAS team for many years and look forward to becoming involved in their diverse group of leading healthcare companies. I am particularly excited about the track record of WCAS partnering with healthcare systems to improve the quality, experience, and value for patients." Prior to becoming the CEO of Baylor Scott & White, he spent more than three decades at Presbyterian Healthcare Services, New Mexico's largest healthcare provider, where he was president and CEO of the system for 21 years. In 2014, Mr. Hinton served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Hospital Association, which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare systems, networks, and other providers of care through advocacy and public policy. He also served on the Board of Premier Healthcare Alliance and Chaired the Board of the Healthcare Institute. He holds a Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration from Arizona State University and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of New Mexico. About Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe WCAS is a leading U.S. private equity firm focused on two target industries: healthcare and technology. Since its founding in 1979, the firm's strategy has been to partner with outstanding management teams and build value for its investors through a combination of operational improvements, growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. The firm has raised and managed funds totaling over $27 billion of committed capital. For more information, please visit www.wcas.com. WCAS Contacts: Jon Rather 212-893-9570 [email protected] Greg Lau 212-893-9586 [email protected] SOURCE Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe Since last January, Jordan's Way, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, has visited hundreds of animal shelters and rescues across the U.S., helping to raise nearly $3 million through four-hour livestreamed telethon-style fundraisers. The fun-filled events draw donations through entertaining challenges and allow often overlooked animals to get much-needed exposure. On April 30, these hundreds of shelters and rescues will livestream the car pull to generate even more heightened awareness. Rotonda's past physical challenges have drawn attention from national outlets including the Hallmark Channel and The DoDo. "My goal is to increase our magazine readership high enough to secure a spot on newsstands across the nation so we can do even more to help these overlooked animals find homes quickly," Rotonda explained. "Through fundraisers, a large social media following, and now Jordan's Way Home Magazine, Jordan's Way has helped over 80,000 rescue animals find forever homes to date and we look forward to helping many more to come." Named after his since-passed rescue German Shepherd mix, Rotonda formed Jordan's Way to honor her life, long spent being overlooked inside a shelter. "No animal should have to spend their life in a shelter, and I'm passionate to highlight and support the many organizations who work relentlessly to ensure these pets find loving homes despite their age, breed, or health issues," said Rotonda. "I want to combine my passion and my strength to draw attention to amazing people and animals." For more information on Jordan's Way and to read the latest issue of the magazine, visit www.jordanswaytour.com. Media Contact: Kristen Skladd 586-222-2423 [email protected] SOURCE Jordan's Way Made to last as long as the treasured memories it honors, the collection is designed by acclaimed American designer Kendra Scott, who is known for creating quality, affordable luxury products made with innovative materials. The collection is customized, built, and ordered exclusively through Balfour & Co., a leader in commencement services and products and known for its highly successful collection of custom class rings. "We are proud to offer our customers such a remarkable way to commemorate their Greek experience and make it truly unforgettable," said Ryan Esko, CEO of Balfour & Co. "Our collaboration with Kendra Scott on this unique Greek line is a natural extension of our highly successful Kendra Scott class ring collection, and we're thrilled to deepen our relationship with the company." The collection features rings, necklaces, and pendants representing 108 fraternities and sororities, with additional Greek organizations being added over the next few months. Styles vary by organization, but the overall collection enables members and friends to represent their organization and show their Greek pride with eight jewelry styles: three women's rings, three women's necklaces, and two men's rings, all created with Kendra Scott's signature styles, stones, and brilliant metals. "We are excited to further our partnership with Balfour, to offer our customers beautiful and custom jewelry to celebrate their Greek experience and to have as a forever keepsake," said Tom Nolan, CEO of Kendra Scott. "The quality of this exclusive collection is something we are proud to continue providing to fraternity and sorority members with Balfour & Co." There are many ways to customize a unique piece. Metal options range from sterling silver to 18k gold (white, yellow, and rose). In addition, pieces can be engraved with the organization's Greek letters, crest and logo, and personalized elements such as the member's initials, pledge date, and offices held. "The response from customers on the Kendra Scott class rings collection has been beyond our expectations," said Scott Blevins, Chief Product Officer at Balfour & Co. "Bringing these styles to an exclusive Greek life allows us to offer additional pieces they can't get anywhere else," said Jaclyn Cannon, Chief Marketing Officer. The Kendra Scott Greek Jewelry Collection is sold exclusively on Balfour.com. About Kendra Scott Kendra Scott is the founder and designer of an eponymous fashion accessories brand inspired by her personal experiences, travel, and sense of community. With over 2,000 employees, Kendra Scott has over 100 standalone stores across the US. The brand is sold in premiere retailers including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and 600 specialty boutiques worldwide and boasts a thriving web business through www.kendrascott.com. Kendra Scott is known for its kaleidoscope of beautiful accessories as well as the innovative and customizable Color Bar experience. As the brand continues to grow, the company remains true to its founding philosophy of "Family, Fashion, Philanthropy." Since 2010, the company has given back well over $40 million to local, national, and international causes. About Balfour & Co. Balfour & Co. is one of the largest commencement services companies, leading the industry in digital product innovation by helping students and their families celebrate the most meaningful moments in their lives. Operating under the Balfour, GradImages, University Photo, Gaspard, ArtCarved, KeepSake, and Taylor Publishing Company, the Company provides personalized products such as class jewelry and apparel, yearbooks, graduation caps and gowns, announcement products, and photography. The Company operates throughout North America with around 5,000 team members. To learn more, visit Balfour.com, the destination for graduation products, and GradImages.com, the industry's largest commencement photography platform. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Balfour & Co. Although the brand was born from humble beginnings just over 3 years ago, the name Lady Black Tie is now hailed across the international fashion world for its unique and high quality dresses and gowns. Many of the dresses and gowns have been worn to various events such as the red carpet, the Miss USA pageant, the Bachelor, weddings, proms, homecoming, etc., making it the ultimate dress and gown source worldwide for women of all ages. The company's owner, Marissa Tilley, built the brand out of her passion for formal dresses and her constant and fearless risk-taking. This combination has taken Lady Black Tie's newest venture to becoming a quickly growing e-commerce brand, shipping out over 6,000 dresses per month during peak seasons. The new location will offer all that the Lady Black Tie customer wants, needs and is made of. Tilley adds, "Our customer is confident, has a bold sense of fashion and wants to shine at her next event. She will leave our store feeling like she walked off the cover of a magazine." The Grand Opening of the store will be from 10am-5pm on Saturday, Jan 8, 2022 at 43 Broad Street, A200, Hudson, MA 01749. Contact: Lady Black Tie Email: [email protected] SOURCE Lady Black Tie MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it views the riots in Kazakhstan as an attempt, stoked by the outside, to undermine the country's security and integrity with trained armed formations. In a statement published on its website, the ministry noted the rapid degradation of the internal political situation and the growth of violence in Kazakhstan. Earlier on Thursday, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) decided to send Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time to stabilize the situation in the Central Asian country. The Collective Peacekeeping Forces include troops from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Moscow, reaffirming its adherence to the commitments within the framework of the CSTO, supports the adoption of such urgent measures, said the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russia will continue close consultations with Kazakhstan and other allies in the CSTO to work towards early restoration of normal life in Kazakhstan, it said. Kazakhstan, particularly its largest city of Almaty, has been rocked by violent protests sparked by dissatisfaction over surging fuel prices. The tensions escalated on Wednesday, with protesters storming the main government building in Almaty, setting police vehicles on fire, and attacking the regional branch of the ruling Nur Otan party. Download Now! Major Price Models in the Language Translation Services Sourcing and Procurement Market The report discusses in detail each pricing model and the pros and cons attached to every pricing model prevalent in the market. Also, the report provides insights with respect to the category supply chain and the margins of various suppliers within the supply chain. The most widely adopted pricing models in the Language Translation Services Sourcing and Procurement Market Hourly based pricing Project based pricing Learn about various other pricing models: Request for a FREE sample report Spend Growth and Demand by Region The Language Translation Services Sourcing and Procurement market will register an incremental spend of about USD 17.49 Billion during the forecast period. However, only a few regions will drive the majority of this growth. Moreover, on the supply side, North America, Europe, and APAC will have the maximum influence owing to the supplier base. The growth is expected to be primarily driven by increasing demand and adoption of the category across those few regions. To get a detailed analysis of the regional factors driving the Language Translation Services Sourcing and Procurement Report: Download the sample report now! Subscribe to our "Free Limited Period Starter Procurement Plan" to get the following: View 6 full reports View 800+ report samples Pre-order upcoming reports Dedicated account manager Subscribe Now for FREE! Most Adopted Procurement Strategies by Buyers Across the Language Translation Services Sourcing and Procurement Market The report provides a detailed insight of the most adopted procurement strategies by buyers across industries and analysis of these strategies with respect to innovation, regulatory compliance, quality, supply, and cost. Adoption of these procurement strategies will enable the buyers to reduce category TCO and achieve cost savings, while sourcing for thermal equipment requirements. To get the exact information on various procurement strategies: Get the FREE Sample Report Now! This Language Translation Services Sourcing and Procurement Market report answers help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers, for instance: Am I engaging with the right suppliers? Which KPIs should I use to evaluate my incumbent suppliers? Which supplier selection criteria are relevant for? What are the workplace computing devices category essentials in terms of SLAs and RFx? Download 5 Reports EVERY MONTH! Get instant access to download 5 reports every month and view 1200 full reports. With every purchase, we also offer complimentary research add-ons and Covid-19 impact assessments. Download this Report Our Top Selling Procurement Reports: Asset Recovery Services - Forecast and Analysis: The asset recovery services will grow at a CAGR of 9.49% during 2021-2025. Asia Asset Recovery Pte Ltd., TES-Amm Singapore Pte Ltd., and Iron Mountain Inc. are among the prominent suppliers in asset recovery services market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Vulnerability Management Sourcing and Procurement Report: Vulnerability Management Procurement Market, prices will increase by 4%-6% during the forecast period and suppliers will have a Moderate bargaining power in this market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Celebrity Talent Management Services - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: This report offers key advisory and intelligence to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their celebrity talent management services requirements. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. Contact SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge 12 original paintings by Stimmell were featured, and all 12 sold out during the weekend's auction events. In fact, there was such a demand for Stimmell's work that she even added three additional paintings that were still being worked on in her studioand all three of those paintings sold out as well. Her final studio painting, titled "Awakened," sold after several rounds of intense competitive bidding, and Stimmell was still finishing it as it sold on Sunday night. Stimmell noted that the paint was still wet on the canvas as the final gavel came down for "Awakened." But that wasn't Stimmell's only milestone this past weekend. The artist also premiered two new graphic works for Park West's New Year's auctions, which were quickly embraced. The first, "The Countess Ova Rose," was sold 48 times. The second, "The Messenger," was sold over 120 timesshattering the previous Park West record for the most works of the same image sold by any artist in a single day. The previous record was held by the acclaimed Miami artist Kre8, who, coincidentally, reached that milestone during last year's New Year's Weekend online auctions. There was another amazing parallel between Park West's 2021 and 2022 New Year's auctions, which made the events a family affair. During the 2021 auction, Jasmyne Sittera 3-year-old "auctioneer-in-training" and daughter of Principal Auctioneer Jordan Sitterbanged the final gavel on the Kre8 work that became the first artwork in Park West history to be collected by over 100 collectors on a single day. During the 2022 auction, Jasmynenow 4 years oldwas back and, once again, brought down the gavel to celebrate Stimmell breaking Kre8's former record. "I couldn't be happier with Melanie Stimmell's debut," said Albert Scaglione, Founder and CEO of Park West Gallery. "Our New Year's auctions are becoming an important launching pad for some of our most successful artists, and I'm pleased that Melanie was able to carry on that tradition." Stimmell first connected with Park West Gallery during the company's inaugural "Made in Vegas" artist competition in 2021. The contest was targeted at finding emerging artists in the Las Vegas area and celebrating the opening of Park West's two new locations at the Forum Shops in Vegas' Caesars Palace. Stimmell was one of the competition's Top 10 semi-finalists and quickly attracted the eye of Park West's executive team. "The moment I first saw Melanie's work, I knew we'd found something special," said John Block, Park West's Executive Vice President. "Her work is so whimsical and evocative, blending reality with the fantastical in such a bold way. It's not every day that you encounter an artist with such a clear vision, and I am thrilled that we get to share that vision with our collectors." Stimmell is an incredibly accomplished artist and illustrator who worked for years as a technical director on the popular South Park television series. Known worldwide for her talent as a muralist, she has been awarded gold medals and first place awards in Europe's most prestigious street painting competitions, including the title of Maestra Madonnara (Master Street Painter) in both Italy and Germany. Now based in Las Vegas, Stimmell is a fine artist, teacher, and co-founder of We Talk Chalk, a 3D-street painting company. In addition to Stimmell's monumental first show, Park West's New Year's Weekendhosted by Jordan Sitter and David Gormanalso featured a fantastic collection of original art from iconic contemporary artists like David "LEBO" Le Batard, Romero Britto, Jim Warren, and Thomas Kinkade and master artists like Albrecht Durer, Victor Vasarely, and Marc Chagall. Park West Gallery holds live art auctions on cruise ships all over the world and at select other luxury travel destinations. The gallery also has locations where art lovers can tour their museum collections or take home a work of original art in Michigan, Hawaii, and Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to their cruise and gallery events, Park West hosts live-streaming art auctions every week where collectors can acquire new works from the comfort of their homes. To participate in one of Park West's live-streaming art auctions, interested parties just need to fill out their online interest form and a personal concierge will get them scheduled for an upcoming weekend. About Park West Gallery Park West Gallery is the world's largest art dealer, bringing the experience of collecting fine art to more than 3 million customers since 1969. Whether it's masterpieces from history's greatest artists or the latest artwork from leading contemporary icons, Park West offers something for everyone through its accessible art exhibitions and auctions all over the world. You can learn more about Park West Gallery and its over 50-year history at http://www.parkwestgallery.com Park West also hosts live-streaming online art auctions every weekend. To learn more about Park West's online collecting events, visit https://www.parkwestgallery.com/online/ You can learn more about Melanie Stimmell here or visit her Instagram page here. CONTACT: Tom Burns [email protected] SOURCE Park West Gallery Related Links http://www.parkwestgallery.com PITTSBURGH, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leech Tishman Partner and Cannabis Industry Group Co-Leader, Michael H. Sampson, will host an informative webinar on Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 2:00 PM EST for cannabis-related businesses on how they can protect themselves commercially in the new year. Cannabis in 2022 After briefly summarizing the current state of federal and state cannabis law in the United States and the various pending federal legislative efforts Mike will highlight areas of importance for entities and individuals doing business in or with the cannabis industry, including when to involve outside counsel. During this fast-paced, one-hour webinar, in addition to other topics, Mike will touch upon product liability and product recall considerations, the need for various policies and procedures, cyber security, text-message marketing, insurance, contractual risk transfer, document retention, and other ways in which cannabis-related businesses can protect their financial and reputational interests. This webinar is intended for those that own, operate, or work for a cannabis dispensary, grower, processor, or other related business, as well as ancillary businesses that supply or service the cannabis industry. The webinar will identify risks and challenges facing the industry in the coming year and offer practical thoughts about steps plant-touching, non-plant-touching and ancillary businesses can take to protect themselves and their interests. Interested individuals should register here. Please submit any questions in advance to [email protected]. ABOUT LEECH TISHMAN Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl is a full-service law firm dedicated to assisting individuals, businesses, and institutions. Leech Tishman offers legal services in business restructuring & insolvency, corporate matters, employment & labor, estates & trusts, intellectual property, litigation & alternative dispute resolution, and real estate. In addition, the firm offers a wide range of legal services to clients in the aviation & aerospace, cannabis, construction, energy & natural resources, healthcare, and hospitality industries. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Leech Tishman also has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Sarasota, Washington, D.C. and Wilmington, DE. Contact: Mala Mason Director of Marketing & Business Development [email protected] 412.225.9568 SOURCE Leech Tishman RESTON, Va., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, today announced it will make a strategic investment in HawkEye 360, the world's leading commercial provider of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics. The companies will share information and combine efforts to achieve transformational growth in data and analytical services. "We are pleased to invest in HawkEye 360 and their innovative work to enhance geospatial intelligence solutions," said Leidos National Security Space Executive Vice President Paul Engola. "We're confident this investment will strengthen our robust capabilities in the National Security Space arena. This will also create innovative pathways to deliver bold solutions to our customers as they work to safeguard U.S. and allied interests." "HawkEye 360 is pleased to welcome such a distinguished defense and intelligence leader as Leidos to our group of world class investors," said HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini. "We look forward to harnessing their support to create significant value not only for the defense, intelligence and national security communities, but also for organizations addressing some of the most complex global challenges facing humanity and the environment." Leidos' investment in HawkEye 360 will build on the company's multi-decade heritage of serving National Security Space customers. It will also support the creation of new, differentiated technological capabilities. HawkEye 360 delivers a groundbreaking source of global knowledge based on RF geospatial intelligence, further accentuating Leidos' efforts to make the world a safer place. This mutual agreement will accelerate the company's growth while creating new opportunities for customers in the humanitarian, environmental, commercial and national security sectors. About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. About HawkEye 360 HawkEye 360 is delivering a revolutionary source of global knowledge based on radio frequency (RF) geospatial intelligence to those working to make the world a safer place. The company operates the first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation to detect, characterize, and geolocate a broad range of RF signals. This unique RF data and analytics equip our global customers with high-impact insights needed to make decisions with confidence. HawkEye 360 is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements contained in this release involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Leidos' operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking statements often use words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek," "project", "target," "goal," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can," "continue" and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of the transaction or future operating or financial performance or events. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Accordingly, there is no assurance that the expectations of Leidos will be realized. This release also contains statements about the proposed investment in HawkEye 360 that are based on assumptions currently believed to be valid but involve significant risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Leidos' control, which could cause Leidos' actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements with respect to the transaction, including risks relating to the impacts of COVID-19 and related actions taken to prevent its spread, the dependency of the transaction on market conditions and the impact of a change in market conditions on the value to be received in the transaction, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, uncertainty as to the expected financial condition and economic performance of the company following the closing, including future revenues, expenses, earnings, indebtedness, losses, prospects, business strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the company following the closing, Leidos' ability to achieve anticipated benefits from the investment, and the risk that disruptions from the transaction will harm Leidos' business. While the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Leidos' consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. For a discussion identifying additional important factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, see Leidos' filings with the SEC, including "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" in Leidos' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2021, and in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available at http://www.Leidos.com and at the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made only as of the date of this release. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Leidos assumes no obligation to provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Contact: Melissa Duenas (571) 526-6850 [email protected] Thomas Doheny (571) 474-4735 [email protected] Alyssa Pettus (571) 992-5499 [email protected] SOURCE Leidos Holdings, Inc. RESTON, Va., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, today announced the appointment of Terry Phillips as the company's Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO). Phillips will be responsible for leading, managing and directing the activities of the Leidos Global Security Organization. He will also oversee the company's compliance with U.S. and foreign government national security standards. "Terry has managed some of the Department of Defense's most sensitive capabilities, technologies and operations and we're thrilled to welcome him to Leidos," said Vicki Schmanske, Leidos Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations. "His decades of experience will be instrumental as we look to bolster our corporate global security strategy." Prior to joining Leidos, Phillips served as Executive Director of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects. His primary responsibility consisted of managing global enterprise security strategies for the U.S. Air Force, Space Force and select Department of Defense (DOD) Special Access Programs (SAP). In that role, Phillips led the protection of annual obligations of $30 Billion supporting classified research, development, testing and production. Phillips also served as the Director of Counterintelligence for the United States European Command directing counterintelligence strategy and operations for 53 countries in Europe, Caucasus and Levant. Phillips holds Masters' degrees in Education Administration and National Resource Strategies from Chapman University and National Defense University, respectively. He earned his Bachelor's degree in mathematics from Auburn University and is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for service in Kirkuk, Iraq. About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 1, 2021, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Contact: Melissa Duenas (571) 526-6850 [email protected] Thomas Doheny (571) 474-4735 [email protected] Jalen Drummond (571) 992-5046 [email protected] SOURCE Leidos Holdings, Inc. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As we poke our heads into January, a great way to start the new year with a fresh attitude is by embracing mindfulness, says Pamela McKenzie, K-8 Achievement and Behavior Specialist at Fortis Academy in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Fortis Academy is part of National Heritage Academies, a charter school management company in Michigan. Mindfulness is the art of being amazingly aware of all your senses at that moment, but without judgement or believing there's a right or wrong way to feel. It's a process McKenzie is teaching students to embrace to make better decisions throughout their day, and it starts with deep breaths. "We talk about how important those deep breaths are as that first step," McKenzie said. "No matter how old they are I will always talk about what it does for the brain." McKenzie likens taking a conscious breath to flipping a light switch, but it's not just for kids. "We're going to turn off all those emotions and we're going to turn on the logic so we can think through what's going on," she said. "Then we're going to think about what that emotion was and why it was there. Those are the two things for every age level that we'll do. We'll take breaths until we notice that our pulse isn't racing, that we feel like we're clear-headed." McKenzie offered a few techniques she uses with her students that can be helpful for all ages: Zipper Breaths: Pretend you've got a zipper on your bellybutton and take a deep breath to zip up straight instead of slouching. It gives your lungs the ability to fill because they're nice and long, while sitting up straight and tall makes you feel proud. Pretend you've got a zipper on your bellybutton and take a deep breath to zip up straight instead of slouching. It gives your lungs the ability to fill because they're nice and long, while sitting up straight and tall makes you feel proud. Imaginary Hug: Think of a loved one and wrap your arms around yourself and take a deep breath. Squeeze yourself tight. Imagine your loved one is hugging you to let you know you're ok. When breathing out, send your loved one well wishes. A favorite exercise of McKenzie's this time of year is Hot Chocolate Breathing. "We talk about engaging our imaginations quite a bit, so for this we pick out our favorite mug, and hold it with both hands," McKenzie said. "We imagine the mug full of rich, flavorful hot chocolate." Students are asked what happens if they try to cool their drink down with a hard or quick breath, and they're quick to reply that the drink will spill. McKenzie then talks about slow, gentle breaths to cool their cocoa, then guides them through the exercise. "We talk about how wonderful the hot chocolate smells," McKenzie said. "We focus on the breath in -- smelling the chocolate, then breathing out -- cooling the hot liquid down. "Then for fun we take a sip and enjoy." The mind can be a powerful tool. About National Heritage Academies: Fortis Academy is part of NHA, a network of 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com. SOURCE National Heritage Academies Related Links www.heritageacademies.com SEATTLE, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amperity, the leading customer data platform for enterprise consumer brands, announced that Analytical Sciences Marketing Group LLC, which conducts business as HomeHunt, a mortgage and real estate digital marketing platform affiliated with AnnieMac Home Mortgage, has implemented Amperity's Customer Data Platform (CDP) for ID management across existing systems, services, datasets and campaigns. In the last year, the housing market has accelerated in growth. In 2020, 5.64 million homes were sold, and in July 2020 alone more than 900,000 homes were sold. The average homebuyer undergoes anywhere from seven to twelve transactions across their customer lifetime. By partnering with Amperity, HomeHunt will be able to better understand its customers and deliver improved service at every point in the home buyer's journey while HomeHunt's affiliate AnnieMac will have insights on its customers from prospect to application, application to loan, and loan to servicing and refinancing throughout the lifecycle of each transaction. By integrating its lead generation engine with Amperity's CDP, HomeHunt expects to deliver high value and service to its existing and potential customers. "Delivering exceptional customer service is key to our mission; aiding families in finding and financing their perfect home," said Craig Ungaro, chief operating officer, AnnieMac. "By integrating with Amperity, we can gain a 360-degree view of our customers and deliver improved customer service throughout their home-buying journey." Amperity's CDP ingests raw customer data across various databases, using machine learning to resolve identities even when records lack unique identifiers across systems. The platform will result in unified and centralized customer databases, seamlessly integrating with HomeHunt and other internal services to provide a comprehensive picture of potential and legacy homebuyers. "HomeHunt understands that buying a house is a significant life decision, one that takes serious time and research," said Kabir Shahani, CEO, Amperity. "We are proud to work with HomeHunt to deliver technology that helps them better understand the homebuyer and enable a streamlined experience that makes it easier for Americans to find and buy the perfect home." To learn more about Amperity, please visit www.amperity.com . About Amperity Amperity is the leading Enterprise CDP trusted by the world's most loved brands to accelerate their shift to first-party customer relationships. Amperity has revolutionized the way brands identify, understand, and connect with their customers by leveraging AI to deliver a comprehensive and actionable Customer 360. This unified view improves marketing performance, fuels accurate customer insights, and enables world-class, real-time customer experiences. With Amperity, technical teams are freed from endless integration and data management, and business teams have direct access to the comprehensive data they need to build long-term customer loyalty and drive growth. Amperity serves many of the world's most loved brands, including Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Alaska Airlines, Michaels, Tapestry, Lucky Brand, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Crocs, Servco Automotive Retail, First Hawaiian Bank, and many more. To learn more, visit Amperity.com. About HomeHunt HomeHunt is a full-service real estate company backed by a team of professionals dedicated to helping families achieve their goals. From home buying to home selling, connecting with a real estate agent, or finding the right home loan, HomeHunt helps families reimagine their real estate experience. About AnnieMac AnnieMac Home Mortgage is a leading nationwide mortgage lender that firmly believes homeowners and home shoppers deserve more from the mortgage industry. With over 1,000 employees and 60 branch locations in the United States, we are uniquely qualified to provide more to mortgage customers across the country. AnnieMac Home Mortgage is a direct seller and servicer through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae that manages all of its processing and underwriting in-house through regional operation centers. Customers and partners can expect a wide variety of loan options and a quick and efficient process, along with exceptional customer service to reshape their expectations of what a mortgage company should offer. AnnieMac Home Mortgage is the trade name of American Neighborhood Mortgage Acceptance Company LLC, headquartered in Mount Laurel, N.J. SOURCE Amperity LAKEWOOD, N.J., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Real estate development is not for the faint of heart. As anyone who gave it a try knows, while it looks glamorous on the outside, there are more pitfalls than opportunities. Enter Moshe S Newhouse of Lakewood New Jersey based Moshe S Newhouse Real Estate BSD Equities with his novel approach. Typically, the developer needs to coordinate all the steps of the process to move the project from the initial concept stage through planning to design to approval, and finally to construction. This requires the developer to work with many professionals, different personalities, a tight timeline and a focused budget. "This is what we call mission impossible", says Moshe S Newhouse of Lakewood New Jersey based Moshe S Newhouse Real Estate BSD Equities. Moshe S Newhouse of Lakewood New Jersey based Moshe S Newhouse Real Estate BSD Equities' approach is simple. One stop shop for the entire process. With Moshe S Newhouse's extensive knowledge of the land use regulations, and now with the acquisition of Ocean remodeling, Moshe S Newhouse of Lakewood New Jersey based Moshe S Newhouse Real Estate truly is the one stop shop for any commercial real estate projects, big or small. About Moshe S Newhouse Real Estate BSD Equities: Moshe S Newhouse of Lakewood New Jersey based Moshe S Newhouse Real Estate BSD Equities is a full service commercial real estate development consultant firm. Incorporated in 2010, BSD equities has established itself as one of the regions premier consulting firms. Contact: Moshe Newhouse [email protected] SOURCE Moshe Newhouse Lakewood Related Links www.mosheshmuelnewhouse.com AVON, Conn., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Voluntary carriers expect a continued increase in the demand for online, self-service and virtual benefits enrollments, according to Eastbridge's 2021 Enrollment and Technology Funding Practices of Voluntary Carriers Spotlight Report. "The need for tech-enabled enrollments was already increasing when the pandemic hit," said Nick Rockwell, Eastbridge president. "As more people started working from home, demand for online and virtual options increased dramatically, driving increased carrier investment in technology partnerships." However, the increasing use of technology for benefits enrollments doesn't signal an end to personal support, the report shows. Carriers surveyed cite overall better participation and improved benefits understanding when in-person methods such as one-to-one meetings, group or individual virtual meetings, or telephonic support are part of the process. The Enrollment and Technology Funding Practices of Voluntary Carriers Spotlight Report surveys 32 voluntary benefit carriers to provide detailed information on current enrollment services, methods and preferences. It also examines carriers' approach to technology funding and results produced by different enrollment methods. Other key findings in the report include: Voluntary carriers continue to expand the number of technology partnerships they work with, since brokers or employers typically have the deciding voice on which enrollment platform to use. Most carriers see the highest percentage of their sales from third-party vendors rather than their own internal, proprietary platforms. Technology funding requests are putting increasing pressure on carriers' profitability, as brokers and employers expect them to subsidize tech or benefits administration fees most of the time. A wide variety of print, electronic and in-person communication is essential to drive strong participation in voluntary enrollments. Other best practices include an active enrollment strategy, mandatory meetings and positioning voluntary products directly after core benefit offerings. The Enrollment and Technology Funding Practices of Voluntary Carriers Spotlight Report is available for purchase for $3,000. For more information or to purchase the report, visit the Eastbridge website report page by clicking here, email [email protected], or call (860) 676-9633. About Eastbridge Consulting Group Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc . is a marketing advisory firm serving companies focused on the voluntary/worksite benefits market in the United States and Canada. CONTACT: Ginger Bates EMAIL: [email protected] SOURCE Eastbridge Consulting Group DENVER, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Black Lotus Labs, the threat intelligence team at Lumen Technologies, discovered new evidence of a months-long campaign against the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID). The highly targeted campaign included the deployment of the Konni RAT a malicious Remote Access Trojan that researchers and governments believe is a tool used by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2014. Black Lotus Labs discovered new evidence of a months-long campaign against the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tweet this Overview of Konni campaign against the Russian MID Lumen Logo (PRNewsfoto/Lumen Technologies) "This activity cluster demonstrates the patient and persistent nature of advanced actors who wage multi-phased campaigns against perceived high-value networks," said Mark Dehus, director of threat intelligence at Black Lotus Labs. "If actors attempt to infiltrate the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what's to stop them from attempting to use these same tactics on other governments or high-profile businesses? For this reason, it is vital for defenders to understand advanced actors' evolving capabilities and tradecraft used to infect coveted targets." Read the full blog here. Timeline of Observed Events The series of persistent actions against Russia's MID occurred from October to December 2021 as follows: In October, the actors set up spoofed hostnames to harvest credentials of an active MID account. In November, the attackers used social engineering to lure recipients into downloading malware disguised as software the Russian government uses to collect Covid vaccination statuses. In December, the attackers used the previously acquired credentials to spear-phish high-value targets with a Happy New Year-themed message. If invoked, a loader nearly identical to the one observed in November would deploy a sophisticated infection chain resulting the Konni RAT, as previously reported by Cluster25. Why This Attack is Significant One of the high-profile targets included Sergey Alexeyevich Ryabko, deputy foreign minister for the Russian Federation , among other Russian government officials. , among other Russian government officials. According to a cached version of the MID's website which has since gone offline Ryabko is responsible for bilateral relations with North and South America , non-proliferation and arms control, Iran's nuclear program and Russia's participation in the BRICS association. Black Lotus Labs' Response Black Lotus Labs successfully blocked the threat actor's infrastructure across the Lumen global IP network to protect its customers and the broader internet from being targeted. The team continues to follow this activity to detect and disrupt similar campaigns, and it encourages other organizations to alert on these and similar indicators in their environments. Additional Resources About Lumen Technologies Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 450,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences. Learn more about the Lumen network, edge cloud, security, communication and collaboration solutions and our purpose to further human progress through technology at news.lumen.com/home, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, Twitter: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks. SOURCE Lumen Black Lotus Labs ANKARA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government on Thursday changed the regulation for foreigners to acquire Turkish citizenship in a bid to support its Turkish lira, according to a decree issued in the Turkish official gazette. Foreigners who make a certain investment in the country, buy real estate or make a fixed capital investment could get Turkish citizenship, it said. For example, foreigners who own real estate in Turkey worth at least 250,000 U.S. dollars and hold the property for at least three years will be able to acquire Turkish citizenship. According to the new regulation, the foreign currency obtained from the sale of property to foreigners will be sold to the central bank through a local bank and converted into Turkish lira. The currency that foreigners keep in the bank for investment will also be converted into the local currency, it said. The regulation comes amid the currency turmoil in Turkey. BALTIMORE, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New Story, one of the largest special education companies in the U.S., announced today that the Company's Board of Directors has appointed Jonathan E. Bicknell as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Jon will assume day-to-day leadership and will focus on the Company's operational agility and its growth strategies. Jon is a capital markets veteran and has served as New Story's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since he joined the Company in January 2021. Paul Volosov, long-time CEO and founder of New Story and its family of companies is transitioning into the role of Chairman of the Board where he'll continue to lend his expertise. "Jon is deeply committed to the New Story mission. I am confident in his ability to lead our team of more than 1,500 educators, therapists and staff," said Paul Volosov, Chair of the Board. "Jon has a proven history of helping organizations grow their potential. No doubt Jon will continue this trend as he leads New Story. I am most confident that we will continue to grow and develop our team as we support more students, families, and communities." Bicknell is a seasoned leader with experience spanning 25+ years across consulting, financial and healthcare sectors. He brings to the role a wealth of experience having spent the last decade working with private equity owned portfolio companies and as part of executive management teams. Most notably, he was the CFO of Versant Health Inc., a billion-dollar vision insurance company focused on managed eye health and vision care, served as CFO for inVentiv Health (now Syneos Health), a multi-billion-dollar global end-to-end biopharmaceutical organization, and as an Assurance Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. "I'm excited to take on this new role and to continue driving our mission forward by putting our students and their families at the center of what we do," said Bicknell, CEO. "Our New Story Schools model has proven results when we work hand-in-hand with those we serve. The partnerships we develop with our communities, and especially those with local school districts, is part of our students' success and our support model. I am committed to maintaining and developing these critical partnerships and to exploring new ways to collaborate so we can support even more children and young adults in need." New Story Schools, the company's flagship school brand, was founded in 1997 with one school in Pennsylvania. Since then, it has evolved its capabilities, programs and services. Today, New Story's family of companies serves diverse populations across five states as part of its network of nearly 50 schools and multiple clinics. About New Story New Story is a leading provider of special and alternative education and mental health services for children and young adults with serious and complex challenges. The New Story family of schools and clinics serve families across Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. For more information, visit www.newstory.com. SOURCE New Story LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, today announces its largest U.S. expansion since launching in the market more than four years ago. Within the first months of 2022, HMD Global will significantly expand the Nokia device portfolio in the U.S. across four major partners: TracFone Wireless, Inc., DISH Wireless, Consumer Cellular, T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile. Following quickly on the heels of the Q4 launches of the Nokia G300 and Nokia X100 affordable 5G smartphones, the Nokia phones portfolio is expanding across price points. The newest affordable 5G device, the Nokia G400, will launch with all four wireless providers for an MSRP less than $250. In addition, three 4G smartphones the Nokia C100, Nokia C200, and Nokia G100 as well as a 4G "Originals" feature phone, the Nokia 2760 Flip, will be launched. All four of these devices will be available for less than $150 MSRP, bringing premium Nokia experiences and design to even more accessible price points. Florian Seiche, Chief Executive Officer, HMD Global: "Since launching the first Nokia brand licensed phones five years ago, HMD Global has transitioned from a start-up with a vision for more accessible, longer-lasting smartphones to a strong player with deep partnerships all over the world. Research shows that customers are looking for the best value for their mobile phone budget including a large display, long battery life and high-quality camera experience and Nokia phones deliver on every element, making them a trusted and reliable phone for consumers and partners in the United States1." Cristian Capelli, Vice President North America, HMD Global: "In the last six months, we've captured market share from some of the industry's most entrenched companies while making premium features more and more affordable. The growth of our new relationships with Consumer Cellular and DISH Wireless in addition to our ongoing relationship with T-Mobile and Tracfone, are just the start of what's to come. We've already seen a strong response to the launch of the Nokia G300 and the Nokia X100, confirming consumers' interest in affordable 5G experience backed by quality and durability, which are at the core of Nokia phones." Ben Wood, Chief Analyst, CCS Insight: "The consumer appetite for affordable and capable smartphones remains high. There is a clear opportunity for well specified, capable devices in the U.S. market. As Android smartphones continue to deliver an increased bang for their buck, we expect the market to continue to expand." Availability: Nokia 2760 Flip 4G feature phone will be available in Q1 for an MSRP of $79 . . Nokia C100 4G smartphone will be available in Q1, for an MSRP of $99 . . Nokia C200 4G smartphone will be available in Q2, for an MSRP of $119 . . Nokia G100 4G smartphone will be available in Q2, for an MSRP of $149 . . Nokia G400 5G smartphone will be available in Q2, for an MSRP of $239 . About HMD Global Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, HMD Global Oy ("HMD") is the home of Nokia phones. HMD's mission is providing accessible connectivity for everyone. HMD designs and markets a range of Nokia smartphones and Nokia feature phones and an expanding portfolio of innovative HMD service offerings. With an ongoing commitment to security, durability, reliability, and quality across its range, HMD is the proud exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand for phones and tablets. For further information, see www.hmdglobal.com. Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation. All specifications, features and other product information provided are subject to change without notice. Variations on offering may apply. Check local availability. 1 Study conducted by Marketsource on behalf of HMD Global, Q2 2020. SOURCE HMD Global SHANGHAI, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuance Pharma ("Nuance"or the "Company"), a specialty care focused biopharma with late late-stage clinical programs and existing commercial operations, today announced an agreement with Sino Health Pharmaceutical Limited ("Sino Health") , an affiliated company of Yinglian Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Limited, to fully acquire its 100-percent equity shares and its fully-owned subsidiaries Ying Lian Zhuhai and Ying Lian Germany. The RMB multi-hundred million acquisition involves three commercial stage products and a pipeline product under New Drug Applications (NDAs) review by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Sino Health and its subsidiaries have a salesforce of over 100 people, among which 85% of them have prior experience working at multinational pharma companies. Collectively it represents a sales network covering over 3,500 hospitals (1,200 of them are key hospitals covered by its direct sales team) and 6,500 pharmacies in 29 provinces in China. Through the acquisition, Nuance expects to strengthen its presence in the emergency care and retail segments, while in the meantime enhancing its sales and distribution network, through synergies from the acquisition. Nuance aims to continue its provision of high-quality products and services to patients to fulfil unmet medical needs in China. "This is another important milestone for Nuance in the implementation of our 'Dual Wheel' strategy. While bringing together global innovative assets, we continuously put our efforts in commercialization of products in high value therapeutic area's across China. The acquisition not only enriches our portfolio, through expansion into the emergency care, but also strengthens the sales network and supply chain capabilities and the Company's commercial footprint. The deal also materially improves our working capital and cash flow whilst generating multiple synergies on the commercialization of assets across China. Under the current market volatility, the transaction will ensure that Nuance is well-positioned for existing and future needs for commercialization," commented by Mark Gavin Lotter, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nuance. " The year has seen significant progress in both building its commercial operations and presence in China as well as bolstering its presence in the respiratory and pain franchises through the licensing of a number of key assets, most notably, Ensifentrine from Verona and AeroFact from Aerogen Pharma. Nuance was founded by Mark Gavin Lotter, a serial entrepreneur with successful track record in China. The management team composes of executives with substantial prior experiences in leading multinational pharma companies. In December 2020, Nuance completed Series D financing which amounted to US$181 million from its controlling shareholder CBC Group and other renowned investors such as RTW, GT Fund, Matrix Partners and HBM, etc. About Nuance Pharma Nuance is a Shanghai-headquartered specialty care focused specialty pharmaceutical company with the combination of commercial stage and innovative pipeline focusing on respiratory, pain management, emergency, maternal and pediatric areas. With the mission to address critical unmet medical needs in Greater China and Asia Pacific, Nuance has built a late clinical stage portfolio under development focusing on key therapeutic areas through global partnerships, while maintaining a self-sustainable commercial operation. About Sino Health Sino Health Pharmaceutical Limited was formerly the holding company of Yinglian Group. Its GSP qualified, fully owned subsidiary Ying Lian Zhuhai is responsible for the sales and distribution of drugs in China, while Ying Lian Germany manages supply chain and holds the MAH(Marketing Authorization Holder) for its main products. Sino Health has a mature sales network covering the whole nation, with more than 100 professional salespersons, most of which were from multinational pharmaceutical companies. Media Contact Nuance: Mini Zhu, Investor Relations & Public Relations Email: [email protected] Phone: +86 21 3203 5318 SOURCE Nuance Pharma Limited Completed in 2015, this 248-unit community is well positioned in the rapidly expanding suburbs of Chattanooga. The population influx in the Chattanooga MSA is a direct result of the revitalization of the Downtown area and the strong economic development brought by major employers such as Amazon, Volkswagen, and McKee Foods Corporation. Chattanooga was recently ranked number one for Employment Outlook by Forbes magazine, in part due to its proximity to the high growth metros of Atlanta and Nashville. With the continued economic development brought by corporate expansions, experts foresee an increase in high paying jobs, thereby raising household incomes by 28% over the next 10 years. "The Chattanooga market is one of the most sought-after submarkets in the United States. It is experiencing exceptional rent growth accompanied by very limited supply. The Village at Apison Pike will be a great addition to our Tennessee portfolio." said Travis Bertetto, Olympus Acquisitions Manager. The Village at Apison Pike features a resort style pool with cabanas, state of the art fitness center, fully equipped clubhouse with a billiard and gaming room, and a dog park. Unit interiors include granite countertops, nine-foot ceilings, and stainless-steel appliance packages. Olympus plans to further enhance this Class A property by infusing an additional $1M in capital over the next few years. This will include a complete exterior paint, minor renovations to the clubhouse, and amenity enhancements which will add significant value long term. "Olympus Property has owned in the Chattanooga Market since 2016 and believes in the continued long-term growth of the market, which will provide upside to both our Partners and Olympus," said Chase Bennett, Managing Director. Founded in 1992, Olympus Property owns and manages some of the most desirable multifamily opportunities across the United States. Olympus Property is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Over a 29-year history, the firm has become a successful and recognized name in the multifamily industry owning and operating approximately 21,000 units across eleven states. The Village at Apison Pike is the third property in Olympus Property's twelfth fund, Olympus Property XII LLC. To learn more about Olympus Property, please contact Braden Barr at 415-686-0232 or [email protected], or Jeff Evans at 325-829-8844 or [email protected]. SOURCE Olympus Property PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pardee Resources Company (OTC: PDER) (the "Company") announced today that Harry G. Symons, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has decided to retire from the Company in May, 2022. In addition, the Company announced that Steven J. Rolle has joined the Company as of January 4, 2022 as Senior Vice President of Finance. Upon Mr. Symons retirement in May, Mr. Rolle will succeed Mr. Symons as Pardee's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "On behalf of the Company, I want to thank Harry for his tremendous dedication, integrity and leadership" said Carleton P. Erdman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Throughout his 40 year career with the Company, Harry has maintained a steady focus on supporting Pardee's significant growth and built an outstanding track record of creating value for our shareholders. It has been a privilege to work alongside him each day. We all wish Harry the very best in his retirement." Erdman added "I am pleased that Steve Rolle has joined the Company. Steve's success and experience as a CFO, his financial and accounting expertise, and his leadership qualities will be a valuable addition to the Pardee team as we move forward." Rolle brings with him almost 30 years of experience in accounting, treasury, financial management and reporting, corporate strategy, M&A, and portfolio optimization. He most recently served as the CFO of 3SI Security Systems, Inc., a technology security firm based in Malvern, Pennsylvania. In addition to historical statements, this press release contains statements relating to future events. These statements are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and current expectations, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: difficult economic conditions, and other risks and uncertainties. As a result, these forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any obligation to) update or alter these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE Pardee Resources Company Related Links pardee.com CINCINNATI and BOWIE, Md., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PatientPoint and the Epilepsy Foundation today announced a new initiative to bring seizure safety and epilepsy education and support resources to the offices of nearly 3,500 neurologists nationwide. PatientPoint will feature Epilepsy Foundation content on its Wait-Time Communication Platform, Interact Exam Room Platform and Provider Access Platform in neurology practices across the country. "With PatientPoint, we can reach even more people with epilepsy as well as families, caregivers and the general public." Tweet this PatientPoint and the Epilepsy Foundation are teaming up to bring seizure safety and epilepsy education and support resources to neurology practices nationwide. As part of the new collaboration with the Epilepsy Foundation, PatientPoint will share important seizure first aid information with patients and families in neurology waiting rooms and exam rooms. "One in 10 people will have a seizure during their lifetime. During a seizure a person may be confused, not aware of what is going on or unconscious. Knowing how to help someone in that instance can make a huge difference," said Brandy Fureman, PhD, Chief Outcomes Officer, Epilepsy Foundation. "Through our collaboration with PatientPoint, we can reach even more people with epilepsy as well as families, caregivers and the general public so that they know how to administer seizure first aid if they witness a seizure and potentially save a life." PatientPoint will also promote the Epilepsy Foundation's learning portal to patients and families in the exam room and to healthcare providers in the back office. In addition, the initiative will showcase the Epilepsy Learning Healthcare System, a patient-centered network hosted by the Epilepsy Foundation on behalf of a large group of partners across the country including 14 epilepsy centers, key professionals and community services organizations. "PatientPoint and the Epilepsy Foundation share a common goal of educating, empowering and supporting patients and families, and that shines through in this collaboration," said PatientPoint Executive Vice President of Content & Creative Kate Merz. "We're honored to work together to share education and support resources at the point of care to help raise awareness of seizure and epilepsy and bring hope to those facing challenges." About PatientPoint PatientPoint is the patient engagement platform more providers trust. Our innovative, tech-enabled solutions create more effective doctor-patient interactions and deliver high value for patients, providers and healthcare sponsors. Through our nearly 140k unique healthcare provider relationships, PatientPoint's solutions impact roughly 750 million patient visits each year, further advancing our mission of making every doctor-patient engagement better. Learn more at patientpoint.com. About the Epilepsy Foundation With a network of partners throughout the United States, the Epilepsy Foundation is leading the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy. The Foundation connects people to treatment, support and resources; leads advocacy efforts; funds innovative research and the training of specialists; and educates the public about epilepsy and seizure first aid. For more than five decades, the Epilepsy Foundation has shone a light on epilepsy to promote awareness and understanding, and to advocate for laws that matter to people with epilepsy, while also funding epilepsy research and supporting epilepsy investigators and specialists in their early careers. In partnership with the CDC, the Epilepsy Foundation has helped to improve access to care for people with epilepsy, expanded its digital reach and online resources in homes across the country, and trained more than 600,000 people in seizure recognition and first aid. The Epilepsy Foundation continues to focus on serving the epilepsy community through advocacy, education, direct services and research for new therapies. To learn more visit epilepsy.com or call 1.800.332.1000. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE PatientPoint Related Links www.patientpoint.com Following the 2019 acquisition of Maitre'D and Veloce restaurant POS software systems, this transaction consolidates PayFacto's leadership position in the industry and reflects its commitment to offering innovative, affordable turnkey solutions to constantly improve customer service. Restaurant and food services players can now access a comprehensive service offering from a single provider, encompassing an ecosystem connecting online, mobile and in-restaurant ordering, kitchen display systems and pay-at-table solutions. The accelerated development of online ordering and delivery solutions for the restaurant and hospitality industry has brought challenges for many business owners over the past two years and PayFacto is looking to meet the growing demand for tools that are both useful and user-friendly. This enhanced service offering will also be a valuable stepping stone for the company to access new markets in Canada and the United States. Quotes "With the acquisition of iShopFood Inc. and the complementary nature of the solutions offered by our companies, PayFacto now has a solid launch pad to power our growth in North America. We are especially proud to be acquiring a company built by young entrepreneurs and technology developers who will now share their expertise with our team." Martin Leroux, President and CEO, PayFacto "We are very excited to be joining a fast-growing company and expanding development opportunities for our team. Integration of iShopFood Inc. into PayFacto creates an all-in-one solution to meet the ever-increasing needs of merchants and consumers. Maxime Harvey, co-founder, iShopFood Inc. About PayFacto Headquartered in Montreal with operations in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, PayFacto is a leader in payment and hospitality solutions, including its new VelPAY, an all-in-one integrated payment and POS solution. Recognized for its expertise, agility, and execution, PayFacto enables merchants of all shapes and sizes to take control of their electronic transactions. With its own proprietary payment gateway and point-of-sale technology, PayFacto offers a unique suite of integrated payment and POS solutions supported locally through its extensive network of hundreds of distributors and resellers. For more information, visit payfacto.com. About iShopFood iShopFood is an ordering platform aimed at empowering the restaurant and hospitality industry by offering an online ordering solution, self-serve kiosks, digital menu boards, a loyalty program and multiple other tools. Synchronized with the technologies already in place, the solution creates an ecosystem that improves sales and automates the business processes. Founded in 2015, iShopFood now has clients in Canada, US and the UK and is working to expand these markets. More information can be found at https://ishopfood.com. Facebook PayFacto LinkedIn PayFacto SOURCE PayFacto "The opportunity to join People.ai as Chief Marketing Officer was irresistible," Cogan said. "People.ai is the clear leader in the emerging Revenue Operations and Intelligence category. It has proven it gives enterprise companies the power to improve sales productivity, shorten sales ramp-up time, accelerate sales cycles and improve pipeline generation abilities by truly understanding the sales activity data and ideal buyer journey. From its unique data-first approach to its culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, I am thrilled to join People.ai's next phase of hypergrowth." Forrester defines Revenue Operations and Intelligence (RO&I) solutions as "technologies that leverage buyer signals and interactions to produce insights that allow go-to-market functions to continuously improve execution performance and optimize the revenue engine across multiple areas: engagement and productivity, revenue cadence and forecasting, and the overall optimization of the revenue engine itself."1 Cogan will help scale People.ai's go-to-market efforts to meet growing demand for the company's RO&I solutions, including its unique, AI-driven SmartData platform that surfaces insights that help increase the revenue generated by every sales representative, every year. "We are incredibly excited to welcome Mariana to People.ai's executive leadership team as our new Chief Marketing Officer," said People.ai Founder and CEO Oleg Rogynskyy. "She is a visionary business and marketing leader with a well-earned reputation for executing bold programs that drive growth and maximize customer value. Her work implementing Revenue Operations and Intelligence solutions at PTC the company that invented the original MEDDIC sales methodology is a model for every company looking to improve sales productivity, accelerate pipeline generation, and modernize and optimize their sales and marketing in a scalable, data-driven way." Prior to PTC, Mexico-born Cogan held various roles of increasing responsibility in the software industry, and she is an advocate for diversity, inclusion and uplifting minorities in the tech space. She believes deeply that diverse companies are more innovative and outperform less diverse ones. In early 2022, Cogan will kick off a multi-city tour to connect directly with customers and collaborate to unlock their revenue engine transformation journey. Cogan earned a master of business administration (MBA) from Babson College and a bachelor's degree from Jochi University in Tokyo, Japan. Cogan's appointment comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2021 for People.ai, which: Achieved 250% customer growth Acquired Hero Research, and relaunched Hero.app as PeopleGlass Announced $100 million in Series D funding to accelerate investments in the company's SmartData platform and its expansion into new industry segments and geographies About People.ai People.ai delivers the industry's leading Revenue Operations and Intelligence (RO&I) platform. Using patented AI technology, it transforms business activity such as email, meetings, and contacts, into account and opportunity management solutions that increase sales rep productivity, accelerates revenue growth, and maximizes marketing ROI. Companies such as AppDynamics, DataRobot, Okta, and Zoom rely on People.ai to unlock growth. Media Contacts: Andy Shane Big Valley Marketing [email protected] 214-498-4915 1 Source: Forrester Blog, "Revenue Operations And Intelligence (RO&I) Is Now Core To A Go-To-Market Tech Stack," 20 Oct 2021 SOURCE People.ai CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Peptide Synthesis Market by Reagent (Resins, Amino Acid, Dyes), Equipment (Peptide Synthesizer, Chromatography, Lyophilizer), Technology (Solid-phase, Solution-phase, Hybrid & Recombinant), End User (Pharma, Biotech, CRO) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global market is projected to USD 730 million by 2026 from USD 515 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 7.2 % between 2021 and 2026. Browse in-depth TOC on "Peptide Synthesis Market" 229 Tables 39 Figures 237 Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=158927365 The Growth in this peptide synthesis market is driven by the increasing use of peptides in pharmaceutical drugs, increase in research activities and availability of funding for R&D, and the development of advanced automated peptide synthesizers. Increasing R&D activities indicate the gradual development of a robust research base globally. However, the lack of a unified set of regulations for therapeutic peptides and the high cost of instruments are expected to restrain the growth of this market during the forecast period. The reagents segment accounted for the largest share of the product & service segment in the peptide synthesis market in 2020. Based on product & service, the market is segmented into reagents, equipment, and services. In 2020, the reagents segment accounted for the largest share of 50.8% of the market. The large share of this segment can be attributed to the growing applications of peptides in therapeutics, drug design, and gene synthesis; frequent purchase of reagents in comparison to equipment; rising number of ongoing research projects involving peptide synthesis; and the availability of various peptide synthesis reagents in the market. The Solid Phase peptide synthesis segment accounted for the largest share of the technology segment in the peptide synthesis market in 2020. Based on technology, the market is segmented into solid-phase peptide synthesis, solution-phase peptide synthesis, and hybrid & recombinant technology. The solid-phase peptide synthesis segment accounted for the largest share of 62.0% of the market in 2020. Solid-phase peptide synthesis is associated with several advantages, such as ease of operation, easy purification, short production cycles, high-level automation, and synthesis capabilities of long peptides in small quantities of amino acids. These advantages support the growth of the solid-phase peptide synthesis segment. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=158927365 The Asia Pacific region is the fastest-growing region of the peptide synthesis market in 2020. Based on the region, the market is segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR in the peptide synthesis market during the forecast period. Growing R&D funding, increasing investments by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and rising R&D activities in the region are expected to drive market growth. Key players in the peptide synthesis market include Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), Merck KGaA (Germany), Kaneka Corporation (Japan), GenScript Biotech Corporation (China), and Bachem Holding AG (Switzerland). Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=158927365 Browse Adjacent Markets: Biotechnology Market Research Reports & Consulting Browse Related Reports: Oligonucleotide Synthesis Market by Product (Drug, Synthesized Oligos (Primer, Probe), Reagents), Type (Custom, Predesign), Application (Therapeutic (ASO, siRNA), Research (PCR), Diagnostic), End User (Hospital, Pharma, CROs) - Global Forecast to 2026 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/oligonucleotide-synthesis-market-200829350.html Proteomics Market by Product (Spectroscopy, Chromatography, Electrophoresis, X-ray Crystallography), Reagent, Service (Core Proteomics, Bioinformatics), Application (Diagnostic, Drug Discovery), End User (Hospital, Labs, Biopharma) - Global Forecast to 2026 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/proteomics-market-731.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/peptide-synthesis-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/peptide-synthesis.asp SOURCE MarketsandMarkets NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RapidGrow LED Technologies, Inc., the nation's leading vertically integrated manufacturing and LED lighting technology company, announced that it will be attending the 2022 CannaCon Northeast conference, held January 7-8, 2022, in New York City. The announcement comes as New York-based cannabis growers scramble to grow high-quality varietals and produce products ahead of the state's anticipated recreational legalization in 2022. "RapidGrow's presence at CannaCon Northeast is to support and guide cannabis farmers in building and establishing a grow operation with a series of Led lighting that are fully wireless with their Pangea Technologies platform. Their advantage of speed-to-market with their own manufacturing, technology integration and customization options are driving their Growth in the overall growing Cannabis industry," says David Fried, Senior Vice President at RapidGrow. "While recreational legalization is exciting for New York consumers and the industry as a whole, it is imperative that grower's partner with experienced AgTech manufacturers that can produce fully customized, scalable, energy-efficient and automated lighting products to establish and boost their own competitive advantage." RapidGrow will showcase its proprietary open-architecture and fully wireless platform, PANGEA, at CannaCon. PANGEA is the only presently known 256-bit encrypted, fully wireless technology platform for the indoor farming and cannabis industries. PANGEA software is user-friendly, allowing for the automation of any personal or commercial horticulture project, indoor grow greenhouse and vertical farm, and can integrate with any third-party devices. PANGEA gathers data and generates real-time reporting of key growth variables, such as temperature, humidity, PAR, CO2, soil moisture content, HVAC, PH vapor pressure deficit and more, to ensure quality, consistency and repeatability of plants in indoor grow environments. Powered by PANGEA, RapidGrow's lights are truly wireless and fully customizable thanks to diodes inserted inside each light, unlike many lighting systems which are powered by limited Bluetooth technology. The wireless applications can create any light configurations and spectrums, optics, zoning and more to optimize growth for each product and cannabis strain. Trusted by RocketFarms, the largest grower of indoor flowers, fresh cut herbs and potted edibles in the U.S., RapidGrow's lights combined with PANGEA software provided an estimated 44% in energy savings from its lighting systems. PANGEA's data-tracking capabilities garnered RockFarms significant on-bill financing rebates to fund the installation from PG&E, the local utility company. The speed to meet the needs of the recently expanded consumer market in New York presents significant supply challenges to local growers, and RapidGrow is the only manufacturer in the country equipped to swiftly mitigate this time crunch. "Simply growing a great product isn't enough in this competitive market. Growers need manufacturing partners who can create fully customized, scalable products and deliver them in around two weeks. The global supply chain crisis is creating year-long delays of product shipments from Asian manufacturers, and RapidGrow is the only manufacturer who can do so here in North America," adds Fried. Thos Gibson, Vice President of Sales at RapidGrow LED will be representing the company at CannaCon at booth #414, showcasing RapidGrow's revolutionary LED lighting technology and its unmatched integration with PANGEA. Date: January 7-8, 2022 Time: 10 am 5 pm Eastern Time Venue: Javits Center, 429 11th Avenue, New York, NY For more information, please visit the RapidGrow booth #414 at CannaCon Northeast at the Javits Center, New York, NY, January 7-8, 2022, or visit RapidGrowLED.com About RapidGrow LED Technologies, Inc. Established in 2000, RapidGrow LED Technologies, Inc. is the nation's leading manufacturing and technology LED lighting company. With more than 350,000 square feet of research and development, testing and manufacturing facility space in North America, RapidGrow is a vertically integrated operation that produces all of its products in-house. RapidGrow is North America's only vertically integrated manufacturer of horticulture lighting with a proprietary software solution and owns the only open-architecture, 256-bit encrypted, fully wireless technology platform for the indoor farming and cannabis industries. Media Contact: Tyler Bryant, (813) 951-4169 [email protected] SOURCE RapidGrow LED Pandemic, blizzard haunt U.S. as Omicron smashes Europe Xinhua) 16:18, January 06, 2022 BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Soaked in massive COVID-19 waves magnified by the Omicron variant, many European countries are suffering a tough start of the new year and the United States is no exception, only that the recent blizzards have made the situation there even worse. U.S.: OMICRON COUPLED WITH SNOWSTORM Shattering a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron, the United States remains the country worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's largest caseload and highest death toll. "The rapid spread of COVID-19's Omicron variant is weighing on U.S. businesses, keeping more workers home sick or quarantined and leading some companies to cut services and reduce hours," reported The Wall Street Journal. The rise of infections to record levels in recent days has resulted in thousands of canceled flights, prompted retailers to train available employees on new jobs or close some stores altogether, companies were quoted as saying. The massive cancellation of flights, apparently, was caused not only by COVID-19, but also by the heavy snowstorms on the country's East Coast, which caused severe power outage in several states and forcing the federal government in Washington, D.C. to close on Monday. In Maryland, two women and a man died after their vehicle collided with a snow plow on Monday, and another man was hospitalized in critical condition, reported The New York Times. The mid-Atlantic and New England regions will face the second snowstorm of the week from Thursday night into Friday, according to weather-forecasting service agency AccuWeather. "Accumulating snow will be disruptive across a large swath of the Northeast, including major cities from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston," it said on Wednesday. EUROPE: SURGING INFECTIONS Across the Atlantic, the Omicron variant has sent Britain's daily COVID-19 infections surging over Christmas and the New Year, with 157,758 cases reported in England and Scotland on Monday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the National Health Service will be under "considerable" pressure in the coming weeks amid the wave of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. France, Greece and Croatia have reported record daily COVID-19 cases while the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 percent and 79 percent respectively. Cases have soared in Greece despite strict measures during the holiday season. The National Public Health Organization on Tuesday registered an all-time high of 50,126 infections within 24 hours. In Hungary, official data on Wednesday showed 5,270 new infections in a 24-hour span, more than doubling the figures recorded in the previous few weeks. Official data showed that the surge of new COVID-19 infections was largely fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and the situation was worsened by gatherings during the holiday season. In order to counter the spread of the Omicron variant, officials and experts have once again made appeals for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Tuesday acknowledged as a mistake the country's decision to allow the opening of a "representative office" in Vilnius under the name of "Taiwanese" instead of "Taipei." With such a confession, Lithuania is now admitting to its brazen mistake in violating the one-China principle, which it has promised to follow when the two sides forged their diplomatic relationship over 30 years ago in 1991. Over the past months, in disregard of Beijing's repeated and resolute oppositions, Lithuania has been bent on taking the wrong path. Under the one-China principle, any exchanges with China's Taiwan should be civil and non-official. Yet Vilnius attempted to whitewash its wrong-headed decision and mislead the international community by saying that setting up such an office "does not mean any conflict or disagreement with the 'One China' policy." For the record, the one-China principle is one of the universally recognized norms governing international relations as well as the consensus of the international community, and is the political foundation for China to develop bilateral relations with other countries, including Lithuania. According to the joint communique the two countries signed in 1991 on the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, Lithuania recognizes "the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and Taiwan as an inalienable part of the Chinese territory." By allowing the establishment of a "representative office" under the name of "Taiwanese," Vilnius has apparently reneged on its promise. And that is why Beijing's responses, such as downgrading its diplomatic ties with Vilnius, are totally legitimate. It is sending a clear-cut signal: China's determination to defend its core sovereign interests is beyond question, and any attempt to disregard or violate the one-China principle will pay a heavy price. And for those still conspiring to play the Taiwan card, to unhesitatingly toss out the fantasy that somehow their political manipulation over the Taiwan question will do the trick can spare themselves from severe consequences. Lithuania is living proof. TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Real Vitamins announced today the launch of its flagship product line to help fight anxiety and stress. Real Vitamins is a supplement company that is focused on helping people with mental health issues fight stress, anxiety and mental health with natural vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. real chill beach The owners of the company are passionate about mental health and both have struggled with anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders in the past. They started this company to help people with anxiety from turning to benzodiazepines, alcohol, and other hard drugs that can make your mental health even worse. As covid variants rage on, Anxiety in adults have increased exponentially around work, health, and finances. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America estimates that more than 40 million adults have some form of anxiety disorder, and that isn't even including the young and the undiagnosed. Therefore, CEO, Tyler Horvath decided to launch Real Vitamins to help people with anxiety turn to a safer alternative. "I have personally used Xanax, alcohol and marijuana to try and treat my mental health and anxiety, but it only made things worse. It wasn't until I found out that my brain and gut chemicals were out of sync, that I was able to fully reduce my anxiety and depression," said Tyler Horvath. He went on to say, "These supplements have changed my life for the better and I hope that they can do the same for others going through the same thing. I am now less anxious, sleeping better and more active during the day." The flagship anti-anxiety and stress supplement, called Real Chill, was formulated by a team of doctors and experts who hand picked 4 powerful ingredients that work in sync to reduce anxiety and stress. Together, they will level out your brain and gut chemicals like serotonin, cortisol, and GABA. These ingredients are all backed by clinical studies and sourced from the highest quality manufacturers around the world. Real Chill by Real Vitamins is an effective and natural stress relief supplement for anyone who experiences mild to moderate anxiety. Real Vitamins will launch multiple products that help with mental health issues like gut health, depression, anxiety, sleep and more. For more information about Real Vitamins and their products check out www.realvitamins.com. Contact: Tyler Horvath (888) 286-0219 [email protected] SOURCE Real Vitamins STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ReneSola Ltd. ("ReneSola Power" or "the Company") (www.renesolapower.com) (NYSE: SOL), a leading fully integrated solar project developer, today announced that in December, 2021, The Company closed on the sale of 37 MW of solar projects located in Poland to Obton, a leading international solar investment company headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark. The 37 MW portfolio is in addition to the 38 MW sale to Obton announced in July 2021, for a combined total of 75 MWs. The portfolio comprises 37 solar utility projects across Poland with capacity of 1 MW each for 33 MW and a 4 MW project. The projects were awarded to ReneSola Power in the country's solar power auction in September 2021. The projects are qualified under Poland's Contract for Difference (CFD) regime and eligible for a 15-year guaranteed tariff and are expected to be grid-connected within the next year. The projects are being sold at the "Ready to Build" (RtB) stage. Upon closing of the sale, ReneSola Power will be responsible for EPC management, project financing, and final delivery of the projects to Obton at the COD stage. Mr. Josef Kastner, CEO of ReneSola Power European Region, commented, "This transaction marks another step in our partnership with Obton. Obton is a strong partner across all of Europe, and we look forward to future collaboration." ReneSola Power CEO Yumin Liu added, "Our momentum in Europe demonstrates our expertise in developing and operating solar projects, closing financing transactions, and profitably monetizing projects in the region. This transaction further solidifies our leadership position in Poland, which is an especially attractive market for us. We expect Poland to produce profitable growth in the quarters ahead." About ReneSola Power ReneSola Power (NYSE: SOL) is a leading global solar project developer and operator. The Company focuses on solar power project development, construction management and project financing services. With local professional teams in more than 10 countries around the world, the business is spread across a number of regions where the solar power project markets are growing rapidly and can sustain that growth due to improved clarity around government policies. The Company's strategy is to pursue high-margin project development opportunities in these profitable and growing markets; specifically, in the U.S. and Europe, where the Company has a market-leading position in several geographies, including Poland, Hungary, Minnesota and New York. For more information, please visit www.renesolapower.com. SOURCE ReneSola Ltd. COLUMBIA, Tenn., Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Richmond American Homes of Tennessee, Inc., a subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC), is pleased to announce that it will soon break ground on The Ridge at Carter's Station (RichmondAmerican.com/TheRidgeAtCartersStation), a new community in Maury County. The neighborhood is set to open for sales in Spring of 2022 and will offer ranch and two-story floor plans, including the Alexandrite, Hemingway and Moonstone, which will be modeled there. The Hemingway is one of several Richmond American floor plans that will be offered at The Ridge at Carters Station in Columbia, Tennessee. More about Richmond American Homes Richmond American Homes is known for its inspired floor plans, quality construction and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. However, personalization is what truly distinguishes Richmond American from other leading national homebuilders. Everyone who builds a brand-new Richmond American home from the ground up will have the opportunity to meet with a professional design consultant to choose colors, textures, finishes and fixtures for their new living spaces. This complimentary design consultation (RichmondAmerican.com/HomeDesignTenessee) takes place at the builder's Home Gallery, a boutique-style showroom where buyers can select even the smallest details, like doorknobs and drawer pulls, to help ensure that their new home is anything but cookie-cutter. "We're thrilled to enter the Nashville housing market. Richmond American's key difference is in the wide range of ways buyers can personalize their homes to fit their own personal style. That's something we know Nashville house hunters will appreciate and we're excited to give them that opportunity," said Mike Zakrzewski, Executive Vice President of Operations for Tennessee. More about The Ridge at Carter's Station Set to boast 124 homesites, The Ridge at Carter's Station is the first phase of a larger master-planned community in development. It offers a convenient option for Nashville commuters, with close proximity to shopping and dining in Spring Hill, as well as easy access to I-65. The Ridge at Carter's Station will be located at Carters Creek Road and Windstone Trail in Columbia. Call 615.270.7070 or visit RichmondAmerican.com for more information. About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. Operating under the name Richmond American Homes, MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries have built more than 210,000 homes since 1977. Among the nation's largest homebuilders, MDC's subsidiary companies have operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Mortgage lending, plus insurance and title services are offered by the following MDC subsidiaries, respectively: HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC." For more information, visit MDCHoldings.com. SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. LOMPOC, Calif., Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation on Wednesday criticized a plan by the Bureau of Land Management to remove "at least" a record 19,000 wild horses and burros from their home ranges during Fiscal Year 2022. The BLM also said it would treat 2,300 wild horses and burros with what it described in a press release as "various forms of fertility control." This comes on the heels of removing 13,666 wild horses and burros from their home ranges while treating with fertility control just 1,160 in Fiscal Year 2021. The agency estimated there were about 86,000 horses on BLM-managed public lands in March 2021. "These removals are excessive and irresponsible -- not least because BLM is not equipped or prepared to care for another 19,000 captive wild horses and burros," said Neda DeMayo, president of Return to Freedom (RTF), a national nonprofit wild horse advocacy organization. "The agency's short-term holding corrals are already overcrowded. Relocating captured wild horses to more natural and cost-effective pastureland is the very least that BLM could do for wild horses and burros that were promised protection under the law." Of the more than 58,000 captive wild horses and burros in off-range government facilities, nearly 19,000 are languishing in overcrowded corrals instead on more natural public or leased private pastureland that costs taxpayers about half as much per horse. BLM is following an aggressive removal plan put forward to Congress in 2020, a plan focused on reaching an arbitrarily low "Appropriate Management Level" of fewer than 27,000 wild horses and burros across 10 states before implementing fertility in a real way. "The use of safe, proven and humane fertility control to phase out future removals is long overdue," DeMayo said. "Congress must continue to hold BLM's feet to the fire on its implementation. Otherwise, the agency will continue throwing good money after bad, removing wild horses and burros from their home ranges while failing to address reproduction. "If mares are not treated with fertility control to slow reproduction on the range and released, even in emergency situations, these roundups will be followed by the increases to the herd populations, and then, as usual, BLM returning to remove and place more wild horses alongside more than 58,000 already in off-range holding." RTF supports the use of PZP, a non-hormonal form of fertility control it has used at its American Wild Horse Sanctuary with 91-98% efficacy, allowing mares and stallions to live together in natural family bands with responsibility managing the sanctuary's numbers. BLM is increasingly using a fertility control vaccine known as GonaCon-Equine. Because GonaCon interrupts the hormone cascade, it may cause other behavioral changes that would affect herd dynamics. As such, RTF would like to see more studies to ensure that GonaCon meets the parameters of ethical and thoughtful wildlife fertility control. RTF also opposes BLM's increased use of IUDs in mares and has strongly opposed BLM's past attempts to use dangerous, painful and costly surgical sterilization of mares, successfully suing the agency in 2021 over its planned use of such surgeries. While BLM works to stabilize herd numbers through the use of fertility control, RTF contends that the agency must also begin viewing Herd Management Areas in a more holistic way. The agency should take into consideration the full impact of the multiple uses required by law and allocate an equitable share of resources to the wild horses and burros. As it stands, privately owned livestock vastly outnumber wild horses and burros even on the Herd Management Areas set aside for them. Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation (RTF) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education, conservation, and advocacy since 1998. It also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary at three California locations, caring for 500 wild horses and burros. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram for updates about wild horses and burros on the range and at our sanctuary. SOURCE Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation SaaS Capital has closed its fourth fund with $128 million in limited partner commitments. Tweet this Existing partners Rob Belcher and Steve Jaffee are also pleased to announce the addition of two new managing directors to the company. Columbus-based Stephanie Fortener and Seattle-based Randall Lucas join SaaS Capital with the launch of Fund IV. Mr. Jaffee and Ms. Fortener were previously partners in the successful early-stage SaaS lending platform Dreadnought Capital, which folds under the umbrella of SaaS Capital with this new fund, and Mr. Lucas brings over twenty years of equity investing, alternative lending, and entrepreneurship experience to the team. "We are sincerely grateful to our amazing Limited Partners, many of whom have supported us for over ten years and in all prior funds," said Mr. Jaffee. "Their trust in us and our platform is evident in the fact that we surpassed our target amount of $100 million, and even our 'hard' cap of $125 million. With the larger fund and team, we are excited to accelerate the SaaS Capital mission." About SaaS Capital Founded as a specialty lender in 2007 with nearly 100 SaaS companies funded to date, SaaS Capital has operated private credit funds since 2012. SaaS Capital is also known for its annual survey of private SaaS companies, which fuels an extensive research and writing practice on metrics of comparable SaaS businesses, along with its publication of the SaaS Capital Index, a data-driven guide to the valuation metrics that financial markets apply to the industry. SaaS Capital lends $2M to $20M to B2B SaaS companies with $2M in ARR and up, registered and banked in the US, Canada, or UK. Companies do not need to be venture-backed, nor do they need to be profitable. www.saas-capital.com Contact Rob Belcher [email protected] 303-870-9529 SOURCE SaaS Capital "Sammy Hagar has long been the unofficial ambassador to Los Cabos and through this official designation, we look forward to strengthening our tourism brand and economic growth through his global appeal," said Leggs Castro. "Sammy Hagar's pioneering vision to create and invest in Mexican businesses, including Cabo Wabo Cantina, Cabo Wabo Tequila and Santo Tequila, have created countless local jobs and have enhanced Los Cabos' visibility as a travel destination," added Jeffries. "His unwavering dedication through good times as well as through immense challenges like hurricanes and the pandemic has been extraordinary." Hagar fell in love with a sleepy Mexican fishing village at the tip of Baja in the early '80s. With only one real hotel, no phones, no television, and only dirt roads, it would have taken more than a crystal ball to foresee Cabo San Lucas' future as a top vacation destination and the center of the celebrity tequila boom that Hagar and his Cabo Wabo brand would usher in. Since launching his flagship Cabo Wabo Cantina in in 1990, Hagar has turned a lifelong passion for great food, music and spirits into a thriving lifestyle brand. "Being honored for anything in Los Cabos is the same as being honored in my hometown," said Hagar. "I will treasure this award will continue to do my part in bringing this, one of the most beautiful places in the world, to the rest of the world as your new ambassador of tourism." Hagar's annual Birthday Bash at Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas is one of the year's most legendary jam-sessions. His Cantina brand now includes successful outposts in Las Vegas and Hollywood. More information can be found at www.RedRocker.com for Sammy Hagar, www.cabowabocantina.com for Cabo Wabo Cantina, and www.visitloscabos.travel for Los Cabos. SOURCE Sammy Hagar SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- When CEO James Schmachtenberger founded Neurohacker Collective in 2015, he was hoping to popularize an entirely new approach to nutritional formulations. Specifically, James sought to factor in overlooked considerations, such as ingredient synergies, and how to offer health formulas which support the body's normal regulatory capacities without overriding them for a shortsighted effect. In an even more ambitious sense, he hoped to enhance the mental and physical capacities of humanity to withstand the increasingly intense demands of the modern world.* 6 years later, Neurohacker Collective, and its Qualia brand supplements, have exploded in popularity, both nationally and internationally. The San Diego Business Journal just named Neurohacker Collective one of the top 2 San Diego based health and wellness brands in the Small Business category in terms of recent revenue growth, as well as 2nd in top line revenue in the Small Business category across all industries. The Qualia brand began its focus on mental performance and brain health supplementation (known as nootropics), which inspired the name Neurohacker Collective. But as their science team has grown in both expertise and resources, they've expanded their product lineup to include many additional health focuses, such as aging, sleep, skin, immune health, and more.* "We're excited about our continuing pace of growth," says Schmachtenberger of the recent honor. "Our profits are allowing reinvestment in research and development, which is resulting in new product options for consumers in 2022 and beyond. It's also been exciting to see our focus on having a cultural identity within health and wellness continuing to distinguish our brand loyalty." That broad focus on building culture, rather than only products, has included the development of an increasingly popular science podcast called Collective Insights. The podcast has attracted A-list health luminaries and thought leaders such as Tristan Harris, Dr. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Molly Maloof, Ken Wilber, Dr. Steven Gundry, and many more. Neurohacker has also invested in a growing blog and science literature repository on their website, as well as brand partnerships with top tier health influencers like Dave Asprey, Ben Greenfield, and Thomas DeLauer. They even have a beta-testing community to provide feedback and community assessment data on potential new products. "Our overarching mission is to provide tools to support mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing*, as a separate consideration from whether someone buys our products," states Schmachtenberger. "If providing free educational resources makes our formulation techniques more appreciated, then it benefits product sales. Regardless, providing consumers with free educational resources to optimize the health of their body and mind, reflects the spirit that founded Neurohacker, and we want to stay true to that broader mission." 2022 promises to be a big year at Neurohacker Collective, with at least three new products scheduled to debut with the support of record profits in 2021. As Neurohacker Collective and the Qualia brand goes increasingly global, they hope to inspire other wellness brands to take their broad approach of providing education and cultural identity beyond just products. "I didn't start Neurohacker with a particular product vision," James states. "The vision had far more to do with human potential, and what type of team I could assemble in service to advancing that potential. Education and culture are as central to human wellness as products are, and so all three will remain a focus of Neurohacker for the foreseeable future." About Neurohacker Collective Neurohacker Collective was founded in 2015 with the mission to advance human quality of life by creating best-in-class well-being products. Neurohacker Collective's products are radically different because they employ a unique methodology to research and development based on complex systems science. This scientific approach focuses on supporting the body's ability to self-regulate. The company began with a focus on cognitive products and nootropics with the launch of Qualia Mind and has since developed products to support sleep, longevity, skin, energy, vision and immune health.* Learn more about their scientific approach by going to neurohacker.com. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. SOURCE Neurohacker Collective MILWAUKEE, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating Vocera (NYSE: VCRA) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in its transaction with Stryker. Click here to learn how to join the action: https://www.ademilaw.com/case/vocera-communications-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you. Ademi LLP alleges Vocera's financial outlook and prospects are excellent and yet Vocera shareholders will receive only $79.25 per share, or a total equity value of approximately $2.97 billion and a total enterprise value of approximately $3.09 billion. The merger agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for Vocera by prohibiting solicitation of further bids, and imposing a significant penalty if Vocera accepts a superior bid. Vocera insiders will receive substantial benefits as part of change of control arrangements. We are investigating the conduct of Vocera's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for Vocera. If you own Vocera common stock and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or https://www.ademilaw.com/case/vocera-communications-inc. We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contacts Ademi LLP Guri Ademi Toll Free: (866) 264-3995 Fax: (414) 482-8001 SOURCE Ademi LLP NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Cloopen Group Holding Limited ("Cloopen" or the "Company") (NYSE: RAAS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Cloopen and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On or around February 9, 2021, Cloopen conducted an initial public offering ("IPO") in the United States, selling 23 million American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") priced at $16.00 per ADS. Then, on March 26, 2021, just over six weeks after its IPO, Cloopen published its 4Q 2020 and FY 2020 financial results. Cloopen reported 4Q 2020 revenues of just $39.6 million, $2 million short of analysts' consensus, net losses of $46.8 million, representing a staggering 466.9% increase year-over-year, and operating expenses of $27.6 million, representing a 30% increase over 4Q 2019. Cloopen blamed a "change in fair value of warrant liabilities of . . . US$34.4 million" for Cloopen's remarkable net loss and "an increase in the provision for doubtful accounts resulting from increased in accounts receivables" for the 59.2% increase in general and administrative expenses. On this news, Cloopen's ADS price fell $2.67 per ADS, or 18.52%, to close at $11.75 per ADS on March 26, 2021. Then, on May 10, 2021, after the market closed, Cloopen filed its Annual Report on SEC Form 20-F, revealing for the first time that its dollar-based net customer retention rate for recurring solutions had hemorrhaged from 102.7% in 2019 to 86.8% by year end 2020. On this news, Cloopen's ADS price fell $0.62 per ADS, or 6.47%, to close at $8.97 per ADS on May 12, 2021. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Related Links www.pomerantzlaw.com ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In terms of revenue, the global shortwave infrared lamps market is projected to cross the valuation of US$ 395.2 Mn by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 3.4% during the forecast period, from 2021 to 2031. The shortwave infrared lamps market in Asia Pacific is growing as a result of rising industrial activities and increasing industrialization. Manufacturing businesses are becoming important for the shortwave infrared lamps market in countries such as China and India. Radiant heating is used in a variety of sectors for different uses. The shortwave infrared lamps market is driven by surge in demand for high-quality materials at reasonable rates. Moreover, collaboration with small and medium-scale producers is helping major industry players in the shortwave infrared lamps market to build their brand. Companies are embracing new trends and technologies to provide high-performing SWIR lamps for a variety of applications. In addition, rising government measures to promote manufacturing industries as well as a significant presence of manufacturers in the shortwave infrared lamps market are expected to boost sales in the global market. Request report sample @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=84148 Key Findings of Market Report Rising application in plastic and paper industries is expected to bolster growth of the global market. Plastic is light and versatile, making it ideal for packaging and transporting commodities. Strapping, thermoforming, welding, and bottle blowing are some of the uses for SWIR lamps. Growing utilization of shortwave infrared lamps in the paper industry for offset printing, drying, copying, and other applications is likely to propel the global market Governments of developing nations are adopting policies that are likely to assist in overall industrial growth. Favorable policies are expected to support a range of manufacturing industries such as plastics, paper, food, and semiconductors. This factor is likely to amplify revenue generation opportunities for the global shortwave infrared lamps market during the forecast period. Companies are also gaining a better grasp of customer demands, such as product materials, preference, and convenience, and are offering cost-efficient and custom-made product options Get PDF brochure for detailed insights - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=84148 Global Shortwave Infrared Lamps Market: Growth Drivers At a pace of approximately 300,000 km/sec, shortwave infrared lamp generates heat in the form of electromagnetic waves. Moreover, these lamps are also considered suitable for vacuum and dust-free (clean room) environments, which is expected to drive sales opportunities in the global shortwave infrared lamps market. The Asia Pacific market is expected to rise rapidly in the near future. In the region, packaging, plastic, paper, and food industries have observed tremendous growth. These industries are the main consumers of SWIR lights in the region. Request for Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Magnetic Bearing Market https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=84148 Global Shortwave Infrared Lamps Market: Key Players Some of the key market players are Tempco Electric Heater Corporation Anhui Quickly Industrial Heating Technology Co., Ltd Anderson Thermal Devices, Inc. Ushio America , Inc. , Inc. Jiangsu Liangdi Technology Co., Ltd. Dr. Honle AG Buy this 158 Pages Premium Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=84148> Steven Rogers is a senior entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and been covering the reality TV genre for two decades. The Daily Show has installed monuments in New York marking the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. ADVERTISEMENT The Comedy Central series unveiled plaques featuring president Donald Trump , Senator Ted Cruz and other "Heroes of the Freedomsurrection" Thursday in Manhattan. "We put up monuments to the patriots who fought against America on January 6th. Please don't tear them down, because history. 23rd St. and Broadway. Today only until 11pm," producers tweeted. The description beneath Trump's image says that "no hero played a bigger part in the Freedomsurrection" than the former president. "While his efforts were not enough to keep him in the White House, his bravery on January 6 will never be forgotten, unless Republicans retake Congress and disband the committees investigating it," the plaque reads. The Daily Show is hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah On Thursday, President Joe Biden criticized Trump in a speech commemorating the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, where Trump supporters overran the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. "I will stand in the breach. I will defend this nation, and I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy," Biden said. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! In the year since the attack, more than 700 people have been charged with crimes for their participation in what's been described as an insurrection. A select panel of House members are working together to gather more information about the riots and the Trump administration's response. WASHINGTON, D.C. Documents provided to a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, show misinformation about Antrim Countys election was part of a coordinated, nationwide strategy aimed at certifying the 2020 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. A Strategic Communications Plan of the Giuliani Presidential Legal Defense Team, which includes the former presidents personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, references debunked claims about Antrim Countys voting equipment as part of an effort to put pressure on Republican senators in six states including Michigan between Dec. 27, 2020 and Jan. 6, 2021, the Plan states. 2020 local election coverage The Record-Eagle's coverage of 2020 local elections and related issues: The other states listed are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, records show. The 22-page Communications Plan was provided Dec. 31 to members of the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, by an investigator hired by Trumps post-election legal team. The release was in response to a Nov. 5 subpoena, records show. Bernard Kerik is a former New York City Police commissioner who, his attorney said in a Dec. 31 letter to the committee, was hired by Trumps legal team as an investigator tasked with looking into claims of election fraud. To be clear, while it has been reported that some may have pushed a plan for then Vice President Pence to certify alternate slates and declare Donald Trump the winner on January 6, this is not Mr. Keriks understanding, a letter to the committee from Washington, D.C. attorney Timothy Parlatore states. His goal was to provide sufficient evidence through his investigation or prompt a DOJ investigation specifically to ensure that the election results accurately reflected the will of the people, the Parlatore letter states. Antrim County part of national plan That a small rural county of 23,000 in northern Michigan has come to the attention of elected officials investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and what lead to a violent mob that assaulted law enforcement officers, breached security barriers and occupied the building for several hours comes as no surprise to Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy. From day one I said, Are we a sample or an example? Guy said Tuesday. Were just one little fish but if they can hook on us, as they have done, they can get more and more people, their people and people on the fence, to buy into it. Guy, a Republican, said she believes the former president and his allies used Antrim County and an election-related lawsuit filed there by a local man three weeks after the 2020 presidential election, as a springboard to try to convince voters the election was fraudulent. Bill Bailey of Central Lake Township filed suit in 13th Circuit Court against Antrim County on Nov. 23, 2020, accusing the county of violating his constitutional rights and of using Dominion Voting Systems election equipment he said could be pre-programmed for fraud. Bailey on Wednesday directed a reporters questions to his attorney, Matthew DePerno. This has nothing to do with me, Mr. Bailey, or the Antrim County case, DePerno said in an email Wednesday, of documents provided the Jan. 6 committee by Kerik and shared with DePerno by a Record-Eagle reporter. Ive never seen this document before today. Kay Stimson, Dominion Voting Systems vice-president of government affairs, also responded with an emailed statement. All independent reviews, including hand counts and audits of the paper ballots following the 2020 presidential election, have proven that Dominion voting machines produced accurate results in Michigan and other states, Stimson said Wednesday. In late 2020, days after Bailey filed suit, 13th Circuit Court Judge Kevin Elsenheimer signed a court order granting Baileys request to have forensic images taken of Antrim Countys election equipment, records show. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel successfully filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who was then added to Baileys lawsuit on Dec. 11, 2020, as a named defendant, court records show. Were learning about this as the public is and will be reviewing findings, Lynsey Mukomel, AG press secretary, said Tuesday, when asked about the documents recently provided to the Jan. 6 committee by Kerik. The Giuliani legal team That the Communications Plan document originated with the Giuliani legal team correlates with reports by at least three northern Michigan officials who previously told Guy political operatives had traveled to Antrim County in November 2020, contacted township officials regarding local election data and identified themselves as representing Giulianis legal team. It was intimidation, Guy said, of the visit by staff with Allied Security Operations Group, a Dallas-based tech company, who returned to Antrim County the next week to conduct the court-ordered forensic exam of the countys voting equipment as part of Baileys lawsuit. The forensic exam was completed inside the countys government building Dec. 6, 2020, when a contact tracing executive order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was in effect. A contact tracing sign-in sheet, previously provided to the Record-Eagle in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, showed a Washington, D.C. lobbyist, Katherine Friess, accompanied DePerno and those from ASOG, who conducted the exam. Friess did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Friess is also listed in a privilege log, provided Dec. 31 to the Jan. 6 committee by Kerik, which describes additional documents in Keriks possession he planned to withhold, citing attorney work product privilege held by former President Trump. As I have noted multiple times in the past, Mr. Kerik is not the privilege holder, President Trump is, Parlatore states in his letter to the Jan. 6 committee. Absent a privilege waiver or judicial order, Mr. Kerik is prohibited from disclosing these materials. Friess is named in Keriks privilege log as being the author of a Nov. 4, 2020 document about voter fraud whistleblowers and a Nov. 15, 2020 document about volunteers willing to help with the investigation both of which appear to show she was involved with Trumps post-election legal team prior to Bailey filing his lawsuit on Nov. 23, 2020. Human error; ASOG report results debunked The Antrim County report by ASOG accused Dominion of programming its equipment for fraud, though election experts, at least one of whom was appointed by former President Trump, have since debunked those claims. Chris Krebs, the former chief of the Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, called the ASOG report factually inaccurate when testifying in before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. And Ryan Macias, former acting director of U.S. Election Assistance Commission Voting Testing and Certification Program, reviewed the ASOG report and issued a rebuttal, stating its authors had a grave misunderstanding of the countys Dominion Voting Systems equipment and a lack of knowledge of election technology. Alex Halderman, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, also issued a report, and confirmed initial mistakes in the vote tally in Antrim Countys presidential election were the result of human error and not a security breach. Guy previously acknowledged an error by her office in the 2020 presidential election vote tally initially showed about 2,000 votes cast for then-President Donald Trump had mistakenly been assigned to then-challenger Joe Biden. Guy corrected her offices vote tally errors prior to the states certification of the countys November 2020 election results, and records show Trump won Antrim County by a large margin, receiving 9,748 votes to Bidens 5,960 votes, which is reflected in the certified results. Michigans Bureau of Elections on Dec. 17, 2020 conducted a hand recount of Antrim Countys presidential election, trained local volunteer election workers as counters and opened the building to public viewing. The livestreamed recount found no fraud, but that did not slow the spread of misinformation, Guy said. For example, the ASOG report continued to circulate widely online after being shared on social media by Giuliani, by another Trump-allied attorney, Sidney Powell, as well as by former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn the recipient of a presidential pardon from Trump and by Donald Trump Jr. There was no fraud involved, Guy said. Were being used and it will continue throughout 2022. Its dangerous. Guy, who previously said shed received threatening telephone messages and for a brief time was escorted to and from her office by law enforcement, said she is now more worried about democracy than dangers to her personal safety. Awaiting a COA decision Baileys lawsuit was dismissed in May by Judge Elsenheimer, who also stayed other pending legal issues. In June, DePerno appealed that decision, on behalf of Bailey, to the state Court of Appeals. The Communications Plan provided by Kerik to the Jan. 6 committee does not name Baily but does reference an early complaint from his lawsuit that a marijuana ordinance, allowing a single retailer in the Village of Central Lake, changed from a loss to a win, showed proof of fraud. Bailey, however, is registered to vote in Central Lake Township and only voters registered in the Village of Central Lake received a ballot containing the marijuana ordinance. This issue was not raised in court by Bailey, Antrim County attorneys or the Michigan Attorney Generals office, until it was reported in 2020 by the Record-Eagle. Appellate briefs have been filed and oral arguments requested; it is unclear when the Court of Appeals will hear the case and rule. In the meantime, DePerno in July announced his candidacy on the Republican primary for Michigan Attorney General and in September was endorsed by Trump. And Kelly Young, a self-described apolitical Antrim County resident and former grocer, in November opened Torch Cannabis Co., a recreational marijuana retailer, in a former butcher shop in the Village of Central Lake. As part of The Red & Blacks health news coverage, we are publishing weekly reports on news relating to COVID-19 and its recent statistics. Major updates According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the highly transmissible omicron variety has quickly spread across the U.S., accounting for roughly 95% of new COVID-19 cases during the week of New Years Day. On Jan. 3, the Food and Drug Administration expanded the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals aged 12-15. The FDA also announced that individuals aged 12 or older who received two primary doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may receive their booster shot five months after their primary vaccine instead of six months. For the Moderna booster shot, the interval remains at six months. The Johnson & Johnson booster shot is to be administered two months after the second primary vaccine dose is received. The state of Georgia is experiencing a shortage of COVID-19 tests, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The drive-through testing station managed by Mako Medical in collaboration with the Northeast Health District and the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government has moved to fulfill the growing demand for COVID-19 testing, according to a press release by the Georgia Department of Public Health. The testing facility had previously been located at the Mitchell Bridge Road fire station, but as of Monday, Jan. 3, it will be relocated to Holland Park at 250 Vincent Drive in Athens. Tests will be offered on Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. On Dec. 27, the CDC shortened the recommended time for isolation and quarantine for those who test positive for COVID-19. According to their recommendation, people with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and then wear a mask while around others for 5 days if they are asymptomatic or they havent had a fever for at least 24 hours. Faced with mounting infections and a new COVID-19 strain, some universities are reverting to online classes, extending mask restrictions, limiting social gatherings and, in some cases, requiring booster shots. For the spring semester, the University of Georgia has not announced any changes. COVID-19 cases more than doubled at UGA compared to two weeks ago, according to the universitys reporting system. UGA reported 52 new cases during the week of Dec. 13-19 and 241 cases during the week of Dec. 20-26. This week, Dec. 27-Jan. 2, the number of cases reported was 171. The surveillance testing positivity rate increased during the week of Dec. 20-24 to 11.69% compared to the 3% the previous week. However, for the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 3, no positivity rate was recorded. Because students may have tested positive off-campus and not reported it, the actual number of COVID-19 cases in the UGA community may be higher. Due to fewer people wearing masks, respiratory illnesses such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus have been spreading across the nation. All Georgia counties, including Athens Clarke-County, are classified as high transmission geographical areas for COVID-19, according to the CDC. Georgias hospitals have about 15% of their intensive care unit beds left for sick patients. From Dec. 26-Jan. 1, about 2.5% of COVID-19 cases in the southeastern U.S. were delta variant cases and 97.5% were omicron cases, according to the CDC. The majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Data breakdown: University of Georgia The university conducted 813 surveillance tests during the week of Dec. 20 compared to the 433 tests the previous week. For the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 3, surveillance tests were not reported. UGA has not reported how many tests belonged to employees and students this week. There were zero positive tests reported at the University Health Center. There were zero positive tests reported through UGA surveillance testing, 31 positive tests from UGA community members reporting from testing sites in Athens and 140 positive tests from UGA community members reporting from other testing sites. Students that test positive for COVID-19 off-campus are required to report it through DawgCheck, UGAs monitoring tool. For the week of Dec. 20-26, the UHC administered 155 vaccines. Cumulatively, the UHC has administered 32,145 vaccines. Students and faculty may book a vaccine appointment through the UHC Vaccine Portal or get vaccinated at any University System of Georgia school. Students may also get tested for COVID-19 at the UHC with walk-in appointments. Appointments can be scheduled here. Due to vaccination status being verified on-site, individuals should bring their original vaccine card to the appointment. Data breakdown: Athens-Clarke County The DPH is trying to resolve a problem with the COVID-19 testing numbers on the Daily Status Report, according to a news release. More than 2.6 million tests were mistakenly added to the PCR/Molecular Reported Today column of the COVID-19 Testing table after a data system upgrade yesterday. It wasn't a backlog of testing, nor were they fresh tests or new positive findings. Since testing began in Georgia, these tests and results have been included in the Total PCR/Molecular Test column. A coding error resulted in a miscount of the tests reported yesterday. From Dec. 31-Jan. 4, the county reported 983 new confirmed cases, compared to 932 cases from Dec. 25-30, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. The countys seven-day average positivity rate was 43.2%. The World Health Organization recommends communities maintain a positivity rate below 5%. This week, ACC reported zero confirmed COVID-19 deaths. According to the Georgia Geospatial Information Office, the number of current hospitalizations in Region E which includes ACC and several surrounding counties increased compared to the previous week. As of Jan. 5, there were 203 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, compared to 108 on Dec. 30. According to the Georgia DPH, about 48% of the county is fully vaccinated. Data breakdown: Georgia Statewide, the weekly rate of new confirmed COVID-19 cases increased. According to the DPH, Georgia reported 91,671 confirmed COVID-19 cases between Dec. 31-Jan. 4. This is an increase of about 7,980 from the 83,694 cases between Dec. 25-30. The states seven-day average positivity rate on Jan. 4 was 38.7%. The number of confirmed deaths in the state decreased. Georgia recorded 169 confirmed COVID-19 deaths between Dec. 25-30, compared to the 53 between Dec. 31-Jan. 4. On Jan. 5, about 4,371 individuals were hospitalized due to COVID-19. According to the DPH, approximately 5.5 million Georgians have been fully vaccinated, or about 53% of the state. In comparison, the U.S. has a current full vaccination rate of 61%. Approximately 6.3 million Georgians, or 61% of the state, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The CDC has also released guidelines advising vaccinated individuals to still wear masks when in public, indoor settings. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Cloudy with periods of light rain. High 57F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Teflon coating equipment is shown in the former ChemFab Corp. factory in North Bennington in a photo taken during the 1970s. PFOA contamination from the operation affected hundreds of wells in the Bennington area, leading to a 2016 class-action suit in federal court. Suit plaintiffs are invited to Zoom sessions starting this month to discuss details of a $34.15 million suit settlement agreement. Hartford Police / Contributed HARTFORD A woman was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound after a shooting in the city Thursday morning, according to police. Shortly after 8 a.m., officers responded to Cumberland Street for a ShotSpotter gunfire activation in the area. As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to affect people around the state some might wonder about two COVID-19-related terms that have been making headlines around the world. Here is what you need to know about 'flurona' and the IHU variant. What is "Flurona"? "Flurona" also known as "Florona" is when individuals have both influenza (flu) and COVID-19. Both respiratory diseases can cause similar symptoms such as cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever and fatigue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Having both diseases can be damaging to an individual's immune system but there is not enough data yet to know if being simultaneously infected can exponentially damage a person's health, according to CNN. According to the CDC, both are spread in similar ways: coming in close contact with an infected person (less than six feet away); through particles when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks; via touching. Both COVID-19 and flu can result in complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, sepsis and cardiac injury, according to the CDC. The CDC provides a "similarities and differences" article between COVID-19 and flu since they have similar symptoms and might be hard for a person to identify them one from the other. Nadav Davidovitch, director of the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, told CNN on Tuesday that Flurona "is not going to be a common situation, but that's something to consider." Where are there confirmed cases of Flurona? The first confirmed case of Flurona was detected in Israel when a unvaccinated pregnant woman was infected by both diseases, according to CNN. On Wednesday, another case of Flurona was confirmed in the Southern California city of Brentwood, according to ABC 7. Are any cases of Flurona in Connecticut? No. The Connecticut Department of Public Health has not received any reports of a resident with concurrent flu and COVID-19, according to a statement by Christopher Boyle, Director of Communications of the CDPH. Connecticut reported 40 influenza hospitalizations and two deaths during the 2021-2022 season, according to a report by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. How can I avoid having Flurona? The most effective way to avoid hospitalization with both COVID-19 and the flu is with vaccinations, according to the WHO. Other preventative measures recommended by the WHO are maintaining a six feet distance from others, wearing a mask, avoiding crowded spaces as washing your hands frequently. What is the IHU variant? The IHU variant, scientifically known as B.1.640.4, is a new COVID-19 variant that has been detected in France. This variant is named after the IHU Mediterranee Infection Institute in Marseille, where the disease is being studied, according to The Independent. While the IHU variant has not been detected outside of France, since Nov. 22, it has been labeled as "variants under monitoring" by the WHO. So far, there is not enough data to know how dangerous this variant is. How many confirmed cases are there of the IHU variant? The first confirmed cases of IHU were present in the South of France, according to The Independent. The 12 cases of IHU in France were linked to a person that had recently traveled to Cameroon, in western Africa, according to a science article published in medRxiv. The identified case of flurona, as some have dubbed it, was relatively mild, according to doctors at Beilinson. Are any cases of IHU in Connecticut? No. The Omicron and Delta variants are the most dominant variants in the state, according to Boyle. Support local journalism We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reacted to the shocking breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security in Punjab, saying that it was the duty of every government to provide fool-proof security to the Head of State. Taking to Twitter, the Odisha CM stressed the need to safeguard the dignity of India's Prime Minister asserting that anything contrary to it 'should be unacceptable in our democracy'. On Wednesday afternoon, PM Modi was forced to postpone his Ferozepur rally after his security was compromised upon arriving in the state. At Ferozepur, an announcement was made on the stage that his visit is cancelled 'due to some reason'. It was then revealed that the PM's convoy was blocked by 'protesters' on a highway, close to the Pakistan border for 15-20 minutes. Moreover, the Punjab Government failed to deploy additional security as a part of the contingency plan. The Prime Minister of India is an institution. It is the duty of every Government to provide foolproof security and safeguard the dignity of this institution. Anything contrary should be unacceptable in our democracy. Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) January 6, 2022 MHA forms three-member panel to probe breach To probe the shocking lapse, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday constituted a high-level committee to conduct a thorough investigation into what transpired during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab. The three-member committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modis visit to Ferozepur, Punjab on 05.01.2022, which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk," MHA Tweeted. It added, "The three-member committee will be led by Shri Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and comprising of Shri Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and Shri S. Suresh, IG, SPG. The committee is advised to submit the report at the earliest." Earlier in the day, PM Modi also briefed President Ram Nath Kovind on the first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab. The President expressed his concerns about the serious security lapse. 27 IPS officers have also raised the matter with the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana is also expected to hear an urgent plea regarding the matter on Friday. In the plea, the petitioner (Lawyers' voice) claims that the security lapse was occasioned clearly in connivance with the Punjab Police. (Image: PTI/ANI) Levelling a big allegation pertaining to PM Modi's security breach, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed that there was an agreement between Congress and Pakistan. To buttress his point, Joshi told the media on Wednesday that Congress leaders such as Navjot Singh Sidhu had a soft corner for Pakistan. Dubbing it a well-hatched conspiracy, he called upon the Sonia Gandhi-led party to tender an explanation to the people. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi remarked, "From the clippings, I feel this is a conspiracy. This is a conspiracy hatched by the Congress party at the national level with full knowledge and information of the state government. The PM's convoy cannot move an inch without the information of the state police and government." "The DGP had said that the PM can move. Later, they transported people on the streets. And they stopped PM at the Pakistan border. Navjot Singh Sidhu and many other leaders in Punjab Congress always hug the heads of the Pakistan Army and appreciate Pakistan and ISI. That's why I feel this is not an ordinary incident. This is a well-hatched conspiracy. Perhaps Pakistan also has some role in this. There is an agreement between Congress and Pakistan. There is a big conspiracy in the PM being made to wait for such a long time at the Pakistan border. Congress party should give an explanation to the country," he added. ISI - , pic.twitter.com/Azm7ugpMZN Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) January 5, 2022 PM Modi's security breach In a massive controversy ahead of the Punjab polls, PM Modi was forced to skip the Ferozepur rally as his security was compromised after arriving in the state. He was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of projects worth more than Rs.42,750 crore including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, four-laning of Amritsar-Una section, Mukerian-Talwara New Broad Gauge railway line, PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur and two medical colleges at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. On his first visit to Punjab after the repeal of the farm laws, he was set to flag off the campaign for the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress-SAD(Sanyukt) alliance. The problem started when the PM decided to travel to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainwala by road instead of the air route due to poor weather. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, a major lapse was observed in the PM's security around 30 km from the destination as his convoy was stuck for 15-20 minutes due to a road blockade. In wake of additional security not being deployed by the Punjab government as a part of the contingency plan, the MHA added that PM Modi headed back to the Bathinda Airport. Moreover, it sought a detailed report from the Congress government in Punjab and demanded strict action. The Maharashtra BJP unit on Thursday, January 6, made new appointments at the state level including Secretary and General Secretary and others. Spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP Rahul Narvekar was appointed as Media Incharge. Rahul Narvekar is the sitting MLA from Colaba Assembly Constituency in Mumbai on a Bhartiya Janata Party ticket. Earlier, he was a member of the Shiv Sena party, which he left after the party denied him a ticket in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Later, he joined the Nationalist Congress Party and contested the Lok Sabha election from the Maval constituency which he lost. State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil announced the appointments, according to which, Manoj Pangarkar got the state secretary post while Senior leader Atul Vaze was appointed as General Secretary. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis handed over the appointment letters as Ajit Chavan, Ganesh Hake, and Rajiv Pandey were appointed as new state spokesperson and Sameer Gaurav as state panellist. While speaking on PM Modi's Security Breach incident, Devendra Fadnavis said, "What happened yesterday in Punjab, near the border of Pakistan, was a well thought out conspiracy! After this, the statement of Congress leaders is very shameful. Blessings of crores of people are with PM Modi! Nothing will happen to the Prime Minister. But the country will never forgive those who conspired!". PM Modi's security breach The Prime Minister's cavalcade was stranded on a flyover in Bhatinda for 15-20 minutes due to a blockade by some protestors, an incident that the MHA has rescribed as a major security lapse. After this, PM Modi returned to Bhatinda then Delhi. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, however, denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind the incident and said that his government is ready for an inquiry. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court bench led by CJI NV Ramana will be hearing an urgent plea regarding PM Modi's security breach on Friday. In the plea, the petitioner (Lawyers' voice) claims that the security lapse was occasioned clearly in connivance with the Punjab Police. COVID situation in Maharashtra As of Thursday, January 6, Maharashtra has reported 36,265 new cases with 13 deaths and, 8,907 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The state has also reported 79 Omicron cases today, taking the tally to 876 including 381 recoveries. While Mumbai has reported 20,181 new cases of COVID-19 and 4 deaths. The state has administered a total of 13,73,80,699 COVID vaccine doses under Nationwide Vaccination Drive. (Image: @rahulnarwekar/Twitter) Amid soaring cases of coronavirus in Denmark, a Danish professor had advocated removing the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus, news agency Sputnik reported. According to the vaccine researcher and Copenhagen University Professor Ole Frilev Olesen, the new COVID variant is less lethal compared to the earlier versions of the Coronavirus. The professor of molecular biology at the University of Copenhagen argued that the government should ease restrictions for the fully vaccinated or those who had a booster dose. According to the researcher, this would help the government focus on limiting the spread among more vulnerable groups. Omicron less dangerous than Delta strain says, Danish professor Notably, the professor argued in his latest article published by newspaper Berlingske. He wrote the article with the title, "Let Omicron Loose". In his article, he said the data across the world suggest both domestic and foreign indicate that Omicron is less dangerous compared to the Delta strain that created havoc in India, the US, the UK and several other nations last year. "Instead of painting with the broad brush, as you do now with general restrictions on the population, you should save the many resources and focus on the weaker groups those who, as you know, are at risk of becoming hospitalised," Sputnik quoted Ole Frilev Olesen as saying during a conversation with TV2. "It is a clear advantage if we can get the Omicron variant to shove the more dangerous Delta off the field. It would generally give a much milder disease picture," he added. Ruling Social Democrats calls the article- 'Overly optimistic' Notably, his statement came at a time when the country witnessed a sudden spike in the COVID cases in the past two to three weeks. As of now, Denmark has confirmed over 8,40,000 COVID including, 56,000 Omicron cases registered from November 21 to 28 last year. Apart from registering a flood of COVID cases, the country has also reported at least 18 deaths related to Omicron. Meanwhile, citing the Coronacvirus data, the ruling Social Democrats health spokesman Rasmus Horn Langhoff said he did not agree with the Danish researcher and called the article 'overly optimistic'. "There is every reason for optimism, but I think we should wait with jubilant optimism. We are still in a critical phase", Sputnik quoted Horn Langhoff. (Image: AP/ Shutterstock) In Kandahar's southern sector of Afghanistan, a military helicopter equipped with surveillance cameras and machine guns crashed during a training flight, the Taliban announced. However, many claimed that the chopper was rescuing civilians trapped in the water in Kandahar's Maiwand region. As per the reports of Tolo News, Inayatullah Khwarazmi, who is the spokesperson for Taliban's Ministry of Defence, announced that the crash was caused by technical difficulties and that two pilots were injured. He also said that the helicopter was destroyed after it crashed but stated that the pilots are alive. He did however say that one of the pilots is doing well, while the other is in serious condition. MD-530 helicopter costs around $1 million An MD-530 helicopter costs around $1 million and must be handled by a highly trained pilot. Veterans of the military have urged the Islamic Emirate to choose former and experienced pilots and mechanics to operate the planes. Hekmatullah Hekmat, who is a military veteran stated that they used the aircraft in the wrong way and that it is illegal to utilise this device in this manner. He also said that due to financial constraints, the country may not be able to purchase modern equipment. Sadeq Shinwari, the military analyst said that if military equipment is handled by untrained personnel, it would be destroyed, according to Tolo News. A report came in August after the Taliban takeover that suggested that the Taliban was supplying Pakistan with a large number of advanced American weapons that it had captured from the Afghan Army and that Afghan gun merchants who paid government soldiers and Taliban militants for firearms and ammunition were openly selling the US weapons, which were taken by the Taliban after American troops withdrew. Taliban collected a substantial amount of weaponry when the US troops left The equipment was originally delivered to the Afghan security forces under a US training and assistance programme. The Taliban collected a substantial amount of weaponry when the US troops left Afghanistan, according to the New York Times. The Pentagon had previously stated that advanced equipment had been disabled when forces left, but thousands of weapons remained available to the Taliban, which was then transferred to Pakistan. (Inputs from ANI) Image: AP The European Union wants a role in the upcoming talks on security guarantees between Russia, US and NATO, the Financial Times reported citing highly placed European sources. As per the report, the EU officials have voiced frustration about the way upcoming negotiations were arranged with Russian officials set to discuss the security of Ukraine and the whole of the European continent with counterparts from the US and NATO. They argued that while the US has remained in close contact with Brussels and individual EU states, it has not sought to alter Moscows proposed negotiations on security guarantees. The FT sources claimed that the sidelining of the EU reflected Brussels internal disagreements over the EUs own security policy, adding that in the current context, [the delay] exposes the divisions inside the union and makes us less able to respond to Russia as one. Notably, the claims come after EUs Foreign Policy Chief Josip Borrel asserted that Brussels cannot be a neutral spectator in the negotiations over Europes security architecture in the years to come. Last month, Borrel stated that Russia's ultimate goals are unclear, except that it is trying to threaten and weaken Ukraine. "Various scenarios are possible. We can't rule out Russia's desire to use the crisis as leverage for its declared goal of reshaping Europe's security framework while simultaneously excluding Europeans from the discussion," Borrell said on his blog. Further, Borel also went on to stress that any Russian move against Ukraine's sovereignty would have severe consequences and expressed optimism that the United States will not allow Brussels to be excluded from security negotiations. Any discussion of the European security architecture must include the EU, he added. Russia says EU's participation would have 'no definitive added value' However, Vladimir Chizhov, Russias permanent representative to the EU, had previously said that the EUs possible participation in the security guarantee talks would have no definite added value. While speaking to reporters, Chizhov stated that Russia is not against the EUs supportive role in NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). However, he added that Moscow doesnt plan to make the EU become a military bloc on the basis of our [security guarantee] proposals. It is pertinent to mention here that security concerns have become a vital issue in the context of escalating tensions around Ukraine. According to US intelligence officials, Russia has pushed around 70,000 troops towards Ukraine's border and is preparing for an attack early next year. However, Moscow denies any intention of attacking Ukraine and dismisses Western concerns as a "propaganda campaign". (Image: AP) As the protest intensified in Kazakhstan, Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), on Thursday, has sent peacekeeping forces to control the riot in the country. According to a report by Sputnik, the CSTO secretariat confirmed the media reports of sending several units of armed forces in the country. "In accordance with the decision made by the CSTO Collective Security Council on 6 January 2022, Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation were sent to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time to stabilise and normalise the situation", Sputnik quoted CSTO secretariat as saying. "The main tasks will be guarding important state and military facilities and assist the law enforcement of Kazakhstan in stabilising the situation and returning it to the legal framework," the CSTO secretariat added. Police officer beheaded in Kazakhstan unrest Notably, the statement from the CSTO secretariat came as Kazakhstan is experiencing the worst street protests nearly after three decades. While speaking to news channel Khabar-24, police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek said there were attempts to storm buildings overnight in Almaty city. According to her, attacks on government buildings lead to the killing of over a dozen police officers. She said one of the police officers was found beheaded. The State news channel Khabar-24 informed a total of 353 law enforcement officers were injured in the deadly clash. Meanwhile, the CSTO secretariat added Russia has sent the delegation of a peacekeeping force by the Russian Aerospace Forces to stabilise the condition that was intensified over a sharp rise in prices for liquefied petroleum gas fuel. On Sunday, the demonstrations began in the countrys west but spread to Almaty and the capital Nur-Sultan within two days. Notably, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military union in Eurasia that consists of selected post-Soviet states. The member includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. According to the news agency, Kazakhstan the peacekeeping forces were sent after Kazakhstan requested the heads of the CSTO member states to send the armed forces to control riots in Kazakhstan. "In this regard and relying on the Collective Security Treaty, today I reached out to the heads of the CSTO member states to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming this terrorist threat," Sputnik quoted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as saying. (Image: AP) Peru confirmed on Tuesday the emergence of a third wave of COVID-19 infections. Health Minister Hernando Cevallos said at a news conference that, after comparing figures from the beginning and end of December, COVID infections increased by more than 50% nationally and doubled in Lima. According to the government, in the last week of 2021, after the Christmas holidays and before the New Year, infections rose 25%, from 11,000 to 14,688 cases. The country sought to curb contagions by banning people from attending beaches, swimming pools, lakes and rivers during the New Year, as well as reducing family gatherings, but the effects were small. According to authorities, the delta variant is predominant in the third Peruvian wave, but omicron is rising. The virus has killed more than 202,000 people in the South American country since the start of the pandemic. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deubas scheduled visit to India next week has been cancelled following the Gujarat government's decision to postpone the Vibrant Gujarat Summit due to a spike in the number of COVID cases in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to inaugurate the 10th edition of the Summit on January 10 in Gujarat. The Prime Minister's four-day visit to India starting from January 9 has been cancelled as the Gujarat Summit has been postponed, said sources in the prime minister's private secretariat. Besides attending the Summit, Deuba was also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Modi during the visit. The Gujarat government on Thursday decided to postpone the Summit in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to the Chief Minister's Office. The three-day summit was to be held in a big way to attract investments, and delegations from many partner countries and CEOs of top companies were supposed to participate in the event. On Wednesday, the daily COVID-19 cases in Gujarat crossed the 3,000-mark for the first time after May 26 last year with the addition of 3,350 infections, raising the state's tally to 8,40,643. Also, Gujarat reported 50 new cases of the Omicron variant on Wednesday, taking the tally of such cases in the state to 204, as per the state health department. The decision has been taken as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the world and the country, it said. The entire state administration has now decided to focus its energy on how to deal with the rising cases of coronavirus. At present, the situation due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in the state is relatively under control due to the state government's action of testing, tracing and treating those infected by the virus, the CM's office said. The earlier versions of the summit played a crucial role in the development of Gujarat as an industrialised state, it noted. IMAGE: AP (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Taiwan is establishing an investment fund and contemplating other measures to assist Lithuania, which is under intense economic pressure from China for allowing the island to build a representative office in the European Union country, according to Taiwanese officials on Wednesday. Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen led government has announced $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industry due to customs clearance delays at Chinese ports, according to Sputnik. Eric Huang, the head of Taiwan's representative office in Lithuania, declared that Taipei will spend $200 million in the Baltic country. Lithuanian enterprises are experiencing difficulty at Chinese ports after the Communist regime purportedly erased the Baltic nation's name from its customs system, prompting Taipei to take action. A considerable amount of Lithuanian exports are currently stranded in Chinese ports as a result of the change, causing fear among business owners about the future of their shipments. "The $200 million fund will be used for investments into the Lithuanian economy and help its business, primarily into semiconductors, laser technology, biotech and other key industries," Eric Huang, a spokesman of the Taiwanese mission in Lithuania, told reporters in Vilnius. Lithuania has been targeted by Beijing recently Beijing has targeted Lithuania in recent months as a result of the former's decision to allow Taiwan to operate a representative office in Lithuania. Taiwan's representative office serves as an embassy. China was enraged by Lithuania's action, and the country was threatened severely. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan despite the fact that it is a sovereign country in the globe. Lithuania defied diplomatic convention by consenting to call the Taiwanese embassy in Vilnius as Taiwan rather than Chinese Taipei, which other countries do to avoid hurting Beijing. China believes Taiwan to be a part of its territory and does not recognise it diplomatically. Lithuania plans to create its own trade office in Taiwan later this year, and the office, which functions as a de facto embassy, opened in November. This has enraged China, which has withdrawn its ambassador from Vilnius and dismissed Lithuania's envoy from Beijing. Lithuania, which is a member of the European Union and NATO, has shuttered its embassy in Beijing due to the conflict. Taiwan has stated that it is willing to assist Lithuania in resupplying trade despite the island's claim that commodities are being prohibited from entering China. (With inputs from agencies) Image: AP Union Cabinet Assures 'big & Tough Decisions' Over PM Modi's Security Breach In Punjab A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security was compromised in Punjab, the Union Cabinet on Thursday assured that justice will be served in this matter as the Supreme Court has been moved and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also sought a report on the massive security breach on Wednesday. Read Full Story Here PM Modi's First Response On His Security Breach; Thanks President Kovind For Concern In his first response to the security breach of his cavalcade in Punjab, PM Narendra Modi on Thursday, termed his meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind a 'source of strength'. He said that he had thanked the President for his concern and good wishes. PM Modi met with President Ram Nath Kovind and gave him a first-hand briefing of the security breach and the latter expressed concern over it. The Prime Minister's cavalcade was stranded for 15-20 minutes atop a flyover in Bathinda while enroute to Ferozepur, leading to a major security breach. Read Full Story Here Bulli Bai Case: Delhi Police Arrests App's Main Creator- 20-yr Old Bhopal Student In a major development in the Bulli Bai case, Delhi police on Thursday, arrested a 20-year-old engineering student, terming him the main conspirator & creator of the offensive app and the administrator of the app's Twitter handle. Police claim that Neeraj Bishnoi (20), hails from Assam's Jorhat and is a B.Tech student of BTech student of Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. Over 100 influential Muslim women have been 'auctioned' on open-source platform GitHub's 'Bulli Bai' app. Read Full Story Here 5 Explosive Letters Lay Bare PM's Security Lapse; Punjab Police Knew Of Blockade Threat As the conspiracy behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Ferozpur becomes clearer, Republic on Thursday accessed more evidence on the collusion between farmers unions and Punjab police in the incident. As per letters sent by the Punjab ADGP to district-level officials between January 3 and January 5, the state Police was made well aware of farmers plans to stage a dharna and block roads on the day of Prime Minister Modi's rally. Read Full Story Here Punjab: 125 Passengers Flying In From Italy Test COVID-19 Positive At Amritsar Airport In a major upsurge in COVID cases, 125 passengers flying in from Italy were found infected with the Coronavirus at Punjabs Amritsar airport. Speaking to news agency ANI, Amritsar airport director VK Singh said on Thursday that the plane was carrying 179 passengers in total and all of them were tested at the airport upon arrival. In the pictures shared by ANI, a heavy crowd was seen at the airport gate and a number of ambulances were lined up at the spot. Read Full Story Here BJP Stages Massive Protests Across India Over PM Modi's Security Breach; Slams Congress In a major security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to poll-bound Punjab, his convoy on Wednesday was stuck for 15-20 minutes due to a road blockade in the state. The Prime Minister, who was travelling by road, had to call off his event in Ferozepur. Following the major lapse witnessed in the security of the PM, Bharatiya Janata Party has now launched a major protest against the Punjab government. Read Full Story Here Khalistan Plot To Disrupt PM's Rally Accessed By Republic; SFJ Had Announced $100k Reward In a massive development, Republic Media Network has accessed Khalistan's plot to disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally that was planned two days prior to the scheduled rally. The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) had released a video asking people to block PM Modi. For this, the terrorist organisation had also announced a $100,000 reward. Read Full Story Here Kazakhstan Unrest: Fuel Price Protest & Rebellion Rock Stability In Ex-Soviet Nation Kazakhstan has declared a state of emergency as the scattered protests and rage linked to the fuel price hike flared into full-blown civil unrest across the central Asian nation prompting the embattled leader President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to call for urgent help from the CSTO, a post-Soviet military alliance which includes Russia. The repressive former Soviet country is witnessing large-scale violence as angry civilians torched the government buildings, ransacked the businesses, and hijacked at least five airplanes and entrance to the countrys Almaty airport, in an act that Tokayev decried as terrorism. Read Full Story Here BKU Blames Centre For Sudden Change In PM Modi's Route; 'Had No Plans To Block PM's Rally' The Bharat Kisan Union (Krantikari) has denied allegations that it had planned in advance to block Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cavalcade on the way to Ferozepur on Wednesday. The farmer union chief Surjit Singh Phool said that his faction was staging a routine protest in the district and was unaware that PM Modi was travelling by road. Read Full Story Here US Says There'll Be No Progress With Russia If It Keeps A 'gun Pointed To Ukraine's Head' On Wednesday, January 5, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that there will be no progress with Russia amid escalating tensions with the West as long as Moscow keeps a "gun pointed to Ukraine's head." Addressing a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the top US diplomat insisted that Washington is "fully committed" to working out a diplomatic solution with its European partners. However, he said that the success of upcoming discussions with Russia will depend only on Kremlin's intention to de-escalate. Read Full Story Here Image: RepublicWorld As the unrest in Kazakhstan has led to huge protests due to fuel price surges, The United Nations has voiced concerns about the turmoil in the nation and has called for restraint. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "We are obviously following with concern and are monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan," Xinhua reported. The UN spokesperson went on to say that he believes it is crucial for all parties who are involved in the present events of conflict to display restraint, avoid violence, and support conversation in order to solve all of the present problems. Stephane Dujarric further noted that the UN has a country office and other officials in Kazakhstan, and amid the violence, the UN personnel have not faced any security threats. Kazakhstan President intends to "act as tough as possible" As the environment in Kazakhstan grows very stressful, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared on Wednesday that he intends to "act as tough as possible." On January 5, he signed a presidential order accepting the Kazakh government's resignation. As per media reports, hundreds of protestors flooded the streets of the nation for four consecutive days on Wednesday to denounce the growing price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), forcing the nation's government to resign. In retaliation to the massive disturbance, the administration proclaimed a state of emergency, but protestors turned violent, assaulting government buildings and seizing police vehicles. In addition, Kazakhstan is currently suffering from a complete internet shutdown after Kazakhtelecom, the country's biggest telecommunications company, cut off internet access on Wednesday afternoon. Because Kazakhstan exports oil and natural gas, the substantial price hike had upset Kazakhs. Furthermore, after Kazakhstan President Tokayev's call for assistance to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member nations, it was announced on the night of January 5 that "peacekeeping forces" from a Russia-led military alliance would be dispatched to Kazakhstan to support Tokayev in reclaiming control. As per Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the CSTO, which comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, would send troops to achieve stability in the Central Asian country. (Image: AP/Twitter/@ANI) Amid soaring tensions between Kyiv and Moscow, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his British counterpart Ben Wallace discussed the concerning Russian military activity near Ukraines border. It is to mention that Russia has repeatedly denied any intentions of invading Ukraine, however, its deployment of over 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border has become a major flashpoint in soaring relations between Moscow and the West. In the latest development, speaking at a news briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that the US and the UK have promised to support Ukraine and agreed to continue close coordination on the matter. "Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace today regarding Russia's concerning military buildup on Ukraine's borders," Kirby said on Wednesday. The concern of Russias military buildup near Ukraine has been rising. In recent months, the US and NATO have voiced concerns over Russias alleged preparations for invading Ukraine. However, Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations and said that Russia has the right to relocate the troops within its territory at its own discretion, while NATOs military activity near the Russian border poses a threat to its security. Tensions between West and Russia over Ukraine Last month, Russia even released proposals on security guarantees to NATO and the US that seek to prevent the alliances further expansion eastward and ban the deployment of US and Russian intermediate and short-range missiles within reach of each others territory, among other items. Now, in a bid to discuss Russias military buildup around Ukraine, NATO has called an emergency meeting of foreign ministers on Friday, 7 January. Russia and US officials are also set to meet in person in Geneva on January 10 in a bid to discuss the Ukraine crisis. Additionally, the NATO-Russia Council meeting is set for January 12 in Brussels. Moscow has insisted that NATO must never grant membership for ex-Soviet Ukraine and must roll back its forces near Russias border. The West, on the other hand, has rejected what it calls a bid by Russia to dictate the future of independent partners. The West has also threatened Moscow with the severe cost of launching a fresh incursion into Ukraine. US President Joe Biden has warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Washington could impose new sanctions against Moscow if it takes action against the former Soviet nation. (Image: AP) The United States and Germany on Wednesday, Jan. 5 expressed concern about China's aggression and its attempts to bully Lithuania. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a presser said that Beijing is trying to coerce the European and American companies to stop doing business with Vilnius, adding that Beijing poses a significant challenge to our shared values. Both the US and Germany also agreed on the importance of transatlantic coordination against Chinese belligerence, reported ANI. "We have an immediate concern about the Government of China's attempts to bully Lithuania, a country of fewer than three million people. China is pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania or risk losing access to the Chinese market, all because Lithuania chose to expand their cooperation with Taiwan," Blinken said in a joint statement on Wednesday. "We also agreed that together, we will continue to build, across the board, an affirmative vision for the future because fundamentally, this is about what we're for together, not what we're against," he added. US will stand up against Chinese intimidation: Blinken Blinken reiterated that Washington will strengthen cooperation with the allies and partners, including Germany to stand up against the Chinese intimidation. The US Secretary of State also pledged to strengthen the economic resilience with ally Germany, diversifying the supply chains, and countering all forms of economic blackmail, the US Secretary of State stressed. Blinken categorically reminded that the US and its allies "will continue to stand together against flagrant human rights abuses by the Government of China and advocating for universal human rights around the world. Just last month, Blinken spoke with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and reaffirmed the importance of robust defence and economic relations between the two nations for the security and prosperity of the Transatlantic region in the face of Chinese aggression. Blinken underscored the Biden administrations ironclad solidarity with Lithuania, the NATO Ally and EU partner as it faces geopolitical challenges and threats from China that risk regional stability, security, and economic prosperity. State Department spokesperson Ned Price had earlier asserted that Washington and the Foreign Ministers of various countries included in the Bucharest 9 group were standing in support of Lithuania and were ready to "deter any People's Republic of Chinas coercive moves. China has drawn down diplomatic relations and has stepped up coercion tactics against Lithuania for the opening of the de facto embassy under the name Taiwan in its capital Vilnius. PRC kicked out the Baltic nation from the customs registry in retaliation for its move. Self-ruled democratic island Taiwan is being claimed by China as its own breakaway province and China threatened to use force against the independent forces. A bilateral spat between Beijing and Lithuania intensified as the latter strengthened ties with Taiwan. The United States and Israel held low-profile consultations last month over Chinese investments in Israel, American media reported on Wednesday. While former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to enhance ties with China and solicit Chinese investment in Israels infrastructure and technology industries, Axios reported, that on 14 December, the present administrations of the US under President Joe Biden and Israel held wide-range talks on China. The December talks were reportedly the first such meeting between US and Israel on China and were led by the two countries deputy national security advisers. Notably, fearing backlash from Beijing, the Israeli side attempted to keep the consultations as low-key as possible. As per the Axios report, the meeting which was held last month included representatives from various government agencies that deal with areas such as economy, foreign policy and national security. The American media house quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that both sides presented the general policy lines and even exchanged notes as they conducted their respective policy reviews. However, the report stated that no decisions were reached. It should be mentioned that following the low-key meet, US National security adviser Jake Sullivan had raised some similar issues with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid when the US official visited Israel later. US stresses need to form united front against China Sullivan, while visiting Israel a week after the December meeting, focused his discussions mainly on Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects and raised concerns over Chinas cyberattacks. Two Israeli officials were quoted by American media as saying that the US National Security Adviser also called on the indeed to form a unified front on China. Additionally, during a meeting of Isreals Security Cabinet on Sunday, foreign ministry officials briefed other lawmakers that the Biden administration was ramping up pressure on Jerusalem along with other nations to pick sides between the US and China, Axios reported, citing the two Israeli officials who attended the meeting. Israel's dilemma to balance ties with US & China According to the report, a senior Israeli official said that the Israeli government is presently facing a major dilemma if it should maintain a balancing act in order to preserve trade relations with China or to more actively side with the United States. A senior Israeli official was quoted by Axios as saying, We have no dilemma about who is our most important ally and we are more mindful about US concerns and more transparent than we were in the past. But we are not going to avoid doing things with China that the US is not avoiding. (Image: AP) On Wednesday, January 5, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that there will be no progress with Russia amid escalating tensions with the West as long as Moscow keeps a "gun pointed to Ukraine's head." Addressing a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the top US diplomat insisted that Washington is "fully committed" to working out a diplomatic solution with its European partners. However, he said that the success of upcoming discussions with Russia will depend only on Kremlin's intention to de-escalate. Ahead of the high-level security talks in Europe next week, top US and German diplomats issued a joint warning to Russia, pledging "huge" economic consequences if President Vladimir Putin goes forward with an invasion of Ukraine. The talks between the United States and Russia regarding security guarantees and the situation in Ukraine are expected to take place on January 10. US Prez lists two ways to deal with Ukraine crisis: 'diplomacy' or 'deterrence' "If Russia is serious about diplomacy and de-escalation, I believe there are things that all of us can do pretty rapidly to develop better confidence and alleviate some of our fears," Blinken was quoted as saying by Axios. He added that it's difficult to achieve real progress in any of these areas amid an atmosphere of escalation and threat. The US Secretary also slammed Russia's "false narrative" that Ukraine is attempting to instigate a war. "That's a little like the fox claiming it had no choice but to attack the henhouse since the hens posed a threat in some way," Blinken said. Last week, US President Joe Biden informed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that there are two ways to deal with the Ukraine crisis: "diplomacy" or "deterrence," which would mean sanctions and increased military backing for NATO's eastern flank, as per a report by Axios. It's worth noting that, in the context of rising tensions around Ukraine, security concerns have become a critical problem, with reports suggesting that Russia has deployed troops near the Ukrainian border in preparation for an invasion. Russia has pushed roughly 70,000 troops towards Ukraine's border, according to US intelligence officials, and is preparing for an invasion early this year. Moscow, on the other hand, denies that it has any plans to strike Ukraine and rejects Western worries as a "propaganda campaign." (Image: AP) Han Xiu is a writer and former professor at the State Departments Foreign Service Institute and Johns Hopkins University who has published more than 50 books in a career spanning some 40 years. Born in Manhattan in 1946 to U.S. military attache Willie Hanen and Chinese actress Zhao Yunru, Han was brought to China by her mother at the age of just 18 months. There she grew up in Beijing, living with her grandmother and reading ancient classical texts. She was lonely all the way through elementary school and high school. Nobody would share a desk with her, so she always sat in the very back row, alone. Here she speaks to RFAs Vienna Tang about her long life and her survival against the odds: RFA: Youve said that your childhood ended abruptly at the age of eight. What happened that made you grow up overnight? Han Xiu: Nothing special. I didnt know what the U.S. had done in the Panama Canal and why there was a gathering at the Tiananmen Square. I attended the Mishi Street Elementary School, not far away from Tiananmen Square, and teachers would take the students there to attend events. There were parades, rallies, slogans and all sorts of weird things. Some people stacked the portrait of President Eisenhower and some American flags together into a circle. Suddenly, my teacher saw me. He looked at the circle and told me to stand there. Very soon, the flags and the portrait were set on fire. Ashes flew up. President Eisenhower was the American president that I remember best, every little detail of his face, because I witnessed his portrait burning up in the air and falling to earth as ashes. That circle was also interesting. It kind of looked like the Target logo. All I knew back then was that I was nothing more than a target. I was eight years old, and in second grade. RFA: The teacher did this to you because your father was an American. I know that you had a chance to attend Tsinghua University when you were 17, but you didnt make it because of your fathers nationality? Han Xiu: In fact, the exam papers were sealed. My papers were stamped with the words This student shall not be admitted. The general secretary of the party branch, whose last name was Zhou, told me that I could write a 200-word short essay saying my father was an enemy of the Chinese people and that the U.S. was the enemy of China. She said that if I wrote this, the door to Tsinghua University would be open and waiting for mw. I asked her, What if I dont? She said, If you dont, then youll go to Shanxi tomorrow. RFA: So you packed up and went? Han Xiu: I said, then Ill go home to pack up. RFA: Though you only met her father shortly after you were born, in your mind your father was always tall and perfect and not to be desecrated. Han Xiu: When I was born in Manhattan, he stood outside of the newborn room to look at me; the nurse was holding me in her arms. There was a picture in a folder that a DoD official brought me when I returned to the U.S. in 1978. It was only then that I learned that my father had seen me before. Of course, I wouldnt have seen my father. I was so little, a newborn, an infant. We didnt have any exchanges afterwards, because he was assigned to New Zealand. By the time he heard about my news I was already en route to China by sea. I arrived at Shanghai on Sept. 19, 1948. Nothing could have been done then. My grandma had told me when I was little that she had met my father once in Chongqing. My father was a U.S. military attache assigned to Chongqing. He was in charge of the Hump, the lifeline to China over the Himalayas. The Himalayan lifeline is the route, literally a lifeline, that transported war supplies from the Burmese border to China and helped the Chinese government and the Chinese people resist Japan. Therefore, my father was a friend of the Chinese people, not an enemy. This is what I have known since I was little. There's one other thing, that when an entire society alleges that a country is bad, that a person is bad, there must be something wrong with that society. Its not one that I would trust. RFA: You came to realize that at such a young age? Han Xiu: Of course. I was a target, myself. I was so young, and they were already treating me as a target. I could of course sense how vicious their intentions were and how cruel their actions were. So rebelling was instantaneous. Besides, I have always been an outsider. I was never one of them. As a result, I have always looked at China with a calm pair of eyes. RFA: You also lived in the countryside and in Xinjiang for 12 years? Han Xiu: Yes. RFA: You went through a lot in those 12 years. Could you share with us what impressed you the most? Han Xiu: There were many things: the kindness of the Shanxi people to me, the kindness of peasants to me versus the cruelty of the army corps. The contrast between those two extremes was very clear. As for Xinjiang, the sentiment there was that everything about Chairman Mao, for example the Quotations from Chairman Mao, was sacrosanct. Take those plaster statues of Chairman Mao for instance. If you broke them, there would be dire consequences. There was one young man from Shanghai. He was dismissive of other peers from Shanghai who were engaged in romantic relations and undignified behavior. They wanted to give him a hard time, and their tactics were very simple. The bathroom was public, and there were no doors. Someone reported that they found a book of quotations from Chairman Mao in the pile that this young man used as toilet paper. He was instantly found guilty of being an active anti-revolutionist. He eventually died in the labor camp. The peasants of Shanxi cared a lot about my safety. When the Cultural Revolution began, the Red Guards were everywhere smashing property and looting. They killed people and set things on fire. There was nothing they wouldnt do. So the people in Shanxi told me to get away, the farther the better. If the Red Guards came, I would be the first one they beat to death. There was a guy in the Baidian village where the sent-down youth stayed. His father was a senior cadre in the Party. However, his father sided with Liu Shaoqi, so this young man was beaten to death. I am forever grateful for the kindness and love that the people of Shanxi showed me. RFA: Id like to talk about your mother. She graduated from the Nanjing National Drama School. She had also shared the stage with Taojin, Zhang Ruifang and Qin Yi. Did she ever tell you about that part of her life? Han Xiu: When she handed me to an American couple, she never wanted to see me again. We were on a military vessel, at a time when Asia was still a vast battleground. China was at war. When she sent me, an 18-month-old child, to Shanghai, she had no intention of ever seeing that child again. I was always a piece of baggage to her, a burden to be gotten rid of if she could. She did not return to China until the 50s. I had been with my grandmother for a few years. She never said anything about my father. Then the Cultural Revolution began. It was only when the rebels came to our house and mentioned my father in front of me and her that she acknowledged his existence. My grandmother had told me about my father, so I was not surprised. She kept on emphasizing her so-called relationship with left-leaning [diplomat] John Stewart Service, but this was just an arrangement by Zhou Enlai. RFA: John S. Service was the Second Secretary in the American Embassy in Chungking [now known as Chongqing] in the 1940s. He was part of the Dixie Mission to Yanan to meet with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and others. He was one of the first American diplomats who suggested that the United States should shift its support from the Nationalist government to the Chinese Communists. Han Xiu: After his return from Yanan, John Service and the left-leaning staffers in the American Embassy had painted a whitewashed picture of Yanan in their reports to the U.S. State Department. When I was in high school, I actually danced with Zhou Enlai at a ball. There was no one around us; no one could hear us. Zhou was all smiles while we danced. I felt that he was in the mood to talk, so I asked him about something that had been on my mind for many years. I asked him, what do you think of John Service and his friends, including Edgar Snow and Anna Louise Strong? He said they didnt have anything to offer. They were nothing to him. His contempt was utterly explicit. Soon afterwards, I left Beijing for the countryside, with no future ahead of me. But this was how Zhou Enlai thought of them. I dont think he was lying. RFA: In The Unwanted, you describe your mother as selfish and cruel. She would burn you with cigarette butts and slash your skirts. During the Cultural Revolution, she even reported you as a descendant of American imperialism. These stories ring very true. Are they? Han Xiu: Yes. These were the facts. Nothing but facts. There are many things that I dont think are worth further discussion. When I left Xinjiang, I saw the large number of materials she had sent to Xinjiang to report me. Any part of those materials could have killed me. The papers were piled 18 inches high. Back then, Deng Xiaopings office had sent a message to Xinjiang, saying this person is not suitable to stay in Xinjiang. This was referring to me. I could not see the upper or bottom parts of that letter; I only saw that one line. But the letter was from Dengs office. The letter said this person is not suitable to stay in Xinjiang, so the Xinjiang army corps decided to send me back to Beijing. But on the eve of my departure, the political work official couldnt keep quiet any longer. He said that he had never seen a mother like this in his life who would put her child in harms way. He said the reports she sent denouncing me made a pile 18 inches high, and that they should have burned them all to ashes. But they wanted to give me a chance to look at them. The papers were carbon copies, so multiple copies had been made. "When you arrive in Beijing, [he warned me], your employer or work placement office will be sure to have a copy. You should be aware of this." So, yes, I read the things she sent. RFA: Why do you think your mother would do this to you? Han Xiu: Of course she would. Didnt I tell you earlier? I was just baggage. She would do anything to get rid of me. She was what she was. We will not talk about this. There was no affection. I still brought her to the United States after she did so many evil things. She was able to come because I brought her here. But what did she do to me after she got here? RFA: She planted a bugging device in your house? Han Xiu: Yes. What else can I say about something so disheartening? RFA: What do you think of those who went back from overseas to the New China but endured unfortunate and tragic treatment later? What are your thoughts? Han Xiu: This is a topic that will never cease to be discussed. Many people will never understand what the Chinese Communists are about. They will never understand to what absurd lengths a tyrannical regime will go. So those people will always fantasize. They have fantasies. Mr. Shu Qingchun [the writer Lao She] was tricked back to China. Zhao Yunru was one of the accomplices who tricked him. Zhao Qingge, Lao Shes collaborator in earlier days, was another. These people put a great deal of effort into fooling him into going back. But then look what happened after Lao She went back. [The writer suffered mental and physical abuse at the hands of Red Guards, including being paraded in public as a "counterrevolutionary," and later took his own life.] RFA: In your latest publication, the collection of your essays, you write that the flame that burns deep in my heart is my relentless pursuit of the beauty of humanity. You have endured so many things unimaginable to the majority of people. What kind of strength has sustained you to keep that flame alive? Han Xiu: I am a person who has undergone numerous deaths. To me, every day that I am alive is an extra bonus. I would like do something valuable in the extra days that Ive earned. Why am I so interested in writing biographies of artists? Because they have bestowed the ultimate beauty on this world. Oscar Wilde once said: "We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars. I am someone who looks at the stars. In my darkest times, I looked at the stars. Translated by Min Eu. Edited by Luisetta Mudie. The hundreds of civilians who ran to the woods and mountains to escape now face food shortages, health risks. The remains of houses burned down by Myanmar junta soldiers litter the ground in Le-Ngauk village, Yinmabin township, northwestern Myanmar's Sagaing region, Jan. 5, 2021. At least six houses, including the home of the local chairman of the opposition political party, were set on fire Wednesday after military troops and associated militiamen raided a village in northwestern Myanmars Sagaing region, prompting nearly 700 residents from surrounding communities to flee, locals said. Government soldiers and their affiliated Pyu Saw Htee militia carried out a morning raid of Inngyun village in Sagaings Kalay township, burning down the homes, including that of the village chair of the National League for Democracy, they said. There were no reported casualties or injuries. We dont know exactly how many houses were burned down, but it was not less than five or six, said a resident of nearby Yayshin village who declined to be named for safety reasons. Together with Pyu Saw Htee members from Kyaukpyote and Hanthawaddy, the army surrounded the village at about 8 a.m. and set the houses on fire, though there was no fighting. As Yatshin is in the same village tract as ours, our whole village also fled from the area, the resident said. The entire village of Ingyun has also fled to the woods. Nearly 50 houses in three communities have been set on fire in the past two weeks. The people who left their villages have not yet been able to return due to the militarys presence. About 40 houses in Kalays Natchaung and Hakhalay villages were set ablaze on Dec. 23, after clashes broke out between the military and local Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) in Natchaung. Fighting between the two sides intensified in the following days, prompting more than 20,000 people from eight nearby villages, including Natchaung and Parmone Chaung, to leave, locals said. The hundreds of people from Inngyun and nearby communities who heard about the fires and fled to safety into the woods and mountains now face food shortages and health risks, locals said. A pregnant woman who escaped had to give birth with the help of a midwife, said a woman from Natchaung village. Since we cannot go back home yet, our problems might even get worse, the villager told RFA. Wed need food and shelter, and as winter is already here, we need clothes and blankets. In the long run, we will face many problems. Theres enough food only for three more days. We might be able to hold on if we can get some kind of assistance and support. Local PDF members said at least 22 people were killed during the clashes in Natchaung village on Dec. 23 when the military opened fire from helicopters. Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun denied that the military burned houses in the villages. We dont deny that there were fires in some areas, he said. They really happened on the ground. But what I mean is these are just allegations. Why would we, the security forces, burn villages? Theres no reason for that. Even when there is a fire, it is the government that has to take care of the affected areas, Zaw Min Tun said. No PDFs would come and help build a house. The government also has to provide assistance to those who are fleeing their homes. We have nothing to do with the fires. The situation remained tense on Wednesday as about 80 military troops advanced on Hakhalay village, a spokesman for the Kalay township PDF told RFA. We had to launch this resistance to defend ourselves, he said. It is a defensive move. We plan to fight back against the dictator to the end if our people, our villages are attacked. In the eight villages in Kalay township, internet lines had been cut off and telephone lines were difficult to access, locals said. Attacks with heavy weapons Also on Wednesday, at least 15 houses were set on fire in Le-Ngauk village in Sagaings Yinmabin township after junta soldiers entered the area, and villagers fled in a panic, said a resident who declined to be named for safety reasons. When they arrived, the villagers fled in fear, the resident said. With the villagers gone, the houses reported by dalan [informers] were set on fire. After burning them, the troops advanced towards Yinmabin. An army convoy of more than 40 military vehicles and about 200 troops made their way to Yinmabin, locals said, though no fighting was reported there. Zaw Min Tun also denied that military soldiers were responsible for the blazes in Le-Ngauk village. In Indaw township in upper Sagaing region, about 800 people from villages in the area fled their homes on Tuesday when a junta helicopter launched an attack on local PDF forces, residents said. Locals told RFA that junta forces also attacked communities about seven miles from Indaw with heavy weapons. Yesterday, the military sent a Mi-35 jet fighter to attack Gair-Hae village eight times and fired heavy weapons from nearby Kyaw Ywa and Nang Naung villages, a local resident said. The villagers have been fleeing their homes in fear since 11 a.m. and are staying at monasteries. There must be about 800 people. Locals said two houses in Gair-hae village were also destroyed in the aerial attack. The Indaw PDF said a military vehicle carrying about 50 soldiers was ambushed on Monday between Sipin and Hpapant villages in Indaw township while it was on its way from Mandalay to Myitkyina, though it was unclear if there were any casualties. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Employees say they are forced to work overtime and their pay is often late since the Feb. 1 coup. Factory managers in Myanmar are suppressing workers rights, with mandatory overtime and late payment of wages now routine following the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup that overthrew civilian rule in the country, sources say. One worker at a foreign-owned garment factory in Yangon told RFA she now works 11 hours a day but receives no pay for overtime work. Managers have now taken the upper hand in their dealings with employees, she said. Theyll give you overtime pay, or they may not. This is the sort of situation that were in, Hnin Hnin said. A typical work day is eight hours, and if we work for 10 hours, those extra two hours should be overtime. But they will give that only if the quota for production is reached, and if a piece of cloth falls onto the floor, the price of that cloth is deducted from our wages, she said. Around 8,000 workers are employed at her factory, with almost all of them facing the same situation, she said. Otto a worker at a sweater factory in Yangon regions Hlaing Tharyar township told RFA he has still not received wages owed to him for 10 months of work after his factory closed due to the countrys COVID-19 pandemic. We asked for our normal daily wage, and they said they could not pay. Then we asked for half that amount, and they still wouldnt pay, he said. Later, we appealed to the Labor Office for arbitration, and they decided I should be paid 50,000 kyat [U.S. $28] for each of five months that I had worked. The factory then reopened for a month, and closed again for another three months, he said. The 50,000 kyat per month allowed by the Labor Department is not enough to cover our cost of living, as food and accommodation alone cost around 70,000 kyat per month. But as the Labor Office has already fixed this as the rate, we dont know what to do, he said. Khine Zar Aung, president of the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar, said she has received at least 50 complaints about rights violations that can be passed on for litigation. Most of these cases are in the garment sector, and though we can help with cases in the garment and footwear sectors, we cant help anyone not working for international brands, she said. There is no rule of law here, so there are cases where rights are being seriously violated, and we cant do anything about these at all. Around 40,000 garment workers are now without jobs in Myanmar as a result of the Feb. 1 coup, but the military has arrested members of trade unions and other workers organizations in the country, making it difficult to organize a legal defense. Myanmars Ministry of Labor has denied reports that workers are not receiving the minimum pay allowed by law, but workers in the garment industry say most are not receiving full pay, overtime pay, or severance pay when separated from their jobs. Reporting on labor rights in the year before the coup, the U.S. State Department noted "continued reports of employers engaging in forms of antiunion discrimination," including firing or other forms of reprisal against workers who formed or joined labor unions. "Trade unions reported cases in which criminal charges were filed against workers for exercising their right to strike, and trade union members were arrested and charged with violating peaceful assembly laws when holding demonstrations regarding labor rights generally," said the agency's 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Richard Finney. Advocates hope case adds pressure on China, but the countrys ties with Turkey may undercut the effort. Ethnic Uyghur men take part in a protest against China in front of the Caglayan Justice Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 4, 2022, the day they filed a criminal complaint accusing Chinese government officials of committing genocide and other crimes against Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region. A group of relatives of detained or disappeared Uyghurs in China filed a criminal complaint with a Turkish prosecutors office on Tuesday accusing 112 Chinese government officials of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, torture and rape in the far-western Xinjiang region. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chen Quanguo, former Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, are among the Chinese officials named in the complaint for bearing some responsibility for the persecution of 116 detainees. The filing of the case by 19 plaintiffs was announced at a press conference in front of the Caglayan Justice Palace in Istanbul and organized by the Camp Detainees Forum, which includes Turkey-based relatives of Uyghur camp inmates. Representatives from various political parties in Turkey, human rights lawyers, officials from Turkish civil society organizations, journalists and representatives of Uyghur organizations, such as the Uyghur Meshrep Foundation, Union of Cities, Federation of East Turkistanis, and East Turkistan Human Rights Watch Association, attended the event. Gulden Sonmez, a human rights advocate and attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, told RFA that the lawsuit was based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to prosecute individuals for serious crimes against international law. The complaint includes crimes such as genocide, torture, rape and sexual violence, as well as intentional homicide and threats to free will and of crimes against humanity, Sonmez said. She said that she expects the Turkish justice system to issue arrest warrants for all 112 Chinese officials and to try them for their alleged crimes. Among the complainants are our Turkish compatriots, she said. The Turkish judiciary has a duty to initiate a legal process involving at least Turkish citizens detained in China. This is not a case with a political motive, she said. We hope that the 112 Chinese officials involved in the detention of both Turkish citizens and East Turkistan victims of Chinese citizenship will be issued arrest warrants and that they will be extradited to the Turkish judiciary under the extradition mechanism. China is believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in detention camps in Xinjiang. The government has said the facilities are vocation training centers and has denied widespread and documented allegations that it has mistreated and tortured incarcerated Muslims. Turkey has been one of the most hospitable countries to Uyghurs, with whom Turks share ethnic, religious and linguistic ties. Turkeys government has offered roughly 50,000 Uyghurs a safe place to live outside northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region. They constitute the largest Uyghur diaspora outside Central Asia. But Turkey and China also have tight economic and political ties. For that reason, Javlan Shirmemet, a leader of the Camp Detainees Forum, said members of the group are concerned Turkeys Ministry of Justice will not respond to their complaint. If the Justice Ministry accepts the complaint, it could lead to a political crisis between the two countries, he said. The Turkish and Chinese governments ratified a treaty in December 2020 for the extradition of individuals to the Peoples Republic of China. The agreement is purportedly an anti-terrorism measure, but critics see it as a way for China to target Uyghur exiles. The complaint comes amid actions by other countries to target Chinese officials deemed responsible for alleged atrocities against some of the 12 million predominantly Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Those actions include public condemnations, economic sanctions, bans on the importation of goods found to be made with Uyghur forced labor, and diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. In early December, the Uyghur Tribunal, an independent peoples tribunal in London, determined that China has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The tribunal also found that Xi Jinping, Chen Quanguo, and other senior government officials in the Chinese Communist Party bore primary responsibility for the abuses. Although the tribunal is non-binding and has no state backing, Uyghur groups have responded to the findings of genocide and crimes against humanity by preparing or proceeding with lawsuits in Argentina and the United Kingdom. Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Iranian authorities have prevented a prominent Iranian sociologist from leaving the country to begin a one-year research program at Yale University. Saeed Madani, a scholar and former political prisoner, said earlier this week that he had been prevented from boarding a flight out of Tehran by the intelligence branch of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which confiscated his passport. In a January 4 letter to Irans judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, Madani said he was interrogated by the Intelligence Ministry before his planned departure in early December and told that he was free to travel. Iranian authorities have in past years prevented a number of activists, journalists, and scholars from leaving the country by confiscating their passports. Madani has been arrested and sentenced to prison several times in the past over his membership in a banned nationalist-religious opposition group. A statue erected to honor top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani has been torched by unknown assailants hours after it was unveiled in southwestern Iran, domestic media reported on January 6. Soleimani, who headed the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed on January 3, 2020, in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport. Earlier this week, a statue to honor him was unveiled in the southwestern Iranian city of Shahrekord. But it was set on fire in the evening, Iranian media reported. "This treacherous crime was carried out in darkness, just like the other crime committed at night at Baghdad airport," when Soleimani was killed, Shahrekord Friday Prayers Leader Mohammad Ali Nekounam said in a statement published by the semiofficial ISNA news agency. Iranian authorities have unveiled several sculptures dedicated to Soleimani since his assassination two years ago, and his portraits dot the landscape across Iran. State broadcaster IRIB condemned the latest attack as an "insulting" act, that comes as Iran marks the second anniversary of Soleimani's killing. Soleimani was considered a main architect of Iran's Middle East military strategy and his assassination brought the United States and Iran close to a military conflict. Tehran retaliated by launching a missile strike targeting U.S. forces in Iraq. With reporting by AFP Ukraine and a trio of other affected countries on January 6 announced their abandonment of a two-year effort to negotiate with Tehran over reparations for a passenger airliner mistakenly shot down by Iran's military in January 2020. Kyiv joined the governments of Britain, Canada, and Sweden in saying their related coordination group would "now focus on subsequent actions to take to resolve this matter in accordance with international law." Last month they told Iran it had three weeks to reverse its refusal to address the reparation demands. "Despite our best efforts over the past two years and multiple attempts to resolve this matter through negotiations, the Coordination Group has determined that further attempts to negotiate with Iran ... are futile," the group said in a statement. They did not specify what steps they would take to address grievances related to the deaths of their nationals among the 176 people killed when Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was destroyed shortly after takeoff from Tehran. Iran obfuscated for days but later said its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of the armed forces, accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 because of technical and human error with tensions high between Tehran and the United States. More than 130 of the passengers had ties to Canada. Citizens or residents of Afghanistan, Britain, Iran, Ukraine, and Sweden were also killed. Canada said in June that it found no evidence of premeditation in the downing of the airliner. In May, Human Rights Watch accused Iranian security agencies of harassing and abusing the victims' families to "squash any hope for justice." A Canadian court last week awarded $84 million and interest to the families of six of the victims. Based on reporting by Reuters Kazakhstan is tense as Russian-led forces are on the move to shore up the authorities after days of anti-government protests swept the country. (NOTE: The footage described as amateur video at the start of this report later transpired to have originated from the TASS news agency.) Sparked by a small protest over a fuel price increase in the western oil town of Zhanaozen a few days earlier, angry crowds flooded the streets and squares of Kazakhstans major towns and cities on January 5, shouting their discontent with the authoritarian government's domestic policies. Alarmed by the scale of the demonstrations, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev quickly ordered fuel prices to be lowered, special commissions created to resolve economic problems, and accepted the resignation of his government. But the protests only intensified and Toqaev decided to change his narrative of the unfolding events. The people responsible for the protests were international terrorist bands who had undergone special training abroad and their attack on Kazakhstan should be seen as an act of aggression," the president told Kazakhs in a televised address. Toqaev then appealed for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led alliance of six former Soviet republics (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan) created in 1992. The CSTO had never deployed its forces to intervene in a conflict in another country. But when Toqaev appealed for help, the CSTO agreed. Russian troops quickly landed in Kazakhstan on January 6, with more coming from the other CSTO countries. The CSTO stayed out of the 2005, 2010, and 2020 revolutions in Kyrgyzstan, the June 2010 interethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in autumn 2020, and did not attempt to intervene or mediate in the brief border fighting between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in late April 2021 -- even though all of the CSTO defense officials were meeting in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, at the time. According to Article 4 of the CSTO Charter, the organization will only send troops to help a member state whose territory or sovereignty is threatened by an external force. None of the aforementioned conflicts in CSTO member states met that criterion. But none of the countries involved share a 7,000-kilometer border with Russia, as Kazakhstan does, so Toqaevs carefully crafted phrasing to include international "terrorist bands" trained abroad was deemed sufficient to invoke CSTO aid for his besieged government. The move might help Toqaevs government hold onto power, but the arrival of foreign troops on Kazakh soil is likely to be unpopular among many Kazakhs and will be an indelible stain on Toqaevs reputation. Kazakhstan recently held ceremonies to mark the 35th anniversary of Zheltoqsan, the time in December 1986 when Soviet troops came to Kazakhstan to crush large protests against the dismissal of the longtime Soviet-era leader of the republic, Dinmukhamed Kunaev, and his replacement -- Gennady Kolbin -- who had never worked in Kazakhstan before he was appointed head of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Officially, several people were killed in the violence but people who were there say the number of dead was in the hundreds for which Kazakhs hold Moscow responsible. Swift Criticism Toqaevs appeal for CSTO troops was swiftly criticized. Former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan William Courtney wrote on Twitter that Kazakhstan's people know this is a popular uprising against corrupt tyranny, not an act of aggression by foreign-trained terrorist gangs." In a separate tweet, Courtney suggested that Russian military intervention in Kazakhstan is likely to alienate its people. They have come to prize their countrys sovereignty and independence, and intervention could undermine three decades of friendly relations between the two neighbors. Nargis Kassenova, a native Kazakh who works at Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, said Toqaevs call to the CSTO for aid was a horrible decision that will undermine [his] chance to gain legitimacy." As if to emphasize these points, after Toqaev announced he was seeking CSTO intervention, RT Editor in Chief Margarita Simonyan said on Twitter that Of course we should help. We absolutely should help. But there are several conditions to make -- recognize Crimea (as Russian territory), return the Cyrillic alphabet, (and institute) Russian as a second state language, like in Kyrgyzstan" Kyrgyzstan is a CSTO member and, so far, the only country not to have announced its contribution to what is being called by some a peacekeeping force for Kazakhstan. The issue sparked hot debate in Kyrgyzstans parliament on January 6. Deputy Iskhakh Masaliev, who once headed Kyrgyzstans Communist Party, said he was against the idea of sending Kyrgyz troops to Kazakhstan. "As I understand the meaning of this organization (CSTO) and its responsibilities, the military can be used only if there is an external threat to one or another CSTO member," he said. Kyrgyz political analyst Aida Alymbaeva said Toqaevs move to call in the CSTO to prop up his government creates a precedent for the authoritarian leaders of Central Asia. There were even protesters outside the Kyrgyz parliament calling for deputies not to send soldiers to Kazakhstan. A vote on the issue was postponed due to a lack of quorum, but deputies planned to return on January 7 to make a decision. Reforma party leader Klara Sooronkulova said deputies will inevitably approve the troop deployment because Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov is in favor of it. That makes it almost certain that a majority of deputies will back the proposal due to there being a majority of pro-government deputies in the parliament. But Sooronkulova was skeptical of the need for any foreign troops in Kazakhstan. Toqaev says that these are terrorists, but this is not true Sooronkulova said. If these are terrorists then why are members of the [Kazakh] military going over to their side? Russia is reportedly sending 3,000 soldiers to Kazakhstan, Belarus some 500, Tajikistan 200, and Armenia 70, with Kyrgyzstan set to decide on January 7. According to Russian and Kazakh officials, the CSTO troops will be used to guard strategic facilities, not to participate in what Kazakh authorities are calling an anti-terrorist operation. But many inside and outside Kazakhstan will see the placement of foreign troops in the country as sacrificing its sovereignty and an example of the Toqaev government's weakness, which carries with it ramifications for the future when Russia will remind Toqaev of the service it has rendered and told what loyalty the Kremlin expects. Renewed clashes and gunfire continue to rock Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, as police, bolstered by troops from a Russian-led military alliance, try to squelch protests in the Central Asian nation's deadliest uprising in the three decades since it declared independence from the Soviet Union. RFE/RL journalists in Almaty said security forces, some in armored vehicles, opened fired on the demonstrators on January 6 in Republican Square. According to Aigerim Tuleuzhanova, a representative of the group for the establishment of the Democratic Party, most of those who were in the square were unarmed young people. Earlier, some witnesses reported an explosion and gunfire near the square. Troops from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) were sent to Kazakhstan overnight as violence spread since late on January 4 following protests sparked in part by a spike in fuel prices. Police said early on January 6 that they had killed dozens of protesters and detained around 2,000 people over the past day in violent clashes that prompted President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev to ask the CSTO, a military alliance comprised of several former Soviet republics in the region along with Russia, to enter the country to help stabilize the situation. The Interior Ministry said that 18 security personnel have died in clashes with protesters, with hundreds more injured. Much of the situation on the ground on January 6 was unclear as the government blocked the Internet and hampered other telecommunication methods. Still, images of burnt-out cars littering the streets and of buildings, some with smoke billowing out of the windows and pockmarked facades, were emerging to show the depth of the violence that has wracked the country. Toqaev has blamed foreign-trained "terrorist" gangs but he has also offered no evidence of an international link to the disorder in the post-Soviet Central Asian republic. The situation in the oil-rich country has sparked international concern, with governments from Washington, Moscow, the United Kingdom and others calling for restraint on all sides. The U.S. said it was closely monitoring reports about the deployment of troops from the Russian-led CSTO to Kazakhstan and has questions about whether they were legitimately invited to the country. "We're closely monitoring reports that the Collective Security Treaty Organization have dispatched its collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a news briefing on January 6. "We have questions about the nature of this request and whether it was a legitimate invitation or not. We don't know at this point," Psaki added. Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a peaceful resolution to the unrest in the country while the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, expressed grave concern about the situation, insisting civilian rights had to be protected and sounding a warning over foreign military involvement. In a call with his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Blinken "reiterated the United States' full support for Kazakhstan's constitutional institutions and media freedom and advocated for a peaceful, rights-respecting resolution to the crisis," the State Department said in a brief statement. "Rights and security of civilians must be guaranteed. External military assistance brings back memories of situations to be avoided," Borrell wrote on Twitter. EU is ready to support in addressing this crisis, he added. For her part, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged all sides in Kazakhstan to refrain from violence. "People have the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression. At the same time, protesters, no matter how angry or aggrieved they may be, should not resort to violence against others," Bachelet said in a January 6 statement, as she called for the release of all those detained solely for exercising their right to peaceful protest. A spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said London was "concerned about the violent clashes" and "following developments closely." "We are urging against further escalation and want to see a peaceful resolution," the spokesman told reporters on January 6. The wave of protests erupted in the western region of Mangystau four days ago over a sudden hike in prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a popular fuel used in vehicles in the tightly controlled, oil-rich country. But they have spread to cities and towns across Kazakhstan and broadened to include political grievances. Russian airborne troops are being transferred to Kazakhstan as part of a CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Force, the organization said in a statement on its website, adding that leading units from Russias contingent have already begun to fulfill the assigned tasks. The speed at which the Russian troops arrived on the scene in Kazakhstan was seen by some analysts as another sign of the Kremlin's strategy to act quickly to safeguard its sphere of influence in the ex-Soviet Union. In the past 15 months Russia has backed Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the authoritarian ruler of Belarus who has faced a massive popular uprising, and acted as an intermediary to stop a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It also continues to support separatists in a war in eastern Ukraine and has recently massed tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine, raising fears of a possible invasion. Timothy Ash, senior strategist at Bluebay Asset Management, said the popular protests in Kazakhstan are a threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin and an affront to his vision of autocracy and sovereign democracy. He hates colored revolutions as these make him fearful that Russians could in turn rise up to overthrow him, Ash said in a note to his subscribers, adding that Putin also fears the prospect of a more liberal Kazakhstan turning to the West he still sees Kazakhstan as falling under the Russian strategic umbrella. The CSTOs Collective Peacekeeping Force will also include troops from the other CSTO members: Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The CSTO statement said the main tasks of the force will be the protection of important state and military facilities, assistance to the forces of law and order of the Republic of Kazakhstan in stabilizing the situation and returning it to the legal field. On January 5, Toqaev sacked the government, declared a nationwide state of emergency, and appealed for intervention by the CSTO after thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police and stormed government buildings. Angry demonstrators, some of whom were armed with rubber truncheons, sticks, and shields, set fire to a presidential residence and the mayors office in Almaty, where protesters also seized control of the airport, prompting the temporary suspension of all flights. Video recordings circulated on social media purportedly showed several bodies of protesters on the streets. RFE/RL could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos. Police engaged in pitched battles with the protesters, using tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowds, but were largely unsuccessful. The operations of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service have been restricted, and its journalists said both Internet and telephone services had deteriorated markedly. State television reported on January 6 that the National Bank of Kazakhstan has suspended all financial institutions. In a major move to distance himself from the past, Toqaev on January 5 removed his predecessor, 81-year-old Nursultan Nazarbaev, from the powerful post of head of the country's security council and relieved a longtime Nazarbaev associate of his post as chairman of the National Security Committee (KNB). Nazarbaev had retained wide authority through the post since stepping down in 2019 as president after three decades in power, the last Soviet-era Communist Party boss still ruling an ex-Soviet state. With reporting by AFP, dpa, Reuters, AFP, and RFE/RL's Kazakh Service The first flights carrying Russian troops to Kazakhstan to help the embattled government quell an unprecedented wave of unrest and armed clashes arrived in Almaty, the Central Asian countrys largest city, early in the morning on January 6. They are part of a peacekeeping force sent via the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) -- a Moscow-led military bloc of which Kazakhstan is a member -- and come at the invitation of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, who requested the troops after a televised address on January 5 in which he called the demonstrators a band of international terrorists that he claimed were trained abroad and were undermining the integrity of the state. The arrival of Russian and Belarusian, Armenian, Tajik, and Kyrgyz troops under the guise of the CSTO marks a new chapter in a quickly evolving crisis that has threatened the authoritarian government in Kazakhstan and left its autocratic neighbors -- from Uzbekistan to Belarus to Russia -- watching anxiously as Central Asias richest country has been pushed to the brink. We see an increased resolve from Russia to come support their clients or loyal allies, Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Moscow Carnegie Center, told RFE/RL. If successful, this will reinforce the role of Russia as the main security guarantor in the region. Initially sparked by a peaceful outcry over a fuel-price rise on January 2, the protests quickly spread across the oil-rich country of 19 million and swelled to take in wider discontent with Toqaev and Nursultan Nazarbaev, his predecessor who ruled for nearly 30 years and kept significant powers after stepping down in 2019. Anger over rising prices, dimming economic prospects, entrenched corruption, and autocratic rule have fueled the uprising and helped spark unrest that has seen government buildings, TV stations, airports, and businesses stormed by thousands of protesters. As the Kazakh government now turns to external help in the form of the CSTO and deploys its own troops to suppress protesters as part of an anti-terrorist operation, events in the country are set to reverberate across the region, where theyre seen as both a warning and a test for other like-minded regimes. That holds particularly true for Russia, where President Vladimir Putin -- informed by previous popular movements against Kremlin-aligned governments in Ukraine in 2014 and Belarus in 2020 -- has backed an unprecedented mission to support a beleaguered partner. I dont think that [Moscow] can afford the departure of Toqaev and there is a determination on display to use any tool necessary to prop up the regime, said Gabuev. Regional Reaction The decision to send CSTO troops into Kazakhstan was announced by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the current chairman of the organization, who said in a statement that the forces would be stationed in the country only for a limited time period until order could be restored and would primarily focus on protecting infrastructure. Moscow also sent paratroopers, the organization said. The move marks the first time since the alliance was founded in 1999 that it has agreed to deploy military forces to support a member. The CSTO, which consists of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, has refused requests for troops in the past, including during ethnic unrest in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 and in Armenia in 2021 amid an armed conflict with Azerbaijan. There is no indication that the crisis in Kazakhstan has any external origin, but the purported terrorist threat that Kazakh authorities have blamed for the violence appears to have been enough justification for the CSTO to intervene. This shows the special role that Kazakhstan plays in Russian foreign policy, said Gabuev. The announcement of the CSTO deployment came just hours after Dmitry Peskov, Putins spokesman, said it was important that no foreign countries interfered in Kazakhstan. Toqaev had also spoken earlier with Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who brutally crushed a popular pro-democracy movement in 2020 and has since relied heavily on Russian economic and political support to stay in power. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry has issued a statement supporting the Kazakh government, with Tashkent calling for the crisis to be handled independently and without outside interference. The protests are also a source of anxiety for China, which has used Kazakhstan as the launching pad for its Belt and Road Initiative and invested billions in the country over the last decade. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on January 6 that events in Kazakhstan were an internal affair and that Beijing hopes the situation will stabilize soon. Hu Xijin, an influential Chinese nationalist commentator who recently stepped down as editor in chief of the state-run tabloid Global Times, wrote on social media that the unrest in Kazakhstan was similar to a color revolution, in reference to the wave of protests that removed pro-Kremlin leaders from Georgia in 2003 and Ukraine in 2005. Hu also added that China and Russia would work together to resolve the situation and resist alleged outside interference. Russia and China won't allow the [United States] and the West to push Kazakhstan into long-term turbulence, Hu tweeted on January 6. A New Era Kazakhstans quick descent into chaos in a matter of days is likely to send shock waves across the wider region well into the future. Toqaevs government tried at first to placate the demonstrators, restoring the subsidized prices on various types of fuel and removing Nazarbaev -- who had become a primary target in the protests -- as head of the countrys influential National Security Council. Toqaev also forced the government to resign and appointed new figures to high-ranking roles, even replacing a nephew of Nazarbaev in the process. But such moves have done little to calm the wider economic and political resentment toward the government that had built up over decades, leaving the Kazakh authorities with few untested responses beyond the use of force and support from the CSTO. Three decades of authoritarian rule have not left much to build on in the Central Asian country, with Nazarbaev and his Nur Otan party dominating the political landscape and his allies and relatives having a stranglehold on the media. The government has tried in the past to calm widespread discontent with limited reforms and shifting government roles. In 2019, Nazarbaev stepped aside to be formally recognized as the leader of the nation, allowing him to hold tremendous formal and informal power. He tapped Toqaev to be his successor and the longtime Nazarbaev loyalist's first order of business as president was to rename the countrys capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan in honor of his predecessor. Kazakhstan has shown that you can have leadership change without really having regime change, and they can do it again, Luca Anceschi, a professor of Eurasian Studies at the University of Glasgow, told RFE/RL. This has left Kazakhstan with a relatively limited political scene and no high-profile opposition figures, raising questions about the future direction of the current protests and how they could unite to enact meaningful changes. The protests dont really have any specific leader and there isnt a consolidated opposition, which means that the regime could still recuperate, Erica Marat, an associate professor at the National Defense University in Washington, told RFE/RL. The situation on the ground continues to change quickly and getting a clear picture of what is happening in Kazakhstan is proving difficult amid a nationwide Internet blackout and travel restrictions as security forces carry out anti-terrorist operations in Almaty, the heart of the protests. In the meantime, regional governments will continue to watch events closely as the Kazakh government looks to hold onto power. CSTO contingents wont solve any of the domestic issues [or] alleviate economic and political grievances, said Marat. They will deepen authoritarianism in Kazakhstan and may cause an even larger escalation of protests. Russian soldiers have deployed to the city of Timbuktu in northern Mali to train Malian forces at a base vacated by French troops last month, Mali's army spokesperson said on January 6. Mali's government said last month that "Russian trainers" had arrived in the country, but Bamako and Moscow have so far provided few details on the deployment, including the number of deployed Russians. Last month, over a dozen Western countries strongly condemned the deployment in Mali of Russian mercenaries working for the Vagner group, accusing Moscow of providing material backing for the fighters. The countries, who included, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, said the deployment can deteriorate the security and human rights situation in Mali. The U.S. State Department said last month hat Vagner Group forces will not bring peace to Mali, but rather will destabilize the country further." Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Vagner Group does not represent the Russian state and is not paid by it. He has also said private military contractors have the right to work and pursue their interests anywhere in the world as long as they do not break Russian law. Mali's government has denied any deployment of Russian mercenaries, saying Russian trainers are in the country as part of a bilateral agreement. "We had new acquisitions of planes and equipment from [the Russians]," the Malian Army spokesperson told Reuters. "It costs a lot less to train us on site than for us to go over there ... What is the harm?" He did not say how many Russians had been sent to Timbuktu. Local residents told Reuters that uniformed Russian men were seen driving around town. There was no immediate comment from Russian officials. France helped to recapture Timbuktu from Al-Qaeda-linked militants in 2013. France's withdrawal from the city is part of a significant drawdown of a previously 5,000-strong task force in West Africa's Sahel region sent to battle jihadist groups. Mali has experienced sustained political instability since 2012. A military transitional government took power in May. With reporting by Reuters The United States and its EU partners stepped up warnings of major consequences if Russia invades Ukraine as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Washington on January 5 for a meeting dominated by upcoming talks with Russia. Blinken said he and Baerbock emphasized the preference to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation to deal with Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine. We would far prefer a diplomatic path and diplomatic solution to the situation, Blinken said, adding that the talks would test Russias willingness to take that path. Baerbock said she and Blinken agreed "on the importance of finding a good path forward to finding a solution together for the process of dialogue. She emphasized that Germanys position is that there is no alternative to a political solution. The meeting took place ahead of talks scheduled to take place next week between U.S. and Russian officials in Geneva and a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Russia wants the talks to discuss its demands for security guarantees against expanding the NATO alliance eastward to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics such as Georgia. Russia made the demands after its military buildup raised fears of a repeat of 2014 when Moscow seized the Crimea Peninsula and a Russia-backed insurgency broke out in eastern Ukraine that has since claimed more than 13,000 lives. Blinken said there is a real question of whether Russia is serious about diplomacy and de-escalation, and Germany and the United States see Russias actions toward Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe." He and Baerbock condemn the military buildup as well as Russias increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke [Russia]. He likened that to the fox saying it had no choice but to attack the henhouse because somehow the hens presented a threat. Baerbock said she and Blinken jointly reiterated that Russian actions and activities come with a clear price tag, and a renewed violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would have severe consequences. Western officials have hinted at severe economic sanctions, including a near total cutoff from the international financial system, but there have been very few specifics, and Blinken again declined to discuss them. "Im not going to telegraph them publicly, but I can tell you with great confidence that a tremendous amount of work has been done already. There is very strong coordination and collaboration and very strong agreement on measures that would be taken in the event of renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine, he said. Blinken also said that the future of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be affected if Russia invades Ukraine. From our perspective, its very hard to see gas flowing through that pipeline for it to become operational if Russia renews its aggression on Ukraine," he said. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is complete but has not yet begun delivering Russian gas to Germany because it has not received approval from German regulators. Asked if Germany is ready to cancel the pipeline, Baerbock said only that the new government backed an understanding reached last year with the United States that Germany would take effective measures together with our European partners should Russia use energy as a weapon." As Baerbock visited Washington, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was in Ukraine. Borrell told a joint news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that Kyiv and Brussels have a common goal to ease tensions through diplomatic means. Borrell earlier paid a visit to the contact line in eastern Ukraine where Russia-backed separatists have battled Ukrainian government forces. "The conflict on the borders is on the verge of getting deeper and tensions have been building up with respect to the European security as a whole," Borrell said. "Any military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe costs," Borrell said. Kuleba said he was glad the EU foreign policy chief had a chance to visit the contact line and "feel the consequences of the conflict with his own eyes." With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP A court in Ukraine has frozen property owned by former President Petro Poroshenko as part of a formal investigation into alleged high treason by the former head of state, which he denies. "The court decided to seize the suspect's property, which belongs to him on the right of ownership," the Prosecutor General's office said in a statement on January 6. The State Investigation Bureau said last month that Poroshenko had been placed under formal investigation for high treason, accusing him of "facilitating the activities" of separatists fighting government forces in a conflict that has claimed more than 13,200 lives since April 2014. During his presidency, Poroshenko is suspected of helping the separatists to sell some 1.5 billion hryvnyas ($54 million) worth of coal to Kyiv in 2014 and 2015, it said in a statement. Poroshenko has denied the allegations while accusing Ukrainian authorities of crossing "a red line" by bringing treason charges against a former head of state. Last month, prosecutors asked a Ukrainian court to arrest Poroshenko with the possibility of bail set at 1 billion hryvnia ($37 million). Poroshenko has been outside Ukraine since late December and has yet to comment on the ruling. The politician, who is now a lawmaker and the leader of the opposition European Solidarity party, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. He has said that he plans to come back to Ukraine on January 17. Poroshenko's allies said the seizure of assets was a result of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's personal vendetta. Zelenskiy succeeded Poroshenko as president after defeating him in a 2019 election. "A weak president ... uses manual prosecution, manual investigation, and manual justice to punish opponents," Volodymyr Ariev, a lawmaker from Poroshenko's political party said after the court's decision. "This unlawful decision aggravates the political crisis in the country," Iryna Gerashchenko, another lawmaker from his party wrote on Facebook. Ahead of the court's decision on January 6, Poroshenko wrote on Facebook that he "will return to Kyiv" to appear in front of a judge "not to defend myself against Zelenskiy, but to defend Ukraine from incompetent leadership." Zelenskiy has not commented on the court's decisions but previously denied wanting to wield influence over state prosecutors or the judiciary. With reporting by Reuters British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced a visit to Kyiv later this month to stress London's "unwavering" commitment to Ukraine amid continuing Russian aggression against its fellow post-Soviet neighbor. In remarks to Parliament on January 6, Truss called Ukraine a crucial priority and warned against any concessions to Russia, which has reportedly amassed tens of thousands of troops near its western border seven years into a conflict in nearby eastern Ukraine between pro-Kyiv forces and Russia-backed separatists. Russia is the aggressor with respect to Ukraine, she said, and should end its malign activity. "Any further military incursion into Ukraine would bring massive consequences, including coordinated sanctions to impose a severe cost on Russia's interests and economy," Truss said, echoing previous warnings by Western officials. "The U.K. is working with our partners on these sanctions, including high impact measures targeting the Russian financial sector and individuals." After a conversation with Truss earlier this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's office said Kyiv and its allies were making progress on a comprehensive deterrence package targeting Russia. Britain, the European Union, and the United States have already imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against Moscow since its forcible annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and the start of the separatist conflict in 2014. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said after a meeting in Washington on January 5 that Russia's military buildup was an "immediate and urgent challenge. Talks between U.S. and Russian officials are scheduled for January 9-10 in Geneva and the NATO-Russia Council should meet on January 12. Russian officials have denied participating in the Ukrainian conflict despite evidence of active troop, weapons, and other involvement. Moscow has accused the United States and other Western governments of increasingly threatening behavior in the Black Sea and other regions around Ukraine, and said its troop movements are an internal matter. Truss didn't immediately say when she will travel to Kyiv, where Ukraine's leaders have pleaded for greater political and material assistance to rebuff the Russian threat. She said there's no justification for Russia's "bellicose" stance and the only way forward is for Russia to de-escalate. Britain won't accept Russia's campaign of subverting democratic neighbors, Truss said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also expressed major fears over the effect of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has had German support and will allow Russia to bypass longtime transit partner Ukraine via the Baltic Sea. Britain opposes Nord Stream 2, Truss said, "and I'm working with allies and partners to highlight the strategic risks of this project." "Europe must reduce its dependence on Russian gas," Truss added. With reporting by Reuters Digitalization of China's financial sector in the new year has been advanced with the latest government guideline and wider promotion of digital currency. The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, released a development plan on Tuesday for the fintech industry between 2022 and 2025. Data-driven, smart, people-oriented, low-carbon, fair and inclusive should be the words that best describe China's fintech industry in the following years, said the plan. By advancing the digital transformation of the entire financial sector, the fintech industry should strive to better facilitate China's high-quality development, it added. Under prudent regulation, the fintech industry should have its data management capabilities strengthened to enhance the quality and efficiency of financial services. An advanced computing system with higher performance should be established to consolidate the groundwork for financial innovation. Digital technologies should be more widely applied in the financial sector while a smart risk control system should be set up to nurture a safe and efficient fintech innovation system, according to the plan. Andrew Huang, partner and fintech leader of global professional services provider KPMG in China, said that the fintech industry has thrived in China over the past few years with the appearance of new business models and application scenarios. Lowering costs and improving efficiency in the traditional financial sector based on technological breakthroughs will form a major part of the development path for fintech companies. Data security is another major issue that the fintech industry should address, he said. Also launched on Tuesday was the digital renminbi app on the Apple app store and Android market. Downloading of the digital renminbi app is now accessible in 10 Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Chengdu and Shanghai, as well as the venues of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. There are nine designated operating institutions for the app at present, including Bank of China, the Alibaba-supported MYbank and Tencent-backed WeBank. Users can make password-free payments via the digital renminbi app at the e-commerce platform JD, third-party service provider Meituan and online travel agency Trip.com. While trials of the digital renminbi started in April 2020, users had to be approved in advance to get a code and the installation packages for downloading the application, and the process was relatively lengthy and complicated. According to Mu Changchun, head of the central bank's Digital Currency Research Institute, more than 140 million personal digital wallets for digital renminbi had been created and another 10 million corporate digital wallets had been opened as of Oct 22.More than 150 million transactions have been made via digital wallets, with the total transaction value approaching 62 billion yuan ($9.7 billion). Following a 4.66 percent surge on Tuesday, A-share digital yuan related companies slid slightly by 0.34 percent on Wednesday, while the bench mark Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.02 percent. Rutland, VT (05701) Today Occasional light rain. High 53F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 46F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. An ex-Navy man was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life terms in prison for trying, over several months, to poison his wife to death. Race Remington Uto, 28, pleaded guilty last year to three counts of attempted premeditated murder by dosing his wife, Brigida, with thallium, an extremely toxic poison, at the Dulzura home they shared with their toddler son. How selfish, how cruel, because you were having an affair and you wanted to get rid of your wife, El Cajon Superior Court Judge Robert Amador said to Uto. Amador called the poisoning inhumane and noted that murder by poison is punishable by the death penalty. Investigators with the FBI and Sheriffs Department found a downloaded copy of The Poisoners Handbook on Utos phone, a prosecutor said. Advertisement Uto sat still and upright, his face impassive, as he listened to the judge. He also heard his now-former wife read an emotional account of the suffering she endured in the fall of 2017 to the spring of 2018, when doctors finally diagnosed her mysterious illness. When the doctors told me I had thallium in my system, I was in shock and disbelief, said Brigida McInvale, who now uses her maiden name. Thallium is a highly toxic metal once widely used in rat poisons and insecticides, but that use has been banned in the United States for many years. It is nearly undetectable after being ingested. How did you do this to the mother of your child? McInvale continued. The only way out of a marriage is to kill your wife slowly? I cared for you; I loved you, and you silently watched me suffer for months. She described the progression of her illness, from feeling dizzy and being unable to eat to severe hair loss and becoming too weak to stand. At one point last spring, doctors gave her two weeks to live, she said. It felt like a nightmare that wouldnt stop, McInvale said. She said she still suffers from stiff, weak legs, dizziness and emotional trauma. Uto was still in the Navy, as a third-class electricians mate assigned to Naval Base Point Loma, when he began poisoning his wife. Prosecutors alleged Uto used a small dose of thallium first, in August 2017, and when that didnt work tried a little larger dose in December that year. Then, in January of 2018, he used a dose five times larger than before, Deputy District Attorney Paul Reizen said in court. Uto was arrested last March. He pleaded guilty in December. The prosecutor told the judge that Uto told investigators early on that he was so concerned about his dying wifes mysterious ailment, saying, If I could trade places with her, I would. And all that time, he had the answer, Reizen said. Reizen said The Poisoners Handbook describes thallium as one of the worst poisons, killing slowly, giving the poisoner control over how quickly the victim dies. Defense attorney Dan Cohen told the judge that Uto accepts responsibility for his actions and pleaded guilty to save McInvale and her family from further trauma. Cohen said Uto suffered a back injury at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and has an electronic implant to aid pain control. Mr. Uto believes the pain clouded his judgment, Cohen said. McInvale said her son, now 3, is in therapy to get over the fear of losing his mother. She said the boy was also affected by having been separated from his mother for months while she was in quarantine in the hospital. McInvale said she and Uto had been married for three years and in a relationship for 10 years. She said it took her a long time to accept investigators suspicions that her husband was trying to kill her. I wanted to believe he would never hurt me, she told the judge. Reizen read statements from the victims mother and father, urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence on Uto. Their younger daughter read her own statement, describing the pain of seeing her sister come close to dying in the hospital. pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @pdrepard A medical student who died Thursday after a daylong effort to rescue him 150 feet underground was an outdoors lover and experienced caver who was expecting the birth of his second child next year, officials and family members said. John Jones, 26, of Stansbury Park, died nearly 28 hours after he got stuck upside-down in Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking site south of Salt Lake City. It was the first known fatality since cavers began exploring the 1,500-foot caves narrow passageways in the 1960s, cave access manager Michael Leavitt said. On Wednesday, rescue teams used drilling equipment, rope and a pulley system to try to free Jones, to no avail. On Thursday, rescuers suspended efforts to recover his body as they considered the options to do so, Utah County sheriffs office Sgt. Spencer Cannon said. The 6-foot-tall, 190-pound Jones got stuck with his head at an angle below his feet about 9 p.m. Tuesday in an L-shaped area of the cave known as Bobs Push. The area is only about 18 inches wide and 10 inches high. Exploring Nutty Putty, which is privately owned by Utahs State Institutional Trust Land Administration, requires reservations, an access pass and, for safety reasons, either caving experience or an experienced guide. The Jones group of 11 explorers, including some of his four brothers, met all three of those criteria, Leavitt said. Advertisement Theyve never been to Nutty Putty before, but they toured many harder caves in the Logan area that required vertical climbing skills, said Leavitt, one of dozens of cavers who volunteered with the rescue effort. They were qualified, John was qualified. Im sure he went into this passage hoping it was going to open up into one of the larger rooms. Nutty Putty is now closed until a decision can be made about its future, Leavitt said. As described by his family, Jones was an outdoor lover with a strong sense of adventure. He head explored many caves and maneuvered is way through many tight spaces before, the family said in a statement issued late Thursday. For the past two years, the St. George native was attending medical school at the University of Virginia, hoping to pursue a career as pediatric cardiologist. Jones, his wife Emily and their 13-month-old daughter had come home to Utah for the Thanksgiving holiday and to share the news that another baby is expected in June. Family said they knew Jones fought to survive throughout the rescue effort and was commended by rescue crews for his remarkable good spirits and resilience to the end. At one point Wednesday, workers had moved Jones roughly 12 feet out of a tight 18-by-10 inch crevice, far enough to give him some food and water. But he slipped back into the tight space when an anchor in the cave roof that supported the pulley system failed, Cannon said. We all were very optimistic and hopeful. But it became increasingly clear last night after he got re-stuck that there werent very many options left, Jones brother, Spencer Jones, 30, of San Francisco, told The Associated Press. Spencer Jones said his family is remarkably strong, but is struggling to make sense of what happened. Its just you just never expect any thing like this, he said. We dont understand it. A memorial service is planned for Saturday. The team of rescuers many of them volunteers from Utah caving groups were devastated by Thursdays outcome, Cannon said. Its a tough, Cannon said. Its not very often where you come in, you have high hopes and you are going into an operation you have done before with success and then you get into a situation where it doesnt go as you planned. Search and rescue workers successfully rescued two people from the same spot in the 1,500-foot-long cave during the same week in 2004. Caving isnt generally considered to be a dangerous sport, Cannon said. But I think you can safely say this is a dangerous spot in that cave. Cannon said the sheriffs office wouldnt give an opinion about whether the cave should remain open for recreation or be closed. Sanford, NC (27330) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High around 85F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. A motor-driven tripod unfurled as planned Wednesday for the James Webb Space Telescope, lifting a 2.4-foot-wide secondary mirror into place to reflect gathered starlight back down to the equipment that will examine it. The deployment of the telescope's sunshield on Monday and Tuesday was the most technically difficult part of Webb's initial activation, but putting the secondary mirror in place was as important to the mission's success. The secondary mirror is one of the most essential components of the $14 billion observatories, measuring 0.77 meters (2.4 feet) wide and positioned on the tops of three long booms. NASA James Webb Space Telescope Successfully Unfolds Secondary Mirror The secondary reflector tripod was deployed for the first time on Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. EST, Gizmodo said. The first stage was to unlock a set of launch locks that kept the telescope from being damaged during launch. The controllers then ordered the tripod to make a single modest movement, which it did at 11:08 a.m. after a brief confidence check. Controllers were pleased with the outcome and sent a directive to complete the transfer - releasing the secondary support structure. The tripod gently shifted into place in a data-driven, real-time animated image of the telescope broadcast in NASA's live webcast of the deployment. The two bottom legs slid into position while the upper leg's single hinge unfurled as planned. At 11:20 a.m. EST, the support structure was fully extended, about 11 minutes after the full move instruction was sent. The secondary mirror was subsequently locked into position by controllers, which took 45 minutes. ALSO READ: NASA Finally Unfolds James Webb Space Telescope Giant Sunshield in Space "Another banner day for JWST, in particular the secondary mirror deployment folks, you guys did a heck of a job," NASA project manager Bill Ochs told the mission operations team (via CBS News). The operators will unpack a radiator on the rear of the telescope on Jan. 6, which will be used to dissipate heat from the scientific instruments. They'll then continue erecting the primary 21-foot (6.4 m) mirror, which had to be folded for launch due to its size. What's Next For JWST? After successfully deploying the secondary reflector tripod, the next step is to test the mirror to ensure it moves on command. If all goes according to plan, the crew will unfurl and fasten the two major mirror wings. The telescope and its scientific instruments will experience fast cooling now that the sunshield is in place while everything goes on. According to NASA, James Webb Space Telescope will take many weeks to attain stable temperatures. Space.com said the deployment phase for the telescope was a cause of anxiety, with some calling the process nerve-wracking. Webb's scientific goal of seeing the earliest stars and galaxies generated in the cosmos in the first hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang necessitated a massive and complicated observatory. As a result, the telescope is so large that it could not be launched without being folded up. The expedition pushed engineers and technology beyond their limits, resulting in a slew of brilliant engineering solutions. Those solutions, which see the telescope self-assemble like a transformer in space, have never been employed in space before. However, the lengthy testing effort, which took years to complete, is paying dividends. Presently, the observatory is its route to its final destination, Lagrange point 2, 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth. When science activities start, the infrared telescope will receive light from the first galaxies and stars in the cosmos in around six months. RELATED ARTICLE: Where is NASA James Webb Space Telescope? Here's How to Track Webb Status Using This Tool Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times. California public health officials on Wednesday extended the states indoor mask mandate for another month, to Feb. 15, in hopes of tamping down the coronavirus surge that is causing COVID-19 hospitalizations to hurtle upward in a postholiday backlash. The Bay Area has not been spared from omicrons infamous infectiousness. Although the new variant generally causes less severe illness than delta, a record-high number of coronavirus cases is feeding an explosion of hospital admissions. Statewide, 8,032 people were hospitalized with COVID on Tuesday, a 57% increase from 5,125 a week earlier. We are concerned about our hospitals, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Californias health secretary. The surge is hitting health care workers as hard as any other profession causing staff shortages just as patient numbers soar. In California, 41% of hospitals say staff shortages will reach a critical level next week, up from 36% this week, reports the California Hospital Association. Hospital numbers for COVID are less than at the height of the pandemic a year ago, before vaccinations became available. But the staff shortfalls make the current surge even harder to deal with for nurses and patients than earlier waves, health care workers say. This is worse because were seeing more COVID patients coming in, said Stella Lee, an emergency room nurse at Sutter Healths California Pacific Medical Center on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. Some Kaiser Permanente hospitals are postponing elective procedures. Stanford Health Care expects to do the same and may need to turn away patients hoping to transfer there from other hospitals. UCSFs Parnassus campus is pausing new surgeries and procedures. And Lee, of Sutter Health, echoed health care workers everywhere in expressing sheer exhaustion. We are very tired! she said. Normally, nurses who need to take a rest are relieved by a break nurse. But at many hospitals, break nurses have been pulled into regular duty. So have nurse managers, whose role is supposed to be administrative. Hospital representatives say they have little choice. Provided by Deb Quinto Hospitals are having a harder time securing staff from the travel agencies were competing nationally, said Kiyomi Burchill, a vice president with the California Hospital Association, noting that medical centers around the country are also short-staffed during omicron. On Wednesday, she joined public health officials, including those in Santa Cruz County, who urged people with mild symptoms to steer clear of overburdened emergency rooms. Meanwhile, the California Nurses Association, representing Sutter and Kaiser nurses, says it is planning rallies at hospitals across the Bay Area next week to demand more hiring in response to the extra work. The number of Bay Area residents hospitalized with COVID rose by 68% in the last week alone to 897 on Tuesday, up from 533 on Dec. 29, according to The Chronicles tracker. Its unclear how many were admitted to the hospital for other reasons and learned they were infected only after being tested upon admission. At UCSF, for example, about a third of patients with COVID were admitted for something else but tested positive, the hospital said. In San Francisco, COVID hospitalizations rose by 75% in the same week, to 114 from 65. Alameda County has the most people hospitalized with COVID in the Bay Area, some 199 as of Tuesday. Thats 80 more than a week before, a 67% increase. The numbers look a lot like they did in August, when delta was surging. And they include a worrisome uptick of cases among children, Ghaly noted Wednesday. But hospitalizations are nowhere near the crisis level of the pre-vaccination era, when COVID patients hovered in the five digits across the state every day from Dec. 6, 2020, through Feb. 10. Vaccinations and boosters are significantly decreasing the severity of illness, said Michaela George, assistant professor of global public health at Dominican University in San Rafael. And while cases continue to rise ... being vaccinated appears to offer protection against hospitalization. A key marker of the pandemics severity has been the number of ICU beds available, which matters especially to people with all sorts of medical emergencies, from bad car accidents to severe pneumonia. Last April, when the virus appeared to be waning and vaccinations were taking off, California had more than 3,000 ICU beds free. At the worst point in the pandemic, a year ago, there were slightly more than 1,000 available. This week, the state reports 1,863 ICU beds available as of Tuesday. Napa County had four up from zero over the weekend and the other eight Bay Area counties had beds in the double digits. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. But bed counts are not the only part of the equation, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UCSF infectious disease expert. Its the number of people around who take care of you. Even though there may be fewer patients than at the worst of last years surge, the staffing challenges are greater, said Dr. Niraj Sehgal, chief medical officer for Stanford Health Care. We expect the next couple weeks to remain challenging. Sehgal blamed omicrons high transmissibility for causing staffing problems, as the number of people hospitalized at Stanford with COVID has tripled in the last two weeks, from fewer than 20 to nearly 60. As a result, he said, Our ability to continue accepting patients from our community hospital partners will also be impacted. Dr. Michael Vollmer, an infectious disease expert at Kaiser Permanente, sent an email saying that most Kaiser hospitals are feeling the impact of the rise in COVID cases and that some are postponing some elective procedures and coordinating with public health agencies to assist with emergency care. UCSFs Parnassus campus, at 86% capacity, has not canceled surgeries or procedures. However, we are not adding new cases in order to keep the volume manageable with our current staffing, spokesperson Elizabeth Fernandez said. A Kaiser Permanente spokesperson said the hospital system is working hard to address the staffing shortages and hired 2,100 nurses in 2021. Neverthless, to Deb Quinto, a COVID nurse at Kaiser in San Francisco, the current understaffing has created moral distress among nurses because there simply arent enough of them. We feel stretched thin, Quinto said. Were trying to do the jobs of multiple people. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov The Biden administration says three Bay Area immigrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under President Donald Trumps zero-tolerance policy have no right to sue the government for damages. The families and their lawyers say the administrations legal argument is a betrayal of President Bidens campaign promises. By sending its lawyers to try to throw separated families out of court, the Biden administration is effectively defending Trumps cruel and unlawful family separation policy, attorney Bree Berwanger of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights said Thursday after the Justice Department asked a federal magistrate in Oakland to dismiss the families lawsuit. In Wednesdays filing, lawyers from the U.S. attorneys office in San Francisco said the administration does not defend the merits of the policies at issue in this case, and cited Bidens description of forced family separation as a human tragedy that he would not repeat while in office. But they argued that the separations of the three families now living in the Bay Area were policy choices that are legally immune from damage suits. The families lawyers said the filing was the governments first since the Biden administration withdrew in mid-December from negotiations seeking to settle claims by families separated at the border. The families two men with sons ages 11 and 13, and a woman and her 6-year-old daughter reached the border in Arizona separately in May 2018. The parents, from El Salvador and Guatemala, said they were fleeing persecution in their homeland and planned to file for asylum in the United States. A month earlier, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other Trump administration officials had begun separating parents from children at the border as part of a broader zero tolerance policy to discourage border crossings. They terminated the separations in July 2018, but by then more than 3,000 children had been taken to locations unknown to their parents, and several hundred have not yet been reunited. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle One parent in the lawsuit said he and his 11-year-old son, after being assaulted by criminals south of the border, were held by Border Patrol officers in a filthy, freezing cell for two days, then separated. By the time he learned his sons whereabouts from acquaintances a month later, the man said, he had become ill and his son had been sexually assaulted by another detainee while in custody. But with financial help from strangers, he said, both he and his son were able to travel to San Francisco to stay with relatives after two months of separation. The woman in the suit said she was taken to an immigration facility in Texas, and her 6-year-old daughter to another facility in New York, before they were reunited after 10 weeks. They now live in Oakland. I still live with the pain of my daughter being taken from me, the woman, a native of Guatemala identified as Erendira C.M., said in a statement released by her lawyers. She said she and other parents attended a meeting in August with Bidens Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who promised to support the separated families, and feels sad and deeply betrayed now that theyre fighting us in court. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. In Wednesdays filing, government lawyers said the case should be heard in Arizona, where the actions challenged in the suit took place, and not in California. But while other federal courts have been divided on whether the government can be sued for damages in such cases, the lawyers said, the better reading of the law is that such suits must be dismissed. Federal law does not allow suits seeking compensation for discretionary decisions by the government, regardless of its motives, the lawyers argued. Here, they said, decisions to separate immigrant parents and children involved an element of judgment or choice and were matters of government policy, regardless of the merits of that policy or the fact that it was later revoked. The lawyers requested a hearing March 2 on their request to dismiss the families suit. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko On a notorious day of insurrection, Daniel Goodwyn of San Francisco stood inside the U.S. Capitol wearing sunglasses and a MAGA hat, amid a swarm of angry people inspired by Donald Trumps lie that Joe Biden had stolen the presidential election. One year later, as the country still reckons with the fallout from that breach, Goodwyns fate like that of Trump remains unclear. While the web developer and self-proclaimed Proud Boy was described by prosecutors as petulant and insolent after his arrest last January allegedly trying to chew through five COVID-19 masks placed over his mouth his attorney said this week that his entry into the Capitol was a relatively minor offense, that Goodwyn regrets it and that the controversy around the election was extremely triggering for him. FBI Goodwyn, 33, is one of four Bay Area residents charged in the Capitol attack. Their cases hint at the sprawling and sometimes complex and chaotic nature of an investigation that has identified hundreds of suspects, many of whom remain at large, but has not yielded allegations against those who laid the groundwork for the riot with baseless claims of election fraud. A Gilroy woman awaits her sentence after pleading guilty to one criminal count. A Santa Rosa man faces a potential trial after being outed by a man said to be his hotel roommate in Washington, D.C. And a Mill Valley man occupies the FBIs most-wanted list, having allegedly fled to Belarus. They are among more than 725 people from across the country arrested in connection with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 as lawmakers inside attempted to verify the election results. About 145 people have pleaded guilty, mostly defendants who did not cause injury or damage, with nearly half sentenced to punishments ranging from probation to a few years behind bars. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said his office had charged more than 325 defendants with felonies, many for assaulting officers and obstructing an official proceeding. Twenty defendants charged with felonies have pleaded guilty, and another 17 have trials scheduled. The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last, Garland said. The Justice Department remains committed to holding all Jan. 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. Here is a look at the Bay Area defendants: FBI Daniel Goodwyn Even before the Capitol attack, Goodwyn had railed on Twitter against the results of the election, mask mandates and San Franciscos coronavirus lockdown. In October 2020, he said he was arrested on Muni for refusing to wear a mask and posted a video of himself protesting outside the Hall of Justice. I believe that this whole pandemic is a false religion, he said in the video, in which he wore a MAGA hat. This is just one step in the plot by the globalist elite to control us. https://twitter.com/DanielGoodwyn/status/1321136227467153408?s=20 On Jan. 6, FBI agents allege, Goodwyn can be identified inside the Capitol through a series of videos, Instagram messages and Twitter posts. I didnt break or take anything but I went inside for a couple of minutes, Goodwyn posted on Instagram the day of the attack, according to court records. A far-right videographer filmed Goodwyn inside the Capitol, federal prosecutors allege. They charged Goodwyn with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of an official proceeding and other counts. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney, Joseph McBride, said his client entered the Capitol but did not commit a crime. He walked in through an open door, McBride said in a phone interview from New York. He did a circle, saw a guy he recognized filming and identified himself. When he was asked to leave minutes later, McBride said, Goodwyn walked out. Compared to what happened that day, this guy was jaywalking, the attorney said. There was no violent entry. Still, McBride said his client regrets his actions. Goodwyns case, though, has been marked by his alleged defiance. When he was arrested Jan. 29 at his parents home in Texas, FBI agents said in court records, Goodwyn refused to answer questions about his COVID-19 status, or take a test or wear protective gear, even though one resident of the home believed they had contracted the virus. When FBI placed a mask on the defendants face after his arrest, the defendant attempted to chew through the mask and spit the mask out, a federal prosecutor asserted in a motion to return Goodwyn to custody. During the defendants arrest, FBI used approximately five masks on the defendant. FBI Goodwyns repeated obstructionist behavior continued, the prosecutor said. A judge ordered a mental health assessment, and also allowed the defendant to submit any documentation that a mask would exacerbate any diagnosed condition. As a result, in August, Dr. Stephanie Holmes, a Christian autism specialist, submitted a letter detailing her evaluation of Goodwyn, which concluded that he presented on the spectrum and that his agitation over mask wearing is consistent with autistic behavior. Holmes letter recounted that Goodwyn reached out to her in 2017 when he was living in a Christian ministry house. He, his housemates and volunteers had noticed that his social skills were causing problems. Screenshots from Facebook and Instagram He was very passionate and up to date on world events and passionate about theology and politics, which is common among Christian (autistic) men, Holmes wrote. She said his most passionate interest became First Amendment rights as stories emerged about social media companies closing accounts of famous conservative individuals. This would be a topic of rumination and in sessions much time spent on thoughts on how to remedy this problem, Holmes wrote. He had begun to work less at his paying job to have time to devote to this new passion, which some felt had become an obsession by 2019 as political tensions mounted in the US. His insistence on checking social media, she wrote, led his ministry mentor to ask him to stop checking his phone during meetings. FBI Daniel Shaw While Goodwyn was identified almost immediately, Daniel Shaw was arrested by FBI agents on Dec. 3 in Santa Rosa, where hes spent almost the entire year vocalizing his anger over the 2020 election. Now, prosecutors have charged him with entering a restricted building, disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct and demonstrating in a Capitol building. Shaw appears to reflect the FBIs strategy of building a web of arrests through plea deals and requests for public assistance. He was identified by another Capitol attack defendant, Kenneth Reda, who as part of a November plea bargain provided information about Shaw, court records show. Reda said Shaw drove from California to Washington, D.C., with his high school-age son before the trio shared a hotel room the night before the assault. Reda told FBI agents the trio listened to speeches at the Jan. 6 rally, then arrived at the Capitol as explosions sounded. He said they listened to a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia, explain that Capitol police needed to remove about 1,200 people from inside the building before letting others in, prosecutors wrote. Reda said that people then exited the building and Capitol Police officers let groups of four to five into the building, which is how he got into the building, prosecutors wrote. Other defendants have also claimed police let them inside, or that they entered the building because there was an open door, but overwhelming video evidence showed police fighting to hold back advancing hordes. FBI agents identified Shaw entering the Capitol through the rotunda doors via surveillance video, while holding his cell phone and appearing to film himself. Two days after the attack, Shaw retweeted pro-Trump messages and included the hashtag: #TRUMPWON2Q2QLANDSLIDE. Two days before his arrest, on Dec. 1, Shaw tweeted his final post: F$&@ big tech and pharma! The Chronicle was unable to reach Shaw, and his public defender declined to comment. FBI Mariposa Castro Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Before the Capitol riot, Mariposa Castro of Gilroy was a well-known Trump supporter active in counterprotests, prosecutors allege in court records. On Jan. 6, the yoga instructor filmed herself repeatedly, posting the footage on one of her accounts, where her profile photo was a picture of her sitting on a motorcycle with TRUMP superimposed on the image. Im going in. Im going in, Im going in the Capitol, she posted in one video, according to court records. Were in! Were inside the Capitol house. We got inside the Capitol. FBI Were coming and this is war, she said to the camera as she left the Capitol in another video, prosecutors allege, including screenshots in court records. I will be making a video in a while to talk about what happened yesterday from DC Washington, she said in another video detailed in court documents. Im ok but I can feel aches n pains. I was bleeding from my nose this morning. I'm going back out to DC Capital. This is not over!!! When Facebook suspended one of her accounts, she posted a message from another, announcing the social media discipline with a selfie in a MAGA beanie and the Washington Monument in the background, according to prosecutors. Castro, who could not be reached for comment, was charged with multiple crimes, but in November took a deal, pleading guilty to one count of demonstrating inside the Capitol. She faces a maximum of six months behind bars when shes sentenced next month. FBI Evan Neumann Mill Valleys Evan Neumann is the rare Capitol insurrection defendant to be identified but not apprehended. The 49-year-old Mill Valley man, indicted on 14 counts including charges of assaulting law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, is allegedly hiding out in Belarus. Neumann is believed to be the only international fugitive charged with Capitol attack crimes, and he said in a Belarusian TV interview that he hopes to gain political asylum in that country. Prosecutors noted their belief that Neumann attended the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in 2004 and 2005. In photos from the Capitol riot, he can be seen wearing an orange and yellow scarf that commemorates the countrys revolution, according to court records. FBI The allegations against Neumann are among the most serious brought by the Justice Department. Prosecutors allege he spent at least four hours at the Capitol and was seen donning a gas mask while confronting officers. At one point, in video footage, Neumann allegedly told an officer, Im willing to die, are you? Neumann shoved a metal barricade into a line of police officers, hitting them with it and also punching them, prosecutors allege. They say he assaulted four officers that day and remained on restricted Capitol grounds despite law enforcement orders to leave the area. FBI In Sonoma County, Neumann has previous convictions for marijuana possession, providing false identification to a police officer and disclosing an officers address. He and his brother were also arrested in 2017 after breaking past law enforcement barricades to try to recover belongings from their mothers home in Santa Rosa after it was destroyed in the catastrophic Tubbs Fire. Charges were later dismissed, court records show. Efforts to reach Neumann were unsuccessful. Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni A group of San Francisco teachers has organized a sickout Thursday, saying they will skip school because they feel the district failed to adequately protect them during the pandemic. Its unclear how many educators plan to participate in the labor action, although nearly 500 people have signed an online petition supporting it. The anticipated move which is not organized by the teachers union could add to an already overwhelming absentee rate among district educators in the first days back from winter break this week. The district struggled with just a fraction of the substitutes needed to fill the more than 400 classrooms missing a qualified adult. Central office administrators, including the superintendent, stepped in to help. District officials would not say whether the sickout could force the closure of schools, only that they were planning for several possible scenarios, said spokeswoman Laura Dudnick. By withholding our labor, by reclaiming our time and our health, we send the message that if SFUSD, the City, State, and Federal Government do not invest in seriously addressing this pandemic (and the ongoing issues which make dealing with the pandemic so challenging for public schools), we can shut the whole system down, according to organizers of the petition. And we will! The scheduled action coincides with a scheduled bargaining session between San Francisco district officials and the teachers union over safety protocols. While union officials did not respond to requests for comment about the sickout, they did criticize the district Wednesday for not having enough testing and other support. The district has displayed serious gaps in judgment, said Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco. But we can all turn it around so that we can give our students the opportunity for a smooth school year. Some Oakland teachers are also planning a sickout this week, with Garfield Elementary and at least a couple other schools participating, said Tamara Henry, an organizer and math coach at Garfield as well as a district parent. They are asking for N95 masks for all students as well as more frequent and accurate testing programs. The strong majority of teachers (at Garfield) are willing to take action on behalf of students and families, she said. The scheduled sickouts come as schools are grappling with a surge in cases caused by the highly contagious omicron variant. Frustration has been mounting among educators across the country who do not trust health and elected officials who are urging schools to remain open during the surge. Parents and education officials fear a return to clashes with teachers unions that kept schools shuttered with dire academic and emotional impacts for kids. While many universities have opted to start the semester online, few if any Bay Area districts are considering the possibility. Currently, state law prevents a districts wholesale return to distance learning, though individual schools or classrooms can be closed if theyre connected to site-based outbreaks. If the intention is to shut down schools with a sickout, that would be wrong beyond words, said Dr. Jeanne Noble, UCSFs head of COVID response. Our kids have just begun recovering from a mental health crisis compounded by 18 months of isolation, she said. I am being flooded with emails of parents reporting that their adolescents are in a near panic state at the thought that schools might revert to remote learning. We just cannot do this to our children again. In Chicago, unionized teachers voted unilaterally to suspend in-person learning Wednesday. District officials canceled classes and locked educators out of the online system to prevent a return to distance learning. Noble noted that keeping asymptomatic children and adults at home appears not to reduce coronavirus transmission, but rather could expose them more in the community. We must remember that this was the entire purpose of vaccination to prevent clinically significant illness, not to offer 100% protection against nasal congestion or a sore throat, Noble said. We do not close down schools for the common cold, nor for flu season. But if a significant number of teachers dont work on Thursday, it could stress district staffing even more. On Wednesday, 693 teachers and aides were absent, a slight increase over Tuesday. Of the 414 classrooms without a teacher, 250 were not covered by a substitute, but rather a central office staffer or other teachers at the sites during their free periods. Mission High teacher Gregory McGarry is among those calling for the sickout, saying organizers didnt consult with their labor leaders at United Educators of San Francisco about the effort. But the sickout corresponds to a scheduled bargaining session between the district and union over health and safety issues related to the pandemic. He said he and many educators dont feel safe or supported by the district, particularly because of a lack of high-quality masks and enough testing to ensure students and staff test negative before returning to school after the break or following a bout of COVID-19. While an October agreement with the districts labor unions required officials to provide sufficient KN95 masks at each school site and central office locations through the end of fire season (Dec. 31), it was unclear whether any remained available. Superintendent Vince Matthews said cloth and surgical masks have been provided monthly. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The district will continue to distribute protective equipment, including KN95 masks to school sites this week and into next week, Matthew said. Not all districts are using or supplying high-quality masks, although West Contra Costa announced KN95 masks will be mandatory for staff starting next week. While Oakland, Berkeley and Marin County districts distributed at-home tests before the winter break, San Francisco was still waiting for its state shipment. McGarry also said he believes the district should have implemented a two-week pause before returning to school to weather the surge and get enough safety supplies and testing in place. We decided a sickout was best, considering SFUSD was sending people into unsafe situations, he said. They could have dropped off rapid testing kits at sites, like Oakland did. But they chose to act as if the pandemic was already over. District officials did not specifically address the planned sickout, but said SFUSD is following public health guidance. In-person learning offers the best form of instruction for our students, and even as the pandemic continues, we believe school remains a safer place for our students considering the harmful effects of social isolation and learning loss, said Matthews in a statement. This surge, while intense, is expected to be relatively brief and Omicron by all reports is more mild than other previous variants. We will get through this surge by continuing to get vaccinated, masking, staying home when sick, and testing. Matthews also said rapid tests promised by the state, but delayed by winter weather, had arrived late Tuesday and would be expedited to school sites and handed out to students. Parent Lainie Motamedi said she understands the frustration around a lack of testing or other resources, but she cant comprehend the idea of a political action amid a pandemic. What if our nurses and doctors did that? she said, adding that she questions whether a majority of teachers will want to participate. I have my own frustration with district leadership to prepare or communicate, but the sickout just seems like a really painful way to approach whats happening. She said she was headed to a PTA meeting later Wednesday to talk about how to support teachers and the district during this surge, adding that she is buoyed by the fact that there has been no school-based transmission at Giannini Middle School, which her child attends. The sickout feels like a strong-arm move, she said. Once again, it feels like another failure to come together and figure out how to educate our children. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker WASHINGTON An anniversary typically marks an event that happened in the past. But for many of the Bay Areas lawmakers, the moment feels ongoing even one year removed from the Jan. 6 insurrection. Some of them deal daily with the lingering trauma from that day, when hundreds of violent rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol intending to overturn the presidential election and lawmakers fled the House and Senate chambers in fear for their lives. They sense that, though the riot is over, Donald Trump and his allies have continued an assault on democracy premised on the same false claims about the election that fueled the attempt to keep Trump as president instead of the winner, President Biden. And theres a concern that Americans still do not know the full story of what transpired that day. And for the all-Democratic delegation that represents the Bay Area in Congress, theres frustration with Republican colleagues they see as contributing to a narrative seeking to downplay the grave events, producing as divided a Congress as any of them have seen in their cumulative decades in Washington. Ive been on lots of legislative bodies at my various levels of government, elected and appointed; this is the most dysfunctional body Ive been in, said Concord Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, a former state senator and Assembly member and city and county official. DeSaulnier watched the insurrection unfold from a small room across the hall from the chamber, where he was isolating due to his immunocompromised state. He and a few staff members watched the insurrectionists overcome barricades and then waited in the dark, at first forgotten, before they were evacuated to safety. DeSaulnier lamented what didnt happen after the insurrection: unity. Im still sort of processing what happened, how unbelievable it was, and also that it wasnt an occasion where we unified as a country and as a Congress to say, This is unacceptable, DeSaulnier said. I mean, its really hard for me to believe a year later, having been there and experienced it, that we havent come to any kind of unified, sustained, bipartisan statement or belief that this is unacceptable and everyone has to be held accountable. After the rioters were cleared from the building, Congress did come back into session and certify the election results in the early-morning hours of Jan. 7. But nearly two-thirds of the Republicans in the House and seven GOP senators voted against accepting the results, a moment that presaged a year of Republican efforts, led by Trump, to downplay the events of the insurrection and bitter divides and mistrust between parties in Congress. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc via Getty Images 2021 In fact, several lawmakers described the passage of time as deepening not healing the wounds of that day, as they learn more about what transpired, how close the nation came to more bloodshed, and how the political right has tried to spin the events. In the immediate aftermath, when we were all still reeling from it, I thought it would be the end of Trumpism, I thought the fever had broken, said San Rafael Rep. Jared Huffman, who was hunkered down in his office that day. Over the course of an incredibly short period of time, we just watched that evaporate, and so part of the just surreal aspect of this is just that most Republicans have come to be quite comfortable with all of this. And that makes it more traumatic as we look back, because the threat is not gone and in some ways is broader and even more menacing today. That feeling was echoed by Livermore Rep. Eric Swalwell, who had been in the House chamber and was evacuated with colleagues from both sides of the aisle as Capitol Police used deadly force to keep the rioters from breaking in, fatally shooting a woman at the doors. I remember thinking as we were leaving, Maybe this is what it takes, maybe this is rock bottom and the fact that both of us were running, almost like they created a monster and now its attacking them too ... maybe that will unite us, Swalwell said. If anything, that day was not rock bottom, were still just drilling deeper. Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee, who was also on the floor of the House, said shes lost trust in Republicans who have continued to cast doubt on the election results: If I needed to go into a foxhole with someone, I dont think I would, now after Jan. 6, knowing who they are, I dont know if I would be able to trust them to watch my back. And thats something we have to come to grips with. Drew Angerer/Getty Images 2021 Swalwell said he thinks about the traumatic events of Jan. 6 every day, including a lingering feeling that he should have stayed on the floor rather than retreat, despite the dangers. St. Helena Rep. Mike Thompson, who evacuated from his office, said it deeply troubles him to think about Americans wanting to overturn the democracy that he defended during combat in the Vietnam War. He evacuated on Jan. 6 with Palo Alto Rep. Anna Eshoo, who was heading to the floor when a police officer told her to run the other way. She took off her heels and ran. It has haunted me every day since, Eshoo said. It was a day from hell, a real day from hell. Eshoo grew emotional multiple times during a conversation this week with The Chronicle. Unsettling doesnt even begin to describe it, Eshoo said. Its like someone came and just tried ripping your soul out of you. ... Its beyond sadness its grieving. Many of the lawmakers have poured themselves into work directly responding to the insurrection. San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who was in the House chamber, serves on the select committee investigating the attacks. She said its been chilling to see the extent of the plot to overturn the election results. San Mateo Rep. Jackie Speier, who was in the House gallery on Jan. 6 and is retiring at the end of her term to spend more time with family, said she feels even after she leaves she will have ongoing work to do to protect democracy. Fremont Rep. Ro Khanna, who was in his office during the insurrection, said he has felt a renewed sense of purpose in serving in Congress and helping America rise above such a dark day. California Sen. Alex Padilla, who watched the insurrection on TV at home with his young children before being sworn in on Jan. 20, has made voting rights and election integrity a top focus of his, a continuation from his time as Californias secretary of state. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press There have also been changes to security in the wake of the pandemic. Padilla said his heart is still healing to this day over his decision not to have his family by his side when he was sworn in at the heavily fortified Capitol on Inauguration Day because of security concerns. Swalwell, a frequent target of attacks from Republicans and conservative media, has spent considerable campaign and official office funds on security, which is now allowed under rule changes made in response to the pandemic. He discovered two new threats to his life in his Instagram direct messages during the course of his call with The Chronicle. Swalwell has also sued Trump, a colleague and others for their roles on that day. A judge will hear arguments over whether the case should proceed on Monday. Huffman said he moved his family out of his home for a time after the insurrection because of death threats and suspicious activity nearby. DeSaulnier has increased his personal security when hes in public. The Capitol Police opened a field office in San Francisco to handle the skyrocketing volume of threats from California and nationally. Still, lawmakers sounded notes of optimism in their conversations with The Chronicle. They credited House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco for calling the House back into session that night to show the country and world that democracy continued unbroken. For Lee, who has a background in social work for trauma, that sentiment is an important part of the anniversary, as well. Its important to commemorate Jan. 6 with a somber, reflective perspective in commemorating that day, but also with hope for the future, recognizing its not going to be easy, but without a vision people perish, and weve got to keep hope alive, Lee said. When people lose their hope and their belief in their fellow human beings, that opens us to those forces that embrace authoritarian governments and dictatorships, and thats what I see could happen if we dont and I think we will protect our democracy. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan After a challenging few days back in classrooms and a significant number of teacher absences, West Contra Costa Unified officials announced that schools will be closed Friday and Monday to alleviate some of the pressure on district staff. The virus and a large number of absences is putting an immense strain on our system, Superintendent Chris Hurst said in a letter sent to families Wednesday. The rapid spread of the virus requires an aggressive response to ensure safety. Hurst called the closures smoke days, referring to closures related to air quality during wildfire season. These are flexible days off the state allows us to use at our discretion, he said. All schools will undergo a deep cleaning on Friday, January 7. The district serves about 31,000 students across San Pablo, Richmond, Hercules, Pinole and El Cerrito, with two-thirds from low-income families. At Richmond High, there were 34 positive coronavirus cases since Monday, and students were notified if they were in a classroom with anyone who tested positive, according to a school letter posted on Twitter by a teacher. Hurst shut down a Richmond elementary school this week, sending students back into remote learning Tuesday after officials identified more than 10 student cases of COVID-19 within multiple classrooms. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is scheduled to remain in distance learning until all schools return on Jan. 8. There were 10 student COVID-19 cases, a number that grew in the afternoon and affected nine classrooms and is considered an outbreak, said district spokesperson Ryan Phillips. We are conducting contact tracing right now. Its highly unlikely the students could have caught the virus at schools, since they just returned to classrooms Monday. Contra Costa County health officials said they were notified after the decision was made and did not order the closure of King Elementary. Typically, if called in, they assess each situation on a case-by-case basis, and hopefully find a way to keep the school open for in-person instruction if possible, said spokesperson Will Harper. We might make recommendations, but we leave the decision most times to the schools themselves. Phillips said the district is always in contact with county health officials, but it was the superintendents call to close to in-person instruction. The two-day closure comes amid a surge in the pandemic caused by the highly contagious omicron variant. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Cases have skyrocketed, but state and local officials have urged schools to remain open, given the low risk to children of severe illness and the availability of vaccinations for children ages 5 and up. State officials have urged schools to use testing to help assess the need for quarantine or isolation and to limit closures of classrooms or schools. In-person education is a high priority for state officials, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California health secretary. I want to say to parents, we are doing all that we can to make sure you feel confident sending your kids back to school. We are doing all we can to provide the tools and the paths for schools to return and keep kids there. Hurst said it wasnt a decision he takes lightly. The safety of you and our students is our top priority, and closing school to prevent further outbreaks is an action we take very seriously and will only do when it is absolutely necessary, he said in the letter to families. I do encourage you to quarantine as much as possible during the smoke days, and to get tested upon the return to school on Tuesday, January 11. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker Adding another layer of concern atop the astonishingly swift surge of the omicron variant, cases of flurona have emerged. The term, a portmanteau of flu and coronavirus, refers to being infected with both illnesses at the same time. Officials had warned of a possible twindemic involving the two diseases last winter, but while some co-infections were reported in the 2020-21 season, prevalence remained low as flu almost vanished from the public health picture. One likely cause of the flus disappearing act, according to health officials, was the implementation of strict COVID mitigation measures, including masking, staying home, hand washing and social distancing. But this year looks different, said UC Berkeley infectious disease expert John Swartzberg. Last year we had something almost unique in terms of very, very few cases, he said. This year were on track for an average flu year, which is not good. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions latest flu surveillance weekly report,which ended Dec. 25, reported increasing flu activity with 6.2% testing positive for influenza. Its weekly influenza map shows low flu activity in California, but high to very high activity in parts of the East Coast, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest, increasing significantly in just a week. Here are answers to some common questions about COVID and flu co-infections. How many co-infection cases have occurred so far? Los Angeles County just reported its first case of co-infection, detected in a teen who had recently returned from a family vacation in Mexico. Hospital systems in south Florida have reported seeing flurona in children. Last Thursday, Israel confirmed its first instance of a person infected with both COVID-19 and influenza at the same time, which occurred in an unvaccinated pregnant woman. Officials say she experienced mild symptoms. According to the Washington Post, flurona cases have been reported in Hungary, the Philippines and Brazil. Swartzberg said while influenza is treated as a benign disease because it cycles through annually, it results in tens of thousands of hospitalizations. Its a serious problem every year, he said. Adding that to COVID and its of tremendous concern. Does getting infected with both mean a more severe outcome? The short answer is that researchers dont have enough data to know for certain yet. Dr. Darvin Scott Smith, chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center, said that because co-infection involves two different viruses that each work on their own, the fear is that there would be worse clinical outcome. But because many case reports are anecdotal, he said, researchers dont have a lot of data yet. With so few flu cases reported last year, Swartzberg said it would be difficult to draw clinical conclusions about co-infections. He said the obvious assumption would be that since both of the viruses can cause severe infection, the two together could be even worse, but we dont know that for sure. How do I know if I have a co-infection? It can be hard to differentiate between COVID-19 and influenza because they share a number of symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, shortness of breath, body aches, sore throat, headache, vomiting or diarrhea. According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu generally appear sooner than COVID-19. But some studies are indicating that the incubation period for the newly dominant omicron coronavirus variant is shorter than its predecessors, with symptoms for some people appearing in just three days. You cant know for sure if you have a co-infection unless you get tested for both. The Los Angeles County coronavirus testing site where the teen was diagnosed had the capacity to test for both viruses, but most COVID-19 testing centers test only for the one. Smith said Kaiser performs what is called a multiplex test on sicker patients who come to the emergency room, which checks for COVID-19, influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In an ideal world, we would test for both, Swartzberg said. But thats a tall order amid the worst surge in the pandemic so far, and not even enough COVID tests are available. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. However, he said, identifying flu cases through testing would result in more patients receiving antiviral treatment, which can help shorten the duration and severity of the disease. Smith said if flu circulation increases in the Bay Area, more antiviral supplies might be needed. Who is likely more susceptible to co-infections? According to the CDC, many of the same groups are at higher risk of developing complications and severe illness from influenza and COVID-19, including elderly, immunocompromised and pregnant individuals, as well as people with certain medical conditions and disabilities. Race, ethnicity, occupation and socioeconomic status can also raise the risk of developing COVID-19 and/or flu, according to the CDC. Smith said those who are most susceptible to co-infection adverse events are those who are more seriously immunocompromised. Individual who are very social, who dont mask and are not vaccinated are also more prone to getting both illnesses, he said. Additionally, USA Today reported that young children are more likely to have a co-infection because they generally have been exposed to fewer viruses and therefore have less immunity. Smith added that young children might be more vulnerable to co-infection in a social context, such as school, if both illnesses are widely circulating in a community. How can I protect myself from co-infection? Experts say its important to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, and get your flu shot. While this years flu vaccine is a mismatch for the main strain that is circulating, Smith said, its still super important to get vaccinated, because it will build some immunity and likely help protect against severe illness and death. One main reason that flu cases have increased over last year, Smith said, is that people became a little bit more lax with habits like social distancing as widespread reopening occurred and people began interacting and traveling more. To reduce risk of co-infection, experts advise redoubling pandemic safety measures including masking, social distancing, practicing hand hygiene and getting tested before gatherings. Doing all these things that are keeping (people) safe from COVID would help with the flu as well, Smith said. Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang A cruise ship carrying passengers who have tested positive for a coronavirus infection docked in San Francisco Thursday morning. Twelve passengers aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship tested positive for a coronavirus infection following a random testing of 25% of the ships passengers, according to the Port of San Francisco. A total of 724 passengers disembarked the ship, the port said. All individuals are either asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms. No passenger has required medical attention and no hospitalization is needed, the port said in a statement. Due to a recent surge in cases in the Bay Area and across the U.S. because of the omicron variant, the San Francisco Department of Public Health will require all ships to test all passengers who havent received a booster shot before docking at the port starting Friday, officials said. This requirement is stricter than federal and state guidelines and is intended to protect the people of San Francisco, port officials said. Cruise ship operators are also required to notify the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention of suspected or confirmed positive cases on board. The CDC uses a colored-coded system to track positive cases on ships. The Ruby Princess was in the yellow category, meaning positive cases were reported in at least 0.10% passengers, or at least one in crew members. Negin Kamali, a spokesperson for Princess Cruises, said the 10-day cruise was operated as a vaccinated cruise, with vaccination rates among guests and crews approaching 100%. The guests who tested positive, Kamali said, were vaccinated against the coronavirus. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Those guests who tested positive will either return home via their personal vehicles or be taken to hotels coordinated in advance for quarantine, Kamali said. The ship arrived Thursday morning after traveling to Mexico on Dec. 27. Another Ruby Princess cruise ship is set to depart from San Francisco Thursday afternoon for another 10-day cruise to Mexico, officials said Jessica Flores is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores San Francisco leaders have delayed the potential opening of a new 250-bed homeless shelter in Lower Nob Hill after local residents and businesses objected to the plans. City officials had proposed entering into a two-year, $18.7 million contract with the nonprofit Urban Alchemy to rent and operate the shelter at 711 Post St., a currently vacant hostel building just north of the Tenderloin and a few blocks west of Union Square. The shelter would have opened in early February if the Board of Supervisors approved the contract next week. But a board committee voted unanimously Wednesday to have the city spend another month vetting the issue amid outcry from residents near the building who said they were not adequately consulted and had serious reservations about how the project would impact their neighborhood. The Post Street site has become yet another flash point in San Franciscos fraught debate over how to make meaningful improvements to its homeless crisis with more than 8,000 people lacking permanent housing. The delay Wednesday comes on the heels of the collapse of a city plan to turn 131-room hotel in Japantown into permanent housing for homeless people after months of community backlash. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents the area, asked the boards budget and finance committee to revisit the proposal on Feb. 2. Peskin said that the citys community engagement efforts had so far been abysmal and that he wants the neighborhood to have more time to evaluate the plans. Meaningful and real involvement with the community has been all but absent, Peskin said, who doesnt sit on the budget committee. It has been box-checking government at its worst. Supervisors have in recent weeks decried the insufficient shelter, housing and treatment options to get people off the streets in the wake of Mayor London Breed declaring a state of emergency in the Tenderloin. Supervisor Hillary Ronen criticized her colleagues for delaying the shelter in the wake of the emergency declaration. I do not understand how the members of the Budget Committee voted to declare a state of emergency in the Tenderloin & then a day later delayed the leasing of a 250 bed non-congregate shelter to serve that neighborhood. Is this a crisis or not? It is & we need to act accordingly, she wrote on Twitter. With the state of emergency, Breed hopes to address street conditions, overdoses and crime in the hard-hit neighborhood. The declaration has been controversial because Breed has signaled an intent to expand policing, but her administration is also trying to connect more homeless Tenderloin residents with shelter and other services. Breeds office views the Post Street shelter as a crucial step in the citys plans to address homelessness this year. Her administration wants the shelter systems capacity to reach 2,100 beds by the end of June through a mix of adding new beds and reopening beds closed due to the pandemic. The city is about halfway toward meeting the goal. Breed is also working to create 1,500 units of permanent supportive housing for the homeless. Every day we delay this shelter is one where 250 people sleep on the street, Breed tweeted after the committee delayed the Post Street contract. We cant let obstruction and process arguments stop us from helping people in need. Breed said city leaders and the public all agree that the conditions in the Tenderloin are an emergency and we need to act like it. Formerly operated as a youth hostel called the Ansonia Hotel, the Post Street building includes 123 rooms that range from singles to quads. Each floor has bathrooms and showers, and the building also includes community lounges, a commercial kitchen and a dining space. City officials were attracted to the buildings configuration, which, if used to serve homeless people, would place it somewhere between a single-room occupancy hotel and a traditional congregate shelter. This is not a building type or opportunity that we often have, said Emily Cohen, a deputy director at Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. But a vocal group of people who live or work near the site have said San Francisco leaders did not provide enough notice about the buildings potential transformation. At the committee meeting, several residents also said they thought the area had already shouldered its fair share of facilities that serve San Franciscos unhoused population. Still, some spoke strongly in favor of the potential shelter, viewing it as an urgently needed facility to quickly get 250 people off the streets in the middle of winter. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Supervisor Matt Haney, who chairs the committee, said he understood the range of viewpoints expressed by the community. I do believe that these type of facilities are ones that we absolutely need, he said. I also understand the need to effectively consult with the neighborhood and the absolute need to consider geographic equity as well. Supervisor Ahsha Safai, another committee member, supported spending more time discussing the project with the community. Though he said hed heard from numerous people opposed to the shelter, Safai didnt think the city would repeat the scenario that unfolded in Japantown last year. Safai also questioned why the city hadnt moved to buy the site instead of contracting with Urban Alchemy to rent the facility from its owner. He said hed been in contact with the owner, who he said is willing to sell. It seems to me like theres room here to purchase the building, Safai said. Its not clear how exactly the city will proceed with the potential Post Street shelter. Cohen urged supervisors to make the delay as short as possible, warning them that a month was a really long time to postpone advancing the contract. But Safai, Haney and Supervisor Gordon Mar voted in favor of Peskins proposal to continue the item to Feb. 2. Peskin said he would work with city staff over the next month and see what we can come up with. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris Nearly 900 San Francisco teachers and aides were not in their classrooms Thursday, a significant increase in absences over the previous day, deepening a crisis thats been unfolding since Monday as district officials scrambled to make sure enough qualified adults could fill in and families worried about whether their childrens education would be interrupted again. A group of teachers called for a sickout Thursday, arguing the district had not adequately protected them during the omicron surge, but it was unclear how many were participating in the sickout and how many were actually ill or caring for sick family members. The number of absent aides and teachers represented about 20% of the school districts educators. The absences included 616 teachers, up from 414 Wednesday, with only enough substitutes to cover abut 180 of their classrooms. Central office staff with teaching credentials covered many of the remaining classrooms, with teachers also stepping in during their free periods to ensure a qualified adult was in each room. Schools are continuing to make sure all students are cared for, said district spokesperson Laura Dudnick. School districts around the Bay Area and nationally are struggling to deal with the omicron surge and staffing problems. Teachers in San Francisco and Oakland pledged to stay home, angry over work conditions, and Chicago educators refused to return to classrooms this week, prompting the city to shut down schools. While West Contra Costa Unified is closing down for two days because of staff and student coronavirus cases, other Bay Area school districts are trying to stay open despite the challenges. Still, the threat of labor strife added stress to already overwhelmed staff, families and kids. At SFUSDs Mission High School, sophomore DeMarcus Jackson walked into his first class Thursday morning only to find no teacher. School officials simply told him there werent enough teachers for the day, and he could either get his foster parents permission to go home or sit with other students in a supervised, but not educational, setting. He went home. It was his third day at the school after getting placed with his San Francisco foster family over the holidays. I was looking forward to going into a new school and a new environment, he said, adding he likes Mission High a lot and is excited about school. Its just disappointing, I guess. District officials have been scrambling to cover classrooms since school reopened after winter break during a substitute shortage. The sickout appeared to exacerbate the absences from the highly contagious and apparently less severe omicron variant. Those supporting the walkout said they wanted to raise awareness of the health and safety demands of teachers and their union, including asking for N95 or KN95 masks, additional testing and an extension of a policy to provide additional paid sick days for those who contract the coronavirus. No matter how many are sick, whether physically or mentally, it is the districts fault, Mission High teacher Gregory McGarry, one of the sickout organizers, said Wednesday. If we act now collectively and decisively as workers to do whats right by our children, the district and city can put their money where their mouths are and do what it takes to keep our schools safe and open, which is all I want. DeMarcus foster mother, Kate Stoia, struggled to comprehend a teacher sickout at this point in the pandemic, saying the teacher demands and fear are not based on science or advice of experts, and they are not prioritizing children. It felt more like theater. You stay home if youre sick, and if youre not sick, this is the job, she said. Theyre safe at this point. Stoia added that teachers were among the first to get vaccinations and that health officials, for example, are not requiring KN95 masks in schools as demanded by the union. It is 2022. It is not time to act like its March 2020, she said. I just feel strongly that everybody needs to prioritize the mental health of kids, especially the most vulnerable in San Francisco. The sickout coincided with a scheduled bargaining session between the teachers union and the district over health and safety protocols. Yet district officials noted that credentialed staff from the labor relations department were among those filling in for absent teachers this week. Officials at the United Educators of San Francisco have blasted the district for failing to provide at-home rapid tests as other districts did before the winter break, among other issues, calling leadership inept and negligent. Union President Cassondra Curiel also criticized the district for not requiring a negative test for students and staff to return to school after the break, although that is not part of official health guidelines. We are trying our hardest to keep schools open safely, Curiel said in a statement. With regular testing, test-to-stay and the necessary personnel to make it happen, we can be smart about this and help avoid prolonged isolation and the stress and trauma that comes with it. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. District officials said they continue to follow county health requirements and have a robust testing program in place, including on-demand PCR test at schools for symptomatic children and adults. In addition, daily testing is available at sites across the city for asymptomatic screening tests. The district received its share of state-promised at-home test kits Tuesday evening and is distributing the more than 100,000 tests to schools this week. Parent Vanessa Cervante said she is satisfied with the way her sons school, Daniel Webster Elementary in Potrero Hill, is handling COVID safety. Even so, she is considering whether to remove her 9-year-old from in-person classes during the surge. He is high-risk with a heart condition, and there is only so much the school can do to keep him safe, she said. I feel like theyre doing the best they can. But do I feel it may be time to have our children back at home, she said, noting her son very much wants to stay in the classroom. Cervante praised the district for offering testing at Daniel Webster Thursday. Its really convenient, she said. Grandparent Tanya Alexander opted to take her 9-year-old grandson, Sincere, to the Bayview Opera House, where testing is available on Thursdays. About 100 people were in line. Sinceres teacher was apparently exposed, although it was unclear whether the Malcolm X Academy instructor had the virus. The fourth-grader was sent home from his Bayview school with a work packet that morning, the grandmother said. As for the sickout, Alexander said the teachers are in a no-win situation. To me, none of it makes sense. But if Im in their shoes, I understand, she added. Its all a big mess. But Im not pointing fingers. Its different for everyone. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Nanette Asimov contributed to this report. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker A lawsuit filed in Alameda state court Thursday by the sister of a slain federal officer alleges Meta, parent company of Facebook, is responsible for the death by radicalizing the killer and connecting him to other extremists via the companys social media platform. The lawsuit was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of Angela Underwood Jacobs, whose brother Dave Patrick Underwood was shot and killed in May 2020 while guarding a federal courthouse in Oakland during protests over the murder of George Floyd. Steven Carrillo, then an active sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, is currently facing federal murder charges over the slaying. Robert Alvin Justus Jr., who prosecutors allege drove the van from which Carrillo opened fire, is also facing federal criminal charges over the killing. Federal complaints have tied both to the online Boogaloo group, a far-right anti-government extremist movement which advocates for a second civil war and whose supporters wear Hawaiian shirts and often appear heavily armed. Weve banned more than 1,000 militarized social movements from our platform and work closely with experts to address the broader issue of internet radicalization, Meta spokesman Kevin McAlister said in an emailed statement. These claims are without legal basis. The company said in an update in November that the company had taken down 4,000 pages and 20,600 groups related to militarized social movements, along with identifying more than 1,00 militarized movements on its site. The lawsuit argues those actions were too little and too late. Facebook bears responsibility for the murder of my brother, Angela Underwood Jacobs, the sister of slain officer Dave Patrick Underwood, said in a statement. The complaint says Underwood Jacobs is seeking damages in excess of $25,000. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Professor Eric Goldman at Santa Clara University School of Law said he was skeptical the case would succeed for several reasons. Ive seen dozens like this and they dont win, Goldman said, noting that courts had rejected the assertion in the past that website algorithms and their authors are liable for offline activity. He said establishing causation and responsibility was a high bar to clear and that the law differentiates between but for and proximate cause. Gun and bullet manufacturers are all the but for causes but they dont pull the trigger, Goldman said. The person who pulled the trigger, thats the proximate cause. Federal investigators have alleged that Carrillo and Justus were connected through Facebook and arranged to meet ahead of carrying out the killing. Carrillo and Justus had never met in person before carrying out the killing, the new case said, adding, Their paths had no reason to cross outside of Facebook. The case alleges that Facebooks proprietary algorithms, including those that suggest friends and groups on the site, fostered the environment that led to the killing. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Underwoods attorney, Ted Leopold at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, said he fully expects the company to invoke the protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects sites like Facebook from liability for what people publish on them. He said he believes the facts of this case are different. Facebook is generating the ability and bringing people together in the same conversations, through its technology and suggestion algorithms, Leopold said. Without the benefit of these types of algorithms it would be, I daresay, impossible for them to exist in that form, he said, noting the Boogaloo group might not exist in its current form otherwise. Changes to Section 230 have drawn support from both sides of the political aisle and even Facebook, now Meta, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed support for changes to the shield wielded by his company and others. Goldman, the law professor, said even if the plaintiffs were able to get around those protections with their arguments, the First Amendment could also be applied since it protects conversations like the one that led to the murder. In the end its trying to change how internet services limit third-party content, he said, adding that algorithms are squarely covered by the First Amendment. Goldman said he was concerned by what the internet would look like if the plaintiffs side is successful, adding any person who has suffered harm they can attribute to an online activity could potentially come after a company in court. Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Could you see yourself starting a business in the next two years? If so, youre in good company. Millions of Americans spent lockdown figuring out how to take the leap, and many of those people are turning to franchising to help them do it. So what can we expect from the franchises that all of these budding entrepreneurs will join, or start? Our experts say to look for everything from a boom in plant-based restaurants to shored-up supply chains, and an increased focus on work-life balance. If theres one lesson we learned from the last two years, its that we must be prepared for the unexpected. But some shifts are solid enough to endure any fresh chaos. Here are five trends to watch for in the next 24 months. One of the pandemics biggest surprises has been The Great Resignation, with Americans voluntarily leaving their jobs at a record pace. New-business applications were on a record pace in 2021. And this past September, nearly a third of U.S. workers reported that theyre quitting to start their own businesses with 60% saying they used lockdown time to educate themselves on how to do it. These budding entrepreneurs make for an overflowing honeypot of potential first-time franchisees, with industry data showing that nearly a third of independent franchise owners see the franchising model as critical in helping them become their own bosses. This past August alone, almost 3% of workers resigned from their jobs a recorded high, according to the federal government. So the entrepreneurial mind-shift is well underway, and expected to continue in years to come. Franchise brands as wide-ranging as Pet Evolution, H&H Bagels and Goldfish Swim School are all signaling an interest in tapping into this newly available pool of talent by bringing on first-time franchisees. In some cases, such as with Another Broken Egg Cafe, first-time franchisees are helping brands launch into whole new markets. Franchisors are looking to attract all kinds of first-timers, either for smaller-investment, single-unit territories or as larger-investment, multiunit partners. Related: How to Successfully Turn Your Business Into a Franchise Were finding some first-time franchisees, and we need to find more, says Andrew McCuiston, president of Goldfish Swim School. They can do great. The thing we are looking for is first-timers who have the ability to scale. As weve grown, weve found that anybody who has the ability to operate multiple locations of this brand, its better for them and its better for us. Theyre able to build a great team and get the business to go. 2. Work-Life Flexibility Will Be a Key Incentive for Potential Franchisees In October, CNBC and Catalyst released the results of a survey that helped explain why millions of people quit their jobs in the Great Resignation. Two reasons rose to the top. The first is a feeling, particularly among working parents, that employers dont understand their needs. And the second is an insistence on having flexibility with where, when and how they work with 76% saying they want work flexibility to be a permanent feature in their lives. Thats up from six months earlier, in April, when a LinkedIn survey saw 50% of respondents highlighting the need for flexibility in hours and location. With the pandemic being a constant in everyones lives for nearly two full years, the desire for flexibility is outpacing pretty much everything else in these types of surveys, including health coverage and workforce culture. A lot of what were reading about in the press these days is this employee exodus, this great churn of employees leaving, says Stacy Anderson, president of Anytime Fitness. Coming out of COVID, more than ever, you want to be satisfied with what youre doing with your life. You spend a lot of time at work. Anderson says the core values at Anytime Fitness, which has more than 4,800 franchises in 32 countries, including about 2,555 in the U.S. and Canada, are communication, alignment and trust between the franchisor and franchisee. Anderson finds that franchisees want to have a strong business model as well as a healthy work-life situation. I personally believe that managing like a dictatorship might have worked years ago, but thats not how people want to work today, she says. You want to make sure that people are making money, but also that theyre happy. Image Credit: Pete Reynolds 3. Franchisees Will Gravitate Toward Brands That Demonstrate Resilience For a few years before the pandemic, a lot of people who called franchise consultant Michael Lorsch would ask about how a given franchisor fared in the 2007-09 Great Recession. Today, franchisee questions are more focused than ever on a brands overall resiliency, including things like supply-chain and staffing support. Its on everybodys mind, Lorsch says. What people want is every single darn assurance possible. Theyre not going to get a guarantee of success if somebody gives you a guarantee, walk away but the next-best thing is talking about recession-proof and COVID-proof tolerance. Related: Why the Franchise Industry Will Boom in 2021 Numerous franchisors are now touting the support theyve given franchisees during the pandemic as a selling point. Smoothie King, for instance, deferred all royalty, technology, and advertising fund fees, and helped franchisees with everything from government loans to deferments on lease payments. The result was that even during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, 11 franchisees still felt confident enough to sign on. Batteries Plus CEO Scott Williams says new franchisees are asking not just how the company is weathering the pandemic, but specifically how its preparing to handle things like the supply chain going forward. These questions are much more heightened and much more specific, Williams says. The fact that Batteries Plus got out in front of supply-chain issues almost a year before they made headlines puts new franchisees at ease, he says. The brand signed 100 stores in the past 18 months, compared with 30 on average in previous years. Now Williams is going out of his way to assure franchisees that they will have the inventory to meet the demand of customers. This past fall, for instance, the company was preemptively bringing in four months worth of supply on car batteries, which consumers usually need in the dead of winter. Were saying that were going to weather 2022 better than most, he says. Were on top of these supply-chain challenges. 4. Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant Franchises Will Make a Grand Entrance About 4% of Americans self-identify as vegans. Thats actually a big number up from 0.4% in 2017 but it still comprises a tiny fraction of the population. And yet the market for vegan food is much larger because quite a lot of Americans are becoming, shall we say, vegan curious. Plant-based food sales now generate $7 billion annually, a sales growth rate more than twice that of total food sales. I see that as the next big thing, says Mark Siebert, CEO of the iFranchise Group development and consulting firm. What youve seen in places like Burger King, with their nonmeat hamburger, and other places like McDonalds the fact that these guys are experimenting with plant-based burgers says they recognize that its a coming trend. Siebert thinks conditions are ideal for two or three significant franchises to capitalize on the opportunity. Several years from now, at the unit level, the economics are starting to look really good, he says. Related: Why Franchising Is the Future of the Healthy-Fast-Food Movement Copper Branch, a fully plant-based restaurant, is one of those brands. The Canada-based franchise has opened locations in three European countries, as well as one in Portland, Maine, and another in Nashville, Tennessee. CEO Trish Paterson says the brand is preparing for a big growth spurt this year. Youll see us popping up through ghost kitchens in 2022, and then some expansion in brick-and-mortar through the end of 2022, she says. Were looking at the eastern side of the U.S., expanding out from where we are now, and then well hit the hot markets like California. She sees the interest in plant-based food as part of a larger trend toward healthy living. Some people have had a heart attack or some other health scare, and we just want to provide an opportunity for them to try something different, she says. Thats our plan going forward, to make it part of a healthy meal whether youre vegan or not. 5. Strong, Healthy Franchisor-Franchisee Relationships Will Be Critical During the pandemic, franchisees learned that having a healthy relationship with their franchisor really does matter. If the world falls apart, franchisees want to know they have their corporate brands trust, support, and an open line of communication to get back on track. A lot of changes had to be responded to quickly, says Elizabeth Sigety, a franchise attorney at Fox Rothschild. I think franchisors that already had good communications and that goes both ways, with the franchisees toowere in a better position to handle that. Kyle Bailey, founder and CEO at the transportation odor-removal brand NuVinAir, says franchisors that treat franchisees as true business partners end up with relationships that are not just healthier but also more lucrative, even amid a major shock like COVID-19. There were great ideas flooding up from our partners about treating frontline workers cars, Bailey says. As a brand, it strengthened us and broadened our scope of opportunity to far more than what we were focused on in 2019. Related: 6 Trends That Prove Franchises Are a Hot Opportunity for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Open lines of communication arent always comfortable for franchisors, Sigety says. Some franchisors can be almost afraid to talk to their franchisees because then they have to listen and respond and maybe make changes. But she believes this posture of silence only hurts the brand. In every franchise system, theres somebody who cant run a business well and wants to blame somebody else, but if theres a lot of franchisees feeling that way, then you have a problem, she says. The best way to fix it is to talk to the people on the ground. Sigety and Bailey agree franchisors and franchisees should be aligned in goals and attitudes from the start, before any papers are signed. You are who you surround yourself with, Bailey says. Show me your five friends, and Ill show you your future. Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved SAN FRANCISCO - The sister of a slain federal officer is suing Facebook's parent company Meta, alleging it bears responsibility for her brother's killing during racial justice protests in 2020. Facebook facilitated the hateful far-right "boogaloo" movement, leading an adherent to murder officer Dave Patrick Underwood, the lawsuit filed in a California Superior Court late Wednesday alleges. The Homeland Security protective security officer was fatally shot in May 2020 when a van pulled up outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland and a gunman inside the vehicle sprayed bullets at Underwood and his partner, who was wounded in the shooting. Federal authorities identified the shooter as Steven Carrillo, an adherent of the "boogaloo boys," an online extremist movement that has sought to capitalize on racial justice protests to usher in a race war. Underwood was killed as racial justice protests were underway nearby following the police murder of George Floyd. Now Underwood's sister, Angela Underwood Jacobs, is accusing Facebook of "knowingly promoting extremist content" and connecting individuals who "planned to engage in acts of violence against federal law enforcement officers," according to the suit. The suit alleges wrongful death and a survival action for the pain and suffering Underwood endured before he died, citing alleged general negligence and negligent design by Facebook. Facebook pushed back against the allegations on Thursday. "We've banned more than 1,000 militarized social movements from our platform and work closely with experts to address the broader issue of Internet radicalization," said spokesman Kevin McAlister. "These claims are without legal basis." The suit takes aim at Facebook and other social media companies' long-standing legal immunity for harmful content that is posted on their platforms. Technology companies are generally protected from such lawsuits by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which says platforms are not publishers of the content posted on their sites, and thus aren't responsible for the content that appears in such forums. But Section 230 is coming under fire on a variety of fronts. A series of bills that seek to erode the two decade-old law was proposed by lawmakers in both parties last year. Last month, a member of the Rohingya ethnic group based in the U.S. filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Meta arguing that its platform fanned the flames of violence and led to a genocide in Myanmar in 2017. The lawsuit is seeking class action status to represent thousands of Rohingya refugees who have resettled in the U.S. Lawyers for Underwood's sister say Facebook should not be protected by Section 230. Facebook said it took down hundreds of accounts and groups connected to the boogaloo movement in the wake of the violence in Oakland and an alleged plot to use explosives at a demonstration in Las Vegas, and designated the boogaloo group a "dangerous organization." Facebook's action came about a month after the shooting. Rather than simply allow information to be posted on the site, Facebook actively promoted inflammatory content and steered people toward it, the suit alleges. "The algorithms are weighted to favor untrue, inflammatory, and divisive content that will grab and keep users' attention," the lawsuit says. "Furthermore, the recommendations are not based on Facebook user requests for recommendations - they are pushed onto users." That ultimately led the killer and his accomplice to meet over the platform, attorneys allege. They point to criminal complaints from the Justice Department that say Carrillo, then an active-duty Air Force staff sergeant, and his accomplice, Robert Alvin Justus Jr., connected through a boogaloo group on Facebook on May 28, 2020. They agreed to meet on May 29 and drive together to the protests, attorneys said. "Facebook bears responsibility for the murder of my brother," Jacobs said in a news release. "Facebook must be held responsible for the harm it has caused not just my family, but so many others, by promoting extremist content and building extremist groups on its platform." The firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll is representing Jacobs in the wrongful death case. The complaint also alleges that Facebook "Helped Build" the boogaloo community that ushered in their planning. Facebook's argument that it does not bear responsibility for harmful content was undercut by a trove of documents brought forth in October by whistleblower Francis Haugen. The documents showed that Facebook is deeply involved in researching the effects of harmful content and turning the dials of its algorithms to decide how to promote it to over 2.9 billion monthly users. The boogaloo movement arose from fringe social media channels such as 4chan before moving to mainstream platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, where their followings ballooned as their views found a wider audience. Researchers found some groups had at times amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. The group's emergence led to a wider examination of the effects of social media on the rise of violent movements, with some making comparisons to foreign militant groups such as the Islamic State. Carrillo is also accused in a separate killing of a sheriff's deputy in Santa Cruz County. His attorney previously cautioned against a "rush to judgment" in the cases. - - - The Washington Post's Elizabeth Dwoskin contributed to this report. As I pull open the rain-swollen wood door of a Berkeley storefront, there is a pre-opening buzz in the air. Two guys in aprons stand at a counter forming hundreds of pretzels on trays, which then get carted over to industrial refrigerators. A few feet away curtains are being sewn and hung on the storefront window, while in the back room a giant, freshly painted wooden pretzel is drying before it goes up outside. And near the front, a chalkboard that only a few days before was a daunting list of tasks now announces the grand opening of a new addition to the Bay Area's food landscape, Squabisch Pretzels. Opening a pretzel bakery on busy Solano Avenue in Berkeley was not something Uli Elser had planned even six months ago. At that point, life was not in such a hopeful a place, having been laid off from his job in the independent music industry and recently separated from his wife. And being at an age when some of his friends are retiring, the prospect of carving out a new career during COVID had zero appeal. Im old, he said, and you always hear people dont want to hire older people. But, on the plus side of the ledger, there were pretzels. Ingo Piroth And no, not like the hard, crunchy Rold Golds you pick up at 7-Eleven. These are the soft, classic German variety laden with salt. The recipe is my grandmothers, but I learned it from my mother," Elser said. His mother Lilo Elser and her husband Carl moved to San Jose from Germany in the 1970s when Uli was a boy. There, his mother taught cooking classes for many years, including lessons on how to make this classic from the homeland. But not only has Uli mastered the family recipe since he started selling his pretzels in 2015, he has developed over 70 varieties. Some, like the Asiago, have become instant hits, while others like the pretzel udon roll or the salty smore might cater to the more adventurous. (Full disclosure: I have known Uli Elser for a long time and am partial to the jalapeno and cheddar.) Over the past few years, Elser has grown his business from selling at pop-ups and breweries to farmers' markets, where he often sells out of 200 pretzels in a morning. But the leap to opening a storefront was another matter and might not have happened were it not for getting laid off and, as his wife Sabine sees it, the pandemic. Uli Elser This COVID thing makes you a little more embracing of risks, and I think this has happened with Uli. With all this happening, why not try something? she said. When Sabine found a retail space available on a busy block of Solano Avenue that also has a Barneys burger spot, a UPS store and is near two elementary schools, it felt a little like destiny. Especially because the space had been a bakery before, and the rent was actually affordable. Im on the hook for more monthly rent than at the commercial kitchen, but I was paying two-thirds of that at the other place," Uli said. But he could not do it alone. So he and Sabine, while separated, have become partners in business, a situation that is so far succeeding as they focus 100% on opening this shop. Sabine: We tried to have a day without saying the word pretzel. Uli: It lasted 15 seconds. This determination to succeed overrides all personal considerations. Both of us just worked together to make sure it happened, Uli said, as both of them quickly point out how a legion of friends have jumped in to help with painting, tile setting, woodworking, sign making, equipment fixing, donations and much more. Our friends are our superpower Sabine said. There is nothing like an army of helpful friends, but in the end, the pretzels will be their real superpower as the public heads to their shop to sample their array of treats. So far, judging by the long lines on the first few days, there seems to be a healthy appetite for what they have to offer. Ingo Piroth Every day, 10 to 14 flavors will be on the menu with big sellers like the classic, the Asiago and the pretzel brat always available. Dozens of others will move in and out of the rotation; one day you may be able to score a raspberries and brown sugar pretzel or maybe the Reuben, while on others you may get the "stinky Stilton," a dark chocolate and toasted coconut, or a garlic Pecorino. Sabine calls these creations a California take on a German food, sort of like the name itself, a slight spin from Schwabisch, a German region known for its excellent baking. If you brought Ulis salted smore to a small village in Bavaria they might feel a little like Blasphemy! Uli pipes in. But over on this stretch of North Berkeley, it seems to be anything but. Ingo Piroth Anyone curious to try a Squabisch pretzel for themselves can head over to 1585 Solano Avenue in Berkeley (near Peralta), Thursday through Sunday. They're open from noon until the pretzels are sold out. You can also find Squabisch pretzels at the Grand Lake and Kensington farmers' markets. Classes online and in person are also offered. Ethan Miller/Getty Images Amazon continues its expansion across the Bay Area, this time in an all-cash deal in Santa Clara. The buyer was actually a subsidiary of the e-commerce giant, Amazon Data Services, which paid $51.8 million for the land, as first reported by the Mercury News. Real estate records revealed that the sale of 2315 Mission College Blvd. made a tidy profit for previous owner IPI Partners, which had purchased the site in June 2021 for $47.1 million. IPI, an investment platform focused on technology and data centers, also owns an adjacent parcel it has had in the works for a future data center. Nicholas Kristof, a former New York Times columnist who in October announced a Democratic campaign for Oregon governor, is ineligible to run for the office, the Oregon secretary of state has announced, upending the journalist-turned-politician's nascent campaign. In a statement Thursday, Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said her office was rejecting Kristof's filing for governor because he does not meet the constitutional requirements to serve. She said a gubernatorial candidate must have been a "resident within this state" for three years before the election. "The rules are the rules and they apply equally to all candidates for office in Oregon. I stand by the determination of the experts in the Oregon Elections Division that Mr. Kristof does not currently meet the Constitutional requirements to run or serve as Oregon Governor," said Fagan, a fellow Democrat. "As Oregon's chief elections official, it is my responsibility to make sure all candidates on the statewide ballot are qualified to serve if elected," she added. "The Oregon Elections Division and local election officials use the same standards to determine qualifications for hundreds of candidates in dozens of offices every year. In this instance, the candidate clearly does not meet the constitutional requirement to run or serve as governor of Oregon." A representative for Kristof's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Kristof vowed to challenge the decision in court and said he would have more to share at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "A failing political establishment in Oregon has chosen to protect itself, rather than give voters a choice," Kristof tweeted. "We will challenge this decision in court, and we are confident we will prevail, because the law is on our side." Last month, as news emerged that state election officials were questioning Kristof's eligibility to run in Oregon, his campaign shared a Portland Tribune piece that argued where Kristof registered to vote shouldn't matter when determining his home. In launching his campaign, Kristof spoke of his roots in Yamhill, Ore., the opportunities he felt his Oregon upbringing had given him, and the decline in prospects for those with whom he grew up. He repeatedly referred to Oregon as his home state. In his filing to organize a candidate committee, Kristof listed his occupation as "Journalist, Author, Farmer." On his campaign website, Kristof wrote that he and his wife, writer Sheryl WuDunn, have been revitalizing their family apple and grape farm. "It's hard to watch your home state struggle when you can make a difference on homelessness, education, jobs," Kristof, 62, tweeted then, with a link to his campaign video. Kristoff, who has no political experience, said as much in his launch video. Instead, he leaned heavily on his 37-year career at the Times - where he was a foreign correspondent and a columnist who won the Pulitzer Prize - saying he "spent a lifetime shining a light in the darkest corners of the globe." Kristof had been on a leave of absence from the newspaper since June as he decided whether to run for political office, and he resigned from the Times in early October. In a statement about his departure, Kristof said he was leaving his dream job "very reluctantly" and alluded vaguely to his possible run for governor in Oregon. "I've been on the ride of a lifetime with The Times. I've gotten to know presidents and tyrants, Nobel laureates and warlords, while visiting 160 countries. And precisely because I have a great job, outstanding editors and the best readers, I may be an idiot to leave," Kristof said then. "But you all know how much I love Oregon, and how much I've been seared by the suffering of old friends there," he added. "So I've reluctantly concluded that I should try not only to expose problems but also see if I can fix them directly." On the afternoon of December 30, 2021, the remarkable Hefei Ion Medical Center conducted the first clinical trial of the proton therapy system. The center's medical and physical teams worked closely to give the first proton radiotherapy to a 66-year-old chordoma patient. It marks the formal entry of Hefei Ion Medical Center into the clinical trial stage. According to a worker of the Hefei Ion Medical Center, as the first domestic radiotherapy center which introduced Varian proton therapy system, having work teams overcoming the outbreak, completing the precision of system debugging, performing rigorous screening to choose patients into the group, Hefei Ion Medical Cente has been carrying out clinical trials of the proton therapy system to provide tumor radiation therapy for cancer patients. The worker said that the "Varian ProBeam Proton Therapy Device China Clinical Trial (Hefei)" is jointly undertaken by Anhui Provincial Hospital and the Cancer Hospital affiliated to Shandong First Medical University. Anhui Provincial Hospital is the team leader, and the major investigator is Hongyan Zhang. The total sample size of the clinical trial is 47, and 28 subjects are planned to be enrolled. Before the first clinical trial, the center held the first patient introduction seminar, in which professor Xiaoming Lu, an internationally renowned medical physics expert, and Hongyan Zhang, director of Anhui Provincial Hospital, introduced the patient's condition and radiotherapy plan respectively. The First Clinical Trial officially began at 2 p.m.The patient had a local recurrence 2 years after resection of the sacrococcygeal chordoma, and the lesions were close to normal tissues such as rectum, bladder, pelvis, etc., considered that there would be too much damage after surgical treatment again,the proton radiotherapy was taken to protect the function of normal tissues and reduce the toxic reactions caused by radiotherapy. The hospital's technical team accurately shoots the proton beam accelerated by the superconducting cyclotron into the lesion through high-precision positioning, just like a "sniper gun" to accurately attack the tumor tissue. Before you know it, the treatment is done.The patient told the reporter that the treatment process was painless, and after completion, he could get out of bed and walk by himself. "I didn't expect such an advanced therapy!" It's Nadal vs. Djokovic - but not on the tennis court. Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis star, said he felt "sorry" that his rival Novak Djokovic's visa to Australia was canceled after uproar about his coronavirus vaccination status. Djokovic is preparing an appeal on Monday as the world No. 1 is reportedly held at a hotel in Melbourne used to house undocumented immigrants. But Nadal, speaking Thursday after winning a match at the Melbourne Summer Set ATP 250 tournament, told reporters that Djokovic knew the risks. "It's normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns," Nadal said. Djokovic "makes his own decision," he added. Nadal said that he believes "in what the people who know about medicine say: If the people say we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine," before pointedly adding, "If you do this, you don't have any problem to play here." "If you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open and everywhere," he added. Djokovic, 34, who won the Australian Open last year, was detained by officials at the airport amid growing outrage over a decision to award the athlete a visa and medical exemption from vaccination requirements. Australia, once known for its tough "covid zero" policies to keep the virus at bay, is now grappling with the omicron variant and one of the world's sharpest spikes in infections. Both Nadal and Djokovic have previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The Djokovic debacle has spawned debate on social media along with memes as airlines offer the player a ride home and others refer to him as "Novax Djokovic." "Rules are rules, and there are no special cases," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters Thursday, as he thanked border officers and confirmed that Djokovic's visa had been canceled. "Our government's strong border protection policies, and particularly in relation to the pandemic, [have ensured] Australia has one of the lowest death rates of covid anywhere in the world." By Grace Gedye CalMatters Clogged supply chains. Hiring struggles. New mask rules. A virus that trampled right over return-to-work schedules. Last year was chaotic for many businesses across California. What does 2022 hold? Layered on top of pandemic uncertainty is the question of what policymakers might do for -- and to -- businesses. "2022 is going to be a very busy legislative year," said Jennifer Barrera, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. Here are some of the issues ahead for California businesses in 2022. Pandemic rules and paid leave Workers were guaranteed extended sick leave for COVID-19 quarantining or vaccine side effects in spring of 2021, and then saw it run out in September. "That expired, in our minds, at the worst possible time," said Eduardo Martinez, legislative director of California Labor Federation, mentioning the Delta variant surge, which seemingly peaked in late August. With the rise of the Omicron variant, Los Angeles Democrat Wendy Carrillo said she's looking for an opportunity to bring back extended COVID-19 sick leave. Last time California had federal assistance helping cover the cost; this time it would have to go it alone, she said. Pointing to the state's projected $31 billion budget surplus, she said "there's an opportunity for the governor and for the legislature to ensure that the health of the 40 million people across the state of California is prioritized." Also potentially on the docket: legislation to boost the share of their wages that workers receive when they take paid family leave, according to San Jose Democrat Ash Kalra, who chairs the Assembly's labor and employment committee. "The current (wage) replacement rate is especially inadequate for low wage workers," said Kalra. A rate increase was passed by the Legislature last year, but was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said it would create "significant new costs." In his veto statement, Newsom said he looked forward to partnering with the Legislature on the issue of family leave access. In 2021, Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks proposed a bill that would have required all workers to provide proof of vaccination to their employers or submit to weekly testing. Days later, with the end of the legislative session encroaching, she put the idea on hold, saying she would take time to work with colleagues and stakeholders "to make this the strongest bill possible headed into 2022." Since then, the Biden administration unveiled a vaccine requirement for large companies in November, which immediately drew lawsuits and is currently wending its way through the legal system, and New York City imposed a vaccine requirement for all in-person workers at private businesses. "We cannot be a New York," said Robert Lapsley, president of California Business Roundtable. "We need flexibility. And, so, hopefully, the governor, OSHA, et cetera, will not go down that path." In an August poll of 353 small business owners, 59 percent with employees said they'd support a law requiring businesses to mandate vaccines or weekly testing. It's unclear if a similar proposal is in the cards for California. Wicks' communications director, Erin Ivie, wrote that the office was "still in the process of considering what types of vaccine legislation we hope to introduce in the upcoming session." When asked if Cal/OSHA had any plans to roll out a vaccine requirement for all workers, spokesperson Erika Monterroza said she was not aware of any such plans. A spokesperson from the governor's office said, "We know that boosters are the strongest protection we have against serious illness from COVID-19, that is why the state is requiring that healthcare workers get boosted, and encouraging all other Californians to protect themselves from the Omicron variant by getting boosted." Health secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly has signaled that the state is not on a path to shutdowns. Ballot measures aplenty A final list of the initiatives that actually make it onto your ballot in November won't be settled for many months. But there are already some proposals in the pipeline that could impact businesses: -Investor-turned-antipoverty-advocate Joe Sanberg has put forward a measure that would increase the minimum wage in California to $18 per hour by 2025, with an additional year for small employers to comply; -A proposal aimed at housing affordability that would raise renters' income tax credit and increase the amount of a property's value that is tax exempt while raising taxes on commercial and residential properties worth more than $4 million; -And a measure, backed by the California Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, that would repeal a law that lets employees sue employers over certain labor violations and receive monetary penalties, while requiring the Legislature fund the labor rule enforcers adequately to carry out laws. Small businesses, farmworkers, and taxes In addition to nearly $1.2 billion federal dollars for loans potentially coming the way of California small businesses, state lawmakers will continue to try and aid them, said Corona Democrat Sabrina Cervantes, who chairs the Assembly's committee on jobs and economic development. She plans to continue work on a bill that would incentivize landlords to give small businesses rent relief. The Legislature may also take another look at how farmworker union elections are conducted. In 2021, Santa Cruz Democrat Mark Stone introduced a bill that would have given workers the option to fill out their ballot at home, rather than requiring they vote via an in-person election. Newsom vetoed the measure, which opponents said left workers more vulnerable to coercion, becoming the third consecutive California governor to veto such a bill. Stone will continue working on it in 2022, per his office. Business groups plan to raise a stink about the debt that California's unemployment insurance fund owes the federal government, which ballooned during the pandemic as more workers lost their jobs and collected benefits. Unless lawmakers intervene, the debt is set to be paid down by a tax increase for businesses that would show up on their 2022 taxes, said Barerra. Also on the horizon is a debate about employee data privacy. Employee data was initially exempted from the data privacy law Californians voted for in 2020, but that carveout ends on the first day of 2023, creating a deadline for the legislature to figure out what they want to do, if anything, around worker data. Martinez, from the labor federation, says he's increasingly hearing from unions that employers are collecting data on workers without their knowledge or consent. "There's an opportunity to get some privacy rights for workers to curb some of the abuses," said Martinez. But the ongoing pandemic could disrupt even the best laid legislative plans. "If next year is anything like the past two years," said Martinez, "you think you know what you're working on and then all of a sudden something happens and -- nope -- you're working on something else." Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. by Gina Gotsill Bay City News Foundation Art exhibitions can make you feel as if you're on a voyage, traveling far away from all that you know. It may be the subject matter that makes you feel this way, or the media, or the artists' unique experiences. Sometimes it's all three. "Dust Specks on the Sea: Contemporary Sculpture From the French Caribbean & Haiti," on view at the San Francisco Art Institute's Walter and McBean Galleries until March 5, is that kind of show. Finding your bearings first -- geographically, historically and politically -- will help. The French Caribbean has a long history of European colonization and consists of the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and the region of French Guiana in South America. Enslaved people in Haiti, a neighboring Caribbean island, rebelled against French colonizers in 1791 and the island gained independence in 1804. In 1964, former French President Charles de Gaulle flew over the French Caribbean islands and described the archipelago as "dust specks on the sea," the namesake of the show. The artists in the exhibition push against de Gaulle's dismissive words -- the voice of the colonizers -- and that creates the tension that rises through the space. The artists in this show all have intimate and personal connections to Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Haiti -- some focus on the region's colonial history, while others explore heritage, family and personal experience. In "The bookshelf 2," Alex Burke, who was born in Martinique and lives in Paris, uses embroidered cloth bags to express the history and pain that is woven through the region. The bags are neatly lined up on a bookshelf and each are embroidered with dates that tell the story of colonization in the Americas. The bags are tightly cinched, conveying a feeling of secrecy and burying a painful, even brutal past. That brutal past is laid bare in Guadaloupe artist Ronald Cyrille's "Key Escape." A boat -- teetering on a pile of sand symbolizing a small island - with black hands reaching for the sky is heavy with loss. It's a visual diary of the slave trade that ripped millions of Africans from their homelands and made them slaves to European landowners. The "Dust Specks'" catalog reminds us that "descendants of these enslaved people make up a large portion of the French Caribbean today." Other work may appear campy, but history is waiting to be discovered just below the surface. Jean-Marc Hunt, a French artist living in Guadeloupe, created "Bananas Deluxe," a chandelier of bananas inspired by the costume that Josephine Baker wore during her 1920s performances in Paris. (Fun fact: Student gallery workers put up fresh bananas on a regular schedule.) In one performance, Baker, clad in her banana skirt, shimmied down a tree to the beat of a drum and discovered a white explorer asleep under a tree. The French were wild about the banana skirt and its suggestion of exotic sexuality that tiptoes into our lives -- an ideal that may be harder to stomach today. With "Bananas Deluxe," Hunt is also paying tribute to "Strange Fruit," a song of racial protest that Billie Holiday recorded in 1939, according to the show catalog. Jean-Marc Hunt's "Bananas Deluxe" invokes both Josephine Baker's banana skirt and Billie Holliday's anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit." (Photo courtesy Jasmine Zhang/San Francisco Art Institute) Audience reaction has been positive, says curator Katie Hood Morgan. People are excited to have new work in the gallery again, she says. And the general public is happy to have free, on-campus exhibitions after the long pandemic closure. "Dust Specks on the Sea" is a traveling show -- it opened in Harlem and has also stopped in Albuquerque. "We are hoping to continue the tour beyond San Francisco, hopefully to Paris," Hood Morgan says. "Dust Specks on the Sea: Contemporary Sculpture From the French Caribbean & Haiti" is free, and visitors receive a full-color catalog to keep. It is on view at the San Francisco Art Institute's Walter and McBean Galleries, 800 Chestnut St., San Francisco, until March 5. To learn more, visit https://bit.ly/3eo8ygB. San Francsico Art Institute is perched on a hill on Chestnut Street in San Francisco, just outside Little Italy, and there are plenty of places around campus to enjoy the city skyline. Student work of every genre hangs in the corridors across campus. And the Diego Rivera Gallery is home to "The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City" by Diego Rivera, commissioned in 1931. The Diego Rivera Gallery also features new work by students. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. California will extend its indoor mask mandate through at least Feb. 15 due to the state's wave of COVID-19 cases tied to the omicron variant, one of the state's top health officials said Wednesday. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the ongoing omicron wave has made state officials concerned about hospitals hitting their capacity limits in the coming weeks. Around this time last year, some 53,000 people across the state were hospitalized with COVID-19 and other ailments, Ghaly said. As of Wednesday, some 51,000 people are currently hospitalized, including roughly 8,000 people for COVID-19. The one-year anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., will be remembered in at least a half-dozen Bay Area cities on Thursday, including Walnut Creek, Oakland, San Mateo, and San Francisco. The attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, led to the deaths of five people and injured many others while Congress was certifying the victory of President Joe Biden over Trump in the November 2020 election. Organizers of the events planned around the Bay Area on Thursday are calling for those responsible for the insurrection to be held accountable and for elected leaders to protect voting rights in the country. Art exhibitions can make you feel as if you're on a voyage, traveling far away from all that you know. It may be the subject matter that makes you feel this way, or the media, or the artists' unique experiences. Sometimes it's all three. "Dust Specks on the Sea: Contemporary Sculpture From the French Caribbean & Haiti," on view at the San Francisco Art Institute's Walter and McBean Galleries until March 5, is that kind of show. Finding your bearings first -- geographically, historically and politically -- will help. The French Caribbean has a long history of European colonization and consists of the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and the region of French Guiana in South America. Enslaved people in Haiti, a neighboring Caribbean island, rebelled against French colonizers in 1791 and the island gained independence in 1804. Many pay lip service to the importance of conserving the Earth's natural resources, but Julia Scheeres and her two girls have made it their business. Stop by her Albany home, and chances are you'll find Scheeres making shampoos and hair conditioner, lotion, even dish detergent -- all resembling bars of hand soap and containing ingredients like coconut oil and beeswax. The idea for Sustainabar, the cottage industry that the nonfiction author and freelance reporter launched in late 2019, evolved from a conversation she had had with her daughters about changes they could make in their daily routines to be kinder to the environment. Alameda County sheriff's officials on Wednesday identified their recruit who was shot and killed late Tuesday afternoon on a freeway in Oakland as 28-year-old David Nguyen of San Francisco. CHP officers responded at 4:30 p.m. to a vehicle that crashed on westbound Interstate Highway 580 nearing Interstate Highway 80 and the Bay Bridge toll plaza. A preliminary CHP investigation indicates that following the shooting Nguyen steered his vehicle to the left, hitting the guardrail and causing moderate damage to the vehicle. A dozen Sonoma County inmates and at least seven jail employees have tested positive for COVID-19 amid a new outbreak at the county's main jail. The outbreak at the Main Adult Detention Facility in Santa Rosa is the third rash of COVID-19 cases at the jail since the pandemic began. Additional testing of inmates and staff is ongoing to determine the extent of the outbreak, with results expected later this week, according to Sonoma County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Juan Valencia. Police arrested two suspects on Wednesday for allegedly robbing seven San Francisco banks in October and November. From Oct. 20 to Nov. 29, a series of similar robberies occurred at banks on Buckingham Way, Fillmore Street, Van Ness Avenue, Mission Street, Taraval Street, Ocean Avenue and 24th Street. In all cases, a suspect would enter a bank, threaten a teller with a note demanding money, and the teller would comply and provide money before the suspect fled. In some incidents, the suspect would also brandish a firearm at the teller, according to police. Investigators from the San Francisco Police Department Robbery Detail determined 50-year-old Ray Farr and 57-year-old Bryan Alexander as the main suspects in the series of incidents. University of California at Berkeley's School of Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky has been reappointed to the position, university officials announced Wednesday. Chemerinsky was reappointed to a second five-year term following what university officials describe as a "stellar record of success." Chemerinsky became dean in July 2017, following a challenging four years when the school had four deans and interim deans. After a high-speed chase that started in Contra Costa County, two people were arrested Wednesday in Mill Valley in connection with an assault of an officer. Mill Valley police reported they were informed by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department of an ongoing pursuit at about 4:10 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 101 involving a silver BMW wanted in connection with an assault on a police officer. The pursuit included a helicopter as well as vehicles from Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol. It was soon joined by Mill Valley police and the Marin County Sheriff's Department. The National Weather Service forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for a chance of morning fog Thursday and evening rain lasting into Friday. Daytime highs are expected in the mid to upper 50s with overnight lows from the lower to upper 40s. The weekend is expected to have mostly sunny skies. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. By Keith Burbank Bay City News OAKLAND (BCN) Alameda County sheriff's officials on Wednesday identified their recruit who was shot and killed late Tuesday afternoon on a freeway in Oakland as 28-year-old David Nguyen of San Francisco. CHP officers responded at 4:30 p.m. to a vehicle that crashed on westbound Interstate Highway 580 nearing Interstate Highway 80 and the Bay Bridge toll plaza. A preliminary CHP investigation indicates that following the shooting Nguyen steered his vehicle to the left, hitting the guardrail and causing moderate damage to the vehicle. CHP officers discovered Nguyen had been shot. He was taken to a hospital where he died, CHP officials said. "We are saddened to report that a young ACSO employee was tragically murdered near the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza in a Oakland this evening while driving home from work," the Alameda County Sheriff's Office tweeted Tuesday night. "We are heartbroken and disturbed by this senseless act of gun violence," sheriff's officials said in a separate post. Nguyen is survived by his parents and siblings, Alameda County sheriff's Lt. Ray Kelly said. Nguyen was a member of the 172nd sheriff's office academy. Alameda County prosecutors said Nguyen was driving home from training when he was shot. CHP detectives are leading the investigation into the fatal shooting. Anyone with information about it is asked to please call the CHP Investigation Tip line at (707) 917-4491. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The first day of Jan. 2022 marked the start of several new laws taking effect in Connecticut. On Jan. 1, people who work in Connecticut became eligible for paid leaves of up to 12 weeks from work for qualified medical and family reasons. The benefits are available for those starting or expanding a family via birth, adoption or foster care; those who have serious health conditions or are caring for someone with such conditions or are caring for family members injured during active military duty. Additionally, those affected by family violence may be eligible to receive up to 12 days of paid leave for psychological or medical care, to relocate or participate in legal activities related to family violence. According to the CT Paid Leave Authority, employees and self-employed individuals have been making a contribution of one half of one percent of wages to the CT Paid Leave Authority Trust Fund since the start of 2021. For example, if a person earns $60,000 in one year, the contribution to the paid leave fund annually would be $300. But how does the system work? And how long does it take to start receiving benefits? Heres what to know about the new paid family leave process in Connecticut. Am I eligible to receive benefits? According to the CT Paid Leave Authority, those eligible to receive family leave benefits must be currently employed in Connecticut, have worked in Connecticut in the past 12 weeks but are currently unemployed or are a sole proprietor or self-employed person and resident of Connecticut. Additionally, eligible people have to have earned at least $2,325 in their highest earning quarter within their base period, according to a summary of the new law. This means that the person must have earned at least $2,325 in the first four of the past five quarters. Does this replace the benefits offered by private companies? Employers must also opt into participating in the CT Paid Leave program if they have any business within Connecticut with one or more employees. Sole proprietors or self-employed people also have to opt into the program, according to the CT Paid Leave Authority. According to the Society of Human Resources Management, employers can choose to either participate in Connecticut's paid family leave program or offer benefits comparable to those offered by the state program. Participating employers could begin enrolling in the state program starting Nov. 2020, but SHRM notes that if they chose to offer their own benefits, they would have to purchase their own private insurance plan to provide benefits and submit an exemption form to the state's Paid Leave Authority. How long is the paid leave period? The act provides up to 12 weeks of benefits over a 12-month period and provides two additional weeks of benefits for a serious health condition that results in incapacitation during pregnancy, according to a summary of the law. How much money will I receive in benefits? According to Connecticut law firm Cohen and Wolf, if an employee's weekly pay is "less than or equal to the Connecticut minimum wage multiplied by 40," they will receive a weekly benefit rate of 95 percent of their average weekly pay. The current minimum wage in Connecticut is $13 per hour. The CT Paid Leave Authority notes that 40 times the minimum wage is currently equal to $520. If a person earns minimum wage and applies to receive leave benefits, they will receive 95 percent of $520, or $494 weekly. If their weekly pay is more than the state minimum wage multiplied by 40, Cohen and Wolf notes that the weekly benefit rate "will be 95 percent of the Connecticut minimum wage multiplied by 40." They will also receive "60 percent of the amount by which the employee's average weekly wage exceeds the Connecticut minimum wage multiplied by 40," the law firm notes, but this rate is "capped at 60 times the Connecticut minimum wage." For someone who earns a gross annual salary of $60,000 who plans on starting leave on March 1, 2022, the CT Leave Authoritys estimated weekly payment amounts to $780. To figure out how much you might earn in benefits through the program, the CT Paid Leave Authority offers an estimation tool to calculate potential payments. How do I apply for benefits? To apply for the benefits, the CT Paid Leave Authoritys website notes that people must first create an account with CT.gov in order to be able to submit a claim. To do this, users will go to ctpaidleave.org and click on Sign In in the top-right corner, which will route them to CT.gov. There, they will be prompted to create an account with a username, email and password. Once submitted, it will send a verification code to the email associated with the account. The code is used to sign into the newly-created account. After logging into the account, click Get Started on the home page of the CT Paid Leave website. On the next page, click Submit or View Claims. It will produce a pop-up box notifying users that to complete the claims process, they will be directed to Aflac, which is CT Paid Leaves claims partner. Click Continue to be directed to the Aflac site. It will then direct users to a personalized dashboard where pending claims will populate; if a claim has not yet been submitted, the dashboard will be empty. If this is a users first claim, they must first read and accept the terms of service. Once accepted, users will be prompted to fill in their personal information, which includes social security number, date of birth, mailing address and gender. Once submitted, users can begin using the portal. Click the Start a new case button to begin an application to receive leave benefits. Certification from a doctor may be required during the application process to help determine eligibility for leave benefits. The leave authority reviews applications once they are submitted and makes a decision on granting the leave benefits to the applicant. How long does it take to start receiving benefits? According to FAQs on the CT Paid Leave Authority website, approved applicants will generally receive benefits on a weekly basis, and funds will be paid each Tuesday two weeks after a week of leave is completed. The Authority provides an example of taking from Jan. 2 to Jan. 8; in this instance, the benefits will be paid on Jan. 18. Payments are made Electronic Funds Transfer or Stored Value Card (SV), according to the FAQ. Do I need to notify my employer before taking leave? According to the CT Paid Leave Authority, employees may notify their employer of their application for benefits verbally or in writing. Once claims are submitted to the Authority, employees will be provided with an employment verification form to give to their employer to fill out and submit to the Authoritys claims administrator. The Shelton Fire Department responded to the following calls this past week. At 10:15 a.m., the Huntington Co. No. 3 and the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 responded an engine to the 900 block of Bridgeport Avenue for an odor of gas in the building. At 11:35 a.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 and the Pine Rock Park Co. No. 4 responded with an engine and a rescue truck to a Coram Road address for an odor of natural gas in an abandoned house. At 10:32 p.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 and the Huntington Co. No. 3 responded with an engine and a rescue truck to a motor vehicle accident on Route 8 southbound at Exit 13. Tuesday, Dec. 28 At 12:32 a.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 and the White Hills Co. No. 5 responded to a report of a brush fire along the 900 block of Howe Avenue. At 12:04 p.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 and the Huntington Co. No. 3 responded with two engines to the Greystone Condos for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. At 12:43 p.m., the Pine Rock Park Co. No. 4 responded with an engine to a public service call, animal rescue, at a Fanny Street address. Wednesday, Dec. 29 At 10:09 a.m., the Huntington Co. No. 3 and the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 responded with an engine to an odor of propane in the building at Huntington Paint & Hardware, 1 Huntington Plaza. At 10:41 a.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 responded with a unit to a public service call at a Rivendell Drive address. At 3:17 p.m., the Huntington Co. No. 3 and the White Hills Co. No. 5 responded with an engine and a ladder truck toa fire alarm activated at the Huntington United Methodist Church, 338 Walnut Tree Hill Road. There was no fire. At 10:56 p.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 and the White Hills Co. No. 5 responded with an engine to the 600 block of Howe Avenue for an odor of gas in the building. Thursday, Dec. 30 At 2:36 a.m., the Echo hose H & L Co. No. 1 responded with an engine to a Lakeview Avenue address for a carbon monoxide alarm activation. At 1:34 p.m., the Huntington Co. No. 3, Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 and the White Hills Co. No. 5 responded with an engine and two ladder trucks to a fire alarm activated at 15 Progress Drive. There was no fire. At 7:40 p.m., the Huntington Fire Co. No. 3 and the White Hills Co. No. 5 responded with an engine to a Brentley Drive address for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. Friday, Dec. 31 At 8:43 p.m., the Huntington Co. No. 3 and the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 responded with an engine and a ladder truck to a fire alarm activated on the 800 block of Bridgeport Avenue. There was no fire. At 9:49 p.m., the Echo Hose H & L Co. No. 1 responded with a rescue truck to a motor vehicle accident on Bridge Street. Saturday, Jan. 1 At 10:58 p.m., the Huntington Co. No. 3 responded to a motor vehicle accident on Mill Street. Try out LudingtonDailyNews.com for only 99 per month for the first 3 months, $9.99 a month after. Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-Edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. The year of 2021 had a large emphasis on community gathering in the White Lake area. This year, we saw many of the mandates, brought in from the COVID-19 pandemic, lifted. An eagerness to reunite the community drove businesses and organizations to provide opportunities and events for connection. In 2021, many new businesses came to the White Lake community. We also experienced the loss of a few beloved establishments, like the Dive Restaurant and Taqueria Diaz. These restaurants were important to the locals who regularly visited and will be greatly missed by many. New ordinances and resolutions meant to grow the cities of Whitehall and Montague were passed. A climate emergency declaration was passed for both cities, and other environmental strides were made. This year has been crucial in growing the White Lake community and the collaborations between businesses, municipalities and organizations emphasized how close and supportive our small pocket of West Michigan is. The Arts Council of White Lake-Nuveen Center, the Playhouse on White Lake, the White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, the cities of Whitehall and Montague focused on providing opportunities to gather that were both safe and entertaining. The ACWL-Nuveen Center continued their free summer concert series, which hosted musical acts from all over West Michigan. In fact, live music filled every corner of White Lake in summer 2021, whether it was local favorites such as Tommy Foster, or out-of-towners life Seritas Black Rose. New businesses seemed to pop up left and right this year, and grand opening ceremonies seemed to happen one after another. This year, a new brewery was added to Dowling Street in Montague. Sawyers Brewing Company saw great success this year, and they quickly became an important part of the bar scene by providing events and live music. Culvers, Edible Delights, and Candy Beach made their way onto the White Lake menu. New places to shop came into the community, too: A Touch of Magick, Luna Floral & Design, and Tommys. This year, both the city of Whitehall and the city of Montague passed a climate emergency declaration with the guidance of the White Lake Climate Action Council. Whitehall also made a historical move by adding electric vehicle charging stations to the new and improved North Mears parking lot. The new North Mears parking lot was completed this year, providing a new gathering space complete with a fireplace. Not too long after this, the Whitehall city council approved a social drinking district that stretches to the lot. Construction started on the new splash pad that will be located in Goodrich Park. The city of Montague grew their farmers market and Artisan Village Market, and expanded the audience by hosting several events nearby. Many of the local events that occur in the White Lake area are made possible by the White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and local sponsors. The businesses in this community have shown their support by always offering something to these events. Mylans Waterfront Grille, North Grove, and San Marcos catered community events, providing delicious free food for all. The year of 2021 brought on many changes in our community. Goals were met in improving the tourist attractions in both Whitehall and Montague, which will bring more people to our unique area. Local lives were touched by the community support and closeness that was experienced this year. To him, the recognition for his work is something that pushes him to do better. Mumbai, Jan 6 (IANS) Filmmaker Faruk Kabir, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming project, 'Khuda Haafiz: Chapter II - Agni Pariksha', was recently invited by Egyptian TV channel AlHayah TV Network for a talk show. The director discussed his journey & process as a filmmaker on the show. Talking about the same, Faruk said, "As a filmmaker and storyteller, there's nothing that excites me more than being recognised for my work. I am grateful for the love that the audience has been showering on me across the globe." Faruk Kabir also met the Indian Ambassador in Cairo. For the unversed, the filmmaker shot crucial sequences of 'Khuda Haafiz: Chapter II - Agni Pariksha' in Egypt, earlier this month. The first instalment, 'Khuda Haafiz' of the franchise, starring Vidyut Jammwal and Shivaleeka Oberoi, turned out to be a hit in 2020 and its sequel is being touted as one of the most awaited releases of the year. --IANS aa/kr Reliance Industries Ltd has launched its mega bond sale abroad, as the firm is planning to raise $3-5 billion from offshore investors. The proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and part of it used for capital expenditure. There are various banks such as Barclays, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank working with the company to raise the money overseas. The bonds are of three tenors- 10, 30 and 40 years. Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company and private entity headquartered in Mumbai, India. RIL's diverse businesses include energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. The company's earlier announcement about transferring its gasification undertaking to a wholly owned subsidiary while re-evaluating the planned transfer of its O2C business to a separate unit will not have any impact on the credit profile, according to Moody's. The company's liquidity is further supported by its strong banking relationships and access to domestic and international capital markets. In November 2021, RIL received about Rs 26,600 crore in proceeds from the final call on its rights issue, which also improved its liquidity. The previous year was filled with a spectacular debut; it's no surprise that endings frequently appear on SiliconIndia's most-read stories list in 2021. Whatever else happened, the year 2021 was a record-breaking year for incredible new stories. Whether you vowed to read more this year or are simply looking for a new recommendation, our list of the best read stories of 2021 has you covered. So, what should I read next? This year brings a slew of new releases from some of our favourite writers, as well as stories from a diverse group of newcomers in just about every genre you can think of. The year 2021 was a great one for the cryptocurrency industry. From institutions getting involved with cryptocurrencies and raising millions of dollars to invest in the space to the thriving NFTs, the space is exploding. Bitcoin has seen a number of new all-time high prices, as well as increased institutional buy-in from some major corporations. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also recently reached a new all-time high. It's a hot topic not only between investors, but also in popular culture, thanks to everyone from long-term investors like Elon Musk to that kid from high school on Facebook. Our top articles from Silicon India includeseverything you need to know about cryptocurrency mining in India. Bitcoin, a digital currency administered by a single controller sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without mediators. Bitcoinsare designed as a reward for a method known as mining. They can be traded for other currencies, products, and services, but the real-world price of the coins is highly expansive. Billions of people around the world use cryptocurrencies, yet no country owns it or controls it. Cryptocurrency is also somewhat like the Internet. It is not owned or managed by a country or a bank. They are not issued by the country's central bank, in our case, the Reserve Bank Of India, as legal tender. Neither are they recognized by the Government as legal tender, nor are they regulated by the RBI. There are no laws that prohibit or allow trading in crypto. In that sense, cryptocurrency is like any other asset class such as gold, commodities, or real estate. People trade in gold without the Government creating a law for it. The same is the status of cryptocurrency at the moment. It isnt a legitimate currency in the conventional sense, which means that you cannot spend cryptocurrency to buy or sell anything in India. The currency of a country is legal tender upheld by a sovereign guarantee. In India, only the RBI can issue any currency. Reeturaj Kamal, a Gwalior-based entrepreneur, had an epiphany last year. He considered creating a local version of Urban Company, the app that allows you to book the services of electricians, cleaners, and plumbers. The rise of such no-code platforms has been aided by the pandemic and the need for businesses to quickly transition to remote operations. 2021 was the year Reeturaj Kamal, a Gwalior-based entrepreneur, had an epiphany last year. He considered creating a local version of Urban Company, the app that allows you to book the services of electricians, cleaners, andplumbers. The rise of such no-code platforms has been aided by the pandemic and the need for businesses to quickly transition to remote operations. Our writers from Siliconindia published a n article honoring theNew breed of No-Code Developers in India previous year as In today's tech epoch, buzzwords that are ruling the internet is low-code and no-code. First and foremost, a low-code and no-code principle is to speed the development and delivery of applications. Although they are not new happening, low-code has been around for over two decades. Nevertheless, with extensive digital transformation across industries, it is obtaining a pre-eminent status. While firms launch versatile digital applications, these low-code, no-code platforms have permitted them to swiftly develop solutions that meet right in with their practices and processes. Low-code and no-code modular methods let developers instantly create apps by helping them write code line by line. These approaches also enable business analysts, office administrators, small-business owners and others to build and test applications. Here people will build applications without any knowledge of traditional programming languages, machine code or the development work behind the platform's configurable elements. We're on the verge of a disruption as significant as last year's abrupt shift to remote work: the transition to hybrid work a hybrid model in which some employees return to the workplace while others endure working from home. We're on the verge of a disruption as significant as last year's abrupt shift to remote work: the transition to hybrid work a hybrid model in which some employees return to the workplace while others endure to work from home. At Silicon India ,we're seeing this, and our writers shared how we're evolving our own hybrid work strategy for the employees around the world. A Hybrid place is the most reliable way to work in current circumstances. Since worldwide going in and out of lockdowns many times in the past months, a regulation that consolidates remote work and office time balances individual worker's requirements with their talent to cooperate and be fruitful in a given phygital space is the future of work. A Hybrid workspace is a place of work that blends two working styles, and the term can be applied to incorporate numerous concepts. It may refer to sterile office environments and areas where a proportion of manufacture, repair, or retail. The workplace can have "hybrid" perspectives, including workplace personnel mixture, automation-manual boundaries, and physical office layout. Employees occasionally visit the office for collaboration and complete tasks mostly from home in a hybrid setup. The necessity for a flexible and resilient workplace amidst considerations of the third wave is also driven by employee mindsets. 2021 was the year we came around some historical moments to be remembered; on the occasion of his 102nd birthday, Vikram Sarabhai is remembered as the "Father of Indian Space Program." August 12 is a historic day because it marks the 102nd birthday of the famous physicist and astronomer known as the "Father of Indian Space Program." Vikram Sarabhai's. Our writers considered this historic moment remembering the past moments of Vikram Sarabhai August 12, a remarkable day in history that marks the 102nd birth anniversary of the famous physicist and astronomer who is popularly renowned as the 'father of Indian space program' Vikram Sarabhai. The brainbox to ignite space research in India and also the one to lead the country towards the development of Nuclear Power.Vikram was born into a most prestigious Sarabhai family - industrialists committed to India's independence movement. Having a prestigious background, Vikram attended Gujarat College, Ahmadabad, and continued his studies at the University of Cambridge, England, where he took up natural science. However, the 2nd world war brought him back toindia Landing in India, Vikram carried out research on cosmic rays under the guidance of physicist Sir ChandrasekharaVenkata Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Focusing on the economic situation and keeping up with the latest trends, organizations and even ordinary people have failed to notice the negative effects on the environment. We're rushing to catch up in our race. According to Silicon India sources, 2021 set a new record for CO2 emissions with 36.44 billion metric tonnes. Focusing on sustainability also adds a lot of benefits to businesses. Firstly, it builds a strong corporate identity for the company. Secondly, the product or service being eco-friendly attracts a lot of customers. Being socially responsible, the customer prefers to use the products or services from the sustainable makers who are equally socially responsible. Thus, eco-friendly products get more attention over the regular ones in themarket The global survey conducted by Nielson reveals that close to 81 percent that marks four in five customers, strongly believe that sustainable firms would enhance our atmosphere. Alongside, considering minimizing carbon emission also turns to be cost-effective as well as improve productivity. Prior to the pandemic, 2021 included travelling the world, being adventurous, escaping, celebrating, relaxing, and rejuvenating. However, the pandemic's lesson has taught the value of life and being alive. It was, without a doubt, the most agonising and disheartening process. As a result, the novel intention that travellers want to follow is very basic. That is having the essence of being alive and thanking the universe for bringing the fantasy world to a close in the real world. Our Writers have felt the importance of travelling and delivered you the adventurous yet relaxing places to plan your next trip The enthusiasm for the fresh mountain air always leads towards the trip and trek of Himalaya. Mostly for the spiritual awakening, travelers prefer to visit Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Uncertainty persists, and covid-19 has made the statement unclouded. The post-pandemic period is completely a silver lining of hope with the addition of wishes and desires to accomplish. Moreover, its a perfect patch to resume our travelogue. People always find that places, which are amidst mountains, forests or sea, provides spiritual vibes. So, the mother earth has gifted us several splendid such spots to soothe and calm ourselves. One of them is Bhutan: Land of The Thunder Dragon. Though, intentions behind the idea of travelling are very subjective affair. At the same time, it is very obvious to see the changes with time. But this new era has brought significant change and it seems to be a universal idea of travelogue. 2020 will be remembered as a pivotal year in defining India's mobility architecture. From the marquee Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail project to Hyperloop, India has taken advantage of its moment in the sun to announce major plans for next-generation transportation solutions. India launched eleven new products in the electric two-wheeler sector in the first three months of 2021. There is a chance that more products will be released. Even though Ola's mega factory is considering exports, the segment's revenue is driven by internal requests. The electric two-wheeler market has grown by more than seven times in the last six years, but this one is still small. We have observed the significance of electric vehicles over the year and brought you -: India has turned up its awareness in having electric vehicles, especially for the electric two-wheeler area. In March, Ola has announced to establish the worlds-largest electric two-wheeler factory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. The plan was declared by the founder of Ola Electric, BhavishAggarwal. Almost worldwide scale would have consumed revenue, as the Indian electric two-wheeler segment has been abounding with new companies and customary two-wheeler makers dispatching new items and putting resources into new limits. While drowning the condition of the Indian economy, the electric two-wheeler sector has been a hope of revival. Not to forget the Best yet to Come siliconIndia editorial panel has shared the final verdict and recommended some great reads for the slow days and weeks ahead. Rather than a definitive "best of" list, this is simply what we've enjoyed the previous year and hope you will as well. In order to secure consumer internet of things (IoT) devices, Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), under department of telecommunications, ministry of communications, has released a report Code of Practice for Securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT)" as a baseline necessity aligned with global standards and best practices. These guidelines, the ministry of communications said will assist in securing consumer IoT devices and ecosystem as well as managing vulnerabilities. This report is intended for use by IoT device manufacturers, Service providers/ system integrators and application developers etc. Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the fastest emerging technology across the globe, offering enormous beneficial opportunities for society, industry, and consumers. It is being used to create smart infrastructure in various verticals such as Power, Automotive, Safety & Surveillance, Remote Health Management, Agriculture, Smart Homes and Smart Cities etc, using connected devices. IoT is benefitted by recent advances in several technologies such as sensors, communication technologies (Cellular and non-cellular), AI/ ML, Cloud / Edge computing etc. As per the projections, there may be 26.4 billion IoT devices in service globally by 2026. Out of this approximately 20% will be on cellular technologies. Ratio of Consumer and Enterprise IoT devices may be 45% : 55%. As per the National Digital Communication Policy (NDCP) 2018 released by Department of Telecommunications (DoT), an eco-system is to be created for 5 billion connected devices by 2022. Therefore, it is likely to that around 60% of 5 billion i.e. 3 billion connected devices may exist in India by 2022. In view of the anticipated growth of IoT devices, it is important to ensure that the IoT end points comply to the safety and security standards and guidelines in order to protect the users and the networks that connect these IoT devices. The hacking of the devices/networks being used in daily life would harm companies, organisations, nations and more importantly people, therefore securing the IoT eco-system end-to-end i.e. from devices to the applications is very important. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! The brilliant, cosmopolitan Australian painter John Wardell Power, who joined Pariss avant-garde scene in the 1930s, was long ago consigned to obscurity. Abandoning a medical career for life as an artist, he studied under Modernist pioneer Fernand Leger and exhibited in Europe and the United States yet his achievements were ignored at home. Decades after his death in 1943, little has changed. No major art institution in the country has held a significant exhibition of his work. The first and only Power show outside the confines of his alma mater, Sydney University, was held at the National Library seven years ago. Curator Ann Stephen with a work from Light & Darkness. Credit:Brook Mitchell I think expatriates get lost from national histories, said Ann Stephen, senior curator at the university, which holds more than 1000 works by the artist and is presenting a Power double act at its gleaming new Chau Chak Wing Museum. He was working in a Cubist cum increasingly abstract form, which wouldve been anathema to what was going on in Australia, where the predominant mode of painting was landscape painting. But Power was also a man of immense inherited wealth who left a great legacy to the arts. On the death of his wife, Edith, in 1962, as directed in his will, the bulk of his estate was bequeathed to the university to bring the people of Australia in more direct touch with the latest art developments in other countries. Its estimated value at the time was 2 million, a princely sum that funded the establishment of the universitys fine arts department as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the JW Power Collection and the Ramingining Collection of Aboriginal Art. An alleged drug-dealing couple who once dubbed themselves the King & Queen of Darlinghurst have been charged with kidnapping and assault, after concerned neighbours called police about loud noises coming from a unit in Sydneys east. Mathew Bieganski, 38, and Belinda Stoleski, 40, were arrested at the scene after Kings Cross police officers went to an apartment complex on Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo, about 8.30pm on Tuesday. Belinda Stoleski and Mathew Bieganski. Credit:Facebook In a statement, NSW Police said the officers found a woman inside an apartment with injuries consistent with being assaulted. Court documents allege Mr Bieganski had armed himself with a large metal pole and Ms Stoleski had a serrated kitchen knife. The NSW government is preparing to announce a major reversal of COVID-19 restrictions by shutting nightclubs, banning singing and dancing in pubs, and pausing major events and some elective surgery in response to the states surging Omicron caseload. The changes were expected to be finalised on Friday after NSW recorded 70,000 coronavirus cases in two days and a significant increase in the number of hospitalised patients, government sources not authorised to speak publicly said on Thursday night. Premier Dominic Perrottet is on Friday expected to announce the return of restrictions for hospitality. Credit:Anna Kucera Venues would also be discouraged from allowing vertical consumption, or standing up while drinking at bars, under the proposed changes, the sources said. Major events would be risk-assessed by NSW Health and postponed where necessary. Restrictions will be branded as minor safety measures that will allow the state to continue to live with COVID and manage the pandemic in a measured and considered way. The death toll continues to climb for the besieged Hamzy crime family after a third senior member fell victim to gangland tensions that have escalated on Sydneys streets since late 2020. Ghassan Amoun, brother of notorious Brothers for Life founder Bassam Hamzy, was shot dead in a daylight attack in South Wentworthville on Thursday afternoon, triggering renewed police focus on a violent underworld feud linked to a series of shootings and assaults. Police at the scene of the killing of Ghassan Amoun in South Wentworthville on Thursday. Credit:Brook Mitchell Police, including detectives from the homicide squad and criminal groups squad, are investigating after Amoun, 35, was shot multiple times on Rawson Road at the intersection of the Great Western Highway about 12.45pm. He had just left the Laser Lady beauty clinic on the highway, where he had an appointment days after being released from a short prison sentence he served for breaching a court order controlling his activities. Elective surgeries will be pulled back to make room for a flood of COVID-19 patients and hospital staff will be reallocated to prepare for what the Chief Health Officer is calling a major emergency to come. John Gerrard, the man overseeing the state response to the pandemic, warned Queenslands health system would be hit in two to three weeks. Almost 300 COVID-19 patients were now in Queensland hospitals, he said, a number increasing steadily. Just to emphasise, the majority of people will have very mild illness. Rome: Deciding not to have children and lavishing affection instead on pets is selfish, according to Pope Francis. At his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, the Pope lamented the fact that some married couples opt to remain childless but transfer their love to cats, dogs and other animals. This is not the first time Pope Francis has taken a swipe at pet ownership. Credit:LOsservatore Romano/AP Today... we see a form of selfishness. We see that some people do not want to have a child, the Argentinian pontiff said during the audience. Sometimes they have one, and thats it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children. This may make people laugh but it is a reality. The Dutch naval vessel HNLMS Holland, in close collaboration with the US Coast Guard and the Caribbean Coast Guard, has contributed to the interception of 4735 kg of cocaine during 5 different actions. In addition, HNLMS Holland took on the coordination and direction of the participating units for the first time. Last month, the naval vessel was also involved in 3 drug seizures. A so-called go-fast was intercepted in the morning of Thursday 25 November. The fast smuggling boat was picked up by the sensors on board HNLMS Holland near a well-known smuggling route. The station ship then gave chase and launched its FRISC interceptors. As soon as the people on the go-fast realized that they were being followed, they started to put the packages of drugs overboard. The go-fast has been forced to stop with warning shots. About 200 kg of drugs were found on board and another 1000 kg were recovered from the water. This brings the total to 1200 kg. The four people on board have been detained by the US Coast Guard. A few days later it happened again. While on patrol on Nov. 28, a Dash-8 coastguard plane spotted a suspicious vessel. He passed on the position to HNLMS Holland, whereupon the ship deployed its FRISCs and NH-90 helicopter and directed one of the US Coast Guard cutters to contact. By the time the American ship arrived, the NH90 helicopter and the FRISCs had stopped the go-fast with warning shots. An American coast guard team seized 1,855 kg of cocaine and detained 3 suspected smugglers on board. On December 3, an American patrol plane discovered a fast-moving go-fast, whereupon one of the US Coast Guard cutters is ordered to intercept it. During the interception, four suspects were detained and 1000 kg of cocaine was seized. A few days later, another patrol plane spotted a go-fast smuggling boat. The NH90 helicopter and FRISC boats were able to intercept the drug boat after HNLMS Holland had chased the go fast for some time. The US Coast Guard team aboard the FRISCs found 570 kg of cocaine and detained three suspects. On Monday, December 13, just out of sight of HNLMS Holland discovered a go-fast by a patrol plane. Within a short time, the onboard helicopter and both FRISCs were launched to intercept the go-fast. This time, however, the craft refused to stop and after the firing of warning shots, the outboard motors were eventually disabled from the helicopter. Three people on board were detained and 110 kg contraband was seized and handed over to the United States Coast Guard. A total of 4,735 kg of cocaine was intercepted and 17 suspects were detained. The drugs and suspects have been turned over to the US Coast Guard and are being extradited ashore for prosecution. PHILIPSBURG:---The House of Parliament will sit in an urgent Public meeting on Thursday, January 6, 2022. The Public meeting is scheduled for 10.00 hrs. and will be held in a virtual setting. The agenda point is: Letter from the Attorney General Mr. A.C. Maan Due to measures taken to mitigate the coronavirus (COVID-19), the House of Parliament is only allowing persons with an appointment to enter the Parliament building. The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 115, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, and www.pearlfmradio.sx ~ Memorial Service held by friends at Mullet Bay.~ PHILIPSBURG:--- The son of former Minister of Finance Perry Geerlings committed suicide. The body of Raoul Van Maartian was found early Wednesday morning hanging from a tree in Mullet Bay. Photos of the graphic scene are currently being circulated on social media while the grieving parents are currently in their home country Suriname. Several friends of the late Raoul described him as one of the best DJs in St. Maarten, they said he loved music and started working from a young age. On Wednesday evening several persons gathered in Mullet Bay and held a memorial for the deceased young man. In a press release, KPSM said they were called early Wednesday morning to rule out foul play. Police Spokesman Joe Josepha said that the police were called around 3 am on Wednesday by the Coast Guard when the body was found in Mullet Bay. PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Health and Labor Omar Ottley issued a call to all residents on St. Maarten on Wednesday to act responsibly with the increased spread of the COVID-19. The Minister said that while the number of active cases has increased drastically these past few days, he is sure the number is much higher but has not been recorded. Ottley said that there are persons with flu-like symptoms that did their own self-testing and received a positive result have been mingling with others and even going to work and are spreading the virus much more. These are the same persons that are spreading the virus are blaming him and CPS while they are blatantly spreading the virus. This is not acceptable. The Minister also responsible for labor affairs said that a decision was taken to scale back business hours to 1 am. This decision he said was taken based on the number of persons that are hospitalized. The Minister of Health said many persons are calling on the Government to shut down while St. Maarten will not be getting any more liquidity support from the Netherlands for the first quarter of 2022. Ottley explained that there will be no more SSRP or food voucher program for now and it is important to keep the economy alive so that people can survive the pandemic. The Minister made clear that he is certain everyone on St. Maarten knows exactly what they have to do in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It's been over two years since the world is dealing with the pandemic and it takes everyone to cooperate and stop the spread. Anna May Martin, 79, of Waynesburg, passed away Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital Jean Waddle Care Center. Private Services will be held. Morris & Hislope Funeral Home is honored to assist the family with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the Submitted Louisville Gas and Electric gave $1,000 to start a training program for inmates at Laurel County Correctional Center for forklift drivers. Coordinating the program with Somerset Community College, the 8-hour program will allow non-violent inmates to participate and be certified once released from jail. Pictured here for the presentation are Travis McQueen, with SCC's Laurel campus; Paula Thompson, executive director of London-Laurel County Economic Development Authority; Roxann Fry with Louisville Gas & Electric, part of the Kentucky Utilities cooperative; Dr. Carey Castle, President of Somerset Community College; and Cindy Clouse, Vice President of Advancement with Somerset Community College. The Vitamin That Reduces COVID Risk The vitamin plays a double role in relation to the novel COVID-19 virus. Vitamin D may help to reduce the risk of COVID-19. Vitamin D plays two different roles; one in boosting the innate immune systems and the second in stopping the immune system from becoming abnormally active, a study suggest. The innate immune systems are immediate and nonspecific defence responses that our body produces to fight against any pathogen, such as the coronavirus. The worldwide data from the coronavirus pandemic shows a strong relationship between death rates and vitamin D deficiency. Researchers analysed data from different hospitals across the U.S, France, Iran, Italy, China, Germany, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, and the UK. They found that COVID-19 patients in countries like Spain, the UK, and Italy with highest numbers of death were vitamin D deficient in contrast to countries with lower death rates. However, people should be cautious about taking vitamin D supplements if they dont know if they are deficient. Professor Vadim Backman, the studys lead author, said: While I think it is important for people to know that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in mortality, we dont need to push vitamin D on everybody. This needs further study, and I hope our work will stimulate interest in this area. The data also may illuminate the mechanism of mortality, which, if proven, could lead to new therapeutic targets. Many consider that age distributions, healthcare quality, testing rates, and different strains of COVID-19 could be the reasons for the higher death rates in some countries. But Professor Backman and his team were unconvinced: None of these factors appears to play a significant role. The healthcare system in northern Italy is one of the best in the world. Differences in mortality exist even if one looks across the same age group. And, while the restrictions on testing do indeed vary, the disparities in mortality still exist even when we looked at countries or populations for which similar testing rates apply. Instead, we saw a significant correlation with vitamin D deficiency. They found a strong link between cytokine storm and vitamin D levels. Cytokine storm syndromes (CSS) is an overreaction of the immune system which can be deadly, as seen in COVID-19 patients. They also noticed a link between vitamin D deficiency and fatality. Dr Ali Daneshkhah, the studys first author, said: Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients. This is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. It is the complications from the misdirected fire from the immune system. Vitamin D not only increases the innate immune responses but also calms the immune system down. This is why the correct amounts of vitamin D in patients could save them from death and also serious complications from COVID-19 disease. Professor Backman said: Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half. It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus, but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected. This might explain why children are at lower risk as the adaptive immune system has not fully developed in them. The adaptive or acquired immune systems are the second line of bodily defence which usually reacts too strongly. Professor Backman said: Children primarily rely on their innate immune system. This may explain why their mortality rate is lower. However, an effective dosage of vitamin D supplementation to support patients against possible complications from COVID-19 has not been established yet. Professor Backman said: It is hard to say which dose is most beneficial for COVID-19. However, it is clear that vitamin D deficiency is harmful, and it can be easily addressed with appropriate supplementation. This might be another key to helping protect vulnerable populations, such as African-American and elderly patients, who have a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. The study was published in the journal MEDRXIV (Daneshkhah et al., 2020). 3 1 of 3 Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Adriana Morga Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Three Kings Day, which marks the day in the Christian religion that the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus, is today. This holiday, also known as Epiphany, is usually celebrated by gifting children presents and eating Rosca de Reyes, also known as Roscon de Reyes in Spain or King's Cake. The holiday is celebrated 12 days after Christmas that period represents the time three kings followed a star in the East to find baby Jesus, according to the Bibles Book of Matthew. Since the three kings (Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) visited Jesus and brought him gifts, parents give gifts to their children during the holiday. Three Kings Day is mainly celebrated in Europe and Latin America. File photo / Hearst Connecticut Media / WINSTED The Gilbert School will be closed Thursday and Friday due to staff shortages and illness, according to a school official. Greg Shugrue, the head of school, said the closure is due to staff shortages and the inability to cover classes due to illness in a message to parents Wednesday. The vast majority of vaccinated patients with COVID infections in Connecticut hospitals have not been boosted, health officials say. Hartford HealthCare said Thursday there were 466 COVID patients in its entire health system, a number which exceeds the 2020 peak. But of those patients, only seven have had boosters. Of those seven patients, only two had received a third vaccine dose more than two weeks before getting admitted. We continue to see even more efficacy with individuals having boosters, said Keith Grant, HHCs senior system director for infection prevention. The percentage of vaccinated COVID patients in Connecticut hospitals has increased dramatically since the omicron variant began spreading across the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines someone as being fully vaccinated after at least two weeks have elapsed since they received two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Remember, the CDC definition for boosted is different from the clinical definition of boosted, said Hartford HealthCares chief epidemiologist Dr. Ulysses Wu. The clinical definition of boosted does include a booster within the last two to four weeks. The CDC considers fully vaccinated as still having completed the primary series irregardless of the booster. By the CDCs definition, 78.3 percent of all COVID patients in Connecticut on Dec. 2 were not fully vaccinated. On Jan. 6, that percentage had dropped to 68 percent, according to state data. On Thursday, the state reported that 1,784 patients are hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Of those, 1,213 are not fully vaccinated, the data showed. The vast majority of those are unboosted, said Scott Roberts, associate director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Hospital. The vaccine efficacy, even with boosting, doesn't hit 100 percent. Patients who have had a third vaccine dose sometimes get admitted, Roberts said, but almost all those patients are not having severe enough COVID to be on a ventilator or dying from COVID. If they do get admitted, they'll need a very tiny amount of oxygen or just monitoring, Roberts said. Though the number of younger people in hospitals with a COVID infection has increased vaccine providers Thursday began administering third shots to patients 12 to 15 years old Grant said the majority of vaccinated COVID patients are 60 and older. As of Wednesday, 1,070,760 additional vaccine doses counting both third doses for immunocompromised patients and boosters have been administered in Connecticut, according to CDC data. The majority of those, all but 10,152, have been administered to patients 18 and older, which may account for the increased number of pediatric patients, Roberts said. My guess is that a lot of that is reflecting the burden of COVID in the community in an unvaccinated population, Roberts said. He said many of those patients who are both boosted and require hospitalization are immunocompromised. There are subsets of patients, definitely the vast minority, who are boosted but come in for COVID, he said. The only time we see that is when there's a reason for it. Somebody who's had an organ transplant recently and is on immunosuppressive medications and can't mount an appropriate immune response to a vaccine. Even though vaccinated patients are being admitted in greater numbers, Grant said Thursday the majority of those do not need to be in intensive care units. The breakdown gets more interesting when you look at critical care, he said. We have a very small percentage, I think 3 percent of our patients that are COVID positive in critical care that are vaccinated as well. Theres a subset of patients, Roberts said, found to be COVID positive on admission without clear symptoms suggestive of COVID. They broke their arm and they're coming in, and they're found to be COVID positive, but they don't have symptoms. That, he said, represents how infectious the omicron variant is. Essentially, there are so many people testing positive for COVID that its bound to cause an increase in hospitalizations. When you have state records being set every day, even a tiny bump in people who do need hospitalizations for COVID, impacts our health care system, Roberts said. So we're seeing our hospitalizations increase by the day. Tongling, a city in east Chinas Anhui province, was awarded the title of Chinas leading smart city in 2021 at the annual Asia-Pacific Smart City Development Forum, held in south Chinas Shenzhen on Dec 28. The city was honored for its exploration and innovation in the development of a new-type smart city. It has won the honor for three consecutive years at the forum co-sponsored by the National Information Center and International Data (Asia) Group. The forum explored the current situation and future development trend of global smart city development, and shared effective practices. Tongling displayed its "urban super brain" program in the public exhibition area for smart city achievements at the forum. In recent years, the city has focused on the digital transformation of all urban factors, developed digital economy, built digital government, enriched digital life, improved digital governance, and promoted digital integration. The city has also transformed and upgraded industrial brain and built a platform for "urban super brain" as part of its effort to modernize governance systems and governance capacity. 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According to CNCAV, since the start of the anti-COVID vaccination campaign, on December 27, 2020, there have been 15,976,516 vaccine doses administered for 7,973,114 people, 7,862,867 receiving the full scheme and 2,085,544 being immunized with the third dose. In the last 24 hours there have been 6 adverse reactions recorded, one local type and 5 general type. In total, since the start of the vaccination campaign, there have been 19,749 adverse reactions recorded in anti-COVID vaccines, 2,155 local type and 17,594 general type. Liberal deputy Alexandru Muraru was appointed at the latest government meeting as representative of the Romanian Government on the Board of governmental representatives of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) project. "The government remains unwaveringly committed to combating anti-Semitism, both nationally and internationally, including through the implementation of the measures under the EHRI project. As the government's special representative for promoting memory policies, combating anti-Semitism and xenophobia, I will continue to pay special attention to these aspects and particularly to the need to ensure coordination among the institutions and structures specializing in Holocaust education and memory, as well as in the fight of anti-Semitism," Alexandru Muraru said in a statement issued on Thursday. According to the cited document, EHRI's mission is trans-national Holocaust research, commemoration and education. The EHRI Preparatory Phase (EHRI-PP) running between 2019 and 2022 has the specific task to transform EHRI from a project into a permanent organization that will help secure the future of Holocaust research, commemoration, and education. EHRI has been added to the Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in 2018. Currently, the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure project has 15 partners from 13 countries and is coordinated by the Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD); Romania has been a partner since 2017, through the "Elie Wiesel" National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania. Arrivals registered in the tourist reception structures increased in the first 11 months of 2021 by 45.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, to 8.697 million, with the arrivals of Romanian tourists representing 91%, and 9% foreigners, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) informs, Agerpres reports. Regarding the arrivals of foreign tourists in the tourist reception structures, the largest share was held by those arriving from Europe (78.5% of the total foreign tourists), and of these, a percentage of 77.1% came from EU countries.The index of net use of tourist accommodation in the first 11 months of last year was 27.1% of total tourist accommodation structures, increasing by 3.3 percentage points compared to the same period of the previous year.The arrivals of foreign visitors to Romania, registered at the border points, were between January 1 and November 30, 2021 of 6.242 million people, increasing by 31.7% compared to the similar period of the previous year.The departures of Romanian visitors abroad, registered at the border points, were in the mentioned period of 10.820 million people, increasing by 19.4% compared to the similar period of 2020.In November 2021, the number of arrivals registered in the tourist reception structures was 539,100, increasing by 59.2% compared to the same month of 2020, with foreign tourists representing 12.5%.As to the arrivals of foreign tourists in the tourist reception structures, the largest share was held by those from Europe (75.1% of the total foreign tourists), and of these 73.4% arrived from European Union countries.The arrivals of foreign visitors in Romania, registered at the border checkpoints, in November 2021 stood at 497,200 persons, increasing by 78.7% compared to the similar period of the previous year.The departures of Romanian visitors abroad, registered at the border checkpoints, in November 2021 amounted to 917,000 people, increasing by 92.7% compared to November 2020. The two Romanian crews that are participating in the auto category of the Dakar Rally 2022 have finished on the 64th and 65th place during the 5th event that took place on Thursday, around the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riad. The crew formed of Mihai Ban / Stefan Catalin Ion - Cheloo occupied 64th place, being registered on the 346 km of special stage, timed at 7 h 06 min 22 sec, arriving at 3 h 12 min 54 seconds away from the winner, South-African Henk Lategan. The crew Iacob Ilie Buhai Hotea / Tudor Turdean placed 65, at 3 h 13 min 22 sec away from the winner. In the general ranking, both teams have progressed. Thus, the team Ban / Ion has gone up to the 61st place, being 30 h 29 min 33 sec away from the leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, and Buhai / Turdean is on 63, at 36 h 30 min 28 sec. The 6th event, which will take place on Friday, will again take part around Riad and will have a length of 562 km, of which 348 will be timed. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu will take part on Friday in the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, which will take place through video-conference, the debates being about the security situation in the Eastern Vicinity and the Black Sea generated by the massive deployment of Russian troops in the proximity of Ukraine and its implications for the Euro-Atlantic stability, as a whole, MAE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) informed. According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, Aurescu will refer to the "necessity of continuing efforts for strengthening the allied posture of determent and defence in a coherent and comprehensive way throughout the entire Eastern Flank, including and especially in the Black Sea region, in the context of the current security evolutions in the Eastern Vicinity of the Alliance". The head of the Romanian diplomacy will also highlight the importance of consolidating trans-Atlantic relations and increasing allied cohesion, as well as deepening cooperation with Eastern allies. Furthermore, the Romanian minister will reiterate our country's support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized frontiers. The ministerial reunion was summoned by the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg and will precede meetings in the NATO - Ukraine Committee on January 11 and NATO-Russia Council on January 12, which will take place in Brussels, the objective being to adequately prepare for them". Energy Minister Virgil Popescu told today the trade unionists of aluminum producer Alro Slatina that he will support the resumption of the plant's activity, Agerpres reports. "Alro Slatina will have my support! I met today with the leaders of the Alro trade union, the Aluminum Processing Trade Union and the Alroproduct Trade Union, to let them know that I will support the resumption of production," Virgil Popescu wrote on Facebook."At the end of the year, together with my colleagues in the government, I changed the legislative framework regarding the possibility of concluding bilateral stock exchange and over-the-counter contracts. More than that, state-owned producer companies are required to sell at least 40 percent of their production outside the day-ahead, intra-day and balancing markets so that there will be energy to supply industrial consumers. In addition, we will ensure long-term price predictability. We leave no one behind," Virgil Popescu added.The SC Alro SA unions announced protests for today in front of the Slatina Prefecture Office over the situation caused by the rise in energy and gas prices."We are calling again on decision-makers to heed the fact that once production processes are even partially shut down, reopening the activity is extremely costly. Therefore, if solutions are not found quickly to continue the activity, the lost jobs are highly likely to be lost for good, with all the consequences arising from this: poverty and unemployment, loss of skills, chain economic effects in the region," said president of the "Cartel ALFA" National Trade Union Confederation Bogdan Hossu, as cited in release.Cartel ALFA representatives said that they support these protest actions "in an effort to preserve jobs and all the rights of the SC Alro SA employees."In a statement sent last year to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, Alro announced that it will scale down its primary aluminum production in 2022, due to the situation on the energy and gas markets, but will implement technological measures to allow a quick and efficient restart when the conditions in the energy sector return to normal. The Finance Ministry raised, on Thursday, 710 million RON from banks, through two benchmark-type state bond issues, with a residual maturity at 172 months, and 91 months, respectively, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR). Thus, the Finance Ministry drew 200 million RON, through an issue coming to term on April 28, 2036, at an average yield of 5.62 pct per year. The nominal value of the issue was 200 million RON, and banks subscribed 316.5 million RON. Another 510 million RON were drawn following the auction for a bond issue coming to term on July 25, 2029, at an average yield of 5.30 pct per year. The value of the issue was 500 million RON, and the participating banks have subscribed 724 million RON. The Finance Ministry has planned to borrow 4.4 billion RON off commercial banks in January 2022, of which 300 million RON through a discounted treasury bond issue and 4.1 billion RON through ten state bond issues. To these the sum of 615 million RON can be added through additional sessions of non-competitive bids, related to bond auctions. The total sum, 5.015 billion RON, is by 1.595 billion RON higher than the 3.42 billion RON programmed for December 2021, and will be aimed at refinancing the public debt and the national budget deficit. On Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis signed the decrees decorating the founding members of the ConTempo Quartet, the Honorary Consul of Romania in the Republic of Cyprus, Klitou Marios, and priest Matei Petre. According to the Presidential Administration, "in appreciation of the dedication and interpretive talent placed in the service of art, for the artistic mastery and the special place they have in the cultural-artistic life of the country, for the talent, dedication and professionalism that led to the enrichment of culture and of universal spirituality, promoting Romania's image in Ireland", the president conferred the "Cultural Merit" order in the rank of Knight, Category D - "Performing Arts", to the founding members of the ConTempo Quartet: Andreea Banciu - violinist, Adrian Mantu - cellist, Ingrid Nicola - violinist, Bogdan Sofei - violinist. At the same time, "as a sign of appreciation for the special contribution made to the development of the Romanian-Cypriot economic, political and cultural relations, for the involvement in the development of several social projects and for the conservation of the Romanian cultural heritage", President Iohannis conferred the Faithful Service National Order in the rank of Knight to Marios Klitou, Honorary Consul of Romania in the Republic of Cyprus. "As a sign of appreciation for the important contribution to the consolidation of national spirituality and culture in the Republic of Cyprus, for the dedication with which he was involved in preserving the identity of Romanian communities abroad", the head of state conferred the "Cultural Merit" Order in the rank of Knight, Category G - "Cults", to the the Archpriest-Stavrophore Dr. Matei Petre - Romanian Orthodox Community of Nicosia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informs that the staff of the Romanian Embassy in Nur-Sultan is safe, and the Romanian diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan is in contact with the approximately 100 Romanian citizens in this country, who are mainly specialists and experts employed by private companies. So far, only two requests for information on airlines flight schedule have been received, according to an MAE release sent to AGERPRES.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Romanian Embassy in Nur-Sultan, is ready to provide consular assistance according to existing requests.Romanian citizens who are facing an emergency situation have at their disposal the permanent telephone number of the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Kazakhstan: +77771926464.In this context, the Romanian Ministry states that it has been following closely, since their start, the recent developments in the Republic of Kazakhstan, where in recent days there have been mass movements, accompanied by violence, amid socio-economic demands, with the state of emergency having been introduced throughout the country.In line with the European Union's position on these developments, the MAE emphasizes the importance of a peaceful settlement and inclusive dialogue on the situation in Kazakhstan. The MAE also calls for the avoidance of violence and incitement to violence. The minelayer and net layer "Vice admiral Constantin Balescu" (274) is returning from the Mediterranean Sea on January 9, at the Constanta military port, after taking part in the EUNAVFOR Med "IRINI" European Union Operation, the Romanian Navy General Staff (SMFN) informed on Thursday. The Romanian military vessel left the country on September 23, and during the period of October 1 - December 31, was integrated in the permanent naval group of the EU in the Mediterranean. It carried out missions of ensuring the weapons embargo for Libya is kept by the UN and countering illicit traffic of oil products, drugs and people, by monitoring maritime activity and by executing inspections of suspicious vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. "Throughout the three months participation in the "IRINI" Operation, the minelayer and net layer 274 traveled 10,000 nautical miles, in 1,200 hours of marching, interrogated over 230 commercial vessels that were crossing the responsibility area, executed 25 IMINT (Imagery Intelligence - analyzing cargo through photos) type actions, and for 10 of these there were visits for promoting the values of the European Union and raising awareness of the importance of maritime regional security", according to the press release sent by SMFN. According to the quoted source, the participation of the Romanian Naval Forces to the EUNAVFOR MED "IRINI" Operation contributes to completing the objectives of the Joint Security and Defence Policy (PSAC) of the European Union, as well as improving the security situation in the Mediterranean Sea. This being the second military vessel of our country that is taking part in an EU operation, the first participation being recorded 10 years ago, in 2012, with the participation of the "Regele Ferdinand" frigate to the "Atalanta" EU fight operation against naval piracy in the Indian Ocean (Aden Gold and Somali Basin). Commanded by captain-commander Daniel Gheorma, the Romanian military vessel has fulfilled, for its second consecutive year, a mission of major interest of the Romanian Naval Forces. During the period of January - Jun 2020, the "Vice admiral Constantin Balescu" minelayer ensured the command of the NATO permanent naval fighting group against SNMCMG-2 mines (Standing NATO Maritime Counter Measures Group Two), with whom it executed specific missions in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, being longest fighting mission executed by a Romanian military vessel in a naval theater of operations. The presence of Romanian military navy in the missions carried out by the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union in the maritime theaters of operations proves the fact that the Romanian Naval Forces are a dynamic and flexible structure, a trustworthy partner for allies and an active player in implementing collective defence policy. The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR), Daniel, urged, on Thursday, Orthodox believers present on the Metropolitan Hill at the Great Blessing of the Waters service to think on this day of the baptism of the Romanian people, Agerpres reports. "It's good to think on this day also of the baptism of the Romanian people, because we were not baptized at the order of a popular leader - knyaz or king - as happened with our neighbors, but we were baptized when we were forming as a new people; a slow and profound baptism, to withstand against all the migratory peoples that came later. That is why we believe that it's good to think each year on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord also of the baptism of the Romanian people, which started with the preaching of the gospel and the conversions made by Holy Apostle Andrew, who is painted here, on the frontispiece of the Patriarchal Palace," said the Patriarch.His Beatitude Daniel explained that the water blessed on the eve of the Baptism of the Lord and on the day of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, also called 'Agheasma mare' [e.n. - holy water blessed on the eve or during the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the Greater Blessing of the Waters], has a host of spiritual gifts, being "blessed in a richer service and more intense prayer," unlike 'Agheasma mica' [e.n. - holy water blessed during lesser ceremonies in the Lesser Blessing of the Waters]. The Patriarch officiated the Great Blessing of the waters together with the patriarchal vicar bishop Varlaam Ploiesteanul. The waters were blessed in a unique silver vessel, on the veranda of the Patriarchal Residence. The Patriarch then advanced through the numerous believers present at the service on the Metropolitan Hill, blessing for several minutes around the Patriarchal Cathedral and then returning to the veranda of his residence. Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers are celebrating, on Thursday, the Baptism of the Lord, liturgical events being organized with observance of the health norms imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Baptism of the Lord marks the final day in the cycle of winter holidays, dedicated to the purifying of the environment, especially through the Blessing of the Waters. The celebration recalls the Baptism of the Lord in the waters of Jordan at the age of 30. According to tradition, the Baptism of the Lord is also the occasion for the service of the Great Blessing of the Waters, which has the symbolic significance of cosmic regeneration. The celebration of the Baptism of the Lord precedes the day on which the Orthodox Church celebrates the Synaxis of the Forerunner honoring St. John the Baptist (known in some traditions also as John the Forerunner of God). On Thursday, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca had a dialogue with the leaders of the Romanian trade unions and federations, attended by Minister of Education Sorin Cimpeanu, Minister of Health Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Finance Adrian Caciu, and Minister of Labor Marius Budai, Agerpres reports. According to a government press release, the talks, which took place in hybrid format, focused on measures to prevent and combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, working conditions and pay."During the meeting, the participants analysed the effectiveness of measures aimed at protecting the population, designed to ensure the continuity of public services, the carrying out of business and the functioning of the education system. The topics covered included the prevention measures, population testing, facial mask wearing, vaccination, outpatient care, access to treatment, the economic context, the safety of medical staff and the recovery of those affected by COVID-19. The need for a coherent, consistent and predictable approach, including dialogue with the social partners, has been highlighted. Vaccination has been cited as the most effective solution recommended by experts, limiting the progression to a serious situation and hospitalization," says the Executive.The government announces that regular meetings will be organized so as to continue the dialogue on identifying the most appropriate measures to manage the situation generated by the pandemic, but also to solve the requests of the social partners."The salary demands and working conditions will be discussed and analysed within the framework of the social dialogue with the representatives of the employees in Health, Education, Public Order and other categories of employees from the public system," the Government also states. Immunization against COVID-19 for children with ages between 5 and 11 will start in Romania after receiving the necessary vaccine doses, which could take place during the second half of January", the RoVaccinare platform informs on Thursday. "Vaccinating children with ages between 5 and 11 will start in Romania after receiving the necessary doses. We are estimating to receive these doses during the second half of this month", the quoted source specifies, on its Facebook page. According to RoVaccinare, the scheduling platform was updated by The Special Telecommunications Service (STS), and children could be scheduled, with ages between 5 and 11, after the vaccine will be available in Romania. Immunization can be done in both vaccination centers, as well as in the office of their family physician. According to the RoVaccinare platform, children between 5 and 11 will receive the Comirnaty (Pfizer) dose, which is smaller than the one used for persons over 12 years (10 micrograms as opposed to 30 micrograms), but just like in the case of the other age categories, the vaccine is administered intramuscular, at a 21 day interval. "The risk of myocarditis in children with ages between 5 and 11 is extremely low, being much lower than the one observed in the 12-17 age category. Only 12 cases of myocarditis were registered at 8.7 million doses administered in the USA for this age category. For boys, after the first dose, after the first dose there were no cases registered, and after the second dose 4.3 cases in a million were registered, the basal rate of myocarditis among the unvaccinated population being 0.2 - 1.9 cases in a million people at a 7 days interval", the same source shows. About 400 trade unionists from aluminium smelter Alro Slatina and other companies in Slatina and throughout the country staged today a protest in front of the Olt County Prefecture pressing for the "salvage of the Romanian industry", badly hit by the energy and gas crisis. The protesters also called for the rooting out of the mafia-style influence in the energy sector, pointing out that the rising energy fees hurt both large industrial and household consumers. The union members said that at a meeting during the day with Energy Minister Virgil Popescu they asked the government to implement measures to ensure the long-term predictability of the energy prices for industrial consumers. "It was an official meeting with three unions, the Alro Trade Union, the Aluminum Processing Trade Union and the Alro Product Trade Union. The Minister told us that the legal framework allowing large energy consumers to directly conclude contracts with Romanian energy producers - which is what we are asking for - was published in the Official Journal in December. We learned about that just today. The producer is required to sell at least 40 percent of the production to the big industrial consumers. Now it's for the company management to discuss with the producer, we, the trade unions are not competent for this. Minister Virgil Popescu also said that he arranged the direct conclusion of contracts with suppliers in Serbia and Bulgaria, in the spirit of the law," said one of the Alro union leaders, Ioan Popa. Trade unionists from the Galati steel plant and TMK Slatina and Resita, as well as representatives of Cartel Alfa affiliated unions also participated in the protest rally, with one of the major complaints envisaging the problems on the natural gas market that affect large consumers, such as fertilizer maker Azomures. "Other large energy consuming companies in Romania encounter the same problems as you, and if you have issues today, the other companies may come against the same problems tomorrow. The energy price doesn't affect just you, there are companies that have shut down and sent their employees home," said Metarom representative Danut Onica. Prefect Florin Homorean and Deputy Prefect Cosmin Floreanu went among the protesters, assuring them that their problems have been brought to the attention of the government which is looking to identify legal solutions to support the Romanian economic environment amid the energy crisis. The Prefect also mentioned that in October last year Alro Slatina received a state aid of RON 293 million for the energy consumed in 2020 and 2021. Building the underground line no. 6 shows the good progress of economic relations between Romania and Japan, Sorin Grindeanu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, said on Facebook, on Thursday, at the end of his meeting with Japanese ambassador to Bucharest Hiroshi Ueda, Agerpres reports. "I met this morning at the Ministry of Transport with His Excellency, the Ambassador of Japan in Bucharest, Hiroshi Ueda. We discussed bilateral cooperation relations in the field of transport and focused on projects of strategic importance. (...) Another important project for the relationship between Romania and Japan is the construction of the underground line no. 6, which connects Bucharest with the Henri Coanda International Airport. We appreciated that this project shows the smooth running of our economic relations," said Sorin GrindeanuThe Minister of Transport reminded that the bridge over the Danube from Braila is another project in which Japanese specialists are involved."The suspension bridge over the Danube in the Braila area is also a project that involves a Italian-Japanese consortium, Astaldi (Italy) - IHI Infrastructure System (Japan), " Sorin Grindeanu said.At the same time, the Minister of Transport mentioned that another topic of discussion between him and the Ambassador of Japan was the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan)."We also talked about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the opportunities it offers. Japan is one of Romania's main economic partners in the Asia Pacific area and is the first Asian investor in our country. Romania and Japan have traditional relations based on shared values and on the convergence of our interests in international matters. Today we also highlighted the fact that the Romanian-Japanese diplomatic relations have already reached 100 years," concluded Sorin Grindeanu. LONDON The global computing power of the bitcoin network has dropped sharply as the shutdown this week of Kazakhstans internet during a deadly uprising hit the countrys fast-growing cryptocurrency mining industry. Kazakhstan became last year the worlds second-largest center for bitcoin mining after the United States, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, after major hub China clamped down on crypto mining activity. Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to help put down the countrywide uprising after violence spread across the tightly controlled former Soviet state. Police said they had killed dozens of rioters in the main city Almaty, while state television said 13 members of the security forces had died. The internet was on Wednesday shut down across the country in what monitoring site Netblocks called a nation-scale internet blackout. The move would have likely prevented Kazakhstan-based miners from accessing the bitcoin network. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are created or mined by high-powered computers, usually at data centers in different parts of the world, which compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles in a highly energy-intensive process. In August last year, the most recent data available, Kazakhstan accounted for 18% of the global hashrate crypto lingo for the amount of computing power being used by computers hooked up to the bitcoin network. In April, before Chinas latest clampdown on bitcoin mining, the figure was just 8%. The hashrate at major crypto mining pools groups of miners in different locations that team up to produce bitcoin including the groups AntPool and F2Pool was down around 14% at noon Greenwich Mean Time on Thursday from its level late on Tuesday, according to data from mining firm BTC.com. Neither pool immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment, Crackdown on crypto mining Yet a drop in hashrate isnt necessarily supportive for the price of bitcoin. Bitcoin fell below $43,000 on Thursday, testing multi-month lows after investor appetite for riskier assets fell as the U.S. Federal Reserve leant toward more aggressive policy action. The more miners on the network, the greater the amount of computer power is needed to mine new bitcoin. The hashrate falls if miners drop off the network, in theory making it easier for the remaining miners to produce new coin. Kazakhstans crypto mining farms are mostly powered by aging coal plants which themselves along with coal mines and whole towns built around them are a headache for authorities as they seek to decarbonize the economy. The Kazakh government said last year it planned to crack down first on unregistered grey miners who it estimates might be consuming twice as much power as the white or officially registered ones. Its energy ministry said last year grey mining may be consuming up to 1,200 megawatts of power, which together with white miners 600 megawatts comes up to about 8% of Kazakhstans total generation capacity. The countrys uprising began with protests in the west of the country against a New Years Day fuel price hike. ST. LOUIS A former Monsanto employee pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday, admitting to stealing trade secrets and trying to take them to China. In a Zoom hearing, Haitao Xiang, 44, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit economic espionage. He admitted downloading an online platform known as The Nutrient Optimizer, which uses a proprietary algorithm to determine how to maximize crop growth for farmers, onto his work laptop. Xiang then copied it to a micro SD card, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Drake said during the hearing. Xiang, a Chinese citizen, worked for Monsanto and a subsidiary, The Climate Corp., as a senior research engineer and an advanced imaging scientist from 2008 to June 2017, Drake said. Xiang knew the algorithm was a trade secret. But Xiang had also been in discussions with job recruiters and others in China and had applied for a position with both the Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing Institute of Soil Science and Chinas controversial Hundred Talent Program, a government-run program designed to advance Chinese industries. On Aug. 18, 2016, he received an email notifying him that he had been selected as technical talent recruit in the program, Drake said. When he left Monsanto, Xiang signed a document certifying that he did not have any devices, records or other property of Monsanto or storage devices with company information on them. On June 10, 2017, Xiang was stopped before leaving on a one-way flight to China by Customs and Border Patrol agents on the jetway the day after his exit interview with Monsanto, Drake said. Agents found the proprietary program on the micro SD card. Xiang was allowed to make the trip, and worked in China for both the Hundred Talent Program and the Institute of Soil Science, Drake said. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors will drop charges of economic espionage, conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and theft of trade secrets at his sentencing April 7. The charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $5 million, but Xiang will likely face less under federal sentencing guidelines. He has been in jail since his arrest in 2019. He also may be deported after his release from any prison sentence. We cannot allow U.S. citizens or foreign nationals to hand sensitive business information over to competitors in other countries, and we will continue our vigorous criminal enforcement of economic espionage and trade secret laws, said U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming in a statement. Monsanto was acquired by Bayer in 2018. In an email, a Bayer spokesman wrote, The protection of intellectual property is essential for innovation across industries, and declined to comment further. A U.S. Senate subcommittee warned of Chinas efforts to gather information about American research and development in a 2019 report, saying U.S. officials have been slow to react to the threat. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Branch by branch, stone by stone, volunteers continue to literally uncover the names of people buried in historic Greenwood Cemetery in Hillsdale in north St. Louis County. Its history, its a story that needs to be told, and we enjoy doing that, said Raphael Morris, 69, who spends most mornings clearing brush at the cemetery. Several people buried in the cemetery were formerly enslaved and emancipated Jan. 11, 1865, in Missouri. On Jan. 13, Morris wife, Shelley, and Etta Daniels of the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association will give a presentation at the Missouri History Museum in honor of Missouri Emancipation Day, telling the stories of some of the people buried in the cemetery. The talk is part of Thursday Nights at the Museum, a series that includes an event focusing on Wrestling at the Chase (Jan. 20) and another on Harvey Milk (Jan. 27). The annual Martin Luther King Community Celebration is Jan. 15-17. Raphael Morris estimates that a little more than half of the cemeterys 32 acres have been uncovered. In 2019, he came across the headstone for his great-grandmother Minnie Mitchell. You talk about being absolutely amazed, he said. I was no more good the rest of the day. I was so overcome with emotion I couldnt continue to work. He cleared her stone and took photographs. Of course, not all the graves have headstones, and some that do exist are buried, illegible or are marked with initials or names painted onto or carved into rock or concrete. The cemetery, formed in 1874, was the first commercial burial ground for African Americans in the area. Its the final resting place of about 50,000 people. Harriet Robinson Scott, who sought emancipation along with her husband, Dred Scott, is buried there. So is Lucy Delaney, whose mother sought and won emancipation in 1844. Delaney went on to become an author, activist and Masonic member. Charlton Hunt Tandy, who was born free and raised money to help the emancipated enslaved people move west, is also buried there. Daniels, of the preservation group, said emancipated people in St. Louis had an easier time getting along in their new lives than others emancipated outstate, partly because of established churches and other civic organizations that helped them. Those little bits and pieces came together at emancipation, and former slaves were sent out in to the world with some confidence and just some knowledge of systems in general, she said. St. Louis needs to pat itself on the back for a lot of its history. Greenwood Cemetery was owned by a family and then a group of business owners until the 1990s. Its last burial was in 1993, and the cemetery fell into disrepair. Shelley and Raphael Morris both had relatives who were buried there. They got involved in its care about six years ago after seeing a news story about the cemeterys poor condition. When we first got involved, you could not see a headstone from the ground, Shelley Morris said. The brush was over 20 feet tall. Were talking thick. Every time we came across a headstone, we would stand there in amazement. They both retired from their jobs to dedicate their time to the cemetery. They rely on groups of volunteer workers and donated equipment. As she spoke, Morris noted with a weary laugh that she was looking at about six lawn mowers resting for the winter in her own backyard. The group regularly gets calls from people seeking their relatives burial plots. The group met up with a man in his 80s who was raised by his grandmother, who had died in the 1940s. He had been unable to locate her grave but described its handmade headstone. Daniels knew exactly where the grave was and led him to it. He got on the phone and called his remaining siblings, who were in nursing homes, Morris recalled. You could hear him say, I found her. I found her. What Voices From the Grave: Missouri Emancipation Day When 5:30-8 p.m. Jan. 13, presentation at 6:30 p.m. Where Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard, Forest Park How much Free MORE INFO mohistory.org/events/voices-from-the-grave Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Peter Bogdanovich, the ascot-wearing cinephile and director of 1970s black-and-white classics like "The Last Picture Show" and "Paper Moon," has died. He was 82. Bogdanovich died early Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles, said his daughter, Antonia Bogdanovich. She said he died of natural causes. Considered part of a generation of young "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich was heralded as an auteur from the start, with the chilling lone shooter film "Targets" and soon after "The Last Picture Show," from 1971, his evocative portrait of a small, dying town that earned eight Oscar nominations, won two (for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman) and catapulted him to stardom at the age of 32. He followed "The Last Picture Show" with the screwball comedy "What's Up, Doc?," starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, and then the Depression-era road trip film "Paper Moon," which won 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal an Oscar as well. His turbulent personal life was also often in the spotlight, from his well-known affair with Cybill Shepherd that began during the making of "The Last Picture Show" while he was married to his close collaborator, Polly Platt, to the murder of his Playmate girlfriend Dorothy Stratten and his subsequent marriage to her younger sister, Louise, who was 29 years younger than him. Reactions came in swiftly at the news of his death. "Oh dear, a shock. I am devastated. He was a wonderful and great artist," said Francis Ford Coppola in an email. "I'll never forgot attending a premiere for 'The Last Picture Show.' I remember at its end, the audience leaped up all around me bursting into applause lasting easily 15 minutes. I'll never forget although I felt I had never myself experienced a reaction like that, that Peter and his film deserved it. May he sleep in bliss for eternity, enjoying the thrill of our applause forever." Guillermo del Toro tweeted: "He was a dear friend and a champion of Cinema. He birthed masterpieces as a director and was a most genial human. He single-handedly interviewed and enshrined the lives and work of more classic filmmakers than almost anyone else in his generation." Born in Kingston, New York, in 1939, Bogdanovich started out as a film journalist and critic, working as a film programmer at the Museum of Modern Art, where through a series of retrospectives he endeared himself to a host of old guard filmmakers including Orson Welles, Howard Hawks and John Ford. But his Hollywood education started earlier than that: His father took him at age 5 to see Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton movies at the Museum of Modern Art. He'd later make his own Keaton documentary, "The Great Buster," which was released in 2018. VATICAN CITY Pope Francis marked Epiphany on Thursday by encouraging people to shake off consumeristic tyranny and crises of faith in lives and societies and instead find the courage to work for justice and brotherhood in societies dominated by what he called the sinister logic of power. During Mass in St. Peters Basilica, the pontiff marked the Catholic feast day of Epiphany, which recalls the visit, recounted in the Gospel, of three Magi, or wise men, to Baby Jesus, and their sense of wonder at the encounter. Francis in his homily urged people to move past the barriers of habit, beyond banal consumerism, beyond a drab and dreary faith, beyond the fear of becoming involved and serving others and the common good." He said the Catholic church particularly needs deep desire and inner zeal. We peer over earthly maps, but we forget to look up to heaven. We are sated with plenty of things, but fail to hunger for what we are missing, Francis said. We are fixated on our own needs, on what we will eat and wear, even as we let the longing for greater things evaporate. And we find ourselves living in communities that crave everything, have everything, yet all too often feel nothing but emptiness in their hearts, he said, adding that that dynamic leads to indifference. As the Bible recounts, the Magi's mission, searching for the child described as the king of the Jews, attracted the notice of King Herod I of Judea, who ordered the massacre of young male children in a bid to eliminate Jesus. Francis called for a courageous and prophetic faith, one that is unafraid to challenge the sinister logic of power, and become seeds of justice and fraternity in societies where in our day modern Herods continue to sow death and slaughter the poor and innocent, amid general indifference. Decrying what he defined as the tyranny of needs, Francis said: Let us not give apathy and resignation the power to drive us into a cheerless and banal existence. In Spain, where a national holiday was being observed, King Felipe VI was due to review Spanish troops at a traditional military parade in Madrid and afterward give a speech. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was also to attend. The country traditionally holds cabalgata" parades the day before Epiphany in which the Reyes Magos, or Three Wise Men, ride on floats through major cities and towns across Spain. Children and adults alike leave their shoes out the night before and receive gifts from the three kings on Jan. 6. Predominantly Orthodox Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania also marked Epiphany on Thursday. The holiday is marked by the blessing of the waters ceremonies, during which swimmers compete to retrieve a floating cross thrown into the seas, rivers and lakes. Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers in Bulgaria neglected restrictions on mass gatherings due to the pandemic and stuck to their centuries-old Epiphany traditions, plunging into icy rivers and lakes. Celebrations were canceled or scaled back in many parts of Greece as the country struggles with a huge surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the omicron variant. Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report. CLAYTON Regional hospitalizations for COVID-19 broke records for the fourth day in a row on Thursday. St. Louis County reported an outbreak of infections in the county jail. And the health director in St. Louis, whose caseload again peaked, pushed to get more residents tested. We are in the midst of an alarming public health crisis, St. Louis Director of Health Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis said during a virtual press conference. Case numbers across the state and region are spiking. Hospitals are already struggling as beds fill up and workers are themselves getting sick. And residents, more exposed to the virus than ever, are having a hard time even getting a COVID-19 test. On Thursday, St. Louis County officials were managing a wave of cases at the county jail. County officials said 110 of 825 detainees at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center were positive for the virus on Wednesday. Some had negative test results come back, so the total number of positive detainees fell to 90 on Thursday. But an additional 30 detainees had symptoms, and were expecting test results, and 30 more were in quarantine due to exposure. None of the detainees nor staff members have been hospitalized. Acting Department of Justice Services Director Scott Anders said the jail holds 1,300, so there was room to isolate the sick. We are able to maintain our operations, Anders said. And we are hoping that weve been able to prevent the spread of this. The vaccination rate among detainees was 40%, the county said in the release. The jails case rates have mirrored the larger trends of the St. Louis region, which saw lower case rates in the fall, and steep increases over the past two months. In October, four detainees tested positive. In November, the number was 23, said county spokesman Doug Moore. Among the jails 240 staff members, 30 have tested positive over the past few weeks. Some have since returned to work after isolating, Anders said. The staff vaccination rate is about 65%, and unvaccinated workers are required to get tested weekly. Hearings will be held virtually for two weeks, beginning Thursday, to avoid transporting detainees to court. Adding testing capacity The regions health institutions, straining under the weight of the surge, are reporting new record-high numbers of infections and hospitalizations daily. Hospital officials on Wednesday issued stern warnings that they are quickly running out of space and staff to care for patients with COVID-19 and other illnesses, and many facilities are canceling elective care. On Thursday, area hospitals reported a total of 1,158 COVID-19 patients in the region, a new record for the fourth consecutive day. The hospitals are now admitting, on average, 184 new virus patients each day also a record high. The city of St. Louis on Thursday morning announced plans to make 1,000 to 2,000 more tests available to residents each day. The city is partnering with Nomi Health, a provider that already has local test sites, to offer 500 to 1,000 more COVID-19 tests per day. The site will be at 6161 Delmar Boulevard. And in addition to that, 500 to 1,000 more tests will be provided through a partnership with the state health department, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Centene Corp. Between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1, the city reported an average of 419 new confirmed cases per day, according to the health departments website. The goal, Hlatshwayo Davis said, is 35 or fewer. And 34% of all COVID-19 tests in the city are returning positive, compared with a goal of 5% or less. At the same time, Missouris online ordering system for free, at-home coronavirus testing kits was once again put on hold, on Thursday morning, due to overwhelming demand. The system was paused last week, and also on Wednesday, due to an influx of orders. Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman Lisa Cox said it is now expected to resume Jan. 12. U.S. Rep. Cori Bush on Thursday sent a letter to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, urging him to formally request a COVID-19 testing site for St. Louis through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Increasing Community Access to Testing program. Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones said in an email that the state health department has been in communication with the federal government about that option, and will continue working to expand testing options where feasible. All-hands-on-deck needed Hlatshwayo Davis on Thursday also issued new recommendations for quarantine and isolation, in response to the surge of cases. Under the citys new guidance, residents who catch COVID-19 should isolate for five days, and then take an antigen test. If the test is negative, they can end isolation. If they are unable to access an antigen test, they can isolate for a total of 10 days. If they are unable to do that, they may end isolation after five days if they are fever-free for 24 hours, without medication. The citys new recommendations are slightly stronger than those of the CDC, which on Dec. 27 updated guidance around quarantine and isolation. The CDC guidance calls for ending the isolation after five days, as long as the individual no longer has symptoms, and then wearing a mask around others for five more days. Across the region, 45% of the population is not fully vaccinated, and even fewer have received booster doses, leaving a large number of residents vulnerable. On Thursday Hlatshwayo Davis discouraged individuals and businesses from holding social gatherings. She said she strongly encourages businesses to offer work-from-home options for their employees and antigen testing as part of their safety protocols. She said Parsons decision to end a 22-month-long state of emergency on Dec. 31 has reduced resources available to public health agencies. At this time, we should be seeing an all-hands-on-deck effort, she said. That was certainly a very disappointing announcement for all of us. Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS The surge in coronavirus cases has created massive demand for antibody therapies that can help prevent those at high risk from ending up in a hospital. But there are not enough of the drugs for everyone who needs them. We only have so many spots, so many chairs, so many appointments to provide those therapies every day, said Dr. Bruce Hall, chief quality officer for BJC HealthCare, which provides more than half of the treatments for the St. Louis region. On Wednesday, a record number of patients (1,114) with COVID-19 were being cared for by St. Louis areas four big health care systems BJC HealthCare, SSM Health, Mercy and St. Lukes. Last winter, the count peaked at 962 patients on Dec. 1, 2020. Monoclonal antibody infusions are intravenous treatments for people referred by a doctor who are newly diagnosed with COVID-19, and have risk factors such as age and chronic health conditions that make them more susceptible to poor outcomes. The treatments must be given soon after diagnosis and have been shown to reduce the risk of needing to be hospitalized. Providers across Missouri say they are having to turn down dozens of referrals a day and prioritize those who they think would benefit most from the therapy. BJC HealthCare last week provided its highest number of treatments ever 476 across its six infusion sites, Hall said. That is past our max. That is with squeezing people in and running nurses overtime. He does not know how many are getting turned away each day, he said, but we have seeing many more request than we can handle right now. Mercy provides the infusions at one outpatient location as well as through some home health nurses. The location receives about 100 referrals per day and is only able to provide 20 infusions, spokeswoman Bethany Pope said. SSM Health has one infusion center at St. Joseph Hospital-St. Charles. The center receives between 40 and 60 referrals a day and is only able to serve 16. St. Lukes Hospital in Chesterfield warns on its website that the hospital is seeing an unprecedented demand for the treatments and is having to limit them to those at highest risk. The increasing demand comes as supply has also dropped because of emerging science in how the treatments fare against the new omicron variant. The antibody therapies made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly have been in use since they were approved for emergency use by the FDA more than a year ago. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services purchased doses of the therapies and made them available to states at no cost so the treatments would be free for patients. Both drugmakers recently warned, however, that laboratory tests suggest their therapies are much less potent against omicron. That caused HHS to announce on Dec. 23 that is was halting distribution of the therapies to states. A week later, the federal government lifted the pause and distributed the drugs to regions where less than 80% of cases were estimated to involve the omicron variant. On Dec. 31, HHS announced that all states could once again order the treatments. Meanwhile, the federal government began purchasing more of a new monoclonal antibody therapy, sotrovimab, from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, which appears better against omicron. Ramping up distribution of sotrovimab will take time. Just 55,000 doses were distributed to states the week of Dec. 23, according to HHS, and an additional 300,000 are expected in January. Meanwhile, states have been left in the lurch. This week, providers across Missouri requested 16,138 antibody treatments, but were only given 3,284, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Out of those, 768 were sotrovimab. Thats a large drop from the week of Dec. 13, just before the federal pause, when over 10,000 antibody treatments were distributed across the state, data shows. BJCs Hall said he still sees benefit in using the older antibody therapies because not all the virus in the area is the omicron variant. In the Midwest region, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, the omicron variant was estimated to account for 77% of cases last week, according to the CDC. We use most effective agent we have at the time, he said, and it can change from day to day. The declining effectiveness of the two leading antibody therapies means more anticipation for two recently approved antiviral pills made by Pfizer and Merck, which will be doled out in much the same way as the infusions. Pfizers pill has been shown to curb hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90% in high-risk patients. The pills began arriving in states over the past two weeks, but supplies still are limited. Missouri has received enough to treat 5,520 people, state data shows. Providers of the therapies say even if supplies increase, it will be hard to find nurses to administer them as hospitals deal with staffing shortages and are swamped with a dramatic increase in patients. We are constantly evaluating how we can direct staff in the most efficient ways to take care of people, said Greg Neunuebel, spokesman for SSM Health. At the peak of a summer surge in cases, the state paid $26 million to Texas company SLSCO to operate six antibody infusion centers across Missouri, including one in St. Louis, and provide extra staffing to 74 Missouri hospitals. The contract began in August and ended Nov. 30. No plans are in the works to bring back state-funded sites and assistance. Hall said wearing a mask, social distancing and following vaccine recommendations remain the most important prevention tools. Vaccination with boosting is really still choice No. 1, he said. Our choice should be to avoid getting sick at all, and not waiting until we get sick and then hoping that there will be an appointment to be treated. Missouri school districts struggle to keep classrooms open during COVID-19 surge I know we think teachers are superheroes, but they get sick and also their family members get sick. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS Leaders of the regions major health systems sounded the alarm on Wednesday, announcing that the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases is forcing them to redeploy staff, cancel some procedures and brace for an overwhelming wave of virus patients to arrive in the coming weeks. BJC HealthCare officials even said they were canceling all elective procedures beginning on Thursday. This surge is unlike any weve seen before, Dr. Aamina Akhtar, chief medical officer for Mercy Hospital South, said during a press conference of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. On Nov. 16, there were 250 patients with confirmed cases in the regions hospitals. By Dec. 10, the number had doubled, to 501. By Tuesday the number had doubled again, exceeding 1,000 for the first time during the pandemic. On Wednesday St. Louis-area hospitals reported 1,114 patients with confirmed COVID-19 setting a record for the third day in a row, and well above last winters peak of 962. Hospital officials said the numbers could easily double again in a matter of weeks. Dr. Alex Garza, chief community health officer for SSM Health and co-lead of the task force, said SSM may soon also cancel elective procedures. SSM hospitals are already rescheduling some. BJC Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Clay Dunagan, who co-leads the task force, said BJC hospital staffing is nearly at capacity. About 1,000 of the organizations 31,000 employees are out sick, isolated after an exposure to COVID-19, or caring for loved ones. Others are putting in overtime, taking on extra shifts, or working in roles they would not normally be expected to. The health system said in a message to staff it is expecting to bring in about 220 agency nurses in the coming weeks. Some experts have been watching the pace of cases in South Africa, one of the first countries where the omicron variant was detected. After a steep, dramatic surge of cases, infection rates have fallen sharply. But South Africa quickly went into a lockdown when the wave hit, Dunagan said, so it is difficult to extrapolate its case rates to the St. Louis region. Were preparing for January to be pretty brutal, and then hoping that in February well see it recede, Dunagan said in an interview. BJC is categorizing procedures as elective if they can be delayed for more than four weeks. Spokeswoman Kendra Whittle said Barnes-Jewish Hospital is continuing outpatient procedures, which do not require overnight stays. Pediatric surgeries are rarely elective, so those are not expected to be delayed, she said. Patients who have procedures scheduled will be contacted by BJC about postponing their appointment. Statewide, COVID-19 hospitalizations are approaching last winters peak: They hit 2,734 on Sunday and 2,840 on Tuesday, according to the most recent available data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. They peaked last winter at 2,862 on Dec. 22, 2020. Running out of options The staffing shortages at area hospitals have been exacerbated during the current surge because health care workers are having to stay home from work due to illness or exposure, officials said. Effectively, our bed capacity is being reduced by the virus, Dunagan said. Were quickly running out of options. St. Lukes Hospital is offering incentives to work extra shifts and longer hours, said Heather Thompson, senior director of nursing and interim chief nursing officer. But that is not sustainable, she said. And though in the past hospitals have been able to lean on additional workers from staffing agencies, they too are now in short supply. A group of hospitals in the Metro East and larger southwestern Illinois region sent an open letter to the community on Monday, urging residents to get vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask and get tested. Our teams are strained, the letter said. Capacity is being pushed to the limit. There is a bright spot: Booster doses seem to help greatly against the omicron variant, which now makes up an estimated 95% of cases nationwide, and an estimated 77% of cases in the Midwest region that includes Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just 1% of the COVID-19 patients in BJC hospitals had gotten boosters, according to a recent survey, Dunagan said. And zero of 105 patients in the CoxHealth hospital system in the Springfield area had gotten boosters as of Monday, CoxHealth Springfield President Amanda Hedgpeth said during a separate briefing Wednesday. Uncharted waters Regional testing capacity is also strained. Missouris online ordering system for free at-home coronavirus testing kits was paused Wednesday to allow the provider to catch up with demand. Ordering is expected to reopen Thursday morning, but a limited supply will be available through January. And hospitals are asking residents not to get tested at emergency rooms if they have mild or no symptoms, because ERs are required to evaluate every patient, said Dr. Alok Sengupta, chairman of Mercys emergency department. The state positivity rate the portion of tests returning positive has ballooned in recent weeks. The seven-day average hit 28.5% on Wednesday, up from 6.5% in late October, and is even higher in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Dunagan said he suspects some people have been forgoing vaccination because they believe if they become ill they will be able to rely on treatments like monoclonal antibodies or antiviral drugs. But those treatments are in short supply, he said, and will likely only be used for people with significant risk factors for severe illness. We dont want to be seen as fearmongering or panicked, Garza said. But clearly were in uncharted waters right now, when it comes to the volume of patients and the stress on the health care system. Behind the scenes, were panicked, he said. We need the entire community to be helping us out. For help navigating the states online ordering system for free, at-home coronavirus test kits, call 626-434-3596. To find a state-run community COVID-19 testing site, visit health.mo.gov/communitytest, or call 877-435-8411 for assistance. Michele Munz of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Missouris online system for ordering at-home testing kits paused because of demand The system also paused last week for a day because of the overwhelming number of requests. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. George 'Tiny' Mercer was a motorcycle gang leader in Kansas City convicted of raping and killing Karen Keeton, 22, a tavern waitress, in 1978. Here was our original coverage. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri's first execution in almost 24 years was carried out with swift, almost clinical precision within the first 10 minutes of Friday. Coughing and straining against the straps that bound him to a gurney, George C. "Tiny" Mercer died within minutes of the moment when fatal drugs were injected into his left arm. Adhering closely to their schedule, officials of the Corrections Department began administering the lethal injection at 12:03 a.m. By 12:05, Mercer lost consciousness, and at 12:09 he was pronounced dead by an attending physician. In his last. moments, Mercer focused his attention on the woman who had married him after he was imprisoned for the rape and murder of Karen Keeton in 1978. Mercer's wife, Christie, observed the execution with a friend through a window of what used to be the gas chamber of the Missouri Penitentiary. Mercer spoke, but neither his wife nor the witnesses who were observing through other windows in the chamber could hear what he was saying. "I can't understand you," Christie Mercer said at one point. "I love you." She waved to him, blew him a kiss, raised two of her fingers in a gesture of peace and then pointed upwards, as if to heaven. Mercer lay on his back, Covered from his neck down by a crisp white sheet that obscured the intravenous tube inserted in his arm and the Bible underneath his hand. He was wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a black headband. With his long brown hair and thick beard flecked with some gray, and a small braid, Mercer closely resembled the mug shots from his days as a leader of a motorcycle gang. Warden Bill M. Armontrout said that before Mercer died, he had thanked him, shaken his hand and said, "Look out for my shipmates down here." Mercer was generally liked by the prison staff. Prison officials said Mercer had helped newly condemned men adjust to life on death row, where Mercer had been longer than anyone else. As Mercer's life was taken from him, the 12 official witnesses observing the execution were silent. The execution had other observers, as well. Armontrout said that altogether, 19 people had been asked to witness the execution, in addition to the Corrections Department officials carrying it out. The execution happened very quickly, in contrast to the long wait that had preceded it. The witnesses had been ordered to arrive at Corrections Department offices at 10 p.m. for a briefing. At 10:50, two ,vans transported them to the penitentiary three miles away. Then they waited 40 minutes in the vans before being escorted into the small, rock house containing the death chamber. During the waft, a hearse, black and glistening, and the attending physician's silver BMW, with an "Iceman" vanity license plate, passed by en route to the place of execution. Other than the brief conversations among the witnesses, the only sound was the incessant drumming of rain on the van's roof. At 11:45, the witnesses were taken inside the execution building. Minutes before, Mercer was strapped to the gurney and administered a sedative, which he had requested. Plastic window shades had been pulled down over the observation windows. At 12:01, the curtains were raised, and Mercer frantically scanned the windows for his wife. When he saw her smiling face behind him, he leaned back and began talking to her. Other than the brief moments when Mercer jerked up from the gurney and coughed three or four times, his eyes never left his wife until they stared lifelessly at the ceiling. The 50 men Missouri has executed since 2000 Since 2000, Missouri has executed 50 men. Here are the details of the crimes that sent these men to the execution chamber. Descriptions of the Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The visit to the Yuma Territorial Prison was meant to spur a bit of Old West nostalgia. We were in the Arizona desert over the Christmas holiday visiting family. The prison was built on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River in 1876. Its stone walls and iron gates still stand. This is the place where some of the men who fought at the OK Corral were held; the place where mythical outlaw Ben Wade was headed in the movie 3:10 to Yuma. The museum tells a story of the Old West, with relics of the gunfights and jail escapes of old. But it also tells a story that resonates today, if you look carefully. The first female detainee at the prison was Lizzy Gallagher, who was convicted of manslaughter in 1878. The prison didnt have any facilities for women, so they just put her in solitary confinement, in an area that today is marked the dark cell. There she was, alone in the darkness, for 42 days before she was released and pardoned because the punishment was simply too cruel. Next came Manuela Fimbres, in prison on an accessory to murder charge. She had a baby while there; and the prison had no way to properly care for either of them. Eventually, she was pardoned out of concern for her childs health. Reading the details of her story, I thought immediately of Blair Clevenger. Shes in the womens prison in Vandalia today because she smoked a joint while on probation. She says it was to ease the nausea from morning sickness. Saline County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Rolf sent her back to prison on a probation violation, to protect her baby, he said. She had been living at a sober home facility, battling her drug addiction. The home wanted her back. More than a century after the building of the territorial prison in Yuma, weve learned some things. We build prisons for women now. But short of using concrete instead of stone, they arent much different than the place on the bluff in the desert that now stands as a museum to remember how things were. In some ways, they are worse. At the turn of the century, governors took pity on women having babies in prison; these days, at least in some circumstances, not so much. In the time since the Yuma prison was carved out of granite, the U.S. has become the mass incarceration capital of the world, putting more people in prison men and women than any other country in the world. The U.S. cages 664 out of every 100,000 people, according to the latest statistics from the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative. Thats a rate five times higher than most of our closest allies. In Missouri, the story is even worse, where we jail 735 of every 100,000 residents of the state. More than half the people in Missouri prisons are there on probation or parole violations, in part because weve built a system that makes it easier for people to be sent back to prison than to serve their time and come home to families and jobs. Museums and old buildings preserved from a century or two ago exist to help us learn about our past. Standing ever so briefly in the solitary confinement chamber at the Yuma Territorial Prison is a reminder that we havent learned enough from our past in this country when it comes to constructing a criminal justice system that serves the public good. Weve replaced iron and granite with steel and concrete, but in the century since this relic in the desert was closed, weve built more and more prisons; weve turned them into profit centers for private companies; weve lost the humanity that once led to quick pardons; and we have created little connection between our rush to incarcerate our fellow humans and our desire for public safety. If mass incarceration worked, the U.S. would be the safest country in the world; but it does not, and we are not. I went to a prison on vacation to soak in a bit of Old West nostalgia, and instead I stared into a dark American present that is neither just nor humane. From City Hall to the Capitol, metro columnist Tony Messenger shines light on what public officials are doing, tells stories of the disaffected, and brings voice to the issues that matter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS A St. Louis County man surrendered to police and was charged Wednesday with shooting his ex-girlfriend and her mother at a north St. Louis gas station. Police on Tuesday released images of Eric Rogers, 31, of Florissant, whom they accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend, 20, and her mother, 39, about 10 a.m. Jan. 2. The shooting happened at the Mobil Gas Station at 3710 Grand Boulevard near Fairground Park. The mother told police she was pumping gas when she heard her daughter scream while exiting the gas station store and saw Rogers dragging her daughter by her shirt and throwing her into his vehicle, police said. Charging documents allege that the mother then brandished a gun at Rogers and pulled her daughter from the car and the two ran for the store before Rogers shot both with a handgun before taking the mother's gun and again pulling his ex-girlfriend into his car. Police say Rogers drove from the scene with his ex-girlfriend in a black Chrysler 200, before eventually dropping her off at a residence on Capitol Hill Drive. Both the mother and daughter were treated at a hospital for injuries and were considered stable. Rogers turned himself into St. Louis police after the department published photos of him in connection to the shooting. Charging documents say the shooting was captured on surveillance video at the gas station. Rogers was charged Wednesday with three domestic assault counts and two counts of armed criminal action as well as charges for first-degree assault, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm and stealing a firearm. He had a prior second-degree assault conviction before the shooting, according to court documents. He was denied bond. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SOUTH ROXANA, Ill. The police chief of a village in Madison County has asked the Illinois State Police to investigate after a police officer shot and wounded a man who tried to attack an officer with a knife. South Roxana police Chief Bob Coles said the man is expected to survive. Police have not released his name or age. The man was shot about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Rose Avenue, east of Highway 111 and along South Roxanas northern border. Coles said the man was shot after a domestic disturbance. A woman had called 911 to report that someone was at the home on Rose hunting someone, according to dispatchers, who alerted officers that a man was barricaded in the back of a home on Rose and had access to knives. Illinois State Police, in a news release Wednesday afternoon, said the man attacked the officer with a knife, and the officer fired his gun, hitting the man. Dispatchers then updated surrounding agencies to say that shots were fired and that South Roxana needed backup. As police from neighboring jurisdictions learned about the shooting, officers rushed to a staging area near Jarrett Industries, at Rose Avenue and Madison Street. A woman who lives two houses away told the Post-Dispatch that she saw police running up and down the street. She said she heard the gunfire but didnt see what happened. The chief said Wednesday that everything hes seen so far tells him that police were justified in shooting the man, but hes asked the Illinois State Police to handle the investigation. Officers suffered sprains and other injuries while arresting the man, the chief said. He said multiple departments were involved in the arrest but he declined to say more. South Roxana is a village of about 2,000 residents in Madison County, Illinois. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. FRANKLIN COUNTY A woman tied to the U.S. Capitol riots a year ago was drunk and driving the wrong way on Interstate 44 on Wednesday night when she killed a woman and seriously injured the man driving another car in Franklin County, authorities said. The Missouri Highway Patrol said the wrong-way driver, 22-year-old Emily E. Hernandez, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment. Hernandez lives in Sullivan. The crash happened just after 7 p.m. Wednesday on eastbound I-44 in Franklin County. The woman who died in the crash was identified as 32-year-old Victoria N. Wilson of St. Clair. She was a passenger in a car that was hit by Hernandez, police said. Wilsons husband was seriously hurt. Hernandez was issued a citation Wednesday night at the hospital for two felonies: driving while intoxicated resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated resulting in injury. Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri Highway Patrol said Hernandez was cited for those offenses and a patrol trooper will be seeking charges from the Franklin County prosecutors office. Thompson said no mugshot was available of Hernandez because she was hospitalized after the wreck, and no court date has been set. The fatal crash happened on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Capitol riot last Jan. 6. Hernandez was pictured during the riot holding a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office. Ethan Corlija, one of Hernandezs lawyers, said he was with Hernandez on Wednesday night at the hospital. She needed surgery to close a head wound, he said, but was expected to be released from the hospital sometime Thursday. He said the crash was a tragic event and not intentional, adding, My heart goes out to the other motorist who lost their life and their family. Corlija said the plan was to go forward with a court hearing Monday at which Hernandez will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge connected to the Capitol riot. The misdemeanor should carry a recommended sentence of six months or less in prison. Hernandez is facing five misdemeanors in U.S. District Court in Washington, including knowingly entering a restricted building without authority, demonstrating in the Capitol, stealing, and knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct in a restricted building with intent to impede the government. Pictures and videos from inside and outside the Capitol show a smiling Hernandez holding up a piece of a sign from Pelosis office. Charging documents say tipsters told the FBI that it was Hernandez, and also said shed posted pictures of herself in the Capitol via Snapchat. Hernandez was one of three people who traveled together to Washington for the Stop the Steal rally. All three entered the Capitol and were charged. William D. Bill Merry, Hernandezs uncle, and Paul Scott Westover, his friend, have both pleaded guilty. In the fatal crash, the patrol said Hernandez had been driving west in the eastbound lanes in a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. Wilson was a passenger in an eastbound 2019 Buick Enclave driven by Ryan E. Wilson, 36, of St. Clair. He suffered serious injuries and was being treated at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan. The patrol said both cars swerved right before the crash. After the vehicles collided, Ryan Wilsons car ended up hitting cable barriers in the highway median. Hernandez was the only person listed in the patrols crash report who was wearing a seat belt. Thompson, the patrol spokesman, said neither he nor the trooper who worked the crash investigation knew about Hernandezs connection to the riots. Thompson said he didnt have additional details, such as where Hernandez got on the highway before the crash. Heart of gold Victoria Wilson, the woman killed in the crash, was the mother of two boys, ages 15 and 10. Her husband, Ryan, is a stay-at-home father and the boys were being homeschooled since the COVID-19 outbreak. Victoria Wilson was a home health care aide who worked primarily with disabled people, including children. She and her mother began doing that work together many years ago. She had a heart of gold, said Victorias mother, Tonie Donaldson. Not everyone can work with mentally challenged children, and shes done it since she was 13. She never went without a smile on her face, her mother said. While Ryan Wilson was hospitalized Thursday, Donaldson and her husband, Eddie, were taking care of their grandsons. Donaldson said Ryan Wilson suffered broken bones in a foot and had a dislocated ankle and several lacerations. Ryan and Victoria Wilson were heading home on I-44 Wednesday night after eating dinner at Applebees to celebrate an upcoming wedding anniversary. Their anniversary isnt until Sunday but they celebrated early because Victoria works weekends, Donaldson said. The couple had been together 15 years. Donaldson said she was upset that Hernandez wasnt already in jail or prison for her role in the Capitol riots. Why is she still out? Donaldson told the Post-Dispatch. With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street? Donaldson said of Hernandez, At 7 oclock, youre drunk and she got on the highway drunk? Donaldson said the family has set up a fundraising account to help cover funeral expenses. Franklin County woman in Capitol riot turns herself in to FBI Emily Hernandez appeared in pictures and videos with a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office, charging documents say. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Kim Bell Kim Bell is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Kim Bell Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today School districts in the St. Louis region are struggling to stay open this week amid a staggering amount of illness among students and staff. The current absentee rate is the most disruptive of the pandemic, administrators said. Yet they are reluctant to move online because of a state rule limiting the amount of virtual instruction this year. The record omicron wave of COVID-19 hit while schools were on winter break. Since Monday, the lingering illness and quarantines have left school leaders scrambling to fill classrooms, run buses and serve meals: More than 240 teachers, or nearly 20%, were absent Wednesday in the Parkway School District. Of those, about half of their classrooms were not covered by a substitute teacher. Student absences in the districts schools ranged from 13% to 19%. Laptops will be sent home this week for students in kindergarten through second grade in anticipation of possible building closures. At Rockwood Summit High School, 16 staff members were absent Wednesday with one substitute teacher in the building. About 17% of students have been absent since Monday, more than three times the average absentee rate. The Rockwood School District has tapped classroom assistants, hall monitors and teachers giving up planning periods to substitute teach. More than 5% of staff members in the Mehlville School District and 4% in Hazelwood have active cases of COVID-19. A bus driver shortage in Maplewood-Richmond Heights has led to some stressful and fragile situations with transportation delays, according to a letter Wednesday from Superintendent Bonita Jamison. A handful of schools have made the switch to virtual learning this week because of staffing shortages, including Ashland and Bryan Hill elementary schools in St. Louis. At least three in the Normandy Schools Collaborative Bel-Nor, Jefferson and the districts early learning center will be virtual Thursday and Friday, said George Barnes, assistant superintendent for elementary education. I know we think teachers are superheroes, but they get sick and also their family members get sick, Barnes said. Its a tough phone call because you can hear it in their voice. They want to be here for the kids, but they just cant. Before the pandemic began, Missouri instituted a new rule for alternative methods of instruction, allowing for 36 hours of virtual learning in place of snow days or other emergencies. The rule was made more flexible during the 2020-2021 school year, when some districts including Ferguson-Florissant and Hazelwood spent nearly the entire year online. This year, the original rule is back. Districts could lose funding for extended time spent virtually or have to make up in-person hours at the end of the year. We have only a mere 36 hours to work with, which is weird to me, but we have to parse those out as best as possible, Barnes said. Were going to figure out a long-term plan because we know those hours are going to be depleted pretty soon. District leaders may have to make the difficult decision to cancel school and make up that time at a later date, if necessary to complete their 1,044 required hours of instruction, said Mallory McGowin, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in a statement. We are certainly aware of the workforce shortages cases of COVID and periods of quarantine are creating in public schools, as is the case in many other businesses and industries, and DESE continues to monitor the current situation, McGowin said. We know school leaders and educators are doing what they can locally to keep their doors open, knowing in-person learning is often what is best for Missouris students. Meanwhile, at least 10 private schools in the St. Louis area have temporarily switched to online learning this week. The situation is a contrast from fall 2020 when most public schools were virtual and most private schools were in-person. On Wednesday, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School became the latest private school to make the move for grades nine through 12 because student absenteeism well exceeds the pre-pandemic threshold for outbreaks of flu and other illnesses that would warrant a short-term shut down, according to a letter from Scott Small, head of upper school. Of the 73 total cases of COVID-19 among MICDS high school students this year, 62 have been reported since Monday, according to the schools dashboard. Lutheran North High School also moved online, along with at least eight local Catholic schools Sister Thea Bowman in East St. Louis; Assumption in OFallon, Missouri; Christ Prince of Peace in Manchester; St. Louis University High School; St. Roch in St. Louis; St. Alban Roe in Wildwood; St. Joseph in Cottleville; and St. Patrick in Wentzville. Across the country, 4,561 schools have been shut down this week for pandemic-related causes, according to the data tracking site Burbio. At least six school districts in the Metro East have switched to virtual learning after the winter break, including Belleville Township, Brooklyn, Cahokia, Edwardsville, East St. Louis and Granite City. Mascoutah schools will close entirely Thursday and Friday, with the days made up at the end of the year. Prior to the holiday break the impact of COVID on our district was manageable, however Granite City, like the entire country, is experiencing a spike in cases, reads the letter sent Wednesday to parents from Superintendent Stephanie Cann. This decision will hopefully allow the worst of the omicron spike to pass and reduce our numbers to be manageable as they were prior to the break. Missouris online system for ordering at-home testing kits paused because of demand The system also paused last week for a day because of the overwhelming number of requests. Stay up to date on life and culture in St. Louis. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JEFFERSON CITY One year after the Jan. 6 insurrection, a rally held at the Missouri Capitol on Thursday recycled many of the same debunked claims fueling the rioters that day. The election security event featured Douglas Frank, a prominent figure in support of the big lie since the 2020 election with connections to former President Donald Trump and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell. Frank, who teaches math at a school for gifted children in Cincinnati, claims to have uncovered data supporting assertions of widespread fraud in American elections. Franks claims have been widely debunked by numerous audits, lawsuits and officials. The rally had around 100 attendees, including several state representatives and groups organized around election security. Among them were Rep. Ann Kelley, R-Lamar, who helped organize the event and invited Frank to attend the rally and a dinner Wednesday. Other elected officials, including Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, and Rep. Bill Kidd, R-Buckner, spoke on voter ID, paper ballots and other proposed election-related legislation set to come up this session. Earlier Thursday, Frank was introduced on the floor of the House by Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch, R-Hallsville. In the Senate, he was introduced by Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin. Frank called for attendees to pressure the Missouri secretary of state to release the names of all voters in the 2020 election. And he cited what he characterized as a growing number of Americans who lack confidence in the 2020 election results. A recent University of Massachusetts Amherst poll found 71% of Republicans responded that the 2020 election results were probably or definitely illegitimate. Speaking to the Post-Dispatch, several people who attended the rally echoed those views, citing inconsistencies in the results and discounting the repeated findings by officials whove upheld the validity of the last election. I mean, theyre elected officials, and theyre not going to go out on a limb unless they have supportive information, supportive data, Dale Vaslow, a former University of Missouri neuroradiology professor and current volunteer canvasser, said when asked about officials whove reviewed the election and spoken against claims of fraud. Its very important that the citizens themselves look at the election, Vaslow said. Many bills relating to elections have already been pre-filed in Missouri, retreading old debates on voter ID requirements, unsolicited absentee ballots, primary rules and others. In a speech on the Senate floor earlier Thursday, Sen. Steve Roberts, a Democrat who represents St. Louis, decried efforts to continue muddying the water over election security. The recklessness of those who continue to spread such misinformation is astounding or, at least should be. Unfortunately, we live in a time in which so many lies have been told that they have lost their ability to astound. We have lost our ability to be outraged when we hear lies and we have lost the ability to be ashamed when we tell them, Roberts said. Roberts urged his colleagues to bring an end to the allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. As elected officials, and as Americans, we have a simple choice: either defend the Constitution, which we all swore an oath to protect, or support the ongoing efforts to undermine it for partisan political gain, Roberts said. Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. @GraceZokovitch on Twitter gzokovitch@post-dispatch.com WASHINGTON Rep. Cori Bush is no stranger to protests. She spent years marching the streets of St. Louis and Ferguson, rising to public office on the strength of her activism. But as the Missouri Democrat looked out the window of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 only her third day as a member of Congress she knew what was about to take place would be no peaceful protest. The Confederate flags in the crowd, and the makeshift noose and gallows erected on the Capitol grounds, spoke to a more sinister reality. Ive been to hundreds of protests and have organized so many protests, I cant count. I know what a protest is: This is not that, Bush, who is Black, said recently in an interview with The Associated Press. The insurrection by pro-Trump supporters and members of far-right groups shattered the sense of security that many had long felt at the Capitol as rioters forcibly delayed the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. But for people of color, including many in Congress, the attack was more than a violent challenge to a free and fair election it was an eerily familiar display of white supremacist violence, this time at the very seat of American democracy. First of all, as a Black woman, that is already just tough on a level thats different from what a white person would experience," Bush said of the imagery and rhetoric surrounding the attack, especially the Confederate flag that was carried by a rioter inside the Capitol. "But it's especially different for Black people because of our history. The history of this country has been that type of language and imagery is directed right at us in a very negative and oftentimes violent way. While Bush managed to escape the Capitol and barricade with her staff in her office in a nearby building, dozens of police officers faced down the violent mob in hours of frantic hand-to-hand combat. More than 100 officers were injured, some severely. A group of officers testified to Congress in July about the physical and verbal abuse they faced from supporters of former President Donald Trump. Harry Dunn, a Black officer, recalled an exchange he had with rioters who disputed that Biden defeated Trump. When Dunn said that he had voted for Biden and that his vote should be counted, a crowd began hurling a racial slur at him. One woman in a pink MAGA (Make America Great Again) shirt yelled, You hear that guys, this n- voted for Joe Biden! said Dunn, who has served more than a dozen years on the Capitol Police force. Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in, screaming, Boo! F-ing n-!" he testified. He said no one had ever called him the N-word while he was in uniform. Later that night, Dunn said, he sat in the Capitol Rotunda and wept. Meanwhile, as the attack unfolded at the Capitol, a handful of lawmakers remained trapped in the House and Senate galleries with no escape as rioters fought to break in. After a gunshot killing Ashli Babbitt, who was among the rioters and attempting to leap through a broken window, rang out in the House chamber, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado decided the best thing members could do was take off their congressional pins identifying them as lawmakers. But for lawmakers of color like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., removing the pin was not an option. I thought theres no way Im taking off my pin. Because it was either you get recognized by the insurrectionist or you dont get recognized by Capitol Police as a brown woman or Black woman, Jayapal told the AP in December. She added: And so many of the members of color that I know did not take off their pins. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, the chairman of the panel investigating Jan. 6 and among those stuck in the gallery, said that day specifically brought back unpleasant experiences from his early days as a Black politician in Mississippi. I saw the kind of hatred in the eyes of the people who broke in the Capitol. It was that same kind of hatred I saw in people who wanted to stop people of color from casting a ballot for the candidate of their choice in Mississippi, Thompson said. In the aftermath of the attack, Crow and other white lawmakers reckoned with the experiences their colleagues of color faced that day. Crow told his Democratic colleague Rep. Val Demings, a Black former Orlando police chief who was also trapped in the gallery, that he didnt realize at the time how difficult it would be for members of color to disguise themselves from the mob. Jason shared after all of it with me that for him these are his words as a white male he could take off his pin, or he could keep his pin and run over to the other side with the Republicans and stand there and people may not know the difference, Demings said. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, also reflected on his ability to blend in more easily. I think to myself, well, if I need to, I can untuck my shirt, I can throw my jacket away. Im a white guy, Himes said. Theres actually a reasonable probability that I get through this crowd, right? In retrospect, I reflected on the fact that that was not true for Ilhan Omar, he said, referring to the Black Democrat from Minnesota. Crow himself called the interaction that day a learning moment. It wasnt until that day when I was on the receiving end of the violence of white supremacy in our nation that I understood, he said. The attack finally ended and the Capitol was secured. The rioters were allowed to peacefully leave the complex and lawmakers who stayed to finish the certification of the election went home. The images that surfaced online and on television showed the Capitols janitorial staff, the majority of them people of color, sweeping the broken glass and scrubbing the walls. Rep. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, joined them, getting on his hands and knees to pick up water bottles, clothing, Trump flags and U.S. flags. The son of Korean immigrants and, in 2018, the first Asian American to represent New Jersey in Congress, Kim reflected at the time how he, a person of color, was cleaning up after people who waved white supremacist symbols like the Confederate flag during the melee. While he hadnt considered race at the time, Kim told the AP shortly after the attack, Its so hard because we dont look at each other and see each other as Americans first." Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. JEFFERSON CITY A special legislative committee studying the St. Louis region has issued a report on its findings, but Democrats on the panel refused to sign off on the document. The Interim Committee on Greater St. Louis Regional Emerging Issues reached no conclusions on how to improve the area, but focused primarily on crime and how it could hamper growth in the city and county. After hearing from a bipartisan selection of local leaders, multiple testimonies concluded that crime and public safety are the biggest challenges facing the region, the report noted. Many of those who testified before the committee agreed that until crime and public safety are dealt with, St. Louis reputation will make it difficult to bring business and growth to the region and to the state. The panel, which met four times during the fall, was headed by Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, and dominated by Republican members. It was formed by Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, after a series of private meetings between Franklin, Jefferson and St. Charles County officials and political consultant David Barklage. In conclusion, this report should be a wake-up call to the Senate that the City of St. Louis lacks either the political will or resources to control its reputation on crime and it will continue to hurt the region and the state for the foreseeable future, the report said. Democrats on the committee said the outcome of the meetings was predetermined to focus on crime, rather than on issues that could help address crime, like poverty, job creation and education. They were foregone conclusions, said Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur. Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, said members of the committee did not have the chance to discuss the final conclusions contained in the report. Normally, when you have a committee, we get an opportunity to vote on something. We werent given that opportunity, May said. In the report, Gannon said she believes the panel should be reformed to continue its discussions during the summer months. May is unsure she would be involved in that effort. I still dont know the purpose of the committee, May said. Sen. Steve Roberts, D-St. Louis, also served on the panel. Like his Democratic colleagues, he did not sign the report. Republicans on the committee, each of whom signed off on the document, included Gannon, Schatz and Sens. Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg and Andrew Koenig of Manchester. Among those testifying at the hearings was St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who told the panel in September that Missouri legislators could help by leaving St. Louis alone. A one-size-fits-all approach handed down from Jefferson City has not worked and will not work if continued in the future, she said during the hearing at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. So when I see requests for legislation that will benefit St. Louis, I ask the Legislature this: Respect our autonomy and our ability to know whats best for our families and our neighborhoods. The panel, in its GOP-penned conclusion, appears to reject that request. Critical action by the state executive and legislative branches are needed if the region hopes to survive, the report said. While collaboration from within the region would be preferred, the value of the region to the state at large is too great to be left solely in the hands of the leadership that has failed it, and the rest of the state, for decades. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued St. Louis County on Wednesday to try to overturn a new mask requirement approved by local legislators the day before. The mask order, which took effect at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, requires masks in public indoor spaces for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people older than 5. The County Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to approve the measure in response to a record surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. The move was meant to replace a mask order that had been issued by County Executive Sam Page and Dr. Faisal Khan, acting health director, but was rescinded Dec. 9 after a Cole County judge presiding over a separate case struck down state regulations allowing local health departments to issue such orders. St. Louis County has appealed to intervene in the case and challenge the ruling, which did not explicitly bar orders approved by local politicians. Schmitt announced just after the council vote that he would challenge the measure in court. In a 16-page lawsuit filed Wednesday, Schmitt argued the council vote was illegally done, that the mask order violates state limits on public health measures, and that it represents an unreasonable burden on residents. Yet again, County Executive Page is attempting to impose his will on the citizens of St. Louis County through the forced masking of adults and even children, Schmitt said in a prepared statement. Citizens of St. Louis County should have the freedom to choose what is best for them and their families the government has no authority force them to wear a mask or get vaccinated. My Office has fought Sam Pages illegal mask mandates from the beginning, and were not going to give up now. This is a fight worth fighting. Page spokesman Doug Moore said Wednesday that Schmitts suit was aimed at garnering media attention for his election campaign. Schmitt, one of several candidates for Republican nomination to U.S. Senate, has previously sued St. Louis County and other governments to challenge COVID-19 health measures. People are dying, hospitalizations are at record levels, schools are going back to online learning and all Mr. Schmitt cares about is getting his name in the press, Moore said in a statement. The councils actions last night will save lives. Mr. Schmitts will not. This is the second lawsuit Schmitt has filed challenging county mask orders since a new state law enacted in July gave local politicians powers over health orders. Under that law, the County Council voted 5-2 to rescind a mask order issued by Page and Khan a day earlier. The bipartisan majority Rita Days, D-1st District, Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, Shalonda Webb, D-4th District, Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, and Mark Harder, R-7th District complained that Page did not consult them first. Schmitt, who had sued to block the order, cited the vote in court to win a temporary restraining order blocking the county from strenuously enforcing a mask requirement. In August, after weeks of criticism and debate, Days and Webb joined Councilwomen Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, and Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, in approving a nonbinding resolution supporting a mask requirement. The county issued a new mask mandate, and county judge lifted the temporary restraining order. The county ultimately rescinded the mask order Dec. 9 after the Cole County ruling, which came in a 2020 lawsuit by a St. Louis-area resident, a restaurant and a church challenging health regulations like occupancy limits. Schmitt, who defended the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in the lawsuit, had declined to appeal the ruling despite the agencys urging, and sent schools and governments cease-and-desist letters demanding they lift health regulations. The new mask order approved Tuesday was supported by all four council Democrats; Republicans objected, arguing it violated state law. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Schmitt argued the new mask order is effectively the same as a previous order issued by Page and Khan in July that a County Council majority voted 5-2 to overturn. Because of the council vote on July 27, Schmitt argued, a mask mandate remains a prohibited order. Schmitt also argued the county could not yet issue another mask requirement because the state law prohibits such health orders to 30 days within a 180-day period, if they dont get two-thirds legislative approval. And Schmitt asked the courts to declare that the new countywide mask order does not apply to school districts. Schmitt argued school districts are distinct and separate political subdivisions, from the county government, under the state constitution. A number of local school districts have reinstated mask requirements this week, the first week of classes since the holidays, amid record COVID-19 infection levels and hospitalizations. Page and other county officials had said a countywide mask requirement would support schools and businesses requiring masks. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JEFFERSON CITY The top Democrat in the Missouri House on Thursday filed her own plan for Missouris eight congressional districts, one she said makes the St. Louis County-based 2nd District more competitive than under a recent GOP proposal. While the 2nd District, currently represented by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, would become more competitive, the 1st District, held by Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, would reach into St. Charles County, another major difference from the GOP plan filed last week, which keeps the majority-minority 1st Congressional District within St. Louis and St. Louis County. If were trying to make this as fair as possible, we feel like our map is the better starting point, said House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, the plan sponsor. Because Republicans lack a two-thirds majority in the House, GOP mapmakers are poised to rely on Democratic support so the congressional map may take immediate effect, giving Democrats rare leverage in the Republican-dominated Legislature. The end result could be a map that gives Democrats two safe seats and a shot at the 2nd District, which Democrats have unsuccessfully targeted the last two election cycles. Quade said Democrats tried to draft a map that delivered them three of eight districts, but that doing so likely would mean sacrificing the 1sts majority-minority status. I dont think that we can, she said when asked if the Democrats could accomplish both objectives. We did try. Quade said the 1st stretches into St. Charles County due to population growth there over the last decade, including from African American voters moving there from north St. Louis County. The Democrats map also differs from the GOP proposal by placing most or all of Webster Groves, which votes Democratic, in the 2nd Congressional District rather than the 1st, which is already heavily Democratic. Other major changes from the GOP proposal include placing both Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base in the 4th Congressional District. Both are currently in the 4th, represented by Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, said recently the initial GOP proposal would risk the states seat on that panel by placing Fort Leonard Wood in the 8th District, which currently covers southeast Missouri. Another difference is that the Democrats proposal places all of Jefferson County in the 8th rather than including it in the 3rd, which includes many areas roughly along Interstate 70 between St. Charles and Jefferson City. The Democrats map places Lincoln County in the 3rd rather than the 6th, which covers northern Missouri. Lawmakers have said they will move fast to approve congressional maps this year. They return to Jefferson City on Monday. The legislation is House Bill 2324. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. People sometimes resort to unsafe ways to stay warm during cold weather: creating an open flame in a bathtub, lighting a fire in a barrel inside a home, using too many candles too close to walls, furniture and curtains. The consequences can be deadly, area firefighters said. Those unorthodox choices are among heating methods that firefighters throughout the region have seen during the winter months when the temperatures plunge. From about November to March, theres an uptick in fires caused by people trying to stay warm, whether in their own residence or, for those with no place to call home, in vacant buildings. There is no hiding from the cold, said Assistant Chief George McClellan of the East St. Louis Fire Department. In East St. Louis and St. Louis, vacant houses are the site of about 40% of the fires the departments extinguish, fire officials said. McClellan said its not uncommon to find families that had been taking shelter there. In those cases, they attempt to connect the individuals to area agencies that can assist. In St. Charles during the winter, fire department Deputy Chief Steve Brown said there have been instances where an older resident has chosen to use a space heater instead of a furnace due to high costs, and a fire has resulted. In other cases, space heaters have caused fires after being used for longer than is safe. Prevention of these types of blazes is essential, said Capt. Garon Mosby of the St. Louis Fire Department. Make sure your residence has a smoke detector installed and that it works, Mosby said, noting that the St. Louis Fire Department will install smoke detectors as part of its prevention efforts. Not having a working detector can lead to tragic and preventable situations. On Wednesday, Philadelphia firefighters said that a duplex where an earlier fire killed at least 12 people, including eight children, appeared to have no working smoke detectors. Additional heating sources, such as space heaters, cant be left unattended or operated for too long. And they need to be monitored particularly closely depending on the age of the residence and whether its electrical system is up to date, McClellan said. In the county, yes, your home might be up to 30 years old, but in the city its real easy to find 50-, 60-, 70-, 80-year-old homes that do not have the system thats made for that (space heaters), McClellan said. Upgrading your electrical system especially in older homes is imperative. Alternate sources of heating can also pose carbon monoxide risks, particularly when theres a power outage or a homes utilities have been disconnected. In Iron County, about 95 miles southwest of St. Louis, first responders discovered a man and a woman and their two infant children, 9 months of age, dead inside a home Tuesday morning. The Iron County Sheriffs Department said initial findings indicate that an alternative heat source in the living room of the home is believed to have played a role in the deaths. Foul play is not suspected. Mosby stressed that for fire situations in particular, its important to anticipate the worst that can happen and have an emergency plan in place. Thats not the time to figure out Do I grab the dog? or Hey, whos gonna go get the kids? All that should be worked out ahead of time. Its just a matter of practicing it to the point where it becomes automatic, Mosby said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Updated Jan. 6: A memorial for Mark S. Weil, originally scheduled for Jan. 8 at Washington University's Steinberg Hall, has been postponed due to concerns over COVID-19. A new date will be announced. Mark Steinberg Weil, an art historian, collector and generous supporter of St. Louis cultural institutions, died Thursday (Nov. 18) in Rhode Island of cancer. He was 82. Among his donations were financial gifts to Washington University and more than 200 drawings, prints and sculptures to the St. Louis Art Museum, including some by Rembrandt and Durer. Mark loved Old Master prints, said Joan Hall, his wife. That was his passion. He also had been deeply devoted to St. Louis and was proud to support the visual arts here, said Elizabeth C. Childs, chair of Washington Universitys department of art history and archaeology. Childs was one of many art historians whom Weil mentored through his 37 years at Washington University, where he twice served terms as chairman of the art history department. Nothing gave him more pleasure than watching students discover a love for art history, Childs said. Weil was born in St. Louis in 1939 into a family of art collectors and philanthropists. His maternal grandmother, Etta Steinberg, gave money for the skating rink in Forest Park, Steinberg Hall at WU and the Mark C. Steinberg Hospital, now part of the Barnes-Jewish complex. She donated masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas and others to the St. Louis Art Museum, and her children and grandchildren continued collecting and donating art, including to the St. Louis museum and Washington Universitys museum. Growing up on Forsyth Boulevard near the university was stimulating, Mark S. Weil said. The family often entertained art collectors and professors: So many absolutely fascinating people came through our house, the universitys Record quoted him as saying in 2015. The excitement of an atmosphere like that was palpable to an adolescent. Weil graduated from the university with his bachelors degree in art history in 1961, then earned masters and doctoral degrees from Columbia University. He returned to Washington University as an assistant professor in 1968, teaching courses that included topics on Renaissance architecture, Rembrandt van Rijn and 15th through 17th century art theory. His interests were across the humanities, Childs said. He was deeply invested in bringing a broad view to the meaning of any work of art. In 1998, he became director of the universitys Gallery of Art, now known as the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. He helped create a plan that would link the museum with the universitys schools of art and architecture to make up a new Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Weil retired in 2005, and about seven years ago, he and Hall, an artist and former Washington University professor, moved to Jamestown, Rhode Island. After retirement, Weil took up photography, focusing on birds and nature. He also enjoyed taking photographs in restaurants through stemware, Hall said: He would find beauty in the mundane. Other interests included travel, food and kayaking. In 2018, Weil and Hall created WUs Mark Steinberg Weil Professorship in Art History and Archaeology, currently held by Claudia Swan. The next year, they established a fund that supports several annual research awards, fellowships and internships. And this fall, they founded the Mark S. Weil and Joan M. Hall Endowment for Art History and Archaeology to fund major research projects for faculty and students along with collaborative initiatives in the visual arts. In 2013, the universitys Search Award was made not to an individual but to three generations of the Steinberg-Weil family for their contributions to the university. This month, Hall and Weil gave 24 works of art to the St. Louis Art Museum, adding to 190 objects from a promised gift by Weil and his former wife, Phoebe Dent Weil. The promised gift was finalized Nov. 1. Among the works are impressions of Durers Adam and Eve, and his master prints Knight, Death, and the Devil, Melencolia I and St. Jerome in His Study as well as Rembrandts in the Christ Preaching, also known as the Hundred Guilder Print, on Japanese paper, the museum said. Seventeen works given are on view in a presentation of Renaissance and baroque art in Gallery 236. In addition to Renaissance and baroque works, the museum said recently, the Weil gift includes drawings by Henri Matisse and Alberto Giacometti, contemporary works on paper, and Japanese hanging scrolls and wooden storage chests. In a statement to the museums boards last week, director Min Jung Kim remembered Weil: Mark and his wife Joan M. Hall have made a measurable impact on the museum over the years through their generous annual support, art gifts, and their participation in the acquisition of works of art in the Museums collection. Mark and his former wife Phoebe Dent Weil were early leadership supporters of the museums campaign and passionate, life-long collectors of art. Weils survivors include his wife, two brothers, Richard (Josephine) Weil, and John (Anabeth) Weil; two sons, Daniel and Alex; and one grandson, Nathan. He was predeceased by his sister, Paula K. Weil. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 8 at Steinberg Hall at Washington University. Contributions may be made to the St. Louis Art Museum, Jamestown Art Center in Jamestown or Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Its been almost four years since St. Francois County Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher hurriedly designed a new seal for the county. Yet over the weekend, his design was lambasted online, prompting a search for a new one. On Saturday night, the seal was posted on a design subreddit (r/CrappyDesign), with Reddit users sharing feedback ranging from, In Clip Art We Trust to This looks like some kind of meme starter pack. As of this writing, the thread has amassed some 861 comments and is in the top 10 posts of the month on the subreddit, which boasts 2.7 million members. Gallahers 2018 update of the seal features a plethora of imagery: An American flag; a shovel and pickaxe; a Bible and cross; a map of St. Francois County above since 1821, the year it was founded; and a bald eagle hanging askew over the other elements. It looks like the eagle lost its balance and is falling off, noted one Reddit user. Wrapped around the circular seal are seven words in big red letters, The Great Seal of St. Francois County. Even this element of the seal wasnt spared on Reddit. One user commented that the county couldn't even wrap the text in a way that lines up properly between the inner circle and the outer circle! Another user guessed that the seal was created in Microsoft Word. The wrapped text not even following a circle shows how lazily this was done but I also suspect this was wordart and all put together in word rather than a professional program. At the St. Francois County commission meeting on Tuesday, Gallaher acknowledged the uproar, as reported by NPR. "There's a fever pitch, I understand, on social media about the seal of the county," Gallaher said, adding that the seal is, proof positive that I am not artistically inclined." "I have always told the person making any comment that I would welcome any improved design ideas they may have, but no one ever went that far," Gallaher said in an email to NPR. "Now, with the matter at such a high-attention getting furor, it is time to make it a project and get the job done and done well." That project comes in the form of a public contest for a new St. Francois County seal. Contest details will be shared at the next county commission meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 11, although Gallaher has already said he wants the new seal to contain the same elements as the current one, plus a reference to county parks. There is one design choice Gallaher would like to drop for sure, though: The big red letters snaking around the seal. "It fades too quickly," he said. The designer of the new seal will not receive payment for their work; per NPR, the county is not willing to spend taxpayer funds on design fees. Instead, the winner will receive a small prize funded by donations from county officials. This choice has already been met with some criticism on the r/StLouis subreddit, with one user posting: I read how he didn't want to pay anything for it because he didn't want to pay for it with taxpayer dollars despite it going to be used on property that the taxpayers of St. Francois County would use everywhere. BOSTON A deadly form of soot pollution from U.S. refineries has gone unregulated for decades because of a dispute between the U.S. oil industry and federal environmental officials over how to measure it, according to documents from the Environmental Protection Agency. The delay in addressing so-called condensable fine particulate matter emissions means this pollutant is being released by scores of facilities across the country unchecked, adding to a slew of other contaminants from oil refineries that researchers say take a disproportionately large toll on the health of poor and minority communities living nearby. The absence of a federal standard has led at least one regional air quality regulator in California to attempt a crack-down on these emissions, an effort that has sparked litigation from oil refiners located there. Condensable fine particulate matter is a form of soot that leaves the smokestack as a gas before solidifying into particles when it cools. The EPA first proposed a method to measure it in 1991 amid evidence that it was at least as damaging to human lungs as normal soot, which is solid when emitted. The agency says even short-term exposure to fine soot particles can lead to heart attacks, lung cancer, asthma attacks and premature death. Scientific research cited by the EPA estimates that, combined, condensable and solid soot cause more than 50,000 premature deaths a year in the United States, findings that are disputed by the industry. But the EPA has declined to impose limits on the condensable form of the pollutant. The oil industry and its main lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute, claim the agency has failed to come up with an accurate test to quantify it, according to EPA disclosures and interviews with independent testing firms, API officials and the trade groups members. The industry says testing employed currently can overstate the amount of condensable soot emitted by refineries under certain conditions, a flaw the EPA has acknowledged. Costly retrofits or new control devices should not be required based on results from a faulty method, Chevron Corp. said in a statement. Setting a national limit on pollutant emissions without consensus on how to measure those emissions is unfeasible because it would invite legal challenges from the industry, according to regulators and analysts. The EPA said in a statement that it is still conducting research into how to reliably measure condensable soot, but did not comment on a timeline for finishing the effort. The delays are dangerous, said Greg Karras, an environmental scientist who has worked for nonprofit groups seeking reduced emissions from the refining industry. It is inappropriate to wait more than 30 years to protect people from this form of pollution while you are trying to perfect a test, Karras said. If condensable soot were eventually regulated, it would force nearly all of the countrys 135 oil refineries to invest in new pollution-control equipment, based on estimates of current emissions using the EPAs contested testing method. San Francisco cracks down Soot is comprised of particles many times smaller than a grain of sand that can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream if inhaled. The EPA regulates solid forms of soot, which are easy to measure by filtering smokestack emissions. But because condensable soot is gaseous in the smokestack, it is harder to quantify. The EPAs current test for condensable soot, called Method 202, uses probes and glass tubes placed inside refinery smokestacks to collect samples from the gas stream. It shows individual U.S. refineries can emit up to hundreds of tons of the pollutant per year, sometimes accounting for nearly half of a refinerys total soot emissions, according to a Reuters review of regulatory documents filed by oil companies. The material examined by the news agency dates from 2017 to 2021 and includes results of Method 202 tests that some refineries had commissioned to meet local requirements or as part of litigation. The API, however, says the test can produce erroneously high readings of condensable soot if the samples react with other chemicals that commonly are present at a refinery. The EPA has acknowledged that pollution levels could be overestimated using Method 202, agency disclosures show. The EPA revised Method 202 in 2010 in an attempt to eliminate this bias. But the revision did not fully address industry concerns about potentially skewed results due to the presence of other compounds in refinery smokestacks, particularly ammonia, according to a 2014 EPA memorandum. The EPAs National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Ohio, which is charged with finding scientific and engineering solutions to environmental problems, is now working with the API on resolving issues with Method 202 while exploring an alternative methodology, the EPA said. The long-running issue surfaced last year when regulators in San Franciscos Bay Area, which includes nine counties around the city of San Francisco, passed the strictest soot regulations in the country in a bid to ease pollution in the neighborhoods around its cluster of oil refineries. U.S. states and regions are often given the power to impose their own pollution limits provided those rules are as strong, or stronger, than federal regulations. The Bay Area Air Quality Management Districts (BAAQMD) new limits include condensable soot and require the industry despite its objections to use Method 202 to quantify those soot emissions. The agency contends the test is accurate and that condensable soot measurements are not impacted by the presence of ammonia in a smokestack if a refinery is operating properly. The tougher soot standard goes into effect in 2026 to give oil companies time to adapt. Refining companies PBF Energy Inc. and Chevron, which is headquartered in San Ramon, are fighting the BAAQMDs new regulations in Contra Costa County Superior Court, according to a civil complaint filed in September. The companies say the rules would force them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on pollution-control equipment for their Bay Area refineries. API and our members support policies at the federal level that follow the science to drive emissions reductions, but the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is using the wrong approach, Ron Chittim, APIs vice president of downstream policy, said in a statement to Reuters. Chevron estimates it would cost $1.48 billion to install a so-called wet gas scrubber at its refinery in Richmond, California, a pollution-control approach the BAAQMD wants the company to use. BAAQMD estimates its restrictions would cut the areas annual death toll from soot by as much as half. Soot-related deaths currently average up to 12 a year from Chevrons Richmond refinery and up to six deaths a year from PBF Energys refinery in Martinez, California, the regulator estimates. Refiners disputed those figures in comments submitted to BAAQMD staff. The industry says the numbers dont take into account lifestyle choices of the deceased, such as smoking, and it contends the health benefits from cuts in soot production are exaggerated. A BAAQMD spokesperson declined further comment, citing ongoing litigation. New standard? The EPA under Democratic President Joe Biden has said it is weighing whether to lower its existing limits for soot pollution after former Republican President Donald Trumps administration declined to do so. But the agency would not specify whether it planned to crack down on condensable soot. In Texas, which has the largest number of refineries in the country, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it does not have plans to tighten restrictions on particulate matter, a spokesman said. Elsewhere, recent test results at two refineries showed that condensable soot accounted for a significant portion of overall soot generated by those operations. In Delaware, at the Delaware City Refinery owned by PBF, 48% of the soot measured was condensable soot, according to results from a May stack test performed by an outside consulting firm as part of the facilitys routine compliance with federal air quality regulations. PBF declined to comment. At Exxon Mobil Corp.s refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 17% of soot measured was condensable, according to an August stack test on file with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Exxon declined to comment on the battle over Method 202. The company said it was continuously optimizing our processes to minimize emissions and enhance energy efficiency. After being a caregiver simultaneously for three very independent seniors for more than 10 years, to survive mentally I developed a mantra that goes like this: You cannot make grown people do anything unless they are unconscious, and only then if their doctors will let you. Ive said it so often that my friends are now using it too. You can beg and plead, cry, threaten, and tout logic, all to no avail if the people are ensconced in their belief or set on a course of action or inaction. I fear this is what we are up against with the anti-vaccination and anti-mask throngs in this country. People who are firmly entrenched in their beliefs will rarely be convinced otherwise by science or logic. In the summer of 2020, before the vaccines were available, I wrote a column about a young friend who was convinced that only people with underlying conditions became seriously ill or died of this new virus. Furthermore, she thought that the government and the media were blowing it all out of proportion, that the virus was being listed as the cause of many deaths when really it was the underlying condition that caused it. At the time I asked: What about babies and small children whod died? Her response was that shed have to see their autopsies because, undoubtedly, they had some undisclosed, underlying condition. I then remarked that Id had high blood pressure since my early 40s, which had been successfully managed, but if I should happen to get the virus and die, why would high blood pressure be listed as the primary cause? I never got an answer to that. In my memory, shed gotten annual flu shots, so I really thought that as time wore on, and more science was disclosed, shed change her mind. I was wrong. Now, a year and a half later, I reconnected with this friend, who is even more convinced that the government is pushing these vaccines when snake oil might work just as effectively against the virus. And, in a move that Id describe as cutting off her nose to spite her face, she has decided to quit her longtime government job in protest against federal mandates. It was immaterial that she had no new job lined up and was neither independently wealthy nor even close to being old enough for Medicare (which is cheap in comparison to some other forms of health insurance coverage). She was leaving. Flabbergasted, I asked what shed do about health insurance. She said she wasnt worried because she hadnt been sick for years and shed get catastrophic coverage when her employers health insurance stopped. Had I not been so shocked, Id have asked other questions such as: Surely, youre not cashing out your pension and 401K, are you? This of course was none of my business, and besides, I had my mantra. Later over our meal, I had to tell her who Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive, is. And as lunch continued, I mentioned that Id had relatives in Mayfield, Kentucky, who were already old when Id met them in the 1970s so I was sure they were long dead before the tornado ravaged that town the week before. At that point, she denied any knowledge of the tornado. What? We didnt live that far apart. Id heard the countywide alerts and warnings on my cellphone as those storms approached. Television shows were interrupted or preempted too. Didnt she say it was the media that was pushing vaccinations? Shes not on social media, so what media was she talking about? In 1907, when Mary Mallon (aka Typhoid Mary) refused to believe that she was a carrier of typhoid fever, she was originally deemed a threat to public health and eventually, after breaking probation, quarantined on North Brother Island for life. In her lifetime, she contaminated more than 120 people, causing the confirmed deaths of three. With the coronavirus causing more than 800,000 deaths in the United States thus far, there are not enough islands on the planet to quarantine those who wont believe in science as Typhoid Mary did. Moreover, I fear there is little we can do to dissuade them of their beliefs regardless of the science. There are millions of Mary Mallons out there. Janet Y. Jackson is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member. One year ago on Thursday, a sitting U.S. president attempted to overturn an election, which he clearly lost, so he could remain in office. That unparalleled betrayal of Americas long, proud history of peacefully transferring power was violently abetted by supporters he incited, resulting in the first mass incursion against the nations Capitol since the British did it in 1814. As America pauses on Jan. 6 to look back at this deadly anniversary, former President Donald Trump, with his usual disregard for duty or decency, continues to promote the big lie that he was fraudulently robbed of reelection. Though its clear that many believers of that lie are beyond the reach of facts or reason, we offer this assessment of what is publicly known so far to have happened before, during and after the insurrection, and how it continues to threaten democracy today. Our hope is that those who are still persuadable will come to understand why this remains the most urgent political issue of our time. The 2020 election was the most closely monitored contest in Americas history, primarily because Trump telegraphed for months in advance that he would cry fraud in response to any election outcome other than a victory for himself. The only way were going to lose this election is if the election is rigged, remember that, he said in a typically unsupported and reckless comment at a rally in August 2020. Just hours after the polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, Trump and his insiders were already plotting how to wrench away Joe Bidens 7 million-vote victory, according to records recently revealed by the House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. A yet-unnamed Republican official texted Trumps chief of staff, Mark Meadows, the very day after the election well before any credible claims of election fraud could even theoretically have been made to suggest that Republican-controlled swing states should simply ignore the voters and seat Trump electors. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Trump loyalist, forwarded a text to Meadows suggesting that Vice President Mike Pence could just refuse to carry out his ceremonial certification of the election results. Think about that: An elected representative suggested that a sitting vice president could simply invalidate a national election if he and his boss didnt win. In addition to indicating gross ignorance regarding the Constitution that Jordan swore to uphold, its glaring evidence of this gangs disdain for democracy. Yet Trump would ultimately embrace that very strategy, leaning on Pence to hand him an election that Trump couldnt win himself. Pences refusal will stand as a shining commendation in an otherwise fraught political career. In the leadup to Jan. 6, Trumps campaign lawyers hawked their baseless, often bizarre conspiracy theories in scores of courtrooms yet failed to convince a single judge of significant fraud allegations. A parallel effort by Trumps campaign, and in some cases by Trump himself, was made to directly pressure Republican election officials in various states to tip the scales in Trumps favor. Anyone who still believes that Trump is sincere in his grievance should recall his words to Georgias Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on Jan. 2 of last year, as Trump frantically tried to get that states election result overturned: I just want to find 11,780 votes one vote more than Bidens victory margin there. Those arent the words of someone who is trying to prevent the theft of an election; those are the words of someone who is trying to steal one. When that and all of Trumps other pre- and post-election schemes failed to cast aside the will of the voters, he targeted Jan. 6 as his last stand. That was the date Congress was to convene and formally certify the states Electoral College votes. Normally a rubber-stamp technicality, this time the process was weaponized by congressional Republicans who, executing a pre-planned script, objected to the vote certification from battleground states, citing Trumps debunked claims of vote fraud. Key to this effort was Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, the first senator to object, thus guaranteeing there would be floor debate around which Trumps mob could rally. As lawmakers undertook the debate that day, Trumps nearby speech to his supporters was typically ad hoc and meandering. It included lines like, Make your voices heard, which some of his defenders have cited as evidence that he was merely calling for peaceful protest rather than violence. But that argument ignores the wider context: Trumps speech, indeed his entire rally, was built around his false and toxic claim of a stolen election. It was a lie-laced screed full of inflammatory lines like, Our country has had enough, and We will not take it anymore, and You have to show strength, and We will not be intimidated all of it culminating with a call to march on the Capitol with the admonition that if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore. All of America watched live what came next: Thousands of Trumps supporters from the rally descended upon the Capitol, overwhelming and brutalizing police. More than 700 flooded into the building through shattered windows and doors, barreling down corridors, rummaging through offices and searching out the targets who Trump had vilified Democrats, insufficiently loyal Republicans, Pence as Americas elected leaders huddled and hid. The melee ultimately cost five lives and the nations self-image as the one country on Earth in which something like this could never happen. If Trumps speech before the assault was damning, his silence during it was more so. For more than three hours as aides, Republican congressional leaders and even Trumps adult children frantically implored him to call his hordes to heel Trump refused. This wasnt inattentiveness or paralysis on his part; he was actively rooting for this attack on the seat of government in his name. Thats an indisputable conclusion based on his revealing dismissal of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthys plea that he call off the rioters: Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are. When Trump finally did release a video calling on the mob to go home, he couldnt help repeating the vote-fraud lies that had incited them in the first place, adding: We love you, youre very special. This was Americas president explicitly siding with those who had violently disrupted Americas electoral process. Trump was subsequently impeached and, had America had a fully functioning democracy, would have been quickly removed from office. But Senate Republicans refused to convict in this open-and-shut case, allowing him to sulk away like a petulant child on Jan. 20, breaking yet another norm by refusing to participate in the inauguration of his successor. Since then, some Republicans have minimized the significance of what happened, with one characterizing it as akin to a tourism outing. Others asserted the attackers were only posing as Trump loyalists. Many more have insisted that its time to just move on, to stop talking about this greatest betrayal of America from within since the Civil War and the only such betrayal driven by a sitting president. Meanwhile, red-state legislatures around the country are working overtime to restrict voting rights and bring election officials under the control of Republican partisans so that, next time, those officials wont be able to form a last line of defense against a president or a party determined to sidestep the voters. The cancer of Trumps big lie has spread to rank-and-file Republican voters as well, with large majorities of them telling pollsters they still believe Trump won the 2020 election. As America commemorates Thursdays anniversary, Trump had planned to deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago declaring that that the insurrection took place on November 3rd Election Day. He canceled those plans late Tuesday but made clear he would continue promoting his big lie going forward. The only acceptable response to Trumps ongoing attacks on Americas democracy is forceful and unqualified condemnation. And yet most elected Republicans respond with the same enabling silence theyve offered for the past five years, as Trumps anti-constitutional outrages have escalated. For those who ask why were still talking about Jan. 6: This is why. As long as one of Americas two major parties continues to embrace a would-be autocrat who threatened the very foundation of constitutional governance, that threat remains. Since the 1990s, two of the three largest armed forces in the world, those of Russia and China, underwent tremendous personnel reductions. In both nations a far higher percentage of officers were fired or retired than the far more numerous enlisted troops. One reason for this approach was the lack of NCOs (non-commissioned officers), as in sergeants and naval petty officers. The third largest force in the world, the United States, also went through some reductions but increased the proportion of officers. The U.S. always had a large number of NCOs but the rising number of officers relative to enlisted troops has become a problem that defies solution. In America the ratio of all troops to all officers went from about twenty to one in 1900 to ten to one in 1945, and four to one today. This ratio has steadily gotten worse. In 1960 it was seven to one and that fell to 6.5 to one in 1977 and kept declining as more enlisted jobs were taken over by contractors. The lowest ratio is in the Air Force due to the large number of pilots and the high proportion of very technical jobs. Contractors could have taken over a lot of officer jobs but that was one foreign custom the U.S. avoided. The enormous growth in technical jobs, and the difficulty in recruiting and keeping the needed techies, has led to more officer jobs, and cash bonuses for both officers and enlisted personnel in hard to fill slots. Many technical jobs that enlisted troops handled were converted to officer positions in order to make it easier to attract and keep specialists. Supply and demand keep these officer jobs, or cash bonuses, in play. Many of the additional admirals and generals are in charge of very technical operations that require a lot of skill and experience to carry out. Sometimes the military cannot find qualified people to fill these jobs, and just puts in an available general or admiral and hopes for the best but those hopes are rarely realized. Another problem was that reducing positions for admirals and generals is compromised by the fact that these senior officials are those who make the decisions about who gets cut. Any effort to cut the fat in the senior ranks tends to quietly fail. An example of this occurred a decade ago as many American troops were withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan and a RIF (Reduction In Force) took place. The plan then was to cut flag officers (admirals and generals) by about five percent. Some cuts were made but then those lost flag officer jobs slowly reappeared. On closer examination it was discovered that there werent just more flag officers but more officers in general. And some of the reasons for that were very practical. Higher rank had become a recruiting and retention tool. The number of these senior officers was not the main problem, but how they were used. For example, during World War II, a lot more technology was adopted by the military, and that required some hard-to-get and expensive talent to supervise development, operation and maintenance. The military can't use many cash incentives, but it can offer rank and all the flattery and respect that goes with it. This works in commercial firms and politics and it worked in the military. Leadership and management issues aside, the bean counters know that each senior officer position eliminated will save several million dollars. The salary and benefits for the senior officer is only a small part of this. The big expense is for the staff, fringe benefits and office space required to show the proper respect. But its not just about money, it's about leadership, and sometimes less is more. The situation is different in Europe, where there is a tradition of using civilians for many administrative jobs. China recently adopted this approach to reduce the growing number of officers. The civilian administrative and technical specialists who were part of the military, wore uniforms and had rank and pay equivalent to equivalent ranks of senior NCOs and officers all the way up to high- ranking generals. In Germany these civilians were called Beamten (officials) and the system was established so the number of Beamten could be greatly expanded in wartime to provide needed specialists in areas like medicine, meteorology (weather prediction), logistics (procuring food, clothing and equipment), legal, education, research, construction, finance, maintenance and repair of heavy equipment and so on. The rank insignia on beamte uniforms were similar to but distinct from what officers and senior NCOs wore. Bematen do not have military title or authority of officers, although junior troops often cannot tell the difference and saluted beamte they encountered. Beamte only have authority, not command, in their specialty and often supervise large numbers of non-uniformed civilians and coordinated activities with managers and executives of civilian firms providing goods and services to the military. During World War II over 100,000 Beamten worked for the German military and towards the end of the war many of them, especially those who were retired officers or NCOs were converted to officers because of the shortage of officers in the last year of the war. The current Chinese military has two million personnel plus, so far, about 30,000 Beamte which the Chinese call contract civilians or civilian cadres (supervisors). There are many more non-uniformed civilian employees that the contract civilians supervise. Many of these work for provincial recruiting and administrative organizations that handle conscription and volunteers for the military. Like the Germans, the Chinese Beamte are considered officer level officials who wear uniforms with special insignia, are paid at rates similar to officers and provide a force of experienced Beamte that can be rapidly expanded in wartime. The Chinese beamte work on three-to-five-year employment contracts. Many more civilian technical specialists never have to wear a uniform at all, like computer security personnel, because that sort of thing is not popular with the hacker types. These specialists often move on to other jobs and are no longer useful to the military. The Chinese follow the skills, not civilians or officers seeking a career. The American system is different and the Department of Defense has 750,000 civilian government employees. Most of these are never expected to serve with the troops although some do and the civil service (GS) ranks are used to determine what level accommodations these civilians receive if working with the military overseas or a combat zone. These civilians are usually given combat uniforms with no rank insignia. So are other civilians attached to the military in a combat zone, like journalists. But this is much less militarized than the beamte system developed by many European armies during the 19th century. The system continues in some countries into the present although most now use the less formal American system for civilian employees of the military. China found the German World War II system more useful for their needs, especially since the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) occupies a special position in the Chinese military similar to the German Nazi Party during World War II. Like the Germans the Chinese favor military veterans for Beamte jobs but only if the vets have the necessary technical or educational skills as well. For a long time, the American military was the most respected and trusted government institution. In the past the military realized when it was having problems and corrected them. In the last two decades there has been another cycle of bad leadership at the top and despite surveys of departing officers pointing out a loss of confidence in their superiors, the problems continued. The public noticed, after all it was their sons and daughters who provided the officers and enlisted personnel and the kids were not all right with how their senior commanders were operating. The public noticing this failure is relatively recent. In 2018 70 percent of Americans had a great deal of trust and confidence in the military. That has since declined to 45 percent and is apparently continuing to fall. Over the last decade the U.S. Army stopped trying to pretend that growing corruption among their officers did not exist and was not a serious problem. The other services are in a similar situation and are right behind the army in being open about corruption and seeking solutions. This is not a new problem, except this time the people at the top, in many cases, see nothing wrong. That is different. In the past these problems arrived and departed in cycles. The last time around, corruption peaked during the late 1960s in Vietnam and in the 1970s the army made a real, and effective, effort to clean it up. After 2001, once more, during a war, the corruption returned. During Vietnam the corruption crept back in part because better communications created a faster news cycle and enabled senior commanders and politicians to have direct control of the troops that was never possible before. This led to all sorts of problems that only got worse when the Internet became popular and allowed even more new leadership problems to develop unnoticed. The core problem was what the military calls micromanagement and it led to impossible and unreasonable demands on commanders and troops which then led to the troops rationalizing cutting corners and telling their bosses what they wanted to hear, whether it was true or not. The impact of this was first noted a few years after September 11, 2001 when the army found that an unusually high number of junior officers were leaving the army. When these officers were asked why, one reason that kept coming up was a loss of trust in their commanders and the belief that junior officers could not rely on honest answers from their bosses, who were often more concerned about the opinion of the media or politicians back home. Army researchers and analysts began to monitor this sort of thing and have been releasing more and more data on what they have found and a lot of that dirt is becoming public knowledge. The growing lack of trust led to more cheating and corruption in general as subordinates strived to meet the unreasonable (zero tolerance) demands made on them. Those studying the current problem found that when they looked at the U.S. military during Vietnam, where there was a similar pattern of corruption. Micromanagement, first seen during the Vietnam War when advances in communications allowed someone in Washington to speak directly with commanders in combat, reached new heights during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and caused major headaches for another generation of battlefield commanders with serious micromanagement problems. All this got really bad in 2004 when the U.S. Department of Defense decided to provide the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) with a real time combat command capability. This meant that the JCS, led by its chairman, now had a combat command center in the Pentagon where they used satellite communications to directly observe, and sometimes control, combat forces anywhere on the planet. This contradicts the experience in combat, where the best approach was giving subordinates their mission and leaving their subordinates to figure out a way to do it. But now, with a generation of senior commanders with no experience of being micromanaged platoon leaders in Vietnam, the insidious and crippling micromanagement disease crept back into the White House and Pentagon and there were not a lot of people who knew of the flaws. The result was field commanders being second guessed by nervous superiors halfway around the world. These same superiors were now calling in lawyers to help them make the right (for the guy in Washington) decision while the troops were under fire and waiting for permission to proceed. It wasn't always this way and the exodus of junior officers with personal experience with how the system was broken, was a warning that has largely been ignored at the very top. It was only in the past century that a government gained the ability to exercise any control at all over armed forces far from the capital. This was first done with the introduction of overland and undersea telegraph lines in the 19th century and world-wide radio broadcasting equipment early in the 20th century. Before that an admiral or general was sent off with orders to accomplish a mission and pretty much allowed to get it done as they saw fit. The generals and admirals rather liked this approach, as their job was hard enough without a bunch of politicians looking over their shoulder and second guessing their every decision. Even with the radio messages from back home, the combat commanders were still left to sort things out on their own. The radio was used mainly to report progress, or lack of it, not ask permission for every move. But by the 1960s it was possible to patch through a telephone call from the White House to an infantry battalion commander deep in the Vietnamese bush. And it wasn't just the dreaded phone call from the president you had to worry about. The beleaguered battalion commander might have brigade, division, and corps commanders circling overhead in helicopters, all of them observing and offering advice or giving orders. This "micromanagement" was much disliked by the guys on the ground, trying to run a battle they were right in the middle of. After Vietnam the Department of Defense tried to deal with this problem by establishing regional commands to cover the entire planet and then appoint four-star generals or admirals to command all American forces in that region if there were a war. The rest of the time they would keep an eye on things and get ready for any possible war. These commanders in chief (or CINCs as they are still called, unofficially) were sometimes guilty of micromanagement, although all experienced combat commanders recognized that it was best to leave the commanders of the fighting units alone. This was the lesson. Micromanagement was bad but it persisted. Why? Blame it on the media. Just as military communications had improved, so had the ability of the media to get the story back to their audience of voters, pundits, and unfriendly politicians. In the past the commander on the spot might do things that did not look good in the media but it took so long to get the story back that the operation was over by the time it did. If the battle was won many sins would be forgiven. That no longer works. Communications now allow reporters to deliver color commentary while a battle is going on. The president, the ultimate (by law and in fact) commander in chief, is held responsible for whatever the troops do. It is not possible, politically, to wait for the combat commanders to finish their job before the president, or his aides make judgements and issue new orders. Examples of micromanagement were abundant in the recent Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Washington often had to be consulted before sensitive attacks were made, like having a Predator UAV launch a Hellfire missile at some guy on the ground who might be Osama bin Laden, or some tall Afghan with a beard, a new SUV, and a commanding manner. The JCS Command Post was an attempt to deal with this problem. The JCS and the Secretary of Defense are the president's senior, and most frequent, military advisors. Ultimately, the buck stops with the JCS. So, by plugging the JCS into a world-wide command system, politically sensitive decisions can be resolved quickly, in minutes, or at least in less than an hour. The more frequent contact between the president, the Secretary of Defense, and the JSC with combat commanders might build up a degree of trust that would enable sensitive decisions to be made more quickly. This would happen, in a best-case situation, because the JCS Command Post had developed confidence in the judgment of the commanders out there. The reality, as is often the case, was different. But the JCS Command Post has just become another layer of management that slows down decision making without improving the ability of the troops to get the job done. To solve this problem, it was proposed that the CINC be reduced to the status of a staff officer. The CINC and his several hundred staff officers and support troops, would be the repository of knowledge about the local situation and would take care of all those logistical and support details that enable the combat operations to happen. So far, the CINCs have successfully resisted this, but it's happening anyway whenever the folks back in Washington want to throw their considerable weight around. Speaking of staff work, one thing combat staffs are increasingly concerned with is how to deal with politically delicate situations that the media could run with, often in uncomfortable directions. This sort of thing has been seen frequently since September 11, 2001. For example, when sandstorms seemed to have "stalled" the American advance on Baghdad in 2003, the president, or at least the Secretary of Defense, had to be in touch with the commanders inside the sand storm and then say something to the press that would defuse the story and wouldn't blow up later if it proved to be false. For those who didn't catch the follow up on the stand storm, the troops were delayed by the need to resupply, especially fuel for their very thirsty M-1 tanks and the storm actually helped because the Iraqis thought they could safely move Republican Guard divisions under cover of it. They couldn't, as there were American satellites, UAVs, and sensors on the ground that could see right through the sand. Iraqi tanks and troops got shot up on a massive scale before they realized that the airborne sand blinded them more than the Americans. The ability to quickly communicate between the battlefield and the Pentagon came in handy after Baghdad fell and the Baath party diehards continued to resist with ambushes. But all of this communication was improvised. That experience naturally led to the idea that better preparation for that situation would have improved communications and decision making. The Pentagon and White House already expected to see real time UAV video coverage of critical events. But there are often dozens of video feeds running through Department of Defense satellites, and the JCS Command Post tries to sort it all out and have the most important videos marked for the attention of the president, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the JCS, or for release to the media. Sometimes the micromanagement backfires, as it did during the disorganized and very flawed withdrawal of the last American troops in Afghanistan at the end of August 2021. Thousands of Americans, or foreign U.S. residents with green cards, were left behind in a very public fashion with on-the-scene cell phone videos getting back to the U.S. while American politicians and military leaders were insisting there were no problems. Micromanagement originally appeared because the technology was there to make it possible. New technology keeps showing up, making more mischief, or benefits, possible. As always, it's up to the people using the technology to make things happen or screw things up. All this is another example and unintended consequences, when something new is available and when it is used unexpected bad things result. It takes a while for people to sort out the cause and effect and even longer to decide on a cure. Meanwhile the problem continues to fester and create a corrupt atmosphere that is costing the military the respect and confidence of the American people. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 5, 2022 / Perk Labs Inc. (CSE:PERK)(OTCQB: PKLBF)(FKT:PKLB) ("Perk" or the "Company") the parent company of Perk Hero, the mobile commerce platform with perks on mobile payments, today announced the addition of Justin Strange as its new Vice President of Franchise Sales and Operations and Jules Gagnon as its new Director of Investor Relations and Community. Both appointments are effective as of today. Vice President of Franchise Sales and Operations In his new role as Vice President of Franchise Sales and Operations, Mr. Strange will be responsible for overseeing the company's franchise growth and expansion. "We are thrilled to welcome Justin to the role of Vice President of Franchise Sales and Operations" said CEO, Jonathan Hoyles. "I've enjoyed working closely with Justin as a licensee and am impressed by his energy, drive and business acumen. We have full confidence in his ability to continue to accelerate our franchise growth in this expanded position." "I am passionate about helping entrepreneurs with innovative solutions and believe the timing is right to aggressively bring Perk's product to market," said Mr. Strange. "I look forward to working with everyone on the Perk team to further push expansion across Canada and internationally." As part of Mr. Strange's compensation, he will be partially compensated with shares of the Company and will be granted 100,000 stock options. Director of Investor Relations and Community In Mr. Gagnon's new role as Director of Investor Relations and Community, he will be responsible for the Company's investor relations efforts from Montreal, drawing on his relationships with investors, capital markets participants and crypto funds and expertise in building community through platforms such as Twitter, Discord and Telegram. "Jules brings a unique set of investor relations and community building skills and we are excited to welcome him to Perk" said CEO Jonathan Hoyles. "He will add valuable capital markets, crypto markets, and communications expertise to help us reach and engage with new long-term investors." "I'm delighted to join Perk at such an exciting and pivotal moment for the company. The momentum for crypto and web3 related projects is incredible right now, and I am thrilled to join Perk as it prepares to launch its crypto rewards project. I look forward to engaging with investors in Perk and building more awareness in the investor community," said Mr. Gagnon. Jules most recently served as Vice President of Investor Relations at High Technology Capital Fund, where he played an integral role in driving investor relations activities for the fund. Previously, Jules was Head of Institutional Sales at Secure Digital Markets where he developed a robust pipeline of broker dealers, family offices, asset managers and crypto funds. He began his career at Coinsquare, a Toronto-based crypto-trading platform, where he earned recognition for achieving top sales month over month. The compensation for the role of Director of Investor Relations and Community includes the issuance of 100,000 stock options and 200,000 restricted stock units that are subject to a vesting schedule. About Perk Labs Inc. Perk Labs Inc. (CSE:PERK) (OTCQB: PKLBF) (FKT:PKLB) is the owner of Perk Hero, the mobile commerce platform on a mission to empower business owners with the digital tools to provide their customers with shopping and dining experiences that are more engaging, convenient and rewarding. Perk Hero is used to order and pay at restaurants, for online shopping and to buy digital gift cards from top brands. The platform features Shopify integration, contactless payments using Apple Pay, Google Pay, BitPay and Alipay, its own digital currency called Perk Coin, a gamified loyalty program, pre-order and pick up, and in-store payments with a QR code. Perk Hero is growing through a unique community-driven digital franchise business that is available to entrepreneurs at an attractive start-up price. For more information about Perk Labs, please visit www.perklabs.io. Visit Perk Hero at www.perkhero.com. For more information on a Perk Franchise, visit www.perkfranchise.com. For more information contact: Jonathan Hoyles CEO Perk Labs Inc. (833) 338-0299 [email protected] Jules Gagnon Director of Investor Relations & Community (833) 338-0299 [email protected] Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "may", "believe", "thinks", "expect", "exploring", "expand", "could", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "pursue", "potentially", "projected", "should", "will" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. These forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to, among other things, the discussion of the Company's business strategies and its expectations concerning future operations, the acceleration of franchise growth, and the launch of Perk's crypto reward project. Although the Company considers these forward-looking statements to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. SOURCE: Perk Labs Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: Combination of industry leaders enables integrated procurement and management of commodity hedges and environmental offsets THE WOODLANDS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AEGIS Hedging Solutions (AEGIS or the Company), a recognized technology and advisory leader in hedging markets, announced today that it has acquired Emission Advisors, a recognized leader in the environmental markets. Emission Advisors works with companies across multiple sectors to understand, purchase, sell, and retire voluntary and compliance offsets in multiple environmental markets, including: Voluntary Carbon Offsets; Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs); Carbon allowances (California Cap and Trade Program and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI); Regional Emissions Markets (Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Mass Emissions Cap and Trade Program and Regional Clean Air Incentives Market ("RECLAIM"); Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs); Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Credits RINS under the Renewable Fuel Standard Program; and Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) allowances. Our customers are actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions through targeted investment in their operations and the purchase of environmental offsets, said Bryan Sansbury, Chairman and CEO of AEGIS. With the acquisition of Emission Advisors, we can now provide the same leadership in the environmental offset markets as we have provided in the commodity hedging markets - so that our customers can purchase and retire high quality offsets at fair prices. ESG continues to be an important topic for boards and management teams across every sector of the economy. Whether managing local compliance requirements or participating in voluntary markets, organizations are increasingly assessing their emissions, taking real actions to reduce or offset these emissions, and clearly articulating these actions for investors and the public. Having access to a trusted partner to navigate opaque and often volatile environmental offset markets is essential. Mike Taylor, CEO of Emission Advisors added, Companies are increasingly turning to markets to help cost-effectively reduce environmental impacts. We are excited to join AEGIS at a time when the need for deep market expertise, robust trading tools, and modern technology has never been more important for companies committed to managing these risks. About AEGIS AEGIS simplifies commodity and environmental markets for companies serious about managing their commodity exposures and/or emission footprints. AEGIS has unmatched technology and expertise to deliver market insights, tailored hedge strategies, efficient trade execution, and full-cycle management of hedge positions all designed for regulatory compliance. Building on its core energy hedging capabilities, AEGIS has recently completed four acquisitions to extend its expertise in environmental and metals markets, increase its analytics capabilities and fully-integrate a SaaS E/CTRM software platform. AEGIS was recently named the industry leader in hedging solutions for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year. AEGIS is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. To learn more, visit AEGIS website at www.aegis-hedging.com. About Emission Advisors Emission Advisors is a leading advisor and trader in the environmental offset markets. The company provides structured environmental compliance, brokerage, consulting, and portfolio optimization services to their large diverse client base. Emission Advisors was named Emissions House of the Year by Energy Risk in 2019 for providing environmental commodity services across global markets. Emission Advisors is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Mike Taylor can be reached at 713-385-3321 or [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220105005357/en/ Media Allison Devaney, 646-818-9040, [email protected] Lauren Trice, 346-277-0971, [email protected] Source: AEGIS Hedging Solutions FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Jan. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arch Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: ARTH) (Arch or the Company), a marketer and developer of novel self-assembling wound care and biosurgical devices, today announced the appointment of Guy Fish, M.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Fish is a proven leader in the medical industry with deep experience and expertise as an operator, investor, board member and advisor to numerous healthcare and biotechnology companies. Dr. Fish earned a bachelors degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, as well as a MD and MBA from Yale University. Dr. Fish is currently the CEO of the Greater Lawrence Family Health Centers, an organization dedicated to providing superior community-based healthcare solutions by evolving the economic paradigm to embrace and succeed alternate payment models to achieve superior population health. Terrence W. Norchi, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Arch Therapeutics, stated, I am delighted to welcome Guy Fish to the Board at Arch Therapeutics. Dr. Fishs experience as a provider, advisor, director, investor, and pacesetter in relevant domains positions him well to help drive the future strategic direction of the company. He is joining the Board at an exciting time, and I look forward to working with him to build Arch Therapeutics into a global leader in advanced wound care. Guy's addition coincides with the resignation of Jim Sulat, who served for many years during the companys early development. Jim regularly offered critical insight and I would like to personally thank him for his contributions, years of service, and dedication to the Company and our mission. About Arch Therapeutics, Inc.Arch Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a novel approach to stop bleeding (hemostasis), control leaking (sealant) and manage wounds during surgery, trauma, and interventional care. Arch is developing products based on an innovative self-assembling barrier technology platform with the goal of making care faster and safer for patients. Arch has received regulatory authorization to market AC5 Advanced Wound System and AC5 Topical Hemostat as medical devices in the United States and Europe, respectively. Arch's development stage product candidates include AC5-G, AC5-V and AC5 Surgical Hemostat, among others.1,2 Notice Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, references to novel technologies and methods, our ability to recruit additional field sales representatives and their effectiveness, our business and product development plans and projections, or market information. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies and operating as a development stage company, our ability to retain important members of our management team and attract other qualified personnel, our ability to raise the additional funding we will need to continue to pursue our business and product development plans, our ability to obtain required regulatory approvals, our ability to produce commercial quantities of our products within projected timeframes, our ability to obtain the inclusion of our AC5 Advanced Wound System on targeted federal supply schedules, our ability to develop and commercialize products based on our technology platform, and market conditions, and our ability to establish additional commercialization partnerships and build a critical mass of field sales representatives. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in the reports and other documents we file with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov. Contact:ARTH Investor RelationsToll Free: +1-855-340-ARTH (2784) (US and Canada)Email: [email protected] Website: www.archtherapeutics.com or Michael AbramsChief Financial OfficerArch Therapeutics, Inc.Phone: 617-431-2333Email: [email protected] 1 AC5-G, AC5-V, and AC5 Surgical Hemostat are currently investigational devices limited by law to investigational use.2 AC5, AC5-G, AC5-V and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Arch Therapeutics, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Source: Arch Therapeutics, Inc. Salem, Oregon, Jan. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Earth Gen-Biofuel Inc.(OTC:EGBB). The year 2021 provided many new opportunities to Earth Gen Biofuel Inc,. and its manufacturing subsidiary International Housing Concepts. Inc. (IHC). IHC is one of Americas premier builders of manufactured homes of under 1000 square feet. The Company continued to expand its production capacity and broadened its sales and marketing programs. IHC now manufactures over 13 different models of Park Model homes. Current production in our 70,000 square foot facility in Salem Oregon is primarily used to fulfill increased orders from buyers in the Pacific Northwest. We continue to investigate expanding production facilities in other locations. In the 4th quarter of 2021 the company started to expand production in its Salem facility to allow for production of 25 to 30 homes per month. IHC has improved manufacturing techniques and directed additional capital for equipment and technology. Additionally, the firm plans to increase materials inventories to better manage supply-chain shortages. Further production capacity could benefit from adding a Saturday and Sunday shift. Management continues to hire and train additional production staff and skilled labor, which is expected to increase workforce productivity. The companys sales focus is expanding. IHC now has retailers in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Arizona, Nevada and California. Clients include some of the highest quality portfolios of manufactured home resort communities, retirement communities, and rental homes. The company has received orders and production deposits from these new customers with a national base of operations. The Companys 2022/2023 marketing plan continues to target planned communities, as well as state and local municipalities with plans to address the low-income housing issues facing many of our nations larger cities. IHC continues to address the affordable housing crisis in the U.S. The Company has a number of projects under review based on the proprietary products designed to meet the increasing demand for the market for this type of housing. IHC has become a valued partner of developers looking for guidance on the strategies for final design and layout of communities. IHC has taken the lead in designing new home configurations to fit into specific locations. The Companys efforts have resulted in building close relationships with some of the largest RV Park developers in the country. The Company believes that strong revenue growth for 2022/2023 will be achieved through the introduction of new distribution channels, new products, full utilization of additional production capacity and by continuing to supply our customers with superior products and service. It is anticipated that this will lead to additional sales throughout the Western US and become the road map for production nationwide. In 2020, during the height of COVID and is related production challenges, 25 homes were delivered producing gross sales of approximately $1.6 million. Some of the same COVID issues impacted 2021operations, however based on an unaudited preliminary evaluation, 2021sales appear to have approximately doubled to over $3 million with the delivery of 46 homes. Order flow continued to build toward yearend for seasonal sales considerations. At yearend 2021 there were 32 homes scheduled for delivery over the first six to eight weeks of 2022 with 15 of those already in various stages of production on the factory floor. In the 4th quarter of 2021 the average sales price of homes was approximately $79,000.00. About the Company Earth Gen-Biofuel Inc. produces manufactured homes and products under the corporate name International Housing Concepts Inc. Our goal is not just building housing but creating living environments that meet the needs of owners and enhance the concept of comfortable living in a sustainable and manageable space. The Companys main manufacturing facility is in Salem Oregon. The Company is targeting the domestic needs for housing solutions for broad segments of the market for homes under 1000 square feet. The company sells its products to Tiny Home Residential Communities, RV Parks, campgrounds and retail dealers who provide home owners with back yard auxiliary living spaces. The goal is to deliver high quality homes that employ technology that works for owners of our homes and that meetthe requirements of sustainability for our environment and the locations where our homes form new communities. Forward-Looking Statement This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of this Act, statements contained herein that look forward in time that include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Companys actual results. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the Company, including, but not limited to, plans and objectives of management for future operations or products, the market acceptance or future success of our products, and our future financial performance. Further caution is given as the Company is not current with its public disclosures and limited information about the Companys financial condition or operations is available to investors adding additional risk to potential investors. View our homes at www.homesfromIHC.com Investor Relations Contact Hayden Financial Corp. of Florida Attn: Robert Gartzman, President [email protected] Phone 800-991-8190 WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the two-year anniversary of COVID approaching, AARP Bulletin reports heartening news: There is a clear path forward for older adults. Despite the widespread prevalence of the omicron variant and a short-term surge in COVID cases, scientists agree that getting vaccinated and wearing masks will continue to greatly improve health outcomes and hasten the return to more normal times. But the mistakes that public health experts made in the early stages of the pandemic like asking people to not wear masks along with the chaos brought on by the virus variants, have interfered with our public health progress. This month, the Bulletin is taking a solid look at where the science stands: the triumphs, the missteps, and the future of COVID research. From the mysteries surrounding long COVID to updates about the new COVID pill treatments, our editors have gathered intelligence from dozens of health experts who can answer readers' most pressing pandemic questions. Read in this month's cover story: How to fight pandemic confusion and debunk pandemic myths The future of mask wearing A guide to all vaccines (not just coronavirus) recommended for people 50 and older And much more. Also in the January issue: Your Health Turning the sound back on: For those with hearing loss so severe that even hearing aids don't improve communication, cochlear implants might be a life-changer. Read the inspirational story of how an outspoken retired journalist reclaimed her quality of life thanks to a technological miracle that can recreate the electrical signals that your brain interprets as sound, letting you hear fully, once again. Your Money A new way to pay: Layaway with a twist! Many retailers are now offering a "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) option. About 45 million Americans utilized a BNPL service in 2021. They're convenient for those who don't have cash in pocket, but these programs can tempt consumers into overspending. Read this month's Live Well for Less column to learn how to spend responsibly with a "buy now, pay later" program. Layaway with a twist! Many retailers are now offering a "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) option. About 45 million Americans utilized a BNPL service in 2021. They're convenient for those who don't have cash in pocket, but these programs can tempt consumers into overspending. Read this month's Live Well for Less column to learn how to spend responsibly with a "buy now, pay later" program. How to buy an index fund: For years, money experts have told Americans to skip stock-picking and put their long-term investments in index funds mutual funds that buy shares in all the stocks or bonds included in the most popular market indexes. Trouble is, there are now countless index funds, some of them dubious. How to choose? This month's issue will teach you about the range of index funds, how to filter them for safety and performance, ways to minimize fees, and be tax-smart with your index fund selections. Fraud Watch World ending? Nope. Just a scam: The economy is failing! Global instability endangers our planet! The pandemic threatens our way of living! Scam artists increasingly use topical scare tactics like these to prey on the concerns of senior citizens. Experts advise readers on ways to avoid emotion-based scams in this month's issue. Your Life Q&A with Mel Brooks: When did he first realize he was funny? Why did he change his name to Brooks? What did being a teenage drummer teach him about comedy? The renowned Brooklyn-born comedian and author Mel Brooks lets readers inside of his life in this month's issue of The Bulletin. About AARPAARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates, @AliadosAdelante on social media. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aarp-bulletins-2022-guide-to-covid-variants-vaccines-and-masks-301455072.html SOURCE AARP CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthos Therapeutics, a late-stage biotechnology company developing innovative therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, today announced the appointment of David McIntyre as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. McIntyre will assume responsibility for the company's finance and investor relation functions, and joins Anthos as its lead product candidate, abelacimab, expects to become the first 'hemostasis-sparring' Factor XI anticoagulant to enter Phase 3 clinical studies in the United States. "With the recent completion of enrollment in our Phase 2b atrial fibrillation (AF) study and the goal of initiating three Phase 3 clinical studies for abelacimab within the next twelve months, David strengthens our leadership team as we aim to become the first Factor XI anticoagulant seeking approval for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolism in various cardiovascular conditions," said John Glasspool, CEO, Anthos Therapeutics. "David brings a successful track record in both public and private healthcare companies and his financial, transactional, and legal experience adds significant value to our organization going forward." Mr. McIntyre added, "Factor XI therapies are becoming increasingly recognized as a paradigm shift in anticoagulation as they are able to pharmacologically uncouple thrombosis from the bleeding and tolerability challenges commonly encountered with conventional anticoagulation therapies. I am excited to be joining a team made up of outstandingly talented individuals and investors working to bring abelacimab to the market so as to meet this serious medical need in anticoagulation." Mr. McIntyre is an experienced healthcare executive having spent more than twenty years in various finance roles, including C-suite level roles across multinational and growth stage entities such as Tessa Therapeutics, Inc., AVITA Therapeutics, Inc. , HeartWare International, Inc., and Braeburn, Inc. Mr. McIntyre's experience also includes nearly ten years as a Partner at Apple Tree Partners, a multi-billion-dollar life science venture capital and growth equity fund, giving him a deep knowledge of the US biotech and medical device markets. Mr. McIntyre holds a Bachelor of Economics (Accounting) from the University of Sydney (Australia), a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Technology, Sydney (Australia) and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University (Fuqua Scholar). He is also a Certified Practicing Accountant and is admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of the State of New South Wales (Australia) and of the High Court of Australia. About Anthos Therapeutics Anthos Therapeutics is a late-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of genetically and pharmacologically validated innovative therapies to advance care for people living with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Anthos's lead product, abelacimab, a highly selective, fully human monoclonal antibody with novel dual activity against both Factor XI and its activated form, Factor XIa, offers the promise of hemostasis-sparing anticoagulation for the prevention and treatment of arterial and venous thromboembolic events.1,2,3 This ensures vital protection from arterial and venous thromboembolic events with a potentially reduced risk of clinically significant bleeding. Abelacimab is capable of achieving profound suppression of Factor XI activity for up to 30 days following a single intravenous or subcutaneous dose.2 Once monthly subcutaneous administration of abelacimab led to marked reductions of free FXI levels from baseline.3 Abelacimab has the potential to be a best-in-class and first-in-class anticoagulant as it transitions into three Phase 3 clinical studies prior to the end of 2022. Anthos was launched by Blackstone Life Sciences in 2019. To learn more, please visit: https://www.anthostherapeutics.com/ Hsu et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. Aug.2021 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735109721053213?via%3Dihub) Verhamme P et al. New Engl J Med July 2021 (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2105872) Yi BA et al. J Thromb Haemost. Oct. 2021 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34714969/) Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the initiation, and timing, of future clinical trials and its research and development. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, including statements regarding the company's strategy, future operations, future financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "become", "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the company's views as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof. The company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the company's views to change. However, while the company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. Media Contacts: Russo Partners LLCTony Russo, PhD (212) 845-4251 / [email protected]Olipriya Das, PhD (646) 942-5588 / [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anthos-therapeutics-appoints-david-mcintyre-as-chief-financial-officer-301454052.html SOURCE Anthos Therapeutics TICKERS: KNT, KRL Source: Clive Maund (1/6/22) Analyst Clive Maund says Kainantu Resources Ltd.'s stock could take off if it makes a discovery at its properties in Papua New Guinea. This is a very interesting situation. Kainantu Resources Ltd. (KRL:TSX) is a junior that is just in the process of completing a significant funding that will be used to drill its properties that are close to K92 Mining Inc.s (KNT:TSX.V) big discovery. So lets start by looking at what happened to K92s stock price when it struck. As we can see on its five-year chart (Figure 1), it rocketed from about CA$0.50 to CA$9.00 for an 18-fold gain, which is certainly impressive. So lets have a look at a map (Figure 2) on which we see that Kainantus properties are on either side of the K92 mine that made the big discovery in Papua New Guinea, and close to a range of other discoveries, too. So it is clear that if Kainantu found something significant here and the chances are good that it will its stock could take off like a rocket from its current low level. In light of the map (Figure 2), the latest stock chart (Figure 3) presents an appealing picture for it shows that it is attractively priced here after its slow drift lower from a minor peak back in May at almost CA$0.40. While this stock chart doesnt look very inspiring at first glance, it starts to look a whole lot better when you factor in that the company is completing an oversubscribed financing at CA$0.18 and will use the proceeds to drill its land that is close to K92s big find and close to other finds too, as set out above. Note that there isnt much more chart history it only goes back about a month more than is shown here. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Kainantu is therefore rated an immediate speculative buy here. Note that currently it only appears to be traded on the Canadian market. Kainantu Resources' website is here. Kainantu Resources Ltd, KRL.TSX, closed at C$0.17 on Jan. 4, 2022. Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years' experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts. [NLINSERT] Disclosure: 1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Clive Maund and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Clive Maund is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Clive Maund was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Additional Clive Maund disclosures are listed below. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 4) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Kainantu Resources Ltd., a company mentioned in this article. Charts provided by the author. CliveMaund.com Disclosures: The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. MADISON, Wis. (Tribune News Service) A federal judge has dismissed one of two lawsuits filed by a group opposed to basing F-35 fighter jets in Madison. Safe Skies Clean Water sued the National Guard Bureau in December, claiming it failed to study and account for the effects of 27 construction projects being undertaken as the 115th Fighter Wing prepares Truax Field to host the new planes. In an order released Wednesday, Judge William Conley sided with the National Guard, ruling the agency's environmental assessment of the projects met the standards of federal environmental law. The Air Force last year selected the 115th Fighter Wing as one of two units to get the next batch of the roughly $90 million F-35s, which will replace the current fleet of aging F-16s. The first planes are scheduled to arrive next year. Safe Skies Clean Water asked the court to block construction and require the guard to complete a full review of the projects, which are expected to cost up to $60 million. The group alleged the military disregarded the potential for the projects to worsen the impact of toxic "forever chemicals" that have been found in soil and groundwater under the base and are believed to be connected to contamination of Starkweather Creek, Lake Monona and at least one Madison municipal well. Safe Skies argued the guard should have prepared an environmental impact statement rather than the more cursory environmental assessment that was done, and that the projects should have been reviewed under the environmental impact statement the Air Force prepared for the F-35 basing decision, which is the subject of a separate lawsuit by the group. But Conley ruled the group failed to show the guard did not take a "hard look" at the environmental impacts and rejected the notion that the assessments were improperly "segmented," noting some of the construction projects were proposed as early as 2012 and were considered necessary to support the 115th's current mission regardless of the F-35 deployment. Appeal possible Kathleen Henry, an attorney for Safe Skies Clean Water, said the group is "disappointed" with the ruling and "weighing our options for appeal." Spokesperson Steve Klafka said Conley's ruling "will adversely affect the thousands of people who live near Truax Field, many of whom are low-income and families of color." "Safe Skies believes a more thorough evaluation of the noise impacts of fighter jet training was needed, including one that addressed effects on mental and physical health, as well as the education of area children," Klafka said. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin National Guard declined to comment, noting that neither the state nor the 115th Fighter Wing were named as defendants. Citing the potential for appeal, National Guard Bureau spokesperson Wayne Hall said, "It would be inappropriate for us to comment on matters of pending litigation." Contractor J.H. Findorff & Son broke ground in August on a $9 million flight simulator building, one of seven construction projects now underway, said Capt. Leslie Westmont, spokesperson for the 115th Fighter Wing. The simulator was not one of the projects addressed in the environmental assessment. Safe Skies contends that construction on the base will further distribute PFAS compounds, which have been linked to cancer, liver disease and reproductive problems. It has been almost four years since the Department of Natural Resources informed the 115th Fighter Wing, along with the Dane County Regional Airport and the city of Madison, that they were responsible for PFAS contamination on and around the base. The National Guard agreed to take the lead on the required investigation, but under the federal process it could be 12 years before cleanup begins. The guard plans to hold a public meeting on the cleanup at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Madison Area Technical College's Mitby Theatre. (c)2022 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) Visit The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) at www.wisconsinstatejournal.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. DAYTON, Ohio (Tribune News Service) Eyeing rapidly escalating COVID case numbers around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the base commander is weighing a move to a stricter health protection condition, he said in a Facebook town hall Wednesday afternoon. "To be frank, COVID is kind of kicking our butt right now," said Col. Patrick Miller, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander at Wright-Patterson. The large Air Force base continues to see more cases daily, primarily due to the Omicron variant, Miller said. A move to Delta reflects a situation in which "your area is experiencing severe, widespread community transmission," according to defense.gov, the U.S. Department of Defense web site. "Expect to remain at home for extended periods of time as movement in the community may be restricted; at-home isolation or quarantine may be directed," the DOD website says. "Follow all directives and guidance from local, state and federal authorities; they are enacted to protect the health and safety of you and your family." Miller did not say during the town hall what a move to Delta would mean for the number of workers permitted on the base. But he asked base mission partners to "reassess their posture right now" and weigh what changes they might make to make the base safer. Miller did not say when he might decide on a move to Delta, but he added: "I would not be surprised if we make this transition soon." He reminded viewers on social media that the base remains in a public health emergency and in health protection condition "Charlie," a less severe level just below Delta. The base saw 400 new cases from November to December, as tracked by the base public health team, Miller said. "Part of that we can attribute to coming out of Thanksgiving." After Christmas, the base is now seeing another rise in cases. How alarming is that rise? Said Miller: "Alarming enough to make me consider a move to health protection condition Delta." The case incident rate threshold for a shift to health protection condition Delta is 420 420 cases per 100,000 population across a seven-day period, as tracked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Miller said. In June 2021, the base was in health protection condition Alpha, before a progression over the summer and into September to ever more serious Bravo, Bravo-plus and finally Charlie, the current status. Miller said he is hesitating to shift to Delta, however. While active-duty forces working on Wright-Patterson are about 97% vaccinated and civilian employees are more than 90% vaccinated, Miller said off base, the civilian population is about "54% vaccinated." Off base, Miller added, "There are no restrictions." COVID-19 patients now make up one-third of all hospitalizations in Ohio, a burden that has health care systems postponing and rescheduling some procedures. The 6,457 COVID hospitalizations reported Wednesday in Ohio's hospitals set the seventh consecutive record as coronavirus hospitalizations have increased daily since Christmas. There are 1,324 COVID patients in intensive-care units and 877 on ventilators, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Col. Christian Lyons, commander of the 88th Medical Group, said the Dayton region is seeing its own record of 529 COVID-positive inpatient cases, citing Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association data. And as of Dec. 29, 84% of COVID patients were not vaccinated, Lyons also said. Staffing strictures and COVID care needs may cause delays in routine medical appointments and elective surgery at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Lyons also cautioned. Some 60 members of the center's staff are COVID-positive, he said. "We ask for your patience and your understanding for our staff and our mission set," Lyons said. (c)2022 Springfield News-Sun, Ohio Visit Springfield News-Sun, Ohio at www.springfieldnewssun.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. STUTTGART, Germany The court-martial of an Army officer facing sexual assault charges is being delayed to give prosecutors time to appeal a military judges order that a unanimous verdict will be required to win a conviction. Col. Charles Pritchard, a judge in Kaiserslautern, Germany, issued an extraordinary ruling Monday that said allowing a split guilty verdict in the trial of Lt. Col. Andrew Dial would violate the officers constitutional rights by denying him equal protection. On Wednesday, Army prosecutors were granted a delay in the case by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Dials trial had been slated to begin Jan. 10. Capt. Karey Marren, an attorney for the Army, said in a court filing Wednesday that the government intends to submit a petition for extraordinary relief because of Pritchards ruling. Prosecutors were given until Jan. 23 to file the petition with the court. In essence, the petition seeks a reversal of Pritchards ruling, which came in response to a motion by attorneys for Dial, a member of the Belgium-based Allied Forces North Battalion. Dial is charged with three counts of sexual assault. Details about the allegations were not included in the ruling or in an Army court docket. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, split jury verdicts have long been permitted, although the guidelines have been tweaked over the years. Since 2019, a three-fourths concurrence of court-martial panelists is required to convict and sentence a defendant in a trial with service members. A death sentence requires unanimous conviction by a jury. Pritchard, however, said that under the Fifth Amendment, there is no rational basis for Congress to treat service members differently than civilians when it comes to the requirement of unanimity of a jury for conviction. Pritchard also said in his ruling that Congress has consistently narrowed the gap between the military and civilian legal systems, bringing the former more into line with the latter. By allowing split verdicts in courts-martial, Congress has encroached on Fifth Amendment due process rights, he wrote. Don Christensen, a former Air Force prosecutor and judge, said Pritchards ruling would unleash chaos if the appellate courts dont review this. I believe we should have unanimous verdicts, whether for guilty or not guilty, he said. But the appropriate way to do it is through Congress. Robert F. Capovilla, a military defense attorney, concurred that the time has come for unanimous verdicts in the military justice system. Every other branch of American criminal jurisprudence requires unanimous verdicts. Why is the military different? he said. As the Army highlights more and more sexual assault prosecutions, its imperative that unanimous verdicts be required. Still, while Congress has reformed the Uniform Code of Military Justice over the years, there has been no legislative groundswell to do away with split military verdicts, which are outlawed in civilian criminal courts at the federal and state levels. In his ruling, Pritchard described the practice in the military as a relic of the original Articles of War, which were adopted from the British. The use of split verdicts in courts-martial simply slipped into congressional legislation pertaining to military justice, he wrote. Stars and Stripes reporter Nancy Montgomery contributed to this story. (Tribune News Service) Cmdr. Billie Farrell is about to take command of USS Constitution, the first woman to do so in the ships 224 years. Farrell, who previously served as the executive officer on the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg, called USS Constitution an iconic warship that dates back to the roots of both our nation and our Navy in a statement released by the service. Launched in 1797, it saw action against pirates in the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812, where it won its Old Ironsides title as astonished sailors watched British cannonballs bounce off its wooden hull. USS Constitution defended American interests at sea for decades after that, retiring in 1855 after serving in anti-slaving patrols with the Africa squadron. Old Ironsides captured or sank 33 enemy vessels, and was never defeated in battle. Farrell, who will take command on Jan. 21, said she hopes the strengthen the warships legacy by telling her story and connecting it to the rich heritage of the United States Navy and the warships serving in the fleet today. While Farrell will be Old Ironsides first female commanding officer, it was another woman officer, Lt. Cmdr. Claire V. Bloom, who as executive officer led the warships historic 1997 sail, the first time it sailed under its own power since 1881. Women now comprise more than a third of USS Constitutions 80-strong crew. dress@dailypress.com 2022 Daily Press. Visit dailypress.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. WASHINGTON The Navy has ousted its first group of sailors for refusing the coronavirus vaccine, the service announced late Wednesday. Twenty sailors who had just started their military careers were booted from the service through whats known as entry-level separations, the Navy said. These sailors were separated within their first 180 days of active-duty service during their initial training period. No other separations have been issued, but those with longer tenures could face the same fate in the coming months if they continue to refuse the vaccine, the Navy said. Navy commanders were ordered Dec. 15 to begin the separation process for sailors who have refused to take the coronavirus vaccine. As of Wednesday, 5,268 active-duty and 2,980 Reserve sailors remained unvaccinated. Most separations will happen in the first six months of 2022, though some could continue past June 1, Rear Adm. James Waters, the Navys director of military personnel plans and policy, said last month. The Navy has approved vaccine exemptions for some active-duty sailors. As of Wednesday, the service had issued eight permanent medical exemptions, 242 temporary medical exemptions, 74 administrative exemptions, but no religious exemptions, according to the statement. So far, the service has received 3,009 active-duty religious accommodation requests. The Navy Reserve has also issued nine temporary medical and 31 administrative exemptions. No Reserve sailors have been approved for permanent medical or religious exemptions. The lack of religious exemptions is not unique to the Navy. None of the five military branches have issued vaccine exemptions for religious reasons. However, a federal judge in Texas on Monday granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Pentagon from firing 35 Navy special operators who sued over their religious objections to the vaccine mandate. In issuing the injunction, U.S. District Judge Reed OConnor said the loss of religious liberties outweighs any forthcoming harm to the Navy. Since the start of the pandemic, 57,396 sailors have contracted the coronavirus 17 of whom died, according to the Navy. Currently, 5,908 sailors are positive for the virus and one is hospitalized. A coronavirus outbreak briefly delayed the littoral combat ship USS Milwaukees departure from a port visit to Naval Base Guantanamo Bay on Dec. 24. All crew members were fully vaccinated and the ship returned to sea Monday. Before vaccines were available, an outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt in March 2020 sidelined the aircraft carrier in Guam for about three months before it was under control and ready to return to sea. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. CHICAGO (Tribune News Service) In Chicago, a deadlock between the teachers union and the school district over COVID-19 safety has led to canceled classes Wednesday and Thursday for most of the district's 330,000 students. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), which has roughly 25,000 members, voted late Tuesday to shift to remote learning until Jan. 18, or when cases fall. The union is concerned about what members see as inadequate COVID-19 safety rules and is demanding that the district require negative tests from students and staff before returning to school. In response, Chicago Public Schools announced it would cancel classes Wednesday, neither offering in-person nor remote instruction. On Wednesday evening, it announced that classes would again be canceled Thursday because there aren't enough teachers to staff classrooms. Experts say the conflict is far from surprising and a result of an already tense relationship between the union and district. And they predict it won't last long at a time when schools desperately need teachers and students desperately need in-person learning. But it is evocative of the renewed tensions nationally between teachers' unions and district leaders over how to reopen classrooms and mitigate the coronavirus on campus. The past decade in Chicago has seen tense budget disagreements and discussions of teacher layoffs, as well as conflicts over class sizes, the hiring of more social workers, nurses and librarians, and teacher evaluation processes. In 2012, the CTU launched its first strike in 25 years. Since then, it's staged walkouts every few years, most recently a six-day strike in 2019. "About two and a half strikes in a decade's time period really set the stage for this most recent dispute, which is about COVID-19 but also includes all of the tension and drama that has been boiling up between the union and school district over the last decade," said Bradley Marianno, an assistant professor of educational policy and leadership at the University of Nevada. Will the stalemate in Chicago last? Coming to a reopening agreement for the school system agreement last February was a "long and hard process," Marianno said. And it resulted in what he called one of the most comprehensive COVID-19 protocol and reopening plans among any district nationwide. When that agreement came to an end in August 2021, the district and union were at odds over how to revise it, setting the stage for this week's conflict. But due to public pressure from parents, Marianno doesn't expect the stalemate will last long. Instead, he said, "the district will have to cave to the demands of the teachers." The worsening school staff shortage adds to the pressure, putting teachers' unions "in a better bargaining position than in the past," said Eunice Han, an economics professor at the University of Utah. "I'm guessing the school will not have much choice but to offer a remote online setting at least temporarily." Melissa Lyon, a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University, said she would not be surprised for similar walkouts to take place among other teacher unions. The CTU has long served as a kind of bellwether for teacher union protests elsewhere, she said, including strikes in 2012 and 2019 that helped catalyze union action elsewhere. "Since even the early days of teacher unionism, Chicago has been a key site for teachers' union action, and other unions are definitely watching Chicago to see how this plays out," she said. Other teachers' unions taking action It's certainly been a rocky start to 2022 in the education world. Districts big and small have been toggling back to remote learning this week, largely because of staff shortages and positive cases. Then there are the challenges associated with mass testing: The screening process takes time, space, people and, of course, the tests themselves. While the situation in Chicago is unusual, union-district tensions are bubbling up across the country as the omicron surge and testing headaches throw schools into disarray. After their school district decided to resume in-person learning Wednesday following a last-minute delay earlier in the week the teachers' union in Racine, Wis., released a list of demands, including for a temporary return to virtual learning. The district proceeded with the plan to open classrooms Wednesday, and now the union's members are considering taking further action. That could involve letter-writing, lobbying and the filing of workplace safety grievances, said Angelina Cruz, the union's president. But so far, a strike is off the table. "People construe it as if we don't want to be in the classroom, but I just point out how ridiculous it is that teachers wouldn't want to be in the classroom," she said. The goal of the demands which also include the distribution of N-95 masks and a stronger testing regime is to get students and teachers back on campus safely, she said. In San Francisco, the teachers' union on Wednesday also released demands for the district, including that it distribute sufficient test kits and come up with a written plan for responding to positive cases. The district has been "inept and negligent" in its handling of COVID testing, said Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, in a statement. More than 620 San Francisco Unified educators were out on Tuesday. The district plans on distributing test kits to all schools later this week. 'Good reason for teachers to raise concerns' Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, the teachers union is "outraged" about what it calls the district's "eleventh-hour" plan to switch dozens of schools to virtual learning. Families at many of those schools weren't notified until the early morning the day their children were slated to return to classrooms. Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, had on Jan. 2 written a letter to the district calling for a seven-day pause on in-person learning amid the omicron-driven COVID surge. "At nearly every level, today has been chaotic and entirely untenable," Jordan said in a statement on Tuesday. "From soaring cases to massive staffing shortages in open buildings, the current situation is untenable." According to the union's data, more than 90% of Philadelphia's schools are grappling with shortages, and more than half lack sufficient testing supplies. "It is clear that the omicron surge in the Philadelphia area is adding yet another layer of complexity to challenges we have been experiencing since the start of this school year," the district's superintendent told the local FOX affiliate. "Yet despite these challenges, one thing remains clear in-person learning is essential for the physical, social, emotional and academic well-being of our students, especially after nearly two years of trauma caused by the pandemic and other matters." Some experts believe it's unlikely that teachers' unions will take things as far as Chicago's, especially given the renewed interest in the importance of in-person learning. But if the chaos continues, some unions may feel a virtual "walkout" is their only choice. "There's good reason for teachers to raise concerns about needing to have high safety standards, but the choice to close schools is a highly impactful one," said Matthew Kraft, an education and economics professor at Brown University. "And it's it's really, really sad that we've come to a place where it feels like that's the only avenue open to try to address those challenges in the short-term." (c)2022 USA Today Visit USA Today at www.usatoday.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The Porto family has been separated for centuries. Livia Thiene da Porto and her daughter Deidamia have lived, if not breathed, at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Livias husband, Iseppo, and her son Leonidas stayed at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy. Organizers of an art exhibit at Vicenzas Basilica Palladiana titled The Renaissance Factory had intended to reunite the foursome depicted in a pair of majestic, full-length portraits painted by Verona-born Paolo Veronese in 1552. But it was not to be. Complications stemming from the pandemic prevented shipment of the Baltimore painting, museum officials said, so a digitized version was hung in Vicenza instead. Despite COVID-19s hindrance of the Porto family reunion, however, the exhibit nevertheless was unveiled, and it gathers exquisite masterpieces of painting, sculpture and architecture. Covering a 35-year period, it explores how what had been a sleepy little province in the 1400s became a center of Renaissance art a century later. The title of the exhibit is an allusion to this phenomenon. All it took was a thriving trade in high-quality silk, along with some grandees who revered the glories of the ancient world and were willing to patronize a group of local artistic geniuses. Veronese and his friends architect Andrea Palladio, painter Jacopo Bassano and sculptor Alessandro Vittoria would become famous all over the world. Several of the foursomes masterpieces are included in the exhibit, which also weaves books, fabrics, precious objects and tapestries from the era as well as the price tags of some of them to tell the tale of the exceptional artistic life of Vicenza from 1550 to 1585. The Renaissance Factory is all about Vicenza, in fact, and it gathers artworks from some of the worlds most important museums. The richly colored Porto portraits were probably painted for the familys palace in Vicenza, which, like the basilica housing the exhibit, was designed by Palladio. Its easy to see how the portraits were deemed revolutionary. The parents and children are posed casually, with the affection between them apparent. Leonidas holds one hand onto Iseppos arm, while the boys other hand is entwined with his fathers. Deidamia peeks out from Livias fur-lined cloak, her mothers hand on her shoulder. The very setting of the exhibit attests to Vicenzas prominence as a cradle of Renaissance culture, with Palladio as its poster boy. His renown spans both time and place. He is, of course, a revered figure for Italians. Vicenza has a museum dedicated to him, statues of him are plentiful, and many of the wondrous works he designed are today visitor destinations, which can be toured on curated walks. Thomas Jefferson modeled Monticello and the University of Virginia on Palladian concepts, as did modern-day architect I.M. Pei in his design for the main entrance of the Bank of China building in Hong Kong. Palladio even became tangentially associated with a 1990s De Beers advertising phenomenon credited with selling millions of diamond rings. The commercials used the line "diamonds are forever," coined decades before by Philadelphia copywriter Frances Gerety, who never married, and were set to Welsh composer Karl Jenkins orchestral work named after the Italian architect. Vicenzas Renaissance treasures have proved to be equally enduring and glamorous. Many of them can now be viewed in all their dazzling brilliance in one location and for much less than the cost of a precious stone. The Renaissance Factory runs through April 28. Vicenza is about an hours drive west of Venice. Address: Palladian Basilica, Piazza dei Signori in Vicenza, Italy Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday Admission: 13 euros. Information: Phone, +39 0444326418; internet, www.mostreinbasilica.it Could Joe Biden become the first American president to sanction a Nobel Peace Prize winner for war crimes and human-rights abuses? As the U.S. steps up efforts to end Ethiopias bloody civil war, it must reckon with credible reports that the government of the 2019 laureate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed instigated the conflict and covered up gross abuses. Bidens envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, was scheduled to arrive in Addis Ababa Thursday to advocate peace talks between the Ethiopian government and rebels in the northern region of Tigray. Now in its second year, the war has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions. It is in a stalemate, with Abiy at a slight advantage: His federal forces have regained territory lost in early November but are unable to make headway into Tigray. The rebel leadership claims to have made a strategic retreat and has indicated a willingness to hold peace talks. Abiy has ramped up air strikes, using drones acquired from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which have killed scores of Tigrayans. A land offensive would be much bloodier, for both sides. But the prime minister will likely want a thrust deep into Tigray before agreeing to any meaningful parleys. For one thing, this would give him the upper hand in any negotiations. For another, having portrayed himself as a military leader - in the time-honored fashion, he visited the frontlines dressed in fatigues - he needs something that at least looks like a victory. Feltmans first order of business should be to restrain Abiy. The prime minister has thus far been immune to persuasion and to punitive economic measures, such as the suspension of European aid and the blocking of duty-free access to the U.S. market. But these, in effect, punish all Ethiopians for the actions of their leaders. More targeted measures are called for. Biden has threatened to use sanctions to end the fighting, but has only imposed them on the third party to the conflict - the government of neighboring Eritrea, which entered the civil war on Abiys side. It is time to call out and sanction Ethiopians, on both the Tigrayan and government sides, who have enabled or committed crimes and abuses. Despite the hurdles put up by the government, human rights agencies and humanitarian groups have been tabulating offenses by all combatants. Even as officials in Addis Ababa talk up war crimes ascribed to the rebels, they have suppressed information of wrongdoing - including mass rape and the recruitment of child fighters - by government forces and allied militias. Fislan Abdi, the minister Abiy tasked to document abuses, told the Washington Post last week that she was told to sweep inconvenient facts under the carpet. She resigned. That brings up the question of Abiys culpability. His government claims the rebels sparked the civil war when they attacked a military base, but it is now becoming clear that the prime minister had been preparing an assault on the northern region long before then. As the New York Times has reported, Abiy plotted with the Eritreas President Isaias Afwerki against the Tigrayans even as the two leaders negotiated an end to decades of enmity between their countries in 2018 - the deal that won Abiy his Nobel. The prime minister was apparently counting on the Peace Prize to draw attention away from the preparations that he and Isais were making for war against their common enemy: the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front. Although the Tigrayans are a minority in multiethnic Ethiopia, the TPLF ran the government for the best part of three decades before Abiys accession to power. The Eritreans blame the TPLF for the war between the countries. Abiy is from the Oromo, the largest ethnic group, which was long denied a fair share of power by the Tigrayans. Since he became prime minister, Abiy has systematically marginalized Tigrayans in the central government. The civil war has provided cover for crimes by government officials and forces. In the most recent example, says Human Rights Watch, thousands of Tigrayans repatriated from Saudi Arabia have been subjected to abuses ranging from arbitrary detention to forcible disappearance. Abiy is hardly the first Nobel laureate to have brought dishonor to the prize. But, for obvious reasons, American presidents are leery about deploying sanctions against those who have been ennobled as peacemakers. George W. Bush considered sanctioning Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, joint winner in 1994, but eventually thought better of it. For all his recklessness, Donald Trump could not bring himself to sanction Myanmars Aung San Suu Kyi, winner in 1991, for her governments gruesome treatment of the Rohingya minority, and targeted only the countrys military commanders. (Ironically, those same commanders would go on to overthrow the civilian government and imprison Suu Kyi.) Biden might do well to follow Trumps example and target senior Ethiopian officials while giving Abiy a Nobel pass. Still, if the prime minister doesnt take heed, he may well find himself in an ignoble category all of his own. - - - This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. As we mark the anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, and as different judicial processes attempt to deliver their various forms of accountability, we still lack an adequate understanding of one of the days imminent dangers: the threat of militias to American democracy. The invasion of the Capitol is best understood as the collision of three streams of right-wing activity: the Trump base (itself containing a range of extremism), the QAnon movement, and white power and militant right groups. This third segment - although probably smaller than the others involved that day - was highly organized, connected, outfitted with tactical gear and weapons and well-trained. These activists often led the charge, and they were the first to breach the Capitol. Their own ideology, which descends from decades of violent white-power organizing, reveals them to be dangerous, intent on the destruction of democracy and the propagation of race war. One question that stands out: Why did these activists who attended the Jan. 6 action mostly not wear Nazi and Klan gear or carry symbols of organized white power? Why, instead, did they show up in yellow and black, in paramilitary gear, and carrying militia flags? I have spent 16 years researching the history of white-power and militia activity. One consistent attribute of the militant right is that it is fundamentally opportunistic: White power and militia groups tack not only to the prevailing winds that point toward likely scapegoats, but also toward cultural acceptability. Even before Jan. 6, these groups received information (in the form of condemnation from politicians and other sources) that outright racist mobilizations would not curry favor with a broad group of supporters. Although the groups donned white polo shirts and khakis in Charlottesville for the Unite the Right rally in 2017, most politicians condemned their openly racist and antisemitic message. This point was surely driven home later by the federal jury verdict in Sines v. Kessler, which in November found the organizers of the Unite the Right rally liable for $25 million in damages. But militias, as the scholar Joe Lowndes has documented, have not received similar condemnation. Even before Jan. 6, militia groups appeared regularly in semi-legitimate and legitimate settings, at anti-mask actions and even at Black Lives Matter protests. And on the day of the electoral vote count, even groups that espouse white power ideology cloaked their most offensive symbols. This shows us, once again, that Jan. 6 was meant as a recruitment and radicalization action - an attempt to raise awareness about the militant right and bring people into the fold. For this reason, the pressing work ahead will be clarifying the threat that extralegal militias pose to people, governance and institutions. To be sure, some militias are distinct from some forms of white power activism. But there is a large degree of overlap, and militias are not separate enough to earn the label of neutrality. The word militia holds a special place for many Americans because it calls back to our Constitution, to our early history and to the role of militias in the Revolutionary War. However, those militias were incorporated into National Guard units in the early 20th century. The militias on the scene now do not have a clear lineage to the well-regulated bodies enumerated in the Constitution. Furthermore, as the legal scholar Mary McCord has shown, all 50 states ban such groups in one way or another. The militias we face today are, quite simply, extralegal, unregulated private armies. These private armies often show up saying they are there to keep order. They have provided private security for politicians (like the 1st Amendment Praetorian members who have accompanied former Trump adviser Mike Flynn, and the Proud Boys with Roger Stone). They have also done things like detain protesters at the behest of police in Portland, Ore. They have provided security for a GOP event in Colorado Springs, Colo., and then showed up there and elsewhere to pack school board and town council meetings to pressure local communities about to ban racially inclusive curriculums and masking. Not only does this range of activity show that militias remain active as a local and national political threat, but too often, these groups do real harm with real casualties. Consider the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Va.: Part of the reason police did not protect counterprotesters who were beaten and killed was because, according to then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe, they were far outgunned by militias. Extralegal private armies prevented police from ensuring safety? That is neither law nor order. Extralegal private armies intimidated local communities to defy public health guidance in schools? That is neither health nor safety. And extralegal private armies attempting to stop us from teaching and learning our own history? That is a direct attack upon our knowledge of civics, sense of community and the very tools we will need to overcome the threat of Jan. 6. This is to say nothing of the larger canvas of police violence and white supremacy, the problem of veteran and active-duty military participation in militia and other militant right groups, and the clear and present danger these groups pose to democracy. A recent report from BuzzFeed News documented at least 28 elected officials with ties to the Oath Keepers. Without an understanding of what a militia is, someone might believe joining such a group is an exercise related to patriotism, or heritage. Instead, it is downright terrifying: elected officials with ties to extralegal, unregulated private armies. This is a threat to Americans, to our democracy and to our institutions. Part of the work of the courts, the January 6 commission and our public conversation about the day is to understand the degree of culpability in our halls of governance that allowed the riot. But part must also be to reckon with violent militia groups themselves, and with the continued presence of extralegal private armies across the nation. - - - Kathleen Belew is author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America and is assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago. CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea North Koreas first weapons test of the new year, carried out Wednesday, was a hypersonic missile that precisely hit a target about 435 miles away, the countrys state-run news agency said Thursday. The Korean Central News agency said the launch had a strategic significance and that its missile glided 75 miles laterally after detaching to hit its target. The test launch clearly demonstrated the control and stability of the hypersonic gliding warhead, which combined the multi-stage gliding jump flight and the strong lateral movement, KCNA said in its announcement. Hypersonic weapons travel at least five times faster than the speed of sound, or around 3,800 mph. The weapons can fly at lower altitudes and are harder to defend against due to their maneuverability. The latest missile was detected by South Korean and Japanese militaries at 8:10 a.m. Wednesday. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said initial estimates show a projectile flew about 310 miles and fell into the sea outside of his countrys exclusive economic zone. In a statement the same day, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees all U.S. forces in the Pacific, said the missile launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies." The communist regime claimed it first tested a hypersonic weapon in September, after the U.S. and South Korean militaries detected a short-range missile fired from the Norths eastern coast. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had vowed to develop longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic aircraft. South Korean military officials previously told Stars and Stripes that Septembers launch shows something different from the Norths previous missile tests. North Korea claimed that that test ascertained the stability of missile fuel ampoule for the first time, which would ostensibly make detecting the missile prior to its launch more difficult as well as shortening its preparation time. North Korea joins a host of other countries developing hypersonic weapons. The U.S. is not as advanced in hypersonic programs compared to China or Russia, according to Space Force Gen. David Thompson, the vice chief of space operations. During an interview at the Halifax International Security Forum in November, Thompson said the U.S. had some catching up to do very quickly due to the technological advancement of hypersonic weapons compared to traditional ballistic missiles. North Koreas last launch prior to Wednesdays test was in October, after it fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The regime regularly claims its weapons tests are for defensive measures against hostility from the U.S. and its allies. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who addressed the launch in a speech Wednesday, said his country must not give up dialogue with the North. South Koreas Ministry of Unification also said in a statement that North Korea needed to respond to our endeavors to make peace and cooperation. "South and North Korea should work together without giving up dialogue between them in order to overcome concern, which is being caused by this launch, by the roots," the ministry said in a statement. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. TOKYO The U.S. military authority in Japan raised its coronavirus risk level a notch higher Thursday in response to growing numbers of COVID-19 cases on U.S. bases throughout the country. U.S. Forces Japan reported 1,784 active cases of the coronavirus respiratory disease at 18 U.S. bases from Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan to 10 Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Navy bases on Okinawa to the south. By moving to health protection condition Bravo, USFJ imposed on all U.S. installations a uniform set of rules to help stem the coronavirus spread. Anyone with the military and recently arrived in Japan must wear a mask while waiting on a negative COVID-19 test or while indoors and in public areas on U.S. bases. USFJ made wearing masks off base compulsory for anyone affiliated with the U.S. military, regardless of vaccination status. That requirement was already put in place by local commanders across Japan. Also Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi during a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked for stronger measures from U.S. commands in Japan, including limits on off-base travel, to curb the coronavirus surge. U.S. commanders in Japan acknowledge that many post-holiday military travelers returning from the U.S. have tested positive for the disease. The topic is on the agenda again Friday when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, isolating at home with COVID-19, meets virtually with Hayashi, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, Blinken and newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel for the 2022 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting. Some U.S. commanders at bases with fast-growing case numbers had already imposed temporary liberty restrictions, but they are in the minority. Marines at Camp Fuji southwest of Tokyo and at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni near Hiroshima are temporarily barred from overnight stays in local communities, for example. Camp Fuji, the Marines Camp Hansen on Okinawa and Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan were already in condition Bravo. Although USFJ did not impose a uniform travel ban, condition Bravo calls for avoiding unnecessary travel, especially to areas known to be experiencing active disease transmission, according to the Defense Department Public Health Emergency Management policy. Local commanders know best how to make their local decisions, USFJ spokesman Maj. Thomas Barger told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday. They can always tighten their local requirements in addition to what USFJ implements. Barger said USFJs decisions on public health measures involve consultation with Japanese authorities as well as other factors. He said he could not predict whether the Foreign Ministrys request Thursday would result in restricted travel for the U.S. military population. Theres a bit of science involved in raising the health protection level, which also relies on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Barger said. A planning team recommended the change to USFJ commander Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, who made the call. New on-base cases The coronavirus caseload at U.S. bases continued to grow Thursday, although many commanders said most of those with the virus have mild or no symptoms. MCAS Iwakuni on Thursday reported another 115 new infections, according to a news release. The air station has the most active cases, 529, of all U.S. installations, according to USFJ. No. 2 with 282 is Camp Hansen, where a mid-December coronavirus spike among a contingent of newly arrived Marines drew the wrath of Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki. He expressed fears of a community spread of the omicron variant. COVID-19 made a resurgence on the island around the same time. On Thursday, the prefectural Public Health and Medical Care Department reported 981 new coronavirus cases, exceeding the previous one-day pandemic record of 809 on Aug. 25. U.S. bases on Okinawa reported 162 new infections Thursday, according to the Public Health Department. No. 3 on USFJs list is Yokosuka Naval Base, the homeport south of Tokyo of the 7th Fleet, with 213 active cases. Next is Misawa with 133 active cases, according to USFJ. Base commander Col. Jesse Friedel on Dec. 30 said the base is experiencing its highest caseload of the pandemic. Two bases on Okinawa, the Marines Camp Foster with 103 and Kadena Air Base with 101, round out the top six. Eliminate local residents worries The Japanese government also expressed dissatisfaction during the Hansen incident when it learned USFJ had rescinded a requirement that service members headed for Japan test negative for COVID-19 before boarding their flights. USFJ afterward imposed a three-test policy: pre-travel, on arrival and five days later. During his 35-minute call with Blinken on Thursday, Foreign Minister Hayashi strongly urged the U.S. to strengthen and thoroughly take measures against preventing of spreading the infection, including a curfew, to eliminate local residents worries, according to the Foreign Ministry. A State Department news release noted the two spoke on several topics, including support for Ukrainian independence, North Koreas recent missile test and the prospects for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. But the U.S. statement finished with only a vague sentence on the coronavirus: They also expressed their shared commitment to combatting and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ministry, Blinken said the health and safety of the Japanese are very important, along with those in the U.S. forces in Japan, and he would convey Japans request to Department of Defense immediately. Stars and Stripes reporters Hana Kusumoto and Mari Higa contributed to this report. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea U.S. Forces Korea reported 682 new cases of COVID-19 for the week ending Monday, a new peak in the coronavirus pandemic for the command responsible for more than 28,500 U.S. troops. One individual tested positive after arriving in South Korea, but the remaining 681 cases are community generated, according to a weekly update from USFK on Wednesday night. USFK reached its previous peak, 467 new coronavirus infections, between Dec. 21 and 27. Of those, 457 were locally generated and 10 were recent arrivals. The surge of new cases since mid-December at Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. base overseas, is more than what were traditionally used to, garrison commander Army Col. Seth Graves said in a Facebook video Tuesday before the latest case numbers were released. Were really close to flattening the curve here, so were going to need everyones help to do that, he said. Graves said he implemented heightened measures at Humphreys and that most of the newly infected people exhibit mild symptoms or none at all. Roughly eight miles from Humphreys, Osan Air Base is experiencing a new wave of COVID, base commander Col. Joshua Wood of the 51st Fighter Wing said in a Facebook video Wednesday. This wave that were having is similar in scope to what the United States is currently experiencing right now, he said. This is expected and not a surprise to any of our medical experts. Most people with COVID-19 at Osan are experiencing mild symptoms and no service members are hospitalized with the disease, Wood said. South Korea on Wednesday reported 4,126 new COVID-19 cases, an uptick still short of the one-day record of 7,849 on Dec. 15, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. As of Thursday, 86.3% of the countrys 51.8 million people had received the first dose of a vaccine and 83.3% are fully vaccinated, according to the KDCA. Over 19.6 million people in South Korea have received a booster shot, an increase of over 3 million people from the previous week. Social distancing restrictions remain in place until Jan. 16, including a limit of four people in private gatherings, regardless of vaccination status, and early closures of restaurants, movie theaters and bars. Despite the surge in cases, USFK has not changed its social distancing restrictions or implemented travel bans on the peninsula. The command instead leaves to individual units the option to impose additional restrictions based on the scope of their duties. The commands priority is the protection of the force and it maintains an aggressive approach against COVID-19, USFK spokesman Army Col. Lee Peters said in an email Thursday to Stars and Stripes. USFK requires service members, civilian employees and their families to wear face masks at all indoor settings on military bases within districts with 50 or more confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over seven days. As of Thursday, those bases include Humphreys, Osan and all U.S. military installations north of Command Post Tango in Seongnam. On Wednesday, the Defense Department reported 422,450 positive cases from service members, contractors, dependents and civilians since the start of the pandemic. STUTTGART, Germany The U.S. has established a forward operating headquarters in Albania and will use the facility in the Adriatic Sea-facing country as a home base for missions in the broader Balkans. The headquarters will give U.S. special operators more logistical flexibility and better access to regional transportation hubs, U.S. Special Operations Command Europe said Thursday. The ability to rapidly move and train within the Balkans in close coordination with other allied and partner forces made Albania the best location for this effort, said Maj. Gen. David Tabor, commander of Special Operations Command Europe. Albania is a fellow NATO member. The move puts American special operators near such countries as Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia, North Macedonia and Serbia, where Russian political, economic and military influence has been growing steadily stronger. SOCEUR didnt say how many troops will be based in Albania, but service members will be stationed there on rotational basis. For U.S. European Command, the Balkans has been an area of concern for several years, even if the security situation there has been overshadowed by tensions with Russia in the Baltics and the greater Black Sea region. For example, NATO countries have blamed Russian agents for destabilization campaigns in Montenegro, an alliance member that borders Albania. EUCOMs Gen. Tod Wolters also has called the Balkans primary targets of persistent Russian malign influence. For SOCEUR, the headquarters in Albania resembles similar sites in other parts of Europe. The command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, also has small forward operation sites in Estonia and Ukraine, where troops coordinate training efforts with local forces. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. Germany can avoid a sweeping lockdown even if the omicron strain of Covid-19 fuels a drastic increase in infections in coming weeks, according to Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Speaking ahead of Fridays talks over the next steps in the governments pandemic strategy, Lindner said that Germany can tackle the virus and prevent overloading the health system with reasonable measures that avoid closing businesses and schools. He hinted that Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional leaders will agree on both shorter isolation times to avert staff shortages in critical services as well as curbs on social contact. He said that accelerating the vaccine and booster campaign will help keep Covid at bay. We are facing a new challenge with omicron, Lindner said at an event for his Free Democratic party in Stuttgart. As a result, there are changes in quarantine rules, and well have to maintain more distance in our daily lives. Germanys Covid infections have been rising rapidly in recent days, though the country has yet to experience the dramatic, omicron-fueled surge seen in countries like Britain, France and Ireland. Europes biggest economy is already in what some officials have termed a lockdown of the unvaccinated, with limits on access to non-essential stores, restaurants and theaters. There are also hygiene rules and restrictions on the size of public gatherings that apply to all citizens. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned Thursday that omicron could persist longer than expected and even be replaced by other variants that are just as contagious but even more dangerous. Some form of mandatory vaccination is the best protection, he added. Compulsory inoculation would be the most important step, because then I can very quickly immunize the population from such a serious threat, Lauterbach said in an interview with Welt TV. Germanys Bundestag is expected in coming weeks to start debating the introduction of a vaccine mandate, and officials have said it could take effect from around March. Meanwhile, protests against the governments pandemic strategy have intensified across Germany in recent days, with some demonstrations turning violent. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann -- a member of Lindners FDP party -- said Thursday that the government will respect the right to demonstrate peacefully -- including expressing opposition to vaccination -- while warning that authorities will crack down on those who resort to violence. Absurd opinions must also be allowed to be expressed, Buschmann said in an interview with ntv. But there is a very clear red line and a very clear limit, he added. If there is violence that cannot be accepted, and if there is a call to violence that cannot be accepted. LITHUANIA-BG 555 words 1 photo U.S., Lithuania agree to address Chinas economic coercion The U.S. and Lithuania agreed to cooperate on ways to counter what they called Chinas economic coercion, comments that ratchet up simmering diplomatic tensions. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on Wednesday that the Baltic nation had Washingtons support during a call that was held amid a dispute over Taiwan opening a representative office in Vilnius under its own name. The two officials pointed out that the U.S. and European Union as democratic market economies, share a number of core values and principles that we need to defend internationally. Lithuania faces unofficial trade hurdles and a downgrade of diplomatic ties with China after it allowed the office to open in its capital, a move Beijing deems a violation of its one-China principle. China also recalled its ambassador, though it denies its blocking the nations exports. The EU has raised the issue with the World Trade Organization. Earlier Wednesday, Taiwan pledged to establish a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuania and open its markets to the country in reaction to what it calls Chinas economic pressure. Taiwan would use the fund to invest in areas such as semiconductors, lasers, biotechnologies and research, Eric Huang, the head of the representative office in Vilnius, said at a press conference. It will also send a team to assess Lithuanias aspirations to develop a semiconductor industry, he added. The way to confront bullying is not to give up, its to work together, Kolas Yotaka, the spokesperson for the Presidential Office in Taipei, said in a Tweet. China lashed out at Taiwan over the fund, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin saying at a regular press briefing Thursday in Beijing that independence will fail despite its dollar diplomacy. He also had stern words for Washington, saying its actions prove it is trying to contain China. That reiterates an accusation Beijing often levels at the U.S. for allegedly trying to hinder its development. The U.S. has repeatedly tried to aid and abet the wrong acts of Lithuania to create one China, one Taiwan, which gives the wrong impression, Wang said. Lithuania has sought to build closer economic ties with Taiwan, with with the goal of gaining a foothold its the chip sector. The drive started last year, when the Baltic nation left the Chinese-led 17+1 format, a group of EU states that Beijing uses to engage and influence the bloc. Taiwans National Development Council and Lithuanias Economy Ministry have yet to discuss the details of the investment fund, which will be financed by Taiwans National Development Fund. An even larger fund for investments backed by Taiwans central bank is in the works, Huang said. Taiwan is also working to redirect some 120 containers of Lithuanian products that have been halted at Chinese ports and to open the islands market for Lithuanian dairy and grain, Huang said. A Taiwanese company recently bought 20,400 bottles of Lithuanian rum that China refused to let into the country. The dispute over the representative office has opened a political rift in Lithuania. President Gitanas Nauseda criticized the government for letting Taiwan open the facility using its name. He later walked back the remarks, saying his position on the opening of the office remained positive. - - - Bloombergs Lucille Liu contributed to this report. Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of the Armys 18th Airborne Corps, is the White Houses pick to lead American forces in the Middle East, according to congressional records and a military official. President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated Kurilla to receive a fourth star, according to Senate records that do not indicate for which position he had been selected. But a military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Wall Street Journal report Thursday that Kurilla had been chosen to become the next U.S. Central Command leader. Kurilla, an infantry officer, is 1988 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with extensive experience in the Middle East and Afghanistan, according to his Army biography. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace current CENTCOM commander Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who is slated to retire in the spring. McKenzie has led the command responsible for the Middle East and parts of central Asia including Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2019, overseeing the full U.S. withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan last year, the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq last month, and the U.S. raid in October 2019 in Syria that led to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Kurilla would inherit CENTCOM as it transitions with the United States moving its focus from two decades of counterterrorism wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan toward preparing for potential fights against major power competitors such as China and Russia. His nomination comes amid increasing tensions in Iraq and Syria between American forces and Iranian proxy militias who seek to push them out of the region. In recent days, U.S. and anti-ISIS forces have shot down multiple enemy drones near Iraqi bases housing American troops, and Iran-backed militias have lobbed rocket attacks on at least one base with U.S. forces in northeastern Syria, defense officials have said. About 2,500 American troops remain in Iraq to train Iraqi forces to fight the remnants of ISIS. The United States has less than 1,000 troops in Syria primarily working alongside local anti-ISIS forces, the Pentagon said this week. Kurilla is a battle-tested Army leader who has commanded at practically every level in the Armys conventional and special operations fields, according to his biography. He served in combat operations in Panama, Iraq during Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve, and Afghanistan. Before taking the helm of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., Kurilla served as CENTCOMs chief of staff. Among his leadership positions, Kurilla commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment and its 2nd Battalion, and the 25 Infantry Divisions 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry. He also served as the assistant commander of the Joint Special Operations Command and as the Pentagons deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism. While leading 1-24 Infantry during a deployment to Mosul, Iraq, in 2005, Kurilla was shot multiple times in a close combat fight documented by Michael Yon, an independent journalist and former Green Beret who was embedded with the unit. Yon wrote Kurilla was shot in front of me, hit three times, badly, but he continued to fire at the enemy and give orders. The incident led to one of Kurillas two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star Medal with V device for valor, according to the Army. He has been awarded four additional Bronze Stars. Coalition defenses at Iraqs al Asad Air Base shot down another armed drone Thursday as the sprawling facility, which still houses American troops, thwarted its third attack in as many days. It follows a barrage of rocket or drone incidents since New Years Eve targeting foreign forces near Baghdad and in northeast Syria. The series of daily attacks targeting coalition sites comes on the heels of a Dec. 31, 2021, deadline for Operation Inherent Resolve to transition from a combat mission to one focused only on training and advising Iraqi forces battling Islamic State. Combat forces were withdrawn last month, but some 2,500 U.S. troops remain in the country for the new mission. Attacks are a dangerous distraction from our #AdviseAssistEnable mission and a threat to the Iraqi people, the coalition said in a statement Thursday. While not deadly so far, this weeks attacks appear to be aimed at harassing coalition forces, perhaps to raise tensions and prompt a disproportionate response. The U.S. has blamed Iranian proxy forces for the spate of attacks, which began as Tehran and its surrogates marked the anniversary Monday of the 2020 U.S. killing in Baghdad of Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian general responsible for overseeing armed groups outside Iran. Iranian proxy groups have pledged revenge for Soleimani. They have waged a long campaign aimed at driving all U.S. forces from Iraq. This all looks like causality-minimizing actions, intended to look convincing to the militia base, said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute who specializes in Iraq and Iran security affairs. The Shiite militias and their Iranian backers need a resistance campaign to look credible after a series of blunders late last year, but they may call it quits after this week if it doesnt draw an outsized U.S. response and if their supporters are satisfied, Knights and co-author Crispin Smith wrote in an analysis. The unidentified drone downed Thursday did not cause any damage or casualties at the installation, Iraqi officials and the U.S.-led coalition said. It was engaged by unspecified defensive systems, said a coalition official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the incident with Stars and Stripes. A coalition video shows a missile hit the aircraft, which then falls to the ground in a ball of fire. Heres a longer clip showing a projectile hit the drone and blow up before the aircraft drops to the earth in flames. https://t.co/Ti2fxMYwn5 pic.twitter.com/L2P8p1aUOw Chad "this is a personal account" Garland (@chadgarland) January 6, 2022 Stars and Stripes also obtained official video Tuesday of an earlier shootdown of two explosive-laden drones at al Asad. That footage shows the aircraft taken out by a missile and what appears to be a stream of 20 mm rounds fired from the Gatling gun of a counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system. Officials declined to identify the defensive systems used in either video, citing policy. In Iraq, where Shiite groups aligned with Iran have significant political clout and Shiite militias form part of the countrys security forces, the attacking drones have been downed by defensive systems. But in the northeastern part of Syria, where a civil war has raged for years and where the U.S. backs largely Kurdish militia forces, the coalition carried out pre-emptive strikes on what it identified as rocket launch sites. It also struck back with artillery after rockets targeted coalition forces on a base there known as Green Village, officials said Wednesday. Another pair of newly released videos showed coalition MQ-9 Reaper drones striking more suspected rocket launch sites in Syria, hours after the previously disclosed artillery fire. A coalition official said five rockets were also fired toward al Asad late Wednesday but landed far from the base. An investigation was underway, the Iraqi government said. OWENSBORO, Ky. (Tribune News Service) Afghan refugees who have settled in Owensboro, Ky., continue to face challenges as they adapt to a new culture, but many have felt welcomed and have received assistance throughout the process. The biggest hurdles are housing availability and receiving documentation, as there is a language barrier that exists for many of the refugees and parolees, according to Khaibar Shafaq, who assists in translation for other refugees. Ahmad Bilal Badaan was evacuated from Afghanistan on Aug. 27, following the attack on the Kabul airport. Badaan is settled in a house in Owensboro with his wife and four children. Getting settled was not necessarily easy, he said, but he and his family received lots of help from the International Center and other community volunteers. After spending about two-and-a-half months on a military base in Wisconsin following his evacuation, Badaan and his family were transported to Owensboro. He said he had no idea where Owensboro even was, but he has since come to love it, along with the rest of his family. "We were all in the bases, and they were asking where were our ties where do you have friends and relatives living in the United States?" Shafaq translated for Badaan. "His relatives were living in Colorado and Virginia and also Seattle, so these two places he gave his ties, but he didn't know where he was going. He was expecting he might be shipped to one of these locations because he gave the tie and addresses of the people that he knows, but the weather got cold, and they came to him and said, 'you're moving to Kentucky, Owensboro.'" Although the family was originally apprehensive about the location, Badaan said settling in Owensboro has been a positive change for his family. "Once we came here, we saw the people are very nice, they treat us well and helped us a lot, they welcomed us, they took care of myself and my family members," he said through Shafaq. "Now my family members are calling me asking, 'when are you coming,' 'are you going to stay here,' and I told them 'no, I'm going to stay (in Owensboro).' If they want to come here, they are most welcome, but I'm staying." Badaan said his four children are also enrolled in school and happy. He said they have already started making new friends and the community has embraced him and his family. While Badaan and his family have managed to get proper documentation in order to receive housing, find jobs and open a bank account, he said the process, in general, tends to be slow for many others who may not have the same assistance he has had access to along the way. Many of his coworkers who were transported to other countries throughout Europe, he said, have already received their necessary documents. However, many he knows in the U.S. are having difficulties. "This is something he's a little bit worried about, and he's trying to request if the U.S. government can ease this process and provide the documents so they can be free to move and to work freely in any places," Shafaq said. The International Center in Owensboro has been a tremendous help in making sure refugees arriving in the city are able to get the documentation they need, according to Badaan, which he said he is grateful for. "We are safe; the family is safe; the kids are going to the school they are happy. We have a house here; if we would have stayed in the country, our lives and the family life would have been in danger," he said. "The 15th the country collapsed, the 17th, they came to my house looking for me and threatened the whole family everyone was scared. The U.S. government has brought us into a safe haven." Badaan is currently studying to take a driving test and get his license and said the process here is "moving very well." Kanishka Safi has resided in a hotel in Owensboro since arriving about a month ago. He said while he is happy to be here, it is difficult to not have access to housing for many. "More than 170 people staying in the hotel and finding shelter is a difficult time," he said. "Many people are not willing to give houses for the Afghanistan refugee who doesn't have any credit here, and we are new here, so they are not willing to rent a house. This is one of the big, challenging problems here." Jobs, he said, are also difficult to find. Safi said, however, that the International Center and other volunteers in the community have been working hard to help with the process and get refugees and parolees anything they might need, including food, clothing, a place to sleep, transportation and medical appointments. "(It) is a special time for everyone, and we are getting a warm welcoming here, and we are thankful for that. They help us a lot," he said. Muhammad Sabir, who arrived in Owensboro without family, has also been resettled into a home with another refugee who arrived alone. Sabir arrived in Owensboro after spending 76 days in a military base in Virginia. He then spent more than a month at a hotel before being settled into a home. He said he is happy to have a home and all his essential needs and is excited to start his life here. Sabir said he and his housemate are working on getting some household items and have already started making friends in Owensboro, both locals and other refugees, even inviting them to their home at times. He said he looks forward to meeting even more people and getting acclimated in Owensboro. "We are happy," he said through the assistance of Shafaq. "It's the beginning of the new life." cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com (c)2022 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Thursday decried the violent mob of President Donald Trumps supporters who breached the Capitol a year ago, saying that democracy was attacked and urging Americans to make sure such an attack never, never happens again. Biden took direct aim at Trump, who he said could not accept that he lost and created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. In a searing speech, Biden marked the first anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by painting in vivid detail the violence of that day - and, without naming Trump, by squarely blaming the former president for spreading a web of lies about the 2020 election. One year ago today, in this sacred place, democracy was attacked, simply attacked, Biden said. The will of the people was under assault. The Constitution, our Constitution, faced the gravest of threats. Throughout the speech, Biden did not mention Trump by name but constantly referred to him as the former president. For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election: He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Biden said. But they failed. Biden said Americans must ensure such an attack never happens again. Here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election, Biden said. Hes done so because he values power over principle . . . because he sees his own interest as more important than his countrys interest and Americas interest, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He cant accept he lost. Earlier, Vice President Kamala Harris warned that American democracy is under attack. The Jan. 6 riot, she said, showed what our nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful. What the extremists who roamed these halls targeted was not only the lives of elected leaders, what they sought to degrade and destroy was not only a building, Harris said. What they were assaulting were the institutions, the values, the ideals that generations of Americans have marched, picketed and shed blood to establish and defend. We cannot let our future be decided by those bent on silencing our voices, overturning our votes and peddling lies and misinformation by some radical faction that may be newly resurgent, but whose roots run old and deep, she added. Harris tied the attack to stalled voting rights legislation in the Senate. We must pass voting rights bills that are now before the Senate, and the American people must also do something more, she urged. We cannot sit on the sidelines. Harris wondered how Jan. 6 will be remembered in the future. Will it be remembered as a moment that accelerated the unraveling of the oldest, greatest democracy in the world? Or a moment when we decided to secure and strengthen our democracy for generations to come? she asked. Meanwhile, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, warned in a statement Thursday that we ignore the lessons of January 6 at our own peril. Democracy is fragile; it cannot survive without leaders of integrity and character who care more about the strength of our Republic than winning the next election, Romney said in the statement, which did not mention Trump by name. I said last year that the best way we can show respect for voters who are upset is by telling them the truth. The responsibility that elected officials have in this regard is fundamental to reversing the malaise gripping our current politics and ensuring that our democracy endures. Romney was among the seven Republican senators who voted, along with all 50 Democrats, to convict Trump in his impeachment trial last year on a charge of inciting the insurrection. The 57 votes fell short of the two-thirds threshold needed for a conviction, and Trump was acquitted. The American spirit is being tested, she said. The answer to whether we will meet that test resides where it always has resided in our country, with you, the people. Democratic House leaders have planned a full day of commemorative activities, including testimonials from lawmakers, commentary from historians and a prayer vigil. Senate Democrats plan to deliver floor speeches about the day. Republican leaders do not plan to participate. The Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection resulted in five deaths and injured about 140 members of law enforcement. Trump had planned to hold a news conference to mark the first anniversary of the attack on the Capitol but announced this week that he was canceling it. Every time Harper White looks at the U.S. Capitol dome, he thinks back to the day, one year ago, when he barricaded himself inside a congresswomans office a few steps from the House floor and heard the sound of gunfire. He remembers trying to hide in a wooden storage unit half his size. His job as a Capitol Hill staffer was his first full-time work after graduating from the University of Kentucky, and he was trapped during a violent attack - one that many Republicans and right-wing groups have defended by pushing false and misleading accounts. White, a 25-year-old legislative assistant and correspondent for Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., will be speaking to an anticipated crowd of hundreds on Thursday outside the Capitol on the anniversary of a violent mobs entry into the building to try to stop Congress from ratifying the 2020 electoral college vote. Less than three miles away, a smaller crowd is planning to gather outside the D.C. jail to support people who were charged in the insurrection and are being held there - people the demonstrators call political prisoners. These rival events reflect the fact that a year after the Capitol riot, much of the country remains divided on what happened. As most Democrats and many others have condemned the violent attack on the countrys democratic process, a majority of Republicans continue to believe that President Joe Biden was elected illegitimately or fraudulently, and some have sought to recast those charged in the Jan. 6 attack as martyrs. Thirty percent of Americans say there is solid evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, according to a recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll. Almost 3 in 10 Americans say Bidens election was not legitimate. Among people who voted for Donald Trump in 2020, 69% now say Biden was not legitimately elected, according to the poll. This counternarrative is not only untruthful, experts say, but dangerous. It suggests that weve actually moved beyond just partisanship, said Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center. Americans are living in two wildly different realities and are viewing each other increasingly as enemies that they have to contend with. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger acknowledged the events planned for Thursday at the D.C. jail and outside the Capitol but said during a news conference on Tuesday that he did not anticipate security concerns. Were aware of several events that are planned for Thursday. Most of them arent of much concern to us, Manger said. Theres no intelligence that indicates any problems for us. D.C. police issued a permit to Look Ahead America, the right-wing group behind the widely anticipated but sparsely attended rally outside the U.S. Capitol in September, for its event on Thursday, D.C. police spokeswoman Kristen Metzger said Wednesday. As with all First Amendment demonstrations, [the Metropolitan Police Department] will be monitoring and assessing the activities leading up to and on January 6 in collaboration with our local and federal law enforcement partners, Metzger said in a statement in response to questions about security concerns. MPD members will have a visible presence around the city during this time. Organizers for both groups of demonstrators said they do not plan to engage with each other. The vigil outside the Capitol, near the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, is being organized by a coalition of more than 100 groups to denounce last years insurrection. This vigil is one of hundreds organized across the country to reject false claims of election irregularities and push legislators to pass federal voting rights protections and expansions, organizers said. This vigil is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. with remarks from leaders of liberal organizations and elected officials. Those gathering on the Mall are calling for the Senate and President Biden to enact the Freedom to Vote Act, a voting rights bill, and the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which includes reforming oversight of the executive branch, among other legislation such as a measure for D.C. statehood. Organizers point to restrictive voting legislation passed by Republican-led state legislatures around the country and say the Jan. 6 attack highlights the need for federal voting rights protections and expansions before the next election. No one is above the law, no matter how much power they wield in Washington, but January 6 exposed the cracks in our democracy, Lisa Gilbert, the vice president of Public Citizen, one of the groups behind the vigil, said in a statement. If we dont patch up those cracks before November 2022, we can expect more sabotage, more corruption, and potentially more violence. Federal prosecutors in D.C. have charged more than 725 people with various crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. Of those arrested, 225 were charged with assault or resisting arrest, and more than 75 were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon against police officers. During the attack, when hundreds of rioters forced their way into the U.S. Capitol, 140 officers were injured. Other people died, including Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as she attempted to breach a set of doors inside the Capitol during the riot, and Rosanne Boyland, who authorities said had been trampled by the mob. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was sprayed with a chemical irritant, suffered two strokes and died the next day. Outside the D.C. jail, a group will gather for a different vigil at 6 p.m., one that advocates for those charged in connection to the insurrection, as well as honoring Babbitt and Boyland. Inside the jail, there are 39 people detained on charges in connection with the insurrection, Keena Blackmon, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Department of Corrections, said Tuesday. Were standing up for these people. Were not letting their suffering, their persecution, go forgotten, and were going to continue to raise public pressure and public awareness, said Matt Braynard, the executive director of Look Ahead America, the group behind the vigil. Our movement is growing. Were picking up momentum and our message is penetrating. There will be other vigils across the country in support of those charged in connection with the insurrection, Braynard said. His group also held a protest in front of the jail in July, when about 100 people rallied and chanted, Let them go! When Braynards group announced plans to protest outside the U.S. Capitol in September, it attracted substantial attention from the media, law enforcement and public officials, including a heightened security response from local and federal agencies and the reinstallation of the temporary Capitol perimeter fencing. Ultimately, journalists, police officers and counterprotesters outnumbered the demonstrators. Braynards group anticipates 50 people at Thursdays vigil, according to a permit application the group submitted to D.C. police and provided to The Post. Despite the small anticipated attendance, experts warn that the groups beliefs are widespread among Republicans and the far-right. The same online movement that coordinated the January 6 riots - even down to the same users - are continuing to post about hangings and civil war, Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism, said in a statement. The U.S. government can arrest every single rioter who entered the Capitol building last year, but it wont make these dangerous incitements disappear, or prevent another January 6, because those behind the keyboard, who played vital role in organizing, coordinating and mobilizing the community for January 6, continue to incite and recruit, and proved to be untouchable. Those who lived through the attack - sheltering in place, hearing the violent mob, watching rioters storm the seat of the U.S. government - say the trauma has continued to linger. Some lawmakers and staff are still receiving counseling to deal with post-traumatic stress, and threats against lawmakers are at an all-time high. Many people living and working on Capitol Hill are still fearful and angry. After the attack, their neighborhood turned into a fortress. An eight-foot-high black metal fence topped with razor wire surrounded the U.S. Capitol for months. There were concrete barriers, security checkpoints and armed National Guard members. Ill never look at the Capitol without the reminders of that day and the reminders of the fragility of our democracy, said White, who lives on Capitol Hill. We should not let anyone deter us from the work we do here, not let anyone deter us from doing whats right. The Washington Posts Tom Jackman contributed to this report. WASHINGTON It took more than $188.4 million to support thousands of Afghan refugees housed at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., for three months following the U.S. evacuation mission from Afghanistan, according to a Defense Department inspector general report published Thursday. That amount, which was tallied Dec. 3, did not include the additional $38.3 million expected then to cover expenses to return the base to its original condition and sustain operations until they ended Dec. 22, according to the report. Quantico was one of eight military bases in the United States that housed Afghan evacuees after U.S. and coalition forces evacuated more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan in August during the final days of the 20-year U.S. conflict there. President Joe Biden officially ended the war on Aug. 31 after the last U.S. service members left the country. The 2nd Marine Logistics Group, assigned to support the evacuees at Quantico, initially covered the expenses but the Pentagon later provided $138.4 million from DOD overseas humanitarian, disaster and civic aid funding to support the operations. Comparatively, it cost the air wing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany about $56.3 million to house and process about 30,000 Afghan refugees between Aug. 18 and Sept. 14 before their flights to the U.S., according to a DOD IG report last month. However, the overseas mission differed from Quanticos, which focused on housing and preparing Afghans for resettlement in the United States. The first 241 Afghans arrived at Quantico on Aug. 29 and that number grew to 3,755 by Sept. 25, according to the report. However, the inspector generals report did not say how many Afghans were housed at the base, but it had the capability to support up to 5,000. Aside from the financial costs, the operations also took a toll on readiness as the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd MLG staffed most of the Quantico camps needs, according to the report. The report did not say how many Marines were sent to help. The extensive use of the units workforce disrupted its normal operations at both MCB Quantico and Camp Lejeune, which could impede future missions, the report said. For example, some of the Marines were undergoing training at Marine Corps Base Twentynine Palms, Ca., when they were redirected to support the Afghan evacuee mission. That training had already been canceled twice before because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the report. Additionally, about half of the sustainment groups medical personnel were sent to support operations at Quantico, creating a burden to their home station medical and dental readiness, and increased risk to troop readiness, the report said. Some military equipment was also affected in the operations. About 80 military tents borrowed from Camp Lejeune to house the Afghans must be destroyed due to wear and tear, and air-conditioning units and generators used will need to be replaced sooner than expected due to the unplanned workload of the mission, according to the report. The DOD inspector general called the mission a success overall, despite challenges stemming from a lack of time to prepare for the operation. There were, however, two failures highlighted in the report, only one of which was remedied. The first was an early failure to provide the evacuees all 13 vaccinations recommended by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This included immunizations against tetanus, hepatitis A and B, influenza and Rotavirus. Medical professionals there told inspector general auditors that they thought only four of the 13 coronavirus, varicella, polio and measles, mumps and rubella vaccines were required. However, they offered the remaining nine vaccinations after auditors informed them of the need. The second issue was one of accountability. Upon arrival, the evacuees were counted and registered, but the Quantico operation did not check to ensure the Afghans stayed on the base. Instead, they relied of Afghan leaders and interagency partners to inform the command when individuals went missing. Other Defense Department installations supporting the evacuee housing mission, such as Fort Lee, Va., and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., conducted daily accountability checks of all evacuees. Without proper accountability of personnel, it was difficult for Task Force Quantico personnel to determine if any Afghan evacuees were missing in an emergency or other unexpected events, the report said. The report did not issue a recommendation to remedy the issue because the Quantico mission ended two weeks ago, according to the report. The other bases that housed the approximately 67,000 Afghans are Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, Camp Atterbury in Indiana, Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort Pickett in Virginia. Fort Lee and Fort Bliss also have ended their evacuee-housing missions. FLORIDA-BG 337 words Ron DeSantis says Florida could send up to a million home Covid tests (c) 2022, Bloomberg Jonathan Levin, Danielle Moran NATIONAL, HEALTH, HEALTH-NEWS Jan 06, 2022 - 12:31 PM Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will send out as many as 1 million home Covid-19 tests, prioritizing nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and eventually the states seniors generally. But in keeping with DeSantiss general approach to testing, the program will be smaller than those in other states and wont do much to help healthier, younger populations such as students. The batch will reach a small fraction of the states 4.6 million seniors and 21.8 million residents. Speaking Thursday in West Palm Beach, DeSantis said hes open to distributing additional tests if the demand is still there, but he also predicted a potential glut of rapid tests after omicron passes. If omicron goes up and down as quickly as it has in other places, you could find yourself with a lot of tests on the market all of a sudden in another month or six weeks, he said. In recent days, DeSantis has repeatedly teased plans to release new testing guidelines, which will emphasize Covid-19 testing for those with risk factors. The Florida Republican has argued that widespread testing, including of asymptomatic low-risk people, is no longer needed and contributes to long lines, bottlenecks and runs on rapid tests at pharmacies. His approach puts him at odds with federal leadership and many school and corporate policies, which have emphasized widespread testing to contain outbreaks and protect others who may be at greater risk. The home-test announcement comes after Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried -- a Democrat seeking her partys nomination to run for governor this year -- accused DeSantiss Department of Health last month of stockpiling tests and allowing them to expire. Asked about the tests, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie confirmed there were 800,000 to a million Abbott Laboratories rapid tests that had indeed expired, but that the government was seeking approval from the company to still use them if appropriate. Unlike the at-home tests, the Abbott tests need to be administered by a health-care worker. MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (Tribune News Service) For years, Eastwood Elementary was a neighbor to the West Virginia Army National Guard Armory, when that facility was located on the Mileground. The West Virginia Department of Education recently decided that good neighbors make for good influences and good outreach. That's why the department presented Eastwood with its Purple Star Award, recognizing the school for its appreciation of the men and women who serveplus their families, who also take on that obligation. Eastwood is the first Purple Star school in Monongalia County. The Purple Star Award was born of the Common Ground Partnership. Established in 2011, the partnership is an intertwined mentoring group with a mission to keep students in school. That's while providing resources to their parents who may be serving in the militaryand may be deployed during the school year. Especially those parents who may be deployed, the partnership said. "At Eastwood every year, it seems we always have that handful of kiddos with a parent in Guard who is deployed, " said DeAnn Hartshorn, the school's principal. "A lot of staffers have spouses who are veterans or served themselves. Recognizing and honoring the military is just something we do." That includes pre-pandemic Career Day events at the school when Hartshorn made sure representatives from the National Guard were also included on the bill. "For some kids it's just a good niche, " the principal said of the educational and career opportunities that come with military service. West Virginia, meanwhile, is a state long known for its number of residents who have worn the uniform in service of their country. The West Virginia National Guard and the Mountain State wing of the Civil Air Patrol work under the partnership's umbrella, and so has Legal Aid of West Virginia and the West Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers Inc., among other entities. Purple Star schools also offer up speakers and others from the military community who provide their expertise on topics from maintaining proper study and nutrition, to front-line guidance for any student who might be thinking about enlisting after high school. Through the partnership, there's also a wider net of experts to talk about school bullying and just the general work of going to school in a pandemic. "Guidance, " is the watchword, said Clayton Burch, the state schools superintendent who once taught elementary school in Kuwait. "This is about providing resources to all schools in West Virginia, for the support of all students, " he said. West Virginia's Department of Education joined the partnership in 2013. Last month, on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day, it symbolically reenlisted, as it were, signing a new compact to keep the work going. (c)2022 The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.) Visit The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.) at www.dominionpost.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) A woman claiming to work for a nonprofit that supports U.S. troops overseas walked into the post office in Denver, Colo., on July 31, 2019, and ordered more than $30,000 worth of stamps, according to federal court filings. She paid with six checks all of which were counterfeit, prosecutors said. Fanice Reed, also known as Fanice Jones, was sentenced Jan. 4 to two years and three months in prison on charges she bought thousands of dollars worth of stamps by peddling counterfeit checks at post offices in Colorado and Texas, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Colorado said in a news release. The 45-year-old was also ordered to pay $72,727 in restitution for the alleged fraud, which spanned one year and cost the U.S. Postal Service $258,452, prosecutors said. When fraudsters steal from the postal service, they impact Americas most trusted government institution that delivers mail and packages to over 161 million addresses across the United States, Ruth Mendonca with the Denver Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in the release. Todays sentence serves as another example of Postal Inspectors commitment to protecting the integrity of the U.S. Postal Service. A defense attorney appointed to represent Reed did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on Jan. 6. According to Reeds plea agreement, the alleged fraud began in February 2019 and continued until March 2020. During that time, prosecutors said, Reed used fake IDs and counterfeit checks that appeared to be from law firms, nonprofits and other businesses. None of the bank accounts existed. Reed often told postal workers her law firm needed a bulk order of stamps for a big mailing that was about to go out, according to her plea agreement, or that a nonprofit was buying stamps to send to troops overseas. Reed used the latter scenario on the day she reportedly stole $30,250 worth of postage from the Denver post office. Prosecutors said she went to the post office twice. During the first visit, she reportedly purchased $679 worth of stamps using a fictional check from Hope For Our Heroes and spoke to a supervisor about ordering significantly more. Reed told the supervisor that she worked with a nonprofit that intended to put a coil of stamps in each care package that they would be sending to troops, her plea agreement states. There werent enough stamps to fulfill her request, so Reed left and returned later the same day after the supervisor ordered more. She paid for the stamps in six checks of varying increments all of which she knew would bounce, prosecutors said. A grand jury indicted Reed in April and she pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property in September. Reeds defense attorney asked for a prison sentence of two years. Prosecutors, meanwhile, asked for a sentence of 27 months. They told the judge this is Reeds third felony conviction for fraud. Instead of having learned her lesson from her prior convictions, defendant Reed appears to have focused on improving her criminal trade craft, the government said in court filings. ... (She) used false and stolen personal identities, rented cars to use during the crimes to hide her identity, traveled back and forth between Texas and Colorado in order to make the full scope of her crime more difficult to trace back to her, and frequently pretended to be working on behalf of a non-profit that supported military troops overseas. The judge ultimately sided with the government. As part of her final judgment, Reed was instructed to report to prison before noon within 15 days of being designated to a facility. 2022 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Stillwater, OK (74074) Today Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 81F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 44F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT Since last year, Lithuania has been using the Taiwan question to gain the spotlight on the international stage. Without repenting, it has triggered a diplomatic crisis with China. On Tuesday, though, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the country made a mistake when it allowed the island of Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name "Taiwan." Nevertheless, it is yet to know if Vilnius will "correct the mistake." According to Lithuania's LRT English, Nauseda told the Ziniu Radijas radio station, "I think it was not the opening of the Taiwanese office that was a mistake, but the name, which was not coordinated with me I believe the name was the spark, and now we have to deal with the consequences." But he went on and described China's response to Lithuania's provocation as "an attack, a kind of pressure on one of the EU countries." Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that other EU members are feeling the growing risk of being kidnapped by Lithuania in this regard. Lithuania's mea culpa aims at easing its way out of other EU countries' fury while trying to gain support from the bloc. "The president made the statement for two reasons. First, there are different opinions from within Lithuania toward the government's maneuver over the Taiwan question, especially from industry and business circles that are severely influenced. Second, it has dissatisfied other EU states, because the development of the situation could drag China-EU relations into a bad place," Cui said, noting, "The problems between Lithuania and China are already spreading, casting a shadow on other EU states' ties with China." Cui believes that Nauseda's remarks were not sincere but self-contradictory: If you admit to the mistake, what you should do is simply correct it - there is nothing to do with implying the EU should help. The Lithuanian government is having a hard time after it has engaged in so many bad moves. In December 2021, a poll of market and opinion research center Vilmorus showed that only 17.3 percent of Lithuania's population 18 years and older still trust their government. Politicians such as former president Valdas Adamkus and opposition party leaders Ramunas Karbaukis and Vilija Blinkeviciute criticized Lithuania's China policy, calling it "unprofessional." Nevertheless, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte recently said that China imposed inappropriate pressure on Lithuania after the establishment of the "Taiwanese Representative Office" in Lithuania, which doesn't deserve such a reaction. She previously said "this step does not mean any conflict or disagreement with the 'One China' policy." No matter how the Lithuanian government's rhetoric is, naming a representative office with the name "Taiwan" is a violation of the one-China principle. Lithuania cannot muddle through by simply saying it is a mistake but failing to correct it. This will do no good to China-Lithuania relations, nor will it reduce the damage Vilnius has and will bring to itself and other EU states. "Before China downgraded diplomatic ties with Lithuania, Nauseda said the two countries should talk to solve the problems. But such remarks are far from enough to make the Lithuanian government correct its wrongdoings. We don't accept the practice of saying good things while doing bad things," Cui noted. Confucius said it is a fault if one errs but refuses to correct the mistakes. In terms of China-Lithuania relations' downward spiral, Vilnius holds no moral ground. If it still blindly continues while wishing to reap profits and compensation from the US through such moves, it will only face a path where it will feel more pain. Anyway, it is not that important for China whether Lithuania will wake up from its illusions sooner or later. After a very warm welcome to the new year, MetService is forecasting a cooler couple of days before the mercury creeps up again through the weekend. January 2022 has already been one for the books as temperatures in several places neared their records for January within the first five days. Reaching 32.2C on Sunday, Invercargill Airport was just 0.1C shy of equaling the highest temperature ever recorded there. Temperatures in Taumarunui have also been a hot topic. Wednesday marked the fifth consecutive day of maximums above 30C, only the third time in recorded history, says MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane. A weak cold front has brought an end to the run of high temperatures. Its trail of southerlies sweeps cooler air over most of the country today and tomorrow, bringing a marked drop in temperatures. The eastern South Island gets the full force of that cool change, with maximum temperatures in the mid-teens expected today compared to the mid-twenties of earlier in the week. The front also brushes some areas with a few showers. Although Auckland and Northland also get a few passing showers overnight into tomorrow morning, the amount of rain will not do much to put an end to the dry run of the last two weeks, Makgabutlane commented. Parts of central North Island are at risk of thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, and the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and eastern Waikato are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch where localised downpours and hail are possible. Some of these thunderstorms could lead to surface flooding and hazardous driving conditions in areas popular with holidaymakers, so people should take care not to get caught out, Makgabutlane advised. Temperatures rebound into the weekend as another ridge of high pressure builds over the country. As for what the rest of the month has in store, Makgabutlane had this to say: In short, plenty of high pressure, with warm and settled weather for most. Although later this month we could see less settled weather approach from the north. Atlantic, IA (50022) Today Rain. High 49F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Rain. Low 41F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Higher wind gusts possible. Do you already have a paid subscription to any of the SWNewsMedia newspapers? If so, you can Activate your Premium online account by clicking here. Activation will allow you to view unlimited online articles each month. To activate your Premium online account, the email address and phone number provided with your paid newspaper subscription needs to match the information you use in setting up your online user account. If you are having trouble or want to confirm what email address and phone number is listed on your subscription account, please call 952-345-6682 or email circulation@swpub.com and we'll be happy to assist. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Tahlequah, OK (74464) Today Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 72F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Occasional thunderstorms - possibly severe. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 49F. SSW winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Tahlequah, OK (74464) Today Scattered strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 73F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Occasional thunderstorms - possibly severe. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 49F. SSW winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. The modern dishwasher has been a kitchen fixture since at least the 1960s, so a lot of people take the appliance for granted. But many of us living in apartments or small homes with tiny kitchens have resigned ourselves to doing the chore by hand, either because theres no place to put one or we dont want something monopolizing the kitchen faucet. The French company Daan Tech might have the solution: A countertop appliance it calls Bob. Daan Tech launched in Europe in 2021, selling about 35,000 units. The companys second-generation washer ships summer and will be available in two versions: the $299 Bob minimalist, which comes in your choice of black or white, and the $399 Bob custom that lets you choose either black or white for the body and 24 colors for the door. The pricier model also includes a host of extras, including Wi-Fi connectivity, a color display, backlit buttons, and UV-C disinfection. Countertop dishwashers are nothing new, but they typically connect to your kitchen faucet with hose. In fact, I just bought one myselfthe Farberware countertop dishwasherand I only discovered its extence through a TikTok video. But a complete cycle with Farberwares machine takes about two hours if you include drying. Its also rather large: 45 pounds and about a foot-and-a-half square. Daan Tech Daan Tech says its Bob countertop dishwasher should fit under the typical kitchen cabinet. Daan Tech says its Bob is the worlds smallest countertop dishwasher, measuring 19.3 x 13.4 x 19.3 inches (HxWxD) and weighing just 22 pounds. While taller than many countertop models, Daan Tech says it should fit under most cabinets, and its extra height enables it to wash plates up to 11.4 inches in diameter. A wash-and-dry cycle takes about 20 minutes on the express setting and uses a gallon of water to wash two full place settings or up to 16 glasses or cups. Bob uses a proprietary detergent cassette good for up to 30 washes; however, you can use standard dishwasher detergent if youd prefer. The dishwashers touch-to-open door automatically opens during the drying cycle to help dry dishes faster. You can also use the UV-C feature in the custom model by itself to disinfect small objects. The Bob custom isnt currently compatible with Alex or Google Assistant, but it does have Wi-Fi connectivity to download updates and custom wash cycles. The company said it plans to add additional functionality, including virtual assistant support, in future updates. We hope to have the opportunity review Bob soon and extremely interested to see just how well it performs. Vinyl traditionalists will be happy to learn that each turntable can be connected to a hi-fi system with wires in a more traditional home audio setup. Cambridge Audio allows the user to choose between its built-in phono stage or any other you might choose. British hi-fi manufacturer Cambridge Audio has announced the $1,999 Alva TT V2 turntable (shown above), the successor to its outstanding Alva TT model we reviewed in 2019, and the new $999 Alva ST turntable, which promises to the companys acclaimed performance to a more affordable price point. Its the wireless (via Bluetooth) streaming option, however, that makes the Alva turntables such an interesting vinyl option. Named in honor of inventor Thomas Alva Edison, both models support the aptX HD codec, so with a receiving device (headphone, speakers, etc.) that supports the same, youll enjoy music with 24-bit/48kHz resolution. Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2 Cambridge Audio The second-generation Alva TT is a direct drive turntable with a Cambridge Audios own moving magnet cartridge preinstalled. Like its predecessor, the new Alva TT V2 has a direct drive system with a heavy aluminum top plate and polyoxymethylene platter. Theres a pre-installed Alva MC high-output moving coil cartridge (a $499 value). Upgrades include an all-new tonearm with a detachable headshell that allows for easy upgrades. Based on feedback from customers, Cambridge Audio has added a switchable phono stage that allows the choice of turning off the Alva TT V2s onboard phono stage in favor of using the one in their stereo amplifier. Another change allows users to turn off the Bluetooth transmitter off, producing a shortened signal path, which improves energy efficiency and improves overall sound. The Alva TT V2 measures 5.5 x 17.1 x 14.5 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 24 pounds. Cambridge Audio Alva ST Cambridge Audio Traditionalists can wire the Alva ST turntable to their amplifier, whether or not that amp has a phono stage. The Alva ST is a belt drive turntable. Cambridge Audio has built it with a 1mm aluminum top plate, and a layer of EVA on top of MDF to absorb vibration sitting. The unit comes pre-installed with an Audio Technica AT-VM95e moving magnet cartridge, which can be swapped out for an upgrade whenever the listener desires. Like the Alva TT V2, the ST has a switchable, built-in phono stage, aptX HD wireless hi-res streaming, and the same redesigned tonearm. Cambridge says the belt drive system and die-cast aluminum platter allow for reduced motor interference and a vibration resistant. The Alva ST measures 5.5 x 17.1 x 14.4 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 19.8 lbs. Cambridge Audio says the Alva TT2 and the Alva ST will be available spring 2022. Ashdown Engineering is a British audio company best-known for building pro audio gear, including the bass guitar amps used by artists such as U2 and Foo Fighters. The company moved into personal audio in 2021 with its Meters over-ear headphones in 2021 and is launching a raft of new consumer-oriented products at CES in 2022, including its first in-ear headphones. Meters Linx The Ashdown Meters Linx ($175) are true wireless headphones that can be paired with a pair of desktop speakers, also called Linx ($116). The headphones and speakers can also be purchased as a set (pictured above) for $289. The Linx earbuds connect via Bluetooth 5.0 and come with a charging case that features Ashdowns signature illuminated VU meter that responds in real time to the music. The in-ear headphones feature Lithium-ion batteries and can play 6 hours on a charge with an additional 24 hours of charging power from the case. Ashdown Engineering Meters Linx earbuds feature balanced armatures and 7mm dynamic drivers. The Linx use a custom-designed balanced armature coupled with a 7mm dynamic driver. They use the same Qualcomm aptX Adaptive codec as the Meters OVC-1-B-Connect, Ashdowns flagship over-ear Bluetooth headphone. Touch controls on the left and right earbuds allow the user to control play/pause, volume up/down and skip track. An onboard motion sensor detects whether the earbuds are in use, helping to preserve battery life. The Linx speakers connect automatically when the headphones are placed in their case. The speakers have a range of 10 meters (about 33 feet) and three hours of playback on a charge. Both the Linx in-ear headphones and speakers have an IPX5 waterproof rating. Meters Novu-M-Ear Ashdown Engineering The Meters Nov-M-Ear wired headphone employs 10mm drivers and is rated at 32 Ohms Ashdowns Meters Novu-M-Ear wired headphones ($29) employ 10mm drivers rated at 32 Ohms inside their alloy enclosures. The company says theyre designed to emphasize bass without sacrificing clear highs and detailed midrange. They come with a 1.2-meter (about 4 feet) tangle-free that features an adjustable leather clasp to keep it from getting in the users way. An in-line microphone with a press-to-talk button is provided for answering and ending calls. Theres also a zippered hard case for storage. The manufacturer is also showing three sets of over-ear headphones at CES. Meters OV-1-B-Connect Pro Ashdown Engineering The Meters OV-1-B Pro support the aptX HD Bluetooth codec to deliver wireless 24-bit high-res audio. The Meters OV-1-B-Connect Pro noise-cancelling headphones ($360) promise wireless 24-bit high-definition audio performance, thanks to Qualcomms aptX HD Bluetooth technology. Each earcup also features Ashdowns signature working VU meters that respond to the music signal in real time. The headphones feature a 50mm dome driver and an impedance of 32 ohms. Sensitivity is rated at 94db/w/m. The Meters Connect smartphone app features five-band parametric equalization so the listener can tune the experience to the style of music and personal preferences. Battery life is 16 hours for listening and standby of 22 hours. The headphones come with a protective hard case and a 1.5-meter cable with an in-line mic. The Meters OV-1-B-Connect Pro are available now in black or anthracite finishes. Meters Novu-1 Ashdown Engineering The Meters NOVU-1 are designed as reference headphones for studio use. The Meters Novu-1 ($89) is a wired, closed-back headphone that Ashdown says is designed to take a beating in a pro-audio environment. They feature easily replaceable cables and ear pads. The company touts the headphones accurate sound reproduction in a studio environment. They feature 50mm drivers with an audio frequency bandwith of 16-20,000Hz and maximum power input of 200mW. They come with a 3-meter detachable cable with a 1/8-inch plug plus a 1/4-inch adapter. Images of Ashdowns signature VU meters are printed on the side of each earcup. Meters OV-1-B Jamaica Soundsystem Artist Edition Ashdown Engineering Ashdown Engineering partnered with the record label Trjan Jamaica to design the limited-edition Meters OV-1-B Jamaica Soundsystem Artist Edition. Finally, Ashdown partnered with the record label Trojan Jamaica to create a custom Jamaica Soundsystem edition of its closed-back OV-1-B headphone. Musicians Zak Starkey and Sharna Sshh Liguz are partners in the label, founded in 2019 and now home to such classic artists as Toots and the Maytals, Big Youth, Freddie McGregor, and U-Roy. The Jamaica Soundsystem headphones ($330) are a special edition limited to a production run of just 500 units. They incorporate all the features from the standard Meters OV-1-B headphones. Each earcup has illuminated, working VU meters built in. The Meters Connect smartphone app allows users to control the color and brightness of the meter illumination. Theres a black-and-gold design for this edition. Jamaica Soundsystem is printed on the left earcup and a Trojan Jamaica logo next to the headband. The right side features a Meters logo. The headphones include automatic noise cancelling and tap buttons for controlling volume, skipping tracks, and answering calls. They feature 16 hours of battery life. There are 40mm drivers, an impedance of 32 Ohm @ 1Khz and a frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz. In context: As one of the remaining companies hosting a physical presence at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, Razer opened its booth on Wednesday to show off a few of its newest offers, including a refreshed line of Blade laptops and a futuristic modular PC in the form of a desk. Razer also used the opportunity to announce a collaboration with watchmaker Fossil to release a limited-edition wearable. As the name implies, the Razer X Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch takes Fossil's latest Gen 6 and mixes in Razer's distinct flair. In addition to its two Razer-branded interchangeable straps (black and neon green), the wearable comes with three exclusive Razer watch faces---analog, text, and digital Chroma on a 326ppi circular display. Since it's built on the same Fossil Gen 6 platform, the wearable is powered by a Snapdragon Wear 4100+ for superior speed and performance. Applications load faster, and the watch is also more responsive overall with better power efficiency. Fossil touts a 30-percent performance gain over the Gen 5 running Google's Wear OS. The watch also features wellness features that further Razer's Champions Start From Within health initiative it launched a few months ago. "Wellness is also incredibly important to our customers, and the Gen 6 was designed with the wearer's everyday wellness goals in mind---whether it's taking a moment to reset with a guided breathing session, tracking your sleep, or monitoring your heart rate during a day full of gaming," said Fossil Group EVP Chief Brand Officer Steve Evans. The Razer X Fossil Gen 6 includes an upgraded heart rate sensor and a new SpO2 sensor, which estimates and tracks the wearer's blood oxygen levels. The watch features a fast-charging system that brings it to 80-percent capacity in about 30 minutes. Razer suggests this makes it perfect for wearing to bed to track sleep then recharging it in the morning before starting the day. The large 44mm stainless steel case manages to pack in a 1.28-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, WiFi, GPS, NFC SE, 8GB of storage, and 1GB of RAM. The Razer X Fossil Gen 6 will be available later this month at Fossil's and Razer's online stores or "select" retail outlets. It carries an MSRP of $329. Those interested might want to sign up for notifications on Razer's website since it is only releasing 1,337 units. Bottom line: Having recently revealed plans to bring Android games to Windows PCs, Google is now showing some more love for Microsoft's OS by announcing Android features like Fast Pair and Nearby Share for Windows to enable better connectivity between the two platforms. The move comes as part of Google's wider plan to improve the Android ecosystem with smarter communication across devices, including Chromebooks and Wear OS smartwatches. Google had plenty to share regarding the present state and future ambitions for Android this week. In a blog post, Google highlighted existing and upcoming Android features, like instant setup and pairing between Chromebooks and Android phones, locking/unlocking devices with Wear OS smartwatches, and digital car key support for BMWs with Ultra-Wideband-enabled phones. The more interesting part of Google's announcement came at the end, where it revealed plans for deeper integration of Android devices with Windows PCs. Google has rarely shown love for Microsoft's OS, considering their rivalry, but the tide now seems to be turning. Not only are we getting Android games on Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs later this year, but also better Android-Windows integration with features like Fast Pair and Nearby Share for quickly setting up and pairing devices, Bluetooth accessories, syncing text messages, and sharing files. Plenty of third-party wired and wireless programs already bridge the Android-Windows connectivity gap. However, Google's implementation will likely be more seamless than existing solutions and could potentially cover a wide array of Android phones in the future. It might also push Microsoft to further improve the Your Phone app, that's currently built around owners of Samsung Galaxy and Surface devices. Interestingly, as was the case with Google's plan for Android gaming on Windows that ruled out a Microsoft partnership for the Play Games app, this productivity-focused integration of Android features also leaves out Microsoft from the action. Instead, Google says that it's working with Acer, HP and Intel to bring the experience to select Windows PCs later this year. CES 2022 is not all about laptops, smartphones, game announcements, and more, as this annual tech show also features quirky products like the COVID-19 mask and a battery-operated plush cat. In line with the huge event, here are some things that you need to know about these weird products. Anti-COVID Mask With Ventilation It's very unusual for us to see a mask that offers a different setting for an individual. Commonly, we encounter surgical masks that are just enough to protect us from the coronavirus. However, there are certain companies that develop unique masks that incorporate technology into them. For instance, businessman Eric Fouchard came up with the idea of creating a special face mask that would prevent the user from feeling hot when wearing it. To solve the ventilation issue, he ended up adding a tiny ventilation system that can be placed under the covering of the face. According to Japan Today, the anti-COVID mask works using a small rechargeable battery. There's a magnet that keeps it intact in its position. The battery is located in a strap that goes towards the back of the person's neck. In an interview with AFP during the CES 2022, Fouchard shared the two ways on how to use this mask. He said that the first one is suited when you are riding a train or a plane. In addition, the second way is applicable if you want to get rid of the mist from your glasses when you are working. The French entrepreneur added that the filtration or the Aeronest system of this mask stays the same. Related Article: CES 2022: Doosan Bobcat's All-Electric T7X Loader Doesn't Need Hydraulics, Gas, And Has ZERO Emissions Plush Toy on CES 2022 Shunsuke Aoki, a Japanese entrepreneur, unveiled a simple plush cat during the CES tech show 2022. While it appears to be a usual toy at first, the businessman said that they wanted to bring it to the visitors. Amagami which means "sweet biting" in English is not your usual stuffed toy that you can just cuddle all day. It is powered by a battery just like the other products. Its main purpose includes providing comfort to the user's finger while driving. Aoki said that the same thing could be achieved by our cats and dogs at home. Aoki also saw that this creation could give a "very good comfort" for people who are always inside their homes during the pandemic era. 'Star Wars' Airtight Mask For "Star Wars" fans, what Darth Vader wears is something that was taken out of a fiction book. This time, Airxom co-founder Franck Glaizal introduced a mask that resembles the mask worn by a famous villain. According to him, it could prevent COVID-19 and stop bacteria and pollution. To add, it features a filter that could remove pollutants and harmful particles. Furthermore, company engineer Trong Dai Nguyen said that their masks are guaranteed to be entirely airtight, unlike the traditional masks that are quite loose. A few months from now, the firm will launch the current model at a price of $340. What's amazing here is that you can save a lot of surgical masks. This would prevent you from changing your surgical masks every four hours. In another CES update, XDA reported that Acer released updates for its new Nitro and Predator PCs and monitors. Elsewhere, Nvidia announced its laptop gaming chips during the tech show. Meanwhile, Korean-based firm Evosonics introduced Sonic Scalp Massager, Evo Sleep, Dr. Spa Pro, and more healthcare tech devices. Read Also: CES 2022 Innovation Award: Bodyfriend's Pharaoh O2 Provides Health Tech Benefits with Luxurious Design This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 5,000 BrightDrop electric vans were just ordered by both Walmart as FedEx added 1,500 more to its current 500 orders. With that, experts are now saying 100 million packages can be delivered every day in the United States alone. GM's BrightDrop Gets Additional Orders from Walmart and FedEx According to the story by Electrek, it will be a good day for GM as the company's very own BrightDrop brand has just announced new deals along with retail giants Walmart and FedEx. The news comes just less than a month after FedEx decided to take the delivery of its very first batch of BrightDrop EV600 electric vans in Inglewood, California. The massive order from Walmart was initially announced during a call with BrightDrop president and CEO Travis Katz, the regional president of FedEx of the Americas, and EVP Richard Smith and Walmart SVP of the last mile Tom Ward. Walmart and FedEx's 2040 Sustainability Goals As per the publication, Katz was understandably positive throughout the said call, citing BrightDrop's very own Ultium-based delivery vans that took 20 months to get from the concept to the production stage. This made them one of the most quickly developed products from GM ever. This was while highlighting BrightDrop's role in helping both Walmart and FedEx meet the 2040 sustainability goals stated. As per Katz, E-commerce deliveries are growing at a fast rate exponentially. Experts Say 100 Million Packages Could be Delivered a Day in the US It was also noted that some experts said that they would soon be seeing 100 million packages delivered every single day in the United States alone. In addition, Katz said that they are helping FedEx, their first customer, eliminate the last-mile emissions that remain the unseen footprint of e-commerce. As for the deal, Walmart initially signed an agreement to reserve 5,000 BrightDrop EV600 as well as the smaller EV410 electric delivery fans. This is in order to supply the company's much growing "last mile delivery network" at over 3,400 existing retail stores. BrightDrop EP1 Electric Container On the other hand, FedEx signed an agreement along with BrightDrop to reserve priority production for an additional 1,500 electric delivery fans over the next few years. This is part of the company's standard schedule of vehicle replacement, as per Smith. The agreement is in addition to the initial reservation made by FedEx for 500 BrightDrop electric vans announced in 2021. With that, FedEx's Smith notably spent some time on call on BrightDrop's EP1 electric container. Read Also: Daimler's New EV Has Higher Range Than Tesla Model S? But, the New EV is Still a Concept 25% Increase in Packaged Delivered with the EP1 Electric Container In the company's Toronto and New York-based pilot programs, they were able to see a 25% increase in packages that were delivered per day on routes that made use of the EP1 electric container. This allowed FedEx to remove one on-road vehicle from the delivery routes and even cut curbside dwell time into just half. According to the article by ArsTechnica, FedEx will deploy EP1s in an additional 10 markets in 2022. Related Article: Tesla Cybertruck Production Date Now Deleted From its Website-Another Delay? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Verizon's 5G expansion roll is coming out but at the cost of one key feature. With that, the new 5G C-Band will mean that unlimited hotspot will be coming to a definite end. Verizon 5G Plans 'Ultra Wideband' Network According to the story by PCMag, Verizon's very own 5G plans will help radically expand the availability of the company's upcoming fast "ultra wideband" network. This, however, comes at the cost of unlimited use of high-speed hotspots. The carrier reportedly confirmed to PCMag that later this month, hotspot data allowances would initially start to apply to subscribers on the carrier's very own fastest 5G network. With that, this particular change will apply both towards the people who are currently on existing plans and those on the carrier's brand new plans, as per Verizon. Limited High-Speed Hotspots on Nationwide 5G and 4G Up until this today, people with plans that include Verizon's very own millimeter-wave 5G network had been able to use the unlimited high-speed hotspot on millimeter-wave 5G. To add, this still limited high-speed hotspot on its own "nationwide" 5G and 4G. This is due to the massive capacity on the whole millimeter-wave network, where phones will be capable of using up to 800MHz of spectrum all at once. The network just has additional airwaves than anyone is capable of using as of the moment. 5G Plans Include 50GB of High-Speed Hotspot Per Month As of the moment, C-Band only includes 60MHz but will then be branded UWB, which is the same as the millimeter-wave. In addition, the publication notes that it looks like Verizon is actually implementing some limits on usage. The brand new 5G plans will include 50GB of high-speed hotspot on a monthly basis. To add to this, people who have been using their own Verizon phones directly for primary home internet access could have another option coming. Verizon and AT&T C-Band Networks This option could include the C-Band launch will include the expanding availability of Verizon's very own dedicated wireless home internet service. The system will not have any data caps at all. Both Verizon and AT&T's brand new C-Band networks are launching on Jan.19, and they have been delayed for six whole weeks due to conflicts along with the FAA, which finally got worked out sometime earlier in the week. Read Also: Meta Will No Longer Hire 300 People for Its VR/AR Operating System Project; Does It Mean No More Project XROS? Verizon Says Speeds can Go 10X Faster than 4G LTE C-Band is said to be the only one of the several bands used for 5G, which is neither the carriers' very own low-band 5G networks, T-Mobile's alternative mid-band, or even the millimeter-wave that have been affected by the FAA conflict. As per Verizon, their 5G Ultra Wideband is coming to 100 people in the United States within the course of the month. The post notes that the nation will get access to speeds that are 10x faster compared to the 4G LTE through '5G Ultra Wideband Network'. Related Article: Book in 1997 Predicted Digital Currency, Metaverse, Remote Work, Digital Banking, and More | 'The Sovereign Individual' This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Hyundai Heavy Industries recently sealed the deal with Palantir, focusing on its venture to build a new digital data platform for the company's operations. The goal here is to create new software for the South Korean shipbuilder, with their chosen partner being a known company in the United States, focusing on data and software development. Hyundai Heavy Industries, Palantir to Venture on Digital Data The Hyundai Heavy Industries came to Las Vegas for CES 2022, but it also had other plans in the U.S. for the expansion of its business. That is because, before the tech showcase, Hyundai Heavy Industries met with Palantir to discuss a new venture that these companies would make. The focus both have is on the digital data platform for the Korean ship maker. The company aims to create a digital platform to better its business and manage its daily operations, bringing out the best it can on its projects. The venture with Palantir will focus on Hyundai Heavy's shipbuilding and offshore engineering, industrial machinery, and energy data needs. Read Also: Hyundai and Motional to Launch a Fleet of Robotaxis in Las Vegas in 2023 Hyundai Heavy Industries and its CES 2022 Plans Hyundai Heavy brought a lot for CES 2022 from its latest showcase in the event. The South Korean company focuses on an autonomous navigation system on a boat with Avikus, part of its latest venture. However, the HHI will also focus on the arrival of robotics within the company's focus on ship manufacturing. One of its focuses is also to build a hydrogen-powered ship for a sustainable future. Hyundai's Focus on the Future Hyundai is not just a motor company, mainly as the South Korean company is now focusing itself on other forms of digital technology. The leading company announced its plans of a new metaverse and its focus on the completed acquisition of Boston Dynamics and its popular robot machines, featuring collaborations with famous names in the business. The motor company is also focusing its ventures on the start of the future, focusing on electric vehicles. The company is also leaving behind internal combustion engines in the past, venturing on fully electric cars that run only on clean energy. Hyundai's future ventures include a lot, and it rides on the motor company and its heavy industries. The famous conglomerate from South Korea is all about moving forward, focusing on modern solutions to better its service. The data platform with Palantir will surely evolve the way the company does its business for better management. Related Article: Hyundai Shuts Down Engine Development Team After 40 Years to Focus on EVs This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Mozilla co-founder, Jamie Zawinski, blurted out his criticism regarding the move of the web browser firm to accept cryptocurrency donations on his Twitter account. Mozilla and Crypto Donations As per the news story by Futurism, the company behind the Firefox web browser, Mozilla, has recently entered the crypto trend by accepting donations in the form of digital tokens. To be precise, Mozilla announced on its official Twitter account on the last day of 2021 that it is now accepting crypto donations. The web browser firm even mentions some of the hottest cryptos out there, such as the biggest one in market cap, Bitcoin, as well as Ethereum, and the meme altcoin, Dogecoin. Mozilla further said that it is accepting crypto donations using the bitcoin payment service provider that goes by the name BitPay. However, the latest announcement from the Twitter account of Mozilla does not impress its founders. Mozilla Founder Criticize Move to Accept Crypto One of them is the co-founder of the web browser, Jamie Zawinski, who even coined the term "Mozilla," which the firm still uses as its name today. Futurism noted in the same report that Zawinski used to be a computer programmer but has now shifted into owning a nightclub. Meanwhile, according to the news story by Business Insider, the Mozilla co-founder is one of the people behind the establishment of the Mozilla Project, which was released way back in 2002. Now, he has a mouthful against the latest move of the company that he co-founded decades ago. Zawinski tweeted to the Twitter account of Mozilla that he is "here to say fuck you and fuck this." On top of that, the Mozilla founder further said that "everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed" of the latest move of the web browser developer to accept crypto donations. What's more, the co-founder even called cryptocurrencies "planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters." Hi, I'm sure that whoever runs this account has no idea who I am, but I founded @mozilla and I'm here to say fuck you and fuck this. Everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters. jwz (@jwz) January 3, 2022 Meanwhile, the founder of the engine that powers the Mozilla browser, Peter Linss, agreed with the tweet of the Mozilla co-founder, saying that "you were meant to be better than this." Read Also: Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Users BEWARE! New Hacking Methods for Malware Attacks Discovered Mozilla Founder Jaime Zawinski Zawinski was one of the founders of the Mozilla Project and was also the original creator of the web services platform, Netscape. However, he resigned from Netscape in 1999 due to some differences between himself and the company, which also was his last day at Mozilla.org. In a statement during his departure, the co-founder said that: "The Mozilla project has become too depressing, and too painful, for me to continue working on." Zawinski went on to say that he "wanted Mozilla to become something that it has not, and I am tired of fighting and waiting to make it so." Mozilla has now become a privacy-focused browser, taking a small share of the market as both Google Chrome and Apple's Safari takes the majority. Related Article: DuckDuckGo Web Browser for Desktop is in the Works-Privacy Focused Alternative for Google Chrome? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Teejay Boris 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Amazon partners with Washington for the distribution of 5.5 million COVID-19 in-home kits following the surge in cases that reached 1 million. The all-time high count prompted many firms to roll out rapid tests to the household in the states. Amazon Teams Up With Washington According to Geekwire's report, the e-commerce giant is preparing to extend a helping hand to the families in the state by delivering 3.5 million rapid tests. Gov. Jay Inslee confirmed this news on Wednesday, Jan. 5 during a media briefing. Aside from the distribution, the Seattle tech titan will store the test kits and create an online portal for the COVID-19 test records. "Amazon is pleased to bring needed COVID tests to individuals and families across Washington state through this partnership with Governor Inslee's office to leverage our warehousing, logistics, package tracking, and last-mile delivery network," VP of Amazon distribution and fulfillment services, Gopal Pillai told Geekwire. Washington is planning to start making the portal available in mid-January. This would allow the individuals to order test kits to their doorstep. Every house is set to receive a kit containing five (5) at-home rapid tests. Per Washington's Department of Health, Elizabeth Perez, the collaboration of the state with Amazon is a great partnership because of their business model in line with home product deliveries. For the part of Washington, Seattle's King County said that it already procured 700,000 test kits for the cause. Related Article: Amazon Allegedly Collected Biometric Data Without Consent In Its COVID Wellness Checks 'Say Tes, COVID Test' Program in Washington Aside from Amazon, CareEvolution, one of the leading healthcare service providers, will be helping Washington with the distribution of COVID-19 kits. The company launched its "Say Yes COVID Test!" program in the state last November. In 2021, the tech titan managed the pickups and delivery processes for the COVID-19 at-home kits as part of the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network. Pricier Coronavirus Test Kits As the demand for quick testing has surged, the daily case count for coronavirus hit one million in the United States earlier this week. With that, the prices for the at-home rapid tests in Walmart and Kroger suddenly spiked. USA Today reported that on Tuesday, Jan. 4, the price of the Abbott BinaxNOW kits increased to $19.88 after the holidays. On the other hand, the two-test BinaxNOW antigen kits at Krogen now sit at a price of $23.99. Meanwhile, a COVID-19 Mask with a cooling fan appeared on the first day of CES 2022, per Tech Times. The news outlet also reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) recently discovered a new coronavirus variant called IHU (B.1.640.2). It was first found out in a visitor who went to Cameroon. The patient returned to France after a visit to Central Africa. Tom Peacock, a virologist based in the Imperial College London said that the new variant is not "worth worrying" at the moment. As usual, the expert reminded the individuals to follow the health protocols when visiting places outside. Read Also: COVID Exposure Notifications Used Less Despite Omicron Variant in the Country; Do You Need It? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Meta and Google worked on their policies this year to prevent political ads from being out of control. But why the sudden decision? Why Many Platforms Want to Ban Political Ads Ahead of midterm elections in the United States, political ads bombard popular platforms such as Google, Facebook, TikTok, and more. Although some social media consumers believe in misleading information generated by algorithms, a major part of them are starting to grow less persuadable. In an investment thesis conducted by Higher Ground Labs, "All large technology platforms will limit or outright ban paid political activities," because we see an increased interest in closed, trusted information ecosystems within online communities. Synonymously from tech giants' perspective, political ads are easier to deal with than they are worth. Meta, formerly Facebook, and Google see little benefit from the ads. Among major social platforms, Twitter was the first to ban political ads in October 2019. Then-CEO Jack Dorsey believed that 'political-message reach should be earned, not bought.' Currently, another major platform-TikTok claim it does not allow political ads, but advertisers are getting creative in finding ways to get around this rule. Then, as of June 2021, Snap is still selling political ads, but it has given users an option to see less political and sensitive content on its apps. Meta has adhered to its original stance that paid ads are political speech, which deserves protection from fact-checking by technology companies. The company remains in business with political ads today. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this part of the business contributed less than 1% to overall company revenue. It was reported by Bloomberg's Caroline Hyde in 2019 that Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg believes paid political advertising is "not worth the controversy." Despite this, Meta has yet to withdraw political ads from Facebook. In 2020, Meta and Google halted the trade for political ads for weeks during election season, fearing that political groups lie about election results or cast doubt on the democratic process. Around November 2021, Meta says it plans to limit political ads. True to their words, the company has announced that it will no longer allow political advertisers to target ads based on the content their users have viewed on Meta's mobile apps. However, political advertisers can still advertise lists of supporters by seeking permission from Meta to post them along with their ads. Following Meta's announcement, Google also placed content restrictions on how political advertisers target advertisements. Also Read: Facebook Is Going Against Individuals Who Spread Misinformation, Fake News in the News Feed | Tech Times Will Meta and Google's Decision be Effective? Meta and Google both claim they do not allow misinformation about elections in their political ads. Yet none of the companies routinely fact-check political ads, and they each use machine learning algorithms to detect ads that violate the rules. As Google Spokesperson Michael Aciman explained in an email to Fast Company, they will not look into every political claim, counterclaim, and insinuation. Instead, it is more important to establish more strict policies to ensure all ads on their platform are compliant. Meta has yet to comment on its restrictions on political ads on its platforms. Even if the big platforms can sanitize their political ads business, paid political advertisements will again take center stage as the midterm elections approach later this year. According to Shomik Dutta, co-founder of Higher Ground Labs, being called before Congress has become a much bigger hassle than the monetary benefit at stake for allowing political ads to run on platforms. Related Article: Social Media Companies To Be Held Accountable For Spread Of Fake News By Newly Filed NY State Bill | Tech Times This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Thea Felicity 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The new yeti, with his friend Rudolph, appeared in front of Steamies the Tuesday after Christmas with an anonymous note that read "To the good people of Steamies Burger Bar." The original yeti decoration was stolen the night before Christmas Eve. (Courtesy photo) Madisonville, KY (42431) Today Sun and clouds mixed. High around 80F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Ada, OK (74820) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Windy with thunderstorms - possibly severe. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 46F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph, becoming NNW and decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Two former contract workers severely burned in a 2016 explosion at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery can pursue their claims against the manufacturer of a valve that malfunctioned, an appeals court has ruled. The workers reached a financial settlement with Exxon and others in 2019, but a 19th Judicial District Court judge dismissed their claims against the valve maker, Flowserve US Inc. In 2016 ExxonMobil explosion, two burned contractors reach settlement with company Two former contract workers severely burned in a November 2016 explosion at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery reached a financial settlement M The state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal last week reversed the judge, Trudy White, and reinstated their claims, saying a jury should decide the matter. Lawyer Darrel Papillion, who represents one of the men, said Wednesday he believes the appellate court made the right call and is pleased with its decision to allow his client's claim against the manufacturer of the valve to proceed to trial. Any appeal of the ruling would go to the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Nov. 22, 2016, explosion in an alkylation unit of the 2,100-acre refinery came after an Exxon employee disassembled a malfunctioning valve, the state Department of Environmental Quality said in a 2017 report. The worker was trying to open a pipe but was unable to use a hand wheel. When the worker disassembled the valve, it released isobutane, which was ignited by welding equipment about 70 feet away, the report stated. The explosion left four workers with critical burns and two other workers with minor injuries. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up A federal agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents ruled that the worker was following "accepted practice" in stripping down the malfunctioning valve, the Chemical Safety Board said in 2019. But the particular malfunctioning valve the workers were trying to open unlike roughly 97% of pipe valves in the sprawling plant was a "30-plus-year-old design," which meant pulling it apart "can have catastrophic consequences," the board said in a video detailing the fire. +4 See Safety Board animation explaining events leading to November fire at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery An operator at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery whose disassembly of a pipe valve triggered a fireball that severely injured four workers was Chief Judge Vanessa Whipple wrote for a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit that a genuine issue of material fact remains "as to whether or not Flowserve should have reasonably anticipated this `hazard' at the time the valve was manufactured." Another outstanding issue for a jury to decide is whether an alternative design of the valve existed that was capable of preventing the contract workers' injuries, Whipple stated. "Because we have found a question of fact remains unresolved herein as to whether the valve was unreasonably dangerous on the basis of design, we pretermit discussion of whether a genuine issue of material fact also remains as to whether the valve was unreasonably dangerous due to the lack of an adequate warning," she added. After the Chemical Safety Board's release of the video detailing the fire, ExxonMobil said an internal investigation by the company identified the cause of the incident and the company took "appropriate corrective action." The ExxonMobil refinery was also the scene of a fatal explosion in December 1989, in which two people were killed and several others injured. Students in St. Helena Parish will switch to taking classes remotely for a couple of days as schools around Baton Rouge react to the coronavirus's fast-spreading omicron variant. The entire school district will take classes via Microsoft Teams starting Thursday, Jan. 6 and will stay remote through Monday, Jan. 10, the district's superintendent said. The remote days will give the district time to set up a mass testing program for all students which St. Helena schools are requiring as students return to campuses for the new year through a secondary provider, Omega Diagnostics. The Louisiana Department of Health was slated to run the district's mass-testing program but is grappling with a testing shortage, the district said. "This will give parents time to register for testing through Omega Diagnostics, or to acquire their own COVID test through their private medical doctor," superintendent Kelli Joseph said in a statement. Citing a mix of rising cases and staff shortages, several other schools in Baton Rouge said Wednesday that they would move pupils to remote learning through next week amid the omicron-driven surge, which has sent Louisiana's COVID-19 cases climbing to record highs. They include Magnolia Woods Elementary, Collegiate Baton Rouge, Kenilworth Science and Technology Center and Democracy Prep. In New Roads, False River Academy said it would switch to remote learning Thursday and Friday. Omicron is the latest strain of the virus to snarl Baton Rouge-area schools learning arrangements since COVID entered Louisiana nearly two years ago. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Instead of closing for cold weather, Livingston Parish Public schools will start late When cold weather hits, Livingston Parish schools will start late instead of canceling classes entirely so students don't miss out on instruct The states low vaccination rates allowed the viruss delta variant to run rampant over the summer, packing hospitals and killing hundreds of people. Cases dipped for several months before omicron ignited the new surge in December. Louisiana Department of Health data show new coronavirus cases among people aged 5-17 rose sharply after Christmas, from 731 new cases in the week of Dec. 9 to just short of 2,000 during the next week. Almost 5,000 people in that age category tested positive for the virus in the week leading up to the New Year. Doctors at Orion Laboratories, a company that runs testing for around 200 campuses in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas, saw school tests positivity rate grow from about 0.1% before the winter holiday to 11% over the past four days, when many students returned to classrooms. Its different now, said David Slaughter, Orion Laboratories CEO. The tough part is that we went out on break at the same time this (wave) was starting up. So if we were testing the entire period, wed be in a much better place than we are now, because wed be able to identify people, isolate them and keep them out of the community. In St. Helena Parish, the school district is asking all parents to register their students to get tested through Omega Diagnostics before the return to in-person classes. Parents who do not wish to have their child tested on Tuesday, Jan. 11 or cannot show proof of a recent negative test result from no earlier than Jan. 4th, must wait until Friday, January 14th to return to school, Joseph said. Several Baton Rouge-area schools go virtual amid rise in COVID cases Several schools in the greater Baton Rouge area are moving their pupils to remote learning amid the latest surge in COVID cases. All children deserve an encouraging, enriching and developmentally appropriate education. For far too long, we have entrusted their futures to Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Marguerite Duras once claimed that her only great skill was looking at the sea. This is a sentiment I share. I would even go so far as to say that any body of water lake or river or swimming pool works on me like sweet serotonin. I was a water baby who, even after the most vigorous wave-dumping, would eagerly go back in for more. These days, if real-life immersion is not possible, I have methods to recreate the experience. These include muu-muus, mojitos, manifesting via Eden Ahbezs kitschy invocation Full Moon, and, always, movies. The first films I remember where the sea played a significant role were 1960s classics with big hair, beat bands and much bandying of the magic numbers 36-2436. Gidget didnt measure up but she had other heroic qualities. And it wasnt so much the romance between Gidget and Moondoggie that impressed me, as the romance between Gidget and the sea. When Gidget declares that shooting the curl positively surpasses every living emotion Ive ever had! I was desperate to know where she was coming from. Sandra Dee in Gidget (1958). On holiday in Phillip Island I gave surfing a try, but could not master the pop-up. I figured Id stick to beachcombing. Gidget taught herself to surf by balancing her board on her bed; she infiltrated the Malibu surfer gang and did not rise to their sexist jibes. I shared her awe for the Big Kahuna, who had turned his back on the straight world to live in a beach shack with his java and a shell to his ear that told the secret of the whole thing. What I didnt know then was that Gidget was real. The film was based on 15-year-old Kathy Zuckerbergs Malibu exploits, penned as Gidget: The Girl with Big Ideas by her father Frederick Kohner. (Way to process your teenage daughters adolescence, Daddio!) The real Gidget is now 81 and still lives by the sea. Once a surfer, always a surfer. Charlotte is trying to pass as younger, says Miranda with disapproval. There are more important issues in the world than trying to look young, she scolds. Women do talk about hair and ageing, but they generally do not turn salon choices into grounds for moral condemnation over omelets. Loading Stuck waiting in a long ladies room line in a theatre, Miranda blurts out loudly before a crowd: Im 55 and I have to pee, before heading to the (empty) mens room. Props to her for feeling free enough to step out of the ladies room line. But no midlife people I know think about and announce their own ages like this, as if theyd only just learned how old they were. The display of age-shock often feels cheap and a little undignified. In another bathroom scene, Charlottes husband, Harry, stands at the commode, urinating for an inordinately long (and loud) interlude. When Charlotte expresses dismay, Harry extols his urological health, invoking his own advanced years: A lotta men my age cant pull off a stream like this. We are further reminded of Harrys age (and excretory systems) when Charlotte loudly books his colonoscopy appointment over her cellphone in a cafe, and mentions it several more times later. Its true that people over 50 get colonoscopies, and you could even mine this for some meaningful comedy or human drama. But merely name-checking colonoscopy as if it were itself a punchline turns it into another item on a laundry list of cliched middle-aged woes. Continuing the potty humour, after Carries hip surgery (which offers occasion for much more old lady and senior citizen commentary), an extended sequence involves Charlotte awkwardly maneuvering her on and off a hospital toilet and monitoring Carries urine flow. Loading That scene cuts directly to a discussion between Miranda and her new love interest, nonbinary Che (Carries podcast boss) about the latters diverticulosis. (Even Che, hipper and a decade younger than the others, is not exempted from plumbing problems.) Rather than illuminate the texture and richness of midlife, AJLT seems intent upon merely pointing at it from a noncomprehending, slightly mocking distance. And for a show that built its reputation on the frank discussion of physical taboos, why is there no mention of the universal challenges of menopause or its male counterpart, andropause? One of the highlights of SATC was the characters long-standing friendship, their deep bonds and history. This could easily provide a wealth of material for the remake, and at times it does as in scenes where Miranda lovingly comforts a grief-stricken Carrie. At other times, though, the peculiar age-othering impedes more natural exchanges. When Miranda spots Carrie seated outdoors on the Columbia campus, for example, she calls out: I see you! Youre the only 55-year-old on the university steps! an odd, age-fetishising way to describe your best friend of decades. (Also, universities have plenty of older people.) Awkward exchanges: Steve (David Eigenberg) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). Credit:HBO Max/Binge When Harry greets Mirandas husband Steve with Whats new? the once-boyish and playful bartender, now sort of blank and inexpressive, can only come up with: I got hearing aids. Im an old-timer now. Miranda then helpfully chimes in with specific medical details. Old friends do not greet each other like this. And while middle-aged men often experience hearing loss, they tend not to announce this fact before saying hello or to define themselves with this physical ailment. Overall, such interactions offer a cartoonish view of middle-age, which pushes it all the way to old age (and a stereotypical view of that as well). The show depicts 50-something people as if they were actually old already, not middle-aged, said Jamy Buchanan Madeja, 60, an environmental law practitioner and adjunct professor at Northeastern University School of Law. The series does try to grapple with the many issues of getting older: loss, death, strained marriages, changing sexual appetites and an unease with new social mores. This aspect of AJLT can be highly relatable: I do identify with the questioning around what you need from a long-term relationship, said Jennifer Brinkman, chief of staff to the mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. I myself am going through a divorce at age 50. And, she added: I have definitely experienced awkward moments, like those of Miranda and Charlotte, that reveal how I dont have the ease of language my children and co-workers have related to our societys evolving gender and sexuality spectrum. But I want to! Yet so much more could be done with this group of older best friends and their beloved hometown. Sex and the City resonated with audiences because, whatever its flaws, it valued and found delectation in womens adventurous spirit whether channelled into the thrills of love and sex, friendship, fashion and beauty, or the sheer pleasure of New York City itself. AJLT could easily find age-adapted equivalents of these for the group to enjoy. There are real benefits that attend this stage of life: enhanced self-confidence; knowing your own mind; the soul-nourishing connection and, yes, uproarious fun and laughter to be found in relationships (with friends, lovers, family) that have deepened with time. Midlife can also be prime years for professional success and achievement. But in the first several episodes, AJLT shows vanishingly few of these perks, focusing instead on the characters decline, confusion and cultural estrangement. And very little seems to remain of any of the groups careers. Whats more, for all the focus on growing physically old, the shows protagonists often behave with curious immaturity. Many viewers have been perplexed, for example, by Carries reaction upon discovering Big slumped over, but still conscious, after his heart attack. Rather than call the paramedics or fetch his medication, Carrie falls to the floor, half-smothering Big with her hair. As Castro said: If one finds ones husband collapsed but still alive, does one not call 911 immediately? Carries behavior was so baffling to me. Baffling, and weirdly passive and ineffectual almost like a childs. Charlotte, too, seems less than adult, crying so theatrically while helping plan Bigs funeral that Carrie sends her home in a taxi. One still hopes, even on television, that women with a certain influence would be playing a more powerful role in their own circumstances. I cant imagine the same stagnation for men, said Hollis Robbins, 58, the dean of arts and humanities at Sonoma State University. And why does Miranda choose to launch her new erotic relationship with Che orgasming at the top of her lungs in Carries kitchen, with Carrie in the next room? Isnt loud, thoughtless sex within earshot of others precisely what her teen son Brady is guilty of? (And what about Mirandas historic disapproval of adultery, back when husband Steve was the offending party?) It all feels discordantly adolescent. Stagnation in time is actually a core problem in AJLT. When Carrie finds herself too upset to stay in her empty home after Bigs death, she decamps to her former apartment, which she leaves the next morning dressed in something likely unearthed in her old closet: a floor-length white tulle tutu. Devotees of SATC will find this skirt familiar it resembles very closely the one Carrie wore in the original SATC series finale, when Big follows her to Paris to commit to her, finally. But for clinical psychologist Tamara Cavenett, approaching conversations like this could also help save our relationships which, according to the latest research, are under greater strain than they have been in a long time, with research showing that pandemic-related stressors have been associated with lower relationship satisfaction, interrupted sex lives, higher conflict, rising rates of domestic violence, and greater levels of parental stress leading to harsher parenting styles. Absolutely, and unfortunately, its definitely true, says Cavenett, president of the Australian Psychological Society, that people are arguing more than they used to and experiencing increased family conflict, as a result of the pandemic and the financial uncertainty and anxiety it has created. In addition to arguments over perennial issues like major life decisions, chores and money, some couples Cavenett sees are now also arguing about social distancing, masks, and whos doing the right thing and whos not. Its creating what many have noted is a particularly shouty time. Certain types of arguing styles that she sees are particularly damaging. Contempt is a good example where you give someone that sort of disrespect, mocking or ridiculing type of body language, says Cavenett. Thats one of the greatest predictors of divorce. And pushing for a win in an argument rather than presenting our views and allowing the other person to express theirs, and working to consider their view in a collaborative us mentality often leads to resentment. Lurking within many people who refuse, or find it difficult, to see another persons perspective, is low self-esteem and an often affiliated low ability to admit that theyre wrong. (People with this disposition sometimes have a childhood history of not being listened to or encouraged to communicate their emotions.) But being this way has intellectual drawbacks, too. The people who get things most right around forecasting in science and economics predicting what will happen in the stock market or a future election are the people who are less confident, says Vogelman, a Sydney business consultancy owner and former anti-apartheid activist, referring to the work of University of Pennsylvania professor Philip Tetlock, who has studied super forecasters for 30 years. Because theyre researching things a bit more, testing things a little bit more. But, how do we discuss opposing opinions generously, when someone is really getting on our nerves? Or theyre advocating for a position that we find scary? Cavenett says we should aim to understand what life experiences have led them to a particular view or behaviour, to try and grasp their view, speak gently, without attacking make requests instead of complaints and avoid sentences that begin with, You always... and call time out, if we need to calm down. (And allow our partner to do that, too.) Equally important: spending time repairing the bond with the other person, and enjoying moments of positive connection with them outside of arguments. No ones saying its easy. I mean Im in a marriage, a fairly recent marriage which I would say, at the age of 60, is the first time Ive been in a relationship with someone where we can disagree and we can talk it through, says Catherine Lumby, professor of media at Sydney University, who participated in one of the podcast episodes. Her inability to amicably talk through disagreements before, she says, was a contributing factor to the breakdown of her 18-year de facto relationship with the father of her two children. We might end up with better ideas about how to mange the COVID epidemic how we think about who should be incarcerated, euthanasia. Emile Sherman, Oscar-winning producer and host of Principle of Charity podcast And being on Principle of Charity with long-time adversary and Charles Sturt University professor of ethics Clive Hamilton to discuss if there is good pornography or is it inherently demeaning to women has been similarly eye-opening. I felt misunderstood, misrepresented, and that he had no respect for me, says Lumby of her historical view of Hamilton who once called her naive and so enamoured with the liberating possibilities of porn that she refuses to recognise its dark side in print. In turn, I had pigeon-holed Clive, I think, as someone who was very polemic and had a paternalistic view of women and children. What surprised me is I think we largely agree, she says. (She has frequently viewed ethical and respectful erotica as a valuable means of sexual expression. Hamilton has long viewed pornography as destructive and demeaning towards women.) We both agreed that theres really abhorrent pornography, the question [is] what you do about it Now, if I was to bump into Clive, Id be wanting to have a glass of wine with him afterwards. (Hamilton says he felt less uncompromising to Lumbys perspective than he used to, as a result of their conversation.) Its the kind of growth, says Sherman, that if experienced en masse, could change the world for the better by creating a society that has better ideas and better principles, resulting from people with opposing views realising that the best idea the truth about a matter might lie somewhere in the middle. We might end up with better ideas about how to mange the COVID epidemic how we think about who should be incarcerated, euthanasia. For now though, he says his own life has been enriched by coming to understand his own blind spots and privilege as a white man, particularly by taking on film and television projects that dont just shine a light on social justices but do so by giving the microphone to marginalised voices, so they can tell whatever stories they want. The importance of the 1972 discovery was that the skull was contemporary with Australopithecus, a violent and warlike species. Australopithecus, Leakey concluded, could not have been a human ancestor as previously believed, but only a cousin, evolving simultaneously. In a series of books, many co-written with Roger Lewin, Leakey argued that mankinds evolution began about seven million years ago when our forebears took to standing upright after climate change had thinned the forests and forced them to come down from the trees. On the ground, there was a need for greater intellect and co-operative endeavour to survive. It was, he believed, the beginning of farming which introduced conflict, when people began assuming a personal stake in the land. As the director of the National Museums of Kenya from 1968 to 1989, Leakey helped to establish the Kenyan Museum service as one of the most prestigious in Africa, but his foremost achievement in public life came with his appointment as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in 1989. At that time, Kenyan wildlife was at the mercy of poachers, who threatened to push many species to extinction. Leakey implemented a shoot-to-kill policy against elephant poachers, stamped out corruption, sacking half the KWSs 4,500 strong staff and building up an effective police force, and refused to give jobs to politicians relatives. Richard Leakey with a pile of elephant ivory, confiscated by the Kenyan government and due to be burnt in April 1989. Credit:Getty He attracted well over $300 million from foreign donors and implemented community development programmes to give people living near wildlife reserves a stake in tourism. He successfully campaigned for a worldwide ban on the trade in ivory, an achievement symbolised when in 1990 a mountain of ivory tusks was set on fire by Kenyas President Daniel arap Moi, a television spectacular that won Moi worldwide prestige. But Leakey was as renowned for his habit of making enemies as for his organisational flair, and in 1994 he resigned from the KWS after bitter disagreements with government officials about the best way to balance the needs of local farmers with the preservation of Kenyas wildlife. A descendant of British missionaries who came to Kenya in the 19th century, Richard Erskine Frere Leakey was born in Nairobi, on December 19, 1944, the second of Louis and Mary Leakeys three sons. His parents often took young Richard with them on their fossil hunting expeditions; he found his first fossil a pig at the age of six. Their forays into the African bush were sometimes dangerous: On one occasion, anxious to prove that man could have survived for hundreds of thousands of years as a scavenger before he invented hunting, the Leakeys father and son stripped naked, armed themselves with some giraffe bones and managed to drive a pack of hyenas away from a zebra carcass long enough to wrench a leg from the dead animal. Despite these excitements, young Richard decided he wanted nothing to do with fossils. Attempting to distance himself from his parents, he dropped out of the Duke of York School, Nairobi, aged 16, and rejected the prospect of a university education. Instead, manifesting the organisational prowess and ruthlessness that became his hallmarks, he built up a small business trapping and selling small animals to zoos and supplying skeletons to institutions. By the time he was 19 he had started a photographic safari business and had taught himself to fly. His father eventually hired his son to organise an international fossil hunting expedition to the southern Omo Valley in west Kenya. Louis Leakey, though, remained the scientific leader and got the credit for the discoveries, including a fossil hominid jawbone discovered by his son. Richard Leakey discovered hundreds of fossils in Africa. Credit:Getty Deeply resentful, Richard Leakey developed a late-flowering interest in palaeoanthropology and, despite his lack of qualifications, decided to go into business fossil hunting on his own account. While flying over the eastern lake shore of Lake Rudolf, he had located at Koobi Fora what looked like heavily eroded sedimentary deposits, which he had been assured by geologists was volcanic ash. Without telling his father, he decided to take his helicopter to investigate. His hunch was correct. The area was one of rapidly eroding sedimentary deposits rich with fossilised bones. Louis Leakey only learnt about his sons discovery four months later when he attended a National Geographic Society meeting in America at which he had hoped to get more money for his fossil hunting expeditions. Out of the blue, his son revealed his own more promising discoveries and asked for funds. The grant of 16,000 went to Richard, rather than to Louis Leakey, leading to a rift between father and son which was only patched up shortly before Louis Leakeys death in 1972. Enthused by his good fortune, Richard Leakey decided to fly to London for a two-year college course. He lasted six months, but nevertheless decided to assume his parents mantle, and on his return to Kenya he began organising expeditions, obtaining considerable financial support from European and American corporations and trusts. The Geographic Society grant turned out to be justified, for the site at Koobi Fora proved to be a treasure trove of hominid relics. From 1967 to 1977 Leakey and his fellow workers uncovered some 400 pieces of hominid bone the remains of more than 200 individuals. In 1968, aged only 23, Leakey was appointed director of the National Museum of Kenya which, over the course of 21 years, he was to build into one of the most respected museums in Africa. His fossil discoveries were almost as remarkable as his ability to evade death. He fractured his skull as a boy, almost died after receiving a kidney transplant from his brother Philip in 1979, lost both legs in a 1993 plane crash and was once treated for skin cancer. Richard Leakey pictured in 2017. Credit:AP In 2002, Leakey moved to the US, becoming a professor of anthropology at Stony Brook University, New York. In 2004, he founded WildlifeDirect, a charity established to provide support to conservationists in Africa. In 2007, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Leakey chairman of the board of the KWS, in which capacity he brokered a controversial deal which allowed a railway to pass over Nairobi National Park on an 18 metre tall viaduct. Loading Leakey wrote or co-wrote eight books. With science writer Roger Lewin, he wrote Origins (1977), People of the Lake (1976), Origins Reconsidered (1992) and The Sixth Extinction (1995). His autobiography, One Life, was published in 1984. His last book, co-written with Virginia Morell, was Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africas Natural Treasures (2001). Although he was ruthlessly opportunistic, Leakey was capable of beguiling charm, and in his private life was said to be surprisingly low key and quiet. Just before 8am on Thursday, more than 120 cars were lined up along Captain Cook Drive for the COVID-19 testing clinic in Woolooware, which had opened an hour earlier. The queue stretched well past Shark Park, the home of Prime Minister Scott Morrisons beloved NRL team the Cronulla Sharks, and here in his electorate of Cook it seemed his message that only those who need a test should get one had not yet sunk in. Justin Salvador, right, and his brother John in line for a COVID test in Caringbah on Thursday, Credit:Michael Koziol A few blocks away at a testing site in Caringbah, Justin Salvador, 28, and his brother John had been in line since 6.30am and nearly two hours later, they were almost at the front. They tested positive a week ago and, although they were now feeling good, they wanted another PCR test to make sure. I dont want to spread it, Im thinking about other people, Mr Salvador said. We just want those people near us ... to be safe as well. Journalists and cameramen watched as Mr Ruxton pushed Samuel Anyoagu and Eric Adjei out of his office. Dont push me, man ... Mr Ruxton and one of the delegates clash. Credit:ABC Mr Ruxton, who had earlier accused Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of coming to Australia to breathe hatred and of being a witch doctor dressed up its Archbishops robes, was confronted by two representatives from Melbournes African Community Centre and asked to explain his comments. The Victorian president of the Returned Services League, Mr Bruce Ruxton, yesterday clashed with two Africans he described as terrorists, and ordered them out of his office. Their ejection followed a 20-minute argument in which Mr Ruxton said both men were terrorists and supporters of the African National Congress. When one of the men attempted to challenge a statement by Mr Ruxton, the Victorian RSL president told him roughly: Dont tell me what I said or what I didnt say. Never, talk, over me. A moment later he demanded: Who taught you to talk? As the confrontation continued, Mr Ruxton asked: What are your links with the African National Congress? He added: Are you a refugee or an migrant? After an arguement broke out over Mr Ruxtons claim that black South Africans should not be allowed into Australia because they did not assimilate as well as whites, and that the ANC was a Soviet-backed organisation, Mr Ruxton told the two they were talking garbage and demanded they move to the door or he would call the police. The reason Novak Djokovics visa was rejected and he has been asked to leave Australia appears to boil down to one fact. The current rules for foreign nationals entering Australia say they have to be vaccinated for COVID-19, or they have to have a valid medical exemption. The Australian Border Force does not necessarily accept that previously contracting COVID-19 even in the past six months qualifies as a valid exemption to not be vaccinated. World mens No.1 Novak Djokovics visa has been rejected. Credit:AP While two medical panels that reviewed Djokovics application one created by Tennis Australia and the other by the Victorian Health Department may have come to the opposite conclusion, federal authorities have not come to a firm view on this point. The demonstrations spilt over into other parts of the country by Tuesday night, when an estimated 5000 people gathered in Almaty. By late Wednesday, the Internet in most of the country was reportedly shut off, and popular messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram were unavailable. Several television channels also went dark. In an attempt to quell the unrest, Tokayev has said the government would introduce a price cap on fuel in the western Mangystau province. In a tweet, he blamed the protests on destructive individuals who want to undermine the stability and unity of our society and said the government would meet to discuss the socioeconomic demands of protesters. But while the protests started over the rising cost of fuel, analysts said the demonstrations represent a broader discontent with the regime led by Nazarbayev, who handpicked Tokayev as his successor. Video posted to social media showed protesters attempting to pull down a statue of Nazarbayev in Taldykorgan, near Almaty - a potential watershed moment in a country where the capital, Nur-Sultan, is named after the former president. Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, right, sacked his predecessor, former president, security chief and father of the nation, Nursultan Nazarbayev, left, to try to quell unrest. Credit:AP Who is Nazarbayev? Kazakhstans de facto ruler-for-life, Nazarbayev has ruled Central Asias largest country since it became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He built a sweeping security state that crushed any opposition and used the countrys natural resources, including oil, as a personal fund for his regime. He maintained close bonds with Russia and hosts of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the rocket launch complex leased to Russia. But Nazarbayev also has been receptive to Chinese investment and outreach with the West for greater economic ties. In a 2017 move that angered some Russian officials, Nazarbayev ordered the official script of the Kazakh language to be switched from the Cyrillic to the Latin, or Roman, alphabet. In 2020, Nazarbayevs regime showed an unexpectedly whimsical side - he had the countrys tourism board launch an advertising campaign using the very nice catchphrase of the fictional film journalist Borat. Kazakh officials were at first outraged by the guileless Borat character created by comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen. But later Kazakhstan tried to leverage the films popularity. Why does unrest in Kazakhstan matter for the region? The turmoil could ripple across the region. Moscow considers Kazakhstan part of its sphere of influence. The Kremlin has previously reacted negatively to political upheavals in former Soviet republics - particularly in Ukraine and Belarus - fearing a weakening of its hand and potentially inspiring opposition at home to President Vladimir Putin. China also has been expanding its political and economic influence across Central Asia, seeing Kazakhstan as pivotal to its massive global infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative. Why has Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency? On Wednesday, protesters in Almaty, Kazakhstans largest city, stormed the city hall and several other government buildings. Thick black smoke billowed from windows. Protesters in the western region of Aktobe, near the Russian border, also reportedly stormed the city administration building. Security forces in some cities did not move to disperse crowds but engaged in clashes with protesters in others. Tokayev vowed maximally tough action to continued unrest. But within hours, protesters had taken control of the Almaty airport. He described the unrest as a terrorist threat as eight police and security officers were confirmed dead and 317 injured after rioters smashed public buildings and broadcasters headquarters with clubs and axes. The state of emergency declared until January 19 in Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Mangystau is an attempt to quash the demonstrations. It bans mass gatherings, includes a curfew from 11pm to 7am and restricts movement. Almaty healthcare authorities said at least 40 people were hospitalised during protests on Tuesday night alone. Almaty police said more than 30 of the 120 cars burnt were police vehicles. Tokayev said he would not to flee the country under any circumstances. Together we will overcome this dark moment in the history of Kazakhstan and emerge stronger, he said. A resident of Almaty who mingled with the protesters on Wednesday said most of those he met appeared to come from the citys impoverished outskirts or nearby villages and towns. At the main square, vodka was being distributed and some people were discussing whether to head towards the city bazaar or a wealthy residential area for possible looting, the resident said. There is complete anarchy in the street. Police are nowhere to be seen, he said. What happens now? Tokayevs office said early on Wednesday he accepted the governments resignation and appointed Alikhan Smailov as acting prime minister. He was previously the first deputy prime minister. But that is unlikely to appease many Kazakhs if Nazarbayevs regime remains in power. Much of the anger centres on an elite that takes advantage of the countrys rich resources while ordinary citizens get a much smaller share of the wealth. Troops from an alliance of countries led by Russia will now be sent to Kazakhstan to reinforce the countrys riot police, seen here in Almaty on Wednesday. Credit:AP In Aktau, capital of the Mangystau region, some protesters shouted Old man out, according to reports, a reference to Nazarbayev. In Almaty, a regional office of Nazarbayevs Nur Otan party was one of the buildings set on fire. Nazarbayev, however, has the support of Putin. Similar backing proved critical for Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko to maintain his rule when he faced mass protests in 2020. THE ETHANOL PAPERS - Massive 600-Page Book Provides "The Whole Story On Ethanol Fuel" THE ETHANOL PAPERS is a rough-and-tumble, no holds-barred examination of the ethanol vs. gasoline issue. Written in plain jargon, simple enough that even brain-washed scientists, academics, and politicians can understand. 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A voter places her absentee ballot in the ballot box, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine. This July 27, 2011 file photo shows a farmhouse in the background framed by pipes connecting pumps where the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa. The New Hampshire House of Representatives at the Capitol in Concord, New Hampshire. The central chamber of the Washington state capitol building in the Olympia, Washington After his milk buyer dropped him due to changes in Canadian policy that decreased the demand for U.S. milk, Wisconsin dairy farmer Tim Prosser faces having to shut down operations. BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. military bases overseas are contributing to the spread of COVID-19 within local populations, and the United States should reflect deeply on the negative impact that its actions have had on global anti-pandemic cooperation, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query. According to reports, Denny Tamaki, governor of Japan's Okinawa prefecture, said the U.S. military has spread the Omicron variant to the prefecture, and that he was outraged at infections among personnel at the U.S. military camp spilling over to the local civilian population. He also renewed the call for a lifting of the exemption of U.S. military personnel to Japan's quarantine rules. Wang said that this is not an isolated incident, as clusters of cases in U.S. military bases overseas have posed a severe threat to the lives and health of local people. "The spreading of infections has also been caused by U.S. military personnel in the ROK and Germany," Wang noted. He said that U.S. soldiers stationed overseas have overridden the laws of host countries, defied and disobeyed local anti-pandemic protocols, and ignored local people's right to life and health, as well as the right to public health. Time and again, they have become COVID-19 "superspreaders" across the world. "COVID-19 protocols should be applied without exception, be it to a place or a person," said Wang, adding that the United States should deeply reflect on the negative impact its acts have brought to global anti-pandemic cooperation. The United States should enforce strict constraints on the U.S. military overseas, showing respect and a sense of responsibility toward the health of people around the world, instead of setting a bad example in the global fight against COVID-19, said the spokesperson. Cheyenne, WY (82001) Today Cloudy with rain and snow showers. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 40%.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. Low around 30F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Instant unlimited access to all of our E-Editions and content on thechronicleonline.com. The Chronicle E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Photo: Bobby Doherty This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. Its a sweltering July afternoon at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where one of those uncomfortably combative news talk shows is being taped. The sort in which the host grills the guests until everyone is yelling at one another. And the guests are there to sell us, the audience, on some wildly unrealistic product that has just hit its billion-dollar valuation. On sale today: enlightenment, which is being peddled by a peaceful brunette millennial in a billowing white robe and the flamboyant gold-suit-wearing tech entrepreneur funding her. Its theater of the absurd, and no one does it better than the cast and crew of Search Party, which debuts its fifth and final season on Friday. When Search Party originally premiered on TBS in November 2016 (it moved to HBO Max in 2018), it was initially marketed as a broad comedy about millennial ennui, opening with its core four Dory (Alia Shawkat); her on-and-off boyfriend, Drew (John Reynolds); flighty actress Portia (Meredith Hagner), and loose cannon Elliott (John Early) at (where else?) brunch. Instead, Dorys obsession with their college classmates sudden disappearance served as a totally random gateway into murder, kidnapping, and court cases alongside wacky send-ups of pop culture. In its penultimate season, after Dory was kidnapped by her obsessed fan, Chip (Cole Escola), he traps her in a terrifying felt-lined replica of her Williamsburg apartment. It premiered last January, after we had all been homebound for nearly a year, and Dorys entrapment never felt timelier. Thats the thing that has kept Search Party surprising and maybe why it received constant critical acclaim and gathered a cult following it somehow knows whats going to happen next. Photo: Courtesy of HBO Max Its a quality that keeps the cast in awe too. I always trip out on them, Shawkat says of creators Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss. Were chatting over Zoom a few months after my visit to that Brooklyn Navy Yard set; Shawkat is at home in Los Angeles, her parents dogs barking wildly in the background. Im like, What are you guys doing? she continues. They have a way of making sense of, like, what is the extreme version if Dory were real, you know? And if these people were real? What is the extreme version of this environment? For Rogers and Bliss, they accidentally created a coming-of-age show. Weve treated the whole series accidentally as a metaphor for growing up, Rogers says. In season five, everyones in some actualized form of themselves. We wanted to find every characters adult version of themselves and then try to say something interesting about what is broken about all the ways you can be an adult. While the show has kept Dory & Co. constantly evolving and changing, Search Party itself could have easily relied on the formula that made season one a critical darling: comedy and mystery with Nancy Drewesque marketing. Instead, each season has mashed genres together in a way that has kept audiences guessing and provided ample fodder for the actors to explore their characters through noir, horror, and true crime. Ill do one scene where I feel like Im in a screwball comedy from the 30s, Hagner tells me over Zoom from her bright, sunny kitchen. And then the next scene, Im, like, in what feels like, tonally, The Handmaids Tale I get to go to these places, or I get to play with tone and performance in a way thats the kind of freedom that you would feel in an acting class. Photo: Jon Pack/HBOMax Back on set, creators Rogers and Bliss pensively watch the scene being shot, making notes and chatting with the cast between takes. In season five, Dory has started a cult, funded by tech billionaire Tunnel Quinn, played by Jeff Goldblum, and the two are being interviewed by the news host (played by character actor Damian Young) about their latest enlightenment endeavor. When Young dryly flubs a question asking about Dorys new venture, everyone behind the camera giggles as they cut. It gives an initial taste of the relationship between Dorys zen attitude partnered up against Tunnels salesperson presence. Whats really refreshing is that Elliott doesnt evolve. Thats probably more true to life about the way people really are. Who wants to see Elliott become a good person? John Early Its a scene that encapsulated many of the themes that the final season explores social media, wellness, power fueled by capitalism and how all three intersect. Once you start going down the wormhole of spiritual leaders theres so many, and they all have Instagram, Bliss says. There is a promotional aspect to whatever it is that theyre spreading. How do they navigate this world that is egotistical when their whole message is egolessness? While Dorys message might be based in something resembling good faith, her backer Tunnels seems to be more based in money. Theyve described my character as an Elon Musk or Richard Branson, Goldblum says, chuckling, barely breaking character when we chat in the greenroom after they finish shooting. I like it because his character is full of surprises I dress very over the top, but hes also a very effective salesperson. Its another thing that echoes a bit too closely to real life: You cant exactly avoid the 2021 Time Person of the Years tweets even if you try. (The casting of Goldblum, an acting legend, might be a little too perfect.) Goldblum wasnt initially familiar with the show, but after bingeing the four seasons, it was a no-brainer for him: What I love about the whole show is its spectacularly, psychologically pyrotechnic. Photo: Jon Pack/HBO Max Dorys new branding as a spiritual guru, one who leads her friends along with her, echoes back to the core of the show: Dory gets involved in something, and her friends follow her along the way. But as Early notes, its the first time it feels like Dory isnt blindly stringing them along. Whats interesting about this season is that Dory, for the first time, actually has some wisdom, he says matter-of-factly while clutching a comically large water bottle. In the way that Marianne Williamson was, at the end of the day, a very compelling presidential candidate. Thats what is going to make this season compelling and not just a parody of our cult obsession. Itll always hold because the search for yourself when youre young and thinking that you deserve more its a really powerful story. Alia Shawkat And while the characters will be navigating Dorys cult and whether or not they can trust Tunnel, like Rogers and Bliss mentioned, they are also exploring broken adult stuff, like complicated love triangles, adopting children, and utter mayhem. But thats the thing about Search Party: Even when the characters change and evolve, they always return to some of their same patterns. Whats really refreshing is that Elliott doesnt evolve, Early says. Thats probably more true to life about the way people really are. Who wants to see Elliott become a good person? You dont want to see the women of Absolutely Fabulous suddenly know they are craven materialists you tune in to see them get tanked and trip and fall on their faces. And Early is right: You dont want to see them change. Perhaps, yes, you want to see them happy or end things on a note that feels correct for them. But its a show that has gone through a fictionalized version of much of what has happened to its viewership (who are likely in the same age range) over the past five seasons much of which hasnt been great. It wouldnt feel real or true to what Rogers and Bliss have explored with these characters if it were simple and neatly tied up. Photo: Jon Pack/Netflix Ultimately, the cast is happy with how the series concludes. Hagner tells me it all ends on a poetic and beautiful note, and, even better, the last shot of the series lined up with the last day of shooting. Everyone cried, she says. As the heart of the show, Shawkat thinks audiences will be happy too and not just the millennials. Its a timeless and beautiful story, she tells me. Itll always hold because the search for yourself when youre young and thinking that you deserve more its a really powerful story. When I read the last scene of the finale, it really hit me hard where I was like, Oh yeah, its just the same story, just told on a different scale. It should feel really satisfying in that kind of way where youre like, Oh, nothings really changed, has it? This is the temporary subscription pass for users returning from the Vision Data subscription process. Your subscription will be updated within 24 hours, after your information is verified. Please click the button below to get your pass. ONEONTA - Leslie Bischoff passed away peacefully, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at the A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital. He was 96. He was born March 7, 1926, the son of the late Edward and Martha (Stohr) Bischoff. Les was an avid outdoorsman and excellent craftsman. He made furniture and many wooden As if we needed another reason to love Keanu Reeves The Matrix actor donated 70% of his salary from the first film towards leukemia research. According to Ladbible the actor donated a total of $31.5 million dollars. It was revealed that he was inspired to fund research after his younger sister Kim suffered from Leukemia. Keanu was Kims primary caregiver and was by her side during her recovery after she spent a decade fighting the cancer. It was reported that Keanu spent $5 million on therapies to help his sister Kim recover. He said, "She was always there for me, you know. I will always be here for her." The first film in the Matrix franchise was made in 1999 and its latest installment is currently in theatres now. Pete Davidson and Miley Cyrus recently hosted a Miley's New Years Eve Special to celebrate the new year with fans watching from home. Fans on twitter went crazy for the pair after they appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have been Hollywoods tabloids' latest obsession after being spotted in late October last year at Knotts Scary Farm. Many Tiktokers have questioned the legitimacy of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidsons relationship. It has been rumoured that the pair are in a PR relationship to gain more press. A fan of Miley Cyrus had noticed that after Miley New Years special aired Kim Kardashian unfollowed the pop-star. As of this moment Miley is still following Kim back on Instagram. 2 Women Tied Up, Robbed by Gunmen in Sherman Oaks Home Invasion SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.Armed suspects in a home invasion are on the loose after robbing two women in Sherman Oaks, California, on Jan. 6. Los Angeles Police Department officers were called at approximately 2 a.m. to the 3800 block Sherwood Place, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison said. Police said the women were tied up while three men ransacked the home and took their cellphones. Witnesses said two of the men were armed with a black handgun and a rifle, two were dressed in black clothing, and the third was dressed in a gray sweatshirt and black pants. No vehicle description was available. According to CBS 2, the women were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Madison said detectives were examining surveillance video for potential leads. At Rancho de Chimayo, Florence Jaramillo has proudly and tirelessly championed the region's culinary heritage for 57 years Florence Jaramillo pays $64 per pound for real honey. Shes been known to drive through the night to pick up a truckload of red chile, her restaurants most crucial ingredient. She and her staff have pulled all-night sessions in the past to make 300 dozen tamalesby hand. And, at age 90, the grande dame of Southwestern cuisine still gets up at 5 a.m. to go to work at her famous northern New Mexico restaurant, Rancho de Chimayo. Waitstaff and cooks must be found, accounting records must be maintained, supplies must be ordered well ahead of time, and work schedules must be set. A newly troublesome pinched nerve in her hip hasnt slowed her down, although she doesnt spend much time in the kitchen now and uses a walker to help her get around. I cant sit still, Jaramillo said. Autumns amber light poured through casement windows in thick adobe walls in a quiet room in the 19th-century territorial ranch house that holds the restaurant. No ones going to knock me down, she said, labeling the COVID-19 pandemic and pinched nerves as just the most recent in a lifetime of challenges. A Living Treasure Born in the Great Depression and growing up during World War II, JaramilloMrs. J. to everyone in New Mexico and the culinary businesshas operated Rancho de Chimayo for 57 years now. She treasures her role as a shepherd of quality and guardian of tradition. Her menu focuses on traditional New Mexico dishesred and green chile, blue corn flat enchiladas, tortilla soup, carne adovada, chiles rellenosincluding a large section titled Comidas Nativas. One creation, stuffed sopaipillas, was originated by Mrs. J. in 1967. Another menu mainstay, a New York steak topped with green chile, hasnt changed in a half-century. Cooks still make the 350-seat restaurants signature red chile stew one five-gallon batch at a time. The menu focuses on traditional New Mexico dishes, such as red and green chile, carne adovada, and blue corn enchiladas. (Chris Corrie Photography) The other day, I told someone I had once bought an item on layaway. Whats that? they asked, Jaramillo said. The concept of paying for something before you take it home is outdated, I guess. Opened in 1965, Rancho de Chimayo received a James Beard Classics award in 2016, a recognition that barely topped a 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award for Mrs. J. from the National Restaurant Association. Shes been named a Living Treasure of Santa Fe and Woman of the Year in the New Mexico restaurant industry; the state legislature has declared a Florence Jaramillo Day in her honor. Jaramillo was named a Living Treasure of Santa Fe in May 2019. (Zina Jundi) Deep Roots In the Valley In a world where new and shiny things race across the globe like tsunamis, Rancho de Chimayos fame and Mrs. J.s stewardship provide gratifying evidence that the old ways still hold great meaning and value. Execution and quality distinguish the food there, not innovation, that glistening bugaboo that has changed human life so much. The cultural folkways still alive in Chimayo hark back thousands of years and have sifted through centuries of challenge and change. If times were hard, around here people always had chile, corn, and beans. They grew what they needed. They hunted and fished, Jaramillo said. This is a fact that suggests her menus rainbow trout is perhaps not as non-traditional as it may seem, and the rellenos, enchiladas, and more are anchored in the tides of time, not the Mexican food craze that seized the United States in the 1970s and 80s. The vale of Chimayo lies in a foothills basin watered by streams from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above, where the first snows of autumn fleck the peaks with ivory. Massive old-growth cottonwoods anchor the narrow bottomlands along the creek just downhill from the restaurant. Across the way, the 1816 Santuario de Chimayo has been drawing many thousands of devotional pilgrims each year for almost two centuries. Discarded crutches hang on the walls of the chapels pocito (healing room), where handwritten testimonials and prayers testify to humanitys incandescent embrace of hope in the face of despair. Do miracles occur there? Spend a couple of hours on a quiet autumn day and one can only conclude that serene, beautiful Chimayo itself is a miracle. The steady traffic to the Santuario was perhaps the only sensible reason Mrs. J. and her ex-husband Arturo left a stable life in Connecticut to return to his ancestral family home in 1963 and create a destination restaurant. Chimayo wasand isa remote place. To this day, cell coverage in the area is sketchy at best, and diners cant get on TikTok while waiting for a table. The road is a seven-mile winding country lane from Espanola, the nearest big town. Her vast parking lot is unpaved gravel, a fact that amazed her colleagues during her 11-year tenure on the board of the National Restaurant Association. Facing the Future Of course, no one can defy change completely. Rancho de Chimayo was forced to close for seven months in 2020, then again for two months in early 2021. When Jaramillo reopened, she abandoned her lunch menu in favor of an all-day version. Now, like millions of small business owners, shes bedeviled by staff shortages, and for the first time ever, shes contemplating signing up with a Santa Fe temp worker agency. Even more daunting changes lurk. Her daughter, who lives in Texas, cant take over the restaurant because of health problems. A couple of prospective buyers have approached her, but shes uncertain how they would honor the restaurants heritage and dislikes the r-word that denotes our cultures usual path for elders. I keep prices down so locals can still afford to come here. And I like seeing people from the valley and our regular customers. How are your kids? Your husband? Jaramillo said. And Im committed to the quality of our food. Never skimp on that. Ever. She gazed around the small room, in which the tables and chairs were handmade using floorboards from the original territorial house. There is so much history here, she said. So much. Red or Green? New Mexicos Enchanting Dilemma Red or green? Well, which is hotter? Usually the red, but it varies. The preceding conversation takes place thousands of times every day in New Mexico restaurants such as Rancho de Chimayo. Its as integral to life in the Land of Enchantment as the regular or decaf question heard in coffee shops around the world. The red or green query determines which sauce youll get on your enchiladas, chimichangas, tacos, steak, and so forth. The two standard sauces are made with fresh or roasted green chiles or with fully ripe, dried red chiles. The outcome can be as distinct as the result of the coffee question: Chile is a low-level mood-altering substance, just as powerful as caffeine. In the case of chiles, the alkaloid involved is capsaicin, and the level of that in any given chile determines how hot it is. Usually green is milder. The chile isnt ripe when picked, after all. But thats not always true. Jalapenos are hot when green and so are their higher-octane cousins, serranos. And red-ripe jalapenos are smoked to make chipotle, a hot powderyes, thats what the restaurant chain is named for. And chile heat varies by season, weather, locale, growing techniqueeven from plant to plant. Its a wonderful illustration of natures infinite variety. Red chile stew (sauce) is made from dried red chiles ubiquitous in New Mexico. Red chile is generally hotter than green. Green is generally thicker and lusher than red, which is sharper, slightly acrid, and smoky; both usually include onion, garlic, perhaps a thickener such as cornstarch. The most famous red chile pepper is a distinct variety known as Chimayo red, grown for generations in the valley surrounding its namesake village. Its a very rare type, grown in local backyards non-commercially: A few shops in Chimayo sell some in the fall. The local supply cant begin to meet Mrs. J.s needs at Rancho de Chimayo, so she brings truckloads of both red and green chiles up from the Hatch Valley in southern New Mexico. So, red or green? The New Mexico legislature has declared this to be the Official State Question. I really cant pick just one, said Mike Hultquist, of Chili Pepper Madness. Each is perfect for something. Life is too short to be bland. RECIPE: Rancho de Chimayos Carne Adovada (New Mexico Braised Red Chile Pork) A Mob Pulls Down a Statue and a Jury Threatens the Law Commentary In the wake of what I am inclined to call Black Lives Matter Madness (BLMM), a self-righteous mob in the city of Bristol, England, toppled a statue of Edward Colston and threw it into the waters of the River Avon. That the 125-year-old statue was an aesthetic adornment to the city at a time when such adornments are completely beyond the capacity of all but one or two of our sculptors counted for nothing in the mind of the mob, infatuated as it was by its own bravery and moral grandeur. Edward Colston (16361721) was a merchant and philanthropist who used much of his fortune to endow schools, hospitals, and almshouses for the poor (of considerable architectural merit). He also was a slave trader, albeit at a time when slavery was approved of morally by almost the whole of the educated class and could be carried out only with the cooperation of African slave-hunters, Europeans being unable at the time to penetrate Africa beyond a few coastal stations. Four members of the mob who toppled the statue were arrested and charged with criminal damage. Theyve just been acquitted of the charge by a jury, though it was at no time denied by the defense that they had committed the acts of which they were accused. There was no suggestion that the police had fabricated the evidence against them. They were acquitted (naturally to their own rejoicing) on the grounds that they were acting morallythat they were motivated by a desire for historical justice. Their defense attorneys told the jury that the four people were on the right side of historyas Colston had believed himself to be more than three centuries earlier. A Labour Member of Parliament rejoiced at the verdict almost as much as did the accused. A British jury has confirmed the toppling of Edward Colstons statue was not a criminal act, the Parliament member said. The real crime was the fact the statue was still there when protesters pulled it down. Todays verdict makes a compelling case that the majority of the British public want to deal with our colonial and slave-trading past. Lets pass over the fact that a single jury of 12 (of whom one voted for conviction) cant be taken to represent the majority of a population of scores of millions and that a different jury might have found differently. Whats remarkable about the MPs response is that it doesnt consider the implications of the verdict if it were to set a precedent. It would mean that acts normally considered criminal would cease to be so provided that those who committed them were on the right side of history and were motivated by what they claimed to be profound moral sentiments (but which are actually very superficial indeed). Upon reading of the acquittal, I couldnt help but think of the attempted assassination of Gen. Dmitri Trepov by Vera Zasulich in 1878. Trepov, the governor of St. Petersburg, Russia, had ordered the flogging of prisoner Arkhip Bogolyubov, a revolutionary, after the latter refused to remove his cap in Trepovs presence. Zasulich, herself a revolutionary, shot and woundedbut didnt killTrepov in an act of revenge. Zasulich, who was motivated by moral outrage, was subsequently acquitted at her trial, which was turned into a de facto trial of the victim, Trepov, by the defense. At the time, the acquittal was seen, at least by the intelligentsia, as a triumph for social justice: Trepov had got what he deserved and Zasulich was a heroine. But in retrospect, the acquittal was disastrous, for it surely wasnt up to citizens to decide who could rightfully be shot, and there was no doubt as to the facts of this case, which were even more certain than they were in the Bristol case. A statue of George Floyd is unveiled at Flatbush Junction in the Brooklyn borough of New York on June 19, 2021. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) The verdict in a court of law had undermined or was in complete contradiction to the concept of the rule of law or even of the need for law at all. If citizens could carry out acts of revenge with impunity in the name of justice, what need would there be for such cumbersome procedures as trials? But as Francis Bacon, attorney and philosopher put it four centuries ago: Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more mans nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out. For as for the first wrong, it doth but offend the law; but the revenge of that wrong, putteth the law out of office. In other words, if every man can break the law when he feels so inclined by his sense of outrage, no law remains. The Zasulich acquittal was a stage on the slippery slope to Bolshevism, responsible for more violent deaths in a week than the Tsarist regime had caused in a century. While the statue of Colston was being pulled down, statues of George Floyd were being erected. This was surely very curious. Floyds moral qualities as a person shouldnt be relevant to the question of the wrongfulness of his death, of course, as its just as wrong to kill a bad person as a good. But they should be relevant to how hes remembered. Floyd was guilty of many crimes, at least one of them being very nasty indeed. He threatened a pregnant woman (black, incidentally) whose house he had broken into with a gun. Erecting a statue to such a man could be interpreted as both the glorification of armed robbery and the grossest of misogyny. It seems obvious to me that no statue should be erected to him. Victimhood is no virtue and cant redeem a crime. To erect statues to him is nothing short of disgraceful and to turn him into a hero isor ought to be consideredan insult to black people everywhere. However, feeling as I do about this doesnt entitle me to pull the statues down where theyve been erected legally. I can argue against them, campaign and start petitions for their removal, and so forth, but I cant take the law into my own hands. Moreover, even if I succeeded in my campaign, I should be inclined to preserve the statues somewhere or other rather than to destroy themas monuments to human folly and moral confusion. Its always timely to be reminded of human folly and moral confusion. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A gate is used to lock items at a pharmacy and convenience store on October 26, 2021 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Another Factor Drags Down the Corner Store Prices go up for a reason besides supply-chain woes. Federal help needed? Grab-and-go thievery has come to Main Street. Small businesses, struggling to survive over the two years of the pandemic, are facing a shoplifting epidemic, business groups representing owners say in recent studies. Fifty-four percent of small businesses experienced an increase in shoplifting in 2021, according to a poll by Business.org, a small-business advisory group in Salt Lake City. The poll, which questioned some 700 small-store owners, found that most have been affected by the crime wave. Up to 89 percent of small business owners experienced shoplifting in 2021, a 1 percent increase from our 2020 report, Business.org reported. In addition, some 15 percent of small businesses had a shoplifting incident turn violent, the survey found. The National Retail Federation (NRF) in its latest report found organized retail crime (ORC) is becoming an increasing problem for its members. About 69 percent of retailers said they had seen an increase in ORC activity over the past year, the NRFs Retail Security Survey 2021 found. Retailers, according to the survey, cited reasons such as COVID-19, policing, changes to sentencing guidelines and the growth of online marketplaces for the increase in ORC activity. Retailers report these gangs are becoming a bigger problem. The NRF also reported that 65 percent reported an increase in violence, while 37 percent said ORC gangs were much more aggressive than in the past. The report indicates that thievery is crossing state lines. The aggressive tactics of thieves require federal action, NRF members said. One area of strong agreement, buoyed no doubt by the increase in aggressive tactics, is the need for a federal ORC law. Some 78 percent of respondents felt it would effectively combat these issues in part because ORC is a multi-jurisdictional issue that crosses state lines, the report states. Business.org also said federal action is needed in an era where it is easy to evade prosecution, with the NRF noting that prosecutions for retail theft have been declining. The number of apprehensions, prosecutions and civil demands all fell to new lows in 2020, the report states. Apprehensions were down to 507.8 on average in 2020 from 688.8 in 2019. These numbers, NRF says, are a sizeable decrease over the previous five years. Shop owners, according to the Business.org survey, are finding some thieves are doing more than stealing and running. Crooks are using numerous ways to hurt small businesses. Thieves dont always look for a quick grab-n-go robbery, Business.org said, noting that 21 percent of small businesses have had customers steal something at the same time they are making a purchase. And 25 percent of small businesses have had to deal with customers using stolen credit cards. What are people most commonly stealing? The survey found the pilfered items are usually lower-priced merchandise. The top five categories are food and drinks, clothing, money, cosmetics, and electronics. What cities are most affected? The NRF listed Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Chicago, New York, and Miami. Part of the problem of the epidemic of shoplifting, according to Business.org, is that some businesses have little defense against the latest crime wave. Only 28 percent of businesses have a shoplifting policy in place to prevent theft. And 67 percent of small-business owners report using inventory management software, while only 29 percent of those use inventory management software solely to track theft, Business.org wrote. While the shoplifting epidemic may seem a problem only for retailers, the report found that the cost of the thefts are being passed on to consumers, with 25 percent of small businesses having increased their product prices because of shoplifting. Attorney General Merrick Garland makes remarks at a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Aug. 5, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Attorney General Garland Vows to Prosecute Perpetrators At Any Level Over Jan. 6 The Justice Department remains committed to holding all Jan. 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law, Attorney General Merrick Garland pledged in a speech just shy of the one-year anniversary of the breach of the U.S. Capitol building. Those who assaulted officers or damaged the Capitol face greater charges. Those who conspired with others to obstruct the vote count also face greater charges, Garland told Justice Department employees on Wednesday, calling the Capitol breach an unprecedented attack on our democracy. His remarks come as the department faces mounting pressure from lawmakers and legal experts to ramp up a probe into the events that unfolded on Jan. 6 last year. The breach took place during a joint session of Congress when lawmakers met to certify electoral votes submitted by the states. The Capitol grounds and building were breached by protestors and some rioters, some of whom wanted to voice their stance against then-Vice President Mike Pences refusal to intervene in the certification process. Thousands of peaceful protesters remained outside. Without naming anyone, Garland said the Justice Department would go after those responsible whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. We will follow the facts wherever they lead. Garland added, The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last. The probe into the Capitol breach is the largest and one of the most complex in the departments history. The U.S. Department of Justice said in its year-end summary on Dec. 30 that more than 725 people have been arrested in all 50 states on federal charges stemming from violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Some 165 people to plead guiltymostly to misdemeanor charges. A further 350 people are still being sought by the FBI, of whom, 250 are accused of assaulting police officers. Under the continued leadership of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the FBIs Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale, the DOJ said in a statement on Dec. 30. The Department of Justices resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on Jan. 6, 2021, has not, and will not, wane. Democrat lawmakers have pushed the narrative that the Jan. 6 breach was an insurrection, largely during the January impeachment effort against the former president. No one who participated in the breach has been charged with insurrection. The Justice Department declined to comment when asked by The Epoch Times on Wednesday why no individuals have been charged with sedition or insurrection. Following the usual practice, we are not commenting on cases or the investigation beyond what is publicly stated or submitted to the Court. We have no comment on the questions here, a spokesperson said. Garland said the probe into the events that unfolded on Jan. 6, last year, will continue as long as it takes, and whatever it takes, for justice to be done. Those involved must be held accountable, and there is no higher priority for us at the Department of Justice, the attorney general added. Garlands remarks comes as the House Select Committee probing the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol appears to be ramping up its efforts to recommend that the Justice Department pursue criminal cases. Australian Govt Must Combat Foreign Interference On Social Media: Inquiry The Australian government has been urged to act quickly and create a body tasked with tackling foreign interference promulgated on social media ahead of the nations 2022 federal election. Large-scale coordinated disinformation campaigns led by the Russian government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have pervaded platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, many of whom have made efforts to cull swathes of illegitimate accounts. But other forms of interference, such as social media influencers paid by Beijing to create content supporting the communist regime, have gone unchecked. The recommendation forms one of several by a senate committee investigating the risks posed by social media-led foreign interference on Australias democracy. The committee also recommended the establishment of a clear pathway for social media platforms to report suspected foreign interference after video-sharing giant TikTok revealed there was currently no clear system to do so. Given the impending federal election, it is imperative that the government establish clear policies and procedures for social media platforms to refer potential foreign interference for consideration by the relevant government departments or entities, the report (pdf) stated. TikTok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo in this illustration taken on Nov. 27, 2019. Chinese tech firm ByteDance owns TikTok. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) The report outlined that, though few documented instances of online political interference targeting Australia had been found, it would be naive to imagine that Australian elections and public debates have not, and will not, be the subject of similar attempts. And according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), while Russias reach of interference covers Europe and the Americas, Beijing has been the primary culprit in a series of covert moves seeking to influence policy and public opinion in Australia and other parts of the Indo-Pacific. An ABC-Fairfax investigation in 2019 exposed political donations made to both major political parties in the federal government from individuals affiliated with the CCPthe amounts totalled in the millions of dollars. CCP-linked actors had also hacked Australias parliamentary computer network on at least two separate occasions in 2011 and 2019, granting the communist regime access to the contents of confidential emails for a number of parliamentarians. But a submission (pdf) by ASPI senior analyst Jake Wallis said that the seeding of misinformation through social media had become a faster and more effective weapon in the soft power approach of foreign governments. Authoritarian states have identified influence operations as a cheap yet effective mechanism for influencing and weakening liberal democratic societies, Wallis said. Beijings Social Media Misinformation Mechanisms Numerous reports have shed light on the Chinese regimes use of social media platforms to launch covert propaganda campaigns and sow disinformation through a number of means. One such method included revelations that the CCP paid YouTube influencers money to parrot propaganda, as revealed by China expert and YouTube video producer Matthew Tye, also known online as laowhy86. Tye, who had lived in China for 10 years, explained in a video that he was approached to produce a video suggesting the CCP virus originated in the United States. Tye said they were offered thousands of dollars to spread COVID misinformation so that the Chinese government can have white people say, hey, COVID didnt come from China, so listen to me about this.' He said the purpose was to sway hundreds of thousands of people into believing the narrative of the CCP. A police officer wearing a face mask stands guard at the Tianhe Airport after it was reopened in Wuhan, China, on Apr. 8, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) ASPI analyst Wallis also pointed out that CCP officials were able to sculpt public discourse due to the freedoms offered by social media platforms, despite the same not being afforded to its own citizens. China similarly is leaning into Western social media platforms in order to shape the information environment. Its ambassadors, embassies, state media but also state-owned enterprises exploit the affordances of Western social media platformsTwitter in particularto which the Chinese population does not have access as a result of direct censorship. This allows the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to proactively shape the information environment in the West, whilst tightly controlling that of their own population. However, beyond misinformation surrounding the origins of the CCP virus, ASPI also unveiled many of the same YouTube creators were involved in denying the genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Other methods used by the CCP to bolster propaganda efforts include creating fake social media accounts to amplify misinformation by spreading the aforementioned material. It also includes its army of paid online commenters posting pro-China messages across the internet, with some estimates of the number of posts reaching in the hundreds of millions each year, also known as the wu maoa colloquialism translating to 50 cents in reference to early rumours of individuals being paid 50 renminbi per post (US$0.17). Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer speaks to the press as he arrives to attend an European Union Summit with all 27 EU leaders at The European Council Building in Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 16, 2021. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images) Austria Adds New Rules to CCP Virus Protocols, Working on Mandatory Jabs The Austrian government on Thursday announced that it will further expand CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus measures in the country, citing a recent surge in Omicron cases. We have to adjust to a new situation with omicron, we have to adjust to the fact that the infection numbers will increase quickly, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said during a news conference in Vienna, the capital of the Alpine country. We need to do everything we can possibly do together to prevent another lockdown, he added. Under new measures, Austrians are required again to wear masks outdoorsFFP2 or K95 typeswhen in crowded areas, or when a distance of 6 1/2 feet cannot be maintained, officials said. The new set of rules also includes an expansion to an already existing measure that targets unvaccinated citizens, such as banning them from almost every store and hospitality venue. Starting next week, the government said it will step up inspections to ensure shops are granting access only to Austrians who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the CCP virus. If businesses do not comply, we will have the power to shut them down, Nehammer said. Also starting next week, the quarantine period for those who tested positive for COVID-19 will be shortened to five days, after which there will be an option to end self-isolation by taking a test, The Local reported. Previously, the quarantine period for those who tested positive was 14 days. People walk in a public park as Austrias Government imposes new COVID-19 measures requiring people to wear masks outdoors when in crowds, in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 6, 2022. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters) From Feb. 1, a limit will also be added to the validity of the Green Passa type of vaccination passport used in the country to retain access to a slew of social activities. The certificate will expire after six months, officials said, noting that those who have received a booster shot are allowed to enjoy the benefits granted by the passport for another three months. Asked about the draft law on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations the government announced in December that has yet to pass, Nehammer said he saw it as a crucial part of the fight against the pandemic. The regulator is working on a solution that conforms to the constitution, but in our view, compulsory vaccination is indispensable, he said. Reuters contributed to this report. From NTD News Matthew Carnes prepares to change diapers for his newborn daughter Evelina Carnes as his wife Breanna Llamas keeps watch in the postpartum unit at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, Calif., on March 30, 2021. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Babies Born During Pandemic Have Lower Developmental Scores: Study Babies who were born during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic had lower developmental scores compared to pre-pandemic babies, a study suggests. According to research published on Jan. 4 in JAMA Pediatrics, COVID-19 infection during pregnancy doesnt appear to affect an infants brain function, but the pandemic itself may be having an effect. A group of researchers in New York studied 255 infants born between March and December 2020, including 114 whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy. It found that some of those infants born during the pandemic have experienced slight developmental delays. Overall, compared with 62 infants born before the pandemic, the babies born during the health crisis displayed slightly lower scores on tasks involving large muscles, tasks requiring small muscle movements, and personal interactions. Both exposed and unexposed infants born during that period had significantly lower scores on gross motor, fine motor, and personal-social subdomains compared with a historical cohort of infants born before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study reads. Dr. Dani Dumitriu of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute stated that the findings suggest that stress felt by pregnant mothers during the pandemic may have had an effect on infant development. The developmental trajectory of an infant begins before birth. With potentially millions of infants who may have been exposed to COVID in utero, and even more mothers just living through the stress of the pandemic, there is a critical need to understand the neurodevelopmental effects of the pandemic on future generations. The findings dont necessarily mean that these infants will suffer long-term consequences, Dumitriu said. Assessments at six months are poor predictors of long-term outcomes. Infants whose mothers were in their first trimester at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic displayed the lowest neurodevelopment scores. Dumitriu also suggested that fewer social interactions such as playdates during the pandemic may have played a role. These small shifts warrant careful attention because at the population level, they can have a significant public health impact. We know this from other pandemics and natural disasters. If additional research confirms that birth during the pandemic negatively affects neurodevelopment, because this is such an early time point, there are lots of opportunities to intervene and get these babies onto the right developmental trajectory, she said. These early findings support the need for long-term monitoring of children born during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study reads. Reuters contributed to this report. View of the Beverly Hills City Hall in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Aug. 29, 2019. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images) City of Beverly Hills Joins Effort to Recall Gascon Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 4 to support the recall of embattled Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon. Over the last 12 months, Los Angeles County has seen a dramatic increase in widespread crime including follow-home robberies, smash-and-grab incidents and the tragic death of beloved Beverly Hills philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, Beverly Hills spokesman Keith Sterling said in a statement following the decision. The city also pointed to several of Gascons special directives that it said were of great concern to the City. These included Gascons decision to eliminate cash bail for some crimes, his policy not to prosecute suspects for some misdemeanor crimes, and his decision to seek reduced sentences related to hate, guns, and gangs. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks at a press conference in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) The group leading the recall, which was started mostly by victims of crimes, on Dec. 6 launched the second attempt to remove him from office. The recall group expects to raise $2.7 million before the official signature collection begins. Organizers have filed the petition with the Los Angeles County Registrar for approval and public circulation, according to spokesman Tim Lineberger. They expect to find out as soon as this week whether the petition is approved. The first recall in 2021 failed after organizers didnt collect enough signatures. The latest campaign needs to collect about 570,000 signatures in 160 days after a petition is approved by the county. If enough signatures are collected, the recall will be placed on the ballot before Los Angeles County voters. Representatives of the official recall effort and another group called Recall Gascon Now were joined by about 80 residents who pleaded with Beverly Hills City Council to support the recall. During public comment, Recall Gascon Nows co-chair Mihran Kalaydijan told councilors that Gascon was failing to keep Angelenos safe, particularly those in the Jewish and Armenian communities, according to the groups statement. Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook said in December 2021 that the current system was creating a revolving door for criminals. Were catching criminals. The problem is were catching them over and over again, and theyre being released very quickly without bail, and theyre not staying in prison, Stainbrook told Fox News following Avants shooting death on Dec. 1. A suspect in Avants death was arrested an hour later during another attempted burglary nearby. At the time, Stainbrook told reporters that the suspect had an extensive criminal record and was on parole. Beverly Hills was one of the first cities last year to approve a vote of no confidence in Gascon after passing a resolution in March 2021. Since then, 31 cities have passed votes of no confidence. Representatives from Gascons office, the Beverly Hills Police Department, and the city council were not immediately available for comment. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz Tests Positive for COVID-19 Shortly Before Getting Booster Shot Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz revealed on Wednesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before he was set to receive his booster shot, and urged people to get vaccinated. Earlier today I was set to receive my Booster but was feeling symptomatic and took a #COVID test. I tested positive and am self-isolating, hopeful to feel better, Ortiz wrote on Twitter. My symptoms may have been worse had I not been vaccinated. I urge everyone to follow the guidance from health professionals and get vaccinate [sic]. I am one of hundreds of #USBP personnel in quarantine. Our frontline agents have battled this virus from the onset and I commend them. We will continue to be #vigilant as we protect our nation, Ortiz said. The Biden administration announced in September that all federal workers, which includes U.S. Border Patrol agents, must be fully vaccinated by a Nov. 22 deadline or face termination. It comes at a time when near-record numbers of illegal immigrants are crossing the southern border in the worst immigration crisis in the nations history. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, there have almost been 1.6 million illegal aliens apprehended during fiscal year 2021. When migrants stopped at the border are included, the number comes to 2 million. In November, Tom Homan, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during President Donald Trumps administration, warned that President Joe Bidens vaccine mandate could leave the federal government facing a shortage of border patrol agents. Homan said one Border Patrol agent was heading up a group representing several hundred others who are prepared to sue the administration if they do lose their jobs, and that the group of agents would rather risk being terminated than being coerced into receiving the government-mandated shot. Im not anti-vax, Homan said. Each person has to choose on his own. Some just dont want to do it. They wont take the vax, so in a time of crisis, [Biden] shouldnt force this issue, Homan said. I talked to one female border patrol agent. Shes three months pregnant. She doesnt know what the vax will do to her, and she cares, so shes willing to lose her job. In October, supervisors were expected to begin holding counseling sessions for unvaccinated employees to encourage them to have the shots, CNN reported. Employees who did not comply would then be suspended and the termination process would begin. Amid the ongoing border crisis, White House coronavirus response team member Dr. Anthony Fauci at the end of last year said the administration doesnt have the capability to test all illegal aliens crossing the border for COVID-19. We still have Title 42 with regards to protection at the border, Fauci said at a White House press briefing in December. There are protections at the border that you dont have the capability, as you know, of getting somebody on a plane, getting checked, looking at a passport, we dont have that there. But we can get some degree of mitigation. There is testing at the border under certain circumstances, Fauci added. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro waves to supporters as he leaves Vila Nova Star hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on, Jan. 5, 2022. (Marcelo Chello/AP Photo) Brazils Bolsonaro Is Released From Hospital After 2 Days SAO PAULOBrazils President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from a hospital on Wednesday morning in Sao Paulo, and addressed the press. He had been hospitalized for two days after an intestinal obstruction, which forced him to cut short his vacation. On Tuesday, the medical team accompanying him had ruled out the need for surgery. Bolsonaro, 66, has undergone four surgeries stemming from the abdominal stabbing he suffered during a 2018 campaign event. Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro gestures during a press conference at the Vila Nova Star Hospital after he was discharged, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Jan. 5, 2022 (Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images) At the time, he was operated on by Dr. Antonio Luiz Macedo, the same doctor who has been attending to him since then. We instruct patients to chew well, avoid some foods, and we hope to keep the president like that for the next 20, 30 years, Macedo told reporters in the hospitals lobby before Bolsonaros departure to the airport. He also recommended the president avoid intensive physical activity this week. Bolsonaro joked about the difficulty of the restrictions. Ill try to follow them, but life goes on, he said. My whole life I was an athlete, in the armed forces, a paratrooper, diver. Its hard to stay still. (LR) Jake Skuse (grey suit), Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, and Sage Willoughby, who are accused of criminal damage over the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, arrive at Bristol Crown Court ahead of their trial on Dec. 13, 2021. (Rod Minchin/PA) Bristol Jury Acquits 4 BLM Protesters Who Toppled Statue of Edward Colston Four people who pulled down a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, England, during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 were acquitted on Wednesday of causing criminal damage. Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 36, Sage Willoughby, 21, and Rhian Graham, 29, were handed a verdict of not guilty by a jury at Bristol Crown Court. A large crowd of supporters had attended court every day of the trial, and there was a huge cheer from the public gallery as the not guilty verdicts were returned. One of the defendants, Willoughby, called the verdict a victory for Bristol, racial equality, and anybody who wants to be on the right side of history. But Downing Street said vandalism remains a crime and it expects police to take it seriously, while a cabinet minister said its unacceptable to destroy public property and the government will always fix any loopholes in the law when necessary. The toppled statue of Edward Colston lies on display in M Shed museum in Bristol, England, on June 7, 2021. (Polly Thomas/Getty Images) According to the Bristol governments museums website, Colston, a 17th-century British merchant and philanthropist, profited from his shares in the Royal African Company (RAC), which members traded gold, ivory, and enslaved Africans. He had also been an active member of RACs governing body for 11 years. Colstons statue was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7, 2020, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour and later recovered by Bristol City Council. The trial heard that Ponsford and Graham brought ropes, which Willoughby passed around the statues neck, and Skuse goaded the crowd into rolling the statue 500 meters (1,640 feet) and throwing it into the water. Protesters tear down a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, England, on June 7, 2020. (Mohiudin Malik/via Reuters) None of the defendants denied their involvement but claimed that the presence of the statue was a hate crime and that it was therefore not an offence to remove it. During the trial, the prosecution said it was irrelevant who Colston was, and the case was one of straightforward criminal damage. But Ponsfords lawyer, Barrister Tom Wainwright, said the felling of the statue had helped heal the wounds of slavery and accused the prosecution of inviting the jury to pick open these wounds once more. In summing up, Judge Peter Blair QC told the jury to disregard such rhetoric about the weight and consequences of their decision and try the case purely on the evidence in front of them. Supporters outside Bristol Crown Court ahead of the trial of Jake Skuse, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, and Sage Willoughby, in Bristol, England, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Rod Minchin/PA) The defendants last year elected to go on trial in front of a Jury at Bristol Crown Court instead of a judge at the magistrates court. Blinne Ni Ghralaigh, who defended Rhian Graham, said the case demonstrates the fundamental importance of trial by jury. That is because juries represent the collective sense of justice of the community, she said. In this case, they determined that a conviction for the removal of this statuethat glorified a slave trader involved in the enslavement of over 84,000 black men, women, and children as a most virtuous and wise manwould not be proportionate. However, others have slammed the verdict for setting a precedent for future attempts to pull other statues down. Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher and director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, told the Telegraph that the verdict had set an extremely dangerous precedent that gives mobs a green light to tear down statues across the country. Writing on Twitter, legal expert Adam Wagner said the verdict was unusual but this is what juries sometimes do. Wagner said he doesnt think the verdict will set a legal precedent because its a jury decision. Anyone damaging property in future would have no way of knowing if a jury would convict or acquit them. The law is as it was, he wrote. Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing on COVID-19 in Downing Street, London, on Dec. 15, 2021. (Tolga Akmen/PA) Reacting to the verdict on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesman said vandalism of any sort remains a crime. Rightly we would never comment on individual jury decisions, which we respect. But we expect the police to take all crimes seriously, including vandalism or public damage to property, the spokesman said. Weve been clear its always legitimate to examine and challenge Britains history but we should retain and explain our heritage so more people can understand our nations past to its fullest, he added. Vandalism of any sort remains a crime. We expect police to take all crimes seriously. Youll know that we are changing the law to ensure those found guilty of desecrating or damaging a memorial face a punishment that better reflects the high sentimental and emotional impact these actions can have. Earlier on Thursday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Times Radio that were not in a country where destroying public property can ever be acceptable. Well always be on the side of the law and when necessary we will fix any loopholes in the law to make sure thats always the case, he said. Under current legislation, criminal damage can bring a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment, but maximum sentencing is limited by the value of the damage caused. Where the damage is less than 5,000 ($6,771), the maximum sentence is three months imprisonment and a fine of up to 2,500 ($3,386). The Colston statue has been assessed to have sustained 3,750 ($4,850) worth of damage. But the new Bill, which is being scrutinised by Parliament at the moment, would allow the courts to consider the emotional or wider distress caused by damage to public property, and raise the maximum sentence to 10 years regardless of the costs incurred. This would extend to flowers or wreaths placed at memorials, such as at a gravestone or The Cenotaph. PA contributed to this report. A Cabify taxi car is seen through the window of a car in Malaga, southern Spain, on Aug. 3, 2018. (Jon Nazca/Reuters) Cabify Risks Losing Fleet Supremacy to Uber in Home Base Madrid MADRIDThe ride-hailing app Cabify, one of Spains few unicorn tech startups, risks losing ground to foreign rivals such as Uber or Bolt in its home base Madrid due to a row over exclusivity with a company which employs 1,100 of its drivers. Entrepreneur Felix Ruiz, co-founder of the privately-held firm Auro which owns the cars and licences and employs the drivers, told Reuters Auro had decided to switch them to either Uber or Bolt or both from Jan. 20. The Spanish company could fall to No.2 in its home turf, as Cabify and Uber have about the same market share in Madrid, according to Auro estimates. Uber and Cabify declined to comment on their respective market shares. On Monday, Cabify said that an arbitration court ruling in June obliged Auros fleet to keep working with the app, but Ruiz, although acknowledging that Cabify had won the arbitration, said the contract with Cabify had been cancelled and his company was prepared to defend its decision in courts. Ruiz doubted the two could still reach an agreement. We are not aligned, he said, adding that he considered Cabifys rival Uber to be more efficient as its algorithm allows for higher earnings, while Bolts advantage was charging less in a bid to gain market share. Auros pool of 2,500 delivery riders is already working with Uber Eats and other retailers. Madrid, where Cabify started operating a decade ago, has about 8,000 vehicles licensed for ride-hailing services, and competition is rife between apps which have been branching out into scooters, bikes and grocery deliveries. Cabify, which is considering going public but has not announced any firm plan to issue shares yet, had global revenues of $516 million in 2021, and over 5.4 million registered users. It uses the services of 230,000 drivers across its markets in Europe and Latin America. It has 441 direct staff in Spain, according to a recent company presentation. By Inti Landauro Cashiers wear face masks as they stand behind newly installed plexiglass barriers for protection in a liquor store amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles, on April 4, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) California Extends Indoor Mask Mandate, Citing Rising Omicron Cases California health officials have extended the indoor mask mandate at public premises through Feb. 15 as the number of COVID-19 cases spikes following the spread of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant. The mandate, which requires masks to be worn regardless of the vaccination status, started on Dec. 15, 2021, and was set to expire on Jan. 15. State Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced the extension on Wednesday. Whether the mandate will be removed in February is yet to be decided. At that time, we will again re-evaluate the condition across California, our communities, and our health-care delivery settings to make sure that we are taking the latest information into account to determine if there would be another extension, or if were prepared to lift that requirement across the state, Ghaly told reporters. Omicron is here and its here now. California recorded 165,889 new cases on Jan. 4, with a seven-day moving average of 51,971more than a 1,000 percent increase from 4,422 infections on Nov. 26 when the Omicron was designated a variant of concern by the World Health Organization. The total cases per 100,000 on Jan. 4 stands at 14,436, while it was 12,769 on Nov. 26. Omicron is spreading at a blistering pace across the country and worldwide, although scientists have pointed to milder symptoms from the variant compared to Delta, with fewer hospitalizations reported. For the week ending on the first of January, Omicron accounts for more than 95 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to a recent Danish study of nearly 12,000 households, Omicron is spreading faster than Delta between fully vaccinated individuals, and even faster between those who have received booster shots, demonstrating strong evidence of the variants immune evasiveness. However, the study also discovered that unvaccinated individuals spread the virus more easily than those who are fully vaccinated, while there was reduced transmission between people who received booster shots. California has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country,with more than 71 percent of the population fully vaccinated with both doses, and almost 50 percent having receiving a booster shot. The state also enforces some of the strictest pandemic-related mandates. Ghaly also made comments about the type of masks that need to be worn by people during the conference call. He preferred masks with a good seal, and added that, Masks that maybe were really helpful in the beginning are not as helpful today. Ghaly added that the number of hospitalizations had gone up significantly in the state although he is not sure whether they are all from COVID-19. He also said that the Super Bowl LVI, scheduled to be held on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, was going ahead as planned. Placards bearing the faces of the victims of Flight PS752 are carried in Toronto on August 5, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young) Canada, Allies Condemn Iran Snub of Negotiations With Victims Families for PS752 OTTAWACanada and its allies are accusing Iran of snubbing the families of those killed when its military shot down a passenger jet two years ago by refusing to negotiate a settlement. The joint condemnation Thursday by Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine comes after Iran ignored a Wednesday deadline by the coalition of countries to negotiate a settlement for the Jan. 8, 2020 disaster that saw Irans Revolutionary Guard shoot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and her counterparts called the snub an affront to the loves ones of the 176 people on board who were killed on the plane, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, along with nationals of Britain, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sweden. They said they have tried repeatedly to negotiate with Iran but now find those efforts to be futile, so they will pursue other avenues in international law. The coalition of countries, which calls itself the International Co-ordination and Response Group, had last month given Iran a deadline of Wednesday to come to the bargaining table and negotiate compensation for the victims loved ones. Iran is now categorically rejecting any further negotiations with the Group related to our collective demand for reparations. As reparations are owed to the affected states, this matter must be discussed collectively, so that all victims are treated fairly and equally, says the joint statement issued on Thursday. We will never forget this senseless loss of life and stand in solidarity with the victims families. They deserve transparency, justice and accountability for this reprehensible tragedy. The group says it is now clear that Iran is avoiding its international legal responsibilities and needs to make full reparations for its actions. We will not stand for this affront to the memories of the 176 innocent victims, says the joint statement. Despite our best efforts over the past two years and multiple attempts to resolve this matter through negotiations, the Coordination Group has determined that further attempts to negotiate with Iran on reparations for the destruction of Flight PS752 at this time are futile. Hamed Esmaeilion, whose wife and nine-year-old daughter died in the tragedy, has said Irans latest inaction should come as no surprise, and called on Canada and its allies to refer the matter to the International Civil Aviation Organization for more aggressive action toward Iran. This case should have gone to ICAO a long time ago. We had said to all these governments since the beginning that Iran wont comply. They decided to learn it the hard way, Esmaeilion said Wednesday. Esmaeilion, the spokesman for the Association of Victims Families of Flight PS752, has in the past criticized the ICAO for failing to hold Iran accountable and enforce international aviation rules. Canada and its coalition countries had initially asked Iran to discuss compensation during the week of Jan. 17, but because Iran showed what they have called apparent reluctance that deadline was moved up to Wednesday. The Jan. 8, 2020, tragedy unfolded against a backdrop of escalating violence in the region. Days earlier, a U.S. drone strike killed Irans top military commander in Iraq. Iran then retaliated by launching missile attacks on bases in Iraq where American troops were stationed. Canadian troops were also stationed on the bases as part of an international mission. No military personnel were harmed. Then came the shootdown of PS752. Iran initially denied responsibility but admitted three days later that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard mistakenly hit the Ukrainian jetliner with two surface-to-air missiles. Iran has blamed human error, but Canada and its allies have dismissed the explanation and demanded a full accounting from the countrydemands that have been ignored in Tehran. By Mike Blanchfield Capitol Report (Jan. 5): Security Tightens on Capitol Hill for Jan. 6 After over 24 hours, Interstate 95 in Virginia finally reopened. Sen. Tim Kaine, who was stranded with hundreds of other drivers, says that this was a challenge for survival. Capitol Hill lawmakers are prepping for a big day of events marking one year since the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. We look at how security has changed over the past year, and we have the latest details on the DOJs ongoing investigations into that day. Texas Congressman Michael Cloud joins us to weigh in on Big Tech censorship and the recent banning from Twitter of his colleague Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green. As schools are struggling to remain open amid surging Omicron cases, experts warn that losing schools is more risky for young people than COVID-19. With the new year upon us, we take a look at what Americans will be paying at the pump in 2022. Energy expert Jerry Simmons is here with us to break it down. Follow CapitolReport on social media: Twitter https://twitter.com/capitolreport Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CapitolReport/ Gettr https://gettr.com/user/capitolreport Detective Jake Kartchner with the Cochise County Sheriffs Office border unit, stands at the U.S.Mexico border fence that was slated to be replaced with a 30-foot fence before President Joe Biden halted all border wall construction in January 2021, in Cochise County, Ariz., on Dec. 6, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Cartel Put Hit Out on Arizona Sheriffs Border Team, Detective Says COCHISE COUNTY, ArizonaThe more effective Sheriff Mark Dannelss border team is, the more it disrupts the Mexican-based Sinaloa cartels operations. Recently, the cartel put a hit out on Dannelss top border guys, the Cochise County sheriff said. His county sits in southeast Arizona and shares 83 miles of remote desert land with Mexico. We had real good information from a federal agency, that said there were two guys that were going to cross and they were going to kill one of us, Det. Jake Kartchner told The Epoch Times. We never knew which one of us it was. He said a breakdown in communication between the sheriffs office and the federal agencies allowed the men to evade authorities. But they did know we were after them, he said. Kartchner said he continues to operate as usual, but with his eyes a little more open. Im not going to quit doing my job because they whine about it. He said theres been a few different instances where weve received information that the cartel is wanting us out. Human smuggling is rife in Cochise County and illegal aliens are paying the cartel $7,000 to $9,000 each to get across the border, according to Kartchner. Theyre almost all young, single men dressed head-to-toe in camouflage clothing and doing everything they can to avoid law enforcement. The cartel recruits drivers via messaging apps out of the Phoenix area to come down to Cochise and take a load of illegal aliens to Phoenix for around $1,000 per person, Kartchner said. Between the Border Patrol and the Cochise County Sheriffs Office, about 16,000 illegal immigrants are detected each month in the county, a huge increase that began as President Joe Biden took office. Two years ago, the county recorded an average of 400 to 500 illegal aliens per month. I know the cartel was using hotel rooms in Tombstone, Arizona, of all places, Kartchner said. They had 20 people stacked up in a room just waiting for the [Border Patrol] checkpoint to go down. Tombstone is 30 miles north of the border and Border Patrol operates a highway checkpoint nearby. However, if agents discover a vehicle transporting anything illegally, the checkpoint is effectively closed while the incident is dealt with. Cartel scouts seize those opportunities to send more contraband through, unchecked. Not Backing Down The sheriff has had his own run-in with the cartel. Seven years ago, Dannelss son, Sierra Vista police officer Justin Dannels, fatally shot a man allegedly connected to the Sinaloa cartel when the man tried to run him over during a traffic stop. The following day, Dannels and his son both received threatening phone calls from Mexico. Then cartel members showed up in the sheriffs backyard at midnight. Hell of a scary. But, Ill tell you, if you run from them, youre no better than they are, Dannels said in 2019. Long story short is, we really took a deep look at what we were doing here and thats one of the reasons that we said, You aint going to threaten us, and youre not going to scare us out of what we need to do, he said. Thats one of the reasons weve pushed forward. Threat to Texas In July, 2021, a Mexican cartel issued a death threat to U.S. law enforcement via a banner attached to an overpass in Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. The banner, written in Spanish, translated to: Warning: This is for the local, state, ministries, and national guard and for the American [expletive] from immigration. Stop [expletive] with the smugglers or we will kill you. The bullets cross the river and the wall, so stop [expletive] around. The banner was signed: Yours, the very best of all Juarez. Juarez is the Mexican city located across the border from El Paso. A 5-year-old girl looks at her arm after getting a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in New York City on Nov. 8, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) CDC Recommends Children 12 to 17 Get a COVID-19 Booster Shot The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday said children from 12 to 17 years old should get a COVID-19 vaccine booster, despite scant effectiveness data and concerns about post-vaccination heart inflammation. The agency endorsed recommendations from its vaccine advisory panel, which voted 131 to advise the CDC to say children in the age group should get a booster of Pfizers vaccine five months after their primary series. The panel could have advised children may get a booster. We now recommend that all adolescents aged 1217 years should receive a booster shot 5 months after their primary series. This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDCs COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDCs director, said in a statement. Panel members in support said they were convinced by the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and data that suggest a booster will increase protection against the virus that causes COVID-19, at least for a period of time. I am seeing many families where there is transmission from children to adults and in some cases there are devastating outcomes, so I think as much as we can prevent what might be mild-to-moderate disease in children, but as much as we can decrease disease in families, I really think thats the way to go, said Dr. Camille Kotton, clinical director for transplant and immunocompromised host infectious diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a panel member. The CDC and Food and Drug Administration, relying on data from Israel, determined the boosters benefits outweigh its risks. Early data from the country suggest the booster leads to fewer cases of COVID-19. Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis of Israels Health Ministry informed the meeting that two cases of myocarditis, or post-vaccination heart inflammation, have been detected after a Pfizer booster in the country out of over 41,610 boosters administered. And researchers found recently that Pfizers booster presents a higher risk of myocarditis to young men than COVID-19 itself. But members repeatedly said they hoped boosting children would help staunch the surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus and lower the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations among children. Several expressed concern, though, about that hope, pointing to data from the United Kingdom that showed booster protection against infection dropped after just four weeks and a lack of data on reducing hospitalizations. The short term antibody boost will not last and it will probably give no protection against asymptomatic infection, said one member, Dr. Sarah Long, professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot, the only no vote to the recommendation, said she thinks children should get a booster but worries the push for boosters will distract from vaccinating the unvaccinated. I dont think its fair for a 12- to 17-year-old who has been vaccinated to risk myocarditis again for an unknown benefit because their colleagues will not get vaccinated, she said. Detractors said the discussion and vote highlighted an avoidance of the dearth of data on boosters, particularly in children. They are essentially ignoring lack of data on efficacy of booster in this age group for severe disease, and focusing instead on benefits of preventing infection, while not addressing how emerging data that indicate the boosters effectiveness against infection quickly drops, Dr. Walid Gellad with the University of Pittsburgh, who is not on the panel, said on Twitter. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a press conference at the Richardson Middle School in Chicago on June 14, 2021. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times) Chicago Cancels Classes for 2nd Day as Teachers Refuse to Teach in Person Chicago officials have canceled classes for the second consecutive day after the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) declared that its teachers wouldnt be teaching in person. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced late on Jan. 5 that classes wouldnt take place on Jan. 6 either in person or remotely. We apologize for the disruption that the unions illegal work stoppage is causing for your family, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez wrote in a letter to parents. While CTU voted earlier this week to teach virtually until the number of COVID-19 cases was lower or Chicago officials acquiesced to various demands, some teachers have been choosing to report to work anyway, and some schools have enough staff to return to in-person classes as soon as Jan. 7, officials said. For schools with absent teachers, teaching materials for students have been provided to parents. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told a press conference that she will not allow the union to take our children hostage. She took issue with the union demanding that all educators, students, and volunteers test negative for COVID-19 before returning to school. We are not going to rob parents of their right and their obligation to tell us if they want testing or not on their children. Its not going to happen. Its morally wrong, Lightfoot said. A sign on the fence outside of Lowell Elementary School welcomes students back to school before the Chicago Teachers Union voted to stop going to work, in Chicago on Jan. 5, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) The mayor has received backing from the White House, which stated on Jan. 5 that all schools should remain open, including in Chicago, but the union has thus far stood firm in its demands. CTU President Jesse Sharkey wrote in a Jan. 5 email to union members that negotiations are only now beginning in earnest and the union had filed an unfair labor practice charge claiming school officials are violating a memorandum of agreement reached in August 2021. They falsely claim that were engaging in an illegal strike, when we WANT to teach but cant because theyve locked us out. We have rights to safety and weve been at the bargaining table for 20 months to secure those rights. We havent shifted the goal posts one bit; in fact, weve been saying the same thing for months: Please, work WITH us to set up comprehensive testing, work with us to vaccinate students, and work with us to establish basic guard rails. This document outlines how the mayors CPS team has rejected those offers at every turn, Sharkey wrote. Without such mitigations, we know that CPS buildings arent safe. By sticking together and demonstrating the strength of our solidarity to the mayor and all of Chicago, we can win the safety that Chicagos students and parents deserve. The BeiDou Satellite Navigation System at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up at the National Museum of China in Beijing on Feb. 27, 2019. (WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images) China Seeks Space Dominance With 40 Planned Launches in 2022 Chinas communist regime plans to continue its efforts to win the new space race throughout 2022. Thus far, Beijing is on track to achieve at least 40 space launches during the year, including missions to complete its space station, develop a lunar base, and field new satellites. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), a state-owned contractor responsible for most of Chinas space launches, said it will complete the construction of Chinas Tiangong space station in 2022, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. The completion of the outpost will require two more manned space flights, which are scheduled among the launches planned for 2022. The launches may help to continue the Chinese regimes efforts to outpace the United States in space development. In 2021, CASC carried out 48 successful launches, playing a significant role in helping China beat out the United States for most launches during the year. The regime conducted 55 space launches in 2021; the United States, by comparison, had 51, and all the other countries in the world totaled 40. The news also follows reports that Beijing-3, a Chinese optical satellite launched in June 2021, photographed some 1,470 square miles of the San Francisco Bay area in just 42 seconds. The photographs included enough detail to identify individual vehicles. The imagery wasnt as sharp as the leading U.S. technology, but the satellite can move at as much as three times faster. The regime also is set to continue its mission to develop a lunar base, the International Lunar Research Station, in cooperation with Russia. Linked to Chinas greater ambition to rewrite the global governance system through a Sino-Marxist lens, Chinas efforts to set up shop on the moon have been compared to its efforts in the South China Sea, a disputed waterway where Beijing has continuously attempted to expand its territory through the creation of artificial islands. Ye Peijian, chief commander of Chinas lunar exploration program, compared Chinas efforts to establish a manned presence on the moon to the countrys attempts to claim access to international waters. If were able to go now but dont go, our descendants will face the same problem in space that we now have regarding the ocean, he said on Chinese state-owned television. To safeguard our space rights, we must go. Ye then compared the moon and Mars to different contested island chains near Japan and the Philippines, arguing that if China didnt claim a presence on the moon and Mars immediately, it would lose the opportunity. U.S., Allies Suspect Hidden Motivations The regime has focused enormous resources on dominating space issues in recent years, and outer space is increasingly recognized as a contested strategic domain. Numerous experts have warned that Chinas space program is a direct military threat to the United States and the greater rules-based international order that it leads. To this end, a top general for the U.S. Space Force said during a panel discussion last month that the Chinese regime is advancing its space capabilities at twice the rate of the United States and would overtake Americas position by 2030 if no changes were made to current efforts to develop space-based technologies. Another worry is the United States dependency on satellites, which it uses for everything from GPS to communications to financemaking it an area thats vulnerable to attack. As such, the United States military conducted a series of wargames in December to test the resiliency of its satellite architecture against attacks from China and Russia. Likewise, legal experts and security analysts have warned that China would likely target the United States near-total dependence on space-based technologies as the first part of any potential future conflict. Space is Americas greatest asset and its greatest vulnerability, said Paul Crespo, president of the Center for American Defense Studies, told The Epoch Times last month. The Chinese and Russians see it as our Achilles heel. Logos of Google, Facebook, and Twitter on a computer screen in a file photo taken on Oct. 21, 2020. (Denis Charlet/AFP via Getty Images) China Targets Western Elites Through Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube Journalists, academics, and politicians need better protections: cut off Beijing's access to foreign servers News Analysis Beijing is systematically mining the worlds social media dataincluding Facebook, Twitter, and YouTubeto better understand political opinions and elite networks, and to compile a list of foreign targets. The Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) goal is to use sophisticated algorithms, big data, artificial intelligence, micro-targeting, and purchased social media accounts for early warning of public opinion trends against the CCP, to influence the global public toward pro-CCP positions, and to introduce schisms within groups critical of Beijingthat turns people against each other where they are uniting against the totalitarian and genocidal regime. Sophisticated data systems are being used by Beijings state media, propaganda departments, police, military and cyber regulators, according to a Jan. 1 investigative report by Cate Cadell in The Washington Post. The report draws from hundreds of Chinese bidding documents, contracts and company filings. The data systems, each of which costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, include increasingly technical surveillance for Chinas censorship apparatus. They compile a network of foreign targets in the West and seek to maintain control over the Internet, according to the Post. They include a $320,000 Chinese state media software program that mines Twitter and Facebook to create a database of foreign journalists and academics; a $216,000 Beijing police intelligence program that analyzes Western chatter on Hong Kong and Taiwan; and a cybercenter in Xinjiang, home to most of Chinas Uyghur population, that catalogues the mainly Muslim minority groups language content abroad, according to the report. Companies, state media, and a half dozen Chinese universities are listed as supplying software to the regime for these purposes. One Shanghai company claims to use advanced big data mining and artificial intelligence analysis technology that covers over 90 percent of foreign social media in the United States, Europe, and countries that neighbor China, according to the report. An analyst in Beijing who works for Chinas Central Propaganda Department told the Post that with the new data systems, we can better understand the underground network of anti-China personnel. The Department compiled profiles of individual politicians, academics, and journalists. The systems automatically collect and store Facebook and Twitter data in real time on domestic Chinese servers for analysis, according to four of the Posts sources in Beijing. This sounds like a violation of Twitter and Facebook rules that ban automated collection of data, except in cases of prior authorization. Twitter also bans data mining to infer users political, ethnic, or racial characteristicsa rule that the regime is now apparently violating. Chinas state media claimed in 2014 that over 2 million individuals worked in public opinion analysis. The new systems sometimes operate 24 hours, and include teams of English and foreign policy specialists. In 2018, according to state media, the regimes online opinion analysis industry was valued at billions of dollars and growing at 50 percent annually. A China Daily bidding document from 2020 cited in the report is for a $300,000 foreign personnel analysis platform. The platform will mine Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for information on well known Western media journalists and other key personnel from political, business and media circles. The software must map the relationships between target personnel and uncover factions between personnel, measuring their China tendencies and building an alarm system that automatically flags false statements and reports on China, according to the Post. A Beijing Police Intelligence Command Unit paid $30,570 to Peoples Daily Online to trawl foreign social media and produce reports on unspecified key personnel and organizations, according to the report, gathering information on their basic circumstances, background and relationships. These systems mostly monitor domestic Chinese media, according to Post sources, including highly sensitive viral trends online. But, since mid-2019, they have also monitored foreign social media. Reporting to the Cyberspace Administration of China must include personal details of social media users, according to the Post. The ultimate purpose of analysis and prediction is to guide and intervene in public opinion, a Peoples Daily public opinion analyst named Liao Canliang wrote. The Post quoted the analyst as writing in an article, Public data from social network users can be used to analyze the characteristics and preferences of users, and then guide them in a targeted manner. This is also known as micro-targeting, used by Cambridge Analytica to mold U.S. public opinion ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Twitter suspended 23,000 accounts in 2020 that it alleged were linked to the CCP for covert use in the spreading of propaganda targeting pro-democracy Hong Kong protests. In December, Twitter removed another 2,048 accounts that coordinated their content to undermine human rights advocacy against abuse of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang region. The U.S. State Department and other government entities in Europe and Britain have recognized the ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in that area. Tribunal chair Geoffrey Nice (C) delivers the verdict of the independent tribunal assessing evidence on Chinas alleged rights abuses against the Uyghur people, in London, on Dec. 9, 2021. (Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo) Many of the systems flag sensitive content related to ethnic minorities in China, and can monitor individual social media users over time. A $43,000 system purchased by police in central Chinas Shangnan county included a foreign sensitive information collection system that requested Uyghur and Tibetan staff translators, according to the Post. The accounts that Twitter closed since 2020 are a small fraction of the artificial pro-Beijing social media messaging, according to experts cited by the Post. Many of the police contracts since 2020 state that Peoples Daily was chosen to conduct monitoring on the basis of its technical ability to gather data abroad, according to the Post. The report quotes the Guangdong Police Department as saying in 2020 that Peoples Daily is the only one in the industry that deploys overseas servers. It is a public opinion service organization that can monitor and collect more than 8,000 overseas media without overturning the wall.' The Chinese regimes use of data servers in the West point to one potential counter-strategy against Beijings invasive social media influence and surveillance campaign: legal bans on allowing China to operate servers outside its own Great Firewall. If Beijing does not allow free use of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube by its own citizens, then why should the West allow China to abuse these platforms outside of its borders? Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A chip the size of a coin, used in central processing units and graphic processing units developed by the U.S.-headquartered Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is displayed during a press conference held in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 24, 2011. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) Chinas Big Fund to Secure Chip Independence Beijings campaign for scientific and technological independence, especially pertaining to the microchip sector, has received mixed global response. While international industries fear the move could slow innovation and disrupt global trade, some China experts believe the quality and success rate of Chinas chip development are low. T-Head, a semiconductor unit of Alibaba, unveiled the E-Ten 710, a new CPU chip, in October 2021. The chip is said to be 5 nanometers in size and will only be used for Alibabas cloud computing business, with no plans to sell it to the outside, Alibaba said. As an e-commerce giant, Alibabas cross-border development of chips is linked to the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) core making ambitions. China is the worlds largest consumer of chips, accounting for about 36 percent of global consumption but only 15.9 percent of global output. Chip production is a top priority in the CCPs scientific independence campaign in order to wean itself from reliance on advanced technology from the United States, Japan, and other countries. Huawei, Chinas first global tech giant, was slapped with U.S. sanctions in 2018, which heightened Beijings sense of urgency to develop their own chips. In addition to Alibaba, internet giants Tencent and Baidu, and smartphone maker Xiaomi, have also joined the core making movement driven by the CCP. But the regimes rush toward chip independence has added to international unease. Europe and the United States already saw Beijing as a strategic rival and feared it would steal their technologies. Western countries such as the United States and the Netherlands have restricted the CCPs access to the most advanced chipmaking tools due to national security concerns. Corporations also worry that if the world uncouples from China or splits into markets where industry standards and products are incompatible, parts made in the United States or Europe may not work in Chinese computers or cars. In that case, makers of smartphones and global operating systems may need to produce different versions for different markets, which could slow innovation. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Associated Press in September 2021 that Washington and Beijing needed to avoid the world becoming segmented. Chinas Big Fund Plan The CCP has invested heavily in trying to solve the problem of Chinas disrupted semiconductor supply. In 2014, the authorities pledged to invest between $100 billion and $150 billion in public and private funds to enable China to overtake the worlds leading companies in semiconductor technology, including chip design, assembly, and packaging, by 2030. In September 2014, the regime established Chinas National Semiconductor Industry Investment Fund, known as Big Fund. The initial investment was 138.7 billion yuan (about $22.19 billion) and focused on integrated circuit manufacturing, including equipment, materials, sealing, and testing. In October 2019, against the background of U.S. sanctions of Chinese technology companies, the second Big Fund phase was announced with a scale of 204.1 billion yuan (approx. $32.66 billion). But according to Liu Pei-chen, a researcher at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, the CCPs semiconductor development process is still slower than expected despite massive government investment, especially in the area of advanced manufacturing processes or independent R&D. The main reason for the lag is that the CCP is still facing the problem of disrupted semiconductor supply and is unable to obtain key semiconductor equipment and chips due to European and American sanctions, Liu told The Epoch Times. Advanced Semiconductor Processes According to current chip manufacturing standards, 28 nanometers is the dividing line between mature and advanced lithography processes. Processes that are 28 nanometers and above are considered mature processes, while processes below 28 nanometers are considered advanced processes. At present, the key equipment for advanced manufacturing processes is still held in countries like the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan; their market share is over 70 percent, Liu said. Shen Bo, global vice president and China president of Dutch semiconductor manufacturer ASML, confirmed in November 2021 that EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography machines, a key equipment in advanced processes, are still not available to China, but they can buy DUV (deep Ultraviolet) lithography machines used in mature processes. This means that Chinese foundries, such as SMIC, can only develop mature processes. Without these advanced tools, China will be even further behind, says Peter Hanbury, who tracks the semiconductor industry for Bain & Co., a global consulting firm. The TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) horse is sprinting away and the Chinese horse is stopped, he said. They cant move forward. A 2021 report by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) pointed out that China lags significantly behind when it comes to tools, materials, and production technology. The CCPs Made in China 2025 plan calls for the domestic production of Chinese chips to reach 70 percent by 2025. However, it is almost impossible to achieve that goal at the current pace of development, Liu Pei-chen said. Beijing has set its own chip targets and provided substantial government investment, but could face costly disappointment, the Associated Press quoted experts as saying. Chipmakers and other companies will struggle to remain competitive if they are separated from global suppliers with advanced components and technologies. Other than China, no other country has set the goal of chip independence. Plagiarism Liu Qikun, a Chinese current affairs commentator residing in Canada, told The Epoch Times that Chinas own scientific research capabilities are very poor, and the communist regime relies mainly on plagiarism to develop its science and technology. The CCPs previous development of science and technology relies mainly on the theft of foreign intellectual property rights, Liu said. The value of intellectual property stolen from abroad by the CCP is worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Some say it could be as high as trillions of dollars, so the CCP is arguably the biggest thief in the history of China, and indeed in the history of the world, Liu said. Cheng Xiaonong, a U.S.-based economist, told NTD in July 2021 that the theft of intellectual property and trade secrets by the CCP costs the U.S. economy between $225 billion and $600 billion annually, according to a report by The Commission on The Theft of American Intellectual Property. Dr. Huang Zuwei, a senior engineer at NASA, told The Epoch Times that the success rate of the CCPs independent chip R&D cannot be said to be nil, but its very low, and even if it succeeds, the end products will not be very good or may fail to meet standards. Have a look at the most advanced technologies in the world today. Which of them was first created by the CCP? None. All were copied from others. he said. Commenting on the national security risks posed by the CCPs so-called technological autonomy, Dr. Huang said: The national security concern is clear. Decades ago, European and American countries treated the CCP as a normal government, hoping to change it through normal exchanges. However, after all these years, the CCP not only hasnt changed, but has been unscrupulously stealing technologies from developed democracies. Epoch Times reporter Joyce Liang contributed to this report. A view of the exterior of The Morgan Stanley Headquarters at 1585 Broadway in Times Square in New York City in July 2021. (Gabriel Pevide/Getty Images for Morgan Stanley) Chinas New Rules on Foreign IPOs Could Mean More Regulatory Risks for Investment Banks: Expert News Analysis Foreign investment banks are likely to see more regulatory risks when underwriting IPOs for Chinese firms, according to a financial analyst. On Dec. 24, 2021, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued a draft regulation targeting Chinese companies listing abroad. The new rules will require investment banks that assist Chinese firms in obtaining foreign IPOs to file with CSRC. Foreign investment banks will also have to file annual reports by Jan. 31 that detail the offshore listings of Chinese firms that they serviced during the year. Senior Chinese financial analyst Albert Song told The Epoch Times on Jan. 1 that the new regulation proposed by CSRC is another big move for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to scrutinize capital market activities and broaden its regulatory oversight overseas. The CCP hasnt detailed the filing procedure yet, but it has revealed its intention to gain more control going forward, Song said. This is unprecedented. Investment banks are typically supervised by the regulator in the country where they operate. By requiring international banks that underwrite a Chinese firms offshore listing to also comply with the Chinese regulator, the CCP is setting a never-before-seen precedent with its new rules. All Chinese companies seeking IPOs and additional share sales abroad will also have to register with the Chinese securities regulator under the newly proposed rule. Any listing that the CSRC describes as a potential national security threat will be banned from proceeding. CSRC has given market participants until Jan. 23 to send their feedback on the draft rules. It is important for foreign banks and governments to know that CCPs regulatory framework is opaque and arbitrary, Song said. All companies that do business with China will face heightened regulatory risks. Didi as Precedent The ill-fated New York initial public offering for Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. illustrates the CCPs opaque and arbitrary framework, according to Song. The actions taken by the [Chinese] regulator are likely far beyond the predictions of Didis management team and bankers, Song said. Otherwise, they wouldnt decide to go public at all. Didi Global Inc (NYSE: DIDI), a Chinese ride-hailing giant, made its debut in the New York Stock Exchange on Jun. 30, 2021, at a valuation of $68.49 billion, reaching a record high since Alibabas IPO in 2014, according to a BBC report. However, a sweeping crackdown turned Didis roaring IPO into a debacle with shares tanking after Beijing shocked investors by announcing it was investigating the company. On July 2, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced the start of a cyber security inspection of Didi. Two days later, CAC accused Didi of illegally collecting users personal data and notified its domestic app stores to take down Didis applications. Chinas regulatory framework is fundamentally different from the western countries, Song said. In China, the [CCP] officials have more power than its administrative officials. Crackdowns can easily happen just because a party official says so. Didis financial performance has since deteriorated significantly. Its net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (pdf) widened to $4.7 billion in Q3 of 2021, after it recorded a $2.9 billion net loss in the first half of 2021. Didis stock price also plunged to $4.98 on Dec. 31, 2021, more than 60 percent lower than its offering price at $14. The actions taken by the [Chinese] regulator are likely far beyond the predictions of Didis management team and bankers, Song said. Otherwise, they wouldnt decide to go public at all. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a global policy forum involving 38 member countries, including the United States. And according to OECD (pdf), transparency is one of the central pillars of effective regulation. Chinas regulatory framework is fundamentally different from the western countries. Crackdowns can easily happen because a party official says so, Song added. In China, the [CCP] officials have more power than its administrative officials. According to World Banks senior financial specialist Lorenzo Bertolini (pdf), the key dimensions of regulatory transparency include clarity, predictability, autonomy, accountability, participation, and open access to information. And China appears to lack those principles when it comes to creating regulations, Song added. Chinas Wonder Weapons in Realm of the Possible Commentary Reported Chinese mind-control weapons have recently been the subject of sensational press accounts. China is developing terrifying brain control weapons which could be used to paralyze and control its enemies and its own people, a report says. The article doesnt describe how mind control will work, only that it uses biotechnology. But the possibility of mind-machine communication is real enough. In fact, the U.S. defense establishment has been working on ways to control machines through thought. Brandon Weichert, in describing a conference he attended last year, wrote: While partaking in an emerging technology event for the Department of Defense, I encountered a scientist who was developing a brain control interface (BCI). Because the event was off-the-record, Ill not give the name of the scientist or many details on his particular technology. All that I will say is that the future is now and it is by no means a guarantee that the United States will remain the dominant national power in the future. According to the scientist I met with in Washington, D.C., we are about two years away from being able to take this technology to market. The only inhibitor to that from occurring is the regulatory environmentnamely, American regulators and policymakers do not understand the technology, are skeptical of its efficacy, and fail to imagine a world in which exotic technologies are the norm. The potential mechanism for mind control is likely to be informed by the criminal conviction of Harvard chemistry professor Charles Lieber for secretly passing cutting-edge information to China. In a statement, the Department of Justice said, The former Chair of Harvard Universitys Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was convicted by a federal jury today in connection with lying to federal authorities about his affiliation with the Peoples Republic of Chinas Thousand Talents Program and the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in Wuhan, China, as well as failing to report income he received from WUT. Liebers expertise wasyou guessed ithuman implantable electronics. Here is the mechanism of control. Liebers interest in the subject was described by a university publication: For over a decade, the Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor has dedicated his life and lab to designing smaller, more flexible electronic brain implants that could move with brain tissue instead of against it. His mesh electronics mimic the size, shape, and feel of real neurons, enabling his team to stably record, track and modulate individual neurons and circuits for up to a year or more. The next frontier is really the merging of human cognition with machines, Patel said. He and Lieber see mesh electronics as the foundation for those machines, a way to design personalized electronic treatment for just about anything related to the brain. Everything manifests in the brain fundamentally. Everything. All your thoughts, your perceptions, any type of disease, Patel said. Even assuming this is Chinas intended mechanism, why, you might ask, would anyone consent to have anything implanted in his brain unless it was to treat Parkinsons or fly a sixth-generation fighter? The answer, oddly enough, comes from the virtual reality and social media worlds. The one possible vector for widespread adoption of implants, according to Scientific American, is the metaverse, a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection that is most famous for being the goal of Facebook: The metaverse poses technical as well as public-relations problems. The most immersive current interface for digital simulations is virtual-technology goggles of the kind produced by Oculus, which Facebook purchased in 2014. Tech companies are exploring so-called brain-machine interfaces that go beyond virtual-reality goggles. These interfaces could further blur the line between us and our devices. Some brain-machine interfaces detect neural signals via external electrodes or optical sensors attached to the skull or other parts of the body. Such interfaces can also manipulate thoughts with transcranial electromagnetic pulses. These noninvasive devices, however, enable only crude mind-reading and mind-control. Tech firms are investigating far more ambitious interfaces that work via electrodes implanted into the brain through holes drilled in the skull. The devices can read signals from and transmit them to neurons directly, potentially enabling the kind of precise mind-reading and control envisioned in The Matrix and other science fictions. Facebook has funded research on both noninvasive and invasive brain-machine interfaces. Could billions of people actually consent to implants just to join the metaverse? I wish I could dismiss the metaverseand especially the version based on brain implantsas silly techno-hype, John Horgan writes in Scientific American. But scary things that once seemed inconceivable have been happening lately. That takes us back to the original question: Given what we know, could the Chinese Communist Party build such a wonder weapon? Until they actually do, the answer must remain maybe. However, Beijing definitely would attempt it if they could, David Goldman writes. Chinas 5,000-year-old empire has become the worlds largest economy, with a plan to control the decisive technologies of the 21st centuryand the United States is in danger of being left behind. America has finally recognized Chinas bid for world dominancebut were still losing ground. Domination of the next generation of mobile broadband is just the tip of the spear. Like the Borg in Star Trek, China will assimilate you into a virtual empire controlled by Chinese technology. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. People wait to undergo nucleic acid tests for the COVID-19 coronavirus during a mass testing in Ningbo, in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Dec. 7, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) COVID-19 Spreading in East China, Tens of Thousands in Quarantine Chinas biggest garment export factory shut down Since the lockdown of Xian, the northwest city of 13 million people, COVID-19 outbreak has quickly spread to East China, putting tens of thousands in quarantine, and affecting a major production base for Adidas, Nike, and Uniqlo. At a Jan. 3 press conference, Ningbo City of Zhejiang Province reported that since Jan. 1, a total of 23 confirmed cases have been reported in Beilun District, with cases concentrated to three garment factories of Shenzhou International Group Holding Co., Ltd. (Shenzhou International). The groups factories are original entrusted manufacturers (OEMs) for well-known domestic and foreign brands. Since the Chinese communist regime has consistently concealed the extent of the pandemic in China, the outside world generally does not believe that the official COVID-19 data reveals the true numbers on the ground. On the same day, Shenzhou International issued an announcement stating that an epidemic has occurred in the area where the groups Ningbo production base is located, with some employees infected. The local government has imposed a lockdown on part of the groups production area in Beilun District. The Epoch Times has obtained a video showing a long line for COVID-19 testing in Beilun. A female employee of Shenzhou International told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times on Jan. 4, Tens of thousands of people of the entire Shenzhou International in Beilun have been put in quarantine. Those who are not infected stay at home and in dormitories for quarantine. A few [thousand] people in one dormitory have been taken away for isolation because someone in the dormitory was infected. A male resident living near the garment factory of Shenzhou International told The Epoch Times that the area around the factory can only be entered but no one can leave. Starting Jan. 2, even before the lockdown was officially announced, all the businesses and shops in the area around the factory were forced to shut down, and residents were not allowed to leave their houses. The factory workers have been to some nearby [diners] to have breakfast, and the workers have also been to other shops. This time, Ningbo is in danger. People have been told to quarantine at home for at least 20 days, he said. Some have been tested the fourth time for COVID nucleic acid test. This factory has too many people. The Epoch Times reached out to Shenzhou International for comment but is yet to receive a response. According to a report by China Business News on Jan. 3, Shenzhou International is a full-chain textile and garment enterprise integrating spinning, weaving, dyeing, garment making, embroidery, auxiliary materials, stitching, and other processes. It is the largest knitted garment export enterprise in China and a giant in apparel OEMs. Shenzhou Internationals customers include internationally famous brands such as Uniqlo, Nike, Adidas, Puma, FILA. Its products export to more than 30 countries and regions, such as Japan, Europe, America, and Southeast Asia. Hong Ning and Liu Yi contributed to the report. A series of smash-and-grab robberies are leaving stores with boarded up windows in San Francisco on Nov. 22, 2021. (Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times) Dem Lawmaker Seeks to Repeal Prop 47s Weakening of Our Theft Laws in California A California state lawmaker has gone against the grain of the Democratic Partys progressive wing by introducing legislation that would scrap part of a law that allows shoplifters to steal up to $950 in goods without being charged with a felony. Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) introduced Assembly Bill 1603 (AB 1603) on Jan. 3. The bill would crack down on retail theft in the state by reducing the threshold for petty theft from $950 back to $400, which was the law in California before Proposition 47 (Prop. 47) was passed in 2014. Enough is enough, Salas said in a statement on Jan. 4. We need to fight back against the criminals who are stealing from our communities. We have seen the unintended consequences of Prop. 47s weakening of our theft laws and I believe California voters are ready to make their voices heard on this issue again. AB 1603 provides that opportunity and will allow us to take a stand against the theft and criminal gangs who are plaguing our state. Assemblyman Rudy Salas presents a bill on the Assembly Floor at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on April 8, 2019. (Courtesy Office of Asm. Rudy Salas) California prosecutors say that the number of thefts in local jurisdictions is likely underreported because business owners became discouraged after the charge against many criminals was reduced to a misdemeanor, according to the release. Meanwhile, critics claim the policies of progressive district attorneys in cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles have led to an alarming surge in smash-and-grab robberies and other property crimes. On Nov. 4, 2014, California voters passed Prop. 47, a referendum that proponents touted as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which irked opponents such as the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA), which called the ballot title and summary misleading. At the time, voters were told that Prop. 47 was intended to keep nonviolent criminals out of state prison by downgrading some crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, thus saving money on housing inmates. The saved money would then go into a fund to support schools as well as rehabilitation programs, including providing offenders with counseling, therapy, housing, and job opportunities. In June 2019, the Board of State and Community Corrections announced that it had awarded $96 million saved by Prop. 47 to rehabilitation programs. It was the second round of Prop. 47 funding; the first came in 2017, awarding $103 million to such programs. But law enforcement agencies claim these programs are not an effective replacement for the deterrent of tougher penalties for property crimes, which Prop 47 eliminated. In 2020, then-CPCA President Ronald Lawrence warned lawmakers that Prop. 47 had led to a steep rise in marauding bands of shoplifters terrorizing stores across the state, but attempts to scrap the law have failed. People walk past a boarded storefront window following recent robberies near Union Square in San Francisco on Dec. 2, 2021. (Eric Risberg/AP Photo) He told The Epoch Times that Prop. 47 also made it easier for some drug addicts to fund their habits through shopliftingthus contributing to homelessnessand undermined the ability of police to arrest drug users for possession, which was often used as a path toward rehabilitation. There was no more drug court, and there was no more ability to put them on probation and get them into mandatory drug rehab. So now when we find somebody in possession of opioids, methamphetamines, cocaine, or ecstasyname your drugbecause its a misdemeanor, they get a citation. They get a ticket, he said in 2020. From 2009 to 2014, businesses in California reported a steady rate of shoplifting incidents, according to the Independent Institutes analysis of justice department data. And in 2015, reported shoplifting incidents jumped by 11 percent. Lawrence pointed out, however, that the true number of incidents is hard to determine because so many thefts go unreported. The National Retail Federation found in 2018 that more than half of the states that have laws similar to Prop. 47 saw an increase in retail theft. None reported a decrease. It appears that criminals understand the new threshold and have increased their thefts to meet it, according to the survey (pdf). The 2021 National Retail Security Survey reported (pdf) that 69 percent of retailers said they had seen an increase in organized retail crime activity last year. Retailers have reported that gangs have become more aggressive and violent than in years past, the survey says. About 65 percent of respondents noted the increase in violence, while 37 percent said organized retail crime gangs were much more aggressive than in the past. To become law, AB 1603 must be approved by California voters as a ballot measure. President Joe Biden speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP) Democrats Obsession With Trump Dominates January 6 Memorials on Capitol Hill Republicans want an investigation into Pelosi's role and the possibility that law enforcement 'plants' pushed violence News Analysis In a series of statements and memorials, Democrats worked to gain maximum political advantage from the first anniversary of the breach of the Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. Republicans, who have a very different account of what happened, were mostly offstage. President Joe Biden didnt utter former President Donald Trumps name, but his predecessor was referenced during Bidens solemn remarks on Jan. 6 in the Capitols Statuary Hall. For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Biden said. It was the first of 16 references to Trump made by Biden. Then Biden declared that what he was about to say was Gods truth about January 6th, 2021. We saw it with our own eyes. Rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America, he said. But what did we not see? We didnt see a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attacksitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nations capital under siege. This wasnt a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection. Trump inspired the insurrection, Biden said, because the former president couldnt accept that he had lost the 2020 election. And here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election, Biden said. Hes done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his countrys interests and Americas interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He cant accept he lost. He lost. Just in case anybody missed his point, Biden also posted his attack on Trump to Twitter. Throughout the day, Democratic leaders united in the unrelenting repetition of their narrative in which Trump and Republicans personify an evil that so threatens democracy that it can only be stopped by punishing the perpetrators and approving the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Missing from the memorials were Republican voices expressing different views and asking questions, such as why none of the hundreds of arrested Jan. 6 defendants have been charged with insurrection if thats what took place that day. What happened on January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol, in no uncertain terms, was an attempted coup by insurrectionists encouraged by Donald Trumps violent, destructive, and treasonous rhetoric and behavior, that resulted in the deaths of U.S. Capitol Police officers and rioters, and injured many more, Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-Ore.) said in a statement. Thanks to the evidence gathered by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, we are learning how perpetrators planned to achieve their coup and that the insurrection was planned at the highest level of government. According to Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), the day brought back the terror that she felt as the rioters swept through the Capitol. For hours, I was barricaded in a room off the House floor as the angry mob marched right outside my door, Meng said in a statement. I feared for my life and called loved ones asking them to pray for me as these insurrectionists, spurred by then-President Trump, stormed the halls of Congress. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) also released a statement on Jan. 6. The violence of January 6th did not appear out of nowhere, Sanchez said. It was spawned by a loop of fear tactics and lies that the former president and his enablers exploited to maintain their power. In the past 12 months, they have used this big lie to justify making it harder for people to vote and easier to overturn election results. Approving the two election law reform proposals being pushed by Democrats will put an end to the conspiracy, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told his Senate colleagues during a Jan. 6 memorial speech. As I have said before, unchallenged evil spreads like a virus. Trumps big liethat because he lost, there must have been fraudanimated the attack on Jan. 6 and has been spreading through our democracy and corroding it since then, Kaine said. Certain states with Republican governors and legislatures have used that same lie to restrict voting access, disempower nonpartisan election officials, and even threaten jail time for Americans who help their neighbors vote. The state officials taking these steps may not have been storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, but they are using the same big lie to justify disenfranchising our fellow Americans. The best way to overcome that and protect our democracy is by passing comprehensive voting rights legislation like my Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. If the approval of those measures doesnt end the TrumpRepublican insurrection, a small but vocal group of congressional Democrats led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), stands ready with another solutioninvoking Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which forever bars from office those who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [Constitution], according to The Hill. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) refuses to make public the documents demanded by House Republicans concerning evidence that she delayed approving National Guard troops offered by Trump in the days prior to Jan. 6 to have ready to deploy in the event of trouble. There are also growing demands among some congressional Republicans and conservative activists for an accounting of the alleged presence of multiple protesters in the Jan. 6 breach who are thought to have been law enforcement personnel operating as plants to instigate violence. A logo of Disney+ on the screen of a phone in Paris on May 27, 2020. (Martin Bureau/AFP via Getty Images) Disney+ Snowdrop Actress Kim Mi-soo Dies Suddenly at 29 South Korean Disney+ actress Kim Mi-soo has died suddenly at the age of 29, her agency has confirmed. Kim suddenly left us on Jan. 5, her agency Landscape said in a statement on Wednesday. The bereaved are deep in their sorrow at the sudden sadness. Please refrain from reporting false rumors or speculation so that the family can mourn in peace. The agency statement, translated by Joongang Daily, provided no cause of death. Kim was born on March 16, 1992. Due to different methods of calculating age in Korea, local media reports her age as 30 and 31. The popular actress recently had a supporting role as a student activist in the Disney+ series Snowdrop. The romantic melodramas protagonist, Young-ro, is played by K-pop star Kim Ji-soo of group Blackpink. The series was originally produced by South Koreas JTBC Studios and Drama House, but is being broadcast on Disney+ around the world. The first episode of the series dropped on Disney+ on Dec. 18. The K-drama made headlines in March after producers were accused of historical distortion. Set in South Korea in 1987, the drama follows the pro-Democratic movement. An online petition circulated calling for the K-drama to be taken off-air, gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures, according to Variety. There are definite activist victims who were tortured and killed during the democratization movement because they were [falsely] accused of being spies without any grounds. Creating a drama with a plot like that despite this historical truth undermines the value of the democratization movement, the petition read. JTBC pushed back against all allegations of historical distortion. We would like to express our position regarding the controversy surrounding Snowdrop, JBTC said. After the broadcast of Snowdrop, there has been continued controversy, which has not died down due to the contents [of the K-Drama] differing from reality, so we would like to share our position. First of all, the motive behind Snowdrops story, background, and major events is the presidential political situation during the militarys regime. Against this background, the K-Drama tells a hypothetical story where those with vested interests engage with the North Korean regime in order to maintain their power. Snowdrop is a work that shows the personal narrative of people who were sacrificed and used by others in power. Kim played a history student and the roommate of the period dramas female protagonist. The actress also appeared in the 2019 films Memories and Kyungmis World, and another JTBC drama series Human Luwak. In 2020, Kim starred in K-dramas Hi Bye, Mama! and Into the Ring. Security guards walking in a restricted area following a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Xi'an city of Shaanxi Province, China, on Dec. 22, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Dying Patients Being Denied Care in Locked-Down Xian Sparks Outrage On New Years Day in the locked-down Chinese city of Xian, a woman who was eight months pregnant miscarried while waiting in the freezing cold outside a hospital. She had been denied entry because her negative COVID-19 test result was invalid by a few hours. One hand supported her belly as she leaned on the edge of a tiny pink stool outside the Xian Gaoxin hospital. Blood trickled down, forming a small red pool at her feet. Waitwas the one-word reply from hospital officials when asked by a staff member about the woman, according to Chinese media reports. The woman was kept waiting for two hours, and when the hospital eventually relented and admitted her to emergency care, it was too late. The woman had lost her baby. Her ordeal, footage of which was posted on Chinas Twitter-like Weibo, ignited an outpouring of anger and anguish from Xian, the city that has confined all of its residents to their homes since Dec. 23 as it grapples with rising COVID-19 cases. Over the past two weeks, exasperated residents have flooded Chinese social media feeds with pleas for food and basic supplies, triggering public outrage and broadening doubts about the sustainability of the Chinese regimes two-year-long playbook of tolerating no virus cases no matter the cost, known as zero-COVID. In todays Xian, you can starve to death or get sick and die, but you cant die of COVID-19, an online commentator wrote. A truck sprays disinfectant on the street in Xian in Chinas Shaanxi Province, amid a COVID-19 lockdown, on Dec. 31, 2021. China OUT (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Dozens of stories similar to the pregnant womans have also been shared on social media. One of them was a woman whose father experienced acute chest pains on Jan. 2. She called the emergency hotline but was told they werent sure when they could arrange for an ambulance. When her 61-year-old father was allowed into the hospital eight hours later, his condition had significantly worsened. He had a tear in his aorta, a life-threatening condition; he died shortly after. I cant imagine the desperation and agony my dad went through during those last few hours of his life, she wrote. A similar death occurred when a 39-year-old man suffering a heart attack was turned away by three hospitals because he couldnt produce a negative virus testing record. At one point, he was in so much pain that he banged his head against a wall. A fourth hospital admitted him after his test results came out. By the time he was placed in a hospital bed, he was no longer breathing and had no heartbeat, a doctor told the mans friend, who recorded the conversation in a video. Meanwhile, a man with high blood pressure who gave his last name as Lin told Epoch Times sister media outlet NTD that he was blocked at the checkpoint in his neighborhood compound when he tried to get to the hospital for medication. They reluctantly let me out after I argued with them for 40 minutes, he said on Jan. 6. Vehicles had been banned, so the near-80-year-old battled dizziness to walk for 40 minutes. He arrived at the hospital with a blood pressure reading that put him at high risk for stroke. It was such torment, he said. The public pressure has forced officials to soften some of their policies. Parents of a 7-year-old with leukemia, whose stage 3 chemotherapy was delayed for a week, managed to book a hospital appointment for him after their public appeal generated wide attention. What is more horrible than death is to be in front of the hospital and waiting for death, said one Weibo user. A security guard checks information of a resident at the entrance of a residential area that is under restrictions following a recent coronavirus outbreak in Xian, in Chinas Shaanxi Province, on Dec. 23, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese authorities response has appeared to many as little more than window dressing. In the case of the pregnant woman, authorities in Xian took swift action after a video of her gathered tens of millions of views on the Chinese microblog Weibo. Two hospital department heads were fired, and a general manager was suspended from his post. City officials, after concluding an investigation, told a press conference that the incident was an accident by negligence. But the ensuing moves of Chinese censors have led some to observe that the regime seems more concerned with maintaining its image than helping anyone. The Weibo account of the womans niece, who posted the video, vanished within a day. Remarkable, wrote one Weibo user, after noticing the deletion. They can solve everything by covering peoples mouths. The daughter of the heart patient who died on Jan. 2 told NTD that Xian International Medical Center Hospital, which treated her father, had contacted her and told her not to post things at will online. The hospital didnt respond to The Epoch Times inquiry as of press time. Early on Jan. 5, some locals received an important announcement on WeChat, another popular Chinese messaging platform, warning them that their chat groups were being actively monitored, according to screenshots shared with Radio Free Asia. Rumors and outbreak-related videos were strictly banned from the chats, the announcement stated, adding that any spread of negative news would trigger an account suspension. Year 10 students wear face masks as they take part in a science class at Park Lane Academy in Halifax, northwest England, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images) Evidence on Masks in Schools Not Conclusive: UK Government The UK government has admitted that scientific evidence on the impact of using masks in schools is not conclusive, just three days after it recommended that secondary school students should wear masks inside classrooms to slow the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Face coverings are already recommended in outdoor communal areas and corridors for English pupils in year 7 and above, who are usually aged 11 and above. In its latest guidance issued on Jan. 2, the Department for Education (DfE) recommended that masks should also be worn inside classrooms when the new terms begin after the Christmas break. But an evidence review published by the DfE on Jan. 5 found that studies have provided mixed results and the evidence on the effectiveness of face coverings in education settings remains not conclusive. One of the studies mentioned in the review found that, in secondary schools where face coverings were used, the average COVID-19 absence rate fell from 5.3 percent on Oct. 1 to 3.0 percent on the third week of Octobera drop of 2.3 percentage points. In secondary schools that did not use masks, the average COVID-19 absence rate fell from 5.3 percent to 3.6 percenta fall of 1.7 percentage points. Answering questions in the House of Commons on Jan. 5, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi cited the study to show there was a greater reduction in COVID absence among schools using face coverings than those where masks were not worn. But the DfE review made it clear that the results were not statistically significant and the greater reduction in absences could be down to chance. The review also noted the negative effect of mask-wearing on learning. A DfE survey conducted in March 2021 found that, while 70 percent of pupils agreed that face coverings made them feel safe, 80 percent reported that wearing a face covering made it difficult to communicate, and 55 percent felt it made learning more difficult. Zahawi faced questions from several Conservative MPs on the mask mandate for schools. Former Brexit minister Steve Baker said that masks are an incredible inconvenience to us all and theyre an especially harsh imposition on children. Former health minister Steve Brine said he was puzzled that once again we are holding children to a different standard than we are the rest of the population. You know if masks in classrooms why not masks in every single office where people have to go to work? he asked. Zahawi admitted that the situation was not ideal and possibly distracting for children. He said the policy will remain in place for the shortest possible time and he hopes they will be able to be removed after a review of data on Jan. 26. PA Media contributed to this report. A general view of the wooden hut built by Earnest Shackleton in 1907, visited by Prince Albert Of Monaco, now kept by Dr David G Ainley in Cape Royds on January 15, 2009 in Antartica. (Monaco Palace via Getty Images) Expedition Bids to Locate Lost Ship of Polar Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton An expedition to locate the lost ship of renowned polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton will set sail 100 years after his death. The Endurance22 Expedition aims to find, survey and film the wreck of Endurance, which sank during Sir Ernests quest to Antarctica in 1915, and now lies somewhere at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. The trip gained notoriety due to icy conditions which caused the boat and crew to be trapped in sea ice for more than 10 months, before the crew successfully escaped in lifeboats and on foot. The expedition to find the ship will set off for Antarctica from Cape Town, South Africa, on February 5 one month after the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernests death. Ernest Shackletons Christmas camp on the Antarctic Plateau (Scott Polar Research Institute/University of Cambridge) Mensun Bound, director of exploration, said: We will do everything we can to survey and capture footage of Endurance and to bring the epic tale of her final voyage, and of the leadership, courage and fortitude of her crew, to people around the world. The Hon Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of Sir Ernest, said: My grandfather would have been amused and pleased that a century later there is a huge interest, and he seems to appeal to a lot of very different people. Telling the story of one of his earlier expeditions, she added: He got within 97 miles of the South Pole, he would have been the first, but he and his companions were in a bad state physically and though they probably could have staggered on, they would have died there. Port Lockroy, the first British wintering station on the Antarctic Peninsula (The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust) So, he took the decision to turn back, which I regard as one of the great decisions in polar history and one Im very proud of. He brought his men back alive. As well as being a pioneering explorer, Sir Ernest also helped to produce scientific and geological surveys, including the first survey of Antarcticas interior and effectively locating the Magnetic South Pole. Camilla Nichol, chief executive of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), said: These iconic figures like Shackleton can still inspire us all today. The decisions they made, the leadership, the courage, the endurance, these are qualities that I think we all strive to have. I think looking up to these people in the past can do us a lot of good and give us that inspiration to maybe push ourselves a little further in the future. A member of museum staff with Ernest Shackletons sledge (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Meanwhile, the only known surviving sledge from Sir Ernests British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909 has gone on display at the National Maritime Museum in London. It is the first time the 11ft sledge will have been on display to the public. Farmers Sentiment Rises Amid Surging Commodity Prices: Study Farmers are optimistic about the state of the U.S. agricultural economy moving forward, a new study has found. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer climbed by nine points in December 2021 to a reading of 125, marking only the second time that the monthly snapshot of farmer sentiment has risen since May. The Index of Current Conditions rose by 18 points to 146, and the Index of Future Expectations edged up four points to a total of 114. The past year was a terrific time for the agricultural commodities market, with wheat and corn prices rallying by double digits. These sharp gains supported the financial performance of farmers in 2021, highlighted in the Farm Financial Performance Index, which jumped by seven points to a seven-month high of 113. Although global supply chain disruptions have severely affected the agricultural sector, farmers capital investment endeavors remained intact to finish 2021. The Farm Capital Investment Index tacked on 10 points, to a reading of 49. While this was down by 47 percent from the same time in 2020, fewer producers stated that they intend to reduce their machinery acquisitions in the upcoming year. Farmers John Duffy (L) and Roger Murphy load soybeans from a grain bin onto a truck in Dwight, Ill., on June 13, 2018. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Forty-five percent of the telephone survey participants noted that low farm machinery inventory levels have contributed to their purchase plans. Excellent crop yields this fall, combined with strong crop prices, provided many producers with their most positive cash flow in recent years. That combination helps explain the year-end rise in the financial index as well as the barometer overall, James Mintert, the barometers principal investigator and director of Purdue Universitys Center for Commercial Agriculture, said in a statement. Still, U.S. farmers are worried about ballooning production costs and available supplies. The survey revealed that 47 percent of farmers listed higher costs as a chief concern, followed by environmental policy and COVID-19. More than half (57 percent) anticipate growing input prices over the next 12 months. In addition, 39 percent of farmers reported challenges in securing crop inputs from their suppliers for the 2022 season, including fertilizer, herbicides, farm machinery parts, and insecticides. Although much of the attention on increasing input costs has focused on this years dramatic rise in fertilizer prices, virtually all other input costs ranging from farm machinery to seed and fuel are on the upswing as well, the survey reads. But what are some of the broader trends and developments farmers should monitor in 2022? From Chinese Imports to Fertilizer Prices In a special presentation shared with The Epoch Times, Al Kluis, a marketing advisor and managing director for Kluis Commodity Advisors, identified four main factors to watch in 2022: South American weather, Chinas purchasing plan in 2022, U.S. planted acres, and U.S. weather in the key growing season. Throughout the pandemic, Chinese food consumption has remained strong, according to Kluis. This could benefit U.S. farmers, as Beijing is the worlds largest customer of U.S. soybeans and the second-largest importer of U.S. wheat. China has only 7 percent of the worlds arable land, but 20 percent of the worlds population. There is a serious scarcity of water to significantly increase crop production in China, he said. China is a natural resource-scarce economy that will likely always rely on imports of food and fuel, especially as the middle class grows. Despite the Chinese being a major importer of U.S. agriculture, the United States represents just one-sixth of all agricultural imports into China, leaving room for growth, Kluis said. Global fertilizer prices have soared to all-time highs over the past year, buoyed by rallying natural gas prices and escalating worldwide demand. The Green Markets North American Fertilizer Price Index skyrocketed by 165 percent in 2021. Urea rose by roughly 60 percent, liquid nitrogen jumped by about 40 percent, and potash prices picked up by 5 percent. A Chinese farmer sprays pesticide in a wheat field in Chiping County in Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China, in March. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Market analysts anticipate that fertilizer prices will climb higher in 2022 amid tightening supplies, stoking concerns about surging food prices. The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) Public Summary Medium-Term Fertilizer Outlook 20212025 estimates that global nitrogen fertilizer demand will strengthen in 2022. These rising prices could negatively affect planting and production efforts, according to the American Farm Bureau. Given all these factors, fertilizer prices are expected to remain high through springtime, which may compel some farmers to shift planted acres away from corn to commodities that use fertilizer at a lower rate, like soybeans or wheat, the farm bureau wrote. With the price of ammonia about 85% correlated with the price of corn, farmers must consider whether the increased cost of fertilizer and other inputs can be recovered by cash receipts from crop revenues in order to break even. There are also expectations retailers will have to turn customers away because they will not be able to deliver fertilizer products on time, increasing the need for supply chain and infrastructure improvements. This comes after the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that world food prices surged by 28 percent in 2021 to a decade high. While normally high prices are expected to give way to increased production, the high cost of inputs, ongoing global pandemic, and ever more uncertain climatic conditions leave little room for optimism about a return to more stable market conditions even in 2022, FAO senior economist Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement. In the first trading week of 2022, how are agricultural commodities performing so far? March wheat futures are down by 3.5 percent to $7.42 per bushel, March soybean futures are up by about 2.7 percent to $13.75, and March corn futures have jumped by 1 percent to $5.97. A guard tower flanks the sign at the entrance to the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., on March 17, 2003. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo) Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Resigning After Report Reveals Agency Is Hotbed of Abuse The director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has resigned from his job after it was revealed that more than 100 workers at the correctional agency have been arrested, convicted, or sentenced for crimes since 2019. Michael Carvajal this week said he informed Attorney General Merrick Garland that he would be leaving the role. However, Carvajal will stay on for an interim period until a replacement is found; its unclear how long that process might take. We are very appreciative of Director Carvajals service to the department over the last three decades, Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement. His operational experience and intimate knowledge of the Bureau of Prisonsthe departments largest componenthelped steer it during critical times, including during this historic pandemic. DOJ officials didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on the departure by press time. Carvajal began his career with the bureau in 1992 as a correctional officer at Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, in Texas, before working his way up to positions of leadership. He served as the assistant director for the Correctional Programs Division just before his appointment as BOP director on Feb. 25, 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak began. Carvajal has faced heavy criticism regarding his leadership of the agency amid the pandemic, which saw the tightly packed and often overcrowded prisons becoming hotspots and super-spreader areas for the virus that causes COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that inmates in jails and prisons are at higher risk of getting COVID-19 because of the inability to socially distance. An Associated Press report in November 2021 also revealed that the federal prison agency, which has an annual budget of nearly $8 billion, had seemingly ignored employee misconduct and is a hotbed of abuse, graft and corruption. Cases included a warden indicted for sexual abuse, an associate warden charged with murder, and guards taking cash to smuggle in drugs, weapons, and other things, according to the report. The report also noted that two-thirds of the criminal cases against Justice Department staff in recent years have involved federal prison workers, even as they account for less than a third of the DOJs workforce. In 2021, 28 of the 41 arrests made were of BOP employees or contractors, the report said, while five were from the FBI. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives each had two staff members arrested. The DOJ, in a statement to The Associated Press at the time, said it will not tolerate staff misconduct, particularly criminal misconduct and is committed to holding accountable any employee who abuses a position of trust, which we have demonstrated through federal criminal prosecutions and other means. However, the reports findings led to increased criticism from officials over Carvajals handling of the job, while lawmakers, including the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for his resignation. Following the AP report in November, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) had urged Garland to remove Carvajal from the role for a string of reasons, including the directors failure to protect BOP staff and inmates from the COVID-19 pandemic and failing to address chronic understaffing. It is past time for Attorney General Garland to replace Director Carvajal with a reform-minded director who is not a product of the BOP bureaucracy, Durbin said. We have a new administration and a new opportunity to reform our criminal justice system. Its clear that there is much going wrong in our federal prisons, and we urgently need to fix it. That effort must start with new leadership. Carvajal defended his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in prisons during an April 2020 interview with CNN. I dont think anybody was ready for this COVID, so were dealing with it just as well as anybody else, and Id be proud to say were doing pretty good, he said. Its easy to critique those hot spots, but we dont control that, he said. We can only control the people inside of our institutions, and we put things in place to do that. Florida Mom Whose Public Comments Opposing CRT Went Viral Starts Her Own Podcast Quisha King, the Florida mom whose public comments in opposition of Critical Race Theory (CRT) before the Duval County School Board went viral on social media, has officially launched her own podcast, The Quisha King Show. King, founder of the Mass Exodus Movement, political consultant, commentator, Moms for Liberty spokesperson, and education advocate; said her program will focus on culture, faith, and politics geared toward the next generation, pretty much all focused on children. King wants to provide parents with information from experts on issues that affect their children, such as CRT, Social Emotional Learning, Black American History, Queer Theory, pornography, and the new escalating phenomenon of transgenderism in schools. There needs to be a broader conversation about why so many girls are transitioning into boys in junior high and high school, King told The Epoch Times. Thats a cultural problem. So, looking at all of the issues going on in schools and in our society, I feel like we need to continue the conversation. But I think it has to be broadened beyond education and into culture, religion, and politics to show how all of this is affecting our children. Since the day her comments in strong opposition of CRT before the Duval County School Board gained the Florida mom national attention, King has appeared on FOX News and the Seth Leibsohn Show. She was also one of the speakers at the Pray Vote Stand Summit, an event by the Family Research Council in Leesburg, Virginia, and at the Truth & Freedom Foundation banquet in Omaha. Her opinions and activities have also been the subject of news reports for outlets such as The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, and The New York Post. It was during her comments at the Pray Vote Stand Summit that her Mass Exodus Movement was born as the decimation of parents rights regarding the care and education of their children by school officials and the entire education system was leaving parents few options in recourse. I really think at this point the only thing to do is have a mass exodus from the public school systemthats it, King said. In response, the audience gave her prolonged applause, inspiring many to rise to their feet as they cheered. King has also been interviewed several times by The Epoch Times where she offers a parents perspective on such topics as CRT, Gov. Ron DeSantis Stop W.O.K.E. Act, and the National School Board Associations assertion that the act of parents like her speaking out in opposition of CRT is a form of domestic terrorism. Asked about the optics of FBI agents descending upon school board meetings to drag parents away from podiums, King was forthright in her prediction. It will be reminiscent of using dogs and water hoses on black Americans who were fighting for civil rights, she said bluntly. Asked what inspired her to launch her own podcast King said, considering the growing engagement of parents at school board meetings over the past year, she felt like theres clearly a need for more conversation. Kings first guest was Dr. James Lindsay. Lindsay, a mathematician, author, and founder of New Discoursesa website he defines as a home for the politically homeless, especially for those who feel like theyve been displaced from their political homes because of the movement sometimes called Critical Social Justice. He is considered to be an expert on CRT, which he believes is a funnel into Queer Theory. Queer Theory is defined by LGBTQ Nation as a field of study that challenges existing traditional ideas about identity, sexuality, and genderparticularly that of heteronormativity, or the belief that heterosexuality is the natural, moral, or normal expression of sexuality. King said Queer Theory is something else we have discovered is in schools, which is why we see children being exposed to pornography in schools. King has also interviewed Corey DeAngelis, the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, the executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at Reason Foundation. King said DeAngelis, named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his work on education policy and the 2020 Buckley Award recipient from Americas Future in 2020is a huge voice in the education world. King also spoke with Lisa Logan, an expert in Social Emotional Learning. Logan recently said, Critical Race Theory and Comprehensive Sex Education are being taught under the guise of Social Emotional Learning, which King said, digs into the Marxist history and how CRT and Queer Theory impacts culture. My other guest is a teacher named Dominique Rolle, King said. She teaches Black American History in high school, and she gave me incredible insight into whats going on in classrooms. The Quisha King Show premiered Jan. 6 on Apple, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio. For those who prefer to watch as well as listen, King will also provide a video form of her podcast on her YouTube channel and will air weekly on Thursdays at 10 a.m. I hope to get even more conversations started, King said in explaining her hopes for her new podcast. I hope to get more parents aware of what our children are facing today and whats coming through culture, education, and politics. I hope to inspire people to change and to realize that these ideas are not helping our children but in fact damaging them and we have got to make a change if we care about the next generation. France Fines Google, Facebook Millions Over Tracking Consent LONDONFrench regulators on Thursday fined Google and Facebook a total of more than 200 million euros ($226 million) for not making it as easy for people to opt out of online tracking as it is for them to accept it. The CNIL data privacy watchdog said its investigations found that while the U.S. online giants gave French users a single button to immediately accept cookies, there wasnt an equally simple way for them to decline because several clicks are required to refuse all cookies. Cookies are snippets of code used to target internet users for digital ads and other purposes. European governments have stricter regulations than the United States that require websites to ask for permission before tracking a users activity. That means people face pop-up menus when they visit new websites, but theres been growing concern that many are configured to make it confusing or tedious if they dont want to give consent. Visitors to Facebook, Googles French homepage, and YouTube were being nudged to say yes, which meant they werent freely giving their consent, a violation of French data protection rules, the CNIL said. The French watchdog slapped Google with a 150 million euro ($170 million) penalty and Facebook with a 60 million euro ($68 million) fine. It also threatened daily fines of 100,000 euros if they dont make it simpler for users in France to refuse cookies within three months. Facebook, which has been renamed Meta, said its reviewing the decision and is committed to working with authorities. Our cookie consent controls provide people with greater control over their data, including a new settings menu on Facebook and Instagram where people can revisit and manage their decisions at any time, and we continue to develop and improve these controls, the company said. Google said: People trust us to respect their right to privacy and keep them safe. We understand our responsibility to protect that trust and are committing to further changes and active work with the CNIL in light of this decision. Cookies have been a longstanding source of privacy concerns because they can be employed to track users across the internet. They can be used to help remember someones website log-in details or more controversially, to record someones web-browsing history to target personalized ads. The French penalty underscores a broader shift in the digital ad industry as Google and Facebook, which dominate the market, and regulators in Europe and the United States work on phasing out more egregious data collection practices. Google has announced plans to phase out so-called third party cookies used by advertisers from its Chrome browsers, though it will still be able to track users of its own services. By Kelvin Chan District attorney candidate Alvin Bragg speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at A. Philip Randolph Square in Harlem in New York City on Nov. 1, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) George Soros Many Gifts to the Republican Party Commentary I would like to thank George Soros for raising my property values. Okay, thats a joke (sort of), but its hard to imagine, given the news reported by the NY Post WednesdayManhattan DA to stop seeking prison sentences in slew of criminal casesthat more people will not be continuing the recent trend of decamping New York for Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and a slew of other red states. In fact, it is likely to increase. Property values hereabouts will sky rocket. Thank you, George. Why am I thanking Soros? It should be obvious. The billionaires habit of opening his very deep pockets to elect woke district attorneys across the country has been remarkably successful. He, more than anyone, is personally responsible for the crime wave currently engulfing America with murder rates in our big cities the highest in decades. That, as much as anything, is sending people out of the blue states on what is called in the country classic Wagon Wheel, the Southbound Train. That the vast majority of those murders are black on black doesnt seem to have deterred George (although he surely must know it because the statistics are widely available), nor does it appear to deter Alvin Bragg, the newly elected black Manhattan DA. Theythe mayor of Chicago, the DAs of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and many othersdont seem to care about this. They apparently have other priorities. Like Black Lives Matter itself, they dont seem to think black lives actually do matter. Power (theirs) is all that matters. And that they look good. (To whom, I wonder?) The people who really do care about black lives are the people who are supposed to disdain themthe cops (many of whom are themselves black). According to the Post, one high-ranking policeman said of Braggs new dictum that his office will not seek a carceral sentence except for homicides and a handful of other felonies, It will lead to more young lives lost to gang violence and innocent people being hurt both physically and emotionally. Another added: This is outrageous. He was elected to enforce the law. If he wanted to change them, he should have run for a state office. True enough, but as some woman once said of another crime that was never punished, What difference does it make? The police have been leaving New York too. More will now. Bad, even horrific, as that is, we do have something to thank George Soros for that is considerably more important than whatever jokes we want to make about red state property values. More than anyonewith the possible exception of the current resident of the White HouseGeorge Soros will be responsible for a sweeping Republican victory in 2022 and possibly 2024. The voters certainly care about COVID, but almost as much, more when COVID dwindles, they care about public safety. And they should. If a government owes its citizens anything, it owes them not to be gunned down by criminals in the streets. Next to that, everything else is moot. By ignoring that obvious fact, SorosI have to assume inadvertentlywill have put the very people he despises back in office. So, as I said, we should thank him for it. But its also interesting to speculate on his motives. Why does he hate America so much, because that is the only explanation for supporting such policies. If you want the inner cities to remain inner cities, theres no more efficient way than to make sure crime is rampant. I imagine he wants to bring about our destruction, but for what? Some form of communism or communist globalism? The irony is that Soros first came to the worlds attention for his work to free Eastern Europe from communism. And then theres the curious tale of his lack of guilt for his and his fathers betrayal of his fellow Jews during the Holocaust. This came to a head in a famous interview on 60 Minutes that Soros himself evidently tried to have banned. You can see it here for yourself. Putting all this together is difficult. Tis, as Yule Brynner once sang, a puzzlement. What isnt so puzzling is whats happening to the once great or even greatest city of New York. Its an American and world tragedy. And given the way the citys been governed in recent years, its hard to see how it can turn around for a long time. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks at a news conference at the State Capitol in Atlanta on Nov. 6, 2020. (Dustin Chambers/Reuters) Georgia Begins Probe of Illegal 2020 Ballot Harvesting State officials in Georgia are now investigating allegations that ballot harvestinga practice thats unlawful in the statewas used widely during the November 2020 general election and the U.S. Senate runoff elections that followed two months later. The allegations originated from good-government group True the Vote, which has promised to release other information on voting irregularities in five other states. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, confirmed to John Solomon of Just the News that a probe is underway and that subpoenas from the states election board may soon follow as part of the evidence-gathering process. True the Vote, which focuses on electoral integrity issues, said in a Jan. 5 statement that following a years worth of research and analysis, the group submitted three official complaints to the Georgia Secretary of States office regarding occurrences in the 2020 General and 2021 Run-off Elections. On Jan. 3, as a result of the complaints, Raffensperger announced a statewide investigation into ballot trafficking in Georgia. True the Vote said that shockingly similar findings will soon be released to appropriate authorities in five additional states. Raffensperger fought efforts by activists, including Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias, to overturn the states ballot harvesting ban. He also clashed with then-President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2020 when he dismissed claims that fraud was widespread in the election. Raffensperger told Solomon that his office considers the allegations that it has received to be sufficiently credible to open an investigation. We do have some information, and we are going to investigate that, Raffensperger said. We did deploy drop boxes that were under 24/7 surveillance and were really just going through that. Ballot collecting, more commonly known as ballot harvesting, is when organized workers or volunteers collect absentee ballots from voters and deliver those ballots to a polling place. The tactic was thrown into the spotlight after Republicans said it helped California Democrats defeat many Republican candidates, including incumbents, turning the states congressional delegation deep blue in 2018. Critics say ballot harvesting makes it easier for the votes of illegal aliens and those not interested in the political process to be cast. Trump repeatedly denounced the practice during the 2020 campaign. Get rid of ballot harvesting, it is rampant with fraud, he wrote on Twitter in April 2020. The USA must have voter I.D., the only way to get an honest count! Half of U.S. states have laws allowing someone besides a voter to return the voters mail-in ballot, according to Ballotpedia. Democrats challenged Arizonas ban on ballot harvesting, but the Supreme Court ruled 63 in July 2021 that the prohibition didnt violate the federal Voting Rights Act, as The Epoch Times previously reported. Raffensperger also told Just the News that his office didnt review the surveillance footage from the drop boxes, but that a statistical analysis from research organization Mitre Labs found no suspicious indicators of ballot harvesting. But now that he has specific accusations in hand, his office is acting. If people give us credible allegations, we want to make sure that we do that, Raffensperger said. And we have that right now as an ongoing investigation. That will be one of the processes were looking at if we have people that dont want to come forward for whatever concern, because we really need to get to the bottom of it. We just cant let it sit there and lie. So if it comes to that, then thats probably the next step that wed be looking at. A sign outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., on May 8, 2019. (Paresh Dave/Reuters) German Cartel Office Steps up Examination of Google Products BERLINGermanys cartel office said it was examining Googles use of personal data and its Google News Showcase product under its new powers to regulate internet companies, and was also considering cases involving Amazon, Apple, and Facebook owner Meta. The regulator said on Wednesday it had determined that Googles owner Alphabet met the scale threshold required for a company to be subject to new extended supervisory powers to regulate large internet companies that it acquired last year. The Federal Cartel Office can now tackle concrete forms of behavior that harm competition, office president Andreas Mundt said. We have already started looking more intensively at Googles processing of personal data and the topic of Google News Showcase. He added that the office was also considering further cases involving Amazon, Apple, and Facebook owner Meta. A Google spokesperson expressed confidence that the company was in compliance. To the extent that changes are necessary, we will continue to work constructively with the Federal Cartel Office to find solutions that make it possible for people and businesses in Germany to continue using our products in ways that are helpful to them, said the spokesperson. The office began looking at Googles use of personal data in May last year and at the selection of news offered under Google News Showcase in June. A worker connects the battery during the assembly of an e-Golf electric car at the new production line of the Transparent Factory of German carmaker Volkswagen in Dresden, Germany, on March 30, 2017. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters) German Industrial Orders Bounce Back on Strong Foreign Demand BERLINHigher demand from abroad drove a bigger-than-expected rebound in German industrial orders in November, in rare good news for manufacturers suffering from supply bottlenecks and labor shortages in Europes largest economy. Goods orders rose 3.7 percent on the month in seasonally adjusted terms after a revised drop of 5.8 percent in October, figures from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Thursday. A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a 2.1 percent rise. The rise was driven by a surge in foreign demand for capital and intermediate goods, with orders from other euro zone countries jumping 13.1 percent and bookings from clients outside the single currency bloc up 5 percent. This provides a positive impetus for the economic outlook, although economic activity continues to be burdened by existing delivery bottlenecks, the economy ministry said. In contrast to previous months, orders for large-ticket items such as planes did not have a big impact on the headline figure in November. Excluding this special factor, industrial orders rose 3.8 percent on the month, the ministry said. The upturn in foreign business is particularly encouraging, especially since delivery bottlenecks seem to be easing, said Alexander Krueger, an analyst with private bank Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe. But Krueger cautioned that supply chain problems would likely persist well into spring, until delivery logistics functioned more smoothly again. Economic institutes expect the German economy to have shrunk in the final three months of 2021 and to stagnate in the first three months of 2022, delaying the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. By Michael Nienaber People wait in line at a testing site to receive a free COVID-19 PCR test in Farragut Square in Washington, on Dec. 28, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Global COVID-19 Cases Increased Sharply as Deaths Decrease 10 Percent: WHO Worldwide cases of COVID-19 increased sharply in the past week but the overall number of deaths dropped, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in its weekly epidemiological update on Thursday. Between Dec. 27, 2021, and Jan. 2, 2022, the number of cases increased by 71 percent compared to the previous week, according to the U.N. health agency. The number of deaths dropped by 10 percent worldwide, WHO said. This corresponds to just under 9.5 million new cases and over 41 000 new deaths reported during the last week. As of 2 January, a total of nearly 289 million cases and just over 5.4 million deaths have been reported globally, WHOs update said. While WHO didnt make mention of Omicron, its likely the newly discovered variant sparked the latest rash of infections. This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Omicron makes up about 95.4 percent of all COVID-19 cases, supplanting the previously dominant Delta strain. The drop in deaths as cases rise also suggests the Omicron variant presents milder symptoms than previous variants, including Delta. A number of recent studies have shown the strain causes fewer hospitalizations, while doctors and public health officials have said that COVID-19 hospitalization data may be skewed because people might test positive for the virus after going to the hospital for another medical issue. People queue for COVID-19 tests in Paris, on Dec. 23, 2021. (Christian Hartmann/Reuters) We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike other ones, the lungs who would be causing severe pneumonia, World Health Organization (WHO) Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud told journalists on Tuesday. However, he cautioned that more studies are needed to back up such claims. But with the drop in deaths and hospitalizations, he added, What we are seeing now is the decoupling between the cases and the deaths. The reason why, Mahamud continued, is likely because Omicron is infecting the upper respiratory tract rather than lower in the lungs, which could then cause severe pneumonia. Meanwhile, some experts have said policymakers should focus less on counting COVID-19 cases and instead focus on hospitalization or death figures. Officials should also be shifting our focus, especially in an era of vaccination, to really focus on preventing illness, disability, and death, and therefore counting those, Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, director of Columbia Universitys ICAP, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. And late last year, Ashish K. Jha, dean of Brown University and a former Harvard professor, made a similar comment during an interview with ABC. For two years, infections always preceded hospitalizations which preceded deaths, so you could look at infections and know what was coming, Jha said. Omicron changes that. This is the shift weve been waiting for in many ways. President Joe Biden in December said his administration would deploy some 500 million at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits starting in January. That notion was reaffirmed by White House press secretary Jen Psaki in remarks this week when she said that the first at-home tests would be distributed later this month. Were on track to start seeing movement on some of the awards through the RFP (request for proposals) this week, she told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. The first delivery from manufacturers will start later this month. Thats our expectation. Antifa and Black Lives Matter demonstrators protest on election night near the White House in Washington, on Nov. 3, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) Hawley Challenges Schumer, Pelosi to Disavow Antifa-Led Jan. 6 Vigil Featuring House Dems Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to repudiate a Jan. 6 vigil organized by an Antifa outfit and featuring prominent House Democrats as speakers. I call on you to condemn the leaders of the Candle Light Vigil for Democracy planned for today and to ask members in your caucuses to cancel their planned support for this event, Hawley told Schumer and Pelosi in a Jan. 6 letter. The organizers behind this event have a history of engaging in extremist tactics to interfere with workings of democracy. During a week where you have vociferously condemned those who tried to obstruct congressional proceedings last January 6th, you must also be similarly willing to call out leftist activists who have also engaged in criminal acts to interfere with democracy. The group Hawley was referencing is known as ShutDownDC, which describes itself as a group organizing strategic direct action to advance justice and hold officials accountable. Hawley told Schumer and Pelosi that the group was founded by Antifa activists who promised to burn down the American plantation. It is led by Liz Butler and Patrick Young. These individuals and Shut Down DC have engaged in calculated, unlawful harassment campaigns against many government officials, including Senator [Lindsey] Graham, Senator [Rand] Paul, and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, the letter reads. They promoted rioting during former President Trumps inauguration in 2017, when, according to news reports, rioters vandalized vehicles, smashed windows, set a limo on fire, and injured police officers. The Epoch Times asked ShutDownDC for a response to Hawleys claims, but none was received as of press time. Hawleys letter to the two Democratic leaders isnt the first time that he has tangled with ShutDownDC. In 2021, demonstrators protested outside of Hawleys suburban Virginia home in an incident that Hawley described in his letter as harassment of his wife and infant child. When she asked them to leave, they screamed threats through bullhorns, vandalized property, trespassed, and physically shoved a neighbor who asked them to stop, the letter reads. Patrick Young called that a candlelight vigil. The State of Virginia disagreed. He was charged with and pled to criminal trespass. Among the House Democrats scheduled to speak at the event were Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), according to Washingtonian. Elected officials should not partner with Liz Butler and Patrick Young or the groups they lead. If in fact you truly believe that attempts to interfere with democracy should be condemned, then you must break from your past silence and begin condemning those actions when they are committed by the left. It is imperative that you ask members of your caucus to shun groups like Shut Down DC and to cancel their plans to speak at their event, Hawley told Schumer and Pelosi. Hawley included in his letter a lengthy condemnation of what he called Democrats deafening silence when Antifa and Black Lives Matter demonstrators staged hundreds of violent demonstrations throughout summer 2020 that resulted in the deaths of nearly two dozen people, injured hundreds of law enforcement personnel, and destroyed billions of dollars worth of private property. When it comes to political violence and criminal obstruction of government by the left, the silence by Democrats has been deafening. Democrats looked the other way when Antifa rioters torched a federal courthouse in Portland, Hawley wrote. They did the same when left-wing rioters in Seattle seized power from a democratically elected government and tried to secede by creating a breakaway anarchist zone. And they did the same when hundreds unlawfully trespassed into the Senate to disrupt the nomination process of Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh and then tried to breach the Supreme Court in an attempt to prevent Justice Kavanaugh from taking his oath. Spokesmen for Schumer and Pelosi couldnt be reached for comment. A Qantas aircraft takes off from the international terminal of Sydney Airport on March 19, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images) Hong Kong Bans Flights From Eight Countries Amid Emerging Omicron Outbreak Hong Kong authorities have announced a 14-day ban on flights from eight countries, including Australia, amid the latest Omicron outbreak. Carrie Lam, the Beijing-appointed Hong Kong leader, announced on Jan.5 that incoming flights from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan will be banned from midnight on Jan. 8 until Jan. 21. This comes as new clusters of Omicron appeared in the past week, with Hong Kong recording its first local Omicron transmission on the last day of 2021, which was a breach of one of the worlds most rigid COVID-19 restrictions. The city had recorded 114 Omicron infections as of Tuesday when the first untraceable case emerged in almost three months. A total of 12,690 confirmed cases, including 213 deaths, were reported on the same day. Lam said the epidemic situation in Hong Kong had worsened sharply in the past 24 hours. As a result, the Hong Kong government has held an emergency internal meeting, believing that the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections is imminent. Were yet to see a fifth wave yet, but were on the verge, she said at a press conference, adding that people are in a race against Omicron and taking timely measures will stop the variant from spreading in Hong Kong. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam speaks during her weekly press conference in Hong Kong on Jan. 4, 2022. (Bill Cox/The Epoch Times) The government will also ban indoor dining after 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 7, and close fifteen types of listed premises for 14 days, including swimming pools, bars, fitness centres, nightclubs, beauty salons, and massage centres. Major events, non-essential gatherings, and future cruise journeys would also be cancelled from midnight on Friday. The measures announced today can be described as decisive in the two-year response to the epidemic, Lam said. We have also taken swift, precise, and ruthless measures to cut the chain of transmission in the shortest time possible. The past year has seen the international finance hubs freedom of speech and press further eroding. Over 60 pro-democracy groups, media, and trade unions were shut down by the National Security Law enacted by the Chinese Communist Party in 2020. On Dec. 29, 2021, about 200 national security police officers raided the office of Stand News and arrested six current and former executives of the media, with Carrie Lam denying that press freedom faces extinction in her city. How Progressives Are Retrogressive Commentary How often do we hear political commentators and Republican officials use the terms liberal and progressive interchangeably when discussing Democrats? Yet the meanings of the two terms could not be more different. Liberalism as a political philosophy emphasizes individual freedom, agency, and choice. Human nature, in the liberal view, is a mix of qualities: energy and sloth, selfishness and generosity, creativity and habit. Society exists to provide the maximum of freedom to individuals, with the constraints necessary to limit the encroachment of one on another. Inequality in a liberal society reflects the differences in capabilities and motivations among individuals. Liberalism favors free elections of public officials and limited government. For liberals, economics should be based on contractual relations freely entered into by producers and consumers, entrepreneurs, and labor. Progressivism emphasizes equality and rights. Human nature, in the progressive view, is basically good, with vices resulting from imperfect and oppressive social arrangements. Society is perfectible, and the perfect society is one which guarantees equality and equal rights. The economy should be owned and run collectively, by the society at large. The government must be strong, able to control all aspects of society. Political parties unjustly divide the society, and are unnecessary when the government represents all of the people. The liberal vision supports liberal democracy and capitalism, while the progressive vision supports socialism and government economic planning. Its no accident that some members of the progressive caucus in the House of Representatives are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. The caucus favors collectivism, as seen in government control of all major institutions and programs, such as welfare support, pre-schools, education, medicine, and the organization of labor. Progressives prefer government monopolies in all of these fields, which is why they oppose school choice, labor choice, and medical choice (except abortion, which they love). Progressives see liberal democracies as systems of unjust inequalities resulting from inherited privilege and oppression of the weak. Liberals see progressives as crushing individual liberty by vesting all functions in an all-powerful government, and thus favoring authoritarian rule. Progressivism rests on the idea of progress advanced by Karl Marx: a movement driven by class conflict from capitalism to socialism and then to communism. In classic Marxism, classes are defined by economic position, by control over the means of production. The bourgeois class are the owners of the means of production, and the propertyless proletariat are the workers who must live on the pay provided by selling their labor. In the classic socialist society, equality is advanced for most people, although the governing elite are all powerful and rank high above the multitude. While equality increases, and in the eyes of progressives, justice is advanced, its an equality of poverty and misery, because the all-powerful governments central economic planning fails to build the economy and stimulate innovation, motivation, and entrepreneurship. And, notwithstanding the century-long claim that real socialism has never been tried, all of the socialist societiesthe USSR, Soviet Eastern Europe, China, Albania, Cambodia, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuelawere or are oppressive authoritarian regimes and economic failures of stagnation and poverty. Progressives in North America, with the exception of old-line socialists such as Bernie Sanders, have innovated in ideology, jettisoning the economic class struggle and replacing it with identity classes: gender, race, sexuality, religion, nationality, ableness. Now its (allegedly) whites (including white adjacent Asians and hyperwhite Jews), males, and Christians who are oppressors, and people of color, women, LGBTQ++, Muslims, and the disabled who are the oppressed victims. The progressives identity class conflict has not only not led to progress in any discernible form, but also has led to social regression, resuscitating ugly forms of prejudice and discrimination while undermining public order and national sovereignty. With the social justice trinity of diversity, equity, and inclusion, progressives have returned us to the days of deep Jim Crow, with some races seen as virtuous and others as evil, the only difference being that the colors have changed. Progressive inclusion means including preferred races and genders, and excluding the others, as we see in hiring, college admissions, funding, promotions, and awards. The latest example is New York State ranking people for COVID-19 medical treatment according to their race. Equity, meaning the statistical equivalence of races and genders, in practice means more of the preferred and fewer of the despised. Objective measures, such as standardized tests, and advanced education programs, are cancelled, because they dont produce the desired equity results. Now institutionalized racism and discrimination are regarded as desirable by progressives, as long as preferred categories benefit. Because certain racial minorities are heavily overrepresented among criminals (and victims), progressives have advocated justice reform to alleviate the price that minority criminals pay. Progressives thus have advocated defunding and disbanding the police, handcuffing police operations, releasing prisoners from incarceration, a halt to holding the dangerous accused prior to trial by means of no-bail release, and district attorneys who refuse to prosecute criminals, because they view criminals as victims of society rather than as victims of their own bad choices. The result, a surprise to progressives but to no one else, is a major breakdown in public order, with violent and nonviolent crime surging, particularly in Democrat-led cities, but also more broadly. For progressives, public safety is systemic racism, so theyre happy to do without it. Even though the vast number of victims of violence are racial minorities, the progressives continue to obsess over the tiny number of police killings rather than the victims of crime. Progressives prefer criminals to victims of crime. They even encourage people to engage in illegal acts, as when they encouraged rioters in 2020 to loot, burn, and assault police, and then bailed them out until progressive district attorneys refused to prosecute them. Progressives particularly favor illegal aliens who have, uninvited and against our laws, entered the country. For progressives, illegal aliens are preferred to citizens, because many are people of color, because the country is systemically racist, and the racial balance needs to be changed in favor of people of color, and because progressives think that they can capture illegal aliens as future voters by plying them with privileges paid for by tax-paying citizens. Progressives have coddled illegal aliens with sanctuary states, cities, and universities, thus protecting the criminals among the illegal aliens, a two-for-one benefit for progressives. Progressives are not fond of fair elections, which they always have a chance of losing, so they favor electoral reform, which means a federal takeover of elections, contrary to the Constitution, and wish to remove all safeguards against illegal voting. They particularly hate the voter ID requirement, which they label voter suppression, although IDs are heavily supported by the public and in use in most democracies around the world. When progressives say voter suppression, they mean the suppression of illegal votes, such as those cast by illegal immigrants, or multiple votes by individuals, or votes inscribed by third parties. The manipulation and undermining of voting is another manifestation of progressives authoritarian tendencies. Progressives dont really like democracy; they prefer the dictatorship of the proletariat, or, in todays identity politics transformation, dictatorship of the marginalized and underserved minorities. To sum up: Liberals favor individual freedom, limited government, public safety, and national sovereignty. Progressives favor some races and genders over others, criminals over victims, illegal aliens over citizens, and authoritarian rule over democracy. Progressives are about illiberal as they could be. Dont call them liberals. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. An experimental COVID-19 treatment pill called molnupiravir being developed by Merck & Co. Inc. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, is seen in this undated photo obtained by Reuters on May 17, 2021. (Merck & Co. Inc./Handout via Reuters) India Wont Add Mercks COVID-19 Pill to National Treatment Protocol, Citing Safety Concerns Indias top health research body announced on Wednesday that it wont be adding Mercks COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir to its national treatment protocol, citing concerns over its safety. The state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said it had become aware of major safety concerns that prompted the decision, despite Indias drug regulator in December approving the drug for emergency use. It comes after France in December also canceled its order for the drug, developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, following disappointing trial data suggesting its drug was markedly less effective than previously thought. Molnupiravir has major safety concerns including teratogenicity, mutagenicity, muscle and bone damage. If this drug is given, contraception must be done for three months as the child may have problems, ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava told local media on Wednesday. Bhargava noted that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for Mercks COVID-19 pill based on 1,433 patients with a 3 percent reduction in moderate disease when given in mild cases. Members of the FDAs Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee in November voted 13 for and 10 against the emergency use authorization for molnupiravir, agreeing with the idea that the drugs benefits outweigh its potential risks, including concerns about potential birth defects. However, we must remember that this drug has major safety concerns, Bhargava said, adding that the drug causes teratogenicity, or the ability to cause defects in a developing fetus, mutagenicity, or permanent transmissible changes in the structure of genetic material of cells, cartilage damage, and can also be damaging to muscles. Moreover, Bhargava said contraception would also have to be given to individuals who take the drugregardless of whether they are male or female because the child born could be problematic with teratogenic influences. The WHO has not included it, the UK has not included it as of now. As of now, the current recommendation stands that it is not part of the national taskforce treatment, Bhargava said. However, Bhargava said that experts will continue to discuss the potential use of the treatment in the country, where virus case numbers are currently surging. Molnupiravir is intended for use at home by adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of developing severe disease. The drug is taken orally in pill form, twice a day for five days, within five days of symptoms onset. Both FDA staff scientists and Merck have suggested the drug should not be recommended during pregnancy. Company studies in rats showed that the drug caused birth defects when given at very high doses. FDA staffers concluded the data suggest that molnupiravir may cause fetal harm when administered to pregnant individuals. Merck says that there is no available human data on the use of molnupiravir in pregnant individuals to evaluate the risk of major birth defects, miscarriage or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Around 13 Indian companies, including Cipla, Sun Pharma, and BDR, are manufacturing molnupiravir. Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddys Laboratories was set to roll out a generic version of the oral antiviral medication starting from next week at an extremely affordable treatment rate of 1,400 rupees ($18.84), 37 times cheaper than in the United States. The Epoch Times has contacted Dr. Reddys Laboratories and Merck for comment. The logo of Amazon is pictured inside the company's office in Bengaluru, India, on April 20, 2018. (Abhishek N. Chinnappa/Reuters) Indian Court Halts Amazon, Future Arbitration in Blow to US Giant NEW DELHIA Delhi court has halted arbitration proceedings between Indian conglomerate Future Group and its estranged U.S. partner Amazon.com in light of the national antitrust agencys suspension of a 2019 deal between the two sides. The decision on Wednesday is a setback for U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon, which had successfully used the terms of its 2019 investment in a Future unit to block the Indian companys attempt to sell retail assets to a rival. But after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) suspended the 2019 deal last month, citing suppression of information by Amazon while seeking clearances, Future argued there was no legal basis for the arbitration between the two sides to continue in Singapore. A two-judge bench led by Chief Justice D. N. Patel of the Delhi High Court agreed with Futures arguments, putting the arbitration proceedings on hold. If the proceedings are not halted, Justice Patel said this would cause an irreparable loss to Future. We hereby stay further proceedings of arbitral tribunal till next date of hearing, said Patel, adding the court will reconvene on Feb. 1 to hear the case again. Future and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment. A woman shops inside the Big Bazaar retail store in Mumbai, India, on Nov. 25, 2020. (Niharika Kulkarni/Reuters) A source familiar with the case said that Amazon was likely to legally challenge the Delhi High Courts decision. The long-running dispute is being heard by a Singapore arbitration panel, but the so-called seat of the arbitration is New Delhi, meaning proceedings are governed by Indian law. Amazon has long argued that Future violated the terms of its 2019 deal in deciding to sell retail assets to market leader Reliance Industries, and the U.S. companys position had so far been backed by the Singapore arbitrator and Indian courts. Future denies any wrongdoing. The dispute over Future Retail, which has more than 1,500 supermarkets and other outlets, is a flashpoint between Jeff Bezos Amazon and Reliance, run by tycoon Mukesh Ambani, as they try to gain the upper hand in Indian retail. Future had approached the Delhi High Court after the Singapore arbitration panel did not agree to its immediate demands to terminate the proceedings after antitrust suspension of the 2019 deal. Amazon has said it will legally challenge the CCIs suspension of the 2019 deal. Future has said it is staring at liquidation if the Reliance asset sale deal fails after its retail businesses were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. By Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy Indiana Lawmakers Seek Federal Constitutional Convention to Keep Supreme Court at 9 Members A committee of the Indiana legislature approved a resolution on Jan. 5 calling for a federal constitutional convention to amend the Constitution to hold the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine. Defenders of the Supreme Court say the institution is functioning as its supposed to, although Democrats in the nations capital continue to press to pack the high court so it wont hinder possibly unconstitutional left-wing legislation aimed at transforming the country. When former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, tried to pack the court to clear the way for his controversial New Deal, the idea was met with backlash, and he withdrew the proposal. A presidential commission wrapped up in December 2021, refusing to endorse adding extra seats to the court. Its report stated that there is profound disagreement among commissioners on these issues. The proposal, known as Senate Joint Resolution 3, was sponsored by state Sen. James Buck, a Republican, and was approved 74 by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Buck presented the draft proposal at a recent meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council, stating that it could be used in legislatures nationwide. The resolution directs Congress to call a constitutional convention under Article V of the Constitution for the purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to fix the membership of the United States Supreme Court at nine justices, according to a legislative summary. The number of Supreme Court justices is currently fixed by statute. Supporters of the amendment say that inserting the numerical limit into the Constitution would make it very difficult in the future for the number to be changed and that this would have a salutary effect on the nations government. Amendments to the Constitution have been relatively rare, and a state-convened convention to propose amendments has never taken place, yet the Constitution itself allows for modifications, and some statesmen have argued that the amendment process can help if the nation begins to become disordered. The late Justice Joseph Story said Article V of the Constitution (which details the ways that the Constitution can be amended) serves as a safety valve for U.S. society. Buck said he agrees with late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal jurist who died in September 2020, who opposed court-packing because she believed that the court would be viewed as political. I have heard that there are some people on the Democratic side who would like to increase the number of judges, Ginsburg said. I think that was a bad idea when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to pack the court. Nine seems to be a good number, and its been that way for a long time. The proposal was criticized at the Indiana committee meeting, according to a report from The Statehouse File. State Sen. Greg Taylor, a Democrat, noted that a previous proposal from Senate leadership had failed. Sen. Buck, it seems like, what do they call that movie, Groundhog Day? It seems like Ive seen this before, Taylor said. State Sen. Timothy Lanane, another Democrat, said he feared the resolution could lead to a runaway convention that could make massive changes to the Constitution. State Sen. Aaron Freeman, a Republican, disagreed with the criticisms of the proposal. I dont think theres anything about Sen. Bucks resolution that is political, Freeman said. The Epoch Times reached out to Bucks legislative office in Indianapolis for comment, but an aide said he wasnt immediately available. Judges attend a trial hearing of suspected militant Arif Sunarso, who is better known as Zulkarnaen and remotely appeared in the trial, at East Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 5, 2022. (Arie Firdaus/ AP Photo) Indonesian Prosecutors Seek Life for Bali Bombing Suspect JAKARTA, IndonesiaIndonesian prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a life sentence for a top terror suspect who eluded capture for 18 years and accused him of masterminding a series of deadly attacks in the worlds most populous Muslim nation. Aris Sumarsono, 58, whose real name is Arif Sunarso but is better known as Zulkarnaen, sat impassively as the prosecution announced the sentencing demand before a panel of three judges in East Jakarta District Court in a session that was held remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Police and prosecutors say Zulkarnaen is the former military commander of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian militant group with ties to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The group is widely blamed for attacks including the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, as well as attacks in the Philippines. Zulkarnaen had eluded capture for 18 years after being named a suspect in the October 2002 suicide bombings of Paddys Pub and the Sari Club in Bali. He was arrested last year in Lampung, a province on the southern tip of Sumatra. Police were tipped off to his hideout after interrogating several suspected militants arrested in earlier raids. Zulkarnaen argued that he was a leader of the networks military wing but was not involved in the operation of the Bali bombings, as he was focused on organizing his squad for sectarian conflicts in Ambon and Poso and in the southern Philippines. During his trial, which began in September, other convicted militants in the 2002 Bali bombings, including Umar Patek and Ali Imron, who was sentenced to 20 years and life in jail, respectively, supported Zulkarnaens claim, saying he knew about the plot but did not play a role in its operation. The sentencing demand was initially scheduled for Nov. 24 but was postponed several times. State prosecutor Agus Tri told the court that Zulkarnaens acts had resulted in deaths and injuries and that there was no reason for leniency. The defendant was involved in the Bali bombings plan, he told the court. He also instructed his groups special forces led by him to save Jemaah Islamiyahs assets, including weapons and explosives. Police previously said Zulkarnaen masterminded church attacks that occurred simultaneously in many Indonesian regions on Christmas and New Years Eve in 2000 that killed more than 20 people. He was also the mastermind of a bomb attack on the official residence of the Philippine ambassador in Jakarta in 2000 that killed two people, and the architect of sectarian conflict in Ambon and Poso from 1998 to 2000. The image of suspected militant Arif Sunarso who is better known as Zulkarnaen appears on a video screen via remote video link during his trial hearing at East Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 5, 2022. (AP Photo) Conflicts between Christians and Muslims in Ambon, the provincial capital of the Molluca islands, left more than 5,000 people dead and half a million displaced. The Muslim-Christian conflict in Poso, known as a hotbed of Islamic militancy on Indonesias Sulawesi island, killed at least 1,000 people from 19982002. Zulkarnaen, a biologist who was among the first Indonesian militants to go to Afghanistan in the 1980s for training, was an instructor at a military academy there for seven years, Indonesian police said. Since May 2005, Zulkarnaen has been listed on an Al-Qaeda sanctions list by the U.N. Security Council for being associated with Osama bin Laden or the Taliban. The Security Council said that Zulkarnaen, who became an expert in sabotage, was one of Al-Qaedas representatives in Southeast Asia and one of the few people in Indonesia who had had direct contact with bin Ladens network. It said that Zulkarnaen led a squad of fighters known as the Laskar Khos, or Special Force, whose members were recruited from among some 300 Indonesians who trained in Afghanistan and the Philippines. Zulkarnaen was appointed the head of Camp Saddah, a military academy in the southern Philippines established for fighters from Southeast Asia, the Security Council said. He spent a decade at the camp training other Jemaah Islamiyah members. He became operations chief for Jemaah Islamiyah after the arrest of his predecessor, Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, in Thailand in 2003. The United States Rewards for Justice program had offered a bounty of up to $5 million for his capture. He was the only Indonesian on the list. Zulkarnaens next hearing is set for Jan. 12, when he and his lawyers will respond to the prosecution. By Niniek Karmini It Pays to Be an Activist Commentary Do you recall the shrieking undergrad at Yale, the one yelling at professor Nicholas Christakis on the quad? As the professor spoke calmly to dozens of students surrounding him, at one point, she commanded him to shut up, tossed a few f-words at him, and wondered how he ever got his faculty post in the first place. Some in the group appeared to be livid over an email sent by his wife, a lecturer at Yale, telling students to ease up on the cultural appropriation sensitivities as Halloween approached. (The Christakises were faculty residents in student housing.) The video of the event shows a crybullying struggle-session process at work, and the inability of the professor to stop it. Across the country, as the video circulated across the internet, people were amazed that undergraduates spoke to distinguished Ivy League professors that way. It wasnt so long ago that an action such as this one would draw an expulsion of the student the very next day. But that didnt happen here. First, the Christakises sent out a letter of apology to students, regretting the offense they had caused. As for the students, well, here is how The Wall Street Journal described the fate of two of them. Instead of handing out punishments, Yale gave these prominent Christakis critics its Nakanishi Prize, which rewards students who have provided exemplary leadership in enhancing race and/or ethnic relations at Yale College. The university hailed one of them as a fierce truthteller focused on issues of land usage, cooperative economies, and reparations in the American South. The other one, a sociology and education studies major, was cited for having worked to improve Yales racial and ethnic relations through his academic work, whatever that means. As for the student who went on the tirade against Christakis, she is now at a distinguished law school in the Northeast, enjoying a diversity fellowship and leading a Women of Color group. This is no surprise. I saw the pattern while researching my new book, The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth to Dangerous Adults, which documents how bitter and disappointed millennials become a few years after graduating from college. Within that pattern lay a paradox, however: The most miserable and victimized social justice warriors often end up with extraordinary support and success. They speak of their troubles, the pain theyve endured in a racist, sexist society, but have managed to compile impressive resumes and elite contacts. The student body president eager to stamp out patriarchy lands in a not-for-profit foundation with a mountainous endowment, her job being to push for womens rights through international organizations such as the United Nations. The undergraduate who headed a students of color association gets an internship with a Democrat in the state capitol or on the Hill. And, of course, corporate America and academia and state governments need diversity consultants. Who better to fill the post than a young activist with institutional experience and protest cred? When I was in college in the 1980s, there were a few of these warrior-types around, people fuming over nuclear weapons and energy, divestment from Israel and South Africa, and the United States in Central America (those were the going topics I recall). They staffed tables along Bruin Walk, calling to passersby, but few responded. They had their roles in the undergraduate world, but we expected theyd have nowhere to go once their four years had passed and the real world beckoned. The business world wouldnt want them, nor would government bureaucracies, nor academia save for a few spots in social welfare departments and the studies programs. It was a loser pathway. Not anymore. Social justice has become a career, a promising one. Take a look at the material success of the founders of Black Lives Matter, or the salaries of diversity deans, or the money critical race theory advisers make. Every business that goes woke has to hire a few of them, while wealthy foundations give them fellowships and grants, such as the Ford Foundations massive bankrolling of numerous organizations devoted to inclusive democracy. And the job market looks good, toovery good. According to a 2018 study, the University of Michigan employs fully 93 diversity administrators. This means that the young activist crowd is here to stay, at least for the near future. It doesnt matter that the American people cant stand them. Ordinary citizens find them obnoxious, pampered, selfish, entitled, and dictatorial, but they hardly notice. When opportunities are plentiful, when the best universities and richest foundations approve of you, these angry kids can easily turn their unpopularity into the virtue of martyrdom. They have a place among the elite; the elite have made a special place for them. Its a bubble, yes, but a comforting one. One wonders, however, what will happen to them as the years pass. At the beginning, the actions are exhilarating. A march on the college presidents office, a bonfire on the day Donald Trump won. They put these 19-year-olds at the center of history for a few electrifying hours. But after they graduate and start work, how many times does it take for the actions to become routine? Theyre stuck with the habitit has worked too well for them to change course. But when it becomes a job, a policy, and a program conducted year after year, a 9-to-5 execution, how can they maintain the thrill? Moral righteousness helps, but the movement feeling, the revolutionary mood, doesnt last, and thats a comedown. Labor turns into a search for villains, racists, and sexists, and phobes who will give life moral meaning once more. Donald Trump was a blessing, a figure whom they could distort into an old-fashioned, power-mad bigot, a sure sign that activists are still crucial to social well-being in America. Its a game that gets more empty every year. The evidence against President Trump was nonexistent, as was the proof of systemic racism, an epidemic of transphobic violence, and all the other wild leftist allegations. Still, as I said, the young social justice warrior is a permanent feature of the American landscape. The colleges produce them and the employment pipeline rewards them. Im glad I retired from the American higher education system when I did. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Italy Is Making COVID-19 Vaccines Mandatory for Everyone Aged 50 and Older The Italian government announced it will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for people aged 50 and older starting next month. We want to slow down the growth of the contagion curve and push Italians who still arent vaccinated to do so, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement from his office. We are acting in particular on age groups that are most at risk of hospitalization, to reduce pressure on hospitals and save lives. On Jan. 4, about 170,000 new infections were confirmed in the country of 59 million people, according to John Hopkins University data. Todays measures aim to keep our hospitals functioning well and, at the same time, keep open schools and business activities, Draghi told the cabinet, the prime ministers spokesperson quoted him as saying. Some 78 percent of Italys population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. About 36 percent have obtained a booster dose. Although some studies and health officials have suggested that COVID-19 vaccines can lessen the severity of the disease, data has shown that the Omicron variant is infecting fully vaccinated individuals worldwide. For example, about half of Omicron cases in a Texas hospital system are among those who are fully vaccinated, a study published earlier this week showed. And an investigation of nearly 12,000 Danish households in mid-December revealed that Omicron was 2.7 times to 3.7 times more infectious than the Delta COVID-19 variant among vaccinated Danes. That study was published by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Statistics Denmark and Statens Serum Institut, who concluded the variant is spreading more rapidly because it is able to evade vaccine-derived antibodies. Draghis government did not say whether there would be any penalty handed down to older Italians who choose to remain unvaccinated. Its also not clear if the government will propose even more vaccine mandates if the current plan fails to stop the spread of COVID-19. Health Minister Roberto Speranza told reporters Wednesday that anyone 50 or older will be checked to determine if they have a super green pass before they go to work, according to The Associated Press. The rule will be imposed starting Feb. 15. We are making these choices in order to restrict the unvaccinated as much as possible, as this is what is causing the burden on our hospital system, Speranza told media outlets. Ministers from the League party issued a statement criticizing the over-50 vaccine mandate, calling it without scientific foundation and noted that the absolute majority of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are well over 60 in Italy. People take part in a protest against the vaccine passport system in central Rome on Oct. 9, 2021. ( TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images) There have also been widespread protests across Italy against the mandating of vaccines for many months now amid support from other segments of the community. Several weeks ago, Austria has announced plans to make vaccination mandatory for anyone over aged 14 years old starting from next month. In Greece, it will be compulsory for anyone over 60 to get the vaccine. Reuters contributed to this report. Police release tear gas into a crowd during clashes at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) Jan. 6 Narrative Depends on Who Tells the Story Attendees say its important to understand what really happened that day Protesters. Insurrectionists. White supremacists? The thousands of Americans who went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and their intentions on that day, have been described in many ways. Were they there to: Have their voices heard. Register concern over election accuracy. Overthrow the government? The narrative of that day depends on who is telling the story. The loudest narrative, the one that demonizes attendees, comes from the federal government, politicians, and many media outlets. The people who can best tell the other side of the story are still suffering the consequences from that day. Four people, all Donald Trump supporters, died. Some attendees are still in prison, some have been getting visits from the FBI, others have had their reputations smeared for attending. Rick Saccone and his wife rode a bus filled with Pennsylvanians to Washington in support of Trump. He says it was mostly senior citizens peacefully demonstrating. People were dancing, singing, and one man dressed like Uncle Sam was walking on stilts in the crowd, Saccone told The Epoch Times. They had no knowledge of violence until they got back on the bus toward home. Rick Saccone (Courtesy Rick Saccone) Saccone of Allegany County is a former Pennsylvania state legislator, retired Air Force officer, and current candidate for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor. His attendance in Washington on Jan. 6 is low-hanging fruit for media outlets wishing to impose an unflattering lens on his campaign, but he is not bothered by their efforts. You have the media twisting this story. It is a deflection of what happened in Portland and Seattle. That is the definition of an insurrection, and nothing has happened with that, he said of rioters who attacked federal buildings in those cities and tried to set them on fire. Since Jan. 6, there have been investigations, calls for the public to turn in attendees, home visits from the FBI, arrests, and long prison stays. It has a chilling effect on the First Amendment, and we cant have that in this country, Saccone said. We have the right to challenge our political leaders. All those First Amendment rights are being challenged by a small minority of left-wing media that are monopolizing the narrative, which is why we have to speak out and correct the narrative. Saccone says too many people, including elected Republicans, are cowering in fear. Were going to tell the truth about Jan. 6 and flip the narrative. Our founders didnt cower in fear; they stood up for their rights, Saccone said. The truth is, a half million people exercised their First Amendment rights. The ones who got violent, he says, were not true Trump supporters. Political Prisoner Ned Lang of Sullivan County, New York, has not seen his son Jake Lang, 26, since Christmas, 2020. Jake has been in prison since Jan. 13, 2021, charged with assaulting a police officer on Jan. 6. Jake Lang (Courtesy Ned Lang) When Ned first heard the charges, he was so disappointed that he refused to speak to his son. He didnt raise him that way and figured, you do the crime, you do the time. But Jake begged his dad to hear his story. He said, Please, dad, just look at the videos. I saved this mans life. I was there when Roseanne Boyland died. The police attacked us. We werent doing anything wrong. They attacked us for no reason, Ned relayed to The Epoch Times. It is difficult to discern what is happening in the videos which can be seen online at j6truth.org. The Capitol Police did not respond to a request for comment for this story. It is clear that Boyland, 34, was on the ground. In media reports, Capitol Police say she was being trampled, police went into the crowd to save her and were attacked by protesters. Protesters say she was beaten by police with a baton and they were trying to stop police. Ultimately, law enforcement dragged her into the Capitol building and she died. Her death was blamed on a drug overdose but her family has publicly questioned the cause. Jake was among those who intervened. After the rally, he went home to Orange County, New York, where, on the evening of Jan. 13, around 15 federal agents broke in his door and arrested him. My son has not had a haircut, no shave, in a year, Ned said. He is Jewish and has not been allowed to go to synagogue. Ned saw his son during a September court bail hearing. He described his sons condition as thin with a scraggy beard that touches his chest, and hair down below his collar. Jake has not been offered bail yet. He has been offered a deal that includes 10 years in prison. Were not doing that, Ned said. You have all these folks (in Portland, Seattle and the summer riots in Washington D.C.) that were actually attacking cops, trying to burn down federal buildings, and all the horrible things that they were doing. And my son and the rest of the J6 patriots are being harshly persecuted by the same folks that are letting all these other folks just walk after doing the same type of crimes, or worse. My son was in 202 days of solitary confinement, Ned said. The water in solitary was so dirtyso rustythat he had to strain the water with a sock in order to be able to drink it or use it at all. It was pure brown and full of dust. He was in total isolation. Just before the rally this summer, the whole patriot unit was locked in the cells for 24/7 for two weeks. Prisoners at the Correctional Treatment Facility in Washington D.C. are able to communicate with family through electronic tablets, although Jake has not had communication privileges for a few weeks recently, Ned said. He is proud of Jake for standing up and enduring this pain, with the knowledge that, one day, they will be able to tell the true story what happened on Jan. 6. I dont care what side of politics you are on. It is not OK for any government to simply pick you up off the street with whatever charges they want to put against you, and purposely not give you bail, Ned said. Right now, theres bail reform going on throughout the whole United States and these people are being politically persecuted because theyre Trump supporters and thats not OK. Today, its our sons and daughters. Tomorrow when you have a different government with a different political philosophy, it could be your sons and daughters. As Putin said so famously, For the first time ever, America has political prisoners. America no longer has a high ground to justify punishing another country because of political persecution of their citizens, as America now is doing the same thing, he said. No Insurrection After the 2020 election, Guy and Nicole Reffitt of Collin County, Texas mulled over what to do to make their voices heard. Not just in regard to Stop the Steal but stop stealing our democracy, Nicole told The Epoch Times. We made the decision to go to D.C., because we felt like it was a numbers gamethat we had to show up in numbers. It is our duty as Americans, when we see an issue that is plaguing our democracy, to show up. To be idle will kill our country. And we just felt that it was time. If it wasnt us, who is it going to be? Guy and Nicole Reffitt (Courtesy Nicole Reffitt) But Nicole had to work, so Guy, her husband of 21 years, drove from Texas to the Jan. 6 rally without her. As usual, Guy 49, brought his guns, which he typically carries everywhere. Nicole says he is well versed in the rules. While in Washington, his guns were left secured in his vehicle at the hotel parking lot with the ammunition and guns stored separately. He attended the rally and was on to the Capitol steps but never went inside, Nicole said. He returned home without incident. But a family member started political conversations with Guy and secretly recorded him, and then shared the recordings with the FBI, Nicole said. Court papers say he told his kids that if they turned him in to the FBI, they would be traitors and, You know what happens to traitors, they get shot. This got him charged with obstruction of justicehindering communication through physical force or threat of physical force, court papers show. He was also charged with transporting firearms with intent to unlawfully use the firearms. Between the hours of 5 and 6 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 16, the FBI raided our home with flashbangs and a counterterrorism unit, Nicole said. They removed me and my teenage daughter and two of her friends and put us behind the battering ram truck. They then took Guy and other than one brief moment at a court hearing when he was still in Dallas, that was the last time I saw my husband. It has been 350 days since Ive seen him. Hes been denied bail every time for being a danger to the community. Guy has no prior criminal charges against him ever. Guy works in the Texas energy sector and Nicole is in retail. He was the main breadwinner. Without his paycheck, they couldnt keep his truck. At the end of December, the family had just $134 and Nicole didnt know how she was going to make the January rent. She and her daughter, 24, have been working as many hours as possible to make ends meet. Since Christmas Day, Guy and others being held in connection with Jan. 6 have been locked in their cells for 22 hours a day, Nicole said. He went for 11 months without a haircut or shave, from January to December, but one day last month they took him out of his cell and cut his hair. Hes being punished for something that he hasnt even been convicted of yet, Nicole said. And it goes against everything I feel inside of me not to scream at the top of my lungs at everybody about what is happening because it doesnt even matter at this point what political aisle youre on; whats happening is just complete injustice. And if theyre going to punish us for using our First Amendment rights, if theyre going to punish us because were conservatives, they will do that to any other person. If youre not with their status quo, you are going to be punished, and that is the point that theyre making with our patriots that are being detained now. Theres no insurrection. No one has been charged with insurrection, so that is just a falsity, Nicole said. That is just a word they keep pushing into peoples faces. The assault on our democracy has been going on for years. Theyve chipped away at our freedoms. The American people can only take so much and if you just keep complying, you keep allowing them to bend our Bill of Rights, theyre going to have complete control over our country, she said. The fortitude of our election integrity should be foremost in any free country. And to not even pause to say, Lets take a look at this, just proves that the people in power, at this point, do not care if they lie to us, or what they do. Theyre going to keep pushing the narrative that they want. The majority of the people that were there love our country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (R) hold a bilateral meeting at the G7 foreign ministers summit in Liverpool, north-west England, on Dec. 11, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) Japan, US Ministers to Hold Two-Plus-Two Talks on Friday TOKYOJapans foreign and defence ministers will hold talks with their U.S. counterparts in a two-plus-two format on Friday to discuss security issues, Japans Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The announcement of the discussions by the two key allies came just hours after North Korea conducted an apparent ballistic missile launch. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi will hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin via video link on Friday, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Discussions will centre around the overall security situation faced by the two allies as well as those concerning a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added. By Elaine Lies LA City Charges Woman for Impersonating Labor Investigator LOS ANGELESLos Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced charges on Jan. 6 against a woman who allegedly posed as a labor investigator and issued citations to business owners. According to the City Attorneys Office, Nyesha Monique Elam conducted inspections at businesses across the Los Angeles area and demanded payment for labor violations and labor informational posters though she did not work for the state or have the authorization to issue citations or collect civil penalties for labor code violations. Elam could not immediately be reached for a response. Impersonating a state investigator and attempting to collect bogus fines from hardworking and responsible business owners is reprehensible, Feuer said. Every business owner must be able to trust that when someone reaches out to them on behalf of a local, state, or federal office, it is legitimate. Its tough enough to run a business today. Well do all we can to prevent anyone who owns a business from being taken advantage of. The City Attorneys office said that Elam has already been arraigned but did not enter a plea. She faces a maximum of one and a half years in jail and $12,500 in fines. The investigation into Elam began in May 2020 after the Labor Commissioners Criminal Investigation Unit received a report from a business owner. The unit on Thursday warned business owners about misleading notices with demands for payment that come from the following private companies: Labor Law Poster Service, Labor Law Compliance Service, Labor Compliance Services, and California Regulations of Labor Laws. These companies are not affiliated with the state and are not authorized to issue civil penalties or charge fees on behalf of California. Official state investigators will never ask to collect for violations on site or take money in lieu of issuing a citation, said Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower. Individuals who pose as a California labor investigator undermine the trust my staff builds with the public that is needed to do our work. Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin attends Venice Family Clinic Hosts 37th Annual Silver Circle Gala: Honoring Ivy Kagan Bierman and Russel Tyner at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 25, 2019. (John Sciulli/Getty Images for Venice Family Clinic) LA Controller Ron Galperin Announces Run For State Controller LOS ANGELESLos Angeles Controller Ron Galperin launched his campaign Jan. 6 for state controller with an endorsement from current State Controller Betty Yee, who is leaving the position due to term limits. I am pleased to endorse Ron Galperin for state controller, Yee said. As Los Angeles controller, Galperin has demanded the kind of accountability, transparency and equity our state needs. Galperins experience and accomplishments leading government reform and innovation will help realize a California that works for everyone. Galperin has served as Los Angeles controller since 2013. Along with serving as the citys paymaster, he conducts performance audits of city departments. In the last year, Galperin has audited and made recommendations on ways to improve the citys 311 program with a customer-first approach, ways to improve the citys program for repairing sidewalks, and called for further oversight on Los Angeles Fire Department overtime requests at COVID-19 testing sites. Galperin also launched a data portal to help Angelenos keep track of how the city spends tax dollars on goods, services, and salaries. I am honored to have Controller Betty Yees support and excited to jumpstart my campaign for state controller, Galperin said. As our states next controller, I intend to fight for every Californian and to assure that public dollars are spent transparently, effectively and equitably. I will expand financial literacy for every resident, track every dollar spent and create publicly accessible dashboards, maps and tools to make government accountable. The state controller oversees Californias $262 billion budget and payroll for 235,000 state employees. The primary election will be held on June 7, followed by the general election on Nov. 8. Galperins opponents include Republican Lanhee Chen and Democrats Malia Cohen and Yvonne Yiu. Members of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) and the Los Angeles Services Authority travel to connect with the homeless population in Malibu, Calif., on Sept. 23, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) LA Sheriff, Police Report Hundreds of Staff in Quarantine Los Angeles law enforcement agencies reported that hundreds of officers and staff were quarantined this week after testing positive for COVID-19. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said 573 personnel were quarantined, with five of those in the hospital. Thats a big chunk of people, Villanueva said on a Facebook livestream Jan. 5. Its not close to what we had last year with the Delta variant, so this is good news. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) The sheriff also reported that 2,913 inmates were quarantined throughout the countys jail facilities. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), which has about 9,500 sworn officers, reported that 500 officers were staying home after testing positive for the virus. One employee was hospitalized and in extremely grave condition, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said during a press conference Jan. 6. Moore said that the average time for employees to return to work was about three weeks. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti assured the public that the departments remained at adequate staffing levels. We have maintained staffing levels to make sure you, your family, and our communities are safe, Garcetti said at a Jan. 6 press conference. The police chief said emergency services were up and running. I want to stress to Angelenos that 911 services are up, Moore said. Our workforce of 911 operators are there at our two centers. We are by the support of the mayors office staffing additional seats there on an overtime basis to cover for the 61 individuals who have tested positive and are currently quarantined. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) also reported that 300 of its nearly 3,800 employees were off duty because of the virus. Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said fire stations remain open, but some have fewer resources, with some ambulances and fire engines not being used. Our response times have been impacted by our lack of staffing due to COVID, Terrazas said. Los Angeles police chief Michel Moore speaks at Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in Los Angeles, on June 5, 2020. (Mark J. Terrill/ File/AP Photo) About five out of every six LAFD and LAPD employees are vaccinated, Garcetti said. About 41 employees are on leave for not reporting their COVID-19 vaccination status to the county, and 374 employees have submitted exemption requests. About 2,000 police employees have filed religious exemption requests, according to Moore. These are big numbers, numbers that are reflecting the staffing challenges that all of us face, whether its in the private sector, the public sector, and across all of our city departments, Garcetti said. The mayor said the city is taking additional measures to ensure public safety needs are met, including authorizing more overtime funds to pay for employees who cover the shifts left open by sick personnel. City News Service contributed to this report. Malaysia Mandates Booster for People Over 60 and Those Fully Vaccinated With Sinovac Malaysias government has mandated COVID-19 booster shots for individuals aged 60 and above, as well as those who are fully vaccinated with Chinas Sinovac in order to keep their fully vaccinated status amid a rise in the countrys Omicron cases. Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced on Dec. 16 that all these individuals must take their booster shot by February 2022 or risk of losing their fully vaccinated status. If they do not get booster doses after February 2022, vaccination status will be deemed not fully vaccinated. They will not be eligible for the facilities provided to those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Khairy said in a statement. Khairy on Dec. 28 cited the higher efficacy rate of Pfizer and AstraZeneca boosters against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The ministrys suggestion is first choice Pfizer and second choice AstraZeneca. Sinovac will only be given if you are contraindicated against Pfizer and AstraZeneca, he said, state media Bernama reported. The booster requirement is in line with the World Health Organizations (WHO) proposal and was approved by Malaysias COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force Booster on Dec. 8, he stated. Omicron was classified as a variant of concern by the WHO due to concerns that it could become more contagious and evade the protection of existing vaccines. Malaysia detected a total of 122 Omicron cases as of Jan. 4, 117 of which were imported, while the remaining five cases were locally transmitted, according to the ministrys statement. More than half of the countrys total Omicron cases were umrah pilgrims, prompting the government to suspend umrah trips to Saudi Arabia from Jan. 8 until further notice. All returning pilgrims will also be required to undergo a seven-day quarantine period at designated places. A lot of these returning umrah pilgrims had requested to undergo home quarantine for the seven days, but they had failed to observe it strictly, leading to their family members, neighbors, and relatives being infected when they visited them, Khairy said on Jan. 1, Free Malaysia Today reported. The government has also shortened the interval for the administration of the booster shots to three months to curb the spread of Omicron within the country. Previously, the booster interval was fixed at six months, although Sinovac recipients were allowed to get their booster shots three months after receiving their second vaccine dose due to data indicating a lower efficacy. Willie Stokes smiles after getting out of a state prison in Chester, Pa., on Jan. 4, 2022. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo) Man Free After 37 Years Due to Sex for Lies False Witness PHILADELPHIAA Philadelphia man was freed from prison Tuesday after 37 years in a case marred by detectives who allegedly offered a witness sex and drugs at police headquarters in 1983 in exchange for false testimony. The trial witness was charged with perjury just days after Willie Stokes was convicted of murder in 1984. But Stokes didnt learn about that perjury plea until 2015, decades into a life sentence. Stokes, 61, walked out of a state prison near Philadelphia eager to get a hug from his mother and a corned beef hoagie. His mother was too nervous to come after several earlier disappointments, so he greeted other family members instead. Today is a tremendous day. Were all very thankful, said his lawyer, Michael Diamondstein. However, its also a sad day, because it reminds us of how lawless, unfair and unjust Philadelphia law enforcement was for so long. Both detectives who allegedly offered witness Franklin Lee a sex-for-lies deal to help them close a 1980 murder case are now deceased. Lee was in custody on unrelated rape and murder charges at the time, and said he was also promised a light sentence. I fell weak and went along with the offer, Lee told a federal judge in November, recalling his testimony at a May 1984 preliminary hearing when he claimed Stokes, a neighborhood friend, had confessed to killing a man during a dice game named Leslie Campbell. Lee recanted the story at Stokes murder trial in August 1984, but Stokes was nonetheless convicted and sent to prison for life. Days later, Philadelphia prosecutors charged Lee with perjurynot over his trial testimony, but over the initial testimony hed given at the preliminary hearing. Lee pleaded guilty, admitting hed made up the confession, and was sentenced to a maximum seven-year prison term. The homicide prosecutors that used Franklin Lees testimony to convict Willie Stokes then prosecuted Franklin Lee for lying on Willie Stokes. And they never told Willie Stokes, Diamondstein argued at the November hearing in federal court. Stokes mother, now elderly, has been planning for his homecoming as his appeals gained traction, only to face repeated setbacks, she told The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported on the case. But Lees mother also played a role early on. In federal court testimony last November, Lee said his girlfriendwho detectives summoned to have sex with him at police headquarters back in 1983 and who was allowed to bring marijuana and a few dozen opioid pillstold his mother about the deal hed struck. His mother told the woman not to go down to the station again. Instead, police secured him a sex worker the next time, Lee said. Once I talked to my mother, she told me, I didnt raise you like that, to lie on a man because you got yourself in a jam, Lee testified, according to the transcript. She said, I couldnt care if they give you 1,000 years. Go in there and tell the truth. And thats what I did. Willie Stokes, center, and lawyer Michael Diamondstein walk in Chester, Pa., on Jan. 4, 2022, after Stokes 1984 murder conviction was overturned. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo) One surviving prosecutor, now in private practice, did not immediately return messages seeking comment Tuesday. However, he has given a statement saying he doesnt remember either case, according to court files. Philadelphia police offered no immediate comment on the case. The U.S. magistrate who heard the appeal called the omission an egregious violation of (Stokes) constitutional rights, and a U.S. district judge agreed, overturning the conviction last week. As for Lee, he ended up serving 35 years on the rape, murder and perjury charges. He got out of prison two years ago and now works as an assembly line supervisor. He apologized to Stokes in court for the problem I caused. Im going to take his tears to indicate hes accepting the apology, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells said. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, whose office has championed about two dozen exoneration cases, supports Stokes but has not yet formally decided whether to retry him. That decision should come before a scheduled Jan. 26 hearing in state court, a spokesperson said. By Maryclaire Dale Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City, on Dec. 29, 2021. (Jane Rosenberg TPX Images of the day/Reuters) Maxwell Defense Calls for New Trial; Prosecution Requests Juror Inquiry NEW YORKThe Honorable Alison J. Nathan, the judge who presided over the Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking case in federal court last month, received two requests on Jan. 5 regarding the trial. One came from the prosecution and one came from the defense. At the center of both requests is an individual whos recently given interviews to the media regarding his service on the jury. Hes publicly stated he was a victim of childhood sexual abuse and made this known to his fellow jurors during deliberations. Maxwell was found guilty of five of the six counts of sex-trafficking on behalf of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on Dec. 29, and four alleged victims testified Maxwell was directly involved in their sexual abuse when they were minors. In the three-page letter, the prosecution wrote, Assuming the accuracy of the reporting, the juror asserted that he flew through the prospective juror questionnaire and does not recall being asked whether he had been a victim of sexual abuse, but stated that he would have answered honestly. The letter states that based on the foregoing, the government believes the court should conduct an inquiry and further requests a hearing in approximately one month. The letter also suggests that the juror be asked whether hed like a lawyer appointed to him, should the hearing be conducted. Maxwells defense team wrote its own letter on the subject to Nathan, stating it presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial under Rule 33. Prior to these developments, it was understood that the defense was going to file an appeal and that Nathan was going to sentence Maxwell, most likely this month. However, in his letter, defense attorney Christian Everdell wrote, Should the defense prevail on this motionand we believe the law and facts are clearly on our sideit would render all other post-trial motions moot. Maxwell is facing additional charges of two counts of perjury. A health worker shows a bottle of Ivermectin as part of a study of the Center for Paediatric Infectious Diseases Studies, in Cali, Colombia, on July 21, 2020. (Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images) More Good News on Ivermectin When it comes to the treatment of COVID-19, many Western nations have been hobbled by the politicization of medicine. Throughout 2020, media and many public health experts warned against the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), despite the fact that many practicing doctors were praising its ability to save patients. Most have been silenced through online censorship. Some even lost their jobs for the sin of publicly sharing their successes with the drug. Another decades-old antiparasitic drug that may be even more useful than HCQ is ivermectin. Like HCQ, ivermectin is on the World Health Organizations list of essential drugs, but its benefits are also being ignored by public health officials and buried by mainstream media. Ivermectin is a heartworm medication that has been shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro. In the U.S., the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has been calling for widespread adoption of Ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and for the treatment of all phases of COVID-19. In the video above, Dr. John Campbell interviews Dr. Tess Lawrie about the drug and its use against COVID-19. Lawrie is a medical doctor and Ph.D. researcher who has done a lot of work in South Africa. Shes also the director of Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy Ltd., which is based in the U.K., and she helped organize the British Ivermectin Recommendation Development (BIRD) panel and the International Ivermectin for COVID Conference, held April 24, 2021. Ivermectin Useful in All Stages of COVID What makes ivermectin particularly useful in COVID-19 is the fact that it works both in the initial viral phase of the illness, when antivirals are required, as well as the inflammatory stage, when the viral load drops off and anti-inflammatories become necessary. According to Dr. Surya Kant, a medical doctor in India who has written a white paper on ivermectin, the drug reduces replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by several thousand times. Kants paper led several Indian provinces to start using ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and as treatment for COVID-19 in the summer of 2020. In the video, Lawrie reviews the science behind her recommendation to use ivermectin. In summary: A scientific review by Dr. Andrew Hill at Liverpool University, funded by the WHO and UNITAID and published January 18, 2021, found ivermectin reduced COVID-19 deaths by 75%. It also increased viral clearance. This finding was based on a review of six randomized, controlled trials involving a total of 1,255 patients. Lawries meta-analysis, published February 8, 2021, found a 68% reduction in deaths. Here, 13 studies were included in the analysis. This, she explains, is an underestimation of the beneficial effect, because they included a study in which the control arm was given HCQ.Since HCQ is an active treatment that has also been shown to have a positive impact on outcomes, its not surprising that this particular study did not rate ivermectin as better than the control treatment (which was HCQ). Adding two new randomized controlled trials to her February analysis that included data on mortality, Lawrie published an updated analysis March 31, 2021, showing a 62% reduction in deaths.When four studies with high risk of bias were removed during a subsequent sensitivity analysis, they ended up with a 72% reduction in deaths. Sensitivity analyses are done to double-check and verify results. Doctors Urge Acceptance of Ivermectin to Save Lives As mentioned earlier, in the U.S., the FLCCC has also been calling for widespread adoption of ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and for the treatment of all phases of COVID-19. FLCCC president Dr. Pierre Kory, former professor of medicine at St. Lukes Aurora Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has testified to the benefits of ivermectin before a number of COVID-19 panels, including the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in December 2020, and the National Institutes of Health COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel January 6, 2021. As noted by the FLCCC: The data shows the ability of the drug Ivermectin to prevent COVID-19, to keep those with early symptoms from progressing to the hyper-inflammatory phase of the disease, and even to help critically ill patients recover. Dr. Kory testified that Ivermectin is effectively a miracle drug against COVID-19 and called upon the governments medical authorities to urgently review the latest data and then issue guidelines for physicians, nurse-practitioners, and physician assistants to prescribe Ivermectin for COVID-19 numerous clinical studies including peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials showed large magnitude benefits of Ivermectin in prophylaxis, early treatment and also in late-stage disease. Taken together dozens of clinical trials that have now emerged from around the world are substantial enough to reliably assess clinical efficacy. data from 18 randomized controlled trials that included over 2,100 patients demonstrated that Ivermectin produces faster viral clearance, faster time to hospital discharge, faster time to clinical recovery, and a 75% reduction in mortality rates. A one-page summary of the clinical trial evidence for Ivermectin can be downloaded from the FLCCC website. A more comprehensive, 31-page review of trials data has been published in the journal Frontiers of Pharmacology. A listing of all the Ivermectin trials done to date, with links to the published studies, can be found on c19Ivermectin.com. The FLCCCs COVID-19 protocol was initially dubbed MATH+ (an acronym based on the key components of the treatment), but after several tweaks and updates, the prophylaxis and early outpatient treatment protocol is now known as I-MASK+ while the hospital treatment has been renamed I-MATH+, due to the addition of ivermectin. The two protocols are available for download on the FLCCC Alliance website in multiple languages. The clinical and scientific rationale for the I-MATH+ hospital protocol has also been peer-reviewed and was published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine in mid-December 2020. The International Ivermectin for COVID Conference April 24 through 25, 2021, Lawrie hosted the first International Ivermectin for COVID Conference online. Twelve medical experts from around the world shared their knowledge during this conference, reviewing mechanism of action, protocols for prevention and treatment, including so-called long-hauler syndrome, research findings and real world data. All of the lectures, which were recorded via Zoom, can be viewed on Bird-Group.org. In her closing address, Lawrie stated: The story of Ivermectin has highlighted that we are at a remarkable juncture in medical history. The tools that we use to heal and our connection with our patients are being systematically undermined by relentless disinformation. The story of Ivermectin shows that we as a public have misplaced our trust in the authorities and have underestimated the extent to which money and power corrupts. Had Ivermectin being employed in 2020 when medical colleagues around the world first alerted the authorities to its efficacy, millions of lives could have been saved, and the pandemic with all its associated suffering and loss brought to a rapid and timely end. With politicians and other nonmedical individuals dictating to us what we are allowed to prescribe to the ill, we as doctors, have been put in a position such that our ability to uphold the Hippocratic oath is under attack. During the conference, Lawrie proposed that doctors around the world join together to form a new people-centered World Health Organization. Never before has our role as doctors been so important because never before have we become complicit in causing so much harm, she said. Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, speaks during a rally on the National Mall in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Sues Jan. 6 House Select Committee Over Subpoenaed Cellphone Records MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has sued the House select committee investigating the origins of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol in an effort to stop telecommunications company Verizon from sharing his information with the panel. The lawsuit (pdf) was filed in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on Wednesday and names Verizon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other members of the panel. Lindell filed the suit after the House select committee issued Verizon a subpoena for all of his records of communication on a cellphone he regularly uses for the period between Nov. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021. The Subpoena demands that Verizon produce certain records associated with a cell phone number regularly used by Mr. Lindell. The cell number was assigned for Mr. Lindells use by Verizons subscriber My Pillow, Inc, the lawsuit states. Mr. Lindell brings this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to invalidate the Subpoena on several grounds and to prohibit its enforcement, the lawsuit reads. Lindell argues that the subpoena violates his First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights. Enforcement of the Subpoena would violate the rights of Mr. Lindell and of his sources to freedom of religion, speech, press, political expression, and to associate with others to advance their shared beliefs, the lawsuit states. These rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment Enforcement of the Subpoena would violate the right of Mr. Lindell to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, which is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. The lawsuit also claims individual members of the select committee acted without authority because they were not validly organized as a House committee under the rules of the United States House of Representatives. Additionally, Lindell says that even if the Select Committee could issue subpoenas, the Subpoena exceeds the authority of the Select Committee because it requires production of records that are far beyond the scope of the Select Committees investigation. Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump gather near the east front door of the U.S. Capitol after groups breached the buildings security in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House of Representatives panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, sitting beside panel vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), speaks in Washington on Oct. 19, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) It is a veiled effort to conduct an unauthorized criminal investigation, and it is not in furtherance of a valid legislative purpose, his lawyers wrote. Lindell is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to invalidate the Subpoena on several grounds and to prohibit its enforcement and is also asking to review the information sought by the subpoena before Verizon so that he may assert any applicable claim of attorney-client or other privilege before the information is produced to the Select Committee. The Epoch Times has contacted the House select committee and Verizon for comment. A supporter of former President Donald Trump, Lindell was advocating for election integrity amid allegations of widespread voting irregularities and election fraud following the November 2020 general election. Lindell has questioned the results of the election on social media. In January 2021, he was temporarily banned from Twitter for repeatedly violating the companys civic integrity policy. A month later, Twitter permanently suspended his account for violating its policy against ban evasion. Early last year, the MyPillow CEO made headlines when he was photographed leaving the Oval Office with mysterious notes in his hand. Lindell told The Epoch Times that the notes, which appeared to refer to martial law, were not official and claimed he was helping deliver them from a lawyer who said it was a suggestion for Trump. The nine-member bipartisan committee investigating the origins of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol has subpoenaed a number of people as part of its investigation, including former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, his former adviser Stephen Bannon and his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Congress went on to certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election after the certification session was interrupted when Trump supporters breached the Capitol in January. Lindell told Insider on Wednesday that the subpoena was election deflection and that the Jan. 6 committee was garbage. This is all a big, big charade, and Im not wasting my time on any garbage, Lindell said. This is an illegal, corrupt subpoena to get my phone records. I got nothing to hide, but Im not giving them my records. Whatever happened to our right of free speech? People who think this is a normal Democrat Party are sadly mistaken. This is deep state, CCP, ChinaChina attacked our country. This is the biggest crime ever, Lindell said. Kyle Rittenhouse looks on after a break during his trial in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 9, 2021. (Mark Hertzberg/Pool/Getty Images) National Geographic Writer Falsely Says Kyle Rittenhouse Killed Two Black Men A National Geographic writer falsely said in a new book that Kyle Rittenhouse killed two black men in Wisconsin in 2020. Kara Cooney wrote in The Good Kings that Rittenhouse used his semi-automatic weapon to kill two black men in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while waging a glorious race war on behalf of his inherited white power. Rittenhouse shot three white men in Kenosha during riots there. He was acquitted on all charges by a jury late last year. Cooney, who appears to be white, said on Twitter that the misinformation was my mistake, and I apologize. So yeah, tiny detail of the book with a big mistake about a massive American issue. And thats on me. But the white supremacy is still a problem. And the misogyny is still a problem, she added. Cooney and National Geographic Publishing, the books publisher, did not respond to requests for comment. Cooney is an Egyptologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. In The Good Kings, she is described as uncover[ing] the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again. Misinformation about Rittenhouse and the shootings has proliferated on social media and news outlets. CBS, for instance, falsely reported that Rittenhouse crossed state lines with a gun before carrying out the shootings. False claims were also put forth on ESPN, CNN, and ABC. CBS corrected the falsehood it offered, but many others did not. President Joe Biden also made the evidence-free claim that Rittenhouse is a white supremacist, which he has refused to retract even as Rittenhouse mulls suing him. I have really good lawyers who are taking care of that right now. So, Im hoping, one day, there will be accountability for their actions, Rittenhouse said after the trial regarding Biden and others who made claims about him. Navy Discharges First Sailors From Service for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine The U.S. Navy announced that it discharged 20 sailors for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Wednesday news release, while the Marine Corps confirmed that 251 Marines have been discharged. The service said that as of Jan. 5, there have been 20 entry level separations due to COVID-19 vaccine refusals, which is the first round of discharges. It reflects service members who, since the time of the vaccine mandate, were separated during initial training periods within their first 180 days of active duty, according to the Navys update. The Marine Corps on Thursday also confirmed that 251 Marines have been discharged for refusing to take the vaccine to date. To date, there have been 3,260 requests for religious accommodation concerning the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. At this time, 3,115 have been processed and zero requests have been approved, the Marines said. The Navy, meanwhile, said that there have been 3,009 active duty requests for a religious accommodation from immunization for the COVID-19 vaccine. Ninety-four percent of the Marines are fully vaccinated and an additional 2 percent partially vaccinated, the Marines said in data released this week. For the Navy, some 5,268 active personnel and 2,980 Ready Reserve service members are not unvaccinated. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a memorandum in August stipulating that all military members receive a vaccine, leading all branches of the military to set deadlines for troops to become fully vaccinated. Several days ago, a federal judge ruled in favor of about three-dozen Navy SEALs who filed suit against the Pentagon over the vaccine mandate. They argued that their religious beliefs prevent them from getting the COVID-19 vaccine, and they were not legitimately considered before the Navy rejected their requests. The Navy servicemembers in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect, Judge Reed OConnor, a George W. Bush nominee, wrote in an order on Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution. First Liberty Institutes Mike Berry, whose group filed the lawsuit on the SEALs behalf, said the mandate forces service members to choose between their religious beliefs and their profession. Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. Were pleased that the court has acted to protect our brave warriors before more damage is done to our national security, he said in a statement. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby in December told reporters that there are conversations occurring in the Pentagon on whether a booster shot should be mandated for all service members. No public announcement has been made yet. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Protesters gather outside New York State Capitol to protest against proposed policies related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Albany, N.Y., on Jan. 5, 2022. (Bill Pan/The Epoch Times) New York Protesters Rally in Albany Against Vaccine Bills: We Need Civil Disobedience in This Country ALBANY, N.Y.New York state lawmakers returning for the 2022 legislative session were met by hundreds of demonstrators who gathered outside the state Capitol to protest a host of measures that would tighten already strict COVID-19 vaccine rules across the state. As Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address, the protesters on the west lawn of the Capitol building spoke out against her decisions related to the pandemic response, including the extension of the mask mandate through Feb. 1 and the vaccine mandate for health care workersnow temporarily blocked by a judge, among other policies her administration inherited from the Andrew Cuomo era. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside New York State Capitol to protest against proposed policies related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Albany, N.Y., on Jan. 5, 2022. (Bill Pan/The Epoch Times) One of the events speakers was Michael Kane, the founder of NY Teachers for Choice, an advocacy group fighting New York Citys COVID-19 vaccine requirements for public school teachers. Kane told the crowd that the city denied his request for a religious exemption because the Roman Catholic Church favors vaccination. The New York City lawyers actually said to me, because the pope recommends vaccination, Mr. Kane should be vaccinated, he said. What New York City and all of their expensive lawyers dont know is that no man, no building, no institution stands between me and my God. In a call to action, Kane encouraged New Yorkers, and residents of other cities that are trying to adopt the New York City model, to resist the differential treatment of citizens based on vaccination status. The vaccine passport nonsense is spreading: Chicago, Boston, D.C. We need civil disobedience from East Coast to West Coast in this country, he said. Nonviolent civil disobedience is the way we do this, harking back to the [Civil Rights] movement from the 1960s: No to Segregation. Another speaker was Tramell Thompson, a New York City subway conductor and labor leader. In one dramatic moment during his speech, he ripped his own vaccination card as he condemned the vaccination requirement for transit workers. We have been telling Cuomo first that there should be no mandates. Now were telling Hochul that, because there should be a choice, Thompson told a cheering crowd. Im fully vaccinated, but Im against [vaccine] passports, he said, as he started tearing his card into pieces. I dont care. Protesters gathered outside New York State Capitol to protest against proposed policies related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Albany, N.Y., on Jan. 5, 2022. (Bill Pan/The Epoch Times) The demonstrators also targeted several legislative proposals they said would violate their medical freedoms and parental rights. Among these measures are A8378, which would add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of required vaccines for all schools and colleges; A2240, which would mandate influenza vaccines for children attending day care; A8398, which seeks to repeal nonmedical exemptions to vaccines for workers and college students; and A3192, which would allow any person aged 14 and above to get government-required or -recommended vaccines without parental consent. A protester told The Epoch Times that he believes New Yorkers would enjoy less freedom if these measures became law. This is the United States of America, not Russia or China, said the protester, who brought his two homeschooled children to the rally. Were a free country, or at least, we used to be. Its hard to turn the other way, and we dont believe it. Another protester said she worries that the push for vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions opens a slippery slope for the government to take away more freedoms. I feel like were being coerced and forced into wearing masks and getting vaccinations, and were losing our freedom a bit at a time, the protester told The Epoch Times, adding that she supports the rights of parents to make medical decisions for their children. If we dont stand up and protect our freedoms, theyre going to be gone and we wont be able to get them back. At least three of the contested measures are sponsored by Democratic state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. In an interview last year with The Journal News after he proposed A8378, Dinowitz characterized opponents of his bill as anti-vaxxers. I believe that its important, just like its important for kids to be vaccinated against measles and other diseases, that children are vaccinated against COVID-19, he told the newspaper. Anybody who doesnt take that seriously is just living on another planet. The New York Times' masthead is displayed in front of the midtown headquarters in New York City on Dec. 7, 2009. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) New York Times Accused of Illegal Interference with Union Activism The New York Times has been accused of illegal interference in employees union activism, according to a legal complaint by federal labor officials. In a complaint dated Dec. 29th, an acting director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleged that members of The New York Times management told employees during a Zoom call last May that they were forbidden from showing union support while acting as intern managersa policy which the NLRB claims has continued unabated. The complaint alleges that employees were discouraged from using pro-union avatars and backgrounds in apps such as Slack and Google Meet. We strongly disagree with the unions allegations about the supervisory status of certain technology employees and welcome the opportunity to explain our position to the board, said New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. The claim is slated for consideration at a March trial. The complaint is the latest development in a saga that goes back at least to last April, when The New York Times refused to recognize voluntarily a recently-formed union representing over 650 employees, saying instead that the matter must be put to a formal vote. In 2007, The New York Times endorsed in an editorial a policy that would allow workers to unionize with a simple majority of signatures, as opposed to a formal vote. The Times argued that employers could use the time before the vote to coerce employees to vote against unionization. Almost fifteen years later, employees of the Times are lamenting the constant delays in the process of unionization, with many arguing that the Old Gray Lady is stalling the process by refusing to cooperate with labor organizers. The NLRB informed Times management of their decision and offered them the opportunity to settle the charge. The penalties would be minimal and no cost to the companyposting a notice with the promise not to break the law again, said the New York Times Tech Guild on Twitter on Wednesday. Management has refused this option, opting to spend more money on legal fees to fight the decision rather than posting this straightforward notice. This means that the NLRB will now prosecute NYT for violating federal labor law and hold a trial in March. The Times is only the latest in a list of media companies whose employees have attempted to organize, with similar efforts occurring at Buzzfeed, Slate, Vice, and Vox. Last August, the ostensibly pro-labor socialist magazine Current Affairs faced controversy and allegations of hypocrisy for effectively firing several employees for trying to organize a worker co-op within the magazine staff. A view of what state news agency KCNA reports is the test firing of a hypersonic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea, on Jan. 5, 2022. (KCNA via Reuters/Reuters is unable to verify this image) North Korea State Media Says Country Launched a Hypersonic Missile North Koreas state media said Thursday the country successfully fired a hypersonic missile, a claim that has yet to be independently confirmed. The hypersonic gliding warhead reportedly manoeuvred 120 kilometers (75 miles) laterally before it traveled 700 kilometers (435 miles) to precisely hit its target, Pyongyang state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed. Other aspects such as flight control and the missiles ability to operate in the winter were also confirmed in the test launch, KCNA asserted, adding that the missile was able to combine multi-step glide jump flight and strong lateral manoeuvring. The Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party expressed great satisfaction at the results of the missile test observed by leading weapons officials, KCNA reported. The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state, the KCNA report claims. The reported hypersonic missile launch came just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to strengthen the countrys defense capabilities at a high-profile ruling party conference last week, amid stalled denuclearization talks. The launch was flagged by the governments of Japan and South Korea, which said that it involved a possible ballistic missilenot a hypersonic missile. Hypersonic weapons fly towards targets at lower altitudes and can achieve more than five times the speed of soundor about 6,200 kilometers per hour (3,850 mph). They are harder to intercept and pose a higher threat level than ballistic missiles, which fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on North Koreas report it had tested a hypersonic weapon. The department said after the Wednesday launch that Pyongyang has violated multiple U.N. Security Council Resolutionswhich ban all ballistic missile and nuclear tests by North Koreaand poses a threat to the international community. North Korea claimed it first tested a hypersonic missile in September 2021. Later, in October 2021, Pyongyang said it launched a new type of ballistic missile from a submarine, marking its last missile launch before Wednesdays. Talks led by the United States seeking to get North Korea to advance denuclearizationincluding to surrender its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenalhave been stalled since February 2019; Kim and then-President Donald Trump were unable to come to an agreement over disputes about international sanctions on Pyongyang. The Biden administration has said it is open to a dialogue with North Korea at any time without preconditions, but the authoritarian state accused the United States of having hostile policies such as military drills and sanctions that it must withdraw against Pyongyang before any talks can resume. The United States recently reiterated that it holds no hostile intent toward Pyongyang. Reuters contributed to this report. Editors note: This article has been updated to clarify that KCNAs report of the hypersonic missile launch has yet to be independently verified. Northern Territory Locks Out Unvaccinated Residents, as COVID-19 Cases Grow Australias Northern Territory has put in place a lockout of unvaccinated residents after 256 new COVID-19 cases were recorded on Wednesday. In a press conference on Thursday, Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said that the Territory-wide lockout will be effective from 1 p.m. on Thursday until 12 p.m. on Monday. People who are not fully vaccinated present the greatest risk of spreading the virus and are the most at risk of becoming seriously ill if they get the virus, Gunner said. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated Territorians may go about their lives, as usual, provided they comply with the new mask mandate. Unvaccinated residents 16 and over must stay home, only being allowed to leave for medical treatment, essential goods and services, or to provide support to a person who cannot support themselves. In addition, they cannot travel more than 30 km (18.4 miles) from home unless in need of medical care, which is beyond the 30km radius. Restrictions have also tightened compared to the last statewide lockdown, as work is no longer a reason to leave home for unvaccinated Territorians. The Territory Chief Health Officer has also determined that in the current circumstances, it is critical to restrict movement. As a result, the one hour of exercise afforded to Territorians is not considered essential for the unvaccinated residents, who will have to remain in their places of residence. This comes after the Territory reopened its borders to fully vaccinated interstate travelers on Dec.20, after which COVID-19 case numbers have steadily increased. Of the 256 cases recorded on Wednesday, 88 were interstate arrivals, 19 were international arrivals, 27 were via community transmission, 10 were close contacts of known cases, and 112 are still under investigation. Gunner called Wednesdays increase in case numbers concerning, saying that the community transmission rate had grown in recent days. Yesterdays and todays jump do reflect activity from Friday and Saturday night, he said. While todays case numbers can be explainedI think we all understand the importance of New Years Eve to many peoplethey are concerning. Gunner added that COVID-19 is often exponential, meaning one case in the community usually results in more than one person being infected and that the Territory needs to keep its case numbers steady. There are various mitigations in place to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, the most important of which Gunner said is the testing of interstate arrivals, who are currently the source of the majority of daily case numbers in the Territory. We are catching those cases early, he said. This testing remains crucial to controlling incursions and community transmission. He also pointed out that the mask mandate, which has been in effect since Friday and should help stop the spread, needs to be supplemented, and the lockout of unvaccinated Territorians is this supplementation. A World War II veteran shows his French Legion of Honor medal during an 80th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Remembrance event in Oahu, Hawaii. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aja Bleu Jackson) Active-Duty Military, Veterans, Gold Star Families Now Have Free Access to National Parks and Other Federal Lands U.S. military veterans, active-duty service members, and Gold Star families will have permanent free access to U.S. national parks and other federal recreational lands under the Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act, which is part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2021. We can never fully repay our veterans for their service and sacrifice, but we want to show our gratitude by giving them lifetime access to Americas beautiful landscapes, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), who introduced the legislation in the House, said in a statement sent to The Epoch Times. My Alexander Lofgren VIP will give all of our amazing veterans, Gold Star families, and active-duty soldiers access to all of our national parks for life, she said. We often say that we support the physical and mental health of our veterans, and it is great to see legislation pass that will do great things for the health of our heroes. As a 24-year Army veteran and a doctor, I am proud to have gotten my legislation signed into law. The measure honors Alexander Lofgren, a veteran of the Afghanistan War who died after becoming stranded in Death Valley National Park during an April 2021 camping trip with his girlfriend, Emily Henkel. Henkel was hospitalized but survived. Lofgren had been an aide to Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. In a joint statement released on Dec. 28, 2021, the Lofgren family and Grijalva celebrated the signing of the measure into law. Grijalva said: Alex was part of our extended family, and we miss him deeply. He dedicated his time to serving fellow veterans and loved our national parks and sharing the peace that it brought him with others. With the signing of this law, now we permanently give the gift of free entry to national parks to our veterans and Gold Star families to use nature to help with their healing. Retired Col. Joseph Lofgren and other members of the Lofgren family said in the statement: As an advocate for veterans, a military family member and veteran himself, Alexanders wish to make National Parks accessible to veterans and Gold Star families has been realized through this act. Patrick Murray, the legislative director for Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), told The Epoch Times that the act is a slam dunk. Everybody thinks this is a great idea, and some really great people are going to benefit from it, he said. Veterans is a really nice space where Washington, D.C., still comes and works together for the right purpose. He says he has heard that some veterans in the West, near many of the United States most famous national parks, are aware of the law and ready to take advantage of their free lifetime access. I hope word gets out to active-duty troops as well, he said. NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Jan. 5) Capitol Hill lawmakers are prepping for a big day of events marking one year since Jan. 6, protestors gather in Albany as New York state will soon vote on a bill that could require all students to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and a Chicago teachers union calls for remote learning in the nations third-largest school district. An actor dressed as a Chinese policeman stands guard over a cage containing actors playing the role of Falun Gong practitioners during a demonstration outside of London's Houses of Parliament on July 20, 2009. (Shaun Curry/AFP via Getty Images) NJ Resident Loses Mother Who Suffered Torment in Chinese Brainwashing Center NEW YORKOn Liu Danbis 31st birthday in December 2021the first without a birthday wish from her mothershe didnt cry. Her tears had run out long ago, she said. Liu hadnt seen her mother face to face since they said goodbye at a Chinese airport seven years ago, when she boarded a flight for New York for her graduate studies at the University at Buffalo. When they parted, Liu was seized by a sudden grief and dissolved into tears for seemingly no reason. I had a hunch it was the final farewell to my mother, she told The Epoch Times. Her mother, Huang Shiqun, died on April 23, 2021, after swallowing seven bottles of pills that were prescribed by a psychiatric hospital. Her body was discovered in a hidden stairwell of the apartment building where she lived with her husband. Huang left a final message for her husband, written on a slip of paper. You are the best husband in the world, she wrote. Im just not lucky enough. Before her death at age 57, Huang had struggled for two years with depression, which began sometime during her arrest and subsequent detention in her hometown of Wuhan, China, for trying to call attention to the Chinese regimes persecution of her beliefs. Huang, formerly a kindergarten teacher, was an adherent of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline with five meditative exercises and moral teachings centered on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Official reports estimated that roughly 70 million people were practicing the discipline in China in 1999. But fearing its popularity, the regime started a violent campaign to persecute Falun Gong, leading to the arrest of millions of adherents over the past 22 years. In Lius memory, her mother was always talkative and optimistic. Huang struck up conversations with strangers on the street and made friends with fruit vendors in her neighborhood. She had a good voice and a talent for impersonating Teresa Teng, a Taiwanese pop icon in the 1980s who won fans from all over Asia with her heartrending romantic ballads. Huang strove to be a good teacher as well. Parents would sometimes bring her money and gifts in the hopes that she would treat their kids better, but she would turn them all down. Im just trying to be a good person by following truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, Huang would tell them. Teaching was her job, she would say, and she had an obligation to do it well. Huang Shiqun (2nd R) in the 1990s. (Courtesy of Liu Danbi) It was as if nothing was too difficult for her, Liu said. Her mere presence would make me feel safe. But those traits disappeared after she came back from Wuhans Qiaokou District Legal Education Center in February 2018. The facility is known by Falun Gong adherents to be a brainwashing center for its efforts to make practitioners of the faith give up their beliefs through a combination of propaganda, coercion, and forced medication. Liu never knew what happened to her mother during her one month of detention at the center. But when Huang came back, she was no longer herself. Her weight had plummeted by 33 pounds. She was restless at night and would pace back and forth. She suffered from vision and hearing loss. She couldnt read and would get lost even around her own neighborhood. During calls with Liu, Huang spoke of hair loss on her arms and muscle cramps. More worrisome were the changes to her mental state. Once a lighthearted person, Huang became anxious and withdrawn. She had curtains drawn even in the daytime, saying that she was afraid of the light. Any visitors would distress her, and she no longer wanted to go outside. The hospital told the family that Huangs cranial nerves had degenerated. She told me she felt like every cell in her body was being tortured, Liu said. I felt that she was ready to jump off the building at any minute and give up her life. Most of the time, Huang would lie in bed, suffering and trying to get by, Liu said. Huang spoke often to Liu about her physical and psychological pains, but both of them were cautious about discussing the cause, as they knew their phone conversations were likely wiretapped. Liu suspected the guards put psychiatric drugs in her mothers food during Huangs detention. She came to this conclusion after reading reports online about the detention center and about Falun Gong adherents who have exhibited similar symptoms after being drugged. Some adherents detained at the center have said that their meals had a taste of medicine to them, according to Minghui, a U.S.-based website that tracks the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Xiao Yingxue, a former employee at the Qiaokou District Industrial and Commercial Bureau, was injected with three doses of unknown substances at the same center in 2011 and complained of severe headaches for several years afterward. Wang Yujie, 24, vomited white foam after being injected with unknown drugs on her shoulder at the provincial brainwashing center in Hubei Province, China. She lost her hearing and vision and died in September 2011, four months after her release, according to Minghui. An undated photo of Huang Shiqun playing the piano at work. (Courtesy of Minghui.org) Liu was only able to learn about her mothers time in detention from messages written by Huang on pieces of paper and held up for her during a video call, which Liu would take a picture of to read later. Huang used this method of silent communication to avoid being detected by potential eavesdroppers. In those notes, Huang wrote about unrelenting torment: how she was forced to sit in a classroom with two layers of metal doors for 15 hours daily, where recordings and videos smearing Falun Gong were played on high volume; how inmates, with orders from the guards, forbade her from sleeping and shoved her if she slightly closed her eyes. The guards gave her little food. On the fifth day, Huangs body began to shake uncontrollably. She had stood firm when the guards asked her to sign documents renouncing her belief, but on that day, she yielded. She didnt know what it was, but felt she couldnt control herself, Liu said. Huang was repeatedly made to write homework to smear and express hatred toward her beliefs until it would satisfy the guards. Police hadnt left Huang alone even after her release. In 2021, they asked her to sign another document renouncing her faith. The measure was part of a nationwide Zero Out campaign aimed at eliminating the Falun Gong adherents in the local area. Provincial Chinese Communist Party Party officials also pressured Huangs husband to divorce her. Accepting the loss of Huang was difficult for Lius father, who had also been living on high alert day and night trying to keep Huang safe. Lius cousin told her that she had never seen him cry like that. He never prepared himself for that day, Liu said. Even now, he can sleep only two or three hours, even with the help of sleeping pills, according to Liu. Just recently, Lius father called her on the phone. He was drunk. He told me he doesnt know how he can continue living, she said. Sarah Lu contributed to this report. Residents enjoy their afternoon on the Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 22, 2021, amid number of COVID-19 cases that keeps on the rise across the New South Wales state ahead of the Christmas festivities. (Photo by Mohammad FAROOQ / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMAD FAROOQ/AFP via Getty Images) Omicron Surge Leads to the Tentative Return of Restrictions in Australia Spiralling numbers of COVID-19 cases linked to the Omicron variant has led to state governments in Australia reintroducing pandemic restrictions. As Victorians wake to new density limits in hospitality venues, NSW is reportedly set to shut nightclubs and some major events in response to the variant. The Northern Territory has also implemented a territory-wide lockout for the unvaccinated. It comes as Australia recorded more than 72,000 cases on Thursday, the highest daily number since the pandemic began. Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, Professor Jane Halton, said the new restrictions were sensible given the rise in infections. What we are trying to do now is manage this particular variant of the virus, and that means slowing its spread down, Halton told the Nine Network on Friday. This is very infectious, we know that, so people are going to have to be prudent for the next several weeks. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians to check eligibility for the pandemic leave disaster payments following the case surge. The payment is worth $750 for each seven day period a person has been told to self-isolate or quarantine. The rise in cases has led to a boost in demand for rapid antigen tests, which has caused widespread shortages and reports of price gouging at some retailers. Large queues have been seen at PCR testing clinics across the country following the rapid test shortage. Labor health spokesman Mark Butler told ABC Radio Australia was at risk from a lack of rapid tests. There is a very serious risk the Australian community is going to be dumped by this fourth wave because Scott Morrison failed to do the hard work, he said. The critical weapons in the fight against Omicron are to make sure were getting boosters into peoples arms and to ensure we have a comprehensive rapid testing regime and (the prime minister) failed at both of them. Morrison has said 200 million rapid tests would be available in coming weeks but ruled out making them universally free, instead the government will be providing 10 tests over a three-month period to concession cardholders, which covers more than six million people. Nearly three million people aged 16 and over have received their booster dose since the booster rollout began. The time frame between doses was shortened earlier this week from five to four months between the second and third dose. That will shorten again to three months by the end of January. BEIJING, Jan. 6 -- Recently, the PLA Air Force (PLAAF)'s first batch of pilot cadets that has been directly trained with the third-generation fighter jets completed their solo flight assessment. It's learnt that the PLAAF initiated a brand-new training mode for pilots at the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy in 2021, including introducing the J-10 fighter jets, which used to be commissioned to the combat troops, into the flight academy. So that, the young pilot cadets, who have been trained with the J-10 at the academy, could turn into combatants of the third-generation fighter jets after graduation. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in Ottawa, December 15, 2021. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle) OToole Says Trudeaus Inaction Is Normalizing Lockdowns Conservative Party leader Erin OToole is blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus inaction on certain pandemic-related files for the state the country finds itself in, with new lockdowns, curfews, and restrictions being imposed almost two years in. Governments across the country had little choice but to take these steps because the federal government has not delivered on key tools to help Canadians manage the risks of a pandemic, in a population that is now largely fully vaccinated, OToole said in a press conference on Jan. 6. In fact, the action and inaction by the Trudeau Government is normalizing lockdowns and restrictions as the primary tool to fight the latest COVID-19 variants. OTooles comments come a day after Trudeau and other government officials provided an update on the pandemic situation in the country and announced the delivery of 140 million rapid tests to provinces and territories. What is crazy is we havent learned the lessons from the first wave. Were back to ordering PPE [personal protective equipment] for Parliament Hill from China. We havent delivered rapid tests promised almost two years ago on his doorstephe orders them in the middle of the fourth wave. Thats unacceptable, OToole said. The Tory leader said that his party will be convening an emergency meeting of the House of Commons Health Committee to examine critical gaps in our countrys ability to effectively manage COVID-19 variants. On the issue of vaccination, OToole strongly encouraged the unvaccinated to get the shot and said he received his booster. He also suggested he supports the vaccine mandate in the military, saying he thinks everyone in uniform should be vaccinated. But OToole said Trudeaus hostile approach towards the unvaccinated is improper. Mr. Trudeau has tried calling names, announced a mandate without even getting a Charter opinion on the mandate, OToole said when asked by a reporter what is wrong with imposing more stringent measures on the unvaccinated. In some cases, you will have to try and find reasonable accommodations between keeping people safe and people not losing their job, losing their home, not being able to provide for their kids. I dont think that position is irrational when peoples lives are on the line. The day prior, Trudeau was asked by a reporter what else he would do to push people into getting vaccinated after imposing mandates, citing the example of French President Emmanuel Macron who said he would make life difficult for the unvaccinated. When people see that were in lockdowns, or serious public health restrictions right now because [of] the risk posed to all of us by unvaccinated people, people get angry, Trudeau answered. However, current data shows that those who are vaccinated are getting COVID-19 at high rates as well, making for a low difference between the vaccinated or the unvaccinated in terms of the risk of transmitting the virus. The latest data from the Ontario Science Advisory Table shows the vaccine efficacy in preventing infection with COVID-19 has dropped to 20 percent. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks as Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, seen via videoconference, participate in a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa, on Jan. 5, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang) Ottawa to Send 140 Million COVID-19 Rapid Tests to Provinces, Territories The federal government announced it will send 140 million COVID-19 rapid tests to provinces and territories, saying the tests were an important tool to combat the pandemic. I think we all understand that rapid testing is going to be part of the path through [the pandemic], said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a press conference on Jan. 5. The move comes as access to testing has proven challenging in certain jurisdictions, with test kits running out or authorities rationing them for certain vulnerable populations. Trudeau was joined by other officials including Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam as they provided an update on the COVID-19 situation in the country. Trudeau acknowledged Canadians frustration as they face fresh pandemic-related health measures and restrictions sparked by the Omicron variant. Theres no magic bullet on this. None of us want to be here right now, he said. But we know what to do to get through it. And I know Canadians will continue to do it. Even though were tired. Even though were frustrated. We can get through this together. On the federal response, Trudeau said 120 million rapid tests had already been delivered to provinces and territories. Two hundred Canadian Forces members were also being deployed in Quebec to help with vaccination, and the government has expanded eligibility for programs helping those affected by public health restrictions. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said despite the fast spread of the Omicron variant, there are many reasons for us to be hopeful and optimistic about the future. Duclos said the country has made significant progress, with 7 million vaccine booster doses administered throughout the country, and over 40 percent of children aged 5-11 having received a first dose of vaccine. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also gave an update, saying the federal government has provided eight out of every $10 spent in Canada to fight the pandemic and to support Canadians. Freeland said the government has expanded eligibility for financial support to businesses affected by lockdowns by temporarily lowering the threshold for revenue decline from 40 to 25 percent. An additional 25 percent in rent support for businesses affected by a full lockdown was also made available. Tam said health officials were not currently considering changing the definition of what constitutes being fully vaccinated, but the question could be revisited again once vaccine booster programs have rolled out significantly. Tam said the vaccines available globally offer substantial protection against severe outcomes, but are not as good as reducing infection rates with the Omicron virus, even though it can be boosted somewhat with a booster dose. Tam also addressed the issue of jurisdictions reducing the quarantine time from ten to five days for vaccinated individuals. She said the most precautionary approach is to have longer isolation periods but noted the need for society to keep functioning, particularly the health system, as well as other critical infrastructures. Those are the difficult decisions that provinces have to make, she said. Former President Park Geun-hye arrives at the entrance of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to undergo prosecution questioning in Seoul, South Korea, on March 21, 2017. (Jeon Heon-Kyun-Pool/Getty Images) Pardoning Jailed Ex-President Aimed To Impact The Upcoming South Korean Presidential Race: Analysts New Analysis Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was set free on Dec. 31, 2021, after serving four years and nine months in prison, following her corruption conviction being pardoned by the government last week. Park was the first female president of South Korea and the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee. Four years ago, she was impeached and arrested due to a political scandal involving trustees in politics. President Moon Jae-in has granted Park, 69, a special pardon citing her deteriorated health since imprisonment in March 2017, adding that national unity is another reason for Parks amnesty. People watch a television news program broadcasting live footage of South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivering a New Years speech, at a railway station in Seoul on January 3, 2022. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images) We must overcome the pain of the past and move forward into the new era, Moon said in a statement, adding that national unity and humble inclusiveness are more urgent than anything else. National Unity or Upcoming Election? The 2022 South Korean presidential election will be held on March 9, as President Moon Jae-ins single five-year term ends that month. It appears to be a duel between Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon Seok-youl of the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP) as third-party candidates dont have nearly enough support to clinch the top role. L Yoon Seok-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party, delivers a speech on Nov. 5, 2021, in Seoul after winning the party nomination. R Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party speaks during the final race to choose their presidential candidate on Oct. 10, 2021, in Seoul. (The Epoch Times edited image via Getty Images) Although the Moon-Jae-in government does not acknowledge that Parks amnesty is related to the upcoming South Korean presidential election in March, South Korean public opinion says otherwise. According to South Koreas Yonhap News Agency, a public opinion survey released on Dec. 30, 2021, puts Moons approval rating at 47 percenta record high in 2021just after his government announced Parks special pardon on Dec. 24, 2021. South Korean political analysts said that Parks amnesty played a positive role for Moon. In the survey, 59 percent of the respondents said that pardoning Park was the right decision, while 34 percent believed that the decision was wrong. Moon had previously rejected the move to pardon Park, saying that judicial justice and national consensus must be considered before deciding a pardon. But many supporters and politicians of the conservative main opposition party had called for Parks pardon ahead of the 2022 election. However, Moons negative attitude towards pardoning Park suddenly changed in December 2021 when the public learned Parks reported significant health deterioration in prison. Some analysts suggest that Moons move was to pave the way for his smooth retirement and to help his ruling partys presidential candidate in the upcoming election. And so far, both goals have been achieved. While Moons approval rating increased, his ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung also widened his poll lead against the leading opposition conservative candidate Yoon Seok-youl. According to a KBS poll last week, 39.3 percent of respondents said they would vote for Lee if the election was held the next day, while 27.3 percent said they would cast their ballot for Yoon, citing a Nikkei Asia report. Lees lead had exceeded the margin of error. On Jan. 5, Yoon dissolved his campaign team after losing significant ground in recent polls. The conservative candidate hopes that bringing young faces into his campaign will improve his support among younger generations. The committee, dubbed as a mammoth, failed to find out what people want, Yoon told reporters at the office of the People Power Party in Seoul. I will make a working-level election team, letting talented young officials lead it. Parks Amnesty Shifts Tide on Election Race With two months until the presidential election, candidates of both major parties were busy mudslinging at each other. Family scandals and controversies have dominated the debate for the past months instead of policy discussions and plans for the future. On Dec. 16, Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, admitted that his 29-year-old son had engaged in illegal gambling through a press release and had since issued many apologies. Along with more allegations of Lees son visiting a massage parlor suspected of sex trafficking that Lee denied. Ruling Democratic Party presidential candidate for the 2022 election Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press briefing in Seoul on November 10, 2021. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images) On Dec. 17, Yoon Suk-yeol, conservative presidential candidate for the People Power Party, apologized for the controversy surrounding his wifes inaccurate resume, which she used to obtain a job at a prominent university. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to declare his bid for the presidency at a memorial dedicated to the noble sacrifice of independence fighter Yun Bong-gil on June 29, 2021, in Seoul. (Photo by Kim Min-Hee Pool/Getty Images) Amid the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic and the rising U.S.-China tensions, neither candidate seemed to be offering South Koreans a clear vision for the countrys future. As a result, both candidates saw declining poll numbers in the past month. However, Moons timely presidential pardon to Park appeared to have played to the benefit of the ruling Democratic Party, putting Lee ahead of Yoon amid a tight race. Patients Threatened by Reparations Medicine Commentary If youre white and middle class, the push for health care equity could kill you. Prominent medical organizations and the Biden administration are pushing for rules that will move disadvantaged populations to the front of the line for scarce medical resourcesthink vaccines, ventilators, monoclonal antibody treatments. That means everyone else waits longer, in some cases too long. If the public doesnt push back soon, getting fair treatment in the hospital will become as hard as getting into college or getting hired on your own merits. Last week, the New York Post reported that the New York City Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity prioritized the distribution of COVID-19 testing kits to 31 neighborhoods. Staten Islands racially diverse North Shore got 13 testing sites, while the mostly white South Shore got none. Meanwhile, the states Department of Health announced that scarce monoclonal antibody treatments will be allocated to patients based on who has the most risk factors. Risk factors include age, vaccine status, medical conditions and, you guessed it, non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. If this outrage were happening only in New York, the remedies would be simple. Voters have already thrown out Mayor Bill de Blasio, who saw virtually everything through a racial lens. But federal public health officials, and virtually the entire academic medical establishment, are pushing reparations medicine. As the nation prepared to roll out vaccines in the fall of 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called on states to submit their distribution plans. On Sept. 16, 2020, the agency urged them to prioritize disadvantaged groups, including people from racial and ethnic minority groups, for vaccine supplies and appointments instead of spreading the resources equally. Thirty-four states complied. Most used the CDCs Social Vulnerability Index, which ranks every U.S. neighborhood based on 15 factors including density, income, and race and language. If two areas are similar in most factors, the one with a higher minority or non-English speaking population gets the higher scores and more resources. North Carolina requested that local officials reserve 40 percent of daily vaccination appointments for historically marginalized populations. University of Pennsylvania medical ethicists Harald Schmidt and Rebecca Weintraub, who reviewed the states plans in the journal Nature Medicine, are urging officials to universalize these preferences. Its one thing to wait for a vaccine or a test kit; its another to go to the back of the line for an ICU bed or ventilator. On April 21, 2020, in response to the pandemic, the University of Pittsburgh Department of Critical Care Medicine adopted a plan for triaging critically ill patients when beds and ventilators run low. Patients get a score based on the likelihood of their survival, considering their organ function and other illnesses. But instead of allocating critical care, based only on chances of survival, Pitt will now add a correction factor, based on the patients zip code. Patients from the most disadvantaged neighborhoods will get their scores increased, leapfrogging ahead of others with the same medical conditions. But patients dont want to worry that theyre getting less care because of the color of their skin or their zip code. Pitt defends focusing on the needs of the most disadvantaged. Pitt insists that triage decisions will be made by a committee, never by the patients physician. Thats no surprise. The scheme violates the Hippocratic oath, which commits a physician to do everything possible for the individual patient, not withhold care for the sake of social justice or even another patient down the hall. Meanwhile, a group of Oregon physicians has been pressing the Oregon Health Authority to adopt a triage scheme similar to Pitts, considering a patients home address as well as medical conditions. And doctors at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston are pushing for a reparations framework to offset past discrimination in access to the cardiovascular care unit. These schemes should be horrifying to most Americans. No one wants to be the victim of racism in medicine. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Syringes with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to children from 5-11 years old are seen at the Beaumont Health offices in Southfield, Mich., on Nov. 5, 2021. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images) Pfizer: Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Data for Children Under 5 Expected by April Pfizer has amended its COVID-19 vaccine trial for younger children and expects results in several months, a researcher said Wednesday. The study has been adjusted from two doses to three doses in light of the growing body of evidence showing the primary regimens effects wane as time goes on from vaccination, Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, part of Pfizers clinical research and development group, told a panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine policy during a virtual meeting. Pfizer announced last month that a lower dosage of its vaccine did not provoke an adequate immune response among children aged 2 to 5. The company relies on immunobridging, or comparable immune responses to already-cleared groups, to convince regulators to clear its shot for younger age groups. Instead of increasing the dosage amount, Pfizer and German partner BioNTech decided to add a third dose to the study. It is becoming very clear that this might be a three-dose vaccine, and so this study is been amended to give a third dose to everybody whos less than five at least eight weeks after the last vaccination, Gurtman told the panel. At the present time, we are looking to have the data for the less than fivethis three dose data, the immunogenicity databy either end of March, beginning of April, so late of quarter one of this year, so a few months from now, she added. Gurtman says Pfizer workers see it as their civic duty to develop a vaccine for younger children due to the rise in hospitalizations with COVID-19 among the population. Dr. Dorian Fink, a Food and Drug Administration official, told the panel that the increase in pediatric hospitalizations was concerning. We are evaluating what options are possible for moving forward with evaluating the vaccine in this age group in order to figure out how to best make available a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as possible, Fink said. Neither mentioned how hospitals are overcounting COVID-19 cases in children, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, or how many children in hospitals with COVID-19 are actually admitted for another reason, according to the head of the CDC. COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, can cause severe illness across age groups but those who are older or have weakened immune systems are at far greater risk of hospitalization and death, federal data show. Young, healthy people are at higher risk of severe disease from influenza than from COVID-19, according to the data. But Patricia Stinchfield, director of infectious disease at Childrens Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, said she was worried about data showing the highest rate of COVID-19 hospitalization has been among 0- to 4-year-olds in recent weeks and said parents have been asking her when a vaccine will be available for that age group. That age group is unprotected without a vaccine, she said. President Joe Biden speaks about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus at the White House on Dec. 21, 2021. (Getty Images) Potentially Catastrophic: US Postal Service Seeks Waiver From Biden OSHA Vaccine Requirement The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has asked federal officials for a temporary waiver from President Joe Bidens CCP virus vaccine mandate due to potential staffing and supply chain shortfalls. Given the significant challenges that our nations supply chains are already experiencing, we respectfully suggest that the nation cannot afford the additional potential substantial harm that would be engendered if the ability of the Postal Service to deliver mail and packages is significantly negatively impacted, Deputy Postmaster General Douglas A. Tulino wrote in the request to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), dated Jan. 4. In a portion of the USPS letter, obtained by The Epoch Times, Tulino also argued that the vaccine-or-test mandate that was outlined in OSHAs rule, known as an emergency temporary standard, may cause a critical disruption to our vital operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The USPS, which is one of the largest U.S. employers, also requested that OSHA extend the compliance deadlines by 120 days, Reuters reported, and the letter asked to suspend the Postal Services obligations under the OSHA mandate until courts can provide a final ruling on the rule. Tulino said the USPS, which operates 30,000 locations countrywide, would need to train tens of thousands of local supervisors and managers to monitor employees compliance. The letter stated that requiring the USPS to absorb what could inevitably be a dramatic loss of employees at a time when the labor market is extremely tight and in the middle of the Postal Services Peak Season would have a potentially catastrophic impact on our ability to provide service. A U.S. Postal Service worker delivers packages, boxes, and letters along her route in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago on Dec. 22, 2020. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo) The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 7 will hear oral arguments on the rule, which affects private businesses with 100 or more workers. It stipulates that workers either submit to weekly COVID-19 testing and mask-wearing or get vaccinated. While the mandate is slated to take effect on Jan. 10, OSHA, which falls under the Labor Department, has said it wont issue fines for violations until Feb. 9. The USPS isnt covered by Bidens separate rules that mandated 3.5 million federal workers be vaccinated or obtain medical or religious exemptions by Nov. 22, 2021. A spokesperson for the Labor Department told Reuters that OSHA had received the request and was reviewing it. OSHA determined that compliance was feasible for employers with 100 or more employees, including the postal service, the spokesperson said. Darlene Casey, a USPS spokeswoman, told news outlets that the service will comply with the mandate after the 120-day period is up if the OSHA rule survives court rulings. The Postal Service meanwhile will continue to use its existing policies in dealing with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19. The Postal Service is seeking temporary relief because it wants to ensure that its ability to deliver mail and packages is not hindered amid the current disruptions in the nations supply chain, Casey said. In addition, the Postal Service wants to adopt policies and procedures that comply with the [OSHA rule] while also fulfilling the organizations other legal obligations. OSHA officials didnt respond to requests from The Epoch Times for comment by press time. Reuters contributed to this report. Carne adovada, one of New Mexicos most celebrated dishes, features pork marinated and then braised in a thick, fiery sauce made with dried New Mexico red chiles. The restaurant Rancho de Chimayo serves it with rice and posole (recipe follows) or as part of a combination plate with a pork tamale, rolled cheese enchilada, beans, and posole with red or green chile. Serves 6 to 8 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 8 ounces whole, dried New Mexico red chile pods (about 25) 4 cups water, divided 2 tablespoons diced yellow onion 1 tablespoon crushed chile pequin (dried, hot New Mexican chile flakes) 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried Mexican oregano 3 pounds thick, boneless shoulder pork chops, trimmed of fat and cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until just golden. Immediately remove from heat. Break stems off of the chile pods and discard the seeds (it isnt necessary to remove every seed, but most should be removed). Place chiles in a sink or large bowl, rinse carefully, and drain. Place damp pods in one layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. Chiles can have a little remaining moisture. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Break each chile into 2 or 3 pieces. In a blender, puree half of the pods with 2 cups of water (you will still be able to see tiny pieces of chile pulp). Pour into the saucepan with garlic. Repeat with remaining pods and water. Stir the remaining sauce ingredients into the chile sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken, but should remain a little soupy. Remove from heat. Cool it to room temperature. Stir pork into chile sauce and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Oil a large covered baking dish. Spoon carne adovada into the baking dish. Cover the dish and bake until the meat is completely tender and the sauce has cooked down, about 3 hours. Stir once about halfway through. If the sauce remains watery after 3 hours, stir well again and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more. Serve hot. Recipe from Rancho de Chimayo Cookbook: The Traditional Cooking of New Mexico, 50th Anniversary Edition. Rancho de Chimayo Posole Posole is dried field corn (hominy) thats treated with mineral lime to soften and remove the skins and to improve the flavor. It also refers to the stew based on posole. At Rancho de Chimayo, its served as an earthy, fragrant side dish for carne adovada (braised red chile pork). Find prepared posole at RanchoGordo.com. Find canned hominy and whole dried New Mexico chiles at well-stocked grocery stores and Latino markets. 1 cup dried prepared posole (maiz pellado para pozole or maiz pozolero) or 1 25-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed 1/2 pound pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch chunks 2 celery stalks, finely chopped 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, plus more to taste 2 or 3 dried red New Mexico chiles, stemmed, seeded, and rinsed If using dried prepared posole: Rinse well, then put it in a bowl and cover it with 2 inches of water. Let it soak for at least 4 hours. Drain. Put prepared posole in a large heavy saucepan or stockpot and cover with 8 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, covered, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours more or until the corn is puffed (almost like popcorn) and the pork is fork-tender, stirring every now and then toward the end and adding enough hot water if necessary to keep posole covered. If using canned hominy: Pour it into a pot, and add the remaining ingredients and 4 cups of water.Bring the water to a boil, covered, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until pork is fork-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring every now and then toward the end and adding enough hot water if necessary to keep posole covered. Season with garlic salt to taste and serve with a slotted spoon. Make ahead up to 3 days, chilled. Two test cassettes used in an antigen rapid test for the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a testing center in Berlin on Feb. 17, 2021. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images) Rapid Antigen Tests to Be Free for Millions in Australia Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) will be free for over six million people in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced after a national cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Morrison confirmed that the tests will not be free for everyone in Australia. But the prime minister said the concession cardholders can take up to 10 free tests over a three-month period through pharmacies (five at most in a month). This comes after the country sees soaring COVID-19 cases amid the Omicron outbreak which has seen PCR testing centres forced to close due to overwhelming demand as people require a PCR test for interstate travel. The new policy applies to people who hold a pension concession card, a Commonwealth seniors health care card, a Department of Veterans Affairs old, White or Orange Card, a healthcare card, and a low-income health card, covering over 6.6 million people across the country. People who have symptoms and those designated as close contacts can also get free testing at state clinics rather than going to a pharmacy. Universal free access was not considered the right policy response by all of the states and territories in attendance today, and the Commonwealth, Morrison said. If you are not a close contact, if you are not symptomatic, you do not need to get a testthat is the advice. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison holds up a face mask as he speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 22, 2021. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) We need to ensure that we are focusing those testing resources on the essential tests that are required, not casual tests. The free tests will be available in the next two weeks. Costs for providing the tests will be shared half and half between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories. A series of changes to COVID-19 testing requirements have also been announced: People who test positive from RATs will no longer need to confirm the result with a PCR test. Testing requirements will be scrapped for truck drivers and hospital attendees. Testing before interstate travel will be scrapped except for Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia. Queensland and Tasmania will review the requirements in the coming weeks. A second post-arrival test for international travellers will be scrapped except for Queensland, which will review the requirement after reaching the 90 percent double vaccination rate. RATs have been put under price gouging laws, meaning that retailers raising prices by over 20 percent face penalties up to five years imprisonment or AU$66,000. Purchasing limits on the tests will also be placed to prevent hoarding and panic buying, with customers limited to one pack of either two or five at one time (the AAP said so but didnt find this in the press release). National Cabinet will meet again on Jan. 13. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speak at a news conference on Republican lawmakers' response to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Reps. Greene and Gaetz: Did Feds Incite Jan. 6 Riots? U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) take exception to conservatives who downplay the events of Jan. 6, 2021but not for the same reason as Democrats. Were worried there are a lot of folks who dont understand the severity of what happened. Particularly, if it was so severe that it was animated and encouraged by assets of the federal government, Gaetz said at a Jan. 6 press conference at Capitol Hill. That would be a far greater scandal than anything that the Democrats have talked about. The notion that the FBI had foreknowledge of, or even actively facilitated, the Capitol Hill riots has been deemed a wild conspiracy theory by most major media outlets and fact-checkers. But Greene and Gaetz said theres a strong case to be made that, at the very least, the issue needs to be investigated by Congress. Citing an expose from Revolver News, Gaetz and Greene both spoke at length about the now-infamous case of Ray Epps. At the press conference, the lawmakers showed reporters some videos of Epps calling for people to enter the Capitol and seemingly directing others at the site of the first breach. The last thing that happens before the initial breach is Ray Epps whispering in someones ear, Gaetz said. I think its clear from the videos that Ray Epps incited people, but he hasnt been charged. Along with Eppswho has been subpoenaed to testify in the case of a Jan. 6 defendantGreene wants to know the identities of other participants who havent been charged. Who were these people cutting the fences? I didnt see anyone of them in the D.C. jail, Greene said, referencing her tour to observe the conditions of the districts correctional facility. Greene and Gaetz noted that at least 12 individuals involved in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were FBI informantsand at least one informant marched into the Capitol. Gaetz questioned the extent to which these kinds of informants are actually encouraging crime. Are they just sitting quietly in these meetings, or are they actively taking part? Gaetz asked. Gaetz and Greene vowed to get to the bottom of these questions. Weve moved past wanting to dissolve the Jan. 6 committee to wanting to take over the Jan. 6 committee, Gaetz said. Reporters at the press conference asked why Gaetz and Greene are spearheading this issue, while the vast majority of their Republican colleagues have either condemned the rioters or kept silent. I cant answer for them. Unfortunately, Republicans dont seem to want to go into the truth like Congressman Gaetz and myself, Greene said. Greene also denounced Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for his characterization of the Jan. 6 riots as a violent terrorist attack. I think Senator Cruz is smart enough to know since hes an attorney that no one has been charged with terrorism or insurrection, she said. I think that was very irresponsible of him, and I completely disagree. Reporters further probed Greene and Gaetz about why they think the FBI would have wanted to encourage Jan. 6. Harking to the FBIs Counterintelligence Program in the 1960swhen the bureau infiltrated numerous political groupsGaetz said the FBIs motive may have been to ensnare and trash a political movement. Greene said she didnt know, but that she wants to find out. She encouraged reporters to investigate the matter. What if the FBI was involved? What if that caused a member of the press to get killed? Greene asked. What would you all be saying to that? Recently on CNN, Michael Smerconish interviewed retired General Paul D. Eaton. During the interview, the retired general expressed his concerns about the number of Republicans that believe the 2020 election was unfair to the former president. But what was not discussed during the interview is how a good majority of Democrats believe the 2016 election was unfair to Hillary Clinton and that Democrats believe Donald Trump was not the rightful victor. In this episode, Larry Elder points out the hypocrisy of the retired generals frustration toward Republicans, but not for Democrats and their belief in the Big Lie that the Russians changed vote tallies in the 2016 election to help elect Donald Trump. Follow EpochTV on Facebook and Twitter The Larry Elder News Show is available on YouTube, Youmaker, and EpochTV. It also airs on cable on NTD America. Find out where you can watch us on TV. A Royal Caribbean cruise ship is seen docked in the island of Cozumel, off the coast of Mexico's Quintana Roo State, on June 16, 2021. (Elizabeth Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images) Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Cancel Multiple Planned Voyages Citing COVID-19 Pandemic, Travel Restrictions Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line canceled multiple planned voyages on Wednesday due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. In a blog post, Royal Caribbean said that it has called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise from Hong Kong, which was scheduled to depart on Jan. 6, after nine passengers on its Jan. 2 trip were identified as close contacts to someone that tested positive on land in Hong Kong. The contacts have tested negative but the cruise ship will return to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on January 5 to test all guests and crew who must take a second test on January 8th, Royal Caribbean said. Norwegian Cruise Line also canceled a string of planned voyages, citing ongoing travel restrictions. The Miami-headquartered company pulled its Norwegian Getaways nine-day voyage which was set to sail from Miami on Jan. 5, to Jan. 14, 2022. It also scrapped its Norwegian Pearl voyage which was set to sail a Panama Canal itinerary roundtrip from Miami from Jan. 3, through Jan. 14, due to COVID related circumstances. The ship will now be returning to Miami to conclude her voyage on Jan. 6, instead. The cruise line also modified a string of other planned journeys. All guests who were booked on the canceled voyages will be automatically refunded, the company said. As always, the health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit is our highest priority, the cruise line said. Our rigorous health and safety protocols include a mandatory 100 percent vaccination policy for our guests and crew coupled with universal pre-embarkation testing of guests at the terminal, mask requirements on board and numerous additional layers of protection against COVID-19, Norwegian Cruise Line said. We will never compromise on health and safety and we will of course, continue to take all appropriate action to ensure everyones well-being and to protect public health. The cancelations come amid a surge in the number of highly-transmissible Omicron variant cases of COVID-19 across the world which wreaked havoc with the travel industry over the festive season and caused numerous businesses to temporarily shutter their doors. In the week ending on the first of January, Omicron accounted for 95.4 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last week, the CDC issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for cruise ship travelers and advised them against cruise travel. The agency also advises cruise travelers to get tested for COVID-19 13 days before their trip and 35 days after their trip, regardless of their vaccination status or symptoms. The CDC is monitoring dozens of cruise ships after COVID-19 cases were detected on board in recent days. Despite Omicron cases surging, the CDC confirmed the plan is still for the Conditional Sail Order (CSO) to become a voluntary program next week. The order, issued last October, mandated a series of conditions that cruise lines must meet before they may resume operations, such as testing and some additional safeguards for crew members. A CDC spokesperson confirmed to Cruise Critic that the plan is still for the CSO to expire on Jan. 15, after which the federal agency will transition to a voluntary program. After the expiration of the Temporary Extension & Modification of the CSO on January 15, 2022, CDC intends to transition to a voluntary program, in coordination with cruise ship operators and other stakeholders, to assist the cruise ship industry to detect, mitigate, and control the spread of COVID-19 onboard cruise ships, a CDC spokesperson told Cruise Critic via email. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet has agreed to pay $10 million on behalf of itself and Bruce Monk in exchange for a dismissal of claims against the two. (ShutterStock) Royal Winnipeg Ballet Agrees to $10M Settlement Over Instructors Photographs WINNIPEGA settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit against the Royal Winnipeg Ballet over allegations a former teacher and photographer took intimate photos of students and released them without their consent. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say in a release that the dance company has agreed to pay $10 million on behalf of itself and Bruce Monk in exchange for a dismissal of claims against the two. A court hearing for the approval is to take place on Feb. 11 by video conference. The class action was brought forth on behalf of students who attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School between 1984 and 2015 and were alleged to have been photographed by Monk in a private setting. The lawsuit alleged that Monk took nude, semi-nude and intimate photographs of students, some of which he published, sold and disseminated online. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet confirmed in a statement that a proposed settlement has been reached, but would not comment further until it has been approved. Andre Lewis, artistic director and chief executive officer, said in a statement that Monk was fired shortly after an investigation began. The safety of our students, staff and dancers remains the highest priority for us and we continue to work with organizations like the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to ensure our policies and procedures at the RWB do all they can to provide a safe environment for everyone, he said. The claim alleged that Monk distributed the photos without the students consent, Toronto-based law firm Waddell Phillips said in the release. The lawsuit alleged Monk used his position of trust and power to invade the privacy of students. It did not allege Monks conduct was criminal and none of the allegations has been proven in court. Under terms of agreement for the settlement, students can make a claim using photos or witness statements, but supporting evidence will not be required. Waddell Phillips says the claims will be assessed by independent adjudicators. The settlement is to include a one-time payment of $1,000 for health services to any eligible students and a total payment of up to $2,500 for family members who have been affected by a students trauma, the statement says. The balance is to be paid to the students based upon the severity of harm done. Claims will be open for 12 months from the time the settlement is approved. Seattle Police Officers Falsified Reports About Proud Boys Moving Toward CHOP: Watchdog Seattle police officers falsified a report of armed Proud Boys members heading toward the autonomous zone in the city in 2020, a watchdog found. The Seattle Police Department abandoned a precinct on June 8, 2020, and activists soon after established an armed protest zone in the area known by some as CHOP. That same day, officers over the radio said armed members of the Proud Boys, a right-wing group that has clashed with members of the far-left Antifa network, were heading towards the area where the autonomous zone cropped up. Were going to be the one taking my group down around city hall to monitor the group of the Proud Boys gathering right now, one officer told a dispatcher. Small group, possible Proud Boys. It looks like a few of them might be open carry, another said. A third officer later said one of the group was carrying a gun and that the group is very boisterous tonight. Hearing from the Proud Boys group. They are not very happy with the response in the audience. They may be looking for somewhere else for confrontation, the first officer said. According to a journalist who was in the autonomous zone, the string of communications prompted many people to go grab firearms and the event transitioned from being peaceful to something entirely different. However, video footage from the scene showed at least some individuals already armed. Interviewed by the Seattle Office Police Accountability, the officer credited with coming up with the effort said officers put forth misinformation because they knew they would be overheard. [There was] no intent to put any kind of false narrative out there, as far as like Proud Boys, or anything, that was not the guidance that I gave to those. I just wanted to see if that was something that would, that could actually work, but it was all more routine kind of movement, you know, were going to go here to there, lets deliver food, lets do that kind of stuff like that, just to kind of see what the reaction would be, the officer, who was a captain at the time, told investigators (pdf). The officer, who has since retired, said he did not believe the transmissions prompted people in the autonomous zone to grab weapons, adding that officers had already been injured by armed people there. A second officer, who was already retired when interviewed, said the captain had asked him to organize some folks that could broadcast anything that was mundane and kind of focus some attention on a location different than where the main police and protest interactions were happening. He said including the Proud Boys was part of making the ruse seem realistic. But the first officer claimed using the group went against the guidance he gave to his colleague. Former Police Chief Carmen Best appeared to be unaware of the plot, investigators said. The assistant chief of patrol operations said he knew of the misinformation effort but did not know the Proud Boys were mentioned. Given the volatility situation, I think everyone is trying to do the best they could try to resolve a very complex situation, very dynamic circumstances, again, theres no attempt to instill fear or create alarm, I think, really, the goal was to try and without using force, move the crowd or get the crowd somehow distracted away from the precinct so potentially we could take the action to reoccupy the space, the assistant chief said. The Seattle Office Police Accountability attributed responsibility for the ruse to the captain, who it said abused law enforcement discretion by not providing sufficient guidelines, not adequately supervising it, and did not document any part of the effort. The second officer also bore responsibility, the watchdog said. The officers who carried out the fake broadcast did, too, but the watchdog removed the allegations against them, blaming their supervisors for what happened. A Seattle police spokesman told The Epoch Times that the findings have not been reviewed by the chain of command or Police Chief Adrian Diaz. He declined further comment. The autonomous zone was eventually ordered disbanded after multiple shootings took place. The city was sued by several people over allowing the zone to remain in place. The logo of SenseTime is seen at SenseTime office, in Shanghai on December 13, 2021. (REUTERS/Aly Song) SenseTime Offers Blueprint for Banished Chinese Stocks Commentary Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group enjoyed a rare successful initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in early January. Shares were up as much as 148 percent as of Jan. 4 from its Dec. 30, 2021, IPO price of HK$3.85, minting SenseTime as one of the most successful Hong Kong IPOs of last year. It has since dropped a bit from earlier highs. Its significant news on a few fronts. First, Hong Kong new issuance stocks have been performing terribly for much of 2021. Eight of the 10 largest Hong Kong stock listings of 2021 ended the year at below their offer price. The only post-IPO risers among the top 10 were Chinese electric vehicle companies Li Auto and Xpeng. SenseTime management was unfazed. While there are still more than 11 months left in the year, the companys stock has been off to a good start. The company didnt have a ton of options to pick from as to where to list its shares. SenseTime has been sanctioned by two U.S. administrations for its involvement in Beijings persecution of Uyghur minorities in the western Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The U.S. Treasury Department accused SenseTime in December 2021 of developing facial-recognition software to identify a persons race and ethnicity, specifically to aid in the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) oppression and monitoring of Uyghur minorities. It was added to the U.S. investment blacklist as a result. That followed actions in 2019 by the Trump-era Commerce Department to put SenseTime on the U.S. trade blacklist, barring U.S. companies from doing business with the firm. Since then, the Biden administration delayed SenseTimes IPOoriginally anticipated in mid-Decemberto early January for the company and its advisers to assess the impact. However, SenseTimes eventual IPO in Hong Kong provided an initial windfall for its early backers, notably Japans SoftBank Group. SenseTimes IPO within the friendly confines of Hong Kong could serve as a blueprint for future Chinese companies barred from listing by the U.S. government. The IPOs ultimate success remains to be seen. But the types of investors attracted by the initial listing are a roster of Beijing-approved capital providers. As part of its IPO, SenseTime raised more than $500 million from nine cornerstone investors, including the state-owned Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund and an investment fund affiliated with the Shanghai government. Other cornerstone investors included a handful of Chinese and Asian regional investment firms. Notably, U.S. investors were disallowed from participating, given the recent blacklisting. Other Chinese firms not blacklisted by U.S. regulators can presumably list their shares in Hong Kong while allowing U.S.-based persons or investment funds to buy in. It will be interesting to see how many currently U.S.-listed Chinese firms delist and move to Hong Kong, and the subsequent effect on their investor base. Clearly, CCP regime leader Xi Jinping wants to keep more Chinese technology firms home. Part of this effort includes more heavily regulating where Chinese technology firms can list their shares, how and where user data must be stored, what businesses they can buy stakes in, and even regulating how artificial intelligence algorithms should operate. In other words, Xi is tightly controlling Chinas privately held companies as if they all work for the CCP. Going forward, most Chinese companies wouldnt pass the customary kinds of governance and compliance requirements that typical Western investors demand. And forget about ESG standards. In essence, theyre just not a good fit to trade on any U.S. or Western stock exchange where such conflicts of interest would be scrutinized. But Hong Kong? Thats a home crowd. As the CCP continues to integrate the former British colony politically, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a venue for Chinese companies to sell their shares to other Chinese and CCP-approved investors. And SenseTime just showed them the way. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Thane and Ruth Hisaw attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, Greensboro, North Carolina, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times) GREENSBORO, N.C.It was fantastic, said Thane Hisaw who was at Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife, Ruth. Shen Yuns rendition of Chinas authentic traditional culture brought out exclamations of wonder and acclaim from the audience when it performed at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro, North Carolina. Classical and ethnic Chinese dance and music impart cherished stories from Chinas past, as well as modern-day events such as the repression of freedoms by the ruling communist regime. The music was great some humor and some tragedy. [It] was just really enjoyable. We had a wonderful time, said Thane, a nationally-acclaimed pediatric dentist who has won two awards for his service to the community. His work has been published in the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Shen Yuns mission is to revive Chinas traditional culture which all but disappeared after the Chinese communist regime came to power in 1949. Thane said he had learned from friends who had come from China that the regime was persecuting Christians and Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual practice. Shen Yun was very educational, Thane said. He loved the mini-dramas in which dance is used to portray a story or moral from Chinas past. I would say Im a romanticso I love the boy meets girl stories. So, I liked, 300 Years in One Day, and also the [drama depicting] the organ harvesting [Insanity During the End Days] was very touching, he said. Thane was aware that [illegal] organ harvesting crimes have been happening in China. I was glad they were brave enough to touch on that real human rights issue, he said. Insanity During the End of Days, depicts the courage of Falun Gong adherents, who are persecuted for believing in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance in China, and how their vital organs are stolen to supply Chinas organ transplant industry. Shen Yun was awesome, said Ruth Hisaw, explaining that she had been a ballet dancer until she was 18. I didnt realize that some of the ballet components come from traditional Chinese dance, that was really neat to learn, she said. Ruth loved the traditional dancing, the costumes, the colors, and the facial expressions of the dancers and their gracefulness. I also love that the women are feminine and modest. Theyre all covered up but beautiful, she said. She lauded Shen Yuns mission to educate people about China before communism. Shen Yun also performs with a live orchestra that is a blend of traditional Eastern and classical Western instruments, achieving a unique sound. Its musicians also present solo performances, one of which was the instrumentalist playing the erhu, or Chinese 2-stringed violin. That was so neatlike magical. This emotional fantasyit makes me think of a different world, Ruth said, amazed that just two strings could create such a rich melody. Were Christians, said Thane. So even though its a different religion, the values of compassion were great. Compassion and courage and hopethose are shared values. He also enjoyed the vocalist who sang Heaven in this Lifetime, a song that warns that atheism and evolution are fraught with deceit, according to the lyrics. China was once known as The Divine Land in which mortal beings and gods co-existed. The ancient Chinese believed that their culture was passed down to people on earth by heavenly beings. Shen Yun Is A beautiful production Wilton Duke, with his wife, Patricia, and son, John at Shen Yun Performing Arts in Greensboro, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Henry Wang/The Epoch Times) Wilton Duke and his wife, Patricia, were also in the audience. Wilton is a retired judge. This is a beautiful production, very talented people. Beautiful choreography and music And it is wonderful that Chinese people in America wanted to show the historical culture of China. And theyre doing it in a beautiful, beautiful way, Patricia said. Im very culturally enlightened. Im glad to know more about the true Chinese people, Wilton said. I absolutely love it, said Dr. Mae Moss, a general surgeon, who was also present in the theater. I had no idea the detail behind the dance, as I discovered tonight. And the stories they are telling just bring tears to my eyes, she said. The [persecution of Falun Gong] should not be happening, she said, and it is sad that the people of China cannot experience their own traditional culture. Reporting by Yawen Hung, Henry Wang and Diane Cordemans. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 5, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Social Media Censorship Against Conservatives Continues Unabated Commentary For many months, Twitter and Facebook (along with several other social media platforms) have gone out of their way to censor conservatives who dared to post factual information about COVID-19 that isnt in line with Big Techs preferred ideology/narrative about the pandemic. The latest victim of Twitter and Facebooks collusion campaign happens to be a sitting member of Congress, which is a stunning display of the unadulterated power these Big Tech giants currently wield. On Jan. 2, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was permanently banned by Twitter because she had the audacity to post government-provided statistics about adverse events from the COVID-19 vaccine. A day later, Facebook also temporarily suspended Greene from its platform, claiming she was posting dangerous misinformation. Greene did nothing of the sort. Far from posting so-called misinformation, she simply cited data provided by the Health and Human Services (HHS) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, commonly known as VAERS. We permanently suspended the account you referenced (@mtgreenee) for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy, Twitter said in a statement. Weve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy. Despite Twitters insistence, sans any evidence, Greene didnt spout misinformation regarding the fact that thousands of Americans have experienced adverse events soon after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. As Greene described the situation, Twitter is an enemy to America and cant handle the truth. Amen to that. Aside from the VAERS database, which provides a laundry list of Americans who have had suspected adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also come to the same conclusion. According to the CDC website: CDC and its partners are actively monitoring reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. Cases of myocarditis reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) have occurred: After mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), especially in male adolescents and young adults. Although many may think Twitter and Facebook banning a sitting member of Congress isnt that big of a deal, they would be wrong. By banning Taylor Greene for purportedly violating its misinformation policy, Twitter and Facebook are sending a clear and chilling message to their billions of worldwide users: Free speech is dead. But wait, arent Twitter and Facebook allowed to ban anyone for any reason? Theyre private corporations, after all. Well, that would be true if Twitter and Facebook were ordinary editorial publishers. But theyre not. Unlike editorial publishers, such as websites and blogs, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook receive a protective shield under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. In short, social media platforms are shielded from legal liability concerning what users post, as long as the posts are not obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable. Nothing whatsoever in Greenes recent posts could be remotely construed as falling into any of the above categories. Therefore, Twitter and Facebook, by censoring and banning the lawmaker, have blatantly violated the letter of the law as written under Section 230. With a national midterm election in the offing, its integral that social media platforms quit playing politics and banning purveyors of information that Big Tech deems inconvenient to their preferred narrative, facts be damned. Naturally, Big Tech will do everything in its power to retain its near-monopoly on the dissemination of information in todays technological world. Make no mistake, its much easier to silence the likes of Greene or former President Donald Trump when their social media plug is pulled than it was years ago, before the advent of the internet and social media. Yet there remains reason for hope. Perhaps Twitter and Facebook went too far this time. Perhaps more Americans are now becoming well aware that social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have devolved from relatively open-minded forums into closed-minded echo chambers. Perhaps this latest and most blatant episode of censorship will cause a great migration from the monopolistic likes of Twitter and Facebook to upstart, free-speech social media platforms such as Parler. The dystopian days wherein a handful of Big Tech monopolies control the dissemination of information, and therefore have an outsized influence over societal discourse, could soon see its demise. As Americans, we ought to relish our unique freedoms, especially our right to freedom of speech. We should be dismayed that social media platforms would silence a sitting member of Congress for nothing other than posting pertinent information to we the people. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Stock Wars: ATI Physical Therapy Versus US Physical Therapy Benzingas weekly Stock Wars matches up two leaders in a major industry sector with the goal of determining which company is the better investment. This week, the duel is between a pair of companies in the physical therapy space: ATI Physical Therapy Inc. and U.S. Physical Therapy Inc. The Case for ATI This company was created in 1996 by exercise physiologist Greg Steil with one clinic in Willowbrook, Illinois. Today, ATI is headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and has 900 owned clinics in 25 states and 22 clinics under management service agreements. Last year was a momentous time for ATI. In June, the company merged with Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, and began trading on the NYSE. CEO Labeed Diab called this accomplishment an important milestone for our company, as we build on our accomplishments and seek to accelerate our innovative approach and reach in the growing and critically important physical therapy market. Two months after going public, Diab left the company and board member John (Jack) Larsen was named executive chairman, with the interim duties of guiding ATI forward. A search for a new CEO is still ongoing. During the latter part of 2021, ATI acquired Texas-based Hope Rehab Katy and Michigan-based Excel-R-ation Physical Therapy, and it secured a partnership with the Denver-headquartered direct primary care provider Everside Health, LLC. Looking ahead, ATI expects to open 55 to 65 new clinics in 2022. In its most recent earnings report, the third-quarter data published on Nov. 9, ATI recorded net operating revenue of $159 million, compared to $148.7 million one year earlier, and net patient revenue of $141.9 million versus $132.8 million in the previous year. Visits per clinic totaled 20,674 for the year, up from 18,159 in the third quarter of 2020, and the $105.56 rate per visit was lower than the previous years $112.51. ATIs third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $8.5 million, down from $17.3 million one year earlier. The company projected revenue in a range of $620 million to $630 million and adjusted EBITDA to be in a range of $40 million to $44 milliona reduction from earlier guidance of projected revenue in a range of $640 million to $670 million and adjusted EBITDA from $60 million to $70 million. The reduced guidance was attributed to a lower-than-expected patient volume. Our commercial team is focused on driving visits growth through strengthening relationships with our partner providers and other referral sources in each local market across our geographic footprint, Larsen said. I am excited about the progress made with our clinical staff and the platform that ATI has built, and we believe we are well-positioned to capitalize on favorable industry tailwinds and long-term growth opportunities. ATI opened for trading on Wednesday at $3.35. Since going public, it has traded between $2.66 and $13.05. The Case for USPh This Houston-based company was founded in 1990 by businessman J. Livingston Kosberg, whose earlier endeavors included creating a nursing home chain, chairing the Texas Board of Human Services, and having interests in banking, insurance, and television broadcast industries. USPh only operated four clinics when it went public in 1992. Today, USPh operates 584 outpatient physical therapy clinics in 39 states; it also manages 35 physical therapy facilities for unaffiliated third parties, including hospitals and physician groups, and runs an industrial injury prevention business that provides on-site services for clients employees. In recent months, USPh has grown via acquisitions, most recently on Monday when it announced its takeover of an unnamed three-clinic physical therapy practice in South Carolina. In 2021, it acquired a 70 percent ownership interest in an unnamed leading provider of industrial injury prevention services in December, a full acquisition of another unnamed company that specializes in return-to-work and ergonomic services, among other offerings in October and a July pick-up of an unnamed eight-clinic physical therapy practice. It isnt quite clear why USPh declines to publicly identify its acquired companies. For its most recent earnings report, the third quarter data published on Nov. 4, USPh recorded net revenue of $125.9 million, higher than the $108.9 million from one year earlier, and net patient revenue of $112.3 million, up from the previous years $96.4 million. Average visits per clinic per day was 29.5, up from a 25.8 average in the third quarter of 2020, while the net rate per patient visit was $102.93 was lower than the $105.91 level from one year earlier. USPhs adjusted EBITDA was $19.9 million in the third quarter, slightly up from $19.6 million one year before. Its basic and diluted earnings per share were 66 cents, versus 61 cents in the third quarter of 2020, and the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share. We are pleased with the continued outstanding results produced by our team, said Carey Hendrickson, chief financial officer. Patient volumes have continued at record-high levels for seven consecutive months, and both labor costs and total operating cost have remained in line with or better than pre-pandemic levels as a percentage of revenue. Our cash generation is strong and our balance sheet remains in an excellent position. USPh opened for trading on Wednesday at $99. Its 52-week range spans $84.43 to $143.67. Verdict Both companies have weathered the pre-Omicron pandemic and one could easily assume they will be able to move forward into 2022 without difficulties. But as a new publicly-traded company, ATI has gotten off to a rocky start with reduced guidance and the abrupt departure of its CEO two months after it began trading. It is also trading on the low side, which is not entirely encouraging. For those seeking stability, USPh appears to be in a more stable state at the moment and could be a vibrant addition to a portfolio. But for those with patience and time on their side, ATI could be an intriguing ground-floor opportunity with the potential to achieve the proverbial bigger and better. By Phil Hall 2021 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. China tells Walmart to respect the feelings of the Chinese people after the retailer apparently removed Xinjiang-related goods from its stores. A bleeding woman was eight months pregnant, but a Chinese hospital refused to take her in in time, due to lockdown restrictions. Beijing takes another step to control Chinese cyberspace. Now it seems mobile apps that may influence public opinion will require a security review. Taiwans air force shows off its combat readiness amid heightened tensions with China. Military jets screamed into the sky, as they practiced a drill simulating a war scenario. Last year was a year of record losses for Chinas tech tycoons. Because of the pandemic, Beijings clampdowns, and U.S. sanctions, almost a quarter of Chinas tech wealth was wiped away. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China. For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter. The lobby of the Taiwanese Representative Office is shown in Lithuania, on Nov. 18, 2021. (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images) Taiwan Pledges to Invest in Lithuania Amid Chinese Pressure VILNIUS, LithuaniaTaiwan is creating an investment fund and planning other measures to help Lithuania as it faces major economic pressure from China for allowing the island to open a representative office in the European Union country, Taiwanese officials said Wednesday. The $200 million fund will be used for investments into the Lithuanian economy and help its business, primarily into semiconductors, laser technology, biotech, and other key industries, Eric Huang, representative of the Taiwanese mission to Lithuania, told reporters in the Baltic nations capital of Vilnius. Lithuania broke with diplomatic custom by agreeing that the Taiwanese office in Vilnius would bear the name Taiwan instead of Chinese Taipei, a term used by other countries to avoid offending Beijing. The Chinese communist regime claims Taiwan part of its territory with no right to diplomatic recognition despite the fact that Taiwan is a de facto independent country, with its own military, democratically-elected government, and constitution. The name plaque at the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Nov. 18, 2021. (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images) The office, a de facto embassy, opened in November, and Lithuania is planning to open its own trade office in Taiwan later this year. It has infuriated the Chinese regime, which withdrew its ambassador to Vilnius, and expelled the Lithuanian ambassador to Beijing. Lithuania, a member of the EU and NATO, has closed its embassy in Beijing over the dispute. Taiwan said it is ready to help Lithuania in resupplying trade, with the island saying goods are stopped from entering China. There are more than 120 sea containersat least 1.5 million-euro worthblocked by Beijing. Were ready to take all of those and help Lithuanian companies, Huang said. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has called it false news that Beijing has blocked Lithuanian imports or pressured multinational companies that do business with the EU country. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Tuesday that using the Taiwan name for the mission was a mistake and expressed regret that the step was not coordinated with him. He didnt, however, say he disapproved of the actual opening of the Taiwanese mission in Lithuania. Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Harry Tseng defended the decision by Lithuanian politicians. There is a significance in the name. Taipei only represents a city, a capital. Taiwan has a more clear definition. There is no violation of any laws calling our country Taiwan, he said. Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte on Tuesday discussed the tense situation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, wrote later on twitter that the EU pledged support to the Baltic country of 2.8 million in current trade irritants with China. Colorado State University has told unvaccinated students they face being trespassed from its campus if they do not get innoculated, or claim an exemption. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) Teacher Potentially Facing 4 Years Jail Time for Allegedly Vaccinating Teen Without Parental Consent A New York public school science teacher has been arrested after she was accused of vaccinating a 17-year-old student without parental consent. Nassau County police said in a news release that Laura Parker Russo, 54, appeared to give a student a dose of what appeared to be a COVID-19 vaccine at her home in Sea Cliff, a village on Long Island. The teenager, who has not been publicly identified, later told his mother after he went home, according to the release, and the mother called the police. Russo was arrested on New Years Eve, police said, noting that the teacher at Herricks High School in New Hyde Park is not authorized to administer vaccines. The mother had not given permission or authority to have her son injected with a COVID vaccine and called police, the Nassau Police Department in New York said. The department added that after it conducted a thorough investigation, they also found out Russo is not a medical professional or authorized to administer vaccines. Fino M. Celano, the superintendent of Herricks Public Schools, said in a statement that Russo has since been removed from the classroom and reassigned. The individual in question is a district employee who has been removed from the classroom and reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation, Celano told The Washington Post. As this is a matter of personnel, the district has no further comment, he added. Russo has been charged with New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, police said. She has a criminal court appearance hearing scheduled on Jan. 21, and if convicted, the biology teacher could face a four-year prison sentence. The teenager had reportedly wanted to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The state of New York requires parental consent for COVID-19 vaccinations. Police say it is still unclear how Russo obtained what appeared to be a COVID-19 vaccine. The department also said it is unclear what brand Russo allegedly administered to the teenager. Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in Americans younger than 18. In a video of the incident obtained by WNBC, the teacher can be heard saying there you go, at-home vaccine, before she appears to administer a vaccine to the teenager. Proper vaccine administration is critical to ensure that vaccination is safe and effective, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states on its website. CDC recommends that all health care personnel who administer vaccines receive comprehensive, competency-based training on vaccine administration policies and procedures BEFORE administering vaccines, the agency says. The CDC also emphasizes the importance of following infection prevention guidelines when preparing vaccines, including proper handling, preparing, and storing medications and injection equipment, and supplies to prevent microbial contamination and infection. A Chinese couple who immigrated to Australia over three years ago says having access to uncensored information is critical to unveiling the ugly purposes behind any propaganda and understanding that news can be fake too. The couple, who are from South China and whose identities are withheld for safety concerns, told The Epoch Times in an interview that coming across truthful facts in an open society helped them redeem their consciences and free their minds from the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) lifelong indoctrination. It is really brainwashing in all aspects, said 33-year-old Ms. Wang (alias). The 15- or 16-year ideological education courses from the first grade to graduating from university are really scary to think about. After being brainwashed, we truly believe that the CCP is very good. While growing up, most of the students are educated to believe that what the schools, newspapers, and TV news said is true. They never think that news can be fake too. The other was the coronavirus pandemic. My husband now often compares and shows me the videos posted by people in Wuhan and news from mainland China, which allowed me to see the CCPs propaganda, ugliness, and utter disregard for human life. The Problem Is the CCP The couple didnt like the education environment in China, and they never enrolled their three children into cram schools for special tutoring to cope with their kindergarten studies. In 2018, they left China in hopes of finding a better future and educational environment for their children. After the family of five moved to Melbourne, they witnessed a complete change of worldnot only was the education system more empowering, but the people were also more openhearted, which eventually had a huge impact on their life. Ms. Wang said that the spirit of educating people in Australia can be seen in the things that encourage children to help others and be kind people. It was completely different from the education method we had in China, she said. The education in China produces machines, and the students there compare their grades, family conditions, and so on. We felt we were forced to think more like the CCP, and we had no individuality. The schools in China educate people that, without the communist party, there would be no new China. Ms. Wang even felt that Chinese peoples personalities have a big gap when compared to the upbeat and outgoing nature of Australians in general. I used to observe peoples expressions and found that Chinese people often frown, while foreigners are more natural, sincere, and generous, she recalled. When we were in China, we had a resentful attitude and also felt that our financial ability was good. After coming out, we felt ashamed. She said the communist ideologies of class struggle and hate have infiltrated all sectors of society and life in China, and the persistent indoctrination has forced Chinese people to have no thoughts of their own. Like countless others, she, too, became a radical communist follower after decades of indoctrination, she said. Everyone believes in school education, she added. How the CCP drove away Japan, liberated China, and fought for land for poor farmers without it being squeezed by landlords. I always felt that new generations are living better than previous generations, and are very happy, as there is no famine, so no one needs to go hungry, and that all these changes are brought about by the CCP. Even while talking on the phone to my mother about some social problems, my mother always says, Oh, its because the social atmosphere is bad. She never ever thinks that the problem is the CCP. Discovering Uncensored Truth Ms. Wang recalled an elementary classroom incident from her childhood days. A teacher barged into the classroom and questioned if any of the students practiced Falun Gong, before announcing that they couldnt practice it, alleging that it was a heretical religion, a term that is usually mistranslated into English as cult. She said that the students were then made to watch a self-immolation video and her school teacher spoke at length for 45 minutes, defaming the practice and brainwashing the young minds. Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) is a self-improvement system based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, but its been violently persecuted in China since July 1999. During the 22-year-long abuse, countless adherents have faced persecution to varying degrees; many have died from torture or been killed on demand for their organs. In an attempt to demonize Falun Gong, the communist regime launched a massive propaganda stunt and staged a self-immolation incident where five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 23, 2001. The entire scene was caught on camera, and in no time, the Chinese state-run and worlds media outlets began reporting that the self-immolators were adherents of Falun Gong. However, weeks after the event, multiple pieces of evidence pointed to the fact that the entire event was staged by CCP officials, and the immolators werent Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Wang recalled that, being unaware of the propaganda at that time, she and her classmates were scared after watching the video. Later, we were tested on Falun Gong in many examinations and we were brainwashed over and over again, she said. We had been deeply poisoned in our minds through school education, repeated tests, newspaper propaganda, and other methods. Before I began practicing it myself, my opinion of Falun Gong was that it was a cult, and I didnt dare to contact Falun Gong practitioners and didnt read the information materials they usually hand out to expose the ongoing persecution. A Chinese military policeman keeps a look-out for Falun Gong adherents to stop them from handing out information brochures exposing the CCPs persecution of their faith at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on Feb. 6, 2000. (Stephen Shaver/AFP via Getty Images) Ms. Wang said that she and her husband got the opportunity to see through the hardcore lies only after moving to Australia. She says her family also learned about Hong Kongs pro-democracy protests and the pandemic caused by the CCP virus only after having access to truthful news. The Hong Kong situation made me feel a little bit shaken, she said. The Chinese authorities said the Hong Kong incident was initiated by chav (anti-social youth). When I actually saw the [uncensored] videos, I realized that everything was a propaganda created by the CCP. But when we talked to our families in China about how chaotic and pitiful Hong Kong is now, our family members told us not to listen to foreign anti-China forces. We could then see the CCPs control over peoples thinking. The other was the coronavirus pandemic. My husband now often compares and shows me the videos posted by people in Wuhan and news from mainland China, which allowed me to see the CCPs propaganda, ugliness, and utter disregard for human life. Ms. Wangs husband said that, though he didnt dare to understand Falun Gong back in China due to the persecution, neither did he believe what the Chinese mainstream media said. When I didnt really understand Falun Gong, I felt afraid of Falun Gong, he said. I knew that the communist partys propaganda always turns things upside down. There are ugly purposes behind it. But I was in a state of ignorance. After I moved to Australia, I was able to access many online videos that were not available in China. At first, I accidentally watched some Falun Gong practitioners self-media programs. At that time, I felt that the practitioners said it very well, their speech was rational and peaceful, and it felt very upright, and I couldnt connect it to any so-called cults. Group meditation practice in Guangzhou city, in China, prior to 1999. (Courtesy of Minghui.org) In the year 2020, Ms. Wangs husband, who was facing health issues for a long time, developed swelling and pain in the joints and had difficulty sleeping. Though he was already practicing qigong exercises and taking Chinese medicine after Western medicine couldnt provide him any relief, the prolonged physical discomfort left him bad-tempered. It was during this time that he thought to try practicing Falun Gongs meditative exercises, which are known for their health benefits as confirmed by several Chinese state-run and independent surveys. Living by Falun Gongs core moral teachings and practicing the meditative exercises, Ms. Wangs husband said he experienced positive changes in his health and mental state. My temper has improved a lot. It can be said that I rarely really get angry with others, he said. Even if I get angry occasionally, I can quickly realize it and adjust it. However, Ms. Wang said that it took her some process to pull herself out of the CCPs brainwashing and deep-rooted party culture. When her husband asked her to try out practicing Falun Gong, she struggled to make the decision. At first, I thought it was a cult and didnt want to read the book, but after my husbands persuasion, I read it once, she said. Actually, I didnt know the truth. I was like an iceberg, slowly melting. After I came across the true facts, my mood was very complicated. A flood of emotions rushed overshock, disbelief, fear, etc. Ms. Wang shared that, after reading the teachings firsthand, she could see through the CCPs propaganda that aimed to demonize the peaceful practice, which has over 100 million adherents. Falun Gong teaches us to be truthful, compassionate, and tolerant, she said. Isnt this our human nature? Shouldnt we be people who follow truthfulness, kindness, and tolerance? Or are we going to be hypocritical, evil, acrimonious people? On the surface, my physical body changed for the better with the practice, but the real changes I experienced were more mental. Self-cultivation has allowed me to slowly get rid of unhealthy emotions. Freeing herself from the shackles of communist ideologies, Ms. Wang now makes efforts to talk to her family and relatives in China to help them escape the psychological traps and break away from the lies of the CCP. When people go against their own true human nature, there is a real pain, Ms. Wang said. When we reveal and show our innocent and kind nature, that is ones happiest self. This allows us to experience the beauty and the true meaning of life. Jocelyn Neo and Arshdeep Sarao contributed to this report. Police stop and question a woman at the start of a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. COVID-19 curfew imposed by the province of Quebec, in Montreal on Dec. 31, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Peter McCabe) The Shifting Goalposts of Canadas Pandemic Policies A look at the claims made and consistencyor lack thereofin imposing various pandemic measures News Analysis From flip-flopping on mask mandates, to initially leaving borders unprotected against travellers from the pandemics epicentre, to applying lockdowns inconsistently, to piling on more conflicting measures amid rising Omicron cases, Canadians have endured a never-ending see-saw of COVID-19 policies since the virus outbreak began in Chinain many cases presented in the name of undisputed science. With the latest set of restrictions announced in different provinces, it seems an increasing number of people are questioning the policies, including parents who have been forced to make a last-minute scramble to figure out how to deal with their children after school openings were postponed. More than 500 doctors signed a letter in late December asking Ontario Premier Doug Ford to keep schools open. We are trading the certainty of profound harm to our children for essentially no benefit from a public health or disease transmission perspective, wrote infectious diseases physician and medical professor Dr. Jennifer Grant in an op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen. It is an indictment of the politicians who feel comfortable using our children as political pawns that this is happening, despite the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that it has served no purpose in the past and is unlikely to do so now. The erosion of trust in politicians has been a trend since the start of the pandemic. A Navigator poll released in May showed that 44 percent of Canadians trusted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau less at that time compared to at the start of the pandemic, while 19 percent trusted him more. Provincial results showed a similar trend. Now, at the cusp of the third year of the pandemic, it bears examining how response measures have been applied in terms of consistency and whether the policies have been based on evidence and the interest of Canadians or on other factors. Omicron Policies British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons response to rampant Omicron infections was that this new variant is plainly milder and that no new measures are needed. In the United States, President Joe Biden said on Dec. 27 that Omicron should be a source of concern but it should not be a source of panic, and ahead of the holidays he said gatherings are safe for the vaccinated. When asked to compare the U.S. response to Canadas as authorities warned against holiday gatherings, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada is a careful country. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a news conference with chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore (L) and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy in Toronto on Jan. 3, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young) Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was an outlier among premiers, saying his province wouldnt be imposing additional restrictions ahead of the holidays as the variant has been mild and the provinces hospitalization numbers had dropped. But provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, and B.C. acted quite differently in dealing with Omicron. Quebec brought back curfews, Ontario banned indoor dining in restaurants, and B.C. limited indoor gatherings, among a host of other restrictions. The experiences of countries that had the Omicron outbreak earlier than Canada, as well as numerous studies, show that the variant is much milder compared to other variants of concern. What we are seeing now is the decoupling between the cases and the deaths, said WHO incident manager Abdi Mahamud on Jan. 4. Rising cases, fear of the virus, and the issue of whether the government is doing enough to minimize harm have been the main concerns among the populace. A study published by the Cambridge University Press in March, based on data from 23 countries, showed that the public tended to have stronger trust in governments as they imparted more health measures, including avoiding crowded spaces and self-quarantining, as long as this was done in ways that were perceived as being better organized and based on clearer messaging and knowledge dissemination on COVID-19. A report by the European Journal of Political Research published in May 2020 based on online surveys found that governments that imposed lockdowns saw an increase in support. While no new public surveys have been done on the popularity of lockdown measures despite their enormous impact on peoples lives, the concerns of the segments of society most impacted by such restrictions, such as small business owners, may receive less attention than the segments that have government jobs or who can work remotely. If politicians are taking action based on what is impacting their support polls, the rights of those vulnerable segments may not be upheld. Daily media reports so far have been mainly headlined with new case counts, rather than hospitalization and death counts. In the third calendar year of the pandemic, such stories still get tagged as breaking news and still get sent to news subscribers as news alerts. B.C. Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix look on as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks at a press conference in Victoria, on Aug. 23, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito) Traffic tools used by assignment editors to gauge which types of stories get the most interaction consistently show that articles with case count headlines generate the highest interest among the public. A recent wire article published in many Canadian media was headlined, Ontario hospitals facing staffing challenges as COVID cases continue to mount. Buried deep was this sentence: The high number of unavailable staff comes as [the president and chief executive officer of Torontos University Health Network] has noticed fewer people entering hospital critically ill from the virus. But this point was neither reflected in the headline nor the leading paragraphs of the article. Instead, the headline and the article itself imparted a sense of crisis by emphasizing the rising case numbers. Expressing concern about the harm Ontarios latest lockdowns will inflict on business owners, Conservative MP Dean Allison said on Twitter that he wonders if its possible that those in power have no idea what is going on or how to fix this. In imposing the new restrictions, Ford and the provinces Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said the decision is based on modelling projections and hospital capacity issues. However, alarm about the rise in severe hospitalization cases seems to be at odds with the experience in other parts of the world. Some countries, including South Africa, are already seeing a decline in their Omicron infection numbers after new cases hit a peak about a month after the initial outbreak in November. On the issue of hospital capacity, two factors are essential. One is the number of staff members who are becoming unavailable and sent home due to infection with Omicron. The other is the physical capacity of hospitals, such as in terms of ICU beds. Some medical professionals and politicians, including Dr. Shawn Whatley, a former president of the Ontario Medical Association, and Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ont., are noting that Canada trails in hospital capacity compared to other OECD countries. According to OECD 2020 data, Canada has 2.5 beds per 1,000 people, taking the 32nd place out of 41 OECD nations and other partner countries. You closed schools for the fourth time in 21 months because the health care system in a province of 15 million people cant handle 700 more ICU patients, said Aaron Wudrick, director of domestic policy program with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, in a tweet on Jan. 4, reacting to Fords announcement the day before imposing new restrictions. Who will be held accountable for this utter disgrace? Borders One of the most inconsistent policy issues throughout the pandemic has been the issue of border closures. A person is seen in a room at a government-authorized COVID-19 quarantine hotel in Richmond, B.C., Canada, on Feb. 28, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press) At the start of the pandemic, while many countries, including the United States, Australia, and Taiwan imposed restrictions on flights from China, Canada kept its borders open, a decision that was cheered on by Beijing. It became more clear that the number one criteria for Canadas border policy was Chinas interest, rather than the health of Canadians, when chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam reiterated on Feb. 5, 2020, that the WHO advises against travel restrictions on China, adding that, China posted the virus genome very quickly. What are they getting out of it? I think the idea is to support China. Like many other aspects of pandemic policies, eventually there was a complete reversal on the border policy and the federal government imposed very strict restrictions, including holding travellers in quarantine centres. This was despite the fact that the pandemic was already rampant in Canada and the opportunity to use border restrictions to buy time had passed, as the government had allowed travellers from China to enter the country. The requirement that Canadians returning to Canada had to go to a government-assigned hotel to quarantine and pay $2,000 was seen by some as a violation of guaranteed freedoms, with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms describing the measure as forced confinement. Besides the time and financial loss, some experienced other adversities while held at a place that wasnt of their own choosing. Two women who were forced to undergo quarantine in a government-assigned hotel in February 2021 reported that they were sexually assaulted at the hotel. Masks At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, as front-line responders struggled with a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), the official recommendation from the Public Health Agency of Canada and many experts quoted in the media was against the use of masks for the general public so that precious resources could be saved for front-line health workers. Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam appears via video conference as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference in Ottawa on May 4, 2021. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Shortly before the pandemic hit Canada, many Beijing-linked organizations in Canada and around the world, coordinated by the Chinese Communist Partys United Front organization, bought large volumes of PPE and shipped them to China, contributing to the shortage of supplies when the pandemic came to Canada. The federal government also shipped 16 tonnes of PPE to China in February 2020. Chief public health officer Dr. Tam cited scientific considerations as she declared that people who arent infected shouldnt be wearing masks. What we worry about is actually the potential negative aspects of wearing masks where people are not protecting their eyes, or you know, other aspects of where a virus could enter your body, Tam said on March 29, 2020. And that gives you a false sense of confidence, but also, it increases the touching of your face. If you think about it, if youve got a mask around your face, sometimes you cant help it, because youre just touching parts of your face. Tam wasnt alone in making this recommendation. In a tweet, on March 30, 2020, the United Nations quoted WHO experts saying that there is no evidence that wearing a mask by healthy people has any medical benefit. U.S. authorities also made similar recommendations. But Tams stance completely reversed in just under two months, saying in May that all Canadians should wear masks. The same change happened in the United States. There continues to be a range of opinions on the issue of masks, with some medical experts saying that cloth masks dont serve an effective purpose and people should opt for N95-type masks, and with others saying that masks may do more harm than good. But currently, the weight of the law is on the side of the debate supportive of wearing masks, and no individual choice is allowed. Vaccine Mandates Vaccine mandates imposed by provincial and federal governments have come at a heavy price for those whose jobs or daily activities are on the line if they dont get a COVID-19 vaccine. A customers COVID-19 QR code is scanned at a restaurant in Montreal on Sept. 1, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes) Governments and health authorities report that vaccines help to substantially reduce deaths and severe hospitalizations, but the mandates are imposed in the name of preventing risk to others. This is despite the fact that latest data from Ontario show vaccine efficacy in preventing infection has dropped to lower than 20 percent, and many of those being infected are people who are fully vaccinated. With rising Omicron cases and as more front-line staff became infected, some jurisdictions such as Quebec started allowing COVID-positive health workers to stay on the job while others such as B.C. pondered a similar policy. If the concern is about transmission from infected health workers to others, many, including Conservative MP Mark Strahl, wondered what the logic was in barring unvaccinated COVID-negative health staff from working while allowing COVID-positive staff to continue to work. Currently, those who are unvaccinated in Canada cant travel by air or train and cant access services such as gyms and restaurants, and many have lost their jobs. In B.C., no medical exemption is allowed. Federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough has said that those who lose their jobs as a result of not getting vaccinated may be ineligible for employment insurance benefits. These are fundamental infringements on citizens rights, but theres no clarity around justification of such measures if theyre based on concern about infected individuals potentially infecting others. Natural Immunity When Omicron hit South Africa, health professionals noted that one possible reason the new variant wasnt impacting the population severely was that many had developed natural immunity after the previous waves of COVID-19. A woman walks in a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, on Dec. 2, 2021. (Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters) This was the assessment of the countrys health minister Joe Phaahla, who said on Dec. 17 that vaccinations and immunity from prior infections appeared to be helping to reduce the severity of the disease. Some countries, such as Israel and Germany, recognize natural immunity after a person has contracted COVID-19. While scientists have different opinions on whether natural immunity is superior to vaccine immunity for a person who has already had the virus or vaccine, currently governments in Canada dont allow for any personal choice about vaccination. People cannot consult their physician and make the best decision for their own particular case, as only vaccine passports are acceptable for accessing many necessities of life. Lockdowns In October 2020, three highly accomplished epidemiologists from prominent universitiesHarvard, Oxford, and Stanfordcreated the Great Barrington Declaration, calling for measures to protect the elderly and others vulnerable to COVID-19 while allowing some normalcy in the lives of those at low risk. The goal was to avoid the harms of lockdowns, including causing deteriorating mental health and robbing children of in-school education. A storefront on Roncesvalles Avenue displays a for lease sign as part of a protest against the Ontario governments pandemic lockdown rules in Toronto on Nov. 24, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Jody White) To date, the declaration has garnered over 900,000 signatures, some 46,000 of them from medical practitioners. Later studies have corroborated the assessment of the declaration. One such study, published by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, looked at lockdown policies in 43 countries and all U.S. states. It found that not only did these policies fail to reduce mortality, but on the contrary, some jurisdictions even had higher excess deaths. A great number of scientists have also disagreed with the declaration, citing their own reasons and research. But ad hominem attacks on the Great Barrington Declaration scientists in order to discredit them soon followed. On Wikipedia, which is among the top results that show up when one searches for the declaration, one line says that the declaration was sponsored by the American Institute for Economic Research, a libertarian free market think tank associated with climate change denial. In December, newly released documents revealed that Dr. Francis Collins, head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, worked together to discredit the declaration. This proposal from the three fringe epidemiologists seems to be getting a lot of attention, Collins told Fauci in an email. There needs to be a quick and devastating published takedown of its premises. I dont see anything like that online yetis it underway? As reported previously by The Epoch Times, within a day of Collinss email, Google started to censor search results for Great Barrington Declaration. In a commentary written for The Epoch Times, two of the original authors of the declaration, Dr. Martin Kulldorf and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, say that Fauci and Collins, who were proponents of lockdowns in the United States, mischaracterized their declaration. The authors of the Great Barrington Declaration at the American Institute for Economic Research, (LR) Martin Kulldorff, Sunetra Gupta, and Jay Bhattacharya, on October 2020. (Taleed Brown/[CC BY 4.0 (ept.ms/2htXG3C)]) For example, they say that while they were calling for a focused protection approach, Fauci and Collins labelled the declarations idea as a let-it-rip strategy, a label that was repeated by the media. In Canada, Albertas chief medical officer issued a statement criticizing the declaration. The tone of the statement, coming from a position of authority, gave the impression that its settled science that what the declaration authors propose is incorrect, even though a great many prominent scientists support what the declaration outlines. We are now in the third year of the pandemic. Yet as provincial governments impose new restrictions amid rising Omicron cases, public health experts have not released any assessment of whether previous lockdown measures had been successful or whether the benefits outweighed the considerable harms of the measures in terms of negative impacts on mental health, income loss, and increased drug abuse. Outpatient Treatments Paramedics take a patient to the emergency department at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on May 4, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn) Throughout the pandemic, many doctors have complained that authorities havent supported the use of outpatient treatments for those who contract COVID-19. One is Dr. Peter McCullough, a U.S. internist, cardiologist, and epidemiologist who says theres been no attention paid to early treatment, which in his experience can be quite effective. McCullough says that in the case of many simple and available treatments, some influential bodies have made a decision against their use despite the absence of any settled science against them. Whats worse, many of those treatments are now no longer available, even for doctors who may decide on a case-by-case basis that they might be the best course of action for their patients. Conspiracy Labelling Shortly after the start of the pandemic, some influential figures in the scientific community with links to China published statements in prominent scientific journals denouncing as a conspiracy any suggestion that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not of natural origin. The term was repeated frequently by many media, including in Canada, to label anyone who discussed alternative virus origin theories, including the possibility that it leaked from a lab. Then-Health Minister Patty Hajdu speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Dec. 4, 2020. (The Canadian press/Justin Tang) But after numerous intelligence reports, including comments by U.S. President Joe Biden in May 2021, it became clear that, as the origin of the virus hasnt yet been proven, the lab leak theory cant be dismissed. The conspiracy labelling was also used by Canadian politicians when various important issues related to the pandemic came up. During a parliamentary committee meeting in May 2021, Conservative MPs raised questions about the firing of two Chinese-born scientists from the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg and the NMLs shipment of deadly Ebola and Henipah virus samples to Wuhan, giving context that the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak started in Wuhan and that the Chinese regime isnt being transparent about the origin of the virus. In response, Liberal MPs said the Conservatives were alluding to conspiracy theories, with one Liberal MP saying Tory MP Michael Chong was borrowing from some of the wildest theories on Facebook and other social media to make a point. The term was also used by then-health minister Patty Hajdu in April 2020, when a reporter asked whether Chinas account of the number of cases could be trusted. Hajdu accused the reporter of fuelling conspiracy theories. In these instances, its worth pondering whether the dismissal of such questions as engaging in conspiracies was in the best interest of Canadians, or whether it served a foreign power. Guards stand at an entrance to a residential compound in Xi'an, in northwestern Chinas Shaanxi Province on Jan. 5, 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Xian Residents Told to Censor Themselves as Complaints Rise Over Harsh Lockdown: Report A Chinese social media group in Xian has ordered the users not to share negative information about the harsh COViD-19 rules, according to media reports. Violators will lose their accounts. On the early morning of Jan. 5, some Xian residents received an announcement on Chinese social media WeChat, telling them to self-censor the information they share online, Radio Free Asia reported on Wednesday. Youre not allowed to post unofficial newssuch as hearsay, website links, and videos related to the epidemic, especially negative informationon WeChat (Chinas most popular social media platform), read the notice. The notice said that the social media platforms were monitoring all posts on their platforms. The system will automatically filter the posts, and a team of inspectors checks the posts 24 hours a day. A couple rides past a propaganda mural that reads Do not forget the original aspirations, keep the mission in mind on a street in Beijing, China on June 9, 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images) The Xian government locked down the city on Dec. 23, 2021, and tightened controls that didnt allow people to leave their homes on Dec. 26. Meanwhile, the city moved the residents whose neighbors had been diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 to quarantine centers. The citys vice mayor Xu Mingfei announced at 12:00 p.m. on Jan. 5 that over 42,000 residents of the city were quarantined at different quarantine centers. The lockdown meant that the citys 13 million residents couldnt leave their homes to shop for food. A man worried that his grandma, who lives alone in a village, had nothing to eat. He tried to enter the village on Jan.1, but the official didnt allow him to enter, and beat him with bricks, causing his face to bleed. A widely spread video showed a young man who went out to buy some steamed buns on Dec. 31. As he returned home, the guards of the residential compound saw him, beat him, and caused the buns that he bought for his family to fall to the ground. In general, the quarantine centers in Xian are in rural areas. Many of them dont have heating systems nor do they supply enough food to the people who are held there. A video about one quarantine center shows a highway tunnel in which the government has placed a large number of bunk beds and forced people to be quarantined there. In another video, a woman who was quarantined at a hotel modified to be a quarantine center, pleaded for sanitary pads and food. An overhead view of the nearly empty roads in Xian, China on Dec. 28, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Meanwhile, positive videos and texts are spreading on Chinese social media platforms, which promote the COVID-19 rules and praise tight control. Go Xian is a slogan that the regime has adopted. Pictures, texts, and videos that contain Go Xian are promoted by Chinese media. The Chinese regime mandates all users to register on social media with their cell phone number, which is associated with their ID. Once banned from owning a social media account, a person cant share feelings with friends online and will have a lower social credit score. The regime doesnt allow anyone with a low social credit score to buy a ticket for an airline or for a high-speed train. Even their children arent allowed to go to public school. The first priority of the Chinese regime is to maintain its political image, rather than the citizens lives. The regime absolutely doesnt allow anything to damage its political image, U.S.-based economist Cheng Xiaonong told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Jan. 5. The regime uses a propaganda system that includes radio, newspapers, TV broadcasts, and social media platforms to manipulate public opinion; uses censorship to ban criticism; and uses the Great Firewall to block Chinese citizens from surfing western websites. After a devastating tornado ripped through a candle factory in West Kentucky last month, Rebecca Marsala was among the survivors trapped inside who were rescued. Her town of Mayfield was the hardest hit in the state, and she lost everything. Then, a stranger from out of county decided to step in and help. On Dec. 26, Sharon Sutherland, a teacher from Anderson County, drove the four hours to Graves County to hand the keys of her car Goldie to Marsala. Sutherland told WKYT how inspiration came to her conspicuously in the middle of the night, compelling her to donate the car. I guess it started with just the story of what happened, she told the station. All the pictures I saw just devastating. I cant explain it, at 3 oclock in the morning, I wake up and my first thought is, I need to take that car to Mayfield. Rebecca Marsala (L) receives a car from Sharon Sutherland. (Courtesy of Graves County Sheriffs Office) Sutherland learned that Marsala had been trapped in the rubble for five long hours and had even called her adult daughter to say goodbyebefore eventually being rescued. After which, she spent several days in the hospital recovering from her injuries, according to Graves County Sheriffs Office. A day or so after the tornado struck, Sutherland contacted Anderson County Sheriff Joe Milam, who got in contact with Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden, who then helped bring the two women together. Sharon Sutherland (far left) and Rebecca Marsala (far right). (Courtesy of Graves County Sheriffs Office) Rebecca Marsala (L) and Sharon Sutherland embrace. (Courtesy of Graves County Sheriffs Office) Mrs. Sutherland signed over the title and handed the keys to Rebecca. What a blessing, Graves County Sheriffs Office stated. She also delivered some homemade cookies for our deputies. Both women were trying so hard not to bawl, Sutherland said of the handoff, adding that Marsala was shocked that this would happen and grateful. Her parents had been driving her everywhere since the tornado, as she had lost everything. Sheriff Hayden thanked Sutherland, as well as Sheriff Milam who himself had been delivering goods from out of county to Mayfield residents. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter US winter exhibitions to warm the soul [T]rue painting is such as not only surprises, but as it were, calls to us; and has so powerful an effect, that we cannot help coming near it, as if it had something to tell us, wrote French art critic Roger de Piles in his Principles of Painting (1708). Traditional art speaks to our soulswith subjects that gently guide or chastise uswhile always offering us ways to become better versions of ourselves. Across the country, there are some fascinating winter exhibitions that hold the qualities of traditional art dear. These artworks draw us in, like a warm hearth on a chilly day for, as de Piles suggested, they have stories to tell. Art With Purpose Faith and paternal love tenderly play out in the painting Saint Joseph Embracing the Infant Christ by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (commonly known as Baciccio). Joseph lovingly gazes down at his son, who is trying to tug at his fathers curly beard. Its an endearing, universal scene designed to tug at our heart strings, as empathy pulls us into the picture. Yet Baciccios painting moves us beyond the earthly father-son bond by depicting a glowing halo emanating from the Christ Child, elevating us and the painting to a higher realm. Saint Joseph Embracing the Infant Christ, circa 167085, by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, commonly known as Baciccio. Oil on canvas; 50 inches by 38 1/4 inches. (The Norton Simon Foundation) The Madonna and Child are more commonly depicted than Joseph and the Christ Child. But artworks of both subjects were made for the same reasonto aid contemplation and prayer in secular or religious settings. Baciccios painting is one of over 60 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures in The Expressive Body: Memory, Devotion, Desire (14201750) exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. All works are from the museums collection, and many are on view for the first time. As art lovers today, we view the vast majority of artworks in museums and art galleries in artificial constructs behind rope or glassfar from the artists original intentions. This exhibition explores how people once interacted with artworks showing the human figure. These works were once displayed in homes, churches, and art collectors cabinets, and the subjects were expressly chosen to educate, spark devotion, and impart or strengthen morals. Virgin and Child With Four Angels and Two Cherubim, circa 147075, by Francesco Botticini. Tempera on panel; 25 3/4 inches by 19 1/2 inches. (The Norton Simon Foundation) Viewers intimately experienced the art. Collectors directly handled prints and caressed sculptures in appreciationas the patina (a greenish layer caused by the objects being handled or exposed to the elements) on a bronze Venus attests to in the exhibition. Couples wishing to conceive were encouraged to gaze at paintings of beautiful lovers in order to be blessed with healthy children. The devout used images and sculptures to meditate on the suffering of martyrs, to bring out compassion, to deepen their faith, and to bring them closer to God. Detail of The Virgin Annunciate, first half of the 14th century. Marble; 37 inches by 11 inches by 6-1/2 inches. (The Norton Simon Foundation) The Virgin Annunciate, first half of the 14th century, attributed to Agostino di Giovanni. Marble; 37 inches by 11 inches by 6-1/2 inches. (The Norton Simon Foundation) Divine Traditions The use of devotional objects as conduits for spiritual support is still a living tradition, and a thread that connects across many beliefs and value systems, curator Aimee Marcereau DeGalan said in a press release. Marcereau DeGalan is the Louis L. and Adelaide C. Ward senior curator of European arts at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Nine paintings and sculpturesfrom 1400 to the 1730sare currently on display at the museum in the Objects of Devotion: Highlights From Rockhurst Universitys Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art exhibition. (LR) Head of the Virgin, circa 17001725, by Giuseppe Mazza; marble. Immaculate Conception, circa 1700, by Peter Strudel; marble. The Holy Family, circa 1730, by Giuseppe Maria Crespi; oil on canvas. Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University. (Gabe Hopkins/Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) The small display demonstrates the different ways that Christians used and continue to use artworks to guide and deepen their faith. Through religious paintings and sculptures, artists of the past could effectively convey sacred truths to a largely illiterate population. They did this by imbuing the art with realistic emotions, a practice that was established in Western Europe as far back as 1300. Viewers moved by the works might have gained spiritual insights that brought them closer to God. Head of the Virgin, circa 17001725, by Giuseppe Mazza; marble. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Pierson in memory of Mrs. Daisy C. Kahmann; Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University. (Gabe Hopkins/Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) Believers used the images, steeped in religious symbols, to venerate the saints, entrusting their woes and joys to them. Standing Female Saint, circa 14501460, by anonymous; possibly limewood. Gift of Robert C. Greenlease Family; Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University. (Gabe Hopkins/Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) In the exhibition is a standing female saint believed to be carved in limewood. Its unclear which saint the 15th-century German statue depicts, as any symbols suggesting her identity are missing. She holds out her empty left hand that once would have hinted at her identity. For instance, St. Catherine would have held a book, and St. Barbara would have held a sword or chalice, explains the carvings title card. An awe-struck Mary holds her breath as she gazes up to God in Peter Strudels sublime marble sculpture titled Immaculate Conception. The divine sculpture shows the moment when Christians believe God created Mary free from original sin. Immaculate Conception, circa 1700, by Peter Strudel; marble. Gift of Robert C. Greenlease Family; Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University. (Gabe Hopkins/Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) Strudels Mary moves us instantly because he made her gesture relatable; who hasnt held their breath and chest when aghast? Yet Strudel used Christian symbols to convey that this is certainly not an earthly scene. Mary stands on a heavenly sphere crushing a serpent carrying an apple. The serpent warns us that right from birth people are tempted to sin. Mary however, by her very virtue, demonstrates that sin can be conquered by pure faith. At her feet, joyous putti celebrate her miraculous arrival. The title card next to the sculpture states that by the 1600s, artists had set symbols to represent core Christian concepts. For instance, art depicting the Immaculate Conception would show Mary holding her chest in awe or clasping her hands in prayer. The crescent moon (as seen in Strudels sculpture) or a crown of stars (as seen in paintings by Rubens and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo) indicates the sun, because Christians believe Mary to have been clothed by the sun, with the moon at her feet. Sacred Art From the Spanish Americas Divine art is also the focus of another exhibition at the museum, which opens in February. Fifteen Hispanic paintings from Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador feature in the exhibition titled The Nelson-Atkins Paintings From the Spanish Americas: The Thoma Collection. Created under Spanish rule, the paintings encourage leisure, prayer, or contemplation. Our Lady of Mongui, 17th century (gold embellishment added 18th century), by an unidentified Colombian artist. Oil and gold on panel; 12 11/16 inches by 10 3/16 inches. Collection of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation. (Jamie Stukenberg/Courtesy of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation) Of the European empires, the Spanish empire was one of the largest and longest lasting. For nearly 500 years, Spain ruled a vast realm stretching from South Asia to South America. The Spanish colonization of Latin America began in 1535 when present-day Mexico, Central America, and parts of the Southern United States became the viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1542, South America (except Brazil and the far south) became the viceroyalty of Peru. Saint Michael the Archangel, late 17th18th century, by an unidentified, possibly Bolivian artist. Oil on canvas; 67 1/8 inches by 38 7/8 inches. Collection of Carl & Marilynn Thoma. (Jamie Stukenberg/Courtesy of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation) European artists made the arduous journey across the Atlantic Ocean to create religious art for homes, convents, and churches throughout Latin America. By the 17th century, South American artists had developed a unique Hispanic style of art, influenced by visiting Italian artists and by copying and adapting art imported from Europe. By the 18th century, regional schools and art academies fulfilled prestigious religious and secular commissions. For instance, in the painting Our Lady of Cocharcas,an unknown Peruvian artist vividly depicted an Andean pilgrim procession. The composition is filled with colorfully clothed pilgrims making the high mountain trek to pay homage to the Virgin. Our Lady of Cocharcas, 1751, by an unidentified Peruvian workshop. Oil and gold on canvas; 49 7/8 inches by 41 1/8 inches. Collection of Carl & Marilynn Thoma. (Jamie Stukenberg/Courtesy of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation) The style and palette is almost reminiscent of Pieter Bruegel the Elders jovial peasant paintings. Dominating the center of the painting is the Virgin Mary, a reminder for Catholics to place her at the center of their life. In her hand she holds a statue of Our Lady of Copacabana, a symbol of how the pilgrimage to Cocharcas began in the 16th century. According to legend, a Catholic novice who lived in the Cocharcas area was guided by his Jesuit sponsor to take a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca to heal an injury. While on the way to the shrine, he found that all his symptoms disappeared. Vowing to serve the Virgin for the rest of his life, he took a small copy of the statue of Our Lady of Copacabana back to Cocharcas, and he along with the Jesuits installed the statue in the small 17th-century church. The exhibitions highlighted here feature art created up to some 600 years ago, in the 15th century. Yet, the messages conveyed in those traditional artworks transcend time and language, as they rely on universal human experience. By appreciating traditional art, we are ultimately connecting with this inherent ancestral heritage that cherished goodness for all. Now, thats something worth telling. The Expressive Body: Memory, Devotion, Desire (14401750) exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Calif. runs until March 7. To find out more, visit NortonSimon.org At the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., the Objects of Devotion: Highlights From Rockhurst Universitys Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art exhibition runs until June 17; and the Paintings From the Spanish Americas: The Thoma Collection exhibition opens on Feb. 12 and runs until Sept. 4. To find out more, visit Nelson-Atkins.org Dozens of Protesters Killed in Kazakhstan, Over 1,000 Injured: Report Dozens of protesters were killed in Kazakhstan overnight as they clashed with security forces in the Central Asian country as a Russia-backed security bloc agreed to send in military forces in a bid to quell nationwide unrest, authorities said on Thursday. There was no immediate confirmation on the number of fatalities among protesters, though state-run news channel Khabar-24 TV reported that at least 13 security officers died, according to city officials cited by the network. Saltanet Azirbek, a spokeswoman for the Almaty police department, told the channel that dozens of attackers were liquidated during demonstrations overnight on Wednesday that saw government buildings broken into and set ablaze. A burned-out fire engine is pictured in front of the gate of an administrative building in central Almaty on Jan. 6, 2022. (Alexander Bogdanov/AFP via Getty Images) The countrys ministry of health said more than 1,000 people across the nation were injured as a result of the unrest, Khabar 24 TV reported, adding that so far, 2,000 people have been arrested. Over 1,000 people were hurt as a result of mass disturbances in Kazakhstans various regions, out of them almost 400 were hospitalized, 62 individuals are at intensive care units, the network quoted the federal agency as saying. Nationwide protests, which started on Jan. 2 in the west of the country in the city of Zhanaozen and the Mangistau region, began in response to an increase in the price cap for propane gas to 120 tenge (27 cents), from last years 60 tenge (14 cents). Riot police walk to block demonstrators gathering during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 5, 2022. (Vladimir Tretyakov/AP Photo) Protesters attend a rally in Almaty, after energy price hikes, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Ruslan Pryanikov/AFP via Getty Images) Tens of thousands of people, some reportedly carrying clubs and shields, have taken to the streets in recent days in the worst protests the country has seen since gaining independence from the Soviet Union three decades ago. Although the demonstrations began over a near-doubling of fuel prices, their size and rapid spread suggest they reflect wider discontent in the country. Videos circulating on the internet show protesters in the streets of Almaty, Kazakhstans largest city, as apparent gunshots are heard. Gunfire was also reported near the mayors office, which was set ablaze, news agency Reuters reported, citing reporters at the scene. A burned car is seen in front of the mayors office building which was torched during protests triggered by a fuel price increase in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 6, 2022. (Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters) In Almaty alone, more than 350 people were injured overnight, authorities said. In other places around the country, police and military forces have refused to attack protestors. At the same time, in other areas, there have been reports of security forces surrendering to protestors. As tensions escalated, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on the Russian-aligned bloc of former soviet countries for international support after demonstrators continued to protest the continuing dominance of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev over the country. This is the first time the organization will deploy peacekeepers to intervene in the regions political environment. It was not immediately clear if any of the Russian forces have already arrived in Kazakhstan. In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian peacekeepers board on a Russian military plane at an airfield outside Moscow, in Russia to fly to Kazakhstan on Jan. 6, 2022. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) Much of the anger displayed in recent days was directed not at Tokayev, but at Nazarbayev, the countrys first president who continued to wield enormous influence after his 2019 resignation. Protesters shouted Shal Ket!, roughly translated as Old Man Go, an apparent reference to Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev continued to maintain control over the ruling party, Nur Otan. His children feature prominently in both Nur Otan and the government. Images posted on social media show broken statues of Nazarbayev on the ground after having been pulled down. In a televised address, Tokayev vowed that he will remain in the Kazakh capital, Nur Sultan. In the presidents request for aid, he said military assistance is necessary to help the country overcome a terrorist threat. Victoria Kelly-Clark and The Associated Press contributed to this report. From NTD News US Appeals Court Upholds Decision to Block Vaccine Mandate for Contractors in 3 States A federal appeals court upheld a decision to temporarily block the federal governments COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in three states. A judge in Louisville, Kentucky, issued a ruling blocking the mandate for Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee in November. And on Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the injunction in a 21 ruling. The Sixth Appeals Court majority wrote in its Wednesday order that the injunction was upheld because the government has established none of the showings required to obtain a stay. States are imminently threatened in their proprietary capacities should they renew those existing contracts (thus triggering the mandate as well) or should they choose to bid on new contracts to which the mandate applies, the court wrote in its order. And if they chose not to renew such contracts given the contractor mandate, they could lose millions of dollars in funding from the federal government for critical state programs. Defendants had reasonably argued the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for contractors infringes on states rights. They have also plausibly alleged that the federal government has intruded upon an area traditionally left to the statesthe regulation of the public health of state citizens in general and the decision whether to mandate vaccination in particular, the judges wrote Wednesday. The vaccine requirement for contractors was part of President Joe Bidens announcement on sweeping mandates, including the controversial rule that requires workers at companies with 100 or more workers to submit to weekly testing or get the vaccine. Biden also mandated federal workers to get the shot, and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to have Medicare- and Medicaid-funded health care facilities require their workers to get the shot. This ensures, while the case continues to proceed, that federal contractors in Kentucky arent subject to the Biden Administrations unlawful mandate, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican who filed the lawsuit against the mandate, said in a Thursday statement. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a special session to weigh challenges to Bidens vaccine mandate for health care workers and private businesses. A panel on the Sixth Court of Appeals on Dec. 17 ruled (pdf) that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has the legal authority to issue its emergency temporary standard that impacts private businesses. The rule carries hefty fines of thousands of dollars per violation. Weeks before that, the U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals in November blocked the OSHA mandate. Days later, it reaffirmed its decision in a scathing ruling by calling the mandate staggeringly overbroad. US Retailers Raise Prices of Discounted CCP Virus Test Kits After Agreement Ends With Biden Administration Walmart and Kroger, the two largest retailers in the United States, have both raised their prices for the BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid tests, after an agreement with the Biden administration to sell the antigen self-test kits at a fixed price expired at the end of the year. The average number of COVID-19 tests administered per day is nearing record highs amid a surge in positive cases. The two retailers, along with Amazon, had agreed to a three month deal with the administration in September 2021 to sell federally discounted test kits made by Abbott Laboratories at $14. The cost of the two part self-test kits at Walmart has risen to $19.98, while Kroger is now selling them for $23.99. The big pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens, are selling the tests for $23.99 a box, while other retailers are charging even more. The program ended in mid-December, and while other retailers increased prices in mid-December, Walmart held the $14.00 through the holidays before increasing the price, said a Walmart spokesperson in a statement to FOX Business. The spokesperson said that the tests are still being sold in its stores and online, but stated there are purchase limits in place due to significant demand. A Kroger spokesperson explained that the pricing program was phased out and standard retail pricing reinstated, after fulfilling their agreement with the White House. Abbott, the manufacturer of the BinaxNOW tests, said that the stay-at-home kits are currently out of stock on Amazon.com. The test kit manufacturer said it is running their operations around the clock, seven days a week to pump out 70 million tests a month. Despite rising U.S. material and labor costs, we have not passed along any of these costs to our customers and the price at retail has not changed since we launched the test, according to Abbott. The holiday season combined with the new Omicron variant, has led to a surge in demand for COVID-19 tests, making the kits both difficult to find and keep in stock. At-home PCR tests are more readily available, but generally cost about $100 per test. Other rapid tests approved by the FDA for home use include the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test and the QuickVue test made by Quidel. I cant give you an update on any conversations, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when asked today if the administration was working with retailers to bring the test prices down. Im not going to get into details of our private conversations with these providers, she said. Our focus is, of course, ensuring that we are increasing access and access to free tests to people across the country. She instead pointed at Bidens vow in December to make 500 million at-home tests available free of charge via mail through a new government website sometime this month. Insurance companies will be required under the White House plan to reimburse applicants for the tests. Many details regarding timing and costs of the plan have yet to be revealed. Psaki would not say whether the administration would have an update on how long it will take to send out and distribute the test kits over time. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the State Department in Washington on Jan. 5, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP) US Vows Steadfast Trade Support for Lithuania Amid Spat With China The Biden administration is pledging its support to Lithuania as the small Baltic nation stands up to pressure on several fronts by the Chinese regime. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai promised continuing strong support to Lithuania during a Jan. 5 telephone call with its foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis. She said in a statement that the U.S. government would work with the European Union (EU) and its members to address the coercive diplomatic and economic behavior of China. Lithuania infuriated Beijing late last year by allowing self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims is a runaway province with no right to diplomatic recognition, to open a de facto embassy in its capital, Vilnius. In addition to downgraded diplomatic ties, Lithuania has since been locked in an escalated financial dispute as Beijing has pressured countries to halt the sourcing of materials from Lithuania and imposed a trade embargo over Lithuanian exports and imports. During a joint press conference on Jan. 5 with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also reasserted the immediate concern about Chinas attempts to bully Lithuania. China is pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania or risk losing access to the Chinese market, all because Lithuania chose to expand their cooperation with Taiwan. The economic coercion tactics pose a significant challenge to shared values of democratic alliances and the international rule of law, said Blinken, who called for trans-Atlantic coordination with Germany to strengthen economic resilience and diverse sourcing supplies. Fundamentally, this is about what were for together, not what were against, Blinken said. Baerbock said that her country, as Europeans, stand in solidarity at Lithuanias side and would ban forced labor products from entering its market. During a call on Jan. 3 with Blinken and other foreign ministers, Landsbergis thanked the United States for its solidarity and support for Lithuania in the face of Chinas political and economic pressure, the Lithuanian foreign ministry said. Dovile Sakaliene, a member of Lithuanias Parliament, said via Twitter the same day, Domestic disputes shall not change the consistent Lithuanian foreign policy: our security depends upon solidarity, engagement of partners, and protecting democracy. The European Unions top trade official said last month that the bloc would stand up to coercive measures imposed on Lithuania, which is a member state. Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice president from Latvia, said if necessary, the EU would take up the issue at the World Trade Organization. The Export-Import Bank of the United States signed a $600 million export credit agreement with Lithuania in November last year in a bid to resist increased pressure from the Chinese regime. Taiwan also said on Jan. 5 that it would set up a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industries and boost bilateral trade, said Eric Huang, head of the Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania. Meanwhile, Taiwan has redirected into its own market 120 shipping containers from Lithuania blocked by China, and will take as much as possible more, Huang said. China recalled its ambassador from Vilnius in August 2021 before expelling Lithuanias envoy in Beijing in November. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ethnic Uyghur women take part in a protest against China, in front of the Caglayan Courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Dilara Senkaya/Reuters) Uyghurs in Turkey File Criminal Complaint Against Chinese Officials ISTANBULNineteen people from Chinas Uyghur Muslim ethnic group filed a criminal complaint with a Turkish prosecutor on Tuesday against Chinese officials, accusing them of committing genocide, torture, rape, and crimes. Lawyer Gulden Sonmez said it was necessary because international bodies had not acted against the Chinese communist regime, who has been accused of facilitating forced labor by detaining around a million Uyghurs and other primarily Muslim minorities in camps since 2016. The Chinese regime initially denied the camps existed, but has since said they are vocational centers and are designed to combat extremism. It denies all accusations of abuse. About 50,000 Uyghurswith whom Turks share ethnic, religious, and linguistic connectionsare believed to reside in Turkey, the largest Uyghur diaspora outside Central Asia. The complaint was filed with the Istanbul Chief Prosecutors Office. Chinas embassy in Turkey and the prosecutors office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The international criminal court should have already started this trial, but China is a member of the (United Nations) Security Council and it does not seem possible within this dynamic, Sonmez said outside the citys main courthouse. Ethnic Uyghur men take part in a protest against China, in front of the Caglayan Courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Dilara Senkaya/Reuters) Surrounding the lawyer were more than 50 people holding photos of missing family members and signs calling for the prosecution of Chinese officials. The complaint relates to 116 people who the complainants say are still detained in China and was filed against 112 people, including members of the Chinese Communist Party, directors and officers at labour camps. Turkish legislation recognizes universal jurisdiction. Torture, genocide, rape, (and) crimes against humanity can be prosecuted in Turkish courts and criminals can be tried, Sonmez said. Rescue My Sister Medine Nazimi, one of those who filed the criminal complaint, said her sister had been taken away in 2017 and she had not been heard from since. My sister and I are Turkish citizens so I want my government to rescue my sister, Nazimi said. Some of the Uyghurs living in Turkey have criticized Ankaras approach to China after the two nations agreed on an extradition treaty. Turkeys foreign minister said in March the deal was similar to those Ankara has with other states and denied it would lead to Uyghurs being sent back to China. Some Turkish opposition leaders have accused the government of overlooking Uyghur rights in favor of other interests with China, which the government denies. U.N. experts and rights groups estimate more than a million people, mainly from the Uyghur and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in camps in Xinjiang. A District of Columbia police officer in white lands a punch with his left fist on Victoria C. White of Rochester, Minn., on Jan. 6, 2021. (Screen Capture/via The Epoch Times) Victoria White Files Federal Suit for Jan. 6 Beating at US Capitol Suit will seek 'significantly higher' amount than preliminary ask of $1 million Victoria C. White, the Minnesota woman who allegedly suffered a beating by District of Columbia police in the West Terrace tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging assault, battery, and excessive use of force. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the lawsuit has initially sought $1 million in damages. Joseph McBride, Whites attorney, said the suit will be amended with a dollar amount significantly higher than the preliminary ask of one million dollars. Nothing will ever right the wrong committed against Ms. White, but making sure that she is compensated for the egregious injuries that she suffered on January 6, 2021, is certainly a start, McBride said in a statement. Whites beating is shown in detail on a three-hour video unsealed by a federal judge in December in a case involving another defendant charged in the wake of the rally featuring then-President Donald Trump and the subsequent unrest at the U.S. Capitol. The video shows White being struck by police nearly 40 times in a four-minute span, including blows to the head with a steel baton and punches to the face and head, delivered by an officer in a white shirt. Victoria White is seen putting her hands and arms up to protect her head from baton strikes and punches. (Screen Captures/via The Epoch Times) McBride said he believes the officer in white is a Metro D.C. police supervisor, who is listed in the lawsuit as Officer John Doe 1. The suit seeks damages from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and seven of the dozens of police officers on duty in the West Terrace tunnel on Jan. 6. In December, McBride called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the beating. The Metropolitan Police Department didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. The suit was filed late on Jan. 5, since some of the claims could have a one-year statute of limitations, McBride said. In a criminal complaint issued April 7, federal prosecutors charged White with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, impeding or attempting to impede law enforcement officers performing official duties, and obstruction of Congress. Hers is among some 625 cases listed on the U.S. Department of Justices Jan. 6 webpage, although the FBI says 725 people have been arrested, from nearly all 50 states. Victoria C. White of Rochester, Minn., chastises an unidentified man for smashing a U.S. Capitol window on Jan. 6, 2021. She was later assaulted by police in the adjacent West Terrace tunnel, her attorney says. (Screen Capture/via The Epoch Times) Videos released by McBride on video-sharing platform Rumble show White trying to prevent protesters from smashing a window adjacent to the West Terrace tunnel entrance. She shouts at one young man wearing a green helmet with a Trump sticker on the front. We dont do that [expletive], she says in the video. Get him the [expletive] out of here, she says, pushing the man away from the window. Video shows the man with the green helmet bashing the window at least 18 times with a small bat before hes pulled down by a man in a brown coat. White is seen trying to wrest the bat from his hands before shouting at him not to vandalize the Capitol. McBride said the beating by police caused great trauma to White, who is a survivor of years of physical and verbal domestic abuse. Years of healing and progress were literally beaten out of her by the police on January 6th, he said in a statement. The scars and trauma related to past abuse were torn open again. A multitude of preexisting repetitive trauma injuries [were] aggravated to the point where she can never fully recover. White traveled to Washington a year ago under the belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, McBride said. Victoria White appears prone or near collapse in several parts of the video from the West Terrace tunnel. (Screen Captures/via The Epoch Times) She felt deep in her gut and in her heart that President Donald J. Trump had wrongfully lost the election, McBride said. Therefore, she felt compelled to go when she heard that people were going to protest the election results on January 6th in Washington D.C. Her decision to go was less of a choice and more of a civic duty, as she truly felt the election was stolen. McBride initially filed a discovery request on Oct. 1, 2021, for three hours of CCTV surveillance video from the West Terrace tunnel. He later asked a federal judge to unmask the video and make it public because it had been subject to a protective order shielding it from public view, according to notes he posted on Rumble. In his motion to obtain the video, McBride said the video shows there were agent provocateurs agitating conflict in the crowd on the West Terrace, and there were undercover agents passing weapons through the crowd. Careful, patient analysis and cross-referencing of these eight videos will lead you to the truth, McBride wrote on Rumble. Look for coordination and communication between members of the crowd who look out of place with uniformed police and begin to connect them to each other. McBrides allegations follow investigative reporting done by alternative news site Revolver, which wrote in 2021 of the presence of numerous agents provocateur and other unindicted participants who enabled the breaching of the Capitol and directed Trump rally-goers to enter the U.S. Capitol. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on Oct. 6, 2021. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images) White House Maintains Two COVID-19 Shots Fulfill Fully Vaccinated Status White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday defended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for not deciding to change its definition for fully vaccinated to include a booster dose. Earlier this week, the CDCs director, Rochelle Walensky, said during a COVID-19 briefing that we are now recommending that individuals stay up to date with additional doses that they are eligible for but also said that individuals are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if theyve received their primary series that definition is not changing. On Thursday, Psaki was asked by a reporter whether the federal government is considering changing the definition. What the CDC is advising is for everyone to be up to date on their shots, the Biden administrations top spokesperson told reporters at the White House. That means if youre scheduled at that point to have a booster, you should get a booster, and that is true. That is how they conduct their guidance for basically any shot regimen for diseases. Psaki then reiterated that the CDC is currently advising people if theyre due for a booster, they should get a booster. The CDCs terminology around what constitutes fully vaccinated or not could have far-reaching implications. Many businesses and agencies follow the CDCs recommendations when doling out vaccine mandates for employees or customers. An increasing number of businesses and organizationsnamely universitieswithin the United States have started to issue booster mandates as a condition for employment or remaining a student. Some, including Harvard and New York University, have required boosters for when staff and students return from their winter breaks, respectively. Some major U.S. hospitals also started to require COVID-19 boosters, including several in the Boston area. Mass General Brigham, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Wellforce, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reportedly told their employees Tuesday that they will have to show proof theyve obtained a booster shot in the coming weeks. In the face of Omicron, boosters have become almost a necessity, particularly for those of us vaccinated more than five or six months ago, said Dr. Megan L. Ranney, academic dean for the Brown University School of Public Health who works at Rhode Island Hospital, according to the Boston Globe. On Wednesday, a proposal for a vaccine booster mandate for indoor events in city-owned facilities in San Jose cleared a procedural hurdle after the mandate was passed unanimously in a City Council Rules Committee meeting. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo first introduced the proposal in late December. Theres no benefit in waiting. We see whats happening throughout the country. We know we have a trajectory ourselves here in the Bay Area of a rapidly increasing case counts. We need to do everything we can to keep people safe. And that means, lets use our common sense, said Liccardo, according to CBS San Francisco. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities said that people have to get boosted with the Pfizer vaccine six months after they have received their two-dose series in order to keep using their green pass, or a vaccine passport used to enter restaurants, gyms, and similar businesses. Police and protesters outside the U.S. Capitol's Rotunda in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) Who Are the Real Insurrectionists? Commentary Recently, Democrats have been despondent over President Joe Bidens sinking poll numbers. His policies on the economy, energy, foreign policy, the border, and COVID-19 all have lost majority support. As a result, the left now variously alleges that either in 2022, when they expect to lose the Congress, or in 2024, when they fear losing the presidency, Republicans will destroy democracy or stage a coup. A cynic might suggest that they praise democracy when they get elected, only to claim it is broken when they lose. Or they hope to avoid their defeat by trying to terrify the electorate. Or they mask their own revolutionary propensities by projecting them onto their opponents. After all, who is trying to federalize election laws in national elections contrary to the spirit of the Constitution? Who wishes to repeal or circumvent the Electoral College? Who wishes to destroy the more than 180-year-old Senate filibuster, the more than 150-year-old nine-justice Supreme Court, and the more than 60-year-old, 50-state union? Who is attacking the founding constitutional idea of two senators per state? The Constitution also clearly states that when the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside. Who slammed through the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump without a presiding chief justice? Never had a president been either impeached twice or tried in the Senate as a private citizen. Who did both? The left further broke prior precedent by impeaching Trump without a special counsels report, formal hearings, witnesses, and cross-examinations. Who exactly is violating federal civil rights legislation? New York Citys Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in December 2021 decided to ration potentially lifesaving new COVID-19 medicines, partially on the basis of race, in the name of equity. The agency also allegedly used racial preferences to determine who would be first tested for COVID-19. Yet such racial discrimination seems in direct violation of various title clauses of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That law makes it clear that no public agency can use race to deny equal utilization of any public facility which is owned, operated, or managed by or on behalf of any State or subdivision thereof. Who is behind the new racial discrimination? In summer 2020, many local and state-mandated quarantines and bans on public assemblies were simply ignored with impunityif demonstrators were associated with Black Lives Matter or protesting the police. Currently, the Biden administration is also flagrantly embracing the neo-Confederate idea of nullifying federal law. The Biden administration has allowed nearly 2 million foreign nationals to enter the United States illegally across the southern borderin the hope that they will soon be loyal constituents. The administration hasnt asked illegal entrants to be tested for or vaccinated against COVID-19. Yet all U.S. citizens in the military and employed by the federal government are threatened with dismissal if they fail to become vaccinated. Such selective exemption of lawbreaking non-U.S. citizens, but not millions of U.S. citizens, seems in conflict with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. After entering the United States illegally, millions of immigrants are protected by some 550 sanctuary city jurisdictions. These revolutionary areas all brazenly nullify immigration law by refusing to allow federal immigration authorities to deport illegal immigrant lawbreakers. At various times in our nations history1832, 1861 to 1865, and 1961 to 1963America has been either racked by internal violence or fought a civil war over similar state nullification of federal laws. In the past five years, we have indeed seen many internal threats to democracy. Hillary Clinton hired a foreign national to concoct a dossier of dirt against her presidential opponent. She disguised her own role by projecting her efforts to use Russian sources onto Trump. She used her contacts in government and media to seed the dossier and create a national hysteria about Russian collusion. Clinton urged Biden not to accept the 2020 result if he lost, and she herself claimed Trump wasnt a legitimately elected president. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has violated laws governing the chain of command. Some retired officers violated Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by slandering their commander-in-chief. Others publicly were on record calling for the military to intervene to remove an elected president. Some of the nations top officials in the FBI and intelligence committee have misled or lied under oath either to federal investigators or the U.S. Congress, again, mostly with impunity. All these sustained revolutionary activities were justified as necessary to achieve the supposedly noble ends of removing Trump. The result is Third-World-like jurisprudence in the United States aimed to reward friends and punish enemies, masked by service to social justice. We are in a dangerous revolutionary cycle. But the threat isnt so much from loud, buffoonish one-day rioters on Jan. 6. Such clownish characters didnt for 120 days loot, burn, attack courthouses and police precincts, cause more than 30 deaths, injure 2,000 policemen, and destroy at least $2 billion in propertyall under the banner of revolutionary justice. Even more ominously, stone-cold sober elites are systematically waging an insidious revolution in the shadows that seeks to dismantle Americas institutions and the rule of law as we have known them. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Wife of Missing Girls Father Charged With Welfare Fraud CONCORD, N.H.The wife of a man whose daughter went missing in 2019 has been charged with welfare fraud for collecting food stamps in her name, the New Hampshire attorney generals office said Thursday. Kayla Montgomery, 31, of Manchester, has been charged one with one count of welfare fraud for obtaining $1,500 in food stamps from December 2019 to June 2021 for Harmony Montgomery even though the girl was not living with Kayla and her husband Adam Montgomery. Kayla Montgomery, who is not the biological mother of Harmony Montgomery, will be arraigned at 11 a.m. in the Hillsborough County Superior Court. It was unclear if she had a lawyer and a phone listing for her could not be found. Adam Montgomery was charged Wednesday with several counts, including failing to have her in his custody. The 31-year-old had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf by his lawyer. He has been jailed without bail. Adam Montgomery and Harmony Montgomery in undated photos. (Manchester Police Department) In an interview with police on New Years Eve, Kayla Montgomery, who shares three younger children with her husband, said she last saw Harmony in November or December 2019. She said her husband was driving Harmony to the childs mother in Massachusetts. She said she believed Harmony had been returned to the mother and never saw or heard about Harmony after that day, according to the police document. Kayla Montgomery also told police she hadnt seen Adam since October, and had not spoken to him since November. Manchester police set up a 24-hour tip line this week and offered cash rewards in an effort to find Harmony Montgomery. They said they were working with the state Division for Children, Youth and Families and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to find her. Harmonys mother had called Manchester police in November to say she hadnt seen her daughter in a while. She originally told officers she hadnt seen her in over six months, but then said it had been since Easter 2019, when she video chatted with the father and Harmony, according to a police affidavit. Police said Adam Montgomery had legal custody of Harmony. He was arrested on a second-degree assault charge Tuesday, as well as charges of interfering with custody and child endangerment. Police accused him of purposely violating a duty of care, protection or support by failing to know where she has been since late 2019the last reported sighting of Harmony. Manchester Police Public Information Officer Heather Hamel holds two reward posters, in Manchester, N.H., on Jan. 4, 2022, that shows missing girl Harmony Montgomery. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via AP) In an interview with police, Harmonys great-uncle told officers he saw her with a black eye in July 2019. He said Montgomery told him he hit her after he had seen his daughter holding her hand over her younger brothers mouth to stop him from crying, according to the police documents. The family member said he notified the states child protective services. Montgomerys brother also told police he was concerned he was super short with the child. Xian Has Been Removing Residents From the City to Achieve Societal Zero COVID Amid the recent flare-up of COVID-19 cases since Dec. 9, 2021, Xian, the capital city of Chinas northwestern Shaanxi Province, has been imposing harsh lockdown measures in an effort to bring down the cases. The city, which has a population of 13 million, was locked down abruptly on Dec. 23, 2021. Initially, one member from each household was allowed to shop for groceries and necessities every two days. But as confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to pile up despite the stringent measures, residents were further banned from leaving their homes except for COVID-19 testing on Dec. 26. A leaked document revealed that the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) chief of the province set a Jan. 4 deadline by which Xian must achieve the goal of societal zero COVIDF-19 cases. The document has since been taken down from the Chinese intranet and is no longer accessible. Chaos, Increased Infection Risk Resulting from Government Policies: Residents Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Xian, residents have been crying out for help on Chinese social media, which has been inundated with posts and videos seeking help and complaining of incompetence by the local authorities. On Jan. 1, a public Wechat account named Chudingya uploaded an article describing seeing around 30 buses at a compound entrance and an uncountable number of [people wearing white hazmat suits] in the compound from 8 p.m. on New Years Eve. In a video posted on Jan. 2, a woman asked a security person sitting behind a desk at an isolation site why there was no breakfast. She also complained that she could not get a tampon after calling all the hotlines, including the police hotline. The security staffer kept touching his smartphone throughout the video, and finally, the woman went back to her isolation room without getting any help from the man. Wang Qin (using an alias for her safety) told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times on Jan. 2 that the COVID-19 pandemic had been spreading very quickly in Xians local communities. The Lianhu District where she lives is among the worst-hit in Xian, as many students at the Xian Aeronautical Institute have been infected by COVID-19 and have been removed to the surrounding suburbs for quarantine. A report on Dec. 31 on Chinas popular news website 163.com said that the Xian Aeronautical Institute began to transfer over 2,000 students and staff members to four counties in Xian. Wang said that some students were put on a bus and traveled for five to six hours before they arrived at their quarantine site, only to find steel bunk beds with minimal bedding, and no heating at all despite the cold sub-zero winter conditions. Another online video showed dozens of people standing in the cold as the isolation hotel told them there was no room available. A resident said in another video that all the residents in the building were packed into buses without being told their destination. They were jammed on the highway at 1 or 2 a.m. Everyone is scaredif there is one case on the bus, wouldnt all the rest of us be infected in the sealed space of the bus? the resident asked. Radio Free Asia reported on Jan. 4, quoting Ms. Liu, a retired government employee, criticizing the local authorities for messing around: There are four bunk beds and one quilt in the isolation rooms. How can that be called an isolation room? People will be lucky if theres no cross-infection. Wang told The Epoch Times: Now as long as there is one close contact, you will be immediately put under home isolation, and your entire compound is sealed off if you are not removed from your home. A fire broke out in one compound in Changan District at midnight on Dec. 31. When the fire brigade arrived, firefighters had to climb over the iron gate, which was sealed by solder, to put out the fire, according to Wang. A source who asked to stay anonymous for the sake of their safety told the Chinese edition of the Epoch Times that all the CCPs district secretaries have been required to guarantee the accomplishment of zero COVID-19 cases in their districts. According to the source, these CCP cadres have controlled the spreading of the CCP virus in a simple wayonce there is a confirmed case, all residents in the same building will be taken away for isolation outside Xian, allowing official reports to say that this district has achieved the zero-case target. If there is another outbreak, it will be regarded as occurring at the isolation site, not in Xian. What Is Societal Zero COVID? The phrase societal zero COVID is a new term used by the Shaanxi provincial authorities, which was not used in China before the Xian flare-up. The local center for disease control and prevention explained to Chinese reporters on Jan. 5 that it meant no more community transmission as all new confirmed cases found afterward [since Jan. 4] are among close contacts or close contacts of close contacts who have been isolated, said Chen Zhijun, a deputy director of the center at the press release of the day. China observer and commentator Tang Jingyuan said, To put it plainly, it means that the authorities immediately remove all the new confirmed cases and their close contacts out of the city to its suburban districts. By doing so, the urban area of Xian is able to fulfill its so-called zero-case mission in a quick way. According to a Jan. 4 report by the CCPs mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency, since Jan. 1, confirmed cases have been declining on a daily basis, and the proportion of cases from government isolated people has gradually increased, while cases at the societal level have gradually decreased. The state-run media boasted of the effectiveness of the local authorities harsh measures. As of Jan. 3, Xian has recorded altogether 1,758 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to official data. But the actual number could be much higher due to the CCPs routine cover up of COVID-19 cases. The Epoch Times has reached out to the local authorities for comment. Li Jing and Sophia Lam contributed to the report. Authorities are currently looking for a man believed to be William Perron in preparation for an upcoming trial related to a double homicide that occurred in 1982. Perrons mom, Charlie, is seen sitting alongside the man playing a brass horn in the above photo. Authorities are hoping to find anyone who has information about the current whereabouts of either Charlie or her son. A Guilford medical technology company founded by life sciences entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg is moving to New Haven where it will expand its footprint. Quantum-Si Inc. has signed an agreement to move into 65,000 square feet of office and research space in the Winchester Works technology and life sciences building. The relocation effort will be done during the first half of this year, according to company officials. The announcement comes after Quantum-Si opened a new product development and operations facility in leased space in San Diego during the third quarter of last year. The company has roughly 134 employees with the bulk of them working in Guilford, according to Quantum-Si officials. Our combined campuses in Connecticut and California will be the cornerstone of growth for both research and development and commercial operations, John Stark, chief executive officer of Quantum-Si, said in a statement. Having a presence in these vibrant life sciences hubs will enable Quantum-Si to recruit high-caliber talent as we continue to scale up operations ahead of our planned platform commercial launch in 2022. The medical technology Quantum-Si is developing is powered by a first-of-its-kind semiconductor chip designed to enable single molecule next-generation protein sequencing and digitize proteomic research. By doing so, the company hopes to be able to advance drug discovery and diagnostics. Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, which are vital parts of living organisms. Using semiconductors to sequence proteins allows for the creation of more sensitive and accurate research tools and diagnostics. The portion of Winchester Works that Quantum-Si will occupy represents half of the buildings total 130,000 square feet of space. The company is moving into the last vacant space in the building. The redevelopment of the building, which is located at 115 Munson St., is a joint venture of Twining Properties, L+M Development Partners, and the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. Ginny Kozlowski, chief executive officer of REX Development/Economic Development Corp. of New Haven, said Quantum-Sis move to the city is significant because it shows continued investment in the region and that there is a recognition of the vitality of the work that is happening here. This is something to celebrate, Kozlowski said. Winchester Works is the first stage in the Winchester Center master plan, which could eventually include four development sites in Science Park at Yale. All of the sites were part of New Havens former Winchester Factory that once employed 25,000 people. Winchester Center could eventually include over 1,000 apartments, retail space and 500,000 square feet of office and lab space. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Norwalk FD / Contributed NORWALK Costco was expected to be closed briefly Thursday after a carbon monoxide leak, according to fire officials. Deputy Fire Chief Edward Prescott said crews responded around 8:30 a.m. for a report of a carbon monoxide alarm and people feeling ill at Costco, 779 Connecticut Ave. A perfect storm of problems made the Wednesday morning commute treacherous across Connecticut, but officials said it wasnt because of a tenuous staffing issue at the state Department of Transportation driven by job openings and a surge in COVID-19 infections. While the freezing rain Wednesday was a quick storm driven by a cold snap that caused precipitation to quickly freeze on the roads, a blizzard or other prolonged winter weather event could stress the DOTs diminished staff, officials said. The big concern is if we have multi-day events, said Garrett Eucalitto, a deputy commissioner at DOT. According to Eucalitto, there are 265 absences from the highway operations division, responsible for snow cleanup, along with 193 unfilled positions. The absences, Eucalitto said, are DOT employees who have tested positive and are quarantining, or are waiting for a test in order to work. In addition to coping with the COVID absences, Eucalitto said the agency is trying to fill the nearly 200 job openings. Weve been trying to do a big push to recruit more people into the agency, as with the entire nation getting people with CDL licenses is proving difficult, he said. The ideal staffing for that bureau of DOT is roughly 1,600 workers, so the openings and absences have created nearly a 30 percent decrease in staff. If we are down by 400 to 500 people, thats going to be a huge problem, Eucalitto said if the agency encounters a prolonged weather event. We are going to have to ask people to stay home during those events. We are going to have to talk about restricting travel. While the snow events so far this winter have been relatively small, January, February and March bring the potential for these long-duration storms. Eucalitto said at times they require crews to work for 24 to 36 hours to clear roadways. They need rest breaks, he said. On Wednesday, Connecticut was hit by freezing rain that led to hundreds of crashes across the state during the morning commute. While Eucalitto acknowledged staff problems at DOT, he said it was a unique and challenging combination of weather conditions that made the roads so slick. It was kind of this Goldilocks zone of ineffective options to pre-treat our roadways normally, Eucalitto said. What youd see is wed lay out some brine solution pre-treat with some liquid to ensure that ice does not form when a precipitation event starts. The other option for pre-treatment is to spread salt, rock salt essentially. ... Both of those would not work in this situation. For the pre-treatment solution, the issue came down to the recent cold snap earlier this week that drove road temperatures down to about 22 degrees, which would have frozen the brine and prevented adequate spread, Eucalitto said. But its also been dry, so if the crews spread road salt, it would have been blown to the edges of the highways and streets by the air pressure created by passing cars, making it useless in thawing frozen precipitation, according to Eucalitto. So DOT had all of its crews staged across the state with salt, waiting for the precipitation to start. But the situation was still not ideal, Eucalitto said. The air temperature was warm enough that everything coming down was rain, and the road temperatures, it froze before our crews could get over the highways, he said. Before conditions cleared as temperatures increased, state police reported hundreds of calls for service and dozens of motor vehicle accidents. Unlike DOT, the COVID-19 absences for state police appear to be less severe. The number of troopers out of work fluctuates daily. At this point, only a small percentage of troopers are out of work due to COVID. The daily operations of the Connecticut State Police and the public safety of the State of Connecticut have not been affected, said Brian Foley, aide to Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella. The next threat for winter weather comes overnight Thursday into Friday morning, when the National Weather Service predicts a moderate to high chance of 2 inches of snow or more across much of Connecticut. Some areas in the region could see up to 6 inches of snow, although those total accumulations are not expected in Connecticut. The weather service estimates an average of about 3 inches falling across the state. We think we can manage it, Eucalitto said. We just want people to be patient it might not be as rapid response clearance as people are used to being down by almost a quarter, 30 percent of our plow crews. A snow event is easier for us to respond to than an ice event. After COVID-related problems among school staff and school bus drivers affected school schedules as students returned from winter break, Wednesday brought a more traditional headache for superintendents weather delays and closings. Frigid temperatures overnight Tuesday meant that when a light rain began falling shortly after 6 a.m., the roads quickly iced over and streets that were merely wet one minute were sheets of ice the next. The rapid change caught out schools systems across much of the region. In many cases school buses had already begun their morning runs. Some buses had already picked up students. Among the school systems in the region, Bridgeport, Shelton, Seymour, Weston, Fairfield, Trumbull and Westport schools ultimately canceled classes for the day. Easton and Monroe schools opened late. Prior to 6 a.m., all indications and reports received supported a regular start time, Shelton Superintendent Ken Saranich said. The weather changed drastically after 6:45 a.m. when high school students and staff were already on route to their school. As reports came in from around the city, Saranich said, the decision-making team, which includes the city transportation department, city-run bus service and school staff, reassessed the situation. An immediate decision based on changing factors was to call a 2-hour delay, he added. This occurred in most area school districts. The delay provided us time to further assess the situation. Although conditions later improved enough that Saranich felt the schools could have opened with a delay, in the best interest of students and staff the decision was made to close schools, he said. It was a similar situation in Seymour, where Superintendent Susan Compton said the district had monitored the situation starting before 5 a.m. and remained in constant contact with the town public works crews and emergency personnel. At 6:15 a.m., with some students already on their buses, the situation deteriorated rapidly, Compton said. The roads had frozen over at a very rapid pace and drivers reported being stuck, she said. At that point, the buses halted their pickups and the schools went to a 2-hour delay to give road crews more time to treat the roads, she said. But shortly after, she decided to close schools as a result of conditions not improving coupled with busing issues due to ongoing driver shortages, she said. The safety of our staff and students are of paramount importance to us and we always strive to make all decisions with that at the forefront of our minds, she said. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. In some communities, though, the schools opened on time. Milford and Stratford were in that category. Stratford Superintendent Uyi Osunde explained his decision in an afternoon email to parents. Today, our analysis of the weather conditions in our Town, with the exception of some sections of the north end, allowed us to make the decision to begin today without delays or a cancellation, he wrote. We are happy and we are blessed that all of our students arrived to each campus safely and for those who were dropped off by our parents, arriving safely as well. But even with students in the building, school staff coming in from out of town struggled with the conditions. Some arrived for work as much as three hours late, Osunde said. This created some level of complexity as we started the day, he said. The schools adapted by having teachers cover the classes of their late-arriving colleagues. Osunde himself taught a physical education class at Johnson House. I enjoyed it, he said. Still, with accumulating snow in the forecast for Thursday night into Friday morning the National Weather Service is calling for about 3 inches of snow and the COVID-related staff shortages in the buildings and among school bus drivers, superintendents are bracing for another hectic morning. Saranich told parents school officials were closely monitoring forecasts, but had made no decisions about opening schools Friday. Osunde told parents Stratford too was taking a wait-and-see approach. We are monitoring the predicted inclement weather that looks like it will touch down on Friday, he said. When we know more on its impact on the school day, we will release that information stay tuned. Staff writer Brian Gioiele contributed to this report. EDITORS NOTE: The Intelligencer requests briefs be submitted at least 10 days prior to the desired publication date. Due to the volume of community-submitted briefs, the content may be published within 10 days of submission. Holidays and weather forecasts may impact some events. The Intelligencer cannot guarantee that submission will be published. NAMI Meeting 7-8:30 p.m via Zoom. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) family support meetings may also be in person. To receive the link for a Zoom meeting or address for an in-person meeting contact Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net. Chicken Dinner Every Thursday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two or four pieces of chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. 618-656-9774 Friday, Jan. 7 Fish Fry Every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two pieces of cod or one catfish filet and sides. 618-656-9774 Fish Fry 4:30-8 p.m. at the Edwardsville Moose, 7371 Marine Road, Edwardsville. Dine-in and carryout options. 618-656-5051 Monday, Jan. 10 Edwardsville Human Relations Committee Meeting 5 p.m. at the Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Edwardsville Ordinance Committee Meeting 6 p.m. at the Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Tuesday, Jan. 11 River Kayaker Adventures with Perry Whitaker 6 - 7:30 p.m. online. Sierra Club Piasa Palisades Group Speakers Series. Perry Whitaker is the Missouri state director for the American Canoe Association, a Missouri Master Naturalist and expert on the confluence of the Missouri River near St. Louis to the confluence of the Ohio River at Cairo, IL, referred to as the Middle Mississippi. There will be no live event at the Old Bakery Beer Co. due to risk with the surge of virus. The ZOOM registration option is available via the events tab at https://www.sierraclub.org/illinois/piasa-palisades. Contact: Chris Krusa on 410-490-5024 cell/text for questions Cribbage Club 6 p.m. at Camelot Bowling Alley, 801 Beltline Rd., Collinsville. Beginners welcome, free to attend. Contact Phil (618) 288-7910 or Susan at (618)978-1664 for more information. American Legion Post 199 meeting 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Post 199 at 58 S. State Rt. 157. All legion members are encouraged to attend the meetings. Non-member visitors are welcome. Pasta Dinner Every Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. Edwardsville. Pasta of the week served with salad. 618-656-9774 Edwardsville Public Services Committee Meeting 4:30 p.m. in Governor Edwards Conference Room, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Edwardsville Public Safety Committee Meeting 5:30 p.m. in the Governor Edwards Conference Room, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Wednesday, Jan. 12 Historic Preservation Commission 7 p.m. at Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Thursday, Jan. 13 NAMI Meeting 7-8:30 p.m via Zoom. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) family support meetings may also be in person. To receive the link for a Zoom meeting or address for an in-person meeting contact Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net. Chicken Dinner Every Thursday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two or four pieces of chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. 618-656-9774 Edwardsville Finance Committee Meeting 4 p.m. in Governor Edwards Conference Room, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Edwardsville Administrative and Community Services Committee 5 p.m. in the Governor Edwards Conference Room, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Friday, Jan. 14 Fish Fry Every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two pieces of cod or one catfish filet and sides. 618-656-9774 Fish Fry 4:30-8 p.m. at the Edwardsville Moose, 7371 Marine Road, Edwardsville. Dine-in and carryout options. 618-656-5051 Saturday, Jan. 15 Goshen Winter Market 10-noon in the expansion parking lot on St. Louis Street. Outdoors. Monday, Jan. 17 Woodlawn Cemetery Board 7 p.m. in the Woodlawn Chapel. All are invited to attend, whether you are a lot owner or have considered purchasing a lot. Tuesday, Jan. 18 Cribbage Club 6 p.m. at Camelot Bowling Alley, 801 Beltline Rd., Collinsville. Beginners welcome, free to attend. Contact Phil (618) 288-7910 or Susan at (618)978-1664 for more information. Pasta Dinner Every Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. Edwardsville. Pasta of the week served with salad. 618-656-9774 Edwardsville-SIUE Community Destination Group 6 p.m. in Governor Edwards Conference Room, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Edwardsville City Council 7 p.m. at Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Wednesday, Jan. 19 Glen Carbon Cool Cities Committee Meeting 7-8 p.m. at Village of Glen Carbon - Senior Center, 157 North Main Street, Glen Carbon. Edwardsville Plan Commission 7 p.m. at Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Thursday, Jan. 20 Edwardsville Cool Cities Initiative Advisory Committee Meeting 6 p.m. at Governor Edwards Conference Room, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Edwardsville Land Use Committee 6 p.m. at Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. NAMI Meeting 7-8:30 p.m via Zoom. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) family support meetings may also be in person. To receive the link for a Zoom meeting or address for an in-person meeting contact Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net. Chicken Dinner Every Thursday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two or four pieces of chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. 618-656-9774 Friday, Jan. 21 Fish Fry Every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two pieces of cod or one catfish filet and sides. 618-656-9774 Fish Fry 4:30-8 p.m. at the Edwardsville Moose, 7371 Marine Road, Edwardsville. Dine-in and carryout options. 618-656-5051 Ongoing Events Al-Anon For information call 618-463-2429. For more information, visit SIAFG.org and District-18.org. Winter Reading Challenge Begins Dec. 1 - Jan. 31 at the Edwardsville Public Library. Read books, earn badges and be entered into prize drawings on Beanstack. This challenge is for all ages, 0-109. To register visit www.edwardsvillelibrary.org. Submitted SOUTH ROXANA An officer involved shooting Tuesday night in South Roxana is under investigation by the Illinois State Police. According to South Roxana Police Chief Bob Coles, South Roxana Police responded Tuesday night to a disturbance in the 100 block of Rose Avenue where, during the call, a responding police officer fired his weapon, striking a person involved in the disturbance. The former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim said his aspiration for the post of the president was borne out of the desire to seek a more united nation, inclusive governance and to work towards an equitable, just and humane nation that will guarantee peace and prosperity to every Nigerian. Senator Anyim made this known during his South east briefing and consultative session of the Peoples Democratic Party at the Zonal level in Enugu. He said that challenge before their great party is how to deliver on the expectations of the Nigerian people as Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to rebuild the nation; to protect lives and property; to restore the respect of Nigeria within the Comity of Nations and to re-align the political structure of Nigeria to reflect the current realties. He also said that the summary of these expectations is that Nigerians expect PDP to return to power, so that the nation can resume the march to greatness. Senator Anyim disclosed that the above tasks are no mean ones as the political pedigree, vision and credentials of who leads the party to accomplish these tasks must command priority attention and consideration of their great party and It is in furtherance of this that he put forth his credentials and records for consideration. He said that he has been privileged to understand the national problems and appreciate the enormity and peculiarities in the last 21 years from his vantage positions in both the legislative and the executive arms of government. The former Secretary to the government of the federation assured that he has a clear view of the task ahead as well as the solutions needed to advance the cause of the country. He noted that his records as President of the Senate and as Secretary to the Government of the Federation clearly show that he is more interested in building strong institutions than seeking enhancement of personal power or position. He pointed put out that available records has proved him to be an effective and efficient manager of the nations diversity on the basis of equity, justice, fairness and inclusiveness and a committed believer in the rule of law adding that he will always promote and protect the sanctity of lives as well as the rights and liberties of all citizens. "As we prepare for 2023 elections, I take the liberty to say that the challenge before our great party is how to deliver on the expectations of the Nigerian people. Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to rebuild our nation; to protect lives and property; to restore the respect of Nigeria within the Comity of Nations; to re-align the political structure of Nigeria to reflect the current realities; to revive our economy and save the naira; to rebuild our broken-down social fabric; to create jobs for our teeming youths and rehabilitate our collapsing educational systems among others. "My brothers and sisters, the summary of these expectations is that Nigerians expect PDP to return to power, so that our nation can resume the march to greatness. " I have been privileged to understand our national problems and appreciate their enormity and peculiarities in the last 21 years from my vantage positions in both the legislative and the executive arms of government. Therefore, I have a clear view of the task ahead as well as the solutions needed to advance the cause of our country. "My records as President of the Senate and as Secretary to the Government of the Federation clearly show that I am more interested in building strong institutions than seeking enhancement of personal power or position. My records show effective and efficient management of the nations diversity on the basis of equity, justice, fairness and inclusiveness. "I am a committed believer in the rule of law; and will always promote and protect the sanctity of lives as well as the rights and liberties of all citizens. "My brothers and sisters, I consider it a privilege to stand before you today to brief you and also consult with you on my resolve to step out to contest for the leadership of our beloved country" "My decision is a product of Let me elaborate; as a young officer, at the then Directorate of Social Mobilization, I understood the need for value orientation as a tool for instilling patriotism. I was also schooled to appreciate the value of social justice, equity and fairness as building blocks for social harmony and inclusion. "As a young politician I imbibed the founding vision of the PDP as a grassroot movement that would provide leadership that will respect the rule of law, ensure that power belongs to the people and deliver national cohesion and inclusiveness through good governance. The Grassroots Initiative Party will return power to the masses who are its real custodians, its national chairman told newsmen on Wednesday. Eze Kanayo Chukwumezie, who addressed newsmen in Awka, also frowned at the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Bill into law. He said, Think of electronic voting and electronic transmission of results where cast votes will no longer pass through the hands that will manipulate them. Think of direct primaries where every party member will have a say on candidates to run for them instead of imposition of candidates which indirect primaries produce through delegates who may not represent the interest of the masses. We missed tracks when we abandoned Option A4. The Electoral Bill will return a hi-tech version of Option A4. So the delay in signing it into law is anti-masses. The legislature not overriding the president on it is gross betrayal. Chukwumezie regretted Nigerias general retrogression over the years. He said, Remembering that Nigeria and some European countries like Belgium, Netherlands and Spain were at par in terms of development is disturbing. Malaysia/Singapore, India, etc were below us. No African country (except South Africa) was close to us at a time. None of these countries made half of what Nigeria made; none has 20% of the natural resources Nigeria has. Yet where are we? A major oil producing country that still imports all oil products! He called on Nigerians to resolve for a true leadership to salvage the country. Quoting him, This is 2022. Nigerians should resolve to get things done right. With what we have, poverty should be the last word to be heard of in Nigeria, but ironically we are the official Poverty and Corruption Capital of the world. There is light at the end of the tunnel because some of us, drawn from the civil society, Rotary International, grassroots leaders and progressives have come together to form the Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP) to put back smiles on the faces of the masses. Cabinet approves B4.18bn for Phuket to host Specialized World Expo PHUKET: The Cabinet has approved a budget of B4.18 billion for Phuket to host the Specialized World Expo EXPO 2028 - Phuket, Thailand. tourismeconomics By The Phuket News Thursday 6 January 2022, 02:04PM The announcment confirming the budget approved. Image: Phuket Info Center The Phuket Info Center, operated by the Phuket office of the Ministry of Interior, confirmed the news through a post on its official Facebook page yesterday (Jan 5). Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul said that the Cabinet had approved the B4.18bn budget for Thailand to host the Specialized Expo in Phuket, the post announced. The event is to be held under the name EXPO 2028 - Phuket, Thailand, it added. The Cabinet had a resolution on Nov 16 last year that had approved Thailand to host the EXPO 2028 - Phuket, Thailand and on Dec 14 last year Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul signed a letter of offer to host the event, Ms Traisulee explained. However, the Bureau of International Expositions [BIE stipulates that host bids need to be approved by the budget framework before formal submissions are made by the Office of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, or TCEB, as the main coordinator. It has been carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Health to coordinate with the Thai Ambassador-Paris to be the Thai representative in submitting an official letter of intent to host the event, she added. The Thai Ambassador is scheduled to formally submit the letter to the BIE in Paris tomorrow (Jan 7), Ms Traisulee said. Therefore, it is necessary to propose to the Cabinet to approve the budget limit for this event first, she added. Governor touts Sandbox v2, targets key problems to keep Phuket tourism open PHUKET: Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew is targetting a slew of problems in the hope of launching Sandbox v2 so that tourism to Phuket may remain open and continue to generate much-needed incomes for people living on the island. COVID-19Coronavirushealthtourism By The Phuket News Thursday 6 January 2022, 10:57AM The situation with COVID-19 cases increasing after the New Years festival may be a public concern, but I confirm there is no idea to close the island in any way, Governor Narong said yesterday (Jan 5). Due to what has been carried out all along, there are two main issues, namely solving the problems of feeding the people. along with disease control, he added. From the Delta era to the Omicron era, we have been able to control the disease to a satisfactory level before the new year, and at the same time also help with the economic recovery The economic recovery is going well, but in the field of disease control, we have to think about how to live with COVID-19, he said. What we need to keep in mind is dont let the diseases [sic] that come with tourists reach us. We still have to continue to detect infections on the first day. That is, when everyone arrives at the airport, they have to be checked for infection and wait to hear the results at the hotel. At this point, we can be fairly confident that the infection will not infect others, Governor Narong assured. Governor Narong maintained the local residents and business operators must keep their guard up to protect themselves from infection. It has emphasised that operators must take care of front-line employees who must protect themselves and must periodically be checked by ATK, and we have been doing this all the time. It is an internal control that we have to be as strong with as before, which all entrepreneurs have cooperated well, he said. We must ask for cooperation from all parties to protect themselves to make Phuket come back to be strong, bright and sustainable under the epidemic situation of Covid-19. We dont know how long this germ war will last, but our lives must go on, he added. KEY PROBLEMS Governor Narong yesterday chaired a meeting at the Phuket Sandbox Operations Center to highlight key issues affecting tourists wanting to come to Phuket. The key issues included the Thailand Pass approval system, the availability of hospitel rooms for Green patients and increasing Phukets capability to conduct laboratory tests in order to be able to identify infected people quicker. Present were Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panaphong, Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (Chief) Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon, Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Weerasak Lorthongkham and Bhummikitti Raktaengam, President of the Phuket Tourist Association. Vice Governor Pichet explained that four key issues were directly affecting tourists that the national government needs to attend to. The problem of delays in the approval of Thailand Pass for foreign tourists. There are not enough staff resulting in late approval, was one key issue. The province [Phuket provincial government] proposes to bring to the Ministry of Interior to discuss with the CCSA the power to approve foreign tourists traveling into Thailand via Thailand Pass at Phuket Airport. This is currently not the jurisdiction of the Phuket Provincial Government. We need the integration of relevant agencies to establish a one-stop service centre and the people, budget, location and tools that must be able to work 24 hours a day. We also must establish a Call Center to answer all the problems of foreign tourists, which is beyond the potential and beyond the power of Phuket provincial government, Vice Governor Pichet said. The second problem was Phukets capability to conduct the second mandatory RT-PCR tests for foreign tourists. This is not enough for the increasing number of tourists, V/Gov Pichet said. Action has already been taken to call in support from the Ministry of Public health region 11 office as well as hospitals and other private medical service providers to cope with the increasing load, he said. Five mobile lab vehicles will be coming. The first two mobile labs arrived on Jan 4 [Tuesday], an additional 1,200 people will be tested for infection per day and we have adjusted the lab method to a full sample. We have also set up a call center to coordinate with SHA+ managers. An option is to increase the cost of the second PCR test, which should be an incentive for private hospitals to join and take more action to support us, he added. V/Gov Pichet also raised the issue of not enough hospitel rooms on the island for tourists who test positive are designated green patients, meaning they are experiencing only mild symptoms of infection. The problem is that the number of Hospital Isolation and Hotel Isolation rooms is not enough to support the number of Green patients, he said plainly. The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, Vachira Phuket Hospital and the Thai Hotels Association Southern chapter are negotiating with hotels to open up as a Hospitel, or convert some rooms to Hotel Isolation to accommodate their own positive customers without being pushed to stay elsewhere, he said. Meanwhile, Vachira Phuket Hospital is currently exploring and evaluating more hotels that voluntarily want to become a hospitel, such as The Par Kathu, De Tu Thalang, The Craft and the Royal Paradise [in Patong], etc. It is expected that we will be able to add another 200 rooms, he added. The fourth key issue was insurance companies not willing to cover expenses for tourists designated Green patients. We propose that the CCSA prescribe measures for incoming foreign tourists that they must be insured with Thai insurance companies in order to solve the problem, he said. WAITING Phuket officials have reported the issues to the CCSA, and have received a standard response The central government has informed [officials] at a meeting that the central government will assess and consider the issues that arise in the operation of the pilot provinces in order to receive tourists of Phuket in order of importance, Vice Governor Pichet said. The CCSA had reported it will provide support to expedite action to help solve problems that arise in Phuket, he said. Governor Narong said that he would like to thank the Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, and the Deputy Prime Minister [Anutin], and the executive of the central government, who have kindly acknowledged the problems of Phuket. From the work of Phuket Province [the provincial government] during the first version of Sandbox, Phuket Province has recognised the problems and adjusted its measures due to some circumstances different from past situations. Therefore, Phuket Province has to adjust the concept of working methods more. There is a plan to adjust the Phuket Sandbox to Version 2 in order to prepare and solve the problem of receiving tourists traveling into Phuket, so we can facilitate tourists arriving, including the need to make tourists satisfied with the operation of Phuket as well, Governor Narong said. Governor Narong also noted that Phuket needs to push ahead in providing third-dose booster vaccinations, as much as possible. This is to build confidence among the people of Phuket that the infection for them will be asymptomatic, he said. Most of them [those infected] are primarily Green patients. They are occupying designated beds and medical staff available in the area is sufficient for taking care of the general public, but in the care of foreign tourists who are infected there may be insufficient support facilities or staff, he noted. Therefore we have asked the central government to support this part for the province of Phuket. The province has received good cooperation from all sectors, from the public and from related parties, such as on Soi Bangla, Patong, where everyone is cooperating and organising a big cleaning day, and creating greater responsibility for each other, he said. Now everyone in Phuket is going well because there are many tourists coming in, making the economy better. Therefore, I would like to convey to all brothers and sisters, establishments and related agencies that with this good situation going on, everyone from all sectors must help control the COVID-19 epidemic and take care of themselves by strictly following the public health measures, Governor Narong urged. If the whole province of Phuket continues to work together, Phuket will be able to take care of each other and overcome this crisis, he said. Sambar deer on road to recovery PHUKET: The sambar deer left unable to walk after a fall onto beach access track at Nui Beach yesterday has received treatment and will be better within a week, a wildlife veterinarian has confirmed. natural-resourcesenvironmentanimals By Eakkapop Thongtub Thursday 6 January 2022, 11:41AM The injury was not as serious as first thought. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Jirayu Niranwirot, a Senior Veterinarian at the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, at the scene. photo: Eakkapop Thongtub After receiving treatment the deer wandered into a nearby shack to seek refuge. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Jirayu Niranwirot, a Senior Veterinarian at the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, arrived at the beach access track early yesterday evening to provide assistance to the wounded animal. The deers injuries were not serious. The deers left foreleg was better than we thought. It was only sprained and it can walk up a short distance to find food, he said. Mr Jirayu administered antibiotics via anesthetic shots with the help of locals and tourists. The second injection was to treat the pain, swelling and inflammation, he said. The deers injury will be better in about a week. The deer will be able to walk back into the woods by itself. But I will come back to check on it if it does not get better, he assured. However, the deer yesterday was already showing signs of a quick recovery. Before Mr Jirayu had left the deer had wandered into a local shack to seek refuge. Tourists at the beach who saw the deer in distress provided whatever assistance they could. One tourist, Paisan Phithakwong, said that he could do nothing but help after seeing the injured deer on the path. I waited to assist and help the doctor after knowing that the staff would send a doctor to treat the deer, he said. Dr Jirayu said that Queen deer, or sambar deer, is an animal that people may raise as a business. This deer has no fear of people, I think its probably a deer that has an owner and escaped out of the enclosure, he said. Chinnathep Kanghae, Chief of Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area, whose office is responsible for all wild animals on Phuket, confirmed to The Phuket News earlier yesterday that the animal is legally, privately owned. The deer had escaped its enclosure. It actually has an owner who is licensed to raise it even though it is a protected wildlife animal. It can be checked because it has an embedded chip, he said. Mr Chinnathep declined to reveal the name of the owner. In the Press Corps of the Indiana Statehouse in downtown Indianapolis, in an office lovingly called "the Shack," the journalism majors of Franklin College's Pulliam School of Journalism work alongside the best reporters in the state, digging into the behind-the-scenes stories of Indiana politics. We're a student newsroom, but our work doesn't sit on a professor's desk. We create content five days a week for this website and 35 professional media partners around the state. The Interpretive Center at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site will be closed to the public beginning March 1 to facilitate $5 million in capital improvement projects at the site. The projects, which will be managed by the Illinois Capital Development Board, are funded through Gov. J.B. Pritzkers bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan and are the first in nearly a decade. The work is estimated to last at least 12 months. During the closure, the driveway leading into the site will be closed and no public access will be available to the main parking lot and surrounding area. The Monks Mound parking lot and trails north of Collinsville Road will remain open. Walking tours of the site may resume when the weather allows in the spring while work on the Interpretive Center project is underway. The Greene County Health Department has tried to keep the community informed throughout the pandemic. There are times when the community might like more information or to see specific data but with a small number of staff and continuation of other programs, we have had to maintain a balance. Overall, this department stepped up and stood during the most difficult of circumstances that were before them. It is our role to help provide resources, reliable information, focus efforts on the prevention of illness, and prepare for emergencies. We are very proud of our staffs efforts and the community partnerships we have gained during the pandemic. We will continue to serve this community in prevention efforts but at this time it has now become your individual responsibility to ensure public safety. Case numbers and active cases are as high as they have ever been. Greene County remains at 37% fully vaccinated. County health departments do not have enough staff to address all calls that will be coming in from the community. Right now, county health departments and hospitals are overwhelmed. IDPH determined that centralizing contact tracing may help address the high volume of cases for all health departments. There is some personal responsibility that comes with being a productive society. At this time, you should be sharing your information regarding your symptoms, positive tests, or exposure with your worksite, family, friends, and others that you care about following gathering or before gathering. Although we have helped guide the community through recommendations and best practices, individuals now should generally know what to do and when to do it. We will continue to provide links on Facebook and our website with information that will help guide actions that are needed. We will be sharing the most updated recommendation on upcoming Facebook posts and website. This information will continue to change so please ensure you are following the most up-to-date recommendations. The vaccine is readily available to help reduce severe illness and death. It is up to you. You should protect yourself. We will continue to provide all immunizations. As of December 28th, all COVID-19 cases have received an auto message informing them of quarantine/isolation information. As of January 13th, all cases will be sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health Surge Center to help automate the information provided so individuals have quick access to the information. Other states have used this process previously to help reduce call volumes for the local health departments. Moving forward if you need letters for release from work you will need to request them from this system. If you dont participate in the assessments offered, it will not generate release letters. GCHD cannot issue release letters as they will be part of the centralized contact tracing efforts. Surge Center will be taking over all calls, but if you dont get a call, that doesnt mean you dont need to isolate or quarantine. If there is no call, you still have the ability to identify what to do so please follow recommendations to protect yourself and others. It is important for our healthcare workers that you choose to stay at home. Those utilizing home tests should also be aware of precautions to take and should be taking them. You do have the tools to prevent severe illness which include vaccination, boosters, masking, social distancing, handwashing, and disinfection. We wanted to share this public message as we will have a more limited role in contact tracing going forward. Not because it isnt important but because it is now up to you as a people to choose to take care of yourself and others. We will continue to address calls and concerns that come in but the Surge Center employees are not our employees. Please understand that our staff will continue to do all that we can to represent Greene County and to address your calls and concerns as we hear from you. We do deeply care for this community as you all are our family and friends. One year after the Jan. 6 riot at the United States Capitol left at least seven dead, more than 100 law enforcement personnel injured and the state of our democracy in question, a poll shows that just about as many say Former President Donald Trump urged his supporters to engage in violence that day as those who say he did not. Video cameras captured the violence live as Congress was set to certify President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election, with rioters clubbing officers with their own weapons, flag polls and fire extinguishers, even squeezing one officer between doors as he begged for his life, according to reporting by The Associated Press. Photo provided/Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo provided/John Minchillo/AP About half of Americans (51%) say Trump deserves at least some of the blame for the event, just as they said a year ago when a similar survey was done and 39% say he deserves a little blame or none, per the poll released on Wednesday by YouGov, a global public opinion and data company. Republicans were more likely to attribute responsibility to Trump immediately after the day than they do now (25% then, 15% now). The rioters came from across America, summoned by Trump to march on Washington in support of his false claim that the November election was stolen and to stop the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden as the victor, according to reporting by The Associated Press. Photo provided/Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th," Trump tweeted a week before Christmas 2021. "Be there, will be wild!" Photo provided/John Minchillo/AP Photo provided/Andrew Harnik/AP The insurrection was no doubt a major event for Americans, 61% of whom remember where they were when they first heard about it, according to the poll. Democrats (76%) were more likely than Republicans (52%) to recall where they were when first hearing about the attack. And two-thirds of Americans say they watched at least some of the live coverage of the Capitol attack. Half of Democrats said they watched "a lot" of live coverage, compared to 21% of Republicans. Both the Justice Department and a House select committee are investigating the events of the invasion, which has grown into the largest criminal probe in U.S. history, according to reporting by CNBC. And, their work is far from over. In one year, the government has arrested and charged more than 725 people in connection with the riot for crimes like assaulting officers or corruptly trying to obstruct Congress' official proceedings. Additionally, a series of lawsuits accusing Trump and his allies of bearing responsibility for the riot are also ongoing, with the most recent ones being filed Tuesday by police officers who defended the Capitol, according to reporting by CNBC. For the Telegraph GODFREY Lewis and Clark Community College will offer eight-week classes to allow people to earn a Paralegal Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree beginning Jan. 18. Students who qualify through the school's 30 and Out option, which is designed for students who have already earned an associate or bachelors degree from an accredited college or university, can earn a paralegal degree entirely online and complete the program requirements in as little as two regular 16-week semesters. ROXANA Roxana Senior High School Principal Jason Dandurand has announced that four students from the Class of 2022 have been named Illinois State Scholars. Honorees include Audrey Bosse, Cayla Fansher, Emily Ogle and Thomas Strohmeier. "On behalf of the faculty and staff at Roxana High School, I'd like to congratulate these students on this prestigious accolade. We are very proud of their academic achievement over the years and this honor that has been bestowed on them by ISAC is a culmination of their hard work and preparation in and outside the classroom," said Dandurand. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the states college access and financial aid agency, presents this important recognition of academic achievement to exceptional Illinois high school students annually. This year, more than 17,340 honorees join the other outstanding students who have been honored since the designation was first introduced in 1958. While the State Scholar recognition does not include a monetary prize, honorees will receive a congratulatory letter from ISAC and a personalized Certificate of Achievement. Honorees can also download a digital Illinois State Scholar badge that can be displayed on their online profiles and social media platforms, and shared with high school counselors, prospective colleges, employers, family members and others. Submitted MILLSTADT Kevin Schmidt of Millstadt has announced he will seek to represent Illinois' newly drawn 114th Legislative District. The district is currently held by state Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis. Schmidt is a Republican who must first win the June Republican primary. The state is taking too much in taxes and too much of our freedoms, Schmidt said in his candidacy announcement. EDWARDSVILLE A homeless South Roxana man was charged with a Class X methamphetamine-related felony Wednesday by the Madison County States Attorneys Office. Bradley N. Warren, 35, listed as homeless out of South Roxana, was charged Jan. 5 with unlawful possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, a Class X felony, and unlawful possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, a Class 1 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on Nov. 1 Warren allegedly was found to have 15-100 grams of methamphetamine, and more than one gram of cocaine with intent to deliver. Bail was set at $250,000. In an unrelated case, Kaynole R. Stevens, 54, of St. Louis, was charged Jan. 5 with two counts of unlawful possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, both Class 2 felonies; and retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Glen Carbon Police Department. On July 2 Stevens allegedly was found to have cocaine and fentanyl with intent to deliver. He allegedly took clothing, condoms, acrylic nail sets and other miscellaneous items valued in excess of $300 from the Glen Carbon Walgreens. Bail was set at $80,000. Other drug-related felony charges filed by the Madison County States Attorneys Office this week include: Russell R. Sanders, 36, of East Alton, was charged Jan. 5 with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department. On Sept. 20 Sanders allegedly was found to have 5-15 grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000. David C. Whitehead, 48, of Granite City, was charged Jan. 5 with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Glen Carbon Police Department. On Oct. 19 Whitehead allegedly was found to have 5-15 grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $50,000. Emily J. Lawson, 28, of Hamel, was charged Jan. 4 with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony, and fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer and reckless driving, both Class A misdemeanors. The case was presented by the Worden Police Department. On Dec. 30 Lawson allegedly was found to have less than five grams of methamphetamine while driving a 2013 Buick sedan and trying to flee from a Worden police officer, driving the vehicle in such a way that it became airborne. Bail was set at $50,000. Joshua L. Gooding, 34, of Nokomis, was charged Jan. 4 with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony, and driving while license revoked, a Class A misdemeanor. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Jan. 3 Gooding allegedly was found to have less than five grams of methamphetamine while driving a 1998 Honda CRV near the intersection of Maryville Road and Nameoki Road in Granite City. His drivers license was revoked due to a 2020 conviction for offenses relating to motor vehicles out of Montgomery County, Illinois. Bail was set at $30,000. Brett R. Lowder, 36, of Wood River, was charged Jan. 5 with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department. On Aug. 29 Lowder allegedly was found to have less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000. Brittani K. Wilson, 28, of Alton, was charged Jan. 5 with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Nov. 17 Wilson allegedly was found to have less than 15 grams each of fentanyl and cocaine. Bail was set at $20,000. William C. Beiser IV, 37, of Alton, was charged Jan. 5 with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department. On Nov. 3 Beiser allegedly was found to have less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000. Racheal H. Hood, 33, of Granite City, was charged Jan. 5 with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Jan. 4 Hood allegedly was found to have less than 15 grams of Xanax. Bail was set at $10,000. EDWARDSVILLE Jury selection is set to start Monday in the trial of Brady K. Witcher for a triple slaying in Bethalto in December 2019. Witcher, 42, of Birmingham, Alabama, is charged with nine counts of first-degree murder, all Class M felonies; one count of armed robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking, both Class X felonies; and unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 2 felony. The multiple first-degree murder charges account for different theories related to the killings. Witcher is accused of killing Shari Yates, 59; her son, Andrew AJ Brooks, 30; and John McMillian, 32, in Bethalto on Dec. 19, 2019. The trial is scheduled to start Tuesday. Circuit Judge Kyle Napp will preside. Brittany McMillan, 30, also of Birmingham, pleaded guilty in early December to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths. She will serve a life sentence, the maximum allowable under Illinois law. On Dec. 19, 2019, authorities found the bodies of Yates, Brooks and McMillian in a home on Mill Street in Bethalto. The two suspects were arrested in a motel in Hazelwood, Missouri on Dec. 20, 2019. The arrest ended a multi-state crime spree that also left a woman dead in Alabama. At the hotel police found Yates Ford Fusion, leading them to the Bethalto home and the discovery of the deaths. According to court documents, on Dec. 20, 2019, Witcher told members of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis that, after committing crimes in Tennessee, he and McMillan decided they needed another vehicle. Witcher told officers the two drove from Tennessee to Illinois to meet Brooks. Authorities have said McMillan is originally from Bethalto and knew the victims. A court document states surveillance video from a neighbors home in Bethalto showed a GMC truck that fit the description of the truck the Witcher and McMillan allegedly stole in Clarksville, Tennessee. Court documents state Witcher told officers he shot all three victims after Brooks declined his offer. Witcher and McMillan left Bethalto with Witcher in the truck from Tennessee and McMillan in Yates Ford Fusion. They drove to a St. Louis parking garage where they abandoned the truck, leaving the garage together in the Ford Fusion and going to a Days Inn in Hazelwood, Missouri. Authorities located the truck on Dec. 20. Investigators recovered swabs of suspected blood from the trucks interior and exterior, as well as possible blood from the Fusion. They also collected fingerprints from inside the truck. Court documents state police searched the Ford Fusion and obtained a pair of womens jeans which appeared to have blood on them. Police also found .45-caliber shell casings and a live bullet in the Bethalto home, according to court documents. Hazelwood Police reported they recovered a .45-caliber pistol during the arrests of Witcher and McMillan. Authorities believe the duos alleged crime spree began in Birmingham, Alabama. Police received a 911 call from a woman at an apartment complex stating she was being held captive and a woman had been murdered. Police arrived to find her bound and attempting to escape; she led police to the victims body. Police said Witcher and McMillan fled in a stolen vehicle to Clarksville, Tennessee, where they held a married couple hostage at their apartment before eventually fleeing in the couples vehicle. Police also obtained surveillance footage of Witcher and McMillan in two different Walmart stores. During one incident, Witcher appears to flash a gun at an employee who allegedly suspected them of stealing items. gettty The first few days back to school after the holiday break is an already fraught time for children, but its especially frustrating due to the rampant spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Since this variant is three times as transmissible as Delta, masks are as important as ever, but parents are still struggling to decide what mask to give their children. Mask wearing is crucially important at this stage because for kids who are too young for the vaccine, its the only tool they have, says Karl E. Minges Ph.D., Interim Dean of the School of Health Sciences at New Haven University. Theres a precipitous increase in both the numbers of positive children with Covid and hospitalizations. (and) type of mask makes more of a difference with omicron than other variants. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High near 65F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Mainly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. MADDY BARRETTE, Chariho, Softball, Sophomore; Barrette hit a two-run single in the seventh inning, lifting Chariho past Cumberland. For the week, Barrette was 4 for 8 with three RBIs and a double in three games. MADDIE STEPSKI, Stonington, Softball, Senior; Stepski hit two home runs in back-to-back games for the Bears. In three games during the week, she was 10 for 13 with four homers, two doubles and 12 RBIs. Stepski is hitting .750 for the season with 22 RBIs and six home runs. MICHAEL POOLE, Westerly, Baseball, Freshman; Poole struck out 14 Rogers batters to earn his second win of the season. Poole pitched a four-hitter and allowed just one earned run. For the season, Poole has 19 strikeouts in 12 innings with a 1.14 ERA. SEAN BERGEL, Wheeler, Baseball, Sophomore; Bergel pitched a complete-game two-hitter in a 1-0 win against Putnam. Bergel struck out seven and did not walk a batter. He is 2-1 with a 1.68 ERA this season. Vote View Results At the end of the last tax year I received a statement from HMRC saying I owed them 422.60 in underpaid tax. As I was retiring in April, I wanted to be up to date so I would receive my correct pension amounts with the correct coding so I paid the amount by bank transfer. This is where the trail goes cold. Although I am told HMRC can see the amount, it will not credit my PAYE tax account with this figure. I have also had nearly the same amount of 422.60 taken out of my private pension now meaning I have paid the amount twice. How can I get it back? I.B., via email One man was frustrated after the HMRC continued to wrongly take money from his pension Grace Gausden, consumer expert at This is Money, replies: This has been a taxing situation for you and the issue has not been resolved nearly a year later. After being informed by the HMRC that you had underpaid your tax by 422.60, you were happy to pay the amount. You were keen to get it sorted by April of last year, after being informed in March, as you had reached retirement age and you wanted your finances in order so you could you draw your private pension. After sending over the payment, using your unique tax reference (UTR), you presumed this would be credited to your tax account. However, after hearing nothing by May, you contacted HMRC which said although it had received the funds, nothing further could be done to process it until it received your P11D form one that your employer issues regarding your 'benefits in kind' such as company cars. GRACE ON THE CASE Our weekly column sees This is Money consumer expert Grace Gausden tackles reader problems and shines the light on companies doing both good and bad. Want her to investigate a problem, or do you want to praise a firm for going that extra mile? Get in touch: grace.gausden@thisismoney.co.uk After receiving your copy of the form, you rang HMRC which confirmed it had also received it but the money was still sat there and hadn't been processed. During this time, you noticed that the HMRC reclaimed the underpayment via an altered tax code from your private pension, meaning you were now overpaying. Understandably, being charged for the same underpaid tax twice was frustrating, especially as you had since retired and needed the funds. You chased the HMRC again in October and were told that as you had paid the amount using your UTR reference, and not your National Insurance number, the payment was with the self-assessment team. The HMRC assistant arranged a transfer to take place but this never happened. In the meantime, it continued to reclaim the underpayment from your private pension which meant by November, it had taken the payment nearly twice over. In mid-December, after phoning HMRC yet again, and finding the money was still sat there, you asked to be put through to a manager. HMRC eventually returned the money after insisting the letter only gave an estimated figure However, you were told this was not possible. When you asked, instead, to be put through to the self-assessment team, you were advised this, too, was not possible as the team had no phones. By this point, you were getting incredibly frustrated as you had paid out nearly another 422.60, despite paying the underpaid tax in good time. Therefore, I contacted HMRC to find out why it was taking so long for the payment to processed and why it decided to take a further 422.60 in the meantime. An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to Mr B. We have now traced his payment and updated his records accordingly. 'We will contact Mr B to explain his case and assure him that he will not pay more tax than is due.' It added that due to a change in your circumstances, it wrote to advise there would be an underpayment of tax on your account and provided an estimation of what that might be, although this was not a payment request as the actual figure was yet to be finalised. HMRC said you decided to pay the estimated figure, but issues with the way this payment was made meant this did not update his records correctly. It has fortunately now traced and reallocated this payment and updated his records accordingly. You have now received a refund of the extra payments made during the current tax year. Hopefully now this is all sorted, you can fully enjoy your retirement. A family was due to fly to Florida but are still waiting for a refund after they cancelled it Hit and miss: This week's naughty and nice list Each week, I look at some of the companies that have fallen short of expected standards as well as those that have gone that extra mile for customers. Miss: This week, reader Sarah, said she had been struggling to get a refund from Travelplanners. She said: 'Back in 2018 we decided to book a holiday of a lifetime to celebrate my father's 80th birthday to Florida. We planned to go in March 2020. 'We booked everything with Travelplanners with the whole package costing for 9,148. However, due to the pandemic, our holiday was cancelled. Travelplanners said we could either have a full refund or move the whole package. 'We moved the whole holiday to September 2020 at a further cost to ourselves but then had to move it again to September 2021 at an even higher cost, bringing the total to 11,783. 'Sadly, my father suffered poor health and come August 2021 we decided he would not be fit enough to endure this trip of a lifetime so we asked for a full refund of 11,783 which the company agreed. 'We heard nothing for some time then finally received a letter with a breakdown of all our payments and asking us to prove every single with original statements before they are prepared to make any refund. 'We are a family of four and were going with my parents on this holiday therefore the many payments were made on many different credit cards. The ones we used we no longer have as we regularly change credit card companies to continue to get a good rate. 'I have explained to Travelplanners on several occasions that trying to find statements from nearly three years ago from my parents and ourselves is proving difficult but they are insisting the refunds are made to the original cards. 'The company also keep sending me daily a Refund Declaration letter which I have not signed.' I contacted Travelplanners as it was a large amount of money to be missing during the festive period, especially after it had promised a quick refund. A representative said she has looked into this and said it could see the firm was trying to process the refund but it couldn't do so without you signing the declaration letter - which means agree you will not be making a chargeback or Section 75 claim. With regards to your cards, it said it can refund to your new, chosen card, despite previously being advised otherwise. After I relayed this information, you signed the form and have, fortunately, now received a full refund. Whilst your travel plans did not take off, I hope you and your family can celebrate your father's birthday another way. A Waitrose customer that was kept waiting was impressed when the team offered him flowers Hit: In happier news, reader John, praised Waitrose's service during the festive period. He said: 'On Friday, I arrived at Waitrose for my click and collect order. 'I phoned through to let them know I had arrived and were told it would be five minutes. I could see they were very busy but after half an hour I phoned again to say that nothing had arrived. 'The staff were most apologetic, saying the message hadn't been sent to the delivery staff who thought I hadn't arrived. 'The food arrived within the next five minutes and shortly afterwards a lady arrived with a bunch of flowers. That was a lovely gesture and much appreciated.' Although you were forced to wait for your Waitrose, the customer service made the delay worth it. [Photo/Xinhua] After close encounters between China's international space station and two of the 1,600 Starlink satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, Musk responded saying there is enough space around the Earth's orbit to accommodate "tens of billions" of satellites. However, he said nothing of the high risks of satellite collisions in space. According to a United Kingdom-based research team, 90 percent of close encounters are likely to involve Starlink after it launches its planned 12,000 satellites. Besides, the brightness of the Starlink satellites in the night sky could affect the working of observatories on Earth. The US administration is not doing any better than the Musk company. In 2014, the United States Air Force launched the first of four satellites of the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program to monitor other countries' satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit. Satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit can stay relatively static in relation to Earth. That makes them ideal to send communication and data to relay satellites, which receive uplink signals and retransmit them, often on different frequencies, to destination locations. The US' GSSAP satellites carry large amounts of fuel and can easily approach other countries' satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit to monitor them or do something worse. According to "Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment" released by the World Security Foundation in April 2021, the GSSAP satellites have been involved in at least eight close encounters with Chinese and Russian satellites since being launchedonce even coming within 10 kilometers. In mid-2020, a GSSAP satellite (USA 271) was just 20 km away from a Chinese satellite, upsetting the latter's normal functioning. Outer space is open to all, but it seems the US administration and private companies want to treat it as their own backyard. Therefore, it's absurd that US politicians are blaming China for "militarizing space". Space should be used in a peaceful, orderly way. SHI HAO, A SPACE RESEARCHER AND SPACE AFFAIRS OBSERVER The UK is in line for another booming year of floats as an array of big name firms consider listing in London. The 'raw material is there' for a stellar year on the stock market, according to analysts. Private equity giant CVC, digital bank Monzo and Virgin Atlantic are among the groups that could go public this year. Float frenzy: Private equity giant CVC, digital bank Monzo and Virgin Atlantic are among the groups that could go public in 2022 More than 120 companies joined the London Stock Exchange last year, raising the most money since before the financial crisis. The LSE saw its first float of the year yesterday as movie make-up trailer company Facilities by ADF enjoyed a bumper debut. Shares in the group rose 9 per cent to 54.5p indicating traders are still keen to invest in newly floated companies. Facilities by ADF provides production sites with wardrobe rooms, accommodation and toilets in trailers. Founded in 1992, it now has a fleet of more than 500 trucks and its clients include Apple, Sky, Disney, Netflix and the BBC. It raised 18.4m in its listing which chairman John Richards said would help the firm 'meet increasing demand'. The UK saw the number of companies coming to market slow in 2015, when the looming Brexit referendum created uncertainty for businesses. When Britain left the EU in January 2020, analysts expected a rise in floats but this was kiboshed by the pandemic. Last year saw a frenzy of listings which in London included huge successes such as Darktrace, Bridgepoint and Dr Martens, as well as flops from Deliveroo, Pension Bee and Victorian Plumbing. The UK was behind only the US and Greater China for the number of floats. And the LSE raised more money 16.8billion than exchanges in Amsterdam and Paris combined. Dan Nickols, of Jupiter Asset Management, said 'the raw material is definitely there' for this success to continue. 'Our team looks at many would-be float candidates and qualitatively we have seen many exciting businesses across a range of sectors,' he said. The Barclay family was said to be mulling a 4billion float of online fashion retailer Very Group, which sells clothing lines designed by actress Michelle Keegan (pictured) Last month it was reported that private equity group CVC had hired Goldman Sachs to explore a stock market listing that could value it at 11billion though it was not clear if it would choose London. British semiconductor designer Imagination Technologies has also brought in advisers to help it weigh up a UK or US listing, while the Barclay family was said to be mulling a 4billion float of online fashion retailer Very Group, which sells clothing lines designed by actress Michelle Keegan. Rumours have also swirled that Virgin Atlantic could join the stock market after its finances were wiped out by the pandemic. The chief executive of online bank Starling, Anne Boden, said she has set her sights on floating as soon as this year, while the bosses of rival Monzo have signalled a listing is on the cards. The Issa brothers were reportedly mulling a 10billion float of their EG Group petrol forecourt business and analysts are keen to see if Brewdog revives its plans to go public after it delayed a 2.1billion float in October. Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown said: 'Although the pipeline for 2022 is reasonably strong, 2021 will be a hard act to follow.' Former Formula One tycoon Eddie Jordan has been given more time to bid for Playtech as the battle for the gambling technology group intensifies. The 73-year-old Irishman is part of the JKO Play consortium that approached London-listed Playtech in November about a possible deal. By then, Playtech had already agreed to a 680p-a-share takeover offer from Australian gaming firm Aristocrat that valued it at 2.1billion. The deal was due to be rubber stamped at the court and shareholder meetings on January 12. Former Formula One tycoon Eddie Jordan is part of the JKO Play consortium that approached London-listed Playtech in November about a possible deal But Playtech said talks with Jordan and his team are progressing and postponed those meetings until February 2. It said JKO must clarify its intentions by this date and added: There remains no certainty that JKOs approach will result in an offer for the company. Playtech said the board still backed Aristocrats bid. Aristocrat said it was committed to completing the acquisition as quickly as possible. Playtech shares fell 0.3 per cent, or 2p, to 729.5p but remain well above the 680p offer from Aristocrat as investors bet a higher bid will emerge either from the Australians to sweeten their deal, JKO or a rival. A group of Asian investors, understood to include billionaire heiress Karen Lo, Birmingham City FC owner Paul Suen and professional poker player Stanley Choi, are thought to have built a stake of more than 20 per cent in Playtech, although their intentions are unclear. Playtech and Aristocrat have written to the Takeover Panel and asked them to establish whether these shareholders are acting together. Playtech, which develops software for online casinos and betting websites, was founded in 1999 by Israeli tech and property billionaire Teddy Sagi. It is considered by some to be a hidden gem inside the UKs gambling sector, with giants including William Hill and Bet365 among its cust- omer base. SPARKS [mdash] Mrs. Mattie L. Clements Martin, 93, of Sparks, Georgia, passed away at her granddaughter's home on April 25, 2022. Mrs. Martin was born on January 17, 1929 in Colquitt County to the late Ivey Lane Hart and Ola Gay Hart. She lived most of her life in Cook County and was of the Instant unlimited access to all of our content on tillamookheadlightherald.com. The Headlight Herald E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Send us your news, photos, and videos and let us know what's going on! Submit Here VDOT crews in Southwest Virginia got a winter workout on Monday as a winter storm passed through the region, and those crews are preparing for a second round as another winter storm warning goes into effect on Thursday afternoon. Kingsport, TN (37660) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High around 80F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable. The dogs and cats in the shelter are being taken care of as the facility is closed to the public. The government on Wednesday defended President Emmanuel Macrons use of coarse language in a stepped-up campaign against Frances unvaccinated, after his words drew condemnation from the opposition and mixed reactions from voters. Macron said he wanted to piss off unvaccinated people by making their lives so complicated they would end up getting jabbed. He was speaking in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper in which he also called unvaccinated people irresponsible and unworthy of being considered citizens. A president cannot say such things, Christian Jacob, chair of the conservative Les Republicans party, told parliament as it discussed a bill to make it mandatory for people to show proof of vaccination to enter many enclosed public spaces. But spokesman Gabriel Attal said that, amid a supersonic rise in Covid cases, the government stood by Macrons comments. Who is pissing off who today?, Attal said, quoting health workers struggling to cope or businesses hurt by the pandemic. Its those who refuse the vaccine. People who got the jab are exasperated with the unvaccinated, Prime Minister Jean Castex said. With a presidential election due in April in which he is expected to run, Macron may have calculated that enough people are now vaccinated and upset with remaining anti-vaxxers for his comment to go down well with voters. In a country where more than 124,000 people have died of COVID-19, his words resonated with some. Hes right, said 89-year-old Paris pensioner Jean, who has had his COVID-19 booster and a flu shot too. Those who are against the vaccine should understand the dangers, and they should get vaccinated. But others agreed with lawmaker Jacob that Macrons use of the slang term emmerder from merde (shit) was unacceptable. That shows an aggressive side, its a bad word, its not very clever of him, said 25-year old sales representative Maya Belhassen. Thats not a good comment from a president, added newspaper seller Pascal Delord. TARGETING THE SCEPTICS France has historically had more vaccine sceptics than many of its neighbours, and pandemic restrictions have triggered many street protests, but nearly 90% of those aged 12 have now been inoculated, one of the continents highest COVID-19 vaccination rates. People have for several months had to show either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter venues such as cinemas and cafes and use trains. But with Delta and Omicron variant infections surging, the government decided to drop the test option in the new bill. The opposition forced several suspensions of the parliamentary debate on the vaccine pass after the interview was published late on Tuesday. Im in favour of the vaccine pass but I cannot back a text whose objective is to piss off the French, Jacob told parliament. Is that your objective, yes or no? A government source said they were not worried about the adoption of the text, despite the heated parliamentary debate, which resumed on Wednesday afternoon, and hundreds of amendments. The initial plan was for the new legislation to enter into force on Jan.15. One day or two of delay would not change much, the source said. After the lower house of parliament eventually votes it, the bill will go the senate for approval. SOURCE: REUTERS A state-run COVID testing site at SUNY New Paltz will open to the public starting Monday, Jan. 10. The location is one of nine additional coronavirus testing sites opening next week on New York college campuses, joining the initial 10 state-run sites that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday. Before the SUNY New Paltz addition, the closest state-run testing facility to mid-Hudson Valley was either Purchase College in Westchester or University at Albany. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan requested a facility in Ulster County to increase access to needed tests for residents amid the surge in coronavirus cases due to the more contagious omicron variant. We reached out to the governor and her senior staff to ask for a state-run testing site here in Ulster County to support not just the county, but the region, said Ryan by phone. Within a few days they turned around that request. The mid-Hudson region has a 22 percent seven-day average infection rate, higher than the Capital Regions 16.3 percent rate, according to New York State health data. Orange County has the highest infection rate in the mid-Hudson region at 32 percent, and Sullivan County is at 27 percent. Ulster and Dutchess each have a 26 percent average infection rate, while Putnam County is at 20 percent. With the surge in infections, residents have waited hours for tests at county-run sites or have had to hunt down at-home tests from pharmacies which are largely out of stock. Ulster County distributed over 50,000 free at-home rapid kits to residents and are awaiting more. On Dec. 28, Ryan signed a 30-day extension of the State of Emergency he originally enacted Nov. 28. The order allowed the county to rapidly procure the at-home tests. Across the river, the City of Poughkeepsie received additional at-home test kits and will be distributing them starting at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, behind the Police Station at City Hall. Other Dutchess County towns will be distributing test kits to residents over the next few days. Those looking for a test should refer to their town website for further details. Downtime is the best time Make the most of your Hudson Valley weekend, every week with our newsletter. Testing facilities across the county have seen exponential growth in the number of residents seeking a COVID-19 test, said Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro in a press release. These at-home test kits are a critical step towards increasing access to testing within our community as we continue to combat the surge in COVID-19 cases following the busy holiday season. Information regarding hours and appointments for the state-run testing site will be announced soon. Free at-home COVID-19 test kits being distributed by area municipalities are fast disappearing. The state distributed the kits to counties this week with instructions to push them out to residents quickly. Supplies are running out in some areas and traffic is backing up near distribution points in others. Some counties are distributing them to their towns, cities and villages for residents and vulnerable groups. Some are partnering with Stewart's Shops to get the kits out at the chain's highly trafficked convenience stores. In Warren County, the test kits provided at some Stewart's ran out Thursday morning. Most municipalities are limiting the free kits, which contain two tests each, to one per household. In some cases, the kits are limited to residents of specific municipalities. In Clifton Park, officials started handing out test kits a half hour early Thursday because so many residents lined up, bringing traffic to a stop through the center of town. The town had almost 1,500 test kits to hand out. The number of cars! said Supervisor Phil Barrett, who oversaw the operation from afar after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. He said he hopes the town has enough to give to everybody who showed up Thursday. We were prepared to start early, thankfully, he said. We started about 12:30 p.m. and that was because the cars were backed up into Vischer Ferry Road and obviously thats not a good situation. Tests on the way Albany County announced Thursday that it will be distributing over 10,000 test kits to local cities, towns and villages based on population, as well as to Stewarts Shops in the county's rural communities. Giveaway details will be released as they are confirmed. The city of Watervliet said Thursday that it will distribute kits to city residents at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, at the lobby of the Watervliet municipal building/library/senior center. Residents will receive one kit per household and must show proof of residency. Anyone with questions should contact the mayors office at 518-270-3815. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. In Saratoga County, kits will be made available at public drive-thru distribution points, or by reservation/appointment depending on municipality. Find more information about your municipality's test kit distribution plans here. Saratoga County residents can report positive at-home test results here. Warren County officials said kits will also be delivered to all clients of the Warren/Hamilton Counties Office for the Aging senior meal program. County residents can report positive at-home test results directly to the County Public Health Services at 518-761-6580. In Washington County, community distributions will begin at town halls throughout the county starting Thursday, Jan. 6, during business hours. Most town halls throughout the county will have small numbers of at-home test kits available for distribution to town residents only. Distribution to seniors, those receiving home-delivered meals and county employees will follow later in the day Thursday and on Friday. County residents can report positive at-home test results directly to the county public health department at 518-746-2400. A number of area counties have created online portals where residents can submit positive results from the tests. In some cases, kits can be obtained directly from local municipalities. Residents are advised to check their official town, city, village or county website for more information about obtaining tests. SARATOGA SPRINGS After months of rallies calling for the city to come to a racial reckoning, the newly sworn-in City Council at its first meeting acted on two requests from those concerned with how the city police force treats people of color. The council voted unanimously to ask Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen to call for a noncriminal grand jury investigation into the 2014 death of Darryl Mount Jr., the 21-year-old biracial man who died nine months after city police pursued him on foot. It also scheduled a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 1 to begin the process of creating a Civilian Review Board to review incidents of police misconduct, something the previous council was unwilling to do. In calling for a grand jury to investigate Mounts death, Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino said that only Heggens office can offer immunity to witnesses who have information on police actions on Aug. 31, 2013, the night Mount was found injured and unconscious in a downtown alley. The immunity, he said, was necessary as witnesses might otherwise incriminate themselves. The district attorney is the only person who is capable of doing this under New York state law, he said. Mount died nine months after the pursuit. Police have always maintained that Mount fell nearly 20 feet from a construction scaffolding during the chase. But many, including those who advocate for social and racial justice, are skeptical of the police narrative and have rallied around seeking justice for Mount. Heggen said she is reserving comment on a possible grand jury investigation until she receives the letter because commenting now would only be speculation. If she rejects the idea, Montagnino said the city will then appeal to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who can order an investigation by the states Attorney General. In 2015, state law empowered the Attorney General to investigate all deaths in police custody. However, as the law is not retroactive to 2013, when Mount was injured, Montagnino said it would require a special request from the governor. Montagnino was to present his own report on Mount's death this week, but it was delayed as he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in the days leading up to his Jan. 1 swearing-in. He said he will present his report, based on public records, in the coming weeks. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. As for the Civilian Review Board, the discussion of which inspired bitter infighting among members of the previous City Council, Montagnino said the best framework is the one provided by the citys Police Reform Task Force. The Civilian Review Board they proposed is well thought out, Montagnino said. He also said that his campaign is over and that he is no longer making promises, but taking actions. "The time for talk is over and now is the time to act," he said. 3 1 of 3 Provided by Warren County Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Will Waldron/Times Union Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Warren County is partnering with the state and Stewarts Shops to distribute more than 2,500 free at-home COVID-19 test kits to the public starting Thursday, county officials announced. The kits will be available starting at 9 a.m. at more than a dozen Stewarts locations around the county, as well as town halls and community centers in towns that dont have a Stewarts store. The sites will receive an allotment of test kits based on the population of the town where theyre located, and residents are urged to take only one kit which contains two tests per person, officials said. ALBANY On Oct. 4, Gov. Kathy Hochul flew from Albany to New York City on a state-owned airplane. She went to Brooklyn to sign a bill, then in the afternoon held three, back-to-back campaign-related events before flying back to Albany in the evening. Although a major part of the day was dedicated to Hochul winning a full term of office in Novembers election, her political campaign did not reimburse taxpayers for any portion of the days travel. During Hochuls first 45 days in office, on at least three separate days, the governors use of state aircraft has raised questions about whether there has been any misuse of taxpayer resources, according to a Times Union review of public records. During that time, Hochul attended 64 private events related to her gubernatorial campaign, including donor meetings and fundraisers, allowing her campaign to raise a record-setting $10 million during her first three months in office. Amid a whirlwind schedule juggling governmental and campaign activities, Hochul used state-issued aircraft for 45 flights over the first 45 days in office. None of the trips were considered mixed use by Hochuls office consisting of both government and campaign-related activities despite a busy campaign schedule on many of the trips. And none of the flight costs for using either a state-owned Beechcraft King Air 250 or a state helicopter were reimbursed to taxpayers by Hochuls campaign. David Grandeau, the states former top lobbying enforcement official, said Hochuls campaign should have reimbursed taxpayers for several of the trips. She has to reimburse for the non-state business portion of the trips, Grandeau said. On Tuesday, the governors press secretary, Hazel Crampton-Hays, said the governors ethics counsel would re-review the flights at Hochuls direction. Gov. Hochul works around the clock to deliver for New Yorkers and visits all 62 counties every year to hear directly from her constituents, Crampton-Hays told the Times Union. The governor is committed to the highest ethical standards and only utilizes state resources, such as the state aircraft, when it is legally and ethically appropriate. In accordance with Gov. Hochuls commitment to transparency and adhering to the highest ethical standards, the governor has directed her ethics counsel to re-review all aircraft usage and make any appropriate reimbursements. On Wednesday, during her first State of the State address, Hochul unveiled a plan for ethics reform, while also acknowledging that politicians might still stumble and make mistakes once in awhile. On her official government website, Hochuls office recently posted schedules showing Hochuls government meetings and the attendees between her inauguration on Aug. 24 and through Oct. 9. The schedules detail when and where Hochul took flights, and in all 45 cases, it indicates the flights were fully funded by taxpayers. The schedules also list the myriad private events related to her campaign, though no other details are included beyond the times the events occurred. Crampton-Hays said the private events included campaign fundraisers, political meetings, political events for other candidates and groups, or any other event that the governor attends primarily in a political capacity. Crampton-Hays declined to say what portion of the private events were related to campaign fundraising, and what types concerned the other activities. A number of the private events lasted less than an hour, were held back-to-back and took place in New York City, suggesting meetings with potential campaign donors. Hochuls office has not issued a press release announcing the disclosure of her detailed daily schedules spanning her first 45 days. Her office informed the Times Union of its posting on Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Law request. Following those first 45 days, Hochul continued a heavy campaign schedule over the subsequent three months, raising the possibility of more questionable air travel beyond the records reviewed by the Times Union. Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo began the practice of a governor proactively posting the participants in his daily government meetings. Cuomos calendars also specified instances when hed held campaign fundraisers; Hochuls calendars list only private events. Under New York law, public officials may not use their official positions to secure unwarranted privileges. Advisory opinions issued in 2007 by the now-defunct state Commission on Public Integrity found that when using state aircraft, public officials must make an accurate apportionment of time spent between state and non-state business and promptly reimburse the state for the portion of a trip not related to state business. The calculation for the reimbursement is based upon private charter airplane rates. The opinions also found that state government business could not be used as a pretext to use an airplane for a partisan political activity. Through the years, numerous New York lawmakers have taken advantage of the policy, often mixing government meetings with political fundraisers or events to use state aircraft for travel. On Sept. 24, Hochul used a state aircraft to fly from New York City to Bolton Landing, where she made remarks at the state Business Councils annual meeting. Immediately afterward, Hochul held a private, campaign-related event, before flying to Lake Placid, again on state aircraft. She held two more government-related events before another private campaign-related event in the North Country, where she stayed that night. On the morning of Sept. 19, Hochul flew from Buffalo to Syracuse, and gave a commencement address at Syracuse University, then held a private event. That afternoon, she flew from Syracuse to Buffalo, held a staff phone call, then held another private event at 7 p.m., before staying overnight in Buffalo. The flights on Sept. 19, Sept. 24 and Oct. 4 all raise questions about whether taxpayers should be partially reimbursed, since the trips included campaign activity. And the flight from Syracuse to Buffalo raises further questions. In its 2007 opinions, the Commission on Public Integrity wrote that for state aircraft to be used by a public official, the state purpose must be the primary reason for the trip. Grandeau said that the Syracuse to Buffalo flight, sounds like something where she should have had to pay for the plane the whole way, since after landing in Buffalo, the only government-related activity was a staff phone call, ahead of the private political event. Hochul flew from Buffalo to New York City the next morning, apparently without conducting any other government-related activities in Buffalo. Its not clear if Hochul held a fundraiser on the evening of Sept. 19, or if the private event was of a different political nature. Hochuls office declined to say. One of the 2007 opinions found that a state official does not have to reimburse taxpayers if theyre returned home via state aircraft and then attended a campaign fundraiser that night. Originally from the Buffalo area, Hochul moved into the Executive Mansion in Albany upon taking office on Aug. 24, though she and her husband still own a condo in Buffalo. Hochuls office says she splits time between Albany, New York City and Buffalo. State ethics opinions have not addressed the issue of a governor having multiple residences, or whether returning to any of them enables an official not to reimburse taxpayers for plane travel. In 2011, the Commission on Public Integrity was abolished and replaced by a new entity, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Two years later, JCOPE issued an advisory opinion reaffirming the major facets of the 2007 ethics opinions. But in its 2013 opinion, JCOPE carved out a new exception for public officials in examining whether Cuomo could engage in one way trips on state aircraft without reimbursing taxpayers. Under the 2013 opinion, if Cuomo took a taxpayer-funded plane trip, held both a government event and a campaign fundraiser at his destination, then spent the night at his residence in Westchester County, or in Albany or New York City where he had government offices the plane trip did not need to be reimbursed to taxpayers. That exemption is highly relevant to Hochul, who in many instances has flown to New York City, attended both government and private political events, then stayed the night there. For instance, on Sept. 28, Hochul took a flight from Albany to New York City and returned to Albany on Oct. 1. During the four days in New York City, Hochul attended to 13 government-related matters, including a COVID-19 media briefing, government staff meetings, and an environmental group's gala. She additionally attended 20 private events over the four days, many of them back-to-back meetings lasting under an hour. Since Cuomo and the Legislature created JCOPE in 2011, the ethics agencys actions and inactions were widely criticized as being influenced by Cuomo. After Cuomo resigned in August, most of his six appointees to the commission have been replaced with Hochul-appointed commissioners. In her State of the State address on Wednesday, Hochul proposed replacing JCOPE with a new entity that would be far more independent of state politicians, though the state Legislature will need to agree on how to create the new entity. In any case, Hochul's taxpayer-funded plane trips could serve as a test for New Yorks ethics apparatus. Its a good test of whether this sitting governor will be able to avoid ethics rules, Grandeau said. On the day Hochul was inaugurated, she promised to change the culture of Albany through ethics reform and more. During her early days in office, Hochul also faced the prospect of a difficult Democratic primary challenge from Attorney General Letitia James. Hochul chose to build a massive campaign war chest that could scare off competition, with a goal to raise $10 million by the end of last month. In doing so, Hochul accelerated the long-existing practice of campaigns outsourcing fundraising to lobbyists: At least eight firms with major Albany presence held high-dollar events between August and October. Hochul also had a number of the less-formal meetings with potential campaign donors. The fundraising helped establish Hochul as the clear favorite in the primary; James abruptly dropped out of the gubernatorial race on Dec. 9. One of Hochuls remaining opponents in the Democratic primary for governor, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, has criticized her fundraising practices. He tweeted last week that while COVID-19 has been out of control, Hochul has spent so much time fundraising and politicking that shes failed to implement a real plan. She should disclose how much time she has spent on fundraising and politicking versus how much time she has spent doing her job, Suozzi wrote. (The Center Square) Pennsylvania lawmakers and officials gathered at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday to unveil legislation to authorize the testing and commercial deployment of automated vehicles. State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Johnstown, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, discussed how the Pittsburgh regions continued leadership in antonymous vehicle technology with cutting edge programs at Carnegie Mellon University and top companies Argo AI, Aurora and others depends on regulatory changes to thrive, and how leaders from government, industry and education came together to help him craft Senate Bill 965. The bipartisan bill modifies Pennsylvania laws to allow for vehicles to operate without a seated driver and permits testing and commercial deployment through Level 5, or fully automated. It addresses insurance liability and local governance, as well as PennDOTs role, Langerholc said. Langerholc cited a nationwide shortage of 80,000 truck drivers, supply chain issues, the industrys $10 billion economic impact and thousands of jobs as important reasons to ensure Pennsylvania remains at the forefront of the industry. Today, we send a message to the nation and the world the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be a leader in this emerging industry, he said. Let this unveiling toll the bell that bipartisanship is not dead. Secretary of Transportation Yassmin Gramian focused on ensuring SB 965 made safety a top priority and said the framework would help expand from the eight companies currently authorized to test autonomous vehicles in 56 counties. Weve already seen some economic benefits from this industry, she said, citing 6,300 jobs and 8,600 indirect jobs. Theres added economic benefit that will be created and produced for many years. To make progress we need legislative and policy changes to allow vehicle only testing, she said. This would create a pathway to the deployment of these vehicles. Sen. Jay Costa, D-Pittsburgh, said 39 other states also are working to leverage the autonomous vehicle industry, and he also stressed what the industry means for jobs in the region. One of the things we need to recognize is were not alone in the AV space, he said. While the bill is a legal framework to allow us to thrive in this space, Costa said, the effort really is about growing the jobs and growing the employment chain. Workforce is going to be an important part, he said. That conversation needs to be part of this, as well. Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce President Matt Smith also attended Wednesday's event, where he applauded the bill for supporting an industry that he said is central to the economic future of the region and state, citing board members among industry leaders. We feel its important to put the full-throated support of the business community behind this, he said. This legislation will go a long way to making us more competitive. SB 965 was referred to Langerholcs Transportation Committee when it was introduced Wednesday. Singing take me out to the ball game Grabbing a hot dog at the stadium Listening to the game on the radio Watching your kid hit a homerun Playing catch in the back yard The smell of the fresh cut grass Vote View Results Worsening pandemic news offers more of the same . . . Politically charged disputes over policy amid worsening confusion from the public about the direction of the crisis. Check out latest headline blast for another glimpse at how this situation continues to play out: Doctors: Kansas City's hospital capacity is maxed out as COVID-19 cases surge Doctors are making a plea to Kansas City: Don't visit the emergency room for COVID-19 testing or for minor problems. They don't have room."I just need the assistance of my fellow Kansas Citians to recognize when to use that emergency department and when to use an urgent care or when to just stay home and isolate," said Dr. Marc Larsen, of Saint Luke's Health System.Emergency rooms across the Saint Luke's Health System are packed. Kansas City hospitals say short staffing, high COVID cases could impact other patients KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Children's Mercy Hospital has reached a new peak of COVID-19 patients. Doctors now share concern as the hospital heads into its busiest time of year, taking care of kids with RSV and the Flu. "We still have about 10-15 patients with RSV every day," Dr. Jennifer Watts said. First case of 'flurona' confirmed in Kansas HAYS, Kan. (WIBW) -- Health officials in central Kansas have confirmed the first report of "flurona" in the state. "Flurona" is the term referring to when a patient has been diagnosed with influenza and COVID at the same time. The news was delivered by a representative from Hays Medical Center during a statewide COVID crisis conference call Wednesday morning. Exclusive: Gov. Parson talks about latest COVID surge, mass testing sites JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - People around the state are waiting hours in line to get a COVID test, but Missouri's governor says the state has plenty of supplies and does not plan to open a mass testing site. Gov. Johnson County to discuss masking for younger students Thursday KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Johnson County Commissioners will meet on Thursday morning to discuss whether to extend a current mask mandate for students in kindergarten through 6th grade. The mandate has been in effect since last August when commissioners passed the mandate in a meeting that lasted nearly three hours. Kansas City man's mission to continue after death from COVID-19 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City area man's COVID-19 mission must continue, in spite of his death at the hands of the virus. Rafael Hines founded Meals for Kids and Success Outreach Link KC, a mission touching tens of thousands of families, serving more than 500,000 meals just last summer. Developing . . . Most of the crime reports today concern rampant shooting. On the bright side, the first homicide victim of the year was seemingly resurrected as TV news reports his condition as deceased as remarkably improved. Check the TKC collection . . . KCPD: Man on life support after being shot Wednesday morning KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- The Kansas City Police Department is investigating a shooting that happened on Wednesday morning, which has left the victim on life support. According to the police, the victim was treated by medical staff and originally reported to be deceased. Kansas City police investigate shooting near 41st, Prospect Hide Transcript Show Transcript JOHNNY ROWLANDS AND WELCOME BACK. WE ARE LIVE IN NEWSCHOPPER 9. IT IS 41ST AND PROSPECT NOW WHERE WE ARE WATCHING POLICE ACTIVITY. THEY HAVE PROSPECT BLOEDCK OFF AS THEY ARE INVESTIGATING A SHOOTING. SOMEONE WAS SHOT HERE, THEY HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL. Independence man says he was carjacked at gunpoint outside grocery store INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - A 20-year-old Independence man said he's just happy to be alive after he was carjacked at gunpoint at a grocery store off Noland Road. But he's also upset about losing the vehicle that had sentimental value to him. Dominic Haber pulled up a photo of his 2009 white Toyota Camry on his phone. Clay County deputies find drugs, stolen credit cards and checks during traffic stop CLAY COUNTY, MO (KCTV) -- Clay County deputies found drugs, and stolen credit cards and checks when they pulled over a car for having plates that weren't registered to it the other night. According to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, deputies stopped the car on Monday night because the tags were registered to different vehicle. 'I feel violated': Video captures thieves breaking into homes of two Kansas City moms KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Doorbell camera video captured two burglaries within a mile and a half of each other Monday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri. "My son called me and said, 'Mom, think we've been robbed," Tiffini Davis said. Video shows a man trying to kick down Davis' door in broad daylight. Kansas City police ask for help in finding 13-year-old boy Kansas City police are asking for help in finding a missing 13-year-old boy.Police said Jah'tae J. Fry was last seen Tuesday at 1:42 p.m. leaving a home in the 1200 block of Bellefontaine Avenue. Anyone who has seen Jah'tae is asked to call 911 or the Missing Persons Unit at 816-234-5136. Questions still linger as vigil held in memory of Kansas City teen found dead KANSAS CITY, Mo.- Questions remain unanswered after a Kansas City, Missouri teenager, who had not been seen for weeks, was found dead in a wooded area near his home. The discovery was made by a group of his peers helping in a search party effort. Developing . . . Right now hottie Lexi inspires more than a bit of contemplation as we check pop culture, community news and top headlines for tonight . . . Toy Train Timeline Celebrated Kansas City Streetcar extension project on track for this year - Trains KANSAS CITY, MO. - Delivery of new rail for the Kansas City Streetcar Main Street Extension began this week. Delivery is anticipated to take two weeks, with four trucks per day delivering rail, for a total of 36 deliveries. Building Bridge To Nowhere Developers proposing KCK apartment building at city's gateway meet with neighbors KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Concerned neighbors met with the developer of a proposed Kansas City, Kansas apartment building Tuesday night. Developers of the $41.5 million project at 6th Street and Central Avenue say it will bring much needed housing and business to the area. More Deets On Royals FAIL Royals Cancel 2022 FanFest, Fault COVID-19 Pandemic The Kansas City Royals' annual FanFest has been canceled, according to the team's official website. The last FanFest took place in January 2020, months before the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. "At present we do not plan to hold the 2022 Royals Fan Fest originally scheduled to take place in late January at the Convention Center," the Royals' website says. Sounds Like More Cash Kansas City's American Jazz Museum gears up for new opportunities This September will mark the 25th anniversary of the opening of the American Jazz Museum and this month marks another anniversary - it's been two years since Rashida Phillips took the helm as the museum's executive director. These milestones present an opportunity to rethink the institution's exhibits and design. Not So Shocking Update Kansas City Airport installs wireless electric bus charging system As part of the $1.5-billion Kansas City International Airport New Terminal project, Kansas City Aviation Department is investing in the first wireless, vehicle charging system installed at a U.S. airport. The Aviation Department will use this technology to extend the range of its electric buses without installing an above-ground charging station or taking buses out of service for charging. French Connection Requires ID Porn sites to be BLOCKED in France unless they can verify users' age France's Higher Audiovisual Council will ask a judge to block the sites tomorrow Adult websites Pornhub, xHamster, XVideos, XNXX and Tukif are facing blackout The council says they are breaking the law by not having stricter age controls But porn sites argue such checks would infringe upon adult users' privacy The French government has announced it will move to block five of the world's major porn sites from tomorrow unless they introduce protective measures to ensure all users are aged 18 or over. MAGA TROLLS US ALL!!! Trump on eve of Capitol riot anniversary urges followers to 'rise up' Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a statement urging his supporters to 'rise up' against Democrat measures to control COVID-19 like vaccine mandates The statement raised eyebrows, issued on the eve of the first anniversary of the Capitol riot where his supporters 'rose up' to try and overthrow the election Trump COVID Shame Game Questioned White House reporter asks Psaki why Biden hasn't 'focused more on scolding the unvaccinated' A White House reporter asked press secretary Jen Psaki Wednesday why President Biden hasn't focused more on "scolding" unvaccinated Americans. Citing the approach of President Emmanuel Macron , who raised eyebrows this week when he said he intended to "piss off" unvaccinated people in his country, Politico's Daniel Lippman wondered if Biden would employ a sharper approach to those who remain unvaccinated. Democracy Pillow Talk Jan. 6 committee subpoenas MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's phone records The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has issued a subpoena for the phone records of Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a top Trump ally, according to a federal court filing Wednesday. Lindell filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Verizon in an attempt to block Verizon from turning over his phone records. Politicos Pass On Gas Debate Dems shift gears on Russian pipeline, backing Biden against Cruz's gambit Absent a surprise development, Cruz's bill is expected to fall short of the 60-vote threshold. "At this point it's very important, as we're looking at potential Russian action in Ukraine, for us to work very closely with our allies, and Germany is one of those very important allies. Rocket Man Fired Up North Korea says it test-fired a hypersonic missile Wednesday, state media reports North Korea said it successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile on Wednesday, the state-run news agency KCNA reported Thursday. War Still Going Strong?!? US troops come under attack in Iraq and Syria in days after Soleimani death anniversary A base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad's international airport came under rocket fire on Wednesday while indirect fire hit another base hosting U.S. troops in Syria, part of a string of attacks in the days after the anniversary of the death of top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani. Creeper Earns 2nd Chance?!? Ghislaine Maxwell to seek new trial after juror's sexual abuse claim -lawyer NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted last week of aiding Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuses, deserves a new trial, her lawyer said on Wednesday after a juror told media including Reuters that he had been a victim of sexual abuse. In a letter to U.S. Still Plagued By Doubt Study raises doubts about rapid Covid tests' reliability in early days after infection A new study raises significant doubts about whether at-home rapid antigen tests can detect the Omicron variant before infected people can transmit the virus to others. Former Pr0n Star Against Flex Mia Khalifa hits out at 'pathetic men' who do nothing but 'hump dirty floors' Ex-Pornhub star Mia Khalifa has hit out at "pathetic men" in her latest rant to her thousands of followers on Instagram. Mia made the random outburst last night as she called out men who like to boast about their income on a post believed to be a screenshot of a bank transfer. Playoff Crunch Time Playoff scenarios: How can the Chiefs get the No. 1 seed? KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Chiefs secured their spot in the playoffs when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 16. As AFC West champs, the Chiefs are guaranteed a top-4 seed in the AFC playoff picture; however, the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week puts their destiny in the hands of the 4-12 Houston Texans if they want to secure the No. Pandemic Politics Pictured elBryan retorts illustrated by bryan stalder Kansas City Veggie Reporting Dish & Drink KC: The vegetable edition Two patrons observe a dessert display case inside Billie's Grocery, a restaurant with plenty of vegetable-packed entrees and several desserts to choose from. // Photo by Anna Petrow Another year come and gone, and most of us are saying good riddance. 2021 rivaled the mess of 2020, making a new year and a clean slate all the more welcome. Old School Plagued By Fear Kansas City-area health care officials concerned with impact of omicron cases on nursing homes KANSAS CITY, Mo - Nursing care facilities in the Kansas City area are concerned with the rise in new COVID-19 cases. Dr. Jessica Kalendar-Rich, with the University of Kansas Health System, says targeted assistance to nursing homes no longer exist like they used to. Forecast For Tonight Light snow expected overnight, mainly to the south Hide Transcript Show Transcript SOUTH. LOW TEMPERATURES BY TOMORR OWMORNING, BARELY IN DOUBLE DIGI OUTWARDS A DAILY A ABOVE MARSHALL, ABOVE AND MARYVILLE. AS I COLDER AIR I'M REFERRING TO. DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS, MAINLY OVEROR NTHSTWE MISSOURI, NORTHEAST KANSAS BECAUSE OF THE SNOWPACK AND NORTHERLY WINDS ARE GOING TO KPEE IT PRETTY REFRIGERATED OUT THERE. Geese - Low Era is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. As we're all aware, TKC is not a scientist. Still . . . Even scumbags like your 2nd favorite local basement blogger can apply the scientific method or at least ask this smart-ass question: Why is Kansas City crowding people into restaurants at the same time hospitals are clamoring for shut downs, mask mandates have been reinstated and stats are spiking again?!? Let's make it plain . . . IS KANSAS CITY RESTAURANT WEEK 2022 SOMEHOW IMMUNE TO COVID-19 OMICRON?!?! If so, we're eager to learn how KC Restaurant Week is protected from the plague but locals must cower in fear at the urging of doctors. Maybe sitting down at a restaurant is the key to beating the pandemic. Apparently, paying top dollar at restaurants somehow allows us to dodge COVID and go mask-less as well. If only for a few moments . . . Again . . . Any scientific explanation might not only further the discourse but help us all move forward amid worsening COVID omicron confusion. Seriously . . . I'll accept whatever "the science" says but on the topic of restaurants it's impossible to deny that the guidance is contradictory at best. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Kansas City Restaurant Week returning amid rising COVID cases, but many taking precautions by: Jonathan Ketz Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Restaurant Week returns this month to many diners' delight. But it comes many local eateries struggle with staffing and as the omicron variant causes COVID-19 cases to surge across the Kansas City area. Regardless, Kansas City Restaurant Week will run from Friday, Jan. KC restaurant industry optimistic for 2022 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For nearly two years the restaurant industry has been challenged by the pandemic. Last month, several Kansas City restaurants were forced to shut down. Despite these setbacks, industry leaders are optimistic about 2022. Omicron COVID surge forcing restaurants to close; others lose customers SOUTH ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) - Several area restaurants closed this week because too many employees caught COVID or were out waiting to get tested. A sign on the door at O'Connell's Irish Pub, near I-44 and Hampton Road, says the restaurant is closed. Yale tells students not to dine at restaurants, even outdoors, due to rising Covid cases Yale College students are being asked not to dine at local restaurants, even outdoors, as the Ivy League school tries to combat rising Covid-19 cases. The New Haven, Connecticut, university announced its return to campus plan for the Spring semester and detailed a number of measures that will be taken. For Restaurants, What Does 'Fully Vaccinated' Mean Now? The Omicron wave has forced much of the restaurant industry into a modified shutdown again. Case numbers are skyrocketing, and some restaurants are responding by temporarily closing or pivoting back to delivery and take-out only, in order to keep both patrons and workers as safe as possible. You decide . . . There's a lot about the narrative of this crash that needs further investigation and won't make sense to anyone who understands physics. Put simply . . . There is no way a smallish Honda SUV pushed a 20 ton fire truck anywhere. Now, the family of a victim is asking for a jury trial in the aftermath of their tragedy. Here's the crux of the case . . . "The lawsuit alleges the driver of Pumper 19 "failed to exercise the highest degree of care in the operation of his vehicle, and failed to conduct himself in a careful, prudent and lawful manner." It also alleges the driver was negligent." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news links . . . Family of Westport crash victim files lawsuit against Kansas City, alleged KCFD fire truck driver KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The family of one of the victims killed in last month's crash involving a Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department pumper truck has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the driver of the pumper truck. Family of man killed in crash that involved fire truck files lawsuit KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- The family of a man killed in the crash that involved a fire truck at Westport and Broadway last month has filed a lawsuit against the city, the Kansas City Fire Department, and the driver of the fire truck at the time of the crash. Dispatch recordings depict moments before firetruck involved in deadly crash KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A firetruck was involved in a deadly crash Wednesday night after it collided with an SUV on Broadway Boulevard near Westport Road, which sent both vehicles into a building. Part of that recording details dispatchers telling fire crews to stand down. "Dispatch, do you want 18 to make that house fire?" Parents of passenger killed in Westport crash sue the Kansas City, KCFD and firetruck driver The family of one of three people killed in December when a Kansas City firetruck collided with a car in Westport is suing the fire department, the city and the driver of the truck. Crash reconstruction expert gives insight into fatal Westport crash investigation KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On Wednesday, a crash reconstruction expert detailed the steps that make up a deadly crash investigation, like the one that is taking place concerning last week's crash in the Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri . Developing . . . As the COVID pandemic stats worsen and hospitals complain of crowding, Mayor Q doubles down on a controversial public health policy. More to the point . . . TKC TOLD YOU SO!!! THE MASK ORDERS HAVE RETURNED AND THE MAYOR IS GEARING UP FOR A COURT FIGHT TO ENFORCE THE COVID DRESS CODE!!! It's worth noting that the Mayor has expressed some hesitancy about requiring masking but this time around his focus seems to be geared toward the inevitable court battle. Credit to so many readers who ACCURATELY noted that promises of an end to masks were nothing more than empty political chatter. And so . . . Here's the latest word . . . Weekly positivity rates have increased to the highest number Kansas City has seen since the pandemic. It is a big city, but I would like to see us get back to the type of order we had before the Christmas holiday," Lucas said. Lucas said there are obstacles in the way, including from the Missouri Attorney General's Office. I know there are people saying, why dont you do something about it right now, today? Were trying to make sure if we do something, its something that will stick, something that will stand up in court," Lucas said. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . . There's a myth that Mayor Q's advocacy along with millions of bucks worth of taxpayer funding has improved the lives of Kansas City homeless population. WRONG!!! In fact . . . THE KANSAS CITY HOMELESS CAMP CRISIS IS WORSE THAN EVER THANKS TO MAYOR Q'S HAPLESS LEADERSHIP!!! Here's the word and one of the most thoughtful statements we've heard on the topic . . . "How is this mayor going to run for reelection after the mess he has created?" A glimpse at one of many homeless camps. This one is near Independence & The Paseo and KCMO ACTUALLY HELPED TO MOVE THE CAMP EXACTLY ONE BLOCK in order to address complaints from a nearby university. More from the local insider . . . "These camps are growing and they're an absolute danger to the neighborhood. The inhabitants are here despite the resources directed their way and help from several agencies. The camps are a hot spot for drugs, violence and property theft around the neighborhood . . . Yet the mayor calls his policy for these camps a success." Conclusion . . . "KC is paying millions for shelters and services but it doesn't matter for people who want to continue to use drugs and alcohol. How do you help people who don't want help? The mayor doesn't have an answer for that but the policies he has applied toward these camps has allowed the situation to get worse." Moreover . . . "The mayor & the city manager think they're helping but, in fact, they've made the homeless camp situation so much worse." Developing . . . The prog-blogs are pushing GOP division betwixt establishment Republicans & MAGA loyalists but that partisan angle is just talking point trash targeting gullible plebs. Those of us who really know how Missouri works understand that the longstanding "good old boy" network really runs this state no matter who gets elected . . . . But again, that historical fact really isn't important. Here's a better take . . . THE ONLY THING THAT MISSOURI REPUBLICANS CAN AGREE ON IS POLITICAL REVENGE AGAINST KANSAS CITY & STL!!! From housing credits to highway funds . . . The current administration has painted this town into a corner and we expect a myriad of legislation looking to make an example out of local progressive leaders. For now, we share mainstream takeaways . . . Missouri legislative session opens with different priorities (The Center Square) - During news conferences on Wednesday, Missouri's Republican legislators stated their priority is approving new Congressional district maps while Democrats acknowledged they've gained some influence over the process and pledged to uphold voting rights. At the state capitol in Jefferson City, none of the Republicans wore masks while meeting with reporters while all of the Democrats wore masks. Key takeaways from eventful first day of Missouri legislative session JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Lawmakers are back in Jefferson City to start off what is expected to be an eventful legislative session, which includes redistricting and allocating a historic amount of money. As the number of COVID cases rise in the state, some members weren't present for the first day of the session because of the virus. Developing . . . BLANFORD [mdash] Eric Todd Vandevender, 60, of Blanford and formerly of Cayuga, passed away at 7:55 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 16, 2022 at Clinton Gardens in Clinton, Indiana. Eric was born on May 6, 1961 in Danville, Illinois, the son of the late Floyd A. and Irma Jean (Weir) Vandevender. Sur Former Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee boss Brian Lewis believes newly elected president Diane Henderson has the credentials to serve in that capacity. Lewis says Henderson has the experience since she has been an athlete and also in-charge of sporting bodies. Over the past 24 hours, on January 5, the Ukrainian military reported four ceasefire violations by the Russian occupation forces in eastern Ukraines conflict zone. According to Ukrinform, the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters released the relevant update via Facebook Thursday morning. In the direction of Avdyiivka, the enemy opened fire using an anti-tank missile system. Near Shumy, the invaders engaged the positions of Ukrainian troops with automatic easel-mounted grenade launchers and small arms. In the direction of Katerynivka, the occupiers fired anti-tank grenade launchers and large-caliber machine guns. Near Maiorsk, Russian mercenaries fired easel-mounted anti-tank grenade launchers, underbarrel grenade launchers, and small arms. Enemy attacks brought no casualties, the Ukrainian command noted. Ukraines defenders returned fire without using weapons proscribed by the Minsk agreements and forced the enemy to cease shelling. Thanks to the defense efforts, the Ukrainian forces successfully held their ground along the contact line in the conflict zone. As of 7:00 on Thursday, January 6, Ukraine's military reported no new ceasefire violations by the Russian occupation forces. Joint Forces keep monitoring the situation in the hostility zone, remaining ready to deter and repel Russias armed aggression. im The conflict on Ukraine's border is on the verge of getting deeper, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has said. He stated this at a press conference on Wednesday, January 5, following his visit to the contact line in eastern Ukraine, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "This is a good moment, because the geopolitical landscape is changing very quickly, and the conflict in the border of Ukraine is also on the verge of getting deeper. Over the next days, we are going to have an informal Council of Foreign Affairs and an informal Council with Defense Ministers, and the conversations between Russia, [the] U.S. and NATO are going to start. This is a critical moment and I think it was the right moment to come, even if the weather conditions were not the best to visit this part of Ukraine," Borrell said. He noted that during the trip he had an opportunity to witness the consequences of this dramatic conflict that has lasted for almost eight years. "This conflict has dramatically changed the lives of people. We see a lot of destinies destroyed. We see families divided on both sides of the contact line and obstacles to access basic services, to live and to work; apart from the lives of the soldiers that have been killed along the contact line in this low-density war that has cost too many human lives," he said. "I am impressed by the work of many people - international organizations, NGOs and, certainly, the Ukrainian Government - to facilitate the transfer of people, to receive basic services, to do the administrative demarches, and to visit their relatives on one side and the other," Borrell said. He reiterated that the European Union is the most reliable partner of Ukraine that supports its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. "We have been providing political, financial and economic support, over EUR 17 billion since the takeover of Crimea by Russia. Our Association Agreement is the most comprehensive agreement that the European Union has with any other third country in the world," Borrell said. "The conflict in the borders [of Ukraine] is on the verge of getting deeper and tensions have been building up with respect to the European security as a whole. Russia has been massing troops and weapons in an unusual manner around the Ukrainian borders. This process has happened very quickly. [] When President Biden and President Putin met in Geneva, it was assumed that the U.S. and Russia where in a process of building lines of communication. And we, the Europeans, were mainly listening to these contacts between Russia and the U.S. But now, everything is different," the EU High Representative said. Borrell stressed that he had never objected to the need for talks between Russia and the United States, but added that when it comes to European security, the talks should be held with the participation of Europe and Ukraine, as many issues on the agenda are directly related to Ukraine. "If Russia wants to talk, certainly it has to be an organized dialogue. [] It would not be a good idea to refuse the dialogue that Russia is asking for. But, if the Russians are really willing to talk about the security in Europe, then the Europeans have to be part of it. Next week, we are going to have the Gymnich meeting, the informal meeting with the Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers of Europe, where we are going to discuss the way in which we are going to have our say in these talks, through coordination with the U.S. and talking with the Russians. Like it or not, they will have to talk with us," Borrell said. Borrell is on a visit to Ukraine on January 4-6 at the invitation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. On January 5, the Ukrainian and EU foreign policy chiefs visited the contact line in Luhansk region, where they got acquainted with the current security situation in the area of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. op Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks has assured Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Mishchenko that the Baltic country will provide assistance to Ukraine in the form of weapons and military equipment, according to the news site Lsm.lv. The two met on January 5 and agreed on the content of the humanitarian cargo to be sent to Ukraine, the report said. "There will be weapons and equipment. We will do that, and we call on our allies in Europe to do the same, because Ukraine has the right and is able to defend itself. Ukraine largely defuses tensions from our own borders, from our region. And although Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it is our ally. In fact, they are defending us," Pabriks said. The media outlet reports that Latvia has previously provided broad support to Ukraine, including financial and humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation of the wounded, and support for the chaplaincy service. Photo: LETA op Ukraine will continue to implement important structural reforms for the well-being of its citizens, with the support of the European Union, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said. He said this at a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Kyiv on Thursday, January 6, Ukrinform reports, citing the Ukrainian government portal. "Among the reforms we have launched is the implementation of the European Green Deal policy. Ukraine has set an ambitious goal in this area. We are also continuing the reform of privatization and corporatization. 2022 should be a breakthrough year in the implementation of these reforms," Shmyhal said. He noted that Ukraine already has a successful experience in implementing reforms, including decentralization and land reform. According to him, this experience will be used to implement other reforms. He said that Ukraine is preparing for the next meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, where it plans to summarize the work of the past year and discuss the implementation of decisions made at the 23rd Ukraine-EU Summit. The prime minister proposed holding the event in April this year. For his part, Borrell reaffirmed the EU's readiness to hold the next meeting in Brussels in April. According to Shmyhal, the key areas of work within the Association Council for Ukraine, in particular, will be updating some annexes to the Association Agreement, measures to implement the European Green Deal, and joining the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which will positively affect the development of the sphere of financial transactions. "Against the background of gas shortages and high energy prices, security of energy supply must also remain our top priority in regional cooperation. In this area, we are working extremely actively and persistently to connect the Ukrainian energy system to the European network ENTSO-E," he said. He added that Ukraine has so far met all the requirements of technical audits. Another important point of work, according to the prime minister, is the launch of the sixth macro-financial assistance program. "It is also important for us to start substantive negotiations on speeding up the liberalization of mutual trade in accordance with Article 29 of the Association Agreement and further progress in concluding ACAA agreements, or the so-called 'industrial visa-free regime'," Shmyhal said. In addition, according to him, the parties should focus on finding ways to address the lack of permits for the transit of road transport. In conclusion, Shmyhal thanked the European Union for its support and appreciation of the reform progress in Ukraine. On January 4-6, Borrell is on his third visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. op Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak discussed the situation around Ukraine's borders with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried. Glad [that] the relations and communication of our countries have become even more regular reaching a whole new level. Just had a conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, Yermak posted on Twitter on January 5. The parties discussed the current situation near the Ukrainian borders and security issues. It is important that Ukraine and the United States are always in regular contact, as it should be between true strategic partners and friends, Yermak noted. As reported, on January 4, Yermak held telephone consultations with Foreign Policy Adviser to German Chancellor Jens Plotner and Diplomatic Adviser to the President of France Emmanuel Bonn ahead of their visit to Moscow. ol Ukraine can count on Canada's unwavering support, especially in the face of a possible new round of Russian aggression. Thats according to Canadas Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly, Ukrinform reports. "We remain deeply concerned by the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine. Canada will always support our allies and stand by Ukraine and its people," Joly said. We remain deeply concerned by the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine. Canada will always support our allies and stand by Ukraine and its people. I look forward to this productive meeting. https://t.co/TrYG6UcYGk Melanie Joly (@melaniejoly) January 5, 2022 The chief of Canadian diplomacy added that she was looking forward to the virtual meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, scheduled for January 7. As Ukrinform reported earlier, during the ministerial, NATO top diplomats are set to discuss Russia's military escalation near Ukraine's border, as well as European security issues. im EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell saw firsthand the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Borrell has shared the experience of his Donbas visit on Wednesday via Twitter, according to Ukrinform. "Could eyewitness during visit to Stanytsya Luhanska and contact line w/ Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba consequences of aggressions against Ukraine," the EU High Representative wrote. Could eyewitness during visit to Stanytsya Luhanska and contact line w/ Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba consequences of aggressions against Ukraine. Any further military aggression would have massive consequences; Russia needs to de-escalate and fully implement Minsk agreements. pic.twitter.com/M7mKKdKeDP Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) January 5, 2022 Borrell stressed that any further military aggression would have massive consequences. "Russia needs to de-escalate and fully implement Minsk agreements," the EU top diplomat said. As Ukrinform reported earlier, on January 4-6, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, is paying his third visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. On January 5, the heads of Ukrainian and European diplomacy visited the demarcation line in Luhansk region, where they were briefed on the situation in the zone of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. im Both the United States and Germany are on Ukraine's side in the face of a threat coming from Russia, but their views on arms supplies to Kyiv differ. Thats according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who spoke at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on Wednesday, January 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "We have a different position on arms supply to Ukraine," Baerbock said. At the same time, she recalled that since 2014, Germany had helped Ukraine build a military hospital, furnished medical equipment, supplied medical material, and offered treatment in Bundeswehr hospitals to wounded Ukrainian servicemen. Speaking about possible sanctions, Baerbock said that, given the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, it was clearly stated that further military escalation and violation of Ukraine's sovereignty would entail "enormous economic consequences" and also "affect the financial sector." The politician assured that the transatlantic partners closely coordinate their positions on this issue. She mentioned in this context the joint German-American declaration (July 2021), in which both countries stated that there must be effective means of response if Russia uses energy as a weapon in the context of Nord Stream 2. The newly-appointed federal government fully agrees with this, which is laid down in the coalition agreement, the minister said. Also, Baerbock, who prior to her appointment had openly opposed NS2, gave no direct answer as to whether Russias gas pipeline project would be stopped in the event of aggression. Baerbock noted that "Russia's destructive actions will come at a high cost, the new aggression against Ukraine will have severe consequences, and the Russian government must be aware of this." She stressed that the only way out of the spiral of escalation is dialogue, which has no alternative. In Germany, Baerbock said, everything possible is being done to prevent new aggression and new violations of international law, and in fact stood up for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's plans to enter into a direct dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible. "Berlin is glad that Russia has agreed to start a dialogue," the foreign minister added. The situation will be discussed both in direct bilateral talks and in other formats, Baerbock said. According to the top diplomat, Germany, along with France, is trying to promote negotiations in the Normandy format, also supporting the negotiation efforts within NATO and the OSCE. Baerbock is on her first visit to the United States as Foreign Minister. In Washington, she had talks with Blinken and met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, Annalena Baerbok, shares the opinion that todays task is to prevent further escalation around Ukraine. At the same time, she dodges questions about the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself. Photo: @AuswaertigesAmt im The United States and the EU have laid out two paths for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia: the path of diplomacy and de-escalation and the path of deterrence with massive consequences and serious costs for Russia should it renew its aggression against Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. According to an Ukrinform correspondent, he said this on Wednesday, January 5, at a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is on a visit to Washington. "It's very hard to make actual progress in any of these areas in an atmosphere of escalation and threat with a gun pointed to Ukraine's head," Blinken said. According to him, the United States has been working very intensely for some weeks now with allies and partners, including through the G7, NATO, the European Union, indirectly with the European Union, "on elaborating, establishing, coordinating potential sanctions if there is renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine." "I'm not going to telegraph them publicly, but I can tell you with great confidence that a tremendous amount of work has been done already. There is very strong coordination and collaboration and very strong agreement on measures that would be taken in the event of renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine," Blinken said. He stressed that if Russia renews its aggression against Ukraine, the United States and Europe will respond with "very strong economic measures, including measures that have not been used in the past or previous episodes of Russian aggression that will inflict very significant costs on Russia's economy and financial system." "NATO did not invade Ukraine; NATO did not invade Georgia; NATO did not position forces in Moldova against the will of its people. Those are all things, among many others, that Russia has done in recent years. Over the past two decades, it is Russia that has invaded neighboring countries; interfered in other countries' elections; used chemical weapons to attempt to assassinate opponents of the government, and done so on foreign soil; violated international arms control agreements; pulled back from confidence-building and transparency measures long agreed," Blinken said. According to him, the United States supports the Minsk process and the efforts of France and Germany in the Normandy format, and Washington will make every effort to involve Russia in the peace process in the coming weeks and months. Blinken added that if Russia launches its further aggression toward Ukraine, "it would certainly be difficult to see gas flowing through [the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline] in the future." "Strong transatlantic solidarity is the most effective response and the most effective tool that we have in countering Russian aggression," he said. op European Solidarity party leader and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that he will return to Kyiv on January 17. "As I promised, I will return to Kyiv on January 17 to show up in court and meet with the prosecutor general, using my right of a people's deputy," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook. Before that, on January 10-15, he said he would "work in Europe to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression and support democracy in our country," adding that despite a long holiday season, much needs to be done to step up Western support for Ukraine. Poroshenko earlier announced that he would return to Ukraine from a foreign trip in the first half of January. He left abroad on December 17. On December 20, Acting Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko signed a notice of suspicion for Poroshenko in the case of coal supplies from the occupied territories. Kyiv's Pechersky District Court received a petition requiring that Poroshenko be remanded in custody. According to Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation, Poroshenko is suspected of "aiding the activities of the terrorist organizations 'LPR' and 'DPR' by acting in collusion with a group of individuals, including representatives of the top leadership of the Russian Federation." In September-November 2021, an incumbent MP and a former energy minister were declared suspects in the case. They are suspected of buying coal from non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions using state funds. According to the investigation, through their actions they made Ukraine's energy sector dependent on Russia and terrorist organizations, which, in turn, undermined the economic security of the state in 2014-2015, depriving it of any opportunities for diversification of energy sources and providing Russia with greater opportunities for further interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine and subversive activities against the country. op The Ukrainian community is organizing a rally "Let's Defend Yevhen Lavrenchuk" in Milan on January 15 to prevent the extradition of the Ukrainian theater director to Russia. "Yevhen may be extradited to Russia, from which he left in 2014 after the occupation of Crimea and Russia's attack on Ukraine. Now Yevhen's lawyers make efforts to prevent his extradition. Let's gather at a square in Milan and protect our compatriot! Come to Mercanti Square, at 15:00 on Saturday, January 15, rally co-organizer Lesya Tsybak posted on Facebook. According to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty correspondent Natalia Kudryk, leading Italian media outlets start to write about detained Yevhen Lavrenchuk: "Ukrainian director arrested in Naples. Political revenge of Russians". The first publication in the Corriere della Sera is quite detailed, impartial, citing Ukrainian sources of information (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, director's mother, ombudsperson). "It's positive. There is a hope that the local media will escape a wave of Russian propaganda. As it turned out, despite the caution of the defense, the information leaked on December 17 to little-known regional Internet resources which presented superficial and distorted information. In Italy, meanwhile, albeit slowly, all competent stakeholders are bringing the incident closer to a solution. Let's hope that it will be final and positive," Kudryk said. Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova earlier stated that the detention of Ukrainian theater director Yevhen Lavrenchuk in Italy testified to Russia's abuse of the Interpol statute and its misuse as an instrument of hybrid warfare to persecute Ukrainians. On December 17, 2021, Yevhen Lavrenchuk, a Ukrainian theater director, Shevchenko National Prize nominee, former chief director of the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater, and rector of the First Ukrainian School of Theater and Cinema, was detained in Italy. He is being held in an Italian pre-trial detention center in connection with Russia's extradition request. According to the request, Lavrenchuk allegedly committed a criminal offense while staying in Russia 8 years ago. The Italian side is studying the request. The details of the case are not disclosed yet, but it is known that the director is charged with financial impropriety, which he allegedly committed in Russia. Lavrenchuk receives support from the Consulate of Ukraine in Italy and a lawyer who is trying to prevent his extradition to Russia. ol In the temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Russia is creating a situation that would allow the Kremlin to pursue any decision in the future ranging from the regions return into the Ukrainian political and legal field on Russian terms and up to its integration with Russia. The opinion was expressed by ex-Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who penned an oped for ZN.ua. The diplomat has noted that Russia continues to actively issue Russian passports to residents of the occupied territories, and suggested that in 2022, the number of newly-naturalized citizens will exceed a million. In addition, creeping integration through passports is complemented by creeping economic integration. "Putin's decree on the recognition of goods produced in the occupied territories as those produced in Russia, is just about that," said the ex-minister. He also noted that, according to opinion polls, the share of those who seek Ukraine to regain control of the region is usually between 10% and 20%, while in the future we will be faced with a new generation that is currently studying according to Russian curriculums, by teachers, who, just as the vast majority of those paid by the occupation government in Donbas, are definitely not our sympathizers. "In fact, Russia is creating a situation in the occupied Donbas that allows the Kremlin to make any decision in the future from its return to the Ukrainian political and legal field on Russian terms to integration into Russia. I repeat: in the current situation, the least the Kremlin has is the prerequisites for pursuing a full range of solutions," Klimkin said. He added that their cost may differ, but the Kremlin has significant room for maneuver, while that of Ukraine is too small. According to the expert, the Kremlin has begun to work out in the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions the option of reintegrating territories that Moscow believes belong to the Russian imperial space. "What were seeing now is a test run, whose results will give Russia experience it will replicate. This is well understood in the West but, in fact, is not actually being discussed in our country," the ex-minister stated. As Ukrinform reported earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock that the U.S. and the EU have identified two ways to influence Putin on the Ukraine issue: diplomacy and deterrence with far-reaching consequences and losses for Russia, should it resort to another act of aggression. im Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell have agreed to hold the next meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in April 2022. According to Ukrinform, the head of government announced this in a post on Twitter. "We have updated the agenda of our bilateral relations. We have agreed to hold the next meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in April," Shmyhal said. Shmyhal thanked Borrell for this important visit to Ukraine amid the escalation of the situation by Russia, because "the security of Ukraine is the security of the whole of Europe." Borrell is on a visit to Ukraine on January 4-6 at the invitation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. On January 5, the Ukrainian and EU foreign policy chiefs visited the contact line in Luhansk region, where they got acquainted with the current security situation in the area of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. On January 6, Borrell wrote on Twitter that he had witnessed the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He stressed that any further military aggression would have massive consequences. op Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell met in Kyiv on Thursday, January 6, to discuss the issue of strengthening security and sanctions to prevent further Russian aggression, according to the Ukrainian government's website. "These days it is extremely important to see the active position of the heads of EU institutions and friends of Ukraine. We are looking forward to your further support and determination in making tough economic sanctions against Russia should it launch another round of aggression against our state," Shmyhal said. He stressed that Ukraine appreciates the first visit by the EU High Representative to Donbas since the beginning of Russia's armed aggression. Shmyhal stressed that Russia's goal is to prevent Ukraine from joining the EU and NATO. At the same time, Ukraine continues to fulfill its Euro-Atlantic and European integration commitments. He thanked the European Union for its clear position on rejecting Russia's illegal demands. "The so-called security proposals made by the Kremlin must be unanimously answered. Transatlantic unity is the key to strong support for Ukraine," Shmyhal said. He noted that Ukraine appreciates the EU's position on its readiness to respond quickly to further military aggression against the country, in particular by imposing a package of new unprecedented sanctions. He also thanked Borrell for his personal support in the potential deployment of the EU's military advisory and training mission in Ukraine in 2022. "Such a step will, of course, demonstrate the steadfastness of the European community in its full support of Ukraine and could be an additional guarantee for strengthening Ukraine's national defense capabilities and resilience to existing external and internal threats," he said. Shmyhal also thanked the European Union for joining the Crimea Platform. For his part, Borrell expressed interest in continuing to deepen cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union in various fields, including within the Crimea Platform. According to him, one of the promising areas of cooperation may also be cooperation in the field of cybersecurity. Borrell stressed that the EU is and remains a reliable partner of Ukraine. On January 4-6, Borrell is on his third visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. op The International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752 has stated that further attempts to persuade Iran to enter into negotiations on reparations are futile and, therefore, the issue will be settled in accordance with international law. This is stated in the joint statement of the Group. As noted, the Coordination Group asked Iran to commit to engaging in negotiations with the Group by January 5, 2022. Unfortunately, on December 27, 2021, we received an unequivocal response from Iran that it does not see a need to negotiate with the Group, reads the statement. It is noted in the document that Iran initially agreed to engage with the Group during the first round of negotiations held on July 30, 2020. However, Iran is now categorically rejecting any further negotiations with the Group related to collective demand for reparations. We will not stand for this affront to the memories of the 176 innocent victims. Despite our best efforts over the past two years and multiple attempts to resolve this matter through negotiations, the Coordination Group has determined that further attempts to negotiate with Iran on reparations for the destruction of Flight PS752 at this time are futile. The Coordination Group will now focus on subsequent actions to take to resolve this matter in accordance with international law, the statement underscores. The foreign ministers representing Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, state that they will never forget the 176 innocent passengers and crew who lost their lives on January 8, 2020. We remain united in our commitment to hold Iran accountable for the actions and omissions of its civil and military officials that led to the illegal downing of Flight PS752 by ensuring that Iran makes full reparations for its breaches of international law, the members of the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752 emphasize. On January 3, the Superior Court of Justice of the Canadian province of Ontario awarded CAD 107 million (about USD 90 million), plus interest, to the families of six people who died in the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. On January 8, 2020, the Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. There were 176 people on board nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK). All of them died. On January 11, Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner. ol A group of Ukrainian nationals couldnt make it out of Kazakhstan on Wednesday as their Almaty-Kyiv regular flight was canceled after the airport suspended all operations. The embassy is in contact with passengers, exploring the opportunities for the air carrier to ultimately perform the flight to Kyiv. Thats according to Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleh Nikolenko, who spoke with Ukrinform. He noted that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, instructed the relevant officials with the diplomatic service to focus on protecting the interests of Ukrainian citizens in Kazakhstan. According to Nikolenko, the situation is complicated by the state of emergency earlier introduced in Kazakhstan, as well as the unstable operation of mobile communications and the Internet. Regional passenger transportation has been partially restricted, while international flights have been significantly delayed or canceled. "Last night, a group of Ukrainian citizens could not take a flight from Almaty to Kyiv as the airport suspended operations. Diplomats helped Ukrainians find locations to stay overnight. The embassy is currently exploring with the airport administration and the air carrier the possibility of performing the flight and keeps in touch with passengers. According to the Foreign Ministry, Nur Sultan Airport is operating as usual. A flight to Kyiv has been scheduled for today," Nikolenko said. He added that Ukraine expects that the Kazakh authorities ensure the safety of Ukrainian citizens, provide them with full assistance, including the Ukrainians who prefer to leave Kazakhstan. Nikolenko called on fellow citizens to avoid sites of mass events, especially in big cities, to remain especially vigilant and cautious, as well as to register in the "FRIEND" electronic system (https://friend.mfa.gov.ua) so that diplomats are able to provide them with timely assistance. "Id like to reassure everyone: the Ukrainian government will not leave its citizens in limbo. Further steps of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies to protect the interests of Ukrainians in Kazakhstan will be adjusted depending on security developments," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. He added that the Embassy of Ukraine in Nur Sultan has switched to round-the-clock operation. In case of threat to life or safety, Ukrainians are urged to apply for assistance by phone: +7 705 755 66 10) or e-mail: emb_kz@mfa.gov.ua. In 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine may adopt a bill on the legalization of medical cannabis, initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers. "The government bill on the legalization of medical cannabis has already been published for discussion This document will be registered. It will come to our committee. I hope that the committee's members will support it," Mykhailo Radutskyi, MP from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, said in an interview with Ukrinform. He noted that the government bill differed from the bill proposed by the committee members and sent for revision, in particular, in strengthening the control of the National Police of Ukraine over the circulation of cannabis. In addition, according to Radutskyi, the wording of the document initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers more clearly defines the essence of medical cannabis and the procedure for its import. The politician stressed that the adoption of the relevant legislation would provide more than two million Ukrainians with access to medicines. "There were many narratives in society that it was allegedly the drug legalization. Neither the bill sent for revision, nor the new governments bill has a single word about drug legalization. It's just medical cannabis," he said. Radutskyi expressed hope that the Verkhovna Rada would adopt the document in 2022. ol I am deeply saddened to learn that three Eritrean refugees, two of them children, were killed yesterday, in an airstrike that hit the Mai Aini refugee camp in northern Ethiopia. My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of those lost in this attack. According to the information we received, four other refugees were injured. Thankfully, their lives are not at risk. UNHCR is assisting them to receive medical care. Refugees are not and should never be a target. While UNHCR continues to gather and corroborate details on the events, I reiterate UNHCRs call on all parties to the conflict to respect the rights of all civilians, including refugees. Refugee settlements must always be protected, in line with their international legal obligations. What are the symptoms of omicron? Here's how they differ in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients Dr. Douglas Vaughan is seen in his lab, Jan. 3, 2022, at Northwesternas Simpson Querry Biomedical Research Center. The new Potocsnak Longevity Institute focuses on how to help people live longer, healthier lives through research and treating patients. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS) SHI YU/CHINA DAILY The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council which are also the largest nuclear powers pledged on Monday to work together to prevent a nuclear war, avoid arms races and prevent nuclear proliferation. A joint statement issued simultaneously by China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States said "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought", stressing that reducing strategic risks is their "foremost responsibility". "As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weaponsfor as long as they continue to existshould serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war," the joint statement said, and called on all states to create a security environment "more conducive to progress on disarmament with the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all". Goal is to protect global security The five permanent UN Security Council members have come together to play a constructive role in safeguarding global security, and the Security Council has kept in pace with the times since 1992 when China and France signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The five countries have also contributed to several nonproliferation negotiations including the negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, provided security guarantee to persuade Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus to give up their nuclear weapons programs and, as permanent members of the Security Council, opposed the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in 1998. While all the five nuclear powers have encountered increasing challenges, the US became an uncertain factor in global security during the Donald Trump administration. Despite the efforts of other countries to regularize communication for the review of the NPT, Trump tried his best to cripple the international arms control and nuclear nonproliferation system, by pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019 and the Open Skies Treaty in 2020. In 2018, as "specially affected states" and "persistent objectors", the five states opposed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, insisting that the Non-Proliferation Treaty be maintained as the cornerstone of the nonproliferation system. Crucial global meeting to be held in March Yet in spite of the cooperation among the five states, the differences among them and some radical non-nuclear states grabbed headlines. Therefore, the first meeting of the parties to the TPNW will be held in Vienna in March to resolve the differences and discuss the goals to be realized in the next decade. In March 2020, on the 50th anniversary of the NPT, foreign ministers of the five nuclear powers reiterated their faith in the treaty, saying they are committed to fulfilling their obligations, strengthening the NPT mechanism, and making efforts to strike a balance between preventing nuclear proliferation and using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The Joe Biden administration has reversed many of Trump's unilateral decisions. Since his inauguration in 2021, Biden has extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia for five years, making the two nuclear superpowers a part of the arms control regime again. The Biden administration has also resumed negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal and offered talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea "anywhere and at any time" without preconditions. That the Biden administration is said to be planning a "nuclear posture review" suggests it is mulling reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the US' security strategy. Perhaps the administration's agenda may follow the "Roosevelt tradition" to seek US leadership in world affairs through "restoration and extension". But to create more room for the five nuclear powers to jointly promote nuclear nonproliferation, the Biden administration should support international organizations and multilateral problem-solving mechanisms. What the Biden administration has done, instead, is forming AUKUS(a security alliance among Australia, the UK and the US) in 2021, under which the US and the UK will provide nuclear-powered submarines for Australia. In fact, the formation of AUKUS indicates nuclear nonproliferation has given way to US security concerns, triggering worldwide dismay. Which prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency to include AUKUS in its agenda to address the grave concerns of the international community over the US' action. The arms control and nuclear nonproliferation regimes still face many challenges, with the great power competition continuing to impact the UN-centric international security mechanism and strategic stability, and multilateral cooperation. The great power competition is also causing regional tensions and confrontations, threatening peace and security in Europe, the Middle East, Northeast Asia and South Asia. The development of weapons technology and the concept of "trans-domain deterrence" have pushed the international arms control mechanism into a very complicated situation, especially because the demands of the nuclear powers and non-nuclear states are diverse. Proliferation threat becoming more immediate The threat of nuclear proliferation in Northeast Asia, the Middle East and South Asia has become more real, yet not enough efforts are being made to reduce that threat. This means the five states have a greater responsibility to balance nuclear nonproliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. On Nov 3, 2021, the First Committee of 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, approved a China-proposed draft resolution, titled "Promoting international cooperation on peaceful uses in the context of international security", which stresses that "all countries have the right to exchange equipment, materials, and science and technology for peaceful purposes, and that all countries should take concrete measures to promote peace while fulfilling their obligations to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery". This is part of China's efforts to safeguard the global nonproliferation regime. To prevent nuclear proliferation and promote nuclear disarmament, the five nuclear powers need to first take some concrete measures. They should, for example, pledge to not deploy and store nuclear weapons on the territory of other statesthis applies exclusively to the US, as it is the only country that has deployed weapons on foreign soil. Five nuclear powers must make more efforts They should also reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their respective security strategy, refrain from first-use of nuclear weapons, and jointly maintain regional and global strategic stability to achieve the ultimate goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world by dismantling their nuclear weapons. To achieve these goals, the five nuclear powers need to follow the principle of peaceful coexistence, and also help resolve nonproliferation hotspot issues using political and diplomatic means, in order to build a security environment conducive to the development of all countries. They should also abandon the Cold War mentality, so as to prevent great power competition from undermining their security cooperation, and work together to upgrade the NPT so it can meet the evolving security challenges, promote strategic stability and improve global governance. There is much larger scope for cooperation if they sincerely engage in promoting common interests. The author is a senior research fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation Studies, Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily. Royce E Josey, 91, of Milledgeville,went to meet Jesus on Sunday, April 24. He was born on Sept. 13, 1930, to Lee Roy and Alva Josey in Milledgeville, one of four children. Royce was a veteran of the Korean War, where he served honorably in the Army as a lineman from 1951-1953. He told the t (@FahadShabbir) An outbreak of fall army worms has broken out in Zambia and threatened the country's agricultural produce, a government official said Wednesday LUSAKA, Jan 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jan, 2022 ) :An outbreak of fall army worms has broken out in Zambia and threatened the country's agricultural produce, a government official said Wednesday. Reuben Phiri, the Minister of Agriculture, said the fall army worms have so far been reported in Mkushi district in the central part of the country but added that the outbreak was likely to spread to all parts of the country because of the prevailing climatic conditions. He told reporters during a press briefing that so far about 331 hectares of land have been affected by the fall army worms in the district. The minister, however, said the ministry has strengthened surveillance and other control measures to contain the outbreak of the migratory pests, adding that the ministry was actively monitoring the situation. According to him, Zambia has in the last 10 years experienced outbreaks of fall army worms in seven agricultural seasons. France's lower house of parliament on Thursday finally passed in a first reading a bill further tightening its Covid measures, after three days of tense debates fuelled by President Emmanuel Macron's warning that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated Paris, Jan 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jan, 2022 ) :France's lower house of parliament on Thursday finally passed in a first reading a bill further tightening its Covid measures, after three days of tense debates fuelled by President Emmanuel Macron's warning that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated. The bill would make it obligatory to have a full course of vaccination against Covid-19 to enjoy basic parts of life including inter-city train travel, attending cultural events or eating out. A recent test or proof of recovery will no longer be valid. The legislation was expected to pass relatively smoothly through parliament with support from the right-wing opposition, but was initially blocked this week when deputies managed to defeat the government on a procedural vote on continuing debates after midnight. Discussions were suspended again in the early hours of Wednesday after a furore caused by Macron's comments to the Le Parisien newspaper that he would "piss off. .. until the end" the unvaccinated. The text was passed early Thursday -- just after 5:30 am (0430 GMT) in a first reading by the National Assembly with 214 votes for and 93 against, with 27 abstentions. It will now go early next week to the Senate -- the upper house dominated by the right-wing opposition that is expected to make amendments. That could put into question the government's target date of January 15 for implementing the new vaccine pass. Prime Minister Jean Castex told BFM television that he "hoped very much" that the January 15 date could still be kept. French media have been speculating whether Macron intended to cause the controversy with his coarse language, which was seized on by his rivals in the 2022 presidential election campaign. Around 53 percent of French are shocked by Macron's comments, while 47 percent are not, according to an Elabe poll published Wednesday. Two youths were arrested Thursday over the suicide of a schoolgirl whom they were allegedly blackmailing with digitally altered photos of her on the internet Cairo, Jan 6 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jan, 2022 ) :Two youths were arrested Thursday over the suicide of a schoolgirl whom they were allegedly blackmailing with digitally altered photos of her on the internet. The case of internet shaming and loss of a young life has stirred angry demands on social media in Egypt for those responsible to be held to account. Basant Khaled, 17, who lived with her family in a village of northern Egypt, died after swallowing poison on December 23. A source in the prosecutor general's office said she was being blackmailed after having refused to have a relationship with the youths. The photos posted widely on social media were seen by her parents and classmates, the source and Basant's sister said. "Her face had been attached to the body of someone else," their father, Khaled Chalabi, told local media. "She's my daughter, I know her well and she's not like that." In a desperate suicide note to her mother, shared with Egyptian media, Basant appealed for her understanding. "Mum, you have to believe me, I am not that girl, the images are fake, I don't deserve what happening to me," the teenager wrote. The two youths are being held for four days of questioning over "extorsion and the use of social media in a way causing harm to others and that led to the death of a minor", the prosecutor's office said. Police have also detained a teacher who had upset the girl in front of her class. (@iemziishan) Australia and Japan have signed a new agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense and security, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2022) Australia and Japan have signed a new agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense and security, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday. "Prime Minister, today we demonstrate the strength of our bonds as we sign our Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first of its kind for Japan. The RAA (Reciprocal Access Agreement,) is a landmark treaty which opens a new chapter for advanced defence and security cooperation, in what is a complex and rapidly changing world, something you and I both understand very well," Morrison said to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on videoconference. The Australian prime minister also said the agreement will bolster "more complex engagement, interoperability and cooperation" between the Australian and Japanese forces. In November 2021, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tokyo and Canberra had reached an agreement in principle on the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access treaty that would deepen the countries' strategic and security relationship. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2022) The appeal received from Kazakhstan says the situation in the country is regarded as an invasion of gangs trained from abroad, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretariat said about the situation in Kazakhstan. "The CSTO Secretariat confirms the receipt of an appeal from the Kazakh side for assistance. The appeal says that this situation is viewed as an invasion of gangs trained from abroad," the statement on the organization's website says. Kazakhstan held consultations with members of the CSTO Collective Security Council, sent a request to the heads of the CSTO member states for military assistance. "The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to deploy the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited period in order to stabilize and normalize the situation in the country," the statement said. UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2022) The UN Security Council plans to hold a meeting next week to discuss the political tensions in Sudan, the council's president, Norway's Ambassador to the United Nations Mona Juul, said on Wednesday. "I am quite convinced that there will be a meeting on Sudan because of the very worrying development there. We don't think it will be possible this week, but I'm pretty sure that there will be a meeting next week," Juul told reporters. On Sunday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned due to the actions of the military, who violated the agreements within a political deal. Hamdok was reinstated on November 21 after signing a pact with Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, who on October 25 took control of the government and arrested the former prime minister. Hamdok previously said that one of the main demands of the November 21 deal was that he must be independent in choosing political appointees, as he wanted to overcome chaos after the October 25 coup. Lincoln, RI (02865) Today Cloudy. Some light rain will fall throughout the day. High 57F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Occasional rain. Low around 45F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch. The difficult and sometimes seemingly hopeless situation of workers in precarious employment in Cyprus was highlighted by Sister Perpetua of the Congregation of St Joseph of the Apparition during her meeting with Pope Francis in the Maronite Cathedral in Nicosia on the first day of the Popes apostolic visit to the nation. She told Vatican Radio she was deeply touched by the meeting. By Christine Seuss Sister Perpetua Loo was one of the two religious who were able to give a testimony to the Pope directly on the first day of his visit to the island, during the meeting with the Catholic community of Cyprus. For a long time, the religious sisters have been helping workers from abroad who are, in some cases, exposed to the violence and arbitrariness of their employers, without legal protection. With her Association, the sister is not only helping with all kinds of legal issues but also very practically, providing free accommodation (especially for the girls that generally average from 5 to 20 in number), in order to allow them to become economically more independent. Speaking to Vatican Radio, Sr. Perpetua said: "As I told the Holy Father in my testimony, this is a really difficult and hard situation for workers, because of their poor earnings and because of the tensions in their relations with their employers." Listen to the interview with Sr. Perpetua Lack of rights for many migrant workers While this issue does not affect all workers in precarious employment, she explained, it does affect a large proportion of them - and for those affected it is really hard: "They may not have even one day off a week, they are also legally discriminated against - and to lose one's job is to lose one's hope." The Pope's visit to Cyprus with the motto "Comfort one another in faith" gave a lot of strength and hope not only to her proteges but also to herself, the nun said, with tears of joy in her eyes as she remembered the moments lived in the cathedral. "I was really overwhelmed... Normally I would have taken pictures of it for everyone, but at that moment I didn't want to, I wanted to live that moment just for me and that presence that really touched me because he is the Vicar of Christ. You don't want to lose a single moment of a moment like that, his presence is so precious and so unique. That was what I felt." Read also 02/12/2021 Pope calls on Cypriot Church to welcome change and diversity with patience In the first official discourse of his Apostolic visit to Cyprus and Greece, Pope Francis addresses Bishops, Priests, Men and Women Religious, and Catechists, inviting them to be ... Preparing for the Pope's visit She had several weeks to prepare her speech for the Pope, Sister Perpetua said, adding that she felt she could really convey something of her work to him: "Because I am the one who does the work in the office, who solves the problems for the workers, problems of all kinds concerning the employment relationship, labor dispute cases, and who helps those who have to file a complaint, for sexual harassment or violence... I also have to seek the truth, because not every complaint is justified" Before the coronavirus pandemic, she said she was overwhelmed with cases, and still today deals with seven to eight appointments with employers and employees every day. There was no time for excitement in this tight daily schedule, she continued, also because she was closely involved in preparations for the Popes visit. These included amongst her other office daily duties cleaning, together with other sisters, the Nunciature and Convent where the Pope was going to stay, making sure all kinds of necessary things were fetched and provided so that the Pope would find all that he needed. But the fuss, she said, took a back seat before the big moment, before her intervention in the cathedral, and excitement took over: "I must have sobbed for ten to fifteen minutes in the sacristy, I was left only to abandon myself to the Holy Spirit because I was not sure how I was going to manage to read my text. I usually read well, but I wasn't sure... He is such an important person!" At a certain point of her struggle she cried out loud, she recalled, and felt it was the right moment to be there, to give testimony of her work, and that the Holy Spirit would guide her. Nuns wait for Pope Francis to arrive at the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Graces in Nicosia An intense personal experience Finally, as the start of the ceremony was approaching, she pulled herself together and came out of the sacristy, she recounted, with a tear running down her cheek. And then everything went by itself: she practically knew the whole text by heart, spoke from the heart, and was able to look the Pope in the eye again and again. "Yes, it was well prepared, but actually it was something that came from my heart. And he was so nice, he looked me in the eye and I could almost say I was proud because I know my work. I don't work to get anything back, and I didn't just read out to celebrate myself, but it came from my heart. And the Pope looked at me, sometimes we made eye contact, and it was so beautiful, so real and authentic..." She revealed that in the first moments she was very worried when the Pope did not rise immediately to greet her and the other witnesses as planned after her speech and translation: "But then I realized that my speech must have been touching for him too, maybe because it was so true to life, so he was still thinking about it, listening carefully to the translation. I felt that, and that was a really moving moment for me." Pope Francis waves to the faithful during the Angelus on Wednesday (AFP or licensors) Following the recitation of the Angelus for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis looked back on his Apostolic Journey to Cyprus and Greece, which concluded on Monday. By Christopher Wells Pope Francis thanked God for his recent pilgrimage to Cyprus and Greece, and expressed his gratitude to all those who accompanied him with prayer, and to the people of the two beloved countries, including civil and religious authorities, for the affection and kindness with which they welcomed me. Read also 08/12/2021 Pope at Angelus: Be humble like Mary to attract Gods eye Pope Francis addressed the faithful on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and urged them to be like Mary in her humility, and therefore closeness ... A pearl of the Mediterranean Speaking at the conclusion of the Angelus on Wednesday, the Holy Father described Cyprus as a pearl of the Mediterranean, a pearl of rare beauty, that nonetheless, bears the wounds of barbed wire, the pain of a wall that divides it. He said he felt like part of a family in Cyprus, noting especially his meeting with Cypriot Orthodox primate Chrysostomos II. Pope Francis said all Christians are children of the Church of Christ, which accompanies us, protects us, makes us go forward brothers all! The Pope expressed once again his hope that Cyprus would be a a laboratory of fraternity, where everyone, but especially the poor, the discarded, and migrants can be welcomed. He repeated, too, that we cannot remain silent, we cannot turn away, from the plight of migrants. Instead, we must look into the eyes and faces of those who suffer, in order to overcome our indifference. Pope Francis meets with Catholics in the parish of Holy Cross in Nicosia The memory of Europe Pope Francis also recalled with gratitude the fraternal welcome he received in Greece. In Athens, he said, I felt immersed in the greatness of history, in the memory of Europe: humanism, democracy, wisdom, faith. The Pope pointed, too, to his experience of the mystique of the whole, as he met with Catholic bishops and members of the Catholic community, especially during Mass on Sunday. And he recalled the gift of embracing Orthodox Greek primate Ieronymos in reciprocal visits during the journey. I cherish this fraternity in my heart, he said, while entrusting to the Holy Mother of God the many seeds of encounter and hope that the Lord scattered on this pilgrimage. Pope Francis asked for continued prayers that they may continue to germinate and flourish in trust. Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Athens Guides on the path of holiness During his remarks following the Angelus, the Holy Father also noted the conclusion of the Year of St Joseph, Patron of the Church, as well as the conclusion of the Jubilee of Loreto on Friday. May the grace of these events continue to work in the lives of our communities, he said. May the Virgin Mary and St Joseph guide us on the path to holiness. Contributed by Vinh Le, Manager, Corporate Accounting Services In part two of this three-part series, Vietnam Briefing introduces the impact of the differences between IFRS and VAS on the presentation of balance sheets. Part 1 can be viewed here. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are global accounting standards issued and regulated by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) to guide the preparation and presentation of financial reports. Vietnam uses IFRS as a basis for its own system, the Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS), yet there are key differences between the two. IFRS and VAS both require a balance sheet as part of a companys financial statements. A balance sheet reflects an enterprises financial situation, including assets, liabilities, and owners equity, at a particular time of the companys fiscal year. Some balance sheet items are stipulated differently according to IFRS and VAS, which are specified as follows. Inventories Compared with VAS 02, the main difference with IAS 02 is in the scope of application. Specifically, IAS 2 has exclusions that apply to financial instruments, biological assets, and agricultural products at the harvest period (implemented in accordance with IAS 41 Agriculture Standard). Meanwhile, VAS 02 does not have an exclusion in the scope of application, so the properties with specific characteristics as aforementioned have not been adjusted and reflected of the real nature. Regarding inventory valuation method: IAS 02 does not allow the use of the last-in-first-out (LIFO) method while VAS 02 still allows this method. However, Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC has approached IAS 02 by eliminating LIFO and only allows inventory measurement according to three methods that are similar to IAS 02. Tangible fixed assets VAS 03 only allows recording tangible fixed assets with the original cost method. According to Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC, fixed assets may only be re-evaluated in some special cases such as based on the decisions of competent authorities (reorganization of the enterprise, change the form of the enterprises ownership or use fixed assets to invest outside the enterprise). IAS 16 uses two methods that are recognition of assets based on the original cost method and revaluation of assets in accordance with fair value. The two methods are: Cost method: Assets are recorded as their original price minus the deduction of accumulation and the amount of accumulated impairment losses. Revaluation method: Assets are recorded under the revaluation amount, which is the fair value at the date of revaluation minus accumulated depreciation and accumulated devaluation losses. IAS 16 requires the revaluation method to be used only if the fair value of the property can be measured reliably. However, when using the fair value, enterprises still have to present the capital costs to investors if they are requested. IAS 16 does not stipulate a minimum value threshold of a fixed asset, while VAS 03 requires a fixed asset, which must have criteria value according to the current regulations. This value is currently regulated by Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC for VND 30 million (US$1,319) and above. Residental value reassessment and useful life IAS 16 stipulates that the carrying amount and useful life of a fixed asset must be reviewed regularly, at least at the end of each financial year. If there is a change from previous estimations, accordingly the changes will be considered as a change in the accounting estimation. VAS 03 does not stipulate the review of the carrying amount of assets but also requires periodical review of the useful life. Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC stipulates the time frame of depreciation for each group of fixed assets and allows the enterprise to change the time of depreciation of fixed assets only once for an asset. Intangible fixed assets IAS 38 does not stipulate a minimum value threshold of intangible fixed assets, while VAS 04 requires an intangible fixed asset must have criteria value according to current regulations. This value is currently regulated by Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC for VND 30 million (US$1,319) and more. Under VAS 04, the intangible fixed assets must be amortized over their useful life, not exceeding 20 years unless there is evidence that a useful life could be more than 20 years. IAS 38 does not impose a limit on the useful life of an intangible asset with a finite useful life. IAS 38 stipulates that land and the right to use land are considered as tangible assets, while VAS 04 views them as intangible fixed assets. Real estate investment Enterprises can use the fair value model to measure the value of real estate investment in accordance with IAS 40, but for VAS 05, fair value measurement is not allowed. Investment properties must be measured at cost less accumulated depreciation. Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC has more guidance for the investment of real estate which is held for the purpose of an increase in prices. Accordingly, if there is evidence that this type of investment property has decreased in value compared to the market price and the value can be determined reliably, the enterprise is allowed to assess the cost of the investment property and record the loss in cost of goods sold. Because VAS does not have a standard for property loss, losses in the value of other types of investment property are not recognized. According to the fair value model, the change in the fair value of real estate investment must be reported in profit and loss statements, and the fair value of property investment needs to reflect the market situation at the date stated on the balance sheet. Moreover; companies must inform investors, who evaluate and compare the accuracy of those financial statements, the original cost of properties. Leases For lessee: IFRS 16 (replacing IAS 17) no longer distinguishes between operating and financial lease. Accordingly, in both cases, the lessee will record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability on the Statement of financial position. IFRS 16 allows only a few exceptions while the lessee is still recognized as an operating lease if: The short lease term is less than 12 months and the lessee has no right to buy back the property; or Low-value rental property. Meanwhile, VAS 06 classifies leased assets into an operating lease and financial lease similar to IAS 17. For an operating lease, the lessee only recognizes the periodical rent as an expense incurred during the period. For a finance lease, the lessee will recognize the assets and liabilities of the finance lease. After that, the lessee will allocate the financial lease assets and liabilities to the statements of the following periods. Loss from impairment IAS 36 stipulates that in the case assets are impaired, companies must estimate the recoverable amount of the asset and record this value in the financial statements during the period the impairment loss occurs. An impaired asset is defined as an asset carried at a cost exceeding the amount to be recovered through use or sale. VAS, in contrast, does not require a record of this amount in the financial statements. Vietnam does not have an equivalent standard at the moment. Therefore, regarding the loss from impairment, IFRS requires the enterprise to record the impairment as per IAS 36. Further support for your business As all foreign and local companies operating in Vietnam are obliged to conform to VAS, foreign investors should be well aware of the unique fundamental characteristics of VAS to fully comprehend compliance requirements and make informed investment decisions. Members of a China-centered Asian trade bloc hope the initiative will help stimulate local economies following crippling losses sustained during the pandemic. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and encompasses about 30 percent of the worlds trade and gross domestic activity. The deal, which took effect on Jan. 1, will slash tariffs on thousands of products, streamlining trade procedures and providing mutual advantages for member nations in trade and economic integration. It also takes into account issues such as e-commerce, intellectual property and government procurement. Nations currently enrolled in the bloc are: China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which completed ratification last year. South Korea is scheduled to join on Feb. 1, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines. Not included in the partnership are the U.S. and India, which pulled out of the accord in November. Experts say the RCEP is expected to boost trade within the region by two percent, or about $42 billion, both through increased trade and diversion of trade as tariff rules change. The accord will particularly benefit China, Japan and South Korea Asias biggest economies, which are now connected by a free trade agreement for the first time. It is also estimated that Japan will benefit the most from the deal, with overall effects on exports estimated at $20.2 billion, followed by China at $11.2 billion and South Korea at $6.7 billion. According to Japans trade ministry, certain tariffs on Japans exports for electric vehicle components to China will be removed as the new regulations take place. China seeks to lead economic growth in the region RCEP is of great significance building new development patterns and a milestone in opening up our economy, Chinese Vice Minister for Commerce Ren Hongbin said on Dec. 30 prior to the launch, adding that the bloc would bring member economies closer and greatly boost confidence in economic recovery following the pandemic. Nikkei Asia reported that the launch comes at a time when countries in Asia are seeking to invigorate their economies and shore up supply chains while China, the groups largest member, with 1.3 billion people, strives to raise its profile in Asias mechanisms for economic integration. The RCEP also appeals to developing countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia because it reduces barriers for trade in farming, manufactured goods and components, which make up a large amount of these countries exports. According to the World Bank, the deal will account for $25.8 trillion in output, as well as $12.7 trillion in global trade. In addition, the trade bloc is expected to introduce many service sector jobs to workers in member countries a big incentive for countries like the Philippines and Malaysia that rely heavily on an influx of cash sent back home from migrant workers working abroad. Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said he expects his countrys lawmakers to ratify the pact in February. The Filipino government was dealing with the aftermath of a typhoon that struck the island on Dec. 16 and did not have time to finish the deal before the Jan. 1 launch. RCEP will uplift GDP and lower poverty incidence. It will open up more market access for our exports and widen sourcing of needed inputs that will improve competitiveness of our manufacturing sector and exporters, Lopez said. There is no reason nor logic not to ratify RCEP, he said, adding that failing to do so would be catastrophic since investors would likely favor countries within the trading bloc. Deal benefits Beijing at US expense Like any trade deal, the RCEP has faced significant backlash from legislators criticizing a lack of labor and environmental standards consistent with what U.S. analysts consider a high quality trade agreement. RCEPs tangible economic impact is also likely to be incremental rather than transformational, according to an analysis by Brookings Institution, which estimates $500 billion in additional world trade by 2030 resulting from the deal. The Washington Post reported that although RCEP may serve to fill a made-in-the-U.S.A. vacuum, it does so on terms that, while not solely dictated by Beijing, certainly suit China better than any trade deal the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would have enacted. As the U.S. prepares a response of its own, the Biden administration will likely also pursue tougher policies against Beijings regional aggression and seek to rally other Asian countries to its cause. However, experts argue that it will be a difficult task to accomplish as unilateral economic impacts have resulted in devastating losses to the global economy. The tropical rainforests of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras were home to the Maya for most of the first millennium AD. These people established several kingdoms and minor empires, constructed massive palaces, ball courts, and temples; they were advanced in agriculture and used a sophisticated hieroglyphic script; yet this advanced and prosperous civilization was short-lived. The Mayan collapse has remained a mystery for centuries. Many theories have arisen over the cause of its collapse, with evidence now pointing to a prolonged and severe drought. Fortunately, the history of Mayan culture is relatively well-preserved. Multi-story buildings were constructed to mark important historical events. The colorful structures aligned with the sun and were highly visible from a distance, with enormous sculptures illustrating the rulers ruthlessness; and great stone slabs, or stelae, depicting kings with hieroglyphic texts recording their history and military victories. A complex culture Due to the prosperity of the Mayan agricultural systems, the civilization grew in size and number. At its peak, the Mayan population numbered in the millions, with an empire comprised of several city-states that were well-connected to one another. At the elite and royal levels, this connection manifested in the form of official visits, occasional overlordship, marriages, warfare, and general ideological affiliations. Innovative agriculture The Maya developed impressive technology for modifying the terrain. Since natural water supplies were lacking in the Pook [Puuc] region of the Yucatan Peninsula, they had to use their ingenuity to keep the population hydrated. Massive cistern systems, known as chultuns, were constructed, which could provide enough water to sustain their households for up to three months at a time in the absence of rain. The Maya placed a high value on agriculture and the timely harvesting of crops. In Mayan mythology, the maize deity was severed during harvest and revived in spring. Most of the inhabitants were farmers who relied on the city priests for guidance on the ideal times to sow, harvest, and marry in rural regions. Mayan trade and relations The political links between Mayan city-states have been compared to those in Classical Greece and Renaissance Italy. Some towns had straight limestone causeways called sacbeob. The Maya engaged in long-distance commerce with Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, and other communities in central and gulf-coast Mexico. They also traded with non-Mesoamerican cultures like the Tanos of the Caribbean. Archeologists have discovered Panamanian gold in Chichen Itzas Sacred Cenote. Building palaces, temples, and public works taxed Mayan labor. A king who won a battle might command more labor and demand tribute from conquered opponents, enhancing their economic power. The Maya bartered for items like obsidian, gold, jade, and feathers. They also exchanged food, salt, tools, and pottery. Unlike the Aztecs or the Inca, the Maya never unified politically. City-states clashed regularly, and the Maya fought fiercely. Those captured were enslaved or sacrificed to the gods. In the fifth and sixth centuries A.D., a full-scale conflict broke out between neighboring city-states. Astrological influences The Maya were skilled in mathematics and astronomy. They could accurately predict cosmic events and incorporated astrological factors into their origin myth, sacred ceremonies, and calendars. Their Feasts were connected to the underworld and the universe, with the enormous Tree Of Life at the core of it all. The Maya believed that their forefathers originated from a star cluster known as the Pleiades. The Popol Vuh, ancient Mayan scriptures that address creation, lineage, history, and cosmology, assert that many Mayan gods, including the great god-king Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent, returned to the stars. They claimed that Mayan ancestors would one day return. The Maya kept multiple calendars, including the sacred tzolkin, a 260 day calendar derived from a careful permutation involving the numbers 1 through 13 rotating through 20-day glyphs. This was used to determine the dates for religious festivals. Their Long Count Calendar, which records mythological and historical events, runs a cycle of over 5000 solar years. Mayan calendar stone, El Cedral, Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Image: Adam Jones via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0) The mysterious Mayan collapse Between 700 and 900 A.D., most Mayan towns and cities were abandoned and left to ruin. After just 150 years of dominance over the Yucatan Peninsula, the kingdom was brought to its knees. Some blame a major earthquake or storm, while others believe trading channels failed, or that rising city-states replaced the Maya peoples. It is also possible that the Maya peoples deforested large areas because their population and food demands surpassed the surrounding areas resources, leading to a severe drought. There are currently 88 ideas or variants of theories claiming to explain the Classic Maya Collapse. While there is no commonly recognized collapse hypothesis, drought is gaining support as the dominant theory. Ancient lake reveals a clue Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Florida discovered important evidence buried deep in the silt of Lake Chichancanab that may help solve the mystery. Sediment cores that the scientists dredged out from the lakes bottom provided a peek into what earlier ecosystems were like. In the study, the scientists focused their attention on precipitated gypsum, a soft mineral that absorbs oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of water molecules into its crystalline structure. The samples revealed that the region around the lake had experienced severely prolonged dry conditions. The researchers discovered that between the years 800 and 1,000, yearly rainfall in the Mayan lowlands declined by roughly half on average and by as much as seventy percent during periods of extreme dryness. This suggests that the rains in this area came to a virtual halt about the same time as the empires city-states were deserted and abandoned. Why do civilizations fall? It is hard not to see that we are presently confronting many of the issues that archeologists agree can contribute and lead to a civilizations decline; namely, uncontrolled population migrations, pandemic illnesses, collapsing governments leading to increased violence, disrupted trade, and climatic change. History has repeatedly shown that although civilizations may achieve significant technical advances and preserve a large amount of knowledge, that does not make them immune to failure. While certain elements are necessary for a civilization to survive, good cooperation and goodwill go a long way toward its continuation. One of the primary reasons that civilizations collapse is that the moral standards often degrade as wealth and convenience grow. Traditional belief holds that when moral standards are high, and people act in accordance with heavens will, divine beings will protect and preserve their civilization; but when people abandon morality, and act out of selfishness and greed, indulging their every desire, disaster is imminent. More cities in central China have resorted to strict curbs as new COVID-19 infections in Henan Province were reported. Henan reported 64 cases of locally transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms on Jan. 5, up from just four a day earlier. The Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) official COVID stats also reported 189 nationwide cases on Jan. 6. Although the numbers are small compared to many other countries in the world, several cities in the province have imposed new limits on travel and economic activities in response to the spike. Reuters reported that in Gushi, a Henan province county of 1 million residents, officials were seen stopping people from leaving their homes and discouraging out of state visitors from entering. Although the county had reported only one symptomatic case resulting from an asymptomatic carrier on Jan. 5, authorities ordered certain shops to remain closed until further notice. Meanwhile, nearly all of the more than 4 million residents of Henans Xuchang city were told they had to be tested for the virus beginning tomorrow. People were also told to minimize unnecessary trips and remain indoors unless leaving for medical emergencies. It was also reported that the 1 million residents of Yuzhou city, under Xuchangs jurisdiction, were placed into a citywide lockdown. Mainland China has only announced a handful of Omicron cases brought in from international travelers and one locally transmitted infection. However, it has intensified efforts to reduce the risk of the highly contagious variant from spreading within its borders. According to a notice published on Jan. 4 by Chinas-U.S. embassy requirements, in addition to existing requirements, visitors from the U.S. are required to complete a nucleic acid test seven days before departure and submit a weekly report of their body temperature to health officials. Authorities taking all measures ahead of Winter Olympics Chinese authorities are taking urgent action to contain and prevent new outbreaks just weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics and Lunar New Years peak travel season. The Olympics are scheduled to begin in Beijing and nearby Hebei province on Feb. 4. This years Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 1, and typically sees hundreds of thousands of people all across the country return to their hometowns to reunite with their families and ring in the new year. Last month, authorities imposed strict travel restrictions on Xians migrant workers, banning them from returning home during the upcoming new year festivities. About 300 million migrant workers making a living in Chinas cities travel back to their hometowns each year for many, the break is the only opportunity they have to return home and see their families. Henans new restrictions follow citywide lockdowns imposed on the cities of Fuzhou and Xian. The latter is the capital of Shaanxi province and is home to roughly 13 million residents. The city has been under a total lockdown for over two weeks now. Since then, the situation in Xian has rapidly worsened, with many residents claiming food sources are running in dangerously low supply and people are resorting to desperate measures such as trading electronics for essential supplies and vegetables. Videos and photos posted on Chinese social media site Weibo showed people exchanging cigarettes for cabbage, dishwashing liquid for apples, and sanitary pads for a small amount of vegetables. One video showed a resident appearing to trade his Nintendo Switch console for a packet of instant noodles and two steamed buns. On Dec. 27, around 150 medical staff from the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) air force were also dispatched to control what the government claims are scores of COVID-19 infections in the northwestern Chinese city. International flights into Xians airport were halted starting yesterday, according to state-media Xinhua news agency. Domestic flights had already been suspended since the lockdown began on Dec. 23. READ MORE: Yuzhou: Second Chinese City Forced Into Total Lockdown Amid Governments Zero-COVID Policy Chinese Military Deploys Troops as Xian Outbreak Worsens 90 Communities Locked Down in Xian, China After COVID-19 Spike; Grocery Shopping Allowed Once Every 2 DaysXian Residents Fear Plague Outbreak as Locals Suffer Hemorrhagic Fever Widespread protests in the nation of Kazakhstan, a country of nearly 20 million people and one of the largest oil, gas and coal producers in the world, continue to rage as reports of deadly encounters between protestors and Kazakh security forces begin to emerge. Kazakh media is reporting that dozens of protestors have been killed in confrontations with Kazakh authorities desperate to regain control of the embattled nation. The ongoing unrest has prompted Kazakh President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to request military assistance from neighboring Russia and other Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries. The alliances member countries include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In a statement published by Russias news agency on Wednesday, peacekeepers from the Russian-led alliance of ex-Soviet states will be sent to Kazakhstan to help stabilize the country, Reuters reported. Over the past two days, what began as protests over soaring fuel costs has evolved into the most serious and deadly mass gatherings in the nations history. Ive never seen anything like this in Kazakhstan. Its absolutely unprecedented, Maximilian Hess, a Russian and Central Asian expert and fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told CNBC on Thursday. On Wednesday, protestors set government buildings ablaze and occupied the Almaty airport which prompted the military to retake the transportation hub on Wednesday night. WHAT'S UP WITH KAZAKHSTAN? a thread . Please RT and read!pic.twitter.com/nFfdrmfFbY eddie (@EggieStudySesh) January 5, 2022 Street battles rage Urban fighting has sprung up in parts of the country with reports of rioters looting government military stores and waging battle in the streets with government forces. Speculation is mounting with some claiming the unrest in the oil rich nation was spurred by Western countries in an attempt to distract Russia away from Ukraine. Urban fighting begins in KazakhstanThe rioters looted govt military stores & are now fighting street battles with Army. Russian forces are also reported to be on their way to Kazakhstan.. This seems a western instigated revolt to draw Russia away from Ukraine Zaid Hamid, Strategic Security Analyst and founding Consultant of BrassTacks (an advanced threat analysis think tank) told his 341.8k followers on Twitter. Urban fighting begins in Kazakhstan The rioters looted the govt military stores & are now fighting street battles with Army. Russian forces are also reported to be on their way to Kazakhstan.. This seems a western instigated revolt to draw Russia away from Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ZQcJFwq3Ez Zaid Hamid (@ZaidZamanHamid) January 6, 2022 In Almaty, the nations largest city and former capital, footage of burned out military vehicles strewn along highways have surfaced online indicating military forces are struggling to contain the unrest. Several military trucks were attacked on a road in Almaty. #Kazakhstan pic.twitter.com/gans9KCvxR Ali Ozkok (@Ozkok_A) January 6, 2022 The BBC has verified that gun battles are being waged with authorities saying that dozens of attackers have been eliminated following an attempted storming of police buildings in Almaty. A 58-year-old construction worker identified only as Saule told the AFP news agency that she witnessed security forces opening fire on demonstrators. We saw deaths. Straight away about 10 were killed, she said. Long lines, citizens struggling to buy food Reports of long lines at petrol stations and citizens struggling to obtain the bare necessities have emerged. There are big queues at petrol stations. Residents are struggling to buy food because shopping malls, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants are all closed, only small shops are still open, the BBC reported. President Tokayev has implemented a nationwide state of emergency that includes a curfew and a ban on mass gatherings however it appears few are adhering to the measures. The government is now saying that it will be implementing fuel price caps for the next six months in an effort to appease protestors with petrol and diesel prices being capped for the same period as well however, the unrest has evolved well past grievances over fuel costs. The measures may not be enough to quell the violence. Leaders removed Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down from the Kazakh presidency in 2019 but remains a powerful and influential figure in the nations politics, and who experts say is the main target of Kazakhs anger, was removed Wednesday from his position as head of the countrys Security Council by the current Kazakhstan president,Tokayev. Despite quitting the presidency in 2019 and bequeathing power to a hand-picked successor, Nazarbayev remained the real power in the land, Reuters reported. For nearly three decades, Nazarbayev ruled Kazakhstan attracting hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment. His family is believed to be in control of much of the Kazakh economy. Following independence in 1991, he won praise by Western nations by voluntarily giving up the countrys nuclear arsenal, abandoning efforts to reintegrate the nations economy with Russias and appointing reformers tasked with creating a strong financial environment. In 2010 he was given the title Leader of the Nation which granted him immunity from prosecution and the unprecedented power to shape government policy despite having retired. Sacked twice from her casino job and arrested this week on charges of endangering public security, union leader Chhim Sithar is the latest in a long line of activists to take on the challenge of campaigning for labor rights in Cambodia. Chhim Sithar, 34, has been at the forefront of a strike at the country's biggest casino, facing off against scores of riot police at protests in Phnom Penh. Since December, employees of NagaWorld casino run by Hong Kong-listed Nagacorp Ltd have been protesting against the layoff of 365 workers in the wake of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Police say the strike is illegal and the protests threaten public security. NagaWorld has described the layoffs as unavoidable. Twenty-seven people have been arrested - including Chhim Sithar, who was whisked away by plainclothes police shortly after she stepped out of her car on Tuesday to join the strikers. Chhim Sithar is head of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU). With many of its activists in detention, no one from the union could be reached on Thursday for comment. Phnom Penh police spokesman San Sok Seyha declined to comment on Chhim Sithar's arrest. In a statement on Saturday, municipal police said a court had declared the strike illegal. The U.S. embassy in Cambodia said on Tuesday it was concerned by the police action against the protesting workers. GENTLE VOICE, FIERCE ADVOCATE Described as a gentle talker when not on the picket line, the slightly built Chhim Sithar has been a familiar face at the protests, speaking through a megaphone to rally her colleagues. "Her charismatic leadership and courage should be praised not pressured. She should not be accused and arrested for her legitimate work," said Chak Sopheap of Cambodian Center for Human Rights, NagaWorlds communications manager, Dy Seyha, on Thursday declined to comment on Chhim Sithar's arrest. Heng Sour, a spokesman at the Ministry of Labour, did not comment directly on the arrest but cited a court ruling declaring the strike illegal after dispute-resolution efforts reached an impasse. Union leaders and striking workers in Cambodia have faced trouble in the past. In recent years, strikes, mostly in the manufacturing sector, have often been accompanied by violence as police try to disperse crowds. Global clothing and shoe brands including Adidas, PUMA and Levi Strauss in a 2020 letter urged veteran Prime Minister Hun Sen - who has been repeatedly accused of suppressing political opposition and whose ruling party holds all seats in parliament - to improve labor and human rights. Hun Sen brushes off criticism of the human rights situation, especially when it comes from Western countries. Cambodias biggest donor is China, which has voiced support for measures to ensure stability. In 2004, influential union leader Chea Vichea was shot dead at a newspaper kiosk in Phnom Penh. Another union leader, Ros Sovannareth, was shot and killed the same year. Their deaths have never been solved. Born in the southeastern province of Prey Veng, Chhim Sithar has worked at NagaWorld since 2007 as a supervisor and became an active union member in 2009. At the casino, she pushed for new mothers to get full salary for maternity leave instead of half pay. She also won for workers additional insurance and a 24-hour facility for refreshments. "She is a role model of heroism. She wanted to sit down and find a solution, not run away," said Yang Sophorn, president of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen begins a visit to strife-torn Myanmar on Friday that he hopes will invigorate efforts by Southeast Asian nations to start a peace process, but critics say will legitimize the rule of the military that seized power last year and its campaign of violence. Hun Sen, whose country holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, plans to meet with Myanmar's leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, in an effort to promote a five-point plan endorsed by the group last year and bring about a cease-fire. What I would like to bring to the talks is nothing besides the five points, consensus points that were agreed upon by all ASEAN member states," he said late Wednesday. They include a halt to violence, talks with the opposition on a peaceful resolution, and permission for a special ASEAN envoy to meet and mediate with all parties in the conflict. ASEAN leaders, including Min Aung Hlaing, agreed on those points last April. He was barred in October from attending ASEAN meetings after the group's envoy was prevented from meeting arrested opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, the current special envoy, said Hun Sen's two-day trip is warranted because the situation in Myanmar is deteriorating rapidly. The political and security crisis in Myanmar is deepening and has led to an economic, health, and humanitarian crisis. We see that all ingredients for civil war are now on the table. There are two governments, several armed forces, people undergoing the civil disobedience movement, and guerrilla warfare, Prak Sokhonn told the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute via video conference on Monday. Myanmar's military has said Hun Sen will not be allowed to meet Suu Kyi. Critics and Myanmar's opposition say Hun Sens visit will add legitimacy to a military that is an international pariah with a history of bloodshed, including a brutal campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority. It is considered unlikely that opposition groups, including those engaged in armed struggle, will readily accept ASEANs plan as long as the military remains in power. I expect that ultimately the progress or failure to progress will depend on domestic politics and domestic developments in Myanmar. And in fact, there is not much that ASEAN or the chairman of ASEAN can do, said Astrid Noren-Nilsson, senior lecturer at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies at Lund University in Sweden. Hun Sen's trip is very good news for Myanmars military government, of course, a visit by a head of government from the region is in itself a legitimization of the junta government, she said in an interview. The army seized power last February, preventing Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party from beginning the second term in office. The party had won a landslide victory in national elections in November 2020. In December, she was convicted on charges of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions and sentenced to four years in prison a sentence that Min Aung Hlaing then cut in half. The military's seizure of power was met by nationwide nonviolent demonstrations, which security forces quashed with deadly force. The military has in recent months engaged in massive crackdowns, detentions, disappearances, and extra-judicial killings. It has also launched airstrikes and ground offensives against ethnic armed groups. Security forces have killed about 1,400 civilians, according to a detailed tally compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. As the crackdown became more severe, armed resistance has grown. The people of Myanmar are clearly sending a very strong message that Hun Sen is not welcome in Myanmar. They are very upset that Hun Sen is actually providing legitimacy to the murderous junta which is actually terrorizing the whole country, Khin Omar of Progressive Voice, a Myanmar civil society group, said in an online news conference hosted Thursday by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. The National Unity Government, an underground opposition group and parallel administration, also urged Hun Sen to stay away. Meeting Min Aung Hlaing, shaking blood-stained hands. Its not going to be acceptable," said Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for the group who uses one name. Hun Sen, an authoritarian who has retained power by exiling or imprisoning his own opposition, maybe hoping his visit will burnish his own tarnished international image. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Myanmar's leader will continue to be excluded from ASEAN meetings unless some progress is made. Should there be no significant progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, Myanmar should only be represented at a non-political level at ASEAN meetings, Widodo tweeted after speaking to Hun Sen. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has been accused of going rogue on the eve of his two-day trip to Myanmar starting Friday, where he says fruitful talks with the junta could end the bloodshed that erupted almost 12 months ago when the military seized power. However, underpinning the trip is Hun Sens legacy and his desire for international legitimacy as this years head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a position allowing him to negotiate with the Myanmar juntas leader, General Min Aung Hlaing. He is also expected to meet with other military leaders. Ou Virak, president of a Cambodian think tank, Future Forum, said Hun Sen who has said he plans to retire after elections next year wanted to elevate the country as a regional player, leaving behind its history first as a failed state, then a post-conflict nation. As an ASEAN chair I think the Burmese issue, or the Myanmar issue, will never go away and its going to be one of the biggest topics to be discussed in the next year. In that regard Cambodia has very little option but to address it, he said. I think the biggest motivation is Hun Sen himself and the legacy he wants to leave, but also the image he wants to present as a regional leader. I think thats the biggest motivation, he added. ASEAN, which follows a non-interference policy in members domestic affairs, has faced increasing pressure to resolve the crisis, which has claimed more than 1,400 lives and resulted in more than 11,000 arrests. Most ASEAN states have condemned the coup, and Hun Sens trip will be the first state visit by a foreign leader since the coup after the bloc failed to enforce its own Five-Point Consensus to end violence and start peace talks, struck in Jakarta last April. That resulted in Min Aung Hlaing being denied entry to the ASEAN Summit in October and then the ASEAN-China Summit in November. Hun Sen says he wants to bring Myanmar back into the fold through his agenda, which he added was not far from the Five-Point Consensus. If the results are fruitful, it may bring peace to Myanmar and the people of Myanmar will acknowledge the efforts of the ASEAN member states, Hun Sen said of his Myanmar trip, according to a dispatch from the official Agence Kampuchea Presse. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who Cambodia has appointed as the new ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, described Monday the countrys outlook as dire, warning all the ingredients for a civil war were now on the table. There are now two governments, there are several armed forces, people are undergoing what they call the civil disobedience movement and [there is] guerrilla warfare around the country, he said. However, Hun Sens authoritarian style of leadership at home has earned him many critics. The main opposition party was dissolved by the courts in 2017 enabling the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party to win every seat in the National Assembly in elections the following year. That was accompanied by a crackdown on the independent press and civil society groups with hundreds of people detained and jailed, upsetting Western countries and human rights groups, who claim Hun Sen had substantially eroded democratic values in Cambodia. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights questioned Cambodias moral authority to act on the crisis, noting Hun Sen had reached out to the Myanmar military but has ignored the National Unity Government established by supporters of their ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. They also said Hun Sens visit did not respect the ASEAN consensus on Myanmar and accused the prime minister, who has ruled Cambodia for about 36 years, of going rogue. Furthermore, his actions and stated intention to instate the junta as the representatives for Myanmar, undermine ASEAN credibility and fundamentally threatens both regional bloc cohesion and efforts to return to a democratic path in Myanmar, the organization said in a statement. Meanwhile, the junta has escalated violence against the people of Myanmar, including the massacre of more than 30 people in Kayah State on Christmas Eve and intensive attacks in Karen State throughout December which have drawn widespread international condemnation. Others have suggested that Cambodias cozy relationship with China, which has also caused deep rifts within ASEAN, was behind the talks. However, Bradley Murg at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, disputed that assertion. I dont see it as China-related at all. Its simply stemming from the fact that Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN and at this point Cambodia is in a damned if you do, damned if you dont situation, he said. If Cambodia and the prime minister actively dont engage with the problem, ideally, consistent with the views and traditions of other ASEAN partners, Cambodia will be condemned as ignoring the Myanmar crisis, Murg added. However, by going to Myanmar Hun Sen risked legitimizing the militarys ousting of Suu Kyis government, which, in the eyes of civil society groups, won a landslide election shortly before last Februarys coup. The bigger question everyone is looking at at the moment is what will the substance of those meetings be? Murg said. As violence surrounding a popular uprising in Kazakhstan escalates, Russia has responded to the Kazakhs presidents call for military assistance. Police in the main city, Almaty, say dozens of people have been killed, and local news reports say the bodies of at least two police officers have been found beheaded. Observers warn the growing unrest and Russian intervention raise new questions about the future of the region. Jon Spier narrates this report from the VOA Moscow bureau. Producer: Henry Hernandez. U.S. President Joe Biden made an impassioned appeal to Americans and defended the values of democracy on the first anniversary of the stunning insurrection attempt that Biden said tested the nation's identity. "Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?" Biden asked Thursday morning from the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, where violent protesters entered a year ago, vandalizing, looting and seeking out senior congressional leaders. "Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people?" During the violent Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump overpowered police, breached the Capitol and attempted to stop lawmakers from formalizing Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden urged Americans to choose how they define themselves. "Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it," he said. And, he said, the events of that day reverberate well beyond the shores of the United States. "From China, to Russia and beyond, they're betting that democracy's days are numbered," he said. "They actually told me, democracy's too slow, too bogged down by division, to succeed in today's rapidly changing, complicated world. And they're betting, they're betting America will become more like them and less like us. They're betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman. I do not believe that. That is not who we are. That is not who we have ever been. And that is not who we should ever, ever be." Biden never mentioned Trump by name, although he repeatedly said Trump's failed quest to overturn his election loss is damaging American democracy. "You can't love your country only when you win," he said. Shortly after Biden spoke, Trump released a statement accusing Biden of trying to divide the country with his remarks. "Biden, who is destroying our Nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures, used my name today to try to further divide America," Trump wrote. "This political theater is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed." Later in the day, he added, in another statement: "To watch Biden speaking is very hurtful to many people." And, he told his followers: "Never forget the crime of the 2020 Presidential Election. Never give up!" Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking ahead of Biden, used her platform to push for voting rights legislation. In the past year, Trump has leaned on sympathetic lawmakers to pass legislation that some critics say restricts voting rights. "The American spirit is being tested," she said. "Here in this very building, a decision will be made about whether we uphold the right to vote and ensure free and fair elections. Let's be clear: We must pass the voting rights bills that are now before the Senate and the American people must also do something more." The attack on the Capitol led to at least five deaths and more than 130 injuries and saw more than 725 participants charged with crimes. Protesters loyal to Trump agreed with the former president's claim that the November 2020 presidential poll was marred by fraud, though there is no evidence to support that. A year later, public opinion polls have shown about 70% of Republicans do not consider Biden's election win legitimate. Some rioters on the scene said they were seeking out specific individuals in particular, then-Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who both played a pivotal role in leading legislators through the election certification process. Members of the mob erected a gallows at the Capitol. Four Trump supporters died on the day of the assault, and a Capitol Police officer died the next day. The mob injured dozens of officers, and in the months since the attack four officers have died by suicide. U.S. intelligence and security officials had raised concerns about the potential for renewed violence on the Thursday anniversary; an anti-terrorism bulletin issued in November warned of "a significant threat" from domestic extremists extending into early 2022. A senior homeland security official further warned foreign intelligence services and global terror groups were also running persistent disinformation operations in an attempts to sow discord. But a spokesperson told VOA on Thursday that despite such concerns, the Department of Homeland Security "does not have information indicating any specific or credible threats related to the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol." The FBI issued a similar statement late Wednesday, while also encouraging members of the public to "be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity." Biden accused Trump of continuing to sow political divisions in the year since the attack because he is unable to accept his election loss. "The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election," he said. "He's done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interest as more important than his country's interest and America's interest. And because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He can't accept he lost." While few Republican lawmakers on Thursday defended Trump's conduct during the insurrection at the Capitol, several accused Biden of harboring his own partisan aims in the speech he delivered. "The Biden Administration seems to be incapable of dealing with the challenges America faces, and their efforts to politicize January 6 will fall flat," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a statement. Overseas, the U.S. president's strong words are unlikely to move America's adversaries, said history professor Jeremi Suri of the University of Texas at Austin. "Biden's words will not convince his detractors, but they will encourage millions of Americans who want their country to be better, and their democracy to be more secure, in the next few years," he told VOA. "I think these words are likely to resonate among America's traditional democratic allies especially Germany, Britain, Japan, Canada, and Australia all of whom want to see the US move on from the Trump years and return to its role as a leading world democracy. America's critics Russia and China especially will dismiss Biden's words as naive and empty." The Biden administration has faced criticism for not doing enough or moving quickly enough to get justice for those affected by the insurrection attempt, with critics noting that so far, only low-level offenders have faced charges. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed that Justice Department prosecutors will pursue those responsible for the riot "at any level." He added that in complex cases, it is normal for lesser charges to be processed first, as prosecutors build their case against bigger targets. He did not name any individuals who may face prosecution, but said: "There can be no different rules for the powerful and the powerless." "The president's remarks echoed those of A.G. Merrick Garland yesterday that we cannot allow political violence to be normalized," said Suzanne Spaulding, who leads the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's sad that this needs to be said, but it does. And as the president and the AG both emphasized, it is up to us, each one of us, to determine what kind of nation we are going to be. That is what it means that our government is 'of, by, and for the people.'" Late Tuesday, Trump canceled a press conference scheduled for Thursday evening at his Florida estate. Trump said he would instead discuss "important topics" at a January 15 rally in Arizona. Trump, in a statement, accused the congressional committee investigating the January 6 event of showing "total bias and dishonesty." VOA's Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has announced that Beijing will soon appoint a special envoy for the Horn of Africa. Wang's announcement during a visit to Kenya on Thursday comes as the U.S. envoy to the Horn heads to Ethiopia, which has been struggling with over a year of war. The region has also seen setbacks from a coup in Sudan and an election stand-off in Somalia. The visiting Chinese top diplomat said his country will appoint a special envoy to lead the peace process in the Horn of Africa. Speaking in the coastal Kenyan city of Mombasa, Wang said his country will support the people of the Horn of Africa in finding peace. He said it was important to have a consultation on equal footing and to put the destiny of this region firmly in its own peoples hands. He suggested countries in the region might convene a conference on the peace of the Horn of Africa. He added that in order to discuss this matter in depth, to share political consensus and to coordinate actions, China will appoint a special envoy to provide the necessary support for this process. The plan to appoint a special envoy for a war-torn region is seen as part of Chinas ambitious plan to play a role in the regions politics and security. The announcement comes as U.S. special envoy for the region Jeffrey Feltman is expected to visit Ethiopia in a renewed effort to end that countrys conflict. China is among the countries suspected of supplying military hardware to the Ethiopian government, including drones. Nasongo Muliro, an international relations lecturer at the Technical University in Kenya, said China is turning from economic issues to military matters. Special representatives are not purely for trade. They do a lot of peace and security matters But once China starts flexing its military power and having bases, then we may go to proxy wars," Muliro said. The U.S. Department of Defense, in its annual report to Congress on China's military activities, said Beijing wants to establish military bases in Kenya and Tanzania, a claim denied by China. Ethiopia is facing political instability after the government launched an offensive against rebels in the Tigray region in November 2020. The conflict has led to millions of people being displaced and tens of thousands dead. The 14-month-old war threatens to split the country. Kenyas Foreign Minister Raychelle Omamo said Wang and Kenyan officials also discussed trade issues during the foreign ministers two-day visit. We signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) and the establishment of a working group will look into the issues of tariff and non-tariff barriers to Kenya-China trade and to fast-track and increase exports from Kenya to China. Both sides also concluded and signed two protocols to facilitate bilateral trade, particularly in the export of avocados and aquatic products from Kenya to China, Omamo said. The Chinese delegation visited the Kipevu oil terminal in Mombasa, which cost $400 million to build. Chinese money accounts for 67% of Kenyas bilateral debt, and many Kenyans fear the country may lose control of key facilities like the Mombasa port if Kenya fails to repay the loans. Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that debts to China account for 67% of Kenya's bilateral debt, not external debt, as previously reported. The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, has been pushing Mali's military government to allow elections by February. This week, the grouping sent a mediator, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, to deliver a message ahead of a summit on Mali, which experienced a coup last May. Coup leaders recently announced a plan for a five-year transition to democracy. Goodluck Jonathan was in Mali to meet with Malis transitional leaders, including President Assimi Goita, ahead of an ECOWAS summit on Mali which will be held this Sunday in Ghana. President Goita and the ECOWAS delegation spent almost two hours talking at Malis presidential palace. Jonathan briefly addressed the press but did not disclose the contents of Wednesdays meeting. The key thing is that we have been properly briefed, and we are conveying that to the authorities and heads of state and government of the ECOWAS community," said Jonathan. "That is what we can tell you now. ECOWAS has been pressuring Malis military government to hold elections in February. This past December, military leaders submitted a five-year plan to ECOWAS which proposes the next presidential election be held in 2026. ECOWAS has already imposed financial and travel sanctions on members of Malis military government and threatens further penalties if the February election deadline is not met. Fousseini Diop, civic engagement program manager at AJCAD, the Youth Association for Active Citizenship and Democracy, says that if further sanctions are economic, it could be devastating for the Malian population. He says ... If ECOWAS doesnt take its responsibility, he thinks that will be a precedent. He says another coup detat already happened in Guinea. He says this would mean that today, we can come to power without going through the ballot box, and that means that we will continue with perpetual coups, and this will encourage other groups who will wait one year or two years to overturn those in power because they know that at the end of the day, nothing will be done. A coup in Guinea last September led to the ouster of that nations president, Alpha Conde. Kalilou Sidibe, professor of political science and international relations at the University of Bamako, says that ECOWAS and Malis transitional leaders are likely to come to an agreement on a future presidential election date one much sooner than the 2026 elections proposed by the military. He says if ECOWAS stands firm in its position to organize elections no later than February 27, 2022, the crisis could continue and the Malian government will take action. He said he doesnt think Mali is going in that direction. He says ECOWAS will maybe tell transitional leaders that they can grant a timeline of eight months beyond February, at which point they should organize elections. Both Diop and Sidibe affirmed that ECOWAS has protocols in place for a coup, and that further action against Malis leaders should be expected if they cannot work with ECOWAS to agree on a timeline for a return to civilian rule. El Salvador on Wednesday said it allowed two Cuban journalists to enter the country after the reporters said they were expelled from the Communist-run island and then barred from entering Nicaragua. Hector Valdez and Esteban Rodriguez, reporters for independent news website ADN Cuba, said on social media that they arrived at El Salvador's main international airport on Tuesday night. They intended to board a flight to Nicaragua but were told authorities in Managua had prohibited their entry. Neither Nicaraguan nor Cuban authorities responded to requests for comment. Valdez and Rodriguez were associated with the San Isidro Movement, a group of a few dozen artists, writers and activists that had for years protested restrictions in Cuba on civil liberties. Rodriguez was arrested in April, he said, following a protest in support of jailed San Isidro leader Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, who was on a hunger strike at the time. Cuba's government has previously accused some of the San Isidro group, including Otero Alcantara, of being mercenaries for the United States. Most of its members have now either left Cuba are under house arrest or in jail. On Wednesday morning, Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch, asked the governments of the region to offer asylum to the two journalists, saying they had been persecuted and expelled by Cuba. Hours later, top Salvadoran migration and human rights officials met the two journalists at the San Oscar Romero International Airport, around 40 km (25 miles) outside of San Salvador. "Foreign journalists have been admitted to El Salvador while they receive humanitarian assistance, and their migratory situation is resolved," the General Directorate of Migration said on Twitter, adding that the country will support them with accommodation and food. The alleged expulsions follow a turbulent 2021 in Cuba. The largest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution erupted in Cuba in July amid an economic crisis and surge in COVID-19 infections. Thousands of people protested, angry over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic. Hundreds were arrested. The U.S. Embassy in Havana, which has previously criticized Cuba for stifling protests, said on social media it was concerned about the "exile" of the two reporters, calling it a violation of basic human rights. "This is another method of harassing journalists they should never have been repressed and they should not have been forced out of Cuba," the embassy said on Twitter. The Cuban government has accused the United States of stoking unrest by underwriting protest movements on the island, as well as backing independent media outlets, a claim Washington has denied. Ethiopias government has dismissed a Human Rights Watch report that says authorities illegally detained, abused, and caused the forced disappearance of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans repatriated from Saudi Arabia. Ethiopias Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday lashed out at the Human Rights Watch report that accuses the state of targeting ethnic Tigrayans recently repatriated from Saudi Arabia. The rights groups report accused authorities of detaining, abusing, and causing thousands of Tigrayans to effectively vanish in a sweep against illegal migrants. Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti called the report unsubstantiated and an irresponsible move that aimed to discredit the governments efforts to help citizens returned by Saudi authorities. We have repatriated more than 40,000 Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia in just a couple of months regardless of which ethnic group that they belong to, Mufit said, according to a transcript of the briefing. Ethiopia in January 2021 announced it had agreed with Saudi Arabia to repatriate 40,000 of its citizens detained in the country at a rate of 1,000 per day. Human Rights Watchs report Wednesday said 40% of returnees from November 2020 to June 2021 were Tigrayan. The report said from June to July Saudi Arabia deported more than 30,000 Ethiopian citizens just as authorities were targeting ethnic Tigrayans. The groups refugee and migrant rights researcher Nadia Hardman said the Tigrayan returnees were detained in various parts of Ethiopia, beaten, and subjected to forced labor. Ethiopian authorities are persecuting Tigrayans deported from Saudi Arabia by wrongfully detaining and forcibly disappearing them, Hardman said. Saudi Arabia should stop contributing to this abuse by ending the forced return of Tigrayans to Ethiopia and allowing them to seek asylum or resettlement in third countries. The rights group also called on Ethiopian authorities to immediately release detained migrants and to stop profiling ethnic Tigrayans. The report was based on interviews Human Rights Watch conducted with 23 alleged victims of the abuse. Since the war broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal authorities and those in the Tigray region, the government has denied discriminating against or targeting ethnic Tigrayans. But reports from inside Ethiopia indicate authorities have subjected ethnic Tigrayans to arbitrary detentions, dismissal from official positions, and travel restrictions. Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu told the Reuters news agency there were no ethnic-based prison facilities or places for deportees from other countries. But he acknowledged many Ethiopians were detained on suspicion of aiding what he called terrorists, the Ethiopian government's term for the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front. The TPLF have long ruled the Tigray region and ran the federal government for three decades until they were ousted from power in 2018. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mufti on Thursday said Ethiopia plans to send a committee of officials, religious leaders, and other stakeholders to Saudi Arabia to discuss measures for its citizens who remain in detention. Some information for this report came from Reuters. Experts see prospects dimming for nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang as North Korea struggles to continue its nuclear and missile programs while its economy founders. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke at a five-day meeting of his Workers Party with no mention of engagement with the United States or South Korea. Neither the regimes usual critical tone toward the hostile policy of the U.S. or any diplomatic overture was present in Kims speech made at the Party meetings reported by the regimes state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim said North Korea will continue building its military capabilities to respond to growing instability of the military situation on the Korean Peninsula and international circumstances, which KCNA reported on Saturday. In response to Kims speech, the U.S. State Department told VOAs Korean Service on Tuesday that Washington will continue its efforts to engage Pyongyang. The United States remains committed to achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with the DPRK, said a State Department spokesperson, using the acronym for North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. To this end, we will continue to seek engagement with the DPRK as part of a calibrated, practical approach in order to make tangible progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies, and our deployed forces, said the spokesperson. The State Department spokesperson also said the U.S. has no hostile intent toward North Korea, is prepared to meet without preconditions, and hopes the DPRK responds positively to its outreach. Nuclear talks between the two countries have remained deadlocked since October 2019. Prospects for talks dim Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said, [Kims] message suggests no new opening to nuclear diplomacy. Joshua Pollack, senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said North Koreas main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon appears to be operating right now, which is generally not a sign that the leadership is eager to bargain. Washingtons efforts to strike up nuclear talks with Pyongyang may become harder as North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and missile capabilities, according to Soo Kim, a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. Kims emphasis on bolstering North Koreas military capability suggests [he] remains on the path of enhancing his nuclear leverage over his counterparts if and when another opportunity arises for negotiations, said Soo Kim. In fact, it may become increasingly more difficult for the U.S. and South Korea to negotiate as North Korea continues to expand its suite of nuclear and missile capabilities. Kims got vested interest in in the weapons program and thus is unlikely to give them up under Washingtons terms, continued Soo Kim. North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday, according to both South Korean and U.S. militaries. North Korea conducted a spate of advanced missile launches in September and October, including its rail-launched and submarine-launched missiles. Economic challenges North Koreas first launch of 2022 comes even as Kim said in his speech that his regime will focus on improving its economy, marked by dire food shortages. Kim promised to increase the agricultural production and completely solve the food problems, according to the KCNA on Saturday. Evans Revere, a former State Department official with an extensive experience negotiating with North Korea, said, North Koreas economic and food situation may be more downbeat and critical than portrayed in Kims speech. If things inside North Korea are as serious as [his speech] implies, it actually argues in favor of North Korea reaching out to the U.S., the ROK, and the international community in an attempt to resolve its economic shortcomings and its food situation, said Revere. But the price that Kim Jong Un would have to pay for such engagement would be willingness to put its nuclear and missile programs on the table and deal with the concerns of the U.S. and others about those programs, Revere added. Revere, however, said there is no indication Kim is ready to barter away his nuclear and missile programs as he stressed self-reliance rather than seeking outside help. Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, said Kim does not look forward to further burdening the already frail economy with testing a nuclear weapon or long-range missile that can reach the U.S. At present, I see zero chance Kim will test any weapons of substance that America worries about, like an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] or nuclear weapon, said Kazianis. Kim does not want any more economic pressure placed on him, nor does he want to endanger any [economic] assistance from China that he needs now more than ever before. Ken Gause, director of the Adversary Analytics Program at CNA, said Kim is unlikely to test weapons that will evoke strong responses from the U.S. and China unless [he is] willing to use it as an entryway into engagement. VOA Korean Service reporter Jiha Ham contributed to this report. Kazakhstan is experiencing the worst street protests the country has seen since gaining independence three decades ago. The outburst of instability is causing significant concern in Kazakhstan's two powerful neighbors: Russia and China. The country sells most of its oil exports to China and is a key strategic ally of Moscow. A sudden spike in the price of car fuel at the start of the year triggered the first protests in a remote oil town in the west. But the tens of thousands who have since surged onto the streets across more than a dozen cities and towns now have the entire authoritarian government in their sights. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has cut an increasingly desperate figure. He first sought to mollify the crowds by dismissing the entire government early Wednesday. But by the end of the day he had changed tack. First, he described demonstrators as terrorists. Then he appealed to a Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, for help in crushing the uprising and the CSTO agreed to send an unspecified number of peacekeepers. Why are people angry? Of the five Central Asian republics that gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan is by far the largest and the wealthiest. It spans a territory the size of Western Europe and sits atop colossal reserves of oil, natural gas, uranium and precious metals. But while Kazakhstan's natural riches have helped it cultivate a solid middle class, as well as a substantial cohort of ultrarich tycoons, financial hardship is widespread. The average national monthly salary is just under $600. The banking system has fallen prey to deep crises precipitated by non-performing loans. As in much of the rest of the region, petty corruption is rampant. The rally that set off the latest crisis took place in the dusty western oil town of Zhanaozen. Resentments have long festered in the area over a sense that the region's energy riches haven't been fairly spread among the local population. In 2011, police shot dead at least 15 people in the city who were protesting in support of oil workers dismissed after a strike. When prices for the liquified petroleum gas most people in the area use to power their cars doubled overnight Saturday, patience snapped. Residents in nearby cities quickly joined in and within days large protests had spread to the rest of the country. Who is leading the protests? The suppression of critical voices in Kazakhstan has long been the norm. Any figures aspiring to oppose the government have either been repressed, sidelined, or co-opted. So although these demonstrations have been unusually large some drawing more than 10,000 people, a large number for Kazakhstan no protest movement leaders have emerged. For most of Kazakhstan's recent history power was held in the hands of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. That changed in 2019 when Nazarbayev, now 81, stepped aside and anointed his long-time ally Tokayev as his successor. In his capacity as head of the security council that oversees the military and security services, Nazarbayev continued to retain considerable sway over the country. Tokayev announced Wednesday that he was taking over from Nazarbayev as security council head. Much of the anger displayed on the streets in recent days was directed not at Tokayev, but at Nazarbayev, who is still widely deemed the country's ultimate ruler. The slogan "Shal ket!" ("Old man go") has become a main slogan. How are the authorities responding? A police official in Almaty said Thursday that dozens of protesters were killed in attacks on government buildings. At least a dozen police officers were also killed, including one who got beheaded. There were attempts to storm buildings in Almaty during the night and "dozens of attackers were liquidated," police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek said. She spoke on state news channel Khabar-24. The reported attempts to storm the buildings came after widespread unrest in the city on Wednesday, including seizure of the mayor's building, which was set on fire. The initial reaction was in keeping with usual policy in the face of public discontent. Police and the National Guard were deployed in large numbers. The crowd that made its way to City Hall in the commercial capital, Almaty, early Wednesday was met by large phalanxes of riot police and armored personnel carriers. While gatherings are normally dispersed with ease, the number of people on the street this time was too large. With government buildings coming under assault in several large cities, Tokayev appealed for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-led military alliance. He justified the appeal for external intervention by claiming the protesters were operating at the behest of international terrorist groups. He offered no details on what he meant by that. Is the government likely to be toppled? This is uncharted territory for Kazakhstan. The country has seen major demonstrations before: In 2016, after the passage of a contentious land law. And again in 2019, after the contentious election that secured Tokayev's hold on power. But never anything on this scale. In one of his appeals to the public Wednesday, Tokayev pledged to pursue reforms and hinted that political liberalization might be possible. His darker remarks toward the end of the day, however, suggested he would instead go down a more repressive road. Still, because the street protests are so lacking in focus, at least for now, it's difficult to see how they might end. But even if they fail to topple the government, it looks possible they might lead to deep transformation. What is not clear is what that might mean. Exactly two years after the World Health Organization issued an alert about "a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause" in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that evolved into the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world is now struggling under the weight of the fast-moving omicron variant of the coronavirus that sparked the disease. In Brazil, a surge of new COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant has prompted authorities in Rio de Janeiro to cancel its iconic Carnival street festival for the second consecutive year. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the cancellation Tuesday during a speech carried live online. Paes said the "nature" and "democratic aspect" of Carnival makes it impossible to control the potential spread of the virus. But Paes said the traditional procession of Rio's samba schools into the city's Sambadrome stadium will take place next month, as authorities will impose mitigation efforts to inhibit the spread of the virus among spectators. In Hong Kong, chief executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday announced a two-week ban on flights from eight nations to blunt a possible fifth wave of COVID-19 infections driven by omicron. The ban on incoming flights from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United States takes effect Sunday. Authorities in the semi-autonomous Chinese financial hub are keeping about 2,500 passengers of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship on board the vessel after discovering that nine passengers were close contacts of an omicron cluster in the city. The Spectrum of the Seas returned to Hong Kong on Wednesday, just days after leaving on a short cruise. The nine passengers were taken off the ship and placed in a quarantine center, where they have all tested negative. The remaining passengers and the ship's 1,200 crew will have to undergo testing before they are allowed to disembark. Italy has also imposed new measures to battle the virus, announcing Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory, effective immediately, for people 50 and over. This requirement will remain in place until June 15, according to Reuters. Overwhelmed by a new wave of coronavirus infections, Italy is one of the few European countries to announce such a measure. Since February 2020, when the pandemic began in Italy, the country has reported 138,000 deaths from the virus, the second highest death toll in Europe after Britain. CDC statements Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added the Caribbean island nation of Aruba on its list of destinations considered as "very high" risk of exposure to COVID-19. The CDC designates as "Level 4" any destination with more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days. The CDC issued a statement Tuesday on its controversial new guidelines for people who have been infected with COVID-19. The federal agency came under fire last week when it cut the amount of time infected Americans should quarantine from 10 days to five as long as they have no symptoms, while also stating that testing was not necessary after that five-day period. Independent health experts urged the CDC to revise the guidelines to include a recommendation to seek testing after the five-day isolation periods amid the ever-growing omicron outbreak. But the agency instead issued documents supporting its new recommendations, while saying at-home rapid tests are not a reliable indication that a person is no longer contagious. The CDC is recommending that people wear face masks everywhere for five days after emerging from isolation. U.S. numbers The U.S. has also reached a record single-day number of COVID-19 cases, with more than 1 million infections reported on Monday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The record high comes as the country continues to battle the omicron variant, resulting in rapid infection across the country on the heels of the holiday season. Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned Wednesday that Americans could not be complacent about the virus' spread, saying that while the omicron variant is less severe, it may still overwhelm the country's health system. "[Omicron] could still stress our hospital system because a certain proportion of a large volume of cases, no matter what, are going to be severe," Fauci told reporters during a White House briefing. According to Reuters, hospitalizations of COVID patients have risen by 45% in the past seven days and remain at over 111,000, a rate the country has not seen since January 2021. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Nigerian police say gunmen have killed two local workers at a hydroelectric dam project in Niger state and abducted three Chinese workers. Police said in a statement Thursday that the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon. They say heavily armed gunmen opened fire in broad daylight on Chinese expatriates and local staff working on a hydro-electric transmission project near Gussase village in central Niger state. Niger State police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said the police tactical team immediately responded to the attack, exchanged fire with gangs and rescued four other Chinese nationals and two local workers in the process. The local workers later died in the hospital of gunshot wounds, authorities said. Commissioner of police in Niger state Monday Bala says authorities are working to rescue the three Chinese abductees. "We have since mobilized officers and men, our intelligence team, they'll all be deployed so that we can rescue the victims," said Bala. "We are collaborating with all the stakeholders or the communities to give us vital information, that is, intelligence, as to their movement so that we can nip it in the bud earlier on." The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria has not commented on the incident, but expatriates are often victims of armed attacks like this in a bid to squeeze huge ransoms from their companies. Last year, Niger state witnessed increased attacks by criminal gangs or bandits, including an attack on an Islamic seminary where many young students were kidnapped. In response to mounting pressure, Nigerian authorities recently designated criminal gangs as terrorist organizations. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has been accused of going rogue on the eve of his two-day trip to Myanmar starting Friday, where he says fruitful talks with the junta could end the bloodshed that erupted almost 12 months ago when the military seized power. However, underpinning the trip is Hun Sens legacy and his desire for international legitimacy as this years head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a position allowing him to negotiate with the Myanmar juntas leader, General Min Aung Hlaing.He is also expected to meet with other military leaders. Ou Virak, president of a Cambodian think tank, Future Forum, said Hun Sen who has said he plans to retire after elections next year wanted to elevate the country as a regional player, leaving behind its history first as a failed state, then a post-conflict nation. As an ASEAN chair I think the Burmese issue, or the Myanmar issue, will never go away and its going to be one of the biggest topics to be discussed in the next year. In that regard Cambodia has very little option but to address it, he said. I think the biggest motivation is Hun Sen himself and the legacy he wants to leave, but also the image he wants to present as a regional leader. I think thats the biggest motivation, he added. ASEAN, which follows a noninterference policy in members domestic affairs, has faced increasing pressure to resolve the crisis, which has claimed more than 1,400 lives and resulted in more than 11,000 arrests. Most ASEAN states have condemned the coup, and Hun Sens trip will be the first state visit by a foreign leader since the coup after the bloc failed to enforce its own Five-Point Consensus to end violence and start peace talks, struck in Jakarta last April. That resulted in Min Aung Hlaing being denied entry to the ASEAN Summit in October and then the ASEAN-China Summit in November. Hun Sen says he wants to bring Myanmar back into the fold through his agenda, which he added was not far from the Five-Point Consensus. If the results are fruitful, it may bring peace to Myanmar and the people of Myanmar will acknowledge the efforts of the ASEAN member states, Hun Sen said of his Myanmar trip, according to a dispatch from the official Agence Kampuchea Presse. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who Cambodia has appointed as the new ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, described Monday the countrys outlook as dire, warning all the ingredients for a civil war were now on the table. There are now two governments, there are several armed forces, people are undergoing what they call the civil disobedience movement and [there is] guerrilla warfare around the country, he said. However, Hun Sens authoritarian style of leadership at home has earned him many critics. The main opposition party was dissolved by the courts in 2017 enabling the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party to win every seat in the National Assembly in elections the following year. That was accompanied by a crackdown on the independent press and civil society groups with hundreds of people detained and jailed, upsetting Western countries and human rights groups, who claim Hun Sen had substantially eroded democratic values in Cambodia. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights questioned Cambodias moral authority to act on the crisis, noting Hun Sen had reached out to the Myanmar military but has ignored the National Unity Government established by supporters of their ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. They also said Hun Sens visit did not respect the ASEAN consensus on Myanmar and accused the prime minister, who has ruled Cambodia for about 36 years, of going rogue. Furthermore, his actions and stated intention to instate the junta as the representatives for Myanmar, undermines ASEAN credibility and fundamentally threatens both regional bloc cohesion and efforts to return to a democratic path in Myanmar, the organization said in a statement. Meanwhile, the junta has escalated violence against the people of Myanmar, including the massacre of more than 30 people in Kayah State on Christmas Eve and intensive attacks in Karen State throughout December which have drawn widespread international condemnation. Others have suggested that Cambodias cozy relationship with China, which has also caused deep rifts within ASEAN, was behind the talks. However, Bradley Murg at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, disputed that assertion. I dont see it as China-related at all. Its simply stemming from the fact that Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN and at this point Cambodia is in a damned if you do, damned if you dont situation, he said. If Cambodia and the prime minister actively dont engage with the problem, ideally, consistent with the views and traditions of other ASEAN partners, Cambodia will be condemned as ignoring the Myanmar crisis, Murg added. However, by going to Myanmar Hun Sen risked legitimizing the militarys ousting of Suu Kyis government, which, in the eyes of civil society groups, won a landslide election shortly before last Februarys coup. The bigger question everyone is looking at at the moment is what will the substance of those meetings be? Murg said. Following an investigation into an offensive app that shared photos of more than 100 prominent Muslim women and said that they were being sold at an online "auction," Indian police say they have arrested the "mastermind" and three other suspects. Rights activists and Muslim community leaders say the case is an apparent hate attack aimed at the minority Muslim community. On Thursday, Delhi Police arrested 21-year-old engineering student Niraj Bishnoi, from the northeastern state of Assam, asserting he was the main culprit behind an app called "Bulli Bai," which is vulgar and derogatory local slang aimed at Muslim women. "Niraj Bishnoi is the person who made the Bulli Bai application on GitHub. He also is the person who created the Twitter handle of @bullibai_. He forwarded the app to some people for its propagation in social media," KPS Malhotra, a deputy commissioner of police, Delhi Police, said in a statement. "From his mobile phone and laptop, we have collected the evidence which shows that he was the mastermind and creator of the app." The cybercrime unit of Mumbai police arrested Vishal Kumar Jha, a 21-year-old engineering student from the southern city of Bangalore Tuesday, saying that he was closely involved with the app Bulli Bai, named after vulgar and derogatory local slang used to address Muslim women. The same day, the Mumbai police arrested Shweta Singh, 18, from the northern state of Uttarakhand, alleging that she was the mastermind behind the app and that the two suspects knew each other. After arresting the third accused, Mayank Rawal, from Uttarakhand, Wednesday, Mumbai police chief Hemant Nagrale said more arrests are expected in the case. Following protests and outrage from the Muslim women victims, rights activists, and others, the app which was hosted on web platform GitHub was taken down, a day after it had gone up. In Hindu-majority India, Muslims make up around 14% of the countrys 1.38 billion population. On New Years Day, scores of influential Muslim women, including some journalists and rights activists, found that their photographs had been displayed on the app without their consent and they were placed on sale in the fake auction of Bulli Bai. It was the second harassment attempt targeting Muslim women within six months, after another app called Sulli Deals surfaced in July, carrying profiles with photos of over 80 prominent Muslim women as deals of the day. In both cases of Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai, there was no actual sale or auction, but they were aimed at harassing, humiliating and intimidating some Muslim women who are mostly known for being vocal against the right-wing Hindu nationalism and some policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Fatima Khan, a Delhi-based journalist was shocked on New Years Day to find that she was for sale online on Bulli Bai. For the second time in less than six months, I found that I was for sale to the highest bidder or, just anyone else, online. It triggered a feeling of extreme disgust and repulsion. Discovering my image there also made me realize just how far they could go to harm me, Khan told VOA. A shiver ran down my spine. All the individuals listed on Bulli Bai were prominent Muslim women, she said. These women use their platforms to throw light on the injustice taking place in the country. They exist in the public domain and that is enough to provoke the right-wing Hindutva groups to target the Muslim women in another hate attack, Khan added. Daniel Bastard, Asia-Pacific director of Reporters Without Borders, said, that the appearance of the kind of app, offering to place women journalists at the disposal of its users as if they were objects, is absolutely chilling. We urge the Indian authorities to do whatever is necessary to bring those responsible for such apps to justice. To do nothing would be to condone an extremely violent form of harassment, a form of intimidation that discriminates against an entire sector of the journalistic community and exposes those targeted to potential physical attacks, Bastard said in a written statement. Hyderabad-based social activist Khalida Parveen said that she believed her name was listed on Bulli Bai because she had recently raised her voice seeking action against Yati Narsinghanand, a right-wing Hindu monk who called on Hindus to take up arms against Muslims. I launched a campaign on Twitter demanding the monks arrest. The campaign led the police at several locations to initiate actions against his hate speech and it received international attention. They mischievously put me for sale on that app in a bid to stop my campaign, Parveen, 67, told VOA. Those who launched the app attempting to shame and intimidate me and other Muslim women are mentally sick. However, they have failed in their evil plan. Neither do I feel ashamed, nor intimidated I feel pity for them. Social activists and Muslim community leaders said that Hindu right-wing activists were behind Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai. Sulli Deals and, now Bulli Bai are an assault on Muslim womens free voices and dignity. They are specifically targeting Muslim women who are vocal on various social issues and have their own minds. This is part of the larger right-wing Hindu agenda to defame Muslim women and vilify Muslims, Delhi-based rights activist Shabnam Hashmi told VOA. If the culprits were apprehended after Sulli Deals, maybe we would have not seen Bulli Bai now. Former chairman of Delhi Minority Commission, Delhi-based Muslim community leader Zafarul-Islam Khan said that the fake auction apps targeting Muslim women were crude manifestations of the hate carefully cultivated for over a century, by the RSS. The right-wing Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or the RSS, is the ideological fountainhead of Indias ruling party of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Before May 2014 [when Modi became prime minister], the campaign against Muslims was covert and shy, spread via unsigned pamphlets, letters and messages sent and posted by faceless people. Post-2014, they are emboldened. Now the right-wing Hindu forces know that they have the protection of the state and hence act boldly and openly, community leader Khan told VOA. With elections in a number of Indian states being round the corner, the anti-Muslim hate campaign will become more visible. A free and democratic India cannot co-exist with Hindutva, he said. Hindutva is a movement that seeks to establish the hegemony of Hindus and Hinduism in India. A statue erected to honor slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani has been torched by unknown assailants hours after it was unveiled, Iranian media reported Thursday. Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed on January 3, 2020 in Iraq in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport along with his Iraqi lieutenant and others. On Wednesday morning, a statue to honor him was unveiled in the southwestern Iranian city of Shahrekord. But in the evening it was set on fire, ISNA news agency said, calling it a "shameful act by unknown individuals". "This treacherous crime was carried out in darkness, just like the other crime committed at night at Baghdad airport," when Soleimani was killed, senior Muslim cleric Mohammad Ali Nekounam said in a statement carried by ISNA. Iranian authorities have unveiled several sculptures dedicated to Soleimani since his assassination two years ago, and portraits of the revered commander dot the landscape across Iran. State broadcaster IRIB condemned the latest attack as an "insulting" act, that comes as Iran marks the second anniversary of Soleimani's killing, with several events in recent days. On Thursday, thousands of Iranians also paid tribute to 250 "unknown martyrs" killed in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Ceremonies were held across the country, AFP reporters and state media reported. "We are always suffering from the loss of martyrs, like Hajj Qassem (Soleimani), because they all fought on the frontlines with their heart," Ali Asghar, a mourner in Tehran, said. News crews attacked, equipment set on fire, Murder the media scrawled on a Capitol door. Journalists as well as lawmakers were targeted during the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. So far, federal prosecutors have charged about 10 individuals with assaulting the media or destroying equipment during the attack last January. Last month, a Californian man who had refused to accept the presidential election result was sentenced to three years in prison for sending threatening messages to CNN news anchors Brian Stelter and Don Lemon and their families. And at least 17 journalists were assaulted while covering the January 6 riot, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a coalition that collects data on press freedom aggressions. We know that members of the media along with Congress were targeted during that time, Kirstin McCudden, the Trackers managing editor, told VOA. Murder the Media was scrawled on (a) Capitol door. Members of the news media were attacked. Camera equipment from the Associated Press and foreign press outlets was gathered up and set on fire. The assaults represent trends building for years: a distrust of the media that can result in physical attacks as well as threats and harassment over social media, McCudden said. In 2021, 142 journalists were assaulted while reporting in the United States, according to the Tracker. Thats not as bad as 2020, when it documented over 600 violations against the media as Americans became divided over pandemic regulations, protests over racial injustice and a heated presidential campaign. Protesters and others started taking their anger out on the press in what McCudden said is a shooting-the-messenger situation. Focus on safety Journalism hasnt been seen as a dangerous job in the U.S. but that has changed, according to Angela Greiling Keane, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute. I think many of us, of my generation, went into journalism not thinking that it was a career where you might risk your safety, said Greiling Keane, who is also a managing editor at the news website Politico. But now journalists do face a lot of threats. A decline in local news coverage over the past two decades has exacerbated that loss of trust, Greiling Keane and other media experts say. Now there are a lot fewer outlets and therefore a lot fewer people who are out there reporting on local communities, and that means theres less access to information in those communities, but it also means that individuals are probably less likely to know a journalist, she said. The changing environment is affecting how some news organizations, including Politico, approach assignments. What we and other news organizations weigh is do we want a reporter to cover a protest. Is that a situation that might escalate? This is the kind of conversation that editors have now that they didnt have a few years ago, she said. Some news organizations are training journalists on how to work in conflict situations. Journalists have long undergone combat training if they are going to head over and cover the war in Iraq or if they are going to a conflict area overseas, Greiling Keane said. Whats different is that some journalists are getting that sort of training now to just report their regular jobs in the United States. Colin Pereira of HP Risk Management doesnt compare the working environment in the U.S. to that of a war zone. But, he said, one problem is domestic journalists dont understand that theres a threat. The sort of street craft that journalists who cover conflict know, domestic journalists sometimes dont know, Pereira said. His firm provides hostile environment training to journalists at more than a dozen news organizations, including Britains ITV, which had a crew at the Capitol on January 6. Newsroom editors and journalists need to do a risk assessment, Pereira said, including asking who the protesters are, whether they have been violent previously, and how police may react if a situation turns chaotic. Legal threats Covering events like the Capitol riot sometimes brings an unexpected additional threat to press freedom: having reporter records subpoenaed by government entities. The First Amendment group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) is advocating against the subpoena of Amy Harris, a freelance photojournalist who was in Washington on the day of the riots. Harris was taking photos as part of a profile of Henry Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the Proud Boys extremist group. A special committee of the U.S. House of Representatives now wants Harris phone records as part of its investigation into how the events of January 6 unfolded. It has also subpoenaed Tarrio, who when he arrived in Washington was arrested on charges related to a separate rally and ordered to leave the capital two days before January 6. When it comes to press freedom, its a dangerous request, said Grayson Clary, the Stanton Foundation national security free press fellow with the RCFP. This kind of investigation can have a chilling effect on journalists relationships with their sources. People are not going to want to talk to reporters if they fear that the person may get (conscripted) into helping out law enforcement down the line, he said. Such requests, while rare, can also put journalists at risk. Harris is someone who spent a long time earning the trust of the Proud Boys who have been willing to speak to her. It puts her in jeopardy if they suddenly see her as somebody who is on the other side, Clary said. President Joe Biden announced earlier this year an end to subpoenas for journalist records a move welcomed by press freedom advocates. But, said Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S. program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, This change in policy still needs to be codified and we are hoping that the administration will support a federal shield law that will help codify protections of journalists material. Distrust in media has been growing for a long time, and former President Donald Trump play(ed) into a lot of the anti-media sentiment, Jacobsen said. Now that he is out of office it would be easy to say that things will get better just because of the change in tone from the White House, but a lot of the problems that were present during his administration and existed before continue to this day, she said. Jacobsen and others believe this includes a growth of misinformation online that encourages people to not trust traditional media institutions. U.S. first lady Jill Biden is traveling Thursday to the state of Kentucky to survey damage from deadly storms that hit last month and to speak with officials about recovery efforts. Joining Biden on the trip to the city of Bowling Green is Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Erik Hooks. Severe storms in December brought tornadoes, other damaging winds and flooding to parts Kentucky, leaving 77 people dead and widespread damage. Another round of tornadoes Jan. 1 hit some of the same areas. Biden is due to meet with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and his wife, Britainy. The White House said Biden would highlight cooperation between federal and local agencies. President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for Kentucky last month to speed federal aid. Beshear announced in an address late Wednesday proposed legislation that would send $150 million to communities hit by the storms, as well as $50 million to fund recovery efforts for schools. We will rebuild, Beshear said. Every structure and every life. The public hosting of an Israeli official by Jordans King Abdullah II on Wednesday in Amman, observers say, is part of a significant resetting of ties between the two historic peace partners. It was the first such public meeting in more than four years after Jordan was seen as sidelined by the administrations of former U.S. President Donald Trump and ex-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The rare public meeting saw Jordans King Abdullah II and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz talk about regional security and improving ties that had become strained in recent years. With the signing of a peace treaty in 1994, Jordan became a security ally for Israel, but relations suffered over the festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They improved with the formation of the new Israeli government last June. Abdullah told Gantz that maintaining calm in Palestinian territories was crucial and stressed the need for measures "to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution to end the conflict. Frequent clashes between Muslim worshippers and Israeli security forces in east Jerusalem, where Jordan serves as custodian of holy sites, is another source of tension. In a tweet after the meeting, Gantz praised the expansion of relations and expressed [Israels] commitment to further develop security, economic and civilian exchanges. Jordanian political commentator Amer Al Sabaileh says the meeting is part of the new Jordanian approach toward the Israelis in the post-Netanyahu era and Gantz is the main channel. Al Sabaileh told VOA that rebuilding official relations was key due to Jordans concerns for the West Bank and the Palestinian political scene, noting that Gantz has also spoken with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Many things are heating up in the West Bank. Some people think that Abbas in a way didnt inform Jordan of the content of the Gantz meeting. They believe that he even didnt talk about peace or the vision that the Jordanians keep promoting to revive the peace talks. So, its a way to keep Jordan on board, to keep the Jordanian line with the Israelis active and to avoid any surprising elements whether on the political level between Israel and Palestinians or on the stability of the West Bank in general, he said. Although there was no mention in the official readout about Iran, Al Sabaileh said he believes it was likely discussed because he sees Jordan as a potential target for Irans proxy confrontation with the Israelis. When it comes to Iran today, the West Bank via Jordan is one of the main targets for their strategy to destabilize the Israelis," he said. "In Gaza, they have clear influence. South Lebanon, the same. Iranians are more present now in the south of Syria. There were many attempts also to influence Jordan and operating in Jordan. Ofer Zalzberg, director of the Middle East program at the Austria-based Herbert C. Kelman Institute, told the Saudi Arab News daily that the Abdullah-Gantz meeting was part of elevating a stabilization policy in the face of a weakened Palestinian Authority. In Kazakhstan, locals took to the streets to express their anger with a sharp rise in fuel prices. In response, the country's government has resigned, and a state of emergency has been declared. Anna Rice has the story. Alex Yanevskyy contributed. Since he was a child, Li Jingwei did not know his real name. He did not know where he was born, or for certain how old he was until he found his biological family last month with the help of a long-remembered map. Li was a victim of child trafficking. In 1989, when he was 4 years old, a neighbor lured him away by saying they would go look at cars, which were rare in rural villages. That was the last time he saw his home, Li said. The neighbor took him behind a hill to a road where three bicycles and four other kidnappers were waiting. He cried, but they put him on a bike and rode away. "I wanted to go home but they didn't allow that," Li said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Two hours later, I knew I wouldn't be going back home, and I must have met bad people." He remembers being taken on a train. Eventually he was sold to a family in another province, Henan. "Because I was too young, only 4, and I hadn't gone to school yet, I couldn't remember anything, including the names" of his parents and hometown, he said. Etched in his memory, however, was the landscape of his village in the southwestern city of Zhaotong, Yunnan province. He remembered the mountains, bamboo forest, a pond next his home all the places he used to play. After his abduction, Li said he drew maps of his village every day until he was 13 so he wouldn't forget. Before he reached school age, he would draw them on the ground, and after entering school he drew them in notebooks. It became an obsession, he said. More than 30 years after his abduction, a meticulous drawing of his village landscape helped police locate it and track down his biological mother and siblings. He was inspired to look for his biological family after two reunions made headlines last year. In July, a Chinese father, Guo Gangtang, was united with his son after searching for 24 years, and in December, Sun Haiyang was reunited with his kidnapped son after 14 years. Reports of child abductions occur regularly in China, though how often they happen is unclear. The problem is aggravated by restrictions that until 2015 allowed most urban couples only one child. Li decided to speak with his adoptive parents for clues and consulted DNA databases, but nothing turned up. Then he found volunteers who suggested he post a video of himself on Douyin, a social media platform, along with the map he drew from memory. It took him only 10 minutes to redraw what he had drawn hundreds, perhaps thousands of times as a child, he said. That post received tens of thousands of views. By then, Li said police had narrowed down locations based on his DNA sample, and his hand-drawn map helped villagers identify a family. Li finally connected with his mother over the telephone. She asked about a scar on his chin which she said was caused by a fall from a ladder. "When she mentioned the scar, I knew it was her," Li said. Other details and recollections fell into place, and a DNA test confirmed his heritage. In an emotional reunion on New Year's Day, he saw his mother for the first time since he was 4. As Li walked toward her, he collapsed on the ground in emotion. Lifted up by his younger brother and sister, he finally hugged his mother. Li choked up when speaking about his father, who had died. Now the father of two teenage children, Li said he will take his family to visit his father's grave with all his aunts and uncles during Lunar New Year celebrations next month. "It's going to be a real big reunion," he said. "I want to tell him that his son is back." Victims of human rights atrocities during former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos regime are attempting to block the looming presidential candidacy of his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., by seeking his disqualification in the polls set for May. The younger Marcos, who is widely known as Bongbong and is leading early poll surveys, is running on a ticket with President Rodrigo Dutertes daughter, Sara Duterte, who seeks to become vice president. Cases against Marcos filed on behalf of the victims are piling up at the Commission on Elections, with the seventh, and most recent, filed in late November. The petitions ask the body to either cancel Marcos certificate of candidacy or to disqualify him due to a criminal conviction in 1997 over his failure to file income tax returns decades ago. Human rights organizations formed to assist political prisoners and victims during the elder Marcos rule led the filing of the first petition Nov. 2. Other groups followed suit. Although the petitions vary in legal tactics, the end goal is to prevent the younger Marcos from seeking the presidency. Thousands were killed, tortured or disappeared during the elder Marcos rule in the 1980s while his family amassed a personal fortune in the billions of dollars. In 1995, a U.S. jury in Hawaii ruled in favor of human rights victims and deemed Marcos responsible for human rights violations in the Philippines. Fides Lim, spokesperson of Kapatid - Families and Friends of Political Prisoners, one of the petitioners, said Marcos does not deserve a single minute in public office. [We] appeal to the COMELEC [the elections commission] to cancel, deny that certificate of candidacy filed by Bongbong because it is built on lies. It's a lie, Lim told VOA. Hes a liar. Thats it. He's a convicted criminal. It's an open-and-shut case. The COMELEC should just do its mandated duty by the constitution and enforce the law period, she said. Under Philippine election law, anyone sentenced for a crime involving moral turpitude is disqualified from seeking public office. The petitioners argue that failing to pay income taxes is a crime of moral turpitude. Other petitions lodged with the commission seek Marcos disqualification based on the Philippine tax code that prohibits any official convicted of tax fraud from holding public office. The late dictator himself decreed the law when he had absolute power in the country and it is still being enforced today. The Marcos camp did not respond to VOAs request for comment, but spokesperson Victor Rodriguez has repeatedly called the petitions nuisance. We respect the right of every disillusioned group to take whatever legal action they think would best serve their own agenda, as we also expect them to respect our right to be heard, Rodriguez said in a statement last month. In November, the dean of the University of Santo Tomas law school said the first petition against Marcos "is bound to collapse once evaluated by the Comelec." "It's ad hominem, or an attack against the character of the respondent, that may weaken the petitioners' position. It is the law, always, that matters," said the dean, lawyer Nilo Divina. Marcos is leading in the early presidential survey at 53%, according to the most recent poll, while opposition Vice President Leni Robredo is the distant second at 20%. Marcos lost to Robredo in the vice presidential race in 2016. The petitioners denied accusations that they filed the disqualification cases because they were threatened by Marcos poll numbers. We are doing this, in particular, to show the disparity of the double standard of justice, the selective application of the law when it comes to the very powerful like the Marcos family, Lim said. Marcos successfully ran in the elections as representative, governor, senator and vice president in 2016 without being challenged. The petitioners say the COMELEC should have done its job before and disqualified Marcos the first time he sought public office after his conviction. What is on trial here? It's not only Bongbong Marcos himself, it's the COMELEC and our own government institutions to do the right thing, to do their job, Lim added. Tax conviction It was retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio who first outlined why Marcos should be disqualified in a series of columns published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. We are just following the law. They're afraid of the law. If he's not qualified, he shouldn't be allowed to run. And he knows that he's not qualified because he was convicted, Carpio told VOA. The disqualification cases stem from a 1997 conviction of Marcos over his failure to pay income taxes from 1982-84, when he served as vice governor and later governor of the province of of Ilocos Norte, the familys bailiwick. Marcos appealed the conviction, and the Court of Appeals upheld the lower courts decision but removed the seven-year imprisonment penalty in 1997. The conviction became final when he withdrew his appeal from the Supreme Court in 2001. Carpio said Marcos withdrew his appeal knowing that the higher court could correct the mistake of the lower court and reimpose the penalty of imprisonment. You don't want to have a president who is an ex-convict because the president must have good moral character. In other words, he must not be afflicted with moral turpitude because our experience is that all of those presidents of ours who lied, who stole, who killed caused irreparable damage to the nation, he said. Grand scheme Another petitioner, Bonifacio Ilagan, a former student leader who was arrested and tortured for protesting human rights violations during the Marcos regime, said the Marcos familys grand scheme to return to power must be stopped. We realized that the return of the Marcoses to Malacanang was really part of the grand scheme of the Marcoses to return to power, Ilagan said. Malacanang is the name of the presidential palace in Manila. The Marcos family has been enjoying an image rehabilitation, thanks in part to Duterte and to a massive effort to recast history on social media platforms such as Facebook. The COMELEC is expected to render a decision early this year. The petitioners acknowledge the possibility that they might lose and fail to stop Marcos from running, owing to the fact that many of the commissioners in the COMELEC or the justices in the Supreme Court were appointed by Duterte. Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers demanded a new sex crimes trial Wednesday after a juror said he had helped convict the British socialite by telling fellow jury members about his experience of sexual abuse. Maxwell's attorneys told U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan that the comments by Scotty David, identified by his first and middle names, "presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial." The juror, one of 12 who found Maxwell guilty last week of trafficking minors for late financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, has given several interviews about deliberations since the Dec. 29 verdict. In them, the 35-year-old said he had helped sway panelists who were doubting the accounts of the two main accusers, "Jane" and "Carolyn." He said he had told them that he did not remember every single detail of the abuse he had received. Maxwell's attorney Christian Everdell said in a letter sent to Nathan that was filed in court Wednesday that his team believed "the law and facts are clearly on our side." "The defense respectfully requests that the court set a briefing schedule for this motion alone and defer setting a briefing schedule for any other post-trial motions," he wrote. Maxwell's request came after New York prosecutors wrote to Nathan requesting an inquiry into whether Scotty David had disclosed that he was a sexual abuse victim during jury selection. During the lengthy process, prospective candidates were asked in an initial questionnaire whether they or any relatives had been victims of sexual abuse. Anyone who answered yes was subject to further questioning to try to determine whether they could be an impartial juror. In an interview with a news agency, Scotty David said he "flew through" the questionnaire and could not remember being asked about any personal experiences of abuse. He added, however, that he would have answered honestly, the agency reported. "The government believes the court should conduct an inquiry," wrote Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Nathan later instructed Maxwell's lawyers to submit their motion for a new trial by Jan. 19, with the government to respond by Feb. 2. The judge held off deciding whether an inquiry would be granted but said she would offer Scotty David a court-appointed lawyer in case he is required to testify. Any inquiry is expected to focus on whether the juror disclosed the sexual abuse at the questionnaire stage. If he did not, Nathan would need to decide whether that failure substantially prejudiced the case, legal experts say. "It's not an insignificant issue. It's going to be given serious treatment by the judge," former prosecutor Bennett Gershman told AFP. Maxwell, 60, was convicted on five of six counts and faces spending the rest of her life behind bars. She is due to be sentenced at a date yet to be determined. Military officials in Myanmars Rakhine state announced charges Wednesday against a news website accused of sowing distrust in the military. Western News was accused of publishing reports that misinterpret or create misunderstanding or distrust of the military, Rakhine State Military Council spokesperson Hla Thein told reporters at a news briefing. The websites editor-in-chief, Wunna Khwar Nyo, told VOA that Western News has not received official notification of the charges. He believes the accusations are related to reporting on a military base in Paletwa Township, Chin State, on December 28. Fighting between the military and groups, including the Local People's Defense Force Fighters, has been intensifying in Chin State, which borders Rakhine, as armed opposition groups oppose the junta rule. I think the reason may be our reporting about a white flag being hoisted on a hill at a military base, Wunna Khwar Nyo said. Two days later, Tin Htoo Aung, the person we interviewed for the report, was arrested and charged. Now, we are being sued under Section 124A of the penal code." The junta amended Section 124A of the penal code in February to include inciting hatred against military personnel. The penalty for the charge also was increased from three to 20 years in prison. The prosecution of journalists has made it difficult for media to work, said Wunna Khwar Nyo, who added that the charge against Western News under Section 124A is a worrisome situation. Security forces previously searched the news websites offices on December 19 and admonished the journalists. "Security officer warned us not to use the term military council. It is an extreme action. On top of that, we are now being sued for the Paletwa report, things got really bad, said Wunna Khwar Nyo. Our fellow reporters are on the run. Since the February 1 coup, the military has cracked down on media, revoking broadcast licenses, ordering media to not use terms including junta military council or regime, and closing at least eight news outlets. More than 100 journalists have been detained, with about 50 still in custody, according to local media reports. At least two journalists have been killed, including photojournalist Soe Naing, who died in military custody after his arrest on December 10, and Sai Win Aung, who was killed while covering fighting in the Myawaddy district near the Thai border on December 25. Political analyst Aung Thu Nyein told VOA last week that 2021 was the most oppressive year against independent media in Myanmar. International condemnation UNESCO on Wednesday condemned the killing of Sai Win Aung, who was shot while reporting on refugees for Federal News Journal. Media workers like Sai Win Aung risk their lives to keep the public informed. Their work deserves to be recognized and their safety protected in line with international humanitarian law, which forbids attacks on civilians, said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Sai Win Aung was one of 55 journalists killed worldwide, according to data released Thursday by UNESCO. Far too many journalists paid the ultimate price to bring truth to light, said Azoulay in a statement on the risks globally to media. Right now, the world needs independent, factual information more than ever. We must do more to ensure that those who work tirelessly to provide this can do so without fear. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has called for the international community to impose tougher sanctions on Myanmars military leaders after Sai Win Aungs death. Sai Wing Aung paid with his life for his determination to provide his fellow citizens with coverage of the terror that the armed forces have been inflicting on Myanmars population since last Februarys military coup, said RSFs Asia-Pacific head Daniel Bastard in a statement. He died a hero, and his fight must not be in vain. This report originated in VOAs Burmese service. Pope Francis Thursday marked the Catholic feast day of Epiphany, the day traditionally observed to commemorate the three wise men or Magi visiting the baby Jesus, by urging people to follow their dreams. During a Mass celebrated at the Vaticans St. Peters Basilica, the pope recalled the journey of the Magi, who, according to Scripture, followed a star to Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born in a manger. He said the three had a sort of healthy restlessness driven by a desire to see the Christ child. Francis said, They were not content to plod through life, but yearned for new and greater horizons. He urged people to follow the example of the wise men, and lead their lives "brimming with desire, directed, like the Magi, towards the stars." He urged people to move past the barriers of habit, beyond banal consumerism, beyond a drab and dreary faith, beyond the fear of becoming involved and serving others and the common good. Pope Francis said the Catholic Church could learn something from the Magi as well, saying it needs this deep desire and zeal that should animate our journey of life and faith. The pope appeared to direct his comments specifically at the more conservative members of the Church who balked at his decision to restrict the traditionalist Latin Mass, saying the liturgy could not be trapped in a "dead language." The Pope concluded his message by noting the Magis return home "by another way," saying they challenge all of us, as well, to take new paths, to be open to the "creativity of the Spirit." The Epiphany is observed in predominantly Catholic nations around the world. Falling 12 days after Christmas, in many places, it is traditionally the last day of the holiday season. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday rejected a case brought over a UK bakery's refusal to bake a gay wedding cake, saying British legal options had to be exhausted before it would get involved. Plaintiff Gareth Lee, who lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2014 ordered a cake for a gay activist event scheduled shortly after the province's assembly rejected legalizing same-sex marriage for the third time. He asked a Christian bakery to adorn the cake with an image of bedroom-sharing characters Bert and Ernie from the US television show "Sesame Street" and add the slogan "Support Gay Marriage". The Ashers Baking Company, which takes its name from an Old Testament figure, took the order but then declined to meet the special requests, apologized and refunded Lee's money. Lee, who is British and an activist at the advocacy group Queer Space, filed a legal complaint against the bakery that was taken up by Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, which oversees the implementation of anti-discrimination laws. A local court found the bakery guilty of discrimination after a high-profile inquiry in the province that only allowed same-sex marriage only in 2020, the last part of the United Kingdom to do so. That decision was upheld by an appeals court, but then overturned by the UK's Supreme Court, which said that the bakery owners had not refused to serve Lee because he was gay, but because they objected to promoting a message that they profoundly disagreed with. In 2019, Lee took his case to the European Court (ECHR), arguing that the Supreme Court's decision interfered with several of his rights included in the European Convention on Human Rights. 'Missed opportunity' But the ECHR refused to take the case, saying Lee should have brought his arguments based on the Convention to domestic UK courts first. "The applicant had not invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings," instead relying on domestic law alone, the ECHR observed. He thereby "deprived the domestic courts of the opportunity to address any Convention issues raised, instead asking the Court to usurp the role of the domestic courts," it said in a statement. "Because he had failed to exhaust domestic remedies, the application was inadmissible," it said. In reaction, Lee said that he was "most frustrated that the core issues did not get fairly analyzed and adjudicated upon because of a technicality". His lawyer, Ciaran Moynagh, said the substantive issues included in the application to the ECHR had remained unaddressed. This, the lawyer said, was "a missed opportunity", adding that he and his client would now consider launching a fresh domestic case. The Christian Institute, which had supported the bakery in its fight against Lee, welcomed the decision, calling it "a relief". "I'm surprised anyone would want to overturn a ruling that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they don't share, just as much as it protects Christian business owners," said Simon Calvert, the Institute's deputy director for public affairs. The ECHR's decision was "good news for free speech" and "good news for Christians", he said. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled sailings amid rising fears of omicron-related coronavirus infections that have dampened the nascent recovery of the pandemic-ravaged cruise industry. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise for January 6 after nine guests on its January 2 trip were identified as close contacts to a local Hong Kong COVID-19 case. The contacts have tested negative, but the cruise ship will return to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on January 5 to test all guests and crew who must take a second test on January 8, the company said. A similar decision to cancel trips by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. was made against the backdrop of the United States reporting the highest daily tally of any country for new coronavirus infections on Monday. "Due to ongoing travel restrictions, we've had to modify a few sailings and unfortunately have had to cancel," the 17-ship strong cruise operator said, with the embarkation dates for a few canceled sailings as far out as late April. The cruise line, which requires everyone on board to be vaccinated, has also had to cut short a 12-day round trip from Miami on its Norwegian Pearl ship, citing "COVID-related circumstances." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had last week advised people to avoid cruise travel after launching investigations into onboard cases on more than 90 ships. The health agency starts a scrutiny if at least 0.1% of the guests test positive. Norwegian Cruise said guests, who were supposed to embark on the canceled sailings on the eight ships, will receive full refunds and bonus credits for future bookings. The omicron-led travel uncertainty is also causing guests on other sailings to cancel their bookings as a few ships have also had to skip ports due to onboard infections. "We booked the cruise last March and assumed that things would be getting back to normal... by mid-December, I was mentally prepared for a change of plans," said Holly Bromley, a consulting arborist, who canceled her booking on Norwegian Epic. Meanwhile, bigger rival Carnival Corp. said it has not canceled any upcoming voyages, but its shares fell on Wednesday to close down 2.6%. Royal Caribbean lost 2.1% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 3.6%. Taiwan said on Wednesday it would create a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industries and boost bilateral trade as it tries to fend off diplomatic pressure on the Baltic state from China. The Lithuanian government, meanwhile, ordered the state-owned railway company not to sign a contract with a China-owned Spanish bridge builder, citing "national security interests," the prime minister's spokesperson told the Baltic News Service. Lithuania is under pressure from China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to reverse a decision last year to allow the island to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius under its own name. Taiwanese representations in other countries, except the unrecognized Somaliland, are named after Taiwan's capital, Taipei. China has recalled its ambassador to Lithuania and downgraded diplomatic ties and is pressuring companies like German car parts giant Continental to stop using Lithuanian-made components. It has also blocked Lithuanian cargos from entering China. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to China's pressure on Vilnius in a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock after a meeting in Washington and vowed to work with Berlin and others against such "intimidation." Blinken said Germany and the United States agree on the importance of trans-Atlantic coordination on China "because it poses a significant challenge to our shared values, to the laws, rules and agreements that foster stability, prosperity and freedom worldwide." "We have immediate concern about the government of China's attempts to bully Lithuania ... China is pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania, or risk losing access to the Chinese market, all because Lithuania chose to expand their cooperation with Taiwan." Lithuania's export-based economy is home to hundreds of companies that make products such as furniture, lasers, food and clothing for multinationals that sell to China. The head of Taiwan's representative office in Lithuania, Eric Huang, said the strategic investment fund would be funded by Taiwan's national development fund and backed by its central bank. "We will establish the fund as soon as possible and we hope this year we will have some tangible results ... I can imagine the first top priorities will be semiconductor, laser (and) biotechnology," he told a news conference. Taiwan has redirected 120 shipping containers from Lithuania blocked by China into its market and will take "as much as possible" more, Huang said. Taiwan will also accelerate its approval process for Lithuanian dairy and grain exports into Taiwan and seek to link Lithuanian businesses into Taiwanese supply chains, he said. Integrating Lithuania's laser industry into manufacturing semiconductors in Taiwan was another possibility, Huang said. Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Tseng Hou-jen called the Chinese pressure on Lithuania "disproportionate." "The U.S. and EU refer to Taiwan as Taiwan in their official documents, and China keeps quiet," he said. "China's action seems to have targeted what it perceives as vulnerable country, for its political gains. But giving in is not the best way in dealing with bullies." Security forces shot dead three protesters and fired tear gas in Sudan on Thursday as crowds thronged Khartoum and other cities in more anti-military rallies, medics and other witnesses said. At least 60 people have died and many more have been wounded in crackdowns on demonstrations since a coup in October that interrupted efforts to bring about democratic change, according to a group of medics aligned with the protest movement. The people killed Thursday were all protesters and died from shots fired by security personnel during rallies in the cities of Omdurman and Bahri, across the River Nile from Khartoum, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said. Protesters again tried to reach the presidential palace in the capital to keep up pressure on the military, whose coup halted a power-sharing arrangement negotiated after the 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir. There was no immediate comment from authorities, who have justified the coup as a "correction" needed to stabilize the transition. They have said peaceful protests are permitted and those responsible for causing casualties will be held to account. In Omdurman, where several protesters have been killed in the past week, a protester said that security forces fired live rounds and tear gas and ran over several protesters with armored vehicles. "There was incredible violence today. The situation in Omdurman has become very difficult. Our friends have died. This situation can't please God," he said, asking not to be named as some protesters have been arrested in recent days. Khartoum State's health ministry said that security forces raided Arbaeen Hospital in Omdurman, attacking medical staff and injuring protesters, and that the forces besieged Khartoum Teaching Hospital and fired tear gas inside it. In Bahri, a witness saw forces use heavy tear gas and stun grenades, with some canisters landing on houses and a school as protesters were prevented from reaching the bridge to Khartoum. As in previous demonstrations, mobile phone and internet services were largely cut from late morning, Reuters journalists and Netblocks, an internet blockage observatory, said. Most bridges connecting Khartoum with Bahri and Omdurman were closed. Images of protests in other cities including Gadarif, Kosti and Madani were posted on social media. Kept back from palace The Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, which had been sharing power with the military before the coup, called on the U.N. Security Council to investigate what it described as intentional killings and raids of hospitals. In Khartoum, protesters tried to reach the presidential palace, but security forces advanced toward them, firing frequent volleys of tear gas, a witness told Reuters. Some protesters wore gas masks, while many wore medical masks and other face coverings, and several brought hard hats and gloves in order to throw back tear gas canisters. Protesters barricaded roads with rocks, bricks and branches as they marched toward downtown Khartoum and security forces approached from more than one side. Motorcycles and rickshaws could be seen taking away injured protesters. The protests, the first of several rounds of demonstrations planned for this month, came four days after Abdalla Hamdok resigned as prime minister. Hamdok became prime minister in 2019 and oversaw major economic reforms before being deposed in the coup and returning in a failed bid to salvage the power-sharing arrangement. "We came out today to get those people out. We don't want them running our country," said Mazin, a protester living in Khartoum, referring to the military. Hamdok's return and resignation did not matter, he said, adding, "We are going to continue regardless." Influential government advisers are strongly urging that teens as young as 12 get COVID-19 boosters as soon as they're eligible, a key move as the U.S. battles the omicron surge and schools struggle with how to restart classes amid the spike. All Americans 16 and older are encouraged to get a booster, which health authorities say offers the best chance at avoiding the highly contagious omicron variant. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra Pfizer shot for kids ages 12 to 15, as well but that wasn't the final hurdle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes recommendations for vaccinations and on Wednesday, its advisers voted that a booster was safe for the younger teens and should be offered to them once enough time five months has passed since their last shot. And while the CDC last month opened boosters as an option for 16- and 17-year-olds, the panel said that recommendation should be strengthened to say they "should" get the extra dose. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky will weigh the panel's advice before making a final decision soon. Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19, including the highly contagious omicron variant, especially after a booster. But omicron can slip past a layer of the vaccines' protection to cause breakthrough infections. Studies show a booster dose at least temporarily revs up virus-fighting antibodies to levels that offer the best chance at avoiding symptomatic infection, even from omicron. Fending off even a mild infection is harder for vaccines to do than protecting against serious illness, so giving teens a booster for that temporary jump in protection is like playing whack-a-mole, cautioned Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University. But she said the extra shot was worth it given how hugely contagious the omicron mutant is, and how many kids are catching it. More important, if a child with a mild infection spreads it to a more vulnerable parent or grandparent who then dies, the impact "is absolutely crushing," said Dr. Camille Kotton of Massachusetts General Hospital. "Let's whack this one down," agreed Dr. Jamie Loehr of Cayuga Family Medicine in Ithaca, New York. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only option for American children of any age. About 13.5 million children ages 12 to 17 have received two Pfizer shots, according to the CDC. Boosters were opened to the 16- and 17-year-olds last month. The CDC's advisers were swayed by real-world U.S. data showing that symptomatic COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are between seven and 11 times higher in unvaccinated adolescents than vaccinated ones. If the CDC agrees, about 5 million of the younger teens, those 12 to 15, would be eligible for a booster right away because they got their last shot at least five months ago. New U.S. guidelines say anyone who received two Pfizer vaccinations and is eligible for a booster can get it five months after their last shot, rather than the six months previously recommended. Children tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults. But child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave the vast majority of them unvaccinated. During the public comment part of Wednesday's meeting, Dr. Julie Boom of Texas Children's Hospital said a booster recommendation for younger teens "cannot come soon enough." The chief safety question for adolescents is a rare side effect called myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys who get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The vast majority of cases are mild far milder than the heart inflammation COVID-19 can cause and they seem to peak in older teens, those 16 and 17. The FDA decided a booster dose was as safe for the younger teens as the older ones based largely on data from 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds in Israel who got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose. Israeli officials said Wednesday that they've seen two cases of mild myocarditis in this age group after giving more boosters, 40,000. Earlier this week, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the side effect occurs in about 1 in 10,000 men and boys ages 16 to 30 after their second shot. But he said a third dose appears less risky, by about a third, probably because more time has passed before the booster than between the first two shots. The United States is taking another look at North Koreas latest missile launch following claims by Pyongyang that the test involved a high-tech hypersonic missile. The U.S., along with South Korea and Japan, initially assessed the launch involved a ballistic missile, with Japanese officials estimating it flew for about 500 kilometers. But U.S. defense officials Thursday indicated they are reexamining the launch in view of Pyongyangs assertions. We are aware of these reports, and we are assessing the specific nature of the recent launch event, Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners told VOA. We are consulting closely with our allies as we assess the recent event and as we determine next steps, Meiners added. We take any new capability seriously. North Korean state media first issued the claim of a hypersonic missile launch early Thursday. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) posted a single picture of the missile emerging from a mobile launcher, surrounded by fiery exhaust flames, in a snow-covered mountainous area. The report said the missile featured a detachable hypersonic glide vehicle. The so-called HGV sits atop the booster rocket and detaches from it before gliding to its target, making it harder to intercept. "Having been detached after its launch, the missile made a 120 km lateral movement in the flight distance of the hypersonic gliding warhead from the initial launch azimuth to the target azimuth and precisely hit a set target 700 km away," KCNA said. On Wednesday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that defense officials have every reason to believe it was a ballistic missile launch. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command also issued a statement describing Wednesdays test as a "ballistic missile launch," while adding, "This event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies. North Korea first claimed to have tested a hypersonic weapon in September and defense experts say North Korea's development of an HGV is the latest evidence that it seeks the ability to penetrate U.S. missile defenses, both in northeast Asia and the U.S. mainland. Like most ballistic missiles, HGVs fly at hypersonic speeds, or faster than five times the speed of sound. But HGVs are in theory more difficult to detect and intercept, since they can fly at relatively low altitudes and be maneuvered in flight. It is difficult to assess any progress North Korea may have made with its latest launch, especially for analysts who rely on open-source information, such as commercial satellite photos or North Korean state media reports, said Melissa Hanham, an affiliate at Stanford Universitys Center for International Security and Cooperation. "We can compare the data they announced in the previous test, but we can't outright authenticate their claims without classified, space-based technology," she told VOA. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Wednesday the launches are very regrettable. South Koreas National Security Council, which held an emergency meeting, also expressed its concern and emphasized the need to quickly resume talks with North Korea. Since it resumed major missile tests in 2019 amid a breakdown in talks with the U.S., North Korea has unveiled multiple weapon systems designed to overwhelm or evade U.S. missile defenses. Most of the weapons tests have involved short-range weapons. North Korea has not conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile or nuclear test since 2017. North Korea is prohibited from any ballistic missile activity, including launches of any range, by a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions. But since 2019, the U.S. has downplayed the Norths short-range launches, presumably to preserve the possibility for future talks. North Korea has ignored repeated offers by the U.S. to restart negotiations, saying Washington must first drop its hostile policy. At various points, North Korea has demanded the U.S. end joint military exercises with its ally, South Korea. It has also called for the U.S. to withdraw troops from the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. has approximately 28,000 troops in South Korea a remnant of the 1950s Korean War, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded COVID-19 booster shot eligibility for some adolescents to combat the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. The move comes as the agency faces criticism over confusing messaging on how to cope with infections. In a statement late Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky urged youngsters age 12 and older to get a COVID-19 booster as soon as they're eligible. Boosters were previously encouraged for people in the United States who were 16 and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the sole option for children in the U.S. The CDC estimates that slightly more than half of 12- to 17-year-olds, 13.5 million people, have received two Pfizer shots. Boosters were first made available to 16- and 17-year-olds in December. Wednesday's decision makes about 5 million younger adolescents who received their last shot in 2021 immediately eligible for boosters. "This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the omicron variant," Walensky said in the statement. "I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations." Although children tend to not become as seriously ill from COVID-19 as adults, the omicron variant is fueling hospitalizations among children, most of whom are unvaccinated. Walensky's latest announcement came amid criticism of CDC messaging about how to respond to COVID-19 infections. The American Medical Association, which represents physicians and medical students, issued a statement Wednesday criticizing the agency's new quarantine and isolation recommendations. Last week, the CDC issued updated guidelines that shortened isolation periods from 10 days to five if they no longer have symptoms. The CDC defines isolation as separating "sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick." The CDC also maintained that infected people are not required to be tested for COVID-19 before emerging from five days of quarantine. "A negative test should be required for ending isolation after one tests positive for COVID-19. Reemerging without knowing one's status unnecessarily risks further transmission of the virus," said AMA President Gerald Harmon. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press. U.S. military bases in Japan tightened coronavirus prevention measures Thursday, after an explosion of infections in Okinawa, a southern prefecture that hosts dozens of U.S. military facilities. Since mid-December, about 1,000 U.S. military personnel on at least eight bases in Japan have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Japanese media reports quoting local officials. The outbreak began at Camp Hansen in Okinawa. Japanese officials have expressed growing concern about the U.S. outbreak, especially as cases nationwide began to surge last week following months of success containing the virus. Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the approximately 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, has suffered the worst of the surge. On Thursday, Okinawa reported a record high of nearly 1,000 new cases. That figure represents nearly a quarter of the cases reported nationwide, even though Okinawans comprise just 1% of Japans population. The situation underscores the pandemic challenges faced by the U.S. military, which regularly rotates troops through bases worldwide. It also risks inflaming tensions in Okinawa, where many residents have long resented the U.S. military presence. Its really scary. The number of new infections just tripled in one day, said Manabu Sato, a professor of political science at Okinawa International University. Okinawa, as you may know, is an isolated island. We cannot ask for help from neighboring prefectures easily. In a phone call Thursday with his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi requested U.S. bases impose curfews and other measures to contain the outbreak, according to Japanese officials. Shortly after news of the phone call emerged, U.S. Forces Japan announced new measures, including requiring personnel to wear masks off base and tightening testing procedures. The mitigation measures we have instituted throughout USFJ are intended to protect our forces readiness, the well-being of our families, and the health of Japans citizens, the statement read. Late last month, the U.S. military in Japan acknowledged that since September it had stopped requiring COVID-19 tests for vaccinated American personnel arriving on military aircraft at U.S. installations. After senior Japanese officials expressed strong regret about the policy, U.S. Forces Japan reinstated the test requirement and tightened restrictions on movement. Local concern Among those most critical of the U.S. militarys COVID-19 approach is Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who has long supported reducing the U.S. military presence on the island. Earlier this week, Tamaki said he is outraged at the uptick in cases among U.S. personnel, saying it suggests "insufficient" military management, according to local media. In an editorial Thursday, the left-leaning Asahi Shimbun said the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which exempts U.S. military personnel from Japans civilian immigration rules, was serving as a loophole for the more transmissible omicron variant to enter Japan. Sato, the Okinawa-based professor, said many locals have a strong suspicion that Okinawas outbreak is related to the U.S. military infections, but that this is hard to determine because of a lack of public data from the U.S. side. I dont think its fair to blame anybody for this (pandemic). But we have to find out how to limit this spread. And in order to do that, we have to have information, he added. Late last month, U.S. officials promised Tokyo they would conduct tests to detect the omicron variant and would inform Japan about the results as soon as possible, according to Japans foreign ministry. Transparency Most of the publicly available data on coronavirus outbreaks at U.S. bases is released by Japanese prefectural officials. The U.S. military in Japan publicly releases limited information about its outbreaks. By contrast, the U.S. military in neighboring South Korea has provided more frequent public updates about positive cases among U.S. personnel. I chose to release the numbers in the interest of keeping our community informed. This provided transparency for both our own population and (South Korean health authorities), General Robert Abrams, who until July was the top U.S. commander in South Korea, told VOA. Abrams, who is now retired, oversaw the fight against the coronavirus on U.S. bases in South Korea, which were effectively the first U.S. community to be on the front lines against COVID-19. Beginning in November, U.S. Forces Korea reduced the amount of COVID-19 data it releases to the public, but still publishes a weekly count on its website. For the week ending January 3, USFK reported 682 COVID-19 cases. Stars and Stripes, a newspaper focusing on the U.S. military, reported that figure was USFKs highest weekly total yet. But the USFK cases may appear less glaring since they are set within South Korea, which for months has experienced a winter wave of infections. Japan on Thursday reported 4,000 cases, according to a count by national broadcaster NHK. That is the most cases reported by Japan since mid-September. The U.S. Postal Service has asked the Biden administration for temporary relief from new vaccine or testing requirements covering large businesses for its 650,000 employees, warning of potentially "catastrophic" impacts. Deputy Postmaster Doug Tulino, in a letter dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters, asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to delay by 120 days the deadline for USPS to comply with the agency's vaccine-or-testing mandate for large businesses, covering more than 80 million American workers. USPS, one of the largest civilian U.S. employers, says it cannot meet the requirements under the current deadlines and also faces time-consuming legal requirements to use and collect medical information and collective bargaining requirements. USPS also cited a lack of adequate staffing and says it will need to train "tens of thousands of local supervisors and managers" to monitor employees compliance. USPS wants approval to continue using its current COVID-19 mitigation policies while the request is being decided. USPS has 30,000 U.S. locations. "We respectfully suggest that the nation cannot afford the additional potential substantial harm that would be engendered if the ability of the Postal Service to deliver mail and packages is significantly negatively impacted," USPS wrote. Earlier rules USPS is not covered by Biden's separate, earlier rules, which mandated that 3.5 million federal workers be vaccinated or win medical or religious exemptions by November 22. USPS warned that the latest rules were likely to result in the loss of "many employees." Requiring USPS "to absorb what could inevitably be a dramatic loss of employees at a time when the labor market is extremely tight and in the middle of the Postal Services peak season would have a potentially catastrophic impact on our ability to provide service, it added. OSHA did not immediately comment. The Emergency Temporary Standard issued in November requires employees in organizations with more than 100 workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly and subjected to strict face mask requirements. Last month, a U.S. appeals court reinstated the ETS mandate. The Supreme Court on Friday is set to hear arguments on the issue. OSHA extended compliance time last month, saying it would not issue citations before January 10 and would not issue citations for noncompliance with testing requirements before February 9 if employers were working to comply. The United States on Wednesday began returning migrants to the Mexican city of Tijuana in a restart of a Trump-era program that forces asylum-seekers to wait for U.S. court hearings in Mexico, Mexican authorities and the U.N. migration agency said. The United States and Mexico last month agreed to relaunch the controversial scheme known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), in keeping with a U.S. federal court order. U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has struggled to reverse many hardline immigration policies put in place by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden ended MPP soon after his inauguration in January as he sought to pursue what he called a more humane approach to immigration. But a federal judge ruled Biden's move did not follow proper procedure, and in August ordered MPP reinstated. The program first resumed in December at the international crossing connecting El Paso, Texas, to Ciudad Juarez. More than 200 people have been returned to Mexico so far under the relaunch of MPP, according to the U.N.'s International Organization of Migration (OIM). Two migrants were returned to Tijuana, across from California, on Wednesday with future appointments in U.S. courts, an official with OIM told Reuters. The migrant rights advocacy group Al Otro Lado told Reuters the two men were Colombian nationals. Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nor Mexico's immigration agency immediately responded to requests for comment. The United Nations' refugee agency and advocacy groups have criticized the restart of the Trump-era policy, warning migrants face the risk of kidnapping, rape and extortion in dangerous Mexican border towns. Under the original 2019 program, some 70,000 migrants seeking asylum were forced to wait weeks and sometimes years in Mexico for a U.S. court date instead of being allowed to await their hearings in the United States. The Dec. 14 sentencing of Vietnamese journalist Pham Thi Doan Trang, commonly known as Pham Doan Trang, to nine years in prison for spreading anti-state propaganda has angered members of the public here as well as observers outside the country. Trang regularly published information alleging human rights violations and police brutality. She was arrested in October 2020. She has been one of the most vocal critics of Vietnams human rights record in recent years. The arrest came just hours after the 24th annual U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Hanoi. The sentence is too heavy, said Minh Pham, a media specialist in Ho Chi Minh City who argued that Trang did not deserve such a long sentence. This sort of trial made me more cautious about speaking and expressing my views in the press and on social media in the future. I feel insecure. It is better to avoid talking about political issues, because regardless of the degree of difference in opinion, it will be labeled as an anti-national act, he told VOA. Similarly, Oanh Vu, who works in the food and beverage industry, said Vietnam still has a long way to go when it comes to freedom of expression. She told VOA, Trangs case has become a sad story as we are heading to the end of this year. But anyway, it is optimistic to see some people are still supporting her and other political prisoners as well. They called for donations to give them [the prisoners] Tet gifts, and provide assistance for their families in their absence. It is also a very practical way to support and help. A freelance journalist, who asked not to be named, told VOA he thought Trangs heavy sentence could be a message to others, since the government may not be able to arrest all the dissidents just because of what they write on social media. I think they may use Trang to warn others with the hope that other journalists or dissidents will see what happened to Trang and decide to step back, he said. But I do think the government will have to change its approach sooner or later. Nowadays, people can express their opinion on various social media platforms, especially apps made by Western tech companies. That means, as Vietnam is promoting international integration, they will not be able to prevent people from using social media. In recent years, we have seen Facebook groups spreading propaganda. They attract attention and earn support from the youth as well. Zachary Abuza, a professor of Southeast Asia studies at the National War College in Washington, also sees a larger purpose in the handling of Trangs case. The government can't go and arrest every dissenter or person who makes an anti-government post on Facebook, he told VOA. The government is really trying to be very strategic in going after the most influential individuals. They try to figure out who is influencing others and hope that that serves as a deterrent. The Trang case spurred several foreign governments to express concern about the human rights situation in Vietnam, although the country has maintained a good relationship with the United States and the European Union. Currently, Vietnam is trying to persuade EU members to ratify an investment protection agreement, in addition to an EU free trade agreement that has been ratified. However, a Dec. 16 statement by the EU spokesperson called for Trangs release. The statement said that actions taken against Trang on the basis of her extensive and peaceful journalistic work defending civil and political rights are in violation of Vietnams international human rights obligations, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party since 1982. The EU also called on Vietnamese authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained and to guarantee the right to a fair trial for all individuals. The European Union will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Vietnam, and work with the authorities towards the improvement of the human rights situation in the country, the statement said. The Trang sentencing came just days after the U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the highly publicized Summit for Democracy, designed to push back against what Trang and many see as an erosion of democratic values in many countries. While the Biden Administration has said that democracy promotion is a high foreign policy priority, I've not seen it manifest in Southeast Asia, where getting states to balance against China is a higher priority. Security always trumps values, he said. Abuza also warned that such long sentences for public speech will hurt Vietnams international standing, since there are real limits to how far Western democracies can to in overlooking a full frontal assault on dissent. Yet, Vietnam has not been really penalized internationally for its human rights situation, according to Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who is a Southeast Asia regional specialist. In part this was due to the [former U.S. President Donald] Trump administrations indifference to human rights which resulted in Vietnam getting a free pass. Vietnams willingness to hold bilateral dialogues on human rights with its comprehensive and strategic partners has also assisted in defusing this issue, he told VOA. Also, Vietnam has been pragmatic in adjusting its behavior to prevent setbacks and/or economic sanctions to its larger diplomatic and economic objectives. For example, Vietnam has a history of releasing political prisoners to defuse pressure, and allowing dissidents to settle abroad. The World Health Organization (WHO) Thursday called on the global community to ensure all nations have at least 70% of their populations vaccinated by July of this year, saying the pandemic will not end until it happens. During a COVID-19 briefing at agency headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also called on wealthy nations to ensure breakthrough treatments, and reliable COVID-19 tests, are available in all countries. Tedros said while the situation improved by the end of 2021, vaccine and health inequity overall was the biggest failure of the year. He said while some countries have enough protective equipment, tests and vaccines to last through the pandemic, many countries do not have enough to meet basic baseline needs or modest targets. The WHO chief blamed, at least in part, vaccine inequities for creating the perfect conditions for the emergence of virus variants, such as delta and omicron, which, globally, led to 9.5 million new cases last week, the highest number reported so far in the pandemic. Tedros said the virus that causes COVID-19 will continue to evolve and threaten the worlds health systems if the collective response does not improve. Meanwhile, Austria's government Thursday announced new measures, including mandatory use of masks outdoors to slow the spread of COVID-19 driven by the omicron variant in the Alpine country. At a news briefing, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the government will also more strictly monitor measures already in place, such as banning the unvaccinated from stores and cultural venues, beginning next week. He also said companies not complying with government restrictions could be closed. Austria lowered its COVID-19 infection rates by going into a lockdown for several weeks at the end of last year, but those numbers have crept back up in recent days. The World Health Organization says a new coronavirus variant recently detected in France is nothing to be concerned about right now. Scientists at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Foundation in the city of Marseille say they discovered the new B.1.640.2 variant in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon. The researchers said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, which they labeled IHU after the institute, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original coronavirus. The French team revealed the findings of a study in the online health sciences outlet medRxiv, which publishes studies that have not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal. Abdi Mahmud, a COVID-19 incident manager with the World Health Organization, told reporters in Geneva earlier this week that, while the IHU variant is on our radar, it remains confined in Marseille and has not been labeled a variant of concern by the U.N. health agency. Meanwhile, an international team of health care advocates and experts is calling for 22 billion doses of mRNA vaccine to be administered around the world this year to stop the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. The team is urging the production of an additional 15 billion doses of mRNA vaccine, more than double the projected 7 billion doses. The report says mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna have demonstrated the best protection against several variants by providing cross-immunity through so-called T-cells, an arm of the human immune system that kills virus-infected cells and keeps them from replicating and spreading. The report was a collaboration among scientists at Harvard Medical School, Columbia University, New York University and the University of Saskatchewan and the advocacy groups PrEP4All and Partners in Health. China is renaming disputed locations in Asia to bolster its territorial claims and build evidence to support those claims in case any sovereignty disagreements land in court, experts say. Beijing has used new names and other map coding to back its claims in the South China Sea, East China Sea and, most recently, parts of the mountains that it contests with India. The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Dec. 29 that it had used Chinese characters to standardize 15 place names in the Indian-controlled state of Arunachal Pradesh in the countrys northeast, the Chinese state-operated Global Times news website reported. India uses its own place names for those locations. Lian Xiangmin, a Chinese expert with the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing told the Global Times that the 15 names fit into a national effort to standardize the management of place names including spots that have existed for hundreds of years, the report says. Analysts told VOA they believe the Chinese leaders renamed the 15 places to remind their own citizens of their claims while keeping up pressure on their opponents in disputes around Asia, especially in preparation for any International Court of Justice or world arbitration court hearings. I think the Chinese view is that part of narrative warfare, part of shaping a narrative about what a conflict is about, is wrong-footing or putting your adversary or rival claimant or disputant in a position where they are disadvantaged, and China holds an advantage, said Scott Harold, Washington-based senior political scientist with RAND Corporation research group. China also uses military buildups and economic ties to advance its disputed sovereignty claims. Over the past decade, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and India have pushed back. China and India got into two military standoffs including one in 2020. In 2016, Manila won a world court case against Beijing over South China Sea claims. Other Asian countries have renamed disputed features as well, including Manila calling the South China Sea the West Philippine Sea. China stands out for its efforts since 2010 to expand its maritime reach, often using military superiority to gain an edge in territorial disputes and alarming its neighbors as well as their Western allies. Sino-Indian border tension shot up in 2017. Old places, new names Before borders became widely enforced around the world after the 17th century, people moved around more fluidly and named landmarks in passing. China seeks to draw on that history now, Harold said. Alan Chong, associate professor at the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies agrees. Chinese mapmakers pick names that are consistent with Chinas historic role in a region it is targeting, he said. Beijing has said, for example, that its fishing boats sailed the South China Sea some 2000 years ago, and thus has named the seas tiny islets to reflect that history. Among the 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh that China renamed, eight are residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass, the Global Times report says. China renamed six other places in the same region five years ago. Among Chinas names is Zangnan, which means South of Tibet in Mandarin. Lian called the new names a legitimate move and China's sovereign right. Beijing has renamed the two major archipelagos of the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea despite rival claims by several Southeast Asian countries. Officials in Beijing say their nine-dash line follows Chinese fishing patterns over the centuries. The dashes encompass about 90% of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea from Hong Kong to Borneo. China has also long used uniform map colors to amplify its claim to self-ruled Taiwan, said ruling party lawmaker Lo Chih-cheng. They have been doing that all the time, Lo said. They paint the color of Taiwan the same as China. Thats the way to show that Taiwan is a part of China. In the East China Sea, Beijing renamed the uninhabited, Japanese-held Senkaku Islands as Diaoyu after the mid-1950s, Harold said. Beijing disputes the islands with Tokyo and Taipei. Legal evidence The Chinese public and its supporters abroad are a primary target audience of the renamed landmarks, Chong said. New names will remind those audiences of Chinas claims to disputed territories, he said. Map names may even be inadvertently forced on other countries, Chong added. New names and other map coding eventually make it onto Chinese passports, into international media reports. In one case, 14 Chinese tourists angered Vietnamese immigration police when they arrived in Vietnam in 2018 in T-shirts depicting a line that Beijing uses to mark its maritime claims that overlap Hanois boundary. Eventually China can use the names to seek advantage in territorial disputes, said Alexander Vuving, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, in Hawaii. In the legal argument, you have to substantiate that you administer a place and part of that is, you name it, he said. China would wait for the right timing, Chong said. They may agree to freeze the status quo right now, but 50 years from now they might suddenly decide, all right, lets go to a court and win it peacefully, and then theyll start pointing to the fact that theyve got maps and other documents revealing that a Chinese name was given to this territory 50 years ago, he said. Hinting at a legal showdown, Beijing's state-run China Daily news website blamed India in October for "illegal occupation" of three disputed regions including Arunachal Pradesh. The Dakar rally this year features an all-female team for the first time in the history of the off-road endurance race. The race is happening in Saudi Arabia and given the kingdoms record on womens rights it is drawing the attention of international human rights advocates. Jon Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in Barcelona. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says a scathing report by an inquiry into state graft marks "the end of an era" of corruption. But analysts say it's only the beginning of efforts needed to restore public trust in South Africa's political institutions. For more than three years, South Africans watched the public proceedings of a national inquiry into graft under the tenure of former President Jacob Zuma. Thats why its findings of systemic corruption released by Justice Raymond Zondo late Tuesday didnt come as a surprise. Instead, the public is waiting to see what comes next. Narnia Bohler-Muller is a professor with South Africas Human Sciences Research Council. Now people want to see consequences and accountability," she said. "People are losing trust in government and in democracy, so we don't want to go to a point beyond no return. I do really think that we may be saved by a response that is going to be a proper implementation plan and action. If that doesn't happen, then I dont know, then we will not be living in a democracy. She says public trust in government has been on the decline since 2009 coinciding with Zumas time in office. The new report focused on corrupt contract tenders and political kickbacks in relation to South African Airways, the state revenue agency and public procurement. It recommended prosecution against former high-ranking lawmakers and their public and private sector affiliates. But charges may not come swiftly. Olwethu Majola, a lawyer and doctoral candidate in criminology at the University of Cape Town, says further investigations need to take place. We're going to see law enforcement, such as the police or special investigative unit, conducting their own investigations based on the preliminary commission. Depending on how far or how long it takes for investigations to be concluded, perhaps within, you know, two years, we can see charges being brought against individuals, she said. Majola says the former president will be among those to face prosecution. Zuma was already found guilty of contempt of court last year for failing to appear before the inquiry. He has long denied any wrongdoing and called the inquiry biased. Zuma maintains a loyal following of supporters who dont want to see the former leader imprisoned. In addition to consequences, the inquiry has also made recommendations to prevent state graft, including the formation of an independent corruption agency. Richard Chelin is a senior researcher on organized crime for the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa. The key question is political interference," she said. "How do you create a body that is so independent? How do you fund such a body? Which is very difficult. I think these are the struggles that a lot of the anti-corruption, that is faced globally is how do you maintain independence? And who do they answer to? The public still has months to wait for any government action. Two more reports from the inquiry will be released in the coming weeks. President Cyril Ramaphosa will then deliver the full report to parliament by the end of June before implementing its recommendations. U.S. President Joe Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, made an impassioned appeal to Americans and defended the values of democracy on the first anniversary of the stunning insurrection attempt that Biden said tested the nation's identity. Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Biden asked. Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? During the violent Capitol riot of Jan 6, 2021, a mob overpowered police, breached the Capitol and attempted to stop lawmakers from formalizing Bidens victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden urged Americans to choose how they define themselves. Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it, he said. And, he said, the events of that day reverberate well beyond the shores of the United States. From China, to Russia and beyond, theyre betting that democracy's days are numbered, he said. They actually told me, democracys too slow, too bogged down by division, to succeed in today's rapidly changing, complicated world. And theyre betting, theyre betting America will become more like them and less like us. Theyre betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman. I do not believe that. That is not who we are. That is not who we have ever been. And that is not who we should ever, ever be. President Biden never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name, although he repeatedly said Trumps failed quest to overturn his election loss is damaging American democracy. You cant love your country only when you win, he said. Shortly after Biden spoke, Trump released a statement accusing Biden of trying to divide the country with his remarks. "Biden, who is destroying our Nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures, used my name today to try to further divide America, Trump wrote. This political theater is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed." Vice President Harris, speaking ahead of Biden, used her platform to push for voting rights legislation. In the past year, Trump has leaned on sympathetic lawmakers to pass legislation that some critics say restricts voting rights. The American spirit is being tested, she said. Here in this very building, a decision will be made about whether we uphold the right to vote and ensure free and fair elections. Let's be clear: We must pass the voting rights bills that are now before the Senate and the American people must also do something more. The attack on the Capitol led to at least five deaths and more than 130 injuries and saw more than 725 participants charged with crimes. Protesters loyal to Trump agreed with the former presidents claim that the November 2020 presidential poll was marred by fraud, though there is no evidence to support that. A year later, public opinion polls have shown about 70% of Republicans do not consider Bidens election win legitimate. Some rioters on the scene said they were seeking out specific individuals in particular, then-Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who both played a pivotal role in leading legislators through the election certification process. Members of the mob erected a gallows on site. Four Trump supporters died on the day of the assault, and a Capitol Police officer died the next day. The mob injured dozens of officers, and in the months since the attack four officers have died by suicide. Biden said Trump continues to sow political divisions in the year since the attack because he is unable to accept his election loss. The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election, he said. He's done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interest is more important than his country's interest and America's interest. And because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He cant accept he lost. Overseas, the U.S. presidents strong words are unlikely to move Americas adversaries, said history professor Jeremi Suri of the University of Texas at Austin. Bidens words will not convince his detractors, but they will encourage millions of Americans who want their country to be better, and their democracy to be more secure, in the next few years, he told VOA. I think these words are likely to resonate among Americas traditional democratic allies especially Germany, Britain, Japan, Canada, and Australia all of whom want to see the US move on from the Trump years and return to its role as a leading world democracy. Americas critics Russia and China especially will dismiss Bidens words as naive and empty. The Biden administration has faced criticism for not doing enough or moving quickly enough to get justice for those affected by the insurrection attempt, with critics noting that so far, only low-level offenders have faced charges. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed that Justice Department prosecutors will pursue perpetrators at any level responsible for the riot. He added that in complex cases, it is normal for lesser charges to be processed first, as prosecutors build their case against bigger targets. He did not name any individuals who may face prosecution, but said: There can be no different rules for the powerful and the powerless. Late Tuesday, Trump canceled a press conference scheduled for Thursday evening at his Florida estate. Trump said he would instead discuss important topics at a January 15 rally in Arizona. Trump, in a statement, accused the congressional committee investigating the January 6 event of showing total bias and dishonesty. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed Wednesday that Justice Department prosecutors will pursue officials at any level responsible for last Januarys riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol. We will follow the facts wherever they lead as long as it takes, Garland told Justice Department lawyers and staff a day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the hours-long storming of the Capitol, the building often viewed around the world as the symbol of American democracy. Garland said more than 725 people who participated in the riot have been arrested, some charged with assaulting police, smashing windows and doors and ransacking congressional offices, delaying lawmakers from certifying that Trump had lost his 2020 reelection bid. Garland did not name any targets of the ongoing investigation but said, The actions we have taken so far will not be our last. There can be no different rules for the powerful and the powerless, he said. Some Democratic lawmakers have begun to complain about the pace of the investigation and called for Trump and key aides to be held accountable for their attempts last January 6 to block congressional certification that Democrat Joe Biden had won the November presidential election. But Garland said, A full accounting (of how the January 6 assault on the Capitol was planned and unfolded) does not suddenly emerge. He said prosecutors have no agenda or assumptions but have no higher priority than learning all they can about the riot. We will follow the money we will follow the facts, Garland said. The Justice Department has given no public indication of the extent to which it might attempt to hold Trump and his political allies accountable for the riot. At a rally near the White House on January 6, 2021, before the riot unfolded, Trump urged thousands of supporters to go to the Capitol and fight like hell to stop lawmakers from certifying Bidens victory. Trump made the baseless claim at the rally, as he does to this day, that the vote count was fraudulent and cheated him out of a second four-year term. Numerous recounts in key political battleground states have shown the initial vote counts were highly accurate and that any limited errors would not have changed the outcome in Trumps favor. A select House of Representatives committee is investigating the riot and is in a legal fight with Trump over whether he must turn over key phone calls records and documents that might shed light on his actions leading up to and during the chaos at the Capitol. A U.S. appellate court in Washington has ruled that the investigative committee has a uniquely vital interest in seeing any documents related to the riot and its planning, but Trump has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the lower courts ruling, saying his White House documents should be shielded from public release. The committees chairman, Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson, told news talk shows Sunday that the nine-member committee is particularly interested in learning why Trump resisted entreaties from his daughter, Ivanka Trump, Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials for more than three hours to call off the protest. Eventually, Trump released a short video calling for the rioters to leave the Capitol, adding, We love you; you're very special." In the video, Trump mentioned the false conspiracy theory that he actually won the election, saying, "I know your pain; I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it. Especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace." After the Capitol was cleared of protesters, Congress certified Bidens election victory in the early hours of January 7. Trump initially announced he would hold a news conference Thursday on the one-year anniversary of the rioting but called it off late Tuesday and said he will talk about it at a political rally on January 15. Trump says he is considering whether to mount a 2024 campaign to reclaim the White House. Of the more than 725 people arrested so far, 225 have been charged with assault or resisting arrest. More than 75 of those were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon against police officers. Prosecutors say that 140 U.S. Capitol Police and Washington city police were injured during the attack. So far, prosecutors in Washington say about 165 individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, from misdemeanors to felony obstruction, with 70 defendants receiving some kind of sentence. Of those, 31 people were ordered jailed, and 18 were sentenced to home detention, with the remaining 21 defendants placed on probation. Some trials of defendants contesting charges against them are scheduled for next month. User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! Translate Eureka / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s I got earthquake alert on my phone literally one second before the earthquake. It was a fairly noticeable bump and then little vibrations afterwards. | 13 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s Fortuna ca / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Rolling along weakly | 4 users found this interesting. Eureka ca (171.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Noticed while laying in bed, very, very small | 3 users found this interesting. McKinleyville, CA (183.8 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Sitting down | 2 users found this interesting. Eureka (169.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Shook the ceiling fan and spooked the dogs | 2 users found this interesting. Brookings oregon / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / very short I felt a shaking..but it was so light I almost dismissed it. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / very short Calabasas, Los Angeles, California (936.6 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) Kamloops, BC / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Eureka / not felt (reported through our app / not felt San Marcos / not felt (reported through our app / not felt San Diego / not felt (reported through our app / not felt lake isabella / not felt (reported through our app / not felt ANDERSON, Ca walking through my house. / not felt Fortuna, CA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! Translate West Bengal, jalpaiguri district (66.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : When I was in bed and reading books, at that time I felt shaking of bed even my bed was not in contact with any object | 2 users found this interesting. Siliguri (86.8 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : I was sitting on the couch with my dog and just a push. As if someone had pushed me from behind. Felt like a northwards push. | 2 users found this interesting. Siliguri (93.2 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short : Hi I was just che king my phone on bed it was silent and suddenly heard sudden noise briefly and quake sound twice. Where as it's a building no question of shaking by any means. I was about to get up then gone. Then I literally searched in internet if any | 2 users found this interesting. Punkha / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I felt that some one was walking at roof and sound came after that it was shaking | 3 users found this interesting. Paro bhutan (57 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short : In was writing my homework when I felt it just now | One user found this interesting. Siliguri (84.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : One medium shake along with some small shakes. Overall it's a mild quake... Subhadeep from Siliguri. | One user found this interesting. Bagdogra, Darjeeling, West Bengal (96.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 s : I felt the earthquake while sitting on my bed- Still waiting for confirmation. | One user found this interesting. siliguri (84.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : i was lying in bed and suddenly it all started shaking | One user found this interesting. Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal (88.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It was moderate and held a long time | One user found this interesting. I was in Jalpaiguri during the earthquake (486.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s Damak (157.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short : Yes. A slight and small quake. Banarhat weatbengal Jalpaiguri (27.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Felt it was like rollercoaster Hasimara (29.8 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Hasimara, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal (26.1 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal (85.3 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s Malbazar (50.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : It was a good shake but the duration was too small JALPAIGURI (67.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Siliguri, WEST BENGAL, INDIA (85.5 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s Birpara (26.9 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Light shaking Trongsa (145.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short : I was on the bed and felt bed shaking and celling fan movement Siliguri (86.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Strong vibration Jalpaiguri, West Bengal (68.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / very short Cooch Behar (62.8 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake Siliguri,India (85.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s Uttarayon (86.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal (83.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s Phuntsholing Bhutan (212.9 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s : We were just lying down and playing game suddenly felt the movement Siliguri (80.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : As I was sitting the house shooked well the glass of the almirah made the jiggle sound ..... Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal (82.2 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s Siliguri (84.6 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short Alipurduar (57 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s With a heavy heart, on 22 December 2021, Nigeria destroyed 1,066,214 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines donated by Western countries through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access program (COVAX) under the auspices of the World Health Organization. Donor countries had generously shipped vaccines that were nearing the end of their shelf life and could, therefore, no longer be administered without risk to recipients. In passing, may we point out that mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna are not, strictly speaking, vaccines. They were lumped together with vaccines in a US tax bill that went through Congress a few days before the outbreak of Covid-19 in China [1]. Local news is important. It's the information that will directly impact your life because its going on around you, every day. Join our group of dedicated readers today ... Subscribe Photo: Peacock NBC is gearing up to make Peacock your number-one destination for Winter Olympics content. The company announced today that subscribers to Peacocks premium tier will be able to livestream all of NBCUniversals coverage of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games from Beijing February 2 to February 20. The coverage will include all of NBCUniversals broadcast and cable coverage as well, something that the E! News Twitter account was snow excited about. This is a reversal of last years Olympic experience on Peacock, which many viewers found snow frustrating. Last year, Peacock streamers still needed some sort of subscription TV package (either cable or a service such as YouTube TV) to get the full lympo experience. Peacocks full coverage will include the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as original documentaries and daily shows. We are excited to offer NBC Olympics storytelling and complete streaming coverage of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Peacock, said Molly Solomon, executive producer, NBC Olympics & Paralympics. This approach provides the American audience with a dynamic, easy-to-use Olympic viewing hub where not a single moment, live or on-demand, will be missed. Huge news for the dignitary delegation that Joe Biden is not sending to China. Update January 19: You know who else isnt going to Beijing? The majority of NBC announcers. The announce teams for these Olympics, including figure skating, will be calling events from our Stamford facility due to COVID concerns, NBC Sports Senior VP of Communications Greg Hughes told USA Today. This is a similar format/methodology as last years delayed Tokyo Olympics. Catch all the remote action on Peacock. Look, everyone processes trauma in their own way, and we have to respect that. On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters staged a violent riot on the Capitol during the count of electoral votes in the 2020 election with many insurrectionists storming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis office. A week later, a man threatened to kill her. No doubt these were terrifying breaches of personal safety. But did she have to respond to the anniversary by turning a C-Span broadcast into a Zoom Hamilton performance? As part of the Capitols day of events, Pelosi introduced a video in which Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda gives a misty-eyed sermon: A New Year brings hope for the future, new energy to face the tasks ahead of us, and a renewed promise to strengthen the foundations of our democracy. We are all stewards of the American experiment, working to pass down to our children and our grandchildren a more perfect union that treats all its citizens with fairness and equity. This may be effective for some viewers, but it quickly rings with the hollowness of a Meta ad when you remember that the administration has basically abandoned the policies that would give material support to these goals of fairness and equity. Miranda then introduces Dear Theodosia, a frankly mid song from Hamilton they probably chose for this occasion because The Room Where It Happens and One Last Time have been done ad nauseam. The tinkly piano comes in. A cavalcade of just-as-misty-eyed Aaron Burrs and Alexander Hamiltons each from different national touring companies and productions pop up on screen one by one, singing to their offscreen beautiful babies about how America is, in many ways, also a beautiful baby. Theater-kid earnestness gets a bad rap, and Miranda is a talented songwriter (and director). That being said, this is still cringe as hell. Its like the famously ratioed Liberal insurrection tweet come to life. A Liberal insurrection would have looked very different. We would have escorted the original Broadway cast of Hamilton into the galleries. They would softly sing History Has Its Eyes On You as members of the GOP spewed their lies. Linz DeFranco (@LinzDeFranco) January 14, 2021 What Im saying is, if they didnt want Twitter to roast this they shouldve done a song from Diana: The Musical instead. Two Bald Eagles are back in the wild after being released in Baldwin County on Wednesday. Decatur, IL (62521) Today Cloudy with a few showers. High near 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Rain. Low 57F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch. A container is loaded onto the freight train from Rizhao to Central Asia at a container station of Rizhao port in east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, on Thursday exchanged congratulations on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that over the past 30 years, China-Turkmenistan relations have developed by leaps and bounds. China, he noted, was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with Turkmenistan, one of the first countries to support Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality, and the first strategic partner of Turkmenistan established via the form of a political document, and is also Turkmenistan's largest trading partner of natural gas. The development of China-Turkmenistan relations has not only brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their people, but also made important contributions to safeguarding regional peace and stability, Xi said. Xi stressed that China attaches great importance to its relations with Turkmenistan, and will, as always, firmly support Turkmenistan in pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, safeguarding national sovereignty and national independence, and upholding its policy of permanent neutrality. He added that he would like to stay in close contact with Berdymukhamedov, and take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and jointly lift the China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership to new levels for the benefit of the two countries and their people. In his message, Berdymukhamedov said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Turkmenistan and China have carried out all-round cooperation in the broadest scope, and set up a unique multi-level coordination mechanism. China has been a major trading partner of Turkmenistan for multiple years in a row, which vividly represents the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides, he said. The Turkmen side, he added, attaches great importance to the bilateral relationship and stands ready to work closely with China on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual accomodation of interests, and spare no effort to promote Turkmenistan-China ties to higher levels. This content is expired! Unfortunely this content is expired and cannot be viewed anymore; if You are the owner of this content please login to our Website, go to our access panel and enable this content again. Placeholder while article actions load Amid all the hype about flying taxis and digitally souped-up jets, a simple truth about the aviation industry can get lost: Change happens glacially. This is for a good reason; airplanes that ferry hundreds of people dont make the best laboratories, and the worst-case scenarios from technology gone awry tend to be much more dire than those facing most other industries. But this deliberate approach can feel sloth-like compared with modern innovations. Case in point: Almost 15 years after Apple Inc. released the first iPhone, Honeywell International Inc. is only just now introducing cockpit controls with a smartphone-like user interface. The Federal Aviation Administrations insistence that AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. temporarily delay the launch of 5G technology should be viewed in this light. The aviation regulator, the Department of Transportation and the wireless operators reached a tentative truce this week in what had become an increasingly tense standoff over concerns about possible interference with equipment used to land planes in bad weather. Amid threats of legal action, AT&T and Verizon reversed their position and agreed late Monday to delay launching service on a new band of spectrum for two weeks. The wireless operators also agreed to put in place additional safeguards around 50 priority airports for six months. That should give the FAA more time to evaluate the risk of disruption to radar altimeters which use radio waves at frequencies similar (but not too similar) to the new 5G signals to measure planes distance to the ground and avoid issuing blanket flight restrictions for now. The Airlines for America trade group has estimated curbs on low-visibility landings could delay, divert or cancel 350,000 passenger and freight flights a year in the worst-case scenario. The FAA and the Transportation Department agreed not to ask AT&T and Verizon for any further delays barring any unforeseen aviation safety issues. Advertisement A casual observer might wonder why theres so much fuss over a two-week holdup. AT&T and Verizons frustration is understandable. The carriers had already agreed to a one-month delay that pushed the launch of 5G from December to January. More important, the Federal Communications Commission the agency responsible for governing the use of U.S. spectrum decided it was safe to open up the new frequencies to wireless services nearly two years ago. That conclusion included a review of aviation-related risks, although industry groups have said their concerns werent fully addressed, and they continued to raise issues. AT&T, Verizon and other wireless operators paid more than $80 billion to buy rights to the spectrum in an auction completed last January and paid billions more to accelerate the transition from the satellite companies that had been using the frequencies. Inexplicably, the FAA and the aviation industry apparently did nothing to prepare and adapt altimeters for the rollout during the intervening period, AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey and his Verizon counterpart, Hans Vestberg, wrote in a Jan. 2 joint letter. The mismatch seems at least in part to reflect a misunderstanding of how the two industries operate. Aviation moves incredibly slowly with standards and putting new equipment on planes, and thats understandable because theyre focused on safety, but its not compatible with the speed at which the tech sector moves and the speed of deployment of 5G, Tim Farrar, a telecommunications and satellite industry consultant, said in a phone interview. Aviation regulators have a tendency to look at the worst case of the worst case and thats not a reasonable position to take, he said, pointing out that about 40 other countries have already successfully rolled out 5G service at similar frequencies with minimal disruptions to air travel. Its worth noting that U.S. aviation regulators have received much scrutiny lately for not thinking carefully enough about the worst case of the worst case when it came to Boeing Co.s 737 Max, whose twin crashes led to a nearly two-year grounding. Not for nothing, the past two years in the aviation industry have also been dominated by the devastating effects of the pandemic. Aircraft radar altimeters are meant to operate at frequencies between 4.2 and 4.4 gigahertz, which should create a buffer of at least 400 megahertz from the levels that Verizon and AT&T will be using for 5G service in 2022, the wireless companies say. The problem is that some older altimeters may lack the latest in transmission filters and pick up energy over a larger band. Most large commercial jetliners are likely fine, particularly given airlines accelerated retirement of older gas guzzlers during Covid, but swaths of more mature regional aircraft, business jets and helicopters may require upgrades, Farrar said. He pegs the cost of these retrofits at a few hundred million dollars a not insignificant amount of money but marginal compared with what the wireless operators paid for access to the new band of spectrum. The real question is just how quickly that can happen, he said. In comments to the FCC, aviation experts have said it could take years to develop new standards and replace equipment, as Bloomberg News has reported. Advertisement Representatives of AT&T and Verizon had accused the airline industry of holding their 5G rollout hostage in an attempt to get the wireless operators to pay for the upgrades, but the agreement with the Transportation Department makes no mention of financial compensation from any source. The terms of that arrangement suggest the two sides are reaching the end of this dispute, although further setbacks cant be ruled out, said wireless industry consultant Chetan Sharma. No one wants to come out on the wrong side of, Hey, we warned you and then something bad happens, he said in a phone interview. But if the science and engineering is backing it and no one in the signal processing or chip manufacturing or wireless industry is saying this is a problem, then someone has to play the judge. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement 5G Is Here, But What Does That Even Mean?: Tara Lachapelle Regulators Shouldnt Keep 5G Technology on the Ground: Editorial FCC Vacancies Stunt Bidens Internet Ambitions: Tara Lachapelle This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Could Joe Biden become the first American president to sanction a Nobel Peace Prize winner for war crimes and human-rights abuses? As the U.S. steps up efforts to end Ethiopias bloody civil war, it must reckon with credible reports that the government of the 2019 laureate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed instigated the conflict and covered up gross abuses. Bidens envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, arrives in Addis Ababa today to advocate peace talks between the Ethiopian government and rebels in the northern region of Tigray. Now in its second year, the war has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions. It is in a stalemate, with Abiy at a slight advantage: His federal forces have regained territory lost in early November but are unable to make headway into Tigray. The rebel leadership claims to have made a strategic retreat and has indicated a willingness to hold peace talks. Abiy has ramped up air strikes, using drones acquired from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which have killed scores of Tigrayans. A land offensive would be much bloodier, for both sides. But the prime minister will likely want a thrust deep into Tigray before agreeing to any meaningful parleys. For one thing, this would give him the upper hand in any negotiations. For another, having portrayed himself as a military leader in the time-honored fashion, he visited the frontlines dressed in fatigues he needs something that at least looks like a victory. Advertisement Feltmans first order of business should be to restrain Abiy. The prime minister has thus far been immune to persuasion and to punitive economic measures, such as the suspension of European aid and the blocking of duty-free access to the U.S. market. But these, in effect, punish all Ethiopians for the actions of their leaders. More targeted measures are called for. Biden has threatened to use sanctions to end the fighting, but has only imposed them on the third party to the conflict the government of neighboring Eritrea, which entered the civil war on Abiys side. It is time to call out and sanction Ethiopians, on both the Tigrayan and government sides, who have enabled or committed crimes and abuses. Despite the hurdles put up by the government, human rights agencies and humanitarian groups have been tabulating offenses by all combatants. Even as officials in Addis Ababa talk up war crimes ascribed to the rebels, they have suppressed information of wrongdoing including mass rape and the recruitment of child fighters by government forces and allied militias. Fislan Abdi, the minister Abiy tasked to document abuses, told the Washington Post last week that she was told to sweep inconvenient facts under the carpet. She resigned. Advertisement That brings up the question of Abiys culpability. His government claims the rebels sparked the civil war when they attacked a military base, but it is now becoming clear that the prime minister had been preparing an assault on the northern region long before then. As the New York Times has reported, Abiy plotted with the Eritreas President Isaias Afwerki against the Tigrayans even as the two leaders negotiated an end to decades of enmity between their countries in 2018 the deal that won Abiy his Nobel. The prime minister was apparently counting on the Peace Prize to draw attention away from the preparations that he and Isais were making for war against their common enemy: the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front. Although the Tigrayans are a minority in multiethnic Ethiopia, the TPLF ran the government for the best part of three decades before Abiys accession to power. The Eritreans blame the TPLF for the war between the countries. Abiy is from the Oromo, the largest ethnic group, which was long denied a fair share of power by the Tigrayans. Since he became prime minister, Abiy has systematically marginalized Tigrayans in the central government. The civil war has provided cover for crimes by government officials and forces. In the most recent example, says Human Rights Watch, thousands of Tigrayans repatriated from Saudi Arabia have been subjected to abuses ranging from arbitrary detention to forcible disappearance. Advertisement Abiy is hardly the first Nobel laureate to have brought dishonor to the prize. But, for obvious reasons, American presidents are leery about deploying sanctions against those who have been ennobled as peacemakers. George W. Bush considered sanctioning Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, joint winner in 1994, but eventually thought better of it. For all his recklessness, Donald Trump could not bring himself to sanction Myanmars Aung San Suu Kyi, winner in 1991, for her governments gruesome treatment of the Rohingya minority, and targeted only the countrys military commanders. (Ironically, those same commanders would go on to overthrow the civilian government and imprison Suu Kyi.) Biden might do well to follow Trumps example and target senior Ethiopian officials while giving Abiy a Nobel pass. Still, if the prime minister doesnt take heed, he may well find himself in an ignoble category all of his own. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and Africa. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Faced with a new wave of coronavirus infections, Austria and Italy became the first countries in western Europe to make Covid-19 vaccines compulsory. A handful of other nations -- Indonesia, Turkmenistan and Micronesia -- have already issued such mandates. A number of others have stopped short of that, requiring vaccination for access to public places, in some cases with the option of taking a test instead. Such edicts are controversial. Austrias sparked protests, and the U.S. Supreme Court planned to hold a special session Jan. 7 to consider the fate of a federal rule requiring large employers to require Covid vaccination or testing. 1. What happens to those who violate a mandate? Mandates dont mean forced vaccinations, but rather penalties or denial of services for those who dont get the shots. Indonesia punishes refusers by levying fines and denying them government assistance. Austria planned to impose a fine of as much as 3,600 euros ($4,000) when vaccines become mandatory in February for everyone living in the country over the age of 14. On Jan. 5, Italy made vaccines compulsory for people over 50, with sanctions kicking in from Feb. 1. Germany was considering a vaccine mandate for adults. Advertisement 2. What are the rules that fall short of mandates? Frances national assembly approved legislation that would mean only those who are fully vaccinated under local rules can go to restaurants, museums and concerts, or get on trains or airplanes. The law would effectively ban a life out of ones home or workplace for so-called anti-vaxxers. Other countries, including Morocco, are requiring proof of vaccination for entry into public places such as restaurants and offices. In Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, the requirement can also be met with proof of recent recovery from Covid. In the Netherlands, a negative coronavirus test is an alternative. Some countries, such as Australia, England, France, Greece, New Zealand, and the U.S., have mandated Covid vaccination for certain workers, notably in health care. 3. Are vaccine requirements something new? Advertisement No. According to a study in the journal Vaccine published in October 2020, before Covid vaccines became available, more than 100 of the 193 members of the United Nations had nationwide mandates requiring one or more vaccines. Of those, 62 imposed a penalty for noncompliance. The most common penalties were fines and denial of school enrollment for children who arent vaccinated. A few countries, including Canada and the U.S., had regional rather than national mandates. Government requirements for vaccines have a long history in the U.S. At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts mandated that residents get a smallpox vaccination. Pastor Henning Jacobson rejected both the shot and the obligation to pay a $5 fine, appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, and lost in a landmark 1905 ruling. More recently, New York City ordered people in part of the borough of Brooklyn to be vaccinated against measles or pay a $1,000 fine after an outbreak there in 2019. 4. Whats the U.S. rule on Covid vaccines? An emergency rule issued by President Joe Bidens administration, applicable to businesses with 100 or more employees, would require workers to be vaccinated or to wear a mask and start being tested. If a company is inspected and found to be violating the standard, it could face fines of $13,653 for each serious violation up to a cap of $136,532. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule was met by a flurry of lawsuits from Republican state attorneys general, companies and other organizations seeking to block it. A federal appeals court backed the rule, saying that to protect workers, OSHA can and must be able to respond to dangers as they evolve. The Supreme Court said it would hear arguments Jan. 7 on whether to let the rule take effect in the face of the legal challenges. Advertisement 5. Can U.S. employers require the shots on their own? They can and they have -- public and private employers both. Most nonunion companies have relatively wide scope to create such requirements largely because employment relationships are presumed to be at-will in nearly every U.S. state. Companies can fire at-will workers for any legal reason, which could include refusal to comply with a vaccine mandate. In addition, employers have a legal duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace. Even before the pandemic, many health-care facilities required workers to get inoculated against certain diseases, sometimes in response to state provisions. Employer mandates of Covid vaccines picked up after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first time gave full approval in August to such a vaccine -- the one made by Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE -- for use in people 16 and older. Previously the vaccine was authorized only for emergency use. 6. What objections can U.S. workers raise? Advertisement The Americans with Disabilities Act allows a worker to request an exemption from a vaccine mandate if she has a disability thats covered by the law. In such a case, the employer must communicate with the worker to determine whether an exemption is a reasonable accommodation given her disability and job responsibilities -- and isnt an undue burden for the employer. Failing to engage in that process or provide a reasonable accommodation could be grounds for a lawsuit. A worker with a health condition that compromises her immune system has a good chance of prevailing on a claim if she has a doctors advice that she should avoid a vaccine. An employer would need to show that allowing a worker to remain unvaccinated would cause an undue burden or pose a direct threat in the workplace, which would be difficult to do if there are alternatives available such as working from home or moving to an area segregated from coworkers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal laws against job discrimination, has said that ADA protections apply to Covid vaccines. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, giving workers the right to seek an exception to a vaccination mandate based on religious beliefs. The EEOC defines religion beyond membership in a church or belief in God. Religion for the purposes of federal anti-discrimination law covers strongly and sincerely held moral or ethical beliefs, according to the agency. But employers can deny religious accommodations if they would create an undue burden. 7. Are vaccine mandates effective? Advertisement There are lively debates among public health authorities and academics about the efficacy of vaccine mandates. Supporters cite studies showing that stricter rules on inoculating schoolchildren lead to lower rates of vaccine-preventable diseases. Most of the data, however, relates to children, whereas a Covid vaccination campaign needs to reach a significant portion of adults. Some health specialists argue that mandates -- especially if theyre imposed by governments -- will boost resistance to taking vaccines and provide ammunition for anti-vaccine activists at the political fringe. On the other hand, theres some evidence that employer mandates work. After Houston Methodist Hospital announced a mandate at the end of March 2021, the portion of its staff who were vaccinated went from 84% in April to 99% in June; 153 people quit or were dismissed because of the policy, but they represented less than 1% of 26,000 employees. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load The worlds largest electric-vehicle battery maker is getting bigger. Whether it can maintain its global reign will come down to Beijings tolerance of a private enterprises monopoly in a key industrial sector. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Chinas Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. announced on Dec. 30 it was investing 24 billion yuan ($3.77 billion) to expand its battery production capacity in Sichuan province, maintaining its global dominance. It has also begun construction of an industrial park in Hubei to eventually power as many as 4 million electric vehicles. In addition, the firm is looking at factory sites in Poland for a total investment of around 2 billion euros, while Hungary is vying for a role in CATLs expansion plans, too. Theres also a plant under way in Germany. With this unchallenged momentum, CATL supplies a host of big, international car companies and EV makers including Tesla Inc. The Ningde-based firms heft and dominance has been well documented: It is now the largest profitable powerpack manufacturer on the planet, and one of the biggest publicly listed companies in China. Advertisement This industrial might could become the firms most pressing problem yet, given Beijing doesnt have a great track record of allowing the dominance of private enterprises. It doesnt help that the chairman, Zeng Yuqun albeit more understated than his billionaire peer Jack Ma and his top executives have been big beneficiaries of CATLs rallying stock price. With China focused on anti-trust measures and the resultant troubles of its tech giants, including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Ant Group Co., its worth wondering whether President Xi Jinping can stomach one company having such a tight grip on market share and significant global prominence in what has been deemed an essential sector. The broader anti-monopoly rhetoric has expanded beyond online platforms, too. Late last month, the head of Chinas new bureau tasked with keeping an eye on concentrated market power said the country would step up supervision and law enforcement to regulate areas like technological innovation and information security, state media reported. The official said the body would continue to strengthen review of cases related to the concentration of operators to prevent disorderly expansion of capital. Recent editorials have also opined on antitrust and unfair behavior. That logic, in theory, extends to CATL. Its no surprise that Beijing might become uncomfortable with this situation. Bad actors or not, no amount of good will or international clout helps, as the experience of HNA Group International Co. or China Evergrande Group has shown. Advertisement While CATL has been a beneficiary of the states largesse and focus on electric vehicles, Beijing hasnt let it run free. In November, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange raised questions about a close to $9 billion equity offering the company was planning and asked whether it was raising funds excessively. Soon after, the battery maker slashed its fundraising by billions of yuan and cut back on allocations to two projects, along with working capital. In its response to the exchange, the company said its current assets were not enough for the planned expansion. Whats more concerning is the ecosystem of component suppliers that has grown around CATL. These firms are highly dependent on the powerpack maker: If it announces an expansion, they often do, too. In addition, they rely on the firms market dominance as a secure customer. It has started to look like a winner-takes-all model. Yunnan Energy New Material Co., which manufactures battery separators, announced in late December it had signed a contract with CATL. The order is a significant chunk of the firms capacity and CATL is offering a prepayment to ensure production and supply. Other firms like Jiangsu Dingsheng New Energy Materials Co. (which recently signed a contract) and Jiangsu Guotai International Group Co. (which is expanding its facilities in Ningde and Poland) make up the hive around the company. Advertisement While that speaks to an efficient and reliable network of supplies for CATL, its also a system in which several companies lean on one main firm as their source of revenue. At a time when supply chain financing for manufacturers has been tight and raw material prices are shooting up, that becomes dangerous. Any weakness in demand, or snarls in electric vehicle plans, and it could go pear-shaped. Yet CATL represents Chinas path to dominance of the global EV battery industry and the new energy sector more broadly. No country or company comes close to this level of scale or efficiency. One reason Tesla has been able to get its cars on roads across the world is because CATL was able to produce at scale the batteries required a surprisingly difficult feat. Its also an example of how an important and crucial part of this process is in Chinas hands. Beijing may have other plans though. For instance, it wants to create an industrial complex comprised of powerful small- and medium-sized enterprises that are dominant players in niche sub-sectors, as it did with traditional auto parts, in order to spread the wealth. But even then, it ended up with one or two dominant companies like glassmaker Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. instead of a handful of top-notch suppliers. Or it may want several, large battery manufacturers backed by the state instead of just a couple of private firms. Advertisement But getting in the way of CATL at such a crucial point of the global electric car cycle would be foolish, because China would lose out on the one chance it finally has to prove its industrial brawn. More from other writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Ant Is an Example of Chinas Rule by Campaign: Angela Zhang Jack Mas Famous Friends Will Cost Him Billions More: Shuli Ren Tencent Is Ready to Back Its Biggest Investment Yet: Tim Culpan This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Anjani Trivedi is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Asia. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shown no interest in resuming talks with the U.S. after agreeing in 2018 to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Instead, he has been busy making his nuclear-equipped arsenal bigger, deadlier and better able to strike South Korea, Japan, American forces in Asia -- and the U.S. mainland. 1. What is Kim working on? An array of ballistic missiles of various ranges as well as cruise missiles said to be able to hit Japan. (Ballistic missiles fly in an arched trajectory and are unpowered on descent. Cruise missiles can fly at low altitudes and are maneuverable, making them harder to detect and intercept.) Kim has rolled out new solid-fuel ballistic missiles that are easier to move, hide and fire than many liquid-fuel versions. Hes launched more than two dozen since May 2019, including nuclear-capable, super-fast KN-23 missiles that can strike all of South Korea -- and U.S. forces stationed there -- within a matter of minutes. He has also launched KN-25 short-range missiles designed to be fired in rapid succession from a single launcher to overwhelm interceptors. Advertisement The new ballistic Pukguksong-3 missile -- the biggest of the bunch tested in the past two years -- is designed to be fired from a submarine and has an estimated range of 1,900 kilometers, or 1,200 miles. It appeared to have test-fired a short-range, submarine-launched ballistic missile in October 2021 for the first time in two years. (As of late 2021, North Korea had deployed one submarine that is capable of firing missiles. A second one has been under construction for more than a year.) It tested hypersonic missiles in September 2021 and again in January 2022, which are designed to deploy a high-speed glide vehicle that can carry a warhead and maneuver past interceptors. The country also showed off last year what it said was a new delivery system to fire missiles off a train, making them harder for prying eyes to track. Advertisement 2. Could Kim really hit the U.S.? He appears to have acquired that capability after successfully testing an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017. But one test may not be enough to ensure the reliability of the ICBM known as the Hwasong-15. A new ICBM -- displayed at a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party in October 2020 -- is bigger and likely boasts more powerful engines. Weapons experts say its likely purpose is to deliver a multiple nuclear warhead payload that could overwhelm U.S. defenses, or a single, high-yield weapon. North Korea is also said to be developing an ICBM that uses solid-fuel technology, potentially giving the U.S. less warning of an imminent launch. Still, its unclear whether the countrys ICBMs could beat antimissile systems and are refined enough to strike their intended targets, as well as whether the warheads could survive reentry into the atmosphere. 3. How many nuclear devices does North Korea have? Advertisement Experts estimate that North Korea has assembled 30 to 40 nuclear warheads, the fewest among the nine nations with nuclear weapons. The country has conducted six atomic tests, with Kim responsible for the last four. The first detonation in 2006 measured less than one kiloton, leaving experts wondering whether it had been a partial failure. (A kiloton is equal to the force of 1,000 metric tons [1,102 tons] of TNT). In the most recent test, in September 2017, the estimated yield of 120 to 250 kilotons dwarfed the 15 to 20 kiloton U.S. bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. North Korea probably has developed miniaturized nuclear devices to fit into its ballistic missile warheads, according to the assessment of several countries cited in a 2020 United Nations report. 4. Where does Kims military get its fissile material? It has been self-sufficient for decades in fissile material, the main ingredient to create a nuclear chain reaction and explosion. The program today relies largely on enriched uranium and, according to weapons experts, produces enough annually for about six bombs. The consensus among experts is that the country probably has enough already for as many as 60 nuclear devices, although one estimate, from a 2021 study by the RAND Corp. and Asan Institute, put the number as high as 116. In addition, North Korea appeared in mid-2021 to have resumed plutonium-producing operations -- another means of creating fissile material -- at a nuclear reactor in its antiquated Yongbyon complex. Advertisement 5. What other surprises might be out there? North Korea may be working on ICBMs that carry multiple warheads and in-flight countermeasures to throw interceptors off the trail, according to Datayo, an open-source weapons research site. Kim has pushed to develop his fleet of submarines and is looking to deploy a new vessel soon that experts say could fire missiles. He may even try to revive the countrys satellite program, arguing that North Korea has the right as a sovereign state to develop a space program. Weapons experts say satellite launches could be used by North Korea to advance missile technology. 6. How can the country afford all this? The money needed is not huge in global terms. North Korea spent around $4 billion annually on its military, including one of the worlds largest armies, between 2007 and 2017, according to a 2019 CIA assessment. Thats roughly equivalent to two days U.S. military spending. Since North Korea is one of the worlds poorest countries, the outlay of around 23% of gross domestic product ranks among the highest globally, if not the most. Although international sanctions have hit the economy hard, North Korea evades some through methods such as clandestine transfers at sea of banned goods such as oil, and it generates cash by means that include ransomware attacks. Kims decade-old regime has already taken in as much as $2.3 billion through cybercrimes and is geared to rake in even more, U.S. and United Nations investigators have said. Advertisement 7. Wasnt Trump going to fix this? Former President Donald Trumps talks with Kim, beginning with Singapore in June 2018, turned the duo from insult-throwing enemies into dialogue partners. But their three meetings didnt produce any noticeable change, and North Korea has become what three decades of diplomacy had tried to prevent -- a state capable of developing, projecting and detonating atomic bombs. Tensions continue to yoyo. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Russias winter defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. The bitter season has played such a historic role against the nations enemies that it now enjoys military rank, popularly known as General Moroz and General Zima (that is, frost and winter). In the great European natural gas battle of 2021-22, however, the weather has so far worked against Moscow. If President Vladimir Putin was counting on Moroz and Zima, the commanders have yet to show up at the Western front. Mild weather has so far crushed heating demand and soothed the European market panic about supply that saw natural gas prices shoot up to record highs. In recent days, London, Berlin and Paris have enjoyed a spring-like weather. On New Years Eve, the mean temperature in north-west Europe was nearly 12 degrees Celsius, about 9 degrees above the 30-year average. A few cities were even warmer: Zurich and Frankfurt stood at 13 degrees Celsius, compared with a normal level of around freezing for both. For Europe, which imports 40% of its gas from Russia, it has been an economic and geopolitical reprieve. From an all-time high of nearly 188 euros ($212.95) per megawatt hour on Dec. 21, gas plunged to a low of 65.40 per MWh on Dec. 31, an unprecedented 65% drop in just eight trading days. Gas isnt just used for heating and industries Europe burns lots of it to generate electricity. And so the mild weather has avoided the worse-case scenario: blackouts. U.S. shiploads of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have also helped push prices down quite an irony since European countries vehemently opposed fracking, the technique that has unlocked American gas. Advertisement Before the spell of mild winter, Europe was heading into a full-blown crisis: Gas inventories were well-below the 5- and 10-year averages. On Christmas Day, Europe had the equivalent of 629 terawatts hours of gas in storage. If a normal winter ensued, estimated inventories would fall to below 200 TWh by the end of the heating season in late March. That would be the lowest on record. A colder-than-normal winter, like the one in 2017-18, would have cut gas stocks to about 90 TWh, a shivering 50% below the previous all-time low. Many traders said the stability of the gas network would be jeopardized if inventories dropped that low. They expected prices to rise to ultra-high levels and result in demand destruction with energy-intensive industries like aluminum smelters and glass manufactures forced to shut down. Spurred by the alarm, gas prices jumped to an all-time high on Dec. 21. So far, though, the less-than-frigid season has reduced the risk that gas in storage would plunge to the much-feared lows. Over New Year, European gas stocks actually increased for four consecutive days, something that had never happened before over the same period. As things stand, a normal winter would leave stocks at around 240 TWh by the end of March still the third lowest level ever, but not as bad as many feared. A cold winter would cut them to about 140 TWh, a record low, but above the catastrophic 100 TWh barrier associated with blackouts. Europe may have avoided a calamity but the continent isnt out of the woods. Temperatures are expected to drop to seasonal levels again today, increasing demand. Gas prices have climbed up back to nearly 100 per MWh still about 45% below the most recent peak, but also far above the 2010-2019 average of roughly 20 per MWh. Regional gas inventories are likely to end the 2021-22 winter extremely low, so high prices are going to continue into the summer, and likely into the 2022-23 winter, too. Advertisement Meanwhile, Russia is keeping a tight grip on the region. Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled gas exporter, has reduced supplies into Europe significantly in recent days in response to lower demand. Gas hasnt flowed into Germany via the key Yamal-Europe pipeline for 15 consecutive days something that had never happened in the middle of the winter. An additional choke point: the thousands of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, through which much of Europes gas transits. In the U.S. television drama The West Wing, the fictitious American President Josiah Bartlet asks the Russian ambassador how Moscow cultivated its geopolitical nerve. From a long, hard winter, Mr. President, said the envoy. Look at the calendar: spring in the northern hemisphere is still 73 days away. Generals Moroz and Zima have time to show their mettle. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement Putins Priority Is Selling Gas, Not Waging War: Leonid Bershidsky The Cold War Playbook Wont Help Alexey Navalny: Hal Brands Putin Is Only Pretending to Be Crazy on Ukraine: Eli Lake This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. He previously was commodities editor at the Financial Times and is the coauthor of The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earths Resources. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load From Unilever Plc to Colgate-Palmolive Co., consumer goods makers in India are facing distribution blues that have nothing to do with pandemic-induced shortages and bottlenecks. The trusted middlemen that brands have traditionally relied on to reach millions of small neighborhood stores in 8,000 towns and 660,000 villages are in revolt. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Its a mutiny that the multinationals have invited upon themselves. About 90% of what gets consumed in the continent-sized economy flows through a pipe known as general trade: Brands appoint third-party distributors who stock bulk inventory, despatch goods in small quantities to shops in their area, collect cash and offer retailers unsecured credit at zero interest (without the cumbersome know-your-customer, or KYC, checks of the formal financial system). Advertisement Distributors also take the onus of compliance with existing rules and regulations for the brands as theyre the ones dealing directly with the the last-mile outlet, known as kirana. Each of these services is important in its own right. Together, theyre worth at least 11.5% of the final price of merchandise, estimates Sumit Aggarwal, a U.S.-trained engineer who returned to run his familys consumer goods distribution business in north India. Yet, the distributors share of the pie is barely 5%-to-6%. The rest of their value addition benefits other stakeholders, including consumers. If the pipe is only now gurgling with discontent, its because a new breed of rivals has arrived. Better-funded bulk suppliers such as Walmart Inc., billionaire Mukesh Ambanis JioMart and Germanys Metro AG as well as business-to-business e-commerce firms like Udaan and Big Basket are flexing their superior financial muscles to win over the small shopkeeper. Advertisement The price at which distributors get merchandise from brands allows for only 10%-12% margins for retailers. Apps are offering as much as 20%. Since none of the new-age intermediaries are operationally profitable, the deep discounts are very likely backed by investor capital, of which there is no shortage at present. Retailers are switching to more modern suppliers, and the traditional distribution chain is up in arms. The Economic Times last month chronicled the story of Vipresh Shah, a Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc distributor in a small town 200 miles south of Mumbai. When the newspaper caught up with him, Shah, who has been selling Dettol bars to shops in his area for 14 years, hadnt had a single order in eight days. Storeowners are buying the same soap 15% cheaper on the JioMart Partner app and accusing Shah of ripping them off. Daring to take on the behemoths, the middlemen are sending an SOS: Dont turn us into a bunch of frustrated Willy Lomans from Death of a Salesman. We, too, can digitize and compete. Distributors in Indias Maharashtra state stopped supplying Hindustan Unilever Ltd.s Kissan range of ketchups and sauces from Jan. 1. and threatened to expand the blockade to personal-care products and detergents. Colgate, which is facing a similar embargo on its Max Fresh line of toothpaste, has been warned by an association of traders that its products may vanish from retail outlets in Maharashtra by February. The ban might extend to other states as well. Advertisement It probably wont come to that. Small and midsized intermediaries are scattered across the country. While they have temporarily come together in one state, they dont have the staying power for a prolonged, nationwide strike against the far more resourceful producers. (According to latest news reports, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation has suspended its boycott of Unilever, though the campaign against Colgate continues.) The mobile internet is transforming the retail landscape in India. Pure e-commerce, the kind offered by Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.s Flipkart, is still a minuscule part of overall consumer spending. But owners of mom-and-pop kirana shops are increasingly whipping out their smartphones to source goods as cheaply as they can. Credit, which was the No. 1 reason for them to rely on distributors, is now being offered by a whole range of new fintech players. The combination of digital and physical commerce is expected to account for most of the $700 billion expansion in Indian retail by 2030 and half of new jobs. Technology-led disruptions will fundamentally enhance the productivity of commerce. But the conventional trade channel doesnt deserve to be left behind. Theres room for everyone, says Aggarwal. If brands ignore general trade, and distributors sales people lose their jobs, apps and other bulk suppliers will inevitably use their market power to raise prices. That wont be good for anyone. Advertisement Instead of letting their long-term partners in the country fall by the wayside, brands must help the direct trade channel embrace technology to become more efficient and profitable. It wont take much by way of handholding. With simple digital tools, distributors can have access to verified customer KYC, evaluate and underwrite credit risks and present a transparent account of their services in a language financiers can understand. The middlemen will become more bankable, their cost of capital will go down. Aggarwal is helping the Mumbai-based fintech ePayLater roll out some of these innovations. Households in India withstood two debilitating waves of the pandemic without much fiscal support from the government beyond free food. Research has shown that it isnt so much the formal financial system that helped them survive the lockdowns and the elevated medical expenses, but informal credit from shops. Where will a hole-in-the-wall kirana obtain the resources to be a lender of last resort for the bottom of the pyramid in remote towns and villages? The answer lies in the traditional distribution chain, nurtured by a previous generation of multinational managers. Their successors shouldnt let a myopic vision of technological change destroy this important safety valve. More from other writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement Can You Trust Your Suppliers After a Lousy 2021?: Anjani Trivedi Shopping Is Going to Be A Lot More Painful in 2022: Andrea Felsted Shoppers Havent Minded Higher Prices. That Might Change Soon: Tara Lachapelle This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services. He previously was a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He has also worked for the Straits Times, ET NOW and Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Latin Americas leftist leaders hailed the December election of Gabriel Boric in Chile while investors pulled back, leading the countrys currency and stock market to fall. Yet Boric has the chance to surprise both sides, carving out a different left-leaning political path. Rather than selling the economic populism of Argentina or Brazil or the authoritarian dogma of Venezuela, Cuba or Nicaragua, Boric could create a more progressive country and inclusive welfare state. Shedding Chiles neoliberal economic model for a social democratic one would put it on the trajectory of other high-income countries, benefiting Chiles citizens, making growth more stable and sustainable and creating a new paradigm for its neighbors to follow. Chile has been on the economic rise since its return to democracy in 1989. Three decades of market-friendly neoliberal policies, including privatizing public works, lowering trade barriers and deregulating capital markets, spurred foreign and domestic investment and economic growth. This model boosted per capita incomes from less than $2,300 in 1989 to more than $15,000 today, (and $25,000 when measured by purchasing power parity or PPP), making Chile one of the few Latin American nations to graduate from middle to high income in the World Banks rankings. So why did a record number of Chileans nonetheless turn out to vote for a candidate who promised to bury neoliberalism? Because as Chile grew richer, it didnt become more generous. Social spending since 1990 has remained around 10% of gross domestic product, roughly half the 38-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average. Worse, the structure of many public programs created a tiered system providing different and often better service to the middle and upper classes. Advertisement Take education. To start, Chile just doesnt spend enough per kid, ranking far behind most of its OECD peers. Its voucher system theoretically allows parents and students to choose any school. But schools are clustered in wealthy neighborhoods, creating geographic barriers for the less advantaged. Many private schools take the vouchers but also charge additional fees, leaving them out of financial reach. And a lack of teacher training and consistent curricula leads to uneven and low-quality instruction, particularly in less affluent public schools which have less leeway in hiring and firing instructors. The setup puts poorer kids at a disadvantage. Chiles health care suffers similar problems of unequal access and care. Spending overall is minimal, a third less than the OECD average. And though Chile legally offers universal health care, the reality is that those with money get better treatment. The upper crust funnels its mandatory payroll taxes into a better-resourced private system, while the bottom two-thirds of Chileans pay into a public system. As happens in education, the siphoning off of the wealthier and healthier to private providers leaves the state with fewer resources for the needier and sicker. Chiles vaunted private pension system also fails its elderly. It expanded and deepened the nations capital markets to be sure, as Chiles pension funds manage more than $200 billion, roughly 80% of GDP. But it has failed to provide social security. Eighty percent of retirees dont save enough to stave off penury. The problem is structural: Individual accounts spread temporal risk across a persons lifetime; they do not pool risk across society. Without any redistribution, minimum wage workers will never be able to build up enough savings to support an adequate retirement (never mind the high fees charged especially in the early years of the system, which made AFP private pension fund managers the most profitable arm of the nations financial industry). Advertisement European nations, the U.S., Japan and other now high-income market democracies created and expanded their welfare states long before they reached the per capita income levels Chile enjoys today. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced Social Security and unemployment insurance when average U.S. incomes were just over $1,000 (less than $10,000 in todays dollars), and not all that much more in real terms when Lyndon B. Johnson introduced Medicare in 1965. Post-WWII Europe greatly expanded public healthcare, pensions, disability and other worker compensation throughout the late 1940s and 1950s when per capita incomes were less than $10,000 as well. As Japan climbed the socioeconomic ladder, it vastly expanded public social programs. During the 1970s, when Japans per capita GDP was far lower than Chiles today, it doubled social spending as a percentage of GDP. These outlays boosted worker productivity (fewer among the economically active population were kept out of the workforce caring for the old, young, or infirm) and increased political stability, nurturing longer term and more sustainable economic growth. Chiles neoliberal model helped the nation climb the socioeconomic ladder. But as the 2019 protests and the 2021 election results reveal, that model cant keep it up there. The unmitigated economic disparities leave the nation too politically fragile to maintain economic stability and growth. Even the International Monetary Fund now believes that government spending crowds in, not out, private investment, favoring a bigger rather than smaller state. Of course, if the Boric government or constituent assembly prove to be more socialist than social democratic, the naysayers will have a point. But so far, he has shown no love for the regions authoritarian left, criticizing Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. And his economic proposals look to provide Chileans with the government services and supports that citizens in other high-income countries have long demanded and received. Advertisement For Chile to thrive again, it needs to change its thinking and, more importantly, its public spending. A minimal state will no longer bring longer-term stability for investors, businesses or its people. Chile has successfully graduated to high income. Its policies need to catch up. And if Boric succeeds and they do, Chiles new president will have created a new model for Latin Americas left, one based on both economic and political inclusion that creates stronger economies and democracies throughout the region. (Corrects size of Chiles pension program in sixth paragraph.) This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Shannon ONeil is a senior fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load In the year since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the government has responded better than mightve been expected. Law-enforcement agencies have arrested and charged at least 700 people in 47 states. Congressional investigators have interviewed hundreds of witnesses. Federal courts have resisted efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to deny Congress access to documents and testimony. Despite fears that extremists might be inspired to commit more acts of violence, there have been no repeat performances. Such progress demonstrates the resilience of Americas democratic institutions. It also underscores the need for the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 to quickly complete its inquiry and resist pressure to expand its scope. An open-ended probe that attempts to bring criminal charges against Trump and his inner circle would only undermine confidence in the committees findings and embolden the same forces that staged the insurrection in the first place. QuickTake: What the Jan. 6 Committee Has Done, and Whats Next Advertisement The congressional investigation began slowly. After Republicans first rejected proposals for a bipartisan commission, it took nearly seven months for the Democratic-controlled House to form a select committee. The panel has held only one public hearing, in which Capitol Police officers described being assaulted by the rioters. Some former officials tied to the Trump White House, as well as Republican lawmakers who communicated with Trump on Jan. 6, have ignored subpoenas or otherwise refused to cooperate. Despite such obstruction, the committee has collected more than 30,000 records related to the attack. It has pressured recalcitrant Trump aides by holding them in contempt of Congress for failing to testify, which could subject them to prosecution. It has subpoenaed cell phone records of more than 100 people and requested access to Trumps presidential records, held by the National Archives. (In December, a federal appeals court denied Trumps attempt to prevent the release of those records; Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court.) But while the committee has made progress, it now needs to pick up the pace. Its chair, Representative Bennie Thompson, says the committee only plans to release interim findings by the summer. Adhering to such a schedule risks extending the probe deep into 2022. The committee should complete its work and issue an unredacted public report well ahead of the November midterm elections. Thats more than enough time to produce a comprehensive account of the events surrounding the insurrection and to recommend reforms to prevent future attempts to overturn presidential election results. Advertisement At the same time, the committee should back away from suggestions that it will recommend that senior Trump administration officials be criminally prosecuted. While such referrals would no doubt satisfy the former presidents critics, they would validate Republican arguments that the investigation is a partisan witch hunt. Theyre also unnecessary. Should the Justice Department ultimately determine that Trump or members of his administration committed crimes, it can still bring charges against them, with or without a referral. The siege of the Capitol one year ago amounted to an attack on American democracy. The Jan. 6 committee can best serve the public interest by delivering an unvarnished account of what transpired on that day. The rest will be up to voters. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Trump Skips Jan. 6 Event, But His Toxin Remains: Timothy L. OBrien Jan. 6 Rioters Dont Face a Double Standard: Stephen L. Carter Tell the Jan. 6 Story to Boost Democracy, Not Democrats: Jonathan Bernstein Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load The riots in Kazakhstan that brought down its government on Jan. 5 are just the latest sign of tension under the muddy ice crust into which the core post-Soviet authoritarian regimes have congealed the same crust that broke in Ukraine in 2014, cracked but held in Belarus in 2020 and grew so thick in Russia last year that it started to look like permafrost. Thats a deceptive look: The predatory, repressive regimes in these countries are not permanent not just because they frustrate the ambitions of their smartest subjects, but also because they depend heavily on formerly charismatic personalities that no longer inspire. Grandfather, Go is a popular slogan among Kazakhstan protesters; they mean 81-year-old ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who left the formal job to a successor in 2019 but has held on to the levers of power. Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus and Vladimir Putin in Russia are grandfathers, too. They have held on thanks to a combination of repression and inertia, but their resource is finite. Its probably pointless to tell Western leaders to take a longer view as they ponder Putins most recent security demands, which have led to multi-track talks aimed primarily at stalling a possible Russian re-invasion of Ukraine. They are primarily interested in keeping Putin from starting, and winning, any more wars in the coming months. The violent breaking of ice across the ex-Soviet core a debacle in the original meaning of the word looks distant, and perhaps they dont think theyll be around for it. Advertisement And yet, even if immediate concerns have been driving Western reactions to Putins open blackmail, an ice-free future is worth keeping in mind, if only to avoid the kind of strategic mistakes made 30 years ago, when the Soviet Union cracked and its bits drifted apart like floes. Back then, it was easy to treat the post-Soviet world as a bunch of losers decades of Communist central planning had left it in economic ruins. There seemed no point in rewarding Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians or Kazakhs for getting rid of communism, no need for a Marshall Plan of any kind. Between 1992 and 2019, according to the World Bank, Russia received some $620 billion in current dollar foreign direct investment about half of what Central Europe and the Baltics got, though their combined population is only about 60% of Russias; Chile, population 19 million, got almost half of Russias FDI inflow; Ukraine and Kazakhstan together received about as much as Turkey alone. There were no advantageous trade deals (Ukraine only got into the World Trade Organization in 2008, seven years after still-Communist China, Russia in 2012, Kazakhstan in 2015), no visa-free travel for post-Soviet citizens, no debt write-offs on the kind of easy terms showered on West Germany in its early years. Little consideration was given to Russias pleas of North Atlantic Treaty Organization non-expansion and no effort was made to draw Russia into NATO, though in the 1990s. Even in the early years of Putins rule, it would have been feasible. Ukraine and Kazakhstan gave up their nuclear weapons in exchange for weak security guarantees which, in Ukraines case, are already known to have been worthless. Advertisement Inclusion in Western institutions has been largely symbolic, no matter what post-Soviet countries did. Membership in what was briefly the Group of Eight, the peak of its success as a friend of the West, brought Russia no benefits worth mentioning unlike, arguably, participation in the Group of 20, which is not Western-dominated. Even Ukraine, which ended up invaded by Russia for forming a deep and comprehensive trade area with the European Union in 2014, barely noticed the economic difference from the deal: Its trade with the EU reached 39.7 billion euros in 2020, compared with 36.8 billion euros in 2013; its exports to the EU barely budged at 23 billion euros (after hitting a 24.2 billion euro high in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year). The treatment post-Soviet nations received at the hands of the West in the last 30 years has been dictated by a deep distrust of Russias military might, which needed to be contained with NATO expansion, of the entire post-Soviet space as a source of unwanted migrants, of post-Soviet businesses as potential corruption exporters and state-subsidy abusers. As a result, of the 15 ex-Soviet nations, only the Baltic states, included in the USSR by force and never quite culturally integrated in it, are firmly in the Western fold. Russia and in Central Asia, China as well have kept the others in a twilight zone. Even the freest of them, Ukraine, is in flux, a transitional state that could end up in any geopolitical camp or basket. As such, they are a constant source of instability: Huge, strategically located, resource-rich chunks of territory from which all kinds of threats economic, military, terrorist can emanate. Putin, who runs the biggest of them all and has the military power to move borders, is trying to turn this threat potential into a bargaining chip. So far, hes been successful in getting Western, in particular U.S., leaders to pay attention. Both domestically and internationally, Putin has long given up on cooperation he feels, not unreasonably, that Russia as a global power has not benefited from being cooperative. Instead, hes bet on coercion. That makes any negotiated solutions between the U.S. and Russia or, broader, the West and Russia, unlikely while hes still around. After his departure, though, a window of opportunity will re-open not just for a different relationship between the West and Russia, but for a new deal for the entire post-Soviet gray area. That prospect ought to dictate the Western approach to its current negotiations with Russia.Putins proposals for institutionalizing a new balance of forces are so clearly aspirational that reading them even as a starting point for serious negotiations is hard; he cant really believe NATO will pull back into its pre-1997 shape in the 2020s. So the West has an opportunity to respond in kind, talking, in a way, over Putins head with future Russian and post-Soviet leaders to lay out some aspirations of its own. Advertisement What if Europe offered Russia and the post-Soviet core the prospect of full economic, and potentially political, integration with the EU something Putin once sought and for which he was ridiculed and NATO offered Russia a fast track to membership, along with other post-Soviet states? The proposals could be conditional on steps like holding elections that would be recognized as free and fair by independent international observers and resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict via arbitration, the way Croatia and Slovenia did with their territorial dispute as a condition for Croatias EU membership. Such conditions would be impossible for Putin to accept: He no longer believes in any kind of impartial intermediation. But the pie-in-the-sky proposals would outline an attractive scenario for Putins successors, a bridge from confrontation to cooperation from which Russia could benefit. They would also present the Russian people with an alternative way of thinking about the West. Even if they have no say in the Kremlins policy today, that wont necessarily always be the case. Instead of mere NATO non-expansion, Russia and its neighbors could be offered integration and inclusion, free travel, open markets in exchange for alignment with some clear rules, such as inviolable borders, and values, such as the right to elect leaders. Demands to be left alone could be countered with proposals of a full alliance. Advertisement That approach, of course, would require the Wests willingness to consider such an alliance as an alternative to containment, deterrence and the whole range of confrontational concepts that have returned in response to Putins ressentiment-based anti-Western crusade. It would require a more powerful imagination than even that displayed by French President Emmanuel Macron, arguably the most visionary of the current Western leaders, with his ideas for integrating Russia into a new European security system. In a way, it would require a suspension of disbelief that turned out to be impossible even in the heady 1990s. There is, I think, a powerful reason to attempt it now, though. Without an aspirational goal one akin to what the current European Union was in the post-World War II years no intermediate system of agreements and ad hoc arrangements can be stable even after Putin. When confrontation is the basic premise, self-interest will always take precedence, and deals and promises will not be honored, not even those that are in the realm of the possible today the ones that involve deconfliction and suspension of military plans. Ice is fundamentally fragile, no matter how thick it may look today. The West must be prepared, on a strategic level, to deal differently with its unfinished post-Soviet business than it did in the last three decades. It shouldnt assume an absence of goodwill on the Russian or, more generally, the post-Soviet side post-Putin, much sooner than in another 30 years, it wont be a given. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Leonid Bershidsky is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation team based in Berlin. He was previously Bloomberg Opinions Europe columnist. He recently authored a Russian translation of George Orwells 1984. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating last years insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is often in the headlines due to partisan sniping over its existence. But most of its work so far has been done behind closed doors. Former President Donald Trump, his Republican allies and conservative pundits call the probe a political witch hunt focused on punishing the former president rather than identifying what went wrong on Jan. 6, 2021. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, says some of what the panel has uncovered may be presented this spring in the form of prime-time televised hearings. 1. What has the committee done so far? According to Thompson and committee aides, the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans has interviewed more than 350 witnesses; collected more than 45,000 records, including emails and texts; received hundreds of tips; and issued 52 subpoenas, or orders to produce documents or testimony. Those subpoenas have prompted legal battles with high-profile former Trump aides or supporters including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and one-time Trump strategist Steve Bannon. (The House voted to hold each of them in criminal contempt for their refusal to cooperate; Bannon has since been indicted and is set to go on trial in July on two counts of contempt, which can potentially carry a penalty of up to a year in jail plus a fine.) The committee held a public hearing in July to hear testimony from a panel of police officers at the Capitol who came under attack on Jan. 6. Advertisement 2. Has anything interesting been revealed? Other than the fights over subpoenas, the biggest headlines generated so far have stemmed from text messages, turned over by Meadows, that he sent or received on Jan. 6 or in the days leading up to it. They include messages from members of Congress and others at the Capitol during the assault (We are under siege up here at the Capitol); from Trumps son, Donald Jr. (We need an Oval address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand); and from Fox News hosts including Laura Ingraham (Hey Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home.) 3. Who else does the committee want to hear from? Jeffrey Clark, a former top Justice Department official who sought to involve the agency in Trumps efforts to challenge the election results, has also been held in criminal contempt by the committee after refusing to answer many questions during a deposition, but the full House has not yet voted on that. Thompson has said that the committee is likely to invite the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, for an interview -- he has acknowledged speaking to Trump on Jan. 6 as the Capitol was being breached -- and that he hopes former Vice President Mike Pence will voluntarily talk to the panel too. The committee also has asked for the voluntary testimony of House Republicans Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Jim Jordan of Ohio; Perry is refusing and Jordan has not accepted as of yet, saying he has real concerns about the panels approach. The committee is also battling in court for hundreds of pages of official Trump administration records. Advertisement 4. Why the lack of cooperation? Some of those refusing to cooperate are citing Trumps claim of executive privilege, the limited right of a president to decline requests from Congress and the courts for information about internal White House talks and deliberations. (To what degree a former president can still cite executive privilege is a question largely untested in courts.) Others, such as longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone, have invoked their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Part of what could be motivating the resistance is a desire to delay the committees progress. All 435 House seats will be on the ballot in Novembers midterm election, and Democrats could lose their majority when the next Congress begins at the start of 2023. Republicans have been clear that, should they gain House control, they would shut down an investigation they view as partisan, aimed at undermining Trump and the GOP, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. 5. What does the committee hope to learn? Advertisement Thompson has said the panels work seeks to uncover the facts, tell the American people the full story of January 6th and ensure that nothing like that day ever happens again. One potentially explosive line of inquiry is whether Trump and his allies were involved in planning and inciting the march on the Capitol and subsequent attack on law enforcement officers who were protecting it. Another is what explains the 187 minutes of inaction before National Guard and additional police were sent to the Capitol. Other areas of inquiry include why the Capitol and federal and local law enforcement agencies were not better prepared; what pressure was applied to state and local officials to overturn election results; online and social media misinformation and extremist activity; and whether there were crimes, or violations of campaign finance law, in the funding of rallies and events on Jan. 6 to promote claims the presidential election had been stolen. 6. How close might this get to Trump himself? His actions and inactions are central to the timeline of Jan. 6. The committees vice chair, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming -- one of the panels two Republican members -- said on Jan. 2 that the committee has firsthand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office watching the attack on television as the assault on the Capitol occurred. She said Trump could have, at any moment, walked those very few steps into the briefing room, gone on live television, and told his supporters who were assaulting the Capitol to stop. Not doing so, she said, was a serious dereliction of duty. Cheney has also suggested that Trump corruptly sought to obstruct or impede Congresss official proceeding to count electoral votes, a reference to that days congressional certification of President Joe Bidens 2020 victory. Advertisement 7. Why is the committee dominated by Democrats? The Democrat-controlled House passed legislation to create the committee after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an outside commission, independent of Congress, modeled on the one that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Then, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to seat two of McCarthys choices for the panel, he pulled his other picks. The two Republicans Pelosi named to the panel, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, are both Trump critics who have become regular targets of attacks from within their own party. 8. What will the final product be? Thompson said on Jan. 4 that he hopes to hold public hearings starting in late March or soon thereafter and might push to hold them during televisions evening prime time so the public can have the best opportunity to hear testimony and evaluate evidence. An interim report could be released by mid-year, followed by a final report before the midterm elections in November, complete with recommendations on policy changes. Thompson and other committee members also have spoken about potential criminal referrals. Advertisement 9. What would a criminal referral entail? The committee could send the Justice Department any evidence it believes shows criminal wrongdoing. That would place the matter in the hands of Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden appointee. If committee members come upon something thats illegal or we think warrants a criminal review by some other agency, well make that referral, Thompson said. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Collecting is a core function of museums a way to preserve the present for future generations and to educate and inspire visitors with objects from the past. And yet removing artwork with the hope of returning it to its rightful owner was one of the first moves made by the new director of the National Museum of African Art. A few months after taking the reins of one of the smaller Smithsonian museums in July, Ngaire Blankenberg removed 18 Benin Kingdom Court Style works from their cases, saying their presence was harmful. I am tired of going to museums and feeling stressed about that question, she said about the mental effort of worrying whether an object was stolen or acquired unethically. I have a visceral reaction to seeing things that shouldnt be on display. I wanted to make sure that negative reaction wasnt being felt by anyone else. Advertisement Among the 39 Benin Kingdom Court Style pieces owned by the museum, the works that were taken from view are linked to the 1897 British raid of Benin City, in what is now Nigeria, when soldiers looted some 3,000 pieces of priceless art, works that eventually made their way into museum and private collections around the world. Blankenberg says she is committed to returning them to Nigeria, but that decision rests with the Smithsonians Board of Regents. Removing them from the gallery is the first step toward making all visitors feel welcome. We need to develop trust and transparency among our core constituents in order to build a 21st-century African art museum, she said. A huge impediment to that conversation is to have stuff you shouldnt have. Blankenbergs action comes as the Smithsonian completes a six-month, institutionwide examination of its collection practices that looks at this core activity from an ethical perspective. More than a dozen representatives of eight museums and centers, including the African Art, Asian Art, American History, Natural History and American Indian museums, are part of the Ethical Returns Working Group and have spent most of the year creating uniform guidelines that will be applied to the more than 155 million objects artwork, artifacts and natural science specimens held by the institutions 19 museums and research centers. The groups report is expected this month. The panel is examining past collecting standards through a moral rather than legal lens. The new guidelines will require Smithsonian museums to dig into the circumstances behind their acquisitions and make an effort to address any wrongs. Advertisement We want to make sure things are being preserved in the right place, not just our place, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III said about the review, a task he asked for in the spring as the Smithsonian dealt with the dual crises of the pandemic and the racial reckoning sparked by George Floyds murder in 2020. The review will bring the entire institution in line with the practices he put in place at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 with Bunch as its founding director. You are seeing museums catching up with people like me who wanted museums to be more community driven, Bunch said. What have we done in the past that we have to come to grips with? How do we make sure, despite our histories, that going forward we have an ethical statement we believe in? Advertisement This is a moment to say, We can be better, Bunch said. By accepting our troubled past, we can point to a better future. Questions of ownership and repatriation have been in the spotlight this year, as activists call out museums around the world for their roles in the looting of former colonized lands. But the focus on colonial-era objects is just the latest wave of scrutiny over what museums own and display. In the 1990s, advocates pressed for research into and the eventual return of works stolen by Nazis from Jewish families; in the early 2000s, Italian officials used the courts to force the return of antiquities. This fall, thousands of works from Iraqi war zones were returned, including the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet that had been on view in Washingtons Museum of the Bible. After a global investigation by media outlets including The Washington Post revealed documents linking a British dealer to looted Cambodian treasures in American museums, the Denver Art Museum announced it would return four pieces. Colonial-era acquisitions have received extra attention because of the racial reckoning that has pressed museums to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive. But experts peg the movement to 2018, when a report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron called for the permanent return of art taken from African countries without consent. That same year, the blockbuster movie Black Panther featured a heist scene that had audiences cheering and giving the movement some pop culture limelight. Advertisement Then came the death of Floyd, and protests around the country that led to the removal of Confederate statues and calls for museums to return objects that may have been acquired legally but were originally looted by colonizers. In November, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held a formal repatriation ceremony to mark the return of three works. The Met also announced an agreement with the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments for future loans and collaborations. As recently as April, the Smithsonian said it had no plans to repatriate its Benin Kingdom Court Style objects, including pieces of bronze and ivory, some of which have been in its collection for more than 50 years. Their connection to the British raid was not a secret, and many of the works provenances the written accounts of ownership from creation to present day begin with Benin Punitive Expedition, 1897. Wall text in the African Art Museums gallery recounts the details of the raid, describing it as a stark turning point in the history of the Benin kingdom, and notes that scholars have advocated for the return of the ornate bronze works. It also emphasizes the museums long collaboration with Nigerias National Commission for Museums and Monuments. Advertisement The display was meant to celebrate the royal courts rich artistic tradition of metalworks, including bronze plaques and sculptures, and ivory carvings that date to the 1300s. That historical context was not enough for Blankenberg. Museums are Eurocentric institutions, created in Europe on the basis of Enlightenment ideas that manifest in quite a racist way to the rest of the world, she said. Their DNA is problematic, but that doesnt mean they shouldnt exist. My strategy is to create a space of recognition for global Africans a place where we feel belonging, kinship and inspired by art as defined by us, she said. The looted pieces have been replaced by photographs and a sign that reads in part: We recognize the trauma, violence and loss such displays of stolen artistic and cultural heritage can inflict on the victims of those crimes, their descendants, and broader communities. Attitudes about provenance have dramatically shifted in recent years, experts say. Until recently, a curator might welcome the provenances connection to the 1897 raid because it indicated that the work had not been recently trafficked. Other pieces in the Smithsonians collection can be tracked to mid-20th-century transactions with British dealers, who might have kept the names of the previous owners off the provenances because they didnt want other dealers to know which families they came from in case they had more objects to sell. Advertisement Buyers also worked regularly with dealers and often relied on their reputations. Buyers didnt ask that many questions before agreeing to a sale, said Victoria Reed, curator for provenance at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Today, we see there is a tremendous risk to that. Another change is the emphasis on ethics, Reed said. The chain of ownership may be clear, but you want to look at the historical circumstances, the financial circumstances, the relationships involved to try to analyze questions of duress, she said. These shifts are central to the institutional review being conducted by the Smithsonians Ethical Returns Working Group. Even its name reflects the shift from a focus on legal questions to ones of ethical engagement with communities around the world. We look at past collecting practices in light of current ethical concerns, said Christine Mullen Kreamer, deputy director of the African Art Museum and a member of the working group. We are thinking about moments in history and what the conditions might have been, whether it was a raid, political instability like a civil war, and other challenges, like economic turmoil. Advertisement The new guidelines will highlight options for future stewardship, Kreamer said. They are talking about power-sharing, about joint ownership and long-term loans that will allow visitors to enjoy the beauty of the objects. The effort is turning stewardship on its head, committee members say. It is giving voice to individuals, communities and institutions that have not always had a voice, Kreamer said. Engagement with communities will be part of curatorial practice going forward. The result wont mean the emptying of the galleries at the American Indian, African Art or Asian Art museums, the officials said. Instead, decisions will be made case by case, with legal ownership balanced against ensuring the greatest exposure. For me, its about the greater good, Bunch said about the Benin works specifically. Perhaps they will be returned, or maybe they will be used to interpret the moment they represent, or even, in a larger sense, to tell the story of museums evolving. Advertisement I understand that some could argue that this is a slippery slope, Bunch continued, noting that not drawing a hard line makes some people uncomfortable. But thats a slope Im comfortable being on. Im comfortable with ambiguity. For Blankenberg, the question of legal ownership is not the central concern. The important thing is not so much this option or that option but who gets to decide, she said. Is there an equitable conversation between source communities and museums to decide what happens to the objects? Because of Smithsonian-wide staff shortages related to the regions coronavirus surge, the National Museum of African Art is open only on Saturdays and Sundays until Jan. 19. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Three wines from France highlight our recommendations this week: a lively Cotes du Rhone red, an enticingly aromatic burgundy, and a weighty sauvignon blanc-chardonnay blend from the Loire Valley. Tuscany brings us a red blend that includes two indigenous but rare grape varieties to cross off your spit-bucket list. And Australia chimes in with a classic brassy Barossa shiraz. GREAT VALUE Domaine A. Berthet Rayne Cotes du Rhone 2020 StarSolid StarSolid StarHalf StarOutline ( Excellent/Extraordinary ) Rhone Valley, France, $18 Were seeing more of this style of wine, and thank goodness: Excellent quality fruit, well-tended in the vineyard and minimally processed in the winery with little oak influence, and released less than a year after the vintage. Simple, straightforward and delicious. This CdR still packs a punch exuberant up-front fruit, with cherry and berry flavors, some wild herbs characteristic of the Rhone, and soft, ripe tannins to carry it home. Savor this now or in the next few years with hearty roasts or grilled meats. Organic. Alcohol by volume: 14.3 percent. Bottle weight: 560 grams (Average). Advertisement Imported and distributed by Elite Wines: Available in the District at the Bottle House, the Bottle Shop, Burkas Wine & Liquor, DVines, Daily 14, Gallagher & Graham Fine Spirits, Haydens Liquor, Hop, Cask & Barrel, Jefferson Liquor, Metro Wine & Spirits, Modern Liquors, New H Wine & Spirits, Old City Market and Oven, Pauls of Chevy Chase, Rodmans, Sohal Wine & Spirit, State Liquors, Uptown Market, Wine & Butter, Yes Organic Market (14th Street, Cleveland Park). Available in Maryland at 818 Market in Catonsville; Allview Liquors in Ellicott City; Annebeths, Mills Fine Wine and Spirits in Annapolis; Balduccis, Bradley Food & Beverage in Bethesda; Bo Brooks Lighthouse Liquors, Cheese Galore and More, Fleet Street Spirits, Wine Source in Baltimore; Cheers & Spirits, Fishpaws Marketplace in Arnold; Dawsons Market in Rockville; Frederick Wine House, Old Farm Liquors in Frederick; Howard Wine & Spirits in Elkridge; Kenilworth Wine & Spirits in Towson; Kings Contrivance Liquor Shop in Columbia; Knowles Station Wine & Co. in Kensington; Longmeadow Wine & Liquors in Hagerstown; Magothy Wine & Spirits in Severna Park; New Market Beer & Wine in New Market; Red: Wine, Beer & Spirits in Clarksville; Ronnies Beverage Warehouse in Forest Hill; Shawan Liquors in Hunt Valley; Sniders Super Foods in Silver Spring; Takoma Beverage Co. in Takoma Park. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Cheese, Trade Roots, Westover Market, Whino in Arlington; Balduccis (Alexandria, McLean); Branch & Vine, J. Emerson Fine Wines & Cheese, Libbie Market, Lombardy Market, Once Upon a Vine, Oxford Cellars in Richmond; Cafe Frank in Charlottesville; Classic Wines in Great Falls; Department of Beer and Wine, Planet Wine & Gourmet, Streets Market in Alexandria; Front Royal Wines in Front Royal; Mermaid Winery in Norfolk; Retros Good Eats in Williamsburg; Sisters Thai (Alexandria, Fairfax); Yiannis Wine Shop in Virginia Beach. Podere il Castellaccio Valente 2018 StarSolid StarSolid StarHalf StarOutline ( Excellent/Extraordinary ) Advertisement Tuscany, Italy, $18 This wine is labeled Vitigni autoctoni, meaning it is made with grapes indigenous to the region. The blend is 70 percent sangiovese, the red grape we associate most with Tuscany, with the rest pugnitello and foglia tonda. Try saying those three times, or even typing them once with autocorrect. According to Wine Grapes, the authoritative tome by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz, the unimaginatively named foglia tonda round leaf is a genetic offspring of sangiovese, usually used to blend with its parent to add color. The grape was nearly extinct in the 1980s and is having a bit of a revival. Pugnitello, or small fist for its small, tight clusters, was also identified and revived in the 1980s, and is valued for its deep color and rich tannins. The blend in the Valente achieves all these characteristics: Deeper ruby than many sangioveses, aromatic and well-structured. Give this wine an hour or two to decide it likes you your patience will be rewarded. ABV: 13.5 percent. BW: 550 grams (Average). Imported and distributed by Simon N Cellars: Available in the District at A. Litteri. Available in Virginia at Basic Necessities in Nellysford; the Italian Store (Lyon Village, Westover) in Arlington; Knead Wine in Middleburg; Tastings of Charlottesville, Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville; the Wine Outlet (McLean, Vienna). Domaine Sauger Cheverny 2019 StarSolid StarSolid StarHalf StarOutline ( Excellent/Extraordinary ) Advertisement Loire Valley, France, $20 While the Loire Valley is famous for its sauvignon blanc, in the small appellation of Cheverny, white wines typically include chardonnay in the blend. Domaine Saugers white is 80 percent sauvignon blanc, 20 percent chardonnay. The chardonnay softens the acidity and mineral character of the sauvignon blanc and provides a bit of heft that makes the wine quite appropriate for colder weather. ABV: 13.5 percent. Bottle Weight: 550 grams (Average). Imported by AP Wine Imports, distributed by Salveto: Available in Virginia at Balduccis (Alexandria, McLean); Bottleworks, Pucks Market in Richmond; Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean; Dominion Wine and Beer in Falls Church; Knead Wine in Middleburg; Pazzo Pomodoro in Ashburn; Planet Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria; the Wine Outlet (Great Falls, McLean, Vienna). Antonin Rodet Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2019 StarSolid StarSolid StarHalf StarOutline ( Excellent/Extraordinary ) Advertisement Burgundy, France, $24 A good basic burgundy, labeled with just the Bourgogne appellation, can be an excellent introduction to the heartland of pinot noir. It can also be like playing a lottery prices vary widely by producer (Ive seen some in the $40s), as does quality. Antonin Rodet is an old-style negociant house, meaning it typically buys wines from various producers to market under its own name. The 2019 Bourgogne shows burgundy characteristics of dark fruit, forest-floor (think autumn leaves and brush) and mushroom, with some floral aromas to give it extra lift. ABV: 13 percent. BW: 550 grams (Average). Imported and distributed by Baron Francois: Available in the District at Eye Street Cellars, Gold Ole Reliable Liquors, Imperial Wine & Spirits, Rodmans, S&S Liquor, U Street Wine & Beer; Wardman Wines. Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Shiraz 2019 StarSolid StarSolid StarSolid StarOutline ( Extraordinary ) Advertisement Barossa, Australia, $26 Spicy and juicy, big and bold, Thorn-Clarke has been slinging fine shiraz for years. The 2019 Shotfire is everything you expect from Barossa abundant red and dark fruit flavors seasoned with baking spice and smooth tannins on the finish. Theres also abundant alcohol, but the wine manages to pull it off without tasting hot. ABV: 15.5 percent. BW: 520 grams (Average). Imported and distributed by Kysela: Available in the District at Calvert Woodley, Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Magruders, Rodmans, Schneiders of Capitol Hill, Watergate Vintners & Spirits, Whole Foods Market (H Street, P Street). Available in Maryland at Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits in Annapolis; Balduccis, Beer, Wine & Co., Georgetown Square Wine and Beer in Bethesda; Beers & Cheers Too, Downtown Crown Wine and Beer, Finewine.com in Gaithersburg; Bethesda Co-Op, Captains Market in Cabin John; the Bottle Shop in Potomac; California Wine & Spirits in California; Columbia Fine Wine & Spirits in Columbia; Eddies Liquors, the Old Vine, Pinehurst Wine Shoppe, Roland Park Wines & Liquors, Wells Discount Liquors, Wine Source in Baltimore; Franklin Liquors in Ijamsville; Goskas Liquors in Severna Park; Hilltop Convenience & Liquor in New Market; Hunt Valley Wine, Liquor & Beer in Cockeysville; Locavino, Sniders Super Foods in Silver Spring; Lyndwood Square Wine and Spirits in Elkridge; Maple Lawn Wine & Spirits in Fulton; McHenry Beverage Shoppe in McHenry; Mt. Airy Liquors in Mt. Airy; Nicks of Calvert in Prince Frederick; Old Farm Liquors in Frederick; River Hill Wine & Spirits in Clarksville; Silesia Liquors in Fort Washington; Town Center Market in Riverdale Park; Village Beer & Fine Wine in Rockville; Wine Bin in Ellicott City; Wine Loft in Pikesville; Wine Merchant in Lutherville. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Cheese, Pentagon City Wine Merchants in Arlington; Balduccis, Whole Foods Market in Alexandria; Basic Necessities in Nellysford; the Caboose Wine & Cheese in Ashland; Classic Wines in Great Falls; Costco (Fairfax, Pentagon City, Sterling); Earlybirds Bottle Shop in Poquoson; Foods of All Nations, Rio Hill Wine & Beer in Charlottesville; J. Emerson Fine Wines & Cheese, Oxford Cellars in Richmond; Kroger (various locations); Moms Apple Pie in Round Hill; Specials Wine Seller in Kilmarnock; Wegmans (various locations); Wine Mill in Winchester; Woodstock Cafe & Shoppes in Woodstock. Availability information is based on distributor records. Wines might not be in stock at every listed store and might be sold at additional stores. Prices are approximate. Check wine-searcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor. More from Food: GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load correction An earlier version of the obituary of Virginia Saba incorrectly reported her date of death as Nov. 11, 2021. She died Nov. 20. The story has been updated. Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia. LaVerne Gill, journalist, pastor Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The Rev. LaVerne Gill, 74, a Washington journalist, University of the District of Columbia professor and a United Church of Christ pastor, died Oct. 30 at a hospital in Reston, Va. The cause was heart ailments, said her husband, Tepper Gill. Rev. Gill was born LaVerne McCain in Washington. From 1985 to 1994, she was president of McCain Media, which published a weekly newspaper covering politics and community affairs in Washingtons Black community. She also produced programs for radio and television, provided on-air commentary and wrote books. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the staff of Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), a business teacher at UDC and a budget analyst at the Federal Reserve Board. From 1999 to 2008, she was a teacher and pastor at the Webster Township United Church of Christ in Michigan. She later returned to the Washington area and lived in Reston. Virginia Saba, nurse, professor Virginia Saba, 95, a U.S. Public Health Service nurse from 1963 to 1985 and a professor at Georgetown Universitys nursing school from 1985 to 2011, died Nov. 20 at a hospital in Indianapolis, where she was attending a professional conference. Advertisement She suffered complications of injuries sustained in an accidental fall, said Caroline Scully, a niece and executor of her estate. Dr. Saba was born Virginia Joseph in Adams, Mass., moved to the Washington area in 1963 and was a resident of Arlington, Va. She also taught at the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., from 1994 to 2014. She developed a computer-based system of standardized nursing terminology and was the chief executive of a nursing informatics company. James Morton, Foreign Service officer James Morton, 84, a Foreign Service officer from 1964 until he retired in 1987 and who had served as a political affairs officer in postings including in Europe, the Pacific and Central Asia, died Nov. 19 at his home in Eastport, Maine. The cause was a stroke, said his wife, Colleen Morton. Mr. Morton was born in Rockford, Ill. In retirement, he was a Foreign Service consultant. He moved to Maine from Silver Spring, Md., in 2012. From staff reports GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Burton Lustine, auto dealer Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Burton Lustine, 87, the president of the Lustine Automotive Group with car dealerships throughout the Washington area, died Oct. 28 at a hospital in La Jolla, Calif. The cause was heart disease, said Janelle Straszheim, the personal representative of his estate. Mr. Lustine, a resident of Potomac, Md., was born in University Park, Md. He had a second home in California. In the 1960s, he joined his father, Philip, in the family auto business, which the elder Mr. Lustine had founded in 1923. Burton Lustine expanded the operation, presiding over Lustine Toyota, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and other automotive operations. William Spaulding, D.C. Council member William Spaulding, 97, a Democratic member of the D.C. Council for 12 years who had also taught at Howard University, the University of the District of Columbia and in the D.C. public schools, died Nov. 1 at a hospital in Lanham, Md. The cause was heart ailments, said a daughter, Deirdre Spaulding-Yeoman. Advertisement Mr. Spaulding, a District resident, was born in Hallsboro, N.C. He taught mechanical drawing in the D.C. schools from 1947 to 1952 and at Howard from 1950 to 1960. He also served as an engineer at the National Security Agency from 1952 to 1974. He was elected to the D.C. Council from Ward 5 in 1974 and served until 1986. He helped draft legislation that established UDC, where he later taught. His community service work included efforts to support the reintegration of prison inmates into society. Robert Toth, aerospace engineer Robert Toth, 89, a standards engineer who was the founder of R.B. Toth Associates, which provided advice and guidance on international standards for organizations in aerospace and other businesses, died Nov. 23 at his home in Alexandria. The cause was leukemia, said a son, Michael Toth. Mr. Toth was born in Charleston, W.Va., and worked early in his career for RCA, the Chrysler Corp. and Martin Marietta. He came to the Washington area in 1975 as the founder and president of the Aerospace Industries Association. He founded R.B. Toth Associates in 1981. His son took over the business in 2008. From staff reports GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Stephen Crout, music director, conductor Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Stephen Crout, 77, who founded the Washington Concert Opera in 1986 and served as music director of the Washington Ballet from 1989 to 2001, died Nov. 23 at a hospital in Washington. The cause was an abdominal tumor, said his husband, Peter Russell. Mr. Crout was born in Elmira, N.Y., and moved to the Washington area from New York City in 1980 to join the music staff of the Washington National Opera. He later became chorus master and chief of its music staff. He led the Washington Concert Opera until 2001. George Bolling, Army colonel George Bolling, 81, a retired Army colonel who served in combat roles during the war in Vietnam and retired in 1985 as a signal officer assigned on missions for the White House, died Nov. 15 at a hospital in Frederick, Md. The cause was respiratory failure, said his brother, Frank Bolling. Advertisement Col. Bolling was born in Kingsport, Tenn., and joined the Army in 1962. On his Army retirement, he held civilian communications jobs with Comsat and MCI. He had lived in Northern Virginia before settling in Frederick. Patricia Calkins, political staffer, volunteer Patricia Calkins, 92, a volunteer in the altar guild and the thrift shop at All Saints Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase, Md., died Nov. 24 at her home in Chevy Chase. The cause was respiratory failure, said a daughter, Carolyn Calkins. Mrs. Calkins was born Patricia Painton in Elmira, N.Y., and had lived in the Washington area for 68 years. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and she was a contributor to animal charities including the Humane Rescue Alliance. From staff reports GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Russian steps to stoke tensions over Ukraine threaten the prospects for a breakthrough in upcoming crisis talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. The real question is whether Russia is serious about diplomacy, Blinken told reporters ahead of a series of meetings next week between American, European and Russian officials about what the Biden administration says is Moscows planning for a potential invasion of Ukraine, including the deployment of arms and tens of thousands of troops along the countrys border with its neighbor. If theyre going to bear fruit, if theyre going to show real progress, that will require de-escalation, he said of the discussions. Its very hard to make actual progress in any of these areas in an atmosphere of escalation and threat, with a gun pointed to Ukraines head. Advertisement Blinkens remarks reflect the formidable challenges the Biden administration and its European allies face as they seek a peaceful resolution to the standoff over Ukraine. In recent weeks, President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have traded threats over what Washington says is Moscows ambition to dominate Ukraine and what Russia alleges is NATOs attempt to undermine Russian security. U.S. and European leaders have promised to jointly impose massive consequences in the event of a Russian invasion, potentially including restricting Russias access to the global financial system. But the situation has also exposed some differences among NATO allies, including on how Europes energy needs and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will bring natural gas from Russia to Germany, should figure in a potential response. Blinken spoke following talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whose newly sworn-in government is a key American counterpart in attempting to defuse the mounting crisis. Advertisement Russias pressure on Ukraine has presented the first major foreign policy challenge for the new German government, a coalition between the center-left Social Democrats, Greens and liberals. While Chancellor Olaf Scholz has echoed U.S. promises of a severe response, he has held back from using the newly completed gas pipeline as leverage. The 765-mile long pipeline, which will have the capacity to pump 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe each year, is currently awaiting regulatory approval. Speaking after a European Union summit in December, Scholz said the decision over its inauguration would be apolitical and stressed it was a private project, an oft-repeated line of his predecessor Angela Merkel. While Baerbock, the co-leader of Germanys Greens party, had espoused a harder line toward Russia on the campaign trail and her opposition to the pipeline project, her position since taking office has been more muted. Blinken, who has defended the Biden administrations decision to waive sanctions on the company developing the pipeline, appeared to suggest Germany would not permit the project to go forward should Putin send Russian forces into Ukraine, as he did in 2014. Advertisement As I said, its not operational and from our perspective, its very hard to see gas flowing through that pipeline, for it to become operational, if Russia renews its aggression on Ukraine, he said. Baerbock however did not confirm that suggestion, making reference only to Germanys preference for diplomacy and unspecified measures that might follow Russian aggression. We agreed on this together, with our European partners, that we take effective measures together with our European partners should Russia use energy as a weapon or should it continues its aggressive acts against Ukraine, she said. But let me underline the following, she continued. At present, every day, every hour, every minute, we are doing everything we can in order to avoid further escalation, further aggressions and a breach of international and European law. Morris reported from Berlin. John Hudson and Paul Sonne in Washington contributed to this report GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell follows through on his desire to hold an abbreviated impeachment trial without witnesses as many in his party would prefer he will be testing the limits of the impeachment trial clause of the Constitution. Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer has declared that a trial without witnesses (or perhaps even any documents) would amount to a coverup. Worries about a rubber-stamp trial are one reason House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed submitting the articles of impeachment. If such a sham trial comes to pass, is there any remedy? In fact, there is a stronger case than many think that the Supreme Court has the power to review impeachment trials, to ensure that Senate procedures meet a basic level of fairness. The only Supreme Court decision addressing the Senate impeachment trial clause is Nixon v. United States (1993) which has nothing to do with Richard Nixon. When Walter L. Nixon, a federal judge in Mississippi, was impeached in 1989 and removed from office, he sued the United States, the secretary of state and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, arguing that the Senate had not conducted a proper trial as required by the Constitution. Advertisement The court, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist writing for the majority, ruled against him. It concluded that how the Senate conducted impeachment trials was essentially a political question, because the Constitution gives that body the sole power to try impeached officials. That meant the dispute was, in the legal jargon, nonjusticiable. But other justices namely Byron White, Harry Blackmun and David Souter argued that, while Nixon deserved to lose, it was possible that one day the Senate would conduct such an unfair impeachment trial that the courts would be obliged to hear a case if an aggrieved party sought a judicial remedy. Thats precisely the situation we may face today. In the events that led to his impeachment, Nixon was convicted of crimes (two counts of making false statements to a grand jury, related to an attempt to interfere in the investigation of a friends son) and sentenced to prison. But he refused to resign and continued to collect his judicial salary behind bars. The House therefore impeached Nixon and sent articles to the Senate to conduct a trial. Under rules established by the Senate to handle impeachments, Nixons case was referred to a committee of senators to receive evidence and take testimony. After four days of hearings and 10 witnesses, the committee presented the full Senate with a transcript of its proceedings and a report. The House managers and Nixon submitted briefs to the full Senate; after oral arguments from the Senate floor, a personal appeal from Nixon and questions from several senators, the full Senate voted to remove him from office. He appealed, claiming that the Senate had not really tried him: Delegating so much work to a small committee was a shirking of its duty, he argued, and not what the founders had intended. The Supreme Courts vote against Nixon was 9 to 0. But White and Souter filed concurring opinions (Blackmun joined Whites) that contemporary courts might draw on, should the Senate vote, after a trial thats clearly perfunctory, to keep Trump in office. Advertisement As the court noted in Nixon, the Constitution lays out several indispensable elements of an impeachment trial: The Senate shall be on Oath or Affirmation; if its the president whos on trial, the Chief Justice shall preside; and conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the members present. Beyond this, the terms of how the Senate tries an impeachment are left to its discretion. But there are surely limits, White, Blackmun and Souter argued. What if the trial were manifestly bogus? The issue had come up in the oral argument for the case. White asked the solicitor general (Kenneth Starr, as it happens) if, after the House sent over articles of impeachment, the Senate could, without any procedure whatsoever, unanimously find the accused guilty on the grounds that he was a bad guy. The government replied that, yes, the Senate indeed had that latitude. That answer troubled several justices. While conceding that it was extremely unlikely that the Senate would abuse its discretion and insist on a procedure that could not be deemed a trial by reasonable judges, White wrote, the scenario was hardly unimaginable and would provide grounds for judicial review. Were the Senate, for example, to adopt the practice of automatically entering a judgment of conviction whenever articles of impeachment were delivered from the House it is quite clear that the Senate will have failed to try impeachments, White wrote Advertisement If the Senate were to convict upon a coin-toss, Justice Souter added, or upon a summary determination that an officer of the United States was simply a bad guy, judicial interference might well be appropriate. In such circumstances, he wrote, the Senates action might be so far beyond the scope of its constitutional authority, and the consequent impact on the Republic so great, as to merit a judicial response despite the prudential concerns that would ordinarily counsel silence. McConnell has said he does not intend to be impartial and in fact will work, lockstep, with the White House during the trial. That would violate his oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws. If he dispenses with witnesses and speedily steers the outcome to the one desired by the White House, that would reduce the Senate proceeding to the kind of summary determination that the three justices warned about. Collectively, such actions could be seen by reasonable judges as seriously threatening the integrity of the results the standard Souter suggested should trigger judicial review. Advertisement Since the Constitution grants the chief justice the privilege of presiding over the trial, he ought to have and in my view does have, under proper constitutional interpretation considerable power to steer the Senate toward reasonable standards for weighing evidence and rendering judgments. He cannot and should not be a potted plant. The current Senate rules, however, reduce the chief justices role to one of subservience and ceremony; even his rulings on admissibility of evidence can be overridden by the Senate. That cannot possibly be what the founders intended. Yes, the founders provided that the House would have sole power over impeachments and the Senate sole power over trials of impeachment. But the Constitution also grants all legislative powers to the House and Senate, and still the Supreme Court exercises routine judicial review over laws. If McConnell and his Republican colleagues insist on setting rules that turn the trial into a farce, then the matter would be ripe for judicial review, as outlined by the various justices in Nixon v. United States. The House through the speaker or the impeachment managers could take the matter to court. Twitter: @jimrobenalt GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load When John Dean testified in June 1973 before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities for a full week the nation was riveted. Here was a young former counsel to the president, telling the country that he had warned Richard Nixon that there was a cancer growing on the presidency and that if the cancer was not removed, the president himself would be killed by it. All three major networks carried his testimony. But for all the drama of Deans appearance, it did not push the public to conclude that Nixon had to go. The Watergate hearings captured a huge TV audience 80 percent of Americans tuned in, by some estimates and began the process of corroding Nixons credibility. But for months after Dean spoke, public opinion, while deeply critical of Nixon, remained opposed to his impeachment and removal from office. It took a year of further revelations, culminating in the court-ordered release of a tape on which Nixon was heard ordering his chief of staff to tell the CIA to kill the FBIs Watergate investigation, to push public opinion solidly toward impeachment. Democrats hope that the public hearings that began this past week will end with voters including a substantial number of Republicans concluding that Trump deserves removal. But there are reasons for skepticism. What we have today is Watergate in reverse: The smoking gun has already been produced, in the form of the rough transcript of President Trumps July 25 conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Witnesses subsequently corroborated the administrations efforts to pressure Ukraine to dig up dirt on former vice president Joe Biden. In short, the TV hearings are coming at the end of a substantial investigative process, not the beginning. That difference, combined with the deeper polarization of American politics and media, makes it unlikely, barring a true bombshell, that the hearings will significantly move public opinion. To be sure, Nixon had further to fall than Trump does. He entered his second term in a far stronger position than Trump entered his first: Nixon won every state except Massachusetts and boasted an impressive 62 percent approval rating in November 1972, according to Gallup. The Watergate break-in had happened in June 1972, but, although The Washington Posts Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein wrote relentlessly about the scandal, Americans were largely unmoved. They were focused on ending the war in Vietnam with honor, a pledge Nixon made in his campaign that year. Advertisement Although the timeline gets compressed in our collective memory, the drip, drip, drip of revelations about Watergate came over a full two years. The trial of the Watergate burglars arrived in January 1973 the same month the United States reached a settlement with Vietnam, in Paris (which caused Nixons approval rating to hit 67 percent). The trial left U.S. District Judge John Sirica and many others wondering if higher-ups were being protected. In early February, the Senate voted unanimously to investigate campaign activities from the 1972 election. In April, Nixon accepted the resignations of two of his top advisers and his attorney general, and he fired his White House counsel, Dean. Then came Deans testimony, a genuine spectacle (attended by John Lennon and Yoko Ono). That hearing was detailed and shocking, but no one came forward to corroborate Deans story. Unlike in the case of the Ukraine whistleblower, it was his word against the president and all his men. Dean, however, had included in his 60,000-word written statement his suspicion that he had been taped in one meeting with Nixon. He had no idea there was a vast taping system in place; few did. But Alexander Butterfield, a presidential aide, confirmed the existence of the system two weeks later, and the fight for the tapes was on. Advertisement Deans testimony was not the turning point some recall. While Nixons approval rating fell to 31 percent by early August, only 26 percent of Americans thought the president should be impeached and forced to resign; a hefty 61 percent were still opposed. In October, the battle for the tapes came to a head. The president ordered his attorney general, Elliot Richardson, to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox after Cox refused a compromise over the production of the tapes. Richardson declined and resigned, as did his deputy, leaving the solicitor general, Robert Bork, to carry out the presidents directive. For the first time, calls for Nixons impeachment resounded in Congress. (And within weeks, Nixons lawyers had to admit that there was a significant gap in one of the few tapes provided to Sirica.) Then in March 1974, as the House considered impeachment, a grand jury indicted seven top administration officials, including former attorney general John Mitchell. Even at this point, however, backing for impeachment hovered stubbornly at 38 percent. The fatal blow came at the end of July 1974 a full year after Dean testified, and two years after the break-in when the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over his tapes. The smoking gun tape made the difference. Finally, public opinion polls showed that a majority of Americans, 57 percent, favored impeachment and removal. Nixon resigned about two weeks later. Contrast that extended narrative with the current situation. The whistleblower has already brought to light what by any measure should be considered a smoking gun transcript. Private testimony and now, public testimony by multiple officials has added firsthand accounts of Trumps conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart. They have also added details about the actions of the presidents personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani; the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland; and others in an irregular diplomatic channel to further the presidents private political agenda. The hearings appear likely to flesh out a narrative that is already widely known. Advertisement The fact is that the public knows what Trump did, and many voters think it was wrong. But Trump supporters, at least so far, simply dont care even with the attempt to solicit foreign interference in U.S. elections all but confirmed. (Just before the public hearings, 94 percent of Republicans opposed impeachment, although a small majority of voters, 51 percent, supported it; Republican support will be necessary to change minds in the Senate.) And unlike in the 1970s, the public is now consuming its impeachment news through highly partisan outlets, so fewer people are having their assumptions challenged. The lesson from the Watergate TV hearings is that public reaction to presidential scandals tends to be measured; it takes repeated body blows to weaken a presidents credibility to the point that impeachment becomes acceptable to a significant majority. Given that the House expects to vote on impeachment before the end of this year, with a Senate trial in the first quarter of next year, theres limited time for new or additional revelations to emerge that would shock the nation into the conviction that removal is necessary. In which case public opinion will remain much as it is; the House will impeach; and the Senate will not convict. Trump and many of the politicians who supported him will then face the voters in the fall. The public is rightly interested in Watergate parallels today, but right now its the differences between the two sets of hearings that are the most striking. Twitter: @jimrobenalt GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load President Biden will deliver a speech in Atlanta next week on the urgency of passing voting rights bills as Senate Republicans block legislation and GOP-led states rush to impose new limits that would restrict ballot access. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The White House announced Wednesday that Biden would travel to Georgia on Tuesday and speak about the need to protect the constitutional right to vote and the integrity of our elections from corrupt attempts to strip law-abiding citizens of their fundamental freedoms and allow partisan state officials to undermine vote counting processes. Vice President Harris, who has been the administrations point person on voting rights, will join the president. Democratic lawmakers and liberal activists have called on Biden to prioritize voting rights since he entered office, citing concerns that Republican-controlled legislatures across the country have attempted to pass more restrictive laws. Advertisement Georgias GOP-led legislature last year passed a new law that among other things shrinks the window for voters to request mail ballots and limits the number of voting drop boxes. Biden narrowly won Georgia in 2020 and the state is crucial to Democratic political hopes this year, with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) facing reelection and Stacey Abrams, who has worked to boost voter turnout, making another bid for governor. State Republicans have pressed ahead on passing those laws while echoing former president Donald Trumps baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. In the U.S. Senate, two bills the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act remain stalled as Republicans have been nearly unified in opposing the measures. The John Lewis bill seeks to empower the Justice Department and federal courts to review state election laws in some cases, before they take effect restoring provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that have been struck down by the Supreme Court in a series of decisions since 2013. Advertisement The other measure would make it easier to vote, mandating national minimum standards for early voting and vote-by-mail, and establishing Election Day as a national holiday. Theres no question, objectively, Republicans have not once, but four times obstructed basic legislation that should not be partisan, but is about upholding our Constitution, as they simultaneously attack the most fundamental American right: the right to vote, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. Last month, Biden decried the efforts to limit ballot access and vowed to push for passage of the measures ahead of midterm elections. Ive never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote. Never, Biden said at South Carolina State Universitys 2021 fall commencement ceremony. He added that the this battle is not over. Were going to keep up the fight until we get it done and youre going to keep up the fight and we need your help badly. Advertisement Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told colleagues Monday that the chamber would vote no later than the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Jan. 17, on changing Senate rules if Republicans continue to block voting rights legislation. The announcement of the planned deadline represented Schumers strongest endorsement yet of trying to muscle through legislation that has been stymied because of Senate rules requiring a 60-vote threshold. Biden has faced pressure to support scrapping the filibuster rule. However, two Democrats Sens. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) have resisted efforts to modify or eliminate the 60-vote requirement. Psaki said Wednesday that Biden, who served as a senator from Delaware for 36 years and is a proponent of the institution, wants to see the Senate function under its own rules but is open to modifications. This is reflective of the fact that while he is a creature of the Senate and somebody who respects the history of the Senate, he wants the Senate to function and he wants to move toward and is open to rules changes that will help the Senate function, she said. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load When President Biden announced coronavirus vaccination requirements for private employers and health-care facilities in November, he said the rules would help get people back to work and increase immunization rates nationwide. Too many people remain unvaccinated for us to get out of this pandemic for good, he said at the time. The Supreme Court on Friday will review two challenges to the administrations vaccine policies affecting nearly 100 million workers. Most already have made the choice to be vaccinated, but Biden has said the numbers are not good enough. One measure requires large private companies to implement a vaccination requirement or impose a masking and weekly testing regimen. The second applies to health-care workers at facilities that receive certain federal funding. Together, the cases test a signature aspect of the White Houses response to the pandemic that has killed more than 800,000 people in the United States. On Jan. 13, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a vaccination-or-testing requirement for large employers. Heres what to know. (Video: Julie Yoon/The Washington Post) The Supreme Court must decide whether to block the requirements while legal battles continue, or to let them be implemented during that time. Arguments will stream live on The Washington Posts homepage, starting at 10 a.m. Advertisement Heres an overview of the cases, the history and the issues that the justices will consider Friday. Can the U.S. government force private companies and health-care facilities to require vaccinations for their workers? The federal government has never before tried to impose a vaccine-or-test policy on U.S. companies and their workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the authority to issue emergency workplace rules for up to six months to protect employees exposed to grave danger from substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or from new hazards. The Biden administration says that gives the agency not only the authority but also the responsibility to act. It gives companies a choice: Employers with 100 or more workers must either require all employees to be vaccinated or permit unvaccinated employees to provide weekly negative coronavirus tests and wear face coverings to work on-site. Advertisement Employers must provide paid time off to get vaccinated, but they are not required to pay for coronavirus testing. President Biden on Sept. 16 said coronavirus vaccines will help with the economic recovery and save lives. (Video: The Washington Post) The rules were set to take effect Jan. 4, but OSHA pushed back the date in response to the litigation and said it would not immediately issue citations for those not in compliance. The other policy from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires vaccinations for more than 17 million health-care workers at 76,000 facilities that receive federal money tied to those programs. The administration points to federal law that gives the secretary of health and human services the ability to impose requirements necessary for the health and safety of patients. For decades, it says, the secretary has had authority to require participating health-care providers to establish programs for the prevention and control of infectious diseases within the facilities. Advertisement Who is challenging the vaccination policies and why? A coalition of business and religious groups and Republican-led states say the rules for private companies represent a vast overreach on the part of the executive branch. They say a federal agency cannot take such a sweeping step without specific authorization by Congress and that the policy will lead to worker shortages and major costs for employers. Any delay, according to the Biden administration, will cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day. The vaccine mandate for health-care workers, opponents say, is plainly unlawful. Like the challengers in the OSHA case, the states say a requirement with such vast economic and political significance must be clearly authorized by Congress. Beyond that, they say the HHS secretary did not make proper findings about the mandates effectiveness and why the order did not go through proper implementation channels. They say they will be hurt if the requirement increases staffing shortages at a critical time. Have workplace safety requirements previously been issued on an emergency basis? Advertisement OSHA, the federal safety agency, has used its emergency authority infrequently after mixed results in court in the 1970s and 80s in response to rules to regulate exposure to benzene, asbestos and certain pesticides. The term grave danger is not defined in statute, and courts also have not provided clear guidance about the term. In 1984, for instance, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked emergency rules to limit exposure in the workplace to the carcinogen asbestos. The court said that gravity of danger is a policy decision committed to OSHA, not to the courts, but still rejected the policy because OSHA had not sufficiently supported its claims about potential deaths due to exposure. Hasnt the Supreme Court upheld vaccination requirements for college campuses and those imposed by local officials? Advertisement Yes, the justices have generally been supportive of vaccination requirements by local governments and universities. For instance, it allowed New York and Maine to mandate vaccinations for their health-care workers. But the court has also been skeptical when it comes to federal agency power generally, and with respect to the pandemic. The justices, for instance, rejected an eviction moratorium first imposed by the Trump administration and extended by Biden because it said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its authority. What have lower courts said about Bidens policies? They are divided. Soon after the administration announced the rules for private companies in November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit blocked enforcement of the policy. But lawsuits sprung up around the nation and were consolidated for review by a different court. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit dissolved the 5th Circuits stay, saying the rules could go into effect. Advertisement Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton issued a lengthy opinion related to a procedural question in which he said the policy should be blocked. Sutton called the rules a blunt national vaccine mandate that extends far beyond workplace-specific hazards. While OSHA has the authority to set temporary standards, the judge said there is nothing temporary about vaccination because it cannot be undone. But two other 6th Circuit judges called the policy an important step in curtailing the transmission of a deadly virus that has killed over 800,000 people in the United States, brought our healthcare system to its knees, forced businesses to shut down for months on end, and cost hundreds of thousands of workers their jobs. Opponents then asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The lower courts also were divided on the health-care worker mandate. Advertisement A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit dismissed a request from Florida to stop the requirement. But a district judge in Missouri stopped the rules, and the 5th Circuit agreed with a challenge from Louisiana. At the Supreme Court, a coalition of Republican-led states said the rules should be blocked. The mandate would force millions of workers to choose between losing their jobs or complying with an unlawful federal mandate, the filing said. But for the district courts preliminary injunction, last years healthcare heroes would have become this years unemployed. But the Biden administration said its authority is clear. It is difficult to imagine a more paradigmatic health and safety condition than a requirement that workers at hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities take the step that most effectively prevents transmission of a deadly virus to vulnerable patients, wrote Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar. What about the Supreme Courts own coronavirus policies for the justices and court visitors? Advertisement The courthouse has been closed to the public since March 2020. All nine justices have been vaccinated and received boosters. Justice Amy Coney Barrett had covid before she was confirmed to the high court in September 2020. After returning to in-person oral arguments this past fall, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh participated in some from home after he tested positive. The justices have not required lawyers arguing cases and credentialed reporters observing the proceedings to be vaccinated. But they must have received negative test results and be masked. The health-care worker cases are Biden v. Missouri and Becerra v. Louisiana. The OSHA cases are National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor and Ohio v. Department of Labor. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Former vice president Richard B. Cheney visited the House floor on Thursday and patiently waited to greet more than a dozen members waiting to shake his hand. They were all Democrats. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The man who was once portrayed by the Democratic Party as the dark villain of the Bush administration, responsible for failed wars, ruinous energy policies and torturing Americas enemies in a betrayal of the nations values has found common ground with his onetime foes over Jan. 6. Cheney and his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) are among the few Republicans who have joined Democrats in condemning last years attack on the Capitol as an assault on democracy and blaming former president Donald Trump for that deadly day. The House observed a moment of silence on Jan. 6 to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection. (Video: The Washington Post) They were the only two Republicans on the House floor Thursday for an event to mark the anniversary of the attack, but they were hardly alone. Advertisement One by one, Democrats put aside their fierce and lasting policy divides with the Cheneys to thank them for condemning the attack and Trumps continued effort to undermine the 2020 presidential election results with his false claims of fraud. Ahead of the chambers noon session, Rep. Adam B. Schiff huddled at length with the two Cheneys Liz is one of two Republicans who serve alongside the California Democrat on the committee investigating Jan. 6. Schiff, who knows what its like to be detested by the other party, told the former vice president and onetime Wyoming congressman, Its good to see you again. Following a brief moment of silence and remarks by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), several Democratic congresswomen embraced Liz Cheney. At several points she introduced her colleagues who serve alongside her on the Jan. 6 committee, including Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), to the former vice president by simply saying, This is my father. . . . This is dad. Advertisement It was great coming back. I think Liz is doing a hell of a job, and Im here to support her, Cheney told reporters upon leaving the House floor. Asked to reflect on Republican leaders decision not to show up on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the attack, Cheney said he could no longer recognize the party he helped lead as House minority whip and then vice president. Its not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for 10 years, he said. The exiling of the Cheneys by Republicans and the welcoming embrace they have received from Democrats stands as one of the most stark examples of the Republican Partys transformation from the pro-big-business, hawkish military era of the past to one where fealty to Trump and his nationalistic worldview drive the agenda. Neither Cheney has moderated their positions on any number of conservative issues they have held over the years, but their determination to take on Trump and call out fellow Republicans is more than enough for Democrats. Advertisement Liz Cheney was in the chamber during the insurrection and became one of the only House Republicans to pointedly blame Trump for instigating the most violent attack on the Capitol since British forces set it on fire in 1814. Her vote to impeach Trump and continued outspokenness angered many of her GOP colleagues who remained aligned with Trump or feared blaming him for the attack. That led to her being kicked out of her leadership spot as conference chair in May after she said she would continue to speak out against the former president. When her father left office in 2009, it was hard to imagine what would cause him to be rejected by Republicans and embraced by Democrats. During his time as vice president, his relationship with Democrats was marked by bitter disagreements, particularly over the Iraq War, that often went beyond policy disagreements and into questions of character and patriotism. Advertisement In 2007, when Democrats took the House majority, Cheney had become such a political boogeyman to liberals that more than two dozen House Democrats co-sponsored a resolution of impeachment against the vice president for his role in the Iraq War. House leaders had to maneuver to squelch debate on the matter. Pelosi and Cheney had an acrimonious relationship of their own. Cheney said in 2007 that if Pelosi was successful at preventing a U.S. troop increase in Iraq it would validate the al-Qaeda strategy. Pelosi demanded an apology, saying Cheney had questioned her patriotism. He declined and said he didnt question her patriotism, just her judgment. Those tensions didnt soften after Cheney left office, with Pelosi saying in 2014 that the former vice president was responsible for the use of torture during the Bush administrations War on Terror as the Senate debated whether to declassify a report on the subject. Advertisement Thats what I believe, she told CNN. I think hes proud of it. On Thursday, those old tensions were put aside as they focused on their shared feelings about Jan. 6. Well, we were very honored by his being there, said Pelosi, who held Cheneys hand when speaking to him on the floor earlier in the day. He has the right to be on the floor as a former member of the House, and I was happy to welcome him back and to congratulate him on the courage of his daughter. Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) also applauded Cheney for his daughters courage during a lengthier conversation in which both men were overheard talking about other news of day such as testing frequently for the coronavirus. I told him, thank you for being here, he said. What it reflects is the great respect that we have for Liz Cheney. I mean, hes her father, he was the vice president, but I think you saw the why because, first of all, we appreciated the fact that hes here supporting his daughter in what is otherwise a very significant minority position in the Republican Party, which is, which is very sad. Advertisement The former vice presidents embrace of Pelosis leadership on Jan. 6 matters is jarring for veterans of the Senate, where for eight years he served as the president of that chamber and frequently visited with GOP senators to plot strategy. Back in 2004, at a time when Sen. Patrick J. Leahy and other Democrats accused Cheneys old company, Halliburton, of profiting off the Iraq War, the Vermont Democrat approached the vice president on the Senate floor. Hey Dick, Leahy recalled saying in an interview Thursday, why dont you talk to the Democratic side? Cheney wasnt amused. F--- yourself, he told Leahy before complaining about the Democrats recent comments about him. But like for many Democrats, Cheneys public support for his daughters outspoken anti-Trump vows has softened Leahys feelings toward the elder Cheney. Advertisement He said that the younger Cheneys actions remind him of the stories he heard when he first arrived in Washington in 1975. Im very proud of Liz Cheney. And what I couldnt help but think of is, when I first came here, and hearing from, talking with Hugh Scott and Barry Goldwater. One was the Republican leader, one was Mr. Conservative, and how they had to go down and tell Richard Nixon, you have to leave, said Leahy, now third in line to the presidency as Senate president pro tempore, noting the roles the two late GOP senators played in persuading Nixon to resign as president. They thought it was a thing they had to do, said Leahy, who watched Liz Cheneys media appearances Thursday morning. And thats what I was thinking of, more than anything else. Mike DeBonis contributed to this report. CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Richard B. Cheneys old company. It is Halliburton, not Haliburton. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load On the Saturday in November 2020 when Joe Biden was declared president-elect, Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno took to Twitter to congratulate Biden and his running mate and to urge his conservative friends to accept the results of the presidential election. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight He wrote that there was probably some fraud and illegal votes cast, but concluded, Was it anywhere near enough to change the result, no. But just over a year later, Moreno now a candidate in Ohios Republican Senate primary has deleted the tweets calling for unity and, in a new campaign ad, looks directly into the camera and declares, President Trump says the election was stolen, and hes right. Just generally, the election was stolen, Moreno said in an interview with The Washington Post. Theres no question about that. Moreno is emblematic of the modern Republican Party, echoing former president Donald Trumps baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen a position that has become the unofficial litmus test for good standing within the GOP. Advertisement As the nation prepares Thursday to mark the anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Trump has pushed a majority of his party into a full embrace of his false election fraud charges, while simultaneously leading the ongoing efforts to whitewash the violence carried out that day by a pro-Trump mob. At least 163 Republicans who have embraced Trumps false claims are running for statewide positions that would give them authority over the administration of elections, according to a Post tally. The list includes 69 candidates for governor in 30 states, as well as 55 candidates for the U.S. Senate, 13 candidates for state attorney general and 18 candidates for secretary of state in places where that person is the states top election official. At least five candidates for the U.S. House were at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots, including Jason Riddle of New Hampshire, whom federal prosecutors have accused of chugging wine inside the building that day. At a rally on Oct. 9 in Des Moines, former president Donald Trump continued to unleash a litany of false and unproven claims of voter fraud in 2020. (Video: Adriana Usero/The Washington Post) Trump is absolutely the most influential figure in the party, Riddle said in an interview, but he doesnt expect an endorsement from Trump because it would be too controversial. He wants some distance from the rioters, he said, adding: Id love it if he ran again. Advertisement Riddle added that if hes sentenced for Jan. 6 crimes, Ill run from jail. It will give me something to do. And of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump last January for inciting an insurrection, each has received at least one primary challenger. Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.), for example, faces at least 10 primary opponents in his reelection bid and was censured by his own state party, which also did not invite him to a major Republican conference in his hometown of Myrtle Beach. Others, like Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), have since announced they dont plan to seek reelection. Another Trump critic, Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), was ousted from her leadership post and replaced by a Trump loyalist; she is now vice chair of the House select committee examining the Jan. 6 insurrection. Advertisement Daniel Ziblatt, a professor at Harvard University and the co-author of How Democracies Die, said that many Americans expected Jan. 6 to be a breaking point, where Republicans would finally have an excuse to separate themselves from Trumpism. But, in fact, what weve seen is very much the opposite, in which a lot Republican politicians have begun to think it is in their interest electorally to support the lie, Ziblatt said. Another striking illustration of the Republican Partys evolution can be seen in its Young Guns program, which identifies candidates in competitive House districts who have shown they can raise money and whose campaign messages sync with the partys views. One of the groups early poster children, back in 2010, was Kinzinger. Now, of the 32 candidates identified so far by the Young Guns program as having promise in the 2022 cycle, at least 12 have embraced the new Republican orthodoxy that fraud tainted the 2020 election. One of them, former Navy SEAL Eli Crane of Arizona, used Twitter to call on his state legislature to decertify the election and demand a criminal investigation. Advertisement Another candidate identified by the program, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, embraced a fantastical and discredited theory that machines made by Dominion Voting Systems were programmed to switch votes from Trump to Biden. Luna met with Trump in 2021 and has been endorsed by Trump as a warrior and a winner. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which runs the program, has fundraised extensively off Trump while highlighting and recruiting candidates who have claimed the election was stolen. Yet its chairman, Rep. Tom Emmer (Minn.), was among the minority of House Republicans who voted to certify the 2020 election results and has repeatedly encouraged Trump to move on from the topic in his public appearances. Candidates know the issues most important to their voters. Right now the midterms are going to be a referendum on Democrats rank incompetence thats led to skyrocketing prices, rising crime and a crisis along the southern border, said NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams, when asked whether Republican candidates still should be talking about the 2020 election. Nonetheless, Trump has spent much of his post-presidency marinating in false voting claims and electoral conspiracy theories. He has pushed Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, and other Republican officials to claim on television that the election was stolen, and repeatedly pressed the topic with Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to Republicans familiar with the conversations. Advertisement The RNC is launching a range of new initiatives related to elections, including plans for filing lawsuits in states, hiring more elections-related officials and recruiting more volunteers, said Justin Riemer, the RNCs chief counsel. The aim is to stanch some of Trumps criticism while not endorsing his most incendiary and false rhetoric, party officials and strategists say. There is always going to be pressure on the RNC to try to do more than it has, Riemer said in a recent interview. NRSC spokesman Chris Hartline said the committee is focused more on efforts to change election rules in the future than a relitigation of 2020. Our position is that there is a way to talk about this that is politically advantageous and actually charts a path forward, Hartline said. In interviews with Republican candidates seeking his endorsement, Trump almost always brings up the question of election fraud, though he does not base his final decision solely on that topic, two advisers said. The former president regularly calls political allies in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania three of the five states that flipped to Biden in 2020 to rail about the election results, one of the advisers added, and receives updates on what state lawmakers are doing to combat election fraud from Liz Harrington, his Stop the Steal promoter and spokeswoman. Advertisement Trump has been frustrated that some in the GOP, particularly prominent Republicans in the Senate, have not been willing to echo his claims and that an overwhelming majority of the body voted to certify the election. Americans must have confidence in the voting process a confidence that was destroyed by Democrats during the 2020 Election, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said in a statement. . . . Voters demand it and Republicans across the nation are following President Trumps lead to restore election integrity. According to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll in December, 58 percent of Republicans think Bidens election was not legitimate, and 62 percent think there is solid evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Moreno, for his part, says that as he has learned more about the 2020 election, his thinking has evolved from those early tweets endorsing the outcome. He cited mainstream media and big technology companies colluding against Trump, states that changed election laws and what he views as the possibility that Trumps claims of massive fraud are legitimate. Advertisement Moreno said the door was flung open to fraud and abuse during 2020 and he, like Trump, is still trying to answer one key question: How much actual fraud was there? That doesnt mean that the results are overturned, Moreno said. What it does mean is that we need to learn and say, Wow. What happened? And how do we make certain that something like this never, ever happens again? Rewriting the narrative The whitewashing of Jan. 6 began that very night. Just hours after the insurrection which resulted in five deaths, including a police officer 139 House members and eight senators returned to the desecrated Capitol and voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies, too, began rewriting the narrative almost immediately. Some falsely claimed leftist antifa protesters were behind the violence. Others falsely argued there was very little violence on Jan. 6 or, as Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.) claimed, the riot was simply a normal tourist visit. And some Republicans rebranded those arrested in the aftermath of the insurrection as political prisoners. Advertisement Trump and his supporters have also sought to make a martyr of Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was shot and killed on Jan. 6 by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through a broken window into the Speakers Lobby the hallway just off the House chamber, from which lawmakers were still being evacuated. Trump has described her death as a murder, and called for justice for Babbitt. In a posthumous birthday video he taped for her, the former president called Babbitt a truly incredible person and offered his unwavering support to her family. Babbitts mother and brother have said in recent interviews with The Post that they believe Trump is critical to drawing attention to her death and reframing the publics understanding of the day and they continue to support him. On Aug. 26, NBCs Lester Holt interviewed Lt. Michael Byrd, the Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbit during the Jan 6. insurrection. (Video: Julie Yoon/The Washington Post) He would be our best candidate to put forward at this point, said Michelle Witthoeft, Babbitts mother. He has an amazing way to move people that I have rarely seen the people that are loyal to Donald Trump will walk through walls for him. That is a quality in a president that is rare. It is really impressive. But some Republicans are eager to move past the day, arguing that dwelling on the attacks could hurt them politically. Former vice president Mike Pence who was a target of the rioters, some of whom were chanting to hang him for treason has spoken only fleetingly of the events, largely criticizing media coverage that he says was intended to demean Trump supporters. The impact of distorting or downplaying the Jan. 6 insurrection can be seen in public opinion. The Post-UMD poll found that 36 percent of Republicans described the protesters who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 as mostly peaceful, and that a majority of Republicans, 72 percent, say Trump bears just some or no responsibility for the attack. Trump initially planned to hold a news conference at his private Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thursday, to try to reframe the insurrection on its anniversary and highlight his claims of election fraud. But late Tuesday, Trump announced in a statement that he was canceling the event amid growing concern among Republican lawmakers and some of his own advisers that he would face blowback for turning the somber occasion into a spectacle. Nonetheless, the former president struck a defiant note, saying in the statement that protesters descended on Washington last Jan. 6 to fight the fraud of the 2020 Presidential Election. This was, indeed, the Crime of the Century, he wrote. I think Trump won In mid-December, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt co-moderated a Republican gubernatorial debate in Minnesota and opened by asking all the primary candidates the same, seemingly simple question: In your opinion, did President Biden win a constitutional majority in the electoral college? Not one of the five hopefuls clearly stated that Biden had won the election. The next day, on his radio show, Hewitt posed the same question to Josh Mandel, a Republican senatorial candidate in Ohio. I do not believe he won I think Trump won, Mandel replied. He went on to say that the results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin still need to be fully investigated and none of them have. The answers underscore just how thoroughly Trump has remade the party in the image of his own false claims. The former president has spent the past year endorsing candidates who have embraced his view of widespread voter fraud, in some cases burrowing into even hyperlocal legislative races. One such candidate is Mike Detmer, who is running for the state Senate in Michigan, and who once defended the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a history of violence, in a Facebook post and tweeted repeatedly in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack that antifa and the Capitol Police were to blame. The Republican Party needs to focus on the truth, and the only way you can get the truth is to go look for it, Detmer said in an interview, adding that he wants a full forensic audit here in Michigan to determine whether the election was truly stolen. In his endorsement, Trump attacked Detmers GOP opponent, incumbent Lana Theis, who helped produce a legislative report finding that allegations of election fraud in the state were demonstrably false. Many have argued that President Donald Trump's efforts amounted to an attempted coup on Jan. 6. Was it? And why does that matter? (Video: Monica Rodman, Sarah Hashemi/The Washington Post) Trump has developed a particular fixation on Michigan one of the states he lost to Biden detailing in multiple statements in November that he wants a new Legislature because current lawmakers are cowards and too spineless to investigate election fraud. The state offers a clear glimpse of how extensively Trump is working to reshape the GOP. In addition to state lawmakers, Trump has endorsed a candidate for Michigan secretary of state, Kristina Karamo, who claimed without evidence that she witnessed fraud as a poll-watcher in Detroit last year and has accused incumbent Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) of breaking the law in her administration of elections. For Michigan attorney general, Trump is backing Matthew DePerno, who made a name for himself pushing lawsuits seeking to overturn Michigans 2020 results. DePerno is widely credited for launching the audit craze among Trump supporters with his early demands for such an examination in Antrim, Mich., after an early error in the conservative county put Biden ahead. The error was caught and corrected, but DePerno falsely claimed it was evidence that machines made by Dominion Voting Systems had switched votes from Trump to Biden. Long-term, I think were screwed Democrats and voting-rights advocates say the threat to democracy that these candidates represent cannot be overstated. Secretaries of state set election policy and in some cases are responsible for certifying elections. Attorneys general have the power to sue to block illegal attempts to subvert an election result. There is no question that if I am replaced by Matthew DePerno, democracy falls in Michigan, said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D). Not maybe. Not possibly. Certainly. He has made it clear not only that he supports the Big Lie hes one of the originators of the Big Lie. DePerno declined to comment. Among Trump supporters, the former presidents endorsement remains coveted, and that often means professing support for his baseless claims. One prominent Republican consultant who has advised clients on getting Trumps endorsement said he increasing counsels candidates to walk a fine line. The former president isnt going to endorse you if you say hes wrong and there was no fraud, but you dont want to make your whole campaign about that either, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details of private conversations. For Republicans like Paul Boyer, a state senator from Arizona, Trumps demands of fealty to his false electoral claims are deeply troubling. Boyer was critical of Arizonas 2020 election audit and was also the only Republican senator to vote against holding the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt. Boyer said he expects Republicans to do well in the 2022 midterms but that long-term, I think were screwed as a party. When youve got Trump telling the base the system is rigged, dont vote, they believe him, and thats why we lost control of the U.S. Senate, thats why we lost the two Georgia seats, Boyer said. He is also frustrated that someone like him, a stalwart conservative, can suddenly find himself with no obvious place in the party. If you ask any of my Democratic colleagues, theyll tell you how conservative I am, Boyer said. And the fact that on one issue I didnt agree with the party makes my belief on limited government, on school choice, on life, on public safety all out the window its like, no, Im not a moderate. Boyer plans to step down at the end of his current term and return to teaching high school literature and Latin. Part of him, he said, would like to run again, to prove that part of the party wrong, that there is room for me in the party. But Im just so tired, Boyer said. Alice Crites and Anu Narayanswamy contributed to this report. GiftOutline Gift Article Nearly six months after the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, no large nation has come forward with a bolder climate plan, and none of the worlds top emitters has committed to doing so this year. The family of Frank Stoll, son of the late Herman and Agnes Stoll, invite you to a Celebration of Life honoring Frank. It will be held on April 30, 2022, at 1 p.m. at Providence Mennonite Church, Montgomery. Frank was a 1956 graduate of Montgomery High School. Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on. In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, military vehicles of Russian peacekeepers parked waiting to be uploaded on Russian military planes at an airfield outside Moscow. Credit:Russian Defence Ministry Press Service Police were also out in force, including in the capital of Nur-Sultan, which was reportedly quiet, and a Russian-led force of peacekeeping troops was on its way. Video from the Russian news agency Tass showed police firing intensely on a street near Republic Square, where demonstrators had gathered, though they could not be seen in the footage. Tass later said protesters had been swept from the square but that sporadic gunfire in the area continued. Earlier, Russias Sputnik news service reported that shots were fired as police surrounded a group of about 200 protesters in the city. It is the first time the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation, founded after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and composed of six former members, has agreed to deploy peacekeepers to aid a member country. Although the bloc has long been seen as Russias answer to NATO, its first joint action is ending a domestic protest rather than combating an attack from an external force. Loading The stakes are especially high for Russia as its presence risks alienating a public demanding a change in Kazakhstans regime but has yet to show any anti-Russian sentiment. The sphere of influence The unrest also comes at a fraught time for the Kremlin, amid a troop build-up near the Ukraine border and ahead of negotiations next week with the United States about guarantees Russia has demanded from NATO that it not expand or cooperate with ex-Soviet countries. The tensions, now both at Russias south-western border and its south-eastern one, underscore the challenges for Moscow in maintaining what it considers its sphere of influence: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Central Asia and the Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia all former members of the Soviet Union. If you have great power ambitions, please show what you can do on several fronts. Many others failed to that, Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie Moscow Centre said on Twitter. Kazakhstan will test Russias actual capabilities. It will be both distracting and sobering, he added. In this image taken from footage provided by the RU-RTR Russian television, Russian peacekeepers exit a Russian military plane in an airport in Kazakhstan, Thursday, January 6, 2022. Credit:RU-RTR Russian Television The demonstrations began over the weekend in Kazakhstans oil-rich western region over high energy prices and then spread elsewhere, including Almaty, the countrys largest city. Protesters on Wednesday set city halls across the country ablaze and briefly took over the Almaty airport. Part of their anger appeared to be aimed at Nursultan Nazarbayev, the countrys authoritarian former president, who continues to exert significant power behind the scenes under the official title of father of the nation. Blackouts The internet was blocked in the country on Thursday, and national banking services reportedly were suspended. On Wednesday evening, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenkos office announced that he spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin and afterward Tokayev. Hours later, Tokayev appealed for support from the CSTO and claimed that foreign-trained terrorist gangs were seizing buildings, infrastructure and weapons. He did not offer evidence or specify which countries were behind the purported plot. He justified the invitation of the CSTO forces to maintain stability because as it turned out - suddenly, within a few hours - as he said, international terrorist groups have emerged, which threaten the country and that is in fact the external aggression, said Arkady Dubnov, a political analyst and expert on Central Asia. It is a very awkward attempt to explain this threat in a very clumsy way so that it complies with the condition of the treaty that outlines the possibility of an intervention if one of the parties is under threat, Dubnov added. By citing the presence of terrorists, Kazakh President assym-Jomart Tokayev could imply foreign forces were involved and invoke the treaty to allow ex-Soviet allies to enter the country. Credit:Kazakhstans Presidential Press Service Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who chairs a council within the military alliance, announced on Facebook that an unspecified number of troops would be sent to the Central Asian nation for a limited time period to stabilise and resolve the situation. The alliance said forces from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan would be deployed to Kazakhstan, with the primary goal of protecting state and military facilities. Moscow also sent paratroopers, the organisation said. What Russia wants in exchange Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the government-funded TV channel RT (formerly Russia Today), suggested on Twitter that in exchange for Russias help, Kazakhstans government should make several concessions, including recognising annexed Crimea as Russian territory and returning the Cyrillic alphabet. (Nazarbayev in 2017 ordered the official script of the Kazakh language to be switched from the Cyrillic to Latin, or Roman, alphabet.) Forces from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are being deployed to Kazakhstan. Credit:Russian Defence Ministry Press Service Its not clear that Tokayev made any promises to Putin in exchange for support. In an effort to appease protesters, Tokayev quickly restored price caps on liquefied petroleum gas like propane, which powers most vehicles in the countrys west. He also removed Nazarbayev as head of the powerful National Security Council and declared a two-week state of emergency for the entire country. Nazarbayev, who ruled for nearly three decades before stepping down in 2019, has not been seen or heard from this week. On Wednesday, a statue of Nazarbayev in Taldykorgan, near Almaty, was pulled down and demolished by protesters. At rallies across the nation, people chanted: Old man, go away! Grievances have been accumulating over years, and with Nazarbayevs resignation in 2019, people felt the promise of change and started pushing for change in various ways, said Nargis Kassenova, a Central Asia expert at Harvard University, adding that there were references to a Kazakh Spring. Riot police blocked a street during the riots on Thursday. Credit:AP How the demonstrations are and will be perceived by the political elites . . . will define the trajectory for Nazarbayev, who remains central for the system, Kassenova said. Kazakhstan is Central Asias wealthiest and, with 19 million people, its second-most-populous country, and the widespread unrest along with the entrance of Russian-linked forces stirred concerns in regional capitals and Washington. US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on all parties to resolve the situation peacefully. We condemn the acts of violence and destruction of property and call for restraint by both the authorities and protesters, he said in a statement. We ask for all Kazakhstanis to respect and defend constitutional institutions, human rights, and media freedom, including through the restoration of internet service. The Cosmodrome Kazakhstan hosts the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a rocket launch complex leased to Russia. About a fifth of its population is ethnic Russians and Moscow has in the past deployed peacekeepers to countries that Putin fears are slipping out of his political orbit. Leaders in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have previously complained that such troops prop up pro-Russian separatist forces. Deploying forces, even a relatively small contingent, to Kazakhstan now is particularly tricky for Moscow. Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border, according to US and Ukrainian officials, in what American intelligence has found could be plans for a multi-pronged, fresh invasion into Ukraine as soon as this month. Kazakhstan, central Asias wealthiest nation, hosts Russias Cosmodrome space centre. Credit:Roscosmos Space Agency Russian military units that had been deployed in Siberia and the Ural Mountains, near Kazakhstan, were almost completely moved to positions near Ukraine and Belarus, according to Rob Lee, a Russian military expert and fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Wilmington, DE (19810) Today Partly cloudy. High around 75F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 51F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Pictured: a worker at Atherton High School administers a COVID test to a passenger in a vehicle in the drive-thru test line at Atherton High School on Dundee Road in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 30, 2021. Weatherford, TX (76086) Today Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy with late night showers or thunderstorms. Low 57F. S winds shifting to ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Westport and Weston have announced more COVID testing with the arrival of additional at-home testing kits in both towns, plus a new testing site in Westport. Weston also announced an expanded vaccine clinic at the schools that will now include those 12 and older. Progressive Diagnostics will set up an additional polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing site at the Greens Farms Railroad Station, 2 Post Office Lane, in Westport, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker announced Thursday. People can schedule an appointment through the Book an Appointment link on Progressive Diagnostics homepage, https://progressive-diagnostics.com/. Payment and insurance details are available there. As we continue to navigate this wave of the pandemic, I want to say thank you to our community, Tooker said. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we collectively work to keep each other healthy and well. Access to testing remains a priority. Weston received 300 kits, each containing two tests, that will be given out from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 at Weston Middle School, First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor said Thursday. We hope to be able to provide kits to those who may have not been able to collect one on Jan. 3, she said. Vehicles will enter School Road from Weston Road. The access drive to the school will be closed until 1:45 p.m. and any cars that arrive early will be turned away, Nestor said. Due to the limited supply, the kits will be given to people experiencing COVID symptoms or who were likely exposed to someone who tested positive. There is a limit of one kit per household and they will be given on a firs- come, first-served basis. People must remain in their vehicles, wear masks while interacting with staff and have proof of residency. Mondays distribution went smoothly in large part to our community working together, Nestor said. We hope that we can continue the same level of cooperation this Saturday. The additional testing comes amid high positivity throughout Connecticut. Weston reported 160 cases between Dec. 19 and Jan. 1 for a positivity rate of 111.5 cases per 100,000 people. Westport reported 472 cases during that time for a positivity rate of 118.3, according to state data published Thursday. Westport will also be giving out more tests to residents. Tooker said town officials were informed on Wednesday Westport would receive 1,800 free at-home test kits from the state with two tests in each kit. These tests are designated for Westport residents whose health, economic and living circumstances place them in a vulnerable situation, Tooker said. This includes people who are home bound, frail or elderly, have disabilities and those with financial or transportation barriers to getting COVID-19 testing. These residents should contact Human Services at humansrv@westportct.gov or 203-341-1050 about tests. Westports Center for Senior Activities participants may contact WCSA at 203-341-5099 to request an at-home kit as supplies last, she said. The Department of Human Services is working closely with the Emergency Management Team to ensure appropriate distribution to those within our community who are most at risk, Tooker said. Surrounding municipalities in Fairfield County are following a similar process to distribute their allotment of free test kits. More information on how to get at-home or area PCR testing may be found by dialing 211, visiting https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus, www.wwhd.org, or at local pharmacies and retail locations, Tooker said. We encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, including a booster, she said. This is still the best protection against the virus. Additionally, people now know how to best protect themselves in public by limiting interaction with crowds, choosing to wear masks indoors, and keeping distance from others. Again, thank you to the entire Westport community for displaying such resilience. Weston is expanding its upcoming vaccine clinic at the Weston Intermediate School cafeteria to include ages 12 and older, including adults Superintendent Lisa Wolak said. There is no cost to school or family for this clinic, she said in an email to families, adding families must pre-register as no walk-ins will be accepted. The clinic for the first dose will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 11 and the second dose clinic will be at that time on Feb. 2. Participants must provide a photocopy of both sides of a valid ID, such as a driver's license. In the case of a minor, the parent should submit a copy of valid ID. A copy of the participants insurance card should also be provided to help reimburse Griffin for the vaccination services, Wolak said. WESTPORT The Representative Town Meeting is again considering creating a civilian review board to oversee the police department after rejecting a proposed ordinance to do that last year. Another resident is now bringing a similar ordinance before the RTM. While presenting his proposal this week, lead petitioner, Tom Prince, said the board is necessary and Westport is behind the curve in police oversight. Prince said the Connecticut Bar Association recommends every town with a police department have either a civilian review board or commission. He said unlike the vast majority of towns in Fairfield County, Westport has fallen behind and has neither. This is a problem that has motivated our citizen ring, Prince said. Prince told the RTM that its common sense that when someone complains about a lawyers malpractice, that complaint goes to an independent bar association to determine discipline. He also said when you complain about a doctors malpractice, you dont complain to their colleagues at the doctors office. However in Westport, he said, police have self review, which allows them to determine their own facts and own discipline. Objectivity and independence is needed in reviewing such claims, Prince said. The town currently has a civilian review panel, which was created in 2020 following protests for further police accountability after the murder of George Floyd. Panel members are picked by the first selectman. The initial board included TEAM Westport Chair Harold Bailey as well as former selectwomen Jennifer Tooker and Melissa Kane. The new board consists of Bailey and selectwomen Andrea Moore and Candice Savin. Tooker is currently planning to expand the three member board to five, having the other two seats appointed by the RTM. Prince said the problem with this board is that its rules change, calling the temporary panel a Band-Aid approach and mere window dressing. It is an ineffective system with no teeth, he added. It served as a way for the former selectman to appear as if he was doing something in a year of protest. Under the original proposal for a civilian review board, the police would have handled the majority of investigations into complaints, while the review board would conduct the interviews and take the sworn testimony of the complainant, the accused police officer and their respective witnesses. That effort was spearheaded by lead petitioner Jason Stiber, who made headlines back in 2018 when he was given a ticket for distracted driving. That ordinance was defeated last year 32-1 with one abstention. However, most RTM members said they were in favor of having greater oversight on the police department, but there were too many issues with the ordinance as it was written. In this new ordinance, the board will be less politicized, have more expertise and more time to address the complaint process, Stiber said. Board members cannot hold other elected offices in town and board members will be chosen for their relevant qualities and expertise. This ordinance will also eliminate the subpoena power provision, a controversial topic during the last discussion of the ordinance. No one else commented on the proposal which was only presented at Tuesdays meeting as a first reading. RTM members, town officials and members of the public will be able to speak address it during the public hearing in the coming weeks. serenity.bishop@hearstmediact.com Reading, PA (19601) Today Mostly cloudy with a lingering shower very early or a pop-up shower later in the afternoon; some afternoon sun developing. . Tonight Mostly cloudy. There might be a lingering shower early, mainly north and east. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Mostly cloudy with a lingering shower very early or a pop-up shower later in the afternoon; some afternoon sun developing. . Tonight Mostly cloudy. There might be a lingering shower early, mainly north and east. PHILADELPHIA A large fire tore through a two-unit house in Philadelphia early Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, including eight children, and sending two people to hospitals, fire officials said. That death total is one less than the number reported in a news conference earlier in the day Wednesday, when recovery operations were still ongoing, according to a news release from the mayor's office. Officials said 26 people had been staying in two units at the rowhome, eight in the lower unit and 18 in the upper unit. "I knew some of those kids -- I used to see them playing on the corner," said Dannie McGuire, 34, fighting back tears as she and Martin Burgert, 35, stood in the doorway of a home around the corner. They had lived there for a decade, she said, "and some of those kids have lived here as long as us." "I can't picture how more people couldn't get out -- jumping out a window," she said. Officials said firefighters and police responded around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday to the fire at a three-story rowhouse in the city's Fairmount neighborhood and found flames coming from the second-floor front windows, in an area believed to be a kitchen. "It was terrible," 1st Dep. Commissioner Craig Murphy, Philadelphia Fire Department, said at a news conference near the scene later in the morning. "I've been around for 35 years now, and this is probably one of the worst fires I have ever been to." The odd configuration of the house, which had been converted into two apartments, made it difficult to navigate, Murphy said, but crews were able to bring it under control in less than an hour. City and fire officials did not release the names or ages of those killed in the fire. "Losing so many kids is just devastating," said Mayor Jim Kenney, who also went to the scene. "Keep these babies in your prayers." 10:46 WATCH: News conference on fatal fire in Philadelphia First Dep. Commissioner Craig Murphy, Philadelphia Fire Department, briefs the media about a fatal fire in the city's Fairmount section on Wednesday. Officials said eight people were found staying in one of the units, which included the first floor and the rear of the second floor, and at least 18 others were in the other unit, which included the front of the second floor and all of the third, Murphy said. Murphy said the building is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. He added that no working smoke detectors were found inside, despite PHA having installed some during annual inspections in 2019 and 2020. The home was last inspected in May 2021. By Zhu Chunyu The maritime forces of Japan, the US, India and Australia carry out Exercise Malabar 2021 in the Bay of Bengal. (File photo) The US Marine Corps and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) held the Resolute Dragon 21 exercise in Japan from December 4 to 17, 2021. The exercise aims to improve the command, control and coordination procedures of the two sides to improve their coordinated combat capabilities. In recent years, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the US military have used exercises as a starting point to continuously strengthen "seamless cooperation", continued to verify joint action plans, and accelerated combat integration. At the same time, the two countries have also stepped up to win over countries inside and outside the region to disrupt the situation in the Indo-Pacific region. The US intends to "ease restrictions" on Japan, and Japan wants to use the power of the US to expand its regional influence. The risk of joint provocations in the Indo-Pacific has significantly increased. According to data released by Japan, Japan and the US held more than 40 bilateral joint drills in 2021, accounting for more than half of the annual number of exercises by JSDF. These exercises have achieved many breakthroughs in terms of scale, subjects, and regions. In the past, the US armed forces in Japan rarely sent large-scale troops to participate in exercises led by the JSDF. The US often sent personnel to observe or provide support. However, this situation is changing. The US dispatched 5,800 troops to participate in the Reiwa-03JX joint exercise with the JSDF in the waters surrounding Japan and the southwestern region from November 19 to 30 last year. In the same month, the US dispatched 10 ships to participate in the Reiwa-03G annual exercise with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the Philippine Sea. The JGSDF and the US Army launched the Yama Sakura joint command post exercise at the end of 2020. On November 16, 2021, they held the first anti-submarine warfare exercise in the South China Sea. And then in December, the Resolute Dragon 21 exercise, largest one in the history of the JGSDF and the US Marine Corps, was conducted . The recent series of exercises led by Japan and the US mostly feature "incidents in the southwest" as the basic scenario and focus on the formation of island seizure combat capability. The reasons why Japan and the US have increased their normalized joint exercises include that they want to "flex muscles", and they also hope to use this to test and strengthen joint combat capabilities, deepen the level of Japanese-US combat integration, and provide a basis for Japan-US military integration. At present, combined impacts of changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in profound changes in the international power structure. The US is relatively weakened and worried that its hegemony will not be guaranteed. Japan feels more security pressure and believes that it is difficult to respond to "threats" on its own. In this context, both Japan and the US have expressed their desire to jointly respond to the challenges. A F-35C carrier-based aircraft lands on the deck of a US aircraft carrier during the exercise by Japan, the US, Australia, Germany, and Canada. (File photo) Since the Biden administration came to power, it has continued to vigorously promote the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and increase its strategic investment in the Indo-Pacific region. The US intends to show off its military force in a high-profile manner through bilateral and multilateral exercises to win over allies and partners to maintain its dominance in affairs of the Indo-Pacific region. The US also intends to portray Japan as a bridgehead for strategic competition and a frontier base for military confrontation, and encourage Japan to take on more alliance tasks to make up for its own lack of strength. On the one hand, Japan wants to "rely on the US to protect itself" and increase its "confidence" by relying on the US and winning over other countries. On the other hand, it wants to "take advantage of the US" and take the opportunity to advance its military transformation. In the long run, Japan's move has a greater strategic plan, that is, to enhance its influence in regional affairs and pave the way for it to intervene in global affairs and become a military and political power. What is particularly worthy of vigilance is that Japan is trying to play a more important role in the US ally system. Japan's awareness of independence has continued to increase in recent years. With the acquiescence and even support of the US, Japan is gradually transforming from an "object of protection" in the alliance to a "combat zone partner" or even a "global partner." In the future, Japan is likely to continue to strengthen its presence and operations with the US in the Indo-Pacific region, and the risk of joint provocations in the Indo-Pacific will continue to increase. Neighboring countries must be highly vigilant against such trends. (The author is from Graduate School of the PLA Academy of Military Science) West Side Story star Ariana DeBose will host the first Saturday Night Live of 2022. Her episode will air live on January 15, with musical guest Roddy Rich. DeBose plays Anita in Steven Spielberg's recent screen adaptation of the classic musical, a role for which she's expected to earn an Oscar nomination, in addition to already announced Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award nominations. She's the second original Hamilton cast member to host the show, after Lin-Manuel Miranda in October 2016. A Tony nominee for Summer, DeBose has also appeared on Broadway in A Bronx Tale, Bring It On and Pippin, among other shows, and on screen in the musical series Schmigadoon!. The MGCfutures bursary programme has returned, offering early-career artists the chance to develop their skills in a variety of settings. Applicants from across the UK can apply for bursaries of up to 5,000 to support endeavours across the theatre industry. Previous winners have included designers, writers, composers, directors, producers and more. The scheme is aided by Olivia Colman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Francesca Moody's Theatre Community Fund. Existing bursaries will continue in 2022, including the Nicole Kidman Bursary to support an exceptional female theatre maker and the Stephanie Arditti Bursary, to support those working in costume. This year, there will be bursaries in new partnerships with: South House in Kent to support a Creative Development Residency for a project in a 1,500 square foot studio London Performance Studios with a year-long bursary for a Cultural Entrepreneur Dance Base Scotland who are seeking a hip-hop artist to undertake a six-month traineeship from May to October 2022 Michael Grandage said today, "Now more than ever it's essential to invest in the theatre-makers of the future not just to survive, but to thrive and create new and vital work. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of every role within the theatre, and our bursaries are open to offer support and guidance across our sector. Also, for the first time this year, we're thrilled to partner with South House, London Performance Studios and Dance Base Scotland to create new specialist roles within our scheme. "We couldn't provide these opportunities without the generosity of our donors, especially the support of the Theatre Community Fund who have enabled us to expand the reach of the bursaries at such an essential time for our industry." Applications can be submitted via the MGCfutures website from noon from 6 January and close at noon on 27 January. Thank you for reading the Herald-Whig You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism. VATICAN CITY (AP) Christians around the world on Thursday marked Epiphany, known as Three Kings Day for Catholics and the Baptism of Christ for the Orthodox, with a series of celebrations. Members of the "Cabalgata de Reyes" parade in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Colorful parades celebrate Epiphany, when Christians observe the visit of the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men' to baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) VATICAN CITY (AP) Christians around the world on Thursday marked Epiphany, known as Three Kings Day for Catholics and the Baptism of Christ for the Orthodox, with a series of celebrations. Pope Francis used a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to decry consumerism, parades were held in Spain the night before, and Orthodox believers watched swimmers plunge into icy waters despite the pandemic to retrieve crosses. Francis encouraged people to shake off consumeristic "tyranny" and crises of faith in lives and societies and instead find the courage to work for justice and brotherhood in societies dominated by what he called the "sinister logic of power." The Catholic feast day of Epiphany recalls the visit of three Magi, or wise men, to the infant Jesus, and their sense of wonder at the encounter. In his homily, Francis urged people to move past the "barriers of habit, beyond banal consumerism, beyond a drab and dreary faith, beyond the fear of becoming involved and serving others and the common good." He said that "we find ourselves living in communities that crave everything, have everything, yet all too often feel nothing but emptiness in their hearts." Decrying what he defined as "the tyranny of needs," Francis said: "Let us not give apathy and resignation the power to drive us into a cheerless and banal existence." In remarks from an Apostolic Palace window overlooking St. Peters Square, Francis later also noted holiday celebrations by other Christians and praised various Epiphany traditions. "Today thoughts go to the brothers and the sisters of the Eastern churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, who tomorrow celebrate the birthday of the Lord, the pontiff said. In Istanbul, the spiritual leader of the worlds Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, held an Epiphany Mass before leading a traditional Blessing of the Waters ceremony during which swimmers competed to retrieve a floating cross thrown into the sea. Bartholomew, who recently recovered from COVID-19 and underwent heart surgery in November, threw a wooden cross into the Golden Horn, before 10 men jumped into the waterway to retrieve it. Members of Istanbuls small Greek Orthodox community, wearing masks, looked on. This year, the cross was recovered by 36-year-old Galip Yavuz, who said it was his fifth attempt at retrieving it. Bartholomew is considered first among equals among Orthodox patriarchs, although only a few thousand Greeks now live in Turkey. He also directly controls several Greek Orthodox churches around the world, including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. His patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, todays Istanbul, in 1453. Similar blessing of the waters ceremonies were held in predominantly Orthodox Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania, with swimmers competing against each other to grasp a floating cross thrown into seas, rivers or lakes. Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers in Bulgaria neglected restrictions on mass gatherings due to the pandemic and stuck to their centuries-old Epiphany traditions, plunging into icy rivers and lakes. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Celebrations were canceled or scaled back in many parts of Greece as the country struggles with a huge surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the omicron variant. In Cyprus, spectators where kept off the pier in line with coronavirus restrictions as a couple of dozen hearty souls dived into the chilly waters of Larnaca Bay on the island nations southern coast to retrieve the cross thrown by the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church Archbishop Chrysostomos II. Most people watched the traditional blessing of the waters ceremony from nearby vantage points. In Spain, a military band played the national anthem outside the royal palace in Madrid and King Felipe VI watched a 21-gun salute before reviewing troops on a wintry day. Indoors, in the Throne Room, the monarch handed medals to 16 members of the armed forces, in a ceremony that dates from 1782. Attendance at the event was limited for the second straight year due to pandemic restrictions on gatherings. Royal family, dignitaries and troops all wore face masks. The country traditionally holds "cabalgata" parades the day before Epiphany in which the "Reyes Magos," or Three Wise Men, ride on floats through major cities and towns across Spain. Children and adults alike leave their shoes out the night before and receive gifts from the three kings on Jan. 6. ___ Mehmet Guzel reported from Istanbul. Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report. OTTAWA - Canada has delivered about one-quarter of the direct vaccine doses it has promised to help less wealthy countries and can't say when more doses will go out the door. FedEx workers offload a plane carrying 255,600 doses of the Moderna COVID19 vaccine which came from Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette OTTAWA - Canada has delivered about one-quarter of the direct vaccine doses it has promised to help less wealthy countries and can't say when more doses will go out the door. In 2021, Canada promised to donate 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from its own contracts and at least 150 million more through financial contributions to the COVAX vaccine sharing alliance. To date Canada has donated 12.7 million direct doses and $545 million in cash to buy 87 million more. COVAX says it cannot yet report specifics on the doses purchased because it's still negotiating prices with vaccine makers. Canada's promise was that all doses and cash donations would be delivered by the end of 2022, but critics, including World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, say countries like Canada have been hoarding vaccines at the expense of poorer countries. Ending health inequity remains the key to ending the pandemic," Tedros said in late December. Throughout 2021, experts warned that the more the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads, the faster it will mutate, potentially giving rise to a new variant that will evade vaccines already given. That risk became reality in November with the discovery of Omicron, a variant with so many mutations it is causing millions of infections in fully vaccinated individuals. While the vaccines appear to be doing well against severe disease, the explosion in new cases has still stressed hospitals and sent Canadians back into the lockdowns and school closures they had hoped were behind them. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told The Canadian Press during a year-end interview in December, that Canada was "continuing to do more than our share" on vaccine donations. "As people know, unfortunately, Canada no longer has a capacity to produce vaccines in our country so we don't have a domestic production that we can direct towards the world," he said. "But what we are doing with the contracts and the vaccine supply we have secured from other countries, is send those vaccines that we purchased, that we paid for, that we're not going to be using, to the world." Adam Houston, medical policy and advocacy officer at Doctors Without Borders Canada, said Canada is pulling its weight when it comes to monetary donations but can't say the same about vaccine donations. He said Canada needs to put the same kind of pressure on the companies to deliver doses for donation, as it did to speed up deliveries to Canada last year. "When these doses have been meant for Canadian arms Canada has frequently been able to move up the delivery of these doses," he said. "Somehow when the exact same doses from the exact same contracts are going elsewhere we don't seem to be having the same pounding on the table to make sure that the doses are getting to other people." He also noted Canada allowed more than 10 million doses to sit in a federal stockpile for months, and almost as many in provincial freezers, instead of shipping them to places they could be used immediately. "These doses could have been saving lives months and months ago," he said. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Canada turned to that stockpile in December when Omicron hit and booster campaigns took off. But Canada had already signed contracts with Pfizer and Moderna to deliver 65 and 35 million booster doses in 2022, and is also still owed at least 17 million doses from its 2021 contracts with Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, vaccines Canadians decided they didn't want. COVAX hoped to deliver two billion doses to low and middle-income nations by the end of 2021 but managed less than half of that because of slow donations from wealthy countries and delays to deliveries directly from vaccine makers. The WHO's target was to vaccinate 40 per cent of the population in every country by Dec. 31, but more than 90 countries missed that mark. At least 36 countries didn't even get to 10 per cent. The new goal is 70 per cent by July. There is hope there will be more doses available in 2022 to ease the supply crunch with more vaccines ready for approval, including Novavax. Canada has a contract to buy 52 million doses of that vaccine and Houston said it needs to move quickly to donate all of them. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2021. MONTREAL - Supremex Inc. is reinstating its payment of a quarterly dividend after suspending it in the early days of the pandemic. MONTREAL - Supremex Inc. is reinstating its payment of a quarterly dividend after suspending it in the early days of the pandemic. The maker of envelopes and paper packaging says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 2.5 cents per common share. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The first payment will be payable on Feb. 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 31. Chief executive Stewart Emerson says the company believes a balanced approach to capital deployment, including capital expenditures, acquisitions, share buybacks and dividends, is an attractive combination for shareholders. Supremex had paid a quarterly dividend of 6.5 cents per share at the start of 2020 before it suspended its regular payment to shareholders due to the pandemic. The company has 10 manufacturing facilities across four provinces and three manufacturing facilities in the United States. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2022. Companies in this story: (TSX:SXP) LONDON (AP) The BBC announced Thursday that it has appointed Deborah Turness as its new chief executive for news and current affairs, bringing to the broadcaster a vastly experienced journalist who previously held senior leadership positions at the news division of American TV network NBC. LONDON (AP) The BBC announced Thursday that it has appointed Deborah Turness as its new chief executive for news and current affairs, bringing to the broadcaster a vastly experienced journalist who previously held senior leadership positions at the news division of American TV network NBC. Turness, 54, comes to the BBC from British media company ITN, where she is currently CEO. The native of England will replace Fran Unsworth, who is leaving at the end of January. In the U.K. and around the world there has never been a greater need for the BBCs powerful brand of impartial, trusted journalism," Turness said in a statement. It is a great privilege to be asked to lead and grow BBC News at a time of accelerated digital growth and innovation, when its content is reaching more global consumers on more platforms than ever before, she added. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. BBC Director-General Tim Davie said Turness brings a wealth of experience, insight, first-class editorial judgment and a strong track record of delivery" to her new role. He called her a passionate advocate for the power of impartial journalism and a great believer in the BBC and the role we play, in the U.K. and globally." When she begins her new new job, Turness will have responsibility for a team of around 6,000 that delivers broadcasts in more than 40 languages to almost half a billion people around the world, the BBC said. Turness joined NBC News in 2013, becoming the first female president of an American network news division, and later served as president of the networks global arm. The BBC, founded in 1922, is Britains publicly funded but editorially independent national broadcaster. The rules governing its operations are set out in a royal charter that requires the corporation to be impartial, act in the public interest and be open, transparent and accountable. The broadcaster has come under pressure from some members of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative Party who accuse it of having a liberal bias. It also faced strong criticism last year about its integrity following a scathing report on its explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana. NEW YORK (AP) Authorities say they've solved a publishing industry whodunit with the arrest Wednesday of a man accused of numerous literary heists in recent years, allegedly impersonating others in the industry to amass a veritable library of unpublished works. NEW YORK (AP) Authorities say they've solved a publishing industry whodunit with the arrest Wednesday of a man accused of numerous literary heists in recent years, allegedly impersonating others in the industry to amass a veritable library of unpublished works. Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen working in publishing in London, was arrested Wednesday after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport, said Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in a statement. Bernardini, 29, faces charges including wire fraud, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft. He was expected to appear in federal court on Thursday. No information on an attorney for him was available. For years, the publishing industry has been baffled by an international phishing scheme in which someone with apparent inside knowledge impersonated an editor or an agent by setting up a fake email account and attempted to trick an author or an editor into sending links to unpublished manuscripts. Works by Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke were among those targeted. The ongoing scheme was all the more mysterious because whoever was seeking the manuscripts was apparently not attempting to sell them or otherwise publicly exploit having them. Bernardini allegedly impersonated publishing industry individuals in order to have authors, including a Pulitzer prize winner, send him prepublication manuscripts for his own benefit," Williams said in the statement. This real-life storyline now reads as a cautionary tale, with the plot twist of Bernardini facing federal criminal charges for his misdeeds. According to the indictment against Bernardini, which was filed in July but only unsealed on Wednesday, the schemes had been taking place from at least August 2016 through July of last year. It said Bernardini used fraudulent, look-alike, domains to impersonate individuals involved in the publishing industry to gain surreptitious access to these materials, and that over the years he impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals. Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Bernardini collected hundreds of unpublished works, according to the indictment. In the indictment, Bernardini was described as working in London for a major, international, US-based publishing house. A LinkedIn profile for a Filippo B. said he worked for Simon & Schuster. In a statement, the publisher said it was shocked and horrified to learn today of the allegations of fraud and identity theft by an employee of Simon & Schuster UK. The publisher said Bernardini had been suspended pending additional information, adding, The safekeeping of our authors intellectual property is of primary importance to Simon & Schuster, and for all in the publishing industry, and we are grateful to the FBI for investigating these incidents and bringing charges against the alleged perpetrator. ___ Associated Press writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report. LISBON, Portugal (AP) Portugals government announced Thursday further incentives for people to get COVID-19 booster shots and said new rules will require people to isolate only if they live with someone who tests positive. A man enters a subway station in Lisbon, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) LISBON, Portugal (AP) Portugals government announced Thursday further incentives for people to get COVID-19 booster shots and said new rules will require people to isolate only if they live with someone who tests positive. People who had a booster jab two weeks previously will from next Monday no longer need to show a negative coronavirus test result to attend events and enter places where it otherwise would be required, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said. Also, anyone who has had a booster shot will be exempt from isolating, unless they live with an infected person. That means about 270,000 people of the around 400,000 currently in isolation will be allowed out, Costa said. This is an incentive ... to get a booster, he said. Furthermore, the government is scrapping a requirement to isolate if a work or school colleague tests positive. That measure had forced coworkers and entire school classes to be sent home. The change addresses the problems of company staff shortages and turmoil at schools witnessed across Europe in recent times as the omicron variant has spread and infected record numbers of people. The alterations take effect next week. Negative tests will still be required for everyone arriving in Portugal by plane, Costa said, and mandatory working from home is extended from Jan. 9 to 14. The government is awaiting an assessment it has requested from the attorney generals office about what changes might be made to voting procedures for a general election scheduled for Jan. 30, Costa said. With the omicron surge expected to continue at least into next week, potentially hundreds of thousands of voters could be in home confinement at the end of the month, and authorities are searching for ways of holding the ballot. Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Detailed electoral laws govern the vote and they can be changed only by parliament, which has already been dissolved. Costa said that 89% of Portugals population of 10.3 million people is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Around 3 million people have received booster shots. Portugal, where vaccine uptake is traditionally strong, is one of the leading countries in the world in coronavirus jabs. New daily cases hit a record of almost 40,000 on Wednesday, but hospitalizations have remained much lower than in previous surges. Portugal has been recording on average fewer than 20 deaths a day in recent weeks. ___ Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic BERLIN (AP) Germany's biggest governing party said Thursday that it aims for a final decision by the end of March on the introduction of a universal vaccine mandate against COVID-19. A doctor injects vaccination against the coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease to a man inside the Klunkerkranich restaurant and night club during an ongoing vaccination campaign of the Clubkommission in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach renewed an appeal for vaccine holdouts to reconsider. He said people who remain unvaccinated in Germany can't expect contact restrictions for them to be lifted "in the short- or medium-term." The Clubcommission Berlin, an association that protects and supports the Berlin club culture. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) BERLIN (AP) Germany's biggest governing party said Thursday that it aims for a final decision by the end of March on the introduction of a universal vaccine mandate against COVID-19. Parliament last month approved legislation that will require staff at hospitals and nursing homes to show that they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus by mid-March. Progress toward a more contentious universal vaccine mandate is proving slower. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed such a mandate, but wants to have lawmakers vote according to their personal conscience rather than on party lines. The idea is for parliament to vote on proposals drawn up by groups of lawmakers rather than by the government. There are divisions on whether a universal mandate is desirable within Scholz's three-party government, notably in the ranks of the Free Democrats, the smallest coalition partner. And it isn't yet clear how the mandate would be designed. Two senior lawmakers with Scholz's center-left Social Democrats, Dagmar Schmidt and Dirk Wiese, said in a statement Thursday that we aim to conclude the legislative process in the first quarter of this year," news agency dpa reported. Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. They argued that a broad discussion on the issue is necessary so we will take sufficient time for this, and advocated an initial debate in parliament this month. The leader of the center-right opposition Union bloc's parliamentary group, Ralph Brinkhaus, said the government itself should draw up proposals. He told ARD television that the shape of a universal vaccine mandate is a leadership decision and Scholz can't delegate this to parliament now." The Free Democrats' leader, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, flatly rejected the idea of changing the approach. He said that deciding on the matter in a free vote is a contribution to the reconciliation of society as a whole. Neighboring Austria has drawn up draft legislation to introduce a universal vaccine mandate, which the government hopes will take effect next month. ___ Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic LOS ANGELES (AP) California is struggling to staff hospitals and classrooms as an astonishing spike in coronavirus infections sweeps through the state. LOS ANGELES (AP) California is struggling to staff hospitals and classrooms as an astonishing spike in coronavirus infections sweeps through the state. The fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is sidelining exposed or infected health care workers even as hospital beds fill with patients and some facilities are going to be strapped," Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Wednesday. Some 40% of hospitals are expecting to face critical staff shortages and some are reporting as much as one quarter of their staff out for virus-related reasons, said Kiyomi Burchill of the California Hospital Association. In Fresno County, more than 300 workers at area hospitals were either isolating because of exposure or recovering, said Dan Lynch, the countys emergency medical services director. The Los Angeles County Fire Department is driving patients to hospitals in fire trucks rather than ambulances because 450 firefighters are absent after testing positive, acting Assistant Chief Brian Bennett told the Carson City Council on Tuesday, according the Los Angeles Daily News. Going forward, the county Fire Department will only be sent on medical calls when absolutely necessary, officials said. The rapid spread of omicron has wiped out our workforce," McCormick Ambulance, a private company that contracts with the county, said in a statement. California had the lowest per-capita case rate in the U.S. in September but like the rest of the country its now experiencing a dramatic rise from the omicron variant. Confirmed virus cases have shot up nearly 500% in the last two weeks and hospitalizations have doubled since Christmas to more than 8,000. State models forecast hospitalizations could top 20,000 by early next month, a level nearly as high as last January, when California experienced its deadliest surge. At least nine hospitals in Orange County have set up surge tents to increase their capacity if they are swamped by virus cases in addition to a rise in other medical problems, such as strokes, said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the countys deputy health director. People with minor symptoms should start with a virtual visit to a doctor because our hospitals and our ERs and our urgent cares are full and they really need to focus their efforts on people who are really sick, she said. California has extended its indoor mask mandate into mid-February to help combat the infection but Ghaly said there is no discussion of further restrictions, noting the availability of vaccines and COVID-19 treatments that were largely absent a year ago. The virus is sidelining school personnel even as 6 million K-12 students are returning to classrooms. Sacramento City Unified School District reported that more than 500 students and staff were quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials, meanwhile, are facing criticism for failing to deliver on a promise to provide rapid, at-home tests to all California students and school staff before classrooms reopened after the winter break. Millions of test kits were sent to families but millions more were not, and there have been long lines this week at Los Angeles County testing sites. California schools chief Tony Thurmond on Wednesday called the delay disappointing. Ghaly said logistical problems and bad weather in Southern California had contributed to the problem but said some 6.2 million tests had been delivered to county offices of education, with more tests going out this week. ___ Gecker reported from San Francisco. Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this report. TORONTO - A bail hearing is underway in Toronto for Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard. Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is shown in this courtroom sketch in Toronto on Thursday Jan. 6, 2022. A bail hearing is underway in Toronto for Nygard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould TORONTO - A bail hearing is underway in Toronto for Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard. None of the evidence or reasons presented in court can be disclosed under a publication ban, nor can any information that could identify the complainants. Nygard, who faces sexual assault charges, has denied all allegations. The bail hearing is expected to continue Friday. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The former head of a multimillion-dollar clothing company was flown to Toronto from Winnipeg in October to face the charges. Police have said he's charged with six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible confinement, which relate to alleged incidents in the late 1980s and mid-2000s. Nygard was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act and faces nine sex-related charges in the Southern District of New York. He has also denied those allegations but agreed to be extradited on a sex trafficking charge. Nygard is also the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. involving 57 women. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2022. HALIFAX - Former Nova Scotia premier Iain Rankin said Wednesday he would step down as Liberal leader, after reflecting during the holidays on his career and taking responsibility for his party's loss in the August election to the Progressive Conservatives. Premier Iain Rankin fields a question at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce pre-election event in Halifax on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan HALIFAX - Former Nova Scotia premier Iain Rankin said Wednesday he would step down as Liberal leader, after reflecting during the holidays on his career and taking responsibility for his party's loss in the August election to the Progressive Conservatives. Rankin, 38, served as premier for just over six months, after the party chose him in late February 2021 to succeed two-term premier Stephen McNeil. He entered last summer's election campaign with a large lead in the polls and momentum from McNeils handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Rankin ran an ineffective campaign and was unable to connect with the public, according to political observers. He said he's looking to spend more time with his family and new child. "I'm looking forward to just being able to be a dad," he told reporters. "I think that's my No. 1 job now." Rankin, Nova Scotia's 29th premier, said he intends to continue as leader until the party holds a leadership race. He said the Liberals should modernize and learn from an ongoing campaign review. After his party lost the election, Rankin said at the time he was proud of his record and intended to remain as leader. But on Wednesday, Rankin accepted responsibility for the defeat, adding that he had failed to lay out a clear vision for how the province would recover economically from the pandemic. "I started to talk to (Liberal) members over the last number of months about how they see things moving forward and there's work to do there for sure," he said Wednesday. "A lot of members obviously were disappointed with the election result, and they want to be included in rebuilding this party after eight years in government." He said members also told him the party needs to improve the way it communicates with them. "After you're in government for a long time, there needs to be a look at how to connect better with members, and that's what I'm hearing members want." He said he plans to stay on as MLA for TimberleaProspect after a successor is found. No date for the party vote has been scheduled, but he said he suspects it will be some time this year. Tory Premier Tim Houston thanked Rankin for his service in a statement released Wednesday. "I understand the weight of making tough decisions to keep Nova Scotians safe " Houston said. "Iain spent many years in service to Nova Scotians, first as minister and then as premier during a very challenging time in the pandemic." The Liberals stumbled before the summer election began. Rankin revealed in July he had been convicted of impaired driving as a young man in 2003 and 2005. He provided few details about the second conviction, which was dismissed in court. The lack of disclosure surrounding the second case prompted a series of unflattering media reports. In the early part of the campaign, news broke that Rankin's party had pressured candidate Robyn Ingraham to drop out because she had previously sold revealing photos of herself on the website OnlyFans. Ingraham also alleged the party had told her to lie and instead cite her mental health issues as the reason for leaving. Rankins campaign couldn't find an answer to counter Houston's strategy of focusing on the problems in the health-care system. Houston constantly highlighted the chronic shortage of family doctors, excessive waits for ambulances and a lack of available mental health supports as issues that needed to be urgently addressed. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. After the Aug. 17 election, the Liberals' seat count fell from 24 to 17. The Tories, meanwhile, went up to 31 seats from 17. There were four more seats added to the legislature for the summer election, for a total of 55. The NDP have six seats and there is one Independent member. Nova Scotia NDP Leader Gary Burrill also recently announced he would step down from the role as soon as his party chooses his successor. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2022. --- This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has become a father for the first time, to a baby daughter. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his wife Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu arrive on stage during the Canadian federal election in Vancouver, Monday, September 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has become a father for the first time, to a baby daughter. Singh announced Thursday that he and his wife Gurkiran Kaur welcomed a baby girl into the world on Monday. "Our powerful little baby girl is basically my birthday present for life," Singh wrote on Twitter. "Momma bear and baby are healthy and our hearts are filled with gratitude." Singh celebrated his 43rd birthday the day before his daughter's birth. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his wife Gurkiran Kaur and new baby are shown in this handout image provided by the Singh family. Singh has become a father for the first time, to a baby daughter. Singh announced Thursday that he and his wife welcomed a baby girl into the world on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Jagmeet Singh*MANDATORY CREDIT * The NDP leader's daughter will not be named immediately. In Sikh tradition, a newborn is named around two weeks after their birth in a ceremony called Naam Karan. Singh has previously expressed his excitement about becoming a father. He and his wife, a fashion designer, were married in February 2018 in a traditional Sikh wedding. They honeymooned in Mexico. The NDP leader, who has campaigned in the past for better paternity and maternity benefits for new parents, is planning to take some paternity leave. Parliament has not yet returned after the winter holiday break. "He's planning to take some time off to spend time with his wife and new baby," said an NDP spokesperson. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among a host of MPs and public figures to offer congratulations. Hundreds of messages of congratulation were posted on Twitter from around the world. Trudeau tweeted well wishes from him and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, saying the birth was "wonderful news." Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Sophie and I are wishing you all good health and many happy moments together," Trudeau said. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole also offered his congratulations on Twitter, adding: "Wishing you all the very best as you both enter parenthood!" Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet offered congratulations and good wishes from himself, his MPs and party members. "There are few happier events or magnificent results than a birth," Blanchet tweeted. British Columbia NDP Premier John Horgan, and Valerie Plante, mayor of Montreal, were among the many other well wishers to congratulate the couple on the birth of their baby girl. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2022. The sudden loss of staff due to COVID-19 at more than a dozen Winnipeg nursing homes has made it tough for some to bathe and change residents clothing. The sudden loss of staff due to COVID-19 at more than a dozen Winnipeg nursing homes has made it tough for some to bathe and change residents clothing. Twenty-four employees at the 200-bed Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre care home in southwest Winnipeg have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, chief executive officer Laurie Cerqueti said Wednesday. "Its not any one particular area thats been hit," Cerqueti said. "In the one week of this wave, weve had more staff test positive than in seven weeks of outbreak in wave two." Cerqueti said remaining employees focus on providing essential care and rely on designated caregivers and volunteers. Tub baths and showers have been replaced by sponge baths, linens are only being changed if wet or soiled, and some residents are given hospital gowns or wear the same clothes repeatedly to cut down on dressing time and laundry. At least three other care homes in Winnipeg have taken similar steps while staff recover from infections. "Many of the things that we have done are what needs to be done when you just dont have the staff," Cerqueti said. "Weve stabilized a little bit the last couple days but over the weekend it was very difficult." Cerqueti said the Simkin Centre has requested extra staff resources from the provincial COVID-19 relief pool, but as of Wednesday no one had been made available. "Unfortunately the region, or Shared Health has no extra resources to offer to us," Cerqueti said. "Were doing the very best we can with what we have to keep our residents safe." She said the basic care needs of residents are being met at this time and eight staff who caught COVID-19 have been able to return to their positions. However, Cerqueti said other employees are not well enough to return to work, despite being permitted to do so under new public health orders that cut isolation requirements from to five days from 10 days. She expects more staff to call in sick in the wake of New Years Eve gatherings and is preparing accordingly. One resident has tested positive so far. "We have a really good plan and we have a really fantastic team thats gone above and beyond," Cerqueti said. "I think were in a position to manage." The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority lists 16 long-term care facilities as currently having COVID-19 outbreaks. A request for an interview with Gina Trinidad, regional lead for community and continuing care was declined. In a statement, a spokesman for the health authority said staffing shortages due to illness and isolation requirements are affecting most health care facilities in Winnipeg. "We are monitoring the situation closely, and processes are in place currently to redeploy staff from other WRHA service areas to PCHs if required, including to any PCH experiencing an outbreak," the statement said. Michelle Porter, University of Manitoba professor and director of the Centre on Aging, said care home residents are being treated without dignity once again. "It is heartbreaking and incredibly disappointing that this far into the pandemic, there are still no tangible ways to deal with staffing shortages in personal care homes in Manitoba," Porter said. "This is particularly problematic as the government has been incredibly reluctant to institute restrictions that would keep community transmission in check." Porter questioned why the health authority has not been able to provide staffing assistance to homes that have requested help despite making assurances processes are in place. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The fact that we are still in code orange when residents are being treated in an appalling way, suggests that our whole system is broken," she said. "Some lives are being valued much more than others." The Free Press requested an interview with Health Minister Audrey Gordon on Wednesday but received a written statement from her office. "Reassignment of staff within sites/sectors and across sites/sectors are being used to ensure that areas of greatest need and most critical service remain operational and able to provide safe care," the statement said. Last month, the provinces redeployment and recruitment team sent 39 staff to personal care homes and requests for help from across the province are being reviewed, the statement said. "While these are not easy decisions, they are being made based on clinical criteria by experts working across the health system," the statement said. danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca The family of a Winnipeg homicide victim is offering a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to a new arrest, as they believe police have charged the wrong person with the crime. The family of a Winnipeg homicide victim is offering a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to a new arrest, as they believe police have charged the wrong person with the crime. Lise Danais, 51, died after being assaulted March 26, 2019, in her Southdale neighbourhood home. Four months later, the Winnipeg Police Service announced a male youth had been charged with first-degree murder. FACEBOOK Lise Danais. The identity of the accused is protected under a Youth Criminal Justice Act publication ban. Police have only said the accused and Danais "were not strangers." In November, the victims family hired a private investigation firm to look into the case. At a media event Wednesday, Kristin Bibik of Independent Investigators Inc. told reporters the family is "frustrated" and feels theyre not being heard. More than 20 supporters stood silently outside the downtown Law Courts building in -24 C temperatures Wednesday afternoon, "Here in solidarity to say more can be done," Bibik said. "The family, extended family and friends do not for a moment believe the person charged is the person who committed this terrible crime. They believe police have targeted the wrong person." Bibik suggested police were under a lot of pressure as they investigated a record number of homicides in 2019. Three months into 2019, Danais was Winnipegs 11th homicide victim. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The family believes police may have succumbed to tunnel vision, and as a result, did not fully investigate other persons of interest, even when evidence was presented to them," Bibik said. She didnt elaborate when asked what evidence the private investigation has gathered that points to alternative suspects. She said the family believes there is more evidence that hasnt been properly considered. The family has repeatedly gone to police but still feel evidence has been overlooked, Bibik said. "They feel as though they arent being heard and theyre just trying to get the public to hear them." The firm is asking for public tips by phone and email at 431-887-8477 or tips@independentinvestigators.net. The Winnipeg Police Service didnt respond to a request for comment. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Fox News host Sean Hannity is facing scrutiny for a series of texts where he advised Trump before, during and after the rioting. Its still not clear whether pipe bombs placed outside the offices of the Republican and Democratic national committees before the rioting are connected with the attack. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will continue to work behind the scenes to investigate the people responsible for the insurrection. At least 170 rioters have pleaded guilty. The Associated Press compiled samples of what they and their lawyers have said in court. For people of colour, the attack was an eerily familiar display of white supremacist violence . Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said Democracy won on the day of the rioting. Nearly every Republican will be absent as Democrats, including President Joe Biden, gather today to mark the anniversary of the insurrection by Donald Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol. THE government of Manitoba is proceeding with measures to address major flooding in Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin. Flooding issues came to the forefront in 2011 and 2014, when the drastically swollen Assiniboine River necessitated much beyond maximum-design usage of the Portage Diversion. Opinion THE government of Manitoba is proceeding with measures to address major flooding in Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin. Flooding issues came to the forefront in 2011 and 2014, when the drastically swollen Assiniboine River necessitated much beyond maximum-design usage of the Portage Diversion. This valuable public-works infrastructure diverts excess water from the Assiniboine River, during emergencies, northward into Lake Manitoba, avoiding costly flood damage in the Red River Valley. The current proposal involves digging two significant outlet channels, the first from Lake Manitoba to Lake St. Martin, and the second, larger channel, on to Lake Winnipeg. Yet the proposal is complex and expensive: at least 46 kilometres of constructed channels; two bridge and control structures; three roadway bridges; multiple dropping structures to accommodate elevation decline into Lake Winnipeg; additional roadways; construction camps; quarries; and a new transmission line to power one control structure. A capital cost of roughly $540 million has been noted in media. Indigenous groups have also raised important concerns. Could there be a better way? Reviews so far did consider options, but only land use, other types of channels and control structures (i.e. ditching). The problems for Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin arise from overwhelming volumes of water, in particular from the Portage Diversion. This raises the possibility of other ways to deal with excess water. The Portage Diversion is not the sole, or original, inlet into Lake Manitoba. The natural inflow comes south from Lake Winnipegosis, via the Waterhen River. Rather than trying to address the Portage Diversion directly, it could be possible to reduce inflow from the Waterhen River to achieve the same net result of reduced water volumes. This is an interesting and, perhaps, vital option that appears not to have been considered. Reducing corresponding flows from Lake Winnipegosis relates to a novel twist on a renewable energy technology seeing increased significance across North America, namely pumped hydroelectric water storage. This option also brings skills and resources of Manitoba Hydro into play. Lake Winnipegosis is only separated from Cedar Lake by a narrow isthmus, and Cedar Lake happens to be the inlet supply for the Grand Rapids generating station. Just as in the case of the diversion channels, peak flow from the Portage Diversion need not be matched exactly, especially if well-planned water removals start in advance. A project to pump water across from Lake Winnipegosis to Cedar Lake at a nominal rate of 3,500 to 5,000 cubic feet per second would require pumping energy in the range of 10 to 20 megawatts (MW). Once into Cedar Lake, however, given flow rate and rough head of 120 feet at the Grand Rapids generating station, this could produce as much as 46 MW of output power. This could be readily accommodated given the Grand Rapids station is running at less than 60 per cent capacity, due to chronic flow decline of the Saskatchewan River these past 50 years. Next door in Ontario, TC Energy is seriously pursuing a massive pumped-storage proposal. Using its project for rough guidance, capital costs here could range from $150 million to $300 million. Although still a rough estimate, this is lower than for diversion channels from Lake Manitoba, and Manitoba Hydro also ends up earning revenue when the system is active. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Lower costs for pumped storage make sense, too. The head difference between Lake Winnipegosis and Cedar Lake is relatively small at 10 feet, and the distance involved is much shorter than the proposed channels (five kilometres versus 50 kilometres). There also already happens to be a major interregional transmission line (230 kV) through the isthmus, making it simple and cost effective to supply electricity for the water pumps. As a starting point, this option looks promising, although it comes relatively late in the overall process. There are uncertainties, notably clarifying the dynamic behaviour of hydraulic equilibrium in Lake Winnipegosis, and the resulting extent of water removal needed to ensure flows are sufficiently reduced from the Waterhen River. On the other hand, there are more than 50 years of hydrographic data available. Environmental review obviously is needed, but should note: the lakes are in immediate proximity, part of the same watershed; only limited water transfer is required; and Cedar Lake is already subjected to profound changes in quantity and quality, owing to upstream irrigation and industrial activities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Concerted consultation with Indigenous groups would be helpful and important for any new option. In this case, there is potential for revenue sharing, helping to address problematic concerns at the level of the five to six communities in proximity. The idea is worth considering. And more importantly, this exercise shows that we should never give up considering new alternatives, nor cease using our ingenuity to think outside of the box to come up with innovative and multi-benefit solutions. Edward Schreyer served as Manitobas 16th premier, from 1969 through 1977, and Canadas 22nd Governor General, from 1979 through 1984. Robert Parsons teaches sustainability economics and basic quantitative methods at the I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba, and helped clarify the economics. RECENTLY, I witnessed a scene that tugged at my heartstrings. A group of health-care workers at the Riverview Health Centre surrounded my physically frail but mentally strong 96-year-old mother, sang her a song and then individually hugged her. Opinion RECENTLY, I witnessed a scene that tugged at my heartstrings. A group of health-care workers at the Riverview Health Centre surrounded my physically frail but mentally strong 96-year-old mother, sang her a song and then individually hugged her. I cant help but contrast this occasion with a recent event that occurred outside the British Columbia legislature. At a rally organized by COVID-19 vaccine-mandate opponents, B.C.s premier and two senior ministers were hanged in effigy. Speakers at this protest claimed the vaccine is actually an "experimental drug" and therefore runs afoul of the code of ethics developed during the Nuremberg trials. Across this country, politicians, public-health officials and health-care workers are not only being accused of the most heinous crimes, they are also being threatened, physically intimidated and assaulted. The vilification of doctors, nurses and others associated with vaccines needs to stop. As a former school social worker, I participated in threat assessments of students who engaged in behaviour that is typical of the anti-vaccine protesters. One element of these assessments that seems to be relevant here is that of "the empty vessel" when evaluating a students potential for violence, we would ask what this student was accessing to fill up their mind. In many of those cases, it was violent video games and online influences full of hate-filled rhetoric. What are the sources of information the anti-vaccine protesters are considering in developing their distorted beliefs? In two words: conspiracy theories. It is time to acknowledge that conspiracy theories have gone far beyond alternative narratives to explain a major event. Across this country, politicians, public-health officials and health-care workers are not only being accused of the most heinous crimes, they are also being threatened, physically intimidated and assaulted. The vilification of doctors, nurses and others associated with vaccines needs to stop. Conspiracy theories appeal to monological thinkers that is, those who want information from a singular source, free of any consideration of alternative discourse. The problem is that conspiracy theory believers have become fixated on these theories to the extent that they are unwavering in the face of contrasting evidence. In effect, we are seeing people who are embracing delusional rather than critical thinking. Its a sad state of affairs, and it doesnt augur well for the future. On one hand, you have people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose latest book, titled The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health, reinforces the conspiratorial anti-vaccine beliefs of a significant percentage of our population. On the other hand, you have a group of dedicated local critical-care doctors who, in response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, recently issued an "appeal to common sense and reason" involving the utility of vaccinations and the reduction of person-to-person contact. What can be done to bridge the gap here? Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. First of all, lets call a spade a spade. Conspiracy theories arent benign; they have become dangerous and, as such, should be labelled as a form of psychopathology. If you embrace conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine misinformation, do so at your peril. Consider, as an alternative, speaking to someone who can help you think more logically and analytically. If you want to protest the loss of your freedoms, dont invoke a comparison to Nazi Germany, and dont threaten decent hard-working people who are doing their best to get us out of this pandemic. Do not expect that you will continue to be able to intimidate and abuse public-health officials and health-care employees with impunity. Consider being proactive, rather than reactive, and focus on the common ground that is, what we have in common in terms of our needs and interests that could help us move forward together. Consider, as well, that good communication can solve 90 per cent of the problems in the world. We can and must communicate better. Ultimately, our much beleaguered health-care workers need us to be better. These medical people are the heart and soul of an overworked system, a system that needs us to care as much as they do. Mac Horsburgh lives in Winnipeg and is a patient advocate. More than 200 Hong Kong police raided and shut down one of the last pro-democracy news websites in Hong Kong last week, in the latest sign that the Beijing regime will no longer tolerate dissent of any kind. It was total overkill a couple of cops with a court order would have sufficed but they were sending a message to other malcontents. Opinion More than 200 Hong Kong police raided and shut down one of the last pro-democracy news websites in Hong Kong last week, in the latest sign that the Beijing regime will no longer tolerate dissent of any kind. It was total overkill a couple of cops with a court order would have sufficed but they were "sending a message" to other "malcontents." Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee defended the police operation (which also arrested current and former editors and board members in their homes) in fluent Orwellian Newspeak: "Anybody who attempts to use media work as a tool to pursue their political purpose contravenes the law. They are the evil elements that damage press freedom." Its not just Hong Kong: all of China is closing down. The limited free speech and tolerance of dissent that prevailed for 20 years under President Xi Jinpings predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, have been systematically eroded, and Xi is now effectively president-for-life. He even encourages a personality cult, something the Party had managed to avoid since the catastrophe of Chairman Mao Zedong. And theres no velvet glove on the iron hand any more: uppity ethnic groups such as the Tibetans and Uyghurs are just overwhelmed by imported majorities of Han Chinese, and those who complain get sent to concentration camps. Its the same abroad. "Wolf warrior" diplomats berate the foreign countries they are stationed in for any criticism of China, and the crushing of Hong Kongs liberties signals the abandonment of any notion of seducing Taiwan into unification under the banner of "one country, two systems." When the time comes, it will be annexed by force. But the question is: why now? Xis personality is authoritarian, to be sure, but that is pretty standard among the "princelings" who grew up as part of the second and third generation Communist aristocracy. Yet for decades they supported term limits on the leadership, because that protected them from being victimized by another Mao figure. If they now accept Xis elevation to supreme and perpetual power, it cannot just be because they are afraid of him. Hes only one man. There also has to be some sense among others in the Partys leadership that it will need a tough autocrat to ride out the coming storms and preserve its rule. So what storms might those be? It has been evident for years that Beijing was cooking the books and overstating Chinas economic growth rate. It was obvious from previous examples in which industrializing countries enjoyed high growth rates by exploiting cheap labour flooding into the cities from the countryside that this was a once-only bonus. The 10 per cent growth never lasts more than one generation; then it falls back to the "normal" two to three per cent. Recent examples are Japan (1955-85) and South Korea (1960-90). Maybe the Chinese regime thought they were exempt because they were Communists, but they were ignoring the fact the Soviets rode the exactly same economic roller-coaster (except it was interrupted in the middle by the Second World War). Or maybe they just forgot they are really running a hybrid capitalist economy, not a Communist one. Like it or not, China has had its 30 years of high-speed growth (1985-2015), and behind a facade of lies its real growth rate has already been falling for at least half a decade. In the last few quarters, indeed, Chinas Gross Domestic Product has grown at half the rate of the American GDP. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. That is partly due to a surge in U.S. production while the economy recovers from the COVID-19 lockdowns, but the published Chinese growth rates have been fictions for at least the past five years. Realistic estimates, "reverse-engineered" from electricity consumption and other proxies, have been more like three to four per cent, and growth is destined to fall further. The Chinese birth rate has collapsed: each new age cohort entering the workforce will be much smaller than the one before, which will hit demand very hard. Moreover, the debt incurred by reckless over-investment in housing, roads and other infrastructure, just to keep the employment and growth statistics up, is already a major burden on the economy. Two implications of this are long-term threats to Communist rule in China. The Partys promise to overtake the U.S. economy and make China the worlds dominant power will probably never come to pass, nor will its promise to raise Chinese living standards to a developed-world level. (Current GDP per capita is only US$9,000.) If the Communist Party cant deliver on those two promises, what gives it the right to monopolize political power in China? Its certainly not delivering on its old promise of equality, either. No wonder Xi Jinping is battening down the hatches politically, and no wonder the nomenklatura (to use the old Soviet word) are going along with it. Stagnation awaits. Gwynne Dyers new book is The Shortest History of War. Premier Heather Stefanson is not convinced the Omicron variant sweeping through Manitoba will put enough pressure on hospitals to warrant new restrictions. Premier Heather Stefanson is not convinced the Omicron variant sweeping through Manitoba will put enough pressure on hospitals to warrant new restrictions. The premier didnt use those exact words during her COVID-19 briefing Tuesday. However, she implied it more than once when asked when, or if, the province plans to bring in new restrictions to blunt the impact of the rapidly spreading variant. "I think were learning more and more about the Omicron variant every day," she said, adding the situation is evolving rapidly and that more analysis is needed to determine how the variant may affect hospital admissions. Ms. Stefanson said several times that Omicron, although more contagious, appears to cause less severe illness. The inference was that despite record infection rates, the variant might not overwhelm hospitals. Thats a dangerous gamble, the kind that has not ended well for the Progressive Conservative government, nor for Manitobans, throughout the pandemic. A stunning lack of foresight and preparedness during past waves led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths and a hospital system unable to provide basic patient care. When asked Tuesday if history was about to repeat itself, Ms. Stefanson who served as health minister during the third wave stubbornly and inaccurately insisted her government has acted proactively during the pandemic and continues to do so today. The evidence facing Manitoba paints a less optimistic picture than what the premier presented this week. Modelling in Ontario released Monday shows if government took no action, hospitals there would be overwhelmed within a matter of weeks, perhaps days. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government had no choice but to bring in strict public-health restrictions, including the shuttering of bars and restaurants. Quebec has imposed more drastic measures, including the resurrection of its nightly curfew. Want more great journalism? Get our best news and features delivered in your inbox every weekday evening. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Its unclear why the Stefanson government believes Manitoba is immune from those realities, especially since it has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita in Canada. The number of hospitalizations has almost doubled over the past two weeks and daily cases are approaching 2,000. Manitoba hospitals are already under duress: more elective surgeries and other non-urgent hospital procedures have been cancelled to make room for an expected surge of COVID-19 patients. Some patients in Winnipeg hospitals have been relocated to facilities outside the capital city in recent weeks as a way of "managing" capacity. There is little, if any, slack in the system; exhausted front-line staff can barely keep up with existing demand. Its worth noting that the impacts are not limited to health care; on Wednesday, the Winnipeg Police Service declared a state of emergency related to the Omicron surge, reporting 170 employees are currently off on coronavirus-related leave. The prudent move for the province would have been to impose strict public-health measures prior to Christmas to slow the spread of the virus. The Omicron variant is too contagious to stop altogether. However, a determined effort to flatten the curve an early-pandemic mantra long since abandoned by this government would help prevent a sudden surge of hospitalizations. Ms. Stefanson opted against that approach. She made only minor changes to public-health orders two weeks ago, which appear to have done nothing to slow the spread of the virus. No further action was taken this week, despite a significant rise in hospitalizations in recent days, except to delay in-person learning in public schools by one week. Without further public-health restrictions, the risk hospitals will be overwhelmed is extremely high. Ms. Stefanson appears willing to take that chance. By doing so, she is rolling the dice with the lives and safety of Manitobans. OTTAWA The federal government has sent Saskatchewan more than double the number of COVID-19 rapid tests Manitoba has received, despite the Liberals pledging to treat all provinces equally. OTTAWA The federal government has sent Saskatchewan more than double the number of COVID-19 rapid tests Manitoba has received, despite the Liberals pledging to treat all provinces equally. Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal told the Free Press the discrepancy stems from Saskatchewan requesting a higher number of test kits. "We need to arrive at something that is fair; we need to make sure that every Canadian has access to rapid test and every Manitoban does as well," said Vandal, who represents St. BonifaceSt. Vital. For weeks, Manitobans have been left scratching their heads at why neighbouring Saskatchewan doles out test kits to the public at libraries and Co-op stores, when the local vast majority have never seen a rapid test with their own eyes. MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal. Data from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments suggest, as of Nov. 30, Saskatchewan had received a cumulative 9.5 million rapid tests, while Manitoba got 2.7 million tests from Ottawa. Saskatchewans public safety agency said in December 2021, it received an additional four million tests. Ottawa said it sent 2.45 million to Manitoba that month, yet the provincial government pegged its received shipments at three million. That means in the year 2021, Saskatchewan got a total of 13.5 million rapid tests from the federal government, while Manitoba received some 5.1 to 5.7 million. (Saskatchewan has a population roughly 15 per cent smaller than Manitobas.) Vandal, the sole Manitoban in cabinet, said the numbers reflect provincial demands. We need to arrive at something that is fair; we need to make sure that every Canadian has access to rapid test and every Manitoban does as well. Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal "Im told that Saskatchewan requested a large number of rapid tests last year, as part of their public rapid test rollout program, and thats why theyve received a higher number, which I really wasnt aware of until recently," he said. Central Services said Tuesday all rapid tests Manitoba received in December have already been deployed to COVID-19 testing sites, schools, First Nations, health-care facilities, Winnipeg first responders, and employers who need to test unvaccinated staff as part of public health orders. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced provinces and territories would receive 140 million rapid tests in January. Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos noted this amounts to one test per Canadian per week, and said the tests would be distributed to provinces on a per-capita basis. THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A rapid antigen COVID-19 test. "The demands of the provinces we take those into account, but we have to make sure that everyone is treated fairly," Duclos told reporters in French on Parliament Hill. Vandal argued his government ought to balance out these looming shipments to account for provinces that already received substantially more or fewer tests. "That has to be a factor in the analysis that public servants are doing when they distribute those. I think we need to work in tandem and good faith with provincial officials," the MP said. Vandal said there might be some wiggle room for "extenuating circumstances," such as providing larger shipments upfront to hard-to-reach communities, but the distribution should be proportionate to population over the long term. Im told that Saskatchewan requested a large number of rapid tests last year, as part of their public rapid test rollout program, and thats why theyve received a higher number." Dan Vandal "As always, Im going to certainly advocate for Manitoba, to make sure were getting our fair share." Yet, certain provinces have already been told how much to expect with Duclos saying Wednesday hed informed his Quebec counterpart to expect 31.5 million rapid tests this month. Manitobas deputy provincial chief public health officer said Wednesday he had no information other than what Ottawa had said publicly. THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES/JOHN WOODS Manitoba deputy chief provincial public health officer, Dr. Jazz Atwal. "Were thankful for the additional tests that are coming, and well be looking to utilize them in the most appropriate fashion for Manitobans," said Dr. Jazz Atwal. The office of Premier Heather Stefanson had no comment Tuesday on the difference in shipments. Central Services Minister Reg Helwer was unavailable Wednesday for an interview, but his department said it asked the federal government this fall for 19.4 million tests, for the period from December 2021 to March 2022. Ottawas newly announced 140 million tests would mean roughly five million for Manitoba in January, if delivered on a proportionate basis. Duclos would not say whether provinces can expect similarly high deliveries in subsequent months. Manitoba has been far more hesitant than Saskatchewan to provide rapid tests to the general public, because the tests are deemed less sensitive at detecting the novel coronavirus, particularly in those without symptoms. I know some people had been using rapid-antigen tests to have get-togethers. That is not a good utilization of that test, and will miss a number of infections related to that. Thats why we dont recommend it. Dr. Jazz Atwal While rapid tests can detect extremely contagious people with high viral loads particularly with the Omicron variant they are not perfect, Atwal warned. He said rapid tests are good at sussing out whether someone with symptoms has COVID-19 or another ailment, and recurring use for unvaccinated people can cut down on the risk of outbreaks in high-risk settings. But otherwise, a negative test can give a false sense of security, he said, particularly for one-time use. "I know some people had been using rapid-antigen tests to have get-togethers," Atwal said. "That is not a good utilization of that test, and will miss a number of infections related to that. Thats why we dont recommend it." Vandal said the knock-on impact is MP constituency offices getting calls from the public, asking where they can find the abundance of rapid tests federal ministers keeps mentioning in news conferences. "All governments need to be more clear with what theyre delivering and I think Manitoba needs to be more clear with what theyre delivering to Manitobans," he said. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Manitoba has struck its own note on rapid tests since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, at first rushing to procure its own supply while lamenting slow shipments from Ottawa, and then rejecting some of those provided tests as inferior. Leading into the holidays, Manitoba was one of the few provinces that did not provide any tests to the public, leading to Winnipeg retailers selling privately procured rapid tests for as much as $40 a pop. Meanwhile, the province has put on pause a September program to distribute tests to businesses through the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, after ordering a probe into taxpayer-paid tests being used for private gatherings amid soaring demand for these kits. with files from Danielle Da Silva dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Deep into a fourth wave of COVID-19, this one fuelled by the hyper-infectious Omicron variant, Manitoba seems once again to be hilariously unprepared in the critical area of testing. Deep into a fourth wave of COVID-19, this one fuelled by the hyper-infectious Omicron variant, Manitoba seems once again to be hilariously unprepared in the critical area of testing. As the province sets a new record almost every day for new infections, Manitobans are forced to wait for hours in line to get a PCR test, and then days to get a result. The delays at the front-end of the testing system are being exacerbated by a lack of lab capacity; there are nearly 7,000 unprocessed nasal swabs sitting in labs right now. In response to the testing crunch, Manitoba is following the lead of other provinces and limiting access to PCR tests. New rules introduced Wednesday limit PCR tests the so-called gold standard for detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 to select constituencies including symptomatic patients in hospital, those with weakened immune systems, the homeless and anyone who has travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days. Dozens wait in -20 C temperatures last month at University of Manitoba SmartPark for a COVID-19 test. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press) Even those who get a positive result from a rapid antigen test will have less access to a followup PCR test. Now, a short list that includes health-care workers, first responders, family caregivers, staff and students in the public school system will be eligible to get a PCR test. At first blush, the move to limit access to PCR tests is understandable, given that Omicron is exponentially more infectious than previous variants. But its also cause for concern. From an epidemiological perspective, its exceedingly risky to limit access to PCR tests and push more people to rapid antigen tests, which are considerably less accurate. From an epidemiological perspective, its exceedingly risky to limit access to PCR tests and push more people to rapid antigen tests, which are considerably less accurate. From a political and practical perspective, its also an admission that Premier Heather Stefanson and her Progressive Conservative government have given up all hope of expanding PCR testing capacity. And we should all be worried about how that will affect our ability to escape the grips of Omicron. We should also be concerned that, once again, it appears the Tory government has failed to use the lulls between waves of COVID-19 to address chronic problems with the pandemic response, including nurse staffing and testing. Remember that after the first wave of COVID-19 in the late winter of 2020, then-premier Brian Pallister dismantled the pandemic command structure and closed testing sites. When the second wave hit in the fall, it took weeks to restore capacity. Since then, some steps have been taken to expand testing capacity. Government contracted with two private labs BioScision Diagnostics and Dynacare to process more nasal swabs. it also opened several rapid PCR test sites to produce same-day results for people working in public education. However, the number of testing sites has continued to ebb and flow with each wave of COVID19, and even with help from private labs, its clear we cannot keep up with current demand. However, the number of testing sites has continued to ebb and flow with each wave of COVID-19, and even with help from private labs, its clear we cannot keep up with current demand. What the province really needs is a support system of facilities and trained medical professionals, qualified to administer the PCR nasal swab test, that can be mobilized on short notice to help support the larger test sites with minimal lead time. Remarkably, the Tory government was offered just such a support system. Back in the spring of 2020, during the first wave of COVID-19, Doctors Manitoba said about two dozen physician-owned community clinics were willing to act as testing sites. However, only two such clinics the Dakota Medical Centre and the Minor Illness and Injury Clinic were approved to conduct after-hours testing. Dakota does its testing at its main facility on Dakota Street, while the Minor Illness and Injury Clinic partnered with Red River College to operate a drive-through testing site at the schools Notre Dame campus. That left more than 20 other community clinics ready and willing to perform nasal swabs. Health care workers assemble COVID-19 rapid testing kits for distribution last month. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files) Why wouldnt the province contract with these clinics to ramp up testing capacity on a rapid-response basis? It appears government didnt want to pay the clinics to perform this valuable service. When discussions were taking place, Doctors Manitoba asked government to fairly compensate clinics for additional costs associated with collecting nasal swabs. First, the clinics needed to be open longer than normal; the testing had to be done after hours when regular patients had come and gone. Second, the clinics needed support for upgraded personal protective equipment (PPE) and for enhanced cleaning before the clinics reopened the next morning. Doctors Manitoba said that after raising the issue of compensation, government lost interest in the whole idea. That is an odd response from a government that admitted just last month it still had $380 million in its pandemic-response kitty to be used to expand and enhance medical and economic programs. There is no way to know if these clinics would have been able to perform enough tests to keep up with the sheer demand from the Omicron wave. But you can bet it would have moved the needle in the right direction at a time when we really need some positive news. We desperately need to make better use of the lulls between waves of COVID-19 to build capacity in key areas of the pandemic response. As emergency preparedness experts often say, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. OTTAWA - Grocery stores are being urged to reinstate hazard pay for workers facing extra health and safety risks from the highly contagious Omicron variant. Brian Masse stands with other members of the NDP caucus to applaud NDP leader Jagmeet Singh at the start of a two day caucus meeting in Ottawa, Wednesday January 22, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - Grocery stores are being urged to reinstate hazard pay for workers facing extra health and safety risks from the highly contagious Omicron variant. The federal NDP critic for economic development has written to the heads of Canada's biggest supermarkets asking them to restore "pandemic pay," which was brought in after COVID-19 first struck but was then cancelled. Brian Masse, MP for Windsor West, says grocery store workers, including those at the checkout, are doing risky work during the Omicron surge and again deserve "hazard pay" for helping to keep stores open and shelves stocked. He said supermarket workers are "unrecognized heroes" going into work to ensure Canadians don't face shortages. More often women and ethnic minorities, and with low incomes, these workers should be made to feel their work during the Omicron surge is valued, Masse said. "It is eye-popping that two years after the pandemic started we should be still be discussing rights and rewards for essential workers," he told The Canadian Press. "There's no doubt they are essential. It's not just groceries, but pharmacies and other stores we rely on." The MP says he wants to hold Sobeys CEO Michael Medline to his promise before a Commons committee in July 2020 that he would reintroduce a wage premium if provinces reinstated public health restrictions. Masse sits on the House of Commons standing committee on industry and technology, which in summer 2020 held hearings into supermarkets decisions to cancel pay boosts for their employees during the pandemic. At the committee Medline, president and CEO of Empire, which owns Sobeys, was the only supermarket chief to commit to reinstate pay boosts if new COVID-19 lockdowns were introduced. "Should this terrible virus rear its ugly head to the degree that provincial authorities in certain regions of a province go back to lockdown like we experienced in March and April, we will put hero pay back into our company stores in those regions or cities. That would be the right thing to do," he said. Sobeys and a few other grocery store chains provided workers with a temporary wage bump during the third wave of COVID-19 in spring 2021. On Wednesday Masse wrote to Medline along with Eric La Fleche, president and CEO of Metro, which also owns Super C and Food Basics, and Galen G. Weston, chairman and president of Loblaw, asking if they planned to bring in pandemic pay boosts now that some provinces have reintroduced restrictions to tackle the Omicron variant. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Ontario has returned schools to online learning while Quebec has begun Sunday closures of stores, with the exception of pharmacies, convenience stores and gas stations.British Columbia and Manitoba have also tightened controls. Loblaw did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Metro declined to comment. Sobeys said it had distributed over $110 million in "hero pay" and bonuses to its front-line team members. In his reply to Masse, Medline said it had offered a lockdown bonus program in Nova Scotia and Ontario this past summer, as they were each in lockdowns that closed all non-essential retail. Jacquelin Weatherbee, vice-president of communications at Sobeys, said the company is closely watching the constantly changing government restrictions. "As our president and CEO promised in July 2020 at the (committee) hearing, should we find ourselves in government-mandated lockdowns that close all non-essential retail, we will reinstate our lockdown bonus as we have done every single time, since that promise was made." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2022. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden accused Donald Trump and his supporters of holding a dagger at the throat of democracy in a forceful speech Thursday marking the anniversary of the deadly breach of the U.S. Capitol. He warned that though it didnt succeed, the insurrection remains a serious threat to Americas system of government. The U.S. Capitol is seen at dawn, one year after the violent Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump who assaulted police and smashed their way into the Congress to interrupt the Electoral College certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory, in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden accused Donald Trump and his supporters of holding a dagger at the throat of democracy in a forceful speech Thursday marking the anniversary of the deadly breach of the U.S. Capitol. He warned that though it didnt succeed, the insurrection remains a serious threat to Americas system of government. Bidens criticism was blistering of the defeated president whom he blamed for the attack that has fundamentally changed Congress and the nation, and raised global concerns about the future of American democracy. For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, Biden said. You cant love your country only when you win." His voice booming at times, filling the ornate Statuary Hall where rioters had laid siege, the president called on Americans to remember what they saw Jan. 6 with their own eyes: the mob attacking police, breaking windows, a Confederate flag inside the Capitol, gallows erected outside threatening to hang the vice president all while Trump sat at the White House watching it on TV. The former presidents supporters are trying to rewrite history. They want you to see Election Day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6 as a true expression of the will of the people. Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country, to look at America? I cannot. A large group of police arrive on a bus at the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. President Joe Biden and members of Congress are solemnly marking the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection. Lawmakers are holding events Thursday to reflect on the violent attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The ceremonies will be widely attended by Democrats, but almost every Republican on Capitol Hill will be absent. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The president's remarks launched the start of daylong remembrance, drawing a contrast between the truth of what happened and the false narratives that persist about the Capitol assault, including the continued refusal by many Republicans to affirm that Biden won the 2020 election. We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie, he said. "The former president of the United States of America has spread a web of lies about the 2020 election." He said: We are in a battle for the soul of America. I did not seek this fight, brought to this Capitol one year from today. But I will not shrink from it either. I will stand in this breach, I will defend this nation. I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of this democracy. Republican leaders and lawmakers are largely staying away from the day's remembrance events, viewing them as overly politicized. From Florida, Trump dashed off a statement claiming Biden was trying to further divide America. This political theater is all just a distraction. President Joe Biden listens as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Pool via AP) Even among congressional Republicans who condemned the attack in the days afterward, most have stayed loyal to the former president. What brazen politicization of January 6 by President Biden, tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a sometimes Trump confidant. Others, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, were absent, with a contingent attending the funeral for a former colleague Sen. Johnny Isakson in Georgia. The division is a stark reminder of the rupture between the two parties, worsening since hundreds of Trumps supporters violently pushed past police, used their fists and flagpoles to break through the windows of the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Bidens victory. Rep. Liz Cheney, chair of the House committee investigating the attack and one of the few GOP lawmakers attending the Capitol ceremonies, warned that the threat continues. Trump, she said, "continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6. Unfortunately, too many in my own party are embracing the former president, are looking the other way or minimizing the danger, she told NBC's Today. Thats how democracies die. We simply cannot let that happen. In a bid to inform the public, Democrats investigating the insurrection plan to spend the coming months telling the American people exactly what happened last Jan. 6. But leaders will spend the anniversary appealing to broader patriotic instincts. President Joe Biden speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. (Jabin Botsford//The Washington Post via AP, Pool) Biden and his administration have come under criticism from some in his party for not forcibly explaining to Americans the ways democracy is at risk, or pushing Congress hard enough to pass election and voting rights legislation that is stalled by a filibuster in the Senate. Barack Obama, the former president, said nothing is more important on the anniversary than ensuring the right to vote. While the broken windows have been repaired and many of the rioters have been brought to justice, the truth is that our democracy is at greater risk today than it was back then, Obama said in a statement. Biden's address, and that of Vice President Kamala Harris who is leading the administration's efforts on the voting and elections legislation, appeared as a direct response to critics. We must pass voting rights bills, said Harris, addressing those gathered. We cannot sit on the sidelines. We must unite in defense of our democracy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, too, is marking the anniversary with a high-minded appeal, telling The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that democracy won that night, when Congress returned to the Capitol after the riot and affirmed Bidens victory. To honor the anniversary, Pelosi has scheduled a moment of silence in the House, where many members were evacuated and some were trapped as the rioters tried to break in. She will also deliver private remarks to Hill staff who, as she told AP, stayed to protect our democracy. Later the Democratic leaders will hold a moderated discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham; and a session featuring testimonials from members who were there that day. While many lawmakers will be absent due to concerns about COVID-19, several of the events will be livestreamed so they can participate. The Senate also marked the day with a moment of silence and planned speeches. Bidens sharp message and the Republicans distance from it come as lawmakers are adjusting to the new normal on Capitol Hill the growing tensions that many worry will result in more violence or, someday, a legitimate election being overturned. Democrats and a handful of Republicans feel a desperate urgency to connect to a public in which some have come to believe Trumps lies that the election was stolen from him and that the attack wasnt violent at all. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 3 in 10 Republicans say the attack was not violent, and about another 3 in 10 say it was somewhat violent. Around two-thirds of Americans described the day as very or extremely violent, including about 9 in 10 Democrats. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. As Biden is prepared to direct blame toward the former president, the percentage of Americans who blame Trump for the Jan. 6 riot has grown slightly over the past year, with 57% saying he bears significant responsibility for what took place. In an AP-NORC poll taken in the days after the attack, 50% said that. Trump's claims of widespread election fraud were rejected by the courts and refuted by his own Justice Department. An investigation by the AP found fewer than 475 cases of voter fraud among 25.5 million ballots cast in the six battleground states disputed by Trump, a minuscule number in percentage terms. ___ Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report. The Winona County Sheriffs Office announced it handed out 352 vouchers from the LightsOn program during 2021. The LightsOn program is used whenever an officer pulls over a vehicle for a burned-out bulb. The officer then gives out a voucher that can be used to repair the bulb at any auto repair shop that participates in the program. The program also strives to heal and transform police-community relationships. When participating officers pull over a driver for a burnt-out bulb, they can move with more confidence and hope knowing that they have a tool, a Lights On! voucher, to make this interaction restorative, according to the website. There are 115 sheriffs offices and police departments participating in the program, most of them being in Minnesota. According to the programs website, LightsOn was started in the aftermath of the 2016 death of Philando Castille, who was shot by police at a traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb. The website goes into detail of the founding of the program by stating, The MicroGrants Board of Directors discussed ways that they could prevent such a terrible event from happening again. MicroGrants already had connections to low-income drivers, auto repair shops, and law enforcement. MicroGrants CEO Don Samuels, former Public Safety Chair of the Minneapolis City Council, called a number of police departments to ask whether they were interested in joining the program. The vouchers handed out by deputies in Winona amount to $88,000 in repairs. The program is funded by the MicroGrants organization and also takes donations. To learn more about the LightsOn program, visit https://www.lightsonus.org/ Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Denver Brown, a certified physician assistant (PA-C) at Winona Health, has received the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program and Services 2021 Preceptor of the Year award. According to Maria Meller, coordinator of Clinical Program Services Department of Physician Assistant Studies and Services, Denver has been a favorite with the Program for many years. The award was presented in December 2021 by Dr. David Aspery, professor and chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. Brown has been caring for the community at Winona Health since 2016. He is from Becker, Minnesota, and earned his bachelors degree from Winona State University before completing the physician assistant program at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He achieved a perfect score on his Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). While earning his undergraduate degree, he was a supplemental instructor for Anatomy and Physiology and a nursing assistant at Saint Anne of Winona, now Benedictine Living Community Winona. To schedule appointment with Denver Brown, PA-C, who is also a certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist, call the Winona Health Family Medicine department at 507.457.7648. To learn more about Winona Health and local healthcare providers, visit winonahealth.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KANKAKEE, Ill. A police officer who was killed at a northern Illinois hotel pleaded for her life before a man allegedly shot her with her own gun after she was disarmed during a struggle, a prosecutor said. Bradley police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic and her partner, Officer Tyler Bailey, were shot on Dec. 29 while investigating a noise complaint regarding dogs barking in a parked car outside a Comfort Inn. Bailey remained hospitalized Monday and is "fighting for his life," Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe said during a bond hearing for Xandria Harris. Rowe said during Monday's hearing that Harris' co-defendant, 25-year-old Darius Sullivan, had his own gun and used it to shoot Bailey in the head after the officers knocked on the pair's hotel room door, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Rowe said Sullivan then allegedly shot at Rittmanic as she tried to run away before he chased her down a hallway and pinned her against a door. As Sullivan and Rittmanic scuffled, he said Sullivan called out to Harris and she helped him disarm Rittmanic. Rowe said the encounter was captured on Rittmanic's body camera. He said Sullivan and Harris then allegedly stood over Rittmanic pointing guns at her as she lay on the floor, already shot once. "Sgt. Rittmanic was pleading with them to, 'Just leave, you don't have to do this, please just go, please don't, please don't,'" Rowe said. "She was desperately pleading for her life." While Harris held Sullivan's gun, Sullivan allegedly fired two shots from what prosecutors believe to be Rittmanic's gun, striking the sergeant in the neck area, Rowe said. Sullivan and Harris are charged with fatally shooting Rittmanic, 49, and critically wounding Bailey, 27. Sullivan, who was arrested in Indiana, is fighting extradition to Illinois. In a statement released through the Illinois State Police, Rittmanic's family said she sought to meet people where they were in life and work with them to find solutions. To her, the job was about making the community safe for everyone, and she believed that "just because you can, doesn't mean you should," the statement said. "If she pulled over a single mother without a $1 to her name but clearly had violations, she would consider the long-term consequences of creating more debt to someone that is already impoverished," Rittmanic's family said. The Bradley Police Department said Rittmanic was a 21-year law enforcement veteran who served as an Iroqouis County deputy before she joined the Bradley department in 2007. Rittmanic was a published poet, amateur photographer and film producer for family, police and community events, the department said. She met her wife, with whom she was an avid dog rescuer, in 1999, and they were married in 2011. Rowe said his office will seek life sentences on the state charges. He has asked the Justice Department to review the case with the intention of pursuing federal death penalty charges. Illinois is not a death penalty state. Rowe said in a news release that there is "recent precedent" for pursuing the federal death penalty for the murder of a law enforcement officer and also precedent for pursuing it in "non-death penalty states." A message seeking additional comment was left for Rowe on Tuesday by The Associated Press. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It didnt take long into 2022 for a big controversy to hit the news. A U.S. District Judge in Louisiana ruled the Joe Biden administration, cannot require teachers in the Head Start program to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a Jan. 2 ABC News story. The judge wrote that the Biden administration unlawfully bypassed Congress when ordering that workers in Head Start programs be vaccinated by January 31st. The ruling impacts 24 states that sued the federal governmentWisconsin was not in the suit, in the latest round of court action regarding federal vaccination mandates. The larger question at stake is the Biden administration mandate on companies with more than 100 employees, now scheduled to start in February. On Nov. 4, 2021, in a press release from whitehouse.gov, the Biden administration called on Occupational Safety and Health Administration to promulgate, a rule to require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests negative for COVID at least once a week. This rule covers 84 million employees. That initial action didnt take long to be challenged, and a Dec. 23, 2021, CNET story helped to track the proposals fate in the courtroom. On Nov. 5, the US Court of Appeals for the 5th District granted a temporary stay, effectively stopping the action, but on December 17th, a three-judge panel for the 6th District said OSHA has demonstrated the pervasive danger that COVID-19 poses to workers-unvaccinated workers in particular in their workplaces. This ruling set the current deadline of Feb. 9 for those large employers to implement protocols, but in another step, the ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. According to a Dec. 31, 2021, story in the New York Post, the justices are scheduled to hear arguments on January 7th in the case against the mandate. The same story outlined some of the main arguments from both sides. The Biden administration is arguing the federal government has the authority because the (recent) spike in cases represents a grave danger to workers. A Republican-led amici curiaefriend of the courtbrief stated, mandatory vaccinations do not stop individuals from contracting and transmitting COVID-19. Those 84 million Americans and their employers will be paying close attention to the Supreme Court this week and will await the next step in the mandate debate. Even if not included in the millions directly impacted, millions of other business owners and employees may be gauging their own paths based on the ruling. Rates of vaccination nationwide are a little above 60%, so that would leave perhaps 30 million or so set to be required to test weekly. What impact would 30 million folks seeking weekly tests have on available testing resources? Will employers seek to simply terminate anyone who doesnt get vaccinated? With staffing shortages running rampant amid a very stunted supply chain, what would be the impact of a large swath of unemployed workers? If the mandate is allowed to stand, will you be shunned in your workplace, or welcomed? Will the un-jabbed be outed and bullied? What additional burden would be placed on already strapped companies to enforce weekly testing? Who will pay for it? We again are posed with the question whether the federal government has the authority to mandate a medical procedure for everyone, or whether individuals are entrusted with their own medical decisions. Vaccination numbers across the board have largely leveled off with only a small uptick in response to the Omicron variant. Most folks in Wisconsin and across the nation have made their vaccination decisions. Those who have not been vaccinated are largely making that decision a very deliberate one and no amount of coercion or incentive is going to make those steeled in their resolve change their minds. How much further divided must our society become? Were seeing new sets of restrictions in places like Chicago and Boston banning unvaccinated people from accessing many basic services and accommodations. Just north of the border, a Nov. 30, 2021, Canadian Broadcasting Company story, showed the orange stickers required to be shown by fully vaccinated people to allow them to board trains and planes in Canada. No sticker, no travel. Is this what will come to the United States? Will you need some sort of badge to participate in society? You do have to live, or suffer with, the consequences of your own decisions, but they are your decisions. Make those decisions in consultation with your health care providers, or resources you trust for complete information, and chart your path. Scott Frostman lives in Baraboo, and has roots throughout Wisconsin. Opinions herein are exclusively his own. He believes anyone can make a difference and can be reached at scfrostman@gmail.com. JUNEAU Responding to concerns about the loss of farmland being used for solar development, John Butterbrodt offered some seeds of wisdom at the Dodge County Board meeting Dec. 21. Butterbrodt was present for the boards consideration of an amendment to the town of Beaver Dam Zoning Ordinance to allow the lease of 419 acres to Alliant Energy. The land includes property owned by William and Deborah Endres. It will house an installation of solar panels for the production of renewable energy. The site is off Highway B bordering the town of Trenton to the north and the town of Burnett to the east. The parcels are east of Beaver Dam and east of Highway A. Supervisor Mary Bobholz introduced the measure as a member of the Land Resources and Parks Committee. Only her signature and the signature of Allen Behl appeared on the report recommending the change. Bobholz explained that of the five-member committee one member was absent, one voted no, one abstained and two voted yes. According to the Alliant Energy website, We are adding nearly 1,100 megawatts of solar generation in Wisconsin by the end of 2023. That includes 12 projects across mostly rural parts of nine counties including Dodge. Supervisor Dan Siegmann, also a member of the Land Resources and Parks Committee, spoke against the proposal as an irreversible squandering of prime A-1 agricultural land. The zoning was to be changed to A-2 to accommodate solar panels. The land use code is in combination with our comprehensive plan and our farmland preservation plan, Siegmann said. These documents are like our constitution. Our county documents have a spirit behind them of protecting an unrenewable resource our land. I think we really have to start protecting this land. The problem here is that nothing is going on to stop it and its happening before our eyes. He quoted the comprehensive plan stating, Communities need to take on the additional role of stewards and protectors of land and soil and water resources. Dodge Countys rich heritage of rural character is found in agriculture cows, barns, fields, tractors. To continue Dodge Countys agricultural heritage community officials must address issues facing agriculture operations. County citizens desire to remain a farming community. Siegmann said once the land is used for solar panels it will be forever altered and may not return to agricultural use. In the Lomira and Brownsville area it has been absolutely devastating, said Supervisor Tim Kemmel of another solar generating project in Dodge County. If we continue to allow this land to be turned into solar farms our beautiful county is going to be a shambles. It has been a real battle and what well be left with is a bunch of metal panels on pedestals. No more corn. No more crops. This is what were going to be looking at in Lomira and Brownsville for the next 25 to 30 years. After a vote was taken to allow him to speak Butterbrodt, who will be 93 in a month, made his way to the podium and addressed the group. When they talk about 25 to 30 years, nobody knows whats going to happen, he said. My contract is for 50 years and I want you all to understand that I just had a great, great granddaughter born within the last 30 days. Ive got two more coming within 60 days. If you think I havent got lawyers who are going to keep my land from be ruined for farming forget it. Its my land. Its my worry. Not yours. He pointed out that dairy farms once lined every country road, but are now a relative rarity. I drove a team of horses with wagons of grain out to the threshing machine where Walmart and Menards now stand. Think of that, he said. Agriculture really has changed. Prime A1 Ag call it what you want. There are no animals out there. We grew corn and the corn went to the ethanol plant. Youre putting it into your cars. Solar will put it into your houses. Agriculture has changed. The vote to approve the land use change was 20 to 6, with one supervisor abstaining. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. COLUMBUS Columbus City Council approved forming a storm water utility for the city during its meeting Tuesday and will ask voters for permission to charge a fee. City officials will ask voters in an Apriul referendum: Shall the City of Columbus Storm water Utility be permitted to charge its customers for maintenance and operation of storm water management facilities and infrastructure without reducing the levy limit for fees collected? A yes vote authorizes the city to collect fees without reducing the tax levy by a corresponding amount in order to meet state levy limits. Columbus City Council President Ian Gray said creating the utility prior to the referendum, which would fund the utility, is doing things in the correct order. City administrator Kyle Ellefson said creating the utility had many benefits even if the referendum does not pass. It would allow the city to build funds over time for needed work in the city as well as showing the current expenses for storm water utility in the city of Columbus. A storm water utility operates like an electric or water utility and can spend funds to manage storm water. The referendum will determine how the funds it expends are raised. Other communities, including Beaver Dam, added storm water utilities before the state required taxpayer approval by residents. Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Dane County company is building a new plant in Texas in an effort to meet demand, be in a better location for its customers and tap into another pool of workers. Stoughton Trailers has announced that it is building a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Waco, Texas, where it will employ up to 125 people and expand production of intermodal trailer chassis that are in high demand due to increased shipping orders throughout the country. At the same time, the company has just completed the construction of an additional chassis production line at its Stoughton plant. The new line will ultimately employ about 150 people, with the plant increasing the production of components for chassis made in Stoughton, Evansville and Waco. The announcements come after federal rulings last spring that dramatically increased tariffs on intermodal chassis used to haul shipping containers imported from China and after Stoughton Trailers had made $30 million in improvements to its facilities in Dane and Rock counties over the last five years, including an expansion of its chassis line in Evansville. Business has been very good. And as we continue to get more orders and build our workforce were looking to expand that production, said Bob Wahlin, Stoughton Trailers president and CEO. Theres a lot there. And as weve done that, its helped us kind of diversify our workforce a little bit and cover some of our customers further to the south. The chassis are not those used on the typical trailers produced at Stoughton Trailers. Instead, they are built for containers that are often seen double-stacked on train cars or in multiple levels on ships. When the containers are off-loaded, each is placed on a chassis that is then pulled by truck to warehouses, distribution centers and stores. The Waco facility is about 200 miles from the Port of Houston and about 90 miles south of major rail terminals in Dallas and Fort Worth. Once the Waco, Stoughton and Evansville facilities are operating at capacity, Wahlin expects his company to be producing 20,000 to 25,000 chassis per year. Those efforts are being made possible by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which in April issued a 44.3% tariff for the next five years on the chassis and sub-assemblies, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which made a similar ruling that is expected to drive the total tariff to 221%. We do feel that this will get us well covered in the south and there could be future possibilities in the west and northeast, Wahlin said. We realize, particularly with the labor challenges, that we may have to go where theres a more available workforce. Were finding it very difficult to grow our facilities. Wahlin, whose company has 1,300 employees, said he has 500 job openings with wages starting at $18 per hour for assemblers and $20 per hour for welders, with second-shift workers getting $2 more per hour. Stoughton Trailers was founded in 1961 when Wahlins father, Don, who had graduated from UW-Madison a year earlier with an engineering degree, purchased a bankrupt cab and body manufacturing company and renamed the firm Stoughton Truck Body. Trailer production began in 1965 in a city-owned facility on Academy Street that is now home to the companys corporate headquarters and a newly built innovation center. Over the years, more facilities were added and today the company has 1.7 million square feet of manufacturing space for its intermodal chassis, trailers that haul dry goods, refrigerated trailers and grain trailers. In addition, ZinkPower, a German company that operates 50 sites in 13 countries, is operating a 110,000-square-foot galvanizing plant next door to the Stoughton plant in an effort to support Stoughton Trailers move away from painting. The new Waco plant, which had been planned for a warehouse before its purchase by Stoughton Trailers, is also next door to a similar ZinkPower facility, which has a galvanizing tank large enough to dip a 53-foot-long chassis. It really puts us in a good position, Wahlin said. Things just kind of fell into place for us. A Minnesota woman is facing 40 years in prison and $50,000 in fines after police allegedly found crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana following a traffic stop outside Mauston. Nolie Shipman, 32, of Anoka, Minnesota, is charged with felony possession with intent to deliver cocaine as a party to a crime, felony possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine as a party to a crime, misdemeanor possession of tetrahydrocannabinols and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted she faces up to 25 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000, or both, for the crack cocaine charge and up to 15 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000, or both, for the methamphetamine charge. According to the criminal complaint: On Nov. 12 Trooper Jeffrey Repaal was patrolling on Interstate 90/94 outside Mauston when he observed a vehicle approaching over the 70 mph speed limit. A radar reading gave speeds of 96 mph. After initiating a traffic stop Repaal made a passenger side approached. Inside the vehicle were a male driver, female passenger, and three additional passengers in the rear seats. As the window was rolled down Repaal immediately detected an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The driver stated he did not have a license and was driving to allow the female front passenger a break. The female passenger, identified as Nolie Shipman by her Minnesota drivers license, stated they were traveling from the St. Paul area to Chicago to see family. A records check showed Shipman had a valid status out of Minnesota. As Repaal finished the records check another trooper arrived to assist, and Repaal stated he would be searching the car. Asked if they had been smoking in the car, both the driver and Shipman stated they had not been. Asked if he would find any illicit drugs in the vehicle, both stated there was nothing in the car. Shipman told Repaal he did not smell marijuana in the car but on her hair from when she had smoked earlier. A search of the driver revealed no contraband. Prior to searching Shipman she stated she had a gram of marijuana in her bra, which she did not reveal earlier so as not to let the driver know. No other contraband was found on Shipmans person. The remaining three passengers were asked to step out of the vehicle so officers could search the vehicle. During the search Repaal found a digital scale with green leafy residue inside a bag containing feminine products. In the back seat Repaal found a small bag containing small bits of a green leafy substance. On the drivers side of the passenger compartment open intoxicants were found. Repaal attempted to open the trunk but was unable to do so, with Shipman stating the trunk was broken and could not be opened. Repaal was able to fold down the rear seats to search the trunk. Inside the trunk he located a clear bag containing smaller bags of white powdery substance and white crystalline substances. Inside a backpack in the trunk Repaal found a handgun with a magazine loaded with eight rounds and one in the chamber. Shipman said she did not know who the drugs or weapons belonged to and said anyone could have put them in her trunk. She was advised that since she was the owner of the car she could be held responsible for the cars contents. None of the other passengers or driver admitted to knowing about the drugs or guns. During the search police found 16.3 grams of crack cocaine, 8.8 grams of methamphetamine, two grams of raw marijuana, a handgun and ammunition. Shipman is scheduled for a plea hearing April 26 at the Juneau County Justice Center. Reach Christopher Jardine on Twitter @ChrisJJardine or contact him at 608-432-6591. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald tried Monday to happily mark his anniversary in Congress. One year ago today, I was sworn in and took on the duties of this office, the Juneau Republican tweeted with a ceremonial picture of him taking his oath at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 3, 2021. Fitzgerald needs to read that oath again and take it seriously this time. Fitzgerald swore to support and defend the Constitution and bear true faith and allegiance to the same, while faithfully discharging his responsibilities as a servant of the people. His commitment to those principles lasted all of three days. On Jan. 6, 2021, and into the wee hours of the next morning, Fitzgerald shamefully tried to block Arizonas and Pennsylvanias votes from being counted in the final certification for president. The rookie congressman even said he would have voted to disenfranchise Wisconsin voters if given the chance objecting to the very election that led to him being sworn in. Voters especially those in Wisconsins 5th Congressional District, which includes Jefferson, Washington and parts of Dodge and Waukesha counties should never forget his betrayal of American democracy. The same goes for voters in northern Wisconsins 7th Congressional District, whose U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, similarly sought to overturn a free and fair election. Fitzgerald and Tiffany were among more than 100 Republicans who will go down in history as traitors to democracy. Even after violent mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Bidens victory on Jan. 6, 2021, Fitzgerald and Tiffany still voted against the election results based on lies and conspiracy theories. They favored the fantasies of a terribly flawed and defeated President Donald Trump over the will of the American people. Judges some appointed by Trump in more than 60 court cases, multiple recounts, election audits and reviews have dismissed Trumps bogus claims that he won. Yet the huckster reality TV star turned leader of the free world for four long years still refuses to accept his defeat setting up another potential constitutional crisis in 2024. Fitzgerald, Tiffany, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and most Republican leaders in Washington seem more than happy to play along with Trumps falsehoods, undermining trust in our system of government and fomenting division. And their complicity undoubtedly contributed to the misinformed masses who attacked the U.S Capitol one year ago today, following Trumps orders at a rally outside the White House to go to the Capitol and fight like hell. The Jan. 6 attack was nothing short of an attempted coup. The angry mobs beat police officers with blunt objects, smashed an officer between doors and left more than 100 law enforcement officials injured, eventually ransacking the chambers and offices of Congress. A woman trying to force her way into the House chamber, where members of Congress were sheltering for protection, was shot and later died. One officer died of a stroke. Within days, two officers committed suicide. The attempt to stop our democracy by brute force even included chants to hang Mike Pence, Trumps vice president, for fulfilling his constitutional duty. Pence certified Bidens election, just as Biden had certified Trumps victory in 2016 when Biden was vice president. Though Johnson changed his mind hours after the Jan. 6 insurgency and voted with most members of Congress to certify Bidens election, Johnson was one of Trumps ringleaders in the plot leading up to the Capitol attack. And to this day, Johnson continues to downplay the seriousness of this historic American nightmare. Voters across Wisconsin should remember Johnsons failed leadership if he seeks a third term. Johnson only told the truth that Trump lost Theres nothing obviously skewed about the results when caught on hidden camera at a Republican Party event last August. If Johnson does seek reelection this fall even though he told voters during his last campaign that he wouldnt run again a principled and honest Republican should challenge him in the GOP primary, joining a bevy of Democratic candidates hoping to defeat him. The same goes for Fitzgerald and Tiffany, who dont deserve their positions. Republican voters who want their party to return to its conservative values of respecting tradition, limiting the reach of government and carefully spending money rather than catering to Trumps ego, whims and deception need to stand up. They need to tell Trumps apologists and enablers in Wisconsins congressional delegation its time to go. America needs honorable public servants to survive. Early on Thursday morning Columbia County Sheriff personnel were searching for a man who was reported to be lost in the woods after tracking a deer. Portage Fire Department was also dispatched to Schultz Road in the town of Lewiston to help with the rescue after the call at 12:41 a.m. The man had left a Schultz Road residence around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to track a deer on the west side of the property. Sheriffs Deputies found the mans ATV and began to follow his tracks. He was found in a drainage ditch with a wound to the inside of his right left. The man told deputies he was gored by a buck. Deputies reported he was disoriented and possibly suffering from hypothermia and provided him first aid while attempting to warm him. Portage Fire arrived on the scene with the department UTV and followed a sheriff deputy to the location of the man. The fire crew contacted Med Flight and advised them to land in a nearby field which was difficult due to the amount of snow in the field. The man was transferred into the helicopter The County Sheriffs Deputies were instrumental in saving the patients life. The Wisconsin DNR and Aspirus MedEvac were on scene as well, but were unable to gain access to the patient, Portage Fire Chief Troy Haase said. This rescue was a great example of multiple departments and entities working together to save a persons life. The PFD wants to thank the Columbia County Sheriffs Department, Med Flight, and the firefighters for responding and working together to save the life of one of our citizens. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MINERAL POINT They were veteran firefighters. Part of the backbone of this city where history is celebrated. But on Thursday this Iowa County community of 2,487 was in mourning after the two men with more than a combined 60 years of service with the Mineral Point Fire Department were killed in a crash on Highway 151 while responding to a rollover crash. The dangers of the four-lane highway, with its speeding traffic, big trucks and unpredictable weather, are well known and account for the majority of the Fire Departments calls. Making sense of a crash that claimed the lives of two of his firefighters, one of them a captain, proved difficult, however, for Chief Bryan Marr and the other volunteers who gathered at the station late Thursday morning to collectively grieve. Were still just trying to wrap our heads around it. Were trying to process this, said Marr, who has been with the department for nearly 30 years. They were just great people. Im at a loss. Were going to get through it, but were going to need some help with it. The Iowa County Sheriffs Office said the firefighters were driving north on the highway when at about 12:30 a.m. they attempted to use an emergency crossover just west of the Highway 23 exit on the citys north side. Thats when their fire truck, with its lights flashing, was struck by a northbound semitractor-trailer. The fire truck, a tanker with 2,000 gallons of water on board, caught fire and the two firefighters, whose names are not being released by the Wisconsin State Journal at the request of the Fire Department, died at the scene. The semi driver, whose name has not been released, refused medical treatment but as of late Thursday, the Sheriffs Office had not said if the driver faces possible charges. Attempts to reach Sheriff Steve Michek were unsuccessful. Autopsies are scheduled for Friday in Madison, Marr said. Firefighters from Mineral Point responded to the crash site but were later relieved by firefighters from the Dodgeville Fire Department. The crash closed the highway in both directions for nearly 15 hours. Our condolences to the Mineral Point Fire Department and the families of the (two) firefighters they lost today, the Dodgeville Fire Department posted on its Facebook page Thursday. Their service and dedication will not be forgotten. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. May the love and support of those around you help give you strength and peace in the days ahead. Words of comfort filled Facebook pages of fire departments from around the state. The deaths are believed to be the first in the line of duty in the long history of the Mineral Point Fire Department and the first in the state in 2022. According to the Wisconsin State Firefighters and EMS Memorial website, three firefighters died in 2020, three in 2019 and six in 2018. Deaths that year included Capt. Cory Barr of Sun Prairie, who died in a downtown explosion, and Richard Garner, 29, a Madison Fire Department firefighter and paramedic who collapsed suddenly and died shortly after his shift ended. Department veterans One of the Mineral Point firefighters who died had been with the department since 1984, the other since 1997. A family member of one of the men declined to speak with a reporter Thursday. Family for the other firefighter could not be reached. The department has about 40 members. Both of them were just huge assets to the department, Marr said. Theyre down here all of the time doing their due diligence not only for the whole department but for the whole community. One of those who came Thursday to assist Marr was Chad Grossen, deputy chief of operations for the Fitchburg Fire Department, who has known Marr for three decades. We want to make sure were taking care of each other, said Grossen. This is devastating. You can never plan for this stuff. A close community Mineral Point is one of the states most historic communities and was founded because of the areas rich lead deposits in the 1820s. Henry Dodge was inaugurated as the first governor of the newly formed Wisconsin Territory in 1836 in downtown Mineral Point, a year after the formation of the Fire Department. But now tourism is the main industry here. Pendarvis, a state historic site, is filled with restored Cornish cabins, while art studios and galleries line High Street and the restored Mineral Point Opera House brings in national touring acts. At the Midway Bar, a popular stop for pizza and steak sandwiches in the citys downtown, Nicole Faull, who has owned the business for three years and is vice president of the Mineral Point Chamber of Commerce, was in the midst of an annual weeklong deep clean and maintenance project that has her bar closed until Monday. However, she took a break Thursday to make pizzas to be delivered to the fire station Thursday evening. That whole crew operates as a large family, Faull said of the citys firefighters. Everyone feels this loss. But I think its going to bring a close-knit community closer together. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Saying current law needlessly exposes law-abiding citizens to potential prosecution, Republicans in the state Legislature want to allow people licensed to carry a concealed weapon to keep the weapon in their vehicles while on school grounds. If it passes, the bill would almost certainly be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a former school superintendent who has pushed for stricter rather than more lenient gun laws. The bill would lump Wisconsin among more than a dozen states that permit people licensed to carry a concealed weapon to keep their firearms in vehicles on school grounds. Co-author Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, said at an Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee hearing Wednesday that concealed carry licensees often have to go out of their way to drop their guns off at home to avoid bringing them onto school grounds, which currently constitutes a felony. Jacque conceded he knew of no cases in which someone lawfully carrying such a weapon had been prosecuted under those circumstances. While the bills critics did not appear at the public hearing Wednesday, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin executive director Debra Cronmiller said in a statement, We believe that local school policy regarding weapons on school grounds is sound and helps protect our children. No guns should be allowed on school property to ensure maximum safety. That sentiment was echoed by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, which said in a statement, The WASB opposes any initiatives at the state level that would legalize any further ability for anyone, with the exception of sworn law enforcement officers, to bring a weapon or possess a weapon, concealed or otherwise, in school zones. Places of worship Also Wednesday, the Assembly State Affairs Committee passed on a party-line vote a second bill allowing conceal carry licensees to bring firearms into places of worship on private school grounds if the facilities management allows them. Rep. Treig Pronchinske, R-Mondovi, said at a December hearing that the bill would provide peace of mind for those who may fear persecution for their faith. At that hearing, Pronchinske pointed to an incident two years ago in Texas, where a West Freeway Church of Christ volunteer security guard pulled out his gun to shoot and kill an active gunman who had killed two people, putting an end to a shooting that could have led to more deaths. Guns are already permitted in places of worship at the discretion of management, as long as they are not on private school grounds. Gun control Speaking against the bill, Wisconsin Catholic Conference executive director Kim Vercauteren in December said the bill would lead to more violence if it gets signed into law. As a greater prevalence of guns is associated with greater numbers of accidental or unintentional firearm injuries and deaths, it is imperative that great care be exercised to mitigate the presence of firearms where vulnerable, impressionable children are present, she said. Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature have clashed on gun control legislation in the past. For example, in 2019 Evers called his first special session encouraging legislators to consider and pass two bills with widespread voter support that would have increased background checks and allowed judges to take guns away from owners they deemed risky. Republican leaders called the bills an infringement on Second Amendment rights and ended the special session just seconds after it began. Editor's note: This story corrects the name of a state representative who commented at a December hearing. It was Rep. Treig Pronchinske, R-Mondovi. For the last 12 months of public service as the State Rep. for the 41st District, I have spent countless hours and days learning more about the people and businesses I represent. Whatever corner of the district I visit, and everywhere in between, I use the opportunity to learn something new while providing my constituents the opportunity to get to know me, and help me shape the legislation affecting our district. It is incredibly frustrating to see columns, such as the one from Brian Landers Dec. 30, that ridicule accessibility and accountability. I pride myself on being accessible and I hope everyone recognizes that I would enjoy the opportunity to speak with you about the issues you find important and different ways we can work together to solve those issues. Landers took it upon himself to criticize a current piece of legislation I am working on regarding to animal-drawn vehicles and other meaningless legislation. Instead of ridiculing his column, I will instead provide an outline of legislation that I either have authored or have been pushing for each day in the Assembly. I will leave it up to you, my constituents, to determine if my record as your legislator has been focused on the issues that matter most to you and your community. There are several bills that I have been either the lead author or co-author of that address the major issues Landers expressed in his column. First, is Assembly Bill 234, which would have provided significant relief funding for the tourism and amusement industry that was incredibly hard hit during the first year of the pandemic. This bill passed both the Assembly and the Senate, but was unfortunately vetoed by the governor. This bill would have had a major impact on the Wisconsin Dells economy. Secondly, Id like to touch on AB 227, which I have been working on specifically for the city of Wisconsin Dells and would give relief to the city in their tax incremental districts. I have also been working on AB 376 at the request of fire and law enforcement personnel across the district. AB 376 would re-fund the statewide urban search and rescue team that would be able to assist if there is a structural collapse of a large building, of which Wisconsin Dells has many. Beyond the Wisconsin Dells, I have been working diligently to give our law enforcement and first responders the tools, funding, and respect that they need to be successful. Wisconsins crime rate is on the rise and the number of law enforcement officers on the street has hit its lowest level in at least a decade. I have fought in the budget for body cameras for members of our rural police departments, and am still fighting in the Assembly to pass AB 335, which would provide grant funding for them. This week, I have introduced a bill in a broader law enforcement package, to provide funding for our smaller police departments (less than 25 officers) to train and equip officers. Much of these costs are too high for small departments and often falls to the officers themselves making it very hard to attract new officers to rural areas. I also worked to address the struggling agricultural economy. I worked alongside Rep. Tony Kurtz to provide more funding to boost agricultural exports in our state. As the dairy state, we produce many products that are currently being underutilized across the country and world. Act 92 was signed into law and will provide much needed support for producers by working to open up new markets and finding ways to increase the value of Wisconsin milk and other dairy products. Other bills and issues that I have been a strong voice for deal with rural broadband expansion, supporting our rural hospitals, increasing workforce housing developments, and the elimination of the personal property tax. I have been honored to serve as your representative for the last year. I will never be ashamed of meeting with my constituents, and I will never lose touch of the people of my district. I encourage all of you to reach out to my office with any issues, questions, concerns, or suggestions that you may have to make our district and state a better place to live. Im confident that the vast majority of Wisconsinites see through the negativity in the media and I will continue trying each day to make our state a more positive place. Until I see you again in the very near future, I wish you the best of luck in the new year. Rep. Alex Dallman, (R-Green Lake), represents the 41st District in the State Assembly. He can be reached at 608-266-8077, email rep.dallman@legis.wisconsin.gov or visit https://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/41/dallman. A court on Wednesday found Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Teising guilty of all of the 21 felony theft charges she was facing. A West Lafayette man arrested on Child Solicitation charges at his teaching job in Lebanon plans to plead guilty. A container is loaded onto the freight train from Rizhao to Central Asia at a container station of Rizhao port in east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 12, 2017. [Xinhua/Guo Xulei] BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, on Thursday exchanged congratulations on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that over the past 30 years, China-Turkmenistan relations have developed by leaps and bounds. China, he noted, was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with Turkmenistan, one of the first countries to support Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality, and the first strategic partner of Turkmenistan established via the form of a political document, and is also Turkmenistan's largest trading partner of natural gas. The development of China-Turkmenistan relations has not only brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their people, but also made important contributions to safeguarding regional peace and stability, Xi said. Xi stressed that China attaches great importance to its relations with Turkmenistan, and will, as always, firmly support Turkmenistan in pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, safeguarding national sovereignty and national independence, and upholding its policy of permanent neutrality. He added that he would like to stay in close contact with Berdymukhamedov, and take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and jointly lift the China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership to new levels for the benefit of the two countries and their people. In his message, Berdymukhamedov said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Turkmenistan and China have carried out all-round cooperation in the broadest scope, and set up a unique multi-level coordination mechanism. China has been a major trading partner of Turkmenistan for multiple years in a row, which vividly represents the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides, he said. The Turkmen side, he added, attaches great importance to the bilateral relationship and stands ready to work closely with China on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual accomodation of interests, and spare no effort to promote Turkmenistan-China ties to higher levels. (Source: Xinhua) Photo taken on Oct. 16, 2021 shows the opening ceremony of the 8th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province. [Xinhua/Fan Peishen] Over the past few years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has on various occasions called for closer cooperation between China and Central Asia, especially to boost economy and trade, maintain regional peace and security, and promote democracy in international relations. BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Over the past few years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has on various occasions called for closer cooperation between China and Central Asia, especially to boost economy and trade, maintain regional peace and security, and promote democracy in international relations. The following are some highlights of his remarks. Chinese President Xi Jinping is warmly received by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 15, 2019. [Xinhua/Wang Ye] Economy, Trade Speaking at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan on Sept. 7, 2013, Xi proposed jointly building an "economic belt along the Silk Road." "We need to promote unimpeded trade ... The potential for trade and investment cooperation between the relevant countries is enormous. We should discuss a proper arrangement for trade and investment facilitation, remove trade barriers, reduce trade and investment cost, increase the speed and quality of regional economic flows and achieve win-win progress in the region," Xi said. During the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Tajikistan in June, 2019, Xi noted that building a prosperous Asia is a shared aspiration of Asian countries, and development is the key to all problems. CICA members should work together to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, implement the consensus reached at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, strengthen the synergy of their development strategies, boost comprehensive connectivity and promote high-quality economic development in all countries, he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the 21st meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) via video link in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 17, 2021. [Xinhua/Liu Bin] Regional Peace & Harmony "At present, China's relations with Central Asian countries face a golden opportunity of development," Xi said in 2013 in Kazakhstan, adding, "We need to pass on our friendship from generation to generation and always be good neighbors living in harmony." "We will deepen trust and cooperation with Central Asian countries bilaterally and within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to combat the 'three forces' of terrorism, separatism and extremism as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crime to create a favorable environment for the economic development and the well-being of the people in this region," he said. Addressing the 21st meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO on Sept. 17, 2021, Xi stressed that "faced with complex and fluid security dynamics in the region, we need to pursue common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and take tough actions against terrorism, separatism and extremism, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement." Xi Jinping, president of China that holds the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), addresses a joint press conference at the SCO summit in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, June 10, 2018. [Xinhua/Yan Yan] Democracy in Int'l Relations "The over 2,000-year history of exchanges demonstrates that on the basis of solidarity, mutual trust, equality, inclusiveness, mutual learning and win-win cooperation, countries of different races, beliefs and cultural backgrounds are fully capable of sharing peace and development. This is the valuable inspiration we have drawn from the ancient Silk Road," Xi said back in 2013. At the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO on June 10, 2018, Xi said: "While hegemony and power politics still persist in this world, the growing call for a more just and equitable international order must be heeded. Democracy in international relations has become an unstoppable trend of the times." A year later in Tajikistan, Xi said building an Asia featuring mutual respect and mutual trust is CICA members' shared expectation, calling on them to adhere to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect each other's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as well as their respective choice of political systems and development paths. "We should stay true to the Shanghai Spirit, keep to the right direction, follow the historical trends of promoting democracy in international relations, and pursue our own development as we pursue common development for humanity," he said last year at the SCO gathering. (Source: Xinhua) Ahead of Jan. 6 capitol riot anniversary, SIU professor weighs in on political violence in the US 10% of regions NHS staff and firefighters off work due to covid or self isolation This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jan 6th, 2022 10 per cent of North Wales NHS staff and fire-fighters are unavailable for work, mainly due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Over 600 Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board staff are currently off work with Covid-related issues, either because they are sick or self-isolating. Meanwhile, North Wales Fire Service has said it struggled over the festive period with 12 per cent of staff missing from work, a figure which has now reduced to 10 per cent. The ambulance service has also recruited an additional 150 military personnel this month to bolster its numbers. Sue Green, Betsi Cadwaladr executive director of workforce and organisational development, said: At the moment we have more than 600 people off work due to Covid-related issues, which equates to almost four per cent of our workforce. In total around 10% of our workforce is unavailable for duty, which could also point to the increased pressures everyone has had to face throughout the pandemic. Staffing levels are a cause for concern, but we are covering services through a mixture of staff working overtime, bank and agency cover. We are immensely grateful for the dedication of our staff, who have postponed leave and are working additional hours to ensure we are able to continue to deliver patient services. The health board said patients can help ease the strain by getting their booster shots and only accessing emergency treatment when appropriate. The NHS advises that minor injuries and illnesses can be treated at local pharmacies, minor injuries units or by accessing the NHS 111 symptom checker. North Wales Fire Services assistant chief Richard Fairhead painted a similar picture. The situation has improved slightly compared to last week when we had approximately 12% of our staff absent due to Covid that has now reduced to 10%. However, we are acutely conscious that infection rates remain high and are continuing to prepare for absences and to work with our fire stations to maintain operational crewing, he said. We have been able to continue delivering the same operational service as usual thanks to the exceptional efforts of our staff and have not resorted to merging departments or sharing resources. The Welsh Ambulance is under similar pressure. Lee Brooks, director of operations, said: Our rates of absence associated with Covid tend to mirror what we see in the community, so at the moment, the numbers of staff unable to attend work has been steadily increasing. The trust has re-enlisted the military to bolster our capacity, a result of which weve been able to put more ambulances on duty so we can get to more patients, more quickly, while the extreme pressures continue. More than 100 soldiers, sailors and aircrew have been supporting us since October, and from this month, a further 150 will join us until the end of March, totalling 250 Armed Forces personnel. North Wales Police commented: For operational reasons, we dont comment on staffing levels or abstraction rates for officers and staff. By Richard Evans BBC Local Democracy Reporter Welsh government and Public Health Wales respond to criticism over extension in cervical screening interval This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jan 6th, 2022 The Welsh Government and Public Health have responded to criticism over the extending the interval for cervical screening from three years to five. It comes after a backlash from members of the public, who say the changes could put thousands of lives at risk by missing early cell changes. In Wales smear tests, have been offered to women and people with a cervix aged between 25 and 49 every three years. However as of January 1 Cervical Screening Wales (CSW) extended the routine screening for the age group from three to five years if human papillomavirus is not found in their cervical screening test. Public Health Wales say the change is as a result of the current screening being more accurate than the previous screening test and brings the advice for this age group in line with the screening interval for those aged 50 to 64. Cervical screening is not a test for cancer; it is a test for the virus that causes it. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common virus that most people will have at some time during their life but only certain types of HPV cause cervical cancer. Since September 2018, CSW has routinely used a cervical screening test which looks for the 14 high-risk types of HPV that cause 99.8 per cent of cervical cancers. Where HPV is detected, it can be many years before cells start to change into something sinister. But the change from three to five years has been heavily criticised by members of the public, who fear lives will be put at risk. There are around 160 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed every year in Wales and it is the most common cancer in women under the age of 35. A petition launched earlier this week by Rachel Paul has already received 645,634 signatures and has received the backing of the Welsh Conservatives. Welsh Conservative and Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said: While I am pleased to see HPV checks become more reliable and effective, I find it difficult to see why this change is necessary. Hopefully, the Labour Government is not using this as a chance for penny pinching, because more effective tests will only be more effective if conducted more regularly. Once every three years is hardly a burden on women who want peace-of-mind and should not be one for NHS. The way this petition has taken off and the strength of feeling out there should surely force the Labour Government to at least re-consider the changes they propose to make regarding these life-saving checks. However Public Health Wales and the Welsh government have moved to reassure the public about the change, which has been recommended by the UK National Screening Committee in 2019. Since 2008 girls aged 12 or 13 have been offered the HPV vaccine across the UK to help protect against cervical cancer. Research has shown that the vaccine has led to about a 90 per cent reduction in the number of people with pre-cancerous cells. Louise Dunk, Head of Programme for Cervical Screening Wales at Public Health Wales said: Testing everyone who attends for cervical screening using a test for high risk HPV will identify those at risk and prevent more cancers than just examining the cells alone. It is a really positive development that this more effective test will mean that people with a cervix, who test negative for HPV, now only need to attend their testing every five years, rather than three. Going for your screening appointment could save your life. By making an appointment you have the chance to prevent cervical cancer from developing, or picking it up at an early stage when it is more treatable. Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: I would like to reiterate that the change has been made because the current screening is more accurate than previous testing and, therefore, less frequent screening is required for those who do not have HPV. Those who are identified as having HPV will be followed up closely, either by being referred for further review at a hospital colposcopy clinic or by invitation for a further test in a years time if there were no cell changes present in their sample. The change to the screening interval has been made in line with the independent, expert advice of the UK National Screening Committee, which made the recommendation for the interval change in February 2019 after undertaking a public consultation. This is therefore the current evidence-based recommendation at a UK level. It was implemented in Scotland in March 2020. The change is now being made in Wales as the evidence has shown it is safe to extend the screening interval due to the improved test. Cervical screening is not appropriate for people displaying symptoms of cervical cancer as it is not a test for cancer. If anyone has possible symptoms of cervical cancer then they should speak to their GP who will consider the need to refer people for rapid investigation. Producer Jacob is the Executive Producer of News 3 This Morning. He joined the News 3 team in December of 2020 as 6 pm Producer. In October of 2021 he was promoted to Executive Producer. Jacob is a proud alum of SIU-Carbondale. In this Aug. 5, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force, an F-35 fighter jet pilot and crew prepare for a mission at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. (Staff Sgt. Chris Thornbury/U.S. Air Force via AP) While the coronavirus pandemic is running rampant, hospitals are overcrowded and thousands of people are dying of COVID-19 every day, arms exports are exploding worldwide. This is according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report published in December. According to the report, the 100 largest arms companies sold $531 billion worth of weapons in 2020a 1.3 percent increase in sales compared to 2019. The defence industry has been largely immune to the economic impact of the pandemic. While the global economy shrank by 3.1 percent in 2020, most of the 100 largest defence companies increased their sales. Only 15 companies in the top 100 saw their sales decline by a few percentage points. The industrial giants were shielded from losses by sustained state demand for military goods and services, SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner noted. In much of the world, military spending has increased, and some governments have accelerated payments to the arms industry to cushion the impact of the crisis. Leading the way in arms sales is the United States, which accounts for 41 of the hundred largest arms producers, who increased their exports by 1.9 percent and achieved total sales of $285 billion last year. This corresponds to 54 percent of the world total. As of 2018, the top five arms companies are all based in the US. The Chinese arms industry stands far behind the US in second place, selling $66.8 billion worth of defence goods. Since Chinese arms companies were first included in the SIPRI rankings in 2015, their arms sales have increased by 17 percent. The 26 European arms companies account for 21 percent of sales, or $109 billion, according to SIPRI. The UK alone reported record sales of $37.5 billion, a 6.2 percent increase. The UK's largest arms manufacturer BAE Systems, the only European arms manufacturer in the top 10 of the SIPRI ranking, increased its arms exports by 6.6 percent to $24 billion. Exports by French companies fell by 7.7 percent, mainly due to Dassault's slump in deliveries. This will not be a continuing trend, a defence ministry spokesperson stressed to French news agency AFP. With arms exports of $24.7 billion, French arms companies still account for 4.7 percent of the turnover of the top 100, meaning France is still one of the five largest arms exporting nations in the world. The export turnover of Italy's leading arms groups increased by 2.4 percent between 2019 and 2020. Together, Italy's two largest arms corporations, Leonardo SpA and Ficantieri, account for 2.6 percent of the total sales of the top 100, with export sales of $13.8 billion. Germany's four largest arms exporters increased their 2020 sales by 1.3 percent to $8.9 billion. The German defence company Rheinmetall (27th) increased its sales by 5.2 percent compared to the previous year, partly due to higher sales of armoured combat and transport vehicles. The defence sales of Hensoldt (78th place), which specialises in military electronics, grew by 7.9 percent in 2020. Overall, the share of German defence companies in the total turnover of the top 100 is 1.7 percent. A large part of the arms exported from Germany goes to reactionary monarchies and military dictatorships. In 2020 alone, the German government approved arms deliveries worth around one billion euros to states such as Egypt (752 million euros), Qatar (305 million euros), the United Arab Emirates (51 million euros) and Kuwait (23 million euros). The trend continued last year. From January 1 to November 3, 2021, the German government approved exports of arms and other military equipment worth 3.78 billion euros. Twenty-seven percent of exports go to countries outside the EU and NATO. Weapons worth 181.1 million euros are destined for the bloody Sisi dictatorship in Egypt, and military equipment worth 134.1 million euros for the government of the far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. The total turnover of trans-European arms companies in the ranking also increased, amounting to $16 billion in 2020, or three percent of the top 100's total. Airbus Group (ranked 11th) alone reported $12 billion in arms sales in 20205.7 percent more than in 2019. MBDA (ranked 30th), a joint venture specialising in missiles, reported sales of $4.05 billion in 2020. Russian defence sales, which account for five percent of global sales, fell for the third year in a row. Most recently, falling by 6.5 per centfrom $28.2 billion in 2019 to $26.4 billion in 2020. According to SIPRI, this is mainly due to the Russian government's diversification of product portfolios, according to which the share of civilian products must be 30 percent of total production by 2025 and 50 percent by 2050. The decline in Russian arms sales contradicts the propaganda of the imperialist governments and media, which consistently portray Russia as the aggressor. In fact, it is the NATO powers that are massively arming and escalating the conflict with the Putin regime. The increase in arms sales during the pandemic underlines the priorities of the capitalist ruling class. While there are supposedly no resources to fight COVID-19, hundreds of billions are being poured into armaments and war. The defence budgets of the leading imperialist powers have also continued to explode in the last two years. In mid-December, the US Congress approved the largest military budget in history, at $770 billion. In Germany, the traffic light coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberal Democrats (FDP) is planning another massive increase in the military budget. As Finance Minister of the outgoing grand coalition of the Christian Democrats and SPD, the now Chancellor Olaf Scholz increased defence spending in the last two years of the pandemic by more than 10 billion to officially over 50 billion euros. Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the voluble exponent of the peaceful overthrow of apartheid, died on December 26 at the age of 90. A tidal wave of hypocrisy was unleashed as various imperialist scoundrels proclaimed him an inspiration, South Africas moral compass whose Christian values helped to secure the peaceful transition to black majority rule in 1994. This was because Tutus religious moralising masked a political perspective and programme that served the interests of imperialism. Former South African President Nelson Mandela, right, reacts with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, left, during the launch of a Walter and Albertina Sisulu exhibition, called, 'Parenting a Nation', at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa described Tutu as a global icon and a man of great moral stature, according him a state funeral at St. Georges Cathedral in Cape Town with seven days of official mourning and two days of lying in state. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was deeply saddened by Tutus death, describing him as a critical figure in the fight against apartheid and in the struggle to create a new South Africa. Former US President Barack Obama called Tutu a mentor, a friend and a moral compass for me and so many others. President Joe Biden called him a true servant of God and of the people whose courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive apartheid regime in South Africa. Behind this sententious blather, what they were really praising was the role this man of the Church played in preserving capitalist relations in South Africa during the 1980s when the vicious apartheid regime of President P. W. Botha came within an inch of losing control of the black, working-class townships in the face of mass protests and strikes and the country teetered on the brink of civil war. It was this possibility of maintaining bourgeois rule, opened up by the African National Congress, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and the Stalinist South African Communist Party (SACP), that in reality convinced US and British imperialism to abandon their defence of the apartheid regime of white minority rule. Tutu became a valuable go-between as these new political relations were established. Cyril Ramaphosa [credit: Tasnim News Agency] US President George H. W. Bush saw Tutu, with his close connections to the ANC and its leader, Nelson Mandela, then imprisoned on Robben Island, as a means of safeguarding US interests from the threat of social revolution in South Africa and throughout the continent. A key player in the ANCs Popular Front politics After following in his fathers footsteps and becoming a teacher, Tutu was ordained in 1961 and spent six years studying and working in Britain, where he developed the art of sanctimonious moralizing for which he became renowned. Returning to South Africa, he rose through the church hierarchy, becoming general secretary to the South African Council of Churches in 1978. Tutu espoused non-violent protests and conciliation as the way to end apartheid, opposing the use of violence amid the growing number of lethal clashes between black youths and the security forces in the 1980s. He mediated between the security forces and the protesters and strikers that were making the townships ungovernable. He also supported boycotts and sanctions of South Africa as a means of exerting external pressure to bring about non-violent, democratic change. Tutu was close to the ANC, whose political perspective was based on the Stalinist two-stage theory declaring the end of apartheid a democratic revolution and a separate and necessary stage before any struggle for socialism could be mounted. The ANC aimed to develop a black bourgeoisie alongside its white counterparts, one that would be politically dominant even though possessing less economic power. The ANCs Stalinist line, long dictated by Moscow and the very antithesis of Marxism and international socialism, renounced the objective of proletarian revolution. Trotsky, in his theory of Permanent Revolution, had explained that in the imperialist epoch the democratic tasks associated in the nineteenth century with the bourgeois revolution could only be realized by the taking of power by the working class as part of the struggle for world socialism. Against this the ANC, under the tutelage of the SACP, advanced the policy of a national democratic revolution, essentially a programme of political reform of the bourgeois state apparatus. To this end they sought to build alliances with supposedly progressive forces within South Africa itself, among all classes including the bourgeoisie, but above all in the imperialist states. This was all dressed up in socialistic rhetoric designed to deceive the black working class. Desmond Tutu gestures during a public debate on the legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Cape Town, South Africa, April, 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Obed Zilwa, File) Tutu, a rising star in the Anglican Church that along with South Africas other Churches gave more than tacit support to the apartheid regime, came to epitomize this bogus perspective. Over the 1980s, many black South Africans came to view Tutu as the public face of the anti-apartheid movement as most of the ANC leaders such as Mandela and Jacob Zuma were in prison or, like Thabo Mbeki and Oliver Tambo, in exile. This self-publicist and windbag became one of the most internationally recognized representatives of the anti-apartheid movement, particularly in the US, where he benefitted from official anti-Communism and his priestly robes and was often compared to Martin Luther King. In 1984, Tutu was rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a unifying leader-figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa. Two years later, Tutu became the first black Archbishop of Cape Town, in effect the spiritual leader of southern Africas Anglican churches, as well as president of the All-Africa Conference of Churches, positions he used to insist that black workers must embrace the brotherhood of man and turn the other cheek in their struggle against President Bothas brutal regime. The transition to black majority rule It wasnt long before Washington and Londons investment in Tutu paid off. By 1989, then President F. W. De Klerk, along with the international and South African mining corporations, banks and other major corporations, came reluctantly to the conclusion that only Mandela, the ANC and its political nexus of COSATU and the SACP could provide the capitalist class with a political life jacket. Without their assistance, capitalism could not survive in South Africa and its collapse could trigger an eruption of political and social conflict in all the former colonies of the imperialist powers. President de Klerk and Nelson Mandela shake hands at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, 1992. (Credit: World Economic Forum/Creative Commons) In February 1990, de Klerk announced the lifting of the ban on political parties such as the ANC and signaled the end of apartheid and white minority rule. Tutu was to play a vital role as imperialisms interlocutor in negotiations between the ANC, the ruling National Party and the security services for a transition to majority rule. He was especially useful as a reliable conduit to Mandela after his release from 27 years behind bars. Within months of his release from prison, Mandela was touring the US, speaking before mass audiences in New York City and Boston, meeting with President George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker and addressing a joint session of Congress, despite officially being on the USs terror watch list! David Dinkins, New York Citys first African American mayor, who welcomed Mandela to the city, made clear the reason for the ruling elites appreciation of Mandela. He said, If I had been in prison for 27 years as he was, if I had been mistreated the way he was, I would have carried an anger within me. Yet, the most amazing thing about Nelson Mandela was his total absence of bitterness. President George H. W. Bush and Nelson Mandela visit in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC (Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum) Tutus metaphor of the Rainbow Nation provided the political slogan for the post-apartheid regime to be led by Mandela and the ANC that masked its class collaborationist policies. After taking power, the ANC ditched its pledges to nationalise the banks, mines and major industries and signed secret agreements with the International Monetary Fund to implement free market policies and open up South Africa to international capital. It did so under conditions where the globalisation of production had prompted all the nationalist regimes that had provided the ANCs political inspiration, including the former Soviet Union, to abandon all measures of economic autarky and implement similar IMF-dictated measures to consolidate the economic dominance of the transnational corporations and banks. Sanitising the crimes of apartheid Post-apartheid, Tutus greatest service by far to South African capitalism and world imperialism was as head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Mandela, now president, chose Tutu to chair the commission. Set up in 1996, its purpose was to head off popular demands for the trials of those responsible for the deaths and torture of tens of thousands of black workers and youth under apartheid. De Klerk and his National Party had originally demanded a general amnesty for the crimes committed under apartheid, threatening that without it the security forces would mutiny. After years of negotiations, he agreed a compromise whereby a commission would grant individual amnesties on condition that the perpetrators revealed the truth and could prove that their actions were politically motivated. The TRC would be the arena for this political fraud and would even-handedly investigate abuses by all parties, including the ANC, between 1960 and December 1993. Desmond Tutu at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, February 1, 2009. (Credit: World Economic Forum/Creative Commons) The introduction to the TRCs five-volume report, published in 1998, confirmed that the increasingly brutal imposition of apartheid was motivated primarily by fear of social revolution, dressed up as the communist threat in Africa; that the decision to end apartheid and bring the ANC to power was aimed at staving off mass revolution by South Africas workers and youth; and that the path taken by the ANC was designed to prevent just such a revolution. As the World Socialist Web Site explained at the time: The Truth and Reconciliation report, despite its authors' intentions, is more than just an indictment of apartheid. It confirms the role played by the ANC in preventing a reckoning by the South African working class with their oppressors and the type of social and economic transformation necessary to establish genuine equality His [Tutus] introduction to the report makes clear that the course pursued by the ANC was designed to prevent a revolution. He writes,Had the miracle of the negotiated settlement not occurred, we would have been overwhelmed by the bloodbath that virtually everyone predicted as the inevitable ending for South Africa. Tutu called for reconciliation with the perpetrators of truly horrendous crimes, with victims and perpetrators describing the cold-blooded details of torture and assassination. The Commission catalogued atrocities including the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, the killings in Soweto in 1976 and in Langa in 1985, and the death squads in the notorious Vlakplaas camp. It concluded that the ruling National Party government and its security forces were responsible for the majority of human rights abuses, backed by big business and supported by the judiciary, the media and the Church. But the Commission was nevertheless a whitewash, with its emphasis on gathering evidence and uncovering information rather than prosecuting those who had committed such terrible crimes. The row of graves of the 69 people killed by police during an anti-pass protest at the Sharpeville Police Station on 21 March 1960. (Credit: Andrew Hall/Creative Commons) The top echelons of the military still refused to cooperate with the commission and did so with impunity. The National Intelligence Agency was allowed to continue destroying documents as late as 1996. While some lower-ranking members of the security forces confessed to murders and torture in return for an amnesty, as did one cabinet minister, members of the State Security Council, the inner cabinet that constituted the real government in the 1980s and early 90s, pleaded ignorance, blaming their subordinates for what took place. P.W. Botha, prime minister from 1978 to 1984, chair of the State Security Council in the 1980s and president from 1984 to 1989, denounced the TRC as a circus and refused to give evidence, while de Klerk threatened legal action to ensure that his role in ordering the bombing of Anti-Apartheid and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) offices was redacted in the final report. The most high-profile figure to be convicted was Eugene de Kok, known as Prime Evil, the commander of the Vlakplaas counter-insurgency group that executed dozens of opponents of the apartheid government. He was sentenced to 212 years for crimes against humanity in 1996. None of those who presided over the murderous regime, including Botha whom the report found accountable for gross violations of human rights, were sanctioned for their crimes. The former Minister of Defence General Magnus Malan, charged with conspiring to order massacres in KwaZulu, was acquitted. The prosecutor who tried him was, together with much of the judiciary, a holdover from the apartheid regime and had previously expressed disbelief that government-run hit squads even existed. One of the last major trials, in April 2002, ended in a failure to prosecute Dr. Wouter Basson, known as Dr. Death, who headed the armys Chemical and Biological Warfare Programme, developed with assistance from US and British intelligence services. Its projects allegedly targeted only black people and sought to poison Mandela and reduce the fertility of black women. Few of those who failed to apply for amnesty or who were refused amnesty by the TRC were prosecuted. Several high-ranking officials from the security forces, including former Minister of Law and Order, Adriaan Vlok, were given suspended sentences through a plea-bargain process. The report said that there had been calls for the disqualification or removal from public office of people who have been implicated in violation of human rights, but the commission had decided not to recommend that this step be pursued. Finally, no one was prosecuted for the crime of apartheid, despite the TRC concluding that apartheid constituted a crime against humanity. Nevertheless, Mandela called on the South African people to accept Tutus report. South Africas moral compass viewed the defence of the guilty as the price to be paid for ending apartheid. Speaking about putative trials, he said, It would also have been counterproductive to devote years to hearings about events that, by their nature, arouse very strong feelings. It would have rocked the boat massively, and for too long. At a thanksgiving service marking Tutus retirement in 1999, Mandela paid tribute to his role and that of the Church, saying, Archbishop Tutu, with his celebration of our rainbow nation and his powerfully healing guidance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is an inspiration to us all in this most crucial task of reconciling our nation. Tutus legacy: The ANC in government Tutu and the ANC had promised that a negotiated settlement with the former rulers would lead to national unity through truth and reconciliation ... a new and democratic dispensation characterised by a culture of respect for human rights. But as the World Socialist Web Site correctly foretold: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) findings on human rights violations do nothing to provide justice for the victims of apartheid rule in South Africa. The truth is that the reconciliation it advocates is impossible because, behind the thin veneer of democracy provided by the ending of apartheid, South Africa is still characterised by appalling poverty and inequality. Successive ANC governments, staffed by corrupt black billionaires, far from ushering in the promised land, have for nearly 30 years set about building a society even more socially unequal than the apartheid regime. Unemployment has hit a new record high of 35 percent, with 46 percent of 1530-year-olds out of work. Around 10 percent of those unemployed are university graduates. The United Nations Human Development Report (HDR), published in 2020, estimates that about 11 million of South Africas 60 million population live on less than 28 Rand a day, enough for just one loaf of bread, and one litre of milk. Four million live in multidimensional poverty, suffering from malnutrition and poor health, lacking access to clean water and adequate health care and living in miserable shacks. An advert for a company specialising in making South African companies compliant with Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) regulations and government procurement policies. (Credit: Wikipedia/Creative Commons) There is deepening disillusionment with the ANCs failure to advance the social interests of the millions of black workers who looked to it for political leadership. Support for the government has dwindled in the face of its disastrous handling of the pandemic that has officially claimed 91,000 lives, the vaccination rollout, power outages, water shortages, rising prices, unemployment, poverty and endemic corruption. Increasingly it rests on a thin layer of black bourgeois who have reaped the benefits of Black Economic Empowerment as stooges and front men for the major corporations through the ever-greater exploitation of South African workers. The ANC, like its counterparts in the national liberation movements elsewhere, could not fulfill its promises because it defends the capitalist system, which condemns billions to poverty and misery. The South African working class can only liberate itself by building a party entirely independent of the capitalist class and its minions in the ANC, based upon an internationalist revolutionary programme to establish workers power, abolish capitalism and organize a world socialist society. The decisive political question is the building of sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in South Africa and throughout the world. In this Friday, May 22, 2020, photo Florence Hopp, left, holds a photograph of herself and her husband Robert Hopp, as her son J.J. Brania-Hopp holds the American flag the military presented to them after his father's death at their home in Boonton, N.J. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) The state of New Jersey has agreed to pay $52.9 million to the families of 119 deceased residents of state-run veterans homes. The residents deaths were attributed to COVID-19 and occurred during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. The residents families accused the state of gross negligence and incompetence related to its response to the coronavirus outbreaks in these homes. New Jersey operates veterans homes in Paramus, Menlo Park and Vineland. The homes in the former two cities had some of the highest pandemic-related death tolls in the country. After more than 200 residents died, the state responded by sending personnel from the National Guard and the Veterans Administration to help. To ensure that news about the settlement was buried, Democratic Governor Phil Murphys office made the details public on the afternoon before Christmas. Murphy, a multimillionaire former Goldman Sachs executive, was on vacation in Costa Rica at the time. Under the terms of the settlement, the 119 families will receive an average payment of $445,000, and the state will admit no guilt for the deaths. The settlement also allows the state to avoid additional trials that would have further exposed the states disastrous response to the pandemic. I have lost more friends and fellow residents during this past year than I ever did during my military service, said Glenn Osborne, a former Marine and president of the resident council at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Menlo Park, during testimony before a Republican-led committee hearing in March. These deaths should have been avoided. The Murphy administrations management of the veterans homes during the pandemic has been nothing short of criminal. New Jersey, one of the wealthiest states in the country, has the fourth-highest number of coronavirus deaths per million residents. Along with New York, it was an early epicenter of the pandemic in 2020. The states response to the pandemic, particularly in nursing homes, quickly became a scandal. By May 4, 2020, more than half of coronavirus-related deaths in New Jersey had occurred at long-term care facilities. In June 2020, anonymous whistleblowers from the states department of health called the states response to the pandemic an unmitigated failure that had resulted in preventable deaths. Management at the veterans homes directed staff not to wear gloves or masks because it might scare residents. Veterans who had been infected with COVID-19 were allowed to gather in common areas with those who were not sick. Families have accused administrators of failing to enact proper measures to prevent infection, despite clear evidence that the virus was spreading rapidly, and of failing to test staff and residents in a timely manner. Workers at these homes struggled with shortages of personal protective equipment. In response to severe understaffing, administrators allowed workers who tested positive for the virus, and coworkers who had been exposed to them, to keep working. The deadly policy to allow infected workers to remain on the job prefigured the updated isolation and quarantine guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new guidelines slash the number of days a worker with COVID-19 must isolate from 10 to five days and do not require a negative test to return to work. Two separate investigations are also underway. The United States Department of Justice is investigating whether New Jersey violated the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act at the homes in Paramus and Menlo Park. At issue is whether the Murphy administration underreported the number of deaths in the veterans homes. A second subject of investigation is the states order that nursing homes accept residents who had been treated for COVID-19 in a hospital. The nursing homes were intended to separate infected patients from other residents, but few facilities were able to do so properly. Responding to public pressure, New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck is also conducting a separate state investigation. But it can be certain that neither of these investigations will expose additional crimes or impose significant penalties on the guilty parties. Moreover, it is unlikely that the state will carry out the necessary policies to prevent similar catastrophes, which are expected in the near future as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to spread. The atrocious conditions at New Jerseys veterans homes and nursing homes reflect the systematic crisis of these facilities across the country. On Christmas morning last month, the Autumn Heights Care Center in Denver, Colorado, was so short-staffed that a worker called 911 for help. The nursing home, which was in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak at the time, was operating with only one nurse for 50 patients. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment contacted a staffing agency to send more workers to the facility. In late November 2021, a patient at the Rialto Post-Acute Care Center in California went into cardiac arrest. Knowing that acute care centers have been consistently turned into viral hot spots, the local paramedics refused to enter the building, citing a memo from the San Bernardino County Fire Chiefs Association, which declared that personnel responding to long-term care facilities should take steps to minimize any potential risk for exposure to the coronavirus. A policeman assisted staff in pushing the patients bed outside to the paramedics. The patient was transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Across the country, nursing home residents are dying preventable deaths while health care workers are overburdened and ill protected against the pandemic. These conditions reflect the ongoing subordination of public health to the interests of private profit. They underscore the need for the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic that the World Socialist Web Site initiated in November 2021. The inquest is documenting and publicizing the disastrous response of world governments to the pandemic. It will reveal the underlying economic and political considerations that have created this disaster. The invaluable information uncovered by the inquest will enable the working class to develop the response necessary to save lives, end the pandemic and hold the responsible parties to account. We urge all workers who are willing to participate to contact us today by filling out the form at the end of this article. Protesters have marched through the streets of Kabul over the past weeks demanding that the United States lift its financial blockade and end its illegal seizure of Afghanistans financial assets, which together are driving an economic meltdown in Asias most impoverished country. Women marched on December 29 carrying banners reading Dont kill us by hunger, Let us live and Joe Biden! The weather is very cold, and my children dont have anything to eat at home. A similar protest was held on January 2, and more are planned in both Kabul and other Afghan cities. With its vindictive sanctions policies, Washington threatens to kill more Afghans by means of starvation over the coming months than it slaughtered in the 20 years of US war and occupation that ended in August. Over one million children are at risk of dying over the winter. (Twitter) With a cold winter setting in, the entire country is teetering on the brink of famine. One million children [under the age of five] are so malnourished they are on the risk of dying in the coming months, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned last month. The United Nations reports that just 2 percent of Afghanistans population has enough to eat. Twenty-three million people are confronting extreme hunger, while official statistics place 90 percent of the population below the abysmally low poverty line. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, head of the World Food Program in Afghanistan, describes the country as on the brink of famine. There is no province in Afghanistan today with less than 30 percent of their population either in crisis or emergency food insecurity, she said recently. Hospitals and feeding centers are seeing a doubling and even tripling of severely malnourished children brought in by desperate parents. The countrys health care system is also on the brink of collapse as the spread of the Omicron variant makes a new surge in the COVID-19 pandemic inevitable. Nearly half of the countrys hospitals equipped to treat COVID patients have shut down in recent months, while the only remaining one for Kabuls 4 million inhabitants cannot pay its staff, lacks basic medicines and supplies and is unable even to purchase diesel fuel to run generators used to produce the oxygen needed to save lives. There are deepening concerns over the ominous threat of winters onset for Afghanistans hungry masses. Winter poses the additional danger of mountainous areas of Afghanistan being cut off by heavy snow, leaving whole populations without food or access to assistance. Eloi Fillion, the head of an ICRC delegation that was in Kabul on Tuesday, tweeted, Heavy snow in Kabul today. Temperature might drop to -9 this week. Fillion said that he had been told that people were burning furniture, shoes or tyres to keep warm, adding, Due to economic collapse, thousands of Afghans are left with nothing to cope with increasing challenges. Protesters in Kabul demand US release Afghanistan's assets. (Twitter) The Red Cross official left unstated the source of this economic collapse. Afghanistans population has long faced poverty and hunger, which have been exacerbated by a severe drought. The abrupt withdrawal of US troops and resulting collapse of the corrupt puppet regime put in place by the US occupation deprived the country of its main sources of income. Foreign aid accounted for 50 percent of Afghanistans gross domestic product and 75 percent of the governments budget, while the massive sums spent on the US war itself, much of it funneling into the hands of contractors and government officials, underpinned the corrupt and unstable economic setup. All of that has come to an end. But there is no question that the overriding cause of the Afghan economys collapse is the US sanctions regime. Washington seamlessly transferred sanctions imposed on the Taliban as a terrorist organization during the period in which it was organizing an insurgency against the US occupation to the Afghan government itself, once Kabul fell to the Islamist movement on August 15. Treating the government of a country of 39 million people and all of its agencies as a foreign terrorist organization, Washington has frozen nearly $10 billion in Afghanistans foreign currency reserves held in the US, in effect stealing them from the country in violation of international law. The action has choked off the flow of cash, meaning that the minority of the population with jobs are going unpaid and those with bank savings are unable to access their money. Businesses are unable to purchase supplies or meet payrolls and are shutting down. The terrorist sanctions have likewise paralyzed dealings between the Afghan central bank and local banks and businesses, on the one hand, and international banks and corporate entities on the other. The end result is the scuttling of deals to import food, medicine and other essential supplies. Remittances sent by Afghan emigres to their families have also been cut off, along with funds to pay employees of those relief agencies still on the ground. The US has used its overriding influence within the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank to ensure that they abide by the American financial blockade. Washington has glibly claimed that it has carved out exemptions from its sanctions regime for humanitarian assistance, but, as in the case of Iran and other countries targeted by such punitive measures, the sanctions are so sweeping and threatening that few financial or corporate entities have any interest in tempting fate by entering into dealings with Afghanistans government. The Biden administrations hard line on Afghanistan sanctions and its refusal to provide any assurances that it will not penalize banks or corporations entering into deals with the countrys government has been widely attributed to political concerns over showing any weakness in the wake of the chaotic US withdrawal completed at the end of August. While such base political motives no doubt play a role, along with imperialist vindictiveness toward a population that forced an ignominious end to Americas longest war, Washingtons homicidal policy toward Afghanistan is driven by definite strategic aims and conceptions. More than four decades ago, Washington launched Operation Cyclone, the largest in the CIAs history, arming and financing mujahideen Islamist guerrillas in Afghanistan. The aim, cloaked in rhetoric about freedom and democracy, was to draw the Soviet Union into its own Vietnam, as former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski put it. The ensuing decades of war claimed the lives of millions. In October 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of a war on terror against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Washingtons aim was to consolidate a client regime in a strategic country of Central Asiahome to the second largest proven reserves of petroleum and natural gas in the worldand on the borders of China, Iran and the former Soviet Union. The same essential motivations can be detected in current US policy, couched by the Biden administration and its Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the hypocritical rhetoric of human rights. Washington has no intention of allowing China, Russia and Iran to fill the vacuum left by the US/NATO military withdrawal from Afghanistan. According to the Financial Times , China has expanded its presence in Afghanistan since the fall of the US puppet regime, with business groups exploring the countrys vast reserves of minerals like lithium and striking deals to buy agricultural products. US imperialisms scorched earth sanctions policies serve to disrupt such economic ties and to create a crisis on Chinas border, including the potential threat of renewed terrorist operations by Islamist Uyghur separatists. At the same time, Pentagon officials have unveiled plans to resume drone missile strikes in Afghanistan, ostensibly aimed at Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), a group that even the former Afghan puppet leader Hamid Karzai believes was brought into Afghanistan by the CIA. It has carried out a series of terrorist attacks aimed against the Taliban regime. Renewed US bombings will further destabilize the country. Washingtons policies in Afghanistan are bound up with its broader preparations for war with its main strategic rival, China. If a million Afghan children die in the bargain, they will be seen, just like the tens of thousands of kids killed in US bombing raids and drone attacks, as collateral damage. While ignoring the demands of the protesters in Kabul to release assets that could stem mass famine, the US State Department last week announced the appointment of a Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights. The appointee, Rina Amiri, served as an aide to the late former US special envoy on Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, providing human rights window-dressing for the Obama administrations military surge. Amiri will beat the womens rights drum to justify Washingtons murderous policy. A key propaganda point will center on the right of girls to attend school. This as Washingtons financial stranglehold is preventing teachers from being paid and forcing the closure of schools throughout the country, even as the children who would have attended them are starving to death. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared at a press conference yesterday: We have no choice but to ride the wave. Whats the alternative? What we must do is press on. This statement, echoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose criminal herd immunity policies have killed more than 900 people in the last week alone, was an official acknowledgement from the highest level that the Australian ruling class has adopted the same murderous program and will preside over levels of mass infection and death previously only seen abroad. Already, the consequences of this position are beginning to emerge, with 76 COVID-19 deaths in Australia in the last seven days. Across the country, 13 deaths were reported today, including a double-vaccinated man in his 20s, with no underlying health conditions. A nurse holds a phone while a patient affected with COVID-19 speaks with his family from the intensive care unit (AP/Daniel Cole) Meanwhile, infection numbers continue to surge, with more than 72,000 new cases reported in Australia today. The national positive test rate of 31.35 percent indicates that this is a vast underestimation of the real figure. University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely yesterday told the Australian that reported infection numbers were a gross underestimate. Blakely said, in New South Wales (NSW), the actual number of infections is likely something like 160,000 to 180,000 a day, five times the official figures. Morrisons proclamation came after a meeting of the National Cabinet, a de facto coalition comprising state and territory leaders, a majority of which are from the Labor party, and the federal Liberal-National government. Underscoring the completely bipartisan nature of Australias let it rip policy, one of its most vocal proponents is John Gerrard, chief health officer for the Queensland Labor government. Gerrard declared on Monday: I think we just have to assume that all of us are going to be exposed in the next few weeks, as the government he represents winds back all mitigations. The National Cabinet ordered further cuts to COVID-19 testing, in moves designed to conceal the magnitude of the pandemic and force workers back on the job even if they are possibly infectious. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly announced that as part of the living with COVID, recent changes, introduced by state governments to force health workers exposed to the virus out of isolation and back to work, would be extended to the aged care sector. Kelly said this was necessary because, we need people at work to look after our aged care residents, even if they are at a low risk of transmitting COVID. As is true in the hospital system, where more than 3,800 health workers are currently in COVID isolation in NSW alone, the reckless policies of Australian governments have exposed so many aged care workers to the virus that the system is about to collapse. The ruling elites only answer is to send the probably infected workers back in to care for those most vulnerable to the disease. The current wave of COVID has already begun to take hold in aged care facilities. At one nursing home in Clemton Park, in southwest Sydney, 38 residents and 25 staff have tested positive and one resident has died. Despite receiving their first and second vaccine doses more than seven months ago, the residents have not yet received booster shots. Across the state, more than 650 aged care residents currently have COVID-19. The crisis in the nations hospital system continues to escalate, with 3,283 people currently hospitalised for COVID-19, 208 in ICU, and 65 requiring ventilation. Almost half of the 131 ICU patients in NSW are double-vaccinated. In NSW, more than 13,000 COVID-19 patients are being cared for outside the hospital setting, indicating that official hospitalisation figures are a vast understatement of the real number of people requiring treatment for COVID-19. This number does not include more than 186,000 cases self-managed at home, in line with advice from NSW Health that those with COVID-19 should not seek medical attention unless they have difficulty breathing. Similarly, in Victoria, hospitals have urged people not to attend unless absolutely necessary, and emergency departments across the country have been forced to turn away patients presenting with supposedly mild symptoms. Ambulance services are also in crisis. On Tuesday NSW Ambulance declared status three, meaning the service was unable to meet demand. High priority cases, meant to be attended within 10 minutes were left waiting more than an hour. In practice, grievously-ill people have been abandoned and left to their fate. One such case was a 14-year-old girl in southwest Sydney, who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, her mother described watching as her daughters lips turned blue during a severe asthma attack as she waited more than an hour for paramedics to arrive. As testing around the country has slowed to a crawl in recent weeks amid a massive Omicron surge, broad sections of the population, including epidemiologists, doctors and the general public, have urgently called for rapid antigen tests (RATs) to be made free and easily accessible. Despite this, Morrison said yesterday: Universal free access was not considered the right policy response by all of the states and territories in attendance today, and the Commonwealth. Instead, the National Cabinet declared concession card holders will be eligible for the woefully inadequate offering of ten free test kits over a three month period. Regular COVID-19 tests will no longer be provided for truck drivers. This is aimed at shoring up supply chains under conditions where one major logistics company, Australian Container Freight Services, has reported up to half of its east coast workforce is infected or in isolation. Australians who test positive on a RAT will no longer be required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to confirm the result. With no system in place to record RAT results, this is a naked ploy to hide infections and falsely lower reported figures. The shift to rapid testing not only has the bipartisan support of the Labor and Liberal-National federal, state and territory leaders, but of the unions, which in a united front with business lobbyists, have been demanding wider use of RATs for months. Test requirements for interstate and international travellers have also been slashed. The reduced testing measures will apply in all states except Western Australia, which did not send a representative to the meeting. In a clear indication that the relaxation of isolation rules will be extended across the entire working class, the National Cabinet also vowed that a meeting would be held to consider workplace health and safety requirements with a view to removing any potential obligation to impose testing requirements in workplaces on employees. In other words, employers will be absolved of any responsibility to ensure workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not return to work while they are still infectious. Combined with the tight restrictions on PCR testing, lack of availability of RATsat any priceand recent redefinition of close contacts to include only household transmission, this virtually guarantees infection will be rampant in every workplace. Already, Woolworths fresh produce shelves have been bare for days across Sydney, with reports on social media that up to half of staff at the supermarket chains Minchinbury warehouse are off work due to COVID. Rival Coles is also experiencing shortages. Chief Operations Officer Matthew Swindells admitted yesterday people may see gaps on shelves, because the isolation numbers from Omicron are growing rapidly. The National Cabinet was also adamant that schools must reopen at the end of the summer holidays. Morrison said: We are all very shared in our view that schools go back and stay back, on day one of term one. The insistence that schools reopen for in-person learning flies in the face of public health, and is aimed only at ensuring the parents can be forced back to workplaces. Doctors have warned that they have not been allocated enough vaccine doses to meet demand for school-aged children, and are not allowed to order more. Dr Anna Davidson, from the NSW Central Coast told the Australian, the reality is our kids are not going to be vaccinated for term one. The decisions made at yesterdays National Cabinet meeting are just the latest confirmation that the Australian political establishment is thoroughly committed to protecting the profits of big business, whatever the cost to human lives. Morrisons rhetorical question, whats the alternative? was intended as a mocking rejection of growing public opposition to the murderous herd immunity policies openly proclaimed by all Australian governments in recent weeks. But there is an alternative. The necessary measures to eliminate COVID-19 are well known and could be used to stamp out the virus in just a few months. This has been demonstrated in practice in China and New Zealand, as well as in a number of Australian states which previously eliminated the virus, as a result of public health measures introduced following demands from workers and young people. Necessary measures include genuine lockdowns, including the closure of non-essential workplaceswith full compensation for furloughed workersthe highest standards of testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine to prevent community transmission and a massive expansion of the chronically underfunded public healthcare system. This program will only be realised through a mass movement of the working-class, fighting against the capitalist governments that have adopted a program of disease and death in the interests of corporate profit. Workers rank-and-file committees, independent of the corporatised trade unions, must be established to coordinate the widespread opposition to the herd immunity policies and to organise industrial and political action to defend health and lives. This is a global struggle, requiring the unity of the working class internationally, and a fight for socialism, the reorganisation of society to meet social need, not the interests of a tiny corporate oligarchy. The Autoworker Newsletter encourages workers to contact us and share information about the conditions at your plant. Email us at autoworkers@wsws.org. With cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreading rapidly in schools, workplaces and communities, US autoworkers are reaching out to the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter to express their anger over the absence of serious public health measures to protect the population. Stellantis workers at Warren Truck Plant in suburban Detroit (WSWS Media) While the number of new infections and deaths is being kept tightly under wraps by both the United Auto Workers union and management for the Detroit-based car manufacturers, the available information points to a highly dangerous situation in the auto plants. It is reflective of an uncontrolled surge of COVID-19 in the US and Europe, where governments have increasingly abandoned efforts to slow the virus apart from vaccines, despite Omicrons ability to cause breakthrough infections. At the Stellantis Sterling Stamping Plant in the Detroit area, the UAW reported 45 cases for December, a new record. Given the delay in reporting there may be additional December cases added to that total over the course of the next week. At least five workers have died at the plant due to COVID-19 during the pandemic. The virus is spreading rapidly throughout Michigan more broadly, with a record two-day average of 13,673 new cases. There is now a weekly average of 93 deaths per day. A message sent by the UAW at Sterling Stamping encapsulates the criminal indifference of the union, and indeed the entire corporate and political establishment, to the escalating health catastrophe. They write, The Leadership would like to welcome everyone back and we hope that you had a safe & blessed holiday! Due to the uptick in reported Covid-19 cases (Statewide) the Union is asking that everyone be safe. Workers at several Detroit-area Stellantis plants report that management is forcing temporary part-time workers (TPTs) to work up to 12-hour shifts to fill in for manpower shortages. Management has sent around a letter restating a policy adopted in May of last year that vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine if exposed to COVID-19, a sign that infections are widely spreading. Meanwhile, workers also report that masking is not being enforced in the general assembly area, one of the most cramped areas of the plant. Several autoworkers expressed agreement with the demands raised by the WSWS and the Autoworker Newsletter for a shutdown of nonessential production, with full compensation for laid off workers, until the virus is contained and a policy of elimination of COVID-19 is put in place. A worker at the Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly Plant north of Detroit said, Workers want to shut down again. It is getting very dangerous, and people can see their lives are at stake. There are a lot of workers off sick, and the company just mandated TPTs to work 10-12 hours a day. The schools have gone virtual in Detroit and people can see that the virus is out of control. How many more people are going to get sick? How many more are going to be in their deathbeds? The idea of quarantining to save lives is hundreds of years old. It happened before we had modern technology and infrastructure, when people were still living in villages. Now, its like our lives simply dont matter. More and more people, especially the younger people are seeing this. Apparently, some workers took part in a walkout against mandating overtime. Everyone can see. People have thought a certain way for a long time, that the system will be here forever, but were being forced to change our thinking. Were coming close to that. A younger worker at Warren Truck said, Working the TPTs 12 hours is ridiculous. They are trying to burn them out before they ever get to be full-time. The plants should absolutely be closed. We should stand up and not go in. People are being forced to work when they are positive. One worker said, I have COVID but I cant afford to stay homeand they let him work. The worker applauded the stand taken by teachers in the Chicago Public Schools, who voted overwhelmingly to suspend in-person teaching due to the pandemic. What the Chicago teachers are doing is good. They are protecting the kids. Im with them. I have kids, and I dont want to bring COVID-19 home to them. We should be out with the teachers too. The more people that get together the better. A memo distributed by the UAW local at the Mack Truck Plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, dated December 23 reported that 24 workers had tested positive in the prior three days, with 49 active cases at the plant. Given the widespread transmission reported over the Christmas holidays that figure is now likely much higher. COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania are skyrocketing, with a weekly average of 20,497 cases for the week ending January 4, a pandemic record for the state. Lehigh County had a weekly average of 802 cases, also a pandemic record. As of Monday, there were 5,629 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state. A worker at the Macungie plant told the Autoworker Newsletter, Ive been talking to people in my work area, and what people have been saying is not good at all. Everyone has sick family members, neighbors, etc. ... I believe this is going to be getting a lot worse. There is some talk about what Mack and Volvo and the UAW are going to do about the testing process and whats going to take place, but no one seems to have any concrete information yet. Its all up in the air. Amidst the spread of sickness and death, the automakers have celebrated booming profits, taking advantage of tight supplies to jack up prices and raise profit margins. The executive editor of Automotive News recently wrote summing up 2021, As frustrating as COVID-19s persistence has been, the auto industry has learned to manage quite well, for the most part. Automakers are raking in profits by prioritizing high-margin vehicles and slashing incentives. Dealers are selling at full price or above with near-zero inventory expense. Another year of scarcity should keep profits high, at least for those two groups. Ford led the Detroit automakers in 2021, seeing a 140 percent increase in its stock price in 2021. Fords stock price rise even beat electric vehicle maker Tesla. In the final three months of the year, Ford sold more vehicles than Stellantis, General Motors or Toyota, the latter of which surpassed GM as the largest US automaker by sales volume for 2021. We could sell more vehicles if we had them, no question, a sales analyst for Ford told the Detroit Free Press. We sell whatever we can produce. All of this has taken place on the backs of autoworkers. A worker on the day shift at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter that cases at the plant were beginning to spiral out of control. More people at Ford are getting COVID-19. A few are bosses that wouldnt get the vaccine, and one of them is very sick, he said. My wife and myself are lucky we havent been sick. But we try to stay away from people and stay to ourselves. Everything is getting worse, out of control. But it seems big companies like Ford are making a lot of money, while cost of living is crazy, like food and gas. Facebook posts by workers at Chicago Assembly Plant described hellish conditions, with workers forced to come in even if family members were sick with COVID-19, and the UAW and management allowing symptomatic or infected workers into the plant. There are also reports that management is not accepting the results of at-home COVID-19 tests. Similar conditions are being reported at other plants. Facebook posts at the Dana Fort Wayne, Indiana, auto parts plant complain of lack of enforcement of masking protocols and laxity in allowing previously infected workers back into the plant without testing. To bring about the policies needed to halt and suppress the pandemic and prevent a further colossal loss of human life, collective action by workers is needed. The WSWS Autoworker Newsletter urges workers to form rank-and-file factory committees, independent of the pro-corporate UAW, to organize this fight. One thing is for sure, they are getting tired of the restrictions. Asked how they buy food, 56.7 percent of respondents said they go to offline venues like supermarkets, while only 26.3 percent keep using online delivery. Even among young people, who are thought to be more comfortable with online shopping, 49.3 percent favor going to the stores and only 26.4 percent to shop online. Pollster Tillion Pro surveyed the spending patterns of 5,111 people between 20 to 60 to analyze the way Koreans eat, dress and shelter amid the "new normal." A year has passed since the coronavirus pandemic hit Korea on Jan. 20, 2020 and the unprecedented reaction across the world has changed all aspects of people's lives. One 43-year-old working mother with two children said she bought 80 percent of her groceries and other daily necessities online in the early phase of the pandemic. But a year later, she buys 80 percent of those products offline. "I realized that the quality products I bought online varied too much," Chung said. Others go to superstores not just to buy necessities. "I like to move around, but gyms are closed and it's not easy to go outside due to the freezing weather," said a 45-year-old office worker. "Superstores are the only places I can go to get some air." Another 45-year-old office worker said, "You might be able to find a wide variety of products online, but there are products you need to go to offline stores to buy. When that need arises, I put on a mask and make a quick trip to the supermarket." Some 42.5 percent of respondents said their living expenses decreased over the past year, while 33.5 percent said it increased. What was especially noteworthy was that older people tightened their purse strings more than younger ones. Among respondents in their 60s, 48.3 percent said their spending declined, compared to 44.9 percent of respondents in their 50s, 40.6 percent in their 40s, 40.4 percent in their 30s and 38.2 percent in their 20s. So why did young people save less? One 29-year-old who lives alone in Seoul said, "In my age group there's just very little spending you can cut down on. My expenditures declined because I stopped going to the gym, but then I spent more money ordering food. There are only so many corners I can cut." Prof. Kim Si-wol at Konkuk University said, "Younger people tend to live alone and their spending is concentrated on basic needs like food and rent. That means they have little room to reduce spending." Some 47.7 percent said that they saved most money in leisure and travel. As global air traffic ground to a standstill, most people were left stranded at home. One 25-year-old office worker said, "Two years ago, I spent W5 million on vacations in Australia and Southeast Asia, but this year I spent pretty much nothing on overseas travel" (US$1=W1,100). "I also spent practically nothing on clothes since I mostly work from home wearing my sweats," he added. He used the money saved to buy stocks for the first time, snapping up W2 million worth of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor shares. Spending on clothing and cosmetics also plummeted, 60.2 percent of respondents said. But spending on home appliances increased to make lockdown more bearable. One in four people said they got a new computer or laptop due to telecommuting and online classes. A 50-year-old housewife bought a dozen household appliances last year, including a robot vacuum cleaner, two bidets, a massage chair, an induction oven, a dishwasher and a TV. "I started spending more time at home and ended up watching home shopping channels that fueled impulse buying," she admits. Will spending habits return to the old normal after the pandemic ends? Prof. Lee Jun-young at Sangmyung University said, "Declines in overseas travel and growth in sales of household appliances may be temporary phenomena, but other areas of business will see long-term effects. People got a taste of telecommuting and mobile shopping, which will end up becoming indispensable parts of our lives." German Supreme Court (Reichsgericht) (Wikimedia Commons) Germanys Federal Court of Justice (BGH) confirmed an absurdly lenient sentence for the accomplice of the far-right terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU), Andre Eminger, on December 15. It rejected both the appeal by the Federal Prosecutors Office, which called for a much harsher verdict, and the appeal by Eminger himself, who was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in the Munich NSU trial for supporting a terrorist organization. With this ruling, the legal proceedings concerning the crimes of the NSU, which committed ten murders, three attacks and 15 robberies between 2000 and 2007, has reached a conclusion. With the exception of Beate Zschape, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, all NSU accomplices are at large and some of them, like Eminger himself, are still active in neo-Nazi circles. The now 42-year-old Andre Eminger and his wife Susann were for fourteen years the closest confidantes of Zschape, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Bohnhardt, who made up the core of the NSU. He rented an apartment for them under his name, went shopping, got train cards and gave them his health insurance card when they needed a doctor. He rented a mobile home three times for her, with which she drove to two robberies and used in the bomb attack in Colognes Probsteigasse. There is also a suspicion that he procured weapons for them. Eminger is a staunch neo-Nazi and openly displayed this during the Munich trial. He has the slogan Die Jew die and an SS symbol tattooed on his stomach. The police found a handbook on race warfare on his computer. His own lawyer has described him as a National Socialist to the marrow of his bones. His right-wing extremist and fascist sentiments, which the NSU put into practice with its bloody deeds, is beyond doubt. When water damage occurred in the NSU members apartment in 2007, Eminger gave Zschape his wife Susanns ID and confirmed her identity during the police questionnaire in order to protect her from being discovered. At this point in time, the NSU trio had already murdered nine people. In the same year, the police officer Michele Kiesewetter was murdered. The Munich Regional High Court also blamed this murder on the NSU, although there remain considerable doubts about it. When the NSU was discovered on November 4, 2011, Andre Eminger helped Zschape to escape by driving her to the Zwickau train station and giving her clothes to his wife. Despite his active support for the NSU, Eminger only spent a few months in custody. After the elite GSG 9 police unit arrested him in November 2011, he was released in June 2012. He then remained active in the right-wing extremist milieu. It was not until September 2017 that he had to return to pre-trial detention due to his being deemed a flight risk, after the federal prosecutor had demanded a twelve-year prison sentence for him. During the NSU trial, Eminger beat up an 18-year-old, who he had allegedly requested to meet him for a talk in a parking garage in Zwickau, with punches to the head and kicks in the ribs. He threatened him with death if he should touch his sonwith whom he had previously had a disputeagain. The local district court therefore sentenced him to a fine, but the conviction remains suspended, as both the public prosecutor and Eminger appealed. As a result, Eminger did not have a criminal record when the Munich Regional High Court issued the NSU judgment in 2018, which would have been to his disadvantage. The fact that the Munich Regional High Court only sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in prison for supporting a terrorist organization caused astonishment and anger. The federal prosecutor had asked for a twelve-year sentence for aiding and abetting murder and robbery. Since the sentence had already been served by pre-trial detention at the time of the ruling, Eminger was released from custody in the courtroom to the applause of numerous neo-Nazis. The trial in Munich was mainly characterized by the systematic cover-up of the role of the state in the NSU murders. Although several dozen informants and officials from the domestic intelligence agencies and the police authorities were associated with the three main perpetrators, the federal prosecutor and the presiding judge Manfred Gotzl deliberately ignored the role of state informants in the five-year trial. This was also reflected in the judgment. Zschape, the only survivor of the three main perpetrators, received a life sentence. The four co-defendants, who are closely connected to the group of accomplices, which is riddled with informants, got away with a slap on the wrist. The court justified its mild verdict for Eminger with the fact that he did not know what criminal acts the trio he supported committed. Although Zschape, Mundlos and Bohnhardt lived in secrecy but still had access to considerable funds, the judges somehow managed to conclude in their written reasons for their judgement that [Eminger] assumed, on the basis of a real-life examination, that the three would earn their living from sources that were permitted in principle and not from highly criminal sources. One wonders what real life the court is talking about. In reality, not only Eminger, but a large part of the neo-Nazi milieu knew about the activities of the NSU. The neo-Nazi fanzine The White Wolf thanked the NSU in 2002 for a donation from one of their robberies, Many thanks to the NSU, it has borne fruit ;-) The fight continues And the neo-Nazi band Gigi & Die Braunen Stadtmusikanten celebrated the series of NSU murders in 2010before they became publicly knownon their album Adolf Hitler Lives! Since the neo-Nazi milieu, riddled with informants, knew about it, the security agents must also have known about it. With the confirmation of the Munich Regional High Courts ruling after more than 20 months of appeal, the Federal Court of Justice under the presiding judge Jurgen Schafer has continued the cover-up of this right-wing conspiracy. A comparison with judgments against left-wing demonstrators shows that political reasons were decisive. While Eminger was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for years of active support of a right-wing gang of murderers and was allowed to leave the courtroom as a free man, the French law student and environmental activist Loic Schneider was sentenced to three years imprisonment without parole because he threw two beer bottles and two stones at the police during a protest against the G20 summit in 2017. Schneider was just one of many young people who were mercilessly pursued because they had exercised their right to demonstrate against a gathering of imperialist gangsters, including then-President Donald Trump. The man responsible for the brutal police operation against the demonstrators and their subsequent persecution was the then Mayor of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg and todays German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democrats). On Tuesday evening, 73 percent of Chicago teachers voted to stop in-person learning at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the third largest school district in the United States. The overwhelming vote openly defies the Democratic Party at the local, state and federal levels, which has implemented a homicidal back-to-school campaign amid the surge of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant. The bold initiative taken by rank-and-file educators in Chicagowho forced the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to take the vote after the union allowed schools to reopen Mondaymarks a major turning point in the class struggle in the US and globally. It has rightfully drawn support from workers worldwide, who are increasingly fighting to stop viral transmission and save lives as the third year of the pandemic begins. Striking Chicago teachers march in the city's famed Loop on the fifth day of canceled classes Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, in Chicago. The protest was timed to coincide with Mayor Lori Lightfoot's first budget address. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) This week has also seen a walkout by Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, over unsafe conditions. Over 1,000 graduate student instructors at the University of Michigan began the semester remotely in defiance of university President Mark Schlissel. In New York City, where the new Democratic Mayor Eric Adams has absurdly declared that schools are the safest place for children, a de facto sickout has taken place as over 300,000 parents kept their children home from school on Monday, with some schools reporting attendance as low as 15 percent. According to the education tracker Burbio.com, 4,783 schools across the US have been forced to begin the semester remotely, including in Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland, Newark and Milwaukee. Teachers in Oakland, California, are preparing a wildcat walkout this Friday to force the district to switch to remote learning. In Ontario, Canada, as well as other areas globally, schools have been forced to start the semester remotely due to the Omicron surge. Responding to the vote in Chicago, the Democratic Party and the corporate media have ruthlessly gone on the offensive, seeking to pit working class parents against teachers. Chicagos Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, both of whom peddle identity politics to appear left-wing, have locked out Chicago teachers instead of switching to remote learning. As took place at the start of 2021, the entire print and broadcast media are denouncing Chicago teachers. Multiple commentators have called for mass firings akin to the Reagan administrations 1981 suppression of the strike by 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), while the media howls in unison that Chicago teachers are selfish and lazy. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post (owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, net worth $190 billion), Republican strategist Henry Olsen cynically branded the vote to implement remote learning as an assault on the well-being of children. He called on local, state and national Democrats to act to bring vaccinated teachers back to work and prevent future unjustified work stoppages, adding, Lightfoot and the school district could go to court to force the union to return or pay substantial penalties for its act. The ruling class and all of its representatives have declared war on the working class, which is increasingly radicalized after two years of mass infections, suffering and death. With more than 850,000 Americans killed by COVID-19, and as the Omicron variant has pushed average official daily infections above 580,000 and hospitalizations once again above 115,000, the entire political establishment is openly letting the virus rip with catastrophic consequences. In flagrant violation of all principles of public health, they now consciously seek to infect masses of children, their families and their communities. The policies being pursued have acquired an increasingly fascistic character. Substantial sections of the ruling class view the elderly and immunocompromised as a strain on social spending, with their deaths seen as a positive good. Any claim that schools are safe is a bald-faced lie. Given that COVID-19 spreads through aerosols that can linger in the air for hours, overcrowded and poorly ventilated classrooms are hotbeds for infection. Wherever data on COVID-19 outbreaks is tracked, K-12 schools are consistently the highest source of transmission. The herd immunity and vaccine-only policies pursued by capitalist governments worldwide have allowed COVID-19 to spread and mutate, producing new and increasingly dangerous variants. Continuing this policy with Omicron, which is believed to be as infectious as measles, creates the conditions for the next variant to rapidly evolve with potentially even more dangerous characteristics. The claims that Omicron is mild and will be the last variant, which have been used to justify the criminal policy of letting it spread unchecked, have quickly been exposed as lies. Hospitalizations in the US have now surpassed 115,000, the highest figure since January 2021, while countries across Europe are approaching or have broken record numbers of cases and hospitalizations. Among the most alarming trends is the rapid growth of child hospitalizations across the US, the UK and other countries throughout the world. The rate of daily new child hospitalizations in the US is now more than double the peak reached during the recent Delta surge, during which more than 500 children died from COVID-19. Without a rapid change of policy, it is increasingly likely that over 1,000 children will die in the US during the Omicron wave. The proper response of the international working class to the ruling elites global strategy of unending mass infections and deaths is to prepare a general walkout and refuse to work under unsafe conditions. The stand taken by Chicago teachers against the unsafe reopening of schools must become the rallying point for class-conscious workers around the world. The industrial working class, which faces the same dangers of infection and death, must give full support to educators and coordinate a unified struggle to close all schools and nonessential workplaces. The most urgent necessity facing workers today is the need to build an independent movement consciously fighting for a Zero COVID strategy aimed at ending the pandemic once and for all. The ruling class adamantly refuses to implement lockdowns or any other necessary public health measures because they impinge on its ability to accumulate profits. While US billionaires have amassed over $2.1 trillion since the start of the pandemic, they advance the central lie that there is no money to fight the pandemic. This naked class warfare must be responded to through broad-based collective action from workers in every industry and every country. The vast wealth of the pandemic profiteers must be impounded and distributed to the workers who produced this wealth, as necessary provisions during temporary lockdowns. The broadest public health measures, learned by mankind through centuries of struggle for social progress, must be fully funded in every country. In addition to temporary lockdowns, this includes mass testing, contact tracing, the isolation of infected patients, quarantining of exposed individuals, a globally coordinated program to rapidly vaccinate the world population, travel restrictions and more. Since the start of the Omicron surge, a shift in consciousness has taken place in the working class and large sections of the middle class, including the most progressive layers among scientists, who increasingly understand that the policies of the White House and the entire political establishment are driven solely by the economic interests of the corporations and financial elite. The necessary conclusions must be drawn from this experience. Financial interests cannot be the arbiters of life and death. Only a mass movement of the working class, supported by principled scientists and public health experts, is capable of implementing the strategy of global elimination. The mechanism through which the policy of Zero COVID will be implemented is the building of a global network of rank-and-file committees, independent of the pro-capitalist unions and political parties, and fighting to unify workers across every industry and internationally. The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), initiated by the International Committee of the Fourth International on May Day 2021, is the central nexus for these committees, which have been formed and are growing among educators, autoworkers, logistics workers, health care workers and other industries across the US and globally. All workers determined to put an end to the pandemic and save lives should complete the form below to join or build a committee at your workplace and prepare for the coming wave of mass struggles to save lives. Australia is experiencing one of the worlds fastest increases in COVID-19 cases with more infections in the first six days of 2022 than in the previous two years combined. There are well over 600,000 confirmed active cases, but with testing positivity rates exceeding 25 percent in most jurisdictions, the real number could already be in the millions. The explosion of infections is a direct outcome of the profit-driven herd immunity policies implemented by state and federal governments, Labor and Liberal-National Coalition alike, who agreed last year to let the highly infectious Omicron variant rip through the community. Electoral members of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) spoke to the WSWS voicing their outrage over the current outbreak in Australia and support for the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The inquest, which is already underway, will thoroughly investigate the origins, causes and consequences of the pandemic and expose the political and economic forces responsible for allowing COVIDs uncontrolled transmission. The following interviews are part of the campaign launched by the SEP against anti-democratic electoral laws rushed through the Australian parliament on August 26, 2021. The laws threaten dozens of parties, including the SEP, with deregistration. Their purpose is to prevent mounting opposition to the major parties, including hostility to bipartisan reopening policies that put lives before profit, from finding a left-wing and socialist expression. Support the SEPs campaign against the legislation and sign up as an electoral member today. **** Amanda, an educator from Melbourne, said: The WSWS has, from the very beginning of the pandemic, accurately warned about and predicted the dangers presented by COVID-19 and the horrendous policies of governments across the world. It has consistently provided accurate data and analysis and provided an alternative to save lives, that is why I strongly support the global workers inquest into the pandemic. The WSWS is shining a light on the murderous policies of governments across the world which have resulted in unprecedented and unnecessary death and suffering. The inquest will also hear the voices of ordinary people who are suffering the most, she said. Governments have deliberately concealed the truth about COVID and the true extent of what has happened in order to sell the very dangerous herd immunity policy now adopted by most countries. We have hit the most dangerous point of the pandemic so far. The inquest will provide analysis and a way forward. We cannot sit back and follow the advice of our governments that have consistently shown over the past two years that their only focus is bolstering the wealth of a few as directed by big business. It is certainly not about the health and wellbeing of citizens, she stated. Colleen, an electoral member from Shepparton, a regional centre outside Melbourne, said: The ruling elite have climbed a dangerous platform by clearly stating that the working class is expendable. It is deceitfully twisting and hiding data, intimating that the pandemic is over, and removing life-saving scientific measures, including essential masks. They refuse to acknowledge the virus is spread by aerosol, not droplet, to justify not providing adequate school and workplace ventilation. Governments are forcing parents to send their children in to contract a virus that maims and causes death for the sake of corporate profit even as cases soar, overwhelming our underfunded hospital systems. Colleen Scientists have stated that millions of past and future deaths could be prevented by a total world-wide shutdown of two to three months. They have warned that vaccines alone and herd-immunity policies will not work. This has been proven by countries and individual states that have followed policies of elimination. It can be done but it is ignored for the base reason of profit before life. I applaud the inquest initiated by the WSWS and the Socialist Equality Party which aims to establish the truth about what can only be described as corporate murder, Colleen said. Michael is an electoral member in New South Wales and a carer for a family member. I think the rapid case rise has shattered any illusion that Australia is a world leader in handling the pandemic, he said. The biggest thing [about the WSWS coverage] for me was hearing that the pandemic could have been stopped in 2020, if it had been handled properly. Instead, its been carried over into the third year. Whilst the official death toll is 5 million, its probably closer to 15 to 20 million. This shows that the capitalist system is literally incompatible with human welfare and human life. I want to commend the ICFI and SEP for the work theyre doing. The media blatantly lies that eradication is unfeasible. This is untrue. The ICFI and the SEP is the only organisation that is offering workers a way out of the pandemic. Ive been an electoral member of the SEP for eight years, since 2014. During this time the SEP has never steered me or workers in the wrong direction regarding war or the pandemic. The SEP, which publishes the WSWS, tears apart the lies we see in the corporate media, he said. Michael Alex, an electoral member and young worker, said, The increase in case numbers in Sydney is terrifying. Its completely overwhelming to see the numbers doubling every morning. It feels like you are completely on your own. A lot of us now know people personally, or from social media, who have caught COVID, so its much closer to home. Before it was rare to know someone who had been infected. People I know who have tested positive have been completely left alone. There was no support. They werent brought any groceries or supplies and didnt even get a phone call from NSW Health for about four days, he said. Two people we know of tested positive at my work alone. I say that because it took so long to get tested. A friend of mine on a contract told his employer that he didnt feel comfortable going into the city with the latest outbreak and wanted to work from home, as he had done during the lockdown. They refused and fired him. His work is mostly admin based, so its entirely possible to be done at home, Alex said. Its eye-opening to see how China has dealt with this pandemic and how they have been able to contain it. NSW Health recently did a Facebook post asking, Can we eradicate covid? and their answer was basically, No, we cant. This is an outright lie! We know we can, but they dont want to, that is the difference. Ultimately the way to eradicate COVID is with people uniting and accepting the science now emerging from the studies being done and with China as an example, not as an ideal government system, but as part of cooperative effort. This is a virus and the way we fight viruses is with science, Alex said. Authorities responded to a fire at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday at a row house in the Fairmont neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Firefighters reported heavy fire which took the lives of 12 people, including eight children, as crews fought to contain it. Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire. Witnesses to the tragedy told reporters the fire was the second to occur in as many months, with a neighbor identified only as Michelle stating to ABC News that a fire had occurred on the same block before Thanksgiving in November. Isaiah Brown told news reporters that his cousins had been killed in the fire. One was 16, one was like 10 ... and seven. You know, they were babies, babies, man. Young children. Didnt even get a chance at life, he cried. A Philadelphia firefighter works at the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Jacuita Purifoy told the press that the seven children who died were her nieces and nephews, and that three of her sisters had also burned in the fire. In comments to the New York Times, Purifoy referred to a five-year-old nephew who had survived the fire: He wants his mom, he wants his dad, he wants his sister, he wants his cousins, she said. Neighbor Bill Richards told ABC News that he had heard a woman screaming, Oh, my God! Oh, my God! before fire trucks appeared on the scene. Others were grief stricken, with one woman on the scene reportedly huddled in a Salvation Army blanket and crying that the loss was too hard right now. According to officials from the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), 26 people had been living in the row house unit that burned down. ABC News stated that the family had moved in nearly a decade ago and that due to the pandemic and demand for low-income housing, PHA could not move the family to a five-bedroom home. Philadelphias Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney arrived on the scene, declaring the loss without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our citys history, the loss of so many people in such a tragic way. Of the crowded conditions in which the family lived, Kenney merely shrugged, Sometimes its better for people to be indoors than on the street, he said. The tourism website VisitPhilly.com boasts that the Fairmont neighborhood is home to truly world-class museums. The neighborhood offers walking-distance access to Philadelphia Museum of Art, Franklin Institute, Rodin Museum and Barnes Foundation, as well as proximity to beautiful green spaces and a thriving food scene. The Fairmont tragedy is the second most fatal fire in the citys history. In 1901, an eight-storey building on Market Street went up in flames, killing 22 people. In May 1985, Philadelphia police bombed a residence on Osage Avenue housing the black nationalist group MOVE, resulting in the incineration of 11 people, including five children. Sixty properties in the area were destroyed in the ensuing fire. The event earned Philadelphia the nickname the city that bombed itself. The PHA currently has a 40,000-person backlog in requests for affordable housing and has not accepted any new families in nearly a decade. Mayor Kenneys most recent budget proposal for the city would dedicate a mere $14 million to the citys affordable housing program. An October opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer stated the last 20 years have brought the best of times and the worst of times to Philadelphia, noting that while the city has created 71,000 new jobs, nearly 65,000 more city residents liv[e] in poverty today than there were in 2000. The column continued: And now, South Philadelphias sprawling refinery, where unionized workers often took home annual salaries of $100,000, is being converted to a logistics center, with neat rows of warehouses that will house commodities produced elsewhere. All this gives Philadelphia the ignoble distinction of being the poorest big city in America with a poverty rate of 23.3 percent. According to 2020 data from the Office of Homeless Services, nearly 5,600 people in the city of Philadelphia were homeless. The housing crisis has been deepened by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A July 2021 Pew Charitable Trusts report noted that nearly 25 percent of all families in the city had fallen behind on food and rent in recent years. Over 75 percent of Hispanic and 55 percent of African American residents were facing difficulties paying rent. The fire that engulfed innocent families in Fairmont marks a tragic beginning to the New Year in Philadelphia. Due to the latest surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, illness and death stalk families daily across the city. On Tuesday, the day before the fire, the School District of Philadelphia, officially began the spring semester amid a rapid spread of the Omicron variant. In the days before the holiday break, 17-year-old student Alayna Thach contracted COVID-19 and died tragically, days before she was scheduled to be vaccinated. School and teachers union officials in Philadelphia have declared their opposition to closing schools despite the city having record COVID-19 infections. Today, January 6, at 7:30 p.m. EST the Pennsylvania Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, an organization which is dedicated to defending teachers, students, families and the working class from the efforts to force them into unsafe schools, where the virus is spreading will hold an emergency online meeting, Close All Schools to Stop the Spread . We encourage all workers, teachers and parents in the Philadelphia region to attend to oppose the social conditions which are resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Click here to register or learn more about the event on Facebook . On Tuesday evening, in a live-chat interview to Le Parisien on the 2022 presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic, French President Emmanuel Macron launched an obscene rant against the unvaccinated. Well, now, the unvaccinated, I really want to cover them in sh*t, Macron said, using the phrase emmerder. Denouncing the unvaccinated for being irresponsible, he added: An irresponsible person is no longer a citizen. He rejected lockdowns and social distancing measures key to halting infections, even as France posted a record 271,686 COVID-19 infections Tuesday and 332,252 yesterday. He said, our line is simple: its vaccination, vaccination, vaccination and a vaccine pass, referring to his governments attempt to get the National Assembly to adopt legislation creating a document to deny access to bars, theaters, cinemas or restaurants to anyone who is unvaccinated. The idea is to place many constraints on the unvaccinated and, collectively, to encourage behaviors to limit spread. A family watches French President Emmanuel Macron's televised speech, Monday April 13, 2020, in Lyon, central France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) Macrons degraded outburst was a statement of intent to let the virus spread unchecked, no matter the cost in lives. French hospitals emergency wards are already 73 percent full, even as over 600,000 people in France and 2.4 million in Europe were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last two days. Yet, long after scientists have confirmed that vaccinated individuals can catch and spread the disease, showing the urgent need for social restrictions, European governments all advocate a vaccine-only policy and washing their hands of any attempt to halt the wave of death. As COVID-19 is transmitted through the air, relying on individual behavior like mask wearing and staying one meter away from others will not reliably prevent contagion. The Macron government, demanding that workers in non-essential production go to work and that students return to classes or sit by the hundreds in crowded exam rooms, is simply creating conditions for countless super-spreader events in France and across Europe. To distract attention from the predictable results of his irresponsible policy, Macron tried to stir up hatred against those most obviously vulnerable amid mass infection: the unvaccinated. Vaccination against COVID-19 is an essential public health measure, substantially cutting the risk of dying or getting seriously ill with COVID-19, and which should be universally adopted in line with professional medical advice. However, it is apparent that the Macron government itself bears heavy responsibility for the fact that several million people in France are still not vaccinated against COVID-19. As Macron ranted against the unvaccinated, he ignored the fact that millions of those he was denouncing as he consigns them to mass infection are very young children who cannot legally obtain the vaccine. Sixty-four children in France are currently on life support, fighting COVID-19. Other unvaccinated people are elderly residents of remote areas who, partly due to Macrons cuts to rural train services, find it difficult or too costly to get to a vaccination center. Yesterday, LCI cited pollsters estimating at 2 percent the proportion of the French people that refuses on principle to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine. Even this, it must be said, is due in no small part to the fact that Macron and his ministers abstained from campaigning publicly to explain the necessity of vaccination. Yet Macron todayechoing his comments denouncing opponents of his pension cuts as old-style Gaulish people obstinately refusing changeagain blames the population for the results of his own reactionary policies. After Macrons outburst against the unvaccinated, he turned, significantly, to his inability to announce whether or not he is running for re-election in the April 2022 elections. On this subject, he told Le Parisien: I want to run. As soon as health conditions permit and as I have clarified this issue, in my feelings and in terms of the political equation, I will say what is going on with the same freedom as always, because I do not want to deny myself anything. Macron cryptically added: If I take a position today, what will be my ability to handle the peak of the health crisis? Macrons argument is that in order to pursue his health policies, which are costing thousands of lives, he cannot tolerate even a symbolic acknowledgment that he is answerable to the French people in the form of a statement that he is seeking re-election. Such a remark testifies to a deep-going breakdown of French democracy revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The only way to halt the staggering wave of infections now underway in France, across Europe and internationally is the independent organization and political mobilization of the working class for a general strike against the reactionary policies of Macron and the European Union (EU). Such a struggle depends on a political break with the entire French political establishment. The parties in the National Assembly debating Macrons plans for a health pass criticized his obscene outburst from the right. Reprising their role in promoting protests against mandatory vaccination last summer led by the neo-fascists, several of them attacked Macron not for refusing to protect the population from the virus, but based on the reactionary assertion that there is a right to ignore life-saving public health policies during the pandemic. This assertion, which is tantamount to asserting the right to contract and infect others with a deadly illness, is a political lie. It is clear, the vaccine pass is collective punishment aimed at individual liberty, said Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the Unsubmissive France (LFI) party and presidential candidate of the Popular Union coalition. The guarantor of the unity of the nation is obstinately working to divide it and to treat the non-vaccinated as second-class citizens, declared neo-fascist presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. As for the right-wing The Republicans (LR), they criticized Macron only for alienating the public. One can encourage vaccination without insulting anyone or encouraging radicalization, said LR Senator Bruno Retailleau, who criticized Macron for humiliating a section of the French people for electoral purposes. None of these parties made the essential point that Macrons policy is facilitating the infection of millions of French people and tens of millions of Europeans, who risk death and long-term debilitation from COVID-19. This is because these parties and their affiliates across Europefrom Spains ruling Podemos party, linked to Melenchon and LFI, to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservatives linked to LRare advancing the same reckless, vaccine-only policy of ending all attempts to halt viral contagion. No less than Macron, the former investment banker and president of the rich, these forces are tools of the financial aristocracy, doing everything to keep workers on the job and students in school so that profits continue pumping into the coffers of the banks. Faced with this abdication of all responsibility to defend public health by the entire European ruling elite, rank-and-file committees must be organized in workplaces and schools to defend health and politically mobilize the working class against the capitalist governments. This would allow for the preparation and organization of a general strike to compel scientific public health policy, and take state power out of the hands of the financial aristocracy. To join the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Committee to close the schools and end the pandemic, visit wsws.org/edsafety. Thousands of students and staff are once again taking a stand at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor against the schools reckless decision to reopen for in-person classes on Wednesday. The decision to reopen the campus comes in the face of skyrocketing local infections and hospitalizations from the Omicron variant of COVID-19. According to the New York Times, Michigan recorded a seven-day average case count of 13,412 on January 4, a record high for the state. Washtenaw County, which includes Ann Arbor, also saw a dramatic rise in weekly cases through the last two months, and positive COVID-19 cases at the university are currently at their highest since February 2021. Striking graduate students at University of Michigan, September 11, 2020 [WSWS Media] Medical staff and health officials are warning that the local hospitals are nearing capacity. Under these conditions, on January 3, two days before classes were set to begin in-person, over 500 faculty and graduate student instructors attended an all-instructors meeting held online to discuss an initiative called the e-pivot, a transition to online instruction in opposition to the universitys forced return to in-person classes. Close to 600 participants and other supporters pledged to make the pivot to online instruction in their classes. The meeting follows the publication of an open letter to President Schlissel and Provost Susan Collins on December 17, which argues for a two-week delay of in-person instruction. As of Wednesday morning, the letter had been signed by 1,520 faculty, students and staff. The letter begins: We write to urge the University of Michigan administration to reconsider our plans for the winter semester. It seems clear that bringing students, faculty, and staff back to campus directly after a week of holiday activities that typically include numerous gatherings of friends and relatives and often take place in crowded venues is a recipe for a major COVID outbreak in the first week or two of classes. What is critical, the letter continues, is to act now and not wait until a last-minute decision is forced upon us by circumstances. The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), the graduate instructors union at the university, held an emergency general membership meeting Tuesday where the instructors voted by 95 percent to endorse a motion to support the e-pivot. GEO and members of the faculty hosted a press conference via Zoom on Wednesday to announce they would be taking matters into their own hands. Graduate students at UM have been at the forefront of the struggle against in-person learning. In 2020, student instructorswith wide support from undergraduates, lecturers, faculty, staff and university workerslaunched a strike to demand the universal right to work remotely during the pandemic, improved testing and contact tracing, care subsidies for parents and caregivers, a $2,500 unconditional emergency grant, rent freezes and the demilitarization of the university campus. The strike was ultimately strangled by the GEO parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in collaboration with the University administration, which ruthlessly threatened the students with legal repercussions if they continued the strike. Merely a week after the strike was shut down, outbreaks began to erupt on campus. Less than two months later, the administration was forced to temporarily move to online learning. Now, nearly two years into the pandemic, and with overwhelming scientific evidence proving that classrooms are major sources of community spread, the university is seeking to once again force students and staff back into unsafe classrooms. One of the leading voices of the opposition, Professor Rebekah Modrak of the Stamps School of Art and Design at UM, spoke with the World Socialist Web Site about the situation on campus. Modrak explained that the objective of the letter is to support instructors who choose to temporarily shift to virtual for two weeks for their own safety and the safety of the community, as well as to address other challenges. Modrak went on to explain the immense difficulties students and faculty are facing this semester as a consequence of the pandemic: The thousands of canceled flights are preventing some students from returning to campus. Others are reporting the need to isolate until theyve been tested. A shift to virtual would allow all students access to education in these conditions. Seventy-six percent of the faculty polled told us that the letter would only need 500 or fewer signatures for them to feel enough solidarity to make the shift to virtual. We are confident that weve achieved that objective. Of course, even better would be if the University of Michigan administration were to officially shift us all to virtual for two weeks. Asked for her response to University of Michigan President Mark Schlissels claim that the administration does not believe that an initial period of remote education will significantly diminish spread of COVID-19, Modrak responded, One of our two local hospitals is at 87 percent capacity, and the other is at 99 percent capacity, so its extremely important we not continue to over-stress these resources. Modrak went on to explain that President Schlissels message overlooks several other challenges beyond diminished spread. For example, Ann Arbor Public Schools will be virtual until January 10th. How does he expect instructors with young children in virtual school to be in two places simultaneously? These instructors/parents have no choice but to work from home. Students and faculty at the University of Michigan have taken a courageous stand. In fighting against the unsafe reopening of campus, they are fighting for the health and safety not only of themselves but for the community as a whole. Their actions are part of a growing movement of educators throughout the country to demand the shutdown of schools as the COVID-19 pandemic surges out of control. Chicago Public Schools teachers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night to stop the reopening of schools after winter break. The teachers have come under vicious attack from the Democratic Party-led administration in Chicago. However, in order for their fight to be successful, important lessons must be drawn from both the experience of the 2020 Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) strike, as well as the entire experience of the working class since the start of the pandemic. First, the demands made by students and workers must not be directed by what they think the administration might allow but by what scientists insist is necessary to save lives and end the pandemic. Contrary to the many statements from school administrators seeking to shift the blame of the outbreaks onto students, the conditions in classrooms, student dormitories and even off-campus housing are simply not conducive to proper social distancing. A two-week delay to in-person learning will do little to curb the threats posed by the Omicron variant and other potential variants of the virus. The demand must be raised for the complete shutdown of the schools to in-person learning, along with the shutdown of nonessential production, as part of a broader strategy to eliminate the virus. Second, the campaign for a safe campus must be conducted as a broader campaign encompassing all schools and workplaces throughout the country. COVID-19 does not respect the boundaries of any campus, workplace, state or country. In order to make one campus safe, policies must be coordinated on a national and international scale. Finally, workers and youth must understand who their allies and enemies are in this struggle. Hundreds of college, university and K-12 campuses throughout the US are once again emerging as central battlegrounds in the fight to contain the pandemic. Teachers, students, faculty and staff stand on one side of the barricades, fighting for an end to the reckless policies of in-person learning, for resources to be allocated for safety measures and online learning, and for policies based on science, that put lives over profit. They must turn out to broader sections of the working class, facing unsafe conditions in workplaces and factories where the virus is also spreading without restraint. On the other side of this fight stand the university administrations, the corporate-controlled trade unions and both the Democrats and Republicans. The Biden administration has abandoned any pretense of stopping the spread of the pandemic and has instead fully adopted the homicidal herd immunity policy, first spearheaded by the Trump administration, which advocates for letting the virus spread uncontrollably regardless of the carnage it leaves behind. School administrations around the country are kowtowing to the pressure from the White House and pushing the lie that schools are not a significant source of transmission. For the fight against the pandemic to go forward, workers need their own organizations of struggle, independent of both parties and the corrupt trade union apparatus. Throughout the US such organizations have already begun developing. On Tuesday, the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee held an emergency meeting to organize collective action to close schools. The WSWS urges all those faculty, staff and students at the University of Michigan who are engaged in the struggle to end in-person learning to join the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee today. To join the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Committee to close the schools and end the pandemic, visit wsws.org/edsafety. Canton police body camera footage. (Canton police) A police officer in Canton, Ohio fatally shot a man just minutes into the new year as he fired a gun in the air to celebrate the advent of 2022. Marquetta Williams told Cleveland 19 News she was only feet away from her husband, James Williams, a 46-year-old father of six, when he was shot. According to Marquetta the officer opened fire on him without warning. Williams said she and her husband had used an AR-15 rifle she owns to fire celebratory shots in the air early Saturday, a common practice in many working-class neighborhoods across the US. She added that the gunfire was an annual tradition in their neighborhood, and that many neighbors also fired shots in the area that night. The kids were watching the countdown and we were going outside to shoot guns like everybody else does at New Years, she said. The couple came back into their house after firing a few rounds, but James decided to go back outside and shoot some more, Marquetta said. She told Cleveland 19 News James fired four shots into the air, standing inside their enclosed wooden fence while Marquetta stood close by in the doorway. However, once James turned to come back inside, he told her, Ive been shot. I could see the blood splattering across his shirt, Williams said. He collapsed in the living room. She also said James was behind a six foot high fence, adding: You cant see in. You cant see out. Williams immediately called 911. When she opened her door, she said There were 30-something officers with guns pointing at us, telling us to get down and come out of the house with our hands up. James Williams was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead there a short time later. In a press release statement, Canton Police Chief Jack Angelo claimed police were investigating reports of gunfire when a responding officer who was outside his vehicle confronted someone who began shooting a firearm. The official police account claims the officer feared for his safety and fired his service weapon at Williams, striking him. Police have so far declined to comment further on the incident, but confirmed Williams was pronounced dead at 12:27 a.m. in a hospital a few blocks away from his home. The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative duty and their name has not been released. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has launched an investigation into the incident, gathering all evidence, including body camera footage and firearms, none of which has been revealed to the public. Marquetta said no officers identified themselves before the shooting occurred. Out of the blue, he said he got shot, he got hit, she said. I dont know where it came from. Nobody said anything. They didnt say, Police. They didnt say, Freeze. They didnt say, Drop your weapon. They just shot him. When asked by 19 News about the officer who shot her husband, she said: His life was in danger, because you didnt announce yourself. Thats cold-blooded and Im not going to rest until he does get justice, period. My husband was a good man, and he didnt deserve to die this way, Marquetta told Yahoo News. He was loved. He was lovable and kind. He would give you the shirt off his back He shouldnt have died the way that he did. I just want justice for him. Williams told reporters protests and a vigil were planned for her late husband in the coming days. Despite mass protests demanding an end to police violence and high profile convictions, including of George Floyds killer, Derek Chauvin, the rate of police killings in the US has remained defiantly steady. According to Mapping Police Violence, police killed 1,117 people in 2021, for an average of just over three killings per day, similar to previous years. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), as of January 5, almost 119,900 people are currently in hospital for COVID-19, accounting for 21.5 percent of all admissions across the country. Of these, 20,639 are in intensive care units. COVID-19 patients make up more than 31 percent of all patients treated in an ICU. Across the country, one in five hospitals reporting to HHS noted that their ICUs were above 95 percent capacity. Fueled by the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, the unprecedented explosion of COVID-19 cases throughout the country is impacting every sector, including health care workers on the frontline facing the brunt of this tsunami. For example, Patricia Maysent, chief executive officer of UC San Diego Health, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the university system had more than 500 health care workers test positive over the last week, forcing some of their departments to operate at half capacity. This is the first time, she said, from the very beginning of the COVID pandemic, that Im actually worried that we dont have enough staff to take care of the patients. A COVID-19 testing site in Los Angeles, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020 (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) At Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, on Monday, a backlog of close to 40 patients admitted to the hospital was still waiting in the emergency department, unable to proceed to their rooms due to staffing shortages caused by infected health care workers. When occupancy reaches critical levels, the entire hospital cannot function because the work is so highly integrated and coordinated. Emily, an ICU nurse in Riverside, told the WSWS, The situation is worse than ever. Almost everyone is out sick with COVID. The main issue is staffing, which means we are breaking [staffing] ratios every day and in every unit. In turn, this is leading to rationing care. Its not just nursesits cafeteria workers, EVS [environmental services] workers and lab workers. Im so consumed with my own job and the PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] of it all coming back, even though it never really left. People are getting neglected, and they dont deserve all this. Everything is taking longer. The floors are dirty! Ask the patients. She added, But its the demoralization of us, the health care workers, that hits me the hardest. So, many have left, it is hard to find someone invested in making a difference while continuously treated like you are expendable It is ludicrous to think how many people will die, and not just from COVID. Theres not enough staff for your delivery when you have a baby, have a heart attack, or have a stroke! Why are schools still open? The numbers are worse than ever, and our strategy is still unchanged. Our government has completely let us down time after time. The health systems crisis is affecting every region of the country simultaneously. Birmingham, Alabama, hospitals are in the same boat. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told CBS 42, Im worried now! Thats right now where my main concern lies. You know, we may have beds, but we dont have anybody to staff the beds. Hospitalizations have increased 161 percent in the last ten days across the state. Hospital staff in Atlanta, Georgia, told the local media that the Omicron surge had been the worst they have seen and will only get worse. Despite being vaccinated, many nurses, doctors and technicians are falling ill, leading to sudden staff shortages that cannot be remedied without a reserve pool of health care workers that can be asked to fill in. Dr. Mehrdod Ehteshami, an emergency room doctor, explained to 11 Alive, I think weve seen nothing yet. In about a week, we are going to see the true impact of what Omicron is doing. The president and CEO of Hartford Healthcare in Connecticut, Jeffrey Flaks, announced yesterday that around 600 employees in their system were out with COVID. At the same time, 425 patients were hospitalized with the infection, matching the number of patients in their hospitals during the April 2020 peak. The University of Kansas Hospital has seen more than 500 employees sick or quarantined. Meanwhile, COVID patients have risen to 108, up from 40 on December 1. Dr. Steve Stites, the chief medical officer for the university hospital, said to KSHB-TV, If you want to keep schools open and you want to keep businesses open, youve got to keep people healthy. Youre either not going to have enough teachers or enough staff or too many students out in this Omicron wave to think its going to really have successful schools, or the business is going to be able to work if they dont have enough employees. The present staffing catastrophe across the country has been compounded by the mass exodus of health care workers that has seen one in five leave the profession due to the turmoil created by the official response to the pandemic. A countrys health is measured by the capacity of its health systems and public health infrastructure to function correctly. Its breakdown is an essential indicator of a deep social crisis that is worsening by the day. Admissions to hospitals are not only up for every age category during the Omicron wave; they are rising more steeply than at any other point in the pandemic and have already surpassed the peaks reached during the Delta wave in the fall of 2021. Patients 70 years and older who are at the highest risk from complications of COVID-19 due to their age and medical comorbidities are seeing the most significant increase in admissions despite being the group with the highest rate of vaccination. Additionally, children continue to be hospitalized at record numbers for COVID. The Guardian reported that, on average, 672 children are being hospitalized every day in the US this week, which is twice the rate from the previous week. Worrisome has been that the hospitalization rates continue to increase in line with the explosion in cases among those under the age of 18. In the last week of December, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that at least 325,000 children had been infected with COVID. As President Joe Biden has reiterated, We can keep our K-through-12 schools open, and thats exactly what we should be doing. However, the current drive to open schools after the holidays is being met with resistance by teachers and parents who are concerned that the guidance offered by public health leaders will only lead to more illness and death. During a press conference Tuesday, Dr. Elaine Cox, chief medical officer and vice president at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana, said that half of the pediatric patients admitted to their hospital are being placed in the ICU, and 40 percent of those are spending time on a ventilator. We have about four times as many children admitted currently as we have had in any other wave, Cox said. She added that severity among these children is rising. So, there are more of them, and they are sicker. Placing the current rise in hospitalizations into context, during last winters deadly surge, it took four weeks for hospital admissions to climb by the same numbers as in the previous week or, in other words, admissions are rising at four times previous rates. Additionally, last winter, admissions peaked at 137,438, and the US is presently at 87 percent of these record numbers. By all indications, this record will be shattered this week. The average daily confirmed COVID cases have jumped from 187,000 to 548,000, with new cases for January 4 reportedly at 885,541, a 200 percent increase according to the New York Times COVID-19 dashboard. In the same period the daily average in hospitalizations has jumped from 71,000 on Christmas Eve to over 101,000 by January 3, 2022, up 42 percent in just 10 days. It should be noted that the explosion in hospital admissions has been lagging the infection curve by a week, suggesting this trend will possibly continue for the next few weeks. Already inundated hospitals face an impossible situation being made worse each day the government refuses to act. Omicron is a severe pathogen, its contagiousness has been compared even to measles. However, federal and state officials have repeatedly pushed claims that it is mild to delude the public into acquiescing to their demands that schools and workplaces remain open. Yet, despite the massive level of population immunity acquired over two years of infections and one year of mass vaccinations, Omicron has defied these obstacles and swept across the globe largely unimpeded, infecting millions each day. In their attempt to dismantle all testing capacity, the likes of Drs. Monica Ghandi and Ashish Jha, mouthpieces for the ruling elites, have insisted that the only vital metric worth tracking is hospitalizations, allowing infections to spread largely undetected and keeping the public in the dark about the risks. This is proving catastrophic for them as thousands of patients suddenly seek emergency medical attention, and any attempt to utilize hospitalizations becomes a recipe for disaster. And yet, not even this metric, the saturation of hospitals, is being heeded. Accurate, reliable and rapid testing, including measures to enact immediate public health measures that can stem infections, are far more critical tools if lives and livelihoods are to be saved. As Gina, a nurse in Southern California, observed, Its a disaster. We are back to square one, and its neverending. The lockdown underway in the Chinese city of Xian demonstrates again that public health measures combined with vaccination can suppress COVID-19 outbreaks as part of a strategy aimed at the elimination of the virus. It stands in stark contrast to the disastrous policies of other governments around the world that have allowed the virus, particularly the latest Omicron variant, to run rampant through their populations. The outbreak, which has been identified as the Delta variant, has reportedly been traced to a flight to Xian from Pakistan on December 4. The first local confirmed case was discovered on December 9. Since then, three possible chains of transmission have been discovered, and the confirmed cases have been tracked and reported. After daily infection totals reached between 150 and 200 and the cumulative number of cases exceeded 1,600, it was decided to close down the city of 13 million on December 23. Bicyclists wearing face masks to protect against COVID-19 wait at an intersection in the central business district in Beijing, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Xian has now been in lockdown for two weeks and the daily tally has fallen to less than 100. For the 24 hours on January 2, a total of 90 new local cases were identified, 80 of which were found in the quarantine area for close contacts. While it is too soon to declare the outbreak over, the figures continue to fall with yesterdays report of just 35 new infections and a cumulative total of less than 1,800 locally acquired cases. In line with the national policy of zero COVID, authorities in Xian, who have come under fire for allowing the virus to spread to other cities, have stated that the lockdown will only be lifted when there are no cases of community transmission. The lockdown and associated public health measures, including mass testing and contact tracing, the establishment of quarantine centres and the provision of food and supplies, have required a huge mobilisation of resources. Multiple rounds of testing of large sections of the citys population have been conducted to identify new cases. As of December 28, 5,077 testing points have been set up, with more than 30,000 testing personnel and 132,900 related service personnel. Those who are deemed close contacts are required to quarantine in designated areas. When the lockdown was initially imposed, one person from a household was permitted to go out to buy food and supplies once every two days. However, that policy was further tightened last week to prohibit all trips except for testing for COVID-19. To provide food and other daily necessities to the city of 13 million, Xian has mobilized 64,000 grassroots officials and 45,000 volunteers, many of whom are young students, ordinary workers and community residents. The purchase of food and other supplies is mainly done by residents placing orders from businesses, and delivery by volunteers and community workers. In addition, food and daily necessities purchased by the government or donated by people from all walks of life are also distributed by volunteers and community workers. There has also been an expansion of medical services throughout the city. A couple of reports indicate that Xian has built new hospitals in the course of the pandemic with another under construction with a capacity of 3,000 beds. Beginning in mid-December, medical institutions from other parts of Shaanxi Province have sent more than 1,000 medical workers to Xian to support quarantine and large-scale PCR testing in the city. On December 27, 150 medical workers from the Air Force Military Medical University went to Xian to provide support. Donations of medicines and medical equipment have come from elsewhere in China. The outbreak in Xian is the largest for 2021 and by some accounts the largest since the initial eruption of the virus in Wuhan in 2020. The lockdown has undoubtedly been a disruption to the daily lives of its 13 million residents. There have been reported delays in the housing of non-residents caught in the city, confusion over changing regulations, shortages of food and other necessities and in the worst cases, bureaucratic excesses, which have understandably led to complaints and criticism on social media. The Washington Post reported last week that many people were short on food and had to subsist on vegetables. It noted: People complained online of price gouging by delivery services. The hashtag Its hard to buy groceries in Xian had accumulated 300 million views on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Not noted in the article was that the greatest difficulties confront migrant workers from outside Xian who stay in the densely packed urban villages in the city and have a disproportionately high number of infections. Most are stranded without access to kitchens and cooking utensils and are forced to survive on instant noodles. Unlike in other neighbourhoods where residents are asked about their needs for meat and vegetables, local officials simply ask migrant workers how many more packs of instant ramen they need. In its article yesterday, Tales of anguish emerge from Chinas locked-down Xian, as hospitals demand patients be covid-free, the Washington Post reported that a pregnant woman had miscarried after being denied treatment until she received a new negative result from a COVID test. While the article was compelled to acknowledge that Chinas zero-COVID policy had been largely successful, it again played up food shortages. Another case highlighted on Chinas Xiaohongshu social media platform as yet unreported in the American media involves the death of a womans father who had not been admitted to hospital despite a negative COVID test because he came from a medium risk area that had had positive cases. He was eventually admitted, surgery was conducted on blockages in his heart, but he died. His daughters posts were widely viewed and commented on. The opposition of the WSWS to the politics and authoritarian methods of the Chinese regime are well established. However, its response to the pandemic, whatever the flaws, is a scientifically-based strategy aimed at eliminating the disease and thus minimising deaths and damage to the health of the population. Moreover, as the US and international press has also been compelled to acknowledge, the policy is widely supported and reflects the broad sentiment stemming from the 1949 Revolution that social needs should prevail over private profit. Most social media criticisms and complaints are written from the standpoint that the zero-COVID policy should be improved, not done away with. We criticize government officials for their slow response and bureaucracy, but fortunately, we dont have to face the increase of millions in a day, one commented. Just complaining is not enoughwe need more volunteers to solve the current problems! another said. Why cant the officials in Xian learn the effective experience of the past two years? a third person wrote. The standpoint of the Washington Post and the Western media generally is the opposite. They grossly inflate the shortcomings of zero-COVID to justify the criminal policies of their own governments and to encourage opposition within China to push for its abolition. While a largely upper-middle class layer is critical of their loss of freedom and argues on social media that China should also learn to live with the virus, that sentiment has become significantly muted amid the current COVID wave swamping the US and Europe. The very same US and international media remains silent about the tragedies occurring every day throughout the rest of the world as a result of the herd immunity policy that is producing millions of daily infections, the breakdown of hospital systems and a rising toll of deaths and chronic health problems known broadly as long-COVID. The figures speak for themselves. In Xian, less than 1,800 symptomatic infections have been identified since the beginning of the outbreak in early December, accounting for most of the cases recorded in China as a whole (population: 1.4 billion). The daily count in the United States (population: 330 million) for Tuesday exceeded one million for the first time in any country as Omicron surges. The daily death toll in the US has averaged around 1,300 in December and early January bringing the overall death toll to well over 800,000. The total death toll in China since the COVID outbreak is less than 5,000all but two occurred during the Wuhan outbreak in 2020. No deaths have been reported in Xian. ?? En vivo | Sigue desde aqui la conferencia de prensa de las ministras del @MTPE_Peru y del @MimpPeru para informar el balance de gestion del 2021 y las perspectivas de sus sectores para este nuevo ano. #Inicio2022 https://t.co/Lm61oHukhB Alison Roman Instagram Alison Roman Instagram Alison Roman is headed for the small screen. The cook, columnist and cookbook author will host her own cooking show for CNN+, the network's upcoming streaming service. While the name and specific premise of the show have not been disclosed yet, each episode will show Roman in and out of the kitchen while she shares recipes and stories behind each dish. A press release called it a "highly opinionated and never finicky" show. "I could not be more thrilled to be partnering with CNN+ on this project. I've been dreaming about bringing a new sort of cooking and food show to life for years and I can't think of any place better to make it a reality," said Roman in the release. Roman also shouted out executive producer Lydia Tenaglia and the team at production company Zero Point Zero, who famously produced Anthony Bourdain's CNN show Parts Unknown. "[They] have been heroes of mine for so long, I am truly beyond excited to collaborate with them," she said. Roman was a New York Times biweekly food columnist before taking a hiatus in May 2020 and officially leaving the position in December 2020. Roman found herself in hot water after she criticized Chrissy Teigen's cooking website for being what she perceived as a "content farm" and claimed that Marie Kondo had "sold out," in an interview with The New Consumer. She has since apologized to both women for her "tone deaf remarks." Since leaving the Times, the food writer has focused on a food-related newsletter and her own YouTube channel. In her weekly videos, Roman creates recipes from her newsletter and two cookbooks, Nothing Fancy and Dining In, while sharing tips and stories about the dishes. RELATED: Chris Wallace Leaving Fox News for CNN+ After 18 Years: 'I'm Ready for a New Adventure' "Alison's unique style and tone make her a perfect addition to our CNN + line-up," said Amy Entelis, EVP for Talent & Content Development for CNN Original Series and Films at CNN Worldwide, in the press release. "From vinegar chicken to shallot pasta we are thrilled that Alison will share the stories behind her signature recipes with the subscribers of CNN+." RELATED: Andy Cohen 'Overserved' on New Year's Eve While Anderson Cooper Lands New Parenting Show on CNN+ CNN+ is a new streaming subscription service that is set to launch in spring 2022. More information about the service and Roman's show is expected to come in the upcoming weeks. Other CNN+ shows that have been announced include a weekday show with Fox News Sunday's host Chris Wallace and a show with Anderson Cooper called Parental Guidance. HAMPTON Aquarion Water Company recently announced the completion of a water treatment system upgrade at the companys Mill Road Treatment Plant in North Hampton. The upgrade project was undertaken to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present in the water. As a result of the system upgrade, PFAS levels, which were already in compliance with state regulations, will be even lower. Aquarion Water Company recently announced the completion of a water treatment system upgrade at the companys Mill Road Treatment Plant in North Hampton. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals used in a wide range of products and commercial applications. PFAS can enter drinking water supplies in a number of ways including through industrial and commercial releases to water or air, discharges from sewage treatment plants, leaching from septic systems and landfills, land application of contaminated sludge, and the use of fire-fighting foam. Aquarion is vigilant about testing for and monitoring PFAS levels and all water delivered to residents and businesses meets regulatory standards. The company had to reduce water production from one North Hampton facility, Well 6, to meet required PFAS limits. In order to restore full water capacity, Aquarion installed a PFAS removal system at Well 6. The system, which is sited at one of the companys existing buildings, uses Granular Activated Carbon filtration to remove PFAS. The water, once treated, is blended with water from other wells in the area and delivered to customers. Aquarion was able to complete the project at a significant savings to ratepayers by accessing state grant funding. The company secured $1,713,000 in grants from the state Department of Environmental Services PFAS Remediation Loan Fund and the NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund. Were very pleased to bring this additional treatment technology to our Seacoast customers and we sincerely appreciate the support of the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Advisory Commission and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services in helping us minimize the cost to ratepayers, said Carl McMorran, operations manager for Aquarion Water Company of New Hampshire. PFAS are a challenge that we, and water companies across the country are working to manage. We will continue to work closely with public health agencies and state and local officials to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality water to all of our customers. For more information on Aquarion Water Company, please visit www.aquarionwater.com or www.facebook.com/aquarionwater. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Aquarion Water Company announces completion of PFAS water treatment system Nicolas Cage and Riko Shibata are adding a little one to their family. The couple is expecting their first baby together, a rep for the couple confirms exclusively to PEOPLE. This is Cage's third child as he is already dad to sons Kal-El, 16, and Weston, 31, from previous relationships. 2021 Gotham Awards Udo Salters/Patrick McMullan via Getty "The parents-to-be are elated!" adds the rep. Cage, 57, tied the knot with his wife during a "very small and intimate wedding at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas" on Feb. 16 of last year, honoring his late father's birthday. "It's true, and we are very happy," he told PEOPLE in a statement at the time. The couple met in Shiga, Japan, through mutual friends while Cage was filming Prisoners of the Ghostland. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Riko Shibata, left, and Nicolas Cage arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock RELATED: Nicolas Cage and Wife Riko Shibata Step Out for Shopping Trip in New York City The couple then posed for their first-ever magazine cover for Flaunt magazine, which debuted in October 2021. The following month, the pair walked the red carpet of the 2021 GQ Men of the Year party in West Hollywood. Cage and Shibata, 27, who is also an actress, made their red carpet debut last July at the premiere of Cage's film Pig. Books! Book theft is not, on the whole, a crime that rates high on the sensationalism scale. Thieves rarely don ski masks and papercut-and-fingerprint-proof gloves in order to knock off a truck of Grishams; a major crime involving books will usually be more of the caliber of Morrisey attempting to describe sex like a human being, rather than a desperate day-time raid on a B. Daltons. Which is part of what makes it novel (ha!) to note that the FBI arrested a man earlier today on charges of operating a five-year campaign of dedicated book theft, allegedly using a variety of social engineering tactics in order to steal a large number of at-the-time unpublished manuscripts from the publishing industry. The man in question, an Italian citizen named Filippo Bernardini, was, per The New York Times, arrested at JFK Airport earlier today on charges of wire fraud and identity theft. Read more Bernardini has been accused of employing a number of tactics that largely centered on impersonating the online personas and email accounts of a variety of people on the inside of the industry to get access to unpublished manuscripts. His alleged targets have included a memoir by Ethan Hawke, Margaret Atwoods sequel to The Handmaids Tale, and the latest book in the Lisbeth Salander Millennium series originally started by Stieg Larsson. If all of this sounds familiar, meanwhile, its probably because the thefts, attempted or otherwise, were the subject of a semi-recent (and fascinating) New York Magazine deep dive by Reeves Wiedeman and Lila Shapiro, which attempted to get to the bottom of the conspiracyand instead became embroiled in the thiefs machinations as the writers got increasingly fixated on cracking the case. Its not clear if Bernardini is the suspect referred to in Wiedeman and Shapiros piece, and who appears anonymously at the end to deny his involvement. He does share at least a few similarities, though, most notably the fact that hes from a country where English isnt an official language who works on the edges of the publishing industry. (Bernardini has worked as a rights coordinator for a major publisher, according to the Times, a job that involves sniffing out and securing publication opportunities as early as possible.) Given its (relatively) low stakes, and inherent interest to an entire profession who are, to put it politely, nerds, theres been a pretty wide number of armchair and writing desk detectives trying to crack this case over the years, and who are hopefully feeling some measure of vindicated today. In any case, speculation remains rampant about why anyone would have bothered to commit this particular crime, especially since no ransom demands were ever issued for the stolen books. Suggested motives have ranged all over the place, from a pretty grudge against the publishing industry, to suggestions that it might be an initiation ritual for a gang of cybercriminals, to simply an attempt to secure a little bit of advance information and leverage in the tiny, insular world of big publishing. Representational: A mother holds the foot of her newborn baby (AFP via Getty Images) The mother of a newborn baby left inside a cardboard box with a note during the winter season in Fairbanks, Alaska, has been found. Police said on Wednesday that the mother was a juvenile and was taken to a hospital for evaluation and care. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the baby being abandoned is ongoing, and no criminal charges have been filed at this time, police said. Authorities did not release the mothers age or identity. The baby had been found bundled in blankets inside a box at around 2pm local time on New Years Eve. The child was taken to a hospital and found to be in good health, according to the Alaska State Troopers. The baby, born 12 weeks premature, was left in freezing temperature with a note that said: Please help me!!! Facebook user Roxy Lane, who first found the child, had earlier posted a video of the note and the box. The post cannot be viewed publicly any longer. My parents and grandparents dont have food or money to raise me. They never wanted to do this to me. Please take me and find me a loving family. My parents are begging whoever finds me. My name is Teshawn, the note had said. Ms Lane wrote that she had been processing her feelings, running through all the different scenarios and reasons to figure out why the baby was abandoned. I hope the mother gets the help she might need. I doubt they could have afforded to take her to the hospital and she may be in need of medical attention. Please, someone knows this new mom, check on her! She might be in a desperate situation, feeling abandoned herself, she had said in the post. Alaska has a safe haven law that allows parents to legally surrender a newborn younger than 21 days in the physical custody of someone such as a law enforcement officer, doctor, hospital employee or firefighter. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, children can also be given up to any person the parent reasonably believes would keep the infant safe and provide appropriate care. Canciller Maurtua: El Peru saluda la declaracion conjunta adoptada por China, Francia, Rusia, Reino Unido y EE.UU. que expresaron su compromiso por evitar una confrontacion con armas nucleares y permitir el desarme general y completo de estas armas. ??https://t.co/GCVvxUuqoX pic.twitter.com/5o6Mdf8c5e The north parking lot for the Sangamon County Complex in Springfield on Dec. 2. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register] A Sangamon County judge Thursday rescinded bail for a Thayer man charged in the slaying of a Department of Children and Family Services investigator from Springfield. Associate Judge Jennifer Ascher said the state "met the threshold" in its argument. Earlier: 'We are heartbroken at the loss': DCFS investigator from Springfield fatally stabbed in Thayer Bail for Benjamin Howard Reed, 32, of the 300 block of West Elm Street in Thayer had been set at $5 million in the suspected slaying of Deidre (Graham) Silas Tuesday afternoon in the small community on the southern tip of Sangamon County. About 60 or so DCFS workers from Chicago and from the Springfield field office where Silas had worked since August packed the courtroom well in advance of Reed's scheduled 11 a.m. formal arraignment. Many were wearing green "Justice for Deidre" stickers while others were wearing "DCP strong" T-shirts. "DCP" stands for Division of Child Protection. The 36-year-old Silas, who was born in Jamaica and came to Springfield as a child, worked in DCP as a child protection specialist. Reed already had been formally charged by the Sangamon County State's Attorney's office with first-degree murder. Reed is also facing charges of aggravated battery and unlawful restraint. State's Attorney Dan Wright said that if convicted Reed faces up to natural life in prison. Tawnya Frioli, a public defender from the county assigned to Reed's case, sought to lower his bail to $1 million. The court did allow a fitness hearing for Reed which will be performed by Dr. Terry Killian, a psychiatrist. Reed, who appeared by video, mostly stared ahead as Ascher read the charges against him, though several times during the 20-minute hearing Reed appeared to be talking. Benjamin H. Reed Reed was wearing a mask because of COVID-19 protocols. In the filing to deny bond, Wright said the autopsy report rendered by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon Wednesday reflected "unspeakably violent conduct" on Reed's part. Story continues "As an officer of the court, not only was (Reed's) behavior indicative of wanton cruelty," Wright said, "it can be characterized as pure, unadulterated evil." If he met bail, Reed could be a threat to the community, Wright argued. Many Department of Children and Family Services workers were wearing "Justice for Deidre" stickers at a hearing for the suspect in the fatal stabbing of DCFS investigator Deidre (Graham) Silas Tuesday in Thayer, Ill. Graham, who came to Springfield from Jamaica as a child, worked in the Division of Child Protection as a child protection specialist. Silas is the second DCFS worker to be killed since 2017. Pam Knight, 59, of Dixon, went to a Carroll Coun home on Sept. 29, 2017, to remove a 2-year-old boy from the custody of his father, Andrew Sucher. Sucher stomped on Knight's head, causing a skull fracture and brain injury. She died on Feb. 8, 2018. Sucher later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. "AFSCME members in DCFS wanted to support one another, to stand together for Deidre and her loved ones, and to be unified in their demand for justice," said AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall. "Our union is a big family that's there for one another especially in trying times, and the turnout of Deidres coworkers today reflects that." Sangamon County Dispatch received a 911 call from Thayer shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday about an alleged stabbing. Pawnee, Auburn and Divernon police personnel responded as did Sangamon County sheriff's deputies. Silas' body was found inside the residence alone, said Sheriff Jack Campbell. Police had to enter the home forcibly, he added. Reed was arrested later Tuesday at HSHS St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur. Campbell said he might have been headed to Decatur where he had family, but he also had a small cut on his hand for which he was later treated. More: Springfield School District 186 plans in-person learning despite surge of local COVID numbers Lindall said generally investigators visit homes and interview witnesses to determine if allegations are founded and what action should be taken. Silas was an AFSCME member. AFSCME Council 31 executive director Roberta Lynch said Silas was responding to a report of children in danger, though authorities at a news conference Wednesday didn't expressly address the nature of the call to DCFS. Silas was assigned to work cases for DCFS in Sangamon and Christian counties. Reed's next court date is Jan. 20. 50-60 DCFS workers stuffed into Sangamon County Court room Thursday morning for hearing on Benjamin Reed. Reed has been formally charged with the murder of DCFS investigator Deidre Silas. #SJRBreaking Steven Spearie (@StevenSpearie) January 6, 2022 Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: DCFS workers pack a Sangamon County courtroom to support slain investigator In the midst of a new pandemic surge, another seemingly new ailment is now grabbing headlines: flurona. Despite the catchy name, "flurona" is not new. It is a term coined to describe what happens when a person tests positive for the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. "Both are common, so it is not unexpected that some people would be infected at the same time," said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Flurona is not a new disease, experts stress, nor is it a new variant of COVID-19. The flu virus and COVID-19 virus are from two very different virus families. Scientists are not concerned about the two viruses mixing to create a new virus. MORE: What to know about catching COVID-19 and the flu at the same time There are many different types of viruses that are capable of infecting people. Viruses that cause the flu and COVID-19 are two examples, but there's also HIV, the chicken pox virus, rabies virus, the common cold and many others. It has always been possible for one person to be infected with two or more different viruses at once. And with flu season coinciding with a new COVID-19 surge, there's a greater chances that a handful of people will test positive for both viruses at the same time. PHOTO: Steve Farzam, chief operating officer of 911 COVID Testing, shows a multiple antigen test for flu and COVID on Jan. 5, 2022 at the site near the Getty Center in Los Angeles, where a teenage boy tested positive for both the flu and COVID-19. (Sarah Reingewirtz/The Orange County Register via AP) Doctors call these instances co-infections. Though uncommon, last year's flu season also saw a handful of cases of flu and COVID-19 in the same person at the same time. "It has not been a big issue for us because of the low levels of influenza circulating in the community," Dr. Jonathan Grein, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told the hospital's website. Cedars-Sinai said it had recently seen one mild case of the co-infection. MORE: COVID live updates: Every US cruise with passengers has coronavirus cases on board, CDC says "It's obviously not good to be infected with two viruses rather than one, but there's no clear indication that this is a particularly bad combination," Grein added. With the flu and COVID circulating at the same time, people can reduce the risk of becoming severely ill with either virus by getting vaccinated against the flu and COVID, wearing a mask in crowded spaces and washing your hands. What to know about 'flurona' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com (Getty Images) When Senator Josh was pictured pumping his fist in support of rioters in front of the Capitol before they eventually breached the barricades and took part in a riot, he was seen as politically radioactive. This came after the Missouri Freshman Senator had announced he would object to the certification of election results from Pennsylvania. Simon & Schuster canceled his book about technology companies. He was condemned by his former political mentor John Danforth, himself a former Republican Senator from Missouri who had recruited him to run in 2018, who said that supporting Mr Hawley was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. David Humphreys, a GOP money man from the Show-Me State, cut him off financially . By most measures, he and fellow objector Sen Ted Cruz of Texas, were seen as political dead men walking. That didnt happen. Rather, Mr Hawley found another publisher and his book, The Tyranny of Big Tech, became a New York Times bestseller. Between the beginning of January of last year and the end of September, his campaign account raised $7.1 million, which is more than other marquee members of Congress and Senators like Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Crotez and Marjorie Taylor Greene in the House, and Mr Hawley has four more years before he is up for reelection in Missouri, a state once considered a bellwether that has become solidly Republican. Josh Hawley has defended his actions that day (AP) I think what has really attracted more and more Missourians to him, whether they are just general voters, grassroots activists, Republican donors, is the more they see, learn about him, they are going, Im very glad he is there, James Harris, a Republican consultant who has known Mr Hawley for years, told The Independent. Mr Harris noted how Mr Hawley has been a hero for social conservatives from some time going back to his time as part of the legal team that successfully argued before the US Supreme Court that Hobby Lobby and other private corporations owned by people with strong religious beliefs should not be obliged to provide health coverage that includes contraception. Story continues In the same way, Mr Harris said that Mr Hawley gave voice to Republicans who had objections to the election. And a lot of people probably in the United States Senate did not like Donald J. Trump. So they [were] like, kind of Good riddance. You know, Joe Biden had been part of our club, if you will, he said. And Senator Hawley brought up a valid constitutional question regarding the Pennsylvania election results at a time when no one else would. This week, during the anniversary of 6 January, Mr Hawley, who was unable to speak to The Independent, wrote an op-ed for Fox News lambasting Democrats, whom he accused of bringing a year of fear. Let me say again that those who committed crimes on January 6 should be prosecuted, just as those who rioted and burned and looted in cities around the nation in the name of social justice should be as well, he wrote , equating the riot at the Capitol with Black Lives Matter protests. In the months that followed, they targeted conservatives, silenced parents, and suppressed speech by ordinary people online, all in the name of public safety. His polling has also proved to be steady. In the months after 6 January, a St. Louis University/YouGov poll showed that Mr Hawleys approval rating jumped by 3.6 percentage points in 2021 from the year before to 52 per cent. Kyle Plotkin, Mr Hawleys former chief of staff who still serves as an adviser to him, says Washington got too ahead of its skis in declaring Mr Hawleys career dead. And it is in conflict with how the rest of America, or in this case, how Missouri feels about a certain issue or a certain elected official and this is a prime example of that contrast, he told The Independent. The DC group-think, the DC press bubble, if you will, was quick to make a judgment at the beginning of last year. And the opposite has turned out to be true. In the same respect, few Democrats seem willing to permanently ostracise Mr Hawley and hes worked with some former presidential candidates. He teamed up with Sen Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota on technology issues on a piece of legislation Cory Booker and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, Sens Mark Warner of Virginia and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii co-sponsored. Similarly, hes worked with Sen Kirsten Gillibrand on improving the militarys response to sexual assault. Sen Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia who served as Hillary Clintons running mate, said that while he joined the complaint filed with the Senate Ethics Committee, it hasnt affected his ability to work with either Mr Hawley or Mr Cruz. I thought that serious but I also thought that I didnt say anyone should resign, I didnt do anything like that, because I thought that the Ethics Committee being strictly 3 and 3 would be the fairest venue to air it out, he said, referencing the fact the committee has three Democrats and three Republicans. But my feeling about Senators is every state sends two, if I want anyone else to respect the two that Virginia sent, I got to respect the two that every other state sends, so it hasnt affected my working relationship, Mr Kaine told The Independent. We had lots of conversations with Democrat offices who were interested in working. And I think thats because what Josh is, is taking maybe a different approach than some more establishment members, Mr Plotkin said. And I think that can make for important partnerships with Democrats. There is evidence that Mr Hawleys brand of politics might have some pull with Republican voters. A new NPR/Ipsos poll showed that two-thirds of Republicans surveyed believed that voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election, despite no evidence of that being the case. Mr Hawley, the youngest member of the Republican caucus, has long been seen as a potential contender for the GOP nomination for president. Mr Harris said that he thinks he could potentially go far. Hes one of the best communicators that I have seen, and he can talk to the Trump base, he said. I mean, every element of the Republican Party, he can talk to quite well. At the same time, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that asked who Republicans want to be the GOP nominee in 2024 found that Mr Hawley is only polling at one per cent, compared to 54 per cent who wanted Mr Trump to run. Mr Hawley also polled below Mr Cruz, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis and former vice president Mike Pence. Mr Plotkin, Mr Hawleys adviser, said that the Senator is focused on his job in Missouri and he is up for reelection in 2024. For Mr Hawleys part, he seems wholly unwilling to change course and, if anything, is retrenching, as judged by the kicker in his Fox News op-ed. 2022 can be a new chapter if we take a stand against those who would use their power to terrorize and intimidate, he said. This year, dont give into fear. Dont be shouted down. Dont be intimidated. This year, lets live instead by this maxim: We will not be afraid, because we are Americans. Greyhounds compete in a race at Iowa Greyhound Park in Dubuque on Saturday, May 26, 2018. A longtime west Iowa Greyhound kennel owner pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in connection with a fraudulent scheme to sell prescription drugs and controlled substances on the internet to others in the greyhound racing industry across the U.S.. Jon Stidham, 57, of McClelland, was convicted under a plea agreement of conspiracy to deliver, distribute or dispense methyltestosterone, a Schedule III controlled substance, without a valid prescription and without complying with federal and Iowa licensing requirements. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud. Stidham faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 15 years behind bars, a $750,000 fine, and up to life on supervised release after imprisonment. He also has to forfeit $527,510 in illegal profits to the government. He will be sentenced after a pre-sentence investigation. His attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, said Wednesday that Stidham has agreed to serve 15 months behind bars, with supervision after his release. "It's been a difficult time for Mr. Stidham," Brown said. Prosecutors: Kennel owner's store sold misbranded drugs online Federal prosecutors said the longtime kennel owner a former board member of the Iowa Greyhound Racing Association who was previously investigated in connection with the use of performance-enhancing drugs at Iowa greyhound tracks conspired to illegally sell drugs to other kennel owners. Stidham has a store in McClelland called Kennel Supply that sells products for dogs and animals online. From 2015 to 2018, prosecutors said, he sold more than 300,000 doses of methyltestosterone, a hormone replacement drug. It mimics testosterone and can be used on both dogs and humans. The drug is sometimes used to prevent female greyhounds from going into heat, Brown said. During the same period, Stidham also illegally distributed over 50 types of prescription drugs to customers without a valid prescription or authorization, reaping a profit of more than $200,000, federal court documents say. The drugs were considered misbranded because they included no dosage instructions, as would drugs legally prescribed by a veterinarian, according to a plea agreement. Story continues Stidham used an unnamed family member and co-conspirator in Kansas to help ship the drugs and then pick them up, prosecutors said, and also used a Kansas veterinarian's license and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration number to acquire the drugs from wholesalers. The drug sales happened without any animal examination by a vet, as is typically required. Stidham and others, who were not named, forged the veterinarian's signature, according to the plea agreement. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission suspended Stidham's kennel license at the end of December after he failed to report that he had been charged in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Anyone convicted of a felony in the past five years cannot be a licensed breeder in Iowa. "We will want to look at the actual court documents, but if he pleaded guilty to a felony ... our rules don't allow that," said Iowa Racing and Gaming Administrator Brian Ohorilko. Stidham left the Iowa Racing Association board in January 2020. Last Iowa greyhound track marking final season Stidham's conviction comes as Iowa's last greyhound racing track, Iowa Greyhound Park in Dubuque, prepares for its final racing season. At the end of the shortened season, running from April 16 to May 15, greyhound racing in Iowa one of just a handful of states with active tracks will exist no more. In 2015, Stidham was the subject of investigations into the use of performance-enhancing drugs at Iowa Greyhound Park and the now-defunct Bluffs Run track in Council Bluffs. Officials with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission said that dogs given random, pre-race tests had tested positive for ractopamine. The drug, usually administered to livestock, can increase muscle mass, open airways for oxygenation and decrease fat. In Dubuque, one of 12 dogs that tested positive died. Nine that tested positive were from Stidham Racing LLC, owned by Stidham. That eventually led to another investigation by Iowa's Board of Pharmacy and Division of Criminal Investigation. The Board of Pharmacy received a tip from a West Virginia animal hospital, which said Stidham was marketing and selling drugs, including methylestosterone, illegally online. Over the years, he also routinely texted with customers to sell methylestosterone, according to his plea agreement. Prosecutors said the Iowa Board of Pharmacy told Stidham that his sale of prescription drugs and controlled substances was not lawful, according to federal court documents. The board gave him instructions on how to legally market the drugs, but he didnt follow the them, according to the federal court case. On Oct. 17, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant and found that Stidham had a number of misbranded prescription animal drugs, including Sulfamethoxazole, Trimethoprim, Gentizol, Otomax, Butatron and Prednisone. Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8549, on Twitter at @leerood or on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa greyhound breeder convicted for illegal online drug sales A fourth resident of Floridas The Villages retirement community has been arrested for alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. Charles Franklin Barnes, 64, was arrested and taken to Sumter County jail on a charge of casting more than one ballot in an election. He was later released from custody on a $2,000 bail but if convicted of the third-degree felony faces up to five years in prison. Mr Barnes, who is not affiliated with any political party in the state, was also registered to vote in his home state of Connecticut in 2020, according to Orlandos News 6. The Florida retirement community hosted a Donald Trump rally in October 2020, which was attended by thousands of residents. Three other residents have also been arrested for allegedly casting ballots in Florida as well as their home state. (Getty Images) John Rider, Jay Ketcik and Joan Halstead, who were all registered Republicans at the time of the election, have all pleaded not guilty to the charges. The one-term president falsely claimed that he lost the presidential election to Joe Biden because of widespread voter fraud, which has been debunked and rejected by courts across the US. Floridas secretary of state opened a voter fraud investigation in May after anonymous emails were sent from a whistleblower using the pseudonym Totes Legit Votes. The citizen election integrity analysts told officials they had used publicly available voter registration data to identify voters in Florida who may also have cast ballots in other states. I believe that if hundreds of people sign sworn affidavits that they saw election irregularities, people should at least try to check into it, they told News 6. You cant claim the system is working if random internet people have to find the violations for you. Indiana suffered arguably its most damaging loss to date Sunday against Penn State and follows up that defeat with one of its most difficult assignments. The Hoosiers (10-3, 1-2 in the Big Ten) host No. 12 Ohio State (9-2, 3-0) at 7 p.m.. Thursday at Assembly Hall. The Buckeyes have won five straight games going back to their upset of then No. 1 Duke on Nov. 30 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and haven't lost since before Thanksgiving. They had three games cancelled for COVID-reasons but still beat Nebraska after a three-week layoff. Here are three things I'll be watching for Thursday. 1. How does Indiana respond to its worst performance so far? Sunday wasn't the first time Indiana tasted defeat this season, and it's a dead heat as to whether this loss or the ones at Wisconsin and Syracuse were the most emotionally painful. But this defeat could end up being the most damaging to the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament resume and provides the least in terms of silver lining. There's little shame in losing at the Carrier Dome or the Kohl Center, as many others have suffered the same fate. It's less excusable to lose in a quiet Bryce Jordan Center on semester break to a Penn State team that's previous best win was over Wagner. The Hoosiers managed to push Syracuse to double overtime and built a 22-point lead over Wisconsin before losing, so there were flashes in both of those games they could build on. They had some good moments defensively against Penn State, but also had a complete breakdown early in the second half and finished with 0.98 points per possession on the offensive end. The Hoosiers rode the positive vibes of a new coaching tenure for most of the season's first two months and this defeat arguably brings the most adversity they've seen so far in the Mike Woodson era. As Woodson pointed out, the Big Ten schedule offers no time to sulk. With their non-conference schedule having been relatively weak, the Hoosiers might not be able to afford a fourth straight losing record in conference play. Story continues "You lose a game like Penn State and you get some things in people's heads," Woodson said in a Zoom press conference Wednesday. "You can't hang your head in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is not going anywhere. You know what I'm saying? You can't reflect on what happened in the past. That's easy to do. It's my job to keep them from that. That's what we're fighting right now.' Wisconsin Badgers forward Tyler Wahl (5) works the ball against Indiana Hoosiers forward Race Thompson (left) during the first half at the Kohl Center. 2. The frontcourt matchup Indiana and Ohio State each have first-team All-Big Ten picks on their front line, and the fact that those two players might not guard each other on a constant basis does not make the overall frontcourt matchup any less intriguing. The two teams both have answers for the other's stars. Ohio State's E.J. Liddell is one of the most versatile, multi-dimensional play-making power forwards in the country. The 6-7, 240-pound junior forward ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring with 19.6 points per game and eighth in field goal percentage at .518 and he's scoring from everywhere on the floor. According to hoop-math.com, he's made 27 of 37 shots at the rim, 32 of 63 2-point jumpers and 13 of 39 3-pointers. According to kenpom.com, he ranks fifth nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes with 7.8, and he's 59 of 81 at the free throw line. He's also averaging 7.3 rebounds per game with 28 of his 80 total rebounds coming on the offensive glass. Difficult of a cover as Liddell may be, however, Indiana senior forward Race Thompson gives the Hoosiers a defender who seems to fit the assignment. The 6-8, 235-pounder has the size to handle Liddell when he tries to go down low and he has drastically improved his perimeter defensive skills in recent seasons and hasn't had a problem taking on guards in switches. He leads the Hoosiers with 17 steals, ranks second in rebounds with 8.0 per game and second in blocks with 10. Liddell could be a great test to see how much he's improved. While Indiana has Thompson for an answer to Liddell at the 4, Ohio State does have an answer for Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis at the 5. Sophomore Zed Key has made a significant leap on both sides of the floor in his second year, averaging 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with his minutes more than doubled. His size should make life difficult for Jackson-Davis, who is averaging 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. "Our two bigs are going to have their hands filled and I feel vice-versa," Woodson said. "They are going to have their hands filled with our two big guys." 3. The return of Trey Galloway and Indiana's backcourt as a whole Indiana sophomore guard Trey Galloway will finally return to the lineup Thursday, Woodson said, after breaking his left wrist Nov. 17 in Indiana's win over St. John's. Galloway averaged just 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in the season's first three games, so that doesn't seem to be a major addition on paper, but the 6-5, 200-pounder has proven abilities as a glue guy who can defend multiple positions, create off the bounce and pass. "He gives us energy," Woodson said. "He can defend a little bit. He can make a shot here and there. So I mean, again, it just gives us an active body that brings a little bit more energy. That's a plus. He can guard some of the bigger, you know, 2s and 3s. So that helps a little bit in that regard, and he's not bad on the ball at pick-and-roll." Galloway's return doesn't fix everything that's been wrong with Indiana's backcourt lately, but it should at least bring some kind of spark, and the Hoosiers' guards desperately need that. Just about everyone in the Indiana backcourt is facing some kind of challenge. Wings Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp, who are responsible for 44 of Indiana's 88 3-pointers this season, have found it harder recently to find open looks now that opponents are keying on them. They were a combined 3 of 9 from the field and 1 of 4 from beyond the arc against Penn State. Point guard Xavier Johnson has been generally erratic and has made just nine of 26 field goal attempts in the last three games. His backup, Rob Phinisee, has made some important shots in his last two games, but he's still barely making over 30% of his field goals for the season. Highly-touted freshman wing Tamar Bates is 4 of 15 from the floor and 2 of 8 from 3-point range with nine total points in his last four games, and sophomore Anthony Leal has made two of his last 10 shots in the last four games. So they could clearly use some help against an underrated Ohio State backcourt. Liddell and Key are the backbone of the Buckeyes, but guards Malakhi Branham, Meechie Johnson and Jamari Wheeler have each proven dangerous. Wheeler, a Penn State transfer, is shooting over 50% from the field and 43% from 3-point range while leading the team with 4.0 assists per game. Branham has made 11 of 25 3-point attempts and Johnson 16 of 44. They also have senior wing Justin Ahrens, one of the best pure shooters in the Big Ten with 122 career made 3s and a 41.2% career clip from beyond the arc. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU basketball looking to recover in Thursday's game against No. 12 OSU As the world watched the events of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol unfold, eagle-eyed observers spotted a tiny Tennessee-shaped patch on one of the rioter's jackets. The man, later identified as a then-30-year-old Eric Munchel, was photographed carrying zip-tie restraints as he climbed over chairs in the Senate gallery. He quickly earned the nickname "zip-tie guy" on social media as people worked to identify him and provide tips to the FBI. The image of Munchel, among others, became emblematic of that deadly day that stunned and horrified many around the nation and globe. A year later, more than 700 people from 45 states have been charged with federal crimes in connection to the events. In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent rioters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington. At least 22 people with clear ties to Tennessee face charges. At least 22 of them have clear ties to Tennessee. Most of them are from Middle Tennessee. All but one of the defendants linked to the Volunteer State are men. They range in age from 20-year-old Kentucky man Nicholas Brockhoff, arrested in Counce near the Mississippi border, to Clifford Meteer, 66, of Knoxville. Like a lot of the defendants nationwide, most were arrested after tipsters reached out to the FBI, recognizing their friends and neighbors from images from the day. And in most cases, they'd left a trail of social media posts leading investigators right to them. Broadly, prosecutors have filed charges in three different categories those who planned ahead for possible or purposeful violence, those accused of violence against police officers and those who may have just been caught up in the energy of the day and moved with the crowd into the chaos. Tennesseans are named in all three. Tennesseans in violent attacks on officers Ronald Colton McAbee McAbee, then 27, is among seven charged in a brutal assault on officers on the Capitol's lower west terrace. A now-former Williamson County Sheriff's deputy, McAbee attended the rally while on temporary disability leave from work. At the Capitol, footage released in court proceedings show he wore a tactical vest with the word sheriff. Story continues McAbee is shown on police body-camera footage carrying a baton and swinging at officers while wearing gloves with reinforced metal knuckles, charging documents say. He was also allegedly involved in grabbing and holding down an officer while other rioters kicked and punched him. McAbee was arrested in August, after a tipster turned him in. He has remained in custody ever since. NEVER FORGET JAN. 6: Citizens should never forget what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, and learn the lessons from it Joseph Lino Padilla Padilla, then 40, of Cleveland, Tennessee, is accused of fighting officers at a barricade outside the Capitol and later threw a flag pole toward a group of law enforcement huddled in a doorway, according to federal court records. Padilla was arrested in Georgia. He was served a superseding indictment in November, and a status hearing in the case is set for Jan. 26. Albuquerque Cosper Head Head, of Kingsport, was arrested April 14 in Johnson City. Head was charged in connection with two other men, Iowan Kyle Young, 37, and Thomas Sibick, 35, of Buffalo, New York. Prosecutors say Young was among the mob supporting Trump who dragged Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone into a crowd during the attack, shocked him with a stun gun and stole his badge, radio and ammunition. Young is accused of trying to take Fanone's service weapon. Head faces several charges including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and use of a deadly or dangerous weapon. He also was served a superseding indictment on more severe charges in December. Head remains in custody as the court process continues. Cleveland Grover Meredith Meredith, then 53, from Atlanta, was a University of the South graduate. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge after an FBI investigation found he threatened to kill Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after the riots. Officers found a Glock 19, a 9mm pistol, a Tavor X95 rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his truck and trailer, court documents show. He pleaded guilty to one charge of interstate threats in September. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison, with credit for time served, to be followed by 36 months of supervised probation. He was also ordered to pay $100. Joshua John Portlock Portlock, of Smyrna, faces charges on allegations he pushed and moved barriers, assaulted officers and joined a mob yelling "heave-ho" as they pushed into a tunnel on the Capitol's lower west terrace, according to charging documents. He was arrested in and released in November. His preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 13. THE JAN. 6 INSURRECTION: What if? A look at the function and limits of power and the Jan. 6 insurrection. | Opinion Nicholas Brockhoff Brockhoff, the youngest of those with Tennessee connections charged, is also accused of an assault on officers. Charging documents state he sprayed officers attempting to control the crowd at the lower west terrace with a fire extinguisher. Brockhoff, 20 at the time of the riots, was arrested in May and indicted in August. He has remained in custody since his arrest. A status hearing in his case is scheduled for Jan. 25. Tennesseans charged after being inside the Capitol Eric Munchel and Lisa Eisenhart The so-called "Zip-tie guy" was identified as Nashville bartender Munchel, then 30, who went to D.C. with his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, 56 at the time, of Woodstock, Georgia. Munchel was arrested on Jan 10, 2021, in Nashville. He was released to house arrest. Since September, he has been ordered to spend house arrest at his brother's apartment in Nashville. Eisenhart was released to house arrest in March, after legal wrangling over the jail conditions where she was held in D.C. Federal agents recovered a sniper rifle and more than a dozen high-powered weapons from Munchel's home at the time of his arrest. Investigators said the pair brought firearms with them to D.C. Video footage reviewed by the FBI indicated they may have stashed the weapons on the grounds of the Capitol before entering the building, investigators said. Although the pair were originally seen as emblematic of the violent threats made that day, they've been charged more in line with others who seemed to rush in with the crowd. They face mainly trespassing charges, although the list does include the charge of violent entry. The next hearing in the case is set for March, for both defendants. VIDEO OF MUNCHEL, MOTHER: New Capitol riot video appears to show actions of accused 'zip tie guy,' Eric Munchel, and mother Matthew Bledsoe, Blake Reed, Eric Chase Torrens, Jack Jesse Griffith Bledsoe, Reed, Torrens and Griffith were all spotted together inside the building, investigators said. Bledsoe shot video of himself, wearing a U.S. flag gaiter, walking through the outer door of the Capitol and posted it on social media, the FBI states in an arrest complaint. Torrens, then 28, appeared in an Instagram video with Bledsoe and Griffith, then 25, as they appear to enter the Capitol, according to court records. A photograph provided by a tipster in the Bledsoe case showed him with another man in distinctive ski goggles and respirator, later identified as Reed. It is unclear how old Bledsoe was at the time. On a guilty conviction for violent entry and disorderly conduct, Torrens was sentenced in October to 36 months probation on home detention and ordered to pay a $10.00 special assessment on top of a $500.00 restitution fine common in many of the Capitol riot cases. Reed, then 35, is scheduled for a plea hearing Jan. 11. The next hearing in Bledsoe's case is set for Jan. 21. In October, Griffith was sentenced to 36 months probation and 90 days of home confinement. He was also ordered to pay $500 in restitution. Matthew Baggott, Stewart Parks Baggott, then 27, and Parks, then 28, were also charged together. A status hearing hearing in their case is set for Jan. 18 The pair were reportedly spotted on security footage taken inside the Capitol. Parks also allegedly picked up and walked out of the building with a hand-held metal detector wand from a table near an entrance, the complaint says. Both were released under supervisory conditions, according to online court records. Michael Timbrook Timbrook, then 56, was spotted by a tipster. He was identified as a man wearing an orange beanie and black leather jacket seen in several photos and videos from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. When interviewed by the FBI, he told them he was "ready to take the penalty for what he did on Jan. 6." The next hearing in his case is set for Friday. Ronnie B. Presley Presley, then 42, of Bethpage, Tennessee, was arrested in Old Hickory on March 6. Presley's charges include obstruction of justice, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, entering and remaining on restricted grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct for his alleged actions during the riot. Photos in court documents appear to show Presley standing at a door, holding on to the top of a riot shield. The next hearing in his case is set for Monday. Bryan Wayne Ivey Ivey, then 28, was arrested on March 4 in Cookeville. The Crossville man was caught on camera outside the Capitol as rioters broke windows, and inside after the building was breached, charging documents showed. Ivey pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing inside Capitol grounds on June 22. On top of possible prison time, a fine or probation, Ivey agreed to pay $500 in restitution to the United States. His sentencing has been reset for late February. Clifford Meteer The oldest of the Tennesseans charged so far, Knoxville's Meteer is expected to enter a plea on his charges next week. Surveillance footage from inside the Capitol allegedly shows Meteer, 66 at the time, inside the building for approximately 30 minutes, carrying a homemade sign reading "Stop the Steal" and "Save the Republic." He was released from custody in August, a week after his arrest in Knoxville. Michael Lee Roche Roche, then 26, of Murfreesboro, was among those spotted praying inside the Senate chambers, court documents show. He was charged with seven misdemeanor counts related to his alleged entrance into the capitol building that day. Roche is among those spotted with the "Q Anon Shaman," an Arizona man known for unique dress style and strident far right views. A status hearing in Roche's case is set for Feb. 25. MURFREESBORO MAN CHARGED: Murfreesboro man charged in U.S. Capitol riot investigation marks 10th arrest with TN ties Ronald Sandlin Tennessee man Sandlin, then 31, was arrested in Nevada. He's charged with two others, who reportedly tried to raise money on GoFundMe ahead of their trip to D.C. A man identified as Sandlin was caught in footage at the Capitol being cleared out of the building, allegedly fighting an officer away from a doorway. Court records show the fight devolved into a shoving match involving about 20 people surrounding three offices. He remains in custody. Francis Connor Connor, then 23, of New York, was arrested in Old Hickory in August. He's been charged in connection with a friend with whom he traveled from New York to D.C. In one message released by the FBI in charging documents, Connor asked for someone to send a video of him jumping out of a window. A fellow defendant allegedly replied with a video showing Connor climbing out of a Senate Wing window, federal documents show. Connor was arrested Aug. 31 and released Sept. 8. A status conference in his case is set for Jan. 21. Natalie Neysa Alund, Adam Friedman, Rachel Wegner and USA Today reporting contributed to this report. Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jan. 6 Capitol riot: Where charges against people with Tennessee ties stand Elizabeth Edkin teaches 3rd grade English and language arts class at Sheffield Elementary School on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Good morning, Memphis, where today marks the one-year anniversary of the horrific Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Many of us watched the events unfold on live television, while some Tennesseans were there to participate. But, first, as the new omicron COVID-19 variant dominates the active cases here in Shelby County, coronavirus once again is causing problems for in-person learning. Just as schools in the Memphis-area were beginning to settle into that so-called new normal, the high rate of transmission now impacts families by exposures and illness, leading to staffing shortages and more student absences, our Laura Testino reports in her story for subscribers. I think people need to expect that most people will have COVID come into their homes this time around and hopefully, they won't get terribly ill, they'll just get colds, because they're vaccinated and boosted if they can be, said Dr. Sandy Arnold, chief pediatric infectious diseases at Le Bonheur Childrens Hospital. (Not a subscriber? You can get a digital subscription and start your new year with compelling stories from your local journalist. You can find the best deals here.) Christian Brothers University campus on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018. Schools delay in-person class due to COVID-19 surges LeMonyne-Owen College and Christian Brothers University and Rhodes College all delayed in-person classes for the spring semester, Laura reports. The delay for schools comes after the soaring number of coronavirus infections toward the end of 2021. "Were all in this together, and we all understand that the COVID-19 pandemic requires us to continuously modify our plans in order to safeguard the health of our employees and students," said Dave Archer, interim CBU president. Rioters scale a wall at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A year since Capitol riot: Where charges stand against people with Tennessee ties On Jan. 6, 2021, many of us were glued to our TVs, watching as the riot at the U.S. Capitol unfolded. A year later, more than 700 people from 45 states were charged with federal crimes in connection to the events 22 of which have clear ties to Tennessee. Story continues Our Mariah Timms tells us who the defendants linked to the Volunteer State are and where their charges stand to this day. Rapper Young Dolph was reportedly shot and killed at Makeda's Homemade Cookies in Memphis on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. Warrant issued in Young Dolph killing A first-degree murder warrant was issued for Justin Johnson, 23, in the shooting death of Memphis rapper Young Dolph, The warrant was issued by the Memphis Police Department and has a reward of up to $15,000 being offered jointly by the U.S. Marshals Service, MPD, Crime Stoppers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, our Katherine Burgess reports. National Weather Service snow forecast for the Memphis area. Wintry mix forecast to blanket Mid-South, causes school cancellations A Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the Memphis area until 6 p.m. Thursday, our Micaela Watts reports. The advisory comes as a cold front moved into the region overnight bringing a wintry rmix of rain, sleet and snow. The early-morning conditions were cold but largely dry. As a result of the weather, seven public school districts in Shelby County announced they were canceling class in advance for Thursday. The sun rises Monday outside of Riverwood Elementary in Cordova as Shelby County Schools hold their first day on in-person learning since closing schools last March to safeguard staff and students from the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelby County Schools, Arlington Community Schools, Bartlett City Schools, Collierville Schools, Germantown Municipal School District, Lakeland School System and Millington Municipal Schools are all closed due to snow Thursday, Laura and our Gina Butkovich report. The 901 was written by Ray Padilla, the digital producer for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at raymond.padilla@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Ray_Padilla_. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The 901: How schools are dealing with COVID-19 omicron surge, delays Foxcroft Apartments located at 6810 NW 16 in Oklahoma City. People living in an Oklahoma City apartment complex without heat all fall and winter have sued the owners whoever they turn out to be. It's a class action filed Jan. 4 by Cathy Chatmon, Kimberly Banks, Major Lanier, "for themselves and all similarly situated," residents of Foxcroft Apartments, 6810 NW 16. They filed the lawsuit this week with help from attorneys Ryan C. Owens and Christopher W. Cotner. They want repairs made and the heat on. They're also suing for damages. Because of the cold-weather emergency, Judge Anthony L. Bonner issued a restraining order to keep residents from being evicted for not paying rent, among other things, until a court hearing Jan. 14. Natural gas and heat have been off at the 188-unit complex since September, Chatmon said. Cathy Chatmon, a resident of Foxcroft Apartments. "They keep telling us they're working on it, they're working on it. We don't see anybody out here working on it," she said. Named as defendants in the suit are an Arizona woman, a Dallas bank, property management companies, limited liability companies, and "JOHN DOE BUSINESS ENTITY #1; JOHN DOE BUSINESS ENTITY #2; JANE DOE, an unknown individual; and JOHN DOE, an unknown individual." More: Emails: Under Stitt, Commerce Department sees funding boost, success with bill proposals Who owns the property is unclear because it is in the process of a 1031 tax-free exchange. It seems to be between seller and the ultimate buyer, Cotner said. Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code is a tax accounting regulation that lets sellers put off paying capital gains taxes through a series of trades. Taxes only come due when a sale is not followed by another purchase that is, without reinvestment. Such transactions can be complicated. "The owner is currently a 1031 exchange company out of Arizona, and it appears as if it is either a delayed or reverse exchange with improvements, which is a little more sophisticated deal than normal. So we don't actually know the ultimate owner," said Cotner, an attorney with Owens with The Bethany Law Center. Story continues County records show that Foxcroft Exchange LLC bought the apartments from KMA Foxcroft LLC on Sept. 27 for $7.5 million. Chatmon, who is 62, said residents were soon notified that the heat was off and would remain off for some time. Foxcroft Apartments located at 6810 NW 16th. Representatives of Foxcroft Exchange LLC could not be reached. "It's January, and we still have no heat," Chatmon said Wednesday from her sister's house in Oklahoma City where she has been staying at times to avoid the cold. She said she has lived at Foxcroft for nine years. With no heat, the owners should pay to relocate residents on fixed incomes until the heat is back on, she said. "We can't just up and pack and move," Chatmon said. Besides, she doesn't want to move. She said she likes living at Foxcroft. More: Edmond doctor helped develop new eye drops that could mean freedom from reading glasses But she said it's not right to leave people out in the cold in their own homes. The blast of icy weather last weekend and this week has had the temperature in her apartment and others' down to the teens, she said. KFOR-TV reported that Reynolds Ford collected blankets and coats and donated them to residents. Management, Chatmon said, is "shunning us." Apartment staff shunned a television news crew trying to report on the situation, running to avoid the camera, according to KFOR-TV Channel 4. Several KFOR news reports are cited in the lawsuit. The news led the Bethany attorneys to become involved starting on New Year's Eve, Owens said in an email. "KFOR reached out to me on (Dec. 31) to answer general questions about landlord tenant law in Oklahoma for a segment they aired the same day about Foxcroft Apartments," he said. Chatmon called the law firm on Monday. "I spoke with Cathy and it was obvious she and her neighbors were in desperate need of legal representation but due to their financial situation, they are unable to afford legal counsel," Owens said. An electric oven open for heat at Foxcroft Apartments. Many, if not most, residents receive Section 8 federal housing vouchers, paid directly to the owners, including payment for gas since it is part of monthly rent, the attorneys said. Residents are heating their homes as best they can with electric ovens with their doors left open, the attorneys said, and that's costing them more because residents pay for electricity separate from rent. Kimberly Banks, 45, has lived at Foxcroft since 2005. She said she's looking forward to having their case heard in court next week. In the meantime, she and others are making do with what they have. More: Lawsuit against Oklahoma County district attorney candidate dismissed "I'm hoping they'll make them turn on the gas," she said. "I was freezing before, but I borrowed my neighbor's (electric) heater. I had bought a heater but it went out on me." Owens said he and Cotner are working on the lawsuit "without any pay from the residents of Foxcroft," but with a "contingency for any financial recovery from the landlords." Owens said he spoke with several Foxcroft residents Monday afternoon in their apartments. "I took several pictures of the conditions, and left feeling even more determined that we were doing the right thing," he said. "Within thirty hours of Cathys first call to our law firm, Chris, Debbie Mick (our paralegal) and I had put together the Petition with six counts and all other necessary documents to begin the lawsuit. "I cannot stress enough how much this case has been and will continue to be a team effort. The time we have already dedicated to this representation has been significant." Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate, and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Mysterious OKC apartment owners sued over lack of heat during winter 19:00 | Lima, Jan. 5. The statement was made after being asked about the preliminary investigation launched against the Head of State. "From the Executive Branch we must affirm that we scrupulously respect the independence of powers of the corresponding authorities. We will respect that independence," she pointed out. Likewise, the Cabinet chief reiterated that the President is willing to make the necessary information transparent. Moreover, the government's spokeswoman explained that this case is already in a legal process, adding that the Head of State has a constituted defense. Thus, "it will depend on them (defense team) how the evidentiary defense is handled." "I believe that the defense of the President of the Republic has the right to set out the strategies that may seem convenient to them," she added. Top Senate Democrats have long opposed a Russian natural gas pipeline thats set to enrich Vladimir Putin. But those lawmakers are putting those concerns aside to back up President Joe Biden as he navigates increasingly precarious talks with Moscow. Democrats have consistently supported sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, arguing that the project will jeopardize Europes energy security and allow Putin to blackmail his enemies. But as the Senate prepares to vote next week on legislation from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would force Biden to impose those sanctions, Democrats on Wednesday signaled a significant shift in their posture. The reason, Democrats say, is that they dont want to undermine Biden while he engages with Russia over its military buildup on the border with Ukraine. As Putin flirts with an invasion of the U.S. ally, Democrats argued Cruzs legislation would undercut Biden as he seeks to project unity with European allies and would remove a key leverage point in the talks. Absent a surprise development, Cruzs bill is expected to fall short of the 60-vote threshold. At this point its very important, as were looking at potential Russian action in Ukraine, for us to work very closely with our allies, and Germany is one of those very important allies. And so I think the amendment is ill-timed, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said of Cruzs bill. The German government has supported the pipelines construction because of the cheap energy it would bring into the country, despite objections from the U.S. and other European allies. Almost every senator from both parties has previously backed the sanctions outlined in Cruzs legislation. But given Bidens decision last year to waive the imposition of those sanctions, supporting Cruzs effort would pit Democrats against Biden. The Texas Republican has already taken to bludgeoning Democrats for what he calls a capitulation on partisan grounds. Shaheen, who has been a leading proponent of using sanctions to shut down Nord Stream 2, could be a bellwether for Senate Democrats on the Cruz vote given her long-standing work on the issue. She opposed Bidens decision last year to waive sanctions on the pipeline and argued in a recent op-ed with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) that the Biden administration should seriously reconsider the imposition of sanctions on Nord Stream 2. Story continues However, Cruzs bill, which requires sanctions to be imposed within 15 days of being signed into law and allows Congress to vote to reinstate the penalties if the president waives them, gives Shaheen serious reservations. She is leaning against it. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a top Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, said he was working to try to defeat Cruzs bill, arguing that it would pull the U.S. away from its European allies at a time when unity is essential to counter Russias aggressive behavior in the region. This isnt about Russia. This is about a Cruz-Trump agenda to break up the trans-Atlantic alliance. This is a moment where we need to be in solidarity with the administration as they try to use a carrot-stick approach with the Russians to prevent an invasion, Murphy said in a brief interview. Sending a wedge into the trans-Atlantic relationship right now would not be productive if our end goal is to try to save Ukraine from an invasion. The pipeline, which is effectively complete but awaiting certification, is now being used by the U.S. and its European partners including Germany as leverage against Russia, warning that the pipeline wont become operational if Putin moves on Ukraine. I have no lost love for Putin and Russia, but I dont want to do anything thats going to hurt our security, said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Democratic whip. Cruz is already rejecting Democrats arguments, contending that theyre only interested in giving Biden political cover. The only conceivable reason they might vote no is if they make the cynical decision to put partisan loyalty above U.S. national security interests, Cruz said in an interview. The only problem with the legislation is the president is a Democrat. They all voted for it when the president was Trump. If the president was still Trump, every single Democrat would vote for it. Cruz secured the vote as part of a negotiation with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last month, in which the Texas Republican lifted his holds on dozens of Bidens nominees to serve as U.S. ambassadors. Cruz has imposed blanket holds on State Department nominees in an effort to force the Biden administration to impose the sanctions, which were mandatory under previous bipartisan bills approved by Congress. The vote, expected to occur next week, will be politically tough for Democrats given their previous support for similar sanctions measures. Its made even more complicated by Biden's refusal to impose those sanctions last year, instead waiving them in an effort to repair the U.S.-Germany relationship. Difficult or not, were gonna have to take the vote, said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who is undecided on Cruzs bill. And its going to be based upon our best judgment about whats in the best interest of the United States. Other Democrats, such as Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, a top Foreign Relations Committee member, said Cruz's bill has some provisions that give me concern, but declined to elaborate. He is undecided. And Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a top Biden ally, said he wouldnt make a decision on the legislation until hearing from senior administration officials about where we stand in our relationship with the new German government, and what impact there might be on our jointly standing strong in support of Ukraine and in opposition to Putins aggression. I think its an important vote for us to take, Coons said. Circumstances on the ground continue to evolve. I dont know the administrations position. I expect it would be opposed. The deal clinched by Cruz and Schumer last month allows an up-or-down vote on Cruzs legislation at a 60-vote threshold, meaning at least 10 Democrats will need to support it in order to pass. Some lawmakers have suggested Schumer could give senators political cover by using a side-by-side, in which senators could choose whether to vote for Cruzs bill or a separate measure that might be more amenable to Democrats. That could include Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendezs (D-N.J.) legislation to impose sanctions and other penalties only after a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. Just one Democrat who spoke to POLITICO on Wednesday pledged support for Nord Stream 2 sanctions. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he would vote for whichever sanctions plan is offered. Theres clearly a right thing to do here, so for me its not a difficult vote, he said. Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the Biden administrations desire to use the pipeline as leverage over Putin to dissuade him from invading Ukraine. Its very hard for us to see gas flowing through that pipeline if Russia resumes its aggression toward Ukraine, Blinken said, adding that strong transatlantic solidarity is the most effective tool that we have in countering Russian aggression. Quint Forgey contributed to this report. Chris Noth and Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of Fifteen years ago, weeks after my first son was born, my husband had a cardiac arrest in front of me. On a crisp winter afternoon, we set off to a local trail so he could run and I could stroll behind with our 8-week-old baby. Around two miles in, my husband appeared through the trees ahead. When he saw me, he smiled and stopped running so we could all walk back to the car together. As he stopped, he brought his hands to his hips and swayed forward just enough to send a chill through me. I bridged the distance between us and he looked at me with wide-eyed fear and said, Somethings wrong. And it was. What we didnt know at the time but found out later is that when he stopped running, my husbands heart lost its steady beats and began a deadly spiral into ventricular fibrillation a rapid, life-threatening heart rhythm that can lead to death if the victim does not receive immediate treatment. Witnessing someone you love experience a medical crisis is disorienting. My husband began to lose consciousness, and in my panic, I screamed, I cried, I handed my baby to a stranger. I fumbled to guide my husbands rigid and unsteady body to a nearby bench before he collapsed hoping to spare him head injuries. When he fell over onto the bench, it was nearly impossible to remain calm enough to take action. Should I check his pulse? Attempt to move his body to the ground? Perform CPR? But through my fear and shock, one thing remained undoubtedly clear: I needed to call 911. Maybe this is why, while watching that scene in the pilot episode of And Just Like That ... , I had to restrain my profanity-laden cries of disbelief from waking my sleeping children. I empathized with Carries plight (in a way most cant). I understood her tears, her fear, her desire to comfort her husband. But like many others, I could not fathom why she wouldnt rush to dial 911. And then, instead of checking vitals while her husband takes his last breath, she kisses him. I realize these are fictional characters, but as someone whos been in Carrie Bradshaws shoes (insert Nikes for Manolos), her failure to do anything to save her dying husband was beyond maddening. It was absurd. Story continues The episode ended with no mention of first responders only a background glimpse of paramedics wheeling a body bag out of the apartment on a gurney. During the credit reel, I waited for a PSA to fill the screen and address the importance of 911 and CPR in a cardiac crisis, something to acknowledge there are more effective ways to handle a medical emergency. Alas, no such acknowledgment came. On the day of my husbands cardiac arrest, many things had to go right for him to survive. As soon as my call went through, 911 dispatched first responders to our location, which wasnt easy because, like Carrie, I was frantic. But because I called 911, the first step in a coordinated chain of survival the interdependent relationship between public bystanders, first responders and hospital providers required for a successful outcome to cardiac arrest was set in motion. Despite having spotty cell service on the trail, the 911 dispatcher remained on the line with me, attempting to guide me as my husband went into agonal breathing and lost his pulse. While the ambulance tried to reach us a difficult task two miles into a trail with multiple trailheads a crowd of bystanders gathered, and an off-duty firefighter-paramedic ran up and immediately began chest compressions as I administered rescue breaths. I found out later it was almost 30 minutes from the time my husband collapsed to when the ambulance arrived. He received CPR for most of that time, which pumped blood and oxygen through his body, keeping him alive. According to the American Heart Association, in the United States, only about 46% of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside the hospital (OHCA) receive CPR before first responders arrive. No other medical situation has such a vital reliance on the community. Less than 10% of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive. Of those, almost all are at risk for brain damage. In Norway, where CPR has been part of the national school curriculum since 1961, the average survival from OHCA is 25%. If Americans were trained in CPR at the rate of citizens in Norway, wed likely see a 15% increase in survival. Thats 53,000 fathers, grandfathers, sons, mothers, husbands lives saved from something as simple as knowing how to perform chest compressions. Many people feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency because they dont know how to perform CPR. Or, like me on the trail, they may be CPR certified but unable to recall the ratio of breaths to compressions due to a flood of fear and adrenaline. To make it easier, the AHA now recommends Hands-Only CPR. No rescue breaths, no precise ratios, just push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees. But first, call 911. My husband was one of the lucky ones. A perfect stranger trained in CPR saved his life. Carrie Bradshaw didnt need an off-duty firefighter to rush to Bigs rescue to make his death believable. Not all medical emergencies have a hero. I know my husbands story is exceptional. I know this because he was comatose when he arrived at the ER, and the doctors told me he showed signs of brain damage. I know our story is unique because, during my 10 days of living in the ICU waiting room with my new baby, my husband woke up and I listened to doctors and nurses use words like unbelievable and miraculous. I also know my husband is alive today, not only because I called 911, but because of CPR. Steve, the off-duty firefighter-paramedic from the trail, saved my husbands life. Now a family friend, Steve tells me that when it comes to OHCA, it almost always goes the other way. The author with her son, her husband Ed (left) and Steve (right) (Photo: Photo Courtesy of Jacque Gorelick) It was entirely possible to give Carrie and Big their romantic ending replete with royal blue silk Hangisi stilettos while also highlighting the importance of 911 and CPR. It might not seem romantic to watch someone panicking into a phone or giving compressions with their knees digging into shower tiles. Still, in matters of the heart, I cant help but wonder if it would have been more true to life, to marriage, to love, to watch a person fight like hell to save her husband, even if, in the end, she couldnt. Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. For the first time, the Karen flag is flying over Utica City Hall. The red, blue and white flag was not just on the pole but in the hands of some of the dozens gathered for the flagraising ceremony. A proclamation from Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri recognized January as Karen Heritage Month. Members of Utica's Karen population sing during a flag-raising ceremony at Utica City Hall on Jan. 5, 2021. LuPway Doh, chairman of the Utica Karen Community, said a Karen city employee first approached the administration about raising the flag. The city accepted and coordinated for it to be held to coincide with Karen New Year's holiday Jan. 2. It means a lot because we have a lot of pride in our heritage, Doh said. At the same time, we want to build an inclusive community for our people to have a better quality of life. Karen New Year is a significant holiday, which typically falls in late December or early January, Doh said. While it was held virtually this year, hundreds of people in the Utica area participated, he said. Other significant holidays include the wrist-tying ceremony, which symbolizes bringing the Karen people together, and martyrs day to commemorate leaders and others who sacrificed their lives for freedom. The flagraising ceremony Wednesday included several Karen cultural songs as well as comments from Palmieri and Doh. The Karen people first arrived as refugees from Myanmar, also known as Burma, in the early 2000s. There are now roughly 8,000 Karen people in the Utica-Rome area, Doh said. The Karen flag has a traditional frog drum in the upper left corner and three bars of red, white and blue on the right half. A rising sun behind the drum has nine rays, representing the nine regions the Karen people come from. Story: 'You're what makes America great'; 47 people sworn in as U.S. citizens in Utica Story: How a Proctor High School student and her brother started a sneaker business Flying the flag symbolizes how far former refugees in Utica have come, Doh said. Many Karen forced to live in refugee camps due to the destruction of their homes in a civil war with the ethnic Burmese population could not fly their flag. Story continues Doh hopes the flag raising ceremony in Utica becomes an annual tradition. Were just hoping this remarkable moment will bring us closer together to the community here, he said. Steve Howe is the city reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email him at showe@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Utica's Karen refugees recognized with flag raising at City Hall On that Wednesday one year ago, Bucks County Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick braced for what he knew would be a tough day for reasons that were personal not political. A year earlier, his older brother, former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick whose political shoes Brian stepped into in 2016, died after a long cancer battle. His family were gathered at his parents Levittown home to support each other on what they knew would be a difficult anniversary. Fitzpatrick was with them in spirit, but physically he was at work in the U.S. Capitol. The joint session of Congress was scheduled to certify the 2020 presidential election results, a ceremonial, but necessary, process marking the start of a new executive administration. With the anniversary of his brother's death, Fitzpatrick wasnt alarmed when he was besieged with text messages and voicemails from family and friends all asking him the same question, Are you OK? I thought they were just checking in with that, the 48-year-old Republican lawmaker said last month. After former FBI colleagues started messaging him with the same question, Fitzpatrick finally responded to one. Im like, What are they talking about? I actually responded to one of them and they said, 'You havent seen what is going on outside?' I said, No. Dissent into Chaos The former FBI agent was among the 100 lawmakers, media members and others attending the ceremony, completely unaware that hundreds of angry pro-Trump protesters who believed the former president's false claims of election fraud had stormed the Capitol grounds seeking to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. . The onslaught took Fitzpatrick by complete surprise. His office faces the interior courtyard so he had no view of the thousands of participants in the March to Save America, which was taking place at the Ellipse within the National Mall just south of the White House. When he walked from his office in the nearby Cannon building through the underground tunnel leading into the House a little before 1 p.m. he didnt notice people in the vicinity. Story continues Less than an hour later, though, when the House Sergeant at Arms and a Capitol police officer interrupted the process for certifying the winner of the Electoral College vote, Fitzpatrick knew something serious was happening. DISTRESS AT THE CAPITOL - An inverted American flag waves over the pro-Trump mob that took over the steps of the Capitol in Washington, DC, Wednesday, January 6, 2021 Supporters of Pres. Donald Trump gathered at the Drive for 45 rally on the south plaza at the Capitol Wednesday, January 6, 2021. [Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman] CAPITOL INSURRECTION - People in the pro-Trump mob take over a riser set up for the Inauguration outide the Capitol in Washington, DC, Wednesday, January 6, 2021 We all knew emotions were running high from the people who were in D.C. that day. We all knew the significance of this day, he said. To see a very serious constitutional responsibility and proceeding be interrupted, they dont do that casually. Then came the five words no one in the chamber ever expected to hear, Fitzpatrick said: The Capitol has been breached. The officers told everyone the situation was under control, but Fitzpatrick was immediately skeptical. Those two statements dont make sense. If you breach the Capitol, then the genie is out of the bottle. At that point, its very hard to contain. Especially knowing how many people were in the city that day for that speech. Then-Vice President Mike Pence recessed the certification proceedings. Everyone remained in the building. Time seemed to stop. Officers returned to provide updates and urge people to remain calm. But people werent staying calm, especially the ones in the second-floor gallery, Fitzpatrick said. They were the ones really at risk. We at least had in and out ability on the (House) floor. They were stuck up there and didnt know what was going on, he said. There is no ladder that goes down from the balcony to the floor. As people were evacuated off the House floor, Fitzpatrick could hear yelling and people banging on the now barricaded Speakers lobby doors, which is on the lower level about 30 feet from where he was, Fitzpatrick said. One sound that Fitzpatrick heard and recognized was a single gunshot shortly before a Capitol police officer ordered members to put on the gas masks stored under members seats. Outside, law enforcement had begun using tear gas inside the building to slow the surge of rioters. That was the most distressing point of the entire morning. It sounded like a battering ram trying to beat down the doors, he added. You dont know where theyre at, how many there are, how many law enforcement are holding them back. U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, and other members take cover as protesters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Unimaginable, unprepared A Capitol police officer escorted the group out of the chamber and eventually into an undisclosed bunker where three-fourths of Congress and others including journalists were isolated for roughly four hours, Fitzpatrick said. It was very chaotic. Clearly there were no preparations for this, the congressman added. Nobody ever thought that anybody would ever do something like this and nobody ever thought the police would not be prepared for something like that and both were the case that day. During their shelter-in-place, Capitol police provided regular updates on the unfolding situation. The last one, like the first, was five words: The Capitol has been secured. As the representatives headed back to the House chambers where the certification process was reconvened, Fitzpatrick was awestruck at the damage the rioters left behind. They had smashed the back door to the center aisle of the chamber, the one the President uses when he enters the House. The door where members enter to get to the House floor was destroyed. Broken glass covered the Speakers Lobby floor where a Capitol police officer shot and killed insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt when she climbed through the broken window. Seeing that damage, that is when it really sunk in, Fitzpatrick said. Where are they now?: Pennsylvania's most notorious insurrectionists Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection a year later: Congress members reveal details of their escape Later that night, Fitzpatrick was reunited with his staff who had hidden inside another representatives office until they were moved to a secured room. They talked about how they felt about what happened. Together with the congressman they wrote a response for social media to the events that transpired earlier that day. What happened today was nothing short of a coup attempt. The President of the United States has been lying to his supporters with false information and false expectations. He lit the flame of incitement and owns responsibility for this. (1/3) Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (@RepBrianFitz) January 7, 2021 In the Tweet posted at 8:54 p.m. the Republican congressman called the riots nothing short of a coup attempt. He accused former President Trump of lying to his supporters and inciting them to violence and described the rioters as criminals and thugs who should all be in jail. Hatfields & McCoys While his words sounded angry, Fitzpatrick said that sadness was the main emotion behind them. Sadness was the first feeling that I had for our country that things would ever come to that, he said. We are a country that prides ourselves on law and order. We are a country that prides itself on the rule of law. This is what separates democracies from banana republics. Its enemies believe the only way to defeat America is from inside America, Fitzpatrick said. That happens when the government erodes its public trust and political stability and turns citizens against each other. That is what I saw that day, American on American, and that is why I used the word sad, he added. A year later, those feelings of sadness linger for Fitzpatrick. He believes the political divide that ignited and fueled the Capitol riots remains a serious threat to the country's stability. It pains me to say that, again, it's hard to imagine us being more polarized than on that very day, but it certainly has not gotten better. He also doesnt see the work of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol as promoting healing and unity among a fractured nation. Fitzpatrick was among 35 House Republicans who broke ranks voting in favor of a proposal calling for a full bipartisan/bicameral and independent investigation of the attack. The commission would have been modeled on the panel that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It included an equal number of Republican and Democrat members and no active members of Congress. But Senate Republicans blocked the plan, effectively killing it. Fitzpatrick later voted against the creation of the current House Select Committee citing as reasons its uneven split between Democrat and Republican members and its inclusion of active House members. He said those two factors further erodes public trust in the investigation and perpetuates perceptions of unfairness and partisanship. Many people dont have faith in the election system and we need to work on it. Its a very sensitive issue, Fitzpatrick said. Its important we investigate, but the second we make this partisan and political we are further driving wedges in this country. As for the lessons learned from the insurrection attempt, Fitzpatrick suggested it is not only that actions have consequences, but that as Americans, we need to understand and address the motivation behind the actions. Regardless of what you think about the claims being made in any situation, you have to hear it and you have to listen to it and heed it, he said. With many people, perception is reality. We have to understand if our democracy is going to survive, we have to listen to everybody so we dont have people turning on each other. With the 2022 midterm election season in full swing, Fitzpatrick, who faces a primary challenge from at least two GOP candidates in his bid to retain his seat, believes its incumbent upon voters to seek out candidates with a record for compromise for the greater good. We have enough bomb throwers and saber-rattlers that are constantly throwing red meat to their base, but if that is the new model, our country cant survive. he said. We become the Hatfields and the McCoys and we take each other down from within. More on Fitzpatrick: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick on infrastructure vote: 'Turning point for our country' Fitzpatrick on bipartisanship: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is proud of his bipartisan record, but does it leave him vulnerable in 2022? More on Jan. 6, 2021: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick votes for investigation of Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol Fitzpatrick talks riots, Trump: Fitzpatrick talks Capitol insurrection, Trump's legacy and why he voted no on impeachment Fitzpatrick on Capital riots: Fitzpatrick: Capitol riot 'nothing short of a coup;' Dean, Casey calls for removal of Trump Click here to sign up for our Watchdog Newsletter and receive bi-weekly updates on our watchdog journalism. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick recounts, reflects on Jan. 6 Capitol riots The U.S. Congress is preparing an hearing to examine the environmental impact of crypto mining, especially on the Bitcoin network, according to a report from The Block. The date and witness list for the hearing are still undetermined, but it could take place as early as the end of January, The Block reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is drawing up a list of witnesses. They will be questioned about the energy use of proof-of-work mining, the type of mining used for bitcoin, according to the report. In 2021, as bitcoins carbon footprint was taking up headlines, U.S. companies continued to pour millions of dollars into bitcoin mining infrastructure. Chinese miners fleeing a regulatory crackdown also made investments in the U.S., which is now the worlds largest bitcoin miner. Mining firms plan to continue expanding their capacity over the next year. In December, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to New York-based miner Greenidges CEO, expressing concerns about the firms environmental impact. That was followed by a New York Times article that relayed concerns surrounding the increased mining in the state. Usman Khawaja cashed in on a dropped catch to make a comeback century on day two of the fourth Ashes Test, leaving England scrapping to stay in the fight in Sydney. Khawaja was only playing because of Travis Heads Covid-19 diagnosis, returning for the first time since Australias famous defeat at Headingley in 2019, and marked the occasion by reaching 102 not out at tea. He was aided by some slack handiwork from wicketkeeper Jos Buttler and Joe Root at slip, with the pair combining to put him down on 28, and went on to lead the hosts to 321 for six. That quashed a Stuart Broad-inspired fightback, with the veteran seamer dismissing Steve Smith and Cameron Green with the second new ball. Khawaja brings up the ton with a flick through the leg side! And a little nod to LeBron with the celebration! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/7oisT1vAWj cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 6, 2022 England were not only concerned about the scoreboard, though, with key all-rounder Ben Stokes sustaining a side injury in the morning that looks likely to hamper his involvement for the rest of the match, or even tour. After just 46.5 overs were possible on day one, play was brought forward half-an-hour to try and make up lost time. But instead, the New South Wales weather continued to frustrate with three separate rain breaks in the morning session. The regular interruptions did not deter Australia, with Smith and Khawaja adding 83 to the total without loss. Instead it was England who struggled to find a groove to settle into, using all four of their specialist bowlers in the first eight overs of the day with none able to grab the game by the throat. The batters had been warming up before the first delay and came out hot afterwards, Smith pumping James Andersons first ball back down the ground as he over-pitched before Khawaja crashed Leach through cover. Story continues Australian progress remained steady, Khawaja bringing up the 50 partnership with an aerial cut off Leach as Smith showcased his ability to manufacture scoring shots at will en route to a calm half-century. When Jack Leach finally coaxed out an error Buttler deflected the edge of glove and thigh before Root spilled the ricochet. There was some mitigation for the skippers error but it arrived at gentle speed and perfect height. Englands faces told a story of weary frustration, but that turned to anxiety as a gut-busting barrage of short-pitched bowling concluded with Stokes clutching his side and departing in search of treatment. Jack Leach had Khawaja dropped on just 28 (Jason OBrien/PA) He was able to rejoin the fray after lunch but looked stiff and highly unlikely to bowl again in the match. The tourists were reliant on the new ball to advance their cause never more so than when Australia milked 12 off the last two overs of the old one. It was Broad who seized the moment, cracking Smiths often impenetrable shell during an eventful spell. Smith sent a square drive racing to the boundary but then lost his co-ordinates, offering bizarre to leave to one that thumped him on the front pad on a leg-stump line. DRS showed the ball was narrowly missing but Broad was in the hunt. A flick off his pads briefly kept the catcher at leg gully interested but there was no doubt when he wafted away from his body and nicked straight into Buttlers gloves. Next up was Green and, though Stokes limited movement saw a half-chance go begging at slip off Wood, Broads superb spell delivered again when he had the 6ft 7in all-rounder caught by Zak Crawley in the cordon. The veteran seamer tied a bow on a spell of two for 19 and a third wicket of the innings. By now Khawaja was cashing in on his hard work, timing the ball with increasing certainty and elegance and showing his authority with a series of clean drives off Leach. Roots occasional off-spin chipped away his latest partner, Alex Careys top-edge well caught over-the-shoulder by Jonny Bairstow, but Khawaja moved into the 90 with a swivel pull off Wood. Pat Cummins almost left Khawaja high and dry when a quick single left his partner on 99 not out at the non-strikers end. But the pair managed to race through for a single, leaving him just enough to turn Leach off his pads and bring up a ninth Test hundred. In perhaps the saddest statement since Jan. 6 on the state of American Democracy, Republican lawmakers across the country have been asked to say three simple words: Joe. Biden. Won. But they just cant bring themselves to do it, even though Biden beat President Donald Trump by more than 7 million popular votes and trounced him in the Electoral College toll. In other words, those GOP lawmakers refuse to recognize the will of the people. Which means they no longer recognize democracy. An October poll found that nearly a third of Republican respondents said violence may be necessary to put Trump back in power. Which means those Republicans no longer recognize democracy as the only correct way to install leaders and peacefully transfer power. Sales of firearms in America are skyrocketing. Forbes reports that more than 30 million guns were purchased in America in 2020 and 2021, a record-setting trend that suggests some people are preparing for violence. These are frightening times for anyone paying attention to the trends. The storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 was the starkest example of a willingness to use violence to achieve what a free election couldnt. Before insurrectionists attacked from the outside, a few members of Congress inside had forwarded to the White House an elaborate scheme to effectively stage a military-backed coup to keep Trump in power. The scheme, outlined in a 36-slide PowerPoint presentation, concocted a story of electronically cast votes manipulated by China to tilt the vote toward Biden. The scheme called for nullifying all votes cast electronically. Trump would declare a state of emergency and federalize the National Guard in all 50 states to conduct a new presidential vote. Only paper ballots would be counted, and ballots deemed counterfeit would be thrown out. The result, the PowerPoint document states: Trump wins!! But it required Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6 to refuse certification of Bidens victory. Pence said he wouldnt cooperate, prompting Trump to tweet during the insurrection: Mike Pence didnt have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution. Active-duty members of the U.S. military participated in the Jan. 6 assault. Months later, the commanding general of the Oklahoma National Guard publicly questioned a directive from his commander in chief. As three retired generals wrote on our Dec. 24 op-ed page, there are troubling signs of a split in the U.S. military, with political loyalties eclipsing troops oath to honor and protect the Constitution. Under such a scenario, it is not outlandish to say a military breakdown could lead to civil war, the generals wrote. When one side comes this close to abandoning the fundamental pillars upon which this nation is founded, the question becomes more than just theoretical: Can American democracy, or America itself, survive if this radical faction doesnt come to its senses? In a tweet posted on December 28, 2021, Ciro Nappi reports that IVECO Defence will participate with the VBTP-MSR Guarani in the forthcoming Malaysian tender for the procurement of 400 6x6 armored vehicles to replace the older UR425 Condor and AFSV90. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link VBTP-MR Guarani 6x6 (Picture source: Brazilian Army) The other contenders may be K806 WAV,PT Pindad with its Anoa 2, General Dynamics Land Systems with the LAV II, and FNSS with its Pars. The VBTP-MR Guarani (Portuguese: Viatura Blindada Transporte de Pessoal - Media de Rodas; Armored Personnel Carrier Vehicle - Medium Wheeled Type") is a 66 armored personnel carrier developed by Iveco and the Brazilian Army as part of its Urutu-III modernization program aimed to replace all EE-11 Urutu by 2015. The 8x8 version of the VBTP-MR is the base of Iveco's Superav amphibious armored personnel carrier. In the program, other Brazilian Companies also participated, such as IMBEL (Communications), ELBIT (Armaments), Usiminas and Villares [pt] (development of national ballistic structural steel). The K806/808 armored personnel carrier is a family of 66 and 88 armored vehicles. Developed by the South Korean company Hyundai Rotem as a private venture in 2012, the Korean Army declared a plan to acquire 600 66 and 88 wheeled APCs in order to help build rapid response forces molded after the U.S. Stryker combat brigades, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Hyundai Rotem, a (subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group), made the K808/806 in competition with the Doosan Black Fox and Samsung Techwin MPV, and eventually won the competition. The Anoa is a 6x6 armored personnel carrier developed by PT Pindad of Indonesia. The vehicle is named after the Anoa, which is a type of buffalo indigenous to Indonesia. The prototype was first unveiled at the 61st anniversary of TNI on October 5, 2006, in TNI HQ at Cilangkap, east of capital Jakarta. The design of the Anoa has been licensed from that of the French VAB, which is also in service with Indonesia. The LAV III, originally named the Kodiak by the Canadian Army, is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of infantry fighting vehicles built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based subsidiary of General Dynamics that first entered service in 1999. It was developed in Canada from the LAV II family and is the primary mechanized infantry vehicle of both the Canadian Army and the New Zealand Army. It also forms the basis of the Stryker vehicle used by the US Army and other operators. The Pars (Turkish for Anatolian Leopard) is an amphibious Armoured combat vehicle family with 4x4, 66 and 88 versions, produced by FNSS Defence Systems of Turkey. The development of the PARS vehicles started in 2002, based on a design by US company GPV (General Purpose Vehicles), and in cooperation with GPV. PARS 8x8 was first displayed in February 2005 during the IDEX defense exhibition held in Abu Dhabi. For those of you old enough to remember the debate over single-sex education, and how VMI fo By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] Wakefield The city of Wakefield is in the process of writing a grant to apply for funding for training and recruitment of first responders, according to city manager Robert Brown. We are going to apply for funds to cross-train some of our firefighters as medical first responders, said Brown. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the $5 million grant program for training and recruitment on Jan. 3. First responders are on the front lines of our health and our safety, and are always there for us when we need them the most, said Whitmer. We have to work together to put them first. We must find ways to recruit and train the next generation these real-life community heroes today so they can be there for us tomorrow. With these new grants, we can hire more law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and local corrections officers to keep us all safe. All Michigan cities, villages, townships, counties and fire authorities are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $100,000 through the First Responder Training and Recruitment grant program. First responders are classified as police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and local units of government corrections officers. The purpose of the grant program is to support efforts of local governments to expand recruitment, improve training, and provide additional professional development and support to first responders in local governments, the release said. Out of the $5 million appropriated for the grant program, $2 million has been designated for communities with a per capita property value of less than $15,000. The per capita property value for Wakefield according to mlive.com in 2018 was $14,714. Communities applying for a grant must include in their application the program purpose, demonstrating how budgeted costs directly relate to recruitment or training of first responders. Brown said the city is looking at having four firefighters cross-trained. The firefighters could be taking an EMT course at Gogebic Community College as soon as May, depending on funding and course availability, he said. The city wants to shoot for a spring-summer registration with the college, as the grant is giving priority to those that will have the training completed by Sept. 30. Michigan communities are prioritizing the recruitment and training of first responders, State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said. These dollars will help our communities provide better services to keep Michigan residents safe. Applications must be submitted by Feb. 15. Applications will be selected for funding by the Michigan Department of Treasury based on program purpose, eligibility and criteria. Projects are funded on a reimbursement basis. To learn more about the grant program, visit Michigan.gov/FRG. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. A pro-government analyst advises the Western world to open a new, blank page in its relations with Russia and stop waging what he describes as a Cold War against two eastern giants, Russia and China simultaneously. On Mandiner, Matyas Kohan argues that in civilisational terms, Russia is the extreme version of the West, while China is its antithesis. Russias rulers, he explains, run a system that is European in character. To support his point, he points out that Russia has a political opposition (of its own kind), a plurality of news outlets (of their own kind), freedom of religion, freedom of economic enterprise and a juridical order. Anyone travelling to Vladivostok, Kohan remarks, will notice that Europe ends at the shores of the Sea of Japan, rather than in eastern Poland, as many believe. By contrast, Kohan continues, China knows no such a thing as an opposition or an independent press. Instead of free citizens, it runs a social credit system to punish individuals who misbehave with throttled internet speeds and flight bans. Instead of religious freedom, Christians and Muslims experience persecution; instead of free enterprise, people live in a sort of state capitalism where billionaires can easily disappear from the scene if the authorities deem them ripe for prison. Meanwhile, Kohan remarks, the system is incredibly efficient and produces items that are vital for Western industries. What is this if not a rival model? he asks. He deems it therefore crazy for the West to put Russia and China in the same basket and fight against both. The West should stop destroying itself from luring masses of migrants to banning nuclear energy, roll back its dependency on China and, as a first step, it should choose between China and Russia, Kohan recommends. This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online. Click here to Share Your Story Hungarian experts believe that the fifth wave of the epidemic will reach Budapest as early as next week, causing the Omicron variant to surge in the capital first. According to predictions, this variant will already reach half the height of the previous delta wave by the end of the week, around Friday, and will surpass the peak of the delta wave in Budapest sometime next week. Gabor Vattay, an expert in epidemiological modeling at ELTE University, told RTL News that the fifth wave could start a few weeks later in rural areas, as evidenced by the increase in the coronavirus concentration level in wastewater. In rural towns, the same wave that will have already been clearly visible in Budapest next week, will first appear in the county capitals, then in smaller villages with a delay of two to three weeks, added Gabor Vattay, whose views are also shared by Gabor Zacher, chief physician of the Hatvan Hospital. The expert also said that it is not yet clear how well the vaccines will protect against Omicron, but he is confident that this variant will not cause symptoms as severe as the Delta variant. According to Zacher, we will see how the New Years celebrations have affected the dynamics of the epidemic as soon as after Epiphany Day (January 6). However, Zacher also warned that new variants could emerge as long as there are places in Asia and Africa with low vaccination rates. Even if there are almost fully vaccinated communities, new variants can always emerge as long as there are countries with low vaccination rates, he said, adding, There are still letters in the Greek alphabet. Virus concentration increases in wastewater After a decrease and stagnation in the previous weeks, a slight upward trend in the average SARS-CoV-2 pathogen concentration in wastewater samples was observed in the last week of 2021. Among the cities, Budapest, Eger, Kaposvar and Szekszard show an upward trend, while Szekesfehervar, Tatabanya, and Veszprem show a slight decrease, while in the other cities the amount of SARS-CoV-2 agent stagnates. The measured concentrations were in the elevated range in 10 fsampling sites and in the medium range in 12 cities. Why is a textile mask not enough against omicron? Meanwhile, doctors recommend wearing double masks or a so-called N95 mask against omicron. As the number of infections from this variant increases, people are asked not to wear textile masks because they may not provide adequate protection against the virus. Instead, they recommend combining the textile mask with surgical masks or switching to stronger respirators, The Wall Street Journal reports. MTI Photo: Peter Komka Mumbai: After starring as the lead actor in 'Helmet', actor Aparshakti Khurana is now all set to headline a new project titled 'Berlin'. On Wednesday, production banner Zee Studios took to their Instagram page and gave netizens a few details about the project. "We are excited to announce our new project #Berlin, a spy-thriller drama set to astound you all," the makers posted. Ishwak Singh will feature alongside Aparshakti in the film. Also, Atul Sabharwal will direct 'Berlin'. Aparshakti, too, shared the news on his Instagram."Silence speaks louder than words. Super excited for this one," he wrote. Apart from 'Berlin', Aparshakti also has 'Dhoka' in his kitty. Live TV VinFast plans to focus solely on electric vehicles because it presents it with a big opportunity in a nascent market.The carmaker will introduce five electric SUV models at the CES technology conference in Las Vegas this week. Vietnam's indigenous carmaker VinFast will put an end to producing its combustion-engine vehicles of the end of this year, which is just two-and-a-half years after the first such vehicles rolled off its northern Vietnam assembly lines. The carmaker is planning to ramp up global sales of its electric SUVs with plans for EV factories in the US and Germany. The company plans to focus solely on electric vehicles because it presents it with a big opportunity in a nascent market, the vice chairwoman of Vingroup JSC - the parent company of VinFast, Le Thi Thu Thuy said. "The field of electric cars is still in the early stages of development, the level of competition is not too fierce and there is still room for breakthroughs for new brands," she said. (Also read | Vietnamese EV maker VinFast begins development of battery plant) She added that VinFast is facing an international market with the potential of more than one billion gas-powered cars that will be replaced by electric cars in the near future. In November last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the company unveiled two electric SUVs - the VF e35 and VF e36. It will begin accepting global preorders for these two models at the ongoing annual CES technology conference from January 6. (Also read | Vietnam's EV Maker VinFast plans US IPO in second half of 2022) The carmaker will introduce five electric SUV models at the CES technology conference in Las Vegas this week ahead of its IPO offering in the US in the second half of the year. VinFast plans to deliver EVs in California, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands at the end of this year. The company's upcoming US EV factory will have a capacity to produce 250,000 vehicles a year, and will also include battery and electric bus plants. In the first phase, the company plans to invest $1 billion to $1.5 billion. (with inputs from Bloomberg) First Published Date: New Delhi: Actress Kriti Sanon is basking high in the glory of her last solo release Mimi for which she earned rave reviews. Talking about her experiences of 2021 Kriti says, "2021 was an amazing year professionally. The kind of love that Mimi got has been extremely overwhelming and has not only made me more confident as an actor to take risks but has also made me hungrier to push the envelope further". After a superhit 2021, Kriti Sanon has the most number of releases announced for 2022, continuing to cement her position at the top. The hunger for playing challenging roles is not over for Kriti and so she does look forward to having more experimenting roles in the coming year. Stating her expectation from 2022 Kriti shares, "What excites me more is the fact that all these projects belong to completely different genres and worlds. So theres a lot to look forward to in 2022!" Next on the cards for the actresses are some of the most massive releases including 'Adipurush' with Prabhas, 'Bachchan Pandey' with Akshay Kumar, 'Ganapath' with Tiger Shroff, 'Bhediya' with Varun Dhawan, and 'Shehzada' with Kartik Aaryan. New Delhi: Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has warmed up to venture investing, following the footsteps of many celebrity sportspersons, by betting an undisclosed sum on influencer marketing platform One Impression. A statement from the startup said Chopra invested in a "strategic round" which saw the company raise USD 1 million (about Rs 7.4 crore) from a clutch of investors, including Karandeep Anand (formerly with Meta), Varun Alagh of Mamaearth, Anupam Mittal of People Group and stand-up comedians Zakir Khan and Kanan Gill. Known to pull off audacious feats in the sporting arena, many sportpersons have taken to the high-risk, high-return game of venture investing to grow their earnings. Shooter Abhinav Bindra, India's first individual Olympic gold medallist, had set up a venture capital fund to invest in startups. One Impression said it will deploy the funds to build product solutions for both brands and creators, accelerate hiring and scale operations both in India and key global markets. The company, which claims to have an annual revenue rate of USD 7 million and is targeting to touch USD 35 million in 2022, will also be investing in creator growth and monetisation opportunities. The company's chief executive and co-founder Apaksh Gupta said it plans to grow 10 times after the investment. It is working with brands in India, US, UAE and Nepal at present. "Our growth trajectory is a testament to our hard- work and has helped us establish the leadership position in the market. I am extremely thankful & excited to welcome all the investors who are now becoming part of our journey. Also Read: World food prices hit 10-year high in 2021: Food and Agriculture Organisation "Creator economy is booming globally and I have a strong conviction in the team's and platform's capability to become a leading global influencer marketing destination for millions of advertisers," he said. Also Read: 7th Pay Commission: Central govt employees could get Rs 4,500 extra with January salary, check how Live TV #mute London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday sought to dismiss the notion that visa norms are set to be relaxed for Indians in pursuit of a free trade agreement (FTA) with India. During the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session in the House of Commons, Johnson was asked by one of his Conservative Party MPs to comment on reports that emerged in the UK media over the weekend about easier visas for Indian professionals and students to make an FTA more attractive to India. Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh asked Johnson if a relaxation of visa controls from India was in the works to secure a trade agreement. I don't recognise the account he's given at all. We don't do free trade deals on that basis, said Johnson. Net immigration since we took back control (Brexit) has gone down our new Borders Bill currently in the House of Lords enables us properly to take back control of our borders and to tackle illegal immigration, he said. Free movement of people from within the European Union (EU) was a key issue during the 2016 Brexit referendum, with Johnson pledging to take back control to create a fairer visa regime for applicants from within and outside of the EU post-Brexit. Apparently the government is thinking of relaxing visa controls from India in order to get a free trade deal. Whilst a free trade deal is valuable in itself, we should not be held to ransom, said Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh in the Commons. Would he agree with me that our new working class voters who voted Brexit did not vote to replace immigration from Europe with more immigration from the rest of the world...Will he convince us that he is determined to connect to our supporters and control immigration, he questioned. His question in the Commons follows reports that UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is expected to travel to Delhi later this month to kick-start FTA talks and is expected to offer a visa scheme similar to that agreed as part of the UK's FTA with Australia. Such a scheme would allow young Indians the chance to come and work in the UK for up to three years. Another option reportedly being considered would be to cut visa fees for students and allow them to stay in Britain for a period after they graduate, possibly building upon the Graduate Route visa under the points-based immigration rules currently in place. India is projected to become the world's third largest economy by 2050 and a free trade agreement will open up huge opportunities for UK businesses to trade with India's GBP 2.25 trillion economy, said a Department for International Trade spokesperson, without confirming or denying the reports of a visa scheme linked with an FTA. Companies up and down the country can look forward to the benefits, from manufacturers in the West Midlands to tech experts in Belfast, and we look forward to launching negotiations early this year, the spokesperson said. The UK government's stated priority for the FTA talks is a broad and comprehensive FTA, which achieves short and long-term benefits for British businesses. DIT sources said that a range of measures will be under consideration to enable British business to achieve maximum benefits from any deal. The UK's target will be on reduced tariffs from up to 150 per cent on key exports such as cars and Scotch whisky to make UK goods more competitive in the Indian market. Back in May 2021, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson clinched an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) during a virtual summit, with the goal to double bilateral trade to GBP 50 billion by 2030. The FTA is seen as the next step in the bilateral engagement. Live TV #mute New Delhi: PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has urged the government to improve the cost structure of the Indian Aluminium industry and enhance competitiveness in the upcoming Union Budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget 2022-23 next month. (Also read: Raise PPF contribution limit from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, suggests ICAI) In its pre-Budget memorandum PHDCCI has suggested to reduce the basic custom duty on the following critical raw materials - Calcined Petroleum Coke (for anode making in Aluminium industry), Raw Petroleum Coke (for anode making in Aluminium industry) , Caustic Soda Lye; Aluminium Fluoride and Green Anode/ Pre-Baked Carbon Anode all by 2.5%. The trade and industry body has sought for elimination of cess on coal (GST Compensation cess of Rs.400/MT) to support highly power intensive industries like Aluminium. It has also asked the government to increase in basic custom duty on Aluminium scrap (HS Code 7602) at par with primary metal to proposed 10%. Among other Pre-Budget Memorandum for the sector, PHDCCI has urged the inverted duty of Caustic Soda Lye to be rationalized and reduced from 7.5% to 2.5%; inverted duty of Aluminium Fluoride to be rationalized & reduced from 7.5% to 2.5%. Being the primary raw material the import duty on Alumina should be rationalized and reduced from 5% to nil to enhance raw material security for Aluminium industry, encourage domestic value addition and exports of finished Aluminium products, said PHDCCI. Live TV #mute Delhi police on Thursday (January 6) said that it has arrested the alleged mastermind of 'Bulli Bai' app case from Assam's Jorhat. The accused, a 21-year-old engineering student, has confessed to his act, police said in a statement. The police brought Niraj Bishnoi, 21, to the national capital from Jorhat. Bishnoi is the fourth accused to be arrested in the case. The three other accused were earlier arrested by Mumbai police. Bishnoi had mocked the Mumbai police on the arrest of the other accused and had even bragged about his act on Twitter. Bishnoi had tweeted: "You have arrested the wrong person. Lmao only one guy was ever involved and that's me. You arrested a follower of that acc with Sikh dp, who had nothing to do with the app and didn't tweet anything wrong." "Do you have even the slightest bit of shame," he added. A team from Mumbai was also on its way to arrest Bishnoi but got delayed because of flight schedules and its Delhi counterparts got there an hour earlier, a Mumbai Police official said. The cyber cell will seek Bishnoi's custody later, the official said. Giving details, Delhi Police said the Bulli Bai app was developed in November last year and updated in December. Bishnoi was also keenly monitoring social media. The police further claimed that the case was now completely solved. Live TV New Delhi: The Chandigarh administration on Thursday (January 6) imposed additional curbs in view of the rising COVID-19 cases. Night curfew will come into effect in the union territory from 10 pm to 5 am. All non-essential activities will be prohibited during the night curfew hours. Malls, cinema halls, bars, restaurants will operate at 50 per cent capacity. In other restrictions, government and private offices will also open with 50 per cent capacity. All non-essential activities prohibited b/w 10pm-5am. Educational institutions &sports complexes to remain closed; 50% WFH for govt/pvt offices. Cinemas,malls, restaurants,etc. to operate at 50% capacity. Gathering restricted to 50 persons (indoor)&100 (outdoor): Chandigarh Admin pic.twitter.com/ndQpUTuIKx ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 As per the official order, educational institutions, including schools, colleges, universities will also remain shut. Only 50 people will be allowed at indoor gatherings and 100 people at outdoor. Crowded markets will have to be closed by 5 pm. Earlier on Sunday, Chandigarh had announced coronavirus-related restrictions in which the capacity of restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, marriage palaces and banquet halls was capped at 50 per cent. Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported 331 new cases of coronavirus, as per data on Thursday. Live TV New Delhi: Dr PS Chandra, Professor, Neurosurgery, AIIMS in Delhi said that the COVID-19 cases which are rising exponentially now in the country will start declining in a few weeks, but caution is important and we should prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. 'Continue masking, continue social distancing, then continue working from home' "There are reasons to believe that this will be over within weeks, as it has happened in Africa and South Africa. They hardly have any cases and as of now, numbers are reducing. So these are the silver lining but again, we have to be cautious for a couple of reasons. First, it is very, very infectious. So obviously you know we should not let our guard down. So continue masking, continue social distancing, then continue working from home. Avoid any kind of unnecessary travel, avoid any kind of unnecessary gathering, public gathering is to be completely discouraged. So all these things have to be continued," said Dr Chandra while speaking to ANI. 'Highly infectious but will increase herd immunity' He further said the Omicron virus is highly infectious and it is going to increase the herd immunity."Our strategy should be that we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. A large number of people are asymptomatic, which is good in a way because it's likely to increase the herd immunity, so more people, you know, get infected and they're completely asymptomatic. Obviously, it's going to form that immunological barrier to prevent the further stretch and again, lastly, but not the least, because it's highly infectious," he said. 'India's huge population: Even if 1% require hospitalization, that's a big number' Dr Chandra showed concern over hospitalization and emphasized taking precautions. "The second concern we have is that because we have a huge population. So even if one per cent of the population would require hospitalization that would be a huge number. We don't want our hospital infrastructure to collapse. And from that perspective, it becomes the responsibility of each and every citizen. They should not let their guard down saying that it's only a mild infection. So they have to be careful not just for themselves, but also for the entire community. You do not want to increase the burden on the community. So that all our hospital beds are clogged," he added. 'Healthcare workers must be protected - not for just themselves, also for taking care of those sick with COVID-19' He further said that most resident doctors in his team are sick and if healthcare workers get sick in a large numbers then that can lead to trouble for the whole system. "We have to protect our healthcare workers. They have to take full precautions because they are the soldiers on the frontline. So if they are going to fall down, who's going to take care of all the patients? So for instance, in my unit you know, almost 50 per cent of the residents are sick. They're all having mild symptoms, they're doing well. But the fact is, they have not been able to report for work. So that's very, very crucial that the healthcare workers must be protected, not just for their own sake, but also for the sake of taking care of people who are sick with COVID-19," said Dr Chandra. Live TV Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday announced an all-party meeting on January 8 here to discuss the next course of action on the state's demand for exemption from NEET, as an Assembly bill in this regard is pending with the Centre. Contending an all-party delegation MPs under DMK Lok Sabha member T R Baalu couldn't secure an audience with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, the Chief Minister claimed that the Centre had not acted on the Tamil Nadu Assembly Bill seeking exemption for the state from NEET. "In order to discuss the next plan of action, the State Government has convened an all-party meeting on January 8," Stalin told the state Assembly. Making a statement on the floor of the House under rule 110, he appealed to the leaders of various political parties who have representation in the Assembly to extend their cooperation to the serious issue concerning the State's students, particularly those with rural backgrounds. Recalling the unanimous Assembly bill passed in the House in September against NEET, Stalin said based on the decisions to be taken in the Saturday all-party meeting, "our struggle against NEET and for social justice will continue." He reiterated NEET was against the interests of the rural students and charged the Centre, through the entrance test had "snatched away" states' rights to decide on how it will conduct its medical admissions, with the state keen to do so only based on Class XII marks. He said the bill sent to the Governor earlier had not been forwarded to the President of India and that he had personally taken up the matter with the Governor, following which a Baalu-led delegation had submitted a memorandum against NEET and the "losses" faced by students and the delay in getting the exemption with the President's office. The representation concerned was now with the Union Home Ministry, he added. Tamil Nadu has been seeking exemption from the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test and the issue has emotive undertones in the state with a few medical aspirants dying allegedly by suicide, following low marks or apprehensions of not clearing it. Live TV New Delhi: At least five people were killed and 20 injured in a chemical leak incident from a tanker in the Sachin GIDC area in Gujarats Surat in the wee hours of Thursday (January 6, 2022). All the people were immediately rushed to the Surat Civil Hospital for treatment. "At least five workers have died at a hospital, where some 25 of them were rushed as they fell unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes coming out of a chemical tanker parked near their factory in Sachin GIDC area," said Basant Pareek, in-charge Chief Fire Office of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). Tragic! 5 killed and 20 injured in a chemical leak incident in Gujarat pic.twitter.com/7YT1nH85tL Zee News English (@ZeeNewsEnglish) January 6, 2022 The workers were sleeping inside the factory at the time of the incident. They were rushed to the New Civil Hospital, he said. Pareek said the tanker was trying to dispose of toxic chemicals illegally. The fire department, which received a call regarding the incident around 4.25 am, managed to close the valve to arrest the leakage of fumes. Live TV New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that under the influence of western disturbance Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are likely to witness heavy rainfall and snow, while Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajsthan need to embrace for rainfall in the region. In a bulletin, the IMD said: "There is a Western Disturbance as a trough in westerlies in lower & middle tropospheric levels with its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level. Under its influence, an induced cyclonic circulation has formed over southwest Rajasthan and adjoining Pakistan at lower tropospheric levels. "There is moisture feeding from Arabian Sea over northwest India and likely to continue during next two days. Scattered to fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall is very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, north Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh till January 6; isolated to scattered over south Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Madhya Pradesh, and East Uttar Pradesh on January 5 and 6." Thereafter, an intense Western Disturbance is very likely to affect Northwest India from the night January 6 onwards and under its influence, an induced cyclonic circulation very likely to form over southwest Rajasthan and neighbourhood on January 7, the IMD said. Snowfall in Jammu: As per the Indian Meteorological Department, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, there will be heavy rainfall and snow today as the western disturbance is very active in that region. RK Jenamani, Senior IMD Scientist said, "As I have told earlier about the warning, in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, there will be heavy rainfall and snow today as the western disturbance is very active in that region." He stated, "It will again be active on January 6 which will lead to the heavy rainfall in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and mountain regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand will also see heavy rainfall and snowfall." Yellow alert in Himachal Pradesh The weather agency issued an yellow alert in Himachal Pradesh for 48 hours forcasting heavy rains. IMD (head) of Himachal Pradesh, Surender Paul, told ANI, "A yellow alert of 48 hours has been issued in districts like Shimla, Chamba, Lahaul Spiti, Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur and Mandi. There is also high probability that these districts receive heavy snowfall too." Paul also added that during last 24 hours, areas imcluding Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, Kinnaur, Shimla, Sirmaur, Chamba & Mandi received light snowfall due to a western disturbance. Consistent snowfall lilkely to occur in Himachal Pradesh, especially the middle and high-altitude areas for the next 4-5 days. Foggy morning in Delhi: Residents of the national capital woke up to a foggy Thursday morning, with the maximum and minimum temperatures being recorded at 20 and 12 degrees Celsius, respectively, according to the IMD forecast. The IMD has further forecast light rain with a generally cloudy sky for the next three days. Despite light rainfall in the national capital, the city`s Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the `very poor` category at 342 on Thursday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). There would be a wet spell over northwest and central India till January 9 and no cold wave conditions are likely over north India during the next 6-7 days, the Department had said earlier this week. Light rainfall likely over UP, Rajasthan Scattered to fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, north Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh during January 5 to 7 and light isolated rainfall is also likely over west Madhya Pradesh on January 5, said IMD. Light rain fall in Madhya Pradesh RK Jenamani, Senior IMD Scientist said, Madhya Pradesh and East Uttar Pradesh will also see light rainfall as the western disturbance will move. The second western disturbance which is coming will hail storm in Madhya Pradesh on January 8 and January 9," he added. Meanwhile, the weather department also stated that the western disturbances are likely to leave all the states on January 8 or 9, leading to improvement of weather conditions. RK Jenamani, Senior IMD Scientist had said, "Western disturbance is likely to leave on January 8 at night or by morning on January 9, but the maximum impact will be seen in Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Uttar Pradesh on January 9. There is no other western disturbance from 9 January onwards in our monitoring. After that, the weather will improve." "The weather will improve tomorrow because the impact of western disturbances will be less. However, it will lead to bad weather again after January 7 across all the states. There are chances of light to moderate rain on January 8 as it will be the peak of the second western disturbance," he further said. (With agency inputs) Live TV Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Honda Motor Company (called Honda for short) said on Thursday its full-year China auto retail sales in 2021 amounted to 1,561,540 units, sliding 4% from the year-ago period due to the impact of component supply constraint. The annual retail sales of two joint ventures, GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda, stood at 768,268 units and 793,272 units respectively. Compared to the previous year, the joint venture with GAC Group logged a 4.7% drop, while the other one's sales fell 3.3%. As for the sales performance of key models, the yearly retail sales of the CR-V surpassed 200,000 units. Besides, there were five models, namely, the ACCORD, the VEZEL, the BREEZE, the XR-V, and the CIVIC, all recording annual retail sales of over 150,000 units. Despite the decrease in overall sales, the annual sales of the vehicles armed with the hybrid powertrain system Sport Hybrid still hit all-time highs of 233,801 units last year, which were 116% more than that of the year-ago period. Regarding monthly performance, the Japanese automaker announced a retail sales volume of 168,663 units in December for the worlds largest auto market, down 19.2% year over year due to the chip supply constraint. The new cars sold last month included 21,859 vehicles powered by the Sport Hybrid system. To be specific, GAC Honda saw its Dec. retail volume dwindle 17.4% over a year ago to 80,994 units, while Dongfeng Hondas sales dipped 20.9% to 87,669 units. New Delhi: Sixty people have tested positive for COVID-19 in IIT Guwahati and its authorities have declared the entire campus as a containment zone, an official order said on Wednesday. All the cases were detected over the last six days and almost 99 percent of the cases were those who had returned to the campus from outside Assam after the holidays, an IIT Guwahati official said. According to an order issued by Kamrup (Rural) district administration, the entire campus of the institute has been declared a containment zone with immediate effect until the area is declared safe. The entry and exit of all people to and from the campus have been prohibited, it added. The Dean-PR, IIT Guwahati, Parmeshwar Iyer told PTI that among those who tested positive for the virus are a faculty member, five members of his family and another staff member. The rest are students. Except for the faculty member and his family, all the affected are lodged at the quarantine centre at the institute's guest house on the campus, Iyer said. As the faculty member's parents, mother-in-law and young son preferred to be hospitalised, they are currently undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, he said. "We are closely monitoring the situation and taking all necessary measures. The district authorities have provided us with extra resources to augment the testing process," he added. Live TV New Delhi: India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi on Wednesday in the new year conversation discussed a range of issues including the Aceh and Andaman Nicobar island connectivity. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2018 visit to Indonesia, among several agreements both sides decided to cooperate in connectivity between Andaman and Nicobar island and Aceh province of Indonesia. Sabang port in Aceh is just 90 nautical miles from the Indian islands of Andaman and Nicobar. During the 2018 visit, it was also decided to set up a Joint Task Force to undertake projects for port-related infrastructure in and around Sabang by both the neighboring countries. Important to note, Sabang sits at the entrance of Strait of Malacca, considered to be key global choke point. Being one of the most important shipping lanes, any stoppage of traffic here can impact countries like China whose major chunk of energy, trade passes via the strait. During the conversation, both sides discussed the covid crisis, the situation in Myanmar and Afghanistan. Indonesia as an Asean member has been concerned about developments in Myanmar, like New Delhi has been. Myanmar saw a coup in February of last year with political leaders being detained and reports of large-scale violence happening in the country. In Afghanistan, like India, Indonesia has been a key stakeholder. In fact, the Indonesian Foreign minister was the only woman foreign minister during last month's Organization of Islamic cooperation foreign ministers meet in Islamabad on Afghanistan. Discussions were also on the Covid crisis. Indonesia had reached out to India during the second wave of the crisis last year, later India had sent support to the country when it was hit by the pandemic. Indian Navy had delivered Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) containers to the country as part of mission Sagar. Both countries are part of the G20 Troika as well. Indonesia will hold the G20 summit this year and hands over the baton to India who chairs the grouping next year. India will be hosting the G20 summit for the first time in 2023 with construction of the venue centers taking place at a rapid pace in the national capital New Delhi. Live TV New Delhi: India on Wednesday reported its first death linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant in Rajasthan as new COVID-19 cases crossed 70,000 in what the Centre said was an "exponential rise" with the acceleration "steeper than ever" reflected by a higher R naught value than during the peak of the brutal second wave. As Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh joined a growing list of states to clamp night curfew in line with fresh curbs to deal with the expanding pandemic, the Centre said the upsurge in COVID cases -a 6.3 times rise in the last eight days -is happening in cities and the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain. "The R naught value is 2.69. This is higher than 1.69 that we saw at the second wave on peak. The acceleration of cases is steeper than ever," NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul told a joint news conference. A ferocious second COVID wave had swept the country in April-May last year. A total of 2,135 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected across 24 states and UTs out of which, 828 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 653 followed by Delhi at 464, Kerala 185, Rajasthan 174, Gujarat 154 and Tamil Nadu 121 Omicron cases. Officials in the Union Health Ministry said samples of a 73-year-old man in Rajasthan's Udaipur, who died last week, showed the presence of the Omicron variant. The case of death in Rajasthan is technically Omicron-related, Joint Secretary in Health Ministry Lav Agarwal told the press conference. "That person had already died by the time the Omicron positive results came. He was an elderly person and had diabetes and comorbid conditions and was being treated as per protocol for his co-morbid conditions and for the infection. "Our guidelines state that if a coronavirus positive patient dies, it is considered as COVID-19 fatality. Similarly, if a person is found to be Omicron positive, even if it detected late, we will consider that as Omicron positive case only," Agarwal said. The man, who was found infected with Omicron in genome sequencing and who had tested negative for the infection twice, died in a Udaipur hospital on December 31, state government officials had said. Several states also reported more doctors testing positive for COVID raising fears of shortage of medical personnel to deal with any crisis. Nearly 160 resident doctors of hospitals in Mumbai run by the Maharashtra government and the local civic corporation have tested positive for coronavirus in the last three days, a senior office-bearer of their association said. India records single-day rise of 58,097 new coronavirus infections India recorded a single-day rise of 58,097 new coronavirus infections, the highest in around 199 days, taking the total tally of cases to 3,50,18,358, according to the Health Ministry data which also showed that the active cases were above 2 lakh after around 81 days. A total of 58,419 new infections were reported on June 20 last year. The countrywide COVID tally crossed the 70,000 mark if the data released by some state authorities in the evening is also taken into account. Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Delhi were among the states which recorded a huge single-day jump in the cases. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said the spike in the number of COVID cases is being witnessed in cities and "the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain". Mass gatherings need to be avoided to lower the speed of the infection spread, he told the news conference, in the backdrop of the upcoming Assembly polls in five states which is expected to witness campaign rallies. "We are now facing an exponential rise in (the number of) COVID-19 cases and we believe that largely, it is being driven by Omicron, particularly so in the western parts of our country and even particularly so in larger cities from where we have more data," Dr Paul said. On December 30, the case positivity rate was 1.1 per cent and the next day, it was 1.3 per cent and now, the country is reporting a positivity rate of five per cent, he said, adding that similarly, there were 13,000 COVID cases on December 30 and the number went up to 58,000 on Tuesday. On whether India is witnessing a third COVID wave, Paul said in other countries it has been seen that just like a steep rise, there was also a steep decline in the number of cases. "In Denmark, the UK and South Africa, cases started declining within a month or a month and a half. We cannot say this clearly for our population. How it behaves will depend on past infections, the vaccination status and our own characteristics and population density. It cannot be extrapolated that just like the cases behaved there within a month, it will happen here also. "Saying it at this stage that it will go on till which point and for how long will be premature. If any scientific data comes, we will share. I would not venture into that except to say that like the previous waves, different parts of our nation will be in different stages. It starts in some states and then goes on and on. We are watching the dynamics of the pandemic carefully," the NITI Aayog member added. Lav Agarwal said there has been a surge in the number of COVID cases globally, adding that 25.2 lakh cases of the infection were recorded all over the world on January 4, "the highest ever since the onset of the pandemic". "India has reported an increase of more than 6.3 times in the number of cases in the last eight days and a sharp increase in the case positivity rate from 0.79 per cent on December 29 to 5.03 per cent on January 5," he said. Agarwal said six states - Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu - have over 10,000 active Covid cases each. He further stated that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat are emerging as the states of concern. Also, 28 districts in the country are reporting a weekly COVID positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, while 43 districts are reporting a weekly positivity rate between five per cent and 10 per cent, Agarwal said. The country's COVID death toll has climbed to 4,82,551 with 534 daily fatalities, the Health Ministry data showed. The active cases have increased to 2,14,004, comprising 0.61 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.01 per cent, the health ministry said. An increase of 42,174 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Live TV New Delhi: India recorded 90,928 new COVID-19 cases, 325 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the total death toll to 4,82,876, as per data released by the Ministry of Health on Thursday (January 6, 2022). The active cases stand at 2,85,401. An increase of 71,397 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The country also recorded 19,206 recoveries today, taking the total number of recoveries to 3,43,41,009. India reports 90,928 fresh COVID cases, 19,206 recoveries, and 325 deaths in the last 24 hours Daily positivity rate: 6.43% Active cases: 2,85,401 Total recoveries: 3,43,41,009 Death toll: 4,82,876 Total vaccination: 148.67 crore doses pic.twitter.com/DGPBwfzQcG ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 India logged 495 fresh Omicron infections, taking the total tally of such cases in the country to 2,630, according to the Union Health Ministry data. At least 995 have recovered, the Health Ministry said. Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of Omicron cases at 797, followed by Delhi at 465, Rajasthan 236, Kerala at 234, Karnataka at 226, Gujarat at 204 and Tamil Nadu at 121. A total of 23 states and Union territories have reported cases of the new variant, namely Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Manipur and Punjab. The recovery rate currently is 97.81 percent. According to the health ministry, the active cases account for less than 1 percent of the total cases at 0.81 percent. The ministry further informed that 68.53 crore COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the country so far with the administration of 148.67 crore vaccine doses under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive. Live TV New Delhi: Maharashtra health department on Thursday (January 6) ruled out a complete lockdown amid alarming rise in daily COVID-19 cases. The department said it will consider lockdown-like restrictions on two conditions. No consideration of lockdown as of now. Maharashtra govt will consider a lockdown or lockdown-like restrictions after medical oxygen demand for the state goes beyond 800 metric tonnes/ day or more than 40% of Covid beds in hospitals are occupied, Maharashtra Health Department was quoted as saying by ANI. The health department said that the current spike in coronavirus cases is expected to peak in mid-February and subside by mid-March. Minister for Medical Education Amit Deshmukh told the news agency that for now, the closure of malls and cinema halls is not being considered. "There is a formula on which we have to decide the intensity of the third wave and the need for stricter rules. At present, we don`t think that cinema halls or malls are needed to be closed but if something is to be done in the larger public interest, the state cabinet will discuss these things, and the CM of the state will take a final call on this," Deshmukh said. On Wednesday, the state government closed all colleges and universities till February 15. Maharashtra Higher & Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said, Amid rising COVID cases, Maharashtra govt to discontinue physical classes in colleges, universities till February 15. All exams in the said institutions to be conducted online till February 15. Meanwhile, Maharashtra logged 26,538 fresh COVID-19 cases and eight deaths, as per the state health bulletin on Wednesday. Of the new cases, Mumbai registered the highest number of infections at 15,166. The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra stands at 67,576,032, the recovery tally is at 65,24,247, while the death toll in the state mounted to 141,581. India has a total of 2,630 cases of Omicron variant so far, out of which 797 cases, the highest in the country, have been reported from Maharashtra. (With agency inputs) Live TV Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (January 7) rebuked her brother fo moving around, despite his wife testing positive for the disease. "I am very very offended and have asked him not to leave the house from tomorrow," the Chief Mnister said. Banerjee, who was speaking to reporters in the virtual mode at the secretariat, said that all the important officers of her government, including city police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal, deputy commissioner of police (South) Akash Magharia are suffering from coronavirus. Her brother's wife too has tested positive for the disease. Urging people to abide by COVID-19 protocol and restrictions imposed by the state government, Banerjee cautioned that the administration will opt for stricter norms if the rise in the pandemic is not controlled. "The next 15 days will be very crucial. Take proper care of yourself as well as that of your near and dear ones. Try to use gloves, cover your head using a cap and maintain hygiene after returning home. Only then can we save ourselves," she said. The CM added, "We have imposed restrictions taking into account people's lives and livelihood. But if we see that despite all these restrictions the pandemic is still rising, we may opt in for stricter restrictions". She asked the administration to make RT-PCR tests mandatory at the inter-state borders and directed the police to take stricter measures to handle those who are not following the COVID-19 protocol. Also read: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tests positive for Covid-19 The chief minister said she has asked the police to be strict in handling the situation. There are some people who are not wearing masks and not listening to instructions even though they are aware of the situation. "We are encouraging working from home. Several important officers of our government have been affected by the disease ... We are carrying out all our duties and also trying to ensure that the officers are in good health. We cannot let everyone fall sick," she said. Banerjee said she will not come to the secretariat on Friday (January 8) as both her drivers have tested positive. The Chief Minister said she will, however, attend the inauguration of the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing from her office in Kalighat in the city. The entire programme will be held virtually, the PMO said. Banerjee said that 10,77,64,007 crores of vaccine doses have been administered in West Bengal but around 40 per cent of the population in the state are yet to get the second dose. "We required another 14 crores of doses. But now with the vaccination programme for 15-18 year-olds and the proposed programme of booster dose we require a few more crores," Banerjee said. She said that 194 hospitals in the state have been identified to treat COVID-19 patients where at least 32,268 beds have been kept ready. "Of them 19,517 beds are functional and 3,000 out of the 4,180 beds in CCUs and HDUs are operational," she said. A total 267 containment zones and 136 micro containment zones have been announced in the state, she added. West Bengal reported 14,022 fresh cases of the contagion on Wednesday (January 5), according to the health department bulletin. There are 33,042 active cases at the moment, it added. (With PTI inputs) Live TV The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today announced cash rewards ranging from Rs 4 lakh to 8 lakh for information on terrorists involved in the attack that killed an Assam Rifles colonel and his family in Manipur last November. The 10 terrorists allegedly belonged to People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF). The November 13 attack resulted in death of five Assam Rifles personnel, including its Commanding Officer Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and 8-year-old son. The convoy was attacked near Sialsih village on the India-Myanmar road, under the Singngat Police Station of Manipur's Churachandpur district. A spokesperson of the NIA said any person with "information of importance" on the suspects leading to their arrest or apprehension will be rewarded. Those wanted for the incident include self-styled Lt Col Chaoyai and Lt Col Sagolsem Inaocha. India and world's diplomatic engagements have been impacted due to the recent surge in Covid cases. Many of the events have been postponed and some have even cancelled. Vibrant Gujarat, the biennial mega investors' summit, is one such major event that has been postponed due to increasing number of COVID cases. The summit due to take place from 10th to 12th January was also expected to be major diplomatic event with participation of 5 head of governments--Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth and Slovenia's PM Janez Jansa. The summit was to see a special session of PM with Governors and Heads of Far Eastern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation. Country sessions for Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mozambique, UK, Japan, Sweden, Norway, South Korea were also planned. Earlier, PM Modi's visit to United Arab Emirates, that was supposed to happen on 6th January was postponed due to increase in number of cases of omicron variant of covid in Dubai. He was to visit the India Pavillion at Dubai Expo during the one-day long visit. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's planned visit to Dubai on 2nd January was also called off due to covid crisis. Not just south Asia, globally - Japan PM Fumio Kishida had to cancel his US and Australia visit in the new year due to covid crisis. Both Japanese, Australian PM later held a virtual summit. During the opening statement at the virtual summit, Australian PM said, "Im sorry we could not be doing this in person, as Im sure you are also, here in Australia, but I very much respect and understand the need for us both to be also very focused on the challenges that we are facing domestically to deal with the Omicron variant of COVID." Covid was first reported from China's Wuhan in 2019 and it has been more than 2 years since the crisis has ravaged the world. In the 2 years, many of the engagements have gone in virtual or hybrid mode. The first quad summit, between India, US, Australia and Japan took place virtually. 2020 saw the G20 summit happening virtually for the first time. While the BRICS Summit has been happening virtually for last 2 years, SCO summit was in hybrid mode in 2021. Live TV Chandigarh: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was troubled with only 15 minutes of wait whereas farmers protested against the farm laws for a year. In a "major security lapse", Modi's convoy was left stranded on a flyover in Ferozepur on Wednesday after some protesting farmers blocked the road forcing the PM to return from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event or rally. I want to ask Pradhan Mantri Sahab, our farmer brothers camped at the Delhi borders for over one year ... Tell me, they stayed there for one and half-year. Your media did not say anything. And yesterday you had to wait for 15 minutes, Sidhu said addressing a rally at Barnala. Why these double standards, he asked. He alleged instead of doubling farmers' income as promised, Modi took whatever little the farmers had. He said only 500 people turned up at the BJP rally which was to be addressed by Modi at Ferozepur. Sidhu also called former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh shameless for addressing empty chairs at the rally. Later, Sidhu in a tweet alleged that the whole event was to divert attention from the low turnout at the rally. PM couldn't have addressed empty chairs like shameless Ex CM Captain (Amarinder Singh). Only way out was to divert media attention to the alleged security threat & save humiliation of addressing 500 people on 70000 chairs. "This is a colossal failure of BJP in Punjab. They were like a burst balloon!! he wrote. Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma dismissed as baseless claims that not many turned up for the BJP's Ferozepur rally and alleged that the state police was instructed not to allow party workers from reaching the rally site. He alleged the government was deliberately preventing the Prime Minister to inaugurate developmental projects worth thousands of crores, as it feared the BJP will gain public support. "Congress leaders say that chairs were empty at the Ferozepur rally, but despite obstacles our workers faced, thousands reached the rally venue. You should question the government why were our buses were stopped at several places?" asked Sharma. Activists of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) on Wednesday had blocked the road near village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road as part of their protest. The PM's convoy got stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes when it reached near village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road. Faced with the blockade, the PM's convoy drove back to Bathinda airport. Modi after landing in Bathinda on Wednesday had to take the road route to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur because of the inclement weather. Live TV Chandigarh: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday expressed serious concern over the breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modis security during his Punjab visit on Wednesday. President Ramnath Kovind expressed concern on the security breach in PMs Punjab visit. PM to meet the President shortly: Govt Sources pic.twitter.com/5DpkQm0PQs ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 The PM also met the President at the latter's official residence and briefed him about the alleged security lapse during his Punjab visit. President Ram Nath Kovind met PM Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse: Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/pC6IVYkYXB ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 Earlier this morning, the Punjab government set up a high-level committee to probe lapses during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state, an official spokesperson said. The committee would comprise Justice (Retd.) Mehtab Singh Gill, Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) & Justice Anurag Verma & would submit its report within 3 days, the Punjab government said. However, the BJP outrightly rejected the high-level committee constituted by the Punjab government to investigate the breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modis security during his visit to the state yesterday. We reject the committee set up by the Punjab government to investigate the matter. This committee formed by the Chief Minister will never be able to find out anything because he himself is the ringleader of this conspiracy, Punjab BJP President Ashwani Sharma said. In a "major security lapse", the Prime Minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. The Union Home Ministry directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment, while Home Minister Amit Shah said that such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed. "Also, in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport," it added. It said only Punjab police knew the precise route of the PM and "never has such police behaviour been witnessed." The incident triggered a major political row as the BJP alleged the ruling Congress in Punjab "tried to physically harm" the prime minister, while other parties too attacked the state government over the law-and-order issue. On the defensive, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi at a press conference denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government was ready for an inquiry. Amid the ongoing blame game over the serious breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by its Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma is also slated to meet state's Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday. As per the information, the BJP leadership will seek legal action against the state government in this regard and the saffron party has termed a breach in the security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ''complete collapse of law and order'' in Punjab. Live TV Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam also announced that restaurant dining will be forbidden after 6 p.m. for two weeks starting Friday. Game arcades, bars and beauty salons must also close during that period. "We have to contain the pandemic to ensure that there will not be a major outbreak in the community again," Lam said at a news conference, adding that the city is "on the verge" of another surge. The two-week ban on passenger flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain and the United States will take effect Sunday and continue until Jan. 21. Hong Kong authorities announced a two-week ban on flights from the United States and seven other countries and held 2,500 passengers on a cruise ship for coronavirus testing Wednesday as the city attempted to stem an emerging Omicron outbreak. The measures came as new Omicron clusters have emerged over the past week, many linked to several Cathay Pacific crew members who broke isolation rules and dined at restaurants and bars in the city before testing positive. Hong Kong has reported 114 Omicron variant cases as of Tuesday, with most being imported. On Tuesday, it reported its first untraceable case in nearly three months, which authorities said was likely caused by the Omicron variant. Hong Kong officials have moved swiftly to block the spread of the variant, locking down residential buildings where people have tested positive and mass-testing thousands of people. That includes about 2,500 passengers who were being held Wednesday on a cruise ship in Hong Kong for coronavirus tests, after health authorities said nine passengers were linked to an Omicron cluster and ordered the ship to turn back. Authorities forced the Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas ship, which departed Sunday on a "cruise to nowhere," to return a day early on Wednesday, according to a government statement. The ship returned to Hong Kong on Wednesday morning and passengers were being held onboard while they awaited testing. Royal Caribbean said in a statement that the nine guests were immediately isolated and all tested negative, and that the company was working closely with authorities to comply with epidemic prevention policies and regulations. It said guests who were on the affected ship would receive a 25-percent refund on their cruise fare. The ship's next sailing on Thursday was also canceled because the crew must undergo testing, and those guests will receive a full refund. The city has reported a total of 12,690 confirmed coronavirus infections as of Tuesday, including 213 deaths. NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing blame game over the serious breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by its Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma will meet state's Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday. The BJP delegation will meet the Governor at the Raj Bhawan at 11 am, as per reports. As per the information, the BJP leadership will seek legal action against the state government in this regard and the saffron party has termed the breach in the security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ''complete collapse of law and order in Punjab.'' PM Modi's security breach: What all we know so far In a "major security lapse", Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. The Union Home Ministry directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment, while Home Minister Amit Shah said that such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed. The incident triggered a major political row as the BJP alleged the ruling Congress in Punjab "tried to physically harm" the prime minister, while other parties too attacked the state government over the law and order issue. On the defensive, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi at a press conference denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government was ready for an inquiry. In Delhi, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back at the BJP, claiming Prime Minister Modi skipped the rally in Ferozepur as there were no crowds and asked the saffron party to introspect. Channi too claimed that the turnout was low at the Ferozepur rally. PM Modi who landed in Bathinda had to take the road route to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala in Ferozepurb because of inclement weather. When the convoy reached village Piareana on Ferozepur-Moga road, around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, some protestors blocked the road following which the PM's cavalcade was halted for almost 15-20 minutes on a flyover. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Ferozepur) Inderbir Singh said around 100 farmers suddenly arrived on the spot and blocked the road. A decision was taken to take the Prime Minister's convoy back to Bathinda airport after protestors started gathering on the other side of the flyover which could pose a huge security risk, he said. Protesting farmers had blocked roads at several other places including Tarn Taran, Faridkot and Amritsar. MHA seeks detailed report In the statement, the home ministry said that in view of the contingency plan the Punjab government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. "After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport," the statement said The ministry also asked the Punjab government to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action, the statement said. Chief Minister Channi claimed that there was a sudden change in PM Modi's programme and he was scheduled to take a chopper to his destination. "We respect our Prime Minister," Chani said and added, "there was no security lapse of any kind and there was no situation of any attack...There was a sudden change in PM's travel plan from Bathinda to Ferozepur. BJP should not politicise the issue". What are the rules for the safety of VVIPs? According to the laid down rules, an alternative arrangement during a VVIP's visit has to be ensured, officials in the know of the rules said, adding "if a VVIP is scheduled to travel by air within a state, an alternate route through land has also to be ensured in case of exigencies". PM Modi was visiting Punjab after a gap of two years. His government has last month repealed the three central farm laws, which had led to a year-long farmers' stir in the state and at Delhi' borders. Some farmer bodies including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee had announced that that they will oppose Modi's visit. BJP president J P Nadda alleged Channi refused to get on the phone to address the matter. "The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain anyone who believes in democratic principles," Nadda said in a tweet. Blame game over PM Modi's security breach Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who has joined hands with the BJP, too hit out at the Congress government and batted for the imposition of President's rule, while Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged there is a complete collapse of law and order in Punjab. "If we have to keep our state safe and keep law and order here, then I think President's rule should be imposed," Singh, who formed his Punjab Lok Congress after parting ways with the Congress, told media after addressing a rally in Ferozepur, where Modi too was scheduled to speak. "We are 10 km away from the border in Pakistan, where the function was kept (in Ferozepur). If you cannot ensure PM's security, what can you do? We need a strong government," he said. The prime minister was scheduled to visit the national martyrs' memorial and address the rally in Ferozepur. He was also scheduled to lay the foundation stones of development projects worth over Rs 42,750 crore, including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway and a PGIMER satellite centre. The projects also included four-laning of the Amritsar-Una section, Mukerian-Talwara broad gauge railway line and two new medical colleges at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. "Today's Congress-made happening in Punjab is a trailer of how this party thinks and functions. Repeated rejections by the people have taken them to the path of insanity. The topmost echelons of the Congress owe an apology to the people of India for what they have done," Amit Shah tweeted. Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma, who addressed the rally in Ferozepur and later interacted with reporters, said democracy has been "shamed" and alleged that state police had been directed to prevent people from joining the BJP rally. "'The prime minister wanted to meet you all, but because of some reasons, he is not going to be with us today. The PM has said that these programmes (inauguration) have been postponed and not cancelled," Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said at the event. The incident not only drew a sharp reaction from the BJP but brought to the fore in fighting in the Punjab unit of Congress when one of its senior leaders from Punjab Sunil Jakhar said the incident was against the ethos of 'Punjabiyat'. He said a secure passage to the Prime Minister should have been provided for addressing a rally in Ferozepur. Jakhar also said, ''What has happened today is just not acceptable.'' Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who had snapped ties with the BJP over the farm laws, said there is a complete collapse of law and order in Punjab. "We have been saying this for long. The CM is incompetent to run the state," Badal tweeted. Any lapse in the security of the prime minister is unacceptable, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Wednesday after Narendra Modi's Punjab visit was cut short as he was stranded on a flyover for 20 minutes due to a blockade by protesters. AAP spokesperson and co-in charge of the party's political affairs in Punjab Raghav Chadha also said every state government should rise above all political differences and provide "the highest level of security" to the prime minister. Live TV NEW DELHI: In a "major security lapse", Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday. The incident forced the PM to cancel his rally and other events planned in poll-bound Punjab. The Union Home Ministry directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment, while Home Minister Amit Shah said that such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed. The incident triggered a major political row as the BJP alleged the ruling Congress in Punjab "tried to physically harm" the prime minister, while other parties too attacked the state government over the law-and-order issue. On the defensive, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi at a press conference denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government was ready for an inquiry. After this incident, the focus has once again shifted to the security of PM and other VVIPs, which agencies are responsible for it and how the security details are planned. Who protects the PM? The Special Protection Group (SPG) is mainly responsible for the safety and security of the Prime Minister. Following an amendment to the SPG Act, the PM is the only VVIP who is protected by the agency. The SPG elite commando force forms the innermost security cordon around the PM wherever he goes. The PMs security also includes personnel from other central and state security agencies like state police, central intelligence agencies and local LIUs. While the SPG has the sole responsibility for PMs security, the perimeter routes and the areas which the PM visits is secured by the state police under the supervision of the SPG. How PMs security is planned? Prime Ministers itinerary and the minutest security details are very meticulously discussed, finalized and documented by the central agencies in close coordination with the SPG. The entire exercise involves central and state agencies. An Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) is also carried out by the SPG which requires maintaining every minute of the Prime Ministers itinerary. This exercise involves officials of the Intelligence Bureau in the concerned state, police officials and the district magistrate. Whenever the PM visits a state, the local police maintains this minute-to-minute programme under the supervision of the SPG. As part of the ASL, the entire route of the PMs entourage and the venue is completely sanitized by the state police force and clearance is issued by the head of the state police force, which is again assessed and examined by the central agencies and the SPG. Other measures entail anti-sabotage checks, frisking of people who would be allowed to sit in close proximity to come to the PM by the Special Protection Group. SPGs Blue Book Broad guidelines have been laid down in what is referred to as the SPGs Blue Book. Three days before any planned visit, the SPG officials carry out a mandatory ASL with everyone involved in securing the event. Once the PMs itinerary is discussed and an ASL report is prepared, all security arrangements are made. According to the laid down rules, an alternative arrangement during a VVIP's visit has to be ensured. Officials in the know of the rules say that "if a VVIP is scheduled to travel by air within a state, an alternate route through land has also to be ensured in case of exigencies". If the PM is taking the land route, then it is the responsibility of the state police to keep the route safe for the PMs travel. Several contingency plans are also prepared in case of an emergency situation forcing a last-minute change in the PMs itinerary. But in normal circumstances, route, security deployment is pre-decided by the state police force and shared with the SPG. During public meetings, rallies and road shows, apart from policemen, an SP is deputed to post men in plainclothes for security. In case of an air travel, at least one alternative road route (if not more) is kept ready. At least 24 hours before PMs arrival, a full rehearsal is also carried out from the airport/airstrip to the venue to avoid any untoward incident and to ensure a safe visit of PM. MHA seeks detailed report In the statement, the home ministry said that in view of the contingency plan the Punjab government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. "After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport," the statement said The ministry also asked the Punjab government to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action, the statement said. Some farmer bodies including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee had announced that that they will oppose Modi's visit. BJP president J P Nadda alleged Channi refused to get on the phone to address the matter. "The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain anyone who believes in democratic principles," Nadda said in a tweet. Live TV New Delhi: A day after the alleged serious security breach surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poll-bound Punjabs Ferozepur, BJP leaders across the country have performed pujas and offered prayers for the long life of Modi. Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader Shivraj Chouhan reached the states famous Gufa temple in Bhopal and performed special prayers for the Prime Ministers well-being after the incident. Here are the images from the ceremony! Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan performs special prayers for the long life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Gufa temple in Bhopal pic.twitter.com/FHphfxhE4Y ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda performed 'Mahamrityunjay Jaap' for the long life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Jhandewalan temple in Delhi. According to Hindu mythology, 'Mahamrityunjay Jaap', a special prayer dedicated to Lord Shiva is performed to ward of negative energies, calamities and prevents untimely death providing the devotee with a long life. Here are the images! BJP National Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda performed 'Mahamrityunjay Jaap' for the long life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Jhandewalan temple in Delhi pic.twitter.com/r6J0q1X0gv ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2022 On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modis convoy, which was heading towards a poll rally in the Punjab convoy, was stranded on a flyover due to blockade by the protesting farmers leading to an alleged serious security breach. Ever since then, BJP leaders, as well as opposition parties including AAP and Shiromani Akali Dal have been condemning the Congress government in Punjab for jeopardizing the PMs security. While the Congress party, including CM Charanjit Channi, expressed regret over the incident and formed a committee to probe the matter, a BJP delegation met the governor on Thursday and demanded suspension of Punjabs Home Minister and DGP. The party also rejected the committee saying those who are involved in the conspiracy cannot deliver justice. Live TV The Enlightened power couple, Sri Preethaji and Sri Krishnaji are spiritual leaders, philosophers, and mystics with a philanthropic mission to shift people's perspectives from suffering to peace, from separation to connection, and from division to oneness. They collaborated on the book The Four Sacred Secrets, which has become a best-seller in many countries and is designed to be an inner journey for any seeker. Interaction with Sri Krishnaji awakens one to reality. People from all over the world come to him to be mentored and to become enlightened leaders and entrepreneurs. He is a gallant spiritual teacher who guides his students beyond delusions and conformity. Sri Krishnajis teachings are not only an enlightening discussion process but also a direct transmission of power via Deeksha that propels you into previously unknown regions of your consciousness. Sri Preethaji became aware of her mission on Earth when she was nine years old. Since then, her life's work has been to awaken humanity to connection, compassion for one another, and the creation of world oneness. Sri Preethaji has spoken at major meetings of conscious world leaders such as WME IMG, FIESP, Fudan University, CEISB, Flagship Summit in Los Angeles, Sun Valley Wellness Festival in Idaho, TEDx Kansas City, and TEDx Shanghai over the past two decades. She has also been interviewed on major web platforms such as Goop, Marie Forleo, and Commune, and has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Authority, and The Huffington Post. Sri Krishnaji had spontaneous self-realization and God Realization experience when he was eleven years old. That encounter resulted in phenomena. It was eventually dubbed the Deeksha phenomenon. "Unhappiness was something I never let to touch me, and I didn't want any of the people around me to be miserable," he says. Sri Krishnaji began work on the massive architectural masterpiece of Ekam, the World Centre for Enlightenment when he was nineteen years old. Today, seekers from over 100 nations visit Ekam in search of change, God-realization, and enlightenment. Ekam is located in the foothills of India's eastern coast, 80 kilometers north of the city of Chennai. In September 2021, the Ekam World Peace Festival, their flagship event, impacted nearly 30 million individuals around the world. Kailash Satyarthi, Gregg Braden, John Peterson, Erik Solheim, Joe Dispenza, GolrizGhahraman, and Satya S Tripathi are among the festival's guests. Sri Preethaji recently led - Bodhi, a three-day event in Hyderabad that saw 800 people transform into Buddhas while driving an eco-friendly Benz with their loved ones. The term "Buddha" refers to a state of awareness that is unaffected by life's ups and downs. To produce abundance that benefits both oneself and the Earth from such equanimity. They founded the Lokaa Foundation with their daughter Lokaa, a philanthropic organization that is making an impact in 1000 communities around Ekam. Its 'Bless India' campaign provided 45000 Covid safety kits to Covid-positive patients in Southern India. Their non-profit effort, Oneness Change Makers, provides a massive life education program that focuses on transforming young people into transformed leaders who impact young people in schools, colleges, and neighborhoods. Over 500,000 students from various schools and universities in India and around the world have participated in this life-changing education. Sri Preethaji was influential in healing 50 years of conflict and civil turmoil in San Rafael, Colombia, through the Peace in Your Eyes event. Sri Preethaji guided 75 influential leaders of Colombian society to find peace. With the presence of Sri Preethaji and Sri Krishnaji and their vision of enlightenment, the world is a better place. (Brand Desk Content) The strength of Special Security Group (SSG) protecting the four former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir will be reduced. The sources in the administration said that Special Security Group (SSG) Cover of four former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Ghulam Nabi Azad is likely to be taken back as the union territorys administration has decided. Officials said the decision was taken by the Security Review Committee, which reviews the threat perception of important leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. Among four former chief ministers, three of them reside in Kashmir and only Azad dwells in Dehli. Among them, only Farooq and Azad will have special security as they are covered by Z+ security. Mehbooba and Omar will get security district police and JK security wing after assessment of threat perception. Live TV New Delhi: The Centre Thursday formed a three-member committee to enquire into "serious lapses" in security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab which led to the exposure of the VVIP to "grave risk". The Home Ministry panel was formed a day after Modi had to cut short his visit in Punjab after he was stuck on a flyover for 20 minutes due to a blockade by some protesters, an incident described by the Ministry of Home Affairs as a "major lapse" in security. The MHA has also sought an immediate report from the state government besides asking it to fix responsibility and take strict action against those responsible. "Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has constituted a committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur, Punjab on 05.01.2022,which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk," a spokesperson tweeted. The three-member committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, and would comprise Balbir Singh, Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau, and S Suresh, IG, Special Protection Group. The committee is advised to submit the report at the earliest. After he was stranded on the flyover due to a blockade by protesters, the prime minister had to return from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. The Union Home Ministry directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment, while Home Minister Amit Shah asserted such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister's visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed. The incident triggered a major political row as the BJP alleged the ruling Congress in Punjab "tried to physically harm" the prime minister, while other parties too attacked the state government over the law and order issue. On the defensive, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government was ready for an inquiry. The Punjab government also set up a committee on Wednesday to enquire into the incident. Live TV Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested two terrorists of TRF and two terror associates of the same outfit. The terrorists were arrested in Srinagar's Barzulla area after a barricade was laid by the Police along with the CRPF. ''The arrested terrorists have been identified as Suhail Qadir Khanday S/O Ghulam Qadir Khanday R/O Tral pulwama (Active Terrorist) and Suhail Mushtaq Waza S/O Mushtaq Ahmed Waza R/O Nikloora Pulwama (Active Terrorist), said Jammu and Kashmir Police. They also recovered two Pistols along with two Pistol Magazines and 30 Pistol bullets from the spot. After the arrest of the two terrorists, JK Police had further input about two more terror associates. Both the terror associates were later arrested in Srinagar city. ''They further identified two associates namely Basit Bilal Makaya S/O Bilal Ahmed Makaya R/O Qamar Abad Qamarwari and Naikoo Imad Nasar S/O Farooq Ahmed Bhat R/O Kiloora Shopian who were operating with them as OGWs. Both associates have been arrested. In this connection Case under FIR No 08/2021 of Saddar PS under sections 7/25 of the arms act and sections 18.23 of UAP Act has been registered in PS Saddar, said Jammu Kashmir Police. The Police said that during the questioning, the arrested terrorists disclosed that they were operating in Srinagar City on the direction of one person namely Asif Maqbool Dar of Dhamam Saudi Arabia and Sajjad Gul of Pakistan. Both the handlers from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were providing weapons and money through a network of OGWs being identified. Live TV New Delhi: Union Public Service Commission has issued an important notice regarding the conduct of UPSC Civil Services Main Exam 2021. The commission in the notice stated that the UPSC Civil Services Main Exam 2021 will take place as per schedule amid rising COVID19 cases across the country. The candidate must note that the main exam will be conducted on January 7, 8, 9. 15, and 16, 2022 at various exam centres across the country. In the notice issued, the Commission requested the State Governments, Keeping in view the restrictions/curbs being imposed by theGovernments to contain the disease, the Commission has requested the State Governments for ensuring that no inconvenience is caused to the candidates/ examination functionaries in their movement, especially who are coming from containment / micro-containment zone(s) and if necessary, the candidates eAdmit Cards and ID Cards of the examination functionaries are to be used as movement passes. The commission also requested the concerned authorities to allow public transport to operate at optimum level, at least on a day before the exam till the date of conduct of exam i.e., from January 6 to January 9 and January 14 to January 16, 2022, for ensuring smooth movement of the candidates/examination functionaries. Additionally, the commission is committed to duly follow the guidelines shared by the state and central government in the exam. These guidelines includes personal hygiene of the candidates/examination functionaries, maintenance of social distancing and wearing of masks by the candidates/ examinations functionaries all the time, provision of sanitizers at convenient places in the Venue and to the examination functionaries among others. Check the time table for UPSC Civil Services Main Exam 2021 here: January 7, 2022- Forenoon Session- Paper-I Essay January 8, 2022- Forenoon Session- Paper-II General Studies I Afternoon Session- Paper-III General Studies II January 9, 2022- Forenoon Session- Paper-IV General Studies III Afternoon Session- Paper-V General Studies IV January 15, 2022- Forenoon Session- Paper-A Language Paper Afternoon Session- Paper-B English January 16, 2022- Forenoon Session- Paper-VI Optional Paper I Afternoon Session- Paper-VII Optional Paper 2 To read further updates on UPSC Civil Services Main Exam 2021, the candidates are advised to visit the official website of the Union Public Service Commission at https://www.upsc.gov.in/. Live TV New Delhi: The Gujarat government on Thursday decided to postpone the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, which was scheduled to be held from January 10-12, in view of the arising COVID-19 situation in the country. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, after analysing the situation, has decided to postpone the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit as of now, to stop the spread of the COVID-19 and its new variant Omicron among people of the state, an official communication from the CM's said. The three-day global summit, which was to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seen as a significant way to attract investments as dignitaries and top CEOs from in and abroad were to attend the mega event. Foreign ministers from 15 countries, governors of four nations were set to participate in the inaugural ceremony. Other overseas guests included Tony Fountain, executive chairman of Nayara Energy; Toshihiro Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation; and Tadashi Maeda, governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation will also be in attendance. Moreover, leading industrialists, including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mital, N Chandrasekharan, Ashok Hinduja and Harsh Goenka, were supposed to attend the trade summit. Meanwhile, on the COVID front, Gujarat on Wednesday crossed the 3,000-mark for the first time after May 26 last year with the addition of 3,350 infections, raising the state's tally to 8,40,643. Gujarat reported 50 new cases of the Omicron variant on Wednesday, taking the tally of the new variant in the state to 204, as per the state health department. Live TV Update: 06-01-2022 | 13:50:32 Foreigners who commit administrative violations within Vietnams territory, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf will be expelled from the country under a decree recently issued by the Government. Expellees have to fulfill all civil, administrative and financial obligations and complete all necessary procedures for leaving Vietnam Under Decree No. 142/2021/ND-CP on expulsion, temporary custody, and escorted transfer of violators according to administrative procedures, and management of foreign violators pending the completion of expulsion procedures, law-breaking foreigners on Vietnam-flagged planes and vessels will be expelled from Vietnam in line with Article 27 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. The expellees would be notified of the reasons for expulsion and receive expulsion decisions at least 48 hours before such decision are executed. They can ask for interpreters while working with competent Vietnamese agencies and officials and are subject to Decree No. 65/2020/ND-CP dated June 10, 2020, stipulating the organisation and rights of people at lodging facilities pending the completion of exit procedures. They are allowed to bring along their lawful assets when leaving Vietnam and lodge complaints and denunciations in accordance with law. The decree says the expellees have to fully comply with expulsion decisions and Vietnams law, present their personal identification papers at the request of immigration offices, and submit to the management by public security offices pending the completion of expulsion procedures. They have to fulfill all civil, administrative and financial obligations and complete all necessary procedures for leaving Vietnam. In case there is a ground to believe that an expellee may abscond or hinder the execution of the expulsion decision, a public security office would decide to apply management measures. Specifically, the expellee would be restricted from travelling, have his passport or passport substitute retained or be required to stay at an accommodation facility managed by the public security force. The decree came into force from January 1, 2022./. VNA Srinagar: In view of the rising COVID-19 cases, Jammu and Kashmir government has imposed complete restrictions on non-essential movement in the entire union territory from 9 pm to 6 am. "In continuation to the Covid-19 containment measures ordered under Section 24 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, vide Government Order No. 01-JK ( DMRRR) of 2022 dated 02-01 2022 and in reference to the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary, J&K (Chairman State Executive Committee) along with the ACS (Health and Medical Education) and other senior Health functionaries on 05.01.2022 regarding the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the entire J&K it is hereby ordered that there shall be a complete restriction on non-essential movement in the entire UT of J&K from 9 pm to 6 am till further Orders," the government order reads. The J&K administration has also earlier cancelled leave of all doctors, paramedics and associated health department staff. Director, Health Services, Jammu, issued an order cancelling leave of all doctors, paramedics and associated Health Department staff to fight the spread of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir reported 418 new cases of COVID-19 during the last 24 hours, said the Union Territory`s health department on Wednesday. Of these 418 new cases, 311 were reported from the Jammu division while 107 were reported from the Kashmir division. There are currently 1,819 active COVID-19 cases in the state, 894 in the Jammu division and 925 in the Kashmir division. Live TV New Delhi: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has remained an investor in Escorts Limited, one of the leading auto engineering companies in India, in Q3 FY22, according to the latest company filings with the BSE. The big bull of Indias stock market has also increased his stake sequentially in the tractor maker during the quarter that ended on December 2021. But the total number of shares owned by him reportedly remains the same. According to the latest shareholding pattern of Escorts Limited, the ace Indian stock market investor owns a 5.22% stake in the company till the end of December 2021. In comparison, he owned a 4.75% stake in the company, according to the company filings for the quarter that ended on September 30. However, the total number of shares of Escorts Limited held by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala remains the same in both the shareholding patterns at 64,00,000, according to a Mint report. For the unversed, Escorts Limited is a manufacturer of farming and construction equipment. The companys stock has been performing apparently well for quite some time, soaring more than 45% in the one year. Several stock market investors in India closely follow Rakesh Jhunjhunwalas bets on shares in hope of making a fortune in no time. From time and again, the ace investor has made several key bets that made him a billionaire. Also Read: CES 2022: From Sony PlayStation VR2 headset to Googles new tools, check 5 futuristic unveils He makes investments in the stock market in his own name and his wifes name Rekha Jhunjhunwala. He also runs a private equity investment and asset management firm, Rare Enterprises. Also Read: FMCG distributors association call off protest against Colgate Live TV #mute An Air Mauritius Airbus A330-900's garbage compartment was discovered with a newborn baby last week. Airport officers found the infant during a routine customs examination of the plane. The boy's mother is in police custody and reports indicated that the boy and his mother are both doing well. It was January 1st when the incident occurred, with the flight arriving in Mauritius from Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital and largest city. The incident occurred aboard Air Mauritius flight MK289, which was an Airbus A330-900. As reported by the BBC, customs agents discovered the newborn during a routine check of the plane. As a result of the discovery, it appears that authorities at the Mauritius Airport (Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport) searched for the mother of the infant before rushing it to a hospital. The mother was suspected to be a 20-year-old woman from Madagascar. She was arrested on this suspicion and initially denied being the mother. An examination by a medical professional revealed that she had given birth quite recently. It appears that this woman was travelling from Madagascar to Mauritius on a two-year work permit. She was placed under surveillance at the hospital and according to BBC reports, she will be facing charges of abandonment. Also read: Delhi Airport's first-ever British-era runway built during WW II refurbished Whenever a known birth occurs onboard a flight, as we have seen in recent situations, the flight is diverted to the closest suitable airport. At the end of August 2021, an Afghan woman gave birth on a Turkish Airlines flight departing from Dubai. The Boeing 777 had to be diverted to Kuwait to provide medical treatment for the woman and her child. In Air Mauritius situation, it did not matter if the mother had notified flight attendants of her condition as the closest suitable facility was the destination airport. Live TV #mute Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) has announced a network-wide (domestic + international), anniversary-special sale for all three of its cabins, inviting travellers to book their 2022 travels in advance. The offers are part of Vistara's seventh anniversary celebrations. Bookings under the sale are open for 48 hours only, starting 6 January 2022 and ending 7 January 2022, for travel between 21 January 2022 and 30 September 2022 (blackout dates apply). An advance purchase of at least 15 days is required to avail domestic sale fares for Economy and Premium Economy cabins, and of at least three days for Business Class. However, on international fares the advance purchase requirement doesnt apply. Vistara is offering an all-inclusive one-way fare starting Rs 977 for Economy, Rs 2677 for Premium Economy and Rs 9777 for Business Class. The lowest air fare is applicable on Jammu to Srinagar route at Rs 977 for Economy class and Rs 9,777 on business class. The lowest premium economy airfare is applicable on Delhi-Chandigarh or return at Rs 2,677. Also read: BMC makes Rapid RT-PCR mandatory at Mumbai Airport On the international routes, flyers can opt for Vistara flights to Dubai as low as Rs 10,699 all-inclusive one-way fare. Delhi to Sharjah one way fare for Economy is Rs 10,599. Other prominent routes like Delhi to London is priced as low as Rs 27,699 for economy class, Rs 43,499 for premium Economy and Rs 90,299 for Business class. Live TV #mute NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Women has asked the Uttar Pradesh Police to probe the veracity of a purported video that shows hair stylist Jawed Habib spitting on a woman's head while styling her hair. The incident occurred at a workshop being conducted by Habib in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. "@NCWIndia has taken cognizance of the incident. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @dgpup to immediately investigate the veracity of this viral video and take appropriate action. The action taken must be apprised to the Commission at the earliest," the women's commission said in a tweet on Thursday. After the video went viral on social media, the woman in the video has come forward to share her bad experience. This is Javed Habeeb... Spitting instead of using water... absolutely horrible __ pic.twitter.com/8s7xaE8qfO Kungfu Pande __2.0 (@pb3060) January 5, 2022 In a video, she said, "My name is Pooja Gupta. I run a parlour named Vanshika Beauty Parlour and I am a resident of Baraut (UP). I attended Jawed Habib sir's seminar. He invited me for a haircut on stage and he misbehaved a lot. He was showing if you do not have water, you can use your spit as well. I did not get my haircut done. I would get my haircut from any local shop, but never from Jawed Habib." Meanwhile, netizens were left disgusted by the incident and stood in support of the woman. New Delhi: Former actress turned social activist Somy Ali and Salman Khan's love story has always intrigued their fans. Not many know that Bhaijaan and Ali dated for almost a decade before going their own respective ways and moving on. In an interview with The Free Press Journal, Somy Ali said, We used to watch Hindi films. I saw Maine Pyar Kiya, and I had developed a crush on Salman. I had a dream that night, and I decided to go to India. When I was 16, it was ridiculous for me to think that I could go to Mumbai and marry him. I dreamt of marriage and thought it was a prediction from God. I started looking for a suitcase. I told mom that Im going to Mumbai to get married to Salman Khan! She was in the Amitabh (Bachchan) era, so she asked me, Who is Salman? I informed her. He is a big star and I had a dream from God! It is a sign. She immediately locked me in a room. Ultimately I told dad I wish to meet our relatives in Mumbai and see the Taj Mahal. I played the religious card to convince him. I went to Pakistan and then flew to Mumbai. I kept Salmans photo in my wallet. By the time I reached here, his Baaghi (1990) had released, and Salman was already a megastar. Revealing more, Somy Ali added, "We were heading to Nepal. I was sitting next to him. I just removed his photo showing it to him. I told him, I have come all the way to marry you! He said, I have a girlfriend. I said that doesnt matter. I was a teenager. Our relationship started after a year when I turned 17. He did tell me first, I love you. It didnt take a lot of convincing." I learned a lot from his parents and household. I also learned from Salman. Ultimately, in any relationship, if you are not happy, its better to part ways. That was the case of the relationship between Salman and me. I decided to go back to America. What I learned from his parents is so phenomenal. They had an open house. Every day people would come and go. They would be loving and feeding them. The door was never locked. Another pivotal lesson I learned is that we are all the same. They did not differentiate in religion at all. They never saw any difference in religion. It is very important to learn from them, she added. New Delhi: Bollywood power couple Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's daughter Suhana Khan broke the internet on Thursday (January 6) with her sunkissed photos in a cheetah print strappy dress. The star kid, who returned to Mumbai from New York last year, looked stunning as she posed on her white leather sofa under the warm sunlight. Suhana went for a minimal makeup look with pink lips and faded eye-shadow. Her dress was style goals and a dream piece for every fashionista's wardrobe. Check out her latest pics here: Her best friends Shanaya Kapoor and Ananya Panday also dropped praises for the pics in the comment section. SRK and Gauri Khan's darling daughter headed to New York University in 2019 where she is studying acting. She completed her graduation from Ardingly College in England. Speculation of her making her starry entry into the movie business has always been around and now that she is studying acting as a course, looks like very soon the pretty girl will be making her big-screen debut. Suhana Khan's brother Aryan Khan was embroiled in a huge, public controversy after he was arrested on October 3, 2021, in a drugs case by the NCB. After spending three weeks in jail, the star kid was granted bail by the Bombay HC on October 28, 2021. New Delhi: In what could be another good news under the 7th Pay Commission, central government employees could reportedly receive additional money with their salary for the month of January 2022. The government could make the official announcement in this regard on Repulic Day (January 26, 2022), according to a report by Zee Business. The report claimed that Central government employees could receive an additional Rs 4,500 with their salary for the month of January 2022. For receiving the benefit, employees are required to submit Children Education Allowance Form on time. For the unversed, the Central government provides its employees with Children Education Allowance (CEA), offering financial support to fund the education of the students. More than 25 lakh central government employees receive benefits of Children Education Allowance. An employee can avail of a maximum of Rs 4500 - Rs 2,250 for one child. So, if an employee has two children, the individual can get Rs 4500 from the Central government in his bank account under Children Education Allowance. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees are not able to claim the allowance due to the complex documentation process. So, to make the process easier, the government has now made it simpler for the employees. According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), several of the government employees were facing issues in claiming the children allowance. The major issue was that employees were not able to get the result/report cards of their children, despite paying the full fees. Also Read: ITR filing FY 2020-21: Who is exempted from paying late fee for filing tax return after missing December 31 deadline? DoPT has now clarified that employees can claim CEA via self-declaration or print out of result/report card/sms/e-mail of fee payment. But the facility will be available only for the academic year ending in March 2020 and March 2021. Also Read: World food prices hit 10-year high in 2021: Food and Agriculture Organisation Live TV #mute New Delhi: The central government offers financial support to farmers through Farmer Produce Organizations (FPOs), which is on the lines of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna. Under this PM FPO scheme, farmers are being given assistance of up to Rs 15 lakh from the central government so that they can start a business related to the agriculture sector. Small and marginal farmers do not have economic strength to apply production technology, services and marketing including value addition. Through formation of FPOs, farmers will have better collective strength for better access to quality input, technology, credit and better marketing access through economies of scale for better realization of income. How to get assistance of Rs 15 lakh under PM KISAN FPO Under the PM Kisan Farmers Producer Organization Scheme, farmers across the country are given financial help to start a new agro-based business from the government, for which 11 farmers have to collectively form an organization or company to make an FPO which will get assistance of Rs 15 lakh. Here is how to apply for the financial assistance under PM KISAN FPO Visit the website of National Agriculture Market https://www.enam.gov.in/web/ Click FPO option Now fill the registration form, provide all the details being sought. Upload the scanned passbook or cancelled cheque and ID proof. Now click on the submit option To take advantage of PM Kisan Farmers Producer Organization Scheme, first you have to create your login on https://www.enam.gov.in/web/ portal. Only after that you can apply for this scheme. Under this Central Sector Scheme with funding from Government of India, formation & Promotion of FPOs are to be done through theImplementing Agencies (IAs). Presently 09 Implementing Agencies (IAs) have been finalized for formation and promotion of FPOs viz. Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC), Tamil Nadu-Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (TN-SFAC), Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium Haryana (SFACH), Watershed Development Department (WDD)- Karnataka & Foundation for Development of Rural Value Chains (FDRVC)- Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). Live TV #mute New Delhi: In its ongoing ongoing drive to spread public awareness on Safe Digital Banking, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked customers to register their mobile number and email with their banks for instant alerts on transactions in their account. Under its Safe Digital Banking social campaign, the RBI has advised customers to register their mobile number and email with their respective banks to get instant alerts. RBI tweeted: .@RBI Kehta Hai.. Register your mobile number & email with your bank for instant alerts on transactions in your account. In case of fraudulent transaction inform your bank immediately. #BeAware #BeSecure#rbikehtahaihttps://t.co/mKPAIp5rA3 https://t.co/ubPPZqwGWb @SrBachchan pic.twitter.com/1kRHeSPaEA RBI Says (@RBIsays) January 6, 2022 RBI further advises, if you get an alert about a transaction that you have not initiated or authorised, you can immediately take it up with your bank. You need to take a few more precautions while banking online. For instance, do not store important banking data in your mobile, email or wallet. Use only verified, secure and trusted websites, that is, websites starting with https: for online banking. Avoid banking through public, open or free networks. Change your online banking password and PIN. Block your ATM card, Credit Card, Prepaid Card immediately, if it is lost or stolen. RBI has in the past also advised banks to disseminate the information and create awareness among its customers and general public. The Central bank has also been conducting Financial Literacy Week (FLW) every year since 2016 to propagate financial education messages on a particular theme across the country. Live TV #mute Update: 06-01-2022 | 13:31:07 That enterprises have early announced allowances and bonuses for Tet has made working people assured to continue working to the end of the lunar year before the joyful Tet holiday of Lunar New Year 2022. Well cared for lives, workers of Apparel Far Eastern Vietnam have been assured for long-term work at the company Assured for work In the urgent working atmosphere of the last days of the year before entering the 2022 Lunar New Year holiday, more than 3,000 employees working at Apparel Far Eastern Vietnam Co., Ltd (Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park 1 ( VSIP1) were very enthusiastic to work under excited and happy spirit. It was because that the company has just announced welfare regimes to take care of the Lunar New Year for employees after a year working with the company. The raging COVID-19 epidemic had caused the company to stop working for many months. Due to such difficulties, employees are very anxious to look forward to the Tet bonus this year; now everyone is excited as the Tet bonus regime is still maintained by the company like every other year. Announcement of the Tet bonuses made our employees very happy, excited and feel secure to work," said Ms. Anh. Sharing the joy, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mung, employee of the company, shared: "In 2021, due to the impact of the epidemic, work was interrupted, income reduced, and life was difficult. The Tet bonus is always the amount that helps me have more conditions to cover my life and shop for my family at the end of the year. Our employees are very happy and excited when the company still maintains the same bonus as last year. Ms. Chong Si Binh, Senior Manager of Human Resource Development at Apparel Far Eastern Vietnam Co. Ltd. said that due to the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, production activities of enterprises were halted. Both the target and the revenue did not meet the year plan. Year 2021 is a difficult year for businesses, but the Board of Directors still tried to manage and ensured the maintenance of the Tet bonuses and welfare like every year for employees, the 13th month salary, ticket support to get home for workers to celebrate Tet etc. Various care-taking activities Faced with the severe effects of the Covid-19 epidemic on the lives, jobs and incomes of workers, accompanying businesses and trade unions at all levels, they have also organized practical Tet caring activities for union members and employees under the motto of "All union members and employees to have Tet holiday". Dang Quang Duan, Chairman of the Grassroots Trade Union of Apparel Far Eastern Vietnam Co. Ltd., said that in addition to the company's policies, the grassroots union has also organized Tet caring activities for union members and employees, in which giving Tet gifts worth VND 250,000 a person. According to a survey by VSIP Trade Union, about 60% of union members working in affiliated companies would stay in Binh Duong to celebrate Tet as compared to 20% in previous years. VSIP Trade Union has proposed 3,000 Tet gifts and the number will double compared to 2021. Ms. Dang Thi Kim Chi, Chairwoman of VSIP Trade Union, said that due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the 2022 Lunar New Year will eye workers choose to stay in Binh Duong to celebrate Tet instead of going back to their hometown like other year to save costs and to stabilize their lives. Right from the end of November 2021, VSIP Trade Union has directed grassroots trade unions to proactively propose business owners to soon develop a Tet holiday plan to pay salaries, bonuses, annual leave, working time, and rest time, overtime and other benefits for employees during the Lunar New Year; to soon publicize the time of salary payment, bonuses and Tet holiday schedule so that employees can feel secure in production and actively buy tickets, trains and arrange time to return to their hometown. VSIP Trade Union has also actively monitored and grasped the situation of enterprises, especially those facing difficulties, to propose or timely intervene and support to protect the legitimate interests of union members and workers. To share the worries and hardships of employees during the Tet holiday, VSIP Union will organize Tet caring programs for union members and employees such as the "Tet reunion - Spring peace" in 2022 to propagate spread the spirit of taking care of the Lunar New Year for employees to enterprises and units; to organize visits and give gifts to trade unionists and workers with extremely difficult circumstances, who cannot return to their hometown to celebrate Tet and suffer from labor accidents, occupational diseases, fatal diseases, accidents and risks etc. Reported by Do Trong Translated by Vi Bao Mumbai: Actor Lakshmi Manchu on Thursday said she has tested positive for COVID-19 and is taking necessary precautions. The 44-year-old actor, daughter of veteran actor Mohan Babu, shared a note on Instagram informing her followers of her diagnosis. "After playing hide and seek for two years... And screaming 'Go corona go', COVID-19 has finally caught me. I did give it a good fight but it had other plans. I am taking all the necessary precautions to get out of its clutches. PSA to all- Let's stay at home, stay safe and mask up," the post read. The actor, who was seen in last year's Netflix anthology "Pitta Kathalu", asked her fans to focus on their immunity and get vaccinated. According to Union health ministry data, India on Thursday saw the biggest single-day jump of 495 Omicron cases, taking the total number of infections of the new variant of coronavirus to 2,630. The country reported 90,928 fresh coronavirus infections, the highest in over 200 days, that pushed its caseload to 3,51,09,286, the data stated. MUMBAI: South star Ajith Kumar's much-awaited action drama 'Valimai' has been pushed from its release date of January 13 due to rise in COVID cases across the country, makers announced on Thursday. The Tamil film is the latest movie to postpone its release after Shahid Kapoor starrer 'Jersey', SS Rajamouli's "RRR" and "Radhe Shyam", featuring Prabhas. Producer Boney Kapoor, who has backed 'Valimai', took to Twitter and posted a statement announcing that the film was pushed as the safety of the viewers was of utmost importance. "Audiences and fans have always been the source of our felicity. Their unconditional support and love during the hard times, instilled vital hopes in us to face the hardships, and successfully complete our dream project. All that we desired during every single moment was to see them cheerful and happy in the cinema halls. "At the same time, the safety and well-being of our audiences has always been at the forefront of all our decisions, given the steep rise in COVID infections across the globe, and abiding by the regulations of the authorities, we have decided to postpone the release of our film 'Valimai' until the situation normalises. Get vaccinated, wear a mask and stay safe. See you in theatres very soon," the statement read. The film is written and directed by H Vinoth and produced by Zee Studios and Kapoor under Bayview Projects LLP. It also stars Huma Qureshi and Kartikeya Gummakonda. India on Thursday saw the biggest single-day jump of 495 Omicron cases, taking the total number of infections of the new variant of coronavirus to 2,630, according to Union health ministry data. The country reported 90,928 fresh coronavirus infections, the highest in over 200 days, that pushed its caseload to 3,51,09,286, the data stated. Live TV Chennai: In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, a night curfew will come into force from 10 pm 5 am across Tamil Nadu from Thursday while there will be a complete lockdown on all Sundays. This was announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the sate. No physical classes will be allowed for students of Classes 1 to 9. Creches, kindergarten classes, and playschools will not be allowed to function, the Chief Minister`s Office said in a statement. However, physical classes for students of classes 10th, 11th, and 12th will be allowed. What will be exempted in TN? During the complete lockdown on Sunday, essential services like medical shops, distribution of milk, newspapers, fuel pumps, ATM, freight transport will be allowed. E-commerce services will not be allowed during lockdown while restaurants will be allowed to provide food delivery services and takeaways from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. For reaching the airport, railway and bus stations, people will have to show valid tickets for the journey during night curfew from Thursday and during complete lockdown on Sunday. Meanwhile, India on Wednesday reported its first death linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant in Rajasthan as new COVID-19 cases crossed 70,000 in what the Centre said was an "exponential rise" with the acceleration "steeper than ever" reflected by a higher R naught value than during the peak of the brutal second wave. As Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh joined a growing list of states to clamp night curfew in line with fresh curbs to deal with the expanding pandemic, the Centre said the upsurge in COVID cases -a 6.3 times rise in the last eight days -is happening in cities and the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain. A total of 2,135 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected across 24 states and UTs out of which, 828 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 653 followed by Delhi at 464, Kerala 185, Rajasthan 174, Gujarat 154 and Tamil Nadu 121 Omicron cases. Live TV Singapore: Singapore must brace for a much bigger coronavirus infection wave from Omicron as compared to that from the Delta variant, the health ministry has said. At its peak, the number of Omicron cases could be a few times more than the approximately 3,000 daily cases that the Delta variant was registering in October and November last year, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a press conference on Wednesday (January 5, 2022). While Delta infections were doubling in six to eight days, Omicron infections may double in two to three days, he said, adding that the city-state must brace for a much bigger COVID wave from Omicron compared to that from the Delta variant. However, the silver lining is that studies coming out of countries like South Africa, the US and Canada is that infections from Omicron are less severe than that from the Delta variant, Ong was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia at a COVID-19 multi-ministry task force press conference. Noting a similar situation in Singapore, the minister said of the 2,252 Omicron cases in Singapore so far, three required oxygen supplementation, but were taken off the support within three days and are recovering. None of the cases required intensive care. Meanwhile, Covid multi-ministry task force (MMTF) co-chair Lawrence Wong said the government might have to tighten safety measures if coronavirus transmission is amplified by "unnecessary" risks and the healthcare system is overwhelmed. Putting a number to the possible manifold increase, Ministry of Health director of medical services Associate Professor Kenneth Mak said the Omicron wave could reach 15,000 cases a day in a "worse-case scenario". At the highest during the Delta variant peak last year, the number of cases surpassed 5,000 cases. The health ministry in a statement said over the past week, Singapore detected 1,281 confirmed Omicron cases, comprising 1,048 imported cases and 233 local cases. This makes up around 18 per cent of local cases in the last week. With higher transmissibility of the Omicron variant, we are likely to experience another wave of community infections soon, it said. Wong, who is also the finance minister, stressed on the importance of people adhering to safe management measures amid an expected rise in cases due to the Omicron variant. "If we continue to stay disciplined and comply with all the SMMs (safe management measures) then we have a much higher chance of getting through this upcoming wave without having to tighten further," he said. "But if we were to let our guard down and take unnecessary risk, then transmission will be amplified, the infection wave will be much larger. We will end up with greater pressure on our healthcare system, and we may have no choice but to tighten," Wong said. Singapore has so far recorded 282,401 COVID-19 cases, including 440 Omicron infections reported on Wednesday. Two more people died due to the disease, taking the total death toll to 834, the health ministry said. Live TV Desperation as Chinas locked down cities pay price of zero-Covid strategy Reports emerge of fatal hospital delays and food shortages as more than 14 million people are confined to their homes in the cities of Xian and Yuzhou An aerial view of the deserted city of Xi'an, in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which has been under a strict coronavirus lockdown. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock Strict lockdowns in the Chinese cities of Xian and Yuzhou are taking their toll on the population and healthcare systems, according to residents, with complaints of food shortages and dangerous delays in accessing medical care. Xian, a city of 13 million people, has been under a strict lockdown for nearly two weeks, while Yuzhous 1.2 million residents have been ordered to stay inside since Monday evening, after three asymptomatic cases were discovered. Public transport, the use of private motor vehicles, and operation of all shops and venues not supplying daily necessities have all been suspended. On Chinas strictly monitored and regulated social media platforms, a significant number of residents have posted about their concerns and anxieties, despite generally broad support for authorities swift response to outbreaks. Local media has reported concerning delays in the cities major hospitals, which require negative tests from patients before they can be admitted. A screenshot of one post which went viral before being deleted claimed a man and his sick father were turned away from a Xian hospital because they were from an area designated as higher risk. The post said the mans father was having a heart attack but died by the time he was admitted for treatment. In another account posted to social media, a woman in labour lost her baby after she was prevented from entering a Xian hospital. In a since-deleted post, a relative described calling emergency services on the night of 1 January for their aunt after she started feeling pain, but the phone rang out. [Police block journalists outside a Shanghai court where journalist Zhang Zhan who reported on Wuhan's Covid-19 outbreak was being tried in December last year.] Detained, missing, close to death: the toll of reporting on Covid in China Read more Instead they sent her to hospital at around 8pm but the front door security wouldnt let us in, because the nucleic acid test result had been more than four hours ago, they said. While she was waiting outside, I saw the video her husband sent me, she was holding the chair, struggling to sit on it, and her blood streamed down the chair and her pants. They said hospital staff saw and brought her inside and to the operating room, but the child died. A spokeswoman for the state-linked Shaanxi womens federation, said they had talked to authorities about the incident. They should be learning about the incident now. Because the epidemic in Xian is quite serious now, there definitely should be a solution. A community volunteer uses a megaphone to remind residents to keep their social distance as they line up to collect their daily necessities outside a residential block in Xian. Photograph: AP Reports of food shortages in Xian have also flourished on social media despite promises by authorities to deliver supplies to homes, and claims of neighbours bartering cigarettes and personal belongings for food. I have only received free vegetables once so far, and one package per household, said one resident. The price of food in the city is very high, and there is no one to regulate it. There is no take-away service for daily necessities, and the errand fee is about 100 yuan ($15) before someone takes the order. The strict rules have also prevented people from coming and going. Sixth Tone reported authorities had arrested several people trying to evade the blockades and return to villages without quarantining, including a man who cycled 100km (60 miles) through mountains, and another who swam across an icy river. Authorities have conceded there have been issues, including poorly prepared centralised quarantine facilities where tens of thousands of people have been sent. Local officials are often punished or fired for alleged failures in outbreak prevention, including two senior Communist party officials in Xian who were removed from their posts over their insufficient rigour in preventing and controlling the outbreak. On Monday, Xian officials said the city had spent about $1m on assisting people in need, and had housed about 200 stranded people in temporary shelters. They also promised to set up hotlines and further assistance services. Xian is the centre of the current outbreak, Chinas worst since the early months of the pandemic. More than 1,700 cases have been recorded in the city since early December a relatively low number compared with global figures as China continues to implement the zero-Covid strategy which has kept infections at low levels for much of the past 18 months. With the Olympics around the corner and a central government commitment vowing to stamp out the virus, local officials have enacted increasingly strict responses, resulting in lockdowns reminiscent of Wuhans in early 2020. Other urban hubs where clusters have been detected now also face restrictions including a new partial lockdown in the city of Zhengzhou over the discovery of four cases. On Tuesday, China reported 41 new symptomatic community cases, including 35 in Xian. On Wednesday, officials said the citys outbreak had been largely brought under control after the lockdown. Ma Guanghui, deputy director of Shaanxi health commission, told a press conference the outbreak was showing a downward trend. Additional reporting by Xiaoqian Zhu and agencies A Washington man who in September pleaded guilty to a federal sex crime for masturbating on an airplane next to an 18-year-old woman after rubbing her thigh as she slept learned his fate in a Lincoln courtroom on Thursday. Ian Wagner, 39, was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison and ordered to pay $500 in restitution to the woman who had been seated next to him. United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard issued the sentence on Thursday, less than four months after Wagner pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact of an incapacitated person. As a part of the plea deal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessi Smith moved to drop two other federal sex crime charges. Wagner will be under supervised release for six years after he gets out of prison and will be required to attend, complete and pay for any counseling services recommended by his probation officer in that time. He will report to a federal correctional facility near Seattle on March 9. The sentencing comes more than four years after the 18-year-old awoke to Wagner rubbing his hand on her thigh on a Frontier Airlines flight between Indianapolis and Denver in October 2017. Wagner, at the time, was a resident of New Haven, Indiana. After pulling her leg away, discreetly taking a photo of Wagner and using the airplane's restroom, the woman returned to her seat, under the impression it was the only available one on the plane, according to prosecutors. When the 18-year-old returned, she found Wagner with a jacket over his lap. He later exposed his penis to her and proceeded to masturbate while staring at the woman for more than five minutes, Smith said. The woman, who addressed the court by Zoom on Thursday, said the incident had negatively impacted her life for the last four years. She said she would never feel safe or comfortable around strangers again and hasn't sat in a window or middle seat on a plane since then, now aware of the possibility that she may have to escape. Wagner and the state had agreed to a pre-sentencing recommendation of a 12-month prison sentence, but Gerrard opted for a longer term, noting the habitual nature of what he described as Wagner's "stunts." Smith detailed Wagner's previous exploits at Thursday's hearing, noting he had publicly masturbated at a gas station, a Target store and in a parking lot on separate occasions in Indiana. And in a fourth incident in 2014, Smith said, Wagner masturbated in his vehicle in the parking lot of a dance studio while his 3-year-old child sat in the back seat. Addressing Gerrard, defense attorney Justin Kalemkiarian said his client had shown a "tremendous amount of remorse" in the years since the incident. He said Wagner had opted not to go to trial so the 18-year-old woman wouldn't be forced to relive the events of that flight. Wagner, who appeared in court in person, was apologetic in his statement, asking for the 18-year-old's forgiveness. He was charged in Nebraska because authorities said the jet was over the state at the time of the sexual assault. "In the end, it was my own actions and no one else that put me here," Wagner said. Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 the Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale presents Folk Musings with Tyler Menzales and Elizabeth Adcock, an evening of music inspired by folk tunes from around the world, taking place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13 at The Billings Depot, 2310 Montana Ave. "Folk music has a timeless wonder to it, said Menzales, Billing Symphony Orchestra and Chorales principal flutist. Menzales is an active solo, orchestral, and chamber musician as well as an educator. He resides in Great Falls, where he runs a private flute studio and hosts masterclasses and group workshops. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Montana Flute Association and each summer works as a teaching assistant at Bostons Interlochen Flute Institute. Menzel obtained a Master of Music from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music. Adcock is originally from Santa Barbara, where she received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California-Santa Barbara. She continued her guitar studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, France, and also attended masterclasses in Spain, Switzerland and Paris. Adcock now resides in Billings and performs regularly with the Yellowstone Chamber Players and has also been a guest performer for the Red Lodge Music Festival for several seasons. In 2014, Adcock was the recipient of a Billings Symphony Explore Music! grant to teach guitar in the Montana Womens Prison, where she taught for seven years. Adcock teaches at Montana State University-Billings and maintains a private studio. Several Romanian dances arranged for flute and guitar are included in the music. These pieces were first written for piano between 1915 and 1917. The program then travels to Argentina, the birthplace of the Tango with music by composer Astor Piazolla. Piazolla grew up with the tango and it became his lifes work to bring the seductive dance and music from the brothels and dance halls of Argentina to the worlds concert halls. The concert concludes with music from the rolling hills of Appalachia, where the humble banjo pluckings inspired Robert Beasers Mountain Songs, a series of eight lyrical ballads based largely on American folk music. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Montana Medical Association has partnered with nine other trusted Montana health care and public health associations to launch the Your Best Shot MT campaign to help answer parents vaccine questions and increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in Montana. The goal is to connect Montana parents and guardians with reliable, up-to-date information and data about getting Montanas children and adolescents (ages 5+) vaccinated against COVID-19. The campaign features Montana physicians discussing the safety and effectiveness of the well-tested vaccine. COVID-19 does not play by the rules. It is important for families to get the best up-to-date information so they can make informed decisions to protect their children from infection and serious health outcomes, said MMA President Carley C. Robertson, M.D. The COVID-19 vaccine is an important defense against this virus. Thats why weve partnered with Montanas most trusted health care organizations to launch this resource. The campaign, which includes digital videos, a website for parents and providers and more, is launching at an important time. With the introduction of the omicron variant and as cold weather keeps families indoors and the holidays bring generations together, it is much easier for the virus to spread, including to our vulnerable populations and throughout our communities. The vaccine protects children and adults from life disruptions and the undue risk of long-term and/or serious health outcomes. Additional resources to assist health care professionals in sharing evidence-based information on the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine will be added to the site over the next several weeks. The MMA is joined by the Montana Public Health Association, Montana Pharmacy Association, Montana Nurses Association, Montana Academy of Family Physicians, Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Montana Primary Care Association, Montana Hospital Association, Montana Academy of Physician Assistants, and the Association of Montana Public Health Officials in support of the campaign. The vaccine has been very well studied. It is incredibly safe. It is much riskier to get COVID-19 than the vaccine. The vaccine is remarkably effective. In fact, it is one of our most effective vaccines in children. I think that all eligible kids should get vaccinated against COVID, said Collette Chorney, M.D., a pediatrician in Butte, in a press release. To view the campaign website and view provider and patient resources, visit YourBestShotMT.com. More than a year after voters approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Montana, anyone older than 21 can now enter a dispensary and buy cannabis. That has medical marijuana user Joylynn Mane Wright worried. Wright lives in Prairie County, the states fifth-least-populated county, with nearly 1,100 people. She already drives about 35 minutes to get to the marijuana dispensary nearest her home, which is 2 hours northeast of Billings. And now she wonders how much more difficult it will be to get the cannabis she uses to relieve the chronic pain she developed after a 2017 spinal surgery. Im really worried about supplies and what its going to cost, she said. For Wright and the approximately 55,000 other Montanans who hold medical marijuana cards and use cannabis for cancer, glaucoma, Crohns disease, central nervous system disorders and other ailments, the question is how will recreational marijuana affect their ability to access their medicine. Other states have had shortages soon after their recreational marijuana markets opened. In January 2020, when recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois, some dispensaries had to close their doors or impose limits on purchases. The same thing happened in Colorado and Washington when the recreational market opened in those states. Pepper Petersen, president and CEO of the Montana Cannabis Guild and a medical marijuana provider in Helena, said hes been telling his patients to stock up because he thinks the states dispensaries will run out of pot in the short term. We are going to have cannabis shortages. Access will be a problem until supply can catch up with demand, Petersen said. How can we produce enough product for thousands of new users in January? The answer is we cant. In Wrights case, stocking up isnt an option because of her fixed income, she said. She wonders how high the price of a pre-rolled joint, which now costs nearly $8, will rise and whether shell have to drive even farther to get her medicine. Jared Moffat, a campaign manager for the Marijuana Policy Project, said a states market usually takes six to 12 months to stabilize after recreational cannabis becomes legal. One reason marijuana markets are unstable is that possessing and distributing the drug remain illegal under federal law, so moving products across state lines is not an option for dealing with a shortage. Everything that is sold in a state must be grown in that state. Adding to the potential supply-chain problem is that Montana has restricted who can sell cannabis, at least initially. The legislation that set up the framework for Montanas recreational marijuana market gave existing dispensaries an 18-month head start on new producers, meaning newly licensed sellers cant get into the market until July 2023. That leaves medical marijuana customers to compete with recreational users for a limited supply of cannabis. About 80 dispensaries just 18% of Montanas 451 licensed dispensaries plan to exclusively serve holders of medical marijuana cards, according to Czelsi Gomez, spokesperson for the Montana Department of Revenue, which oversees the states marijuana programs. The rest plan to cater to both recreational and medical users or to only recreational users. Some states that have legalized recreational cannabis including New Jersey and Illinois have required dispensaries to maintain enough stock to ensure that medical users can get what they need. Montana has not instituted such a rule. But Gomez said the 80 dispensaries that will serve only medical marijuana users will protect patients. We believe the medical-only establishments are the safeguard for ensuring medical marijuana is available to registered cardholders, Gomez said. Some dispensary owners said they will reserve some of their supplies to ensure medical customers dont run out. But others said they dont plan on holding back, arguing that would be bad for business. Barbie Turner, a co-owner of Alternative ReLeaf, a dispensary with locations in Missoula, Polson and Libby, said she is worried about where medical users will get their cannabis. She said that if serving medical customers requires her to stop selling cannabis to recreational users, she will. Not only do our medical patients have a need, theyre the ones who built up these businesses. Theyre the ones who built this industry, she said. So I think we have an ethical responsibility to take care of them, just like they have taken care of us. How big the recreational marijuana market will be is unclear. A University of Montana study cited survey results from 2017 and 2018 that found about 14% of Montana adults said they used cannabis in the previous month, compared with 9% of adults nationally. Petersen and others said more people might become recreational users once cannabis products that can be smoked or eaten become easier to buy. Turner said that she and her employees have been working for months to make sure they have enough marijuana but that shes still worried about the supply. There are limits, both legally and financially, on how much a provider can grow, she said. Shops will get some help, she said, with the states wholesale market opening in January, meaning that dispensaries will be able to sell to one another in bulk. Although many dispensaries especially in college towns such as Missoula and Bozeman are bracing for shortages this month, Erin Bolster said she thinks the real test of marijuana supplies will come in the summer, when millions of tourists visit Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. Bolster owns Tamarack Cannabis in the Flathead Valley, a popular tourist destination not far from Glacier National Park. In summer 2020, long before dispensaries could sell recreational cannabis, Bolster said, she would get one or two walk-ins and two or three calls a day from tourists who had heard Montana had legalized adult-use marijuana and wanted to see if they could buy. Come summer, she thinks, the number of customers will skyrocket. That could mean even more competition for Montanas medical marijuana there and in other popular destinations. Weve been able to expand production, Bolster said. But the question is Did we expand enough? Kaiser Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 When asked about the emerging security agreements among Japan, Australia, India and the United States -- informally known as "the Quad" -- China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed wariness. Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters during a regular briefing that Beijing believes state-to-state cooperation should improve "mutual understanding and trust among countries in the region" and safeguard regional peace and stability, rather than targeting or undermining the interest of any third party. "During the meeting, the delegations will discuss ways the United States and Japan can strengthen our alliance to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and other global challenges," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. The meeting comes the same day that Japanese and Australian leaders are expected to sign a new security agreement aimed at setting out for the first time a framework for the countries' defense forces to work together. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi on Thursday for the virtual U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee ("2+2") meeting. The United States and Japan are expected to hold virtual talks this week in which they will renew their vow to secure the Indo-Pacific region amid growing challenges from China and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Japan-U.S. Ties The first "2+2" meeting in 2022 between the United States and Japan comes shortly after Blinken's in-person talks with Hayashi on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministerial meeting in December in Liverpool, England. G7 countries had called on North Korea for a "complete, verifiable and irreversible abandonment" of all unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea launched an apparent ballistic missile in Pyongyang's first weapons test of the new year, according to reports by South Korea and Japan. The U.S. has said it continues to consult closely with South Korea and Japan and other partners to seek a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy. "We have no hostile intent towards [North Korea]. We are prepared to meet without preconditions," Price said Tuesday in response to questions from VOA. Meanwhile, U.S. and Japanese officials have voiced opposition to Chinese activities seen as attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo by force in the East and South China seas, while declaring the importance of "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait. As Japan is set to review its national security and defense posture in 2022, some experts say rising threats from China are driving the U.S. and Japan to strengthen military collaboration. A few weeks ago, U.S. Marines and members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force launched their largest bilateral training exercise of the year, known as Resolute Dragon 2021. That exercise took place at multiple training locations across Japan from Dec. 4 to 17. "There is no question that Japan is gearing up to do more in a Taiwan contingency," Mike Green, the senior vice president for Asia at Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA on Wednesday. While Japan's pacifist constitution imposes restrictions that prevent the island nation from getting involved in a potential military conflict outside its own territory, such as near the Taiwan Strait, Green said developments in recent years have pushed Japan to make a gradual shift. "That shifted first with the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait crisis, when China's PLA (People's Liberation Army) launched missiles and exercises in the vicinity of Japanese islands. That crisis propelled the first revision of bilateral defense guidelines to deal with contingencies in the region." At that time, the U.S. dispatched two carrier battle groups to waters surrounding Taiwan as China conducted missile tests during the run-up to Taiwan's first democratic presidential election. In 2015, Green added, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe changed his interpretation of the constitution and passed legislation allowing "collective self-defense" with the U.S., which removed the major obstacle to doing more. Washington and Tokyo are discussing an early visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House, which would be his first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden since becoming Japan's leader in October. One year after pro-Trump rioters attempted to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election, there remains a gaping wound in Americas body politic. A significant number of Americans still believe the falsehood that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. Two Montana lawmakers who were there that day say the nation is far from recovering, but they couldnt be farther from agreeing the course correction needed to restore confidence in U.S. elections. The assault on Congress is something they will never forget. Both senators agreed to Wednesday interviews with Lee Montana Newspapers. I do think that what happened on Jan. 6 was a game changer. And the fact that it hadnt happened since early 1800s at the U.S. Capitol is huge, said Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat who sees the riot as not only shaking American politics domestically, but also empowering the nation's communist adversaries. It empowered them, the Chinas and the Russias of the world, Tester said. Some of the same people that broke in the Capitol are the same people that are screaming loudest about China. The truth is that insurrection that day, helped China, major league, as far as them being able to point to that, saying, Look, communism is good, communism works. Look what goes on in democratic countries. Tester was in his office when the riot began. He hadnt made it over to the Senate yet to certify the results of the electoral college. From his office, he could see the mock gallows and the mob demanding that Vice President Mike Pence be hanged if he didnt reject the electoral college results in order to keep Donald Trump in office. Trump had suggested, falsely, that Pence had that power. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican newly reelected in 2020, was just arriving in the Senate before the attack. He was prepared to reject the electoral votes from Arizona, something Trump had encouraged Republicans in Congress to do. He would say the next day that his plan, before the riot, was to reject the results in order to compel an audit of the Arizona results. After rioters breached the Capitol and Congress was rushed into a series of underground chambers for protection, Daines abandoned his plan, voting instead to certify the election. The violence was too much. It was a sad day for our country. The violence that occurred that day, I condemn it, Daines said. I strongly believe that anybody who took part in assaulting members of law enforcement and breaking the law are criminals. I support the ongoing criminal investigation. I walked in this morning into my office on Capitol Hill and I recognized and thanked the members of law enforcement who defend this Capitol every day and did their very best defend on that dark day of Jan. 6. Many Republicans still very much believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The former president and his allies continue to say it was. Daines isnt one of them, though a campaign fundraising text sent to supporters on his behalf after the 2020 election stated that Dems are trying to steal the election. Trump needs our support. Hes been telling constituents that there isnt evidence to support the election theft conspiracy. Daines is one who asserts there is fraud in every election, but there wasnt enough to change the outcome in 2020. But the falsehood about the 2020 election is alive and well. Even in Montana where Republicans won every statewide office, there are calls by Republicans for county-level hand counts of ballots. I'm a numbers guy, a data guy at heart. And you have to show the compelling and irrefutable evidence, not internet rumors, not hearsay, not gossip. We've got to be talking about what are the facts and that needs to drive the discussion and the action, Daines said. And so if somebody has the facts and specifics, by all means they should be brought forward. But at this point, I think I commend our secretary of state in Montana, she has taken a look at the facts and the evidence and her conclusion is that she has not seen evidence that any results should be overturned, or there was widespread systemic fraud. Both senators say the influence of the Jan. 6 assault wouldnt have been as lasting had the Capitol Police been able to turn back rioters. The Senate looked at fortifying the police response after Jan. 6 and making sure that the National Guard could quickly be deployed, which didnt happen the day of the riot. Daines in particular discusses the Jan. 6 riot as something the Capitol Police werent prepared for. The question that remains, Tester said, is why the National Guard didnt respond more quickly. The House Jan. 6 Commission is looking at what lead to the attack, how the Capitol was so easily overtaken and what role Trump and his allies might have played. Tester said its important those answers are produced. Daines regards the House commission as a political ploy by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The next step in the Senate will be voting rights legislation, which Democrats are advancing in response to state-level changes to election laws. Daines characterizes the federal voting rights proposals by Democrats as an assault on what states have done. He supports the changes made by the Montana Legislature in 2021. Republican state Legislatures made several election law changes, including no longer allowing university student picture identification to count as voter ID, while allowing concealed weapon permits to qualify. Those state-level changes warrant a federal response, Tester said. The state-level changes were harmful to the future of democracy, he added. The senator speaks of their damage in the same breath in which he discusses the insurrections empowerment of Americas communist adversaries. I think that, also what state legislatures have done, and what Montana did, of undermining our free and fair election system also speaks to that, Tester said And, that some, certainly not all back here, but some, continue the continuation of the Big Lie, shows me that we've got, we've still got a long ways to go for sure. For sure. What's to me about Jan. 6, which is tomorrow, that this happened a year ago, it seems like it happened last week. I mean, it doesn't seem like it's been a year since that happened at all. And the fact that we're here and there are still huge divisions in the country, for a number of reasons. Lee asked to speak directly with Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale, but his staff said he was unavailable for an interview. The representative also declined an interview the day after the riot in 2021. He was among the House lawmakers who voted to not the certify the electoral college votes of several states. Before the insurrection, Rosendale said the evidence of widespread voter fraud was credible, none of which was true. Weve got numerous extensive, credible allegations of fraud that have taken place in many states and for those states to certify those elections without addressing those allegations properly, I do not feel comfortable in certifying the electors coming from those states," Rosendale said Jan. 4 on "Montana Talks" a conservative radio program And Rosendale didnt. He voted against certifying the electoral votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania. Rosendale, backed the removal of Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from House GOP leadership because she supported impeachment proceedings. He later objected to the House investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection, referring the proceedings as a witch hunt as recently as November. Rosendale also voted against awarding medals to the Capitol Police who defended the Capitol during the insurrection. Love 2 Funny 3 Wow 3 Sad 1 Angry 17 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen says that now isnt the time to make the states Public Service Commission districts right with the U.S. Constitution. Voters are suing Jacobsen, the states top election official, because the PSC districts are lopsided in population, which violates the one-person, one-vote provision of the 14th Amendment. They want the districts redrawn before the 2022 election when two of the most disproportionate districts will be on the ballot. If the state wont redraw the districts, the plaintiffs ask that a panel of three judges do the job. It wouldnt be the first time the federal courts have redrawn Montana districts after state lawmakers failed to do so. Its the Legislature thats tasked with balancing the populations of the districts following the Census. But after the 2010 Census, Montana lawmakers chose not to. The districts havent been redrawn since 2003 and now differ in population by as much as 50,000 people. Jacobsen responded to the lawsuit this week, telling U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy that state legislators should be given the chance to fix the districts in the next legislative session, which takes place in 2023. The Legislature only meets in odd numbered years. Plaintiffs claims rely on the assumption that the Montana Legislature, when given opportunity, will fail to reapportion based on the 2020 census, Jacobsen said in her response. The secretary of state argues theres no reason to assume the Legislature wont correct the districts, and, that the very first time they could use the 2020 Census data is next year. The Census data was released in August 2021 after the Legislature ended. The Public Service Commission sets the electricity rates for more than 400,000 utility customers in Montana. In cases where customers are captive, meaning they must rely on one business for services like electricity, garbage or water, the commission is supposed to balance customers' right to a reasonable price and reliable service with a utility's right to a rate of return. The secretary of the states arguments focus on Montanas right to draw its own districts, or at least be given the opportunity to before the court intervenes. The plaintiffs, former Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown, of Flathead County, and Hailey Sinoff and Donald Seifert of Gallatin County, focus their arguments on the rights of voters to be fairly represented. By not redrawing the PSC districts after 2010 when the Census showed the districts violated the 14th Amendment, legislators assured fairness wouldnt be the rule. A Friday hearing is scheduled to decide whether Molloy should prevent Jacobsen from going forward with the PSC elections in 2022 until the districts are corrected. The Montana Legislature appears poised to act after Molloy rules. The Montana Legislative Council plans to review the lawsuit Jan. 13 and potentially act. Molloy has already indicated the voters are likely to succeed. The judge issued a restraining order on Jacobsen at Decembers end, stopping the secretary of state from acting on the PSC election until the Jan. 7 hearing. In doing so, Molloy noted the voters likelihood at succeeding, but stopped short of saying they would prevail. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that political districts balance under the one-person, one-vote rule that allows a deviation of no more than 10% from the ideal population. If each of the states five PSC districts contained 216,845 people, they would balance. Only one of Montanas five PSC districts, District 2 anchored by Billings, comes close to the target population. Two of the districts up for election in 2022 happen to be extremely out of whack. District 5, which includes Kalispell and Helena, has 15,521 more voters than the ideal. District 1 has 30,229 fewer voters than the ideal. The latter district, anchored by Great Falls, runs from the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park to the North Dakota border. During the last three years, several scandals have played out at the PSC, including false claims to law enforcement, poor use of public funds and impersonating a state legislator. Those actions have attracted public attention to a commission that doesnt normally face public scrutiny. The job pays $112,000 a year and comes with no requirement of previous experience. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Business owners have filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission criticizing NorthWestern Energys management for water levels on Hebgen Lake this summer as irresponsible. The businesses filing the complaint on Jan. 4 include the Firehole Ranch, Kirkwood Marina and Yellowstone Holiday Resort. Twenty-seven other letters from lake property owners and boaters were filed supporting the protest. FERC is the federal agency that oversees dam licensing. The news of the filings came as a trio of environmental groups filed a complaint on Wednesday asking FERC to hold NorthWestern accountable for its dam failure in late November that temporarily reduced flows on the Madison River. The Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Montana Environmental Information Center, and the Madison River Foundation are calling for FERC to require the energy company to fund a thorough, third-party investigation of the malfunction and hold the permittee accountable to take the necessary steps in ensuring this tragedy is an isolated event. Hebgen The complaint by Hebgen businesses charges NorthWestern deliberately misrepresented the extent of the drought affecting Hebgen Lakes water levels when communicating with FERC about required flows on the Madison River in July. The Company intentionally withheld critical information as to the severity of necessary withdrawals from Hebgen Lake to maintain the Madison River levels at Kirby, the complaint charged. It cherry picks the 2021 facts so as to try to parallel the facts as they occurred in 2007 in an attempt to obtain from the FERC similar treatment, waiving the need for a variance. 2007 was another low water year for Hebgen Lake. The companies said NorthWestern was well aware of the low snowpack and runoff in the spring but continued to allow excessive spring discharges. By mid-July, NorthWestern Energy sent out a press release notifying Hebgen Lake users the reservoir would continue to drop as water was released to cool the Madison River, as required under its FERC license. At that time, lake levels were already one foot below the full pool minimum. By Oct. 1 the water level had dropped four more feet, the businesses said. The result of the low lake level was a lack of docks, boat ramps left high and dry, the exposure of islands and logs that damaged boat motors and a loss of business as recreationists cancelled reservations to go elsewhere. Firehole Ranch had to close early and estimated its 39 canceled reservations cost the company more than $356,000. Were the businesses to sustain another year like 2021, it is likely that all or some of those entities will fail and go out of business, the complaint said. Shoreline plan Under its dock and shoreline management plan, NorthWestern is required in a typical year to maintain the water elevation of Hebgen Lake between 6,530.26 feet and 6,534.87 feet (normal full pool) between June 20 and Oct. 1. As noted, however, the company also must balance the lake users needs with other demands including power generation, keeping the Madison River cool with pulse flows, and responding to operating emergencies beyond NorthWesterns control for short periods upon mutual agreement with other management agencies, including the Forest Service and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Instead of draining the lake, the Hebgen businesses claim NorthWestern should have sought a variance to its operating permit that requires it to keep a minimum flow at the U.S. Geological Surveys river gauge downstream at Kirby Ranch, which is supposed to be a flow of 600 cubic feet per second. Due to the drawdown of the reservoir, the lake was below its required lowest elevation level for 70 days, including all of August and into September, the companies said. FERC should not grant the Company a 'Get out of Jail Free Card' in the form of a variance, the businesses said in the complaint. The Company is not without fault in the turn of events that resulted in environmental damage as well as damages to the Businesses and other adversely affected parties. With drought becoming more likely under climate change predictions, the businesses called on FERC to reevaluate the management requirements for Hebgen Lake and the Madison River. I am asking FERC to look into possible mismanagement by NW Energy and to have FERC place conditions on their permit so they will not be able to operate the same way in the future to prevent this from happening again, wrote Charles and Linda McDonough in a letter of support for the businesses. The Virginia couple are homeowners on Hebgen Lake and rent a boat slip at Yellowstone Holiday Resort. Madison Following the failure of a gate that reduced flows on the Madison River in late November, NorthWestern is in the process of writing a Root Cause Analysis examining what went wrong and possible actions to avoid similar problems in the future. Last month, FERC notified the company it should install an alarm system and camera to detect and quickly confirm any future problems. NorthWestern Energy spokeswoman Jo Dee Black said an investigation is being conducted into the Nov. 30 incident and is taking purposeful steps to ensure a thorough analysis of the gate component. A replacement part had to be manufactured and trucked to the dam to make the repair. Black went on to say the analysis will be used to understand why this relatively new part installed in 2015 as part of the $40 million Hebgen upgrade completed in 2018, failed and to establish corrective actions. One of the main concerns cited by the environmental groups in their complaint to FERC is that the dewatering not only killed some fish, which were stranded when the water dropped quickly, but also that brown trout eggs laid in gravels during the fall may have been exposed to air and killed. NorthWestern Energy will also be working with resource agency biologists and others to develop scientific studies to assess effects on the fishery, Black said. Brown trout numbers are already declining on streams across southwestern Montana, state biologists have reported. And the Madison River below Ennis Dam suffered a fish die-off in June that mainly affected whitefish, which are more susceptible to disease and parasites. With already historically low brown trout population numbers greater than age 2, additional fish mortality as a result of this dewatering event will have long-term negative impacts on the fisheries health, particularly for brown trout, the groups contend in their FERC complaint. To compensate, the groups said NorthWestern should be required to create a restoration fund to conduct long and short-term studies on the habitat and fishery with a goal of restoring the river to conditions similar to before it was dewatered. They also suggested the company create a program to help any business or community interest that suffers a hardship due to a decline in the fishery caused by the dam problem. The river's fishery is a significant economic engine for the region. As a public utility, NorthWestern Energy must be held accountable for mismanagement of Montanas natural resources, especially our water, said Derf Johnson, staff attorney and Clean Water Director at MEIC, in a press release. NorthWestern needs to fully cooperate with a comprehensive and transparent investigation, mitigate the impacts to the environment, community, and economy, take measures to ensure that this never happens again, and pay to fix the problem out of its shareholders' pockets. Love 3 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A state judge has ruled that thousands of documents related to security during the construction in North Dakota of the heavily protested Dakota Access Pipeline are public and subject to the state's open records law. The Friday ruling by South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland is a victory for The Intercept news organization, which sued in November 2020 to get access to the documents for investigative journalism on the topics of "environmental justice, the treatment of Indigenous peoples and workers, and government efforts to suppress First Amendment-protected activities." North Dakota Newspaper Association attorney Jack McDonald said the ruling also is "a good decision for government transparency" and has wider ramifications. "It establishes clearly that records in possession of a public entity are public records -- absent any specific exemptions -- even if the person submitting those records didnt intend them to be," he said. "It also establishes that agreements between companies about nondisclosure are only good between those companies, and does not affect those records once in the public domain." It's unclear how quickly the documents will be publicly released, however. Three lawsuits The documents being held by the North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board relate to Energy Transfer, the Texas-based company that built the pipeline, and TigerSwan, the North Carolina company that Energy Transfer hired to oversee security during construction. TigerSwan gave about 16,000 documents to the board during a two-year battle over whether the company operated illegally in the state in 2016 and 2017, when thousands of pipeline protesters gathered in southern North Dakota and law enforcement made hundreds of arrests. That dispute culminated with an administrative settlement in September 2020 under which TigerSwan agreed to pay $175,000 to the board but did not admit to any wrongdoing. The records became entangled in three lawsuits. Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access LLC sued the board in October 2020, seeking the return of what they consider to be confidential, proprietary, and privileged documents that are not public. A lawsuit by Intercept publisher First Look Media Works Inc. accuses the state board of violating the law in refusing to release what the publisher believes to be public documents, which are sought by Intercept reporter Alleen Brown. Energy Transfer and Dakota Access LLC also have gone to the state Supreme Court in a third lawsuit, attempting to intervene in the administrative case involving TigerSwan and the board, and prevent the public release of the records. The North Dakota Newspaper Association, the High Plains Reader and First Look filed a brief in that case as interested parties last month, urging justices "to protect journalists' ability to use the Open Records Act to inform their communities about matters of public concern." Feland ruled in the first two cases. She concluded that Energy Transfer is not being deprived of its property because it has copies of the disputed records. She also said the company has not identified any specific provisions under state law exempting the documents from public disclosure. "Rather, Energy Transfer simply alleges blanket privileges of attorney-client, trade-secret, and security of the public," Feland wrote, adding later that "Absent a specific exception, the Disputed Documents are subject to the open records law." Energy Transfer attorney Jennifer Recine deferred a Tribune request for comment to the company, which did not immediately respond. Company attorneys late Monday asked Feland to put on hold the part of her ruling permitting public disclosure of the records while it appeals to the state Supreme Court. First Look Media attorney Tim Purdon said Feland's ruling "is a complete victory for the board and First Look." "Energy Transfer has held up these documents in three separate lawsuits over the course of a year," he said. What's next Feland did not provide The Intercept with immediate access to the documents, however. She stressed that her ruling answers only whether the documents are public and subject to the open records law. She denied First Look's request that she order the board to immediately hand over the documents. Purdon said he and his client will be working with the board and the state attorney general's office -- the board's attorney -- to determine which if any of the documents are exempt from disclosure under state law. "We'll work that out," he said. Attorney general spokeswoman Liz Brocker declined comment on the process, saying, "We do not comment on pending litigation." McDonald, the media attorney, said Feland's ruling technically sets precedent only in the South Central Judicial District, which encompasses the counties of Burleigh, Morton, Emmons, Grant, McLean, Mercer, Oliver, Sheridan and Sioux. However, "I think it sets standard that will be followed statewide in dealing with these issues," he said, adding that "It establishes a methodology for making such determinations in the future about the public nature of such documents." The Dakota Access Pipeline has been operating since June 2017, moving North Dakota oil to a shipping point in Illinois. During its construction it was heavily protested by American Indian tribes and environmentalists who fear potential pollution. Energy Transfer and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which permitted the line's Missouri River crossing just north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, maintain the project is safe. A legal battle surrounding the permitting process is ongoing. The Intercept, which bills itself as a news organization seeking to expose corruption and injustice, has written articles critical of TigerSwan, accusing it of infiltrating protest camps and using military-style counterterrorism measures. TigerSwan has long maintained that it provided only consulting services that don't require a North Dakota license and that any actual investigative work occurred in North Carolina. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MISSOULA School kitchens across the state are looking for new ways to incorporate healthy, locally sourced ingredients in their daily recipes, including the staff at Target Range School District. On the last day of school before the holiday break, Devin Kavanagh, the food services director at Target Range, served his students and staff locally sourced lentil meatballs for the first time. When I started about a year and a half ago, its always been my goal to improve the food, Kavanagh said. So after getting my bearings straight here, I started to really look into that and ... theres a lot of options out there. One of the groups hes partnered with for nutritious ingredients is the Mission Food Enterprise Center, a shared-use food processing and manufacturing facility in Ronan that has the ability to prepare fruits, vegetables and other menu items en mass. Mission Food Enterprise Center also prepared the lentil meatballs for Target Ranges nutrition program. The ingredients for the meatballs include lentils, mushrooms, potatoes, ground beef, egg and rolled oats. To be able to read all the ingredients on a box is crucial, Kavanagh said. Its just so exciting to be able to have a healthy item like that, he continued. Im hoping the kids are going to like it. Well see what they say. Kavanagh and his kitchen staff scurried around, slicing fruit, boiling noodles and swapping trays of meatballs from the oven to a heating rack in preparation for lunch during a recent school day. First up in the cafeteria were the Target Range kindergartners. A majority of the students moving through the line opted for the meatballs and marinara sauce with their pasta, while only a few chose just noodles. I want a lot of meatballs, one student in line said to Kavanagh. While kids are often regarded as picky eaters who turn their noses up at vegetables, that hasnt been Kavanaghs experience at Target Range. To him, kids are more open to trying new things than people give them credit for. I think it really comes down to how things are prepared, and then that first bite they take, he said. So having the lentil meatballs made with those simple ingredients, I dont think theyre going to be turned away too bad. Another way Kavanagh incorporates locally sourced ingredients into his menu is by using meat that has been processed just down the road from Target Range at School House Meats, Missoula County Public Schools agriculture education center. Students at School House Meats raise livestock, slaughter it and professionally process the product. But soon, he will have another locally sourced, nutritional item to incorporate into Target Ranges nutrition program. 'Montana Marinara' In an effort to connect more of Montanas schools with locally crafted menu items, the Office of Public Instruction partnered with the Northwest Food Hub Network to bring a Montana Marinara to school kitchens. The sauce features Montana-grown squash, onions, carrots and more. The Northwest Food Hub Network is a collective of farmer-owned cooperative food hubs in Montana and Washington with the mission of connecting organizations, like school districts, hospitals and colleges, with local, sustainable food products. Montana Marinara is a win-win-win product it supports small Montana farmers, it brings delicious, sustainable, locally sourced food to students across the state, and it celebrates our states history of supporting agriculture, said Kaylee Thornley, coordinator of the Northwest Food Hub Network. Target Range will be incorporating the Montana Marinara into its menu in February, Kavanagh said. The National School Lunch Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture serves 80,000 students every school day in Montana and nearly half of those meals are usually served for free or at a reduced price, according to the OPI. Due to the COVID pandemic, the USDA began offering school lunches at no cost to all public school students by expanding the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. The meal service flexibility has been extended through the end of June 2022. USDA will remain relentless in ensuring our nations children get the critical nutrition they need, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. States and districts wanted waivers extended to plan for safe reopening in the fall. USDA answered the call to help Americas schools and child care institutions serve high quality meals while being responsive to their local needs as children return to their regular routines. This action also increases the reimbursement rate to school meal operators so they can serve healthy foods to our kids. Its a win-win for kids, parents and schools. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis have joined 45 other senators and 136 representatives in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt one of the Biden administration's vaccine mandates. The mandate, put in place via the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), seeks to require vaccinations for workers at companies with 100 or more employees. Workers that refuse would have to submit to mandatory testing and masking. The mandate is estimated to cover about 84 million workers. In an amicus brief filed last month by 183 lawmakers -- all Republicans -- argues that Congress did not give OSHA the "authority to impose a vaccine mandate." An amicus brief is a legal document filed by an outside party who has some interest in the outcome of the matter. Congressional members have an interest in the powers they delegate to agencies not being abused the legislative authority vested in the federal government belongs to Congress, not the Executive branch," the Republican congressional members wrote. "In this case, the promulgation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) of a sweeping, nationwide vaccine mandate on businesses intrudes into an area of legislative concern far beyond the authority of the agency." "Rep. Cheney believes it is crucial for people to get vaccinated. She has also been clear that there are serious constitutional issues with President Bidens vaccine mandate," said Jeremy Adler, a Cheney spokesperson. "She opposes this mandate. She is an original co-sponsor of a resolution in the House blocking President Biden's vaccine mandate and has supported Governor Gordon's challenge to it as well." As of Wednesday, Wyoming's vaccination rate stood at 48% -- the second-lowest in the country, ahead of only Idaho, according to data from the New York Times. The worker vaccine mandate was originally set to go into effect Tuesday, but the Department of Labor stated it will begin enforcing the mandate on Jan. 10 and give "employers acting in good faith" until Feb. 9 before workers will start experiencing repercussions. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the matter Friday. In November, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals put a halt on the worker vaccine mandate while the courts considered the issue. The following month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals removed the stay, clearing the way for the mandate to go into effect next month. The Sixth Circuit concluded the rule is an important step in curtailing the transmission of a deadly virus that has killed over 800,000 people in the United States, brought our healthcare system to its knees, forced businesses to shut down for months on end, and cost hundreds of thousands of workers their jobs. After the Sixth Circuit removed the stay, a group of 27 governors, including Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, also asked the Supreme Court to block the mandate. Wyomings participation comes as no surprise. Fighting back against the mandate was the basis for holding a special legislative session earlier this year, and Gordon has been outspoken in his opposition to the rule. Wyoming and a long list of other states are also fighting mandates pertaining to federal contractors, certain National Guardsmen and health workers in facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid funding. Some of these challenges have been successful so far, leading to pauses in certain parts of the nation. Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As Montana Wilderness Association abandoned its name in favor of one without the word wilderness in it, so too has it abandoned the fierce ethics of its origins. We now find a big-money NGO beholden to the ideology of its profit-first sources of income. "Wild Montana" now can "sit down and have a beer" with the recreation-timber-forest management industrial complex, as though breaking bread with takers nullifies their destructivity. Just look at the so-called "collaboration and compromise"-derived Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Act sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT. In order to maintain a large income stream, the former MWA and their industrial complex brethren grossly misrepresent what the BCSA would effect. Of course, they paint it as a victory for everyone, flooding the public discourse in a way that most citizens believe their concerns are being prudently nurtured. In fact, the BCSA would permit a great amount of logging of now roadless and wilderness-quality lands, primarily to supply commercial forest products to Pyramid Mountain Lumber Company in Seeley Lake, Montana. Even more worrisomely, it would do so in a manner that bypasses crucial environmental regulatory laws and procedures. In its legislation mandating ten years of logging with limited public oversight, it would set a precedent for future mandated levels of "the cut" without any legal bulwark against unchecked greed. It also would open significant further incursions into still wild lands by both motorized and mechanized recreation. The Monture Inventoried Roadless Area, prime grizzly bear habitat, is currently closed year-round to motorized recreation use. Prime range for wintering elk as well, the area would become the Otatsy Recreation Management Area, with road and trail building and motorized use bordering their proposed Wilderness addition. Not only that, but BCSA wording might bar judicial challenges based on ecological concerns, if you can imagine that condoned by an environmental group! Similarly, the BCSA's Spread Mountain Recreation Area would share an extensive border on three sides with designated Wilderness, establishing a 3,800 acre play area for mountain bike users. Combined with the adjacent Otatsy Recreation Management Area, significant disturbance to grizzly bears, elk herds and other wildlife would occur. These are but a few examples of the compromises committed by the crafters of the BCSA, compromises you are not supposed to notice or to think too hard about. The "collaborative" has spent vast sums of publicly derived grant money to present a face to you of sound stewardship and community peacemaking. Their censorship of the rest of the story is very polished. To resist the temptations and lures of such polish is no small feat. ... But, as Rick Reese put it in a recent interview by Todd Wilkinson in Mountain Journal, People who dont understand ... will take as much as they can get. ... The takers need to be met with an equal amount of resistance from people who are not willing to surrender or give away things that, once gone, cannot be replaced. Let's be perfectly clear here. Reese's thoughts refer not only to the recreation-timber-forest management industrial complex, but to Big Greens like Wild Montana (nee Montana Wilderness Association). As of this writing, MWA is unapologetically promoting similar compromises of ecological concern on all Montana Wilderness Study Areas! As a past President of Montana Wilderness Association, I wish these things were not so, but wishing and reality are not the same thing. The likelihood that compromised environmental groups will awaken from their fantasy is remote. Rather, en masse, you members and supporters must think for yourselves, against the very strong pressures the Greens will place on you, and either demand that they make a public and full about-face, or you publicly withdraw your support from them and take responsibility for spreading the word. Joseph Scalia III, Psya.D. is a psychoanalyst and environmental critic and writer. He is President of Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance, and a past president of Montana Wilderness Assocition. Love 5 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Daniel Ritz expected to scream, shout and throw his hands in the air with joy and excitement when he reeled in his final fish. Instead, catching the Eagle Lake rainbow trout the last catch of a monthslong journey across the West to learn about native trout species felt almost anti-climactic. I was looking for a sense of closure or achievement, Ritz said in a phone interview. But that was never going to happen. The whole point of this is you learn a little bit and you want more. It just makes you more curious. Ritz, a Boise, Idaho, resident, caught and released the Eagle Lake rainbow trout and 17 other trout species as he took on the Western Native Trout Challenge, an endeavor that pushes anglers to land trout in their native waters. Its part of an initiative to conserve species whose habitats have been damaged by invasive species, wildfire and other challenges, like the Eagle Lake rainbow. Ritz started his attempt last spring, traveling to 11 other Western states at a breakneck pace to complete the challenge on Sept. 24. But the 33-year-old said hes far from finished learning about native North American trout and the threats they face. My whole life has been changed, he said. Alaska to Wyoming Ritz attempted the hardest tier of the trout challenge, called the master caster level. It requires anglers to catch and photograph 18 species across all 12 states included in the challenge: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. There are 20 native trout on the list, leaving only a little room for error for the master caster. All along the way, Ritz cataloged his journey in stories for Trout Unlimited. He plans to write a book about the challenge, which only a handful of other anglers have completed at the master level. The first few weeks of the challenge took Ritz to extremes. He started in Nevada with a Lahontan cutthroat, headed to a wildfire-charred landscape in New Mexico to land a Gila trout and fished still-frosty waters in Alaska, where he hit one of the major snags of the experience. Arctic char, one of the species he planned to catch, eluded him. Still, he took advantage of Alaskas endless summer daylight to fish a 14-hour day with Eric Booton, the sportsmen coordinator for Trout Unlimited in Alaska. In a phone interview, Booton said he was impressed with Ritzs ability to adapt to the Alaskan landscape. In Alaska, all our species are native, Booton said. Its much different from the Lower 48 and throughout the West. The rest of the summer saw Ritz traveling all around the West. In Utah, he completed the states cutthroat slam challenge with Trout Unlimited communications director Brett Prettyman. Prettyman helped create the state slam and worked on the design and production of the commemorative medallions that anglers earn when they complete the Western Native Trout Challenge. Ritz said Prettyman was also one of the first people to encourage him to take on the challenge. Getting people to go fishing and making them think about the historic range of a fish makes them start to ponder other things, like how can I help this fish survive? Prettyman said in a phone interview. Ritz fished in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, taking tips and guidance from local anglers and finding himself astounded by the people and places he encountered over and over again. At home in Idaho, Ritz pursued bull trout and westslope cutthroat. Ive worked for years to get my first bull trout, Ritz said. Landing it while he learned about the complexities facing the threatened fish which include efforts to reopen the Stibnite Mine near Yellow Pine made the experience even more memorable. Ritz even traveled to Kernville, California, to learn more about the one species he knew he had no hope of catching: the Little Kern golden trout. Wildfire closure areas surround the only waterways where its found. Ritz said he arrived in 118-degree heat, a reminder of the challenges that trout which typically prefer cooler water temperatures are facing in the area. It wasnt just about going out and catching the fish, Booton said. He wanted to learn as much as he could about the area, about the species. Knowing he was doing that for all his species, it was impressive. After several months of adventures, it was time for Ritzs final fish. He said he was anxious as he drove to Californias Lassen National Forest to pursue the Eagle Lake rainbow in its namesake waterway. For Ritz, it was an emotional weekend as he concluded the venture that had consumed much of the last five months of his life. But in many ways it didnt feel like it was over. I thought I would feel like I had done something and it was behind me, Ritz said. Its only made me want to do more of it. Community, conservation Ritz credited the kindness of other anglers, like Prettyman, Booton and more, for helping him complete the challenge so quickly. He said the experience restored his faith in humanity. There are a lot of people that are just giving of themselves in a way that is so inspiring, Ritz said. This would not have been possible without the people who helped me. The Boise angler said he also took some time for introspection, realizing that for him, much of the joy of fishing is in the pursuit. Its the search that I love, Ritz said. Im hooked on the pursuit aspect. Theres also this element of luck you could do everything right and it could just not go your way. And I love that. Ritz said he plans to continue learning about the Wests trout species after realizing the hardships the challenge species face. Therese Thompson, coordinator for the Western Native Trout Initiative, said thats part of the goal of the challenge: to keep anglers telling the native species stories over and over. Thompson said at times she wondered if Ritz would be able to meet his goal of completing the challenge by Oct. 1. I was worried in June that Daniel wouldnt be able to complete the challenge due to multiple national forests having to close as a precaution due to wildfires, Thompson said in an email. But wildfires are also part of the story of native trout conservation now in a drought and in a changing climate. Theres no time limit to completing the challenge or any of the state-specific slams. Most cost about $25, which typically goes toward conservation efforts. A lot of people think a challenge or slam needs to be done in a certain amount of time and they get intimidated and think, I dont have time to do that, Prettyman said. We all have time to catch fish. Even if you dont think youre going to be able to do it, still think about (signing up) because it benefits the fish were seeking. Ritz saw those benefits firsthand, and he said hes committed to sharing native trout species struggles in the hopes of inspiring other anglers to seek the fish out in their historic waters. He said its the best way to educate people about the issues the fish face. People want a tangible bite-sized (statement on) why native species are important, Ritz said. Sometimes its sad that you have to go so far and work so hard to find some of these species. When youre there, you understand why. You will not be able to turn back. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A North Dakota higher education official is running for a Bismarck-area state House seat, potentially setting up a challenge with the two Republican incumbents. State Board of Higher Education Staff Adviser and District 7 GOP Vice Chair Retha Mattern on Thursday announced her bid for one of District 7's two House seats. The Bismarck State College employee said in a statement that she feels "there is a missing voice in the House, one that represents the needs of residents in District 7 who understand the challenges of balancing raising a family in today's society while securing their own economic future. "I intend to focus on solutions that allow people the ability to succeed with limited government involvement in their livelihoods," she said. She also said, "We are losing a sense of community in the Republican party, and I want to work to ensure that we can continue to find areas of agreement and common ground. "Strong conservative governance has led North Dakota to a place where businesses can grow and people can find opportunity," she said. "We need to work together in order to allow that to continue to happen." Mattern has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in management. She works as director of admissions and outreach at BSC. She has been staff adviser to the state Board of Higher Education since 2019. Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, announced his reelection bid in District 7 on Monday. Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, said he will make an announcement in the next two weeks about his election plans. He also represents the district. He said in November he hadn't decided whether to seek another term, and was mulling bids for the state Senate or U.S. Senate. "I have a couple things I need to look at, and then I'll be making the announcement," Becker said Thursday. Becker and Dockter were first elected in 2012. Republican Michelle Axtman is the only announced Senate candidate in the district. Incumbent Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, is not seeking reelection. District 7 Republicans are meeting later this month to set the date for their endorsing convention, Dockter said. Ninety-eight seats in the Legislature are on the ballot this year, more than is usual, due to redistricting, which is done every 10 years with updated census data. Republicans control the House of Representatives 80-14 and the Senate 40-7. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Michigan man who North Dakota authorities say used another persons identity since 1997 to obtain Social Security and other benefits has been sentenced to two years in federal prison. Patrick McKee, 77, of Flint, Michigan, pleaded guilty in July to charges of Social Security false statements, false statements, health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to U.S. Attorney Nick Chase. McKee stole another persons identity in 1997, then lived and worked under that identity and used it to obtain health care benefits, home mortgages and credit cards, authorities said. Registration for overseas and absentee voters in this year's presidential election will close on Friday, but only a fraction of those eligible have done so. As of Monday, around 161,000 Korean voters across the world had signed up -- only around 6.4 percent of eligible overseas voters who, according to government estimates, number about 2 million. Despite the efforts of many overseas Koreans to boost registrations, the registration rate remains low, especially compared to the previous presidential election five years ago. For the presidential election in 2017, around 294,000 Koreans overseas signed up and 220,000 actually voted. The rate was about 10 percent of eligible voters. This year's low rate is attributed in part to overseas voters' lack of interest in the election. Many overseas voters also would have to travel long distances -- sometimes thousands of kilometers -- to reach the nearest polling booth. A judge has delayed sentencing for a Canadian man who pleaded guilty to plotting the murder of a Bismarck man in what investigators have called a love triangle involving the slain man's wife with plans to cash in on an insurance policy. South Central District Judge Douglas Bahr during a Thursday hearing reset Earl Howards sentencing date to Feb. 14. The change allows Bahr and attorneys more time to review a presentence investigation report that the judge said might not be available until a few days before the original sentencing date of Jan. 21. A defendant by law is allowed 14 days to review the report before being sentenced. Howard, 43, of Belwood, Ontario, in October pleaded guilty to arson and three conspiracy charges -- murder, arson and tampering with evidence. Bahr tentatively accepted the plea pending the outcome of the presentence investigation. The terms of Howards agreement with prosecutors call for a 25-year prison term with decades more possible if he violates probation rules after his release. Howard and Nikkisue Entzel, 40, were charged after first responders were called to a house fire northeast of Bismarck in January 2020. They found the body of Chad Entzel, Nikkisue Entzels husband, inside the home, and an autopsy showed he died of gunshot wounds. Nikkisue Entzel and Howard were to be tried together until Howard entered into the plea agreement. One stipulation by Burleigh County States Attorney Julie Lawyer was that Howard be sentenced before Nikkisue Entzels trial. The move prevents Howard from withdrawing his guilty plea and attempting to have his own trial. Nikkisue Entezel is scheduled for a 10-day trial starting Feb. 28. She faces conspiracy charges of murder, arson and evidence tampering. Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Imprisoned entrepreneur, publisher, and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been highlighted as the most urgent case when it comes to threats to press freedom in China, this as the world is about to focus on Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. [] Every month, the One Free Press Coalition issues its 10 Most Urgent list, ranking the most harrowing challenges to press freedom from around the world in order of urgency. Jimmy Lai, a 74-year-old Hong Kong entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist currently serving a 20-month prison sentence on national security charges, topped this months list, as the coalition focused on press freedom in China in light of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. The coalition comprises international groups of professional editors and publishers standing up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth. Media outlets worldwide unite as the One Free Press Coalition to publish this list and draw attention to the most pressing cases of threats against journalists, the coalition said. Lai has continually confronted Hong Kongs National Security Law (NSL), the citys wide-sweeping effort to silence voices of political opposition in imitation of Communist China. Since the NSLs implementation in June 2020, Hong Kong has slid further into Beijing-like tendencies: Journalists have been arrested without reason, and individuals and organizations have been censored as subversives. In general, Hong Kong citizens freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association have been stifled, with Lais case in particular coming under the coalitions spotlight. When it comes to arresting journalists, China was ranked the worst50th out 50for the third year in a row, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists 2021 prison census. There are a some 50 journalists behind bars in China, according to the census. In April 2021, Lai was convicted of unlawful assembly in Hong Kongs 2019 pro-democracy protests; this event, some argue, was the catalyst for a stricter implementation of the NSL. Later that year, on Dec. 11, after his newspaper, Apple Daily , and media company, Next Digital, were forcibly shuttered by Hong Kong authorities, Lai was handed another conviction , for his role in a vigil that marked the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and was sentenced to an additional 13 months in prison. Most recently, on Jan. 4, Lai was accused of conspiracy to print, publish, sell, and distribute seditious publications between April 2019 and Apple Dailys last day in business, June 24, 2021. This is not the first time Lai, one of the most notable journalists in Hong Kong, especially for his criticisms of Beijing and its anti-democratic policies, has been recognized by international organizations. Most often, Lais recognition has been in the form of an award, typically from civil society groups, commending his efforts in upholding authentic journalism in the face of strict government censorship and control. For example, at the conclusion of 2021, Lai and his staff at Apple Daily were the winners of the World Association of News Publishers Golden Pen Freedom Award . The One Free Press Coalitions ranking marks the first time, however, that Lais struggle against Hong Kongs increasingly tyrannical government has been in the form of a sheer negative calculation, in which he places first. Thus Lais case is portrayed by the coalition as an immediate call to action in the fight for press freedom for journalists in Hong Kong. In addition to Lai at the number one spot, there are nine other journalists on the One Free Press Coalitions 10 Most Urgent list, each with his or her own heroic story in defending press freedom in their home countries. More information on the journalists can be found here. And stay tuned for the Acton Institutes documentary on the extraordinary life and pro-democracy struggles of Jimmy Lai, The Hong Konger, set to be released in early February. It seems far too bizarre to be true: an entire town where on-going child molestation continued for years, despite the fact that the molestation was no secret. Children were doused in gasoline and told theyd be set on fire. They were sexually abused, trafficked to other countries, passed around from abuser to abuser. And on and on. For years. Somebody on the Rotherham Borough Council finally had the brains and guts enough to request an inquiry and report. Council leader Roger Stone said he would step down with immediate effect. Mr Stone, who has been the leader since 2003, said: I believe it is only right that as leader I take responsibility for the historic failings described so clearly. The inquiry team noted fears among council staff of being labelled racist if they focused on victims descriptions of the majority of abusers as Asian men. Really? I dont want to hurt anybodys feelings? Thats your excuse? 16 years of torture for children, and you didnt want to hurt anybodys feelings? Dennis Prager says that some tried to help, and the support went not to victims, but to the higher call of multiculturalism: In 2002, a Labour MP from nearby Keighley, Ann Cryer, complained to the police about young Asian lads raping girls in her constituency. In her words, she was shunned by elements of her party. And note that, as is demanded by the Left in the UK, she didnt even mention that the rapists were Pakistani, lest Muslims be blamed for this evil. They were Asian lads. And, for the record, her attempts to get local imams to intervene with the men failed; she was called a racist. National Review editor Rich Lowry reports that in a BBC documentary, the author of a 2002 report to the Rotherham council on the scandal said her work was quashed. When she noted that the perpetrators were from the Pakistani community, a colleague told her you must never refer to that again you must never refer to Asian men. She was sent to diversity training and, by her account, nearly fired. I certainly hope that diversity training helped the children (excuse the sarcasm.) There are two things here that stand out to me as unfathomable: how anyone of sound mind and soul could let this abuse continue for years, and how an entire town: political party, police department, school and parents, were lulled into thinking that one persons color/culture/heritage/sexual proclivities outweighed one childs safety. I dont know if there is an answer to these, but for the sake of the children of Rotherham, I hope someone there figures it out soon. The abuse continues. Ron DeSantis did not seem well today. In fact, as the monotone Florida governor spoke with a pained expression, his voice warbled, his breathing was labored, at at times he seemed on the verge of tears. His troubles peak at 1:04 in the video, where he swallows hard and says, "Excuse me." Without any explanation from the anti-masker, who went MIA for the last two weeks of December while Covid reached all-time highs in his state, the reason for his apparent ailment could be anything from a case of Covid to a bad case of indigestion. A Jacksonville, North Carolina police officer shot and killed his 15-year-old son while they were "playing with toy guns" and authorities are refusing media requests for public records related to the incident. It appears someone leaked a recording to WITN, a local news affiliate. "The caller is advising that it's going to be accidental," said a sheriff's office dispatcher in a recording obtained by WITN News. "They were advising they were playing with toy guns. Somehow they've had a gunshot wound." In the recording, that dispatcher said a .45 caliber weapon was used in the shooting. A deputy at the scene then advised the shooter was a Jacksonville police officer. WITN requested both the 911 recording and the sheriff's office radio broadcasts last week, both which are public records under state law. The county has refused to release the 911 call, claiming it was a medical call and not a request for law enforcement. Both EMS and deputies were dispatched as a result of that telephone call. You know what toy guns don't do? They don't shoot bullets. Withholding the tape (and the identity of the cop) might be business as usual in Onslow County. The way the dispatcher defers to how the shooter "advises" them is probably just dispatcher jargon. Nonetheless, the "exonerative mode" taken toward incidents like this creates an obvious blind spot and that's when you realize why institutions can never be trusted and why transparency must be imposed. 36-year-old Marina Kukhal has been detained by Russian authorities after confessing to chopping up her husband's corpse and storing it in their St. Petersburg refrigerator, according to UK tabloid The Sun. A separate follow-up article adds the further gruesome details: His fingertips were fed to rats in the yard outside, it is alleged. Forensic experts say eight key organs were unavailable to them, namely his stomach, pancreas, oesophagus, gall and urinary bladders, intestines, adrenal glands, and prostate gland. They were either missing or had been put through a washing machine, it was reported. Kukhal's husband was a Ukrainian-born man named Alexander Yushko, who also had a rap career performing under the name of Andy Cartwright. According to Russian police, Kukhal claims that: She chopped up the 30-year-old's remains so his fans would never know he had died such an "inglorious" death and planned to report him as a missing person. Meanwhile, the Sun reports, Kukhal also allegedly learned that Yushko was cheating on her with a 26-year-old fan. Russian media (again, via the Sun, so take it as you will) allegedly reports that the forensic evidence shows that Yushko was alive during his dismemberment, and technically died because of a lack of oxygen. Then there's some other shit about Kukhal allegedly drinking Yushko's blood and fucking his dead corpse, which, honestly, is pretty overkill, if we're already going with the jealous spouse story. The Sun notes that, if Kukhal's confession is true that Yushko died from an overdose and that her decision to dismember and store his body parts in the fridge while feeding other parts to animals all occurred after his death then she is not technically in violation of any Russian laws. Rapper's wife 'dismembered him with knife & hacksaw while he was still alive before feeding body parts to rats' [Will Stewart / The Sun] In 1938, Methuselah arrived in San Francisco on a boat from Queensland, Australia and took up residence at the Steinhart Aquarium. Methuselah is a lungfish who, at around 90-years-old, is thought to be the world's oldest fish living in a zoological setting. She took the spot as eldest when Granddad, a lungfish who lived at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, died in 2017 at 84. The San Francisco Chronicle profiled Methuselah and her best friend, California Academy of Sciences biologist Allan Jan. From the SF Chronicle: Methuselah is also unique for several high-maintenance quirks, which have caused alarm and comedy at the aquarium. "Sometimes she'll just start floating, tail up," Jan explains. "And then we'll get a bunch of calls. 'What's wrong with the fish? What's wrong with the fish!' To the public, it looks like she's in distress."[] Jan says he works on "enrichments," which include training and tactile interactions, where he touches the fish to give them comfort and make them more acclimated for inevitable weighings and medical procedures. Asked what types of tactiles Methuselah enjoys, he says "literally belly rubs." Seven passengers were injured when a KTX bullet train heading to Busan derailed in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province on Wednesday. The accident happened as the train derailed at a tunnel when a steel structure fell on it at around 12:46 p.m. It caused disruptions for more than two hours, affecting train routes between Seoul and Busan. Help is on the way to Erie County Medical Center, one of the most capacity-strained hospitals in the state that will soon welcome a 23-member federal Department of Defense medical response team. The team, which will go through orientation this weekend and be operational early next week, is composed of four physicians, including three critical care doctors, two respiratory technicians, three non-clinical administration officials and 14 nurses. "The 14 nurses' skillsets primarily break down into two categories, which is the emergency room and medical-surgical areas, and those are two areas where we critically need the help," said Andrew Davis, ECMC's chief operating officer. The team will be with ECMC for at least 30 days, providing a "very needed boost," Davis said. Their arrival comes as an increasingly large number of health care workers, at ECMC and other facilities, are testing positive for Covid-19 as the highly contagious Omicron variant sweeps through the region. Once an employee tests positive, they are out for a minimum of five days, leaving staffing gaps this federal team can help fill at a time when Covid-19 hospitalizations, while often milder cases than previous waves, are increasing. WNY health care providers seeing record employee Covid-19 cases, straining staffing resources The fast-spreading Omicron variant also is hitting health care workers, with several hundred out sick with the virus as of Tuesday. Deploying help from the federal government is among the latest measures the state has taken to try to alleviate pressure at some of its most overwhelmed hospitals. Similar to the aid for ECMC, a 35-member federal Disaster Medical Assistant Team is being sent to SUNY Upstate in Syracuse, part of a Central New York region that had only 7% of its roughly 1,200 hospital beds available Tuesday the lowest rate among New York's 10 regions. Fifty ambulance teams also are headed to New York City. ECMC has received other rounds of help from the state in recent months. For example, 12 National Guard members arrived at the ECMC-run Terrace View Long-Term Care Facility in early December, helping to open up more beds. Those medics, most of whom are from the Western New York area, will remain at Terrace View though mid-January and "hopefully, they will be there a little bit longer," Davis said. National Guard to help at Terrace View as new Covid-19 cases in Erie County hit record high The help arrives just as Erie County reported its highest-ever weekly count of new Covid-19 cases 5,535 in the week that ended Saturday. As part of the same announcement that sent National Guard members to Terrace View, four medics also were deployed to The Pines Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in Cattaraugus County, New York Health Department spokesperson Jill Montag said. The state, at this time, has no plans to demobilize the National Guard teams that were deployed to nursing homes, she added. The Health Department also has positioned 30 Federal Emergency Management Agency ambulances and an additional 12 state-contracted ambulances around the state, including 11 in Batavia, to assist with transporting patients between health care facilities. But to this point, United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia hasn't had to use the state-sent ambulances, which the hospital said are for "long transports for patients of more than an hour." "United Memorial Medical Center has not needed to transfer any patients that far away and ambulance operations have proceeded without issue," UMMC President Dan Ireland said in a statement. "Should we need to begin transferring patients at a longer distance, we're grateful to know that support is on standby." In Erie County, state data shows ECMC and Catholic Health System's Sisters of Charity Hospital are the two most capacity-strained hospitals. For instance, all 338 of ECMC's staffed acute care beds were occupied Monday the same day it hit its record for Covid-19 patients hospitalized, at 104, according to state data. That day, six of the ECMC's 48 staffed intensive care unit beds were available. "We have capacity in the ICU areas," Davis said. "This wave is very different than the last one." In the current wave, more patients are going into ECMC's medical-surgical areas, while the hospital has fewer Covid-19 patients on ventilators than before, Davis said. Covid-19 patients also are being discharged at a slightly faster pace than before. Given how tight hospital beds have been, ECMC is one of 21 hospitals across the state required to limit nonessential, elective procedures, in accordance with a state order meant to save capacity. Even before that order went into effect early last month, ECMC in September had voluntarily suspended inpatient elective surgeries and reduced hours at its outpatient clinics, so staff could support inpatient care in the main hospital. Whether the arrival of the 23-person medical team could help open up more services at ECMC remains to be seen. "I think any time you're able to get over 20 people, and most of those being clinical positions, that's definitely a help," Davis said. "We'll have to see how it goes over the next 30 days, but having at least 20 more bodies that we can put in the ER or in the medical-surgical area is a tremendous help to our very tired workforce." Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A search for a missing woman turned into a treacherous recovery operation after a body was discovered in the gorge behind Warsaw Village Park Wednesday, Wyoming County authorities said. Wednesday morning, Warsaw police received a call asking for a welfare check after the family of a woman reported that she hadn't shown up at work, said Police Chief Peter Hoffmeister. He said the woman was originally from the Rochester area and was living in Warsaw. Police went to the house and did not find her there. An officer recalled seeing a vehicle was parked near the Warsaw Village Park the previous night and police confirmed that it was her car. Officers followed her footsteps through the snow and determined she may have fallen into the gorge. About an hour later, a body was located. "It went from a search and rescue to a recovery," Fire and Emergency Medical Services Coordinator William Streicher said. The Wyoming County Rope Rescue Team was called in to help a little before 1 p.m. Wednesday. The conditions for recovering the body were difficult, Hoffmeister said. The gorge is steep and was covered in ice Wednesday. "People's lives were in danger to get her out of there," he said. The name of the deceased has not been released. Police are still investigating the incident. Early indications are that the woman was hiking when she fell, Hoffmeister said. The rope rescue team is made up of members of the Attica, Bennington, Cowlesville, Sheldon, Wyoming and Perry fire companies. Warsaw fire and Wyoming County sheriff's deputies also assisted. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The surge in Covid-19 cases blamed on the Omicron variant of the virus is no reason to consider new restrictions on cross-border access. So said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Brian Higgins and Chris Jacobs in a letter to the White House on Thursday. "We write to urge you to work with Canada to keep the northern border open to vaccinated individuals, even as the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 raises new challenges," the lawmakers wrote to President Biden. "This is necessary to protect the economic livelihood of New York businesses and to ensure we are not placing additional burdens on our supply chains. It is also important for our constituents who are reliant on travel across the northern border to connect with friends and family members," the letter said. Since October, the Biden administration has allowed fully vaccinated people to enter the U.S. at the regular points of entry on the Canadian and Mexican borders. Now that vaccines are widely available, we cannot return to the economic and personal sacrifices that would be made if the northern border is closed once again, the lawmakers wrote. But the Omicron variant has produced the highest caseloads in the nearly two-year history of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has led some officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, to restore mask mandates. Biden has attempted to mandate vaccinations for large businesses, health care facilities and government agencies, but his efforts have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday. The lawmakers' letter to Biden, which also was sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, contended that the economic impact of any new border restrictions would be a severe blow to local business. The impact of nearly 20 months of closure was devastating to countless New York businesses, medical providers, and families who depend on travel across the New York-Canadian border," the lawmakers said in a news release issued by Gillibrand's office. "The northern border is the gateway to an indispensable economic partnership, and we are confident border crossings can continue safely and efficiently. According to the letter, "The closure and loss of Canadian business cost the U.S. economy an estimated $1.5 billion each month, and $665-855 million annually in Erie County alone." "We must recognize vaccine efficacy and follow the public health data," the letter said. "There should not be additional restrictions placed on nonessential travel for fully vaccinated Americans and Canadians and all ports of entry on the northern border must remain open." Gillibrand, Higgins and Jacobs wrote that 76% of the Canadian population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Despite that, Ontario has reimposed severe Covid-19 restrictions. All schools in the province have been shifted to online learning until at least Jan. 17, museums and other attractions have been closed, social gatherings have been limited to five people indoors and 10 people outdoors and 50% capacity limits have been imposed on outdoor venues. Sports teams in Ontario are playing home games without fans. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New York State will pay $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man left paralyzed in a crash caused by a state trooper focused on his cellphone. The sum is intended to compensate Erie County resident Timothy W. McCann, who was 70 when the crash in July 2019 left him paralyzed from the chest down. Another victim left paralyzed, George Cole of Farmington, settled his claim against the state for $12 million last year. Claims are pending from three other victims who were injured but are still able to walk. With McCann's settlement, confirmed by a state official familiar the terms, one troopers distracted driving has so far cost taxpayers more than $21 million and inflicted life-altering injuries. When paid, the $9.5 million will be shared by McCann and his lawyers and will reimburse Medicaid, Medicare or workers' compensation for any costs fronted for the victims care. McCann was working for Enterprise on July 15, 2019, when he and four co-workers boarded a Dodge Caravan and headed out to retrieve some rental vehicles in Jamestown. Road construction near Dunkirk slowed traffic on the westbound Thruway to a crawl. Just after 1 p.m., Trooper Stephen C. Barkers department-issued Dodge Charger sped toward the knot of traffic and slammed at 73 mph into the rear of the slow-moving minivan, according to a State Police report on the crash. McCann was sitting with Cole in the middle row of seats, which was thrust forward. Court documents say McCann was permanently paralyzed from the T5 region of his spine the thoracic region down. A State Police investigator accused Barker of two driving-related misdemeanors, stating that if he hadnt been distracted by his cellphone, he would have seen the slow-moving cars ahead. The road was flat, the weather was dry and sunny, and Barker was not hurrying to an emergency. But the investigator found that Barker had opened a Facebook page seconds before impact and through the course of his shift sent or received a text message every 83 seconds, on average. In August 2020, State Court of Claims Judge J. David Sampson found Barker negligent. The judge's decision noted that lawyers for the state did not come forward with any nonnegligent explanation. Some drivers in New York have done jail or prison time when their inattention to the road caused crashes. Those jail sentences usually involved fatalities but not in every case. A driver who ran into a state trooper on a roadside in Suffolk County in 2017, causing a severe brain injury, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for assault, given three years' probation and ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service. Trooper Joseph J. Gallagher, who hailed from Buffalo, died three years later, but the driver was not charged in the death. Trooper Barker was allowed to plead guilty to reckless driving after a more serious misdemeanor of reckless endangerment was dropped. There was no jail time, probation or even a fine. Sheridan Town Justice Lydia Romer agreed to a conditional discharge, meaning Barker had to pay only a $90 court fee. At his sentencing, no mention was made of a crash or injured victims or distracted driving, according to a transcript. And none of the victims was consulted about the disposition, said Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt, who came into office a year after the deal was reached and later expressed his displeasure that no victim was contacted. Barker, who had been with the State Police for five years, was terminated in August 2020, according to records from the State Comptrollers Office. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As Buffalo and the eastern suburbs continue to dig out today, a winter weather advisory remains in effect for southern Erie County and a lake snow warning is in effect in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, both until 7 a.m. Saturday. The lake snow warning for all of Erie County expired at 1 a.m. today, but additional accumulations of 4 to 7 inches are expected in the most persistent lake snows in southern Erie County. Several bands of lake-effect snow are affecting parts of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, while lake-effect snow to the east and north of Buffalo is expected to diminish. Snow totals reached their highest Friday in Cheektowaga at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, which saw 18.2 inches, with 16.6 inches recorded at Depew. In Buffalo, 17 inches of snow was reported. Here's a look at what to expect: Friday: There is a continued chance of snow showers today. The forecast calls for a mostly cloudy day, with a high temperature near 24 degrees. Winds will be westerly, at 6 to 14 mph. Less than half an inch of new snow accumulation is possible in Buffalo. Heavy snow will fall in relatively narrow bands in the Southern Tier counties. The National Weather Service advises motorists to be prepared for rapidly changing road conditions and visibilities in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. The bands of snow to the south are going to continue pretty much through tonight, said National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Welch, while the bands over the Niagara Frontier should break up as the wind changes. Heavy lake effect snow in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties will drop total accumulations of 8 to 14 inches in the most persistent lake snows. Winds will be gusting as high as 35 mph, according to the weather service. Friday night: Partly cloudy skies are forecast for Friday night, with a low around 10. Northwest winds at 6 to 11 mph are expected and will become lighter and variable after midnight. Saturday: Saturday will be sunny, with a high near 34, and southerly winds at 5 to 9 mph. Saturday night: There's a chance of snow and sleet between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Sunday, then rain is likely. Little accumulation is expected, and the low will be around 28. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Harold McNeil Follow Harold McNeil Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A Chautauqua County woman who was fired for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer while she worked as a business manager for a home healthcare business in Westfield is going to prison, federal prosecutors said. Despite the termination from her job in 2015, Alicia Raynor, 44, was never cut off from access to the payroll software of her former employer, Compassion at Home, which allowed Raynor to continue wiring money to herself a couple of years after her firing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. On Wednesday, Raynor was sentenced in federal court to serve 18 months in prison and 18 months of post-release home confinement on her conviction of wire fraud and filing a false tax return. U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra also ordered Raynor to pay restitution totaling $799,625. Prosecutors said that while working as the business manager for Compassion at Home, Raynor opened an account with Intuit, a payroll and payment processing service that crossed state lines, and used the accounting software package Quickbooks to make payments into the Intuit account. Raynor then diverted money from Compassion at Homes bank accounts to accounts that she controlled. In order to avoid detection, Raynor disguised Quickbook entries to make it appear that the payments were to Bank of America, Capital One or Compassion at Home employees. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, between August 2015 and June 2016, Raynor diverted $238,871 from the companys bank account to herself. In addition, for the tax years 2013 through 2016, Raynor received over $1.2 million in legitimate salary from Compassion at Home that she did not report as income on her tax returns. The IRS estimates that she owed $370,005 in taxes for 2013 through 2016. According to court records, an analysis of records obtained from Intuit reflect that from Sept. 14, 2015, to June 30, 2016, Raynor received 199 electronic transfers from Compassion at Home's bank into accounts that were under her control via the Quickbooks payroll process service. The transfers involved variations of Raynor's name, other names on her bank accounts, credit cards and the names of employees at Compassion at Home, and totaled about $227,682. Under the judge's order, Raynor is required to pay about $238,872 in restitution to Compassion at Home's owner and about $560,754 in restitution to the IRS. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A year ago, the nation almost came undone. That it didnt is testament to the durability of our democracy, the bravery and sacrifice of police officers whose lives were threatened or taken and the determination of many Democrats and Republicans to do their duty, come what may. But were not out of trouble. More, and possibly worse, awaits as Donald Trump continues to push the Big Lie, as many states add gerrymandered voting to gerrymandered political lines and as too many Republicans, forgetting their own rich history and their oaths of office hammer at the guardrails meant to protect American democracy. Thats a threat not just to todays Americans, but to millions yet to be born and to global stability. Few before the Trump years would ever have predicted the crisis that befell the country on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob, summoned and incited by Trump, swarmed the Capitol, intent on preventing the certification of Joe Bidens presidential victory by whatever means necessary, up to and including homicide. They did so absent any evidence of fraud beyond the seditious lies of the outgoing president. Worse, some members of Congress went along, voting that same evening to reject legitimate election results. They sided with the seditionists and sold out the country, even as its democracy hung in the balance. Among the turncoats was Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-Orchard Park, who has yet to apologize for his infamous vote. Since then, the evidence of Bidens win has only grown. In Arizona, for example, a vote audit prompted by pro-Trump skeptics ended up adding to Bidens margin of victory. Yet a majority of Republicans continues to insist, still without evidence, that the election was stolen from Trump. In that, they ignore one of the fundamental character flaws of the former president, a man who habitually accuses others of the misdeeds he, himself, is committing. Its classic misdirection: Look at him, not me. Trumps allegations of election theft fit that mold. They are a cover for his own larcenous effort, as actual evidence is making clear, beginning with the recorded telephone call in which he pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find more votes for him. Yet the Lie persists. So, as the country marks the anniversary of a dark day, it needs to take stock. The guardrails are shaking loose. How do we stabilize and strengthen them so that Americans, irrespective of party, dont lose faith in their own democracy? One thing is for doubting Americans to recognize that recent history repudiates Trumps lies about the likelihood of broad-based election fraud. The only truly close election in recent years occurred in 2000, when the Supreme Court considered legitimate questions about the Florida vote. Its ruling ultimately led to Democrat Al Gores classy and patriotic concession, an act that safely ushered George W. Bush in the White House. The fact is that the United States holds secure elections and, until Trump a chronic liar losing presidential candidates of both parties routinely moved to heal the country and bolster our democracy. Trump seeks to sabotage it. With that, its become urgent not just to ensure that elections are fair, but that Americans believe them to be fair. Thats a more difficult hurdle when a large chunk of an influential political party suspends disbelief and chooses to accept whatever their crooked leader says. Then what? Persuasion is what remains and, in that regard, Americans can be grateful for the House committee investigating the insurrection and, in particular, for the two courageous Republicans serving on it Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. Although many Republicans are bound to reject their opinions out of hand, they could help in persuading those who are persuadable. In that, they are doing the work of patriots: putting the needs of country over party. Their refusal to be bullied into traitorous submission is the stuff of history. Together with their Democratic colleagues, they hold out hope for a necessary reckoning. The country also needs to take note of the shameful efforts in some states to restrict voting and even to allow politicians to change outcomes they dont like. Thats insurrection under color of law and this week it led to a justifiable, if unfortunate, proposal to revise Senate filibuster rules aimed at allowing Congress to respond to a direct threat to fair elections. Although Democrats may later pay a price for any changes to the filibuster, what is the alternative? To allow renegade states like Texas, Florida and others all Republican-led to rig their elections and push the nation to yet another precipice? That cant be permitted. To be sure, problems can arise when the federal government intrudes on elections, which are the constitutional province of the states. But there are worse problems in failing to respond to the threat of such undemocratic machinations. Loss of faith would be only the start. Looking forward, American schools need to return to basic civics education. Students at a young age need to understand the processes and expectations of our system of government. Fewer people might have credited Trumps lies if they had that grounding. Lesson No. 1: Losing an election isnt evidence of fraud. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. The nation continues to endure the carnage resulting from progressive criminal justice reform. Murders increased 30% nationwide , 17 cities (including Rochester) report highest-ever yearly homicide totals, and screens are filled with images of out-of-control group looting of stores in California. In New York, last months Christmas tree arson fire in midtown Manhattan stands now as a symbol of our states principal contribution to the madness: The Bail Reform Act of 2019. The man responsible for this life-threatening action was immediately released after initial court appearance because the law dictated so. In the ultimate ridiculous irony, he then reportedly watched from across the street as the tree was rebuilt and re-lit. Unbelievable. Imagine having legislators so clueless that they willingly surrender the ability to keep someone who commits such a dangerous offense in jail. Criminals cant believe their luck of living in this state. The time has come for an electoral accounting from those who foisted this law on us. State lawmakers who run for reelection must be asked if they voted for it and why. They must state if they will fix the mess they have created, including proposing or voting for its outright repeal. Unsatisfactory answers on this single issue are enough to deny them support. If the devastating nationwide crime picture is not enough, the picture of that burning tree should be the impetus for such an accounting. Enough from the politicians, activists and criminal justice experts on bail reform. Its time to hear from the voters. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2022) - Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSXV: BRC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its initial metallurgical test work on the Tonopah West high-grade, epithermal silver-gold vein system located along the prolific Walker Lane trend of Western Nevada. Results show that the silver-gold mineralization at the project appears to be amenable to standard cyanidation processing with average recoveries of 95% gold and 87% silver. HIGHLIGHTS: Twelve composites from 6 of the veins on the Tonopah West project returned an average gold recovery of 95% and an average silver recovery of 87%; Gold recoveries range between 90% to 98%, and the silver recoveries range between 81% and 94%; The Merten vein, the largest vein in the DPB resource area, returned an average gold recovery of 96% and a silver recovery of 90%; The high-grade Bermuda vein yielded average recoveries of 93.5% for gold and 91% for silver; and The DPB maiden resource is on track for Q1 2022. Andrew Pollard, the Company's President and CEO, stated, "Initial metallurgical testwork at the project has yielded very high silver and gold recoveries that appear amenable to cyanidation, providing highly positive implications for the future development potential of the project. Historically, the Tonopah Extension Mining Company had a 60-stamp mill, which gave us a good indication that the metallurgy would be amenable to standard processing methods. This indication has now been confirmed with testwork showing excellent metal recoveries, representing a significant milestone in our crusade to quickly advance and de-risk the project. The two largest, and most important structures for us within the DPB resource area, the Merten and Bermuda veins, also returned the highest metallurgical recoveries. The results will support and inform our maiden resource estimate on our DPB vein corridor, anticipated for Q1, 2022." Story continues A total of twelve vein composites were assembled and delivered to Kappes and Cassidy (KCA) in Reno, Nevada. KCA completed cyanide bottle roll leach tests to test the initial metallurgical characteristics of the Tonopah West high-grade, epithermal silver-gold vein system. A low- and high-grade composite was created for each of the Victor, Denver, Paymaster, Bermuda, Merten and Mule veins. The metallurgical test returned average recoveries 95% for gold, and 87% for silver. The gold recoveries range between 90% to 98%, and the silver recoveries range between 81% and 94%. These test results compare favorably to the historic recoveries achieved in the Tonopah district when gold and silver were liberated using stamp mills. Blackrock project geologists constructed a set of low-grade and high-grade composites for each of the major veins in the DPB and Victors areas. The low-grade (LG) composite was assembled from coarse drill reject material based on gold and silver assays with a calculated silver equivalent (AgEq) grade of greater than 150 g/t AgEq, but less than 300 g/t AgEq. The high-grade (HG) composite was created of similar coarse reject material based on gold and silver assays with a calculated silver equivalent (AgEq) grade of greater than 300 g/t AgEq. The silver equivalent grade was calculated by using the silver assay added to the gold assay times 100. Table 1 shows the recoveries and associated parameters for the gold in each composite. Table 2 shows the corresponding silver recovery for each composite and the associated parameters of the bottle roll leach test. An average of the HG and LG recoveries is calculated in the last column of each table. Table 1: Bottle Roll Leach Tests for Gold in Tonopah West Composites Description Head Average, gms Au/MT Calculated Head, gms Au/MT Extracted, gms Au/MT Avg. Tails, gms Au/MT Au Recovery % Consumption NaCN, kg/MT Addition Ca(OH) 2 , kg/MT Average Au Recovery % Bermuda HG 6.429 5.862 5.627 0.235 96% 1.03 1.02 93.5% Bermuda LG 0.994 0.938 0.854 0.084 91% 0.48 1.02 Denver HG 4.526 4.439 4.248 0.190 96% 0.94 1.02 93.0% Denver LG 0.823 0.884 0.796 0.087 90% 0.35 1.02 Merten HG 7.663 7.490 7.325 0.165 98% 0.89 0.76 96.0% Merten LG 1.183 1.096 1.029 0.067 94% 0.47 1.02 Mule HG 7.680 7.202 7.022 0.180 98% 0.92 0.76 97.0% Mule LG 1.457 1.349 1.294 0.055 96% 0.67 0.76 Paymaster HG 2.349 2.397 2.323 0.074 97% 0.97 0.76 96.0% Paymaster LG 1.200 1.159 1.097 0.062 95% 0.53 0.76 Victor HG 3.549 3.709 3.652 0.057 98% 1.02 0.76 97.0% Victor LG 1.226 1.184 1.135 0.049 96% 0.39 1.02 Average 3.256 3.142 3.034 0.109 95% 0.72 0.89 95% Minimum 0.823 0.884 0.796 0.049 90% 0.35 0.76 93% Maximum 7.680 7.490 7.325 0.235 98% 1.03 1.02 97% Table 2: Bottle Roll Leach Tests for Silver in Tonopah West Composites Description Head Average, gms Ag/MT Calculated Head, gms Ag/MT Extracted, gms Ag/MT Avg. Tails, gms Ag/MT Ag Recovery, % Consumption NaCN, kg/MT Addition Ca(OH) 2 , kg/MT Average Ag Recovery, % Bermuda HG 95.69 102.36 96.41 5.95 94% 1.03 1.02 91.0% Bermuda LG 98.57 106.84 93.59 13.25 88% 0.48 1.02 Denver HG 120.46 123.85 111.60 12.26 90% 0.94 1.02 89.5% Denver LG 110.83 128.02 113.65 14.37 89% 0.35 1.02 Merten HG 91.53 100.63 89.63 11.01 89% 0.89 0.76 90.0% Merten LG 100.58 104.19 94.62 9.57 91% 0.47 1.02 Mule HG 434.57 442.12 384.93 57.19 87% 0.92 0.76 84.0% Mule LG 444.00 448.01 363.63 84.38 81% 0.67 0.76 Paymaster HG 614.40 602.88 489.64 113.25 81% 0.97 0.76 85.0% Paymaster LG 213.09 210.33 187.39 22.94 89% 0.53 0.76 Victor HG 533.14 500.95 426.94 74.01 85% 1.02 0.76 83.0% Victor LG 496.37 495.93 400.71 95.22 81% 0.39 1.02 Average 279.44 280.51 237.73 42.78 87% 0.72 0.89 87% Minimum 91.53 100.63 89.63 5.95 81% 0.35 0.76 83% Maximum 614.40 602.88 489.64 113.25 94% 1.03 1.02 91% All composites were leached for 96 hours on 45 micron material. Based on these attractive initial results, the Company plans additional metallurgical testwork after its maiden resource estimate is completed. Blackrock's exploration activities at the Tonopah North Project are being conducted and supervised by Mr. William Howald, Executive Chairman of Blackrock Silver Corp. Mr. William Howald, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #11041, is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. About Blackrock Silver Corp. Blackrock is a junior precious metals focused exploration company that is on a quest to make an economic discovery. Anchored by a seasoned Board, the Company is focused on its Nevada portfolio of properties consisting of low-sulphidation epithermal gold & silver projects located along the established Northern Nevada Rift in north-central Nevada and the Walker Lane trend in western Nevada. With over 110,00 metres of drilling completed at our flagship Tonopah West silver-gold project, the company plans to deliver a maiden resource estimate in Q1, 2022. For further information, please contact: Andrew Pollard, President & CEO Blackrock Silver Corp. Phone: 604 817-6044 Email: andrew@blackrocksilver.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements concern the Company's strategic plans, completion and exercise of the Tonopah option agreement, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs, estimates of mineralization from drilling, geological information projected from sampling results and the potential quantities and grades of the target zones. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; future operating costs; and the historical basis for current estimates of potential quantities and grades of target zones. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors including the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and uncertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds; failure to delineate potential quantities and grades of the target zones based on historical data, the impact of COVID 19 on operations and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/109195 For the past two decades, Jennifer London has doted after the animals in the Irvine Park zoo. She has made sure they were fed, cleaned their messes, cared for them when they were sick, celebrated the births and mourned the deaths. I tend to favor the ones who need me the most, London said. I give them a little bit more attention because they need it. London, 62, has decided to retire, with her final day on Jan. 15. Her mother in Pittsburgh is ailing, and shes opted to retire and return to her hometown. But it wasnt an easy decision. I know all the animals like me, and appreciate me, she said. It means a lot. It does pull on your heartstrings. I love the relationship with the animals, and seeing I am making a difference for them. London said everyone loves the lemurs, but she also adores some of the other more-threatening animals. The hyenas are actually pretty sweet; the way they look at you, their eyes are really soft, she said. Her least favorite job? Gathering all the ducks from a pond every night in the summer months and getting them indoors. They run from her, and sometimes head up a nearby hill to escape. They have to come inside; we do have predators that would get them, she said. Long-time Chippewa Falls Parks Director Dick Hebert, who retired in March, praised the work London has done in her career here. She was obviously very passionate about her job, Hebert said. The city of Chippewa Falls was so fortunate she stayed here. She came with a lot of experience, and she took a lot of pride in her work. Hebert said it is clear how much London enjoyed being around the animals. From spending so many hours with the animals, she had a close attachment with them, Hebert said. She took our zoo to another level, as far as the training and care of the animals. Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said London was a professional who knew her job well. Shes a knowledgeable employee, Hoffman said. She had a sincere love and concern for the animals. Hoffman said the next challenge is finding a good replacement. The city is taking applications for the job. The city budgets about $150,000 annually for the zoo. That pays for a full-time zookeeper, a part-time worker, food, vitamins, testing and other expenses. Improved, larger exhibits During her 21 years here, London has worked to expand the zoo and obtain larger, safer exhibits for the animals. When she arrived, the bobcats, bears and cougars were in small structures that didnt allow the predatory animals much room to move. The first bear cage constructed in Irvine Park was in 1909. The small animals building was constructed in 1914, and was rebuilt in 1962. However, those aging exhibits were considered unsafe for the animals and the zoo workers, and it wasnt easy to see the animals. In 2002, the Chippewa Falls Parks Board voted to build the three new displays at a cost of about $1.2 million, which was raised through private donations. The bear exhibit, which opened in 2005, is about 5,000 square feet. The cougar display, which opened in 2008, is about 2,600 square feet in size and now houses two tigers. The final exhibit, which opened in 2010, is about 2,000 square feet; it originally housed bobcats but now features two hyenas. The new exhibits, with glass windows, allow the public to stand close to the animals and view their habitat. New glass panels were installed earlier this year in several of the windows into the exhibits. In June 2016, the new, 9,400-square-foot small animals building opened as part of a $3.9 million zoo improvement project. It houses the Capuchin monkey, lemurs, coatimundi and maras. London assisted in providing ideas for the building, making sure it was designed with safety in mind. I was thinking of what we could do for efficiency, she said. That was my goal. The coatimundi, similar to raccoons, are carnivores. Shes also cautious around the monkeys. The Capuchins, they are so smart, you have to watch where they are running, she said. London graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 1999 with a degree in environmental education and minors in captive wildlife and museum techniques. She worked at a zoo in Marshfield before coming here, and she initially planned to stay perhaps five years. However, she stayed because she had invested so much time into seeing each of the new exhibits get funded and built, and she wanted to see the projects come to fruition. I really wanted to see it work, because the park has so much potential, she said. That was another part of me staying. I wanted to see the progress. I could see the snowball starting. During her tenure, London has seen numerous births in the zoo, as the lemurs, coatimundi, maras and bison all have offspring. In general, newborn animals are shipped out of the park as soon as they are able to part from their mother, particularly if they are males. This is because the adult males often become territorial and aggressive. For instance, the two bison born in spring 2016 were later removed. While she has loved her job, she also dealt with the sadness of losing animals. In recent years, a Capuchin monkey and a fishing cat have died. A virus wiped out nearly half the bison herd between September and October 2013, with four of the nine animals dying from Malignant Catarrhal Fever, which causes an inflammation of the mucus membranes and has no cure. It was apparently transmitted to the bison by desert sheep that arrived in the park at the end of May 2013. Once the sheep were identified as carriers of the disease, they were immediately removed from the park, but it was too late to stop the deaths of four bison. Newborn bison dont always survive one that was born in June 2016 died a couple days later. London says she wants to thank all the people who have walked by and praised her for the work she has done. She also said much of the minor upgrades couldnt have been done without money raised by the Zoo Society and bar owner Cindy Welk, who has held numerous fundraisers with money going toward items like industrial-strength toys for the animals to use. Her best advice to her replacement is to keep fighting for the animals, to make sure they are safe and well cared for. And in her eyes, that includes getting funding for an additional zookeeper position. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The GOP-controlled Legislature would have final say over how the governor spends federal funds allocated to Wisconsin under a constitutional amendment proposed this week by Senate Republicans. Another proposed resolution would require Wisconsin to adopt Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, for the states biennial budgeting process, rather than use current cash accounting practices. As constitutional amendments, the measures would need to pass the Senate and Assembly in two successive sessions before being decided by voters in a general election. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment. Currently, the governor has sole discretion over how federal funds are spent. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers office did not respond to a request for comment. There has been a growing push among legislative Republicans seeking more control over how the executive office doles out federal funds primarily in recent years as the federal government pumped billions in stimulus dollars into the state to help address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is not meant to pick on Gov. Evers at all. Obviously (former Republican Gov. Scott Walker) and previous governors also had federal funds and they also didnt include consultation with the Legislature and we dont know who the governor is going to be in 2022 and beyond, said Sen. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, who has co-authored the resolutions. So this is not a personal attack on Gov. Evers ... its just good governance reform. The Legislature passed statutes in the 1930s to hand over control of federal funds to the governors office as federal dollars flowed into the state near the end of the Great Depression, according to a report provided to Kooyenga last month from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau. The proposal would prohibit any executive branch official or department from allocating any federal dollars without first securing approval from a legislative committee, which Kooyenga said would likely be the GOP-led budget committee. It doesnt slap down the governor, it slaps down the Legislature, Kooyenga said. It says, All right, Legislature, you need to do your job and you need to be involved in the process alongside the governor to help direct where this federal money should go. Evers vetoed legislation last February that would have provided the Legislatures budget committee veto power over the use of federal COVID-19 funds. Two months later, the governor vetoed a similar measure that would have given the Legislature control over how federal coronavirus stimulus dollars are spent. Its been unfortunate through this entire pandemic that the federal government has given so much spending power to one person in the state of Wisconsin and not those of us who are closest to our districts to try to find solutions on how to spend that money, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said Wednesday. Republicans have also introduced a number of failed bills seeking to direct the use of federal funds to matters ranging from broadband expansion to mental health programs in schools, while Evers has laid out his own plan for allocating those dollars. A new package proposed Tuesday, which also is likely to be vetoed by Evers, would allocate about $25 million in federal COVID-19 relief money to recruiting, training and retaining law enforcement officers. Wisconsin received close to $2.5 billion in federal relief funds through the American Rescue Plan Act. All told, the state has been allocated more than $4.5 billion in federal coronavirus stimulus funds. Of those funds, more than $2 billion has been spent on state emergency response efforts, public health measures and economic support programs, according to a breakdown provided by the governors office in August. GAAP accounting The Wisconsin Constitution requires state government to balance its budget. But it only must do so under so-called cash accounting practices a less-expansive view of the state budget that doesnt fully account for future expenses to which the state has committed. The state started to also use the GAAP system in the 1989-90 period. It takes into account commitments made in one budgeting cycle that wont be paid until a following cycle. The difference is how expenditures are accounted for in the two approaches. Using GAAP, commitments are incurred when they are made, while cash accounting does not identify those as expenditures until they are actually paid. Kooyenga said the proposed constitutional amendment would require GAAP practices to be cemented into the constitution. Requiring the use of GAAP accounting to balance the state budget is an idea that has been toyed with in the past, with Walker vowing to shift to the practice before taking office in 2011. While that never came to fruition, Evers, who is running for a second term this fall, said the idea of using GAAP accounting was something to work towards before taking office in early 2019. Kooyenga, along with Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, an accountant who has co-authored the latest proposal, broached a similar constitutional amendment back in 2012 that cleared the Assembly, but failed to advance in the Senate. It essentially takes the accounting tricks off the table and it requires you to use honest accounting, Kooyenga said of the latest proposal. Officials have said the states budget surplus would ease the transition from cash accounting to the formal use of GAAP. I think the only reason we can have this discussion right now is since we have made such great strides in Wisconsin over the last decade in responsible budgeting and not pushing off current obligations to make them future obligations, LeMahieu said. Kooyenga said if both proposals pass the Assembly and Senate in two sessions, they could come before voters by the 2024 presidential election. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Dane County judge on Tuesday ordered Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and his attorney to sit for depositions as part of a liberal watchdog groups lawsuit seeking public records related to the ongoing GOP-ordered review of the 2020 election. Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn, who last week expressed confusion over how so few documents were produced from the first three months of former state Supreme Court justice Michael Gablemans ongoing probe, denied a request by attorneys for Vos and his attorney, Steve Fawcett, seeking to block the depositions. She ordered the two to meet with attorneys for American Oversight to provide additional details on how officials responded to the groups multiple requests for public records and answer questions about whether additional documents exist and have been withheld or were destroyed. The citizens of Wisconsin deserve the truth, Bailey-Rihn said. Either these records exist or they dont. The case is one of three ongoing lawsuits brought by American Oversight following requests for records filed last year pertaining to Gablemans review. Attorneys for American Oversight have asked that Vos be held in contempt for not releasing the records sooner. All of this requires some follow-up, said Christa Westerberg, an attorney for American Oversight. An attorney for Vos, Ronald Stadler, has said all available documents have been provided. On Tuesday, he said American Oversights claims of additional documents are based on suspicion. He described the lawsuit last week as a backdoor discovery attempt. This is a fishing expedition, Stadler said Tuesday. The depositions, which are not open to the public, have been scheduled for Jan. 12. Bailey-Rihn said questions must focus on documents requested by American Oversight and what efforts were made to locate the documents. Bailey-Rihn has also scheduled a hearing for Jan. 24 to find out how thoroughly Vos and Assembly Chief Clerk Ted Blazel searched for records ordered to be released in a previous court decision almost two months ago. Bailey-Rihn has asked that a records custodian testify at the hearing. American Oversights lawsuits are part of a growing list of court battles surrounding Gablemans inquiry, which focuses on some of the procedures voters and clerks relied on for casting and processing ballots. Vos, R-Rochester, has allocated $676,000 in taxpayer money for the review, which has already run longer than projected and will likely end up costing more. In another sign of a prolonged investigation, Gableman last week issued new subpoenas to officials with the Wisconsin Elections Commission and a handful of cities, including Madison, seeking emails, voting machine information and other election-related documents. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford plans to rule by Monday on whether Gableman has the authority to demand a private, in-person interview with Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe. That case follows Democratic Attorney General Josh Kauls October request for a restraining order against subpoenas issued by Gableman seeking election-related documents and the Wolfe interview. In another case, a Waukesha County judge last month scheduled a hearing for Jan. 21 on Gablemans request that the Waukesha County sheriff compel the mayors of Madison and Green Bay to meet with him or else face possible jail time. Reviews of the election by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found no evidence of widespread fraud but did lead to recommendations on how elections can be improved. The commission earlier this month took the first steps in writing administrative rules on a number of issues raised in the Audit Bureau report, including rules regulating the use of ballot drop boxes and what missing information clerks can fill in on absentee ballot envelopes. A recount and court decisions have affirmed that President Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. An analysis by The Associated Press found only 31 potential cases of voter fraud in Wisconsins 2020 election, which represents less than 0.15% of Bidens margin of victory. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Republicans in the state Senate plan to reintroduce a handful of election-related measures some similar to bills vetoed last year by Gov. Tony Evers that would place restrictions on absentee ballots, among other measures. In a Wednesday interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, also said addressing the states workforce challenges will be a top priority in the coming session. He also said it was unfortunate that former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman called on a fellow Republican state senator to resign after she criticized Gablemans review of the 2020 election. While specific bill language was not available, LeMahieu said the package of election-related measures will likely be based on last years report from the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, which found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election but did make recommendations on how elections can be improved. Some bills will be very similar to a package of election-related measures vetoed by Evers back in August, he added. LeMahieu said he expects to see bills in the coming session that would require most people who are indefinitely confined unable to get to the polls by themselves to provide a photo ID to vote and prohibit clerks from correcting errors or filling in missing information on absentee ballot envelopes, among other measures. Those are some of the topics that the Audit Bureau flagged and topics that well be putting before the governor again, LeMahieu said. It will be interesting to see, with the lens of a nonpartisan agency suggesting these changes, if the governor will veto them again, even though I think he sort of indicated he plans on it. Evers office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The Democratic governor vetoed a package of six election-related bills back in August that he described at the time as anti-democratic. The GOP-authored bills would have imposed a litany of restrictions on voters and elections administration. Among them were measures restricting who can return an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter, limiting the use of indefinitely confined status when applying for absentee ballots, and prohibiting clerks from correcting minor errors on absentee ballot application materials. Democracy isnt something that just happens for us, we choose to make it every day, Evers said in a statement when he vetoed the bills last year. When I ran for this office, I promised that Id work to protect the right of every eligible person to vote. LeMahieu said he hopes Evers will change his mind on some of the bills based on recommendations made by the Audit Bureau and conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which also found no evidence of widespread fraud but did encourage improvements to election administration. Hopefully this creates more weight and Evers takes these bills seriously this time and doesnt just fall into the partisans on his side to veto them automatically without taking a serious look at them, he said. Elections rules LeMahieu also expressed support for a request made last week by Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, who co-chairs the Legislatures GOP-led joint rules committee, calling for motions to force the Wisconsin Elections Commission to quickly create rules for missing information on absentee envelopes, along with rules for ballot drop boxes. A meeting has not been scheduled on the matter. The bipartisan Elections Commission voted in early December to begin the administrative rule-making process for several recommendations in the Audit Bureaus report. The rule-making process can take as long as 13 months to complete and requires approval from the governor and a Republican-controlled rules committee. The commission will vote in future meetings on specific rule proposals. In addition to the Audit Bureaus report, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, hired Gableman last year to review the 2020 election. Vos has allocated $676,000 in taxpayer funds to the effort, but has said additional costs could accrue. LeMahieu said he is interested to see what information comes from Gablemans inquiry, but also pushed back against his comment last month that Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, should resign from the Legislature. Gablemans comments, made at a Chippewa County Republican Party event, came after Bernier, a former clerk, called for the review to wrap up sooner rather than later, while raising concerns of ongoing questioning of the 2020 election. Its definitely not helpful when Gableman calls on a sitting senator to resign, LeMahieu said. That was really unfortunate. Workforce bills LeMahieu said the Senate also plans to move forward soon a package of bills aimed at addressing the states persistent workforce challenges, which were present before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reported last month that the states unemployment rate had dropped to 3% in November, according to preliminary data, matching the previous record low set in November 2018. Despite the positive trend, state officials have said Wisconsin is still about 100,000 jobs below where it was before the pandemic. The states aging population has caused the workforce to flatten out over time and it threatens to shift downward by as early as 2035, he added. Maybe some have retired early but theres other people sitting on the sidelines so we need to do what we can legislatively to incentivize people back into the workforce, to make it easier for them to get back into the workforce and to make it harder for them to stay on unemployment insurance, LeMahieu said. The package of workforce bills could be finalized in the coming week or two, he added. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 5) Laguna is next to tighten its community restrictions, after the Inter-Agency Task Force placed the province under Alert Level 3 from Jan. 7 to 15. In a statement, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the IATF approved the recommendation of the Sub-technical Working Group on Data Analytics on Wednesday to escalate Laguna to Alert Level 3 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The province is the latest addition to the list of areas under the heightened classification following Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal. Under Alert Level 3, physical activities like face-to-face classes, contact sports, funfairs, live voice and wind instrument events are not allowed. Intrazonal and interzonal travel will be allowed subject to guidelines set by the local government unit of destination. Allowable capacity for certain establishments will also be limited to 30% for indoor venues and 50% for outdoor venues. Gatherings for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals would still be allowed. Operations of casinos are still prohibited. Gatherings in residences of individuals not belonging to the same household are also not allowed. The countrys COVID-19 cases have been continuously increasing for the past few days and surging to 10,775 on Wednesday -- almost twice the number logged the day before. The Department of Health said it is already assuming that the feared Omicron variant is spreading in communities because of the sudden spike in cases. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law forbidding child marriages in the Philippines, imposing stiff penalties on those perpetrating related activities. The State affirms that marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of capacitated parties, and child betrothal and marriage shall have no legal effect, stated Republic Act No. 11596, which was signed last December 10 but released to the media only this Thursday. The law defines a child as any person below 18, or older but is unable to fully take care and protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of certain physical or mental condition. A child marriage, meanwhile, involves one or both children solemnized in civil or church proceedings, or in any recognized traditional, cultural or customary manner. It also covers an informal union or cohabitation outside of wedlock between an adult and a child, or between children. RA 11596 deems unlawful and prohibited the facilitation and solemnization of child marriages, along with the cohabitation of an adult with a child outside of matrimony. Anyone found to have caused, fixed, facilitated or arranged a child marriage will be fined at least 40,000 and suffer the penalty of prison time which lasts from four years and two months to eight years and a day according to the Revised Penal Code. Harsher penalties are slapped on offenders if theyre ascendants, guardians, or parents of the child including adoptive and step parents. In such case, they will be fined at least 50,000, and jailed from 10 years and one month to 12 years; as well as perpetually lose their parental authority over the child/children. Individuals who produce, print, issue and/or distribute fraudulent or tampered documents like birth and/or foundling certificates to misrepresent a childs age or evade liability from this law will also be held liable without prejudice to other laws. Meanwhile, persons found to have performed or officiated a child marriage will face incarceration with a fine not lower than 50,000. The same penalties apply to any adult found to have cohabited with a child. If the perpetrator is a public official, RA 11596 says the individual must be dismissed from public service and at the discretion of the courts, be perpetually disqualified from holding office. Acoording to the law, child marriages are void ab initio which means having no legal effect. The Act also tasks the government with creating an enabling environment where the practice of child marriage shall not thrive. The Department of Social and Welfare Development the laws lead implementing agency must come up with culturally-appropriate and comprehensive programs in coordination with identified government agencies along with concerned civil society (CSOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs). This should be done and initiated by the department within six months of the laws effectivity. RA 11596 also instructs the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) to work closely with the DSWD in strengthening policies and creating programs against child marriage. Other agencies instructed to implement the law are the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of the Interior and the Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH) and the Supreme Court (SC). Also included in this list are the Philippine Commission on Women, Commission on Human Rights (CHR), National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), and National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). The DSWD must also coordinate with the DOH, DepEd, CWC, NCMF, and NCIP in the promulgation of the laws rules and regulations within 60 days of its effectivity. Also belonging in this list is one representative each from CSOs to represent women, children, Muslim Filipinos, and indigenous peoples. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The local governments units of Metro Manila and Bulacanwhere restrictions have been escalated under Alert Level 3are requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination of inbound travelers, the Philippine National Police said on Thursday. The PNP said upon the LGUs instruction, police manning border checkpoints will ask for the vaccination cards of motorists and commuters. Earlier, Metro Manila mayors signed a resolution prohibiting those who have not yet received their anti-coronavirus shot from going outside, except for essential trips. Those without vaccination cards will be barred from entering and will be asked to go back, PNP Chief General Dionardo Carlos said. The capital region, Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal are under Alert Level 3 until Jan. 15 amid rising COVID-19 cases. Laguna is also set to be placed under the heightened classification beginning Jan. 7 to 15. The PNP said the first day of the implementation of the policy in Bulacan snarled up traffic but strict inspection measures are necessary to curb coronavirus spread. The PNP is fully aware that movement must not be hampered, but non-essential travel can be controlled. Just stay at home at this time when you have nothing important to do outside, Carlos said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Boracay tourists and returning locals will have to again present negative RT-PCR test results before they are allowed entry to Aklan beginning next week, the provincial government said. Aklan Governor Florencio Milaflores ordered the reimposition of the requirement on Jan. 9, amid the threat of the highly infectious Omicron variant. Under the governors executive order dated Jan. 5, tourists and returning Aklanons must attach a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours of their date of travel when filling up their Online Health Declaration Card (OHDC) at touristboracay.com or aklan.gov.ph. They must also generate their own QR codes using either site prior to entry. For returning overseas Filipinos or Filipino workers, they must also include proof of identification with Philippine residency. Tourists must also attach a copy of their confirmed booking slip or form from an accredited accommodation establishment in Boracay. However, Aklanon tourists residing in the province only need to present their VaxCertPH-issued COVID-19 vaccination certificates indicating their full inoculation status. If unavailable, they can present locally issued vaccination cards. They may also use fill up a certificate of undertaking for accommodation in the absence of a hotel booking confirmation, read the order. Aklanon tourists living in the province, along with tourists hailing from Western Visayas, must also take a picture of their vehicle plate if using private cars. Those taking public transport must complete a certificate of undertaking for travel details. For Aklanons returning to the province, they also need to attach, along with their negative test result, a notice of coordination from their municipality of destination, which is issued by the mayors office. They also need to include a screenshot of the OHDC confirmation, a Philippine government-issued ID with their Aklan address, travel details, and proof of vaccination status. Fully vaccinated individuals may prove their status by presenting their COVID-19 vaccination certificates from VaxCertPH. If unavailable, locally issued vaccination cards with a verifiable QR code or certificate of vaccination from the inoculation center with contact details can be presented, too. Vaccination cards, IDs, or certificates issued abroad can be presented as well, according to the EO. The order also requires the accomplishment of the certificate of undertaking for traveling with minors for those with companions aged below 12. Travelers are also required to present a similar negative RT-PCR test result, along with a travel order, OHDC confirmation page screenshot, proof of identification with Philippine residency, travel details, and proof of vaccination status. Milaflores initially waived the negative RT-PCR test requirement last November to help boost local tourism. The province has over 13,100 COVID-19 infections to date, according to Department of Health figures. Boy group BTS is currently one of the most in-demand acts in the world. Group endorsements and collaborations, like the McDonalds BTS meal and the BTS edition of Samsungs Galaxy S20+, often result in a significant increase in online searches for the brands. Its also no secret that members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook each have a huge influence on brand reputation, with sales for products shooting up whenever they are associated with them. Though the group last visited the Philippines in 2017 when they held their Wings tour in Manila and filmed a Summer Package special in Coron, Palawan, their presence has endured through their many commercial endorsements with McDonalds and Smart Communications in the past two years of the pandemic. This month, they appear on the cover of fashion magazine LOfficiel Philippines. Done in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, the shoot and series of interviews were first published as a joint cover in the Korea editions of Vogue and GQ, as well as across several titles, including the Hong Kong and Singapore editions of Vogue and the Australian edition of GQ (titles also under publishing giant Conde Nasts umbrella) and Harpers Bazaar Indonesia. When we interviewed LOfficiel Philippines publisher Chica Villarta last year ahead of their launch in the country, we asked about the strategy of placing celebrities on the cover. Villarta referred straight away to the success of BTSs previous covers with major print titles like Esquire, WSJ Magazine, and Variety: Imagine in a world where everyone was on digital, a print magazine had to reprint because their choice of cover was very deliberate and I think thats also best practice that we want to do at LOfficiel Philippines, she said. READ: LOfficiel Philippines: On fashion and fandom in the digital age This month, Villarta and the rest of the LOfficiel team finally get to cross BTS off their cover wishlist with their forthcoming Mens Special Edition, out Jan. 17. The issue, which features two covers and over 60 pages of BTS content, was first teased on their social media pages a day after Christmas. Filipino ARMYs were quick to take the hint after seeing a video of the LOfficiel logo appearing over a lilac background and scored with a classical version of the groups single Butter appear on the publications Instagram. Below, LOfficiel Philippines publisher Chica Villarta tells CNN Philippines Life about how the #BTSxLVbyLOPH partnership came to be. Congratulations to the team on the new issue! BTS is a major get, and notoriously difficult cover stars to book. How did L'Officiel Philippines manage to strike the deal with Louis Vuitton to become the only publication in the country to publish this shoot? Thank you! Weve been trying to find ways to reach BTS since we started, specifically through their local endorsements at one point since our launch Im sure Ive mentioned this desire to Louis Vuitton Philippines, although Im sure we expressed it as a kind of it would be nice sentiment as opposed to a formal proposal, given that were talking about the most in-demand artists in the world. Its long been established as well something we discussed in our [previous] CNN Philippines Life interview that part of our cover strategy is to featuring Korean artists as our way of capturing the pulse of the worldwide audience, so through our nine months I think weve successfully established that kind of reputation with our audience, and the brands that observe our next moves. So I guess you can say that this partnership was kind of hanging in the air for a while, and when the opportunity to syndicate the BTS shoot was open, LOfficiel Philippines was top of mind over at Louis Vuitton. For that were very grateful. I'm also curious about your thoughts on Louis Vuittons deal with this shoot given your experience in the industry and status as L'Officiel Philippines publisher. I know that it's common for Conde Nast to cross publish photos between their different titles, and for luxury brands to sponsor shoots. But this BTS shoot I feel is different because it seems that they really went all out for it, with them gracing the main cover of several Vogue and GQ editions, along with other publications not under the Conde Nast umbrella like L'Officiel Philippines and Harper's Bazaar Indonesia. What do you think this says about the evolution of the publishing industry and the way brands work with magazines? Ive been in the business of branded content for a decade, even back when people thought that all magazine work was all editorial and to this day, its never considered a glamorous or romantic part of publishing or any kind of media. But now, rather than advertising partnerships being automatically dismissed as intrusive or inauthentic, if done well, brands are now considered as valuable subject experts for a vast number of editorial themes in our case, fashion. Aside from being trusted wells of information, brands like Louis Vuitton now have become great storytelling partners that breathe insight and depth to our magazine covers. In 2020, Louis Vuitton just celebrated their 200th year in fashion. And though nobody wanted or expected it to happen, the launch of the BTS x Louis Vuitton shoot also happened just a few weeks after the death of Virgil Abloh. As a fashion magazine title, featuring BTS on the cover is our way of commemorating the enduring 200-year legacy of Louis Vuitton, and at the same time, a bittersweet tribute to Virgils last runway collection with the fashion house. Were glad to have paid homage to him in this way. Thats why I think that the #BTSxLVbyLOPH partnership is a beautiful practice of how magazines can harmoniously collaborate with brands: through our BTS covers and the cover stories that come with them, there are already so many layers of stories to discover: a rare look into the individual minds and current aspirations of the most successful musical group of today, the vibrant legacy of one of the most prestigious French fashion houses, and a posthumous tribute to a modern fashion phenom. The Men's Special Edition of L'Officiel Philippines has two cover options which feature over 60 pages of BTS content. Photo from L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES/INSTAGRAM What can you tell us about the content can we expect from the 60+ pages of BTS? You previously said that L'Officiel PH is all about "being able to provide what fans want." Will there be an exclusive cover story (or even exclusive photos) different from the ones published in GQ/Vogue/Harper's Bazaar Indonesia that Filipino ARMYs can look forward to? Filipino ARMYs can rest assured that we absolutely tried our best to request for an exclusive interview, but at the time, the boys were already on their rare extended vacation. While the images and cover stories are shared throughout all major global publications, were very happy to provide an extensive number of pages for fans to enjoy this is our longest cover story to date at 60+ pages. Moreover, we know the struggle of Filipino fans to order international publications whenever their idols appear in, say, Korean or USA covers shipping alone can get very pricey. Were glad to offer local availability of the shoot theyve been seeing all over online. The day we launched the BTS covers, we saw tweets from local fans saying how happy they are that they no longer have to spend thousands to get their hands on a physical copy of this shoot. That alone makes us feel very fulfilled and motivated to provide more and better covers for Filipino fans this year ahead. I noticed that previous L'Officiel PH print cover stories have not been posted online. Will this be the same for the BTS cover? And if so, what was the rationale behind this print-only decision? And now that the magazine has published quite a few issues, would you say that the strategy has been working? Yes, we always want to keep some content exclusive for print precisely because they are meant to be enjoyed that way. As we mentioned in our previous interview, we want each LOfficiel Philippines magazine to feel like a collectible and that includes allowing our audience to take in our content in such a fully immersive and experiential way that they can feel the magazines pages in their hands, view the images in full size and color without having to zoom in, and immerse themselves fully in our stories without the intrusion of a notification or the need for internet connection. I can liken this to fans still raring to get a physical copy of their idols newest album even if the songs are already available online. While the digital and physical realms are both valuable to the fan experience, having the album in this case, the print magazine in your hands is a really different high. The January issue is a Men's Special Edition issue and outside of L'Officiel PH's usual seasonal publication schedule. Would it be okay if you outline the process of putting this particular issue together? Was it similar or different to the process of making a regular issue? We often joke around about how the entirety of LOfficiel Philippines is proof that working-from-home works. (Laughs) Without revealing much about our workflow, Id say the only major adjustment we had to make was producing two print issues consecutively. Our machine is structured to create quarterly print releases apart from our regular digital churn, and not long ago, we had just worked on and subsequently launched our December print issue. So upon confirmation [of] our BTS x Louis Vuitton partnership, we already knew we would be working outside of our regular routine, instead of sort of kicking it back until the New Year. But all is well and good at the LOPH HQ having BTS on cover was definitely up there in our list of dreams, and were happy to achieve it in less than one year in. Your previous full pop group cover was the idol group WayV in 2020, which was a cover that attracted the group's fans from all over the world. Now that pre-orders for this issue are ongoing, how would you project the success of this latest issue? More than being extremely talented musicians and very effective brand endorsers, BTS is a group that has transformed the lives of so many people for the better especially during this pandemic. They are amazing role models to people of all ages, and they have infused so much positivity in millions of peoples lives, both through the glaring manifestations of their hard work and simply just by being themselves. That said, its no surprise to me that this print issue is gearing to be our most successful one yet. *** Order the L'Officiel Philippines January 22 Men's Special Edition here. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 7) National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose has died. He was 97 years old. This was confirmed by his family in a Facebook post. No other details were given regarding his death. The Philippine Centre of International PEN (Poets, Essayists, Novelist) also posted a statement to remember the organizations founder. Jose died Thursday evening at the Makati Medical Center where he was supposed to undergo an angioplasty Friday Jan. 7, according to his wife, Tessie Jovellanos Jose, it said. Tessie said Jose apparently died in his sleep. He was declared dead at 9:30 p.m. Jose turned 97 only last Dec. 3. Seeming to be thanking his brave heart, the artist even posted a letter on social media hours before his death. Jose was one of the most read Filipino writers in English and is best known for his novel series The Rosales Saga. He was named National Artist for Literature in 2001 for his outstanding contributions to Philippine literature. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The Department of Health is currently in talks with US drug manufacturer Pfizer to procure its antiviral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid. Ang team ng DOH nakipagpulong, nakipag-ugnayan kay [US] Ambassador Babes Romualdez at kasama ang kinatawan ng Pfizer para naman doon sa ating pag-angkat ng Paxlovid, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a Wednesday briefing. [Translation: The DOH team has coordinated and is in talks with Ambassador Babes Romualdez and Pfizer representatives for the procurement of Paxlovid.] Paxlovid is the first antiviral drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. According to Pfizers latest study, Paxlovid was able to cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% if given to high-risk adults within a few days of their first symptoms. Duque assured they are fast tracking the process of securing supply, noting that feedback appears to be positive based on the meeting between the department led by DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire and Pfizer representatives. In a separate forum, the Health chief said the Philippine FDA has been ordered to immediately coordinate with Pfizer to expedite the processing of Paxlovids emergency use authorization once he signs the confidentiality disclosure agreement. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Metro Manila might record 10,000 to 11,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, possibly surpassing the capital regions all-time high of 9,031 infections recorded in September 2021, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said. The daily positivity rate in Metro Manila also went up to 45%, way above the World Health Organizations standard of 5% or below. David added the country is also expected to hit at least 15,000 new cases on Thursday, with the number further going up to 20,000 on Friday earlier than his previous projection that it could happen starting next week. The countrys new COVID-19 cases surged to 10,775 on Wednesday, almost twice the number logged the day before. It was the highest single-day rise since Oct. 10, despite nine testing laboratories failing to submit their latest data. OCTA said cases in the Philippines could peak in mid-January if the country follows the trajectory of South Africa, which was badly impacted by the Omicron coronavirus variant. The Department of Health, meanwhile, said cases are seen to surpass the Delta variant peak by month end. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has placed more areas under the heightened Alert Level 3, Malacanang announced on Thursday. The following will have tightened restrictions from Jan. 9 to 15: - Baguio City - Dagupan City - City of Santiago - Cagayan - Angeles City - Bataan - Olongapo City - Pampanga - Zambales - Batangas - Lucena City - Naga City - Iloilo City - Lapu-Lapu City The IATF also earlier escalated Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna to the Alert Level 3 status. Under Alert Level 3, activities like face-to-face classes, contact sports, funfairs, as well as live voice and wind instrument events are prohibited. Intrazonal and interzonal travel will be allowed subject to restrictions imposed by local governments. Operations of select establishments and tourist attractions will also be scaled down to 30% indoor and 50% outdoor venue capacity. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Manufacturers of self-administered COVID-19 test kits may now register their products with the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "As of today, we announced that we are accepting applications for special certification for COVID-19 self-administered or the home test kits," FDA officer-in-charge Oscar Gutierrez said Thursday during a televised meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials leading the pandemic response. Guidelines on the use of these test kits will be issued by the Department of Health (DOH) by Jan. 17, Gutierrez added. He said these include rules on reporting and on waste disposal, and guidance on interpretation of test results, as well as on what actions must be taken by those found positive for the coronavirus. According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, both the FDA and the Department of Trade and Industry will actively call on manufacturers to apply for registration. He said the test kits that will receive certification should not only be accurate but also easy to use, considering it would be administered by the general public. Some government officials, including testing czar Vince Dizon, have expressed openness to using at-home test kits as the country battles with a fresh surge of COVID-19 infections. On Thursday, the DOH reported over 17,000 new cases - with the positivity rate jumping to a new record high of 36.9%. This means 1 in 3 people tested for coronavirus turned out infected. This percentage, considered "critical" by US nonprofit Covid Act Now, suggests insufficient testing and that there are likely more virus-hit individuals who have gone undetected. Gutierrez said the FDA has so far approved a total of 89 brands of COVID-19 test kits including 38 RT-PCR, 32 antigen, and 19 antibody test kits. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 7) An infectious diseases expert clarified on Thursday that the IHU COVID-19 variant detected in France is not yet classified as a variant of concern or a variant of interest. During a televised Cabinet meeting, infectious diseases specialist Dr. Edsel Salvana also noted that the World Health Organization, which designates the classification, has been monitoring this variant since November last year and said it is not a threat at this time. Its a variant that is being monitored but it is not yet as concerning as Omicron or Delta or even the other ones, he noted. Salvana explained that the variant discovered by experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection has many mutations but it still has no signs of survival advantage or immune evasion, unlike Delta and Omicron, so COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against it. The expert assured they will continue monitoring this, noting that more attention should be given to the spread of Delta and Omicron as they dramatically increase infections around the world. In the briefing, President Rodrigo Duterte said the IHU variant will also enter the country whether we like it or not. And being the chief executive, he is responsible for the safety and well-being of every Filipino, Duterte pointed out. The President also announced Thursday night his order to barangay officials to arrest unvaccinated individuals who would insist on going outside of their residences in a bid to control the spike in COVID-19 infections in the country. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered barangay officials to arrest unvaccinated individuals who would insist on going outside of their residences, as the country faces yet another surge in COVID-19 cases. "I'm now giving order to the barangay captains to look for those persons who are not vaccinated and just request them or order them if you may to stay put. And if [they] refuse and go around the community, [they] can be restrained," Duterte said in his address to the public Thursday night. "If [they] refuse, then the barangay captain, being a person in authority, is empowered now to arrest the recalcitrant persons." Duterte said barangay officials can "enforce all laws of the land within their jurisdiction," and may even mobilize civilians to "assist" them. The President insisted he was in a "position" to restrain the unvaccinated, saying the government should "come up with measures to protect public interest, health, order, and safety" during the national emergency. He also said he'd be "happy to answer" and accept responsibility, should he be subjected to legal challenges for the directive. "Meron naman na akong kaso sa ICC (International Criminal Court), eh. 'Di, ipatong na ninyo para isang sagutan na lang pagdating ng panahon," he said. [Translation: I already have a pending case before the ICC. File more cases, so I can just respond to all of them in one go when the time comes.] Duterte, however, clarified in the latter part of his address that unvaccinated persons will not be arrested right away. "Pakiusap lang [Talk to them first]," he said. "Eh, hindi ka nagpabakuna [You didn't get vaccinated], then you put everybody in jeopardy." "Being the President, ultimately, I am responsible for the safety and well-being of every Filipino, and that is why my orders are to restrain them," Duterte said. In Metro Manila, the unvaccinated are now prohibited from going out of their homes, except for essential trips. Some officials and business leaders have been pushing for the restrictions to be implemented nationwide amid the spike in infections and the threat of the Omicron COVID-19 variant. (CNN) -- North Korea says it tested a hypersonic missile on Wednesday, its second alleged test of such a weapon by the Kim Jong Un regime. If the claims made in North Korea state media are true, and at some point the country is able to deploy a hypersonic weapon, it could have profound implications for the security situation in Asia. But after both North Korea's first-claimed hypersonic test in September and the second this week, analysts were circumspect. "A hypersonic missile that can defeat advanced missile-defense systems is a game changer if a nuclear warhead is mated to it," Drew Thompson, a former United States Defense Department official and a visiting senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said after the September test. But he cautioned, "that's a huge if. Having it and wanting it are not the same thing." And after Wednesday's test, Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, a private South Korean think tank, said more time and refinements will be needed before Pyongyang could field a hypersonic weapon. "North Korea will need at least two or three more test launches in the future to complete its hypersonic missile," he said. What is a hypersonic missile? When referring to a hypersonic missile, what we are actually talking about is its payload, or what rides atop the rocket. In this case the payload is what is called a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). HGVs can theoretically fly as fast as 20 times the speed of sound and can be very maneuverable in flight, making them almost impossible to shoot down, according to experts. Like ballistic missiles, hypersonic glide weapons are launched by rockets high into the atmosphere. But while a ballistic missile warhead is largely powered by gravity once it begins its descent to its target from as high as 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), hypersonics dive back to Earth sooner before flattening out their flight path -- flying just tens of kilometers above the ground, according a hypersonics report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The weapon then uses internal navigation devices to make course corrections and keep it on target while traveling up to 12 times the speed of sound, the report said. Who has hypersonic weapons? Only two countries, Russia and China, are thought to have deployable hypersonic missiles. In December 2019, Russia said its hypersonic missile system -- known as Avangard -- had entered service. In a speech to the Russian Parliament in 2018, President Vladimir Putin called the Avangard system "practically invulnerable" to Western air defenses. In January 2020, Putin oversaw tests of a second hypersonic system, the Kinzhal, off Crimea. And in November, Russia said it successfully tested its Zircon hypersonic missile. In August, China tested a missile that dropped off an HGV, according to the US military. "They launched a long-range missile," Gen. John Hyten, the then-vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CBS News. "It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China." China denied the allegations, saying what the US called a hypersonic weapons test was a "routine spacecraft experiment." At a 2019 military parade, China showed off its DF-17 missile, which it can use to deploy a hypersonic glide vehicle. A report from the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, citing US defense officials, says the DF-17 can deliver a warhead to within meters of its intended target at a range of up to 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles). According to a report last year from the Arms Control Association (ACA) in Washington, DC, the United States is working on eight types of hypersonic weapons. And the military's Defense Advanced Research Project Agency said lsat fall it had successfully tested a hypersonic weapon. Can we trust North Korea's claims? The Kim regime certainly tested a missile on Wednesday and released an image of the test Thursday. Missile experts who have looked at the photo can't be certain of what was shown. "This missile is carrying a maneuvering reentry vehicle, or MaRV. The North Koreans are billing it as 'hypersonic,' which is not wrong, but just to be clear, that doesn't mean it's a novel sort of weapon," Joshua Pollack, senior research associate at the Middlebury Insititue of International Studies in Calfornia, said on social media. "Whether or not we class this as a HGV (as indicated) or a MaRV is unconfirmed," Joseph Dempsey, research associate for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said in a social media post. An MaRV is essentially a missile warhead that alter its flight path after reentering the atmosphere once it has separated from the rocket that launched it. It is technology the US military has employed for decades and South Korea has demonstrated before, according to Pollack. What distinguishes an MaRV from an HGV is the latter's ability to flatten out its flight path then rise up and dive on a target. North Korea claimed Wednesday's test "assessed the performance of the new lateral movement technique." "Having been detached after its launch, the missile made a 120 km lateral movement in the flight distance of the hypersonic gliding warhead from the initial launch azimuth to the target azimuth and precisely hit a set target 700 km away," state media said. Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, put that in layman's terms, saying North Korea has tested a warhead that can "move up and down several times like a hang glider coming down from a mountain, and fly left and right ... for a considerable distance, but still reach the target accurately." Why are people concerned? "North Korea's claims of maneuverability remain significant and could pose additional missile defense challenges," Dempsey, the IISS analyst, said on social media. Speaking after the North Korean test in September, Roderick Lee, director of research at the American Air University's China Aerospace Studies Institute, said the lower altitude flight paths of hypersonics mean they stay below radars for longer periods, which means less time for missile defense systems to lock on and engage them. "That makes things really complicated for the defender," Lee added. There is some argument that this makes hypersonics a destabilizing first-strike weapon. "Each side may believe it has to strike first, and strike fast, to achieve its objectives. This dynamic -- often referred to as crisis instability -- could provoke the start of a conflict even if neither party to the crisis initially planned to strike first," analysts Kelley Sayler and Amy Woolf wrote in a November report for the US Congressional Research Service. What happens next? North Korea is showing that it will not ease off claims that it is a victim of Western powers and must develop military deterrents to what it sees as possible aggressive moves by foes like the US and South Korea. "Rather than expressing willingness for denuclearization talks or interest in an end-of-war declaration, North Korea is signaling that neither the omicron variant nor domestic food shortages will stop its aggressive missile development," said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. Cheong, the South Korean think tank director, said the fact that leader Kim Jong Un did not directly observe Wednesday's test shows that Pyongyang wants to portray it as part of the normal course of developing military defenses, which means we can expect more. "The missile launch was a test conducted in accordance with the five-year defense development plan decided at the 8th Party Congress," Park Won-gon, professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, said. "This is North Korea's demand to (the international community) to withdraw the double standard about its arms development and saying that these tests are no different from South Korea's missile development." Over the past three years, the Nebraska National Guard has helped Nebraskans through floods, fires, and a global pandemic. Through it all, the Guard has proved time and again how vital they are to the citizens of our state in times of need. As Commander-in-Chief of the Nebraska National Guard, I could not be more proud of these men and women. While generations of Nebraskans have served in the Guard, its mission changed significantly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Twenty-five years ago, individuals joining the Nebraska National Guard didnt expect to be deployed. Airmen and Soldiers usually werent called on to support overseas missions. Now, they receive a much higher level of training and preparedness than in years past. Todays young women and men who join the National Guard not only know they will be deployedthey want to be deployed. Theyre eager to take the fight to the enemy. Theyre looking for opportunities to serve their fellow citizens. Theyre trained to do so. The Guard has shown its versatility and value during the disasters of the past few years. It stepped up in heroic ways when Nebraska endured the 2019 floodsthe most widespread natural disaster in our states history. Members of the Guard dropped sandbags to protect homes and businesses from rising floodwaters. They delivered hay so that ranchers could feed their livestock. The Guard also conducted daring rescue missions to save Nebraskans. Helicopter pilots told me the rainy and windy conditions of the flood were every bit as hazardous as flying in combat. During the floods, the National Guard saved 112 Nebraskans66 by helicopter hoistand 13 pets. A Nebraska National Guard crew won the DUSTOFF Award for performing the 2019 Rescue of the Year after pulling seven first responders out of the cold, surging waters of the Elkhorn River. After the floods of 2019, the Nebraska National Guard again swung into action in 2020 to help their neighbors through the coronavirus pandemic. Members of the Guard volunteered to conduct coronavirus testing at Test Nebraska sites in multiple cities, seven days per week. They served as medics, oversaw decontamination procedures, and managed traffic flows at drive-thru sites. The Guard distributed PPE to first responders and healthcare workers across Nebraska. In total, the State delivered 18.6 million masks, 39 million sets of gloves, 5 million surgical gowns, and over 50,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. The Guards logistical support helped Nebraska become the first state in the country to accumulate a 120-day supply of critical PPE. The Guard also played a key role in supporting coronavirus vaccination. Members of the Guard directly administered nearly 70,000 vaccine doses to the public. Their work greatly boosted capabilities of our local health departments. Additionally, Airmen and Soldiers supported the Food Bank of Lincoln and Food Bank for the Heartland to distribute food to pantries throughout the state. Over two months in the spring of 2020, Guard members helped package and deliver over 400,000 pounds of produce and packaged food. This work helped families around the state put food on the table during the peak disruption period of the pandemic. The Guard plays a leading role in the States firefighting efforts as well. In November, I called on the National Guard to help contain the Buffalo Creek wildfire in Banner and Scotts Bluff counties. The Guard flew two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters to the blaze and dropped more than 100,000 gallons of water on the hottest spots of the fire. Their aerial firefighting capabilities played a big role in our success putting a stop to the fire before it harmed anyone. This wasnt the only wildfire the Guard helped fight in 2021 either. Helicopter crews provided aerial assistance to combat wildfires in Holt County in June, the Hackberry wildfire near Harrison in August, and September fires south of Crawford and west of Scottsbluff. The fantastic job done by the Guard in Nebraska is only part of its work. The Nebraska National Guard also deploys around the world to serve our country on missions vital to national security. This spring, the 179th Cyber Protection Team returned to Nebraska after over a year of guarding the U.S. from virtual threats while stationed in Fort Meade, Maryland. About 200 Soldiers based in Columbus and Grand Island are helping to manage the humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. We also have soldiers of the 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade serving in Africa, as well as the 1057th Military Police Company and 734th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion serving in Kuwait and Qatar. Members of the 192nd Military Police Detachment returned to Nebraska just in time for Christmas after a 10-month deployment to Jordan. Were grateful to have them home for the holidays, and we pray for the safe return of all the women and men still on mission out of state. The Nebraska National Guard is carrying on the tradition of service, sacrifice, and honor that have made this the greatest country in the history of the world. Major General Daryl Bohac, Adjutant General of the Nebraska National Guard, is doing great work to prepare his Soldiers and Airmen for whatever comes their way in 2022. On behalf of all Nebraskans, thank you to members of the Guard for your dedicated service to our state. The Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward tells the stories of brave Soldiers and Airmen whove served Nebraska since before the Civil War. I encourage you to make a visit. For museum hours and information go to nengm.org. If you have any questions about the Nebraska National Guardor any other matterplease email pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or call 402-471-2244. Pete Ricketts is the governor of Nebraska. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 About nine years after its inception, local nonprofit Sammys Superheroes is continuing to help combat childhood cancer with a recent $200,000 donation to two research projects. Sammys Superheroes which is based in Columbus was founded in 2013 by Erin and Chris Nahorny after their son, Sammy, was diagnosed with cancer in 2012. At the end of 2019, the nonprofit donated its one millionth dollar to childhood cancer research, said Erin Nahorny, president of the Sammys Superheroes Foundation Board of Directors. People in our community has supported this since the very beginning, Nahorny said. We've had a lot of kids affected by cancer in Columbus and Platte County and surrounding counties. Nahorny added that someone can never know when theyll be affected by childhood cancer. Only 4% of the federal cancer research budget goes to childhood cancers. And so it's really nonprofits, small nonprofits like us, that really kind of fill that gap, Nahorny said. Annually, foundation officials pick projects to donate to and in 2021 started a collaboration with the Alexs Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. They (Alexs Lemonade Stand) have this huge group of medical professionals who serve as their medical advisory board, Nahorny said, noting the groups vetting process when it comes to research projects. We felt like we could really utilize to make sure that what we're donating to is the best possible research that's happening right now. The Sammys Superheroes Foundation donated $100,000 to Dr. Yael Mosse of the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and $100,000 to Dr. Mariella Filbin of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. According to a Sammys Superheroes press release, Mosses goal will be to develop targeted drugs for MYCN, an undruggable driver of pediatric cancer, within the next four years. The hope with that project is to prove that the drugs they are developing are effective against the most lethal pediatric cancers and to be ready to launch a clinical trial after the grant is completed in 2025. As for Filbins A Award Grant, she and her team are using a CRISPR-gene editing method to ablate specific genes theyve identified as possible antagonists of the developmental programs in both brainstem and hemispheric high-grade gliomas, according to the press release. The goal is identify novel targets for drug development and lay the starting blocks for new treatment strategies. Michelle Sell, a Columbus physician who serves on the Sammys Superheroes Foundation Board of Directors, said the nonprofit is excited to be donating to those two projects and to be working with Alexs Lemonade Stand. It maximizes our dollars that we donate and make sure that they go toward projects that are really proven and successful and likely to make good change, Sell said. Sell assists in choosing which research projects will be benefitted by the foundation. She said she has been disgusted by the amount of childhood cancer thats seen locally. This is the best way that I can come up with to tangibly do something about it, Sell said. Nahorny noted that Sammys Superheroes is greatly supported by Columbus businesses that sponsor events and smaller stores that contribute by doing fundraisers. The community also donates to the cause with individual donations and those who give monetarily through their work. We have always said that No. 1 is awareness, Nahorny said. So people have to know how big of an issue this is. And then with that comes the funding and comes the research and eventually, we hope, some cures for these kids. Hannah Schrodt is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at hannah.schrodt@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Peru, Uruguay Edge Closer to Crypto Regulation with Draft Law, Policy Advisory Report Vinicunca also known as the Mountain of Seven Colors, or more simply Rainbow Mountain, in Peru. Source: Adobe/emperorcosar Governments in South America are gearing up to regulate crypto in the year ahead with lawmakers in Peru and Uruguay readying legislation and draft proposals. According to El Pais Financiero and documents posted on the Peruvian confessional website, MPs including Jose Elias Avalos of the opposition Podemos Peru Party, have unveiled a draft law that proposes to create a wide-scoped framework for the commercialization of cryptoassets. The bill aims to regulate virtual asset service providers, namely crypto exchanges and digital wallet [providers]. The bill also proposes creating legal definitions for terms such as cryptoassets, cryptography and blockchain. If passed, it would require exchanges and wallet operators to register with the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (SBS), the financial regulator that oversees banking, securities, and pension funds in Peru. The bill would also force providers to make it clear to their customers that all crypto-related transactions in Peru are made at citizens own risk, and that they are all irreversible. The draft bill was co-signed by three other MPs and added that the governance of the sector would be overseen by the SBS, in conjunction with the nations central bank and its markets regulator. It will head to the relevant parliamentary committee, and if it makes it past that obstacle, will be slated for a vote in Congress. Furthermore, the bill, if adopted, would oblige crypto operators to abide by anti-money laundering protocols by reporting potentially illicit operations made using crypto to the SBS Financial Intelligence Unit. Meanwhile, in Uruguay, the Central Bank (known locally as the BCU) has published a document that suggests preparing the ground for possible regulations, reported Infobae. The document is titled A conceptual framework for the regulatory treatment of virtual assets in Uruguay," and was created after consulting with the conventional financial sector, as well as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), tech firms, legal consultancies, public bodies, academics and regulators. The documents authors wrote: Given the rapid development of [] virtual assets [...] both globally and domestically, [we] consider it necessary to provide greater certainty and clarity on this phenomenon and its regulatory considerations. [Our] aim is to ensure that its development in the domestic market, as well as its use in the financial [sector], are safe. The authors added that crypto could constitute an important source of risk for price and financial stability, and that it ran the risk of compromising the aim of promoting soundness, solvency, efficiency, and development in the financial and payments system." The BCU also stated that cryptoassets on their current scale were relatively low in adoption, the increasing attention and explosive growth of crypto in recent times worldwide had underlined the need for imminent attention on the domestic level. _____ Learn more: - 2022 Crypto Regulation Trends: Focus on DeFi, Stablecoins, NFTs, and More - New El Salvador Laws Will Help Bitcoiners Who Want to Move to the Country, Says Govt - New AML Legislation Won't Forbid Individuals to Hold Crypto, Says Estonias Ministry of Finance - Argentine Crypto Firm Sets up El Salvador Base to Side-step Fiscal Reporting Duties The Newville Borough Council on Wednesday approved the closure of several of its buildings to the public until further notice following a surge in COVID-19 cases. These buildings include the Newville Borough Office, the Newville Maintenance Building, the Newville Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Cool Spring Water Filtration Plant. According to Borough Manager Fred Potzer, the Newville Borough Office at 4 West St. installed a customer service window in the foyer. That window will remain open to the public while the building is closed. A post on Newvilles Facebook page instructed residents of the borough to pay bills and take care of other business matters at this window. Its hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and a secure drop box is located at the front of the borough office to make payments or submit applications. Potzer said the borough will monitor county statistics and that at this point a change in the current status of infections is needed before the buildings can reopen. The borough council also on Wednesday approved changes to the time of the councils monthly work session meeting. The work sessions previously took place on the first Tuesday of each month. The council voted to combine these work sessions with the monthly Newville Borough Council meeting held in the Newville Borough Office. Now both meetings will be held on the last Tuesday of each month, the work session meeting at 6 p.m., followed by the Newville Borough Council meeting at 7 p.m. According to Potzer, these time changes came because it was a challenge for some members of the council to attend two monthly meetings, so changing them to one combined meeting each month was more convenient. We think this format will work better, Potzer said. The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires public agencies to open specific meetings to the public including the Newville Borough Council meetings. However, according to Potzer, the borough is unsure if a virtual option can be made available while the buildings are closed. Therefore to comply with this act, Newvilles work session meetings and borough council meetings will remain open to members of the public. Updates can be found on the Newville boroughs website or their Facebook page. Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. You can contact her at mseiler@cumberlink.com and follow her on Twitter at: @SeilerMadalyn Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One year after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, federal authorities have charged hundreds of people with offenses related to the incident, including several from the Midstate. Thus far, at least five people with ties to Cumberland County are the subject of cases related to the insurrection, in which a group of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol during Congress certification of the Electoral College results. Riley June Williams In a case that has garnered significant national attention, Williams, a 2017 Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School graduate who now lives in Dauphin County, was charged with offenses relating to her alleged involvement in the theft of a laptop computer from the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. According to the FBIs affidavit for Wiliams arrest, she can be seen on video pointing and directing intruders on the steps leading up to Pelosis office during the Jan. 6 riot. The FBI also obtained a video in which a person believed to be Williams can be heard saying dude, put on gloves before a gloved hand is seen lifting the laptop off the desk in Pelosis office, according to the affidavit. Posts to the online chat service Discord, believed to be from Williams, include messages such as I STOLE SHIT FROM NANY POLESI [sic], according to the FBI. Federal investigators also said they were told by a former romantic partner of Williams that she intended to send the computer or hard drive to a friend in Russia who would sell it to the Russian foreign intelligence service. Williams defense attorney said the Russia connection was overstated by Williams abusive ex-boyfriend, and that Williams does not have the laptop. Williams was arrested in January and placed on home detention with a location monitoring device and is allowed to leave her home only during limited hours. A formal indictment was filed in October, to which Williams pleaded not guilty. Williams attorneys have filed for the charges of obstructing official proceedings to be dropped, arguing that the Electoral College vote does not meet the legal definition of such a proceeding. Williams defense is also seeking a change of venue from Washington, D.C., to federal court in Harrisburg, arguing that negative press coverage and D.C. residents anti-Trump political preferences would preclude an impartial jury pool. Charles Bradford Smith and Marshall Neefe Smith and Neefe were the subject of a joint grand jury indictment that was issued in September, resulting in numerous charges related to civil disorder, weapons possession, and violence on the Capitol grounds. Smith and Neefe were identified by the indictment as residents of Shippensburg and Newville, respectively. The indictment details online conversations between Smith and Neefe leading up to, and immediately after, the Jan. 6 riot. The men expressed their belief that Trump would retain power if his supporters showed up in enough numbers, according to the conversations included in the indictment. Smith wrote that this country needs to split up immediately and I hope this starts the war, according to the indictment. Both men were seen in multiple videos on the Capitol grounds. Smith was seen instructing fellow rioters to force a door close to prevent police from exiting the Capitol, and Neefe was seen pushing a metal sign frame into a line of police officers, according to the indictment. Neefe sent photos of a club he had made to take to the Capitol, and Smith made multiple references to a large knife which he said he was carrying that day, according to the indictment. Smith stated he did not enter the Capitol building itself, according to the indictment, but Neefe was present in the rotunda despite orders to leave. Following the incident, Smith posted to social media celebrating what he believed had prevented Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens electoral victory, writing that the attack was an unbelievable show of force and it did its job, according to the indictment. Neefe posted that he was bringing a gun next time and that if I had it my way every cop who hurled a baton or maced on us would be lined up and put down. Both men were arrested in September, according to court records, with Smith released to home detention with a radio monitor. Neefe was ordered held without bond. Both men pleaded not guilty to all charges. Barton Wade Shively Shively, identified by the Justice Department as a Mechanicsburg resident, is facing charges stemming from what an FBI investigation identified as at least three instances in which Shively became physically combative with police officers defending the Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6. Multiple videos obtained by the FBI show Shively becoming violent with police outside the Capitol while the mob of Trump supporters attempted to break into the building. Shively admitted to the incidents in which he grabbed and shoved officers, according to the FBIs complaint, and even gave an interview to a CNN crew shortly after the last assault. Shively was arrested in January and released to home detention with limited travel privileges. He pled not guilty to all charges when formally arraigned in March. Sandra Suzanne Weyer Weyer was arrested in June after the FBI issued an affidavit of its investigation to identify her. The filing includes photos of a woman, alleged to be Weyer, filming the assault of a New York Times photographer by other Trump supporters inside a stairwell in the Capitol building. Weyer is seen on other videos chanting pro-Trump slogans along with a crowd as they attempt to break down doors and barriers around the Capitol, according to the FBI. Listed by the FBI as a Mechanicsburg resident, Weyer was released on her own recognizance with limited travel. Email Zack at zhoopes@cumberlink.com. Information is from police reports and may be incomplete depending on the status of an investigation. Phone numbers are nonemergency. COVID-19 hospitalizations are nearing record numbers in the Penn State Health hospital system, officials reported Thursday. Deborah Addo, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Penn State Health, said the health system saw 229 COVID-19 patients Thursday at its four hospitals across the Midstate. According to the health system, that is near its record of 230 COVID-19 patients set on Dec. 29, 2020, though at the time the health system only had three hospitals Hampden Medical Center had not yet opened. Despite officials believing that most of these cases are probably due to the omicron variant, reports of a less severe illness have yet to be evident at Penn State Health. Dr. Fahad Khalid, chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at Hershey Medical Center, said the hospitalizations are still severe, with the majority of their COVID-19 patients presenting with respiratory failure or COVID pneumonia. Dr. Peter Dillon, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Penn State Health, however, said Hershey Medical Center does get transfers from other hospitals, which may account for the majority of its patients suffering from severe reactions to COVID-19. Of those patients, Khalid said the ages run between 20 and 90 and mostly unvaccinated, though they're seeing fewer patients who are 65 and older since that population has higher vaccination rates than other age ranges. Penn State Health officials Thursday said these rising cases are putting stress on the health system that is already dealing with a rise in other types of hospitalizations as well as staffing shortages due to COVID diagnoses or resignations. Addo said Hershey Medical Center was one of the hospitals under consideration for help from the U.S. Department of Defense, which instead went to WellSpan Health's hospital in York. Dillon said that based on modeling, the area may continue to deal with increasing numbers and the omicron variant for another three to four weeks. He was cautious about looking too much farther out in the timeline, but there's an anticipation and hypothesis among health care officials that infections will trend off after this period as more people have either gotten COVID or received a vaccine, adding to herd immunity. Thursday's data update Cumberland County reported 391 cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths in Thursday's update from the state Department of Health. According to Health Department open data, the seven-day average of new cases in the county sits at 338, the highest the county's rate has been during the pandemic. There were 131 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Cumberland County in Thursday's report, an increase of two Wednesday. The 14-day average for hospitalizations in the county sits at 128.9. The county's highest 14-day hospitalization rate was 168.7 on Jan. 2, 2021. The 14-day average for COVID patients on ventilators sits at 14.1. There are 21 adults in intensive care and 22 on ventilators. Four adult ICU beds remain open of the 114 currently staffed across the county, and 46 of 95 ventilators in the county are in use. The county reported 56 deaths in October, 33 in November and 54 deaths in December. Thursday's report included 454 test results for Cumberland County, with 117 probable cases, 274 confirmed positive cases and 63 negative test results. Franklin County reported 128 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Thursday (an increase of three since Wednesday), with five of 41 currently staffed ICU beds available in the county and 27 of 34 available ventilators in use. There are 29 adults in intensive care and 26 on ventilators. Dauphin County reported 219 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Thursday (an increase of seven since Wednesday), with 23 of 198 currently staffed ICU beds available in the county and 115 of 171 available ventilators in use. There are 45 adults in intensive care and 33 on ventilators. Penn State Health cases update (Jan. 5) Penn State Health lists a COVID-19 dashboard on its website tracking cases at each of its acute care hospitals Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center, Hampden Medical Center and Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center. The dashboard is updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday's update shows 207 total cases (193 adults, 14 pediatrics) in the health systems four hospitals, an increase of 10 cases since Monday ( and 37 cases since Dec. 27) including seven new pediatric cases. Of the known-status adult patients (21 are unknown status), 61 are fully vaccinated (32.8%) with six in an ICU and three on ventilators; 125 are nonvaccinated (67.2%) with 31 adults in an ICU and 18 adults on ventilators. Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill has 40 COVID patients. Eighteen are fully vaccinated adults (one in the ICU and one on a ventilator) and 22 are unvaccinated adults (two in the ICU and one on a ventilator). Hampden Medical Center has nine COVID patients. Eight are unvaccinated (with one in the ICU and no one on a ventilator) and one is fully vaccinated. Vaccine update In data updated Wednesday evening, the CDC says Cumberland County has 65.1% of its total population fully vaccinated. The CDC also reported that 68.8% of the population 5 and older are vaccinated, while 73.2% of the population 12 and older are fully vaccinated. The CDC also began reporting another set of numbers that include booster shots, with 31% of the county's total population having received a booster vaccine. Early Warning Dashboard update Cumberland County saw increases in its COVID-19 percent positivity and incidence rate per 100,000 people in the Health Department's weekly update to its Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard Friday. The county's percent positivity increased to 21.4% for the week of Dec. 24-30, up from 16.6% the previous week. The incidence rate per 100,000 people increased to 416.4, up from 387.6 the previous week. Lebanon County has the second highest positivity rate at 31.3%, an increase from 22.6% the previous week. York County has the sixth highest rate at 29.5%, an increase from 23% the previous week. Adams County is 10th in the state with a positivity rate of 28.1%. York County has the fifth highest incidence rate in the state at 848.2, a decrease from last week's rate of 932. Adams County has the seventh highest at 826.1, which represents a drop from last week's 1,297. Forest County had the lowest percent positivity in the state for the week of Dec. 24-30 at 1.6%. Warren County had the lowest incidence rate per 100,000 people in the state at 74. School-age children In its weekly update for the 18th week of the school year, the department reported 163 cases among children aged 5-18 in Cumberland County during the week of Dec. 22-28, a decrease of 10 cases over the previous week. The total number of cases in Cumberland County for this school year is 2,509. Statewide, the number of cases among 5- to 18-year-olds saw its largest increase of the school year with 12,518 cases reported during the week of Dec. 22-28, compared to 9,982 during the previous week. The state said the total number of cases in that age group for the school year is 135,964. County numbers in the southcentral region (for Jan. 6): Adams County (pop. 103,009): 162 new cases; 19,385 total cases (15,984 confirmed, 3,401 probable); 45,579 negatives; 286 deaths (+2); 51.9% of county population vaccinated 162 new cases; 19,385 total cases (15,984 confirmed, 3,401 probable); 45,579 negatives; 286 deaths (+2); 51.9% of county population vaccinated Bedford County (pop. 47,888): 54 new cases; 8,980 total cases (6,050 confirmed, 2,930 probable); 13,393 negatives; 232 deaths (+4); 37.3% of county population vaccinated 54 new cases; 8,980 total cases (6,050 confirmed, 2,930 probable); 13,393 negatives; 232 deaths (+4); 37.3% of county population vaccinated Blair County (pop. 121,829): 164 new cases; 23,589 total cases (18,671 confirmed, 4,918 probable); 49,704 negatives; 508 deaths (+4); 49.8% of county population vaccinated 164 new cases; 23,589 total cases (18,671 confirmed, 4,918 probable); 49,704 negatives; 508 deaths (+4); 49.8% of county population vaccinated Cumberland County (pop. 253,370): 391 new cases; 38,917 total cases (29,790 confirmed, 9,127 probable); 108,883 negatives; 738 deaths (+7); 65.1% of county population vaccinated 391 new cases; 38,917 total cases (29,790 confirmed, 9,127 probable); 108,883 negatives; 738 deaths (+7); 65.1% of county population vaccinated Dauphin County (pop. 278,299): 604 new cases; 46,790 total cases (39,309 confirmed, 7,481 probable); 134,422 negatives; 776 deaths (+4); 58.9% of county population vaccinated 604 new cases; 46,790 total cases (39,309 confirmed, 7,481 probable); 134,422 negatives; 776 deaths (+4); 58.9% of county population vaccinated Franklin County (pop. 155,027): 218 new cases; total 31,259 cases (25,532 confirmed, 5,727 probable); 66,066 negatives; 567 deaths (+13); 46.4% of county population vaccinated 218 new cases; total 31,259 cases (25,532 confirmed, 5,727 probable); 66,066 negatives; 567 deaths (+13); 46.4% of county population vaccinated Fulton County (pop. 14,530): 16 new cases; 3,237 total cases (1,576 confirmed, 1,661 probable); 5,210 negatives; 51 deaths; 34% of county population vaccinated 16 new cases; 3,237 total cases (1,576 confirmed, 1,661 probable); 5,210 negatives; 51 deaths; 34% of county population vaccinated Huntingdon County (pop. 45,144): 68 new cases; 8,749 total cases (7,173 confirmed, 1,576 probable); 22,710 negatives; 206 deaths; 48.7% of county population vaccinated 68 new cases; 8,749 total cases (7,173 confirmed, 1,576 probable); 22,710 negatives; 206 deaths; 48.7% of county population vaccinated Juniata County (pop. 24,763): 12 new cases; 3,899 total cases (3,578 confirmed, 321 probable); 7,036 negatives; 151 deaths; 38.4% of county population vaccinated 12 new cases; 3,899 total cases (3,578 confirmed, 321 probable); 7,036 negatives; 151 deaths; 38.4% of county population vaccinated Lebanon County (pop. 141,793): 258 new cases; 29,023 total cases (25,007 confirmed, 4,016 probable); 65,232 negatives; 409 deaths (+3); 51.7% of county population vaccinated 258 new cases; 29,023 total cases (25,007 confirmed, 4,016 probable); 65,232 negatives; 409 deaths (+3); 51.7% of county population vaccinated Mifflin County (pop. 46,138): 57 new cases; 9,471 total cases (8,971 confirmed, 500 probable); 18,423 negatives; 242 deaths (+1); 47.2% of county population vaccinated 57 new cases; 9,471 total cases (8,971 confirmed, 500 probable); 18,423 negatives; 242 deaths (+1); 47.2% of county population vaccinated Perry County (pop. 46,272): 31 new cases; 7,076 total cases (5,525 confirmed, 1,551 probable); 14,294 negatives; 158 deaths (+2); 45.7% of county population vaccinated 31 new cases; 7,076 total cases (5,525 confirmed, 1,551 probable); 14,294 negatives; 158 deaths (+2); 45.7% of county population vaccinated York County (pop. 449,058): 752 new cases; 91,847 total cases (75,332 confirmed; 16,515 probable); 201,066 negatives; 1,230 deaths (+14); 55.4% of county population vaccinated ZIP code-level counts (updated Jan. 6): 17013: 4,517 positives, 16,729 negatives - +243 since Dec. 31 17015: 2,741 positives, 8,268 negatives - +23 since Dec. 31 17050: 4,346 positives, 17,687 negatives - +249 since Dec. 31 17055: 4,792 positives, 19,317 negatives - +215 since Dec. 31 17011: 4,344 positives, 16,097 negatives - +235 since Dec. 31 17007: 679 positives, 2,157 negatives - +29 since Dec. 31 17065: 511 positives, 1,450 negatives - +25 since Dec. 31 17324: 567 positives, 1,441 negatives - +25 since Dec. 31 17241: 1,248 positives, 3,585 negatives - +139 since Dec. 31 17257: 3,373 positives, 8,083 negatives - +143 since Dec. 31 17240: 337 positives, 742 negatives - +9 since Dec. 31 17025: 2,062 positives, 6,756 negatives - +121 since Dec. 31 17070: 1,948 positives, 6,260 negatives - +106 since Dec. 31 17043: 663 positives, 2,414 negatives - +34 since Dec. 31 17019: 2,327 positives, 6,361 negatives - +79 since Dec. 31 17266: 46 positives, 148 negatives - +2 since Dec. 31 School district and college case counts (updated Dec. 17) The Sentinel's case counts for Cumberland County school districts and colleges or universities are updated Fridays. The policy for each school districts reporting is noted in the list below. Big Spring School District (reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): 16 student cases and 8 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 15. (reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): 16 student cases and 8 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 15. Camp Hill School District (posts chart that includes total case count): 107 student cases and 9 staff cases this school year (started Aug. 25.) Chart last updated on Dec. 10. (posts chart that includes total case count): 107 student cases and 9 staff cases this school year (started Aug. 25.) Chart last updated on Dec. 10. Carlisle Area School District (reports cases as they occur and updates a chart): 52 new cases since Dec. 3; 291 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) according to the charts last update on Dec. 17. (reports cases as they occur and updates a chart): 52 new cases since Dec. 3; 291 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) according to the charts last update on Dec. 17. Cumberland Valley School District (reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 40 cases since Dec. 10; 432 cases this school year (started Aug. 31) as of the charts last update on Dec. 17. (reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 40 cases since Dec. 10; 432 cases this school year (started Aug. 31) as of the charts last update on Dec. 17. Mechanicsburg Area School District (chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 31 positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Dec. 17. (chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 31 positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Dec. 17. Shippensburg Area School District (reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure): 23 new cases since Dec. 8; 263 cases this school year (started Aug. 19) as of charts last update on Dec. 16. (reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure): 23 new cases since Dec. 8; 263 cases this school year (started Aug. 19) as of charts last update on Dec. 16. South Middleton School District (posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Fridays): 28 cases since Dec. 3; 131 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) as of the charts last update on Dec. 17. (posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Fridays): 28 cases since Dec. 3; 131 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) as of the charts last update on Dec. 17. West Shore School District (reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 58 student cases and 8 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 17. (reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 58 student cases and 8 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 17. Dickinson College : 2 new student cases and 4 employee cases since Dec. 10; 59 student cases and 34 employee cases in the fall semester (started Aug. 30.) Chart last updated on Dec. 17. : 2 new student cases and 4 employee cases since Dec. 10; 59 student cases and 34 employee cases in the fall semester (started Aug. 30.) Chart last updated on Dec. 17. Messiah University : 12 new student cases and 4 new staff cases since Dec. 3; 139 student cases and 56 employee cases in the fall semester (started Aug. 7.) Chart last updated Dec. 16. : 12 new student cases and 4 new staff cases since Dec. 3; 139 student cases and 56 employee cases in the fall semester (started Aug. 7.) Chart last updated Dec. 16. Shippensburg University: 38 new student cases and 2 new staff cases since Dec. 6; 270 student cases and 31 employee cases the fall semester (started Aug. 1). Chart last updated on Dec. 16. (Counties with a percent positivity above 5% in a week go on the Department of Health's watch list) Pennsylvania: Percent Positivity - 24.5% last 7 days (15.3% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 607.4 (416.8 previous 7 days) Adams County: Percent Positivity - 28.1% last 7 days (23% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 826.1 (1,297 previous 7 days) Cumberland County: Percent Positivity - 21.4% last 7 days (16.6% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 416.4 (387.6 previous 7 days) Dauphin County: Percent Positivity - 27.1% last 7 days (17.4% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 535.4 (343.2 previous 7 days) Franklin County: Percent Positivity - 24.9% last 7 days (23.4% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 663.8 (1,498.4 previous 7 days) Lebanon County: Percent Positivity - 31.3% last 7 days (22.6% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 795.5 (722.9 previous 7 days) Perry County: Percent Positivity - 27.3% last 7 days (20% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 341.5 (289.6 previous 7 days) York County: Percent Positivity - 29.5% last 7 days (23% previous 7 days) last 7 days (23% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 848.2 (932 previous 7 days) Email Jeff at jpratt@cumberlink.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelPratt. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Several area fire departments responded to a fire on Highway 47 near Terre Du Lac Tuesday night. Bonne Terre/Big River Fire Department Assistant Chief Allen Stegall said the initial dispatch was just after 7 p.m. for an investigation of heavy smoke in the area. A Bonne Terre/Big River pumper truck with four firefighters responded to investigate. The assistant chief said the unit was about halfway to the area when dispatchers advised there was a house fire near the corner of Highway 47 and House Road. The first alarm was then struck to call mutual aid fire companies to assist. Stegall explained that crews arrived to find heavy fire and flames beginning to burn through the roof of a residential structure next to the Nickles Auction building. The fire had spread from an attached garage into the house. The assistant chief said it took firefighters some time to bring the fire under control due to a large number of contents in the structure. It was one of the more stubborn fires weve had in a while, said Stegall. He also said high winds did not help with the containment efforts. Crews brought the fire under control after about an hour but were on the scene until approximately 11:30 p.m., addressing multiple hot spots and cleaning up the scene. No injuries were reported. Highway 47 was closed for approximately two hours due to heavy smoke in the area while firefighters were battling the blaze. Stegall said the structure would be a total loss due to the fire damage. He said the Missouri Fire Marshals Office was contacted Tuesday night, but he had not yet been informed of the fires cause. Assisting Bonne Terre/Big River with Tuesday nights containment efforts were fire crews from Desloge, Potosi, Farmington, Park Hills, Leadington, Terre Du Lac, and De Soto Rural Fire Protection. Stegall said he wanted to thank law enforcement for their help controlling the traffic. He said he also wanted to thank the St. Francois County Ambulance District, which remained on the scene with fire crews the entire time. We had a lot of good help last night, said Stegall. Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 exceeded 500 across BJC HealthCare on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday morning news release issued by the regional health system that oversees Parkland Health Center (PHC) in Farmington. That means elective procedures have been halted. The news preceded a release issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) that theres been a pause on their online system of distributing test kits. Pause on test kits Due to a significant increase in demand, there is currently a temporary pause on at-home testing kit orders to update system accessibility. Ordering will reopen tomorrow morning, Jan. 6, the release reads. In order to improve the ordering system and allow our contractor to continue shipping kits in a timely manner, DHSS will be making a limited supply available each day through January. If the ordering site says the limit has been reached, please check back again the following day for availability. This change is needed to ensure all orders received are processed in an expedient manner. MDHSS is urging those who are able to order tests to not stockpile them. Because of the increased demand and limited test kit shelf life, DHSS requests Missourians only submit requests for immediate testing needs. These kits should not be stockpiled. DHSS would encourage those who need the tests at this time to use them by mailing in their sample as instructed, the news release reads. If the COVID-19 positivity rate in Missouri increases significantly, the State may work with the vendor to increase the daily ordering allotment. With the high case rates and limited testing supplies available nationwide, now is the time to utilize these tests especially for those who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or have had exposure to a COVID-19 positive case. Increased levels found in sewer samples Late last month a MDHSS news release reported the Omicron variant was found in more than half the wastewater systems of Missouri, as part of the Missouri Sewershed Surveillance project. The Farmington East Wastewater Treatment Plant was one of the systems in which samples had mutations associated with Omicron variant. Other wastewater treatment plants being sampled include Bonne Terre Northwest, Fredericktown and Perryville. Perryville was also found to have samples including the Omicron variant. All of the regional wastewater treatment plants were found to have dramatically increased levels of COVID-19. Hospital deals with more cases The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Barnes-Jewish Hospital is continuing outpatient procedures not requiring overnight stays. Pediatric surgeries are rarely elective, so those procedures are not expected to be delayed, according to BJC. BJC spokeswoman Kendra Whittle said procedures are considered elective if they can be delayed for more than four weeks. This is beyond anything weve seen thus far in the pandemic, the release reads. Because our nurses, staff and facilities are stretched to their limits, we have made the difficult decision to postpone all elective procedures starting Thursday, January 6, until further notice. This will allow us to reassign staff to other areas of the hospital with more urgent need This decision was not made lightly, and reflects our current challenge as cases continue to rise and resources continue to be strained. Parkland Health Center employees will contact patients who currently have non-urgent procedures scheduled. PHC CEO Annette Schnabel said COVID-19 numbers have substantially escalated over the last few weeks, affecting not only the number of beds available none are available as of press time - but also staff who can attend to patients, since caregivers have acquired it, too. As we look to how the (COVID-19) numbers are increasing, we expect an extremely high increase over the next couple of weeks, she said. Because of the number of cases in our community, that means our staff are exposed to COVID, as well. With all available beds taken and staffing impacted by COVID, staff needed to be made available to help with care for emergent and medically sick patients, Schnabel said. By reducing our elective surgeries and procedures, we are able to move staff from our surgical department to assist in other departments, she explained. When asked how many hospitalized with COVID-19 were vaccinated, Schnabel said theyve been keeping tabs since the vaccine was made widely available, and only about 12% of those hospitalizations at PHC were vaccinated. When asked, Schnabel said most employees are vaccinated. While some vaccinated employees have contracted the virus which is designed to increase antibodies, not to prevent infection - the rate of infection is higher among PHC employees who opted for a medical or religious exemption from the BJC-required vaccination. Those who are not vaccinated, we actually are doing weekly testing on them, and they are a much higher percentage of our employees that are testing positive at this point, the unvaccinated, she said. The surge in community COVID numbers means almost no beds are available. The numbers change every day, but currently (Wednesday afternoon) we have 22 COVID patients in our medical unit. We have five in our ICU, all of them are vented. We have six patients that are currently being boarded in the ED because there are no beds available for them, she said. Today we have 15 employees out sick due to COVID. In addition to our emergency room, we have a convenient care that manages patients and they see a lot of lower sick patients. They have been seeing about 120 patients per day, when under normal times they would see 30 to 40 patients. So theyre being taxed quite a bit as well. The amount of COVID activity in the community is extremely high right now and we needed to be able to move staff members to care for our medically ill patients. Transitioning to Omicron Schnabel said shes heard word that the next booster will be more focused on the Omicron variant, which, while found to be less severe than Delta in most people, is more highly transmissible. According to the CDC, while the current offerings of vaccinations and boosters are not Omicron-specific, the numbers indicate theres added protection to reduce the severity of symptoms. The great thing is, today we started transitioning to the monoclonal antibody treatment thats more effective against Omicron, Schnabel said. When a person is testing positive but they're low, low symptomatic, we can give them that monoclonal antibody treatment and they're way less likely to get admitted to the hospital. We've been doing that in our infusion center on the fourth floor. But with that transition, there's less of that drug available for us. And so we will be more limited in who we can provide that to over the next week or so until more of the drug is made available to us. But that's something that we coordinate with. What we get is based on how the state decides to distribute it. And so we don't have as much as we'd like to have right now. "But as we continue to get more, we definitely are caring for a lot of patients in that way and that even though our numbers are as high as they are on the inpatient side, we know that we've actually reduced the number that are in inpatient because of the monoclonal antibody treatments we've been doing. VA offering vaccination A wide variety of places are offering free vaccinations, including the Veterans Health Administration (VA) which is offering walk-in and scheduled clinics to encourage veterans and caregivers to receive COVID-19 and flu vaccinations. "We know getting vaccinated is the most important thing our patients can do to protect themselves, their families and their communities from these illnesses," said Angela Smith, chief of communications and stakeholder relations for the John J. Pershing VAMC in Poplar Bluff. Farmington's VA clinic is scheduling appointments from 9-10 a.m. and 12:30-1:30 p.m. Cape Girardeau's VA clinic is offering shots from 9-10 a.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Sarah Haas is the assistant editor for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-518-3617 or at shaas@dailyjournalonline.com. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Air Raid Juggling meets from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays at ACAC Adventure Central. Free. Club welcomes all experience levels and provides free lessons. juggler.bz. American Red Cross needs blood and platelet donors to help make sure blood products are available for patients. Donors of all blood types, particularly type O, are urged to make appointments to donate. redcross.org. Cat Action Team is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization serving Charlottesville and 12 surrounding counties to help homeless cats with trap/neuter/return programs, fostering, adoption, feral colony maintenance, food and support. Volunteers are welcome. catac tionteam.org. Hospice of the Piedmont offers general grief support drop-in groups at 3 p.m. Wednesdays on Zoom; call (434) 817-6915 to register. Remembering Our Children, a support group for parents who have lost children, takes place at 5:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month on Zoom; call (434) 817-6915 to register. hopva.org. (434) 817-6949. Jaunt is teaming up with Blue Ridge Health District and University of Virginia Health to provide free rides to COVID-19 vaccination sites. To book a ride to your vaccination appointment with JAUNT, email trips@ridejaunt.org or call (434) 296-3184. Jefferson-Madison Regional Library has teamed up with the Virginia Department of Health to distribute at-home COVID-19 test kits at all library branches. Call your library branch to make an appointment. jmrl.org/covid19.html. A year after the attempted U.S. Capitol insurrection, public officials are seeking justice via legislation and lawsuits that mirror a prolific Charlottesville case targeting organizers of the Unite the Right rally. When rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 after President Donald Trump called on Americans to fight against Congresss count of electoral votes, many Charlottesville area community members who protested white supremacy during the summer of 2017 were unsurprised. The insurrection attempt has been widely compared to the August 2017 University of Virginia torch march and Unite the Right rally thanks in large part to a crossover in the far-right figures who supported or participated in the violence in both. However, another connection is highlighted via recent lawsuit filed by Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine against the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and key figures of both groups. The lawsuit, filed last month in D.C.s federal court, bears many similarities to the Sines v. Kessler lawsuit which targeted key organizers and participants of the Unite the Right rally and torch march. Our Charlottesville case has affirmed the importance of civil litigation and helped chart a path forward, demonstrating how to bankrupt and dismantle these extremists and prevent them from striking again, said Amy Spitalnick, director of Integrity First for America, the group that funded the lawsuit. And as extremism becomes increasingly mainstreamed, it makes this accountability all the more crucial. The legal efforts are not the only response to the rally. Some, including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, are turning to legislative solutions. During a press call Tuesday, Kaine outlined both his efforts to pass legislation to protect voting rights and his experiences. Reflecting on Jan. 6, 2021, Kaine said it gave him a new kind of insight into what it must feel to be a disenfranchised voter, citing a history of violence being used to suppress votes from Black Americans. I got just a very brief window into how debilitating and discouraging and devastating it is to have your vote threatened or taken away, he said. That anger persists today, and I really do think the only productive way to deal with it is to pass comprehensive legislation to make sure that we protect every single persons ability to vote. In September, Kaine joined U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to introduce the Freedom to Vote Act that seeks a variety of changes, including automatic voter registration and online voter registration; making Election Day a public holiday; allowing for same day registration; ensure all voters can request mail-in ballots; and restoring the right to vote in federal elections for people who have served their time for felony convictions after release. Despite a lack of support from Senate Republicans, Kaine said he sees the issue as bi-partisan, pointing to efforts in the Virginia General Assembly to make voting easier and its potential impact on the recent increased turnout for the states gubernatorial election. The Sines v. Kessler lawsuit in Charlottesville was filed soon after the Unite the Right rally on behalf of various area residents. It ended in November after a nearly five week long jury trial. The jurors found more than a dozen defendants, including former Proud Boy and key rally organizer Jason Kessler, liable for $26 million in damages. Though it remains to be seen what, if any, money the plaintiffs will be able to collect, Integrity First for America has pointed to the case as a success and a model for Racines case. Like the Charlottesville case, D.C. vs. the Proud Boys cites the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was originally intended to protect formerly enslaved people from racial violence after the Civil War. However, the lawsuit does differ notably in who is being represented, said Rich Schragger, a UVa law professor. It is notable that this lawsuit is being brought by the District of Columbia, to obtain damages to its officers and taxpayers, and is based on the insurrectionists attempts to obstruct federal officials in their official acts and damage to federal property, he said. That makes it somewhat unusual. According to Schragger, the District is invoking federal law addressing vigilante violence directed against officers and officials of the United States. Violence against federal officials was a problem in the former states of the Confederacy, where the KKK and other groups sought to intimidate and terrorize officers of the federal government seeking to enforce the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, he said. Another interesting detail pointed to by Schragger is a portion of the complaint that notes damages to former Vice President Mike Pence, whom the plaintiffs allege the defendants conspired to injure on account of his lawful discharge or performance of his duties as Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate with respect to the election. According to the Washington Post, the D.C. lawsuit was put together with the assistance of two nonprofit groups that focused on the Jan. 6 assault, the States United Democracy Center and the Anti-Defamation League, both of which are serving as pro bono outside counsel. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nearly one-third of people in Central Virginia remained without power for a third day after Mondays winter storm caused extensive damage to power grids. Utility crews with Dominion Energy, Appalachian Power, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Central Virginia Electrical Cooperative continued to survey the damage to power lines, poles and transformers, make fixes and reenergize lines. Hundreds of workers from out-of-state are assisting with the repair effort. Dominion officials said during a press conference in eastern Albemarle County that the grid sustained extensive damage, which was complicating the process of turning the power back on. In one area near Buck Island Road, poles, wires and transformers were on the ground. Kevin Curtis, the vice president of electrical transmission and power delivery for Dominion Energy, said crews had to rebuild portions of circuits from scratch. He said he expected a majority of Dominions customers in the Charlottesville area to have their power back Wednesday or Thursday evening. Road conditions improved Wednesday, helping accelerate restoration work, he said. By Wednesday evening, less than 40% of people in Albemarle County didnt have power. Many more people in Charlottesville had their lights turned back on Tuesday, with less than 5% still powerless. Most of those without power in Albemarle County are Dominion customers, according to online tracker PowerOutage.us. Dominion reported Wednesday evening that less than 16,000 customers were out of power after starting the day with more than 17,200 out. Initially, Curtis said crews had difficulty getting to the damaged power lines, especially those in isolated areas. Dominion crews have been using drones to assist with spotting issues. The damage has included broken cross arms and poles and wires on the ground, which takes long to restore, he said. Its so sporadic and spread out and then in very hard to access locations, he said of the damage. ... In some areas, back in the woods, the trees have fallen and the damage is extensive, but up on the main road, it looks fine. Electrical crews have to survey every inch of a power line before turning it back on, which also extends the repair process. Curtis encouraged people to continue checking the online outage map for updates. Much of Louisa County remained in the dark. Most of the Dominion customers in Louisa were out of power along with those served by Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. Rappahannock Electric said Wednesday afternoon that it had doubled its workforce tasked with turning the power back on and requested additional support, calling the damage devastating. It expects most of the outages to be restored by the end of the weekend with some continuing into next week, according to a news release. So far, Rappahannock field workers have found about 70 broken poles and expect to find many more, according to the update. They continue to be challenged by snow- and ice-covered roads and downed trees that are blocking the roadways, officials said in the release. Louisa County opened an overnight shelter at Louisa County Middle School for the thousands without power and in need of a warm place to sleep. The school cafeteria is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, though spokeswoman Cindy King encouraged people to bring snacks. We cant promise a hot meal, she said. On Thursday, Louisa County said domestic cats and dogs and service animals would be welcome at the school. Cots were available as well as helping getting out of driveways or to the shelter. Those in need of assistance should call (540) 967-3496. King said that about 28 people were using the shelter by Wednesday afternoon, and she expected that number to increase throughout the evening. King said the school will remain open as long as its needed for shelter. The middle school is located at 1009 Davis Highway in Mineral and a temporary day warming station has been set up at Holly Grove Volunteer Fire Department, 143 Factory Mill Road. Several other localities in the area have set up overnight shelters or warming stations. In Fluvanna, 39% of residents were out of power, including nearly 70% of Dominion customers, according to online tracker PowerOutage.us. In Orange County, 38% were without power as well as 14% of Nelson County energy customers, 29% of Madison County and 47% of Buckingham County. All of the area school divisions remain closed. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. If you think things couldnt get much worse with the continued snowstorm-related power outages and freezing temperatures, Central Virginias winter weather would like you to hold its drink and watch. The National Weather Service on Thursday advised area residents to prepare for another two to four inches of snowfall beginning around 6 p.m. and lasting into early Friday morning as nature pulls a repeat of the events that dropped up to a foot of snow on Monday and sent trees, powerlines and power poles crashing to the ground. That snow will be followed by Canadas gift of frigid air settling in over the region Friday, dropping temperatures after the snowfall into the teens and plummeting to single digits by Saturday morning. A cold front will stall to the south today and low pressure will track along the boundary, passing by to our south tonight and that results in a period of snow, meteorologists said on the weather service website. Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Meteorologists said the heaviest snow is expected overnight with heavy bursts of snow that could reduce visibility to less than a half-mile. Predictions are that the system will move much quicker through the region, limiting how much snow will fall. However, snowfalls could match Mondays storm in intensity. There is also a chance some areas could see significantly higher amounts of snowfall, depending on how the conditions play out. There is still some uncertainty as to exactly where this will setup and exactly how strong it will be, meteorologists said. Either way, with cold temperatures in place and accumulating snow, conditions will deteriorate once precipitation begins. Even though it is a short duration event, snowfall rates could be around one inch per hour. Considering how many motorists were trapped by Mondays storm, the Virginia State Police are recommending people stay home and, if possible, work remotely. With the National Weather Service calling for another significant round of winter weather making its way across Virginia, the Virginia State Police are encouraging Virginians to be weather aware, to plan ahead and to avoid traveling during inclement conditions, said Corinne Geller, state police spokeswoman. Geller said Mondays weather, which carried over to Tuesday, resulted in state police responding to 1,220 traffic crashes and 1,414 disabled or stuck vehicles statewide. That does not include crashes covered by local law enforcement officers. There were no weather-related traffic deaths reported during that time period, including the Interstate 95 incident near Fredericksburg, Geller said. State police will be out in force. Back-to-back storms are nothing new for the state police or Virginia, said Major R.C. Maxey, Jr., state police deputy director of operations. [We are] prepared for this latest round of winter weather. We will have all available troopers on patrol in order to respond as quickly as possible to traffic crashes, emergencies, and disabled motorists. We will extend shifts, call out additional troopers, and redirect resources when and where needed, just as we did earlier this week. In the meantime, electric utility crews are investigating thousands of individual power outages that have left an estimated 16,000 Albemarle County customers of Dominion Energy still without power and about 700 without electricity in Charlottesville, according to the utility companys website. An estimated 32,000 Dominion customers are still without power across the region along with another 4,500 from Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and 1,300 from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. The numbers fluctuate as some circuits are turned on only to meet with undiscovered damage that results in the power going back off until another repair can be made. The utilities have brought in reinforcement repair crews from other states, many of whom are parking and staging trucks at Piedmont Virginia Community College. School officials on Thursday asked people not involved with electric repairs to avoid the area. PVCC is asking for the safety of everyone involved that joggers, sleigh riders, walkers and dog walkers, etc., please hold off on visiting the college for such activities until further notice, officials wrote in a statement. The campus lots at PVCC are being used as an operations and holding location for over 200 utility service provider vehicles. For the safety of those in the community and to help the utility service workers be able to do their jobs with minimal additional obstacles, the college is sharing this request. The request does not include PVCC students who may come to the campus during regular hours of operation or employees who are working. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Lebanon man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for stealing millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office's Oregon District. Andrew Aaron Lloyd, 51, was sentenced on Thursday, Jan. 6. He was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution as well as forfeit 25 properties and more than 15,000 shares of Tesla Inc. stock worth more than $16 million at its share price on Thursday seized by law enforcement. According to the news release, Lloyd took advantage of the economic relief program provided by the Small Business Administration. This included Economic Injury Disaster Loans and the Paycheck Protection Program. These programs were initially authorized in March 2020 to financially assist millions of Americans and small businesses affected by the pandemic. Court documents show Lloyd started submitting Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act loan applications in April 2020 under a variety of business names and personal identification information of relatives and business associates without their consent. He also submitted false documentation to justify the loan amounts he requested, the news release states. This included IRS forms listing 2019 wages allegedly paid by entities he controlled. Lloyd claimed these entities paid employees up to $4.7 million. The loan applications included dozens of alleged employees and the total wages paid to each employee. According to the news release, the IRS form, total amount of wages and earnings, employee names and wages paid to the employees were all fabricated by Lloyd. Lloyd submitted nine PPP loans, six of which were accepted and totaled a payout of more than $3.4 million. One of the multiple EIDLs he applied for was accepted, leading to $160,000 in payments. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Lebanon Express. Using these funds, Lloyd bought real estate and invested in securities. He transferred more than $1.8 million of the PPP loan funds to his securities brokerage account. Lloyd also purchased more than 25 properties in Oregon and California using the funds. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, in January 2021, agents seized Lloyds brokerage account. This account included 15,740 shares of Tesla he bought with the funds from the fraud. In March 2021, agents seized an additional account containing more than $660,000 in securities and cash. The securities and cash seized from Lloyds accounts are valued at more than $18 million. On Jan. 5, 2021, Lloyd was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. On June 6, 2021, he was charged by superseding criminal information with bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Lloyd pleaded guilty to these three charges shortly after. Russell Anthony Schort, 39, from Myrtle Creek, Oregon was identified as Lloyds accomplice. Schort was also charged for similar crimes. The FBI, the SBA Office of Inspector General and the IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. The Oregon Elections Division rejected Nicholas Kristof's attempt to file his candidacy for governor Thursday, Jan. 6, citing a requirement for candidates to reside in the state for three years prior to the election. Although he grew up in Yamhill and has repeatedly said he considers it to be his home, Kristof has spent most of his adult life as a resident of New York, where he voted in the 2020 election. In August, his attorneys at Perkins and Coie released a legal memorandum, insisting he meets Oregon's three-year residency requirement citing court opinions, some of them more than 100 years old, to counter the argument that living and voting in New York disqualifies Kristof from being considered an Oregon resident. But the Oregon Elections Division and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, also a Democrat, reached a different conclusion. "Until late 2020 or early 2021, Mr. Kristof lived in New York and has for the past 20 years," Fagan said at a news conference Thursday morning. "Until recently, he was employed in New York. He received his mail at his New York address. He filed income taxes in New York. And perhaps most importantly, Mr. Kristof voted as a resident of New York for 20 years, including and this is important as recently as November 2020." Kristof announced his campaign and began raising money in October, but he did not attempt to file with the Oregon secretary of state's office until Dec. 20. His campaign has already has raised over $2.5 million from more than 5,500 donors. Fagan said Thursday her office gave the Kristof campaign two weeks until Monday, Jan. 3 to submit evidence to support his qualification. "Mr. Kristof provided a variety of sentiments and statements that he has made over the years, which we expect are genuine sentiments about his love for Oregon," Fagan said. "Mr. Kristof also said that he filed income taxes in Oregon in 2019 and 2020, but he didn't provide any documentation whatsoever." Responding to the decision at a press conference Thursday afternoon, Kristof said he did not provide the state with income tax records because it did not specifically ask for them. "We do expect to give you that. I believe it's customary to do that in the spring, around Tax Day," Kristof said. "We didn't provide the documentation because she did not ask for them." Kristof is appealing the decision in circuit court. A decision on that appeal is due by March 17, when clerks begin printing ballots for the Democratic primary in May. Other Democratic candidates for governor this year include House Speaker Tina Kotek of Portland and state Treasurer Tobias Read of Beaverton. In a letter to the secretary of state's office, Kristof's attorney's said there has only been one Oregon court case that considered the question of whether voter registration determines residency, over a state House seat in 1974. A Marion County judge ruled that "the question of domicile is largely one of intent," a precedent that supports Kristof, who has owned property in Yamhill County since 1993. During his press conference, Kristof characterized the ruling as a political, not legal, decision. "My willingness to challenge the status quo is the reason state officials want to toss me from the ballot," Kristof said. "This was a political decision, not one based on the law." Fagan insisted her office reviewed Kristof as it would have any other candidate. "In the end, our election officials told me it wasn't even a close call," Fagan said. "And while there have been creative legal arguments and an impressive PR campaign, given the evidence, I venture that most Oregonians who are paying attention have reached the same conclusion." Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Heres a striking conundrum: Why, in the worlds essential democracy, do we Americans tolerate such a large gap between what we want and what we actually get? We could illustrate this in several ways. For example, we could note the remarkable discrepancy between Americans attitudes toward gun control and our actual gun laws. Or we could consider the issue of abortion. A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted Nov. 7-10 found that 60% of Americans believe that Roe v. Wade should be upheld. Seventy-five percent said that the question of abortion should be decided by a woman and her doctor. Only 20% said that the government should regulate the procedure. And yet during oral arguments before the Supreme Court on Dec. 1 in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health, conservative justices signaled clearly their willingness to overturn Roe v. Wade when the Court rules on the case next summer. If it does, abortion will become illegal in many states, as it already is, in practical terms, in Texas. But theres no reason for surprise. Candidate Donald Trump was clear and emphatic in a debate with Hillary Clinton just weeks before the 2016 election: He said that he would nominate to the Supreme Court only justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Aided by political connivance with the Senate, Trump appointed three justices. If they perform their mission, then, once again, the law will be at odds with what the people want. Why dont we have laws that reflect the wishes of the majority? The question implies another question: Why do we keep electing Republicans? Democrats control the White House, the House and the Senate, but by a thread so thin that legislating is extremely difficult. And the smart money keeps saying that Republicans will take over the House and, very possibly, the Senate this year. If so, we can be sure that Roe v. Wade will be history and the reasonable constraints on gun ownership that most citizens favor will be loosened even further. Some of this has to do with the fact that minority rights are built into the Constitution. The five smallest states, with a combined population of 3.5 million, have 10 senators, while the most populous state, California, with its 40 million, has only two. House representation was meant to alleviate this extraordinary imbalance, but these days the compensatory effect is largely undercut by deft gerrymandering. But none of this fully accounts for the discrepancy between the laws and policies that we have and the ones that would more closely reflect the will of the people. It doesnt answer the question that Thomas Frank asks in his 2004 book, Whats the Matter with Kansas?: Why do Americans so often vote against their own interests? Heres my theory: Republicans enjoy an inherent advantage over Democrats because their essential agenda never goes far beyond a simple formula. This formula is so thoroughly baked into Republicanism that the party didnt bother to publish a platform for the 2020 election. Other single issues abortion, Second Amendment rights notwithstanding, every Republican runs on this appealing message: lower taxes and smaller government. No Democrat can run successfully on a platform of higher taxes and bigger government. The genius of this Republican formula is that it appeals to nearly everyones desire to pay less in taxes. And it also caters to the sense of self-reliance that many Americans harbor. Many of us enjoy imagining that we can do everything on our own or so we think. Anti-government sentiment is easy to incite. President Ronald Reagan never tired of saying and his acolytes never tire of repeating: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: Im from the Government and Im here to help. But dont be fooled: Terms such as high taxes, low taxes, big government and small government are meaningless outside the context of what citizens receive in return for their money. The virtues of small government versus big government are worth debating. But if polls are to be believed and theyre remarkably consistent Republicans will never give us the government that the majority of us want. John M. Crisp, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, lives in Georgetown, Texas, and can be reached at jcrispcolumns@gmail.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Your morning rundown of the latest news from overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. After sparking on Dec. 30, the Marshall fire became the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, destroying at least 991 structures and damaging another 127 in Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County. Bharti Airtel has decided not to restructure its business after determining that its current structure is optimal for leveraging reforms announced by Indias government in September 2021. In April 2021, Bharti Airtel revealed plans to revise its corporate structure to strengthen its focus on its digital operations. This included listing Airtel Digital and bringing other assets including Airtel Cloud, Airtel X Stream, Airtel Secure, and the Mitra Payments platform under the units aegis. These proposals would have elevated digital to one of Bharti Airtels four core business units, along with India, infrastructure, and international. The change was aimed at streamlining liabilities and regulatory compliance around Airtels digital operations to improve its bottom line. However, in September 2021 Indias government announced telecom reforms aimed at restoring the sector to profitability. Perhaps the most significant of these was confirmation that adjusted gross revenue would not apply to sales made through non-telecom channels. The government has continually broadened the scope of AGR dues, causing financial distress for Indian operators. Airtel stated that this change to the definition of AGR would have a significant impact on the industry, improving future prospects and encouraging investment. In its statement, the company said: Bharti Airtel is well positioned to invest aggressively in the emerging growth opportunities offered by Indias digital economy. The wait for 5G rollout and expansion of 4G capacity in South Africa may now go on even longer thanks to efforts by operator Telkom to delay the spectrum auction due to happen in March. Reuters reports that Telkom is seeking an urgent court order to prevent telecoms regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) from holding the auction, further delaying a process already held back by legal action; earlier attempts to auction high-demand spectrum were stymied by legal objections from Telkom, broadcaster e.tv, and MTN Group last year. Telkom wants a High Court review of the invitation to apply, which outlines the auction rules, spectrum bands and licence obligations, published by ICASA last month. It also wants to ensure ICASA does not process any applications until the review is heard. Reuters quotes a hard-hitting statement from Telkom that attacks the legality of the auction process and says that the invite is tainted by a number of reviewable errors, including the auctioning of the sub 1 Gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, which is, apparently, not yet available. Telkom is also exercised by the lack of clarity around the timing in licensing a Wholesale Open Access Network (WOAN). As reported in these pages recently, this has been put on hold.If allowed to stand, the (invitation) will have enduring negative consequences on the mobile market, including but not limited to reinforcing the anti-competitive structure of the mobile market, Telkom said in court papers. While the merit of the objections is for the court to decide, a lot of very frustrated end users may well be wondering when and if the extra spectrum will ever be available that could help reduce the high cost of data in South Africa. The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information, known as KemKominfo, has requested that the countrys operators begin winding down their 3G offerings in order to focus on 4G and 5G coverage. Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G Plate described 4G as the backbone of our national communication, adding that he had requested that operators phase out 3G instead of 2G since the technology is used for different purposes, with 2G primarily used for voice communication while 3Gs focus on data is being superseded by more effective 4G and 5G offerings. However, CommsUpdate notes that roughly 83,218 villages in Indonesia currently receive no 4G coverage, meaning that unless the government is able to address how these areas can be connected, its request may go unheeded. This is a particular challenge given that many of these locations are in the so-called 3T (Frontier, Remotest and Disadvantaged) regions. China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd (China Mobile) will buy back up to $12.6 billion worth of its Hong Kong-listed shares on the market, as the company prepares for its 48.7 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) listing in Shanghai on Wednesday, Chinas biggest public share offering in a decade. The Chinese state-owned company told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange it would press ahead with a plan to buy back up to 2.05 billion shares using existing cash and working capital. The Beijing-based firm did not disclose any reason for the buyback, but listed companies usually carry out such plans to buoy their stock price by removing some of their equity from the market. The state-owned company raised 48.7 billion yuan by selling 845.7 million shares in Shanghai, almost half of which were issued to 19 strategic investors. If the so-called greenshoe option is used, it would bank 56 billion yuan surpassing the 54 billion yuan that smaller rival China Telecom raised last August. Morgan Stanley said the buyback plan hedges the dilution effect of the mainland listing, placing a target price of HK$65 apiece for the Hong Kong shares. China Mobiles state-owned rivals, China Telecom and China Unicom are already listed in mainland China. The three were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after a Trump-era decision to restrict investment in Chinese technology firms, amid continuing tensions between Washington and Beijing. In August, China Mobile announced that it would use its new funds to shore up its 5G capabilities, as well as cloud infrastructure and smart home projects. It then disclosed plans to use roughly half the money it planned to raise in Shanghai on wireless technology, and build at least 500,000 5G base stations by 2022. The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) under the Indian communications ministry has released a report 'Code of Practice for Securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT)'. These baseline requirements aligned with global standards and best practices will help in safeguarding such devices and ecosystem as well as in managing vulnerabilities, said an official release from the ministry. These guidelines, the ministry of communications said will help in securing consumer IoT devices and ecosystems as well as managing vulnerabilities. This report is intended for use by IoT device manufacturers, Service providers/ system integrators and application developers, etc. Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the fastest emerging technology across the globe, providing enormous beneficial opportunities for society, industry, and consumers. It is being used to create smart infrastructure in various verticals such as Power, Automotive, Safety & Surveillance, Remote Health Management, Agriculture, Smart Homes and Smart Cities, etc, using connected devices. IoT is benefitted by recent advances in several technologies such as sensors, communication technologies (Cellular and non-cellular), AI/ ML, Cloud / Edge computing, etc. As per the projections, there may be 26.4 billion IoT devices in service globally by 2026. Out of this, approximately 20% will be on cellular technologies. The ratio of Consumer and Enterprise IoT devices may be 45%: 55%. As per the National Digital Communication Policy (NDCP) 2018 launched by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), an eco-system is to be created for five billion linked gadgets by 2022. Therefore, its anticipated that around 60% of 5 billion i.e. 3 billion linked gadgets might exist in India by 2022. The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) and two of the countrys operators, Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya, have joined in the controversy over a case involving mobile termination rates (MTR) the charges levied by a mobile service provider on other telecommunications service providers for terminating calls in its network. Business Daily reports that the countrys leading operator, Safaricom, has petitioned the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal to block the decision by the regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), to cut mobile termination rates to Sh0.12 per minute from the current Sh0.99 per minute (one shilling is just under one US cent at present rates). The current rate has been in place since 2015. Safaricom argues that the CAs model uses a benchmarking methodology as opposed to long-run incremental costing, which, it suggests, is the preferred model in determining MTR. Airtel and Telkom have been criticising Safaricom for allegedly only being interested in protecting its revenues. Indeed, Safaricom argues that the move to cut the charges will adversely affect its revenues. Safaricom, with a dominant position in the voice market, does well out of a higher MTR. The smaller operators, by contrast, favour the cut as their users are likely to spend more time on other networks than their own. The CAs view, with which consumer group Cofek presumably agrees, is that the cut will have a positive impact on both consumers and operators and that, if charges across networks come down, there will be less need for consumers to own multiple SIM cards. However, the cuts expected to be implemented from the start of this year will now have to wait until the appeal is heard and determined. It will next be brought before the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal on 2 February. Moscow, ID (83843) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High near 55F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Cloudy skies. Low near 40F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. A wind power plant in the southern province of Soc Trang that could not meet the October 31, 2021 deadline for incentive tariffs. Photo by VnExpress/Phung Anh Wind power companies said if the government does not extend the October 31, 2021 deadline for the incentive feed-in-tariff for electricity they face the threat of bankcruptcy. In a letter they sent recently to various government and National Assembly agencies, wind power developers sought to explain why they many were unable to meet the deadline. The Gia Lai Wind Power Company for instance was delayed by nearly half a year since its equipment was stranded at a port for four months due to the prolonged restrictions on the movement of goods and people in southern provinces amid Covid-19 lockdowns. Besides, foreign technical experts could not come to Vietnam because international commercial flights had been halted and quarantine for people arriving by special flights was lengthy. Mai Nguyen, deputy director of Hanbram Wind Power Joint Stock Company, said the pandemic delayed his firms plant in the central province of Ninh Thuan by five months and only a third could be completed before the dealine. "Covid-19 outbreaks [also] led to difficulty in arranging financing because banks were slow or stopped disbursing". According to investors, the average cost is VND45 billion ($1.9 million) per megawatt and plants with a total capacity of 4,100 MW did not meet the October 31, 2021 deadline. Bui Van Thinh, president of the Binh Thuan Wind Power Association, said around half the planned projects did not meet the deadline. Many countries like Germany and the U.S. have declared force majeure due to the global pandemic and have policies to bail out wind power businesses and investors facing difficulties. In Vietnam, businesses, local administrations and others bodies in the energy industry have called on the government and National Assembly to extend the deadline for the FIT price by three to six months. The FITs, the price producers get for their power, for offshore and onshore wind power are 9.8 cents and 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for 20 years. But these rates are only paid to producers who began commercial generation before Nov. 1. The tariffs for plants built subsequently have not been announced yet. Wind and solar power started to boom since 2017 thanks to the FIT incentives. The country now has a capacity of over 16,000 MW of solar power and 4,100 MW of wind power. Renewables (solar, wind, biomass...) account for 22,000 MW or 25 percent of total power supply. Several Vietnamese carriers have voiced concerns over Covid-19 protocols that are hassling passengers before and after they take flights to Vietnam after the recent partial reopening of commercial international flights. From January 1 to 3, around 17 international flights brought over 1,700 passengers to Vietnam. Two of them were commercial ones, while the rest were combo charter flights carrying experts and tourists. It has been seen in the three days that current Covid-19 prevention requirements are difficult to implement and had taked away comforts from passengers, the carriers say. VietJet Air noted that passengers have to medically declare themselves on too many app platforms, which could be a challenging task, especially for foreign visitors. For example, entrants need to declare their immigration details on one app and make their medical declaration on another. Then, different localities may require different apps to be used, like HCMC and Hanoi, for example, it said. The requirement for visitors from Omicron-hit countries to be quick-tested before getting on and after getting off planes is also costly and time-consuming. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) also requires testing fees to be included in ticket prices, which is a headache for the airlines. Some carriers including Cathay Pacific and Turkish Airlines have requested HCMCs Tan Son Nhat Airport to either collect testing fees at the airport or find a hospital that accepts online payments. Malaysia Airlines also proposed that passengers pay their testing fees to the hospital directly, and not through carriers. Qatar Airways said testing fees, if included in the ticket price, would be a form of tax and would require certain procedures to be followed. This process could take as long as two months, it said. Quick tests at airports also carry the risk of overcrowding as doing so would take up to two hours. VietJet Air said the current testing duration is around 45 minutes due to the low number of flights. But once more flights begin operations, congestion could happen, it added. Taking the concerns into consideration, the CAAV has proposed to the Ministry of Transport to recommend to the government that only PCR test results are required, as is being done in other countries and territories. Additionally, quarantine requirements for arrivals not fully vaccinated are proving troublesome, carriers report. Under current regulations those who have not been fully vaccinated must have approval papers to confirm that they can be home quarantined. If they don't, they would need to confirm that they've booked an appropriate hotel to be quarantined in for at least seven days. Most people coming to Vietnam at the end of the year are Vietnamese families wanting to return to their home country, including small children who may not be vaccinated, the CAAV noted. Getting approval papers for home quarantine is difficult for them as they are from outside the country, and the same goes for quarantining in hotels. As such, the aviation authority has proposed to the Ministry of Health that it releases a list of hotels approved for quarantine, so Vietnamese living abroad can book them without requiring approval from authorities. The CAAV has so far licensed flights resumption on eight international routes to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Cambodia, the U.S., South Korea, Laos and Thailand. Flight routes to mainland China are still under negotiation. Nguyen Tien Dung at a police station in Dong Nai Province for alleged human trafficking, January 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Thai Ha Police have rescued seven Vietnamese women being smuggled to Cambodia to work as prostitutes and arrested three suspected human traffickers. Dong Nai police have detained Nguyen Tien Dung, 25, Loc Thi Luan, 21, and Ngo Nguyen Dong Khoa, 54, for "human trafficking" and "organizing illegal emigration." According to investigators, Dung and Luan cooperated to disseminate information about women being recruited to work in Cambodian karaoke bars and casinos with high salaries. For each employee recruited, Dung paid Luan VND10 million ($440). Dung and Khoa then escorted the hired women through the southern provinces of Long An, Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc before smuggling them into Cambodia using unmanned trails. Once in Cambodia, the women were forced to work as prostitutes in brothels disguised as karaoke and massage parlors. As the women, whose identities have not been revealed to protect them, refused to work as asked, the traffickers made them call their families and demanded VND100-150 million ($4,400-6,500) from each family to get them home. Within last December, the group had tricked and sent more than 10 women to Cambodia to work as prostitutes, police said. After tracking them down for several days, police in Dong Nai Province that borders HCMC arrested Dung and his accomplices as they were trafficking seven women to Cambodia on different routes. Thanh Hoa Town in the eponymous central province has called for people not to return for Tet if not necessary out of Covid-19 fears. Earlier this month, residents of the city received a letter from the local Party Committee, Peoples Committee and Fatherland Front Committee asking for their "cooperation in implementing Covid-19 prevention measures." The letter stated the coronavirus situation in the area was complex, with a rising number of cases and outbreaks, including many cases from outside the city, presenting the risk of community infection. As such, city authorities called on residents to tell their family members not to "return to their hometown if not truly necessary, especially before, during and after Tet." The letter has proved to be controversial, with many saying the travel restriction would oppose current governmental policies for adapting to life with Covid-19. Nguyen Viet Hung, head of Thanh Hoa Town Fatherland Front Committee, on Wednesday said the letter was a recommendation, not a travel ban. "The city doesnt plan to and cannot ban people from travelling. The recommendation is for people to protect their own health, their loved ones and the communitys," he said. Around 215,000 people returned to Thanh Hoa from outside the province for Tet last year. Over 96 percent of its adult population have been fully vaccinated. Earlier, authorities of Chieng Yen Commune of northern Son La Province called for people outside the commune to return home at least 22 days before the Lunar New Year so they could be quarantined in time. The communes Peoples Committee on Dec. 30 sent a document to local leaders, requesting workers outside Son La, seeking to return to the commune, to do so before Jan. 10. The date, which is 22 days before Lunar New Years Eve, would "satisfy quarantine protocols set by the Ministry of Health." Ha Van Phuc, chairman of Chieng Yen Peoples Committee, on Tuesday said the request for people to return early is to monitor their health and quarantine them early if possible. If people return either a day or two before Lunar New Years Eve as scheduled, the time left to monitor their health would be too short while people would travel around during the holiday, which may trigger outbreaks, he explained. Nguyen Hop Cuong, chairman of Van Ho District Peoples Committee, has requested Phuc to retract the decision. "Previously, Son La has sent documents to local authorities regarding preparation to receive returning workers and avoid a situation where theres not enough resources to quarantine people returning from very high-risk areas," he said. "The document did not mention any specific date for people to return. Maybe the commune was confused, so they decided on a date themselves." The communes document has sparked debate. Phuc said he is now adjusting the original. Chieng Yen has around 112 workers employed outside Son La. Authorities are encouraging their families to tell them to return home as soon as possible. Vietnamese will have a nine-day break for the Lunar New Year, the country's biggest holiday, starting from January 29. ELKO A Utah man was arrested at a West Wendover casino on New Years Eve on charges of cheating at gambling. Richard T. Foot, 28, of Eureka was playing blackjack on Dec. 29 when he was spotted adding to his bets after he knew the outcome of his hand, according to gaming control board agents declaration of probable cause. The result was approximately $300 in winnings that he was not entitled to. He admitted his actions as he was escorted out of the casino by a security guard, the agent reported. Foot was spotted on New Years Eve at a table game in a different Wendover casino, where he was arrested on a felony charge of fraudulent acts in gaming. His bail was listed at $10,000. Love 0 Funny 11 Wow 4 Sad 0 Angry 0 ELKO City police are reminding residents that Nevada law requires firearm purchases from a private party to be run through a licensed dealer. In a Facebook post Thursday, the Elko Police Department reported that a resident recently asked police to run a serial number on a firearm they purchased from a private party, to determine if the gun had been stolen. The citizen was unaware that as of January 2020, it is illegal to purchase a firearm from a private party without running the transaction through a licensed firearms dealer under Nevada Law, stated police. Transactions must be run through a licensed dealer and a background check is required with the following exceptions: Transactions by or to a law enforcement agency A sale or transfer by or to a peace officer, security guard entitled to carry a gun under Nevada gun regulations, military member, or federal official, to the extent the individual is acting within the scope of employment and official duties A sale or transfer of an antique firearm, as defined in federal law A transaction between immediate family members, defined in the law as spouses, domestic partners, and individuals related by whole or half blood, adoption, or step-relation as parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews A transfer by an executor, administrator, trustee, or personal representative of an estate or trust by operation of law following the death of the gun owner In addition, the law permits temporary transfers of a gun in two types of situations specific in Nevada Revised Statutes. Love 0 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 For the last year, we've heard one commentator after another tell us that American democracy is in crisis. The source of that crisis, we are told, is a hard core of the Republican Party that believes the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and that Joe Biden, therefore, is not a legitimate president. It's true that a significant number of Americans do not accept the results of the election. But is that something new, as the Trump-focused analyses would have us believe? No, it is not. Yes, these days, it is Republicans who doubt the results of a presidential election. But just a few years ago, it was Democrats. Lots of Democrats. As a matter of fact, Americans today have more faith in the results of the 2020 election than had faith in the results of the 2016 election. More Americans believe Biden's election was legitimate than believed, at the same point in Trump's presidency, that Trump's election was legitimate. This is not a new problem. Just look at the latest poll from The Washington Post and the University of Maryland. The pollsters asked this simple question: "Regardless of whom you supported in the 2020 election, do you think Joe Biden's election as president was legitimate, or was he not legitimately elected?" Sixty-nine percent of respondents said Biden's election was legitimate, while 29% said it was not legitimate. Compare that to a poll from the same group with the same wording in October 2017, eight months into Trump's presidency: "Regardless of whom you supported in the 2016 election, do you think Donald Trump's election as president was legitimate, or was he not legitimately elected?" Back then, 57% said Trump's election was legitimate, while 42% said it was not legitimate. Which means that a few years ago, more people refused to accept the results of the election than today! In the new poll, the problem is Republicans -- 58% of them say Biden was not legitimately elected. But back in 2017, the problem was Democrats -- 67% of them said Trump was not legitimately elected. Do you remember 24/7 commentary bemoaning the refusal of Democrats to accept the election of Trump as legitimate? Neither do I. The situation in which Democrats refused to accept Trump as legitimate was far different from a few years earlier, when huge majorities saw Barack Obama's election as legitimate. But it was reminiscent of 2001, when a significant number of Democrats said they did not view the president as having been legitimately elected -- back then, it was George W. Bush. What's going on? Perhaps it is a sore loser effect. If your candidate loses, you don't accept the loss as legitimate. If that is the case, the sore loser effect is somewhat selective -- for example, it did not apply in Obama's case. Maybe there is more going on. Beginning in the middle of the 2016 race, the Hillary Clinton campaign sought to tie Trump to Russia and plant in the public's mind the idea that Russia was trying to rig the election for Trump. "Over the course of the final month, the [Clinton] campaign would try a variety of methods to force the media into giving more airtime and ink to the idea that Russia was trying to throw the election than to the contents of Podesta's emails," wrote Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes in their Clinton-friendly campaign account "Shattered." "They thought Russia's meddling would have better legs." Boy, did it. Fed not just by the Clinton campaign but by leaks out of the nation's intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in 2017 and 2018 the media ran with the idea that Russia and Trump colluded to fix the election for Trump. How else to explain Clinton's shocking loss to a candidate many Democrats dismissed as a clown? (Of course, there were plenty of reasons, most of which centered on the Clinton campaign's deficiencies, but many Democrats, and some in the media, did not want to face that, even after special counsel Robert Mueller could not establish that collusion ever occurred.) The problem is all that "Russia Russia Russia" talk fed public distrust of the 2016 election results. And that led to a more generalized decline in faith in the idea of free and fair elections. In 2016, Clinton and some Democrats spread distrust. Then, in 2020, Trump and some Republicans weaponized it. A terrible cycle has set in. It needs to stop. But don't try to blame it on just one party. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As police worked to clear a pro-Trump rioters that stormed Capitol Hill as Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 election, President-elect Joe Biden addressed the nation from Wilmington, Delaware. "At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything weve seen in modern times," Biden said. "An assault on the citadel of liberty: the Capitol itself. An assault on the peoples representatives and the Capitol Hill police sworn to protect them and on public servants that work at the heart of our republic. An assault on the rule of law like few times weve ever seen it. An assault on our most sacred of American undertakings: the doing of the peoples business." The Democrat demanded outgoing President Donald Trump "step up" and repudiate the violence. Trump had urged the demonstrators to march on the Capitol, and later called on them to "go home". US Vice-President Mike Pence started the session on Wednesday evening, saying it had been a "dark day in the history of the United States Capitol". Protesters fought their way past police into the complex, shouting and waving Trump and US flags, demanding the results of the presidential election be overturned. Full screen US-POLITICS-ELECTION-TRUMPTrump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. - Donald Trump's supporters stormed a session of Congress held today, January 6, to certify Joe Biden's election win, triggering unprecedented chaos and violence at the heart of American democracy and accusations the president was attempting a coup. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) OLIVIER DOULIERY (AFP) "Democracy Is Under Unprecedented Assault" Biden, who defeated the Republican president in November's White House election, said the protesters' activity "borders on sedition". "I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfil his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege," Biden said. "To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices on the floor of the United States Senate, rummaging through desks, on the House of Representatives, threatening the safety of duly elected officials. That is not a protest - its an insurrection" Democracy is fragile "Today is a reminder a painful one that democracy is fragile. To preserve it, requires people of goodwill, leaders with the courage to stand up, who are devoted not to the pursuit of power, or their personal interest their own selfish interests but to the common good," he added. "There has never been anything we cant do, when we do it together. This God-awful display today is bringing home to every Republican, Democrat, independent in the nation we must step up. This is the United States of America. Theres never, ever, ever, ever, ever been a thing weve tried to do, when weve done it together, that weve not been able to do," he said, "So, President Trump, step up." As Biden was speaking, Jon Ossoff was officially projected winner of the Senate contest in Georgia, a victory that ensures Democrats will control the U.S. Senate upon Bidens inauguration on January 20. Minutes after Biden's speech, Trump posted on Twitter, telling his violent supporters to go home, adding, "we love you, youre very special." Headlines: - Unemployment rate falls to 3.9 percent in December, down more than 4.2 percent since January 2021. - COLA increase will boost average Social Security payment from $92 to 1,656.03 - Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 7,000 for the week ending on 1 January - GOP Sen. Mitt Romney renews push for his version of the Child Tax Credit - ADP National Employment Report: US private firms added 807,000 jobs to their payrolls in December - Sen. Manchin confirms "there is no negotiation going on at this time" for the Build Back Better bill - Five states are offering unemployment compensation for those who lose their jobs due to the federal vaccine mandate - $8,000 stimulus payments available to some households in 2022 Useful information & links: Child Tax Credit - What is the future of the Child Tax Credit after the Build Back Better bill failed to get support in the Senate? - What has Senator Manchin said about the Build Back Better bill? Stimulus checks - Rumours of a stimulus check for new parents in 2022 Social Security - When will the COLA 2022 increase arrive for Social Security recipients? - Could Social Security beneficiaries receive an additional $200this month? - How much will the 5.9% COLA increase add to the average Social Security payment? Latest articles: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presides over a symposium on the implementation of reducing taxes and fees on Jan. 5, 2022. Vice Premier Han Zheng, another member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday stressed intensifying tax and fee cuts to provide relief to businesses and revitalize the market. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a symposium on the implementation of tax and fee reductions. Vice Premier Han Zheng, also member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium. Noting that China's newly added tax and fee cuts have exceeded 8.6 trillion yuan (about 1.35 trillion U.S. dollars) since the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Li said the intensified implementation of tax and fee cuts is a key measure of China's macro policy and has reduced government spending while stimulating market vitality. The tax and fee cuts have focused on supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, individually run businesses, and the upgrading of the manufacturing industry, Li said. Amid increasing downward pressure, Li stressed the need to strengthen cross-cyclical adjustments, promptly intensify the implementation of tax and fee cuts in response to the needs of market entities, and ensure stability on the six fronts and security in the six areas. The six fronts refer to employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and expectations. The six areas refer to job security, basic living needs, operations of market entities, food and energy security, stable industrial and supply chains, and the normal functioning of primary-level governments. The country will extend the implementation of the tax and fee cut measures that expired by the end of 2021 to support micro and small enterprises, and individually run businesses, Li said. Tax and fee cut measures will be implemented in a targeted manner to provide assistance to the services industry and other industries that have been hit hard by the pandemic and have large employment capacities, Li noted. "The government must tighten its belt to give more benefits to businesses and energize the market," Li said, adding that central government finance will intensify efforts to provide general transfer payments to local authorities so as to make up for possible funding gaps at the local level. Li also called for efforts to crack down on irregularities including arbitrary charges, tax evasion and fraud. Enditem Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presides over a symposium on the implementation of reducing taxes and fees on Jan. 5, 2022. Vice Premier Han Zheng, another member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presides over a symposium on the implementation of reducing taxes and fees on Jan. 5, 2022. Vice Premier Han Zheng, another member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) Editor: ZAD On Nov. 20, 2021, a group of waterbirds arrived in Bosten Lake in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to stay for winter habitat. Flocks of birds swept through the water, becoming a beautiful ecological landscape painting, adding a lively life to the winter Bosten Lake. (Nian Lei/Guangming Picture) On Nov. 20, 2021, a group of waterbirds arrived in Bosten Lake in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to stay for winter habitat. Flocks of birds swept through the water, becoming a beautiful ecological landscape painting, adding a lively life to the winter Bosten Lake. (Nian Lei/Guangming Picture) On Nov. 20, 2021, a group of waterbirds arrived in Bosten Lake in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to stay for winter habitat. Flocks of birds swept through the water, becoming a beautiful ecological landscape painting, adding a lively life to the winter Bosten Lake. (Nian Lei/Guangming Picture) Editor: JYZ Fifth president of Ukraine, MP and leader of the European Solidarity political party Petro Poroshenko, who is currently on a business trip in Europe, and is suspected by Ukrainian law enforcement officers of high treason and aiding terrorism, will return to Ukraine on January 17. "Next week, from January 10 to 15, I will work in Europe to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression and support democracy in our country... On January 17, as I promised, I will return to Kyiv to appear in court and hold a meeting with the Prosecutor General, using the right of the MP to an urgent reception," the European Solidarity press service said, citing Poroshenko on Thursday. The MP said that he would not return to "defend against [Volodymyr] Zelensky, but in order to protect Ukraine from incompetent leadership and external aggression." "From attempts... to build an authoritarian regime and suppress the opposition, as happened in Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. And how Yanukovych tried in vain to do it in Ukraine. I beleive the Ukrainians will respond to yet another attempt to create an authoritarian regime in Ukraine. We will not allow to dismantle democracy, Ukraine and Ukrainian statehood," the fifth president said. As reported, on December 20, the SBI served Poroshenko with charges of high treason and assistance to terrorist organizations within the case on the criminal scheme for supplying coal from the temporarily occupied territories. Due to the impossibility of serving a written notice of suspicion personally, it was sent to the place of residence, registration, and also to the workplace. The metropolitan government calls on representatives of all Christian confessions to observe anti-epidemic measures during Christmas services, as well as to monitor the health status of priests before they begin. According to the Kyiv City State Administration (KSCA), restrictive anti-epidemic measures, provided for the "yellow" level of epidemic danger, continue to operate in the capital. In the "yellow" zone, mass events, in particular religious ones, are allowed only if all participants (organizers, employees and visitors) have a vaccination certificate or a negative test result for COVID-19 or a document of recovery, except for persons under 18 years of age," the Kyiv City State Administration said. For example, visitors to public events must wear protective masks or respirators. You cannot attend mass religious events if you experience respiratory symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, fever, etc.). "In addition, before the divine services, it is necessary to monitor the health of the clergy. In religious buildings, before and after the services, ventilation and disinfection, especially the surfaces with which the parishioners come in contact, should be held," the KSCA said. Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks, after a meeting with Ukrainian Ambassador to Latvia Oleksandr Mishchenko, has said that Latvia will send Ukraine a humanitarian cargo, as well as weapons and equipment. "Today, during a meeting with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Latvia, I confirmed our support. Like Estonia and Lithuania, we announced that we will provide both humanitarian and military assistance, ensuring the supply of weapons and equipment necessary for defense," Pabriks said on Facebook on Wednesday. "In January, another cargo of humanitarian aid from Latvia will go to Ukraine. We offer other allied countries to provide the same support - Ukraine has the right to defend itself and it needs support to strengthen its defense capability," he added. The minister also stressed that he expects close cooperation between the Ukrainian and Latvian military industries in the future. Following the meeting, Pabriks confirmed to reporters that the matter is also about the supply of weapons and military equipment. "Including weapons and equipment. We will do this. We call on our allies in Europe to do the same. Because Ukraine has the right and must be able to defend itself. Ukraine largely relieves tensions from our own borders. From our region. And although Ukraine is not a NATO member, in this sense it is not an ally, but it is considered our ally in exactly what it is doing. In fact, they protect us," lsm.lv quoted the defense minister as saying. As reported, the Ministers of Defense of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, following the meeting on December 21, 2021, declared their readiness to provide Ukraine with both military and non-military assistance. One year on from the bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria, Coptic Christians remain concerned about discrimination and religious extremism, but say they will remain engaged on the political scene, no matter what Spain said Monday that the mobile phones of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defence Minister Margarita Robles were tapped using Pegasus spyware in an "illicit and external" intervention. 'The religious identity of any citizen of this country should not have a role in determining or distinguishing his rights and duties,' the president told the pontiff in a video conference call Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated in a video conference call on Wednesday evening Pope Tawadros II, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, on the occasion of Coptic Christmas. President El-Sisi confirmed to Pope Tawadros II his keenness on personally participating in the Christmas Mass to congratulate the Coptic brothers and take part in their celebrations. Orthodox Copts, who make up around 90 percent of all Christians in the country, celebrate Christmas on 7 January, according to the Gregorian calendar. The occasion is a national holiday in the country. In a statement, the spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency, Bassam Rady, said that the president affirmed to the Coptic Orthodox Pope that "the unity of the Egyptian people and their collective fabric has always been one of the most sacred and cherished features of this country throughout the ages." This is something, El-Sisi says, that must be kept in mind, as "evil people" have always believed that harming Egypt starts with hitting at its heart, which is the unity of its people. "The religious identity of any citizen of this country should not have a role in determining or distinguishing his rights and duties," El-Sisi said. The president stressed during the call the states keennes to act as a role-model to the people by planting the concepts of difference and diversity in form, thought, and belief as a basic method for progress and development. El-Sisi added that this diversity is a divine reality that must be respected and accepted in society, while taking into account what all religions call for in terms of coexistence on the basis of humanity and dissemination of the values of love and equality. He also stressed to the Pope that many Western societies aspire to follow the example of the long history and ancient heritage of Egypt. This history has been characterized by coexistence, and embodied the noblest human values that religions have established for peaceful coexistence and acceptance of others, the president stressed. On his part, Rady said, Pope Tawadros II, the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, thanked El-Sisi for his keenness on continuing "his appreciated patriotic tradition of congratulating all Egyptians on this occasion." Pope Tawadros II also stressed the value of the connotations and messages El-Sisi's personal tradition [of taking part in the celebration of the Coptic Christmas] establishes towards preserving the unity of Egyptians, the principle of citizenship, and diversity as a main societal element and one of the strengths of Egypt and its civilisation since the dawn of history, Rady said. President El-Sisi has attended the Coptic Christmas mass at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in central Cairo in previous years. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the church has cancelled or scaled back all religious gatherings and Christmas celebrations this year. Search Keywords: Short link: Pope Tawadros II said that Christmas represents joy, hoping that the pandemic ends globally this year The Head of Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, led on Wednesday a quiet Christmas mass due to coronavirus restrictions, with the pope urging a strict adherence to preventive measures amid the second wave of the pandemic. Heading the mass from the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Beheiras Wadi Al-Natrun, with no worshippers, Pope Tawadros called for a strict adherence to coronavirus related restrictions, with the Church praying for the health and wellbeing of all Egyptians amid the pandemic. We have to be careful about the preventive measures in our lives, church, workplace, and families. I know the [restrictions] on masses upset some, but this is for your protection. Gatherings are a source of infection, and indifference will spread it, he said as he led the mass attended only by several bishops and monks. He said that Christmas represents joy, hoping that the pandemic ends globally this year. Pope Tawadros II also said that adhering to simplicity in life gives humans happiness, with happiness not only limited to money, property, and others. The Church decided to hold the usually festive mass with only a limited number of participants over fears of the coronavirus, as the overpopulous country entered the second wave of the pandemic in the end of December. The mass came hours after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sent his good wishes and greetings in a video conference call on Wednesday evening to Pope Tawadros II and all Egyptians for Christmas. El-Sisi confirmed to Pope Tawadros II his keenness on personally participating in the Christmas mass to congratulate Coptic brothers and take part in their celebrations. The Egyptian president has been attending the Coptic Christmas mass for the past few years. Egypt's Christians make up about 10-14 percent of the country's 100 million-plus population, with the vast majority of Christians in Egypt belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church. The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted several religious celebrations by the church. Search Keywords: Short link: Lebanon's mandatory reserves are down to $12.5 billion, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said Tuesday, adding that this was only enough to finance subsidies on basic goods for another six months. "The mandatory reserves are down to 12.5 billion dollars," he told AFP in an interview. The mandatory reserves stood at $32 billion before the start of the economic crisis in 2019. Lebanon's official exchange rate pegged at 1,500 pounds to the US dollar is obsolete, Salameh admitted Tuesday. The lebanese pound is sold for nearly 30,000 pounds to the US dollar on the black market, which made banks use parallel rates as the black market rate is 20 times the official rate. The fixed rate that guaranteed Lebanese a strong purchasing power for the best part of three decades went into a tailspin when the state defaulted on its debt last year and is "no longer realistic", Salameh said. Lebanon defaulted on its debt for the first time last year but political leaders have continued to resist key reforms demanded by donors to unlock necessary funds. Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst in modern times. More than 80 percent of the population lives in poverty and the currency has lost more than 90 percent of its black market value amid political squabbling that has delayed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Lebanon last year started IMF talks that have relaunched in recent weeks during which Lebanese officials have agreed that financial sector losses amount to around $69 billion. "Lebanon is still in the stage of crushing numbers," Salameh said. "The Lebanese side hasn't yet presented a plan to the IMF for discussion." *This story was compiled by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb and Religious Endowments (Awqaf) Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa on Tuesday paid a visit to the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo to offer greetings to Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the occasion of Christmas. During the visit, Sheikh El-Tayyeb voiced hope that this new year could bring about more happiness and prosperity to the Egyptian people, asserting that all heavenly messages have several moral commons. He asserted that greetings in such occasions are part of the Islamic philosophy which places high the human values and calls for maintaining brotherly ties. Meanwhile, the Awqaf minister asserted that Egypt is a unique example of national unity, adding that such model is a way to establish global peace. He noted that Egypt is a perfect example for equal citizenship in the rights and duties and will remain united through its people. Coptic Orthodox Egyptians, who make up 90 percent of the countrys Christian population, celebrate Christmas on 7 January, according to the Julian Calendar. Thursday 6 January will be a paid day off for public sector workers on the occasion of the Coptic Orthodox Christmas, which falls on 7 January. The Coptic Orthodox Christmas was designated a national holiday in 2002. Smaller Christian denominations in Egypt - Catholics, Coptic Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals - celebrate Christmas on 25 December, according to the Gregorian Calendar. Search Keywords: Short link: Ismailiia criminal court sentenced on Wednesday Abdel-Rahman Nazmy nicknamed Dabour to death for decapitating his neighbour and attempting to murder two others in October of 2021. The ruling is not final and can be appealed. This comes a month after the court sought - per Egyptian law - the non-binding opinion of Egypts Grand Mufti on the preliminary death sentence passed down onto Nazmy. Egyptians on social media platforms were horrified when videos and photos appeared online showing a young man brutally attacking and beheading an older man with a cleaver in broad daylight on a public street in the Suez Canal city. In November, the General Prosecution referred Nazmy to an urgent trial over charges of deliberate murder, abusing drugs, and possession of a cold weapon with the aim of disturbing public order. According to a statement released by the prosecution, people injured during the incident as well as ten eye witnesses have identified the culprit as Nazmy, who admitted to the murder crime as well as abusing different types of drugs on the same day of the crime. Medical reports have affirmed that Nazmy does not suffer from any psychological or mental disabilities, the prosecution added. Search Keywords: Short link: HAIL TO THE CHIEF! New Reading Town Manager Fidel Maltez (front row, far left) last night inked his first contract with the Select Board. Maltez, who officially begins his career in Reading on Feb 15, is pictured with his family, including his daughters (front row, l to r) Maya and Anna Victoria, and his wife, Maria. Select Board members (back row, l to r) Chris Haley, Mark Dockser, Karen Herrick, and Anne Landry joined Maltez for last nights photo op. Like Orthodox churches around the world, Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 7 January, according to the Julian Calendar. On 7 January, Coptic Orthodox Christians who comprise 90 percent of Egypt's Christian population will break their 43-day fast and celebrate Christmas. The festival comes almost two weeks after most Western denominations, including Catholics and Protestants, held their celebrations on 25 December. Ahram Online asked Bishop Abram of the Fayoum Diocese to explain why there was a difference in the dates; he stressed that the difference in fact results from the use of different calendars, not from any underlying theological dispute. Although the exact date of Jesus' birth was -- and remains -- unknown, within the first few centuries after his death, churches around the world agreed to celebrate the nativity of Jesus Christ on 25 December (29 Kiahk in the Coptic calendar), most probably to replace the pagan feast celebrating the Roman winter solstice which continued to be observed until then. Bishop Abram argues that celebrating the birth of Christ, considered by Christians to be "the light of the world" is also astronomically apt, since night-time begins to shorten and daylight to lengthen in the middle of December. The different dates of the celebration in the modern period are a result of a change in calendar; while Western churches follow the Gregorian calendar, Orthodox churches continue to follow the older Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar who introduced it in 46 BC), which in turn is in line with the ancient Coptic calendar. Until the Julian calendar, the date of 25 December and 29 Kiahk in the Coptic calendar happened on the same day each year. But the introduction of the Gregorian calendar changed this alignment. In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII of the Roman Catholic Church had his astronomers study the calendar, and they realised that the Julian year was 11 minutes shorter than the actual solar year. Over time, the 11 minutes had added up the equivalent of three extra days being added to the calendar every 400 years. The calendar date was becoming out of sync with the solar year. To correct this, Pope Gregory's recalculated the whole system and cut out the extra days for his new Gregorian calendar. As a result of the difference, the Julian calendar is now 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, and 25 December in the Julian system falls on 7 January in the Gregorian system. Although the Gregorian calendar was adopted by Khedive Ismail in 1875, the Coptic Orthodox Church has continued to use the older calendar, and 29 Kiahk (or 25 December in the Julian calendar) falls, under the Gregorian system, on 7 January. *This article was first published on 6 January 2014 Search Keywords: Short link: This year we are delighted. Although attendance is still limited at churches, at least we are allowed to go, said Marina Gamil, a Coptic Orthodox Christian, adding that churches are doing their best to maximise in-person attendance, including adding outdoor seating. In the first minutes of Friday, Coptic Orthodox Christians who comprise 90 percent of Egypt's Christian population broke their 43-day fast and celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. This years celebration takes place amid less strict measures due to coronavirus than last year, when attendance of Christmas mass was limited to a number of bishops and monks. Last year, we were upset and did not feel much of the happiness of the [Christmas] festival because this happiness has always been linked with the church, Gamil told Ahram Online. Like Orthodox churches around the world, Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 7 January, according to the Julian Calendar. The festival comes almost two weeks after most Western denominations, including Catholics and Protestants, hold their celebrations on 25 December. The Julian calendar is now 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, and 25 December in the Julian system falls on 7 January in the Gregorian system. Celebrating Coptic Christmas Orthodox Copts usually end the mass on 12am, but over the past years, security forces asked them to leave an hour or two earlier for security reasons. This had happened due to the several terrorist attacks that followed the 30 June Revolution in 2013 that targeted churches, police and army personnel, as well as other civilians, especially during annual religious holidays. Attacks, however, have significantly declined over recent years. Kamel Mourad, an Orthodox Copt, tells Ahram Online he thinks that tightened security measures and the states victory over terrorism would lead this security measure to fade away. Last year, we only followed the masses on TV screens and even broke our fast early when the mass was concluded in the church that we belong to, Mourad said. Ezzat Sameh, another Orthodox Copt, told Ahram Online that the rituals during Christmas mass were not entirely cancelled due to coronavirus last year, but the priests sermon became shorter and prayers were carried out faster. Over the past week, Egyptian Orthodox Christians have been booking online the limited number of available spots to attend the Christmas Eve mass. Sameh says he may not be able to attend the mass this year although it is the best day of the year because he fears spreading coronavirus to his family. The joy of the Christmas season Christmas Eve is a time of real joy, Mourad said, affirming that coronavirus did not manage to spoil our happiness. The devout Copts of Egypt fast ahead of Christmas, where they are allowed to eat fish and other food but they have to refrain from dairy, poultry and meat. We flood streets to buy new clothes and some people fill their houses with balloons and joyful decorations. We prepare delicious, creamy and even costly food to break our fast. Christmas Eve is always a day that is full of joy and fun, Mourad said. On this day, you can find all what you dream off on tables: chicken, meat, turkey, macarona bechamel (a derivative of lasagna with thick white sauce), chicken pane, meatballs and more. On Christmas Day, you can still eat the rest of food that you, of course, could not finish on the previous night, Mourad laughingly said. Mourad said his family used to gather at their grandparents houses to celebrate Christmas after the mass. This is no more the case because of the coronavirus and as many beloved people departed our life, Mourad, who is in his late twenties, said. Being a paid holiday also makes it feel like you are officially happy and satisfied, Mourad says. Thursday, 6 January, was a paid day off for public and private sector workers to mark Coptic Orthodox Christmas Day, according to cabinet decrees. The paid leave came Thursday, instead of Friday, which is already an official weekly paid holiday for most of the public and private sector employees nationwide. Sameh says Christmas represents a special day that brings together many sweet memories that will leave you feeling happy and childlike. Gamil said that she feels that the joy of the Christmas even extends to the whole month of December when she sees Christmas trees and people wearing red clothes. Sharing happiness We have a warm-hearted neighbour, about the age of our grandma, who keeps knocking on our door on Christmas Eve to give us sweet cakes, Gamil said. Mourad said he always finds himself flooded with congratulations and sweet wishes from his Muslim friends and neighbours. Our Muslim brothers are always there, Mourad said, adding that he is looking forward to hanging out with his Muslim and Christian friends after the mass like he has every year. Mostafa Khaled, a young Muslim man who used to have many Coptic neighbours and whose old house had overlooked a church for more than two decades, said although he does not have many memories with Christian brothers during Christmas, he is always keen to share happy times with them over the whole year. Our [Christian] brothers are always busy during festival times, but we wish that their all days are full of happiness, Khaled told Ahram Online. [The national fabric] comprises Christians and Muslims, who share the same memories and destiny, always laughing or grieving for the same reasons, Khaled said. Preparing for the mass Pope Tawadros II, the pope of Alexandria and the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, is set to head the Coptic Christmas Mass on Christmas Eve in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the New Administrative Capital. The mass will be broadcast live on television and online. Several churches nationwide are taking online bookings for in-person Christmas mass at 50 percent capacity. The masses will be held amid precautionary measures, including the obligation to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Late in December, Egypts Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik raised the national security alert to the highest level ahead of New Year and Christmas celebrations. In a meeting with a number of his assistants and other top security officials, Tawfik ordered maximum vigilance and intensified measures to secure vital facilities, places of worship, tourist destinations, as well as the roads leading to these institutions. Search Keywords: Short link: The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and Egypts Decent Life initiative are among the main issues to be discussed during the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) in Sharm El-Sheikh from 10-13 January, the forum announced on Thursday. Prior to the official launch, several preparatory workshops will be held over two days to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on different levels including the UN sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) and the future of Africa, the future of financial technology of developing markets, digital transformation, education as well as Generation Zs views for the world post-pandemic, according to the latest statement. The workshops will focus also on fair water use policies, confronting environmental challenges and the growing global role of startups as well as a discussion of the Egyptian experience with the Decent Life initiative as a model for developing communities. The Decent Life national project (Hayah Karima in Arabic) was initiated experimentally in 2019 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and its first phase was officially launched in July 2021. The project aims to improve standards of living, infrastructure and basic services including health care across the countryside. The WYF will then kick off on Monday with an opening ceremony followed by a plenary session on the coronavirus pandemic. Over the next two days, several sessions, workshops and events will discuss a number of key issues including future of healthcare, behavioral and psychological repercussions in the post-pandemic worlds, a review of development experience to confront poverty, ways to confront climate change from Glasgows COP26 to COP27. Next November, Egypt will host the UN conference on climate change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh. The forums agenda will include discussions of others issues like the future of energy, sustainable water security, global peace and security and the reconstruction of post-conflict areas in addition of focusing on upholding human values through arts and creativity as well as building security and an inclusive world for women. This edition of the WYF will also feature a simulated model of the UN Human Rights Council, according to the agenda. Other activities that continue from previous editions of the forum will include the World Youth Theatre, Freedom.e, Inspire.D and Start Vein. The WYF also announced on Thursday that it launched a virtual interactive platform for all those who cannot attend the forum in Sharm El-Sheikh in-person, allowing them to attend the events remotely. The platform allows users to follow the events and activities in the forum in addition to participating in the forums workshops in a way that allow interactive activities between all the participants according to the WYFs statement. The platform also includes information about the forum, its agenda and its speakers this edition. Users can participate virtually in the forum by visiting the website and registering with an email through Participate in the forum online tab. Also for the first time, the WYF will use the forums technique, which allows participants to gather interactive points from other users generated using the photobooth app. Organised annually under the auspices of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Sharm El-Sheikh , the World Youth Forum was first launched in 2017. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended on Thursday the Christmas mass ceremony held by the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church at the Nativity of the Christ Cathedral at the New Administrative Capital. El-Sisi congratulated Coptic Orthodox Christians and said the new republic will accommodate all Egyptians, without discrimination. El-Sisis short remarks were delivered at the Christmas mass led by Pope Tawadros II, the pope of Alexandria and the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Egyptian president warned of others who would interfere and divide Egyptian society, cautioning that those attempts will not end as long as Egyptians continue on their path of success. Wishing Egypts Coptic Christians a merry Christmas, El-Sisi expressed his extreme appreciation and respect to Pope Tawadros II before leaving. The pope led the Christmas mass on Thursday at the Nativity Cathedral at the New Administrative Capital. In addition to worshippers, numerous political, religious, media and other public figures attended the ceremony amid strict precautions against the coronavirus, according to the Churchs media center. Last year, Pope Tawadros II led the Christmas mass at the St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Al-Natron without the usual public attendance due to coronavirus pandemic. That year, El-Sisi congratulated the pope in a video conference call rather attend the mass in-person as usual. This year, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced that it is declining to receive well-wishers on Christmas morning due to coronavirus. The Nativity of Christ Cathedral is the largest church in the Middle East, with a capacity of 8,200 worshippers. It was inaugurated in 2018. Coptic Orthodox Egyptians who make up around 90 percent of all Christians in the country celebrate Christmas on 7 January. Non-Orthodox Christians observe the holiday on 25 December. Search Keywords: Short link: A Lebanese mountain town home to 70,000 Syrian refugees declared a "fuel emergency" Thursday, warning that soaring heating fuel prices would spell tragedy as winter starts to bite. The town of Arsal, also home to 40,000 Lebanese, lies at an altitude of 1,400 metres (4,900 feet) and is regularly among the communities worst affected by harsh winters. "Many of the refugee families in Arsal have survived previous winters, but this one is different," Edinburgh Direct Aid, one of the few NGOs to maintain a permanent presence in Arsal, said in a statement. The cost of fuel families need to power their stoves has risen by around 350 percent as a result of the lifting of subsidies caused by Lebanon's financial collapse. The value in dollars of the minimum monthly wage in the depreciated local currency now barely fetches $25, and yet each family in Arsal would need to find $350 to heat their shelters through the winter. "Because of budget cuts, the refugee agency UNHCR and other NGOs are only able to provide funding for less than 30 percent of the needs," Edinburgh Direct Aid said. Arsal mayor Basel al-Hujairi consequently took the unusual step of declaring a "fuel emergency", issuing an appeal to bridge the funding gap and raise $5.5 million. "Please reflect on the consequences of leaving thousands of families in flimsy tents without heating in temperatures far below zero and biting winds," the appeal said. Dozens of displaced people in Syria and refugees in Lebanon have died from the cold and accidents caused by unsafe heating devices, including in Arsal, since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011. Bankrupt Lebanon can no longer provide electricity nor subsidised fuel for its own citizens, let alone for the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees who account for around a third of its population. Search Keywords: Short link: An Israeli deputy minister was under fire Thursday for calling residents of an unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost ``subhuman,'' sparking an outcry that underscored the fragility of Israel's ideologically diverse coalition. Yair Golan, a former deputy military chief and a member of the dovish Meretz party, has previously prompted a backlash for comments appearing to liken the atmosphere in Israel to that of Nazi-era Germany. "These are not people, these are subhumans. Despicable people and the corruption of the Jewish people. They must not be given any backing,'' Golan told the Knesset Channel. "This radical nationalist rampage will bring a catastrophe upon us.'' Golan, who serves as deputy economy minister, was referring to settlers from an illegal outpost in the West Bank, which was evacuated as part of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip but where settlers have repeatedly rebuilt structures. The settlers and their supporters have also clashed with Palestinians from nearby villages. Golan said he was referring to settlers suspected of having defaced a nearby Muslim cemetery, which he likened to a "pogrom.'' Tensions have been high in the area around the outpost. Last month, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a car filled with Jewish seminary students nearby. Yehuda Dimentman, 25, was killed and two others were wounded near the Homesh outpost, which is considered illegal by the Israeli government. In a separate interview to Israeli Army Radio later Thursday, Golan defended his words but said most West Bank settlers were law-abiding. In a tweet, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Golan's remarks were "shocking, a generalization and bordering on a blood libel.'' The country's foreign and defense ministers also condemned the remarks. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now opposition leader, said Golan's words were "taken directly from Nazi terminology against the Jewish people'' and called on Bennett to fire him. The firestorm highlights the vastly different ideologies joined together under Bennett's unwieldy coalition, which was united with the goal of ousting Netanyahu and very little else. The coalition includes dovish parties that support Palestinian statehood as well as nationalist parties opposed to the idea and even an Islamist faction. The parties agreed not to tackle divisive issues but their disagreements, particularly on Israel's 54-year occupation of the West Bank, have repeatedly spilled out. The country's public security minister, from the centrist Labor party, also triggered an uproar when he recently criticized settler violence against Palestinians. Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and some 700,000 settlers now live there. The Palestinians want those territories as part of a future independent state, along with the Gaza Strip. In a 2016 speech marking the country's Holocaust memorial day, Golan said the Holocaust, in which the Nazis murdered 6 million Jews, should prompt Israelis to "think deeply'' about their society. "If there is anything that frightens me in the remembrance of the Holocaust, it is discerning nauseating processes that took place in Europe in general, and in Germany specifically back then, 70, 80 and 90 years ago, and seeing evidence of them here among us in the year 2016,'' he said. Search Keywords: Short link: Yemeni rebels' seizure of a UAE-flagged vessel has set off alarm bells that the conflict could "wreak havoc" on oil and cargo shipping in the strategic Red Sea, analysts said. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels are more used to fighting in the dusty country's craggy mountains but on Monday took the bold move to hijack the Rwabee with its international crew. They later showed video purportedly of military jeeps and weapons on board, while the Saudi-led coalition fighting for the internationally recognised government insisted it was carrying medical equipment. The hijacking, in the busy Red Sea that separates the Arabian peninsula from Africa, and is connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, sent out a clear message, analysts say. "It is hard to pinpoint the exact cause for the Huthi seizure, and the group's messaging has been a bit mixed," Peter Salisbury, a Yemen specialist at the Crisis Group non-governmental organisation. "But it is hard not to read it as a not-so-gentle reminder that they could wreak havoc on Saudi and Emirati shipping in the Red Sea if they so wished." The seven-year war has displaced millions, creating the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe, according to the United Nations. It has mainly been fought on land. The Huthis' last ship capture was in November 2019, when they seized two South Korean vessels and a Saudi-flagged tug in the Red Sea north of Hodeida. 'Destabilising shipping lanes' The latest hijacking follows setbacks for the rebels with defeats in Shabwa governorate to the pro-government Giants Brigade. It also came on the second anniversary of the death of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike near Baghdad airport. On the same day, two major Israeli media outlets were hacked and two armed drones targeted a compound at Baghdad airport hosting personnel from the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq. But Mohammed al-Basha, senior Arabian peninsula analyst at Navanti Group, said the Rwabee's capture looked like an "escalation" by the rebels. "The seizure of the UAE flagged vessel signals both a political and military escalation to the Saudi-led coalition," he told AFP. "Observers and policymakers have long feared that the war in Yemen could spill over into the Red Sea and destabilise vital shipping lanes." Conflict in the Red Sea could cause chaos. The waterway carries about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day from Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, including most of Europe's crude imports from the Middle East, according to energy analysts S&P Global Platts. All show? The Suez Canal accounts for about 10 percent of global maritime trade. When it was blocked by the Ever Given tanker for six days last March, maritime data company Lloyd's List said it held up $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day. Meanwhile the coalition has threatened to target rebel-held ports in reprisal for Rwabee, an action that could carry risks for the Safer -- an abandoned tanker carrying 1.1 million barrels of crude that has been lying off the Yemen coast since 2015. Environmentalists have already warned that the Safer, which is about 22 kilometres from (14 miles) from where the Rwabee is being held, could break apart or explode at any moment, setting off an environmental disaster. But for Maged al-Madhaji, director of the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies, the Rwabee was all show from the rebels, who are not well versed in naval warfare. The hijacking gives them "benefits of a political nature and raises their profile, rather than any real military gains", he said. "They don't have a lot of experience at sea because they're fundamentally mountain fighters," added Madhaji. Search Keywords: Short link: Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition Thursday, killing at least three people as thousands once again took to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and other cities to protest the October military power grab. In Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, two protesters were killed, while in the Sudanese capital's district of Bahri one demonstrator was shot and killed, according to activist Nazim Sirag and the Sudan Doctors Committee. Sirag said one of the fatalities in Omdurman was a man who was shot in the head and died before reaching the hospital. Many were wounded, including by gunshots, the activist and the committee said. The spasm of violence is the latest since the Oct. 25 military takeover that has scuttled hopes of a peaceful transition to democracy in Sudan. Thursday's fatalities bring to at least 63 the number of people killed since the October military power grab, and hundreds have been wounded in clashes with security forces trying to thwart protests. Earlier Thursday, as protesters took to the streets, activists posted live videos on social media showing protesters waving the Sudanese flag in several cities and chanting: ``Power to the people!'' and ``The military belongs in the barracks!'' Social media also swarmed with images showing tear gas clouding rallies in Khartoum, and protesters hurling stones and throwing back empty gas canisters at security forces. The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded many rallies since the Oct. 25 power grab, called earlier on protesters to march to the presidential palace, the seat of the ruling military government in Khartoum. Thursday's protests come less than a week after Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok resigned from office citing failure to reach a compromise between the generals and the country's pro-democracy movement. Hamdok was ousted in the October military power grab, only to be reinstated a month later following a deal with the military meant to calm tensions and anti-power grab protests. The deal was rejected by most political groups and parties who insisted the generals should promptly hand power over to civilians. Meanwhile, the military said they would not relinquish power until a new government is elected in July, as laid out in a constitutional document governing the transitional period. Earlier on Thursday, the advocacy NetBlocs group said on Twitter that the mobile internet was disrupted ahead of the protests, a routine measure taken by authorities since the October military power grab. Some activists also tweeted that many bridges and roads were closed. Sudan has been politically paralyzed since the October military power grab. The military takeover came more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019. Search Keywords: Short link: A veteran US diplomat who has handled turbulent ties with Turkey was named Thursday to tackle crises in Sudan and Ethiopia after the current envoy quit following impasses. David Satterfield, the outgoing US ambassador to Turkey who has worked extensively in the Middle East, will become special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced. "Ambassador Satterfield's decades of diplomatic experience and work amidst some of the world's most challenging conflicts will be instrumental in our continued effort to promote a peaceful and prosperous Horn of Africa and to advance US interests in this strategic region," Blinken said in a statement. He will replace Jeffrey Feltman, who quit just as he visited Ethiopia on a bid to encourage peace talks to end more than a year of war following the withdrawal of Tigrayan rebels. Feltman, also a veteran US diplomat who formerly held a top position at the United Nations, had intended to serve less than a year when named in early 2021, Blinken said. But Feltman was treated unceremoniously in October when Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, carried out a coup just after the US envoy had left the country with apparently no advance warning. Feltman's resignation comes days after the civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, quit, leaving Burhan as the undisputed leader of the country despite Western calls to preserve a democratic transition launched in 2019. Satterfield was closely involved in delicate US diplomacy with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has irritated the United States by buying weapons from Russia and championing Islamist causes. Satterfield arrived in Ankara in 2019 just before then US president Donald Trump ordered an abrupt withdrawal from Syria pushed by Erdogan. Satterfield, who also has extensive experience in Egypt and Libya, was one of the few Trump appointees kept in place when President Joe Biden took office. He left after the Senate, where many of Biden's nominees have languished for months due to Republican opposition, confirmed his successor, Jeff Flake. A former senator, Flake was one of the most vocal critics of Trump within his Republican Party. Search Keywords: Short link: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday asked that the US military in Japan stay inside its bases to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Hayashi said he spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and was promised utmost efforts to ensure people's health. It was not immediately clear if a base curfew would be issued. Maj. Thomas R. Barger, a U.S. Forces in Japan spokesperson, said he could not comment on the request, but that a team was carefully monitoring cases and trends. Hayashi's request came as the U.S. military is promising more stringent measures to curb spreading cases. The new measures require all personnel, even when fully vaccinated, to wear masks on base until a third negative coronavirus test, and reiterate an order for all to wear masks when off base, Barger said. American forces have come under fire after a spike in coronavirus cases in areas where they are based in large numbers, including Okinawa and Iwakuni, both in southern Japan. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki sent a request to Japan's national government on Thursday for permission for the prefecture to strengthen its anti-virus measures. A daily record of 981 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Okinawa on Thursday. In December, there were zero new cases on some days. "If we all work together, we hope cases will come down,'' Tamaki told reporters. Japan has never had a lockdown, but measures have periodically been taken to restrict people's activities, such as requesting stores and restaurants to close early or serve fewer people. Tamaki has blamed U.S. soldiers for what he called "the alarming rise'' of cases on Okinawa, which has been hit harder than the rest of Japan. He promised financial aid for businesses that abide by the restrictions. Yamaguchi prefecture, where the Iwakuni base is located, also sent a request to the national government to strengthen anti-virus measures after it confirmed a record 181 daily COVID cases. Yamaguchi prefectural officials suspect the illness spread from U.S. soldiers and Japanese military personnel who work on Iwakuni. Cases are gradually rising throughout Japan, including in Tokyo, which reported 641 new cases Thursday, up from 390 the previous day. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has so far been reluctant to order restrictive measures. Japan beefed up border controls late last year, preventing travel from abroad except for returning residents and citizens. American soldiers are basically free to enter and move about Japan under a bilateral security agreement. The U.S. is Japan's most important ally. COVID-19 cases among U.S. Forces in Japan now total 1,784, about a third of them on Okinawa, according to USFJ. Iwakuni has reported a total of 529 cases. "The mitigation measures we have instituted throughout USFJ are intended to protect our force's readiness, the well-being of our families, and the health of Japan's citizens. We recognize we all have a part to play in keeping our communities safe,'' U.S. Forces in Japan said in a statement. This week, Japan has reported more than 2,000 cases daily. About 80% of the population has had two vaccine shots, but boosters are just getting started. Japan has so far had 18,300 coronavirus-related deaths. Search Keywords: Short link: Woburn, MA (01801) Today Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High 59F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Occasional rain. Low around 45F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. As a raging band of his supporters scaled walls, smashed windows, used flagpoles to beat police and breached the US Capitol in a bid to overturn a free and fair election, Donald Trump's excommunication from the Republican Party seemed a near certainty, his name tarnished beyond repair. Some of his closest allies, including Fox News Channel hosts like Laura Ingraham, warned that day that Trump was ``destroying'' his legacy. ``All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,'' said his friend and confidant Sen. Lindsey Graham. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader who worked closely with Trump to dramatically reshape the judiciary, later denounced him as ``morally responsible'' for the attack. But one year later, Trump is hardly a leader in exile. Instead, he is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and a leading contender for the 2024 presidential nomination. Trump is positioning himself as a powerful force in the primary campaigns that will determine who gets the party's backing heading into the fall midterms, when control of Congress, governor's offices and state election posts are at stake. At least for now, there's little stopping Trump as he makes unbending fealty to his vision of the GOP a litmus test for success in primary races, giving ambitious Republicans little incentive to cross him. ``Let's just say I'm horrendously disappointed,'' said former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a longtime Republican who now serves on the advisory committee of the Renew America Movement, a group trying to wrest the party away from Trump's control. ``His ego was never going to let him accept defeat and go quietly into the night,'' she added. ``But what I am surprised by is how deferential so many of the Republican elected officials`` have been. Rather than expressing any contrition for the events of Jan. 6, Trump often seems emboldened and has continued to lie about his 2020 election loss. He frequently _ and falsely _ says the ``real'' insurrection was on Nov. 3, the date of the 2020 election when Democrat Joe Biden won in a 306-232 Electoral College victory and by a 7 million popular vote margin. Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. Undaunted, Trump is preparing for another run for the White House in 2024, and polls suggest that, at the moment, he would easily walk away with the GOP nomination. For Trump, the extraordinary outcome is the product of sheer will and a misinformation campaign that began long before the election, when he insisted the only way he could lose was if the election was ``rigged`` and wouldn't commit to accepting defeat. His refusal to accept reality has flourished with the acquiescence of most Republican leaders, who tend to overlook the gravity of the insurrection for fear of fracturing a party whose base remains tightly aligned with Trump and his effort to minimize the severity of what happened on Jan. 6. While five people died during the rioting or its immediate aftermath, less than half of Republicans recall the attack as violent or extremely violent, according to a poll released this week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. About 3 in 10 Republicans said the attack was not violent. The situation has stunned and depressed critics in both political parties who were convinced the insurrection would force Republicans to abandon the Trump era once and for all. He became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. The second impeachment centered on his role in sparking the insurrection, but Trump was acquitted in a Senate trial, a clear indication that he would face few consequences for his actions. ``There was this hope when we were in the safe room that we would go back and the Republicans would see how crazy this was, how fragile our democracy was, what President Trump had done, and that they would renounce that and we would all come together,`` said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., describing the events that day. Instead, she said, ``there were people defending the insurrectionists and defending Trump and continuing with the challenge and the Big Lie.'' Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican who, with Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, has emerged as one of the few GOP anti-Trump critics in Congress, had predicted Trump's hold on the party would ``be gone`` by the summer. But Kinzinger, who recently announced his decision not to run for reelection, blamed House Republican leader and Trump ally Kevin McCarthy for proving him wrong. ``What I underestimated was the impact that one person would have on that, and that is Kevin McCarthy and his visit to Mar-a-Lago,`` Kinzinger said, referring to a trip McCarthy took to Florida in late January 2020 as the party was on the verge of disarray. With their eyes on retaking the House in 2022, Trump and McCarthy agreed to work together and released a photograph showing them smiling side by side. ``Kevin McCarthy is legitimately, singlehandedly the reason that Donald Trump is still a force in the party,`` Kinzinger said. ``That full-hearted embrace, I saw firsthand in members, made them not just scared to take on Trump but in some cases also full-heartedly embrace him.`` Aides to McCarthy didn't respond to a request for comment on Kinzinger's characterization. Others, however, point to fractures that suggest Trump's power is waning. Banned from Twitter and denied his other social media megaphones, Trump no longer controls the news cycle like he did in office. He canceled a news conference that was scheduled for Thursday following pressure from some Republican allies, who warned that such an event was ill-advised. During last year's most prominent elections, Republicans like Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin strategically kept Trump at arm's length. Youngkin's victory created a possible model for candidates running in battleground states where suburban voters uncomfortable with the former president are a key bloc. While Trump's endorsement remains coveted in many midterm primary races, it has also failed to clear the field in some key races. Trump has similarly struggled to prevent other Republicans from eyeing the 2024 presidential nomination. His former vice president, secretary of state and a handful of Senate allies have made frequent trips to early voting states, preparing for potential campaigns and refusing to rule out running against Trump. ``When somebody walks out of the most powerful office in the world, the Oval Office, to sit by the swimming pool at Mar-a-Lago, his influence declines,'' said John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser. Bolton has funded extensive national and state-level polling on the subject over the last year that has found Trump's sway and the power of his endorsement waning considerably since he left office. ``I really think that the evidence is clear that the people are done with Trump,'' Bolton said. ``He still has support, but it is declining. Honestly, it's not declining as fast as I would like to see and it's not down to zero. But among real people, it is declining.'' Trump is also facing a flurry of investigations, including in New York, where prosecutors are investigating whether his real estate company misled banks and tax officials about the value of his assets, inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office confirmed this week that it has subpoenaed Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., as part of an investigation into the family's business practices. Both children have been prominent political surrogates for Trump. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the Jan. 6 committee continues to investigate the Trump White House's involvement in the deadly insurrection. Trump still has his eyes on 2024, even as he continues to obsess over the 2020 election. After spending 2021 raising money and announcing his endorsements of candidates who have parroted his election lies up and down the ballot, Trump's team is preparing to pivot to helping those candidates win with a stepped-up rally schedule and financial support, including transfers to candidate accounts and targeted advertising. Trump, according to allies, sees the midterms as a foundation for his next campaign, and intends to use the cycle to position himself for his party's nomination. Voting rights advocates, meanwhile, are increasingly worried as states with Republican legislatures push legislation that would allow them to influence or overrule the vote in future elections. They fear what might happen if Trump-endorsed candidates for secretary of state and attorney general who say the election was stolen find themselves in positions that could sway the outcome in 2024. ``It's a concerted effort to undermine our public's confidence in the electoral system, so in 2022 and 2024, if they don't like the elections _ and this is Republicans _ they can overturn it,`` said Whitman, who also serves as co-chair of States United Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to protect the integrity of future elections. ``We are in a very, very fragile place.`` Search Keywords: Short link: Moushira Khattab, the first woman president of the National Council for Human Rights, speaks with Sahar Zahran in Washington about Egypts efforts to advance human rights In October, the House of Representatives announced its decision to appoint Moushira Khattab as the new president of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR). The decision marks the first time a woman has been selected to lead the NCHR since it was established in 2003. Khattab, a former ambassador to South Africa and to the Federal Republic of Czechoslovakia and a former minister of family and population, was recently in the US as part of a delegation of parliamentarians and politicians representing Egyptian civil society in an international dialogue group. She told Al-Ahram Weekly in Washington that the aim of the trip was to reflect the real picture of what is taking place in Egypt, to dot the is and cross the ts accurately and transparently. We have nothing to hide, she said. Khattab views her appointment as NCHR president as an example of womens empowerment in Egypt. She is hopeful the council will transform Egypts rights and freedoms positively. Khattab is grateful to President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi for endorsing her candidacy for the presidency of UNESCO, for launching the National Strategy for Human Rights (NSHR), and for declaring 2022 the Year of Civil Society. President Al-Sisi, she adds, fully supports the NCHR, and cites his decision to suspend the state of emergency in Egypt as a truly positive signal. The NSHR, and the reconstitution of the NCHR, are expressions of the new path Egypt is adopting. The state, she says, is keen to implement the articles of the Egyptian constitution that bolster human rights, and is doing so for the sake of Egyptians, not to appease the West. Khattab points out that no country has reached perfection when it comes to human rights, and the challenges the international community faces have been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic and the inequitable distribution of vaccines which has exposed the urgent need for effective international cooperation. What does it feel like being the first woman president of the NCHR? I am very grateful for the confidence President Al-Sisi has placed in me. I am very honoured. This is the most important position I have held in my career, and an enormous responsibility. Egypt is in the process of building a new republic based on a solid system of human rights under which citizens face no discrimination on the basis of religion, gender, race, disability, social/economic status, or geographic location. When parliament made the announcement of my appointment in early October I was thrilled, not least because my nomination came from NGOs and civil society groups. The democratic process of selecting the new council makes me even more proud. People are pinning high hopes on the NCHR and I hope we will be able to meet their aspirations. The appointment was made at a time all eyes are on Egypt. Egypt is an influential country and what happens here affects not only the region but the entire world. How do you view the National Strategy for Human Rights? When President Al-Sisi launched the NSHR in September it was a critical step in bolstering Egypts efforts to improve human rights and a strong response to sceptics and people who want to tarnish Egypts reputation. The strategy is a leap forward that cements the pillars of the new republic and shows the world that Egypts political leadership is up to advancing human rights. It will, first and foremost, focus on the groups most in need and most at risk. The strategy will be translated into plans that will be implemented within a fixed timeframe, which is why all bodies concerned, including the authorities and civil society groups, should cooperate to implement it. What is the role of the NCHR in responding to criticisms issued by the international media and organisations? It is important to remember that Egypt is a part of the world. In every country there are discussions over human rights. Everybody followed up on the Black Lives Matter movement that made international headlines following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white policeman, and everybody can see how the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the ugly face of the unequal treatment of rich and poor countries. Within the international community there are countries that dont have a problem with being criticised; they respect differences, study their problems, discuss them in public, and seek better alternatives. We need to react to criticisms without raising the issue of cultural specificity, and with a true desire to check their authenticity and deal with them calmly and confidently. We need not be overly sensitive about them. By the way, President Al-Sisi has on more than one occasion publicly criticised conditions Egyptians have been suffering from for long, but he is working to improve them. Some patently false claims are unworthy of response. Others we refute by presenting evidence. When criticisms are justified, they should motivate us to do better. It is not wrong to try to improve our performance. We need not be defensive. Since the announcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Egypt has been at the centre of the global movement promoting human rights. The world expects us to be a regional leader and is pinning its hopes on Egypt due to the courage and sound leadership of President Al-Sisi and his determination to confront challenges others cannot overcome. I call on people focused on human rights issues to deal objectively with the subject and to record the efforts exerted by President Al-Sisi, especially in the field of human rights. As president of the NCHR, I dream big. I believe Egypt respects the rights of its citizens and though it is true we face challenges we have the courage to admit them and try to resolve them. No country is without problems. The largest democracies have problems but these are contained because they admit to them and solve them gradually, raising public awareness about them. Thanks to Egypts economic and security achievements, we now have the confidence and strength to deal with the human rights file with the same seriousness with which we resolved other problems that were like ticking bombs. What about pretrial detention? We have laws, but what we need is to monitor their implementation and address any gaps that surface. The issue of pretrial detention needs to be addressed to protect the rights of detained persons as stipulated by law, without extending the period or implementing measures not stipulated by law. And of course, we respect the judiciary and dont interfere in the course of justice. The NSHR was not drafted in a vacuum. It involved studying and learning from the experiences of other countries that have made progress in the field of human rights. Regarding demands to improve the conditions of places of detention, we have followed up on efforts to establish rehabilitation centres in Wadi Al-Natroun and Badr City. The centres have been designed and built according to international standards that guarantee the human rights of detainees. There are incidents when local rights organisations complain about restrictions that constrain their work. Some bodies abroad use these incidents to tarnish Egypts reputation. President Al-Sisis declaration of 2022 as the Year of Civil Society will put these associations at the forefront of the scene, enable them to present their needs, and will enable citizens to follow up on their work. I believe there is an opportunity for a detente in this field. No government, however powerful, can fulfil the demands of its citizens alone. It is important for civil society to participate, be active, and complement the role of the state. We must also be aware that NGOs vary in their ability to implement their programmes on the ground. NGOs need to be transparent, adopt a democratic approach and adhere to the concept of rotation of power. Just as we talk about governance and combating corruption in government bodies, the same standards should be applied in NGOs. What is the outcome of the Washington visit? The visit of the international dialogue group that represents civil society has been successful beyond my expectation. We met the assistants of the secretaries of state for Middle East affairs and human rights and held important meetings in Congress. One measure of the success of the visit is that the officials we met in Washington will soon visit Egypt. They requested to meet with us and follow up on the topics we discussed. In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of the visit were our meetings with Egyptians residing in the US. Our talks were very fruitful. Many of the Egyptians we met occupy influential positions, including in research centres. I was impressed with the breadth of their knowledge and their ability to express opinions in a considered, rational manner. Egypt has a respectable lobby in the US which has the ability and desire to serve its country. I have high hopes in this regard, especially now the question of foreign funding has been resolved. One issue that was raised in our meetings in Washington, and which I hope to be resolved soon, is the desire of scholars and researchers to be enrolled in research centres and universities in Egypt. During the visit great importance was given to discussing pending issues. We spoke about these issues with honesty and impartiality and I am hopeful we will succeed in building bridges and winning loyal and supportive friends. President Al-Sisi has launched many initiatives to provide a decent life for Egyptians, which is, after all, the crux of human rights. How do you view these steps? The president has adopted a rights approach that grows stronger by the day. He began by visiting a victim of sexual harassment, who was attacked in Tahrir Square. He gave her flowers and apologised to her, promising the incident would not reoccur. Shortly afterwards, peoples awareness about the crime of sexual harassment increased, and penalties were toughened. President Al-Sisi has also demanded a renewal of religious discourse, which is crucial to ending religious discrimination, and has called for education to be reformed. Access to quality education should be a non-negotiable human right. The 100 Million Health initiative has facilitated access to quality healthcare for all Egyptians, regardless of income. Egypt has also managed to eliminate Hepatitis C. The president is also focused on the rights of people with disabilities, and has said on several occasions that society is responsible for removing any obstacles that stand in the way of their rights, as enshrined in the constitution and international human rights accords. The Decent Life initiative is a mega national project that champions the less fortunate, providing for their basic needs. The initiatives targeted groups make up more than half the population, and work is continuing to upgrade infrastructure, healthcare, and education. In the past, residents of impoverished villages would migrate to urban cities in an attempt to find work and improve their living conditions. The Decent Life initiative is redressing that trend. In addition to these efforts, the president raised the motto Long Live Egypt, restoring the right of every Egyptian to their identity. His support of women is unwavering and he is courageously negotiating a new personal status law. He has vowed that he will not sign a law that does women injustice. It is no secret some people use fallacious religious interpretations in this battle. On 11 September 2021 President Al-Sisi said in an address you are free to be Muslim, Christian, or Jewish You are free to believe or not. In my opinion, his words represent a revolution in the field of human rights. With these words he stood up against notions that have permeated the hearts of some people for more than 100 years. We have to implement the NSHR. Religion has been used as an excuse to subjugate women and believers of other religions, even other Muslims, for too long. My view is that the freedoms the president referred to mean that differences due to religion, gender, disability, race, or any other reason should not affect the ability to enjoy rights guaranteed by the constitution. This is what Article 53 of the constitution is about. It also states that discrimination is a crime punishable by law. Non-discrimination is one of the key foundations upon which the human rights system is based and which Egypt has actively participated in during the drafting phase. Egypt has declared its commitment to this system since the beginning of negotiations over the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The steps President Al-Sisi has taken prove Egypt is determined to remain a symbol of fraternity and equality, a country that embraces different nationalities and celebrates all religions and that has long called for peace, respect, and prosperity. The presidents decision to suspend the state of emergency is evidence Egypt has regained its power. *A version of this article appears in print in the 6 January, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: The National Wages Councils (NWC) decision to set a minimum wage for the first time for workers in the private sector at LE2,400 per month became mandatory for private-sector establishments on 1 January. Under the new regulations, private-sector employees will also be eligible for an annual raise equivalent to a minimum of three per cent of their insurable income. The government decided not only to increase the minimum wage for the public sector from LE2,000 to LE2,400, but also to adopt the same minimum wage for the private sector in June last year. While the first decision was enforced immediately, the implementation of the latter was postponed to January this year to give companies a chance to adapt. Hala Al-Said, chair of the NWC and minister of planning and economic development, said that setting a minimum wage for the private sector was an important step to ensure proper living standards for all employees, adding that companies suffering from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic would be exempt for a period from applying the new minimum wage. She noted that the NWC had received 3,090 individual requests and 2,855 requests from 22 sub-sectors during the period slated for receiving postponement requests from July until the end of October 2021 and that these were being examined in accordance with Article 2 of Decree 57/2021. This states that if an establishment is exposed to economic conditions that make it impossible to meet the minimum wage, it may apply for an exemption. All requests must include justifications for the exemption and be accompanied by the relevant documents. The application of the minimum wage would be postponed for establishments that had submitted exception requests until mid-February, when the examination of requests is expected to be completed, Al-Said said. Shaaban Khalifa, head of the Syndicate of Private Sector Workers, said in a press statement that the number of beneficiaries of the minimum wage decision for the private sector was about 35 million workers employed in a total of 3,738,000 private-sector companies. He called for a binding mechanism on business owners to implement the minimum wage due to fears among workers that some might not implement it under the pretext of the economic situation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. He noted that Law 12/2003 stipulates that the NCW shall be responsible for setting a minimum wage at the national level and in all sectors in its Article 34, taking into account living expenses and measures that ensure a balance between wages and prices. Magdi Al-Badawi, a member of the NCW, said that due to the difficult economic consequences of the pandemic, the NWC would consider requests from companies wanting exemptions. Evaluations would be carried out according to the financial situation of the institutions concerned and a wage close to the minimum would be identified until their financial situation became more stable, he said. He added that there would be no absolute exemptions and that the NCW would hold a meeting every three months to look into the circumstances of such companies and their ability to implement their commitments. According to a statement from the Ministry of Planning, entities that have applied for the exemption from the minimum wage include some in the ready-made garments and textiles sectors, especially those that export abroad, in addition to some companies in the tourism sector, private schools, and some retail stores. Al-Badawi said that current labour laws do not include severe penalties for violators of decisions of the NWC, but that the new law being discussed in parliament will include such penalties. Fines on institutions that do not adhere to the decision will be imposed in accordance with the current labour laws for the time being. The Egyptian Businessmens Association (EBA) has announced that it will submit a request to the government to exclude several sectors from the application of the minimum wage, most notably labour-intensive sectors such as spinning and weaving, agricultural companies, and packaging companies, in the light of currently higher running costs. Ali Issa, head of the EBA, said in a statement that the government had excluded companies suffering losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but the same exceptions should be applied to labour-intensive sectors so that they can preserve employment. He said that Egypts private-sector companies were committed to implementing the minimum wage for workers at the beginning of the year in line with the decision by the NCW with the aim of preserving businesses and employment. *A version of this article appears in print in the 6 January, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: As we celebrate the centennial of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I am pleased to address readers of the Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya quarterly. You are members of a conscientious intelligentsia whose awareness and discernment has brought you to this venerable academic edifice, which, since its establishment by the late Boutros Boutros Ghali in 1965, has been a font of serious and valuable views and analyses on regional and international developments and an ever-renewable tributary to the Egyptian school of political science whose excellence has earned it universal esteem. Marking a hundred years since the reestablishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 15 March 1922 (the ministry had been abolished following the declaration of the British Protectorate over Egypt in 1914) is deeply significant because of its association with our countrys march towards national independence and the subsequent building of the Egyptian state through the efforts of its faithful citizens. This centenary therefore invites us to recollect the ministrys bright record of diplomatic achievements in our modern history and the challenges Egyptian diplomacy has faced with the utmost courage, armed with patriotic talents who defended Egypts interests and strove to restore Egypts authentic rights bravely, professionally and with indefatigable dedication. Egyptian diplomacy has experienced moments of grief and joy as the pendulum has swung between war and peace during this past century. With its base in Cairo and its many missions, it has served as a bridge between our world at home and the world abroad in coordination with other government agencies and as an outspoken voice for Egypt in the forums of international organisations and decision-making centres in foreign capitals. At every crucial juncture, Egyptian diplomacy has acted with the certainty that our countrys usurped rights must inevitably be restored in full. This was borne out in the fruits of the exhaustive diplomatic efforts that were made in the wake of the Tripartite Aggression of 1956 and, again, after the October 1973 War, culminating in the return of Taba where the successful assertion of our national will was symbolised by the proud and reverential raising of the Egyptian flag which we have vowed shall always flutter high and never bow. Over recent decades, Egyptian diplomacy has also contributed to laying the foundations for international and regional stability. This, in turn, testifies to the sagacity of Egypts foreign policy outlook, which aims to pursue all available avenues towards the realisation of peace, security and prosperity for all nations and peoples. Indeed, as we look back over the course of Egyptian foreign policy during the past century, we find that Cairo has consistently been a force for stability in its regional environment. Towards this end, it has engaged a balanced and ethical approach that rises above pettiness and opportunistic games in order to calm hotspots, defuse crises and lay the foundations for peace. This history clearly reflects a number of other important points. First, Egyptian diplomacy shows no lenience when it comes to Egypts rights. It accepts no halfway solutions, and it does not despair in the face of others intransigence and evasiveness or the indifference of the international community. It will persist in its efforts to restore those rights, head held high while exercising the necessary forbearance out of a belief in the justice of its causes and armed with the awareness of its political leadership and the solidarity of the domestic front. Second, Egypts foreign policy adheres to consistent parameters that are based on the principles of diversifying its axes of movement, mutual respect and parity, non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other nations, and respect for its sovereignty and autonomous political will. Also crucial to these parameters are the policys alignment with the peoples choices and an emphasis on the cohesion of the national institutions of other states in order to ward off collapse and degeneration into vicious cycles of anarchy in their regions. Third, during the past decades, Egyptian diplomacy has succeeded in accumulating a vast and growing reservoir of practical expertise in the diverse fields of diplomatic work in both its bilateral and multilateral dimensions and in its various specialised frameworks such as economic and development diplomacy or environment and climate-change diplomacy. This cumulative expertise has helped to generate realistic and clearsighted outlooks on international concerns and how to handle them in a manner that observes the particular nature of each issue and the need to be flexible enough to adapt effectively to successive changes in the structure of the international community and its players. In this regard, Egyptian diplomacy has displayed the ability to anticipate pivotal events, reflecting its proficiency at strategic scenario methodology and planning. Fourth, geographical and historical needs and considerations have determined the main spheres of action for Egyptian foreign policy. The main ones are the Arab and African spheres, as they are natural geopolitical extensions of Egypt and, accordingly, essential components of its national security framework. Egypts concern for these two spheres is epitomised by the pioneering role it played in their national liberation movements and the limitless economic, political and moral support it gave to its Arab and African brothers in their struggles for self-determination. Other salient manifestations of this concern are to be found in Egypts hosting of the Arab League, its contribution to the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity, and its efforts to strengthen the efficacy of these regional organisations and the central role they and their subsidiary bodies play in reinforcing the bonds of Arab and African cooperation and integration. Fifth, closely related to these spheres and crucial to the pillars of Egyptian foreign policy, the Islamic dimension has also figured prominently in our diplomacy in the light of Egypts extensive Islamic heritage and legacy. Egypt was a cofounder of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1969, and it has hosted a number of the OICs branches and agencies and worked to promote this organisation as a collective platform for advancing the causes of the Islamic world and a forum for voicing its problems and concerns. More recently, Egypt launched its Mediterranean identity as a component of its foreign policy, promoting this shared identity among the countries along its shores with an eye to transforming this sea into a bond that draws on the long cultural and civilisational links between its peoples and on the diverse political and economic strengths of their countries, as opposed to a barrier to waves of political and cultural communication and exchange. Sixth, although Egypt has continued to act in the framework of its traditional foreign policy spheres, given their integral relation to Egypts national security as mentioned above, this has not prevented Cairo from focusing on other spheres of action. Egyptian diplomacy has been active in diverse areas of international interplay to the east and west, strengthening its strategic partnerships with all major and emergent powers across the globe as it continues to build its diversified and growing network of relations. The central purpose of this effort is to maximise Egypts interests with the key players in its spheres of activity, whether in North and South America, in Europe at the bilateral or European Union level, or in Asia where our foreign ties have grown by leaps and bounds during past years. Nothing better illustrates the foregoing than the free-trade agreement Cairo signed with Mercosur, one of the most important South American economic blocs, and Egypts membership as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Egypt was also among the founding members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, provided its first secretary-general, and then hosted one of its subsidiary bodies, Senghor University, in Alexandria. Seventh, Egypts soft power has been and remains a main and influential complementary component of its foreign policy. Egypts multifaceted cultural and civilisational legacy bring out the welcome mats in international domains, a phenomenon encouraged by the roles played by its renowned Al-Azhar Mosque and University and its ancient Coptic Church as bastions against fanaticism and ideological extremism and their disseminators. Eighth, in recent years, Egypt has been able to harness all the capacities it has accumulated across the decades and to muster the comprehensive powers with which it is armed to expand its role and develop its efficacy in shaping regional issues. At the same time, it has been careful to avert unpredictable risks and to avoid being dragged into conflicts that only reopen wounds and fuel volatility in the region. Egypts consulates and the services they provide to Egyptians abroad are another fundamental cornerstone of the Foreign Ministrys diplomatic work. In this respect, on top of the customary services the ministry provides to its citizens abroad, our political leadership has taken pains to ensure the mechanisms are in place to reach our people abroad in times of trouble, to evacuate them from areas of upheaval and civil strife and to bring them safely home to Egypt. At the same time, the ministry is also keen to tap the experience and expertise its staff members have acquired during their postings abroad. To our good fortune, our celebration of the centenary of the reestablishment of the Foreign Ministry in 1922 coincides with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis proclamation of the New Republic that marks the beginning of a new chapter in Egypts contemporary history. The birth of the New Republic is not just an articulation of the move from the centre of Cairo to the New Administrative Capital. It is also the culmination of hard and persistent work in the course of an authentically Egyptian national epic in which the Egyptian people defended their right to a homeland free from the predations of groups that sought in vain to hijack their fate and also endured considerable hardship for the sake of economic recovery and the restoration of order. Throughout this process, they were fortified in their resolve by their confidence in the awareness of their political leadership and the sincerity of its intent to rebuild their state on solid national foundations. The New Republic is now reaping the fruits of these efforts, giving shape and direction to the nations comprehensive strengths, redefining its essential elements and orienting them towards the realisation of sustainable development and prosperity. Towards these ends, the political leadership has set in motion a nationwide process of comprehensive achievements, which all Egyptians can be proud of, in order to create a better future for coming generations and to ensure a dignified life for all Egyptians without discrimination. The solid stability and comprehensive development Egypt is experiencing under the New Republic is reflected in its clearsighted foreign policy and in the confidence with which it acts at the international and regional levels concerning a part of the world that is teeming with upheaval, political turmoil and continued threats to its stability. In the course of eight years of hard work and unswerving resolve, Egypt has succeeded in resuming its traditional role, which compels itself on Egypt as much as it is sought after. Thanks to the dedication and skill of its political leadership, Egypt has moved from the phase of recovering balance to that of regaining influence. As is now evident, Egypt has successfully repositioned itself as a key player in its regional environment, one with the wherewithal to set red lines that weave the mesh of a deterrent force with the ability to preserve equilibrium in the region and pull it back from the brink of anarchy. As we stand on the threshold of the second century of Egyptian diplomacy, we observe an international arena in which patterns of interaction have grown extremely complex and non-state actors are playing an increasingly influential role. In addition to their repercussions in terms of steering international interplay away from conventional modes and concepts, these trends have had direct impacts on the domestic fronts of all countries. Crucially in this context, Egyptian decision-making circles have kept their eyes on the train of developments in the international arena and, in the light of them, its diplomatic and other national agencies have collaborated to forge diverse measures designed to avert or contain detrimental impacts and repercussions, to safeguard the stays of Egyptian national security, and to preserve the identity of the Egyptian state. The Foreign Ministry, which has been closely following such global trends, has worked to hone the capacities of its diplomatic corps. In particular, it has invested in its young diplomatic talents through ongoing in-house training and other capacity-building activities to equip them to respond rapidly and effectively to diverse changes and their manifestations and to develop action plans accordingly. With such needs in mind, we are selecting and developing the new cohorts of our diplomatic corps in a manner consistent with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis vision for the New Republic, and we have stepped up the digital transformation of our work so that it can keep pace with all that is modern in todays world. In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all Egyptian diplomats the pioneers, the older generation and the younger generation of men and women on the occasion of their 100th anniversary. They are soldiers of the nation stationed on the foreign front, and I salute them for their contributions to building the edifice of Egyptian diplomacy generation after generation, solidifying it as a lofty and revered institution dedicated to the advancement of the interests of the nation and the service of its people. To our veteran diplomats and ambassadorial past masters, I say that you are right to be proud to have represented Egypt abroad and to boast of the periods you have spent in the service of the nation and its dear people in various spots around the globe, including in some very trying and crisis-plagued areas. Regardless of the difficulties and challenges you encountered, you heeded the call to duty, fulfilled your promise and proved true to the oath you took when you joined the ministry, which was to keep our flag aloft on every front so that it could eternally embrace all citizens at home and abroad in the safety and comfort its shadow. To my diplomatic colleagues still working in Egypt and elsewhere in the world I say that in you I see the hope of our nation and its progress. I trust in your noble patriotic sensibilities and the skills and talents that have so excellently qualified you for the honour of serving beneath the banner of this venerable national institution. Bear in mind the eternal debt you owe to your country and the weighty duties that rest on your shoulders, though I am confident that you will spare no effort in performing them to the best of your abilities. Read the history of Egypt, draw from this inexhaustible resource in your professional careers and arm yourself with the endless inspiration it offers, so that you can remain true to the trust vested in you as a shield for the nation overseas. * This article originally appeared in the quarterly journal Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya, published by Al-Ahram. *A version of this article appears in print in the 6 January, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: President Joe Biden will turn the screws on Donald Trump by calling him out Thursday for "singular responsibility" in provoking the mayhem on January 6 last year, when the outgoing Republican leader's supporters stormed Congress. Biden's decision to use his speech on the anniversary to squarely blame Trump and Republican allies for their role in the unprecedented attack on US democracy will mark a sharp escalation in his approach to Trump and the riot. Through the first year of his presidency, Biden has preferred mostly to ignore Trump, who still refuses to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and continues to spread conspiracy theories to his millions of followers about being the true winner. But in a speech from inside the Capitol's Statuary Hall -- where exactly a year ago a Trump mob rampaged through to try and stop certification of Biden's election win -- the Democratic president will firmly blame his predecessor, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. "I would expect President Biden to lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage," she said. "President Biden has been clear-eyed about the threat the former president represents to our democracy," she said. Asked if Biden would use Trump's name, Psaki said "we're finalizing the speech, but I think people will know whom he's referring to." Earlier Wednesday, the Capitol police chief, Thomas Manger, said his forces would not be caught unprepared again, as they were last year. And Attorney General Merrick Garland also promised that justice was being done, saying he was "committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law -- whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy." - Senior Republican skips anniversary - However, in the political sphere, the country remains dangerously divided. Underlining the stunning partisan split, senior Republicans appear set to skip commemorations organized by the Democratic-led Congress on Thursday, including Biden's speech and a prayer vigil. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and others from his party were set to be away in Atlanta, Georgia, attending the funeral of the late senator Johnny Isakson. In an opinion piece on Fox News, Republican Senator Josh Hawley, a leading supporter of false claims that Biden's 2020 victory was suspect, referred to January 6 as a "demonstration" that "some demonstrators" marred. "Gathering for a political demonstration is not a crime. On the contrary, it is a right expressly protected by the US Constitution," he wrote. Trump himself continues to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen by Biden -- a conspiracy theory dismantled in multiple court findings and vote recounts. US President Joe Biden speaks with members of the White House Covid-19 Response Team on the latest developments related to the Omicron variant, on January 4, 2022, in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC. [Photo: AFP] He had been planning a press conference at his Florida home to steal the limelight on Thursday, but abruptly abandoned the plan in a statement Tuesday that nevertheless continued to claim that the 2020 election was a "crime." Writing in The New York Times, former Democratic president Jimmy Carter said the United States "now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late." - Undermining of democracy - Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also called for a profound look at the state of the nation in the wake of the ugly episode. "Without addressing the root causes of the violence on January 6, the insurrection will not be an aberration it could well become the norm," he warned. In his speech, Garland said the authorities had so far arrested and charged about 725 people across the country in connection with the attack. However, after criticism that the Justice Department has moved too slowly to tackle the leaders and address accusations of a deeper dangerous plot to overthrow the election, Garland pleaded for patience, suggesting that investigators are moving up the chain. "We resolve more straightforward cases first because they provide the evidentiary foundation for more complex cases," he said. And echoing widespread fears that radicalized Americans are turning on their institutions, he promised to "address the rising violence and criminal threats of violence against election workers, against flight crews, against school personnel, against journalists, against members of Congress, and against federal agents, prosecutors, and judges." "Such conduct disrupts the peace of our public spaces and undermines our democracy. We are all Americans. We must protect each other," he said. KYODO NEWS - Jan 6, 2022 - 09:49 | All, Feature, Japan, Coronavirus COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged between 5 and 11 may begin February in Japan, but many parents and caregivers are still debating whether they should inoculate young ones due to worries over effects on their health. Unlike some other countries, there have been no COVID-19 deaths reported among children in the particular age group in Japan, and it is rare for young children to develop severe symptoms caused by the novel coronavirus. In the meantime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, where vaccinations for the age group have already begun, recommends those children get vaccinated because COVID-19 can make them very sick, cause them to be hospitalized, and in some cases, the complications from infection can lead to death. Since some parents in Japan are wary of possible side effects and fear potential long-term health effects of the vaccines, meticulous and committed support by authorities and health experts is seen as key to promoting the inoculation of pediatric populations. Some side effects of the vaccines include tiredness, fever and nausea, according to the CDC. Health authorities around the world, including the health ministry of Japan, deny long-term health effects such as fertility and other reproductive issues, as messenger RNA introduced by Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine, expected to be the first one to be approved for use for young children in the country, are quickly degraded in a matter of a few days. The vaccine cannot change people's DNA either as mRNA do their work outside of the nucleus of their cells where DNA is stored, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. A woman in her 30s in Tokyo says she has been hesitant to get her daughter, a kindergartner, vaccinated out of concern over side effects because the woman experienced chest pain after she received her first vaccine shot. But she recently felt a change in public sentiment with respect to vaccinating kids after the emergence of the Omicron variant, considered highly transmissible. "If the infections spread, peer pressure to vaccinate kids would increase. I'm afraid I might be criticized if I hesitate," she said. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, a total of 87,800 preschoolers, compulsory school and high school students were infected with the coronavirus from June 2020 to late November 2021, with almost no serious cases. Opinions of the health ministry's panel on vaccinating children aged 5 through 11 remain divided, with some insisting rights to be vaccinated should be ensured, while others remain hesitant to aggressively push forward with the vaccination of young children. In a survey taken by the National Center for Child Health and Development, 55 percent of responding elementary school students said they wanted to receive shots, while 38 percent said they did not. "I would like to respect my child's own choice after I give him information including risks, but I also wonder how much he can understand it," said a man in his 30s in Kyoto. His son will enter an elementary school next spring. Schoolteachers began to wonder how they should respond when students ask them about vaccinations, even though no mass vaccinations will take place at schools after the government approves the inoculation of children aged between 5 and 11. "I hope the government will disclose enough information so all students and their families can comprehend the situation and make a satisfactory choice," said Harumi Okada, the principal of a city-run elementary school in Osaka. Critics and experts say it is also important to prevent children and parents from experiencing stigma over getting or not getting vaccinated. KYODO NEWS - Jan 4, 2022 - 17:41 | World, All A man who was spotted crossing the border into North Korea on New Year's Day is highly likely to have been a North Korean man who defected to the South through the same area in November 2020, according to a South Korean Defense Ministry official. After the defection, the man was working as a janitor and complained of life in South Korea due to economic difficulties, according to local media reports. Repeated border breaches have led to criticism of the military for its failure to prevent them. The latest border crossing occurred within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Gangwon Province in South Korea's north on Saturday. Security camera footage near the border caught a man crossing a barbed wire fence on the South Korean side, but guards did not notice it, according to the official. The military realized after about three hours that someone was in the DMZ but could not catch the person. Related coverage: North Korea's Kim vows to boost agriculture, defenses amid uncertainties The identification was made partially based on the footage. According to Yonhap News Agency, the man, who had entered the South by breaching a 3-meter-tall fence, later described himself to an intelligence service as having experience in gymnastics. Yonhap has also quoted a Unification Ministry official as saying that the government had provided adequate support to the defector to help him make a living in the South. The Defense Ministry official cast doubt on the defector being a North Korean spy. KYODO NEWS - Jan 6, 2022 - 20:48 | All, Japan, Coronavirus An online petition demanding that Japan ease its tight entry rules to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was submitted to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday with about 12,000 signatures, a civic group said. The petition addressed to Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says that the "excessive" border controls have affected those who want to see their families living overseas. Japan has banned new entries by foreigners worldwide since Nov. 30, following increasing reports on the highly contagious variant. Even entry of spouses and children of Japanese nationals or permanent residents is denied unless they are in "special exceptional circumstances." The government has also suspended the validity of visas issued before Dec. 2 other than those for diplomats, spouses of Japanese nationals and permanent residents, among others. The campaign to collect signatures for the petition was launched in early December by a group led by Japanese artist Takashi Arai and Melek Ortabasi, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada. "We recognize it as an issue of international human rights law," said Arai, whose German wife was denied entry to Japan, at an online press conference held after the group submitted the petition to the ministry. Ortabasi, a single mother who left her three children in Canada to come to Japan for research work in October, said she will "keep fighting" because she does not want other people to have the same experience. The children, who had been denied entry, were recently allowed to enter Japan exceptionally. But the family has yet to be reunited as the children are quarantined at a designated facility. The Japanese government initially said the tightened entry rules would be in place for about a month to year-end but later decided to extend them at least through early this year as the country braces for its sixth wave of COVID-19 infections amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The measures have been criticized as discriminatory by the World Health Organization, which has urged countries not to impose blanket travel bans, saying they are ineffective in preventing the virus from spreading and place a heavy burden on people's lives. KYODO NEWS - Jan 5, 2022 - 20:29 | Japan, All Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked business leaders on Wednesday to raise wages more aggressively for employees as part of his pursuit of wealth redistribution. Ahead of this year's annual wage negotiations between management and labor unions, Kishida, who took office in October, is calling for a pay hike of over 3 percent by companies that have seen their earnings recover to prepandemic levels. "Wage hikes mean future investments. It's critically important for future economic growth. I'd like to see you take an aggressive stance and cooperate," he told a meeting of business leaders who gathered for New Year celebrations. Kishida said the country needs to set in motion a "virtuous cycle of growth and distribution" at a time when recovery from the pandemic comes with opportunities for the new era. The gathering was organized by the Japan Business Federation, the country's most powerful business lobby known as Keidanren, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kishida has placed priority on creating a new type of capitalism by ensuring both economic growth and wealth redistribution. Accelerating wage growth, which has been sluggish in Japan as the country had been plagued by deflation for years, is a key part of his agenda and the government plans to offer tax reductions for companies going ahead with pay hikes. Keidanren chairman Masakazu Tokura aligned with Kishida over the need for companies to raise pay proactively if they have remained profitable despite the COVID-19 fallout. "It's the responsibility of companies to distribute (income) to workers. Otherwise, we will lose our raison d'etre," Tokura said at a press conference after the meeting. The shunto wage negotiations this spring come as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is patchy and its pace remains uneven among sectors. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the country's biggest labor organization known as Rengo, has decided to call for a combined 4 percent pay hike -- around 2 percent in pay scale and 2 percent in annual pay. Keidanren, meanwhile, does not plan to encourage its member companies to consider wage hikes across the board. KYODO NEWS - Jan 6, 2022 - 12:55 | All, World, Japan An Afghan man who was evacuated to Japan after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August has said he would readily return home if the militant Islamist group changes course and respects the rights of women and ethnic minorities. The 34-year-old man, who had worked at the now-closed Japanese Embassy in Kabul since 2008, told Kyodo News in a recent interview that the Afghan people want the Taliban to allow female students to go to school and provide opportunities to ethnic minorities such as Tajiks and Uzbeks. "If the Taliban received the support from the local people of Afghanistan, I'm very sure they will receive support from the international community and from all over the world," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity as revealing his name could endanger his relatives in Afghanistan. It was the first media interview with an Afghan who evacuated with Japanese government support, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The man, who was employed in the embassy's finance and account section, decided to leave Afghanistan with his wife, son and three daughters after the Taliban took effective control of the country on Aug. 15 last year, fearing those who had worked with foreigners would be killed. "Actually, it was a sudden plan because we didn't know what would happen in our country," he said looking back on his decision, which was made to "save our life." The man and his family left the country for Doha and arrived in Japan on Oct. 8. He is among around 500 Afghans who have taken refuge in Japan since the Taliban returned to power, and there are still about 140 hoping to evacuate to Japan, according to the ministry. The man said his relatives, including his mother and nine siblings, remain in the war-torn nation and he maintains contact with them by phone. The man and his colleagues are continuing embassy operations by teleworking from Tokyo, hoping the situation in Afghanistan will improve. The reopening of the embassy in Kabul would be a good time to consider returning home, he said, but the prospects remain unclear after Japan moved diplomatic operations to the Qatari capital Doha. The Taliban was known for restricting women's education and employment when it controlled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was ousted by the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Composed largely of Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, the Taliban are not recognized by the international community as a legitimate government. The man said he would return to Afghanistan if the Taliban "welcome us" working for the country, and he wants all people who have emigrated or evacuated to go back to support the country. "Everybody is very keen to go back to their country," but the point is whether safety will be secured and the Taliban will change their ways, he said. KYODO NEWS - Jan 6, 2022 - 19:38 | All, Japan, World Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison signed Thursday a treaty to facilitate joint exercises and strengthen security cooperation while expressing serious concerns over China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region in a joint statement. The Reciprocal Access Agreement will facilitate faster deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces and Australian Defense Force personnel and ease restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations. "This is a landmark agreement that will bring Japan-Australia security cooperation to a new level," said Kishida in signing the agreement. Morrison also said the pact "opens a new chapter for advanced defense and security cooperation." "It will underpin greater and more complex engagement, interoperability and cooperation between the Australian Defense Force and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces," he added. The joint statement, released after their virtual meeting that stretched over more than 100 minutes, said the signing of the agreement underscored their "commitment to further elevating bilateral security and defense cooperation in the interests of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region." The same statement said Kishida and Morrison voiced "serious concerns" about the situations in the South and East China seas, where China has been involved in territorial rows with its neighbors, in a veiled criticism of Beijing's maritime activities aimed at altering the regional status quo in its favor. The two leaders also shared serious concerns about reported human rights abuses against Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, far-western China, as well as Beijing's crackdowns on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, the statement said. As the meeting came a day after Pyongyang fired what it claims was a newly developed hypersonic missile, the two leaders also "condemned North Korea's ongoing development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles" in the statement. The latest signing of the pact made Australia the second country with which Japan has concluded such a defense cooperation accord after the United States. The statement said the two sides confirmed their intent to complete respective domestic procedures necessary to implement the RAA as early as possible. Japan will also seek to reach such a pact with Britain, with which Japan launched negotiations in October, and France as the two countries have been increasing defense cooperation with Tokyo in response to an increasingly assertive China. Japan and Australia agreed to start talks on the RAA in 2014 and reached a broad agreement in November 2020, but Japan's death penalty system had been an obstacle in concluding the deal. Australia, which has scrapped capital punishment and called for its abolition worldwide, initially asked for its military personnel to be exempted from the death penalty for crimes committed in Japan. However, the two sides struck the deal as Australia increasingly sees Beijing as a security threat. Tokyo and Canberra have agreed each country will retain jurisdiction when dispatching troops for joint missions, but the host country will have jurisdiction if personnel commit crimes while off duty. The two countries will also launch a joint committee to discuss the details of how to implement the agreement, such as extradition of those involved in crimes. China has ratcheted up economic pressure on Australia after Canberra pushed Beijing to investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, central China. Japan and Australia are part of the Quad framework also involving the United States and India, and Kishida voiced eagerness to strengthen ties with the fellow democracies in his New Year press conference on Tuesday. Kishida had been considering a visit to Australia in January to sign the agreement but abandoned the plan to focus on the COVID-19 response in Japan. KYODO NEWS - Jan 6, 2022 - 13:15 | All, Japan, World, Coronavirus Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday asked U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to impose curfews on U.S. bases in Japan, following a recent surge of coronavirus infections among American military personnel, the Japanese government said. Hayashi told reporters after phone talks with his U.S. counterpart that he requested that the United States take thorough measures to prevent the virus from spreading further to address growing fears among local residents around U.S. bases. Blinken responded that it is important to ensure the health and safety of not only U.S. military personnel but also local residents, adding that Washington will "do everything it can" by working together with Tokyo to curb the virus spread, according to Hayashi. U.S. Forces Japan said in a release issued after the talks that "more stringent mitigation measures" will be introduced for all U.S. military installations in Japan "due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases" at their facilities. When movements are restricted until a negative test result is confirmed, wearing a mask will be required in public places and on-base facilities as part of the new measures, according to U.S. Forces Japan. The talks, held at the request of Blinken, came as new COVID-19 cases have been rising in prefectures hosting U.S. military bases such as Okinawa and Yamaguchi with clusters of cases at U.S. force facilities, amid the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. In Okinawa, a group infection was reported at the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Hansen in Okinawa Prefecture in mid-December. Hayashi said last month U.S. forces in Japan had exempted their personnel from testing for the virus upon departure from the United States since early September in line with U.S. policy but it was changed at Japan's request. All U.S. forces personnel are now required to test for COVID-19 72 hours ahead of departure from the United States, and within 24 hours after their arrival in Japan. Hayashi also said he and Blinken reconfirmed their corporation to achieve a "free and open Indo-Pacific" in an apparent bid to deal with China's assertiveness in the region, and to realize the complete denuclearization of North Korea, which fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that North Korea has confirmed it test-fired a newly developed hypersonic missile, which is generally considered to be hard to be intercepted. Asked about the KCNA report, Hayashi said only that the projectile launch is still under analysis. Blinken condemned North Korea's "ballistic missile launch" during the talks, while discussing with Hayashi the efforts to deter Russia from further military action or other aggressive acts to support Ukraine's independence, according to the U.S. State Department. FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A clash has killed two people and injured two others in Maimay district in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province, local people said Wednesday. An investigation has been launched into the incident which took place on Tuesday evening, said a provincial official without providing more details. Badakhshan province is in full control of the forces of the Taliban-led administration. BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, on Thursday exchanged congratulations on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that over the past 30 years, China-Turkmenistan relations have developed by leaps and bounds. China, he noted, was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with Turkmenistan, one of the first countries to support Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality, and the first strategic partner of Turkmenistan established via the form of a political document, and is also Turkmenistan's largest trading partner of natural gas. The development of China-Turkmenistan relations has not only brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their people, but also made important contributions to safeguarding regional peace and stability, Xi said. Xi stressed that China attaches great importance to its relations with Turkmenistan, and will, as always, firmly support Turkmenistan in pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, safeguarding national sovereignty and national independence, and upholding its policy of permanent neutrality. He added that he would like to stay in close contact with Berdymukhamedov, and take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and jointly lift the China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership to new levels for the benefit of the two countries and their people. In his message, Berdymukhamedov said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Turkmenistan and China have carried out all-round cooperation in the broadest scope, and set up a unique multi-level coordination mechanism. China has been a major trading partner of Turkmenistan for multiple years in a row, which vividly represents the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides, he said. The Turkmen side, he added, attaches great importance to the bilateral relationship and stands ready to work closely with China on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual accomodation of interests, and spare no effort to promote Turkmenistan-China ties to higher levels. Enditem Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani arrives at the venue of Iranian nuclear deal talks in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) TEHRAN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's top negotiator said on Wednesday the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna are focused on the removal of U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic and reflecting an onward and positive trend, according to official news agency IRNA. Ali Bagheri Kani made the remarks before entering Palais Coburg, where the negotiations on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are being held. Photo taken on Dec. 17, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria. (EU Delegation in Vienna/Handout via Xinhua) He noted that efforts are underway to achieve a result commenting on the outcome of the talks over the past few days since the beginning of their eighth round. Bagheri Kani said the effective removal of U.S. sanctions on Iran is key to arriving at an agreement in the Vienna talks. The more seriousness the other sides demonstrate for removing the sanctions and accepting the mechanisms proposed by Iran for the lifting of the restrictions, particularly regarding the verification and guarantee issues, the sooner it will be possible to reach an agreement, he noted. Iran and the five other remaining signatories to the JCPOA, namely China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, have held rounds of talks in Vienna in a bid to revive the deal, which Washington quitted in 2018 under former President Donald Trump. A man wears a face mask as he walks down a street amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Havana, Cuba, Oct. 2, 2021. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua) On Wednesday, the Caribbean nation registered 967 new daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 but no related deaths, for a total of 969,138 cases and a pandemic death toll of 8,324. HAVANA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cuba on Wednesday tightened COVID-19 border control measures in a bid to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The surge in cases follows the resumption of international flights in mid-November and Christmas season gatherings. International travelers flying into Cuba will now be asked to show proof of vaccination, as well as negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests taken within 72 hours prior to arrival. In addition, random PCR tests will be conducted at the country's airports, according to the Cuban Ministry of Public Health. Children under 12 will not be required to show vaccination passports when visiting the Caribbean nation. Meanwhile, all passengers flying into Cuba from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique must stay at designated quarantine hotels for a week at their own expense. Cuba reported its first case of the Omicron variant on Dec. 8, after a healthcare worker who had traveled to Mozambique tested positive for the virus. So far, the island nation has recorded 92 cases of the new variant, the ministry said. On Wednesday, the Caribbean nation registered 967 new daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 but no related deaths, for a total of 969,138 cases and a pandemic death toll of 8,324. The Presidential Palace is illuminated in colors of the Lithuanian national flag to mark the 103rd independence anniversary of Lithuania in Vilnius, Lithuania, Feb. 16, 2021. (Photo by Alfredas Pliadis/Xinhua) BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- For the Lithuanian government, recognizing its mistake on the Taiwan-related issues is a step in the right direction, but only the first step. To repair the damaged China-Lithuania relations, the European nation needs further swift actions to rectify the wrongdoings. According to media reports, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday that it was a mistake for the Lithuanian government to allow the Taiwan authorities to set up a "representative office" under the name of Taiwan in Lithuania. In response to the wrongdoings, which are a brazen breach of the one-China principle, China decided in November to downgrade the diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the level of charge d'affaires. The countermeasures taken by China are legitimate and reasonable responses to the wrongdoings from the Lithuanian side that have severely infringed upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and gravely hurt China's core interests. Any sovereign and independent country would do the same if in China's shoes. In response to Lithuanian president's latest statement, the Chinese government urges actions on the ground to correct the mistake, which are far more important. In the meantime, the Taiwan authorities should be aware that whatever they do to seek so-called "Taiwan independence," they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China. Neither can they shake the international support for the one-China principle. While the whole world is scrambling to unravel the myths around Omicron, few bothers to notice: many of the Western countries travel bans against southern African countries still remain in place. When scientists in South Africa first identified the variant, the U.S., U.K. and E.U. immediately imposed travel ban on a host of African countries, although only two of them at the time had confirmed cases. The move came in total disregard of the WHO's reminder that the ban was unfair and that there is no evidence the ban works. However, the U.S., U.K., France, Canada, and numerous other Western countries, where Omicron has since been identified (in some cases with no links to Africa) imposed no travel restrictions against each other. Only until recently did the White House announced the U.S. was about to lift the travel ban on December 31, 2021, downplaying all criticism by simply explaining the restrictions gave the U.S. time to understand Omicron and their existing vaccines work against Omicron. In addition to travel bans, African medical credibility is also caught in question through Western skewed perspectives. The Canadian government, for instance, announced citizens who are stuck in South Africa have to obtain a pre-departure negative COVID-19 molecular test result in a third country before flying back to Canada, although South Africa has one of the best developed networks for molecular testing in the world. As Chairman of SADC and Malawi President, Lazarus Chakwera said, the ban was uncalled for, COVID-19 measures must be based on science not Afrophobia. "We believe it is discrimination, because the only difference is these countries are on the African continent [and] the others are not," argued Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Africa's high commissioner to Australia. More bluntly, Botswana journalist Solly Rakgomo stroke the point that the travel ban is a slap in the face of Western countries' hypocrisy in international health cooperation and multilateralism. As a result of this hypocrisy, many African countries find majority of their populations not yet vaccinated, and their ability to respond to and also recover from the pandemic seriously undermined. Africa currently records the lowest vaccination rate and the most disproportionate distribution of COVID-related medical supplies, with only 11% of the population having received at least one dose of vaccine, compared with 72% in the U.S. and Canada and 63% in Europe. And superfluous vaccines in the West are expiring while African lives are dying. Just before the New Year, Nigeria destroyed over 1 million expired doses of AstraZeneca vaccine which had just weeks left on their shelf life upon arrival. Western vaccine nationalism and hypocritical care for African live appear to be borne out of Afrophobic mindset than the genuine health concerns. That is clear for all to see in some Western media reports. BBC, for instance, referred to Omicron as the Southern African variant in live broadcasts. The German newspaper Die Rheinpfalz introduced the variant as Das Virus Aus Afrika ist bei uns (The virus from Africa is with us). The Spanish publication, Tribuna Albaceta, published a cartoon of a South African boat named Omicron filled with black Africans depicted as viruses, approaching the European shore. Prejudice and discrimination against Africa did not, of course, start with Omicron, or with COVID-19. Generations of Western colonization and deprivation have left many viewing the continent as backward place defined by famine, war and disease. Although there has been a shift toward a new "Africa rising" narrative in recent decades, the legacy of colonialism still hunts the continent in every aspect, politically, economically, or psychologically. And yet the U.S. and its hypocritical Western allies held the "Summit for Democracy" for their own selfish interests rather than focusing on multilateral cooperation to help Africa fight the pandemic in the short term, and achieve sustainable development in the long run. Omicron is still ravaging across the world, adding to uncertainty of the pandemic going forward. At least, there is one thing we know for sure: the real fatal danger for humans is not Omicron or the next new variant, but the deeply-ingrained discrimination against affected countries and the hypocrisy of Western countries. People wearing masks walk on a street in central Athens, Greece, on Dec. 30, 2021. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Official data showed that the surge of new COVID-19 infections was largely fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and the situation was worsened by gatherings during the holiday season. BRUSSELS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Following a break over the holiday season, European countries are witnessing skyrocketing new COVID-19 infections as the Omicron variant continues its onslaught across the continent. SURGING NUMBERS France, Greece and Croatia have broken new COVID-19 case records while the two neighboring countries of the Netherlands and Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 percent and 79 percent respectively. In Greece, despite a tightening of measures during the holiday season, cases have skyrocketed. The National Public Health Organization (EODY) confirmed on Tuesday 50,126 infections within 24 hours, an all-time high. Greek experts expect the number to continue rising this month, with daily cases possibly reaching 80,000 in the coming days. In Hungary, official data on Wednesday showed 5,270 new infections in a 24-hour span, more than doubling the figures recorded in the previous few weeks. Reportedly in a "community spreading" phase, Finland reported 38,700 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days, compared to 19,600 new cases in the previous week. Despite vaccination campaigns and anti-pandemic measures including closures and lockdowns, the peak of new infections has yet to come in some European countries, experts say. "The peak of the pandemic has not been seen in Finland as of yet," said Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki, senior expert at the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Dutch experts think that the peak will arrive at the end of January. "But it is not clear how high that peak will be," said Dutch epidemiologist Susan van den Hof. People walk past the Trocadero place near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Dec. 29, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) OMICRON, HOLIDAY GATHERINGS BLAMED Official data showed that the surge of new COVID-19 infections was largely fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and the situation was worsened by gatherings during the holiday season. EODY President Theoklis Zaoutis told reporters that more than 70 percent of new cases in Greece's five big regions are infections with the highly contagious Omicron variant. The Spanish Ministry of Health said the Omicron variant is now responsible for 43 percent of all COVID-19 cases in Spain. In Hungary, the Omicron virus variant is also spreading fast. The Hungarian government said on its official website on Wednesday that the variant is responsible for more than 11 percent of new infections. Croatian Minister of Health Vili Beros said Omicron is the reason for the increased number of infections while other factors include the gatherings for New Year's Eve, as well as non-compliance with measures. Polish Minister of Health Adam described the increase in the country as a temporary situation caused by the holiday season and the increasing number of tests performed. Hungarian healthcare expert Zsombor Kunetz told Xinhua that the government should do more to counter the Omicron variant. "As I have been saying before, what the government should do to stop the pandemic are the following: mandatory vaccination, mandatory use of FFP2 mask in crowded places indoors, and 2G rules except for workplaces, public transportation, and grocery stores. Only vaccinated individuals should be allowed to any other locations," said Kunetz. A man wearing a face mask walks past a poster at the Champs Elysees Avenue in Paris, France, Dec. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) VACCINATION In order to counter the spread of the Omicron variant, officials and experts have once again made appeals for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. French Health Minister Olivier Veran stressed the importance of vaccination, saying it helps prevent severe symptoms whereas an unvaccinated person, when infected, will likely need to be hospitalized. To fight the pandemic, Hungarian authorities have decided to start another special vaccination program in January, following a successful one started in November, in which people can get the jab without prior registration or appointment. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach stressed that although the risk of illness caused by infection with the Omicron variant has been "significantly less dangerous," this is not a reason to "lift the alarm," especially for those who have not been vaccinated. Croatian Minister of Health Vili Beros also said it is extremely important that citizens are vaccinated, especially with the third dose. Omicron is highly contagious, but its impacts on those vaccinated will be much milder, said Beros, adding that it is especially necessary to vaccinate citizens over 65 years of age. Alemka Markotic, director of the Croatian Clinic for Infectious Diseases, said that double or even triple infections are not uncommon, and more severe clinical scenarios can be expected in such cases. That is why citizens should be vaccinated against the flu, and continue to be vaccinated against the COVID-19, said Markotic. A medical worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at a new COVID-19 vaccination center in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations calls for restraint after the Houthi militia in Yemen seized a United Arab Emirates (UAE) ship, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday. While the circumstances are unclear, the world organization follows with concern reports of the seizure, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "We reaffirm the need to respect the rights and obligations relating to maritime navigation in accordance with international law," he told a regular briefing. "We urge all concerned parties and countries in the region to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from taking any escalatory action." The spokesman said the United Nations reiterates its call "for the Yemeni parties to engage with the special envoy of the secretary-general (Hans Grundberg of Sweden) and his mediation efforts with the aim to advance the political process to reach a comprehensive, negotiated settlement to end the conflict in the country." The Houthi militia said they seized a UAE military ship in the Red Sea off Yemen. "The UAE ship carries military equipment and entered the Yemeni regional waters without permission," Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a brief statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah television on Monday. However, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi militia in Yemen said in a statement reported by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the UAE-flagged vessel was attacked and seized by the Houthi militia. It said the vessel carried medical equipment. Enditem Photo taken on Nov. 12, 2021 shows harvested pine nuts in Mehtarlam, capital of Laghman province, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) The pine-nut trade with China had created jobs for thousands of people in the war-torn Afghanistan. KABUL, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- "I earn up to 1,000 afghani a day, depending on my work," said Samsoor, 28, who works for Zmarai Gayanwal Ltd., a pine nut processing and export company in Kabul. "I love my job and so we really need to export more to China. It's the only way to increase our income and keep the plant operating," said Samsoor. Established in 2015, Zmarai Gayanwal Ltd. now has over 100 people working for the company, said company president Sher Ali Zadran. "Between 100 to 150 people work here directly in the factory and thousands more work indirectly," Zadran told Xinhua. "The factory pays 300 afghani a day for each worker, besides providing lunch and transportation." People work at Zmarai Gayanwal Ltd., a pine nut processing and export company in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Dec. 27, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua ) The company exported 650 tons of nuts to China last year and is planning to hit 950 tons in 2022, with between 28,000 and 38,000 U.S. dollars per ton. While Zadran is happy enough with his income and the progress of his plant, he hopes that more Chinese investors will see the profits to be made and use their money to create more jobs. Khalil Rashid, managing director of a pine nuts processing and export company, highlighted that the pine-nut trade with China had created jobs for thousands of people in his country, which had been at war for decades. "Besides people working in the factory, their families also process nuts at home and bring them back to factory after they finish," Rashid said. Afghan women work at Zmarai Gayanwal Ltd., a pine nut processing and export company in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Dec. 27, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Pine cones are harvested 10 days before they open. The cones are dried in the sun for 20 days and then smashed to release the nuts which are sorted by hand. It takes time and persistence to extract the nuts from the cones, justifying the high price. Afghanistan historically exported 10,000 tons of pine nuts to China each year, with others heading to countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. Exports had been disrupted last year, but to China at least, trade more or less resumed at the end of October with the first air shipment of 45 tons. Thousands of Afghans are now working with more than a dozen nut processing factories. "We are very happy to provide more jobs for people and to make more money, not for us also for our workers," said Rashid. "More exports will bring more jobs." People work at Zmarai Gayanwal Ltd., a pine nut processing and export company in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Dec. 27, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) According to aid agencies, more than 22 million Afghans will face severe food shortages in Afghanistan this winter. Without overseas assistance, a humanitarian catastrophe threatens. "More than 10,000 people work in the pine-nut industry whether on plantations, transportation or processing," said Shafiqullah Atayee of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment. "Creating jobs could be the most effective way to help Afghans out of poverty. China is the main destination for our pine nuts. The country has a huge market for Afghan products and seems keen to import as much as we can offer them in terms of dried and fresh fruit, carpets and handicrafts," Atayee said. Afghan private airline Kam Air has run more than 30 cargo flights taking pine nuts to China since November. "Cargo flights will continue in 2022. Kam Air and exporters are determined to increase Afghanistan's exports," said the airline's Mohammad Nadeam Naqshbandi. (1 Afghani equals 0.0095 U.S. dollar) DUBLIN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Travelers into Ireland will no longer need a COVID-19 test if they are fully vaccinated against or have recovered from COVID-19, said the Irish government on Wednesday. The decision will take effect from Thursday. Those outside the new regulation requirements must provide a negative result of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before arrival in Ireland, according to a government statement. From Thursday, fully vaccinated or recovered travelers into Ireland are only required to present evidence of a valid Digital COVID Certificate or other acceptable proof showing vaccination or recovery status, said the statement. Prior to this, travelers into Ireland had to provide valid proof of a negative antigen test result taken within 48 hours or a PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant. The government has dropped the requirement for vaccinated or recovered people because Omicron has become a dominant variant in Ireland and the old measure has a limited impact on the spread of Omicron, explained Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in an interview with local media. The Irish Department of Health on Wednesday reported an additional 17,656 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing to 884,855 the total number of such cases in the country, which means that nearly 18 percent of Ireland's entire population has been infected with the disease. To date, there have been a total of 5,952 deaths related to COVID-19 in Ireland, including 40 deaths reported in the past week, said the department in a statement. Enditem Photo taken on March 19, 2017 shows an Iraqi security forces soldier holding a rocket in the battle against extremist Islamic State (IS) militants in the Old District of Western Mosul. (Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis) BAGHDAD, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Six Katyusha rockets hit on Wednesday a military airbase, housing some U.S. experts and agencies, in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the U.S. military said. The attack took place in the evening, when the rockets landed in Ayn al-Asad Airbase without knowing the casualties, an Iraqi army source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The rockets were fired from a village located some 15 km east of the airbase, the source said, adding that no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Iraqi protesters take part in a demonstration against the presence of U.S. troops in the country, in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, Jan. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) Earlier in the day, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called the attacks on Iraqi military bases "absurd," stressing the end of the combat mission of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq after their withdrawal from the country. "Unfortunately, there are some absurd actions within the first days of the new year, as several attacks targeted Iraqi bases, and this will certainly disturb the country's security and stability," said a statement by al-Kadhimi's media office. "We reiterate that the combat mission of the international coalition forces in Iraq has ended, and the Iraqi forces have received all the military bases," it said, adding that there are currently a number of foreign military advisers working alongside the security forces. The latest attack came as part of a series of drone and rocket attacks during the past three days that targeted Iraqi army bases, housing U.S. advisers and agencies, in Ayn al-Asad Airbase and an army base known as Camp Victory near Baghdad International Airport. The attacks came on the second anniversary of a deadly attack by a U.S. drone on a convoy near Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, former deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. On Dec. 29, 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed the end of the U.S.-led coalition forces' combat mission in Iraq after the withdrawal of the forces from his country. BAGHDAD, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health on Thursday reported the first cases of Omicron variant discovered in the country. The ministry announced in a statement that it discovered five cases of Omicron variant in Duhok province for passengers who had arrived earlier from outside Iraq, in addition to a number of cases for foreign diplomats in Baghdad. The Omicron cases were confirmed by genetic tracking tests conducted by the Central Public Health Laboratory in Baghdad, according to the ministry. In the meantime, the ministry recorded 665 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 2,095,848 across the country. A separate statement by the ministry also reported three deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 24,194, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 344 to 2,066,713. A total of 63,028 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses administered to 8,628,155, it said. KAMPALA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has allowed middle-aged savers who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic to access their social security savings. "A member who is 45 years of age and above and who has made contributions to the fund for at least 10 years, is eligible to midterm access to his or her benefits, of a sum not exceeding 20 percent of his or her accrued benefits," Betty Amongi, minister of Gender, Labor and Social Development told reporters here on Wednesday. Persons with disabilities, who are 40 years old and have paid for their social security for at least 10 years, are also eligible to access up to 50 percent of their savings, she said. The parliament introduced the National Social Security Fund Amendment Bill in 2020 to help workers access their savings to pay their hospital bills for COVID-19 treatment. President Yoweri Museveni signed it on Sunday. At least 113,000 people are eligible for access, according to the fund, with assets valued at 15.6 trillion shilling (about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem VIENTIANE, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Construction of a new international airport in northern Laos' Bokeo province is nearing completion and the airport is scheduled to be opened for use by March 2022. Lao National Radio on Wednesday quoting Deputy Governor of Bokeo province Khamphaya Phompanya reported that the new international airport has great potential for attracting more domestic and international tourists to Bokeo province, some 350 km northwest of the Lao capital Vientiane. "Construction of Bokeo International Airport has been underway for two years and is nearly completed. Aircraft have tested take-offs and landings at the airport site, as well as communication systems and airport facilities," said Khamphaya. Bokeo International Airport is located in Simuang Ngan village, Ton Phueng district, about 5 km from the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. Local airlines, Lao Airlines and Lao Skyway both flew their aircraft to the new airport to test facilities. The airport will feature a 2,500-meter runway that can accommodate planes such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 which will be able to take off and land in accordance with international standards. New Delhi: A 10-member delegation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will meet party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday in Srinagar. "A 10-member delegation of PDP will meet party chief Mehbooba Mufti tomorrow in Srinagar," tweeted ANI. The delegation has been granted permission by the Jammu and Kashmir government on a day when 15-member National Conference (NC) delegation met party president Farooq Abdullah and former chief minister Omar Abdullah for the first time since they were put in detention two months ago. "We are happy that they are both well and in high spirits, of course they are pained by the developments in the state. If the political process has to start then mainstream leaders have to be released," Jammu provincial president Devender Singh Rana said after the meeting. The development comes just days after Advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Farooq Khan said that detained leaders will be released one by one in a phased manner. Abdullahs and Mufti are amongst leaders who have been detained in Kashmir ever since Narendra Modi-government decided to scrap provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Parliament of India has also approved the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. Over 250 petitions have been filed against the preventive detention orders against prominent political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. Petitions have also been filed in the Supreme Court against the detentions. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav also said leaders who are currently under house arrest in Jammu and Kashmir will be released soon and they can resume their "normal" political activity. Speaking at 'Jana Jagaran Sabha' on abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP general secretary said once Governors rule is lifted and legislature takes over, constitutional entities such as Commissions for SC, Women and Minorities will be set up in the region. Describing Article 370 as cancer for the past 70 years he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed it in just 70 hours. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Stavanger: Controversy stalks the Nobel prizes for peace and literature in a way it rarely does for science. The revamped panel at the Swedish Academy who will hand out the Nobel literature prizes Thursday for both 2018 and 2019 would relish arguments about the winners, rather than intrigue about the #MeToo scandal that forced the institution to suspend the prize last year. And US President Donald Trump has done his part to kindle intrigue about the 2019 Peace Prize winner, by simultaneously seeming to pitch himself for the prize while also slamming the Norwegian panel that awards it. "Controversy is a natural effect of the literature prize," says Mats Malm, the Swedish Academys new permanent secretary, appointed to head a reformed 18-person panel after two years of convulsions at the prestigious institution. "We want to contribute to the international discussion about literature and what it is supposed to be." The literary science professor is leading an overhaul of the body, which was ripped apart in late 2017 and 2018 by sex assaults involving Jean-Claude Arnault , the French husband of a former academy member and a once-notable figure on Swedens cultural scene. Arnault was convicted last year of two rapes in 2011 but not before accusations of abuse had led to a mass exodus of academy committee members, the ouster of then-Permanent Secretary Sara Danius, and the absence of a Nobel Literature prize for the first time since 1943 at the height of World War II. With a threat hanging from the Nobel Foundation the body behind the Nobel Prizes that the Swedish Academy could be stripped of its right to award the prize, the academy brought in five external members to help adjudicate the two literature awards this year. At the same time, it ousted everyone involved in the scandal and it no longer includes any members who are subject to conflicts of interest or criminal investigations, according to the foundation. Also Read | Will Do Everything Required By Law, Says Pompeo On Trump Impeachment Across the border, the five-person Norwegian Nobel Institute that oversees the Peace Prize usually claims not to enjoy the controversy that accompanies its choices. But Geir Lundestad, the non-voting secretary of the committee from 1990 to 2014, says some members have traditionally thrived on the controversies that the high-profile prize inevitably brings. I am not sure the differences between the two committees are so big. The Literature and Peace prizes are more accessible to ordinary people than the prizes for medicine, physics and chemistry, he says. Some of the members enjoy the controversy that brings. It varies tremendously between members. But many recognize that some sort of controversy goes with the territory. The Nobel committees never announce the names of candidates and nominations are not revealed for 50 years. Lundestad was in charge when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to former U.S. President Barak Obama within months of his inauguration in 2009, a prize that has attracted the ire of Trump, his successor. Obama was there for about 15 seconds before he was awarded the prize, Trump told a press conference in February. Trump has been nominated for the peace prize by US congressmen for opening a dialogue with North Korea. Ill probably never get it, but thats OK, Trump said. They gave it to Obama. He didnt even know what he got it for. Second-guessing the thinking of the secretive panel is rarely fruitful, but the committee is not immune from the charms of US presidents. As well as Obama, Woodrow Wilson took the prize in 1920 and Jimmy Carter won it in 2002. However, a better signal for this years award might be former US Vice President Al Gore, who won the peace prize alongside the International Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Gore at the time was the face of the climate movement, a mantle now sitting on the slender shoulders of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden. The teenage activist bolstered her profile last month, stepping onto the global stage at the UN to berate world leaders. How dare you? she kept saying to some of the worlds most powerful people, accusing them of ignoring the science behind climate change. You are failing us. Last month, Thunberg won the Right Livelihood award, often called the alternative Nobel. British bookmakers have Thunberg as the hot peace prize favorite this year, with Trump listed as a rank outsider behind several other world leaders, including two prime ministers, Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and Jacinda Adern of New Zealand, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The panel could also choose to acknowledge the joint leadership of Greeces Alexis Tsipras and North Macedonias Zoran Zaev. The two prime ministers put 30 years of acrimony between their neighbouring countries behind them when they agreed that the former Yugoslav republic should officially be renamed from Macedonia to North Macedonia and Greece should drop its objections to its neighbor joining NATO. On the literature side, the British website Nicer Odds has solved the dilemma of having two winners announced this year by only taking bets on the 2019 winner. Among the favorites are Canadian poet Anne Carson, novelists Maryse Conde of Guadeloupe and Can Xue of China and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaids Tale, which has been made into a hit TV series. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh on Sunday said 200 to 300 militants are active in the state and Pakistan has intensified cross-border firing to push in as many of them as possible before the onset of winter. He also said a large number of militants had managed to sneak into the state from across the border recently even as the counter-infiltration grid scuttled various attempts by eliminating infiltrators. The number of active militants (in Jammu and Kashmir) is between 200 to 300... the figure usually does not remain static and goes up and down, Singh told reporters during a visit to the border district of Poonch to review the security situation. The director general of police (DGP) said Pakistan has intensified ceasefire violations to push in as many militants as possible. A large number of ceasefire violations are taking place in both Kashmir and Jammu regions. It is going on in Kanachak, R S Pura and Hira Nagar (along the International Border) and quite frequently along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Nambla, Karnah and Keran, Singh said. These ceasefire violations are aimed at pushing (in) as many militants as possible (before the onset of winter). Our anti-infiltration grid is very strong and many infiltration attempts have been successfully foiled in the recent times, he said. Also Read | Pakistan Not Doing Enough To Counter Terror Financing, Says FATF Arm Ahead Of Final Review However, the DGP said, there are reports which suggest that a large number of militants have managed to infiltrate into the state. After their crossing onto this side, we had some encounters and some militants were also eliminated. While two Pakistani militants were arrested in Gulmarg sector, two militants were killed in a four-day-long operation in Ganderbal on September 29, he said. Singh said some of these militants have been sighted at certain places and we have intensified our operations against them. Speaking about the situation in the state post abrogation of its special status under Article 370 two months ago, Singh said it is peaceful in Jammu, Leh and Kargil and things are improving in Kashmir. We are hopeful that the situation will improve further there (Kashmir) in the coming days, he said. Today, the movement of traffic was heavy in Srinagar and there were also traffic jams at some places. The markets have started opening and so have the businesses, he added. Normal life in the valley has remained largely crippled since August 5, when the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmirs special status and announced the decision to bifurcate the state into two Union territories. The DGP visited Kulali, Marah, Hill Kaka and Mandi areas in Poonch. Senior Army and police officers briefed him about the prevailing security situation in these areas. Singh exhorted all ranks to remain vigilant to the emerging security challenges, a police spokesperson said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Monday directed all state level bankers' committees to find out one district each on a pilot basis to expand digital payments ecosystem. With a view to expanding and deepening the digital payments ecosystem, it has been decided that all state/UT Level Bankers Committees (SLBCs/ UTLBCs) will identify one district in their respective states/ UTs on a pilot basis in consultation with banks and stakeholders, the RBI said in a notification. The State Level Bankers' Committee has been constituted in April 1977, as an apex inter-institutional forum to create adequate coordination machinery in all states, on a uniform basis for development of the state. The development comes after the RBI's policy announcement last week. "The identified district shall be allotted to a bank having significant footprint which will endeavour to make the district 100 per cent digitally enabled within one year, in order to enable every individual in the district to make/ receive payments digitally in a safe, secure, quick, affordable and convenient manner," the RBI said. This will include providing the necessary infrastructure and literacy to handle such transactions, it said. The central bank said the SLBCs/UTLBCs should endeavour to ensure that to the extent possible, districts identified are converged with the 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' programme of the government. "The allotment of the identified district to a bank should be done, as far as possible, through mutual consultation and voluntary acceptance by the bank. "Further, SLBC/ UTLBC convenor banks are advised to monitor the progress made in this regard on a quarterly basis and report the same to concerned regional offices/ sub-offices of the Reserve Bank," it said further. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the Dussehra celebrations on Tuesday at Dwarka area in the national capital. Modi will attend the event organised by Dwarka Sri Ram Leela Society at DDA Ground in Dwarka Sector 10, Rajesh Gehlot, ex MLA and chairman of the society, said. Gehlot said the PM is scheduled to reach the venue at 5.30 PM on Tuesday. There was, however, no official confirmation from the prime minister's office on this. Usually high dignitaries join the Dussehra celebrations at Ramlila Maidan here. In 2016, the prime minister had attended the Dussehra function in Lucknow during his first stint in office. New Delhi: Former Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Monday claimed that it's the grand old party that coined name 'Pappu' for Rahul Gandhi. In an interview to India TV, the former MP made a huge allegation against top leadership of the party saying that it them who coined the term 'Pappu' for Gandhi and not the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He also slammed Congress veterans for not supporting Gandhi. Earlier, Nirupam had alleged that those close to Rahul were being ignored in the party, as he expressed unhappiness over his voice not being heard in ticket distribution. Nirupam, who is not happy with the ticket distribution for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, has already announced that he would not take part in the party's campaign after the name he had recommended was rejected. The former MP also said the way the party's leadership was behaving with him the time to say good bye to the party was "not far away". "It seems Congress Party doesn't want my services anymore. I had recommended just one name in Mumbai for Assembly election. Heard that even that has been rejected. As I had told the leadership earlier, in that case I will not participate in poll campaign. It's my final decision," Nirupam said on Twitter without naming any of the city leaders. Nirupam was replaced as the city Congress chief ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in March this year following complaints by a section of party leaders that he functioned in "unilateral" manner. Former Union minister Milind Deora had replaced Nirupam. However, Deora had resigned from the post last month following the party's debacle in the general elections. The party could not win even a single seat out of the six in Mumbai. Former MP Eknath Gaikwad is the acting president of the city unit at present. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Geneva: The United States fell to second place behind Singapore in the World Economic Forum's flagship Global Competitiveness Report, with the slippage linked in part to President Donald Trump's trade wars. The Forum, organisers of the glitzy annual gathering of business and political elite in Davos, have released an annual competitiveness report since 1979 that assesses which economies are well placed to see productivity and long-term growth. While the report noted that the US "remains an innovation powerhouse" and the world's second most competitive economy, some trouble signs have emerged, the Forum said. "There are no two ways (about) it. It is important to ensure the countries are being open to trade," said Saadia Zahidi, a Forum managing director, when asked to comment on the impact of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. She noted the lack of "hard data" on the impact of US tariffs imposed on several of its main economic partners, as the set of products impacted remains limited compared to overall trade. But, she said, "the sentiment" surrounding investing in the US "has been going down," she told reporters in Geneva."That will end up impacting long-term investment; that will end up impacting how decision makers are thinking; that will end up impacting the view of non-American business leaders (of) the United States. So it does matter in the long-term," she added. The Forum's competitiveness report relies in part of executive surveys, in addition to hard economic data.Zahidi said that the US had also fallen in the rankings because healthy life expectancy in the country was now lower than in China. In data published last year, the World Health Organization said that a newborn in China could expect 68.7 years of healthy living, compared to 68.5 for American newborns. The report measures competitiveness on a scale of zero to 100 based on factors that include infrastructure, health, the labour market, the financial system, quality of public institutions and economic openness. Singapore scored 84.8 out of 100, but the Forum noted that the country had benefited from trade diversion through its ports triggered by the tariff battles between the world's top economies. At 83.7 the US slipped from a score of 85.6 in 2018. Hong Kong rose four spots to claim third place with a score of 83.1, but the Forum said the data used in the report was collected before waves of pro-democracy protests began shaking the financial hub. The Netherlands finished fourth -- up two slots from last year -- while Switzerland came in fifth place. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: Bhumi Pednekar believes her journey in movies has been "different" right from the outset, as usual and ordinary characters do not excite her. The 30-year-old actor made debut with Dum Laga Ke Haisha, which featured her as an overweight newly-married woman, and went on to play a progressive parts in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Shubh Mangal Savdhan. Her last big screen outing was as a feisty woman in "Sonchiriya" and her upcoming film "Saand Ki Aankh" will feature her as one of world's oldest sharpshooters Chandro Tomar. "It takes a lot to be secure. It is not easy when you see yourself as a 70 year old. It is an actor's dream to do a film like 'Saand Ki Aankh'. It has comedy but it is not easy to do. In 'Bala' I am playing a deep coloured girl, my character is commenting on the societal bias that is still very prevalent in India on colour," Bhumi told PTI in an interview here. "I feel as an actor, the kind of satisfaction I get by not being Bhumi on-screen is something else. I can proudly say this that both are very different, they are not the same people. I love the fact that I can challenge myself and through my work. I can change the way people think. I am not doing ordinary things," she added. The actor said a lot of people warned her against taking up unconventional characters. "There are people who questioned my choices as an actor. A lot of people told me why I am doing 'Saand Ki Aankh', why I am playing a 70 year old and why I am doing earthy or rural films. I don't see films as earthy or rural or how my look is in the film. I look at the story. People are seeing the story, my character and not Bhumi, on the big screen." All of Bhumi's films have done commercially well except Sonchiriya and she said one can't predict the fate of a film. "You can't predict what the audience likes. Every film that I do is because I feel for it. My instinct tells me I need to be part of this woman's journey, I need to tell this story. "'Sonchiriya' did not do well commercially but the amount of love the film got was tremendous so it did not feel like a failure to me. It was very heartbreaking that it was not making the numbers. It is not a film that will attract eyeballs easily." She believes one should accept failure and move on in their career. "You have to be in check with your reality. I need to know that I have gone through this experience, you can't pretend it (failure) has not happened. Because I feel somewhere it is going to corrupt me as a person, it is going to corrupt my craft. The only thing I feel an actor needs to be is to be pure. Any creative person needs to have purity in their work." Bhumi added the experience with "Sonchiriya" taught her to stay disconnected from both success and failure. "I have learnt this after 'Sonchiriya' that if you have put your heart and soul into it, you need to disconnect with the success and failure of the film because that is the only way you can survive. If I take the pressure that all my films have done well and if any of my films don't, then I won't be able to survive." The 30-year-old actor credits the writers of her films for creating powerful roles for the female protagonist. "I have become an actor at a time when writers got the power back. I am a product of my directors and writers. I am dependent on them. I am as good as the script I have. "However, it is a collaborative effort. These are women who are around us. Every woman I have played is a girl-next-door. There is a lot of realism in her that is backed by great writing. I think that is what has connected with the audience." Bhumi also has films like Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Bala and Pati, Patni Aur Woh releasing this year. Year 2020 will see her cast in Karan Johar's magnum opus Takht and Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship with Vicky Kaushal. "I don't have any planned ideas about my career... about the number of films releasing every year. I want to keep doing good work. I am a workaholic," she said. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Turkish presidency on Sunday announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US counterpart Donald Trump agreed during a phone call to hold talks next month in Washington to discuss creating a safe zone in northern Syria. The presidency added that the visit would take place after an invitation from Trump. Erdogan, who had earlier raised the temperature by warning that Ankara could launch a cross-border offensive, told Trump of his frustration over the US military and security bureaucracys failure to implement the deal agreed in August to establish a buffer zone on the Turkish border. Turkish state media also reported on military reinforcements sent to the border with Syria after Erdogans comments. A Trump-Erdogan meeting on Syria last month was expected on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, but it did not take place. Moreover, the United States has sought to stop Turkish operations against a US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia which Turkey views as a terrorist group. After the US-Turkey talks ended with the August agreement, Turkish and American forces held joint ground and air patrols in northern Syria. However, Turkey accused the US of stalling over the establishment of the safe zone. Erdogan told Trump during the phone call that safe zone would create the necessary conditions for Syrian refugees to return to Syria. With some Western capitals concerned over any unilateral Turkish operations impact on the fight against IS jihadists, Erdogan insisted Turkey would take the necessary precautions to ensure there was no extremist resurgence in the region. Turkey twice launched military operations against IS in 2016 and the YPG in 2018, supporting Syrian rebels to take territory in northern Syria. (With inputs from PTI) For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Nineteen people, including nine women, were arrested in connection with an alleged prostitution racket from three spas. The woman kingpin of the racket was also arrested during the raid. All three centres were using WhatsApp for soliciting customers by sending photographs of the women, Assistant Superintendent of Police Keshav Kumar said. The sub-divisional magistrate of the city was also present during raid. "Nine females and 10 males were found in compromising position. They have been arrested under human trafficking prevention Act," he said, adding the police recovered 24 mobile phones, Rs. 16,000 and contraceptives. In Mumbai, last month the crime branch had busted a sex racket being operated from a spa centre in suburban Vile Parle and rescued six Thai women after conducting a raid. Sleuths of unit-9 of crime branch had seized Rs 1.23 lakh, a laptop, a swipe machine, three voucher books and some documents from 'The Thai Villa', located at Rishi Building on Dixit Road. The rescued women were found to be in possession of tourist and business visas, he said. A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). New Delhi: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said that despite being part of government without any powers, he never conspired to topple the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra but cautioned that unnecessarily accelerating speed can cause accident. In the second part of his interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Uddhav Thackeray said that in an alliance both parties need to tread warily else it could lead to an accident. He was apparently referring to the breaking of BJP-Shiv Sena alliance ahead of the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections. "We need to control our mind. If you accelerate speed unnecessarily, we can meet with an accident. This has happened earlier," the Shiv Sena president said. The latest words of caution for the BJP from Thackeray have come a day after he revealed that Shiv Sena compromised on seat-sharing pact. On Monday, in the first part of his interview, he had said that he showed maturity while dealing with the BJP on seat sharing. Also Read | BJP-Sena Seal 162-126 Seat-Sharing Agreement For Maharashtra Polls: Sources The Shiv Sena was reportedly demanding 135 seats but since the BJP was calling the shots, it had to settle with only 124. The Sena chief had also claimed that his party was capable of stopping the so called Modi wave and had already done that in 2014. "There is no point in discussing the reasons behind the BJP and Sena contesting (the 2014 polls) separately. It was a war. There was a 'wave' at the national level, but we put a check on it in Maharashtra," he said. When Fadanvis had announced the seat sharing pact with Sena in a joint press conference with Uddhav Thackeray, he had admitted having issues between the two parties but claimed they had been sorted out. However, the current statements of Thackeray indicates that they might have not been resolved yet. This was also a hint to the BJP that he will not be the same alliance partner this time and if they win, his will want respectable share in power too. New Delhi: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday reiterated his party's demand for a parliamentary legislation to facilitate the construction of the Ram temple at a Dussehra function in Mumbai. "The case for building a Ram temple at Ayodhya has gone on for years, and our party sticks to its demand for a special law to facilitate it. In the same way that Ram left his home to keep a promise, we cannot break our promise to build a temple for him," he said days before Maharashtra goes to the assembly elections on October 21. He, however, said for his party the Ram temple issue is above politics and not related to the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra. Thackeray also justified his decision to ally with the BJP for the assembly polls, an arrangement under which the Shiv Sena had to settle as a junior partner. Addressing the Sena's annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, Thackeray said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised nobody should speak about Ram Mandir since the matter is being heard in the Supreme Court. "But, the case is pending for the last 35 years. Courts are closed on the day when Ram killed Ravan. The day Ram returned to Ayodhya too, that day also courts are closed. But, the issue is whether Ram was born in Ayodhya. "It is said this month, the court verdict will be out. Otherwise, we stand by our demand that a special law should be enacted to construct Ram Mandir in Ayodhya...'Praan jaaye par vachan na jaaye' has been Shiv Sena's philosophy" he said. The Shiv Sena is not demanding temple for politics. "We are committed to it. When we got our bow and arrow symbol, there was no issue of Ram temple," he said. Justifying the alliance with the BJP, he said scrapping of Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was a demand the Shiv Sena had been making for several years. "If not the BJP, then should I have gone with the Congress who opposed nullification of Article 370 and sedition laws," he asked in his 35-minute speech. "Now, the next agenda should be to bring Uniform Civil Code," the Sena chief said. "Alliance with the BJP has been forged for the welfare of the state. We have had to do some compromises. I apologise to Shiv Sainiks whose seats have gone to alliance partners," he said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived at DDA Ground in Delhis Dwarka Sector 10 to attend the Dussehra celebrations. Usually, PM Modi attends the Dussehra festival at Ramlila Maidan or Lal Qila ground but this is the first time he is attending the festival in Dawarka. But this is not the first time, Modi has skipped the Ramlila Maidan Dussehra festivties. In 2016, the prime minister had attended the Dussehra function in Lucknow during his first stint in office. Live Updates: #6:40 pm: Watch: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shoots from a bow at Dussehra celebrations in Dwarka, Delhi. #WATCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi shoots from a bow at #Dussehra celebrations in Dwarka,Delhi. pic.twitter.com/xjLPnAeacT ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2019 #06:14 pm: PM Modi: On this Vijaya Dashami, at a time when we mark 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, I have a request for my fellow citizens. Let us take up a mission this year and work to achieve it. This mission can be, not wasting food, conserving energy, saving water #06:10 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ram Leela grounds in Dwarka (Delhi): In our country, festivals form part of our values, education and social life. Festivals unite us and mould us. They generate energy, enthusiasm and new dreams. #05:45 pm: Along with PM Modi, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari is also present at the DDA ground in Dwarka. Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a #Dussehra function at Ram Leela grounds in Dwarka https://t.co/TG9hQSt4pN pic.twitter.com/MhMf1Fd6nx ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2019 #05:35 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a Dussehra function at Ram Leela grounds in Dwarka sector-10 Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a #Dussehra function at Ram Leela grounds in Dwarka sector-10 pic.twitter.com/ximdWH6OiF ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2019 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Board of Secondary Education, Odisha (BSE Odisha) has released the answer keys for the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET). Candidates can download the answer key from the official website i.e. bseodisha.nic.in. The exam was conducted on August 5, 18 and September 22. The OTET 2019 answer key has been released for the Paper 1 and Paper examination. This is the preliminary answer key and candidates can raise objections, if any, till October 10. A panel will analyse objections and release a final answer key. The result will be based on the final answer key. Candidates will have to pay a fee of Rs 500 per objection. Steps to download OTET Answer Key 2019: The step-by-step process to Download OTET Answer Key 2019 is listed below: Step 1: Visit official website i.e. bseodisha.nic.in Step 2: Scroll Down to the Latest news Section Step 3: Find and Click on OTET-2019(Prov. Scoring Key & Challenge) Step 4: You will be redirect to the login page of OTET Step 5: Input your Login Credentials to log into the portal Step 6: Find Link to Download OTET Answer Key 2019 PDF file As per reports, 1.75 lakh candidates have registered for the exam. Those who clear the exam will be eligible to apply for jobs as teachers in class 1 to 8 in state-based schools. New Delhi : Rukamani Devi Nishad, sister of 'Bandit Queen' Phoolan Devi on Sunday joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in presence of former chief minister and party president Akhilesh Yadav. Nishad quit the Pragatisheel Manav Party (PMP), a hyperlocal political outfit in Uttar Pradesh, to join hands with Akhilesh Yadav. Her dacoit-turned-politician sister Phoolan Devi was also a parliamentarian from the Samajwadi Party before being assassinated in 2001. "I am leaving behind my Pragatisheel Manav Party and it feels like coming home," she said after joining the SP. The sister of the Bandit Queen called Akhilesh his younger brother and vowed to make him the chief minister again. Besides Rukamani Devi, former MP Ramakant Yadav, known for frequently switching his loyalty, also returned to the Samajwadi Party. Yadav who was an SP member had joined the BSP in 2004 before switching over to the BJP in 2008. Ahead of the 2019 elections, he had joined the Congress party but got expelled on Thursday due to anti-party activities. Also Read | Shivpal Yadav To Re-Join Samajwadi Party? Here Is What Akhilesh Yadav Said "I am overwhelmed and overjoyed at this homecoming. I will be Akhilesh Yadavs soldier now," Yadav said after returning to the Samajwadi Party. Reacting to the large influx of leaders from other political parties in into the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav said that it (other leaders joining the SP) makes apparent that the BJP will be ousted from the power in 2022. "The way leaders from other parties are joining the SP and increasing the SP family, it is quite apparent that SP will be able to oust BJP from UP in 2022 UP assembly polls," the former UP CM added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan was on Monday admitted to Escorts Hospital after he complained to breathing problem. A team of doctors is monitoring the condition of the minister for food, public distribution and consumer affairs. Paswan recently approved a proposal to make BIS hallmarking mandatory for gold jewellery, but it can be implemented only after informing the World Trade Organisation (WTO). As per global trade rules of WTO, a member country has to notify a quality control order with the Geneva-based multilateral body and the process takes about two months time. Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and is voluntary in nature at present. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, is the administrative authority for hallmarking. It has set standards for hallmarking gold jewellery in three grades -- 14 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat. "I am happy to share the Commerce Department has cleared the proposal on October 1. There is a technical issue related to the WTO (before its implementation)," Paswan told reporters. Explaining the issue, Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash K Srivastava said member countries of WTO have to be given two months time to respond to the quality control order notified to the WTO. Exporting nations have to comply with the BIS quality norms specified for gold in the quality control order. India is a part of the 164-member WTO since 1995. Currently, there are about 800 hallmarking centres across the country and only 40 per cent of the jewellery is hallmarked. India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of jewellery industry. In volume terms, the country imports 700-800 tonne of gold annually. With PTI Inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A tweet put out by Mehbooba Muftis daughter, who had been handling her Twitter account ever since her detention, has irked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reacting to the Supreme Courts order on felling of Mumbais Aarey trees, Iltija wondered if Kashmiri lives were less important than Aarey trees. "Aarey trees > Kashmiri lives," Muftis daughter wrote on Twitter. "Glad that activists were able to stop felling of trees at Aarey. One wonders why Kashmiris have been deprived of the very same right to free speech & expression. GOI claims they are now at par with other Indians but truth is theyve been stripped of even fundamental rights," She wrote. Mehboob Mufti has been under detention since August 5 when the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at Centre announced to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and bifurcate it into two parts. Since then, the Kashmir has been under curfew like restrictions. Also Read | No More Cutting Of Trees In Aarey Colony, Construction Activities Will Continue: Mumbai Metro The tweets of Muft daughter didnt go down well with the BJP. Nalin Kohli, a ruling party leader termed her remarks unfortunate and said that when they dont get decisions in their favour, they drag the top court for scoring political points. "While she is entitled to have a point of view, she has made a rather unfortunate comparison to say that the Supreme Court is not concerned with issues, and that too with Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court has heard matters, in fact, ironically, her own daughter went to the Supreme Court and was allowed to meet with her family members and to meet with her mother," Kohli said. "This appears to be the mindset of such people, who will speak for the Supreme Court as if it's the best institution when they get judgements or orders in their favour, but when they want to do politics, they will even drag the top court and make it a target," he added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: As part of the 7th Pay Commission, the central government has announced a Diwali bonus for Group B and Group C non-gazetted employees. The bonus has been announced under the Non-Product Linked Bonus (NLPB). The order in this regard was announced by the Central government on October 4 as an ad-hoc bonus. The benefits will be given to those employees who are not eligible for the NLPB. According to reports, the bonus that has been announced this year is of 30.04 days salary and this means it would come up to Rs 6,900. Those who will be eligible for this bonus should have been in service till March 31 2019 and during the years 2018-19 completed six months of service are eligible for this ad-hoc bonus. The Indian Railways has already announced a 78 days bonus for non-gazetted employees of Group B, Group C and Group D. Around 12 lakh employees of the Indian Railways will be benefited by this and they would get Rs 17,951 as bonus. Meanwhile, in a bonanza to 48 lakh central government employees, the Union Cabinet has approved recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission with 34 modifications which will impose an additional annual burden of Rs 30,748 crore on the exchequer. The increased allowances, which comes into effect from July 1, 2017, is based on the recommendations of the Committee on Allowances (CoA). The allowances as recommended by the 7th Central Pay Commission would have cost the exchequer Rs 29,300 crore. The modified allowances approved by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will increase the burden by Rs 1,448 crore to Rs 30,748 crore per annum. The 7th Pay Commission suggested abolition of 53 allowances. Of these, the government decided not to do away with 12 allowance, he said. This will benefit over one lakh employees belonging to specific categories in railways, posts, defence and scientific departments. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Afghan Taliban has claimed that it has freed three Indian engineers held hostage by them in a prisoner exchange deal with United States. According to reports, the Indian hostages were released for securing the release of 11 Taliban members, including some high-ranking officials of the group. The freed Afghan Taliban includes prominent leaders Sheikh Abdul Rahim and Maulvi Abdur Rashid, said reports. Seven Indian engineers working for a power plant in Afghanistans northern Baghlan Province were kidnapped in May 2018. One of the hostages was released in March. No group has claimed responsibility for their abduction. The Radio Free Europe quoting some officials reported that the swap took place on Saturday in an undisclosed location. The officials refused to say who the militant group exchanged the prisoners with and whether the freed Taliban members were being held by Afghan authorities or US forces in Afghanistan. The officials said the freed Taliban leaders include Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Mawlawi Abdur Rashid, who had served as the insurgent group's governors of Kunar and Nimroz provinces respectively during the Taliban administration before it was deposed by the US-led forces in 2001. The Taliban officials provided a photo and footage of what they said was the freed militants being greeted after their release. There was no immediate comment from Afghan or Indian authorities. Another report said that the Afghan Taliban members were freed from the Bagram airbase by the US forces, implying that the prisoner swap deal was done between the Taliban and the United States. While the Taliban have confirmed the release of Indian prisoners, the news has not been verified by the Afghan government. There is also no clarity over the current location of the released engineers. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday shared a candid picture of her getting a hug from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is on India visit. Priyanka said that she received an overdue hug from Hasina whom she met after a long time. "An overdue hug from Sheikh Hasina Ji whom I have been waiting to meet again for a long time. Her strength in overcoming deep personal loss and hardship and fighting for what she believed in with bravery and perseverance is, and always will be a great inspiration for me," Priyanka Gandhi tweeted. The Bangladeshi PM also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and discussed issues concerning both the countries. She also extended an invitation to the Gandhis and Manmohan Singh to visit Bangladesh on its 50th anniversary of liberation. The Congress president has accepted the invitation, the party said in a statement. Also Read | Detained PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti To Meet Party Delegation On Monday Hasina was referring to the forthcoming centenary celebration of Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th Anniversary of Bangladesh Liberation which will be marked by special events throughout the year. During the meeting, Sonia Gandhi was accompanied by former Union minister Anand Sharma. Hasina recalled with gratitude India's support for Bangladesh liberation and the special bond of friendship that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman shared with former PM Indira Gandhi, said Sharma, the chairman of Congress' Foreign Affairs Department. She also revisited the period after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's assassination when her family lived in exile in Delhi. Sonia Gandhi congratulated Hasina on winning a 3rd consecutive term as prime minister with the people of Bangladesh reaffirming their trust in her leadership and vision, Sharma said. With PTI Inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra Government to not cut any more trees at Aarey Colony in Mumbai. Supreme Court also ordered release of anyone arrested in relation to this matter. The Green Bench of Supreme Court will now hear the matter on October 21. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Maharashtra Government, assured the bench that no trees will be cut henceforth. A special bench of Supreme Court held an urgent hearing after taking cognisance of the matter on Sunday. The top court on Sunday set up the special bench on the basis of a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India by one Rishav Ranjan against the cutting of the trees. The top court decided to register the letter as a public interest litigation. "It Appears Aarey Was Forest At Some Time" The special bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Ashok Bhushan heard the PIL. While Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Maharashtra Government, advocates Sanjay Hegde and Gopal Sankaranarayan appeared for the students and activists. The bench asked if there was any official notification declaring Aarey to be an eco-sensitive zone. "Show us that notification," the bench directed, "It was a no development zone but not an eco-sensitive zone.This is what we get. If you say otherwise, show us the documents." Sankaranarayan argued that the 2012 Management plan for Sanjay Gandhi National Park describes Aarey as an unclassified forest. He produced a 2012 notification to the state of Maharashtra saying Aarey was a forest. After the bench said it appeared that Aarey was some kind of forest at some time and asked Maharashtra government to not cut any more trees. The Supreme Court asked for 'status quo' to be maintained in matter of cutting of trees. The top court recorded an undertaking by Maharashtra government assuring that no more trees will be cut in Aarey. It also ordered the Mumbai police to release all the activists who were arrested over the past 2 days, if they had not been released yet. Arrested Activists Released On Bail Green activists have been opposing cutting of trees by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) for in Aarey Colony in north Mumbai to make way for the car shed. Earlier on Monday, the 29 protesters, arrested over the last two days on charges of allegedly obstructing and assaulting police personnel on duty during protests against felling of trees at Aarey Colony, were released from Thane jail. A sessions court had granted bail to protesters on Sunday. Additional sessions court judge HC Shende of the holiday court ordered their release on certain conditions including production of personal surety of Rs 7,000 and assurance that they would not take part in protests. The arrests were made over Friday night and Saturday after clashes broke out between the police and green activists opposing axing of trees by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) in Aarey Colony in north Mumbai. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Paris: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday and receive the first of the 36 Rafale aircraft in the French port city of Bordeaux, where he will perform Shastra Puja on the occasion of Dussehra and take a sortie in the fighter jet. Delighted to be in France. This great nation is Indias important strategic partner and our special relationship goes far beyond the realm of formal ties. My visit to France is aimed at expanding the existing strategic partnership between both the countries, Singh tweeted after his arrival in Paris on Monday. After his talks with Macron at the Elysee Palace in the French capital, Singh will be flown to Merignac, a suburb of the south-western French town of Bordeaux, where he will participate in the official handover ceremony for the first Rafale combat jet acquired by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The ceremony coincides with the foundation day of the Indian Air Force as well as the day when Dussehra will be celebrated. Arrangements have been made at the air base for a traditional Shastra Puja, or weapons worship which forms part of Dussehra celebrations. After performing puja, Singh will take a sortie in a two-seater trainer version of the aircraft. Raksha Mantri will participate in the Rafale fighter aircraft handing over ceremony at Merignac along with French minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly, a ministry of defence spokesperson said. He will also perform the Shastra Puja on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami and fly a sortie in the Rafale fighter aircraft,? the spokesperson said. Also Read | Unhappy At Imran Khan, Saudi Prince Called Back Private Plane From New York: Report Members of the top military brass of France as well as senior officials of Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, will also be present at the ceremony. India had ordered 36 Rafale fighter jets from France in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore in September 2016. While the formal handover ceremony takes place this week, the first batch of four Rafale jets will fly to their home base in India by May 2020. All 36 jets are expected to arrive in India by September 2022, for which the IAF has been reportedly undertaking preparations, including readying required infrastructure and training of pilots. The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. The manufacturers describe it as a fully versatile aircraft which can carry out all combat aviation missions to achieve air superiority and air defence, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence. The Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2004. The Rafale jets intended for India are expected to come with certain bespoke modifications for the IAF and have been awaited as a crucial enhancement to Indias Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft fleet. The first Rafale jet will come with tail number RB 001, with RB denoting the initials of Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria who played a key role in striking the deal for the jets in his previous role as IAF deputy chief. The handover ceremony will be followed by the annual Indo-French Defence Dialogue between Singh and French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly back in Paris on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, the minister is scheduled to address CEOs representing leading French defence industry enterprises. As part of a wider Make in India message, Singh will invite them to participate in the DefExpo to be held in Lucknow from February 5 to 8 next year. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday said that branding some incidents of social violence as lynching are actually meant to defame our country, Hindu society and create fear among some communities. While addressing the swayamsevaks at Reshimbagh ground in Nagpur, Bhagwat further said that lynching is alien to Bharat and actually has its references elsewhere. In such incidents, RSS members do not get involved rather they try to stop it, he added. Bhagwat also hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central governments move of abrogating Article 370. He said, The move of the re-elected regime to nullify Article 370 has once again proved that it has the courage to fulfil those expectations and respect peoples sentiments and wishes in the interest of the country. The RSS chief said that the nation by electing the new government with an increased number of seats has endorsed its past performance and expressed a lot of expectations for the future. Also Read: We Wanted World To See RSS And India As One, Imran Did It: Sangh He further stated that the world was eager to know if 2019 elections in such a huge country will be conducted smoothly. Democracy in India is not something imported but a practice prevalent for centuries, said Mohan Bhagwat. Mohan Bhagwat also added that the security alertness along our land and maritime borders is better now. However the number of guards and checkposts on land borders, and surveillance along the maritime border, especially on islands, have to be increased, he said. A developed Bharat creates fear in the minds of vested interests - such forces dont not want Bharat to be strong and vibrant, Bhagwat said. Also Read: Mahatma Gandhi Visited RSS Shakha, Applauded Workers' Discipline: Mohan Bhagwat Earlier in the day, Mohan Bhagwat Mohan Bhagwat performed 'shastra puja' at the annual Vijayadashmi festival in Maharashtra's Nagpur city. He was also seen giving a thumbs up while the RSS band performed after drill exercises by swayamsevaks. HCL founder Shiv Nadar is the chief guest for this year's event. Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Gen V K Singh (retd) and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among the others present at the event. It is worth mentioning here that Dussehra holds a special importance for sarsanghchalaks as the RSS was founded on this day in 1925. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted fresh raids at two places in Mumbai including a posh bungalow located in Alibaug in connection with the PMC bank money laundering case, officials said. They said the 22-room bungalow is of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) Chairman Rakesh Wadhawan HDIL promoters Wadhawanas and has been sealed by the agency after the raid. The investigating agency has also seized Rs 60 crore worth jewellery, a business jet, 15 cars, two fixed deposits worth Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 10 crore in connection with the investigation of the case. Officials said that the bungalow will attached soon. The searches were being conducted after a criminal compliant was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the central agency. The Enforcement Directorate case is based on an FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police. The ED and the Mumbai Police case is against former bank management and promoters of the Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL). Based on a complaint by an RBI-appointed administrator, the police complaint was filed earlier last week on charges of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy against the officials. With PTI Inputs Press Release January 6, 2022 Creation of Phl CDC, Virology Institute pushed anew as Bong Go stresses need to further strengthen gov't preparedness to public health emergencies Senator Christopher "Bong" Go called for a more coordinated institutional strategy to preventing, reducing and managing the risks associated with pandemics in light of the ongoing threats they pose to the public health and socioeconomic stability of the country. To mitigate the risks posed by future pandemics, Go renewed his call for the passage of twin bills he filed earlier that would build the country's capacity to rapidly respond to infectious disease threats. "As the COVID-19 virus continues to threaten our health and safety, we should use this time to review the lessons we learned, reevaluate our capabilities, improve our efforts and consider new legislative solutions that will strengthen our response to future public health emergencies," said Go, who heads the Senate Committee on Health. "It is imperative that we remain vigilant and focused on preventing a bigger outbreak in addition to addressing the urgent needs facing our people," he emphasized. In May 2021, the lawmaker filed Senate Bill No. 2158 which establishes the Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC will serve as the lead agency for developing communicable disease control and prevention initiatives. It will be primarily responsible for controlling the spread of infectious diseases in the Philippines. Some of its major functions will include investigating potential cases of public health emergency; enforcing regulations to prevent the spread of communicable diseases; procuring and distributing vaccines, antibiotics and other medical supplies; and working with other countries and international organizations to improve disease prevention and control systems and practices. "In other countries, Centers for Disease Control have been instrumental in this pandemic. As experts in the field of infectious diseases, they are at the forefront of the health battle against COVID-19. It is high time for us to have our own CDC. President (Rodrigo) Duterte acknowledges this and has previously urged Congress to pass this important measure," explained Go. He jointly filed SBN 2155 which, in turn, creates the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (VIP). The Institute shall be the principal laboratory for virology research and laboratory investigations as well as the lead technical coordinator of the nationwide network of virology laboratories. If passed into law, the VIP will accelerate the development of and expand access to new vaccines against diseases such as COVID-19 and ensure the country has sufficient emergency stockpile of vaccine doses. Senate Bills 2158 and 2155 are currently being deliberated through the technical working group under the subcommittee headed by Sen. Pia Cayetano under the Committee on Health and the Committee on Science and Technology headed by Sen. Nancy Binay, respectively. With the threat of a new surge of COVID-19 infections, the senator reiterated the importance of getting vaccinated and abiding by the minimum public health protocols in delaying and reducing the magnitude of the wave's peak. The Philippines reported a total of 10,775 new cases on Wednesday, January 5, with a record high positivity rate of 31.7%. The spike comes following the detection of local cases of the Omicron variant, which health experts say is more transmissible than the now dominant Delta variant. The government has since placed the National Capital Region under Alert Level 3 from January 3 to 15. The nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal are also subject to the same strict measures from January 5 to 15. In addition, 29 areas in the NCR, Southwestern Tagalog Region (IV-A) and Cordillera Administrative Region have been placed under granular lockdown. "This is a learning experience for all of us. But as we move forward, we need better foresight to successfully re-assess what institutional practices we need to change, institutions we need to further strengthen, and make long-lasting plans not only for our recovery but also for our sustainable future," pointed out Go. "Dapat one-step ahead tayo kung mayro'ng paparating na mga kalamidad at sakuna, kaya nais rin nating mas pagbutihin pa ang hakbang ng gobyerno upang mas magiging ligtas ang buhay at kalusugan ng mga Pilipino mula sa mga banta ng nakakahawang mga sakit," he added. "Gawin natin ang lahat ng ating makakaya upang maproteksyunan ang kinabukasan ng ating mga anak kung sakaling may panibagong pandemya nanaman na darating," Go ended. Corona's omicron variant is spreading rapidly among the people this time. It has multifarious speed and has become far more dangerous and exposed to the world. Let me tell you all that it has hit almost all the countries. None of the coronavirus variants that have been reported so far has found evidence of corona infection in food items, although there have been shocking reports in the meantime. In fact, coronavirus has also been found in dragon fruit in China. You won't believe it at all, but it's true. The dragon fruits are said to have come from Vietnam. Several Chinese supermarkets have been shut down in view of the news that has surfaced. Reports have also revealed that fruit testing in nine cities in China's Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces has confirmed the coronavirus. After this, fruit buyers have also been ordered to be quarantined. Not only that, now an inquiry has been initiated into the food items coming from abroad. Let me tell you that China has banned the import of Dragon Fruit from Vietnam till January 26 after the coronavirus was recently confirmed in Dragon Fruit. You must be aware that the coronavirus was confirmed in Dragon Fruit in China last week. Moreover, you must be aware that there is already a lockdown in China's Xi'an city after the coronavirus cases increased. A lockdown has also been imposed in Yuzhu city. EU's top diplomat Borrell confirms his support for Ukraine UN urges maximum restraint over seizure of UAE ship off Yemen Manmeet Singh Guptas harmonic singing has inspired many others The ongoing nuclear discussions in Vienna are focused on the elimination of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic and reflect an upward and positive trajectory, according to Iran's senior negotiator. Iran's top negotiator said the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna are focused on the removal of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic and reflecting an onward and positive trend. According to a source, Ali Bagheri Kani made the statements before entering Palais Coburg, where the talks on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are taking place. In response to the conclusion of the negotiations over the past several days since the start of their eighth session, he stated that efforts are being made to obtain a result. The complete elimination of US sanctions on Iran, according to Bagheri Kani, is critical to reaching a deal in the Vienna talks. The more serious the other parties are about lifting the sanctions and embracing the methods proposed by Iran for lifting the limits, notably on verification and assurance concerns, the sooner a deal may be reached, he said. Iran and the JCPOA's five other signatories, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, have held rounds of discussions in Vienna in an attempt to resurrect the agreement, which Washington abandoned in 2018 under former President Donald Trump. S.Korea support P5 Summit pledge to avoid nuclear war, arms competition Guterres welcomes joint statement by nuc-weapon states Iran launches satellite-carrying rocket into space for the first time Amritsar: Pm Modi's security lapses came to light during his visit to Punjab. Today, the country's PM Modi was stranded on a flyover for 15 to 20 minutes. The convoy that never stops was trapped on the highway in front of some protesters in Punjab. Meanwhile, PM Modi was surrounded by commandos of SPG. These commandos had covered PM Modi's SUV from all sides. But the way forward was not clear. Protesters were camping a short distance away. However, there was no one to stop or get rid of these exhibitors. That is why, during the 20-minute rainy season, PM Modi's convoy stopped on a flyover on the way to Hussainiwala in Punjab and pm Modi finally had to take a U-turn and cancel his rally in Ferozepur as the road was not opened. There is a lot of political controversy, and this one incident has raised many questions today. After all, how did the Prime Minister's security lapse so big? The prime minister's entire route when sanitized. He is already reikied. A variety of security protocols are followed. How did the protesters then get permission to reach the flyover? Questions also arose as to how the protesters suddenly reached the same route when only the Punjab Police was aware of the PM's route. Why could the Punjab Police , which removed protesters from CM Channi ' s rallies , not be able to clear the way from the highway ? When CM Channi could not reach the PM to receive the corona infected people, how did he hold a press conference last evening? Who would have been responsible for something untoward if something untoward had happened to the Prime Minister so close to the Pakistan border? Why were the DGP and other officers of Punjab not with the PM convoy ? However, the matter has now moved the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to come up for hearing tomorrow. It is expected that all such questions will be raised in the Supreme Court and answered. Corona attack on doctors stirs these cities from Delhi to Mumbai Hair expert Javed Habib spit on the woman's hair, said- This spit has life Subramanian Swamy's plea against Air India and Modi government dismissed in Delhi HC Despite the morning cold, 15 people of all ages are gathered around a room at the Academy of Coffee Excellence. In front of each of them is a cup of coffee from across the world. Some have been brought from South America, some from the Philippines and some even from Ethiopia. Each of them is asked to find and analyse all of the basic flavour characteristics and taste sensations including the beverages body, fragrance/aroma, acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and aftertaste/finish. The process is rigorous. But, these people, who work in different segments of the coffee value chain, do not care because most of them are there to learn the basics of sensory skills. Its a bit too much, but this training is important, says Rajan Sharma, one of the participants. They are teaching us what are the attributes that a good drink should have so that we here in Nepal can make better drinks here. Nepal hardly has people who are trained in sensory skills. Nepal Coffee Producers Association says the country has only four people who know how to judge coffee based on taste and smell. But, as the industry wants to produce specialty coffee and as the coffee culture is growing in urban areas, the need for this number to go up is important as experts believe the country can only produce good coffee if more people are trained in sensory skills. Crucial need Participants of the training held at Academy of Coffee Excellence. Photo: Academy of Coffee Excellence We need people to know this skill because they are the ones who will give feedback to people in the trade about what needs to be done to make the drink better, says Pranit Gurung, senior project officer at the association. For that purpose, the Ministry of Industry and Commerces EU Nepal Trade and Investment Programme being implemented by the International Trade Centre organised an intermediate training programme to develop sensory skills of Nepalis who are from different segments of the coffee value chain recently. In the training programme, they chose 15 participants and trained them on how to assess coffee based on its smell and taste, by perceiving and interpreting coffee samples. The programmes national coordinator, Vidur Ghimire says they did it to help the coffee industry grow. Our main goal is to reduce the trade deficit and we believe that Nepali has the potential to help us reduce it to some extent. Be we can only do that if we produce good quality coffee, he said. That is why most of them were eager to learn because they know the importance of being able to know what good coffee should taste like. A lot of people involved in the trade feel there is unhealthy competition in the market and they think they can help it get resolved, with their skills. There are so many traders around the country that bring coffee from India and sell it to people, stating its Nepali, says Santa Bahadur Ghale, a shop owner, who is also a farmer. As most people dont have the skill to grade it, Nepali farmers pay the price. He says it is great that the people in the business in Nepal are interested in taking training like this as it helps the industry to grow. Kumud Singh from Kathmandu Coffee also agrees as he says such training will help the farmers get more prices for their produce. He says as there are no coffee tasters, people pay the same price for a batch of beans even if one is superior to the other. Its a problem that needs fixing, but its going to take time. Training like these will help us because itll develop a skill set, says Singh. Possibilities and promises Singh started his enterprise in 2008 during a time when there were hardly any shops selling the beverage. But, today has been different and he says such training is more helpful. This helps the entire scene because this is knowledge and the more you share knowledge, the better it is, says Singh, hoping more people involved in the sector get into this as it is better for the industry. Even Gloria Soh, the instructor who flew to Nepal from Singapore to teach these people like Singh and Ghale, is chuffed by the response she and her fellow instructor Shaun Ong are getting. She says sensory skills training is important because of what they get to learn. Were teaching them what coffee should be like. First, they should understand what qualities a good drink should have. When they do that, only then will they know how to produce such a drink, she says. She says Nepali coffee does have high potential but adds that it does need work, especially during processing. They talk about special drinks, but that shouldnt be the focus right now. The focus should be on producing it for Nepal itself. The export can wait as specialty coffee is a niche market, she adds. Soh says the number of young people interested in these training programmes is also a positive sign as it is they who will lead the industry in the future. Seeing women involved in this is also nice. The future for the industry does look bright, says Soh. Gurung from the association says such training will help the industry in the long run as it will generate interest which will affect how the beans are produced and processed in the future. There were a few producers too and hope after this, they will be encouraged to produce better beans that we then can market it to the world. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is a fan edition smartphone from Samsung and is also the successor of Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. Samsung has announced the release of the fan edition smartphone and is available for pre-booking in Nepal as well. The fan edition phones are comparatively cheaper but try to provide similar specifications as the flagship phones from which they are derived. The S21 FE provides a lot of similar specifications from last years Samsungs flagship Galaxy S21. A slim and light body, good cameras, good battery backup and a flagship processor are some of the features this phone will provide to the users. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is an incredible smartphone, but considering that the new S series will be launched soon, it is an expensive phone and surely puts people in dilemma whether to purchase this phone or wait for the next series. Lets get into the details of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G. Specifications Dimension Height: 155.7mm Width: 74.5mm Thickness: 7.9mm Weight: 177 grams Display 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ Sims Dual sims Resolution 1,080*2,460 pixels OS Android 12, One UI 3.4 Chipset Exynos 2100 (5nm) GPU Adreno 660 Storage 256GB SD card slot No RAM 8GB Camera Front: 32MP, f/2.2 Rear: 12MP, f/1.8 12MP, 123 degrees (ultrawide) 8MP, (telephoto) PDAF, 3x optical zoom Sound Loudspeakers with stereo speakers No 3.5mm headphone jack Battery 4500mAh, Li-ion, non-removable 25W Fast charging 15W Fast wireless charging Reverse wireless charging Sensors Under-display fingerprint, accelerometer, compass, gyro, proximity Colours Graphite, lavender, and olive Price Rs 89,999 (8/256GB) Design and display Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G features a similar design as the Galaxy S21 series. The phone has a glass front, plastic back and an aluminium frame. It has round edges and has a hole-design screen housing a camera on the front. Meanwhile, it features a triple camera unit on the back same as the Samsung Galaxy S21. Even the LED flash has been placed at the same place. The device is available in three colours- graphite, lavender, and olive. The phone weighs 177 grams and is 7.9mm thick. Photo: Samsung The phone features a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x HDR 10+ display with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a maximum resolution of 1,080*2,400 pixels. The display gets Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The phone is also IP68 dust/water resistant certified. Cameras Photo: Samsung Cameras are one of the best features on a Samsung phone. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G features a triple camera setup on the rear. The main 12MP wide camera is housed together with an 8MP telephoto and 123 degrees 12MP ultrawide lens. The telephoto lens provides a 3x optical zoom feature and has a phase detection autofocus (PDAF) for better focus. On the front, there is a huge 32MP selfie shooter that takes amazing selfies. The cameras on both ends can record 4K resolution videos that too on 60fps. Slow-motion videos can be recorded at 240fps while super slow motion can be recorded at 360fps. The cameras on the phone can even record hyper-lapse videos in 4K. There are many photo and video features on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G. The camera on the phone features HDR10+ video recording, dual recording mode, tracking auto-focus, VDIS, digital zoom up to 10x, playback zoom, video location tags and many more for superb videography. It also offers good nighttime photography with its night mode feature, which is really handy. Performance and battery life Photo: Samsung Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G will run on the latest Android, Android 12 with the latest One UI 4 on top. The phone that will arrive in Nepal will be powered by Exynos 2100 5G (5nm) chipset. This is the most powerful chip from Samsung. There is also a Snapdragon 888 5G (5nm) chipset version of the phone, which is distributed in other regions. This is also one of the most efficient and powerful chipsets on a smartphone. With this, heavy gaming and multitasking should not be any problem. Photo: Samsung Giving life to the phone is a 4500mAh non-removable Li-ion battery. The phone supports 25W fast charging and can get a 50% charge in 30 minutes. It also supports 15W fast reverse charging, reverse wireless charging and USP power delivery 3.0. Storage, connectivity and other features Photo: Samsung newsroom Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G comes only in a single variant in Nepal. The 8GB RAM variant comes with a 256GB of internal storage option. This is a lot of space and should be enough to store a significant amount of photos, videos and documents here unless the user is fond of capturing a lot of videos in 4K resolution. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G supports a 5G sim (but that facility has not been released in Nepal yet), dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, NFC and locations (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou). The phone also features stereo speakers but does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is priced at Rs 89,999 for the 8/256GB variant. Verdict Photo: Samsung Well, this is a huge price for Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G considering the S22 series will be launched soon and with that, the price of the flagship S21 series itself will go down. Yet, it is an incredible phone. It has one of the best displays a smartphone can have, the best and most efficient Samsung processor yet and runs on the latest Android. It also features an impressive camera with massive storage backed up by an improved battery performance with 4500mAh power. However, Samsung should have come up with a faster charger with this phone. It only has a 25W fast charger, which can still be considered slow as there are a lot of mid-range smartphones in the market that provide impressive battery backup with incredibly fast charging. Phones like Realme GT Neo 2 and OnePlus Nord 2 5G provide incredible performance and battery backup and get fully charged in just 30-36 minutes while S21 FE 5G only gets 50% charged at the same time. Also, check the price of Samsung phones in Nepal. Description Scott Chaskey is a poet, farmer, and educator. For 30 years he cultivated garlic, greens, potatoes, and sixty other crops for the Peconic Land Trust at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, one of the original CSAs in the country. A pioneer of the Community Supported Agriculture movement, he is past president of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, and was honored as Farmer of the Year in 2013. "Seedtime," by Scott Chaskey, has been called "a celebration as well as a call to action urging us to renew our role as citizens of nature, in Aldo Leopold's phrase, not as conquerors of it." For this presentation Scott will also read from his work-in-progress, Soil and Spirit, to be published by Milkweed Editions, in 2022. (Adds additional comments from Guzman, background) By Eliana Raszewski Jan 5 (Reuters) - Argentina and the International Monetary Fund have so far failed to reach an agreement to refinance the roughly $45 billion it owes the fund due to an impasse over how to reduce the countrys budget deficit, Economy Minister Martin Guzman said on Wednesday. "The budget path is the point where today there is no agreement," he said during a meeting with provincial governors in Buenos Aires. "The difference between what the IMF proposes and what we propose from the Argentine government consists in differentiating between a program that, with high probability, would halt the economic recovery that Argentina is having (...) versus having a program that would give continuity to this strong recovery that Argentina is having," he added. The country, which in 2020 registered a primary deficit of 6.5% of GDP due to a sharp increase in spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to lower it to 3.3% in 2022, after the economy started a recovery process with expected GDP growth of around 10% in 2021. Guzman, who leads the Argentine team renegotiating the IMF loan signed by the government of former President Mauricio Macri in 2018, said that the main condition for maintaining the recovery is managing the debt load the country has with the organization, with strong maturities in 2022, 2023 and 2024. (Additional reporting by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Christian Plumb) Solo female traveler completes 11 trips all around the world with adventure travel brand AUGUSTA, Ga., January 06, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aggressor Adventures, the leader in luxury adventure travel, announces today its Most Traveled Guest of 2021. Sandra Sharp, Denver resident and local scuba diving store employee, traveled with Aggressor 11 times last year. As a solo traveler, Sharp enjoyed escaping Colorados cold weather for warm locales and making new friends wherever her adventures with Aggressor took her in 2021. "Its a pleasure to travel with Aggressor. From start to finish the experience is one-of-a-kind. As a solo traveler, their staff always makes me feel incredibly comfortable and safe. Whether its the Roatan Aggressor, Nile River Queen or any of the amazing vessels in Aggressors fleet, I know when booking travel with Aggressor it will be first class," explains Sharp, age 68. As a special thank you from Aggressor, Sharp will receive a $1,000 travel voucher and a merchandise package from the companys retail boutique. Sharp is planning her next adventure this spring aboard the Belize Aggressor, known for its incredible diving experience. "We are grateful for Sandras loyalty and commitment to our brand. Her love of adventure and affinity for solo travel is inspiring. We are pleased to recognize Sandra as our Most Traveled Guest of 2021," shares Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures. About Aggressor Adventures Since 1984, Aggressor Adventures has offered travelers liveaboard scuba and snorkeling charters, luxury river cruises and exotic wildlife safaris. Worldwide locations the company explores include Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Cocos Island, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Galapagos, Hawaii, Indonesia, Maldives, Mexico, Philippines, Palau, Red Sea, Roatan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Turks and Caicos. The companys Clean, Refresh, Sanitize safety standards are industry leading. For more information, visit www.aggressor.com or call (800) 348-2628 or (706) 993-2531. Story continues View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005154/en/ Contacts For media inquiries or photos, contact: Anne Hasson Aggressor Adventures anne@aggressor.com (800) 348-2628 or (706) 993-2531 OLDWICK, N.J., January 06, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A++ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aa+" (Superior) of Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company (Omaha, NE) and its five property/casualty affiliates. These companies collectively are referred to as Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies (BHHC). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed listing of companies.) The ratings reflect BHHCs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also reflect BHHCs strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), historically profitable operating performance, conservative loss reserving and the executive teams successful track record in managing operations. AM Best notes that BHHCs key operating metrics consistently outperform peer benchmarks, particularly when the groups superior long-term investment results are considered. Additionally, these ratings consider the additional financial flexibility and support provided by the groups publicly traded parent and ultimate shareholder, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. [NYSE: BRK A and BRK B]. The positive rating factors are offset somewhat by challenging market conditions and its business profile, which remains modestly concentrated in the workers compensation line of business, primarily in California. Approximately half of BHHCs direct writings in 2020 were derived from California. This concentration has reduced over time, as the group has seen its California workers compensation business contract due to heightened competition that has persisted for several years. This decline has been accompanied by diversifying its workers compensation book outside of California and strong growth in other business classes, including commercial auto and property lines. Nevertheless, the large block of California workers compensation business still exposes the group to a heightened level of regulatory, judicial, legislative and competitive risks relative to its peers. An additional offsetting rating factor is the risk associated with a large investment allocation in equity securities, which remains a potential source of volatility in earnings and capital appreciation. Story continues The FSR of A++ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR of "aa+" (Superior) have been affirmed with a stable outlook for Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company and its following property/casualty affiliates: Cypress Insurance Company (San Francisco, CA) Oak River Insurance Company (Omaha, NE) Redwood Fire and Casualty Insurance Company (Omaha, NE) BHHC Special Risks Insurance Company (North Liberty, IA) Continental Divide Insurance Company (Denver, CO) This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005872/en/ Contacts Gregory Dickerson Associate Director +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5161 gregory.dickerson@ambest.com Carlos Wong-Fupuy Senior Director +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5344 carlos.wong-fupuy@ambest.com Christopher Sharkey Manager, Public Relations +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 christopher.sharkey@ambest.com Jim Peavy Director, Communications +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644 james.peavy@ambest.com LONDON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights: Appointment of Danny Malchuk strengthens Appian's team in the Americas Danny will be a Senior Advisor to the Company, provide guidance during the sourcing, due diligence and execution process Brings significant resources experience and an extensive network, having been President Operations, Minerals Americas at BHP, among other roles Appian Capital Advisory LLP ("Appian" or the "Company"), the investment advisor to long-term value focused private equity funds that invest solely in mining and mining related companies, announces the appointment of Danny Malchuk as a Senior Advisor, based in Santiago, Chile. (PRNewsfoto/Appian Capital Advisory LLP) As Senior Advisor, Danny will provide guidance during the sourcing, due diligence and execution process, with a focus on the Americas. Beyond its global footprint, North and South America are key markets for the Company, with offices in Canada, Brazil and Peru. In recognition of its work across the region, Private Equity International shortlisted Appian as Private Equity Firm of the year in Latin America in December 2021. In October 2021, Appian also sold its Brazilian-based portfolio companies Atlantic Nickel and Mineracao Vale Verde Sibanye-Stillwater for US$1 billion and an additional 5.0% NSR royalty on production from the Santa Rita underground expansion. Danny is a seasoned resources executive who, prior to joining Appian, had a longstanding career at BHP and a stint at an Investment Bank providing advisory in the Metals & Mining industry. Most recently, he was the President Operations, Minerals Americas, leading BHP's operations in the Americas, having previously served in several other roles at the business. This included President of Copper; President of Aluminum, Manganese and Nickel; President Minerals Exploration; and Vice President Strategy and Development. During his career, Danny has led operations and commercial transactions across 10 different commodities. He has lived and worked in Chile, the United States, Singapore and Australia and conducted business in 20 countries. Danny has extensive exposure to publicly listed board dynamics, having served as a Member and Chair of Boards of various JV companies in Australia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as of public and private entities and industry associations. Story continues Danny holds an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles and a degree in Civil Industrial Engineering from the Universidad de Chile. Michael W. Scherb, Founder and CEO of Appian, commented: "Danny is a great addition to Appian as we start 2022 and look to extend our presence across the Americas. He brings deep-rooted experience of leadership, operations and commercial transactions with major mining companies, while his strong network will be extremely beneficial for our sourcing, due diligence and execution capabilities. I am looking forward to working with Danny, and following a strong 2021 am very excited about Appian's future." Danny Malchuk, Senior Advisor of Appian, commented: "It is a fantastic time to join Appian, as the business continues to be recognised as a market leader for metals and mining in the Americas. I have long admired the Company's work in the region, in particular in various countries across South America, and am looking forward to supporting the business and advising Michael and the wider team during the investment process." About Appian Capital Advisory LLP Appian Capital Advisory LLP is the investment advisor to long-term value focused private equity funds that invest solely in mining and mining related companies. Appian is a leading investment advisor in the metals and mining industry, with global experience across South America, North America, Australia and Africa and a successful track record of supporting companies to achieve their development targets, with a global operating portfolio overseeing nearly 5,000 employees. Appian has a global team of 54 experienced professionals with offices in London, Toronto, Lima, Belo Horizonte, Montreal and Sydney. For more information please visit www.appiancapitaladvisory.com, or find us on LinkedIn or Instagram. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1720474/Appian_Logo.jpg Press Release January 6, 2022 Gordon condemns anew 'riding-in-tandem' killing Re-electionist Senator Richard J. Gordon today denounced anew the unabated spate of killing involving motorcycle-bound criminals, the latest of which victimized a public school teacher in Amadeo, Cavite. Gordon, who chairs the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, slammed the prevailing culture of killings in the country, many of which are carried out by motorcycle-bound criminals, also known as "riding-in-tandem." "We are once again saddened with the loss of a dedicated educator in Normita 'Noemi' Bautista. Her students have lost a veteran teacher who has shaped the lives of generations' worth of aspiring Filipinos," he said. "Hindi ako masasawang tawagan ng pansin an gating otoridad ukol sa riding-in-tandem na ito. Isa na namang pagpatay ng ating inosenteng mamamayan. Naging barya-barya na lang ang buhay ng tao sa ilang indibidwal na batik na ng kasamaan ang mga ugali," he added. Bautista, a senior high school teacher at Tagaytay City National High School, was killed outside her home in Bgy. Salaban last Jan. 5 after being shot in the head. According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), the assassin fled from the scene on a neon green motorcycle as local authorities have yet to determine the assailant's identity, whereabouts, and motive behind the killings. Gordon, author of Republic Act (RA) 11235, or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, explained that if the law was properly implemented, the big lead provided in the police report could easily be identified with the help of the Joint Command Center. "Imagine if we have the Joint Command Center up and running, an accessible database set up by the Land Transportation Office, the PNP could immediately track down the neon green motorcycle," he pointed out. "That is why I called the LTO out last month, because many of these crimes could have been solved immediately or prevented because motorcycles should be identified easily through readable license plates and a working and updated database," he added. With the proper implementation of the RA 11235, ordinary citizens could easily report crimes, such as theft, robbery, or murder, through a hotline or a mobile application that could provide immediate leads to investigators. In his privilege speech last Dec. 16, Gordon blasted the LTO for dilly-dallying in the full and immediate implementation of the law, paving the way for an average of four persons being killed daily, according to PNP figures. In 2021, at least 170 people were killed and 28 injured by riding-in-tandem suspects, based on data compiled by the Office of Senator Gordon. Kidada Hawkins A hospital administrator from Alabama will soon take over as president at Winter Haven Hospital and Winter Haven Womens Hospital. BayCare Health System announced that Kidada Hawkins will lead the medical centers starting Feb. 21. Hawkins, 47, has spent the past three years as market chief operating officer for two hospitals in Alabama operated by Tenet Healthcare, a for-profit company based in Texas. Those two hospitals, Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham and Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper, have a combined 772 beds and more than 2,300 employees, BayCare said in a news release. Related: Polk sees an uptick in pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations More: Polk County hospitals are seeing more patients as COVID cases soar Hawkins will succeed interim President Susan Croushore, who has led the Winter Haven centers since August, when former President Steve Nierman left to become CEO at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton. Winter Haven hospitals next leader has a proven track record of partnering with physicians to deliver clinical excellence for the community, BayCare Chief Operating Officer Glenn Waters said in the release. What also impressed us is that Kidada has an appreciation for the leadership role a hospital plays in the fabric of a community and he is a leader who steps into that responsibility. Before joining Tenet, Hawkins served as chief executive officer of Shoals Hospital in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and as chief operating officer of Rural Hospital Operations for St. Vincents Health System in Birmingham. Hawkins received a bachelors degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta and holds masters degrees in health services administration and business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a regent and former president of the FORUM, Alabamas chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Recently: 'We are definitely in another surge': COVID test demand soars in Polk as omicron spreads Story continues Hawkins and his wife, Kia Hawkins, have two young children, according to the news release. Winter Haven Hospital, founded in 1926, has 447 beds, and Winter Haven Womens Hospital has 61 beds. The two centers have nearly 2,000 employees. BayCare, a not-for-profit company based in Tampa, acquired the hospitals in 2013. Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: BayCare names Kidada Hawkins as president of Winter Haven hospitals MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 5, 2022 /CNW/ - CWB Franchise Finance, a CWB Financial Group partner company, is proud to announce a partnership with Prime Capital Investments Inc. that provides the company $6MM to structure term debt and recapitalize its shares. The deal was facilitated by the relationship established between CWB and Raimondo Messina, CPA, CA, from Dream Hospitality Group. The deepened relationship between CWB and Raimondo Messina, as well as CWB's growing involvement in the craft beer and beverage space, led to the agreement with Prime Capital. CWB Franchise Finance specializes in financing and lending to the Canadian restaurant and hospitality industries. (CNW Group/CWB Franchise Finance) "This deal is an example of CWB's ability to deliver personalized financial solutions to clients through complex scenarios involving numerous stakeholders in a very specialized sector of hospitality," says Dimitri Mazur, Senior Manager, Restaurants, CWB Franchise Finance. "While we know that the competitive terms of the deal are important in any agreement, the deal could not have been completed without our longstanding relationship with industry leaders like Raimondo Messina." "Elevating our partnership with CWB owes to the value of their knowledge and expertise in the hospitality and beverage industry," says Raimondo Messina, who also serves as VP, Finance for Prime Capital Investments Inc. "Their ability to tailor the terms of this structured term loan shows that we have a true partner in Canadian hospitality that has only strengthened as we continue to grow." "Growing Prime Capital Investments and our beverage line with our new partners was made possible by CWB's specialized financing expertise," says Olivier Primeau, President of Prime Capital Investments Inc. and the entrepreneur behind the immensely popular Beach Day Every Day alcoholic beverages. "A financial partner like CWB, with their 20-plus years of experience partnering with the restaurant, brewing and hospitality industry, is essential to the success of our business." Story continues About CWB Franchise Finance CWB Franchise Finance, a division of CWB Financial Group, specializes in financing for regional and national restaurants and hotels and is a leading lender to the Canadian restaurant and hospitality industries. CWB Franchise Finance was acquired by CWB Financial Group in 2016 following a successful track record. To date, over $3.5 billion has been invested in the Canadian hotel and restaurant space, with more than 900 clients with upwards of 2,200 property locations over 20 years. About Prime Capital Investments Prime Capital Investment is one of the most promising beverage company in the province of Quebec focused on flavored malt beverages, hard seltzers, wines, spirits and energy drinks through it's immensely popular brand: Beach Day Every Day. Founded in 2017, the brand grew organically with it's association with AB InBev and innovative marketing initiatives to become the #1 RTD brand in Quebec in 2020, and is now set on making it's entry in the US market in 2022. SOURCE CWB Franchise Finance Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2022/05/c2073.html Jasmine "Jazzi" Shores Jasmine Jazzi Shores, the daughter of Davidson County Commissioner James Shores, died in an early morning vehicle crash in Wilkes County on New Years Day. At about 4:15 a.m. Saturday, Shores was heading east on N.C. 268 East in the Rock Creek Community in Wilkes County in a 2019 Toyota RAV4, according to information provided by N.C. Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Jeffrey Swagger. The SUV ran off the right side of the road, struck a ditch and overturned several times. Want to know more about what is happening in Davidson County. Support local journalism, subscribe to The Dispatch. Shores, 25, of Millers Creek in Wilkes County, was pronounced dead on the scene. Swagger said she wasnt wearing a seatbelt and was the only person in the vehicle. The cause of the accident and any contributing factors is still under investigation by the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Shores is survived by her parents; John and Lisa; James and Michelle; her brother, Zach; her sister, Shelby; and brother, Austin. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Jan. 8 at the home of her parents in Millers Creek. General news reporter Sharon Myers can be reached at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter @LexDispatchSM. This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Davidson County commissioner's daughter dies in New Year's Day wreck TORONTO, Jan. 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Dave McKay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE), is scheduled to speak at the virtual RBC Capital Markets Canadian Bank CEO Conference on January 10, 2022, from 8:35 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. (EST). Logo : RBC (CNW Group/RRYIR) A link to the live audio webcast will be available on RBC's website at https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/events-and-presentations.html on January 10, 2022. The webcast will be archived for three months. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 87,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com. We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact. SOURCE RRYIR Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2022/06/c8800.html U.S. Department of Justice A 22-year-old woman who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was drunk and driving in the wrong direction on Wednesday night when she killed a young mom and seriously injured another driver, authorities said. Emily Hernandez was driving west in the eastbound lanes in Franklin County, Missouri, just after 7 p.m. when she crashed into another car that spun into the median strip and struck cable barriers, police said. Both vehicles swerved to avoid each other, according to a crash report posted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, but that didnt spare 32-year-old Victoria Wilson, a passenger in a 2019 Buick Enclave, who perished. Her husband, 36-year-old Ryan Wilson, who was behind the wheel, and Hernandez were both seriously injured and transported to local hospitals for treatment, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Hernandez was booked Wednesday night on allegations that she was driving while intoxicated resulting in death and serious injury of the couple, according to an arrest report. Accused Capitol Rioter Edward Jacob Lang Blasts Trump and Begs For His Help in Jailhouse Call Hernandezs lawyer, Ethan Corlija, told WMOV that his client underwent surgery after the crash and was stable on Wednesday morning but declined to comment on the charges. The exact circumstances of the accident are unclear, Corlija told the outlet. Its unfortunate. I am heartbroken for the others involved. Its not the first time that Corlija has defended Hernandez. Weeks after the Capitol riot, he described her to reporters as the girl next door, after she appeared smiling in photos after storming the building. Its an unfortunate situation and its one she didnt want to put herself in, Corlija said at the time. Shes willing to move beyond it, do the things she needs to do to make it right and get on with the rest of her life. Hernandez made her way to the nations capital last year for the Stop the Steal rally with two others from the St. Louis area. She was among a throng of former President Donald Trumps supporters who burst through police barricades on Jan. 6 and stormed the Capitol as Congress certified the peaceful transfer of power. Story continues Hernandez infamously appeared in photos carrying a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office. She also posted images of herself at the Capitol on Snapchat, according to charging documents. A Literal Call to Arms: Jan. 6 Officers Sue Trump for Directing Angry Mob Hernandez was charged in district court for her role in the riot, including knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, disorderly conduct which impedes government business, stealing, disruptive conduct in the Capitol, and demonstrating in the Capitol. She was scheduled to plead guilty Monday to charges in that case. The two people she traveled to D.C. with included a man identified by authorities as her uncle, William D. Bill Merry, who pleaded guilty this week to theft of government property after he was seen in a photo alongside Hernandez holding the Pelosi sign while wearing a red Trump 2020 cap. The pair was joined by Paul Scott Westover who pleaded guilty last month to demonstrating in the Capitol. According to charging documents, after seeing someone smash a sign in Pelosis office, Merry told Hernandez to get you a piece, which she held in photos. The woman who died in Wednesdays crash leaves behind two sons, ages 10 and 15, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported. She had a heart of gold, Victorias mom Tonie Donaldson told the outlet, adding that her daughter was a home healthcare aide who worked with disabled people. Not everyone can work with mentally challenged children, and shes done it since she was 13. During a hearing after Hernandez turned herself in to the FBI last year, prosecutors had not recommended that she be jailed until trial. At the time, she was ordered released on bond but was prohibited from contact with law enforcement as a condition of her release. Mourning her daughters death, Donaldson questioned why Hernandez wasnt in custody. Why is she still out? Donaldson told the outlet. With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street? To me, shes a piece of [expletive]. At 7 oclock, youre drunk and she got on the highway drunk? Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), a major state port in Mangalore, Karnataka signed a Cooperation Agreement with Singapore based LNG Alliance Pte Ltd to develop a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal with an initial capacity of 4 MTPA, with provision for LNG virtual pipelines and an LNG bunkering facility KARNATAKA, India, Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LNG Alliance, together with Government of Karnataka and NMPT, has proposed to develop a major LNG import terminal in Karnataka, with an initial capacity of 4 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA), and the potential for expansion up to 8 MTPA in line with the estimated demand increase over the next twenty years. In addition, this import and regasification terminal will also have the ISO LNG containerisation and LNG truck loading facility for serving the industrial and transportation sector. This will also be India's first dedicated LNG bunkering facility that will be providing LNG as fuel for ships visiting the NMPT port and bunkering shuttles to the West Coast of India. LNG Alliance (PRNewsfoto/LNG Alliance Pte Ltd) LNG Alliance is a fully integrated turnkey project developer of LNG terminals and is building a global integrated LNG and Hydrogen infrastructure portfolio under its investment and asset operations JV arm, Aslan Energy Capital, Singapore. Over the next three years, LNG Alliance intends to invest approximately 290 Million US dollars to develop, construct, and operate a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), and manage the LNG supply. "We see this as an important step to meet India's cleaner energy goals of phasing down coal fired powerplants and transitioning to an emission free economy using LNG as a bridging fuel. As part of this agreement, LNG Alliance will develop a tolling fee based floating LNG import terminal, within the maritime concession area of the NMPT. This terminal will also be open for third party access and will provide the most competitive tolling rates in India, based on the LNG sourced from our supply partners." said Dr. Muthu Chezhian, the Chief Executive Officer of LNG Alliance, Singapore. Story continues NMPT, the gateway port for the State of Karnataka, is well connected with major interstate highways and railways, allowing for easy access for downstream distribution of LNG by virtual pipelines, which makes NMPT as the ideal location for the LNG import terminal in Karnataka. "As part of the Invest Karnataka Conclave, chaired by the Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, an MoU was signed between LNG Alliance and the State of Karnataka in June 2021, which formed the foundation of the current Cooperation Agreement signed between LNG Alliance and NMPT in December 2021. The proposed LNG terminal at NMPT will accelerate industrial growth, create job opportunities across the city gas distribution (CGD) networks, and will provide reliable energy security to Karnataka", said Karnataka's Commissioner of Industries, Ms. Gunjan Krishna. India's energy consumption has been estimated to grow by at least 35% from now to 2030, even with a delayed growth scenario due to the pandemic. As India builds out its gas infrastructure, natural gas will find multiple uses in India's energy system, including to help meet air quality and near-term emissions goals. "The LNG Terminal at NMPT will bring many benefits to the households and industrial customers in Karnataka, most importantly affordable natural gas supply. Local industries will gain from the advantages of the new supply chains that are created through the establishment of satellite LNG/CNG fuel stations and LNG distribution thru virtual pipelines, to reach the hinterlands of Karnataka and the growing CGD networks." said Ms. Cheryl Goh, the Executive Director of LNG Alliance, Singapore. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/government-of-karnataka-partners-with-singapore-firm-lng-alliance-for-the-development-of-karnatakas-first-lng-import-terminal-301454991.html SOURCE LNG ALLIANCE PTE LTD $INKW - Greene Concepts - BE WATER BE FRESH with American Artesian Water - 6pack BE FRESH with American Artesian Water - 6pack $INKW - Greene Concepts - BE WATER BE USA - PROUD with American Artesian Water - 6pack BE USA - PROUD with American Artesian Water - 6pack Marion, North Carolina, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greene Concepts, Inc. (OTC Pink: INKW) today announced that the Company recently opened and funded a brokerage account in the Companys name, which will be used as part of a corporate stock buyback and share retirement program. In addition to the buyback program, the Company has also settled convertible debt without share dilution. After consulting with a securities attorney, Greene Concepts opened the brokerage account to execute on their plan of the corporate stock buyback and share retirement program. Under the program, stock buybacks will be made under very specific, regulated conditions in order to comply with federal securities regulations. The timing and number of shares purchased will depend upon price, market conditions, and several regulated factors. The Company will adhere to the rules and regulations as outlined by the SEC and all other applicable legal requirements. In addition to the buyback program, Greene Concepts recently settled $130,000 in convertible debt without the issuance of stock. The settlement was in exchange for a partial unit of the Companys previously announced product branding units. The transaction is based on the long-term commitment to success and growth of the Company's BE WATER brand. There was no dilutive effect for shareholders in this transaction. Lenny Greene, CEO of Greene Concepts, states, We are committed to reinforcing the value proposition for our thousands of INKW shareholders. We were able to settle certain short-term toxic, convertible notes, assisting to strengthen the Companys balance sheet. Mr. Greene continues, In addition toxic debt settlement, our corporate stock buyback and share retirement program will have a number of solid benefits for shareholders and the company alike. The Company will continue to focus on building premium brands and increasing revenues throughout 2022 and beyond. Stay tuned for exciting upcoming information about new product releases and Company growth opportunities. Story continues About Greene Concepts, Inc. Greene Concepts, Inc. ( http://www.greeneconcepts.com ) is a publicly traded company whose purpose is to provide the world with high-quality, healthy and enhanced beverage choices that meet the nutritional needs of its consumers while refreshing their mind, body and spirit. The Companys flagship product, BE WATER , is a premium artesian bottled water that supports total body health and wellness. Greene Concepts beverage and bottling plant is located in Marion, North Carolina, and their water is ethically sourced from seven spring and artesian wells that are fed from a natural aquifer located deep beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains. Greene Concepts continues to develop and market premium beverage brands designed to enhance the daily lives of consumers. Safe Harbor: This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a few uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the company's business prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission and OTC Markets, Inc. OTC Disclosure and News Service. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise. CONTACT: Greene Concepts, Inc. Investor Relations IR@greeneconcepts.com Attachments Bitcoin seen on display. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Interactive Brokers Chairman Thomas Peterffy said investors should have 2%-3% of their wealth in crypto. He once sounded the alarm on bitcoin, but now owns the cryptocurrency himself, Bloomberg said. His firm allows customers to trade tokens such as bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin. Thomas Peterffy has changed his stance on bitcoin. In 2017, the billionaire chairman of Interactive Brokers sounded the alarm on crypto in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal in which he said bitcoin futures could "destabilize the real economy." In a reversal, the Hungarian businessman worth about $25 billion, now told Bloomberg he owns bitcoin himself. On top of that, he advises investors put 2%-3% of their wealth into cryptocurrencies as a hedge against fiat currencies plummeting, Bloomberg reported. As for the cryptocurrency's worth, he remains unsure, telling Bloomberg: "I think it can go to zero, and I think it can go to a million dollars. I have no idea." A representative from Interactive Brokers did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on how much bitcoin Peterffy owns and what his predictions are for the crypto space. Starting last September, his Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm, which is the world's largest electronic broker, began offering cryptocurrency trading in response to customers who had been asking for the service. Investors now can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. This month, the firm will add as many as 10 more coins to the platform, Bloomberg said in its story. Peterffy isn't the only prominent bitcoin critic to end up investing in crypto. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn once called digital assets "ridiculous," but revealed in May that he planned on investing more than $1 billion in crypto. Still, some skepticism remains. In October, Insider covered more than a dozen financial leaders, including Citadel founder Ken Griffin and JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who aren't buying into the hype. Read the original article on Business Insider VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Monumental Minerals Corp. ("Monumental" or the "Company") (TSXV: MNRL) is pleased to announce it has engaged Terraquest Ltd. to complete an airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysical survey over its Jemi heavy rare earth element (HREE) Project located in Coahuila, Mexico, about 40 km south of the Texas, USA border. Monumental Minerals Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Monumental Minerals Corp.) The Jemi Project hosts numerous rare earth element (REE) occurrences containing potentially economic concentrations of the high value magnetic REEs including neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) with associated tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), and zirconium (Zr). Jemi sits within the North American Alkaline Igneous Belt, an under explored north-south trend over 3000 km long of alkaline igneous rocks and carbonatites that are host to numerous REE, gold and other critical element deposits. The high-resolution helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric survey will be flown at 100 m line spacing over an area of approximately 100 km2 for a total of 1,120 line-km. It will be centred on the 8 km diameter Sierra La Vasca intrusion complex that hosts the Jemi HREE mineral occurrences. The Company expects the survey to commence rapidly (within 2-3 weeks' time) and take approximately 7 days to complete. Magnetic and radiometric data represent a cost-effective method to define areas of high REE potential within the Jemi Project. REE targets can be associated with anomalous magnetic highs or lows, and the anomalies can also be excellent indicators of structure. Strong gamma-ray radiometric anomalies may be associated with potassium (K) enrichment as a product of hydrothermal alteration surrounding peralkaline intrusions. Anomalies of thorium (Th), and to a lesser degree uranium (U), are useful for direct detection of REE deposits, detection of other features associated with mineralization, and parental granites. Geophysical anomalies will be ground-truthed and prioritized for further exploration, which may include detailed geologic mapping, geochemical surveys, and ultimately trenching and/or diamond drill testing. Story continues HREE Mineralization The REE mineralization discovered to date at Jemi exhibits characteristics and mineralogy consistent with peralkaline intrusion related deposits, which represent an important potentially economic style for the highest value REEs. Dysprosium, and Tb are typically enriched in these deposits and are essential for the performance of high strength and temperature permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines. Peralkaline deposits are being explored and prepared for development in Australia, Europe, and North America. At present, ionic clay deposits in southern China and Myanmar are the primary source of the world's HREEs, however limited resource size, high environmental legacy of such deposits, and increasing export restrictions are driving the discovery and development of other more sustainable sources. In addition, with the recent merger of Chinese REE miners, one company will now control 70% of China's HREE production and global pricing power of key HREEs including Dy and Tb. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC) Principal and Consultant of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, a Director of the Company and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Monumental Minerals Corp. Monumental Minerals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in the critical and electric metals sector. The Company's flagship asset is the Jemi HREE project located in Coahuila, Mexico near the Texas, USA border which the Company has an option to own 100% of the 3,650-hectare project. The Company also has an option to acquire a 100% interest and title to the Weyman property located in the Kamloops and Nicola Mining Divisions and in the Thompson Nicola Regional District, British Columbia. On behalf of the Board of Directors, /s/ "Maximilian Sali" Maximilian Sali, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, the commencement and completion of the geophysical survey on the Jemi Project and the expected timelines, results and outcomes, plans for the Jemi Project, other statements relating to the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its projects and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of metals, the ability to achieve its goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner and that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of exploration results, risks related to the inherent uncertainty of exploration and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses and those other risks filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, failure to secure personnel and equipment for work programs, adverse weather and climate conditions, risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), risks relating to inaccurate geological assumptions, failure to maintain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, fluctuation in exchange rates, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to, the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, decrease in the price of rare earth elements and other metals, loss of key employees, consultants, or directors, failure to maintain community acceptance, increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. SOURCE Monumental Minerals Corp. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2022/06/c8344.html Company Continues to Innovate with Digital Technologies BOSTON, January 06, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Myomo, Inc. (NYSE American: MYO) ("Myomo" or the "Company"), a wearable medical robotics company that offers increased functionality for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper-limb paralysis, today announced the availability of MyoPro 2+, an enhanced version of its popular MyoPro powered brace. Deliveries to patients will begin this month. Building on the MyoPro 2, MyoPro 2+ offers lighter weight, easier donning, greater comfort, and improved grasp functionality. Software and firmware enhancements include more powerful and simplified configuration options for clinicians and users as well as customizable speed control for more natural arm movement. "The user experience is at the core of all our innovations. With this enhancement, not only will our adult and adolescent patients engage with the MyoPro 2+ in ways that make it more functional for them, they will also see a dramatic improvement in the ability to tailor the device to their preferences, including two harness options and more than 30 color and pattern styles, enabled by the introduction of 3D printing of the orthotic components", explained Shiven Ruparel, Director of Product Management. Advancing Myomos custom fabrication process, MyoPro 2+ will now be fabricated in-house at the Companys Boston headquarters. This state-of-the-art operation will streamline the customer journey from evaluation to product delivery. MyoPro 2+ ensures a better device fit while lowering production costs and improving delivery times and convenience for patients. Paul R. Gudonis, Myomo CEO, said "Our goals for MyoPro 2+ were to improve the experience and functionality for our users while at the same time reducing costs and cycle times for Myomo. Our field trials indicate we have accomplished both. Myomo is growing rapidly, and these enhancements are expected to further support our ability to scale up and offer increased upper limb functionality to more and more people." Story continues About Myomo Myomo, Inc. is a wearable medical robotics company that offers improved arm and hand function for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper limb paralysis. Myomo develops and markets the MyoPro product line. MyoPro is a powered upper limb orthosis designed to support the arm and restore function to the weakened or paralyzed arms of patients suffering from CVA stroke, brachial plexus injury, traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, ALS or other neuromuscular disease or injury. It is currently the only marketed device that, sensing a patients own EMG signals through non-invasive sensors on the arm, can restore an individuals ability to perform activities of daily living, including feeding themselves, carrying objects and doing household tasks. Many are able to return to work, live independently and reduce their cost of care. Myomo is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with sales and clinical professionals across the U.S and representatives internationally. For more information, please visit www.myomo.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Companys future business expectations, including benefits expected from MyoPro 2+ and the anticipated availability of this product, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. These factors include, among other things: our sales and commercialization efforts; our ability to achieve reimbursement from third-party payers for our products; our dependence upon external sources for the financing of our operations, to the extent that we do not achieve or maintain cash flow breakeven; our ability to effectively execute our business plan and scale up our operations; our expectations as to our development programs; and general market, economic, environmental and social factors, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, that may affect the evaluation, fitting, delivery and sale of our products to patients. More information about these and other factors that potentially could affect our financial results is included in Myomos filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those contained in the risk factors section of the Companys annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Although the forward-looking statements in this release of financial information are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations, taking into account all information currently available to us, we cannot guarantee future transactions, results, performance, achievements or outcomes. No assurance can be made to any investor by anyone that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements will be attained, or that deviations from them will not be material and adverse. The Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005639/en/ Contacts For Myomo: ir@myomo.com Investor Relations: Kim Sutton Golodetz LHA Investor Relations kgolodetz@lhai.com 212-838-3777 Press Release January 6, 2022 Gordon brings hope to Odette-stricken families in Bohol & Cebu Re-electionist Senator Richard J. Gordon today sent relief goods to families affected by the recent supertyphoon Odette in some parts of Visayas and Mindanao in an effort to spread hope to them and rebuild their lives with dignity. Gordon assured that the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) he chairs will continue to assist the most vulnerable residents in Ubay and Talibon, Bohol, and the cities of Mandaue, Cebu, and Talisay, whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Odette. "Gusto ko lang sabihin sa inyo (na) 'di namin kayo pababayaan. Walang pulitika sa ginagawa ko sa ating bayan. Noong araw pa natutunan ko sa nanay ko iyan na pagkagipit ang tao, tinatawag nating 'taob na ang kaldero, wala na pati tutong,'" he said. "Ang gusto ko makabangon kayong lahat, pilitin niyong tulungan ang inyong mga sarili. Masarap tulungan o buligan o tabangan o hatagan ang mga taong marunong tumulong sa sarili sapagkat dyan nag-uumpisa ang tulong sa lahat," he added. Gordon and his team were originally scheduled to fly to Bohol and Cebu, but were delayed due to inclement weather condition. Instead, he addressed the affected families via zoom for the Bohol leg of his itinerary. Joining Gordon in the live zoom was Bohol Governor Arthur Yap. The entire event was posted on Facebook Live through PRC's official FB page. The live broadcast was made possible through the use of a very small aperture terminal (or VSAT), a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna. Gordon personally directed the PRC staff and volunteers to bring a VSAT to Ubay, Bohol to establish lifeline communication in the area. Ubay is considered as the "ground zero" of super typhoon Odette in Bohol province. Later the day, the Cebu flights pushed on and Gordon eventually led the distribution of multi-purpose cash grants and non-food items to 877 individuals in cities of Mandaue and Cebu. Afterwards, Gordon and his team traveled to Talisay City to hand over 500 sets of hygiene and sleeping kits, jerry cans, and tarpaulins to the affected families. In Bohol where devastation is widespread, the PRC also provided galvanized iron sheets and other building materials to help affected residents whose houses were damaged or destroyed to live under a decent roof. Gordon pointed out that help had just begun and will continue to be given until the most vulnerable residents afflicted by disaster are able to stand on their own feet again. "Ako ay nakikiramay sa mga nawalan ng mahal sa buhay. Makakaasa kayo na hindi namin kayo pababayaan at tutulungan namin kayong makabangon," he said. "Sabay sabay tayong babangon mula sa hagupit ni Bagyong Odette. Hatid ng Red Cross ay pag-asa sa mga labis na naapektuhan ng bagyo. Laging kaming narito upang tumulong upang maibalik ang dignidad sa mga tao at makatulong na tumayo uli sa sarili nating mga paa," he added. Since Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) ravaged through numerous provinces, the PRC immediately deployed its payloader trucks to assist in clearing major roads. Numerous welfare desks were also set up to provide help to stranded families, along with the availability of satellite phones that served as bridges to the scores of residents who have lost communication and electricity. The PRC Chapters in Cebu and Bohol fed over 10,000 hot meals, gave psychosocial support to about 1,300 individuals, distributed about 550,000 liters of potable water, and cleared out 313 cubic meters of debris. As the pandemic rages on, the PRC was also able to distribute over 5,000 face masks and medicines to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, and to help strengthen the residents' immune systems. WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will provide live coverage and host a media briefing Saturday, Jan. 8, for the conclusion of the James Webb Space Telescope's major spacecraft deployments. NASA Logo. (PRNewsFoto/NASA) (PRNewsFoto/) (PRNewsfoto/NASA) Beginning no earlier than 9 a.m. EST, NASA will air live coverage of the final hours of Webb's major deployments. After the live broadcast concludes, at approximately 1:30 p.m., NASA will hold a media briefing. Both the broadcast and media briefing will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website. As the final step in the observatory's major deployments, the Webb team plans to unfold the second of two primary mirror wings. When this step is complete, Webb will have finished its unprecedented process of unfolding in space to prepare for science operations. To join the briefing, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the call to Laura Betz at: laura.e.betz@nasa.gov. NASA's media accreditation policy for virtual activities is available online. Webb, an international partnership with the ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, launched Dec. 25 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Webb is now in the process of unfolding into its final configuration in space, a human-controlled process that provides the team with the flexibility to pause and adjust as needed. As a result of this process, the timing of these milestones may change. NASA provides regular updates on the Webb telescope blog. The public can also follow Webb's deployments online via a "Where is Webb?" interactive tracker and a Deployments Explorer webpage. Once fully operational, Webb will explore every phase of cosmic history from within the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between. Webb will reveal new and unexpected discoveries and help humanity understand the origins of the universe and our place in it. Story continues Additional Webb Resources: For more information about the Webb mission, visit: https://webb.nasa.gov Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-to-host-coverage-briefing-for-webb-telescopes-final-unfolding-301455926.html SOURCE NASA Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Science Applications International Corp. VERACITY CONSULTING Veracity Consulting is a certified women-owned business enterprise, Native American-owned business, and Indian small business economic enterprise, providing business and technology services that include software development and managed IT services. Veracity's founder and CEO, Angela Hurt, is a member of the Osage tribe of Pawhuska, Oklahoma; her seven-times great grandfather was Chief Pawhuska. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Veracity is an active member of the American Indian Enterprise Business Council. Hurt has served on the council's board for the last four years, including as board chair during her last term. Veracity and SAIC have established a trusted relationship, partnering on five government programs, which include enterprise-wide help desk and IT services support to the EPA. As a subcontractor, Veracity supports 16 EPA labs around the U.S. for SAIC. In 2019, Veracity and SAIC were awarded the EPA's Regional IT Support and Services contract to support regional EPA offices. EPA's Seattle and Dallas offices were added to the support after the partnership was awarded two important task orders. Veracity also supported SAIC on a software development contract at the USDA in Kansas City. Driven by integrity As a small consultancy, Veracity had limited experience navigating the federal proposal process. The company's relationship with SAIC quickly turned into a mentor-mentee opportunity, as Veracity gained first-hand exposure to federal contracting by working with SAIC on proposals. Fast forward to today and Veracity is a government contracting expert, and it continues to gain insights by working with SAIC. According to Hurt, the Veracity-SAIC relationship has been successful because it is built on the foundation of trust and communication. "SAIC treats us as a valued partner at every interaction and goes above and beyond," said Hurt. "Just like Veracity, SAIC leads with their values. The SAIC team consistently does what they say they are going to do." Story continues Hurt notes that although there are benefits to being a certified Native American-owned business and Indian small business economic enterprise, there are also challenges. For example, there are many compliance requirements that can be costly and lengthy for a small business. "There are always assumptions with us, mainly that we are a small business and win due to a certification or status versus our performance and experience," Hurt added. "Our relationship with SAIC has given us tremendous opportunities to prove ourselves, stand out from the competition, and nurture strong customer relationships at the state and federal levels. Veracity's advice to other small businesses: Lead with your values and develop relationships. Ask questions, enter the relationship with your eyes open, and earn the trust of a company like SAIC. Say yes to small opportunities. Small wins lead to big rewards, as you'll prove yourself and build relationships based on trust and accountability. AETOS SYSTEMS Donna Coleman founded Aetos Systems in 2007 as a Native American- and woman-owned small business. Based in Huntsville, Alabama, Aetos specializes in IT and engineering services, with its name and logo reflecting Coleman's Christian values and her Native American heritage. As a subcontractor, Aetos provides a range of support services to SAIC, including data center security, cable plant support, and high-performance computing support. Aetos supports SAIC for the DOD on the High Performance Computing Modernization Program's Integrated Technical Services contract. The company supports acquisition benchmark preparation, provides advanced user support, conducts operational asset monitoring, and manages high performance computing data center facility operations. According to Coleman, who is also Aetos' CEO, SAIC has been an invaluable mentor to Aetos, noting that the company has been a support contractor to SAIC since its inception. "SAIC has always been willing to provide guidance and mentorship to Aetos in solving contractual and business concerns and assist us in not only navigating through processes and requirements but also in understanding ways to become a better contractor," she said. She adds that SAIC's referrals of Aetos to other vendors are invaluable to a small business. "SAIC's Small Business Program fosters lasting relationships with small businesses, including Native American-owned small businesses, and is one of the best that we have experienced," said Coleman. Embracing every opportunity Coleman says one of the primary advantages of being a Native American-owned small business is the ability to qualify for the U.S. Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program, which enables Aetos to participate in a smaller competitive landscape and win sole-source contract awards. The SBA program provides Native American-owned small businesses (NAOSB) the opportunity to establish themselves as being reputable entities and develop past-performance successes, setting them up for growth and larger opportunities. "The NAOSB status also provides us with opportunities to build focused relationships with large prime contractors such as SAIC, where we can fill a niche area in meeting SAIC's subcontracting goals," said Coleman. Still, Aetos faces challenges that all small businesses face, such as cash flow, recruiting, finding and retaining customers, and keeping up with industry changes. "Our greatest challenge at this time is that we have now graduated from the SBA program and outgrown our NAICS codes and find ourselves where we are often too big to compete in small business areas and too small to compete against the big companies," noted Coleman. Coleman has seen a shift toward contract consolidation and use of government-wide acquisition contracts, which limit Aetos' opportunity pipeline and force it to develop and implement alternative strategies. In addition to these changes in industry dynamics and customers' acquisition strategies, Coleman says the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on small businesses, "as we try to navigate delayed procurement activities, implement alternative workplace environments, manage work activities virtually, implement new policies to meet guidelines, and adjust to revenue changes." Aetos' advice to other small businesses: Do your homework. Know what you offer and where you best fit in the customer organization. Establish relationships. Once you get an opportunity, don't drop the ball. Do what you say you are going to and when you say you are going to. There are plenty of other small businesses waiting for the opportunity you have. Don't rely on your socioeconomic status to get and keep your work; there are contract requirements and performance levels to fulfill. Plan regularly and often. Keep your eye on the changing environment and remain agile and willing to adjust to the needs of customers. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Science Applications International Corp. on 3blmedia.com View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/native-american-suppliers-prove-their-mettle-in-supporting-government-customers-602120035 MarketWatch When we were reading through real estate data this month, three stats caught our eye. The first: That the number of active foreclosures (this is when the foreclosure process has begun on a seriously delinquent loan, but it has yet to be completed and liquidated) edged up by more than 7,000 in March the first year-over-year increase in almost 10 years, according to mortgage technology, data and analytics provider Black Knight. Secondly, more than 78,000 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing during the first quarter of 2022, which is up 39% from the previous quarter and up 132% from a year ago, according to real estate analytics company ATTOM. NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WindRose Health Investors, LLC ("WindRose"), the New York-based healthcare private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the sale of basys, LLC ("basys") to BPOC and Five Arrows Capital. Following the sale, basys merged with Innovative Software Solutions Inc. ("ISSI") to form a leading multiemployer benefits administration solutions provider. Harbour Benefits Holdings, Inc., the former owner of ISSI and the parent company of Zenith American Solutions, will retain an investment in the new organization. Both basys and ISSI will continue to offer their respective solutions and operate under the basys and ISSI brands. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. WindRose Health Investors (PRNewsfoto/WindRose Health Investors, LLC) basys is a provider of specialized business administration software for the Taft-Hartley community, providing technology solutions for fund offices, national multiemployer plans, and third party administrators across the United States and Canada. basys software suites, web-based portals and hosting services deliver automated and cost-effective solutions to accurately and efficiently serve millions of members on a platform built for data security, regulatory compliance, and a lower total cost of ownership. "The sale of basys creates an exceptional outcome for the company and our investors," said CJ Burnes, Partner of WindRose. "We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with the company and its management team as they expanded their suite of products and maximized efficiency for their customers and members. We look forward to seeing how the combination of the two companies further revolutionizes and modernizes the industry." "WindRose shared our vision and commitment to growing our business and investing in our technology platform, and we are thankful to have had them as a partner," said Jenny Morgan, President and CEO of the new company. "The new organization will be able to provide the full suite of solutions that our customers need to service their members, and our combined team of experienced professionals will continue to develop services and solutions tailored for this market." Story continues Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisor to Windrose Health Investors, and Harris Williams acted as financial advisor. Paul Hastings and Robert W. Baird acted as legal and financial advisors to BPOC and Five Arrows Capital Partners. About basys Since 1977, basys has offered specialized business administration software for the Taft-Hartley community, providing technology solutions that enable Fund Offices, national multiemployer plans, and TPAs to accurately and efficiently serve millions of members reducing the time and cost of administering health and retirement benefits. basys software suites, web-based portals and hosting services deliver cost-effective, and reliable health and pension benefits processing, fund office administration, reporting and member service on a platform built for data security, regulatory compliance, and a lower total cost of ownership. For more information visit https://www.basys.com/. About WindRose WindRose Health Investors, LLC ("WindRose") makes equity investments in companies that operate within the services sectors of the healthcare industry. The firm focuses on companies with profitable business models and a demonstrated ability to deliver cost-effective solutions. WindRose is based in New York City and invests in companies throughout the United States. For more information, please email WindRose at info@windrose.com. About BPOC Founded in 1996, BPOC is a Chicago-based private equity firm that invests exclusively in healthcare companies and is one of the nation's most experienced investors in the industry having raised five funds with total capital commitments of nearly $1.8 billion. BPOC has invested in numerous provider, manufacturing, outsourcing, distribution, and information technology companies through growth equity, management buyouts, and leveraged recapitalizations. For more information, please visit www.bpoc.com. About Five Arrows Capital Partners Five Arrows Capital Partners (FACP) is the US Corporate Private Equity arm of Rothschild & Co's Merchant Banking business. Merchant Banking manages over $19 billion globally which includes approximately $5 billion in corporate private equity, as well as a series of funds dedicated to senior and junior credits, primary and secondary fund investing and co-investments, with offices in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Luxembourg. FACP's investment strategy is focused primarily on the lower end of the US middle market, comprised of companies with total enterprise values ranging from $75 million to $500 million. We target companies with highly defensible market positions; strong management teams; business models with high visibility of organic unit volume growth and strong free cash flow conversion; and multiple operational levers that can be used to unlock latent value. Like the other Five Arrows corporate private equity funds, FACP focuses on the data and software, technology-enabled business services and healthcare sectors. For more information, please visit www.rothschildandco.com/en/merchant-banking/. About ISSI For nearly four decades, Innovative Software Solutions, Inc. (ISSI) has been a leading provider of benefit administration technology solutions and services. With more than 280 systems installed in the U.S. and Canada, ISSI supports organizations throughout the multiemployer market, including Fund Offices, District Councils, and Third-Party Administrators. With its proven track record of successful software deployments, and complex computer system implementations for health/welfare plans, defined benefit/contribution plans, 401(k) plans, SUB plans, as well as cutting-edge solutions for EDI/electronic claims processing, 99% of its client organizations continue to select ISSI as their vendor of choice. For more information, visit www.issisystems.com. Media Contact: Caroline Luz Lambert & Co. 203-656-2829 cluz@lambert.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/windrose-health-investors-completes-the-sale-of-basys-to-bpoc-and-five-arrows-capital-301455246.html SOURCE WindRose Health Investors, LLC Interstate 95 travel lanes in the Fredericksburg area are open and clear of snow, but many other area roads are not, VDOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon said Wednesday afternoon. Google Maps had been reporting that the interstate was still closed. Hannon said this glitch was fixed, but encouraged area residents to turn to 511Virginia.org for the most up-to-date travel information. Hannon said that about 100 state-maintained roads in the region remained closed due to snow, ice and debris on utility lines following Mondays winter storm. Primary roads, such as U.S. 1 and State Route 3, were in minor condition with open lanes and some snow piled up on crossovers and shoulders. VDOT was making progress on secondary roads, but had not yet gotten into any area subdivisions, Hannon said. Those are in severe condition, remaining snow-covered and icy, she said. VDOT has 1,300 pieces of equipment available to work on snow removal and has brought in 20 contractors to work exclusively on downed trees. We are working 24 hours a day and we will get to everyone, Hannon said. Meanwhile, VDOT plans to begin pre-treating I95 and primary roads with salt brine solution in preparation for the possibility of snow Thursday night. A winter weather advisory issued Wednesday said the region could get several more inches. Treatment will begin Wednesday night or Thursday, Hannon said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. State agencies began mobilizing Thursday for a second winter storm forecast to hit the Fredericksburg area overnight. Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency on Wednesday evening in advance of the second winter storm expected to hit the area in a week. The declaration enables Virginia to pull in additional resources to support those communities that may be in need, said Curtis Brown, state coordinator of emergency management, in the press conference. Two storms in one week stresses our resources and requires additional capabilities, Brown said. During a 10 a.m. Thursday press call, representatives of the National Weather Service and Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State Police and the Virginia National Guard talked about the approaching storm. Its a similar track with snow in similar areas as last time, just a lesser storm, said Jeff Orrock, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Services Wakefield Office. Orrock predicted the I-95 corridor north of Ashland would see the most snowaround 3 to 4 inches from Fort A.P. Hill north through Fredericksburg, Stafford County and into Alexandria. The forecast was dispiriting for thousands of households in the Fredericksburg region that started a fourth day without power Thursday. Dominion reported about 10,000 Stafford customers, 3,400 King George customers, 1,400 Spotsylvania customers and 136 Fredericksburg customers without power as of 4 p.m. Thursday. Rappahnanock Electric Cooperative reported 9,400 Spotsylvania customers and just under 3,200 Caroline customers in the dark as of 4 p.m. Northern Neck Electric Cooperative reported around 2,000 customers in King George, Stafford and Westmoreland counties without power, and Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative had 422 Stafford customers still affected. Maj. Gen. Tim Williams with the Virginia National Guard said 50 soldiers and airmensplit between the Fredericksburg region and southwest Virginiaare being deployed to help clear the debris that is preventing full restoration of power. He said it typically takes 12-24 hours for full deployment, as the soldiers and airmen have civilian jobs across the state. VDOT Commissioner Stephen Brich said Mondays storm deposited 1 million cubic yards of debris on the regions roadways, two times as much as last years ice storm. So were certainly still in a cleanup mode, Brich said. He said VDOT is working today to get into subdivisions and at least provide a path to connecting secondary or primary roadway to allow residents to get in and out. With the second storm, VDOT was able to pre-treat I-95 and primary roadways with salt brine solution starting Wednesday, Brich said. This process was not possible prior to Mondays storm because it started as rain, he said. We are continuing to urge people to delay travel and if they must travel, to keep a safe distance of five seconds behind, brake lightly and please do not pass our snow plows, Brich said. From midnight Monday through midnight Tuesday, Virginia State Police responded to 1,220 traffic crashes and 1,414 disabled or stuck vehicles statewideand the agency is also advising Virginians to avoid traveling during the upcoming storm. Back-to-back storms are nothing new for the state police or Virginia, said Maj. Ron Maxey, deputy director of VSP field operations, in the press conference. State Police is prepared for this latest round of winter weather. We will have all available troopers on patrol in order to respond as quickly as possible to traffic crashes, emergencies, and disabled motorists. We will extend shifts, call out additional troopers, and redirect resources when and where needed, just as we did earlier this week. Orrock said he expected Thursday nights storm to bring a drier snow that was less sticky, but the bad news is that whatever falls is going to be around for a while. Temperatures will be in the low 20s Thursday night and will only reach into the mid 30s on Friday. The forecast calls for a low of 12 degrees Saturday morning. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SOUTH KOREA, U.S. TAKE STOCK OF NORTHS LATEST MISSILE LAUNCH SEOUL, South KoreaNorth Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, its first weapons launch in about two months. Its a signal the North isnt interested in rejoining denuclearization talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal. The launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further strengthen his military capabilitywithout disclosing any new policies toward the United States or South Koreaat a high-profile ruling party conference last week. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the ballistic missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of [North Koreas] illicit weapons program but didnt pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory or its allies. It said in a statement that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its allies, South Korea and Japan, remains ironclad. South Koreas military said a suspected ballistic missile fired from North Koreas mountainous northern Jagang province flew toward its eastern waters. Defense Minister Suh Wook said the launch is seen as part of North Koreas military buildup, but that South Korea is analyzing whether it had any political intention. ROCKETS HIT IRAQi BASEs WITH U.S. TROOPS; NO INJURIES reported BAGHDADIraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraqs western Anbar province and the capital of Baghdad were targeted by Katyusha rockets Wednesday. In Syria, eight rounds of indirect fire landed inside a base with members of the U.S.-led coalition, the Iraqi and U.S. militaries said. No casualties were reported in the three attacks, part of a series that began on Monday, the anniversary of a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad two years ago. HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CONDEMNS SAUDIS DEPORTING ETHNIC TIGRAYANS NAIROBI, KenyaOfficials in Ethiopia have detained and forcibly disappeared thousands of ethnic Tigrayans who recently were deported from Saudi Arabia, a new thHuman Rights Watch report says as the countrys deadly Tigray conflict continues. This is the latest report citing witnesses who have described mass arrests of ethnic Tigrayans. Ethiopias government says it is targeting people suspected of supporting the Tigray forces who have fought the government since November 2020 but pulled back into their region weeks ago. The report released Wed-nesday called on Saudi officials to stop holding ethnic Tigrayans in abhorrent conditions and deporting them to Ethiopia, and instead help the United Nations high commissioner for refugees to provide them with international protection. AUSTRALIA, JAPAN TO SIGN NEW SECURITY PACT SYDNEYAustralia and Japan will sign a treaty on Thursday to increase defense and security cooperation in a move that has been hailed as historic but which might anger China. Prime ministers Scott Morrison of Australia and Fumio Kishida of Japan will meet in a virtual summit to sign the agreement, which Morrison said will underpin greater and more complex practical engagement between the Australian Defense Force and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. Australia and Japan are the closest of friends, Morrison added. Our special strategic partnership is stronger than it has ever been, reflecting our shared values, our commitment to democracy and human rights and our common interests in a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific region. In September, Australia signed the so-called Aukus trilateral security pact with the United States and Britain under which those two countries pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines. That deal upset China, which said it intensified the arms race and undermined international non-proliferation efforts. In a statement on Wednesday, Morrison described the latest treaty with Japan as historic and said it will, for the first time, provide a clear framework for enhanced interoperability and cooperation between our two forces. FOUR ACQUITTED IN TOPPLING OF british STATUE OF SLAVE TRADER LONDONFour anti-racism demonstrators were cleared Wednesday of criminal damage in the toppling of a statue of a 17th-century slave trader during a Black Lives Matter protest in southwestern England. Protesters used ropes to pull down the bronze statue of Edward Colston and dump it in Bristols harbor on June 7, 2020. The demonstration and toppling were part of a worldwide reckoning with racism and slavery sparked by the death of a Black American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis. Loud cheers rang out from a packed public gallery at Bristol Crown Court as a jury acquitted Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, and Jake Skuse, 33. DUCHESS TO GET ONE POUND in suit SETTLEMENT WITH TABLOID LONDONThe Duchess of Sussex will receive a nominal 1-pound ($1.35) payment for invasion of privacy plus undisclosed damages for copyright infringement, under an agreement that ends her long-running dispute with Britains Mail on Sunday over the tabloids publication of a letter she wrote to her father. The terms were reported by the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, 10 days after Associated Newspapers Ltd., publisher of the Mail on Sunday, decided to forego further appeals and published a statement acknowledging that the U.S.-born duchess, formerly known as Meghan Markle, had won her lawsuit. The Mail on Sundays statement, which appeared Dec. 26, said financial remedies have been agreed but provided no details. The undisclosed damages for copyright infringement will be donated to charity. The tabloid will also shoulder legal fees. The Associated Press Press Release January 6, 2022 Tolentino urges Duterte to establish Siargao Tourism Rehabilitation Commission Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino has filed a resolution calling on President Duterte to establish a Siargao Tourism Rehabilitation Commission that will spearhead the rehabilitation of Siargao Island from the devastation inflicted by Typhoon Odette, a power the President possesses under the Administrative Code of the Philippines. In his Senate Resolution No. 966, Tolentino said the Commission will act as overall and central coordinating body of all government agencies, non-government organizations, and affected communities when it comes to the implementation and monitoring of rehabilitation and recovery programs in Siargao Island. According to local officials in Surigao del Norte, the damages incurred in Siargao has been estimated to reach around P20 billion, but the full impact of the super typhoon has yet to be determined due to the lack of mobile phone and internet signal, power outages, and limited access to many parts of the province. "In addition to the immediate critical needs of the affected residents such as food, water, shelter, and health care, the long-term rehabilitation and rebuilding of the affected homes, businesses, and other infrastructures in Siargao Island must also be addressed." Tolentino said. Given this, Tolentino underscored the urgent need to create the Siargao Tourism Rehabilitation Commission that will streamline and oversee relief, recovery, and rehabilitation operations within the island. Under Tolentino's resolution, the Commission shall be composed of the following: the Secretary of Tourism; the Chief Operating Officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA); the Chairperson of the Regional Development Council for Caraga Region; an urban planner from the private sector; and a representative from the Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Inc. as Members; the Governor of Surigao del Norte shall also serve as a Member in an ex officio capacity; provided, that the Chairperson of the Commission shall be appointed by the President; and provided further, that the Commission shall serve for a term of two (2) years. In the past few weeks, some people have scrambled to find rapid at-home tests to screen for COVID-19. The tests can be hard to come by. Several popular brands are listed as out of stock on Amazon and pharmacy websites. To help meet demand for the tests, President Joe Bidens administration announced late last month that it would give away a half-million test kits to households that request them beginning sometime this month. But one concern with the at-home tests is that most of the results positive or negative are not reported to or recorded by local and state health departments. Teresa Anderson, director of the Grand Island-based Central District Health Department, said she and her staff have no way of knowing the results of most at-home tests because there is no mechanism to report them to Nebraskas disease-tracking system. One exception, she said, is the results of the Abbott BinaxNOW tests used by long-term care facilities. The facilities results are reported to the state through the Nebraska Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program. But if residents of the district, which includes Hall, Hamilton and Merrick Counties, call to report results from their tests as some occasionally do Andersons staff cant add them to state systems. We really just dont know whats going on in the home-testing world, she said. Dr. Anne OKeefe, the Douglas County Health Departments senior epidemiologist, said no mechanism exists to add the results to health departments systems. The department likely would have to track at-home tests separately so that they dont skew the positivity rates used to help determine testing needs and case trends. (While people may call with positive results, theyre not likely to do so with negative ones.) OKeefe said in most cases, the tests should not be used as a substitute for a lab test. The best use may be in situations where its difficult to quickly find a lab-run test. But she and Anderson said the at-home tests do offer people an opportunity to find out whether theyre COVID positive so they can take the appropriate steps to avoid infecting others. At least the people doing them know and can act on the information, OKeefe said. Both health districts are seeing increased demand for testing and an increase in positive cases. Anderson said the Nomi Health testing site in Grand Island conducted 280 tests Monday. The Douglas County department reported 1,038 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday from tests collected Monday. The department reported its highest weekly count of the pandemic for the week ending Saturday. Previously, some experts have raised concerns that at-home tests dont allow for contact tracing because of the lack of reporting. But OKeefe said the health department currently doesnt have the capacity to do all of the contact tracing it conducted last year, even with a contract in place for contact tracing services. Case counts, she said, are too high. Instead, she said, the health department has focused on providing more information about what people should do if they have a positive test. That includes how to quarantine and isolate, how to determine when people may have exposed others, and what to tell close contacts. Those who test positive on a home test dont need to have the results confirmed with another test, she said. But those who get negative results, either after an exposure or before or after a gathering, should repeat the test within 24 to 48 hours, OKeefe said. Many of the tests come in two-packs and instruct users to repeat the initial test at a prescribed interval. It will be much more predictive if you do the serial testing, she said. A person planning a visit to a relative in a nursing home, for instance, could test a couple of days beforehand and then repeat the test right before the visit. Dr. James Lawler, a co-executive director of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers Global Center for Health Security, said the U.S. has had issues throughout the pandemic with accurately assessing case numbers, with cases undercounted throughout. Now, in addition to most home test results not being reported, he said, many of the at-home tests available in the United States are less sensitive in picking up the omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration noted Dec. 28 that early data, based on lab tests on patient samples conducted by National Institutes of Health researchers, indicate that the tests detect omicron but may have reduced sensitivity. More research is underway. Most of the rapid at-home tests available in the U.S. are antigen tests, which detect viral proteins. Using them typically involves swirling a nasal swab inside the nasal cavities. The swabs are shorter and dont go as far back as those typically used to collect samples for PCR tests, which amplify and detect the viruss genetic material. Nationally, some experts have suggested swabbing the nose and the throat as a way to increase the sensitivity of the at-home tests. Lawler said the suggestion makes sense intuitively, because it appears the omicron virus may be concentrated more in saliva. But tests are optimized for the samples they are designed to test. He advised caution in using the tests in ways other than their approved use until data are available to back that up. Omicron accounted for 52% of the positive samples sequenced over the past two weeks in Nebraska, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday. While the incidence of omicron varies across the state, health officials wrote, it is likely the variant soon will become predominant. Lawler said the next concern will be fielding enough testing to keep up with omicron. Were about to take off like a rocket, he said. Were clearly not going to have enough access to testing over the next month. Our health system is already close to a tipping point, and its not going to take much to push us over. OKeefe said it will be good to have the Biden at-home tests available. In addition, testing companies are expanding and hiring more people. A 39-year-old Fremont woman was sentenced to one year in the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women for possession of methamphetamine. Carrie Lynn A. Smith initially pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was found guilty in the Dodge County District Court on Nov. 1, 2021. On Jan. 5, 2021, investigators with the III Corps Drug Task Force were conducting surveillance of Smith at her residence after a neighbor reported suspected drug activity. The investigators witnessed Smith stumbling to her residence and were allowed to enter the residence after Smith admitted to owning drug paraphernalia. Although Smith opened a drawer and said no items were inside, an investigator located a glass pipe and bag of meth inside. Smith had originally filed a writ not guilty plea to the charge, but withdrew it in order to apply to the Dodge County Adult Drug Court. Judge Geoffrey Hall set her sentencing for December 2021. However, a bench warrant was issued for Smiths arrest after she violated the terms of her bond by testing positive for methamphetamine, and tetrahydrocannabinol on Nov. 18, 2021. Hall said the presumption of probation for Smith was overcome by substantial and compelling reasons and sentenced her to prison. She was given credit for 48 days previously served. In other district court news on Monday: Michael T. Ogg, 52, of Fremont was sentenced to 12 months of probation for failing to register as a sex offender. He was initially placed on the registry for 25 years in March 1997 for first-degree sexual assault of a minor. On Nov. 29, 2021, Ogg pleaded guilty to violating the Sex Offender Registration Act after failing to register the August prior. As part of Oggs sentencing, Hall also ordered him to take part in 60 hours of community service and a Change Company class, as well as remain employed. Latecia M. Garcia, 26, of Fremont pleaded no contest to possession of a controlled substance on Tuesday. On Oct. 17, 2021, a Dodge County Sheriffs Office deputy attempted to locate Garcia, who had an active warrant out for her arrest. The deputy pulled over a car matching the description of Garcias vehicle and made contact with the driver. Garcia said she did not have identification on her and gave a fake name to the deputy, but eventually gave her real name and was placed under arrest. Although she denied owning a purse inside the car, the deputy found cards inside with her name, as well as a pipe containing meth. The deputy also found a bag containing meth during a search of the car. Hall found Garcia guilty, ordered a presentence investigation and set her sentencing for Feb. 8. Nia S. Ellis, 28, of Fremont had her evidentiary hearing on a custodial sanction regarding her probation set for Feb. 2. On June 28, 2020, she was sentenced to 30 months of intensive supervised probation for driving under the influence. Ellis was sentenced again to 30 months of ISP for driving while revoked on May 17, 2021. A court document from probation stated that Ellis had shown up late for drug testing in November 2021. Ellis attorney said his client had denied the sanctions and requested a continuance. Hall set Ellis personal recognizance bond at $5,000 and said she must comply with all of her probation terms. Gage M. Stricklett, 27, of Blair had his bond lowered to 10% of $50,000. He is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance and a deadly weapon. Strickletts attorney said his client would plead not guilty to the charges and was employed. Hall ordered St ricklett to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and set his status hearing for Jan. 31. (tncms-asset)271ac912-2dbe-11eb-8b09-00163ec2aa77[1](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)a911fe20-523a-532e-a8aa-4e1d99579dbc[2](/tncms-asset) Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Chaise Hilbers could just imagine how Afghan children would respond when getting little bags with toys and toiletries. But he never imagined his confirmation class would be interviewed about their gift bag project for an NBC online news site. The segment, which airs on a site designed specifically for kids, will be streamed via internet at 4 p.m. today. It will be available on YouTube, Peacock and https://www.nbcnews.com/nightlykids. Chaise is among six confirmation class students who attend St. Paul and Elim Lutheran churches. The Rev. Judy Johnson is pastor of the rural Hooper congregations. As a service project, the students put together 24 gift bags for children of Afghan families resettling in the United States. The Fremont Tribune ran a story about their project on Dec. 28. Days later, an NBC producer who saw the story contacted Johnson and arranged an interview with the class for an online segment of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids Edition. She said she just loved the project and it was really refreshing to see young kids from Nebraska wanting to help the refugees from Afghanistan, Johnson said. Todd Meyer, who provides information technology services for the churches, set up the Zoom interview at St. Pauls. NBC Producer Tess Speiser interviewed the seventh-grade students and Johnson. The kids just did a super job when they were interviewed, Johnson said. Chaise, 13, said he was surprised the network wanted to produce a story about their project. He had a little apprehension about being interviewed by someone from a national news network. I was kind of nervous at first, but when we got there (to the church) it wasnt that bad at all, he said. Chaise answered a question about the steps students took to assemble the bags. The idea for gift bags came after Johnson and the students started talking about possible service projects last fall. At the time, they were seeing how people from Afghanistan were being brought to the United States. We talked about how hard it would be to have to leave your home and your country and start a new life, she said. Knowing Lutheran Family Services is helping resettle about 100 Afghan families in Nebraska, Johnson asked what could be done for the children. They suggested if we wanted make up little bags with personal items and things for the kids that would be something they could really use and would make them feel welcome, she said. Confirmation students liked the idea. The students really took that to heart, she said. Our students wanted a way to help the children so they would feel welcome in their new home. Johnson went to both congregations and asked if the endowment fund committees would be willing to help pay for some of the items. They agreed. Johnson said Thrivent, a charitable organization, also gave them a credit card for $250. Johnson said students put a lot of thought into selecting items. Her class developed a list of items for each bag, which included: a stocking cap, winter gloves, brush, comb, toothpaste, toothbrush, hand sanitizer, bottles of body wash and shampoo, a stuffed dog toy, 24-pack of crayons, a coloring book, two containers of Play Doh, Slinky, wooden jigsaw puzzle and Kleenexes. After compiling the list, the students went shopping. The first thing we got was drawstring backpacks, Johnson said. Students used fabric markers to draw designs on the backpacks for the children ages 3 to 12. Two, 6-foot-long tables were put together and students working in assembly line fashion filled bags with the items, which each also included a $10 Walmart gift card purchased with leftover funds. Chaise said he liked working with the other students. One student even brought cards with jokes, which she told while they filled the bags. We had a lot of laughs, he said. Johnson and her husband, Dick, delivered the bags to LFS on Dec. 21 and the Tribune story ran Dec. 28. Chaise said just getting to assemble the bags was the best part about the entire project. He could imagine the Afghan childrens responses when receiving the gift bags. I could picture in my mind what their reactions could be, he said. He figured the children would be happy to receive puzzles and other toys. That made him happy. Johnson said news anchor Lester Holt will mention the segment during the Nightly News broadcast. Viewers then can see the segment online. The NBC producer will provide her with a direct link to the segment today and Johnson plans to post it on the churches and her Facebook pages. She is happy for her students. Im really proud of what the students have accomplished and the empathy and care they have shown for those who need so much, Johnson said. The interview with NBC Nightly Newss Kids Edition was an unexpected surprise for all of us, and it was fun to do! I hope the desire to help others continues to be something that each of the confirmation students will carry with them all their lives. This isnt the first time one of Johnsons confirmation classes has completed a project. A 2018 class used funds from a Fremont Area Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Contest grant to make comfort bags. Bags included a blanket, books and toys for children coming out of domestic abuse situations and receiving help at The Bridge in Fremont. Johnson believes students benefit from the projects. I think it makes them aware that there are many people who need our help, Johnson said. This provides a concrete way for them to do it. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Digg Site Productions of Fremont has announced its 2022 Film Series. This comes in partnership with Fremont Theaters and will showcase classic films on the second Monday night of every month. The first showing will be The Wizard of Oz at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at Fremont Theaters, 866 E 23rd St. Admission is a $5 donation. Kyle Cruz, president of the board of directors for The Digg Site, explained the organizations goals and what to expect in the months to come. Our whole goal at the Digg Site is to foster a film-loving community in Fremont and what better way to do that than to offer these shows everyone can enjoy together, he said. This is a new thing. We just had our first showing with the Fremont theater last month, but this is new. The event will be used to benefit renovations in the downtown Empress Theatre, but Cruz said this isnt The Digg Sites primary purpose. My film study classes in college were all about studying and appreciating films. I wanted to apply what I learned there and apply it here, he said. Cruz also worked at Fremont Theaters at Fremont Mall when it was the Mainstreet Theater. So its cool to go full circle and work with them and produce something fun, Cruz said. One added benefit The Digg Site plans to provide is an experience like no other to let movie-goers view some fan favorite films on the big screens. Personally, we at The Digg Site kick around ideas on what we should show what we think would be fun or interesting to see at a theater, he said. Some of the movies well be showing are going to look great, too, like The Wizard of Oz. Ive never seen that movie in a theater so Im looking forward to sharing that experience with people. Dana Reeves, executive director at The Digg Site, also talked about what they plan to show in the future. Some of the movies will be older movies, some will be done by Nebraska filmmakers, some will be generational classics like The Breakfast Club or Jaws, she said. We just want people to get familiar with The Digg Site and get people to see films on the big screen that they havent seen on the big screen before. Cruz believes participants will enjoy the movies. It will be a fun time, Cruz said. Obviously, the world can be very depressing at times so we are looking at having these fun events, having people come out and appreciate films and each others company. There is nothing better than seeing a movie in the theater in my opinion. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Nebraska Public Service Commission awarded $17.8 million in grants to internet providers through the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program to connect nearly 12,400 homes across the state to high-speed internet. On a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Crystal Rhoades of Omaha dissenting, the commission approved a total of 60 grant applications from 19 companies in the launch of the two-year program created by the Legislature in 2021. Sponsored by Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson at the request of Gov. Pete Ricketts, the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act (LB388) appropriated $40 million over two years to expand access to broadband capable of download/upload speeds of 100/100 megabits per second (Mbps). "I'm really happy with what we ended up doing and how the process worked for the time we had," said Commissioner Dan Watermeier, who represents eight counties in Southeast Nebraska. Watermeier said the Public Service Commission worked quickly after the funding was appropriated to set up an application process that opened in October. Seventy-six applications totaling $31 million were submitted, Watermeier said, and a review of the projects began in November. The commission upheld several challenges against applications in areas where companies said they were already providing internet service to that specific area, or already had a plan to provide high-speed internet service in the near future a process that drew criticism from some providers. Seven proposed projects were challenged because they overlapped with another company's existing service area where fiber is being installed, or where a fiber project was planned, the commission said in its order. Although a majority of the commission signed off on the plan, both those that supported it and the commissioner who voted against it said changes will be needed for future grant cycles. Commissioner Mary Ridder, who represents western Nebraska, wrote in a concurring opinion "it became apparent the challenge process would need further adjustment prior to the next round of grants." The rules set by the commission side with challenges if locations in the project area are already being served by speeds of 100/20 Mbps, Ridder said, to avoid an "overbuild" of internet services. "Here is the rub. Not all areas in those projects are receiving 100/20 Mbps," Ridder wrote. In an interview, Watermeier said the commission wants to be careful not to provide taxpayer dollars to one company that wants to build into an area if another company has already privately invested in broadband services there. "It's difficult to be perfect, but we have done a responsible thing with the taxpayers' money to not just allow companies to overbuild," Watermeier said. Rhoades said the commission denied too many grants based on the challenges in the first round of applications, relying on incomplete information from the challenging companies in doing so. Instead of showing which locations in a project area were served by what download and upload speeds, the challenging companies submitted maps that showed the route the high-speed fiber line took through a community, she said. By not showing which homes had access to 100/20 Mbps, Rhoades said the challengers' maps often supported the application more than their own appeal, and urged the commission to re-review all of the challenges. "Simply put, the commission did not follow our own process," she wrote. "We failed to consider the speed data submitted by the applicants, and information provided by customers and elected officials who live in the area. "As a result, service will not be provided to many locations which should have been able to receive it," Rhoades added. Watermeier and Cullen Robbins, director of telecommunications and the Nebraska Universal Service Fund at the Public Service Commission, said several measures were built into the program to ensure internet providers are expanding broadband access across the state. Recipients will receive one-fourth of the funding 30 days from being awarded the grant, one-fourth of the funding in September, and the remaining amount once they submit all invoices within 90 days of completing the project. The Public Service Commission will review labor and material expenses, as well as speed test data from a specified number of locations prior to approval of the final half of the funding, Robbins said. A project that is expected to provide 100/100 Mbps broadband service to 50 homes would need to provide speed results from five randomly selected locations, while those serving 51-500 locations would need to sample 10% of the locations served. Projects reaching more than 500 homes would need to provide speed data from 50 locations, according to the commissions order. Speed tests that do not reach the benchmark set forth in state statute would be required to file a proposal on how to remedy the deficiency, and provide further speed tests to prove the home is then served by high-speed internet. Robbins said he expects the roughly 12,400 locations identified by the project applicants will have high-speed internet before the July 5, 2023, deadline set forth by the commission. Near Lincoln, approved projects include extending high-speed service into the Eagle, Holland, Martell and Sprague areas. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When the Taliban seized power in August, the militant group vowed it would not resurrect the violent religious policing it enforced during its first stint in power. The hard-liners claimed they would limit themselves to preaching Islamic values of modesty and dignity. But nearly five months after regaining power, the Talibans Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has reclaimed its role as the enforcer of the groups radical interpretation of Islamic law. In a spate of decrees issued in recent weeks, the ministry has imposed restrictions on the behavior, movement, and appearances of residents, particularly those of women and girls. While the militants have claimed the decrees are only recommendations, Taliban religious police have enforced the new laws, sometimes violently, in many areas. Many Afghans have voiced their anger at the Talibans religious policing, saying it is a tool for humiliating citizens and controlling every aspect of their lives. For Afghans, the decrees are reminiscent of the draconian rules the Taliban imposed during its brutal rule from 1996 to 2001. The Taliban forced men to pray and grow beards and women to cover from head to toe. They beat, maimed, or executed anyone who contravened their draconian laws. In the 1990s, the feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was responsible for enforcing the Taliban's morality laws, including its strict dress code and gender segregation in society. The ministrys dreaded police were notorious for publicly beating offenders, including women. Obaidullah Baheer, a Kabul-based academic, said by forcing its own interpretation of Sharia law upon Afghans, the Taliban is locking out the population from decision-making and exposing its "tyrannical tendencies." Baheer said the Taliban views any challenge to [its] policies as a challenge to the faith itself. Beheading Mannequins Last month, the Taliban ordered shop owners in the western city of Herat to cut off the heads of mannequins, insisting they were un-Islamic. The order angered local shopkeepers, who are already reeling from an economic crisis triggered by the Taliban takeover and the sudden halt in international assistance. "These mannequins will be ruined if I am forced to behead them," Mohammad Irshad, who owns three retail stores in Herat, told Radio Azadi. It will negatively impact all our customers -- men, women, and children. They will lose their appetite [for shopping]." Abdul Wadud Faizada, the head of Herat's Chamber of Commerce, said the heads of mannequins should be covered and not destroyed. The Taliban has said that did not go far enough. "Our traders will suffer financially," Faizada told Radio Azadi, noting that each mannequin typically costs between $70 and $100. Some shopkeepers appeared to be already complying with the orders by sawing off the heads of shop dummies. Shaikh Azizur Rahman, the head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat Province, said mannequins were idols and thus are forbidden." Under Islam, idolatry is a sin, and the worship of idols is banned. If their heads are removed, they won't appear as idols, Rahman told Radio Azadi. Thus, Islamic laws against idolatry won't apply to them." But Mohammad Mohiq, an Islamic scholar, said the Taliban's interpretation was incorrect. Dolls, he told Radio Azadi, were in no way related to the idea or concept of an idol." Restricting Women In late December, the Taliban announced that women seeking to travel more than 72 kilometers should be refused transport unless they were accompanied by a close male relative. The advisory distributed by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also directed all vehicle drivers to refrain from playing music in their cars and not to pick up female passengers who did not wear an Islamic hijab covering their hair. Since then, Taliban religious police have erected checkpoints across Kabul to inspect whether taxi drivers were complying with the orders. "When we were stopped at one checkpoint, Taliban fighters said that women should observe strict hijab so that only their eyes are visible," a female doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Radio Azadi. She added that the militants also told her not to travel without a male chaperone. The Taliban imposed the wearing of all-encompassing burqas in the 1990s. This time, the militants have not formally reintroduced the rule. Last week, the Taliban also shut down all public bathhouses for women in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif. Such facilities are considered crucial because many Afghans do not have access to heating or electricity at home. Rabia, a woman in Mazar-e Sharif who did not reveal her real name, said the Taliban was directing all its resources into controlling the lives of citizens rather than addressing the myriad of problems facing the country, including a freefalling economy and a devastating humanitarian crisis. The Taliban needs to pay attention to many more important issues we are grappling with, she said. Tamana Siddiqi, a women's rights activist in Mazar-e Sharif, criticized the Talibans closure of public bathhouses for women. People are dealing with growing economic pains, which means that not everyone can afford a hot bath inside their house, she told Radio Azadi. The new rules further infringe on the rights of women in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. The militants have excluded women from their interim government. They have also banned secondary school education for many girls and ordered the vast majority of women not to return to work. Taliban officials appeared to disagree over the closures of the bathhouses. Sardar Mohammad Haidari, head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the northern province of Balkh, announced last week that all female bathhouses had been shut in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital. But Mohammad Sadiq Akif, a spokesman for the ministry, said no order had been issued from Kabul. There are signs that disagreement over moral policing is splitting the Taliban. Nun Asia, a pro-Taliban website, removed an op-ed calling for the Taliban to scrap the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The article said the ministry was harmful to the reputation of the regime because it infringed on peoples privacy and encouraged the Taliban to spy on people. Beards And Prayers For Men Men face new regulations, too, as the Taliban's religious police have instructed them to grow beards. The militants claim maintaining a long beard is an essential element of Sunnah -- an Islamic concept that requires Muslims to follow the practices of the Prophet Muhammad. Akif, the Taliban spokesman, has claimed the group was not forcing men to grow beards. "Our fighters cannot enforce this, he told Radio Azadi. They can only advise people. Hakmatullah, a resident of the southern province of Uruzgan, said the Taliban should not interfere in such issues. "Ultimately, [each individual] will be accountable and have to bear the guilt or reap the rewards for their actions before God, he told Radio Azadi. In a decree issued in late September, the Taliban banned the shaving of beards and trimming of hair in Uruzgan. Violations can result in severe punishment, while barbers who were directly ordered to halt the practice are now struggling to make ends meet. In some areas of Afghanistan, the Taliban has made it mandatory for all men to attend congregational prayers at mosques. In parts of Kabul and the northern province of Takhar, the Taliban has fined residents who did not show up for prayers. Repeat offenders have faced arrest or beatings, locals said. A Kabul resident told RFE/RLs Radio Azadi that officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice recently announced the new rules at the Abu Hanifa Mosque in central Kabul. "They said absence will first be fined, said the resident, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of Taliban retribution. Then [a repeat offender] will be punished. The resident said the Taliban had ordered clerics at mosques in the capital to take a roll call and report those who failed to turn up. In Takhars Rustaq district, Taliban fighters recently beat up two men who failed to attend prayers, locals said. "In the Rustaq district, almost all mosques are open for worshipers, and those who do not attend prayers are fined and beaten, said Sultan, a local resident who did not want to reveal his full name. Colorado State Patrol arrested a man suspected of causing a fatal vehicle crash in Alma last November that killed a 3-year-old, Colorado State Patrol announced Wednesday. Troopers arrested 37-year-old Juan Huante Juarez on suspicion of passing several vehicles in a no passing zone on Colorado 9 when he crashed head-on with another vehicle killing a 3-year-old passenger, troopers said. Juarez is suspected of over 15 crimes including first degree murder, vehicular assault and reckless driving. Polish Cultural Institute in London Based in London, the Polish Cultural Institute is a part of Polish diplomatic mission, dedicated to nurturing and promoting cultural ties between the United Kingdom and Poland, both through British exposure to Poland 's cultural achievements, and through exposure of Polish artists and scholars to British trends, institutions, and professional counterparts. The function of the Polish Cultural Institute is to showcase Polish heritage and contemporary Polish culture for Britain 's multicultural audience, particularly in London as it is truly the leading global cultural capital. Our programme covers the visual arts, film, theatre, music and literature. Watch short videos from our events at Vimeo. Follow us on Twitter (@PLInst_London) and Facebook (polishinstitutelondon) for up to date news, competitions and exciting insight into Polish culture. Watch a video about the PCI here. Read Biennial Report 2011/2012 First of our reports to be available to everyone online. This is just the beginning and it will become the norm allowing everyone interested in following Polish cultural affairs in Britain to have access to user-friendly information. INTERNSHIPS AND VOLUNTEERING The Institute offers flexible internship and volunteering opportunities. Help us with planning and managing projects, meet creative individuals and attend exciting events. For enquiries regarding a student or graduate internship and volunteering please click here. Barry Fagin is Senior Fellow at the Independence Institute in Denver. His views are his alone. Readers can write to Dr. Fagin at barry@faginfamily.net. Neighbors at ground zero of Colorados most devastating wildfire traded stories of urgency, confusion, helplessness and anger as Old Marshall Road opened to the public for the first time Wednesday. Bob Gabriella, whose family was the first to build on the historic rural street in 1865, said he saw a wisp of smoke coming from the Twelve Tribes property on Dec. 30 at around 9 a.m. The wind was blowing pretty hard. I was scared. I told my wife to get the suitcases, he told The Gazette as he surveyed the grey, ashy outline of what used to be two vintage motorcycles. That one is a 1936 Harley my dad used to ride, he said. He didn't have time to save the vintage cycles as the barn everyone on the block compares to a museum went up in a hideous ball of flame. Three fire extinguishers hung from a bucket on a charred tractor in the yard: two of them are red and one is burned up. I used them all up trying to save this barn. I sometimes hang stuff there for people to see, he said. On Sundays, neighbors say, scores of weekend bicycle riders use the eclectic road as a byway for their weekend journeys because they loved to look at the old buildings. A white concrete structure that used to be a brothel for miners was luckier than the barn. A survey of neighbors scoping out the damage on their block gave the same approximate time for the moment they noticed the fire on Dec. 30. Some smelled smoke before they saw it, at around 9 a.m. A woman named Brie, who asked not to give out her last name, told The Gazette that her sister was driving by the compound at Highway 93 and Marshall Road at around 9 a.m. and texted that it looked like there was a bonfire on the Twelve Tribes property. She couldnt believe it because it was a red flag day, said Brie. An hour or so later, people at the Sans Souci Trailer Park across Highway 93 saw billowing smoke coming from the Twelve Tribes land. Ryan Davis, who says he keeps an eye on the area as a rule, decided to walk his dog toward the fire sometime in the middle of the morning. He said that a shed at the back of the five-acre compound was burning from the outside and that at that time the roof was intact. Something made the shed catch fire and it was burning but no one seemed to notice. There was no one up there. No fire trucks. Mike Zoltkowski, who lives nearby and took video of the burning shed as the winds were kicking up said that he saw the first fire trucks arrive to block the roads at around 11:15 a.m. By 11:45 a.m., he witnessed the shed engulfed in flames and saw three people huddled around a truck. One of the men had separated his shoulder and the other two were helping him get to safety. He asked what was going on and he said they told him that one of their buildings had caught fire, and that everything was under control, remembers Zoltkowski. It sure didnt look under control to me. Still another neighbor who wished only to be identified as June because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, told The Gazette that theres a fire pit on the Twelve Tribes property that is often burning and at times, it would spit embers into the air which wafted to her yard. Ive called the sheriffs on this issue for a year and they kept telling me that there was nothing they could do, said June. She said she was so furious about the on and off burning in the fire pit that she once walked over to the property to ask the people who live there to put the fire out. They told me that they could do whatever they want to on their land. When I told the sheriffs, they agreed. June said that she often saw people on the compound burning something in the fire pit. They have a front-end loader and theyd scrape their crap or whatever theyre burning together and put it into this pit. She said that there have been nights that she could see the orange flames from the fire pit lighting up the darkness. Was there anyone tending the fire during those nighttime sightings? She shrugged her shoulders. I am going to give the sheriff some time to sort this out and if he doesnt I told him Im going to the media, she said. June said that at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30, the front end loader was furiously dumping dirt on the fire pit to try and put the fire there out. She called the fire department who she reports told her that the fire truck had run out of water. A log on the Mountain View Fire Department website shows exact times and locations of what one of its firetrucks was working on in the area of Marshall Road and Highway 93 on the morning of Dec. 30. At 11:39, Louisville Battalion 2760 arrived and assumed Marshall Command, requesting additional resources from the City of Boulder. Command advised of a shed on fire north of the Park-n-Ride and requested next due united to respond there, reported the log. There are varying accounts as to whether Dec. 30 carried a Red Flag warning. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle has said publicly that there was a warning, but Boulder Regional National Weather Service told Colorado Public Radio that it did not call for a Red Flag warning for Dec. 30 because though the winds were high and the fuels were cured and dry, a third element required for the Red Flag classification, humidity levels, were not lower than the 15% threshold. Pelle has said in press conferences that the neighborhood at Marshall Road and Highway 93 is at the center of the investigation. Numerous requests to the Boulder County Sheriffs for records of the number of times deputies were called to the property was denied by authorities citing that this is an ongoing investigation. The National Weather Service reports that winds were gusting from 81 miles per hour in South Boulder and up to 99 miles per hour at Highway 93 and 72, which is within a mile of the Twelve Tribes property. By noon, that spot had a peak gust of 115 miles per hour. Those strong winds shifted east toward all of Superior and most of Louisville between 12:30 and 2 p.m. The winds started calming down through the afternoon and late evening hours, but unfortunately, much of the destruction had been done, according to the NWS Boulder website. On Old Marshall Road, Jeff Giddings was watching as firefighters across the street sprayed water on the first casualty of the 2021 Marshall Fire. We dont have hoses here. We are on a well. The trucks were running out of water, said Giddings. The flames so red hot, his face hurt. At 4:30 p.m., firefighters had to give up. Thats when we realized we might not make it, said Giddings. "We grabbed our computers and some papers and got out of there, but we figured our house would be gone when we got back." His house, which used to be a gas station, was spared. He remembers that once the fire was out, and homes were smoldering, his neighbors came over to borrow a shovel. I thought they wanted to put out the embers. But they needed help burying their dog. Giddings showed a reporter a charred limb sticking out of the black dirt. Behind it was a statue of cherub. It was a little black muttsome kind of lab I think, said Giddings as he walked past melted metal doors and patio furniture. Tuesday afternoon, a home assessor from American Family Insurance was questioning residents, an Excel truck was working on gas meters and crews on ladders assessed power lines. Dozens of law enforcement vehicles parked on the perimeter of the Twelve Tribes property including the Boulder Police Department bomb squad van, several fire K-9 trucks, and Boulder County Sheriffs vehicles. Investigators blocked off an adjacent dirt road and new fences protected structures which dot the inside, most of which were still standing. A group of law enforcement vehicles surrounded the shed on the western edge of the property which has been shown in videos taken by residents and gone viral. Bob Gabriellas son lost his home on Old Marshall Road and didnt keep up with his insurance. He cries at strange times when a moment hits him, like when he realizes the stucco home his family built on Old Marshall Road is still standing. Out front is the restored Studebaker he saved. See that car? My wife and I dated in it. He said the car his dad took his mom out in for their first date is in the garage. He was able to get those treasures out of the fire as it raged around him the afternoon of Dec. 30. Bob Gabriella knows that neighbors are talking about the Twelve Tribes fire pit; but he has a different view. They have been excellent neighbors, he said, explaining that they saved one of his rental homes from a swarm of invasive bees. They took the bees and the hive away and brought me back a candle, he said, adding that children from the compound march up and down the street. He pointed to a bench on his now-ruined property where they like to sit. As the sun set and snow fell Wednesday evening, the investigators had gone but sheriff's vehicles were still stationed on the corners of the empty Twelve Tribes property. Authorities discovered human remains in Boulder County, believed to be one of the two people who were reported missing after the Marshall fire, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday. Deputies said partial human remains of an adult were found in the 5900 block of Marshall Road in unincorporated Boulder County. On Friday, a man was reported missing from the Marshall area. A woman from Superior was also reported missing after the fire. Authorities have not released the names of either missing person. Deputies said they were still searching in the 1500 block of South 76th Street in Superior and had no updates as of Wednesday afternoon. On Sunday, a third person who was also missing and feared dead was found alive. The Boulder County Coroner's Office will release the deceased's identity and official cause and manner of death after an autopsy is complete. This is the first confirmed death associated with the fire that burned over 6,000 acres in Boulder County. Firefighters reached 100% containment on the perimeter of the blaze on Monday. After sparking on Thursday, the blaze became the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, destroying at least 991 structures and damaging another 127 in Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County. On Wednesday, deputies also said there were no updates on the investigation into what started the Marshall fire, due to difficult weather conditions impeding the investigation. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said it could be weeks or months before investigators find out what started the fire, which was originally believed to be downed power lines. Pelle said investigators were being careful not to rush to conclusions after incorrectly saying the power lines sparked the blaze. Pelle said investigators are aware of a video on social media of a burning shed in the area where the fire ignited, but he said it's too early to know if the fire started there and declined to comment further. People survey the damage of homes lost to the Marshall fire off Marshall Road on Wednesday in unincorporated Boulder County. Authorities discovered human remains believed to be one of the two people who were reported missing after the Dec. 30 Marshall fire. The heavily anticipated Fairfield by Marriott hotel and event center in Clear Lake is set to open this week after lengthy delays. The hotel, which broke ground in June of 2020, was originally slated to open the following summer, but experienced significant delays due to supply-chain issues and item shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to developer Kalpesh Patel, CEO at VKB Management LLC, out of West Des Moines. Some of the biggest setbacks were caused by long waits for furniture, fixtures and similar equipment. Opening of Marriott Hotel in Clear Lake delayed According to Mayor Nelson Crabb, the Fairfield by Marriott will be the first new hotel in the city in over 20 years. After six months of delays, members of the Clear Lake city government got their first look at the completed hotel and event center on Wednesday morning ahead of its opening on Friday. "This is just a fabulous facility for North Iowa," Clear Lake City Council member Mike Callanan said during the tour. The hotel features include a pool, fitness center, and conference center which can accommodate up to 450 people. The hotel also boasts 85 rooms, from single bed to double king suites. Prices start at $156 per night, but Patel noted that the cost will fluctuate throughout the year. The hotel was described by Patel as a "prototype" hotel, meaning any other new Fairfield by Marriott hotels will be similar, if not exactly the same, as the Clear Lake location. "We've got the nicest hotel in town, there's no joke about it," Patel said. "I agree, no joke about it," council member Gary Hugi said. The Fairfield by Marriott is the first new hotel in the city of Clear Lake in over 20 years, according to Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb. The total cost of the project was approximately $13 million. As part of the development agreement, the developers were offered a loan from the city not to exceed $1.2 million, funded by incremental tax revenues, and a 10-year incremental property tax rebate not to exceed $1.5 million. The city also offered developers a $150,000 grant for starting construction before June 30, 2020 and an additional $150,000 for having the hotel operational by June 30, 2021. The second grant conditions were not met by the developers. Aside from those incentives, the hotel's $13 million price tag was not paid for by Clear Lake. The hotel has obtained its certificate of occupancy and is awaiting final approval from Marriott. Patel said he does not anticipate there being any road bumps. The first day of online booking is set for Sunday, Jan. 9, and Patel said that there will be an official "grand opening" at some point in the future, but nothing official has been scheduled. "We're excited to finally bring guests into the hotel," Patel said. "We can't wait to give them a good experience." Zachary Dupont covers politics and business development for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at 641-421-0533 or zachary.dupont@globegazette.com. Follow Zachary on Twitter at @ZachNDupont Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. At a special board meeting of the Osage Community School District on Jan. 4, board members tackled the new mandated policy updates handed down from the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) in response to the OHSA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandates. According to the United States Department of Labor, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuits stay of the Vaccination and Testing ETS, possibly sending the ETS on to the United States Supreme Court. The ETS was originally published in the Federal Register on Nov. 5, 2021. Lets say this goes to the Supreme Court, said Osage Community School District Superintendent Barb Schwamman. We adopt these tonight, and most schools in the State of Iowa are adopting these policies this week from the meetings Ive been sitting in. Some schools adopted the policies immediately. What will happen, well be able to suspend the policy, and I have that authority to do it, because its a federal thing, Schwamman said. And if it goes to the courts, and because we already had policy 209.4 (suspension of policy in place), then we can suspend the policy. Schwamman said that every school must have a plan in place. The Osage School District has emailed their staff and collected vaccination cards. We started the process to prove we are taking it seriously, Schwamman said, adding that the fines for noncompliance are $136,000 for the district. Each individual case is $13,000. OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance of ETS requirements before Jan. 10, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Schwamman said that date is when facemasks for unvaccinated staff must be worn, and COVID-19 testing begins on Feb. 9. For employers with over 100 employees, staff must present a card to prove they are vaccinated, or they will be required to wear a mask and be tested weekly. We legally cannot get around it, Schwamman said. You can control what the policies look like and what they say, but you cant say were not going to do this. We can put it off for a few days and see what happens, but then youre not putting forth a good faith effort of putting a plan in place. Then you can risk being fined, said School Business Official/School Board Secretary Helen Burrington. Schwamman believes the Feb. 9 date allows the district time to work on its testing protocol. The school has been collaborating with Mitchell County Regional Health Center on a saliva test, which day of the week staff members would test, and how to get testing done, whether it is at the school or at the health center. Administrators have also been in touch with Mitchell County Public Health Coordinator Jessa Ketelsen The board voted on six emergency OSHA board policies. After Rick Sletten made a motion to approve the policies, there was an extended pause among the other members of the board, as Sletten waited for one of them to second the motion. Eventually, board member Kelsey Jensen seconded the motion. Under testing, I wonder if we can add at the expense of the employee, they have to be tested on a weekly basis, said board member Laura Potter. Schwamman replied that testing staff at their expense was the intention. The exact language states, Beginning Jan. 4, 2022, employees who are not fully vaccinated must submit proof of negative COVID test results every seven days at the employees expense. At the Dec. 21 school board meeting, Schwamman indicated she had met with vocal employees who are not vaccinated. After explaining what position OSHA standards are placing the district, those employees indicated they would get the vaccine to avoid weekly testing. However, according to Schwamman, some will not change their minds. Schwamman added she would be the one who approves or denies medical or religious accommodation request forms. For better or worse, the school must continue to prepare for OSHAs mandated policy updates. You do what you need to do after the Supreme Court rules, Sletten said. Jason W. Selby is the community editor for the Mitchell Country Press News. He can be reached at 515-971-6217, or by email at jason.selby@globegazette.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 On Jan. 5, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson appeared at the Good Samaritan Society in St. Ansgar to inspect the facility and discuss regulations concerning COVID-19 testing, PPE, protocols and how everything has evolved within a years time, among other hot topic issues. The biggest thing was the vaccine push, Administrator Kelsey Bundy said of Hinsons visit. And our staffing struggles. I think everyone is having them. Specifically with the availability of the vaccine, Hinson said. The vaccination rates are very high. As a result, weve seen a huge impact on the lack of spread among residents of the pandemic. Thats crucial." I think if weve learned anything in the last year is there will be variants of the disease, and some of them are going to be more contagious than others. Some of them are going to be more severe than others. The vaccine certainly helps. Weve had a lot of conversations about the rate of hospitalization when youre vaccinated, the severity of an illness when you have it. From a public health perspective, I think weve done a lot to make sure were ready for whatever variant comes next said Hinson. Hinson added she has had COVID-19, she is vaccinated against COVID-19, and she has received her booster shot. What were seeing with the surge of this (Omicron) variant, if youre vaccinated its less severe, Hinson said. Thats the story I want to continue to talk about. Despite Hinson advocating for vaccination, she also decries what she considers too much regulation. Some of the standards required for (work) training are very restrictive, Hinson said of an issue at the Good Society Society. Some of them are state based, but there might be a federal nexus there. People are already burned out. According to Hinson, Federal vaccine mandates are not the right call regardless of the number of employees at a business. In this case she is referring to the OSHA policy that will require employers with 100 or more employees to require employees to provide proof of vaccination, or face weekly testing and a requirement to wear masks at work. Non-compliance is a fine of $136,000. School boards are calling special meetings to meet these policy requirements. Despite her concern for public health in light of the persistence of COVID-19, Hinson believes the government must avoid closing schools, businesses and public places like parks. I think its important to keep kids in school, she said. We have to live within this pandemic again. We cant continue to shut things down. According to Hinson, vaccination policy should be a personal choice regardless of the type of industry, and this mandate will fuel uncertainty and fear caused by a worker shortage, which is a side effect of the pandemic. Let businesses make the decision for themselves, Hinson said. That empowers down to the worker level, because workers can make the decision on whether or not they want to stay at an employer, as it should be. I think people should have the right to work wherever they want to work, but then employers know its up to them to have a good work environment, have a good education system, have a good availability of the vaccine if thats what theyre choosing to require or offer to their employees. I think thats the level it should be at. Hinson also questions the focus of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. My biggest concern is when were spending $1.9 trillion, when only nine percent of that bill goes to public health measures when were in the middle of a pandemic, she said. Thats a concern for me with whats happening in Washington (D.C), especially when a few weeks ago before the holidays my parents are in their 70s Im vaccinated, boosted and Ive had COVID, but I still wanted to get tested because I was going to be around my family. But Hinson said she couldnt get a COVID-19 test, and she believes ARPA should have been spent on public health testing and vaccination education. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury website, the American Rescue Plan provides $350 billion in emergency funding for eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and bring back jobs. Despite disagreements about how the money is spent, Hinson plans to spread the message about vaccination, which in her eyes is one step in keeping the world open during a pandemic. Jason W. Selby is the community editor for the Mitchell Country Press News. He can be reached at 515-971-6217, or by email at jason.selby@globegazette.com. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) is in need of a new director for its John Pappjohn Entrepreneurial Center. The position became vacant after longtime director Tim Putnam, who had spent seven years as the director of the Pappajohn Center, announced his resignation in November. "I am truly grateful. I cannot adequately put into words how proud I am to be a part of NIACC and the five Iowa Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers," Putnam wrote in a Facebook post announcing his resignation. "I will always feel a part of this community...It's been a truly amazing 21 years!" Putnam, who spent a total of 21 years working at NIACC, left in December, having accepted a position with the startup tech company Inseer, out of Iowa City. "He's just been such a great advocate for the center and for entrepreneurship," president of NIACC Steven Schulz said of Putnam. "His enthusiasm really speaks volumes, he loves what he does and believes in North Iowa." Despite taking a job in Iowa City, Schulz said that Putnam will still be living in the North Iowa area, and that he anticipates Putnam will still contribute to NIACC in some capacity in the future. "He'll continue to be an advocate for the college... that's just who Tim is," Schulz said. "We'll pull him in in a lot of different ways I think, and continue to engage with his skillset moving forward." NIACC is currently in the midst of searching for its new director for the Pappajohn Center, with Schulz saying the hiring board will begin interviewing candidates soon. Schulz added that he anticipates hiring someone to fill the position before the end of the month. Zachary Dupont covers politics and business development for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at 641-421-0533 or zachary.dupont@globegazette.com. Follow Zachary on Twitter at @ZachNDupont Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As I reflect on my first year of serving you in Congress, I am pleased by what we have accomplished together. I have been working hard to ensure your voice is heard in Washington, and that is why I quickly launched my 39 County Tour, secured seats on committees that impact our district including the Agriculture Committee, and began pushing back against radical policies that infringe on your constitutional rights. While there is still plenty of work to do, 2021 is full of accomplishments that I am excited to share. My most important responsibility as your representative is to be an effective voice for you in the halls of Congress. That is why I have never missed a vote and never voted by proxy; I always showed up to work for you and cast my vote in-person. Additionally, I launched and completed my first 39 County Tour, a promise I made to visit every county in the 4th District at least twice every year. Throughout this years county tour, I listened to your concerns and used this feedback to take action in Washington. For example, I heard from farmers across the district concerned about proposed tax changes in President Biden and congressional Democrats social tax and spending bills. I immediately led over 80 of my colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden, urging him to abandon his plan to cap like-kind exchanges. I also spoke out against the Biden administrations out-of-touch plan to implement a supercharged death tax. Fortunately, my colleagues and I have been successful in putting a stop to these devastating tax hikes on family farms. In addition to the 39 County Tour, my team held traveling office hours in all 39 counties at least once this year making it easier for folks across the district to access our office and get needed assistance. We have now successfully helped over 500 constituents navigate issues relating to the federal government, which includes everything from obtaining passports to securing tax returns. While passing legislation as a member of the minority party can be challenging, I am pleased with the results we were able to deliver in 2021. Earlier this year, I fought to secure relief for Iowa producers who were still struggling to bounce back from the 2020 derecho, which was the most costly severe thunderstorm in U.S. history. Although Democrats delayed the process by initially striking this provision, I continued advocating for Iowa farmers and successfully got this much-needed relief signed into law. I helped lead two other proposals aimed at supporting our rural communities, which both passed the House with bipartisan support over the summer. One seeks to bolster research and development for precision farming practices, with the intention of helping farmers improve efficiency and increase their bottom lines. The other would expand Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education programs and bolster broadband access in rural areas. STEM programs and quality broadband are critical to the future success and revitalization of rural America. I am honored to represent one of the largest agriculture districts in the country, and I will continue working on policies that ensure our farms and main streets have tools for success. Finally, I joined my Iowa colleagues in introducing and advocating for the Sergeant Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act, which was recently signed into law by President Biden. This bill is named in honor of Sgt. Brandon Ketchum, who tragically took his own life after failing to receive the mental health care he needed from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Our bill will help provide veterans in rural areas with more reliable mental health services. Additionally, after hearing from veterans frustrated by a lack of timely access to quality health care, I sent a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough demanding answers. According to the VA, a veteran seeking mental health care in the 4th District is forced to wait 27 days on average. I will continue working to ensure veterans in rural districts have access to timely, high-quality health care. I strongly believe that we are government together, meaning I cannot effect change as your elected representative without hearing your concerns, ideas, and questions. As we look ahead to a new year, I hope to hear from you. My website, Feenstra.House.Gov, contains all the information you need to stay in touch. It is an honor to serve as your voice in the halls of Congress, and I am looking forward to accomplishing even more together in 2022! Randy Feenstra, a father of four, represents Iowas 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Team Henry Enterprises, the Newport News-based contractor that recently finished dismantling the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, will soon take down the A.P. Hill statue and up to nine other monument pedestals in the city. After issuing a request for bids last month, the city on Wednesday published a notice saying it will award the contract to Team Henry, which bid $1.5 million on the project. Procurement records say the project will involve the removal of the A.P. Hill monument, his buried remains underneath it, and up to nine other monument pedestals. The documents specifically mention the monuments of Confederate Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, the Soldiers and Sailors monument in Libby Hill Park and the statue of Williams Carter Wickham that protesters toppled in Monroe Park in 2020. Another company, Washington-based contractor Stratified Inc., said it could do the job for $1 million. The city was preparing to award the company the contract, but later found that it did not have a Class A contractors license with the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. A city official familiar with the procurement process said Team Henry protested the citys plans to award the contract to the lower bidder, citing the state license. Stratified CEO Clive Diaz said Wednesday that he had intended to acquire the state contractor license immediately, but that lawyers he consulted told him that the city had the right to reject his bid without it. The city in 2020 awarded a $1.8 million contract to a shell company associated with Team Henry to take down the citys Confederate statues, shortly after Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Gov. Ralph Northam ordered their removal following weeks of protests over the police killing of George Floyd. The move led to a state police investigation after former Councilwoman Kim Gray raised concerns about how the contract was awarded to the company, whose owner, Devon Henry, had previously donated $4,000 to Stoneys election campaign and political action committee. A special prosecutor assigned to the case ended the investigation last summer after finding no evidence of public corruption. Lincoln Saunders, the citys chief administrative officer, said Wednesday that state officials in the summer of 2020 had suggested Henry as a potential contractor for the project, as they had already engaged him to remove the Lee monument. Saunders said the recommendation came as the city was struggling to find a contractor willing to accept the controversial job. Thats how they first came to our attention as a contractor for this work, he said. Team Henry wasnt someone our team had thought to call prior to the state identifying them. Henry has said that he formed a shell company for the city contract as a safety matter, as contractors involved in the removal of Confederate monuments elsewhere had been threatened or subject to violence. Saunders said the mayor and administration officials last year were reluctant to explain how the state had recommended Henry, fearing that it would paint a brighter target on him. State and city officials last week announced that Richmond will take ownership of the Lee monument before transferring it and the other Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. Spokespeople for Northam and the Department of General Services did not respond to questions Wednesday about how much the state paid Team Henry for the removal of the Lee monument. Television stations WRIC and WWBT in October reported that state officials projected it would cost $2 million. The Black History Museum, according to officials, will work with the Valentine museum and other local cultural institutions to engage the public and decide the final disposition of the monuments. The city in 2020 received about two dozen offers for the monuments from a variety of museums and institutions. Council staff working with the mayors administration, however, had been slow to act, as other localities weathered public criticism over where they sent their Confederate monuments. The Charlottesville City Council, for example, is facing legal action after voting last month to give its own statue of Robert E. Lee to a local museum that plans to melt it down for a new public art project. In neighboring Albemarle County, area residents criticized the county government when it gave its own Confederate tribute to a battlefield association in Shenandoah, alleging that it would be used to present a narrative that neglects the Confederacys intention to maintain the enslavement of Black people. In a special Richmond City Council meeting Wednesday evening, where legislation to accept the Lee monument from the state was introduced, 8th Councilwoman Reva Trammell questioned why officials had suddenly announced the transfer plans right as Northams term as governor nears its end. Why dont we just wait for the new governor to come in and decide what to do with these statues? Trammell said. Why dont we let him decide rather than us doing it? Why not let the mayor decide? Sources close to the governor and mayor have said that both officials feel it is important to finalize the transfer of the Lee monument prior to Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkins inauguration. In an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch last month, Stoney did not deny that officials are hurrying out of fear that Youngkin would pursue an objectionable plan for the Lee monument. The City Council is set to formally accept the Lee monument in a meeting next Wednesday, three days before Youngkin is slated to be sworn into office. On Jan. 6, 2021, hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop a joint session of the U.S. Congress from officially confirming that Joe Biden won the presidential election. According to official estimates, some 140 law enforcement officers were assaulted, including 80 U.S. Capitol Police officers and 60 Metropolitan Police officers. About $1.5 million worth of damage was done to the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The insurrection was based on the false belief that Biden didnt win the election and that then-President Donald Trump lost due to rampant election fraud. There has been no evidence that election fraud occurred or that Trump won the election. More than 725 people have since been arrested from all 50 states. More than 225 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or federal employees, according to the DOJ. About 640 people have been charged with entering or staying in a restricted federal building or grounds, the Justice Department said. Among those arrested are at least six people from the Piedmont Triad. Of those, two have pleaded guilty Virginia Marie Spencer and Anthony Scirica and they are scheduled to be sentenced this month. The first to be arrested was Christopher Spencer. His wife, Virginia Marie Spencer, was arrested later. Both are from Pilot Mountain, and Virginia Spencer recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol building. She is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. According to court documents, Virginia Spencer confronted a counter-protester and walked into a suite of offices belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her husband is alleged to have live-streamed his time in the U.S. Capitol building. Prosecutors allege that the couple brought along their 14-year-old son and are asking a federal judge to sentence Virginia Spencer to a three-month prison sentence. Her attorney is recommending a year of probation. Christopher Spencers charges are still pending. The cases of Charles Donohoe and Laura Steele have been the most prominent among the Triad arrests. Both are connected to far-right groups, which federal prosecutors believe were instrumental in planning the Jan. 6 insurrection the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Donohoe, who is from Kernersville, is the president of the Piedmont chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right group known for getting into violent clashes with antifascists at rallies and other events. Donohoe and three other Proud Boys leaders were indicted at the same time on a six-count indictment. The other co-defendants are Ethan Nordean of Auburn, Wash.; Joseph Biggs of Ormond, Fla.; and Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia. Federal prosecutors accuse the men of planning for the Proud Boys involvement in the attack. Donohoe, a former U.S. Marine who did two tours in Iraq, is alleged to have played a significant role in helping Proud Boys members in the attack. Prosecutors say Donohoe created a new encrypted messaging channel on the Telegram messaging application in an effort to evade law-enforcement detection. Donohoe did this, prosecutors said, after Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was arrested Jan. 4, 2021. Donohoe also is accused of telling fellow Proud Boys members that if any communications were compromised, members could face gang charges. Prosecutors said those statements indicated that Donohoe knew he was involved in something illegal. They also have alleged that Donohoe had a leadership role in the Proud Boys similar to that of a senior lieutenant and that he passed down instructions about logistics to Proud Boys members in the days before the attack. Donohoe also was part of a group on Jan. 6 that trampled over barricades and pushed up the steps to the Capitol building. He can be seen on video carrying a riot shield that was allegedly stolen from a Capitol police officer by Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola. Prosecutors say that Pezzola later used that same shield to break a window in the Capitol building that helped people to open an adjacent door and gain entry. Federal prosecutors say Donohoe later posted messages online saying he felt like a complete warrior. Lisa Costner, his attorney, has pushed back against those allegations, saying theres no evidence that Donohoe participated in planning an attack or that he knew an attack was imminent. She also said that Donohoe never entered the U.S. Capitol building and that, when he was arrested, police found no weapons on him. He and his co-defendants have sought to have their federal charges dismissed. Recently, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly denied their request. They are scheduled to go on trial in May. Laura Steele is a former High Point police officer from Thomasville. Federal prosecutors said Graydon Young helped recruit Steele, his sister, into the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers is a far-right anti-government group that recruits heavily from law enforcement and military. Steele is accused of joining a group of other Oath Keepers on Jan. 6 and illegally entering the U.S. Capitol building. They are seen on video and in photographs wearing tactical gear and walking in a military-style stack formation, meaning that members kept their hands on the back or vest of the person in front of them as they moved into the building. Prosecutors said Steele and others communicated with each other in the days before Jan. 6 about logistics and travel plans. They also said that after Jan. 6, Steele and her brother burned evidence of their involvement in a burn pit in Steeles Thomasville house. Young has pleaded guilty to obstruction of Congress and conspiracy, but charges are still pending against Steele. Steele was a police officer with the High Point Police Department from 1992 to 2004, when she was fired for conduct toward superior personnel, absence from duty and violation of communications policy. While at the police department, she worked as a school resource officer. Steele was investigated and later cleared in two separate incidents where she pepper-sprayed students, an 11-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. She also worked as a security guard for Novant Health. Anthony Scirica of Kernersville recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He had initially been charged in a four-count indictment. Prosecutors said that Scirica saw other people entering the Capitol, heard people shouting U.S.A. and Stop the Steal. Then he heard a window breaking and an alarm going off inside the Capitol. Prosecutors said despite that, Scirica went inside the Capitol, where he walked through the Rotunda about 2:25 p.m. Jan. 6. At 2:27 p.m., he went through Statuary Hall, and as he continued going through the Capitol, he took photos and videos. According to prosecutors, Scirica saw law enforcement officers, and witnessed one man push a law enforcement officer. The only remaining defendant from the Triad is Matthew Mark Wood of Reidsville. He is accused of breaking a window to get entry into the U.S. Capitol building. His case is still pending. GREENSBORO Dale J. Metz spent a career educating and advocating for children with disabilities. His name is on buildings and awards. But his passion and curiosity also made the former principal at the Gateway Education Center an unsung hero of sorts. After watching years of inaccurate portrayals of the disabled by able-bodied actors, Metz contacted a casting agent about using his students. Hollywood was soon making casting calls at Gateway, part of the Guilford County Schools system, which serves students with severe mental or physical disabilities. Many pupils are in wheelchairs. Some have terminal conditions. Gateway students are in the credits of the 1991 drama House of Cards, a Kathleen Turner and Tommy Lee Jones movie filmed in High Point and Trinity. Another Gateway student was featured in a pivotal role in Nell, with actors Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson. I take none of the credit, Metz said at the time, deferring to the schools talent pool. The longtime Gateway principal, who retired in 2004 after 21 years there, remained an outspoken part of the special needs community until his death at age 75. I cant change the cerebral palsy, he told the News & Record before his retirement. But maybe I can change the outcome. Metz had gall bladder surgery last month and by Dec. 30 his Facebook status included the message that he was in the hospital and unavailable. Metzs family confirmed his death on Facebook late Wednesday with great difficulty, which brought a steady stream of condolences and memories. No matter how important he was, wrote Dale Johnson Jr., Dale Metz never made you feel forgotten. In 2011, Metz was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the states highest civilian honor. The world lost this great man yesterday, wrote Stuart Stanley, one of Metzs longtime friends. He was an amazing educator, thespian, humanitarian, supporter of the arts, Santa and all around good human being! His infectious laugh and gentle spirit will be missed by so many. Others through social media mentioned Metz pushing them to follow dreams. You sure did make it a wonderful world, wrote Daisy Morton, who attached a YouTube video of Louis Armstrongs What a Wonderful World in tribute. Metz came to Greensboro in 1973 just as he was getting out of the Air Force. His wife, Susan, was headed to graduate school at UNCG and he needed a job. Metz, with a degree in special education, had wanted to work with the mentally disabled since high school. At the time, he wasnt sure why. But his reasons came more into focus while in college. During an internship at a New York mental hospital, he saw the unnamed graves of patients. It was unbelievable. Didnt someone love this person? he once said in an interview with the News & Record, while pointing to one of the small tombstones in a picture at his office. The experience at the mental institution absolutely solidified my determination to make a difference. Metz was hired as a special education teacher at what was then called Kiser Junior High. He received a masters degree in school administration from UNCG and in 1979 was named principal at Peeler Elementary. At Peeler, he began Greensboros first program for the treatment and education of children with autism and communication-related disabilities as well as creating parent-education classes and a community-tutor program. Then, he took over as principal at the new Gateway when it opened in 1983, although the schools origins date to 1950 when it was known as the Greensboro Cerebral Palsy and Orthopedic School. He raised more than $7 million in private and grant funds to expand Gateway and add an accessible playground. Greensboro and Metz would get national attention over the years for education efforts. Im so proud of Greensboro, Metz once said. They were 22 years ahead of any national legislation requiring education of disabled children. They were very progressive for the day. After retiring from Gateway, he worried about opportunities for children once they left the school system, and served as executive director of the nonprofit After Gateway from 2005 to 2009. He was the co-founder and past president of Handy Capable Network, a nonprofit that employed people with disabilities to refurbish used computers. He also served on the boards of various agencies or as a volunteer, including the Guilford County Commission on Aging, the board of directors for the Arc of Greensboro and Hospice of the Piedmont. He brought visitors into Gateway so that they could witness the everyday feats of children there. In 2019, when the district considered closing Gateway because of age and moving students to programs in other schools, Metz urged officials to reconsider. And they did. Many of those who mourned him on social media also gave testament to his legacy. So incredibly sad and heartbroken to hear about the passing of one amazing man, Chris Cockerham wrote. The man that gave me my passion for working with special needs individuals 31 years ago. Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 336-373-7049 and follow @nmclaughlinNR on Twitter. GREENSBORO The Greensboro Science Center is asking the public to help select a name for the African penguin who hatched there on Nov. 11. The center's staff has narrowed the choices to three names. Newton Niffler Piper Voting is now open via a Google Form at https://bit.ly/3F0UiFD and the deadline to vote is 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9. "The birth of this African penguin chick is especially important because it aids in sustainability within our Association of Zoos and Aquariums community," Megan Zelinski, the center's aquarist, said in a news release. "The global population of African penguins has declined 73% within the past few decades, so it's crucial we continue to create a genetically diverse and healthy population." The penguin chick is being kept behind the scenes and will remain there until it's ready to begin acclimation to swimming, the center said in the release. Following success with swimming, the chick will be given access to the exhibit. Apart from being "cute and fluffy," Zelinski said that the chick appears to be "observant, calm and rarely fearful, whereas many chicks can be hesitant and easily spooked." The penguins sex was still undetermined Wednesday. The center's veterinary team will later conduct a blood test to determine its sex, according to the release. A male and female cub recently joined their sibling Parker to live at the facility in Caswell County. On Dec. 17, 2021, Robert Scott Palmer of Largo, Fla., stood before a U.S. District Court judge and said, Im really, really ashamed of what I did, before receiving the longest prison sentence to date among those convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the nations Capitol: more than five years in prison. Palmer initially claimed he was a victim that hed only gone to the Capitol to protest, then had to defend himself from the Capitol Police who attacked him. He later confessed that hed lied; he was part of a violent mob that struck first, leaving behind broken bones, concussions and emotional turmoil that has led to suicide. In a letter to the judge in November, he wrote, I realize that we, meaning Trump supporters, were lied to by those that at the time had great power, meaning the sitting president as well as those acting on his behalf. His is just one of many lives derailed because they believed and acted on former President Trumps Big Lie. Who they were Federal prosecutors have charged more than 725 individuals with various crimes in connection with the deadly insurrection. Of those arrested, more than 75 have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon against police officers. Some 640 have been charged with entering a restricted federal building or its grounds; 225 charged with assault or resisting arrest; 75 charged with entering a restricted area with a deadly weapon. At least 119 defendants have alleged ties admitted, in some cases to known extremist groups like the pro-violence Proud Boys and the militia group Oath Keepers. Some 140 police officers, including Capitol officers and members of the D.C. police department, were victimized during the attack, which they described in a letter to Congress as hours and hours of physical trauma which has led to months of mental anguish. The attack also caused about $1.5 million worth of damage to the Capitol building. The U.S. attorneys office says the individuals arrested come from nearly all 50 states. Sadly, that includes North Carolina. They include Proud Boy leader Charles Donohoe of Kernersville and Virginia Marie Spencer of Pilot Mountain, who also blames Trump for her participation, as well as the media. In court papers, her attorney, Allen H. Orenberg, acknowledged that there was no evidence that the presidential elections were fraudulent, as Trump claimed. You dont say. Foot soldiers pay Yet as were learning from the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, the siege of the Capitol wasnt a spontaneous uprising. Evidence now suggests that the attack was planned, coordinated and even funded by influential parties some of whom may be members of Congress. And the attack was the back-up plan, in case illegitimate legislative efforts, like Trump lawyer John Eastmans plans to decertify the valid election results, failed. Which they did. And yet none of those higher-ups have yet been charged or punished. So the foot soldiers, so to speak, get prison terms while the ringleaders get to dine out and run for reelection. This should offend the sensibilities of every American citizen. Protectors betrayed Equally offensive is the degree to which some Republican officials have thrown the Capitol Police under the bus, downplaying the severity of the attack by describing it as a mostly peaceful protest and comparing it to a normal tourist visit. Some continue to peddle the baseless claim that antifa or the FBI or anyone else was responsible anyone except the obvious suspects, many of whom are now in custody. Some have had the sheer gall to describe the violent attackers awaiting trial as patriots and political prisoners. As a result, some Capitol Police officials like Sgt. Aquilino Gonell have become disillusioned. We risked our lives to give (congressional Republicans) enough time to get to safety, Gonell said in an interview with NPR in December. And allegedly, some of them were in communication with some of the rioters and with some of the coordinators or in the know of what would happen. And it makes you question their motives and their loyalty for the country, as we were battling the mob in a brutal battle where I could have lost my life and my dear fellow officers, as well. In context, the attempt to overthrow the election results begins to look more and more like part of a larger scheme to undermine democracy in the U.S., a topic to which well return at a later date. But for now, one year later, this cannot stand. Every insurrection schemer needs to be brought to light and punished severely, even if especially if their trail goes all the way to the White House. And it should happen long before Jan. 6, 2023. Scary stuff I dont feel that I scare easily. Sure, Ill write an occasional letter when Im bothered about one thing or another. However, a recent bother is different, an order of magnitude different. The headline in an Associated Press opinion piece in Sundays paper (Jan. 2) by Nicholas Riccardi, How Republicans seize election power, is scary enough to make you want to read the full column. If that wont do it, Ill share with you a couple of quotes from the column: (O)utside experts on democracy and Democrats are sounding alarms, warning that the United States is witnessing a slow-motion insurrection with a better chance of success than Trumps failed power grab last year. That raises fears that Trump-friendly governors could try to certify him if he were to run in 2024 and be the GOP nominee as the winner of their states electoral votes regardless of the vote count. Theres more scary stuff in that column, but Ill leave you with this well-known Ben Franklin quote. When Franklin was asked what kind of government we have, he said, A republic, if you can keep it. Well, we are in real danger of losing it. Harvey Herman Greensboro A better way Regarding the letter on Tuesday, Dec. 21 (Heres an idea ), that proposed ignoring the habit of gerrymandering voting districts: The writer even proposes prohibiting lawsuits that challenge rigged districts, suggesting that it all balances out over time. What I see instead is a deeply flawed system that may lead to single-party rule, not a democracy, with freedom only for the privileged. Those lawsuits are the only recourse for balance. One solution is an independent commission to make truly fair districts a commission with no ties to any party, appointed by a body beholden to no special interest, with allegiance to the principle of fair and just elections stewards of the most important part of our system of government. This commission could come from historians, social scientists and constitutional law experts. Allegiance to nothing but democracy must be an absolute qualification. Use rolling terms of service, overlapping the election cycle such as terms that are multiples of five, 15 years each, one-third being appointed every five years. Then maybe, as the writer said it, we would no longer have the world laughing at us. We could have an election system that is the envy of the world. Taylor Council Greensboro Indefensible We do have some serial MAGA letter writers here, dont we? Those same names that reappear with distortions, often excusing the inexcusable, indefensible actions of Donald Trump. One of those people towers above them all. Just this week, the writer falsely asserted (Blaming Trump, Jan. 4) that a letter from Dec. 22 blamed Trump for antisemitism. What next? Earthquakes? Cancer? Pretty hilarious, eh? In actuality, the letter referred to speaks of the disgusting leaflets being distributed, and said, There has been a well-documented rise in antisemitism in the last four or five years, aided by Donald Trumps affinity for white nationalists and his peddling of conspiracy theories. ... Thats quite a stretch, to interpret that reference as saying that antisemitism, in the main, is former President Trumps fault. Of course Trump didnt invent antisemitism. He merely plays to the worst instincts of antisemites, from his good people on both sides comment after Charlottesville ... to trashing ex-buddy Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating Biden for his victory ... to saying in April, as part of a rant, that it used to be that Israel had absolute power over Congress and today I think its the opposite. Thats a classic antisemitic trope. No need to defend the indefensible. Bradley Krantz Greensboro Manchins motives Apparently, Sen. Joe Manchins opposition to the Build Back Better legislation is based on the belief that better is the enemy of good enough especially when good enough is already far too expensive. To his credit, Sen. Manchin has consistently stated that he cannot support legislation that he cannot explain/justify to his West Virginia constituents. Indeed, explaining the benefits of Build Back Better would only raise questions about why West Virginia is ranked 47th based on a composite of economic, health and social metrics. Perhaps it is best for Sen. Manchin to just let a sleeping blue dog Democrat lie rather than stir up the legacy of unmet needs and interests of his red state. Better may very well be the enemy of good enough, especially when it comes to the senators 2024 reelection campaign. Howard Becker Greensboro Arianne Wing is the co-author of Noodles Through Escargots, and co-owner of the L.T. Sue Co. Tea Room and Emporium, benefiting the restoration and preservation of China Alley. She may be reached at ariannewing@gmail.com Last week, the former US special envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey claimed that the mercenaries who were involved in the crimes in Serekaniye were held accountable. With regard to the massacres and crimes committed by the organizations supported by Turkey, the United States of America and Turkey are acquitted of these crimes and to blame in the next stage for these groups under the title that they are undisciplined and disorderly groups. The text of the interview is as follows: *Since its occupation of Afrin in 2018, and Serekaniye and Gire Spi 2019, Turkey has been committing crimes against the indigenous population through its mercenary groups. The US envoy to Syria under Donald Trump, James Jeffrey, admitted to committing these crimes. What does this recognition mean? I must make clear that the statements made by the former representative of the US administration regarding the Syrian file during the era of Donald Trump express the US administration in particular, and do not express Jeffrey itself, when he wwas in charge of the Syrian file in Turkey, and he was very close to Turkey but rather he represents the American political orientations in West Asia as a whole. When he deals with the file of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria in all regions, whether in Idlib, which he described at one stage as one of the fortresses of the Syrian opposition, and Washington will not allow it to be brought down, he expresses about the direction of the American project to keep the entire north of Syria under Turkish occupation under the title of the Syrian opposition, and he wants his statements regarding the massacres and crimes committed by the organizations supported by Turkey, to exonerate the United States of America and acquit Turkey of these crimes and to bear its burden in the next stage for these groups under the title They are uncontrolled and undisciplined groups. * Jeffrey tried to polish Turkey's image by saying that mercenary groups committed war crimes. Can the groups affiliated with Turkey do something without instructions from the Turkish army? And this being the case, why is Jeffrey trying to polish Turkey's image? We all know that these groups are supported by Turkey, directed by the Turkish intelligence and the Turkish army, and cannot move a finger without orders from them, and Turkey cannot proceed with its policies in the northern regions away from the implicit and clear approval of the American administration, which agreed to occupy Afrin Which fell through a semi-agreement and Russian-American complicity due to considerations that concern them with each other and self-considerations for each of them, and what is related to the policies followed in these areas is closer to being a purely American policy through the Turkish administration, and then these armies that will bear responsibility for the crimes and exonerate the American administration and the political and intelligence leaders The real Turkish involved. * Jeffrey was the US ambassador to Turkey for many years, and he had the most prominent role in the American withdrawal from north and east Syria, and opened the way for Turkey to occupy the region and commit these massacres against the people. Isn't Jeffrey also responsible for these crimes? Holding James Jeffrey responsible for the exit of the United States of America or Washington allowing Turkey to occupy large areas of northern Syria is unrealistic, and we cannot imagine that James Jeffrey could do this; Because it is basically an American employee who was assigned to manage the Syrian file in accordance with the set strategy, and he is implementing the instructions of this administration, and therefore it is a grave mistake to hold one person within a superpower that has its institutions and study centers and formulates its policies with utmost precision to serve its interests, responsibility, and the real controller is the deep state In the United States of America, which saw its greatest interests with Turkey and not with any other party; For considerations related to the major conflict at the international level between it and Russia and China, and to invest Turkeys ability to influence Russia and China, through the Turkish-speaking peoples and countries extending in Central Asia and northwestern China. * Crimes in the Syrian areas occupied by Turkey are committed in front of the eyes of the international powers and the international community. Why this blindness to the Turkish crimes documented by a United Nations report issued in September 2021? As for the crimes in the areas occupied by Turkey, the international community is a faltering society that is not concerned with issues related to human rights and crimes and felonies as much as its interests can be achieved. The priority for the higher strategy of these countries, especially Western countries in general, especially the United States and most European Union countries. The overall policies that are drawn up in these countries are drawn on the basis of interests and use human rights issues and defend freedoms and democracies to serve the American and Western interests when they require it, and when these crimes and felonies conflict with economic and geopolitical interests, silence is their fate. This is the West in general, whose sacred priority is to maintain its continued hegemony on the center of global decision-making, its continued looting of large areas of the world, and the control of the global economy in a large and large way. *Is the silence of the international community not a message to Turkey to continue its crimes and not hold it accountable? There is no message for Turkey to continue its crimes, but there is a Western American cover for it to continue these policies as long as Turkey can achieve the higher interests of this Western system. The priority it has in its international struggle requires that it be allied with Turkey and that it recover it completely to be disciplined within the policies that it drawn by Ankara, not the policies drawn by Ankara. The Turkish project has exceeded what it was drawn to, and it is now on the way back to the fold of the Western project to be regulated with its objectives and general contexts, regardless of the negative effects on the peoples of the region. * How serious is the international community in holding Turkey accountable for its crimes, which are not limited to Syria, but have reached Nagorno-Karabakh, Libya and other parts of the world? What Turkey accomplished in Syria and Iraq, which reached areas in Bashiqa and tried to reach Sengal, in addition to the Caucasus region, Libya and all these regions to which it jumped, ultimately serves Western interests, so there is no real seriousness on the part of the countries of the so-called lying international community in holding Turkey accountable Except when it cannot fully control its policies with it, and not take advantage of the large margin that it and others owned as a result of the American retreat and Western retreat in the face of China and Russia. Complete about the Western project, and took its final decision to turn to China and Russia, and entered with them within the Belt and Road Initiative project and the Eurasian project, and I think that this cannot be done because the Turkish economy is linked to the Western economy, and the policies of the World Bank dominate the economic and political policies in it, but it will continue to play on Margins of contradictions between countries, to expand their ability to restore their imperial project, which collapsed after the First World War. * What is required of the international community, especially the United Nations, to carry out its moral and humanitarian duties, as well as to the minimum extent of applying the laws on which it was founded? Much more is required of the United Nations, and not only on issues related to Turkish crimes. Rather, it is with all the crimes in Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen, and all the crimes that are not mentioned. Therefore, I do not rely on the issue of the United Nations, in which the Security Council approved resolutions that were not implemented, including Resolution 242 in 1967 after the occupation of the West Bank in Palestine, Sinai and the Golan. Or with regard to the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus, and there is a Security Council resolution that has not been implemented, and there are dozens of laws that have not been implemented; Because the interests of states are higher than the interests of peoples, so I think that we should rely only on ourselves, the Syrians, to hold Turkey accountable by removing it from the occupied north of Syria completely, which can be reflected on the Turkish interior by dropping Turkish illusions if they are of a national nature or of a nature Expansive character and historical Ottoman objective. A ANHA COBRA was set up to offer temporary health care coverage to workers, but it comes at a cost. If you choose to enroll in COBRA, you're generally responsible for your own monthly premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Your group health plan is allowed to charge you 100 percent of the plan's cost, plus an administrative surcharge of up to 2 percent. So how much are we talking? In 2020, the average annual cost of group health care coverage in the U.S. was a whopping $21,342 for families and $7,470 for individuals, according to Kaiser Family Foundation. Covered employees with family plans paid an average of 27 percent of that cost, or about $5,700 annually, with the employer picking up the rest. Those with individual plans contributed an average of 17 percent of the bill, or about $1,270 annually. But those on COBRA typically had to pay the full cost, plus the administrative fee. Advertisement The thought of paying nearly $7,500 a year for individual coverage, or $21,000 for family care, is shocking. And not surprisingly, many workers simply can't afford it, and thus decline. During the Great Recession of the late 2000s, Congress tried to help by offering a 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. While this helped some people afford the coverage, many turned it down, citing COBRA's still-too-high cost. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was signed into law, providing people with more options through its marketplace. Obamacare also provides subsidies to lower-income people to further lower the cost. Short-term health plans are also offered in many states. Typically available to most people for a year, they're affordable, although they don't cover much. It's also wise to investigate whether you're qualified for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It is possible that a former employer will cover some, or all, of your COBRA fees. This may happen as part of a buy-out agreement, or during a merger or acquisition. Sometimes this is part of a recruitment strategy. In general, however, workers are responsible for the entire bill. While health care in the U.S. is costly in general, no matter the plan, it's often a necessary expense. And as anyone with a pre-existing medical condition can testify, any lapse in health insurance can result in long waiting periods or exclusion from coverage entirely. COBRA, while expensive, exists to make sure that lapse doesn't happen. COBRA and the Coronavirus When COVID-19 erupted in the U.S. in early 2020, millions lost their jobs and thousands of businesses closed for good. The government did relax some COBRA notices, plus election and premium payment time frames, along with some other tweaks. And the Democrat-controlled House introduced the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act in April, which would cover the full cost of COBRA for eligible workers and the full cost of any insurance premiums owed by furloughed workers. By the fall, the bill was still in committee. Media contacts: Deidre McCabe, Director, Office of Communications, 410-767-3536 Andy Owen, Deputy Director for Media Relations, 410-767-6491 Federal government signs off on Maryland Medicaids 1115 waiver renewal Approval obtained for expansion of behavioral health and substance use treatment options, alternative t ransp ortation model Expansion of Institutions of Mental Disease (IMD) Services for Adults with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) . MDH has obtained expenditure authority to cover Medicaid adults aged 21 to 64 who have an SMI diagnosis and who are residing in a private IMD beginning on January 1, 2022. The days authorized will be based on medical necessity. . MDH has obtained expenditure authority to cover Medicaid adults aged 21 to 64 who have an SMI diagnosis and who are residing in a private IMD beginning on January 1, 2022. The days authorized will be based on medical necessity. Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model (Eff. Date: July 1, 2021). Implemented in response to Marylands opioid epidemic, the MOM Model is a pilot initiative designed to improve maternal health outcomes by providing case management, somatic, and behavioral healthcare services to pregnant individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD), as well as reducing the burden of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and its associated costs. Initially established in St. Marys County, the pilot will transition to becoming available statewide. In this submission, Maryland sought funding for payments for participating managed care organizations to cover these services during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Implemented in response to Marylands opioid epidemic, the MOM Model is a pilot initiative designed to improve maternal health outcomes by providing case management, somatic, and behavioral healthcare services to pregnant individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD), as well as reducing the burden of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and its associated costs. Initially established in St. Marys County, the pilot will transition to becoming available statewide. In this submission, Maryland sought funding for payments for participating managed care organizations to cover these services during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Medicaid Alternative Destination Transport Pilot Program. The Medicaid Alternative Transport Model is a voluntary, five-year payment model that provides greater flexibility to ambulance care teams to address emergency health care needs following a 911 call by allowing for payment for ground transports to alternative destinations like urgent care providers in addition to hospital emergency rooms. The Medicaid Alternative Transport Model is a voluntary, five-year payment model that provides greater flexibility to ambulance care teams to address emergency health care needs following a 911 call by allowing for payment for ground transports to alternative destinations like urgent care providers in addition to hospital emergency rooms. Modification to Assistance in Community Integration Services (ACIS) Pilot Program. MDH was successful in expanding the number of available places from 600 to 900. Through an open process, local jurisdictions will apply to deliver ACIS services to a proposed number of individuals either as an expansion of a current ACIS pilot program or under a new application. All other provisions of the program, including the local governmental entity provision of the non-federal share of payments, remain the same. The ACIS pilot is currently active in Cecil, Montgomery, Prince Georges Counties and Baltimore City. MDH was successful in expanding the number of available places from 600 to 900. Through an open process, local jurisdictions will apply to deliver ACIS services to a proposed number of individuals either as an expansion of a current ACIS pilot program or under a new application. All other provisions of the program, including the local governmental entity provision of the non-federal share of payments, remain the same. The ACIS pilot is currently active in Cecil, Montgomery, Prince Georges Counties and Baltimore City. Modification to the Evidence-Based Home Visiting Services (HVS) Pilot for High-Risk Pregnant Women and Children. MDH expanded the allowable time frame of eligibility in the Healthy Families America (HFA) network, an evidence-based, home-visiting model program from age two to age three. This change aligns with the current guidelines of the HFA model. All other provisions of the program, including the local-governmental entity provision of the non-federal share of payments, remain the same. -###- The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) announced today that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a five-year renewal of the states Medicaid 1115 waiver, which extends its HealthChoice program. The federal Medicaid website describes the conditions under which 1115 waivers are granted: Section 1115 of the Social Security Act gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to approve experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects that are found by the Secretary to be likely to assist in promoting the objectives of the Medicaid program. The state will receive federal dollars to use for initiatives that will closely align the 1115 program with the Maryland Medicaid Administrations priorities to implement cost-effective strategies that improve access to health care and health for individuals with complex conditions and needs.The HealthChoice 1115 waiver has been critical to innovating the delivery of health care services to Maryland Medicaid participants since 1997, said MDH Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. We are pleased to continue to expand our partnership with the federal government to include initiatives vital to further improving health outcomes for Marylands most vulnerable residents.With the renewal of the 1115 waiver, the Medicaid program will be able to continue its collaboration with state and federal partners to better serve the needs of the more than 1.4 million Marylanders enrolled in HealthChoice. The waiver authorizes Medicaid to continue promising pilot programs from the prior waiver period as well as coverage for substance use residential treatment services, said Deputy Secretary for Health Care Financing and Medicaid Steve Schuh. Medicaid will also cover new benefits, including services delivered by institutions for mental disease (IMDs) for adults with severe mental illness, additional interventions designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes, and a pilot program with ambulance care teams to reduce strain on Maryland's emergency departments.The waiver renewal, which took effect January 1, 2022, focuses on maintaining high-quality, cost-effective services and pilot programs initiated in the last waiver renewal period. In addition, it allows MDH to focus on alignment with statewide efforts and measures designed for and organized around achieving success on population health measures required by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) for Marylands Total Cost of Care Model . Key components of this agreement include:For more information about the Maryland Medicaid Administration, visit health.maryland.gov/mmcp The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement. Twitter @MDHealthDept Follow us on and at Facebook.com/MDHealthDept Main_Content January 5, 2022 Media contacts: Deidre McCabe, Director, Office of Communications, 410-767-3536 Andy Owen, Deputy Director, Media Relations 410-767-6491 Maryland Department of Health receives three-year, $1.1 million CDC grant to address maternal mortality statewide MDH awarded funding for review and surveillance to prevent maternal deaths, address health disparities in maternal health ### The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) has been awarded more than $1.1 million over the next three years from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support statewide efforts to improve maternal health outcomes. MDH will use these funds ($373,413 per year) to support in-depth reviews of pregnancy-associated deaths to gain a better understanding of the causes of maternal mortality and complications that occur during and after pregnancy in Maryland, including associated disparities.MDHs Maryland Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) was one of only 30 programs chosen nationally to receive the Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality Program (ERASE MM) grant. This effort supports Marylands recently announced $72 million maternal and child health care initiative , which is aimed at improving related health disparities for Marylanders statewide.According to Marylands recently released 2020 Maternal Mortality Review (which reviews pregnancy-associated deaths from 2018), the states maternal mortality rate from 2014-2018 was 18.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with 20.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births nationwide during the same timeframe. These figures represent an improvement from 24.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births between 2009 - 2013, but large disparities still exist in the pregnancy-associated health outcomes of Black and Hispanic Marylanders.A woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth from preventable causes is not acceptable, said MDH Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. We welcome this funding from the CDC, which will complement our efforts to look deeper into the causes of maternal mortality and complications during pregnancy in Maryland and find solutions.The grant will support multi-disciplinary reviews of maternal mortality data and all pregnancy-associated deaths that occur in Maryland, ensuring that all such deaths are thoroughly evaluated. The grant will also support the staff necessary to analyze the data and to help implement the preventive health recommendations which result from the analysis.By better understanding why pregnancy-related deaths occur, we can better prevent them with evidence-based solutions, said MDH Deputy Secretary for Public Health Dr. Jinlene Chan. This program, along with the other efforts we are making to improve maternal and child health, will help us meet important community health goals for all Marylanders.In December 2020, Maryland designated maternal and child health as the third population health priority area under its Statewide Integrated Health Improvement Strategy (SIHIS). The SIHIS is a coordinated public-private initiative to improve health, reduce disparities, and transform healthcare delivery under Marylands Total Cost of Care Model For more information about MDH efforts to improve pregnancy-related outcomes and improve the health of families statewide, visit https://health.maryland.gov/ phpa/mch/Pages/home.aspx The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.Follow us on Twitter @MDHealthDept and at Facebook.com/MDHealthDept Jan 06, 2022 9:00 AM Read Time: 3 minutes Author: Ashlee Harrison Amit Maity, MD, PhD Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and University of Utah Health (U of U Health) welcome Amit Maity, MD, PhD. Maity will serve as professor and chair of the department of radiation oncology for the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at University of Utah. Maity is a physician-scientist who currently serves as professor and executive vice chair of radiation oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine where he holds the Morton L. Kligerman, MD, Professorship. Maity cares for patients with hematologic malignancies using radiation therapy, a type of treatment that delivers precise beams of energy to shrink or kill tumors within the body. His laboratory focuses on ways to improve the efficacy of radiation therapy through research in new therapeutics that may enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to radiation. Dr. Maity is a national leader in his field, said Michael L. Good, MD, CEO of University of Utah Health. His expertise, experience, and leadership will help bring an already exceptional department to even greater heights in caring for our patients, advancing research, and training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. As chair, Maity will oversee all radiation oncology clinical care, research, and training programs at U of U Health. The department is located at Huntsman Cancer Institute, the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West. The department provides radiation oncology care to adults and children in one of the largest services areas in the country, an area that includes Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming, and comprises 17 percent of the landmass of the continental United States. As home to the regions first and only center for proton therapy among all other state-of-the-art radiation therapy modalities, the department is broadly recognized for expertise in medical physics with sophisticated technologies for precision-guided delivery of radiation therapy. Clinical trials evaluating new methods of radiation therapy for cancer patients is a priority of the department. A major focus of its clinical research efforts is evaluation of methods that reduce the number of radiation therapy doses required to treat a tumor, an effort to meet unique needs of HCIs rural service area where many patients must travel significant distances for such treatment. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Maity to Huntsman Cancer Institute, said Sachin Apte, MD, chief clinical officer of HCI. Approximately half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment. Radiation therapy is a critical area of focus for Huntsman Cancer Institute in terms of advancing compassionate, science-based medicine and training the next generation of radiation therapy care providers. Maity completed his medical degree at Boston University, followed by a residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and then a residency in radiation oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently completed a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and then pursued post-doctoral research training at Johns Hopkins University, and later leadership training at Harvard University. I am excited by the opportunity at University of Utah Health and Huntsman Cancer Institute because of their commitment to exceptional patient-centered cancer care, and to cutting-edge research aimed at improving outcomes, said Maity. I am looking forward to working with the exceptionally talented teams there and helping them to achieve even more in our field. Dennis Shrieve, MD, PhD Maity begins his service on June 1, 2022. He succeeds Dennis Shrieve, MD, PhD, who has served as chair of the department since 2000. Shrieve will remain on staff where he will continue to care for cancer patients at HCI. We are extremely grateful to Dr. Shrieve for his visionary leadership of the department of radiation oncology for over two decades, and for his continued service to cancer patients, said Good. Dr. Shrieve was instrumental in bringing new modalities, like stereotactic radiosurgery and proton therapy to Utah, and his leadership of the department has brought together a robust group of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists, technicians, administrative professionals and more who are united in advancing radiation therapy care for the benefit of cancer patients. Angie Paulsen was recently sworn in as Broadwater County clerk and recorder/election administrator and Melissa Franks was sworn in as treasurer/county superintendent of schools. Paulsen recently served as executive staff for Montanas secretary of state and Franks was the Broadwater County chief deputy treasurer. Paulsen said she was honored to serve in this capacity. I have tremendous respect for my predecessor, Doug Ellis, and I am dedicated to protecting the integrity of Broadwater Countys elections, she said in an email. Ellis retired from serving as county clerk and recorder, treasurer, county superintendent of schools and elections administrator. County commissioners divided up the offices and appointed Paulsen and Franks to replace him. They assumed their respective positions on Jan. 3. Franks said she was looking forward to her new role and she said she was grateful for Ellis mentorship. He will be missed," Franks said. The Honorable Kirk Flynn, justice of the peace, administered the oaths of office. Paulsen said she will run for the elected position of clerk and recorder/elections administrator this year and Franks will run for treasurer/county superintendent of schools. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 On this episode, Seaborn Larson talks about the road to recreational cannabis in Montana. What route did providers, local regulators and law enforcement take as they prepared for the new cannabis landscape in Montana? This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Record, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism. Business owners have filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission criticizing NorthWestern Energys management for water levels on Hebgen Lake this summer as irresponsible. The businesses filing the complaint on Jan. 4 include the Firehole Ranch, Kirkwood Marina and Yellowstone Holiday Resort. Twenty-seven other letters from lake property owners and boaters were filed supporting the protest. FERC is the federal agency that oversees dam licensing. The news of the filings came as a trio of environmental groups filed a complaint on Wednesday asking FERC to hold NorthWestern accountable for its dam failure in late November that temporarily reduced flows on the Madison River. The Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Montana Environmental Information Center, and the Madison River Foundation are calling for FERC to require the energy company to fund a thorough, third-party investigation of the malfunction and hold the permittee accountable to take the necessary steps in ensuring this tragedy is an isolated event. Hebgen The complaint by Hebgen businesses charges NorthWestern deliberately misrepresented the extent of the drought affecting Hebgen Lakes water levels when communicating with FERC about required flows on the Madison River in July. The Company intentionally withheld critical information as to the severity of necessary withdrawals from Hebgen Lake to maintain the Madison River levels at Kirby, the complaint charged. It cherry picks the 2021 facts so as to try to parallel the facts as they occurred in 2007 in an attempt to obtain from the FERC similar treatment, waiving the need for a variance. 2007 was another low water year for Hebgen Lake. The companies said NorthWestern was well aware of the low snowpack and runoff in the spring but continued to allow excessive spring discharges. By mid-July, NorthWestern Energy sent out a press release notifying Hebgen Lake users the reservoir would continue to drop as water was released to cool the Madison River, as required under its FERC license. At that time, lake levels were already one foot below the full pool minimum. By Oct. 1 the water level had dropped four more feet, the businesses said. The result of the low lake level was a lack of docks, boat ramps left high and dry, the exposure of islands and logs that damaged boat motors and a loss of business as recreationists cancelled reservations to go elsewhere. Firehole Ranch had to close early and estimated its 39 canceled reservations cost the company more than $356,000. Were the businesses to sustain another year like 2021, it is likely that all or some of those entities will fail and go out of business, the complaint said. Shoreline plan Under its dock and shoreline management plan, NorthWestern is required in a typical year to maintain the water elevation of Hebgen Lake between 6,530.26 feet and 6,534.87 feet (normal full pool) between June 20 and Oct. 1. As noted, however, the company also must balance the lake users needs with other demands including power generation, keeping the Madison River cool with pulse flows, and responding to operating emergencies beyond NorthWesterns control for short periods upon mutual agreement with other management agencies, including the Forest Service and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Instead of draining the lake, the Hebgen businesses claim NorthWestern should have sought a variance to its operating permit that requires it to keep a minimum flow at the U.S. Geological Surveys river gauge downstream at Kirby Ranch, which is supposed to be a flow of 600 cubic feet per second. Due to the drawdown of the reservoir, the lake was below its required lowest elevation level for 70 days, including all of August and into September, the companies said. FERC should not grant the Company a 'Get out of Jail Free Card' in the form of a variance, the businesses said in the complaint. The Company is not without fault in the turn of events that resulted in environmental damage as well as damages to the Businesses and other adversely affected parties. With drought becoming more likely under climate change predictions, the businesses called on FERC to reevaluate the management requirements for Hebgen Lake and the Madison River. I am asking FERC to look into possible mismanagement by NW Energy and to have FERC place conditions on their permit so they will not be able to operate the same way in the future to prevent this from happening again, wrote Charles and Linda McDonough in a letter of support for the businesses. The Virginia couple are homeowners on Hebgen Lake and rent a boat slip at Yellowstone Holiday Resort. Madison Following the failure of a gate that reduced flows on the Madison River in late November, NorthWestern is in the process of writing a Root Cause Analysis examining what went wrong and possible actions to avoid similar problems in the future. Last month, FERC notified the company it should install an alarm system and camera to detect and quickly confirm any future problems. NorthWestern Energy spokeswoman Jo Dee Black said an investigation is being conducted into the Nov. 30 incident and is taking purposeful steps to ensure a thorough analysis of the gate component. A replacement part had to be manufactured and trucked to the dam to make the repair. Black went on to say the analysis will be used to understand why this relatively new part installed in 2015 as part of the $40 million Hebgen upgrade completed in 2018, failed and to establish corrective actions. One of the main concerns cited by the environmental groups in their complaint to FERC is that the dewatering not only killed some fish, which were stranded when the water dropped quickly, but also that brown trout eggs laid in gravels during the fall may have been exposed to air and killed. NorthWestern Energy will also be working with resource agency biologists and others to develop scientific studies to assess effects on the fishery, Black said. Brown trout numbers are already declining on streams across southwestern Montana, state biologists have reported. And the Madison River below Ennis Dam suffered a fish die-off in June that mainly affected whitefish, which are more susceptible to disease and parasites. With already historically low brown trout population numbers greater than age 2, additional fish mortality as a result of this dewatering event will have long-term negative impacts on the fisheries health, particularly for brown trout, the groups contend in their FERC complaint. To compensate, the groups said NorthWestern should be required to create a restoration fund to conduct long and short-term studies on the habitat and fishery with a goal of restoring the river to conditions similar to before it was dewatered. They also suggested the company create a program to help any business or community interest that suffers a hardship due to a decline in the fishery caused by the dam problem. The river's fishery is a significant economic engine for the region. As a public utility, NorthWestern Energy must be held accountable for mismanagement of Montanas natural resources, especially our water, said Derf Johnson, staff attorney and Clean Water Director at MEIC, in a press release. NorthWestern needs to fully cooperate with a comprehensive and transparent investigation, mitigate the impacts to the environment, community, and economy, take measures to ensure that this never happens again, and pay to fix the problem out of its shareholders' pockets. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 PRESS STATEMENT: 02 January 2022 GOVERNMENT OF INDIAS DECISION TO RESTRICT FLOW OF FOREIGN FUNDS AFFECTS CRUCIAL HUMANITARIAN WORK IN THE COUNTRY: OXFAM INDIA The Government of Indias decision to refuse renewal of Oxfam Indias Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration will severely affect the organisations ongoing crucial humanitarian and social work in 16 states across the country. This includes setting up of oxygen plants, providing lifesaving medical and diagnostic equipment such as oxygen cylinders and ventilators and delivery of food to the most vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the list released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 01 January 2022, Oxfam Indias FCRA registration renewal request has been denied which means that Oxfam India will not be able to receive foreign funds for any of its work in India from 01 January 2022. Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India said, Oxfam India has been working in public interest with the government, communities and frontline workers in the country for decades now. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oxfam India joined hands with health departments, district administrations and ASHA workers across the nation to provide life-saving equipment and support. We are also working with various state governments to ensure bridging of the learning gap in school education due to COVID-19. We have worked to enhance women livelihood and worked with forest dwellers to ensure that they are not denied their rights. We have worked in some of the most flood-prone districts to make communities resilient and provide a lasting solution. The Ministry of Home Affairs decision to deny renewal of FCRA registration will severely hamper these collaborations which were providing relief to those who needed it the most during times of crisis COVID-19 Response by Oxfam India: This development severely hampers Oxfam Indias COVID-19 response Mission Sanjeevani which is one of the largest among NGOs in India. Under the initiative, Oxfam India provided 6 Oxygen generating plants and distributed over 13,388 lifesaving medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders, BiPAP Machines, concentrators, and ventilators, over 116,957 safety and PPE kits, over 9929 diagnostic equipment such as thermometers and oximeters, and 20,000 testing kits in 16 states. We reached to over 141 district-level hospitals, 171 Primary Health Centres, and 167 Community Health Centres. We trained and provided safety kit to over 48,000 ASHA workers in 9 states, who are the backbone of the primary healthcare system. We have delivered food ration to over 5.76 lakh people. And made cash transfers to over 10,000 people to the tune of INR 3.53 Crores to help them with their immediate needs during the pandemic. These include helping the most vulnerable communities including transgenders, sex workers, miners, rag pickers, cancer survivors, survivors of domestic violence, weavers, fisherfolk, construction workers, and those affected by floods and cyclones. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. As India stares at a possible third wave due to the Omicron variant, the restrictions on accessing funds will hamper our efforts to provide support in strengthening the public healthcare system. Since March 2020, Oxfam India was at the forefront whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon NGOs and civil society to join the fight against COVID-19 by helping government to strengthen health services and accelerate pace of vaccination drive. The Supreme Court also acknowledged the contribution of NGOs in providing relief during the pandemic. Rapid Response to Natural Disasters and Crisis: Oxfam Indias humanitarian team has been one of the first to respond to cyclone, floods, landslides, and earthquakes. This year we reached out to over 8000 people in Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. Since 2008, Oxfam India has provided relief to lakhs of people through its disaster relief response. This includes crucial food aid, water, hygiene kits, shelter kits and lifesaving equipment. Development Work for Nation Building: Oxfam Indias programmes and interventions are aimed at achieving overall development of the poorest states in India. Our work has presence in 109 districts of 6 states of India Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Jharkhand. Apart from humanitarian work, Oxfam India has worked with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities to ensure education to all, especially girl child and to provide multi-lingual education to tribal children. Our education programmes have helped more than 90,000 children to receive quality education in the last five years, and it continues to work towards bridging learning losses due to the pandemic and lockdowns. We have worked with over 11,000 women to strengthen their livelihood; these include women farmers, fisherfolk and artisans many of whom have also set up producer companies. In the last five years alone, we have set up 11 Women Support Centers and reached out to 3.48 lakh women and girls through our campaign and programmes to address Violence Against Women. To improve public health, Oxfam Indias programmes are pushing for free medicines, patients rights and improving quality of healthcare for all. These programmes serve crucial public interests and serve communities which lag behind in development. Oxfam India has worked for the forest rights of the tribal communities as well as other traditional forest dwellers. In the last 5 years, we have worked with over 40,000 tribals and forest dwellers in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and our work has borne fruit 2975 Individual Forest Rights, 27 Community Forest Rights and 20 Community Rights titles were received. We have worked closely with the National and State Disaster Management Authorities to contribute to risk-informed development planning as well as draw up DRR Road Maps for states like Assam and Bihar. Oxfam India has worked to bridge inequalities and end discrimination not just through its work on the ground but also through research and knowledge building. Our Inequality Reports over the years have covered a gamut of topics from the unpaid care work of women to the state of employment. Our latest Inequality Report this year, Indias Unequal Healthcare Story, took a deep dive into how access to healthcare and the health parameters varied for different sections of the society. Legacy of Oxfam in India: While Oxfam India became a fully Indian organisation in 2008 with prominent citizens of India as its board members, Oxfam had been working in India since 1951. Throughout these seven decades, the organisation has always upheld Indian laws, propagated countrys constitutional values and worked tirelessly for the people of India. Oxfam came to India to provide famine relief in Bihar during 1951. Since then, we have been participating in Indias nation building process in different ways and we are proud of it. Oxfams support to Amul, the dairy cooperative society based in Anand, Gujarat in 1960s helped it to become the largest milk brand in India and one of the largest food products in the world. In 1971, it recruited doctors and medical students to provide medical assistance to refugees coming in India from East Pakistan. During the Kargil war, Oxfam provided crucial relief material to communities on the Indian side of the border. Oxfam was at the forefront of the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts after Tsunami hit the Tamil Nadu coast in 2005. Oxfam India has in the last 70 years saved millions of people affected due to floods, cyclones, and earthquakes. And when the pandemic struck, we were on the ground with hot cooked meals for the migrant workers within days of the announcement of the lockdown in March 2020. We havent looked back since. Oxfam Indias international affiliates have always joined hands whenever call for help have been sent out by people of India. As recently as in May 2021, all Oxfam affiliates in 21 countries mobilised significant resources to combat devastating second wave and mitigate sufferings of the people in India. Over the years, our work has always been in public interest and guided by the principle of creating lasting solutions to address the injustice of poverty, to leave no one behind and to end discrimination and create a free and just society. The MHAs refusal to renew Oxfam Indias FCRA registration will not reduce Oxfam Indias commitment to serve the vulnerable communities in country and uphold values enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Oxfam India will reach out to the MHA and will urge them to lift the funding restrictions to ensure vulnerable communities keep receiving the support they need at this critical time of pandemic, said Amitabh Behar. For more information, please contact: abhirr[at]oxfamindia[dot]org Phone: +91 9739981606 DECATUR The taxpayers who will pay their salaries got a first look Wednesday evening at the two finalists vying to be picked as the next superintendent of Decatur Public Schools. Candidates Malika Savoy-Brooks and Michael Gaal were introduced in back to back webinar sessions. They talked about themselves and why they each believe they are the ideal choice to lead students into the future, and then took questions from the public. The Board of Education had previously kept the finalists' names a closely-guarded secret. Now, with everything out in the open, the board said it also invited the public to provide written feedback which Board members will read and review prior to making their final decision. The board has stated that it wants either Superintendent Savoy-Brooks or Superintendent Gaal in place by spring in a job that, previously, paid more than $200,000 a year. Introducing herself first at 6 p.m., the webinar audience of more than 300 learned that Savoy-Brooks is currently chief of academic supports officer for the School District of Philadelphia. She said she was attracted to the Decatur job because the districts strategic plan focused on developing a well-rounded education for all students. How do we do that? We do that by ensuring that every student we service has access to quality instruction and a quality environment, she said. Questions ranged from asking how she would show she is listening to the viewpoints of others to ensuring the work of the school district was done with adequate public scrutiny. Savoy-Brooks said she believed in an all hands on deck approach that left nobody out of what was going on. She said her decisions and ideas would be communicated to staff through round table discussions and the public would be informed through efforts like regularly updated websites. Asked how she would get on with unions, Savoy-Brooks said she had been a union member herself and had just got done negotiating contracts with the unions in her current district. It was tough but we centered it around the students, she said, saying that everybody has to remember what the focus of education is. She said if she lands the job here, her task would be crafting an educational system that would ensure Decatur can thrive. As superintendent candidates go, her rival comes from a very different background: Gaal is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who left the service to immediately launch himself into an education career. He has been deputy chancellor of Washington, D.C. Public Schools and chief operations officer and elementary Network Leader in the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan, based in Detroit. His resume also includes being president of sales for New Jersey-based Beable Education, which its website describes as a public-benefit corporation marketing a literacy system that is designed to speed up learning and capabilities in K-12 education. Gaal, with an educational background in engineering and math and experience gained in living in 20 communities scattered across the world, said he would bring a wealth of that experience to Decatur. He said he knows how to build effective organizations that deliver results and include everybody on the path to success. Every student must be known individually for their own strengths and interests, then teaching and learning can occur, he said. They must be loved before they can be taught. He describes his leadership style as hands-on, which meant getting out of the office and spending a whole day at different schools to learn what their issues were and see first hand what was happening there. Arriving before the first bell and staying until the end of the day, he explained. In response to a question, he said Decatur would be his first superintendents job but he wasn't interested in just using it as a stepping stone to go somewhere else. Five years is the minimum time superintendents should be in the seat, he explained. But when I think its a 13-year product cycle, its really scary for me to determine that you could make a decision on a child who is in the sixth or seventh grade and not actually be there for them to graduate and think you had actually made a difference. So yes, this would be my first superintendency and I would love for it to be my last superintendency. There is still time to express your views on who should get the job in Decatur: go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/dpsforumfeedback to leave your opinion. "The DPS Board of Education thanks the candidates for their participation and thoughtful responses during tonights forums," the board said in a statement issued at the conclusion of the virtual forums. "We look forward to reviewing the feedback submitted by our community, as we make a decision on the next superintendent of Decatur Public Schools." Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DECATUR The suspect in the stabbing death of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigator was arrested Tuesday night by Decatur police. Benjamin H. Reed, 32, was intercepted by officers after he had gone to HSHS St. Marys Hospital, apparently seeking treatment for a cut to his hand. He was reported as having fled the scene of the stabbing earlier Tuesday from Thayer, south of Springfield. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon named the investigator who died as Deidre Silas, 36, of Springfield. He said she died from multiple sharp force injuries. Decatur police Detective Sgt. Chris Copeland confirmed to the Herald & Review that Reed had been arrested at the hospital. Decatur Police Department patrol officers and detectives located him at St. Marys where he was taken into custody, said Copeland. He was transported to Decatur Police Department headquarters where he was held for Sangamon County (Sheriffs Office). Reed, who authorities say lived in the home, faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Authorities arrived at the scene just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and found what appeared to be blood near the door. They forced their way into the house and found the victim dead inside. Police obtained a search warrant and collected evidence that helped them find Reed at the Decatur hospital around 6:30 p.m., authorities said. Reed was treated for a minor injury and taken to the Sangamon County Jail, where bond for his release was set at $5 million on Wednesday morning. Published reports quote Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell as confirming six children, aged from 1 to 7, had been present in the Thayer home when Silas was attacked. Silas had just joined the department in August after working in the behavioral health field for seven years at the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to a statement by Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents DCFS employees. This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress," AFSCME Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a statement describing Silas as a hero taken from us in the line of duty. He added: Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve. I can think of no more profound legacy. Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Illinois continues to set records for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the highly contagious omicron variant surges across the state. State health officials on Wednesday reported 32,279 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, breaking the single-day record of 31,461 cases set on New Years Eve. Over the past week, the state has averaged 25,183 new cases per day. With legislators gathering in Springfield for the first day of this years session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was working remotely after coming in close contact with an employee in his office who tested positive for the virus, his office said Wednesday afternoon. Pritzker, who tested negative Wednesday morning, is expected to continue working remotely through Sunday, his office said. With better treatments available for COVID-19 patients and evidence suggesting the omicron variant often causes less severe disease, some health experts are urging a greater focus on hospitalizations over the total number of cases. In Illinois, more people with the coronavirus are filling hospital beds statewide than at any other time in the pandemic. At the urging of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, some hospitals are postponing elective procedures because of the flood of patients. As of Tuesday, an average of 6,218 patients with COVID-19 were in hospitals each day over the last week. That breaks the previous record average of 6,119 per day during the week ending Nov. 24, 2020, in the pandemics first year and just before vaccines became available. The daily number of COVID-19 patients has set a record each day since Sunday, with 6,842 in hospitals statewide as of Tuesday night. The number of patients in intensive care units remains below the peak of the fall 2020 surge, when an average of 1,217 COVID-19 patients were filling ICU beds across the state. As of Tuesday, the seven-day average was 1,076 ICU patients per day. But four of the states 11 health care regions each had a half-dozen or fewer available ICU beds as of Tuesday night. That includes five available beds in both the northwest corner of the state and the Metro East region near St. Louis; four available beds in the southernmost region; and six in the region comprising Will and Kankakee counties, home to more than 800,000 people. Deaths, a lagging indicator of the viruss spread, also are on the rise, with 79 additional fatalities reported both Tuesday and Wednesday. Over the past week, the state has averaged 60 coronavirus-related deaths per day, the highest level since early February. In the first five days of the new year, Illinois already has recorded more COVID-19 deaths 288 than in the entire month of July, when there were 222 deaths recorded before the late-summer delta variant surge took off. In a possible sign of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, deaths remain substantially below the peak of the late 2020 surge. During the week ending Dec. 8, 2020, the state recorded an average of 155 coronavirus-related deaths per day. As of Wednesday, the states death toll stood at 28,156 since the start of the pandemic. The Illinois General Assemblys 2022 session, the third to be held under the cloud of the pandemic, got off to a slow start Wednesday. House and Senate chambers were far from filled as things got underway and when the House took roll to start the day, only 62 of 73 Democrats and no Republicans answered the call, just barely meeting the minimum 60 members needed to convene. GOP lawmakers came to the floor later Wednesday when the House reconvened after a recess. The attendance situation was initially worse in the Senate, which didnt field enough members for the chambers normal course of business to begin until late Wednesday afternoon. It wasnt entirely clear why legislators trickled in so slowly, although the weeks calendar was shortened to a single day because of the latest surge of COVID-19 in the state. Nonetheless, the day was not without partisan politics as Senate Republicans sparred with Democrats who hold supermajorities in both parties over the latest Democratic-drawn redistricting plan. In a committee hearing, Republican senators grilled Democratic Senate President Don Harmon about a proposal to create new judicial boundaries in central Illinois. Harmon, of Oak Park, said the redistricting of judicial subcircuits was needed to be reflect the diversity of the population they represent. The proposal, he said, was modeled after a law passed previously that requires judicial redistricting in Cook County. If you have judges in an urban county all elected from rural counties outside of that urban center, there could be a real lack of faith in the judiciary, Harmon said. Republican state Sen. Jil Tracy, of Quincy, questioned whether the redistricting was necessary outside of Cook County. Was any one group or individual pushing this? she asked Harmon. I represent areas near some of these counties that are going to be affected. I have never had anyone say that they felt this was necessary or needed. Senate Republican leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods criticized the Democrats for a lack of transparency with the redistricting process, even though Harmon had contended that the public had known since last month that such a plan could be in the works. I do stand by our process throughout this redistricting effort. We have heard countless hearings, taken all sorts of testimony, said Harmon. I would point out that while standing by it, I also could not imagine a process that you would endorse, he said to McConchie. So, I understand were on opposite sides of this. McConchie released a statement later Wednesday, saying Democrats have been power hungry throughout this process at the expense of democracy. As was stated today in committee, partisanship was a factor in drawing the sub circuit maps. Our caucus will not assist in any effort to corrupt our judicial system through partisan gerrymandering, McConchie said. If the Democrats want a power grab of our courts, they can do it on their own. The judicial branch, above all, should be held to a higher standard than this sort of politicization. The debate was similar to ones that took place last year as Democratic-drawn maps for the state legislature and Congress were pushed through the General Assembly over Republican objections and later signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Acknowledging the unrelenting march of the pandemic, the House on Wednesday voted to extend rules allowing legislators to participate in session days remotely through June 1. Remote voting was first allowed in 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic and has been extended as the coronavirus has lingered. Pritzkers office on Wednesday disclosed that was working remotely through at least Sunday after having close contact with an employee in the governors office who tested positive for COVID-19. With the Omicron variant spreading across the state, the governor is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, according to a statement from his office on Wednesday. The governor tested negative for COVID-19 as recently as this morning and is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. Session days scheduled for next week could be held remotely, though neither chamber has formally announced its plans. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 THUMBS DOWN! To ongoing COVID issues. The omicron variant has spread like wildfire across the country. Its relative weakness compared with earlier strains is of only slight comfort. With the pandemic approaching a second full year of intrusion and complications into our lives, more than ever, we are weary of this ongoing issue. Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said it best. "People are tired of COVID, I get that. We're all tired of COVID. They're done. But COVID's not done with us. And we are about to see another major surge." THUMBS UP! To record cannabis sales. Recreational cannabis sales hit a new high in December at nearly $138 million, up 14% from the previous month. For the year, Illinois recreational sales reached nearly $1.38 billion, more than doubling the total from 2020, the first year of legal recreational marijuana sales in the state. THUMBS DOWN! To attempting to get firearms -- some loaded -- onto planes. This is a pure example of "What the hell is wrong with people?" The number of travelers attempting to pass through airport security checkpoints with firearms in 2021 reached its highest point since the Transportation Security Administration began tracking it 20 years ago. The TSA has stopped travelers carrying more than 5,700 firearms at U.S. airports since the beginning of 2021, far surpassing the previous record of 4,432 firearms in 2019. About 85% of the firearms found in 2021 were loaded. The surge in gun discoveries comes even though travel demand remains about 25% below the pre-pandemic pace of 2019. THUMBS UP! To Twitter eventually doing what it promised. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been banned from the social media platform for multiple violations of its COVID-19 misinformation policy. We're far from endorsing massive Twitter bans. But Twitter gives account holders a generous five "strikes" of misinformation. Removing Greene from the platform won't silence her. But it will at least tamp down a bit of her nonsense. THUMBS DOWN! To Tornado Alley moving east. December tornadoes are terrifying, even when you're states away. December is the time of year we're supposed to be worried about the destructive nature of ice and snow, not traditionally spring- and summer-based tornadoes. But December tornadoes almost doubled from 2020 to 2021 -- 106 to 189. The nations traditional tornado alley has been Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Experts have observed recent unseasonable twisters moving east -- Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 7 New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Cloudy. Gusty winds this morning. A stray thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. (CNN) You can no longer use that old BlackBerry phone sitting at the bottom of your drawer somewhere. On Tuesday, the company is stopping running support for its classic devices running BlackBerry 10, 7.1 OS and earlier. This means all of its older devices not running on Android software will no longer be able to use data, send text messages, access the internet or make calls, even to 911. While most mobile users have moved on from BlackBerry the last version of its operating system launched in 2013 the decision to discontinue support for its phones represents the end of what was once considered bleeding-edge technology. The company originally announced the news in September 2020 as part of its efforts to focus on providing security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world under the name BlackBerry Limited. BlackBerry has been mostly out of the phone business since 2016, but over the years it continued to license its brand to phone manufacturers, including TCL and more recently OnwardMobility, an Austin, Texas-based security startup, for a 5G Blackberry device running on Android software. (BlackBerry's Android devices are not affected by the end of service.) BlackBerry's old school cell phones with physical keyboards from the late 1990s and early 2000s were once so popular people nicknamed them "CrackBerries." The keyboard appealed to professionals who wanted the flexibility of working outside the office with some of the tools they used on a desktop computer. The devices became a status symbol and fixture for people on Wall Street, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, and even former President Barack Obama, thanks in part to its great reputation for security. At its peak in 2012, BlackBerry had more than 80 million active users. The company got its start in 1996 as Research In Motion with what it called two-way pagers. Its first gadget, the "Inter@ctive Pager," allowed customers to respond to pages with a physical keyboard, a kind of text messaging/email hybrid. Three years later, RIM introduced the BlackBerry name with the BlackBerry 850. Eventually, BlackBerry phones gained support for email, apps, web browsing and BBM, an encrypted text messaging platform that predated WhatsApp and survived long after BlackBerry was surpassed by its rivals. But Apple's touchscreen revolution with the iPhone in 2007 made BlackBerry's offerings appear lacking. It tried touch screens and slide-out keyboard models, with little success. It developed a few phones with no physical keyboard, but those were missing BlackBerry's key differentiator: its tactile keyboard. BlackBerry eventually gave up on its own software, embracing Android and layering its security software on top. It found some success in enterprise security software and automotive software. Although TCL stopped making devices with the BlackBerry name in 2020, some fans are holding out for the arrival of OnwardMobility's BlackBerry 5G device, which was originally expected to launch in 2021. Despite the delay, its website still features a banner that says "coming 2021." The attack on The U.S. Capitol Building on January 6 last year still looms over the country. The once peaceful protest turned disruptive and violent. An American Air Force veteran was killed by Capitol Police. Other individuals died by natural causes. One female protester was crushed to death by the crowd. A Capitol policeman died of his injuries. Several other law enforcement officers died by suicide in the wake of the event. Was it a coup by Trump supporters to overthrow the government? Was it a largely peaceful protest gone horribly wrong? Was it an insurrection moment? And in a larger way, what does it say to us about the state of the country in our present times? It will forever remain an ugly moment in American history. The Stop the Steal march was an organized one. Individuals were encouraged by President Donald Trump to march on the Capitol in order to influence the certification of the 2020 vote count in the presidential election. The president said to his supporters, If you dont fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore. Marchers eventually broke through barricades at the Capitol and made their way into the building. Carrying flags supporting a Trump election and various other ideas, they proceeded into the hallowed halls where Congress does business. In response, government officials sheltered in place or were removed from their offices. Barricades were placed to protect people. More protesters entered. The scenes were raucous. Marchers made it into the tunnel where the president-elect walks to be inaugurated. Several of them formed a human battering ram and began working to break through huge doors protecting the interior of the building. To watch the scene is to be in historys Middle Ages when castle doors came down under the weight of attack. In the midst of this chaos, President Trump refused to call in the National Guard. Eventually, after many hours of mayhem, President Trump spoke out and encouraged people to vacate the premises and go home. For a time, the marchers prevented the certification of Electoral College votes, but early on the morning of the next day, Joe Biden officially became the elected President of the United States. At present, a congressional committee is investigating the march to determine all the facts. People in the media and various parties want to argue about what to call it. Many conservatives shy away from calling the march an insurrection. Instead, they downplay the protests, stating it didnt last very long, caused few individual injuries, and resulted in minimal damage to the building and grounds. They applaud the right of the people to march, and still have doubts about the validity of the 2020 presidential election. People who disagree with such assessments describe the event as a riot and a coup attempt. They say the marchers went too far by invading the Capitol and destroying property. True, the day marked the first time rebel flags traveled inside the Capitol. They see the protest not as an act of patriotism, but an act of subversion against a duly elected president. People watching the event on television could not help to think back to when the Capitol was attacked by British troops during the War of 1812. The attack came in the late summer of 1814. There are times when the Capitol has been breached since. Still, to see the Peoples House attacked in a barbarous manner evokes both patriotism and disgust. For the most part, the blame falls on the president. Mr. Trump had ample opportunity to mobilize groups at his command to protect the safety of people inside the building and the structural integrity of the Capitol. Yet, he waited hours before urging the protestors to go home. By then, the physical and moral damage was done. He validated the actions of the marchers by calling them special. Currently, the District of Columbias Attorney General is suing several organizations such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to recoup damages from the events at the Capitol. Several hundred marchers have been arrested, and their cases should be prosecuted in some fashion. It is clear the actions of President Trump and some of his staff were geared towards holding power. He was not given good advice. Moreover, he did not act. Depending on how Americans weigh the twin narratives of the day will probably determine how they vote in midterm elections this year, but one thing is clear. This was no 1776 moment as some describe. Instead, it was a continuation of moments which happen often involving adrenaline and the madness of crowds. It was dangerous, mob-like, and foolish. When the U.S. The Capitol was attacked in 1814, a Virginia congressman responded critically of the Madison administration by saying, America was ruled by fools and the administration opposed by knaves. The debate continues. Brent Tomberlin is a social studies instructor at South Caldwell High School and CCC&TI. He can be reached at coachtomberlin@gmail.com. Contracts For Dec. 1, 2021 Aechelon Technology, San Francisco, California, is awarded a $7,790,820 firm-fixed price order (N0042122F0539) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0042119G0007). This order provides for the production, delivery and integration of four P8 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS) next generation databases on to four AAS Weapons Tactic Trainers. Work will be performed in San Francisco, California (99.3%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (0.7%), and is expected to be completed in October 2022. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,790,820 will be obligated at the time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 2, 2021 Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $9,301,749 modification (P00004) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price order (N0001921F0090) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001917G0002). This modification exercises an option to procure 68 Conversion Area Harness (CAH) base kits, 53 CAH supplemental kits, two hardware kits and two consumable kits in support of the Marine Corps MV-22 aircraft, the Air Force CV-22 aircraft, the Navy CMV-22 aircraft, and the government of Japan V-22 aircraft. Additionally, this modification provides for electrical wiring interconnect system assessments for the CV-22 fleet aircraft. Work will be performed in Simpsonville, South Carolina (80%); Fort Worth, Texas (10%); Long Beach, California (7%); Austin, Texas (1%); Dallas, Texas (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (1%), and is expected to be completed in January 2026. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,185,475; fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $1,994,606, and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $1,121,668 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 3, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $77,847,256 modification (P00002) to a previously awarded, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N0001921C0040). This modification adds scope to provide for the integration of indigenous weapons into an F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter air system for a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2025. FMS customer funds in the amount of $77,847,256 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 6, 2021 Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $35,288,184 firm-fixed-price contract to procure long lead items for full-rate production, Lot 7, CH-53K aircraft. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $35,288,184 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001922C0004). BAE Systems, Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Greenlawn, New York, is awarded a $17,902,175 modification (P00003) to a previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N0001921D0008). This modification exercises an option for the production and delivery of 283 Mode 5 capable AN/APX-117A/118A/123A(V) Common Identification Friend or Foe Digital Transponder Systems and associated shop replaceable assemblies in support of fixed and rotary winged aircraft for the Navy, Army and non-U.S. Department of Defense participants. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York (85%); and Austin, Texas (15%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 7, 2021 No applicable data. Contracts For Dec. 8, 2021 The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $366,464,275 modification (P00035) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001918D0001). This modification increases the ceiling to extend the service life for up to 32 F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft. Work will be performed in San Antonio, Texas (80%); and St. Louis, Missouri (20%), and is expected to be completed in May 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $36,697,754 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification (P00033) to a previously awarded contract (N0001918C1021). This modification adds scope to procure long lead Group 2, 4 and 10 hardware as well as engineering and program management services in support of Lot 16 production of F-135 propulsion systems for the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (56%); North Berwick, Maine (13%); Indianapolis, Indiana (10%); Jupiter, Florida (7%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (5%); Bristol, United Kingdom (4%); Rockford, Illinois (2%); Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico (2%); Phoenix, Arizona (1%); and is expected to be completed in October 2023. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,194,577; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $524,801; non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount $9,543,854; and FMS customer funds in the amount of $9,434,521 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Andromeda Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $26,720,921 cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort modification (P00013) to a previously awarded, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N6134019D0006). This modification increases the ceiling to provide additional engineering services for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft, engines and components in support of Fleet Readiness Center Southeast and various naval aviation and weapons platforms. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be completed in January 2024. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Commander Fleet Readiness Centers, Patuxent River, Maryland is the contracting activity. Integral Aerospace, Santa Ana, California, is awarded an $8,346,051 modification (P00007) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N0001918C1036). This modification exercises an option for the production and delivery of 63 external fuel tanks for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Santa Ana, California, and is expected to be completed in May 2023. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,346,051 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 9, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $20,481,366 modification (P00012) to a previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001920C0032). This modification adds scope to provide non-recurring engineering for the selected F-35 "Out the Window" replacement solution in support of full mission simulator production for the Air Force, Navy, and non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed in March 2024. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $8,392,099; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,392,098; and non-DOD participants funds in the amount of $3,697,169 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 10, 2021 No applicable data. Contracts For Dec. 13, 2021 Raytheon Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $145,288,785 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00002) to a previously awarded contract (N0001921C0068). This modification exercises options to procure material and support equipment for depot maintenance facilities as well as supplies, services, and planning for depot activations in support of F-35 aircraft sustainment efforts for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (30.5%); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (22.2%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (13.5%); Jacksonville, Florida (7.3%); West Palm Beach, Florida (5.8%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (3.7%); Indianapolis, Indiana (3.0%); Willliamtown, New South Wales, Australia (2.9%); Iwakuni, Japan (2%); Foggia, Italy (1.6%); Patuxent River, Maryland (1.4%); Edwards Air Force Base, California (1.4%); Luke Air Force Base, Arizona (1.2%); Brekstad, Norway (1.2%); Leeuwarden, Netherlands (1.1%); Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida (1%); and Brandon, United Kingdom (0.2%), and is expected to be completed in September 2024. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $59,531,081; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $59,531,073; and non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $26,226,631 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Defense Systems Inc.), Northridge, California, is awarded a $45,662,690 firm-fixed-price modification (P00001) to a previously awarded contract (N0001921C0044). This modification exercises options to procure low rate initial production Lot Two of the Air to Ground Missile (AGM)-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided MissileExtended Range (AARGM-ER). Specifically, this modification provides for the production and delivery of 16 AGM-88G AARGM-ER all up rounds, six AGM-88G AARGM-ER Captive Air Training Missiles, four Common Munitions Built-in-Test Reprogramming Equipment+ Interface Devices, initial spares, and required manufacturing supplies and support. Work will be performed in Northridge, California (61%); Rocket Center, West Virginia (32%); and Ridgecrest, California (7%), and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2022 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $45,611,925; and fiscal 2021 weapons procurement (Navy) in the amount of $50,765 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Bell Boeing Joint Program Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $18,000,000 modification (P00012) to a previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001918D0103). This modification exercises an option to provide systems integration, technical analysis, and engineering support for the V-22 aircraft. Work will be performed Fort Worth, Texas (50%); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (50%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 14, 2021 Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $9,327,433 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00002) to a previously awarded undefinitized indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001921D0001). This modification increases the ceiling to partially definitize fiscal 2021 air vehicle initial spares, to include global spares packages, base spares packages, deployment spares packages, and afloat spares packages in support F-35 Lightning II Air Vehicle deliveries for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, non-U.S. Department of Defense participants, and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2021. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 15, 2021 Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $21,608,360 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001922F0974) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0012). This order provides engineering and logistics support, to include support for AH-1Z production aircraft and sustainment efforts for UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft for the Marine Corps; support for AH-1Z production aircraft for the government of Bahrain; and support for UH-1Y and AH-1Z production aircraft for the government of the Czech Republic. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (80%); and Patuxent River, Maryland (20%), and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,475,713; fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,000,000; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds on the amount of $207,429; and non U.S. Department of Defense funds in the amount of $11,066,109 will be obligated at time of award; $1,000,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded an $8,442,746 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001922F1014) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0006). This order provides continued integrated logistics and engineering support, in support of the Harpoon/Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response missile system and Harpoon launch systems for the Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri (91.89%); St. Louis, Missouri (5.47%); and Yorktown, Virginia (2.64%), and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,085,523; and FMS funds in the amount of $6,357,223 will be obligated at time of award, $2,085,523 of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 16, 2021 Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $21,477,974 modification to a firm-fixed-price order (N0001921F0064) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001920G0005). This modification exercises an option to provide installation of five aerial refueling retrofit kits on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Work will be performed in Ronkonkoma, New York (44.53%); Baltimore, Maryland (16.62%); Irvine, California (6.48%); Hauppauge, New York (5.85%); Columbia, Maryland (4.75%); Dorset, England (3.17%); East Aurora, New York (2.64%); North Hollywood, California (2.02%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (13.94%), and is expected to be completed in May 2023. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $21,477,974 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 17, 2021 AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corp., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $159,421,443 firm-fixed-price modification (P00016) to a previously awarded contract (N6134020C0007). This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of 36 TH-73A aircraft Lot III and initial spares in support of the Advanced Helicopter Training System program. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (85%); Mineral Wells, Texas (5%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (10%), and is expected to be completed in December 2023. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $159,421,443 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota, is awarded a $24,468,051 firm-fixed-price contract to provide all necessary material and services required for the procurement and support of an ordnance alteration to modify the MK38 MOD3 machine gun system. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (81%); and the Republic of the Philippines (21%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Hafia, Israel (67%); and Louisville, Kentucky (33%), and is expected to be completed by May 2023. Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,802,757 (81%); and FMS Republic of the Philippines funds in the amount of $4,665,294 (19%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1)only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00174-22-C-0005). Contracts For Dec. 20, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $19,421,059 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00005) to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001918D0129). This modification exercises an option to provide continuing emerging capabilities and analysis systems engineering. These efforts include programmatic and logistics tasks that will analyze the F-35 air system's ability to meet future operational requirements; investigating cost and weight reduction program options; conducting modeling and simulation activities; and analyzing changes to design life, operational readiness, reliability, and air system design and configuration assessments. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., a Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $11,886,422 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00003) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0052). This modification exercises options and adds scope to provide field service representative, maintenance and sustainment operation support for the Norway Italy Reprogramming Laboratory systems and consumables in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the governments of Norway and Italy. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Non-U.S. Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $11,886,422 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Textron Systems Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded an $11,053,383 firm-fixed-price order (N0001922F1175) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0008). This order provides unmanned aircraft systems intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data collection support services for the Department of Defense, other government agencies, and domestic and overseas contingency operations. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland (20%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (80%), and is expected to be completed in March 2025. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,053,383 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $9,425,756 firm-fixed-price modification (P00001) to an order (N0001921F0024) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0006). This modification procures 94 satellite communication retrofit kits, including 82 for the Navy (32 for EA-18G aircraft; 25 for F/A-18E aircraft; and 25 for F/A-18F aircraft); and 12 for the government of Australia AEA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (80%); and St. Louis, Missouri (20%), and is expected to be completed in April 2025. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,289,810; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $1,135,946 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 21, 2021 Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Woodland Hills, California, is awarded a $24,320,573 modification (P00002) to a previously awarded firm-price-incentive-fee contract (N0001921C0073). This modification exercises options to procure 25 Link 16 production B kits, three Link 16 B kit spares, and two Link 16 flight training device B kits in support of UH-1Y and AH-1Z Helicopter modification efforts for the Navy. Additionally, this modification extends services in support of Link-16 systems engineering, program management and logistics support. Work will be performed in Woodland Hills, California (92%); and San Diego, California (8%), and is expected to be completed in June 2024. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $24,320,573 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, is awarded an $8,638,884 modification (P00002) to a firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001921F0810) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001920G0007). This modification exercises an option to procure nine Night Vision System AN/AAQ-44 Forward Looking Infrared kits for Lot 6 CH-53K production aircraft. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2024. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,638,884 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 22, 2021 Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Military Aircraft Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $353,584,118 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification (P00034) to a previously awarded contract (N0001918C1037). This modification provides for the production and delivery of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for the government of France. Work will be performed in St. Augustine, Florida (27.52%); Syracuse, New York (19.07%); Melbourne, Florida (6.66%); Indianapolis, Indiana (5.32%); Menlo Park, California (4.31%); El Segundo, California (4.21%); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (2.22%); Aire-sure-l'Adour, France (2.16%); Owego, New York (1.62%); Edgewood, New York (1.42%); Marlboro, Massachusetts (1.35%); Woodland Hills, California (1.29%); Greenlawn, New York (1.24%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (1.15%); various locations within the continental U.S. (20.06%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (0.42%), and is expected to be completed April 2027. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $353,584,118 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $218,162,159 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification (P00002) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0011). This modification adds scope to procure long-lead items in support of Lot 16 propulsion systems for F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and Non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana (44%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (33%); Bristol, United Kingdom (16%); and Phoenix, Arizona (7%), and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $66,812,836; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $56,564,199; FMS funds in the amount of $43,871,979; and Non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $50,913,145 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $211,223,665 firm-fixed-price undefinitized contract modification (P00001) to an order (N0001921F0398) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001919G0008). This modification adds scope to procure ancillary mission equipment in support of Lots 15 and 16 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter production aircraft for the Air Force, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-Department of Defense (DOD) partners. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $68,860,141; FMS funds in the amount of $52,813,715; and non-DOD partner funds in the amount of $89,549,809 will be obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $30,506,177 undefinitized cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001922F1147) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001919G0029). This order provides non-recurring engineering efforts for the integration, testing, and qualification of the re-designed Data Concentrator Unit (DCU) and Blade Fold Distributor (BFD) units that will mitigate component obsolescence and outdated test equipment used for the DCU and BFD hardware for the CH-53K aircraft. Work will be performed in Torrance, California (65%); Stratford, Connecticut (31%); Fort Worth, Texas (2%); and Owego, New York (2%), and is expected to be completed in May 2024. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,733,682 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded a $29,457,101 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001922F1147) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001919G0029). This order procures logistics support analysis and products resulting from production engineering changes and diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages to include technical publications, logistics support analysis and logistics product data in support of CH-53K aircraft production and fielding. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut (83.01%); Bohemia, New York (7.27%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (1.11%); various locations within the continental U.S. (7.67%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (.94%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $23,792,332 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00767) to a previously awarded contract (N0001902C3002). This modification adds scope to provide support required to implement, integrate, test, and support accreditation of the F-35 in-a-box model and its required interfaces for use in the joint simulation environment. Development and support to integrate the models are required to fulfill operational test and evaluation goals and objectives to validate F-35 Block 3F capabilities in support of the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (85%); and Patuxent River, Maryland (15%), and is expected to be completed in July 2023. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,000,000; and fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $685,858 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $22,163,146 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00016) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0025). This modification exercises options to provide software and engineering sustainment services, to include, logistics, cyber security and program related engineering in support the MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned air systems. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,336,707; and fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $595,834 will be obligated at time of award, $6,336,707 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Missile and Fire Control, Orlando, Florida, is awarded a $17,554,362 cost-plus-fixed fee order (N0001922F0978) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001919G0011). This order provides for implementation and required repairs of a software update to the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile that will allow the weapon communication subsystems to meet cryptographic modernization requirements in support of Weapon Data Link retrofit efforts. Work will be performed in Troy, Alabama, and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2022 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,803,513; and fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $68,216 will be obligated at the time of award, $68,216 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. L3Harris Technologies, Space and Airborne Systems, Clifton, New Jersey, is awarded an $11,249,980 firm-fixed-price modification (P00008) to an order (N0001919F0046) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001916G0003). This modification adds scope for the production and delivery of 35 Generation 2 Digital Receiver/Technique Generator production retrofit kits comprised of 210 shop replaceable assemblies and 70 switch board assemblies in support of the ALQ-214. Work will be performed in Clifton, New Jersey (76%); Purchase, New York (14%); and Phoenix, Arizona (10%), and is expected to be completed in December 2023. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $964,284; and fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,285,696 will be obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 23, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $324,141,425 modification (P00020) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price order (N0001920F0571) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001919G0008). This modification exercises options to support calendar year 2022 modification and retrofit activities for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to include the procurement of material modification kits as well as program management, non-recurring engineering, aircraft induction, contractor field, depot site and laser shock peening site support. Additionally, this modification adds scope for the procurement of material kits as well as special tooling and test equipment necessary to support F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft retrofit and modification efforts for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers from the governments of Israel, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (74.8%); Nagoya, Japan (8.3%); Cameri, Italy (7.2%); Williamtown, Australia (3.5%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (3.3%); and Ogden, Utah (2.9%); and is expected to be completed in in January 2027. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $73,608,286; fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $61,458,715; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $56,367,878; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $20,030,656; non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $65,798,505; and FMS funds in the amount of $46,877,385 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., El Segundo, California, is awarded a $226,732,672 fixed-price-incentive modification (P00005) to a previously awarded contract (N0001921C0053). This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of five Next Generation Jammer-Mid Band low rate initial production lot II ship sets. Additionally, this modification provides for the production and delivery of associated spares, peculiar support equipment, gold units for operational test program set development, travel and associated data. Work will be performed in Forest, Mississippi (53%); McKinney, Texas (38%) and El Segundo, California (9%), and is expected to be completed in September 2024. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $226,732,672 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Kay and Associates Inc., Buffalo, Illinois, is awarded a $72,777,290 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract to provide maintenance, operation, and management support services for the F/A-18C/D/E/F aircraft and associated equipment, as well as maintenance repair and storage facilities for the Government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in undisclosed locations in Kuwait, and is expected to be completed in January 2023. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $52,921,055 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-4(a)(2). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042122C0013). Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc., Sacramento, California, is awarded a $50,917,490 contract modification (P00007) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N0001920C0075). This modification exercises an option to procure 65 BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Targets, 50 for the Navy, seven for the government of Japan, and eight for the government of Saudi Arabia, as well as associated technical and administrative data in support of full rate production lot three. Work will be performed in Sacramento, California (55.41%); Dallas, Texas (17.36%); Fort Walton Beach, Florida (4.67%); Blacksburg, Virginia (2.9%); Newton, Kansas (2.11%); Santa Ana, California (2.03%); Concord, California (1.94%); Milwaukie, Oregon (1.83%); Chatsworth, California (1.48%); Greybull, Wyoming (1.17%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (9.1%), and is expected to be completed in February 2024. Fiscal 2022 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $37,600,608; fiscal 2021 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,566,692 that were Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds converted to weapons procurement (Navy) for the replacement of two targets expended by the government of Australia; and FMS funds in the amount of $11,750,190 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity Contracts For Dec. 27, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $49,059,494 cost-plus-incentive-fee-contract that provides engineering and other related activities in support of the design and development of a Joint Strike Fighter aircraft variant tailored for an unspecified Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (77%); Redondo Beach, California (14%); Orlando, Florida (6%); Baltimore, Maryland (1%); Owego, New York (1%) and Samlesbury, United Kingdom (1%), and is expected to be completed in December 2026. FMS funds in the amount $49,059,494 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001922C0015). General Electric Aviation, Lynn, Massachusetts, is awarded an $18,425,844 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0042122F0026) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0042119G0001). This order provides engineering and engine system improvement services for F414 engine component improvements in support of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 28, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $492,685,342 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive, firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable modification (P00027) to a previously awarded contract (N0001921C0020). This modification exercises options to provide logistics support to include ground maintenance activities, action request solutions, depot activities, automatic logistics information system operation and maintenance, reliability and maintainability, supply chain management, pilot training, maintainer training, and training system sustainment in support of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft systems for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (57%); Orlando, Florida (26%); Greenville, South Carolina (11%); Samlesbury, United Kingdom (4%); and El Segundo, California (2%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Air Force) funds in the amount of $147,198,032; fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $70,486,732; fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $33,273,400; non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $167,620,202; and FMS funds in the amount of $74,106,976 will be obligated at time of award, $250,958,164 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Atomics, San Diego, California, is awarded a $69,803,720 firm-fixed-price contract that provides non-recurring engineering and program management services in support of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system for the CVN 81 aircraft carrier, minus energy storage subsystem. Specifically, this contract provides for the evaluation, production, manufacture, assembly, integration and test of engineering changes to product hardware, software, technical data, and logistics products throughout the configuration management process associated with the EMALS and AAG system for the CVN 81 aircraft carrier, minus the energy storage subsystem. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (99.6%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (.4%), and is expected to be completed in December 2023. Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount $1,188,188; and fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount $670,407 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001922C0033). Contracts For Dec. 29, 2021 Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $847,025,000 fixed-price incentive (firm-target) modification (P00009) to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N0001920C0009). This modification increases the scope to procure long lead materials, parts, components, and efforts associated with the production of 105 Lot 17 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (57%); El Segundo, California (14%); Warton, United Kingdom (9%); Orlando, Florida (4%); Cameri, Italy (4%); Nashua, New Hampshire (3%); Baltimore, Maryland (3%); San Diego, California (2%); Nagoya, Japan (2%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (2%), and is expected to be completed in May 2026. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $292,685,000; fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $191,940,000; non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $236,500,000; and FMS funds in the amount of $125,700,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $40,861,960 fixed-price incentive (firm-target), cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00013) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0032) in support of the F-35 Lighting II Program for Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. This modification adds undefinitized scope for the production, delivery, installation, and configuration of 29 Operational Data Integrated Network/Autonomic Logistics Information System kits as well as engineering evaluation and on-aircraft evaluation tests on Multi-Path Support Equipment (MPSE) candidates to demonstrate MPSE functionality to meet aircraft support requirements. This modification also adds definitized scope for a depot optimization study that evaluates optimal F-35 solutions for future depot component repair capabilities and material lay-in. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (80%); and Fort Worth, Texas (20%), and is expected to be completed in July 2026. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $8,965,342; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,258,523; FMS funds in the amount of $49,417; and non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $4,799,310 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded a $30,730,499 modification (P00001) to a firm-fixed-price order (N0001921F0709) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001919G0029). This modification increases the scope to procure 681 spare parts for the CH-53K low-rate initial production configuration aircraft. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut (48.97%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (8.7%); St. Marcel, France (6.73%); Vancouver, Washington (3.68%); Quebec, Canada (3.14%); Fort Walton Beach, Florida (2.12%); Bridgeport, West Virginia (2.04%); Louisville, Kentucky (2%); Waltham, Massachusetts (1.59%); Charlotte, North Carolina (1.5%); Redmond, Washington (1.43%); Rockmart, Georgia (1.27%); Kent, Washington (1.22%); Boylston, Massachusetts (1.1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (14.51%), and is expected to be completed in December 2026. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $30,730,499 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Atomics, San Diego, California, is awarded a $14,456,036 firm-fixed-price order (N0001922F0893) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0014). This order provides facilities, labor, material, and logistics services in support of the correction of deficiencies identified during prior qualification cycles for the block A21/A22 sustainment phase of the advanced arresting gear for CVN 78 and testing sites. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (91.42%); Boston, Massachusetts (7.52%); Lakehurst, New Jersey (1%); and Tupelo, Mississippi (0.06%), and is expected to be completed in April 2023. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,689,199 will be obligated at the time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Contracts For Dec. 30, 2021 General Electric Aviation, Lynn, Massachusetts, is awarded a $13,275,057 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0042122F0065) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0042119G0001). This order provides engineering services and engine system improvement support for the F408 engine component improvement program. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount $5,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. SALISBURY Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has recognized two instructors as its 2020-21 Excellence in Teaching award recipients. The award recognizes superior faculty members who go above and beyond expected levels of instruction and elevate educational excellence and student success. Eric Savage, a full-time math instructor, and Sondra Thorson, a part-time business administration instructor, received the awards. We are beyond proud of these educators for their dedication to excellence in serving our students, said Carol S. Spalding, president of Rowan-Cabarrus. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is committed to providing the highest quality instruction. Savage believes his three children, ages 6, 4, and 1, make him a better teacher. I watch them learn things every day, and I explain things to them every day, he said. His favorite part of teaching, especially math, is knowing that he is helping people in their personal lives, whether they realize it or not. Nowadays, mathematics is everywhere we look, whether in complex engineering models, social media posts, pandemic and vaccine statistics, or how to compute the interest on a mortgage, he says. Wherever you go, you will need to know some level of math. Although they may not love the subject as I do, I hope that after my class, students will at least have a healthy respect for its place in their lives. Savage holds a bachelors degree in mathematics, with a minor in history, from Lees-McRae College and earned a masters degree in mathematics with a minor in statistics from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He has taught at Rowan-Cabarrus since 2013. After earning her bachelors and masters degrees in business administration from West Virginia University, Thorson worked as a business manager and property manager for several organizations. She currently owns and manages her own small businesses, including an equine facility and several investment groups. An adjunct faculty member at Rowan-Cabarrus for more than 15 years, Thorson finds joy in seeing her students advance their personal and professional development. I am so honored to be selected for this award, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the success of my students at Rowan-Cabarrus, Thorson said. The Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Excellence in Teaching Award provides a way to recognize faculty members who consistently demonstrate excellence in teaching, dedication to student success and the mission of the College, and whose contributions go above and beyond the standard expectations. Students initiate the nomination process for the award annually by recommending their top instructors. Final nominees are required to submit an extensive portfolio, letters of recommendation and complete an unannounced, filmed observation. At Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, we are proud of the highly qualified and dedicated faculty who make our academic programs so strong, said Spalding. Eric Savage and Sondra Thorson are shining examples of our tradition of hiring caring, professional instructors, and they are both very deserving of this honor. For more information about Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, visit www.rccc.edu or call 704-216-RCCC (7222). Michael Mike R. Coltrane died this past weekend, and members of the community have been mourning his loss and remembering the impact he and his family have made on the Concord community. Doug Stafford, a friend of Mikes, said he was still coming to terms with the news. Mikes family was key for the development of the community and just philanthropic contributions, Stafford said. He was wonderful to work with, responsive, kind and considerate. His father Bub Coltrane was one of the kindest individuals you would ever know. He gave generously, but he didnt want the notoriety that came with that. Mike was the same way. The history Mike and his father were a descendants of Daniel B. Coltrane who started the Concord National Bank in 1888 and later founded the Concord Telephone Company along with his son. For Concord, the Coltrane name has been a staple in the community for more than 100 years. Concord Mayor Bill Dusch, one of Mikes relatives, said at one point in time there were a handful of strong local businesses in Concord that paved the way. It was a very close knit community. It was the cotton mills, it was Cannon Mills and it was the bank and the telephone company, Dusch said. Dusch said many of those businesses grew up just as the city was starting to get some of its own footing. You look at all the things that happen like that and I am just so proud that we can come together and keep growing with all these things coming in here, Dusch said. To have that variety of business coming in here, not just the Cannon Mills, telephone company and businesses they bring, but the partnership all of them had with the city. Our electric department was started around the same time the telephone company was started, so those grew up together. When the telephone company was first started in the end of the 19th century, the rates for business subscribers was $15 a year and $10 for residential customers. It later served customers in Stanley and Rowan counties as well. By the time the company was bought out in 2007, it had seen several changes, many of which were accomplished after Mike joined the company in 1987. In the 1990s, the telephone company became CT Communications, Inc. and contained the Concord Telephone Company and the Concord Telephone Long Distance Company. The CTC Exchange Services was later added to offer an extended range of services on a single bill. When the bank opened in 1888, it was one of the first national banks in the state. It later became became First Charter Bank and spread its reach wider through the state. It was later bought by Fifth Third Bank in 2007. The community Mike followed the family business and went into banking for several years before he moved to the Concord Telephone Company where he ultimately held the title of CEO. But the Coltranes are also known for their ties to the community. They have a long history with the Concord Rotary Club, the Cabarrus Boys & Girls Club and what is now the Coltrane L.I.F.E. Center. Mayor Dusch said that community spirit carried into the familys concern for health care. They were also very active in the hospital, Cabarrus Memorial Hospital, he said. The Coltranes were extremely involved in it from the time in started in 1937. We really needed a hospital and we didnt have anything here. Like other members of his family, Mike was on the Board of Commissioners for what is now known as Atrium Health Cabarrus and saw its merge into the Carolina Healthcare System in the late 2000s. Mike was involved in several community organizations including Boy Scouts of America, United Way and the Concord Rotary Club, which is where he came to know former mayor Scott Pagett. I wasnt a mover or shaker, but many of the town elders were members of that Rotary Club, Padgett said. I was fortunate to be around at that time to get to know Mike and his father and the other peopel who helped shape Concord. Mike also gave back to he community through a charitable fund called Michael R. and Anne C. Coltrane Donor Advised Fund through the Foundation of the Carolinas. The man Padgett said that the Coltranes often gave to the community and wanted no fanfare. They were from an era where you didnt brag about your accomplishments or wealth, he said. They were just people that happened to have a bank and a telephone company. Friend Jim Ramseur also commented on Mikes passing remembering how they shared a love for Concord history. With Mikes passing, Concord lost another icon of our city. He and I were among a small group who collected local Concord history. Most competitively, were Concord postcards from the early part of the last century, Ramseur said. And while Mikes career with the telephone company was long, his impact, Stafford said, extended far beyond that. He made a tremendous impact on his community and he did that long after he left CT Communications, Stafford said. The thing I loved about Mike was he was a strong encourager. He would always encourage you to do better and he was quick to give you good word or tell you when something needed to change. I know the community is going to miss him. I am going to miss him. The Grammy Awards have been postponed because of the surging omicron COVID-19 variant. The 64th edition of the music industrys most prestigious and sometimes most contentious annual awards show had been scheduled to take place Jan. 31 at Los Angeles newly named Crypto.com Arena. (Until December, the venue had been known as Staples Center.) And, just two weeks before it was to be held in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival is canceling its in-person festival and reverting to an entirely virtual edition due to the current coronavirus surge. Festival organizers announced Wednesday that the festival will start as scheduled on Jan. 20 but will shift online. The festival had been planned as a hybrid, with screenings both in Park City and online. Last year's Sundance was also held virtually because of the pandemic. Internationally, Hong Kong authorities announced a two-week ban on flights from the United States and seven other countries and held 2,500 passengers on a cruise ship for coronavirus testing Wednesday as the city attempted to stem an emerging omicron outbreak. The two-week ban on passenger flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain and the United States will take effect Sunday and continue until Jan. 21. France announced a staggering 332,252 daily virus cases Wednesday, smashing a string of recent records, as hospitals prepared drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government strained to avoid a new lockdown. With Europes highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count, France is facing an omicron-driven surge that is dominating the race for Aprils presidential election and increasingly disrupting workplaces, schools and public life. Back home, hospitals across the U.S. are feeling the wrath of the omicron variant and getting thrown into disarray that is different from earlier COVID-19 surges. This time, they are dealing with serious staff shortages because so many health care workers are getting sick with the fast-spreading variant. People are showing up at emergency rooms in large numbers in hopes of getting tested for COVID-19, putting more strain on the system. And a surprising share of patients two-thirds in some places are testing positive while in the hospital for other reasons. At the same time, hospitals say the patients arent as sick as those who came in during the last surge. Intensive care units arent as full, and ventilators arent needed as much as they were before. The pressures are nevertheless prompting hospitals to scale back non-emergency surgeries and close wards, while National Guard troops have been sent in in several states to help at medical centers and testing sites. MOSCOW (AP) Kazakhstan is experiencing the worst street protests the country has seen since gaining independence three decades ago. The outburst of instability is causing significant concern in Kazakhstan's two powerful neighbors: Russia and China. The country sells most of its oil exports to China and is a key strategic ally of Moscow. A sudden spike in the price of car fuel at the start of the year triggered the first protests in a remote oil town in the west. But the tens of thousands who have since surged onto the streets across more than a dozen cities and towns now have the entire authoritarian government in their sights. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has cut an increasingly desperate figure. He first sought to mollify the crowds by dismissing the entire government early Wednesday. But by the end of the day he had changed tack. First, he described demonstrators as terrorists. Then he appealed to a Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, for help in crushing the uprising and the CSTO agreed to send an unspecified number of peacekeepers. Why are people angry? Of the five Central Asian republics that gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan is by far the largest and the wealthiest. It spans a territory the size of Western Europe and sits atop colossal reserves of oil, natural gas, uranium and precious metals. But while Kazakhstan's natural riches have helped it cultivate a solid middle class, as well as a substantial cohort of ultrarich tycoons, financial hardship is widespread. The average national monthly salary is just under $600. The banking system has fallen prey to deep crises precipitated by non-performing loans. As in much of the rest of the region, petty corruption is rampant. The rally that set off the latest crisis took place in the dusty western oil town of Zhanaozen. Resentments have long festered in the area over a sense that the region's energy riches haven't been fairly spread among the local population. In 2011, police shot dead at least 15 people in the city who were protesting in support of oil workers dismissed after a strike. When prices for the liquified petroleum gas most people in the area use to power their cars doubled overnight Saturday, patience snapped. Residents in nearby cities quickly joined in and within days large protests had spread to the rest of the country. Who is leading the protests? The suppression of critical voices in Kazakhstan has long been the norm. Any figures aspiring to oppose the government have either been repressed, sidelined, or co-opted. So although these demonstrations have been unusually large some drawing more than 10,000 people, a large number for Kazakhstan no protest movement leaders have emerged. For most of Kazakhstan's recent history power was held in the hands of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. That changed in 2019 when Nazarbayev, now 81, stepped aside and anointed his long-time ally Tokayev as his successor. In his capacity as head of the security council that oversees the military and security services, Nazarbayev continued to retain considerable sway over the country. Tokayev announced Wednesday that he was taking over from Nazarbayev as security council head. Much of the anger displayed on the streets in recent days was directed not at Tokayev, but at Nazarbayev, who is still widely deemed the country's ultimate ruler. The slogan "Shal ket!" ("Old man go") has become a main slogan. How are the authorities responding? A police official in Almaty said Thursday that dozens of protesters were killed in attacks on government buildings. At least a dozen police officers were also killed, including one who got beheaded. There were attempts to storm buildings in Almaty during the night and "dozens of attackers were liquidated," police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek said. She spoke on state news channel Khabar-24. The reported attempts to storm the buildings came after widespread unrest in the city on Wednesday, including seizure of the mayor's building, which was set on fire. The initial reaction was in keeping with usual policy in the face of public discontent. Police and the National Guard were deployed in large numbers. The crowd that made its way to City Hall in the commercial capital, Almaty, early Wednesday was met by large phalanxes of riot police and armored personnel carriers. While gatherings are normally dispersed with ease, the number of people on the street this time was too large. With government buildings coming under assault in several large cities, Tokayev appealed for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-led military alliance. He justified the appeal for external intervention by claiming the protesters were operating at the behest of international terrorist groups. He offered no details on what he meant by that. Is the government likely to be toppled? This is uncharted territory for Kazakhstan. The country has seen major demonstrations before: In 2016, after the passage of a contentious land law. And again in 2019, after the contentious election that secured Tokayev's hold on power. But never anything on this scale. In one of his appeals to the public Wednesday, Tokayev pledged to pursue reforms and hinted that political liberalization might be possible. His darker remarks toward the end of the day, however, suggested he would instead go down a more repressive road. Still, because the street protests are so lacking in focus, at least for now, it's difficult to see how they might end. But even if they fail to topple the government, it looks possible they might lead to deep transformation. What is not clear is what that might mean. CHARLESTON For many of the officers who plan to attend the funeral for fallen Bradley police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, it is a show of solidarity amid tragedy. "It's one of the things you're not really prepared for ever and you feel for the family and the other officers in that agency," said Deputy Chief Heath Thornton of the Charleston Police Department. "We just want to show our support and be there for them because we know they do the same for us." But for Charleston K-9 Officer Kolbi Kraft, it is a chance to honor an officer with whom he worked. Kraft said he met Rittmanic in 2013 when he was interning at the Bradley Police Department for his law enforcement major at Western Illinois University. When he heard about the shooting on Dec. 29, Kraft said he reached out to another individual he interned with during that time and was devastated to learn about Rittmanic's passing. According to prosecutors, Rittmanic and her partner, Officer Tyler Bailey were investigating a complaint about dogs that were barking in a car parked outside of a Comfort Inn when Sullivan shot Bailey in the head after he and Rittmanic knocked on the door of the room where Sullivan and Harris were staying. Sullivan then allegedly shot at Rittmanic, chased her down a hallway and disarmed her with Harris' help before he shot the officer twice with her own gun as she pleaded for her life. Bailey remains in critical condition. "It's a tight-knit group of people that work there and it's definitely a department that always had my respect and that I care about," Kraft said. A visitation will be held Thursday, Jan. 6, at the Hawkins Centennial Chapel at Olivet Nazarene University in Boubonnais. A funeral will take place at the same chapel on Friday, Jan. 7. Although he did not have a close relationship with Rittmanic, Kraft said he would, from time to time, have conversations with her about his cousin who she worked with at the Iroquois County Sheriffs Department and share stories about them working together in the past. "When I was up there, there was never one bad thing said about Marlene," Kraft said. "As far as honoring her goes, we should follow her by getting more into community-orientated policing and talking people in the community and just getting involved." Iroquois County Sheriffs Department Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union have filed unfair labor charges against one another, with each side asking state officials to end the current dispute over in-person learning in their favor. The latest escalation in the conflict over adequate COVID-19 safety measures in schools comes as CPS saw a new record number of coronavirus cases Tuesday the last day of classes before the lack of agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union shut down schools districtwide for two days. In a statement Thursday afternoon, CPS officials said students will be notified later in the day by their principal about the status of school Friday. While some CPS buildings including Pulaski International School in Bucktown, Davis Dual Language Academy in Brighton Park and Oriole Park Elementary in Norwood Park have already canceled Friday classes, districts officials said they believe some schools will have adequate staffing to conduct in-person learning. Nearly 13% of the 21,600 CTU teachers and 15% of the 4,200 substitute teachers showed up for work Thursday, an increase from Wednesdays staffing levels, according to district data. CPS said in its statement that those who reported to buildings got paid, and the district encouraged CTU to end this illegal work stoppage. CPS staff who do not show up to work will not be paid until they honor their commitment to the District and our students and report for work in-person at our schools, the statement read. As CPS and the union continued their fight Thursday, Illinois reported another record-shattering day for new COVID-19 infections, with 44,089 new confirmed and probable cases reported statewide, with a record 7,098 people hospitalized with the virus overnight Wednesday. In the battle over reopening CPS, lawyers for CPS are asking the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to issue a cease-and-desire order against CTU and hear the case on an expedited basis. On Tuesday, January 4, 2022, the CTU illegally directed its members ... not to report to work as directed but to work remotely instead from January 5 until the earlier of January 18 or when CPS meets certain health metrics, CPS lawyers said in the filing. CTU lawyers separately filed charges alleging CPS violated the law by not negotiating an agreement with CPS about school reopenings after the one they signed in February 2021 expired. Theyre asking the state to to order CPS to honor the statutory right of employees to refrain from working in dangerous conditions and to allow employees to work remotely. District officials had canceled Wednesday classes after the union endorsed the work action Tuesday to refuse to work in person and instead teach remotely during a city spike in infections. The union, using the hashtag #LoriLockout, tweeted Wednesday that its been inundated with calls and emails this morning from educators who say theyve been unable to log into their CPS accounts to teach remotely, as was the CTUs stated intention. CPS has not confirmed the lockouts but many teachers and other school employees have taken to social media to report theyve been denied access to the CPS computer networks. The CTU resolution, endorsed by 73% of voting members, seeks to have classes remain remote until Jan. 18 unless a safety agreement with CPS is reached or the omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge subsides. Lightfoot has denounced the unions actions as an unlawful, unilateral strike. The union has countered that their actions dont amount to a work stoppage because they are willing to teach remotely. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. CPS reported record new daily case numbers on Tuesday 422 students and 274 adults. That was part of the first data to emerge from the two days of school that took place after the two-week winter break and before the cancellations. Those figures are double the number of cases CPS was reporting when students and staff members started their holiday vacation last month. About 330,000 students are enrolled in CPS, the nations third-largest school district. CPS doesnt report case numbers associated with its charter schools on its online COVID-19 tracker. As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 students and a record 2,300 staff members were in isolation because they tested positive for COVID-19 or quarantine because they had come in close contact with an infected person. With so many students and staff out because they have COVID-19 or are a close contact, absenteeism more than the teachers union action could be the main reason many classes arent meeting. Schools that already announced the cancellation of Friday classes cited a lack of staffing. While we do have a limited number of teachers and staff who have been coming to work, at this time we do not meet the staffing threshold provided by CPS to safely offer in-person instruction or programming tomorrow, January 7, the memo from Oriole Park School read. ... If the closure continues, and we do not have adequate staff to offer in-person programming on Monday, we will have packets of asynchronous activities available for pick up. There is no plan for remote instruction at this time in any CPS school. Pulaski Principal Diana Racasi wrote to parents Thursday that in lieu of in-person classes Friday, digital resources will be shared on Pulaskis webpage with multiple projects that students can work on at home independently or with family members or other adults. ... Each project can be completed over multiple days, and the projects can be completed in any order. Please email admin if you would like copies to be made for pick up. Racasi also wrote: I want to acknowledge the extremely challenging predicament we all are having to deal with on some level. I know this is difficult for everyone. This remains to be a deeply complicated issue with valid concerns on both sides. Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady has repeatedly said schools are not dangerous settings for transmission and infection in kids rarely leads to hospitalization. She expressed hope Thursday that students will use the days off to get vaccinated if they have not done so already. More than half of district students 12 to 17 years old and nearly 12% of students 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated, according to the district. CPS says about 91% of its staff is fully vaccinated. Across Illinois on Thursday, 44,089 new confirmed and probable cases were reported. While the holidays likely resulted in some distortions in the recent daily counts, cases have exploded in the past two weeks. During the week ending Dec. 23, the state was averaging 12,573 new cases per day, compared with an average of 27,141 per day during the past week. The number of people with COVID-19 in Illinois hospitals also continues to set records on a daily basis, pushing the average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital beds per day to 6,419 over the past week, up from an average of 3,987 per day two weeks earlier. Thanks in large part to vaccines, a smaller percentage of those who are getting infected are ending up in the hospital or dying compared with the fall 2020 surge, but deaths are on the rise. Health officials on Thursday reported 104 coronavirus-related deaths, the most in a day in nearly a year. Over the past week, the state has averaged 63 deaths per day, up from 53 per day two weeks earlier. The state has recorded 28,260 deaths since the pandemic began. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The addition of false color to an image captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, reveals a series of rings around a young star named HD163296. CREDIT Andrea Isella/Rice University Before the solar system had planets, the sun had rings -- bands of dust and gas similar to Saturn's rings -- that likely played a role in Earth's formation, according to a new study. "In the solar system, something happened to prevent the Earth from growing to become a much larger type of terrestrial planet called a super-Earth," said Rice University astrophysicist Andre Izidoro, referring to the massive rocky planets seen around at least 30% of sun-like stars in our galaxy. Izidoro and colleagues used a supercomputer to simulate the solar system's formation hundreds of times. Their model, which is described in a study published online in Nature Astronomy, produced rings like those seen around many distant, young stars. It also faithfully reproduced several features of the solar system missed by many previous models, including: - An asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter containing objects from both the inner and outer solar system. - The locations and stable, almost circular orbits of Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury. - The masses of the inner planets, including Mars, which many solar system models overestimate. - The dichotomy between the chemical makeup of objects in the inner and outer solar system. - A Kuiper belt region of comets, asteroids and small bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. The study by astronomers, astrophysicists and planetary scientists from Rice, the University of Bordeaux, Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, draws on the latest astronomical research on infant star systems. Their model assumes three bands of high pressure arose within the young sun's disk of gas and dust. Such "pressure bumps" have been observed in ringed stellar disks around distant stars, and the study explains how pressure bumps and rings could account for the solar system's architecture, said lead author Izidoro, a Rice postdoctoral researchers who received his Ph.D. training at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil. "If super-Earths are super-common, why don't we have one in the solar system?" Izidoro said. "We propose that pressure bumps produced disconnected reservoirs of disk material in the inner and outer solar system and regulated how much material was available to grow planets in the inner solar system." An illustration of three distinct, planetesimal-forming rings that could have produced the planets and other features of the solar system, according to a computational model from Rice University. The vaporization of solid silicates, water and carbon monoxide at "sublimation lines" (top) caused "pressure bumps" in the sun's protoplanetary disk, trapping dust in three distinct rings. As the sun cooled, pressure bumps migrated sunward allowing trapped dust to accumulate into asteroid-sized planetesimals. The chemical composition of objects from the inner ring (NC) differs from the composition of middle- and outer-ring objects (CC). Inner-ring planetesimals produced the inner solar system's planets (bottom), and planetesimals from the middle and outer rings produced the outer solar system planets and Kuiper Belt (not shown). The asteroid belt formed (top middle) from NC objects contributed by the inner ring (red arrows) and CC objects from the middle ring (white arrows). CREDIT Rajdeep Dasgupta Pressure bumps For decades, scientists believed gas and dust in protoplanetary disks gradually became less dense, dropping smoothly as a function of distance from the star. But computer simulations show planets are unlikely to form in smooth-disk scenarios. "In a smooth disk, all solid particles -- dust grains or boulders -- should be drawn inward very quickly and lost in the star," said astronomer and study co-author Andrea Isella, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Rice. "One needs something to stop them in order to give them time to grow into planets." When particles move faster than the gas around them, they "feel a headwind and drift very quickly toward the star," Izidoro explained. At pressure bumps, gas pressure increases, gas molecules move faster and solid particles stop feeling the headwind. "That's what allows dust particles to accumulate at pressure bumps," he said. Isella said astronomers have observed pressure bumps and protoplanetary disk rings with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, an enormous 66-dish radio telescope that came online in Chile in 2013. "ALMA is capable of taking very sharp images of young planetary systems that are still forming, and we have discovered that a lot of the protoplanetary disks in these systems are characterized by rings," Isella said. "The effect of the pressure bump is that it collects dust particles, and that's why we see rings. These rings are regions where you have more dust particles than in the gaps between rings." Ring formation The model by Izidoro and colleagues assumed pressure bumps formed in the early solar system at three places where sunward-falling particles would have released large amounts of vaporized gas. "It's just a function of distance from the star, because temperature is going up as you get closer to the star," said geochemist and study co-author Rajdeep Dasgupta, the Maurice Ewing Professor of Earth Systems Science at Rice. "The point where the temperature is high enough for ice to be vaporized, for example, is a sublimation line we call the snow line." In the Rice simulations, pressure bumps at the sublimation lines of silicate, water and carbon monoxide produced three distinct rings. At the silicate line, the basic ingredient of sand and glass, silicon dioxide, became vapor. This produced the sun's nearest ring, where Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars would later form. The middle ring appeared at the snow line and the farthest ring at the carbon monoxide line. Rings birth planetesimals and planets Protoplanetary disks cool with age, so sublimation lines would have migrated toward the sun. The study showed this process could allow dust to accumulate into asteroid-sized objects called planetesimals, which could then come together to form planets. Izidoro said previous studies assumed planetesimals could form if dust were sufficiently concentrated, but no model offered a convincing theoretical explanation of how dust might accumulate. "Our model shows pressure bumps can concentrate dust, and moving pressure bumps can act as planetesimal factories," Izidoro said. "We simulate planet formation starting with grains of dust and covering many different stages, from small millimeter-sized grains to planetesimals and then planets." Accounting for cosmochemical signatures, Mars' mass and the asteroid belt Many previous solar system simulations produced versions of Mars as much as 10 times more massive than Earth. The model correctly predicts Mars having about 10% of Earth's mass because "Mars was born in a low-mass region of the disk," Izidoro said. Dasgupta said the model also provides a compelling explanation for two of the solar system's cosmochemical mysteries: the marked difference between the chemical compositions of inner- and outer-solar system objects, and the presence of each of those objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Izidoro's simulations showed the middle ring could account for the chemical dichotomy by preventing outer-system material from entering the inner system. The simulations also produced the asteroid belt in its correct location, and showed it was fed objects from both the inner and outer regions. "The most common type of meteorites we get from the asteroid belt are isotopically similar to Mars," Dasgupta said. "Andre explains why Mars and these ordinary meteorites should have a similar composition. He's provided a nuanced answer to this question." Pressure-bump timing and super-Earths Izidoro said the delayed appearance of the sun's middle ring in some simulations led to the formation of super-Earths, which points to the importance of pressure-bump timing. "By the time the pressure bump formed in those cases, a lot of mass had already invaded the inner system and was available to make super-Earths," he said. "So the time when this middle pressure bump formed might be a key aspect of the solar system." Izidoro is a postdoctoral research associate in Rice's Department of Earth, Environment and Planetary Sciences. Additional co-authors include Sean Raymond of the University of Bordeaux, Rogerio Deienno of Southwest Research Institute and Bertram Bitsch of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. The research was supported by NASA (80NSSC18K0828, 80NSSC21K0387), the European Research Council (757448-PAMDORA), the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (88887.310463/2018-00), the Welch Foundation (C-2035) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research's National Planetology Program. Planetesimal rings as the cause of the Solar System's planetary architecture, Nature Astronomy Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. SOUTH ROXANA, Ill. The police chief of a village in Madison County has asked the Illinois State Police to investigate after a police officer shot and wounded a man Tuesday. South Roxana Police Chief Bob Coles said the man is expected to survive. "I can't get into why he was shot," the chief said in a brief phone interview Wednesday. The unidentified man was shot about 8 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Rose Avenue, east of Highway 111 and along South Roxana's northern border. Coles said the man was shot after a disturbance but he declined to elaborate. A woman had called 911 to report that someone was at the home on Rose "hunting someone," according to a dispatchers, who alerted officers that a man was barricaded in the back of a home on Rose and had access to knives. Police haven't said what happened next or why police shot the man. Dispatchers then updated surrounding agencies to say that shots were fired and that South Roxana needed backup. As police from neighboring jurisdictions learned about the shooting, officers rushed to a staging area near Jarrett Industries, at Rose Avenue and Madison Street. A woman who lives two houses away said she saw police running up and down the street. She said she heard the gunfire but didn't see what happened. The chief said Wednesday that everything he's seen so far tells him that police were justified in shooting the man, but he's asked the Illinois State Police to handle the investigation. Officers suffered sprains and other injuries while arresting the man, the chief said. He said "multiple departments" were involved in the arrest but he declined to say more. Elbert Jennings, a master sergeant with the Illinois State Police, referred a reporter Wednesday to the Illinois State Police public information office, which has not yet released any details. South Roxana is a village of about 2,000 residents in Madison County, Illinois. Kim Bell 314-340-8115 @kbellpd on Twitter kbell@post-dispatch.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO Leaders of Chicago Public Schools canceled classes Wednesday after the teachers union voted to refuse in-person instruction and switch to remote learning due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the latest development in an escalating battle over pandemic safety protocols in the nation's third-largest school district. Chicago has rejected a districtwide return to remote instruction, saying it was disastrous for children's learning and mental health, and the status of instruction for the rest of the week was in limbo. The union argued that the district's safety protocols are lacking, and teachers and students are vulnerable. Children in the roughly 350,000-student district returned to class Monday after a two-week winter break with COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations fueled by the omicron variant at record levels. School districts nationwide have grappled with the same issue, with most opting to stay open while ramping up virus testing, tweaking protocols and making other real-time adjustments in response to the shifting pandemic. Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said the union planned to meet with district officials Wednesday afternoon. But he said teachers don't want to return to in-person instruction until the current surge has subsided. "We'd rather be in our classes teaching, we'd rather have the schools open. What we are saying though is that right now we're in the middle of a major surge, it is breaking all the records and hospitals are full," he said during a Wednesday morning news conference with other union officials, teachers and parents. The union's action, approved by 73% of members, called for remote instruction until "cases substantially subside" or union leaders approve an agreement for safety protocols with the district. The district said early Tuesday that classes would be canceled Wednesday if the union voted not to return to in-person instruction. Devices were not distributed to students ahead of the union vote, which was announced just before 11 p.m. Tuesday. Union members who tried to log into teaching systems Wednesday said they were locked out. District officials blamed the union for the late cancellation, saying despite safety measures including a high teacher vaccination rate, "our teachers are not willing to report to work." "We are deeply concerned about this decision but even more concerned about its impact on the health, safety, and well-being of our students and families," the district said in a statement. CPS leaders said a plan would come later Wednesday to "continue student learning" in the district, where students are largely low income and Black and Latino. School officials labeled the union action an "illegal work stoppage" and said those who did not report to schools Wednesday would not be compensated. Last year during a similar debate, the district punished teachers who did not come to schools. Keyonna Payton, a teacher at Park Manor Elementary School who also chairs its safety committee, said she taught remotely Monday and Tuesday because most of her students were at home under quarantine. Payton said she is vaccinated and boosted, and she has a child who attends classes in the district who is also vaccinated, but she's fearful of the variant spreading to her family, including her 91-year-old grandmother. "I'm doing my part to try to protect my children. However, I am afraid of this virus and variant because of how fast it is moving and spreading," she said during the Wednesday news conference. Danelda Craig, a parent who also spoke at the news conference, said she was "taken aback" by a suggestion from the city's public health commissioner that people could wear two masks to improve protection. Craig said most children struggle with one. "We want them to go to school," she said. "What we don't want is COVID with it." Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday that an increase in hospitalizations due to COVID has been driven by unvaccinated adults, and child hospitalizations remain "very rare." In a city with roughly 550,000 residents age 17 or younger, there was an average of seven daily hospitalizations in that age group between Thanksgiving and Dec. 29, she said. Of the 55 people age 5 to 17 hospitalized during that time, 46 were unvaccinated. There were no vaccinated youths age 5 to 11 hospitalized and no child deaths, Arwady said. Roughly 100,000 students and 91% of CPS' more than 47,000 staff in the district are vaccinated, according to the district. In Illinois, masks are required in indoor settings, including schools. While some significantly smaller, neighboring school districts have returned or plan to return to class this week, others have temporarily returned to remote learning. Niles Township High School District 219 in Skokie, just north of Chicago, switched to remote learning for the first two weeks of January due to staffing shortages, while the Lincoln Way district southwest of Chicago did so for one week, also due to staffing. In Chicago, the district proposed guidelines for individual school closures, saying safety measures like required masks, availability of vaccines and improved ventilation make schools among the safest places for kids to be. But the union, with roughly 25,000 members, has proposed metrics for districtwide closure, citing risks to students and teachers. A fierce battle took place last January over similar issues. The district said it has provided 200,000 KN95 masks to teachers, would allow schools to resume daily health screening questions for students and building visitors and would spell out metrics for closing individual schools. Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said buildings would remain open for "essential services," but not instruction. The district said food service and COVID-19 testing would be available at schools but after-school activities would be canceled. Associated Press writers Sara Burnett in Chicago and Rick Callahan in Indianapolis contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As we mark the first anniversary of the domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol, youll read much about how it was one of Americas darkest days. Thats accurate, of course. But we shouldnt lose sight of the fact that it was also one of Americas dumbest days: A violent pack of conspiracy-addled mopes, following the lead of a dullards dozen of dime store grifters, broke into the halls of American democracy and desecrated the place while posting selfies and livestreaming themselves effectively shouting, LOOK, MA, IM DOIN A FEDERAL CRIME! It was a veritable tornado of stupid, inspired entirely by claims about the 2020 election that a less-bright-than-most boll weevil would recognize as a bunch of hooey. The insurrection was a horror and a disgrace, and it left more than a hundred Capitol Police officers injured, some severely. It was a shock to Americas conscience. But it was also unbelievably dumb. The kind of dumb where if you know someone even tangentially involved in what happened that day, or even if you know someone who supports what happened, you feel ashamed for that person and for yourself for knowing someone so willfully blockheaded. In the wake of Asinine-a-palooza, one might think Americans would unite in agreement that displays of abject stupidity are profoundly embarrassing to those behaving in abjectly stupid ways. Sadly, that is not what happened. The Jan. 6 attackers, in many right-wing circles and from the mouths of sitting GOP members of Congress, have been hailed as either heroes or misunderstood patriots. Many of the insurrectionists have been shocked SHOCKED, I TELL YOU! to learn they will now be incarcerated for their actions, and some feel let down that their hero, disgraced former one-term President Donald Trump, did not come to their rescue. I dont meant to sound rude, but if you allow a man who fleeced people with a phony university and misused funds from his own charitable organization to incite you to battle police, break the doors and windows of a federal building and disrupt the nations peaceful transfer of power on his behalf and expect that man to have your back, youre dumb as paint. And I say that at great risk of insulting paint. Its important to note the dumb and stupid Im referencing here have nothing to do with a persons level of education. Theres an abundance of highly educated dumb-dumbs, as well as ample brilliant and sensible souls who never set foot in college. But what were struggling with is a sea change from the times, not terribly long ago, when unabashedly flaunting ignorance willful or otherwise was looked down on. People in general tried to be informed and intelligent, or at least stay in their lanes, and babbling on about utter nonsense was drunk-at-the-end-of-the-bar behavior. Now that behavior seems a prerequisite for a speaking slot at the Conservative Political Action Conference or a guest spot on Fox News. A portion of the populace has slid from its good to be smart to being smart is elitist, so Im going to follow the medical advice of this podcaster, a painfully common epitaph throughout the pandemic. You can draw a straight line from the glorification of numbskullery and the rejection of facts to the Jan. 6 attack. Yet somehow, since Jan. 6, the stupidity being peddled has only gotten worse. Trump and an astonishing array of Republicans and right-wing media types continue to insist the 2020 election was stolen. There is zero evidence to support that and, in fact, even the former presidents most loyal flunkies who have ham-handedly audited election results in various states have come up with zilch. But the lying continues, eroding faith in our democratic systems and, for some reason, not embarrassing those who keep getting proven wrong. Fox News host Tucker Carlson produced an entire (baseless) series claiming Jan. 6 was some kind of false flag operation. Yet he still has a job. Why? Because the people who watch and trust him are allergic to critical thinking and find it perfectly reasonable that Carlson, as he did recently, criticizes President Joe Biden for wearing a mask outdoors and then almost immediately slams Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for not wearing a mask outdoors. That kind of cognitive dissonance should be embarrassing for Carlson, his network and all who lap up such nonsense. But its not. The attempted coup of Jan. 6 is ongoing. The lies that sparked that days attacks continue, and theyre leading to nefarious state-level power grabs by Republicans and out-in-the-open promises that future elections will be won by the GOP, whatever it takes. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said this week that there were nearly 10,000 threats against lawmakers in the last year, more than double what it was just a few years ago. Unchecked stupidity is inherently dangerous. Thats why its important to recognize the doltish gullibility behind Jan. 6 and make people feel embarrassed if they behave like lunkheads. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about two-thirds of Americans believe the Jan. 6 riot was extremely or very violent (it was, unquestionably) and about 70% of Americans think Congress should keep investigating the events of that day. Thats good news. At least two-thirds of Americans havent let the cheese slide off their crackers. As to the rest, to the broken-brained deniers and election-fraud dead-enders, let them know this: Jan. 6 was a date that will live in idiocy. It was the charge of the not-bright brigade. It was and remains a global embarrassment. Anyone who says otherwise is perpetually in danger of being outwitted by a can of tuna. Lets make stupidity embarrassing again. Our democracy depends on it. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The global impact of the Jan. 6 insurrection is still growing one year after the attack. Most Americans dont realize the shock felt by our foreign friends, and the glee of our adversaries, at watching mobs of MAGA vandals storm the Capitol of the worlds greatest democracy. Even when European and Asian allies disagreed with American policies, they still looked to the United States as the leader of the community of democratic nations. Especially given the growing strength of China and the muscle-flexing of Russia. The coup attempt on Jan. 6, along with its continuing reverberations, has shaken our allies faith in Americas future. Despite the Biden administrations success in strengthening alliances Trump rebuffed and building new ones in Asia foreign officials now worry about the stability of the United States. They watch with astonishment as the former president continues to promote his Big Lie about election fraud in 2020 and as most GOP leaders support his falsehoods. They wonder whether Trump will try again to steal the election in 2024, and whether more of his supporters will use violence. No NATO ally could have conceived of such a scenario before Trump incited the coup attempt at the Capitol on Jan. 6. This is a year in which the crisis of American democracy has become incredibly visible to all, the noted British columnist Martin Wolf told a Financial Times podcast in late December. And that is a singularly disturbing fact for those of us who live in what we used to think of as the free world. European and Asian leaders wonder whether the partisan madness eating away at Americas democratic institutions will undercut any effective U.S. foreign policy. This is a time when our country needs to be united against Chinas advances and Russias aggression. Moreover, NATO allies know they cant handle these threats alone, and are looking for solid U.S. leadership in pushing back against Moscow and Beijing. Instead, foreigners watch with amazement (or glee in Beijing) as Trump, his congressional acolytes and pro-Trump media shatter the most sacred principle of democracy: the commitment to free and fair elections in which the candidate who gets the most votes wins and the loser steps aside. Never mind that audit after audit, court decision after court decision, debunks GOP claims that votes were altered, voting machines fixed, or absentee ballots misused. Never mind that a monthslong study by The Associated Press of every potential case of voter fraud in six key battleground states found fewer than 475 individual cases of potential fraud out of 25.5 million votes cast. In foreign capitals, they are already imagining the domestic U.S. political chaos if the GOP refuses to accept the results in the 2024 presidential ballot. They also worry about bitter U.S. domestic conflicts in the long run-up to 2024 elections, especially if the GOP wins a House majority in 2022 and makes clear its plans to upend 2024 results it dislikes. No wonder Americas friends wonder whether our country is on its way to destroying itself. No wonder our adversaries believe this to be the case. Indeed, Chinese state media, and political leaders, point to the chaos of Jan. 6 at the Capitol as proof their system of governance is superior to Americas. The divisiveness that paralyzes American politics increases their self-confidence in their authoritarian order, and their conviction that the United States is in decline. Trudy Rubin is a columnist for the The Philadelphia Inquirer. trubin@phillynews.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The management team behind East Coast Wings + Grill has opened a new restaurant with a fries and sliders concept called myfrii. The first myfrii opened Dec. 29 at 3477 Burke Mill Road, off South Stratford Road in Burke Mill Village, which also holds Viva Chicken, Taco Mama, Duck Donuts and Clean Juice. Myfrii specializes in hand-cut topped or loaded fries, plus a selection of sliders made with beef hamburgers, chicken and hot dogs. In 2019, ZorAbility, Inc., an advisory and investment company for emerging restaurant brands started by East Coast Wings CEO Sam Ballas, bought a majority stake in #getfried, a brand started in Buffalo, N.Y., by Chris Covelli in 2015. The #getfried was a small chain of fry cafes whose menu was based on French fries with various toppings. Ballas has spent the last two years reworking the #getfried concept with help of his partners in ZorAbility: Mark Lyso, president of ZorAbility and myfrii, and chief development officer for East Coast Wings; Tom Scalese, a senior director of ZorAbility and the chief operating officer of East Coast Wings; and Sammy Gianopoulos, a senior director of ZorAbility and the owner of Sammy Gs Tavern, Fratellis Italian Steakhouse, and Three Bulls American Steakhouse. The result is myfrii, for which ZorAbility is the majority owner, with Chris Covelli retaining a minority stake. The team planned to launch myfrii much earlier, but, like many restaurateurs, ran into delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. But the delays gave them time to react to some long-term changes that the pandemic was causing in the restaurant business. Lyso said, We were able to retool the fries concept to give it more traction, to turn it into a fast-casual model with legs to grow. Myfrii Address: 3477 Burke Mill Road, Unit D-4, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27103 Phone: 336-999-8436 Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily Website: my-frii.com Facebook: myfrii Lyso said the company worked hard to come up with the best quality food they could with quick turnaround times and a price point where everything is under $10. The restaurant can seat 40 inside with counter service but is designed to offer takeout and delivery. In reworking the #getfried concept to turn it into myfrii, the team switched to hand-cut fries made in-house, tweaked the fries toppings and added 16 different sliders. Other significant additions to the menu are milkshakes and house-made oversized tater tots. All of the recipes are from Sammy Gianopoulus, Ballas said. Gianopoulos said he started from scratch, trying to figure out how to make the best fries, using different cooking methods and various cuts. You wouldnt believe how hard it is to get fries right, Gianopoulos said with a laugh. But hand-cut fries are totally worth it. Ballas said that the company spent hours testing the fries on simulated takeout/delivery runs to make sure the fries stayed crispy for at least 15 minutes. Myfriis fries are thin with the peel on. They are served with myfrii sauce, a mayonnaise-based tangy sauce with mustard and ketchup. Myfrii also has a handful of other dipping sauces, including homestyle ranch, spicy mayo, bbq, Buffalo and samurai bbq. Those fries are the base for six meal trays, all $9.99. The myfrii mac consists of fries topped with a certified Angus beef burger, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and myfrii sauce. The samurai bbq tray has garlic-tossed fries with baked mozzarella, Asian-style bbq chicken, Asian-style slaw, cilantro and spicy mayo. The papou gus consists of lemon-oregano fries topped with gyro meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, feta and tzatziki. Other trays feature Buffalo chicken, fire-roasted chicken and shaved sirloin. There are six burger sliders on the menu, all made with certified Angus beef and served on Kings Hawaiian buns. The o.g. myfrii has American cheese, pickles and myfrii sauce. The A.1. Sammy house has A.1. sauce, provolone and grilled onions. The texii mex has pepper jack, cotija chese, grilled peppers and onions, guacamole and cilantro. There also are six chicken sliders. The bbq pulled chicken has fire-roasted pulled chicken, bbq sauce and slaw. The Cajun chicken has a piece of grilled breast meat with provolone, slaw and spicy mayo. The dog sliders use 100% beef Hebrew National hot dogs, cut to fit on a slider bun. They include the Carolina dog with American cheese, chili, slaw, mustard and onions and the b-rad dog with mustard, onions, tomatoes, pickles, jalapeno pepper relish and celery salt. All of the sliders come with fries and are priced the same: two for $7.99 or three for $9.99. Fries by themselves go for $3.99 for a generous trayful. There also are snack fries for $4.49, which consist of fries topped with chili and cheese or feta and tzatziki, or other toppings. The house-made tots ($4.49 for six large) come with a choice of the myfrii or other dipping sauce. Shakes include six classics ($3.79) vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, peanut butter, banana and salted caramel plus several premium flavors ($4.79) that include cookie butter crunch and chocolate toffee. The restaurant also sells Coca-Cola fountain drinks. Myfrii is using DoorDash for deliveries. It is in the process of adding online ordering directly through its website. Ballas and his team plan to turn myfrii into a franchise chain. But they expect to open one more company-owned store in the Triad before they start expanding into franchises. Charlotte is in line for one of the franchise locations. Other sites in consideration, including former #getfried spots, stretch from New York to Florida and Texas. Ballas, who also serves on the board of the International Franchise Association, said he believes that myfrii is set up to thrive in the new normal restaurant industry that has seen significant changes during the pandemic. He said that more and more restaurateurs are looking at fast-casual restaurants that offer the quality food of sit-down casual restaurants while focusing on fast service and takeout-friendly menus at a reasonable price. What were seeing is you can have a smaller footprint, a smaller restaurant that takes fewer employees to run, and still do the volume, Ballas said. But you have to have quality food at the right price point. Ballas said he even has tweaked the East Coast Wings concept. New franchisees now have the option of choosing to open a smaller East Coast Wings that is more of a fast-casual restaurant, with no bar and more emphasis on takeout. 336-727-7394 @mhastingswsj Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. World-renowned conductor JoAnn Falletta and award-winning Romanian pianist Alexandra Dariescu will be featured in a Classic Series concert titled Celebrate! on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 as the Winston-Salem Symphony starts its 75th anniversary year. The concert will feature three parts. Karen Ni Bhroin, assistant conductor of the Winston-Salem Symphony, will open the program by conducting Dmitri Shostakovichs Festive Overture, op. 96. Its a very dramatic and very exciting Russian overture, Falletta said. Then Falletta will take up the baton as Dariescu joins the symphony for Norwegian composer Edvard Griegs stirring and romantic Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor, op. 16. Its one of the most beloved piano concertos ever written, Falletta said. Dariescu said Grieg was 25 and in a happy period of his life when he composed this piano concerto, which has three movements. The three parts are very different, Dariescu said. The first one is absolutely incredible. Its based on the big fjords in Norway. Its got so much space in it. If youve ever been on any high mountain, it makes you just hug the world. She said the second movement has a beautiful, happy theme, and the third movement is based on a Norwegian folk dance. This music really has that power to give hope and a bit of light, and just makes us think more positive and hopeful for a better future, Dariescu said. The program will conclude with Peter Ilyich Tchaikovskys exuberant Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36, which Falletta described as a brilliant piece for the symphony. Its very dramatic, Falletta said. Its based upon the idea of fate, that all of our lives are ruled by fate. She said parts of the piece are quite dark and intense. But its end is very brilliant, very positive, she said. The conductor Fallettas musical journey began on her seventh birthday, when her father gave her a classical guitar. I loved that guitar, Falletta said. I loved playing piano. I loved playing cello. At about the age of 11, I decided I wanted to be a conductor. Just from going to concerts, she said she knew she had to be in the middle of the orchestra, but she had no idea what a conductor did. Now, Falletta is living her dream career. I was able to start conducting and make little steps forward, she said. Its a very wonderful place to be in the middle of a symphony orchestra. Falletta, who spends most of her time in Buffalo, N.Y., is a multiple Grammy Award-winning conductor. She is music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Music Director Laureate of the Virginia Symphony, principal guest conductor of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, and artistic adviser of the Hawaii Symphony. Recently named as one of the 50 great conductors of all time by Gramophone Magazine, she is hailed for her work as a conductor, recording artist, audience builder and champion of American composers. As music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta became the first woman to lead a major American ensemble, the Winston-Salem Symphony said in a press release. She has won two individual Grammy Awards, including the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance as conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic in the world premiere Naxos recording, Richard Danielpours The Passion of Yeshua. In 2019, she won her first individual Grammy Award as conductor of the London Symphony in the Best Classical Compendium category for Spiritualist, her fifth world premiere recording of the music of Kenneth Fuchs. Falletta has guest conducted more than 100 orchestras in North America and many of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Celebrate! will give her the opportunity to guest conduct the Winston-Salem Symphony for the second time. The last time she was in Winston-Salem was March 2009. She remembers a beautiful city and how welcoming people were to her. Im very happy to return, Falletta said. Im thrilled to be able to come back. The pianist On her website, Dariescu describes herself as an artist, citizen of the world and storyteller. Raised in Romania, she currently lives in London. Dariescu has performed with top orchestras around the world. In 2017, she premiered her successful piano recital production The Nutcracker and I, an original ground-breaking multimedia performance for piano solo with dance and digital animation. Dariescu states on her website that she created and produced The Nutcracker and I out of a personal responsibility to reach out to younger audiences and build bridges for those perhaps new to classical music. In the 2020-21 season, she premiered the revised COVID-safe version, The Nutcracker Reimagined for solo piano, brass ensemble, narrator and dance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Dariescu has released eight CDs to critical acclaim, most recently her Decca recording with Angela Gheorghiu. In 2017, Dariescu was appointed patron of Music in Lyddington, Cultural Ambassador of Romania and Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Northern College of Music. In spring 2018, she received the Officer of the Romanian Crown from the Royal Family and was chosen as a Young European Leader by Friends of Europe. In 2020, she received the Order Cultural Merit in the rank of Knight by the Romanian president and became an associated member of the RNCM. Dariescu stands out as an original voice whose fundamental values are shining a light on gender equality in both her concerto and recital programs as well as championing lesser-known works, advocating for diversity and inclusion, the Winston-Salem Symphony said in a press release. In an interview, she said that championing diversity, inclusion and gender equity are her fundamentals in life. Its about championing lesser-known works and works by female composers, Dariescu said. I perform a lot of that because I truly believe its about showcasing and shining a light on the true society. I think our programming should really mirror our society, rather than just always perform works by male composers. She added that it is important to showcase and to show our audiences that there were a lot of female composers out there that for one reason or another were neglected. 336-727-7366 @fdanielWSJ Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A car crash smashed windows Thursday morning at Coffee Park at 1206 Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem. No injuries were reported. The crash occurred about 2 a.m. when a Honda Civic going west on Reynolda Road struck the curb, said Tommy Priest, the owner of Coffee Park. The vehicle then struck the guard rail that separates two parking lots and briefly went airborne again, he said. The car hit three tables, two metal planters and two benches and broke the windows at the Coffee Park, Priest said. It ended up in the parking lot next to the building at 1214 Reynolda Road. The crash left a 150-yard debris field. "It was something to wake up to," Priest said. Winston-Salem police arrived, Priest said. The damaged Honda remained at the site Thursday afternoon. The incident caused between $10,000 to $15,000 in estimated damage, Priest said. None of the bicycles at Mock Orange Bikes at nearby 1208 Reynolda Road were damaged. Coffee Park opened as scheduled Thursday morning, Priest said. The damage will be repaired, said Paul McGill, who owns the buildings at 1206, 1208 and 1214 Reynolda Road. "I'm just glad that it happened at night," McGill said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. If Christopher Wiley Crisp had lived, he would have walked out of the Forsyth County Jail on Tuesday. But he died on New Years Eve, and his family says they have been unable to get information from the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office. Somebody should be calling the family to give them an update, Titania Wiseman, Crisps sister, told the Journal. No one from the family has been able to see the body. She said her parents are devastated and their father has tried to get answers from the sheriffs office. In a news release on Dec. 31, 2021, the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said Crisp, 52, was found in his cell that morning and that he died from natural causes. The preliminary reports by NaphCares Dr. Box, the medical provider for the FCLEDC (Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center), suggest the cause of death to be natural causes from a Gastrointestinal Bleed due to a pre-existing health condition, the sheriffs office said in the news release. The sheriffs office initially did not provide any further information, including the full name and position for Dr. Box. A spokesperson for NaphCare did not immediately respond to a request for more information about Dr. Box. According to the N.C. Medical Board, Dr. Murff William Box II works at the Forsyth County Jail. Box was not in the office Wednesday when the Journal called a number that the medical board listed for him. The sheriffs office did offer condolences: Any loss of life is a loss to our community. In response to questions from the Journal, Annie Sims, a spokeswoman for the sheriffs office, said a detention officer found Crisp in distress around 8:20 a.m. Dec. 31. A contracted medical provider was called. The provider determined that EMS needed to be called, Sims said in an email. After EMS responded and assessed, they were transporting Mr. Crisp to the ambulance when he coded, she said. Mr. Crisp was declared deceased at approximately 9:23 a.m. Sims said in the email on Tuesday that an autopsy was scheduled. She did not say when the autopsy would be completed and referred questions to the N.C. Office of the Medical Examiner. Catie Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medical Examiners office, said the office did not have a record of Crisp in its system. Crisp was serving a 30-day jail sentence for a conviction for misdemeanor assault on a female. He entered the jail on Dec. 6 and was scheduled to be released Tuesday. Wiseman said her brother was not in poor health. She said his wife told her that he had been diagnosed with an ulcer. He wasnt taking any medication, she said. Before he went to jail, he had been visiting his parents, who live with Wiseman, she said. Sims would not provide any medical information, citing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prohibits public disclosure of private medical information. The sheriffs office has said it notified the director of the Forsyth County Health Department and the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office. The State Bureau of Investigation will conduct an independent investigation, and the sheriffs offices professional standards division is also investigating to see if any policies or procedures were violated. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On Jan. 6, 2021, hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop a joint session of the U.S. Congress from officially confirming that Joe Biden won the presidential election. According to official estimates, some 140 law-enforcement officers were assaulted, including 80 U.S. Capitol Police officers and 60 Metropolitan Police officers. Approximately $1.5 million worth of damage was done to the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The insurrection was based on the false belief that Biden didn't win the election and that Trump lost due to rampant election fraud. There has been no evidence that election fraud occurred or that Donald Trump won the election. Triad area suspects in the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol Charles Joseph Donohoe Charges: Conspiracy; Obstruction of an official proceeding; Destruction of government property; Entering a restricted building or grounds; Disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds Donohoe remains jailed on his charges. Laura Steele Charges: Conspiracy; Obstruction of an official proceeding; Destruction of government property; Entering a restricted building or grounds; Tampering with documents or proceedings. Steele has pleaded not guilty to all counts. Christopher Raphael Spencer Charges: Obstruction of an official proceeding; entering a restricted building or grounds; Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building; Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; Parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Spencer pleaded not guilty to all counts on March 31, 2021. Virginia Marie 'Jenny' Spencer Virginia Spencer pleaded guilty to parading or demonstrating in a Capitol building. She is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7. Anthony Joseph Scirica Anthony Scirica pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 20. Matthew Mark Wood Charges: Obstruction of an official proceeding; Entering a restricted building or grounds; Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building; Entering certain rooms in the Capitol building; Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; Parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Wood has pleaded not guilty to all charges. More than 725 people have been since been arrested from all 50 states. More than 225 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or federal employees, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. About 640 people have been charged with entering or staying in a restricted federal building or grounds, the Justice Department said. Among those arrested are at least six people from the Piedmont Triad. Out of the six people arrested, two have pleaded guilty Virginia Marie Spencer and Anthony Scirica and they are scheduled to be sentenced this month. The first to be arrested was Christopher Spencer. His wife, Virginia Marie Spencer, was arrested later. Both are from Pilot Mountain, and Virginia Spencer recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol building. She is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. According to court documents, Virginia Spencer confronted a counter-protester and walked into a suite of offices belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her husband is alleged to have live-streamed his time in the U.S. Capitol building. Prosecutors allege that the couple brought along their 14-year-old son and are asking a federal judge to sentence Virginia Spencer to a three-month prison sentence. Her attorney is recommending a year of probation. Christopher Spencer's charges are still pending. The cases of Charles Donohoe and Laura Steele have been the most prominent among the Triad arrests. Both people are connected to far-right groups, which federal prosecutors believe were instrumental in planning the Jan. 6 insurrection the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Donohoe, who is from Kernersville, is the president of the Piedmont chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right group known for getting into violent clashes with antifascists at rallies and other events. Donohoe and three other Proud Boys leaders were indicted at the same time on a six-count indictment. The other co-defendants are Ethan Nordean of Auburn, Wash.; Joseph Biggs of Ormond, Fla.; and Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia. Federal prosecutors accuse the men of planning for the Proud Boys' involvement in the attack. Donohoe, a former U.S. Marine who did two tours in Iraq, is alleged to have played a significant role in helping Proud Boys members in the attack. Prosecutors say Donohoe created a new encrypted messaging channel on the Telegram messaging application in an effort to evade law-enforcement detection. Donohoe did this, prosecutors said, after Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was arrested Jan. 4, 2021. Donohoe also is accused of telling fellow Proud Boys members that if any communications were compromised, members could face "gang" charges. Prosecutors said those statements indicated that Donohoe knew he was involved in something illegal. They also have alleged that Donohoe had a leadership role in the Proud Boys similar to that of a senior lieutenant and that he passed down instructions about logistics to Proud Boys members in the days before the attack. Donohoe also was part of a group on Jan. 6 that trampled over barricades and pushed up the steps to the Capitol building. He can be seen on video carrying a riot shield that was allegedly stolen from a Capitol police officer by Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola. Prosecutors say that Pezzola later used that same shield to break a window in the Capitol building that helped people to open an adjacent door and gain entry. Federal prosecutors say Donohoe later posted messages online saying he felt "like a complete warrior." Lisa Costner, his attorney, has pushed back against those allegations, saying there's no evidence that Donohoe participated in planning an attack or that he knew an attack was imminent. She also said that Donohoe never entered the U.S. Capitol building and that, when he was arrested, police found no weapons on him. He and his co-defendants have sought to have their federal charges dismissed. Recently, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly denied their request. They are scheduled to go on trial in May. Laura Steele is a former High Point police officer from Thomasville. Federal prosecutors said Graydon Young helped recruit Steele, his sister, into the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers is a far-right anti-government group that recruits heavily from law-enforcement and military. Steele is accused of joining a group of other Oath Keepers on Jan. 6 and illegally entering the U.S. Capitol building. They are seen on video and in photographs wearing tactical gear and walking in a military-style "stack" formation, meaning that members kept their hands on the back or vest of the person in front of them as they moved into the building. Prosecutors said Steele and others communicated with each other in the days before Jan. 6 about logistics and travel plans. They also said that after Jan. 6, Steele and her brother burned evidence of their involvement in a burn pit in Steele's Thomasville house. Young has pleaded guilty to obstruction of Congress and conspiracy, but charges are still pending against Steele. Steele was a police officer with the High Point Police Department from 1992 to 2004, when she was fired for conduct toward superior personnel, absence from duty and violation of communications policy. While at the police department, she worked as a school resource officer. Steele was investigated and later cleared in two separate incidents where she pepper-sprayed students, an 11-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. She also worked as a security guard for Novant Health. Anthony Scirica of Kernersville recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He had initially been charged in a four-count indictment. Prosecutors said that Scirica saw other people entering the Capitol, heard people shouting "U.S.A." and "Stop the Steal." Then he heard a window breaking and an alarm going off inside the Capitol. Prosecutors said despite that, Scirica went inside the Capitol, where he walked through the Rotunda at about 2:26 p.m. Jan. 6. At 2:27 p.m., he went through Statuary Hall, and as he continued going through the Capitol, he took photos and videos. According to prosecutors, Scirica saw law-enforcement officers, and witnessed one man push a law-enforcement officer. The other only remaining defendant from the Triad is Matthew Mark Wood of Reidsville. He is accused of breaking a window to get entry into the U.S. Capitol building. His case is still pending. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 'Capitol Punishment' - The Movie that Reveals What Really Happened at the Capitol Building One Year Ago on January 6 NEWS PROVIDED BYJan. 6, 2022LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6, 2022 / Standard Newswire / -- The documentary film, Capitol Punishment, is told through the eyes of the people who were there on the ground, in our Nation's Capital, and shares with the world the true story of January 6, 2021. Everything that we are being told by the media is a lie and Americans are being persecuted to support that lie. January 6th was years in the making and the threat to the survival of America as we know it has never been greater.Award winning actor Nick Searcy has teamed up with award-winning and inspiring filmmaker Chris Burgard to reveal the actual events on January 6, 2021 via a riveting documentary. Alarmingly, Nick and Chris also saw and filmed agent provocateurs pretending to be MAGA supporters.To view the trailer and purchase the film visit: capitolpunishmentthemovie.com Award winning and veteran actor Nick Searcy is known for his role in Best Picture winner The Shape of Water, the multiple Oscar-winning film Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, Oscar-nominated Moneyball, Cast Away, Fried Green Tomatoes, Runaway Jury, Nell, The Fugitive, and his co-starring role on the hit television FX series Justified. Searcy has also had a variety of exciting roles in various networks such as UPN's 7 Days, CBS's American Gothic, HBO's From The Earth To The Moon, ABC's Rodney, and CW's Easy Money. An accomplished director, Searcy's film, GOSNELL, was released in theatres nationwide.Chris Burgard is an award-winning filmmaker, with projects such as The Ruining, Border, Honduras On The Brink, and popular videos that received 1/3 of a billion views. Burgard hails as one of the most dangerous media guys on the planet. In 2020, Burgard was honored to team up with Hollywood Legend, Nick Searcy, to direct the seminole film, America! America! God Shed His Grace On Thee.Searcy and Burgard's new film, Capitol Punishment, stands as testament to a day of infamy in American history, Jan. 6, 2021. Told through the eyes of the people who were there on the ground, Capitol Punishment shows the world the true story of January 6, 2021.Capitol Punishment has been featured on shows such as America First with Dr. Sebastian Gorka , Dinesh D'Souza Podcast, The Dana Show , The Wilkow Majority, American Media Periscope Network , and many others. The film is receiving rave reviews: Wade Major and CDN Film Website and trailer: capitolpunishmentthemovie.com Clips from the film: Kinnison family Simone Gold , and Martinez family Follow Nick on: Twitter: @yesnicksearcyFacebook: www.facebook.com/nick.searcy.9 For interviews with Nick Searcy and/or Chris Burgard, or for other media inquiries, contact Laura Orrico, President of Laura Orrico Public Relations, LLC at lauraorrico@gmail.com 872-216-3781.SOURCE Laura Orrico Public Relations, LLCCONTACT: Laura Orrico, 872-216-3781, lauraorrico@gmail.com Forsyth County legislators Sen. Joyce Krawiec and Rep. Donny Lambeth were named Wednesday as chairs of a joint legislative committee formed to study whether and how North Carolina could expand its Medicaid program. The formation of the Committee on Access to Healthcare and Medicaid Expansion represents an agreement between Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. That agreement played a role in the ability to reach a compromise on the 2021-22 state budget the first signed into law by Cooper since the GOP super-majority ended in January 2019. The purpose of the committee, as identified in the 2021-22 state budget, is to consider various ways in which access to health care and health insurance can be improved for North Carolinians, according to a statement from House speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland. North Carolina is one of just 12 states that have not expanded its Medicaid program via funding available from the federal Affordable Care Act. Many states with Republican leadership have accepted Medicaid expansion, including Indiana when former vice president Mike Pence was governor. Medicaid currently covers 2.3 million North Carolinians. The Medicaid gap affects individuals who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage, but not enough to get help in the private insurance marketplace. The nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, based in New York, released a study in May that found North Carolina could gain at least 80,000 health-care jobs by expanding Medicaid coverage to between 450,000 and 650,000 low- to moderate-income residents. Lambeth has been doing the heavy lifting behind state House attempts to advance a form of Medicaid expansion. Lambeths House Bill 655 required a Medicaid-expansion work-requirement that gained begrudging Democratic support. After clearing the House committee process, HB655 failed to get a floor vote during the 2019 session. Our committee will explore and seek solutions to critical health-care issues with the goals of broadening access to quality health care for working people, lowering health insurance premiums for everyone, addressing the cost of uncompensated care especially for rural hospitals, and providing more affordable health-care options to help small businesses retain employees, Lambeth said in a statement. Lambeth added separately that this is an important topic for N.C. and has been debated for several years. Access can cover a number of key points. Currently, the easiest and best access point across N.C. is our emergency rooms. But, that has its challenges and is also one of the most costly sites and frustrating to people who seek care. "Our committee will look at a number of aspects to access in hopes to make improvements and ultimately reduce the cost of care while taking care of more people who need appropriate care." Meanwhile, Krawiec has emerged over the past three years as a key GOP health-care reform proponent that typically has not promoted Medicaid expansion. She has emphasized changing the state's certificate-of-need laws addressing major healthcare system's infrastructure and equipment requests. I am hopeful that we will explore all avenues, Krawiec said. Our plan will be to provide better access to health care and to improve the Health of our residents in North Carolina. Moore pledged that committee members will thoroughly investigate the health-care needs in our state and explore all options to improve upon the state of health care in North Carolina. I have every confidence that the result of this committees work will benefit all North Carolinians. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and a longtime opponent to Medicaid expansion, did not provide comment when disclosing his representatives to the committee. Opposition fading? Berger and other GOP legislative leaders have claimed the federal government could end its 90% match on additional administrative costs for expansion. They also oppose an annual $758 million assessment that the states hospitals and health-care systems have agreed to provide to help cover the states 10% expense share. However, several public-health advocates, as well as Lambeth, have said the GOP warning is unfounded. Bergers opposition carries more weight because North Carolinians do not have the ability to initiate statewide ballot referendums. In November, Berger indicated he was willing to consider enacting expansion as part of budget negotiations. In the context of getting a budget this year, particularly ... the budgets that were passed by the House and the Senate, that crafting Medicaid expansion on top of that was, in my view, a trade that was worth considering, Berger told reporters.. Berger said he still believes expansion is a bad policy, but hes indicated that I thought that was something that would be appropriate for us to move forward with. Cooper has pushed for Medicaid expansion during his five years as governor, along with higher raises for public-school educators than Republicans offered in their state budget bill. Although Cooper was not able to get top-priority Medicaid expansion in Senate Bill 105, he said in November that funding for high speed internet, our universities and community colleges, clean air and drinking water, and desperately needed pay increases for teachers and state employees are all critical for our state to emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever. I will continue to fight for progress where this budget falls short, but believe that, on balance, it is an important step in the right direction. Given the tone of compromise associated with the state budget negotiations, one suspects that the group will consider a range of options for addressing North Carolinas health care challenges, including but not limited to Medicaid expansion, said Mitch Kokai, senior policy analyst for Libertarian think tank John Locke Foundation. Whether the groups final report ends up winning support from a majority of the General Assembly likely depends on the degree to which members give serious consideration to proposals that will make a real difference. If the group produces nothing more than familiar partisan talking points about Medicaid expansion, then the exercise is likely to have a limited impact. 25,000 Forsyth beneficiaries Nearly 25,500 Forsyth County residents would gain coverage if North Carolina expands Medicaid, according to a study from Care4Carolina released in July. The groups coverage gap map was compiled from data by Georgetown University, George Washington University, the www.healthcare.gov marketplace and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Opioid Action Plan data dashboard. For the 14-county region of the Triad and Northwest North Carolina, 123,956 were listed as being in the coverage gap, with Guilford County at the top with 35,194. The statewide coverage gap was estimated at more than 600,000. Of all the policy prescriptions to help these people, closing the gap through Medicaid would, experts agree, be the most comprehensive solution, Care4Carolina said in a statement. It is also an eminently affordable fix. Winston-Salem businessman Don Flow, chief executive of Flow Automotive Cos., said in the Care4Carolina report that closing the health coverage gap is so important, both for our economy and for the working citizens of our state. Flow serves on the bipartisan N.C. Council for Health Care Coverage blue-ribbon commission, along with Krawiec and Lambeth. In September, Care4Carolina released a poll that found about 75% of North Carolinians supported Medicaid expansion. The coalition sponsored a survey of 612 N.C. registered voters that was conducted by Harper Polling and The Stewart Group on Aug. 26-27. The survey found that 83% of individuals registered as Democrats, 76% registered as unaffiliated and 64% registered as Republicans support closing the gap. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Forsyth County and North Carolina have reached another record level of daily COVID-19 cases as the omicron variant continues to spread, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported Thursday. Forsyth reported 939 new cases Thursday, up 42.4% from the 659 cases reported Wednesday and a 33.2% increase over the previous high of 705 reported Dec. 30. Altogether, there have been 63,858 COVID-19 cases in Forsyth since the pandemic began. DHHS reported 24,292 cases across North Carolina on Thursday, along with a positive test rate of 30.1% DHHS also reported Forsyth had two additional COVID-19 related deaths for a total of 628. The majority of new cases are the omicron variant, according to state and local health care officials. Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious diseases expert with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, said Thursday that at least 85% of cases in the Forsyth area are omicron "If you are unvaccinated, you will get omicron, no ifs, ands or buts," Ohl said. "It's going to happen." Forsyth health director Joshua Swift said Thursday that the number of county COVID-19 cases has jumped 378% since the beginning of the Christmas and New Years holiday periods. "It's getting hard to wrap your mind around the increase in cases," Swift said. "We're hopeful that we will reach a peak with omicron within a couple of weeks and it will decrease as rapidly as it increased." Forsyths positive test rate was at 25.6% as of noon Thursday, compared with 23.5% on Wednesday, 22.2% on Tuesday and 15.9% on Friday. By comparison, Swift said the peak positive test rate was around 14% when the delta variant was the prominent form of the coronavirus. Dr. David Priest, an infectious diseases expert with Novant Health Inc., said Tuesday that the positive test rate within Novants network has been 34% over the past seven days. Some communities within the Novant network are approaching 40%, he said. It really speaks to how infectious the omicron variant really is, Priest said. With Thursdays report, Forsyth averaged 124.9 cases per 100,000 individuals over the most recent two-week period. Thats up from 67.6 cases per 100,000 as of Dec. 31. Both Priest and Swift have said the number of COVID-19 cases likely is underreported, in part because most at-home test results arent reported to county health officials and some infected individuals have mild cases and dont seek care. Statewide update The 24,292 new cases reported statewide Thursday represents a 16.9% increase from the previous daily high of 20,770 reported Wednesday. The highest-ever positive test rate was 31.8%, reported Wednesday. Since early July, the vast majority of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths locally and statewide have been among unvaccinated people, according to local infectious diseases experts and state public health officials. There also have been deaths among vaccinated people who were immunocompromised or who had other health issues. State and local health care officials also attribute the current surge to colder weather leading people to spend more time indoors. Statewide, there were 44 COVID-related deaths reported between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday. North Carolina has recorded 1.79 million cases and 19,586 COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic began. As it becomes endemic, everyone will eventually have antibodies in their system to it through either getting infected, getting vaccinated against it, or both," Priest said. Hospitalizations The statewide COVID-19 hospitalization total jumped by 194 to 3,293 as of noon Thursday the most since Sept. 23. The hospitalization count has increased for 11 consecutive days. Of the latest total, 395 patients are on ventilators, down eight from Wednesday. Hospitals in the 17-county Triad and Northwest N.C. region reported a combined 811 COVID-19 patients, up 29 from Wednesdays report. DHHS said North Carolina's increase in child COVID-19 hospitalizations is similar to the nationwide increase over the past two weeks. As of noon Thursday, there were 59 children hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, including 15 in the Triad region. Were pushing the boundaries of what hospitals can handle, and its going to be like that through January, Priest previously said. Boosters update As of noon Thursday, 2.59 million COVID-19 booster doses had been given in North Carolina since Aug. 13. DHHS said 70% of adult North Carolinians are fully vaccinated. About 70% of adult Forsyth residents are fully vaccinated. By comparison, Guilford is at 69%, Durham 78%, Wake 81% and Mecklenburg 72%. DHHS said Thursday that it will follow the booster recommendations from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 12- to 15-year-olds. It also plans to follow CDC guidance for a third vaccine dose for children ages 5 to 11 who have compromised immune systems. "The new recommendations by the CDC reinforce the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters and the urgency of getting vaccinated and boosted to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death," said Kody Kinsley, the state's health secretary. Swift said Thursday that at least 8,142 children ages 5 to 11 in Forsyth have received at least one dose of the kids version of the Pfizer vaccine. That represents about 23% of the children in that age range in the county. Swift said that about 6,018 Forsyth children in that age range, or 17%, are fully vaccinated. Among ages 12 to 17 in Forsyth, the fully vaccinated rate is at 46%. Our concern right now is what were seeing in our younger ages ... we still have a sizable percentage of the population that still dont have even one dose, Swift said. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On Dec. 17, 2021, Robert Scott Palmer of Largo, Fla., stood before a U.S. District Court judge and said, Im really, really ashamed of what I did, before receiving the longest prison sentence to date among those convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the nations Capitol: more than five years in prison. Palmer initially claimed that he was a victim that hed only gone to the Capitol to protest, then had to defend himself from the Capitol Police who attacked him. He later confessed that hed lied; he was part of a violent mob that struck first, leaving behind broken bones, concussions and emotional turmoil that has led to suicide. In a letter to the judge in November, he wrote, I realize that we, meaning Trump supporters, were lied to by those that at the time had great power, meaning the sitting president as well as those acting on his behalf. His is just one of many lives derailed because they believed and acted on former President Trumps Big Lie. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 725 individuals with various crimes in connection with the deadly insurrection. Of those arrested, more than 75 have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon against police officers. Some 640 have been charged with entering a restricted federal building or its grounds; 225 charged with assault or resisting arrest; 75 charged with entering a restricted area with a deadly weapon. At least 119 defendants have alleged ties admitted, in some cases to known extremist groups like the pro-violence Proud Boys and the militia group Oath Keepers. Some 140 police officers, including Capitol officers and members of the D.C. police department, were victimized during the attack, which they described in a letter to Congress as hours and hours of physical trauma which has led to months of mental anguish. The attack also caused about $1.5 million worth of damage to the Capitol building. The U.S. attorneys office says the individuals arrested come from nearly all 50 states. Sadly, that includes North Carolina. They include Proud Boy leader Charles Donohoe of Kernersville and Virginia Marie Spencer of Pilot Mountain, who also blames Trump for her participation, as well as the media. In court papers, her attorney, Allen H. Orenberg, acknowledged that there was no evidence that the presidential elections were fraudulent, as Trump claimed. You dont say. Yet as were learning from the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, the siege of the Capitol wasnt a spontaneous uprising. Evidence now suggests that the attack was planned, coordinated and even funded by influential parties some of whom may be members of Congress. And the attack was the back-up plan, in case illegitimate legislative efforts, like Trump lawyer John Eastmans plans to decertify the valid election results, failed. Which they did. And yet none of those higher-ups have yet been charged or punished. So the foot soldiers, so to speak, get prison terms while the ringleaders get to dine out and run for re-election. This should offend the sensibilities of every American citizen. Equally offensive is the degree to which some Republican officials have thrown the Capitol Police under the bus, downplaying the severity of the attack by describing it as a mostly peaceful protest and comparing it to a normal tourist visit. Some continue to peddle the baseless claim that antifa or the FBI or anyone else was responsible anyone except the obvious suspects, many of whom are now in custody. Some have had the sheer gall to describe the violent attackers awaiting trial as patriots and political prisoners. As a result, some Capitol Police officials like Sgt. Aquilino Gonell have become disillusioned. We risked our lives to give (congressional Republicans) enough time to get to safety, Gonell said in an interview with NPR in December. And allegedly, some of them were in communication with some of the rioters and with some of the coordinators or in the know of what would happen. And it makes you question their motives and their loyalty for the country, as we were battling the mob in a brutal battle where I could have lost my life and my dear fellow officers, as well. In context, the attempt to overthrow the election results begins to look more and more like part of a larger scheme to undermine democracy in the U.S., a topic to which well return at a later date. But for now, one year later, this cannot stand. Every insurrection schemer needs to be brought to light and punished severely, even if especially if their trail goes all the way to the White House. And it should happen long before Jan. 6, 2023. Speaking for ... As I read the latest chapter in the seemingly never-ending saga of North Carolina voter ID laws, I cannot help but be perplexed by the opposition of the NAACP and others when poll after poll shows over 75% of all Black (and white) Americans support voter IDs. Similarly, why do Black Lives Matter and its progressive fellow travelers continue to demand we defund the police when less than 23% of the Black community supports defunding the police? These are not isolated incidents, but the latest in the continuing disconnect between the proclamations of the progressives and the reality of public opinion. A disconnect that seems to have escaped the attention of much of the mainstream media. All of which raises the question of whether the self-anointed, activist spokesmen whose primary qualification seems to be their ability to push their way to the front of the microphone really do speak for Black America, much more America as a whole. David Gellatly Winston-Salem Actually quite good Mark Thiessen is entitled to his opinion, as expressed in his Jan. 3 column, The 10 worst things Biden did in 2021, but so am I. And I cant help but note that several of his worst things were actually quite good from my point of view. His 9: that (President Biden) weaponized the FBI to intimidate parents who show up at school board meetings, is a vast exaggeration, especially in light of the violent threats and actual violence perpetrated against school board members. Biden was right to empower law enforcement to protect these elected officials, who were subject to hysterical falsehoods from misinformed activists. 8: In the midst of a historic labor shortage, he pushed vaccine mandates. Good for him. I dare say that life is more important than profits a concept with which many conservatives seem to struggle. People dont always do whats right thats why we have laws. Vaccines should be required for all medical personnel and government employees. Businesses should be free to require proof of vaccination. As for the excuse of natural immunity, why should I trust people who lie about the effects of the virus and vaccines to tell the truth about their immunity status? I dont think Biden is perfect, but some people can only criticize anything a Democrat does, no matter what it is. At least Thiessen was honest enough to write The 10 best things Biden did in 2021 (Jan. 1) also. Rodney Page Winston-Salem An important point A very important point that someone had better make: Yes, being out of school and sequestered has been tough on our kids. Yes, its hard to wear masks and take precautions while in school. Yes, rates of mental distress have risen precipitously among teenagers. Yes, theres been much more depression and anxiety. But theyre alive. Preventing infections from spreading like wildfire among our youth has kept them alive. No one would suggest that the situation is ideal. Of course its hard. This is simply the best of many bad options. Ultimately, our kids have to pay the price because the adults were not responsible enough to quench COVID when we first had the chance. Thats not the childrens fault. And their distress is not the fault of the medical authorities who insisted that we take protective measures. Pat Colfer Winston-Salem The Popes comment During a recent discussion at the Vatican, Pope Francis said that choosing to have pets instead of kids is selfish and robs us of humanity! I have heard it all now; no more to say. Oh my Lord. Sarah Ayers Kernersville Facial Analysis Software Helps Screen for Parkinson's Disease Where It Is Now and Where It Needs to Go Article In Brief A new study shows that facial analysis software can distinguish people with Parkinson's disease (PD) from healthy controls with better than 95 percent accuracy, working only with three short videos of individuals evincing surprise, disgust, and smiling. The software is one of a suite of tools for remote analysis of PD, including video analysis of motor tasks and audio analysis of speech. The software is one of a suite of tools for remote analysis of PD, including video analysis of motor tasks and audio analysis of speech. Perhaps the most important tool in the neurologist's toolkit is a keen power of observation: the ability to sense a slight weakening of the grip, a small asymmetry in the swing of the arms, a subtle decrease in the speed of finger-tapping. Such observations are the key to early clinical diagnosis, especially in diseases without validated biomarkers, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). But even in a well-off country like the United States, there are tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people at risk for or in the early stages of PD without ready access to a neurologist; worldwide, the gap between need and access is far greater. Computer-assisted screening tools have the potential to partly fill that gap, according to Ehsan Hoque, PhD, associate professor of computer science at the University of Rochester in New York, and co-author of a new study showing that facial analysis software can distinguish people with PD from healthy controls with better than 95 percent accuracy, working only with three short videos of individuals evincing surprise, disgust, and smiling. The software is one of a suite of tools for remote analysis of PD, including video analysis of motor tasks and audio analysis of speech. We want to enable screening that is available anytime, anywhere, so anyone in any part of the world can go to a website, perform a subset of the United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale tasks, and immediately get a referral if their results indicate a high probability of PD, Dr. Hoque said. It Screens, Not Diagnoses The software does not yield a diagnosis, Dr. Hoque stressed. We don't use the word diagnosisthat's a very strong expectation. We are screening patients. There is no way that we can guarantee that the algorithm will be 100 percent accurate. Some mistakes are likely. But of course human neurologists make mistakes too, he pointed out, adding that the estimates of misdiagnosis of PD range from 10 to 30 percent, with essential tremor and atypical Parkinson syndromes topping the list. Hypomimiareduced facial expressionis a characteristic feature of PD, and in many patients is observable very early in the disease. The motion analysis software Dr. Hoque and his team have developed can detect even the most minute expressions of hypomimia, he said. We can quantify these movements, which may be invisible to the human eye, and compare them to someone who doesn't have Parkinson's disease. The computer algorithm can pick up on subtle differences that a neurologist might not see. And unlike early forms of motion-capture technology, which relied on applying reflective dots to the skin and tracking their movements, the technology has progressed so far thar we now have no need for that, Dr. Hoque said. A simple web camera or smart phone, even in low light, provides all the input the system needs. This is a really exciting study, and has some important applications, including perhaps, with further development, the ability to help less experienced clinicians distinguish PD from other parkinsonian syndromes.DR. DEANNA SAYLOR Study Details In the study, published in the Nature-affiliated journal npj Digital Medicine in September, the researchers uploaded and analyzed videos from 61 individuals with PD and 543 matched controls. Participants were asked to make three facial expressionssurprise, disgust, and smilingwith a return to a neutral face in between each. The program analyzed the variance, or degree of change from neutral, in the movement of multiple individual facial action units, such as cheek raiser or lip corner puller, which correlate with small sets of individual muscle movements, and which have been shown to be consistently involved in the evoked expressions. The cheek raiser, for instance, involves contraction of orbicularis oculi and pars orbitalis. Our analysis showed that individuals with PD have fewer facial muscle movements than those without PD, Dr. Hoque said, with less variance in almost all of the facial action units involved in each of the three expressions. We found that the most important expression for prediction was the smile, which corroborates previous studies of hypomimia in PD, he said. That finding is particularly exciting, Dr. Hoque added, because there are 93 million new selfies taken and uploaded every day by the Android system alone, most of which involve smiling, potentially providing (with appropriate permissions) a vast database for population-wide screening. We want to enable screening that is available anytime, anywhere, so anyone in any part of the world can go to a website, perform a subset of the United Parkinsons Disease Rating Scale tasks, and immediately get a referral if their results indicate a high probability of PD.DR. EHSAN HOQUE Unlike genetic testing, which is widely available from private companies without a prescription, PD screening is unlikely to emerge unregulated and outside the confines of the current medical system, Dr. Hoque noted. An individual who learns they may have incipient PD needs to receive that information in a way that empowers them, through seeking a referral for definitive diagnosis, for instance, he said. Beyond screening, the suite of analytic software, once fully validated, may provide the neurologist a way to monitor PD patients remotely, as their disease progresses or as new medications are introduced. If the patient has PD, the system may allow the United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale to be performed at home, without making a trip to the clinic, Dr Hoque said. In the United States, 40 percent of people over age 65 who have PD cannot see a neurologist, due to distance, insurance, or immobility, Dr. Hoque said. This could be a way for neurologists to care for more patients, given the limited time they have, to reduce inequities in our health care system. Expert Commentary The remote evaluation of PD patients has promise for under-resourced countries, said Deanna Saylor, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University. This is a really exciting study, and has some important applications, including perhaps, with further development, the ability to help less experienced clinicians distinguish PD from other parkinsonian syndromes. Addressing inequities in the global health system is part of what led Dr. Saylor to Zambia in the center of southern Africa, a country of 18 million people. When she arrived four years ago, there was not a single Zambian neurologist, and only four ex-patriate American and European neurologists who provided outpatient neurological care one day per week. Dr. Saylor began working in a public hospital in the capital, Lusaka, focused on inpatient care and training of Zambian physicians in neurology clinical care and research. Given that we lack ancillary tests such as DaTscans to confirm the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in our setting, she said, this screening software could potentially be repurposed as a clinical test to provide additional supportive data for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in our setting and provide feedback to trainees about the likelihood of Parkinson's diagnosis that they are considering. However, she noted, the introduction of a screening tool for PD into a country hugely underserved by neurologists may just move the problem further down the line. My concern is that if someone screens positive for a high risk of Parkinson's disease, what is the next step? For a general practitioner with a very limited knowledge of neurology, how will they manage the patient? At the same time, Dr. Saylor said, technology has played an important role in expanding the neurology capability out from her clinic. Her center is linked to two other hospitals away from the capital, through which she and a handful of colleagues can see patients remotely. They also developed a basic teleneurology clinic using primarily phone calls to provide care to patients from their own clinic when it was closed during COVID-19 surges. We are starting to experiment with teleneurology as a forum for training as well, so that we will see the patient with an internal medicine physician in the room. That physician will assist with the evaluation, and then talk through the differential diagnosis and management of the case with us, thereby increasing their neurology skills. This is why training is so importantit's not just the patients I can see, but the patients those I've trained can see. This kind of [computer-assisted screening] system could be very helpful for epidemiological studies, commented Alberto J. Espay, MD, FAAN, professor of neurology and chair of the Gardner Center for Parkinson's Disease at the University of Cincinnati, and former head of the International Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Society Task Force on Technology. It would be a valuable way to understand the population prevalence of Parkinson's disease, but perhaps not for trial recruitment purposes, he said, as hypomimia itself can be a feature of other parkinsonian disorders as well. The entire suite of tools developed by the Rochester team might also find use in the general neurologist's office, he said. It could help narrow down the set of tests one would consider doing at the clinic, and that could be helpful. Nonetheless, Dr. Espay noted, the technology in this case is only echoing the clinical exam, and its final result has the same limitations. We know that no clinical feature of PD correlates with any specific pathologic abnormality, he said. Two people with the same symptoms may have different pathology, and two people with the same pathology may have different symptoms. In this way, the clinical category of Parkinson's disease is an artificial, convenient creation that helps with classification efforts but not with disease-modifying treatments, the next level of therapeutic endeavor. Dr. Espay said one unrealized promise of technology would be to question our beliefs, and probe into living biology, not to correlate with behaviors or to confirm the fairy tale of Parkinson's disease that we created two centuries ago, but to identify the many biological expressions of Parkinson's in those affected. Disclosures For many, the shocking nature of that early January day, just one year ago, felt a bit like watching the Challenger disaster unfold, or trying to piece together the aftermath of 9/11. Protesters had stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as lawmakers worked to certify Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, breaching a seemingly impenetrable fortress of American democracy. In the riot's wake: Violence. Death. Questions. "It had that immediate feeling of, 'What is going on?'" Ryan Salem said. And for educators such as Salem, who teaches social studies at Lincoln Southwest High School, it raised another question: How do we talk about this in the classroom? On the anniversary of the Capitol riot, teachers are revisiting the events of that day, which sparked an ongoing congressional investigation and deepened political wounds amid claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. In his government and politics class, Salem will use Jan. 6 as a starting point for senior students who will explore current events throughout the semester. He plans to have a broader discussion when the students study topics such as the Constitution and Electoral College. Down the hall, Thomas Nettleton is using the anniversary as the focus of an assignment this week in which his government and politics students learn to gather news articles, cite sources and discuss current events. Nettleton expects the conversations to center on more of the aftermath of the event, including voter-fraud legislation around the country that came as a response to Jan. 6. "The first time we taught Jan. 6 we were essentially trying to decipher what happened," he said. "I would not say a year removed from that the dust has completely settled." The anniversary of the Capitol riot comes as students are returning from winter break in Lincoln. Thursday is only the second day of the semester at Lincoln Public Schools, a time teachers typically devote to meeting their new students, going over classroom expectations and handing out syllabuses. But since Lincoln Southwest runs on a block schedule, teachers such as Salem and Nettleton are able to start delving into the curriculum a bit sooner. Students in government and politics learn about the founding documents of the United States, political parties and institutions like Congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court. But the semester's coursework begins with lessons on media literacy, which provide a natural tie-in to current events, like Jan. 6. Students, for example, study how to dissect what's true -- and what's not -- on social media, which played a key role in the Jan. 6 riots. "(Students) say, 'I didn't know my government class was going to include my Instagram reel,'" Salem said. "We kind of use it as a hook." Those media literacy skills were developed by Southwest students as part of an LPS partnership with Stanford University formed four years ago. The project examined the best ways for students to decipher facts on the internet, such as reading laterally, in which students fact-check as they read news or scroll through social media. In addition to media literacy, students also learn about civil discourse. Together, they form the foundation for learning about current events, said Jaci Kellison, LPS social studies curriculum specialist. "I think those are two sets of skills that are necessary for informed citizenship, and that is one of our No. 1 goals: to help our students be prepared to be participatory citizens in their democracy," Kellison said. Jan. 6 has once again put educators in the middle of cultural and political wars created in wake of the Jan. 6 attack, which served as a flashpoint amid attempts by then-President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Five people died in the riot, including a Capitol police officer. A U.S. House select committee is now tasked with investigating the attack, which some say Trump fomented by encouraging his supporters to march on the Capitol shortly before the riot. Discussions in Salem's classroom this week won't focus on the political ramifications as much as the place Jan. 6 -- like 9/11 or the Challenger disaster -- occupies in American history. Flashbulb moments for his students. "I think the center focus is, how does this fit into a democracy that is living and breathing?" Salem said. "Certainly the events of Jan. 6 help us understand how critical understanding democracy is." Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @zach_hammack Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On the first day of the 2022 legislative session, Nebraska lawmakers wasted no time diving into one of the most contentious political mires of the moment: abortion. Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling introduced a bill (LB781) that would ban abortions after a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected. Meanwhile, Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, who has pledged to fight any bans, introduced two bills to expand abortion access. Slamas bill would require that physicians, before they perform an abortion, do an ultrasound and see whether they can detect a fetal "heartbeat. A fetal heartbeat is defined in the bill as cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac. Physicians can usually detect cardiac activity at about six weeks, before many women know they're pregnant. The bill would make it illegal to perform an abortion if its been determined the fetus has a detectable fetal heartbeat. In addition to Slama, 20 senators have signed onto the bill as cosponsors. Nebraska is a pro-life state, Slama said in a news release. Passing LB781 is an absolute necessity to protect innocent life. Since 2000, we have lost over 50,000 lives to abortion in Nebraska. LB781 simply makes it illegal to stop a babys beating heart. While abortion opponents, including the Nebraska Family Alliance, cheered the bill's introduction Wednesday, abortion rights advocates reacted swiftly and strongly. The ACLU of Nebraska issued a statement calling on senators to reject the bill, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska also came out in opposition, calling it a "six-week ban." Scout Richters, legal and policy counsel at the ACLU of Nebraska, called LB781 one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the entire nation, a red alarm and just one step removed from a law that passed last year in Texas. It clearly violates Roe v. Wade and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, she said. Slamas bill does not appear to include a particularly controversial provision in the Texas law that allows private citizens to sue an abortion provider or anyone else who may have helped a person get the abortion. LB781 also does not appear to include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Slama did not respond to the World-Herald, and her office referred a reporter to the news release. Hunt said shell do whatever it takes to make sure the bill doesnt pass. Im sure they think that theyre doing the right thing, Hunt said. But we just cant legislate from a place of Christian morality, especially when, by doing that, were superseding the expertise of medical experts and science and researchers, and thats what this bill would do. She doesn't believe fellow lawmakers will want to wade into a debate on abortion which Hunt said isn't a top priority for Nebraskans during a short, 60-day session. She cited data from the Pew Research Center, which found in a 2020 analysis of public opinion data that 50% of adults in Nebraska think abortion should be legal in all or most cases while 46% think it should be illegal in all or most cases. Hunt introduced two bills that would ease access to abortion. We cant always just be saying no to things, she said. We have to be saying: This is our vision to make Nebraska more welcoming, and these are the policies that were going to put in place to do that. One, LB715, would eliminate a current prohibition that keeps health insurance providers from providing abortion coverage. Insurers can currently only cover abortion when the life of the woman is endangered unless a person purchases a rider, she said. The other, LB716, would expand the types of practitioners that can provide abortions to include osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants. In many other states, Hunt said, these practitioners already can provide abortion care, and theres no data that says theres a danger to expanding it. She also has another abortion-related bill pending in the Judiciary Committee that she introduced last year, LB276. That one would allow medical abortions to be conducted by telemedicine. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 1 The Congregational Scorecard: What Evangelicals Want in a Church New Study Reveals Evangelicals are Largely Satisfied with Their Church (But Would Still Like to See Some Changes) NEWS PROVIDED BY Infinity Concepts Jan. 6, 2022 EXPORT, Penn., Jan. 6, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- Evangelical Protestant Christians are largely satisfied with the church they attend most often. However, eight out of ten still would like to see at least one change to their church. The findings are detailed in The Congregational Scorecard: What Evangelicals Want in a Church. The study of over 1,000 American evangelical Protestants was released today by Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts. Eighty-nine percent of evangelicals attend or view church at least occasionally. The remaining 11% who do not attend church were not included in this survey that assessed 14 different areas relating to the church and church attendance. For those 14 areas, collectively an average of 74% are fine with their church as it is. However, 80% desire at least one change out of those 14 areas. Evangelicals are most likely to be satisfied with: How often donations are requested (88%) Sermon length (85%) Overall service length (85%) They are least likely to be satisfied with: Amount of in-depth teaching (69%) Overall style of the music (68%) Amount of political involvement/messages (68%) Size of the congregation (67%) Amount of outreach to the community (62%) Mark Dreistadt, founder and president of Infinity Concepts, notes that one of the challenges for church leaders is that when people want change, they don't always agree on what change they want. "A third of evangelicals would like to change the style of music in their church, for example," Dreistadt explains. "But they're almost evenly split between those who want more traditional music and those who would like more contemporary music." However, the report notes there are seven areas in which a specific change appeals to at least one out of five evangelical Protestant churchgoers: 38% want more community outreach (versus 1% who want less) 30% want more in-depth teaching (<1% want less) 27% want more focus on evangelism (3% want less) 26% would like a larger congregation (7% would prefer a smaller one) 23% would like more racial/ethnic diversity (3% want less) 22% want less politics from their church messages or involvement (11% want more) 20% want more music (5% want less) Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research, suggests that church leaders need to understand what their people want, but just following those desires is not always the best leadership decision. "Nearly nine out of ten evangelicals are fine with how often they are asked for financial support. Could that mean they are not being pushed to become truly generous givers? Nearly four out of ten want the church to do more community outreach. Are they doing all they can through volunteering and financial support to make that possible? Being a leader should mean knowing what people want, but also never forgetting what they need." In the big picture, Dreistadt emphasizes that a majority of evangelicals are satisfied with their church in each one of the 14 tested areas. "Most people attend churches that meet their needs by providing spiritual and personal support. This survey illustrates that evangelicals have largely been successful at finding a church that meets these needs and churches have largely been successful at providing what people are seeking. However, being a pastor is a huge challenge that requires casting clear vision and making important decisions. We hope the findings in this study provide some confidence and support to pastors while also giving them some things to consider." For the full report, contact: Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts VP: darrell@infinityconcepts.com, 724-930-2801, or Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research President: ron@greymatterresearch.com, 602-684-6294 Definition of "Evangelical Protestant" This study uses the definition of "evangelical" favored by the National Association of Evangelicals, based on four key spiritual beliefs. The Authors: Grey Matter Research is a marketing research and consumer insights company with extensive experiencing serving the charitable and religious sectors. Infinity Concepts is a brand communication agency inspiring people of faith to action through consulting, branding, fundraising, public relations, creative, traditional media, and digital media. SOURCE Infinity Concepts CONTACT: Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts VP, 724-930-2801, darrell@infinityconcepts.com; Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research President, 602-684-6294, ron@greymatterresearch.com Two brothers from Brownville, shot in 2019 after forcing their way into a Tecumseh home, have been sentenced to jail time and probation on misdemeanors. Levi Bridgewater, 23, and Kolton Bridgewater, 29, pleaded guilty to three charges each, including trespassing and assault, for what happened May 10, 2019. Johnson County District Court Judge Rick Schreiner sentenced them Monday to two years of probation on each of the counts to be served consecutively, plus 45 days in jail and six additional 15-day sentences beginning Dec. 25 each year until 2027, unless waived by the court. In October, Schreiner sentenced their father, 53-year-old Kenneth Bridgewater, to a year in jail, plus four years of probation. He pleaded to two counts of third-degree assault, trespassing and criminal mischief. The charges against all of them started as felonies. When they were arrested, the Nebraska State Patrol said the brothers and their father showed up at Raymond Brown's home May 10, 2019, forced their way inside and began fighting Brown. Brown then shot the brothers in self-defense, according to prosecutors. Investigators said Levi Bridgewater was armed with a knife and that their father had a gun. An off-duty Nebraska Department of Correctional Services officer, who was not part of the incident, was nearby and responded to the scene and assisted in deescalating the situation. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nebraska lawmakers are expected to spend much of the 60-day session deliberating how to spend more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money. On the first day of the 2022 lawmaking session, senators began crowding around the funding spigot with their ideas of how to spend what some have called "once-in-a-lifetime" money. The projects ranged from helping pay for new University of Nebraska facilities, providing grants to farmers and ranchers, retaining teachers and furthering cancer research. Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg, who is running for the NU Board of Regents to represent western Nebraska, introduced a bill (LB703) appropriating $25 million in federal funds for an "agricultural innovation facility" to be built at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. That facility, which NU President Ted Carter said could become home to the National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Agriculture, if approved, would serve as a companion to a 100,000-square-foot U.S. Department of Agricultural Research Center approved by Congress. Williams' bill stipulates the funds would not be appropriated unless NU provided a match, either from private donations or other sources. Omaha Sen. Robert Hilkemann also sponsored legislation (LB721) requesting $60 million in federal stimulus funds to help establish a University of Nebraska Medical Center Rural Health Complex. NU has pledged to raise $25 million in private funds to support what Carter has called "UNMC West," which would be located at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward introduced a bill (LB766) with 20 co-sponsors requesting $15 million for pancreatic cancer research at UNMC. Kolterman's wife, Suzanne, died of pancreatic cancer in 2017. Several senators sponsored bills designating money for agriculture. Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams wants to appropriate $10 million to expand precision agriculture in Nebraska (LB761) by creating a grant program for farmers wishing to expand the use of wireless equipment, deploy smarter irrigation and livestock systems, or use drones. Dorn also requested a $5 million appropriation of federal funds to the Department of Health and Human Services (LB760) for the purchase of ambulances, defibrillators and other lifesaving-equipment for rural rescue squads. Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth introduced a bill (LB755) that would direct $10 million to the state Department of Agriculture to help small and midsize meat processors expand their operations. A $75 million grant program (LB783) proposed by Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte would help pay for construction of new beef slaughter and packing plants. Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue sponsored a bill (LB696) to appropriate an unspecified amount of stimulus money to the Nebraska Department of Education to help retain educators across the state. Kolterman entered a bill (LB699) to direct $100 million to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development "for enhancing innovation and technology infrastructure." Other legislation introduced on Wednesday: CONSENT: Blood sponsored a bill (LB692) creating a civil penalty for individuals who did not receive verbal consent to remove a condom during sexual intercourse. ALTEN: The Bellevue senator also sponsored two bills in response to the environmental crisis at AltEn, the ethanol plant near Mead that used pesticide-treated seed as a biofuel source. The first (LB694) extends the statute of limitations for action to be brought following injuries or deaths caused by toxic chemicals, while the second (LB695) would prohibit cities and counties from granting conditional use permits to property owners who are delinquent on their property taxes. GLUCOSE MONITORING: Kolterman sponsored a bill (LB698) adding glucose monitoring devices to the list of devices covered by Medicaid. TAX INCREMENT FINANCING: Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk introduced a bill (LB713) prohibiting TIF from being used in redevelopment projects where a casino or licensed horse racing track is going to be built. ABORTION ACCESS: Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt sponsored a bill (LB715) ending the prohibition of insurance coverage for abortion care, as well as legislation (LB716) allowing qualified medical practitioners to perform abortions. ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling brought a bill (LB781) banning abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected during an ultrasound. LINE OF DUTY: The compensation for public safety officers killed in the line of duty in 2022 would be raised from $50,000 to $250,000, under a bill (LB717) from Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld. TAX DEDUCTION FOR RENTERS: Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington entered a bill (LB740) giving renters an income tax deduction equal to rent paid on their primary residence up to $3,000. MARRIAGE LICENSES: Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill (LB745) removing reference to "husband" and "wife" on marriage licenses and certificates issued by Nebraska and replacing them with "Spouse 1" and "Spouse 2." STEM CELLS: Health care workers would be required to tell patients receiving stem cell treatments that those treatments are "not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," under a bill (LB753) introduced by Sen. John Arch of La Vista. COLLECTIONS REFERRAL: Sen. Jen Day of Gretna brought a bill (LB772) prohibiting health care providers from referring a bill stemming from a sexual assault-related examination or treatment to a collection agency. CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY: Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon introduced a bill (LB773) that would allow Nebraskans to carry a concealed handgun without requiring them to complete a background check, pay a fee, or take a class. WIND TURBINE DISPOSAL: Brewer also sponsored a bill (LB774) making it illegal to dispose of wind turbine blades and their components in a landfill. DIGITAL ARCHIVE: Brewer also introduced a bill (LB777) requiring the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission to create and maintain a digital archive of legislative coverage. EARLY VOTING: The period for early voting or requesting an absentee ballot would be reduced from 35 days to 22 days before a statewide primary or general election, under a bill (LB785) from Groene. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Educators like Ryan Salem and Thomas Nettleton, who teach government and politics, are incorporating the anniversary into their lessons on media literacy. COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa Ownership of Mount Crescent Ski Area is moving to Pottawattamie County. The county said it took over ownership with the help of the Iowa West Foundation and Mount Crescent owners Korby and Samantha Fleischer. The county finalized the deal on Dec. 31. The county purchased the business for about $3.5 million, paying for it with an Iowa West grant of about $1.4 million and American Rescue Plan Act money, said Pottawattamie County Board member Justin Schultz. We are beyond pleased to partner with the county and the Fleischers to support the transition of this regional destination Brenda Mainwaring, president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, said in a news release. The last two years have reminded us just how important outdoor recreational spaces are to our communities. By providing the additional support needed to make this transition a reality, we know that the county can continue to support conservation and recreation in our region for years to come. Schultz said the board examined the criteria of the American Rescue Plan and determined we were able to leverage that money for the purchase. This is big news for Mount Crescent and our county, he said. The ski area, which sits adjacent to the Hitchcock Nature Center a few miles north of Crescent, Iowa, will continue to be managed by the Fleischers through the remainder of the current season. From there, the Fleischers will have the right of first refusal for operations contracts for two years, Schultz said. We have been lucky and blessed to have the opportunity to operate a popular ski area for the past 13 years and to be surrounded by dedicated staff, wonderful ski and snowboard enthusiasts and the best volunteer Ski Patrol around, the Fleischers said in the release. We are confident and excited that Pottawattamie County will protect and expand upon what our family has worked so hard to create. Once the management of the property has fully transitioned to the county, officials will explore further recreational development of the area, the release said. Schultz said the county is looking at additional options to make it an even bigger revenue generator. This will always be a ski hill, he said. Well lease it out to other organizations to run it. Schultz said the purchase is part of a long-term plan to purchase the entire bluff in the Hitchcock Nature Center area, noting, Getting Mount Crescent is a big part of that. This was several years in the making, he said, noting that negotiations broke down a few years ago before both parties came back to the table to finalize a deal. Grants from the Iowa West Foundation are funded through fees paid by casino operators in Council Bluffs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on five of six charges of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual encounters with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is not and should not be the end of the story. While Maxwell has been held accountable for her actions, the men who engaged in these encounters with underage girls have not, at least not yet. There is speculation Maxwell could strike a bargain with the court for a reduced sentence if she releases the names and possible videos that Epstein shot of some of the men who traveled to his Caribbean Island and New York home. For too long too many men have escaped accountability for their liaisons with prostitutes and underage girls. While some have faced criminal charges, most appear to have escaped full accountability. When police arrest prostitutes, the Johns too often go free, or pay a fine and avoid publicity. Perhaps one way to discourage this sleazy behavior is to return to a past practice that seemed to work as a deterrent. Thirty-five years ago, two Trenton, New Jersey, newspapers decided to print the names, not only of prostitutes who had been arrested, but also the men who solicited them. The Associated Press ran this story in 1987: It was bad enough being charged with soliciting a policewoman posing as a prostitute, said Jack (not his real name). Then a newspaper printed his name and address on the front page. The newspapers suspended the practice in 1977 after a man they named committed suicide. They resumed it a decade later. Jack was quoted as saying, My family had a hard time dealing with it. It put us up to public ridicule. We got anonymous phone calls. The fear of public ridicule ought to be enough to give men who would engage in such acts second thoughts. If laws are not enough to act as sufficient deterrents, maybe shame and ridicule will do the job. One benefit of knowing whether prominent and wealthy men engaged in sex acts with underage girls would be to remove them or keep them from leadership positions. It has already been revealed that Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were frequent fliers on Epsteins jet. Flight logs introduced during Maxwells trial show Donald Trump flew on the jet between Palm Beach and New York City airports six times, sometimes accompanied by his then-wife, Marla Maples and infant daughter, Tiffany. Bill Clinton was a passenger at least 26 times. Records obtained by foxnews.com show Clinton flew without his Secret Service detail for at least five of the flights and that trips between 2001 and 2003 included extended junkets around the world with Epstein and fellow passengers identified on manifests by their initials or first names, including "Tatiana." Neither Trump, nor Clinton, has been accused of anything illegal or inappropriate, but given both mens record of behavior with women, people will draw their own conclusions. Whether or not Maxwell uses any of the information she might have to bargain for a lighter sentence, I hope details about all the men who visited Epsteins island and New York home will be made public as a warning to others who might have illegal and certainly immoral fantasies and think they can escape accountability. The Washington Post quoted advocates for sexually abused girls and women as saying the Maxwell conviction is a symbolic win for survivors. It should be more than symbolic. Outing all the men who abused these women will make it so. Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Content Agency. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Just hours after Westside Community Schools announced a mask mandate for all staff and students when school resumed this week, Superintendent Mike Lucas said he began getting threats by phone and through social media posts. We're hopeful for more appropriate behavior following Lincoln Public Schools' similar announcement on Monday. Mandates and restrictions have brought out the worst in some over the last year. The hostility has to stop. The mandates were put back in place with the best of intentions. And while there's room for debate, there are people responsible for making final decisions. Concerns over a possible post-holiday staffing crisis and surge in cases are among the reasons LPS will require masks in all schools until at least Jan. 28. Superintendent Steve Joel detailed the Safe Return to School Plan on Monday, less than two weeks after the health department dropped a countywide mask mandate, and the district said it would only require masks for elementary school students and staff in the second semester. But warnings from health officials about a likely surge in coronavirus cases driven by the omicron variant forced district officials to revisit the plan sooner than expected. "We're hearing from a number of staff who are fully vaccinated who've come down with the variant," Steve Joel told Journal Star reporter Zach Hammack. In mitigating the threat of the omicron variant, face masks will also help to help curtail the effects of the flu season, which is back in full force after a year away. Nobody wants our schools to be shut down or there to be a return to online learning. And while it's clear that people everywhere -- Lincoln included -- have grown tired of masks and mandates requiring them to be worn, the school district took a reasoned and deliberate approach to arriving at this decision. Nearly 1,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Lancaster County and over 100 were hospitalized last week. The city moved it's risk dial into the red zone. And with the arrival of the omicron variant -- believed to be more transmissible but possibly less severe than previous strains -- health officials are sounding the alarm. Some may not like the decision, but it's hard to argue with the facts or the school district's desire to keep students safe while maintaining the integrity and continuity of the school year. It's strange to be at a point where it bears mentioning this, but it's never OK to make threats to anyone -- especially someone whose main interest is the safety and best interest of our children. If some question the decision, do it civilly and with the knowledge that school districts want to foster safe places for people to learn and teach. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MADISON Wisconsin Republicans introduced a package of bills designed to bolster police recruiting with lucrative financial incentives after officer applications dwindled even further following George Floyds death, and amid the national debate over police brutality and racism. The bills would be partially funded by federal COVID stimulus money, to which a leading Democrat responded by asking why Republicans had voted against increasing state public safety aid to localities when Gov. Tony Evers proposed it in 2019 and 2021. Proposals West Allis Police Chief Pat Mitchell said at a news conference Tuesday announcing the bills that the number of officer applicants has been shrinking for a decade and the situation has only got worse in the two years since Floyd died. Floyd, who was black, died in Minneapolis in 2020 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee onto Floyds neck during an arrest for nearly 10 minutes. Video of the incident triggered protests around the country. A jury convicted Chauvin in April 2021 of murder and manslaughter. Wisconsin police leaders are blaming the actions of Chauvin for the nationwide diminishing lack of interest in police work. A Police Executive Research Forum survey conducted in June 2021, a little more than a year after Floyds death, found an 18% increase in resignations and a 45% increase in retirements compared to the previous year. Agencies with fewer than 250 officers saw an increase in hiring rates but larger agencies struggled to fill vacancies. Departments with 250-499 officers saw a 29% reduction in their hiring rate and departments with at least 500 officers saw a 36% reduction. What we witnessed is a condemnation of our entire profession for the actions of one, Mitchell said. Its hurt our recruiting. Its hurt our retention. ... Were only as good as the quality of people we hire. Added Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke, Action is needed now, WISN-TV reported. The bills would create $5,000 signing bonuses for police applicants and $2,000 retention bonuses for officers who stay on the job for at least a year. Local departments would have to pay half of the retention bonus, and the state would cover the rest. Officers who relocate to Wisconsin and stay on the job for at least three years would be eligible for annual bonuses capped at $10,000. The legislation would double the state reimbursement for annual officer recertification from $160 to $320; require at least two technical colleges to establish part-time police academies to attract recruits who work full-time; reimburse small departments for equipment and training costs up to $10,000; and create a marketing campaign to attract officer recruits. About $25 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief would be used to fund the initiatives. Were working to re-fund rather than defund the police, Rep. William Pentermen, one of the packages authors, said during the news conference, riffing on civil rights advocates call following Floyds death to cut police budgets. In conjunction: The bills also would bar local governments from banning no-knock search warrants, and would require schools to teach students in grades 5 to 12 mutual cooperation and respect when dealing with police officers, although school boards could vote to opt out of the mandate. Providing the public with a stronger understanding of their rights and responsibilities while interacting with law enforcement would create a solid foundation of mutual cooperation and respect, the bills author, Rep. David Murphy, said in an email to other lawmakers seeking co-sponsors. The best place to create this foundation is in our schools. Leaders Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, is supportive of the proposals. We wanted to be here very publicly, very emphatically saying we appreciate the job that mean and women in law enforcement do, he said during the press conference, WITI-TV (Fox 6) reported. Democratic state Rep. Gordon Hintz blasted the package in a news release, saying if Republicans wanted to help police departments they should have approved state aid amounts Evers laid out for municipalities in the two state budgets he has proposed since taking office. After a decade of underfunding local law enforcement & municipal services, Republicans are desperate to blame anyone but themselves for the consequences of their decisions. Especially after they cut $50m in local public safety funding from Gov. Evers budgets, Hintz tweeted Tuesday. The only people who have defunded police in WI are WI Republicans. Now, Legislative Republicans are proposing using 1-time COVID funds to fund local law enforcement at roughly 1/2 the amount Gov. Evers proposed since he was elected in 18, and that Republicans voted against. Adam Rogan contributed to this report. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold funds in the amount of $989.1 million at foreign currency auctions in December, the funds press service has reported. The amount of funds sold at foreign currency auctions in 2020 made up $3.8 billion. It was earlier reported that the State Oil Fund revenues from the major oil and gas fields amounted to $6 billion in January-November 2021. Of these, revenues from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of fields, which are the largest oil fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, amounted to $5.2 billion, while the fund's revenues from the Shah Deniz field, which is among the worlds largest gas-condensate fields, amounted to $730.7 million. Additionally, the fund's budget revenues amounted to AZN 10.4 billion ($6.1bn), while the budget expenditures constituted AZN 7.3 billion ($4.3bn) in the first nine months of 2021 Established in 1999, SOFAZ is a sovereign wealth fund, which accumulates and preserves Azerbaijans oil and gas revenues for future generations. The fund accumulates income from the sale of oil contracts, and in 2003 it started to make transfers to the state budget of Azerbaijan. As for now, SOFAZ's contribution to the countrys GDP is over 80 percent. On the one-year anniversary of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, local and state politicians reflected on the aftermath and what it means for America going forward. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said in a statement that Trumps claims of a stolen election are to blame for the riot at the Capitol. Trumps Big Lie about the 2020 election incited a violent insurrection and attack on our democracy, Baldwin said. We must never forget this dark day in our nations history. Baldwin also defended the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 riot and accused Wisconsin Republicans of using taxpayer money to promote Trumps big lie about the election and to attack voting rights. The bipartisan House Select Committee is right to shine a light on the truth, so that there is accountability and that it never happens again in this country, Baldwin said. Defending 1st Amendment In a previous statement at Gateways Racine Campus, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., compared Jan. 6 to the riots in Kenosha following the Jacob Blake shooting on Aug. 23, 2020, and said that he would defend peoples First Amendment right if youre engaged in a First Amendment activity. The moment you cross from First Amendment activity to criminal behavior, you should be held accountable, said Steil, who represents Kenosha and Racine counties in Congress. A request Wednesday to Steil for fresh comments had not been answered by press time. Lori Hawkins, chair of the Kenosha County Democratic Party, saw the riot as an attempt to overturn the election, not just by the rioters, but by local, state and national officials who spread misinformation about the validity of the 2020 election. Those who are responsible for that attempt to deny what our democracy is built on with violence, they should be held responsible, Hawkins said. Hawkins also praised the ongoing congressional investigation, saying it would help bring clarity and transparency to the events leading up to Jan. 6. Theres too much at stake, Hawkins said. We saw it with our own eyes. Claim: Definitely some shenanigans On the other hand, Ken Brown, vice-chairman of the Racine County Republican Party, said there was definitely some shenanigans and improper procedures in the election. Brown said he believes that FBI plants were to blame for the violence at the Capitol, claiming the gathered crowd was otherwise completely unarmed and peaceful, even though many officers were assaulted by known Trump supporters, hundreds of whom now face criminal prosecution. There is no evidence of the FBI or any other government agency instigating the riots or being among the crowd. Brown criticized the congressional investigation, claiming that since the Republicans on the committee had been selected by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the board had no authority. Its completely illegal, Brown said. It is a witch hunt, it is not a proper investigation. Varying perspectives Professors and activists, meanwhile, shared their varying perspectives on the eventful day. Kenneth Mayer, a professor of political science at UW-Madison, described the riots as a violent insurrection, meant to overthrow the election. Mayer warned that the dangers that led to that moment are still here. You have office-holders up and down Wisconsin who are lying about what happened, Mayer said, making cartoonish accusations about the election. Mayer said he was waiting to see what would happen with the congressional hearing. It was and remains a perilous moment for American democracy, Mayer said. Arthur Cyr, a Carthage College professor of political economy and world business, had a less dire assessment when looking back on Jan. 6 Lots of Americans should be assured that the system is working, Cyr said. We should be grateful things werent worse. Our institutions persevered. Cyr called the congressional hearing a political exercise and pointed to the many hundreds of people charged so far by the Justice Department for their involvement with the riots as evidence that the system had worked. The most important activity to pay attention to is the Justice Department, Cyr said. Thats more important than the political circus going on in Congress. Cyr also said he didnt consider the riot an armed insurrection, which he acknowledged is a view not shared by many in the media and academia, who he felt had blown it out of proportion. I think it was a very violent riot, Cyr said. Important lessons were learned. But David Goldenberg, Midwest regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, warned that the acceptance of extremism by individuals and institutions was creating a dangerous political environment in America. Were at a moment, Goldenberg said. Are we going to reject the extremism that led to what occurred on Jan. 6, or are we going to continue to normalize it? Looking ahead As for the future, Hawkins said that it was critical to solve such political divides that led to Jan. 6. I think that we as the adults and leaders in our communities must make sure that we are moving forward, Hawkins said. We cant do that until we settle whats dividing us right now. But Brown warned Democrats that the power balance could be shifting soon. I would advise the Democratic Party and Democrats across the country to look closely inward, because theyre about to lose power for the next decade, Brown said. Baldwin, meanwhile, pushed the importance of voting rights, advocating for the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. We cannot allow Senate Republicans to obstruct action on strengthening our democracy, protecting voting rights and putting power in the hands of the people at the ballot box, Baldwin said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE Due to staff shortage, Janes Elementary began remote learning Thursday. It is unclear when the school will be reopened to students. Students at Janes Elementary, 1425 N. Wisconsin St., thus returned to the classroom for only one day so far in 2022, as return from winter break was delayed to Wednesday. Last-minute notice An alert from the Racine Unified School District to parents was issued at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, informing the community of the change, about 12 hours before Thursdays school day was to begin. Students were advised to log onto Google Classroom when classes would normally begin, 9:05 a.m. The alert from the district stated that students who do not have a District-provided (device) should contact the schools main office at 262-664-6550 to arrange a time and date for device pick up. Lunches can also be picked up at the districts Administrative Service Campus, 3109 Mt. Pleasant St., from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Rolling outbreaks Numerous school districts around Wisconsin have gone online-only in the first week of 2022 because of staff shortages, largely related to COVID-19 outbreaks. Three times this week Wisconsin has set single-day records for most new confirmed coronavirus cases. Busing staff shortages led to cancelation of school Monday for the School District of Beloit. Three Green Bay schools were to begin virtual learning Thursday due to staff shortages. All public schools in Madison and Milwaukee are fully virtual for the time being. This mirrors actions in school districts across the nation. Advocate Aurora Health, one of the most prominent medical systems in Wisconsin and in Racine County, reported Monday that it has never had so many COVID-19 patients in its hospitals. Although staff shortages were not cited as a reason, all Racine Unified schools had their 2022 restart pushed back from Monday to Wednesday in order to be responsive to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only going to get worse Since before the 2022 spring semester resumed, Racine Educators United, the union for RUSD educators, has been advocating for all schools to be entirely virtual. The union for Kenosha Unified School District has been advocating for the same. Of the shortages, REU President Angelina Cruz said in a text to a reporter Wednesday night that it was bad before the break. Its only going to get worse. Multiple Facebook posts from the union called RUSD Reckless and another, posted Tuesday night, said RUSD is not prioritizing the safety of staff and students and their families. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Wisconsin's tax burden increased last year for the first time in a decade due largely to a pandemic-related economic surge, according to a report released Wednesday. "That may not always register for taxpayers, however," says the report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum, "since some taxes paid by middle-class families here remain relatively high, such as the property taxes on a typical home." Additionally, the report warned that "in the long term," local public services will be forced to diminish without changes at the state and federal levels. "Today, if state leaders wish to continue their tight controls on the revenues of local governments and school districts, they may wish to consider new ways such as technology or service sharing to help their local counterparts manage their challenging finances," concludes the report. 2019: Mason defends health care cuts, 'other options are worse' Below is a commentary from Racine Mayor Cory Mason explaining why health care cuts are needed. The City Council is set to vote Tuesday on the Local control over tax revenues has been restricted in Wisconsin over the past decade since levy limits were put in place, a move by Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans in the Legislature to lower tax burdens by removing municipalities' ability to raise their own taxes unless there was new construction within their borders. This likely prevented some tax increases, but also has made it difficult for municipalities large and small to prevent cuts to public goods, such as roads and employee benefits. After a decade in which legislators in the state Capitol have put considerable focus on lowering taxes and the 2017 adoption of a major tax overhaul at the federal level, the combined local, state, and federal tax burden has never been lower for Wisconsin residents since at least 1970, when we began tracking this information, the WPF stated. By the numbers When private ambulances can't help: Racine County has long been facing shortages of EMTs. Costs are rising When someone calls North Central EMS & Rescue Squad to ask for a ride to a health care facility, the answer is no. Its chief would like to take more calls, but the company just doesn't have the EMTs to do it. The study published Wednesday found total state and local taxes in Wisconsin grew to $34 billion last year, up 7.1% from 2020. The increase marked the first time in a decade the tax burden grew as a share of income. Revenue from the state individual income tax rose 6.2% to $9.3 billion in 2021. Revenue from the state sales tax jumped 9.2% to $6.4 billion, the largest year-over-year increase since 1983. Corporate franchise and income tax revenue grew almost 60% to $2.6 billion, the biggest jump since 1961, according to Wisconsin Policy Forum archive data. The report attributed the increase not to higher taxes but to a surge of pandemic-related economic activity, including the influx of federal stimulus dollars. The report also noted the growth is linked to collecting state and local taxes on online and out-of-state retailers. Half-percent Wisconsin counties are allowed to increase their sales taxes by 0.5% if they so choose. Racine County is one of only four Wisconsin counties to not have such an increase in place. There has been some support of adopting the increase in recent years, but no formal proposals have been voted on. Estimates from 2020 indicate that the tax would cost the average Racine County resident around $91.69 per year. It could generate a total of $18,024,787 in tax revenue. Wisconsin alcohol sales tax collections last year jumped at highest rate since drinking age was 18 The 16.6% increase in taxes collected from beer, wine and liquor during pandemic was higher than any year since the drinking age was lowered. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald tried Monday to happily mark his anniversary in Congress. One year ago today, I was sworn in and took on the duties of this office, the Juneau Republican tweeted with a ceremonial picture of him taking his oath at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 3, 2021. Fitzgerald needs to read that oath again and take it seriously this time. Fitzgerald swore to support and defend the Constitution and bear true faith and allegiance to the same, while faithfully discharging his responsibilities as a servant of the people. His commitment to those principles lasted all of three days. On Jan. 6, 2021, and into the wee hours of the next morning, Fitzgerald shamefully tried to block Arizonas and Pennsylvanias votes from being counted in the final certification for president. The rookie congressman even said he would have voted to disenfranchise Wisconsin voters if given the chance objecting to the very election that led to him being sworn in. Voters especially those in Wisconsins 5th Congressional District, which includes Jefferson, Washington and parts of Dodge and Waukesha counties should never forget his betrayal of American democracy. The same goes for voters in northern Wisconsins 7th Congressional District, whose U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, similarly sought to overturn a free and fair election. Fitzgerald and Tiffany were among more than 100 Republicans who will go down in history as traitors to democracy. Even after violent mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Bidens victory on Jan. 6, 2021, Fitzgerald and Tiffany still voted against the election results based on lies and conspiracy theories. They favored the fantasies of a terribly flawed and defeated President Donald Trump over the will of the American people. Judges some appointed by Trump in more than 60 court cases, multiple recounts, election audits and reviews have dismissed Trumps bogus claims that he won. Yet the huckster reality TV star turned leader of the free world for four long years still refuses to accept his defeat setting up another potential constitutional crisis in 2024. Fitzgerald, Tiffany, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and most Republican leaders in Washington seem more than happy to play along with Trumps falsehoods, undermining trust in our system of government and fomenting division. And their complicity undoubtedly contributed to the misinformed masses who attacked the U.S Capitol one year ago today, following Trumps orders at a rally outside the White House to go to the Capitol and fight like hell. The Jan. 6 attack was nothing short of an attempted coup. The angry mobs beat police officers with blunt objects, smashed an officer between doors and left more than 100 law enforcement officials injured, eventually ransacking the chambers and offices of Congress. A woman trying to force her way into the House chamber, where members of Congress were sheltering for protection, was shot and later died. One officer died of a stroke. Within days, two officers committed suicide. The attempt to stop our democracy by brute force even included chants to hang Mike Pence, Trumps vice president, for fulfilling his constitutional duty. Pence certified Bidens election, just as Biden had certified Trumps victory in 2016 when Biden was vice president. Though Johnson changed his mind hours after the Jan. 6 insurgency and voted with most members of Congress to certify Bidens election, Johnson was one of Trumps ringleaders in the plot leading up to the Capitol attack. And to this day, Johnson continues to downplay the seriousness of this historic American nightmare. Voters across Wisconsin should remember Johnsons failed leadership if he seeks a third term. Johnson only told the truth that Trump lost Theres nothing obviously skewed about the results when caught on hidden camera at a Republican Party event last August. If Johnson does seek reelection this fall even though he told voters during his last campaign that he wouldnt run again a principled and honest Republican should challenge him in the GOP primary, joining a bevy of Democratic candidates hoping to defeat him. The same goes for Fitzgerald and Tiffany, who dont deserve their positions. Republican voters who want their party to return to its conservative values of respecting tradition, limiting the reach of government and carefully spending money rather than catering to Trumps ego, whims and deception need to stand up. They need to tell Trumps apologists and enablers in Wisconsins congressional delegation its time to go. America needs honorable public servants to survive. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Republican lawmakers are seeking to toughen bail policies after a man was released on $1,000 bail, between allegedly running over the mother of his child and then allegedly driving through the Waukesha Christmas parade in November, killing six and injuring more than 60. Anger over Darrell Brooks release was bipartisan, with some Democrats also calling for reforming bail after the tragedy. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul in December announced their support for hardened bail policies, including raising bail amounts for violent offenders and requiring the pretrial detention of offenders deemed a public threat or flight risk. The Republican-authored bills would require a $10,000 minimum bond for defendants who have previously committed a felony or violent misdemeanor, bar judges from setting an unsecured bond or releasing without bail someone previously convicted of bail jumping, and require the Wisconsin Department of Justice to create a bond transparency report detailing crime and bond conditions. In December, Republicans also proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow judges, in setting monetary bail, to consider the seriousness of the offense charged, as well as a defendants criminal history, flight risk and public safety risk. Under the state Constitution, judges cant impose cash bail to prevent future crimes, only to ensure defendants appear in court. Judges may, however, add conditions to a persons bail that seek to address public safety concerns. In detail Here is what the Wisconsin Constitution says about bail. Article 1 Section 8 limits the conditions under which judges may set cash bail but does allow them to set conditions aimed at protecting public safety: "All persons, before conviction, shall be eligible for release under reasonable conditions designed to assure their appearance in court, protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or prevent the intimidation of witnesses. Monetary conditions of release may be imposed at or after the initial appearance only upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary to assure appearance in court. The legislature may authorize, by law, courts to revoke a person's release for a violation of a condition of release." This revolving door for criminals must end, Sen. Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, said in a statement. We must bring accountability and transparency to the court system to ensure serial criminals dont continually have the opportunities to put our communities and families in harms way. Bradley said he believes the package is constitutional and would be upheld by the courts, even without the changes proposed in the separate constitutional amendment. Weeks before prosecutors say Brooks drove his SUV through the crowd in Waukesha, he had been arrested for allegedly running over the mother of his child. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholms office requested $1,000 cash bail for him in that case. Brooks paid it and was released two days before the parade. Chisholm has said Brooks low bail was the result of an oversight, but Republicans have taken aim at the Democratic district attorney, alleging that he enabled the parade attack. A group of Milwaukee taxpayers filed a complaint against Chisholm with Evers in early December, triggering a process that could end with Evers removing Chisholm from office. The governor said his office was reviewing the complaint, but he and Kaul have said voters should choose whether to remove Chisholm from office. My focus has been on how we can strengthen our system to make sure that people who are dangerous are detained pretrial and are not released when they shouldnt be, Kaul said last month. Ultimately, its up to the voters to decide with respect to particular elected officials. Following the parade attack, Evers told WISC-TV that he may support higher bail for violent offenders, though he urged a measured response. You hate to use tragedy like this to create an impetus to change, he told WISC-TV. But if everybody sits back and takes a breath ... maybe theres a way that people that have a violent past could have higher bail. Im open to that. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Saying current law needlessly exposes law-abiding citizens to potential prosecution, Republicans in the state Legislature want to allow people licensed to carry a concealed weapon to keep the weapon in their vehicles while on school grounds. If it passes, the bill would almost certainly be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a former school superintendent who has pushed for stricter rather than more lenient gun laws. The bill would lump Wisconsin among more than a dozen states that permit people licensed to carry a concealed weapon to keep their firearms in vehicles on school grounds. Co-author Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, said at an Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee hearing Wednesday that concealed carry licensees often have to go out of their way to drop their guns off at home to avoid bringing them onto school grounds, which currently constitutes a felony. Jacque conceded he knew of no cases in which someone lawfully carrying such a weapon had been prosecuted under those circumstances. While the bills critics did not appear at the public hearing Wednesday, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin executive director Debra Cronmiller said in a statement, We believe that local school policy regarding weapons on school grounds is sound and helps protect our children. No guns should be allowed on school property to ensure maximum safety. That sentiment was echoed by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, which said in a statement, The WASB opposes any initiatives at the state level that would legalize any further ability for anyone, with the exception of sworn law enforcement officers, to bring a weapon or possess a weapon, concealed or otherwise, in school zones. Places of worship Also Wednesday, the Assembly State Affairs Committee passed on a party-line vote a second bill allowing conceal carry licensees to bring firearms into places of worship on private school grounds if the facilities management allows them. Rep. Treig Pronchinske, R-Mondovi, said at a December hearing that the bill would provide peace of mind for those who may fear persecution for their faith. At that hearing, Pronchinske pointed to an incident two years ago in Texas, where a West Freeway Church of Christ volunteer security guard pulled out his gun to shoot and kill an active gunman who had killed two people, putting an end to a shooting that could have led to more deaths. Guns are already permitted in places of worship at the discretion of management, as long as they are not on private school grounds. Gun control Speaking against the bill, Wisconsin Catholic Conference executive director Kim Vercauteren in December said the bill would lead to more violence if it gets signed into law. As a greater prevalence of guns is associated with greater numbers of accidental or unintentional firearm injuries and deaths, it is imperative that great care be exercised to mitigate the presence of firearms where vulnerable, impressionable children are present, she said. Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature have clashed on gun control legislation in the past. For example, in 2019 Evers called his first special session encouraging legislators to consider and pass two bills with widespread voter support that would have increased background checks and allowed judges to take guns away from owners they deemed risky. Republican leaders called the bills an infringement on Second Amendment rights and ended the special session just seconds after it began. Editor's note: This story corrects the name of a state representative who commented at a December hearing. It was Rep. Treig Pronchinske, R-Mondovi. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Jurors in Chandler Haldersons murder trial heard from witnesses Thursday about his trip to a rural Cottage Grove farm where the mutilated remains of his father, Bart, were found and, more than three months later, a rifle hidden in a shed. Halderson, 23, of Windsor, appeared to show no emotion as Deputy District Attorney William Brown took witness Brent Baverstock, a Dane County sheriffs detective, through a series of increasingly graphic photos of Barts shirtless, headless torso as it was found under a pile of sticks in a stand of woods near where Halderson had been seen days before. In the center of the torsos back was a wound, believed by the prosecution to be a gunshot wound. Prior to Baverstocks testimony, jurors heard from Chandlers former girlfriends mother, Dulce Mellender, and Mellenders girlfriend, Cresent LSai, who owns the farm where Barts remains were found. They described how Chandler had been at the farm on July 4 with the girlfriend for an Independence Day gathering, and then came by alone the day after asking to use LSais pool a ruse, prosecutors contend, used by Chandler as an excuse to dump his fathers torso. Halderson is accused of killing both his parents, Bart, 50, and Krista, 53, on July 1 in the home they shared after his father discovered his son had been lying for months or years about having a job and going to school. To cover up the killings, prosecutors say, Chandler concocted a cover story about his parents having gone to the family cabin in Langlade County on July 2 before filing false missing persons reports on both of them five days later days he spent dismembering his parents bodies and trying to burn them in the family fireplace before dumping them at the LSai farm and along the Wisconsin River near Prairie du Sac, where some of Kristas body was found. Baverstock said the Sheriffs Office decided to search LSais farm shortly after he interviewed Mellender in connection with Chandlers reports. Without going into detail, he said Mellender was emotionally distraught and the interview raised enough red flags that he felt investigators had to get to the farm right away. It was there that he saw turkey vultures unusual among birds in their strong sense of smell circling overhead, long grass tamped down as if with car tires near the woods, and a Target bag filled with what appeared to be bloody rags. It took me a while to process what I was seeing, he said of Barts remains, and then it became obvious I was looking at a human torso. Prior to Baverstocks testimony, Mellender and LSai described the events of July 4 and 5, when they said Chandler seemed down and had told them hed recently lost a new job at SpaceX in Florida because hed suffered a concussion and couldnt fly. Generally quiet and a bit nerdy, Chandler just seemed kind of off, kind of weird, actually, LSai said. Mellender said he told her his concussion was really bad. The prosecution, though, has sought to shed doubt on whether Halderson was seriously injured or injured at all in the fall he said he took down some stairs at his home in June. An emergency room physician who saw Halderson on June 17 testified that while he likely had a mild concussion, his CT scans did not show any abnormalities and he did not tell Halderson as Halderson allegedly told others later that he might need surgery and couldnt fly. On the Fourth, Chandler had asked LSai for her phone number so that he could come by and use the pool, LSai said, and shed provided it, but didnt hear a message he left on her landline before he showed up on the afternoon of July 5. Chandler had never been to the property alone, LSai and Mellender testified, and Mellender rushed over there when she heard he was headed that way because LSai sometimes went topless in the pool. I was worried he might see her, said Mellender, who was embarrassed enough about the disclosure to need a short break during her testimony. Chandler didnt immediately head to the pool, though, according to LSai, who said she had become irritated because it was hot and she wanted to use the pool herself. Mellender, meanwhile, was worried he might be doing drugs while on the property, LSai said. Eventually, she and Mellender decided to go in the pool and it was a short time later that they saw a shirtless Chandler walking up from where Barts torso was later found, LSai said. Mellender said he asked to use the pool with them, and she said no because LSai was topless, but he got in anyway and LSai said he spent about 15 minutes making washing-like motions with the water on his arms and upper body before getting out and leaving. It was odd because he just seemed really different when he got in the pool, LSai said, appearing more lucid and present. LSai testified that she found the rifle hidden behind some boards in her shed in mid-October as she was cleaning the shed out. She said she hadnt been locking the shed and the rifle wasnt hers or her fathers, who also lives on the farm. On cross-examination she acknowledged that she hadnt looked in the shed for a long time at that point and didnt know every item that was in there before it was cleaned out. Girlfriend testifies Much of the afternoon was taken up by testimony from Haldersons former girlfriend, Cathryn Mellender, 21, who spoke of the close relationship she had with Halderson and his parents for nearly two years, and how she believed Halderson had been going to school at Madison Area Technical College and working at American Family Insurance but had taken a job in Florida with Elon Musks SpaceX. She said she planned to join him in Florida in August after her lease in the Madison area ended. Cathryn, who goes by Cat, testified repeatedly that she believed what Chandler told her about his life and their future life together, although she saw little proof of any of it, such as grades or money. Brown took her through a series of texts and Snapchat messages between the two of them to show the jury what both were doing or said they were doing from late June through Haldersons arrest on July 8, initially on charges of lying to investigators. A tearful Cat agreed with Brown at the end of her testimony that she was the person most in contact with Chandler and most often at his home in the days after Bart and Kristas deaths, which she said she knew nothing about until later. I just believed his parents were missing, she said. I just wanted them to be found. Messages between the two of them as July 1 approached showed Chandler telling her his parents might go to the family cabin and worried about his future. I just had a bright future planned and its falling apart, he told her in a Snapchat message just after 7 a.m. July 1. Later, they texted about what they would be doing together and in some, Chandler asked her to bring him hydrogen peroxide, ice and a Swiffer WetJet mop. When she went to stay at his house on July 2, she testified that she smelled smoke, which Chandler explained as being a result of breaking one of the glass panes on the fireplace while while playing fetch with one of his dogs inside. Investigators later found part of a human skull in the fireplace, the prosecution says. Questioning neighbors On Wednesday, witnesses, including longtime friends of the family, neighbors and Barts brother, Brett, described Krista as doting and her and Bart as too responsible to have gone on a trip without telling anyone, as Chandler alleged. Bart, a certified public accountant, would not have taken a large amount of cash with them, possibly to gamble, as Chandler reportedly suggested, witnesses testified. And while Chandler told people his parents also took a lot of alcohol with them, neither were heavy drinkers, witnesses said. Several of the 29 people called to the stand Tuesday and Wednesday described Chandler as nervous, awkward, distracted and emotionally flat in his interactions with them in the days after the murders, including when he visited several neighbors on the morning of July 8 the day he was arrested to ask whether they had surveillance video showing his street. Its almost feeling like you have to think how to act, Hanna Hilgendorf said of Chandlers demeanor when she and her sister longtime friends of the family went to visit him on July 7. Prosecutors also showed a compilation of security footage taken from a home near the Haldersons in which the familys Subaru can be seen leaving and returning multiple times between July 1 and July 7. Prosecutors contend that Chandler only decided to distribute his parents remains around southern Wisconsin after failing to burn them in the fireplace. Chandler Halderson is charged with two counts each of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, hiding a corpse and falsifying information about a missing person. The trial continues Friday and is expected to last about two more weeks. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market. 2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image. 3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers. 4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while. Vote View Results By Trend "Victory routes" to Karabakh will be organized, Chairman of the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan Fuad Naghiyev told the Milli Majlis" magazine, Trend reports on Jan. 5. According to Naghiyev, at present, together with other government agencies, work is underway on plans to resume and develop tourism in the liberated territories [which were liberated from Armenian occupation in the 2020 second Karabakh war], to turn the region into a new tourist destination. "To promote Karabakh as a national and safe tourist zone, its necessary to develop and gradually implement a long-term strategy," he said. "The entire Karabakh region, including Shusha, Hadrut, Fuzuli, Sugovushan, as well as Eastern Zangazur region has rich resources and wide opportunities for the development of various types of tourism - ecotourism, health tourism, mountain and winter tourism, and others," the agencys head further said. "In this sense, Aghdam should be emphasized. There is a plan to completely rebuild this city, which was exposed to urbicide, and turn it into a tourism hub." "The Albanian churches, the heritage of the Karabakh Khanate, the Silk Road have rich cultural and tourism potential. Based on these resources, its planned to prepare projects within the framework of tourism products and the concept of the Victory Route," he noted. Its assumed that by 2025 about one million local and foreign tourists will visit the liberated territories, added Naghiyev. LINCOLN A giant step forward in providing small rural communities with broadband internet is unfolding now that money is available to assist with those improvements. Twelve communities in the Kearney area that are unserved or underserved by high-speed broadband soon will have improved access because of $3.2 million in grants to help local telecommunications providers upgrade their services. The Nebraska Public Service Commission on Tuesday awarded 60 grants totaling nearly $18 million from the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program. The $3.2 million to Kearney-area providers was part of that $18 million in statewide grants. Projects funded through Tuesdays award must be completed by July 5, 2023. Providers may apply for one six-month extension. This funding will go a long way in the states efforts to help make high-speed broadband available to unserved and underserved Nebraskans, said PSC Chair Dan Watermeier. The program will provide up to $40 million during two grant cycles for the deployment of broadband networks in rural areas of Nebraska. During the 2021 grant cycle, the PSC received 76 applications and determined 60 applications qualified for funding. The 60 grants awarded were submitted by 19 providers for a total of $17,771,964. Certain applicants, who were denied funding because their applications were challenged, will be given the chance to apply for the remaining $2.02 million in funding for the 2022 grant cycle. KEARNEY A Grand Island man is in prison after a Kearney homeowners security video caught him burglarizing their house. Cody Erickson, 30, of Grand Island was sentenced in Buffalo County District Court to two to five years in prison for felony burglary of a house in May in the 2300 block of Sixth Avenue. Judge Ryan Carson gave him 40 days credit for time already served. Erickson pleaded no contest to the charge in November. The sentence will be served after Erickson completes a three-year sentence for felony burglary from Hall County. On May 29, Kearney Police responded to a report of a burglary where the homeowner had security video of the outside of the house that showed a man entering the house. The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. The man then left the house around 7:45 a.m. out the same door he entered with a black camera bag containing cameras, Kindle notebooks, two Bluetooth speakers and a gold wedding ring with a one-half carat diamond, court records indicate. The value of the items was $2,800. Records dont indicate if anyone was home at the time of the incident. The homeowner told KPD she was going to post the video on Facebook. Later, records indicate an officer received a call from someone who had seen the video on Facebook and identified the suspect as Erickson. KPD also recognized Erickson as the possible suspect. The investigation revealed the morning of the burglary a man saw a brown sport utility vehicle driving around the homeowners neighborhood. The SUV, with a Franklin County license plate and having a missing a front passenger hub, drove around the block five or six times. KPD received vehicle registration information for the SUV, and contacted a woman in the 300 block of West 25th Street. During a search of her apartment Erickson was found hiding in a bedroom closet under blankets. KEARNEY Its official: Kearney Regional Medical Center is wholly owned by Bryan Health in Lincoln. As of Saturday, Kearney Regional is one of 10 Bryan Health-owned entities in Nebraska. The Nebraska-owned and governed nonprofit health system is also an investor in Grand Island Regional Medical Center. Previously, Kearney Regional, at 804 22nd Ave., was owned by Kansas-based MDM Corp. KRMCs name will not change, but its 850 employees are now among Bryan Healths 6,300 employees. Bryan Health was launched in 1997 as a merger of Lincoln Bryan Memorial Hospital and Lincoln General Hospital, which both opened in 1926. It has 640 beds. Ten years ago, it had 4,000 employees. KRMCs 850 employees will bring that total to nearly 6,500. We are excited to welcome Kearney Regional Medical Center into the Bryan Health family, Russ Gronewold, CEO of Bryan Health, said at a Wednesday press conference at KRMC. Coping with growth KRMC CEO Bill Calhoun stressed Wednesday that KRMC was not in trouble. We had some tough times at the beginning, but our growth has been quite staggering. Patients began coming as soon as its doors opened, and they have not stopped. KRMC opened with 22 beds in early 2014; it now has 93 beds. In its first six years, KRMC completed four additions. It added a maternity unit and four modular units, which sit adjacent to the hospital. Things have been going very very well, but this business is tough. Through extensive, thoughtful conversations, we discussed whether to remain successfully independent, or grow at the pace being expected of us. We saw advantages to both, but by choice, we looked to accelerate our growth, he said. Critical, however, was that KRMC remain locally governed. Bryan Health shares that philosophy, he said. Our board sent an open invitation to Bryan Health. We are glad they accepted our invitation, Calhoun said. Both men stressed that Bryans physician-run boards do not just provide input, but make decisions. Bryans operational and acute care capabilities, along with its track record of shared governance and decision-making with physicians, makes them a perfect partner as we look to enhance our services, Calhoun added. Shared principles Dr. Scott Smith, one of the founding KRMC physicians and a current board member, echoed those comments Wednesday. He said the physicians who founded KRMC focused on a physician-led campus with highest levels of patient care that could react in a timely manner to community needs and create a positive work environment. Now, facing unprecedented growth, KRMC sought a partner that shared those principles and found that in Bryan Health, Smith said. We will have the ability to continue to grow and meet needs more quickly, he said. Smith added that the merger will bring additional expertise to Kearney so people can get high-quality medical care here instead of traveling out of town. Pooling resources Both Gronewold and Calhoun also said the partnership would create jobs and boost the economy in the rapidly growing central Nebraska and northern Kansas region. This is a pooling of resources, Calhoun said. More than 50 percent of our patients come from rural communities, and we needed to respond to the need for a regional medical center. Partnering with a Nebraska-based health system like Bryan Health will allow KRMC access to a more extensive network of resources while still maintaining its physician-led operating model, he added. Also speaking Wednesday was Kearney Mayor Stan Clouse. We will be a much stronger, better community as a result of this relationship, he said. In Lincoln, Bryan Health operates an acute-care hospital, several outpatient clinics, a physician network, a heart institute and a College of Health Sciences, which was formerly known as the Bryan School of Nursing. Bryan Health also hosts the Heartland Health Alliance, a 52-member hospital network in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. KRMC is an HHA member and plans to retain its membership, Calhoun said. AXTELL A rural Axtell home was destroyed in a fire early Wednesday morning. Axtell Volunteer Fire and Rescue was called to the house fire at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday on H road in rural Axtell, said Axtell Fire Chief Jeff England. When Axtell arrived on the scene, the home was fully engulfed in flames. Members of Quad Cities Mutual Aid, including Minden, Wilcox, Hildreth, Franklin, Campbell and Upland, responded to the blaze at about 1:30 a.m., said Minden Fire Chief Tom Brown. Brown estimated there were about 30 firefighters battling the fire. England estimated it took the fire departments about 25 minutes to knock down the fire. The people renting the home had been moving out in order for the landlord to do more work on the property, and there were no occupants in the two-story house at the time of the fire, said England. The departments had the fire under control around 2:30 a.m., and they left the scene at about 5 a.m. The home was a total loss, and a detached two-car garage was damaged by the blaze. England believed the cause of the fire was due to electrical issues. The remnants of the structure continued to smoke early Wednesday afternoon, and England said the fire department would continue to monitor it in case it did flare up again. The Nebraska State Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire. KEARNEY The man selected to fill the late Bill McMullens vacancy on the Buffalo County Board of Commissioners said he now has an opportunity to serve and to feed his interest in elective office. Bill Maendele, 43, of Kearney, is a Cozad native and is the current president of the Leadership Kearney Board of Directors. He was introduced on Tuesday as Buffalo Countys newest commissioner. He was appointed to complete the remaining two years of McMullens term. Ive been interested in taking the next step into public service, Maendele said. He is a paramedic at CHI Health Good Samaritan, and his daughter, Serina, worked part time for McMullen, who managed Kearneys American Legion Club before he died in November from heart problems. Maendele, who has the same first and last initials as McMullen, said his daughter had encouraged him to apply for the vacant commissioner seat. Maendele and his wife, Jami, have two daughters in addition to Serina. They are Hailey, 12, who attends Sunrise Middle School, and Aniston, 11, a student at Northeast Elementary. McMullens District 6 encompassed northeast Kearney. He had served 29 years as a commissioner. Attending the announcement on Wednesday to congratulate Maendele as the countys new board member were three of the current commissioners: Sherry Morrow, Tim Higgins and Myron Kouba, all of Kearney. Commissioners Ivan Klein of Gibbon and Ron Loeffelholz and Dan Lynch, both of rural Kearney, did not attend. According to Nebraska statute, Maendele was selected by three of Buffalo Countys elected officials: County Attorney Shawn Eatherton, Treasurer Jean Sidwell and Clerk Jan Giffin. Maendele said he is excited to learn about his responsibilities and the functions of county government. He hopes to encourage continued cooperation between the county and city of Kearney, and he said he intends to support law enforcement. Two other residents of District 6 applied to complete the two years remaining on McMullens term: David Malone, a retired real estate broker and appraiser from Kearney. He has been a Buffalo County resident more than 30 years. Joshua Sikes, whose former position at Blueprint Engines involved engineering, management and sales. His family has resided in Buffalo County for multiple generations. Commissioners meet twice monthly and earn an annual salary of $28,139. Primary responsibilities include the management of county funds and adoption of the budget, oversight of county property, setting salaries of appointed and elected officials, setting of tax levies and administration of several programs established by state law. Jan. 11 is the date of the next county board meeting. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad The Azerbaijani Caspian Shipping Company vessels continue to transport goods in the direction of Kazakhstan, Trend reported with the reference to the company's spokesman Mehman Mehdiyev. He stressed that the company constantly monitors the ongoing processes in Kazakhstan. "In case of any negative impact of the situation on cargo transportation, corresponding measures will be taken," he said. It should be noted that Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) canceled flights to Kazakhstans Almaty city. The decision was made over the destabilization of the situation in Kazakhstan. Money and free rebooking for those who have purchased tickets for the flights will be offered. A reminder that the Baku-Almaty flight was made by AZAL weekly on Fridays while the Almaty-Baku flight - on Saturdays. Amid the fuel prices increase, big demonstrations erupted on January 2 in certain parts of Kazakhstan. It should be noted that public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance. More than 200 people were detained during the protests. Kazakhstan's authorities declared a state of emergency, following the illegal demonstrations. On January 5, the Kazakh president accepted the government's resignation. The curfew is imposed in Almaty and Mangistau region, as well as entry into and exit from these territories is prohibited. The CSTO Collective Security Council has decided to send the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan. In addition, under the president's order, Kazakhstan will introduce state regulation of the prices of liquefied gas, gasoline, and diesel for 180 days. Last year, Nebraska farmers produced more than 1.8 billion bushels of corn and 344 million bushels of soybeans. There are many factors that go into producing a good crop. Along with good management practices, moisture, weather, fertilizers also are an important contributor to the success of any crop. Fertilizers provide crops with nutrients like potassium and phosphorus. Nitrogen allow crops to grow bigger, faster, and to produce more food. But a large rise in fertilizer prices going into the new planting year could affect both farmers and input suppliers, according to a recent report from CoBanks Knowledge Exchange. CoBank reports that fertilizer prices are expected to remain elevated throughout the 2022 planting season. The report also suggests that while U.S. soybean acres will rise nominally compared to 2021 as a result of higher fertilizer prices, the total volume of soybean acres will not exceed corn acres in 2022. Soybeans are rich in nitrogen. The sharp rise in fertilizer prices has fueled speculation about a major acreage shift away from corn, said Kenneth Scott Zuckerberg, lead grain and farm supply economist with CoBank. Zuckerberg is skeptical about the shift away from corn, though. One factor for that, he said, is demand for corn among U.S. ethanol producers is expected to remain strong this year. Nebraska is the nations second leading producer of ethanol with more than 40% of the states corn crop going in to making ethanol. CoBank reported that farmers and their input suppliers are concerned about high fuel prices, shortages of agrochemicals due to COVID-related disruptions, along with the rising price of fertilizer. CoBank said several factors have played a role in affecting the supply-demand imbalance for fertilizers, such as nitrogen production shocks, tight global supplies, rising natural gas input costs, and steady demand are pushing up prices. CoBank said fertilizer export restrictions by China and Russia, and countervailing tariffs on urea ammonium nitrate solution imports to the United States from Russia (as well as Trinidad and Tobago), combined with economic sanctions placed on potash imports from Belorussia. The American Farm Bureau Federation said fertilizer is a global commodity and can be influenced by many market factors beyond the control of U.S. producers as 44% of all fertilizer materials are exported to a different country and can affect fertilizer prices as fertilizer production is not only influenced by what is occurring where it is produced or the cost of production in that country, but also affected by the numerous other countries demanding fertilizer products and the transportation rates to get the fertilizer to its final destination. Two-thirds of global fertilizer demand is driven primarily by six crops. Globally, corn represents about 16% of the farm-use fertilizer demand, with wheat a close second, representing about 15% of global farm-use fertilizer demand. Rice represents about 14% of global farm-use fertilizer demand, followed by vegetables at 9%, fruits at 7% and soybeans at 5%. As a large producer of corn, soybeans and wheat, Farm Bureau said the U.S. is a large consumer of fertilizer, though with increased technology and innovation for on-farm products, the use of fertilizer in the U.S. has decreased, despite increased planted acres of these crops. Corn represents about 49% of the share of U.S. nutrient use, while wheat accounts for about 11% and soybeans account for 10%. Cumulatively, those three crops account for about 70% of U.S. fertilizer consumption. In the 1960s, the U.S. accounted for 25% of global nutrient use. Today, the U.S. only accounts for about 10% of global use, with U.S. farmers representing only 2% of that share. According to the Farm Bureau, the U.S. is the third-largest producer of fertilizer globally, however, it still requires the importation of all three nutrients, especially nitrogen and potash, to fully meet demand. This means that U.S. fertilizer dealers and U.S. producers are required to pay the price defined by the global market for fertilizer and fertilizer materials, plus transportation. The U.S. is not a major fertilizer exporter. The U.S. holds a share of about 4.6% of the nitrogen exports, ranking seventh. Russia is first, with a share of 16.5% of exported nitrogen, followed by China with about 11.2% of a share in nitrogen exports, and Saudi Arabia, which holds a share of 6.4% of nitrogen exports. Natural gas is the primary building block for most nitrogen fertilizers, according to Farm Bureau. It takes about 33 million metric British thermal units (MMBtu) per material ton of ammonia to make the conversion. This accounts for 70% to 90% of the production variable costs in the synthesis process. According to Farm Bureau, fertilizer prices are expected to remain high through springtime, which may compel some farmers to shift planted acres away from corn to commodities that use fertilizer at a lower rate, like soybeans or wheat. Farm Bureau reported that with the price of ammonia about 85% correlated with the price of corn, farmers must consider whether the increased cost of fertilizer and other inputs can be recovered by cash receipts from crop revenues in order to break even. Farm Bureau also said there are expectations retailers will have to turn customers away because they will not be able to deliver fertilizer products on time, increasing the need for supply chain and infrastructure improvements. Farm Bureau said fertilizer costs account for approximately 15% of total cash costs in the U.S. All major crop production nutrients have experienced increased prices when compared to September 2020: ammonia has increased more than 210%; liquid nitrogen has increased more than 159%; urea is up 155%; MAP has increased 125%; DAP is up over 100%; and potash has risen above 134%. A bill for the upcoming legislative session gives students the ability to take school districts to court if they encounter someone of the opposite sex in a multi-occupancy shower room, changing room or restroom. District 4 Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, is the prime sponsor of the bill. Rapid City state legislators District 33 Rep. Taffy Howard, District 35 Rep. Tina Mulally and District 30 Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller are three of the nine lawmakers listed as sponsors of HB 1005. The bill would give students the ability to sue a school district if: * The student encounters a member of the opposite sex in a multi-occupancy shower room, changing room, or restroom located in a public school building that has been designated for exclusive use by members of the students sex. * An employee of the district gave the member of the opposite sex express permission to use the shower room, changing room, or restroom. * The use was permitted in accordance with a school district policy. If a student were to prevail in court, they would be entitled to recover economic and non-economic damages, together with costs and reasonable attorney's fees, the bill reads. The same concept would apply to hotel rooms used during school activities. If students are required to be provided overnight sleeping accommodations for a school district sponsored or sanctioned event, rooms must be designated for use by members of the same sex. If any student is unable or unwilling, for any reason, to use a multi-occupancy room for overnight sleeping accommodations, in accordance with the designation set forth in this section, that student may file, with the school administrator, a request for reasonable accommodation. For purposes of this section, a reasonable accommodation includes assigning the student to a single room for overnight sleeping accommodations, the bill states. Nothing in this section precludes the use of a room for overnight accommodations by members of the same immediate family. HB 1005 gives a student private cause of action against a school district (that) expressly permits a student of the opposite sex to utilize, for overnight sleeping accommodations, a room that has been designated for use exclusively by members of the same sex. The bill states that any student unable or unwilling to use one of the designated multi-occupancy (spaces) has the option to file a request for a reasonable accommodation, which includes access to a single-occupancy shower room, changing room, or restroom, but does not include access to a multi-occupancy shower room, changing room, or rest room, which has been designated for the exclusive use of members of the opposite sex. Students whose requests for a reasonable accommodation are denied may appeal the decision to the school districts superintendent, then further appeal that decision to the school board. When contacted for comment on the proposed legislation, neither Deutsch, Howard, Mulally or Frye-Mueller could be reached. The legislative session begins on Jan.11. Sen. Tom Briese of Albion will introduce a bill on Thursday's first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol designating voter fraud as a felony in Nebraska subject to a prison term. But Briese said Wednesday that his purpose in proposing the legislation is to "enhance public confidence" in the election system, not to suggest he agrees with critics who believe the 2020 presidential election results were corrupted by fraud. "I choose to believe in the integrity of our election system," Briese said. "It's the bedrock of our government (and) the cornerstone of our democracy." However, Briese noted, "the anniversary of Jan. 6 really tends to reinforce the concerns that many folks have over the integrity of our election process." Briese, an Albion farmer, is a Republican member of the nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature who is serving his second term after being re-elected in 2020 without opposition. During an interview in his Capitol office on Wednesday, he said he has been approached by some constituents who question the results of the 2020 presidential election. "Some folks believe there was fraud last year; I don't believe it occurred, absent compelling evidence," Briese said. The anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in Washington while Congress was in the process of certifying the election of President Joe Biden in his contest with then-President Donald Trump "serves to remind us that voter fraud or voter manipulation, real or imagined, poses a grave threat to the future of our democratic republic," Briese said. "I believe it's imperative we take steps to both enhance the public's confidence in the integrity of our election process and to further ensure voter fraud does not occur in our state." Enhancing the penalty for voter fraud to a Class II felony -- from its current criminalization in Nebraska as misdemeanors or lesser Class IV felonies -- should help deter any such conduct, Briese said. "And, perhaps more importantly, will give Nebraskans added confidence in the integrity of the elections in our state." Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon Nebraska lawmakers are expected to spend much of the 60-day session deliberating how to spend more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money. On the first day of the 2022 lawmaking session, senators began crowding around the funding spigot with their ideas of how to spend what some have called "once-in-a-lifetime" money. The projects ranged from helping pay for new University of Nebraska facilities, providing grants to farmers and ranchers, retaining teachers and furthering cancer research. Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg, who is running for the NU Board of Regents to represent western Nebraska, introduced a bill (LB703) appropriating $25 million in federal funds for an "agricultural innovation facility" to be built at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. That facility, which NU President Ted Carter said could become home to the National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Agriculture if approved, would serve as a companion to a 100,000-square-foot U.S. Department of Agricultural Research Center approved by Congress. Williams' bill stipulates the funds would not be appropriated unless NU provided a match, either from private donations or other sources. Omaha Sen. Robert Hilkemann also sponsored legislation (LB721) requesting $60 million in federal stimulus funds to help establish a University of Nebraska Medical Center Rural Health Complex in Kearney. NU has pledged to raise $25 million in private funds to support what Carter has called "UNMC West," which would be located at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward introduced a bill (LB766) with 20 co-sponsors requesting $15 million for pancreatic cancer research at UNMC. Kolterman's wife, Suzanne, died of pancreatic cancer in 2017. Several senators sponsored bills designating money for agriculture. Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams wants to appropriate $10 million to expand precision agriculture in Nebraska (LB761) by creating a grant program for farmers wishing to expand the use of wireless equipment, or deploy smarter irrigation and livestock systems, or use drones. Dorn also requested a $5 million appropriation of federal funds to the Department of Health and Human Services (LB760) for the purchase of one-time equipment like ambulances, defibrillators and other lifesaving-equipment for rural rescue squads. Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth introduced a bill (LB755) that would direct $10 million to the Department of Agriculture to help small and midsize meat processors expand their operations. A $75 million grant program (LB783) proposed by Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte would help pay for construction of new beef slaughter and packing plants. Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue sponsored a bill (LB696) to appropriate an unspecified amount of stimulus money to the Nebraska Department of Education to help retain educators across the state. Kolterman entered a bill (LB699) to direct $100 million to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development "for enhancing innovation and technology infrastructure." Other legislation introduced on Wednesday: CONSENT: Blood sponsored a bill (LB692) creating a civil penalty for individuals who did not receive verbal consent to remove a condom during sexual intercourse. ALTEN: The Bellevue senator also sponsored two bills in response to the environmental crisis at AltEn, the ethanol plant near Mead that used pesticide treated seed as a biofuel source. The first (LB694) extends the statute of limitations for action to be brought following injuries or deaths caused by toxic chemicals, while the second (LB695) would prohibit cities and counties from granting conditional use permits to property owners who are delinquent on their property taxes. GLUCOSE MONITORING: Kolterman sponsored a bill (LB698) adding glucose monitoring devices to the list of devices covered by Medicaid. TAX INCREMENT FINANCING: Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk introduced a bill (LB713) prohibiting TIF from being used in redevelopment projects where a casino or licensed horse racing track is going to be built. ABORTION ACCESS: Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt sponsored a bill (LB715) ending the prohibition of insurance coverage for abortion care, as well as legislation (LB716) allowing qualified medical practitioners to perform abortions. ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling brought a bill (LB781) banning abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected during an ultrasound. LINE OF DUTY: The compensation for public safety officers killed in the line of duty in 2022 would be raised from $50,000 to $250,000, under a bill (LB717) from Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld. TAX DEDUCTION FOR RENTERS: Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington entered a bill (LB740) giving renters an income tax deduction equal to rent paid on their primary residence up to $3,000. MARRIAGE LICENSES: Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill (LB745) removing reference to "husband" and "wife" on marriage licenses and certificates issued by Nebraska and replacing them with "Spouse 1" and "Spouse 2." STEM CELLS: Health care workers would be required to tell patients receiving stem cell treatments that those treatments are "not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," under a bill (LB753) introduced by Sen. John Arch of La Vista. COLLECTIONS REFERRAL: Sen. Jen Day of Gretna brought a bill (LB772) prohibiting health care providers from referring a bill stemming from a sexual assault-related examination or treatment to a collection agency. CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY: Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon introduced a bill (LB773) that would allow Nebraskans to carry a concealed handgun without requiring them to complete a background check, pay a fee, or take a class. WIND TURBINE DISPOSAL: Brewer also sponsored a bill (LB774) making it illegal to dispose of wind turbine blades and their components in a landfill. DIGITAL ARCHIVE: Brewer also introduced a bill (LB777) requiring the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission to create and maintain a digital archive of legislative coverage. EARLY VOTING: The period for early voting or requesting an absentee ballot would be reduced from 35 days to 22 days before a statewide primary or general election, under a bill (LB785) from Groene. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS A Dane County company is building a new plant in Texas in an effort to meet demand, be in a better location for its customers and tap into another pool of workers. Stoughton Trailers has announced that it is building a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Waco, Texas, where it will employ up to 125 people and expand production of intermodal trailer chassis that are in high demand due to increased shipping orders throughout the country. At the same time, the company has just completed the construction of an additional chassis production line at its Stoughton plant. The new line will ultimately employ about 150 people, with the plant increasing the production of components for chassis made in Stoughton, Evansville and Waco. The announcements come after federal rulings last spring that dramatically increased tariffs on intermodal chassis used to haul shipping containers imported from China and after Stoughton Trailers had made $30 million in improvements to its facilities in Dane and Rock counties over the last five years, including an expansion of its chassis line in Evansville. Business has been very good. And as we continue to get more orders and build our workforce were looking to expand that production, said Bob Wahlin, Stoughton Trailers president and CEO. Theres a lot there. And as weve done that, its helped us kind of diversify our workforce a little bit and cover some of our customers further to the south. The chassis are not those used on the typical trailers produced at Stoughton Trailers. Instead, they are built for containers that are often seen double-stacked on train cars or in multiple levels on ships. When the containers are off-loaded, each is placed on a chassis that is then pulled by truck to warehouses, distribution centers and stores. The Waco facility is about 200 miles from the Port of Houston and about 90 miles south of major rail terminals in Dallas and Fort Worth. Once the Waco, Stoughton and Evansville facilities are operating at capacity, Wahlin expects his company to be producing 20,000 to 25,000 chassis per year. Those efforts are being made possible by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which in April issued a 44.3% tariff for the next five years on the chassis and sub-assemblies, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which made a similar ruling that is expected to drive the total tariff to 221%. We do feel that this will get us well covered in the south and there could be future possibilities in the west and northeast, Wahlin said. We realize, particularly with the labor challenges, that we may have to go where theres a more available workforce. Were finding it very difficult to grow our facilities. Wahlin, whose company has 1,300 employees, said he has 500 job openings with wages starting at $18 per hour for assemblers and $20 per hour for welders, with second-shift workers getting $2 more per hour. Stoughton Trailers was founded in 1961 when Wahlins father, Don, who had graduated from UW-Madison a year earlier with an engineering degree, purchased a bankrupt cab and body manufacturing company and renamed the firm Stoughton Truck Body. Trailer production began in 1965 in a city-owned facility on Academy Street that is now home to the companys corporate headquarters and a newly built innovation center. Over the years, more facilities were added and today the company has 1.7 million square feet of manufacturing space for its intermodal chassis, trailers that haul dry goods, refrigerated trailers and grain trailers. In addition, ZinkPower, a German company that operates 50 sites in 13 countries, is operating a 110,000-square-foot galvanizing plant next door to the Stoughton plant in an effort to support Stoughton Trailers move away from painting. The new Waco plant, which had been planned for a warehouse before its purchase by Stoughton Trailers, is also next door to a similar ZinkPower facility, which has a galvanizing tank large enough to dip a 53-foot-long chassis. It really puts us in a good position, Wahlin said. Things just kind of fell into place for us. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 December 2021 has been a busy month for the Tomah Knights of Columbus Council 4125 as it continues its mission of community service and charitable contributions and living up to the four pillars of the core beliefs of the Knights of Columbus: charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. Knight and Family of the MonthThe January 2022 Knight of the Month is Brother Richard Baumgarten. Brother Richard has been a Knight for almost 55 years. He has also been the Councils treasurer for many years, keeping track of the books, paying the bills and shepherding the donation checks from Council 4125. The Family of the Month for January 2022 is the Greg and Julie Zingler family. The Zinglers have five children. Greg owns and operates Zingler Sign and Design. Julie is a speech and language pathologist for the Tomah Area School District. They are very active in the village of Warrens and at St. Andrews Church. Greg taught confirmation class for the Queen of the Apostles parish for several years, and his daughter Carley now teaches third grade religious education. DonationsThe Tomah Knights hold several fundraisers throughout the year and contribute the monies to worthy causes. The Knights provided funds for the warming center in La Crosse that is run by Catholic Charities. The Tootsie Roll Drive checks were distributed to Handishop Industries in Tomah, Tomah Special Olympics, Lions Summer Camp for Disadvantaged Youth and the national Special Olympics to be held June 5-12 in Orlando, Florida. Each check was in the $1,400 range. A special appropriation was given to Catholic Charities and the monies designated for winter clothing for Afghan children at Fort McCoy. State charity raffleThe annual KC State Council charity raffle is under way. First prize is a 2022 Ford F150 XLT SuperCab or $50,000. Second prize is a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle or $25,000. There are 98 (third through 100th prizes) of $500 each. Proceeds from this raffle allow the state to pay out a half million dollars for charity work each year. Forty percent of the gross sales are returned to the councils to help local victims of accidents, illness and fire. The $5 tickets can be purchased from any KC member or contact Brother Tom Baumgarten, the local chair of the state raffle, at 608-372-5614. Packers ticket raffleTomah Council 4125 ran the popular Packers Ticket Raffle for two seats on the Packer 40-yard line for the Packers vs. Bears game at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, on Sunday, Dec. 12. The drawing was on Monday, Dec. 6, and the winner was Eileen DiBenedetto. Thank you to all who sold and/or purchased 320 tickets for the Packers raffle. Brother Al Janeczko chairs this event. The Packers won 45-30. Family PromiseThe Queen of the Apostles Parish is one of a number of area church groups that host Family Promise, a national nonprofit organization. Family Promise serves families with children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with the mission of helping homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. The KC hall in Tomah will host families for four weeks in 2022: Feb. 13-20, May 15-22, Aug. 14-21, and Nov. 6-13. Boy ScoutsBoy Scout Troop 5 is sponsored by Queen of the Apostles parish and holds most of its Monday night meetings at the KC hall on Juneau Street. The scoutmaster is Nerzhin Santiago with assistant scoutmasters Dr. Paul Skofronick, Ryan Conner and Brian Purdy. Troop 5 includes boys in sixth grade or age 11 through age 17 and does outdoor activities such as camping and hiking as well as service in the community, like shoveling snow. Spaghetti supper and bingoTomah Council 4125 sponsors the popular spaghetti supper and bingo on the first Saturday of every month. Brother Knight Doug Semrau supervises this fundraiser. The spaghetti supper is served from 5-6:30 p.m. For only $6, diners receive a generous portion of spaghetti, along with garlic bread and a beverage. Desserts are also available. Bingo begins at 7 p.m., and 21 games are played. You can play bingo all night for as little as $1 for a chance to win cash prizes. There is also a 50/50 raffle. Bingo is the councils largest overall fund raiser, consistently bringing in money to support the many charitable causes. The first Saturday in February is special. It is the all-you-can-eat chili supper, serving from 4:30-6:30 p.m., sponsored by the Tomah Area Historical Museum, and the price is the same $6. Thats on Feb. 5. Christmas Baskets for the elderlyThirteen collection baskets were put out at several area Churches, including St. Marys in Tomah, St. John the Baptist in Wilton, St. Joseph in Kendall, Sacred Heart in Cashton and St. Patricks in Sparta. A basket was also at these Sparta locations: Walgreens Drug Store, Sparta Pharmacy and Theisens. Additional locations included Dollar Tree in Tomah and Hansens IGA in Cashton. Items donated include lotions, colognes, socks, slippers, large print reading material, playing cards, puzzles, stationery, stamps and individually packaged candies. A total of 960 items were collected this year. Dollar Tree in Tomah was most generous. The baskets were delivered to Rolling Hills in Sparta several days before Christmas. The program director distributed the donated items to the residents based on need. Brother Rick Welch coordinates this program for the Tomah KCs. KC member lostPhilip SchreinerOur 4125 Council lost a dear friend and valued member on Dec. 19. Philip Schreiner and his wife, Dianne, were long-time photographers in Tomah. Brother Phil was past Grand Knight and commander of the Honor Guard and is greatly missed by his brother Knights. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at the Coon Creek Conservation Club, S1005 Knudson Lane, in Coon Valley. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Its been one year since the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but witness Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, said it seems like yesterday. Kind was among those trapped in the House chambers while Trump extremists stormed the building, interrupting the process of certifying the 2020 presidential election. The attack was heartbreaking, Kind recalled in an interview this week. The Tribune also spoke with Kind the night of the attack. And although a year has now passed, Kind said that the reminders of the attack still remain at the Capitol as do the threats. I cant believe its been a year, Kind said. Its just so imprinted in my memory what happened, the events that day. In the immediate aftermath of the attack Kind said he was hopeful there would be unification. But the perception of that day has since changed. Its been reported that five police officers that defended the Capitol have died during and in the months after the attack, and about 140 more injured. One participant in the riot was shot and killed. More than 700 people have been arrested for crimes tied to the attack. Quote "I think what is concerning for me one year later is the threats still exist and 'the big lie' is still being perpetuated by Donald Trump and others. And too many of our fellow citizens are believing it." Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse Responses to the attack have included a second impeachment of former President Donald Trump and an investigation by a bipartisan Jan. 6 committee. Trump has also been banned from certain social media platforms. But Kind said that hasnt been enough. I think what is concerning for me one year later is the threats still exist and the big lie is still being perpetuated by Donald Trump and others. And too many of our fellow citizens are believing it, Kind said. Theyve created this alternate reality which I think presents a real peril to our democracy. He said its not just what transpired on Jan. 6, but how theyre behaving afterwards, saying that is where the danger still lies. Kind called Capitol Hill a different place, describing it as quieter with more security. Unquestionably the threat level has really gone up on Capitol Hill. The daily threats that are still coming in, threats to members lives is still there, Kind said. Capitol security is more proactive, Kind said, saying they monitor internet threats more seriously than before. He said that his office has taken more precautions since the attack, too, but Kinds team was unable to share specifics on any threats their office has received due to privacy concerns. During the attack, Kind has recalled that he helped officers move furniture to barricade doors within the chamber, and eventually asked one of the officers if they had another gun he might use. The officer swiftly declined, but Kind said that moment is still what sticks with him. Ill never forget the expression on the police officers face, Kind said. It just showed how real the threat was and how uncertain the whole situation was. Kind did not say the Jan. 6 attack directly played into his decision not to seek another term after 26 years in office, but said that the new political arena did. The whole political atmosphere is completely different from when I first served, Kind said, calling it discouraging. Kind reiterated to the Tribune that his primary reason for stepping down was because he had run out of gas after more than two decades in public service. Despite Kind leaving office, Jan. 6 will be heard for many more months, not only in Washington, but on the campaign trail in western Wisconsin as voters look for his replacement. Already candidate Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, launched a digital ad condemning Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, for being in D.C. on Jan. 6. Kind hopes the community will see Jan. 6 as an eye-opening wake up call about the brittleness of democracy. Jan. 6 showed how fragile our democracy really is, Kind said. It is a commitment that each generation must renew and be willing to fight for. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Local hospitals will begin offering third Pfizer doses to 12 to 15 year olds following Mondays FDA emergency use authorization and Wednesdays CDC recommendation. The additional dose of an mRNA vaccine Pfizer or Moderna or two of Johnson and Johnson was previously approved for adults, and a Pfizer third shot was given the OK for those 16 and 17 in early December. Pfizer is the only vaccine available to those 17 and younger. Third doses of Pfizer, also known as boosters, can be given to those 12 and up five months out from their second inoculation, a decrease from the previous six month timeline. The recommendations come after a thorough review of clinical trial data and will include intense safety monitoring as kids receive the vaccine, Gundersen Health System notes. The four week reduction between second and third doses, says Dr. Raj Naik, infectious disease expert and pediatrician at Gundersen Health System, is based on the fact that the immunity or protection starts to wane as soon as four to five months after the initial primary series of two, and especially against more contagious variants where you need higher levels of viral neutralizing antibodies. So this is really an acknowledgement of whats going on with this very highly contagious variant and the need to have as high a level of viral neutralizing antibodies as we can possibly have to try to protect all of us against this variant. The third Pfizer dose is now also available to select immunocompromised youth 5 to 11, to be given at least 28 days after receiving the second shot, which is the same interval for older immunosuppressed individuals. As we have seen with older patients, those children who are immunosuppressed either because of a condition they have or because theyre on treatment that suppresses their immune system, their response to the initial two doses of a messenger RNA vaccine is not as strong as those without any immunocompromised status. So adding in a third dose is really a way to improve their overall protection, especially against new variants like Omicron, which are so much more contagious, says Naik. Naik says for immunocompromised individuals, a third dose can be looked at as part of the primary series, while for others it would be considered a booster at this time. Some have expressed distrust in the vaccine due to the adding of a dose, but Naik says We knew from the beginning that the ideal dosing regimen in terms of number of doses and the spacing of doses would have to be determined based on some real world experience and some real world data. And I know this can be confusing to people when they see changing recommendations, but that was part of what we knew would need to be worked out over time. And its not only a matter of how the vaccines are working for people, but also what new variants arise that either exhibit some properties of immune escape or are more contagious, which really requires even higher levels of viral neutralizing antibodies. Common side effects for the third shot are similar to those experienced after first and second doses, and include pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever and joint pain, especially after the second dose. Naik says parents shouldnt be concerned about increased chance of myocarditis after a third dose. There actually has been no data to suggest that theres a much more significant risk of myocarditis following third doses. And whats really important is that the myocarditis risk following vaccination is very uncommon. And in fact, much less associated with vaccines than it is with infection itself. And so the relative risk of infection in myocarditis is several fold higher than post vaccine, Naik says. Mayo Clinic infectious disease and vaccination expert Dr. Gregory Poland says he is really pleased about the expanded eligibility for third doses, and the shortened interval for the booster. The omicron variants rapid spread has increased youth coronavirus infections, making the EUA especially important. Poland says around 200,000 new COVID cases are occurring among children each week, a 60% increase. Increasing immunity for those in middle and high school will help in protecting those currently too young to qualify for vaccination. Lets not forget that there really arent school-aged kids that cannot be immunized at this point. And thats a really important factor to remember. You know, when we get these vaccines against COVID-19, youre taking a disease that has a propensity for long COVID complications, hospitalization and death, and converting it to for the most part to a very mild or asymptomatic disease, says Poland. Why wouldnt you get immunized? Omicron appears to lead to milder cases for adults, but children are more adversely affected, Poland says, due to the variants tendency to be more in the upper airways that equates to decreased morbidity in adults, who tend to have larger upper airwaves, but is a decided negative in young kids who have narrow upper air waves. Youth and teens who become infected may suffer lasting symptoms, and can transmit the virus to vulnerable adults. Those positive for the virus will also need to miss school and activities, and high disease activity could lead schools to return to virtual learning and the cancellation of extracurriculars. Limiting infectious spread, Gundersen says, will also gives the virus less opportunity to mutate and contribute to variants in our community. Naik notes there is a large number of persons eligible for a third dose or even initial doses who have not done partaken. It really does help to protect against severe disease that may land you in the hospital or from having chronic symptoms. For some people it could be fatal to get infections, Naik stresses. Anyone with a history of severe allergic reactions to vaccine components should not receive the COVID vaccine. Vaccine for 2 to 4 age group moving slowly Initial predictions indicated a COVID vaccine for the 2 to 4 age group by early 2022, but new estimates put approval closer to this summer. Studies on a two dose course of the Pfizer vaccine, given in an amount a tenth the size of that for adults, showed it was not as robust as hoped in preventing infection and illness. (Youth 5 to 11 receive a third-size dose). Now Pfizer is testing a three dose course for toddlers, with a third shot administered at least two months after the second. Data is not likely to be presented for several months, and more time will be needed for analyzing and the regulatory process. I think the timeline now is probably in the late second quarter of 2022, Naik says. Its not necessarily surprising considering how (small the) dose is and how the vaccines work. Where to get a vaccine Parents or guardians can schedule a vaccination appointment for their child at Gundersen, or for themselves, by calling 608-775-6829 or using MyChart. Gundersens COVID vaccine clinic are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Gundersen La Crosse Clinic, Level 1, and Gundersen Onalaska Clinic, Level 4. Mayo patients can schedule using Patient Online Services or the Mayo Clinic App. Appointments can also be made by calling 608-392-7400. The vaccine clinic at 10th and Market is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays. Other sites include Walgreens, Walmart, Weber Health Logistics and La Crosse County Health Department clinics. Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Spectacular concert has been held within Dubai Expo 2020. The event was organized by the Heydar Aliyev Center at Azerbaijan's pavilion. The concert "Music from Land of Fire" brought together talented musicians Jayla Seyidova (violin), Nargiz Aliyeva (piano) and Sahib Pashazade (tar). The musicians delighted the listeners with Azerbaijani classical and national music. Dubai Expo 2020 visitors also enjoyed stunning performances of Nizami Aliyev and Raji Huseynov. Notably, Azerbaijan is represented at Dubai Expo 2020 by the pavilion of the Heydar Aliyev Center. Expo 2020 is a World Expo, currently hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. In 2020, the event was postponed amid COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being postponed, organizers kept the name Expo 2020. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) general assembly in Paris named Dubai as the host on 27 November 2013. The theme of the Expo is "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". A New Lisbon man who allegedly broke into a pharmacy and stole thousands of pills is charged with multiple felonies, including burglary and drug charges. Anthony Arcuri, 34, of New Lisbon is charged with felony burglary of a building or dwelling, four counts of felony possession of narcotic drugs, misdemeanor criminal damage to property, misdemeanor theft, and two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. If convicted he faces up to 12 years and six months in prison or a fine of up to $25,000, or both, on the burglary charge and up to three years and six months in prison or a fine of up to $10,000, or both, on each of the felony drug charges. According to the criminal complaint: At about 11:20 p.m. on Oct. 19, officer Jason Einwich of the New Lisbon Police Department was dispatched to a pharmacy on South Adams Street in New Lisbon for multiple motion alarms and a witness 911 call of glass breaking and a dark clothed subject entering the pharmacy. The reporting party stated they were watching the subject leave the pharmacy pushing a large object down the sidewalk. As Einwich arrived on scene he observed a male wearing a mask and dark clothing pushing a wheeled container partially covered by a blanket. Einwich activated his squad emergency lights and ordered the subject to stop and show his hands. The subject was slow to comply but did cooperate before trying to turn around and pull away. The subject continued to verbally resist as Einwich waited for backup to arrive. Asked what his name was the male stated Anthony Arcuri. Einwich knew Arcuri from prior professional contacts. Arcuri was transported to the Juneau County Jail. The cart Arcuri was pushing was determined to be from behind the pharmacy counter. The cart was still locked and officers believed it contained various prescription schedule II narcotic medications. As the cart was not entered or damaged New Lisbon Police Chief Kyle Walker requested the manager of the pharmacy to perform an inventory of the medication so the items could be returned for daily operations. Inside the cart Arcuri was in possession of 679 pills of Adderall in various strengths, 1,002 tablets and capsules of amphetamine salts in various strengths, 214 capsules of amphetamine/dextroamphetamine of various strengths, 1,574 capsules of methylphenidate in various strengths, 508 capsules of dexmethylphenidate of various strengths, 42 patches of fentanyl in various strengths, 1,233 tablets of hydrocodone of various strengths, 572 tablets of hydrocodone/acetamin of various strengths, 171 capsules of hydromorphone of various strengths, 93 tablets of methadone, 609 tablets of morphine of various strengths, 1,110 tablets of oxycodone of various strengths, and 875 tablets of lisdexamfetamine of various strengths. In total the contents of the cart held 19 different variants of schedule II narcotics and a combined pill count of 8,972. Arcuri is scheduled for a plea hearing March 22 at the Juneau County Justice Center. Reach Christopher Jardine on Twitter @ChrisJJardine or contact him at 608-432-6591. This Friday, several art galleries and venues in Lancaster County will celebrate First Friday. Events include an exhibition opening with a live dance performance, a few returning and ongoing exhibitions and a few musical performances. Here are 12 events to go to for the new year's kickoff First Friday. Curio Gallery & Creative Supply Curio will continue to host works from Mairin-Taj Caya's "Speak the Dark" exhibit through Jan. 29. Her works are inspired by Irish legends and Native American mythology. More information: Curio Gallery & Creative Supply, 106 W. Chestnut St., Lancaster | Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. | More info First Reformed Church Organist Larry Hershey will perform a 30-minute concert themed after "Winter Wonders" at the First Reformed Church. Hershey will perform songs such as Max Drischner's "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star" and "Giga" by George Frideric Handel, as well as other classics. More information: First Reformed Church, 40 E. Orange St., Lancaster | Hours: 8 to 8:30 p.m. | More info Isaac's Brewhouse Isaac's will host its monthly "Arts & Drafts" event this Friday, focusing in on mental health and taking some time to relax. McCaskey High School students created adult coloring pages for the event, and colored pencils will be provided. More information: Isaac's Brewhouse, 25 N. Queen St., Lancaster | Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. | More info Lancaster Science Factory Every First Friday, the Lancaster Science Factory offers free admission and features over 70 interactive exhibits for kids and adults alike to enjoy. More information: Lancaster Science Factory, 454 New Holland Avenue, Lancaster | Hours: 5 to 7 p.m. | More info Marion Court Room Rock/pop, woman-fronted cover band Screamin' Daisys will perform at Marion Court Room in its new, fully covered courtyard. More information: Marion Court Room, 7 E. Marion St., Lancaster | Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. | Cost: $5 | More info Mulberry Art Studios Mulberry Art Studios will host the 15th annual Scott Church Legacy Gallery, featuring works from Scott Church, as well as 100 other artists. The event post on Facebook describes the gallery as "The largest annual fine art photography show on the east coast." More information: Mulberry Art Studios, 19-21 N. Mulberry St., Lancaster | Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. | Cost: $10 | More info Pennsylvania College of Art & Design Baltimore-based Eric Dyer's collection "Pulse and Flow: Art of the Modern Zoetrope" will continue through Jan. 12. Dyer's works are interactive and are meant to be "activated by the viewer," according to PCA&D's website. More information: Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, 204 N. Prince St., Lancaster | Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | More info Phantom Power Psychedelic rock band Creatures of Content will perform in this 21+ concert. Editor's note: AJ Grey was initially slated to perform but has rescheduled. More information: Phantom Power, 121 W. Frederick St., Millersville | Hours: Doors open at 7 p.m., concert starts at 8 p.m. | Cost: $5 | More info Red Raven Art Company The Red Raven Art Company will host a group show called "Something to See." The show is inspired by unusual and extraordinary muses, according to Red Raven's website. Artists include Robert Patierno, Art Harrington, Beth Bathe, Lynnette Shelley and more. More information: Red Raven Art Company, 138 N. Prince St., Lancaster | Hours: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. | More info Square Halo Gallery The Square Halo Gallery will host an exhibit based on the theme of The Inklings, a literary group at the University of Oxford that featured renowned authors J. R. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and more. Works will be presented in several mediums and will be on sale. More information: Square Halo Gallery, 37 N. Market St., Lancaster | Hours: 6 to 9 p.m. | More info The Ware Center The Ware Center will debut works from artist Gail Gray in her exhibit, "Portals III," through Jan. 27. Gray is known for her unique paintings that can inspire live performances. The opening will feature a collaborative performance at 6:30 p.m. in Steinman Hall with artists Dominique Jordan Miller, Sophie Xiong, Ever Sandoval, Taska Ska Winyan, Solise White, Disrupt Theater, Evita Colon, Teatro Paloma and more. The performance will also be livestreamed. For more information about the livestream, visit artsmu.com. More information: The Ware Center, 42 N. Prince St., Lancaster | Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. for opening reception; 6:30 p.m. for free live performance | More info Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse First Friday Fright Night continues into 2022 with "100 Bloody Acres," an Australian horror movie from 2012. Vaccination cards are required for the showing. More information: Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse, 112 N. Water St, Lancaster | Hours: 9 to 11 p.m. | Cost: $11 | More info After nearly 30 years, the long-beloved Pensupreme ice cream has come back to life, thanks to a couple of diehard ice cream lovers from Lancaster. The revival journey began in 2015, when John Butz, a vintage milk bottle collector, discovered that the Pensupreme trademark had expired. Butz jumped right on it with the United States Patent & Trade Office. Once the trademark was in hand, he teamed up with his pal Ingrid Natale, who is pursuing a Doctorate degree in Business Administration at Drexel University. (Return to LancasterOnline later this week for more on how the Pensupreme ice cream revival came to fruition.) The grass-fed ice cream is having its big debut Saturday at Miesse Candies & Ice Cream Parlor, its first official retail location. Butz and Natale will be behind Tracy Artuss vintage soda fountain, serving up samples of their four core flavors vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and mint chocolate chip. The first 50 customers will receive a Pensupreme souvenir. IF YOU GO Where: Miesse Candies & Ice Cream Parlor, 118 N. Water St.; 717-392-6011 Miesse Candies & Ice Cream Parlor, 118 N. Water St.; 717-392-6011 When: Saturday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; the store will remain open to 4 p.m. and Tracy Artus promises that free samples will be offered all day. Saturday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; the store will remain open to 4 p.m. and Tracy Artus promises that free samples will be offered all day. What: Milkshakes, scoops and cones will be available for purchase, as well as pints of ice cream ($8.99). Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health is weighing whether to submit a formal request for federal aid amid an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases that has a beleaguered staff exhausted. The staff is overwhelmed, tired and frustrated, Dr. Michael Ripchinski, LG Health chief clinical officer, said Monday. Part of the calculation, Ripchinski said, is understanding that the federal help is only a Band-Aid. But, Ripchinski added, Over the next two weeks it will really be a critical time for all of us. Ripchinski and others have pointed to the rise in cases following holiday get-togethers. There were 126 COVID-19 patients at Lancaster General Hospital on Wednesday, according to LG Health. Twenty-three, or 18%, of the patients were in the hospitals intensive care unit, while 19, or 15%, were on ventilators. There have been 560 COVID-19-related deaths at LGH, or 39% of the countys 1,431 deaths attributed to the coronavirus. Lancaster Countys seven-day COVID-19 case average continues to increase at alarming levels. The rate of new cases reached nearly 877 cases per day as of Monday, according to state Department of Health data. Before the most recent surge, the pandemic peak was about 429 cases per day in December 2020. Last week, WellSpan Health submitted a request to the Lancaster County Emergency Management agency for a federal strike team to provide staffing support at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital in Ephrata Borough. Ephrata Community had 31 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, the health systems dashboard shows. Only the health systems York hospital was granted a deployment for staffing support. On Tuesday, WellSpan York Hospital had 210 COVID-19 patients receiving treatment. According to Christopher Krichten, director of emergency management for WellSpan Health, Lancaster County was unable to support to help the health system with life-saving and incident stabilization, documents received in a Right-to-Know request show. A 23-person Federal Emergency Management Agency team reported for clinical duties Monday at WellSpan York Hospital. The team consists of physicians, nurses, respiratory technicians, among others, who will work with WellSpan health care professionals to face the challenges this crisis is bringing, according to a statement. The federal deployment, which is being coordinated by the Pennsylvania National Guard, gives the health system flexibility to redeploy its resources. Its an all-hands-on-deck approach that allows us to share resources and staff across the six counties that we serve, Ryan Coyle, a WellSpan spokesperson, said in an email to LNP | LancasterOnline. While Coyle was short on details about the daily juggle, he did say physicians and nurses in the health systems physician offices have been helping at our testing sites and taking shifts in our hospitals during these surges." On Dec. 15, Gov. Tom Wolfs administration outlined key areas for hospital support during the pandemic, with a particular focus on rural Pennsylvania. The federal teams are an effort to increase acute-care capacity for COVID-19 patients. To date, only two strike teams have been announced. The second is at Regional Hospital of Scranton. Its unclear whether Penn State Health or UPMC Lititz intend to take advantage of the federal aid. Neither health system responded to an inquiry by LNP | LancasterOnline. With Christmas in the rearview mirror, Lancaster Countys top doctor expressed concerns about what lies ahead in the new year as COVID-19 cases climb and the omicron variant takes a foothold. Nearly half of COVID-19 tests among symptomatic patients at Lancaster General Hospital are positive, said Dr. Michael Ripchinski, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health chief clinical officer and the face of the countys response to the pandemic. Its never been this high, Ripchinski said of the positivity rate. Previously, about a third of symptomatic patients were positive. The omicron variant, identified in November in South Africa, is the most contagious yet, as it can evade immunity whether by infection or vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early indicators suggest an omicron infection might be less severe than with previous variants. But its a numbers game. Because of the ease with which the omicron variant is transmitted, a larger infection pool of patients inevitably means more individuals will be hospitalized with severe cases. And this threatens to overwhelm the health care system. This is what concerns Ripchinski most. It may be a milder disease, but because more people are infected its causing more hospitalizations, period, Ripchinski said. Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the current surge may not peak until the end of the month. Lancaster County has shattered the previous record for the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which hit 173 on Dec. 10, 2020. State data on Wednesday showed 193 COVID-19 patients in county hospitals. With LGH seeing COVID-19 caseloads nearing 185, could it approach 200 or infected patients? Its hard to say what the top is, Ripchinski said. I dont believe were at the top yet. Its not fair Jennifer Prestons mother died in early December. Her aunt flew in from California to attend the funeral. While in the county, Prestons aunt was exposed to COVID-19 and cant fly home until she tests negative. After not being able to find at-home tests at local pharmacies, her aunt scheduled an appointment to be tested through a pharmacy. In the meantime, Preston, 41, contacted family from out of state to mail her an at-home test for her aunt. The test kits arrived Friday, and her aunt tested negative. While Prestons mothers funeral was held Dec. 18, the burial, which was scheduled for Dec. 28, was postponed after she and her family were exposed to COVID-19. Now I have to bottle up all my emotions until April, said Preston. Her mothers birthday is in April. Preston added, Its unfair. Preston and her family who were exposed to the virus all tested negative. Testing is critical for determining whether an individual is infected, regardless of symptoms. Because of a national shortage, most health care providers require a known exposure or symptoms. In the meantime, at-home test kits are flying off the shelves. The CVS at 1278 Millersville Pike in Lancaster Township received roughly 1,400 COVID-19 test kits on Tuesday. A day later, the pharmacy chain only had 100 left, with a six per customer limit. Hillcrest Pharmacy & Compounding at 3985 Columbia Ave. in Columbia received a large shipment of at-home tests Wednesday morning and is also offering curbside testing by appointment. The at-home tests cost $14.99 and are limited to 10 per customer. A recorded message at the pharmacy alerts callers of the availability of the test and how to schedule drive-by testing. We are well stocked, but Im sure they will go fast as word gets out, said owner and pharmacy manager Melissa Koehler. Ganse Apothecary at 355 W. King St. in Lancaster city also has home test kits available for sale, but it does not offer on-site testing. We will continue to order to meet the demand, but we never know how frequent they will be available, said pharmacy manager Dan Kohler. He pointed to supply chain issues as a reason tests are difficult to keep in stock. Its difficult for us to keep them in stock because sometimes the shipment is late or we get a different amount than what was ordered, Kohler said. We cannot predict how long our supply will last but what we have is going fast. Like Hillcrest, there is a 10-tests per customer limit. Staff reporter Enelly Bentancourt contributed to this article. Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information about four women who stole more than $1,400 worth of merchandise from the Lids store at Tanger Outlets. The women entered the store a few minutes apart from each other, beginning around 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 7, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers, self-described as "a group of concerned citizens who gather funds to reward individuals who provide information anonymously to assist law enforcement agencies with unsolved crime." Each woman took Lids bags out of their other bags and asked to return multiple hats and jerseys without a receipt, Crime Stoppers said. While one woman returned items, the other three worked together to take more merchandise. In total, the women stole $1,430 worth of items, according to Crime Stoppers. The women then tried to return the newly-stolen merchandise at the Park City Center Lids, using fake names and phone numbers on their return receipt, according to Crime Stoppers. Anyone with information is asked to call Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted online. A Manor Township woman repeatedly stabbed her ex-boyfriend, just hours before he returned to break into her residence and harass her, according to Manor Township police. Kristyle Maria Tollefson, 18, stabbed 21-year-old Darrion Nathaniel Deleon several times with a kitchen knife at her apartment in the 700 block of Millersville Road around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Deleon had previously been charged with multiple offenses for returning to the apartment and breaking in around 11 p.m. the same day. Deleon, who is Tollefsons ex-boyfriend, had first come to the apartment that day to retrieve several of his belongings. Deleon told police he was packing his possessions in the kitchen when Tollefson became upset and stabbed him in the arm with a small kitchen knife. Tollefson then stabbed Deleon in the hand and again in the finger after he ran away from her twice, police said. Deleon fled the apartment after being stabbed the third time, later seeking treatment for cuts to his arms, hands and fingers at Lancaster General Hospital. Deleon had fresh blood on his shirt and sweatpants when investigators spoke to him later in the evening. Deleon then returned to the apartment just before 11 p.m., entering the residence uninvited and arguing with Tollefson, also grabbing her by the chin and arm, according to previous reporting. Police rushed to the apartment, believing at the time that Deleon had a gun. Officers found him hiding in a shower and arrested him on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, stalking and harassment. Investigators found bloody paper towels inside Tollefsons apartment, as well as fresh blood on the floor. Tollefson told investigators the blood belonged to Deleon, along with clothing and sneakers packed in garbage bags that remained inside the apartment. Tollefson was arrested Dec. 24 on charges of aggravated assault and simple assault. Attempts to reach Tollefsons attorney, Douglas Cody, were not immediately successful. Judge William Benner set Tollefsons bail at $25,000. She was released from Lancaster County Prison on Dec. 24 after posting that amount, court records show. Tollefson will face a preliminary hearing Thursday before Judge David Ashworth. Deleon is currently awaiting trial on the offenses he was charged with that day, as well as for two other incidents involving Tollefson. He had previously been charged with pointing a loaded handgun at Tollefson and destroying thousands of dollars worth of her electronics in October, then violating his bail conditions for that offense by returning to her apartment in November and arguing with her. Deleon remains in Lancaster County Prison due to there being no monetary amount or combination of conditions that can guarantee the safety of (Tollefson), according to court records. Attempts to reach Deleons attorneys, Patricia Kay Spotts and Raymond Ellsworth Stout, were not immediately successful. Ahead of the PA Farm Show, which will kick off this Saturday, Russell Redding, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, joined other leaders in the dairy industry to unveil this year's butter sculpture. This year, the theme is "Harvesting More," and the sculpture honors the work of Pennsylvanian farmers. The farmers are also accompanied by a dairy cow. More than 1,000 pounds of butter was used in the creation of the sculpture. Watch the livestream from LNP|LancasterOnline below, or if you're using our mobile app, visit the LNP|LancasterOnline Facebook page to watch. The PA Farm Show will run from Saturday, Jan. 8 through Saturday, Jan. 15 with the theme of "Harvesting More," a play on 2021's theme of "Cultivating Tomorrow." "It is only natural to harvest after you cultivate," said Redding in a September press conference. Recently, Redding urged potential visitors to think about the risks of attending this year's PA Farm Show, as the event is not requiring masks or vaccinations. "For individuals who are concerned about their personal health or have family members or colleagues who are particularly vulnerable, this is not the year to attend," Redding said at a press briefing Monday. There will be free masks and sanitizer for guests and vendors at the Farm Show, Redding said. The Pennsylvania Department of Health will also be in attendance to give out flu shots, as well as first, second and booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines. For more information about the 2022 PA Farm Show, visit farmshow.pa.gov. A winter weather advisory was issued in Lancaster County in anticipation of snow Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service in State College. About 2 to 4 inches of snow are expected between around 6 p.m. Thursday through 9 a.m. Friday, NWS said in a weather statement. Any accumulating snow will end shortly after sunrise Friday. Travelers should plan on slippery road conditions that could impact Thursday evening and Friday morning commutes. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is urging motorists to adjust speeds based on driving conditions, including snow-covered roads and limited visibility. The winter weather advisory was also issued in Adams and York counties. A winter weather advisory is issued when 3 to 5 inches of snow are expected to fall within a 12-hour period, according to NWS website. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad The Azerbaijani embassy in Kazakhstan has appealed to the Azerbaijani citizens living there over the events in that country. The embassy advised citizens to follow official information and stay away from places of mass gathering of people as a state of emergency has been declared across Kazakhstan until January 19. Moreover, the embassy stated it had not received any reports that Azerbaijani citizens were hurt during the protests in Kazakhstan. Amid the fuel prices increase, big demonstrations erupted on January 2 in certain parts of Kazakhstan. It should be noted that public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance. Kazakhstan's authorities declared a state of emergency, following the illegal demonstrations. On January 5, the Kazakh president accepted the government's resignation. The curfew is imposed in Almaty and Mangistau region, as well as entry into and exit from these territories is prohibited. The CSTO Collective Security Council has decided to send the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan. In addition, under the president's order, Kazakhstan will introduce state regulation of the prices of liquefied gas, gasoline, and diesel for 180 days. Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman gave an emotional farewell speech on Wednesday morning, concluding his 14 years of service on the three-member governing board with a rebuke of todays political atmosphere. Lehman, who has been the lone Democratic commissioner throughout his time in office, paused several times during his remarks to stop from crying, taking deep breaths from behind his mask and even trying to inject humor during one pause, asking the crowd to tell a joke. His voice, however, gained strength as he passionately discussed how politics has changed during his time as an elected official. When I first started my public service, all politics was local, which meant folks of all political stripes were expected to work together for the betterment of the community, Lehman said. But today, all politics is national, and partisan extremists have drowned out other voices and turned public debate into a battle of red-meat politics to curry favor from the faithful and to deflect responsibility from their own failure. Lehman also warned that the inability to work across party lines could cause the countrys public institutions to ultimately fail. Some seem to think there is no price to pay for the toxicity that currently exists throughout our nation, he said. However, as with any poison, sooner or later, if the level rises too high, the body will get sick and may eventually die. Lehman, who announced his resignation last month, was often the lone dissenting voice in a county government dominated by Republicans. He used his background as a budget analyst to challenge the majority's policy proposals, frequently pressing county staff on small details to ensure taxpayers were protected. Lehman also prided himself on his strong moral compass to act ethically and be transparent, as he noted in his final remarks Wednesday. He abstained from any vote he determined could be construed as unethical, and was known to make reporters leave the county building with him to discuss any campaign-related issues. Lehman thanked former and current county staff, as well as his family and friends for their support of his political career over the years. Lehman announced his resignation last month, to the surprise of local Democrats. He had two years remaining in his term as commissioner, and the countys Court of Common Pleas judges are now tasked with appointing his replacement. Lehmans last day is Friday. Commissioners Josh Parsons and Ray DAgostino both applauded Lehman for his many years of public service and signed an official commendation for his time as a public servant. Youve been a consistent, passionate advocate for the causes you believe in, Parsons said Wednesday, noting that some of those causes included Lehmans advocacy for employees welfare and for a new prison. He has been dedicated to problem solving and a passionate voice for constituents, DAgostino said in an email, in response to Lehmans remarks. You got a sense of that passion as the emotions of the moment were reflected in his final remarks today. Lehman, 58, previously worked as a budget analyst for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and served four years on Lancaster City Council between 1998-2002 and two years as Lancaster City Controller between 2006-2007. He was first elected as a county commissioner in 2007. He later served in multiple leadership roles in the County Commissioners Association Pennsylvania, as well as chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Caucus of County Commissioners. He also served on local boards, including the Economic Development Company and Lancaster County Conservation District Board until 2020. Lehman made two attempts in recent years to run for higher office. In 2017, Lehman launched a statewide campaign for lieutenant governor, but dropped out in early 2018. In 2020, he ran unsuccessfully against city Councilwoman Janet Diaz in the Democratic primary to challenge Sen. Scott Martin to represent the 13th District, which includes Lancaster city and the southern half of Lancaster County. A year ago, U.S. Sen Bob Casey was sitting at his desk inside the Senate chamber as Vice President Mike Pence presided over the debate over whether Arizonas electoral votes should be counted. Casey said he heard the sounds from outside the chamber and outside the Capital of protesters trying to disrupt the proceedings. Some of those protesters had already battered their way into the building. Looking back, the Pennsylvania Democrat said he naively, thought it might just be a few people and that the U.S. Capitol Police would quickly restore order. But the mood in the Senate changed quickly when Pence was rushed off the rostrum by the Secret Service. Soon after, Casey said he became aware of the danger he and his colleagues were in when he saw a plainclothes Secret Service agent with a huge weapon standing near him in the middle aisle of the Senate floor. I thought to myself, Well, thats something Ive never seen before, Casey said. Thats when I knew the danger was more significant than I thought. Casey was rushed out of the chamber to a safe location, along with his Senate colleagues and staff. In that undisclosed location, he said senators received periodic briefings from Capitol Police. At times, those briefings were heated, Casey said, with he and other Democrats asking GOP senators why they wouldnt call the White House to get President Trump to tell his supporters to leave. It wasnt until later that evening, after sheltering in place with his Senate colleagues for five hours, that Casey said he began to realize the enormity of what had just happened. Weve learned even more since then the horror of that day that with a little more time, (rioters) wouldve gotten to the vice president, Casey said. Whether he wouldve been killed or injured you can just imagine how horrific that could have been. Casey recalled the horror of Jan. 6, 2021 in an interview with LNP | LancasterOnline on Wednesday. He said it was important to reflect on the anniversary and to take action to protect voting rights for the future. The biggest change since Jan. 6, Casey said, has been Republican politicians commitment to the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. This commitment has translated to states like Georgia election changes that amount to voter suppression laws, Casey said. Pennsylvanias GOP-controlled Legislature is also considering a bill to undo some of the voting expansions it enacted in 2019. I would not want to be accused of figuring out ways to have fewer people from another party voting for me, Casey said. I would want to say I persuaded people from the other party to vote for me. To ensure that Jan. 6 does not happen again, Casey said Congress needs to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota. This bill would establish Election Day as a federal holiday, as well as set voter registration and voting access standards for all states to follow like automatic voter registration or vote-by-mail efforts, according to the bill. Republicans in the Senate have blocked debate on this bill three times before, but a top Republican signaled Tuesday that GOP senators have some interest in clarifying an 1887 law to make clear that the vice president does not have power to refuse to certify any states electoral votes, Axios reported. At least nine chartered buses left from Lancaster County to carry Trump supporters to the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Several county residents were arrested as a result of their participation in the insurrection, including two who are charged with violently attacking law enforcement. Of the more than 700 people facing charges for their involvement in Jan. 6, Pennsylvania is home to one of largest portions of that group, trailing Texas and Florida, according to the George Washington University Program on Extremism. Casey said Pennsylvanians participation in the insurrection denigrates our state. Its another reminder that our democracy is not self-executing or self-perpetuating, he said. We have to make it work, and youre not going to make it work if you dont pass the (Freedom to Vote Act). U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican who later voted to impeach Trump for his role in encouraging the Jan. 6 attack, was unavailable for an interview this week, his office said in an email. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smuckers office did not respond to requests for an interview. Smucker, a Republican and Lancasters representative in the U.S. House, voted to decertify Pennsylvanias presidential election results in the early hours of Jan. 7 after the insurrection attempt, citing disproven election irregularities. When: Lampeter-Strasburg Board meeting Jan. 3 in person and audio streamed on YouTube. What happened: The board passed a resolution stating it will not exceed the districts maximum tax rate index of 4% set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the 2022-23 school year. Background: The Act 1 index sets the maximum tax increase the district may levy without PDE exception or voter approval. Business Manager Keith Stoltzfus said the finance committee examined current year projections and early projections for next year and feels confident we will be able to keep within that 4% cap. Also: The board renewed its agreement with On Target Health to provide obesity-management services for a maximum of 25 full-time equivalent employees at a cost of $63,000 a year. The program has been in place since 2016. Quotable: They proactively work with participants, with our employees on our health insurance plan, to lose fat pounds, improve A1C (blood sugar levels), cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides, Stoltzfus said. Weve heard nothing but positive feedback from participants. Other business: The board approved an April field trip for the Outdoor Club to whitewater raft in Jim Thorpe and camp overnight at Hickory Run State Park. It further approved use of federal funds available through the Individuals with Disabilities Act for the current school year. Ask Dr. Jeanette Success On The Way: If Israel is in the news at center and forefront as we await the Chief Counsel to meet, (the elders, High Priest, scribes) a turnaround to declare and accept Jesus Christ as Messiah! Iran, China, Ukraine, Russia, immigration, storms, tornadoes, floods, rampant violence, disease, hunger, plagues and pestilences are all in the news!!!! ADVERTISEMENT Jesus had heard that John the Baptist had been delivered up into prison. John had publicly criticized Herod because of his unlawful marriage between kinfolk. Mark 6:18-20 (about 27 A.D.) For John had been telling Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brothers wife! 19) So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she had been unable, 20) because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard Johns words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly. Jesus departed into Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, speaking with authority as none before healing all kinds of diseases and sickness. While in prison, John the Baptist had heard of the works of Christ. (Matthew 4:12, 13). Jesus continues His travels and unrelenting teaching the gospel message. He goes to those who sat in darkness, but now see great light. Jesus has and the disciples have been traveling and preaching the gospel of good news. ADVERTISEMENT Not all hearers accept the message and do not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Most importantly, the leadership, chief priests, and elders rejected the freedom of living the gospel. Even until this day (as you know), the nation of Israel does not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus praises John as no greater prophet has risen or born of women than John. What might have happened if John the Baptist was recognized as Elijah? The scriptures inform us that even though John the Baptist was figuratively Elijah, but not recognized and acknowledged. Because of Johns righteousness, he couldnt hold it within himself to give a pass to Herod about his unlawful, immoral behavior! Their solution was to kill John, thinking they would be freed from their awful deeds. Herodias, the flagrantly evil woman, plotted a way to get rid of John by tricking Herod into consenting to Johns beheading. She shamed him and dared him in the presence of all. Her mother used her beautiful daughter to perform a sexual, enrapturing dance to seduce Herod into this vicious act! John the Baptist is beheaded in prison and his head brought on a charger to Herod. Its beyond imagination. Herod had this terrible matter of Johns beheading on his conscience. Jesus said that this generation that rejected the Messiah (Matthew 11:16) is evil and adulterous, faithless and perverse (among other adjectives). The kingdom of heaven has been rejected as announced by John (John 3:1, 2 Now, there was a man of the Pharisees and said, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.). They saw the miracles, but refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah, by Christ (Matthew 4:17) and by Peter (Acts 2:38; 3:19-26). The final rejection (Acts 28:25, 26) is postponed and is now in abeyance. Now, we are in a holding mode waiting for the renewal. In Acts 28:17; 23, Paul is a prisoner and calls for the chief of the Jewish nation together. Disciples asked the question, Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first and restore all things? Jesus said, Elijah came and this generation murdered him just like they will kill me too and didnt and wont accept the kingdom already prepared. So, what if? What if things would have been restored in the way that God Almighty had intended? But now, we suffer through because of the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We go through these terrible times as the kingdom is rejected, postponed, is held in abeyance until such time that only Jesus Christ knows and until the nation of Israel repents. They did not repent even with all the miracles and announcements. The leadership would not repent and the kingdom is in abeyance. Wait. Thanks for reading! Jeanette Grattan Parker is founder-superintendent Todays Fresh Start Charter School 4514 Crenshaw Boulevard, LA 90043 323-293-9826 www.todaysfreshstart.org (Ask Dr. Jeanette TM) Inquiring Minds Want To Know-All articles are copyright. All rights reserved References: Berean Bible. The Holy Bible. Errors? Let me know. Dial in Sundays for music & message: 11:30am {1-712-775-8971code 266751} Councilman Rex Richardson Announces Campaign for Mayor of Long Beach Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell Leads the way in support for Richardsons candidacy On Monday, January 3, 2022, Long Beach City Councilman Rex Richardson announced his bid to become the next Mayor of Long Beach. Many saw Richardson as the likely front runner for the mayoral seat as soon as current Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced his candidacy for the U.S. Congress. Rex Richardson is a Long Beach City Councilmember and regional leader with a proven track record of collaboration and problem-solving that has helped improve the lives of Long Beach residents. Richardson has managed to launch his campaign with some key endorsements already locked up. Included in the list of influential supporters, in an exclusive directly to the Los Angeles Sentinel, Richardson has secured the endorsement of Supervisor Holly Mitchell. In her announcement, Mitchell stated, Ive partnered with Rex Richardson to help address the complex challenges facing our region. He is a collaborative leader who will work tirelessly to ensure every Long Beach resident has what they need to thrive, stated the Los Angeles County Supervisor. Im proud to endorse his candidacy for Long Beach Mayor because he will ensure that no community is left behind as we work to combat a pandemic and chart an inclusive recovery. We also have the opportunity to make history by electing the first African American Mayor for Long Beach. Lets seize this moment and support Rex Richardson for Long Beach Mayor. ADVERTISEMENT Richardson has also received an endorsement from the Long Beach Fire Fighters Association and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. Our campaign is off to a great start since our launch yesterday. Im excited to announce endorsements from the Long Beach Firefighters Association and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. I am grateful for their belief in our campaign and in our unifying vision for Long Beach. With the support of the community and regional partners, we were able to restore and shorten emergency response times, bring new job opportunities, and helped mom and pop small businesses recover, and advocate to build Long Beachs first municipal homeless shelter with permanent supportive housing in North Long Beach. As Mayor, I will continue to ensure Long Beach maintains effective and robust emergency services as well as utilizes regional partners in our collective mission to uplift our unhoused neighbors and recover our economy in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, stated Richardson through a campaign announcement. Richardson also has the support of Long Beach Fire Department. Whenever we needed a champion for public safety, Vice Mayor Rex Richardson stepped up for our community. He fought hard to restore vital public safety services during a time when their existence was considered expendable. Long Beach Firefighters are proud to endorse Rex because he is the leader, we trust to prioritize our citys safety and health as our next Mayor, Long Beach Fire Fighters Association stated. Supervisor Janice Hahn was equally as enthusiastic in her support for Richardson Rexs bold and forward-thinking leadership is exactly what Long Beach deserves in their next Mayor. Ive worked closely with Rex for many years as the Congresswoman and County Supervisor representing Long Beach. He has consistently been a collaborative leader in solving the regions challenges, leading our economic recovery, and addressing homelessness with comprehensive, mental health and service-oriented approach, stated Supervisor Hahn. Throughout his life, Rex Richardson faced tough odds and rose above adversity. From firsthand experience, he understands the work and determination it takes for families and communities to climb into the middle class. Richardsons father served our country in the Air Force and his mother a child of the South who integrated her school and worked as a union assembly line welder at General Motors. When his parents divorced, his family fell on hard times, experiencing job instability and housing insecurity. His determined single mom worked hard to get their family back on track. With the help of public schools and youth opportunity programs, Richardson set forth on a path toward a better future. His and his mothers hard work culminated in Rexs college acceptance, opening the door to a life different than he had experienced growing up. ADVERTISEMENT After serving as the student body president of Cal State Dominguez Hills, Rex Richardson became a community organizer with SEIU Local 721, helping blue-collar workers in South Los Angeles County. At age 25, Rex bought his first home in North Long Beach, becoming the first person in his family to own real estate. He soon began serving as Chief of Staff to Councilmember Steve Neal, where they brought neighborhood, labor, business, and clergy leaders together to improve economic conditions in North Long Beach. In 2014, Rex won his City Council race with 73% of the vote and made history as Long Beachs youngest member to ever serve. Rex established himself as a collaborative leader and change agent. Hes earned a reputation as a hardworking leader focused on ensuring every Long Beach neighborhood receives equitable investment and access to opportunity. His track record of pursuing positive change for his community has left a tangible mark on the entire city. He worked alongside neighborhood leaders to bring vital public safety, economic, and community investments as part of his Uptown Renaissance initiative. He secured significant investments into the revitalization of North Long Beach that led to the creation of the Michelle Obama Library, the Doris Topsy-Elvord Community Center, and the restoration of the wetlands at DeForest Park. Rex was instrumental in building Long Beachs first municipal homeless shelter with supportive bridge housing that has helped unhoused individuals move off the streets. He also championed creating the Long Beach Office of Equity to improve community health outcomes, which has led to a more equitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rex also worked with firefighters to restore essential public safety services, such as Paramedic Rescue 12, which shortened emergency response times citywide. A testament to his accomplishments in his first term, he was re-elected with 79.8% of the vote. His peers also elected him to serve as Long Beachs Vice Mayor twice. Rex pushes for equity through regional policymaking as the Immediate Past President of the Southern California Association of Governments and as a South Coast Air Quality Management District Board Member. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu have discussed the latest situation in Kazakhstan in a telephone conversation, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported on January 6. The officials exchanged views on the current situation in Kazakhstan, the ministry said. "The parties also discussed issues of mutual interest," added the ministry. Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Turkey is closely watching developments in Kazakhstan, including the resignation of the government following mass protests over energy hikes, and values stability of the country. Noting that it has full faith that the Kazakh administration will overcome the crisis, the ministry said it also hopes tensions are eased soon. Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Kazakhstan are members of the Organization of Turkic States. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan share close historical, religious, and cultural ties. Both are littoral states of the Caspian Sea and possess a common maritime border. In 2009, Turkey and Kazakhstan signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement which resulted in Turkey becoming one of the most important political and economic partners of Kazakhstan in the region. The three countries' relations include multifarious aspects such as trade, investment, culture, tourism, health are among the wide range of significant levels they developed on the basis of mutual benefit. Amid the fuel prices increase, big demonstrations erupted on January 2 in certain parts of Kazakhstan. It should be noted that public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance. Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who took office in 2019, sacked the cabinet on January 5 in an effort to head off unprecedented turmoil, following an energy price hike. More than 200 people were detained during protests that swept across Kazakhstan following a new year increase in prices for liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used to fuel cars in the west of the country. Kazakhstan's authorities declared a state of emergency, following the illegal demonstrations. On January 5, the Kazakh president accepted the government's resignation. The curfew is imposed in Almaty and Mangistau region, as well as entry into and exit from these territories is prohibited. The CSTO Collective Security Council has decided to send the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan. In addition, under the president's order, Kazakhstan will introduce state regulation of the prices of liquefied gas, gasoline, and diesel for 180 days. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Celebrates 111 Years of Achievement Since January 5, 1911, the noble men of Kappa Alpha Psi, Incorporated have celebrated its motto of achievement, dating back to its founders, Elder Watson Diggs, Dr. Ezra D. Alexander, Dr. Byron Kenneth Armstrong, Atty. Henry Tourner Asher, Dr. Marcus Peter Blakemore, Paul Waymond Caine, George Wesley Edmonds, Dr. Guy Levis Grant, Edward Giles Irvin, and Sgt. John Milton Lee. ADVERTISEMENT According to Kappa history, consequently, the young men met for the purpose of organizing such a fraternity. During its founding, African Americans faced racism, prejudice, and discrimination. As Black men at a mostly attended White Indiana University, Black students were isolated from each other. The founders sought one anothers company between classes and dropped by each others places of lodging to further discuss the means of formulating the fledgling fraternity in an effort to relieve the depressing isolation. They found that through these close interactions, they had common interests and a close bond began to emerge. The fraternitys founders wanted to increase the ambition of Black youth and encourage them to achieve more than was otherwise expected or ever even imagined. As the second-oldest existing collegiate historically Black Greek-letter fraternity and the first intercollegiate fraternity incorporated as a national body, Kappa Alpha Psi has continued to embody its founders mission with over 175,000 members worldwide and 700 undergraduate and alumni chapters in the United States and abroad. Members of this fraternity are well-known for their support and participation in leadership programs evoking change in areas such as education to political and social causes. Some of the programs include Room to Read, Achievement Academy, Military and Veterans Affairs, Guide Right, and the Kappa League. Curtis R. Silvers, Jr., former (21st) Western Region Polemarch (president) of Kappa Alpha Psi and current member of the Pasadena Alumni Chapter, considers joining the fraternity as one of the hallmarks of his life. One of the biggest joys of my lifetime was being able to join The Fraternity that my father belonged to for 50 years. Another fraternal joy was the ability to meet so many Kappa men of Achievement throughout the Los Angeles area, as well as the country, he commented. Christopher Nolan, polemarch of Pasadena Alumni Chapter, reflected on joining a fraternity that gave him far more than he could have imagined. I joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. over 30 years ago, looking to bond with strong-minded men with common interests and goals. What I found was that and much more from my brothers in the bond as Iron sharpens Iron; bringing out the best in all of us, he said. ADVERTISEMENT Whats more, is our level of service to our respective communities throughout the country, as well as abroad, and supporting young men with mentorship through our Guide Right program. I am proud to be a Kappa. Nolan joined the fraternity in 1990 through the Upsilon Chapter. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated is one of the nine organizations that comprise the National Pan-Hellenic Council. NPHC or the Divine Nine is a collaboration of nine historically international African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities. Since its founding, the members of these organizations have pledged to provide their communities with service, leadership, and scholarship. Some notable Southern California members, past and present, include Gerald Freeney, 1st African American Tournament of Roses President, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (deceased), Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Mike Gipson, Judge John L. Meigs (ret), Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran (deceased), former Lt. Governor Mervyn Dymally (deceased), Attorney Clifton Albright, Attorney Rodney Diggs, Dept. Attorney General Damon Brown, Cedric The Entertainer, John Singleton (deceased), Daniel Tabor, Councilman Jawane Hilton (Carson), Kevin Harbour, businessman Cedric Price and many more. Leonardo Cablayan says his decision to become a Kappa was based on their early influence since his adolescents. From an early age, Ive had the great fortune of being influenced and mentored by incredible Kappa men! As a member of Baldwin Hills Little League, I met, then City Councilman Thomas Bradley (Grand Polemarch). Later, while attending Dorsey High School, I participated in Kappa League and was influenced by various esteemed members like Johnny Cochran, Randall Bacon, Ron Sweeney, and Edgar Bishop. Of course, after all of those solid examples of achievement, when I first enrolled at Cal State University at Long Beach, the first thing I asked my counselor was, where are the Kappas? And guess who my counselor was, yes, a Kappa man! Achievement personified, the men of Kappa Alpha Psi! said Leonardo Cablayan, EK Spring 77. I joined the bond to be a part of a group of men achieving at the highest level! A fraternity with a long history of serving our community and building leaders through our Guide Right and Kappa League programs, said Wendell Younkins, Pasadena Alumni Fall of 2016. 111 years from its beginning, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated continues to unite, educate, and uplift young Black men by the carrying the torch of its founders. To learn more about the Kappa Alpha Psi, Incorporated organization, visit https://kappaalphapsi1911.com Pentagon Chief Austin Says He Has Tested Positive for COVID Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms while quarantining at home. In a statement on January 2, Austin said he plans to attend key meetings and discussions virtually in the coming week to the degree possible. He said Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks would represent him in appropriate matters. Austin said he last met with President Joe Biden on Dec. 21, more than a week before he began to experience symptoms, and had tested negative the morning of that day. ADVERTISEMENT I have informed my leadership team of my positive test result, as well as the President, Austin said. My staff has begun contact tracing and testing of all those with whom I have come into contact over the last week. Austin, 68, said he was fully vaccinated and received a booster in October. He said he requested a test Sunday morning after experiencing symptoms while at home on leave and, given the result, planned to remain in quarantine for five days, per guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccines work and will remain a military medical requirement for our workforce. I continue to encourage everyone eligible for a booster shot to get one. This remains a readiness issue, he said. In October, another member of Bidens Cabinet, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, tested positive for COVID-19. Report: California police stops down significantly in 2020 Traffic and pedestrian stops by California law enforcement agencies dropped significantly in 2020 compared to the year before, but Black or transgender people were still more likely to be searched than White or cisgender people, according to a state report released December 30. The annual report by Californias Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board gathered data on stops by officers from 18 law enforcement agencies. The data includes what officers perceived to be the race, ethnicity, gender and disability status of people they stop so that the state can better identify and analyze bias in policing. ADVERTISEMENT Collectively, those agencies stopped 2.9 million people in 2020. Thats 26.5% fewer stops than recorded in 2019, when three fewer agencies reported data. Officials attributed the drop to the pandemic, which kept many people home and reordered life in the nations most populous state. The report did not include data on how many fewer stops occurred for different racial groups or genders. But its authors cited news articles and national data showing the decrease in police stops during the pandemic was greater for White people than Black people. The new report analyzing 2020 stops is the boards fifth, and its consistent with past reports that show Black people are searched 2.4 times more than white people and disproportionately more than other racial and ethnic groups. It also found people perceived to be transgender women were 2.5 times more likely to be searched than women who appear to be cisgender. The data includes how officers perceive an individuals race or gender, even if its different than how the person identifies, because the officers perception is what drives bias. The states largest law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, provided data for the report. But CHPs data was not included in the section of the report analyzing stops based on gender identity due to a reporting error. All agencies have to start reporting the data in 2023. The boards work informs agencies, the states police office training board and state lawmakers as they change policies and seek to decrease racial disparities and bias in policing. ADVERTISEMENT The data in this report will be used by our profession to evaluate our practices as we continue to strive for police services that are aligned with our communities expectations of service, Chief David Swing, co-chair of the board and past-president of the California Police Chiefs Association, said in a statement. Of all the recorded stops in 2020, 40% of people were believed to be Hispanic, 16.5% Black, 31.7% White, 5.2% Asian, and 4.7% Middle Eastern or South Asian. Black people make up just 6.5% of the states population. Officers stopped 445,000 more White people than Black people, but took action against 9,431 more Black people, according to the report. Overall, Black people were most likely to be searched, detained, handcuffed and ordered to exit their vehicles. Officers were more likely to use force against Black and Hispanic people, the data showed. People perceived as Asian had a lower chance of having force used against them than White people. Sprewell Debuts Album Churchn With Friends If youre seeking a little pick-me-up, just listen to Churchn With Friends and youll find yourself rejoicing and praising God like never before. Churchn With Friends is the debut album from Gary Sprewell and the songs will appeal to gospel lovers of all ages, according to Sprewell, who calls his music old school with a modern twist. While Sprewell is a millennial, hes been preaching for years, yet this is first entry into recording music. However, being a novice to the industry didnt prevent him from calling upon a few acquaintances to sing with him on the project. ADVERTISEMENT Special guests on Churchn With Friends features legendary vocalists Karen Clark Sheard and Bishop Marvin Sapp, along with rising stars Kierra Sheard, Chrystal Rucker, Dr. Myron Williams, and Johnteris Tate of the Soul Seekers. Harmonizing with Sprewell, the artists lift the name of Jesus with a range of selections including the main song, He Promised. As you listen to my album, youll discover the songs that we all know and remember, but theres a little funk on them, just a little twist, a millennial touch to those songs. So, its old school with a modern twist, said Sprewell, who believes grandparents and their grandchildren will enjoy the entire album. I think all ages will like my music and will be able to connect and relate to my music, he insisted. Its not just the music. Its the message and that message of the Gospel that message of hope, that message that reminds us that the promises of God dont fail, God doesnt forget what He says, and that no matter how many delays come, no matter how many traumatic experiences we face, God is faithful thats really what I think is going to connect to the people. The message is going to connect and for my younger audience, the music will connect. Sprewells confidence in Gods redemptive power combined with the reviving effect of praise songs comes from his personal experiences growing up in Los Angeles. Raised in the House of Prayer Church of God in Christ on 84th St. and Avalon Blvd., he started preaching at the tender age of six and was ordained shortly thereafter. He embarked on spreading the Good News Gospel and over the next two decades, he had travelled around the world to four continents and 15 countries proclaiming the message that Jesus saves. Along the way, he met people in the music industry and grew quite close to several of them, yet he never considered becoming a recording artist until the COVID-19 virus hit the world in 2020. ADVERTISEMENT The pandemic affected a lot of different people in different ways. One thing that kind of motivated me to do this project was that so many people I talked to especially ministers and people in leadership were dealing with depression and anxiety because of the effects of the pandemic, recalled Sprewell, who said those interactions reminded him of the challenges he encountered in his childhood. I like to open my testimony with my momma was a crackhead, my poppa was a rolling stone and I was raised by my grandmother in California in the projects in the hood. So I had very traumatic and dramatic childhood and upbringing because of the dynamics of my family, he said. The one thing that helped me to survive a lot of the trauma in my life was the gospel sound. I tell people that [Bishop] Carlton Pearsons [Live at] Azusa was the soundtrack of my childhood. Those old hymns and songs relate to the way that we worshipped and the experience that we grew up in at House of Prayer Church of God in Christ, which is still my home church and Im very much a part of it, declared Sprewell. So, that sound, that gospel music and those hymns really helped bring peace to my mind and my spirit. I figured if it worked for me then, it could help someone in this pandemic. I just wanted to capture that sound and preserve it for the next generation. I love all of the music thats out, but theres something about that old-style! Even as his album is climbing the radio charts, Sprewell still finds time to devote to his other endeavors of preacher, author and entrepreneur. Through Gary Sprewell Global Ministries, the evangelist sponsors conferences and events to build up the believers in the COGIC denomination. As a result of his anointed sermons, Sprewell received the Presiding Bishops Soul Winners Award for six consecutive years. Long involved in the Church of God in Christ, Sprewell is active in several capacities within the denomination. He is vice president of the International Department of Evangelism, a board member of COGIC Music LLC (the denominations record label), creator and director of the Gifted training program for prophetic voices within COGIC, and founder and director of Project Emerge, an online mentorship program broadcasting on the Word Network. In addition, Sprewell serves as president and CEO of God Sent Music Group, which include the enterprises Cartoonrentals.com and GSM Publishing LLC. His venture into writing led to the release of his first book, The Upgrade, in 2016, and now he is set to release his next volume, Limitless, in the near future. Pursuing a wide range of activities along with releasing a new album has helped Sprewell learn a few lessons about achieving success in any field. Some of the key instructions he advises others seeking to transform a dream into reality is to do your homework. Make sure you know exactly what your vision is and what you want to see happen and then connect with those people who are doing what youre trying to do. Make sure that you connect however you can, he recommended. Then, make sure youre willing and ready to make the investment because if you dont invest in you no one else will. The investment is on multiple levels money, for sure. But youll also have to make an investment spiritually if youre a gospel artist. I think its important that you have relationship with God. I think a lifestyle of consecration and prayer is important and an investment] so you can get direction from God because He knows what is necessary to be successful, said Sprewell. Then make an investment in other people. Support other artists and other peoples ministries. Make an investment in people because you never know who youre going to need tomorrow, he predicted. Whatever the future brings, Sprewell expects that hell be able to handle it, thanks to his strong relationship with Christ and total confidence in the power of God. The Bible says, If God be for you, who can be against you? Thats the King James Version. But, the Sprewell version is, If God be for you, who cares whos against you cause they cant beat you no way. Thats my saying if Gods on your side, you know youre going to win, the preacher said with a big smile. And urging gospel music fans to pick up the Churchn With Friends album, Sprewell added, This is music that will help connect you to your faith and remind you that all the promises of God are yea and Amen. Also, its music that grandchildren and grandparents will be able to enjoy, so please pick it up! The Joy and Justice of Archbishop Tutu: In Remembrance, Reflection and Honor Surely, we as African persons and an African people, join our South African sisters and brothers, other Africans everywhere, and other freedom and justice loving people of the world in paying rightful and reverent homage at this moment of the grievous passing and joyous rising of Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu; son of Zacharias and Aletha Matlare Tutu; husband of Nomalizo Leah Schenxane Tutu; father of Trevor Thamsanga, Naomi Nontombi, Mpho Andrea and Theresa Thandeka. ADVERTISEMENT We honor him in his name and work, as honored priest and prophet of his faith; self-giving servant of his people; theologian who placed at the center of his thought and practice the good of humanity and the well-being of the world; human rights activist who taught and fought for the dignity and rights of human beings in all their differences and diversities; and highly esteemed, eminent and essential African witness to the peoples of the world. We praise him in his name Mpilo, life and health, which was a sign of the work he would do and the struggle he would wage in the interests of the life and health of the people. A sign too of the life of joy he would live and the struggle he would wage in the midst and movement of his people to end the racist sickness and savagery of apartheid and achieve with them liberation, justice and a good life, a life of health, happiness, well-being and flourishing. May the joy he brought and the good he left last forever. Hotep. Ashe. Heri. Makube njalo phakade (May it be so forever.) I had met and briefly talked with Archbishop Tutu twice: once at a reception for him at Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradleys house, May 1985, during the apartheid period and afterwards, May 1990 when he visited and lectured at California State University, Long Beach where I serve as professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies. And Ive read his works and listened to interviews and lectures by him, and his joy of life and struggle and his profound commitment to justice were at all times vital, visceral and visible. His joyful approach recalls the sacred teachings of our ancestors in the Odu Ifa that says, Lets do things with joy. . . For surely humans have been divinely chosen to bring good into the world and this is the fundamental mission and meaning of human life. Our beloved brother thought and talked in world-encompassing ways, for he knew with Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune that, Our task is to rebuild the world. It is nothing less than this. But he asked us to work for justice, peace and good wherever we are and know that will add up and affect the way of the world. Thus, he tells us, Do your little bit of good where you are; (for) it is the little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. He considered silence complicity and claims of neutrality in the struggles for liberation and justice sinister and self-deceptive. For he said, Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor. ADVERTISEMENT Clearly Nana Mpilo was deeply rooted in his Christian faith and understood that the moral measure of our work and societies is defined and determined by how we treat the most vulnerable among us. Indeed, this is an ancient African moral imperative, summed up in the sacred teachings of our ancestors in the Husia which says we are morally obligated to bear witness to truth and set the scales of justice in their proper place, especially among those who have no voice, the devalued, the disempowered, the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed. Reaffirming this principle in the context of his faith, he declared that he serves a God notoriously biased in favor of the weak, of the oppressed, of the suffering, of the orphan, of the widow, of the alien, i.e., the stranger, the immigrant, the different and vulnerable. Indeed, he not only criticized and condemned the racist and brutish White apartheid rulers and regime for their savage suppression and denial of the rights and dignity of African people, he also criticized the post-apartheid ANC government for not delivering the anticipated and deserved benefits of liberation and ending the grinding poverty of the masses. He criticized all schemes and policies which in his assessment fell short of substantive freedom and justice. Thus, in his visit to the U.S. during the height of internal and world-wide resistance to apartheid, he told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, We do not want to make our chains more comfortable. We want to remove them. This recalls Nana Frederick Douglass liberational contention that the need and way forward is not to hug our chains, but to break them. Again, Nana Tutu worked and struggled for liberation, justice and peace, not only in South Africa, but in the whole world. Although the corporate media did not cover or praise him for it, of all his audacious and uncompromising positions taken, none was more consistent and definitive than his stand for the liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian people from what he described as a brutal apartheid Israeli occupation with parallels to apartheid South Africa. And as President Nelson Mandela before him, he would not retract or relent in his support of the self-determination and human rights of the Palestinian people. He maintained that Goodness will prevail in the end. And in this hard-won, carefully and caringly built and constantly defended space, real freedom, justice and peace will emerge, not only for the Palestinian people, but for each and every one everywhere, in a word, all the peoples of the world. Archbishop Tutu stressed our shared humanity, using the Zulu concept of ubuntu which he defined as the essence of being human. Like similar communitarian concepts in other African cultures, it, he says, speaks particularly about the fact you cant exist as a human being in isolation; it speaks about our interconnectedness, our interdependence and our capacity for collectively creating and sharing good. Against vulgar isolationist individualism, he maintains that You cant be human all by yourself. Indeed, he affirms, we can only be human together in relationships. This is expressed in the essential ubuntu affirmation, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu a human being is a human being through other human beings! Thus, Nana Mpilo wants us to see ourselves in each other, in how we relate to and treat each other, and how we work and share goodness with each other. If we are self-consciously related and interconnected, and we think and act in other-directed ways, he teaches us, we become generous and just, gentle, kind, compassionate and considerate, in a word, we do good in the world. And he taught when you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity. This recalls and raises up the sacred teaching of Odu Ifa that says, Doing good worldwide is the best example (expression) of character. His assertion that My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up in what is yours recalls Dr. Martin L. Kings earlier statement We are caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Nana Mpilo tells us that No human made problems are intractable when humans put their heads together with their earnest desire to overcome them. And no peace is impossible when people are determined to achieve it. But he knew, as Nana King rightly asserted, True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice for all of us. Archbishop Tutu, it is reported, when asked how he would like to be remembered, said we should say: He loved. He laughed. He cried. He was forgiven. He forgave. Greatly privileged. Clearly, he felt greatly privileged and honored by the mission which heaven and history had assigned him and he carried it out with deep sensitivity, sagacity, compassion and courage. He loved the people and the struggle. He laughed with joy at the presence and possibility of the good. He cried about injustice and resisted it. And he posed solving the problem of forgiving and being forgiven as key to our future. We dont have to agree with every point he made, but we must concede he was a model and mirror in the best of African and human traditions of work and struggle to bring and sustain good in the world and leaving a legacy worthy of both preservation through self-conscious commitment and emulation through sincere and sustained practice. Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach; Executive Director, African American Cultural Center (Us); Creator of Kwanzaa; and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture, The Message and Meaning of Kwanzaa: Bringing Good Into the World and Essays on Struggle: Position and Analysis, www.AfricanAmericanCulturalCenter-LA.org; www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org; www.MaulanaKarenga.org. The University of La Verne and TELACU Education Foundation join in this initiative, which aims to prepare minority students for technology careers Infoblox, the leader in cloud-first networking and security services, launched the Infoblox Diverse Student Certification program with the University of La Verne, a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), in partnership with the TELACU Community Foundation. The program, announced on January 5, includes two courses to introduce students to DDI (DNS, DHCP, and IPAM) essentials and hands-on product training led by Infoblox specialists. The technology sector continues to drive the global economy and presents strong career opportunities for young professionals, said Jesper Andersen, president and CEO of Infoblox. ADVERTISEMENT The historical under-representation of people of color and women in technology careers inspired us to grow the pipeline with this program. We are connecting the next generation of workers with learning pathways and certifications that open the door to core networking services jobs with our company, channel partners, and 12,000-plus customers. The Infoblox Diverse Student Certification program integrates the companys training, certification and mentoring into the University of La Vernes computer science program. The 15 students participating in the inaugural class will attend Infoblox courses, previously only available to working professionals. Upon completion of the program, the students are eligible to earn two certifications: DDI Professional, the worlds most popular vendor agnostic DDI certification DDI Config & Admin, Infobloxs most attended product training certification These classes, certifications, and ongoing mentoring from Infobloxs [email protected] Blox Hispanic employee resource group (ERG) aim to prepare the students with foundational skills to embark on careers in IT networking and a notable advantage when seeking employment. We are honored that Infoblox selected the University of La Verne to be a part of this important initiative, said Dr. Devorah Lieberman, president of the University of La Verne. In its over 130 years of history, the university has been dedicated to preparing our students with the skills necessary for success in their chosen fields of study and to prepare them for the needs of the marketplace. With over 7,000 students 70% from diverse populations and over half the first in their families to attend college this exciting partnership fulfills our mission to serve the needs of our students and the community. Learn more at https://www.infoblox.com. Tribute Service to Others Defined Career of Willard Murray Being a public servant is not for everyone, but Willard Murray, Jr. embraced the role. Throughout his career, he sought opportunities to help others and most importantly, uplift African Americans. This defining characteristic of Murrays endeared him to the Black community and prompted scores of tributes as news of his passing traveled throughout greater Los Angeles. A revered strategist, civil rights activist, and political maverick, Murray died on December 20, at the age of 90. Although his physical presence is gone, he left an admirable legacy as a public servant. Many remember Murrays achievements during his tenure as a state assemblymember from 1988 to 1996. But he actually began working on behalf of the people more than a quarter-century prior to his election. ADVERTISEMENT On a local level, he worked to aid others while serving on the staff of former Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty and Councilmembers Robert Farrell and Billy Mills. He gained even more valuable insight on securing resources for the community during his time as a trusted deputy to former Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Congressman Mervyn Dymally and as an advisor to the Senate Democratic Caucus. Once he won an assembly seat, Murray continued to apply his astute political knowledge to support the people as chair of the bodys Budget Subcommittee. In addition, he contributed to the betterment of society through his service on other committees that emphasized his priorities of education, criminal justice, economic development, homeless veterans, and healthcare. Murrays life after the legislature still distinguished him as a public servant. Elected in 1998 to the board of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, he served 10 years as WRD president. He also served 10 years on the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. But wherever he served, helping people remained his number one focus, and several prominent leaders credit Murray for assisting their careers. Willard Murray was one of the most prominent African American activists and campaign experts in the City of Los Angeles. With the New Frontier Democratic Club, he helped organize support for many early Black politicians like Julian Dixon and Mervyn Dymally, said U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters. I was sometimes at odds with Willard, but as my career progressed, we became friends and together helped develop strategic tools like the mass mailer sample ballot, which helped many successful candidates. He was considered one of the best at creating campaign messaging tailored to specific demographics in California! Danny J. Bakewell, Sr., president of The Bakewell Media Company and executive publisher of the Sentinel, insisted, Willard Murray was not only a friend but was also one of the most effective legislators in the states history when it came to advancing public access and opportunities for Black people. He was unwavering, uncompromising, and unapologetic about his passion for advancing the rights and opportunities for our people. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on through his children, grandchildren, and all who benefitted from his tireless work. ADVERTISEMENT Dr. Mike Davis, president of the New Frontier Democratic Club, offered similar comments about Murrays expertise in the political arena and his contributions to aspiring elected officials. The numerous people that the Honorable Willard Murray helped to get elected to public office added much-needed diversity to the leadership in California. His most recent work on the Water Replenishment District is a reflection of how important it is for people from our community to help make a difference in improving and sustaining our environment. We will cherish his legacy and know that we are a much better society because of his leadership, Davis said on behalf of NFDC. By all accounts, Murray provided treasured support to the political campaigns of Dymally, Mills, the late U.S. Congressman Julian Dixon, former Assemblywoman Gwen Moore, and retired U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson. He also assisted in the elections of Bill Green, Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, Teresa Hughes, Curtis Tucker, Sr., Rita Walters, Ira Reiner, and Frank Holomon. Willard Murray, Jr. was one of the last old school politicos. Always known as a straight shooter, he studied the issues and did not suffer fools. He is and will be missed, said his cousin, John Murray, Jr., who served the Los Angeles Board of Public Works as well as on the MWD board with Willard. While enthusiastic about public service, Willard Murray was also a devoted family man. Married more than 60 years to the former Barbara Farris, he was the father of Kevin and Melinda; both attorneys who appear to have inherited the public servant gene. Kevin is the president and CEO of the Weingart Center Association, a heralded nonprofit agency that provides comprehensive services to at-risk and homeless individuals. Melinda is a deputy district attorney and a member of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. Also, Willard and Kevin Murray hold the distinction of being the first father and son to serve in the California State Assembly concurrently. When Willard represented the 52nd District, Kevin was the 47th District Assemblymember. Later, Kevin was elected as a state senator representing the 26th District. Recalling the qualities that he most appreciated about his father, Kevin said, He was very direct, very thoughtful and very strategic. Youll notice that throughout his career, he spent most of his time as a strategist in the political realm. As a father, Kevin said he valued the positive reinforcement to and did the work. He believed in education as the path. He always told us that education was the great equalizer and I think that turned out to be true, remembered Kevin. Murrays ethics impressed his daughter-in-law, Janice Jamison Murray, too. Reflecting on the mans devotion to family, she shared, Willard was more than a dedicated public servant, he was a dedicated family man. He cherished his grandchildren and reveled in every family celebration. His enduring legacy will be his children and grandchildren. A native of Los Angeles, Murray was born on January 1, 1931, to Willard Sr. and Vivian Murray. After graduating from Jefferson High School, he attended East L.A. College before matriculating at UCLA. Murray, who was a professional engineer, was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was enlisted from 1951-1958 and saw action during the Korean War. His career as a public servant extended right up until his death, where he remained a member of the WRD board due to his reelection in 2018. Noting Murrays impact on the water agency, current Board President John Allen described Murray as a beloved member of the WRD family. Willard made an indelible imprint on water supply reliability in Southern California. The region and state are lasting beneficiaries of his many contributions, Allen said as reported by the Daily Breeze. Dale Hunter, executive director of the California African American Water Education Foundation, said to California Black Media, Willard had a long, distinguished career as a leader and public servant in our state. He was giant in the water industry and a champion for the districts he served. Willard truly made a difference, Hunter continued. He was not afraid of diving into policy and making changes that needed to happen. Im thankful for his contributions and saddened by him leaving us. Im also grateful for his teaching. I definitely would not be where I am if it were not for his influence. Voting Rights Battle Ahead in Early 2022 In 2021, 440 bills to restrict voting access were introduced in 49 states. Nineteen states passed 34 new laws making it more difficult to vote. There have been no cases cited demonstrating evidence of any widespread voter fraud. But the main focus of Trump Republicans is on unproven claims of fraud as they question the legitimacy of the 2020 elections a year away from congressional midterms. With the clear indication that Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are against changing the filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate, a big battle over the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 is ahead in early 2022. The legislation will restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which was weakened in 2013 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Now that Democrats are in control of The White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, voting rights advocates are pushing hard for the passage of federal legislation that would protect voting. ADVERTISEMENT After the 2020 election of President Biden, who defeated former President Donald Trump by over seven million votes, Trumps supporters have questioned the legitimacy of Bidens victory but have provided no evidence. Several Republican States Secretaries around the U.S. certified Bidens election victory. The Capitol was attacked by Trumps supporters on January 6, 2020 on the day Bidens election was to be certified. The issue of whether Senators Manchin or Sinema will support a voting rights exception to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 isnt known. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made it clear that the Senate would focus on voting rights in January. He made the affirmation days after Sen. Manchin announced he would vote against President Bidens signature legislation, Build Back Better. On December 23, President Biden made his views on the issue clear. If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster, President Biden said. Advocates to protect the vote have been pushing Biden and Congress to move ahead affirmatively for months. On December 21, officials in Lincoln County Georgia, a county that is nearly one-third Black, proposed closing 6 polling sites for 2022. The decision comes after Republicans took over the local election board. SCOTUS decision gutting Voting Rights Act written by John Roberts is leading to greatest rollback of voting access & fair representation since end of Reconstruction, wrote voting rights journalist Ari Berman. ADVERTISEMENT Republican-led legislatures across the South have redrawn election districts using fresh census data, and the new maps will leave many communities of color in the Black Belt a region of over 600 counties with large Black populations stretching from East Texas to Virginia with less political power, wrote Billy Corriher in Facing South. The battle over voting rights is very likely to come to a head before March 2022. Germany has closed three of its remaining six nuclear power stations. The move brings the country one step closer to its goal of closing all its nuclear power centers by the end of 2022. Operations at the three stations, or plants, were halted on December 31. All the stations were first powered up in the mid-1980s. One of them, the Brokdorf plant, sits about 40 kilometers northwest of Hamburg on the Elbe River. In the past, the site was often hit by anti-nuclear protests fueled by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union. The other plants closed last week were Grohnde, about 40 kilometers south of Hannover, and Gundremmingen, which is 80 kilometers west of Munich. The countrys three remaining nuclear power plants are to stop operations by the end of 2022. The German government decided to speed up its withdrawal from nuclear power after Japans Fukushima reactor accident in 2011. That accident, caused by an earthquake and huge ocean waves, resulted in the worlds worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Some in Germany have called on the government to reconsider its decision to end nuclear power. Supporters of the technology argue that it can help Germany meet its climate targets for reducing levels of greenhouse gases. But the government said recently that closing the nuclear plants and ending coal use by 2030 will not affect the countrys energy security or its goal of making the economy climate neutral by 2045. Germanys energy industry group BDEW estimated the six nuclear power plants produced about 12 percent of the countrys electricity in 2021. The share of renewable energy was nearly 41 percent, while coal was 28 percent. Gas production amounted to about 15 percent. Germany aims to make renewables meet 80 percent of power demand by 2030 through expanding wind and solar power equipment. The mayor of Gundremmingen, Tobias Buehler, was asked about possible job losses at the towns plant. He told Reuters that the center's employees would be busy taking apart the nuclear reactor after the shutdown. "And this period of dismantling will certainly take another one or two decades," Buehler said. Germany's nuclear power companies will receive nearly $3 billion for the early closures of the plants. Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has dismissed suggestions that a new generation of nuclear power plants might persuade Germany to reconsider its decision. Nuclear power plants remain high-risk facilities that produce highly radioactive atomic waste, Lemke told the Funke media group. A final decision has not been made about where to store tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste produced by German power plants. Experts say some material will remain dangerously radioactive for many generations. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. ___________________________________________ Words in This Story greenhouse gases n. heat-trapping gases that warm the Earths atmosphere renewable adj. any naturally occurring kind of energy, such as sunlight or wind dismantle v. to take something apart so that it is in several pieces decade n. a period of ten years facility n. a part of a system or machine that makes it possible to do something BlackBerry recently confirmed that as of January 4, 2022, it will no longer support the operating system for its once-popular devices. In its end of life announcement, the Canadian-based company said older BlackBerry devices would no longer work effectively for phone calls or data services. The company did note that some BlackBerry devices using the Android operating system will still work. These include models launched from 2015 to 2018, starting with the BlackBerry Priv to the BlackBerry Evolve X. The decision to end BlackBerry support was first made public in September 2020. That is when company chief John Chen announced that BlackBerry had officially moved from being a device manufacturer to a software developer. The company, Chen said, was now centered on providing security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. That decision followed years of struggles by the company to keep selling BlackBerry devices as competition intensified in the worldwide smartphone market. At the height of its popularity, the BlackBerry with its built-in keyboard enjoyed a huge market share of the mobile phone market. The BlackBerry began to rise in 1999, eight years before Apple launched its first iPhone. At the time, the new BlackBerry 850 offered email, wireless data and a traditional keyboard. Demand for the new combination devices started to expand. They became especially popular with businesspeople and government officials. BlackBerry kept adding services and launching new devices through the early 2000s. By 2010, the devices held a market share of more than 40 percent, internet data company Comscore reported at the time. The company was the leader in the smartphone market, above Apple, Google, Microsoft and Palm. The ability of the BlackBerry to keep people connected at all hours even led to the term crackberry. The term was used to describe the dependence and addictive nature of the devices for many individuals. But over the next several years, BlackBerry began to experience major drops in sales. It was forced to repeatedly delay new product launches. By 2016, Comscore reported that BlackBerrys market share had shrunk to just 1 percent. At the time, Android-based phones had a share of about 53 percent, while Apple held 43 percent. The smartphones offered by Android and Apple appealed to many users who favored the touchscreen designs and an unlimited number of apps. The huge fall in popularity was noted in 2016 by one of the biggest fans of the BlackBerry, then-President Barack Obama. He pushed for the ability to keep his BlackBerry in the White House after his 2008 election. During his presidency, Obama spoke openly about his dependence on his BlackBerry device. While speaking with American talk show host Jimmy Fallon in June 2016, Obama said, I was this cool, high-tech guy when I got in (the White House). And I was the first president to have a BlackBerry. But he then added, So years pass, and no one else has BlackBerries. Obama admitted that although he still loved the device and wanted to keep carrying it, he was advised to give it up for a new smartphone. In recent years, Chinese electronics company TCL entered a partnership with BlackBerry that permitted it to manufacture and sell the latest BlackBerry-licensed devices. Those devices use the Android operating system. In early 2020, an American startup company called OnwardMobility announced a plan to launch a 5G BlackBerry device powered by Android. The companys website states that the new BlackBerry 5G smartphones were expected to be available in 2021. The website provides no other details but offers interested parties the chance to sign up to stay informed. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and BlackBerry. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Once-popular BlackBerry Ends Most Phone Service Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ___________________________________________ Words in This Story enterprise n. a business or organization keyboard n. a set of keys on a computer that a user presses to make it work addictive adj. making a person want so much of something that they become dependent, or addicted to it touchscreen n. a computer or device screen that you touch to access information, buy something, etc. app n. a computer program that carries out a specific job, especially on a mobile device license v. give someone official permission to do or have something By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijani servicemen will participate in over 30 international drills and competitions in the 2022 academic year, the Defence Ministry reported on January 6. The servicemen will join the Eternity - 2022, EFES - 2022, Indestructible Brotherhood - 2022, Winter Training 2022, International Army Games - 2022 and other international training and competitions, which will have a positive effect on the improvement of their professional skills, the ministry said. Moreover, the servicemen are expected to participate in various international seminars and conferences in 2022 as well. Azerbaijan periodically holds drills to improve its military personnels combat readiness. The drills also aim to improve interaction and combat coordination between the servicemen during operations, as well as to develop commanders' military decision-making and unit management skills. Furthermore, in 2021 Azerbaijani, Turkish and Pakistani special forces conducted Three Brothers joint drills to improve communication and coordination among the military personnel during the combat operations. Azerbaijan and Turkey periodically hold joint drills to improve interaction and communication between their army units. In 2021 number of joint drills took place with the participation of servicemen of the two countries. Azerbaijani servicemen also attended the army games held in Kazakhstan and Iran and took part at the NATO joint drills organized in Georgia in 2021. Taiwanese military planes took part in a war training exercise Wednesday. The flights were part of a three-day training event to demonstrate Taiwan's battle readiness before the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January. Before takeoff, flight crews at a base in the southern city of Chiayi hurried to prepare aircraft as an alarm sounded. Pilots from our wing are very experienced and have dealt with almost all types of their aircraft," Major Yen Hsiang-sheng told reporters. The officer also talked about an incident late last year in which he was deployed to intercept Chinese fighter planes. Tensions between mainland China and Taiwan have been rising in the past few years. China considers the island a rebel province. And it has not ruled out using force to control Taiwan. Chinese military aircraft often fly into the southwestern part of Taiwans air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Taiwan has protested the flights. Taiwan has termed China's activities as "grey zone" warfare. It says China is trying to tire Taiwan's forces by making them repeatedly react to aggressive action. Taiwans National Defense spokesman said the islands armed forces were "reinforcing their defense capabilities" for the country's security. In a new year message for China last week, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said military conflict is not the answer. China answered with a strong warning. It said, if Taiwan crossed any red line it would lead to a "profound catastrophe." Im Caty Weaver. Caty Weaver adapted this story for VOA Learning English from reports by Reuters News Agency and The Associated Press. __________________________________________________ Words in This Story alarm n. a signal (such as a loud noise or flashing light) that warns or alerts intercept v. to stop, seize, or interrupt in progress or course or before arrival red line n. a point of no return profound adj. characterized by the intensity of feeling or quality catastrophe n. a terrible disaster Fatima Madrigal of California recently gave birth to a boy and a girl. However, the twins have different birth dates and even birth years. Alfredo Antonio Trujillo was born on December 31, 2021 at 11:45 p.m. About 15 minutes later, his sister Aylin was born, on January 1, 2022. Fatima said her family, which includes her partner Robert Trujillo and their three other children, were happy to welcome the new babies. The babies were supposed to come two weeks later, but their early arrival created a rare set of birth dates and years. Aylin weighed 2.66 kilograms and her brother weighed 2.75 kilograms. It was a surprise, Fatima said. I was kind of shocked because twins dont run in my family. Fatima went on to say her family is now complete. When they are older, Fatima said she would tell the children the story of their birth and permit them to choose if they wanted to celebrate their birthdays separately or together. But right now that they're small and they're with me, she said, they're going to celebrate their birthday together. The medical center where the twins were born said there are about 120,000 twins born each year in the U.S. However, twins with different birthdays are rare, and the chance of twins being born in different years is about one in 2 million. Im Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. Have you heard any other interesting twin birth stories? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. ___________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story twins n. either one of two babies that are born at the same time to the same mother Im not sure the original name of this bread but the taste is reminiscent of Thomas English Muffins," Wendy began. I guess the name English Muffin Bread is more descriptive and appealing than Thomas Bread. Adding, I got this recipe from Katie Cavali and its been my go to ever since. By Azernews By Economy Center Turkey set a new record with $225 billion in export in 2021, Yeni Shafak newspaper has reported. Thanks to the interest in Turkish products, which reached 229 countries in the period of pandemic restrictions, freight crisis and increased savings in the world, a significant rise was recorded in exports to many regions, the report added. The country increased its exports by 32.9 percent compared to 2020 and reached $225.4 billion in 2021. In 2020, Turkey succeeded in increasing its exports to 184 countries. Annual export records were broken in 112 countries, including Germany, the U.S, England, Italy and Spain. Contrary to those who try to shadow Turkey's export success with the exchange rate increase and write disaster scenarios, Turkey's foreign trade draws attention with its performance. The top three exporting countries were Germany with $19.33 billion, the U.S. with $14.73 billion and England with $13.71 billion. The rise in export to these countries, which have strict customs rules and regulations, is also considered a great success in Turkey's export policy. Similarly, the average export unit value, which was 1.10 in 2020 reached 1.29 (17 percent growth) in 2021 that was interpreted as a qualified export increase. Furthermore, Turkey increased its exports to the countries such as the U.S. ($4.54 billion), Italy ($ 3.40 billion) and Germany ($ 3.35 billion) the most in 2021. On the other hand, Turkey's long-standing "win-win" policy with Africa has yielded its fruits. Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa increased by 31 percent to $7.8 billion, while exports to North Africa increased by 44 percent to $13.3 billion. Exports to South America reached $3.6 billion with a significant increase of 86 percent. Similarly, a 34 percent increase in distant regions such as the Far East and Central Asia attracted attention. On the other hand, the volume of export to the Middle East region grew by 38 percent. It should be noted that the success was achieved during the period when global trade was disrupted especially due to the transportation crisis. The government aims to increase the volume of the export to $250 billion in 2023. A Santa Maria woman was arrested Monday and accused of stealing a vehicle, then leading Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office deputies on a pursuit to Goleta, where she was apprehended behind a nearby PetSmart store, according to a spokeswoman on Wednesday. Brandon L. Garrett (Duke University School of Law) & Gregory Mitchell (University of Virginia School of Law) have posted Error Aversions and Due Process on SSRN. Here is the abstract: William Blackstone famously expressed the view that convicting the innocent constitutes a much more serious error than acquitting the guilty. This view is the cornerstone of due process protections for those accused of crimes, giving rise to the presumption of innocence and the high burden of proof required for criminal convictions. While most legal elites share Blackstones view, the citizen-jurors tasked with making due process protections a reality do not share the laws preference for false acquittals over false convictions. Across multiple national surveys, sampling more than 10,000 people, we find that a majority of Americans views false acquittals and false convictions to be errors of equal magnitude. Contrary to Blackstone, most people are unwilling to err on the side of letting the guilty go free to avoid convicting the innocent. Indeed, a sizeable minority views false acquittals as worse than false convictions; this group is willing to convict multiple innocent persons to avoid letting one guilty person go free. These value differences translate into behavioral differences: we show in multiple studies that jury-eligible adults who reject Blackstones view are more accepting of prosecution evidence and more conviction prone than the minority of potential jurors who agrees with Blackstone. These findings have important implications for our understanding of due process and criminal justice policy. Due process currently depends on jurors faithfully following instructions on the burden of proof, but many jurors are not disposed to hold the state to its high burden. Courts should do away with the fiction that the reasonable doubt standard guarantees due process and consider protections that do not depend on jurors honoring the laws preference for false acquittals, such as more stringent pre-trial screening of criminal cases and stricter limits on prosecution evidence. Furthermore, the fact that many people place crime control on par with, or above, the need to avoid wrongful convictions helps explain divisions in public opinion on important policy questions such as bail and sentencing reform. Criminal justice proposals that emphasize deontic concerns without addressing consequentialist concerns are unlikely to garner widespread support. Highly recommended. It would be interesting to see some experimental work on this question as well. A Dane County company is building a new plant in Texas in an effort to meet demand, be in a better location for its customers and tap into another pool of workers. Stoughton Trailers has announced that it is building a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Waco, Texas, where it will employ up to 125 people and expand production of intermodal trailer chassis that are in high demand due to increased shipping orders throughout the country. At the same time, the company has just completed the construction of an additional chassis production line at its Stoughton plant. The new line will ultimately employ about 150 people, with the plant increasing the production of components for chassis made in Stoughton, Evansville and Waco. The announcements come after federal rulings last spring that dramatically increased tariffs on intermodal chassis used to haul shipping containers imported from China and after Stoughton Trailers had made $30 million in improvements to its facilities in Dane and Rock counties over the last five years, including an expansion of its chassis line in Evansville. Business has been very good. And as we continue to get more orders and build our workforce were looking to expand that production, said Bob Wahlin, Stoughton Trailers president and CEO. Theres a lot there. And as weve done that, its helped us kind of diversify our workforce a little bit and cover some of our customers further to the south. The chassis are not those used on the typical trailers produced at Stoughton Trailers. Instead, they are built for containers that are often seen double-stacked on train cars or in multiple levels on ships. When the containers are off-loaded, each is placed on a chassis that is then pulled by truck to warehouses, distribution centers and stores. The Waco facility is about 200 miles from the Port of Houston and about 90 miles south of major rail terminals in Dallas and Fort Worth. Once the Waco, Stoughton and Evansville facilities are operating at capacity, Wahlin expects his company to be producing 20,000 to 25,000 chassis per year. Those efforts are being made possible by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which in April issued a 44.3% tariff for the next five years on the chassis and sub-assemblies, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which made a similar ruling that is expected to drive the total tariff to 221%. We do feel that this will get us well covered in the south and there could be future possibilities in the west and northeast, Wahlin said. We realize, particularly with the labor challenges, that we may have to go where theres a more available workforce. Were finding it very difficult to grow our facilities. Wahlin, whose company has 1,300 employees, said he has 500 job openings with wages starting at $18 per hour for assemblers and $20 per hour for welders, with second-shift workers getting $2 more per hour. Stoughton Trailers was founded in 1961 when Wahlins father, Don, who had graduated from UW-Madison a year earlier with an engineering degree, purchased a bankrupt cab and body manufacturing company and renamed the firm Stoughton Truck Body. Trailer production began in 1965 in a city-owned facility on Academy Street that is now home to the companys corporate headquarters and a newly built innovation center. Over the years, more facilities were added and today the company has 1.7 million square feet of manufacturing space for its intermodal chassis, trailers that haul dry goods, refrigerated trailers and grain trailers. In addition, ZinkPower, a German company that operates 50 sites in 13 countries, is operating a 110,000-square-foot galvanizing plant next door to the Stoughton plant in an effort to support Stoughton Trailers move away from painting. The new Waco plant, which had been planned for a warehouse before its purchase by Stoughton Trailers, is also next door to a similar ZinkPower facility, which has a galvanizing tank large enough to dip a 53-foot-long chassis. It really puts us in a good position, Wahlin said. Things just kind of fell into place for us. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MINERAL POINT They were veteran firefighters. Part of the backbone of this city where history is celebrated. But on Thursday this Iowa County community of 2,487 was in mourning after the two men with more than a combined 60 years of service with the Mineral Point Fire Department were killed in a crash on Highway 151 while responding to a rollover crash. The dangers of the four-lane highway, with its speeding traffic, big trucks and unpredictable weather, are well known and account for the majority of the Fire Departments calls. Making sense of a crash that claimed the lives of two of his firefighters, one of them a captain, proved difficult, however, for Chief Bryan Marr and the other volunteers who gathered at the station late Thursday morning to collectively grieve. Were still just trying to wrap our heads around it. Were trying to process this, said Marr, who has been with the department for nearly 30 years. They were just great people. Im at a loss. Were going to get through it, but were going to need some help with it. The Iowa County Sheriffs Office said the firefighters were driving north on the highway when at about 12:30 a.m. they attempted to use an emergency crossover just west of the Highway 23 exit on the citys north side. Thats when their fire truck, with its lights flashing, was struck by a northbound semitractor-trailer. The fire truck, a tanker with 2,000 gallons of water on board, caught fire and the two firefighters, whose names are not being released by the Wisconsin State Journal at the request of the Fire Department, died at the scene. The semi driver, whose name has not been released, refused medical treatment but as of late Thursday, the Sheriffs Office had not said if the driver faces possible charges. Attempts to reach Sheriff Steve Michek were unsuccessful. Autopsies are scheduled for Friday in Madison, Marr said. Firefighters from Mineral Point responded to the crash site but were later relieved by firefighters from the Dodgeville Fire Department. The crash closed the highway in both directions for nearly 15 hours. Our condolences to the Mineral Point Fire Department and the families of the (two) firefighters they lost today, the Dodgeville Fire Department posted on its Facebook page Thursday. Their service and dedication will not be forgotten. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. May the love and support of those around you help give you strength and peace in the days ahead. Words of comfort filled Facebook pages of fire departments from around the state. The deaths are believed to be the first in the line of duty in the long history of the Mineral Point Fire Department and the first in the state in 2022. According to the Wisconsin State Firefighters and EMS Memorial website, three firefighters died in 2020, three in 2019 and six in 2018. Deaths that year included Capt. Cory Barr of Sun Prairie, who died in a downtown explosion, and Richard Garner, 29, a Madison Fire Department firefighter and paramedic who collapsed suddenly and died shortly after his shift ended. Department veterans One of the Mineral Point firefighters who died had been with the department since 1984, the other since 1997. A family member of one of the men declined to speak with a reporter Thursday. Family for the other firefighter could not be reached. The department has about 40 members. Both of them were just huge assets to the department, Marr said. Theyre down here all of the time doing their due diligence not only for the whole department but for the whole community. One of those who came Thursday to assist Marr was Chad Grossen, deputy chief of operations for the Fitchburg Fire Department, who has known Marr for three decades. We want to make sure were taking care of each other, said Grossen. This is devastating. You can never plan for this stuff. A close community Mineral Point is one of the states most historic communities and was founded because of the areas rich lead deposits in the 1820s. Henry Dodge was inaugurated as the first governor of the newly formed Wisconsin Territory in 1836 in downtown Mineral Point, a year after the formation of the Fire Department. But now tourism is the main industry here. Pendarvis, a state historic site, is filled with restored Cornish cabins, while art studios and galleries line High Street and the restored Mineral Point Opera House brings in national touring acts. At the Midway Bar, a popular stop for pizza and steak sandwiches in the citys downtown, Nicole Faull, who has owned the business for three years and is vice president of the Mineral Point Chamber of Commerce, was in the midst of an annual weeklong deep clean and maintenance project that has her bar closed until Monday. However, she took a break Thursday to make pizzas to be delivered to the fire station Thursday evening. That whole crew operates as a large family, Faull said of the citys firefighters. Everyone feels this loss. But I think its going to bring a close-knit community closer together. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Barry Adams | Wisconsin State Journal Barry Adams covers regional and business news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Follow Barry Adams | Wisconsin State Journal Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A man suspected of attempted homicide tried to stab Adams County Sheriff's deputies, tearing one deputy's uniform with a knife, before they arrested him Monday, the Sheriff's Office said. Timothy Owensby, 31, was arrested on tentative charges of first-degree attempted intentional homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, resisting arrest and other charges. Adams County deputies were helping the Sauk County Sheriff's Office locate Owensby because of crimes he allegedly committed in Sauk County. Deputies searched a home in the town of Springville and found Owensby with a knife in his hand hiding on a bed under a pile of clothes and blankets, Adams County Sheriff Brent York said in a statement. Law enforcement tried to convince Owensby to drop the knife for about an hour and a half, York said, but Owensby grabbed a second knife instead. York said Owensby threatened to kill the deputies. Deputies used "less lethal force" to arrest Owensby, York said. The Sheriff's Office did not specify what force was used, but less-lethal options can include pepper spray, Tasers and sponge rounds. During the arrest, Owensby tried to stab a deputy multiple times and cut through the deputy's uniform, York said. Owensby was taken to the Adams County Jail. His other tentative charges include failure to comply with officers, and eight counts of battery and threats to law enforcement. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Undoubtedly, the meaning of life is individual but not unique and it can differ from person to person. There are a lot of internal and external factors that shape peoples way of thinking, which in turn determines their future decisions and choices. In every society, the vast majority lives ordinary life carrying out their daily social and other duties. The importance of such duties vanishes once the individual fulfilling them passes away. However, only a small percentage of individuals choose or are destined to live an extraordinary life leavening an enduring legacy to future generations. The essence of the missions of such people is not restricted to their biological existence. In contrast, their legacy gains huge significance even after their death. Aydin Balayev was one of those historians who has an irreplaceable position in the contemporary history of Azerbaijan and whose legacy will long be studied by posterity. Biography Balayev was born on November 19, 1956, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. In 1980, he graduated cum laude from the Department of History of Azerbaijan State University and in 1982 he started working at the Archeology and Ethnography Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS). In 1983-1985, he was a researcher at the Ethnography Department of Moscow State University. From 1985 he continued his doctoral studies at the Ethnography Institute of USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow, graduating with a Ph.D. in History in 1988. Scientific career and research The prominent scientist began working in 1982 at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of ANAS. Later, he served as the program chair at the Center for National and International Studies and was a member of ANAS. In 2001, he defended another dissertation on the Azerbaijani independence movement in 1917-1918 in Baku. Moreover, Balayev published many articles on the history of the Azerbaijani independence movement in the 1980s-1990s, the Karabakh conflict and regional processes in the Caucasus in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Denmark and Russia. In total, Balayev authored 72 books (16 of which were published abroad) and six monographs. The history professor was the author of up to 90 scientific works and researches while working at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. Over 25 works of his have been published in foreign languages The investigation of lives and activities of Azerbaijans founding fathers, as well as the history of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) (existed in 1918-1920), was mainline in Balayevs scientific works. He was the most famous researcher of the ADR heritage. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Aydin Balayev was one of the first historians to write books about the Republic and its founders. He cleaned up the slander against the Republic and its founders propagated during the 70 years of Soviet occupation and introduced them to the Azerbaijani people. His scientific works on the emergence of the national movement in Azerbaijan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the history of Azerbaijans national statehood have been described as a gem of Azerbaijans national historiography. He has incomparable services in the study and promotion of the heritage of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. His name is also at the forefront among those who shed light on the dark pages of Azerbaijans press history. On December 8, 2021, the great historian passed away at the age of 65 after a long-term illness. Feeling deeply shocked about his death, people, including many public figures expressed their endless love and paid tribute to his memory. "The death of prominent historian and brilliant personality Aydin Balayev is an irreplaceable loss for our science. Being a true scientist and professional researcher, Aydin Balayev was the author of more than 15 books on ethno-sociology, ethnic sociolinguistics, as well as the study of the formation of the national movement and the formation of national identity in Azerbaijan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Prof Gulu Maharramli said. The death of Aydin Balayev is an irreplaceable loss for Azerbaijani science. People will remember him as a respectable researcher, sincere and humble person. Jurors in Chandler Haldersons murder trial heard from witnesses Thursday about his trip to a rural Cottage Grove farm where the mutilated remains of his father, Bart, were found and, more than three months later, a rifle hidden in a shed. Halderson, 23, of Windsor, appeared to show no emotion as Deputy District Attorney William Brown took witness Brent Baverstock, a Dane County sheriffs detective, through a series of increasingly graphic photos of Barts shirtless, headless torso as it was found under a pile of sticks in a stand of woods near where Halderson had been seen days before. In the center of the torsos back was a wound, believed by the prosecution to be a gunshot wound. Prior to Baverstocks testimony, jurors heard from Chandlers former girlfriends mother, Dulce Mellender, and Mellenders girlfriend, Cresent LSai, who owns the farm where Barts remains were found. They described how Chandler had been at the farm on July 4 with the girlfriend for an Independence Day gathering, and then came by alone the day after asking to use LSais pool a ruse, prosecutors contend, used by Chandler as an excuse to dump his fathers torso. Halderson is accused of killing both his parents, Bart, 50, and Krista, 53, on July 1 in the home they shared after his father discovered his son had been lying for months or years about having a job and going to school. To cover up the killings, prosecutors say, Chandler concocted a cover story about his parents having gone to the family cabin in Langlade County on July 2 before filing false missing persons reports on both of them five days later days he spent dismembering his parents bodies and trying to burn them in the family fireplace before dumping them at the LSai farm and along the Wisconsin River near Prairie du Sac, where some of Kristas body was found. Baverstock said the Sheriffs Office decided to search LSais farm shortly after he interviewed Mellender in connection with Chandlers reports. Without going into detail, he said Mellender was emotionally distraught and the interview raised enough red flags that he felt investigators had to get to the farm right away. It was there that he saw turkey vultures unusual among birds in their strong sense of smell circling overhead, long grass tamped down as if with car tires near the woods, and a Target bag filled with what appeared to be bloody rags. It took me a while to process what I was seeing, he said of Barts remains, and then it became obvious I was looking at a human torso. Prior to Baverstocks testimony, Mellender and LSai described the events of July 4 and 5, when they said Chandler seemed down and had told them hed recently lost a new job at SpaceX in Florida because hed suffered a concussion and couldnt fly. Generally quiet and a bit nerdy, Chandler just seemed kind of off, kind of weird, actually, LSai said. Mellender said he told her his concussion was really bad. The prosecution, though, has sought to shed doubt on whether Halderson was seriously injured or injured at all in the fall he said he took down some stairs at his home in June. An emergency room physician who saw Halderson on June 17 testified that while he likely had a mild concussion, his CT scans did not show any abnormalities and he did not tell Halderson as Halderson allegedly told others later that he might need surgery and couldnt fly. On the Fourth, Chandler had asked LSai for her phone number so that he could come by and use the pool, LSai said, and shed provided it, but didnt hear a message he left on her landline before he showed up on the afternoon of July 5. Chandler had never been to the property alone, LSai and Mellender testified, and Mellender rushed over there when she heard he was headed that way because LSai sometimes went topless in the pool. I was worried he might see her, said Mellender, who was embarrassed enough about the disclosure to need a short break during her testimony. Chandler didnt immediately head to the pool, though, according to LSai, who said she had become irritated because it was hot and she wanted to use the pool herself. Mellender, meanwhile, was worried he might be doing drugs while on the property, LSai said. Eventually, she and Mellender decided to go in the pool and it was a short time later that they saw a shirtless Chandler walking up from where Barts torso was later found, LSai said. Mellender said he asked to use the pool with them, and she said no because LSai was topless, but he got in anyway and LSai said he spent about 15 minutes making washing-like motions with the water on his arms and upper body before getting out and leaving. It was odd because he just seemed really different when he got in the pool, LSai said, appearing more lucid and present. LSai testified that she found the rifle hidden behind some boards in her shed in mid-October as she was cleaning the shed out. She said she hadnt been locking the shed and the rifle wasnt hers or her fathers, who also lives on the farm. On cross-examination she acknowledged that she hadnt looked in the shed for a long time at that point and didnt know every item that was in there before it was cleaned out. Girlfriend testifies Much of the afternoon was taken up by testimony from Haldersons former girlfriend, Cathryn Mellender, 21, who spoke of the close relationship she had with Halderson and his parents for nearly two years, and how she believed Halderson had been going to school at Madison Area Technical College and working at American Family Insurance but had taken a job in Florida with Elon Musks SpaceX. She said she planned to join him in Florida in August after her lease in the Madison area ended. Cathryn, who goes by Cat, testified repeatedly that she believed what Chandler told her about his life and their future life together, although she saw little proof of any of it, such as grades or money. Brown took her through a series of texts and Snapchat messages between the two of them to show the jury what both were doing or said they were doing from late June through Haldersons arrest on July 8, initially on charges of lying to investigators. A tearful Cat agreed with Brown at the end of her testimony that she was the person most in contact with Chandler and most often at his home in the days after Bart and Kristas deaths, which she said she knew nothing about until later. I just believed his parents were missing, she said. I just wanted them to be found. Messages between the two of them as July 1 approached showed Chandler telling her his parents might go to the family cabin and worried about his future. I just had a bright future planned and its falling apart, he told her in a Snapchat message just after 7 a.m. July 1. Later, they texted about what they would be doing together and in some, Chandler asked her to bring him hydrogen peroxide, ice and a Swiffer WetJet mop. When she went to stay at his house on July 2, she testified that she smelled smoke, which Chandler explained as being a result of breaking one of the glass panes on the fireplace while while playing fetch with one of his dogs inside. Investigators later found part of a human skull in the fireplace, the prosecution says. Questioning neighbors On Wednesday, witnesses, including longtime friends of the family, neighbors and Barts brother, Brett, described Krista as doting and her and Bart as too responsible to have gone on a trip without telling anyone, as Chandler alleged. Bart, a certified public accountant, would not have taken a large amount of cash with them, possibly to gamble, as Chandler reportedly suggested, witnesses testified. And while Chandler told people his parents also took a lot of alcohol with them, neither were heavy drinkers, witnesses said. Several of the 29 people called to the stand Tuesday and Wednesday described Chandler as nervous, awkward, distracted and emotionally flat in his interactions with them in the days after the murders, including when he visited several neighbors on the morning of July 8 the day he was arrested to ask whether they had surveillance video showing his street. Its almost feeling like you have to think how to act, Hanna Hilgendorf said of Chandlers demeanor when she and her sister longtime friends of the family went to visit him on July 7. Prosecutors also showed a compilation of security footage taken from a home near the Haldersons in which the familys Subaru can be seen leaving and returning multiple times between July 1 and July 7. Prosecutors contend that Chandler only decided to distribute his parents remains around southern Wisconsin after failing to burn them in the fireplace. Chandler Halderson is charged with two counts each of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, hiding a corpse and falsifying information about a missing person. The trial continues Friday and is expected to last about two more weeks. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Madison School Board and district administration opened up their COVID-19 talks to the public in a nearly four-hour special board meeting on the eve of a decision to return students to classrooms or extend a last-minute pivot to online-only learning, amid a surge in cases fueled by the rapidly spreading omicron variant. The district is expected to announce its decision Thursday morning, as the number of staff absences remains high due to the pandemic and the number of substitute teachers to cover those absences remains low. The majority of board members expressed support for reopening buildings for in-person learning on Monday, though there was no vote on the matter as the decision is up to Superintendent Carlton Jenkins. During the public comment portion of Wednesdays meeting, parents and community members sounded off on the districts last-minute decision, announced on the eve of New Years Eve, to extend winter break and pivot to online learning for two days. Two parents expressed frustration with the lack of transparency in the districts decision-making process. A parent and a community member expressed their support for the decision. The Rev. Marcus Allen, leader of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, who backed the decision, said he closed his church for two weeks because of the surge. Six other parents spoke and urged Jenkins to reopen classrooms Monday. More than 650 people tuned in to the livestreamed meeting. Roughly 90 written statements and emails were submitted to the board ahead of the meeting, the majority supporting a return to in-person learning. This is difficult ... we totally understand where youre coming from, Jenkins said to parents who shared written or spoken statements. Students are better in school, weve said that since day one, we wanted to pause, with our staff coming back from break knowing the potential spread of the virus. Its been changing rapidly, he said of the pandemic and the surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant. Ellen Wald, chair of the UW Health Department of Pediatrics and medical advisor to the district, said having adequate staff is critical to keeping schools open. If transmission begins to occur in school buildings, the district can tweak mask, distancing or mealtime protocol, but staffing remains the critical factor in determining whether schools need to close. Already stretched Thirty-six out of the districts 52 schools are expected to experience an absence rate of at least six staff members each day due to illness or child care needs, said Angie Hicks, the district's chief of secondary schools and middle schools. The system is already stretched, she said. Tracey Caradine, interim chief of human resources, said she anticipates those absences to increase through mid-January. Over the last five in-person school years, the district had an average of 650 substitute teachers to cover absences. This year that number has dropped to 391, with 84 of those substitute teachers also covering absences in other districts. Between Oct. 4 and Dec. 17, roughly 121 central office staff signed up to cover absences in schools, the majority of whom were certified to teach, Caradine said. Next week, Caradine is anticipating 547 absences among staff, with 193 of those unfilled as of Wednesday, though, she said, those numbers could change. I fully support our return to school on Monday, Jan. 10, and us doing everything in our power to get young people back to in-person learning, however, I think that theres a balancing act that we have to do in terms of taking this recent surge incredibly seriously, board president Ali Muldrow said. Cases and testing Kari Stampfli, interim assistant director of health services, said the 14-day case rate for the district was in the 200s prior to winter break, but that number grew to more than 300 by Jan. 1. Between Monday and Wednesday, the district recorded 350 positive tests, roughly 50% of those among staff. District medical officials said they will continue with 10-day required isolation and quarantine for those who test positive until the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and Public Health Madison and Dane County hand down new guidance, which could be imminent, following the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventions shift to five-day isolation for vaccinated individuals who test positive. The district started off the week with 3,000 rapid antigen tests for a district of roughly 31,000 students and staff, and half of those had been used by end of the day on Monday. The district received a shipment of 15,000 new rapid antigen tests that will need to be used within the week, before they expire. School-based COVID testing sites for students and staff will be open at Memorial, VanHise/Hamilton, East, La Follette, Gompers/Blackhawk and Holtzman from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The district has been assured that there wont be supply chain issues with PCR tests, Stampfli, said and the district has ramped up orders for those. Thirty-nine of Madisons 52 schools are expected to have on-site testing facilities operational by Jan. 18; 31 school-based testing sites are currently open. Shots required Terminations due to noncompliance with the districts vaccine requirement, recommended by Jenkins and approved by the board in September, totaled 79 employees as of Dec. 28, out of roughly 5,000 staff members. Of the employees terminated, 62% were substitutes and 15% Madison School & Community Recreation staff. The remaining 13% included athletic coaches, limited term employees, educational assistants, food service staff, custodians and teachers. District spokesperson Tim LeMonds said the number of teachers and teaching assistants who were terminated was less than seven, though he did not provide the exact number because of personnel privacy concerns. Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the title of Angie Hicks. She is the Madison School District's chief of secondary schools and middle schools. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Republican lawmakers are seeking to toughen bail policies after a man was released on $1,000 bail, between allegedly running over the mother of his child and then allegedly driving through the Waukesha Christmas parade in November, killing six and injuring more than 60. Anger over Darrell Brooks release was bipartisan, with some Democrats also calling for reforming bail after the tragedy. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul in December announced their support for hardened bail policies, including raising bail amounts for violent offenders and requiring the pretrial detention of offenders deemed a public threat or flight risk. The Republican-authored bills would require a $10,000 minimum bond for defendants who have previously committed a felony or violent misdemeanor, bar judges from setting an unsecured bond or releasing without bail someone previously convicted of bail jumping, and require the Wisconsin Department of Justice to create a bond transparency report detailing crime and bond conditions. In December, Republicans also proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow judges, in setting monetary bail, to consider the seriousness of the offense charged, as well as a defendants criminal history, flight risk and public safety risk. Under the state Constitution, judges cant impose cash bail to prevent future crimes, only to ensure defendants appear in court. Judges may, however, add conditions to a persons bail that seek to address public safety concerns. In detail Here is what the Wisconsin Constitution says about bail. Article 1 Section 8 limits the conditions under which judges may set cash bail but does allow them to set conditions aimed at protecting public safety: "All persons, before conviction, shall be eligible for release under reasonable conditions designed to assure their appearance in court, protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or prevent the intimidation of witnesses. Monetary conditions of release may be imposed at or after the initial appearance only upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary to assure appearance in court. The legislature may authorize, by law, courts to revoke a person's release for a violation of a condition of release." This revolving door for criminals must end, Sen. Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, said in a statement. We must bring accountability and transparency to the court system to ensure serial criminals dont continually have the opportunities to put our communities and families in harms way. Bradley said he believes the package is constitutional and would be upheld by the courts, even without the changes proposed in the separate constitutional amendment. Weeks before prosecutors say Brooks drove his SUV through the crowd in Waukesha, he had been arrested for allegedly running over the mother of his child. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholms office requested $1,000 cash bail for him in that case. Brooks paid it and was released two days before the parade. Chisholm has said Brooks low bail was the result of an oversight, but Republicans have taken aim at the Democratic district attorney, alleging that he enabled the parade attack. A group of Milwaukee taxpayers filed a complaint against Chisholm with Evers in early December, triggering a process that could end with Evers removing Chisholm from office. The governor said his office was reviewing the complaint, but he and Kaul have said voters should choose whether to remove Chisholm from office. My focus has been on how we can strengthen our system to make sure that people who are dangerous are detained pretrial and are not released when they shouldnt be, Kaul said last month. Ultimately, its up to the voters to decide with respect to particular elected officials. Following the parade attack, Evers told WISC-TV that he may support higher bail for violent offenders, though he urged a measured response. You hate to use tragedy like this to create an impetus to change, he told WISC-TV. But if everybody sits back and takes a breath ... maybe theres a way that people that have a violent past could have higher bail. Im open to that. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos wants the investigation he ordered into the 2020 presidential election to conclude by the end of the month, even as legal fights over subpoenas issued to mayors and the states top elections official remain unresolved. Vos spokesperson, Angela Joyce, said Thursday that Vos has asked lead investigator Michael Gableman for recommendations by February so we can have legislation passed by the end of this session. The session is scheduled to end in March. A spokesperson for Gableman did not respond to a message seeking comment. WisPolitics.com first reported that Vos and Gableman had agreed to verbally extend Gablemans contract, which ended on Dec. 31. Joyce told The Associated Press that nothing had been formally written, but Vos had asked for the recommendations. The original contract called for paying Gableman and his team $676,000 in taxpayer funds to complete the investigation. Vos had said it might take more money to finish it, but he did not respond to messages Thursday about whether Gableman will be paid more. Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit seeking to block subpoenas Gableman issued to Wisconsin Elections Commissioner administrator Meagan Wolfe. A judge said a ruling on that would come by Monday. Meanwhile, Gableman filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the mayors of Madison and Green Bay to sit for closed-door interviews or be jailed for noncompliance. Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich filed a complaint asking the judge to sanction Gableman for alleged misstatements about the mayors response to the subpoena. A hearing on that case is set for Jan. 21. Vos and his offices attorney are scheduled to sit for depositions on Wednesday in yet another lawsuit filed by the liberal watchdog group American Oversight related to its numerous open records requests. Vos has turned over some of the requested documents related to the election probe, but a judge this week said attorneys could ask Vos for details about what he searched for and whether all documents requested were provided. Another hearing in that case is set for Jan. 24. The Wisconsin investigation comes as part of a broader Republican push nationwide to exert greater control over elections before the 2024 presidential contest. President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes, an outcome that has withstood recounts and numerous lawsuits. An Associated Press review of votes cast in battleground states contested by Donald Trump, including Wisconsin, found too few cases of fraud to affect the outcome. Some of those cases involved registered Republicans and people who said they supported Trump. Our system of government rests on the principle of checks and balances, which carefully allocates powers between the legislature (lawmaker), the executive (law implementer) and the judiciary (law umpire). The framers of our federal and state constitutions feared giving too much power to any one governmental branch, lest it start to behave like a king. Our Legislatures Republican caucuses reportedly are considering abandoning this core principle when it comes to our states election laws, the most fundamental of all of our statutes. They may seek a constitutional amendment allowing the Legislature to enact and implement our states election laws as the Legislature -- alone -- sees fit, without input from the executive. Tony Evers promises to fight GOP-backed constitutional amendment to change election law Gov. Tony Evers promised to fight a proposed constitutional amendment supported by conservatives that would change election law, even as the measure could be put on the ballot for approval without the Democratic governors signature. What could this lead to? Here is an example: Our twice-impeached ex-president runs for reelection in 2024. As in 2020, he loses the popular vote by 20,000. Not liking the result, the Republican-gerrymandered Legislature simply claims irregularities occurred and selects its own electors who pledge to cast their Electoral College votes for Trump. Of course, should politics change, Democrats could pull the same shenanigans. This is exactly what modern-day oligarchs and dictators do. They let the people cast ballots, but effectively control those who count them. Ronald Sklansky, Madison The market for ultra-premium travel rewards credit cards is hot, to say the least. Capital One recently introduced its long-anticipated entry to this market, and it doesnt disappoint. It includes a very strong welcome offer, double miles for all purchases, and some class-leading benefits. And it does all of this at a price point below many competing cards. Credit Repair companies can help you repair and improve your credit so you can apply for the credit card of your choice. Bad credit can weigh you down. Find out what credit repair can offer you by clicking on your state. How this new offer works New applicants can earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 within six months of account opening. You also receive unlimited double miles on all purchases, plus another 10,000 bonus miles each year on your account anniversary. You can also earn 10x Miles on hotels and rental car purchases booked through Capital One Travel, and 5x Miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. These Capital One Miles can now be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to frequent flyer miles or hotel points with more than 15 loyalty programs. You can also redeem your Capital One Miles for one cent each as statement credits towards any travel purchase. Other features include a $300 annual travel credit that you can use at Capital One Travel, and a limited time offer for $200 of vacation rental credit within your accounts first year. Benefits include a Priority Pass Select membership that offers you and two guests access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. Then, theres the new Capital One Lounges that are being created. The first one in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport is already open, and Capital One has announced that it will open lounges in Denver International and Washington Dulles airports in 2022. Furthermore, you can add free additional cardholders who also receive the same lounge access. Theres a $395 annual fee for this card, and no foreign transaction fees. What makes this card special The Capital One Venture X is currently the only premium travel rewards card that offer double miles on all purchases. Its also the only one in its class that offers free cards to additional authorized cardholders that includes the Priority Pass Select lounge membership. Also, its the only card that offers rewards that can be transferred to airline and hotel programs, or redeemed for travel statement credits. This kind of program works for everyone from award travel newbies to hard-core fanatics, and gives you maximum flexibility. And while the $395 annual fee sounds expensive, this card is in the same class as the $550 Chase Sapphire Reserve and the $695 American Express Platinum, by that metric its a good deal. Once you spend the $300 annual travel credit, youre looking at a net annual fee of just $95. Take advantage of the $200 vacation rental credit, and youll come out ahead. And thats before you look at the 100,000 mile new account bonus, worth $1,000 in travel statement credits. A credit repair company could improve your chances of getting approved. Credit Repair companies, like Lexington Law, specialize in finding and helping you remove mistakes on your report to help you improve your credit. Bottom Line Capital One was certainly not the first card issuer to offer a product in this category, but now that its here, its definitely one of the strongest. By offering double miles on all purchases and strong benefits at a competitive price, the new Venture X has everything it takes to be our Deal of the Month. More From Money: Copyright 2021 Ad Practitioners, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This article originally appeared on Money.com and may contain affiliate links for which Money receives compensation. Opinions expressed in this article are the author's alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For more information, read Moneys full disclaimer. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 You can expect the Sun Belt to dominate the housing market in 2022. Tampa, Florida, tops Zillows new list of the hottest real estate markets of the year, followed by Jacksonville, Raleigh, San Antonio and Charlotte. Home buyers are attracted to markets in the Sun Belt that offer relative affordability, fast-growing economies and weather that allows them to enjoy the outdoors year-round, Zillow economist Alexandra Lee said in a statement. The value of a typical home in Tampa has risen nearly 30% over the last year to $354,100, according to Zillow. The real estate giant expects Tampas explosive growth to continue in 2022 and is forecasting a 24.6% bump in home values over the course of the year. Tampa also made it onto Realtor.coms ranking of the hottest housing markets for 2022, though that list also featured many cities in the Mountain West like Salt Lake City, Boise and Spokane. Across the country and especially in the Sun Belt, growth will be fueled by baby boomers looking for homes in top retirement destinations, plus strong interest from millennials, millions of whom are now reaching their peak home-buying age. The same pandemic trends we saw last year like remote work and moves away from big cities on the coasts will still be in play. Nationally, Zillow expects home values to grow 14.3% in 2022. If you're looking to buy a new home, it's important to know how much you can afford. Find out today. With the help of a Mortgage Expert, you can get started with solid advice and valuable information. Click on your state to learn more. 2022s hottest housing markets Here are the 10 hottest cities for buying homes this year, according to Zillow: Tampa, FL Jacksonville, FL Raleigh, NC San Antonio, TX Charlotte, NC Nashville, TN Atlanta, GA Phoenix, AZ Orlando, FL Austin, TX Zillow says these markets will have strong home value growth this year, high job growth, fast-moving inventory and a large pool of likely home buyers. It also notes that the cities on the list are not especially sensitive to climbing mortgage rates or dips in the stock market, both of which have the potential to depress the real estate market in the coming months. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage helps you get closer to your dream home. Find out how much house you can borrow before you start looking. Click below to talk with a Mortgage expert. What homebuyers should expect in 2022 Home prices soared in 2021 thanks to a huge surge in demand during the pandemic, and rock-bottom mortgage rates helped fuel a buying frenzy across the country. People looking for a new home in 2022 should expect more of the same. Across the board, sellers will remain in the drivers seat, but especially so in the hottest markets, Lee said. Buyers should be ready for strong competition for homes, which means bidding wars and homes flying off the market only days after they are listed. There are some signs, however, that the market is starting to stabilize: Zillow expects New York, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Chicago and San Jose to be the coolest housing markets of 2022 because of their comparatively low job growth and demographics that are less likely to support a huge wave of buying this year. Of course, cool is always a relative term when it comes to the red hot housing market. Zillow says it expects home values to grow more than 10% in all of those cities except San Francisco, which will see an estimated 9.9% growth. Money Moves Every Saturday, Money real estate editor Sam Sharf dives deep into the world of real estate, offering a fresh take on the latest housing news for homeowners, buyers and daydreamers alike. More from Money: Copyright 2021 Ad Practitioners, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This article originally appeared on Money.com and may contain affiliate links for which Money receives compensation. Opinions expressed in this article are the author's alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For more information, read Moneys full disclaimer. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Amid soaring cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, its been nearly impossible for many Americans to find at-home test kits available online or in stores. Now your hunt for COVID-19 tests may get more expensive as well. A price-control agreement between the White House and three major retailers has expired. As a result, the price for certain at-home tests is increasing by several dollars per kit. In September, President Biden announced an agreement with Amazon, Kroger and Walmart in which the retailers would sell at-home coronavirus testing kits at cost meaning they price the kits at minimal or no profit for at least three months. The agreement is no longer in effect, and the retailers are beginning to raise the prices. Its simply a matter of us returning to our pre-commitment retail pricing, says Kroger spokesperson Kristal Howard. A Health Insurance Plan has never been more important. Sign up for yours today. Protect yourself and your family with a quality Health Insurance Plan. Get more information now by clicking on your state. At Kroger, for example, the price of a BinaxNOW at-home testing kit was $17 under the White House agreement. Now, the price on Krogers website is $23.99, a $6.99 increase per kit. The same at-home test at Walmart was previously listed online for $14 and costs $19.88 as of Wednesday an increase of $5.88 per kit. (These kits were periodically listed as out of stock on Walmarts website or only available in select stores on Wednesday.) Walmart says its pricing agreement was specifically for the BinaxNOW test, and that it kept the price of that test at $14 through the holidays, longer than the stipulations of the agreement. As part of Krogers agreement, the grocery chain says it kept prices down for the BinaxNOW test as well as Quidels QuickVue at-home test for 100 days. Amazon did not respond to our request for comment. Pricing information for the BinaxNOW test is not available on Amazons website, and the kit is currently out of stock there. (You can, however, find a separate at-home test by iHealth Labs for $17.98, similar to the at cost price of other retailers under the White House agreement. Note the kits might not be delivered until Jan. 20 at the earliest.) Due to a surge in demand for at-home testing kits fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, Kroger and Walmart have set purchase limits for BinaxNOW test kits ordered online. Walmart says inventory may be limited online, though there are no purchase limits for tests bought in-store. Similarly, Kroger set a one-per-order limit for the BinaxNOW test. Even that may be impossible: The kits are currently out of stock online. Alternatively, BinaxNOW kits may be available in-store at Kroger locations with a pharmacy. Non-pharmacy locations sell the QuickVue test, and certain locations are beginning to sell a PCR at-home collection test (which requires a sample to be shipped to a third-party lab for analysis). A quality Health Insurance Plan can cover most unexpected incidents. With a Health Insurance Plan that meets your needs while remaining affordable, you'll be good to go. Click below to find out more. Reimbursement and free at-home tests No matter where youre buying your at-home COVID-19 tests or how much youre paying, make sure to save the receipts. (Its also smart to make sure youre buying legitimate test kits the Federal Trade Commission offered some guidance this week on avoiding fakes tests.) President Biden said in a press briefing Tuesday that, as soon as next week, health insurers will be required to reimburse you for the cost of at-home testing. Next week, our requirement that your insurance company reimburse you for at-home tests takes effect, Biden said at the briefing. So, if youre insured, you can buy the test and get paid for it. Beyond that, details on the reimbursement process are unclear. In addition, the White House says it is launching a website where you can request at-home coronavirus tests to be shipped directly to your door, free of charge. The website is expected to launch later this month soon after the White House receives its first shipment of tests from manufacturers. In total, the White House plans to purchase and distribute 500 million at-home COVID-19 test kits. When we have those deliveries in hand, we will put the website up, make it available so that people can order tests at that point in time, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday at a separate press briefing. Daily Money Every day we publish the latest news, stories, and content on the financial topics that matter. This is your daily guide to all things personal finance. More From Money Copyright 2021 Ad Practitioners, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This article originally appeared on Money.com and may contain affiliate links for which Money receives compensation. Opinions expressed in this article are the author's alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For more information, read Moneys full disclaimer. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KETCHUM Reports of mountain lions in and near Wood River Valley towns has increased since heavy snows have blanketed the valley. This winter, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game started receiving more frequent mountain lion reports throughout the Wood River Valley starting in early December. Cached prey from lion kills has been found in locations north of Hailey, and residents are reporting tracks around their homes from Bellevue to Ketchum. Residents are urged to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings, especially during early morning and evening hours when mountain lions are typically more active. Public safety is always a priority Mountain lions are common throughout Idaho. While lions are seen throughout the year, observations and incidents do tend to increase during the winter months due to fresh snow making their tracks more visible, along with increased numbers of deer and elk moving onto their winter ranges, which are often in close proximity to local communities. We continue to encourage residents to notify our office if they observe a lion or see tracks around their homes, or if they come across cached prey stated Regional Conservation Officer Clint Rogers, our officers are always willing to work with local residents to make sure that they and their pets stay safe. Our goal is not to remove predators like mountain lions from the landscape, but instead to encourage them to continue to live in natural habitats, outside of our communities. Fish and Game will try to haze a lion if possible, only resorting to lethal removal if an individual has become aggressive when living among people and is determined to be a threat to public safety. Even with this number of reported sightings and encounters there have been no reported attacks on people. However, pets and livestock have been killed or injured by mountain lions over the past several months with many reports of pets disappearing from their homes, presumably from lion predation. New website provides tips to reduce human-wildlife conflicts Prompted by concerns for public safety after increasing cases of human-wildlife conflict in the Wood River Valley, a group of Blaine County partners came together to cooperatively work towards a Valley-wide goal of reducing negative interactions between humans and wildlife. A significant accomplishment from the group is a new website, www.wrvwildlifesmart.org that provides information the public can use to live and recreate safely around Idaho wildlife. Reporting attacks, encounters or sightings Common terminology is a critical piece of the puzzle when providing much needed information to Fish and Game. When reporting, the public is encouraged to use these common terms to describe a specific situation: Sighting reported observation Encounter unexpected and direct meeting between wildlife and humans without incident Incident Interaction between a person and wildlife in which the person must take action to cause the wildlife to flee, back down, or otherwise allow the person to leave Attack a human is injured or killed by wildlife Residents across the Magic Valley should immediately report any wildlife incident or attack to the Magic Valley Regional Office at 208-324-4359 during business hours, 8 a.m. 5 p.m. Monday Friday, or to your local law enforcement agency. Mountain lion sightings and encounters should be reported to Fish and Game during regular business hours by calling the Magic Valley Regional Office at 208-324-4359. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has canceled flights to Kazakhstans Almaty city, AZAL has reported. The decision was made in connection with the ongoing events in Kazakhstan. Money and free rebooking for those who have purchased tickets for the flights will be offered, the report added. A reminder that the Baku-Almaty flight was made by AZAL weekly on Fridays while the Almaty-Baku flight - on Saturdays. Meanwhile, Kazakhstans Air Astana has canceled the flight on the Almaty-Baku-Almaty route, scheduled for January 6. "To date, the airline has canceled only one flight. Information on canceling flights for other dates is being specified," the airport said. The demonstrations began when the government lifted the price cap on liquefied petroleum gas (a far cheaper than gasoline vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan), which many people use to power their cars. Its price quickly doubled in a matter of days. After the spike in fuel prices, big demonstrations erupted on January 2 in certain parts of the country. On January 4, the president dismissed the government and said lower fuel prices would be restored, but the announcement has not brought an end to the protests. The authorities of Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency, following the illegal demonstrations. Editors note: This feature first ran Nov. 8, 2012, in the Times-News and at Magicvalley.com. Yes, there was life here before I.B. Perrine and his irrigation system. A town was born where Rock Creek leaves the South Hills near Kelton Road at the Old Oregon Trail. But this may not be the Rock Creek you might think it is. In 1863, the Rock Creek Stage Station was established by the Ben Holladay Stage and Freight Line. James Bascom built the Rock Creek Store in 1865 next to the stage station. For a short time, the store was the only trading post on the Oregon Trail between Fort Hall and Fort Boise. German immigrant Herman Stricker bought the store from Bascom in 1876 and homesteaded the surrounding acreage on Rock Creek. The Stricker family operated the store until 1897. A small piece of the property, now owned by the Idaho State Historical Society, is known as Rock Creek Station and Stricker Homesite Stricker Ranch for short. About 2 miles upstream from Stricker Ranch sits what little is left of the all-but-forgotten town of Rock Creek. According to most accounts, Rock Creek began shortly after the stage and freight line came through the area. The town may have had a post office by 1871 and a school by 1878. By 1900, 146 people lived in the greater Rock Creek area, including those at Stricker Ranch. The area was populated mostly by cattle ranchers and farmers. One notable resident was John F. Hansen, originally from Denmark. Hansen moved to Idaho in 1876 after reading a published letter by local pioneer James Iverson. In this land of eternal sunshine lies opportunity for all in a health giving climate unequaled any where, Iverson said of Rock Creek. Hansen first settled in the Oakley area, where he taught school. He later farmed near Cottonwood Creek. Eventually, Hansen moved to Rock Creek, where he opened a store. The town also boasted a pool hall, hotel and candy store. Just after the turn of the century, I.B. Perrine founded the city of Twin Falls and the South Side Irrigation Tract. Soon, the railroad entered the area just the south of the Snake River. In 1905, a townsite was surveyed along the railroad, 8 miles east of Twin Falls and 7 miles north of Rock Creek. Investors made Hansen an offer he couldnt refuse: If he would move his store from Rock Creek to the new town, they would name the town after him. Hansen moved his store, and the investors made good on their promise. Mychel Matthews is the senior reporter for the Times-News. The Hidden History feature runs every Thursday in the Times-News and at Magicvalley.com. If you have a question about something that may have historical significance, email Matthews at mmatthews@magicvalley.com or call her at 208-735-3233. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 BOISE COVID-19 infections are rising quickly in Idaho, according to data from the Department of Health and Welfare. Since Monday, the state has reported 4,583 new cases; the entire week of Dec. 27, Idaho reported 3,656 cases. On Tuesday alone, the state reported 1,722 cases, which is more than four times what the 7-day moving average was a week before. More than 1,400 cases were reported on Wednesday. Of those 3,100-plus cases, more than 900 came from Ada County and 400 from Canyon County. Our percent positivity increased by 55% last week and a more transmissible variant is circulating, said Dr. Kathryn Turner, the states deputy epidemiologist, in an email. With recent holidays, there were family and friends gathering during which the virus had an opportunity to spread. All of those things combined would lead to more cases. The states test positivity rate increased from 5.4% the week of Dec. 12 to 8.4% the week of Dec. 19. Positivity rate data for the week of Dec. 26 will be released on Thursday. Turner said that COVID numbers include reported cases that were submitted to Health and Welfare by local public health districts between when cases were posted to the dashboard the previous day and the following evening. In recent weeks, local health districts did not work on Christmas and New Years Day, and most are not working on weekends, Turner said. The cases reported Monday and Tuesday include lab reports received on the holiday and over the weekend, as well as those submitted by testing laboratories on Monday and Tuesday, Turner said. National surge comes to Idaho COVID-19 cases are surging nationally, with more than 1 million new cases reported nationwide on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University, easily a daily U.S. record. The vast majority of the countrys new cases are the highly contagious variant called omicron, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates that around 95% of new COVID-19 cases the week of Dec. 26 were caused by the omicron variant. The week of Dec. 19, the CDC estimates that it was around 77%. In Idaho, only 15 cases of omicron have been confirmed in the state so far, partly because of testing and sequencing limitations. The proportion of sequenced samples that were omicron increased to 41% between Dec. 16 and Dec. 31, however, according to state data. Less than 3 percent of sequenced samples were omicron during the first half of the month. While slightly lower than the national percentage, the proportion increased by 13-fold from the previous two-week period, Turner said. It is certainly here. At Primary Health Medical Group, a major health care provider in the Treasure Valley, clinics saw more than 2,000 urgent care patients on Monday, marking the second-busiest urgent care day in the providers history, according to The Associated Press. The No. 1 day was on Sept. 7, just days before Idaho activated crisis standards of care to enable overwhelmed hospitals to ration care if necessary amid the COVID-19 surge caused by the delta variant. We have more to worry about than hospitalizations, Dr. David Peterman, CEO of Primary Health, told the AP. Were seeing record numbers in our clinics, and we have 38 of our employees out sick. If primary care doctors cannot see their patients for their hypertension, for sore throats, for diabetes, then were in trouble. Peterman said that rises in hospitalizations usually follow primary care surges by one or two weeks. As of Monday, there were 274 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients at Idaho hospitals, up from 210 on Dec. 25. Some evidence, including studies from the United Kingdom, indicates that the omicron variant causes less severe disease than previous iterations of the virus. The U.K. was hit by an omicron-fueled wave earlier than the U.S., and hospitalizations and deaths continually lag behind case data. But public health officials have warned that a less severe variant is not necessarily less dangerous if it is also more contagious. A significant increase in transmissibility can certainly overcome (being less deadly), because of the sheer numbers of people that will get infected, Dr. David Pate, the former president of St. Lukes Health System, told the Idaho Statesman. Vaccines have been shown to be highly effective at preventing more severe illness, but Idaho has the lowest proportion of vaccinated residents of any state, according to the CDC. The rise in cases also has Idaho health officials concerned that schools with few or no mitigation protocols in place could see big rises in cases as students return from winter break, and that could have a large effect on virus spread. At a White House briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said lots of Americans will still become severely ill from omicron. A certain proportion of the large volume of cases, no matter what, are going to be severe, he said. So dont take this as a signal that we can pull back from the recommendations ... about the need for vaccination, for boosters, for wearing masks. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 0 TWIN FALLS Dependent on weather, crews are expected to begin a week-long inspection of the Perrine Bridge starting Friday. During the inspection, crews will walk the arch, use an unmanned aerial vehicle and deploy the Idaho Transportation Departments under-bridge inspection truck along the bridge deck. Short duration (15 minute) single lane closures will occur each day in the left northbound lane to allow workers to access and exit the lower half of the structure. Traffic will also be reduced to one lane in either direction Jan. 7 and Jan. 8 while crew members utilize the inspection truck. Work with the under-bridge inspection truck will occur during non-peak hours to help lessen traffic congestion through the area and is expected to follow the below schedule: Northbound right lane closure: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday Southbound right lane closure: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Drivers may consider using an alternate route between the hours listed above. In addition to traffic impacts, base jumping may be subject to restrictions during portions of the inspection. ITD will provide personnel to coordinate with inspection crews and jumpers during regulated periods. The Perrine Bridge is a vital structure in the region and serves as a connector for thousands of motorists each day, said ITD Bridge Inspector Amy Bower. Inspections and routine maintenance projects play an important role in ensuring the bridges longevity for many years to come. Drivers are urged to exercise caution and patience near the work zone and watch for crew members and equipment. ITD appreciates the cooperation of those driving through the area. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Idaho Gov. Brad Little waited less than one day to reject Idahos Commission of Pardons and Paroles 4-to-3 plea that nature, not man, decides when convicted murderer Gerald Pizzuto dies. No one on the commission minimized Pizzutos crimes, not the least of which were the brutal murders of Berta Herndon and her nephew, Del Herndon, in an Idaho County cabin north of McCall in 1985. But the commission majority was persuaded that executing a dying man would become a lurid spectacle, something Idahos conscience should not shoulder. After spending 35 years under the shadow of a death sentence and in solitary confinement, Pizzuto is a dying man. He suffers from terminal bladder cancer, COPD, Type 2 diabetes, and chronic and coronary artery disease. He has suffered two heart attacks. He is confined to a wheelchair and is on hospice care. Pizzuto has outlived a doctors prediction made in 2019 that hed be dead within a year. The commission also considered compelling evidence of Mr. Pizzutos decreased intellectual functioning and deficits in adaptive functioning, identified through expert evaluations and brain scans, the commission wrote in a statement issued Thursday just hours before Little acted. Assuming Little has the last word and Pizzutos lawyers are in court arguing that the governor does not what can we expect to see? A botched execution? Pizzutos frail physical and mental condition certainly makes that a possibility. More than four years ago, Ohio attempted to execute Alva Campbell, who suffered from lung cancer, COPD, respiratory failure, prostate cancer and pneumonia. He relied on a colostomy bag, received oxygen treatments four times a day and required a walker. His cancer treatment left Campbell with veins so weak that executioners could not find one to insert the IV line that would administer the lethal chemicals that would kill him. More than 80 minutes later, the procedure was halted. He died before a second execution could be attempted. Alabama spent three hours trying to find a suitable vein on Doyle Hamm during a botched execution that stretched for three hours in 2018. Hamm, who suffered from lymphoma and cranial cancer and hepatitis C, was punctured 11 times in his legs, ankles and groin and according to the New York Times, several of his organs were injured in the process. By the time the execution team gave up, the legal death warrant had expired. Hamm died last year. Theres a lot here we dont know. What about the chemicals Idaho will have to obtain from compound pharmacists because the pharmaceutical industry restricts its products to save lives? To obtain the lethal compounds used in its previous execution of Richard Leavitt on June 12, 2012, the state resorted to exchanging a suitcase filled with more than $10,000 at a Tacoma Walmart parking lot. How will those chemicals interact with the medications Pizzuto has been taking? And will Pizzuto survive spending 30 days in even greater isolation enduring even more stress while he awaits the imposition of his sentence? Whats the point? The death penalty in the United States is disproportional. Serial killers such as the Green River killer, Gary Leon Ridgway, responsible for 49 murders, and the Golden State killer, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., who pleaded guilty to 13 murders will live out their lives in prison. Its arbitrary. Where the crime occurs drives the punishment. Twenty-three states have abolished capital punishment. Governors in three more states have imposed moratoriums. Half of the people sentenced to death in the U.S. were tried in just 1.2 percent of the nations counties. Timing also is a factor. People were four times more likely to be sentenced to death in the 1990s for the same crime than they are today. And the system cant be trusted. There are 186 former death row inmates who have been freed on evidence of their innocence. Among them is Charles Irwin Fain of Idaho. Yet Gov. Little has found something new to contribute to this monument to inhumanity the elements of vengeance and cruelty. Since when did these values define the Idaho way? M.T. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 1 A year ago, thousands of insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol at the behest of the sitting President of the United States and nearly overturned a Democratic election for the first time since the Civil War. I imagine Vice-President Mike Pence felt similarly to President-elect Abraham Lincoln when the latter rode into Baltimore draped in a shawl hoping to avoid detection from a lynch mob hoping to get him before he got to D.C. Ironically, there were Idahoans among the modern-day Insurrectionists as well as the National Guard who were deployed a couple weeks later to protect President Biden when he took the oath of office. While we mark the anniversary of that dark day, a very different milestone of sorts took place in the business world. Apple became the first $3 trillion company in world history in terms of market capitalization (total value of its stock). As of this writing, Apple is the 5th largest economy in the world exceeded only by the United States, China, Japan and Germany. Put another way, Apple is more valuable than the United Kingdom, India, Italy or Canada. With its cash reserves alone, it could literally write a check for most countries in the world. Lets unpack the connections and contradictions between these two events. I understand why so many working-class Idahoans voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. They were desperate. Regardless of what Brad Little tells you next week, Idaho is a desperate place for thousands of families who are sick of being poor. I know. Ive talked to many of those families all over the state and encountered thousands more in bankruptcy. Donald Trump offered a plan to families suffering from a lack of jobs, bad trade deals and crumbling towns and cities. However, when the time came to deliver for working-class Idahoans and Americans at large, he failed miserably. He tried to take away your healthcare, Infrastructure Week became a running joke and he proposed budgets to cut Medicare and Social Security. He did, however, deliver on his lone domestic policy issue: He gave away your tax dollars to Americas largest corporations. They, in turn, used your money to buy back their own stock. That policy helped Apple became more valuable than the United Kingdom. While Trump failed at improving the actual economy for working families, he took every opportunity to tout stock market gains even though millions of his voters have almost no money in the stock market and the people who voted against him were, and are, heavily invested. Real Idahoans know the economy is fueled by the thousands of small businesses that provide goods and services to our people not the stock market. Yet, Trump did everything he could to tout the markets while millions of Americans were suffering from job losses brought on by the Pandemic. That brings us to January 6, 2021 when thousands of anarchists stormed the Capitol in support of Donald Trump. What brings this full circle is the fact that a majority of those Insurrectionists had suffered some kind of financial trauma in their lives. Whether it was bankruptcy, bill collectors, tax liens or the like, most of the people threatening to hang our Vice-President were victims of the very policies Trump supported and the ones he failed to enact. Keep in mind, nearly 50-percent of Americans have $0.00 in the stock market. Of those who do invest in stocks, the top 10-percent wealthiest Americans own 89-percent of stocks. In other words, every time Donald Trump touted the stock market as a sign of Americas economic strength, he wasnt talking to you. He was talking to the people who look down on you. And yet the people who benefitted the least from his priorities were storming the Capitol to hang the Vice-President. As a former Bankruptcy Trustee, I have questioned literally thousands of Idahoans who had little to no savings, let alone money in the stock market. These people were desperate to get out from under the pressure of creditors, banks and, in some cases, the government. These are people who likely voted for Trump, even though his policies kept them buried under a mountain of debt and despair. These same people likely voted against President Biden who is delivering real jobs for all Americans, not to mention hope for a better future for our children. After a year in office, he is also delivering the best stock market since President Obama (yes, thats true). So, his administration is delivering something for everyone, I guess. The difference is, Trump promised you a better life and then gave it to Americas rich. President Biden, on the other hand, has a vision for all of us. Weve come a long way from wanting to hang our sitting Vice-President. The question is, are you willing to fight for our country, or for a single person. Just know that person never fought for you and he never will. Just ask Apple. Jeremy J. Gugino is a Democratic communications volunteer. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 JEROME As big game hunting seasons wrap up here in Idaho, many start to think about other outdoor winter activities, but heres an opportunity for hunters to revisit past successful hunts for years to come by having their antlers, horns or skulls officially scored by Idaho Department of Fish and Game staff. Many hunters are interested in knowing how well their harvest stacks up against other big game harvested over the years. Big game hunting has a long heritage in Idaho, and just because the animal you harvested might not qualify as a trophy according to the minimum score to be entered into the Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young record books, does not take away from the memories made with family and friends when hunting big game in Idaho. Staff from the Magic Valley Region will be accepting a limited number of antlers, horns, and skulls to be officially measured under standards of Boone and Crockett Club or Pope and Young Club. Hunters who want their big game scored must call the Regional Office at (208) 324-4359 to reserve a spot. Those with reservations can bring their antlers, horns or skulls to the Magic Valley Regional Office during the week of January 24-28, 2022 between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00pm. Antlers, horns and skulls being scored must be from animals legally harvested or kept from animals that died from natural causes. Everything submitted for scoring must have all the flesh off and must be dried for a minimum of 60 days from the date of harvest. Hunters who submit antlers, horns or skulls for scoring will be required to fill out a form to document their harvest. Please allow at least two weeks for the official scorer to measure your trophy. For more information or questions please call the Magic Valley Regional Office at 208-324-4359 and ask for Brandon Tycz. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Virginia is in a state of emergency in advance of Thursday night's predicted winter storm. The Governor's Office announced at 7:20 p.m. tonight: "This storm, expected to arrive Thursday evening into Friday morning, comes on the heels of a storm Monday that left more than a foot of snow in some parts of the Commonwealth. Many areas still have snow and ice from that storm, and some remain without power because of fallen trees. This will exacerbate the impacts of the coming storm. "'Having two bouts of snow and icy weather back to back makes it more likely communities will need additional help as they continue to recover from the first round of tree-snapping wet snow and ice that we saw Monday,' Governor Northam said. 'While we typically have ample resources for snow storms, these back-to-back events will generate landmark winter weather that requires extra flexibility. I am grateful to the hundreds of first responders and emergency personnel who continue to work around the clock to keep Virginians safe.' "The National Weather Service predicts that starting Thursday, the storm has potential for significant impacts across the Commonwealth, including greater impacts in areas most affected by the earlier storm. This weather system is likely to include additional downed trees, more electrical outages, and significant impacts on travel conditions. Because the second storm is expected to continue to exacerbate damage from the first one, the emergency order will cover expenses for the combined storm events. "Virginians are urged to follow local news for up-to-date forecasts, and to avoid traveling in dangerous weather." Original story, posted at 4:45 p.m.: It may not be much, but it looks like we're in for another snowfall that may be enough to cover the ground by the time the sun comes up Friday morning. The National Weather Service in Blacksburg has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the region that includes Henry and Pittsylvania counties, calling for rain to change over to snow beginning late Thursday evening, resulting in up to an inch of snowfall accumulation by sunrise Friday morning. Patrick County is under a winter weather advisory from 1 p.m. Thursday until 7 a.m. Friday, with a total snow accumulation of two to four inches expected. "This may make for slick travel conditions, especially on untreated roads," the statement said. In preparation, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) issued a release Wednesday afternoon detailing plans to pre-treat roads ahead of time. "VDOT suggests that drivers plan travel around the forecasted weather event, as slick roads and rapidly changing conditions are possible, especially during the afternoon commute on Thursday and the morning hours on Friday," the release said. "With cold pavement temperatures, many roads, particularly secondary roads and neighborhood streets, will become snow covered quickly." VDOT crews and contractors began pre-treating the major roads and interstates today ahead of the storm and plan to continue doing so on Thursday. Drivers are asked to use caution around slower moving trucks that will be applying brine to the roadways. As of 3 p.m. today, the forecast discussion for our area calls for "a vigorous upper-level disturbance" that "will move into the region late Thursday accompanied by a strong arctic cold front. Widespread light to moderate snow will overspread the region late Thursday from the west ending early Friday morning." The forecast for Martinsville and Henry County calls for a slight chance of rain after 1 p.m. on Thursday and ending by 1 a.m. on Friday. There is a chance of rain and snow between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Friday and then an 80 percent chance of snow after 2 a.m. Wind gusts up to 21 mph are possible with a low of 22 degrees pushing the windchill temperature (what the temperature actually feels like) down to 6 degrees. When the snow ends, gusty northwest winds will bring in bitter cold arctic air that will remain through the weekend. Keep the snow boots and snow shovels close by, because another potential similar winter weather system is in the works and is expected by early next week, followed by yet another surge of arctic air making temperatures below normal through the first half of next week. Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A young man from McDowell County recently graduated boot camp with honors and is set to have a promising career in the United States Navy. Anthony Prince, 18, is a graduate of McDowell Highs class of 2021. His father is John Prince and his mother is Daphne Holland. We never had much but they always made sure I had what I needed, he said of his parents. In his senior year at McDowell High, Prince was a cadet in the NJROTC with the plan of serving in the U.S. Marines after graduation. I actually planned on joining so thats why I became a part of the program, he told The McDowell News. I was going to join the Marines before I got in NJROTC, but there was so much I didnt know or understand and my chief (Jeff McClure) really helped inform me on what the military was like and he was sort of my driving factor to choose the Navy, instead of the Marines. McClure, who commands the McDowell High NJROTC program, told The McDowell News that Prince did a semester at the high school but had to do another one remotely because of COVID-19. He was very sharp in uniform and thoroughly enjoyed doing physical training, said McClure of Prince. He was a well-mannered, respectful young man. Prince has two older brothers and two younger sisters. His older brother Austin was the first one in the family to go to college while Anthony was the first in his family to join the military. After graduating from McDowell High, Anthony entered basic training in the Navy on Aug. 29 and went through boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill. It is ice cold up there with intense training pushing more on mental strength than physical, he said to The McDowell News. It took commitment and initiative to stay focused and locked on for those two months. When I got there on Aug. 29, I was faced with a two-week quarantine. Id say those first two weeks were the most difficult of all because the food was the same every day and we couldnt do any training during those two weeks with maybe an hour outside a day, if we were lucky, and we were not allowed to leave the compartment for anything besides chow. Anthony went through basic training and graduated from Recruit Training Commands boot camp with high honors. He was awarded the Navy League award and a letter of recommendation from his former commanding officer. This award is given to those who exceed the expectations of a sailor in basic training and demonstrate the Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment and apply the core attributes of initiative, integrity, toughness and accountability, he said. Anthony Prince was awarded this out of a training group of 427 fellow sailors and this is the second highest honor a new sailor could hold. Its the only award of its kind and he was presented with a commemorative plaque and a letter of recommendation from his commanding officer, said his mother. This is quite an accomplishment for him as well as representing what McDowell County has to offer the world. Now, he is serving our country at the naval station at Great Lakes, Ill., and is learning to become a damage controlman or DC. They are the Navys and Coast Guards maintenance and emergency repair specialists. Navy DCs do the work necessary for damage control, ship stability, firefighting, fire prevention and nuclear warfare and defense. They also instruct personnel in the methods of damage control and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense, and maintain/repair damage control equipment and systems, according to Wikipedia. Anthony said the DC rating is arguably one of the most important rates in the Navy depending on who you ask. He should graduate from DC school on Feb. 14, and his plan is to get to his next command and learn as much as possible about his rating. He wants to not only make rank but have those invaluable skills for the rest of his career and life. Thats my story, just to show no matter what kind of background you came from you can always make a way out for yourself with some hard work and dedication, he said. If you want something, go and get it, dont wait for it to come to you. Anthony Princes story is reminiscent of a quote from a fellow Navy veteran. I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: I served in the United States Navy, said President John F. Kennedy. The Iraqi government has given its approval for the Iraqi National Oil Company to acquire Exxon Mobil Corps stake in the giant West Qurna 1 oilfield, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar announced Wednesday, Zawya reports. Located in Southern Iraq, West Qurna 1 is among worlds largest oilfields with recoverable reserves estimated at more than 20 billion barrels. The field produced last year according to the state figures close to 500,000 barrels per day. With Jabbar announcement the state-run company will take over Exxons 37 per cent in the project. The Iraqi official did not provide detail on the transaction but Basra Oil Company director Khalid Hamza told Reuters last year that the American energy giant was seeking to sell its 32.7% stake in the field for $350 million. Foreign interest in developing fields in southern Iraq has dwindled as a result of tension between the United States and Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shiite militias. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov The Defence Ministry has said that two servicemen were injured in a car accident, Trend reported on January 5. "The ministry... reported that military servicemen, namely, Sergeant Jeyhun Abdullayev and soldier Suleyman Hasanzade were slightly injured as a result of the loss of control of the military car at 1740 (GMT+4) on January 5. Both of them are safe," the report added. It also denied rumors alleging that a group of Azerbaijani servicemen was injured in an avalanche. The ministry dismissed the information spread by some social media users as "false". We urge the media outlets not to spread the unconfirmed information," the ministry said. In Burkina Faso, the trial in the Thomas Sankara case continues. The military court in Ouagadougou delivered the testimony of former and late Ghanaian President, Jerry John Rawlings. At the time of the events, he was in power in his country and had good relations with the Burkinabe revolutionaries. Two weeks before the coup, he had received Captain Thomas Sankara, who had insisted on meeting with him about the situation within the National Revolutionary Council. In his testimony before the investigating judge before his death, the former strongman of Accra maintains that Thomas Sankara was afraid that Blaise Compaore would act and put him aside. I suggested to Thomas Sankara that he talk to Blaise Compaore, because I knew that Blaise Compoare could kill him, Rawlings said in his statement read in court. What was the trigger for the coup, the investigating judge asked? Thomas Sankara seemed to me to be alone and he wanted Ghana to help resolve the crisis, the former head of state revealed. He stressed that he was shocked, angry and bitter following the death of Thomas Sankara. A few days after the coup, Rawlings explained that he was invited by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. There he found Blaise Compaore who tried to convince him that he had nothing to do with the death of Thomas Sankara. I rejected his explanations and refused to pose for a photo with them as the Libyan leader had wished, said Jerry John Rawlings. Etienne Zongo, Thomas Sankaras aide-de-camp, told me about the horrible things that Blaise Compaore and Gilbert Diendere did to people. I think that Blaise Compaore wanted to erase the very memory of Thomas Sankara, said Jerry Rawlings in his statement before his death. Cote dIvoire recorded on Wednesday 78 cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which coincided with a sharp rise in infections over the past two weeks, Ivorian health authorities announced. The Ministry of Health had never before mentioned the presence of Omicron in Cote dIvoire, where most cases were linked to the Delta variant. While there were very few cases in recent months a few dozen at most per day the number of daily cases increased sharply during the holiday season, reaching more than 2,500 infections per day on December 30. As of Wednesday, 1,009 cases had been detected out of a total of 73,786 confirmed cases since the Covid pandemic emerged in early 2020, according to official figures from the Ministry of Health. The Omicron variant, which appeared in South Africa at the end of November and has been spreading rapidly around the world since then, does not seem to have any impact on the number of deaths in Cote dIvoire: two new deaths were recorded on Wednesday, for a total of 723 deaths since March 2020, according to these official figures. Apart from the respect of barrier gestures and the wearing of masks in closed public places such as banks, administrations, and supermarkets, no restrictive measures are in place in Cote dIvoire. However, due to the increase in cases, the government has decided since the end of December to multiply the number of screening tests, in particular for all travelers arriving from countries affected by the Omicron variant and at the entrance of large gatherings such as concerts. The Ministry of Health is urging everyone over 18 to get vaccinated against Covid-19, reminding them that vaccination is free. About seven million people have been vaccinated in Cote dIvoire, which has a population of about 25 million. An fMRI scan of the brain of a military veteran with PTSD, showing gray matter regions with increased myelin. Credit: UCSF / Linda Chao A recent study links anxiety behavior in rats, as well as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans, to increased myelina substance that expedites communication between neuronsin areas of the brain associated with emotions and memory. The results, reported by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Francisco (UCSF), provide a possible explanation for why some people are resilient and others vulnerable to traumatic stress, and for the varied symptomsavoidance behavior, anxiety and fear, for exampletriggered by the memory of such stress. If, as the researchers suspect, extreme trauma causes the increased myelination, the findings could lead to treatmentsdrugs or behavioral interventionsthat prevent or reverse the myelin production and lessen the after-effects of extreme trauma. Myelin is a layer of fatty substances and proteins that wraps around the axons of neuronsessentially, the insulation around the brain's wiringto facilitate long-distance transmission of signals, and thus, communication between distant areas of the brain. The inner regions of the brain look whitein fact, they are referred to as "white matter"because of the myelin encasing the many large bundles of axons there. But the new study finds increased myelination of axons in so-called "gray matter," where most of the cell bodies of neurons reside and most of the wiring is less insulated with myelin. The extra myelination was found primarily in areas associated with memory. Researchers at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center conducted brain MRI scans of 38 veteranshalf with PTSD, half withoutand found an increase in myelination in the gray matter of those with PTSD compared to that seen in the brains of those not suffering from PTSD. Colleagues at UC Berkeley, meanwhile, discovered a similar increase in myelination in the gray matter of adult rats subjected to an acute stressful event. While not all rats showed long-term effects from the stressjust as not all traumatized veterans develop PTSDthose that did had increased myelination in specific areas of the brain associated with particular symptoms of stress that was identical to what UCSF physicians found in veterans with PTSD. Both veterans with PTSD and stressed rats that exhibited avoidance behavior, for example, had increased myelination in the hippocampus, often thought of as the seat of memory. Those exhibiting a fear response had increased myelination in the amygdala, which plays a key role in our response to strong emotions, such as fear or pleasure. Those suffering from anxiety had increased myelination in the dentate gyrus, a region critical to learning and memory. "The combination of these studies in rats with our population of veterans with post traumatic stress disorders is, to me, really exciting," said senior author Dr. Thomas Neylan, director of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) Clinic and the Stress and Health Research Program at the San Francisco VA. "At least it's another mechanism to think about as we develop new treatments. If we see enduring ability to shape myelin content in an adult brain, maybe treatments will help reverse this. That's where we want to go next with this." Peopleand ratsvary in their response to stress The correlation between the symptoms and the region of myelination was discovered because UC Berkeley researchers subjected the rats to a battery of more than a dozen tests to assess their specific behavioral response to acute stress. "We understand that there's a lot of individual variation in humans, but with rats, they're genetically identical, so you think when you expose them to stress you're going to get the same response," said senior author Daniela Kaufer, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology. "But the response is extremely variable. They sort of fall into groups, such that some are really resilient, and some are vulnerable. And the ones that are vulnerable are vulnerable in different ways: Some show avoidance behavior, and some show fear learning problems, and some show startle responses that are exaggerated." According to Neylan, similar individuality is seen in people with PTSD. The new study suggests that the specific symptoms are related to which areas of the brain are being newly myelinated. "There's a lot of heterogeneity across different people with PTSD; it's not one size fits all. Every PTSD patient generally has a mix of different symptoms," said Neylan, professor-in-residence in psychiatry at the UC San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences. "Some people are very avoidant. Some people are very hyperreactive. The idea is that if you can show that these different symptom clusters have different neural circuitry, it might actually lead us closer to subtyping people in a way that we could be more targeted in our treatment." The researchers, who published their results in December 2021 in the journal Translational Psychiatry, show that stress produces more of the brain's glial cells, called oligodendrocytes, which wrap around the axons of neurons and make the myelin. The increased myelin produced by these new oligodendrocytes could affect the speed of connections between neurons, making some connections hyperresponsive. "In the gray matter of your cortex, most of the dendrites and axonsthe projections that come out of the neurons that help establish communications with other neuronscan form thousands of connections, and most of them are unmyelinated," Neylan said. "But if experience leads you to start to lay down myelin to strengthen certain connectionslet's say your ability to respond quickly to a fearful stimulusyou can speed up that circuit, but you lose the kind of broader adaptive flexibility that you normally would have with mostly unmyelinated axons and dendrites. People with PTSD become almost like a one-note musicianthey really know how to respond to fear. But that enhanced, quick response to fear may diminish their adaptive flexibility for non-fear-type behavior." Acute stress boosts oligodendrocytes In 2014, Kaufer and her UC Berkeley colleagues discovered that rats subjected to acute stress produced more oligodendrocytes in the brain's gray matterspecifically, in the hippocampus. She proposed that this led to increased myelination of axons, potentially interfering with the speed at which signals traveled between different areas of the gray matter of the brain, such as the hippocampus and the amygdala. The new study bolsters that theory. Neylan was intrigued by the 2014 findings and contacted Kaufer, and they've been collaborating ever since. Neylan teamed up with Linda Chao, UCSF professor of radiology, who developed a way to image myelin in the gray matter of the brain, and several years ago scanned the brains of 38 veterans who had experienced severe trauma, some with and some without PTSD. At the time, scientists looking for changes in myelination related to brain disorders were focused on the cortex's white matter, which is mostly myelinated. In multiple sclerosis, for example, an autoimmune attack destroys myelin in the white matter. Kaufer was perhaps the first to find evidence of increased myelination in the gray matter associated with disease. Chao and Neylan did find increased myelination of neurons in the gray matter of veterans with PTSD, but not in those without PTSD. The worse the symptoms, the greater the myelination. This led Kaufer and first author Kimberly Long, now a UCSF postdoctoral fellow, to see if they could also find increased myelin in gray matter after acute trauma in rats. After they focused on the specific symptoms of individual rats with PTSD, they found a correlation between symptoms and myelination in specific regions of the gray matter. Chao subsequently reanalyzed the brain scans of her earlier group of 38 veterans and found the same correlation: Specific symptoms were associated with myelination in one region of gray matter, but not others. Long and Kaufer then employed a type of viral gene therapy to rev up a transcription factor, called olig1, that increases the production of oligodendrocytes from stem cells in the gray matter. When Long injected the virus into the dentate gyrus of rats, the researchers found that this boosted the number of oligodendrocytes and generated symptoms of avoidance, even without any stress. "The next question was, "If I change oligodendrocyte genesis, am I going to change behavior?" Kaufer said. "The beginning of an answer is here in this paperit's yes. And now, there's a lot more to do to really understand that." Neylan, Chao and Kaufer are collaborating on further studies, including looking for increased myelin in the brains of PTSD patients who have died, improving fMRI imaging of myelin in the brain, investigating the effects of chronic stress on the brain connections of rats, and using new high-resolution imaging to study the myelin deposition in gray matter. Other co-authors of the paper were undergraduates Yurika Kazama, Vivian Roan, Rhea Misra, Anjile An, Kelsey Hu, and Claire Toth and doctoral student Jocelyn Breton of UC Berkeley; UCLA undergraduate Lior Peretz; University of Arizona undergraduate Dyana Muller; University of British Columbia (UBC) doctoral student William Casazza; UBC professor Sara Mostafavi; Boston University neurologist Dr. Bertrand Huber; and researcher Steven Woodward of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Explore further Long-term learning requires new nerve insulation More information: Kimberly L. P. Long et al, Regional gray matter oligodendrocyte- and myelin-related measures are associated with differential susceptibility to stress-induced behavior in rats and humans, Translational Psychiatry (2021). Journal information: Translational Psychiatry Kimberly L. P. Long et al, Regional gray matter oligodendrocyte- and myelin-related measures are associated with differential susceptibility to stress-induced behavior in rats and humans,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01745-5 This figure illustrates the building blocks of the introduced approach. First, for computational feasibility, each whole slide image was split into nonoverlapping 2048 2048-pixel image tiles. Tiles containing at least 65% of tissue were retained, and the remaining were discarded. Image color normalization (15) was applied to each tile to compensate staining variations of slides acquired from different institutions. Credit: Case Western Reserve University A Case Western Reserve University-led team of scientists has used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify which patients with certain head and neck cancers would benefit from reducing the intensity of treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The researchers used AI tools similar to those they developed over the last decade at the Center for Computational Imaging and Personal Diagnostics (CCIPD) at Case Western Reserve. In this case, they asked the computer to analyze digitized images of tissue samples that had been taken from 439 patients from six hospital systems with a type of head and neck cancer known as human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPCSCC). The computer program successfully identified a subset of patients who might have benefited from a significantly reduced dose of radiation therapy. While that analysis was retrospectivemeaning the computer analyzed data from patients in which the eventual outcome was already knownthe researchers said their next step could be to test its accuracy in clinical trials. Their research was published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The work was led by Anant Madabhushi, CCIPD director and the Donnell Institute Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Case School of Engineering, along with German Corredor Prada, a research associate in the CCIPD lab. 'Overtreating patients' Although most others with HPV-driven cancer would still benefit from aggressive treatmentalong with patients whose cancer was unrelated to the virusthe researchers said their study revealed a significant group was receiving more aggressive therapy than they needed to achieve a favorable outcome. Clinicians are not able to easily make that distinction simply from simply looking at the tissue scans, the researchers said. So virtually all patients with these cancersregardless of whether HPV-driven or notare treated with a full course of chemo and radiation. "We have been overtreating many patients with chemotherapy and radiation that they do not need because we didn't have a way to find out which patients would benefit from de-escalation," Madabhushi said. "We're saying that now we doand that someday physicians could modulate the way we care for people and not just give the standard high dose of radiation to everyone who comes through the door." Madabhushi said that reducing radiation for these patients could also help lessen the "toxicity of radiation therapy," meaning that they could experience fewer side effects such as dry mouth, swallowing dysfunction and taste changes. "There are already national clinical trials ongoing investigating the reduction of radiation therapy and chemotherapy intensity in favorable HPV positive oropharynx cancer patients," said Shlomo Koyfman, director of head and neck and skin cancer radiation at Cleveland Clinic and a study collaborator. "However, properly selecting the ideal patients for this treatment reduction has been a challenge. This imaging classifier can help us better select patients for these novel treatment paradigms." Collaboration among ten institutions Corredor said other researchers are already testing whether reducing the intensity of treatment can benefit some patients. But this new work, if validated in human trials, could provide a tool for physicians to make better decisions about who should get chemo or radiation, he said. "Maybe we can reduce intensity of treatment for some people and give them a better quality of life because chemo and radiation often have very strong side effects," Corredor said. Nearly two dozen other scientists contributed, including six others from Case Western Reserve. "We have been able to visually assess patient's tumor microscopically for a very long time, but now, with this technology, can actually extract meaningful information from the morphology for prognosis and prediction," said James Lewis Jr., a professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a research collaborator. Also involved were scientists and physicians from the Cleveland and San Francisco Veterans Affair (VA) Medical Centers; Baylor College of Medicine; Southern California Permanente Medical Group; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; University of California, San Diego Health; and Washington University in St. Louis. HPV, head and neck cancer Head and neck cancers total more than a half-million cases and 300,000 deaths a year, making them the sixth leading cancer worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI)affecting about 43 million people in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Further, HPV accounts for roughly 75% of oropharyngeal cancer cases in the United States. The imaging biomarker isolated by the Case Western Reserve-led team from routine digital pathology slides would reveal the HPV-associated cancer patients who could avoid the harsher treatment, instead receiving either lower doses of radiation or no radiation at all. Corredor said the system was able to accurately define the "spatial arrangement, or architecture, of lymphocytes surrounding the cancer cells." Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system and which attacks invading bacteria, viruses and toxins. This new work also builds on previous research by the CCIPD in developing novel imaging biomarkers for risk stratification and outcome prediction of head and neck cancer published earlier this year, one in The Journal of Clinical Investigation and the other in the journal Frontiers in Oncology. Explore further Artificial intelligence tool predicts treatment response and survival in small cell lung cancer patients Children hold the Portuguese messages: "Vaccine is a right! Vaccine is safe! Vaccine yes!' during a demonstration in favor of COVID-19 vaccinations for children outside Rio state's Ministry of Health office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Bruna Prado Vaccination of Brazilian children between the ages of 5 and 11 will begin in January, without the demand for prescriptions from doctors the government had previously signaled, officials from the health ministry announced Wednesday. The government's guidelines come almost three weeks after the health regulator authorized use of Pfizer's shot for children, setting off backlash from none other than President Jair Bolsonaro. After sowing doubt about the efficacy of the vaccine and refusing to be vaccinated himself last year, in recent weeks the president staked out a position opposing vaccines for kids and warning of possible side effects. A study released in late December by U.S. health authorities confirmed that serious side effects of the Pfizer vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 are rare. The results were based on approximately 8 million doses dispensed to youngsters in this age group. Taking a cue from Bolsonaro, his health ministry last month published an online questionnaire about the issue, and some of the president's supporters also leery of the vaccine actively engaged on messaging apps trying to pressure people to swing the results. They failed: the majority of the survey's almost 100,000 participants opposed the need for a doctor's script, a health ministry official said in a public hearing on Tuesday, without providing figures. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Minister Queiroga also didn't disclose what percentage of respondents opposed prescriptions. Brazil's Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga announces guidelines for vaccinating children with the COVID-19 vaccine, during a press conference, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres "With regard to the prescription, a public consultation was done. We heard society, specialists," said Queiroga. "It isn't backtracking; it is part of the decision-making process. A recommendation has been made." Other countries, such as the U.S., Germany, France, Argentina and Chile are already vaccinating their children. It had been unclear whether Brazil's health ministry could impose a demand that children obtain a prescription for vaccinations; most Brazilian states' health secretariats openly said they would defy such an order. Although the ministry stopped short of issuing such a directive, its official in charge of fighting COVID-19 still said parents should seek out medical opinions. "It is essential that parents consult a doctor. Why? Children in this age group are developing and we have some adverse effects. At this age, care should be greater," said the official, Rosana Leite. People protest against COVID-19 vaccine passports and obligatory vaccines for COVID-19 for children during a protest organized by supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the Pan American Health Organization headquarters in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres The announcement came one day after a small protest in opposition of vaccinating children outside the Pan American Health Organization's office in capital Brasilia, where children held signs reading "I'm not a guinea pig." Inside, members of medical societies and experts participated in a public hearing promoted by the government to debate the issue, most of whom reinforced the safety of the vaccine. Pfizer's director in Brazil, Marjorie Dulcine, stated several times: "The vaccine isn't experimental." Bolsonaro, for his part, has characterized vaccination as an issue of personal choice rather than a means for ensuring the common good. He has repeatedly claimed, incorrectly, that he's immune to the virus because he already contracted it in 2020. At least 16 of his 22 ministers have been vaccinated, along with his political children and his wife. Bolsonaro has said he won't let his 11-year-old daughter be vaccinated. Last month, he said he would name and expose the public servants who issued the approval of the Pfizer shot for children, prompting a union representing health agency workers to express concern about online abuse or even physical attacks. Demonstrators set fire to a COVID-19 vaccination card during a protest outside the Pan American Health Organization headquarters against COVID-19 vaccine passports and obligatory vaccines for COVID-19 for children, during a protest organized by supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres El presidente de Brasil, Jair Bolsonaro, en conferencia de prensa desde el Palacio de Planalto en Brasilia, el 24 de noviembre de 2021. Credit: AP Foto/Raul Spinasse, File People demonstrate in favor of COVID-19 vaccinations for children outside Rio state's Ministry of Health office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Bruna Prado Brazil's Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga announces guidelines for vaccinating children with the COVID-19 vaccine, during a press conference, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres A woman shouts during a protest against COVID-19 vaccine passports and obligatory vaccines for COVID-19 for children during a protest organized by supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the Pan American Health Organization headquarters in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres In Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, a group of people demonstrated in favor of vaccinating children. Two young boys held a sign reading: "Vaccine is a right! Vaccine is safe! Vaccine yes!" Explore further Should kids be vaccinated? Brazil turns to online survey 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Chile will start administering a fourth COVID vaccine dose to people with weakened immune systems from Monday, President Sebastian Pinera said, as the country recorded its highest number of daily cases in six months. New case numbers had been stable until the appearance of the Omicron variant saw them soaras it has in many other countries around the world. "A person without complete protection is six times more likely to be infected and 20 times more likely to need ICU hospital treatment than a person with a booster dose," Pinera said Thursday. Chile's vaccination process has been hugely successful, with 87 percent of the population over three fully immunized and almost 67 percent having also had a booster jab. But Pinera said experience had shown that the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters diminish over time and with the apparition of new variants. People over the age of 12 with weakened immune systems will start receiving the fourth dose from Monday with all people over 55 eligible from February 7, as long as their last dose was at least six months ago. On Thursday, Chile reported 3,134 people infected and 30 deaths. Pinera said the last time the country had as many new caseson July 8, 2021there were 2,167 people requiring help breathing in hospital compared to just 404 this time around. There were also more than six times as many deaths (186) that day in July. Explore further Chile to give fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose 2022 AFP Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Efforts to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 may benefit from a new analytical tool developed by a team led by biologists at Boston College, who report their computer simulation of molecular interactions can predict mutations of the virus and help develop insights into future variants of concern before they emerge. "We computationally predict what mutations allow better binding to host receptors and better evasion of antibodies," said Boston College Assistant Professor of Biology Babak Momeni, a lead researcher on the project. "Such mutations can potentially lead to a future variant of concern. Having this knowledge from our model would help with readiness for detecting and preventing, as well as treating, emerging and future variants." Quantum mechanical modeling allowed the team to develop an initial set of predictions about the role of mutations on infectivity and immune response evasion of omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants with human host cells, Momeni said. The spike protein of the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, binds to ACE2, a receptor on the host cells, which allows the virus to enter the cells and infect it. Binding is the first step for infection, and several mutations in previous variants of concern have been shown to be important for increasing the spike's binding to human ACE2. "We simulated the electronic structure of the two interacting molecules and assessed how amino acids of the spike and ACE2 interacted with their counterparts. We also evaluated how mutating individual amino acids could change the interaction." Researchers have deployed a number of computational methods to examine the spike-ACE2 interaction. The ab initio quantum mechanical model approach, which is focused on the electron structure, is considered to be highly accurate and able to examine both short-range and long-range interactions among amino acid residues, Momeni said. The omicron variant of the coronavirus is suspected to be the most infectious yet by binding to human receptors better than the delta variant and the team's findings show it may have the potential to continue to evolve even stronger binding to increase transmission and infectivity, according to a pre-print of a new study completed by the team. The spike protein of the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, binds to a receptor on the host cells, called ACE2, which allows the virus to enter the cells and infect it. Binding is the first step for infection, and several mutations in previous variants of concern have been shown to be important for increasing the spike's binding to human ACE2. "We use a fully quantum mechanical model to theoretically assess how different mutations in the spike can contribute to its increased, or decreased, binding strength to human ACE2," Momeni said. "The modeling shows that omicron binds to receptor proteins stronger than the currently dominant delta variant." In addition to Momeni, Boston College Professor of Biology Welkin Johnson and post-doctoral researcher Marco Zaccaria, Luigi Genovese of French CEAUniversity of Grenoble Alpes, and Professor Michael Farzan of the Scripps Research Institute, contributed to the report "Investigating the mutational landscape of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant via ab initio quantum mechanical modeling," which is available at the pre-print host site bioRxiv. "We find that omicron has not reached its full potential to bind human host cells," Momeni said. "We identify mutations that can strengthen the virus affinity for the human cell, which could increase infectivity and evasion of antibodies." He cautioned that increased infectivity is only one important aspect in variants of concern; it is also important to monitor the severity of symptoms and the ability of the variant to evade antibodies and vaccines. While the study found that omicron's spike proteins bind better than the delta variant to the human ACE2 receptor, not all mutations in the spike protein's targeting systemknown as a receptor binding domainare beneficial for binding, which suggests factors other than binding may also be involved in determining how the variant evolves. One possible explanation is that the variant has acquired mutations to evade host antibodies, Momeni said. Such mutations can be detrimental to its binding to the host receptor and were followed by additional compensatory mutations to recover, or even improve, its receptor binding. Momeni said the team was surprised to see a range of mutationssome beneficial, some neutral, and some detrimentalto hACE2 binding. He said the team's next steps are to experimentally validate the predictions of the model. The team's findings on omicron build upon a prior analysis of the Wuhan and delta variants by the team. There, modeling found that E484 was actually a "weak link" in the original Wuhan strain, but it has evolved through mutation to better bind to human host cells and to evade some antibodies, Momeni said. Additionally, the team found that the Wuhan strain binding to ACE2 in bats was more optimized than the human counterpart. The team predicted further E484K mutation added to the delta variant would produce a future variant of concern. More information: Luigi Genovese et al, Investigating the mutational landscape of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant via ab initio quantum mechanical modeling, (2021). Luigi Genovese et al, Investigating the mutational landscape of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant via ab initio quantum mechanical modeling,(2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.12.01.470748 People sit by the Rome's Piazza del Popolo Lions foutain, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The Italian Government is expected to hold a cabinet meeting with scientific and medical experts Wednesday, to apply new measures to cope with the surge of new COVID-19 cases in the country. Credit: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia The Italian government approved a measure Wednesday requiring people older than 50 to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, as the country struggles with nearly daily new records of fresh infections fueled by the omicron variant. Earlier in the day, 189,000 new infections were confirmed in the country of some 59 million people. "We want to put the brakes on the growth of the curve of contagion and push Italians who are still not vaccinated to do so," Prime Minister Mario Draghi was quoted by an official in his office as telling his ministers at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday evening. The Cabinet voted unanimously to impose the mandate, which Public Administration Minister Renato Brunetta said puts Italy in the vanguard in Europe in cracking down on those who refuse to be vaccinated and who now account for the majority of patients in Italy's rapidly filling ICU beds. Some 78% of Italy's population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, which can cause COVID-19. So far, about 36% have received a booster shot, which experts say is a crucial instrument in reducing the possibility that an infection will necessitate intensive care or be fatal. Draghi said the decision to require vaccination for older persons was taken out of concern that they are at more risk for hospitalization and "to reduce the pressure on hospitals and save lives." People stroll along the Via del Corso avenue in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The Italian Government is expected to hold a cabinet meeting with scientific and medical experts Wednesday, to apply new measures to cope with the surge of new COVID-19 cases in the country. Credit: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia It was not immediately announced what if any penalty non-vaccinated older persons might face. But Health Minister Roberto Speranza told reporters that anyone 50 or older will be checked to see if they have a "super green pass" before they enter their workplaces. That certification is reserved to those who are fully vaccinated or who have recently recovered from COVID-19. The workplace requirement for older workers in both the public or private sector takes effect Feb. 15. That date would presumably allow time for workers to become fully vaccinated if they aren't now. The Cabinet also decreed that anyone working in universities must be vaccinated, regardless of age. Currently, vaccination is required for school teachers, health care workers, members of the military and police forces, regardless of age. Also adopted was a requirement that anyone working or obtaining services in beauty parlors and similar establishments have a negative virus test if they aren't vaccinated or haven't recently recovered from COVID-19. The same rule will apply to stores in shopping malls and to banks and post offices. Those working or patronizing pharmacies or food stores will be exempt. Explore further Italy likely to offer anti-COVID boosters to entire population 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain All Americans are protected as of Jan. 1 from unexpected out-of-network medical bills, thanks to the implementation of legislation to ban surprise medical billing, but many lawmakers want the Biden administration to make more changes to line up with what they argue was Congress' intent in crafting the law. "At this point, it's another principle involved. Can you just really totally reject that which Congress has said because you don't like it? Or because maybe a couple of members of Congress who didn't get their way influence you?" Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told CQ Roll Call, expressing his frustration. The issue is who pays for medical care when a patient receives a surprise medical bill, and how to decide how much they owean issue that has long divided lawmakers and the health care industry. The surprise medical bills at issue include charges as a result of emergency care at an out-of-network hospital or when an out-of-network doctor treats a patient at an in-network facility. The law that took effect Saturday calls for an arbitration process that is based on the median in-network rate for a service. Insurers argue this was Congress' intent. But lobbyists for hospitals and physicians say it's crucial the arbiter considers more factors than just whatever the median in-network insurance payment is for a service when determining final payments. Some lawmakers agree with the insurers, while others agree with providers' interpretation of congressional intent and want the agency to change the policy. Surprise medical bills are extremely common among Americans with private insurance. Nearly 1 in 5 patients who go to the emergency room, have an elective surgery or give birth in a hospital receive a surprise bill, with an average cost of $750 to $2,600 per incident, according to a November report from the Department of Health and Human Services. Cassidy and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., along with 24 other Republican senators, last week asked the Biden administration to alter its interim final rule to ban surprise medical bills before the implementation date. The lawmakers said HHS' interpretation of the law deviates from congressional intent when it comes to how payment disputes are settled. No Democrats signed the letter, however. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., has said she supports the administration's current plan to implement the law. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., followed Cassidy and Marshall's letter with a Dec. 29 statement praising Biden for swiftly implementing the law, calling it "the most significant expansion of consumer protections since the Affordable Care Act" of 2010. Back in November, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, led 150 bipartisan lawmakers in a letter asking the secretaries of HHS, Treasury and Labor to change the rule's arbitration process. In some states, insurers cut back their contracted rates to providers in anticipation of the law's implementation. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina mandated a 15 percent cut in contracted rates for 2022, citing the surprise billing law as impetus, effectively acting as a cap to payments, according to a November letter from BCBSNC Vice President of Provider Networks Mark Werner that was obtained by CQ Roll Call. Prognosis Cassidy doesn't anticipate the Biden administration taking any action to change the policy unless a court tells it to do so. "I think we have to allow the courts to play out, and I think that the administration is going to lose," Cassidy said. "The intent of the law is very clear. It's very clear, and [the administration] very clearly violated it." Several lawsuits on the issue, mostly brought by hospitals and physicians, are moving through the courts at the moment. The suits are all narrowly focused and aim to change the arbitration mechanism of the law without preventing the surprise billing ban from going into effect. The following groups have recently challenged the rule: American College of Emergency Physicians and radiology-related groups. American Hospital Association and American Medical Association, along with other providers. Texas Medical Association, with support from the Physicians Advocacy Institute, along with 13 state medical associations. Association of Air Medical Services. Court decisions could potentially come in the next few months, said Katie Keith, an associate research professor with the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms. Plaintiffs are pushing for an expedited briefing and decision, with court arguments scheduled for February in several of the cases. "Clearly, the tactic was to try to jam the administration by filing these [lawsuits] right before the holidays, in addition to the patient and consumer groups who normally would be filing amicus briefs in defense of the No Surprises Act and its rule-making," said Loren Adler, associate director of the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy. The groups suing are arguing for national injunctions against the administration's arbitration guidance and asking the courts to rule by March. Even though the surprise billing ban is already in effect, the first instances of arbitration under the law may not occur until March at the earliest because of the law's built-in waiting periods and policies. Many experts anticipate that the longer the surprise billing ban is in place, the less often payment disputes will go to arbitration. Over time, insurers and providers will likely begin to rely on past payment precedent rather than going through a somewhat cumbersome arbitration process. "It will take some time to form those expectations, and the current set of lawsuits may be particularly relevant to that process," noted Ben Ippolito, an economist who focuses on health policy for the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. The outcome of the cases will largely rely on how the courts interpret the Chevron doctrine, a Supreme Court precedent that says courts must defer to government agencies when a law's language is unclear or ambiguous. If the providers prevail in court, the Biden administration likely will have to rewrite the vacated part of the rule through the formal notice-and-comment rule-making process in compliance with the court's ruling. This process could take a long time, and the uncertainty over how disputed out-of-network charges are paid for could continue for several years, noted Spencer Perlman of Veda Partners, an investment advisory firm. Explore further What is the surprise in passing surprise medical billing legislation? 2022 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The green colors show healthy mitochondria while the red ones are damaged mitochondria undergoing "clearance" by mitophagy. Credit: Xu-xu Zhuang One in six Norwegians over 80 is affected by Alzheimer's disease. Numbers are even higher worldwide, and there is still no cure available. Researchers at the faculty have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) method to help them identify potential new medicines for Alzheimer's. The new medicine seems to be more precise. No side effects were documented during tests with worms and mice. The cells' waste management is destroyed by Alzheimer's disease One of the causes of Alzheimer's disease is the degeneration and loss of nerve cells in the brain as we age. A cell is like a finely tuned machinery. The cell needs energy to perform its tasks. The energy comes from energy factories called mitochondria. In young, healthy cells, old or damaged mitochondria are removed from the cell in a process called mitophagy. The research group found that when we get older, we have more broken mitochondria, and the cells will not be able to remove all of them anymore. An accumulation of broken mitochondria clogs the cell's ordinary processes and eventually, the cell will die. "Cells need the energy generated by the mitochondria to clear this 'garbage.' Just like a machine will stop working if it is not maintained," says associate professor Evandro F. Fang, the leader of the research group. Fang leads an international research group at The Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital. A new method for treating Alzheimer's disease A new potential method for treating the disease is described by Fang's group in a new study. "We may be able to reduce or stop the progress of the disease with the patient. We can do this by increasing the cell's ability to self-clean," Fang says. Before and after Rhapontigenin reduces the toxic brain garbage "Tau tangles" which are stained in big green dots in the hippocampus part of the brain. Credit: Xu-xu Zhang Because the clogging of the machinery is a part of the problem, the researchers had to find a way to boost the cleaning process. They looked into the use of so-called mitophagy inducers. The idea was to find a way to increase the level of waste management in the patient's brain cells. "We can compare this to hiring extra personnel to clear a cleaning backlog in a factory," Fang explains. Fang's group described how It may be possible to find a way to stimulate the cells' own self-cleansing system in 2019. The treatment may improve other organs The reboot of mitophagy gives the patient several advantages: It will increase the clearance of brain cell garbage and the cleaning process will be more effective in itself. It may also increase the cleaning in other other organs, not only the brain. "By turning up mitophagy, we may also be able to increase the quality of other organs, like their heart and muscles. A stronger body is important to reduce the effects of the disease," Fang notes. AI used to find possible candidates for a new medication It takes a lot of time and effort to develop a new drug, and it is a very expensive process. The researchers wanted to find substances that may induce the cleaning process. They used AI to search for substances similar to known mitophagy inducers. The computer program browsed through a large catalog of substances and identified two candidates, rhapontigenin and kaempferol. They used mice and nematodes, a type of worms, to document whether use of these substances ontheir nerve cells inhibited memory loss. "We spent three months searching from a library of around 3000 known mitophagy-inducing substances. If we had used traditional techniques to discover a new drug, it would likely have taken more than three years to find potential drug candidates," Fang explains. The researchers have filed a patent on the new medication for Alzheimer's disease Fang and his colleagues have filed a patent on rhapontigenin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. They are now working on describing both how rhapontigenin and kaempferol may help us delay the progression of memory loss, and how it may help us reduce disease progression when it has occured. In addition, they are also going to describe the in-depth molecular mechanisms that help kaempferol and rhapontigenin to induce mitophagy. "The compounds have not been tested in humans yet, so much still remains to be donewe are now using AI to propose small, structural modifications to these candidate compounds. We want to make them safer and more efficient for treating Alzheimer's disease," Fang says. The project is a multi-institutional, international project with major collaborators from University of Oslo, Norway; The University of Macau, China; MindRank AI Ltd, China; National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; Imperial College London, UK; University of Alabama at Birmingham, U.S.; The National University of Singapore.